-29-

"Look at the Country Club walking in!" Barry yells out making Stella look up. "How you doing, Rafe?"

"Just coming to have a little powwow. I come in peace."

"I see you two have matching haircuts, get them together huh? It's cute." Stella teases as Barry follows Rafe.

"He comes in peace, huh?"

"I think I was up for murder one because of you, right?" Rafe sits down. 

"Yeah, that sounds right."

"It's all good im ready to get past it if you are."

Barry chuckles, "Well that depends if your girl is."

"First off not his girl. Second, you left me with psycho murderer." Stella gestures to Rafe. "Third, what have we just been talking about for the past few minutes?"

"Never beating them allegations." She hears him mumble as they sit down. "So, why don't you run it by me?" Barry turns his attention back to Rafe.

"My family is giving away something of mine, a historical artefact." Rafe starts, and Stella steals his drink to hide her expression. 

"What you think I give a shit about that for?"

"This thing is worth a lot of money. Okay? A lot. I can't stop them. At least not without looking like im going back on something, so... I want you to steal it...from me, from my family." Rafe clarifies as Stella chokes on the drink.

"It just gets better, don't it?" Barry smiles. "You must think i'm the stupidest son of a bitch under the sun. It's either you trying to set me up,  or you the one that's stupid because then let me ask you this, Rafe. How are you gonna stop me from stealing it and keeping it?"

"Valid." Stella points out, trying to take another sip but Rafe moves the glass away.

"Well, you know, one thing... one thing is, if you screw me like that, I'll... I'll come after you. What im confused about, though, is why you would fight it. Im offering you a job."

"Wait can I get involved?"

"No." Rafe quickly tells her, "Look Barry it's high-risk, it's high reward. This is the thing... when this very valuable and irreplaceable thing gets jacked, um, there's gonna be suspicion on me. I'll have an ironclad alibi, so they'll be looking for who I hired. But no one's going to suspect you. Right?... You're the guy who turned me in. You ratted me out.... it's free play. You take this on, you don't mess it up, you're gonna come out the other end with a really big pile of dough."

"Mm. I do like money. Let me give you my terms. Im gonna get half of this bitch. Okay?"

"Okay."

"So you guys are letting me listen in, but im not allowed anything?"

"Any if we doing this..." Barry stands up, ignoring Stella, "It would behoove you not to be seen talking to me." He walks off as the waitress hands Rafe the check. 

"So the Heyward's cross... you're stealing it off your dad? Aww have the daddy issues finally disappeared?" Stella teases while taking a sip of his drink again.

"Do you really wanna get involved? "

Stella nods, looking at Rafe over the top of the glass.

"I thought Pope was your friend?" Rafe asks, taking the drink and moving it out of her reach.

"You're clearly doing this either way," She leans back into the chair, smirking. "And you wouldn't want somebody snitching, now?"

"You wouldn't." 

"I wouldn't?" She smirks.

"You're not going to." Rafe threatens,  leaning over her.

"And how are you going to make sure I don't." She tilts her head up to look him directly in the eyes, "How are you going to silence me?"

"What do you want?"

"10%... that's nothing right?"

"But Barry's-"

"10% of your half." She pokes his chest, "And... you have to bail me out if I end up in prison."

"Why would you end up...." Rafe sighs, "The Pogues, what are they planning now?"

"You know they don't plan." Stella smiles, sitting up straight so that Rafe has to move back. "So do we have a deal?"

Rafe stares at her for a moment, she can see the gears working in his brain, "Yeah... fine, just keep that mouth close. I know it might be hard."

"Unnecessary." She tuts, getting up. 

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

"Hello stranger!" JJ calls out as he spots Stella.

"Omg you're okay?!" Sarah runs up to her, engulfing her in a hug. "How did you get back?"

"Oh you would never guess but I don't think we have time for that right now." She smiles as Kiara gives her a hug too.

"Yeah there's like a 1,000 trains here." Pope sighs. "But we know it's car 750X on the track to Raleigh."

"Perfect." Stella nods.

"Yeah, so now we just gotta find it."

"Well news flash, we're not getting out of her unnoticed with a giant cross." Kaira points out.

"We won't have to. We can nab it somewhere further in the country. Just gotta figure out how to stop the train." 

"Right."

"Leave that to me."

"How you gonna do that?" Cleo asks.

"Oh, I got an uncle  in New Bern, you know who I am on about Stells?"

"Unfortunately yes."

"When he got tipsy, he'd just throw an old chain across the tracks just for shits and giggles. And that old little chain would stop all the train traffic in costal Carolina."

"A chain?"

"He's actually right." Pope nods. "There's a low-voltage current that runs across al rail tracks. Throw a chain on it, you close that circuit. Science is actually pretty sound."

"Science. I knew my science."

"Oh well done." Stella ruffles JJ's hair. 

"But we don't have a chain."

