There's a moment in every kid's life when you feel like anything's possible. When you feel like you've got the total mojo. You could, I don't know, free-climb El Capitan, land on Mars, or, uh... get elected president. The whole world's there for the taking if you've got the sack to go for it. And then, when you least expect it, some Kook shows up and tells you there's no eternal mystery. And then all that talk about free-climbing and Mars and the president... bullshit. Magic gets cancer and dies.
Right now is one of those moments.
What looked like the answer to all of our prayers is just the bare bones of the Royal Merchant. There isn't any gold. There is barely anything at all.
John B sighs. "It's not there. Look, just... just pull the drone up." Thunder keeps rumbling. "Shit."
"Look, we can do another pass. recharge the battery. We can... we can go back down," Pope offers.
"We've done it three times. There's nothing there," JJ says.
I yell at him, "Shut up!
"What? It's true!" JJ shouts back.
"The gold could be buried. We don't know," I offer.
"If it was there, it would've been found on the metal detector, okay? Somebody beat us to it," John B states.
JJ mutters under his breath, "Or it was never there."
I head home in need of a shower and a nap. I wake up as Sarah shakes me.
"I need your help," Sarah tells me.
"With what?" I ask.
"Just come on," Sarah says.
I follow her into Dad's office. John B is sitting on the couch. I turn to Sarah. "I can take care of it from here."
Sarah nods. "I figured it best you handle John B." She hands me some first aid stuff before leaving.
"What did you do, JB?" I ask.
"I was trying to get away from Cheryl and I kind of stole a bike and then crashed it," John B explains.
I laugh as I shake my head. "At least you didn't rob a bank. You didn't rob a bank right?" John B gives me a look. "Just making sure." I look down at his shirt and see blood. "You really did a number on yourself." John B smiles slightly. "Lift up your shirt."
"Okay." John B does as I say.
"That's gotta be disinfected." I put some rubbing alcohol on a gauze pad.
"Wait, is that rubbing alcohol?" John B asks.
"Yes. It's the only way to be safe. Okay, close your eyes. On the count of three." John B sighs. "Ready? One, two..."
"Two..." John B repeats.
I put the rubbing alcohol on the cut and he screams. I cover his mouth with my hand. "Shh! Are you kidding me? My God."
"Sorry," John B says.
"Never heard anyone whine like that before." I clean off the cut.
John B groans. "Stop." He hits my hand.
I look at him. "Excuse you."
"Sorry. Sorry," John B says.
I keep cleaning the cut. "I'll make you sorry."
"Who, uh... who's the dude on the wall?" John B asks.
"Oh, it's Denmark Tanny, founder of Tannyhill," I explain.
John B exhales. "Founder?"
I nod my head. "Mm-hm."
"So, how did a slave found a cotton plantation?" John B asks.
"He was a free man. He's kind of a mystery. He showed up out of nowhere and paid for all of the land around here in gold," I explain.
"In gold?" John B asks.
"Mm-hm." John B stands up. "Hey, wh... I'm not finished, JB," I tell him.
"Denmark Tanny." John B pulls a paper from his backpack. "I... I recognize that name. He... he was on the Royal Merchant. But there was no survivors." John B turns to me. "What else do you know about this guy?"
"When we first moved in, we found a diary, an almanac, a bunch of papers." I put a band aid over his cut. "My Dad donated all of it to the state archives at Chapel Hill," I explain.
"Can I go see that?" John B asks.
"See what?" I question.
"The... the archives. I need... I need to see them," John B tells me.
"I mean, I can get you in if you want. He's got a trustee pass," I offer.
John B nods. "Yeah, yeah. I need that."
"To Chapel Hill?" I ask.
"Yes. Right now," John B tells me.
"Why now?" Then it hits me. "Is this about the gold?"
John B looks at me. "Would you rather I say fugitive stuff? A matter of national security?"
I laugh. "I've just waited my entire life for someone to say that to me."
"Please, MC, I really need to borrow that pass," John B pleads. "I need to go now."
