When The Chips Are Down

by Aiden Vaughan

  “My name is Walter, Walter Gaither.”

  “Well, Walter, we are going to have a little conversation now. You are going to tell me all about things at Camp Chinquapin. From what I have seen so far, you have a pretty intense curriculum in torture and abuse.”

  Chapter 23

  Stan to the Rescue

  (Friday Morning)

  Stan Henderson was pacing around the office of Henderson Med-Evac Services. He had arrived there earlier than usual this morning. When he got to the office, Jason’s message was on the line. This whole situation seemed quite unreal to him. Usually his calls came in from the Highway Patrol after an automobile accident or from park rangers who had located a stranded hiker. Instead here was a teenager nonchalantly ordering up a fully equipped med-evac helicopter who had the means to pay for it. Jill Baines was very accommodating and had already set up an account and purchase order for him to use. This was nothing like dealing with insurance companies. Even more astonishing was Jason’s report that they were rescuing two teenagers who had been severely beaten and apparently tortured at a boot camp. Normally he would have a burn specialist with him, but for this rescue he needed a physician who could immediately triage for possible broken bones and multiple bruises and welts caused by severe physical abuse.

  This operation had the potential to be a big media story. Any kind of story involving kids being tortured or abused was sure to grab headlines and top of the hour media coverage. It was important to get these kids to a hospital that was used to a media onslaught and could handle crowds of reporters.

  The third issue was the pickup point. Until his helicopter arrived there, Stan wasn’t sure how easy the pickup would be. Ideally, he could land somewhere close by, they could quickly assess the patients, and then determine the best way to bring them on board. If there wasn’t enough landing room, they would have do everything from the air, a much more difficult operation. There was also the possibility that there would be some hot pursuit of these kids, especially if their escape had been detected at the camp. It had been a long time since he could remember being fired upon! But he knew that Dominic Sanchez was one of the best in the business from their military service days together. He actually was amazed that Dominic was still taking on operations. If anybody could run a clean and successful escape operation, it would be Dominic and his friends.

  Stan realized that the best thing to do now was get into action. He had a pretty good idea of the coordinates for the pickup point. He knew that he should approach from a direction opposite and away from Camp Chinquapin, so that the helicopter noise didn’t alert them to his presence. His crew would be ready to go, and he wanted to be in the vicinity when Jason’s final call came in. He put in a call to Dr. Franklin Messina. Frank was one of the best emergency doctors he knew. He was good with kids, could handle the media, and was a wound and bone specialist. At this time of the morning, Frank was still at home. Luckily, he was available today. He agreed to meet Stan’s helicopter at the Mercy Hospital’s heliport, which was less than a mile from his house. If he really hustled, he could be there in twenty minutes.

  Stan then checked with his crew to see if the helicopter was ready yet. They were still loading ice, supplies and equipment and doing pre-flight checks. They would be ready to go in ten more minutes. When everything was ready, Stan got into the pilot’s chair, did his final pre-flight checks and then revved up the engines. In five more minutes, they were airborne and heading toward the Mercy Hospital heliport to pickup Dr. Messina. The evacuation team was underway.

  * * * * *

  Back in the Chinquapin area, Jason and the others were traveling downstream on Chinquapin Creek and making good time getting to their rendezvous point. Jason and Daniel were rowing as fast as they could while Dominic handled the rudder and managed their paddle speed. Most of their journey was simple because they were going downstream and since it was spring, there was plenty of water flowing in the stream. There were a few tricky turns to maneuver, but with a little back paddling and Dominic’s expert steering, everything was going smoothly. Each minute that they continued on their journey, you could feel the relief building in the raft. Cody and Timothy were still on edge, but for the first time in weeks they were free from the camp.

  The ride that took them nearly an hour in the dark going slowly upstream ended up taking just twenty minutes in the daylight going downstream at full speed. When the raft approached the Highway 42 bridge, the boys let out a cheer. “Landing point dead ahead!” Jason shouted. “Get ready to land!”

