CHAPTER 128: NEW WHEELS AND OLD DREAMS

Success in the Premier League had a very specific sound. It was the purr of expensive engines in the parking lot.

Michael Sterling stood by the window of his office on Wednesday morning.

He was drinking coffee and watching his players arrive for training.

Usually, they arrived in humble cars. Kenji Sato rode his bicycle. Isaiah King took Ubers.

But today, the parking lot looked like a scene from a Fast and Furious movie.

A bright green Lamborghini Urus pulled in. It was loud. It was aggressive. It took up two parking spaces.

"Who is that?" Michael asked, squinting.

The door opened. Diego Nunez stepped out. The Uruguayan giant was wearing sunglasses and a tracksuit that matched the car.

He patted the hood of the Lamborghini like it was a pet dog.

"He bought a tank," Arthur Milton rasped, standing next to Michael.

"A very fast, very green tank."

Next, a sleek black Porsche 911 glided in.

Danny Fletcher, the captain, stepped out. He checked his reflection in the window, fixed his hair, and walked towards the entrance.

"The Prince has taste," Michael nodded. "That is a captain’s car."

Then, a taxi pulled up.

Isaiah King jumped out. He wasn’t driving. He ran to the boot and pulled out a scooter. Not a normal scooter. A gold-plated electric scooter with neon lights on the wheels.

He hopped on it and zoomed towards the door, waving at Diego.

"He is saving his money for clothes," Arthur sighed. "Or maybe he just likes the wind in his hair."

Finally, a bicycle rolled in.

It wasn’t a rusty old bike anymore. It was a carbon fiber, aerodynamic racing bike that probably cost more than Michael’s first car.

Kenji Sato dismounted. He carefully locked it with three different locks. He bowed to the bike before walking inside.

"At least Kenji is consistent," Michael laughed.

Michael walked down to the reception area. He saw his sister, Jessica, sitting on the sofa. She was scrolling on her iPad, surrounded by marketing brochures.

Jessica had officially joined the club as the Head of Social Media. Since the promotion, she had turned the Misfits into internet stars.

"Hey Jess," Michael said, sitting next to her. "How are the numbers?"

"Insane," Jessica said without looking up. "Diego’s green car photo has fifty thousand likes in ten minutes. People are calling him The Hulk. And Isaiah’s TikTok of him dancing in the locker room has a million views."

"Is that good?" Michael asked.

"It is amazing, Michael," she grinned. "We have more followers than Everton and Villa combined. The world loves us. We are the cool team."

She swiped the screen and showed him a graph.

"Merchandise sales are up three hundred percent. We sold out of Kai Sora shirts in Japan. We sold out of Diego shirts in Uruguay. And get this..."

She tapped a picture of a pink shirt.

"We are selling thousands of these. The ’Isaiah King Pink Edition’ training kit. Even though he just wore a pink suit to the awards, fans think it is an official color now."

Michael shook his head. "We are a football club, Jess, not a fashion brand."

"We are both," she corrected. "Dad would have loved this. He always said, ’If you have it, flaunt it.’"

Michael looked at the photo of their father in the reception hall. Steve Sterling, the Shark. He would have loved the Lamborghini. He would have loved the attention.

"You are doing a great job, Jess," Michael said softly. "Dad would be proud."

"He would be asking why we aren’t number one yet," Jessica laughed. "But yeah. Thanks."

Michael walked out to the training pitch.

The mood was light. The players were showing off their new car keys to each other.

"My car has a fridge," Diego Nunez bragged to Higgins. "I can keep my steaks cold while I drive."

"My car has a seat heater," Higgins grunted. "It keeps my back warm after I carry this team."

"Oooooh!" The players laughed.

Michael blew his whistle.

"Alright, settle down! Put the keys away. Ferraris don’t win football matches."

"But they get you to the match faster Boss!" Isaiah shouted.

"Not if you crash," Michael said. "Which is why we are training reaction speeds today."

He pointed to the new equipment set up on the pitch. It was a reaction wall. A giant board with lights that flashed randomly. Players had to hit the lights with the ball as soon as they appeared.

"This is for Arsenal," Michael explained. "Arsenal play fast. Saka, Martinelli, Odegaard. They move the ball like pinball. We need to think faster than them."

He called Kai Sora forward.

"Kai. Show them how it is done."

Kai walked up to the wall. He was wearing new boots. They were white with gold trim.

"Are those custom?" Michael asked.

"Yes Boss," Kai said. "Nike sent them. They said I am an ’Artist’. Artists need clean canvas."

