[right][color=darkgray][sup]Timestamp: Last night, the party
Location: Calico Jack’s
Featuring: [color=FFCDD2]Korinna Runnels[/color] and [color=00674F]Grayson Kaplan[/color]
[@BrutalBx] and [@Aces Away][/sup][/color][/right]

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[indent][indent][color=lightgray]Kori loved summer nights like this.

Her dark chocolate eyes lifted to the heavens to stare at a clear black ocean with white glowing speckles of a million stars drifting across it. There was a gentle gust in the air, low enough not to care but strong enough that her black curls and thigh slit floral skirt danced on its breeze. Korinna’s back was against the wall, in more ways than one, at least in her mind, with one hand she adjusted her knitted bralet and with the other she took a drag from her joint.

Kori’s gaze drifted down to her suitably toned and tanned leg which she had bent back to lean against the wall. It was an unwritten rule of CAP that one had to be in decent shape. Some of the Adventures that guests wanted, often required physical participation and those who lacked the fortitude to withstand it frequently did not last the season. In her many years as part of the crew, Korinna had seen it all, done it all, bought the t-shirt and then sold it on Vinted. She was pretty confident in her ability to weed out the weak and support the strong. The new crop of recruits that she could hear on the other side of the wall, were easily one of the rowdiest she had ever seen. Yet more often than not, the loudest crew were the hardest workers.

She pondered, her mind unable to really see an answer; what was going to happen when this season was over? Even Grayson was being asked to prepare a successor during the course of the next few charters. Korinna had never really considered that might happen when the time that she had dreaded since she was a little girl came. The program was all she had ever known but she would soon turn twenty five and her father made it clear that Kori was not an exception to the rule; she would age out and her time would be served and done.

The problem was she didn’t want it to be.

What came next?

Breathing the mellow fire from her lungs, Kori leaned her head back, listening to the music through the stained yellow wall of Calico Jack me with a smile draped across her face. She loved summer nights like this.

Grayson had a love/hate relationship with the tradition of drinking at Jack’s the night before Bones addresses the program members. It was easy to enjoy so long as you yourself were [i]also[/i] inebriated, but when you took on the roles that Gray did, it felt more like trying to herd a bunch of caffeinated squirrels. He got a chance to see everyone’s barest personality on full display, and [i]he got to see everyone’s barest personality on full display.[/i] With this being his last season as a CAPper, he wanted to enjoy his final entry night, but fate seemed to have other plans. 

After Jonas Valmont asked him what it was like to be such a peasant because he just liked a basic beer every now and then, and then the other man doubling down that it was a sign of lack of class… [i]then[/i] going on a rant about how, [i]‘my parents got me this job, what did your parents ever get you?’[/i] Gray had simply deadpanned [i]’I’ve got my dad’s ashes from him, that count?’[/i] and walked away while the mouthy brat gaped like a fish. Now, now he wanted to relax for a moment in private because he needed at least enough patience to tell the bastard one more time that he should head to the house and sleep it off, not drink more. Only one more time.

Stepping out of Calico Jack’s and smelling the air told him he wasn’t getting his moment of absolute solitude, but spending time with the woman around the corner from the entrance was an even better way to recharge his batteries.

[color=00674F]“You feelin’ particularly benevolent at the moment?”[/color] He asked while knocking on the side of the building like it was an office door and eyeing the smouldering patience between her fingers. [color=00674F]“I just had a [i]wonderful[/i] conversation with one of the greenies.”[/color]

[color=FFCDD2]“Let me guess, Valmont?”[/color] Kori didn’t really need her long time friend to confirm the fact, she already knew. Jonas Valmont had been making trouble and rubbing people the wrong way from the moment he got off of his family's helicopter, which he made sure landed near enough to Oceana House that it would draw all of the attention unto himself. He wasn’t the first and probably wouldn’t be the last CAP recruit hired due to his connections.

Bones, for all his faults, put a lot of stock and merit in his relationships. If you were bonded with Korinna’s father, you were bonded for life, no matter the time or the distance. He valued loyalty above all, it was a trait he had inherited from his father, her grandfather, Wade. He was a red state bleeding, old school cowboy. Hard work mattered, a man’s word meant something and he’d sooner put a bullet in his own skull than neglect anyone he cares for. She loved her Grandpa. 