  Dominic steered the raft under the bridge and then to the left as he approached the loading ramp just past the bridge. Because Jason and Daniel had on their waders, they got out of the raft, grabbed onto the tow ropes, and helped pull the raft onto shore. They had arrived at their rendezvous point.

  Jason immediately got out his cell phone and called Stan Henderson’s med-evac service. His call was transferred to the actual helicopter in flight. “We are at the rendezvous point now. Both Cody and Tim, the kids we rescued are somewhat mobile. They have been severely treated the past couple of weeks and have a lot of bruises, welts and injuries. They are in a weakened state, but so happy to be out of the hellhole prison we found them in!”

  “Roger, that.” Stan replied. “We are in the air on the way, and expect to arrive in twenty minutes. Do you think that there is room for us to land, or will we need to do an airlift?”

  Jason called over to Dominic. “Do you think the helicopter could actually land here?”

  “Oh yes. Stan could land a helicopter on the highway shoulder if he had to. Tell him that if he can’t land it here, we are taking his pilot’s license away!”

  Jason relayed what Dominic said and Stan laughed. “Tell that turkey farmer that I’m not worried about losing my pilot’s license, but I am concerned about my driver’s license. I don’t want to get a ticket for double parking on the highway!”

  “Stan, will you be able to take Daniel and myself along also? Tim and Cody have no one else to speak for them, or guarantee their expenses right now. They aren’t exactly on the best of terms with their legal guardians after what they have been through!”

  “It will be a little tight in here, but I think I can squeeze you in. Roger and out!”

  Jason then called Joe Connor, first to tell him that the escape operation had been successful, and that Daniel and he wouldn’t be returning to the cabin today.

  “Somehow I thought that something like that would go down, especially if you were successful in finding Tim. Even though Cody and Tim are out of harm’s way now, their ordeal is by no means over, as you well know from your own experience. You need to be with them, so they at least have one friend close by for the next couple of days. I took the liberty of packing up your bags. I will drive over to the bridge and bring them to you. It should only take me ten minutes. Hopefully I put the right things in the right bags. You and Daniel can sort it out later!”

  “Joe, you are the best! Thank you for all you did to help us with this rescue operation! Now hurry over here so we can at least say goodbye to you before we have to leave.”

  Jason then called Jaime Orlando to tell him that they were out of the campgrounds, and had Timothy and Cody with them. “Jaime, the med-evac helicopter should be here in about fifteen or twenty minutes. As soon as we are airborne and out of here, I will call you again. Then call in the police and go to the camp entrance. I can’t wait to see their reaction when you ask them why they are torturing young teenagers at their facilities! Also, I talked with Cody and Tim about how they want to handle the media coverage in this, having gone through such horrible experiences, and being minors. They both were determined to get their stories out to make sure that these people and others like them are stopped. I think they are willing to give you exclusive interviews once the doctors okay it. Daniel and I intend to stay with them as much as we can for the next couple of days. We can continue to pass on information or answer questions on an informal basis.”
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  “Jason, what you have done has been amazing on this case! Would you and Daniel be willing to go on the record and give an interview?”

  “Maybe tomorrow, Jaime. Right now our concern is the well-being of Cody and Tim. They have been horribly tortured and abused. They need our full time attention right now!”

  “I understand, Jason. You do realize that this will be all over the media for the next few days! It’s going to be a huge story! Thanks for letting me in on it. I definitely owe you one!”

  After ringing off, Jason had to hustle to get his waders off and changed back into his regular clothing. Daniel already had done so, and he was sitting with Cody and Tim, keeping them company and telling them that a new chapter was going to begin in their lives. “One of the first things that Jason and I will do for you guys is get you some new clothes, so you never have to wear this camp uniform again!”

  “That sounds great,” Tim said. “I can’t believe I am actually free again! I keep pinching myself in case this is all a dream!”

