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"It was a last-minute trip. I was going to wait until tomorrow to see you, but I drove by on my way to the hotel and saw lights on." Beau pulled back. "You're okay?" He seemed to let his gaze travel over D as if making sure he wasn't injured.
D held up his hands. "Fine. No problems, I promise." D glanced at Jeremy. "Jer took care of me."
"Well, I sure didn't expect to catch you in the middle of a sting. Why don't I head off to the hotel and you two can finish up? We can talk tomorrow."
"You're not getting a hotel. We have rooms here or we both have space at our homes. You'll stay with us," D insisted.
Jeremy nodded. "Besides, we're done for the night now. Just have to follow up with the scanner and wait for police reports. We were curious how Denver PD will handle this. Hopefully, they won't go public."
"Yeah, but who knows after news of my arrest in California went national. I'm sure there will be all kinds of attention surrounding this." D sighed.
"Which is why you should lay low for a bit longer. Work on building your team before going out again." Beau stared at D.
D tugged off his hoodie and nodded. "I know. I just couldn't sit back on this one. I've got a few leads I'm looking into for other members, but it's not easy." D walked into the kitchen, tossing his hoodie on the back of a chair before pulling out a beer. "Want one?" He asked both him and Beau.
"I'll take one." Jeremy reached out.
"I'm good." Beau sat down.
Jeremy took the beer D handed him and sat down. "Beau, you mentioned you might have a way to help us?"
D glanced at Beau as he sat down.
"Yeah, possibly. I'm meeting with a friend for dinner tomorrow. I wanted to invite you both to come with. He's someone I met on that humanitarian trip to the Middle East I went on a few years back. He's a doctor who recently came to America after a hit was put out on him in his hometown. He was looking to start over here, but there is a ton of red tape. It will take years before he's able to work as a doctor here." Beau sighed. "I won't go into all the details, but he's a great surgeon. I've worked side-by-side with him. He could really use a job."
"And you think he'll be okay with what we do?" Jeremy asked.
Beau smiled.
"What?" D asked.
"He had to leave Oman because of his fight against FGM," Beau told them.
"FGM?" D shook his head. "What's that?"
"Female genital mutilation," Jeremy answered. "It's where the men cut off the female's clitoris so they can't experience pleasure."
"Exactly," Beau continued. "Anyway, Rani started a campaign to have it outlawed. But he pissed off the wrong people, and they tried to shut him up. When his brother was attacked, and parents threatened, he decided it was time to leave. He's been living in New York for a few months trying to find work, but even with his training, he can't get anything other than entry-level medical positions. Even though he's been a doctor there for years, the US won't accept him until he pretty much retrains. Meaning another five to eight years before he can be licensed here."
D sat back. "There's a big stretch from campaigning to stop a barbaric act to actually cutting off a guy's junk."
"True, but I think he'll be up for it. He can jump through the hoops and work on getting his license here while working with you and having a more than suitable income. We both know he'll make more here with you in a month than he would in a year working at a hospital as a surgeon." Beau reached for his water.
"I don't know." Jeremy didn't like how vulnerable this made them. "What if he refuses? Then he's seen us. Knows who we are. I'm not sure I like that."
"Well, I'm here for a three-day convention. I'm more than happy to talk to him alone about it tomorrow night. I trust he won't turn me in. Then, if he's interested, we can plan another meeting before I leave." Beau glanced at D, then back at Jeremy. "I don't blame you for being nervous. You both have more than enough reason to be cautious."
"I can't wait until things calm down. Sadly, by doing the sting tonight, I've put more heat on us. They'll be watching even more for me since it's a new location and I'm on the run. Still, it couldn't be helped. I have no regrets." D looked at Beau. "Talk to him. If he's interested, then I fully trust you to bring him over or have us meet, what about you, Jer?"
Jeremy set his beer on the table and looked over at Beau. "I have no reason not to trust you. If D and Carter trust you, then I can too. Just be sure he knows what he's in for. I hope we never need his help, but if we do… Well, you know exactly how bad it could get."
"I do, and I'll prepare him for that. I won't hold anything back. I think he'll be okay with it. I wouldn't ask him if I didn't think he'd take the job." Beau twisted the cap on his bottle of water.
"He's going to be willing to leave New York?" Jeremy wanted to make sure they covered everything before following through on this.
"He'll be ecstatic to get out of there. He hates it. He was asking about coming out to California with me, but I don't think he'd be any happier there. He'll be a great asset to your team. He's a great surgeon, and has training I don't even have. He speaks great English, but there is a strong accent."
"Is he going to be okay with my lifestyle?" D asked.