I smile. "One last mission, and then I'm out of this dirty, dirty game." I slap him on his cut causing him to groan. "Come on. Let's go."
John B and I head down to the ferry. When we get there the guy selling tickets is leaving.
"No, no, no, no. Oh, no. Hey, excuse me, sir? Wait, wait. Are you sold out?" John B asks.
"You aren't the only ones trying to get off the island," the man tells us.
"God damn it. Oh, shit," John B says as he hits the stand.
"Um..." I look around.
John B grabs my hand. "Hey, follow me."
"Okay, yeah. Sure, okay," I say.
"Um... Hey, so, have you ever been on a tugboat?" John B asks.
"What? You're not serious," I state.
"We gotta talk our way onto this barge," John B explains.
"Okay," I say.
"I got this," John B assures me. "These are my people. Just wait." I watch as John B walks towards the barge. "Hey, Cap! So, question for you... Um... look, me and my sister really need to get on this boat, man. Can we hop on?"
"No," the man states.
"Just... just help a brother out," John B begs.
"No," the captain repeats. "Can't do it."
"Thanks for nothing," John B says. He walks back over to me.
I smile. "So..." I trail off.
"Um... So... they're booked," John B tells me.
"Who? Your, uh... your... your people?" I ask.
"What, you got a better idea?" John B questions.
"Yeah." I walk around John B and grab two yellow raincoats. "Here."
John B laughs. "Okay."
We put the coats on. "Okay, grab a tank." John B and I each grab a propane tank. "Hurry."
We walk onto the ferry. John B leads us down a set of stairs. We head into a compartment. John B closes the door and holds his finger to his mouth. "Shh..."
I can hear people above us. The ship jerks forward and I fall into John B. I sigh. "We're moving."
"Ye... yeah," John B says as we high five.
John B and I settle in for the trip. It starts to get hotter and hotter. I put my hair up in a bun as John B takes off his shirt. I can't help but stare a little.
I groan. "Oh, my God. What is the hottest you've ever been?"
"Right now," John B states.
I smile slightly. "Same. Do you... I don't know, do you wanna play a game?"
John B gives me a look. "No, I don't."
I ignore his response as I start to fan myself. "Cool. So, there's this game my sisters and I play. It's called truth or dare, except there's no dare."
"So, it's just truth, MC. That's truth," John B states.
I smile and nod. "Yeah. Do you wanna play truth?"
"Sure," John B tells me.
"Okay. Mm. You get first question," I tell him.
John B puts on a Russian accent, "Why did you kill Dimitri?"
I smile as I copy his accent, "Oh, that is too easy. Dimitri, he... he knew too much. He was compromised."
John B nods. "Yes, you know, we all know too much, eventually." He gestures with his hand.
I chuckle. "Ah. My turn."
"Mm-hm?" John B says.
"What did you see in the painting? Something made you want to go to the archives, obviously," I state.
"Look, somebody who was supposed to be dead wasn't," John B explains.
"Like your dad?" I ask.
"Yeah. Okay. You know what?" John B says.
"I'm sorry," I offer.
"No, it's fine," John B tells me.
"No, it's not. I am such an idiot. That was a really lame thing to say." I sigh. "I can't imagine losing my dad. My entire family would fall apart without him. Everybody thinks he's this really rich guy, but he's from the cut and he's busted his ass for everything that we have."
"You appreciate him," John B states.
I nod my head. "Yeah. I do."
John B sighs. "That's how I feel about my dad." I smile softly. "Okay, so, you know how whales make those deep noises? It's like a..." John B moans to imitate a whale.
I smile slightly. "Yeah?"
"That's how..." John B starts and I chuckle. "...other whales hear each other across the ocean, and I know this sounds really weird, but, uh... I can hear him calling to me... like he needs my help. But, uh, I..." John B goes back to the Russian accent, "I cannot let feelings interfere with the mission."
I shake my head. "No. No, comrade. Definitely not." I put my hand on his shoulder. "But when this mission is over I'll still be here for you."