chapter 5.
the forbidden zone.

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"Max, what is it? did you find the gold?" calls pope from outside, the rest of the teens anxiously awaiting a response.

the younger girl remains inside the grave, her gaze following the trail of light flowing from her flashlight. shocked, she reaches out a hand and retrieves the fed-ex envelope addressed to "bird."

max walks over to the gap in the cement, handing the envelope and lantern back through the hole before finding a foot hold in the stone and beginning to hoist herself back up to the gap. she sticks a leg through, waiting until she feels a hand grab hold of her ankle until she maneuvers the rest of her body out.

"that's not gold." pope sounds disappointed.

john b stares down at the envelope in pure shock. "holy shit. this is from my dad."

jj helps max back out. her sneakers hit the ground with a thud beside pope and kie, leaning over to try to get a better look at her findings.

the sounds of an approaching vehicle alarms jj, who was facing away from the group as he smoked a joint. "code red. code red. square groupers, square groupers!"

"go, go, go!" kiara ushers the group. they race to hide behind the giant gravestone max was just inside.

jj runs after them. "it's the guys that robbed your house."

"light!" kiara hisses. "light!"

"john b, turn your light off!" pope urges.

john b looks down, noticing the flashlight shining through his shirts pocket. he presses it off.

"do you think it's them?" kiara asks shakily.

maxine peers around the corner of the gravestone. "homies got a gun."

"screw this." kiara rises from her sitting position, flicking on her flashlight and taking off running.

maxine and the boys follow, sprinting to the gate at the other end of the graveyard.

kie hops the fence first, followed by john b. jj helps max over third and climbs over after the girl.

"come on, pope!" jj calls back as he starts to run off to the van, "hurry up!"

pope remains stuck on the fence, mid-drop to the ground. "guys, guys!"

"shit." kie curses. the group runs back over to help their friend.

"guys, i'm stuck, i'm stuck!"

maxine rolls her eyes as she watches kiara help the boy down. "unbelievable."

jj pulls out his gun, aiming it at his friend. "pope, don't move, okay?"

"are you kiddin' me?" max harshly presses his arm back down. "you are not gonna shoot at him. what is wrong with you?"

"you're gonna rip me. wait, you're gonna rip me!"

"you're fine." kie reassures pope, "come on!"

she's finally able to free the boy, unfortunately ripping his shorts clean off in the process. max giggles as they group begins their run back to the van.

"nice!" jj remarks.

"it's a little tootsie roll!" max springs over to the twinkie and slides open the door to the backseats.

"maxine!" kiara laughs out, urging pope, "get in, stupid!"

the crew takes off, tires squealing, just as the men presumed to be square groupers reach the gate.

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"That bread had mold on it three days ago, you know." maxine remarks as she watches jj spread peanut butter across a slice of bread

jj just shrugs and continues applying the spread,
"i'll just pull off the bad parts. plus, mold is good for you. it's just a natural organism."

max cocks her head, "and just where did you hear that one from?"

"jj, max!" kiara calls the two over.

"yup, yup, yup!" jj grabs his sandwich and joins the other three in the other room. "hot damn. let's do it."

max follows after the blonde and joins kiara in standing by john b, stifling a laugh as she watches jj take a bite of his moldy sandwich, gagging immediately and rushing off to spit it out.

john b starts to rip open the mystery envelope, revealing a large piece of folded up paper. he unfolds it and lays it out flat on the table, revealing a map. "holy shit."

"oh," pope points, "X marks the spot."

"longitude...latitude." john b runs a finger across the map, "wait, there's somethin' else in there." he reaches back inside the envelope, pulling out a small tape recorder.

"what's that?" jj asks, looking lost at the object.

"it's a tape recorder..." kiara answers, a look of amusement crossing her face at the dumb look on the boys. "dumbass."

john b presses play on the tape recorder, hearing his dads voice speaking back to him.

"dear bird,"

"who's bird?" jj cuts in.

"that's what my dad used to call me." john b explains, shifting his focus back to his fathers voice.

