Page 14 of Hack
CHAPTER SIX
Carter pulled the thumb drive from his computer and palmed it as he stood and walked out into the living room. "Everything's here." He handed the drive to Xander who took it.
"Thanks." Xander wiped it down before using a gloved hand to slip it into his pocket. "Any last-minute info?"
"Nope. Be careful of the motion detector lights on the house to the left. It hits the sidewalk, so stay in the street if you have to walk near that home. Other than that, no issues. You've seen the layout. The backyard is huge and farthest from any neighbors, so use it to gain entry if you can. Other than that, I'll be waiting for your call."
Xander ran his hand down his beard. "In and out and back here for a beer." He slid a couple more pairs of gloves into his pocket.
"I'll have a cold one waiting for you. Stay safe." Carter met Xander's stare. Ever since Dyson had been arrested, Carter was a basket case until everyone was back home safe. He blamed himself for the arrest after missing a call to police to respond to a possible burglary. Even if he'd heard the call, he couldn't say for sure he could have saved Dyson, but he took his arrest hard, unable to forgive himself for it happening.
Xander seemed to read the worry in Carter's eyes. "We're good, Cart. I'll be back before you know it."
Carter gave him a nod before stepping back. He couldn't let his worry fuck with Xander's mindset. He needed to stay confident so he could focus on the job and come home safely. He watched as Xander high-fived Kasey before turning and heading out the door.
He didn't linger in the living room. Even though he had time before Xander would be on site, he wanted to double check the cameras in the area were all deactivated, and make sure there was no police activity in the area that might put Xander in danger.
He slumped back into his chair in front of his computer, bringing up links to the Department of Transportation, plus several of the more popular security companies that people used that had camera feeds. Beside him, Trenton and Matt were working on their own computers, each one focusing on a different part of the sting, making sure Xander was safe.
Carter forced his worry aside and got to work, doing his job just like he'd done hundreds of other nights. Like most sting nights, the room was quiet as they all waited and watched. One minute at a time, one step at a time, and if everything went right, they would take another pedophile off the streets.
Once Xander arrived on location, Carter gave him the go-ahead to enter the home. From there, the rest was up to Xander. With only one adult at the location, there wasn't much to worry about, but as the night with Dyson had shown, it only took one thing to go wrong to make a life-changing problem.
He thought about Dyson often. He'd talked to him a few times over the last year, happy that the move to Colorado had been good for him. He sounded happy, and the new STK team they'd created there was running well. Still, Carter wished he had time to go visit and tell Dyson how sorry he was in person.
Truth was, he'd had time to go, but he was scared to have to look Dyson in the eyes and admit he'd failed him.
Just like with his wife and daughter, the damage couldn't be undone.
He bit back a sigh as he waited for Xander to text that he was out and on his way home. Once he got that text, he was going to call it a night and leave. He needed to get away for a few hours. He found himself needing to escape more often. It wasn't that he didn't love the job he did or the group of men and women he worked with, but he was having a harder time fighting the demons, fighting off the regrets in his past.
His phone dinged, and Carter glanced down, sighing in relief. "He's out and headed to the dump site." He glanced at Trenton and Matt.
"Good. I'm ready to get home. Faith's over at Beau's with Lisa for the next two days, so I'm looking forward to Xander and me having time alone." Matt shut off his computer. "I may not be in tomorrow."
Carter waved him off. "Take two days if you want. We've got this. There's not another sting for a few nights."
"Thanks." Matt smiled. "I'm going out and waiting for my husband."
"I'll be out once we restore cameras in the area," Carter told him.
To his side, the police scanner reported police had arrived on the scene. He listened to everything as he made sure all the cameras and alarms he'd disabled to get Xander in were reactivated. He worked through each step as he went down the list in his head, making sure everything was done to make sure the team stayed safe and secure.
"Looks like another success." Trenton leaned back in his chair.
"Thankfully." Carter ran his fingers through his hair. "I'll pull the police reports tomorrow, and Becca can let us know when the case heads to court, other than that, we can file this one away." They kept records of every sting so they could follow-up, if, and usually when, the pedophiles were released from jail. "I think I'm going to go grab a beer. You want one?"
"No thanks. I think I'm going to cut out for the night and catch a nap. Tomorrow, I want to dig into a sex-ring I've noticed tonight. Looks like adult women, but I think it's big. Looks like maybe thirty or so women."
"Fuck." Carter sighed. "Those are the worst." It usually meant secure locations with surveillance and armed guards to control the women. If it was too much for the team to handle, they'd have to alert the police, but if the team could go in and make the sex-traffickers suffer a little before the police got them, they would. "Keep me posted. I'm going home for a bit tonight, but will be back in the morning."
"You okay? You're spending more time away from here. Something going on?" Trenton looked at him, his brows creased with worry.
"I'm good. Just one of those phases where I need space. Happens from time to time." He hoped Trenton didn't push him. While the phases did happen for all of them, it wasn't that common for Carter to need time away from the STK house. He was almost as bad as Bryon usually, living at the place and only going home a few times a month.
Trenton didn't look convinced, but he nodded, letting it go. "I'll shut everything down. You go."
Carter smiled "Thanks."
