The Tournament

by Angelo Kontos

  Havock did not react. The Hulk released his grip, grabbed the extendo and gave Havock a brutal shot with it across his legs. The old criminal shrieked and crumpled to the floor. Just for good measure, the Hulk gave him another one on the top of his arm and Havock unleashed another high-pitched shriek.

  “That brings back memories,” Alex muttered quietly to Isaac on the couch.

  “Nod your head if you understand,” the Hulk repeated.

  Havock nodded.

  “You think your reach is far, but ours goes farther. Don’t make us prove it.”

  When the Hulk motioned at them, his muscular friends each picked up one associate. The Hulk forced Havock to walk as the old criminal continued to moan loudly while being led away.

  “My legs,” Havock groaned. “My arm! Goddamn it.”

  The Hulk turned to Alex. “You got nothing to worry about anymore.”

  Alex stood up unconvinced.

  “Diana?” he yelled at Havock. “Where is she?”

  The Hulk didn’t give Havock a chance to respond, as he and his friends left the apartment with Havock and his two associates like they were taking out the trash.

  Isaac put a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Relax, my man. She’s gotta be okay.”

  Not knowing what else to do, Alex rushed toward the open door. Meeting him halfway was Diana, who ran in from the hall. They fell into each other’s arms in the kitchen and held on. Isaac peeked into the hallway with the bat still in his hands and closed the door.

  “They’re gone,” he said to Alex.

  Alex leaned against the nearby kitchen counter while still holding Diana. His legs gave way and he slid down to the floor. She allowed herself to slide down too and let him bury his head against her chest.

  “We’re going to be okay, Alex,” Diana said as she kissed his face. “We’re going to be okay.”

  92.

  There was no way that Becky and the boys were going to miss the final game of The Tournament. When the team arrived back home after the controversial loss in Game 6, she and her sons had already made their way to Toronto and were waiting for Mike at the Peters’ residence in High Park. After Mike arrived and the boys swarmed him, he and Becky exchanged a familiar glance that meant they were pining for each other.

  Becky had listened to Helen shuffling around upstairs and told Mike that she had a “lonely-sounding walk.” Mike suggested they order some food – something a little more premium as he didn’t want to be eating junk food the night before the final game – and Helen recommended a nice Thai place that delivered. The Hills asked Helen to join them, and the dinner was full of laughter and friendly conversation. One of Mike’s sons asked Helen where her kids were, and Helen explained they were “with their father.”

  As they snuggled together on the couch after putting their kids to bed, Becky examined the stitches under Mike’s chin, courtesy of Wayne Vanstone’s stick.

  “Reminds me of the old days,” she said. “You were always so banged up.”

  “It’s almost over,” Mike replied.

  Becky got up to check on the boys, and all three were fast asleep. She moved one of her son’s feet away from her other son’s face and made sure they were collectively tucked in under a large blanket. She then held out her hand to Mike and nodded in the direction of the bathroom.

  “Let’s take a shower,” she said in a seductive voice.

  “It’s not good to do that before a big game,” Mike whispered. “Not the shower, the other thing!”

  “The game’s tomorrow,” she replied as she pulled him in and closed the door.

  One steamy hour later, they were in bed sleeping in each other’s arms.

  The next morning, Mike awoke to find his wife looking right at him as they lay there together.

  “Mike, when you drove up there the other night, you

  didn’t hurt him, did you?”

  “No,” he said. “Well, not really.”

  “Mike?”

  “He’s fine. Don’t worry.”

  “What about you?”

  “My chin’s kind of messed up.”

  “Mike!”

  “I’m fine. Better than I’ve been in a long time.”

  Amazingly enough, no police were called to Alex’s apartment after all the chaos with Havock, and incredibly there was no visit from the landlord asking what all the commotion was about. After the various criminals and vigilantes had left, it took some convincing to persuade Isaac that it was safe for him to leave Alex and Diana alone.

  “I’m not worried,” Alex said. “For once.”

  He and Isaac hugged each other tightly.

  “I’ll never forget what you did for me tonight,” Alex said. “And how I couldn’t talk you out of it.”

  “I love you, my man,” Isaac said.

  After Isaac left, Alex and Diana sat on the balcony together holding hands quietly and trying to come to terms with the events of the past few hours. There would be no sleep.

  After Diana left his office the previous afternoon, Corey had gone to visit Dave Chambers. It didn’t take long for Corey to be shown in. Chambers was dressed to the nines. He threw a clipboard into an expensive soft leather briefcase.

  “I’m in a hurry,” he said. “Taking a client to the Raptors game. Big time Bay Street trading tonight. What do you want, Corey? You’ve already screwed me over. Turns out this tournament could’ve turned a bigger profit.”

  “I just need a minute,” Corey responded.

  Chambers sat down and looked impatient.

  “I need to call in my favour… a little differently,” Corey said.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Chambers almost shouted. “It’s a little late for that.”

  Corey pulled a personal cheque out of his inner suit pocket and put it down in front of Chambers.

  “What’s this?” Chambers asked.

