"They're ready." "Three photographers, $250 each." " I thought it was 400 each." " Kid, areyou in or out?" "I'm in." "Here to thebridge, winnertakeall." "Ifthe copsgetyou, you're onyourown." "Right here, man." "Look out!" "Beautiful!" "Kid, smile." "Give me room, will ya?" "Shit!" "You almost got me killed, asshole." "You son ofa bitch!" "Grab hold." "Oh, shit." " Marcus Ridley, how the hell areyou?" " I'm good." " How long haveyou been back, bro?" " Three weeks." "Spent it with my kids." "I miss them when I'm over there." "I'll bet." "Why don'tyou bring 'em back?" "Looks likeyou can afford it." "Look at all these baubles." "So what happening, man?" "What's goin' on?" "Still tryin' to kill yourself?" " Something like that." " What happened to playing pro?" "I thoughtyou got picked for the minors last fall." "Yeah, well, that didn't quite work out." "You know, Coach wanted me to play D." " Whatyou do?" "Hit him?" " I should've." "Wastin' your life." "I just haven't gotten the break I need." "You know, NHL tryouts are in three months." "John, the breakyou need is right here." "They'll coveryour travel, giveyou a 5K bonusjust for showin' up." "And ifyou make the team-- pow." "Ah, come on, Rid." "That's a circus, not a sport." " It's a pretty sunset though." " It's the mines." " What is?" " The dust makes the sunset red." "Look." "Come on." "We both know cash is king." "I last two moreyears, I have enough to retire... support my family for life." "They love Americans there, especially baby-faced, boy-next-door types." "It'll bejust like high school." "You run;" "I block." "Besides, it's where even a dufus-assed white boy likeyou can get laid." " Is that right?" " That's right." "I appreciate the offer, but I should stick around, you know?" " This is myyear to make pro." " I tried." "Good luckwith that." "My flight leaves at 9 p.m. tonight, in caseyou changeyour mind." " Thanks for savin' my ass today." " Anytime." "In another unit, yeah." "They're out back." "Central Asia" "Central Asia" "Four Months Later" " You'd betterwalk." " What?" "What's the matter?" "It's Sunday." "The mines are out." "Oh, shit." "Okay!" "Thirty seconds to go!"" "I don't understand a word you're sayin' to me, sweetheart." "But maybe ifyou say it louder, I won't understand you even better!" "I get it." "Your nipples get hard at the very sight ofme, right?" "A new bio on the kid." "Now he's a rodeo champion." "Rollerball" "Cue the chant." "Jonathan.Jonathan." "...Lone Star, Texas." "The Lone Star state" "Hailing from the wide-open plains ofTexas... a former rodeo champion and the first-round draft pick... by the prestigious National Hockey League back in the States." "Considered the next Wayne Gretzky... he turneddownaking's ransom from the NHL toplayhere... inarealman's league." " Holy shit." " Thesurebetforrookie oftheyear... who kills his stubble each morning with a Wilkinson Sword Tri-flex." "Hereheis, your veryownJonathan Cross." "Please, please, my friends." "Sit down." "Have a seat." "You are his boy." "Looks like Alexi's got some hot investors." " Vodka!" " Vodka!" " Thereyou go." "Enjoy." " You gotyour armadillo on?" "Jesus, you're an idiot." "Serg!" "You wanna be a paraplegic?" "You have any idea what those guys out there can do toyour spine?" " Gotta catch me first, Rid." " Right." " It's your face." " Yes, Mother." "At least do it up." "Stubborn bastard." "Okay, Toba." "Big roar now." "Let's hear it." "Let's go." " Great roar, Toba!" " You hang tight up there, okay?" " You too,Jonathan." " All right." "Hi, I'm the new guy" "All right." "Listen up, thugs." "We got our butts kicked last game... but the headhunter's not goin' down again." " Areyou?" "I didn't hear an answer!" " No!" "Let's give 'em something to think about in case we see 'em in the play-offs." "That means teamwork, so no more cowboy, hot-dog dog shit." "Can't we all just get along, Dutch?" "Aurora's right." ""No more