Down

Chapter 23

I ran up to John B's, I saw B John,
He said" Hi, Skye. Remember me?" I ran to him, hugging him,
I said" B John! John B!" I ran to John B, he crouched down and hugged me as I wrapped my arms around his neck." Look, John B, it's B John."
He said" Yeah, I know, crazy, huh?" I laughed, he kissed my head," Missed you, Munch!"
" Missed you too!"

JJ jumped onto B John, I laughed as he spun around, I jumped around them, Pope laughed and lifted me up.
He said" Get 'em, Munch." B John stopped spinning, and I climbed onto his shoulder,
B John said" Skye! JJ!"
JJ said" Get him, Skye!" He laughed, I kissed his cheek,
" Oh, she got me!"
Pope said" Skye wins, like always." He grabbed me and put me down," Good job, Munchie."

John B said" Yeah, yeah, so we, um... we went to the archives in Charleston, and, uh... it was... it was a dead end. A dry hole. So..."
Pope said" So that's the gold, the cross, and now El Dorado. We're three for three, guys." He threw a stick," The streak continues. That's great."
Kie said" See you, John B."
JJ said" I'm going fishing. Thanks for the beer." He lifted me up and we walked away from John B,
I said" JJ, where we goin'?" I wrapped my arms around his neck,
" I don't know."

JJ said" I'm back now, so I'll make it up. I'll do anything. I'll scrub boats, clean fish, pump fuel, anything. I'm your guy, except for the bathrooms, 'cause, see, I got a condition, like a gag reflex comes up. Anything else, I'm your dude."
Billy said" I dunno, J."
" You do know, Billy. Come on. It's me, man. It's me." He grabbed my hand as we followed Billy out," You know I got this. Alright? I'm your best bet."
" You see all those boats out there? Those are Kook boats. The kooks pay my bills. You and your friends aren't exactly trusted by that crowd."
" Yeah, but they're the ones saying that. You know it's bullshit, Billy."
" Perception is reality, brother."
" Oh my god."
" And rumor has it, along with everything else, you stole that catamaran out there."
" I didn't s- I was with Sarah Cameron when I was on that boat. That's their family's boat!"
" Not according to the registration. It's Rafe's boat, and he says you stole it. He's keeping it here because he doesn't want you around it."
" Okay, Billy, come on. There's got to be something."
" I'm sorry, kid. Guffy put the nix on it. Okay? I can find cheap help that doesn't piss my clients off. I gotta go." He walked away, I looked up at JJ, I'm getting scared, I don't get what's happening anymore.

We were walking down the dock, JJ stopped, then we moved out of the sight of someone.
I said" JJ?" He shh'd me,
He whispered" Stay right here, okay? I'll be right back."
" Where you going?"
" To find stuff out." He pulled off his shoes and jumped into the water, swimming away, I sat down and waited for him.

He came back, he pulled himself up and started pulling his shoes on,
He said" We gotta go find Pope. Come on." He tied his shoes and lifted me up, starting to run, I wrapped my arms around his neck.

JJ said" Pope! Pope!" We ran up to Pope and Cleo," Yo! Bombshell. What's going on? What happened? Detecting a real heavy vibe. What's going on?"
Cleo said" Pope's quitting school."
" Being a coroner's kind of weird anyway."
Pope said" Shut up, wrench dick."
" Right, great. So it's definitely not the time for this. Okay, shit."
Cleo said" What?"
" So I was down at Guffy's, all right. I was trying to get my job back. And I see the catty across the way, and on it... is Rafe and Barry. I sneak over to hear what they're talking about. Pope, he has the cross. And he melted it down. I'm sorry, bro. Alright. I know. I know." JJ put me down and sat on a cooler, I walked to the table and climbed onto it.
Pope screamed" Fuck!" He said," Of course, it was Rafe."
" Yeah, I mean, we probably could've guessed that."
" The cross of Santo Domingo, desecrated! For money? God!"
" I know, so... I think we need to stay calm to make a plan, but we got to stay-" Pope smashed the broom," Getting better at that."
" This is messed up, man. Even for them."
" I know. Couldn't agree more, man."
" They're just gonna keep getting away with it. They're gonna keep doing that shit. Gonna keep winning."
" I mean, Pope, is that news to you?"
" No. But I'm sick of being the good guy." Pope walked away,
Cleo said" Pope. Pope, where are you going?"

Mrs. Pope said" Well, I appreciate the help, you two."
JJ said" You know, I ain't missing Mrs. Heyward's cooking."
" Unlike my derelict son. He's usually here by now." JJ tried to go for a bite but got slapped,
Cleo said" I'm sure he'll be back any second, Mrs. Heyward."
Mr. Pope said" Either one of ya'll moved the pistol from in there? The one I keep under the register? JJ?" I looked at JJ,
JJ said" Whoa, okay. I didnt touch it, okay?"
" Yeah, well, somebody did. 'Cause it's gone."
" Wasnt me."
" You see? I- Dang it. I gotta find it."
Mrs. Pope said" Alright, I'm sure it's somewhere. Heyward, I'm sure it's somewhere." They walked into the shop,
Cleo said" It's him."
JJ said" Yeah, he's going after Rafe. I'll check Tannyhill."
" I'll take the marina." JJ lifted me and he started running, I held onto his shirt, laying my head on his shoulder.

I was laying on top of JJ, we were home, it was getting late, I heard a car pull up, JJ stood up, holding me on his hip. We saw John B, JJ put me down as we walked into the yard.
He said" Well, look who it is. Nice of you to show up. You gonna spill the beans? You gonna tell me the truth about what's going on?"
John B said" Look, I know I've been a little shady. And... Stretched the truth a little bit."
" Yeah, that's called lying."
" Yeah, I know."
" John B, what's going on?"
" My dad killed two guys. He was trying to protect me."
" No, no, no. Hold on, okay? You serious?"
" Yes. It was the guys from the Coastal Venture. They came here looking for Denmark's diary."
" And your dad capped them for that."
" Yes, and then Singh showed up. They took my dad, and then they tried to kill me. They took him to South America, alright."
" Whoa, South America?"
" Yes, they're on their way to South America."
" Okay, hold on."
" And then what? Off him? I don't know what to do."
" John B, stop! Just breathe for a second. I need to think." He sat down, then patted the spot next to him, I ran to John B and grabbed his hand, bringing him back to JJ. He sat down,
" I don't know what to do, JJ. How the hell do we get to South America?"
" No clue. But..." He pulled him in," We're gonna figure it out."
" Yeah."
" We're pogues, man. We always do."

What's everyone thinking?

And lowkey, I've been thinking about doing small BTS in real-life chapters since this season is relatively shorter for Skye Maybank. What do you guys think?