Jake And Trevor

Jeremy opened his eyes after talking with Trevor. He looked at the TV screen and went back to watching the movie he had started. When it was done, he turned off the TV and got up to use the toilet. He stripped down to his briefs and put the clothes on top of the chest at the end of the bed. He slipped under the covers and turned on his side. He looked at the bare wall and tears started down his face. He was scared, lonely, and missing Jared and his other brothers real bad. He really wanted to feel Jake's arms around him comforting and protecting him. In his mind he was pleading for his family to find him.

'Jer, it's me.'

'Trev?'

'Yeah, Jer, I'm here. I can feel what you are feeling and it drew me to you.'

'What are you doing now?'

'Well, until I felt you, I was kissing Zach.'

'Oh, sorry to interrupt you guys. Give him a kiss from me and tell him I'm sorry.'

'Don't sweat it. How are you holding up?'

'I'm hanging in, but I really miss you guys. Do you have any idea how long before you find me?'

'I'm not sure; we're in Sacramento right now. I've been trying to track you down since around lunchtime. We've been driving since then. But I think you're a lot closer than you were. In fact, this is helping me find you.'

'I was just about to go to sleep, but I can turn on another movie and try to stay awake if you want?'

'No, go ahead and stay the way you are right now. I'm trying to home in on you, but if you fall asleep, don't worry about it. I think we're getting closer. In fact, I need to tell Dad something, hang on.' "Zach, get Dad."

Zach scrambled out of the backseat and went outside to find Jake. He went into the store where he saw his Dad and Jake filling coffee cups. He went over to them.

"Uncle Jake, its Jeremy. Trevor said to get you."

"Here, Tom, can you fix this and bring it out? I'm going to go see what we've got."

Tom nodded as he took the cup and Jake turned to follow Zach outside. When they got to the Suburban, Jake climbed in the middle seat and turned around to face Trevor.

"What do you got, buddy?"

"Jeremy was feeling lonely, and his feeling kind of called me to him. I think we need to turn west from here. It feels like he's in that direction."

"Got it. I'll get the troops rounded up."

Jake got the radio out.

"Team, lets finish this up and get going; we've got a direction change and need to get going."

The radio squawked back with several "Rogers." Jake put the radio down and looked at Trevor again. Trevor's eyes were closed and Zach was sitting next to him, to give him support in case he needed it.

'Jeremy, we're on our way. I have a better fix on you. As Dad would say, the cavalry is on its way. Oh, so you know, we have six of the men who work for our Dads with us. So we are coming in ready for whatever we need to do to rescue you.'

'Do they know about you?'

'As of this morning they do. We had to show them a little of my magic and now they know. They promised they would keep quiet about it. Dad trusts them, so hopefully they will not tell anyone, but we had to do it, so that they would not be surprised by anything they see.'

'I bet they were surprised.'

'Oh yeah, you shoulda seen it. Dad had me put up a barrier and he shot us with his gun. They all thought they were blanks, until we picked the spent bullets off the ground. They shit a brick.'

'I wish I coulda been there.'

'I do too. But we'll find you soon and you'll be safe. Dad is serious, the people who have you, are in for a world of hurt when we get there.'

'Okay, come soon. I'm starting to drift off, Trev.'

'That's fine; go ahead and try to sleep. We're on our way. Love you, Jer.'

'You too, Trev. Night.'

Trevor opened his eyes.

"Dad, we definitely need to go west now. Jeremy's going to sleep, so he'll be a little harder to track, but, I think we're getting a lot closer."

Within minutes the caravan was on its way once again. Jake looked at the map and gave orders for them to take I 80 west. He looked at the map and glanced at Trevor from time to time for directions. As they neared Vallejo Trevor spoke up.

"Dad, we need to go more toward the north now."

"Got it."

He studied the map and then keyed the radio.

"All units, get off at Route 37, Sears Point Rd. Stay on that for a few miles and then take Route 29 north toward Napa."

"Roger Skip, copy."

They exited at Sears Point Rd. and turned north on Route 29 a few miles later. Jake put the map away and pulled out his laptop and connected the satellite receiver card to it. As soon as it was up, he pulled up Google Earth and entered Napa into it. A satellite picture of Napa and the surrounding area came up. When they got to Napa, Trevor started pointing toward the northwest. Jake looked at the computer screen and keyed the radio.

"All units, go west on Salvador, then north on Solano. Follow that to Orchard."

"Roger."

