by E. M. Leya
"Faith, Matt, it's good to see you guys." Marshall stood, smiling at their guests. "What brings you to Denver?"
"We took a trip out to Pennsylvania to check out Faith's new school and see what the area had to offer." Matt put his arm around his daughter's shoulders.
Marshall had met all three a couple of times. They worked with the California team which D had used to be with. Being best friends, D and Xander kept in close contact. Matt was a whiz at computers, and Faith, she was special to everyone. Even though Marshall hadn't been around, he'd heard the story of how she'd been kidnapped and the STK team had tracked her down and gone in to rescue her. She'd been a child then. Now, she was a beautiful woman, and if he remembered right, on her way to becoming a doctor. "Pennsylvania, huh? That's a long way from home."
"Don't remind Dad of that." Faith grinned. "It was the premed program I think will work best for me."
"It's a great school, but I don't like you being all the way across the country if you need something."
"I'll be fine. Carter and Archer are in the area all the time. I can call them if I need anything." Faith narrowed her eyes at her dad. "I'll be just fine."
"I know you will, but I might not be." Matt sighed.
"Anyway, we decided to make a stop on our way home and visit. I hope it's not a bad time." Xander took a seat in front of one of the many computers.
"Not at all." Jeremy pulled Faith from Matt to give her a hug, then hugged Matt. "In fact, we're having a birthday party for Marshall's boyfriend tonight at our place. You guys are more than welcome." Jeremy glanced at Marshall as if hoping it was okay.
Marshall nodded. "Of course, we'd love to have you there."
"Boyfriend? This is new. You were a workaholic the last time we were here. No time for fun," Matt teased.
"He sorta just fell into my life." Marshall shrugged. "And ended up adding to the workload honestly."
"Oh?" Xander asked.
"Yeah, wait until you hear this." Jeremy gestured to the chairs around the room. "Might as well take a seat."
Marshall sat back down in his chair. "It's kind of unbelievable." He told them about buying the house, then about Danny running out of the house next door. The rest of the story fell into place as he talked about Danny's years being held and the other boys. "Anyway, I'm trying to hunt down his kidnapper, but I keep hitting brick walls." He explained about all the evidence they had found and the leads they were working.
Xander whistled. "Wow, what's the chances you'd move next door to a pedophile, and not just a pedophile, but one who's held his victim for twelve years. It has to be fate."
"Maybe. I like to think he would have escaped either way, but I'm glad I was there to be the one to help him. And now, I can hopefully be the one to bring that asshole to justice." Marshall turned to Matt. "You got any ideas what I'm missing? What I've failed to try and research?"
"What was the name of that film company again?" Matt asked.
"Lamp Light."
"Give me a sec. That rings a bell, but I can't be sure." Matt pulled out his phone and hit a few buttons, a second later he smiled. "Hey, Trenton, I need a favor. Remember that pornography company we found that had all those horrible Daddy videos. They were set up like a storyline. We traced it but couldn't figure out where they were coming from. What was the name of it?"
Silence filled the room as Matt listened to whatever Trenton was saying. "That's it. I'm in Denver visiting D. Can you send Marshall all the files we have about them? I think he's onto something here that might tie in with what we have." He listened for a minute more, then smiled. "Thanks. I'll be in touch and let you know what we find." He ended the call and looked at Marshall. "Just as I thought. Lamp Light Productions is a company we found online. The videos are put out through a sort of subscription. People pay big money for each episode. There's a lot of videos posted, all using the same two kids. It started when they were about three and now the kids have to be eight or nine. One girl, one boy. Nasty shit. The guy acts like their father, or maybe he is their father, but either way, it's like he's following a script. As the kids got older, it was like he was teaching them to follow a script too. Say certain things, act in certain ways. It's just the three of them, never anyone else. A lot of point of view filming as if watching from the father's eyes."
"If this links to what we have, we have reason to go in." Marshall smiled. "This could be the break we needed."
