FIFTY-THREE

❝ Tickle The Wire ❞

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AVA STARES OUT OF THE CAR WINDOW while Pope and Kiara scream in annoyance at JJ because he brought the gun. She rests her head in her palm, her elbow placed on the door handle while she watches the waves flow beneath the bridge.

To say that the new information about her twin brother and his girlfriend were actually very much alive was surprising, would be a major understatement. The denial stage of her grief could finally come to an end and she can enjoy things knowing they're in the Bahamas alive. But, she can't help but feel guilty. She should've tried harder to find them, or not given up so easily because maybe if she didn't then John B's name would be cleared by now and he'd be home, annoying her in real life instead over text.

Kiara glances through the rear view mirror at Ava and her hands tighten around the steering wheel slightly noticing a small tear spring into the girl's eyes. Even though she's quick to wipe it away before it falls, Kie notices and bites her lip anxiously.

"You okay back there, A?" She asks.

Ava's head snaps up and she nods enthusiastically at the girl in the driver's seat, "Perfect."

JJ watches his girlfriend with narrowed eyes and he slips his hand across to her thigh, squeezing it gently while sending her a soft smile. She attempts to return it, but a her lips just wobble and she turns away once more.

He faces the front again, his grip on her thigh neve loosening, "Guys, we gotta keep this simple, or we'll never get John B off."

"Or we just tickle the wire," Pope smirks, holding up his AirPods.

Kiara's brows furrow, "What?"

"Tickle the wire," He nods, "I plant my phone in his car, and then we listen in on the AirPods," He holds his phone up to Kie's lips, "Say something."

She screws her face up in confusion, "Something."

A second later, and he hums happily, lowering his phone, "Okay, we have audio," The car rolls to a stop outside of the pilot's house, and Pope begins to unhook his seatbelt while saying, "Alright, honk, or, uh . . . or yell or something if you see anything suspicious."

She nods, turning to him, "Don't do anything dangerous."

"Come on," He opens the door, slipping out, "I'm not them," He motions to the two sat in the back before disappearing towards the house.

"Funny, Pope," JJ mutters, "I mean, we're the one in an actual relationship and it feels like we're the one's third-wheeling y'all."

Kiara rolls her eyes, "That's physically impossible."

Ava purses her lips, sitting forward to poke her head through the seat gap so she's able to smile at Kiara, "So. . . how's it going, you know, with Pope?"

Kiara places her palm against Ava's face, pushing the girl back into her seat, "It's good."

Ava and JJ share a look before the blonde boy says, "It's good? Alright. . . In the bedroom, is he, like, kinda freaky, 'cause it's Pope, you know?"

Whirling around in her seat, Kiara glares at him, "Why are you asking?"

"I don't know. Just kinda curious," He shrugs, while Ava snorts beside him, raising her hand to cover her mouth, "Just spitballing here."

"You don't need to spitball," Kie turns away, rolling her shoulders back uncomfortably, "Ava, how do you deal with him? I— it's unbelievable."

Ava let's out another laugh, but doesn't bother answering the question and turns to stare out of the window to prevent herself from looking at JJ's mischievous face.

"Ranking wise—" JJ continues, Ava's struggle to keep in her laughs making him continue with a smile.

With wide eyes, Kiara looks back at him, "You're still asking?"

"Yeah, I was just curious," He hums.

"Oh, you were just curio—"

"Is John B better?" He rushes, causing the whole car to fall completely silent, and Ava slowly turns her head to stare at him in astonishment.

"What?" Kiara gasps.

JJ holds his hands up in a surrender, looking between the two girls warily, "Okay, sorry, sorry."

The passenger seat is pulled open and Pope slips in quickly, "Okay. Phase one is complete," He turns around to look at the two in the back, noticing how Ava is still staring at JJ in confusion, "Is everything— are we all good here? Or. . ."

"We're fine," Kiara nods quickly, staring the car to kill the tension.

Ava rolls her eyes at her boyfriend, who's smiling childishly at her, "You're— you're actually unbelievable."

He leans across the middle seat, pressing a quick kiss to her lips before laying back with a smirk on his lips as she shakes her head.

❦

While rubbing circles on Ava's calves that are draped across his legs while she lays horizontally across the car seats, JJ grumbles, "Why does she get to tickle?"

"She's the best," Pope answers.

"Should I do an accent?" Kiara asks.

Pope hums in agreement, "Definitely disguise your voice."

Kiara swallows thickly, switching to a dodgy english accent, "Is this how you guys would like me to talk?"

Ava screws her face up, shaking her head, "Nuh-uh. Not like that."

"Most definitely not," JJ agrees, pursing his lips as the girl in the driver's seat turns to stare at them, slightly offended.

"Batman," Pope suggests.

Quizzically, Kie deeply says, "Batman."

Pope points at her, nodding enthusiastically, "There you go."

Ava laughs quietly, and as Kiara begins to call Gavin, JJ's hand gently slaps across her mouth while his eyes glare into hers, and Kie's head snaps in her direction. Ava raises her arms into a surrender, mouthing an apology.

"I— I can't do it—" Kie begins, causing Ava  to huff lowly.

