008
carlos 'santa claus' singh

Bianca wasn't prepared for the shit storm she was walking into.

She knew JJ would be furious. But she kind of hoped he'd still be holding Pope's hand by the time she came back. Alas, he was not.

Instead, leaning against the wall was JJ, chewing the nail of his thumb. When he heard the two girls walk in, he whirled around, jaw clenched.

"Ooh," Cleo sing-songed. "Someone's in trouble."

"Where were you?" JJ demanded, striding up to his girlfriend. "You can't just-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Bianca shoved a cutter in his mouth, forcing him to bite down. At first, the boy tried to rear his head back but upon realizing he was chewing food— real, proper food— his body slackened.

Bianca glanced over her shoulder at Cleo who was watching with amusement, "See? Told you. Hangry."

"I was—" JJ scarfed down each morsel, trying to talk between bites. "So worried— you can't just leave like—" He swallowed again, practically having inhaled the entire thing. "Like that— it's stupid and— what if you— you had gotten caught— what is this? And do you have more?" He glanced up hopefully.

Bianca laughed at the boy, tilting her head in adoration. She longed to throw something at him. A brick. The chair. Herself. But mostly the chair.

"It's impolite to talk with your mouth full, JJ," She told him, pushing his chin closed with her pointer finger. She brushed past him to glance out at the ocean, careful not to rouse the others.

"Yes, ma'am," JJ took note of how her eyes crinkled at the corners and knew she wasn't putting on a front. The sight made his heart flutter.

This was the old Bianca he missed so dearly. The one who teased him when he said something stupid and drove him insane with her stubbornness. He wished he could capture her like this, in the sunlight.

"For real you guys, don't do that again," JJ directed his lecture at Cleo this time, who rolled her eyes. "We're supposed to be incognito-"

"Incognito?" Cleo arched an eyebrow, propping a hand on her hip.

"Yes, incognito," JJ rambled. "Okay, but no, seriously, do you guys have more of that?"

"JJ," Bianca began slowly, stepping toward him. She'd spotted something in his back pocket, "What is that?"

"What's what?" JJ whirled around, his gaze widening. "Oh- and give me my hat back," He snatched it from her head and put it on his own.

Bianca rolled her eyes, "That," She spun him around, narrowing her eyes at his back pocket where a small rectangular outline peeked through.

It appeared to be a phone but it couldn't be. JJ would've told them earlier.

"B, please, have some decorum, it's impolite to stare..." JJ scoffed dramatically before his lips morphed into a boyish smirk and he glanced down at his butt. "But do you think it's cute?"

"JJ!" Cleo and Bianca shouted at the same time, causing the boy to jump and raise his hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright!" He dusted his hands of bread crumbs and pulled out what truly was a phone. "Jeez... This is a souvenir that I plucked from Portis' pocket."

"You have a phone!?" Bianca gasped, snatching it from his hands.

"Yeah, I was looking through it while y'all were gone," JJ shrugged as if this wasn't their ticket to free Kiara.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?!" She glared at him.

"I forgot!" He defended. "It was in my back pocket- that's my bad!"

"Oh my god, dude," Pope rubbed his face, having awoken from all the screaming. "Can we go anywhere without you stealing somethin'?"

"You know the answer to that, Pope," JJ pursed his lips.

Sarah pushed herself up onto her elbows from where she was sleeping on a ragged, old couch and frowned at the ruckus, "What's going on?"

"JJ has a phone!" Bianca threw her arms up in exasperation.

"What?!"

"Let me see it," Pope groaned, getting off the floor to examine it.

"Nice work, rude boy," Cleo walked further into the room, standing beside Bianca.

"I steal shit. That's my job," JJ proclaimed.

"How'd you get this unlocked?" Pope's eyebrows furrowed at Bianca.

She shrugged, "It was already open."

"No passcode," JJ explained. "Portis keeps it loose."

"What are you looking for?" Cleo craned her head to see.

"The kidnapper," The blond boy responded.

"Or any information that'll help us negotiate with this guy," Pope interjected, scrolling through the Phone app. "The only problem is, I don't see a Carlos Singh in the contacts."

"That's the problem," JJ deadpanned.

"It just looks like a bunch of nicknames," Bianca's frown deepened.

"Wait," Sarah joined them with her arms crossed over her chest. "Didn't Portis call him something else?"

