Now or Never ⇀ John B Routledge [1]

xxxix. battle scars

A flock of crows took to the sky, squawking in terror as JJ Maybank unlocked his fathers rusted storage hangar.

The dark birds piqued Ashtyn's curiosity, making it impossible for the sixteen year old to tear her eyes away. She wondered if it had been the metal door that scared them off, but her instincts told her otherwise.

They weren't alone out there.

"There she be." JJ's voice snapped the mainlander back to reality. "Hey girl. A 1983 Formula 402 SR1. The Phantom. The first boat to make the run to Bermuda in under sixteen hours."

His long fingers pressed against the boats cool exterior, tracing scuff marks from years of wear and tear. "Forty years old! Forty! And still the fastest thing Kildare's ever seen"

Em pursed her lips, not understanding where her boyfriend's excitement stemmed from. Sure, she could see the boat being at the top of its class in 1983, but the HMS seemed like a safer alternative. "It's kind of a junker."

"She looks like she'd sink under the first wave Jay..." Ashtyn added, shooting the blonde a skeptical glance. She trusted JJ more than most, but there had to be another way. "What if we-"

With a look of irritation, he cut the girls off. "Really? She's right there! She can hear you. Let's put it this way, we would not be smokin' weed right now if she never existed, okay?"

"I just hope she still runs." Kiara gave the old boat a once over, stepping toward the bow in search of possible issues. The last thing she wanted to do that afternoon was drop a boat with a hole in it.

Annoyance radiated off JJ, causing the blonde to roll his eyes. He'd grown up with his father drilling maritime history into his skull, and no stories came close to those of The Phantom. "Oh no, she'll run alright. She's faster than any cutters the boys in blue got."

"O-kay..." Ashtyn had her doubts; they stemmed from the logical side of her brain. The digital age gave civilians so much new technology, so who's to say law enforcement didn't get upgrades as well?

A lot could change in forty years.

Rather than voice any more worry, the three girls shifted their focus to cleaning the boat, hoping to avoid JJ's long winded rants. He'd defend the old vessel until his dying breath, so there was no use arguing with him.

Pope couldn't have been too far behind his friends, having taken JJ's dirt bike to Heywards for gas and other last minute supplies. That's why Kiara's ears perked at the sound of a motorcycle approaching. She feared he would bail on them after their fight at The Wreck. "Pope, finally."

"Kie..." Ashtyn gulped, taking a precautionary step back from the open door. She could distinctly hear two voices headed their way, a sign that their guests were in fact not Pope Heyward. "I don't think-"

"Hey there." Rafe's voice echoed through the room. "What's going on? JJ?" His cerulean eyes landed on the blonde Pogue, stopping him in his tracks. "How you guys doin?"