— CHAPTER SIX
full kook

***

AFTER a trip to the cemetery that was only semi-successful (semi meaning yes, they did find something that could link John B back to his dad, but it also resulted in them running for their lives again, had JJ barking at a snake, and led to Juliette having a brawl off with Pope, who had ended up in his underwear, might she add) they returned to the Château with their newly found package.

"Gross, dude," Juliette commented, stepping around JJ, who was buttering a piece of bread that had blue and green growing on it. John B sat at the table, slowly tearing open the paper, as Pope scoffed.

"That bread had mold on it three days ago."

"Mold is good for you," JJ said. "It's a natural orgasm."

"Organism," Juliette corrected, rolling her eyes, and Kiara called them from the next room over. "Idiot."

JJ gagged and spit the bread out. Juliette resisted the urge to shoot him a look of disgust. She watched as John B unfolded what was inside of the package, and he opened it to reveal a map with coordinates on it.

"Holy shit," he breathed.

"X marks the spot."

John B ran his finger along the sheet of paper. "Longitude, latitude. Wait, there's something else in there."

He pulled out a device, and JJ cocked his head to the side. "What's that?"

"It's a tape recorder," Kiara said, unamused. "Dumbass."

JJ scowled at her, and then to Juliette. "Stop ganging up on me."

"Stop doing stupid shit," Juliette replied, but she didn't take her gaze off the tape recorder.

"Dear Bird," Big John's voice sounded over the device. Hearing it sent a jolt of surprise through Juliette. "I hate to say 'I told you so,' but I told you so. And you doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment, you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either."

Juliette shared a brief look with John B, whose eyes were wide with surprise. He didn't break their stare, and she saw what she could only assume was a spark of hope flash in his gaze. He only looked away when Juliette turned her attention back to the tape recorder.

"You were probably right to call me out. Wasn't exactly father of the decade. What can I say, kid? I could smell the barn. And hopefully we're listening to this in our brand new sugar-shack down in Costa Rica living off passive investments and pulling on permits. If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for. There she is, the wreck of the Merchant."

She peered at the large spot that was circled on the parchment before them, and shifted on her feet, arm brushing against Pope's.

"If something happens to me, finish what I started. Go for the gold, kid. I love you bird. Even if I didn't always act like it. I'll see you on the other side."

Static crackled as the recording ended, and Juliette watched John B's expression falter. She couldn't imagine how he was feeling. Sure, her brother disappeared off the face of the earth, but they still knew where he was. The last time John B had seen his dad, they had argued. Hearing his voice over the tape recorder probably had his chest tight.

"Holy shit," JJ murmured, but Juliette couldn't tear her gaze away from John B as he sagged against the doorframe. "He did it! He actually did it- he found the Royal Merchant."

Kiara shot him a warning look, gesturing to John B. "Can you please?"

"JJ!" Juliette hissed at the same time, smacking his arm, and going to move around him to console John B, but Kiara beat her to it. Her footing wavered as Kiara wrapped her arms around him, and the room fell quiet.

Juliette did not return home that night, even though she knew that she should have. It was only a matter of time before her mother realized she was missing from her bedroom—and she could only imagine the consequences she'd be seeing through now once she stepped foot in the house later in the near future.

But for the time being, she wasn't worried about that. The five of them sat on the dock towards the back of John B's house, and Kiara absentmindedly played her ukulele as they all spoke quietly.

"How much is it again?" JJ asked.

"Four hundred mil," Pope answered. Juliette sighed wistfully, staring up at the night sky. That was so much money. At that rate, her mother wouldn't even have to worry about paying off the mortgage, they could buy a completely different house. Multiple, at that.

"All right, let's talk the split," JJ stated. "There's five of us, so it'll be slightly less than evenly. But I just want to remind you guys that I am the only one that can properly defend us from those groupers who were after us."

"You mean properly defend us how?" Juliette quipped, lips tugging up into a smirk. "By leaving the gun in a book-bag on the porch?"

JJ looked to the others. "I say we throw Juliette out. All in favor say aye. Then it'll be split even."

Juliette kicked a rock at him as Pope gave JJ a look. "You have zero training."

"Youtube, bro. That's at least a five percent bump right there. Any objections?" JJ kept speaking before any of them had the chance to talk. "Nope. Not hearing any."

Juliette rolled her eyes, and relaxed her leg fully onto the ground as Kiara turned to Pope. "What are you going to do with your eighty mil?"

Pope grew quiet in thought. "Pay for college in advance. And also textbooks. Those are expensive."

"What about you, Kie?"

"Yeah, what does a socialist do when she's rich?"

Kiara shrugged. "Just wanna make a double album. About OBX, the Pogues. You know, the way Catch a Fire is about Kingston. Record it at a a Marley Studio, Peter Tosh producing."

"Peter Tosh is..."

"Dead, I know," she finished, nodding. "But the spirit of Peter Tosh will never die. How about you, Julie?"

Juliette pursed her lips. "Haven't really thought about it. Could go with the safe answer and say invest it to get more money, but I'm not much of a stock market girl. Maybe pay to go to the same university as my brother. Make it impossible for him to avoid me." She shrugged. "Dunno. Buy a yacht, own a smoothie business. Who knows?"

"Maybe health care for your dog," JJ chimed in. Juliette scowled at him. "What? Just saying. They've gotta have Keto diets for animals."

"When you wake up with your head shaved tomorrow, Jay, don't look at me," Juliette said, taking a swig of her drink.

"I know what I'm gonna do," he ignored her, his jaw set, determined at his plan. "I'm gonna get a big ass house on Figure Eight and go full Kook."

Pope smirked. "You're gonna go full Kook?"

"Yup. Gonna get a marble statue of myself, and then I'm gonna get a koi pond. Put a bunch of those fish-"

"I'm never visiting," Kiara teased.

"What about you, JB?" Pope asked, and the four of them fell silent, awaiting his answer.

John B turned his head, and raised his beer. "To going full Kook?"

They all stood to clink their cans against his. "To going full Kook!"

***

authors note

hey y'all i'm back!! idk if this'll get any hits cause obx fandom is dead as hell rn, but i'm going to try and update as frequently as i can now that it's summer