CHAPTER FOUR
( ! quarter filled tanks ! )

THE NEXT DAY, Marley sat next to Kie as she played the bongos on John B's front porch. The group had come together to talk after the events of the night before. "Look, I'm callin' it off. All right? Peterkin said if I stay out of the marsh, she'll help me with DCS," John B explained, making JJ scoff. And you believed her?" John B sighed. Yes, I believe her, JJ."

JJ scoffed once again, "An actual cop, John B. You believed a cop." Marley sighed. "JJ, it's Peterkin. She isn't just some cop." John B looked at JJ. "Look, all I gotta do is stay out of the marsh for a couple of days, and she'll help me out. It doesn't help that your ass was the one shooting the gun." JJ shrugged. "You know what I should have done? Just let Topper drown your ass." john b sighed. "Yeah, because Topper was gonna drown me?"

"Sure looked like it. I mean, have you looked in the mirror?" JJ retorted, pointing at John B's face. Marley sighed, "JJ, he's not wrong. My dad has been calling non-stop since he found out. He's pissed I'm even hanging with you guys right now." The boys looked at Marley sadly before John B continued, "Tell me some more. Come on."

"They always win, don't they, man? Kooks versus Pogues. They always, always win! Goddamn!" JJ yelled, walking around his friends. "Look, it's okay!" Kie shouted back, and JJ turned back around quickly, "No, it's not okay! It is not! They don't want us to go down into the marsh. That means there's something valuable down there, and you know it, man," he turned back to John B before continuing, "I know you do, and I understand why you don't wanna go," he turned to Pope, "You're the golden boy. You got way too much to risk. And you," he turned to Kie, "I mean, you're already rich as fuck anyways. Why would you bother? And Mar," he turned to Marley, "You've got a great family with your mom and your sister you couldn't bear to lose, even your Kook dad and his Kook wife," he turned back to John B, "But you and me, man, we got nothin' to lose! We really don't, all right?"

John B sighed, "JJ." But JJ continued, "And I know it didn't used to be that way for you." John B shook his head, walking past JJ and away from the group. "I don't want to talk about this. I don't want to talk about this." JJ followed him instantly. "So that's it? John B, listen to me. I have a plan." JJ then told him his plan while the other three couldn't hear the conversation.

"Wow, I feel included in what's going on," Marley said, sarcasm dripping from each word as the other two sighed, feeling the exact same way.

THE TEENS SAT on the HMS Pogue, where they had found the boat. JJ told them all his plan for John B to steal, or as JJ said borrow, scuba gear from the Cameron's boat so they could all search. Marley didn't know why JJ's plan wasn't for her to ask her uncle, but she didn't say anything, wanting to see if his plan would succeed. Kie checked the air in each tank. "This is empty. You took empty tanks?" she asked, picking up the last one. "Okay, this one is a quarter full. It's enough for one of us."

"Love it when a plan comes together," Pope sighed, and Marley shook her head. "Does anybody know how to dive?" Kie wondered. Marley shook her head no. Her dad had never been one to spend his money on things like lessons for his children; he believed that if they really wanted to do something, they could teach themselves. "Anybody?" Kie asked again after none of the boys said or indicated anything. "It's kinda a Kook sport," JJ responded, making Kie sigh.

"I...read about it," Pope confessed, and Kie looked at him, "Great, Pope read about it, so someone's gonna die." JJ sighed. "Look, y-you put the thing in your mouth and breathe. How hard could it be?" Pope responded instantly, "Well, if you come up too fast, nitrogen gets into your blood, and you get the bends."

JJ then started bending his back, "Bends like, bend over and––"

"The bends kill you," Pope spoke, cutting JJ off. "––Right." JJ nodded. "I can–– I can dive," John B decided, and JJ nodded in agreement with that choice. "Since when can you dive?" Kie responded, looking at the boy. "I'll do it. It's fine," John B shrugged, and Pope sat forward, "Let me do some calculations real quick."

