Within the Dead Space

by Hutchens, Gary

  “I’m not sure if the cop thought he saw you get into my car or not. Once I got in there he didn’t bother with me any further. Now let’s get out of here and you can tell me what’s going on.”

  Chaco thought long and hard before he started and then told Franco everything, including robbing the bank.

  “Mama didn’t tell me she needed money. It doesn’t matter. I didn’t have any to give her anyway. I can’t believe you robbed a bank and gave the money to Mama. Why would you do that? You say they know it was you?”

  “I was sort of stupid and wrote a note and told them I would pay the money back. They got my fingerprints off the note and with a picture from one of the bank cameras tied it all together. I guess I was pretty smart to get the money but now I don’t know what to do.”

  “You’ve got balls, Chaco. I’ll give you that. I don’t know anyone in the entire world that would rob a bank in order to help someone else in need. Well, I brought you down here to teach me how to find that dead space again. I have a friend in Army Intelligence and they have located my brother in northwestern Pakistan. He’s being held by Al Queda and they are threatening to kill him. If history is any example to follow, Al Queda will kill him for sure. They will get as much publicity as they can and then they will execute him. The army is not willing to risk additional men to save him. I am with a special unit in the Army Rangers. We have been trained as snipers and we’ll deploy to Afghanistan at the end of the week. I have four friends going with me who are willing to make an attempt to save my brother. If you can show me how to find that dead space again, then we just might have a chance of coming out of this alive. And Chaco…..thanks. I’ll never forget what you did for my family.”

  “Nobody can see in because of the dark windows so don’t be too worried as we drive along. I’m going to my house and get you some glasses and a hat and some military clothes. That ought to throw them off for a while. My apartment is off base so we don’t have to worry about security. I’ll try to think of what you can do once I leave. In this country they will stay after you for years. You’ll probably have to go home to Peru and I don’t know how to get you there, but keep your hopes up. I know several rangers that have been in South America and maybe they will have some ideas.”

  Chaco sat back in the very comfortable Toyota Camry and closed his eyes. His life was a shambles and yet here he was with a great guy who was concerned for his safety.

  Franco found some army fatigues and boots for Chaco to wear around and gave him one of his really cool pair of sunglasses. They were nothing like the dollar store glasses. He couldn’t help looking at himself in the mirror and admiring his new attire. He slipped the cap on and could have passed for any private on the base.

  “Do you think I might be a sergeant?” asked Chaco.

  “Yow, right,” Franco smiled at him and then hit him in the arm.

  They went in to Fayetteville and drove around awhile before getting out of the car and walking. There had to be dead space somewhere.

  Chapter 49

  Chaco found several areas of dead space during the next two days but Franco couldn’t see it. Even when Chaco closely pointed out an area with dead space, Franco couldn’t find the shadow seam in order to crawl into it. They were near the northeast corner of the base when Chaco discovered five areas of dead space overlapping on top of each other. He pointed it out to Franco.

  “This is scary stuff right here,” Chaco said. “I have never seen anything like it. I don’t know anything about nuclear energy but do you suppose there is something nuclear on this part of the base? The air and the energy levels in this whole area are crazy.”

  They didn’t spend much time there. Franco put it in the back of his mind to check this area out when he had time.

  “There is no way that I can possibly find dead space when I get to Afghanistan. Let’s just forget it and I’ll work with the other guys on a different plan. What I need to do now is figure out some way to get you back to Peru. Is that what you want?”

  “I would prefer to stay in the states a while longer but that doesn’t look very likely. Anything you could do would be appreciated.”

  “I’ll check on base today and see what I can come up with.”

  Franco left for work while Chaco stayed at the apartment. He was watching the news on TV in the afternoon when an idea crossed his mind. I wonder if it’s possible.

  Franco picked Chaco up at six and they went to a local Mexican restaurant.

  “I’ve got some good news,” Franco told Chaco as they drove along. “I think I know a way to get you to Peru without getting caught.”

  “That would be great.”

  Later at the restaurant he described his plan to Chaco. “There is a cargo plane taking humanitarian supplies into Lima three days from today. I think I can get you on the cargo crew. You’ll have to slip on board the flight when you get a chance and figure out how not to get caught when you land in Lima. I think there’s a chance you can make it. What do you think?”

  “You’ll have to get me on base.”

  “That won’t be a problem. They usually don’t check my car when I enter the base. The real problem will be to get you on the flight line and I’m pretty sure we can make that work.”

  “Well Franco, that sounds real good but I was thinking…..how about I go to Afghanistan with you? I could find the secret places to hide and it would go a long ways toward saving your brother.”

  “No way!” he exclaimed. “It’s impossible…..and yet……Chaco it never crossed my mind to take you with us. I don’t know if I could pull it off and besides that, I can’t begin to tell you how dangerous this will be. There is a good possibility that none of us will come out of it alive. Al Queda is brutal. If they catch us, we’re all dead. Before I can even consider trying to put this together I would have to be sure you understand how dangerous it is. Also, I would have to talk to my buddies and they would all need to agree.”