They sat back as Tom followed the route that Jake had sent out. Once they were on Orchard and heading west once again. Trevor nodded when Jake looked at him for confirmation that they were going in the right direction. Soon the main part of Napa fell behind and they were surrounded by vineyards on either side. The lights from the houses and their outbuildings could be seen in the near distance. They continued on Orchard. They soon came to a 'T' intersection where Orchard ended. Trevor pointed north. They turned north on Dry Creek Rd.

Jake studied the satellite map to see what was ahead of them. After a few miles, there were more trees all around. The road followed what could only be a dry creek as it wound its way through the canyon, probably why the road was named that way. They passed scattered houses as they drove. Jake continually checked with Trevor as they drove. After a few miles Trevor asked them to slow down and he closed his eyes as he concentrated. He opened them again he pointed up toward the north to northeast.

"That's what I thought. Dad, I can feel him in that direction."

"Is it one of these houses here in this canyon that we're passing?"

"No, I don't think so, it doesn't feel right."

Jake looked down at the computer and then guessed at where they were in relation to the map. Since it was dark, it was not easy to pinpoint where they were since he couldn't see a lot of the buildings clearly. He zoomed the view in and out and then something caught his eye. He noticed just on the eastern side of the nearby ridge appeared to be several buildings, with a good-sized vineyard nearby. He saw that it appeared the entrance into the property was from the Yountville side of the ridge.

"I want to try something. If it works, I think I know where Jeremy might be. Tom, continue along Dry Creek; it's going to curve around a bit, and then dead end on... Oakville Grade Rd. Turn right on that road. Trevor, I can see that you're getting pretty tired. Zach, he's going to need you. Trevor, I want you to try to keep a continuous lock on Jeremy if you can, and keep pointing in the direction you think he is."

"Okay, Dad."

Tom sped up a bit more as they drove along until they came to the 'T' intersection that Jake had mentioned. Jake kept glancing at Trevor as they drove along Dry Creek Rd. and then Oakville Grade Rd. Trevor's arm did not waver much as he kept pointing in the general direction of the place that Jake suspected as the location where Jeremy was. They continued on the road; at one point there was a road to the east that Jake wanted to take, but it appeared to lead to a vineyard and was not a regular road, so they continued on Oakville Grade Rd.. They eventually dead-ended at St. Helena Highway, which led back toward Napa and Yountville. As they drove, Trevor's arm pointed back in the direction of the property that Jake suspected. Jake continued to direct the caravan.

When they got to Madison St., he was able to direct them back to the west. Once across the railroad tracks, he could not see any signs, but he told Tom where to turn, and the others in the caravan followed along behind. They wound through several roads as they passed several other vineyards. They started to climb up the eastern side of the ridge. Trevor's directions still pointed toward the location that Jake had seen on the screen. They passed a manmade pond. They came to a point where the road forked; one went up and the other stayed down from the ridge top. Jake directed them to take the lower road. As they drove along the road, they could see some lights from some buildings ahead of them. Jake directed Tom to go to the side of the road and park. The rest of the team pulled in behind him. Jake keyed the radio.

"All units, meet me at the back of my truck."

"Roger, skip."

Jake went to the back and opened the tailgate. He put his laptop down. Trevor, Zach and Jared knelt on the rear seat facing backward. The men gathered around Jake. He started his quick briefing.

"Guys, I think I know where Jeremy is being held.'

"I don't see much around here; where might he be, Skipper?"

"Trevor, tell me the direction you can sense him."

Trevor closed his eyes for a moment and then pointed. Jake took out a GPS unit and noted the coordinates. He then took a compass out and took a bearing along the direction that Trevor pointed. He noted that the direction was south by southeast. He looked at the screen again and moved the map in that approximate direction and stopped at the location of the property that he suspected. He turned to the team.

"Okay, I'm almost dead sure that this is the place. It's pretty isolated, the main house appears to be about a mile from here. We have two directions to go: we either continue on this road, which goes this way and passes these buildings up ahead and continues. Then it comes out here in this open area, leading to the house. The road back there led up through the vineyards, which would eventually have led to the entrance road and again the open area. What we need is some recon. The first things we're going to do are backtrack and find a place back in Napa to stay, and we'll go from there. Let's get out of here in case anybody sees us. Just follow us back to Napa and we'll pick a hotel or motel. Any questions?"

"No, sir."

"Get in your vehicles and let's get out of here for now."

---

They got back in the vehicles and, with the family leading, they made their way back out the way they came in. Once they were back on St. Helena Highway, they drove back to Napa and started looking for a place to stay. They found an Embassy Suites that had some vacancies. Tom reserved two rooms for the family, one for the adults and one for the boys. The rest of the team split into three pairs and reserved their rooms. Jake told everyone to meet in his room in thirty minutes. They made sure the assault gear was secured in their vehicles and got situated in their rooms.

