༄ 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗋𝗍𝗒－𝗍𝗐𝗈 ༄

ONCE THE GOLD was a solid form again, the crew loaded up in the twinkie and headed to the only pawn shop in town to hopefully get a lot of money off of it. When JJ slid the door open and stepped out of the van with the gold in a towel, he started talking. "Hell of a job melting it down, Dr. Frankenstein." he said in frustration towards Kiara.

        "Like you could've done any better." Kie said as her feet hit the pavement, Sarah and John B leaving the first two seats. Pope stepped out next and offered Thalia his hand, which she took with a fake smile. He knew right away it wasn't real, and something wasn't right.

        "I could have done much better. I took a welding class." JJ retorted, slinging his backpack over his shoulders.

        "When?" Kiara spoke in disbelief as John B stepped between them.

        "Chill out, okay?" John B said.

        JJ rolled his eyes. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one that has to pawn this piece of shit off." he scoffed.

        Thalia started walking towards the front door of the pawn shop. "How did we get this job anyway?" she questioned, JJ falling in step beside her.

        "'Cause you're the best liars." Pope answered, and Thalia and JJ shrugged.

        JJ pushed the door open, the little bell ringing. "Afternoon, ma'am." he said to the pawnbroker.

        The woman looked up. "Afternoon."

        "We see you buy gold." Thalia said calmly. She was scarily good at being able to hide when she was high, as if she had been practicing her whole life. It had only been a year, and that was the terrifying part.

        "That's what the sign say, don't it?" the woman said as the rest of the Pogues filtered into the shop, pretending to browse the shelves.

        "Well, I sure hope you buy a lot of it, because we're about to blow your mind." JJ said as the duo reached the counter, JJ placing his backpack on the counter.

        "I ain't got much mind left to blow, so have at it." the pawnbroker spoke.

        JJ pulled the gold out of his bag and placed it on the counter between him and Thalia. "How about them gold apples?" he said, expecting the woman to write them a check right away.

        The pawnbroker laughed. "That ain't real." she said, not believing Thalia and JJ instantly.

        "That ain't real?" Thalia repeated the woman's words.

        "It can't be." the pawnbroker decided.

        Thalia glanced once at JJ. "Feel how heavy it is." she invited.

        The pawnbroker wasn't expecting the chunk of gold to be that heavy. "Let's get some light on that." JJ said as the woman turned on her magnifying glass.

        "Spray-painted tungsten." the pawnbroker decided simply.

        "Spray-painted tungsten? Really? Okay. Why don't you see how, uh, soft it is?" JJ suggested, Thalia nodding.

        The woman hammered a light hole into the gold and felt it with surprise. "Wow. Would you look at that?" Thalia said nonchalantly, wishing the process would speed up.

        "Hold your horses. We ain't got to the acid test yet." the pawnbroker grabbed some chemicals.

        "Ooh! The acid test. My favorite, guys." JJ looked at the other Pogues, Thalia rolling her eyes at him.

        Once the acid test revealed that the gold was true gold, the pawnbroker was in disbelief. "Well, it ain't plated, and it ain't painted." she gasped quietly.

        Thalia placed her hands on the counter. "Ma'am, I'm telling you, this is as real as the day is long." JJ said to further convince the woman.

        "It looks like somebody tried to melt it down." the pawnbroker looked up at the pair.

        This was Thalia's time to shine. "My mom. She had all this jewelry laying around the house, and she thought it was best to... to melt it down. To 'consolidate' it. She was gonna sell it herself, she just forgot." the redhead spoke, winking discreetly at Pope. This time, a flabbergasted John B noticed the exchange.

        The pawnbroker placed the gold on a scale. "Seven pounds? That's a lot of earrings." she said skeptically.

        "Okay, to be honest, ma'am," JJ cleared his throat, glancing once Thalia. "It's really hard for my sister and I to see our mom fall apart with Alzheimer's." JJ lied, leeching off of Thalia's previous statement.

        "Such an awful disease." Thalia added, face appearing stricken with sadness.

        The pawnbroker raised her eyebrows at Thalia and JJ as the Pogues shared confused glances. "Mm-hm. Give me a minute." the woman left towards the office of the shop.

        "Take your time, ma'am." JJ said, eyes filling with fake tears.

        Thalia looked over at him when she was sure the lady was gone. "Not bad, hey?" she said in triumph. There was no way they wouldn't be walking out of the building without some serious cash.

        JJ nodded, doing the Pogue handshake he had taught his sister. "Not bad at all." the Pogues whispered among each other as they waited for the pawnbroker.

        When she reemerged, Pope and Kie left the sides of Thalia and JJ. "So, I, uh... I talked to my boss." the pawnbroker began.

        "And?" JJ said quickly as the woman passed behind him and Thalia to get to the other side of the counter.

        "And, uh, this is what I can do." she handed them a piece of paper, and Thalia and JJ looked up at the pawnbroker with identical expressions on their similar faces.

        "Fifty thousand? You think we walked in here not knowin' the spot price?" JJ said first with a scoff.

        "Ma'am, we know for a fact this is worth 140, at least." Thalia said firmly. They needed the money. She needed the money.

        The pawnbroker smiled in a mocking sort of way. "Well, sweetie, you in a pawnshop. This ain't Zurich. Do I look Swiss to you?" she retorted.

        JJ rubbed at the space between his eyes. "Ninety, or we walk." he said, exasperated.

        "Seventy. Half price... and, um... I don't ask questions about where you got this." the pawnbroker said knowingly.

        Thalia and JJ looked at each other and then at John B, who nodded discreetly. "We're gonna need that in large denominations, please." Thalia turned back to the pawnbroker, ready to accept the deal.

        The pawnbroker sighed. "Well, here's the snag. I don't have that much denominated, not here anyway. I can write you a cashier's check." she said, and Thalia and JJ sighed in frustration.

        "No, ma'am. We want the cold hard. That's what that sign says. Cash for gold. And that's what we expect. We're gonna get it in cold hard." JJ said firmly.

        "Well, I have to send you to the warehouse. I have the money there. Is that all right?" the pawnbroker said.

        Thalia glanced at JJ before looking back at the woman. "Where's this warehouse?"

༄༄༄