Days of Destiny

by Aiden Vaughan

  After the cameras stopped rolling, Jason asked Jaime, “Where on earth did you come up with that name for me?”

  “It came to me when I was thinking about this case and many of your past cases. It seems you are always after some evil predator preying on teens and somehow you always get them caught and put behind bars. Plus it is sort of a catchy name, don’t you think?”

  “I don’t know, Jaime. I think my friends are going to really razz me about that name.”

  It was after four o’clock when Jason left the studio. He was supposed to be at Laura’s house around six for her party. Since he was downtown, and near the main public library, Jason decided to go to the library to do some research work he had to do for a term paper due by the end of next week. By getting the work done now, he wouldn’t have to go there on Saturday.

  Jason finished his research around 5:45 and then drove over to Laura’s house. He was really looking forward to the party. There had been buzz all over the school among Jason’s friends about the party. After his interview with Jaime, Jason was feeling real good about himself and what he and Daniel had accomplished lately, solving the cases and Daniel’s band getting its first big-time offer for a concert tour. Now it was time to celebrate!

  When he arrived at Laura’s house, everything seemed strangely quiet. Usually when there was a party there would be cars parked all around, and all of their lights would be on. Maybe I am early, Jason thought to himself. In that case I can spend some time alone with Laura. That could be fun.

  Jason parked his Explorer, got out and walked up to the Friesen’s front door. He rang the bell and a minute later, Laura opened the front door.

  “Hi, babe,” Jason said. “I guess I am early for your party.”

  Laura looked at him with a sad expression on her face. “I’m sorry, Jason, but there is no party tonight.”

  Surprised at her statement, Jason asked, “Why not? I have heard nothing but talk about it all day at school.”

  “My parents have grounded me for two weeks and cancelled the party tonight as part of their punishment,” she replied glumly.

  “Why were you grounded, Laura?” Jason asked with concern in his voice.

  “I’m so ashamed,” she replied. “My parents caught me copying a friend’s homework and became very angry with me for cheating. Now I have to stay home for two weeks and do nothing but extra homework assignments.”

  “Laura, that doesn’t seem like you. I know you are smart enough to do the work on your own!”

  “That’s one of the reasons why they are so mad at me. I just got lazy and tried to take a shortcut. Unfortunately my mom heard me talking about it on the phone and caught me with my friend’s paper as I was copying it. Instead of having fun tonight I am stuck here grounded.”

  “I’m really sorry, too, Laura. I was looking forward to this evening with you and my friends. And now I guess that means I won’t get to see much of you at all for the next couple of weeks.”

  “Yeah, Jason,” Laura said. “I have to come right home after school. No socializing with you is part of being grounded.”

  Jason held her hand and gave her a little kiss. “I will miss being with you, babe, but eventually the two weeks will end. Then we will go out and have a good time to make up for those two weeks!”

  “Goodbye, Jason,” Laura said. There was a little tear in her eye as she closed the door.

  Jason turned to leave and went back to his Explorer. Although the party was cancelled, he knew that most of his friends were planning to go, so they would be available to do something tonight. Jason called Daniel on his cell phone.

  “Hey, Daniel,” Jason said when his friend answered, “did you hear that the party at Laura’s house has been cancelled?”

  When Daniel said he had, Jason suggested, “Let’s do something ourselves then tonight. There still is a lot to celebrate!”

  “Sorry, Jason,” Daniel replied, “but I have more bad news. The promoters who sent me the tour contract called me today to cancel it. They said one of their agents sent it out by mistake!”

  “No, that can’t be!” Jason said. “You guys are really good and deserve this break. I’ll come over right now and we can talk about it!”

  “No, that’s not a good idea, Jason. I want to be alone to consider all of the things that they told me. It was some pretty serious stuff and they told me that all kinds of changes have to be made if the band is ever to succeed.”

  “What do you mean, changes?” Jason asked. “You guys are awesome! Everyone that has heard you says so!”

