༄ 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖿𝗈𝗋𝗍𝗒－𝖾𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 ༄

𝑨𝑭𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑪𝑯𝑶𝑶𝑳, 𝑻𝑯𝑬 Pogues headed to Kiara's family restaurant to figure out how clear John B's name. Thalia was supposed to see her psychiatrist, but she was never going to willingly go. They walked down the dock, laughing, moving past Kiara's mother, who absolutely hated Thalia. "Kiara, I need those setups done by five!" Anna Carrera called to Kie, looking up from her paperwork.

"You know, there are other people that work here." Kie replied, Thalia trying to avoid being noticed by any Kooks. Even though her cousin was believed to be dead, no one cared, because no one on Kildare Island treated her like a true Cameron. In their eyes, she was disgraced Whitney Cameron's rat daughter, and Luke Maybank's thieving offspring.

"But ain't none of them 'em my children." Anna said back as the four walked past her.

"I feel that. On a deep, emotional level, I understand that." Pope said, taking Thalia's backpack into his hand so she could sit down. She thanked him with a meek smile.

The Pogues settled on the dock, Thalia sitting right next to Pope's knee. "So we going to the Bahamas or what?" JJ asked, tossing his backpack at his sister, who swatted it away quickly.

"Dumbass, there's no way we're getting to the Bahamas." Thalia said with an eye roll.

"John B's gonna get nabbed sooner or later. So if we're gonna clear his name, we need to have done it yesterday." Kie said, her long hair tossed into a bun atop her head.

JJ stood up straight. "I'll tell you how we do it." he said.

Pope didn't believe JJ at all. "So you have it all planned out?" the brunette boy asked in a mocking tone.

Nodding, JJ put his leg up on the bench beside Thalia. "As a matter of fact, I do. We kidnap Rafe." he deadpanned.

"I'm sorry, what?" Thalia's eyes widened.

"We kidnap Rafe, tie him up, and stick the gun in his mouth and just wait till he starts squawking." JJ elaborated on his plan.

Kie frowned. "You know, torture's a war crime." she reminded the blonde.

"Rafe's also a psychopath. Somehow, torture would make him less likely to admit to anything." Thalia added. She always knew Rafe was crazy, she just didn't realize how messed up he was until it was too late.

"Yeah, so how exactly do you plan on clearing John B's name from a prison cell? Because that's a felony." Pope said snarkily, and Thalia smiled lightly.

She pressed her head to the side of Pope's leg, and he didn't dare move it. "All right, well, what do you got, Pope? I was just trying to keep it simple. You know, one stop, and we're done." JJ said as he sat down beside Thalia.

"You're very casual about kidnapping your sister's cousin." Thalia looked over at JJ and he rolled his eyes at her. He didn't know how she still considered Rafe as family.

"Guys, all we need is a material witness. We saw Ward's plane fly right over our heads with the gold inside of it. He didn't fly it. If somebody else flew it, they were there on the tarmac. They saw Peterkin get murdered. We just have to find whoever that was and get them to confess on record." Pope said, and Thalia sat up quickly, realizing something.

She pulled her phone out of pocket and quickly clicked on Wheezie's name, shushing everyone who asked her what she was doing. "Wheezie!" Thalia said when Wheezie finally picked up the phone.

"What?" Wheezie asked, annoyed that she was being bothered.

"What's the name of your dad's pilot? The one who sometimes flies the plane to the Bahamas?" Thalia questioned quickly. Wheezie didn't know about the gold, so Thalia had to be careful with her words.

Wheezie thought for a minute. "Gavin Jones, I think. Why?" the girl wondered.

"No reason. Thank you, I love you, goodbye," Thalia said in one breath before hanging up and turning to the others. "We have a name."

"So how do we get this Gavin guy to confess?" Kiara questioned.

Pope shrugged. "A little light espionage." he said, looking at Thalia to find her staring up at him.

"A little ghost recon." JJ added, and the four did the Pogues handshake excitedly. Pope had taught the handshake to Thalia earlier in the summer.

