ELEVEN

❝ That was some badass shit. ❞

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         JOHN B MANAGED TO GET THE tanks and scuba gear, but spared his close friends the details of exactly how he managed to get past his entitled Kook boss. The five Pogues were quick to rush through the marsh, anchoring the boat directly over the wreck.

Ava sits crossed legged on the bow, eyes slowly growing wide as she reads the meter connected to one of the oxygen tanks in front of her, "This is empty," Her head raises to her brother, who's staring back at her in shock, "You took empty tanks, you idiot."

John B's jaw drops and for a moments he stands immobile, before his hands run through his messy hair, "Shit."

"Mhm," Ava hums, pushing the empty tank away from herself, "Shit indeed."

"Hey," Kiara calls, tap her finger against the meter joined to the other tank, "This is a quarter full. It's enough for one of us."

Pope groans, sitting back in the chair behind the wheel, "Love it when a plan comes together."

"Does anybody know how to dive?" Kiara asks, glancing around the group with hopeful eyes.

Ava opens her mouth to reply, but a hands slowly slips over her mouth, silencing her. With furrowed brows, she glances up beside her to see JJ beaming down at her, his hand clamped over her lips as he shakes his head.

He glances away from her, his hand finally dropping form her face, hoping she got the idea not to volunteer herself, "It's kind of a Kook sport," He shrugs.

"I— I read about it," Pope states quietly.

"Great, Pope read about it," Kiara rolls her eyes, "So someone's gonna die."

JJ moves away from Ava's side to Pope's and motions to the tank on the floor at Kie's feet in front of him, "Look, you put the thing in your mouth and breathe. How hard can it be? I could do it."

"Well, if you come up too fast nitrogen gets into your blood, and you get the bends." Pope explains, glaring sternly up at the blonde boy.

"Bends like. . ." JJ's hand wraps around the metal bar over the steering wheel before he sticks his ass out, "Bend over—"

Pope's jaw clenches, "The bends kill you."

"Right," JJ coughs out, straightening up and awkwardly fixing his hats placement, "Got it."

John B swallows thickly, "I can dive."

JJ nods enthusiastically, "Yeah, you can dive. I'm cool with that."

Ava rolls her eyes at him before turning to face her brother, her eyebrows cinched together, "You can't dive for shit."

"Yeah," Kiara chimes in, "Since when can you dive?"

"I'll do it," He beams, sitting down beside his sister, nodding at both of the girl's, "It's fine."

In agreement, Pope begins to mutter quietly while Ava stares at her twin brother in astonishment, her head tilted daringly as he shuffles along the bow slowly away from her.

He can practically feel her eyes burning into his face as he rolls his shoulders back uncomfortably, "What?"

"You can't dive for shit," She repeats simply.

His face screws up in confusion, "How do you know?"

"Hm. Oh, I don't know, maybe 'cause I've known you for my whole life, literally," She snaps, "You used to struggle go under the water in the bath tub."

He jabs a finger at her, "Don't you dare mention that to anyone. Plus, that's what oxygen tanks are for, Ava," He motions to the tank on the floor, "I'll be okay. No need to worry about me," He smiles before turning to Pope, hearing the last of important information.

Ava rolls her jaw in annoyance before doing the same, listening to Pope speak like the true smartass he is.

"So, that boat is thirty feet down, right. So it will take twenty five minutes at most at that depth," He calculates, "Which means you need to make your safety stop at about. . . ten feet."

The two girls stand up on the bow, sending each other a nod before pulling their t-shirts over their heads and diving heads first into the murky green water, leaving the three boys in silence. JJ swallows thickly, biting his lip to prevent him from saying a sexual joke. After a few long moments, their heads breaks the water's surface, allowing the boys to let out a sigh of relief while the girls climb back onto the boat, JJ holding his hand out for the both of them.

"We tied our t-shirts to the anchor chain about ten feet down," Kiara informs them, "Ava's was bright white, so you should be able to see it if you struggle to spot mine."

"That's where you do your safety stop," Ava nods at her brother, "Got it?"

"Got it," He confirms while he begins to slip on the large scuba gear, "Thanks."

"If we get caught in the marsh, we're basically screwed, so better get a move on," Pope rambles, waving at his friend to quicken the pace.

As John steps up onto the edge of the boat, Kiara walks over to him, rocking forward on her tiptoes to peck a lingering kiss to his cheek. Ava's eyes go wide and she robotically turns to look over at Pope and JJ, who are staring right back at her with the same look of complete shock.

"What the fuck just happened?" JJ mouths to both of them, who just shrug in response, too baffled to reply verbally.

