Strikers Instinct (17 page)

Everyone was very surprised that the rest of the week continued without incident. Each day at the training camp the mood seemed to lift a little until by Friday things seemed almost back to normal. This was due in no small way to Jake Pryce who seemed go out of his way to be nice to everyone. He wasn't sickly-sweet nice but he was pleasant and courteous and this seemed to win over several of the doubters. There were still one or two however who would not be swayed.

“He was exactly like this at the last club.” Stan said. “Nice as pie for a while then he just flips and doesn't care who he hurts.”

Adi agreed. “I'm not hanging around here to put up with all that again – as soon as my agent sorts out a move I'll be on my way. It's sad really because I've been happy here and I think we could go all the way this year but I know he'll screw it up for everyone.”

Jake was early for training each day and did everything he was asked without complaint and then at the end of each day he did extra training alone. Sandy shook his head.

“Either he has been abducted by aliens,” he said, “or everything we have all heard about him was wrong.”

One person who was very happy about the peace and calm was Ed – he took every opportunity to tell everyone that he had been proved right and that Jake would be a great long-term asset for the club. Luke wasn't so sure – he had a bad feeling about the whole situation. He laughed to himself that it may be the plant extract sending him a message!

Harry questioned Luke daily about any possible reaction to the treatment but in all honesty Luke felt no difference at all. In one sense he was disappointed but in another he was relieved – but he felt like he was letting Harry down. By Friday afternoon Luke had stopped expecting something to happen and everyone else was distracted by the preparations for the club pre-season tour. The first-team squad were going out to Holland for a week where they would play three friendly games against hand-picked opposition. Sandy wanted to really push the team so that he could assess if they still needed to sign other players before the season started. He also wanted to spend the time away building the team spirit within the club.

The squad were due to fly out on Saturday morning but Luke didn't have an invitation to join them. Harry said that if he really wanted to go then he could probably make it happen but Luke didn't want to rock the boat – he had a few things he needed to do at home anyway. Both Stan and Adi were also allowed to stay back in Wishton and there were also a few players with injuries who carried on with their treatment rather than travel to Holland.

The following week the training ground seemed deserted and Luke decided only to train for a few hours in the morning and use the afternoons to catch up on some business work and also to take Sue out to lunch a couple of days. She was spending less and less time at her old job at the moment and was counting down the days to her new role.

The week went by quickly with very little news coming back to the training ground from Holland. It seemed that the team had won their first two games and were due to travel back home after their final game on Friday. It had been a good week for Luke. He continued training each day but had managed to catch up with a lot of his business commitments each afternoon. He did so well that he decided to take Friday afternoon off and spend some time at one of his favourite hobbies.

Apart from spending time with his dad watching Wishton Clough, Luke also used to go with his father to watch horse racing. Haydock Park near Wigan was the closest track to Wishton and Luke and his dad spent many happy days at the Lancashire track – all year round. He noticed that there was a meeting on Friday afternoon and in the middle of the week he asked if any of the few remaining players would like to be his guest at Haydock on Friday? Adi and Stan both agreed along with a couple of the walking wounded so Luke booked a box and all was set.

One of the reasons Luke was keen to go to Haydock was to meet up with an old friend who was a trainer. Ever since his retirement Luke had been considering buying a racehorse and he was going to speak to his friend to get some more details. Not many people knew about it but Luke liked to gamble – in fact Luke was quite a good gambler. Frequently during many of his overseas trips he had played poker and backgammon to combat the boredom – usually just for a couple of pounds – but he also liked to have occasional wagers on the horses. More importantly, he knew his limits and he knew when to stop.

After training on Friday the small group of players and Luke left the ground and travelled to Haydock Park. On arrival they were taken through to Luke's private box where they enjoyed a buffet meal. Luke introduced them to his friend the trainer who passed on a few tips for the afternoon before presenting Luke with information about the horse he was interested in. Luke said he would look at the details over the weekend and discuss things with Sue.

The afternoon then fell into a familiar rhythm. Before each race some of the group would go out to the parade ring to watch the horses before they were saddled and then they would place their bets and retreat to the box to watch the race in comfort. One or two of the group had wins in the first few races but Luke hadn't had any luck – but to be fair there wasn't anything that he had really fancied.