"i hate to say, 'i told you so,' but i told you so. and you doubted your old man. i suspect at this moment you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. i didn't expect to find the merchant either."

the friends glance around at each other with a mixture of shock and astonishment clouding their faces.

"you were probably right to call me out. wasn't exactly father of the decade. what can i say, kid? i could smell the barn." big john sighs.

"and hopefully we're listening to this in our brand new sugar-shack down in costa rica livin' off passive investments and pulling on permits. if not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for. there she is, the wreck of the merchant. if somethin' happens to me, finish what i started. go for the gold, kid. i love you, bird, even if i didn't always act like it. i'll see you on the other side." the recording comes to an end, leaving only the crinkling sounds of static playing from the object.

john b clicks the tape recorder off and rises from his seat with a sigh to lean against the doorway of the small room, wrapping his fingers tightly around its corner as he's overcome with sobs.

"holy shit, he did it." jj is unable to read the room. "big john—he found the merchant!"

"can you—can you please?" kiara urges him to be quiet before walking up to john b and hugging him from behind.

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Kiara is softly strumming her ukulele under the docks lantern light when jj breaks the comfortable silence, "how much was it again?"

pope answers, "four hundred mill."

"goddamn!" maxine hoots.

"all right, let's talk the split." jj sighs, "now, before we say 'evenly,' may i remind you that i am the only one that can properly defend us from those groupers who were after us. protections not cheap, okay?"

max raises an eyebrow. "uh, may i remind you that you were the reason they were after us in the first place?"

"me?" jj looks shocked, "how am i the reason?"

maxine just shrugs. "dunno, but i'm sure you were somehow."

"okay, but—" pope runs a hand down his face, "jj, you haven't trained. you have zero training."

"youtube, bro," jj states, "that's at least a five percent bump right there."

"you haven't—"

jj cuts pope off, "any objections? didn't think so."

kiara, pope, and maxine all raise a hand.

jj chooses to look the other way. "i don't hear any, so..."

"what are you gonna do with your eighty mil, pope?" kiara asks.

pope stares off thoughtfully. "pay for college in advance. and also, textbooks. those are expensive.

maxine yawns. "bor-ring." she drags out. "what about you, kie?"

"yeah, what does a socialist do when she's rich?" pope inquires.

kiara chuckles. "i just wanna make a double album. about obx, the pogues. you know, the way catch a fire is about kingston. record it at marley studio, peter tosh producing."

"peter tosh is dead." pope reminds.

"peter tosh is dead, i know. the spirit of peter tosh with never die."

"i know what i'll do." jj chimes in. "i'm gonna get a big ass house on figure eight and go full kook."

"you're gonna go full kook?" pope is unconvinced.

"yup. gonna get a marble statue of myself, and then i'm gonna get a koi pond. put a bunch of those fish—"

"yeah, i'm never visiting." maxine interrupts.

jj scoffs. "like you'd be invited anyways."

pope looks over at john b. "what are you gonna do, john b?"

the boy slowly turns his head towards his friends. "to going full kook."

the teens laugh, toasting by clinking their lanterns against each other. "full kook!"

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Maxine hadn't always been apart of the pierce empire, otherwise known as charleston kook royalty. in fact, she and her mother, veronica, had been the among the lowest of the food chain until the latter managed to woo one of the kings from the top—mark pierce.

the moment veronica broke the news to maxine that they would be moving into her new stepfather's gigantic mansion by the end of the month, the then-nine year old had immediately raced to the trailer park two blocks over, where sunny rutherford and her parents had relocated to the year prior.

max had informed her friend about the move with tears pouring down her cheeks, but sunny wasn't at all fazed.

"why are you so sad, maxie?" the blonde had asked, confusion evident in her expression.

"i won't be next door anymore. we won't be able to see each other that much, and i'll be one of the fancies."

"so?" sunny had only shrugged, "you'll have a massive yard and bedroom and maybe even a whole playroom all to yourself! does he have a pool?"

max nodded, wiping her tears. "yeah. and a hot tub. and my mom says we can get a trampoline and swing set."

