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  When David boarded the bus, he noticed the front part of the bus was almost empty as there were only about five or six girls that were returning to the resort. The rest had headed home with their parents. The back of the bus was filled with the boys’ team who seemed much louder than normal in their excitement about making it to the championship game. David noticed Ashley sitting alone about half-way back on the bus. As he started the walk toward the back of the bus, he stopped at Ashley’s seat.

  “This seat taken?” he asked as he threw his jacket on the seat.

  Ashley beamed when he sat down beside her. They didn’t really say much to each other as they both put their ear buds in and turned on their iPods to listen to music during the drive to the resort. They hoped no one noticed when they secretly held hands underneath David’s jacket that lay between them.

  But the coach had noticed. He wasn’t born yesterday either.

  * * *

  The dining room at the resort had a different feel to it when the players from the various teams gathered for supper that night as there was much more tension in the air. The players from David’s team eyed the players from the North Bay team and they were doing the same in return. You could tell they were each assessing each other.

  “Boy, those guys are huge,” Alex said to David as he scanned the players sitting at the North Bay table. “They must put something in the water up in North Bay.”

  “The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” David said. “Number 18 is their leading scorer. Do you know which one he is?”

  “I think he’s the one second from the end,” Alex said. “He’s the one that looks like he’s grown a full beard since breakfast.”

  They hadn’t played each other in the preliminary rounds, but both teams had won all of their games. The North Bay team had won their games by quite a margin.

  The tension continued in the games room that evening. Even players from teams that had already been eliminated from the championship game seemed to have a bit of chip on their shoulder. A couple of players from an Ottawa team that had been beaten soundly by the North Bay team had come up to David to offer suggestions on strategy and to wish them well in the championship game.

  “Number 16, the blonde guy, is the playmaker,” one of the Ottawa players had told him. “If you go for the ball when he has it, he can make you look real stupid. So, stay back on him and let him make the first move. He’s always looking to make a pass so don’t worry about him shooting. Number 18 is their finisher. He plays real physical. He’d rather run over you than around you. Good luck tomorrow. I hope you guys win.”

  “I hope you fucking kill them,” said another player from the Ottawa team who had been listening to the conversation. He was sporting a large bruise on his cheek which he had received from number 18.

  The number of players in the games room was starting to thin out. David and Alex decided to head off to their room in the Birch lodge. However, when they were heading out of the main lodge, David saw Ashley sitting alone on one of the benches on the veranda.

  “I’ll catch up with you,” David said to Alex as he headed over towards Ashley.

  Her eyes lit up as she saw him approach. “Jessica headed home with her parents after the game today so I’m alone in my room in the Oak lodge,” whispered Ashley, pausing at the end trying to gauge David’s reaction. “Just saying…”

  David knew exactly what she was saying. “I don’t think I can chance it,” David said. “It’s the championship game tomorrow and I’d get suspended if we got caught.” He sensed Ashley’s disappointment. “It’s not that I don’t want to,” he continued.

  “I know,” Ashley sighed. “You’re probably right.”

  “Curfew is in 25 minutes,” said a loud voice coming from behind them. It was his coach. He was making his announcement to the dozen or so students who were hovering outside the main lodge, but David noticed he was looking right at him when he said it.

  “Good luck tomorrow,” Ashley said, giving David’s hand a squeeze before she started walking away towards her lodge.

  David turned and walked towards his coach. “Big game tomorrow - I’ll be sure to get a good night’s sleep.”

  “And don’t be in the bathroom again tonight when I do my curfew check,” said the coach.

  * * *

  The next day, the stands were about half full at the championship game as both teams were going through their warm-ups, although there was a steady stream of people still arriving. David was pleased to see his dad and his grandmother already seated up near the back of the stands and he waved to them when he saw them. David knew his dad liked sitting near the top of the stands so he could better see plays develop across the entire field.

