“He has a sister?” frowned Cam. “We have to find her as well. That’s where he’s getting his help.”
“Cam, it could be a number of people helping him,” said Riley. “We’re talking beyond PhD level understanding of genetics and pharmaceuticals. Unless they’re at genius IQ levels, even beyond Thomas, Tony, or any of our other resident geniuses. I just don’t see either of them as having that kind of knowledge.”
“AJ? Tanner? Do we have anything on their background?” asked Luke turning to the tech team.
“No. Nothing. It’s like they suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I only find a former residence in Wisconsin. Nothing before that. No personal records, no school records, birth records, nothing. It’s like they were dropped from the sky,” said Tanner.
“But they weren’t,” said Luke. “We know they weren’t. They have a history, a family, something and we need to know that. If we tried to make a move on them now, I’m going to bet sissy will blow the fucking plant and we’ll have nothing.”
“Luke, calm down,” said Cam. “We’re going to figure this out but we’re not even sure what we’re dealing with yet. We don’t know if these athletes were willing to do this, or not.”
“We know Carter wasn’t willing,” said Suzette. “He made it very clear he never asked for this.”
“So, what do we do? Do we just sit here and wait for more young, unsuspecting athletes to die?” growled Luke.
“Luke!” yelled Suzette. “We’re doing what we can. Give us some time.”
“Aunt Suzette, we don’t have time. Those young men and women don’t have time. If he’s using these drugs, without their permission, he’s playing God. If he’s doing it with their knowledge, we need to be certain they understand the repercussions to their bodies.
“Andif,and I emphasize this,ifthey are doing this successfully think about the global implications not just in sport, but in all aspects of life. This world is nearly evenly split male versus female. But there are pockets of the globe far more heavily female. What if they’re trying to skew that? What if they’re trying to help build a military for some country?”
There was silence in the room as they all stared at him, then nodded. Luke was right. This could reach parts of science no one had dared to think about.
“It’s not just the physical,” said Riley. “The mental state of these people is in question. We have no idea what these drugs might do to someone’s mental state, especially if they were not in a good place to begin with and we already know he loves the mental torture of these athletes.
“Individuals who are willingly going through gender reassignment must have significant, lengthy sessions with mental health professionals. Even then, some don’t come out the other side in a good place.
“I fear, we fear, that this could create a group of seriously unstable young men and women who are halfway to what they desire and can’t get to the other side fully.”
“Geez, this is seriously fucked up,” said Eric shaking his head. “I’m all for people to be who they want to be but this doesn’t feel like it’s anywhere close to free will and one’s own choice.”
“Riley? Carter’s coming out of the sedative,” said Kennedy poking her head into the hospital conference room.
They all stood, following Kennedy down the hallway where his mother refused to leave his side. Eric, Cam, Hex, and Luke stepped into the large room along with Riley and Suzette. Kennedy checked his vitals, noting that his IV bag needed to be replaced and left the room.
“Ma’am, my name is Eric Bongard and these are my teammates.”
“Teammates? Do you compete at that gym?” she said with a sneer.
“No, ma’am. I assure you we do not. We’re investigating that gym and Butch Williams.”
“He nearly killed my son. Had you not found him, you and those other-“ she hesitated, unsure of whether they were men or magicians.
“They were our team and all I can tell you is that without them, your son may not have lived. I hope you’ll keep our secret.” She nodded.
“What did he do to my son? What have I done to my son? All this for some stupid scholarship!”
“We think it’s more than that,” said Luke. “Other young men and women have died.”
“I left Carter and just had an awful feeling. I got to the second bus stop and turned around and walked back home. I called the factory and told them I was sick. I didn’t want them to think it was Carter’s fault. It was so stupid! Nothing is more important than my son’s health.”
“Ma’am,” started Hex.
“Ginnie. Ginnie Granger.”
“Ginnie, you can’t blame yourself for wanting more for your son. No one would have suspected that Butch Williams was doing something so heinous.”
“M-mama?” croaked Carter.