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The Pogues had made their way back to the Cheatau where John B had yet to say another word.

Saylor sat on the opposite side of the room as she carefully watched the boy who hadn't taken his eyes off of the package in his hands since they had arrived.

"Ew, that bread had mold on it three days ago." Kailani spoke, looking at the boy in disgust as she passed him by after grabbing a drink from the fridge.

"I'll just pull off the bad parts. Plus, mold is good for you. It's just a natural organism."

"JJ!" Kie called.

"Yup, yup, yup!" JJ spoke, rushing into the room with his sandwich in hand. "Hot damn! Let's do it."

The group stood and gathered around the Routledge boy as he tore the envelope open.

JJ held the sandwich out to Saylor, offering her a bit.

"No thanks, I'd rather not puke my guts out." Saylor declined, causing the boy to shrug.

"More for me." JJ mutters, biting into the sandwich before quickly gagging as he spits it back into his hand as he walks away to throw the PB&J away.

"Holy shit." John B breathed out as he placed a map onto the table.

"Oh. X marks the spot." Pope pointed to bold markings on the paper.

John B ran his finger over the map before turning his attention back to the package, carefully pulling out a tape recorder.

"What's that?" JJ asked.

"It's a tape recorder." Kailani answered, glancing over at the blonde boy before looking away. "Dumbass."

"Hey, I heard that!"

The sound of a click caught the attention of the teens as John B pressed play on the tape recorder.
"Dear Bird."

"Who's Bird?" JJ asked, causing Lani to let out an annoyed sigh.

"It's what Big John called John B." Saylor softly spoke.

"I hate to say, 'I told you so,' but I told you so. And you doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment, you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over out last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either. You were probably right to call me out. Wasn't exactly Father of the Decade. What can I say, kid? I could smell the barn. And hopefully, we're listenin' to this in our brand new sugar-shack down in Costa Rica, livin' off passive investments and pulling on permits. If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for. There she is, the wreck of the Merchant. If somethin' happens to me, finish what I started. Go for the gold, kid. I love you, Bird, even if I didn't always act like it. I'll see you on the other side."

The room filled with silence as the tape recorder clicked off.

John B quickly stood up letting the tears fall as he made his way to the other side of the room.

"Holy shit, he did it! Big John-- He found the Merchant--" JJ exclaimed, causing Saylor to hit the boy on the arm giving him a serious look as she made her way over to John B.

"Can you... can you please?" Kiara spoke, nodding towards John B causing the boy to glance over at his best friend.

"Sorry."

Saylor placed a hand on the Routledge boy's shoulder, without hacing to turn around he knew exactly who was standing by his side, causing the boy to place his head on her shoulder as she hugged him tight allowing him to cry into her shoulder.

⳾*⑅*❀⑅*❀⑅*❀⑅*❀⑅*❀⑅*⳾

The group of Pogues sat out on the post of the dock as Kiara plucked at the small ukulele, thunder rumbling could be heard from the distance.

"How much was it again?" JJ asked, causing the group to look over at him.

"Four hundred mil." Pope replied, causing the group to go quiet for a second as the only sound you could hear was the nearby loon.

"All right, let's talk the split." JJ straightening up. "Now, before we say evenly, may I remind you that I am the only one that can properly defend us from those groupers who were after us. Protection? Not cheap, okay?"

"You haven't trained." Pope scoffed.

"You've done literally zero training." Kailani added, agreeing with Pope.

"Youtube, bro!" JJ spoke, causing Lani to shake her head. "That's at least a five percent bump right there."

You haven't--"

"Any objections?" JJ cut the boy off. "Didn't think so."

Kie quickly raised their hands to object.

"I don't hear any, so..."

"What are you gonna do with your cut, Pope?" Kie asked, brushing the blonde boy off.

Pope let out a deep breath before answering, "Pay for college in advance. And also, textbooks. Those are expensive."

The group took a second as they gave the Heyward boy a look but brushed it off because they knew he was being serious because it was Pope.

"What about you Kie?" JJ asked, causing the group to turn their attention to the Carrera girl.

"Yeah, what does a socialist do when she's rich?" Pope adds.

"I just wanna make a double album." Kiara admits. "About OBX, the Pogues. You know, the way Catch a Fire is about Kingston. Record it at Marley Studio, Peter Tosh producing."

"Didn't Peter Tosh die?" Kailani asked, confused.

"I know Peter Tosh is dead but the spirit of Peter Tosh will never die." Kie spoke, causing Saylor to point at the girl in agreement, causing Kie to chuckle. "What about you guys Say, Lani? What are you guys gonna do?"

That caused the duo to share a look before glancing back towards their friends.

"I'm not sure yet. But I'm definitely donating some of it." Kailani answered.

"Well I kinda know what I would do." Saylor spoke, letting out a breath as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. " I would set aside some of the money so I would be able to help the people on this side of the island when things like Agatha happen. You know so they don't have to go days or even weeks without power or food. And give to our youth and make sure they know there is a life outside of OBX."

"And the rest?" Pope asked.

"Travel." Saylor replied, glancing over at the boy before looking out onto the water. "Maybe get a PI and find out what really happened with my dad."

"I thought your mom said he died in a boating aciddent?" Kailani questioned.

"Yeah right after he told me he was setting off to find the Royal Merchant." Saylor admitted, glancing over at the girl before looking towards John B before turning her attention back to the water.

"I know what I'll do." JJ spoke up. "I'm gonna get a big ass house on Figure Eight and go full Kook."

"You're gonna go full Kook?" Kailani let out a chuckle.

"Yup. Gonna get a marble statue of myself, and then I'm gonna get a koi pond." JJ explained, causing everyone but John B to chuckle. "Put a bunch of those fish--"

"I'm never visiting."

"What are you gonna do, JB?" Pope asked, causing the 4 teens to look over at the quiet Routledge boy.

He slowly turned his head towards them as he lifted his beer can up, "To going full Kook."

Smiles grew on all of their faces as they lifted their cans into the air.

"To going full Kook!"

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The group had spent the night together at the Cheatau so they could get an early move the next morning.

The Pouges were on the HSM Pogue, sailing on the water when JJ let out a low whistle.

"You guys see that?" JJ spoke, causing Saylor to push her glasses down as she looked up at the boy, she had her head laying by his legs, turning her head to the side to find an expensive looking boat coming their direction. "That's the Malibu 24-MXZ, the world's finest wakesetter. Number one in luxury, quality, and performance. 200k, easy."

"We picked the wrong parents." Pope muttered.

"I hate to break it to you guys, but that's Topper and his girlfriend." Kiara informed the group.

As the boats passed one another, Sarah lifted her sunglasses, giving the Pogues a quick glance but her focus longed on Kailani before she looked away.

"Take a picture next time, maybe it'll last longer, bitch." Kailani called after them, letting out a scoff as she turned her attention away from the Kooks. "I literally hate them."

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