Later that afternoon, Thalia skipped her physical therapy appointment to sit in Kiara's car while they drove to Gavin's house. Thalia and JJ were in the backseat, Kie driving, Pope beside her. JJ sat behind Pope, Thalia behind Kie. "If this guy flew planes for Ward, he's gotta be pretty tight-lipped." Pope said as they neared Gavin's house. Thalia had found it on google.

JJ cocked the gun Thalia didn't realize he was holding. "So then direct approach gets my vote." he said, Thalia's eyes widening.

"JJ, no." Thalia said quickly, reaching over and uncocking the gun.

"No. What?" Kiara glanced behind her to see Thalia taking the gun from her moronic brother.

"Put the gun down, man." Pope scolded.

"Guys! We gotta keep this simple, or we'll never get John B off." JJ reasoned, not convincing anyone.

Pope held up a case of headphones. "Or we just tickle the wire." he said strangely.

Thalia furrowed her brows. "What?" she asked, not understanding. She was stoned, after all.

"We tickle the wire. I plant my phone in his car, and then we listen in on your AirPods," Pope explained, holding the phone towards Kiara. "Say something."

"Something." Kie said, uninterested. Her voice was played back through Pope's phone.

Pope nodded. "Okay, we have audio." he put his phone down.

Thalia leant forward, looking at the houses on the street Kie was driving down. "I think that's his house over there." she pointed, and Kie pulled over.

"All right, honk, or, uh... or yell, or something if you see anything suspicious." Pope instructed, preparing to plant his phone in Gavin's car.

Thalia reached out and grabbed Pope's hand, interlacing their fingers together. JJ's eyes widened, and he glanced at Kie, who was also surprised. "Don't do anything dangerous, or stupid." Thalia said, genuine meaning to her words.

Pope cracked a smile. "Come on. I'm not JJ." he squeezed Thalia's hand and released her.

"Funny, Pope. Kie and I love third-wheeling. It's our favorite thing," JJ quipped, and Thalia rolled her eyes as Pope got out of the car. Thalia sat back in her seat, her knee in the air with her ankle on the center console. "How's it been going, you know, with Pope and all?" JJ asked his sister, Kie sitting bitterly. They hadn't brought up Kie trying to kiss Pope, and Thalia had no intentions to.

"It's good." Thalia answered cryptically, arms crossed over her chest as she looked out the window, trying to keep her eyes on Pope.

"It's good? All right," JJ nodded. "In the bedroom, is he, like, kinda freaky, 'cause it's Pope, you know?"

At JJ's words, Thalia turned her head over to her and brother, brows furrowed. "Why are you asking?" she asked, judging him for caring.

JJ shrugged. "I don't know. Just kinda curious. Just spitballing here." JJ brushed off, looking out his own window.

"You don't need to spitball. We could sit in silence." Kiara suggested, and Thalia rolled her eyes.

Thalia dug a joint out of her backpack and rolled down the car window as she lit it, placing the joint between her lips. "It's kinda weird that you want to know about my sex life, JJ." Thalia quipped, the weed calming her down.

But JJ was determined to make his sister uncomfortable. "Ranking-wise–" JJ continued, trying to snatch Thalia's weed.

"Oh, you're still asking?" Thalia took her joint back.

"Yeah, I was just curious. Who's better, Pope or your freaky Kook hookups?" JJ asked, using his hands as he spoke.

Thalia's eyes widened. "What?" she said as she whipped her head over to her brother, appalled at the questions he was asking her.

"Okay." JJ said quickly, swatting Thalia away as she tried to jab him with one of her crutches.

"I'm not saying anything's going on, but either way, it's none of your business." Thalia said, crossing her arms and flattening against the seat of the car. Thalia never opened up about her feelings, and JJ was starting to understand ways to work around her locked feelings.

Pope then ran back to the car, sliding into the front seat. "Okay. Phase one is complete," Pope said, picking up on the tense vibe in the car. Thalia wouldn't even look at him. "Everything–Are we all good?" Pope asked, the three simply nodding. Thalia could only handle so much at a time, and actually talking to Pope about what they were was too much.

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