Rivals (2010)

by Green, Tim - Baseball 02

  Jaden gripped the boat’s sides and steadied herself in the bottom beside Benji. Josh looked back at the shrinking shape of the boathouse and saw the sudden flash of orange light in the mouth of its dark opening. The shotgun blast followed it an instant later, as did the eruption of water off the starboard side of the motorboat.

  Josh swerved suddenly, backing around but nearly tipping the boat. He glanced down at Jaden, then slammed the gear lever into forward. It clanked and roared and they took off like a rocket, down the narrow river outlet and out toward the lake. When they reached the open water, even though the boathouse had already disappeared from sight, Josh kept going. The moon had ducked behind some clouds, and he drove straight for the empty darkness in the middle of the lake for another five or ten minutes before he slowed the boat and let the motor idle.

  “Is everyone okay?” he asked.

  “Only thanks to my extra padding that broke the fall,” Benji said, smacking his backside.

  They all laughed and realized that while none of them was hurt, they were all trembling.

  “You should have seen your face,” Josh said to Benji.

  “You should have seen yours, dude,” Benji said.

  Josh pointed at Benji’s yellow bathing suit and said, “Dude, did you pee your pants?”

  Benji looked down, and even in the weak light of the stars his face clearly went red as he slapped at his suit.

  “I got splashed by motor oil,” Benji said. “You know I did!”

  “I don’t know anything,” Josh said, teasing.

  “Dude, you so do.”

  “I know,” Josh said, patting Benji on the back as he turned his attention to Jaden and the envelope she held clutched to her chest. “Well, we got the proof. What now?”

  “Let’s get this thing into the marina and get the shuttle bus back to the camp,” Jaden said, pointing toward the lights of town. “Bob Costas gave me his card when I met him the other night. If someone big like him breaks this story, the rest will take care of itself.”

  Jaden’s face grew somber. “Once we do, though, they’ll know it was us who took the money. Technically, we broke into that guy’s house.”

  “And technically,” Josh said, “he tried to kill us.”

  “There was nothing technical about it,” Benji said. “He flat-out tried.”

  “Maybe he was shooting over our heads,” Jaden said. “Either way, everything that happened back there is gonna be a wash. He’s not going to press charges if we don’t.”

  “That guy should be locked up!” Benji said, his voice cracking.

  “Relax,” Josh said. “Jaden’s right. Let’s go for the wash. We don’t need any trouble either.”

  The distant drone of an engine buzzed toward them like a wasp caught in a curtain.

  Josh froze. “Hey, what’s that?”

  They all looked back in the direction they’d come from.

  Surging up out of the mouth of the river was another set of lights, one red and one white—the lights of a boat. In seconds it became a roar, and Josh remembered the boat with the chrome pipes suspended in the boathouse. The piercing scream of the speedboat’s chrome pipes were the source of the noise. A sharp beam of white light burst suddenly from the nose of the speedboat and swept back and forth across the lake’s rippled surface, heading their way.

  “Hurry!” Jaden shouted above the scream of the speedboat. “He gets us in that light and we’ll never get away!”

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  JADEN POINTED TOWARD THE marina and shouted, “Go!”

  Josh opened the throttle as wide as it would go, willing the small boat to move faster. He scowled at the spray the bow plowed up in front of them, then grabbed Benji by the collar and tugged him toward the stern, allowing the nose to rise higher above the water’s surface so the boat could go even faster. Wind whipped their ears and the lake slapped the metal skin of the boat.

  Jaden shouted for Josh to hurry, pointing back at the lights of the speedboat, racing toward them and closing a lot of distance.

  The lights of town and the marina grew closer, but not fast enough.

  “Hurry!” Benji yelled.

  “I’m going as fast as I can!” Josh shouted.

  “He’s going to get us!”

  The white light darted across the water, close enough now for Josh to see the storm of bugs in its beam. The rodent of fear in his stomach morphed into a snarling pit bull and he thought he’d be sick. When the light hit them it blinded Josh, and he automatically fell into the bottom of the boat, plastering his arm across his face to shield his eyes, crying out in pain and shock. Unmanned, their boat swerved. Josh heard the distinct earsplitting pipes of the speedboat. He peeked out from under his arm to see the speedboat taking a new angle, one that would cut them off from the marina.