"Not so fast. Even if we link the company, we don't have any proof it's that location. While we think it is, thinking is not enough to have us risk going in and being wrong. We need proof. We'll need more than the link, but this is more than we had. See what Trenton sends you and go from there," Jeremy warned.
Marshall didn't want to wait. He was sure that the asshole was living at the ranch. The longer they waited to go after him, the more likely he was to get away. "We've got to get him."
"We will, but we won't break rules doing it. If you can't wait, gather the evidence you have and give it to the cops, maybe they can find something we haven't." Jeremy watched him closely.
"Right, like that will happen. They're so far behind on this case we'd be lucky if they looked into it by next year." Marshall wasn't happy, but he looked at Matt anyway. "Thanks for checking on that. If it is the same people, it's a big lead."
"Why would they use the same company name for historical documentaries and porn?"
"To cover up the porn I guess, but it wasn't smart if it leads one to the other," Xander said.
"Give Trenton time to get the files and he'll send them," Matt promised.
"For now, you should go home and be with Danny. It's his birthday. You shouldn't be here working." Jeremy gripped Marshall's shoulder. "We'll call if something breaks, but we both know it won't happen tonight. Go get ready for the party and we'll meet at my place in a few hours. I've still got to stop and get Danny's gift and pick up some more beer."
"Where's D?" Xander asked.
"He's doing some recon on a guy we're thinking about inviting to the team. He's Danny's counselor. We think he's a good fit, but D wanted to follow up on a few things. Check out some older information that came up when we started digging," Jeremy told him.
"Anything I can help with?" Matt asked.
"Antsy to work?" Marshall grinned.
"Nah, but since I'm here I might as well do what I can."
"We're good for now, but we'll see what D comes up with tonight." Jeremy eyed Marshall. "Go."
Marshall held up his hands. "Okay, I'm going." He stood, looking around the room. "It's good to see you guys… and girl." He winked at Faith. "I look forward to catching up tonight."
"And we look forward to meeting the new boyfriend." Xander grinned.
Leaving them to laugh behind him, he headed out. Jeremy was right, he should be with Danny and not stuck behind some computer. He was looking forward to the surprise party and watching Danny's reaction. Tonight would be good for him. It would help show Danny that life went on and people cared. For tonight, Marshall was going to forget about everything work-related. It was his boyfriend's birthday, and he was going to make it the best birthday that Danny ever had.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Danny's eyes widened at the large home they pulled up in front of. "Wow, you said it was a nice house, but I never imagined this. Just the two of them live here?"
"Yep. It's not as big inside as it looks outside, but it's much more than I have. I just couldn't see getting a place like this for just me. If things work between us, maybe in time we'll look at a nicer place." Marshall parked the car.
"Do you think we'll still be together in a few years?" Danny asked. He really hoped they would, but he knew better than anyone that the future wasn't something you could really plan out. Shit happened to get in the way of any dream you had.
"I like to think so. I don't plan on going anywhere." Marshall reached over and took Danny's hand in his. "I like to think about planning a future together, even if it might be too soo
n to really do it."
"I like it too." Honestly, he had no clue what he would do if Marshall left him. While he hoped it would never happen, it was one of the reasons he wanted to get a job and know he had money in case he ever did have to go and find his own place. He didn't want to depend on Marshall for everything.
"Come on, let's get inside. As I said before, Matt, Xander, and Faith are visiting. They're friends from California. I think you'll like them. Faith's about your age, maybe a year younger. I think she's starting college in the fall. Don't be scared of Xander. He looks all muscle, tattoos, and meanness, but he's really not. Matt's pretty normal, but amazing with computers. He puts me to shame with the stuff he can do."
"You said it's the same company only the California branch?" Danny asked as he got out of the car.
"Yep. We all do the same work." Marshall paused to grab a cake out of the backseat.
"Are there other companies across the United States?" Danny took a container of cookies from Marshall's hands.
"Not yet, but we'd love to see more created."
They headed up to the large front door. From the cars already in the driveway, it looked as if they were the last to arrive. Once at the door, Marshall rang the doorbell.
