Strikers Instinct (15 page)

It seemed that there was a race to get to Ed Tierney first and Ed was determined only to be caught when he felt the time was right. As soon as the story about Jake Pryce leaked out Ed knew there would be a media storm breaking over his head – in addition to all the people within his own organisation whom he'd mislead.

Thirty minutes ago his phone had begun to ring as if the end of the world was on its way – finally Ed smiled and turned it off. He had deliberately sent Sarah off to the training ground so she wouldn't be able to pester him and for the last couple of hours he had worked alone in a seldom used office in the upper reaches of the stadium. He knew that the Manager and the other directors would be tearing around trying to find him and he smiled as he imagined the havoc he had probably created.

Ed had no intention of facing each of his accusers separately – he would wait until they were all together and then explain why he had signed Jake Pryce and then he would also remind them that he was the boss and if they didn't like it then they all knew what they could do! As far as the media was concerned – well, Ed had always been of the opinion that all publicity was good publicity so that didn't concern him.

He had left strict instructions with the security desk that he was only to be disturbed when Dr. Green, Sandy Dunbar and Dave Bycroft, had all arrived. He hadn't summoned them – he just knew that they would all soon turn up at the stadium and around twenty minutes later he was proved right. He received a call from downstairs saying that the three gentlemen had arrived and had spent the last few minutes angrily rampaging around the ground looking for him. Ed smiled and told the receptionist to get a message to the three men saying he would be in the boardroom in 10 minutes.

Fifteen minutes later he strolled down towards the boardroom and even from a distance away he could hear angry voices. He steadied himself and then with a broad grin fixed to his face he swung the door open.

“Gentlemen,” he cried, “always nice to see you – I hope there isn't a problem?”

“Problem! Problem!” Sandy could hardly get his words out he was so angry. “What the hell have you done, you stupid, stupid man?”

Ed's smile didn't move an inch. “Calm down Sandy – what's wrong?”

“What's wrong?” Sandy turned in frustration to the other two men in the room. “Has he lost his mind?”

“No, he hasn't lost his mind.” said Harry coldly. “He thinks he knows exactly what he has done but as usual he doesn't have a clue.”

Ed's smile slipped a little but he still remained calm. “Now gentlemen, let's not say anything we will regret later.”

“It's too late for that.” said Harry bitterly. “You've made us into a laughing stock – you've signed one of the few men in football who everyone hates. Why couldn't you have at least spoken to one of us first?”

“Because I knew this was how you would behave.” Ed retorted. “You are like three old women! I take it that you agree with them Dave?”

The Director of Football shook his head. “What is the point of having someone like me in place if you completely ignore me?” he asked sadly.

“I really do not understand why you are all so upset.” said Ed. “I have signed a world-class footballer for a fraction of his true worth.”

“You fool!” exploded Sandy. “He has no value – no decent club would touch him! He has lied, cheated and caused mayhem all over Europe and everyone else has washed their hands of him – and then you sense a bargain and so you sell all our souls. You should be ashamed.”

“Don't you dare preach to me you sad old man!” shouted Ed. “If it wasn't for me this club would still be playing part-time football on a cow field.”

Sandy smiled bitterly. “Well that's just fine – because that means you won't miss me. I'm resigning as of now.”

It was Ed's turn to smile. “No you're not. You have two years left on your contract and if you walk away now I will sue you for every penny you have.”

Sandy moved menacingly towards Ed and Harry had to restrain him.

“You've hit a new low Ed – even for you.” Harry said menacingly.

“Stop snivelling Harry – you're in the same position as our noble manager. If you walk away you will lose all the money I give to your precious dementia clinic so you had better just shut up and start backing me up.”

Ed looked towards the Director of Football. “Well, what do you have to say? If you know what's good for you then you'd better get over there and get in line with the rest of them.”

Dave stood silently and then slowly walked towards the door. As he passed Ed he moved quickly and punched him in the stomach. Ed collapsed as if he had been shot and the three men grinned and all walked out together.

“I wish I had done that!” laughed Sandy.

As they walked down the corridor, Harry ushered them all into a small office.

“OK,” he said, “at least we had a little bit of fun out of all this mess but what are we going to do now? Sandy and I can't walk away at the moment – you heard what Ed said. And we don't want to lose you Dave – otherwise that's another battle that Ed has won.”

