AFTER THE BONFIRE the Pogues ended up heading back to John B's. Being all together made Carson realize that she had missed them. There had been no real reason for her to isolate herself when they were her support system. They wouldn't have judged her and would have understood why she was feeling conflicted about the whole thing. It was too late now though so she was just going to try to forget about Ward because he didn't deserve to infiltrate Carson's life more than he already had.

"I've had more black eyes in the last month than I've ever had," Pope commented about the fight.

"That was building up for years. Rumble in the jungle," JJ added.

"Hey, did you really stick up for Sarah?" John B asked Kiara.

"Of course I did," she said with a shrug. "She's not a real Kook."

"Right."

"Yeah, tell that to Topper," Pope said.

"Maybe one day you'll beat him in a fight," Carson joked. They all laughed and began joking around as they ate marshmallows around the fire. It felt good to be back again, but of course things wouldn't last long. Something always had to happen that would ruin their fun.

"Hey, hey," John B shushed them. "Somebody's here."

"You don't think that Topper would?" Kiara said.

"I wouldn't put it past him," JJ said.

"Is Topper really the one we're worried about here?" Carson pointed out. Topper was the last one on their list that they should be worried about, not when people like Rafe and Limbrey were out there.

"Do you have your gun?" Kiara asked.

"Oh, now she wants the gun," JJ said.

"Oh, now you don't have the gun?" she replied. "Isn't that your 'secret' weapon?"

"Shut up," Carson told them as she followed John B to find out who was there.

"Hey, who's out there?" he called out.

"How y'all doing?" It was Renfield.

"It's this piece of shit," Pope said.

"Lovely evening we're having," Renfield noted casually.

"It was better before you got here," Carson told him. He let out a short laugh as he walked forward with his hands raised to show he meant no harm, which was highly unlikely.

"Look, I, uh, I don't hold a grudge with any of y'all, alright?" he said. "But this can go hard, or this can go easy. You know what I'm here for."

"We know why you're here," Carson said. She was still feeling a little confident curtesy of the alcohol. "You're Limbrey's bitch."

"I'd watch your mouth, sweetheart," he said. JJ took a slight step in front of her as he walked towards them. "Let me give you a little demonstration. You see that swing right there? I got the best bow hunters in the Army Rangers with me."

"Yeah?" JJ said doubtfully. Two seconds after he said it, an arrow went flying past them and into the tree. They all straightened up at the realization that he wasn't lying.

"Now, they're out there," Renfield continued. "They'll stick you just as soon as I say so." JJ raised the stick that he had in his hand as he approached Renfield from behind but just as he did, Renfield whispered and another arrow flew into the ground right next to JJ's foot. "We clear?" Carson grabbed JJ's arm in attempt to tell him to lower the stick. "Now, I'm not gonna give you a countdown or any bullshit like that, I'm just gonna whistle."

Pope glanced over at the rest of them before reluctantly pulling the key out of his pocket.

"This key belongs to my family," Pope said assertively as he held it with a tight grip in his hand. Renfield let out another laugh.

"I'm losing my patience with you, Pope," he said. He raised his fingers to his mouth to let out another whistle but before he could, Pope raised the key up to him. Renfield reached over and grabbed it from him. "Did the right thing, kid. Knowing when you don't have a choice is an under-appreciated talent. You be safe."

They all look over at Pope who looked like he was on the verge of losing it, rightfully so.

"I'm so sick of this shit."

✰

"I'm never drinking again," Carson groaned. She was slumped over on the couch next to Kiara with a severe hangover the next morning.

"You say that every time we drink," John B pointed out.

"This time I mean it," she said. Her raging headache almost made her miss the door creaking open as someone walked in.

"Well, hello, princess," JJ said, which made her realize it had to be Sarah. She forced herself to a sitting position as she looked over at the blonde.

"Shouldn't you be on Figure Eight with your, uh, little group of polo players?" John B said. Sarah gave him a sarcastic smile. "Or did you break up with Topper?"

"We're just friends," she said simply, seeming not to be in the mood to get into it with him.

"He's just a friend," he said with a smile. "You have a lot of friends, Sarah Cameron." Clearly, he wasn't going to make it easy for her.

"Yeah, and it seems like you've got some of your own too," she shot back. Carson pushed her sunglasses up into her knotted hair as she leaned forward.

"On second thought, maybe I need a drink to get through this conversation," she mumbled.

"Alright, what are you doing here?" John B finally asked.

"I'm here for Pope," she said.

"Hm, interesting turn of events. Deciding to take a crack at the smart one this time around, huh, Sarah? Guess you've never heard of bro code," Carson commented.

"Shut up, Carson," John B and Sarah both said in unison. Carson laughed and leaned back onto the couch.

"I stand corrected. You guys are a match made in heaven," she said. Sarah rolled her eyes and turned back to Pope.

"I think I found the island room," she revealed, which made them all immediately sit up from where they were previously slouched over on their respective seats. Carson stood to her feet and looked around at them.

"Well, what're we doing sitting here on our asses? Let's go."