At thirty minutes, they met at Jake and Tom's room. Before everyone got there Jake had hooked his laptop to the TV in the room, using some of the computer cables that he had with him in his bag. Once everyone had arrived and sat down, Jake started his preliminary briefing.

"I've been looking at the area around the location. I think our best bet is to come in from the Dry Creek Rd. side. See this open area along the road? It is about one-half to three-quarters of a mile from here to the buildings. I want a team early in the morning to go in from there. Larry and Darryl, you will do the initial recon. I will leave the route you take up to you. I'm going to print out some topo. maps of the area. Take a GPS unit with you and put in the waypoints that you think will be the best route to the location. Once you reach the location, do a recon around the perimeter and find the best location to infiltrate the compound. Bring back some pictures.

"I want you guys to go in like you're hiking through the countryside. I want no indication that you are anything more than tourists. The boys have hiked and backpacked, but keep in mind that they will be with us, so don't make it a route that only a SEAL Team could traverse, but one that they can follow as well. Also remember, we will have Jeremy with us when we exfil, and I don't know what shape he will be in.

"Now the one thing that we do not know is whether this is actually the place. So later in the day, after Larry and Darryl have returned, Tom, myself, Trevor, Zach, Jed and Phil will go in, following the directions that you two bring back. The reason for this is to confirm that Jeremy is there. Other than assaulting the place, there is no other way except for using Trevor's ability to find him. So we will plan that for later tomorrow afternoon. Once we have all of that info, we will have a final briefing and put together the final assault plan. Any questions?"

Several men shook their heads.

"Good. Everyone knows what they need to do for now. Why don't you guys get something to eat, and then relax for the night. We'll see you in the morning."

The briefing broke up and the team retired to their rooms until the next day.

---

Darryl and Larry left early in the morning for the recon. There wasn't a lot of traffic on Dry Creek Road this early in the morning. They pulled off of the road and backed the vehicle into the edge of the trees as much as they possible. They grabbed their backpacks with the camera, GPS, water, binoculars and the topo. map. They started making their way up into the trees and bushes, heading in the general direction of the compound.

The first part of the hike was fairly level ground. They were easily able to make their way through the brush and trees. At the base of the ridge, they came to a trail that followed the base of the ridge. It looked like it was used by off-road motorcycles or possibly horses. They looked for anybody on the trail and quickly crossed it and started their climb. They found a game trail and marked it on the GPS. The slope of the ridge in front of them was a little steep and covered thickly with vegetation. They followed the game trail and it went southeast along the bottom of the steep part of the ridge line for a little while. The trail eventually turned back to the northwest and climbed up the ridge. They marked waypoints along the trail so that others could easily follow it. They came to a high point of the ridge which the GPS display said was about 900 feet. This part of the ridge was bare of trees. Just ahead they could see a higher location. They kept below the west side of the crest and made their way to the higher location. Once there they moved to the crest and kept a low profile as they looked over the top.

The compound was just a little distance below them. They took out their binoculars and started looking around the grounds. The main building looked like an old English country house. Two stories, covered with brick and stone. The house looked like it could be four or five thousand square feet. There were several outbuildings on the property; two of the larger ones were near the house, with one of those two partially obscured by trees. The partially obscured building had a pool nearby, under the trees. Away from the main house toward them was a tennis court. There was another large outbuilding toward the south end of the property that looked like a barn. At the far southern end was a pond. The compound was enclosed by a barbed wire fence. Nearer the house and surrounding it, there appeared to be a brick wall that looked to be perhaps six feet tall. They could see gates in a couple of locations in the wall. From those gates there were numerous paths that went to different parts of the property. A long driveway led from the dirt road that wove through the field, and ended in a large paved area, almost like a small parking lot. There were a few vehicles parked there: a couple of cars, a dark van and a truck. There was a gate in the wall where the driveway neared the house. Just to the other side of the house they could see another smaller building. To the north of the main building were the vineyard fields. Except for a few copses of trees inside the compound, most of the area was open ground, covered in green grass. The whole place looked like a pastoral landscape.

Larry got the camera out and attached a zoom lens, and started taking pictures of all the structures, the parked vehicles, the pond, the driveway, the wall and several shots of the grounds, while Darryl continued to scan with the binoculars. Once they finished, they held a whispered conversation and backed down from the crest. They started making their way closer to the edge of the compound. They skirted any open areas as they neared the edge of the line of trees on the west side of the property. They came to the edge of the trees nearest to the tennis courts. There was movement on the grounds. They could see some men walking around the area; they looked like security. After taking a few more pictures of the surrounding area, they faded back away from the fence and started making their way back to their vehicle. It did not take them as long to get back.