“What do you suggest?” asked Dave. “We can't let him get away with this.”

“I suggest we act as if nothing has happened.” replied Harry.

“What do you mean?” asked Sandy.

“Well,” said Harry, “when we get asked any questions from the press – we just answer them honestly. We tell them we have no idea who has signed Pryce – we tell them we had no involvement whatsoever.”

“But that will make Ed look stupid.” said Dave.

“Exactly.” smiled Harry. “He has made this mess so let him dig himself out of it!”

The three men made their way towards the front doors and noticed that a large crowd had gathered. As soon as they set foot outside the questions started.

“Mr. Dunbar, can you tell us why you signed Jake Pryce?”

“No idea.” smiled Sandy. “First I've heard of it.”

The crowd of journalists and photographers began to sense an even bigger story.

“Mr Bycroft – you are director of football – you must have had some part in this deal?”

Dave also smiled. “Nope – I'm just like Mr. Dunbar and Dr. Green – we have only just found out that apparently we may have signed this – ah – individual.”

The shouts and screams increased.

“Dr. Green, Dr. Green, if you are saying that none of the board members know about this deal, then who has set this up?”

Harry looked straight into the cameras. “I suggest you talk to the chairman.”

The three men resisted all other questions and moved away to their cars.

High up in his office Ed began to panic. He had gambled that he could force the three men to back his decision to sign Jake Pryce but it seemed to have backfired. Now he wished he had ignored the constant calls from Jake's agent – he had allowed himself to believe he had pulled off a big coup but in reality it seemed as if it was all blowing up in his face. He needed to rescue the situation – and fast!

Just as he was starting to really worry, Sarah walked into his office. She knew better than to speak first when trouble was in the air – she just stood and looked questioningly at Ed. Suddenly he pulled himself together – Sarah actually saw the change come over him – he began to show signs of the man who had built a multi-million pound empire.

“At last.” he grunted. “I wondered where you had got to. There's a bit of a flap going on – slight breakdown in communication – and I need you to help me fix it.”

Sarah forced herself not to smile – slight breakdown in communications! He was fooling no-one.

Ed continued. “OK – this is what I need you to do. In one hour I will speak to a select bunch of journalists in the media room.”

He wrote some names on a pad and passed it across to Sarah.

“You start to work on setting that up and I will try to pacify those three stupid, old women.”

Sarah left the room and couldn't believe how Ed was behaving – the whole world seemed to be crumbling around him but Ed behaved as if it was a minor hiccup. Maybe this time he had finally gone too far.

Back in the office Ed wrote an e-mail and sent it to Harry, Sandy and Dave. He begged their forgiveness, explaining that Pryce's agent had guaranteed his behaviour – he had a full report from an anger management specialist who had been treating the wayward footballer. Ed also agreed that he would ditch Pryce at the very first sign of trouble. He then detailed the amazing deal he had pulled off to bring Pryce on loan from his current Italian club – they were practically paying Wishton to take him. Ed finished the e-mail with another grovelling apology and asked that they all meet up the following day to bury the hatchet.

He followed up the e-mail with a call to each of the men but as expected, the calls went straight through to voice mail. Using his most humble voice he summarised what he had written in the e-mails and apologised once again. Finally he sent a brief text message to the same three numbers – with an even briefer apology. It irked him to have to grovel but he needed the three of them back on his side as soon as possible – he would have plenty of time in the future to reward them for their betrayal.

A few minutes later Sarah came through to tell him that the boardroom had been set up and the journalists he had requested were waiting. Ed checked his appearance in the mirror and set off down the corridor. He entered the room as if he didn't have a care in the world, greeting each person personally before he moved to the front of the room. There were three representatives from the daily papers and three from television companies. Sarah wondered why Ed had singled out these six people, there was outrage from the dozens of other media representatives when she told them a few minutes ago what was happening.

“Good afternoon everyone, lovely to see you all today,” Ed began, “hopefully by the time you leave this room we will have cleared up this – confusion.”

“Confusion!” One of the reporters laughed. “It seems to be a bit more than that Mr. Chairman. You may or may not have signed the most controversial man in football and no-one in the club – apart from you – seems to know about it!”

