The kick would've sent the air out of him had it been lower, but it still did its job effectively in surprising the hell out of Mitchell and doing some damage.
He wanted to believe that he'd have bounced up immediately to continuing fighting, but Sal had beat him to that by pulling the teen up by his hair. If that didn't hurt enough, she then shoved a gun underneath his chin. It cut off whatever retort he would've made, but it didn't stop him from growling through a grimace.
Before he proved that he could use his legs just as well as Sal, Mitch tried his best to twist out of the way of the gun's barrel, having no desire to be shot in the head. As he pushed himself away, sending a short wave of fire into Sal's face, he kicked out at Sal's shin, prayed it connected, then followed up with a right hook.