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chapter thirty five
TICKLING THE WIRE
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After meeting up with Kie and Pope, Athena told them about Gavin. Athena had met Gavin a few times, he often flew planes for her father so when Rafe said he was the one who flew the gold to the Bahamas, she wasn't especially surprised. Now they were sat in Kie's car, Kie driving with Pope in the passenger seat while JJ and Athena sat in the back.

"If this guy flew planes for Ward, he's gotta be pretty tight-lipped." Pope stated as they drove.

"I mean, I'm pretty sure he's been cheating on his wife and has kept it a secret so I agree." Athena spoke, earning a few surprised looks. "What, he and my dad, have catch ups when they drink beer and chat shit, I used to eavesdrop with Sarah for fun."

"So then the direct approach gets my vote." JJ smiled, cocking the gun in his hands.

"JJ, no."

"No. What?"

"Put the gun down, man."

"JJ!" JJ turned to her. "Put the safety on, god. Now."

JJ sighed, putting the safety in before huffing. "We gotta keep this simple or we'll never get John B off."

"Or we just tickle the wire." Pope countered.

"What?" Kie turned to him in confusion.

"Tickle the wire, what crack are you on?" Athena asked him.

"We tickle the wire." Pope held up Kie's airpods. "I plant my phone in his car, and then we listen in on your airpods."

Pope put on of the airpods in his eye, holding his phone up to Kiara. "Say something."

"Something."

"Okay we have audio." Pope nodded when he heard Kie's voice come through. "I think that's his house over there. This is the right address, Thena?"

"Yep."

"All right, honk or uh... yell or something if you see anything suspicious." Pope told Kiara, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"Don't do anything dangerous." Kie advised.

"Come on. I'm not JJ." He smirked, jumping out the car.

"Funny, Pope." JJ said sarcastically. "Love third wheeling. It's my favourite thing."

"Oh, I'll just leave then." Athena turned to him. "Love you too JJ."

"I'm always third wheeling you and Kie, Athena, don't pretend I just forgot you're here." JJ told her.

"That's because we're in love JJ, get with the programme." Kiara turned and smiled at him.

"Kie will always be first in my heart." Athena added.

"Love you too Attie." JJ tilted his head to the side slightly, smiling sarcastically as he repeated what she previously said. JJ then suddenly turned to look at Kie. "How's it been going, you know, with Pope and all?"

"It's good." Kie nodded.

"It's good? All right." JJ pulled a face. "In the bedroom, is he, like, kinda freaky, cause it's Pope you know?"

"Why are you asking?" Kiara questioned.

"Do you wish it was you in the bedroom with Pope, J." Athena teased. "Gosh, I always knew there was something more than a bromance."

"I don't know. Just kinda curious. Just spitballing here." JJ tried to explain himself.

"You don't need to spitball." Kie told him. "We could sit in silence."

"I hate silence." Athena commented. "Can we talk about something else? Something that doesn't make people uncomfortable."

She shot a look at JJ when saying the last part, him sending her an innocent smile in return.

"Ranking wise -" JJ continued.

"JJ!" Athena scolded.

"Oh you're still asking?"

"Yeah, I was just curious."

"You're still curious?" Kie asked.

"Please don't open your mouth." Athena tried to stop him from talking.

"Is John B better?" JJ spluttered out.

"What?" Kie exclaimed.

"Stop talking." Athena hissed.

"Okay." JJ stated.

Before anything else could be said, Pope jumped in the car, smiling at his success.

"Okay. Phase one is complete." He smiled before it dropped, looking around the car at the awkward faces. "Everything - Are we all good?"

"Peachy." Athena answered.

"Why does she get to tickle?" JJ pouted as Pope handed the phone to Kie.

"She's the best." Pope replied, shrugging.

"Should I do an accent?" Kie suggested.

"Definitely disguise your voice." Pope nodded his head in agreement.

"Do English." Athena suggested.

"How would you like me to talk?" Kie began in an extremely dramatic and drawn out English accent.

"Oh my god, no." Athena shook her head. "If I was English I would be offended."

"Not like that." JJ agreed.

"Batman." Pope suggested.

