Foresight

Chapter 14

Mike was hanging around by the locker room's entrance to the school's football pitch. He knew he shouldn't have been there, but he didn't care. He was right by the now-empty locker room where he knew Finn would be coming in at half time. His Dad and his partner, Inspector Stoltz, had somehow managed to convince the school's Principle to let them patrol the school with regards to the 'anonymous tip' they'd received.

The bell sounded for half-time, making Mike shudder at the memory of his vision. He ducked swiftly into the shadows of a pillar just as Finn walked through the hallway and into the locker room, slamming the door and throwing his helmet aside angrily. A middle-aged man – who Mike recognised instantly as Finn's father – followed him in hot pursuit. Mike softly sprinted after them and slowly slid into the locker room.

The lockers were all stacked against each other, in rows facing vertically away from the entrance to the pitch. Metal benches stretched the interior of each row and the floor and walls were both made of basic light grey tiles.

He had walked in to hear Finn's Dad in mid-rant. Mike tiptoed across the room, following the sound of the voices until he was in the row right behind them. He peaked around to see Finn's father, with his back to him, glowering over Finn, who looked as defeated as a wounded soldier. "You will get back out there after half time and finish that damn game!" Finn's father roared, just as he'd done in Mike's vision.

"I won't! I'm sick of living up to your expectations Dad!" Finn yelled back. It was coming. Where are you Dad?! Mike thought to himself. He was sweating

"And I'm sick of having such a failure for a son!" Finn's father screeched. Mike almost screamed as Finn's father advanced on his son. Mike didn't close his eyes. He couldn't. He was paralysed with fear.

"Let him go and walk away now, Mr Gregson," an imposing voice. Mike slid backwards enough to be out of sight. His dad had made it in time! He was wearing his long, inspector coat, followed by Stolz, a blonde man in his mid-thirties, who was wearing a grey three-piece suit.

"Stay out of this, Warren! Last I checked your son didn't play football," Mr Gregson sneered, still firmly grasping his own son by his arms, looking ready to throttle him.

"I'm not here for my son, I'm here because I got an anonymous tip that your son was in danger – and by the looks of things, I think I've found out what that meant," Mike's Dad retorted back.

"Mr Gregson, you've got five seconds to release your son before we take you in for domestic abuse," Stolz said sternly.

Unexpectedly, Mr Gregson let go of his own son...

And lunged for Stolz.

"Finn!" Mike hissed, to get Finn's attention. Finn instantly noticed him and looked at him bewildered. Mike gestured for him to take cover behind the lockers as the adults dealt with this scuffle. Finn, shakily, ran to the next row of Lockers and ducked behind them with Mike.

"What are you doing here?" Finn whispered, looking at Mike confused, "What is your dad, the cop, doing here?". Mike sighed. He had to tell Finn something. After all he'd been through he deserved to know something.

"I..." Mike began, pausing to think on what to say. "I told him something might happen to you today and so he came here to check it out," He said, going for the vaguest approximation of the truth. Finn still looked confused.

"But how did you know it would happen here and now?" Finn asked, "No one knows what my dad is like, not even the school do!".

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you Finn, just please trust me when I say that I was trying to help you," Mike said, looking away.

"Finn, you can come out now!" Mike's dad's voice came from the next row along. The sounds of scuffling had stopped. Mike nodded at Finn and Finn got up and went back to the next row. Mike was contemplating how to sneak out when his father's voice stopped him in his tracks. "And Michael, you had better get out here with a good explanation," His Dad said. He didn't sound very happy.

Mike slowly walked around to the next row, hanging his head low. Stolz had a cut lip and a bruised cheek, but otherwise, he looked fine. Finn's dad was in handcuffs and Stolz was restraining him. He looked very defeated. "Stolz, could you take Mr Gregson here to the car, I'll deal with these two," Mike's Dad said. Stolz nodded and roughly shoved Mr Gregson out of the locker room. As soon as he'd gone, Mike's dad turned his gaze back on the two teenagers. "Mike, what were you doing in here? Do you realise that you could've gotten hurt?" Mike's dad demanded, voice rising in anger. Mike opened his mouth to speak, but then Finn did the unexpected.

"It was my fault, Mr Warren," Finn said. Mike and his dad both turned and looked bewildered at Finn.

"Finn... No..." Mike began, but Finn cut him off.

"Mike it's okay," Finn said, with a brief smile, "truth is, Mike has been really helping me out this week because he was the only one who noticed that I was having a terrible time – when he saw me run off the pitch, he got worried, tried to see what was wrong – he only came because he's a good person,".

Mike couldn't believe what he was hearing. The guy who he had despised for years, just covered for him. "Okay," Mike's dad finally said, "well then, boys I'm gonna have to take you both down to the station to get a full enquiry of what went down it here,". Both boys nodded. Finn and Mike were escorted by Mike's dad out of the locker room.