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.*･｡. EFF IT! .*･｡.
————PILOT
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011.
AND THE OSCAR
GOES TO...
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    Turns out, not so easy.

    "Shit..." Sonny breathed out, "Shit!"

   By the time she made it to the marsh and was able to see the HMS POGUE in the distance, the cops had already beat her to it. They were already driving up on the other side of the Pogues with the sirens blaring.

   Fuck.

   Sonny quickly shut off her boat and ducked.

Luckily her vision was good, and she'd spotted the boat in the nick of time — at a distance away enough that the cops might just have missed her.

It wasn't worth the risky, anyway, and so Sonny kept to her knees, peering over the side of the boat. She squinted, trying to watch their every movement, and she quickly figured that, if they had seen her, then she wouldn't still be hiding behind the thick brush of greenery.

   She couldn't believe they beat her.

   How long had she taken? Couldn't have been that long, surely. The marsh was closed so it wasn't busy. Not that it ever was. Usually the marsh was pretty barren.

She supposed Topper's bitch-fit had taken up some of her time. Still, Sonny didn't think it had taken long enough that the cops would've already caught the Pogues red handed. It was early evening still, and while the Pogues were always too loud for a bunch of misfits who loved to sneak around in the places they weren't wanted, she figured this would have been the one they were quiet for. They were loud, yes, but not stupid. Whatever was on that boat, if anything, they wanted it. And Sonny doubted they would jeopardise this chance of success and end up luring the cops in.

JJ was a liability, but she felt his hunger for money might overcome his recklessness.

Then again, what did she know?

Sonny exhaled sharply.

"Okay..." she murmured, brows furrowed.

What was she meant to do? Well, she supposed there was nothing she really could do. Only watch the scene from afar.

From what she was able to make out, there were only three silhouettes on the POGUE; one that was obviously Kiara and two of the three boys.

   One was leaner, less broad in the shoulders, with a lack of hair sticking out from under his cap. That was Pope. And as for the other boy, whose hair was shaggy beneath his hat, his figure adorning a shirt with no sleeves, had to be JJ. She was sure; his nose made a smooth slope when he faced the other way. She wasn't sure how she knew that.

Regardless, that meant if John B wasn't on the boat, there was only one place for him to be.

   Her eyes flickered down to the water. She cursed.

   John B had already gone down.

    "Deadman," she sighed.

   Maybe Sonny should've been more optimistic. That said,  she always thought optimism was for dummies. Why would she lie to herself and act like life always went up, when that wasn't true? Most of the time life just went down. Constant downs. Not everything went as planned, and not everything could be flipped to find a positive.

   Sometimes, life was just negative. Other people just liked to sugarcoat it.

Well, not Sonny. She thought it was trash. Positivity, hope. They wouldn't get you very far — god, if she had a dollar for every time someone spouted all of that we all get through with a little hope bullshit, Sonny would be twice as rich as she already was. Having hope just let you down.

You could gather all the hope in the world, it still wouldn't change anything. And she firmly believed that. She thought it was safer to be realistic.

Right now was the perfect time to be realistic — seeing as John B had gone diving with no real training and with stolen equipment, completely unaware that the cops were hovering directly above him.

Sonny grimaced at the thought.

She tried to think about the chances of John B making his way out the water without getting caught. They were as slim as you could possibly get. So naturally, Sonny thought about his chances of not coming back up at all.

It was difficult. How long had John B been down there? How much air did he have?

Judging by the way Kiara occasionally looked over the far side of the boat, down at the water, probably not enough air for this to go on much longer.

"Jesus..." Sonny rubbed her face.

   She watched Pope fumble about nervously. Her dark eyes rolled, "Hopeless."

   It was a marvel these kids ever survived the cops.

   Was it time to step in?

Deciding that it would probably be her best way of saving her own ass as well as their's, Sonny glanced around, looking for something distracting. Something that could buy the kids more time. Eventually her eyes gazed upon the boat's motor.

   She could...

   ...but she shouldn't...

   ...sorry, dad.

   Still crouched, Sonny shuffled over. She quickly spared a glance over her shoulder to make sure no one was looking.

   When she figured it was clear, she continued— until it all dawned upon her she had no idea what to do. While sailing boats was in her repertoire, she didn't know all the kinds of mechanics behind them.

Boats were one of the very first things she and her father bonded about, as a kid. He took her sailing once, and she'd screamed the entire time— Ed first thought she was scared, but apparently she had a big grin on her face, totally at one with the water and sails. It was a story that her parents liked telling every birthday. Topper'd found it cute, always teasing her about it, but she wasn't embarrassed. Not until now — where she realised that, amongst all the sailing she had done with her father, she never once asked him to teach her about boat mechanics. Sonny never asked. She knew nothing that went beyond the basics.

   Topper was good at boat stuff.

   Figures.

   But he wasn't here right now, thank god, so he couldn't show her what to do. It was up to Sonny.

   Breaking boats couldn't have been that hard, could it?

