Page 23 of Hack
CHAPTER TEN
Carter sat back, letting out a long, relieved breath as he read the message on his phone. Kasey was on his way back to the house, which meant they'd managed another successful sting. The tension that consumed him eased a little, but the headache which had been pounding in his head for over half the day didn't let up at all.
It wasn't uncommon for him to get headaches like this, and he knew what caused them. It was too many hours sitting in front of a computer, typing away on his keyboard. Being in one position for too long without doing anything else always got to him, and between working with the STK team and also working on the case with Archer, he was spending nearly twenty hours a day in front of a computer. It was too much. He needed a day off away from it all.
"Kase is on his way here," Carter called out to the group as he stood. He arched backward, his hands going high over his head as he tried to ease the muscles in his shoulders where all of his tension was coming from.
"Street cameras back on in five." Matt was typing on the computer, making sure that Kasey was out of the area before they put anything back online. The last thing they needed was to go online early and have Kasey's car on the cameras as it drove away from the area.
"Great job, everyone." Bryon stood in the doorway to the computer room. "I know I don't say it enough, but thank you for all you do." He looked around the room. "We couldn't take these assholes down without you."
No one responded. There wasn't much to say. Not one of them needed a thank you from Bryon or him. The thanks came by knowing that the men and women they went after wouldn't be able to hurt children again, at least not in the way they had.
Matt glanced up at Carter. "Did you get a chance to look at that motel invite?"
"Yeah, I did. I think we should hand that off to Noam. I don't like how public the area is, and I think they'll have better luck going in than we will. We have no idea how many men are on site, and there is no way we can get them all without drawing attention to ourselves. It's just too risky. Talk to Kasey when he gets back and have him ask Noam to drop by to see you. If he doesn't think the police should handle it, then we'll give it a second look." Carter had a bad feeling about going into a motel and not knowing who was involved in the trafficking and who wasn't.
"Sure thing." Matt turned back to his computer.
"I'm going to head out for the night, and I might not make it in until later tomorrow. I've got a hell of a headache coming on. I need sleep." He bent down, turning off his computer. "You guys okay?"
"Yeah, we're good." Trenton glanced over. "You okay? You need Beau?"
It wouldn't be the first time that Carter had asked Beau, the team doctor, to get him something for his headaches, but there was no point this time. It was just tension in his shoulder. He could feel the exact place where the muscles were tight. A hot shower and a day away from the computer would do the job. "Nah, I've just been on the computer too much. You guys know how it gets."
Trenton and Matt both nodded. It was something they'd all gone through more than once.
"I'm going to take the day to refresh, then I'll be back tomorrow night. I want to make sure we are ready to go on Friday."
"So far, we're on schedule," Trenton told him.
"Then let's make sure we keep it that way." They had a huge sting which would take Xander, Kasey, and Bryon into a large beach house not far from their location. There were four adult men on site along with three young children. They couldn't afford for anything to go wrong. They'd been planning everything for over two weeks now, making sure they had all the information they could get. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."
He headed out into the living room, not shocked to find Becca, Bryon's girlfriend, sitting on the couch. He gave her a nod, glad she didn't start up a conversation. He was almost to the door when he heard his name called.
"Cart, wait up." Bryon was rushing to him.
"What's up?" Carter tried not to show his irritation. He just wanted to get home.
"You okay?" Bryon met his eyes. "You seem tenser than usual."
"Just a headache." Carter waved him off.
"It's not just tonight. It's been the last week or so." Bryon stared at him with a look that made it clear he wasn't going to let this go.
Carter sighed. He wasn't going to lie to Bryon, but he really didn't want him trying to get in the middle of what he was doing or worrying about him while he was doing it. "I'm good, honestly. I've been working on Angel's case and it's got me putting in more hours than I'm used to."
"You got new information?" Bryon looked surprised.
Carter shrugged. "I'm not sure yet, but maybe. It might be nothing, but you know I have to look at it. I can't ignore anything." Bryon understood more than anyone the need to have answers. It was what had brought them together so many years ago.
"Yeah, I get it, but don't push yourself too hard, okay? You need help, ask for it. I'm here and so are the rest of the team. We're family. We've got your back." Bryon's gaze bore into him. "You won't do Angel any good by stressing yourself out."
"Which is why I'm taking most of the day off tomorrow and cutting out earlier than usual tonight. I'm good. You know I'll say something if I need help, but right now I'm just reading through some files and linking information. It's nothing more than too much time in front of the computer. I'm going home, having a drink, and going to bed. I'll be just fine." Carter gripped Bryon's shoulder. "Seriously, I will let you know if I need you."
Bryon shook his head. They'd known each other too long for him to believe that. "Take tomorrow night off too. We got this. The team can handle things."
"We'll see." Carter turned. "I'll call either way." He pulled the door open and headed outside without looking back.