"Right, right, right," JJ's eyes widened suddenly. "Yeah, he called Singh something when we were jumping his ass. Yeah- he- it- it was like Rockfish or- uh-"

"Can't remember," Cleo wracked her mind.

"Catfish?" Pope offered.

"Oh, shit. No, no- no- what was it?" JJ groaned. "Holy crap, um..."

"Kingfish," A sleepy murmur drew the Pogues' attention to John B who rolled onto his back from where he was asleep on the ground mere moments ago.

"Go back to sleep, JB. You're not invited," Bianca scoffed to which he responded by raising his middle finger with his eyes still stitched shut.

"That was it," JJ pointed at the Routledge boy. "Kingfish."

"Kingfish, that was it," Pope repeated, typing the name into the contacts. "'Kingfish,' there he is. Kingfish."

"And we in business," JJ shared a knowing look with Pope. "Alright, phase two...text him, okay?"

"Wait, what?" Bianca reared her head back.

"And say what exactly?" Pope arched an eyebrow.

"You know, you said it. Negotiate, right?" JJ rambled but as he began talking the group shared looks, already knowing where this was going. "Pretend to be Portis, ask him to meet somewhere in private. That was- that's really important. Just solo. Bam! We jump his ass, tie him up, and then politely request for Kiara in return for his life."

Bianca pinched the bridge of her nose, "Why do your plans always involve kidnapping someone at gunpoint?"

"Hey, I said politely this time. No guns," He defended.

"Oh, you're such a gentleman," She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, your plans usually involve blackmail and extortion so let's not act all innocent," JJ huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "So, until y'all come up with something better, that's actually- that's the plan, alright?"

"Like that's gonna work," Sarah scoffed.

"It's not a bad idea," John B suddenly whirled around from where he was pacing.

"Not a bad idea? It's a fucking terrific idea!" JJ was growing impatient.

"O-kay, I'm going to say it," Pope interjected with a half-shrug. "We should think this through."

"What- what's rule number one?" JJ interrupted. "Thinking never helps when you already have the idea!"

"No, no, no, hang on," Sarah cut in. "I agree with Pope. This could make things ten times worse. For us and for Kiara."

"Okay, how 'bout we take a vote?" Pope offered.

"What is this? A democracy?" Bianca narrowed her eyes causing the other boys to scoff. "This is going to seriously backfire."

"Exactly, so everyone who thinks we should be smart and think this through instead of doing something incredibly rash, raise your hand," Pope put his hand up along with Bianca and Sarah. "And everyone who wants to storm the fort, guns-a-blazing and endanger all of our lives..." To which John B and JJ's arms shot up.

Bianca laughed humourlessly, "Not surprising," But her eyes widened when Cleo's hand also lifted. "Cleo!"

"What?" The girl shrugged. "There's a lot of talk coming from that side of the room but not a lot of doing."

"Like I always say, it's better to act without thinking than to think without acting," JJ hummed with a smug look directed at his girlfriend.

"You've literally never said that," Bianca deadpanned, glaring back. "Like ever."

"Oh my god, okay-" John B threw his head back in exasperation. "How much worse can it actually get?"

"I can think of a few ways," Sarah bit back sarcastically.

"Okay, great- well, while you're thinking why don't you just let it rip?" John B pointed to the phone.

JJ took the phone out of Pope's hands, his smirk widening, "Thank you."

"Uh, who died and made you leader?" Bianca scowled.

"Uh, because I am," John B mocked as if it were obvious. He was the glue of the group. The one who brought them all together.

"Please, the only thing you lead us to is near-death experiences," Bianca grumbled under her breath before crossing her arms over her chest and sitting on the couch with a huff.

JJ made quick work of drafting up a simple message and forcing John B and Sarah, quite reluctantly, to pose as if they were kidnapped. The text under it read 'I got these two'.

The Pogues sat around the couch, anxiously awaiting a text back. Although, it didn't seem to deter their appetites because the moment Bianca opened up the bag of food and water, it was gone in less than five minutes. They hadn't had a proper meal since being rescued off the island by Portis.

"Yo, he's texting! He's texting!" JJ rose to his feet while the others regrouped in the middle of the room.

"What's he saying? What's he saying?" John B asked eagerly.