  “Everything in the last 24 hours has been completely surreal for me,” Cody added. “It was just a few hours ago that I was staked out in that cave thinking that I would crack up or die a prisoner! My only regret right now is that we don’t know what happened to Martin. I sure hope those bastards didn’t capture him!”

  “I wouldn’t worry about it, guys,” Jason said walking over to where they were sitting. “Look!” Jason pointed to the Chinquapin Creek. Rapidly approaching them was a man swimming in the creek. It was Martin!

  Everyone broke out into cheers when they saw him. Dominic, who had been packing up their equipment and things from the raft hurried over to the creek shore to offer Martin a hand as he came out of the water. “Martin!” he exclaimed. “Welcome back. How did you enjoy the hospitality of the Camp Chinquapin officials?”

  “Well let’s just say that we didn’t see eye to eye about things. The man on the motorcycle we heard was named Walter Gaither. Before I had to leave, I let him know that I didn’t approve of his training methods for young teenagers. I think he got the message!”

  When Martin said the name Walter Gaither, both Timothy and Cody shuddered. “That is the guy who grabbed me and brought me to the camp in the first place,” Cody said. “He is in charge of that prison, also. He is one mean and cruel bastard!”

  Tim added, “His idea of anger management training was to constantly beat the shit out of me, or keep me handcuffed and gagged the rest of the time when he wasn’t putting us through some torture session or kangaroo court! What I wouldn’t give to meet him in a fair fight!”

  “Boys, don’t stress about things any more. I want you to know you are safe from Walter. I even gave him a few love taps for each of you. Concentrate on getting healed and back into good physical condition again. That and having your freedom back is what’s important now.”

  A car drove into the area and parked over by Martin’s SUV. It was Joe Conner. He got out of the car and brought with him a couple of zippered luggage bags, which he gave to Daniel and Jason. Jason then turned and said to Cody and Tim, “I would like you to meet my friend and advisor Joe Conner. He is responsible for getting this team together. Without his help, we never could have rescued you guys!”

  Joe came over and shook hands with Cody and Timothy. “We are so grateful to you, Joe,” Timothy said. “We owe you our lives! Thank you, thank you!”

  “I was happy to help out. Who you really need to thank is Jason and Daniel. They believed the impossible sounding story about what was happening to you, and insisted on following it up. They had the passion and desire to do what it took to free you, and then these guys, Martin and Dominic, had the expertise and skills to make it happen. What they did for you is equally important. I just got them all together!”

  Off in the distance, there was the sound of a helicopter approaching. As it got closer Jason and Daniel ran into the open area and waved at it. Stan Henderson saw them and blinked his lights in response. He then got on his public address system and said, “We see you and are coming in for a landing. Stay clear of us until the aircraft is down.” Then Stan expertly guided the helicopter to a landing spot just off the highway. Immediately the fuselage doors opened and out came two medical teams with collapsible gurneys on wheels and Dr. Frank Messina with his black bag.

  Dr. Messina went up to Cody first. He had a big smile on his face and quickly checked out Cody’s physical condition. “My God, Cody, it looks like you had one hell munched ride lately. Your body looks like a mushburger! But don’t worry, you will be one great hotdogger again in no time!” Cody laughed at the surfer lingo.

  “It’s okay, Cody, my name is Dr. Frank Messina. I apologize for the bad surfer talk, but I want you to know I am on your side, and want to do everything I can to help you. I want you to feel free to talk to me about anything you are feeling, especially in the area of pain. Now these medics are going to get you strapped onto this gurney so we can get you to a hospital pronto.”

  The doctor then went over to Timothy. The medics had just finished strapping him to another gurney. “Hi, you must be Timothy. My name is Dr. Frank Messina and I will be examining you for any immediate physical problems or conditions. Do you have any places that are especially sore?” When Tim shook his head no, Dr. Messina went on, “Somebody sure did a number on you, Tim, but I want you to know that everything I have seen so far will easily heal and you will be back to normal in no time! I am going to be with you all the way. Don’t worry about a thing. I will be asking you a lot of questions about your physical condition. Feel totally free to tell me about anything at all that bothers you or gives you pain. Remember, I’m here for you, Timothy!” The doctor then told the medics to wheel Timothy into the helicopter.