"You serious?" Kie frowned. The group listened to Pope's calculations: "So that goes about thirty feet down. So it'll take twenty-five minutes at most at that depth. Which means you need to make your safety stop at about... ten feet. All right? For two minutes." Kie grabbed Marley's hand and pulled her to the boat's edge before whispering, "Take your shirt off. We are gonna make a ten-foot signal." Marley nodded, removing her shirt and shorts, grabbing her shirt, and jumping into the water with Kie.

The boys looked at each other, confused at the girl's actions, "What was that all about?" Pope questioned, as JJ responded, "I don't know, but I liked it. A lot." JJ shook his head quickly, going back to the task at hand. "So, uh, when you're down there, you look for the cargo hold. you stick this thing inside and twist and pull, okay?"

The girls resurfaced after tying their shirts. " Hey! We tied our shirts to the anchor chain about ten feet down. The two shirts should make it easy to find. It's where you need to do your safety stop." Kie explained, and the girls swan back to the boat. Kie pulled herself up, and as Marley was about to do the same, JJ grabbed her arms, pulling her up so she could stand next to him. She smiled at the boy before running a hand through her wet hair.

"Hey, if we get caught in the marsh, we're basically screwed, so... better get a move on," Pope stated, and Kie walked up to John B. She kissed his cheek as he just stared at her, "Diver down?" Kie took a deep breath and nodded, "Diver down." John B put the mask on while Marley and JJ looked at each other, having a mental conversation. John B quickly jumped into the water before turning to his friends and going under.

"And now we wait," Marley sighed as JJ wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and the group sat silently for a bit. A little later, the group could hear sirens from behind them. Pope turned his head and then turned back towards his friends, "Shit. JJ." JJ looked behind him and sighed, "Guys, that's the police."

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me," Pope frowned as Marley mumbled to herself. "Shit." JJ nodded, stressing. "Yup, that's the police." Kie flipped her hair back, "Just act fricken normal." The police boat moved next to the group's boat, and they all smiled, Pope nodding a greeting. "Evening, officers." The offers responded with an "evening." Deputy Plumb handed Pope the rope from her boat to tie the two boats together, who handed them off to JJ. JJ quickly tied the boats together, and the group looked between the two deputies.

Deputy Shoupe took his glasses off. " How are you kids doing? You know the marsh is closed?" All the teens began to act surprised by that fact. "I didn't know that," JJ stated as Pope asked, "Why—why is it closed?"

"Well, we're conducting a search out here. A boat went down," Deputy Shoupe explained. Wow, that's bad luck," Marley sighed, and the deputy nodded in agreement. "Seen anything?" he questioned, looking between the kids. "No." They all agreed, looking at each other and shaking their heads. Pope quickly looked away from the deputy as Shoupe looked around. "Where's your friend you always hang with? He here?"

the teens looked at each other before Kie replied, thinking fast, "He's working." Deputy Shoupe nodded, standing up, "I'm gonna check your little boat out." All the teens nodded before JJ and Pope began to welcome him aboard. "Uh... you got another one of these?" Shoupe asked, holding up a life vest. Marley nodded her head, "Show him, JJ."

"It's, uh... it's in the hold." JJ walked over and picked it up. "All right," Shoupe nodded, and JJ put it back. Deputy Shoupe then began to walk to the very front of the boat. "Uh... be careful right there. You don't wanna slip," Pope advised as the deputy continued on towards the front of the boat. They could all tell he was looking to see if John B was hiding in the water, and the teens tried to keep the nervous looks off their faces. The group all looked at each other, each having a different silent conversation with a different person.

The deputy continued to look at the water until he finally turned around, " All right. It's a beautiful day, ain't it?" Pope nodded. "Sure is. Very beautiful." The deputy returned to his boat, "You let us know if you see anything on your way out." JJ smiled lightly. "We'll be gone soon, sir." Shoupe nodded. "Yes, you will."

Once the police boat was far enough away, the four kids looked down to see if they could see John B. "He's definitely out of air," Pope frowned. Then suddenly, John B's head popped out of the water. "There he is! Oh, god, Jesus Christ!" JJ laughed thankfully as Pope scolded John B. "Don't scare us like that!" Marley looked at the boy in the water. "How'd it go down there, JB?"

