Page 75 of Caged
She shrugged. "I had a pretty good idea right after I was rescued, but none of the guys would say much. They kicked me out of the room anytime the conversation got serious. It wasn't until I was about sixteen or so that they really started letting me stick around. I'm still not allowed in the computer rooms very often if they're searching up videos and pictures, but they'll at least talk around me now."
Matt tugged on Faith's braided hair as he stood beside her. "She thinks she can be a team doctor someday. I'd rather her far away from all of this, working safely in some hospital."
Faith rolled her eyes. "I can do both. Beau and Rani both work and take care of a team."
Danny wondered if that meant they planned on creating more teams in the future. He wasn't going to ask a ton of questions now. Hopefully, he'd learn more by just listening.
"Let's get you through medical school first," Xander said from across the room.
Patrick walked into the kitchen, giving Danny a smile and a thumbs up.
"Okay, I don't want to be here all night, so let's get this meeting started." D reached for a thick file folder that was on the kitchen table. "The first thing on the agenda is Roger Demstrum. A fifty-two-year-old math teacher at Jefferson High School. He's been blackmailing his students. Higher grades in exchange for oral sex favors which he records and has been uploading the videos to the dark web. You can hear him telling the students that they better not tell anyone or he'll release the videos for everyone to see. His victims are both male and female. Right now, we know of twenty-eight students he's blackmailed over the last three years. He has them come to his home where he talks them into the exchange. While the videos consist only of blow jobs, they are violent and degrading. We've got enough on him to go in. I'd like Patrick to take this one Tuesday night."
Patrick gave a nod.
Danny listened as they talked about two other cases. His stomach turned as he thought about how many children were being abused if there was enough to keep a team like this busy. He thought he'd been one of very few to face abuse, but he was learning that the numbers were a lot higher than he ever imagined.
"How are things going with the search in Colorado Springs?" Jessica asked after the other conversations ended.
Marshall glanced at Danny and said, "we think that's where Larry is. His family has a ranch in the area. We've linked the ranch to a series of child pornography videos that have been released over the last few years. While the man in these videos isn't Larry, we do think Larry is linked to this man somehow and probably now staying with him."
"Videos?" Danny swallowed hard. "It's not me, is it?"
"No. These videos show the same two children over the last few years. The videos are scripted and we think whoever is in them is scripting them and forcing the children to act out scenes. We know there are two adults at the location, but so far, we haven't been able to confirm one of them is Larry," Marshall told him.
Danny wrapped his arms around himself. "How do you confirm it?"
"We're watching business cameras in the area, hoping if it is Larry, he'll venture out and let us see him, but the thing is, we have enough evidence on the other man to go in. The man is Larry's cousin, Dale. We haven't been able to identify the children so far, but we finally did link the videos to the location. Satellite and heat-sensing imagery show the children never leave the back room they are kept in." Jeremy glanced at D. "We have enough to go in if you approve it."
D nodded. "Plan it, but since we can't confirm the identity of the second man, we only restrain him. If we get on location and it is Larry, then we go through with castration. If it's not him, we just don't have enough to warrant dismemberment. Dale will get the full treatment."
"The second guy has to be Larry. I'd bet everything on it." Marshall sounded mad.
"I hope you're right. And if it is, we'll make him pay for what he's done. If it's not, we only restrain because we don't have enough evidence to tell us this other man is guilty of anything more than bad choices in living arrangements," D said.
"You know that's bullshit. If he's living there, he has to know at the least that the kids are being held in that room." Marshall sighed.
"We all know that, but we can't prove that. We work on proof. So if you want the okay to go in, you'll agree to those terms." D stared at Marshall.
"Of course he agrees." Danny gripped Marshall's shoulder. "Right?"
Marshall nodded.
Danny took a deep breath. "It's Larry. I feel it."
Jeremy nodded. "Everything points to it being him. We'll know once the team is on-site."
"When are we doing this?" Jessica asked.
D looked around the room. "Friday night."
Danny's chest tightened. That was less than a week away.
D looked directly at Marshall. "That night, I want you and Danny at home. Matt will still be here and can help Jeremy on the computers. I want you and Danny to go out to dinner, go to a movie, be seen around town. I want to make sure that there is proof you were in Denver at the time of the sting. I don't want to give anyone reason to think this might be Danny seeking revenge. While the castration will link the team to the sting, I want you both with alibies."
Danny glanced at Marshall.
"That's fine. Just promise me you'll make it hurt if it's Larry." Marshall stared at D.
