Chapter 12: The Camp Bed

Joey and Deirdre did not wake up before 11 o'clock on the next morning and, to guess from the bleary eyes of their friends, they too had not gone to sleep immediately after the spa treatment.

They all skipped breakfast and opted for a light lunch instead before they left for Philadelphia. Joey drove Deirdre home. He briefly came in with Deirdre, but neither Maureen nor Karen were at home, and Deirdre needed a nap in the worst way. They kissed once more before Joey left.

At home, he put last night's clothes into the washer and put his tuxedo on a hanger. He prepared some food, but he did not eat much. Tess returned around four o' clock, and she demanded a full account of the evening and the night. She got the PG-13 version, of course, which she grumpily accepted.

She told Joey about her weekend, and Joey had the impression that Tess was deliberately seeking the contact with Uncle Vincent and the Di Rosa family. She already knew vastly more about the various business interests, and it was clear that Tess' path would lead her into a position within the Di Rosa family once she completed her education. When he mentioned it, Tess shrugged.

"That's not the worst thing, is it?"

It was her life, Joey had to admit; yet, he felt a little unease. By eight o' clock, he texted Deirdre.

'Pick u up @8, love J'

Her answer came within a minute. "W8ing 4 U!"

As promised he was waiting in front of the Darlings' house at eight, and Deirdre walked out at once. He could see from her hesitant gait that something was amiss. Her kiss when she sat in the passenger seat was brief.

"Hey, girlfriend, what's up this morning?"

"Dose of reality, I guess," she sighed. "I mean, I've been on cloud nine the last days, but now I can't deny it that all this will come to an end."

Joey felt a chill immediately. "What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, well, school will be over soon, and then we'll have summer break, but after that, we'll both go to college."

"Oh shit, don't remind me. Listen, I got a call yesterday morning from Mr. Verkade. I have an offer to intern at PennBioLabs for two months, starting July first."

"That's where you worked last summer, right?"

"Yeah, he offered to pay me this year."

"That's ... I guess that's great, isn't it?" Deirdre answered, trying to be cheerful.

"I haggled a bit. I told him of this great lab partner I have. We can visit on Friday, both of us."

Deirdre's eyes went wide. "You mean, we can both work there? For pay?"

"Yep. I kinda sang your praise, and they seem to be short handed over the summer. So yes, you've got yourself a summer job."

Deirdre shook her head. "Thanks, that means much to me. Although I have the feeling that I'm riding your shirttails."

"Deirdre, things will go the other way, too. There will be situations where I'll profit from having this brainy girlfriend. The main thing is, we get to spend time together and get paid."

"God damn!" Karen Langner swore disgustedly. "Help me out here, willya!"

Her partner, Evan Thomas, helped her park the weight bar in the receptacles above the press bench and sniggered. "You're losing it, Karen. 130 Ks, that's fifteen below your best," he needled her.

"Yeah, well, don't I know it?" Karen huffed. She sought refuge in a lie. "That damn bladder infection last week. I had to take antibiotics."

"Yeah, that can suck the power outta your arms. Well, you ought to be back in shape in two weeks or so. If not, you're dropping in the rankings."

That remark stung Karen badly. She had been on top once, but she was slipping. Of course, without the 'roids, how was she supposed to maintain her strength? Without the aggression, she could not attack the weights with her usual ferocity either. Damn! Why did Morry have to be in charge of prescription drug trafficking? Why couldn't she handle traffic violations? And why did Deirdre get so pissy all of a sudden? And now she, Karen, had to bear the brunt of their holier-than-thou attitude.

She was clean for eleven weeks now and she could barely make out the shape of her abs under that growing subcutaneous fat layer. Disgusting! No definition whatsoever! And now that wimp Evan was even making fun of her. I'll show you, you asshole!

Karen pulled her little prepaid phone from her gym bag and punched in the number of Pro Gym from memory. As expected, Rafe answered.

