easier to maintain the privacy they needed here than in the hotel suite Z and Dylan had been holed-up in a few days ago. The rental also gave them a small kitchen and two bedrooms to crash in when they needed to catch a few hours of rest.
He looked around the room at the motley crew he had on the ground, and wondered again if he needed to bring in more help. He had purposefully kept the team small on this one, mainly because he wasn't entirely sure if they were going to be able to do this job by the book. The fewer men he needed involved, the better.
He was relieved to have Zachary 'Z' Zimmerman, his most senior detective, on the case. To an outsider, Z could, at times, appear to be as much of a predator as their mark, Jake Davenport. Lukus knew that as ruthless as Z was in the pursuit of a target, he was at least usually on the right side of the moral compass. Still, he regularly found himself having to overlook his employee's rather unconventional, and sometimes shady, methods used to get his man. Under normal circumstances, those methods made Lukus nervous, but with Jake Davenport on the loose, he couldn't be happier to have Z on the case.
His friend and second in command, Derek, was in the corner talking softly to his brother, Dylan, Lukus's newest and most junior employee. Dylan was the antithesis of Z. Too emotional. Too volatile. Too inexperienced. Lukus would send him back to Chicago if he thought for a minute the kid would go, but cutting him loose now would only drive Dylan to go rogue. Better to keep him close.
On the phone with Z was Cameron Solinski, their tech guru. Only twenty-three, the kid was a computer genius. Lukus didn't want to know the details of how Cam acquired the confidential information they needed for their investigations.
Plausible deniability.
"Okay, I've got the monitors set up. Let's get started," Z called out to get everyone's attention.
Dylan couldn't wait to lay down his own agenda. "We've been watching long enough. Tell me we're going into the fucking warehouse tonight."
Lukus didn't need to intervene. Z had just about had enough of young Parker. "And do what? For the hundredth time, we don't have enough evidence yet. Davenport is smart. He's got a lot of security around him. We haven't found anything illegal, and even if we had, we know for a fact he has some of the local law enforcement's ear. You know we got a lot of push back after you got the shit beat out of you. We're gonna need something rock solid before we can involve the police again," Z snapped.
"Fuck the police," Dylan retorted.
"Sure. Fuck the police. I'm not exactly their biggest supporter, but will you get your head out of your ass for five minutes and listen to me rationally? What's your plan here? To rush in there guns blazing and shoot the bastard dead? If so, that's great. I'll be sure to visit you once a year in Statesville."
"All right, everybody calm down. We're on the same team." Lukus had stepped between them to try to keep the two men from throwing punches.
Cameron's voice came over the speaker. "If you guys are done, I have new information."
Derek urged him on. "Great. Tell us what you've got."
"Look at the screen Z just got hooked up."
The four men gathered around the thirty-two inch monitor as the picture of a naked, red-headed woman hanging from an elaborate display of ropes came into focus. She was writhing in pain and the cameraman made sure to capture the running mascara on her face.
Cam continued his report. "This is just one of six different interactive Internet sites run out of the 'Strictly Disciplined' warehouse you've been staking out. This channel specializes in bondage and what they call diabolical restraints. There's another focused on anal domination, another for group orgies, and my personal favorite, staged abductions with non-con elements. The most controversial with the lowest subscription numbers is all watersports, and I'm trying not to be totally grossed out by the fact that the most popular site is for staged incest fantasies. Mommy/son, Daddy/daughter, brother/sister."
Dylan was animated. "Thank fuck. We've got him."
Cameron corrected him. "We don't have shit. The sessions are often live. The recording studios are set up in the warehouse, and every session begins with the actors in the scene recording their consent to participate live. They end