"THE PRINCE… IS BACK! THE GHOSTS…ARE… GONE!" the commentator was sobbing… with… joy… in Michael's ear. "A 30-YARD… LASER-BEAM! A SCREAMER! THE WEMBLEY… NIGHTMARE… IS… OVER! IT'S 2-0! AND… THIS… IS… NOT… A 'FRIENDLY'! THIS… IS… A… STATEMENT!"

Michael… just… pointed… up… at the sky. Just... like... Danny.

That... one... was for you, Dad, he thought, a fierce, proud... grin... on his face.

The game… restarted. And… Sunderland… were broken.

They… were Premier League. They… were *paid… millions.

And… they… were losing… 2-0… to a Championship… team… with a 16-year-old… basketball… player… strolling… around… *like… he… owned… *the… place.

They… were humiliated.

And… a humiliated… Premier League… team…

…is a dangerous… team.

Minute 55. The Sunderland... manager… had screamed… at them.

And… they attacked.

WHOMP!

Their star… £20-million-pound… striker… (the one "The Butcher"… hadn't… eaten… yet)…

…smashed… a shot.

A vicious, angry, "I'm-better-than-you"… volley.

It was going in.

"GOAL!" the Sunderland... fans… screamed.

But… Sam Jones… the "OP Keeper"

flew.

He… tipped… it… over!

Save!

"WHAT A SAVE!" the commentator yelled.

The corner flew in.

Chaos.

The ball… dropped… *to… *their… captain!

*He smashed it!

Sam dove again! Saved it with his… face!

"HE'S A WALL!"

The ball… bounced… out… AGAIN!

The winger… (the one "The Butcher"… had… eaten)… curled… it!

Sam… *who… *was… *still… *on… *the… ground… flung a HAND up!

And caught it.

Dead.

He didn't move.

He just lay there. Cradling the ball.

The entire… stadium…

…fans… from… both… teams…

…stood… up and clapped.

"SAMMY! SAMMY! SAMMY!"

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" the commentator gasped. "A TRIPLE SAVE! SAM JONES IS NOT HUMAN!"

Michael was laughing.

"That's my keeper!"

And now the game got nasty.

Sunderland couldn't score.

So… they wanted… to fight.

Minute 60:

The ball… came… *to… Kai.

The *Sunderland… midfielder… charged… him.

"I heard… about…*you, kid!" he sneered.

Kai… just… smirked.

Pop.

Nutmeg.

Again.

"OOOOOOOOOH!" the stadium… sang.

The midfielder… snapped.

He… didn't… turn. He… just… kicked… backwards.

He… clipped… Kai's… ankle.

PHWEEEEET!

Yellow Card. (1)

"He's… collecting… them!" Jessica cackled. "He… gets… players… booked… *just… by… WALKING!"

Michael… grinned. "He's… a *'foul-drawing… machine,' Jess. It's… his… *true… talent."

Minute 68.

The ball… flew… high.

Mateo, the [PA 88]... 'Magic Bean'... Left-Back…

…jumped… *for… it.

He… wasn't… scared… anymore.

He… won… it! A great… header!

…Right… into… the… path… *of… *the… *Sunderland… winger.

"Oh, no," Michael groaned.

The winger… exploded. He… was past… Mateo.

Mateo… panicked.

He… remembered… Arthur's… face.

He… didn't… think. He… grabbed.

A giant... handful... *of... shirt.

The winger... stopped... dead.

PHWEEEEET!

Yellow Card. (2)

"It's… okay, Mateo!" Michael yelled,… clapping. "A *'good'… foul!"

"He… *is... learning!" Arthur rasped,… applauding… *on… the… sideline.

Minute 75.

The game… was dying.

Sunderland… were broken. Barnsley… were just… passing.

Zip. Zip. Zip.

The ball… came… *to… him.

Shaun "The Butcher" Higgins.

He… trapped… it.

A Sunderland… striker… dared…*to… tackle… him.

He… just… stuck… an… arm… out.

The striker… bounced… off.

"The Butcher"… looked… down… at him.

He… looked… up. He… passed… it.

…And then… *the… striker… kicked… him. A petulant, angry, "you're-too-strong"… kick.

PHWEEEEET!

Yellow Card. (3)

That horrible, broken-toothed smile.

The striker… went… pale. He… knew… he… had… made… a… terrible… mistake.

"AND THAT'S… THREE… YELLOWS!" the commentator cackled. "THIS… ISN'T… A 'FRIENDLY'! IT'S A WARZONE! AND 'THE BUTCHER'… *IS… *THE… GENERAL!"

Minute 78. Barnsley got a corner.

The Fortress… stamped… *its… feet.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

They… knew… *what… *was… coming.

