Josh sighed, "You betrayed us GG, I'm disappointed in you, I expected better," he said.
Her head shot up, "Oh no, no, you've got the wrong end of the stick sweetheart – believe me," she responded, with alarm.
The man jumped in, "We lured you here for good reason," he said.
"And what would that good reason be?" Asked Josh.
The mystery man moved a little closer, "You are the bait, the two people who would draw them all in – The Girl with the Green Eyes and the boy called Bruv.
Instinctively I walked forward, reaching my hand out until it met the glass, "Draw all of who in; if we're bait, who are we being used to catch?" I asked.
The mystery man placed his hand over mine, our palms at one, yet separated by glass, "Those who use Juju to oppress, control, and profit from innocents," he said.
Josh stepped forward and put his arm around my shoulder, "You mean the people traffickers, those who import the girls from Africa and put the fear of ESHU in them, while they profit from their bodies," he said.
Mystery man nodded, "Yes. And we have all of them, the ringleaders, here in this space, scrambling, trying to figure out how to deal with this unexpected change in their bogus ceremony," he said.
At that moment, I had a profound feeling; with Josh's arm entwined around me, and this man who I now felt strongly was my father – a sense of safety surrounded me.
Yet I knew it could slip away at any moment, and so I wouldn't allow the feeling make me vulnerable. I remained reserved and alert.
I glanced back to check on the man I injured and Dylan. They posed no immediate threat, not yet.
Turning back to the man, I asked, "Why are Josh and I such a prize to them?"
He didn't answer, Granny Grace did, "Because you're Javed Badoe's daughter, the man who murdered the leading Deliverance Pastor, back in Ghana. Sacrificing you and Josh is the ultimate revenge for the sins of your father," she said.
The mystery man, his head infuriatingly encased in a black helmet, turned to her, "That's not entirely true, Javed Badoe acted in self defense, he's an innocent and good man!"
Granny Grace shrugged her shoulders, "If you say so," she said.
I stared intently at the mystery man, "Are you Javed Badoe, my father?" I asked.
His lack of response angered me, "Just spit it out, you owe it to me – I need to know!" I said, my voice raised.
He ignored me and spun round, shouting – "We need to go!"
My despair grew, 'Where you going?" I shouted after him.
Granny Grace answered, "We need to go and sort the enemy out, finish em off once and for all," she said, brandishing her pistol with deadly intent.
The man continued walking away from me – "Dad, are you really gonna leave me here?" he ignored me; again Granny Grace answered for him, whilst he disappeared into the shadows, "You two young uns get out of here." She pointed to the injured man and Dylan, "Don't worry about them two, they can sort themselves out." She gesticulated to far right of the stage, "There's a rope ladder back there, escape through the roof, it's safer," she said, pointing upwards.
My body trembled with frustration and anger as I watched them both disapear into the darkness. Josh took me in his arms and held me tight, his lips caressing my ear as he whispered, "Keep it calm, B. Keep the focus on us getting out of here and let them deal with this, they obviously have the info and ammo to do it," his words were soft and reassuring, and I yearned to be somewhere else, being intimate with him.
