Chapter 5

The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful. With a tank full of gas, they departed the town. Three hours later, they were at their destination.

Andy knew the name of the hotel, but had no idea how to get there. Kendall stopped and got directions. After another twenty minutes, he pulled up in front of the hotel.

This time Andy took a moment before getting off the scooter. She didn't want the wobbly-legged feeling she'd had, the day before. There was also another reason. She was nervous. Andy had no idea what had happened to her roommates. Why hadn't they come looking for her? Would they even be there? Had they checked out? And of course the dreaded question she didn't want to think about, had something happened to them?

Asking Kendall to come with her, they walked into the hotel. It wasn't fancy, but was certainly in the 'nice' range. Walking through the center courtyard, she led Kendall up to the second floor. Stopping at room 233, she knocked.

Andy and Kendall could hear movement on the other side. It wasn't hard to notice the darkening of the peephole when someone looked through it. A voice saying 'Wait just a minute' made Kendall and Andy look at each other. It wasn't that early in the morning. They should be up and dressed.

Suddenly the door flew open. Arms reached out, pulled Andy into the room, and then the door was slammed shut. Kendall stood outside, surprised, and not knowing what he should do.

Kendall had little time to wonder what he was going to do next. From each end of the hallway where he was standing, a fairly large man appeared. Each of them advancing on him, and rapidly speaking in Spanish. Kendall had a very bad feeling about this. There was little to do, as he was trapped in the hallway, except to pound on the door of 233.

Inside there was instant mayhem. The two girls were screaming at her, asking question after question, and not letting Andy answer a single one of them. When the pounding on the door started, all of them jumped.

The youngest one told Andy not to worry, she called the front desk and they had two men who would take care of that guy.

Andy pushed away from her supposed saviors, and ran to the door. She opened it just as Kendall was getting punched in the stomach.

Screaming, "NO!" Andy threw herself between the two men and Kendall.

Surprised, the two men stopped their assault, but held their ground. Andy's two roommates were at the door, shaking in fear.

If Kendall had thought he would just deliver Andy to her hotel and be on his way, he was sourly mistaken. It took another three and a half hours before the story came out from all sides. This was done at the police headquarters, in a conference room, with two armed officers who spoke English in attendance.

Kendall's biggest worry was that it would be 'discovered' as to who he was. He didn't want the press to find out that he was in the company of a younger woman. That wouldn't look good for him at all. He wanted to have the upper hand. Thankfully, the officers were more interested in getting the story of what happened, than in playing on the computer.

In the end, the girls were given a very stiff warning about traveling with someone they did not know from one of the officers, as well as a warning against going out in the city at night without telling someone else where they were going. All three girls were told in broken, but strongly worded language, that had been very lucky.

The officer also chuckled, telling Kendall that he knew of the town, the woman who owned the hacienda, and the 'lack' of petrol. He then asked Kendall how many pieces of clothing he ended up purchasing. Kendall glanced over to Andy, who, just as he, was wearing the outfit. Smiling, Kendall told the officer four pieces, but that it was money well spent. The officer noticed the glance, and Andy's clothing. He left them, laughing as he walked away.

The four returned to the hotel. Andy's roommates couldn't stop saying how sorry they were. The comments were directed both to Andy, who they couldn't even remember had went with them; and Kendall, who they assumed was a bad man needing to be taken away.

It was late in the afternoon when Kendall stepped out of the hotel room. Andy was right behind him. She tapped him on the shoulder, but he already knew she would be there. The other two girls had given him hugs goodbye, and another round of thanks. Waiting for the hug, with open arms, he was a bit surprised when she stepped in and kissed him, instead. After the shock of what she had done sank in, she moved to hug him.

As Andy stepped back, she held out a piece of paper for him, along with instructions. After everything was settled, she wanted him to let her know how it went. She wanted to know what he was doing, and when they could get together again.

To say it unsettled Kendall, was a gross understatement. Andy saw the startled look on his face. It wasn't an uncommon thing for a guy to have, when a gal told him what he was to do. She drove her point home, saying it would be 'oh, so much better' for him to contact her, than for her to dig up his whereabouts and contact him. Kendall was smart enough to see the point in that. He acquiesced, and said he'd call.

A car was harder to obtain that Kendall thought it might be, perhaps because he didn't know where to go for a disposable item. Being late in the day, it was prudent for him to stay away from areas of town that might hold what he needed.

He couldn't just get on a plane and fly back. After all, he wasn't alive.

Kendall realized how daft those ideas were. No one knew what had happened to him. He was coming back to say he was alive, so he could go on with his life. Mexico didn't document him coming in, anymore effectively than they had going out. Paying cash for everything was also a plus.

With that thought in mind, he hailed a taxi and went to the airport.

It was no surprise to him that there were no more flights that day. It was early evening, and this wasn't the largest of tourist towns. Tomorrow was another day. He didn't want to purchase a ticket that night, as his name would be on it. Tomorrow Kendall would be back, and shortly after that on his way into the States.

The taxi ride to a hotel took him all of five minutes. There had been a second of thought to go to the hotel where Andy was. Kendall knew better, and his big head won out over his little head ... this time.

As the airplane taxied, Kendall was ready to exit. The sooner the better. He didn't like being in a twelve-seater commuter plane.

He had filled out the customs declaration sheet on the plane and as the only thing he had to carry was a small bag, there was little to stop him passing through.

Although there were plenty of rental car agencies at the airport, he didn't want that. If someone wanted to trace where he'd been, they would have to dig long and hard. Kendall took a city bus. After a day of travel, and clothing that he'd worn for a bit too long, he didn't look like the kind of person who could afford much. That suited him just fine.

Stepping off the city bus, he took the two-block walk to the Greyhound bus terminal. That was a fancy way of saying a large dilapidated building with a ticket counter and several benches. Whether Kendall liked it or not, riding on a bus was the easiest non-disclosure way of travel these days. He paid cash and received a ticket. It was as easy as that.

The first of three buses traveled three and a half hours in almost totally the wrong direction. So, riding a bus wasn't that easy. The seats were as cramped, the bathroom small, and they didn't have any amenities. As Kendall thought about it, riding a bus wasn't that far different from airline travel, now a days. If it happened to have gone in a straight route to where he was traveling, it might have even been as fast.