Gamma

Tyler couldn’t believe how easy it was to get a hold of Oliver Tremblay. He simply had texted a teammate for Tremblay’s number, and the kid had responded immediately.

Tyler had only talked to Oliver a couple of times, mainly right after he got drafted last year. He seemed like a decent enough kid. Though Tyler questioned that now that he found out Oliver was taking drugs.

Tyler understood wanting any edge you could get to get the big leagues, but drugs was taking it too far. Good, old-fashioned hard work was always best.

He glanced over at Savannah who had been on her iPad the entire time they had been driving. He knew she was juggling a bunch of cases right now, but this Sonny Diego one was at the top of her list.

“Just a few more miles,” Tyler told her. He had found out that Oliver was crashing on a friend’s couch about thirty-five minutes outside of Dallas. When Tyler had texted him asking if he wanted to meet up and chat about the upcoming preseason camp, Oliver had jumped at the chance. It almost made Tyler feel bad for what the kid was about to endure with an interrogation from Savannah.

“Thanks for doing this for me,” Savannah said, shutting her iPad down and looking out the window.

Tyler reached over and put his hand on her knee. “Just,” he began.

“Be careful, I know,” she finished his sentence for him.

Tyler pulled into a parking lot of a large apartment complex. “Here you go,” he told her.

She glanced over at him. “Wish me luck,” she said.

“You think you’re going in alone?” Tyler questioned. He almost laughed at her assumption.

“Tyler, it’s my job. I can take care of this,” she said matter-of-factly.

Tyler unbuckled his seatbelt and put his hand on the car door handle. “And I got us here because Tremblay thinks he’s meeting with me. He’s not going to talk to you without me there,” he told her, opening the door and stepping out.

He waited to hear Savannah argue with him, but when he looked at her, she just had a frustrated look on her face but didn’t say anything. He had won and she would never admit that aloud.

She followed him to the correct apartment door, and he knocked. A few moments later, Oliver opened the door. “Seguin!” he grinned as he welcomed him inside. “What’s up, man?”

Tyler walked inside with Savannah right behind him. “Nothing much. This is my girlfriend, Savannah,” he introduced her.

“Oliver,” the younger man reached out his hand to shake Savannah’s.

“Look, I’m going to come clean,” Tyler said, running a hand along his jaw line. Oliver looked at him, confused. “We came here to talk to you.”

“Okay…” Oliver drew out the word, clearly trying to figure out what was going on.

Tyler looked over at Savannah, allowing her to take the lead. He watched as she reached into her pocket to pull out her badge. “I work for the DEA,” she revealed. Tyler saw Oliver’s eyes widened before composing himself again. He was guilty, there was no doubt about that. “Tell me what you know about this drug called Gamma.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Oliver lied.

Tyler frowned. “Fess up, man.”

“We know you were going to go to the cops with information. I am the cops,” Savannah explained. It was clear Oliver wasn’t going to talk, and Tyler was about to get more forceful with the kid before Savannah continued. “I know what happened with Louis Brophy. Just help us get to the bottom of this.”

“Am I…are you going to tell the Stars? I don’t wanna lose my spot,” he said fearfully.

Tyler wanted to shake him and tell him his spot in the Stars organization was the least of his concerns. Oliver was doing illegal drugs, he could easily go to jail. “I don’t report to the Stars,” Savannah said. She looked over at Tyler, waiting on him to back her up.

“And I just want this whole drug ring stopped. So help us, Tremblay,” he urged.

He watched as Oliver’s face turned from skepticism to agreement. “What do you need from me?” he sighed.

“I need to know everything you know,” Savannah answered.

