-30-

"I'll scrub boats, clean fish, pump fuel, anything." Stella overhears JJ, "Im your guy, except for the bathrooms, cause, see, i got a condition, like a gag reflex comes up." 

"I dunno, J."

"You do know, Billy. Come on. It's me, man. Oh hey Stella, finally." JJ smiles at her.

"Hey. Hi Billy."

"How you doing Estella?"

"Good. And you know he's your best bet." She nods to JJ.

"You two see all those boats out there? Those are Kook boats. The Kooks pay my bills. You and your friends aren't exactly trusted by that crowd."

"Yeah but they're the ones saying that. You know that's bullshit, Billy."

"Perceptions is reality."

"Oh my god."

"These boats are here because they don't want people like you around them."

"Oh come on Billy. There's got to be something he can do?" Stella asks.

"Im sorry kid.  I can find cheap help that doesn't piss my clients off. I gotta go."

"Come on J." Stella rubs his arm, "You know Kooks always win."

"Yeah, I just... it's shit."

They start walking down the port when  JJ stops, "Do you hear that?" He whispers to Stella.

"Damn Rafe. Come on, Country club." 

"Barry?"

"Look." JJ points to the two boys.

"You got a whole damn YMCA up on this bitch, dude."

"Barry! Time to think. All right, we need to make a move."

Stella pushes JJ back as she spots Rafe and they hide behind a box.

"Yeah, well, we don't have much time. Come down here. You're not gonna believe this shit."

"What are you doing?" Stella looks to her left to see JJ taking his shoes off.

"Seeing what they're talking about."

"JJ wait-" She tries to stop him but he dives into the water. Stella makes her way closer to the boat, when she sees JJ holding on to the side just as Rafe mentions the cross. 

"We're selling it in bars. Im not gonna deal with some half-assed Pogue shit. Okay look-"

"Yo Stella."

"Shit." Stella mutters to herself as Barry spots her.

"Mrs Country club!" He yells at her again as Rafe gets off the boat.

"Are you spying on me?"

"No." She glares, "The whole dock can hear your little henchman." She tells him quietly enough that Barry can't overhear.

"Why are you even here?"

"Um..." Stella spots JJ in the corner of her eye, she grabs Rafe arm and turns him away from JJ's view. "I was here because..."

"Wow this is really believable Ettie."

"I was trying to get JJ a job but some people have made that impossible." She glares at him.

"Yeah well JJ doesn't help himself does he? Honestly you think Pogues are bad and then you meet him and-" Rafe is cut off as Stella hand smacks across his face.

"That's my friend you're talking about Rafe." Stella glances down to see that Jj was no longer in the water.

"Oh yeah and does that friend know you know about the cross?" Rafe smirks. 

She rolls her eyes, "You owe me money Rafe, so stop yapping about business and get on with it." She gestures back to the boat and Barry. 

As Stella starts walking back to her truck JJ runs up to her, "Yo, Stells you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks by the way."

"Sorry I just... listen, it was worth it. We need to go to Pope now, though!" He starts walking to her truck. "I'll explain on the way."

"Yeah okay." Stella nods, knowing what he's going to say.

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

"Yo! Bombshell." JJ pants, running up to Cleo and Pope. "What's going on? What happened?" He pauses, " Detecting a real heavy vibe. What's going on?"

"Pope's quitting school."

"What?!" Stella exclaims, finally joining them as she didn't run.

"Being a coroner's kind of weird anyway."

"Shut up, wrench dick." Pope exhales as Stella whacks JJ.

"Great so defiantly not the time for this.. okay, so I was down at Guffy's, all right. Trying to get my job back, Stella was there too...helping me. And I see the catty across the way, and on it... Rafe and what's his name."

"Barry." Stella tells him. 

"Rafe and Barry. So I sneak over to hear what they're talking about."

"He jumps in the water." Stella huffs.

"Yeah, and Pope he has the cross."

