The Kidnapping

by Aiden Vaughan

  “There has to be a personal connection somewhere. But I can’t figure out who and why.”

  “At this rate we may never know. But I do have some good news,” Edith said. “I asked Michael if we could get the key to the company retreat on the coast for a day or two. Our CEO was actually there, but when he heard about Jason, he said, ‘No, problem. Give the Hunters the key. I need to get to New York anyway, and a day early will make it easier on me.’ ”

  She waved the key at Bill. “So we can go early tomorrow and have a day or two of escape from everything!”

  “Thanks, dear, for doing that. We do need to get away and get Jason some R&R also. Let’s leave first thing tomorrow morning.”

  They both decided to tell Jason about the plans for the next day. When they got to Jason’s room, they found him looking through some old Hardy Boys mystery books—books that had been passed down from Bill’s childhood.

  “How are you holding up, Jason?” Edith asked. “Did you have a good time this afternoon?”

  “Oh, yeah, that was great to see all of those people again. It was a lot of fun, but at the same time sort of humbling, also, to think that they all were here because of me.”

  “Well, you are a special person. Don’t ever forget how much you have affected other people’s lives or how much you mean to your father and me. I have some good news. Mr. Shumley has given us the key to the company beach house. We can go down there and stay for a day or so. It will be great to be on the ocean, relax, and clear our heads.”

  “So what’s with the old books?” Bill asked Jason. “I remember reading those stories when I was your age.”

  “I don’t know,” Jason said. “Those Hardy Boys were always getting into life-threatening adventures, facing off with bad guys, or getting tied up and then escaping. Then you would turn the page and they would bounce back like nothing had happened to them. I wanted to see if there was a lesson in them for me.”

  “Probably not what you were thinking that they might help you to solve. Those are just made-up stories, written in a different era, when not a lot of thought was given to the long-term effects that violent things could have on a person’s life. Back then you could go to the movie theaters and see weekly serials written just like those books, where the hero would get into terrible trouble and then always figure out a way to get out of it at the start of the next episode. In later years the same kind of programs were shown on Saturday morning television for kids. In a way, I wish the experience you just had could be dealt with in that way,” his dad explained.

  “Jason, honey, are you starting to have flashbacks or disturbing images in your mind?” his mom asked.

  “Yes, the doctors told me to expect that, and it happens from time to time. I guess that it is something I have to work out in my head.”

  She reminded him, “Yeah, and they also said if it gets to be too disruptive or upsetting, to be sure and reach out and get some more counseling. Don’t sit there and suffer in silence.”

  Jason replied, “I don’t think that will be too much of a problem. I know what I’ve been through. I just wish I knew why I was put through it.”

  “That’s nothing that can be solved tonight. Get that out of your head and just relax and enjoy being home again. You’re here with us and you’re safe. That is what’s important now.”

  The Hunters said their good nights and Jason stretched out on his bed. Life was good again.

  CHAPTER 24

  LIFE MARCHES ON

  (Sunday)

  Fairly early on Sunday, the Hunters got up and then packed food and clothes for an overnight stay. They were off on the freeway that went from the Silicon Valley to the coast before the typical weekend traffic started to thicken. Because of this they made good time and arrived at the beach house a little after ten that morning. The house was in an area on the coast between Santa Cruz and Monterey that jutted out into the Monterey Bay. As a result, it had its own microclimate and often had weather like San Francisco or Pacifica while the rest of the area, just a little further inland, could be ten to fifteen degrees warmer.

  Upon arriving at the beach house, the Hunters found a personal note left for them from the CEO of AMD Software, Lyle Cassini. It read:

  Edith, Bill and Jason,

  Everyone at ADM has been thinking of you and pulling for you this past week. We are so happy that Jason was returned to you. Hopefully your stay here will help relieve some of the tension that you have experienced. Edith, don’t worry about a thing at work. All of your co-workers in marketing voluntarily put in some extra time to cover your workload, so take whatever extra time you need for your son.

  Jason, I have something for you, too. My nephew works as a game developer and he is always sending me new game prototypes to try out. I usually don’t have much time to look at them, but I’m sure you would as I hear you are quite a gamer. The USB drive that I left with this note is for you. It has, I think, ten of the latest prototypes being considered for release. I hope you enjoy trying them out.

  With best wishes,

  Lyle C.

  The beach house itself was designed like a doughnut. There were living areas with a lot of glass doors and windows that looked out on the beach and had a great ocean view. In the center was a courtyard that was protected from the constant swirling breezes off the Pacific Ocean, so you could sun yourself there, use the barbeque, or the hot tub and not be blown away by the winds. Outside there was a long expanse of sandy beach and about a mile away were rock formations that were filled with tide pools.

  Jason loved exploring the tide pool area and watching the interplay between the waves, sea anemones, mussels and other seashore life. The first time Jason explored the rock formations that were jagged and had many sharp edges, he learned the hard way how tough climbing them could be on his feet. Now his favorite thing, when he explored the tide pools, was to walk barefoot down the sandy beach right at the wave line so the waves would constantly wash the sand off of his feet as he walked. He took with him an old, unbleached white pair of chucks with the laces tied together so he could carry them around his neck. Then when he got to the rock formations he would slip them on and could comfortably explore the formations and tide pools for hours.