  While this was going on, Jason and Daniel were saying their goodbyes to Martin, Dominic, and Joe. Jason shook hands and said, “Martin and Dominic, you have been so great to work with. You made this mission a success! Daniel and I couldn’t have done it without you!”

  Martin came up and gave Jason and Daniel each a big bear hug. “When Joe called me and said that he wanted Dominic and me to work with a couple of teenagers, I thought to myself, ‘What is this, boy scout camp?’ But you guys have totally impressed us with your intelligence, dedication, and willingness to take orders without complaining. It’s been an honor to work with you, and I am so impressed that you were willing to put your lives on the line to help Tim and Cody. I can’t think of too many other people, adults for that matter, who would do that just as a matter of principle!”

  “Yeah, I second that,” Dominic added as he gave Jason and Daniel hugs also. “You boys have been real troupers. Call me anytime you need to run a rescue operation!”

  “Hey, you guys have been totally awesome!” Daniel exclaimed. “I think I’ll write a song about you guys. Maybe call it ‘The Rescue Rafters’ or something like that.”

  “If you do, Daniel, don’t mention Martin until the second verse,” Dominic said with a laugh. “Otherwise it will go to his head!”

  Jason and Daniel then shook hands with Joe. “Thanks again Joe for everything,” Jason said. “I will be in touch with you over the weekend, at least by phone. There are still things we need to discuss!”

  “I’m sorry we weren’t very much help for you with your cabin remodeling,” Daniel said. “At least we got one morning of work in for you!”

  “Don’t worry about it, Daniel. When you own a place, there always is something to do. And I’m in no hurry at my age! Take good care of your friends. You know they are going to need a lot of help the next few days, after the reality of what they went through sinks in.”

  Daniel and Jason then hurried over to the helicopter with their bags. Stan Henderson introduced himself and then told them, “I think I’ll have you two sit up front with me. That way you will be out of the way of the medical teams, and you can see an incredible view of California as we head back to the Silicon Valley.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Henderson
, that sounds great!” Jason replied.

  “Call me Stan, everyone else does. And for what you are paying for this ride, you should sit in front and get the fabulous view!”

  Back on the ground, Joe, Martin, and Dominic watched as the med-evac helicopter lifted off the ground and flew away.

  Joe then said, “Gentlemen, I don’t know about you, but I think we could use a nice big breakfast before we go our separate ways. I know a great place just up the highway a few miles.”

  “Sounds like the old days, Martin,” Dominic said. “We take out an insurgent’s nest and chief here celebrates by buying us breakfast!”

  “Well, I’m famished!” Martin stated emphatically. “Taking out torture chambers and mean prison guards always makes me hungry!”

  Chapter 24

  The One-Two-Three-Four Punch

  (Friday, Saturday and Sunday)

  The helicopter angled its way out of the Chinquapin area and rapidly rose high above the foothills. In a few minutes, they were leveled out and flying over the San Joaquin Valley. Jason asked Stan if it was all right for him to make a cell phone call. When Stan said it was okay, Jason called Jaime Orlando.

  “Jaime, we are in the air now on our way to Mercy Hospital in the Silicon Valley. We have successfully removed Timothy Wilkinson and Cody Johnson from the camp’s secret prison where they have been held in captivity, beaten, and tortured for nearly two weeks now. Both boys have welts and bruises all over their bodies, and are in a weakened condition due to their ordeal. They are under the treatment of a doctor, and my foundation will arrange for them to be in their own private room together at the hospital. They are both very willing to tell their stories to the media, and it is shocking to say the least! Now it’s your turn. Go to that camp and ask them why they have a policy of torturing and beating teenagers!”