Adventures at Brentwood Gap

Rog and his friends go on their usual summer hike. During their last two hikes they had delivered up bad men to the police. But the men at Brentwood Gap seemed like a different kettle of fish altogether.

Juvert Thames was the leader of the ‘Organization’. They were a group of gun smugglers involved in other criminal activities until the three youths came upon their hideout.

Bull, one of the leaders of the ‘Organization’, knows that the youths spell danger and wants to get rid of them.

Lloydie, second in command to Juvert, wants to get rid of the youths too.

Cuffee, one of the leaders of the Jackson syndicate, was lucky to be on hand to rescue the boys but will he be so benevolent to them when he knows about their record.






Adventures at Brentwood Gap-Chapter One

AUSTIN MITCHELL

Copyright © 2015 Austin Mitchell

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stores in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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Published by
Austin Mitchell

For my late Uncle ‘Eddison Thompson’ (Mass Eddie or Uncle Eddie)


CHAPTER ONE

Russell, Brett and Rog had set off on this hike to Brentwood Gap. They were on Summer holidays and it was usual for them to do a hike. For the past two years they had been hiking to other places and they had decided to hike up to Brentwood Gap this time around. They would start from Monday morning and reach home by Sunday evening. They had their camping gear with them and would take turns at cooking a meal. Last night they camped out in Lennox Hills and now they were passing through the village of Stonewall. As they passed through they saw a man sitting on a stool. It was about five o’clock on this Friday evening. They went up to him and Russell asked.
“Sir, can you give us the directions to Brentwood Gap?”
The man, whose clothes looked to be quite soiled and in need of a good scrubbing, acted as if he didn’t hear. But just as Russell was about to repeat the question a tall heavy set man sauntered over to them.
“I hope you guys aren’t troubling Jonas? Can’t you see that he’s drunk?”
The man glared at them.
“We were just asking him if he knew where Brentwood Gap is,” Rog replied.
A short bald headed, thick necked man joined them.
“Who are these boys, Lloydie?”
“They must be strangers, Bull. It’s the first time I’m seeing them.”
“What do you, boys want in Brentwood Gap?” Lloydie asked.
“We are on a hike there,” Russell replied.
“You’d better keep away from there. It’s not a nice place for you to go,” Bull advised.
“But we heard that it was such a wonderful place,” Brett said.
From what they had heard about Brentwood Gap, it had a fall and a pool at the bottom of the fall.
“Maybe once, but not again. Lots of bad people up there now. You guys take my advice and stay away from there,” Lloydie said before he made his way over to the other side of the road.
Bull looked at them and nodded before he went in the opposite direction to which Lloydie had gone.
The three friends found seats on a bamboo bench near to the one on which the drunken man was now sleeping. It was about five o’clock in the evening.
All three boys’ shoulders had dropped to show their disappointment at what they had just heard. It seemed as if their hike had been ruined. On the other hand, they could go somewhere else. They were adventurous and their past hikes had been full of danger. On their first hike they had caught a gang of goat thieves and handed them over to the police. Last year they foiled a kidnapping plot. Now as they sat and thought over what the two men had told them they had to decide on a new course of action fast.
“Let’s draw lots,” Russell said.
They then agreed among themselves that if a majority voted to continue the hike to Brentwood Gap then they just had to do it. Russell said that those who were in favour of going to Brentwood Gap should put up their hands and they all put up their hands.
“What if those men see us going there, won’t they try to stop us?” Brett asked.
“Unless they are following us they won’t know it’s there, we are going,” Rog replied.
“I don’t like either of those two men. We just ask them for directions and they are saying a lot of bad things about the place,” Russell opined.
“I don’t see anything wrong with that, maybe they were just trying to keep us out of danger,” Rog replied.
“Let’s get a move on,” Brett said as they all stood up.
“You notice how deserted this village is,” Russell remarked.
His remarks was true of Stonewall. For a Friday afternoon the tiny village looked deserted and except for a few cars and some youngsters and oldsters there wasn’t much happening. The three youths loaded up their gear and prepared to set off when the drunken man fell off the bench. Before the youths could move, Bull, Lloydie and another man, ran to his assistance.
Bull and Lloydie took Jonas inside the bar leaving the other man with the three youths. This man was of medium height and thin with a large beard.
“I head that it’s the Gap you guys want to go. Bull and Lloydie said they’ve warned you about the place. What are you guys looking for? We don’t like strangers up here so you’d better get out of here.”
The man’s bluntness shocked the youths.
“Mister, we’re just on a hike. We are not troubling anybody,” Russell stated.
“You boys have been warned. Better for you to go back the way you came. You can go to Junction Village but we don’t want to see you in Brentwood Gap, so be off with you.”
The man walked over to three other men. The boys noticed that the men were all looking in their direction and scowling. There was no sign of Bull or Lloydie or the drunken Jonas for that matter.
They moved out of the village the way they had come.
“Let’s walk until we reach Norris Hills then we can rest there,” Russell said.
“I wonder why they don’t want us in the village or to go to the Gap?” Brett asked.
“Maybe there’s something up there they don’t want us to see,” Rog replied.
“We could stop at the police station in Norris Hills and ask about Brentwood Gap. We should probably have done that before we came up here,” Russell said.
They walked for half a mile on the main road and only about four cars passed them; two going to Stonewall and two coming from that village.
“That village looked creepy to me. It’s only old people and some youngsters we saw apart from those men. We didn’t see any middle-aged persons nor even any kids our age. I tell you something is wrong in that village,” Brett insisted.
“When we get to Norris Hills we can ask around and find out what’s going on up here,” Rog said.
“Maybe we should keep off the road, we aren’t sure what those men will do,” Russell said.
“Well, at least two cars passed us coming from up there and they didn’t trouble us,” Brett replied as they rounded a corner and heard a car horn blow a few chains further back. The boys scrambled into the bushes.
The car came to a halt and Bull and three of the men, who were with him in Stonewall, came out.
“Nully said he saw them walking on the road,” Bull said.
“Juvert is angry that we did not capture them as he wants all the workers he can get,” another man said.
“We’ll find them because they can’t have gotten very far,” Bull said as he got into the car. The others piled in after him and they drove off.