"No- I- it's doing the little bubble thing," JJ waved his fingers around, propping himself up on the couch. A ping alerted them of the newest text, "'Send me your location. I'll come meet you,'" He read aloud.

"He wants to know our location?" Pope's eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah, that's exactly what we wanted!" JJ threw the phone toward John B who caught it. "Here, check it. Boom!"

"And say what?" Sarah piped up.

"Well-"

"We can't give Singh our location," Cleo outstretched her arms. "Just give him some random place."

"Alright- where? Where do we want to send him to?" JJ posed the question.

"What about the horse tracks?" Pope proposed. "I saw them yesterday. It's a wide, open space. We can do some surveillance?"

"We can see they're coming before they see us," Bianca nodded, contemplating it.

"Yeah- yeah!" The blond boy burst at the idea, pacing back and forth. "Now we're working- now we're jelling! Yeah, I like it, I like it! And if we have to make a getaway, we'll just hop on some horses, guns-a-blazing!"

"No, we're not- we're not horse-backing with guns," John B shook his head.

"Scratch the horses," JJ whipped out the buzzing phone again. "I just got another text..."

"John B, we can really plan this out, man," Pope nodded. "What are you thinking? You know, maybe sneak from behind and use JJ as bait."

"We'll just put him in the middle of the field," John B agreed.

"You know, usually I'd be all for using JJ as bait," Bianca interrupted hesitantly, she wasn't sure how serious the boys were about this plan. "But this time I'd like to voice my concerns."

"Uh, little announcement," JJ pursed his lips, causing the others to fall silent as he read from the phone. "'Never mind, I just tracked your location... And I'm sending my men. They'll be there in ten minutes to pick you up."

The Pogues froze, taking in the contents of the text. The breeze bristled the fallen leaves surrounding them. None of them spoke, a deafening silence accompanying JJ's proclamation. They were sitting ducks.

John B sighed before his gaze turned accusatory, "Wait a minute- did you turn off your location?"

"So..." JJ trailed off.

"You didn't turn the location off?!" Pope shouted, shooting forward out of his seat followed by Cleo.

"Never mind," Bianca stood up with a glare. "I take it back, I'm all for the bait idea."

"Woah, woah, woah- hey!" JJ protested when John B and Pope tried to snatch the phone away from him.

Bianca's frown deepened. She was fuming, yes, but it could've been anybody's mistake. Her eyes narrowed at the way they all ganged up on JJ, "Hey-"

"Turn the location off!" John B yelled, his voice reverberating off the empty walls.

"Turn it off!" Pope matched his tone, the three of them bickering over each other.

"Okay, I have a Samsung!" JJ defended.

"I have a Samsung too!" John B ripped the phone out of his hands.

"Guys!" Bianca tried again.

"I can help!" Cleo craned her neck to see over the boy's shoulder while Sarah paced around nervously.

"This right here is why you need a plan!" Pope groaned.

"Hey, everyone- just shut up!" Bianca abruptly raised her voice, throwing one of the couch pillows at the back of John B's head who let out a quiet 'oomph!" at the impact. The others fell silent, "Everybody just relax for a second!"

"Yeah, yeah- let's just think about this," John B turned back to the phone in his hands.

"What are we gonna do?" Pope deadpanned while JJ walked away to sit on the ground.

"It's done, okay!?" John B threw his arms up. "Just gotta figure something out."

"And hope he doesn't kill us?" Pope arched an eyebrow.

"Guys, we're running out of time," Cleo warned.

"What're we gonna do?" Pope paced up and down, chanting to himself.

"I- I don't- I don't know, I don't know," John B spluttered. "I'm thinking."

"Well, y'all, I know you guys might not wanna hear it," JJ strode up to them hesitantly, holding his hat in one hand. Immediately, the others began shaking their heads, "But we got home-field advantage. We can turn this around."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Bianca deadpanned.

JJ merely smirked at her, the sly one he made when he was concocting something utterly stupid. He lifted the hat to his head and adjusted it, "We're gonna booby trap this shit."

The Pogues glanced between each other again, as if contemplating it. Cleo's arms fell limp at her sides while Sarah still appeared doubtful. John B and Pope shrugged, they had to try, at least.

"We're not running from this dude," JJ tried to pep talk them. "This is our best chance of getting Kiara back. It's gonna work, alright?! We got ten minutes-" He clapped his hands together. "Come on!"

