My guys told Julie to answer every one of the
kidnappers’ demands with a question. My strategy was to
keep the kidnappers engaged but off balance.
“How do I know José is alive?” she asked the first time
they talked.
To their demand for $5 million, she said, “We don’t
have that kind of money. How can we raise that much?”
“How can we pay you anything until we know José is
okay?” Julie asked the next time they talked.
Questions, always questions.
The kidnapper who was negotiating with Julie seemed
extremely perplexed by her persistent questions, and he kept
asking for time to think. That slowed everything down, but
he never got angry with Julie. Answering questions gave
him the illusion that he had control of the negotiation.
By constantly asking questions and making minuscule
offers, Julie drove the ransom down to $16,500. When they
came to that number, the kidnappers demanded she get it to
them immediately.
“How can I do that when I have to sell my cars and
trucks?” she asked.
Always buying more time.
We were starting to grin because success was within
reach; we were really close to a ransom that the family could
afford.
And then I got a phone call in the middle of the night
from one of my deployed guys in Ecuador, Kevin Rust.
Kevin is a terrific negotiator and the same guy who’d called