✯ North Star ✯

Part 6

"I mean it's obvious right? A family heirloom.
What better place to hide a message? He had to know it was gonna get back to me right?" John B says
"Yeah. It's possible" I tell him
"It could also be possible that you're concocting wild theories to help you know deal with your sad feels" Pope says
"Pope? Bro you know how I process my sad feels. Dank nugs and the stickiest of ickies that's how I do it" JJ says
"I'm not concocting okay? My dad's trying to give me a message" John B tells us
"If it helps you believe John B..." I start to say
"Look I don't need a therapy session okay? Look I'm not trippin' out" John B says
"It's okay to trip bro but..." JJ starts to say
"Look my... my dad is missing okay? Missing.
You don't know what it's like to have the person closest to you vanish and then have no idea what happened. Just wake up every morning wondering" John B tells is
"It's been almost a year" I tell jim
"Hey he could have been kidnapped. That's definitely a possibility" JJ suggests
"Yeah could be in a Soviet sub getting interrogated by the KGB somewhere" Pope adds
"Absolutely. Uh... or Atlantis" JJ shrugs
"JJ. Look what do you think the message is?"
Kie asks
"Redfield. Redfield Lighthouse. That's my dad's favorite place." John b says

We all get out of the van in front of the lighthouse
"Right. You're gonna post up and look out for bogeys okay?" John b tells JJ
"Wait... Why me?" JJ asks
"Because you're not coming" Pope tells him
"Why?" JJ asks
"There are independent and dependent variables. You're independent. We don't know what you'll do." Pope says
"Shut up!" JJ tells him
"Listen to me for a second. Pope and Kie you stand look out with JJ. Okay? If we get split up we meet back at JJ's house." John b says
"Great" I say

John b and I make it to the stair case as I say
"Remind me what we're looking for again." I ask
"We'll know it when we see it" John B tells me
"Okay" I nod
John B knocks on the door but no one answers. "Nobody home." A man says opening the door looking at us
"Um... we're here for the lighthouse." John b says
"The lighthouse is closed" the man tells us
"Actually we... we aren't here about the lighthouse. We're here about the, uh... the Royal Merchant." John b tells him
"Then you came to the right place. I know more... Watch your step here...about the Royal Merchant than anyone else in Kildare County." The man tells us
"C'mon. Now, the Merchant disappeared in the graveyard of the Atlantic in 1829." He starts explaining
"With four hundred million" John B says
"Correct. You're a bit of a Merchanteer yourself huh?" the man asks
"Uh... somethin' like that" John B tells him
"Well follow me. I wanna show you somethin'. I've been workin' 30 years up here. The view's never changed till two days ago. The Point's almost gone. One more storm like that, it'll take the lighthouse. And I'll go with her." The guy tells us
"Now the trick to knowin' where the Merchant is. is knowin' whether she was on the north end or the south end of the eye of the storm. Now, most experts believe that she was on the south end. Now, she's on the south end, the bands from the hurricane would have pushed her back out to sea. But I don't believe that. Uh-uh. I think she was on the north end of the eye." The guy laughs
"Which means the bands would have pushed her..." he trails off
"Closer to shore" I finish
"That's right. Now by my calculations, the Royal Merchant... is about ten miles that-a-way. Come on. Come on. Right here is where the Point used to be. My calculations say the Merchant's right about there, down about 1,000 feet." He tells us
"That's what my dad used to say" John B says
"Yup" the man says
"Yeah, I... I know this is weird all right? Do you know anything about this?" John B says holdimg
up the compass.
"Look, it... it says Redfield in the back in my dad's handwriting. Yeah I don't know why I'm here, but I feel like I'm supposed to be here. Do... do you have anything to give to me or to..."  John b starts to say but the man walks off
"Where are you going? Wait a minute. Look...
Look man, I know this is weird. I just thought, hoped, maybe you would know something about this all right?" John b tells him
"Sir you won't believe what he's been through in the past 24 hours. I mean threatened, shot at, home invaded" I tell him
"Home invaded?" He asks. Maybe I shouldn't have told him that
"My rooster was killed. Look man, my dad wanted me to talk to you okay? If there's anything you could think of that would help us please, just tell us okay?" John B says grabbing him by the shirt
"Look man, please!" John b says
"John B" I warn
"If you know anything just... just..." John B starts to say
"Wanda, I got two kids on drugs up here at the lighthouse. Call the police." He says into his radio
"No no no!" John B says and smashes the man's hand into the window
"Let go!" the man yells
"What are you doing?" I ask John b
"It was an accident it was a- " John B starts to say
"John B we have to go. Now" I tell him
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Oh shit." John b says as we take off running
We make it out to hear cop cars coming and we see the van pull off
"Seriously? This way." I tell John b
We take off running and slow down once the cops are out of sight

"Hey look. You've... you've got to admit that was kind of promising. I mean my dad, the Royal Merchant, the ranger, the Royal Merchant. I mean coincidence? I don't... I don't think so" John B says
"It's his job to know about shipwrecks" I remind him
"Okay but the Royal Merchant?" John B asks
"That's like the most famous shipwreck of all time. Redfield's one of the most common names in the Outer Banks. That could mean anything.
Look as wild-goose chases go, this was a really good one" I tell him
"Look I don't know. Maybe we missed something at the lighthouse. We... we should go back." He says and I shake my head
"You believe me right?...Right?" He asks
"I think there might be some light to moderate concocting going on at this point. Look uh... I get it" I start to say
"Star come on" John B says
"You miss your dad. I get it. I just don't understand why he would put a clue on a compass" I tell him
'Cause he knew it would come back to me"
John B tells me
I look at him then pull him into a hug
"You're losing it John b. You gotta pull it together." I tell him
But he pushes me away
"John b wha-" I start to say
"No you don't get it-" he starts to say but gets cut off by sirens

"Routledge. I got you son. Now why don't you just be chill and not make me chase you?" Shoupe says and I stand behind John b grabbing the compass
"Hands where I can see 'em." He says and John B holds his hands up
After he took John b I called kie and asked for her to help him.

"If you skip out on your bail and l lose my money, I'm gonna hunt you down and skin you." Her dad says
"Dad!" Kie yells
"Thank you Mr. C" John B says
"Don't thank me. Get in." He tells kie while getting in the car
"Give me a sec" Kie tells him
"Thank you Kie" I tell her while giving her a hug
John b still won't look at me and kie saw it too
"Thank you really." John b tells kie
"Kiara" Mr. C says
"Sorry." She rolls her eyes getting in the car

I get the compass out and hand it to John b
"Here" I tell him
"Thanks" he mumbles not looking at me
"Alright well imma go, once you figure out  why you're not looking at me let me know" I tell him then walk off

A little later I was on my way to the boat where Sarah was with popcorn in my hand
I see John b walking towards me and I thought maybe he was looking for me to talk
"Hey" I say but he bumps my shoulder and keeps walking
"Still mad wow why am I surprised" I say but he turns to look at me with a mad face
"What happened?" I ask him
"Your secret's safe with me'?" John B says
"What?" I ask confused
"I just got fired because of you" John B tells me
"Are you kidding me? You really think I told him?" I ask him
"Well someone told Ward and right now I wouldn't put it past you" John B tells me
"Whatever asshole. Believe what you want" I shake my head and walk off