Page 63 of Hack
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
"Are you sure that's the only alarms?" Archer asked as they sat on the couch in the living room of the STK house and went over everything that Carter had printed out.
"I've looked for more. I've hacked into the internet connection there and found nothing. There aren't cameras anywhere around other than the ones around the bunkhouse where the girls are and the main house. I can take those offline minutes before I go in," Carter assured him.
Bryon was with them, listening to everything they discussed. "Why can't you have Matt or Trenton here doing it for you? Take a burner phone and let us help you. You might be four thousand miles away, but that doesn't mean we can't do what we do best. You know as well as I do, it's possible."
Carter seemed to grit his teeth.
"Cart, I know you want to do this alone, but it's not worth risking your life over, let alone those girls. If something goes wrong, he'll kill the girls first thing. It's one thing for you to run in there and take care of business, but you have to think about those kids. What happens if by some chance Lyle takes you down? With no one there to back you up, we're going to risk losing him and all the girls he has. Are you really willing to risk that?" Archer was sure Carter was bitching at him in his head, but he was honestly worried about Carter going in alone. At least if the team was watching from the STK house, they could call for the police to show up before Lyle went after the girls.
Carter cursed and shook his head.
"No one is telling you that you can't go after him, but you know we're right." Bryon stared at him. "You can't put innocents at risk. This is why we have three of us go in on dangerous stings. It's why we have rules in place."
"This isn't a team thing. This has nothing to do with the team," Carter argued.
"No, this has to do with friendship and family. More than once I've heard you call your team members family. They don't want anything to happen to you any more than I do. You've got them here, willing to help. Let them." Archer glanced over at Bryon, hoping he could find a way to get Carter to see how important this was.
The truth was, he wasn't sure he could handle it if something happened to Carter. His heart was more involved in what was going on between them than he wanted to admit. Losing Carter now, without the chance of ever knowing if there could be something between them, would leave him lost. He needed that chance and he wasn't going to get it until after Lyle was out of the picture.
Carter's entire focus was on Lyle and vengeance. Archer didn't blame him. He understood, and that was why he was willing to wait to have that conversation he'd talked about. He wasn't going to make Carter stress on them when he had enough on his mind already. If Carter lived through this stupid solo stunt he was trying to pull, they'd get their chance to talk.
He was sure they could make things work. Hell, if that meant that he needed to move to California to be with Carter, he would do that. He had nothing to tie him to anywhere else. He had his home, which he'd keep, but it would be nothing more than a get-away place when they wanted.
The problem was Carter had been mourning his daughter and wife so long that he'd never allowed himself to feel anything else, and now, if he found himself happy with the two of them together, it probably made him feel guilty. Hopefully, in time, once Lyle was dead and Carter slowly was able to deal with his wife and daughter's deaths, he would be able to give Archer the chance he wanted.
Nothing was guaranteed. He knew that, but he cared enough about Carter to want to try.
"Fine." Carter sat back with a heavy sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Matt and Trenton can watch from here. They can handle the security systems and cameras, just like it was a normal sting, but that's it. I'm doing the rest of this by myself."
Bryon sat forward, his mouth open to speak, but Carter put a hand up to stop him.
"No. I'm not discussing this. This is how it needs to be." Carter turned to Archer. "I also want you to make sure you're as far away from North Carolina as possible when I'm there. I won't have anyone accusing you of this. You were seen in Atlanta, used your real name for the motel, even talked to the police there. You'll be one of the first people they look at. You have to make sure you're seen in public while I'm there."
Archer had already planned for this after Carter had brought it up before. "I promise. I'm checking into a motel room here. They'll have me on cameras at the motel. I'll tell them I'm here visiting a friend. Hell, maybe Faith and Xander will go to Disney with me for the day or something. There are enough cameras there they can't argue my alibi."
Carter closed his eyes. "Thank you." He seemed to visibly relax at that. "I can't worry about you during all this."
"I know, which is why, as badly as I want to be there with you, I'm not going to be. But you better fucking call me the moment you are done. The moment you are safe. I need to know that you're okay." He reached out and gripped Carter's knee. "You need to come home to me." He didn't care that Bryon was staring at them, probably in shock at how needy he sounded. He wasn't going to hide his feelings. He cared about Carter and he didn't give a fuck who knew that.
Carter met his stare and held it. "I promise."
Archer gave a nod, words weren't necessary. He saw in Carter's eyes that he meant that. Nothing he would do on his part would keep him from coming back. If he didn't make it home, it would be because of something out of his control.
"Good, now that we've got that worked out, let's figure this shit out because if you want to get in there in the next day or two, we've got a shitload of work to do." Bryon stood. "I'm calling Trenton and Matt in for this meeting."
Trenton was in the computer room, but Matt would need to come in, so they were going to have to wait. Archer looked down at the pile of printouts in front of them. "Do you know where the key is for the lock where the girls are held?"
Carter shook his head. "No, but I won't need it. I'm not dealing with them. I'm going in, taking care of Lyle and maybe the other woman, and then I'm out and calling the police to rescue the girls. I don't have the training or honestly the patience to deal with that many kids who are going to be traumatized. I'll make sure the police know where they are and that the scene is secure with one or two dead in the house."
"What are you going to do about the woman?" Archer hated the thought of killing her, but it did seem that she was helping Lyle with the kidnapped girls.
"I'm not sure, and honestly, I won't know until I get there. I'm going to restrain her and find out who the fuck she is. Like you, I think she's one of the kidnapped girls from outside Atlanta. Either way, I don't think I'm killing her, but I'll have to see what happens." Carter lowered his gaze for a moment, then glanced back up. "Are you okay with me killing Lyle? I mean, seriously okay? It won't change things between us?"
Archer gave him a sad smile because he understood Carter's worry. "No, it's not going to change anything. I understand. The only part of all this I hate is that we could have had those girls reunited with their families yesterday. Still, I get why we've waited. If he'd taken from me what he has from you, I'd want him dead too. Just make sure you can live with what you do."
"I can't live with myself if I don't."
