Happy Anniversary: Cheater

JJs POV

"Walk me through it one more time." I fan the large map out in front of me while we cruise down the road, headed for some dude's house that John Bs dad knew.

"Okay, right there." John B points at a random spot on the map, making me furrow my brows, "That's where they're taking him. That's the site of the idol."

"You pointed to just South America, you understand that, right?"

"Yep." He glances at me with a guilty expression.

He has no idea what were doing or where we're going.

"That's all you know? He's somewhere in South America? Why aren't we asking Willow where he is? She can probably ask the gnomon to let her see where he is, and she could see what Singh is saying."

John B shakes his head, "I don't want to ask her to keep trying to see things, we don't know if it causes damage each time she does it. That's why we're going to the professor's house. He was at the site, he knows where it is."

"Okay. So happy we have the map, then." I sass, then reality hits me, "Wait. Whoa, whoa! We're going to a house now with a dead body in it? That... that's where we're going?"

John B keeps his eyes on the road, "Yeah."

"And if the cops show up, you know what that makes us look like?"

"Yes."

"Okay, just making sure. Cause like.. I have a kid man and another one on the way, I can't be.. fuck okay we're doing this." I stare at the house, John B parking us along the street, "Can we make it quick though? Just in and out."

He takes off running through this dudes overgrown yard, going straight inside, as if the dude wasn't just killed here the day before. I quickly run after him, my nerves on high alert now, I can't get caught doing this bullshit, Willow is going to kill me when she finds out, I'd say she considers this being reckless.

"His body's gone." John B whispers, I sneak into the room, peering around his shoulder while he stares at the table, "Sowell was right here."

"And Sowell was the-"

"The professor."

"Right. No, I know what happened. They've already been here, John B. They sent in the sweepers and now probably decontaminated this entire room." I stress, "There's nothing left. We should get out."

John B shrugs while turning to face me, "Maybe there's something."

I run my hand through my hair, "Okay, what are we looking for then?"

"Anything to do with an archaeological dig."

"Oh, thanks. That really narrows it down."

"I'm... I'm trying."

I turn away and start looking through this dudes papers on his desk, "Anything. Alrighty. Fricking anything. Seriously, man?" I hastily start to wipe everything down that I've touched, "Wait! Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't leave your fingerprints, bro. This is a live crime scene, dude. Yeah, you know, actually, I'm just gonna look in the kitchen."

This shit is stressing me out, causing me to be hungry as hell. I haven't eaten much. Willow and I had the gold nuggets, but we can't find them after we were gone for so long on Poguelandia. We think someone was in the house looking for something and stole them that so that's why we're back to being broke.

"No one ever checks the fridge." I tell John B while walking away.

"Yeah, go for that, man."

I can hear John B talking to himself while I eat the leftover food from dead dudes fridge, someone might as well eat it, he's got some good food too.

"JJ." John B calls out, "JJ!"

I pull away from the fridge, chicken in hand as I turn to, "Hmm?"

"What is it? Snack time? What are we doing?" He steps toward me with an annoyed expression.

"You know what?" I purse my lips, "I feel very judged right now."

"Sure."

I point to the open fridge, "There's an entire bird in here that'll just go to waste, okay? I'm not gonna let that happen. It's not like I'm stealing it. No one else is gonna eat it. I was like, "I'll take the nutrients that this beautiful bird gives me and fill the tank," alright? I haven't been able to eat anything--"

John B grabs something from the wall nearby, "JJ. Hey."

"Find something?"

"Yeah."

I take my chicken and peer over his shoulder, looking at the newspaper clipping of a group of people, "Local expedition team departs for South America."

"One of these guys is Sowell?"

"Right there." He points to one of the dudes, "Holy shit... Neville."

"What?"

"The last things Sowell said before he died was Neville."

Now I'm confused.

"Neville, meaning..."

"Right there. Neville Persaud, expedition guide. So Sowell said, 'Five people on the expedition,' right?"

"Right."

"Three of those people died." He starts to talk faster, "Which leaves us with two."

"Sowell and Neville...." I smile, "He's the last one alive."

