A Gambit

[Ghosts]

A Gambit
May 8, 2020
by dvail

Niihama, Japan – 31 January, 2031

Vanessa worked her phones like a one woman call center. One after the other, twice concurrently, she made all the arrangements herself before the first other member of the front office even stepped foot off the executive level elevator at 8:22AM. Tanaki, the head of security, was more than amenable once she included overtime for his staff and allowed him to invite his wife and children. She had no authority to grant overtime, but he didn’t know that, and she would make it happen somehow. The grounds crew didn’t even ask if this was out of the ordinary, and agreed with little negotiation. They’ll get overtime, too, she promised herself. The players’ health was the major concern. If someone gets hurt, she’d probably be screwed. Should she tell Dr. McCray, or not? Better to not for now. Her career was just a little too at risk to let him blow this operation up before it began.

She had everything she needed in place, except now she needed an audience. That might be problematic, given that tonight needed to stay a secret, at least until the forgiveness portion of the “better to ask forgiveness than permission” stratagem played out. No kids. They’d talk, though a children’s hospital audience would play very well eventually. Adults would probably also jabber, for that matter. Unless they have proper incentive, that is. The seed of the idea was in place even as she thought the words that prompted its creation. Vanessa smiled a victor’s smile as the final piece of the puzzle took shape in her mind. “10pm tonight”, she thought, and clapped her hands as she jumped out of her seat and toward the exit.

“LISTEN UP,” Victor projected his voice well over the crowded weight room. His fellow reservists gave him their full attention. He’d earned new respect in their eyes given his announcements this morning. “We are playing a real game of baseball. With an audience. And a scoreboard. There will be a winning team, and a losing team. Half of you are about to lose to my squad. The other half can thank me in rounds at the oyster bar,” his attempt at humor and bravado was met with several caps striking him in the face. He smiled and said, “I think it’s only right that Morales is the other team captain, agreed?” A round of hoots and hollers demonstrated the group’s approval of Morales’s appointment.

Jesus Morales, with one leg propped up on a weight bench, raised his arms and signaled his acceptance. “So I get to be captain and I don’t even have to get stuck picking Torres last? Deal. Oh and I’ll take Kino with the first pick. I want to put that new forkball to work,” Morales winked at Victor Torres, and prompted a chorus of boos to shut down Victor’s objection to his stealing of the first pick.

Defeated, Victor continued the draft by selecting his friend Yuji Yamashita. The process continued until Vanessa Chambers crashed the room’s glowing vibe, simply by appearing. “Damn guys, relax, I’m not here to neuter anyone,” she rolled her eyes as the room shifted uncomfortably. “I’m actually here to let you know that I’ve hired a camera crew. The stadium won’t be full, sadly, and I know that’s going to take some of the thunder out of your shorts, but if I told you that my intent was to distribute the highlights to scouts around PEBA, so that they can see what you’re all made of, would that jolt your jimmies?” The room remained silent. Vanessa was hoping that announcement would bring excitement, but perhaps the idea of being put on display was a bit frightening to this insulated group of players.

“Ms. Chambers, why would you do that? Are you trying to shop us around so we can be traded?” Yuji broke his typical reticence to ask the question that surged in everyone’s mind.

“Shop? No. And I want to be clear – the video will go nowhere without GM Vail’s approval and he’s not entirely aware of tonight’s little soiree. Never mind that, though. The point is it’s good for all of us if the teams in PEBA know that the Ghosts aren’t some ramshackle squad of nobodies and has-beens. There is PEBA-level talent all over this room. I see it, and if other GMs around PEBA see it, that’s only good news for you guys. One way or another, most of you will be playing games in PEBA and its minor league affiliates next season. I know we can’t play official games with you on the reserve roster, and I’m sorry about that, but if tonight goes well, maybe this can be a substitute until the real deal rolls around. Capiche?” The room was won with that explanation, and Vanessa earned her very own set of cheers as a reward. “Awesome, awesome, but guys – if this is going to work, I need two things from every single one of you. First, no one does anything stupid to get hurt. You get hurt before we get any kind of sanction for this, and we’re done. No plays at the plate, and no hero dives. And if one of you maniac pitchers hurls a cutter that even grazes a uniform, I’ll pull you myself. Second, no electronics. Lock them up in your lockers. This game stays strictly under the radar. Deal?” The chorus of “Yes, ma’ams” and smartphone surrenders sent a smile dashing across her face. “Good luck tonight, fellas.”

