Lately, stories about Jason’s Network were appearing on the news. To Roland and Walter, this was like rubbing salt into an old wound. They were incensed by the reports on the news and Internet that praised Jason and his Whatever Foundation. More than anything, Roland wanted to get revenge on Jason for exposing their Camp Chinquapin operation to the authorities. Gradually Roland became obsessed with this idea. But he was in a maximum security prison, with no chance of release for a very long time. Then one day he realized that there was a way to get revenge.
Roland Thomason came from a wealthy family, and had built up his personal assets prior to his arrest. Although his defense cost some money, he still had quite a lot left in investments and cash accounts. Even in prison, having money to spend could get you a lot of extra privileges. Roland decided to start using his money aggressively to develop his plan for revenge. The plan started by paying for a lot of extra time to use the computers in the legal library. He spent a lot of time learning everything he could about Jason Hunter.
From time to time, Roland would meet with Walter Gaither in the prison yard to discuss his ideas. It wouldn’t be enough to just kill Jason; in the long run he would be seen as a martyr for his cause. Additionally, Roland and Walter would immediately become possible suspects, even though confined to prison. The only persons with a motive to kill a teenager like Jason would be people that he helped to put in prison through his detective work. The plot against Jason needed to be a lot more nefarious: Jason had to be disgraced somehow, so that the general public would no longer think of him as a hero doing good works, but rather as someone who abused the public trust. That part of the plot would be a lot more difficult to execute.
Roland didn’t want Jason’s death to be easy or simple, a gunshot or two from a hit man. He wanted Jason to suffer an agonizing death, slow torture captured on videotape that he could watch and enjoy later. This meant that the plot needed to include kidnapping Jason somehow, and that wouldn’t be easy to do. After all, his research showed that Jason had already gone through a kidnapping, had rescued other kidnapped teens, and was a lot more prepared to deal with criminal behavior than most teenagers his age. Another thing that made Jason a difficult target was the fact that he had access to great wealth through his Whatever Foundation. It was because of those resources that Jason was able to take down Camp Chinquapin in a professionally executed operation totally unexpected from a teenager.
After much thinking and discussion about it with Walter, Roland hit on a plan that would disgrace Jason. He would make Jason’s kidnapping and death look like a drug deal gone bad. To reinforce this idea, a couple of patsies from the drug underworld, basically low level dealers who were older teenagers close in age to Jason, would also be found dead at the scene. The scene would be set to make it look like Jason was tortured for reneging on a drug deal or payment by the two drug dealers, but somehow escaped, and at the end everyone shot each other. Before Jason was killed, he would be injected with heroin or cocaine so that the autopsy would reveal drugs in his system. And when Jason’s body was found, the authorities would find drugs, weapons, cash, and drug paraphernalia.
The final piece in Roland’s plot was figuring out a way to get Jason alone and away from his friends. Kidnapping him would be very difficult to complete without some cooperation or compliance from Jason. Where was Jason most vulnerable? What could be done to force his cooperation? Roland thought about this for a long time. Then the solution hit him. The best way to get to Jason would be to kidnap his steady girlfriend Laura, and threaten to kill her. Then Jason would be presented with a terrible ultimatum — to save Laura’s life, Jason will have to exchange himself for her to be released.
As he sat in his prison cell, Roland Thomason smiled as he thought about his nefarious plan being executed on an unsuspecting Jason Hunter. Revenge would be sweet indeed.
Now the question was who could Roland get to execute this plan? Finding someone who was capable of kidnapping, torture, and murder and setting up a crime scene that would pass muster with the authorities was not something he could find in the telephone book or on the Internet. Luckily, Roland didn’t have to look farther than his own family.
Roland had a younger brother, Brice Thomason, who had dabbled in borderline criminal activity but had never been successful or acquired any serious money. Brice had been in and out of custody with the youth authority, and later county prison for a laundry list of minor crimes. Brice had sociopath tendencies that made him untrustworthy in the business world but perfect for a criminal career. While Roland was running Camp Chinquapin, he deliberately stayed away from Brice, as association with his teenaged younger brother would only result in bad publicity for the camp operation.
Now Brice was older, in his early twenties, and his sociopath tendencies made him perfect for an operation where murder, torture, and kidnapping were all part of the mix. While Roland was not sure exactly what motivated Brice, he knew that the chance to earn a lot of money would have great appeal to his younger brother. Through his attorney, Roland contacted Brice, and arranged for him to visit Roland on the next visiting day.
At their meeting, Roland couldn’t discuss the actual operation he had in mind, due to fears of having their conversation overheard or recorded. Instead, Roland stressed how he had confidence in Brice, and wanted to help him become wealthy and successful. “Your talents are exactly what I need right now in the outside world. I need a tough, take-charge person, willing to do what has to be done when the time comes. To be successful, you need to use your street smarts and not allow anyone or anything to get in your way.” Roland looked at Brice eye to eye and asked, “Are you capable of this kind of leadership? Is this something you would like to do?”