"Yeah," John B does finger guns at me, "I think Sowell was telling me to warn him."

"We need to find Neville."

~~~~~

"Okay, now, so let me get this straight." John B speaks up after we jump out of the Twinkie at a hidden drug pushing site my cousin showed me, "So, because you know a guy with the same last name as Neville, you think they've gotta be related. That's your master plan?"

"Right. Okay, how many people do you know with the last name Persaud?" I ask, "I met a guy here last summer with my cousin 'cause we were doing the growing business. Guy's last name Persaud. Or wait, was it Percett?"

He stops me from walking, clearly stressing out, "No, no, no. Okay, you think? Cause we're talking about my sister and my dad's lives here."

"No, I know. I know Mr. Persaud. Trust me. It's cool." I pat his shoulder before turning to my old buddy, "Hey, uh, Mr. P, right?"

Mr. P smiles, "Hey!"

"Yeah. I told you." I tell John B before reaching out to shake Mr. P's hand, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. What's going on, man? Yeah. Hey, so we're looking for... we're looking for Neville. Is he still here?"

Mr. P shakes his head and points towards the marsh, "Nah, nah, nah, he's out there. Been holding up near Doe Creek."

"Doe Creek?"

"In his houseboat. Way, way back."

"Thanks man." I salute Mr. P before pulling John B to the tree line. "Why do you ever doubt me dude?"

He follows me into the water, "The idea was a little far-fetched is all I'm saying."

"Alright, so we're looking for a houseboat." I look both ways down the channel, both of us spotting the boat at the same time.

"That looks like a houseboat."

"Well, you think he's there?"

"I don't know. I mean--"

"Only one way to find out." I cup my hands to my mouth, "Neville! Hey!"

John B slaps his hand over my face, "Stop it!"

I shove his hands away, "Dude, what?"

"What are you talking about, what?" He whisper shouts, "He thinks people are trying to kill him. He's probably packing."

"Ah, okay. It's a death trap."

I can't be doing this shit. I've been gone too long, I need to go home soon and check on my girls. Willow is going to be so mad that I stayed out this long, I promised we'd go eat lunch out on the pogue today, I guess we can make it dinner under the sunset instead. That sounds better anyways, less hot for my Princesses since the sun will be down.

"Yeah, unfortunately, we don't have a choice. He's the only guy alive who knows where my dad is."

"Your sister probably knows."

Somehow she's always pushed out of the plans and gold shit, even when she's the main piece of the puzzle. My sweet Princess, I miss her, and my little Princess. I can't wait to hold them in my arms, giving them soft kisses, seeing their perfect smiles. Instead I'm swimming in the marsh, headed towards this dudes house boat.

We silently creep onto the boat, not seeing anyone here.

John B reaches out and touches something, "The stove's warm. He's still here."

I look behind me, not wanting to chance being jumped on this fine afternoon before turning back to John B to follow him inside, "Maybe he split when he heard us coming."

"Devils!" I hear a man yell behind me, John B shoves me to the side, the sound of a machete hitting metal makes me go into fight mode.

I grab the guys shoulders when he tries to go after John B, but he rears his elbow back, hitting me square in the nose, causing me to fall back while clutching my face. Fuck that hurt.

John B jumps to his feet and fights the guy off, "Sir! Listen! Neville! We just wanna talk."

I need to think of something quick, how can we make this dude chill out and listen to us. I spot a rope on the ground that's tethered to the boat, so I grab the end and stretch it until it's taunt, "John B! Trip line! Trip line!"

He shoves Neville backwards so he trips on the rope, sending them both into the floor of the cabin, I grab the dude when he hovers over John B with his machete in the air, forcing him backwards so he can't hit him.

"Stop, stop! We know Professor Sowell." John B holds his hands up, laying under this dude.

I slip my arm around so that I now have him in a headlock.

"Who gave you that name?" Neville grunts.

"Let it go, dude!" I warn, my eyes glued to the machete.

"Listen to me, we're friends, okay?" John B stresses, "You were in Orinoco last year with five other people. Right?"

"How did you know that?"

John Bs eyes flicker to the machete I'm trying to hold while keeping Neville far enough away where he can't hurt him, "Let go, let go."

As soon as Neville lets go of the machete, I pull him to his feet and hold it to his neck, "We're on the same team, home dog, okay?"

John B painfully gets up, "Look, we don't wanna hurt you, okay?" He tugs on my arm, "Put it down."

"Jesus." Neville breathes out, watching me step back.

"Look, we were just with Sowell yesterday." John B lowers his voice, "He, uh... He didn't make it."

"He's dead?" Neville asks in disbelief.

"Yeah." John B and I both say.

"I'm sorry."

Neville starts to hyperventilate, "I'm the last one left."

John B and I both share a look when he almost falls over after he starts to quietly sob.

"Yeah. That's why we had to get to you before they did." I tell him, "If we found you, they can too."

John B takes a wet piece of paper out of his pocket, "I just have a few questions. Solana, you've been there. Yeah?" He shows Neville the drawling he got from Dr. Sowell's.

"That is a place of evil." Neville states in a low voice.

John B and I share another look. Willow has something evil controlling her?

"Okay. That stone piece right there." John B points to a circular stone platform in the center of the rock formations in the drawling, "Me and my dad found the thingy that goes in the center."

"The gnomon." Neville leans back, his eyes wide.

