𝐒𝐓𝐘𝐋𝐄 || 𝐉𝐉 𝐌𝐀𝐘𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐊

𝐓𝐄𝐍

THE MORNING LIGHT seeped through the broken blinds at the Chateau, casting uneven streaks of gold across the cluttered living room. JJ stood in the center, animated as ever, recounting the events of the night before. His hands waved in the air as he set the scene, his voice full of exaggerated flair.

"And we were right outside, like this," JJ said, gesturing wildly to an imaginary line on the floor. "And all we hear is just, bam, bam, bam! Knocking paint off the walls, G! From the inside." He paused, looking around at the others for emphasis. "And I'm just standing there, like..."

JJ trailed off and turned toward the open door, gesturing toward the Twinkie parked outside. "Wait, first off, look at this shit. Look at the house."

Kie, perched on the arm of the couch, wrinkled her nose. "That's dandruff," she muttered, brushing at her shirt. "Disgusting."

"Thank you, Kie," Pope said dryly, shaking his head. "Always helpful."

JJ ignored them, gesturing again to an invisible pile of dust in the air. "Look at all that. That's paint," he said, shaking his head like the memory was too much to bear. "At that point, I was just like... I'm waiting for death."

Avery was sitting cross-legged on the worn coffee table, her elbows on her knees, watching JJ with a small grin. "You were definitely freaking out. I heard you muttering something about 'this is it, I'm done,'" she teased.

JJ gave her a quick side-eye but didn't lose his grin. "Okay, so you saw the guys that shot at us, right?" Kie asked, her tone sharp as she leaned forward.

JJ nodded. "Yeah."

"Did you get a good description of them? What did they look like?" Kie pressed.

Pope chimed in, adjusting his glasses. "Anything we can bring to a police report?"

JJ sighed dramatically, leaning against the wall. "Yeah. Burly."

"Burly?" Pope repeated, unimpressed.

"Yeah, you know... burly," JJ said, his tone insistent.

Kie raised her eyebrows. "That's not very helpful."

JJ pushed off the wall, pointing toward Kie. "Okay, well, no, like the type of guy that shows up at my dad's garage. You guys know he made cargo hides for drug smugglers."

"Yes, JJ," Kie said with a sigh. "We know."

JJ's grin widened as he turned toward Pope. "I can tell you with full confidence these boys, these killers? They're square groupers."

"Square groupers?" Pope echoed, looking skeptical. "Like narco square groupers? Pablo Escobar square groupers?"

"Yeah, man," JJ said, nodding emphatically.

Avery raised an eyebrow. "You guys, not everything is a kingpin movie," she said, leaning back slightly. "Maybe they're just some angry dudes looking for a payout. Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Pope shook his head, gesturing toward JJ. "What does this square grouper look like, specifically?"

JJ threw his hands up in frustration. "Dude! I wasn't taking little mental Polaroids the entire time. I was under duress, okay?" He paused, his voice growing more serious. "But I can tell you, by the way Ms. Lana was screaming, these guys are serious, serious hombres."

John B, who had been unusually quiet, finally spoke, his tone heavy. "It's a heavy vibe right now, okay? I'm not liking this very much."

"Why do they even want the compass?" Kie asked, looking toward John B.