  “It’s about half of what you’ve put up for The Tournament,” Corey said. “You should take it because I’ll probably be hit up for child support soon.”

  Chambers looked skeptical. “What do you want?”

  Corey had sat back in the chair and loosened his tie. “Just how connected are you?”

  Now Corey sat in his office captivated by the details of what happened in Alex’s apartment, as explained mostly by Diana. Alex just sat across from Corey’s desk holding Diana’s hand and not saying much.

  After Diana finished recounting how Havock and company were strongly reprimanded for their extortion attempt and escorted from the apartment, Corey smiled.

  “I thought you deserved to know,” Diana said gratefully. “More importantly, we came to thank you.”

  She nudged Alex. “Didn’t we?”

  “Yeah,” Alex said as he straightened up in his chair. “Thank you.”

  He turned to Diana. “Can I have a minute with Corey?”

  “Sure. I’ll wait outside.”

  After Diana stepped out and shut the door, Alex and Corey looked at each other.

  “Don’t you have to get to the rink?” Corey asked.

  “Yeah, soon,” Alex replied. “Maybe a quick nap before the game. With everything that happened last night, I didn’t sleep at all.”

  “That’s understandable.”

  “You probably saved my life and Diana’s too,” Alex said.

  Corey shrugged.

  “I’ll never be able to repay you for that.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “What I don’t understand is why you did it.”

  “What’s to understand?” Corey asked.

  “Well, I never liked you.”

  “That’s nice.”

  “I never liked you because you were always so full of yourself.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Everything was always about you all the time,” Alex went on. “It was like you didn’t realize other people existed unless it related to you in some way.”

  “Okay, I get it. Thanks.”

  “But yo
u knew I didn’t like you,” Alex said.

  “So?” Corey responded. “I didn’t like you either.”

  “Yeah, I know. So, why’d you help me?”

  “We need you for Game 7.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “Alright, fine. You really want to know?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re right, I don’t like you,” Corey said. “In fact, I never did, and I like you a lot less now than before. I’m not the only arrogant son of a bitch here, Alex. You always thought you were better than me, and I’ll be honest: part of me loved the thought of you being extorted, blackmailed and maybe even tortured.”

  “I’m looking for a ‘but’ there somewhere.”

  “When Diana came to me yesterday and I saw how much she cared,” he said, “how much she was willing to sacrifice for you…I just couldn’t sit by and do nothing.”

  “I did think I was better than you,” Alex admitted, “but I don’t really think that anymore.”

  “Maybe we’re both more alike than we realized,” Corey offered.

  Alex gave a tired smile and stood up. “I wouldn’t go that far. There’s one more thing we should clear up since we’re best friends now.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Me and Helen…I know you think something happened, but it didn’t.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “I’m not,” Alex replied. “I swear on my mother. If you know me at all, then you know I would never just say that.”

  Corey looked at Alex blankly before nodding slightly. He put a hand out for Corey, who studied Alex’s face for a while before finally shaking it.

  “I should get to the rink,” Alex said. “See you later.”

  “Hey, Alex.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Win tonight.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  Later that afternoon at the hospital, a nurse went into Tommy’s room to change his bedpan. She knew that Toronto was playing the final game of The Tournament in a few hours and expected to find Eddie sitting there preparing to watch the game again. Everyone knew he was one of the players and was out with his nose injury.

  But Eddie was not there. The small television was on and had been moved closer to Tommy’s bed, in place of the chair where Eddie usually sat. The nurse saw that the TV was turned on to the local cable channel that aired The Tournament.

  She turned it off.

  “Mr. Mark asked for that to be left on during the game,” another nurse said from the doorway.

  “Where is he?” the nurse in Tommy’s room asked.

  93.

  After a morning skate that focused more on having fun than it did on strategy, Ken had ordered all his players to go home and rest for a few hours before coming back to the rink for the final game.

  When he returned later in the afternoon, Pertia was on his arm, and they walked into the arena together slowly while she supported herself with her cane. Pertia did not usually stray far from her home, but she asked Ken if she could come to Game 7. She wanted to be there if that was okay. That was more than okay, Ken had replied.

  After making their way inside, Ken and Pertia were greeted by an enthusiastic Angus Miller.

  “Good luck tonight, Coach!” Angus shouted.

  “Thank you, Angus,” Ken replied. “This is my good friend Pertia.”

  Pertia and Angus exchanged pleasantries.

  “I didn’t believe that shit they were sayin’ about you,” Angus snarled. “That guy’s a prick.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  Helen came running over and pulled Ken aside. After she whispered something in his ear, he turned to Angus.

  “Hey Angus, can I ask you for a favour?”

  “Anything under the sun,” Angus replied.

  “Can you help Pertia get settled? I have to attend to something.”

  “I don’t want to be a distraction for Kenny,” Pertia said.

  “It would be my pleasure,” Angus replied, offering Pertia his arm.

  As Angus led Pertia away, Ken and Helen went quickly to her office. Ken smiled when he looked inside.

  Alex arrived at the arena hand in hand with Diana. When it was time for them to separate so he could go to the dressing room, neither one of them wanted to let go.