"so stop crying!" sunny leapt forward, embracing her friend. "this is a good thing! we'll never stop being friends maxie, even if you lived on the other side of the world."

"promise?" maxine pulled away, extending a pinky finger.

"pinky promise." sunny grinned, linking her small
finger around the redheads. this was the first of many promises made and broken to maxine pierce.

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Maxine leans forward between jj and john b as the twinkie rolls to a stop, "keep a lookout," she tells the blonde with a wink, "we're behind enemy lines." jj nods in understanding, immediately reaching for the glove compartment to retrieve the stolen gun.

"um, no, c'mon guys." john b turns the vehicle off. "just put it back, jj."

max slides open the vans door, hopping out. "you can never be too careful."

pope climbs out after her and leans against the open passenger window, "hey, i predict that bringing a weapon to a four star hotel will likely cause more problems than it solves."

jj doesn't make a move to return the gun, resulting in kiara leaning forward as well, "i swear to god i'm gonna throw that thing in the ocean, jj, put it back."

john b grabs the head of the weapon and shoves it back inside the glove compartment. "there you go," pope narrates.

max leans her body against the van, "you can't just grab a gun like that."

"yeah, well. i didn't get shot, did i?" john b exits the twinkie.

"can't forget my badge!" jj chirps before climbing out as well, "professional busboy!"

"so, where are we going now?" pope asks as the group splits from the van.

"we're getting on the internet because only rich people have electricity right now." jj explains, pointing forward, "this way!"

the blonde leads his friends into a restaurant and through its busy kitchen, greeting the chefs as though they are his closest friends. "andrew! what's up, bro?" he high fives a cook as the teens continue making their way through.

"mama L, good to see you!" jj tries sneaking food from the chef, only to have his hand wacked away.

"hey! no, jj!"

"see how they got the backup generators going? kooks don't miss a beat." jj leads the pogues into the hotels research room.

"thank jesus, the internet!" maxine bounds over to the computers, collapsing in one of the wheelie office chairs. "i've missed you."

"let me get in there," jj leans over her shoulder, "gotta check on my insta models."

"uh, no." max shoos the older boy, "i gotta save my snap streaks!"

"we don't have time for that." kiara leans in front of max, blocking her view of the computer. "now move, please." the younger teen rolls her eyes and toes the chair away from the desk, allowing kiara better access to the computer.

"i got the map!"

"coordinates, please?" pope asks.

"thirty four, fifty seven, thirty north. seventy five, fifty five, forty two west." john b reads off. "boom, continental shelf right there." he points to the computers screen.

"okay, well, if it's off the deep end it's not gonna be much of a treasure hunt, is it?"

"shit, it's on the high side." john b shrugs. "it's only nine hundred feet."

"oh, that's not too deep!" maxine pitches in.

kiara gives her a look. "is that doable or something?"

"yeah, totally doable."

pope looks over at the teen, "okay. will we be taking your personal submarine?"

"there's another way." jj speaks up.

"and how do you know this, mr dive master?" john b asks the blonde.

"the salvage yard. they got a drone that can drop a thousand. it has a three sixty camera and everything. it's for, like, deep dives and stuff. it's exactly what we need."

"can your dad get his grimy little hands on that?" max pipes up.

jj reaches up to scratch the back of his neck. "well, my dads grimy little hands got his ass fired. i guess the salvage captain frowns on showing up shitfaced, turns out. but the drones there. it's in the impound yard out back."

"how much did you say was on the royal merchant again?" kiara asks john b.

"four hundred million."

pope immediately darts toward the doors.

max widens her eyes, "four hundred million dollars?" she sprints across the room, meeting pope in front of the doors.

"no. absolutely not." the boy rapidly shakes his head. "absolutely not. no!"

"pope, move!" maxine easily shoves the older boys arms down and pushes him aside. she opens the door, holding it open for the boys and kie who are following close behind.

"come on!" kiara urges pope as she trails after maxine.

"can't we do anything legal for money?"

"where's the fun in that?" maxine yells back.