When Hiram Valmont, an old service buddy and current internet millionaire, called the Captain’s direct line a few weeks ago, a number very few people had, Kori knew he was either looking for a charter or looking for a job for his kid. Of course it was the latter and of course, her dad being her dad, he said yes and made sure there was space on the program for the price of crypto, despite the fact it was usually Kori and the admin team that chose the applicants. 

[color=FFCDD2]“It’s a loud group this year.”[/color] Holding the roll up vertically, in the tips of her fingers, Korinna watched its embers flicker for a moment, staring into the eye of the sun before she gently blew the top of it, stoking the tiniest of flames. [color=FFCDD2]“You and I are going out with a bang, it looks like.”[/color] She offered up a coy smile as well as the joint itself. [color=FFCDD2]“Want it?”[/color]

[color=00674F]“Desperately,”[/color] Gray admitted, accepting the joint held his way and taking a fortifying drag. Leaning against the wall in a mirror of Korinna, he tilted his head back and released the smoke in a slow wispy trail drifting from his lips. No matter what nepobaby fuckhead he had to deal with in this program, Kori made it all bearable. She’d become part of the program a year after him, but he’d known her since a little after Bones had picked him up from the Brightmoor PD cells and told him it was time to get his ass in gear. Granted, while he’d been grateful in the beginning, he’d also been scared and angry and felt trapped since this was his only choice aside from prison, but Bones and Kori treated him well, and his brother even came to visit when he was able to get his leave approved. 

Once he’d grown and trained more and mellowed out, a lot of the cloudiness caused by his anger dissipated, and with that came the clear realization that Kori Runnels was not just another friend like the girls in his booster crew back home. He found his eyes lingering on her smile or her teasing smirk, his own forest brown eyes wandering until they would get lost in her espresso-dark gaze and he’d suddenly be left blinking, dumbfounded and unable to find his words to respond to whatever she’d teased him about. He and Kori had blazed trails through this program together, and Grayson’s plan was to follow the amazing and determined woman all the way to the top, in whatever capacity he could. 

He loved her, after all, not that he’d ever told her that in the way that truly mattered.

[color=00674F]“I’ll have you know, I’m already missing last year when Zen was the loudest rich kid in the house,”[/color] He only half joked, mind returning to the subject of Jonas. [color=00674F]“That new kid is gonna get us in trouble, Kor.”[/color]

[color=FFCDD2]“You and I both know, he won’t last.”[/color] Kori tried to reassure her oldest friend as she absentmindedly or possibly subconsciously reached down and took his hand into hers. [color=FFCDD2]“We’ve had worse. Remember two years ago? That K-Pop bitch who wanted to try her hand at playing explorer?”[/color] A smirk, evil with its intent appeared across the stewardesses lips. [color=FFCDD2]“First three days of her, were absolute hell, then she went out with Ashante on a wildlife trip, fell into some bear shit and we never saw her again.”[/color] Kori took the joint back from Gray and pursed it between her plump lips. [color=FFCDD2]“She literally complained from the moment she got her, tried to sue my dad and wanted to bring a film crew with her. We should’ve let the bear eat her.”[/color]

She laughed. Gray always made her laugh, even if he didn’t try. He was an idiot, a worrier and he had this sad little puppy dog energy that just made her want to squeeze him and tell him that everything was ok. He was also the only one she trusted to see who she was behind the epaulette on her uniform shoulders. Kori grew up with Gray in more ways than one, for the lack of any better term they were entwined together. Everyone had an idea of who the captain's daughter was but not many could truly say they had seen her true self. Grayson could.

She breathed in the smoke of creation once more. Her head still leaned back against the old outer walls, she turned to face Gray once again. [color=FFCDD2]“If he causes us any real deep problems, we’ll just get Dougie to beat the shit out of him. I’m sure he’d enjoy that.[/color]” 

Grayson laughed along with her, fingers flexing from where they were intertwined with hers and shoulders finally relaxing. Compared to that girl, it was hard to be uncomfortable around much. Even Piper’s occasional tiktoks were only posted with the express permission of any CAPper in them, that film crew would not have had the same courtesy. [color=00674F]“Honestly, the more I think of some of our washouts, the more I appreciate Zenith,”[/color] He said with a look of horrified realization washing over his face. He’d complained to Kori constantly about the other man last year when they were roomed together, and she’d often roll her eyes and let him kvetch and then tell him to get over it because Zen was an amazing guide. Genuinely, Gray did like the little brat, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a little brat. Appreciating that he wasn’t as bad as he could be was one thing, but appreciating his mere existence was sending Gray for a loop. 