  * * *

  Meanwhile, back in the Bay Area, events were happening that pushed Jason’s story into the background. First of all, several large fires had broken out in northern California, and one in the Mt. Diablo area was starting to threaten some homes. Then the police decided to release more information on the AMBER Alert incident of last Thursday. This was partly due to the bad publicity they felt they had received in the media coverage of Jason’s case. In addition to the new details revealed, a news conference was scheduled for Monday morning where a lot more information would be released. Next, two murders were reported in the east bay and one of the victims was only seventeen-years-old. Coverage of all these stories was extensive. With no new information and the victim back home, Jason’s story was out of the news.

  CHAPTER 25

  THE CHALLENGE

  (Monday)

  The Hunters had a great time at the beach house on Sunday. Besides exploring the tide pools, Jason spent some time in the water and was joined there by his parents. They relaxed on the beach, on the deck of the beach house, and walked along the water several times. That evening, Jason tried out some of the games on the USB drive, using an older desktop computer that was in one of the bedrooms.

  By Monday morning they were ready to leave. Bill felt he needed to get back to his business, which he had basically dropped into Ellie Planting’s lap all last week. Edith was planning to telecommute Monday and Tuesday, which her boss said would be fine, but after reading what her colleagues at work had done for her during Jason’s disappearance, felt she ought to at least stop by the office for a few hours if not today, then Tuesday.

  Jason had enjoyed the recreational time with his parents, but now wanted to get back and do things with his friends. He hoped that by being
involved with more activities, they would help get his mind off the flashbacks that kept popping up in his head. He remembered that the doctors said there might be set-back stages, and feared he was having one. For some reason a lot of the self-confidence he had felt and expressed on Friday and Saturday now seemed to be gone.

  After a leisurely breakfast, and cleaning up the beach house, the Hunters loaded up their gear into Bill’s Ford Explorer and they headed back to the valley.

  After they had driven over the mountains and were back in the Silicon Valley, Jason got out his cell phone and called Daniel. It was 11:30 a.m. and Daniel was back home from his guitar class. “Hey, Daniel, how’s it going? Great. I wanted to know if we could have that gaming session this afternoon. Okay, can we have it at my house? How about one? Yeah, things are still a little intense. You understand. See you soon.”

  Once the Hunters arrived at their home, Bill left for his office downtown and Edith got involved on her laptop computer with company business.

  Daniel rang the doorbell about 1:10 p.m. and was all smiles when Jason answered the door. “Good to see you. How are you doing today?” Daniel chattered on for a while about his guitar class. He was excited because they were actually starting to learn real songs that he had recordings of, beyond the basic pieces that they had worked with in order to learn the fingering techniques. “How was your Sunday?” he asked. Jason told him about going to the beach house and receiving the gift of the USB drive from Mr. Cassini. “That sounds real interesting. Can we check it out later?” Daniel asked.

  The boys went up to Jason’s room. Daniel had started hooking up the second controller unit to the game console when he looked up to see Jason just staring at the clock radio by his bed. “Hey, Jason, hello, is something wrong?”

  Startled out of his reverie, Jason replied, “Oh, sorry, my mind just took me back to a week ago right now.”

  “Yeah, and that’s not good is it? But you’re here with me, and I am armed,” Daniel said waving the controller. “Seriously, are you okay?”

  “Let’s get started playing, I was just out of it for a minute.”

  The two started their gaming session, but it was a disaster for Jason. For some reason he couldn’t concentrate; what were usually close and exciting games were duds, with total lopsided victories for Daniel. Things went on this way for over a half hour until Daniel finally said, “Stop! I can’t take this anymore. I even tried to lose that last game and couldn’t. What’s the matter?”

  “I don’t know, Daniel. Today I’m just out of it, I guess. Everything seemed so clear and straightforward on Saturday and now my mind is a muddled mess.”

  “This is terrible. It’s like the kidnappers grabbed all of my friend, Jason, but only returned part of him. Somewhere still missing is a lot of that great mind and spirit that made him so cool!”

  “Up yours, Daniel!” Jason replied angrily. “That’s not very fair. You know what I had to go through a week ago.”

  Daniel held up his hands in a self-deprecating manner. “You’re right, Jason. I apologize. You are absolutely right. You’ve been through a lot of horrible experiences that no one should ever have to endure. I have no right to try and guess what is going through your mind. You should be cut a lot of slack to recover from your ordeal. Instead, let me tell you what’s been going through my mind.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “This has affected me and a lot of your friends along with you. No one suffered the physical pain that you did, but this whole incident is a ticking time bomb in our heads! Every day I wake up and think about how my life and that of our friends has been ruined by those kidnappers. I am really angry that a really nice person who never harmed anyone—that’s you—could be walking in a public park and be grabbed and brutalized for no apparent reason. Now none of us are safe, because if they can do it to you, they can do it to us! That is what our parents fear the most. We have no individual freedom of movement any more. You had better be in a group, preferably with an adult escort if you want to do anything these days.

