When The Chips Are Down

by Aiden Vaughan

  “In this case I would say yes! Daniel and I were the only ones who knew about this, there was no way we could get law enforcement to believe us without actual proof, and kids in the Camp Chinquapin risked a lot to even tell us what they thought was going on! We did all of that planning because of you and what you and Captain Garcia had said to us in the past. Under the circumstances I think we made about the best plan that we could, given the situation and time constraints. We had to act and we did! Those kids were being tortured to death! I don’t know how much more life threatening you can get! A conventional inquiry from the police would have given the camp authorities time to cover everything up, and maybe even kill those boys! We had to catch them red-handed and we did! If I had to do it over again, I would, even if I knew I was going to be grounded for the next six months!”

  “Jason’s right, Dad,” Daniel continued. “It’s his passion and sense of right and wrong that I believe in. That’s why I had to help him! I don’t want to seem flip about this, but you know one of us could be walking across the street some day and a crazy driver could hit and kill one of us! Do we have any control over when our time to die comes? I don’t think we do! But until that happens, I want to live my life helping others and trying to do the right thing!”

  Jason went over to his mother and put his arms around her. “Mom, you know I would never intentionally do anything to hurt you!” Jason signaled at Daniel so he would do the same thing to Melinda. “You do believe that, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I believe that. Of course I believe that! Your father and I love you very much and are so proud of your bravery and your accomplishments. But we’re your parents. We worry about you!”

  Daniel had his arms around his mother, Melinda. “Remember last year when we agreed to be open about everything, Mom?” When Melinda nodded ‘yes’, Daniel continued, “I appreciate you bringing up your concerns. It’s important that we communicate about anything that upsets anyone of us. Jason and I will try to do better in the future, should another crisis situation come up. We promise!”

  “I think something got resolved there, as much as it probably ever will with our two wonder kids!” Bill Hunter said trying to wrap the conversation up. “Now how about some of that fresh fruit with ice cream for dessert! I know I am ready to change the subject and enjoy the rest of our evening together on a lighter note! Jason and Daniel, despite our concerns about your risk taking, we still want you to know how proud we are of your accomplishments, and that you are so willing to help others, even at the risk of your own lives! But do be careful! We want you to be around to tell us about your adventures for a very long time!”

  Chapter 33

  A Band is Born

  (The Week Before Summer Vacation)

  Eric and Daniel were packing up their instruments after jazz band class at school. It was their last practice of the school year. They had performed their final concert a few evenings ago, and all they were doing in class was sight reading music. Next week was one more day of regular class and then finals. The last day was just a cleanup day, and Mr. Molinari would let them sign yearbooks and kick back on that day. Eric was talking to Daniel, “Next Monday is the big audition day. It will sure be interesting to see where Tim is actually at as a drummer.”

  “Yeah, it would be really cool if it worked out. Not too many drummers come with their own soundproofed rehearsal studio!” Daniel replied.

  “But we are agreed to be objective about it, right? I’ve never heard him perform before, but my bass teacher was on a gig with the drummer who teachers Tim, and he said that Tim was making phenomenal progress.”

  “Well that is good to hear. For all of the crap and hard times that Tim has had to endure, I would hate to give him another disappointment. But you are right, Eric, we have to be honest about it! If either of us doesn’t feel he has the ability or the right attitude we have to say so! A good band should be more than the sum of its parts. There has to be something special happening.”

  “I know what you mean,” Eric answered. “I really felt that we had a few of those moments on our last jazz band concert! That is what’s so cool about live music performance. You get those special moments that literally bring chills up your spine!”

  “Well it will be a challenge in jazz band next year. We are losing the other two members of our rhythm section, and they are hard to replace.” Eric was referring to the piano player and the drum set player, who were both seniors.

  As Eric and Daniel were getting ready to leave, Mr. Molinari came up to them and said, “You guys really stepped up this year and did a great job with the band. You are coming back, right?”

