The clock on the wall of Michael Sterling office ticked loudly. It was 8 PM. Three hours left until the window closed forever.

The office looked like a war zone. There were pizza boxes stacked on the floor. There were papers covering every inch of the desk. Arthur Milton was sitting on the floor with two phones held to his ears and a headset on his head.

"No!" Arthur shouted into the left phone. "We do not want to sell Diego Nunez! Even for fifty million! He will eat your scouts if they come near him!"

He listened to the right phone.

"Yes! The plane is waiting! Tell the pilot to keep the engine running! Tell him to fly like he is escaping a volcano!"

Michael Sterling stood by the window. He was watching the crowd outside.

Usually there were ten journalists at the gate. Tonight there were hundreds. They sensed something. They smelled blood in the water. The rumors about Osimhen and Endrick had leaked.

"Status report Arthur," Michael said calmly.

Arthur hung up both phones. He looked exhausted. He had tomato sauce on his chin.

"Napoli are fighting," Arthur said breathlessly. "Their president is screaming in Italian. He says Osimhen is his son. He says we are stealing his crown jewel. But Osimhen is pushing. He told them he has already packed his masks."

"And Madrid?"

"Madrid is quiet," Arthur said. "Too quiet. We triggered the clause. The low release clause. They are in shock. They are trying to call Endrick dad. But Endrick dad is not answering. I think he is on our plane."

Michael felt a buzz in his pocket. The System.

[DEADLINE DAY EVENT]

[TIME REMAINING: 179 MINUTES]

[OBJECTIVE: COMPLETE THE GOD SQUAD]

[SUCCESS RATE: 45 PERCENT]

[REWARD: A DYNASTY FOR THE AGES]

"Forty five percent," Michael whispered. "I like those odds."

THE NAPOLI DRAMA

9 PM. Two hours left.

The phone on Michael desk rang. It was the secure line.

"Hello," Michael answered.

"Mr Sterling," a voice said. It was Aurelio De Laurentiis. The owner of Napoli. He sounded like a movie villain. "You are a very annoying man."

"I try my best Aurelio," Michael said.

"Victor wants to leave," Aurelio sighed. "He says he wants to play in the rain. He says he wants to play with the crazy bald man. I do not understand."

"It is the charm of Yorkshire," Michael said. "We have good tea."

"I want one hundred and twenty million," Aurelio demanded.

"We agreed on a loan with obligation," Michael countered. "Ten million now. One hundred million in summer. If we qualify for Champions League."

"And if you do not qualify?"

"We will," Michael said. "With Victor we will."

There was a silence. Michael could hear Arthur chewing his fingernails in the background.

"Fine," Aurelio grunted. "Take him. But if he gets cold send him back. He hates the cold."

"We will buy him a heater," Michael promised.

The line went dead.

"Napoli is done!" Michael shouted. "Get the paperwork Arthur! Send the fax!"

"The fax machine is jammed!" Arthur screamed running to the corner. "It has a paper jam! Why do we still use technology from the 1980s?!"

"Fix it Arthur! Use your tie! Use a fork! Just fix it!"

Arthur kicked the machine. It whirred. It buzzed. Then it spat out the paper.

"It works!" Arthur cheered. "The machine was just hungry!"

THE MADRID SILENCE

10 PM. One hour left.

Osimhen was signed. The paperwork was lodged with the FA.

But the big one was still pending.

Endrick.

The boy wonder.

Real Madrid had finally woken up. They realized the clause was real. They realized they were about to lose the biggest talent of the generation for the price of a standard defender.

Michael phone rang again.

"Michael," a voice said. It was Perez. The boss of bosses.

"Florentino," Michael said respectfully.

"You are playing a dangerous game," Perez said smoothly. "Endrick is a Madrid player. He is the future of the Bernabeu."

"He is the future of the bench in Madrid," Michael said boldly. "Here he is the King. He wants to play Florentino. You know this."

"We can offer him a new contract," Perez said. "More money."

"It is not about money," Michael said. "It is about the ball. He wants the ball."

There was a long pause.

"If you take him," Perez said his voice cold. "We will remember this. When we meet in the Champions League we will not be friends."

"I look forward to it," Michael said.

He hung up.

"He is threatening us," Michael said to Arthur.

"That means we won," Arthur grinned. "If they are threatening it means they have lost control."

Suddenly the door burst open.

It was not a lawyer. It was not an agent.

It was Diego Nunez.

