chapter 13.
gone girl.

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Maxine pierce was born to disappear. it's in her blood. and, as whispers on the streets spoke, 'it was only a matter of time before she followed in her mother's footsteps.'

max could only take living alone in that haunted mansion that once belonged to a family of four for so long; not even her new roommates of roaches were surprised when she packed a small backpack and took off. she knew no one would miss her if she never returned. no one was left, not that mark and veronica would have anyways—even if they weren't deceased or m.i.a.

in the beginning, it had always been veronica and maxine against the world. then, it became just maxine and eleanor. now, it is only max alone facing against a universe that seems content on tearing her apart over and over again until there is nothing left. but even though she doesn't see it, maxine pierce has never truly been alone; not for very long, anyway.

for in the six month time between eleanors death and maxine's arrival on kildare, that was the only period of time where max truly had only been dependent on herself. although she had yet to realize it, the pogues would all go to war for their youngest member.

which is exactly why they refused to give up on her now, as they spread out around the small island of kildare set on finding a teenage girl who believed her only purposes in life were to hide, lie, shrink, and disappear.

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Max had not been seen since the fateful night of john b and sarah's death. she had watched her remaining friends be comforted by both their own family's and each others and had never felt so out of place. and so, maxine had done the only thing she had ever been good at: she disappeared.

she wouldn't go back to charleston—god, she would never go back as long she could stand it. that city was more haunting than a graveyard on halloween night.

she couldn't go to john b's, of course, and sarah's had been off the table entirely since the moment maxine had first stepped foot on the island. and so, the young teen retreated to the only place she's ever truly felt at peace—the marsh.

she took john b's beloved boat—he wouldn't be needing it anytime soon—packed up her small backpack with a few stolen cans of beer, a bottle of vodka, and the last of jj's joints before making her escape that very night, while the rest of the pogues were still at the police tent with their families.

maxine anchored the hms pogue way out in the middle of the marsh, just beside a small, insignificant, wooded island, and slept under the stars to songs sung by carolina birds and crickets and frogs. she had left her phone at the château, so maxine had no idea of the pogues concern regarding her whereabouts; no idea of how much they really cared.

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Jj was the first to notice her disappearance; well, he was the first to notice his weeds disappearance.

"that fucking kid took my weed again!" the blonde curses, ripping his hat from his head as he storms into the châteaus backyard the next morning.

pope looks up from the heart he had just finished carving into john b's large tree, "she's not in there?"

jj shakes his head, taking a swig from his flask. "no, and she took my weed."

"where the hell is she, then?" kiara cocks her head, "did you check susans? maybe she finally went to her own house for once."

this time pope shakes his head. "highly doubt it. pops says susan's alzheimer's is getting pretty bad, and she's getting violent. probably why max is always at jbs." he suddenly realizes something else. "hey, has anyone seen her since last night?"

"uh, guys?" kie suddenly notices the absence of their friends prized boat, "where's the pogue?"

the boys snap their heads over to the waters edge, where the hms pogue is usually docked. sure enough, it was missing.

"that little shit stole the boat, too!" jj throws his arms up before the three teens race inside the château. the blonde immediately checks the fridge, cursing again when he notices its lack of alcohol. "and my beer!"

"her stuffs all gone, too." pope notices sadly, gesturing to the spot by the futon where maxine had kept her backpack for the past seven months. he points to the coffee table where a familiar device sits, still plugged into its charger, "she left her phone."

"think rafe or someone got to her?" jj suddenly turns serious, leaving the kitchen to join his friends in the living room.

"no." kie shakes her head, "max can hold her own against him. remember the fight at the summer movie series night?"

the boys nod as they recall maxine fearlessly throwing herself at each of the kooks in an attempt to get them to let go of her friends.

"maybe she went home?" pope offers, although maxine had never mentioned where her 'home' really was.

again, kiara disagrees. "all she's ever said about her parents was that she ran away to her grandmas and when they found out, they didn't care enough to make her go back. so, i highly doubt that."

