chapter five
let's reunite the routledges

"Yeah, so I have just a couple of questions."

JJ was inspecting the boat as the group spread out into their own little groups on the boat. JJ and Athena was stood near the end of the boat, while John B and Sarah were at the wheel and Pope, Cleo, Kie and Sage were somewhere near the front.

"Go ahead." Athena told him with a laugh.

"A Lagoon 620 with twin 150 Volvos." JJ stated as he walked around the boat. "You understand we can go anywhere with this thing, right?"

"I know, kind of a piece of shit." Athena shrugged slightly.

"Way to be discreet, by the way." JJ commented.

"Kook name, pogue heart. I wasn't made to be discreet, baby." Athena told him with a smile.

"What did they want anyway? They didn't hurt you, did they?" JJ questioned, untying the rope and walking towards her.

"No. I'm good." Athena sighed. "But, J, you are not gonna guess what Singh wanted from us. Denmark's Diary."

"Why?"

"I have no idea. Something about it leading to a treasure that's a lot bigger than the Merchant." Athena explained.

"You saying there's a bigger treasure?" JJ climbed onto the boat, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards him. "Then sign me up."

The two climbed up to where Pope stood, JJ greeting him with their handshake while Athena sent him a smile. Before they knew it, John B was sprinting past them.

"Hey! John B! What are you doing?" Pope called out.

"I'll be right back!" John B called.

"Hey JB, you can't run off alone!" Athena shouted.

"I'll be back! Thena, come on!" John B told them. Athena looked at Pope, then JJ before running after John B, knowing she was not letting her brother figure go off alone. "We'll be back! I love you, Sarah!"

Athena and John B ran up the pier and onto the road, hiding behind some trees when trucks drove past. It gave Athena the perfect time to turn to John B and question him on what they were doing.

"Okay, where are going? What is going on?" Athena asked him.

"My dad might be alive. We're heading to the church." John B informed the girl.

"Okay, not the craziest thing I've heard." Athena nodded. "The church? Oh, the bells! You told me about them way back when. Hm, I'm with you. Let's go reunite the Routledges."

They then set off again, sprinting off towards the hill once more. They rushed up the hill, climbing through the fence and continuing towards the church. When they got to the top, they climbed up in front of a stone wall, staring at the church before John B sat down, his back against the wall. They listened to church bells ringing for a moment as Athena sat down next to the boy, looking out at the ocean.

"Please let it be him." John B prayed under his breath.

"JB." Athena spoke softly, placing her hand over his and giving him a reassuring smile. John B took a hold of her hand, squeezing it before they got up, jumping up and over the brick wall and walking towards the church. They walked inside before beginning to climb up the stairs, Athena following behind the boy.

They walked up the stairs, standing in front of a door. However, when the door began to creak open, John B retreated, pushing Athena back towards the stairs and hiding behind the door. John B watched the person leave before walking in the same direction as him, Athena closely behind. They walked down the other set of stairs, Athena standing a bit away when John B stopped in his tracks.

"Dad?" The man turned around, revealing Big John Routledge in the flesh. "Is that really you?"

"What took you so long, Bird? I've been ringing for hours." Big John commented with a sniffle. John B made his way down the stairs, hugging his dad, who happily returned the hug, tightly. They shared a few hushed words as they hugged while Athena watched with a small smile on her face.

"I have to say, this a much happier reunion than when my dad came back to life." Athena stated, catching their attention.

"You always know how to ruin a moment, hey Thena." John B told her with a wet laugh.

"It's part of the charm." Athena shrugged. "Hi, Big John. I'm Athena."

"Little brunette Athena. JJ's crush, Athena." Big John turned to John B, who nodded. "My gosh, you've grown."

Athena let out a laugh as she walked down the stairs, hugging the man happily but the moment was cut short by the sound of trucks approaching, a man shouting. "Check the church!"

"My disappearance is a long story, one for another time." Big John stated.

"What?" John B stared at him confused, obviously too distracted by finding his father to hear the commotion outside.

"We gotta vanish."

