𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 39.

"𝐖𝐄'𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐀 𝐆𝐎, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 we'll melt down the bricks so they're not traceable." John B was saying.

My hand locked with his, we stepped away from the van and headed around the back of the Tannyhill mansion, stepping over bushes and stray branches. There were people still working in the backyard as we approached. Last time I had gone over to Sarah's house, which was a few days before, I told her about the Crain house and the underground well. Together we had talked about the possible gold, and she told me that she would be willing to help in any way possible, even if it meant sitting out, and so we were on our way to collect something for the next step of the project.

Even though a day had passed, I still couldn't wrap my mind around two things— the fact that we had actually found the Merchant gold, and that John B and I were official. It blew my mind that in a few days, we were going to have all the gold to ourselves.

"Okay," I nodded with enthusiasm.

He pulled me past a tall bush, his fingers interlocked with mine, "And then this afternoon we're gonna take it to the pawnshop,"

"Mhm," I hummed.

"After that, we'll pay for Jj's restitution!" He smiled over at me.

I squeezed his hand, "This is crazy," I smiled widely, "You think it'll work?"

"If we play our cards right," he stopped in front of me as we made it off the path, "That four-hundred million is ours."

"So, tell me again," I laughed, holding both of his hands, "How many bars?"

"Five hundred, maybe six," His eyes crinkled from smiling too hard, as he trailed his thumbs on the tops of my hands. He was speaking with a slightly hush tone.

"Holy shit," I breathed out, still in disbelief.

"I don't know, could be a thousand," he exclaimed, "it was all muddy, but it was everywhere, covering the walls, stacks of it," he huffed, and the smile wouldn't drop from our faces, "Four hundred million dollars!"

"That's crazy," I chuckled, my hands rubbing over my head. "Absolutely crazy."

"We fuckin' did it, and now we just have to get it all out of there," he grinned with excitement.

I shook his hands, "And Pope has a plan for that?" I questioned, for clarification.

"Yep." He turned around and let go of one of my hands, guiding me with him towards the back porch of Sarah's home, "It's gonna work perfectly."

I couldn't help but to let out a laugh of excitement, as I gripped my hand around his forearm, and smiled up at him. just as we neared the porch, the back door opened, and out skipped Sarah.

"Hey guys," she grinned widely, the glass door closing shut behind her. "I didn't expect both of you to come,"

"Hi, Sarah," I smiled casually, as she approached us, holding a blow torch. I wondered when I would get to tell her about John B and I.

"Hey," John B nodded.

"Is this what you needed?" she held out the blow torch towards us, John B taking it in his hands delicately.

"Yes, oh my god," An even larger smile plastered over my face, "Thank you so much."

"Yeah, no problem," she was still grinning, and shoved both hands into the back pockets of her jean skirt. "So, what's new with the project, you guys find anything yet?" She asked with a kind tone of voice.

There was a long pause.

I looked up to John B, gripping tighter around his forearm. "We found it." I said, with a lower volume, biting down onto my bottom lip.

"Wha—" Sarah cut herself off when her jaw fell open, "You found it? You seriously found it!"

"It's all at the Crain house," John B told with a careful volume.

"Oh my— oh my god!" Sarah exclaimed, and then stepped forward towards me and John B, "That's crazy, you guys did it!"

I laughed when she pulled both of us into a tight hug, filled with excitement. John B held the blow torch away from her. When we hugged, I got small flashbacks of our day at Chapel Hill.

"Thanks, Sarah," John B said with a serious tone when she pulled away, her hand covering over her mouth, "For getting us to Chapel Hill and for the plat map," he said. "And even though your dad fired me and I blamed it on you."

I nudged his arm with a laugh.

"Of course," she shrugged, laughing too, cutting me an enthusiastic glance.

"Dude, we really couldn't have done it without you," I smiled foolishly at her, laughing lightly at the cheesiness.

She jokingly flipped her hair over her shoulder, "I'm glad I could help. This is— like, totally insane."

"Right?" I chuckled, "You thought we were crazy—"

"Oh, hi guys," A familiar voice suddenly cut me off, coming from behind Sarah.

I looked over her shoulder to see Ward stepping out of the house, a smile on his face. Instantly, my body tensed when I remembered the last time I'd seen him, when he had walked out of the office after hearing my last name. I hadn't spoke or see him since then.

No one said anything as he slowly closed the door behind him, and began to approach us.

"Hey, Ward," I said, sort of uncomfortably, "You feeling okay, today?" I figured I needed to ask, since he didn't really say much since the last time I hung out with Sarah.

"Yeah, yeah," he waved a hand through the air and stopped beside his daughter, "I just forgot about something, had to go take care of it," he explained, sounding casual as he referred to last time, "Sorry for the sudden disappearance."

"It's okay," I smiled, but it was fake. Even though he didn't let it show, I could tell that there was something off about him again.

"Hey man, how you doing," Ward struck a hand out to John B.

He took it uncomfortably, "Good, Mr. C, you?" He said, and I knew by the tone of John B's voice, he didn't want to be having this conversation.

