𝑇𝑊𝐼𝑁 𝑆𝐼𝑍𝐸 𝑀𝐴𝑇𝑅𝐸𝑆𝑆 / 𝐽.𝐵.𝑅

ROYAL MERCHANT

The next day's sun was already high in the sky by the time Alex woke up, her mind still buzzing from the intensity of the night before. She stared at her ceiling for a few moments, replaying the events with John B and JJ. She'd known there was more to John B's story than what the public knew, but actually seeing it in the files had made it all too real.

Throwing on a hoodie, Alex dragged herself out of bed, barely awake, and stumbled downstairs to make some coffee. Her parents were out of town again, not that it mattered-they hardly ever noticed what she did anyway. They'd probably freak if they found out she was involved in anything like last night, but that just made it more exciting. She thrived in secrecy.

As she leaned against the kitchen counter, sipping her coffee, she heard a knock on the door-two quick raps followed by a pause, and then two more. Her heart raced. She wasn't expecting anyone, and after last night, unexpected knocks were enough to make anyone paranoid.

She peeked through the window, and sure enough, John B and JJ were standing outside. Alex rolled her eyes but couldn't help the small smirk that crept onto her face. They were persistent, if nothing else.

Opening the door, she raised an eyebrow. "You know, you guys should really start texting before just showing up at my house. What if I wasn't decent?"

JJ's grin was wide as ever. "You think we care about that? We've got more important things on our minds."

John B shot him a look, then turned back to Alex. "We need to keep digging."

Alex sighed, stepping back to let them in. "You two really aren't giving up on this, huh?"

John B walked into the living room, pacing, clearly more on edge than the night before. "After what we found, no way. There's more to this, and I'm not stopping until I find out what happened to my dad."

JJ collapsed onto the couch like he owned the place, stretching out and kicking off his shoes. "Plus, you're like... crazy good at this hacking stuff. We wouldn't even know where to start."

Alex shrugged, trying not to let the compliment go to her head. "It's not that hard if you know what you're doing. But whatever you're after, it's dangerous. The more we dig, the more attention we're gonna attract."

John B stopped pacing and looked at her, his jaw set. "I don't care. I've been living with this for too long. If we don't dig now, we may never know the truth."

Alex studied him for a moment. His determination was obvious, but so was the weight he was carrying. She hadn't realized how much this whole thing was eating him alive until now. Despite her instinct to protect herself from whatever trouble they were getting into, she felt something else pulling her in. Something like loyalty.

"Alright," Alex said, moving toward her laptop on the kitchen counter. "Let's see what else I can find."

JJ, who had been messing around on his phone, suddenly looked up. "Wait, are you still in their system? Don't they notice stuff like that?"

Alex flashed him a grin. "If I was sloppy, yeah. But I'm not."

She opened her laptop and got back to work, her fingers flying over the keys with familiar ease. This time, she went deeper, pulling up more records, digging through layers of security that had clearly been set up to keep things hidden.

John B and JJ watched in silence as she hacked into police databases, financial records, and whatever else she could get her hands on. The information was scattered, and a lot of it didn't make sense right away, but Alex had a knack for finding patterns where no one else could.

"Wait," she muttered, scrolling through one particularly encrypted file. "This is weird."

John B leaned over her shoulder. "What is it?"

Alex frowned. "It's like they've hidden something inside a bunch of other files. There's a ton of data here, but some of it doesn't line up with the rest."

JJ raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"It's hard to explain, but it feels like they're trying to bury something-like they've gone out of their way to make sure no one connects certain things. Dates, transactions, and movements of certain people." She pointed to the screen. "Look at this. There's a whole set of files marked 'internal use only.' But they're linked to offshore accounts, real estate transactions, and... some kind of treasure?"

At the mention of treasure, JJ sat up straight. "Hold up. Treasure?"

John B's eyes darkened, his mind racing. "The Royal Merchant," he whispered.

Alex stared at him, confused. "What?"

John B sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. "It's something my dad was obsessed with before he disappeared. The Royal Merchant was this legendary ship that supposedly sank with millions in gold. He was convinced it was here, in the Outer Banks. He believed finding it would change everything."

Alex blinked, processing the information. "You think your dad found it? Or at least got close?"

John B nodded. "He was getting too close, and that's why he disappeared."

Alex leaned back in her chair, her mind spinning. She had been expecting to find some dirt on local corruption or maybe a police cover-up. But treasure? That was a whole other level of insane.

"This is getting way too big," she muttered. "If what you're saying is true, you're not just up against the cops. You're up against people who are protecting a fortune. And those kinds of people? They don't play around."

JJ crossed his arms. "Yeah, but we're not exactly known for playing it safe either."

John B locked eyes with Alex. "We need you, Alex. You're the only one who can get us the information we need. I know this is crazy, but I can't do this without you."

Alex felt a strange twist in her gut. She hadn't asked for this-getting involved in some insane treasure hunt with two Pogues was definitely not on her list of summer plans. But something about John B's desperation, the weight of his search for his dad, made her want to help. She didn't just hack for the thrill anymore. This was something real. Something that could change lives.

"Fine," she said, her voice steady. "But if I'm in, I'm all in. No half-measures. And if this blows up, don't think for a second that I'll go down with you."

John B nodded, the tension in his shoulders easing just a little. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

JJ jumped off the couch, already buzzing with excitement. "Hell yeah! Let's go, hacker girl!"

Alex rolled her eyes but couldn't hide the small smile creeping onto her face. This was about to get dangerous.

Hours passed, with Alex piecing together more fragments of the mystery surrounding the Royal Merchant. As the clues unraveled, it became clear that they were in deeper than they'd imagined. There were bank accounts linked to people in power, secret transactions, and encrypted files that hinted at something far bigger than just John B's dad's disappearance.

By the time the sun started setting, casting golden light through Alex's window, they had enough to know one thing for sure: whatever was at the heart of this, it wasn't just treasure. It was the kind of secret that people would kill to protect.

And now, they were right in the middle of it.