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

John: Yeah. Any idea why they hate each other so much?

Al: The coaches of both teams have been closed mouthed about it.
ItтАЩs pretty unusual among the late Cretaceous therapods. Up in the majors,
donтАЩt the Miami Mosasaurs have a Spinosaurus goalie and a T. Rex center?

John: Stan Merck and Tam Lilly. Both left and right wings are
Velociraptors.

Al: Not a bad combination.

John: Then again, San Francisco has a Gigantosaur goalie with an
entire line of Allosaurs.

Al: ThereтАЩs a lot of friction in San Francisco.

John: It was a bad trade. Allosaurs rarely get along with any of the
larger carnivores. But IтАЩve heard that the friction between Sebastian and
Tom goes back to the days when they were both in the majors playing for
the Saint Louis Claws under Mike Paderewski.

Al: When Saint Louis demoted Paderewski to Providence they sent
Tom with him and traded Sebastian to the Legs. Do you think Sebastian
resents that?

John: Could be, Al. Or maybe neither of them liked getting dumped
from the Claws. ItтАЩs going to be an exciting game. WeтАЩll be right back after
these public service announcements.
 ****

Mike didnтАЩt see Sebastian when he followed his team past the
bleachers. Maybe what heтАЩd heard was wrong. Maybe the rumors were just
rumors. He pointedly ignored the Legs warming up on the other side of the
field.

He ran the starting two wings in a quickness drill and watched them
dribble the twenty-five-pound ball effortlessly. That was the fun part of the
job: watching the Velociraptors run.

A shadow loomed over him and he heard harsh breathing. Oh, yeah,
he said to himself. ThatтАЩs the other part of the job.

тАЬIs it true, Mike?тАЭ Tom bumped him with his head and almost knocked
him over. тАЬIs Sebastian going to play today?тАЭ

TomтАЩs head was only level with MikeтАЩs eyes, not towering over him
like a full-sized T. Rex. Tom was about one-eighth size: one-inch teeth,
six-foot legs, eight-foot tail. It didnтАЩt matter. An ancient mammalian shiver
rubbed its way up MikeтАЩs spine every time Tom walked near him.