  “If it involves danger then so be it, plus it sounds like quite an adventure. Are there a lot of mountains? You know I love the mountains.”

  “It’s full of mountains. I’ll talk to my friends in the morning and we’ll see what they think.”

  The next morning Chaco answered the phone and it was Franco.

  “Chaco, I’ll be at the house in twenty minutes. I’m bringing four friends with me. They want to meet you and you’ll have to show them what dead space is. Maybe one of them will be able to find it and then we won’t have to risk your life.”

  They all came into the apartment to meet Chaco. He looked like a midget around them. They were all a foot taller and eighty pounds heavier. They weren’t overwhelmed with him.

  “Franco, it’s going to be awfully tough over there. We won’t be able to take care of him, if you know what I mean.”

  They all shook their heads in agreement.

  “Let’s go check out this DS, the dead space you’ve been telling us about. Maybe one of us can find it.”

  They drove over to the park on Wellington and Chaco found the first spot quickly. It was an isolated area backed up to an old three story brick building. He showed each man separately how he was able to locate it. None of them could see anything different. They were just like Franco. Sam, the electronics guy, tested a couple of different instruments on the dead space and didn’t record anything out of the ordinary. The instruments weren’t able to pick up that the dead space even existed.

  They remained very skeptical about the whole thing until Chaco squeezed through the shadow seam of the dead space and disappeared right before their eyes. All four men’s jaws dropped. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing. They ran their hands over the area and would swear that he wasn’t there except they saw him climb into the space right before their eyes. They stood back from the dead space and discussed the many ways they could use something like this in Afghanistan, when suddenly they saw Chaco’s face appearing out of thin air. They could see him. Franco reached up to touch him but cou
ldn’t. A minute later Chaco exited from the dead space.

  “Now you guys try it.”

  None of them could find the entrance. Chaco had to place each of their hands in the shadowed area of the dead space before they were able to enter.

  “Remember, when you get in there, don’t move far from the opening. You could get lost and never find your way out.”

  “How big of space is it?” asked Sam.

  “I don’t know. I’ve always been concerned that I couldn’t find my way back so I haven’t checked it out. Now each of you try it.”

  They each squeezed into the dead space by themselves while keeping their hand positioned in the shadowed opening so they could find their way out.

  After they had all tried it Chaco said, “Now let’s climb in together and see if we can all hide in there. I have no idea how large the space is, so hold onto each other when we get in and try moving forward once we’re there. You’ll be able to see out better. Keep in mind that someone looking at you will be able to see your image.”

  There was plenty of room for all six of them. They held hands and tested moving forward and experienced being able to see out. Chaco led them back out into the park.

  The soldiers examined the area again trying to find the dead space with no luck.

  “It’s worthless to us without him but….we can’t protect him in those mountains. It would be suicide.”

  “I think you might be surprised by this little guy.”

  Franco had them all walk over to the edge of the brick building. “Lopez, you’re a climber, right?”

  “Yeah, I climb.”

  “Can you climb to the top of this building?”

  Lopez surveyed the building. “With some equipment I could.”

  “Chaco, how about you, can you climb it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Go ahead.”

  Chaco crawled up the wall, hand over hand and was at the top in no time.

  “Come on back down,” hollered Franco.

  It took Chaco longer to descend the wall and he was a lot more careful.

  “Nice going kid. You made it look easy,” said Lopez.

  “It was fairly easy because the bricks haven’t been laid in perfectly and it allows for easier hand grips, plus if you fall here you’re only going to get banged up a little and not die.”

  Lopez was impressed.

  “Okay, Jerry try to knock Chaco to the ground.”

  “Come on Franco, I might kill him.” All of these rangers were at the top of their class in hand to hand combat.

  “And Chaco, don’t hurt Jerry, he’s the helicopter pilot.”

  “Yow right,” said Jerry. He turned to face Chaco. He slowly analyzed his opponent and then made a swift plunge forward.

  Chaco sidestepped him.

  “He’s quick.” Jerry came straight at Chaco this time using his size and strength to overwhelm his much smaller opponent.

  Chaco surprised him by not backing down and instead went low and swung his legs catching the back of Jerry’s legs and bringing him to the ground. Jerry was up in an instant. He started circling again and this time cornered Chaco against the wall and was able to grab hold of him.

  Chaco grabbed hold of Jerry’s wrist and with strength like a vise started applying pressure until Jerry couldn’t take it anymore and went to his knees.

  “That’s enough Chaco,” hollered Franco. Chaco released his grip immediately.

  Jerry got to his feet. “I’ve never met anyone so strong.”

  “One other thing I want to show you.” Franco broke a two inch thick stick into four pieces, each of which was about two and a half feet in length. He gave one to Chaco and the other three to his friends. “He’ll take all three of you on.”

  They couldn’t believe anyone had a chance against the three of them. The first thing they did was to encircle him. They made sparing attacks which Chaco would block.

  “Franco, I don’t think we should do this. I think I might hurt them,” said Chaco.

  The three men started laughing.

  “The kid’s a comedian,” one of them yelled out.

