Hot Shots and Heavy Hits: Tales of an Undercover Drug Agent

5: Bad Acid

5 BAD ACID B reathing in deeply through my nose, I could feel the cold, salty air burning my lungs while I tried to keep pace with my colleagues Danny Santarpio and Jason Germano. They both ran like deer. The ground was covered with hard, crusty snow, and our feet made crunching sounds as we jogged along Pleasure Bay toward the Sugar Bowl and Castle Island. The three of us clopped along, wearing stocking caps pulled down over our ears, scarves wrapped around our necks, and parkas over our sweat suits. White vapor spilled from our mouths as we jogged in the darkness . Police sirens sounded in the distance. ‘‘They’re playing my song, again,’’ I said. ‘‘Don’t you know anything else?’’ Jason joked. ‘‘I find that song very hard to dance to!’’ ‘‘It doesn’t matter,’’ Danny joined in, ‘‘he can’t dance anyway, he’s Irish.’’ ‘‘What are you talking about? I’m dancin’ right now,’’ I laughed. ‘‘I’m doin’ the airborne shuffle.’’ ‘‘Was that what you were doing the other night, when you knocked that door down with your head?’’ Jason quipped. ‘‘Yeah, and that was the ‘Ali shuffle’ when he knocked Straight Nelson out cold in the hallway on Beacon Street with a left hook!’’ Danny joked again. We all laughed out loud while we ran. We fell quiet for a while as the .......................... 10590$ $CH5 03-12-04 13:06:30 PS airplanes approaching Logan Airport, one after another, roared raucously overhead. ‘‘Where should we begin tonight?’’ I asked between jet engine noises. ‘‘Let’s begin with a bowl of fish chowda at the No Name, and take it from there,’’ Jason answered. ‘‘I second that emotion,’’ I joked. ‘‘I third,’’ laughed Danny. Jogging along the jetty in Boston Harbor, we could see the fishing boats anchored off the coast. Seagulls glided along beside us while the wet salty air blew into our faces. We began to pick up speed, pumping our legs faster and faster as we ran over the bridge from the jetty to Castle Island. ‘‘Why don’t we check out Father’s, Daisy’s, Zelda’s, and Clarke’s?’’ I suggested. ‘‘The usual nightclub tour.’’ ‘‘Sounds like a plan to me,’’ Danny agreed. ‘‘It’s a deal,’’ Jason concurred. We ran faster than usual around the periphery of Castle Island, and we kept up the fast pace all the way back to the L Street bathhouse. My lungs felt like they were about to explode. The wind was blowing strong against us on our return route, forcing us to lean into it so it wouldn’t blow us over backwards. The wind resistance turned our three-mile run into an endurance test. It was us against the elements, and we liked that challenge. We practically sprinted the last half mile of the course, running hard and racing, neck and neck, past the South Boston Yacht Club and the M Street beach. The three of us slowed down to a trot and stopped running when we crossed the invisible finish line at the intersection of L Street and Day Boulevard . Breathing deeply and sweating, Danny, Jason, and I swaggered, three abreast, on the sidewalk in front of the brick bathhouse building as we cooled down after our run. We walked to the end of the building and stopped for a while to stretch and bend on the snow-covered sand at the edge of the black saltwater of Carson Beach. After regaining our breath, we walked back into the bathhouse to shower and change into our undercover clothes. Jason and Danny were leaving the shower room just as I was entering. I hung my towel on the rack, walked into the open tiled shower area, found one of the only showers with a nozzle, and turned it on. I tested the water with my hand, and stepped into the stream of water when the temperature seemed right. I rubbed the bar of soap over my body and stared at the ceiling while I thought about our strategy for the night. Suddenly I looked across from me, and I noticed that Willie White, a young man with Down syndrome, was also taking a shower. ‘‘What time is it, Willie?’’ I asked matter-of-factly. BAD ACID 115 .......................... 10590$ $CH5 03-12-04 13:06:31 PS ‘‘Don’t know,’’ Willie answered immediately in his gruff-sounding voice. I looked...