  When their boat lurched again, Josh was shocked to see that Jaden had gotten behind him and grabbed the controls. But, instead of heading for town, she was going directly for the Otesaga.

  All Josh’s fears and suspicions came back to him in a gush. He blinked in confusion and horror. He couldn’t make sense of it. Why would Jaden take them right into the thick of the Mullens? They needed to get as far away from Myron and Mickey and his entourage as possible, but here she was, going straight for them and their big barbecue.

  Above the noise he yelled, “What the heck are you doing?”

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  OUT ON THE HOTEL’S sloping back lawn, hundreds of people sat at rows of tables under the flickering glow of oil lamps on posts stuck into the grass. The grand hotel rose up in the background, muting the star-filled night with row after row of twinkling windows. The closer their boat got, the more people rose up out of their seats and migrated toward the shore as if drawn to the incoming beam from the spotlight like a colony of half-human moths.

  Above the seating area, on a small stage, Mickey Mullen stood in an open collar shirt and jeans, holding a microphone.

  “What are you doing!” Josh bellowed again, grabbing Jaden by the shoulder only to be swatted away. “We’ll crash!”

  Jaden’s mouth seemed frozen in a maniacal grin, her teeth flashing in the beam of light. Josh yelled for Benji to hang on as he gripped the sides of the boat himself. No sooner did he have a hold than they ground up onto the stony beach with a screech of metal. The impact jarred his spine, and his teeth clacked. Finally they jerked to a halt. Just off the shore, the earsplitting speedboat roared in after them. At the last instant it cut the white light, swung about, and rocketed back out onto the empty lake, leaving a three-foot wave in its wake.

  Before Josh could say anything, Jaden jumped out of the boat and raced up the hill toward the stage with the envelope in her hand. Josh followed, with Benji close behind. As Jaden neared the steps to the stage, Myron’s apelike figure appeared from the gloom of the lawn above. In his hand was a cell phone. He shouted into it as he pointed toward Jaden.

  Josh stumbled, unable to believe what he saw.

  Myron reached out for the envelope and said, “Good job, Jaden. I’ll take that.”

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  JADEN LOOKED AT MYRON and said, “Oh no you won’t.”

  She clutched the envelope and stepped back. Benji bumped into Josh and Josh into Jaden. He put his arm in front of her, stepping between her and Myron.

  “Leave her alone,” Josh said.

  “You stole this!” Myron shouted.

  Josh felt Myron’s other hand grip him by the collarbone and probe beneath the bone for a jujitsu pressure point. Josh saw stars when Myron hit the nerve and he crumpled to the grass, paralyzed with pain. Myron ripped the envelope from Jaden’s hands.

  As Josh’s eyes adjusted and he struggled to get up, he saw Benji grab a plastic bottle of something off the nearest table and run toward Myron.

  “Have some hot sauce, Myron!” Benji shouted, squirting the fiery red liquid into Myron’s face.

  Myron screamed and pawed at his eyes, dropping the envelope, s
pinning and tripping and going down hard on the grass. Jaden grabbed the envelope and leaped over Myron. She sprinted to the stage, landing on the third stair and continuing on up the stage and into the floodlights around the podium. Josh skirted around Myron and followed. Benji stayed behind to blast Myron’s face with another dose of red-hot sauce. Myron screamed so loud that Mickey Mullen’s jaw dropped.

  Jaden snatched the microphone from Mickey and, before he could react, retreated behind Josh, using him as a shield. Then she turned to the crowd that now gawked up at the stage.

  “I have to tell everyone that this is the money Mickey Mullen gave to the umpire of tomorrow’s championship game!” she shouted, holding the envelope up high for everyone to see. “We’ve got a video, too, of Myron Underwood handing the cash to Justin Seevers, the umpire. We can prove it!”

  The crowd murmured in shock.

