Down

Chapter 16

Pope said" That's a lot of wax on your board, man. Put too much wax, it's gonna be slippery."
JJ said" Are you telling me how to wax my board, Pope?"
" No, I was just saying that's a lot of wax."
" No, no, no, you're telling me how to wax my board. Are you kidding me?"
" That's a colossal waste of wax."
Kie said" Guys, really?" I heard a car honking,
JJ said" Did you hear that?" I saw Twinkie pull up," Hold on."
" Are you serious?"
" Am I dreaming?"
Pope said" No!" John B got out,
He said" Guess who's out of the clink, boy!"
" No freakin' way, man!" We ran to him, hugging him," Bro!"
JJ said" My boy's out of the can!"
Kie said" We missed you."
John B said" I missed you guys too."
JJ said" How'd you do it? You bust out?"
" Uh, they dropped the charges."
Pope said" They dropped the charges."
Kie said" That's phenomenal!"
JJ said" You're telling me I did all that work for nothing?"
Pope said" Oh, the most elaborate escape plan of all time?"
Kie said" Foolproof?"
JJ said" Yeah, it was, actually."
John B said" Wait, where's Sarah? No, no, no. Where... where... where's Sarah?"
Kie said" She went to go meet Wheezie last night. She didn't come back."

John B said" So, Sarah just dips and doesn't call?"
Pope said" Yeah, man. She just left her bag. Didn't tell anybody."
" Okay, dude, I-I-I really think Ward got to her. I mean, the dude tried to have me killed in jail."
Kie said" What?"
" Yeah. He sent somebody to the prison who yoked me up and almost killed me."
" You serious?"
" Yes."
JJ said" Do we know who this dude was?"
" No, I have no idea. Dude, I swear to god, one day I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch."
Kie said" It's okay."
" No, Kie, it's not okay. We gotta find Sarah."
" No, literally, it's okay. She's right there." We turned around and saw Sarah with Topper,
Sarah yelled" John B!"
" What the hell is she doing with Topper?" I walked to JJ, climbing into his arms, he lifted me up onto his hip. Sarah jumped into John B's arms,
John B said" Hi."
Sarah said" Hey!"
" Oh my god. I'm so glad you're okay. Hi."
" I didn't know if I'd see you again. What happened?"
" Uh, they dropped all the charges."
" What?"
" Yeah, no, yeah, I'm a free man. Yeah."
" That's amazing."
" I know. It's great, but... but listen, Sarah, they're coming after Rafe."
" Good. He's completely unhinged. He jumped me last night. That's why I didn't come back."
Topper said" Yeah, man. Rafe has lost his mind. Literally almost drowned his own sister. Thankfully, I got there... got there just in time."
" Yeah, he did."
John B said" Uh, well, I guess I owe you one, Topper, don't I?"
Topper said" It's all good. I mean, somebody had to rescue your girlfriend, right?"
" Uh, that's funny because she's not actually my girlfriend, right?"
" Uh... well, what is she then?"
" Tell him."
Sarah said" I'm-I'm with him."
Topper said" Gotcha. You're with him. Okay, yeah. I just, like, needed a little charity there. You guys clear on that?"
JJ said" I think it's clear you gotta go now."
" Think I'll head out. It's about that time."
Sarah said" Topper. Thank you." She hugged him,
" Yeah, of course. I'm just glad you're okay."

We were at Heyward's, Mr. Pope got hurt, I was sitting on John B's lap, playing with his hair.
Sarah said" Let me know If I'm hurting you."
Mr. Pope said" You're doing just fine."
" Okay."
" Thank you, darlin'. Thank you."
Pope said" Pop, what happened?"
" Oh, I should've known better. He came in just as I was about to lock up. Caught me by surprise. Once he had me down, he put his knee in my chest, and he asked me about that-that-that key from that-that drawing you showed me. And in case you're wondering, I ain't tell him nothing. Now did you track it down?"
" I found it in Mee-maw's old apartment above the pharmacy just like you said."
" Shit, boy, you should've gave this to me. I wouldn't have had to take a beating. What's the big deal? It ain't worth anything. Why they want it so bad?"
" I don't know. First, I get this letter telling me that I need to go to Charleston. And then I meet a rich lady who wants me to give her a key that I didn't even know was in my family."
Kie said" None of it makes any sense."
Mr. Pope said" Well, don't ya'll just sit here whining about it. Figure it out!"
Pope said" No. I'm just gonna give the key to that lady. It's not worth-"
" No, no, no. Did I raise you to back down from a fight, boy?"
" No, sir."
" Well, alright. Now, I... I didn't think about it before. I admit that. But now... Now? I'm interested. Well, did they say why they wanted it?"
" Something about an old cross. I think it might be some kind of lost treasure."
" You know who you should talk to? Your great-grandmother, Mee-maw."
———
Pope said" Guys, the thing that Limbrey said, I don't think she meant to let it slip. She said the key leads to the Cross of Santo Domingo."
JJ said" Wait. Can I see that?"
Sarah said" Are we supposed to know what that is?"
Pope said" I'm guessing it's some sort of historical artifact of great importance."
Kie said" Well, according to the interwebs, it was a gift from New Spain to the Spanish King."
JJ said" New Spain? Is there an Old Spain?"
" Shit, talk about over-gifting. Look at that thing. Looks like a person standing next to it."
" So, it's a giant ass cross."
" It was widely considered at the time to be the most extravagant tribute ever from the provinces. It was lost off the coast of Bermuda in 1829."
" Did you just say Bermuda?"
John B said" Oh, no. Not the triangle."
" It always leads back to the triangle, dude. Like every single time something's weird, it's Bermuda."
Kie said" Okay, what does a key found above your mee-maw's pharmacy have to do with any of this? Where do we come in?"
Pope said" I don't know. That's a good question."