Football Hero (2008)

by Tim Green

  "They won't let you get that deep again," Thane said. "I watched their coach grab the free safety when he came off the field. They'll put him deep over the top of you every play, all the way to the goal line if they have to. The long bomb won't work."

  "How about a comeback pass?" Ty asked.

  Thane nodded. "That's what I was thinking."

  Ty grinned at him and went in search of Poyer.

  The Halpern defense struggled to stop Brookfield. When they finally held, it was within field-goal range. Brookfield made the kick, widening their lead to 24-17. Halpern's running back returned the kickoff to the forty, but as Ty jogged out onto the field, less than a minute remained.

  Coach V called for Ty to run an out-cut, sprinting twelve yards up the field and breaking for the sideline. If he could catch the ball and get out-of-bounds, they'd close in on the goal line and stop the clock, too. It worked! The next time they tried the same thing, but there were three players guarding Ty now--one lined up inside, one outside, and one over the top to protect the end zone.

  On third down, a Brookfield linebacker got through on a blitz and sacked Poyer. Fourth down would be the team's last chance. Ty ran to the sideline.

  "The comeback," he said to Coach V. "Send me deep. Poyer knows what to do."

  A comeback pass would send Ty into and then back out of the end zone, with Poyer throwing the pass shorter than the last bomb he'd thrown.

  Coach V jabbed his finger at the clock on the scoreboard. Only fifteen seconds remained.

  "We're out of time-outs!" the coach said. "You don't get into the end zone, we can't stop the clock and it's over."

  "I'll get in," Ty said.

  Coach V sucked his lower lip under his teeth but nodded and sent him back out onto the field, then signaled the play to Poyer. Ty lined up, eyeing the trio of defenders waiting for him. At the snap, he rocketed forward, sprinting for the end zone. The free safety took off for the goal line with a fifteen-yard head start. Ty left the two closer defenders in his dust, but the safety had turned and was waiting for him on the other side of the goal line, expecting the deep ball. Ty took two steps into the end zone, then suddenly stopped and darted back, the ball already in the air and coming down somewhere around the two-yard line.

  Ty caught it, but the two lagging defenders caught up and hit him instantly, one high, one low. He twisted and pumped his legs. The safety, recovered from the deep fake, burst out of the end zone and launched himself at Ty's head. Ty ducked, never stopping his feet, driving through the low tackler, dragging the high tackler with him another foot, then falling to the ground, the ball in his hands like a precious egg, his arms outstretched.

  Touchdown.

  In the riot of the celebration, Ty had the wind knocked out of him by his own teammates. Just five seconds remained. The score was 24-23. Coach V waved Ty and Poyer to the sideline, removed his glasses so they could see his eyes, and hung his arms around their shoulders.

  "We can't kick the extra point. We've got to go for two," he said. "One play. Three yards. A fade route to Ty. They're going to be looking for it. Poyer, you've got to throw it high into the corner.

  "Ty, you've got to outjump them all. This is it."

  The two of them ran to the huddle. As the offense lined up on the ball, the crowd of parents and spectators from both sides rose to their feet, roaring so loud it made the quarterback's voice difficult to hear. Four defenders surrounded Ty this time. He looked over to the sideline at his brother. Thumbs-up.

  The center snapped the ball. Ty dodged the first defender but took a shot from the second. He stumbled, breaking inside, head faking the third before he broke back out for the corner of the end zone. The fourth defender was waiting for him. Ty got to the corner, turned, and leaped with all his might. The ball was already arriving in a blur, a forest of fingertips groping for it.

  Ty stretched with every ounce of energy he had. It wasn't enough. A Brookfield defender tipped the ball, knocking it off its path before Ty could get his hands on it. The ball flipped end over end, wobbling and falling toward the ground.

  Ty watched it as he fell, knowing it was out of reach. Everything slowed and he heard a whisper from the past.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

  "YOU DON'T EVER QUIT," Thane said, flicking off the TV with the remote so that the two of them sat in the total dark with only the ghost of the TV screen anchoring them to their place in the universe. "That's the rule. You never give up."

  "But the game was over," Ty said, quiet in the emptiness.

  "It's not over until it's over," Thane said, speaking slowly, the way he did when he wanted Ty to remember. "You want to be a champion, you have to think that way, in everything you do. You never stop. You let yourself start to think that way, then the one time you could pull out a win because of some freak luck, you're not ready for it. Maybe it's only once in a lifetime, but that's one win you'd never have, and who knows what that one win could do."