"No but, I bet Topper's dad has jumper cables in the truck." Sarah states. "Would that work?"

"Yo, what's going on? Are we doing this?" Topper yells from down below. 

"Great. You all wait here, me and pope will go look for it and send a signal once we find it." Cleo tells them. 

"Do we actually have a plan right now?" Sarah asks

"Think we do." JJ high fives her.

"That's impressive."

"Let's not jinx it. Come on." Pope says to Cleo, the rest of the wait on a train for their signal. 

"So I think we now have time." Sarah turns to Stella smiling.

"You might want to focus all your attention on." She gestures to the trains. 

"Hmm okay."  Sarah eyes her suspiciously. 

"What's taking so long?" Kiara asks, but a couple seconds later Pope gives them the signal.

"Phew." JJ stands up when something starts to make a noise.

"What's happening?"

"Train's moving. Train's moving."

"Shit, shit." Sarah mutters as they quickly head towards Topper.

"Oh hey Sarah."

"Do you have jumper cables?" She asks casually.

"Here I am involved in illegal activities."

"Not that illegal." Stella shrugs.

"Im not even close to being okay with this."

"Okay."

"Jumper cables. What are we doing?"

"Topper, if you don't wanna go it's fine. We'll take the truck."

"The truck? Hey, I just wanna make sure everyone here is okay with ending up in federal prison."

"Uh, if it gets to that, yeah, I'll do it for Pope." JJ nods.

"I heard it's not too bad." Stella grins.

Stella gets on the back of JJ's bike as Kiara and Sarah join Topper in the truck. "You know I might get myself a bike."

"With what money?" JJ asks as the drive down the road.

"I have savings."

"And you're going to splurge on a bike?"

"Nah, you're right. I'll just borrow yours or get a car... "

"Wow you've put a lot of thought into this." JJ teases.

"Yeah, now come on." Stella grabs the jumpers as he comes to stop.

"Oh god, you can hear it coming.  Let's fry this sucker."

"All right. Do your thing..."

"All you have to do is... change the current."

"Don't get electrocuted, please. Kiara told me to tell you that."

"Yeah, no promises with that. Three, two, one. And Red." They both stare at the traffic light. "Come on, come on."

JJ starts panicking, trying to explain something while Stella stares at the track, "Hey idiot, the train touches both sides of the track." She moves one of the plugs, as the sound of the train gets closer.

 Stella cheers as the light turns red. "You're a genius." JJ high fives her, " I was going to do that."

"Yeah of course, science is your thing, right?"

"Yup, and now we wait."

Stella and JJ watch from the bushes as a car pulls up, "Shit that was not part of the plan."

 "They've had enough time right?" JJ asks as the men take the jumpers off the track, and the light turns back to green.  

Stella shrugs as the train starts up again, "Not looking good."

"Well whatever the plan was, we gotta go help them." 

"I'll drive." Stella states as JJ trips up again.  "oh come on JJ, that's Topper." She tells him as a truck drives past.

"And the cross, okay, Im getting on." He jumps on behind her as she starts moving, "Woah, you don't wait around do you?"

"You were messing about."

"Not my fault the ground was uneven."

"Not my fault you have two left feet."

"Hey what are you doing?" Topper yells, as Stella pulls up parallel to the truck.

"Right get ready to jump." JJ tells Stella.

"What? No, im driving you have to jump." 

"If you jump quick enough, I'll grab the handles and then-"

"JJ that's stupid.. you know what, just hold on." Stella shakes her head, slowing the motorbike down as the others continuing driving. 

"Stells, no you can't get involved."  JJ tells her, as she stops in front of the cop cars.

"Oops. Now ready to have some funny?"

JJ looks at her for a second before nodding, "Fine, yeah. For the pogues right?"

"Exactly." Stella revs the engine, driving straight towards the cops, while JJ throws a rock at their screen. 

"Right, full speed now Stells." JJ yells as the cops start chasing them. 

"Hold on tight!" As Stella speeds up.  She hears JJ mutter a string of swear words as she swerves around the corners, heading towards the overpass. "J? " She yells.

"Yeah?"

"Do you trust me."

"Any day."

Stella smiles as she swerves left just in time to avoid the car driving towards them.  The others watch from below as the motorcycle crashes down in front of them. 

"Stella!?" Sarah yells out, running out of the truck. 

"Where's JJ?" Kiara looks around. "Jayj!"

"Do you think they're still on the bridge?"

"Jayj!" Kiara starts sobbing. 

"I wish I could take credit for that." JJ looks back up a the bridge, "But that was the gnarliest powerslide ever Stells."

"Maybe I should get a bike."

"Yeah no."

"You're alive!" Pope exclaims running up to JJ.

"Yeah i am surprised too."

Sarah shoves Stella before hugging her, "I though JJ was supposed to be the dumb one."

"Who do you think taught him all that?"