When The Chips Are Down

by Aiden Vaughan

  “You never cease to amaze me with your connections and capabilities, Jason,” Joe said with a grin on his face.

  Both Jason and Joe got busy on their cell phones. Jason called the foundation office and explained that there could be a big case breaking in the next couple of days, and that he would need quick funding resources for the people helping him out, and also to cover the costs of the medical evacuation helicopter. He asked Jill Baines, who was in charge of financial matters, to find out what it would take to have one on call, if and when one was needed. He also explained that there were going to be some new contract employees who would need to be paid as well.

  Joe first called his friend Wade Dunleavey at the weather service. They chatted for a few minutes about old times and updated each other on what they had been doing lately. Then Joe asked Wade about access to high quality aerial photos of Camp Chinquapin. “We don’t have a policy of providing pictures in that kind of detail to the public unless there is some major storm activity reported in the area. Did you say that there was a sighting of a funnel cloud near there?”

  Taking the hint, Joe replied, “Oh yes, it was the strangest thing to see this dark funnel cloud in the sky, right near Camp Chinquapin.”

  “In that case, I think the weather service will feature that area on our informational website in the storm watch section. I will post something up there in the next hour or so.” He then had Joe write down the website address where it would be posted. Since Joe was planning to be up at the cabin for several weeks, and didn’t want to be isolated from the outside, he had arranged for the phone line to be activated and had added DSL so he could access the Internet. He also had brought a small color printer for writing checks and printing documents. Within two hours, Joe was able to download and print some quality maps of the Camp Chinquapin area.

  Joe next called Martin Severino and Dominic Sanchez, the two retired Navy SEAL team members, to engage their services. It took some haggling and persuading, but Jason kept upping the amount he was willing to pay them until it became an offer they both couldn’t refuse. Joe also stressed how they would be helping out some teenagers in trouble and how urgent it was, so both men finally agreed to be at Joe’s cabin by nine o’clock the next day. “Be sure to bring everything that you think you may need for this operation. We will pick up any other gear we need tomorrow after we put together our operational plan.”

  Jason and Daniel were excited about the quick action that Joe was able to take. After dinner they studied the printouts of the satellite maps so that they had a clear idea of the setup there. Based on what they remembered from the tour of the facilities, they identified and labeled as many of the buildings as they could, and where the fences were.

  Around ten o’clock Joe told the boys to go to bed. “You are going to have an incredibly busy day tomorrow and most likely Friday. You need to get some good sleep.” Jason and Daniel got ready for bed but were too pumped up to go to sleep right away. They talked about their plans in a low, excited undertone for another hour before dozing off.

  Chapter 17

  The Rescue Mission

  (Thursday)

  The next morning Jason and Daniel got up by eight o’clock, showered and dressed, had breakfast, and then eagerly awaited the arrival of the two men who were going to help them with their mission. A little before nine o’clock, a large SUV towing a trailer with a rubber raft pulled up into Joe’s driveway. Joe and the boys went outside to greet their guests.

  Martin Severino was a muscular man in his mid-forties, with dark hair in a brush cut, dark brown eyes, a ski slope nose, and military style mustache. He gave Joe a big bear hug and then gave the boys crushing handshakes with his big meaty hands. Dominic Sanchez was a little taller than Martin, and much thinner. He was a little younger than Martin, had short hair, a moon shaped face with a big smile and rugged features. He shook hands all around and told Joe how great it was to see him again. Joe introduced Jason and Daniel to the men and then invited everyone to come inside. After the men were seated, he brought them cups of coffee.

  “When you said that we would be working with young teenagers, you weren’t kidding, Joe” Martin said with a laugh. “This is like going on a mission with my sons!”

  “Yeah, I am amazed, too,” Dominic added, “but then I remembered that I saw some of your interview on network television last year. What you did was remarkable.”

  “Thanks,” Jason replied. “Daniel here was much of the reason for the success I had.”

  “What we have here is a very unusual situation, somewhat unlike anything that we had to do in Latin America,” Joe said. “Because we are starting from unproven allegations, we need to get something concrete before we can send the two of you onto the camp property. Should things totally backfire on us, and we discover that there was no criminal activity going on, two minors caught on trespassing charges would just get a slap on the wrist, while two adults with special operations backgrounds could be in very deep trouble!”

  “Yeah, but I am sure that there is something bad going on at that camp,” Jason said. “I don’t have any proof yet, but in my gut I know that Tim is in serious trouble!”

  “Before we start developing our game plan,” Martin said, “I would like Jason and Daniel to tell us everything that they know about this boy, Tim, and about the camp.”

  Jason took about ten minutes and went over everything that he had heard from Teresa Barnwell, Tim’s parents, and the kids inside Camp Chinquapin. He showed them the note from Tracy. Then Daniel described what he had observed about the camp security and its physical set up.

  “It seems clear that the people running the camp are very much obsessed with security and with keeping their charges under their thumbs at all times,” Dominic replied. “To treat the kids in such a brutal manner shows a certain arrogance, and disrespect for others. We may be able to use this against them in some way.”

