"Steven Popkes - [SS] Bread and Circus" - читать интересную книгу автора (Popkes Steven)

playoffs.

Al: On another note, did you see the shot Victor made on Sebastian
before Tom roughed him up?

John: I did. The referees timed it at 1.6 seconds.

Al: The three-second rule doesn’t mean anything to a Velociraptor,
does it?

John: No, it doesn’t. They’re just so fast that three seconds is a
lifetime to them. That’s plenty long enough to set up and deliver any shot
they want. That’s one reason Coach Paderewski uses them.

Al: Maybe three seconds is too long. Should they shorten it?

John: It’s been controversial for some time. Like the quarter-mile
field. In Europe they use a much longer field. Hand shots are more
common but they don’t have the same impact on the game.

****

The score stayed one/nothing for the rest of the second quarter. Tom
seemed to lose interest in the game. Instead, he coasted along with the
pack, passing the ball when he got it. At the half, Mike took him aside while
the others were resting.

“Tom, you’ve got to wake up.”

Tom didn’t answer. He just stared at Mike.

“Look, you just lost your head out there. Victor’ll be fine.”

“You think I’m bent about Victor?” Tom chuckled. “Hell, I just mussed
him up a bit to see how he tastes. Next time he won’t be so quick to
interrupt a discussion.”

“Then, what the hell’s the matter with you?”

Tom looked at him first with one eye, then with the other. Mike could
have sworn if Tom could have grinned, he would have.

“Figuring the odds, Mike. Just keeping my thoughts to myself.” Tom
brought his head low enough that Mike could feel the wetness of his fetid
breath. “You know about that, right, Mike?”

Tom laughed and rumbled back onto the field.

What the hell did that mean?