Chapter 2
Veronica's POV
The next morning John B was up and gone by the time I was. I got dressed and went to start cleaning around the houses in the Figure 8. I rode my bike home for a bit after I stopped at Heywards. I saw John Bs car and boat here. I went in through the side door.
"John B! You here?" I called out. I sat my bag down and headed for the kitchen. The place was torn to pieces.
"John B!" I yelled out. I turned around and saw a guy standing in the way of the door.
"Who are you?" I asked backing up.
"Where's the compass?" He asked.
"Compass?" I asked nervously. He nodded. I threw a paper at him then I took off running, only to be caught and shoved against the wall. I groaned and looked at a big burly man, who was holding my neck.
"I don't have a problem putting my hands on a lady. So give us what we want, and you won't get hurt." He warned.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I grunted. His grip tightened on my neck.
"Tell us where daddy or big brother is then." He hissed. I threw my knee up into his groin and shoved him off. I jumped over and ran towards the door. His friend came out of nowhere and tackled me. I yelled and struggled against him.
"Get off of me! Get off!" I screamed. He hit me across the face with his fist.
"Get her up!" The big guy yelled. I was yanked up roughly and dragged inside. I was shoved against the kitchen sink and forced to look at the big guy.
"Where is the compass?" He asked.
"I don't know." I sneered. He let my face go then back handed me. I grunted as my head went sideways. I groaned and blinked. I turned and spat in the sink. He grabbed me by the hair and yanked my head back.
"Answer the question." He hissed. I felt the knife under my hand. I grabbed the knife and threw it into his leg. He screamed and let me go. I shoved him off and took off running again. His friend took off after me. I made it out of the house and ran down the road. I hid in the thicket not far from the house. Minutes later a black chevy truck rolled by slowly.
"Bitch! You bitch, where are you? I'll get you for this!" He yelled. Then it sped away. A sob left my body. I got up and walked back to the house. I saw John B, Kie, Pope, and JJ.
"John B?" I said shakily. He and I ran up to each other and hugged.
"Oh god. Oh, thank god, you're alright." He said hugging me tighter. I grunted as a sharp pain went through my back. He pulled back and grabbed my head.
"Who were those guys? What did they want? Why were they asking about a compass?" I asked him. He shook his head.
"I don't know. Someone after dad's research." He said wiping my face. I sniffled and nodded.
"I stabbed one of them. The buff guy. In, in his leg." I stuttered.
"Hey. It's okay. They're gone, okay?" He said rubbing my arms. I nodded again and rubbed the tears that threatened to fall.
"I'm going to go get cleaned up and go back to town." I said walking past him. I went to the bathroom and washed my face off. There was a bruise forming around my right eye and a handprint on my neck. I checked my back and saw a bigger bruise forming. I went to my room and grabbed a scarf. I tied it around my neck and walked outside.
"You going to be okay working?" Kie asked me.
"Yeah. Yeah, I will." I said grabbing my bag. I walked outside and grabbed my bike.
John B's POV
Growing up with my sister, I had never heard her scream or seen her cry. Not when she would fall off her bike, get hit with a branch, or JJ tackled her into the ocean. Today I had heard and seen both. I wanted to help her, but I knew if I had, they'd get the compass from me. It had led us to the Redfield light house. The lighthouse guy gave us some useful information but as soon as I questioned him regarding my dad, he coiled up and wouldn't talk. He radioed in that Kie and I were high and I accidently shoved his hand against the glass. We ran from the cops until they caught up to us. I was sitting in Peterkin's office.
"I feel for you kid, I really do. I know since they never found your dad, that you think he's going to walk through the door. I don't blame you. But going to on fandangos aint going to bring him back. He's been missing at sea for nine months. Your fathers dead." She told me.
"You don't know that." I argued.
"Yeah I do. And as hard as it is, it'd be best for you and your sister to accept it and move on. You've been running around getting caught up in things that do not involve you. And now you in a heap of trouble. It's not just foster care we're talkin about now. It's assault, battery, JD time. Your sister is gonna be looking at her brother from behind a plastic glass. Have you thought about how your actions affect her?" She said.
"Not really." I said shaking my head. She sighed.
"I can still help you out, but we gotta do a little tit for tat. And this time, you gotta tat a whole lot better. I know you've gotten hold of a compass." She said sitting beside me.
"I don't know what you're talkin' about." I said.
"I know you took it off the wreck. There ain't much that happens in the OBX that I don't hear about eventually." She said.
"Okay, what do you want with this compass?" I asked her.
"It's evidence in an investigation. I'm gonna need it, son. Otherwise, I'm charging you." She said staring me down.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have a compass." I said looking back at the desk.
She got up without another word. Kie's dad bailed us out.
"You skip out on your bail, I'm going to hunt you down, and skin you." He told me.
"Dad!" Kie said.
"Cut it." He snapped at her.
"Thank you, Mr. C." I told him.
"Don't thank me." He snapped at me. I nodded and walked around the truck.
"Uhm. Mr. C, can you not tell my sister? I want to be the first one to tell her." I said looking at him. He shook his head at me.
"Why? So she can kill you and pay me back bail?" He scoffed. I sighed and looked at Kie.
"Get in." Mr. C forced out to Kie.
"Give me a sec." She told him. She pulled out the compass and handed it to me.
"You're going to be good." She said nodding. I nodded.
