𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 ☼ 𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘯

𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯〔 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵 〕

𝘈𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥𝘦'𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝

"Honestly, the hardest part is gonna be security, all right?" JJ speaks up as we all sit around a table on the ferry to Wilmington "So most of the guys are gonna be at the rail yard"

"We'll need to find some place and guard it, maybe a little further down the line, like a whistle-stop" Pope explains.

"Yeah" Kiara nods.

"You guys are getting ahead of yourselves per usual. We don't have a way to transport the cross" Cleo reminds the Pogues who all frown in response to the reminder "What you think? On JJ's motorcycle?"

"Girl's got a point" I hum in agreement.

"That's not my fault" Pope grunts in reply, obviously still feeling guilty for not being able to convince his father to give us the truck.

"You're right, it's not your fault. No one is blaming you" I assure the boy, elbowing him playfully and he cracks a smile at me.

"Okay, other options" He sighs, looking around the group for suggestions.

"Oh my God" Sarah abruptly gasps, sitting up straight in her chair and we all look to her in confusion.

"Oh my God, what?" Cleo questions as I follow the blonde's line of sight to find Topper Thornton stood at the bar on the upper level.

"Is that Topper?" Pope asks in surprise.

"Why is he everywhere?" Kiara groans in annoyance and I snort, mentally agreeing with her statement.

"Perfect" Pope grins, looking to his boyfriend "Hey, Jayj"

"What?" JJ moves to the boy's side, giving him his full attention.

"I bet you Topper has a way to transport the cross" Pope elaborates smugly.

"Actually, Pope's right. He does have a rig" JJ perks up at the idea.

"No" Sarah immediately protests.

"Yes" JJ counters "Yes, come on"

"No. Absolutely not" Sarah objects in disbelief.

"Sarah, you already got him whipped anyway, all right? So why don't you just take one for the team?" JJ tries to reason with the girl.

"What would John B say?" She worries.

"I think John B will completely understand" Pope answers with a shrug "Think about the circumstances. It's about treasure"

"We can handle John B" Kiara assures her.

"Yeah, Kie's right. We'll kick his ass if he bitches at you" I wink at the Cameron girl and she relaxes her shoulders "Can't hurt to try talking to him"

"Fine" She huffs, getting out her seat.

"Good luck" I chirp and she flips us her middle finger, making me smile.

The Pogues and I move over to the railing to get a better view of the conversation as Sarah greets Topper and the two of them start chatting away. I watch from afar as Topper folds like a deck of cards, completely falling under the blonde girl's spell as she bats her lashes at him and smiles sweetly to get what she wants.

"She's good at this shit" I comment with an impressed nod.

"For real" Kiara hums.

"She's a Pogue. It's in our bones" JJ grins at me and I mirror his expression.

I lift up on my tiptoes, swiftly wrapping my arm around my brother's neck and pulling his head down, ruffling his already messy hair. He whines in annoyance and struggles in my grip, tugging at my arms.

"Guys, look" Pope slaps my arm to get our attention, pointing at Sarah who is holding her thumb up at us as she hugs Topper "She did it"

"Hell, yeah" I whistle.

☼ ☼ ☼

"Well, there's like 1000 trains here" Sarah breathes out in awe from next me where we're all stood atop a shipping container, looking out at all the stationary trains.

"Well, we know it's car 750X on the track to Raleigh" Pope reminds us.

"Yeah, so now we just gotta find it" JJ adds.

"Well, news flash. We're not getting out of here unnoticed with a giant cross" Kiara points out pessimistically.

"We won't have to. We can nab it somewhere further in the country" Pope explains matter of factly "Just gotta figure out how to stop the train"

"Right" Kiara shrugs.

"Like that's gonna be easy as fuck" I mutter sarcastically, sharing a look with Kiara.

"Leave that to me" JJ chirps and I raise a brow at him.

"How you gonna do that?" Cleo asks skeptically, clearly as curious as I am.

"We got an uncle up in New Bern, right? When he got tipsy, he'd just throw an old chain across the tracks, just for shits and giggles" JJ explains and a smile tugs at my lips as I remember our uncle telling us the stories "And that old little chain would stop all the train traffic in coastal Carolina"

"A chain?" Kiara questions, not sounding convinced.

"He's actually right" Pope tells her "There's a low-voltage current that runs across all rail tracks. Throw a chain on it, you close that circuit. It would read as another train. Crossing lights come down. Science is actually pretty sound"

"Science. I knew my science" JJ smirks proudly and I pat him on the back.

"Well, we don't have a chain" Pope counters.

"Shit" I huff out.

"No, but I bet Topper's dad has jumper cables in the truck. Would that work?" Sarah suggests helpfully.

"Yeah" Pope answers.

"What's going on? Are we doing this or what?!" Topper's voice buts into our discussion and I turn my head to see the boy stood at his truck, staring up at us impatiently.

"Don't get your panties in a twist, Topper. Give us a minute!" I call out and JJ snorts while Sarah shoots me a disapproving look, but I can see the tug of her lips as she tries not to smile.

"All right, you all wait here. Me and Pope will go look for it and send a signal once we find it" Cleo says and we all nod in understanding.

"Do we actually have a plan right now?" Sarah questions in amused surprise.

"Think we do" JJ replies in the same tone.

"That's impressive" The blonde girl grins.

"Maybe we're finally getting our shit together?" I suggest, sharing a mocking surprised face with Sarah and Kiara before laughing.

"Let's not jinx it while we're ahead. Come on" Pope beckons Cleo to follow him.

"Nobody ever listens to me" Cleo grumbles, making us laugh.