"then she must still be out on the boat somewhere." jj speaks up, heading to the back door. "what are we waiting for? let's find the idiot!"

kie and pope glance at one another before nodding in agreement. the latter boy raises a hand, "we can take my dads delivery boat."

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Here's the thing: everyone you know will die. your mother, your father, even your little sister; this fact has never reigned so true for fourteen year old maxine pierce as she lays sprawled across the floor of the hms pogue, already drunk off her ass by the time her friends locate her. she was just so tired of losing people all of the time.

"what the hell?" kiara's voice startles the young teen, sending her into a slight panic. kie was the last person max wanted to see her in such a state.

"i'm fine, i'm alive." the teen slurs her words, taking another hefty swig from the more than half empty vodka bottle.

"yeah, barely." jj quips, pulling heywards boat closer, "get the hell in."

"no. go away."

"no, we're not going anywhere!" pope exclaims incredulously, "you stole john b's boat!"

max rolls her eyes, stumbling to her feet. "then take the damn boat back, i don't care." she snatches her bag from the floor and swings it over one shoulder before nearly tumbling out of the boat, revealing the pre-rolled joints tucked in her front overall pocket and the bottle of vodka tightly clenched in one hand.

"jesus, max!" kie gasps. "it's barely ten in the morning and you can't even stand!"

maxine only shrugs. "i can stand just fine, see?" she tries to prove her point, only to stumble forward and almost eat shit before leaning against a nearby tree for support.

jj rolls his eyes, unamused. "just get in the damn boat, max."

the defiant teen continues to refuse, instead slowly retreating further into the woods.

kiara sighs, heading to climb out of heywards boat. "that's it. i'll go get her."

"uh, no." pope stops the girl, "no offense, but you're the last person she needs right now."

"yeah, dude. she, like, worships you." jj blows out smoke from his juul, "i'll get the kid."

both pope and kiara protest this plan.

"okay, i take that back." pope retracts his previous statement, "you're the last person she needs right now."

"yeah, you're just as high as she is drunk." kie chimes in, "we don't need you encouraging her. also, you don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to serious situations."

jj furrows his eyebrows, "what's so serious about this? the kids just a lil drunk."

pope closes his eyes at his friends oblivion. "you said it yourself—she's a kid." he grabs the bowline and prepares to hop off the boat, "i'll get her. i'll yell if i need you, but i probably won't."

"wow, pope. love the confidence." jj scoffs, hating when he is left on the sidelines.

pope ignores this comment, heading further into the woods. "max?" he calls out, keeping his eyes peeled for the intoxicated teen. he doesn't have to look very hard, as her sobs could be heard from a mile away.

"max?" pope calls again, rounding a corner to spot the distraught girl sat against a tree, desperately trying to light one of jj's joints. the now empty bottle of vodka lay at her feet.

"go away." she sniffs, swiping at her nose with the back of a hand.

"uh, should i get kie?" pope is now unsure about not letting kiara handle this. after all, she is a girl and more used to girl-things, and he was definitely not.

but maxine's eyes only widen. "no! just go away!"

pope slowly steps forward, reaching for the empty vodka bottle with a sneakered foot and subtly kicking it out of reach. "what's wrong, max? why'd you run off?"

the teen suddenly turns angry as she bitterly spits, "what's wrong? what's wrong?" she takes a drag from the now lit joint.

"max!" pope gasps, quickly snatching it from her fingertips. "stop! you're drunk enough, you don't need to add weed on top of it."

"yes i do." maxine sobs, shakily retrieving another joint from her front pocket. she hated how, whenever under the influence, she became so emotional, so vulnerable, but it was the only time where she could ever feel anything other than numb.

