We immediately made a plan to clear John B's name. He was alive (and Sarah), afterall, and we'd need to have him as a free man. We contacted Gavin, the man who had flown the plane off the tarmac with the gold, to blackmail him into confession. In the end, Gavin called Ward, scared, and planned to meet with him to get more money. During the night, we followed as Gavin met up with Ward, and instead, Ward shot Gavin with the same gun that Rafe had shot me and Peterkin. But before Ward could leave with the evidence (the gun that Rafe used on the tarmac), the gun slipped down the sewage drain, lost forever. We were forced to run off before Ward saw us, but Pope broke the camera that had the whole thing filmed on it!

That was when Kiara had the genius idea to call the cops.

"What the fuck do you think your doing?!" I grabbed her phone out of her hand violently.

"The cops need to know that someone's been murdered!" Kiara said, snatching it back.

"They're not going to believe you—any of us!" I shouted back, but it was too late. She'd already called them, and I could see a police cab pulling up. "Kiara! Stop being so fucking stupid."

"Don't call me stupid!" She shoved me back.

"Whoa—" Pope and JJ looked between us.

"I told you not to call them! I don't want to see my father, and how stupid are you?! They won't help us, they're not on our side!" I shouted back at her.

"Yes they will. Just because you're so self-centered and hate your dad, doesn't mean they're all assholes," she spat back.

Great. Just great. Just when I thought we were getting along, we were back at square one. At first, Kiara was pretty cold to me. She didn't like that a Kook was entering her little posse, which was a little ironic since she'd been a Kook, but I understood why. She didn't trust me, she thought I was a stuck-up-bitch, which to be honest, I sort of got that.

But then after a while, we'd actually been getting along pretty well. Sarah helped that, she was the sort of mutual friend between us and helped calm things down.

(Then we thought she died, but turns out she's still alive so...)

And now, Kiara's off thinking that the fucking Sheriff's are saints! "Are you even listening to me?!" I yelled at her, "They won't help us—"

"Shut up!" JJ and Pope hissed at us, as a Deputy stepped out of the police cab.

It was my father.

"Guys, we shouldn't have done this—" I said.

"Shut up!" This time, Pope was right. My father could hear everything we were saying, and he could use it against us. I was scared, damn right, but I had to suck it up and deal with what was going on right then.

After Kiara feverishly explained that Gavin had been shot and killed by Ward, and that (hesitantly) we had no real proof, my father just looked us up and down. "Go home," was all he said.

"You—you're not even going to check the crime scene out?!" I burst out. I'd been planning on staying out of it, letting Kiara do it, but I couldn't believe it. It was protocol to check out the scene of a suspect when it was called in, everyone knew that! That was basic training we'd learned on day one.

"Go home," was all my father said, before he got into the car and left.

"See Kiara?!" I rounded on her, letting all my pent up anger out on her. "I fucking told you!"

"We had to try," she said stubbornly. "And besides, you're just mad because your dad just rejected you!"

"Shut up!" I shouted.

"Enough," Pope stepped between us. "Enough."

"Let's just go home," JJ said to Kiara, he helped her into the car, while I was left to climb in myself, alone.

"We'll find the gun later," Pope promised. "It's somewhere out there, still in the sewer. We still have evidence."

↬——✾——↫

The next day, we headed back out into town, to where the gun had slipped down the sewer. 

We picked up garbage at the entrance of the sewer, and Kiara said, "People are such assholes," she threw a piece of soggy Mcdonald's wrapper into a bag.

"And idiots," I jabbed at her.

"I said I was sorry, alright?! What's wrong with asking for a little help?" Kiara rounded at me.

JJ and Pope not so subtly inched away from us.

"It's stupid, that's what's wrong! I told you, don't go running to the cops because their all—"

"We needed help! John B is out there being accused of murder from Ward fucking Cameron, okay? We have zero power here, we're just these random sixteen year olds to them! So sue me for thinking that the cops would help us! What's so wrong with asking for help? Admitting to needing help isn't some sign of weakness—"

"I never said that!"

"Yeah, but you keep bringing it up of how stupid I do this, how stupid I'm being that, and it sucks!" Kiara threw down her bag. "I just wanted to help."

"Well—Well—" I couldn't think of a response.

"Whatever," Kiara picked up the last piece of garbage. She turned to Pope and JJ, who were pretending to be busy. "I don't think the gun's here guys," she changed the subject.

"Then it's in the drain," Pope nodded to the sewer.

"So I think I might just sit this one out ..." JJ inched away from the sewer entrance.

"Oh, so you're being a pussy?" I challenged.

"Listen, I just don't want to get any cancer—" Pope said.

"You're scared," Kiara confirmed.

"No—no," JJ said.

"Yeah, yeah, you are," I rolled my eyes.

