Page 7 of Pain
Xander figured the cops were privately supportive of what they did, though they couldn't state that publicly. There was no doubt that if STK was ever caught, they would face hard time for what they'd done. It was a risk Xander was more than willing to take. The lives he'd saved were more important than his fear of sitting in a prison cell the rest of his life. He guessed the cops weren't digging too hard to stop them. The people STK took down deserved what they got.
"I have a case I need some advice on." Bryon sighed. "I started tracking a new profile. The guy has hidden his true identity well, but I had Carter do some of his fancy work, and found out that this guy is the father of the ten-year-old girl who went missing in Cedar Oaks a couple months ago. He's worked his way into the circles quite quickly. He's not deep enough yet to gain access to any information, but he's close. Even with the backgrounds these groups run, I think he's smart enough to infiltrate the circles."
Carter nodded. "I was impressed. This guy is almost as good as I am at hacking, hiding his identity, and creating another. He's good. One of the best I've seen in a long time."
"The issue with this is, we all know that a grieving father isn't stable enough to handle what he is going to find once he gets a little deeper. He's a loose cannon at this point, and we all know what will happen if by some miracle he finds his daughter on one of those sites." Bryon reached for another slice of pizza. "So far, he's doing everything right, but it's only a matter of time before everything he is seeing gets to him. We've all had those emotional breaks. We've learned how to support each other and get through them, but he's on his own. When he loses it, it's not going to be pretty."
"Not to mention the number of cases he could disrupt should they catch on that he's a fake," Beau said. "They'll all shut down and relocate. We'll lose every lead we have."
Xander nodded. They'd seen it happen before. One hint of someone infiltrating their rings and everything went black in seconds. It was like the power grid had been shut down. Everything was gone. "So, what are you thinking we should do?"
"I don't know. Normally, I would suggest we shut this guy down, but with this one, he is so deep already that I'm almost thinking he should stay." Bryon shrugged.
"He can't," Becca spoke up. "Not if he's a risk."
"This guy is good. Almost as great as me. Good enough that he could work with us." Carter held up his hands as everybody in the room turned to stare at him. "I know, I know. We haven't brought anyone inside for years. I get that. But the truth is, since Jeff left, I could use the help. This guy is really good. I know his head is in the wrong place right now, but if we bring him in, even just enough to guide him, make sure he doesn't go off the deep end, I think he'll gain their trust. Think about it. Not only can this guy hack, but he's gaining trust with the perps. He'd be a combination of Bryon and me. I'm not saying we have to bring him all the way in. We don't have to let him know exactly what we do, but I think someone should talk to him. If nothing else, we need to keep an eye on him."
Kasey set his empty water bottle on the table. "And if he reports us?"
"So what? We don't give him any information. We give him fake names. Just feel him out at first, see where his head is," Carter suggested.
"I can guess where his head is if he just had his daughter kidnapped." Becca stood, walking across the room. "This doesn't sound safe."
"Any information on his daughter?" Xander asked.
"No, she was taken less than half a block from home on her way from school. No one saw anything. No cameras other than the ones that show her leaving the school. I haven't seen any sign of her online, but that doesn't mean anything. We all know they can hold a child for years grooming them before they offer them to the public." Bryon shrugged. "She might not even be out there. There are so many possibilities that it's impossible to go through them all. They have no leads. The family has been cleared. The girl's mother is deceased. No reason or signs of her being a runaway. It's just one big dead end at this point."
"Which is why this father is delving into the dark web hoping for just anything to hold onto, no matter how sinister it might be." Kasey sighed.
"Right, but with our help, with us watching him, keeping him from going off the deep end, he might be able to help us with a lot of other cases," Bryon replied.
"The whole time with him thinking we are searching for his daughter?" Xander wasn't comfortable lying to anyone, especially an already hurting father.
"No, we'll be honest with him. We'll help him search for his daughter, take any information he gains on any of the pedophile rings. With him working with us, we can keep an eye on what he's doing and stop him from going off the edge. If things get too bad, we'll have Katie talk to him," Bryon suggested.
There was a loud groan around the room. Everyone hated talking to Katie. It wasn't that she was a horrible person, but talking to Katie meant someone in STK thought you needed to let off some tension. Katie was the group's therapist. Wife of one of the older members who had died, she was well aware what the group did, and offered her services to any of them when things got too bad or one of the other members felt you were ready to snap.
Xander hated the mandatory visit every three months that Bryon insisted they all have. He understood how trying this job could be, but he hated talking to anyone. With his past, he'd sat through enough therapy sessions in his life. He didn't want to do it as an adult.
"As much as you guys might hate seeing Katie, think of how she might help this guy. I'm guessing up until now, he's been leaning on family, maybe a pastor, or some friend. He might need something a bit more professional," Bryon said.
"What do we know about the guy?" Becca asked from where she leaned against the wall.
"Matthew Springton is thirty-four-years-old. Married at the age of twenty-two. Had his daughter Faith at twenty-four. Mother, Jill, died of pancreatic cancer five years ago. Matt has raised his daughter alone since then. He's an IT specialist for a local software company. From what I can tell, he is way underpaid for the skills he has, but makes a comfortable enough living from his job to raise Faith. His sister, Trish, is a big part of their lives, filling in on the motherly role when Faith needs it. His mother lives close, and is also active in their lives. No signs of any major family issues. Faith does well at school, has a lot of friends. No issues were found on her side either." Carter stood and disappeared into the other room for a moment. When he came back, he passed a printed photo of Matt and Faith around the group.
Bryon reached for another beer. "Since she's been missing, Matt's withdrawn. He spends every free moment he can delving into the dark web. He got the information from Darren Richter. The father of Danny Richter."
Everyone in the room nodded. They all remembered the young boy who had been kidnapped and sold online several years back. It was a case no one could forget. The father found the proof his son had been sold, but by the time he did, there was no trace of the young boy.
"So, would we include Richter in this too?" Kasey asked.
"No, even though I'm sure that Darren is more than willing to help us, the fewer people who know about us the better. The only reason I'm even suggesting Matt is because of his hacking ability, and the fact that he already has an online persona that is gaining trust. It's got to be a group choice. We all know how one wrong move could take us all down. I, for one, am not ready to skip out of the country. I have too many kids still to save." Bryon looked around the circle at the rest of the group. "Think about it tonight. We'll talk tomorrow and vote on it." He stood. "Kase, will you be okay tonight?"
"Yep, in and out without a problem. He's so paranoid about what is going on with the internet, he doesn't pay any attention to his surroundings. I'll have the boy he's holding in police protection by midnight." Kasey stood.
Xander almost asked to join him, but he hated people tagging along on his jobs, he was sure that Kasey was the same way. "Yell if you need anything. I'm just relaxing tonight. I can be there in ten."
Kasey nodded. "Thanks, but don't wait up for a call. This one looks like an in and out."
