Danny could feel the effects slowly winding down, and with it came such intense drowsiness, that he could hardly believe he was still standing. It was a good solution to his insomnia, but the cost of his delirium outweighed it all as a useful method.

Pope and John B sat around the kitchen table, huddled over the contents of the package, courtesy of Big John.

"John B," Danny said as he looked in the fridge, thoroughly disappointed. "I don't know why I keep giving you money if you spend it all on junk."

"Oh, come on," he replied. "Poptarts and Pringles aren't junk. They're very filling, and that's kinda the whole purpose of food. Unless you Kooks have a different definition."

Pope snorted in amusement and exaggeratedly bit into the S'mores Poptart.

Danny furrowed his eyebrows. He couldn't tell if John B was serious or not. "Do you hear yourself talk? Or is it just, like, you making pretty sounds and hoping that they make sense. They don't, just so you know."

JJ laughed and then he whined to further irritate the boy, "Dannyyy. I'm hungry. So hungry. About to wither away. Ugh." He clutched his stomach for show while trying to contain his laugh at Danny's annoyed pout.

"Shut your face."

Danny turned back to the cupboards and tried to find something worthwhile. He looked a JJ, who leaned his shoulder against the fridge. "You can have shitty cup-noodles, grilled cheese, or peanut butter and jelly."

JJ hummed in thought. "French toast."

"That literally wasn't an option."

"Oh, okay. Um . . . French toast."

Danny scowled while JJ smiled.

"That's going to take forever," Kie said. She traced a longitude line on the map spread out on the table.

"No it won't," JJ replied, still looking at Danny. "You know you want some too."

She shook her head. "We've got to look at this!"

Danny narrowed his eyes when JJ began to pout, his lower lip jutting out.

"Fine," he conceded and threw his hands up. "It's fuckin' whatever. I mean what's the difference between me being at the table and three steps away," he muttered to himself while he gathered the materials, ignoring JJ's praise.

"Wait, there's somethin' else in there," John B said and upended the package into his hand. A device fell out.

"What's that?" JJ asked.

Kie scoffed. "It's a tape recorder, dumbass."

John B pressed play. "Dear Bird."

"Who's Bird?" Danny asked from over his shoulder, mixing the ingredients in the bowl. 

John B stared in shock. He whispered, "That's what my dad called me."

"The fuck he say?"

"What his dad called him," Pope repeated louder.

"I hate to say, 'I told you so,' but I told you so,"  Big John said. "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."

Danny chuckled and placed the bread on the pan to toast.

"I didn't expect to find the Merchant either. 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."

"The barn?" Danny muttered to himself in confusion.

"And hopefully, we're listenin' to this in our brand new sugar-shack down in Costa Rica, livin' 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.  If somethin' 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."

The tape recorder clicked and silence filled the room. John B pushed away from the table and stumbled to the back door. He leaned against the frame and Danny's heart clenched when he heard John B's sobs.

"Holy shit, he did it!" JJ exclaimed. "Big John— He found the Merchant—"

Kie shook her head and looked between JJ and John B. "Can you. . . can you please?"

JJ cringed. "Sorry."

***

Around ten minutes later, Danny set the plates piled high with French toast and slathered in syrup in front of the four. 

"Thank you," JJ said as he took the plate from Danny's hand.

"Shut up."

JJ knocked his forehead against Danny's stomach and then smiled up at him.

"You're annoying," Danny mumbled and sat down in the empty seat between Pope and Kie. He rocked onto the two back legs of the chair and rested his interlocked fingers on his stomach.

After a brief lapse of silence, JJ asked, "How much was it again?"

"Five hundred mil," John B answered as he stared at his plate.

JJ drummed his hands against the edge of the table. "All right, let's talk the split." He stuffed a bite in his mouth and said, "Now, before we say 'evenly,' may I remind you that I am the only one that can properly defend us from those groupers who were after us. Protection? Not cheap, okay?"

Pope shook his head. "You haven't trained. You've done zero training."

"YouTube, bro! That's at least a five percent bump right there."

