Trouble in a Tank Top

Ande bent down to pick up the toys scattered around the family room while Adeli put the boys to bed. It had been a month since that morning on the phone with Mikael and Tony. Ande had decided that she wouldn't sit in on the calls anymore, but Mikael still told her what went on during the conversations. Tony wouldn't come to the phone anymore and the last two times, Vic had said Tony had left and no one had heard from him since.

Adeli came back down, waddling slowly step by step and sat down on the sofa that was resting against the wall opposite from the kitchen. Ande put the last of the toys in the dark blue bins under one of the tables that the boys did their homework on.

"Gracias," Adeli says softly, already starting to doze off into a gentle sleep.

"De nada," Ande replies and softly kisses Adeli's cheek. Adeli smiles at her, and it stays on her cheeks as she sleeps. Ande moves through the house quietly and to her room. Sitting under the bed is a small bag with Ande's fake passport that she had stolen from Mikael the last time he had stopped by, as well as the wad of cash that Vic had given to her and just a few pairs of Adeli's old clothes.

She unrolls a few bills from the stack of hundreds and puts them inside the envelope she has put a letter in that is meant for Adeli and Mikael. She knows Adeli cannot read English, so Adeli will have to have Mikael translate for her.

Ande leaves through the kitchen door with the envelope left on the counter beside the tortilla and bread. She walks to the bus station, which is a good hour, in the setting sun. Ande arrives just as a bus is pulling in to drop off and pick up others. The drive from this town in Sonora to the border is a long four to five hours. If the bus will take her, she won't be getting much sleep until she's past the border.

At the windows is an old man with a lazy eye and a thick gray mustache. "¿Pesos o dolares?" he asks with a gruff voice.

"Dolares," Ande replies, trying to keep her voice from cracking. He nods and holds his hand out to her.

"El pasaporte, por favor," he asks for. Ande digs in her bag for it and hands it over. His nonlazy eye looks at it but the other is trained on her body language. "¿A donde?" Ande tries to think of where she could go. There aren't any cities right across the border into Arizona.

"Phoenix," she says, knowing she'll get off before they get to the big city.

"Ciento dos dolares," he says and holds out his palm again while his other hand types into an old computer. Ande digs through the stack of bills to pull out six twenty-bills. He hands her change, a ticket and her passport. "Tener un viaje seguro."

"Gracias."

Ande reads her ticket for the bus number and looks around, reading the yellow electronic numbers from the signs that hang over the bus stations, looking for her number. It is the second-to-closest bus overhand to the ticket booth and there's only one other person sitting and waiting. The female is about the same age as Ande, maybe a little younger, with dark brown hair and naturally tan skin. She has a dark red bag sitting in her lap while her knee bounces up and down. Something singles in the bag as Ande gets closer.

She looks up nervous and her knee stops bouncing as Ande sits beside her.

"Hola," Ande greets her with a small smile. The girls hesitates for a moment.

"Oh, um, hola," she says unsure with a definite English accent.

"You speak English?" Ande asks, and the girl instantly relaxes as she nods. Ande smiles again. "I'm Ande."

The girl takes the hand Ande offers and shakes it. "Lanie."

"Where are you going, Lanie?"

"San Diego," Lanie replies. "I'm originally from there and was just down here visiting family. It was a little overwhelming so I'm leaving early."

Ande nods.

"Yourself?" Lanie questions. Ande hesitates before she gives a one shoulder shrug.

"I'm from San Diego, too," but had to come down here after some stuff happened. I can't go back but I have to get out of Mexico."

Lanie stares at Ande for a second or two, with an expression on her face that says she's trying to place where she's seen Ande's face before. Her eyes widen when she does.

"You're the waitress that went missing a few months ago."

Ande stares at her, surprised she was recognized.

"Yeah, that's you! They say your disappearance is linked to those robbers, the Ladronesor whatever they're called. Your family even put out a reward if anyone found you or knew anything about it."

Ande is speechless.

"Oh my god, I can't believe it's really you. You look different, probably because of the hair color, and you're a lot skinnier too."

She wraps an arm around her stomach, her body curling up slightly.

"Whoa, are you going to go back home now that you know they're looking for you?"

Ande watches Lanie's face, unsure of how to answer, but she finally shakes her head. "No, I can't go back. I'm just going to move to somewhere else and become a new person."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Edwards, but we can't let you do that."

Ande looks up at the man in a plain black shirt and a pair of khakis with a badge hooked to his belt. There's a sharp cold feel of metal on her wrist. The girl, Lanie, gives her a sad smile and goes to hook her other wrist in the cuffs.

"Ana Nicole Denise Edwards, you are hereby under arrest by the state of California. You have the right to remain silent when questioned. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law..." Ande was brought to her feet and her bag was taken from her and searched through. Lanie, or who Ande knew as Lanie, lead Ande away from the bus, just as one was pulling into the station with her number lit up bright on the sign. Ande stared at it sadly, wishing more than ever to be able to get on it and drive away into the night. "Knowing and understanding your rights as I have explained them to you, are you willing to answer my questions without an attorney present?"

