Getaway

[21] Looking what? Dangerous!

"So how much is actually in there?" Giggles Raven, as Jayla sits in his lap on the bunk with the rest of the crew sitting out top making breakfast. She forks a spongey bit of cream-coloured-syrup-dripping pancake into her mouth, and gulps it down smiling delightedly.

"I'unno..." she mumbles, mouth half full of pancake.

And he tickles her side. "Shall we see?"

Phoenix then comes running down the steps and throws his face up against the port cabin window. It's a perfect circle and he is pulling such a funny creepy face, that even in her drunken-sleepiness Jayla can't help but crack a laugh.

"Counted it yet?" Phoenix strides in, rubbing his hands together.

"About to!" Jayla grabs his hand, getting him to sit down next to her on the other side.

"You want me to help?" he asks, pouting and putting on a childlike tone.

Jayla pokes him, "Yes! Of course."

Stuffing his cheeks with some of her pancake, he speaks with his mouthful, a cheeky grin spreading as he knows he has pissed Jayla off, "Mmkay, ... mmuure!"

"Haha. Very funny," Jayla says sarcastically but she tries to kiss Jayy on the lips anyway - to get the syrup and butter off them. He is laughing, trying not to spit the pancake out at her and starts a silly game of hand wars with her, pretending to catfight.

"120,000..." Raven mumbles, feathering out another 10 notes into the thick pile on the bed.

"No way, dude!" Phoenix throws his hands up to his sticky face and licks his fingers making a loud popping noise. Jayla starts to copy him. It sounds like an odd song.

Still focused on counting, Raven continues, Jayla and Phoenix now both mesmerised by the cash.

"In total," Raven breathes in, and pushes a blue streak out his eyes. Today they are a piercing ice blue. "That's £180,00..."

---

Pulling up at the harbour near Glasgow, Jayla and Blu walk hand in hand, the chill to the bones wind blowing in their faces. They reach a cash machine. "The bank must be near..." Blu swerves dramatically around looking for one. "Aha!" Then he gallops like a horse over to a sign that says Lloyds TSB.

"See ya in a sec, cat," Blu says, pecking her on the forehead and disappearing behind the big glass doors into the bank. Jayla sits outside on the stone step and starts staring at the people walking past. They really had no idea.

"Okay," Blu took her hand, and put her card into the machine to check it.

Check Balance.

Sure enough it said, £30,012.89

Withdrawing the card, and spinning around like kids in a playground, they head back to the ship as quick as they can.

Blu sits down and writes out a cheque. He takes it back to the bank and fills out the forms to pay Jayla's bail.

As soon as Jayla steps on board she runs down to find Phoenix. A little too excitedly, she throws herself at him and shouts in his ear, "We did it! I'm free! I'm good to go... I'm all yours!"

Phoenix laughs, hugging her tightly. "I'm not so sure about that."

She frowns and offers him some Twizzlers, she knows they are his favourite.

Immediately Phoenix's face lights up as he goes straight for the strawberry one.

"Okay, well, maybe now I'm a bit more sure," he jokes as he sits there, crossing his black ripped jean legs and big studded black boots; looking drugged as he chews on the red square straw in absolute ecstasy.

---

They all stand now on the dance floor, Phoenix with the black bag full of cash. No one can decide what to do with that extra £150,000. Even after Jayla has called Orlo thanking him, crying down the phone, asking him what to do with it... he just told her: it was hers, and she could do with it as she wished.

The logical option seemed to save it for a time when she would really need it.

Maybe to help out a friend in need, like how Orlo had helped her and Raven. But an urge burned in her to do something more memorable, more significant with it than stick it in a bank. Anyone could do that.