a deal.”
“A ... floating turd?”
“That might be too nice a term,” Danny said. “It’s spoiled Whitokian guts processed into a digital form and turned into a legal document. Trust me on this one, buddy.”
“Well, I know it’s not good , but ...”
“ Not good ? The salmon I had for lunch was not good , guy. Your contract? It’s atrocious, flagitious and abysmal. An athlete of your caliber needs to be properly compensated for the danger he faces, wouldn’t you agree?”
Well, yeah. Danny was right about that. Quentin was in danger. On every single snap of every game, his health, his career and even his life were at risk.
Quentin nodded.
“You could suffer anything from abrasions to deformations to decapitations, buddy,” Danny said. “And for this brave effort, this stalwart endeavor, this soldiering leadership, you make league minimum ? Is that right, Quentin? League min imum?”
“Uh ... yes, Mister Dolphin.”
“Danny.”
“Danny, right, sorry.”
“League min-eh-mum !” Danny laughed a somewhat disturbing combination of barking squeals and a rich, artificial human tenor.
“I tell you, guy, this whole contract of yours makes me angry. It makes me enraged, deranged and estranged. But I can get this fixed up for you, buddy. Gredok the Splithead wants to play hardball? I can make him regret it. Trust me on that. His compensation is defamation, his pay is no-way . You’re a free agent at the end of the year, so if you sign with me, we can get you what you deserve. He wants to play rough? No problem, I’ll show him how we do things a hundred meters deep.”
Quentin gathered that was a figure of speech, although he had no idea what it really meant. “So, uh, Danny ... how exactly do we play hardball with a gangster that can have sentients killed whenever he feels like it?”
Danny’s squealing laugh filled the room again, made the glass table vibrate. “Simple, guy. We fight fire with fire. We put him in a bidding war with other gangsters that can also have sentients killed whenever they feel like it.”
Quentin’s eyes narrowed. “And how do we do that?”
“You’re a free agent at the end of the year, buddy. That means we go out and talk to other teams.”
“Talk to them about what?”
Danny stared, then laughed again. He turned to face Yitzhak. “Zackie, baby, is this two-legger messing with me? Because if he is, he’s hys ter ical!”
Yitzhak shook his head. “He’s not messing with you. Get used to it, Danny — when you’re dealing with Quentin, what you see and what you hear are what you get.”
Danny turned back to Quentin. “We talk to the other teams, buddy, about playing for them. If Gredok doesn’t want to take care of his star quarterback, maybe that star quarterback lines up under center next year in something other than a Krakens jersey.”
Quentin sagged back into his chair. He’d always known that being a free agent meant you could play for other teams. Logically, he’d known that. But emotionally? Emotionally, he’d never really considered that he would ever wear anything but the Orange and the Black.
“I don’t know, Danny. I think we’re building something great here.”
The silver hands lifted, palm up, then set back down — Danny’s version of a shrug. “You’re the client. If you want to end up in Ionath, that’s where you end up. But if you want to get properly compensated for putting hundreds of thousands of sentients in the stands, for making billions tune in to watch, for risking your life and limb not just in games but in practice , then I need negotiating power. If High One wants you in Krakens orange next season, guy, then you have to trust his teachings and know everything happens for a reason.”
Quentin stared at the dolphin’s black eyes. Stared hard. “Danny, do you actually think the High One has anything to do with this? Or are you just telling me what you think I want to hear so we’ll ... I don’t
“A ... floating turd?”
“That might be too nice a term,” Danny said. “It’s spoiled Whitokian guts processed into a digital form and turned into a legal document. Trust me on this one, buddy.”
“Well, I know it’s not good , but ...”
“ Not good ? The salmon I had for lunch was not good , guy. Your contract? It’s atrocious, flagitious and abysmal. An athlete of your caliber needs to be properly compensated for the danger he faces, wouldn’t you agree?”
Well, yeah. Danny was right about that. Quentin was in danger. On every single snap of every game, his health, his career and even his life were at risk.
Quentin nodded.
“You could suffer anything from abrasions to deformations to decapitations, buddy,” Danny said. “And for this brave effort, this stalwart endeavor, this soldiering leadership, you make league minimum ? Is that right, Quentin? League min imum?”
“Uh ... yes, Mister Dolphin.”
“Danny.”
“Danny, right, sorry.”
“League min-eh-mum !” Danny laughed a somewhat disturbing combination of barking squeals and a rich, artificial human tenor.
“I tell you, guy, this whole contract of yours makes me angry. It makes me enraged, deranged and estranged. But I can get this fixed up for you, buddy. Gredok the Splithead wants to play hardball? I can make him regret it. Trust me on that. His compensation is defamation, his pay is no-way . You’re a free agent at the end of the year, so if you sign with me, we can get you what you deserve. He wants to play rough? No problem, I’ll show him how we do things a hundred meters deep.”
Quentin gathered that was a figure of speech, although he had no idea what it really meant. “So, uh, Danny ... how exactly do we play hardball with a gangster that can have sentients killed whenever he feels like it?”
Danny’s squealing laugh filled the room again, made the glass table vibrate. “Simple, guy. We fight fire with fire. We put him in a bidding war with other gangsters that can also have sentients killed whenever they feel like it.”
Quentin’s eyes narrowed. “And how do we do that?”
“You’re a free agent at the end of the year, buddy. That means we go out and talk to other teams.”
“Talk to them about what?”
Danny stared, then laughed again. He turned to face Yitzhak. “Zackie, baby, is this two-legger messing with me? Because if he is, he’s hys ter ical!”
Yitzhak shook his head. “He’s not messing with you. Get used to it, Danny — when you’re dealing with Quentin, what you see and what you hear are what you get.”
Danny turned back to Quentin. “We talk to the other teams, buddy, about playing for them. If Gredok doesn’t want to take care of his star quarterback, maybe that star quarterback lines up under center next year in something other than a Krakens jersey.”
Quentin sagged back into his chair. He’d always known that being a free agent meant you could play for other teams. Logically, he’d known that. But emotionally? Emotionally, he’d never really considered that he would ever wear anything but the Orange and the Black.
“I don’t know, Danny. I think we’re building something great here.”
The silver hands lifted, palm up, then set back down — Danny’s version of a shrug. “You’re the client. If you want to end up in Ionath, that’s where you end up. But if you want to get properly compensated for putting hundreds of thousands of sentients in the stands, for making billions tune in to watch, for risking your life and limb not just in games but in practice , then I need negotiating power. If High One wants you in Krakens orange next season, guy, then you have to trust his teachings and know everything happens for a reason.”
Quentin stared at the dolphin’s black eyes. Stared hard. “Danny, do you actually think the High One has anything to do with this? Or are you just telling me what you think I want to hear so we’ll ... I don’t
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