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"Pope, we're not stealin' the drone," max rolls her eyes, correcting the older boy, "we're just borrowin' it."

"humans are the only animal that can't tell fantasy from reality." pope rambles as he stares out of the vans window.

"wait, did you come up with that?" john b asks, not taking his eyes off of the road.

"no, albert bernstein came up with that, but it applies to this whole treasure-hunting thing."

"oh."

"so, which is it?" pope twists from his seat to ask john b. "fantasy or reality?"

jj doesn't look up from the joint he's fidgeting with. "why are you so weird, pope?"

"it's fantasy, but possible reality." kie chimes in from the passenger seat.

"reality." john b smiles.

jj flicks open his lighter and brings it to the joint now resting between his lips. "virtual reality."

pope snatches the blunt from the blondes mouth and flicks it across the van. "keep the signal clear."

jj angrily clicks off his lighter as the vehicle comes to a stop. "you know what your problem is?"

"you?" pope guesses as maxine and kiara jump out.

"no! it's that you need to relax, man. you're always so tense."

"i'm not too tense." pope argues back.

max and kie meet by the drivers side window. "hey, don't worry." john b reassures the girls. "you guys got this."

"yeah, we know." max states confidently.

kie points at the two boys still bickering in the backseat. "it's not us we're worried about."

"got it." john b gives them a thumbs up before pulling away.

the girls head to the entrance of the salvage yard where they had previously planted kiara's car with the hms pogue towed from its back. "hello?" maxine waves a hand, calling out to the security guard stationed at the gate. "excuse me?"

the man opens the door to his station and heads over to the young teens. "can i help you?"

kiara smiles wide. "hi! um, i actually have a flat tire. i was wondering if maybe you could help me out?"

the man looks hesitant momentarily before he nods, heading back inside his station to grab his tools. "yeah, yeah."

the moment he turns the corner, maxine faces kiara, smirking. "too easy."

the guard comes back, following the girls over to kiara's waiting car. "it's just this back one right here. i mean, it must've been a slow leak or something." she points to the back tire of the attached boat trailer.

"probably just been sitting in the yard too long. i got this." the man kneels onto the pavement.

"thank you." kie smiles falsely. max subtly looks over her shoulder, rapidly jerking her head at the waiting boys. they take of sprinting through the open gate.

the man looks up at the rapid movement.

"got it?" maxine recovers, making a show of cracking her neck.

"yeah." the guard returns his focus to the tire.

suddenly a dogs barking is heard. the man looks up at the girls, asking, "do you hear that?"

maxine plays dumb. "hear what?"

the barking continues. the guard rises to his feet, "teebows got something."

kiara looks over at max in a panic. "it's probably just a raccoon, you know?" the young teen tries, brushing her long double braids over her shoulders and dramatically fiddling with the end of one. "nothin' to worry 'bout."

"okay, yeah." the older man agrees, bending back down.

kie gives max a nod of approval. the younger girl mimes a stabbing motion.

"what?" kiara mouths, raising her eyebrows.

maxine mimes more violently, jutting her head to the other side of the boat.

"ohhhh." kie understands, pulling a bobby pin from her hair and heading around to the other side of the vehicle.

"so...what's your name?" max makes small talk.

"uh, bobby."

"bobby." max nods, internally cringing as she gives the man her full name. "i'm maxine."

"great na—" bobby cuts himself off, rising to his feet as he notices kiara's absence. he starts walking to the other side of the boat.

"bobby, wait—" max tries, too late as the guard catches kie letting the air out of another tire. "shit." she hisses.

"what are you doing?" bobby asks, suspicious.

"uh, this one looks a little low too." kiara tries to cover. teebow begins barking again, sending bobby running off in that direction.

"wait, wait!" kiara calls after him to no avail. the girls curse, racing to hop into kies car. "shit!"

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The twinkie pulls up outside of the carrera family's restaurant after the boys are somehow able to successfully lift the drone from the salvage yard after all. kiara pops open the vans passenger door, "stealing drones makes me hungry."

jj slides hips out of the back. "what i would do to have beer and shrimp and grits right now."

