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THE POGUES sat around the porch of The Château. Kamden was softly playing the guitar. JJ was sitting next to the open door throwing rocks into the front lawn. Pope and Kiara were sitting on the couch across from Kamden. John B was pacing around the room, he had a dark bruise around his left eye.
"I'm calling it off." He said abruptly. "Sheriff Peterkin offered to help me." The kids all looked up at him. "She said that if I stayed out of the marsh, she'll help me with DCS."
"And you believed her?" JJ asked as he stood up.
"Yes, I believe her, JJ."
"An actual cop, John B." JJ sighed. "You believe a cop."
"Look, all I gotta do is stay out of the marsh for a couple of days and she'll help me out." John B defended. "It doesn't help that your ass was the one shooting a gun."
JJ walked towards John B.
"You know what I should have done? I should have let Topper drown your ass."
"Yeah, because Topper was gonna drown me?" He rolled his eyes.
"Sure looked like it."
"That's really funny." John B scoffed. "Come on, tell me some more."
JJ looked at John B as he gritted his teeth.
"They always win, don't they, man. Kooks versus Pogues. They always, always win!"
JJ slammed his hand on the side table and walked to the other side of the room.
"Look, it's okay!" Kiara stepped in.
"No, it's not okay!" JJ turned around. "They don't want us to go down to the marsh. That means there's something valuable down there, and you know it." JJ looked over at Kamden and John B. "I don't understand why you two don't want to go?" Then he turned to Kiara and Pope. "You-you're the golden boy, you've got too much to lose. I mean, Kie you're already rich as fuck anyway." He turned back to Kamden and John B. "But, us we got nothin' to lose!"
"JJ..." Kamden started.
"Nah, Kam, you have the princess life set up waiting for you! Why won't you chose that?"
Kamden thought back to her conversation with her mother.
"I'm not a Kook, JJ, I'm a Pogue."
"Exactly, you're a Pogue!" JJ exclaimed. "We're all Pogues!"
John B rolled his eyes as he started to walk away.
"John B listen to me, I have a plan!' John B turned and faced JJ. "You've got the key to Cameron's big boat, and we've got Kam to cover you."
During the summer Ward Cameron hired John B to work on his boat. Of course, his wife, Penelope, didn't approve of the boy working on the boat, but Ward loved him.