  The three men circled him again with the smile still on their faces. With perfection they attacked simultaneously. His speed and accuracy overwhelmed the three men. He used their organization against them and within fifteen seconds the three men were down. Chaco had struck all three men a partial blow to the back.

  “What in the hell just happened? I can’t believe it. I’ve fought a lot of guys and never been taken out that quick. I think he could have killed us if he wanted to. He’s definitely got the skills but he must understand that it won’t be play acting in Pakistan and reality is nothing like make-believe.”

  “I’ve told him and he still wants to come. Hey guys, we have to get back to base.” They dropped Chaco off at Franco’s apartment on the way.

  On the way to base Jerry asked, “Franco, is this the same kid that’s all over the news today? Did he rob that bank?”

  “It’s the same one. I told him he was crazy.”

  “I didn’t realize he’s the Inca that’s was all over the news a month ago. No wonder he could climb that wall like he did,” Lopez said. “I watched him on that building in Boston.”

  “Can he be trusted, Franco?”

  “I’m sure of it. You won’t believe why he robbed the bank. He wanted to help my mom out. She fell and broke her leg and couldn’t make the rent payment. He has never had a family and I believe he would die for me and my family.”

  “Okay guys, let’s get real,” said Jerry. “This is the real thing we are talking about doing. We have to get across the border into Pakistan. Take on god knows how many Al Queda or Taliban, grab Eduardo, who could be hurt, and get back out without the army knowing about it. If we take Chaco, we will have to smuggle him onto the base and then onto the restricted airfield, and on to the plane. In Afghanistan, we will have to hide him until we can get the coordinates of where Eduardo is located and then get him on my helicopter without getting caught. The worst part to all of this is that if any part of the operation fails the outcome is disastrous. We could all end up in a military jail for years or worse…dead. Also, we would be aiding and abetting a fugitive. Anybody have a clue what they would do to us in that case?”

  “So what are you saying, Jerry, don’t do it and Eduardo dies?” asked Franco.

  “We can try to do it on our own without Chaco and not have to deal with the civilian authorities. That is a possibility. We can’t be sure that he could find a dead space when we need it anyway, but I for one would say it just might save all of our lives. We would have a safe harbor right under their noses. It might just be the edge we need,” Jerry replied.

  They all shook their heads in agreement.

  “One thing I have to say,” said Franco. “None of you guys have to do this. He’s my brother and…..”

  Lopez interrupted him, “Don’t say anymore. We all know Eduardo and he would try to save every one of us to his last breath. We’ve been together for years and survived some pretty ugly times by taking care of each other. Eduardo needs us. Now, let’s do it.”

  There wasn’t any need to vote, the decision was made. They would spend the next two days creating a plan of action. It would be difficult getting Chaco to Afghanistan and they all agreed that Chaco could help save them.

  Chapter 50

  Their flight to Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan was scheduled to depart at six in the evening. Franco and his friends were leaving on a cargo plane straight from Fort Bragg. It contained special equipment for the rangers already stationed there.

  Franco picked Chaco up at four thirty in the afternoon and headed for the base. When they got near the base Chaco climbed in the back and hid under a blanket. Franco pulled up to the guard at the base entrance and was quickly waved through. He breathed a sigh of relief but knew getting Chaco on the cargo plane would be a lot harder. They would be boarding at five thirty for a six o’clock departure and nobody els
e was scheduled on the flight.

  They all showed up at the security entrance to the airfield at same time. While Franco and the other four men were processing through the security building, Chaco walked across the parking lot to the edge of the fence that connected to the building. He slipped on a pair of heavy duty gloves, quickly climbed the barbed wire fence and jumped to the ground below. He took cover behind the edge of the building and waited.

  Franco came out first carrying two duffel bags full of gear. He stopped and sat one of the bags on the ground until the rest of the guys had come out the door. He looked toward Chaco and gave him a prearranged signal. Chaco stepped in amongst the group of men and picked up the bag on the ground and then they all walked over to the aircraft and boarded.

  The cargo only took about two thirds of the space and the men spread out and got comfortable in the rest of the area. Chaco worked his way in amongst the cargo and hid until the flight had taken off. Once they were in the air Chaco was able to join the other men. Neither the pilot nor co-pilot checked on the soldiers during the flight.

  It was a long flight and they all had plenty of space. The noise level on the airplane was very intense for Chaco because he didn’t have headphones.

  “Just follow my lead,” Franco told Chaco. “You don’t have any papers and I don’t think you will have to show them. If something out of the ordinary happens we’ll distract the airmen and someway get you through. Whatever you do, don’t run or act different in any way. Just try to follow along with us.”

  It was a smooth landing at Bagram. A couple of airmen met the aircraft but they were busy with unloading. The five rangers entered the processing building to get their assignments. Normally they would have a couple of weeks before they would deploy to the outback.

  Chaco stayed outside and rummaged through one of the duffel bags as if he was looking for something. When they came back out he fell in with them. They had all been assigned to the same building. It turned out that there was an extra bed for Chaco. For two days they played cat and mouse with all of the other soldiers trying to keep Chaco’s presence a secret. The morning of the third day Jerry returned from his flight and met the other four for breakfast.