The three boys remained in hiding. They were all too shocked at what they were hearing to say anything. After a while Rog said.
“We have to get away from here. It’s a pity as none of us have any credit on our cell phones.”
“We can’t walk on the road as we don’t know if they will be back searching for us,” Brett said.
They were all mindful that they had not yet eaten since twelve o’clock, but that was the farthest thing from their thoughts. They were going over in their minds what they had heard Bull say.
“What did he mean that Juvert wanted all the workers he can get?” Brett asked.
“I don’t know and we had better keep down our voices. We can go through those bushes and hide out until tonight. It will be easier to travel in the night,” Rog said.
“Yes, let’s get out of here; I’m sure those men will be combing the area looking for us,” Brett said as they crawled down into a gully. They were not gone very far when they heard some men shouting.

“Those boys are around here somewhere. I’m sure about that.”
It was definitely Bull’s voice, they were hearing.
“I tell you, Juvert will not be pleased with us if we let those boys escape,” one of the men said.
“Who says they’ve escaped. Even if they get out I’ve told Bernie Green to look out for them,” Bull said.
“I bet the fools will go to Bernie to tell him about us,” the same man said.
“Let’s get back to base, we can get some more of those guys to come with us to help search for them,” Bull said.
“Say, maybe we could bring the dogs with us. I’d sure like to see those boys running from those dogs,” another man said.
“If you let those dogs injure those boys you might have to do their portion of the work for them,” Bull warned as he started the car and they drove off.
The boys were listening to what the men were saying.
“You heard what they said about dogs. Let’s get a move on, we daren’t go on the road again. Sounds to me as if they have some sort of labour camp,” Rog said as they began walking through the thick grass.
“I feel hungry, we should stop and eat something,” Brett said.
“We’ll stop at that river down there,” Rog said, pointing down to the river.
“Maybe we could cook some food by the river,” Russell suggested.
“No time for that now. We’ll just open a tin of beef and have it with some biscuits. That river gives me an idea. If those men are going to use dogs to hunt us then if we follow the river we could lose them as the dogs won’t be able to pick up our scent in the water,” Rog remarked.
They sat by the river and had their meal. They filled up their canteens and made sure to hide their disposables so that their pursuers could not find them. They then started their journey once more.
“We have to find somewhere to sleep; it will soon be dark,” Russell said.
“We probably won’t be able to sleep until we know what those men are up to,” Rog remarked. They had taken off their socks and shoes, rolled up their pants and were now walking down the river.
They had not gone very far down the meandering length of the river when they heard shouts and the barking of dogs.
“They are coming after us, we had better keep on moving. Those dogs won’t be able to pick up our scent in the water,” Rog said as they stepped up the pace.
“How do we know that we won’t end up back in that village?” Russell asked.
“We are moving away from it; we have got to move faster. They won’t know if it’s up or down the river we went. So they might split up into two. That might give us a better chance against them,” Rog said.
“Our empty hands against men with guns and dogs. I don’t fancy our chances against them,” Brett replied.

