Page 87 of Caged
Danny laughed. "I guess that's true."
"I'd much rather have your cooking than all the junk food and take-out we eat there. I swear we live off tacos and burgers. Rani is going to have us all on medication soon if we don't improve our diets."
"Can Rani do that? Is he your official doctor?"
"Not yet, but he will be. He's still jumping through hoops trying to get his license here in America. It's a lot of work and not a lot of his training from Oman is transferable. He's got to do a lot of it over again. He'll get there. For now, the team trusts him to treat us if we're hurt and we get all our medications and stuff through Beau in California. Hopefully, soon, Rani will be able to do everything here. I know it's frustrating for him not to be able to work like he did back home, but once he finishes training here, it will be better. Right now, he's just so tired all of the time."
"Yeah, he's hardly around. I was wondering how he can be there for the team when he works so much."
"He works a ton, but he's home at night a lot when the team is at their biggest risk. If something major happened, he'd find a way to be with us even if he had to fake being sick or something at work. Thank God that hasn't happened yet."
"Faith was telling me about some things she's seen. Did you know Xander was shot?"
"I heard about that. I'm nervous every time the team goes out."
"I'm glad you're a computer guy and not out with them. I know you're still in danger, but not the way they are. I hate the thought of Jessica out there risking her life."
"I'm glad you and Jessica have gotten close. She's a good woman."
"She's been through a lot, but she's strong. Like Faith, she makes me think that someday things might be okay for me too."
"I hope they will be. I wish I could make you forget everything you went through." Marshall stood and moved to the chair beside Danny's.
"That's the thing. I'm not sure I want to forget. I mean, I hate the nightmares and stuff, but I think I want to help others. Warn kids to be safe. Jessica and I were talking more about doing that public speaking thing. It's something I'd like to look into. She said she knew some people who could help me get into schools to do assemblies and things. I'm scared to speak to a lot of people, but I really think I might help some kids stay safe. Maybe even warn some parents to watch their kids closer."
"I think that's a fantastic idea." Marshall loved that Danny was looking ahead.
"I was waiting until Larry was caught, because I didn't want to risk him finding me when I was in public speaking or something, but now, I think I could do this."
The sound of Marshall's phone interrupted them.
"Hello?"
"Hey, turn on channel seven news." Jeremy's voice came over the phone.
Marshall reached for the remote from the coffee table and turned it on. "What's up?"
"News broke about Larry's arrest. Sounds like a leak from the hospital because they are talking about the castration too," Jeremy told him.
"Really? Shit. Thanks for letting us know." Marshall paused for a moment watching the report, aware of Danny sliding forward in his chair as he did the same.
"Listen, stay home for another day before heading over here. Since this is the first STK case Colorado Springs has seen, they're all worked up, determined to find out who assaulted the pedophiles before calling it in. They won't get far, but let them calm down a bit before you show up here."
"Yeah, detectives were here about a half an hour ago, questioning us on where we were last night. They wouldn't say more than they'd arrested Larry and he was injured and in the hospital."
"Hospital records show he came through surgery just fine and is recovering. The other guy, Dale, he had a seizure on the operating table and ended up in ICU. He should recover, but only time will tell."
Marshall couldn't find it in himself to feel sorry for the guy. "I'll let Danny know. Hey, he is looking for proof it really was Larry. Can you help with that?"
"I can't right now, but I'll watch for anything. If he was local, I'd just send Rani in to grab a pic, but since it's an hour from here, it's not worth the effort. I'll see what I can drag up once more information hits the database."
"Thanks, Jer." Marshall glanced at Danny. "Keep us in the loop if anything changes."
"Will do." Jeremy ended the call.
Marshall stayed silent as they watched the news talk about Danny and the other boys who had been saved, then a recap of Larry and the search for him. Then it got to the current events and Marshall was shocked how much information the media already had. There were photos of the ranch where Larry had been found, references to two children who had been rescued from the place, and then they went into a very detailed account of the injuries Larry and Dale had received before the police were called.
"I thought you said the police kept that information silent." Danny glanced at him.