Pope shakes his head, motioning towards the phone as the call is picked up, "Just go."

"Hello?" Gavin's voice grumbles from the other side.

Kiara clears her throat, scrapping the batman idea, "Is Gavin there?"

"This is Gavin. Who's this? Hello?" He rushes.

Biting her lip, Kie says confidently, "I know what happened on the tarmac."

He attempts a fake laugh before lowering his voice slightly, "Um . . . who's this?"

"It was Rafe Cameron," She snarls, "But you already knew that, and you lied about it."

"Okay, who is this?" His voice begins to sound more urgent.

"We're gonna prove it. You're guilty."

"You're gonna tell me who this is right now."

Anger begins to build up in her as she raises her voice, "You could have saved her, Gavin, and you didn't. And you're not getting away with this."

"Listen to me!" He shouts, "Who is this?"

Rolling her eyes, Kiara ends the call and drops the phone to her lap, turning in her seat to face her friend's, "How was that?"

JJ nods at her, "Yeah. I was scared."

"Alright," Pope hums, taking in a deep breath, "We tickled the wire. Phase two complete. Now we wait and listen."

Only a few minutes later, and Gavin's car's headlights are blinding the teenagers as he leaves his home. Pope curses quietly, directing everyone to hide. Staying in her laid down position, Ava turns her head slightly and JJ hunches over her legs, hiding behind the driver's seat.

"He didn't see us," Pope confirms, straightening back up and he taps Kiara quickly as she starts the car, "Go, go, go, go, go. My seatbelt won't—"

"Are you seriously buckling up now?" JJ yells.

"Yes, I'm buckling up—"

"Jesus christ, Pope!" Ava calls, straightening up and unjamming his seatbelt for him.

He shoves his airpods in, and JJ and Ava lean forward, both of them peering through the small gap between the two front seats.

"He's talking to Ward," He explains, staring at the car in front, "Get closer. I— I can't hear."

Kiara hums in understanding, "Okay."

He zones out for a moment, readjusting the earphones position, "He's talking about negotiating something. Renegotiating," His eyes suddenly go wide, "Gavin's got the gun that Rafe used to kill Peterkin. The same gun Ava took. After Rafe took it from us, he— he must have given to his dad, who— who gave it to Gavin to toss, but he didn't get rid of it."

Ava straightens slightly before pressing her forehead against the back of Pope's headrest, "Holy shit."

"I think he's trying to use it as extortion, as leverage," Pope continues.

"Wait— wait," Kiara calls frantically, "He's pulling over."

"Shit," Pope curses, "He's panicking."

"Do I pull behind him? What did I do?" Kiara rushes.

Taking a deep breath, Pope directs, "Just— just go around the block. Just go, quickly."

"We're gonna lose him," She bites her lip.

As she attempts to drive as fast as possible around the block, Pope curses loudly.

"I can't hear anything. Shit. I'm losing the signal. I can't hear him," He rushes frantically.

Ava narrows her eyes at the road workers blocking the route in front of them, "What the fuck is this?"

"Stop!" Pope yells, "Just stop and turn around now."

"Pull in here," JJ points to a nearby driveway, "And back up."

At the sound of a reversing beep, Ava and JJ swirl around in their seats, watching as a digger reverses out behind them. While the blonde boy jumps out to hell at the construction workers, Ava sprints after Pope as he runs into someone's garden.

"AVA?" JJ shouts and as his girlfriend disappears from his view, his eyes drop to Kiara. He pulls open her door quickly, "Come on. We gotta go after them."

The both of them break of into a sprint, chasing after their quick two best friends, who charge through back gardens of Tanny Hill's finest houses.

"AVA?" JJ continues to call, as she dashes over a fence quickly, "Fuck."

Pope and Ava run through another back garden, causing the occupants swimming around in the pool to call out to them. A girl squeals, "Yo, Pope, Ava! Hey!"

Ava manages to wave at them but continue running, whereas Pope attempts to turn and wave, but in doing so he crashes into a swing set, collapsing to the ground. From close behind, Ava tumbles over his legs, landing beside him with a groan.

He sits up quickly, his hands searching the grass frantically for his missing airpods, "No, no, no, no."

Helping, Ava's hands glide over the grass as well, and she manages to find a single ear bud, throwing it to him. He stills as he listens to the audio, and Ava pants beside him.

"AV—" JJ bounces over a fence, noticing his two friends sat on the grass panting breathlessly. His eyes float to the teenager's in the pool, and he snorts, "Sean? This is where you live? You kook."

Pope scurries up, peering over the hedge row at Gavin's parked up car. Ava stands beside him, running a hand through her messy hair.

JJ and Kiara manage to catch them up, and come to a stop beside them. The blonde boy's hand rests on his girlfriend's lower back while his eyes stay on Pope's surprised face.

"What? What does that mean?" Kie questions, noticing his expression.

"He's— he's meeting Ward right now," He explains breathlessly, "We gotta go."

Ava nods, breaking off into another sprint back the way they came, waving at her friends to follow, "Come on then!"

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authors note.
mwah mwah mwah
not proof read like usual 😔