“Did Paul get you the video from last night?” I asked.
“I’ve already sent it to Caryn. She’ll take it from there,” he said and then glanced over at me. “I think we need to upgrade your security. If Paul had been across the room, he would never have captured the audio last night. Not everyone will be as naïve as that young woman was. Plus, we aren’t with you 24/7.”
“What are my options?” I asked.
“We could put an app on your phone, but it plays hell with battery life, and if you stick it in your pocket, it’s sketchy at best. They make belts, glasses, pens, and hats. They also had a nice brooch that might work,” he teased.
I thought about what he said. In just the last few weeks, I’d encountered a boxer who’d tried to rob me, and now a student reporter who’d attempted to blackmail me. With the crowds that were showing up, it wouldn’t take much of a leap to realize there might be far worse attempts moving forward. All I had to do was think about Baby Dick and his gang, and how the police first reacted, to realize the benefits of having a camera. Recording the goings-on might go a long way toward keeping me out of trouble.
“Why don’t you get the different options and we’ll try them out?”
Fritz smiled and pointed to the glove box. Inside was a Lincoln High baseball cap, a Cross pen with what looked like a black onyx stone, black-rimmed glasses, and a black leather belt. I tried on the glasses and smiled. I glanced in the mirror, and a certified, card-carrying geek looked back at me. Fritz just smirked. I put on the baseball cap as well for good measure.
◊◊◊
Springfield had four fields set up for games. Our first was against the host school. As I strolled over, I saw a few college scouts wandering around. Alan waved at me.
“David! David, we’re over here!” he called.
Well, so much for my plan just to blend in. Coach Rector smiled when he saw me. Trent, my backup, slumped. I wasn’t here to play, but to lend moral support.
“Trent, you’re the man today. I thought I’d see how you’re coming along,” I said.
Alan told me they’d split yesterday. Bloomington had taken the first game, and they’d beaten Mt. Vernon. Their last game was against Trinity. Coach Rector wanted to win the Springfield game, where he’d coached last year.
Springfield won the toss and deferred, meaning we got the ball first. Trent dropped back and promptly threw the football into the dirt. Coach Rector called a hook to Wolf to help his young quarterback’s confidence. Trent let fly with a ball that sailed over Wolf’s head. That’s hard to do.
“Coach, call time out!” I called.
Coach Rector gave me a look but called time, and the team came over to the sideline. Coach Hope was watching from the stands, and I’d seen him almost jump out of his skin on the last throw. I jumped over a low fence and ran to the huddle. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the referee coming but ignored him.
“Trent, do your drop, plant your feet, and release the ball over your front toe. You’re not setting your feet,” I told him.
“Coach, only players or coaches on the roster can be on the sideline,” the ref said.
“This is David Dawson. He’s on the roster,” Coach Rector said.
The ref pulled out his list.
“Yep. Sorry about that,” he said.
“Okay, let’s all settle down. Same play. Keep running it with tempo until they stop you,” I said.
Everyone looked at Coach Rector.
“You heard him,” he said, sending them out onto the field.
I’d done this with Wolf last year when we played seven-on-seven ball. He was a big target, and it should be an easy pitch and catch. When I said ‘with tempo,’ it meant to hustle and line back up and go again as soon as they could. The hope was that the defense wouldn’t have time to figure out how to stop Trent and Wolf.
Trent seemed to settle down, and Wolf did what he did best: make a big target and catch the ball. Six plays later we were up 7–0. Springfield came right back and scored. You could just tell that this was going to be one of those games where the last team with the ball won.
Trent was getting better. He hit two long ones to Roc, and Ty made a spectacular run on a short pass to make it 28–all. Trent also missed some easy ones. The experience playing in the seven-on-seven games would benefit him greatly.
We had the ball with just a few seconds left. Coach Rector called time out, and the guys came over. Coach looked at me.
“What’s the call, Dawson?” he asked.
I smiled, then put my game face on and called the play.
“Trent, look for Wolf as he drags across the back of the end zone. Put the ball up where only he can get it,” I said and then turned to Wolf. “Catch it and get down. You don’t want them to have a chance to knock it loose.”