  It was over.

  The ground came up fast, gravity snapping him into place, pounding his ribs and lungs with a powerful stroke, but his eyes stayed with the ball. He couldn't quit. So, when the ball bounced off a defender's shoulder pad and screwed sideways, his hands went with it. The ball dropped again, but his fingers stayed between it and the grass. Through the jolt of pain and shock, his fingers tightened and held on and he lifted his hands--with the ball--into the air. The referee looked down at Ty with an open mouth. He stood straight, lengthening the black-and-white stripes of his sleeves skyward to signal the score.

  Two points.

  Halpern 25, Brookfield 24.

  They raised him up off the grass, his teammates. Then Coach V and his own brother each took a leg and raised him even higher. They paraded him around the field, a hero, as the Brookfield fans dispersed like a broken wave.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

  THE HAPPY BANTER OF victory between Thane and Ty didn't end until they pulled up to Uncle Gus's later that day. A dark sedan with two serious-looking men in suits stood guarding the entrance to the drive. Inside the house, Aunt Virginia emerged from her bedroom with a suitcase in each hand, struggling under their weight. Uncle Gus pulled back the curtain every few seconds to peek out the picture window.

  "You think those guys out there could stop a delivery truck?" he asked. "'Cause Big Al owns a truck line, you know."

  "You're fine," Agent Kline said, checking his watch.

  "We've got you all on a six-thirty flight to Atlanta. The drive to Jacksonville is about five hours from there, but that'll be best. They'll take some evasive action out on the open highway. They're pretty thorough."

  Mike walked in from the kitchen, carrying the stack of three square plastic milk cartons containing Ty's worldly belongings.

  "You got another suitcase for the kid's things?" he asked Aunt Virginia.

  Ty felt his jaw go slack. His skin prickled with panic. He felt as though he were suddenly peering over the edge of a cliff. He couldn't see what waited beyond the edge, but he could sense the vast emptiness of it. Whatever waited out there, he knew it didn't include his new football team, being on the sideline with the Jets, and Friday evenings out with his big brother.

  Aunt Virginia frowned and shook her head. "I could double up a couple trash bags. That'd hold it all pretty good."

  "Where am I going?" Ty said.

  Both agents, Aunt Virginia, and Uncle Gus stared at him.

  "We're not gonna just leave you," Uncle Gus said.

  "No matter how much you eat."

  Ty couldn't bring himself to look at Thane. He could feel him, standing there, rigid, beside him. His older brother's silence felt like a stranglehold on Ty's throat.

  "It's time to tuck your uncle away someplace safe," Agent Kline said.

  "Do you think one of Lucy's guys still might try to hurt Thane so he can't play?" Ty asked the agent.

  "I would have thought that," Agent Kline said, "except Big Al heard about Lucy and he must have put two and two t
ogether. We heard him on the wiretap betting the same amount of money he had on the Dolphins back on the Jets. So his money is safe."

  "Won't they be mad at Thane?"

  "Thane didn't do anything to them," Mike said, looking up as he dumped Ty's things into the doubled-up plastic garbage bags. "He never cut a deal with anyone. Trust me--he's as safe as the NFL comissioner."

  "Okay, let's get it going," Agent Kline said as Mike knotted the ends of the garbage bags, slinging them over his shoulder like a bizarre, oversized Santa.

  Uncle Gus checked the window before hefting his own enormous suitcase and making for the door. Charlotte appeared from her room, wearing her school backpack, a pink plastic suitcase in one hand, and her iPod in the other. When her eyes met Ty's, he thought he saw a flicker of sadness.

  Ty felt Thane's hand on his shoulder, but then Agent Kline tugged on his arm and Thane's hand fell away. Outside, they loaded their things into the Crown Vic's spacious trunk. Uncle Gus slid into the car and gripped the headrest of the seat in front of him. Aunt Virginia climbed in and rested her head in her hands. Charlotte went in last, closed the door, and rolled down the window so she could peer up at him.

  "You can sit between us in the front," Agent Kline said to Ty. "It'll be a little tight, but the airport's not that far."

