The King's Men

That lethargic peace lasted up until Neil left the shower and found Kevin sitting on a bench in the changing room. The stern look on his face said he wasn't waiting out of courtesy.

"Did you fix it?" Kevin asked.

"Fix what?" Neil asked.

"Don't act like an imbecile. If you are here, I expect you to be here," he said, emphasis on the last word. "The second your problems with Andrew interfere with our game they become our problems. Do you want us to win or don't you?"

"Don't lecture me like I don't know what's at stake

. "I think it's better this way, with you as the last line of defense. You let us run ourselves into the ground and clean up behind us. You play the game like you play life. That's why you're so good at it."

Why'd you even start playing if you weren't willing to practice?"

"It was a bigger cage than the alternative."