When they got there, they opened the back of the truck and stowed their gear away. Just as Larry was about to close the tailgate, they heard a sound coming toward them. They looked up and saw a couple of older teenage boys, about seventeen years old, reining in the horses that they were riding. Both of them had long brown hair and looked like your typical California surfer boys. They appeared to be well built. When they stopped their horses one of them raised his hand in greeting.

"Good morning. You guys all right?"

"Yep, we're fine."

"That's good. When we saw your truck here, we thought you might be having some trouble. My name's Dakota, this is my friend Hunter. We live a little ways up Dry Creek Road back thataway."

"Nice to meet you boys. Well, thanks for checking on us; that's nice of you."

"So what are you guys doing around here?"

"Nothing much, just wanted to do some early morning hiking. It's really nice around here."

"Yeah, we love it. You see anything interesting on your hike?"

"Nah... not much, but it just felt great to be hiking in this crisp fall air."

"Yep, that's why we were out riding this morning."

"Well, bye now and thanks for checking to make sure we didn't need help."

"No problemo. Have a nice day."

The men got in the car and drove off. Darryl watched in the rear-view mirror as they drove back to the road. He saw the two boys sit their horses and watch as the truck pulled away. He looked at Larry with a raised eyebrow.

"You think they bought it?"

"Hard to tell, probably. They're just some local kids. Let's get back and show the Skipper what we got."

They pulled into the parking lot of the hotel ten minutes later. It was almost lunch time when they arrived. They went straight to Jake and Tom's room and knocked. Terry answered the door and let them in. Jake and Tom were sitting down and watching the news while sipping cups of coffee. They got up from the couch and walked over to the table when they saw the two men. Jake motioned for them to join them. They all sat at the table. Larry handed over the SD card from the camera and Jake put it into a card reader. Once the pictures were on the screen, Jake pulled up the satellite shot of the compound and the two men pointed out locations on the satellite picture and pointed at the appropriate photograph that matched the location. He noted the GPS coordinates from the GPS device. They made note of the men who seemed to be patrolling the grounds. They looked like guards even though no weapons were visible. After thirty minutes of studying everything and listening to their observations Jake sat back.

"Thanks, guys, good recon. Is there anything else?"

"Not really... oh, uh... except for a couple of local kids who saw us."

"Saw you where?"

"It was when we had just gotten back to the truck and were ready to leave. Two kids on horseback rode up. They said that they thought we might be having car trouble or something and came to see that we were okay."

"How old were these kids?"

"I don't know for sure but they looked like around sixteen, seventeen, older kids. They said that they lived down the street a little ways and were just out riding."

"Okay, just some curious kids. No chance that they are part of that compound up on top of the ridge?"

"Nah, I think they were who they said they were."

"Okay. Thanks again. Go take it easy for now. After we do our scout later today we'll call a final briefing this evening. The presence of the guards tends to make me sure we've got the right place."

The two men left the room while Jake and Tom looked over everything again. The boys came to their room and let them know that it was time to eat. The growling of their stomachs punctuated the complaints of starvation. They all went down to the restaurant for the hotel and had lunch. Afterwards they all went back to the adults' room.  Jake and Tom talked to them about what was planned for the afternoon. They pointed out on the satellite photo and the topo. map, the general direction that they were going to follow. Jared wanted to go along as well, but they told him that they were trying to keep their numbers small. It was just going to be Jake, Tom, Trevor, Zach, Jed and Phil that were going to do that final scout. They decided to try and do it late in the afternoon. The boys went back to their room to watch TV.

---

Jeremy was pretty bored. The only bright spot was Cameron eating breakfast and staying to watch a movie with him. After the movie Cameron had to leave. Jeremy started another movie and soon nodded off. He came awake when he heard the door open. He looked up and saw Cameron smiling at him and pushing the trolley into the room. The lunch was grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Once again Cameron put two place settings on the table. Jeremy got up and went to the sink to wash the sleep from his eyes before he sat across from Cameron.

"Thanks for eating with me again, Cam."