He’d missed the prankster in the off season, when he was helping bubbe Roseman wrangle the wayward youth she was housing, thinking of how the Air Activities guide would have done some wild trick or flip that would have had the youngest kids stopping to stare in awe and the older kids desperate to learn it. He’d wondered how the old woman would treat the younger man and even texted him once or twice when he’d received skydiving pictures at 1am because it was already a new day in New Zealand. The realization that he was more fond of Zen’s pranks and bullshit than annoyed had settled over the off season, but saying it out loud was a different matter entirely. [color=00674F]“Oh god, ew, I actually really like that kid,”[/color] Gray admitted, face pained. [color=00674F]“Like, might kidnap him and take him home next off season so I can get a break from the kids at Bubbe’s house. Kori, help,”[/color] He pleaded with only mostly-false desperation. [color=00674F]“I’m gonna turn into bubbe and start informally adopting people left and right.”[/color]

Kori smiled as she listened to Gray waffle on. She was so glad that throughout this journey it was him by her side through it all. [color=FFCDD2]“You’re turning into such a Dad now Gray, maybe there’s a job in a school waiting for you after this.”[/color] She adjusted her top once again, pushing up her chest ever so slightly, [color=FFCDD2]“You know, you can be that inspiring English teacher who chomps on cigars and has a jaded past.”[/color] Her words were playful and teasing, a sure sign that the usually put together Korinna was letting loose.

She finished off the joint before stubbing out what little ember remained on the wall and tossing it into the trash. [color=FFCDD2]“Come on, it’s your turn to buy me a drink.”[/color] Kori tightened her laced fingers around Grayson’s hand as she led him back into the lively arena that was Calico Jack’s.

The place was bouncing and lively; the CAP crew of the season were up and dancing, some were downing drinks, others were swept up in the kind of deep conversations that would be doubt reverberate across the summer and have far reaching consequences that no doubt Kori and Gray would have to deal with. She parked herself at the end of the bar top, draping the hand and arm of her best friend over her shoulder and using it to rest her cheek. [color=FFCDD2]“Jack, baby.”[/color] She offered the dashing bartender a bright smile. [color=FFCDD2]“Kraken and Ginger Beer for me and the usual for my dog here.”[/color] Giggling, Korinna kissed his knuckle.

[color=00674F]“Woof,”[/color] Gray deadpanned with a fond eye roll, accepting the bottle of local craft beer that Jack slid to him and squeezing Kori a bit into his side. The easy interaction and contact with Kori always recharged his batteries, and her warmth against his side was one of his favorite things, so he’s happy to have it in any capacity. He turned his head to get a good glance at the room, and his gaze narrowed in on Dougie flirting with a new girl that Gray already knew Kori had concerns about, and then Piper goading Zenith and a couple new CAPpers into a drinking contest that would leave them all under the table. He shook his head firmly at Zenith from across the room while Piper gazed over her shoulder to smirk at him and Kori. Zen, in response, flipped him off and then blew him a kiss before throwing back the first shot. Gray just shook his head; the younger man would have to learn on his own eventually.

[color=00674F]“Anyway, I don’t think English teacher is for me, maybe in another life,”[/color] He added to their previous conversation, taking a sip of his beer. [color=00674F]“But hey, crazier things have happened. I’ve stuck around here all these years, haven’t I? Jack bet on me being gone my first season, I’ll never forget it. True betrayal when Jack bets against you,”[/color] He glared playfully at the man. [color=00674F]“I’ll never forgive you.”[/color]

Jack didn’t utter a word as he handed Kori her mixed drink, shooting a glare at Grayson as he did so. Kori rested her chin in her hand before wrapping her lips around the straw that sat in her rum. She knew this would likely be her last one. Jack’s beverages were illegal at the best of times but with it being the night before the start of the season and with her fathers cheeky musings that the first guest of the year was a big one, Korinna didn’t want to push the boat out too much.

As she drank in the revelry around her, the Captain’s daughter felt that same pang in her heart that she had felt when she was outside. This was the end of it all, one last trip, one last adventure. Kori was unsure of what the future held for her, she had options, sure; but she had no idea which fork in the road was the right one to take. In that moment of quiet contemplation, she wondered what her mother would do?

