𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃─𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

twenty four.

─☼☼☼─

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙂𝙍𝙊𝙐𝙋 𝙊𝙁 them hadn't wasted any time in going after the gold. 

Five minutes after Pope's announcement, they were flying down the road to the airstrip, each of them bubbling with nerves and excitement. 

Charlotte had managed to find someone to cover the restaurant for her while she was gone, using the excuse that she had a "big emergency to deal with." Technically, she wasn't lying. This was a pretty big emergency. 

"We go in there, guns a-blazin' and make Ward Cameron beg for mercy, abscond with as much gold as possible and vámonos, get the hell out of there." JJ had a box of ammunition sprawled out in front of him as he loaded his gun. 

"Send that shit right down the intercostal." John B added. 

Kiara picked up the next part of the plan. "Wait for the weather."

Pope finished it off. "Send it to Cuba."

"Cuba?" JJ challenged. "Nah, man. Send that shit straight to Xcalack, jewel of the Yucatan. Lobsters so thick, mangoes, and no word for money."

Charlotte was too preoccupied with the gun to even pay much notice to what they were saying. "Do you bring that thing with you wherever you go?" she wondered, uneasy with its presence. 

JJ grinned with a shrug. "You never know when you're gonna need the heat."

While the rest of the kids seemed eager to put Ward Cameron in his place, Charlotte couldn't help but worry. What if Sarah was there? What if Rafe was there? 

Ward Cameron was a horrible person, she knew that now, but it didn't extinguish the fact that he used to be like a second father to her. He had always been so good to Charlotte, and that made all of this ten times harder. 

"Char, what's wrong?" Kie wondered, catching onto her sister's off vibe. "You're not getting cold feet are you?"

Charlotte glanced up at her, giving a small shake of her head. "No." She promised. "But─but I just want to make it clear that we're not hurting anyone today."

"No promises, Charls." JJ chuckled, examining his gun. "Gotta do what you gotta do."

"Four hundred mil is going to mean absolutely nothing if we're all in jail." She shot back, shooting him a disapproving look. 

"Charley's right." John B agreed from the driver's seat. "I hate Ward Cameron with every fibre of my being, but we're doing this violence free, got it?"

JJ let out a disappointed sigh as he slipped the gun into his waistband. "Got it." He mumbled like a toddle who was just scolded. 

"Good." John B grinned, leaning forward slightly in anticipation. "Let's do this shit."

As they pulled up to the airstrip, Charlotte felt her heart jump in her chest. This was it. 

All of them piled out of the Twinkie, hurrying toward the fence that separated the forest from the airstrip. 

Charlotte went to follow, but someone caught her arm. Turning, she looked up at John B who was looking at her with a guilty expression. "Charley, before we go, I just want to say I'm sorry for before. You didn't deserve to be ripped apart like that...not at all."