Brice looked back at his older brother, smiled, and replied, “If you mean will I let someone else get in the way of what needs to be done, the answer is ‘no’. And I have no problem keeping others in line, if that is what the job requires.”
Roland returned the smile and replied: “Good. You will be contacted with specifics shortly. In the short term, there are a number of things you can do to start getting prepared. If you are willing, a large deposit will be placed in a bank account for you to begin.”
Somewhat surprised and flattered by Roland’s sudden attention, Brice readily agreed to work for his older brother. Roland then told him that he would receive a coded document with specific instructions about what he would be doing. “You will need a partner to work with,” Roland continued, “someone you can trust and who is capable of assisting you to do what has to be done. Do you have someone in mind that could fulfill that role?”
Brice thought about it for a minute. “I think I know just the person. His name is Derrick Hurtado. He works at the meat processing plant in town. He is very strong, enjoys his job, and isn’t the type to ask a lot of questions.”
It sounds like Derrick isn’t squeamish at all, but can he be trusted?” Roland asked.
“I don’t think that will be a problem if he is paid well for his services,” Brice replied. “I’ve seen him fight in bars and on other occasions. It didn’t appear to me that thinking about what would happen later was an issue for Derrick. Most people in town are afraid of him, and give him a wide berth when they see him out and about.”
“All I can say is be careful who you pick to work with you. Your life may depend on it!” Roland said in an urgent whisper, so as not to attract the nearby guard’s attention.
Later that week, Brice received the coded letter with directions for what he wanted done to Jason Hunter. At the same time, a down payment of $25,000 in cash was given to him in a brief case. Brice was told he would receive an additional $100,000 when the deed was done. Out of that money he had to pay Derrick or whoever else he involved in the plot against Jason. Brice hoped that he could get Derrick’s services for $25,000. Even if he had to pay him a little more, he still would have more money than he had ever seen or earned in his life.
Brice smiled to himself as
he thought about what he had to do. It should be a fairly simple matter to take out some teenagers. In the meantime, he had used some of the money he already had to buy weapons, outfit a vehicle with phony license plates, start building up a business relationship with two local drug dealers in the small town where he lived, and scout for a location to take Jason and later the two dealers. Derrick had not expressed a single reservation about these plans. Brice figured that $25,000 for a couple days work beat what Derrick made at the meat packing plant by a large margin. He sensed that Derrick would enjoy the work they were about to do.
Chapter 19
Laura Goes Missing
(Saturday and the Week Before)
Now that Brice had most of the equipment that he would need, it was time to start scouting around the Silicon Valley for a location where the plot against Jason could be carried out. Time was a critical factor in the operation. Brice knew that the longer he was exposed to the outside world driving around or on the move somehow, the greater his chances of being observed or caught by the authorities. Once the word was out that Jason Hunter was kidnapped again, there would be a huge response from the police and the FBI. Brice wanted to find a location nearby where the exchange for Laura would take place. He needed a place that was isolated and preferably underground, a place where gunshots or Jason’s screams of agony would not be heard.
In this part of his mission, Brice received a tremendous break. Marlowe Moore, one of his neighbors in the small valley town where the Thomason family lived was a water management engineer, now long retired, who used to work for the Silicon Valley water company. When that area was originally settled, no one had any idea that this beautiful agricultural area would end up being a high tech center with millions of residents. His neighbor had often talked about how the old system of cisterns and underground storage tanks had to be modernized when the first of a series of growth spurts changed the focus and needs of the Silicon Valley.
Now a widower and in his late seventies, Marlowe didn’t have much going on in his life any more. When Brice came over one evening with a six pack of beer and the desire to listen, it didn’t take long for Marlowe to begin rambling on about the old days and the work he did for the water company. Brice expressed an eager interest in the subject and soon Marlowe found some old blueprints of some of the conversions. Not used to a lot of drinking, Marlowe eventually passed out. But before he nodded off, a couple of the conversions he had described when he was lucid sounded perfect for Brice’s needs.
Brice got out a digital camera and began taking photos of the blueprint schematics. There were several potential places in the Silicon Valley that might suit his needs. With the photos, he could study them in his leisure. After taking the photos, he put the plans back where Marlowe had left them. Brice then returned home.
After studying the plans, Brice found the perfect locations to use, at least on paper. When describing his work, Marlowe had mentioned that in the Blossom Ridge area of the Silicon Valley, there used to be businesses that did light manufacturing. The businesses were long gone, but the infrastructure from the old water systems was still in place. When the new water systems were put in place, the water company saved money by separating the old facility, which had filtering and processing controls from an adjacent underground storage cistern that was now too small and leaky for modern needs. In the revised plans, the cistern didn’t even appear on the blueprints. Now the main concern was whether he could gain access to these old facilities, and how isolated they were from populated areas nearby.
Brice drove to the Silicon Valley with his copies of the blueprints and located them at the end of San Anselmo Avenue. The buildings were deserted in this area. Brice quickly found the abandoned water company building. It didn’t take him long to break in. After searching through the building, he could see that it would meet his needs for the initial part of the operation, where he would take Laura after kidnapping her, and exchange her for Jason. The back of the building had an exit and pathway that led to the new water channels and culverts about 50 feet away.