"Had."

"He melted it down."

Stella watches the reaction on Pope's face, "Im sorry Pope..."

"Yeah, me and Stella almost died for it so we're sorry."

Stella whack JJ again, "They're selling  it in bars."

"Fuck!" Pope screams. "Of course, it was Rafe."

"Yeah, I mean, we probably could've guessed that."

"The Cross of Santo Domingo, desecrated! For money? God!"

"I think we need to stay calm, to make a plan, but we got to stay-" JJ starts when Pope slams a broom into the ground. 

"This is messed up, man. Even for them."

"We know." Stella sighs.

"They're just gonna keep getting away with it. They're gonna keep doing that shit. Gonna keep winning."

"I mean, Pope, Is that news to you?" JJ asks, while Stella felt more guilty by the minute. 

"No. But im sick of being the good guy."

"Pope? Pope where are you going?" Cleo yells after him. 

"He's going to do something stupid."

"That's our job though." JJ mutters. 

"I can't believe he dropped out of school." Stella sighs as her phone buzzes.

"Yo, when did you get a phone?"

"When I was kidnapped."

"Oh yeah and are we going to ever find out how you got out of there?"

Stella looks up at JJ, "Yeah, yeah... you will."

"Hey! Any one of y'all moved the pistol from in there?" Heyward walks over to the three of them, "The one I keep under the register? JJ?"  

"Whoa, okay. I didn't touch it, Okay?"

"Yeah, well, somebody did."

Stella looks at Cleo, they both knew, "God damn it, I gotta find it." Heyward storms back inside.

"I gotta go guys." Stella motions to her phone. "But I think I might know where Pope is going."

"After Rafe, yeah?" JJ whispers. "I'll check Tannyhill."

"I'll take the marina."

JJ turns to Stella, "I'll check Barry's?" 

Stella wasn't going to check Barry's. She was going to the Marina, to meet Rafe and hopefully not run into Pope.

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

"You came?" Rafe looks at her in shock.

"Yeah, yeah, now can we go inside... im cold."

"You're cold?" He asks but she doesn't give him any explanation.

"So what do you want?" She sits down, out of view of anyone who happened to be standing on the marina. 

"I've got a plan for most of the money... you know im not just all talk, I get shit done." Rafe explains as Stella tries to spot Pope. 

"Okay."

"Ettie, Im-" He's cut off by the sound of his phone ringing and he walks back out.

"Rafe- damn it."  She just had to trust that Cleo had found Pope.

"I got it. I got it right here. It's bars, in bullion." She listens to Rafe on the phone. "Yeah, I know. We talked about this shit earlier. I know."

Stella tries to look out again , scanning across the docks when she spots him and Cleo. Pope was pointing something, it had to be Heyward's pistol. And whilst Cleo was there, she knew how Pope's was feeling.... then again it was just Rafe? But she couldn't let Pope kill someone, he'd never be the same again.

"Hey Rafe..."

"I gotta go, but we're good, yeah?... yeah, cool. Bye." He says before going upstairs, "What?" He asks, sitting down next to her. She glances back again to see that Pope was still holding the pistol, but it was clear neither of them could be seen by the look on his face. "Ettie, what?  Look I know I told you I had the money, but I just gotta make one mor-" He goes to stand up again when Stella grabs his shirt, pulling him closer until his lips crash onto hers. 

She pulls his shirt again so she could lean back to see that Cleo had gotten Pope to put the gun down. She pushes him off her, "What was- why.... I've gotta make another." Rafe stutters, and Stella tries to hide her smugness.

"Well if you've not got my money, imma go."

"Okay, fine."

"Next time, just say you wanna hang out with me... you're a big boy, don't use excuses." She teases, brushing past him. 

"Why would I... whatever." He shakes his head, focusing back on his phone. Stella slowly sneaks off the boat, as she walks back to her place reality hits her, what had she just done?