"Kiara." Mr. C snapped. She got in the truck and they left. I pocketed the compass and headed to my job. I washed off with the hose to get the recent dirt off.
"Hey! Employee of the month! Where the hell have you been? You taking some me time? Ward C's looking all over for you. You know he don't like to wait." Buddy called out to me. I nodded and dried off. I went over to the Druthers and went aboard.
"Have a seat John." Ward told me.
"Okay." I said sitting down.
"Who dotted your eye?" He asked me.
"Uh, surfing accident." I lied to him. He looked at me and nodded. Then he came over and sat down across from me.
"You and your sister, both have had a hard year, John. A very hard year. I feel like I've done what I could to help you two out. Wouldn't you agree to that?" He said nodding.
'Yeah. Yeah. Yes, sir." I said nodding.
"And I told you, you could always come to me if you ever need anything. Is that true?" He said.
"Yeah. I mean you said you'd help us with our DCS case." I said. He sighed and took off his sunglasses.
'I need you to answer a question and I need you to be straight with me. Did you take gear off the Druthers yesterday?" He said. That witch.
"Yes, sir, I did. Look, Mr. C, I'm—I'm not a thief okay? It was two dollars of stale air. You don't want your daughters." I started to argue.
"John. It's the principle of the thing. I cannot have employees that I cannot trust. I don't want to do this, John, but you have made me do this. I have to let you go. I'm sorry." He said. I nodded and walked off the boat. I was walking of the pier when I ran into Sarah.
"Hey, John B. I'm – I'm sorry, that's it? Not a, "Hey, how you doin'?" Or "Kiss my ass"?" She asked me. I turned back to her and stalked up.
"You're secret's safe with me"?" I asked her.
"What secret are.. Oh, that secret." She said nodding.
"I just got fired because of you. And I know you can't imagine that, but some people need jobs so that they can eat." I snapped. I slapped the chips out of her hand and turned around to walk off.
"What the fuck?" She snapped at me. I went back up to her.
"You're exactly who I thought you were, Sarah Cameron." I hissed. I walked off the pier then took off running into town. Once I slowed down that black truck pulled up beside me. I stopped when it did. The window rolled down and the two guys who attacked my home and sister sat there.
"Time's up, boy." Passenger guy told me. I shook my head then he brought out a gun. I took off running. He was right behind me and the guy in the truck was trying to follow. I went to jump the fence when it hit me hard. I hit the ground and groaned.
You gotta watch those live wires after a storm. Now you're going to give me what I want." The guy said standing over me. I couldn't breathe.
"If you don't give it to us.. Well then that pretty, little sister of yours is just going to have to pay the price. She sure is a fighter." He said chuckling. I wanted to punch him, but I couldn't move. I heard the siren blare through my ears though. Then he was gone. Peterkin came through and I ended up giving her the compass.
Veronica's POV
I was walking out of the Wreck, ready to go home when I saw Mr. Cameron walking towards me.
"Good evening, Veronica." He said smiling.
"Evening, Mr. Cameron. How can I help you?" I said placing my bag on my bike.
"I just came over to say I'm sorry for having to let John B go. But after a lot of thought, it was necessary." He said.
"Woah, wait. Let go? Let go for what, exactly?" I asked crossing my arms.
"You haven't spoken to John yet?" He asked.
"No, sir. I haven't." I said shaking my head.
"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you. But John admitted to me that he had taken some gear off the Druthers yesterday, and I had to let him go. I'm sorry that I had too. I know you and him are in a bind right now, but I cannot have employees stealing from me." He told me.
"Mr. Cameron, I am terribly sorry. I wish I had an explanation for him stealing but I honestly don't." I said honestly.
"It's okay. You don't have to explain anything. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Veronica." He said walking away. I sighed and kicked my bike.
"idiot!" I snapped.
"Woah, easy on the bike." Kie's dad said walking up.
"Sorry. It's just family stuff." I said picking up my bike.
"So John B told you that he got arrested huh?" He asked me.
"He what?!" I asked shocked. He flinched slightly.
"I'm guessing not. Look as long as he doesn't run out on his bail hearing, he should be fine." He told me. I ran my fingers through my hair and groaned.
"Look I will work off everything he owes you. I am really sorry. You shouldn't be bailing him out." I said pulling out my tips. He shook his head when I offered it to him.
"Kie asked me too and they both will work it off. I also did it because you're a great employee and you don't act like your brother. Get home safe, Ronnie." He said nodding. Then he walked off. I rode home with full intent on yelling at John B. But as soon as I stepped inside the house, I saw the disaster. I started cleaning up the mess those two idiots created. About an hour later John B and his friends walked in.
"Please, feed me." JJ said coming up to me. I waved him off to the kitchen. John B had a Fed Ex envelope in his hands.
"What's that?" I asked him. He held it up. For Bird and my Little Bird, I read. It was in dads handwriting.
"Where did you find that?" I asked walking up to him.
"Umm." He said clearing his throat. He looked at it then at me. He wasn't going to tell me.
"Seriously? You're not going to tell me? Add it to the list then, John B. Add it before Mr. Cameron let you go and after getting bailed out by Kie's dad. Yeah, I know. I'm your sister, idiot. Not one of those Kooks." I snapped. I shoved past him and his friends and walked down the pier. I sat down and listened to the water. When they came out a few minutes later, I got up and walked back to the house.