"Pops talk to me." John B stated, grabbing Athena's hand as Big John walked to the exit, peering his head around the corner. He ran out of the church, staying close to the outside wall. "Come on. Keep your head down. Head down. Shit ain't going that way."

"Um, the Pogues, the marina, they've got a boat." John B stated.

"Come on. Follow me." Athena turned around and started running.

"Come on." John B urged.

"Good boy. It's good to see you, kid." Big John praised.

"Yeah, you too, Pop." John B called over his shoulder.

"Come on, hurry up!" Athena exclaimed, knowing that the people at the church most likely worked for Mr Singh and she was not about to be caught by them again. They jumped over the wall once more, rushing off down the hill. They didn't stop running until they were at the bottom of the hill slightly away from the church.

"I think we're good." John B commented as they slowed to a walk. "That was a close one. Okay, dad, start talking. So you've been alive this whole time and didn't think to call?"

"What, you think I didn't want to?" Big John retorted. "It killed me. It would've put you in danger."

"I was in danger the entire time you were gone." John B told his father.

"Hey, look, we're her now, okay?" Big John stopped his son. "And I'm not going anywhere. I just had to vanish for my safety. And for yours. Look, it wasn't my first choice. You got to know that. Let's go find your friends. Come on, buddy."

The trio set off once again, jogging down the hill towards the marina once more. They rushed towards it, Athena leading the way as she knew exactly where the boat was.

"Come on, Dad. The boat's docked right over here." John B waved his dad to hurry. "Shit."

The three arrived at the marina to see it swarmed with officers. Athena caught sight of Carlos Singh. She stumbled back behind John B, the boy grabbing her arm in comfort as he dialled a number on the phone in his other hand.

"They're gone. Singh must've run them off." Big John observed.

"No shit sherlock." Athena let out a breath.

"Okay, plan B. We take my boat. It's back at my place." Big John suggested. "We gotta pick something up there anyway."

"Hang on, I gotta call them." John B dialled the phone, putting it on speaker in between him and Athena.

"Yo! Dude! Is this you?" JJ's voice came through the phone.

"Yeah, it's me." John B answered.

"Is Athena there?" JJ spoke quickly.

"Hey J." Athena piped up.

"What—Do you need us to turn around?" JJ asked.

"No, don't worry about it." John B shook his head frantically.

"Yo, say it again. Say it again." JJ instructed.

"I said don't worry about us, okay?" John B told them. "Look, it's way too hot here. You gotta get out of here."

John B looked at Athena, the two sharing a look before she looked at Singh. Athena sighed. "Go back to OBX."

"We do not copy. Can you—"

"John B. Thena." Sarah greeted through the phone, cutting JJ off.

"Sarah."

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yes. I'm fine. We're okay. Everything's good. Listen." John B spoke quickly.

"They're fine. Thank God. What happened?" She questioned.

"I found my dad." John B stated. "He's alive."

"Wait. What'd you say?" Sarah's voice distorted. "John B?"

"Sarah? Sarah?"

"I... I can't hear you."

"Hello."

"John B?"

"Get out of there." John B told them.

"We'll meet you on Kildare, okay?" Athena instructed with a small nod.

"Kildare—"

"Hello?"

"Kildare—" The line cut off, the phone beeping.

"Goddamn it!" John B cursed under his breath. He looked towards Athena and his dad. "Hope they heard that."

"Me too." Big John nodded. "We better go. Come on, let's go. Let's go. Come on, boy. To the right. Go, go."

Big John led them back up the dock and onto the main road. The three practically ran all the way to where Big John was staying. It was a small shack behind a gate on the side of the road. The two boys opened the gate, letting Athena in before they closed it once more, running across the grass up to the door of the shack.

Big John shoved his key into the lock, rattling the doorknob before the door creaked open. The three walked inside.

"Here it is. The spider hole." Big John gestured around. "It ain't much, but it ain't a bad place to lay low."

"Okay, spider hole, good name." John B commented.

"Not for me, I hate spiders." Athena told him with wide eyes. "I just wanna go home."

John B looked around, walking to the table where he looked at the map. "Still hunting, huh pop?"