"Now, there's some bad men who have taken my father to this place, and they're gonna kill him. So I need your help to find this place, Neville."

"No, no, no, no." He panics, standing up so he can face away from us.

"No?"

"The curse has already done enough." He turns back to us with fear in his eyes.

"A curse?" I ask.

I am not liking the sounds of this, I knew it was bad. And Willow has said things about evil being around her and the gold, does she know the gnomon is evil? Maybe that is why she was scared of the voice, making me wonder what all it's said to her, it could have been mean to her and we acted like it wasn't a big deal, forgetting it was even happening to her. I have no idea why I never thought to ask her what it was saying, she probably thinks I never cared.

"No, no, no. Look, it's not a curse. Okay?" John B not so confidently responds, "I understand that it's dangerous, but I need your help."

My stomach twists when I hear a boat engine outside, "Hey. Sh."

"What? What is going on?" John B asks in a frustrated tone.

I cover his mouth, "Shut up! Shut up, shut up!" We all go silent as the boat gets closer, "Hey, Neville, how much traffic do you get on this river?"

"Nothing."

"Neville! Neville Persaud!" A man's voice screams, we all whip our heads to look outside.

The sound of gun shots ring out, we duck down when debris fly around us from the impact of the bullets through the thin walls of the boat.

"Jesus!" I quietly exclaim after the shots keep coming, "I can't be here, JB, fuck."

"I know. I know." John B follows after me when I grab the machete and run for the back of the boat.

We silently get into the water, putting the machete in my mouth so we can swim around the boat, John B is first to climb into the mans boat. Shit I think there's two of them.

"Neville? Neville?" One of the guy's searches the boat, "I know you're in here. Let's get this over with. Come on now. You can't hide forever."

John B leans over the drivers seat, I cover his back, watching the second guy standing a few feet away with his shotgun aimed at Neville's boat.

I have to survive this shit.

He pulls the keys from the ignition, the sound causing the guy to turn and aim his shotgun right at us but John B grabs the barrel, trying to take it, but he ends up pushing the dude into the water instead. That's one way to handle it.

We freeze when we hear shuffling and gun shots inside Neville's boat.

John B moves first, he crawls over and sneaks around the side of the boat while I swim to the back with the machete in my mouth. I keep my eyes on John B after the dude holds him at gun point. Thankfully the guys back is to me, so I climb the ladder behind him and grab his waistband right as Neville turns the engine over. I fling the dude into the water and throw the machete at John B so he can cut the anchor line.

"This isn't over! We have your girl!" The guy screams as we drive away.

I whip my head to the side to look at John B, both our eyes wide, "Willow."

"Fuck." John B runs a shaky hand through his hair, "We left her home alone all day."

"I swear, if she's gone, John B, I'll flip shit." I clench my fists, looking out over the water.

We rush to the front of the boat where Neville is driving, "Look, Neville, I think they're taking my baby niece and my sister there too. You're the only person who knows where it is." John B rushes out, "Neville, they are going to kill them unless you help us."

He keeps his eyes on the water, his hands on the steering wheel, "They're going after the gold?"

"Yeah, what else are they going to be going after?" I sarcastically ask.

Fuck I'm tired of the gold shit. I mean I want the gold so we can have a better life, but I don't want it at the expense of my girls safety.

"Then they'll die anyway." Neville states, "Unless they can pass the test, which they won't if they can't translate the idol. You know the story?"

"No."

"El Dorado was found by a Guajiro king, and when it came time for him to slip his mortal coil and meet the greats on the astral plane, he wasn't just going to give the gold to his sons. It was the source of his power. It had to go to the wisest man, and to ensure this actually happened, he set up the test of the gnomon."

"So there's, like, some test now. Okay."

What else could make this worse on Willow?

"There's always a test." John B mumbles to himself.

"Whoever passes the test gains access to the gold. You fail the test, you die. If you somehow get to the gold without taking the test, then you die. But to do this test, you need the keyholder, they are the entity that holds the power to get into and out of El Dorado without being cursed."

"Great. He's lying, right?" I turn to John B, "'Cause there's no way that actually can happen, right?"

I fucking hope this shit isn't real, but then if it isn't, Willow would just be losing her mind.

"Tell that to the crew of the San Jose and the Royal Merchant."

"We don't want the gold, Neville." John B tells him.

"Well..." I do want some of it, and my girls. I can want both, right?

"I just want to save my family."

Neville looks at me, "Take the wheel."

"Yes, sir." I move to take his spot, pushing down on the throttle a bit so we can hurry the fuck up and go check on my Princesses.

Neville grabs a piece of paper and a pencil, "You must go to the port of Tres Rocas. From there, find ferry passage from a river guide called Jose. He will take you up the Orinoco to El Tesoro. It is there, in the bush, you will find a site."

"Guess we back in the G-game?" I weakly ask.

I have a sinking feeling my girls are not safe right now. If they aren't home when we get there... I don't know what I'll do.

"Make yourself pure of heart, pure of mind. You are there to save your family." Neville warns, "The gold kills everyone."

"Alright."

Neville steps over towards me, "Move over."

"Yes, sir."

