by E. M. Leya
Dyson nodded. "That works, thanks." He slowly stood, looking at Jeremy. "Okay then, I'll be back with dinner and we can figure all this shit out."
Jeremy gave him a nod as he stood. "Nice to be working with you." He held out his hand.
"You as well." He shook Jeremy's hand, hoping that the two of them could work together without any problems. It was too soon to tell what Jeremy was like, but with them both starting over, and the desire to start a new team, he hoped they could work through anything. "I'll see you later tonight."
Following Rob out the door, Dyson was ready to face his new life.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jeremy slumped back down on the couch, glad the initial meeting was over. He'd been nervous as hell about meeting D. He hadn't known what to expect, but he'd assumed that D would walk in and start acting like he was running everything. Thankfully, that hadn't been the case.
The fact that D had experience on a team and he didn't, worried him. He didn't have a clue how these teams worked, and that left him at a disadvantage. He needed to follow D's lead on many things, but he hadn't wanted a bossy partner controlling everything.
One thing was for sure, D was hot as mother-fucking hell. Even with the oddly colored hair, which seemed to be a mix of blondes, browns, and orange, he was attractive. The tattoos were what did it for him. He loved a man with ink, and he had to force himself not to stare as he tried to study each tattoo that he could see on D's arms. How many more did the man have?
Reminding himself why he was there, and that it wasn't to find a boyfriend or even a fuck partner, Jeremy forced his mind off of D and back onto the job. He had programs to download, security to check, then he needed to run a few more system checks to make sure he could easily hack into things like traffic cameras and home security systems.
Hacking was easy for him. He'd started hacking when he was in his early teens, and he never stopped. It wasn't until college when he'd hacked into a government program just to prove he could, that things had changed. It didn't take long for the government to catch on and show up at his door. What he'd expected to end up as a prison term actually had ended up as a job. He'd worked with the CIA for nearly ten years before everything had gone to hell and he'd been arrested.
The memory left him nauseated. He'd had everything. He wanted for nothing. Now, he was walking around under a new name, a new life, and a new job. At least he was walking around. He easily could have been sitting in prison for what he'd done.
When Carter had jumped in and offered him a way out, he'd taken it. Coming to Colorado hadn't been his dream, but it was better than the other option of facing charges and a very public trial. He could have ended up in prison for sure. He owed Carter everything.
Still, he was nervous about this job. Going after pedophiles was great. He was happy to do that, but having them castrated was another thing. He was still working on dealing with that side of the team's work.
When Carter mentioned that he wouldn't have to get his hands dirty and could focus on the computer end of things, that helped. Knowing D had experience and was willing to take on the more gruesome sides of things was a blessing. The less he knew about that part, the better he was.
He's spent the last few days with Carter, creating an online profile so he could get into the dark web. Carter knew exactly how to do things, and it took only one night for Jeremy to be accepted into several hard to access groups that dealt with children. He hadn't been ready for that. The images and videos he'd seen made him physically sick. He'd walked out several times, sure he was going to vomit.
Through it all, Carter promised him that if it was more than he could handle, that he was free to leave, find his own path, and start fresh on his own. The thing was, as hard as it was to view the images, he was able to help. He had the skills to do this, and very few people in the country were as good as he was at hacking and manipulating computer systems. Only Carter and a couple others he used to work with had more knowledge and talent than he did. It was why the government had wanted him on their side. He was dangerous in the hands of the enemy, and he hoped he would be dangerous to the pedophiles also.
He made his way back into the computer room, thinking more about D. He was hard to read, but seemed like an okay guy. He'd tried to push for information on him, but no one would talk. He knew nothing other than he was coming from a team calling themselves STK and they were based in California. Beyond that, D was a mystery.
Carter had let him know what the team did, and that D had been a member for years, working as one of the muscle of the team. He quickly learned that meant that D went out and castrated the men, leaving evidence for the cops afterward.
Any man who could do that, he had to respect.
He liked that they were both starting over. It wasn't easy. He missed so much of his past life. He'd only been Jeremy for a few weeks now, and it wasn't getting any easier. He hoped getting settled in Colorado and getting a routine down would help. He missed so much of what he'd left behind, but faced with the same choices again, he wouldn't have changed anything. He didn't regret what he'd done.
Jeremy forced his thoughts aside and focused on the computer system. Once he started working, he thought of nothing else. One program led to another, and before he knew it, he heard the computer room door open.
"I have Mexican food if you want it." D stood against the door, showered, and changed, his hair still wet.
"Oh, yeah, thanks." He took a breath as he closed the program he was working on. "I didn't even hear you come in."
D led them to the kitchen where several takeout bags sat on the table. "Yeah, I want to get an alarm for that door so that we hear if anyone comes in. Something that will ding or buzz in the back rooms. Right now, being only us, it shouldn't be too bad, but as we add new team members, they'll come and go more often."
Jeremy pulled silverware from the drawers and handed a set to D before sitting down. It smelled delicious, and he realized he hadn't eaten anything but a bagel earlier in the morning. "I'm not even going to pretend I know what we're doing. This is all new for me. Carter explained the computer side of things, and brushed over the jobs of the team, but I have to admit, I'm a bit lost."
