The figure looked around before leaving the window as he headed for the front door. A man wearing all black with his face covered, he approached the door and immediately got to work. He bent down and began to unload his tools.
Inside, he opened a briefcase and took out lock-picking tools, starting to pick the lock. After a few minutes, he finally opened the door. Pushing it slightly, he closed the material to one side, kicking it to a part in the bush.
As he held it with him, he brought out a small rifle from his right pocket and began walking straight to the room. He checked the rooms one by one to see if anyone was at home. After confirming there was no one, he opened Mark's room. As he went inside, Mark was sleeping soundly, in fact, even snoring.
Perhaps it was due to the stress from today's match, or it was just from the great taste of the food he had eaten earlier. Whichever one it was, Mark was very well fast asleep, and some people would say he had gone far. The man took the rifle and pointed it towards Mark's head.
"I'm sorry. You forced this on me. You caused this."
"If only you had scored that goal. I had bet all my savings on that. But you just had to miss. You were the one who destroyed my life."
He said as tears began to flow from his eyes, his hands shaking. It was as though he had never done this before. He gritted his teeth as he removed the safety from the gun and prepared to shoot.
Taking a deep breath, he gripped the gun with both hands, closed his eyes, and steadied himself. It would be over in a second, he told himself. As he squeezed the trigger, a sharp click echoed through the room, followed by complete silence.
What? The man opened his eyes in confusion. What?
---
Italy, San Siro Stadium, AC Milan vs Udinese, only 3 minutes left on the clock, do you think they can equalize this game? The commentator said, "Well, with the way they are playing, it's very unlikely, I mean, they are not even getting past the defense line. And you know, this coach is good at parking the bus, once his team has taken the lead, especially in these final minutes."
The commentator continued, "And that's a shame because if you look at it, obviously, Udinese has been playing the better football. If not for some crucial mistakes they made that handed AC Milan the lead, they wouldn't be in this predicament. Possession, passes, everything—if not for the scoreline, this would have been a great game for them." He sighed. "It's just a shame that AC Milan might win this one."
But as the commentator spoke, one of them reminded, "It seems Udinese are looking to push forward here." On the field, an Udinese player was taking the ball down the right wing. As he faced an AC Milan defender, he wanted to step over, but the defender stood still, arms behind his back, staring fixedly at the ball. The Udinese player continued to push the ball forward, approaching the AC Milan player.
"Is he going to cross? Is he going to dribble inside? Which one is it?" The AC Milan player was lost in thought, focusing on the ball. He watched the Udinese player closely, waiting for any slight movement. He saw the Udinese player lean inside. "This, it's as though he wants to enter," the player thought. "Should I go for the ball? No, let me wait," he said to himself, continuing to watch. "It might just be a fake."
The Udinese player faked with his body as though he would follow the ball, but then pushed the ball outward toward the sideline. As he stretched his leg to play the ball, Garcia, the AC Milan player, predicted this moment. He was ready. The instant the Udinese player pushed the ball outward, Garcia stretched his leg to intercept. But the Udinese player covered his right leg and took the ball with him, using his left leg to push the ball forward down the wing.
"Shit, I was tricked," Garcia thought, dazed. The Udinese player moved the ball, and with his left leg, crossed it into the box. The ball curved toward the goalkeeper, but it was rapidly moving outwards. Before the goalkeeper could claim it, it was already swooshed into the goal by an incoming Udinese player who had snuck behind the AC Milan defense. The game was tied now, with only a few minutes left.
"1-1, let's go, let's go!" The player who scored was Atiku, with black short hair and a dark complexion. He had well-built muscles. "Let's go!" he continued, waving his hand in the air, encouraging his teammates and steering the fans. The group of Udinese fans in the crowd erupted in a loud roar. The team, fired up, was ready to kick off again.
Pass, pass, pull—the game restarted, and Udinese immediately pressed, desperate to win the ball back. They weren't going to settle for a draw; they were going for the win. AC Milan crossed the ball to the center midfielder, but an Udinese player slid into the tackle, his toe barely touching the ball, making it deflect just slightly.
Though the contact was minimal, it was enough to deflect the ball away from the AC Milan player, landing at the feet of another Udinese player. Tap, tap, pass, pass—the group of white shirts continued their passing game, maintaining possession, one-two, one-two. Even though time was running out, they weren't rushing. They kept the ball, waiting for their opportunity.
Udinese were bearing down on the AC Milan players, who unfortunately took the bait, pulling most of them into their own half. A brilliant pass from an Udinese midfielder set up a winger, who made a first-time cross into the box.
"Offside!" one of the AC Milan defenders shouted. However, the referee didn't blow the whistle. The Udinese player was sprinting toward the box, unmarked, already bypassing the defense. With an AC Milan player closing in on him, he was held back by someone else approaching from behind.
Garcia, the Udinese player cut the ball back, facing the defender in a one-on-one. The AC Milan defender was anxious, knowing he was the only one facing the winger. This player was known for his dribbling skills, especially his feints and stepovers. After beating him a moment ago, the defender focused again, trying to predict the next move.
In the next moment, the winger did a step over—one, two, three—and the defender, unsure of what to do, was focused on the ball, watching the leg. But that did not spare him from the humiliation. The winger did a roulette, and the defender completely fell for it, allowing the Udinese player to attack toward the ball. Knowing he couldn't catch up, the AC Milan defender promptly grabbed the winger's shirt, dragging him to the ground.
The referee blew the whistle, awarding a foul and handing the AC Milan player a yellow card. "At least that's better than letting him go and score," the player thought to himself. Even his teammates agreed. Now, it was only a free kick, but it was a dangerous one, very close to the goal.