"I'm breathing, I'm hunting, man, what can I say?" Big John shrugged. "This time I'm putting it all together, John B. Getting close, I can feel it. Onto something big."

"I, uh... I heard you died at the Shoals, dad?" John B spoke up, stuttering slightly.

"Yeah, well, somebody died out there. It wasn't me." Big John told him. "Look. Just gotta go on a little retrieval mission. Then we can split."

"Okay. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Dad, Dad, wait." John B rushed out when the two watched Big John put a gun in his bag. "Retrieval mission? A gun? What—No! What are we doing?"

"The game is agoot. Okay, kid? Right now." Big John grabbed onto John B's shoulders. "And this time it's for the mother lode, the big kahuna, all the marbles."

"All right?"

"Right." Big John pulled the boy in for a hug. "Okay. Come here. It is good to see you. It is. But if we don't move out, like, now, the game is gonna end early. All right? It ain't just Singh that's after us. I got mixed up with Limbrey and a whole lot of things."

"Wait, wait." The two pogues chased after Big John who left the house. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Dad."

"Did you just say Limbrey?" Athena asked with raised eyebrows. "Like Carla Limbrey?"

"Yeah." Big John cleared his throat. "How do you think we got a boat?"

"Come on, man." John B groaned. "No, no... no."

"God, today could not get any worse." Athena ran her fingers through her hair.

"She... she helped me out a little bit." Big John tried to defend himself. "It's logistics, etcetera, but now that I found you, I'm gonna owe her something. Better to pay later than now. I can explain to all. Focus. We gotta go. We gotta go!"

Big John patted John B's cheek before rushing off out of the door once more. Athena watched John B pick the bag Big John had given him up before turning to Athena. He held his hand out for her to take.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Athena stated. "JB I just want to go home. I'm tired."

"I know, Thena. But we need to do this." John B sighed, swinging his arm around his shoulder and guiding her out of the house. He looked at the house behind them. "Shit all over the place."

The trio treaded through the water into a small boat which floated them to a slighter bigger boat. Big John climbed on first, followed by John B, who then helped Athena up onto the boat. John B tied to lifeboat to the back of the boat, making his way to stand next to Athena, who was stood next to Big John, who started to drive off.

They arrived at a different port across town, Big John tying them to the pier.

"So, what's the plan Pop?" John B asked the man.

"Just like I said, Bird, just a little put stop to get that thing I was telling you about." Big John explained as they stared at an Antiques shop across the river. "Then goodbye, Bridgetown. Come on partner. Back me up."

"All right. Let's make this quick." John B nodded, turning to Athena. "Come on partner."

Athena laughed with a shake of her head, following after the father-son duo. The three entered into the antiques shop, peeking their head around the corner to see the owner with a customer. Big John made eye contact with the man, who then told the customer that he had something else to do.

"Dad, what are we doing?" John B asked, looking around.

"Just got to pick something up." Big John told them. "Only take a minute. RJ."

"John." RJ greeted, walking down the hallway towards them before gesturing for them to walk into a room. "Please come."

"Long time." Big John created small talk with the man as they walked into another room.

"So, what are you doing here, John? What do you want?" RJ questioned the man.

Big John cocked the gun, holding it at the innocent man with a clearing of his throat. Athena's eyes widened, she was so sick of people holding guns at others. She grabbed onto John B's wrist, noticing the slightly scared look on his face. "Sorry for the strong arm, RJ, but we're pressed for time. I can't get bogged down in a protracted negotiation."

"Really? You pull a gun on me?" RJ exhaled, kneeling down behind his counter. "Your partner, who saved your life?"

"If you knew what happened, you wouldn't hold it against me." Big John stated as RJ opened a safe. "And I knew you'd buck at the finish line. Just give me the piece."

"Armed robbery?" John B questioned incredulously.

"It's not robbery." Big John defended. "The piece is mine. Ain't that right, RJ?"

The safe clicked unlock. "I think an impartial judge would say the ownership is debatable."

"Oh great." John B sighed.

"Oh god, I'm turning into my brother." Athena rubbed her forehead with wide eyes. "JB."

