Page 37 of Caged
"They're going in." D paced the area behind Marshall, glancing at the monitors but focusing most of his attention on the police scanner. If everything went right, the scanner would stay silent until Jessica or Patrick were well out of the area and called the police on their own.
This was the worst part, the silent waiting and wondering what was going on. The whole team was all too aware of how dangerous this could be. Hell, the Denver team existed only because something had gone wrong in California and D had to move somewhere new.
Tonight's sting was a big one. Two adult men were keeping three young females locked in the house, daughters of the younger man. The girls ranged in age from six to twelve. It turned Marshall's stomach to think about what the girls were going through. Their mother died six months before and the girls had been pulled from school shortly after. When their photos started showing up online, it had been easy to track the pictures to their father's computer, making the whole thing even more infuriating.
Jessica and Patrick would go in, secure the men, castrate them, then spray paint arrows to the door where the girls were being held. Then after leaving a folder of evidence for the police to find, they would leave the scene and call the police. The STK team never dealt with the children. They only focused on the adults who hurt them. The police had better resources to handle the kids, and the team in no way wanted any child to see what they did to the adults who held them.
Marshall watched the clock, wishing he could get up and pace along with D. "Ten minutes in." He again checked all cameras in the area, watching for anything that didn't look right. Once the team left the house, he'd deactivate the cameras again so they weren't seen driving out of the area. It wasn't foolproof, but it helped keep the risk of anyone getting caught to a minimum.
He'd been at the team house working most of the day, and as much as he loved his job, his mind had been on Danny most of the time. They had both fallen asleep on the couch after Danny's bad dream, and Marshall had woken up to find Danny curled up against his side, his arm wrapped around him.
It had been heaven.
Marshall couldn't recall the last time he'd woken up to another man holding him. He'd had one-night stands off and on, but nothing serious enough for anyone to stay all night.
He'd laid there watching Danny sleep, seeing the peace on his face that wasn't there in his waking hours. He longed to see that peace all the time, but he feared it would be a long time before Danny was really okay.
The nightmare hadn't shocked Marshall. He'd been waiting for one to happen. At the sound of Danny's first scream, he'd been across the hall and into his room without hesitation. He'd longed to pull Danny into his arms and protect him, but he feared that would only make things worse. He never wanted Danny to fear him.
He had been a bit shocked by the erection. While Danny had been horrified, Marshall had been intrigued. How horrible was it that he had stared at the size of it even through the sweats, thinking things he had no right to be thinking about Danny? He'd swallowed back his desire, making sure not to let it show so he could focus on being there for Danny, but the image was still burned into his mind. "Fifteen minutes in." Marshall forced himself to focus on his job.
Beside him, Jeremy watched the 911 dispatchers he'd hacked into so he could track them, making sure no calls came in from the area. After what had happened to D in California, the team paid extra attention to everything the police in the area did. They weren't going to miss a call the way they had when D had been arrested.
"Twenty minutes." Marshall clicked on a traffic camera to check out a car that was driving by. It was going in the opposite direction, but they had to be sure of everything.
Minutes felt like hours as they waited. Once the team finished, he would wait for them to arrive back at the STK house, then he'd head home. Hopefully to find Danny asleep, but he feared that wasn't going to happen. Danny never slept when Marshall wasn't there. It was probably fear, and Marshall hated that, but he couldn't stop working just to stay by Danny's side. He called and checked on him often, but it was good to let him get used to time alone.
"Come on." D leaned his hands on the back of Jeremy's chair, watching the screens over his shoulders.
"They're still within the usual time," Marshall reassured him.
"I swear this is going to make me old really quickly." D sighed.
"I'll love you no matter how old and gray you get." Jeremy arched his head back for a kiss.
Marshall smiled. He wanted that with someone. Watching Jeremy and D together gave him hope that he might someday find someone to put up with him. Having Danny around had shown him how much he liked coming home to someone. He liked the company. Having someone to talk to. And now, after last night, he liked waking up with someone in his arms.
God, what was he thinking? He couldn't think about Danny this way. He was there to support Danny and help him get through all the shit he'd faced, not lust after him.
"Thirty minutes." Jeremy's fingers flew over the keyboard. "Still all clear."
The tension in the room seemed to grow with each minute that passed. It wasn't until D's burner phone rang with a text that anyone dared to relax.
"They're out and headed away from the scene. Cut all cameras." D blew out a long breath.
Marshall cut the camera feeds, making sure an older feed would play back if anyone else was watching. As soon as Jessica and Patrick had time to get clear of the area and head to the dumpsite to get rid of their supplies, he'd bring the cameras back online as if nothing had happened.
"Good job, everyone. Now we just pray they make it home safe." Jeremy sat back, still watching the dispatch feed on his computer, waiting for the call to come in to send police to the scene.
"This never gets easier." Marshall rolled his shoulders.
"Which is good. If it got easy, we might not pay as close attention to things." D sank down in the chair beside Jeremy. "We've got two more this week. Let's keep our focus."
They were suddenly busier than usual, which in their line of work wasn't good. It seemed sex trafficking of children was on the increase in the area. Just when they'd linked one group to a site, they found another. Job security, but he wished he didn't have it since so many kids were being hurt to give him his job.
"How's Danny holding up?" D asked.
"He's good. Doing well and getting more comfortable with normal things. I think this counselor he is seeing helps, but I don't ask much about it. He comes home happier after seeing him. He said they don't talk much about the kidnapping, but just hang out and play video games while they talk about everyday things." Marshall shrugged. "Whatever works."