cowboy, hot-dog dog shit."" "When the Red Horsemen went to the Golden Horde last month... they came backwith their tails between their legs." "Nowthe Horde comes to Horsemen town." "The wordis "rematch"... andthe Horsemen hopeit's spelled "payback. "" "A team must go around the track twice... maintaining possession ofthe rollerball... before they can score." "It's really that simple, as simple... as using a Lifestyle female condom before sex." "The ball must be held at all times." "Playergearmaybe only used to dislodge theball... orpreventascore." "A teamgainingpossession mustfirstdo therabbithole-- that's thatkillertunnel above eachbench-- thenmake one circuit through enemyterritory... andthen they're eligible toscore." "All you really have to know is there's only one way to score... and that's when a player takes one ofthe balls... wingsitatone oftheirongoals hardenough tosetoffthepyro." "Therestoftherules are Russianandcomplicated, andwe" "What's it gonna be, U-Chow?" "Us or them?" "Us or them?" "Patience, Outlander." "Thegodsnotyetready." "Wegotsomebiggoons overthere, people." "Watchyourbacksides." "Skull Face" "Tenseconds, the firstball." "Firstball wagers closein tenseconds." "Five, four... three." " It's us!" "It's us!" " Go, go!" "Denekin, move!" "Ballsaway." "It's rollerball!" "Firstplayoftherollerballgame is underway." "Hegoes through therabbithole." "This one'sgettingstartedearly." "Hotshot on the way." "It'sa 12-footjump." "Yeah!" "AndJonathan Cross is in enemyturf." "He crossesbackaround." "This game-- Icannotbelieveit--isstartingearly." "Yes, yes, yes, yes!" "Cross leaps!" "Cross is in theair!" "Hescores!" "Crosshasscoredin record time!" "Only 1 2 seconds after the first ball, and he soars... overtheheads ofthe Horde!" "Crosshas leda one-to-nothing lead!" "Thanks." " She sayyou must do again." " What?" " Drink again." " Label out." "Put the label out." "Yes!" "We are the hottest sports-entertainment start-up in the world, bar none." "We have to pay a couple ofthe headliners, but the rest get bollocks." "We can get them to fight for peanuts." "Whoa, it's about to get interesting!" "Yeah!" "Goodmove forDenekin!" "Thelocalboy whomadegoodusedto work righthere in the coalmine." "Hey, look." "A mine monkey on skates!" "All the glitz is put on in the media trailer out back." "We even had a computer to build a city around it." "Poof." "And it becomes Vegas!" "We'vegota fightdown there." "There isa fightgoingonright there." "Shejust swung at a referee!" "That'sa tutuin thepenaltybox!" "What was she thinkin'?" "We got a fox in the box, a fox in the box." "They put that fox in the box." "La Guillotine" " France" "She's calledin the catcher." "He'sa 400-poundmonsteronhis wayin." "Mongolia" "I will not allow this game to become corrupted... like so many things in this part ofthe world." "The integrity ofthe game must be maintained... for the people, to keep their heroes alive." "And to keep them gambling, ofcourse." "Go, go!" "Michael The Assassin" " Russian Federation" "Areyou crazy?" "Areyou insane?" "What are you doing mixing it up with that guy?" "He's doped up." "Big deal." "It could be PCP, for all you know." "That dude doesn't feel anything." "Stay the hell away from him." "Payback?" "How many ofyou will last through the season with management..." " there watching this sissy performance?" " That woman." " So go out there and score." " Come on." "Let's stay focused." "We have a lead." "All we have to do is keep up the pressure." "Tell cowboy to pass the ball once in a while." " They're keying on him." " She's right." "Maybe ifshe'd get up in the air, somebodywould pass her the ball." "Enough!" "We have a game to play." " On three:" "One, two, three!" "Get some!" " Get some!" " She's wide-open!" " Come on!" "Throw it!" "He bogarts it!" "Cross keeps the ball!" " Come on,Jon!" " I'm on it!" "Go!" "Move!" " You don't listen, doyou, cowboy?" " Hereyou