"You haven't—"

"Any objections? Didn't think so."

Pope looked at the blond incredulously, "Yeah."

"I don't hear any, so . . ."

Kie shook her head. She slide her plate in front of Danny and tapped his knee. He glanced down from peering at the ceiling. She pointed at the leftovers on the plate. "What are you gonna do with your 100 mil, Pope?" she asked.

Danny took a bite to appease her.

"Pay for college in advance. And also, textbooks. Those are expensive."

"Such a boy scout," Danny teased.

Pope ignored the dig.

"What about you, Kie?" Danny asked instead.

Pope nodded along. "Yeah, what does a socialist do when she's rich?"

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

"Peter Tosh is dead."

"Peter Tosh is dead. I know. Spirit of Peter Tosh will never die."

"I know what I'll do," JJ determined. "I'm gonna get a big ass house on Figure Eight and go full Kook."

"You're gonna go full Kook?" Pope repeated doubtfully.

"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," Kie said, scrunching her nose in distaste.

"Danny?" Pope asked.

He hummed. He never thought about it, so he said the first thing that popped in his head. "Buy a plane and learn to fly it. Move to France."

"Why a plane?" Kie asked.

"Someone's gotta be able to cart you idiots to France and back."

They all laughed.

"What are you gonna do, JB?" Pope asked once they all quieted down again.

John B lifted his gaze. He smiled slightly. "To going full Kook."

"To going full Kook!"

***

Not long after, they all spread out to go to bed.

Danny claimed the pull-out in the living room, right under the ceiling fan. He could already hear Pope snoring through the screen door out on the couch on the porch. The last time he glanced at his phone it was around two-thirty. He was overly conscious of the pinch in his neck, the spring at his thigh, and the wind chimes outside.

When Kie walked into the kitchen for a glass of water, Danny perked up. "Kie," he whispered.

She took a moment to respond. He could hear her placing the cup in the sink. She rounded the corner and said, "Yeah?"

Danny leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling once more. "Will you lay with me and trace my back? I can't calm down enough to sleep."

He heard the floor creak as she stepped closer. She sunk onto the mattress. "Come here," she said and lifted her arms.

Danny smiled gratefully and laid his head on her chest and wrapped his arms around her like she was a life-size stuffed animal. "Is this okay?"

"Yeah," she whispered back and began her light, mindless traces on his back.

He sighed contentedly and closed his eyes.

After a moment, he asked the one thing that's been racing in his head. "Was it embarrassing? Earlier in the van?"

When she took a while to respond, Danny groaned and took that as the answer.

She rubbed her palms on his back. "Hey, no. I didn't say yes."

"But you didn't answer."

"I was thinking."

"That's literally not what I want to hear."

She chuckled and started her tracing again. "I don't think he found it weird if that's what you're worried about," she whispered once Danny calmed again. "It was unexpected, I'll give you that. But it wasn't embarrassing, I don't think."

Danny sighed in relief. Danny couldn't care less if he personally was embarrassed. He was worried about making JJ or anyone else uncomfortable because of his actions.

"What'd he do earlier to make the top-ten list?"

Danny sighed. He adjusted his position on the bed and threw his leg between Kie's.

"He came by the shop. I had just gotten out of the shower, and he was so close, Kie. I could feel his breath on my stomach. It was all so much. I couldn't stop thinking about it."

He felt her body shake slightly in silent laughter.

"Stop laughing."

"I'm not," she said despite a chuckle following right after. "No wonder you were so horned up."

"I'm never smoking again."

"That's probably wise."

They descended into silence. He felt almost numb in relaxation as he held Kie while she traced feather touches on his skin. He listened to the steady breathing and the faint tick of the clock to finally clear his head.

He felt her lips press to the crown of his head. "Good night," she whispered, and Danny finally fell asleep.

***

Danny felt something pelt the back of his head.

"Stop it!" Kie whisper-shouted and swatted her hand. Danny rocked slightly at the movement.

He groaned and squeezed her tighter. She instantly brought her fingers to his back and traced his skin in gentle movements. Danny sighed contentedly.