Cam shrugged and smiled. He set the metal carafe next to Jeremy. Jeremy smiled in thanks and started to lift it to fill his glass with the ice tea that was in it. Cameron gave him a subtle shake of his head. Jeremy looked confused. Cameron directed his eyes at the carafe. Jeremy looked at it and saw a small folded piece of paper sticking out from underneath the carafe. Jeremy looked at Cameron and the boy nodded slightly. Jeremy repositioned his hands on the carafe and carefully dragged it closer to him. His left hand was near the bottom and he took the paper in his hand as he poured himself some tea. He let his left hand drop into his lap, while he took one of the sandwiches and started to eat while at the same time he worked at opening the piece of paper in his lap. The boys ate silently. Once Jeremy had the paper open on his lap, he glanced down and saw that there was writing on it. He carefully brought it up out of his lap and brought it to just below the table, and while taking a bite he looked down and read it.

You are being watched. Carefully look up to the corner on the right. You will see a small red light. It is a camera. They watch you from upstairs on a computer.

Jeremy refolded the paper and put it into his pocket. He put the sandwich down and picked up the spoon to eat some soup. He grabbed his glass and carefully directed his gaze to the corner that Cameron had pointed out. He could see the small red light and when he put the glass down he looked at Cameron and nodded his understanding. The boys continued their lunch. When they were finished Cameron cleared the dishes away and took the trolley out. He returned a few minutes later with two game system controllers in his hands. Jeremy smiled and grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. The boys conferred until they found a game they wanted to play and for the next hour played some video games. When they got tired of playing games, they found a movie to watch and lay on their stomachs with their heads at the foot of the bed to watch. The movie ran for almost two hours.

Upstairs William and Ian watched the two boys. Ian looked at his son and nodded.

"I think that you're right, Will. I believe that keeping Cameron around will make the transition easier. Excellent idea."

"I thought that it would work out, when I saw how they interacted yesterday. That is why I gave him permission to spend more time with Jeremy."

"Continue to allow the interaction. When Cameron is in there with him, we will keep an eye on them. Of course after the ceremony tomorrow night you will have a tighter control on him, but Cameron is still of use. You may keep him for now."

They turned back to the monitor and watched for a little longer. In the room the boys were lying right next to each other almost touching. Cameron made as if to scratch the side of his nose. The movement covered his mouth as he whispered.

"It happens tomorrow night."

As Cameron dropped his hand back onto the pillow, Jeremy nodded that he understood. At the end of the movie, Cameron got up.

"I gotta go now, Jeremy. I have some things I have to do. But I'll eat dinner with you and if William says it's okay, I'll stick around and maybe we can play another game or watch another movie or something."

"Thanks, Cam. That'd be cool. See you later."

Cameron pressed the blue button on the remote and Greg opened the door to let him out. Jeremy got up and put his hands in his pocket and held the note hidden in his hand. Now that he knew about the camera, he tried hard not to show his self-consciousness as he pulled his pants down and sat on the toilet. He tried to keep his head down to hide his embarrassment that someone was watching him sit on the toilet. He brought the hand with the paper in it and dropped it in the toilet. Once he was finished he flushed the toilet and made sure that the paper went down. He walked back over to the bed and put the pillows back at the head of the bed and lay down to watch the TV.

---

At four pm, Tom went to get the boys from their room. They returned a few moments later and followed Tom over to the table. Jake smiled at the boys. There was a knock on the door, and Terry opened it to let Jed and Phil in the room.

"Hi guys, ready to go?"

"Yeah, Dad."

"Ready, Skip."

"Okay, take a look at this here. Here is a satellite photo of the compound. The morning scout brought us some info that makes me even surer that this is likely the place. The guys that went this morning showed us pictures of some men who appeared to be guards walking the grounds. To start with, Jared, you do remember that you will be staying here with your mom. The plan for this afternoon is for the six of us to drive and park here in this location like they did this morning. Jed and Phil, you will stay with the vehicles, just in case. If we need help we'll call you. Otherwise you stay and wait for our return. The four of us that are going to go take a look will grab our gear and head up the hill. We will not be armed, except of course for Trevor and me with our... unique weapons. This is just in case we run into anyone while we're there. We have GPS coordinates that should lead us on the trail that Darryl and Larry followed this morning. We will follow the coordinates to the compound. We are going to move carefully so that we are not seen. Once we get up near the compound, that's when Trevor will do his stuff and see if we can confirm that Jeremy is there. Once that is confirmed as I believe it will be, we will make our way back down the hill and get back here. Tonight I will call a final briefing and we will make our final assault plans. Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads and Jake gathered up the maps and photos into a small folder to bring with them.

"Then we might as well go. Everyone use the bathroom, so we don't have to stop on the trail. The idea is for us to get in as close as we can, check it out, confirm that it is the right place and get back."

