{ LIVING THE POGUE LIFE }

{33}

"Welcome to crackhead wasteland," Sarah said as they entered the caravan park.

"I dont know about this, man," Pope said.

"I'm not totally on board with this either," Brie admitted.

Usually she was down for exactly this type of reckless behaviour, but JJ figured that after having a gun in her face, she was feeling a little more vulnerable then usual.

"He takes from us, we take from him," JJ muttered, getting out of the van and heading into the house.

"He's going to get us all put on a freaking hit list," Brie groaned, running after him. "JJ! Stop it, okay?"

Barry's house was a total mess. Clothes lay strewn across the floor, countertops filled with the remains of drugs from god knows how many weeks ago.

"Why, Brie?" He asked, storming around the place, "You dont think he would have shot you? Hm?"

"I think," Brie said, "That this is going to cause us more trouble than it's worth. You rob a drug dealer and then what? He knows who we are. You're going to get us all killed."

JJ scoffed, disappearing into what he presumed to be the bedroom. She didnt follow after him. He dug around frantically, uncovering some pretty gross pieces of clothing. He finally checked the top of the closet, spotting exactly what he was looking for. He flicked through the cash, gathering an estimate of how much was there.

"Ah ha!" JJ announced, returning to the room with a duffel bag in hand. He raised it up and shook it at her. "This. This pays for my restitution. What's left over can get you a new bike. You still dont think it's worth it?"

"JJ," Brie sighed, trying not to seem tempted although he could see that she really was, "We've already found the gold. We're practically rich. We dont need this, okay? Just put it back. It's not fair on the others to put them in danger."

JJ rolled his eyes.

"Since when did you become so boring?" He snapped, "You know, you and I used to be on the same page about this kind of stuff. I think the others are getting to you with their moral high-ground bullshit."

"Grow up, JJ," she shouted, "Its not all about you. For once, just have some consideration!"

"This is about getting even!" He yelled, "I don't give a damn what you, or John B, or any of the rest of you say. I'm taking this money."

He shoved past her and out of the house. Why the hell wouldn't she just listen to him? The others looked up from the car, expectantly.

"JJ, what are you gonna do when Barry comes after you?" Brie shouted, "When he comes after all of us? Because of you."

"He wont!" JJ snapped, not turning around to even look at her.

"Oh yeah?" John B challenged, "How do you know that?"

"How did you like getting a gun pulled on you?" JJ asked, prodding John B under the chin with his fingers, "He had it right here on her man. He was ready to pull the trigger."

John B clenched his jaw.

"Hey, you dont know that," Brie crossed her arms in defiance.

"Just like you dont know that he wouldnt have if I didnt jump in," JJ argued, "This is fair, okay? We steal a couple of grand from a lowlife drug dealer after he holds us at gunpoint and tries to rob us."

"JJ, please!" Brie begged, looking desperate now, "We dont need a hit out on us whilst we're trying to recover the gold."

"Shes right," Pope agreed, "We need to keep a low profile."