At least she had Gray by her side, well, for one last season…

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[right][color=darkgray][sup]Timestamp: Next day, after speech, 9:30am[/sup][/color][/right]

[color=FFCDD2]“fuckFuckFUCK!”[/color] Kori had all but forgotten about that asshat Valmont as she hissed into her chai latte. [color=FFCDD2]“Jack, I’m gonna need another please baby!”[/color] Parked on the bar at Calico’s, she poured over all the files on the computer for the umpteenth time. 

With her fathers dismissal of Jonas at the opening ceremony, the CAP crew were now down a Culture guide and Korinna had an hour to try and find a replacement before the first guest of the season arrived. This was certainly not the easiest position to fill for a myriad of reasons. First and foremost, whoever the Culture guide needed to have a great knowledge of the world and its civilisations, they needed a mastery of language and custom and most importantly, they needed to be available. The season was already underway and getting someone in this swiftly would be tight.

[color=00674F]“Perusing applications,”[/color] Gray observed from the entrance of Jack’s, Kori’s back to him as he glanced around warily and stuffed his hands in his pockets. [color=00674F]“Is this an active minefield or am I safe to enter?”[/color] Kori usually didn’t mind Gray’s company when she was stressed, but that didn’t make it any less like a tornado blowing through if she was wound up enough to snap. Judging by the way her nails were tapping away against the mug of her chai latte, she was pretty damn close.

Gray had finished his conversation with Zenith a few minutes ago and after a brief struggle to remove the sticker placed between his shoulder blades, Gray went with his first actual thought and sought out Kori. Knowing she could probably use a shoulder to lean on or punch at as much as he could use her presence and easy access to the sticker, it was a simple choice to head out to Jack’s on the next block and find her stressing at the bar. Her shoulders were hunched and she looked harried even from the back, her usual composure already cracked, and he’d do whatever she needed to help her rebalance, be it being by her or leaving her alone.

[color=FFCDD2]“Active. Very very active but you’re fine, there’s a path for you.”[/color]

Kori leaned back in her bar stool, lifting her hands behind her curly head and locking her fingers together. She anxiously looked at the old nautical compass themed clock on the wall and pursed her lips. She didn’t have a lot of time before the announcement came out about the first guest of the year. She knew nothing about who it was other than that it was a celebrity. Her dad liked to play certain cards close to his chest, he enjoyed making the crew sweat a bit. Just like he enjoyed the taste of carrots, the absolute sadist.

With a click of her tongue, Korinna glanced briefly over to her closest confidant and then back to the screen in front of her. [color=FFCDD2]“I honestly don’t think we can get anyone in time, Gray.”[/color] She leaned forward onto her elbows just in time for Jack to settle down her drink. [color=FFCDD2]“Thanks boo.”[/color] She smiled at the moustachioed heartthrob. [color=FFCDD2]“Anyone even remotely local to Florida is way under qualified and anyone further away is…too far away.”[/color]

[color=00674F]“Hmm,”[/color] Gray hummed while making his way over to where Kori was sitting now that he’d been given the all clear. Leaning over her shoulder and staring at the screens she had opened, all with different applications scrolled to various points of the page, Gray found the words swimming in front of him and huffed out a laugh. [color=00674F]“Okay, how about I spend a minute scanning these with fresh eyes and you get whatever monstrosity Zen slapped on my back off, yeah?”[/color]

The offer was in good faith, as she well knew, and it wouldn’t be the first time that he’d helped Kori run through resumes. The first thing he was going to do was reorganize the open tabs because [i]jesus[/i], how the hell did someone as organized as Kori when it came to the business read properly with eight different windows of pure text open?

[color=FFCDD2]“Fine, but don’t move anything. I know where all my shit is.”[/color] Kori got up from her seat to allow Gray to sit. Once she did, she proceeded to remove Zen’s sticker with a little smirk from her face before tossing it onto the table next to her laptop. [color=FFCDD2]“Little Zee got you with a school prank like that? You disappoint me once again.”[/color] She placed her hands on either side of his shoulders and rested them there as she began to speed read over Gray’s head. [color=FFCDD2]“This is where my Dad’s rules backfire on him. We should’ve just dealt with Jonas and got rid of him later in the program. Now we’re less than twenty minutes from our first guest and we’re fucked like a cheerleader on prom night, just not as well.”[/color]