"max..." pope trails off, searching for the right words. he believed he knew what had her so upset—they were all still shaken by the previous nights events. "it's gonna be okay."

maxine suddenly stumbles to her feet, nearly falling over before pope lunges forward, grabbing her before she can hit the ground. the teen wrenches her arm away, fire in her tear-filled eyes. "it's not gonna be okay! it's always gonna be a mess!"

"what?" pope softens, "what's gonna be a mess?"

"my life!" max drunkenly cries out, "my whole fuckin' life!" she's overtaken by another sudden bout of violent sobs, "everybody wants to get away from me! my mom, my dad, eleanor, and now john b and sarah! what's wrong with me?"

"max...there's nothing wrong with you." pope had always felt a sort of big-brotherness towards maxine, and it broke his heart seeing her so distraught, especially when there was nothing he could to help her. "nothing."

pope had no idea about her parents, or who 'eleanor' was, but figured that was for a reason if the teen had kept them a secret for so long. he guessed this wasn't the best time to ask, either. "none of that is your fault, regardless of what happened."

maxine's sobs die down, but her breathing rapidly increases. she looks up with big eyes, "everyone keeps leavin me behind, pope. i don't wanna be left behind anymore."

"max, we won't leave you behind. i promise." the older boy tentatively steps forward, gently lifting the unlit joint from the girls fingertips and pocketing it. he knew maxine would later kill
him, but helping people out of panic attacks was not his forte. "i'm gonna go get kie, okay? i'll be right back."

just as pope takes a step back, a shaky hand shoots out, wrapping tightly around his wrist. he looks back down at the younger girl, noticing her fearful wide eyes that are usually fearless, maybe even a little too. her chest heaves with every breath she takes, and she's shaking so much pope worries she'll combust. "okay, staying here. uh, what should i do? what do i do?"

he considers just sitting there and waiting as max rides it out, but quickly debunks that idea when the violent sobs return and the drunken girl slowly slinks back onto the ground, clawing at her chest in a panic.

"okay, well, shit." pope curses, cupping both hands around his mouth before shouting, "kiara! kie! over here!"

of course, he isn't very surprised when both kiara and jj come sprinting around the corner. nevertheless, pope sighs with a roll of his eyes. "is your name kie, jj?"

"jesus, sorry. thought she might be dying of alcohol poison—" it's only then that the blonde notices a hyperventilating maxine on the ground, "oh, shit. she actually is."

"no, she actually isn't." kie quickly snaps, "go wait on the boat." jj goes to argue before, for once in his life, realizing the severity of the situation and obeying, pope trailing not far behind.

kiara gets down to maxine's level, slowly reaching for the younger girls hands. "just breathe, max. you're okay, everything's okay."

the older girl repeats this until maxine takes a deep breath in, holding it for a moment before exhaling. it feels like ages until she's finally able to get air back into her lungs. max leans her head against the tree bark behind her, "no, it's not. why does everyone keep sayin that?"

now it's kie's turn to exhale, taking a seat beside the younger girl. "i don't know. maybe so at some point, we start to believe it a little bit."

max scoffs, "fat chance." she swipes at a few remaining tears with the back of a hand. "everythin's just always gonna be shit. complete and utter shit."

kie looks at the teen sadly before getting an idea. "i know something that might cheer you up a bit." she rises to her feet, taking maxine's hands and pulling her up as well. at the sudden movement, max immediately doubles over and retches into the dirt.

kiara sighs, holding back the girls messy hair that for once is not gathered into braids. "but first, let's get you some water."

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There was still one thing that made maxine happy — vandalism.

"okay, i'm not sure, but i think they can definitely see us from up there." pope anxiously warns max and kie as they crouch outside the cameron residence, using canisters of red spray paint to spell out the word "murderers" on their front wall.

"okay, so?" max adds as she goes over 'murder' with a second coat, "who cares?"

"they should be glad we're not setting the house on fire." kie spits, adding an 's'.

"okay, well, just—can you hurry up?"

kiara rolls her eyes, shaking the can of spray paint. "does it not piss you off?"

"yeah, not even a little?" maxine parrots.

