Chapter 57: The Duo Tut & Cage

"Ay iso, iso!" Yelled Pharaoh as he pointed at his teammates while dribbling the ball outside the three-point line.

"Tut, I got a date in 20 minutes; let's make quick work of these boys!" Stated a large bald black man standing in the paint while pushing against a defender.

"Quick work? How quickly do you want it, Cage?" Asked Pharaoh with a smirk as he lowered his stance and started speedily dribbling the ball under his legs and behind his back, causing his defender's body to tense.

"10 minutes!" Said Cage with a slight smirk as he suddenly pushed off his defender, prompting Tut to pass the ball to him instantly.

Faking a dash to the rim, I swiftly did a bounce pass to Cage, who caught and finished with a layup, causing me to grin and slightly run backward as I got on defense.

"Them nigga's ain't going to last that long when we've got Shaq and Kobe on the same team." Said one of Tut's teammates as he glanced at Cage and Tut, both smirking at his remark.

"Ay, don't sell yourself short; we wouldn't have made it this far without you and everyone else; this a team game, after all." Said Cage with a slight smirk as he looked at his teammates, except Tut.

"Ay, pay attention! This is the last game; if they lose this, they're out of the tournament; they're definitely going to be playing aggressively and calling every foul possible. D-up! I've got ball!" Yelled Pharaoh, his words causing everyone to focus on the game while he lowered his stance and started defending against his man as he had the ball.

"C'mon, pass the ball; I know you're going to. You're not going to let a kid strip you of the ball 3 times." Said Tut with a slight smile as he looked at the man in his eyes, causing him to grit his teeth in anger; nonetheless, he did pass the ball to one of his teammates.

Once he passed the ball, he tried running to the hoop, but I stayed with him; I wasn't about to let him get an easy point on me. Darius, my teammate and the one guarding the man with the ball, was putting up a great defense, which forced his opponent to fake a dash to the hoop, giving him just enough space to shoot a three, and he, unfortunately, made it.

"Dammit." Muttered Darius in annoyance as he passed the ball in from the sidelines to Tut.

"Ay, you're a good Darius. You played great defense; you just can't do much against that." Said Tut as he looked at Darius, the youngest one on the team besides himself.

"Yeah, I know, but it's still annoying." Replied Darius with a shake of his head as he ran ahead, switching to offense now that they got the ball.

"Can't really relate; I could block everything if I really felt like it." Muttered Tut softly as he ran forward after Darius while dribbling the ball.

"Clear the paint!" Yelled Tut as he continued running without slowing down while looking at Cage, who nodded and got out of the way, though his defender didn't move.

Running forward, I dribbled the ball between my legs, catching my defender off guard a little and allowing me to drive right past him; dashing to the hoop, I grabbed the ball with both hands and did a euro-step before finishing with a layup right behind the second defender who was about six-foot-six by the way, even taller than Cage.

"Let's fucking go, Tut! No one can stop that lil-nigga!" Yelled one of Tut's teammates with a grin, earning the ire of the opposing team as they ran and played offense.

I was running alongside the opposing team, though it seemed they learned from their previous mistakes since they made sure to keep an eye on me, which was good as I was about to strip someone of the ball. Running toward my defender, I stayed with him, but it didn't matter too much since they didn't even pass him the ball this play, though they didn't make a point, and Cage got the rebound.

"Darius!" Yelled Tut as he looked at Cage and pointed to the other side of the court, where Darius was standing wide open, ready to make a layup.

With my call, the other team tried to quickly sprint back to their side of the court, though it was too late since Cage had already thrown the ball to Darius, who barely caught it before making a layup.

"Damn, Cage, hold back your strength a little, will ya? Nearly took the nigga's arm off." Remarked one of Tut's teammates as he walked up to Cage and lightly slapped his arm.

"I was just trying to get the ball to him, Jason." Replied Cage with a small smile as he got back on defense when he saw his man charging toward him while dribbling the ball.

"Ayo, Cage, watch out; he looks like he's coming for vengeance." Said Tut as he glanced at the man with the ball, who sported an angry expression as he continued charging toward the hoop.