~~~~~

"SHE'S FUCKING GONE." I scream into the empty house, throwing everything I can get my hands on across the room, losing my last bit of composure, "They're gone." I finally sob, no longer in control of my emotions, John B pulls me into his embrace, "I can't... I can't handle this."

"We'll find them." He chokes out. "We have to."

"My baby is.. is gone. They're my entire world." I pull away from him and push the palms of my hands into my eyes, forcing the tears away, "They could die."

"Look, Jay." He hands me a note from Willow.

Tears stream down my face while I look at her perfect handwriting:

-------------------------------------------------------

Jay,

I love you so so much. More than you know. I'm sorry I have to say goodbye like this, but Singh is coming for me. There's no use in running, because the gnomon will kill me if I don't listen to it or if it gets too far away. Cue the nose bleeds, ect...

I'll keep Emmy safe, don't worry too much about us. I'll find a way home after this, we'll come back to you one day. I promise.

Don't feel guilty, I know you had to be there for John B, he struggles the most when my dads missing. So I'll be okay, like always. I want you to be okay, I don't want you to be upset that we're gone. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll be home and we will be more than Kook rich.

XOXO,

Your Princess.

ps. John B, dads okay for now, but Singh plans to kill him after we find El Dorado. I don't know what he plans to do with me, but I have a feeling I may survive this. I hope so at least. I love you, Johnny. I'm sorry we didn't always get along, but I still enjoy having you as a brother. I'll see you soon. Watch after JJ, he will need you now that Emmy and I are gone.

-----------------------------------------------

"So we're going to South America," I drop the note on the table, "like right now."

John B nods, "Come on, I have a plan."

