Page 20 of Pain
"Hey, I was hoping we'd hear from you. How are you holding up?" Carter sounded genuinely happy to hear from him.
"As good as can be expected." He took a deep breath, again looking at the building he'd worked in for so long. "Listen, I've thought about your offer, and I think I'd be interested."
"That's fantastic. I'm excited to have you with us. Finally, someone who will understand my geek talk." Carter laughed. "We actually have a team meeting tonight. We hold them every couple of days. Would you be able to join us?"
"Sure, tell me where and when and I can be there."
"Actually, we never give the address out over a non-secure phone, so would you mind if I sent Xander to pick you up? Once you've been here, you won't forget how to get here, but until we get you a secure phone, we like to take all the precautions we can."
Matt hesitated. Did he trust these guys enough to let them take him to an unknown location? He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to think.
"I know you might not be comfortable, but I will tell you it's a home in a safe neighborhood. If you aren't comfortable when you get here, we'll take you home anytime. We just can't risk the team's safety by giving out information," Carter told him.
"You know what? If I trust you enough to say I'll work for you, I should trust you enough to drive me somewhere. I'm just leaving my other job and it will take me about a half-an-hour to get home."
"No problem. I'll have Xander pick you up at about six-thirty, so that will give you some time. Once you're here, I'll introduce you to the rest of the team and show you our computer system. I'm looking forward to working with you."
"Me too. I have to admit, I'm eager to see what I can learn from you." Matt was always excited to learn new computer skills.
Carter laughed. "I'm happy to teach you all I know, but from what I've seen, you're going to do fine on your own."
"Thanks." Matt smiled, then thought about how rare it was to smile anymore, but since meeting Carter and Xander, he found himself doing it more often, especially when he thought about Xander and his outlandish comments and attitude.
"Anyway, watch for Xander around six-thirty and plan on being gone an hour or two, then one of us will take you home. Once you know where we are, you can drop by anytime."
"I'll see you then." Matt hung up his phone, his stomach turning nervously, but he wasn't sure how much of it was fear and how much was excitement.
He set his phone down, giving his work one last glance, not as upset about quitting as he thought he would be. He loved working in IT, but the job had always been too easy for him. It was something he did for the paycheck, not something he did to challenge his mind. He hoped working with Carter's team, he would be able to push himself, actually have to think once in a while.
As he pulled out on the road, he thought about Faith. Usually, he would be headed home to see her smiling face, the older neighbor who watched her at their house after school would have dinner ready, then the three of them would sit down and eat together. Once dinner was done, and the babysitter was gone, he'd shower before helping Faith with any homework. He loved that time with her, the two of them sitting together, laughing, and talking, instead of working on the math problems she'd bring home. God, he missed her.
He tried not to wonder where she was or what might be happening to her. He refused to believe she might be dead, even though statistics said she probably was. He couldn't think that. Until there was proof, he would think of her alive, because as long as she was alive, there was a chance she'd come back home.
Traffic was light, and he pulled into his driveway earlier than he expected. Taking advantage of the extra time, he quickly jumped in the shower, glad to rid himself of the suit and change into a pair of comfortable jeans and a t-shirt.
As he headed back to the living room, he paused for a moment at Faith's bedroom, opening the door and looking inside. He hadn't touched anything in there, hoping she'd come home and find it just as she left it.
There were some nights he would go in and lay on her bed, remembering every bedtime story he'd told her, or even back to when Jill would fall asleep beside Faith and he'd go in and quietly cover the two of them up before heading to bed alone. Fuck he missed his family. He didn't think things could get harder than they were when Jill died, but losing Faith was harder than anything he could imagine. He wanted to go door to door, tearing apart every house to find her. He wanted to take out ads in every city, call every hospital. His mind never stopped thinking of things he wanted to do, but then the truth hit him, there was nothing he could do but wait.
He closed Faith's door. He didn't need to get himself in that mood before his meeting tonight. He needed a clear head, and allowing himself to get lost in memories wasn't going to help anything.
He grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and sat down at the kitchen table, again thinking over his conversations with Xander and Carter. From what it sounded like, they did pretty much the same thing he'd been doing online at home, searching the dark web, trying to weave their way into circles and find out what kids were on there. It didn't give him a lot of hope of finding Faith if their team was deeper involved in the sex trafficking circles than he was, and they had yet to see any signs of her. He was driving himself insane trying to figure out new ways to search, new leads to look into, but there was nothing.
The sound of the doorbell was a relief, and he quickly made his way to the door, taking a second to look out the peephole before opening the door for Xander.
"You called for a cab?" Xander smiled.
"Actually, no, it was insisted that I take one." Matt grinned back. "Thanks for picking me up."
"No problem. You're on my way. Glad to hear you decided to join us." Xander ran his hand down his beard, fisting it for a moment before releasing it. "I think you'll fit in well."
"Just as long as I don't have to deal with anything bloody."
"Nope, other than Dyson's steaks, which he always under cooks." Xander winked. "You ready to go?"
"Yep." Matt patted his back pocket to make sure he had his wallet, grabbed his keys before setting the alarm, then walked out and locked the door. He followed Xander down the steps to a new model Mustang. "Nice car."
"Thanks. It's not the one I use for work, but I enjoy it when I can." Xander unlocked the car.
