When his eyes met mine briefly, I went cold. It was like being looked at by a Great White Shark. I was glad when he moved on to the next person.
Everyone murmured something about being happy to come, even though I’m sure nobody really was.
“Here’s the thing, guys,” Quarry said. He walked closer to us, drawing us into him like a football huddle. “I heard some pretty strange news and I wanted to just have a little powwow with the team about it.” He looked down and smiled to himself. “I can hardly believe it, actually. But I’m pretty sure it’s true.” Quarry looked up again. “I got word back that there have been some government agents asking questions about me and specifically the Slaughterhouse organization.”
Everyone started talking at once.
“What kind of questions?” someone asked.
Quarry held up his hands for quiet. He was still smiling. “Listen, I’m not trying to alarm anybody. I don’t think it’s a big deal at all. The thing is, you all know I have an open door policy. Anybody who wants to can come right on in and just sit down and talk to me. So my question is, why hasn’t anybody come and talked to me yet?”
“Who have they talked to?” I said. Asking the question nearly made me want to puke, because I knew it was possible my name had come up. But I wanted to act as confused and clueless as possible.
Quarry stared at me, his eyes seeming to bore into my very soul. But he still had that unnatural smile on his face. “Good question, Brown. I’m not totally sure who they’ve approached. I only know because someone told me they were contacted, and so I’m in the dark here like the rest of you.”
I forced myself to look confused and totally shocked by the news. And it wasn’t that hard to do, because I felt shocked that the FBI had approached more than just me.
What were they thinking? Didn’t they know it would get back to Quarry?
“I’ll personally fucking kill anybody that turns snitch on us,” Tim Young said.
He looked at all of us, his face a mask of barely concealed rage. It made sense, too. He was the champ in his weight division, and he had the most to lose if something bad came out about the gym he was part of.
“Relax, Tim,” Quarry said, chuckling. “We’re not threatening anyone. In fact, quite the opposite.” He looked around the group. “I just want everyone to understand that I’m not upset and I have nothing to hide.”
I tried my best not to make a face at this comment, knowing as I did that he had everything to hide. And everyone else had to realize it too. The drug program he was running had put everyone in jeopardy.
“I want you all to feel free to come to me,” Quarry continued. “There will be no punishment. I’m not going to call you out or make you feel bad if someone from the government spoke to you and you didn’t tell me right away.”
“Are we going to get in trouble?” Jimbo said.
Quarry’s eyes darted over, and for a quick moment, the old intensity resurfaced.
Quarry looked about ready to rip Jimbo’s head off his neck and drink his blood. And then the creepy, phony smile was back in place and Quarry’s gaze softened. “In trouble with who?”
Jimbo shrugged. “I dunno. The cops.”
“For what?” Quarry said, laughing. “We’re not doing anything here that they don’t do in every other MMA gym in the world. That’s a fact. And by the way, nobody’s ever gone to jail for taking supplements. I’m not going to get into the ethics of various types of behaviors—I’m just stating the facts. Nobody in this room needs to be worried about getting in trouble with law enforcement. Do you all understand?”
People nodded hesitantly.
Quarry was watching every one of us. I could sense that he was trying to get a read on people. He wanted desperately to know who the FBI had spoken to, and he was literally trying to read it from our expressions and body language.
“None of you should worry. But if you are worried, just talk to me. Call me, swing by the gym—hell, swing by my house.” His grin widened. “I’ll cook you pancakes and home fries and we can talk about it.”
Everyone laughed at that.
“But don’t go freaking out and mouthing off to those cowboys from the Justice Department. They’re on a crusade to bust anyone and everyone in professional sports.
It’s what they do. It’s a witch hunt and they’re going to try and divide and conquer. But we’re fighters. We fight for a living and we shouldn’t fall for their bullshit. At least, that’s my hope.”
“Hell no, we’re not talking to the fucking cops,” Virgil Jones yelled out.
Quarry nodded at him. “I like your passion, Jones. But keep in mind, not everyone feels the way you do. And I’m not the kind of man who punishes those who have a moment of fear or doubt. If you slip up, if you fuck up—all I ask is that you come to me. Tell me about it.” His eyes swept the room to see our reactions.
When his eyes landed on me again, I felt every muscle tighten in response. He continued looking directly at me.