The group began scrambling around, trying to figure something out with their limited resources. Although, Bianca wasn't at all impressed with JJ's plan, and followed after the boy.

"So, what's the plan?" She raised her eyebrows. It didn't seem like he thought it all the way through.

"I dunno- we can make tripwires and- and-" He stuttered.

"Tripwires-" Bianca scoffed. "Why don't we leave some warm milk and cookies for him while we're at it?! He's not Santa Claus, JJ. Singh's men are-"

"I know, I know that, okay!?" JJ kept walking without glancing back, the girl trailing after him. "I haven't thought that far ahead."

"Clearly," Bianca rolled her eyes before halting in her stride.

The blond boy, however, had yet to notice her disappearance and continued rambling, "Look, B, maybe instead of getting on my case you could think of something that actually- B?" He whirled around when he realized she wasn't behind him. "B?"

Bianca didn't respond, slowly crouching down beside the large hole in the ground. Her eyebrows drew together, gaze flickering up at the ceiling above them and then the floor below. Her mind was turning, and the others could see it too.

Cleo stepped forward to stop her from leaning too close to the 'sinkhole' as she called it. Before she could interject, Pope placed a hand on her shoulder, "I wouldn't if I were you."

Cleo's frown deepened but she didn't utter a word. None of them did until Bianca stood up again.

"Okay..." She trailed off in concentration, finally glancing between the others. "Here's what we're gonna do. John B and Sarah, since you're the bait I need you to tie yourself up with some rope- your shoelace- anything but make it look legit."

John B and Sarah nodded, no questions asked. The boy immediately reached down to his sneakers and began pulling them out.

"JJ, pass me that sheet," Bianca instructed the blond who pulled off the thin fabric from over the couch. She reared her head back when dust bellowed from it, "Now, this is only going to work once so, JJ? Hold onto your hat you're gonna need it."

"Yes, ma'am," JJ nodded, tipping his hat toward her with a wink. There was something about the way she ordered him around that excited him.

"I need you to pretend to be Portis, You're going to lead Singh and his men to Sarah and John B," Bianca explained as she covered the hole with the sheet, while Sarah lay the other side down. "He's going to step through the sinkhole and fall to the third level. Pope, Cleo, that's where you two come in. They're going to be carrying weapons- probably guns, so get rid of those first and then-"

"Then we mad-dog them," JJ interrupted, outstretching his fist.

"Yes, then we mad-dog them," Bianca rolled her eyes but returned the fist-bump anyway.

A silence echoed through the hotel, the group glancing between each other. If there was a time for objections it would've been then, but nobody piped up with anything other than a nod.

"I'm impressed," Pope pursed his lips. "But this is all relying on the fact that there won't be a lot of them. And knowing Singh, he's going to come with backup. A lot of it."

"I'll take care of it," Bianca dismissed. "I'll be lookout, if there's more than one of them or too many, I'll figure something out. But if we stick to this plan, we might actually have a chance of making it out alive."

"Alive sounds good to me," John B confirmed, the group nodding between each other in mutual agreement. "Alright, let's get in positions- Pope, Cleo figure out your game plan. Sarah, you're with me, come on-" He instructed.

Immediately, the group got to work, heading to their designated spots while discussing how they were going to pull this off. John B and Sarah pretended to tie themselves to a wooden pillar in front of the sinkhole while Pope and Cleo found a hiding spot near the stairwell on the level below.

Bianca and JJ headed up to the top-most level, trying to find the best lookout position for the girl. It wasn't long before the blond boy was announcing to the others that Singh and his men were arriving soon.

"JJ, go!" Bianca urged, pushing at his chest. He needed to get to ground level before they got there, "They're gonna be here any second. I'll be fine!"

"Okay, okay- wait, wait, wait-" JJ backed away but not before placing a quick kiss on her lips. "Now, I'm done- bye, I love you!" He called over his shoulder.

Bianca's lips parted in disbelief at the same time JJ halted abruptly. Her heart raced in her chest, unable to comprehend the words and now flippantly her boyfriend said them. It wasn't that she didn't know, just that she wasn't expecting him to say it. And right now, of all times. It caught her completely off guard.

JJ's eyes squeezed shut, slowly turning on his heel to face his equally dumbfound girlfriend. He winced, "Shit, sorry- no, I'm not sorry- damn it."

