Quintcannon -- Line of Play

Introduction. For the past six weeks Detective Lieutenant Kenne Quintcannon uses his day off exercising to try and get his body back into perfect physical condition after abusing it for ten years. At the age of thirty-five getting an abused body back to perfect physical condition is no small task because Kenne's job doesn't give him the time needed to accomplish it. But he keeps trying. Besides the physical exercise, he also exercises his frustrations, fantasies and humility to the limit. He does this by playing pick-up basketball games at the renowned Venice Beach courts where, from time to time, a cool Pacific Ocean breeze cools off the sweating participants on a hot summer day. But not today. Two teams are embattled in a hotly contested, full court basketball game. One team is wearing T-shirts; the other team is bare-chested. Kenne, a member of the bare-chested or skins team, is dribbling the basketball toward the opponent's basket as fast as his aging and out-of-condition legs will carry him. As he nears the basket he leaps in the air with the ball extended in his right hand. At that instant he is clobbered by a large, younger opponent in a T-shirt who stands about six-foot seven-inches tall. He blocks Kenne's shot and is able to tip the ball to one of his teammates in the same motion. Kenne is knocked to the ground and the other opponent retrieves the loose ball and starts dribbling up the court. Everyone except Kenne and the large man who leveled him, follow the dribbler up the court. He dunks the basketball when he gets to the basket on the opposite end of the court. Kenne remains lying on his back, not moving, while the large man is standing over him and looking down. The opponent grinds his teeth and growls at Kenne before ...