  Mickey Mullen stepped forward and took hold of the envelope. Jaden dropped the microphone and tried to hang on, but the Mick yanked it free. He hadn’t taken another step before Josh got a grip on it, though. Josh and Mickey Mullen tugged back and forth until the envelope tore and stacks of money spilled to the stage. Josh knelt and grabbed a stack, only to have Mickey Mullen step on his hand, pinning it to the floor. When Bob Costas rose from his seat at a table in front and stepped up onto the stage, Josh felt as if he’d been in a dream.

  “That’s it,” Bob Costas said, holding up his hands. “Let him go or you’ll all be front-page news.”

  Josh watched, fascinated, as Mickey Mullen’s snarl transformed into a slick, toothy smile.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

  “OF COURSE I’LL LET him go,” Mickey Mullen said, lifting his foot and broadening his smile before he picked up the microphone and spoke to the crowd. “This is an outrage, and I want to know what happened as much as anyone else.”

  “Jaden,” Bob Costas said, “can I see the video you’re talking about?”

  Jaden stepped forward, punched up the video, then held out her cell phone as she asked, “If you write a story, can I help?”

  “Sure,” Bob Costas said.

  “Please,” Mickey Mullen said politely, speaking into the microphone as he looked over Bob Costas’s shoulder. “I had no idea about any of this. If it’s true, then Myron Underwood is finished.”

  Josh got to his feet as Bob Costas looked up from the video and said to Mickey Mullen, “It looks pretty clear that your man tried to fix the championship game.”

  “Unbelievable,” Mickey Mullen said, shaking his head sadly. “It’s despicable, but we stopped it, thank goodness.”

  Bob Costas studied the actor’s face before nodding slowly. “Yeah, thank goodness.”

  “I think this girl deserves a reward,” Mickey Mullen said into the microphone, appealing to the crowd. “What do you think, everyone? How about a college scholarship from the Mickey Mullen Foundation for Kids for the young lady who preserved the integrity of this great event?”

  People cheered, and Mickey Mullen nodded with satisfaction, directing his grin now at Jaden and Josh. Benji appeared with a rib in one hand, licking the other free from hot sauce.

  “Man,” Benji said, “this stuff is smokin’. I think it’s got chili peppers in it.”

  “Where’s Myron?” Josh asked.

  Benji jerked his head in the direction of the hotel. “He took off, but I don’t think he’s getting very far.”

  Josh heard an enormous splash from the direction of the pool.

  “One way to rinse the hot sauce out of your eyes,” Benji said, biting into the rib.

  “Mickey,” Bob Costas said in a low tone that Josh could barely hear, “why would your guy have done this?”

  Mickey stood with his mouth open for a minute, and Josh could practically see the wheels turning in his brain before he leaned toward Bob Costas’s ear and said, “He wanted a part in my next movie. He was desperate to be an actor. Really desperate. When I told him I didn’t think it could happen, he gave me this funny smile and said he had some information that he knew would make me change my mind. I hate to say it, Bob, but now I see the guy was obviously going to blackmail me into getting a part.”

  Bob Costas studied the baseball legend for a few moments, then cleared his throat and, nodding slowly, said, “I think I understand.”

  Then he turned and walked off the stage. Josh and his friends caught up to the announcer as he ascended the grassy lawn toward the hotel.

  “Mr. Costas,” Josh said, “you don’t believe him, do you?”

  Bob Costas stopped and gave Josh the same thoughtful stare he’d given to Mickey Mullen. Finally he shook his head and said, “No, I don’t.”

  “Then we’ll write the story?” Jaden asked.

  “No,” Bob Costas said, “I don’t think we will, Jaden.”

  “But you have to,” Josh said. “You have to expose him for the phony cheating rat that he is.”

  “I know how you feel,” Bob Costas said, “but he’s got a pretty tight story that explains all this away. As much as I’d like to take a cheater down, a good reporter won’t go out with a story unless he or she is a hundred percent certain.”

  Josh hung his head.

