Days of Destiny

by Aiden Vaughan

  “They both wore dark clothing and black boots. They were tall and mean looking, clearly in shape with large biceps. The man who hired me was definitely Chinese in appearance, with short, cropped black hair and oriental facial features. The other man looked — I don’t know how to exactly describe it — he actually looked to me like a native American Indian, Navaho or even Aztec. His skin was very tanned and his face was covered with pock marks. He also had short dark hair. I’m not sure what nationality he was, he hardly spoke a word.”

  “Is it possible he was Mongolian?” Jason followed up.

  “Maybe,” Robbie answered. “I’m not really sure.”

  “Continue telling us what happened, Robbie,” Jason encouraged.

  “Then the worst part began,” Robbie went on with his story. “The man who had hired me came down to the basement, opened the utility room door and stared at me with this big, stupid grin. ‘Hey, boy,’ he said. ‘We are going to have a good time together.’ The man began touching and fondling me. I began to yell for help, and told the man to leave me alone. The man slapped me, told me to shut up, and then taped my mouth shut with duct tape.

  “An hour or so later, the man came down to the utility room, pulled off my gag, and cut the tape binding my wrists and ankles. He then took me upstairs to the kitchen, let me use the bathroom, and had me sit down at the kitchen table. I was served a small plate of rice and vegetables and given a glass of water to drink.”

  “Did you see anyone else upstairs?” Jason asked.

  “Just one other person, who I guess was a servant of some sort. She refused to even look at me, maybe ashamed at what was happening to me.”

  “Can you describe the woman?” Daniel asked.

  “Not really,” Robbie replied. “I could see that she was oriental, probably Chinese, and the man spoke to her in what sounded like Chinese.

  “After I finished eating the food, my real horror began. The other man came into the kitchen and the two of them led me back down into the basement. The men made me strip naked and then they both took turns molesting me. They threatened to beat me up if I made a sound. After they were finished, they told me to put on my underwear. Then they bound my wrists and ankles with the tape, taped my mouth shut, and threw a blanket over me. I huddled under the blanket shaking with fear as tears of shame came out of my eyes.”

  “My God, what bastards those men are! I’d like to get at least six other guys, take baseball bats, and do some batting practice on them!” Daniel remarked in a low, angry voice.

  “I am so sorry for what was done to you, Robbie,” Jason said with compassion in his voice. “There is nothing more humiliating for a kid than being abused by a predator.”

  “The worst part was yet to come,” Robbie went on. “That man came back a couple of hours later. Again he had that evil grin on his face. This time he started out by being nice to me. He pulled off my gag and gave me sips from a bottle of water. Then he told me that I would be going away, adopted by another man who wanted me to live with him. Apparently when I was working in the yard, the man was videotaping me. He sent the video file to several contacts he had, and auctioned me off to the highest bidder.

  “When I protested this and said I wanted to return to my mother, the man laughed at me and asked me why I would want to go back to living on the street when I could live in a nice home. When I told him that I didn’t want to live with some pervert molesting me all the time, the man’s response was to re-tape my mouth, slam the door shut and lock it. The water in the bottle was drugged because I passed out soon after that. I was not even aware that the men decided to abandon the house with their other slaves. I guess in all of the commotion I was forgotten. Instead I remained bound and gagged in that closet until you two found me.”

  “And that explains why you never made any sound when the SWAT team invaded the house earlier this morning,” Jason said. “Despite all you went through, Robbie, luck finally came down on your side. Most likely those men will come back to search for you later. As soon as we finish eating, we will get you out of this area entirely. We also need to let Captain Garcia of the Silicon Valley Police know that we found you, so he can have someone watch the house. You will need to make a police report and since you saw the two men first hand, I know they will want to have you assist a police artist in making sketches of them. Then of course there is your mom, who must be going nuts with worry about you!”

  “I think that there might be a couple more reasons why Robbie was both drugged and left there bound and gagged,” Daniel suggested. “He probably was left there so the predator who ‘purchased’ him could pick him up at the house, similar to what they did with Jian-heng. Also I think that they didn’t want Robbie to know that they were abandoning the house. If you knew that, Robbie, wouldn’t you struggle more to escape? I think you were left tied up because they hadn’t collected the money yet. Most likely the drug would wear off before the money was going to be exchanged and those men revealed your location to the purchaser.”