It took a second but the colour was returning to Bianca's cheeks. Now, she merely watched JJ stutter and fumble over his words with amusement. His expression was the perfect picture of embarrassment; ears tinged red, face pale, and avoiding her gaze. He truly believed he messed everything up.

Bianca's eyes widened, "JJ, wait-"

"I was gonna do- plan this- this whole thing and it was supposed to be grand and big and- and decked out-" JJ ran a hand through his already tousled hair. "Pope was gonna help get me rose petals or like, a violin and shit or- something like that, I don't know we didn't really work out the specifics but-"

"JJ- stop," Bianca tried but he could barely hear her over the sound of his own voice.

"Shit- I know I fucked up, it wasn't supposed to be like this, I'm sorry," He rubbed the back of his neck. "Actually, you know what? I'm not sorry-" He strode toward her with determination emblazoned behind his gaze. "B—"

Before he could get another word out, Bianca put her hands on either side of his face and the room fell away around them. When he felt her fingers, he flinched; he had never been touched with such gentleness since his childhood. JJ was no stranger to girls and had felt their hands on all parts of his body, but her touch made him feel like he belonged someplace. Not just any place. With her.

JJ had never gotten so lost in a kiss before. His heart kept missing beats and his hands couldn't bring her close enough to him. He tasted her and realized he'd been starving. He'd been starving all this time. He loved before, but it never felt like this. He kissed before, but it didn't burn him alive.

Maybe it lasted a minute or maybe it was an hour. All JJ knew was that kiss, and how soft her lips were when they brushed against his, and even if he did not know it until now, he'd been waiting for this person forever.

Bianca pulled away first, holding his stark-struck gaze, "I love you, JJ."

JJ wasn't sure how he was still standing considering he could barely feel his knees. He blinked once, then twice, afraid she wasn't real and just a figment of his imagination. Someone he created in his dreams. He studied the curvature of her lips, the slope of her nose, and the sun-kissed freckles on her skin as if it were his last day on Earth.

"JJ?" Bianca whispered when he didn't utter a word. "Singh's going to be here soon."

"Mhm," He made no move to leave as he stared at her in a daze.

"JJ," Bianca laughed lightly, a not-so-stern lilt to her tone. She could hear the distant rumble of jeeps pulling up below the building, "You have to go."

"Hm?" His heart was so full of her he could hardly call it his own.

"Go," She repeated, arching an eyebrow. "Now."

"Right," JJ shook his head, forcing his feet to back away. "Yeah. Going- oh, shit-" He almost tripped over a stone, causing the girl to giggle.

Bianca watched him disappear around the corner. She turned around, feeling her own heart flutter with giddiness. She wrapped her arms around herself, unable to stifle her growing smile. Her fingers hovered over her lips, reminiscing over the kiss.

"I love you!" JJ called over his shoulder as he jogged down the stairs, desperate to hear the words again.

"JJ!" Bianca rolled her eyes.

"Yep- going- I'm gone!" His voice echoed from the stairwell.

She was hell-bound and he was heaven-sent. Bianca wondered if he too felt the invisible thread attaching them. If he chased her because she tugged at it because it hurt when one of them got too far away.

The slamming of a vehicle door ripped the girl away from her giddy daydreams. Immediately, her arms fell limp at her sides, the reality of the situation settling in.

She treaded toward the edge, peering below at the strapped and brawny men unloading out of black jeeps. Her breath hitched, not at the guards carrying large, metal guns but at the way they cleared a path for a dark-bearded man adorning a starched grey suit.

He may have been shorter in stature but the way the men straightened their spines as he passed sent chills up hers. Singh's shoulders were pushed back and his mere presence commanded the authority of these soldiers.

It was then, that Bianca realized the dire extent of their situation. This wasn't someone who had nothing to lose like Limbrey. This wasn't someone as gluttonous and money-hungry as Michael and Ward. This wasn't even someone as psychotic as Rafe.

This man, Singh, was a cool, calculated killer and he knew exactly what he wanted. Unfortunately, what he wanted just so happened to be Bianca and her friends' heads mounted on a pike for the rest of the world to see.

author's note. hi my loves! what did u think of this chapter? balancing writing and life is so hard but i love doing it and i never wanna give it up <3 in other news, i am still in love with drew starkey! so nothing new!