They didn't have to wait long for D to pull the door open. "Welcome, come on in. Everyone's out back."
Danny stepped inside, pausing to look around. "This is an amazing house."
"Thanks. It's better than it was when I got it. I had to change a few things, but we're happy with it now." D reached out. "Let me take those for you." He took the cookies from Danny and the cake from Marshall. "Head on outside. Drinks are there."
Danny followed Marshall out through a short hallway, then out onto a deck. He paused as he noticed first the balloons, then tears filled his eyes as everyone screamed, "happy birthday!"
Swallowing hard to fight the emotion that hit him so suddenly, he smiled. "How'd you know?"
Marshall hugged him. "It's on all your paperwork."
"Thanks." He wiped a stray tear from his eyes. "I haven't celebrated a birthday in a long time. I never even knew what month it was, let alone day until recently."
"I know, that's why we wanted to do this for you. You deserve a big party." Marshall kissed him.
"Out of the way, let me hug the birthday boy." Jessica practically shoved her way between the two of them so she could hug Danny. "Happy birthday. Do you know how hard it was not to say something earlier today?" She kissed his cheek.
"I had no idea you guys had this planned. Thank you." He hugged her back then turned to get hugs from everyone else. When two men and a young girl approached, he knew who they were from Marshall's description. "Let me guess, Faith, Xander, and Matt?" He pointed at each one as he said their names.
"He must have warned you about us." Xander grinned. "It's nice to meet you. Happy birthday."
"Thanks. It's nice to meet you." He smiled at Faith, then Matt, but had trouble making eye-contact with Xander. "I'm glad you came."
"We look forward to getting to know you." Matt smiled. "We'll let you get something to drink and talk to the others."
Danny turned to Marshall. "You planned this."
"I did." Marshall smiled. "Well, I had help. Everyone was excited to assist."
Still fighting not to cry, he looked around, taking in the balloons, the banner that read, 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' in big gold letters, and the streamers. It was perfect. He couldn't remember a birthday so great, even when he'd been little, at home with his mom. "I was excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I hadn't even thought about celebrating my birthday."
"We're going to celebrate all the holidays and birthdays together now. Next up is Halloween, so be thinking of some great costumes for us." Marshall grinned.
It was too much. Tears stung his eyes and he swiped at them.
"Hey." Marshall pulled him into a hug. "This is what friends do for each other."
"I'm sorry. I just didn't expect any of this."
"That's the whole idea around a surprise party." Marshall kissed a tear from his cheek.
"Thanks." Danny took a deep breath before turning and looking at the group. "Thank you. You guys really are the best." He shook his head. "I didn't even remember it was my birthday until late this afternoon, but you guys knew and planned this. That means a lot to me."
"You're one of us now. Get used to these kinds of things." D grinned.
Marshall kept an arm around his waist. "It might be his birthday, but he brought us all a present. He spent the day with Jess baking." Marshall pointed to the table where the cookies and cake were.
"Ah, that might be the best friendship ever. If you and Jess keep baking, we'll all be happy." Jeremy reached for a cookie.
"Don't ruin your dinner," Jessica called.
"Yes, Mom," Patrick teased.
Danny looked around at the food on the tables and the barbecue filled with burgers and fries. "Why didn't you warn me?"
"And take all the fun out of the surprise? I had a hard time keeping my mouth shut. I wanted to say happy birthday first thing this morning but didn't want you knowing I knew. From here on out, I won't have to hide it. Next year I can bring you cake in bed."
"Messy."
"But good." Marshall laughed. "Come on, let's go get burgers and settle down and visit."
Danny followed him to the grill, happier than he could ever remember being. Having friends was something he'd missed a lot while he was being held. He longed for someone to talk to, to laugh with. As he looked around the group, he had a hard time believing it was all real.
"They're a great group of guys." Faith sat down beside him. "Crazy at times, but as loyal as you'll ever find." She took a bite of her hot dog.
