Unknown - driven

Cat?s laughter had the desired effect on her belly, and her nerves settled to a dull roar. The next sip of water went down easier than the first into a stomach that was now calm, cool, and steady. “Thanks, Chane,” she said, finally, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

“No problem, Shortchange. Can?t have our point guard with a case of the terminal jitters. Bad for business, ya know.”

“I guess you?re right about that.”

“Speaking of terminal, where?s Coach D?”

“I wish I knew,” Cat sighed, throwing her hands in the air. “We split up after we came here and I haven?t seen her since.”

“So, you rode in together,” Chaney said slyly. “Must be nice.” The guard laughed at Cat?s expression. “Oh, c?mon, Shortchange. It?s not like I?m blind to the situation, you know. Hell, I don?t think anyone is. We all think it?s kickin, actually.”

“I don?t want to talk about it,” Cat mumbled, flushed face hidden in her hands.

“You?re gonna be up in the sky box with him, right?” Dylan asked, leaning against the wall in her warm-ups.

“Yeah, yeah. You just worry about playing. Let me worry about the old man, alright?”

“Mac, something?s going on. I can feel it in my gut. I haven?t been able to get ahold of him for the last three days, and if you?d have seen the look on his face when I stepped out onto the court?.”

“I know. And I?m trying to get to the bottom of it. And I will, I promise.”

“By then, it might be too late.”

“Let me do my job, D,” he replied, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing lightly. “You just concentrate on winning this damn thing. If it?s what you think, and he?s stacking his cards against the Badgers taking it all, winning will piss him off more than anything else could. Then we?ll see what happens.”

Dylan sighed. “I don?t like it.”

“Either do I. Just?trust me, okay?”

“Alright,” Dylan replied, summoning up a small smile. “Good luck.”

“To you as well, my friend. Kick some ass.”

Dylan took a blistering pass from Cat on the fly and didn?t even bother to dribble as she left her feet for a thunderous jam. At the last second, Tanisha Bradford, center for the Monarch, slipped into a blocking stance after Dylan?s feet had already left the ground. The two collided and Jackson, no doubt trying for the Best Actress award at the next year?s Oscars, fell to her back with a loud cry.

“Foul!” the ref shouted, waving his arm. “No basket!”

“What the hell?!?” Cat yelled, running up to the ref. She would have grabbed his arm and spun him around, no doubt earning her an ejection, if Chaney hadn?t luckily gotten there first and grabbed her arm, pulling her quickly away. “Let me go,” Cat growled from between clenched teeth. “Now!”

“No way, man!” Chaney growled back, shaking Cat like a terrier with a bone. “That?s just what they want, don?t you get it? The refs are shit, man! They?re gettin? paid off!” The guard held tight as Cat tried to wriggle free, her gaze rapt to Dylan as she pulled herself out of a tangle of arms and legs and slowly straightened, testing out the strength in her knee. “Listen, Shortchange. This ain?t college ball.” Chaney?s breath was hot on her face. “This is business, man! All fuckin? business! Look at it! Big D?s got three fouls on her and she ain?t touched nobody! You! You got four fuckin traveling calls! I bet you ain?t traveled since you were in grade school!”

Chaney?s words finally got through, and Cat stopped struggling, then turned to her friend, expression set. “What are you saying?”

“It?s a sham, Cat! Nothin? but a fuckin? sham. We?re pawns in some fuckin? chess game so Johnson can get his latest ?ho a new Mercedes. Don?t you get it? He?s bettin? against us!”

“But that—.”

“But nothin?, Shortchange. Face the facts here. He wants us to lose and he?s paid off the fuckin? refs to make sure it happens.”

“But why would he bet against his own team?”

Chaney snorted. “He don?t give a shit about no fucking championship trophy, Cat. It?s all about the green, man. If he can make more dough bettin? against us, that?s what he?s gonna do. Face it, Cat. We?re bein? played.”

“You don?t sound too upset about it,” Cat observed.

“I guess I ain?t,” Chaney replied, shrugging. “My contract?s up after this game anyway, and a pro team in Spain offered me some big bucks to come play for them.” She shrugged again. “I?ll probably take ?em up on it.”

“You?d do that, leave the team, leave Dylan like that, even if we win?”

Chaney?s smile was sad as she reached out and gently clasped Cat?s shoulder. “Hon, we ain?t gonna win this one. We gave it a damn good try, but?.” Shaking her head, she walked away, leaving Cat standing alone at center court, her heart a whirl of emotions.

Catching the towel tossed to her by the trainer, Cat sat down on the bench next to Dylan, who was adjusting her knee brace. “You okay?” Cat asked.

“Yeah,” Dylan replied, straightening up and guzzling a bottle of water before turning to look at her lover. “You?”

Cat looked down at her knotted fingers briefly before raising her head to meet Dylan?s intense stare. “Was?what Chaney said to me back there true?”

Looking over Cat?s head, Dylan lifted an eyebrow in Chaney?s direction. Chaney looked back, shame-faced, giving Dylan all the answer she needed to answer that particular unasked question. She returned her attention to her lover. “It?s true.”

Cat?s shoulders sagged. “But why? I don?t mean to come off as terminally naive here, but isn?t betting against your own team, betting at all, you know, illegal?”

“And your point would be??”

“This isn?t a joke, Dylan.”

“Sure it is. Look around you, Cat. This whole thing is a joke. And by now, everybody?s in on it.”

“Except us.”

“We?ve got the starring role, Cat.”

“How long have you known?”

“I suspected something over the past couple of days. The bastard was just a bit too smug. When I actually knew?well, let?s just say in the eight months that I?ve known you as a player, I?ve never seen you travel. And I still haven?t.”

“What are we going to do?”

“Do? What we?ve been doing all year. Play to win.”

“Even if they won?t let us?”

“Especially then. He might be able to keep us from winning, but he?ll never make us lose.”

Cat wanted to have a fit of temper and lay into the referees and opposing players, but she knew that wasn?t really her style and that Dylan would be disappointed in her. As she stood to retake her place on the court, she looked into the seats where the fans were all cheering for the Badgers and she knew she wouldn?t let them down either. She?d play the best game she could and if they lost because the game was rigged, she would know that she did her best against impossible odds.

The thing that bothered her most was the attitude of the other team; they really seemed to be getting off on what was happening. She wondered if they were in on it too, or just stupid. It was true that they were a damn good team, and under normal circumstances the Badgers would be working hard to give them a run for their money, but now the game was being handed to them and they seemed to be enjoying it.

She took a deep breath, as the ball was returned to play. This moment seemed to be going well. They were moving the ball down the court for a shot; the ball came to her and made a fast pass to Dylan who was clear and ready for a beautiful three pointer.

Then it happened. As they tried to block Dylan she whirled to get around them and the whistle blew. She had felt her elbow make contact with her opponent when she tried to make the turn, but she knew, the opponent knew and the fans knew it was accidental and would have been ?incidental? contact in a normal game. But this was not a normal game.