"Hey, Rafe, this is Karen. I need some Deca-300. Can I drop by?"

"No! Haven't you heard? We were busted six weeks ago. They're watching the Gym like hawks."

Maureen! She had really gone after the Montalbans Karen realized with a shock. Damn! They were Karen's suppliers.

"Can we p'raps meet some place else? I really need some of the stuff."

"Shit, Karen, that's not easy. We don't have any stuff here. Tell you something. We make delivery runs on Wednesday, coming from outta state. How 'bout we drop by your place? Say, early afternoon? Coming in from Jersey we won't have a tail. What's your address again?"

"That's great, Rafe. I knew I could count on you. It's 1720 Mount Vernon, in Powelton."

"Okay, you got it. Four hundred for a two week package."

"That's stiff, Rafe."

"Yeah, well, I have a lawyer to pay now, and the narcs are breathing down my neck. You wanna cancel? No skin off my ass."

"No, no, I'll have the cash ready. When?"

"Lemme see, between one and two?"

"That's great. I'll be alone then. I'll see you."

Karen felt a twinge of bad conscience for betraying her promise to Maureen but she really needed the stuff. Besides, nobody would know if she kept the dose low. Deirdre wouldn't be back from school before four p.m. on a Wednesday, and Maureen not before six. She had it covered.

Tuesday morning at ten, Maureen led her three visitors into the conference room where Dennis Alvarado was waiting. The Montalbans were everything she had heard of. The Mara Salvatrucha tattoes showed on their bulging arms, chests and necks which were not covered by the muscle shirts both wore. Their heads were shaven and covered with tattoos as well. Most of all, the burning, barely restrained anger in their eyes made Maureen wary. Both were bombs, ready to blow up.

"Gentlemen, please be seated. We have invited you to explore the possibilities of a co-operation on your part. Let me stress that the focus of our investigations is not the end user but the people who earn the big money. From what we found during the searches, you fall somewhere in between, but I am willing to make allowances if you co-operate with our investigation."

Sam Cooper, the Montalbans' attorney, cleared his throat.

"My clients are willing to plead guilty to a charge of illegal possession. They will name their buyers, too."

Maureen shook her head.

"As I said, we're not so much interested in the people downstream of your clients. It's the higher-ups we want. Besides, we have all the evidence for possession with intent to distribute. The quantities in Mr. Anderson's bag put your clients in the retailer bracket."

"What can you offer then?"

"Frankly? Nothing, Mr. Cooper, unless your clients really talk about supply lines and wholesalers. Why would I?"

"What is she talking about?" the younger Montalban, Enrique, demanded of Cooper. "We can't give her names. We'd be out of business."

Giving the hulking man a cool smile, Maureen leaned over the conference table.

"That, Mr. Montalban, is the point, to put you out of the doping business. In fact, we want to put everybody out of the doping business."

Rafe Montalban spoke up, ignoring his attorneys signals.

"My brother and I have built our gym from nothing. If you dry us out, we'll go belly-up in a year. More than half of our customers pop pills."

Again, Maureen forced a smile on her lips.

"Where will they go if Philadelphia is a dry city? You'll compete with your rivals on an even footing. The Olympic Gym is still closed, so there isn't much competition anyway. Go for the women, offer aerobics! Just so we understand each other: there will be no deal that will let you continue to peddle prescription pills."

"Bitch!" the younger Montalban hissed.

"That's how it is, and it has nothing to do with me or Mr. Alvarado. It's the policy of this office. It's quite simple, really. You can do the time for distribution and lose your gym. Or you can co-operate, name your suppliers, and keep it."

Maureen could see the fury behind the dark eyes of the brothers, maybe even more, madness? Maureen knew the side effects of steroid overdosing, and for some of those the Montalbans were poster boys. She could also see the sign of increased aggression, 'roid rage, in both men. For a moment she felt fear but she fought it back. Rafael Montalban stared at her, his neck swelling with anger.