duchess → outer banks

EPISODE XXXIV

[one last chance]

Duchess and JJ were woken in the morning by a delibrate pounding on the front door of Duchess' grandmother's house.

"Jesus Christ!" Duchess yelled," Who the fuck is it?"

There was no answer, and the banging continued. With a groan, Duchess peeled herself out of JJ's arms to go check the door.

To her surprise, it was John B, looking disheveled and dirty. "J!" Duchess called into house for her boyfriend," Wanna come out here?"

In a second JJ was approaching her. "Lydia, what happened? Who was at the-." His sentence was cut short by the sight of John B on Duchess' door step.

And in one simple sentence, John B crushed all of their dreams. "Ward took the gold."

❁

"You sure he got everything," Kie asked. John B had assembled all of the Pogues, minus Pope, who was absent due to his interview, to his place to discuss what to do next.

"Every bar," John B replied," The whole enchilada." Laying on the floor on the dock, the leader of the Pogues looked more defeated than Duchess had ever seen him. "Look it's not like I expected a happy ending or some shit."

"I did," Duchess said. "We were supposed to go full Kook. All five of us." She felt as if she was going to cry. They went through everything together only to have it taken away by the same guy who killed John B's dad.

Sensing her distress, JJ took a break from smoking a joint to wrap her in a big hug, the one Duchess always found comfort in. "Hey, we're gonna be okay Lydia."

Solemn silence has fallen among the Pogues. For the first time that summer, they were hopeless.

"Guys!" Duchess unburied her head from JJ's chest to see Pope, in a suit, running towarsds them at full speed. As soon as he got close, he put his hands on his knees and was speaking through heavy pants. "Oh! Oh! Oh, God. I ran all the way here."

"You alright," asked John B.

"How was the interview Pope," JJ questioned.

"Don't ask," Pope panted out. "JB. Look, I'm sorry, dude. About everything."

"It's fine," John B replied in a tone that indicated that it was actually the opposite of fine.

"But, I don't have a lot of time, and I have information that is tactically relevant." The Pogues all gave their friend questioning stares before he began to explain. "So," Pope started," Before I had my interview, my dad said he was going down to the private airstrip to cut palms for Cameron's big plane. Because it was too heavy, it needed a longer landing strip to take off. So, I'm there sitting in my interview, thinking to myself, 'Hm, why would Cameron need a longer airstrip to take off?' What could be so heavy as to weigh it down?"

John B sat up at those words. He and all the Pogues knew where Pope's theory was headed.

"Holy shit," Duchess said with a laugh.

"Gold," said JJ

Pope waved his hands around like a lunatic before pointing at JJ. "Exactly! Guys, this is our chance, but it leaves tonight, and we have to go."

"Guys, we can't give up now," Kie said, excitment laced in every word.

"The mother fucking G-Game baby!" Duchess exclaimed.

JJ turned to John B. "What't the plan big man?"

"We're gonna steal that shit back."

The five friends looked around at each other, smiled etched on their faces. This was it. This was their moment to take back what was theirs. Yes, it was crazy. Yes, it was dangerous. Yes, it was illegal. But they wanted nothing more than to do this together.

❁

Piled into John B's van, racing to the airstrip, Pope and Duchess watched JJ load the infamous pistol. "We go in there, gun's blazin'," said JJ," Make Ward Cameron beg for mercy, abscond with as much gold as possible, an vámonos, get the hell out of there.

"Send that shit right down the Intercoastal," John B said.

"Wait for the weather," Kie added.

"Exit to Cuba," Pope said.

"Wait, Cuba?" Duchess asked.

"Nah, babe. Xcalak, Jewel of the Yucatan," JJ replied. "Lobsters so thick, mangoes, and no word for money."

"Answer me this, JJ, can you point to this place on a map if you tried?" Duchess asked.

"No, but isn't that the point?"

"Perfect. Let's do this shit."

❁

They pulled up to the airstrip, only a chain link fence seperated the Pogues from their treasure.

"What's the plan," asked Kie," Broad strokes?

"I don't think we got that far," John B said.

The five of them pressed their faces up to the fence, trying to get a better look at what was going on. Luckily Pope had his binoculars and was able to se everything. "Theyre loading up the gold."

John B took the binoculars from Pope to get a better look for himself. A car pulled up, but there was no way for any of them besides John B to tell who it was. "It's Ward." A moment later, someone else got out of the car, causing John B to lower the binoculars.

"What's up, JB," Duchess questioned.

"It's Sarah."

"She's with him?" Pope asked.

John B put the binoculars back to his eyes to get a closer look into the situation. "Wait a minute. He's hurting her."

"What?"

"They're fighting." John B turned to run. "Holy shit." Before the Pogues realized what he was doing, he was in the passenger seat on the van, putting the car in drive.

"John B!" Duchess called," Think about this!"

"Don't be a hero dude!" JJ yelled to him.

It hadn't mattered. John B drove straight through the fence and headed towards the plane. The Pogues ran after the van before it was too far away, yelling a series of questions, shocked by what their friend had just done.

Standing in the grass, the Pogues watched as John B's van drove parallel to the Cameron's plane, preparing for take off. It got worse when John B decided to pull in front of the plane and park in front of it, blocking it from taking off.

"He fucking lost it," JJ said, lacing his fingers through Duchess' and keeping a tight grip on his gun with the other hand. "He's gonna fucking die."

By some miracle, the plane stopped inches in front of John B's care. But that was the only stroke of luck the Pogues would be allowed. Police sirens wailed in the distance, getting louder and louder

"Guys I can't get arrested," Pope said.

"I'm on probation," JJ answered.

"I just don't want people saying 'like father, like daughter'," Duchess added.

"Look," Kie said, taking the gun from JJ," We're no good if we're all in jail."

The Pogues made a break for it, leaving their leader on the airstrip.

❁
[not edited]