Bluegrass Undercover (Bluegrass Brothers)

they had gone past Rupp Arena and were driving downtown. They circled around Rupp and headed back towards Keeneston. They pulled into one of the strip malls closest to the small country road that led back home and parked.
    He saw the neon lights of Iron Club and Spa, one of the national chain gym franchises. There was one in Keeneston too. The lights were on, but it was after ten o’clock at night and there was no one working out. They pushed and shoved at him to get him moving. He pretended to stumble and smashed the foot of one of the goons next to him.
    Even if he couldn’t see, he would know it was a gym. There was a distinct smell that belonged to gyms. It was a mix of sweat, metal, rubber, and disinfectant cleaner. He was pushed through a small door camouflaged into the wall near the racquetball courts and led up a flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs was a small lobby and bathroom. To the right was an open door to a large office that overlooked the gym from behind the two-way mirrors that covered the walls of the gym.
    “Take it off,” a gruff voice with a slight Scottish brogue said.
    Cade’s blindfold was taken off, and he pretended to blink his eyes as if adjusting to the sudden light. When he brought his eyes up, he came face to face with a thug in a suit. This must be upper management.
    “Good evening, Mr. Davies.” The man stood from behind his desk and walked around his desk and placed a hip on the edge of it.
    Unlike the goons who had a hold of him, this man earned his muscles from the streets, not the gym. That was obvious from his thickness, but lack of bulging muscles like the steroid triplets behind him. His guess would be that he was imported from Edinburgh or Glasgow to run this little drug ring. It was common to import someone with a reputation, but not well known. That way they could start a lie about how many people they had killed and the horrible acts they had committed just to gain respect. It worked because there was no way to check it out.
    “By the name on your desk, I assume you are Trevor Gaylen. If there was something you needed, there is this little invention called a phone.” Cade watched the red-headed Scott crack a small smile. A flash of a gold tooth caught his eye before Trevor pushed himself off the desk and came towards Cade with his arms crossed over his barreled chest.
    “That I am, Mr. Davies. I’ m glad you catch on so fast. I was afraid this would be a rather long, painful meeting if you were just another dumb academic.” Cade stood with his arms loose, even in the face of veiled threat. “It seems that you are off to a rough start with your football team this year.” Trevor stopped a couple of feet in front of him and took his measure.
    “We’ll turn it around. We’re a young, inexperienced team.”
    “I thought we could enter a partnership of sorts.”
    “What kind of partnership? You’ll let my boys use these facilities for free?” Cade watched as Trevor tossed back his head and laughed.
    “Aye, you are funny, Mr. Davies. But, no. That is not the kind of partnership I was wanting. See, I have something that will help your players grow stronger, run faster, and increase their reaction time.”
    “And what would that miracle be? Some new vitamin supplement your gym is pushing?”
    “Not exactly. It’s an injectable supplement.”
    “Injectable, huh? As in steroid based?” Trevor grinned again, but it was calculated. He was in full sales mode.
    “It’s a derivative of steroids, yes, one that doesn’t show up in any standard test. It will improve your players tenfold by mid-season. Guaranteed.”
    “And would this be called S2?”
    “So, you’ve heard about it. Well, of course you have. You specifically tested for it during training camp. Strange that you’ve heard about it, considering that it has just now been submitted to the FDA for the animal testing phase. Also it’s strange that you knew you had to test specifically for S2.” Cade watched as Trevor transformed from the buddy-buddy salesman to the cold blooded dealer that he hid underneath a nice suit.
    “I’m the kids’ coach. I hear them talk in the locker room. See what they do when they think no one is around. I see and hear everything that goes on with my team. That’s what being a good coach is all about.”
    “A good coach, yes, but not a great coach. I can make you a great coach.”
    “How?” Cade was interested in seeing how much he could learn for Annie.