"Okay Picasso. Hit the lights."

The wall lit up. Red light top right.

THUMP!

Kai hit it instantly.

Blue light bottom left.

THUMP.

Green light center.

THUMP!

He didn’t miss. He barely moved his feet. He just swung his leg with lazy precision. The ball obeyed him like a well-trained dog.

SCORE: 98/100.

"Not bad," Kai yawned. "But the lights are a bit bright. Can I wear sunglasses next time?"

"No," Michael laughed. "Next up, Isaiah."

Isaiah King bounced up to the wall.

"Watch and learn!" Isaiah announced.

The lights flashed. Isaiah didn’t just kick the ball. He did tricks. He hit the first light with a rabona. He hit the second with a backheel. He hit the third with his knee.

He missed two lights because he was trying to do a bicycle kick.

SCORE: 85/100.

"Style points!" Isaiah argued. "I get extra points for style!"

"Zero points for style," Michael said. "Arsenal will not applaud your backheel if they score on the counter attack."

Then it was Diego’s turn.

The Bull walked up. He looked at the wall.

The light flashed red.

BOOM.

Diego hit the ball so hard the wall actually shook.

The light flashed blue.

BOOM.

He hit it again. A piece of plastic flew off the wall.

"Diego!" Michael shouted. "Touch! Not power! You are breaking the equipment!"

"The light is mocking me Boss," Diego said seriously. "It blinks too fast. I have to punish it."

The players were rolling on the floor laughing. Kenji Sato was calculating the cost of the damage on a notebook.

After the fun, the session got serious.

Michael split them into teams for a tactical game.

"Arsenal play possession," Michael told them. "They want to keep the ball for ninety minutes. They want to bore you to sleep and then kill you."

He looked at Arda Guler.

"Arda. You know Odegaard. You played against him in training at Madrid?"

"Yes Boss," Arda nodded. "He is smart. He sees everything."

"So we need to blind him," Michael said. "We need to cut the passing lanes. Kenji, Kai. You are the shield. If the ball goes through the middle, we die. Force them wide."

The game began.

Team A (Arsenal simulation) tried to keep the ball.

But Team B (Barnsley) was aggressive.

Diego Nunez was everywhere. He intercepted a pass and immediately played it long to Isaiah.

Isaiah sprinted. He was faster than before. The growth spurt had given him a longer stride. He blew past Finn Riley.

"Hey!" Finn shouted. "That’s cheating! You got taller!"

"Evolution bro!" Isaiah laughed, scoring a goal.

Michael watched from the sideline with Arthur.

"They look sharp," Arthur said. "The money hasn’t made them lazy. It made them confident."

"That is the trick," Michael said. "Money is fuel. If you put it in a bad engine, it explodes. If you put it in a Ferrari..."

"It goes fast," Arthur finished.

After training, the players stayed on the pitch. They were having a crossbar challenge.

Michael walked back to his office. He sat down and opened his laptop.

He had one more thing to check.

THE EYES OF THE FOUNDER

He wanted to check the progress of his squad after the first two games.

He clicked on ISAIAH KING.

NAME: ISAIAH KING

TRUE VALUE: £65,000,000 (+£5M)

HIDDEN ATTRIBUTE: BIG GAME PLAYER

DESCRIPTION: PERFORMS 20% BETTER AGAINST TOP 6 TEAMS.

"He loves the spotlight," Michael whispered. "Perfect for the Emirates."

He clicked on DIEGO NUNEZ.

NAME: DIEGO NUNEZ

TRUE VALUE: £60,000,000 (+£5M)

HIDDEN ATTRIBUTE: THE ENFORCER

DESCRIPTION: OPPOSITION STRIKERS SUFFER -10 COMPOSURE WHEN NEAR HIM.

Michael chuckled. Diego was literally scaring people into playing badly.

He clicked on KAI SORA.

NAME: KAI SORA

TRUE VALUE: PRICELESS

NEW ATTRIBUTE DETECTED: THE PUPPET MASTER

DESCRIPTION: CAN CONTROL THE TEMPO OF THE GAME WITH MINIMAL MOVEMENT.

Michael closed the laptop.

Arsenal were unbeaten. They were top of the league. They had spent two hundred million pounds in the summer.

Michael looked out the window. Isaiah King was currently doing a handstand on the pitch because he hit the crossbar.

Diego was trying to do a handstand and falling over.

Michael: "Post a picture of the team laughing. Caption it: Ready for London."

Jessica: "On it. Should I include Diego falling over?"

Michael: "Definitely."