CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:
LONG WAY TO FALL
(episode seven: dead calm)

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

THE HIGH OF THEIR victory lasted well into the next day. Once they'd put enough distance between themselves and Mrs Crain's house, and they were sure she wasn't going to fly up beside them on a broomstick to take back her gold, the group decided to split down the middle for the rest of the night. Originally, they were heading back to the Chateau to celebrate with beer and pizza, but Arden had what she called a 'genius plan' and insisted on a Quartet sleepover at Kie's house. Unfortunately for her, Haven and Sarah immediately crashed, leaving Arden to bug Kie into all hours of the morning. She didn't seem to mind, though, for the others found her piling waffles onto a plate for Arden when they came to.

"Quartet, assemble," the Korean girl exclaimed as Sarah hopped up on the bench and Haven slumped into the closest chair.

"Who let Arden watch Marvel?" she groaned, her eyes heavy from just a few hours of sleep. She'd intended to rest for a lot longer than three or four hours but was woken by Sarah kicking her leg. Just to spite her, she kicked back until Sarah rolled over to glare at her. "It's way too early for this."

"Well, if the two of you didn't crash straight away then we wouldn't have this problem," Kie huffed as she sat down beside Arden.

"Ladies, ladies, ladies," the girl in question cooed in a placating manner. She was unable to control her smile as she watched them interact, throwing her arms around Kie's shoulders in utter delight. "We can all watch Marvel at a later date, now we must go to the Chateau to get our money."

Haven sighed, rubbing her temples in frustration as Arden continued to chatter away. She'd quickly finished off her waffles and was now clattering the crockery around in the sink, bopping her head to the radio like it wasn't 7am in the morning. "Hulk, give me the strength not to choke her."

Arden raised an eyebrow, her smile morphing into a smirk. "You are one kinky bitch, you know?"

Sarah and Kie laughed at the look on her face. "To be fair, you did walk right into that one."

After showering and changing into fresh clothes (Haven had her own designated drawer in Kie's dresser which became her saving grace, she'd rather die than wear her Crain-covered all black outfit again), they gathered in Kie's SVU and headed over to the Chateau. The boys were already up when they pulled into the drive, JJ bounding right up to the passenger door with a smile just for Arden. Haven had hoped for a moment alone with the boy but he and Arden disappeared to annoy Pope, leaving her sitting in the backseat beside Sarah with a frown.

"You two not talking or something?" the blonde girl asked as she glanced between Haven and the direction JJ had gone. "I thought you were getting close."

Haven sighed. "We were, but I messed it up."

"He didn't seem angry at you last night," said Sarah, plastering on a hopeful smile. "Who knows? Maybe he's put it behind him."

"I kept Arden's secret," she mumbled with her eyes cast down at her hands. "So I doubt it."

"Oh."

"It doesn't matter anyway. We have more important things to worry about."

"If it's upsetting you, then it's important," Sarah insisted. She leaned over to hug the girl, resting her chin on Haven's shoulder until she smiled. "Do you want me to beat him up for you?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "Thanks, but I don't think that would help him like me again."

"Yeah, no, maybe you're right."

"What are you two still doing in here?" Kie frowned as she poked her head through the window. She'd followed after Arden but circled back when she noticed Sarah and Haven weren't beside her. "You coming? Pope's drawn us a map for the gold."

Sarah nodded. "Yeah, we'll be out in a sec."

"Let's just go," Haven said, catching sight of Pope and John B making their way into the yard. It wasn't time to be thinking about JJ. "But thanks, Sarah, I'm happy you're in my life again."

Sarah's eyes lit up as she smiled. "I'm happy, too."

Everyone else was already waiting around the Twinkie when they left Kie's car. Pope grinned as Haven squeezed into the circle between him and John B. She could feel the heat of his skin against hers through the hand he'd placed on her lower back, making it hard to think straight as Kie explained her idea to pawn off the gold. It was a good idea, with just one small problem.

"Are you sure this will work?" JJ asked. "We can't pawn the gold if there's a giant wheat symbol on it."

"Trust me," she smirked. "It'll work."

After melting the gold bars down into one giant clump of gold (yes, you read that right; apparently, Kie was a jack of all trades and knew how to use a blow torch) they locked up the Chateau and gathered in the Twinkie to head over to the pawn shop. It wasn't a long drive but it seemed like it for everyone. Each passing second brought them just that bit closer to riches. It was hard to sit in silence with that thought in mind. Finally, after what felt like forever watching Arden anxiously bouncing her leg up and down, John B parked outside the infamous pawn shop.