Tyler hadn’t really known what Savannah’s job entailed until he watched her really interrogate Oliver. The kid never stood a chance against Savannah’s questioning. In the end, she had learned a lot from him. He and Louis Brophy had grown up playing on the same team. When both were getting attention before the draft, they knew they wanted that little extra that would make them better. Some guy, who turned out to be Jimmy Nelson, had met them after one of their practices. He had introduced himself as one of the NHL scouts and had told them that some of the newer players were taking this new product and increasing their speed and agility for testing. Both kids had jumped at the chance.
Oliver had described the high as feeling like he had a hundred times his normal adrenaline. He said that he felt like he was flying out on the ice. And the only real side effects he had noticed were his heart raced a little more than normal and he would get a headache. But, he felt both were manageable when it made him play faster and better.

After being drafted by the Stars and playing in a minor league, he didn’t have the access to Gamma that he had previously. So, he had gone back to Nelson for more. That’s when Nelson told him that one of the Stars’ scouts also sold the product, and he had put Oliver in touch with Conway.

“You willing to go on record about this?” Savannah asked him.

Oliver seemed nervous. “Look, you need to do this for more than just yourself,” Tyler told him. “There’s a fucking drug ring in the NHL. You need to help put an end to this,” he said.

“Sure,” Oliver relented.

“Good, meet me at the station tomorrow,” she said, reaching in her pocket and pulling out a business card, handing it to him.

“Thanks, Tremblay,” Tyler told him before leading Savannah out of the apartment. When they got back in his car, Tyler glanced over at her. “So now what?” he asked her.

“Now, Tremblay talks on the record and we go after Conway. And Nelson. And whoever the hell else is dealing these kids drugs,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Is he going to be in trouble?” Tyler asked.
Savannah looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “Well, if it isn’t Mr. Seguin being all sensitive and worrying about these kids,” she teased him.

Tyler frowned at her. “I care more about getting these drugs away from the team,” he muttered. “Can’t kids these days do the normal drinking and getting wasted thing?”

Savannah laughed. “Not everyone is you, Seguin,” she shook her head. “Do you mind driving me back to the office? I need to get some work done,” she said.

Tyler nodded his head, not surprised she was asking to go back to work. She always had her mind on work. They drove in silence, and he would occasionally glance at Savannah, who had her head buried while looking at her iPad or phone, sometimes both simultaneously, which Tyler couldn’t understand how.

He pulled up in front of the DEA office and put his car in park. “Thank you,” Savannah told him.

“No problem,” he told her. She leaned over, grabbing his face and giving him a kiss on the lips. “What’s that for?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“For helping me today. And not getting in my way,” she smirked at him. She opened the car door and hopped out. “I’ll see you tonight,” she told him.

He watched her walk into the station before pulling away. He knew he needed to talk to Jamie about what was going on with drugs being in the Stars organization. But he was pretty sure Jamie was with Alex right now, and if Tyler tried interrupting, he was likely getting pounded.

So, he skipped going to Jamie’s place and instead went to the rink for a quick skate. When he walked inside, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Conway talking to a couple of new players who were on the bubble of making the Stars lineup this season.

Tyler tried to remain unseen, and he thought he had accomplished that until Conway locked eyes with him. Tyler shook it off, heading towards the locker room.

Just as he reached the door, a hand came in sight in front of him. He looked over to see Conway standing there. “Tyler Seguin. I’ve been seeing you around a lot,” he commented.

Tyler feigned a look of confusion. “You have?”

“Saw you at that game the other night. Brought some girl there?” Conway said in way of reminding him.

Tyler stared at him. The way he said that sentence, Tyler knew Conway knew what girl he had brought with him. He knew who Savannah was, and that terrified him. He decided to play along. “Oh yeah, I came to see how the young kids are playing. Brought my girlfriend with me,” he told him.

“Sure seems like a weird date night,” he said with a rough chuckle.

“She’s into hockey,” Tyler shrugged.

“Mmhmm,” Conway hummed. “So what’d you think of the kids?”