"of course it pisses me off! i'm just—" pope paces nervously, "i'm just trying to channel my rage into different vectors right now."

"yeah, okay." kiara turns her attention back to the wall. the two girls rise, stepping back to admire their artwork.

maxine nods in approval, crossing both arms in front of her overalls. "not bad, if i do say so myself."

pope notices a figure standing on the cameron's balcony, "hey, i think somebody's up there," he warns nervously, peering over the cement wall. "shit. it's rafe."

"we know what you did!" kiara shouts, "murderer!"

"okay, no." pope wraps his arms around kie's midsection, pulling her away from the wall. he releases her once they reach the sidewalk, guiding her down the street. "now is not the time. are you serious?"

max jogs to catch up, grabbing her bag from the grass, "yeah, do you wanna be murdered next? hell, he'll probably frame us this time!"

the three teens race back to the waiting hms pogue. "rafe is a psychopath," pope reminds the girls, "he could come after us."

"let him try." kiara lights a joint, taking a hit.

"lemme have some of that," max lunges for the roll as soon as the older girl removes it from her lips.

"max!" kiara scolds, ripping the joint from the fourteen year olds mouth. "you just started sobering up."

"so?" the younger girl shrugs, "nothin' matters anymore. we could be shot to death at any given moment cause someone doesn't seem very interested in nabbin' rafe."

"look, i wanna pin him just as much as you do, but—"

"really?" kiara interrupts the boy, "cause you could've fooled me."

"yeah, dude. are you even a pogue?" maxine chimes in.

"i can't go around doing stupid things like this." pope defends, "we have school tomorrow. we should be focusing on laying low."

"man, fuck school." maxine groans, snatching the joint back from kiara and taking a drag.

pope flicks it from her hand. "look, i know you're grieving too and shit, but being hungover on your first day of freshman year is not gonna help."

"helps me." max sighs, leaning back against the side of the boat.

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"Welcome to death row, everybody." max has never wanted to die more than she does when she climbs out of kiara's car the following morning, groaning in despair at kildare county high schools front sign screaming "welcome back, falcons!" she reaches into the side pocket of jj's backpack and pulls out his flask, taking a swig.

"fuck, save some for me pigtails." jj snatches it back, taking a sip himself before chucking the container into the backseat of the car.

"hey, chill out, you two." kiara tells them.

jj wipes at his mouth with the back of a hand, "if i black out, just don't remind me."

maxine groans, "same."

"that is not funny." kiara scolds, not wanting a repeat of the previous day.

"not supposed to be funny, kie." max hoists her backpack onto her shoulders as the group begins the walk of dread to the building.

"i feel like people are staring at us." kiara voices quietly.

jj looks around the school yard, "cause they are."

"guys, i can't be late." pope walks forward.

"hey, hey!" kie stops him, reaching for his hand. "we gotta stick together."

"lucky bastards." maxine mutters. while her friends were beginning their senior year together, max was only a freshman; meaning the group would be unable to suffer together.

kiara looks over sheepishly and extends a hand to the younger girl, "we'll stick together until we can't. after that, stick together in spirit."

"jesus, kie," jj joins the group, throwing an arm around maxine. "she's not dying."

"not yet." maxine mumbles, dragging her feet forward.

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Maxine is suffering through second period algebra when her phone pings, signifying a text message. she slyly slides it out from inside her pocket, clicking 'open' on a photo sent from an unknown number.

max nearly falls straight out of her seat when she sees a picture of her two dead friends smiling back at her. "what the fu-" the teen quickly corrects herself when her teacher gives her a look, "-udge."

her three older friends come peeling around the corner, disrupting the class.

"can i help you?" mr. santos asks, rather peeved.

"uh, yes, actually." jj stands upright, pointing at max, "we need maxine."

"for what?" the teacher asks, entirely unconvinced.

"family emergency." kiara answers.