"Hell of a job melting it down, Dr. Frankenstein," JJ commented as he took the gold from Pope and wrapped it in a towel.

"Like you could've done any better," Kie retorted defensively. She frowned as she followed him out onto the sidewalk.

"I could have done much better. I took a welding class."

"And you didn't think to mention this earlier?" Haven raised a sceptical brow at his back.

JJ wheeled around to face her, shrugging despite his glare. "It didn't cross my mind."

"Hey, hey, hey," John B sighed as he quickly stepped in between them. "Calm down."

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one who has to pawn this piece of shit off," JJ grumbled. "How'd I get this job anyway?"

Pope shrugged as he looked to him for an answer. "'Cause you're the best liar."

"Can't argue with that."

"Actually," Sarah piped up, her hand intertwining with John B's to stop the group from heading inside. "I'd say that Arden's the best liar out of all of us..."

Arden narrowed her eyes and wrapped an arm around her waist. Haven wasn't sure if Sarah meant it in that way, but that was what her mind first went to. "Are you serious, Saz?"

The blonde girl just smiled sheepishly. "You do have the best excuse to be looking for some gold."

Arden just sighed, some of her anger fading into reluctant acceptance. She held her hand out to a frowning JJ. "Give me the piece of shit."

And with that, she was marching right up to the pawn shop door, one hand cupping the gold like a baby while the other adjusted her pink sundress to emphasise her swollen stomach. Haven and the others shared a wary glance before following her inside. The shop was like every other rundown store on The Cut. The white paint on the walls was peeling off to reveal the wooden structure of the building. Rows of shelves lined the centre of the room, full to the brim with junk that Haven idly observed while watching Arden and JJ make their way up to the front desk. The middle-aged lady at the register watched the group with wariness, a giant 'gold accepted' sign framing the side of her face. Arden put on her best rich bitch smile as she addressed her.

"Afternoon, ma'am."

"...Afternoon," she replied dubiously, her eyes dropping to Arden's bump as she pointed at the aforementioned sign. "I see you buy gold."

"That's what the sign says, don't it?"

Arden giggled nervously. "My mistake. But I'm so glad you do. I got a lot of it right here for you to buy."

"I swear if she messes this up," Pope murmured as he appeared at Haven's side. He picked up a book from the shelf, frowning to himself as the cover almost fell away from the pages. Haven chuckled and took it from him, carefully placing it back down before the woman could notice them almost destroying her items. "This might sound stupid, but I trust her."

Pope stared at her incredulously, causing her to snicker into the palm of her hand. She went quiet, though, as Kie appeared to shoot her a warning look. It was already suspicious enough to have seven of them suddenly appear in the shop. No need to draw extra attention to themselves.

JJ had joined Arden now, an arm curled around her waist as he smirked at the frowning lady. "We're about to blow your mind," he declared with arrogance.

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

The couple exchanged a look before JJ took the gold and dropped it onto the bench. "How about them gold apples?"

She burst into laughter, looking at them in pity. "That ain't real."

"That ain't real?" JJ repeated before murmuring in Arden's ear, "She doesn't think it's real, baby."

"They can't be."

"Well, feel how heavy it is," he implored, watching intently as the lady sighed, seemingly deciding to play along as she heaved it up. The sudden weight surprised her but still she was distrustful. "Mhm, let's get some light on that."

After a close examination with a torch and magnifying glass, she shook her head at them again. "Spray-painted tungsten."

"What even is that?" Arden frowned in confusion. But JJ pushed on, rapping on the bench with his knuckles to keep her from turning away. "Why don't you see how, uh... soft it is?"

"Alright," she drawled, searching around for a pick and hammer. "You mind?"

"Oh, no. Go for it."

Once again, her test to prove it false failed. Haven smiled with hope as the lady scratched her head, JJ practically bouncing on the balls of his feet with anticipation. "Wow. Would you look at that?"

"Hold your horses. We ain't done the acid test yet."

"Oooh, the acid test," he exclaimed, squeezing Arden's hip as he looked back over at the rest of them. "My favourite, guys."

The third test was another failure. From where she stood, Haven couldn't hear what the lady muttered to herself, but she did catch JJ nodding his head passionately. "Ma'am, I'm telling ya, this is as real as the day as long."

"That may be, but it looks like somebody tried to melt it down." The accusation in her tone was evident as she sent the two a suspicious glare. Arden giggled to herself. "Oh, that's my fault. We're expecting our first any day now so I robbed my mamma. She's one of those rich kook bitches. I stole her jewellery and melted it together."

"Seven pounds. That's a lot of earrings."