Raph, the 'Magician,'… trotted… over.

He… raised… *his… hand.

He… whipped… *it… in.

A perfect, curling, beautiful… cross.

It… flew… over… Kai's… head… (who… wasn't… jumping).

It flew over Jamie's head…

It… was going… to… the… back… post.

And who was that?

Who was that red monster climbing over everyone?

It was

HIM.

Shaun "The Butcher" Higgins.

He wasn't jumping. He was LEVITATING. He hung in the air. He met the ball.

THWACK!

A header.

A "welcome-to-my-house"… thunderbolt.

The goalkeeper… didn't… move.

The net… bulged.

3-0, BARNSLEY!

The stadium… detonated.

Michael… was screaming. His sister… was screaming. His Mom… was screaming.

*He… had… DONE… IT!

"THE BUTCHER! ON HIS DEBUT! A HEADER! FROM A CORNER!" the commentator was sobbing… with… joy. "HE… IS… A… MONSTER! HE IS… A… HERO! IT'S 3-0! AGAINST THE PREMIER… LEAGUE! THE 'FORTRESS'… IS… UNBEATABLE!"

"The Butcher"… didn't… smile.

He… didn't… celebrate.

He… just… snarled…

…grabbed… Mateo… (the "Magic Bean")... *by... the... shirt...

...shoved... him... towards... the halfway... line...

...and roared... one... word...

"AGAIN!"

Michael... just... laughed.

He… looked… at the scoreboard.

3-0.

Minute 89.

3-0.

A… penalty.

Who was taking it?

Jamie Weston, the "Rocket,"… stomped over.

He grabbed the ball.

"MINE!" he roared.

The stadium… cheered.

But then...

…a shadow.

Shaun "The Butcher" Higgins walked over.

He didn't say anything.

He… just looked at Jamie.

Gulp.

Jamie… who… was… [CA 71] and made of muscle…

…suddenly looked like a five-year-old.

He… just… handed… "The Butcher"… *the… ball.

"Uh… you… want… it, 'Butch'?" Jamie squeaked. "Go… on,… mate! *Fill… *your… boots!"

"The Butcher"… snarled. He… took… *the… ball.

The stadium… ROARED!

They… wanted… *the… monster… *to… score!

"The Butcher"… stomped… *to… *the… spot.

He… put… *the… ball… down.

He… was… going… *to… break… *the… net.

Michael… was buzzing. *This… *was… it!

And then…

"The Butcher"… stopped.

He… looked… around.

He… saw… him.

Kevin "The Ghost" Sullivan.

The "Ghost"… wasn'T… *in… *the… box.

He… was… standing… *on… *the… *halfway… line. *Doing… nothing.

"OI! GHOST!" "The Butcher" roared, his voice… *a… *gravelly… BULLHORN.

"The Ghost"… looked… up. Confused.

"The Butcher"… picked… up… *the… ball.

He… threw… it… *at… him.

"GET… OVER… HERE! IT'S *YOUR… TURN!"

The stadium… gasped.

Jamie… was… stunned.

Michael… blinked.

"WHAT… *IS… THIS?!" the commentator shrieked. "THE BUTCHER… *IS… *GIVING… *IT… AWAY! HE… WANTS… *THE… 'GHOST'… *TO… *TAKE… IT! *THIS… *IS… *THE… MOST… BEAUTIFUL… 'BUDDY-COMEDY'… *I… *HAVE… *EVER… SEEN!"

"The Ghost"… shook… *his… head. He… didn'T… want… it.

"GET… HERE… NOW!" "The Butcher" roared.

"The Ghost"… sighed.

He… shuffled.

A *[CA 50]… shuffle.

It… took… him… *ten… seconds… *to… walk… *to… *the… box.

He… took… *the… ball.

The *Sunderland… keeper… *was… laughing.

This… guy?

"The Ghost"… looked… at… the… ball.

He… looked… at… the… keeper.

He… didn't… do… a… run-up.

He… just… took… one… step.

And… chipped… it.

A slow, insulting, disrespectful, "I-am-[PA-95]-and-you-are-a-child"… Panenka.

The goalkeeper… who… *had… dived… *to… *the… right… *five… seconds… ago…

…could… only… watch.

The ball… floated.

Floated.

Floated.

...And... landed,... gently,... *in... the... *back... *of... the... net.

4-0, BARNSLEY!

PHWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!

The referee… blew… *his… whistle.

The game… was… over.

"A PANENKA! A.. PANENKA!" the commentator was sobbing… with… joy. "HE'S TOO... SLOW.. TO… RUN! SO… HE HUMILIATED HIM! IT'S 4-0! 4-0! THE 'FORTRESS'…*S A SLAUGHTER-HOUSE!"

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