go, princess." "BlackWidow" "Toba, get down!" "Move!" "Somebody get a medic!" "You're okay." "Come on." "No, no, no." "Start the replay later" "No" " Later!" "Later!" "There!" "Start the replay there!" "What areyou doin'?" "Get offofhim!" "Get out ofhere!" "Guys, wait!" "Hold on." "Hereyou go." "Toba, you're fine." "And don't screw up." "What?" "What thehellis wrong with the officials?" "I mean, the band can sure smell it." "The audience can feel it coming." "Cross isgoingoverthe top!" "Andifthe officials wouldquit playinggames down there... maybe we'llget this thinggoing." "Russian Federation" "From the mountains to the prairies" "Fromsea toshiningsea" " ...the championship." " Isyourmothera crack whore?" "You actually translated that?" "My mother's a pediatrician." "Yes, it's true." "The plane leaves at 8:00 a.m." "That's 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning." "Be there, be on it or be history." "We will seeyou in the morning." "Hi, I'm the new guy" "My friends, they call me "Rabbit."" "Really?" "What was that?" "I think it's something about her only batting for the home team." "Management told me you gotta wear the hat from now on." " Yeah, like hell I do." " No, I'm serious." " Management's gonna tell us what to do?" " You got me." "You wear the hat." "You wear the hat." "I told you this is the promised land." "Last one to the club buys." " You get off!" "." "Asshole!" " Come on!" "I'll kickyour ass, Rid." "Shit." "Goddamn." "Yeah." " You guys are nuts!" " I told you!" "The promised land." "Yes, sir." "Listen." "Please take extra-special care ofthis car, okay?" " Yes." " Thankyou." "You ready for Ridley's Great Adventure?" "Yeah." "Let's go play ball." "Gentlemen, gentlemen." " Howdy, y'all." " That's great." "I love this country." "Oh, my God." "Oh, my God." "Honeys at 4:00." "Yes, ladies." " Sir Ridley's in the house." " American "Horses," right?" "Absolutely." "And hung like one." "We don't speak much." "The way I dig it." "You don't speak much." " "The way I dig it"?" " You ever tried to get laid?" " Katya, how areyou?" " Look." " My number." "I got my number on." " She's official." "She's got her number." "Congratulations." "It looks beautiful." "What's the matter, Rid?" "You don't like the idea ofa number on your face?" "You guessed it." "And now we will all get big bonuses, thanks toyou Uncle Sammys." "ToJonathan and to Ridley." "Thankyou very much." " This toast should be to Toba." " To Toba." "Come here." "Come here." "To Toba." "Why doyou show me disrespect?" "You work 24 hours in the mines, it pays nothing." "I broughtyou in here, and you try to pay." "All right, my gypsy brother." "Have a drink." "A little wound tonight, Denny?" "What happened could have happened to any ofus." "It'sjust-- It's very bad shit, man." "It's a rough game." "That's whywe get paid." "You make a hundred times what I do." "What's up, Denny?" " What ifit wasn't an accident?" " What areyou talking about?" "Show him." " The chin strap's been cut." " Where'd you get this?" " I found it in the trainer's office." " Look at this." "She says the gambling syndicates probably put them up to it... or something like that." " Will you shut up a little bit?" " We need to go tell Petrovich." "No." "We'll deal with this on the track, ourselves." "Toba was almost killed out there, Rid." "He's the owner." " I wouldn't bother him with it." " Fine, Captain." "I'll go." "Enjoy the party." "No move." "Me be back soon." "Tonight was the best game." "Real cowboy shit, huh?" "Tonight was the best game." "Real cowboy shit, huh?" " Is he available?" " Ofcourse, foryou." "Mickey, gentlemen, please." "My stallion." "My homie." "Let me introduce my friend." "This is John Buckley from the U.S. Network." " Enzo Molinari, Canale Cinque." " Pleasure to meetyou." "And Yuri Kotlev, owner ofthe Horde." "Be careful,Jonathan." "I think he's very angrywith you." "Yuri!" "Derek Cannon, an investor from Montana." " One