Jason's Network

by Aiden Vaughan

  The ChucksConnection Presents

  Jason’s Network

  A Hunter & Holmes Mystery

  Aiden Vaughan

  Cover Art and Graphics by Steven Wolowitz

  Illustrations by Ricardo Carmona

  Hal Peterson Media Services

  San Jose

  © 2013 Hal Peterson Media Services

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance between the characters in this book and actual persons or events is purely coincidence. Locations and institutions are used fictitiously.

  This story is meant for readers 13 years old and up. If it were a film, it would be rated PG-13 or a television show Mature-14, due to some descriptions of violent acts including attacks on children and teenagers by predatory criminals, kidnappings, beatings, and the impact of captivity on young victims.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  First online edition June, 2013.

  ISBN 978-0-9821014-7-6

  For more information about Hunter & Holmes Mysteries, go to our website at http://hunterandholmes.com

  Other Books in the Hunter & Holmes Series:

  1. The Kidnapping

  2. Double Fugue

  3. When The Chips Are Down

  4. Family Matters

  5. Eyewitness News

  6. Days of Destiny

  Table of Contents

  Jason and Daniel’s World

  Chapter 1. Jason and Daniel (Friday Evening)

  Chapter 2. The Whatever Foundation (Monday Afternoon)

  Chapter 3. The Second Chance All Stars (Wednesday)

  Chapter 4. Jason and Nick (Thursday and Beyond)

  Chapter 5. Laura and Jason (Friday and Saturday)

  Chapter 6. Jason Goes to Stanford (Tuesday Afternoon)

  Spring Break

  Chapter 7. A Trip to the Sierras (Saturday)

  Chapter 8. Jamie and Olivia (Sunday)

  Chapter 9. The Scavenger Hunt (Monday Morning)

  Chapter 10. Jamie and Olivia Are Missing (Monday Afternoon)

  Chapter 11. Hunter & Holmes Rides Again (Tuesday Morning)

  Chapter 12. An Evil World of Pirates (Tuesday and Beyond)

  Jason’s Network Begins

  Chapter 13. The Fight Against Predators (Thursday and Friday)

  Chapter 14. School Assemblies (Late April)

  Chapter 15. The Interview (After the First Assembly)

  Chapter 16. The Network Goes Viral (The Next Week)

  Chapter 17. Life in the Neighborhood (Late April)

  Chapter 18. Not Everyone Is a Fan (Late April)

  The Plot Against Jason

  Chapter 19. Laura Goes Missing (Saturday and the Week Before)

  Chapter 20. The Exchange (Saturday Afternoon)

  Chapter 21. Cruel Retribution (Saturday and Sunday)

  Chapter 22. Jason’s Network Fights Back (Saturday)

  Chapter 23. The Kid with the Overactive Imagination (Sunday)

  Chapter 24. The Rescue (Sunday Afternoon)

  Life Crisis

  Chapter 25. Intensive Care (Sunday Evening)

  Chapter 26. The Reunion (Monday)

  Chapter 27. Jason and Daniel (Tuesday)

  Chapter 28. A Visit from the Legal Team (Wednesday)

  Chapter 29. Nightmares and Uncertainty (Thursday and Friday)

  Chapter 30. Cody Johnson Arrives (That Weekend)

  The Band Tour

  Chapter 31. Going on the Road (The Last Week of May and Early June)

  Chapter 32. Seattle (Thursday and Friday, Late June)

  Chapter 33. Portland (Saturday and Sunday)

  Chapter 34. The Bay Area (Monday Through Thursday)

  Chapter 35. The End of the Tour (Friday Through Monday)

  Chapter 36. The Long Summer (The First of July)

  Chapter 1

  Jason and Daniel

  (Friday Evening)

  Jason Hunter finished uploading the latest information and photos about Daniel Holmes’ band, the Second Chance All Stars onto the Internet. He checked out the new uploads on his web browser software, and then turned to Daniel with a satisfied smile on his face. “These new images and articles will keep building the hype for your upcoming tour, Daniel. Now we need to get the word out to as many people as possible.”

  “That’s not an easy task, as you know, Jason,” Daniel replied. “But I like your efforts on our band website. You really have delivered on your promise to help us get started promoting the band and our upcoming tour.” Daniel and his band mates had been offered a chance to do a six-concert tour in late June as the opening act for The Biloxi Brothers, one of the latest boy bands with a big following among the tween crowd. “Now the trick is to come up with music that meets our standards yet will appeal to hordes of screaming middle school kids!”

  “I will leave that in your capable hands,” Jason answered. “I know you guys have the look; now come up with the sound you want. I know that I like what I have heard from you so far. Now how about some game action? I’d like to do something fun for a while.”

  It was a Friday evening in early April. Daniel was over at Jason’s house to play video games with him, something the two high school juniors used to do a lot more when they were younger. Now the many demands on their time made these opportunities a lot less frequent. Even when they were just getting together for fun, usually some outside business would need to get discussed or dealt with.

