Storm Chaser // JJ Maybank

70

JJ and I are brought onto a boat and led down to the engine room with Groff. JJ tries to get the other door open.

"Don't bother," Groff tells him. "It's useless. We're locked in."

"Okay you owe JJ and I an explanation," I tell Groff.

"One of those guys was after the amulet," JJ states. "I know that. So, who are they?"

"Mercenaries. From North Africa," Groff explains.

"Mercenaries. Fantastic," JJ remarks. "Great."

"What do they want from you?" I ask.

"They think I stole from them," Groff informs us.

"And did you?" JJ asks.

Groff scoffs. "I was trying to help them. It was all... It was a misunderstanding. Related to your mother, actually. It's tangentially, in a way, going back to the Genrette family about 300 years. If you look at Blackstone and the entire heritage..."

"Okay, can you stop... lying to me?" JJ shouts. "Okay? You're overcooking it, man. Did you know that you do a thing when you lie? You speed up."

"Do I?" Groff asks.

JJ nods his head. "Yeah. You know how I know that? I do the same thing. Huh. I mean, everything you've told us is a lie. The ghost, the curse." JJ sighs. "Why did you do that? Because you're trying to throw us off the scent of what you're actually after."

"You and Wes both," Groff admits.

"Yeah," JJ says.

"Wes said he actually saw a ghost," I state.

"A little... a little theater. A mannequin. White dress. Rattling the chains, that sort of thing," Groff explains.

"Not bad for a Kook," JJ remarks.

"Oh, thank you," Groff says.

JJ laughs. "I would've done the same thing. Maybe a little fog machine or something."

Groff laughs. "Fog machine..."

"Apples and trees, I guess," JJ says.

Groff smiles slightly. "Right. Apples and trees."

"Yeah," JJ says.

"It's not as simple as that, JJ. Will you please try to understand?" Groff tells him.

"Understand that you abandoned me?" JJ asks. "Only came back when you needed something. Okay. Yeah, I understand that."

"If you want to hold that against me, that... that is your right," Groff says. "But, from the moment I saw you, JJ, I knew I needed... to tell you the truth."

"But why leave me?" JJ asks.

"Why?" Groff remarks. "Will you look at me? Look at me. Back then, when your mother died, I was in no shape to take care of... anyone. I... I thought it was for the best."

"So the best was the Cut?" JJ asks. "With Luke? Wow. That's a high bar."

"I screwed up," Groff admits. "I know that. I'm sorry. It's what I do. I don't... think things through. But I've spent every day since then trying to figure out how to... fix it. That's why I came back."

JJ shakes his head. "No. No, no. You just came back for treasure, and that's the truth. Don't even try."

"I came back to find you. I came back to help you," Groff insists. "You're my son, JJ. We're a family. I... That... that crown they're after, that is our birthright. That is our legacy. We are so close. I think they have the key to finding it on this boat. And I came back to get it. For both of us."