Encrypted Connection

Joey: Nine

 "Ow. Ow.", Joey grimaced at each step. There was no way he'd spend another day in bed, not when there was work to be done. With Silvo's help, the 'back-up' equipment Joey was keeping in a storage locker had been brought here and no one even asked him why he was keeping so much somewhere. Good, Joey had thought. Because he kinda paid for that stuff when he ordered the stuff he needed to work for Blaise's team, deciding he could need some extra for when he'd be dismissed.

It meant two things though: first, he could get back to work faster than if he had to tell Silvo what he needed. Second? He didn't have a back- plan anymore for the 'After-Teamwork' gig. Not that this was a priority right now. Not when someone somewhere had decided they'd feel better if Joey was dead.

Which was lovely, really. But hey, at least, the mysterious shooter didn't kill his sarcasm.

You had to focus on the positive side.

He finally managed to get to the chair in front of the desk and he sighed in relief. Next to him, Blue sat down and sighed, obviously disappointed she wouldn't get to sleep all day next to him again.

"Don't give me that look. I ate my soup, I took my meds. I followed the Judy's 'My house, my rules, be a good boy' law, there's not much more I can do without going crazy laying down all day", he grumbled.

Blue stared at him then laid down, making sure to rest her head on his feet.

He rolled his eyes, chuckled then turned on the various computers and screens.

"Hey, missed me?", he said out loud, knowing Silvo was probably waiting for a sign of life.

"You're out of bed? He's gonna strangle you", Sil laughed as he looked at his screen to find his friend a bit pale for ready for duty.

""Oh I'm sure he'd love that. Get on top of me and strangle me until I call him Daddy. That's the only reason why he brought me to his house", Joey joked before watching the screens in front of him. He felt so out of it all he'd need a moment to readjust.

The meds weren't helping a lot with that so he'd have to take less of them. Which meant more pain.

Fabulous.

"I checked his GPS, it was clean. Meaning whoever followed him to my place did it the old fashion way. I'll check traffic cams and see if I can spot something on the feeds", he told Sil.

Who sighed deeply.

"I still can't believe one of us could have done that. I know, I know, there is no other explanation but man....".

Joey nodded. He knew Sil couldn't help but blame himself for this. He was the one who told Blaise about Joey, the one who brought him into this.

"Listen, that could be why you guys never had a chance to find Madame K before I joined. Someone was making sure you found no tracks and had no lead. Bringing an outsider into this demonstrated that at least.", he said to comfort Sil.

"You did more than just that.", Sil protested.

"I....hacked a dog, which was definitely a first. And I got shot. Can't say this was a success", Joey snorted.

"I would never have thought of putting a tracker in a dog. Give yourself some credit for your achievements", Sil retorted.

"Alright, alright, I'm a hero. But right now, the hero needs to reboot all the researches and see if we got more hits. Did you guys get a visual on that location?", he asked, referring to Madame K's potential residence.

"No", Sil admitted. "I tried but it's in a gated community. They have very thick security protocols in those. I couldn't get in.".

"Well, it looks like I know what to do today", Joey commented cheerfully.