The boys went into the bathroom in the room. When they finished Jake sent them to grab a light jacket or sweatshirt to take with them, since it would be a little cooler in the evening. The boys left for their room and returned in moments, pulling their fleece jackets on. They said goodbye to Terry and Jared and made their way down to Tom's vehicle.

Fifteen minutes later Phil pulled off the road in the same location and backed the SUV toward the trees. They got out and went to the back of the vehicle and opened the back hatch. They grabbed some items and put them in a couple of backpacks. Jake and Tom put the packs on and closed the hatch.

"Okay, everyone ready?"

The other three nodded, Jed and Phil waved to them.

"Let's go. I'll lead, Trevor behind me, Zach behind him and Tom sweeping."

"Watch your top knot, boss."

Jake started off and the others got in position behind him in the order he had stated. They quickly crossed the flat area and the trail that the previous team had crossed. Jake looked down at the GPS unit and headed for the first waypoint. He found the narrow trail that the other men had found in the morning and started climbing. Jake kept a close watch on the GPS as they followed the waypoints until they were near the crest of the ridge and could look down into the compound. Jake directed them to get low as they approached the crest. They got in position, and Jake and Tom started scanning the area with their binoculars. They noted the same things that Darryl and Larry had seen. There were a few more men walking around the grounds. Jake looked at Trevor and nodded. Trevor closed his eyes and focused his attention on Jeremy.

'Jer, can you hear me.'

Jeremy was watching a movie and slowly closed his eyes like he was getting sleepy.

'Trev?'

'Yeah, bro. How're you doing?'

'Okay. So how's the search going?'

'Real good. Hang on a minute.' "Dad, this is the place. He's there in the big house. I'm talking to him right now."

Jake nodded with satisfaction on his face.

'Jer, the people you described earlier, did they look rich, you know, nice clothes, that kind of thing?'

'Yeah, now that you mention it they did look that way. And since I've been spending some time with Cam, he is well dressed too. So yeah, I think they are.'

'It makes sense. Dad, Uncle Tom, Zach and me are laying down on the top of a ridge looking at the house where they're keeping you right now.'

'You're what? You're here?'

'Yeah, bro, we're here, the cavalry has arrived.'

'So when are coming in, right now?'

'No, we can't just yet, we have to plan it. There are guards and the four of us can't do it ourselves  We're going back to the hotel and get everyone together to make the final plans and come get you tomorrow.'

'Well, hurry, Cam was able to let me know that whatever they're going to do is happening tomorrow night.'

'Okay, I'll tell Dad and he can work that into the plan. Anything else?'

'When you rescue me, can we rescue Cam too?. He's a prisoner as much as me, and I think that William... forces him to have sex with him all the time. He's kind of like William's personal slave.'

'I'll let Dad know; I'm certain he'll agree. I'll talk to you later, bro.'

'Trevor, could you contact me again in a couple of hours?'

'Sure. I'll try to talk to you then. Bye.'

'Bye.'

Jeremy opened his eyes and had to fight real hard to keep a huge grin off his face. Then a sobering fact occurred to him. There were two trained mages with their guardians here, and only one Trevor and Jake. He was worried and made a mental note to himself to remember to mention that to Trevor when he spoke again later.

Down in his study, Ian looked up from the book he was reading and frowned for a few moments. Ian marked his place and got up to look for Kevin. He found him sitting in the den watching a football game.

"Kevin, could you remind me that you, me, William and Greg need to meet on Sunday about those annoyances down in the canyon?"

"Sure, Ian. Are they causing any problems?"

"I'm not sure, but I am tired of their snooping."

"Sounds good, I'll make a note of it."

"Thank you."

Ian returned to his study, picked up the book and returned to his place.

---

Trevor turned to Jake and smiled.

"I told him the cavalry had arrived."

Jake smiled and ruffled his hair.

"He also told me that everything happens tomorrow night."

"Okay, well, let's get outta here; we got a lot of planning to do. Besides I'm hungry, so eat first, plan later."

Jake crawled backward a little before he got up into a crouch, followed quickly by the others. They backtracked to the SUV and put everything away and climbed in. Once everyone was in, Phil drove away. They were unaware of two sets of eyes following their return to the vehicle and departure. The two pairs of eyes looked at each other and nodded, before they quickly left to report what they had just observed.

Back at the hotel room, Tom called all of the other members of the team and told them that a final briefing session would be held at eight pm in the room. After dinner in a nearby restaurant they returned to the room. The boys sat and watched TV, while Tom and Jake went over the maps and pictures to plan the assault.

At eight pm, the team started to assemble. The boys turned the TV off and went to sit near their parents. Jake and Tom stood in front of the men.