  “I am really angry that the kidnappers, when they got tired of tormenting you in their basement for five days, and after putting your family and friends through the same five days of hell—not knowing whether you were dead or alive, being held for ransom, or in the hands of a predator—suddenly act like your kidnapping was no big deal. They finally got around to contacting your dad that they had you Friday morning. They then say in the ransom note: ‘The godfather of our organization is sorry for causing you anguish. We really didn’t mean to kidnap your son. Just give us $50,000 to cover our overhead and you can have him back. Sorry for the wear and tear on poor Jason. Oh, and please return the ropes.’ ”

  “What?” Jason cried out in agony. “What are you saying?”

  “Again, I am so sorry, Jason. Your dad never told you what the ransom note actually said?”

  Daniel went and put his hands on Jason’s shoulders in a tight grip. “It’s not that you were being low-balled or ransomed on a discount. I’m sure your dad would have tried to pay any amount they asked for. Somehow they knew that your dad had that range of cash readily available in small bills because of his antiquities business. It didn’t require the cooperation of a bank, or federal authorities, or anyone else, because apparently he could easily get that much from his safe deposit box.” Daniel then paced around the room.

  “Jason, like you I didn’t have a lot of specific plans for the summer. I had some guitar lessons and regular physical workouts planned, but a lot of my plan was to hang out with good friends like you and just enjoy being a teenager. You know, have fun and do our thing, whatever it turned out to be this summer. Instead, you and I, and many more of your friends, are being held hostage by these unknown kidnappers. They seem to be able to move around our community with impunity and even though you are free, so are they, laughing at you and laughing at your friends because they figure that you are powerless to do anything about it. We are no longer free to move around like we are used to doing because of what they did to you.

  “So I say to you, Jason, until these lowlife morons are tracked down and put in jail for what they did to you, I can’t rest, I can’t have any fun, and I can’t feel safe. Yes, the cops have been unable to find anything out and already the trail is probably pretty cold by now. Not much I can do about that. But there is something very personal about the way you were attacked and treated. Probably only you or your dad can figure out what it was that triggered this. But I am willing to be there with you every step of the way. I just don’t think that you can be happy or be your normal self again until the mystery of why this happened in the first place is solved. Then you will finally be able to put it all behind you. Already you are getting flashbacks of those terrible things you endured. Until this burden of ‘why?’ is lifted off your shoulders, how can you, I, or any of our friends be free again? I know I won’t be happy about this situation until those stupid scumbag bastards are behind bars and we are sitting here laughing at them for a change.”

  During Daniel’s tirade, Jason had been staring down at his chucks. Then looking up at his friend he said, “Exactly what are you asking me to do?”

  “I say work with me to find out what really happened. Find out who the kidnappers are and why you were targeted. I’m willing to work day and night at it until it is solved.”

  “But how are we supposed to do this by ourselves? I don’t have any experience as a detective and neither do you. How can a couple of teenaged kids, who aren’t even old enough to drive a car, supposed to get around and solve a mystery that so far Lt. Garcia and his missing persons unit couldn’t solve, or even come up with one solid lead?”

  “Because we have motivation! Our lives are at stake. Even if we ultimately fail, we are further along in the healing process than we would ever be just sitting around doing nothing.”

  “You are so passionate, Daniel. You are displaying a depth of emotion I have never seen from you before and I don’t know how to re
spond. It’s all too overwhelming for me!” Jason said on the verge of tears.

  “Okay, Jason. I’ll calm down now. Take your time and think it through. If you can figure out a better way to resolve this and get rid of what’s tormenting you, let me know. I think that deep down inside, you will eventually realize that what I am saying is right.”

  Still, with his head hanging low, Jason said in a soft voice, “Nothing about the kidnapping seems real except I know I went through the pain, the boredom, and the humiliation of it.”

  “Listen to me Jason. During the kidnapping you were under their control. Now you are not their captive anymore, unless you let the memories of what they did to you intimidate your mind and keep it unfocused. You have one of the best analytical minds I know, and everyone else says the same thing. It’s time to use it to take them out. Sure they had a clever plan that no one has figured out yet. But, if we put our heads together and tap all the resources we have available, sooner or later something has to break in this case.”

  “Daniel, a lot of what you say makes sense. Now I better understand how this has affected you and the others. I feel bad about that. At the same time, you are asking me to go back into the hell I just got out of. That’s a big commitment to ask for right now.”

  “Believe me, I understand how difficult this must be for you. Take the time you need to decide what to do. Talk to your dad or anyone else that you trust or you think can give you good advice on this. I won’t bring it up again until you do. Just know that I will do my best to be your friend whatever you decide.”

  Daniel continued, “I’ve probably worn out my welcome, today, Jason, but I had to get that off my chest. I’ll leave if you want some time to think it over and not feel pressured.”

  “Thanks, Daniel. I will be giving what you have told me real serious consideration. But not right now. What I really need is just some normal companionship from you. That’s what I’ve really missed this past week. I’m sorry about my lack of concentration playing video games. Let’s get some drinks and snacks in the kitchen and then play some hoops outside. I figure I can’t screw that up too badly. Even if I do, it still is good exercise.”