17: FBI
DEAR DIARY,
I have no idea what to write in this but my therapist said it was a good way of 'channelling' my emotions. I call bullshit but there's nothing much else to do on this road trip to Mexico.
After the All Valley, Miggy ran away to Mexico to find out more about our real dad. I feel like it's my fault because he mentioned our dad at the All Valley and I didn't notice that maybe he was already thinking about running away. I should've noticed when he brought it up.
I don't know what else to write. It's hot here. I'm bored. I've been taking my medication. I haven't done karate since the All Valley so I don't know how to burn off my energy.
I just hope Miguel is okay.
"Hey, kid." Johnny grabbed Isabella's attention as she sat writing inside of the van. He chucked her a t-shirt through the window; it was dark blue, with bold yellow writing 'FBI'. Johnny laughed, "I grabbed one for you, too. Turn it around. Do you get it?"
Isabella closed her book, turning the t-shirt around to see 'Female Body Inspectors' written on the front. She made eye contact with Robby, who was grinning at her.
Johnny added, "I got one for me, too. Since we all like women here, I thought it would be suitable."
Isabella smiled to herself, holding in a laugh, as a sense of comfort washed over her— Johnny had accepted her. She chuckled, "Thanks for the clarification on that."
Robby questioned curiously, "What are we actually doing here? And don't say it's a father-son bonding thing because Belle's here."
"Ouch." Isabella replied sarcastically, as she climbed out of the car to finally stretch her legs, "Wait, you haven't told him?"
Robby frowned, "Told me, what?"
"Alright, look, this is a father-son bonding thing," Johnny explained, "But, there's something I need to take care of first. It's just..."
"This is painfully slow," Isabella glanced between the two, before blurting out, "Miguel ran away to Mexico so we have to find him before he finds out dad." She raised her eyebrows at Johnny, remarking, "You see how quick and easy that was?"
"How could you take me to Mexico and not mention once we're coming to get Miguel?" Robby scoffed; he mocked, "Come on, Robby, let's go to Mexico. Come back with some great stories together."
"I wasn't bullshitting you, Robby, I wanna fix our relationship." Johnny explained, "When I heard Miguel was in trouble, I had to do something. I just couldn't leave you at home. I'm done doing that."
Robby sighed, climbing back into the passenger seat, "Do you even have a plan?"
"Of course I do," Johnny replied as he started driving, "Miguel's looking for Hector Salazar. I know where the kid gets off the bus. That's our first stop."
Robby frowned, "When we get there, what do you plan on doing?"
"I'll ask around if anyone saw Miguel," Johnny replied, "I'll check the Mexican phone book."
"Oh my God. You drove me over a thousand miles to check a phone book?" Robby scoffed in disbelief, "I could be at home right now. Coming with you was a big mistake."
"I'm sorry. I just want you and Miguel to get over your shit." Johnny replied, "When we get to the bus station, if you wanna buy a ticket home, you can. I don't want you to go home, but—"
"Johnny, watch out!" Isabella shouted from the backseats, as her eyes widened at a truck that had suddenly pulled out in front of them.
"Shit!" Johnny cursed, as he quickly swerved the vehicle off road, and into the forest. The three sat in silence for a moment, comprehending that they nearly ended up in a car crash. Johnny climbed out of the car to get the lug wrench from the trunk, tightening the screws on tires.
Robby and Isabella leaned on the vehicle, watching Johnny fix the car, before the girl's phone started ringing. Isabella took it out of her pocket, her finger hovering over the answer button, "Mom's calling me. Do I pick up?"
"Yeah," Johnny nodded, "Just don't mention what just happened."
Isabella nodded, before putting the phone to her ear, "Hi, Ma."
"Belle, are you at the bus stop yet?" Carmen worried, "How's everything going?"
"Uh, we're having a bit of car trouble. We'll be at the station in a couple of hours." Isabella replied, "Have you heard from Miguel?"
"No, but I did hear from Sam." Carmen replied, "Miguel called her. He's okay."
"He called her instead of us?" Isabella scoffed in disbelief, "What is Sam gonna do? We're the ones in Mexico. Not her."
"I know," Carmen reassured, "But, you have to understand that Miggy doesn't want to be found until he finds your father. Okay? When you find him, please don't argue."
Isabella took a breath, "Okay. Bye, Ma." Love you." She hung up the call, sighing.
***
"You're actually leaving?" Isabella frowned, "Robby, we—"
"I won't be any help," Robby interrupted, "Miguel wouldn't want me here and I don't want to be here. I mean, I could be training with T—"
"Tory, I know." Isabella rolled her eyes.
"Alright, the next bus leaves in a few hours," Johnny walked back towards the two teenagers, handing Robby some money from his wallet, "This'll buy your ticket. This is for some drinks and snacks."
Isabella asked curiously, "What are we gonna do now?"
"The ticket guy thinks he saw Miguel talking to these surfers." Johnny explained, before looking at his son, "I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Robby."
Isabella gave a small wave to the boy, before following Johnny towards a group of men with surfboards and swimming equipment. Abruptly, a wave of worry washed over her, as she followed Johnny closer to the group of men; she didn't know if she was worried because of being outnumbered by older men, or if it was just a side affect from the medication she'd been taking.
Johnny called to them, "English?"
"Australian." One of the men replied.
"Good enough." Johnny glanced at Isabella, "We're looking for a kid. Seventeen, Ecuadorian. Slight build, but we're working on that. Have you seen him?"
"I gave him directions, yeah." The man nodded, "I can show you on this map."
The man, who had extremely shaggy hair, received a map from one of his friends, placing it on his friends back to use as a hard surface. Isabella stepped closer to Johnny for her own safety, watching as the man circled the place on the map.
Was the man telling the truth? If he directed Miguel, maybe he directed him the wrong way? Maybe he took him... in a van— no! Breathe, Isabella. Maybe they'd take her, too. Direct them to the wrong place and...
Suddenly, snapping her out of her trance, Johnny turned around quickly; he grabbed another man's hand from behind him, who was attempting to steal his wallet from his back pocket. Johnny kicked the man onto the floor, "That's a bad idea." He stepped in front of Isabella protectively, "So, what's the scam? You give us some bullshit address, try to steal my wallet?"
"No, the address is real." The man chuckled, "But, I'm gonna end up taking your money either way. So, we can either do it the easy way or the fun way."
Johnny stepped closer to the man intimidatingly, "Listen, you have five seconds to tell me which way that kid went, or I'm gonna take that surfboard and shove it so far up your ass your friends are gonna be surfing you."
"Ah, good. The fun way." The man remarked, before attempting to punch Johnny, though the man blocked it.
It occurred to Isabella that she hadn't been in a fight since the All Valley, which was nearly a week ago. The last time she fought, she had lost. Second place. What if she couldn't fight these men? They were much older, taller, and stronger than her. There were four of them vs one girl and Johnny. The odds weren't fair— where would they take her after they beat her up? Maybe the place where they took Miguel.
Snapping her out of her thoughts, Isabella had heard a thud behind her; she turned around helplessly, before she noticed Robby, who had rescued her from behind potentially being punched from behind. The boy brushed the hair out of his face, glancing at Isabella,
"You good?"
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