"would not be pretty." pope climbs out after the blonde.

the group heads up the front steps of the restaurant, waving towards mr. carrera as he stands behind the counter. "hey dad!" kiara cheerfully greets. "how'd we do?"

"hey." mike carrera sighs tiredly, "didn't turn it over once."

"probably just bad luck cause of the storm." kie leans forward, hugging her father.

"yeah." mr carrera returns the hug. "i'll be sure to tell the banks that."

kie shrugs, pulling back. "guess now is not the best time to ask for free food for me and friends?"

mr. carrera sighs. "look at them." he glances over at maxine and the boys, the latter staring longingly at other customers' food. "they're greedy pelicans. i thought i told you to stop hanging around these kids."

"well everybody at the kook academy hates me, dad."

"'cause you never gave them a chance."

"i did give them a chance." kie insists. "they got all stuck up on me. i mean, they care more about shoes than surfing. what am i supposed to do with that?"

she gestures toward the waiting group, who wave awkwardly. "these are my friends."

mr. carrera sighs a third time, giving in to his only daughter. "well, i gotta throw it out. might as well take it."

kiara throws her arms around her father in a celebratory hug. "thank you!"

"you're welcome. i'll bring it out." mr. carrera tells her, disappearing into the restaurants kitchen.

kie rejoins her friends. "sit down."

inferring that mr. carrera gave in to his daughters request, the four friends visibly relax in relief as they trail after the brunette to a table.

"thank god!" jj slumps into a nearby chair. "i was about to start gnawing on my own arm."

"thanks for that visual." pope states sarcastically.

the friends dig in to the restaurants left overs, absolutely scarfing their food down—minus maxine, who diligently nurses a glass of ice water.

"max, you want some?" john b offers his box of fries to the teen, noticing she hasn't touched any of the food.

"no thanks." maxine waves him off with a smile, instead taking another sip of her water.

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"What's this right here?" jj reaches forward, trying to press a button on the drones computer as he stands beside pope and max on the dock while john b and kie test its camera from underwater.

"don't touch that!" pope swats the blondes hand away. "i'm trying to work out this thing."

"yeah jj, don't touch that!" max mocks. jj rolls his eyes, silently watching through the monitor as kie and john b make faces at the drones camera. kiara begins swimming back up to the surface.

"god bless nerds, pope. truly." max remarks as she leans over the boys shoulder. "what would we do without you to control the drone?"

"technically it's not a drone. it's an ROV—"

"shut up, shut up. it's too early for all that right now." maxine interrupts with a groan. "plus, you're just further proving my point that you are a nerd."

john b pops to the surface behind kie. "hey, once we get footage of the wreck, we'll bring it to a lawyer in town and file a formal claim."

"it's such bullshit why we have to do that." jj calls back.

"well, there is maritime salvage law." pope explains. "you can't just go to the ocean floor and scoop a bunch of stuff up—"

"i know, i know." jj cuts in. "it's just lawyers aren't cheap, bro."

"well as soon as they see the footage, they'll work for a comp." john b calls up as he floats in the water.

kie turns to face the boy. "how do you know all of that?"

"cause my dad said it, like, a million times."

"yeah, that's fair." kiara shrugs, starting to swim towards the dock.

"this tether is really long." pope chimes in. "in the wrong weather this thing could get pushed around."

"then we'll go in the right weather." max shrugs, pointing out the obvious.

just as kiara begins climbing back onto the dock, thunder rumbles from the distance. "which is not today."

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For lack of a better option, max reluctantly joins pope and jj in delivering groceries for heyward as their treasure hunting is put on hold.

"now, you boys get these groceries over to figure eight—"

max fakes a cough, interrupting heyward and waving from behind the two boys. "uh, 'cuse me, hi. not a boy. thankfully."

"fine. you kids get these groceries over to figure eight." the older man corrects himself with a slight eye roll. "get straight back here when you're done. no fishin'. i promised delivery by this afternoon." heyward passes the grocery bags to jj, who hands them off to pope, who gives them to max to set on the table inside the boat.

