Tanner lay the early photos up on the screen, showing a brother and sister, with tremendous similarity, but also differences. Next, he showed the photos taken from their hidden cameras and placed those on the screen.
Again, siblings that showed similarities.
“What am I missing?” asked Hex.
“Look at the data. It should tell us that these photos are a ninety-eight to ninety-nine percent match, allowing for variables like plastic surgery.”
“But it doesn’t say that,” frowned Hex. “It says the match is in the sixty-percent category. Why? What the fuck is wrong with this?”
“Holy shit,” muttered Suzette. “Holy shit.”
“Holy shit, what, Aunt Suzette?” asked Luke.
“They’re the experiment.” The men looked at her, then back at the photos on the screen. “They. Them. They are the experiment!”
“The scars on Butch’s chest,” frowned Rory. “Butch was Helen and Helen is now Butch.”
“I think so,” she nodded. “It makes sense. I heard you talking about how masculine her features were and I kept thinking, that’s normal when a woman is taking anabolic steroids. But the scar on his chest. He had breast removal because he was a she.”
“That’s why their father was such a dick. He knew the kids wanted to be the opposite gender and he thought the steroids would lock them into their roles,” said AJ.
“I think so,” nodded Suzette. “Jesus, I can’t believe they’re even alive. Do you understand how much stuff has been pumped into them over the last few decades? They don’t even need the kids to show the buyer what’s worked. They can just show themselves.”
“AJ? Search all the medical records in the country, and out of the country. See if you can find any medical records for gender reassignment, or at least the start of it for Butch and Helen, or whatever name we believe they used. We need to know how far back this really goes,” said Luke.
“We need to get whatever is in that warehouse, and all the notes that Butch and/or Helen have kept on the research they’ve done and that their father did,” said Suzette.
“We’ll get someone over there tonight,” nodded Hex. “If there’s river access, we can load everything onto one of the boats and get it out of there. They’ll be panicked if they have nothing to present to whoever the buyers are.”
“I might have a lead on that,” said Tanner turning from his computer screen to stare at them.
“Russians?” asked Eric. Tanner shook his head. “North Koreans?” Again, he shook his head. “Iranians?”
“No. Three top members of the international Olympic committee. They’re scheduled to fly in for the powerlifting competition but it doesn’t make sense. They’re tied into the winter games, not the summer.”
“They’re in on this?” asked Luke.
“I don’t know. All I know is they’re coming to New Orleans next week and that feels suspicious to me,” said Tanner.
“What do we do, Suzette? I mean, doping themselves and changing their own gender isn’t against the law,” said Hex.
“It’s not. It’s not against the law but they may have broken some laws along the way. Doping themselves is illegal if the formulations contain illegal substances. I just need to know what I’m looking for.”
“I mean, don’t you have an idea of what you’re looking for?” asked Eric.
“Eric, honey, I know what illegal substances look like but you have to remember they’ve been mixing this shit in their own kitchens. We know the basic substances to look for. Cocaine, marijuana, LSD, ecstasy, methamphetamines, and heroin. But there are others out there that we may not know about.”
“Aren’t the steroids illegal?” he frowned.
“Not at face value. Remember, these drugs can be used for medical purposes in the right hands for the right things. I just don’t think Butch and Helen have been using them for good.”
“Have we thought about letting Erin take a look at these formulations?” asked Luke. “I mean, you and Riley have been amazing but this is sort of within her realm of expertise as well, right?”
“Honey, I’m not offended that you asked about Erin looking at them. I’m actually mad at myself that I didn’t think of it sooner. I’ll see if she has the time to take a look. We could be missing something for sure. All we know right now is that it mutates genetics to fool the body into believing it’s the opposite gender. I just don’t know how it does that or how to stop it.”
“Will these kids have permanent damage?” asked Eric.
“I’m afraid that some will,” she nodded. “Julius will not because we got him to the pond. Carter, we caught early and we’re hoping this other young man was caught early as well. We just don’t know what this will do their bodies long term.”