  David saw his uncle Alan climbing the stairs towards where they were sitting. He was pleased to see his uncle had come, although he still felt a little uneasy around him since his meltdown several weeks ago. David had tried to be friendly toward his uncle, mostly to please his dad, but he was also a little intrigued by him. Uncle Alan was full of interesting stories, although David suspected most only existed in his fantasy bipolar world.

  David also saw Ashley sitting with some other girls directly behind the players’ bench. He headed over and took a swig from his water bottle, but he wasn’t really thirsty. It was just an excuse so he could say hello to Ashley.

  The coach called all of the players over and told the players to take off their practice jerseys and put on their game jerseys. David could sense that his teammates were all quite nervous as there wasn’t the normal amount of pre-game chatter. Since this was the championship game, they had been told to line up on either side of midfield as all of the players would be introduced. The North Bay players were introduced first and there were small cheers as each player’s name came over the loudspeakers. You could tell where each player’s family and friends were sitting because that’s where each cheer would be the loudest. David waited for his name to be called as they announced each of his teammates going in order of their jersey number.

  “Number 14, David Shaw,” said the voice over the loudspeaker. David took one step forward and did a small wave to the stands. There was a small cheer from the stands, but David could hear his Uncle Alan’s voice over them all.

  “Number 15, Alex B….” and there was a pause by the announcer. The team started to chuckle because they all knew who’s name the announcer was struggling to pronounce. He wasn’t the first and he wouldn’t be the last person to have trouble pronouncing it.

  “B-B-Budge-ace-zeck,” he finally spit out.

  “Bee-a-chuck,” the team shouted in unison, continuing to laugh.

  Alex’s last name was spelled B-u-j-a-c-z-e-k and he was always amazed that no one seemed to know how to pronounce it. Although Alex was slightly embarrassed, the incident seemed to remove all of the tension in the team. The normal pre-game chatter and joking around had now returned.

  Once the game started, the North Bay team had the Warriors on the defensive from the opening whistle. They scored on a corner kick about 10 minutes into the game when number 18 basically ran over Alex and headed the ball into the net. The Warriors screamed for a foul to be called but the referee ignored their complaints. Worse still, Alex had been injured on the play and was now limping noticeably. The coach offered to take Alex out of the game, but he refused and told the coach he thought he could play through it.

  During a stoppage in play, the coach called David and Alex to the sidelines. “How’s your leg?” the coach asked.

  “OK,” Alex said. The coach realized Alex was lying but knew he wasn’t going to leave the game as long as he could walk.

  “David, I want you to play man-on-man on number 18, regardless of where he goes on the field,” the coach said. “Alex, you move to right defence and let me know if your leg gets worse. And tell Michael I want him to move from mid-field back to help out on defence.”

  David knew he was in for a challenge. David’s advantage had always been his speed a
nd he was significantly faster than number 18, but David was basically skin and bones and this opponent out-weighed him by at least thirty pounds. As the game continued, David found himself getting pushed around. But he refused to back down, despite receiving numerous elbows to the ribs. He was now giving as good as he was getting and they had both been warned by the referee about the physical play.

  The North Bay team had lost some of their momentum as David had pretty much removed their finisher from any further scoring chances. However, the Warriors hadn’t shown much offence themselves so remained down by a goal at the half.

  As David sat on the bench at half-time, he lifted his jersey to see several bruises on his ribs. They hurt a little now but he knew they would hurt significantly more later. Several of his teammates came over and patted him on the shoulder and told him to keep up to the good play. The coach decided to pull Alex from the game at half-time as his limp was getting worse and worse. They felt like they were in a war.

  About ten minutes into the second half, David was given a vicious elbow to the side of the head which sent him to the ground. “What the fuck was that?” David said as he got up and pushed his opponent square in the chest, sending him flying backwards and onto his ass. It was hard to tell who was more surprised. David didn’t know he had that kind of strength. The referee gave them both yellow cards.