   She only had to break it in a way that could be fixed, so her father didn't kill her. Sonny didn't know how to do that. What if she told him it was for a good cause?

    "Fuck," she murmured.

   Sonny's tongue ran over her lip, bringing her thumb up to her mouth to bite the skin around her nail.

   Time was running out, and another look over at the cops told her that she needed to be quick — the deputy was now roaming about the POGUE, so the teenagers looked fidgety. Even JJ was acting off, stumbling to show Shoupe what they had in the hold. A small part of Sonny — an evil part — found amusement in it. The sight of JJ Maybank acting that shaky around a couple of cops.

   Bitch, really?

   Sonny shook her head, not the time!

    "Okay..." She looked back at the motor, hoping the longer she stared, then the more likely it was for an idea to just pop into her head: maybe she'd suddenly know the mechanics of boat engines if she prayed?

   A beat.

   Nothing.

   "C'mon Sonny," she muttered.

   With a deep breath, chest rising and falling, she unclipped the cowl lock and pulled off the plastic. She pushed it to the side haphazardly, eying up the motor.

   It looked complicated. Sonny should listen more in school. Sure, there was no real class that would help her, but she had this feeling she should listen more anyway. Maybe some sort of science could've helped her, or maybe it would have been the wise choice to not ignore her father when he went on his wild tangents about boats every week. Perhaps that would've meant she could do this.

   Not only was she destroying her family boat, but she wasn't even going to do it justice by making it a decent break. Her face grew warm.

    "Screw it," she huffed.

   With little other plan, Sonny eyed up a piece of metal that looked semi-important, curling her hand around it. She gave the piece a squeeze, hoping it wouldn't just blow the boat up or some shit, then pulled on it.

   The piece quickly flew out of place.

   Sonny put the keys in the engine and listened as the boat's engine spluttered. A sly and proud grin slipped onto her lips.

    "Fuck, yeah!"

   Sonny turned to the wheel, steering forwards.

   The noise was pretty loud. Loud enough that the cops and the Pogues heard the struggling engine before they could see it. Then they heard the shouts.

    "Hey!"

    JJ frowned.

    "Hey— over here!"

   His brows cinched, and he looked past Shoupe's shoulder while the officer turned on his heel. A breathy laugh passed JJ's lips when he spotted her, and he quickly tried to mask it with clearing his throat harshly.

   Sonny fucking Penbrook.

   He exchanged relieved smiles with Pope and Kiara, both seeming just as grateful. Because there, in the near distance, sailed Sonny princess Penbrook — arm waving, stuck out the side window of her expensive Kook boat, which sounded as shit as one on its last legs.

    "Throw a girl a line?" She called out.

   When she was closer, Pope tossed her the rope. She swiftly hooked it until secure then switched off the motor, hands on her hips as she turned back to where the group watched her. She shot them all a dazzling smile.

   JJ could tell it was forced.

   He wanted to laugh.

    "Hi, officers." Sonny tried to sound out of breath. Maybe not her best acting, but it was believable enough. Only JJ was smirking knowingly. She tried to ignore his face, "I really hate to bother you like this..."

    "No, no— it's fine, Sonny." Shoupe smiled, though it was about as forced as her own. He was clearly pushing down his irritation so he could try and treat a Kook with some respect. Pogues didn't get that kind of treatment. "What're you doing here? Marsh is closed for the rest of today. I saw your father earlier, thought he woulda told you."

    "Sorry," feigning guilt, Sonny nodded. "I know, but silly me, I left my sunglasses out here when I went fishing for the swell, yesterday," she touched the sunglasses she wore. "Found 'em."

   JJ wondered if she was trying to show the cops how much money she had. Those sunglasses looked hella expensive and granted her some of the power in the situation. Shoupe had his tail between his legs.

   JJ was actually kinda impressed.

    "I was on my way back but my motor started making that sound," she pointed at it, "Then, I saw your boats and... you know, it's a lot to ask when you're busy, but could you maybe take a look?"

   Shoupe looked at his fellow officer, then the Pogues.

   She smiled wider, "Please?"

   It was a toss up, like Shoupe debated something, but then turned back to her and nodded.

    "I don't see why not," he agreed, stiffly.

   How could you say no to a Kook?

   Sonny moved aside, making room for him to step over and onto her boat from the POGUE. She slowly edged backwards and slipped her hand into the back pocket of her shorts. The metal piece stung the tips of her fingers with how cold it was. She shuffled discreetly, stopping when the backs of her calves hit the boat's edge. Sonny retrieved the motor piece from her pocket, holding it in a closed fist.

"Been playing up long?"

"Five minutes, maybe." Sonny said.

Shoupe nodded and popped off the cowl, peering down at the motor and scratching his chin. He looked totally clueless.

   While he was pretending to know what he was doing, Sonny cleared her throat and sent JJ a pointed look, playing off her turn with a flip of her hair. When she turned back, Shoupe's fellow officer, Plumb, watched skeptically.