“I can see where the confusion may have arisen,” smiled Ed, “and that's why we are here now – to clarify a few issues.”

Before anyone else could comment Ed raised a hand and continued. “First of all I would just like to confirm that in the last few hours we have indeed signed Jake Pryce on a 12 month loan.”

The room stirred excitedly and again Ed raised his hand. “Please – allow me to explain. This has been an extremely delicate situation because – as you have intimated – Jake Pryce does have something of a reputation. I was unable to include anyone else in the discussions because that was part of a secrecy clause insisted upon by his current Italian club. I have apologised to anyone within this club whom I may have mislead and I'm sure they have already forgiven me.”

Ed wore a truly remorseful face and the hard-bitten journalists had to stifle their laughter.

“OK,” said one of them, “you admit to fooling the manager and other board members – but you say they are now happy?”

“I didn't fool anyone.” Ed replied smoothly, “I simply wasn't at liberty to reveal the details of the possible deal until it was concluded. I have now done so and everyone seems more relaxed.”

“More relaxed? You've signed the biggest troublemaker in football – I bet Sandy Dunbar is thrilled!” The latest remark came from a tabloid journalist.

Ed suddenly turned serious. “I believe that everyone deserves a second chance,” he said quietly “We are all human and we all make mistakes.”

One of the two women journalists present in the room spoke up. “I think that Jake Pryce has had several chances Mr. Tierney – what makes you think he will change this time?”

Ed smiled. “Jake has been undergoing intensive behavioural therapy and he appears to have made fantastic progress so we are very hopeful.”

Another voice spoke up sharply. “He'll never change!”

Ed looked at the speaker sharply. “Mr. Bryant isn't it? I seem to remember you lost your license last year for drink driving but your employers took another chance with you and didn't sack you. Are you saying that you can get another chance but Jake Pryce can't?”

Tim Bryant opened and closed his mouth like a stranded fish.

Ed continued with his attack. “And you Mrs Jenson – you have admitted to having an affair with a much younger man but your husband still welcomed you back home when you came to your senses – yet here you sit today in judgement on someone else! In fact I could probably go all round this room and find that we have all made lapses of judgement in the past – should we all be forgiven but Jake Pryce doesn't get the same treatment?”

The room was in total shock – no-one knew what to say. Sarah had to hand it to Ed – he picked out a group of people who he knew had troubled personal lives and he had deflected the spotlight away from Jake Pryce and on to them – and the whole interview had gone out live on TV!

Ed looked around the room. “Any more questions?” he asked.

You could hear a pin drop.

“I thought not.” murmured Ed as he rose and left the room.

Friday evening found Luke sat on the patio at the rear of the house with a beer in one hand and a newspaper in the other. He didn't seem to notice the wonderful view but was absorbed in something in the paper. His concentration was broken by Lexi.

“Dad, Uncle Harry's here.”

Luke glanced up just as Harry came out onto the patio.

The two men looked at each other ruefully and started to laugh.

“What a week.” Harry said simply.

“You're not wrong.” agreed Luke.

“I see you're reading your new column.” Harry remarked, “What do you think?”

Luke snorted. “Well, seeing as though I can't really write anything about what actually goes on within the club – it doesn't seem too bad.”

Harry sympathised. “You're right – it may be tricky finding something to write without revealing any gossip or training-ground antics.”

“Well there have certainly been plenty of those this week.” Luke shook his head. “What's the latest on the Jake Pryce saga?”

Harry looked uncomfortable. “Looks like he is due to arrive for training on Monday morning. The whole thing will turn into a circus – he won't have changed.”

Luke shrugged, “Well there's no point you beating yourself up over it – we all know where the blame lies.”

Harry smiled. “You know I have to admit a sneaking admiration for the way Ed engineered this. He knew that Sandy, Dave and I wouldn't agree so he simply kept us out of the loop until it was too late. And then he even turned the tables on the press – making them look like hypocrites if they continue to chase Pryce.”

“How long did it take before you agreed to speak to Ed?” asked Luke.

“We made him sweat for a couple of days,” grinned Harry, “then we met him at the stadium. It wasn't the best of meetings but at least we were all civil to each other. Ed's got his own way again but he's crossed the line this time. None of us have any respect for him now.” he added sadly.

“Is it true that Dave gave him a good hiding?” asked Luke eagerly.