  After that, number 18 wasn’t nearly as physical. David wasn’t sure if it was because he had stood up to him or whether he was afraid of getting another card, which would mean he’d be kicked out of the game. However, the Warriors couldn’t seem to mount an attack to get the tying goal. When the final whistle blew, they all slumped to the field, but it was hard to tell whether it was from disappointment or just sheer exhaustion. It seemed to take them forever to take off their cleats and shin pads after the game was over. Many of the players just sat on the bench staring into the sky wondering if there was anything they could have done differently.

  “David, Alex, could I talk to you for a few minutes?” shouted the coach who was standing with two other men over near the fence.

  David and Alex looked at each other wondering what this was about, but got up and hobbled over to where they were standing. When they got there, the coach introduced them to the two strangers and then left them to talk to each other.

  “Great game,” said one of the men.

  “Yeah, but we lost,” replied both David and Alex, almost in unison.

  “We’ve been watching both of you throughout this tournament,” he continued. “We’ve been impressed by your speed and your skills, but we both liked how you didn’t back down when the play got more physical.”

  “Thanks,” they replied.

  The other fellow now spoke. “We’d like you both to come out for a camp we’re holding for the Under-19 National Team,” he said.

  David and Alex looked at each other, both wide-eyed in amazement. “Sure,” they both said, although they still really didn’t understand it all. The two men each handed them their business cards and said they’d be contacting them within a few weeks with more details.

  As David and Alex headed back to their bench, the coach was waiting for them with a big smile on his face. “Congratulations guys,” he said. “They’ve been scouting you for a while. I’m glad it worked out for both of you.”

  The coach announced to the rest of the team that David and Alex had been asked to try out for the Under-19 National Team, and all of their teammates came over to offer their congratulations. Suddenly, losing the provincial championship game didn’t seem so important.

  As David headed off the field, Ashley came running towards him and gave him a big hug. She felt him wince in pain. “Sorry,” she said, lifting his jersey to see several bruises. “Oh my God, what did he do to you?”

  “I’m OK,” David said, “but I think I need another hug.” Ashley gave him another hug, but a lighter one this time. “Perfect,” David said, dropping his soccer bag and hugging her back.

  “I gotta go,” Ashley said, looking over her shoulder and seeing that the bus was getting ready to leave. “See you at school tomorrow.”

  David saw his dad, grandma and Uncle Alan waiting over by the gate. When he got there, he showed them the business cards and told them that both he and Alex had been asked to try out for the U19 National Team.

  “Good for you,” Henry said.

  His grandmother seemed more concerned about his bruises. “They play awfully rough,” she said.

  “Boy, the National Team,” said Uncle Alan. “I always knew you’d be on the world stage at some point.”

  *** Chapter 12 ***

  Alan quietly clicked the keys on his laptop computer.

  “Welcome, Goliath”

  “Retrieve instructions,” he typed at the simple “>” prompt.

  “Package to be delivered to New York,” the computer displayed after a few seconds. As expected, a tiny icon appeared in the lower right portion of the screen.

  When Alan clicked on the icon, a small door opened on the side of the computer and a tray slid out. But this was not to load a CD – it was much too small. Alan opened his desk drawer and pulled a tiny plastic object from a box containing a dozen or so similar objects. He carefully inserted the object onto the tray and pushed it back into the computer.

  “Package created,” the computer displayed on the screen after a few seconds and the small door opened so that Alan could retrieve it from the tray. He carefully placed it in a small plastic bag for protection and then placed it in a small compartment in his wallet. He had no idea what was in the package, but that was not his job. His responsibility was simply to prepare it for transportation. The person that received the package would require their own device and password to decrypt the contents of the package. Alan knew exactly who he would have to contact to deliver the package to New York.

  * * *

  Henry awoke when his plane touched down in Chicago on Monday morning. He normally couldn’t sleep on planes but he’d been burning the candle at both ends lately and the brief catnap he’d had on the short flight from Toronto to Chicago did him a world of good.