"I'm learning that. I was just thinking about how I used to wish I had just one person to call a friend while I was being held, and now, I have a lot of them."
"How long were you held?" Faith asked.
"Twelve years," Danny told her softly.
"Oh, wow. How did you… No, never mind. I know better than to ask about it. I hate when people ask me about my kidnapping." She shook her head. "Sorry."
"Wait, you were kidnapped too?" He'd had no idea. Then again, he'd just met her. It wasn't like all kidnap victims had a sign on their head announcing it.
"A few years ago, walking home from school." She looked right at him as she spoke as if she wasn't ashamed of it.
He swallowed hard. "I'm sorry."
"I survived to see another day." She smiled. "It was hard at first, but slowly life gets easier. I wasn't held as long as you were. I'm guessing for you, adjusting to all this has to be hard. The first few years after I got back home, I couldn't be around a lot of people, and I hated anyone to touch me."
Danny nodded. "Being around people isn't too hard, but I'm always nervous the guy who took me will come back."
"They didn't catch him?"
"Not yet, but they're looking. Did yours get caught?"
"He did. He's in prison now. It helps to know that." She smiled. "Hopefully they'll catch yours too."
"I hope so. It would help. I try not to think about it, but it's hard. I really don't want to bring it up with Marshall, ya know? I feel like I should be stronger sometimes."
Faith frowned. "You have to talk about it. It's the one thing I learned. Holding it all in makes it worse. Do you have a counselor?"
"Yeah, he's easy to talk to, but I don't always know how much to tell him."
"Like you're trying to protect him from knowing what you went through?" Faith nodded as if she understood. "I did that a lot too. Especially with my dad. I mean, I know he knew what had happened. I couldn't hide the fact I'd been raped, but it's like if I said it to him, I'd be hurting him. It took a long time before I could talk about it to anyone, and even still, I'll go to Xander before I'll go to my dad about a lot of things."
Danny was fascinated with Faith. She was so open about things. She understood what he'd gone through, at least to a point.
Without saying it out loud, she related. "It does get better?"
"It does. I mean, I always remember, but it's like another life, not the one I'm living now. I still have an occasional nightmare, and I'm still seeing my counselor once a week, but it's easier. It's not on my mind all of the time. Sometimes I can go days without thinking about it now. Before, I thought about it all the time. I'm guessing that's what you're going through now." She took a drink of her soda, then wiped her mouth. "I found that I had to tell someone all of it. Everything I could remember. Once I did that, it was like I purged it from my system. It got easier and wasn't so heavy to carry. I didn't feel like it was a secret anymore. I mean, yeah, people knew, but they really didn't know. They weren't there. They just had ideas and assumed, but I needed to tell someone how I felt during it. How his voice made me feel. How being locked in a small room felt."
"You told your counselor all that?" His eyes went wide. He couldn't imagine telling anyone all the details. He was embarrassed by it all, not to mention ashamed he'd let it happen to him.
"It took time, but slowly the whole story came out. Trust me, there are things I hope my dads never find out. Things I could only tell my counselor. She's like my safe place. The one place I can go where I won't be pitied. She doesn't look at me like a lot of people do. You know that sad look like you've caught some fatal disease."
"That's my biggest fear. It's why I only go out with Marshall or come to these dinners. No one here gives me that look, but I know others will. They'll blame me for going with Larry and giving him the chance to kidnap me."
"If anyone tries to blame you, you tell them to fuck off. It wasn't your fault. I lived really close to school and it still happened to me. It can happen to anyone and it's never our fault. No matter what. You need to tell yourself that over and over until you believe it. All the blame goes on the assholes who took us."
"But I went with him."
"He lured you, didn't he? What did he use, candy, a kitten?"
"A puppy." Danny ducked his head.
"See, he manipulated the situation to get what he wanted. You were a kid. You didn't know any better. He's the one who broke the law. The one who did wrong. Never you." She reached out and rested her hand on his. "You've got to understand that what happened wasn't your fault. Until you learn that, you won't ever be able to deal with the rest of it."