"Batman." Kie repeated in a deep voice.

"There you go." Pope nodded.

"That was good." Athena agreed.

"Spot on." JJ hummed..

Kie held the phone as it began to dial, a mans voice speaking up on the other line as he picked it up. "Hello - I can't."

"Just talk." Pope encouraged her to drop the accent.

"Everyone sounds different over the phone anyway." Athena whispered, nodding.

"Is Gavin there?" Kie questioned, clearing her throat.

"This is Gavin? Who is this?" He asked from the other line.

"I know what happened on the tarmac." Kie stated in a nasty tone.

"Um, who's this?" Gavin asked again.

"It was Rafe Cameron." She replied sternly, the other three in the car moved closer to Kie and the phone. "But you already knew that and you lied about it."

"Okay, who is this?" He asked yet again, angrier this time.

"We gonna prove it. You're guilty." Kie spoke back, ignoring his questions.

"You're gonna tell who this is now." Gavin repeated.

"You could've saved her Gavin and you didn't. And you're no going to get away with it." Kie finished her statement before hanging up quickly and looking around. "How was that?"

"Yeah, I was scared Good job." JJ reassured her.

"Reminded me of Scream." Athena nodded her head. "And I hated that movie because horrors freak me out."

"All right. We tickled the wire. Phase two complete." Pope sighed in relief as he pushed the pods into his ears, "Now we wait and listen."

Gavin ran out to his car as the four ducked slightly.

"Go, go." Pope encouraged as Kie started the car.

"Don't get right behind him but linger, you know? Linger." Athena encouraged as she looked through the two front seats, "What you're gonna wanna do is not go quick, if he turns, you turn a different way to throw him off then we meet back."

"How do you know this?" Pope asked in disbelief.

"I use to follow dodgy Kooks, Pope." Athena stared bluntly.

"Wow, Attie, very informative." JJ cleared his throat, "Did you, like, rob them or..."

"No, I'd follow to wherever they were gong, learn all their dirty secret and then use them as blackmail so they would give me money for my charity." Athena shook her head, "Pope, do you hear anything?"

"It's Ward. He's talking to Ward." Pope nodded quickly.

"Ward?" Kie asked.

"Are you serious?" JJ was next.

"Get closer. I can't hear." Pope encouraged as Kie speed up a little, getting a bit closer to the car before them.

"He's talking about negotiating something." Pope informed them as he pushed the pods into his ears more, "Gavins got the gun that Rafe used to kill Peterkin."

Athena's heart sunk as she inhaled. "I think he's using it as extortion, leverage." Pope added in.

"Rafes ass if going to jail." JJ stated. Athena didn't say anything, her mind having its own argument. Of course Rafe deserved to go to jail, he killed someone but there was obviously something mentally wrong with Rafe and if he went to jail, she knew there was a high chance he wouldn't get the help he needed.

"Wait, he's pulling over." Kie panicked as Gavin began to slow down, "What do I do? Do I pull behind him?"

"Go around the block up here, we should be able to catch up." Athena encouraged as Kie headed that way, turning right as they circled around.

"I can't hear anything. Shit." Pope panicked.

"What the hell is this?" JJ asked in disbelief as they came up to a construction cut off.

"Take a u-turn." Athena spoke to Kie. As she tried to back up, a large construction truck pulled behind them, "How is this even possible right now?"

"Hey! We were about to back up." JJ shouted at them but the workers didn't seem to care. Pope jumped out of the car and took off in a sprint.

"What are you doing?" Kie yelled as she jumped out, Athena and JJ close after as they sprinted after him.

"Go through Sean's yard, he has no back fence!" Athena yelled out to Pope as the boy listened, running through while the trio was close after.

"Ah, this is where you live, you Kook!" JJ laughed at Sean as they passed him and a few girls in his pool. Pope turned with wide eyes from where he was behind the tree.

"What does that mean?" Kie asked, unable to read his expression.

"He's- he's meeting Ward right now." Pope breathed heavy as he looked at the three.

"Let's go." Kie encouraged as JJ and Athena grabbed hands and ran after them

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𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗟 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗦
wrote wards death yesterday kinda sad kinda happy don't know how to feel !!

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