ofthose places, you know." " How doyou do, son?" "Nice to meetyou." " Big money." "Big money." " Could I talk toyou for a minute?" "Yes, ofcourse." "Please, this way." "What can I do foryou?" "I think the chin strap's been cut." " Where did you get this?" " It doesn't matter." "You're right." "It doesn't matter." "Ifthat fat swine was behind this, I will get the owners to take his team." " May I keep this?" " What areyou gonna do?" "I'll take care ofit." "I swear on my mother's grave." "A nice boy, yes?" "He's the angriest man in the game." "Hejust doesn't know ityet." " Borges, you still back there?" " Discreetly." "And how is Mr.Jonathan tonight?" "You play good?" "How come it always feels like we got the freeways to ourselves?" "We are not a rich country, sir." "Yeah." "No shit." "So why does everybody bet their ass on the rollerball?" "We call it the Atlantic City syndrome." "Watch whatyou're saying." "My apology,Jonathan." "Our problem, notyour problem." "That's no worry, Borges." "You guys be good tonight." "Jonathan." " Don't waitup." "You thinkwe could do this in a bed sometime?" "You know, with sheets and stuff?" "We've been through this." "It should be our secret." "How could I forget?" ""It could be used against us!"" "Against me." "You're untouchable." "Come on, Aurora." "You don't need to hide all the time." " I don't." " Yes, you do." "You live in the dark." " Your face isn't as bad as you think." " I know that." "Yeah." "That's whyyou always turn your left side to people." "I don't always turn." "Toba's helmet was cut." "I took it to Petrovich." " And you think that does some good?" " He seemed pretty upset about it." "I think he'll take it to the Horde owner." "You are so naive." " They knew." " They knew what?" "One ofthe TV guys put me onto this." "Let's see ifI can call it up." "Here." "Look." "That's Toba getting hit." " It's caught clearly on five cameras." " So theywere following the action." "But let me back the feeds up five seconds." "Now look." "One camera follows the action... and four cameras follow a simpleminded boy at the other end ofthe track." "Theywere called and told to get on him... fifteen seconds before it happened." "The Horde did not make that happen, Jonathan, not on their own." "This TV guy." "You know where to find him?" " What's going on?" " Demonstration." "It is the headquarters for the mines." "Hang on." "What doyou want me to do?" " Get out ofthe car." "Get out." " What's going on?" "Just trust me." "Get out." "Hurry." " Aurora, what's" "Quick,Jonathan." "Come over here." "Hurry.Jonathan." "Jonathan, get in here." "Get in here." " What the hell's goin' on?" "Get in here." "That's my goddamn car!" "That is notyour car." "It belongs to Petrovich." "He'll have another one foryou by tomorrow." "Come on." "Goddamn." "This is unbelievable." "Jonathan, don'tyou know they can trackyou with these things?" "Come on." " What's with thisplace?" " The state housing authority... sold offthe apartments, then theywent out ofbusiness." " So what?" " They never sold offthe hallways." " There is no one to take care ofthem." " No shit." "Sergei?" "Don't kill him!" "Let me guess." "This isn'tyour friend Sergei, is it?" " Sergei's gone." " Ofcourse he is." "I suppose we can't call the police about it either, right?" "Let's get out ofhere." "He may be the police." "You almost missed the flight." "Good morning." "It's a beautiful day, huh?" " Yeah." " And it was a long night, huh?" "It was, yeah." "I partied, the usual thing, with the team." "We found your car." "Areyou all right?" "Yeah, yeah." "I just had a little accident." "I'm sorry to hear that." "Serokin, did you follow me last night?" "Just found your car, that's all." "Wouldn't wantyou to be without." "So there was a goon in the apartment, and the guy booked out in a hurry." "There might have been a thousand reasons why." "He might've been lying to Aurora." "Let's say they are screwing