Luke walked down alone to the parade ring before the start of the fourth race – studying his race card as he walked. There were one or two horses he was interested in but as he leaned on the rail to take a closer look he suddenly felt a strange sensation come over him. it was hard to describe but as he looked at the horses being led around the parade ring his eyes were drawn to one horse in particular. There was something about number 5 that seemed to make it stand out from the others. He looked at his race card and saw that number five was called Xanadu Boy. The horse seemed to have decent form in the previous season but hadn't done anything in two runs so far this season. However, Luke noted that both his runs this season had been over shorter distances than last year – and in addition the horse had won at Haydock before.

The horse certainly seemed full of life – positively bouncing around the parade ring and then Luke watched as his jockey mounted and guided him towards the start. He couldn't explain why but he was sure that the horse would win – or at least give a very good account of himself. Luke headed back into the members enclosure and then out towards the major bookmakers who were strung out along the rails. He quickly scanned the odds displayed by each bookie and noted that Xanadu Boy was available generally at odds of six to one – then he noted that one bookmaker was offering seven to one. He quickly pushed his way through and held out his hand.

“A grand on Xanadu Boy please.” Luke offered a roll of cash to the bookie who shot him a questioning glance before muttering something to his assistant. Luke received his ticket and noted that the bookmaker had immediately shortened the odds on his board to five to one.

Luke made his way back up to the box and arrived just as the horses were entering the stalls. The occupants of the box compared notes – between them they seemed to have placed a bet on every horse in the race! Their conversation was interrupted by the commentator announcing that the race had started. They stood on the balcony of the box and had a panoramic view of the picturesque course. The current race was over one mile two furlongs and the start was on the opposite side of the course.

In the centre of the course was a massive screen and Luke's attention kept flicking from the live action to the close-up images on the screen. He noted that Xanadu Boy had been settled in midfield and seemed to be going quite easily. Within seconds the horses had turned into the home straight and the race began in earnest. One or two horses began to drop away and although Xanadu Boy kept his place he didn't seem to be making any progress. With three furlongs to go Luke began to feel that he had misread all the signals. Maybe he was trying too hard and looking for instincts or feelings that simply weren't there?

Then the horses were into the final two furlongs and Xanadu boy was still sitting in around fifth place when suddenly his jockey seemed to raise his whip for the first time. The jockey didn't hit the horse but just waved the whip past the side of his head – Xanadu Boy saw the whip flash past his eye and seemed to understand what was expected of him. Within a few strides Luke was astonished to see that he had passed three of the horses in front of him and was now sitting in the slipstream of the leader. With half a furlong to go the leading horse seemed to be tiring and Xanadu Boy cruised up effortlessly on his outside and went on to win the race in almost a casual manner.

Luke stopped himself from jumping in the air but his mind was whirling. Was this what Harry had described – had the treatment actually began to heighten his senses? Luke slipped out of the box and walked down to the line of bookmakers. Not many were paying out as Xanadu Boy had been generally un-fancied. Luke approached the bookie he had placed the bet with and presented his ticket.

“Well done sir!” the bookie cheerfully congratulated Luke as he handed across eight thousand pounds. A casual bystander might wonder why he was so happy at handing out such a large sum of money but Luke knew that the fancied favourite would have been well backed and that the bookmaker would have more than covered his loss to Luke. He placed the bundle in his inside pocket and went back upstairs. As he walked away a couple of spectators nodded to each other.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. Luke didn't have any more flashes of inspiration – nor did he have any more winners but everyone had enjoyed themselves and Luke had more than covered the cost of the day with his winnings. The meeting was over and Luke's group had a last drink as they waited for the transport that he had arranged. Luke received a call to say that the cars were at the gate and they set off downstairs through the almost deserted stands. Just before they reached the bottom Luke was side-tracked by his friend the trainer and by the time he managed to get away the others had gone outside. Luke took a short cut between two large buildings along a narrow passageway when he suddenly felt a strange sensation that he was in danger. Whirling he saw two young men coming up fast behind him. He realised that he had seen them before – when he was getting his money from the bookie.

