𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞- 𝐣𝐣 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤

26.

🦋☀ 🌊 - 26

Olivia sat beside Kiara on the edge of the dock, trying to calm her down after the chaos of the night before. She watched JJ toss pebbles into the dark, rippling water, the small splashes echoing against the wooden planks. John B lay sprawled on the dock, legs kicked up lazily, the afternoon sun warming his back. The air felt heavy with unspoken words-no one really knew what to say after everything that had happened.

John B hadn't hurt anyone, surprisingly, but his attempt to talk to Sarah had ended in frustration and a lot of nothing. The memory of her soft refusal and his angry confusion still hung in the air like a bad smell.

With a grunt and a sigh, John B tugged off his cast and flung it to the side. "It's not like I expected a happy ending or anything," he muttered, staring up at the clouds drifting lazily across the sky.

"John B-" Kiara started, but Olivia cut her off with a sharp, exasperated, "What, Ki? It's just a hairline fracture. Who cares?"

"You should care! Your arm's going to be messed up for life," Kiara replied, her eyes fixed on the cast lying in the middle of the dock.

"You're lucky that's all that happened to you. You could've gotten it worse," Olivia added, her voice calm but firm. She had said it a thousand times before, but she knew it was worth repeating.

"It's fine, see?" John B held up his hand, wiggling his fingers. "All good."

"Guys! Guys!" a loud thumping interrupted their small talk. A booming voice carried across the water, drawing all their attention.

Everyone turned as Pope came running down the dock, face red, sweat soaking through his shirt. He was out of breath and desperate for answers.

"How was the interview?" Olivia started to ask, but Pope cut her off sharply. "Don't ask."

"You alright?" John B said, giving Pope a thumbs up, the slightest smirk on his face despite his exhaustion.

"JB, I'm sorry, dude. About everything," Pope panted. "I don't have a lot of time, but I hate information that's tactically relevant." His words tumbled out in a rush, laced with guilt and frustration.

Olivia felt a pang of sympathy for Pope. She knew how important this interview was for him, how long he had waited for it, and yet here he was, apologizing to John B after everything that had gone wrong.

"Before I had my interview," Pope continued, catching his breath, "my dad said he was going to ship something off for the Camerons in their big plane. It was too heavy; they needed a longer runway. I was sitting there during my interview, trying to focus, wondering why Cameron needed a longer airstrip to take off." His voice faltered as he waited, giving John B's brain a chance to click in.

Olivia and JJ exchanged a knowing glance. It wasn't hard to piece together-the gold from the well was gone. Ward must have figured it out and dug it up himself.

"What could be so heavy to weigh it down?" Pope asked, still scanning the dock.

"Gold," JJ said simply, cutting through the tension and confirming what everyone was thinking.

Pope's eyes lit up. He pointed at JJ, excitement overtaking his exhaustion. "Guys! This is our chance. But it leaves tonight, so we have to go-now."

Olivia couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. She hopped down from the dock with Kiara, giddy with adrenaline. "Pope, you did it!" she laughed, bouncing slightly.

"What are we gonna do?" JJ asked John B, his tone both nervous and eager.

"We steal that shit back," John B replied without hesitation.

Olivia took JJ's hand, and together they ran down the dock, the rest of their friends following close behind. "Let's go, boys!" she shouted, her voice echoing over the water, full of excitement.

The Pogues jumped into the van, unable to wait any longer. Hearts pounding and adrenaline rushing, they began discussing their plan on the way, faces glowing with anticipation.

Olivia leaned her head into JJ's lap, looking up at him with a mischievous smile. "We're gonna get rich."

JJ grinned, plopping his hat onto her head. "We'll be rich as fuck, baby."

Olivia leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. JJ, being JJ, held it as long as he wanted, making no effort to hide it even as the others watched.

"Can you guys not?" Pope said, arms crossed, a teasing smirk on his face.

"I thought there was no Pogue-on-Pogue macking?" John B quipped, glancing between them before focusing on the road again.

"You missed a lot, buddy," Kiara said, patting John B on the back, diverting Pope's attention away from them.

"Uh-huh," Pope sighed. "If you two are going to date, keep the macking to yourselves, please. Not in front of us."

"Okay, you baby," Olivia said, swatting his leg lightly.

"You're just jealous," JJ smirked.

"Yeah, right," Pope muttered, crossing his arms defensively.

The Pogues parked in front of the gate leading to the plane track. The light blue-and-white plane sat not far from them, the only thing between them and the gold being a large field of grass.

"They're loading up the gold," Pope said, binoculars pressed to his eyes.

John B grabbed them for himself, scanning the area. "There's Ward."

"What? What!" Kiara's face dropped, mirrored by John B's.

John B set the binoculars down but kept his eyes trained on the plane. "It's Sarah."

"What? It can't be," Olivia muttered, grabbing the binoculars. Sure enough, Sarah stepped out of a car and walked beside Ward.

She didn't blame Sarah for following her father, but the sight hurt more than Olivia wanted to admit. One of her best friends was walking away, leaving the Pogues behind without explanation.

"She's with him?" Pope asked, eyes wide.

Olivia looked at JJ, who gave her a helpless, sorry look. He had no words; Sarah had never been close to him either. Instead, he put a comforting hand on Olivia's shoulder. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Right," Olivia nodded, forcing herself to believe it.

"Wait a minute," John B said, grabbing the binoculars again. "He's hurting her."

"What?" Olivia's head snapped back to the plane, the sound of Sarah's soft scream reaching her ears.

"What is he doing?" Kiara whispered, looking through the gate beside Olivia.

"They're fighting," John B said, tossing the binoculars to Kiara before sprinting toward the van.

"Hey, hey!" Pope shouted. "John B! Where are you going?"

"Don't be a hero, dude!" JJ yelled after him, panic and concern lacing his tone.

"Get back here!" Pope screamed.

The plane began rolling down the runway as John B chased after it in the van. The scene was terrifying, exhilarating, and utterly chaotic all at once.

Sirens wailed in the distance, and the group turned to see the flashing lights behind them. Pope and JJ both knew why they couldn't be caught-not now.

"I'm on probation," JJ muttered, clenching his jaw. He wanted to help, but this was risky.

"We're no good in jail," Kiara said firmly.

"Come on," Olivia urged, tugging JJ along.

He grabbed his stuff, and together the group ran, legs pumping as fast as they could carry them, hearts hammering in sync with the chaos behind them. The gold, Ward, Sarah-all of it loomed ahead, but for now, all that mattered was moving, surviving, and staying one step ahead.