  Jason and Daniel had been best friends for the past several years. Their friendship had deepened to the “brother” level due to the amazing adventures that they had experienced as amateur detectives; first to solve the mystery behind Jason’s own kidnapping, and later to help out other teens being pursued by predators, many who were now close friends and members of Daniel’s band. While the cases they worked on were causes for concern, especially for Jason’s parents and his girlfriend, Laura, so far they had come to satisfactory endings, with the teenagers rescued and the criminals taken into custody.

  Jason also had the multimillion dollar resources of the Whatever Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to helping teenaged crime victims in a variety of ways, which Jason had created using an unexpected legacy from his great-grandfather, Winfield Hunter. Having the means to call in a rescue helicopter, outside help, cover medical and counseling expenses, or provide direct aid in the form of clothing, food or housing made a big difference when the two were on a case.

  Another essential part of Jason’s life was basketball. From kindergarten on, sports were an important part of his life, and especially basketball. Ever since Bill Hunter had put up a basketball hoop on the driveway to their house, Jason had spent a lot of time there shooting baskets with his friends or playing various one-on-one games. When Daniel and he were brainstorming or trying to figure out a case, they often would take basketball breaks to recharge their minds and bodies with good physical exercise.

  Encouraged by long-time friend and star athlete, Chauncey Jackson, Jason had tried out for the basketball team at Merriam High School, and to his surprise, he made the varsity squad as a sophomore. This year, the team made it all the way to the regional finals, and in a thrilling finish won the championship. Now considered one of Chauncey’s “A-list” guys, Jason enjoyed playing recreational league games with Chauncey and his other teammates from school during the summer and early fall as a way to keep his skills up and keep in shape. Next season everyone in their school division would be aiming their sights at the Merriam team.

  Friends and family were another important part of Jason’s life. He had a huge network of friends and acquaintances, some whom he had known nearly all of his life. Outgoing and personable, Jason made a point of keeping in contact
with his friends whenever possible.

  An only child, Jason also had a close relationship with his parents. After he was kidnapped, he saw the depth of love that they had for him, and he realized how important family was in his life. The only real times that he and his parents had conflicts revolved around some of the chances and risks Jason took on several of the cases he had been involved with. Jason would try to hide or downplay these risks, which would anger Bill and Edith Hunter when they found out what the total story was. Jason was determined to live his life his way, but understood his parents’ reaction to some of his adventures. So far Jason had been very fortunate that his cases had turned out successfully. He constantly reminded his parents that being able to come home to them was one of the greatest motivations he had when working on a case.

  Daniel’s life primarily revolved around music, singing and playing the guitar, in school groups and now with his band, the Second Chance All Stars. Daniel had shown early talent as a singer, and had participated in school choirs even before he and his parents moved to the Silicon Valley three years ago. When Daniel realized that he wanted to pursue a career as a professional musician, he began studying guitar, so he could accompany himself and have a solid core of musical skills when he formed his first band.

  Like Jason, Daniel had athletic skills. He enjoyed playing basketball, mostly with Jason in their casual one-on-one games in Jason’s driveway or in the communal basketball hoop on the street where Daniel lived. During the school year he would work out at the local Y once a week with Eric Acosta, another close friend and the bass player in Daniel’s band. They would work out in the weight room and then swim in the pool. When it was summer, they would work out several times a week. Daniel’s goal was to keep in shape so he would be fit and look good on stage when he performed.

  So far this had worked out very well for Daniel. He had medium long coal black hair, dark eyes, a slender physique, and a pleasant face. Due to the pleasant and moderate California weather, Daniel, like Jason and most of his friends and acquaintances, lived in tee shirts, shorts, and sneakers for most of the year. In Daniel’s case he would wear black rock band tee shirts, denim shorts, and black canvas high top Chuck Taylor basketball shoes. This was a look he had cultivated since middle school. Jason’s look was Ocean Pacific or surfer company tee shirts, cargo or print shorts, and red high top chucks, his favorite shoe since he was in kindergarten.

  Since Jason had become Daniel’s best friend, a new dimension was added to his life: helping Jason solve crimes like his own kidnapping or go on adventures to rescue other teens from predators or abusive situations. This work had dramatically changed Daniel’s life, making him aware of the dangers outside of his cloistered world of music, and energizing him to help others in their times of crisis. Daniel was the more emotional of the two detectives, and often had visceral, angry reactions to the evil that they would hear about or run into during their cases.

  Since last summer, Jason and Daniel had been going steady with their two long-time girlfriends, Laura Friesen and Diana Miglione. Jason and Laura’s relationship was the more turbulent of the two, because she was very much opposed to Jason taking risks by doing detective work instead of safely remaining on the sidelines.

  Finally, after a long talk with her mother, Laura had come to the realization that she would have to accept that side of Jason if their relationship was truly meant to be. This had resulted in a deepening of their love for each other, and Jason was now even more careful for his and Daniel’s safety when on a case. Diana was not as opposed to Daniel’s adventures with Jason, because she knew that Daniel was the more cautious of the two. Her worries centered on Daniel’s blossoming career as a professional musician. After all, a talented and handsome lead guitarist and singer would be a girl magnet wherever he performed. Luckily, so far Daniel only had eyes for Diana even though she was backing away from the musical side of their relationship. Diana was intent on becoming a professional chef and working for her mother’s catering business.

