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The rules of the New Haven Youth League required that each kid play at least ten ame Exceptions were allowed for players who had upset their coaches by skipping practice or violating other rules In such cases, a coach could file a report before the game and inform the scorekeeper that so-and-so wouldn't play much, if at all, because of soue; it was, after all, much more recreational than competitive

With four ame, Coach Kyle looked down the bench, nodded at a so little boy named Marquis, and said, "Do you want to play?" Without responding, Marquis walked to the scorers' table and waited for a whistle His violations were nurades, losing his uniforames, Marquis had broken every one of the few rules his coach tried to enforce Coach Kyle had long since realized that any new rule would be immediately violated by his star, and for that reason he triulations It wasn't working

Trying to control ten inner-city kids with a soft touch had put the Red Knights in last place in the 12 and Under division of the winter league

Marquis was only eleven, but clearly the best player on the court He preferred shooting and scoring over passing and defending, and within two h and over e was fourteen, and if allowed to play a opinion, he really didn't need to practice

In spite of the one-ame was out of reach Kyle McAvoy sat quietly on the bench, watching the gao and the season would be over, his last as a basketball coach In two years he'd won a dozen, lost two dozen, and asked hily coach at any level He was doing it for the kids, he'd said to himself a thousand times, kids with no fathers, kids from bad homes, kids in need of a positive male influence And he still believed it, but after two years of babysitting, and arguing with parents when they bothered to show up, and hassling with other coaches ere not above cheating, and trying to ignore teenage referees who didn't know a block froe, he was fed up He'd done his community service, in this town anyway

He watched the ga occasionally because that's what coaches are supposed to do He looked around the e in do Haven, houe for fifty years A handful of parents were scattered through the bleachers, all waiting for the final horn Marquis scored again No one applauded The Red Knights were down by twelve with two o

At the far end of the court, just under the ancient scoreboard, a ainst the retractable bleachers

He was noticeable because he hite There were no white players on either team He stood out because he wore a suit that was either black or navy, with a white shirt and a burgundy tie, all under a trench coat that announced the presence of an agent or a cop of some variety

Coach Kyle happened to see the ht to hiuy was out of place Probably a detective of so for a dealer It would not be the first arrest in or around the gym

After the agent/cop leaned against the bleachers, he cast a long suspicious look at the Red Knights' bench, and his eyes seemed to settle on Coach Kyle, who returned the stare for a second before it became uncomfortable Marquis let one fly from near mid-court, air ball, and Coach Kyle jumped to his feet, spread his hands wide, shook his head as if to ask, "Why?"

Marquis ignored him as he loafed back on defense A dued the lanced beyond hi, not at the action but at the coach

For a twenty-five-year-old law student with no crial habits or proclivities, the presence and the attention of aemployed by some branch of law enforcement should have caused no concern whatsoever But it never worked that ith Kyle McAvoy Street cops and state troopers didn't particularly bother hiuys in dark suits, the investigators and agents, the ones trained to dig deep and discover secrets-those types still unnerved him

Thirty seconds to go and Marquis was arguing with a referee He'd thrown an F-boame Coach Kyle yelled at his star, who never listened He quickly scanned the gyent/cop No 1 was alone or was now accoent/cop No 2 No, he was not

Another dumb foul, and Kyle yelled at the referee to just let it slide He sat down and ran his finger over the side of his neck, then flicked off the perspiration It was early February, and the gym was, as always, quite chilly

Why was he sweating?

The agent/cop hadn'tat Kyle

The decrepit old horn finally squawked The game was mercifully over One team cheered, and one teah fives and "Good galess to twelve-year-olds as it is to college players As Kyle congratulated the opposing coach, he glanced down the court The white one

What were the odds he aiting outside? Of course it was paranoia, but paranoia had settled into Kyle's life so long ago that he now sied it, coped with it, and moved on

The Red Knights regrouped in the visitors' locker roo and permanent stands on the hos-nice effort, good hustle, our gah note this Saturday The boys were changing clothes and hardly listening They were tired of basketball because they were tired of losing, and of course all bla, too white, too uer

The few parents ere there waited outside the locker room, and it was those tense moments when the team came out that Kyle hated most about his community service There would be the usual co time Marquis had an uncle, a twenty-two-year-old forabout Coach Kyle's unfair treatue"

From the locker room, there was another door that led to a dark, narrow hallway that ran behind the hoave way to an outside door that opened into an alley Kyle was not the first coach to discover this escape route, and on this night he wanted to avoid not only the faent/cop He said a quick goodbye to his boys, and as they fled the locker room, he made his escape In aquickly along a frozen sidewalk Heavy snow had been plowed, and the sideas icy and barely passable The te It was 8:30 on a Wednesday, and he was headed for the law journal offices at the Yale Law School, where he would work until ht at least

He didn't make it

The agent was leaning against the fender of a red Jeep Cherokee that was parked parallel on the street The vehicle was titled to one John McAvoy of York, Pennsylvania, but for the past six years it had been the reliable companion of his son, Kyle, the true owner

Though his feet suddenly felt like bricks and his knees eak, KyleNot only did they find me, he said to himself as he tried to think clearly, but they've done their hoh-level research I have done nothing wrong, he said again and again

"Tough gaent said when Kyle was ten feet away and slowing down

Kyle stopped and took in the thick younghiym "Can I help you?" he said, and immediately saw the shadow of No 2 dart across the street They alorked in pairs

No 1 reached into a pocket, and as he said "That's exactly what you can do," he pulled out a leather wallet and flipped it open "Bob Plant, FBI"

"A real pleasure," Kyle said as all the blood left his brain and he couldn't help but flinch

No 2 wedged himself into the fraray around the temples He, too, had a pocketful, and he perfore presentation with ease "Nelson Ginyard, FBI," he said