"Mmm. As you can see, I kept my part of the bargain, partner." RJ handed an artefact wrapped in cloth to Big John. "Here it is safe and sound. Just like I promised."

"I've missed seeing you." Big John whispered. He unwrapped the cloth to reveal an extremely old artefact that Athena recognised from so many history books as the Gnomon of Solana. Big John showed it to Athena and John B. "Here, kids. Take a look at this. The signpost of Orinoco."

"Signpost of what?" John B wondered.

"This way lies the treasure, that sort of thing." Big John dumbed it down for his son. "At least we think that's what it says. Next stop, El Dorado."

"Yeah, if you can find the other half... and if you can decipher it, maybe." RJ commented. "And I'm going to want my cut. Don't think I won't come after you if I don't get it."

"If this thing works out, you'll never have to sell a knockoff God of Fire and War again." Big John informed him.

"Arjun! You here?" A voice shouted from a different part of the shop.

"Wait. Don't move." He ordered them, leaving the room. "Mr Singh!"

"Shit." Big John cursed.

"What a surprise!" Arjun exclaimed. "How can I help you?"

"It's always a pleasure to come into your shop, Arjun." Mr Singh's accent was instantly recognisable. "You have such fine pieces, you know?"

"I would love to show you around, but unfortunately, we're closed." Arjun told the man.

"Oh, come on now, Arjun." Mr Singh sighed. "Just a quick look around for your best customer, now."

There was a moment of silence before Arjun agreed. "Of course."

"You need to talk to me right now." John B demanded to his father, who was tying the artefact in cloth once more.

"John B, we gotta get out of here now." Big John stated. He handed John B the artefact. "Here, here, take this. Take this over to that window. Go, go!"

Big John walked over to the cloth that hung by the hallway as Athena and John B made their way over to the window. Athena grabbed a stool, trying to silently move it to under the window. John B placed the artefact down, grunting as he tried to rip the metal off of the window pane. He was unsuccessful and Athena looked around, grabbing a knife and handing it to the boy.

She could hear Singh in the background as John B managed to get the window completely opened. Athena's head snapped in the direction of the door when she heard Singh utter her and John B's names. John B looked out of the window.

"All right, coast is clear." He observed.

"All right, we gotta go." Big John stated.

John B was the first to climb out of the small window. He pulled himself out, falling headfirst into the pile of carboard boxes that laid outside. Athena was next, grunting as she pushed herself out of the window. John B helped her up as Big John climbed out next. The two helped the man stand up once more.

"Where's the piece?" Big John asked,

"I thought you had it."

"No!" Big John explained, rushing back towards the window.

"No, no, no, no, wait... goddamn it, hurry up."

Athena let out a stressed gasp when Big John climbed into the window. The man pushed himself up, trying to grab the artefact from inside. John B shot forward grabbing his father's legs as they flailed about.

"John B, I am not dying here because of your idiot father." Athena told the boy through gritted teeth. "That man inside is Singh, the person who kidnapped Kie and I. He shot Portis. He killed him in front of us."

"Soon, Thena, we'll be okay." John B reassured the girl.

There was a loud thud inside before Big John pulled himself out of the window once more, artefact in hand. John B ushered Big John, the three turning to leave when a gun was fired near them, bouncing off the wall.

"Oh shit." Big John swore. "Gotta run! Let's go!"

The three took off, sprinting down the road. Athena looked over her shoulder at the men coming towards them, she pushed herself faster so she was in line with John B. "Why are we always getting shot at JB? I should've stayed a kook."

They sprinted back towards the dock, moving towards the boat as quickly as possible. Athena jumped on the boat behind John B, who immediately untied it as Big John stood at the wheel once more. Big John started the engine, leaving the port with a laugh.

"You got it, John B." Big John kissed the artefact. "Let's vamonos."

Athena shared a look with John B, smiling weakly at the boy who ruffled her hair.

( 💌 ) isobel's notes
john b and athena being siblings pt 1837290
athena hates big john as she should
jj telling big john about his crush on
athena is such a cute background moment