with the game." " Then?" " Yeah?" "Then what?" "Then nothing." "Status quo." "We play, we win." "And ifit gets too sick, we walk." "Come on, guys." "I've got meetings." " Can't I just take a cab to the hotel?" " When the circus came to town... did they let the elephants take a cab to the hotel?" "You're the elephant." "Get in the car, son." "One, two, tres, cuatro." "Itisanhonorandapleasure tobe broadcasting toyou this evening... with a crowd pushing 50,000... in this beautiful desert city on the shores ofthe blue-- blue" "Jeez, this outfit's got a lot ofmoney." "What is that?" "I'd say it's a good time in a can." "Beep, beep." "Come on!" "Come on!" "Come on in here and getyour ass kicked!" "Come on!" "I loveyou." "Tahli, what channel did you say you gave us in your territory?" "Tahli, what channel did you say you gave us in your territory?" " 1 09." " 1 09." "I see." "1 -frigging-0-9." "They do origami on channel six ofyour silly hair ball network!" "You ungrateful cretin!" "I will kill you myself!" "." "I will disappearyourwhole family!" "You wanna do business with us, we are on channels one through five." "Got it?" "You got that?" "Goddamn mouse." " Goal, yes, goal." " The Red Horsemen are rolling over" "Stop!" "Stop!" "What?" "Areyou from Omaha or something?" "It was only a matter oftime... before one these creeps realized that their take would go up... as soon as they got a little blood on the track." "What?" "Doyou think they sit around struggling with the morality ofit?" " They're gonna kill somebody." " That's what I'm talkin' about." "Come on." "I make more in a season than I would ten years doin' people's taxes." "They're not gonna let anything happen to us." "They need us." "Sojust closeyour eyes and take the money, okay?" "Sergei, the TV guy?" "They found him at the border, his throat cut, his mouth sewn shut." "What's up?" "You don't look so good." "What's going on?" "Well, you see, you hit the pod ramp andjump, and I cross under and go." "And then you shot in the free throw, and then you did the 440." "So I wasn't sure, but I thinkyou scored the touchdown." " Got it?" " Absolutely." "I scored a touchdown and I win." "Gotya." "Gotya." "We'll beat 'em!" " This MongolBlue Team is on fire..." " We'll beat them!" "andinsane!" "They're latheredup likeaSiberian wolfpack... readyto tearthe Reds limb from limb." "You're not wearing your spine protector, right?" "That's right." "With over a quarter left to play, it's the Horsemen" "I see." " You should make some arrangements." " Alexi, I'm on" "I don't want problems!" "I want solutions." "It's in the works." "We got ourselves a motorcycle race here!" "Whoa!" "Aurorajustgothammered!" "Thatson ofabitch hasgot tobe eightfeet tall." "Here's your bike, little lady." "Hope I didn't bend it." " Do I wish you spoke English." " I speak itjust fine, asshole!" "Bail out!" "Easy, fellas." "Come on, get him out." "We're out ofhere." "Ridley, my man." " How areyou?" " I feel like Freddy Krueger." " How is he, Doctor?" " I'm good." "I'm good." " He should be resting." " I feel fine." "I can play." " You sure about that?" " I feel fine." " Areyou up to it?" " It was, after all,just an accident." "You don't know how glad I am to hearyou say that." "All right, that's it." "Come on, let's go." "Out." "You promised me you'd stop this." "Dear God, your tone." "How have I denied you?" "I have madeyou a rich man, an international star." "I created a sport thatyou could thrive in." "I have given you total freedom to do as you please and even a satellite TV... and asked for one thing: your trust." "So will both my studs be at practice tomorrow?" " Yes, sir." " Excellent." "Horsemen, number one." "Watch them." "Ifthey take a shit, I want to know what it smells like." "Let's go." "Wait." "Don't move." "Close the doors." "It's cold as hell." "Please, the door." "Hey, the door!" "Come on." "Come on, Denny." " What about our passports?" " Katya