"Diver down?" John B tilts his head, his cheeks rosy while he tries to ignore his friend's astonished faces.

"Diver down," Kiara nods with a sweet smile as he pulls on his goggles.

He jumps from the side of the boat and salutes in the split second he's in the air before sinking below the surface. Kiara turns back around, the group noticing the faint blush still on her cheeks as she finds herself a seat. Ava drops down onto the bow on her stomach as she peers over the edge of the boat, watching the water ripple form her brother's descent.

Suddenly, she feels a hand frantically tapping her bare legs. She whips around, expecting to tease JJ for the contact, but instead he's staring off into the distance behind the boat, his fingers still lingering on her leg.

"It's the police," He hisses once he notices her looking over her shoulder at him, "Guys, it's the police."

Ava's eyes grow wide as she swings her legs around before standing up, noticing Shoupe's boat sail through the maths towards them, "You've gotta be kidding me," She groans.

"Just act freaking normal," Kiara says, flicking her hair over her shoulders as she sits back, "Normal, okay?"

Squinting her eyes into the distance at the growing boat, Ava recognises a certain woman perched behind the wheel with one hand on her hips. Plum. Probably one of the worst officers in Kildare's police station. She had a reputation to stereotype, but not like most others. She was very verbal with it, making sure everyone and their mother's knew her distaste for the 'burdens'.

Most of the island quite liked Ava Routledge. She had a Kook year where she was lovely to almost everyone, and even as a Pogue she tries her hardest to present herself as likeable. But due to recent events at the Boneyard and the problems with DCS, Ava had a slight feeling Plum would hate her even more now.

Squeezing her eyes shut in frustration, Ava lowers herself down to sit on the edge of the bow with a huff, while her three other friends awkwardly try and act innocent. The siren blares for a second as Shoupe pulls the boat parallel to the HMS.

"Evening officers," Pope greets.

"Evening," Shoupe nods.

"Take this," Plum demands, throwing the rope to Pope, who then passes it to JJ so that he can tie it off correctly.

Squinting at the group, Shoupe begins his questioning, "How you kids doing? You know the marsh is closed?"

"No, no," JJ denies, "I didn't know that."

"Why is it closed?" Pope questions, leaning back slightly in the chair behind the wheel.

"Well, we're conducting a search out here. Boat went down," Shoupe explains, "You seen anything?"

"Nope. No boats," Pope hums.

Ava eyes float over the edge of the boat, watching a few bubbles float to the surface and she swallows thickly, her finger beginning to tap on her thigh.

"Where's your friend you always hang with? He here?" Shoupe asks, gaze flowing to the Routledge girl, "Ava, you've been quiet. Where's your brother?"

Clenching her jaw when she hears her name pass his lips, she straightens up and stare over at the man, "He's working."

Shoupe slowly nods at her words, before jumping from his boat to behind Pope, "Well, I'm gonna check your boat out."

Moving out of the way, JJ hums enthusiastically, motioning around, "Yeah, go ahead. Check her out."

Bringing up a life jacket from the floor of the boat, Shoupe's brows furrow, "You got another one of these?"

Ava stands up, quickly causing the officers eyes to snap over and she motions to the hold door she was just sat on, "It's in there."

Kiara jabs her elbow into JJ's stomach, "Show him."

"Yeah, okay," The blonde boy mutters, stepping forward and lifting the small hatch to reveal the spare life jacket, finally getting the cops gaze to move from Ava.

"Right, good," Shoupe confirms, his tone slightly dampened before he suddenly turns and steps up onto the very front bow of the boat, peering down into the water.

Stepping back beside Pope, Ava bites her lip anxiously as she feels the boy's eyes burning into her face as they hiss quietly at each other in worry. Shoupe steps around the rim, his eyes never leaving the water below. John B must be out of oxygen by now, and Ava prays that he isn't floating under the surface dead.

Turning back around to face the four teenagers, Shoupe sighs, "Alright," He steps down, and heads back towards his boat, "Beautiful day, ain't it?"

JJ agrees, "Sure is.

Standing by his wheel once more and leaning back to undo the tie of the boat, Shoupe says, "You let us know if you see anything on your way out."

Pope salutes towards him, "Will do. Will do."

"We'll be soon, sir," JJ affirms.

As their boat begins to leave, Shoupe nods at him sternly, "Yes, you will." Then they're gone completely, their boat leaving trails in the water as they disappear.

Ava's the first to drop down to the side of the boat, peering over the side while her fingers tapping frantically on the rim. She watches the water ripple normally, no sign of her twin brother. Her three friends lean beside her, anxiously awaiting for John B to hopefully resurface.

"He's definitely out of air," Pope mumbles.

