Chapter Two: The Play You Fear

For three hours, they dissected the defense. Tyler overprotected the boundary after losing deep. Safety Knox bit his mouthpiece before real blitzes. The first unit rotated coverage on third-and-long. Kai copied every detail to his wristband. That afternoon, owner Victor Sloane stood beside two reporters in spotless white shoes. Marcus dressed but received a “recovery day.” Kai recognized the setup: ownership needed a hardworking but inadequate backup to make its expensive star appear irreplaceable. Kai fastened his helmet. Voices crashed over him. *Don't let the knee soften,* Mountain thought. *One more drop and I'm cut,* Eli thought. *Hit him in the face and erase yesterday,* Tyler thought.