P4L | Outer Banks | JJ Maybank

Power Hour

"Hey, guys," Pope said. "So, like, my dad's already gonna kill me. So what's this mandatory meeting about?"

John B and JJ exchanged a glance.

"Might as well tell him, man, before we're gaffed," JJ said from where he was seated.

Next to him, Cory was lounging on the ground. They were awfully close, and if Cory was honest... they were still holding hands.

"You ready for this?" John B asked.

"Yeah," Kie said.

"Spill," Cory added.

"Soooo," John B continued. "The gold never went down with the Royal Merchant."

Cory's smile dropped slightly, remembering what Peterkin had said to her in the jail.

"Oh my god," Pope sighed. "Here we go again with this."

"No, alright, wait," JJ said. "Here him out, alright?"

"It's been here the whole time," John B said. "It's on the island."

"Are you serious?" Kie asked. "Oh, my god."

"I'd like to voice my skepticism," Pope said.

"I'm sure you would, Pope," John B said, and he honestly sounded the most cheerful he had in weeks. "But can I please present you with my evidence, sir?" John B stood.

"Proceed," Pope said.

"Alright, so!" John B was very cheerful. It made Cory smile. "In my backpack, I have a letter from Denmark Tanny."

"Who the hell's that?" Kie asked.

"Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the Royal Merchant wreck. Check this out."

"What?" Cory asked.

John B handed Pope the paper. "Okay, slaves weren't mentioned as crew members on the ship, but my dad, he found the complete manifest." Cory leaned over on JJ's legs to see the paper. "That was his big discovery. So Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom. After that, he bought his farm. Drumroll, please, because that farm is..." Cory drummed along with Kie, pulling her hand from JJ, much to his dismay. "Tannyhill Plantation."

"Tannyhill?" Kie asked.

"Yeah," John B continued. "So after that, he used his money to free even more slaves, and then he sold a shit ton of rice, which pisses off all the white planters, and then they decide to lynch him." He paused for dramatic effect. It was working on Cory. Maybe she was giddy and had a few drinks in her, but either way, she was entertained. "So on the day they were coming to get him, he writes a letter to his son as a farewell, and in the last line of that letter, he leaves a coded message about where to find the gold."

"Where?" Cory asked excitedly. JJ grinned down at her.

"Harvest the wheat," John B continued. "In parcel nine, near the water. Except... there's no wheat. You see, wheat is code for gold. Check this out," he shows Pope the symbol on the gold. "The gold is in parcel nine, near the water."

"Holy shit," Pope said, finally believing the story.

"All we need is an original survey map of the property and we've found the gold," John B finished excitedly.

"Okay, so this might have a small chance of being actually true," Pope said.

JJ stood, walking over to John B.

"Dude, its like King Tut!" Kie said as JJ pulled John B into a bro hug.

"I am a genius," John B said. "Woah! Hello! Fire! You're near the fire. You're gonna burn."