"That's going to make it easier. If you'd come from another team, we'd both be fighting each other on what works best. I have no clue how to do more than send an email on a computer, so if we each focus on what we know, we should be okay. I'm happy to walk you through anything on my side of this, but don't feel you have to if it makes you uncomfortable."
"Actually, I'd like to learn what you do, and Carter warned me you weren't great with computers, but he said I needed to teach you some basic things to make sure you knew how to use the system in an emergency. Nothing major, just tracking and hacking into cameras and such."
"Good, because I don't have the stomach for the dark web shit." D handed him a container. "I just got you a combination. Figured there had to be something in it you liked."
"I'm good with most foods, thanks." Jeremy took it, setting it down in front of him. "So, I find it odd you can't stomach the dark web, yet you can tolerate castrating people."
D laughed. "Yeah, I guess that would make sense. Honestly, I can't stand to see the kids hurt. What you see on the dark web is horrible shit. All I'm doing is making the assholes who hurt the kids pay, which is easy. I want them to suffer. It's watching them hurt the kids that I can't deal with."
"Yeah, I was shocked at how fucked up it all is. I knew it was there, but until you see it, you really don't know." Jeremy cut into a burrito and took a bite.
"Yeah, I've seen some horrible shit over the years." D picked up a taco and took a bite.
"How do you deal with it? With seeing all the horror?"
D took a drink before setting it down. "Everyone has their own way. We find our outlet. What works for me may not work for you. Some guys work out, some take up boxing, some use sex."
Jeremy raised a brow. "Sex?"
D laughed. "Don't knoc
k it until you try it. When you're fucking someone so hard all you can do is focus on that, it takes you away from the real world for a while. It's the only time I can forget the past, forget all the things I've seen."
"Hmm, guess I'll have to give it a chance. Out of all the hobbies I could pick up, sex is the most pleasurable." He shook his head as he laughed. "Guess I need to go skiing now so I can pick up someone on the slopes."
"Fuck that. Too cold. I'm hoping there are some good clubs around here I can hit up. Driving over here from my house, I didn't see much."
"Yeah, me neither, but I bet once you get into the city there's more. Did you like your house?"
"Yeah, I did. It's bigger than my last one, but it's nice. I like that it's secluded and not in the middle of a neighborhood. The Jeep they got me is kick-ass. I'm going to enjoy that, but I really want to get a truck before winter comes."
"I was thinking the same thing. Maybe we can go look at them together one night," Jeremy offered.
"Sounds like a plan, but I've got to lay low for a few weeks at least. My face is still all over the news. I heard a news update on the radio on the way over here. If it's on the local radio stations, then I know it's on the national news on TV."
"Fuck, seriously? I never watch the news, so I had no idea it was that serious." Jeremy sat back, shocked that D was still wanted. "I got out of town and never heard another word. I'm sure they are looking for me, but it didn't make national news."
"Yeah, well, being that they told the media what I did for a living, and there was all kinds of press on my crimes, then I managed to escape jail—"
"Whoa! You broke out of jail?" Jeremy was impressed. "I thought I was doing good just skipping town, but to break out, yeah, you've got to be careful. Fuck, that's crazy." He stared at D, trying to imagine what he'd been through. "Do you care if I ask about it?"
D shrugged. "I had just finished the sting and walked out, thought everything was good. I'd been fast, got in and got out quickly. When I walked out, I ran right into the cops. Seems the neighbor was up with her baby and saw me breaking in. She called the cops on me."
"Sting?"
"Yeah, that's what we call it when we go in and take care of the pedophiles. We did stings a few times a week. Anyway, I had gone in, thought everything went as planned, but as I walked out, there were cops waiting for me. I didn't fight. They had me. I had supplies on me, a man in the house castrated, and I knew I was done. We'd always had a plan that if we got arrested, we would make sure to do everything we could to get that person out of jail. Well, it took four weeks, but they did it. I was lying in bed in my cell when they told me to roll up. I guess Carter hacked the system and had me listed as either bailed or time served or whatever. I never asked. I walked out, heard the code word we'd always agreed to use, and went with them. Was in hiding for four days, then came here." D shrugged. "I don't know everything Bryon and Carter did, but I seriously owe them my life."
Jeremy nodded. "I owe people mine too." He stirred his Mexican rice around with his fork. "You must trust me to admit all that. I was afraid we'd have to build up the trust between us to work together."
"We do somewhat, but if Bryon says I can trust you, I know I can. He wouldn't do me wrong. I don't have a clue about who you are or what happened, and if you want to tell me, I'll listen, but I also won't push. All I know is we're supposed to start a new team. You've got the brains, I've got the… Well, know-how to castrate people, I guess." D laughed. "Seriously, I don't know how to begin finding people to work with us. I've asked Bryon to get one guy, but he's locked up right now. I'm not sure they'll get him out. So, that leaves us to figure out how to work together and make all this happen."