[color=00674F]“I live to disappoint,”[/color] It was said in a monotone, like he was barely registering his own response. [color=00674F]“And I don’t know, I enjoyed my part in it,”[/color] Grayson grumbled as he focused in on the screen with a glare, annoyed but heeding her warning not to move anything around, instead, he minimized half the screens so he could focus on the resumes, but the sticker Kori placed beside the laptop caught his attention and made him scoff at the design. [color=00674F]“That kid is such a dick.”[/color] He noticeably did not destroy the sticker, however, choosing instead to slap it on the back of his phonecase so it wouldn't wrinkle in his pocket, the fuzz from his shirt covering the worst of the adhesive. Zen drew those himself, he’d never toss them out, not that the other knew it.

[color=00674F]“You said it last night, we knew Jonas wasn’t going to make it, I guess we should have had an understudy ready.”[/color] He leaned back into Kori and spent the next couple minutes flipping through the open applications before pulling up the final few she either hadn’t gotten to or thought weren’t worth opening. He was about to go right back to the start with ten minutes left to the guest arrival when the final window he’d opened and let Kori drag to the side caught his eye. 

[color=00674F]“Wait wait, what about this one? Traveled the world, polyglot, has some previous experience in high demand customer service roles? Currently living a half hour away from Oceana House. Why were they shoved to the bottom of your folder?”[/color]

[color=FFCDD2]“Check the declarations, genius.”[/color] Kori rolled her eyes for a moment before pressing her body against his back, pushing Gray forward and leaning against him as she pointed out something on the screen. [color=FFCDD2]“Much like you dickface, they have a criminal record but we’re not talking minor. Assault and battery. No way we’re having someone like that with us….”[/color] Her words trailed off of a cliff as she tilted her head, her brain beginning to do some mental maths. 

All of a sudden, a lightbulb went off in Korinna’s mind. She leapt backward and slapped both her hands down on Gray’s shoulders once again and squeezed tight. [color=FFCDD2]“I think I’ve got it.”[/color] She clapped her palms down again repeatedly. [color=FFCDD2]“I think we can solve our culture problem and gain a little bit extra here too. Gray, does Piper still owe you a favour?”[/color]

[color=00674F]“Yessss,”[/color] Gray said slowly, a tinge of fear in his voice as Kori’s excited pats all but rocked him back and forth. He hadn’t even had a chance to bring up the fact that street racing was a misdemeanor, but grand theft auto and running what boiled down to an illegal chop shop were definitely felonies, before she cut herself off in her excitement. Concerning. [color=00674F]“She was going to buy me a drink next time we were here,[/color]” He offered, not even bothering to ask how she already knew about Piper’s promise when he hasn’t had a chance to talk to Kori since. [color=00674F]“Why…?”[/color]

[color=FFCDD2]“Cos I’m gonna need you to call it in and for more than just a drink.”[/color] Kori reached over him and grabbed her chai. With a deep breath she inhaled her spiced drink and gulped the entirety of the mug down in one swig before slamming it back down. [color=FFCDD2]“We can’t get anyone here now, it’s just not feasible but with a bit of luck we can get someone to St Kitts that can meet us there. Or should I say someone’s?”[/color]

With an evil grin on her face, Korinna pulled out her cellphone and began to furiously type away. [color=FFCDD2]“Get Piper to use her ass or something to get a flight to Jamaica. I’ll cover the cost..or at least my dad will when he finds out what we’re doing.”[/color] She began to walk away towards the exit of the famed Calico Jack’s as she typed before stopping and spinning to look at Gray once more. She knew that look of confusion on his face, he was a simple boy. That was why he had her to do all the thinking for them. [color=FFCDD2]“The twins, Gray. We’re gonna send Piper to go get the twins…if I can convince them to come back that is.”[/color] 

She smiled at him for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. [color=FFCDD2]“Why are you still here? Hop to it pup!”[/color]

Gray stood up despite the way his face had drained of color at Kori’s declaration. The twins were…a [i]lot[/i] to say the least, but they were amazing at their respective jobs when they were here. Convincing Piper to hop on a plane and head to Jamaica to grab them would be easier if he framed it as a way to get content for her tiktok page, less easy when she realizes she’ll be alone for the flight out, aside from the pilot. Plus, that was a lot bigger favor than a little drink. 

So much for an easy going final season at CAP. [/color][/indent][/indent]