Page 27 of Caged
"Keeping myself from going crazy with boredom." Marshall glanced up. "Things are calm enough. Besides, Rani lives here. If anyone is following me, it looks as if I'm just visiting my best friend." He didn't need a lecture as to why he shouldn't be there but was afraid he was going to get one anyway.
To his shock, D sat down and glanced at the computer. "What ya got?"
"Photos of Danny. He said Larry took video and pictures of him but didn't know what he did with them. I'm seeing if we've got anything with him in it and just didn't know who he was. We've got thousands of photos we can't identify."
"You looking local?" D asked.
"For now. I figured it was the place to start."
"Send a picture to Matt in California and have him run it through their database. It's larger than ours and covers the whole country. They might flag something." D watched as Marshall continued to type. "So how is Danny? He holding up?"
"So far, but I can't see how. He's got to break at some point. If he's cried over this, I haven't seen it. Maybe he cried so much while he was being held, he can't cry anymore, but my gut tells me he's going to break sooner or later. I got him hooked up with a therapist. He sees him for the first time tomorrow." Marshall sat back, turning to face D.
"Good, that might head off any major issues, but you're right, there are still going to be some. Is there anything the team can do?"
"Find Larry." Marshall stressed the words.
"Working on it. We've also got a sting set for Friday night. Are you able to get away and be here? I wasn't sure how you felt about leaving Danny alone at night."
"He'll be okay. I want to be here. I'm going nuts not working. If he seems nervous, I'll let you know. Who's the sting on?"
"That Jefferson Sanders guy. The one who is taking naked photos of the kids at that daycare his wife runs. We were going to just send the file anonymously to the police, but then a new picture showed up. He's moved on to rape. That means he's ours. The police can have what's left of him."
"Fuck, we should have moved faster on that." Marshall had been working on the case before all this stuff with Danny happened. If he'd been at work more, he could have maybe gotten the evidence together faster and the police could've moved in before a child was raped.
"We do what we can, but this brings up the issue again of we need to build a bigger team. I've slacked off in looking for new members. I'm going to fix that. I'm keeping my eyes open if you hear of any good computer guys." D sighed. "It's impossible to know who to trust."
"I'm glad I don't have to do it." Marshall couldn't imagine being responsible for the team's safety and security. "I'll be coming in more and hopefully getting back into the flow of things. Danny's getting used to the house and being alone more often. I can introduce him to Patrick or Jessica so he can have company while I'm here on the computers."
"The whole team would love to meet him when he's ready." D smiled.
"Maybe I'll ask him if we can do a dinner. I still haven't had my housewarming party I'd planned on."
"How are you holding up? This is a lot to take on. I'm not surprised you stepped up to help Danny, but it can't be easy. The guy has been captive since he was seven."
Marshall nodded. "You'd expect more child-like behavior or thinking, but he's really doing well. He has questions and gets confused at things, which frustrates him, but he's hungry to learn how things work. He really wants a normal life. He keeps asking me what he missed out on during the years he was held. He can't go back to high school, prom, dating, or any of the other tortures of teenage years, but he likes to hear about my adventures when I was that age. In time, he wants a job, wants to make his own money, and live on his own. He's scared to death to do it, but the longing is there. I've never met a braver man."
D grinned. "Something about going through shit must make them strong. Look at Faith. You met her when Xander and Matt came to visit. She went through hell, yet she's one of the strongest women I know. I'm sure the girl will conquer the world before she's done."
"I keep telling Danny how strong he is, but he's so worried people blame him for what happened. I don't know how to convince him it's not his fault." Marshall hated seeing the shame in Danny's eyes when the subject came up.
"That's something a good counselor will help get him through. It might take time. He's had years to convince himself of things being a certain way. How's he dealing with his mom's death?"
"He's not. Hasn't really said a word. That's another thing I'm worried about but afraid to bring up. I'm so out of my comfort zone here. I just want to avenge him. Make Larry pay for what he did. I don't know how to help Danny deal or adapt."
"He'll let you know what he needs. It could take time. He's going to have to work through it all, but when that happens is up to him. I think the key for you is to treat him like any other friend or guy you hang with. Show him what it's like to live a normal life. Go out, have fun, do things. Don't tiptoe around him. Just be you and act like the kidnapping didn't happen unless he brings it up or there is a good reason to. He needs to see that it's not the kidnapping that identifies him. Help him find out who he is and what he wants." D nodded to the computer monitor. "You got a hit."
Marshall held his breath. Did he want to see what pulled up? Could he handle seeing a video of Danny being abused? He's witnessed hundreds of children being abused, but this was Danny. It was someone he knew and was growing to care about.
As if reading his mind, D sat forward. "You want to step out while I look and see what we've found and if it links to any other sources we have?"
Marshall ran his hand over his face and shook his head. "I'm okay. I can do this."
"Are you sure. You can't unsee it once you have." D narrowed his eyes.
"I'm sure. I need to know." Before he could change his mind, he reached over and brought up the linked video. The facial recognition software they used seldom got things wrong. It was a military-grade program. "Had to be a video, didn't it?" He grimaced.
"Might give us more to work with. We'll get some screenshots of Larry's face if it shows and run it as well. It might link us to others."