“No,” said Harry, “but he did give him a nice dig in the guts!”

Both men laughed again.

“Dear me, Harry,” Luke nudged his friend, “what have you landed me in the middle of?”

“I don't know what you have to complain about,” sniffed Harry, “by all accounts you've had a great week!”

It was true. After all the excitement of the first day Luke kept his head down and just tried to melt into the background at the training ground and after a couple of days he actually managed to kick a ball! He had been included in some five-a-side sessions with the under-18 squad and he had really enjoyed himself. The watching backroom staff were delighted to find that Luke didn't fall over when he kicked the ball and he gradually became involved in more practise sessions.

Luke didn't know but earlier that morning Harry had spoken to Sandy and he asked him how it had gone during the week with Luke. Sandy looked at Harry quizzically.

“There's something strange going on here Harry.” he had said.

“In what way?”

“Well first of all we found out that Luke Linden was actually fitter than most of our players – then after a couple of days we also discover that he isn't bad at football!”

Harry had stifled a grin.

Sandy had gone on to say that Luke was slower than a carthorse but he seemed to have unlimited stamina. Also – for a big man – he had a remarkably good touch on the ball. He was also very good in the air and very difficult to knock off the ball. Sandy reflected that he wished he had seen Luke twenty years ago – he may have recommended him to one of the lower league sides.

Harry decided not to share this information with Luke – he had his own reasons.

“So all in all – you haven't had too bad a week then?” summarised Harry.

Luke smiled happily. “I hate to say you were right,” he admitted, “but it felt really good to be part of something again. I know I'm only pretending but at least I wasn't totally embarrassed and as long as Jake Pryce doesn't upset everyone then I think I may enjoy my year with the team.”

“I wish I was as happy.” grumbled Harry.

“What's the problem?” asked Luke, “If it's Ed – then just tell him to get stuffed – you don't need all the hassle.”

“But unfortunately I need his money.” said Harry sadly.

“Sod him – I have loads of money since I sold the firm – I'll help with your research.” Luke offered.

Harry hesitated before replying.”It's not so simple,” he said, “but maybe you could help in another way.”

“Anything,” Luke declared, “just name it.”

“Maybe we should start at the beginning,” mused Harry, “then you will be able to see why I need Ed so much at the moment.”

“Fire away.” said Luke. “Do you want a beer before you start?”

Before Harry could answer Sue called them both in for dinner – she had insisted that Harry stay – so it was another couple of hours before they could resume their conversation in private.

After dinner they went back out onto the patio. Sue sensed that they wanted to be alone so she shooed the kids away and left the two men to it. It was a glorious summer evening, the sun was still quite hot and the views across the valley were stunning. Luke waited patiently for Harry to begin. Finally he seemed ready.

“I guess that as long as you have known me I've always made it clear that I wanted to be a doctor – just like my father.” Harry began.

Luke nodded.

“He was so proud when I graduated and even prouder when I joined the family practice. Sadly we didn't have too much time to work together. You were a good friend back then – back when dad became ill. I'll never forget your support.”

Luke's face clouded at the memory. It had been so unfair. Dr. Green senior had been a great doctor, caring, popular and very clever. However, things changed almost overnight when he was struck down by Alzheimer's Disease. He quickly became unrecognisable and although Harry and his mother bravely took care of him – he deteriorated rapidly and sadly died at a relatively young age.

Harry continued. “It was after dad became ill that I decided that if possible I was going to try to specialise in Dementia care and research. As you know – since then – I still keep my hand in as a GP but I also spend a lot of time at the hospital helping with dementia sufferers. Over the years I have managed to study with doctors from around the world and we are slowly building up a database that we hope will be helpful in the future.”

“We all know how hard you work Harry,” Luke said, “in fact you work too hard – you need to take some time out for yourself occasionally – you won't be any use to anyone if you burn out.”

Harry smiled. “Don't worry about me,” he said, “I still have mother keeping me on the straight and narrow!”

Luke smiled – it was true that they joked about Harry still living at home with his mother in his forties but it worked well for both of them.

Harry suddenly became serious again. “However, there's also some other work I do – and that's what we need to talk about now. Did I ever tell you exactly how Ed and I came to meet?”

