Every soul present at the basketball court at the minute the gunshots were heard fled for their lives. Pandemonium broke through, and silence came afterward. Yemisi and Gaius got on their feet when the gunshots became sporadic. Unconsciously, Yemisi held Gaius' hand and pulled him behind her.

The gunmen came out of their hiding spots. They were four in number, dressed in black and ready to shoot some more with all effrontery. Their fingers were gallant on the trigger, but Yemisi was unmoved by all of that crap.

She knew she could easily dodge the bullet by shifting away. That way, the bullet would hit Gaius immediately. Prosecuting lawyers were not friends with defendants, prospective or actual. So it was Gaius' loss if he thought that they had created some bond because she'd taken her time to listen to his story. Right now, he could quickly become the victim of a gunshot because she had to protect herself.

"You can easily shoot him and have his father and Barrister Peret make your lives miserable, you know?" Yemisi threatened the gunmen breathlessly. "Y'all don't even know who you are playing with."

As soon as she said that, she pulled Gaius to stand in front of her. Surprisingly though, he didn't seem scared. It looked like he wouldn't mind getting shot even since that was the easiest of punishments he could get at that moment, even if he would have preferred to have it the hard way. Desperate for redemption, wasn't he? He would do anything not to be under the protective wings of his father.

"He's in front of me now, " she placed a hand on his shoulder from behind where she stood. "I'm sure he doesn't mind getting shot. He's been looking for ways to pay for his sin anyway. So go ahead with the sporadic shooting you all were pulling earlier. Killing is a game of dice, after all. The people you don't intend to shoot end up dying by the bullet in most cases, and their blood shall remain on your heads and haunt you forever. You can still try your luck, though. I might be the victim as planned."

Yemisi knew that if Gaius were to go to jail eventually, he wouldn't spend the number of years of imprisonment allotted to criminals guilty of the offense of rape which was 14 years. His prison term would be significantly reduced, so shooting him was equivalent to shooting an innocent person.

Asides from the fact that Gaius' father would make their lives a miserable hellhole, they would never be happy for the rest of their lives knowing they shot someone who they weren't supposed to hit. Whether they even knew the truth or not.

Hence, the gunmen froze, unable to move a finger talk more of pulling the trigger. With a smirk on Yemisi's face knowing that her mental shoulder pads had just increased by another shield for successfully using the mental manipulation and blackmail card, she brought out handcuffs from her pockets.

Gaius stretched his hands forward without being told to do so, glad that he was finally going to jail. Although Yemisi knew that she had no right to arrest him at that moment since she wasn't a police officer talk more of procuring a warrant of arrest from specified courts, she had to have temporary custody of Gaius so Barrister Peret and Gaius' father would never have a hold on him till he's able to go for a court trial.

So, she locked the handcuffs around his hand. Afterward, she saw the gunmen put their guns back in their pockets. She did not expect that her words would jinx every ounce of their reasoning. At first, she suspected that they might want to hurt her with their fists, but when they weren't moving from their spots, she figured it was either Barrister Peret had asked them to use guns exclusively, or maybe they were just too scared to exchange fists with a woman.

"Call Barrister Peret right away, " she commanded the men.

For some minutes, the gunmen looked at each other and conversed in whispering tones, contemplating and compromising perhaps. While Yemisi waited for them to obey her order, she took a minute to look around her surroundings.

The only parts of the reddish sun that could be seen in the west was a quarter semi-circle with the remaining parts shielded by clouds with reserved colors. A flock of birds flew across the sky in unison, flapping wings like archangels. It was an omen of confusion at that moment because the view of it stirred up unfathomable unease within the depths of her soul.

She'd always found something disturbing with sceneries like that - especially with the flock of birds. She wondered how people took it as a symbol of serenity. But this time around, it was unbearable to watch.

Was it because she was about to have a conversation with a man she thought to be her friend?

"Boss..." the burly man amongst the gunmen said on the phone call. "Barrister Yemisi wants to speak with you."

As soon as the man said that, Yemisi could hear some yelling and probably slamming of tables on the other end of the phone call. She couldn't decipher the exact words he was uttering, but she knew he was expressing his anger knowing the gunmen could not shoot her as assigned.

How could he want her dead without giving anything a thought? How could the quest for higher authority come with a severe thirst for blood? It wasn't supposed to surprise her at all since she had been practicing the law for many years and knew the secrets of many politicians nationwide, but still, how could he switch sides like that?

The burly man holding the phone stopped closer and gave the phone to her quickly. Slowly, she placed it against her right ear. The call was still on.

"Long time, Barrister Peret. How is your wife's health?" Yemisi asked the first question that came to her mind. "I hope she's getting better even though you don't care very much about her and would even go as far as to disrespect her by using her critical condition as a card to play your filthy games."

"How-how did you know that?"

She laughed for a moment.

"You must think I'm a fool, right? It's only right that we make betrayal a subject of fairness and equilibrium. You had Karen, and I think you were on our sides for a good while. We trusted that you would assist us in dispensing justice, but you joined forces with greater evil thinking your efforts were going to be worthwhile."

Yemisi stared at Gaius for a moment. He was looking at his handcuffed hands, meek and wordless. "I thank God for Gaius, though, because you cannot do evil and get away with it."