  “At the same time, these folks are used to getting their way,” Martin added, “and they seem to have no problem dishing out harsh punishments. I hope you kids realize that you could be walking into serious trouble. These people will not treat you kindly if they catch you!”

  “I know we are taking a risk,” Jason answered, “but I can’t in good conscience sit around and let this kid get tortured to death by these so-called camp counselors. As soon as we find anything at all to confirm what we think is going on, then we are bringing in you guys, medical help, the police, and the media. We have to hit them back hard with a strong one-two-three-four punch! I don’t think they will be expecting that!”

  “Well don’t think for a minute that it is going to be easy!” Martin continued. “One misstep could ruin the surprise attack that you need to accomplish your rescue mission!”

  “To do what we have to do, we have to take a chance!” Daniel exclaimed. “We have no illusions about it. We have faced something like this when we went after Jason’s kidnappers, as of course you guys have many times before when you were Navy SEALs. We are totally relying on your expertise and ability to foresee what could go wrong to help us get through this.”

  “We aren’t miracle workers, Daniel, but we will do the best we can to make this mission succeed!” Dominic said.

  “And that was all I ever asked of you guys in the past, and that is all Jason and Daniel are asking of you now!” Joe said. “So let’s put our heads together to make it work!”

  The first stage of their planning was to go over the maps of Camp Chinquapin in detail. Martin and Dominic had both downloaded the photos from the national weather website. Martin had done quite a bit of river rafting in the area over the past few years and had geological survey maps of the Chinquapin area. The satellite photos were good enough to show the actual outlines of the buildings in Camp Chinquapin. Jason and Daniel helped Martin and Dominic identify all of the buildings that they had seen during their tour. The geological survey maps provided a lot of information about roads, trails, streams, and hills in the area.

/>   “If there is a secret prison compound on the property, it would have to be away from the main part of the camp, and I would think be hidden in some way,” Martin said. “If they are using it to torture uncooperative kids, I’m sure they don’t want it to be easy to spot or find.”

  “Yet at the same time, there would need to be a way to easily get to and from the camp.” Dominic added. “Maybe there is a hidden trail or even a tunnel or covered passageway.”

  “What about these buildings just past the main buildings of the camp?” Daniel asked. “When we took the tour no mention of them was made at all. And Tracy wrote in her note that she heard a scream one day.”

  “I think that these buildings are much too close to the main part of the camp for a secret prison.” Martin said. “Most likely they are utility buildings for power and water or sewage processing. It would be too risky, not only for the kids, but also other staff members to have the prison there. I am guessing that only a few people at the camp would know about the prison area. Others might suspect that this was going on, but I would be surprised if that was something generally known. It would be too easy for someone to spill the beans. Even some of the toughest guards might not countenance torture. I would look in the area the farthest away from the main camp. It would make sense to have the prison there, because there may be caves or natural caverns in the vicinity, a natural camouflage that they could take advantage of.”

  “That would make it a little easier for us to make our escape, if Timothy is being held in this area,” Dominic stated. “This is the general area where we would want to breach their security fence.”

  “Yeah, I think that the best way to go in is by raft, and on this stream here that passes by part of the camp border.” Martin pointed to a place on the map where the stream came within thirty yards of the outside fence. “We would take the raft and land it here, wade to the shore, and make a hole in the outer fence. Probably the easiest way would be with a low grade plastic explosive, something that would burn an outline we could punch in. The inner fence would need to be cut with heavy duty metal shears. You described it as having barbed wire in it, and I am guessing that it would be electrified in some way. We will have to use alligator clamps and bypass wires when we cut it, so that we don’t trigger any alarms. Our biggest worry would be video surveillance. I don’t have any way to avoid that other than the cover of darkness. We can bring some chain link pieces to temporarily reattach what we cut open, so the fence will look normal from a distance. We will be coming in after midnight, so hopefully no one will be paying a lot of attention, if there is video security.”

  “Once you get inside, you will need to get out of your waders, put on your dry clothes, and quietly look for any kind of trail.” Dominic added. “Hopefully if you find a trail, it will lead you to any buildings or compounds at that end of the camp.”

  “How will we be able to see anything?” Jason asked. “I’m sure that they won’t be leaving the lights on for us!”

  “We brought along some infrared goggles.” Martin said. “You will be able to see quite well in the dark, once you get used to them. If you do discover something, then you will use regular flashlights to see inside any building.”

  “How will we be able to communicate with you, if and when we find out anything?” Jason continued with his questions.

  “Although they may work in this area, cell phones are too unreliable for what we have to do,” Martin explained. “We are going to place tracking devices on each of you and use them to follow your progress. That way we will know where you are at all times, and if you find something that justifies calling us in, you can use the devices to signal us.”

  “All right,” Jason agreed. “Suppose that we do find Timothy and he is locked inside some sort of prison cell. What is our next step?”

