“I don’t know that for sure. Part of the challenge is that their parents were immigrants in the U.S. and there seems to be some confusion as to what the children’s actual names were.
“The last location prior to coming to New Orleans was Wisconsin, but we don’t believe they were born there or attended school there. Right now, the only records we can find are their collegiate records which tell us they were banned from sport.”
“This just gets more and more strange,” said Eric. “We all played at collegiate or military level where available. We participated in high school athletics. Records are pretty meticulous.”
“Then beyond the obvious, they’re hiding something,” said Hiro. “It’s not just about the drugs, there’s something else. But what?”
“That’s what you get paid the big bucks for,” smirked Hex.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Butch watched as his sister worked with one of the young gymnasts they were training. He knew every move, every bend, every leap. Watching her with the athlete brought pains in his chest. He absently rubbed beneath his shirt, the hint of the end of a scar showing.
“Looks like that hurt,” frowned Rory.
Butch practically jumped out of his skin. He pulled his shirt over the flesh and looked up at the big man next to him. Usually he wasn’t afraid of anyone. No one except his father and he was dead. For some strange reason he still feared him, still feared that he would leap from behind a wall or door and scream at him.
“Oh, it was nothing,” he said looking at Rory. “Something from when I was a kid. What’s up?”
“Can we get some direction about this kid we’re working with? I’m used to kids getting discouraged when they can’t do a particular weight or exercise but this kid is literally having a breakdown.” Butch frowned, looking over his shoulder.
“What do mean a breakdown?”
“I mean the kid is melting. He’s crying, says he’s hurting in his stomach, I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do with him,” said Rory.
Butch walked toward the young man who was lying on his side on the weight bench. Bull was kneeling beside him.
“Tell me where it hurts,” he said softly.
“Fuck where it hurts! Get your ass up you big fucking pussy! Get up!”
“Coach, I can’t,” cried the boy. “I’m hurting. I’m hurting bad. Something is wrong.”
“The only thing wrong is that you can’t comprehend that this is your last chance. You either want this or you don’t but stop fucking wasting my time and money. Get up or leave. Those are your options.”
Bull was at his limit. Enough was enough. He positioned his body in front of the young man and glared at Butch.
“The kid is hurting. Legit. I think we need to get him home and let him rest for today.”
“Well. I. Don’t,” growled Butch.
“Well. I. Don’t give a fuck what you think,” Bull growled back, his neck seemingly thickening as he spoke. Rory smirked to himself that it looked the poisonous little dinosaur from that Jurassic movie. He was cute, until he wasn’t.
“You must not need this job,” said Butch.
“I don’t need a job bad enough to kill a kid,” said Bull. He spotted the sister eyeing them and she walked toward them. Bull saw the look in Rory’s eyes, it was the same as his own.
They’d seen Helen once or twice before from a distance but as she moved closer, the resemblance to her brother became clearer. She was extremely muscular for a woman, and Rory knew female muscularity. His wife, Piper, was one of the leanest, most beautifully sculpted athletes he’d ever known.
This. This was on another level. It was clear that she was taking some of her own medicine. With every step the details of the woman’s features became harsher. Her hairline was receding, thinning and pushed back from her forehead. She showed acne on her cleavage, the deep valley caused by breasts too large for her chest.
“Butch? What’s going on?” she asked in a husky voice.
“These bastards think they know better than me. Steven here is whining because he has a tummy ache,” he snapped.
“I’m not w-whining,” he cried. “I’m hurting. I’m in pain.”
“That’s it,” said Rory. “I’m taking him home. His parents can make the decision about what to do with him. You don’t get to have control over the kids’ medical care.”