On the trip out, the one time Quickwater had spoken was to give me the basic history of the property. The house was bulit by a New Yorker who'd made his fortune running booze during the days of the Volstead Act. In the mid-eighties the Vipers bought it from the smuggler's heirs, put four hundred thousand into renovations, and hung up their logo. In addition to the perimeter security system, the boys had instal ed bul etproof glass in al first-floor windows, and steel plating on every door

None of that mattered this morning. Like the gate, the clubhouse door stood wide open. Quickwater entered and I fol owed.

My first reaction was surprise at the lavish outfitting. If these guys needed to make bail or hire an attorney, al they had to do was hold an auction. The electronic equipment alone would have netted them F. Lee Bailey.

The house was built on multiple levels, with a metal staircase twisting up its core. We crossed a black-and-white-tiled hal way and started to climb. To my left I got a glimpse of a game room complete with pool and Footbal tables and a ful -length bar. On the wal above the liquor col ection a coiled snake with fleshless skul , fangs, and bulging eyebal s grinned down in orange neon. At the far end of the bar, a bank of video monitors provided sixteen views of the property on smal black-and-white screens. The room also held a large television and a sound system that looked like a NASA control panel. A patrolman from the St-Basile PD nodded as we passed.

At the second level I noted a gym with at least half a dozen pieces of Nautilus equipment. Two weight benches and an assortment of free weights sat in front of a mirrored wal to the left. The Vipers were into body image.

On level three we crossed a living room done in late-mil ennium biker bilious. The carpet was deep red plush, and locked horns with the gold on the wal s and the blue in the fabric of the oversized couches and love seats. The tables were brass and smoked glass, and held an assortment of snake sculptures. Wood, ceramic, stone, and metal serpents also lined the windowsil s, and snarled from the top of the largest TV I'd ever seen.

The wal s were decorated with posters, enlargements of snapshots taken at club soirees and runs. In shot after shot members flexed sweaty muscles, straddled cycles, or held up bottles and cans of beer. Most looked like they came from a point on the IQ curve that sloped low and very gently.