  “Once you signal us that you have found Tim,” Martin went on, “our status in the mission changes. Now we are concerned citizens out to make a citizen’s arrest of whoever is in charge of the compound. We will follow you in, based on your tracking devices. We will use our stealth and counter-terrorism skills to take out any guard or person we find. In the meantime you will need to try and break into wherever Tim is being held, and prepare him for evacuation. If he is restrained you will need to do what it takes to release him. You will have specialized tools for that. You will also need to assess his situation as best as you can. He may be too weak to walk, or he may be able to leave on his own power.

  “When we have taken out all of the guards or whoever is watching Tim, we will meet up with you to begin the evacuation stage. Our goal is to get whoever we find out of there, through the breaches in the fencing, into our raft, and then go down the stream to our staging area where we will be able to meet with the med-evac helicopter. The helicopter cannot come in there until the first light of day and the pilot will need an open place where he can airlift Timothy out. That location will be at the Highway 42 bridge, about four miles downstream from the camp.”

  “Speaking of the med-evac helicopter,” Joe interjected, “do you guys have any contacts in that area? We are not exactly sure how to go about setting that part of the operation up.”

  “I did talk to my foundation finance department, and they can provide whatever guarantees he would need to be on call for us,” Jason added.

  “I think that Stan Henderson is still operating a med-evac service in the Bay Area. Let me give him a call,” Dominic volunteered. With a little bit of research on Joe’s computer, Dominic was able to locate Henderson’s business and put in a call to him. After they got caught up on old times for a couple of minutes, Dominic explained what they needed, or thought they would need. Stan told him what it would cost to have the proper staff on call at the crack of dawn, and then what was involved if they actually were called in. Jason then got on the line and gave Stan Jill Baines’ telephone number at the Whatever Foundation office.

  “We are real lucky, boys,” Dominic said when they were done talking on the phone. “Stan Henderson is one of the best in the business. Plus he has contacts with the best Bay Area hospitals, and will know exactly where to take Tim if he has severe injuries.”

  With the general outline of their rescue plan set up, the next thing they needed to do was to go to sporting goods, medical supply, and hardware stores, and purchase the things that Jason and Daniel would need that they didn’t already have. These purchases included waders, waterproof carry bags for their clothing and some equipment, a portable stretcher, various tools and things for quick repairs, some basic medical supplies, and power snack bars. They had to drive to a larger town in the area to do this, and it took several hours to complete.

  While they were in town, they decided to go out to lunch, since a big meal wouldn’t be a good idea just before their operation. They went to a family restaurant and ordered big lunches. During the meal Martin and Dominic talked about some of their operations with Joe. Then Daniel and Jason told them about their rescue efforts last summer for Eric Acosta and Ethan Savage.

  After they returned to Joe’s cabin, Martin and Dominic loaded up the raft with their supplies, and helped Jason and Daniel organize what they would need to bring along. They then showed the boys some tricks for walking through unfamiliar territory in the darkness. This included where to step down and not step if they were unsure of the ground, how to find trails, and tricks for breaking into locked cells. Then everyone was told to get as much rest as they could, because they would be up all night.

  Around seven thirty, everyone was up again. They had a very light supper of just soup and crackers. “You don’t want your body spending a lot of energy on the digestion of food right now. Everything needs to be focused on the mission,” Martin said.

  By eight o’clock they were ready to leave and go to the staging point. This was by the bridge over the stream on Highway 42. Their plan was to arrive there just at sunset, so that they could still see to back the trailer down the ramp. Once they got there, they unloaded the raft. Marti
n then drove the SUV and trailer back up and parked it where it was mostly hidden from the road.

  The four then dressed in their waders and put their other clothing in their waterproof bags. Although the raft was fairly spacious and could hold up to eight people, a good portion of the space was used for equipment like the portable stretcher and various tools that might be needed. While Martin was parking the truck, Dominic had set up the oars. When everyone was ready, they waded into the water with the raft and climbed aboard. To get to the place where they wanted to breach the camp wall, they would have to row upstream. They had plenty of time to get there, and it was better that their escape direction would be downstream.

  Slowly the four paddled upstream toward the turn in the creek four miles away. It was a fairly dark night, with only a quarter moon. Gradually their eyes got used to the darkness. Occasionally Martin would shine a flashlight in front, so that they could better see where they were headed. Since it was still spring, there was plenty of water in the stream. Luckily there were no rapids to deal with on the journey, although there was one place where they had to get out and help the raft past some protruding rocks. Around nine thirty they arrived at the edge of Camp Chinquapin.

  Martin shined his flashlight around for a quick survey of the area. He spotted a tree about 25 yards away that they could anchor the raft to. Jason and Daniel were told to wait in the raft, while Martin and Dominic surveyed the area. Both waded to shore. Martin found a dry place where he removed his waders and put on a pair of running shoes. He then proceeded to climb to the top of the fence. He had brought with him a pair of binoculars with infrared lenses. He spent a long time surveying the rear area of the camp. Meanwhile Dominic had anchored the boat to the tree and then did a complete survey of the fence, looking for the best location to breach it. Once he made that determination, he took some white plastic explosive and began to place a thin line of it on the surface of the fence. He outlined an opening that would be wide enough to bring the portable stretcher through.