Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 87395 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87395 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
"I'm the only one on this floor," Wymack said. "They built this complex around the same time we started construction on the Foxhole Court. Thought our team would be something and people would want to live in the area to be close to the stadium for games. Then we couldn't perform, so the apartments didn't fill. The lower floors are pretty full, and the middle floors get rented out during football season, but top two floors are pretty bare. And no, you can't break into any of them, so don't even think it."
Neil let that accusation go without comment. "You're stalling, Coach."
Wymack folded his arms across his chest and stared at Neil. "Do you know why Kevin came to Palmetto State?"
"He broke his hand," Neil said. "He couldn't play, so he transferred here as an assistant coach. I assumed he was following Andrew."
"I brought him here," Wymack said. "He showed up at my hotel room at winter banquet with his hand a bloody mess. He didn't want us to notify the Ravens or take him to a hospital, so Abby bandaged him up as best she could and I put him on the bus back to South Carolina with us."
"That doesn't make sense," Neil said. "How'd he get from the ski resort to your hotel?"
"He wasn't in the mountains," Wymack said.
"But he broke his hand in a skiing accident," Neil said.
"Bullshit," Wymack said. "It wasn't an accident."
Neil stared blankly at him, and Wymack gave a short nod before explaining.
"The ERC had an end-of-year meeting a few days before the southeastern district's winter banquet. The NCAA advisors got everyone talking about Riko and Kevin. They had some concerns about the season, they said. They were sure Riko was holding Kevin back, that Kevin was selling himself short so as not to outshine Riko on the court. They wanted to know if it was Coach Moriyama's doing. In response Moriyama pitted Riko and Kevin against each other.
"Riko won," Wymack said, "but I'm thinking he didn't get it fair and square. If he had, maybe things would have turned out differently. As soon as Coach Moriyama dismissed them for the night Riko broke Kevin's hand."
It was like getting punched in the gut. "What?"
Wymack dragged his thumb along the back of his hand, tracing the path of Kevin's injury. "Kevin doesn't talk about his time at Evermore, but I could tell it wasn't the first time Riko or Moriyama laid a hand on him. It was just the first time Kevin was smart enough to pack his bags and walk away. So much for family, hm?"
"I don't believe in family."
"Neither do I."
He meant it. Neil finally understood that look Wymack sent him in Millport, that perfect understanding that undid Neil's defenses. Neil searched his face, looking for the story behind that exhaustion. Whatever broke Wymack happened so long ago he wasn't even bitter over it anymore, but he was definitely still cracked if he poured so much time into the Foxhole Court.
"Why doesn't anyone else know what Riko did?" Neil asked.
"Because Riko is a Moriyama," Wymack said tiredly. "This is where it starts getting messy."
He thought for a minute, then held up his index fingers. "The Moriyama family is broken in half: the main family and the branch family. The main consists of the first-born sons and the branch is for everyone else. Coach Moriyama— Tetsuji—heads the branch family and his older brother Kengo heads the main. Kengo has two sons, Ichirou and Riko. Because Ichirou was born first, he stayed with Kengo in the main family. Riko was born second, so Tetsuji became his legal guardian and Riko became part of the branch family. Follow?"
"I think so."
"The families are estranged," Wymack said. "Kengo and the main family are up in New York City, where Kengo is CEO of an international trading company. One day he'll pass the business to Ichirou. Tetsuji and Riko get a kickback of the profits, but they're considered unimportant and have no say in any business decisions. That's how Tetsuji had the freedom to study in Japan and develop Exy. So long as he doesn't do anything to damage the family's reputation, he is free to do what he likes, and what he likes is to create the most awful and powerful team in the nation. This all is public knowledge."
Neil looked past Wymack at the door, thinking of Kevin's freak-out. "And the truth?"
"The real Moriyama family business is murder."
Neil shot a quick look at him. Wymack held up a hand to ward off any questions, his expression grim. "The Moriyamas are an immigrated yakuza group. Do you know what the yakuza are? They're Japanese mafia. Kengo's father brought the group to America a couple decades ago and set up shop up north. I don't know what all they're involved in and I don't want to know. I don't know how much even Kevin knows, since he's attached to Riko and the branch family, but Kevin knows the main family uses Raven games as a cover for big meetings. So many people go in and out of Edgar Allen that it's a convenient way to bring in their far-flung contacts. They've got VIP lounges along the upper floors where they make deals."
"They're a gang," Neil said slowly.
Wymack nodded, watching him carefully and waiting to see how Neil took it. Neil barely noticed the attention. He was thinking back to the last time he'd seen Kevin and Riko together. He remembered scrimmaging and arguing footwork with them. Their game came to an abrupt halt when they were called upstairs. If Neil closed his eyes now he could remember every detail of the room they went to, from its floor-to-ceiling tinted windows to the heavy conference table dominating it. The floor was carpeted, but someone had laid a tarp down on top of it to catch all the blood.
Neil finally knew where he'd been and why. He'd never understood how they went from Exy practices to murder or why Kevin and Riko were there too. But if the Moriyamas were a gang, it made sense. Neil's father worked out of Baltimore and held the eastern ports with an iron grip. His territory's western border would have ended at West Virginia. In that sense he was Tetsuji Moriyama's neighbor, and that would have brought him to Kengo's attention. Neil's father and Riko's father were business partners; that's why Neil was allowed to practice at Edgar Allen's stadium.