  “From what the promoters told me, I guess we will have to get professional promotion and a whole new design for our website. Sorry to tell you that, Jason. Now I have to go,” Daniel said, ending the call.

  What Daniel said really hurt Jason’s feelings because it sounded like he was being fired from what he had been doing for the band. What a shitty day this is turning out to be, Jason thought as he closed his cell phone.

  Chapter 36

  April Fools!

  (April 1)

  Avery dejected Jason got into his Explorer and drove back to his house. When he arrived he looked to see if his parents were home, but there only were one or two lights on inside the house. Jason unlocked the front door and walked inside. “Mom, Dad!” he called out. “Is anybody home?” Hearing no response, he went into the living room on the way to the kitchen to see if his mom had left a note for him like she often did when she had to go out. There were no messages on his cell phone when he had called Daniel.

  As Jason walked through the living room, suddenly the lights all came on. “Surprise! Surprise! April Fools!” he heard. Hiding in the living room were his parents, Edith and Bill Hunter, Daniel, and his parents Melinda and Gary Holmes.

  Startled, Jason asked, “What’s going on?”

  “April Fools! Jason,” Bill Hunter said. “The party is still on. It’s just not at Laura’s house.”

  “Yeah, I knew that. She just told me that she is grounded for two weeks!”

  “None of the bad news you have been hearing is true, honey,” Edith Hunter said coming over to her son. “She’s not grounded. We wanted the surprise party to be extra good, hence all the fake bad news. I’m afraid that your friends set you up pretty good!”

  “You mean all of that stuff about the band losing their contract and the website being no good is phony, Daniel?”

  “Phony as a three dollar bill, Jason!” Daniel said. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings by what I said. What you have been doing for the band is fantastic! Don’t change a thing!”

  Edith then hugged Jason. “Your father and I are very proud of you for the way you handled everything on your last few cases without putting yourself or your friends in danger.”

  “It was a little close when we rescued Brandon,” Jason said, “but I had already been in contact with Captain Garcia and the FBI.”

  “When we started to plan this party, the guest list just spiraled out of control,” Edith said, “because so many people wanted to be there. That size of a crowd was too big to have at someone’s house, so we decided to have it at the Rotary Club hall, which has room to hold the over one hundred guests coming. Joe Connor was able to get the room for us and your foundation paid the rental fee. So that’s why it isn’t at Laura’s house or here.”

  “One hundred people!” Jason exclaimed. “I didn’t realize I even knew a hundred people.”

  “Trust me when I say that you do,” Edith went on, “and they all wanted to be there tonight! It will be a fabulous party. Daniel’s band is going to perform, and Louisa Miglione is doing the catering.”

  “All this for me?” Jason said with a big smile on his face. “Awesome!”

  When Jason arrived at the party with his parents, everyone present cheered as he walked in. The first order of business was the dinner. The food was all ready for people to serve themselves, and as guest of honor, Jason was ushered to the head of the line.

  Mrs. Miglione was
there putting on the finishing touches with the assistance of Diana. Two large tables were laid out with potato, macaroni, lettuce and spinach salads, lasagna, tuna casserole, vegetable trays, chicken wings, and platters of sliced meats and cheeses. One of the featured items was a Jason hero sandwich. Mrs. Miglione had taken a dozen loaves of French bread, sliced them in half, brushed the bread with a mustard sauce, then filled them with Italian cold cuts, sliced cheeses, lettuce, tomato and pickles, and cut each loaf into ten parts.

  “This is exactly my favorite sandwich that I always order at the sandwich shop on Santa Clarita Avenue,” Jason remarked enthusiastically. “How did you know?”

  “I think someone named Daniel told us,” Diana said with a smile.

  Everyone was soon up filling plates of food and eating it at tables all around the hall. Jason was seated at a table with his parents, Laura and her parents, Daniel and his parents, and Joe Connor. Both Daniel and Jason quickly ate their meals. Daniel then left to get his band ready to perform, while Jason began to go around to the various tables to say hello to the people attending.

