Outer Banks (JJ Maybank x Reader) Book 4

The Divers

"Okay, so, looking at the schematics of the ship, it'll probably be best for you to enter in around here," Pope says, drawing a circle around a part of the ship in the diagram he has. "Alright," JJ nods. "And Genrette wasn't kidding about this stash, look, in the captain's log, there's a secret compartment, right here, behind the headboard in the captain's quarters," Pope tells us, pointing at another picture. 

"Okay, are we really still talking about this?" John B asks. "Yep," JJ nods. "The ship's been down there for 300 years, it's been salvaged, we know that," John B says, taking a sip of his beer as he sits down next to me. "Come on, not gonna hurt to check!" Cleo reminds him. JJ snaps, pointing at her. "Yeah, it feels right, and also, we know where it is, it's right in the area," He says, pulling out a map of the waters.

"Except we don't know exactly where it is," John B shakes his head as JJ points at Goat Island. "What about the Coast Guard, I bet they know where it is," JJ suggests. "Plus, I've heard coasties are quite chill, so we could probably just straight up ask them," He shrugs. John B leans back against the sofa. "Hey, wait, Pope, isn't your uncle in the Coast Guard?" He asks. "Uncle Rodger!" I remember.

"My Uncle Rodger? No, no, no, no, no. That's not gonna work. My Uncle Rodger is the most straight-laced, by-the-books person in the history of the world. It's not gonna happen," Pope shakes his head. John B raises his eyebrows. "Hmm, more straight-laced than you?" Sarah smirks. "First of all, I didn't graduate high school. I had to get a GED. That... that's pretty loosey goosey," Pope says, standing up. JJ whistles at him. I laugh.

"So, other options?" Pope asks. "Wait, JJ, isn't your uh... your friend in the Coast Guard? Boogie!" Pope says. "Oh, boy," John B laughs as JJ smirks. "Boogs? He's in the reserves bro," JJ laughs. "Yeah, but, he'd probably know," Pope argues. "That's not what I'm saying. He's a marina rat. Living paycheck to paycheck. So, if we're gonna get any intel out of him, he's gonna need to be bribed," JJ tells Pope as John B shakes his head. 

I lay back against JJ's chest, closing my eyes while the breezes floats through the porch. "Which, look, I'm totally fine with doing-," JJ is cut off with head shakes from Sarah and John B. "No," I murmur. "Alright, there's your answer right there!" He tells Pope. "So, in my mind I'm like the best case scenario is if I had an Uncle who knew where the wreck was, would maybe tell us for free... oh, that's right, you do," JJ says, smiling at Pope.

"So that should be our first stop!" He says. "You're not listening, I dropped a cracker in that man's garage one time, and he made me clean the whole thing," Pope says. I laugh loudly. "He is not the person that will give out classified information. He's just not!" Pope argues. "Not with that attitude!" Kie says. "Dude, your uncle might literally know where it's at, he might even tell us for free, but you just gotta try," JJ begs.

"No, no, I don't think you're listening," Pope shakes his head again. "He... could say yes," I shrug, eyes still closed. "Also, I thought all Pogues were all team players here so...," JJ grins. "No," Pope says firmly. "Not even a single woogity?" Sarah grins, holding out her hand. "Whatever happened to Pogues for life?" John B chuckles. "Absolutely not!" Pope argues. "Take one for the team Pope!" Cleo shouts. "That's it, I'm done, I'm not.."

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"What happened?" Cleo asks as Pope comes back from his family cookout, where he just asked his uncle. "I don't think he's gonna look at me the same way again," Pope shrugs, shaking his head. "Great!" He groans. "Now, don't take it too hard Pope, he probably gave up on you a long time ago!" Cleo smiles. "Plan B?" John B asks. JJ smiles. "Let's find Boogie."

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"Look I've been thinking..." I mutter, lacing my hands together nervously. JJ and I stand out on the boat, getting it ready for the dive. After much convincing and the price of JJ's motorbike, they got Boogie to give them the coordinates. "Mm-hm?" JJ asks. "You can't dive without a buddy," I nod. JJ stops, looking up at me with a weird face.

"Of course I can," He laughs. "But it's not safe," I swallow. "I'm going with," I tell him, trying to sound as confident as I can. "Absolutely not," He says, stopping to look at me. "It's 80 feet down... in the dark," He tells me. "And moving through structures...," JJ raises his eyebrows at me. "Exactly," I nod, trying to hide the fear in my voice. "And you...," He says, walking over to me to put a hand on my stomach. "Have our baby in your stomach," He whispers, kissing my forehead. 

"Even for experts it's a hairball situation," He says. "Which you're not," I tell him. "Yeah, neither are you!" He argues. "I already decided, so...," I say, moving away from him. "y/n...," He sighs. "Look, we've gotta save the farm," I tell him. "No, no, no, you gotta save our baby," He argues. "She'll be fine, she barely even exists yet!" I tell him. "She?" He asks. He shakes his head. "No, no way," He tells me.

I grab his hands. "We'll be down there no more than 30 minutes. Please, I can't let you go alone, what if something happens?" I whisper. "The baby will be okay, I'm not far along," I plead. JJ shakes his head. "If something happens to you, I swear-," He starts. I kiss his lips. "We'll be okay, I promise," I tell him. "It'll be fun," I nod confidently. "Okay," He reluctantly agrees. "That's that," He groans. 

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"Hey! Slow down, we're at the drop site now!" Pope calls to JJ. "JJ, what's our depth?" John B asks. "Seventy-eight!" He calls back. I swallow. I can't believe I'm doing this. "Okay, ready?" John B asks. "Here we go," Pope nods. "Switch out, you guys get ready," Pope says as JJ leaves the wheel. "John B, keep us in position," He says. 

JJ zips up my wetsuit and Pope helps me strap my gear on. "Honestly, it's kind of like surfing the point, you know?" JJ asks. "We're upstream, and then the rip is just gonna take us out," He nods. "Yeah," John B nods. "Yeah," I swallow. JJ grabs a speargun, loading it up. "Is that necessary?" I ask. "Yeah, yeah, I mean, reef- fish," John B reassures me.

"And the man in the grey suit," JJ whispers. "That too," John B nods. "Don't forget your safety stop, alright?" Pope asks. "Fifteen feet for three minutes," He nods. "Hear that, JJ, fifteen feet three minutes?" Pope repeats. "Copy that," He says before placing his mouth piece in his mouth. "Or what?" I ask. "The bends, remember? Nitrogen in the blood, excruciating pain, death, etc., etc," Pope murmurs. I place my hand instinctively over my stomach, starting to second-guess my decision. 

JJ shakes his head at me. "She should know, it's part of it," Pope sighs. "Hey, you good?" He whispers, taking my hand. "You're sure about this?" He asks. I swallow, nodding. "Yeah," I murmur. "Okay," he nods. "Let's do it then," He nods as we both sit on the edge of the boat. "Diver down," I mutter as we pull our masks on. "Diver... down," JJ smiles.