   Sonny waved.

Noticing the twitch of her other hand, JJ's eyes flitted from the back of head, down her spine, and traced the line of her arm all the way down. A smirk broke onto his mouth, leaving him no choice but to rub his face to hide it as he analysed the piece of metal she held.

   JJ was no boat expert, but he was pretty sure that her boat needed that piece to make it run.

   My, my princess, he smiled, you crazy genius.

Her hand twitched again. JJ got the hint. He inched a bit closer and moved out his hand, his shoulder hidden behind hers. Their position hid their handoff from prying eyes and nobody noticed him reach over the side of the POGUE, nor the way their fingers brushed softly as her missing piece slid into his hands then into pocket of his board shorts. It was a surprisingly smooth transaction.

   Shoupe sighed, "Not looking good, Sonny."

    "I could always take a look," JJ offered, smirking at how Shoupe's eyes narrowed.

    "Stay where you are, Maybank."

    "Got it."

   JJ raised his hands in defence and moved back, kinda glad that Shoupe hadn't taken him up in his offer. JJ knew motors, but Kiara was always better with boats.

    "Am I gonna make it to the dock?" Sonny knew she had been stalling for a while, and she had yet to spot any sign of John B under the water. "My mom made us cheesecake for dessert tonight, s'all."

    "Can't have you missing that, can we?" Shoupe said, the words rigid as they passed his lips. He gave the Pogues a last stare, long and hard. He clearly wanted to book them, but it wasn't like he had anything to charge them with — thanks to Sonny. "I can tie you to the back, tow you out," he said, "We were just leaving anyway."

   Success? Sonny thought so.

    "That'd be very kind of you, Shoupe."

    "Don't be so formal, I know your parents." He said to her, "You can call me Victor, kid."

   That peaked JJ's interest. How come Kooks always got the respect? He knew Sonny had just helped them; it wasn't her fault that her money got her respect from cops, but he could feel the irritation building. There wasn't a chance in hell that an officer would have told him, or his friends, it was okay for them to call him something other than the great holy one who we must respect and kiss the feet of.

    "Can I call you Victor?" He asked.

   Shoupe glared, "Final warning, Maybank."

   JJ rolled his eyes.

    "C'mon," the deputy eventually turned back to Sonny. His smile was still painfully fake, "Let's get you back home, kid."

   Sonny nodded and let him and Plum, who was still glaring at her (she had caught Sonny with cocaine at this party once, like, a year ago, long story), connect the boats. Pope helped out, he was the only trustworthy one — marginally — , which spared the others the chance to look into the water, hoping to see any sign of John B.

   An uneasiness graced over them. It had been a long time, probably too long, and Sonny could feel her stomach stir. It wasn't her problem, she told herself. Sonny had done all she could do now.

   It didn't make her feel any better.

   As to not look suspicious, Sonny turned her attention back to the rope connecting her boat to the POGUE, moving over to untie the knots. She tossed it back and JJ caught it, not-so-discretely patting his pocket.

   She sent him a look and sliced her finger over her throat. It was a threat, no doubt. A promise.

Either way, JJ just snickered childishly.

Kiara elbowed him, "Quit it."

Thanking Shoupe again and taking his hand, Sonny let the cop help her into the police boat with a tight smile. She wasn't used to smiling so much. It kinda made her face ache; Sonny wanted to go back to frowning. The muscles in her cheeks just weren't used to this.

"Move on out of here — alright?" Shoupe told the Pogues. The trio nodded swiftly, trying to look innocent, "The marsh is closed until we say otherwise."

   His eyes flitted to Sonny.

    "I don't wanna see your faces out here, again."

"Yes, sir."

"You got it,"

"See you later, probably."

All of them glared at JJ. He shrugged.

As the motor started up and the cops peeled away from the HMS POGUE, Sonny span on her heel and watched them get smaller and smaller.

She squinted at them and pulled her fingers to her hairline to salute, then flipped her palm over and gave them a middle finger. Sonny hoped they were freaking grateful! After all, she had just put everything on the line to save their asses! If John B wasn't alive, or if they didn't find anything down there, she was sure it would all be one giant waste of time. It better have been actually worth it somehow.

...not that Sonny wanted to know what they found, if they found it. Because Sonny didn't care. At all. She only wanted them to feel appreciative of what she'd just done. That way, they could go on with their dumb mystery while she went on with her normal life.

Grateful didn't even sum it up.

The Pogues watched her go, mouths agape.

When John B finally broke through the surface, a lack of air in his tank and his lungs, he rose a brow at the gaping teens. A silence lingered, "You good?"

JJ shook his head, "Bro..."

"What?"

"Sonny," Pope stated, still shocked.

John B clambered back onto the boat with their help and watched the cop's boat disappear, blinking slowly. "Sonny?"

His friends nodded.

"Sonny just saved my ass, again?"

"Yeah, bro." JJ nodded, "She saved our asses, big time."

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