Football Frenzy by Alex Ko

high-tech gym machines and neatly
stacked, colour-coded weights. It was the biggest, swankiest gym Josh had ever seen, and that included the secret government agency where Team O trained.
    A tanned gym assistant with bulging muscles raised his eyebrows at the two children and the little old lady, but when they asked for Mickey Mouse he waved them through with a low bow.
    They were in luck – Shini was the only person using the gym. He was running on one of the treadmills, facing a wall of mirrors, with a monitor strapped to his arm that trailed wires from
his forehead all the way down to his ankle. In front of him, a flat-screen television hung from the ceiling, showing a Japanese football pundit having an argument with an English presenter. Words
in both English and kanji scrolled along the bottom of the screen: BIG GAME TOMORROW! WILL TAKESHI RECOVER IN TIME? IS GALLAGHER’S CALF MUSCLE AT RISK?
    What would they say if they knew the really urgent question – will the match be fixed? Josh wondered.
    Shini looked up as Josh, Jessica and Granny walked in. He tilted his head in puzzled greeting, but he didn’t slow down his run.
    “Why don’t you two join him?” Granny said under her breath, smiling and waving at Shini. “With one of you on either side, and me at his back, he will not try to
flee.”
    Josh swallowed. He hadn’t even thought that was a possibility. But if Shini was, for some reason, thinking of doing what Yoshida asked...he had to admit it made sense.
    “All right.” Jessica nodded. “You take the left treadmill, I’ll take the right. We need to look as though we’re here to exercise, rather than question someone, in
case anyone else comes in.”
    “Got it,” Josh replied. They stepped up onto the treadmills on either side of Shini.
    “Josh,” Shini said, “Jessica...Murata-sama, ohay ō . How are you? Er...what can I do for you?”
    “We wanted to talk to you,” Jessica said, starting her machine and walking forward on the other side of Shini.
    Josh tapped the buttons on his treadmill and it whirred into life. He glanced over at Shini’s LED display and increased his speed to match.
    “We think...” Josh began. The treadmill was accelerating under him and he had to stop speaking while he adjusted his footing to make sure he wasn’t going to go shooting
off. Was Shini really going this fast? He was barely breaking a sweat! “Er, we think there’s something wrong, Shini,” he said. He saw Jessica tapping up the settings on her
treadmill. She wasn’t going faster , was she? His fingers hovered over the speed setting on his own machine. Anything you can do, sis ...
    “Wrong?” Shini asked.
    “Yeah, Shini, look,” Jessica panted. “We know about Kobayashi.”
    Shini gasped and grabbed the bar across the front of the treadmill. His eyes were wide with shock, but he said nothing for a moment – just kept running. Beads of sweat were starting to
creep down his cheek. He grabbed his towel and wiped them away. Josh saw him look into the mirror, glancing at Granny. She was standing right behind him, still and impassive, her hands folded in
the sleeves of her traditional lavender kimono. She gave Shini a short nod. Josh saw him swallow hard.
    “Kobayashi? The Culture Minister? What...do you know about him?”
    “We know...he wanted you...to throw the game,” Jessica panted. Out of the corner of his eye, Josh saw her surreptitiously nudge the Speed Down button. He felt a
brief flush of victory, along with a burning sensation stinging his lungs.
    “I don’t know what you’re...” Shini began. Then he shook his head. “No, I cannot do this.” His shoulders sagged and he hit the Off button on his
treadmill.
    Josh nearly gasped with relief and slapped the same button on his machine. All three of them slowed to a walking pace, their displays flashing up WARM DOWN: 1 MINUTE . “I
couldn’t say anything,” Shini muttered. “He is so powerful – a government minister! I