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"Okay, so, obviously, it's a map of sorts, right?" John B points

"Yeah, but looks like a trippy mosaic." JJ mutters

"It's so weird. It's all scrambled." Kiara says

"What are we supposed to do with this?" Sarah asks

"Decode it." JJ says blowing out smoke, "That's what we're supposed to do."

"But... how?" Charlotte squints

"With the code breaker? That's how." He says making her tilt her head, "All right, everything's coming into focus now. You've just got to let your eyes go out of focus for it to be in focus."

"That- doesn't make any sense." Estrella mumbles with her head in her hand. John B passes the joint to Sarah

"I think we're mind melding." He says

"We got a mountain range." JJ says

"What are you doing?" Kie whispers to Sarah

Charlotte looks over as Sarah's eyes widen, "Oh. Oh. Shit. Sorry."

"Waterline, right?" John B says

"Good job. The blue's water. The jungle-"

The room goes silent as something clatters. John B looks around as JJ eyes stay on the map, "What was that?"

He turns when the fence rattles. He and John B stand upright at the continued noises. Kie looks around, "I knew we shouldn't have come back here."

John B grabs the bat beside the counter while JJ grabs a paddle left on the wall. Estrella reaches over and takes a random flannel hanging on the chair and covers the map. John B looks out at the front lawn while JJ takes the back.

"Nothing on your side?" JJ asks

"No. Nothing. That's so weird." John B says, "It kinda sounded like maybe it was-"

Gasps are let out as someone jumps out from behind him. Groff holds his hands up, "Oh. Sorry. I'm sorry."

"Jesus." Kie sighs

"JJ." He pants, "You made it. I, uh, I'm sorry to bother you here."

"Oh my god." Sarah mumbles

"I swam... I swam all the way in."

"What are you doing here?" JJ says

"I... I had nowhere else to go, son."

Estrella looks over catching JJ's eyes. With a huff through his nose, he sets the paddle down and walks over to Groff. Wrapping his arm around his shoulders and helping him sit.

•••

"So you're JJ's real dad?" Kie asks

Groff sighs, "I don't deserve the title, but yes, I am JJ's biological father. I could have done better by him, I know that. I look forward to telling you all about it."

"Right." Estrella scoffs

"But I'm afraid time is short. We are all in danger here." He looks around and points at the table, "Let me guess. You opened up that packing tube over there and you found a scroll inside, but you can't read it. That scroll is encrypted."

"How do you know that?" John B asks

"Because if you took that from the Corsairs, I suspect that you are in possession of the Mogador scroll, created by Barbary pirates in 1703. The Lupine Corsairs are dangerous mercenaries. Now you've stolen from them."

"Okay, so what... what the hell is this Mogador?"

"It's... a map."

"To where?" Charlotte asks

"Well, if I knew the answer to that, I'd be a very rich man, but I can tell you who made it." Groff says, "Murad the Younger."

"Murad?" John B mutters to himself

Grodd tilts his head, "Oh, you know him? Barbary pirate, slaver. In 1703, a Berber shepherd gave Murad a gold coin as tribute. He asked the shepherd where he'd gotten the coin, and after some persuasion, the Berber told him about a hidden vault in the desert filled with gold. And one other very special item."

"The Blue Crown."

"So you know what it is?"

"Uh, it's a..." John B starts as he looks around. Finally catching the faces of his friends silently telling him to stop talking. Sarah clears her throat, "My dad was a historian. Um, it was just, like, a bedtime story."

"Mmm." Groff hums

"Yeah."

"What is it, though?" Kie asks, "The crown thing."

"A mythical artifact, and if you trust the legends, a dangerous weapon capable of granting wishes and rendering enemies defenseless." Groff explains

"And you believe that?"

"No, of course not, but it's invaluable." He shrugs, "I'm looking for it just like you, and if I could help find it, I'd... just want to get my cut. Nothing more."

"If they found it 300 years ago, there's no way that magic cap is still there." JJ says

"Maybe, maybe not. See, Murad was encamped in Essaouira, in what's now Morocco. But before he had a chance to follow the map, it was stolen by an enterprising young woman named Elizabeth Howell, who later became Blackbeard's future wife."

"Elizabeth Teach." Kie says

"Very good." Groff nods, "Blackbeard helped her elude her captors, and the two of them escaped to the Carolinas with the map. The rest of their lives they wondered, was there really a vault in the desert that held the crown? On the day he died-"

"He left Elizabeth the map." Sarah finishes

"And now you have it. But you can't read it, right?" Groff says, "You need a lens, a special lens, a piece of refracted crystal encased with a... chain. Elizabeth Teach had that lens when she was killed at Blackstone."

"So let me guess, you, uh, you have that lens." Charlotte says

"Not in my possession, no. But I know where it is."

"Where?" JJ asks

Groff looks over at him, "Your mother's grave."

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A little while later, Estrella and JJ were out on the balcony. JJ paced back in forth in front of her, "No, they're, like, definitely not from here, but the guy... the guy we saw down at the wreck, he has something to do with them too."

"They didn't hurt you?" She asks

"No. No, no." He says, "I mean, they tried, but they were mainly after Groff. He pissed them off. He did something to them."

"So they knew each other?"

"Oh yeah. They definitely know each other." He says sitting beside her

"Mmm." She hums while JJ lets out a sigh, "And you really... You believe he's your dad?"

JJ pauses, "I mean, like the portrait of Larissa, and, like, we... do things similarly. I can't really explain it. But yeah, I think he is."

Estrella nods as she looks down at her hands. JJ looks over as she wrings her hands together. He furrows his brows, "What?"

"Do you know how scared I was?" She says looking over at him, "When you yelled that if Shoupe wanted you to come out, he would've had to come get you? And then seeing Pope tackle an officer just so you could get out?"

JJ clenches his jaw, "I know."

"Do you?" She asks raising her brows. JJ's eyelashes flutter as he looks down, "I know that this whole thing with Groff and Luke is a lot. Trust me, I get it. But the idea of something happening to you while you were in that building or while you were on the boat, terrified me."

JJ's eyes stayed locked on the table in front of him, "I'm sorry."

"JJ." She says scooting closer and grabbing his hand. He looks over at her, "I love you. And I know we're all here together and we have the shop and for now, the house, but you're all I have. And I cannot lose you."

"You're not gonna lose me, Star."

"Jay, we've never had it good here. They've never been on our side. They're just waiting for you to screw up."

"I know." JJ says before nodding, "I know they are."

"Just- please." She pleads, "I need you here."

JJ nods again. It goes quiet between them for a moment before he clears his throat, "I have something for you."

"What do you mean?" She asks as he digs in his pocket. He pulls out a ring with an old chain going through it. He holds it out to her, "What is that?"

"A ring." He says, "I found it. I thought you'd like it. I know it seemed like when I ran off that I wasn't thinking about you, but I was. There wasn't a second that I wasn't."

Estrella takes it and turns it around in her hand. It was beautiful. Definitely not something they could've afforded and it probably wasn't something JJ just found.

Estrella smiles, "And by found, do you mean you saw it in the store you broke into?"

"They're not gonna miss it." JJ shrugs. A small smile spreads across his face as she chuckles

"I love it." She says. He nods as she looks down at it again. She then leans over and rests her head on his shoulder. He lets out a small sigh before placing a kiss to the crown of her head.

"I know I screw up, a lot, but I'm glad you stick around." He says

Estrella squeezes his hand, "Always."

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