My girls are gone. And I feel empty. I can't live life without them in it. I promised her I'd do anything to keep them safe, and that I will. I owe her that much, because it's my fault she was left here to be kidnapped once again. I broke another fucking promise, no wonder she doesn't trust me, I never follow through with the things I tell her. What a great fiancé and father I am.

I'd sacrifice the world for them though. I'll find them and bring them home, no matter what.

~~~~~

John B had this brilliant idea to show up to Kiara's parents Anniversary party at the Wreck to find her and Sarah, so now I'm hiding behind the picket fence looking for Kie, so her parents won't see me and kick me out. I'm sure they loved the fact that I stole from them. Whatever.

"JJ." Kie calls out, I awkwardly stand up, flashing her a peace sign, "I saw John B. I figured you couldn't be far."

"Just, uh, thought I should keep my distance. Didn't really wanna spoil the party, if you know what I'm saying." I flicker my eyes over to her parents, seeing them happily chatting away with some other Kook couple.

"We were wondering where you guys ran off to. You okay?"

"No." I rub my face, "Look, long story short, we're mounting a full search and rescue mission right now because Willow, Emmy and Big John got nabbed."

She scrunches her face in confusion, "What do you mean, they got nabbed?"

"Like, actually nabbed." I rush out, "Uh, snatched, kidnapped, abducted, that kind of thing. To South America by Singh. So we have to get down there as soon as we can."

"South America?" She shakes her head as my words sink in, "Right now?"

"Yeah, I know. It's a long shot, but we're making a plan right now."

"I mean, you come in here after stealing from my dad like, 'We're all good. Let's go to South America.'"

Fuck I don't have time for this shit.

"So is that a no?" I scratch the back of my neck, rolling my jaw, trying to not lash out because I have so many things I want to say but this isn't the time or place, "Uh, you're just gonna ghost us?"

"JJ, I've been wanting to talk since everything happened." She quietly tells me, "We need to talk. It's all I can think about. I just can't do any of that right now."

"Okay, so you're saying you don't wanna be apart of the plan when my baby, my girl and Big John are up for execution right now?" I run my hand through my hair. How does she think a fucking money clip is more important of a topic than what's going on right now? "Okay, cool. That's a no."

"I can't!"

"Cool. Alright. That's all I needed to know." I go to turn away but stop myself, "It's just that... Actually, one last thing. When you see Mike, could you just let him know that I don't feel bad about the money clip? Okay? Just let him know I actually needed it. My daughter needed it. So thank him for me, actually. Appreciate that. Thank you."

I turn away, clenching my fists, thinking about how Willow gets pushed aside all the time for stupid reasons. Like her and my baby are nabbed and Kie isn't the least bit worried or offering to help me find her, like come on they used to be best friends, they used to date for heavens sake, did she ever care about Willow? I understand that she might not want to go, but for her to not even act concerned over their safety.. that rubs me wrong.

"What is wrong with you?" Kie's voice wavers, clearly holding back her emotions, "You're really acting like you don't care? I mean, seriously. You're acting like I don't care. Like, I love you, dude."

I spin around, scrunching my face in confusion, "What? Kie, I mean, thanks. Okay, great, no, look." I cross the distance and place my hands on her shoulders, "It's not gonna work, okay? I don't know what's going on with you, but I don't have time to deal with this right now. I'm gonna go find my girls and Big John. Maybe I'll see you at the break when I get back."

"Yeah, maybe."

"If I get back." I add as I walk away.

I meet up with John B on the dock and immediately catch onto his angry expression and the fact that Sarah is not with him. Here we go, more fucking drama that we don't have time for.

"What happened?"

John B scoffs, "What happened? She cheated. That's what happened." I snap my head up to look at him, catching sight of the tears in his eyes, "After everything I've been going through, she's off hooking up with Topper? I mean, what the hell?"

I jump down into the HMS pogue, "The clock's ticking, bro. Let's just go. We don't need them." I look up to see him staring at Sarah and Topper, "Yo, let's get out of here. John B, what are you doing?"

He starts to walk back towards the party, his eyes locked on Sarah.

"Don't even think about it, dude." I call after him. Shit this won't end well. "John B, get in the boat."

There isn't much I can do but watch the scene unfold in front of me, John B decking Topper in the face so hard that he falls to the ground in a daze. He looks like he's ready to kill Topper, hatred in his eyes while he stares down at him, even Sarah can't get through to him, loudly begging him to walk away. But he doesn't instead he straddles Topper and beats his face in, while he lays unconscious.

Yeah this isn't a fair fight.

I run down the dock, my eyes still on John B when Kiara's dad rips him off of Topper. I get there just in time to pull John B away when Mr. C goes to hit him, I hold my hand up to stop him from going after us, "Get off him!"

Mr. C looks at the both of us with disgust written all over his face, "Get out of here, both of you."

I shove John B away, ignoring Kie's angry expression as we leave. Sarah looks like she's in the middle of a breakdown, looking between Toppers beaten body and John B having to be pulled away. I turn away when she looks at me, how could she cheat on John B? He's the best thing in her life, she's told Willow and I that so many times. I couldn't imagine ever wanting to be with someone other than the love of my life. Though by Sarah's expression, it looks like she regrets it.

I finally let go of John B when we get to the boat, dropping down to untie us while he starts the engine, "She's a cheater. That's who she is. I should've known."

I shake my head, "You have any idea what you just did?"

Assault, that's what that was. This is bound to catch up to him, we all know Topper likes to press charges, we need to get the hell off this island.

"I don't care. Let's just go find Willow, Emmy and my dad. That's all I care about now."

"You and me both." My tired body drops down in the seat next to him, watching the sun dip behind the horizon, if only I could watch this sunset with my Princesses like I had planned on doing.

Now I'm alone and so are they. I can't imagine how scared they are.