"rich folks don't wanna wait for you lazy sons of..." he trails off as he turns around to jj waiting patiently, arms open wide for another round of bags. "awe, jj, thank you. sons of bitches." heyward finishes, handing over the last couple of groceries before sending the trio on their way.

pope steers the boat to the rich side of the island. "doesn't even look like the storm hit there."

jj follows his gaze. "that's because they got generators, bro. get used to it. and then they say the juice will be out at the cut all summer."

"it's nice to be a kook." pope grumbles.

"lucky bastards." max curses, leaning back on her arms.

they get to their first stop, docking and splitting up to cover more ground. jj takes some deliveries to nearby homes, while max follows pope across the golf course, holding a six pack of beer as the older boy lugs plastic grocery bags.

suddenly, rafe cameron and topper thornton step out, blocking their path. "hey, what's up guys?" rafe points his golf club at the case in max's arms. "hey, how much for one of those beers?"

max holds the box closer to her chest protectively. "not for sale, sorry. c'mon pope." max gestures with her head to keep walking and goes to pass by the older boys.

rafe holds out his club, stopping the girl. "oh wait, wait, wait. you can just give us one then, right?"

"or you can buy them, like everybody else." max retorts, trying to take another step.

"listen. wait, wait—you're not listening to me. um...you've got so many, kid, and we've got nothing." rafe places his hands on max's shoulders.

"hey, leave her alone." pope takes a step forward, blocking him from the girl. "she's just a kid, man."

"just give us a beer then, bro." rafe continues, not backing down.

"they aren't even ours! they're already paid for, okay?"

"already paid for? you probably stole them, right?" rafe pokes his golf club into one of popes plastic bags and rips it apart, sending the groceries toppling into the dirt.

"what the hell?" max exclaims from behind pope. "you owe us for that, asshole!"

rafe crosses behind pope, menacingly approaching maxine who's still tightly clutching the case of beer. "i don't owe you shit, pogue."

pope jumps front of the girl, shoving rafe back harshly. "get away from her!"

"hey come on, man!" topper holds up his hands. "we just want one of those beers!"

"yeah, just give us a beer, kid!" rafe lunges for max, who shrieks and takes a large step
backwards. the older boy latches onto the box and begins trying to tug it away.

"no, you guys are fuckin' crazy!" max shouts, holding onto the case for dear life as rafe continues pulling roughly.

"let go of her!" pope shouts, trying to get to the younger girl as topper blocks his path.

suddenly, rafe takes a sharp step to the side at the same time he harshly pulls the box out of max's grip, sending her flying into the dirt. she cries out as her head bounces against a rock, feeling a slight gush of blood from her forehead.

"oh, shit!" rafe exlaims in a slight mix of amusement and surprise as max writhes in pain in the dirt. "my bad, kid."

"oh, hell no!" pope yells, charging past topper. rafe lunges forward, punching the boy square in the stomach. as pope doubles forward, the cameron boy lands a hit with his golf club across his back.

"hey! rafe, rafe! come on, man!" topper pleads with his friend.

"stay down, bitch!" rafe spits.

max rolls onto her side, shouting to her friend, "pope! pope, get up man! pope!"

"knock it off, rafe!" topper yells once more as rafe lets out a battle cry, slamming his golf club into the sand directly beside popes head. "rafe, listen. come on man."

rafe leans forward, patting popes cheek harshly. "hey...we don't want you over here. got that?"

"let him go, man." topper pleads.

rafe rises, turning to face both max and pope. "stay off figure eight, pogues." he spits, grabbing the abandoned beer and walking off. "see ya!"

as soon as they're gone, max scrambles to her feet, spitting blood into the dirt. "pope! pope, come on. let's get outta here." she reaches down, grabbing her friends hand and gently helping him up.

once to his feet, pope widens his eyes when he notices the younger girls head and mouth. "you're bleeding."

"yeah, you too." max smirks in a lame attempt at making light of the situation. she leads her friend back to the dock where their boat was waiting for them.