John B put up an okay sign with his fingers as JJ walked over to meet the boy, "Did you find anything?" John B removed his goggles and laughed, "Did I find anything?" He then threw up a black bag as JJ cheered, "Yeah, there we go! That's my boy!" John B started coughing, and Kie looked down at him. " Are you okay?" John B looked at the girl, panting, "Yeah, I ran out of air."

"You scared the shit out of me," Kie responded, and Pope added, "Yeah, the cops were up here, but, uh... took care of 'em." JJ smiled. "Yeah, you kinda missed the show, brother." Kie looked opposite to John B when she heard something, "Hey, guys? Guys, bogey, two o'clock." The group looked over to see a bogey coming their way with two men that they'd never seen before driving it. "Do you recognize that boat?" Pope wondered as Kie shook her head no, "I've never seen it. What are they doing back here? The marsh is closed."

"I don't know, but let's not stick around to find out," JJ decided before John B nodded. JJ, get the bowline." JJ went and did as he was told as Pope looked at John B. Should we wait on them?" Marley rolled her eyes. Pope, don't be stupid. Of course not."

"Go get the stern. Go!" John B rushed. "Are you joking? JJ, hurry up," Kie snapped as she watched the bogey come their way. "Guys, don't wait for me. Go," JJ directed as he pulled up the anchor as quickly as he could while the other three talked over each other to get them moving. John B moved behind the wheel. "I don't like the look of this." JJ looked at the men coming their way. " Are they coming for us?"

"Maybe they're fishing," Pope tried, watching as they approached the teens. "John B, go, now," Marley spoke. John B took the group further into the marsh away from the two men. Marley watched as the bogey sped up. "Uh, guys, they are following us, and they are going pretty fast."

"Dude, you gotta go faster!" JJ freaked as John B replied, "I'm going!" JJ looked at John B again and yelled, " Gun it!" The teens turned again as they zoomed through the marsh, yet the men were still hot on their trail. "Guys, I don't like this," Marley frowned, and JJ grabbed her hand for comfort. She didn't know if it was for her or him, but she was just grateful to have the boy by her side.

The group suddenly heard a bang come their way, and they knew they were just shot at. "What the..." Pope spoke. "Holy shit!" Kie yelled as the group ducked down. "John B, get down!" JJ shouted as he pulled Marley in front of him so the bullets couldn't get to her. The man shot at them again, causing everyone to jump a bit.

"Oh my god, we're gonna die!" Pope yelled as they continued to try to speed away. The guy shot at them again, and Marley screamed, "Why the fuck are they shooting at us?!" Kie then suddenly stood. "Shit! Pope, move." She grabbed some net as the guy with the gun behind them took that as an opportunity to shoot at the group again, making John B yell for Kie to get down.

She walked to the end of the boat before throwing the net out. The men in the bogey continued speeding towards them, and once the net went under their boat, it quickly stopped them from moving. "Waita go kie!" Marley shouted as she smiled at her friend. The man tried to shoot at them again but missed completely, and the group just got further away.

"Booyah! Pogue god, man!" JJ cheered as Marley hugged Kie, happy she was okay. She then hugged JJ, not letting go of him.

THEY MADE IT back to the dock at John B's house, and all stood around John B, who sat down and set the bag in front of himself. "What do you guys think it is?" Kie questioned as John B began to open the bag. "Gotta be money, right?" JJ theorized before continuing, "That or a couple of keys with street value to the low-to-mid-mills!"

"Can we please just open the bag?" Pope suddenly snapped, making all his friends look at him, shocked. "Wow, Pope. That's a rare outburst of emotion from you." John B noticed, making the other three agree, and Pope continued, "Okay. You guys are literally killing me with anticipation. Open the bag. We almost died over this."

John B opened the bag fully to reveal a long silver container, which he quickly opened to reveal a compass. "A compass? That blows," Marley frowned after she definitely got her hopes up. "Oh, wow. Yup. That's about right. Good job, everybody. We found a compass," Pope complained, upset about the anticlimactic result.

JJ threw his hat off before noticing John B staring at the compass like it isn't a piece of shit, "Dude, what? It's not worth anything." John B paused momentarily before smiling, "It was my fathers."

Well, shit.