⤜---⤛ 𝔽𝕀𝕊𝕊𝕌ℝ𝔼 ⤜---⤛ ▬▬ 𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕓𝕒𝕟𝕜𝕤 ∗ 𝕛𝕛 ▬▬

⤛ 𝕜𝕖𝕘𝕘𝕖𝕣? 𝕜𝕖𝕘𝕘𝕖𝕣. ⤜

Talia's mind was still reeling from their recent discovery and it was dark by the time the five of them rode back to The Chateau, this time with Pope at the wheel.

"So let me get this straight," JJ began, "Daniel Dervell—"

"Darvall," Pope interjected, matter-of-factly.

JJ shot him a glare before continuing, "Yes. Thank you, Pope. Daniel 'Darvall' finds a bunch of gold but only loads half of it up on the Royal Merchant. The other half, he hides somewhere, sending a letter to his daughter, who is no longer a Darvall but a... Kahale?"

Talia nodded in confirmation as JJ went on, "And we think the daughter of Darvall, who is now Kahale, is an ancient relative of the new guy, Noa?"

Pope sighed, "You're making it sound more complicated than it is."

"Hey, I'm just tryna get the facts straight," JJ chewed the inside of his cheek. "I mean, how do we know for sure that they're related?"

Kiara raised an eyebrow. "So, it's just a coincidence that the letter was in his house, right next to a framed portrait of Darvall's daughter?"

"It can't be," John B murmured.

Talia suddenly felt nervous. "Either way, it doesn't change the fact that we still have no idea where the gold actually is..."

JJ nodded. "Tali's right. Too many questions, not enough answers." He leaned an arm against the van window. "I vote we kidnap and interrogate him."

The suggestion was met with an incredulous look from the group. "Who, Noa?"

"Yeah, man. I mean, come on. The guy's gotta know stuff that we don't." He tapped his head with his finger. "Valuable information."

Kiara rolled her eyes. "We are not kidnapping anyone, JJ."

"Actually, he's got a point," John B spoke up, causing even JJ to turn and stare at him.

"I do?" JJ asked, sounding surprised.

"He has to know more about the gold, where it could be hidden, or at least have some sort of lead on it. I don't believe for a second that this is all one big coincidence," John B continued. "We don't have much to go on right now, and I honestly think talking to him about it isn't the worst idea in the world."

JJ shook his head slowly as he muttered under his breath, "Not what I was suggesting, but sure."

"How do we know we can trust him?" Kiara frowned, raising a valid point.

John B's gaze rested on Talia, whose eyes widened as she realised what he was insinuating. "Oh, absolutely not," she said firmly.

John B grinned and nodded. "Absolutely yes."

Talia crossed her arms, recalling the last time John B had suggested something like this. It had led to a mountain of trouble that she had to deal with. With that hindsight in mind, there was no way she was going along with it this time. "No," she said firmly.

John B laughed at her pained expression. "I'm kidding, Tal. Well," he paused, "kinda. Look, we only have one day left before Noa gains access to that camera footage, and if he does, we're all screwed. We could just sit around and let that happen, or...," he shrugged. "We could invite him over and see what he knows."

JJ's eyes lit up, and he sat up straight in his seat. "...Kegger?" he asked, leaning in, and eagerly awaiting John B's next words.

"Kegger," John B confirmed with a grin.

JJ let out a whoop, "Let's go, baby!" He jumped excitedly from his seat. "Now, that's my kind of interrogation."

Kiara butted in, shooting him a stern look. "No way - you're on booze lockdown. Two, three drinks max."