  He would be in Chicago for the next three days as there was a lot of work to do with various software upgrades. When he got to the Chicago office, two of the vendors who were doing the upgrades were waiting for him when he arrived. They would be the ones doing the actual hands-on work, but it was up to Henry to make sure that any roadblocks were cleared and they didn’t get in each other’s way during the process. These guys weren’t cheap so it was important that they completed their work as quickly as possible.

  Henry checked on both of them at lunch, but they were both locked into their tasks and didn’t want to take a break. He had the impression that these guys actually preferred eating pizza while sitting at their keyboards anyway. Since things were going well, Henry decided to head out to grab a sandwich at the local Subway outlet. He decided to sit on the concrete edge of one of the many flower stands and eat outside. He was not alone as it was a beautiful day and with the cold weather fast approaching, there wouldn’t be many more warm days like today before the snow flew. It was no coincidence that he happened to be sitting outside of the Tribune Tower. He had come here many times since running into Samantha, but had not seen her since. He hoped he would see her and Tammy heading out for lunch someday, but there had been no such luck.

  Henry had just finished eating and was getting ready to head back to work when he saw Samantha emerge from the Tribune Tower. He was pretty sure she saw him, but she just kept walking like she was going somewhere important. Henry debated running after her, but decided against it. He checked his watch and noticed it was 12:30 and decided to get back to his own office.

  It was no coincidence that Henry was at the exact same spot the next day at 12:30 when Samantha emerged from the building. He knew for sure that she saw him this time because he saw her pause debating whether to come over. He pretended to be reading a newspaper that he had brought a
long with him that day, but he wasn’t fooling anyone.

  “You wouldn’t be stalking me, would you?” Samantha asked as she leaned against the concrete flowerbed beside him.

  “It’s just such a nice day to be outside,” Henry replied, ignoring her question.

  Samantha paused before continuing the conversation. “I suggested that she might want to see you again, but she says she’s not ready.” Samantha smiled at Henry. “She’s going through some things right now.”

  “Anything I can help with?” Henry asked, fishing for any kind of clue. Samantha seemed to be pondering her answer which gave Henry some hope, but that was quickly shattered.

  “Not right now,” she said. “I gotta go,” she said as she walked away.

  Henry was back at the same place at the same time the next day when Samantha emerged from the Tribune Tower. This time she headed directly over to talk to him. “It’s amazing the weather we’re having,” Henry said to her as she approached. “This has been three great days in a row.”

  “Come with me,” Samantha said as she grabbed Henry’s hand. Henry followed her, but had no idea where she was taking him. “She’s in the hospital,” Samantha said as they walked.

  “Is she OK?”

  “No,” replied Samantha, but that was all that she said.

  Henry wanted to just drill her with questions, but thought of the advice he had received from Greg Blackwood. “Sometimes you get the sense that a person wants to tell you something and all you have to do is stand back and let them tell it,” he recalled. Henry didn’t say a word.

  “She’s going to absolutely kill me,” Samantha said, trying to relieve her own guilt. “But I can’t seem to get through to her and I think she needs your help.” Samantha stopped walking and looked at Henry. “She has breast cancer,” she said, seeming relieved that she’d finally gotten it out. She turned and continued to walk. “She had a mastectomy several weeks ago. The surgery went very well and they think she’s going to fully recover, but she’s not doing very well psychologically right now. That’s normal, given the situation, but she’s refusing any counseling and she seems to be getting more and more depressed. I visit her every day and she’s getting worse and worse and I don’t know what to do.” Henry and Samantha continued to walk. “That’s why she picked you up in the airport that day,” Samantha continued. “She’s convinced herself that no man is ever going to look at her the same way from now on. She wanted one last time where she knew she was sexually desirable. I tried to talk her out of it. Now she’s convinced herself that no man will ever want her again.”