Chapter Five: The Promotion Line

“Wait until the seventieth minute,” Emma said. “Use ninety seconds to open the gap.” Lin shook his head. “If our whole plan waits for ninety seconds, the other eighty-eight minutes mean nothing.” He dropped Abou into midfield and ran beyond him. In the fifty-eighth minute Sami found the opening. Lin's ordinary touch bounced half a meter, but he squared the ball before the tackle. Abou's shot was saved; their delivery-driver left back scored the rebound. One-one was still not enough. In the seventy-seventh minute, a signal came from Noah's ambulance. Lin's vision turned blue as Vega's acceleration loaded without consent. [Remote instruction confirmed. Duration: ninety seconds.]