Stolen Powers

Chapter Eighteen: Trust No One

It was a long and tense drive all the way to Hermosillo, and it was worse when time continued to pass without any sign of the NGZ. I was sure everyone agreed that we'd rather face them now and get them off our backs before we run into Lin and his bratty teens. Landon said that he called them the Falcons, which made me uncomfortable.

"Everyone doing okay?" My mother asked, who seemed to be in a little bit better spirits than before.

I looked at the group, and they seemed fine. "Yeah, we're okay."

"We're about ten minutes out from Hermosillo," my mother said, looking around anxiously. "Keep an eye out for anything suspicious, because I don't trust this place."

I was sure that nobody trusted anything at this point, but she was right. The place looked pretty to vacation at for a while, but the city was filthy. The sea to the west of us looked dirty, so nobody was wanting to go for a nighttime swim.

I sighed deeply as my mother took an exit, remembering my dad saying that Mexico was really dangerous. He'd know that because he used to work for business that moved him all over North and South America. Mexico was one of the more popular spots, and each time he'd come home saying he hated it. I sort of saw why now.

"Christ, look at that," Landon said, pointing at something I had to strain to see.

He was pointing at a gang hidden in an alley. One of them was twirling a gun on his index finger, and the others were smoking a variety of things. They were looking right at us, but fortunately they didn't do anything.

I shook my head. "We have to stay on guard until we get out of this place. Mexico, not just Hermosillo."

"Agreed," Donovan mumbled.

"Right over there. That's a good place we can stay." Landon pointed to a motel that was secluded from the others. It was in good condition, besides the fact that it was a bar a couple buildings down from it.

"Are you sure?" My mother asked.

He nodded. "It's probably the best we can do. I don't have any better options, unfortunately."

"Do you see anything suspicious?" She asked.

He looked for a moment, then shook his head. "Not that I see. A few pot smokers, that's it."

"Figures," Donovan mumbled.

We drove into the parking lot and quickly climbed out of the car. I stretched my legs to escape the stiffness. It felt good. My mother leaned into the group. "Ever since Landon said that we should be attacked tonight, I wouldn't trust anybody. Stay on guard."

"Landon should stay near you," I suggested. "He can see things before we can."

"Good idea," my mom said.

"Trust no one," Donovan said.

I sighed and nodded towards him. "Yeah. Trust no one."

• • • • • • •

Thank God that we have Jamie to translate for us, because my one year of Spanish did nothing for me. I could speak a little, but only basics. We also swapped our current money into Pesos, but Bailey was still able to restart her. I was beginning to feel bad for doing that, but hey, we're saving money I suppose.

"Cuarto doscientos nueve. ¡Tenga una buena noche!" She still seemed a little confused, but we played it off. I actually understood what she said.

"Muchas gracias. ¡Igualmente!" I said, trying to use my best accent.

She smiled brightly, although I could see it in her eyes that she was still very confused.