  One of the first tables he went to was where staff members from the Whatever Foundation were seated. After he greeted everyone, he said, “I don’t remember seeing a party on the last agenda.”

  His financial manager, Jill Baines, answered, “If a good executive assistant can’t sneak a surprise party past her boss, she shouldn’t have the job!”

  “Well do it again, anytime!” Jason said with his big smile. “The party is awesome! I can’t believe the turnout. And the food…”

  “You deserve it, Jason,” Jill told him. “What you are doing for this community and for teenaged crime victims in general is wonderful! We all love working for your foundation just for that reason alone.”

  Jason next went over to the table where ten of the twelve Chinese women who were held captive as domestic slaves were seated. Gilbert Trang, an INS agent working on the Jimmy Rae Chu case had brought down the women so that they could meet Jason. Through the Whatever Foundation, he had sent money for each young woman to buy a new set of clothing and luggage, paid for counseling for them, especially the ones who were abused by Jimmy Rae or Chuluun. Gilbert, who had driven them down in a large agency van was very impressed with the turnout and the food. When Jason went over to meet the women, they smiled and giggled at him, and gave him hugs and kisses to thank him for what he did for them. Jason had a big smile on his face while Gilbert translated back and forth the small talk Jason and the women were making.

  Over at Jason’s table, Laura looked on not so pleased at the attention he was getting from the other women. Laura’s mother Dorothy could see her daughter tensing up a little. She went over to her, and put her hand on Laura’s forearm. “Relax, dear. Don’t forget that Jason saved those women from a horrible captivity of domestic slavery. They are just showing him their thanks for that, and the other assistance his foundation gave them.”

  After meeting with the women, Jason walked over to a nearby table where the Liu family and Jian-heng were seated. Jian-heng’s sisters Eunice and Elaine had joined them. After Jason shook hands with the Liu’s and said hello to Jian-heng, he was introduced to Eunice and Elaine. Quickly they got up and hugged Jason, thanking him for rescuing them and Jian-heng.

  “I am so happy to see your family is reunited,” Jason told them using Richard Liu as a translator. “Now that you have had a chance to get back on your feet, what are your plans for the future?” he asked the two sisters.

  Eunice and Elaine announced that they had decided to take the Chinese government’s offer of repatriation and educational training for high tech jobs. After their experience being domestic slaves, they realized that it would be very difficult to make it in America without more education. After discussing their options, the two sisters had discovered that they were homesick for where they came from and wanted to return there to be near their aunt and uncle’s family.

  Jian-heng looked upset at the news. “You mean you aren’t going to stay in America?”

  “No, little brother. America is for someone like you, young, intelligent, and good with languages. You belong here with your new family to raise you. But just because we are going back doesn’t mean we won’t be seeing each other. Once we are established and given good jobs, you can come and visit us as much as you want, at least once a year, we hope! When you come we will have a nice place where you can stay and enjoy your visit.”

  Junjie Liu reported that the adoption process for Jian-heng was now just about completed, mostly a matter of paperwork and a brief court hearing. Jian-heng announced that once he was adopted, he planned to Americanize his name to John.

  “That’s great, little buddy,” Jason told Jian-heng. “I would hate to see you go away, too.”

  “No way, Jason!” Jian-heng exclaimed as he gave Jason his huge winning smile. “I plan to stay in America, be your homeboy, and help you fight the bad guys!”

  Jason went over to Jian-heng, put his arm around his shoulders, and gave him a half hug. “You are awesome, Jian-heng, or should I say John. Thanks to you, we were able to take out a couple of the worst bad guys around!”

