chapter 22.
i've been facing trouble
almost all my life.

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The knowledge that luke maybank is not her true father had been eating josephine alive since first revealed. while her intial reaction was to scoff in her brothers face and declare bullshit, this was primarily based on jo's own anger towards the older blonde. the urge to confide in the others was too strong; she needs to pass this burdening thought onto someone else before it grows too heavy and she collapses.

learning this, john b is equally as perplexed. "okay... so you're telling me that jj thinks chandler groff, the heir to goat island, is your real dad?" he looks to josephine, pulling the hms pogue away from the dock.

"i don't know, maybe." jo exhales, tucking wind-tangled blonde hair behind her ears. "i wouldn't have even told you, but he's been freaking out ever since we got that letter and i know that's where he went."

"aren't you freaking out?" john b questions joey. "i mean, why would the genrettes keep that a secret for so long, especially if chandler knew jj was his?"

"people keep secrets for a lot of reasons." joey raises an eyebrow, sending sarah a pointed look. john b misses this exchange. "okay, well. it's the last place we've looked, so, dealers choice." he revs the boats engine, and they take off.

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It's dark by the time the teens near goat island. before they approach, however, kiara hisses for silence. "wait, kill the engine, kill the engine!" john b does so and josephine follows kiara's gaze across the marsh, squinting at a large steamship. "oh my god. it's jj."

"and that's groff." john b points and jo grits her teeth. she recognizes the ships crew with a sinking feeling. "sarah, those are the guys from charleston. the ones who took the scroll."

"the scuba guy." kiara recognizes lightener as the scuba diver who attacked her and jj at the wreck.

jo watches carefully. "what do they want with jj?" she can't see how her brother could be of any use to the corsairs.

"i don't think it's jj they want." kiara shakes her head slowly, not tearing her gaze from the blonde boy, either.

"we need to get him out of there." jo rushes out at once. "we could, like, ram 'em. create a distraction."

"ram that? are we looking at the same boat?" john b sasses, jutting a finger towards the steamship. "no, it wouldn't even make a dent on that thing."

"i don't know, john b, i'm just spitballing!" joey defends.

the older boy scoffs. "we don't have time to spitball. we gotta help jj!"

"guys, guys!" sarah hisses, capturing their attention. she holds up two bottles of alcohol. "we have these, and we have gasoline in the back."

"that's psychotic."

josephine nods at kiara, smiling proudly. "okay, then we're doing it."

john b shrugs, looking around the boat. "let's find some rags."

"...but what are we doing, exactly?" jo raises an eyebrow, watching john b place a rag against a
bottles opening, tipping the glass upside down.

"we're gonna use the fire to distract them." kiara grabs the second bottle, mirroring the process. "he'll get free, jump over, and we'll go grab him."

"just don't hit my brother with the bomb, please." josephine eyes the molotov cocktail.

kiara hums in agreement, passing the bottle to john b. "yeah, i'd like him one piece."

"alright." he exhales. "don't hit jj with the molotov cocktail. gotcha." he ties the rag over the top of the bottle. "anybody got a lighter?"

"yeah, right here." sarah pulls out the lighter and kiara holds out a hand. "let me do it."

"why?"

the brunette gives sarah a pointed look. "why do you think?"

the blonde rolls her eyes in response, handing the lighter to her friend. "jo, over here."

the two girls move to the other side of the boat as kiara lights the homemade bomb in john b's hand. "shit, shit, shit." he curses, winding up his arm. the lit bottle swings by its makeshift wire, sending sparks flying through the air. he lets go and joey curses. "oh, fuck!"

john b had let the molotov go straight up into the air, sending it right back down to splash into the water directly beside their boat. it explodes underwater and josephine flinches. "oh shit!" john b curses, toppling backwards into the water.

kiara checks on sarah as josephine turns to the teen in the water, deadpanning, "you threw it straight up, dumbass!"

"what do we do?" sarah panics. "the boats on fire!"

"you idiot!" jo continues shouting at john b. he pulls himself back aboard the boat, realizing the younger girl was not offering a hand. "you almost killed us!"

"yeah but i didn't, did i?" john b pants, spluttering up saltwater as he climbs over the side of the hms pogue. "oh, god. that was a terrible idea. i miscalculated."

"no shit! are you trying to kill us?"

"i'm so sorry."

"jesus." kiara hisses, rolling her eyes. "a blind bat could've thrown that better."

"okay, i've got an idea." back aboard the boat, john b ignores the warranted insults. he lunges for the hold. "jj has that rubber slingshot thingy."

"we need another bottle." kiara grabs the second glass bottle of alcohol, passing it to the boy.

"you have ten seconds to explain yourself or we start shooting!" a man aboard the steamship shouts at the teens. "five more seconds!"

kie hands the alcohol bottle to john b, who ties a cloth over the top and presses the bomb into the rubber slingshot. "further this time." she advises, lighting the cloth.

john b nods once, pulling the slingshot back as far as it can go before releasing, sending their homemade molotov cocktail straight into the large ship ahead. "holy shit!" john b curses, amazed that their plan actually worked; the front of the enemy boat immediately lights on fire, its crew shouting in surprise. "it worked!"

"let's go!" josephine hisses urgently. "let's get jj!" john b peels around the marsh, gasping at the sight unfolding on the larger boat. "oh my god, that guys on fire. holy shit!" jo's eyes widen and she turns, catching a brief glimpse of the burning man flailing about before sarah shoves a brisk palm over her eyes, blocking the view. "hey!"

"that shit messes with you for life." sarah deadpans. jo stays silent; she can't argue with a girl who's father blew up right in front of her.

kiara scans the steamship. "where did jj go?"

"i'll find him." john b assures, hopping from the hms pogue across to the larger boat with ease. "circle back around!"

kiara takes the wheel, steering the boat around the much larger ship. "there they are!" josephine shouts, pointing to the roof of the vessel.

"oh my god." kiara gasps; john b and jj scale the railing, the blonde with a machete between teeth.

the teens leap from the roof, shouting curses as they fall. they plunge into the water and kie revs the engine, speeding closer. joey leans over the side of the boat, extending a hand. "jj!"

"go!" the blonde shouts as soon as both boys are back aboard. "punch it, kiara! hit it!"

lightner begins firing at the teens from his ship and josephine curses, ducking low. "oh, shit."

"get down, jo!" jj shouts. he crouches behind his sister. "are they following?"

kiara glances over a shoulder, shaking her head. "not yet."

the gunshots pause and jj lets out a breath of relief. "i think we're outta range."

"i got the scroll." john b pants, removing a canister from his back pocket. "i got the scroll!"

josephine is unimpressed. "...what's so important about a dusty ass scroll anyways?"

"this dusty ass scroll leads to the blue crown, jo." jj laughs in pure shock. "i thought i was gonna die, and jb got the damn scroll!"

"back in the g game, baby!" john b hoots, leaning into his fiancé.

as she watches her brother and his girlfriend celebrate, jo can only dream about finding this crown; she would be set for life. josephine would never again have to worry about being ripped back into foster care.

josephine maybank is going to find this blue fucking crown if its the last thing she ever does.

(even if it meant working with the father who abandoned her at birth and the brother who did the same nine years later.)