Meanwhile Bull and three men had reached where the boys had stopped to have their meal. They had two Alsatian dogs with them.
“Looks like they stopped to have a meal here,” Bull said as he examined the ground.
“Damn those boys, why is Lloydie out to catch them?” Neville asked.
“He figures that they might have seen something and he is not sure that their parents are not rich and could pay us to release them if we told them that we had kidnapped them,” Bull said.
“So which way do you think they went?” Nully asked.
“Those boys are not fools, they’d know that dogs can’t pick up their smell in water so more than likely they will be walking in the river,” Bull said.
“That still doesn’t answer my question as to which direction those boys went,” Nully remarked.
“Why did we bring those dogs with us if we know that they can’t help us?” Neville asked.
“They will come in handy. Those boys must come out of the water and then we can use the dogs to track them,” Bull explained.
“Neville, you and Tonto take one of the dogs and go up the river, if you sight them, call us. Those boys are not to be harmed. Based on the information Juvert got about them, their parents are wealthy. They might be willing to pay a million dollars each for them. Nully, you come with me,” Bull said.
“Suppose those boys attack us, what do we do?” Tonto asked.
“Attack us with what? You are grown men, don’t tell me that you are afraid of some kids,” Bull said, hammering his fist into a tree as he took one of the dog chains and he and Nully started down the river.
“Sure like to see these dogs rip those boys apart,” Tonto said as he and Neville moved up the river.
“There will be no more of that talk from you, fool,” Neville shouted and as an afterthought. “You wouldn’t want me to report you to Juvert.”
At the mention of the gang leader’s name, Tonto shut up and started after Neville.

The youths had come out of the river, now. They had climbed a tree near the river’s edge and jumped off on to the other side of the river into some bushes. They then decided to climb a steep bank. From up on this bank, they could see far down the river. They looked, but there was no sign of pursuit.
They went through some thick bushes and climbed a steep hill and were looking down at a road. They were looking down at the road when an old car drove up and stopped. A man came from the car. To the boys’ surprise it was Jonas. He made for where they were.
“I know you boys are around, so come out of your hiding
place. I won’t hurt you,” Jonas appealed to them.
The boys were hesitant and were trembling with fear.
“You’d better come out, boys. I’m the only one who can help you. Bull might be just half an hour behind you.”
The three boys came out of their hiding place to face Jonas.
“Come with me, boys. I’ll drop you in Jackson. You’ll be safe there.”
“How are we sure that you are not going to deliver us to those men?” Rog asked.
“As I said we don’t have much time to waste. If those men see me here with you I will be in as much trouble as you are.”
Reluctantly the three boys got into the back seat of Jona’s car after putting their gears in the trunk of his car.
Jonas drove off the car and they were headed for Jackson.
“Why are you not one of those men? They were mighty friendly to you this afternoon up in the village,” Rog said.
“You boys are lucky I showed up. Those men are real bad men, they control that village. I have to act drunk most of the time so that they don’t do me anything.”
“Exactly what is it that goes on in that village?” Rog asked.
Jonas was silent.
“Are you afraid to tell us, Mr. Jonas?” Brett asked.
“Just be glad that I am helping you boys to escape. They find out that it was me who helped you escape and they’ll kill me.”
“We would surely like to know exactly what we are running away from,” Russell opined.
The other two boys nodded in agreement with Russell.
“You boys are mighty curious, but I have to get a guarantee from you that you will never return to the village.”
“Okay, if you tell us, we will just go about our business and forget we ever saw that village,” Rog stated.
“Bad men run this village. Their leader is Juvert; he carries a steel club. Likely to split your skull at a mere wink. They do kidnappings, bring their victims into the village and after the ransom is paid they release them. They also hide wanted men, both from Jamaica and other countries. Give them new identities and then ship them back out.”
The boys had their ears open.
“You boys are lucky. Juvert finds out that you are worthless he just orders his men to shoot you down in the village.”
“We hardly saw anybody in the village?” Rog asked.
“Juvert has them working on his plantations. He might use the three you on his plantation.”
“We saw cars coming and going from the village,” Brett stated.
“Cars you see coming out of the village will contain kidnap victims whose ransom has been paid or wanted men who have been given a new identity. Cars coming into the village will contain new kidnap victims and wanted men seeking a change of identity.”
They took a dirt road Jonas told them that he did not want to go on to the main road for fear of being seen.