Now the trick was to find the old abandoned cistern. Brice could not find it or any access to it in the old industrial park area. But he knew that it had to be there somewhere. He walked down San Anselmo Avenue past the end of the industrial area which was bordered by an eight foot tall cement brick fence. There was about a half block of greenery, trees, bushes, and tall weeds before the residential neighborhood began. Slowly and painstakingly Brice searched through the foliage. Finally his efforts paid off. At the edge of the fence, about thirty feet in from the street was some sort of hatch, with a twist off valve cover like you would see on a submarine. It was locked with chains and an old padlock which Brice cut off. The rusty cover at first wouldn’t budge, but eventually it opened.
Brice shined a flashlight inside, after he opened the hatch. Inside was a ramp that went to the bottom of the cistern, which was dry inside. Carefully Brice made his way down the ramp. There wasn’t much inside it except for some debris and dirt. The cistern was made of solid metal and had a diameter of about ninety feet, and was at least thirty feet tall. Brice had found his perfect location.
Brice spent the next few days preparing the cistern for his use. He cleared out the area by the hatch, placing the cuttings into the undergrowth to block a casual view of the cleared out entrance. He oiled the hatch so that it would easily open and close. Brice did this work during daylight.
After that he did most of his supply work at night, so that he wouldn’t be seen or have his vehicle noticed. He brought in all kinds of camping equipment, batteries, and lights. Brice brought in food, water, and a small portable toilet. He brought in a video camera, tripod, and tapes. He installed metal fittings into the wall that he could use to restrain Jason. The Thomason’s nefarious plot against Jason Hunter was well under way.
After setting up the location for his act of revenge against Jason Hunter, Brice Thomason now began to concentrate on the second part of his plan: grabbing Jason’s girlfriend, Laura Friesen, so that he could force Jason to give himself up in exchange for Laura. It didn’t take Brice very long to find out where the Friesen family lived. He spent over a week in surveillance, watching her house and tracking her movements away from home.
His older brother Roland had advised him against trying to kidnap Laura on a school day, because her absence would most likely be immediately reported to her parents. Although his plan only involved keeping her captive for a relatively short time, if the word was out quickly that she was missing, it would make the exchange harder to execute, and the police could be on it right away.
After watching her activities, Brice discovered that Saturday was probably the best day to grab Laura. She was out often on her own running errands, having her hair done, or shopping. She would often spend part of that day or evening with Jason, which Brice considered to be a good thing. He wanted Jason to be focused on his girlfriend, so that when she called him for help, he would not hesitate to respond.
Now the trick was to figure out how he could get to her, and take her hostage. This wasn’t that easy, even though he and Derrick were much bigger and stronger than she was. Laura was physically fit from all of the swimming that she did on a regular basis. Most likely she would have had instruction on how to resist attackers; this was pretty commonplace in schools these days. By the look of her house and large swimming pool Brice could tell that her parents were well off financially, and most likely would have warned her to stay on guard when strangers were around.
Brice decided that the best way to get to Laura was to do something that would completely take her off guard for a few minutes, and that their response had to be immediate. A home invasion was too risky; the best place to grab Laura would be away from her house where she would no longer be in her comfort zone. Brice would still be taking a huge chance because they would have to grab her in broad daylight, where it would be a lot more likely that someone might notice what was going on and call 911. But that was a chan
ce they would have to take. A girl like Laura would seldom be out at night unaccompanied.
Brice did come up with a very good plan, however. He would wait until Laura was out running an errand on her own. No matter where she would be going, to get to the main through street next to her neighborhood, she would have to turn onto a short half block access road that intersected the main street. It was tree lined and there were bushes along the sidewalks where Derrick could hide. When she pulled out of her driveway, Brice would call Derrick on his cell phone to get ready. As her car turned onto the short access road, Derrick would shoot out her front tire with a silenced gun.
Dealing with a flat tire would most likely be something that Laura had never done before. Her concerns about what to do would most likely put her off guard against Brice who would be right behind her and stop to help. Brice would point out to her that some sort of road hazard destroyed her tire. After he had her kneel down to look at it, they would strike. Derrick would come out of the bushes and put a gun to her head. Hopefully no one would notice the two of them forcing Laura into the back seat of Brice’s car.
* * * * *
The next Saturday was the day that all of Brice’s plans went into action. He dropped off Derrick to hide in the bushes on the access road. He was waiting in his car, an older, black four-door Dodge sedan, a few houses down from the Friesen’s house. The houses on the Friesen’s block were on large lots, with front yard fences, so cars on the street weren’t as noticeable as they might be in other parts of the Silicon Valley. A little before 9:30, the Friesen’s garage door opened and out came Laura, driving her bright blue compact sedan. Brice got on his cell phone. “Showtime! She’s in a blue Toyota sedan,” is all he said to Derrick. He then started up his car to follow Laura.
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