Luke suddenly realised that he had never asked that question before – for the last 10 years or so Ed and Harry seemed to have been colleagues if not exactly bosom buddies. He shook his head.

“We met for the first time when Ed's father was also diagnosed with Alzheimer's.” Harry revealed.

Luke was slightly surprised but given that Ed was about 10 years younger than both he and Harry, he realised that he didn't really know that much about him.

Harry went on. “I had started working with dementia patients at the hospital and Ed's father was brought in. We did our best to make him comfortable and Ed and I started to become acquaintances – if not exactly friends. A few weeks after Ed's father finally passed away I received a phone call asking me to meet up with Ed. I went along and we had quite an interesting conversation.”

Luke grimaced. “I'm betting that Ed must have wanted something.” he said.

“Absolutely correct!” Harry replied with a grin. “But there was also something in it for me. Ed proposed we set up a research trust in memory of both our fathers. He would put up most of the funds and I would provide the technical expertise.”

“And what did he want from you in return?” grunted Luke.

“Ed asked me to become involved with medical matters for the whole of Tierney Enterprises.” said Harry.

“With no salary I suppose?” ventured Luke.

“Exactly!” agreed Harry. “But he did offer me something a lot more interesting – and that's the main reason I can't walk away from Ed at the moment. Also – a few years later he bought Wishton Clough and Ed asked me to join the board and become Chief Medical Officer.”

Luke was intrigued. “Well I already knew about the research facility and the involvement in the club but are you saying that there's something else?”

Harry nodded.”Yes,” he replied, “I also do some work for Ed at the canning factory.”

Luke seemed puzzled. “Well we knew that you spent time there but we all assumed that you used the laboratory for research purposes looking into Dementia?”

“That's true,” answered Harry, “but there's a bit more to it than that. The TxT drink makes millions of pounds a year for Ed but you can't stand still in that industry – they are always looking for new product lines and that is where I came in. I agreed to be a sort of link between product research and the medical authorities. As you know – all drink additives have to be thoroughly tested and approved before they can go on sale and I became involved in looking for new additives. I viewed it as more of a hobby really – it provided some distraction from the dementia research.”

“And once again I suppose Ed got you to do it free of charge?” asked Luke.

“No,” replied Harry, “for this service he actually pays me quite well and I plough the money back into the research trust.”

Luke frowned, “Seems like a pretty sweet deal – so what's the problem then?”

Harry hesitated before he spoke again. “Luke – what I have to tell you next is completely confidential – no-one else can know.”

Luke seemed slightly offended but Harry held up his hands “I know, I know,” he said, “I feel ashamed even saying the words but I just need to stress how important this is.”

“OK,” Luke seemed to accept what Harry said, “go on.”

Once again Harry seemed to hesitate – as if he was unsure where to start. Finally he began again.

“Most of the ingredients in so-called “power drinks” are very similar,” he said, “the main component is caffeine – because people need the rush, the buzz, usually to keep themselves awake. However, can you imagine what would happen if something was discovered that was completely natural but had no side-affects?”

Luke stiffened. “Are you saying that you've found something?” he asked.

Harry nodded. “Well – it wasn't me who found it but I've been chiefly instrumental into developing the ingredient. We actually test loads of different things every year – some of them are weird and wonderful. A lot of what we look at is from the Amazon – there are thousands of plants, blooms, trees etc. that could hold the answer to many of the world's health problems and we have barely scratched the surface. A few years ago we started looking at a fruit we found in the Colombian part of the Amazon basin – in a region called Putumayo.”

Harry paused to sip his beer. “This fruit has largely been ignored by the natives because they find it more profitable to grow other – erm, more commercially viable products.”

Luke grinned – he knew exactly what Harry meant.

“Anyway,” Harry continued, “we started work with this fruit and the results have been remarkable. They have passed all our stringent tests and it will be the main ingredient in Ed's new power drink – TxT Plus. We are checking and re-checking all our data but we are confident that we will be able to launch the new drink next year and Ed will make a fortune.”

Luke didn't know what to say. “Well,” he began, “that sounds great but it doesn't really explain why you can't walk away from Ed – unless he has you tied up with some kind of confidentiality clause?”

Harry shook his head. “No, it's nothing like that,” he said, “the problem is that I think that the Putumayo fruit could eventually lead to a possible cure for Alzheimer's!”