~~~~~

Willow's POV

"How's it coming? You making it out, John?" Singh walks out of the cabin of the boat, passing Emmy and I.

I move her blanket up so he can't see me nursing. My thoughts circling back to how JJ and John B might be handling my departure. We've been gone for two days, though it feels like a lot longer than that. I hate being this far from JJ, so does Emmy.

"Yeah, yeah. Making some progress. Got some of the stern here sorted. Tells a story of the Sun King and how he came to rule, the hagiography of the divine leader. He emerged, spread his light, yada yada."

"And what's this story exactly, John, tell me more now." Singh stands behind Big John, his eyes shimmering with hope.

"Well, that's what I'm working out. So far, best I can tell, it starts when the king springs fully grown from out of the earth."

I think my dads lying. But I can't tell.

"Always so observant."

Always.

Singh chuckles and steps away to pour himself a drink, "From the loins of the earth, indeed."

"Yeah, that's... that's promising, right?"

Singh hands him a drink of his own, "To a fast translation, John."

"Hell, I'll drink to that." He clinks his glass to Singh's.

"You know, my family came over here as indentured servants. All the way from India. That was in 1913. They came over with the last formal expedition to search for El Dorado."

"Teddy Roosevelt's?" I ask.

"Your family was on the last expedition?" Big John furrows his brows, running a hand down his beard.

"Teddy Roosevelt." Singh nods, "We were tricked, you know. Humiliated. Enslaved. But on the next full moon, on the solstice, when the moonlight shines upon Water Cat," He points to the gnomon, "you, John, will have solved the meaning of the gnomon, and my family's history will be avenged, you know." He laughs, "Or I'll tie you to a banyan tree and leave you for the ants."

I cringe at his words and look down at Emmy, lifting the blanket to check on her. She smiles as she nurses, her little fists balled up while she kneads for more milk. I run my finger along her cheek, smiling back at her so she will feel safe.

I love those little ocean eyes, just like her daddy's.

I'm hoping we will be okay. So far Singh has been calm, but I know things can get bad if my dad tries to pull anything, like he always does. I know he doesn't actually plan on handing El Dorado over to Singh, so it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Maybe John B and JJ will find us. I doubt they would sit at home and leave things up to fate or chance, or whatever its called.

I chuckle to myself, JJ would never do that. I bet he's already hot on our trail. Ready to save his girls. His Princesses.