"First of all, thanks for doing this. Now, before we start, if any of you have a problem with what we are about to do, now is the time for you to say so. Since what we are doing is more than technically illegal, I will not hold it against any of you if you wish to back out. I would ask that you stay here with Terry...."

"I don't think so, Jake."

"I'm not staying here. I'll drive one of the trucks, but I'm not staying behind waiting for you to return, thank you very much."

"None of us are leaving, boss. We knew there would be legal issues when we agreed to join you on this mission. Our minds have not changed."

Jake looked around the room and received nods from the men as they expressed their agreement. He nodded back in acknowledgement of their support.

"All righty then. Let's get to it. The assault is going to be tomorrow evening."

"Why tomorrow evening, Dad? Why not earlier, like early in the morning? He said that everything is happening tomorrow night."

"Yeah, which is why we picked tomorrow evening. They may be distracted if we can hit them during the ceremony. remember ours? It was pretty intense, so this will probably be the same."

"Oh... uh, yeah, I understand."

He and Zach blushed a little when they looked at each other.

"To continue, we hit them tomorrow night. We will plan our arrival so that we can be at the top of the ridge a little before sunset. This will give us a couple of advantages. First, the sun will be at our back, and second, there will probably still be enough sunlight for us to see into the compound and make our final decisions on where we will penetrate the compound for the attack. As for now, everyone take a look at the satellite photo."

Tom handed copies of the photo to the team.

"Our afternoon scout let us know that Jeremy is in the main house. Where exactly he is being held, we don't know. Since Jeremy, Zach and I have some experience with a similar ceremony, I have a feeling from the description of the room he is being held in, they will be going to another location in the compound for the ceremony. Ours was held outside, but I don't know how these people do their ceremonies. In looking at the satellite picture and the pictures that Larry and Darryl took this morning, I think we can rule out the barn here or the garage here."

As he spoke, Jake pointed out the two structures that he was talking about.

"Tom and I think that leaves one of two areas. Either somewhere in the main house, or in the tree-covered area by this other building near the pool that is partially obscured by the trees, or perhaps in the structure itself. From my experience, I don't think it will be in the main house. So that leaves the tree-covered area right here. We think that whatever is going to happen will happen in this area, so that is where we are going to hit. The plan that we have come up with is to sneak in once it gets dark down to the fence near the tennis courts, aqnde cut through the fence at this point. Once we reach the fence, put your goggles on. Kent, Jim, you guys go through first and make sure it is clear before the rest of us go through. If you see any of the guards, take them out, as quietly as possible, I leave it to you how you do it. However, we don't want a bloodbath, so if you can do it without killing them, that's acceptable, but if you have no choice, don't hesitate in taking them down permanently."

The two men nodded.

"Once we are all through the fence, we will move along the tennis courts. Kent and Jim, you will continue on point. Jed and Phil, you're next, Tom and I with the three boys will follow you, and Darryl and Larry, you watch our backs."

The men and boys nodded as he looked around the room.

"At the edge of the tennis courts, we will need to keep your eyes peeled. I expect that the tree-covered area will have some guards there as well. We will spread out in pairs, except for the boys who will be with Tom and me. Once you are have found a position and marked any potential targets, contact me on your tac radios. Once I have received everyone's call, I will give the attack order. Take out any targets and move toward the building. If we do not find them in the tree-covered area or in the building, we will advance on the main house. There are a couple of egress points on this side of the wall. We will take the boys through this one located about here. Jed, Phil, you take the other. The rest of you, over the wall."

"However you take out your target, if they aren't dead, make sure they can't get back up. Use your zip ties and gag them with whatever you can. You all know a little about Trevor and me. Well, there are two potentially dangerous, actually four dangerous people. There are two bodyguards who are nearly invincible. The other two are mages, you haven't seen what a trained mage can do, but you would be lucky if you could hurt either the mages or their bodyguards. Tom, me and the boys will have to face them. We may be in luck. If we hit them at the right time, they will be distracted, and two of them will not be able to react very fast as they will be involved with the ceremony."

"Boss, you keep mentioning a ceremony. What kind of ceremony is this?"

"I'll give you the short version. The ceremony that is going to be performed will bind Jeremy to this younger guy William. If it is successful, William will be a more powerful mage. Trevor and Zach are bound together in that way, and that makes Trevor more powerful than most others. However, the ceremony that they will be performing will be a much crueler ceremony than it was for us. If we are not in time to stop them, it will be like torture for Jeremy, and I will not allow that to happen."