"Good, good," Ward smiled and placed both hands on his hips, glancing down at Sarah, "So what are you kids up to? When did the three of you become friends, huh?" He chuckled, in a casual way.

"Not long ago," Sarah answered calmly.

"You planning somethin'?" He grinned. "What you need that blow torch for?"

I looked down at my feet.

"Charlie's got some jewelry that she's—um," John B came up with a quick excuse, his arm nudging mine.

"That I'm melting," I continued, smiling firmly. "Gonna take it to the pawn shop, you know, to see if it's worth anything."

"Ah, I got it," Ward nodded with a smile. there was a long pause. "So I was thinking." He cleared his throat, and shifted his weight between both feet, "Maybe you'd like to come fishing with me, son," he looked to John B, "We'll go in a few days, first light."

Everyone was quiet, taken aback by the sudden offer. Sarah looked up at her dad.

"Maybe you want to come too, Charlotte," Ward was still smiling, but it wasn't right, "You ever been fishing?"

"Um, no, I can't," I quickly said. "I've got to help my grandparents this week," I lied.

"What do you say, John," Ward looked to John B beside me, "Just you and me, bud."

"I— uh..." John B stammered, "I don't know, sir, I'm pretty busy,"

"Ah, come on," Ward lightly patted John B's shoulder, "It'll be fun, and that boat needs a first mate," he pointed a finger towards their yacht.

"Dad," Sarah looked up at him.

"What, sweetie," Ward chuckled, "Haven't been on a fishing trip in a long time, been looking for someone to come with me. What do you think, John?"

I looked up to John B, who stared at Ward blankly. He barely nodded, after swallowing uncomfortably.

"All right," Ward grinned with excitement, and patted John B's shoulder again.

"We better get going," I smiled softly, forcing it onto my lips as I grabbed John B's hand again, "See you tomorrow, Sarah,"

"Yeah, see you," she smiled back, before turning away with her dad.

John B and I didn't say anything as we walked back to the van, only exchanged glances. We were thinking the same thing. It was only when we hopped into our seats, that he mentioned it.

"That was fucking weird," he said lowly, looking forward at the house.

"Tell me about it." I sighed.

He started the engine, causing it to roar loudly, "Why would he want to go fishing with me?" The van pulled out of the driveway.

"Maybe he wants to offer you a job," I shrugged, but still had a grimace on my face, "Give you your spot back, or something."

"Maybe." John B said with an unsure tone.

I looked out my window, as the mansion disappeared behind the trees, "Weird."

___

"Hell of a job melting it down, Dr. Frankenstein," Jj sighed.

I pushed open the passenger door as the van stopped in front of the Pawn shop, on the Cut. John B's hand tore away from mine when he stepped out of his side, from previously being attached while driving, while the engine's roaring ceased, and the rest of the Pogues jumped out of the backseats. The Pawn shop was old, run down, and didn't look inviting.

John B and I had picked up the Pogues at the Chateau. Both of us had tried to act like nothing was off, although we were both still taken aback by Ward's odd behaviour, we had agreed to forget about it for the time being. Kiara had melted down the three bars of gold. The wheat symbol was no longer engraved on the front, and the clean, sleek bars of real shiny gold were now smudged into a nugget shape, with uneven edges and ridges everywhere.

"Oh, like you could've done any better," Kiara rolled her eyes, while she hopped out of the van.

"I could've done much better," Jj defended himself, as he looked down at the gold nugget resting in his hands, slightly covered with a blue rag.

"Definitely," she rolled her eyes again, as I shut my passenger door, leaning my back on the side of it.

"In fact, I took a welding class." Jj claimed, speaking confidently.

Kiara's face grimaced in a sarcastic manner, her lips pursing, "Yeah? When— when,"

"Last summer—"

"Hey, whoah, whoah, shh." John B cut him off, tearing the two apart from their childish bickering, "Chill out, okay?"

"It's easy for you to say. You're not the one that has to pawn this piece of shit off." He looked to everyone, holding the slab of melted gold up beside his head. "How'd I even get this job anyway," he sighed, before turning away.

"Because you're the best liar," Pope answered casually, as we all began to follow Jj.

"Why can't you do it, Pope," Jj said, "Or what about Charlie."

"I'm afraid of social interaction." I responded with a monotone voice, confused as to why he would even suggest me.

John B patted my back with a small laugh, as he held the door open for me. The bell overhead rang loudly, notifying anyone in there that we'd arrived. Inside the shop, it smelled old— if old could be identified as scent. There were shelves all around, cluttered with worn-out objects, and cabinets with rickety doors. The floor boards were creaky as we stepped on them.

"Good afternoon ma'am," Jj presented himself, speaking loudly towards a woman at the counter.

"Afternoon," The pawnbroker answered slowly, sounding a bit confused as to why five teenagers were walking into her shop.

"I see you buy gold," he stepped towards the counter.

"That's what the sign say, don't it?" She responded with a tired tone, slightly annoyed.

"Well I sure hope you buy a lot of it," Jj paused, placing his bag on the glass counter, "because I'm about to blow your mind."