  “Don’t get hurt,” Diana said.

  “I’m feeling lucky after last night, so don’t worry,” Alex responded.

  “You’re exhausted. Just be careful.”

  “I love you,” he said.

  “I love you, too.”

  Barry Davis made a lot of noise coming into the dressing room with his sticks and equipment bag banging against the door. He looked like he was in a bad mood.

  “He probably ate somebody,” Isaac said to Alex.

  Barry growled as he approached Isaac for a confrontation.

  “Oh, relax, you psycho, before I kiss you,” Isaac replied.

  Alex laughed, but he was also starting to feel fatigue setting in. He shook his head to clear some cobwebs as the door opened again.

  “Oh, yeah, baby!” Isaac exclaimed.

  The room broke into deafening cheers as Eddie Mark walked in with Ken. Eddie’s nose was still swollen to about twice its normal size, with a sizeable bandage on the bridge of it. He was carrying his sticks and equipment. Isaac picked him up and spun him around.

  “Don’t touch my nose,” Eddie said while trying to suppress a smile.

  The commotion eventually died down and Eddie took over his stall again to get dressed for the game. Alex walked over on his skates.

  “Your nose looks terrible, buddy. How are you going to play?”

  Eddie pulled out a new helmet with a full-face visor. There were holes in the lower part for oxygen.

  “Can you breathe in that?” Alex asked.

  “I’ll figure it out,” Eddie answered.

  “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “Me too.”

  It was time to line up by the dressing-room door. Predictably, the atmosphere at the Old Arena Gardens was a pure adrenalin rush.

  “Man, listen to that,” Curtis said. “We’re just a bunch of nobody hockey players.”

  “We’re not even really hockey players,” the younger defenceman Todd said. “We’re just a bunch of guys pla –”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Curtis chuckled.

  Alex stood in the centre of the dressing room and looked at his teammates for the last time before heading out to start a game.

  “Let’s get it.”

  Cole Foster found a note near his microphone when he took his place at the broadcast table as the teams hit the ice for their pre-game warm-up. He put on his headset and unfolded the paper to read it.

  Thank you for being The Voice of The Tournament. It’s been an honour.

  – Alex

  P.S. I like to think my mother is looking down on me from somewhere. I trust your wife is doing the same.

  Cole refolded the paper and put it inside his suit pocket. He nodded at the production assistant that he was ready. She thought she saw his eyes glistening, but when it was time to go live Cole was ready as always.

  Good evening one last time hockey fans from coast to coast and to our neighbours south of the border in the United States. Cole Foster thrilled to be here with you at the Old Arena Gardens in Toronto, and this is it, baby! Game 7 of The Tournament final between Toronto and New York.

  What a series and what a tournament, but now it’s one more game and winner take all.

  The home crowd let out a thunderous cheer after seeing a familiar face come out of the gate.

  And would you listen to this crowd as Eddie Mark takes the ice for Toronto, coming back from injury for the biggest game. They’re loving it! And this could be a factor in containing Wayne Vanstone, which Toronto has struggled to do since Mark went down with a broken nose.

  Anything can happen in a Game 7, folks! And no doubt – this one should be a dandy!

  For the first time since early i
n the series, Ken put the line he wanted on the ice to start the game: Alex and Barry back on defence, with Isaac and Curtis on the wings and Eddie taking the opening faceoff. As great as it was to have Eddie back, Ken would have to keep an eye on him and see how he was holding up.

  Right before the players took their positions, Isaac looked over at the seats he always arranged for Melanie in case she ever decided to come. It was just force of habit and he didn’t expect to see her, but Isaac did a double take when he saw Melanie sitting there with their little girl. He skated over quickly for a closer look as the same controversial referee from Game 6 blew the whistle for the players to take their places for the faceoff.

  Melanie smiled at Isaac and so did Sophia, who was starting to become familiar with him. Isaac contorted his face to make her laugh. The people sitting around Melanie laughed at this exchange and snapped photos using their cellphones.

  Eddie leaned in for the draw against Wayne Vanstone. Even with the deafening noise from the fans, Isaac could still hear the heavy breathing coming from Eddie’s new bubble visor.

  “Let’s go, Darth Vader!” Isaac yelled out.

  The referee dropped the puck and Eddie quickly tied up Vanstone’s stick and used his feet to kick it back. He won the draw cleanly to the delight of the home crowd.

  The first few minutes featured New York outpacing Toronto to most pucks by the slightest of margins. After five minutes had been played, they were still winning each battle for the puck by an inch here and an inch there, but it was clear the inches were adding up.

  Mike was strong for Toronto, and Ken double-shifted him early to ease Eddie back into playing. On the other hand, Alex was calling for the bench to end his shifts earlier than usual and he looked winded, which was not like him.

  Toronto managed to start throwing their weight around and that stirred the anxious crowd out of their nervous slumber, but New York kept coming. A little past the halfway mark of the period, Alex signalled the bench again that he was coming off instead of trying to join a rush. Toronto turned the puck over and Vanstone took advantage of the late change by grabbing it and rushing into the Toronto zone with Marty Reed jumping in from the back end.