Feeling the anxiety flow from her, JJ's hand drops to Ava's lower back, rubbing it gently. Until a large splash causes water to fly all over and a certain teenage boy gasps for air as hems quick to remove his oxygen mask.

"There he is!" JJ exclaims, hand tapping on Ava's back with excitement as she lets her head fall to her chest with a sigh of relief.

"Jesus christ!" Pope breaths, "Don't scare us like that?"

"How'd it go down there?" JJ rushes over to stand near the ladder, watching John B swim over, "You find anything?"

After a few moments of leaving the question linger in the air, John B looks up at his best friend with a wild smirk before he brings a duffel bag up over the surface and throws it onto the boat, while JJ cheers.

"That's my boy!" He laughs.

"You okay?" Kiara questions, noticing the slight tinge of pain on John B's face.

"Yeah, I ran out of air," He gasps.

Running a hand through her hair, Kie grumbles, "You scared the shit out of me."

"Yeah, the cops were up here, but, u . . . we took care of 'em," Pope explains.

Hopping back beside Pope after placing the duffel bag somewhere, JJ nods enthusiastically, "Yeah, you kinda missed the show, brother."

Narrowing her eyes into the horizon, Ava slowly steps up onto the bow, leaving her friends chatting behind her. She squints at an incoming boat, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion, as she calls, "Guys! Bogey, two o'clock."

"Wha—" JJ's body is the first to rotate at her call, and his eyes widen at the sight of the quick boat getting closer.

"Do you recognise that boat?" Pope questions as they all watch it approach.

Kiara shakes her head, "Never seen it. What are they doing back here? The marsh is closed."

Keeping her eyes on the mysterious boat, Ava shrugs, "Probably the same thing as us. Looking for a sunken Grady White."

"Yeah, well, let's not stuck around and find out," JJ says.

"JJ, get the bowline," John B directs as he drops into the seat by the steering wheel. He taps Pope's shoulder, "Go get the stern. Go!"

As JJ struggles with the bowline beside her, Ava nudges him with her knee but her eyes continue to stay stuck on the boat ahead, "Hurry the fuck up, playboy."

"I'm—" He grunts, "Trying."

Finally managing to get a good grip, JJ begins to frantically pull on the thin rope, "Guys, go! Don't wait for me! Go!"

As his shout, John B is quick to start the boat and eventually JJ is able to drop the anchor on the bow and back into it's box.

"Go, go, go! Further the marsh!" JJ directs.

"Act natural," Pope hisses, "Act natural."

"Ava, get off the bow," JJ's arm wraps around Ava's waist and her pulls her gently from the front of the bow, dragging her into his body as their boats begins to speed up.

"They're following us," Kiara yells.

Patting his best friend's shoulder quickly, JJ shouts, "Dude, you gotta go faster. Gun it!"

Ava's hand wraps securely around the bar beside the steering wheel and JJ's hand falls over the top of hers, encasing it while his front is pressed against her back in an attempt to keep her from moving. In any other situation, this position was appear extremely strange to those seeing it.

Suddenly, a loud bang ricochets through the air, and Ava feels something tiny fly past just inches from her face. At the sound, JJ grabs her and pulls her down instantly, while the Pope and Kiara drop too, leaving John B slightly hunched in the seat.

"What the fuck?" Ava gasps, in complete disbelief that they were just shot at. Her head snaps up to her brother, who's body is on full show to the man following them, "John! Get down!"

Then there is another shot, and JJ's grip on Ava tightens slightly while Pope shields his head with his arms.

"Oh my god, we're gonna die," He rambles.

As more shots are taken, Ava's head is moving all over the place as her eyes scan in the boat while she tries to find a way to prevent them all from dying. She spots the white net rolled up on the floor, and she's quickly shoving her way out of JJ's grip and scrambling towards it.

"AVA!" He shouts, attempting to reach for her but as another bullet whizzes back he retracts his arm, "Get down, Ava!"

As Ava quickly unravels the net, Kiara joins her and the pair work together to flatten it out slightly before throwing it into the water behind their boat, leaving it floating on the surface. The two girls watch as the unknown men's boat comes to a sharp halt, their engine completely shutting down when their propeller gets ravelled up in the net.

As the HMS Pogue disappears round the corner, Kiara and Ava looks over at each other with exasperated breaths before they let out laughs of joy. JJ's the first to cheer, while Pope stares in astonishment.

"Pogue life, man!" JJ laughs, high-fiving Ava when she sits down beside him, "That was some badass shit."

. . .

it makes me giggle when i see people on tiktok slagging off sofia and rafe when they had two minutes if not less of screen time
some people just be pissed cause rafe has a love interest

word count,
2737