The giant defender was wearing his pajamas. They had little cartoon cows on them.

"Papa Michael!" Diego shouted. "I cannot sleep! The internet says new friends are coming! Are they coming?"

"Go to bed Diego," Michael said. "We are busy."

"I saw a car at the gate," Diego said eyes wide. "A black car. It had dark windows. Is it the Brazilian baby? I want to say hello!"

Michael looked at Arthur.

"Is he here?"

"The plane landed thirty minutes ago," Arthur checked his watch. "If the traffic was good... he should be here."

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

10:45 PM. Fifteen minutes left.

The hallway outside the office was noisy. Footsteps. Lots of footsteps.

The door opened.

A young boy walked in. He looked small next to Diego Nunez. But he walked with a swagger. He wore a baseball cap and a diamond earring.

Endrick.

Behind him was his agent and his father.

"Welcome," Michael said standing up.

"Is this the place?" Endrick asked looking around the messy office. "Is this where the magic happens?"

"This is where the work happens," Michael said. "The magic happens on the pitch."

Diego Nunez stepped forward. He looked at Endrick.

Endrick looked at Diego.

Diego poked Endrick arm.

"He is solid," Diego announced. "Like a little rock."

Endrick smiled. "You are the Bull. I saw you on TikTok. You are crazy."

"I am passionate," Diego corrected. "Welcome to the family little rock."

"We need to sign," Arthur shouted waving a pen. "Ten minutes! The window closes in ten minutes!"

Endrick sat down. He looked at the contract.

"No bench?" Endrick asked.

"No bench," Michael promised. "You play. You score. You become a legend."

Endrick took the pen.

He signed.

Arthur grabbed the paper. He ran to the fax machine. He ran like Usain Bolt.

He fed the paper in.

"Go!" Arthur screamed at the machine. "Send it! Fly you digital pigeons!"

The machine beeped.

TRANSMISSION COMPLETE.

10:58 PM.

Done.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT

11:00 PM. The window slammed shut.

Michael Sterling collapsed into his chair. He felt like he had run a marathon while carrying a fridge.

"We did it," Michael whispered. "We actually did it."

"We signed Osimhen and Endrick in two hours," Arthur said. He was lying on the floor staring at the ceiling. "We just broke the simulation Boss. The world is going to explode."

"Let it explode," Michael smiled.

He picked up his tablet. The media team was ready.

"Post the video," Michael ordered.

THE VIDEO

On social media millions of fans were refreshing their feeds. They were waiting.

Then the official Barnsley account posted a video.

The screen was black.

A beat started playing. A heavy drum beat.

A pair of eyes appeared. Wearing a black mask.

I AM THE HUNTER.

Victor Osimhen stepped out of the shadows wearing the purple kit. He pointed to the badge.

Then the screen flashed.

A silhouette of a young boy juggling a ball.

I AM THE FUTURE.

Endrick turned around. He winked. He was wearing the number 9 shirt.

Then Diego Nunez appeared in the middle. He had his arms around both of them.

WE ARE THE MISFITS.

The video ended with the club motto: THE DYNASTY IS AWAKE.

THE REACTION

The internet broke.

Twitter crashed for five minutes.

When it came back the comments were a tidal wave.

User KingBarnsley: IS THIS REAL LIFE?? OSIMHEN AND ENDRICK??

User LiverpoolFan: Okay I am scared now. They have a super team.

User MadridUltra: Give us back our boy! This is robbery!

User BullFan: DIEGO HAS NEW BROTHERS! WE WIN THE LEAGUE!

Julian Thorne the owner called Michael.

"Michael!" Julian shouted. "The server for the club shop just melted! We sold fifty thousand shirts in ten minutes! We are rich! well we spent all the money but we will be rich again!"

"It is a good investment Julian," Michael laughed.

THE QUIET AFTER THE STORM

Midnight.

The office was finally quiet. Diego had gone back to bed dreaming of trophies. Arthur had fallen asleep on the sofa clutching a slice of pizza.

Michael stood by the window.

He looked down at the training pitch. It was dark and empty.

But in his mind he saw them.

He saw Victor Osimhen running in behind. He saw Endrick dribbling past three defenders. He saw Leo Stone creating magic. He saw Sergio Ramos and Diego Nunez guarding the wall. He had started with a team of rejects. A team of misfits.

He looked at the tiny shoes on his shelf. The baby was due any day now.

"You are going to grow up in a very interesting world," Michael whispered to the shoes.

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