Two weeks ago, the authorities brought him in for questioning. Putting the pressure on him on the topics of racketeering and the disappearances of several suspects closely tied to his operation. He’d remained resolute in not saying anything until they brought concrete evidence, photos of his underlings disposing of bodies. Dead to rights, he agreed to be an informant and work against the other families working through the crime syndicate. 

   But he never anticipated this. His brother to be caught up in what so clearly may be an international conspiracy. 

   Somewhere toward the coast…

    “Wake up, ya sleepy head.”

   Enrique nudges the groggy Penelope awake from her sleep. She gives her eyes a rub and groans,

   “Huh? What time is it?”

   “It’s the buttcrack of dawn, two in the pm, kiddo. I got some exciting news.”

   “Really? What’s the news?”

   “Well, I talked to an ol’ fishin’ buddy of mine, lives up in the city,  says he just left but to go on down to his cabin in the mountains, says the fish are bitin’ like piranhas down there. And I figure since you said ya hadn’t seen snow since you were a kid and all, why not?”

   Confused, she looks around still sort of dazed,

   “I uh, well, when do you wanna go,” she asks.

   “Well,” he responds, “if we start packing now we can make it halfway south of Hypatia by nine.” 

   “Tonight?”

   “Oh, yeah! Never a better time like the present, that’s what I always say.”

   “Ok… I’ll go start packing my clothes, I guess. Weren’t we going to the beach?”

   “Oh, the beach, that’s right. We’ll go just as soon as we finish packing, how’s that sound?”

   “Ok!”

   With that, she slumps upright and works her way to the closet to start throwing clothes around. 

   Enrique, in a coordinated, very serious manner, heads downstairs and starts to pack firearms and ammunition from his gun cabinet into a case. He goes and sets the loaded case of weaponry down by the door and, before he can lift his head back up, the bell rings. His eyes bulge out of his head and his demeanor shifts from focused to dread. He grips the pistol he regularly keeps concealed on the back edge of his pants. His hand tremors as he reaches for the doorknob. The door is cracked open and a voice cries out from the step outside,

   “Enrique, please, let us in.”

   He opens the door wide to see his old friend Clyde clung to a young woman of a mildly ill appearance who can’t stop panting as though she’s just ran a marathon carrying all the other runners. Enrique, unsure of what to do in this situation, overindulges in a polite greeting to his visitors as is habitually the norm when his nerves kick in,

   “Clyde, uh, you weren’t supposed to be here ‘til tomorrow I thought.” 

   Clyde gives Enrique a look as though he just spoke utter gibberish to him,

   “What are you talking about, man? I didn’t even have time to call ahead or anything.”

   “Wait a minute there, you’re not here on behalf of your brother?”

   “Why the hell would I be doing anything on behalf of that dick?”

   “Oh… Oh, yeah! The guy’s a real jerk, yap!”

   Relief drains the red from Enrique’s face and he realizes he’s still holding his guests hostage at the entrance to his house,

   “Oh, please, come on in! Mi casa is you casa, haha!”

   “Right… I don’t think that’s the full saying,” Clyde says, suspicious of Enrique’s strange demeanor.

   The two kick some of the dirt and sand off their shoes and step inside. As the door slams shut, Penny’s voice rings out from the stairwell,

   “Who was that, Mr. Enrique?”

   He looks at them a moment and then off towards the stairs for a response,

   “Oh, just an old friend of mine and his girlfriend!”

   Clyde and Shelby look at each other in shock and take a few inches to step away from one another. Shelby announces,

   “We’re not together.”

   Do you really think I’d be with a hag this ugly, Clyde tacks on, receiving a psychic knife stab to the chest from Shelby in the form of a glare. 

   He looks again at them and gets a big dopey smile plastered on his face. 

   “Oh, it’s one of those, I getcha.”

   With a look of disgust they look at each other once more and step a bit further apart. The young woman steps down from the stairs to look at the guests awkwardly and say hi. 

   They give her an awkward wave and Clyde turns over to Enrique to explain his abrupt visit,

   “Listen, I know this is like super short notice but can we lie low with you for a while?”

   “Oh, I don’t know, ya see, we were kind of gettin’ ready to head up to the mountains for some fishin’,” Enrique responds.

   “Wait, that’s perfect! We could come with you!”

   “Oh, I don’t know about that. It’s gonna be cold and all-”

   “Enrique, we really need this,” Clyde pleads.

   Penny, having made her way downstairs to the entrance hall where everyone else has congregated, immediately misinterprets the conversation,

   “That sounds like fun! Mr. Enrique why not? We’ll all go down to the beach!”

   Clyde snarls at the idea, “the hell? I’m not getting in any water! I’m talking about the mountains.”

   Shelby falls in love with the idea of going to the beach almost immediately only to be victim to more protests from Clyde. 

   Enrique, nervous once again, can’t help but agree to the terms, not knowing what else to do. The girls cheer in excitement. Penny runs upstairs to change and the girls go down to the beach for a short time with a volleyball while Enrique and Clyde sit in the house and have a discussion. 

   “Clyde, what exactly have you gotten yourself into bud?”

   “It’s really not much, we just gotta lie low with you and it’ll all breeze over.”

   “Hmm.”

   “So, are you gonna tell me about the girl? She seems familiar.”

   “That’s Penelope Patterson, the daughter of the Patterson’s that run the Infinity Corporation.”

   “And why the hell are you hauling her around.”

   “Job for a client, that’s all I can tell ya.”

   “So you kidnapped a girl from her parents.”

   “No. Saved her.”

   A few hours later…

   Penny and Shelby sit in the backseat of the bronco with the boys up front. She leans over to Shelby and lifts up the latter’s hair in her hand. Unsure of what’s going on, she looks back at Penny and asks,

   “Is everything ok?”

   “Yeah! I’m sorry, your hair is just really pretty. My hair never looked so nice when it was long.”

   “Oh, thank you. I’m sure your hair looked fine longer. When did you start cutting it short?”

   “Penny looks up in the air for a minute, trying to count the days,”

   “About two days ago. It was long though! I’d never cut it before that.”

   “Never? Like not even to layer it or anything?”

   “I’m not sure what that is, but no, never.”

   “Huh…”

   Starting to question the nature of this girl’s relationship to Enrique, Shelby decides she’s gonna prod a bit once they make their next stop. Clyde and Enrique talk nonsense with each other up until they reach a rest stop. Clyde and Penny both get out, leaving Shelby and Enrique conveniently alone in the parking lot. Seeing the opportunity she was waiting for, she takes it,

   “So, what’s the deal with you and this young girl, Mr. Enrique.”

   “I’m not sure what ya mean,” he responds.

   “Well, she’s quite a bit young for you is one thing.”

   “Whoa nilly, now, see, that’s a gross statement to even be making there.”

   “So can you tell me what relation you two have?”

   “Well, I’m kind of like a, what you’d call in the city, an illegal guardian.” 

   “Illegal guardian?”

   “Yeah, see, I was told to take care of her due to some turbulence at her old home.”

   “So like a foster parent?”

   “Kind of, yeah! But just, illegally.”

   The two return to the truck and the conversation comes to a close. Shelby remains skeptical, the whole situation is very unsettling to her. She keeps her eyes fixated on Enrique, not trusting him to much, if to any, regard.