"You guys go in," Pope said.

"Um, no way!" I said. "Not with her!"

"Yeah, did you not just hear her two seconds ago? She's being such a bitch!" Kiara said.

"Don't call me a bitch—"

"Who's a pussy now?" JJ challenged us.

"Watch me," Kiara raised her brow, got down on her hands and knees, and started to inch through the dirty sewer entrance.

"Kiara's pretty brave, huh—" Pope said to me.

"Move," I shoved him out of the way, got down on my hands and knees and followed her.

Fucking Pope. He knew just how to motivate me.

Inside the sewer, it was dark. The water was just a small trickle, but as I followed (unwillingly) Kiara crawling through, it opened up into this wide underground chasm–tunnel, and the water went up to our waists.

"Start looking around," Kiara snapped at me.

"You scared?" I dared her.

"Please."

It was pretty gross in the sewage, and definitely in my top ten don't do bucket list. JJ and Pope kept yelling back from the entrance about getting diseases and how there's this worm that could kill you, and if we'd found the gun yet.

Their voices started to get a lot dimmer, as the water started to rush. "Guys?! What's going on—" I yelled, as the water started rushing like a waterfall, or a crazy fast paced river.

"Climb!" Kiara yelled at me, and we both started to climb a ladder, right above the sewage opening.

We both reached the top of the sewer grate, and the water kept rising and rising, until it was at our necks. We both pushed at the sewer grate, but it wouldn't budge.

"Push fucking harder!" I screamed at her, as the water rose to our ears.

"I'm trying—Pope?! JJ?!" Kiara shouted as we heard the boys approach us from above.

"Okay—okay," Pope and JJ frantically started tugging at the sewer grate lid.

"Hurry—" was the last thing I yelled before the water reached our heads and we went underwater.

I held my breath, pushing at the grate even though I knew that Kiara and I were going to drown. I could feel her beside me on the ladder, but still, we both pushed, even if we were running out of air.

And then I felt the grate pull up and Kiara and I spilled out of the sewer, gasping for breath as everyone fell back and we were pulled onto the street, alive and breathing. I retched, puking out sewer water, and decided that I would never be going there again.

"This what we looking for?" Kiara held up the gun.

"Your—fucking—crazy—" I gasped, laughing, and pulled her in for a hug.

"Ew—you smell like shit," she shoved me off.

"You smell like vagina," I laughed. "C'mere Pope, JJ—group hug!" Kiara and I tackled the boys, laughing as they squirmed as we covered them in sewage water.

↬——✾——↫

We went to Pope's dad's place to clean up, and by then, it was late night and it was super dark out.

"Uh ... sorry," I apologized to Kiara. "About ... um, calling you stupid for calling the cops."

"It's fine," she said as we both hopped in the spare shower to clean off.

"No, I'm serious. I shouldn't have said that crap. I was just really upset about my father, and I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"It's cool," she shrugged.

"I can't believe you got the fucking gun though!" I shoulder-punched her. "What's the deal with you and Pope?"

"It's complicated."

↬——✾——↫

Once we both got out of the shower, we met up with Pope and JJ who were snacking. "Um, so, now that we have the evidence ..." Kiara looked at me. "I think we should go to the cops. Before you protest—" she held up a hand as I opened my mouth to speak. "—Hear me out. We actually have evidence now, so they have to look at this gun for fingerprints."

"I agree," Pope spoke up. "Last time we called them, we had no evidence, nothing. Shoupe refused to look at the scene because we had no proof. Now we do."

"Aye," JJ raised his hand in agreement.

"Yeah—last time we had the whole crime scene right out in front of us! It's literally Sheriff protocol to at least check everything over! My father—Shoupe—I mean, could've at least looked the place over for signs of Gavin's blood or some shit! So you think he's gonna believe us when we say all this?" I reminded them.

"But now, we're literally bringing the gun to him, right in his face. He has to! What's he gonna do, throw the gun out?" Kiara said.

"It was also protocol to check over the crime scene. And my father didn't even do that. I used to work with him, remember? I know these rules! So if he didn't follow protocol then, what makes you think he's gonna follow protocol now?"

"We have to try," Pope said.

"But—"

"Three versus one—majority rules!" JJ jumped up and started to usher us into the Twinkie. "Who's ready for a road trip!"

↬——✾——↫

"You're not going to do anything?!" We stared at him in disbelief.

"Kids, look," my father pinched his nose. "It's late, you come in, showing me this gun, saying its Ward's and Rafe used it—"

"You have to fucking look it over! Don't just sit there!" I shouted at him, and Pope was forced to pull me away from attacking my own father.

"Let's just go," JJ said bitterly.

"This isn't you!" I yelled at my father as Pope dragged me away.