"None of you have seen what a trained mage can do, so watch your ass. Without Trevor, we wouldn't have much of a chance of defeating these guys. Since there are two of them, that makes it quite a bit harder as they are fully trained and probably pretty powerful in their abilities. It is going to be extremely dangerous anywhere around these guys, but I can't leave Jeremy to them. So it will be up to our little group, especially Trevor, Zach and me, to stop them from doing anything to Jeremy. You guys saw what happened when I shot at the boys. You can expect the same from these guys. If you can take a shot at them, do so. It might cause a distraction that will give us an edge. If you have no shot, don't take it. I expect that at the ceremony site, there will be the two mages and the two bodyguards. Jeremy will of course be there, so watch where you're shooting and there will also be another boy; the boy is a prisoner as well, so we want to rescue him as well. Any questions?"

The men shook their heads.

"Okay, we gather together tomorrow afternoon and go. If we receive any new info, we'll let you know."

The men left to return to their rooms and make sure their equipment was ready. The boys said goodnight to their parents and went to their room. They got up on the bed and watched TV. Trevor remembered Jeremy's request and laid back, closing his eyes.

'Bro, can you hear me?'

He waited and called again.

'Trev, good, I can hear you.'

'Is everything okay?'

'Yeah, it is. Wait a moment.'

Back in his cell, Jeremy looked to his right at Cameron; they were once again lying on the bellies watching TV, propped up by the pillows under their chests. Jeremy moved his hand down between him and Cameron. He whispered to Cameron.

"Cam, take my hand right here."

Jeremy tapped Cameron on his right side. Cam slowly moved his hand until he found Jeremy's and they clasped hands.

'Okay, Trev, I'm back.'

'What happened?  Something feels different.'

'I had to get something. Cam, if you can hear us, say hello.'

'He... hell... hello?'

'Are you sure you can trust him, Jer?'

'Wh... who is that, Jeremy? '

'That's my brother Trevor.'

'How are we talking to him?'

'He's a mage too.'

'A mage?'

'They are going to rescue us tomorrow.'

'How?'

'I hope you know what you're doing, Jer. Cameron, we are going to hit the compound tomorrow evening. Do you know when and where the ceremony is going to happen?'

'Uh, I think about one hour after sunset, in the pool house.'

'Perfect. Thanks, I'll tell Dad. Hang in there, Jer. We'll get you out.'

'Thanks, but there are a bunch of guards around.'

'Yeah, we know, we aren't alone either. So don't worry, we'll get you out.'

'Thanks, bro, see you tomorrow.'

'Yeah, see ya.'

They broke off the conversation. Trevor got up quickly and went next door to Jake's room. The adults looked up as Trevor came in.

"Dad, I just talked to Jeremy. It's one hour after sunset and it will be in the building near the pool like you thought."

"Great, that will be perfect. At least we won't have to wait around too long. Thanks, buddy."

He hugged Trevor goodnight. Trevor got back to the room and lay down next to Zach. He cuddled up to him and kissed him. Zach smiled and returned the favor. Soon they were getting pretty serious; the TV no longer held any interest for them. Jared looked over at them and since it was getting late, he rolled his eyes. Trevor noticed and stopped. He looked over at Jared with an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Jared, we got kinda carried away."

"I know. I don't blame you guys."

"We'll have Jeremy back tomorrow. Don't worry."

"Yeah, well, good night."

"Night."

Trevor and Zach cuddled up and went to sleep.

---

A few miles away, Cameron got up from the bed as the movie finished. He said goodnight to Jeremy and left the room. Jeremy got ready for bed and laid there waiting in the dark for awhile, hoping that he was right about Cameron. He was nervous about what Cameron might do, since he now knew about the attack. Eventually Jeremy drifted off to sleep.

Upstairs William was waiting for him as he entered the bedroom. William watched silently as Cameron removed his clothes and made his way to the bed. William turned on his side and started to gently stroke Cameron's torso.

"You're doing very good, Cameron. You are helping us to keep Jeremy calm and his mind off tomorrow's ceremony. That's good. Keep it up and you could be a valuable addition to our plans. In fact after tomorrow night, you and Jeremy can fool around a little if you like. I'm sure you'll both enjoy it. Does that sound good?'

"Ye... yeah, it... does."

"I thought so. Remember I told you that you would get to liking it after awhile. Now flip around, I want a taste of you."

Cameron reluctantly did as he was told. Once in position he looked at William's stiff penis in front of his face and did what was expected of him. He prayed that everything he heard tonight would come true tomorrow, and that he would soon be out of this hellish life he had been forced to live.