He'd picked a safer location for their first sting together. He wanted to help Jessica get over her first-time nervousness and find a bit of confidence in what they were doing.
The guy they were after had been arrested three times already. Once for raping an older woman who was working alone at a convenience store, and twice for raping young girls under the age of fourteen.
Jeremy had found videos of the man with three other girls, and with a little digging, found out they were his granddaughters. The fact that any parent would leave their kids unattended with a man who'd already been arrested for raping a child was incomprehensible. D wasn't going to let the police slap this guy on the hand again. It was time to put a stop to it once and for all.
"How do you decompress after?" Jessica asked as she focused on the road.
"Everyone has a different way. For me, it's sex. I fuck until I can't feel anything else but the pleasure. Others drink, some exercise or run it off. It just depends on you. You'll find what you need. If it's something like drinking, just keep it controlled. No one is going to get on your case for having a few drinks after a sting, but if it gets out of hand, the team will intervene. Your safety comes first always. It might take some time to figure out what works for you. Until then, scream in your pillow, buy a punching bag, or take up weightlifting."
"Yeah, I think I'll probably opt for the run." Jessica glanced at him. "We're about two minutes away."
"Park down from the house a bit, but not enough to draw attention from the neighbors. You just don't want to be directly in front of the house in case they hear your engine." He was glad it was a new moon and there wasn't a lot of light out.
"Okay, once we park, we'll sit for a second and watch the area. If there are a lot of lights on at the neighbors' homes, you wait. If there are people around, you pull away and leave and come back in twenty minutes and try again. If anything feels off, you make sure you know what it is and don't take any risks. Your gut is almost always right. Learn the difference between how it feels to be nervous and how it feels when you're being warned. Don't ignore your gut."
Jessica pulled up near the location, cutting the lights and killing the engine.
"What do you see?" D asked.
"All visible houses are dark. I don't see anyone walking or around the area, but there is a dog in the fenced yard two houses down that I noticed when we passed by."
"Good thing to notice. This time we are far enough away it shouldn't matter, but normally, when the houses are close, that's a warning. You need to make sure the owner isn't just letting the dog out, and you also need to make sure if the dog sleeps outside, that he isn't going to bark when you get out of the car. Approach from the other direction if you can, but if there is no way around it, cancel the sting. A dog barking will wake people and put you at risk. We'll have homes and yards we go into with dogs. We usually take several team members on those so someone can tranquilize the dog while the others get into the house and deal with the humans." D looked around, confident they were safe, but he left it up to Jessica to decide. "What do you think?"
"We're good. I say we go in." She took a deep breath.
"Okay, take the burner phone out and text Jeremy."
She took out her phone and sent the text. "Now we wait for them to respond, right?"
"Yep. They have the police scanner and also all control of any cameras in the area. You don't move until they confirm." D focused on everything around him.
The text came back almost immediately.
"Okay." Jessica glanced at him. "Ready."
D nodded. "Keep your hood over your head, but don't pull your mask down until we are at the house. Keep your head down so if we missed any cameras, they won't get a good view of you." He pushed the door open. "Meet me at the back of the car and keep walking. Don't stop until we get to the house."
She followed instructions perfectly, careful to not slam her door as she got out and met him at the back. They walked side by side, confident, but not quickly, hoping to appear like two friends going home. It didn't take long to reach the house and slip into the shadows.
They'd already talked over everything and she decided she wanted to use her new lockpicking skills to get inside. D pulled down his mask now that they were in the shadows and watched her do the same. When they got to the door, he tried the handle, not shocked when it didn't open. He nodded to her and stepped aside.
Lockpicking wasn't easy, and it took a trained and steady hand to do it quickly. It was one of the skills he was best at, but others were slower. He'd learned to be patient when out with others, and that came in handy now. Jessica took several tries to get it open, but she did it, and that was all that mattered.
They both had guns on them, but he hoped not to have to use them as he quietly opened the door and stepped inside. The house wasn't completely dark. The light from the clock on the kitchen stove was bright enough to allow them to see the area, and D took the lead. They'd memorized the layout of the house, and headed for the master bedroom. They were almost there when a cat shot out in front of them meowing loudly.
Jessica gripped his hoodie from behind as she made an audible gasp.
They both froze as the cat disappeared into another room. D took a breath, calming his nerves, listening for any sound that the cat had woken the man.
Hearing nothing, he continued forward until they stood beside the bed where the man slept. He moved to the side, allowing Jessica to get closer.
Just like they'd trained, she had the syringe out and ready. She didn't hesitate as she thrust it into his neck and pushed the medicine in.
The man jerked awake, but just as quickly went limp.
"Good job." D smiled at her as he reached over and turned on the lamp.
The man stared up at them, confusion filling his eyes.