God, I feel stupid for ever questioning his intentions, for accusing him of cheating. He could never do that to me, ever. He's my sweet Jay. My soon to be husband. I can't wait for the day I walk down the aisle and unite my life with his, forever his Princess. His wife. His world. And he is mine.

~~~~~

JJs POV

"It's something about the dude's face, you know?" John B pops off the skateboard he's been riding back and forth on the porch, "Like the whole, 'No hard feelings, bro.' You know what I'm saying??

"No hard feelings. It's kinda hard not to have hard feelings about that."

I've been trying to catch a tiny bit of sleep before we head to South America some how, but John Bs constant ranting about Sarah and Topper has made it hard to do so. We've also been game planning for the last two days, which feels like weeks without my girls.

We need to hurry the fuck up and figure this out.

"It's just that... that look. That Kook look, you know?"

I sit up on the couch, rubbing my face, "It was clear provucation."

"Provocation." He corrects me.

"Provocation, and, uh, I mean, you had to do what you had to do." I nod, hoping he drops the subject soon, "No choice about it."

"Thank you." He points at me, "No choice. Now we gotta figure out a plan to get to South America, like, yesterday."

"Now that I can agree with." I follow him inside, " You have any food real quick, though?"

"So I was thinking passports," He crosses the kitchen, "We don't have those. Therefore, we can't fly commercial. We need other ideas."

"Okay, well, don't you got the money that you took from Portis?" I ask, watching him dig around for food in the fridge.

"I gave that to my dad."

Of course he did.

"So then what about a boat?" I shake my head when John B gags after smelling something in the fridge. "If we got a boat, maybe we could get down there 'cause the HMS... Yeah, you know about the HMS." I open the fridge after John B turns away to look in the cabinets, "Oh, Limbrey! Limbrey has a boat!" I grab a sausage rolled in foil and munch on it, eh tastes a little old, but it's fine, "What if we took that one down?"

"Yeah. She took that back. And the HMS is not gonna make it down to the Port of Spain, so out on the boats."

"So what you're saying is, we don't got any money, and we also don't have a boat that can make it to South America. Great."

"Unbelievable." John B mutters from behind me.

"Actually, I might know a guy." I lean my forearms onto the fridge door while brainstorming ideas, "I'm onto something!"

"Uh-oh." John B flings himself to the ground like an idiot.

"You don't start with, "Uh-oh," dude. You're so negative."

He grabs me and pulls me to the ground with him, "Get down! Shoupe is out front right now!"

"Alright, John B!" Shoupe calls out.

"Shit!" I scramble across the floor and tuck myself under the small kitchen table, practically in John Bs lap as we hide. We are too old for this shit, he could have hid somewhere else. Whatever. I grab his leg and pull it in when Shoupe taps on the door.

"Yoo-hoo! Anybody home?" He continues to knock on the door and windows, "John B! Alright, John B, I know you're in there."

More knocking.

"If he sees you, that's game over." I whisper to John B.

Fuck, if he gets arrested for the fight with Topper then I'm on my own getting to South America, but John B knows more about this El Dorado shit, I need him for this. Willow needs her brother to be there for her when she does find El Dorado.

"I know, okay, JJ?" John B whisper stresses.

"I know you can hear me in there." Shoupe knocks again, "You need to come out and talk to me. It'll be a whole lot worse if you don't." There's a long pause, my breath is heavy, trying not to panic over this shit. "Okay."

Relief floods through me when I hear footsteps on the porch and the screen door open and close.

"Okey dokie, have it your way!" Shoupe yells from the driveway, "You know where you can find me."

As soon as his truck engine starts and drives off, I scramble out from under the table, almost taking it with me when I stand up, "Alright, let's peel! I got a plan. I think it might work." I hold back a laugh when John B ungracefully rolls out from under the table, "It's a little sketchy. Might not like it, but I think it will work."

John B grabs my shoulder when I go to walk outside, "No, no, no, no. Wait, wait, wait. What plan?"

"If I tell you now when the plan is half-baked, you'll get all negative."

"Look, I'd settle for a quarter-baked plan."

I hold my hand up to make a talking mouth, mimicking an annoyed whiney voice,  "Come on!"

"Don't you dare make that noise at me."

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