  “Wow,” Robbie exclaimed. “I guess I did get lucky there at the end! But it still gives me the creeps just thinking about it and what they did to me.”

  “Don’t worry about a thing, Robbie,” Daniel said in a reassuring voice. “You are safe now and we will shortly return you to your mother.”

  “But first we need to do a little shopping,” Jason said, changing the subject.

  “Shopping?” Robbie asked. “What do you mean?”

  Jason took a few minutes to explain about his Whatever Foundation, and that one of their main goals was to help out young crime victims. “That certainly applies in your case, Robbie. What those bastards did to you was very mean and cruel, luring you off of the streets to become a sexual slave for some pervert! Now you need a chance to get your life back together. One of the first things we always do is buy our young crime victims a new set of clothing and shoes. It’s like you are shedding your old life and putting on a new one. We are going to get you cleaned up, groomed, and reunite you with your mother looking sharp!”

  “Thanks, guys, that all sounds great,” Robbie said hanging his head again, “but where am I going to put all of those clothes? We are living out of the back seat of Mom’s car!”

  “That is going to end also, as of today!” Jason pronounced. “The foundation will lease an apartment for the two of you for a year. We will stock it with food, supplies, cooking utensils, and get you any furniture you will need. That way, you will have a safe place to live, it will be possible for you to concentrate on your schoolwork, have time for playing sports and being with your friends, and your mom will have a chance to get back on her feet. When that is accomplished, then she can cover the rent.”

  “You can do all of that for us?” Robbie said not quite believing what he was hearing.

  “Not only can we do it, we want to do it!” Jason answered with a big smile.

  “I don’t know what to say,” Robbie replied.

  “You don’t have to say anything,” Daniel interjected. “I know all of this must seem quite overwhelming to you, but it is real. It’s time that you got a few breaks in your life, Robbie. You have been dealt some pretty hard blows lately. Whenever we hear about a kid like you, who has been treated harshly or abused by predators, we want to help out!”

  “It’s hard to believe that this is real,” Robbie continued. “Usually when I would see a couple of older teenagers coming up to me or my mom, it was to attack us or rip us off.”

  “Not everyone is mean or a criminal, Robbie!” Jason said. “You need to get used to that side of life again. That’s why it is so important to get you off of the streets and into a home where you can feel safe and establish some roots to your life again.”

  “Then all I can say is thank you. Thank you for rescuing me and thank you for offering me and my mom a helping hand. You can be sure that some day, I will pay you back for all you are doing for me!”

  “The only payback I would ever want from you or anyone else I he
lped,” Jason stated, “is that someday you will do the same thing for another person in trouble or in need. The satisfaction you will get from that will be immense and you will be sharing the wealth, so to speak.”

  Jason paid the cashier for their breakfast and then he went into action. He got on his cell phone and began making calls, first to his mom, who had the day off from work, to let her know about Robbie and that they would be bringing him over to their house for cleanup. Jason handed the keys to his Explorer to Daniel and asked him to drive them home so that he could continue to make calls. He then called Captain Garcia to tell him about finding Robbie in the basement of the house, what had happened to him, that he and his mom were homeless and had no telephone, and what the foundation was going to do about their situation. Captain Garcia agreed to meet them at Jason’s house in a couple of hours.

  Jason next called Laura and asked her if she would go shopping with him to get new clothing for Robbie. He called the foundation offices and had them do an apartment search for the Nelsons. He then called Dr. Cartwright’s office to schedule an examination for Robbie. Luckily they were able to squeeze him into the day’s schedule at 3:30. Finally he called Dr. Agoura to see about counseling services for Robbie. Robbie watched in amazement while all of this was going on. After making these calls, Jason asked Robbie if he knew where his mother was right now.