He could feel Kie shake again and he propped his chin on her chest and looked at her. "What? Do you want me to move? You can just shove me off, you know."

Danny rolled off of her to the other side of the bed and covered his eyes with his arm. He felt the bed shift as Kie got up. "You're an asshole," she muttered and then a 'thwap' of a flick on skin.

"Well, wasn't that cozy?"

Danny removed his arm from his eyes and leaned up on his forearm. JJ sat on the ottoman with a box of Cheerios on his lap. He lazily tossed one at Danny's forehead.

Danny furrowed his eyebrows. He grabbed his phone to look at the time. 10:34

He's never slept so long in his life. It felt like he missed the whole day.

"Was wondering why you weren't waking me up this morning," JJ mused. "But looks like you had other plans last night, huh?"

Danny's mind felt foggy. Was this what it was like for normal people to wake up once they've slept for eight hours? He felt like his mind was playing catch up to the world around him. He fell back onto the mattress and extended his arms to the side.

"Let's go Sleeping Beauty," JJ said and stood. He walked into the kitchen and returned the box. When Danny hadn't moved a muscle when he returned, JJ walked over the pullout and leaned over Danny. He lightly slapped Danny's cheeks a few times.

"She drug you? The hell's the matter with you?"

Danny swatted away JJ's hand. "Fuck off."

He pulled at JJ's arm to help himself up. His head swayed at the new position and he blinked harshly. "You drugged me," he mumbled. "What kinda joint was that?"

JJ chuckled and assisted Danny until he was upright. "Normal joint. You just can't handle your weed. Hey, maybe you're allergic?"

Danny sneered and mimicked JJ, "'Maybe you're allergic.' Fuck off."

"Hey!" JJ laughed as Danny shuffled away, the heel of his hand pressed against his eye. "You're the one who's practically hungover."

Danny groaned and offered JJ his finger as a response. He opened the screen door of the porch and stepped out. He cringed and squinted his eyes at the bright light. Pope and John B were standing on the dock preparing the Pogue for the day. Kie already laid on the bow sunbathing.

JJ exited the Chateau and stood beside Danny. "You've got internet at home, right?"

Danny side-eyed JJ. ". . . Yeah."

JJ smiled and slapped his shoulder. "Perfect."

***

Danny laid on his stomach on the bow of the boat. His chin was resting on the arm tucked under his head while his other hand dangled over the side, his fingers tracing the top of the water.

"Any dolphins?" Kie asked him.

Danny rolled his eyes and fought off a smile. Last summer he spent a month holed away on his boat looking for dolphin sightings. He hardly let any of them come with him, too afraid that their loud voices would scare them away. Lou joined him on the rare occasion where he'd tolerate seeing Danny outside of work.

"No," he replied and rolled over. "Not yet. But my dreams are not crushed. I will swim with one, one day."

"Sure," John B teased.

"Wait," JJ said and looked over his shoulder at another boat cruising toward them.  "You guys see that? That's the Malibu 24-MXZ, the world's finest wake setter. Number one in luxury, quality, and performance."

"Nerd," Danny mumbled.

JJ slapped his leg, and finished his praise with, "200K, easy."

"We picked the wrong parents," Pope said lowly.

"I hate to break it to you guys," Kie said. Danny could pick up the disdain in her voice. "But that's Topper and his girlfriend."

Danny looked over and relished how Topper pointedly kept his gaze forward. He smiled slightly when Sarah offered a tentative wave. He returned the gesture.

When he stopped staring after her, he winced at the looks he was receiving from his friends. "What?"

Pope's whistle was long and drawn out.

"What!" Danny asked, scandalized.

"Just thought you sleeping with Sarah was a rumor."

"Are you kidding me, Danny!" Kie snapped.

Danny turned to JJ for help, but the boy was looking at the other boats in the Marina. Danny raised his hands in surrender.

"I know she didn't wave at me," John B commented and shrugged innocently in Danny's direction. Danny scowled at him. John B stirred the pot in the most inopportune of times.