"like hell—" maxine doesn't wait for her teacher to finish saying 'absolutely not', snatching up her backpack and making a beeline for the door.

the teens race through the hallway, "we can go to the courtyard," kiara suggests.

jj runs straight into a janitors mop bucket, crashing onto the tile flooring, "shit!"

the janitor peeks his head around the corner, calling out, "hey! where do you think you're going?"

"shit," kie curses as max helps jj back to his feet, "come on, come on!"

they burst through the schools back doors into the courtyard, breathing heavily. "this can't even be possible," maxine rushes, "they took an open boat out in a huge storm."

"exactly. shoupe said that they didn't make it," kiara hurries down the steps leading into the courtyard, "he said that!"

"okay, but i think we're overreacting right now," pope, ever the realist, "cause we can't rule out the possibility that this could all be some kind of weird, cruel hoax."

"can't we though?" max hops up onto the top of a picnic table, "they're wearin' the same clothes they wore when they left, and there's no way they took that picture while runnin from the cops after being framed for murder."

"i'm just gonna ask." kie sits beside max and shrugs off her bag, pulling out her phone.

"but what if it's actually him, though?" jj climbs onto the opposite table.

"then i don't know, okay?" pope sits next to the blonde, "i don't know."

maxine leans over kiara's shoulder as she types out, 'wtf is this you???'

jj gets back up, pacing anxiously.

"has he responded?" pope asks, pulling out his own phone.

"he's typing." max informs, "oh god, i'm gonna yack all over the place."

"thanks for that." jj tells the girl sarcastically.

the four teens' phones respectively each ding with a new message: 'is jj there?'

jj quickly types back, 'i'm here bree'

john b immediately sends back, 'did you pimp my short board?'

"holy shit." max breathes out.

kiara and the boys laugh tearfully. "it's him," jj nods, confirming.

"it's definitely him." pope agrees, doing the infamous pogue handshake with jj.

max nudges kie, "ask if sarah's okay."

KC: "sarah with you?"

JB: "i'm here!!"
JB: "tell max i know she stole my tiffany necklace"

maxine blushes, hand shooting up to cover the evidence hanging around her neck. "yeah, she's fine."

kiara and max embrace in tearful relief as their phones ping again, 'laying super low in nassau.'

"how in the hell did they get to the bahamas?" maxine inquires.

jj shrugs, "you can't kill a pogue, kid."

"especially john b." pope agrees.

john b texts back, 'can you clear my name? wanna come home'

"hell yeah we'll clear your name, boy." jj laughs lightly.

maxine reads out the final message, 'be in touch. p4l.'

"p4l, man. that's what i'm talking about!" jj whoops, hopping on top of a picnic table, "p4l, baby!"

"holy shit, dude!" kiara exclaims in relief. the four friends embrace in a group celebratory hug.

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"Just for the record, i never doubted them." jj quips as he and the others jog down the steps leading from the wreck. maxine laughs, trailing behind him. "yeah, yeah. i owe you five imaginary bucks."

"imaginary? hell no. i need that in cold hard cash, kid."

"look at me, dickhead. do i look like i got real money on me?"

"kiara, i need those setups done by five!" anna carrera calls out to her daughter, interrupting maxine and jj's argument.

"you know, there are other people that work here!" the curly-haired brunette retorts.

"but ain't none of 'em my children!"

"i feel that." pope relates as the teens head to the end of the boat dock, "on a deep, emotional level, i understand that."

"so, we going to the bahamas or what?" jj tosses his bag against the wood flooring.

"dude, there's no way we're getting to the bahamas." pope answers.

"sure we can," max leans back, "just gotta get creative."

"john b will get nabbed sooner or later," kiara continues, "so if we're gonna clear his name, we need to have done it, like, yesterday."

"and just how do you suspect we do that?" max asks, "the entire island still thinks he's a murderer."

"i'll tell you how we do it."

pope looks at jj, "oh, so you have it all planned out?"

