The buzzer sounded to start the game and Neil raced up the court. He saw the Raven dealer serve but didn't look for the ball until he'd caught up with Johnson, his backliner mark. The dealer had served to the home court wall. Allison was the only one who stayed still long enough to watch it, and she snagged it on the rebound. She threw the ball to Andrew, who slammed it all the way up the court. Neil and Kevin pushed their way further up the court, racing the backliners to the ball.

Kevin was up against Jean. Jean was the Ravens' strongest backliner, but Neil was more worried about the psychological toll he might take on Kevin.

Jean was taller than Kevin, not by much but by just enough he caught the ball first. Kevin smacked his stick to fight him for possession. The sharp crack echoed off the walls as they struggled with each other. Foxes and Ravens yelled encouragement from around the court. Kevin switched tactics and slammed a shoulder into Jean hard enough to make him stumble. The ball finally popped free of Jean's racquet. Kevin didn't have time to aim with Jean in his face, but he threw the ball at goal anyway. It'd barely left his net before Jean checked him hard enough to knock him over.

The ball hit the wall and rebounded in Neil's direction. Neil dove past Johnson to catch it, and Johnson went straight for his racquet. He checked Neil's stick so hard it rattled Neil to his elbows and, in the same move, slammed into Neil to clear him away from the ball. Neil stumbled in a desperate search for balance. Johnson twisted his stick around Neil's in a lightning-quick move and gave a hard jerk. A bolt of hot pain ratcheted through Neil's right wrist. He let go of his racquet instinctively and Johnson ran off after the ball.

Neil gave his hand a fierce shake and chased after him. Johnson had a short lead, but Neil was faster. Johnson caught the ball and brought his racquet up for a throw, and Neil didn't try to slow down. He crashed into Johnson hard enough to take them both off their feet. Neil hit the ground and used his momentum to roll back to his feet. He ignored Johnson's snarled threat in favor of locating the ball. It'd fallen far short of its intended goal. Allison and her dealer were fighting each other for it. The Raven dealer won and heaved the ball down the court.

Neil almost lost track of it as it shot between the Raven strikers. It went to Riko, then the dealer, then the other striker, and back to Riko the exact second he out-stepped Nicky. Riko moved in a blur, and the goal lit up red. The buzzer sounded to signal the point and the crowd screamed.