  “Oh yes, Mr. Molinari. Jazz band turned out to be a great class this year,” Eric replied. “It is so nice to have a class where you just play music, and the only homework is to learn your music. Thanks for asking us to be in it.”

  “Trust me when I say that it was my pleasure!” Mr. Molinari replied. “You just can’t have a quality jazz band without a happening rhythm section. You two turned out to be a great find for me. If you know of any decent piano players or drummers, let me know!”

  That Saturday, Eric and Daniel had their usual workout session at the Y, and then spent the morning at Daniel’s house finalizing what music they would cover in the audition. They worked out the format. The first part of it would be just hearing Tim play by himself. They had told him to be able to demonstrate the basic beats of different styles of music and show them some fills and punches in those styles. Then they wanted him to play a drum solo, just to show off his technique and creativity. The last part of the audition would be to jam with Eric and Daniel. Today they wanted to choose the songs for the audition, and make sure that they were well practiced on them. “It won’t make us look good if we can’t play the music we are asking Tim to play!” Eric said.

  Monday after school, Daniel and Eric drove over to Tim’s house. When they got there Tim was waiting for them. Although major remodeling work had been done on the house, you would hardly notice it from the outside. Everything was cleaned up on the property, and any construction materials were stacked up neatly. There wasn’t a lot of landscaping outside, but that was to be expected at this stage of the remodel.

  “Hi Daniel, hi Eric!” Tim greeted them in an enthusiastic voice. “Bring your equipment around here. Before we begin, let me give you a tour of the place. We have gotten a lot of work done since you were here before.” Tim led the others to a door on the bottom level. He had Eric and Daniel set down their guitars and amplifiers by the door. “Come with me around to the front. I want to show you the house from the top down. Your equipment will be safe there for a few minutes.”

  The three boys walked around to the front of the house. They went into the house which opened up into a spacious living room, family room, kitchen combination. Everything was wide open and there was a vaulted ceiling that added to the overall effect. The kitchen area was designed in a U shape, with one of the U sides serving as a sit down counter so you could socialize and visit while someone was working in the kitchen. The countertops were made from beautiful blue granite and there were all new gleaming stainless steel appliances in the kitchen. The living room and family room areas had different seating areas and there was a wide screen television mounted on the family room wall.

  “Wow, this is great!” Eric said. “Your dad does terrific work.”

  “This layout is perfect for entertaining!” Daniel said. “I really like the open design of it.”

  Tim then showed them the back part. Beyond the kitchen was a hallway with a guest bathroom, laundry room, then two bedrooms. One was a master suite with its own bathroom and walk-in closet. The second bedroom, where Tim was currently staying, had a nice closet along one wall with built in drawers for his clothing. Eric and Daniel were suitably impressed. Across from the guest bathroom was a door that opened up onto a stairwell.

  “Now you guys can come down and see the really cool part of the house, the band rehearsal area and
recording studio! Follow me!” Tim led the way downstairs. The stair well was circular so that it wouldn’t take up a lot of space. When they got to the bottom there were more built in shelves and cupboards for all kinds of storage. Then there was a heavy door that opened up into the rehearsal studio. Tim opened that door and led Eric and Daniel inside.

  The rehearsal area was large and spacious just like the living room area on the top level. It was about 20 feet by 30 feet in size, had nice thick carpeting on the floor, and the walls and ceiling had acoustical tile on them. All throughout the room were built in XLR jacks for microphones and quarter inch plugs for headphones or to directly plug in electronic equipment into the recording room. There were also plenty of AC power outlets to plug in amplifiers, keyboards, and other electronic equipment. Speakers were mounted on the walls for playback. The ceiling had a series of spot lights built in plus some lights mounted on swivel fittings so that they could be adjusted for different musical set ups. At the opposite end of the rehearsal area were two enclosed rooms, an isolation booth for recording vocals or the drums, and the room that would contain the recording equipment. In between the two isolation booths was a hallway that led to some more rooms, a bathroom, Tim’s bedroom suite with its own bathroom, and a small kitchenette. There was a door to the outside at the end of the hall. Tim opened the door, and there were the guitars and amplifiers that Eric and Daniel had brought.