"as a matter of fact, i do." the blonde leans forward, sticking one boot up onto the dock railing where his friends are seated. "we kidnap rafe."

max rolls her eyes, "well, that's a new one."

"i'm sorry, what?" pope blanches.

"we kidnap rafe," jj repeats, "tie him up, and stick the gun in his mouth and just wait till he starts squawking."

"yeah, you know, tortures a war crime." kiara reminds.

"so is treason, but that doesn't stop the cameron's." maxine vouches.

jj shrugs, "i thought it was a good idea."

"yeah, so, how exactly do you plan on clearing john b's name from a prison cell?" pope cocks his head, "because that's a felony."

"alright, well, what do you got, pope?" jj takes a seat, "i was just trying to keep it simple. you know, one stop and we're done."

"yeah, one stop because we'll be thrown in prison, genius." max scoffs.

"guys, all we need is a material witness," pope concludes, "we saw wards plane fly right over our heads with the gold inside. he didn't fly it. and if someone else flew it, they were there on the tarmac. they saw peterkin get murdered."

"shit." max breathes, "so all we gotta do is find that person and get them to confess."

kiara turns to the younger girl, "and how do we do that?"

"a little light espionage."

jj turns his hat around backwards, "a little ghost recon."

"woogity-woogity, baby!" the four friends wiggle their fingers together in their handshake.

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"If this guy is really flying planes for ward, he's gotta be pretty tight lipped." pope reminds.

jj cocks his gun, "so then direct approach gets my vote."

"no. what?" pope and kiara exclaim simultaneously, turning in there seats.

"god, jj, it's like you want to see the inside of a prison cell," maxine huffs, adding, "again."

"we gotta keep this simple guys, or else we're never gonna get john b back."

"and just how is catching a murder charge simple?" maxine questions in disbelief.

"or..." pope proposes, "we just tickle the wire."

maxine raises her eyebrows, "we what?"

"we tickle the wire." pope continues, "i plant my phone in his car, and then we listen in on your earpods." he holds his phone up to kiara, "say something."

"something." the recording echos the word back.

"okay, we have audio." pope points out the drivers window, "i think that's his house over there."

"i'll go. i'm the stealthiest." max offers.

"eh, that's debatable." jj quips.

maxine flicks his upper arm, grabbing popes phone and hopping out. "alright. honk, or, uh, yell or somethin' if you see anythin' suspicious."

"okay," kiara nods, "don't do anything stupid."

"oh, c'mon. i'm not jj." max teases the blonde, shutting the car door and jogging across the street.

maxine crouches behind bushes as she makes her way up to the house. gavin is spotted by his grill in the backyard; max waits quietly until he disappears back inside before racing around the side of the house and over to his truck waiting in the driveway. she slowly opens the passenger door and plants popes phone under the drivers seat, pressing record before shutting the door and sprinting back to her waiting friends.

"okay," maxine climbs in the backseat beside jj, "phase one complete."

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"Wait, why does she get to tickle the wire?"
jj complains as the teens post up outside of gavin the pilots home later that night.

"cause she's the best tickler." pope answers quite matter-of-factly.

max turns up her nose, "okay, ew."

"oh, why do you have to make everything so dirty all the time!" jj emphasizes.

"I make things dirty?" max raises an eyebrow, "yeah, okay."

"guys, shut up." kie demands, "should i, like, do an accent?"

"definitely disguise your voice." pope nods.

kiara puts on an english accent, "disguise my voice like how, like how would you like me to talk? like this?"

"not like that." max shakes her head.

"yeah, no." pope and jj agree with the younger girl.

"batman." the former boy suggests.

kiara lowers her voice excessively, "batman."

"there you go!" pope snaps his fingers.

"spot on," jj agrees, "let's do it."

kiara calls gavin's number, answering in a deep batman-like voice, "hello." she pulls the phone away from her face, turning to her friends, "i can't, i can't."

