Skates Out // a Luis Mendoza Fan Fic

21. Progress

JJ.

I couldn't believe that Charlie had actually dragged his team to all of our morning work outs, they looked like they wanted to kill him. "You know what I've been thinking?" Mendoza asked me as we jogged down the beach.

"On account of the fact that I'm not a phsychic, no I don't. But I'm sure you're about to enlighten me." I replied.

"You know me too well, what if we stop trying to figure out why you and not Jess and start with the facts we already have." He told me, "like who the hell are those men from the security office, and who those guys were following your sister."

I frowned, "and how the hell do you suggest we do that?"

He pulled out a newspaper cutting from his pocket and passed it to me, "does the guy on the front look familiar?"

I took it and looked at the photo, he looked a lot like one of the guys from the security camera feed who had been following my sister. "How the hell did you find this?" I asked surprised.

"I did some research, crimes commited in the three years before Jess was in Colerado springs, that's where you live isn't it?" He continued.

"You googled where I live?" I asked him incredulously.

"That is really beside the point, and it's way too easy to find all I had to do was google your name." Mendoza replied rolling his eyes is, "point being this idiot got arrested for attempted kidnapping about a year before."

That rang a bell, in fact, "oh my god, that's the attemtped kidnapping that happened to the house right next door to ours."

"Maybe they were aiming for yours and got the wrong one, if they thought Jess was you they could have made that mistake as well." Mendoza continued, "and it even said that he's a member of a gang. Led by some guy, his name is Oliver Aspen."

Mendoza handed me another photo, "he kind of loooks like you."

I scowled at him, "thanks asshole."

Mendoza rolled his eyes at me, "I wasn't being funny, look." He handed me a second sheet, "see for yourself."

I took a look at the scond clipping, surprisingly he was right, it did look a little bit like me, blonde hair and blue eyes that were identical to mine. "That's creepy." I muttered handing it back. "Thanks though. We can figure this out once the work out is done."

Once we were finished and on our twenty minute break before skating started we sat down in the cafe, or at least everyone who knew about what was going on did.

"So what's going on?" Viola started.

Mendoza passed the clippings around the table, "the mug shot is of one of the guys who followed Jess, and the other guy is the leader of the gang that he's in."

"The one that looks like JJ?" Elsa asked, "it's creeping me out."

"That's what I said." I continued, "but I digress, we need to figure out why this guy who got arrested for an attempted kidnapping of the kid next door to me in Colarado Springs is doing here, in California."

"Looking for you obviously." Charlie quipped in.

"No shit, but they didn't know it was me they were looking for until the break in so it had to be something else." I answered.

"Jess could have brought them here, on purpose or by accident," Viola offered, "maybe she ran away? That could be why she's being followed."

Mendoza nodded, "now we're getting somewhere. Why would Jess run away all of a sudden if she's been with them for years though?"

Banks shrugged, "maybe she was just biding her time until they brought her close enough to JJ that she could warn her or something."

I nodded surprised, I hadn't expected him to make any helpful contributions but that certainly wasn't a bad idea. "That actually kind of makes sense. Although if she was trying to talk to me wouldn't she have done it by now?"

Charlie shrugged, " it if she's being followed. Or maybe they took her again."

"Does it mean that you're in danger if they're after you?" Elsa asked, "I can't imagine they only want to say hello. There has to be something larger at play here."

That much was true, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into and how much trouble I was in. "I can ask my parents to send someone down to look after me, or at least keep an eye out. They're coming when it's my turn to compete but for not they have to work."

They shot me surprised looks, "will you tell the why?"

I shrugged "I don't know yet, I many have to tweak the truth a little."

"What if Jess isn't laying low or recaptured right now?" Mendoza asked, "what if she's hiding?"

I purses my lips, "they won't give up looking for her, I can tell. These guys don't seem the type to give up."

Viola nodded in agreement, "it could be that both of you are endangered now."

"Well what can we do about it?" Banks asked frowning.

"I think there's only one thing to be done at this point." Charlie replied running bus hand through his hair looking slightly stressed.

I nodded, "we have to find Jess before they do."