Page 58 of Free
"Partner?" Jessica smiled as she sat up straighter. "Now this is getting interesting."
D took a drink of his coffee as he watched her over the rim. Personally, he liked her. She was straightforward and not hesitant to call him on things. She said what she thought, and that was nice. There wouldn't be any games between them. "I want to ask you to join our new Denver team."
Jessica didn't show any reaction. She wrapped her hand around her coffee mug and nodded. "Doing?"
"If you have the stomach for it, we need another cutter." He figured he didn't need to go into graphic details. She knew who he was and what he did.
"Oh, I have the stomach for it. The question is, do I want to take the risk?" She took a sip of coffee, her actions as casual as if he'd asked her to simply have dinner with him, not go around cutting off human parts.
"Until my arrest, the team has successfully managed thousands of stings without getting caught, and even now, when I was caught, I still sit here in front of you a free man. The team is careful, but we also take care of each other. We are family, and we don't leave one of our own in jail." He lifted a hand when she went to say something, stopping her. "That doesn't mean there aren't risks. Our team has been stabbed, shot, beaten, and critically wounded at times. I can't promise you will always be spared injury, but again, we take care of our own when that happens as well."
She rolled her eyes. "What? Did you manage to find a doctor to patch you up without turning you in?"
"Two actually." D smiled.
"You're serious?" Jessica's eyes widened.
"I am. We have a medical clinic on location with fantastic doctors who are willing to work with the teams and not leave any paper trail of our injuries." D wasn't sure why she was so surprised by this.
"You found doctors who will look the other way? Risk their license to help you?" She leaned back. "This surprises me."
"Why? They aren't doing anything more than healing the sick or repairing an injury. They are one part of the team. Not all of us go out and hunt, there are many who work behind the scenes to make it all come together."
"And if I don't want to cut, what would you do with me?" Jessica asked.
"We'd talk and see if you have any other talents that would be an asset to the team. If so, we'd invite you to join. If not, I'd wish you luck and be on my way." D hoped she wouldn't turn him down. They needed people to go on the stings, but if she wouldn't, there were plenty of other areas she could help in, if she was interested.
"Why me?" Jessica asked.
"Because I see that look in your eyes. You've either seen stuff or been through stuff that makes you angry. You're pissed off that no one is paying attention to the abuse that goes on around us every day. Like me, you're mad that these assholes are getting off with a slap on the hand and going out and abusing kids again. I see the passion you have given your cause and think you'd bring that passion to ours." D stared at her, trying to figure out what she was thinking, which way she might be leaning.
"Tell me more about what you do. How you do it." She stood. "Want more coffee?"
"Please." He held his cup out for her. "As you know, due to my arrest in California, I was forced to relocate. We are just starting up a team here. Right now, there are only three of us, but I hope to add a few more. As you can imagine, it's not easy finding people to approach. It's not something I can just post an ad for."
She nodded as she sat back down. "And if you don't find more?"
"We will, but it might take time, but for now, we have enough to get started. We have someone who handles the computers, the hacking, the security end of things, then we have a doctor in case we are injured. Both the computer guy and the doc are active on the dark web, searching out pedophiles and evidence. We don't go after the small offenders, only the worst of the worst. So, the guy next door raping his daughter, we might pass an anonymous tip to the police on him, but the guy who has already been charged, spent time in jail, and got out only to start grooming or raping children again, we go after. We go after the traffickers, the ones making movies and posting them on the web, the ones who are kidnapping, killing." He went on to explain the process, from the moment they found the first post online to the moment they returned back to the STK house to debrief. He left nothing out, wanting her to make an informed decision. The only thing he wouldn't tell her was the names and location. That was something only team members knew.
"How often are we talking?" Jessica asked.
"A couple times a week, probably. It will depend on how many people we find. We will rotate, each taking a night, and working as a team on the bigger stings where there is more than one perpetrator on location."
"And you'll train me how to cut?" She raised a brow at him.
"One of our doctors has created a dummy that we all train on, then I would join you on several stings, letting you watch me the first time, then do them yourself the next few times. Once we are both sure you're comfortable on your own, then you would be put into the normal rotation." D was hopeful she was going to agree to this. Why ask all the questions if she was going to refuse?
"What do you do with the parts you cut off?" She asked.
D smiled. "We leave them there. It depends on the person, but I usually like to set them on their chest before I leave so they can stare at them while still paralyzed, but others have tossed them across the room, or just left them where they fall. There is no right or wrong. Our only really serious rule is we don't kill unless our own or the kids' lives are at risk. The police in California were pretty good about not really looking for us as long as we didn't kill. It was easy for them to quietly support what we do. We'd hope for the same here, but know we can't assume anything. It's too soon to know how the police will react once we start acting on a regular basis in the area."
Jessica smiled. "They won't be hunting you down any time soon. I have it on good authority that they were unofficially celebrating that you'd moved here. They were hoping you weren't just passing through when the first one happened."
D grinned. "And just how do you know this?"
Jessica shrugged. "I may know someone who worked the case."
"If you join the team, you can't let this person know you're working with us. The rules are strict on who we let know about us. It's always put to a vote before we invite someone in. If one person votes no, the person isn't welcome. It's the only way this will work." D prayed she would keep her mouth shut. They had too much to lose if she didn't.