Ande looks at the man, and then back to Lanie who is focused on walking toward the police car that has its bright blue and red lights flashing for everyone to see. In the distance, Ande can see Mikael's truck coming in, and as he passes, the look of pure horror on his face makes Ande cry.

"I just want my Tony back."

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"Where is he, Ana?"

"I don't know!" Ande cries, slamming her hands on the metal table before running one through her hair.

"We've been watching you, Ana, we know you've contacted him at least once since you ran to Mexico."

"Yeah, just once!" Ana yells at Agent Martinez. "I've told you a hundred times already. Mikael called from some cell phone. Vic answered, he went and got Tony. Tony asked how I was, Mikael told him I was pregnant and then Tony hung up. I haven't heard from him since."

Agent Julian Martinez frowns as he paces behind his side of the table. Ande stares down at the silver surface of the table, holding her head in her hands as she tries not to cry for the third time that week. She had been over back in the United States for almost two weeks and it was taking a toll on her. Her morning sickness was worse than before to where she could barely eat without vomiting it back up. They had to rush her to the hospital just a few days earlier for being dehydrated and passing out.

"Where are their hideouts?"

Ande groans and brushes her hair out of her face. "I've told you, Martinez. I didn't even know Tony was part of the group until the day of the last job when he got shot. I walked into my apartment and he was cleaning a bullet wound. He took me to a safe house before we went to the cabin. We were there before we were found out. I was put in a secret tunnel and told to go to the end where there would be a car waiting for me. Mikael took me over the border and then I found out I was pregnant. A month later, you guys pick me up and here I fucking am. What more do you want?"

The agent frowns and looks at her sternly before leaving the room and slamming the door as he does. Ande winces at the noise before dropping her head back to the table. The cool surface feels wonderful on her hot skin. After Martinez leaves, Ande just sits at the table under the bright fluorescent light. After a few minutes, the door opens again and Ande slowly picks up her head to look. She's surprised by the familiar face.

"Lanie?" Ande says, sitting up more. The woman smiles softly and walks over with two cups of coffee.

"Actually, my name is Rosa," she confesses and Ande lets out a deep sigh.

"You're making them really frustrated with not saying anything."

"But I don't know anything!" Ande says defensively, roughly wiping away the tears on her cheeks. Rosa nods.

"I believe you, don't worry. They're just frustrated because they thought we could get somewhere with you."

Ande sips from the mug of coffee and the warmth of it comforts her. The two females sit in silence drinking their coffee before Ande speaks first.

"How did you find me?" she asks, hoping Rosa will answer. Rose smirks slightly, proud at how fast her team had gotten Ande into their custody.

"Facial recognition at the border and around the town. We had an insert at the house next door that watched you leave that night. We paid out the ticket booth to put you at that stop. You know the rest from there."

Ande sits quietly, thinking on everything. Things had changed so much in her life in these last few months and there was no going back now.

"How far along are you?" Rosa asks, and the words echo in the room.

"Almost three months," Ande answers, not looking up from her mug of coffee. Rosa nods.

"How long have you known Tony?"

Ande thinks on it; thinks back to the first day in the diner when Tony walked in and ordered his lemonade and chicken salad sandwich and greasy onion rings smothered in honey mustard. She looks up at Rosa.

"What's today's date?"

Rosa glances down at the sports watch she has on her wrist. "January fourth, why?"

Ande couldn't stop the grin that played on her puffy red cheeks, and even though her eyes started to tear up again, she hadn't been happier in a long time.

"I met Tony on January tenth in Oliver's Diner on the corner of Key Street in San Diego. He ordered a fresh lemonade, a shitty chicken salad sandwich and the greasiest plate of onion fries I've ever seen with a side of honey mustard. He paid nine dollars and seventy-three cents. He handed me a twenty dollar bill, said 'keep the change' and left.

"For a month straight he would do this, coming in right after I finished my lunch break, and asked if I would have lunch with him. Finally, one day he came in just as I went to lunch and asked me again. He took me on a total of five dates, each one I remember like the back of my hand, before he asked me to be his girlfriend. We had been dating for seven months before he told me he loved me, to which I replied the same. Three days later I got home to find him in my kitchen bleeding and found out he was one of the Los Ladrones."

Ande takes a deep breath, and the smile slowly fades. "The rest is history."

Her skin suddenly got pale and her hands felt clammy. Rosa grew worried as to why before Ande grabbed the small waste bin before throwing up the small lunch she had eaten just a few hours before. Rosa hurried to the other side of the table and rubbed her back, holding the faded red locks of hair.

Ande didn't plan on ever dying it the red again, but it was a nice change for a short amount of time.

"C'mon, sweetie, let's go get you cleaned up." Rosa says softly and they walk the short trek out of the room and to the nearest bathroom. Once Ande cleans off her mouth and rinses it of the bitter taste, she looks at Rosa with blurry eyes.

Rosa frowns. "What is it, Ande?"

"Sorry," she says simply before grabbing the bin off the counter and swinging it at Rosa. She falls to the ground in an instant. Ande hurried takes the uniform off of her and puts it on, hooking the badge back in the spot on Rosa's belt that she now wears.

"I have to go find Tony, now."

Notes

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