Without a sound they both threw themselves at Luke but they had lost the advantage of surprise – plus the passageway was too narrow for them both to attack Luke at the same time. They were surprised that Luke advanced quickly towards them instead of running away and he suddenly lashed out with his foot and connected with his first attacker's groin. The second attacker fell over his mate and his chin collided with Luke's right fist. As both men hit the ground Luke stamped down hard on their knees and their screams pierced the calm of the afternoon. In a matter of seconds the danger was gone and both Luke's assailants were writhing in agony on the floor. Luke heard another sound behind him and whirled to face another attack. Instead he was faced with a wide-eyed Adi and Stan who were holding up their hands to warn Luke that they were on his side! They had heard the screams and had rushed to check that Luke was OK.

“Shall we get the police?” asked Stan.

“No point,” said Luke, “just a misunderstanding – lets go.”

Luke and his guests climbed into the awaiting cars and Stan and Adi couldn't help noticing that Luke was completely calm – not even slightly out of breath or sweating. Considering they had just seen him leave two men unable to walk, they began to wonder what any of them really knew about Luke Linden?

Luke spent some time on Friday evening talking to Harry about what had happened earlier in the day at Haydock Park. Harry was very happy. He explained to Luke that the two reactions that Luke had encountered fitted perfectly into the pattern he expected. Luke had dabbled in gambling all his life so the fact that he had recognised a likely winner wasn't some kind of new-found gift – it was simply an extension of existing life skills that Luke already possessed.

Harry felt the same way about the second incident. Luke had spent most of his adult life exploring different types of martial arts so once again he wasn't being given something he didn't already possess. The warning bells that rang when his attackers were approaching were – in Harry's opinion – a heightened awareness of something Luke already had. Harry also did a few basic checks to make sure that Luke was still in good working order and then he asked Luke how he felt.

“Perfectly fine.” Luke answered honestly. “I just feel – well – normal. If it hadn't been for those two weird feelings then it would have been just an ordinary day.”

“It's hardly an ordinary day when you put two people in hospital.” Harry frowned. “You need to start thinking about keeping a lower profile.”

Luke's shrugged. “What did you expect me to do – hand over my money and probably still get thumped?”

“No.” Harry replied. “I know violence is only ever a last resort for you but it would have been inconvenient if you had ended up in the police station.”

“Inconvenient!” snorted Luke. “It would have been a lot more “inconvenient” if I had ended up in hospital!”

“Fair point.” Harry admitted. “And on that note, I have checked up on your two friends.”

“How did you do that?” asked Luke. “Hang on, that was a stupid question given that between the two of us we probably know half the people in this town.”

Harry grinned. “Do you remember Jan Townsley?”

“Didn't she used to go to school with Sue?” Luke replied.

“Yep – she was in the same class at Junior school as Sue and I and then she went to the convent school with Sue. She went into the police force and after working all over the north west she is now back in Wishton as a Detective Inspector.”

“And don't tell me – she is one of your patients?” asked Luke with a smile.

“No actually, I think she thinks it would be a bit weird – seeing as we both went to the same Junior school, “ Harry responded, “but her parents are on my books and I still bump into Jan and her husband from time to time.”

“And?” Luke felt like he was dragging the story from Harry.

“And she was down at the hospital earlier with two mugging victims who were unwilling to explain what had happened to them.” Harry explained. “I pretended to be interested in their condition and Jan confided in me that something didn't smell right – they both had criminal records for theft and violence.”

Luke raised his eyebrows.

“Jan also said that in her opinion they probably tried to rob someone who gave them more than they bargained for……”

Luke smiled thinly.

“Anyway – it doesn't look like the matter will be going any further – they won't talk.” Harry explained. “Jan was also quite upset that there were no CCTV cameras in the area of the incident.”

Harry and Luke talked a while longer – Luke promised to call his friend if there were any more “occurrences”. Luke spent the rest of the weekend relaxing with his family and he was looking forward to getting back to the training ground on Monday morning to hear all about the pre-season tour.

Luke drove into the training ground and parked in his now-usual space. Maud was ready with his brew and for once she was unable to provide any gossip – no-one else had been in to see her yet and everything seemed very quiet. Soon Luke could hear other cars starting to arrive so he drained his mug, picked up his bag and headed towards the changing rooms.

At first everything seemed fine but then he began to notice a definite change within the group. A lot of the younger players seemed to be laughing and joking with Jake Pryce whereas most of the senior players seemed to be keeping their distance. Sandy came into the room and congratulated them on winning all three of the games during the tour and he said he now expected them to build on that success. However, Luke could tell that Sandy seemed uneasy and a little agitated. The players were ushered outside and then were split into the usual groups and training began.