Tyler wasn’t about to admit he didn’t really pay much attention to the hockey game that night. So he lied through his teeth. “Dodgey played real well. But you know who I really like? That Oliver Tremblay. He’s going to be a hot shot. Just you wait,” Tyler tipped his head in Conway’s direction. He’d said Oliver’s name to gauge Conway’s reaction and he wasn’t disappointed. The split second look on Conway’s face showed a little giddiness that Tyler had mentioned the young kid. As if he thought the drugs he had given Oliver had made him a stud.

“He’s one of the best,” Conway agreed as he came back to reality. “Watch your back, Seguin,” he added with a smirk. Tyler was unsure if he was saying it as a joke or if he was giving him a warning. “He could take your place on the top line,” he added to make it appear less threatening.

Tyler frowned as he gave Conway an intense look. The older man simply cackled as he walked away.

It was time to get Jamie involved. Tyler didn’t care if he was with Alex or not. He grabbed his phone, calling his teammate. He was surprised with Jamie picked up rather quickly. “What’s up, Segs?” he greeted him.

“You busy? We need to talk,” Tyler stated.

“I was getting ready to go look at rings,” Jamie admitted.

Tyler rubbed his forehead, debating what to say next. Looking at wedding rings was a big step for Jamie, and he didn’t really want to interrupt that, but this was important. “Can you make a pit stop along the way? At the rink? It’s important,” he told him.

He must have sounded desperate because Jamie asked, “What’s going on?”

“Just come here. Or I’ll meet you at the ring store,” he offered.

“I’ll come there,” Jamie agreed. “Be there in ten minutes.”

Tyler thanked him before hanging up. He sat in the locker stall, playing on his phone, trying to keep his mind busy. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he received a text from Jamie asking where he was. He texted him back that he was in the locker room, and a few moments later, Jamie appeared.

“This better be important,” Jamie warned him.

“Tommy Conway is dealing drugs,” Tyler rushed out.

It took Jamie a few moments to comprehend what Tyler had said. “Tommy Conway? Our scout? What the fuck is with these scouts and drugs? Wait. How do you know this?” he questioned, his eyes narrowing on Tyler.

“Oliver Tremblay is involved. Savannah and I went to see him yesterday. He’s going on the record to say that he’s getting drugs from Conway.”

Jamie’s face fell. “Fuck. Tremblay is doing drugs?” he muttered, running a hand over his face.

Tyler nodded his head. “And he’s getting them from Conway. And I’m pretty sure Conway knows people are zoning in on him. And he knows I’m involved. Or Savannah is and that she’s my girlfriend.” He shook his head, confusing his own words. “I don’t really know what he knows, but he knows something,” he tried explaining.

Jamie looked at him, worried. “Are you in trouble?” he asked Tyler sincerely. “Or Savannah?”

Tyler shook his head. “I don’t think so. At least not yet. You know Savannah. She can get into trouble in a hurry,” he mumbled.

Jamie pointed a finger at Tyler. “You need to be careful,” he told him. “This is Savannah’s job, she can handle herself and this situation. You are not a cop. Or a DEA agent. Don’t get into trouble,” he warned.

“What the hell are we going to do?” Tyler asked. He knew Jamie wasn’t going to sit idly by if there were drugs on the team.

Jamie ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know,” he mumbled. “I’ll get to the bottom of this and see how far it’s spread. And I’ll put an end to this drug shit quickly,” he promised.

“Let me know what I can do to help,” Tyler replied.

“I will,” Jamie said.

Tyler looked over at him. “So ring shopping, eh?” he raised an eyebrow at the captain. “It’s about damn time.”

“Yeah,” Jamie sighed, not able to argue with Tyler on this one. “Not really sure how to go about this. I mean, how am I supposed to know what one she wants?”

Tyler laughed. “Just pick out the most expensive ring. She’s waited long enough. She can get the most value in case you try to run before the wedding and she gets to keep the ring.”

Jamie punched Tyler in the arm. “Shut up, you asshole,” he said. Tyler continued laughing as Jamie walked out of the locker room, throwing up his middle finger at Tyler on his way out.

Notes