Taken

Chapter 45

TROY

December 28, 2013 6:30 p.m.

Troy had just swished a practice three-point shot when warm-ups were just finishing. The National Anthem was sung, and then it was time for starting line-ups. The crowd screamed when Troy's name was called. There was also a loud chorus of boos. Troy didn't care. He was too focused on the game to care. It was a rematch between the Huskies and the Flames, only this time, Troy would be playing.

Despite his evil father's ideas, basketball was Troy's one and only passion. Basketball had always been Troy's safe haven, the one thing he was truly good at. Now, Troy's basketball career was being jeopardized because Troy had gone along with his father's evil plan.

After last minute gameplan changes in a team huddle by the bench, the two NBL teams lined up for the jump. Troy matched up with Blair, as usual.

Just before the ref threw up the basketball, Blair whispered to Troy, "I'm gonna make your life hell tonight. I know you kidnapped those kids, and I think that you should still be behind bars."

The ref threw up the ball, and the game began. The Flames won the tip-off, and Troy dribbled the ball up the court. Troy saw that the Flames' starting center was open, so he tried to throw a bounce pass to him, but Blair reached in and slapped the ball away. Blair grabbed the ball and dribbled up the court for a fast-break lay-up. The Huskies were up 2-0.

The game went back and forth for the whole first quarter, and by the end of the quarter, Troy and Blair were already getting pretty physical. The refs could barely control the game. By the end of the half, the Huskies were up 58-54. Troy and Blair already had three fouls each, so they had to be careful to not foul out.

In the third quarter, the game started to turn in the favor of the Huskies. Blair Castro was on fire, and he was up to thirty-three points by the end of the third quarter. Troy was doing pretty well in the game, too, but not as well as Blair.

Finally, in the fourth quarter, the Huskies were up 100-80, so Blair decided to make the rest of Troy's game hell. He guarded Troy closely and didn't give him any space. With one minute left in the game, Blair decided to let Troy have it. When neither he nor Troy had the ball, Blair walked up to Troy and punched him in the face. Hard.

"That's for kidnapping those innocent kids!" Blair yelled. The refs called a flagrant foul, and Blair was kicked out of the game. "It was totally worth it!" he yelled as a security guard escorted him off of the court.

Troy did feel bad about not telling the police where the kids were, but he cared about his own well-being more. He didn't want to be killed by Carlos or his dad. Or both of them together. That would be even worse. Troy had decided a long time ago that he wouldn't say a word about the whereabouts of the hostages or about his dad and Carlos being involved. No, that would make things too complicated. Troy just wanted to focus on his basketball, and that was what he was going to do. Well, at least until his dad, cousin, and he got caught.