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"Fuck, this is a mess, Jer. What do we do?" D leaned his head against his hand.
"What does your gut tell you? Carter and Bryon tell us all the time to follow our gut." Jeremy ran his hand down D's back, supporting whatever he decided.
"My gut says this isn't a big deal. Which is crazy. It's a huge fucking deal. I had a cop recognize me, I had a team member admit to her cop brother that she was hunting with us, and I had that cop pull a gun and threaten to arrest me. It's a big fucking deal, but my gut says to let it blow over. My mind says to move the team to Canada and hide, but my gut isn't worried at all." D glanced over at Jeremy. "What does your gut say? Maybe I'm too close to this."
Jeremy shrugged. "My gut says let's give Jess a chance. From what you told me, whatever happened in her past is pretty fucked up. If her brother witnessed it, it could be enough for him to keep his mouth shut and let us do our thing. We both know that having a past experience changes a person. I just don't know how I didn't find anything about it in her background check. Something like what she seemed to be talking about should have been mentioned. If not the attack or whatever happened to her, at least some police report, some medical history, something should be there. My biggest worry is that Jessica isn't who we think she is."
"You think she's lying to us?" D asked.
"Not just us, but everyone. Like she's changed her name or started over somehow. The only time I've seen stuff like this in the past is when I've dealt with someone in the witness protection program. There's a past, but it doesn't always match the facts that the person lets slip out. We need to talk to her, and she needs to tell us everything. If she wants our trust, she's going to have to trust us." Jeremy took a sip of his coffee.
"Tell me I didn't make a mistake inviting her to join us." D sighed.
"I don't think it was a mistake. I think we need to know more facts, but I don't see that she's really lied to us about much. I mean, it's obvious she's got intentions of revenge on whoever hurt her, and she didn't tell us about whatever it is. That's an issue. As a team, we don't deal with the Lone Ranger mentality. We talk and agree on everything. I'm not against going after people who have hurt our team members, like if you wanted to go after your parents, but we discuss it first. We don't just do it. My fear is she was going to use the team to help her either find whoever she's after or help her get access to them, then go in on her own."
D rolled his shoulders. "We need to meet with her soon. I don't want to do this over the phone. I want to look into her eyes when she explains all of this to us."
"I agree. Are you comfortable going to her place?" Jeremy asked.
"Yeah, I think so. She's in no condition to come to us, though I know she's going to be a hard-ass and try and do too much too soon. She's got to be hurting. She'll take a week off if she's smart. I heard you say she should have Rani come over, so that's good. At least there will be a doctor watching her, because judging by her reaction to being in the hospital last night, she isn't going to go back, and I get the feeling she's not someone who bothers with a primary doctor either." D stood, going to pour more coffee. "We need to deal with Jessica, but we also have two new members who we need to train. We can't let them sit idle while we deal with her. Let's set up a time to meet with Jessica at her place, but in the meantime, we focus on what we were going to be doing before all this shit started. We train our new members, collect our evidence, and we go on with the stings we already have planned. I'm not putting them off. I'm not going to let more kids suffer because I'm scared of being arrested again. I know the risks and I'm willing to take them. Just promise me you'll put money on my books if I end up back in jail."
Jeremy slapped D's arm. "Stop talking that way. It's not going to happen. I won't let it."
"You can't stop it. We just have to be careful." D shook his head. "What a mess."
"We'll get through it. I'll call Jess in a bit and set up a time to meet. Until then, we'll head back to the team house and focus on the new guys. There's nothing more we can do other than watch to ensure we aren't being followed." He leaned his head on D's shoulder. "And, for now, go back to being extra careful. Let the other guys run to the store and do things in public. I know it kills you to have to stay inside all the time, but I'd rather have you restless than arrested."
"You'll just have to help me work off the extra energy." D grinned.
"That is a deal." Jeremy laughed. "I'm going to go grab a shower. You want to join me?"
D didn't hesitate, taking a long drink of his coffee before standing. "Lead the way."
