Chapter 21 Zane
ZANE
“Men, let me tell you how things are going to be,” Coach Mack said. “This Larkin Lions team is a thorn in our side. They have been for years. You don’t need to be told that, but this particular squat is worse than any of them and something’s got to be done.”
Voices chimed in agreement throughout the room. I muttered the same under my breath and it sounded like a squeak. For some reason, I felt obligated to go along with the coach’s sermon (so far) but wouldn’t appear too gung ho.
I’d heard a thousand pep talks from Bill Mackenzie, it seemed, but this one already struck an unusual tone. Even still, I couldn’t have prepared myself for what came next.
“If anyone’s going to stand in the way of us winning a championship this season, it’s that goddamn cross-town rival of ours.
And they’ve already beaten us once. If they’re smart—which is questionable, I guess—they’ll know they really beat us.
They’ll want to get inside our heads. I sure hope you all have kept the bitter taste in your mouths nice and fresh. ”
That gnarly taste really had remained daisy-fresh in my own mouth, no matter what I had going on with Jakob Martin. And Coach Mack was one hundred percent right: the Larkin Lions were not only a thorn in our side, but the most credible threat to our championship season.
“I’m upping the ante.” He reached into his pocket and dug out a thick roll of bills. “This is the coaching tool in my arsenal that I wouldn’t bring out any old time. Circumstances like this one seem to warrant it. You guys like making money, don’t you?”
I would’ve expected the room to fall silent at such a suggestion, even though he’d stated nothing explicitly. He didn’t have to. I knew what he meant from the second he flashed money at us.
“Here’s the deal: a thousand dollars for anyone who knocks a Larkin Lion out of this Saturday’s game.”
Now a rumble of voices rolled through the room. I must’ve been the only player that didn’t make a peep.
“You head that right. A thousand for knocking a player out of the game, but it gets juicier. Fifteen hundred if you can inflict a serious injury. Concussions. Broken legs. You name it. If they miss some time because of it, you’ll be handsomely rewarded.”
Despite it all, I feel weird saying Coach Mack’s suggestion made me feel nauseous. No, that’s wrong. I felt outright sick to my stomach. I know I was as active in that bar brawl as anyone, but that was heat-of-the-moment shit. Money wasn’t involved and no serious injury would’ve been intentional.
“I know this is something that any one of you guys would do for free, but it never hurts to sweeten the pot, and make sure it happens. Now, I’ve said I’ll pay up to fifteen hundred for a serious injury to a Lions player, but that only applies to most of the team.
Some players are worth more, if you know what I mean.
Those players deserve a bullseye on their backs. ”
I didn’t care which player he meant. That expression alone frightened me. I made a conscious effort to steady my breathing and not let my objection show.
“Jakob Martin,” he said. “You all know who he is.”
Instead of a rumble of voices, the room erupted in a cacophony of the same. I wouldn’t have expected so many teammates to have taken issue with him in particular. This new turn made me feel cold all over.
“We’d all like to see something happen to him, wouldn’t we? He’s important to their team. Take him out and they’ll suffer. Cut off the head and the body will die.”
At least half of the room applauded. The others simply sounded off in agreement.
“So, to reiterate,” he said, “it’s a thousand dollars to knock a player out of the game, and fifteen hundred for a long-term injury. Two thousand if the player happens to be Jakob Martin.”
I honestly thought I might throw up. Even during my stupidest moments, I’d never considered intentionally inflicting an injury on another player, including a Larkin Lion. But my problem here was about to shift from bad to worse.
“Zane.” He eyed me in the back of the room. I might as well back been sitting up front. “I know there’s plenty of extra incentive for you to put a hurt on Jakob Martin, am I right?”
Everyone turned to see my reaction. For a moment, I honestly forgot to breathe. My mouth went dry. I would’ve asked if someone had cranked up the thermostat but knew I would give myself away. Turtling myself to escape responding would’ve done the same.
When I didn’t answer, most of my teammates continued staring, and I didn’t know what the hell to say. Jakob would’ve said I was a seasoned veteran of awkward moments. Even if that were true, I would still have felt uncomfortable in that team room.
“I trust that you all understand what I’m saying,” he said. “You’ll let me know your answer by what you show me on the ice.”
A tiny smile appeared on his face before he strolled out of the room. Nice dramatic touch, sure, but what he’d said sounded downright evil.