She didn't believe them. Arden frantically looked around before grabbing the closest person to them, which just so happened to be Kie. "Our girlfriend here also chipped in. Stole some of her own mother's. All three of us want to be there for our child."

The pawnbroker looked Kie up and down, scoffing at the girl's awkward smile as she patted Arden on the back. Finally, after several seconds went by, she sighed in defeat. "Give me a minute." With one last strange look at them, she disappeared out of sight.

The moment she was gone, Kie tore herself away from Arden with a glare, "Seriously?"

"It's high time you help us with our love child, my darling," Arden pouted at her. Haven shook her head as Kie grumbled; she wasn't sure how Arden had pulled it off, but the pawnbroker was returning with news.

"So, I talked to my, uh... boss."

"And?"

"This is what I can do." She looked around at the group before handing JJ a note with the price written on it. He scoffed almost immediately, clearly displeased. "Fifty thousand? Ma'am, you think I walked in here not knowing the spot price? I know for a fact this is worth 140K at least. I gotta provide for my kid and... girls."

"Well, sweetie, you're in a pawnshop," she deadpanned. "This isn't Zurich. Do I look Swiss to you?"

"Ninety or I walk."

"Seventy," she retorted through clenched teeth. "Half price, and I won't ask any questions about where you got this."

Everyone looked over at John B for some sort of signal, even JJ and the girls. After a moment of contemplation, the boy nodded; it wasn't what they originally had in mind but it was better than what she had tried to give them. It would be much easier to just accept whatever cash was given than to potentially gain unwanted attention on their discovery.

"I'm going to need that in large denominations, please," JJ declared.

"Well, here's the snag," she sighed. "I don't have that much denominated, not here anyway. I can write you a cashier's cheque."

JJ immediately shook his head. "No, ma'am, I want cash for gold. It's on the sign, and that's what I expect."

"Well, I have to send you to the warehouse then," she said. "I have the money there. Is that alright?"

"It will do, I suppose," Arden sighed, glancing around at the others and locking eyes with a frowning Haven. Why did they have to go to the warehouse? Something felt weird.

But JJ wasn't about to lose them this money. He nodded to himself and snagged the gold off the counter for safe-keeping. "So where's this warehouse?"

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

FOR A PLACE THAT was supposed to keep large amounts of money, it looked awfully run-down. There were no warehouses in sight, just crumbling homes nestled into clusters of trees and tall grass. The road had no end in sight, just miles and miles for them to drive.

"Wait, so they keep money out here?" Pope said what Haven was thinking. Surely, they'd keep money out in Figure Eight, especially for something like this.

"Well, that's what she said," JJ shrugged before smirking to himself. "Hah, that's what she said."

"Stop."

Arden sniffed as Pope shook his head, rubbing JJ's arm with a glare in the other boy's direction. "I thought it was a good joke."

"Ard, you think everything's a joke."

The girl whistled through her teeth and raised her hands in surrender. "Touchy, touchy."

Sarah glanced back at them from the passenger seat, smiling affectionately at the side of Arden's head before saying, "I've never even heard of Resurrection Drive."

"That's because you're rich," JJ told her.

"Oh, please," Kie retorted. "You've never heard of it either."

"Thank you."

They continued driving in silence for a while. Soon, there were no houses left in sight, the trees growing closer together to block out any signs of life. Haven shifted uneasily in her seat, peering out the window for something, anything, that might indicate they were getting close to their destination.

"Guys, there's nothing but weeds back here," she murmured.

JJ narrowed his eyes on her. "Alright, just 'cause it's just weeds doesn't mean it's, like—"

A siren blared right behind them. Haven wheeled around in fright at the sound, frowning at the plain car with blue and red lights flashing in the windshield. Kie shared the same scepticism, muttering uneasily, "Cops? Out here?"

"That's not normal."

But JJ didn't care about normal. He was huffing to himself, running a frustrated hand down the side of his face as Arden huddled into his side. "God, are you kidding me?"

"What did we do?" Sarah pointed out in confusion.

"John B, were you speeding?" Arden accused.

"No," he scoffed. When she just raised an eyebrow in disbelief, he repeated, "No, I wasn't, I swear."

"Okay, this is weird," Haven said. While the others were quizzing JJ about the whereabouts of his weed and the gun, she was watching as the 'police officer' strode towards the back of the Twinkie. She couldn't see his face through the glare of the sun, but she caught the weapon in his hands as he passed her window and froze. "John B, drive."

"What?" he frowned, confused.

"Drive, he's not—"

Haven didn't get to finish her sentence, for there it was; the unmistakable click of a loaded shotgun pressed right against the side of John B's head.