"pope! max!" jj laughs as soon as he sees his friends heading down the dock. "guys, you are not gonna believe what just happened to me, man! that was the best one hundred bucks i've ever made! when i say count me in on these grocery deliveries-"

"jj!" max shouts from halfway down the dock. "jj!"

the blonde boy recognizes the urgency in the younger girls voice. "what? what happened?" he rushes off of the boat and meets them halfway, noticing max's face first. "jesus! what the hell happened?"

"i'm fine." maxine shrugs off the concern, "pope got it worse."

"what?" jj leans forward, gently pressing his fingertips to max's hair line. "you're, like, gushing blood, max."

the ginger girl turns her head away, spitting out more blood. "mine was sorta a freak accident. they sucker-punched pope and got him in the back with a metal golf club."

"rafe and topper jumped us." pope states solemnly, climbing back aboard the boat.

"what?" jj is incredulous. he turns to max. "they hurt you, too?"

"i don't think rafe meant to—" maxine tries defending, knowing that as much as the blonde hated her, knowing that rafe had hurt her, the youngest of the five friends, would send jj into a rage.

"bullshit." jj spat.

"they said no pogues on their side of the island." pope continues, pulling the boat away from the dock.

jj is silent for a moment, taking in the state of two of his best friends. "what are you gonna do?"

pope just looks at the blonde.

"what? what are we gonna do?" max is clueless.

the older boys don't respond, instead simply drive over to the thorntons residence and stopping a bit further out from their dock.

"twenty twenty malibu, twenty four MXC. worlds finest wakesetter." pope lists as the trio watches toppers new boat from across the water. "number one in quality, luxury, and performance."

"what—no. no, absolutely not!" maxine begins getting an idea on what the boys had planned.

"this is war, max." jj remains staring straight ahead. "they hit us, we hit them." he pulls a bandana over his face, handing a second one to max before turning to pope. "do it."

pope removes his shirt and dives into the water.

as they watch him swim towards the thorntons dock, jj hands a pair of sunglasses to max and puts on his own pair. "do you want me to get him back?"

"what?" maxine is confused. "is that not what we're doin' right now?"

"well, yeah. this is popes revenge on topper. but, you know...it's different with you."

"what do you mean?"

jj stares straight ahead, watching as pope climbs on top of toppers precious boat. "you're a kid, max."

"i'm literally barely three years younger than you." max defends.

"you're also a girl. we don't hit girls. that's a pussy move. you're the same age as his little sister."

"i'm a year older than wheezie. and rafe didn't really hit me. not like pope." maxine reaches up to the top of her head, wiping off some of the dried blood. "he was tryna take the beer, i wouldn't let go, so he yanked it really hard and i went flyin'."

"doesn't matter. shouldn't have touched you in the first place."

"look." max turns to face jj head on. "do not do anything. it'll just make it worse. seein' his face when we get that four hundred mill will be revenge enough."

jj smirks. "hell yeah it will be."

pope pops back up to the surface, latching on to the boats ladder and wielding his prize: the plug to the thorntons boat.

"wow, you did it!" jj pulls down his bandana and removes his sunglasses.

max does the same. "i am so proud of you right now, holy shit."

pope climbs aboard the boat and stands up. "jj,
max?"

"yeah?"

"you can't tell anybody."

"oh, no, yeah. totally, dude." jj agrees.

max nods. "'course not."

"no, i'm serious, dude. not kie, not john b, nobody." pope leans in really close.

"yeah, our lips are sealed." maxine assures.

"yeah, yup. give me that, give me that." jj holds out his palms, in which pope places the boats drain plug. the blonde chucks it far into the ocean and clambers back to the front of the boat where pope and max already wait. "okay! let's get outta here."

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The five friends huddle together on john b's hammock later that night when maxine breaks the comfortable silence, "you really think it's out there? like, no bullshit?"

"my father thought it was."

"right. but, do you?" she asks john b.

"after hearing his voice on that tape..." he trails off. "i think i do."

"only one way to find out." pope chimes in.

"look, we're gonna find it, you know?" kie insists. "even jj believes."