  “Normally I wouldn’t necessarily know,” Robbie answered, “because she could be out scouting for shelter for us, or trying to get food, or taking care of things like laundry. But today I am pretty sure that she is working at the hardware store. She mentioned that she got lucky this week and was given three shifts to work. Today she was supposed to work a morning shift from seven to three. Although I am sure she is worried about me, she couldn’t afford to miss a chance at some income! And sometimes I am able to spend the night with one of my friends, so she might have figured that I was there since we have the week off from school.”

  “That’s a relief that we have a pretty good idea where she is,” Jason replied. “Captain Garcia should be the one to initially contact her and tell her what happened, since he has the authority to get her off work without putting her job in jeopardy. But first we need to take care of some of your needs, Robbie.”

  A few minutes later, Daniel pulled the Explorer up into the Hunter’s driveway. Jason brought Robbie inside and introduced him to his mother, while Daniel hurried home to retrieve the adhesive remover. He had noticed patches of stickum on Robbie’s wrists and face. He still had some left from their intervention with Eric Acosta two summers ago.

  Edith Hunter smiled at Robbie after they were introduced and asked, “What can I do to help?”

  “Mom,” Jason began, “Robbie needs a complete clean up, shower and shampoo. There is some stickum on him that Daniel will help remove, but what he really needs is one of your mom emergency haircuts, like you do for me occasionally. Also we need to measure him for sizes so Laura and I can get him a set of new clothing.”

  “No problem doing all of that,” Edith said in a cheerful voice. “Let’s start by measuring Robbie for sizes. Then I will take him to the bathroom to get started cleaning up. When that is finished, I will give him a trim. Is that okay with you, Robbie?”

  “Sure,” Robbie answered. “Lead the way. I’m still in a daze from all that has happened to me in the last day.”

  Instinctively, Edith came up to Robbie and gave him a hug. “I know from what Jason has told me that you have had a rough time lately. But don’t worry, good things are going to happen to you now. You can count on Jason!” Edith then got out a cloth measuring tape from her sewing kit and began to size up Robbie. After measuring his waist size, inseam, and figuring out his shirt size, she had him remove his shoes so they could get his foot size.

  “My foundation has a giveaway program for pairs of Converse sneakers like Daniel and I wear,” Jason explained. “I’m sure I have a new pair in your size. Would you like black, white, red or navy blue in either high top or low cut?”

  “I have always wanted a pair of high top basketball shoes like you guys are wearing,” Robbie replied, “but lately we could never afford them. If I have a choice, I would like black high tops like your friend Daniel is wearing.”

  “That’s easy enough to do,” Jason said enthusiastically. “I’ll go get you a pair while you get started on clean up. Then my girlfriend, Laura, and I will go get you some new clothing to put on!”

  Edith took Robbie upstairs to the bathroom while Jason went to the garage to get a pair of size 9 black high top chucks. A few minutes later Daniel returned with the stickum remover. Jason sent him upstairs to help Robbie out. The doorbell rang again, and Laura was there. Jason gave her a hug and a kiss. “Are you ready to do some more shopping, babe?”

  “You bet, Jason!” she replied. “There are some great sales on today. I’m sure I can save your foundation some money!”

  “Lead the way! I have Robbie’s sizes so we are all ready to go!”

  About ninety minutes later, they returned with four large bags of clothing. “I sure hope Robbie likes what we picked out for him,” Laura said, as she was getting ready to leave.

  “I’m sure he will, babe. After all you have such great taste and fashion sense. You proved that by picking me out for your boy friend!”

  “Well, number one boy friend, don’t forget our date to go to the movies tonight!”

  “You know I wouldn’t miss a chance to sit in the dark and hold hands with you,” Jason said with a laugh. “I’ll pick you up around six-thirty.”

  Jason then bolted up the stairs with a bag of clothing and the new pair of sneakers for Robbie. When he arrived at the bathroom door, Robbie was sitting on a stool with a towel wrapped around his waist. Edith Hunter was just finishing trimming his hair. Daniel was seated on the edge of the bathtub making small talk.

  “Wow, you look great, Robbie! All clean and no sign of stickum anywhere! The Edith Hunter makeover service is in full swing. Great job on the hair, Mom! Daniel, I think music is the wrong calling for you. You should set up a stickum removal service, maybe convert another room at your house.”