The man was like a fucking bull as he charged right for the hoop, slamming into Cage and knocking him down before making the layup.

"Foul!" Yelled Darius as he grabbed the ball, causing the man who had just made the point to stare at him while his teammates backed up.

"The fuck you mean that's a foul!?" Yelled the man with a scowl as he stared at Darius, trying to intimidate him, though having grown up in Harlem, he wasn't a punk

"The fuck I mean, that's a foul? You ran Cage over; that's a charging; our ball, the point doesn't count." Said Darius with a frown as he looked up at the man, while two of Tut's teammates came to help Darius out, though it only turned into a bigger mess.

Seeing those right arguing, I reached down and helped Cage stand up while sighing.

"You good, Cage?" Asked Tut as he looked at Cage dusting off the back of his shirt.

"Yeah, I'm good." Replied Cage with a nod as he glanced at Tut before looking at the eight arguing.

"We should stop them before it spirals into something out of hand; if my Mom or Dad finds out someone pulled a gun, they won't let me come." Said Tut with a slight frown, earning a nod from Cage as the two walked toward the arguing group.

"Nah, ya'll fucking crazy, Cage; take that motherfucking foul." Said Darius in slight anger as he eyed Cage, who stood in between the two and pushed them apart.

"It wasn't a foul." Said Cage calmly as he looked at Darius and the rest of his team, causing them to be taken aback.

"Cage, what the hell you talking about!? That nigga ran you over!" Said another of Tut's teammates with a frown as he eyed Cage in disbelief, though the one who answered was Tut.

"Nah, let them make it, Kris; they're going to need every point they can get if they want a chance to beat us." Stated Tut calmly as he grabbed the ball out of Darius's hands and walked out of bounds before passing it to Cage.

"Ball's in!" Yelled Cage, his words prompting the opposing team to quickly return to their side of the court while Tut's team grumbled in annoyance before they also got on offense.

"Ay, my bad, Cage, you said you wanted this over in 10 minutes, right?" Asked Tut as he caught the ball Cage passed him and faked a dash before shooting behind the three-point line, turning around while the ball was still in the air.

"I got you, my dawg." Added Tut with a smirk as his shot went into the hoop.

"Better make it quick; there are only six minutes left." Remarked Cage with a slight shake of his head as the two returned to their own court to play defense.

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Dribbling the ball under my legs, I took a step forward but kept the ball in my hand, causing the man defending me to stumble backward on the ground while I just gave him a nasty glare.

"Game." Said Tut as he shot the ball from behind the three-point line, hitting nothing but the net.

"Let's fucking go!" Yelled Jason excitedly, sweating drenching his entire body as he jumped in the air.

"I'm telling you, once the duo starts going, there is nothing that can stop them!" Stated Kris with a grin, while Darius agreed with them as they all huddled together.

"Did you really need to take his ankles like that, Tut?" Asked Cage with a slight smirk as he glanced at the man, who was angrily walking toward his backpack while constantly glaring at them.

"No, I didn't, and seeing what's about to happen, I probably shouldn't have." Replied Tut with a wry smile and a frown as he looked at the man, who pulled out a gun from his bag, surprising everyone, even his own teammates.

"Ayo, nigga chill! I know you're heated, but it's just a fucking game!" Yelled the six-foot-six man with a frown as he grabbed the man with a gun by the shoulder, though he aggressively brushed him off.

"Nah, fuck all that! I've been disrespected too many times by this kid! I'm about to show him what the fuck it means to play ball in Harlem!" Stated the man angrily as he pointed the gun at Tut while walking forward, though Cage stood in front of him.

"Move the fuck out the way, nigga!" Yelled the man as he pointed at Cage while everyone just stood still, not knowing what to do.

"You really going to kill a kid over basketball? Is your ego that fragile?" Remarked Cage with a frown as he fearlessly stood before the man, who seemed to ignore his words.

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Now, while I do think that dude is going overboard, I can understand his sentiments, it just wouldn't happen to me though; my ankles wouldn't have gotten taken like that, just saying. Also, this is a new volume; forget to mention the end of the volume's last chapter yesterday; make sure to tell what you thought about the previous Volume!