  Over to Jason’s right were two tables where Chauncey Jackson, his girlfriend Adele Evans, and Chauncey’s mother were seated, along with the other starters on the Merriam High basketball team, Mariano Rodrigo, Kololo Asasopo, and Reggie Adams, their girl friends, and a few parents. Coach Arvid Johanson and his wife were present along with several other team members. Jason greeted everyone with handshakes, high fives, hugs, or knuckles. When he got to Coach Johanson, he remarked, “I didn’t know there was a team meeting tonight! Sorry to be late!”

  “Jason, we are here tonight to honor you,” Mr. Johanson replied, “not only for your play on the court, but for your quick thinking off the court to thwart those gamblers who tried to ruin our season!”

  “There was no way I would let low life gamblers take our team down,” Jason replied. “I think that this was one of the best Merriam basketball teams ever. We had to have our shot at the championship, and thanks to Chauncey here, we got it! That incredible last basket you made still replays over and over again in my head, Chauncey! I still don’t know how you were able to make it!”

  Mariano, Kololo, and Reggie, who were also still living in the glow of their amazing victory, immediately chimed in their agreement.

  “Remember the talk we had a long time ago about competition and the eye of the tiger, Jason?” Chauncey began. “After your efforts and those of the police freed my mind from worry, I had one goal in mind: to get even and show those opponents that you don’t mess with Chauncey and you don’t mess with my A-List guys! Somehow during that half I had more than the eye of the tiger, I had the eye of the tarantula, six eyes going in all directions. No one was going to stop me, and as it turned out, no one could!”

  “All I can say, is when it comes to sports, Chauncey, you are the man!” Jason exclaimed. “And somehow I have known that since we were in kindergarten together!”

  “Maybe so,” Chauncey replied, “but when you are out on the court playing a game, it’s the team that matters, and the team that ultimately wins the game! And you guys are the best team I have ever had the pleasure of being on!”

  That statement got the other basketball team members all fired up again and they spontaneously put their hands out and yelled “Team Merriam!”

  “You know, Jason, I may need your help again soon,” Chauncey went on. “Ever since that game, the recruiters have been all over me, and now I have even more choices to consider for college. I am going to need your help to sort through everything. When it comes to doing the right thing and making great decisions, you are the man!”

  “You can count on me, Chauncey!” Jason replied enthusiastically.

  “I know, Jason, I know,” Chauncey told him with a smile. “But don’t think that gets you off of the hook for our intramural games this summer. I don’t see why Merriam High can’t do a repeat next sea
son.” Again that brought a quick cheer from their teammates.

  “You guys all know I will be there,” Jason said finishing up. “Playing basketball with you guys is an honor and a pleasure!”

  In another area of the room, Robbie Nelson and his mom Camille were seated at a table with Brandon Jacobs and his parents, Mary and Gordon. Brandon’s parents had just picked him up from his aunt and uncle’s house. Brandon had spent the last day and a half at the coast with them. Also present was Dr. Louis Agoura and his wife Linda. When Jason went over to say hello, he could clearly see that Brandon and Robbie had bonded and become good friends. They were chattering together, making plans to visit each other and spend the night on the next couple of weekends.

  “I am pleased to see that you two have made friends and are making some plans for the future,” Jason said after saying hello to the table. “Dr. Agoura said that you both made real progress in your group session the other day.”

  “Yeah, coming down here has been really great for me,” Brandon said. “That whole horrible experience I had already seems distant. And if I get doubts or flashbacks now I have someone I can text or talk to about it, without having to explain a lot. Now I am ready to go home and face going back to school.”

  “Just remember when you return to school, Brandon, that you don’t owe anyone an explanation about what happened to you, other than you are back and safe again,” Dr. Agoura told him. “That’s all people really need to know, that you are well and recovering from what happened to you. In a couple of more weeks, it will be old news, and no one will even think about it unless you bring it up. And you have Robbie to talk to, or me for that matter, if you have issues bothering you about what happened.”

  “We can’t thank you enough for what you have done for Brandon,” Gordon Jacobs said. “And best of all those two low life criminals who attacked him and Robbie are now behind bars, where they belong!”