Danny shook his head. "I feel like anything I say will make you guys mad," Danny said. "We're, like, friends? She comes over sometimes."

Danny slapped his forehead in annoyance when Pope whistled again.

"Oh, she comes over?" Kie accused with exaggerated finger quotes.

"Yeah?" Danny hesitated to answer. "It's not for that long. She's, like, indecent most of the time so I don't even look at her much—"

John B's loud laugh cut off anything else he was going to say.

"Dude," Pope said with a shake of his head. "She's with Topper," he added like it was something Danny forgot.

"Yeah," Danny huffed. "I'm very aware of that, Pope. Why are you guys so, like," he asked and just waved his hand in their direction when he couldn't come up with an accurate description.

"Because!" Kie shouted and crossed her arms.

Danny's phone started ringing in his bag. It was placed under the Captain's chair, so he asked Pope to get it.

"Your dad," Pope said.

Danny's eyes widened and he yelled, "No!"

"Sorry," Pope said with a cringe. He swiped accept before Danny responded.

Danny sighed and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and motioned for Pope to toss the phone. Danny held to phone to his ear and prepared his blank face.

"Daniel!"

Danny pulled the phone away an inch at his father's booming voice. He stood from his crisscrossed position and rubbed his jaw.

"Where in the world could you be that's more important than your mother's fitting. You're an embarrassment, you know that? You are the only one who is making her fall behind."

Danny took in JJ's wide eyes. The rest of his friends were watching him silently. He really needed to remind them about privacy.

He wasn't sure they could hear through the receiver so he switched to Japanese. "What are you talking about? She said I could do it tomorrow?"

He stepped onto the bow and faced the water. It was as much privacy he could manage on a boat.

It was difficult for Danny to determine if what his father was saying was true or not. He could never trust a word the man said. He'd make shit up just to be able to yell at Danny, and remind him of how much a disappointment he is. He guessed this is what that was. He hadn't seen his father in a few days, so their weekly fight was a bit overdue.

Danny didn't think it warranted a phone call though. Normally his father loved to look in his eyes as he tore Danny down. It made it that more fun. So with the call, came Danny's doubt that his mom actually did need him today.

Danny could feel his friend's eyes burning into his back at the language shift.

His father continued as if Danny didn't speak, but he did change to Japanese as well, "How many times can you disappoint us? First, you're a fag, and now you break your mother's heart. Such a disappointment. You don't even deserve to—"

Danny felt his blood boil. He spat viciously, "Don't talk to me about disappointments. You're the real embarrassment here. You're just a deadweight has been and always will be. Mom doesn't love you, and I sure as hell never did. Don't call me again."

"Daniel!—"

Danny ended the call. His shoulders heaved with his deep, furious breathing.

"Everything okay?" JJ asked quietly.

Danny ignored him and called his mom just to make sure his dad wasn't lying for once. She picked up on the first ring.

"Hi mom," he said, switching to French to keep his friends out of his family business. He doesn't need to burden them with his problems. "You don't need me today, right? We're doing fittings tomorrow?"

She gasped in surprise."Oh, baby, I love it when you use French. You're such a natural. Your voice reminds me of your grandpa. It was so nice to listen to when he sang. Oh! You should try that sometime."

Danny rubbed his eyes and interrupted, "Mom."

"Right! Yes, yes. We have fittings tomorrow. Sarah will be there. I told her to come around one since yours shouldn't take too long. Her dress would look great with your suit, you should ask her to be your date."

Danny sighed and looked at the sky. "She has a date," he said with a shake of his head. She wouldn't stop if he hadn't clarified. "I've got to go, mom. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"All right, Danny. I love you."

"Love you."

Danny sighed deeply and shoved his phone into his pocket. His friends were wisely quiet when he turned around.

He walked across the haul toward Kie's famous red cooler. He grabbed the first beer he saw, cracked it open, and chugged it as his life depended on it.

"New rule," Danny said after he wiped his mouth. He crushed the can and tossed it back in the cooler. "Don't answer my phone. Ever."