"oh my god, jj, do you really believe?" max asks mockingly.

"totally. wait. are we taking about four mil?"

"four hundred mil." pope and kiara correct the blonde. "jinx."

"i'm gonna dream about shipwrecks." jj rolls over. "goodnight bird!"

"goodnight bird shit!" john b calls back.

𓇼 ⋆｡˚ 𓆝⋆｡˚ 𓇼

"All right, jj, pin it here!" john b calls from the rear of heywards boat as they search for the infamous shipwreck early the next morning.

"roger that! x marks the spot." jj answers from
the helm.

"all right, ladies and gentlemen. to going full kook." john b lowers the drone into the ocean as kiara feeds the line.

"all right, jj, we're right over it. ten seconds northwest."

"got it! ten seconds northwest."

max appears beside the blonde. "do you even know what that means?"

"yes, i know what that means. do you?" jj rolls his eyes. "why are you even in here with me? go away. shoo fly, shoo!" he begins flapping his hands at max until she heads back out to the deck.

"one hundred feet!" kie reads the marking on the drones line.

suddenly, pope gasps at the monitor.

"what? what, what, what?" john b rushes over.

"it's nothing."

max pops up over popes shoulder. "it was a fish."

"god, give a little warning, will ya?" pope jumps, slapping a hand to his chest.

"and miss out on reactions like that? no thank you." maxine smirks.

john b groans as jj calls "don't do that to me, man. come on, bro."

"my bad." pope apologizes. "i just thought i saw..." he trails off and returns focus to the drones camera feed. "and to quote the hobbit, down down to goblin town. down down you go, my lad."

"four hundred feet!" kie makes a tally mark. "the tides turning!"

john b glances at the monitor. "hey jj?"

"yup?"

"ten seconds easy. south-southeast, alright?"

"copy that!" jj turns the boat slightly.

"jj, twenty seconds mid-speed, all right? south." john b calls out again.

"copy that! aye, aye!" jj calls out to kiara. "keep the tether out of the prop!"

"i'm trying! max, a little help here?"

maxine shrugs from her spot on the floor. "well, according to jj i'm nine, so."

"get your ass over here!" kiara snaps. max abides, rushing over to help the teen with keeping the drones tether steady.

"jj, keep going!" johh b shouts to the blonde behind the wheel.

"john b, is that good?"

"we're good, we're good!" john b agrees.

this time, max makes a tally mark. "seven hundred feet!"

thunder crashes, and the crew looks up at the dark grey sky with concern. the waves begin getting choppy, rocking the boat ever so slightly.

"jj, hold it steady!" john b shouts.

"nine hundred!" kie calls.

"jj, we'll turtle in this storm." john b's tone is urgent.

"nine twenty!" maxine yells over the sound of the coming storm.

"crank it north by northwest!" john b calls to
jj. "ten seconds!" he turns to pope. "how we doing here?"

"almost there."

"john b!" max shouts worriedly. "there's too much current!"

"we're gonna lose it!" kie chimes in, trying desperately to keep the tether under control.

"south, southwest, jj!" john b yells. "hard!"

jj does so, the boat rocking intensely.

the monitor in john b's hands beeps. "half speed. steady at this bearing, jj!" he glances back at the monitor and then over at pope. "what do you got, pope? come on, man. what do you see?"

"nothing. a whole lot of nothing."

john b anxiously runs a hand through his hair. "come on, you should be right above it brother."

"kiara! max!" pope shouts to the girls, who call back,

"nine sixty!"

"nine seventy!"

"nine eighty!"

"i'm at the bottom! i'm at the bottom!" pope exclaims suddenly.

"okay, steady here, jj!" john b tells the blonde. "steady here. quarter speed, all right?" he turns back to the screen. "you should be seeing something, man."

"i know, i know! wait, wait." pope points to the monitor.

the girls rush over, max peering over her taller friends shoulders. "oh, good god."

"see anything?" jj calls back from the wheel.

"it's the royal merchant." john b is breathless, staring into the ocean below.