  It was all happening too fast. Ty needed to catch his breath, but there was Mike's enormous paw on his other shoulder, leading him toward the car. And there was Thane, staring with his mouth hanging open, blinking in the late daylight, raising his hand in a feeble wave of good-bye.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

  "WAIT," THANE SAID, RAISING his voice loud enough so that Mike spun his big, hairy head around and stopped tugging Ty. "Why does he have to go?"

  "Your brother?" Agent Kline asked.

  "Yeah," Thane said.

  The agent shrugged. "This is his family, right?"

  "So am I," Thane said.

  Ty saw movement in the open car window, Charlotte nodding her head, before he stared up at his brother.

  "They're his guardians, right?" Mike said, raising his hands, palms up.

  Uncle Gus leaned across his wife and daughter to address them through the open window. "Let's not miss this flight."

  "Let me take Ty," Thane said, blurting out the words.

  Uncle Gus's mouth popped open beneath his thick gray mustache. His mouth turned down at the corners; then he worked a finger into his ear and said, "I guess. Why not?"

  "We can take care of the paperwork later," Thane said to the agents.

  Ty's head swam. Morty's words from draft day echoed through the back of his mind like a war drum.

  "I can tell by the way he looks at you that if you asked, there's nothing he wouldn't give you, but don't. You gotta live your own life."

  "What about your life?" Ty asked.

  Thane gave him a funny look and his smile went crooked. "Yeah. So? You're in it. I got room."

  Ty moved closer to his brother and whispered up into his ear. "What about Charlotte?"

  "She can come," Thane said. "I doubt they'll let her, but she's okay with me. Go ahead. Ask."

  Ty motioned to Charlotte, and she leaned outside the window. Into her ear he asked, "Do you want to come, too? He said it's okay with him, and I'd like it, too."

  Charlotte beamed up at him but shook her head. She pulled him close, clutching the back of his neck and hugging him tight until his face felt hot.

  "Thank you," she said, kissing his cheek. "I gotta go with them. You gotta stick with your family, right?"

  She let Ty go and he smiled and winked at her, then said good-bye to his aunt and uncle, shaking their hands and thanking them for taking care of him. Mike shook Ty's hand, too. As the big agent climbed in, the car's frame dipped toward the ground. He closed the door and they drove off. As the car disappeared into the deep weeds, Thane put an arm around Ty and pulled him close.

  Thane sighed, then looked down at him for a moment before he said in a serious tone, "I'm glad you said yes."

  "Why wouldn't I?"

  Thane shrugged. "You know, a mom and a dad, kind of. A sister. It was more of a family than just you and me. I'm not gonna make you brush your teeth or do your homework or give you chores or any of that. I just can't do that parental stuff."

  "You don't have to," Ty said. "I got great teeth."

  Thane smiled and said, "Yeah. Runs in the family."

  "You think I can still go to Halpern somehow?" Ty asked, looking back down the empty drive after the sound of the Crown Vic accelerating out on the road.

  "Sure," Thane said. "We'll work it out. I'll hire a limo or something."

  "You don't have to do that," Ty said, looking up.

  "Why? You need to start getting used to that stuff anyway," Thane said. "After what I saw today? Won't be long, you're a first-round pick yourself."

  "You think?" Ty asked.

  "I don't think it," Thane said, leading him toward the Escalade. "I know it. Football hero, that's you."

  About the Author

  TIM GREEN, for many years a star defensive end with the Atlanta Falcons, is a man of many talents. He's the author of such gripping books for adults as the New York Times bestselling THE DARK SIDE OF THE GAME and a dozen suspense novels, including EXACT REVENGE and KINGDOM COME. Tim graduated covaledictorian from Syracuse University and was a first-round NFL draft pick. He later earned his law degree with honors. Tim has worked as an NFL analyst for FOX Sports and as an NFL commentator for National Public Radio, among other broadcast experience. He lives with his wife, Illyssa, and their five children in upstate New York. FOOTBALL HERO is his second novel for young readers.

  You can visit him online at www.timgreenbooks.com.

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

  Credits

  Background image (c) David Madison/Getty Images

  Photo of Troy Green (c) 2007 Clay Patrick McBride

  Jacket art and design by Joel Tippie

  Copyright

  FOOTBALL HERO. Copyright (c) 2008 by Tim Green. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  ePub Edition March 2008 ISBN 9780061756696

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  About the Publisher

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  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPT
ER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

  About the Author

  Credits

  Copyright

  About the Publisher