  “This is an amazing facility!” Daniel exclaimed. “I think you are living every musician’s dream! A lot of thought and planning went into this!”

  “Yeah, Tim. Your dad has done a fabulous job on this house! We are in awe!” Eric added.

  “I’m so glad you like it, guys,” Tim said. “There still is a lot of equipment to purchase and install, but I am really excited about its potential!”

  “As you should be, Tim” Daniel said. “It must be really inspiring to walk into this every morning!”

  “Oh yes,” Tim answered. “It has been inspiring. I feel I have jumped several levels in my growth as a musician just by being here! Now let’s get down to today’s business.”

  Daniel and Eric went outside and brought in their equipment. While they were doing that Tim went over to the drum set that was placed in one of the corners of the room. He took out some sticks, checked the adjustment on his pedals and hihat, and waited for Eric and Daniel to come in the room. After they set down their guitar cases and amplifiers, Tim was ready to start his audition.

  “If I remember correctly, the first thing you wanted to hear was basic beats in a number of different styles.” Tim then took them through twelve different styles that included rock, pop, Latin, blues, and jazz swing. His time was very accurate, and his sound was clean and crisp.

  Eric looked at Daniel and nodded his head. So far so good. Next Tim was to demonstrate his ability to play solos. “That was great, Tim,” Daniel said. “Now show us a drum solo. Take us through all of the different parts of your drum kit.”

  Timothy started with some basic rhythms on his cymbals. First the hihat with open and closed textures. Then he added in his crash and ride cymbals. Next he did a whole series of riffs that combined his snare drum with the cymbals. After that he concentrated on the toms and bass drum. Then gradually he brought everything together, drums and cymbals in a series of complicated rhythms. When everything was at a high intensity, he played a series of eighth notes on his crash cymbals and bass drum like he was bringing in the band, then took it back to one of the rock beats he had demonstrated before. Eric and Daniel applauded and cheered at the end.

  “Wow, you have been practicing!” Daniel said in an excited voice. “That solo showed some advanced technical ability and good musical ideas!”

  “Yeah, I really liked your bass drum and cymbal work,” Eric added.

  “Let’s get our instruments out and do some jamming with Tim,” Daniel replied.

  Daniel and Eric got out their guitars and neck straps, plugged in their amplifiers, and connected their instruments to the amps with quarter inch cables. They checked their tuning, and then Daniel explained about the three songs that they wanted to try. The first was a shuffle blues. Daniel gave out the directions. “Let’s play two choruses of the tune, then I’ll do some solo choruses, Eric will do a couple of solo choruses, then let’s trade 4’s between the ensemble and the drums, and end with the head of the tune again. At the very end we’ll play the last four bars a couple of times to make an ending. Is everything clear?” Both Tim and Eric indicated they understood, and Daniel counted it off.

  It was like magic. The ensemble jelled right away. Tim knew exactly where to add little fills or punches to drive the ensemble. After the head of the tune, Daniel soared on his solo choruses. When Eric did his bass solo, Tim was careful to play real lightly so as not to overpower what Eric was doing. Trading fours was fun. Tim’s four bar breaks were creative without dropping the beat, and he was immediately into straight time again when Eric and Daniel had their fours. By the time they returned to the head of the tune, the trio had established a nice ensemble groove, and the little tag ending came off perfectly.

  Daniel looked at Eric, then Eric looked at Daniel. They smiled at each other. Then Daniel spoke to Tim. He started in a soft voice, “I don’t know, Tim. All I can say is that was…..” he paused dramatically, then shouted, “AWESOME!!” Eric whooped and hollered along with Daniel and they went over to Tim and gave him a couple of high fives. “That was great, let’s play some more tunes,” Daniel suggested. For the next half hour they went through several other tunes in different styles that they had worked on for the audition.

  When they finished playing those tunes, Eric said, “You know, I sort of like that spot over there,” and pointed to one of the corners of the room. “What do you think, Daniel?”

