Page 55 of Hack
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Carter was tired after a long flight home, but as they left the airport, the last place he wanted to go was his house. He didn't have what he needed there. Everything was at the STK house. The problem was, he had Archer with him, and if he took him to the house, there was going to be trouble. Still, it was where he wanted to go.
It was driving him nuts wanting answers to whether Lyle was using the North Carolina home as his hideout, and the only way they were going to find out was if he accessed the satellite information and the intel that he could only get through the programs he had set up for STK. And while he could drop Archer off at his house and then head into the STK house, it didn't feel right.
Archer had been with him through all of this over the last few days, and he deserved to be part of what was yet to come. If there was a major breakthrough, he wanted Archer by his side, not finding out through some phone call or text message.
He glanced over at Archer, who was busy concentrating on the traffic around them as he maneuvered his rental car out of the airport's heavy traffic. Taking him to the STK house broke every rule they had, but it was exactly what he was going to do. "You too tired to work a bit more today?"
Archer shook his head, not bothering to take his eyes off the traffic to look at him. "Nah, I'm good."
"Then hit the next exit and head north," Carter told him. If he was lucky, most of the team wouldn't be there. He'd still have to deal with Bryon and probably Trenton, but if the rest were gone… Yeah, he didn't dare get his hopes up. With his luck, everyone would be there. Monday afternoon was a time when everyone was around, planning ahead for the week.
"Where we going?" Archer asked as he changed lanes to get ready to take the exit.
"Someplace that might cause a scene." Carter sighed. "But I want you with me when I find out anything. I don't want you waiting at home to hear what the satellite shows."
"The team house? Are you serious? After warning me how strict they are about no one knowing, you're going to take my ass there?" Archer managed to cast a nervous glance his way before refocusing on traffic.
"I don't want to do it alone. We've been a team through all of this. I'm not shoving you aside now that we're so close." Carter could handle any issues. It wasn't like they would kick him off the team or anything. There would be words, of that he was sure, but he could talk Bryon or anyone else down. After all, almost all of them had brought others around, maybe not in the way he had, and maybe by following the rules, but they had to understand. At least he hoped they would.
"Fuck, Cart, don't you think you should call them first or go in and talk to them? Showing up with me isn't going to go over well." Archer sounded nervous.
"Do you want to wait for information? Because I don't. And I'm not going in and searching for shit without you by my side. The sooner we know what is going on at the property, the sooner we can figure out a plan. Seriously, the longer we wait, the longer the girls he probably has with him suffer." It was a cheap shot, but he was sure that mentioning the girls would be what had Archer giving in.
"Shit, this isn't going to be good. You're going to get me killed."
"Nah, if they kill anyone, it's going to be me. You're safe." Carter tried to make light of what he was doing, but the truth was, it was some serious shit. If the guys wanted to kick him off the team, they'd have the right. Still, his need for information and his loyalty to Archer overrode everything.
"I can wait in the car," Archer offered.
"You'd still know the location and that's what will be the issue. Trust me on this, okay? It's all on me. I know what I'm doing. We need this info. I don't want to wait, and like I said, you deserve to be part of it. If I follow procedure, I have to call a meeting, wait until the whole team can meet, then put it to a vote. We don't have that kind of time. It could be a day or two before everyone can get together."
"If I didn't want this information as badly as you do…" Archer shook his head.
"I know. I'll make it up to you later, I promise. Just stay with me and let me deal with them. I swear once you get to know them, you'll love them, but it might be tense at first. Unless they have some big sting planned for tonight, things should be pretty casual." He couldn't recall anything huge going on, but it wouldn't be the first time something popped up they acted on quickly. He continued to lead Archer through the streets, taking him to the neighborhood where the STK house was located.
"You were serious when you said house, weren't you?" Archer looked around the simple middle-class neighborhood.
"Yep, we blend in. Neighbors think we're a bunch of lazy gamers who hang out and drink all day. They leave us alone. We leave them alone."
"Can you imagine if they knew what you do inside?" Archer laughed. "It's a good idea though. No one is going to think a group like yours would be living in the middle of a place like this."
"Blending in is what we do best." Carter pointed to the house. "There, with the Jeep in the driveway. Just pull in and park next to it." Carter ignored the nervousness in his stomach, warning him that he was walking into a hornets' nest. "You ready for this?"
"Not even close. I'd be more comfortable walking into Lyle's place with you than here." Archer sighed as he pulled the key from the ignition.
"We'll be fine." Carter got out and went around to meet Archer in front of the car. "Like I said, just let me deal with them. They'll yell, but I can handle them." He headed to the front door, glancing back to make sure Archer was following.
He wasn't shocked that as soon as he pushed the door open and the two of them stepped inside, Bryon was standing in front of him, a pissed off look on his face. He'd known Bryon would have been watching out the window. A strange car pulling up in the driveway would have grabbed his attention.
"Hey, Bry." Carter smiled. "This is Archer. He's working with me on a case. We need to look something up." He debated on making an excuse for bringing him with him to the house, but honestly, he didn't have any excuse other than Archer deserved to be with him for this.
"Carter, we have rules." Bryon's voice was calm, but his eyes said so much more.
"I know, and I'll deal with the repercussions of this. I was going to ask for a meeting to vote on it, but we don't have time. We have to get this information as soon as we can, and I don't have the access at my place. He's been with me for every step of this, and deserves to be here now for what I'm about to look up." Carter reached for Archer's hand. "Please don't fight me on this. We can deal with it later, but I think we've found Angel's killer, and I need my satellite links."
Bryon's eyes widened. "You found him?"
