Page 81 of The Forever Vault

“It’s disgusting. We’re washing it. Does ropa mean briefs?” I asked.

“Almost,” he answered, “It means clothes. You want some of my pants too? It looks a little chilly out there today.”

He wasn’t lying. While light was coming through the windows, it was muted by a haze of fog. I pulled on a pair of his pants, grabbed one of his hoodies, and walked over to him for a goodbye kiss.

“Hey, what am I supposed to wear today?”

Fuck. He was giving his best pouty face. Do not engage. Keep your dick in your pants.

“I believe in you. We were almost late for our flights because of your compulsive need to have an outfit for everything. You’ll manage.”

“Text me when you get to the village!” Luke called out as I headed out the door.

The app took me to a smaller building surrounded by larger dormitories. Once inside, it was clear it was an administrative building.

Makes sense for a meeting.

I smiled at my knack for the obvious and consulted the directory in the lobby. I made for the hallway on the right, but as soon as I knocked on the door and entered Room 102, I knew it wasn’t a meeting and something was very wrong.

Woodward was seated at a table, flanked by five very official-looking…officials? My brain was short-circuiting, but I recognized one of them, at least, the woman.

“Thanks for coming in, Camden. Have a seat.”

“Am I off the team? Did I do something wrong?” I slid into the chair closest to the door, which I heard softly close behind me. I swallowed, trying to get rid of the awful feeling I had. My throat had become a desert in seconds, my hands were clammy, and my armpits damp.

“These gentlemen to my left are representatives from the IOC and WADA-”, Coach said.

Fuck, that’s the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The room instantly felt ten degrees warmer. I wanted to take the hoodie off, but I was waiting for the ball to drop.

“-and you already know Georgina Madsen, the president-”

“-of USA Gymnastics, yes. Nice to see you again, ma’am.” I know I just said that, but I couldn’t possibly imagine how. She was at the Olympic trials in June. She did not look happy.

“I wish I could say the same, Mr. Kane. That is to say, it’s good to see you, but I’d prefer the circumstances were entirely different.” I could hear the sneer in her voice.

Coach continued, “For reasons that will be explained to you and the team shortly, you are required to accompany these gentlemen-”, he gestured to the last two people at the table, “-to the bathroom. A urine sample will be collected and a hair sample as well.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but Coach cut me off. “Your teammates have already complied, Camden. This is non-negotiable. Noah is waiting with the rest of the team. Once your samples are taken, Georgina and I will meet with everyone. I’ll, uh, also need your phone until the meeting.”

“No blood?” I almost laughed at the ludicrosity of my question, but here I was.

“Not at this time,” the man from WADA answered.

They all pushed back from the table, each chair screeched, adding to an already awkward situation, so I stood as well and left my phone on the table.

“Mr. Kane, if you’ll follow me.”

I briefly glanced at Woodward, who offered a sympathetic half-smile, and followed the burly, bearded guy in the tight navy polo out a door at the other end of the room. His shorter partner, dressed in the same manner, fell into step behind me, carrying a large duffel bag.

We walked down a narrow hallway lined with opaque floor-to-ceiling glass walls. With doors every twelve feet or so, I assumed they were offices, though they looked vacant at the moment. We went through the door at the end of that hall into…a locker room.

The burly guy introduced himself as Michael and his partner as Trevor, then said, “You should be fairly familiar with the process as a three-time Olympian, but first, Trevor is going to pat you down. All our collection materials are in here and won’t be opened until both of us are in the same room, with the exception of the original sample cup, which Trevor will give to you in the bathroom. Understood?”

I nodded.

Trevor added, “Do you need some water? Or do you think you’ll be able to go?”