"Who said I betrayed you? You were the one who never trusted me, though. You've always been skeptical about accepting assistance from me. Even when I asked you to go to Germany—"

"About that. It's not over yet. If my friends from Germany report back to me and tell me that they were unable to find the limping police officer who raped my sister and the grandchild of the older adult from Bradenburg, I promise that you will suffer gravely for it, and I don't care what your position is. That's about that, but it doesn't make what you did any less evil because you knew how serious I was about finding these people. How dare you play me?"

Tears ran down her cheeks.

"And your plan to implicate me? Jeez. It's so lame and stupid. Put some respect on your wife and the number of years you spent studying the law. You know damn well that I had every right to know what you were up to when you started avoiding my calls and texts, but I won't waste my time teaching you what you're supposed to know.

Little wonder why you're trying to kill me because you know your accusations are not valid. If they were, I would have no problem admitting to it so we can sort it out in court."

"Give the phone back to the guy, " Barrister Peret was frustrated, and it was evident in his tone. Yemisi did as told, though, and it was just as she had expected.

The gunmen left after Barrister Peret commanded them. He knew he had to set things straight. Otherwise, a more significant loss awaited him, regardless of what tantrum Gaius' Dad might pull. Barrister Peret has authority, after all, and he could join hands with Yemisi to bring him down.

The basketball court was now as silent as the grave. The night had appeared, although it was still young. Yemisi looked at the part of Gaius' face the streetlight shone.

"I'll take you somewhere for now, but it's not jail."

***
Karen and Gifty were at the airport, waiting in the lounge to welcome Christopher once he descended from the airplane and has had his luggage checked. Immediately they saw him coming down from the escalator, Gifty notably rose to her feet for an unknown reason, but worry was one of the causative factors.

There was so much on her mind. Ever since they left her mother with her boyfriend at the basketball court, she was sure what would happen and now, meeting her dad at the airport.

"Good evening, Karen!" Christopher greets Karen warmly once he's approached them.

"Ah! Good evening, " Karen returns the greeting but rubs her palms anxiously, unsure of how to conduct herself.

"It's good to see you. Thank you for your immense help in this period, " Christopher stretches an arm to shake Karen, and she gives in to the handshake. "You don't know what you've done for us by being of great help, but we owe you a lot."

"Really? It's nothing, though. Haha."

Watching Karen's inability to stay calm increased Gifty's anxiety because it said a whole lot. Karen never had issues with social interactions. She was always the cheerful and chatty type, but there was a fire on the mountain if Karen saw no reason to be merry.

"Anyway, can I be excused? I have to make a call, " she asked.

"Oh yes. Sure." Christopher let go of her hand.

Immediately, she walked as fast as she could. She was off to give Yemisi a call to know how she was doing. Finally, Christopher and Gifty had a chance to look at each other properly, but Gifty couldn't maintain eye contact, so she looked at the hem of her cloth and used her fingers to play with it.

"Why don't you take a seat?" Chris asked. She did as told, and he sat after her. For a moment, he looked at her intensely. Like she was the only person present at the airport.

He was clueless as to how to start a conversation with her without making her feel as much like a traitor. While he exchanged pleasantries with Karen, he pondered deeply on what to say, which was why he avoided Gifty's eyes for that moment. It was very tough to handle - The truth.

"What does your mother mean to you?" he asked the first question that came to his mind at last.

But his question was met with silence. As he waited, he noticed that her palm was moist. She was looking down and crying a lot with so much regret.

"I know I've disappointed you—"

"Did I appoint you?"

"Sir?"

"Never mind. I was joking, " Christopher answered, sad that his step-daughter didn't get the joke. He didn't want her crying so much. "I just needed you to answer the question. I know you've realized your mistakes. I'm not going to start stating them all over again. Shaming you won't trigger the change you need. Love will. But do you care to know what happened to your mother and me when we were in Germany?"

She nodded slowly.

"Okay then, " he took a deep breath. "Our marriage was on the verge of crumbling because of a mistake I made. I was careless. My mother betrothed me to a girl when I was a kid due to an urgent reason. Suddenly, she came back after many years, claiming the wedding when I'm already married to your mom, and she had something she could hold on to - the night I was careless.

I didn't sleep with her. Don't get it twisted. She tried to get me to sleep with her, though, but if I weren't at the bar wasting my life away that night, the opportunity wouldn't have come easily. But I had to fight for what mattered to me despite my shortcomings. What do you think would have happened if I didn't do anything but blamed my mother or the lady for the catastrophe? Do you think I'll still be with your mother today?"

"No."

"Exactly. So what I don't want you to do is become the girl who would blame the men that raped her aunt when she knows that her boyfriend is one of them. What does that behavior mean? It's betrayal and shameful cowardice.

Your mother would have concluded I wanted to be with that lady if I didn't take any actions, and she'd be right to make such assumptions. I know you already made a mistake, but you have another chance to choose your family over Gaius. You have to fight from now on because it's going to get more complicated now that your mom has met him.

You can't be crying when you're supposed to open your mouth and speak against rape. You can't act like the world is trying to snatch the man you love away from you. If I had done that, if I stayed back to lament over my mistakes and curse my mother for trying to take Yemisi away, I won't be teaching you this lesson now. You have to make it up to your mother. She doesn't deserve heartbreaks. She's gotten too many of those already."

Gifty knew her stepfather was right. She was supposed to be her mother's best friend and sister. All the promises she had made to make her life easier. She couldn't toss it all into the mud. Gaius was going to help her mother find the leader of the rapists, but she'd tried to make the process harder for her by covering up for him.

She had to brace up for the journey ahead and retrace her steps.