In truth, I’d never felt so glad to get the hell out of a meeting before.
Something nagged me, and I didn’t know what to call it at first. I didn’t like what Coach Mack suggested.
In fact, I hated it. And it wasn’t just about Jakob.
It was about everything. Cut off the head and the body will die, for Christ’s sake? Give me a break.
Even before I had a boyfriend (oh my God, did I just say that?) I wouldn’t have been okay with any of that. I don’t care what happened at the Colter Bay Grill. I understood right from wrong.
God, much more of this morality shit would eat into my reputation as a neanderthal asshole.
I couldn’t escape this easily, though. Coach Mack had eyed me specifically during the meeting. No, he’d literally called me out by name and acted like I was the logical player to take out Jakob. That meant he expected me to lead the charge in terms of getting the job done.
But the team included a bunch of other guys. They could do the dirty work.
Wait, what was I thinking? I couldn’t just allow something like this to happen, could I?
I failed to reach the end of the hall before Jax Echlin caught up with me.
Oh, hot dog!
“Bro, that’s some primo dough Coach Mack is offering, isn’t it?” he asked.
I shrugged, lost for an answer.
“Come on, dude.” He clapped my back. “This could be huge for one of us. Maybe even a few of us. You know how this economy is.”
Again, I remained silent. What the hell was I supposed to say?
“Think about it, Zane,” he said, “Jakob might not be the best Larkin Lions player, but he’s the heart and soul of that team in many ways. You put him out of commission and the team will really suffer, almost like they’ve lost their star player.”
Cut off the head and the body will die, echoed inside my head.
I hated thinking about it and wanted out of this conversation the moment an escape hatch appeared.
“With the Lions out of the way, we’ll cruise to a National Title.”
“Not necessarily. They didn’t win it all last year. They didn’t even make it to the finals.”
“I know, but that doesn’t matter. Like Coach Mack said, they’ve been a thorn in our collective side forever. The best thing we can do for our team is pluck it out.”
He even made a plucking motion with his thumb, index, and middle fingers. You know, because he’s such a funny guy. Thank God he didn’t drop a cut off the head and the body will die remark.
“I figure this’ll be better for you than anybody,” he continued. “You can get that Jakob Martin chip off your shoulder and be twenty-five hundred dollars richer.”
“Twenty-five hundred? I thought he was only offering two grand for a hit on Jakob Martin.”
“He is. I’m sweetening the pot. You in?”
My eyes must’ve darted out of the sockets. I don’t know how I looked to him, but I definitely knew how I felt. I’d seen a little too much ick from my coach and teammates for one afternoon.
“Like I said, this is a great opportunity for you,” he said.
“But why me?”
“Why you? Because you hate Jakob Martin more than anyone. Money will motivate the other guys, sure, but you’ve got incentive they can never have.”
Again, I refused to answer. Anything I said seemed doomed to backfire.
“Come on, bro,” he said, “think about it. It wasn’t that long ago that you ordered him out of a candy store so you could beat his ass.”
Yeah, but that was before I sucked his dick and fucked his ass into the middle of next week, I thought.
Perfect answer.
“He’s humiliated you more than once, Zane. I know how badly you’ve wanted to get revenge. Now you’ve got the perfect opportunity in front of you.”
I nodded, not in agreement, but to show him I was listening.
“Let me ask you,” I said, “how many of those guys would really go out of their way to hurt any of the Larkin Lions because of this bounty.”
“Bounty? Come on, dude, don’t be dramatic. It’s a cash reward.”
“For injuring people, sometimes specific players. What do you call it?
Rather than answer my second question, he reverted to the first.
“All of them,” he said. “Are you kidding me? You can’t flash that kind of money around and honestly think the guys won’t feel inspired to do a little damage, if you know what I mean.”
That sickened feeling intensified so much that sweat broke out on my forehead and temples.
“So, what are you gonna do with your twenty-five hundred bucks?” he asked.
He stared at me waiting for an answer, and I stood there silent like a complete idiot.
Finally, I said, “Put it in the bank, I guess.”
Anything to shut his ass up.
“You think about what I said now, okay?” He clapped my shoulder again and left.
I understood right away that I couldn’t avoid these suggestions forever. Sooner or later, I would have to tell him that I didn’t want to be the monster that would intentionally injure other players, let alone for pay.
But there was so much more. What did I tell Jakob?
Let me rephrase that: did I tell Jakob?