{ LIVING THE POGUE LIFE }

{19}

JJ watched the ripples in the water disappear where Brie, Kiara and John B had just jumped in. He then turned his attention to the screen and watched as John B floated down into the shot.

John B pressed his face up close to the lens and held a middle finger up to Pope and JJ, bubbles invading the camera. JJ rolled his eyes. Typical.

Kiara swam towards the camera, waving at them with a grin. She turned to the others and then pushed herself back up to the surface, John B following behind her.

Brie took her chance and grabbed the drone, kissed the lens before saluting them with a wink. JJ chuckled and stared at the screen as she swam past, showing her gorgeous body in that tiny black bikini. Damn. He would never get used to seeing that.

"God bless geeks, Pope," he sighed, "Truly."

"Stop being a creep," Pope scolded, deliberately adverting his eyes away from the screen when Brie passed by.

JJ waved him off, leaning against the rail as the others surfaced again. Kiara and John B swam back to the dock, each with massive smiles across their faces.

Brie stayed in the water, happily soaking in the sun. Over their past couple of months together, JJ had noticed that Brie liked being in the water. She always seemed happiest when they would spend their days surfing or out on the boat.

"Hey, look," John B panted, "Once we have footage of the wreck, we'll take it to a lawyer in town and file a formal claim."

"It's bullshit," JJ muttered stubbornly, "Why do we have to do that?"

"Its marine salvage law," Brie told him, still slightly out of breath as she focused on keeping herself afloat, "We can't just go taking stuff from the bottom of the ocean."

Whilst he knew the rules, JJ didn't understand why they can't just take the gold. It was free game, and it didn't belong to anyone, right? Either way, he didn't bother arguing.

"I know, I know," JJ assured her, "Its just that lawyers aren't cheap."

"Well, as soon as they see the footage, they'll work for a comp," John B reasoned.

"How do you know all of that?" Kiara asked.

"Because my dad said it about a million times," he said.

"Yeah," she shrugged. "That's fair."

John B and Kiara hauled themselves out of the water and met JJ and Pope on the dock. Brie stayed where she was in the water, bobbing her head under for a second and then sighing in relief. JJ smiled to himself.

"This tether is really long," Pope said, "In the wrong weather, this thing could get pushed around."

"Then we'll go at dead calm," John B replied, just as thunder rumbled overhead despite the sun. They all glanced up at the sound.

"At slack tide," Kiara nodded.

"So now we've just got to wait around for the right weather," Pope concluded, "And today is not that day."

JJ looked out onto the approaching storm clouds and couldnt help but feel a pang of disappointment. The sooner they found the Merchant, the better.

Brie swam back over to the dock and climbed onto the ladder, wrapping her arms around the rail. The marks on the side of her neck had faded since last night, the red scratches across her face were now barely visible.

But JJ would never forget the image of her when she came though that door last night. His chest still ached when he remembered how distraught she had been, how much she had cried and blamed herself over what that prick did. It haunted him.