  Daniel just laughed and said, “I think what Eric is trying to say is that as far as he is concerned you are in the band.”

  “Really?” Tim said. “And what do you say, Daniel?”

  “I totally agree, Tim. Your audition was fantastic. Welcome to the band!”

  Tim got off his drum set. “That is so great! You guys made my day! I am really looking forward to working with you!” Tim had a huge smile on his face, and came over and shook hands with Eric and Daniel. As they were doing that, there was the sound of a single person clapping loud deliberate claps. The boys looked over to the hallway between the isolation booths and there was Timothy’s dad, Jeff.

  “I didn’t mean to intrude on your rehearsal, guys, but when I came home and saw that you guys were over here, I had to listen to some of the music. So I snuck in the back door so I could hear the music you were playing. I’m just a building contractor, and don’t know much about music, but you guys sounded really good to me already!”

  “This is a fabulous set up that you have here, Mr. Wilkinson,” Daniel said. “You have done a fantastic job on this studio, and for that matter the whole house!”

  “Yeah this place is awesome!” Eric said in agreement.

  “Timothy, I am very proud of you! You’ve come such a long way since that day I saw you in the hospital!” Jeff came over and gave Timothy a big hug.

  “Congratulate me, Dad. Eric and Daniel want me to play in their band. I’m so pumped up right now!”

  The three boys sat down and talked about the direction of the band for nearly an hour, and discussed a tentative rehearsal schedule and equipment issues. It was getting close to five, and Eric and Daniel had to get back to their homes. They packed up their guitars and amplifiers and loaded up Daniel’s car. “We’ll be in touch about things, Tim,” Daniel said on the way out. “Today you proved to us that you are one awesome drummer! I can’t wait until our next rehearsal!”

  “I am excited too,” Timothy replied. “It’s like you are saving my life all over again!”

  “I sure hope we have an easier time finding a keyboard player!” Daniel exclaimed. “These rescues are a lot of work!”

  Chapter 34

&n
bsp; Cody’s Thank You

  (The Beginning of Summer)

  It was the first day of summer break from school. Jason had been looking forward to this day for a long time. At last there was going to be a time for lazy summer days with no obligations, the chance to relax, hang out with his friends, and enjoy the simple life again. After all of the attention and media scrutiny that happened when Daniel and he were able to rescue Timothy Wilkinson and Cody Johnson from that dreadful Camp Chinquapin, and the acclaim for solving the DCC hijackings, things had settled down at school. Jason and his friends were happy to just concentrate on completing their schoolwork and activities. The routine of school had another beneficial effect, as it brought Jason and Daniel’s heads out of the clouds and back to the reality of normal day-to-day life.

  There was one more important thing to complete from the rescue operation last spring, and it was happening today. After their rescue, Cody and Timothy had spent a full week in Mercy Hospital before they were released on the Friday a week after their admission. Timothy’s reconciliation with his father was the solution to the family problems he had been having and gave him a new direction in his life. Cody’s life was still somewhat up in the air. Jason had persuaded his parents to drive Cody back to the Malibu home of his grandparents, who had invited Cody to live with them. Cody’s injuries, as it turned out, were more severe than Timothy’s, both mentally and physically. He still was bandaged for his cracked ribs, and it took over a month for many of his welts and bruises to fully heal. Dr. Messina had referred Cody to a specialist in Santa Monica who continued to monitor his physical recovery, checking on him every few days until his bandages could be fully removed.

  The enormity of what Jason and Daniel had accomplished in rescuing Cody was even recognized in the Malibu community. The motel where Jason and his parents spent Friday and Saturday night refused to accept any payment from the Hunters, and neither would the restaurant where they had breakfast in the morning. Cody’s grandmother had prepared an incredible spread of food for the homecoming party, which was held on Saturday. Throughout the afternoon and evening friends, acquaintances, and even a few strangers stopped by to welcome Cody back and thank Jason for what he had done.