I tried not to roll my eyes when the words fell from his mouth, my gaze falling elsewhere on a stack of silver plates near the entrance. John B stayed beside me, while Kiara travelled around the corner casually, and Pope pretended to be interested in a cabinet full of old figurines.

We heard the woman chuckle when Jj placed the gold nugget onto the glass counter in front front of her. "That ain't real," she laughed.

"That ain't real?" Jj repeated with a mocking tone. "Feel how heavy it is," he said after glancing to John B and I.

The lady struggled for a moment, trying to pick up the slab of gold. "Spray-painted tungsten," she claimed, after observing it under a light.

"Spray-painted tungsten? Really? Okay," Jj seemed a tad bit fed up, but still kept his composure. "Why don't you see how, uh, how soft it is, then."

I impatiently bobbed my leg up and down, while John B and I casually examined a rack of metal rods, watching Jj and the pawnbroker out of our peripheral visions. The lady tested a hammer on the golden piece. She then did an acid test.

"Well," she sighed out, "it ain't plated, and it ain't painted." She was looking down at the gold with hard and confused eyes.

"Ma'am I'm telling ya, this is as real as the day is long." Jj claimed, confident.

"It looked like somebody tried to melt it down," She looked up at him, still not believing.

Jj went on and explained it was made out of his mothers old jewelry, and she had wanted to melt it down to "consolidate it". John B and I tried to hold in laughs at the stupid excuse. The pawnbroker weighed the gold nugget. When she denied the explanation and claimed seven pounds was a lot for jewelry, Jj went on and claimed his mom had Alzheimer's. I nearly scoffed.

The lady then walked off into another part of the shop, excusing herself for a minute.

"Seriously, J," I whispered when she was out of sight, my arms crossing as I slowly stepped towards the counter, "Alzheimer's? Seven pounds of jewelry?"

"What else was I supposed to say, Charlie." Jj scolded me with wide eyes.

"Coins, or something," I whispered-shouted, "Old gold coins."

"I think it worked," Jj defended himself, referring to persuading the woman.

"No, it did not." Pope butted in, speaking monotone.

Before Jj could bicker against him, the lady waltzed back into the shop and took her place behind the counter again, saying that she talked to her boss about our gold. Jj scoffed loudly when he read the paper she placed down, claiming fifty thousand wasn't enough.

"Well, sweetie, you in a pawnshop," The pawnbroker chuckled when he mentioned one-hundred and fourth-thousand for the gold, "This ain't Zurich. Do I look Swiss to you?"

Then Jj and the woman bickered between prices, until they eventually landed on seventy-thousand. Everyone exchanged glances when he asked for the money in large denominations. If felt as though we were all holding our breath when she mentioned a catch, and finally told him that we needed to get the money from a warehouse. It seemed to be the only way.

And so, quicker than ever, Jj got the address and we were soon hopping back into the van.

"So, they keep money out here?" Pope commented with a curious tone, as we drove past old abandoned farm houses and shacks. We were driving down one of the longest roads I'd ever seen.

"That's what she said," Jj answered him uncertainly.

I turned my head around in my seat, chuckles falling past my lips, "Ha, that's what she said," I looked to Jj humorously.

He let out a loud laugh, and we chuckled about it, until Pope told us to stop. We stifled our laughs after that.

"There's nothing but weeds back here," Kiara said, as she stared out the windows, sitting in the very back.

"Alright, Just cause its weeds, doesn't mean its, like—" Jj started, but got cut off by a sudden siren.

"What the fuck," I whipped my head around, "Is that the cops?"

"Cops, out here?" Kiara questioned. We were all looking out the back window.

"We didn't even do anything," I looked to John B, feeling my heart rate pick up slightly.

"Stash that," Pope quickly ordered to Jj, looking at the gold slab in his hands.

"How much weed do you have on you, bro?" Kiara warned.

John B turned around in his seat, "Oh my god, did you bring the gun?"

"No, I didn't bring the gun!" He replied quick, chaotically.

"Thank god."I rubbed my hands over my head.

Pope rushed Jj in trying to shoved the backpack underneath the backseat, and I noticed a figure walking up to the side of our van.

"John B, there's a guy walking up," I said, with a nervous tone.

Then, as the man appeared at John B's window, we heard a gun cock. My heart dropped.

But before I could say anything else, the gun appeared through the open window, pointed right at John B's head, and there stood a man wearing a grey jumpsuit, and a skeleton mask covering half of his face.

✰༄✰

𝐢𝐦 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 😎

-- 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐚 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥

𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 !

this could have been written better,

but oh well

it izzzz what it izzzz

— also, for the people who haven't

seen my message board, recently i've

been having trouble with the rest of my plot.

since my story is slightly different

from the show, it's hard for me to

figure out ways of events. IVE ALSO

NEVER GOTTEN THIS FAR IN

WRITING A WHOLE BOOK BEFORE.

so, i'm not asking for extra time,

because i'll update whenever tf i want (🥺)

but i'm just letting you know that i'm

putting a lot of time and effort into

this story, and i really hope you'll

love the outcome of the plot when

I fully figure it out.

𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 !!