trashed it." " She couldn't get them." " She's afraid." " I think they have something on her." " We have to wing it, then." "Get the cash from my place?" "You apartment was being watched all the time." "The players put this together." "Thanks, Den." " Thank them." " I don't know what to say." "Here, look." "The nearest border is Russia." "You have two crossings here at the Russian border-- here and here." "One is by the river." "Ifyou leave now, from hereyou can make it by morning." "I thoughtyou two were coming with us" "He has family here." "I have my mother." "And ifyou don't want them to disappear or have an accident" "You can never really leave." "Aurora, wait a minute." "Areyou gonna be okay" "You stop." "Beforeyou say something even more stupid." "Get the light over there on the wall." "There's no way I'm gonna die in this shithole ofa country." "No way." "We left the rest ofthe team, Rid." "How many times areyou gonna have to getyour head handed toyou... beforeyou stop picking fights with people who are too big?" "This isn't some college coach you canjust flick off." "These are dangerous people, man." "Look,Jon, she's safe." "She's safe." "Nobody knew aboutyou two." "Shit." "We have company." "Looks like they brought the whole Russian cavalry, Rid." "Great." "We're being chased by our own bodyguards." "Here they come, Rid." "They're on your bumper." "The fender." "Squeeze them!" " Come on!" " Oh, shit!" "Come on, you son ofa bitch!" " That ain't gonna work twice." " They're still coming on us." " Remember Squeak Harris?" " Ofcourse I remember." "Remember how he died?" " Change with me." " Now, listen, Rid" "Oh, shit!" " Let's rock and roll!" " One, two, three!" "God!" "Goddamn it, this road isn't even paved!" "Listen, I haven't seen lights in about an hour." "Why don't we back it offa little?" "How fast are we going, anyway?" "I don't know." "It's in klicks." "How fast is it in klicks, then?" "1 1 0, 1 20." "That's not so bad." "Ridley, that's in miles per hour!" " So what?" " "So what?"" "You're going 1 20 miles per hour on a Hog on a dirt road!" "It's not an off-road bike, Rid!" "Ten klicks to the border." "Chill." "Yeah, that ten klicks is gonna be a long walk... ifone ofthese tires goes out." "Oh, shit." "Ridley, we've got lights!" "Don't look!" "Watch the road!" " Looks like they're gaining on us." " What?" "Yeah, they're definitely gaining on us, Ridley, and fast!" " What the hell could they be driving?" " My limit's 1 50, man." "Faster!" "What in the world are they driving?" "Shit!" "Come on, baby!" "Who said this isn't an off-road bike?" "I've got news foryou, Rid." "They've got an off-road airplane." " There it is." " That's it?" "That's the border?" "What doyou want, a Stuckies and a casino?" "Hang on." "We can make it." "It won't work." "Not double." "Then you go." "Don't get saintly on me, Ridley." " I gotyou into this!" "You go!" " Your kids!" "Go home!" "Ridley, I'll be fine." "I promise." "Get to the American consulate on the other side." "They'll have me on a plane first thing in the morning." " Go!" "Get out ofhere!" "Go!" " You better make it." "Closeyour eyes and take the money." "God forgive me." "Wait." "Let's see ifhe makes it." "Come on." "Magnificent." "Let's go." "Make sureyou tip the border guards well." "Did you" "Did you really think I could letyou pull a stunt like that... even ifI wanted to, in front ofthem?" "How could you do that to me?" "How could you be so... thoughtless?" "All right." "We start again." "I'll giveyou a bonus of$1 00,000, U.S., payable however." "You play through the championship." "Play till the goddamn cable deal closes... then you may go whereyou wish." "I'll even giveyou a retirement game." "Go fuckyourself." "Throw that sack ofshit out ofhere!" "Get rid ofhim!" "What are we going to do with you, eh?" "In the old regime, Petrovich was above the official rank in Spetnaz... before the age of30." "KGB