CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Jeremy was pleased with how things were coming along. They'd spent the week going through the notebook Carter left them, making sure that everything was in place. It was a lot of little things, but each one played a big part in making the team work. Most of it was stuff he'd had to handle since it was on the computers, but both D and Rani helped as much as they could.
Rani was amazing. Not only had he been working to set up the medical room with everything he needed, he had also taken the time to sit down and create a detailed identity on the dark web to help Jeremy hunt down pedophiles and evidence. The more time he spent with Rani, the more he liked him. The culture shock Rani was experiencing was obvious, but he didn't shy away from it. He welcomed the changes and the information, trying to learn all he could from it.
"Hey, I just got pizza if you're hungry." D walked into the room.
Jeremy rolled his shoulders before clicking off his computer. "Yeah, I could eat." He stood, turning to D. "You find anything?"
D shrugged. "A few leads to check out. One is a female who is very actively campaigning for any convicted sex offender found guilty of abusing a child under ten to face the death penalty. She hasn't got a lot of traction yet, but slowly people are starting to support her."
"Makes sense. With the fear of death, maybe these pedophiles will think twice before hurting a child. I'd back her."
"The question is, will she back us?" D was working hard, trying to find team members, but it wasn't easy knowing who to trust.
Jeremy leaned in, dropping a kiss on D's lips. "Follow your gut."
"My gut is saying trust no one and go do all these by myself, but I know that isn't right. I think I'll arrange a meeting with this woman, see if I can get a feel for her." D rested his forehead against Jeremy's shoulder. "It shouldn't be this hard. The way I see it, there should be people lining up to protect the children, no matter how it's done."
"I agree." Jeremy wrapped D in a tight hug. "But not everyone can stomach what we do. It's easier for most people to act like it's not happening. Turning a blind eye to it makes it not so real, not so horrible."
D sighed as he straightened. "I just want a strong team in place so we can get to work. It's killing me knowing the kids are out there and we are sitting here doing nothing to save them."
Jeremy agreed. "We're getting closer to being able to. With Rani here, I feel better about you going out. I've got a few cases almost ready if you want to start going out once a week or so while we continue to look for other members." He gave D's hand a tug. "Let's go eat."
He led Jeremy out to the kitchen where Rani was mixing a pitcher of Kool-Aid to drink. The three of them got along great living together. Even though they had their own homes, Jeremy had only been home a couple times over the last week. He liked being at the STK house with everyone. He was sure once they got things moving, and more members, he would go home more often, but for now, when he was home, he was thinking about how much work he had to do here.
D grabbed a soda out of the fridge and held it up to Jeremy.
"Thanks." Jeremy took it and sat down. "Thanks for the pizza."
"Welcome." D sat down beside him.
"So, I have a list of medical equipment I need. Do I just give it to you or do I order it myself?" Rani asked as he sat down with them.
"Give it to me. I'll order it all today." Jeremy set a large slice of pizza on the plate in front of him. "You also need to decide on a car."
Rina frowned. "I feel bad getting a car from you guys. I mean, you've already done so much for me."
D waved his hand. "It's what the team does. Don't worry about it. You'll see as we build that money isn't an issue. You need a car around here. The buses will slow you down. Get something that will drive well in the snow though. I've been told the winters here can be bad."
"How does the team make so much money?" Rani asked.
While D explained how they funneled the money out of pedophiles' accounts before each sting, Jeremy focused on what he had to do the rest of the day. He'd been in contact with Carter to figure out a bit more on how to set up personal banking accounts and launder the money that he would deposit into them. Once he'd seen how Carter had set things up, he was impressed with how perfect a system it was. He'd also gotten all the information on how to invest the team's money. While he'd never been poor, Jeremy never had this kind of money in his life, and they were just getting started making what they would.
With Rani joining, he realized he would need to go through the process of setting things up with each new member, and he wanted to get it right. Carter had set him and D up before they came, but he wanted to be able to do all the work himself from now on instead of calling Carter up for help every time.
He also needed to shop. With the three of them living in the house most of the time, food went fast. Rani was a great cook, and they'd been trying things that were common in his country, which were really good.
"Jer, you listening?" D grabbed his shoulder gently.
"What? Sorry, was thinking over banking stuff. What's up?" Jeremy glanced at his two friends.
"I'm going to go see if I can talk to this Jessica lady and get a feel for if she'd work with the team. Rani says he wants to go look at cars. Do you want to go with him?" D asked.
"Um, sure. I'm up for car shopping." He smiled at Rani before looking at D. "Are you sure you should go out? If anyone is up on the news of your escape from California it's going to be someone who is actively fighting the same cause we are."
"I don't have a choice. I need to get a team together. I can't stay hiding forever. Hopefully, if she does recognize me, she'll stay quiet. I mean, I'm asking her to join us. I wouldn't be doing that if I didn't think she could keep her mouth closed." D wiped his mouth with his napkin before reaching for another slice of pizza. "I feel like my life is on hold and I hate it. I want to get out and do things, live a little."