Vanessa turned and started out of the room, moving with a purpose as she withdrew her phone and dialed the front security desk. “Let them in now, and have them all escorted to the press box. No stragglers get lost, got it?” Vanessa always spoke clearly, but she used particularly careful enunciation to ensure her message was not lost. This was risky.

As her audience arrived, she kept an approximate count – about 60 or so. Small enough to keep quiet, large enough to fund the evening’s event. Perfect. The audience was mostly middle-aged men, almost exclusively Japanese. They were all dressed similarly, too, but maybe that was just the foreigner in her.

Roberta raised her arms to quiet the raucous group, and began her announcement, “Ladies and gentlemen, tonight I offer to you a unique and unprecedented evening of entertainment. You’ll witness a full game, untelevised and unavailable to anyone else on the planet. Among these players are the future stars, the top talent, in the Niihama-shi Ghosts organization. As we introduce the players, you will divide yourselves into two sections according to whichever team you prefer to support. Two cameramen will join each group and hook you into the stadium audio system as well as keep a feed of you on the scoreboard. I ask each of you to show these players your full support, but to maintain good taste as you do. For some of these young men, it has been years since they have competed for an audience and they are very eager to show you what they can do. Lastly, you were instructed not to bring in any electronics or recording devices. If you have forgotten that request, please turn over any such devices now. You will be removed if any such devices are discovered during screening. Thank you, and enjoy this evening’s entertainment.”

With that, Roberta introduced the rosters and allowed the audience’s representatives, an older man with a solemn demeanor, and a younger man that reminded her of little besides a hungry shark, to split the audience in two. No one was shy about the wagering process, despite its illicitness. Vanessa was duly impressed with the ferocious efficiency with which these people transacted. The entire process was completed before Takuji Kino was warmed up. The audience was equally as efficient at presenting themselves to security screening, with surprisingly few phones turning up in the process. Vanessa was duly impressed with her own efficiency, as well.

As the game was ready to begin, Vanessa assembled her officiating crew, which consisted of the head groundskeeper, Mr. Hiro Taguchi, and no one else. The gig was all he wanted for his part in ensuring smooth operations for tonight’s game. He had two trusted employees, his nephews, at the ready to perform a myriad of roles. They would serve as bat boys, ball boys, grounds crew, and any other random errand runners that tonight required. Hiro Taguchi had been a ball player himself, he was fond of noting, until he tore his labrum and he could never throw again. He had also been an official for many years, reaching the collegiate level, before joining the Ghosts in the inaugural season, 2007. So he was well prepared to call a fair game, he assured Ms. Chambers.

“Hiro, sir, please, I beg you, make sure you keep this game clean. No ‘boys will be boys’ tonight. There’s a lot of emotion for some of these players, and if anything goes sideways, we can probably never do this again, capiche?” Roberta looked earnestly at the man, easily twenty years her senior, hoping she’d made herself clear.

“I understand, Ms. Chambers. There will be no misconduct,” he again assured.

Vanessa smiled and instructed him to tell the players to get ready to start. She checked her watch, 10:42PM. Not bad, she said to herself. She walked purposefully toward the third base crowd, waving her personal camera crew to follow her as she did. She stopped in view of the third base side dugout, grabbed a microphone from the crewman, and awaited their signal. A moment of equipment adjustments, and they pointed to her. ACTION. Poised, Vanessa announced, “Tonight we offer a rare glimpse inside the training center of the Niihama-shi Ghosts, the next PEBA franchise…” She carried on for a few moments, recording her message to PEBA scouts, before signaling to her scoreboard crew. She tapped the mic and heard the reverberations echo through the Oikake Maze audio systems. Over the amplified noise of her mini-crowd and the nervous energy of her players, Vanessa shouted, “PLAY BALL!”