Jeremy sighed. "You need computer skills, I've got those, but up until about two weeks ago, I had no clue teams like this existed. I was given the option to join to get me out of my situation. I used to work with Carter years ago. When he contacted me, I was stunned, but I jumped at the chance to do this instead of ending up in prison for the rest of my life."
"Are you morally okay with what this team will do? It's one thing to escape going to prison, but you have to be committed for this. You have to have the stomach for what we see and do. It's not pretty, and it leaves you pretty fucked up after you do it for so long," D told him.
"Honestly, I don't know, but I think so. After everything I've seen while setting stuff up with Carter, and after what brought me here, I'm pretty sure I can handle it. I know I couldn't do your job, but computers, hacking, finding evidence, yeah, I can do that. I don't know what the set up was like where you came from. Carter said you'd know what we needed here."
"I do. I'm going to start buying some stuff soon, starting with a new couch for the living room." D smirked. "But I also want a game room downstairs so we have a place to unwind and get away from it all. The bedrooms are great. We'll use them when we're too tired to go home or we're injured. As for the medical room, well, I can find out what we need and get it here, but it's up to us to find a doctor who is willing to work with us. It's got to be someone who is willing to ignore the fact that we're hacking parts off people. I'd like to find at least two more guys to work the computers with you. They don't have to have your skill, but at least know how to hunt online for the predators, and be able to tolerate hours of digging through the dark web. Then, we need at least two more like me who are willing to cut. I'm not expecting us to be up and running overnight. This is going to take time. It's not like we can just approach anyone with what we do, especially if both of us are wanted. Even with the new names, we look pretty much the same." D ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm dyeing this back tomorrow."
Jeremy laughed. "It's not horrible, but you can tell it's not your natural color. Whoever did it, missed a few spots where the dark shows through, then some spots are a bit brighter than others." Jeremy grinned. "I'll just call you Blondie for now. It fits."
"Fuck you." D flipped him off.
Jeremy grinned. "They made me dye mine too. I dyed it back two days after I got here. I just couldn't look in the mirror."
"Yeah, I'm with you. They want me wearing dress clothes, like suits and shit. Said to keep my arms covered. I get it, I really do, but I don't wear suits, ever."
"That's kinda the idea. Make us into who we aren't."
"Can't teach an old dog new tricks. I'll go get new tats to cover up these, but I have my limits and this hair and wearing a suit push those limits." D reached for his water. "We need to hit the store tomorrow. Stock this house like we would our own. We'll be here more than not over the next few weeks, so we might as well have what we want. We'll make a list." He pushed his food back. "So, I've told you what I have planned for the place. You got anything you want?"
Jeremy shrugged. "If I'm going to be spending time behind the computer all day, I want more comfortable chairs in there. The ones they got suck. Maybe a few office things, nothing much."
"We'll get whatever you need. I haven't had a chance to go over our funding, but I know Bryon, we don't need to worry about money for now, and once we get hunting, money comes in fast. I'm guessing Carter talked to you about how we funnel money out of the pedophiles' accounts to us?"
"Yeah, ingenious. Even I wouldn't have been able to figure that all out. Carter set this all up to be hidden from anyone who might come looking. I'm just stunned."
"Years of practice." D smiled before standing up. "Okay, why don't we get a grocery list going, then do a walk through and figure out what we need around the house. I want to start ordering things tomorrow. You okay hanging out a few more hours?"
Jeremy sighed. "Sadly, this is my life now. No hot dates waiting for me. I'm yours for the night."
D winked. "Careful what you ask for."
Jeremy rolled his eyes, but there was a part of him that wondered what D would do if he asked for more. He wasn't in the mood to get his ass kicked the first night they met, so he held back any comments. D might take it as a joke, but the last thing he wanted was to have
D uncomfortable around him. He didn't know how D would take him being gay, and tonight wasn't the night to find out.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Dyson smiled at his reflection in the mirror. He was taking a huge risk in dyeing his hair darker, but he couldn't stand the blonde. He'd debated on shaving his head, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
He had gone darker than his normal brown, and he actually liked how it looked almost black. It was something he might consider keeping once everything calmed down. One thing was for sure, he wasn't going lighter again.
The danger of being recognized was high, especially with the dark hair, but if he wore long sleeves, kept his head down, and grew a light beard, he hoped he would be okay. He'd avoid going out in public for a while, and when they had the new furniture and stuff for the game room delivered, he'd let Jeremy deal with people. It sucked having to hide, but it was better than going back to jail.
He ran his fingers through his still wet hair before turning and heading out to his living room. He was still trying to get used to the new house. Unlike the simple STK house, his home was a bit more upper class. With vaulted ceilings and large picture windows, it was more than he really ever wanted. He was used to small and simple. He didn't need a lot of room. He needed a kitchen, bathroom, and bed. Beyond that, it was wasted space. The place he had now was four bedrooms, with two living rooms, a huge basement, and a backyard that would need more maintenance and upkeep than he had time or motivation for. He'd walked in to find it furnished, and luckily, the furniture was nicer than what he'd found at the STK house. He could live with it, which was a good thing, because it wasn't as if he could go out and shop for more at the moment.