Luke was itching to ask someone if something had happened during the previous week but he didn't want to be seen as prying and it was lunchtime before he found someone to talk to. The morning session was OK but Luke could sense a definite atmosphere and Luke was sure that he wasn't imagining that Jake Pryce seemed a lot louder than he had during his first few days at the club. He seemed to be constantly playing to an audience and some of the players were hanging on his every word.

During lunch Luke sat with Adi and Stan and as soon as he sat down Adi turned to him with a grin.

“Well – we warned everyone – and now it's started.” he said triumphantly.

“What do you mean?” asked Luke.

“Last week during the tour.” replied Stan. “Have you heard what happened?”

Luke shook his head.

“We've been told that as soon as they got on the plane Pryce started to play up,” explained Adi, “but he was very clever – he never openly defied Sandy or any of the staff.”

“So what did he do?” asked Luke.

“Apparently he just generally stirred it up – just like he always does.” Stan replied. “Playing jokes that were cruel rather than funny and trying to play cards for large stakes. Then he caused a few arguments between some of the players by setting one against the other. Whenever Sandy had to get involved Pryce would be innocently out of the way.”

“He's managed to create a split in the camp.” claimed Adi. “On the one side are all the young players who are eating up everything he tells them and on the other are people like us and – more importantly – the skipper. Seems like Pryce and the captain have clashed a few times already.”

Luke digested all this information and then looked around the room. He noticed that it did seem to be exactly as Adi and Stan suggested. Luke had become used to the players sitting in different places each day with no cliques or groups but now he could see that seemed a thing of the past. Towards one end of the room there was a group of mainly younger players centred around Jake Pryce and at the other end of the room were the rest of the players. Luke suddenly with a grin that he was sat with the group that seemed to represent the “anti-Jake” faction! He wondered whether that was just a coincidence or was his new sensitive nature trying to tell him something else?

He realised that Stan had been talking to him again and that he hadn't heard a word he had said.

“Sorry Stan,” he apologised, “I was miles away then.”

“You weren't dreaming of giving someone a good hiding where you?” asked Adi cheekily.

“Come on lads!” Luke protested. “We've been through this – it was self-defence and it's all done with.”

“OK,” grinned Stan, “but if we need someone to smack Jake Pryce then we are volunteering you for the job!”

Luke smiled ruefully. “Never mind that – what were you saying when I was dreaming?”

“I was just trying to make the point that Pryce is even making his usual impression on the pitch as well.” said Stan.

Luke waited for him to continue.

“He played a blinder in every match.” Stan explained. “Scored twice and made two other goals in the three games – just the same as always. He becomes popular with the fans whilst at the same time he's winding up half of the players.”

“Next thing it will be stage three.” said Adi ominously.

“Stage three?” repeated Luke.

“Stage three.” said Stan darkly. “That's when he starts messing about with players partners!”

“No way!” said Luke incredulously.

“It's true,” said Stan bitterly, “I should know – it happened to me.”

“I'm sorry.” said Luke. “I didn't know – I don't know what to say.”

“Don't worry.” Stan replied. “Everything is fine between me and my missus these days but I don't really want to talk about it.”

“I understand.” Luke said. Then he turned to Adi.

“Do you mind me asking what he did to upset you so much?”

Adi glowered then spoke. “Let's just say it was racially based and leave it at that.”

Luke nodded again and then the three of them settled into a silence that was only broken by the constant laughter from one end of the room.

Suddenly the door opened and Ed entered followed by a worried looking Sandy.

“Look at the gaffer.” Stan whispered. “He knows something is going on but Pryce is too smart to show his hand. He's just making bullets for everyone else to fire.”

Ed walked to the end of the room and held up his hands for some order.

“Gentlemen.” he began. “I'm sorry to disturb your lunch but this will only take a minute. I just wanted to remind you about an event taking place in a couple of weeks. We are holding a fund-raising event in conjunction with our sponsors and we would like you all – together with your partners – to attend. You will be given all the details and we hope to see you there. It's a very high profile event so I don't need to tell you all to be on your best behaviour! Thank you.”

Ed walked out of the room to a round of applause led by Jake Pryce and the pair shared a handshake as Ed passed Jake's table.

“Idiot!” Jake whispered to his cronies as Ed left the room. The table erupted with laughter and Luke suddenly had a sinking feeling about the upcoming function.