  “Sorry, the stickum remover is all gone, so I am retiring from that business as of today, Jason,” Daniel replied, shaking his head at Jason’s lame joke. “Maybe you could take it over since you are so good at getting people out of jams.”

  Ignoring Daniel, Jason said, “Robbie, Laura and I got you a complete set of new clothing — tee shirts, long sleeved shirts, shorts, jeans, hoodies, sweatshirts, a new jacket, underwear, pajamas, socks, the works! Plus a new backpack, duffle bag, and bathroom tote with personal supplies like deodorant and toothpaste. You are all set, my friend! Laura told me you should wear this combination today when you are reunited with your mom.” Jason handed Robbie a stack of clothing. “And the final touch, a brand new pair of black high top Chuck Taylor shoes, all laced up and ready to put on your feet. Definitely you will look like one cool dude!” After handing the shoes to Robbie, he said to his mom and Daniel, “Now let’s get out of here and let Robbie get dressed!”

  The Hunters and Daniel went downstairs to the kitchen and got soft drinks. Then they packed the remaining clothing into the duffle bag and backpack. About ten minutes later, Robbie came downstairs wearing his new outfit. He had a huge smile on his face because he did look great. The chocolate colored tee shirt and blue plaid long sleeved shirt combination that Laura had picked out brought out the dark brown coloration of his eyes and hair perfectly. Combining that with his new jeans and chucks, Robbie looked like a model in a newspaper supplement ad.

  “I see someone around here is dressed for success!” Mrs. Hunter said complimenting Robbie.

  “I can’t believe you spent all this money on me!” Robbie said still in disbelief after examining the rest of his new wardrobe. “There must be four or five hundred dollars worth of clothing here!”

  Jason smiled at him and answered, “A small investment that will yield big dividends
, Robbie. I expect we will hear great things about you in the future!”

  The three boys sat around the kitchen table sipping drinks and talking with Edith Hunter. The front doorbell rang, and she went to answer it. A minute later she brought Captain Garcia into the kitchen.

  “Hello, Jason and Daniel,” Garcia said shaking their hands.

  “And this is Robbie Nelson, Captain,” Jason said in introduction.

  Captain Garcia shook his hand and said, “I am so sorry for what was done to you, Robbie. What those predators did to you was particularly brazen and upsetting, taking advantage of a young kid’s need to earn a little extra money for their evil purposes. People like that need to be arrested and put into prison for very long sentences. You can be sure that I am going to put our task force on this case immediately and pursue it until we find them! Our police officers become very angry when they hear about kids in our community being abused in the way you were!

  “But first things first. Our next step is to take you over to the hardware store where your mother is working today. I have already talked to the store manager, and he has set aside their conference room for your reunion. I will meet with your mother alone first, to update her on what has happened to you. That way you won’t have to relive all the details until we take your formal statement later this afternoon. Then I will bring you into the room, and you will have as much time as you need in privacy before we bring you downtown to the police station. Let’s go there now. I want you three boys to follow me, and I will call Jason on his cell when it is time for you to come in for the reunion.”

  Soon the three boys were following Captain Garcia to the hardware store. They had packed all of Robbie’s new things into the back of Jason’s Explorer. After arriving at the store and parking, the boys waited inside the Explorer while Captain Garcia had his meeting with Robbie’s mother, Camille. While they were waiting, Jason called the Whatever Foundation office to see what they were able to accomplish so far.

  “Good news!” Jason said after ending his call. “They have found an apartment for you that is six blocks from your school, and about a mile and a half from this store. A renewable year’s lease has been signed, and the apartment will be available for you to move in starting tomorrow. A furniture company has been contracted to provide you with the basic furniture you will need. Tomorrow you and your mom will be able to pick out what you need, and they will deliver it later that day. They have purchased a dozen gift cards good at local supermarkets, and arranged for your mom’s car to be completely serviced and professionally cleaned. Tonight they have reservations for you at a local motel near your new apartment. Don’t worry about any of the costs. My foundation is covering everything. Right now you need to concentrate on recovering from that vicious attack on you, and getting your family life back to normal.”