colonels used to cross the street when the saw him come." "Now they all line up to grovel in the dust." "Would you like a drink ofwater?" "You obviously don't care anything foryourself... but haveyou thought about the girl?" "Oh, dear boy, you don't imagine you have any secrets, doyou?" "Why doyou think she's still alive?" "Because Petrovich needs you." "He'll giveyoujust about anything you want, including her life... ifyou playyour cards right." "You have an opportunity here." "You might call it the opportunity ofa lifetime." "You see Yevgeny over there, so full ofhimselfnow?" "He used to work in the post office." "I introduced him to the proper financing... and now he owns the mines." "Yeah, making a fortune." "He keeps the miners in line." "Good business." "Good business." "You might wonderwhy I'm not in it myself." "I don't need to own the mines." "Doyou know why?" "Because I own the man who owns the mines." "All he has, I have." "Same with the supermarkets... the TV station, locomotive plant." "I don't need a political position... because I own the men who do." "We learn to separate ourselves from humanity... likeyou,Jonathan, separateyourselffrom your teammates." "You can keepyour 1 00K." "But I do like the view from up here." "No, I want more." "I want ownership-- part ofthe media rights... the gambling revenues, the works." "Jonathan, areyou fooling with me?" "Come on, Alexi, we both want the same thing here, don't we?" "Good." "Very good." "Let Serokin takeyou back home." "You've got a big night ahead ofyou." "What?" "Aurora's kind ofbugging me." "You know, getting way too serious." "I hate that too." "Women." "Yeah." "I want her out ofmy life." "Do me a favor and trade her." "No problem." "People disappear all the time." "No, trade her, Alexi." "Just trade her." "I like the lady." "I don't want her disappeared." "I just want her gone, okay?" "All right." "I'll do that." "Playwell tonight." "Playwell." "Gave me a lot ofshit about wanting to become a partner." "Just cover to get the girl out." "Did you give him that?" "I thought it was too subtle for him." "So, the first chance he gets, he'll bolt." "Shit!" "I'm this close to a North American cable deal!" "Well, Maybe there is one thing we can do to turn this to a profit." "You did promise him a retirement game, after all." "Sanjay, you are a rat, butyou are my rat, and I loveyou." "Go ahead." "Trade the girl." "Trade the girl to the Horde." "But we're playing them tonight." "He wants her gone." "Life is full oflittle disappointments." "Make sure they get a number on her." "We heard you were in a rock-climbing accident." "Areyou all right?" "Yeah." "You know me." "I'm hard to hurt." "Where's Ridley?" "You guys are always together." "Yeah." "Be careful." "Ladiesandgentlemen, this is whatit'sallabout-- one hard-fought struggle for all the marbles." "And the Red Horsemen" "There is unbelievable tension in thisarena." "Thereare fourteams in the quarterfinals... but without thehelp ofMarcus Ridley... who was crippled by a sudden attack ofmalaria... whichhe contractedin the tropics onanarchaeologicaldig." "Malaria?" "Ifthey'll buy it, I'll sell it." " Ridley's not sick, is he?" " Don't get in this." "Stay out ofit." " You shouldn't go out there." " I've got to." "That's how I got him to send Aurora away." "He made it real clear." " Where are they sending her?" " What do I care... just as long as it's away from here?" "What makes you think you can trust him?" "I don't have a choice." "You can't help me, Denny." "It's quite simple." "The Golden Horde, however, seem tohave severaltransfers from otherteams" "Hey, little lady, I see they got a number on you." "Nice." "Very nice." "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Get the goddamn camera out ofmy face, asswipe!" "And now, for all ofyou out there, a surprise is on the way." "Despite earlierreports ofarock-climbingaccident... he's comingback." "Despite