  In their last cases, as chronicled in Days of Destiny, things had worked out quite smoothly for Jason and Daniel as they helped break up a predatory ring of human traffickers who dealt in illegal immigrants brought over to America to become slaves or long term indentured servants, and had a side business selling young boys and girls when one would somehow get into their clutches. In the process they were able to rescue three young boys who had been kidnapped by the slavers. They also solved a sexting scandal at their high school, and Jason persuaded Captain Garcia of the Silicon Valley police department to set up a successful sting operation to thwart some gamblers who tried to fix the championship basketball game between Merriam and St. Bernadette High Schools.

  Now Jason and Daniel were looking forward to some time off with their upcoming spring break in a week. Their parents had decided to vacation together at a resort in the California Sierra Mountains near the Lake Tahoe area. After their spring break there would just be another six weeks before school was out for the summer, followed by the event of the year, Daniel’s band going on tour at the end of June.

  At the moment, however, their concentration was on their gaming. Life was good for the two friends when that was all they needed to concentrate on.

  Chapter 2

  The Whatever Foundation

  (Monday Afternoon)

  It was four o’clock in the afternoon. The bi-weekly meeting of The Whatever Foundation board of directors was about to begin. Jason liked to have the meeting during the day, if possible, because he understood that the employees and consultants of his foundation had family and other commitments in the evenings. This wasn’t always possible due to school activities, especially during basketball season. During that time of the year, usually there would only be a single monthly meeting. Sometimes Jason laughed about the scheduling. Imagine a multi-million dollar foundation having to schedule around the school activities of a teenager. However, in this case that teenager was the founder and head of the organization.

  Others attending the meeting included Jill Baines, the foundation’s business manager, Henry Foster, the Webmaster, Joe Connor, investigator of claims, Peter Williams, the foundation attorney, and Ruth Fiorre, their publicist. Daniel and Jason’s father, Bill Hunter, were also on the board. Bill was unable to attend today, but Daniel was there, due to the main topic on the agenda. There was a guest in attendance as well, Doris Matthews, from the County Office of Education.

  After some brief pleasantries, the meeting got under way. Melinda Chavez, who was Jill Baines’ executive assistant and note taker for the meetings, briefly reviewed the minutes of the last meeting, which were then approved. Jill Baines then gave a brief report about the financial status of The Whatever Foundation. Then it was time to discuss today’s main topic: How to set up and publicize a safety net type of program for younger teens and tweens where any teenager who feels abused or has a concern about the way they are being treated or wants advice can get involved.

  Henry Foster spoke first. “I think that we should set up a social site for this on the Internet. It could either be a part of our Foundation website, or we could build a new site, or take pages in some of the popular social networking sites already out there. If there were a lot of kids in the community connected to this, it would be easy to get out information or send out alerts if someone involved in the network got into trouble.”

  “It is important that whoever gets involved feels that their association with this network means something.” Joe Connor added. “Yet at the same time, many of the kids who would need this service the most are probably least able to connect. There has to be a way to get to those kids.”

  “I think that the best way to get to a wide spectrum of kids would be to do a series of school assemblies,” Jason said. “Kids like things to be personal, especially when dealing with sensitive subjects. I would like to put together a program that involves not just this message but some fun as well. I think having your band play at these assemblies would pr
ovide that, Daniel. What do you think about that idea?”

  “I’m pretty sure that the other band members would be up for this,” Daniel replied, “especially since they all have had experiences in their lives where a network like you are describing would have been useful.”

  “Maybe we could persuade Eric or Jonathan to talk about that during the assemblies,” Jason went on. “There is nothing like a personal testimonial.”

  “When it comes to personal testimonials, there is no one better suited for that than you are Jason,” Daniel stated. “I think you should speak at these assemblies about some of your experiences fighting predators, and I think that this program should be called Jason’s Network. If the kids feel that they are personally relating to you, then they are more likely to participate.”

  “There would be no problem sponsoring these assemblies,” Jill Baines said. “It sounds like there would be very little out of pocket expenses, mostly travel and perhaps sound. It would make sense to have back-to-back assemblies at a large venue and then bus in kids from smaller schools. What do you think the possibilities of scheduling these assemblies would be, Doris?”

  “We can help get the message out to all the middle and high schools in the county. Of course, the administration at each school has the option of whether or not to attend. But if there were three or four concentrated dates to work with, and the auditoriums or assembly places were convenient to get to, I believe the logistics could be worked out. However, the costs of busing would be an issue, with our limited school budgets these days.”

  “This is an area where the foundation can help,” Jill responded. “If you can give me an idea of the typical costs for busing, we can probably budget for most or all of the costs.”

  “It would probably be best to schedule the assemblies at high school auditoriums,” Doris continued. “Then you wouldn’t have the cost of busing those students at all. The other performance at each location would be the one where middle school kids were bused in.”