"just talk, just talk." maxine urges.

kiara picks the phone back up, clearing her throat. "is gavin there?"

"this is gavin. who's this?"

"i know what happened on the tarmac." kie starts off strong.

gavin laughs nervously. "um...who's this?"

"it was rafe cameron. but you already knew that, and you lied about it."

"okay. who is this?"

"we're gonna prove it," kiara continues. "you're guilty."

"alright, you're gonna tell me who this is right now. come on, who is this?"

"you could have saved her, gavin, and you didn't." kiara bites, "and you're not getting away with this."

"listen to me!" gavin raises his voice, "who is this?"

kiara hangs up the phone, asking her friends, "how was that?"

maxine shrugs, "i felt threatened."

"scared me." jj nods.

"all right, we tickled the wire." pope asserts, "phase two complete. now we wait and listen."

they don't have to wait and listen long until gavin's car emerges from the driveway.

"here he comes," pope hisses, "stay down."

"he didn't see us," jj sits up, "hit it."

"go, go, go, go!" maxine urges kiara as she starts to the car and begins pulling away.

"wait! my seat belt!" pope yanks on the belt, unable to free it.

"no way. are you seriously buckling up right now?" maxine inquires.

"yes, i'm buckling up right now!" pope retorts, "you know how much—"

"you don't need it right now!" kiara exclaims, looping the car around and trailing after gavin.

pope listens in using kie's earpods, "it's ward. he's talking to ward."

"are you serious?" kiara asks.

"yeah." the audio begins to cut out, "get closer. i can't hear."

"okay." kie presses down further on the gas, creeping closer behind the car in front.

"he's talking about negotiating something," pope informs, "renegotiating."

suddenly the boy's eyes go wide, "gavin's got the gun that rafe used to kill peterkin."

"holy shit." maxine and kiara gasp simultaneously.

"i think he's trying to use it as extortion," pope guesses, "as leverage."

"wait, he's pulling over!" kiara notices.

"shit." pope curses, "he's panicking."

"do i pull behind him? what do i do?" kie stresses.

"just go around the block." max suggests, leaning her body between the two front seats.

"yeah, yeah." pope agrees, "just go."

"okay, okay." kie drives past gavin's car. "we're gonna lose him!"

"go, go, go!" jj pushes.

"i'm going, i'm going." kiara tells him anxiously.

"i can't hear anything," pope realizes, "shit. i'm losing it! i'm losing the signal. i can't hear him."

the teens come across a road block, "what the hell is this?"

"stop. just stop and turn around now." pope tells kie.

"pull in here and back up." jj adds.

"okay, okay. i'm just gonna back up." as kiara does so, a construction truck comes up behind them, temporarily blocking them in. "are you kidding me?"

"fuck this." max curses under her breath. she kicks open the car door and stands up, yelling at the workers, "hey dipshit! we were about to back up! you literally had to do that right now?"

"what are you doing?" kie asks the younger girl.

pope suddenly jumps out of the car, racing down the street. "wait! hey, pope!" jj calls out to him.

"we gotta know where they're meeting!" pope shouts over his shoulder as he continues running.

"damnit!" kiara curses, open the drivers door.

"we're goin' with him, right?" max confirms, hopping out next to jj.

"yep." kiara confirms, slamming shut the car door.

as the trio runs off, a construction worker yells after them, "you can't leave that car there! move it!"

"sorry!" kie throws over her shoulder, "we'll get it later!" the teens chase their friend through a neighborhood of backyards, "pope! pope!" they scale a fence after him, winding up in a fancy backyard with a pool, a group of teenagers swimming inside it.

"sean?" jj points to one of the boys in the pool, "ah, this is where you live, you kook. goddamn."

they finally catch up with pope at the edge of the yard, peering over some bushes. "what? what does that mean?" kiara asks after glancing at the boys face.

"did you hear somethin'?" max queries.

"he's meeting ward right now." pope pants, "we gotta go. come on, come on!"