  “But don’t worry,” Bob Costas said, patting Josh on the shoulder, “most times guys like him get it in the end. Trust me, you can’t do things like that forever without getting caught up in your own lies sooner or later. And when he does, maybe Jaden and I can write that story together. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a radio show I need to get to. Good luck to you guys tomorrow. I’ll be there.”

  They watched the announcer continue on toward the hotel.

  “At least you got a scholarship out of it,” Josh said in a mutter to Jaden.

  “Ha!” Benji said, tossing the chewed-up rib bone over his shoulder. “Fat chance of that. I bet your scholarship goes the way of my Mickey Mullen ice-cream cone. All talk.”

  “Did I hear my name?”

  They turned to see Mickey Mullen standing there in the grass, talking heatedly to his PR lady, Ms. Simmons. Josh could only glare at them.

  “Doesn’t matter, really,” Mickey Mullen said, lowering his voice. “You chumps are still going to finish second tomorrow, umpire or no umpire. Now, get out of here before I call hotel security. This is a private party.”

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

  WHEN JOSH’S PARENTS ASKED them about the party, they told half the truth and nothing but half the truth. They’d all decided on the shuttle bus back to the camp that mentioning the shotgun blasts would create more trouble than any of them wanted. Still, even without certain details, they were able to tell a convincing enough tale about the video, the money, and Mickey Mullen’s accusation of Myron onstage so that Josh’s parents were nearly as certain as they were that Mickey Mullen himself had tried to fix the game.

  “Incredible,” Josh’s dad said, shaking his head, his mouth agog in disbelief. “Why didn’t you tell me about all this sooner, Josh?”

  Josh shifted uncomfortably in the little wooden chair that sat facing the musty couch in the cabin’s small living room. He looked down at his feet and shrugged.

  “There must have been a reason,” his dad said, his voice rumbling in a way that let Josh know he had better give a good answer.

  “Well,” Josh said. “Right from the start, that Myron said he’d ruin you, Dad. He talked about how Mickey Mullen had the media eating out of his hand and said that if I opened my mouth, they’d get them to do a big story on you and make you look really bad.”

  Josh’s dad shook his head. “I don’t care how the media makes me out, Josh.”

  Josh kept his head down. Quietly he said, “They were going to talk about how you never made it, Dad. They said bad things. I know all that bothers you.”

  Josh glanced up to see his dad give his mom a weak smile and take her hand in his own giant paw.

  “Your dad played thirteen years as a pro,” his mom said softly. “Yeah, he never made it to the big leagues,
but there’re some guys in the big leagues who only play a year or two, and how do you think they feel? They wish they had more. People talk about athletes who are winners? Someone who does his best, goes as far as he can, and isn’t ashamed or frightened of the things he didn’t do? That’s a winner.”

  Josh looked up. This time he nodded.

  “And,” Benji said somberly from his rocking chair in the corner of the room, “it’s all about scoring, because the team who scores the most points always wins.”

  “Oh brother,” Josh said.

  “Don’t forget what your mom said when you’re playing tomorrow, Josh,” his dad said, ignoring Benji. “You play your best. Enjoy being there. It’s a huge accomplishment just to get to Cooperstown—think of what you had to go through with your eye, that surgery—and we have a great team. If we lose, then that’s what was meant to be. Just do your best.”

  His mom and dad traded looks. Then his dad patted his mom on the leg. “Come on, Laura, let’s go take a walk. Josh can listen for the baby if she gets up, right, Josh?”

  “Sure,” he said, “you guys go.”

  Josh watched them leave, clasping hands as they walked down the porch steps and out under the starry sky.

  “How about a couple sodas?” Benji asked. “Hey, why the gloomy face?”

  “Just thinking about what he said,” Josh said.

  “Yeah,” Benji said, “your dad’s a sharp cookie. Whatever’s meant to be, right? We just let it happen and enjoy the whole thing. I love that.”

  “No,” Josh said, “he’s not right. Not about that. We can’t just let it happen, Benji. We’ve got to win this thing tomorrow, and I’m not talking about winning it for us. I can’t let Mickey Mullen think that he gets whatever he wants, like he’s acting in some movie and we’re all just a bunch of extras. We’ve got to win this thing.