thepleadingofhis trainers andthe threats ofhis doctors... he's comingback." "He's comingback forthelove ofthegame." "He's comingback foryouandforme." "Thegreatestrollerballer whohas everlived... yourvery ownJonathan" "Cross!" "Look." "Bravo!" "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." "What's this?" "Last minute rule changes." "You understand that?" "They give this message toyou." ""Playwell, and she will be on the Horde team playing tonight."" "Ladiesandgentlemen, aspecialannouncement." "Asyouallknow, at thelast owners'meeting in Odessa... certain rule changes were proposed and adopted." "In the finaleliminationround... normal rules and penalties are to be suspended." "What are they doing?" "Thegame willbeplayedwith no fouls calledandnopenalties." "What is this shit?" "There's no such rules" "They're going to kill someone." "No penalties." "This is gonna be interesting." "He tattooed her face." " What areyou gonna do?" " Play the goddamn game, I guess." "You ever see thugs like that on the bench before?" "This will make us, my friend." "This will make us." "Doyou have the pictures and the resumes on the replacements?" "Ladiesandgentlemen, what we'vegothere... isJonathanandUglich... in a no-holds-barred cockfight." "Say hello to Mr. Denekin!" "Crosssnagsit." "Nobogarting this time." "Hepassesit to Katya, whoscores!" "Boy, this crowd sure appreciates Denekin... thelocalboy whomadegood." "As a matter offact, there's a lot offriends in the audience... includinghis entireshift from themine." "Goldseems tohave an extraplayeron the track." "Have wegotsomekind ofgrudgematchhere?" "Auroraseems determinedto wipe out Jonathan Crossallbyherself." "Get out ofthis!" "They're going to kill you!" "Aurora, get offthe track." "Go on, girl." "Holy shit, he's wearing a spine protector." "He knew." "He knew." "Here'syourgrudgematch!" "Uglichandcompany singlingoutJonathan Cross... andtrying toputhim in theground." "Shit!" "Cross turnsitaround!" "Takes outRobot!" "Look out!" "Uglich's dead meat!" "You see?" "The show isjust getting started." "That's about the hardest hit I've ever seen!" "I got the Asian flu." "Come on, baby!" "Yeah!" "What the hell are they doing?" "Yeah!" "This may be getting out ofhand." "Maybe we should call the whole thing off." "The Redcoach is trying to calla time-out... trying togetherplayers outofthegame." "Come in!" "We wantyou to come in!" "She should go kill herself." "No, goddamn it, she's right." "Get offthe track." "Is anybody gonna stop this?" " We should cut the feed." " No, leave it." "Get offthe track, Katya." "Denekin, get out ofthis." "Dumb cowboy." "You don't have to do this." "The man wants a show, Rid." "I guess we'll have to give him one." "Punk!" "Get back out there!" "Cut the satellite feed." "I said cut it." "No more ofthis." "Enough!" "Don'tyou see?" "They're killing him... for the ratings!" " That's not in the script!" " Hey, sit down!" "Open your eyes, fool." "The world's about to blow up." "Didn'tyou hear me?" "Sit down." "Screwyou." "You don't control us anymore." "Listen to them." "I'd better go and sort this out." "Do it." "Do it!" "Holy shit!" "Go, go." "Bravo." "Jolly good show and all that." "I wonderwhat he was looking for." "These probably." "Well, youngJonathan... you've done marvelouslywell." "But one ofthe basic rules in this sort ofthing... is thatyou must never kill a tyrant... unless you've made an arrangement with his successor." "You do see what I mean, don'tyou?" "Yeah." "It means I'm not doneyet." "This gamemaybe over." "Hey, it's me." "It's me." "You may have started yourself a revolution." "Get some ofthese shotgun pellets removed." " Nah, he missed me." " Not entirely, he didn't." " What are they doing?" " You stood up one ofthe monsters... that run their lives, and they sawyou do it." " Where are we headed?" " To a doctor, to start with." "And then ifyou're able..." "I thought I might takeyou home to my bed."