Bʟᴀᴄᴋʙᴇᴀʀᴅ (3)
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The boat ride was silent. The teens silently second guessing whether or not they wanted to actually do this. JJ looks down as Estrella leans her head on his shoulder. He then looks around now noticing everyone's solemn expressions, "Yo, guys, lighten up. Okay? All right? You're making me nervous. We're gonna slide down there, take a peek. Worst that can happen, it's not there, old fart's disappointed, we go home. Pogues win. Okay? That's the worst."
JJ then picks up a beer he brought, "Meantime though, who wants to crack one with me?"
"No. Hey, hey. No." John B says taking the beer from him, "No drinking."
"All right. It just takes the edge off." JJ shrugs
•••
"John B, we're in Coast Guard territory now. Should be about 20 yards. One o'clock. Okay, that's close enough." Pope says before turning to JJ, "Hey, slow her down. We're at the drop site now."
"JJ, what's our depth?" John B asks
JJ turns on the monitor, "Seventy-eight."
"Okay. Ready?"
"Here we go." Pope says, "Switch out. You guys get ready. John B, keep us in position."
•••
"They hit the drop site." Cleo says as she looks out into the water through the binoculars
"Just keep a lookout for the Coast Guard." Sarah sighs
•••
"Honestly, it's kind of like surfing The Point, you know?" JJ says as Kie helps Estrella zip up her suit, "We're upstream, and then the rip is just gonna... take us out."
"Yeah." John B nods
"Yeah."
"Right." Estrella nods. She looks up as JJ sets a speargun down, "Is that necessary?"
"Yeah, yeah, I mean, reef, fish-" John B lists
"And the man in the gray suit."
"That too."
"Don't forget your safety stop, all right?" Pope says, "Fifteen feet for three minutes. Hear that, JJ? Fifteen feet, three minutes."
"Copy that."
"Or what?" Estrella asks
"The bends, remember? Nitrogen in the blood, excruciating pain, death, et cetera, et cetera." Pope says. Estrella lets out a deep breath as she nervously adjusts her suit. JJ looks up to Pope, "She should know. It's part of it."
JJ looks to her, "Hey, you good?"
"Yeah." She nods
"Okay." He says taking her hand and pulling her up
"Okay."
"Let's do it, then." He says as he sits on the edge of the boat
She takes a deep breath while sitting beside him, "All righty. Diver down."
"Diver..." JJ starts before leaning over and kissing her temple, "down."
The two pull the rest of their gear on their head. Pulling their goggles on and putting the regulator in their mouths, "All right, Star. You ready?"
"Yeah, I'm good." She says. JJ nods before falling back into the water. Estrella not far behind him as the two turn on their flashlights. Estrella being sure to stay close by JJ as he swims down.
•••
"Hey. You all good over there? See any cutters?"
"See anything?" Charlotte asks
"Mm-mm." Cleo hums
The radio beeps as Charlotte holds it up to her mouth, "Nothing yet. No sign of the Coast Guard, but we've got some fog moving in. Once that hits, we're blind."
The radio beeps again, "Copy that."
•••
It's not long before JJ and Estrella make it down to the boat. JJ turns and points before swimming around. Estrella follows him as he swims through a door. The two shining their flashlights around for any sign of the amulet.
As JJ continues looking around, Estrella checks the other side of the boat to keep watch. Her brows furrow as she looks down noticing equipment lying at the bottom of the boat, "JJ. Come here. Look."
JJ swims over looking over the equipment Estrella found. The girl turns to him and shrugs, "I don't know."
Before she can think, the girl is pinned down by another diver. She screams as he reaches for her mask.
"Estrella!" JJ yells. He grabs the speargun and swings at the man. The man dodges and tries stabbing JJ with a small knife. JJ groans as he struggles with the man, "No! Hey! Help! Help me!"
The man shoves JJ out of the boat before slamming the door shut, "No! Estrella! Estrella! Hey!"
"JJ!" She yells swimming away from the man
•••
"Are we still all good up there? Talk to me. Do you see anything?"
"Do you hear that?" Cleo asks pulling out the binoculars
"What?" Sarah asks
"That." Cleo says. Sarah and Charlotte turn as a boat's engine revs. The two then catch the boat fly by, "Ah, shit. That can't be good."
"Guys, guys, guys, there's someone else out here. Get out of there right now. Bogies coming your way." Sarah says into the radio, "It's not Coast Guard."
When there's no answer, she speaks into the radio again, "Pope? John B? Kie?"
•••
"No!" Estrella yells as the man grabs her by her leg and pulls her back
"No! Estrella!" JJ yells
The man yanks Estrella back and wraps his arm around her before snatching her oxygen mask off. Estrella yelps as he detaches the tank and swims off.
Estrella holds her breath as she tries swimming toward where JJ was, "JJ!"
She looks over as JJ slams something into the wood of the door and breaks it. He reaches in and undoes the latch on the door. He grunts as he pushes the door open and Estrella reaches out for him as he holds the regulator out to her.
"Hey. Come on. Come on." He says before placing the piece in her mouth. As she breathes in, JJ sighs, "Thank God."
He pulls the monitor out as Estrella groans, "We gotta go. We gotta go now. Okay?" He says, "Yes. Yeah."
"Mm-hmm." Estrella nods
JJ grabs her arm and leads her out. He grunts as he pushes a gate open, "Come on. Star, let's go. Come on."
The two swim up as quickly as they can. Estrella pants as they reach the top and take deep breaths. JJ coughs as they pull their masks off. Estrella pants, "Oh my God!"
"Are you okay?" JJ says swimming closer
"Yeah. That was so close!"
"I know. Who the hell was that down there?"
Estrella looks around, "Where's John B?"
"John B!"
"Hey!" Estrella yells as they wave to the boat, "Hey! John B!"
"John B!"
They watch as Pope, Kie, and John B wave them over. The two swim over as quickly as possible. As they get closer, JJ calls out, "Pope, get the ladder!"
"Get the ladder!" Estrella says
Pope puts the ladder out before leaning down, "Estrella, hand me your stuff. Wait. Where's your BCP?"
"It's gone."
"What? What do you mean, it's gone?"
"I mean, it's gone." Estrella says as she climbs up the ladder
"You all right?" Pope asks helping her on
"Yeah."
"There was a guy that tried to kill us, Pope." JJ says climbing up
"We saw a boat out here too." Pope says, "They were armed, alright? We need to get out of here now."
"No, you don't understand. There's a guy down there-"
"There's a boat out here. We just saw it pass."
"Grab the ladder. Let's go." John B says
"Get the ladder." Kie says
"Hold on." John B says as Pope pulls the ladder in, "You good? You all right, man?"
"Yeah." JJ says, "I'm fine. Just get out of here."
"Go, go, go!" Pope says as Estrella leans on Kie. John B turns the boat on and slams on the gas.
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