"Sorry," Pope said quietly.

Danny sent him a half-hearted smile. "Not your fault."

***

They cruised along Danny's dock. He hopped out of the Pogue and tied it off.

"You sure it's cool to be here?" JJ asked.

To be honest, Danny didn't know. He placed his hands on his hips and stared at the back of his house, looking for signs of movement. His mom either worked at the office or in her fitting room in the house. He couldn't tell where she was from over the phone.

He didn't know if his father was with his mom or not, or if he just called to make up the lie.

It was a gamble. But one thing he was sure of, is that they wouldn't be in his room. Yet he still said, "Let's just be quick."

He held his hand out for Kie to grab and they all followed him across his yard and to his back door. Danny unlocked it and they filed in.

"Oh, my God!" Pope praised. "Air conditioning."

"Go sit on the couches, I'll get my laptop."

Danny walked over to his desk positioned beside his bed. He shifted away some stray papers covering the keyboard. After a moment's thought, he tossed his phone onto the surface of his desk. He didn't need it, anyway. All his friends were with him.

He handed his laptop off to JJ. "Be right back," he mumbled.

"I got the map," John B said and pulled it from his backpack. He smoothed it out on the Mahogany coffee table.

JJ logged into the laptop and pulled up the website. He handed it off to Pope.

Danny walked back over to his desk and grabbed his flower vase. It's been a while since he watered them. They were flowers from his mom's garden in the front of the house and along the side walkway. Bright orange and yellow Marigolds, light pink Peonies, mixtures of green, purple, and white Zinnias, small bundles of Baby's Breath, and his favorite, orange Poppies.

He walked to his bathroom and tilted the vase under the faucet as he heard John B  read off the coordinates, "34° 57' 30" north. 75° 55' 42" west."

"Boom, continental shelf right there," John B said as the exact location began to shape.

Pope said, "Well, if it's off the deep end, it's not gonna be much of a treasure hunt, is it?"

Danny wandered over to his desk and set the flowers back in their designated position: beside the lamp and under his framed photos of the Pogues hanging on the wall. One photo was of the four boys pressing the surfboard over their heads with Kie laying on the top, her mouth wide in laughter. Another was of him and Kie snuggled together on the hammock, their hands extended to reach for fireflies. And the final photo was of Danny and JJ sitting at a bonfire, smiling as they stared at each other.

"Shit, it's on the high side," he heard John B exclaim. "It's only 900 feet."

Danny moved closer and leaned on the back of the couch, looking over Pope's shoulder.

"That's not too deep," JJ added.

Kie walked around the couch to stand beside Danny, looking at the screen. "Is that doable or something?"

"Yeah, totally doable." JJ nodded easily.

Pope sent him a doubtful look. "Will we be taking your personal submarine?"

John B nodded. "How do you know this, Mr. Dive Master?"

"The salvage yard. They got a drone that can drop 1,000. It has a 360 camera and everything. It's for, like, deep dives and stuff. It's exactly what we need."

"Can your dad get his grimy little hands on that?" John B questioned.

"Well, my dad's grimy little hands got his ass fired. I guess the salvage captain frowns on showing up shitfaced, turns out. But the drone's there. It's in the impound yard out back."

Danny hummed. "Well," he said, a smile starting to form. "I've always wanted to pull off a heist." He leaned over and clapped his hand onto Pope's and JJ's shoulder and shook them. "Oh, it'll be like Ocean's 8. Pope, you're like Rhianna. Kie: Anne Hathaway. John B: Sandra Bullock. JJ: Cate Blanchett. Perfect."

"I don't know," Pope said wearily. He closed the laptop and placed it on the coffee table.

"Don't be such a party pooper! It'll be fun," Danny promised. "And, hey, if we get caught, I'll just bail you guys out of jail. It's really a win-win."

"That's pretty sound logic," John B agreed.

"I'm in!" JJ said.

"500 mil, Pope," Kie said and she tugged on Danny's wrist, heading for the back door. "Let's go!"

*****

Booo we hate Danny's father

Thanks for reading <3