Bull and Nully had found the spot where the boys had come out of the river. They climbed up on the bank of the river and walked up to the hill overlooking the road as the dog had picked up the boy’s scent. Bull took out his cell phone and called Neville and Tonto. He told them to turn back as they had picked up the boys’ tracks.
“You think they went across the road, Bull?” Nully asked.
“How would I know, you want to take the dog and chase those boys all over this blinking country. I want a car, I am not used to this walking.”
He rang up Gully, another of their associates. He told him to bring a pick-up as he thought he knew where the boys were. Meanwhile, he and Nully took a rest by sitting on a wall. They tied the dog to a nearby tree.

“We have only a mile to go, boys before I let you out. You can camp anywhere for Juvert does not operate so far and the people down in Jackson are enemies of the Juvert organization.”
“So what will happen to all those people whom they have kidnapped? And why didn’t they want us to go to Brentwood Gap?” Rog asked.
“That’s where the heart of their organization is. Stonewall is used as a bulwark because it’s where you have to pass through to go to the Gap. You can’t go there without their permission.”
“We should be able to do something to help those people, Mr. Jonas. Why do you want us to run away?” Russell asked.
“You boys are young, you think you could be a match for hardened criminals like those men. I just want to get you out of harm’s way,” Jonas said as he brought the car to a stop.
“This whole area is called Jackson, boys. The village square ia about half a milen up the road. You can camp out tonight and in the morning you can get a taxi to take you out of the village. I will be sure glad if you boys acted sensible and take my advice and don’t venture into that village again.”
Jonas helped them take their gear out of his car trunk.
“I’m going to continue on this back road. I don’t want anybody to know that I left the village. You boys keep off the road, although I told you that they and the people of Jackson are enemies, Juvert has spies all around. If they get wind that you are up here they might try to snatch you.”
“You told us to take a taxi out of the village, how will we know that it won’t be Juvert’s men operating those taxis,” Rog asked.
“Don’t take any taxis in which there are already passengers. You can go down to the village centre and get a taxi there.”
Jonas got back in the car and drove off. The boys made their way into the bushes and began walking in search of a safe place to bed down for the night.
“What do you reckon we should do in the morning,” Rog asked.
“Boy, I am feeling so weary and I’m dying to sleep,” Russell said.
“It’s near eight o’clock. I think we should get out of here as quickly as possible. We can report what we saw when we get to somewhere friendlier,” Brett said.
They had come to a grove of trees.
“This seems a good place for us to rest up for the night,” Rog said, throwing down his gear and dropping into the grass. The others followed his example.
They were hungry, but they knew that they daren’t make a fire.
Presently they took out some biscuits and canned soda and had their supper.
“Do you think that man was telling the truth about what they are doing up here?” Rog asked.
“I don’t see why not, and we have seen them in action. I think they were following us and remember they were using dogs,” Russell said.
“Well, if Jonas is to be believed they are not coming into this village, but they have spies so we still have to be careful,” Brett said.
“Doesn’t seem as if they have any type of law in these areas,” Rog said.
“Remember what Jonas said. If we had gone to report them we would have been captured,” Russell said.
The three boys crawled into their sleeping bags and in a few minutes were fast asleep.
Bull had a stern look on his face as he drove into Stonewall that night. They had driven all over and had not found the youths or any sign of them.
“They came out of the river and the dogs picked up their sign, but we lost them at the top of the road,” he said as Lloydie, and the bearded man, Jack, greeted them as they came out of the pick-up.
“Do you think they got help from somebody to hide from us?” Lloydie asked.
He was Juvert’s chief operative in Stonewall and he was frowning at Bull’s failure to capture the three youths. Information had reached them that the three youths if kidnapped could fetch a million dollars each. The Organization was not about to give up this amount of money and no effort would be spared to capture the boys and hold them for ransom.
“Anyway, you let our spies in the adjoining districts know. We might even be willing to offer a reward for their capture,” Lloydie said. To be continued. Please read my blog at:http://stredwick.blogspot.com