Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 87395 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87395 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Wymack interpreted his long silence as fear. "I'm telling you this because everyone else here already knows the story from Kevin, but don't worry about the yakuza. Like I said, Kengo and Ichirou mostly keep to New York and couldn't give a flying fuck what Tetsuji and Riko do. The only way it's relevant to us is explaining why Tetsuji and Riko are violent and rotten. They have a lot of power behind their name and a rather twisted view of their place in the world. And we happen to have something of theirs."
"Kevin," Neil said.
"I'd hoped they'd thrown him away," Wymack said. "Everyone said Kevin would never play again. Edgar Allen had to release Kevin from his school contract because of the severity of his injuries and Tetsuji didn't argue when I took Kevin on as an assistant coach. I thought they were ready to let him go. But Tetsuji didn't take Kevin in out of the goodness of his heart. He raised Kevin to be a star. He put a lot of time and money into Kevin's development on the court. As far as Tetsuji is considered, Kevin is valuable property. Any profit Kevin makes is rightfully the Moriyamas'."
"But Kevin's handicapped."
"He's still a name," Wymack said.
Neil's head was spinning as he tried to sort it all out. "He wants Kevin to transfer back?"
"If he wanted Kevin to transfer, he'd just say so," Wymack said.
"Kevin wouldn't really go back," Neil said, disbelieving. "Not after what Riko did."
Wymack gave him a pitying look. "Tetsuji never formally adopted Kevin. Do you know why? Moriyamas don't believe in outsiders or equals. Tetsuji took Kevin in and took over his training, but he also gave Kevin to Riko— literally. Kevin isn't human to them. He's a project. He's a pet, and it's Riko's name on his leash. The fact he ran away is a miracle. If Tetsuji called tomorrow and told him to come home, Kevin would. He knows what Tetsuji would do to him if he refused. He'd be too afraid to say no."
Neil thought he'd be sick. He didn't want to hear anymore of this; he'd already heard too much. He wanted to run until it all started making sense in his head, or at least until the ice left his veins. "Then why go through all the trouble of changing districts?"
"The Moriyamas are ready to cash in on their investment," Wymack said. "No one honestly expects Kevin to make a comeback, but he signed with us to play. His arrogance is inspiring, and this year he's still a star. If he can't keep up and perform, the fans and critics will move on and forget about him. Tetsuji thinks he'll burn out, so he has to seize the moment now.
"Our teams are going to make a fortune this season. People are going to be hounding us every step of the way and gambling on our games. There'll be TV spots and merchandise and all kinds of publicity stunts. Tetsuji is pitting Riko and Kevin against each other knowing how it'll end. He'll put it all on the table and let his Ravens destroy us on the court. Rake in the winnings, establish Riko as the superior player forever, and relegate Kevin to the has-beens."
Neil swallowed hard. "What if Coach Moriyama told him to stop playing?"
Wymack was quiet for an endless minute, then said, "Kevin only had the strength to leave because Riko destroyed his hand. That was finally one injustice too many. Because of that I'd like to think Kevin would defy Tetsuji, but it's just as likely we'd never see him with a racquet again. But the day Kevin stops playing forever is the day he dies. He has nothing else. He wasn't raised to have anything else. Do you understand? We cannot lose to the Ravens this year. Kevin won't survive it."
"We can't win against them," Neil said. "We're the worst team in the nation."
"Then it's time to stop being the worst," Wymack said. "It's time to fly."
"You don't really think we can," Neil said.
"If you didn't think you could, what are you doing here? You wouldn't have signed the contract if you'd already given up on yourself." Wymack half-turned away. "I need to make sure Kevin's not cutting his wrists open in there. It's probably best if he doesn't see you right now. I can call Abby to come get you if you want to hang out with the others, but I need you to keep this a secret from your teammates until June. I need time to figure out how we're going to handle this season."
"I won't say anything," Neil said, taking a couple steps back. "And don't worry about me. I'll go for a run or something."
"Kevin should be out of here by four," Wymack said. "That's when Andrew's done with Betsy, so Nicky will pick him up on his way over to her office."
Neil nodded and left, taking the stairs back down to the ground level.
Neil thought it would be awful if Kevin remembered the boy with the murderous father, but this was worse. This was Kevin maybe remembering that boy when Kevin belonged to an equally horrific family. Neil didn't remember the Moriyamas, but they'd definitely remember him if they'd done business with his father. The Butcher of Baltimore wasn't a man easily forgotten. Neither was his wife, who'd stolen five million dollars the night she ran away with the Butcher's only son. The Butcher turned his people inside-out for years hunting them down. All of his contacts would have heard of it.
Somewhere the ERC was reworking and finalizing a schedule that put the Moriyamas in Neil's near future. Neil would quit before that match. He had no choice. He'd play up until their game against the Ravens and then run. If he was lucky, the match would come at the end of the fall season so he wouldn't jeopardize the striker line too much by taking off.
It was stupid and suicidal to stay even that long. Neil knew he should go now, before he met his teammates or the ERC publicized his name or he ever stepped on a court with Kevin Day at his side. It'd seemed an acceptable risk before, since none of his father's people were into sports. The chance of one of them seeing him on TV during a match was negligible so long as Kevin didn't figure him out and give him away. Now that he knew who the Moriyamas were and knew they would be watching him, it made absolutely no sense to stay.