“They’re not coming back,” Skye said quietly, catching the ball. “Any of them.” Gavin lifted his head. “You don’t know that.” “Yes, I do.” She turned to face him. “You heard what they said last night. This is done. We’re not coming back. They’re scared. And they should be. Those men had weapons.” “We’ll get better security.” “It won’t matter.” Skye’s voice cracked. “Don’t you get it? They win by making people too scared to show up. They don’t even have to destroy anything else. They just have to exist. And everyone runs away.”
Gavin stood up slowly. Walked over to her. Crouched down so they were eye level. “So what do you want to do,” he asked. “Because I’ll follow your lead. This is your field. Your neighborhood. Your call.” Skye felt tears burning behind her eyes but refused to let them fall. “I don’t know what to do. I’m nine. I don’t know how to fight city councilmen and grown men with weapons and people who have more money and power than we’ll ever have.” “But you threw that ball,” Gavin said softly. “When everyone else stayed inside, you threw. That was different.” “How?” “Because…” She struggled to find the words. “Because that was just three guys. This is bigger. This is… I don’t know. A whole system or something. How do we fight that?”
Before Gavin could answer, Evelyn’s voice rang out from the parking lot. “By not fighting fair.” They both turned. Evelyn walked onto the field carrying a thermos of coffee and a look on her face that could cut glass. “Grandma, what are you doing here? You worked all night!” “Couldn’t sleep.” Evelyn poured herself coffee in the thermos cap. “Kept thinking about what you said last night. About how they’re winning.” “They are winning,” Skye said miserably. “Only if we let them.” Evelyn took a sip. “See, baby girl, people like Pierce? They’re used to fighting people who play by the rules. Who go through proper channels. Who file complaints and wait for the system to work.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Gavin asked. “System’s rigged,” Evelyn said flatly. “Always has been for people like us. You think filing a police report’s gonna stop a councilman with connections? You think a lawsuit’s gonna work when he’s got the best lawyers money can buy?” “So what do we do?” Evelyn’s smile was sharp. “We embarrass him. Publicly. So bad he can’t hide.” Gavin stood up. “What do you mean?” “You got proof, right? Bank records showing Devin got paid. The connection to Pierce.” “Yeah, but it’s not enough for criminal charges. Just suspicious financial—” “Don’t need criminal charges,” Evelyn interrupted. “Just need the story. You put that man’s face on every news station with the headline Councilman Caught Paying Spy To Sabotage Kid’s Baseball Field and see how fast his career ends.”
Skye’s eyes widened. “The media.” “Exactly.” Evelyn looked at Gavin. “You got media contacts, right? Rich boy like you.” “Yeah, but—” “But nothing. You call them. You give them everything you got. You make Pierce the villain in a story about scared children and destroyed dreams. Public opinion will destroy him faster than any court case.” Gavin’s mind was racing. “If we go public, he’ll fight back. He’s got resources.” “Let him fight,” Evelyn said coldly. “Let him try to explain on camera why he hired someone to terrorize nine-year-olds. Let him try to spin that.”
Skye felt something shifting inside her. Not hope exactly. Something harder. Angrier. “What about Devin?” she asked. “He’ll just disappear.” “Not if we find him first,” Gavin said. “Get him on record confessing everything. With his face. His voice. Undeniable. You think he’ll talk?” “He already did. Last night. He admitted he knew.” Gavin pulled out his phone. “And I recorded the whole thing.” He hit play. Devin’s voice filled the empty field. I needed the money. I owed people. Bad people. They were gonna kill me if I didn’t pay them back. Skye stared at the phone. “You recorded that?” “Always recording now,” Gavin said. “After the first attack, I put cameras everywhere. Including on me.” He tapped his shirt pocket where a small camera lens peeked out. “So we have Devin confessing he helped them,” Evelyn said. “We have bank records connecting him to Pierce. What else we need?” “We need Pierce himself on record,” Gavin said. “Talking about the attacks. Admitting involvement. How do we get that?” Gavin’s expression turned dangerous. “We set a trap.”
That afternoon, Gavin made a very public announcement. He called a press conference right there at the field. Six news stations showed up; the story was too good to ignore. Local billionaire’s charity project under attack. Standing at a microphone with the damaged field behind him, Gavin spoke directly into the cameras. “I’m officially withdrawing my support for this project. Effective immediately, this field will be closed. The land will be returned to the city for… other purposes.”
Skye stood off to the side, watching. This was the plan. Make Pierce think he won. Reporters shouted questions. “What changed your mind? Was it the attacks? Are you abandoning these kids?” “I’m not abandoning anyone,” Gavin said carefully. “I’m simply recognizing that I can’t guarantee their safety. And that’s not acceptable to me.”
The news spread fast. Within hours, it was everywhere. Billionaire gives up on Southside Field Project after attacks. And in his office uptown, Councilman Alan Pierce smiled as he read the headlines. His phone rang. Unknown number. He answered. “Mr. Pierce.” A nervous voice. “Devin. Did you see the news?” “I did. Congratulations. The field is finished.” “So, we’re done. No more phases.” “We’re done,” Pierce confirmed. “Check your account. Final payment just went through.” Silence on the other end. “Devin. You still there?” “Yeah, I’m here.” His voice sounded hollow. “It’s just, there were kids there. Last time. I didn’t sign up for scaring kids.” Pierce’s smile disappeared. “You signed up for $20,000. What you feel about it is your problem.” “I know, but—” “But nothing. We had a deal. I kept my end. You kept yours. Now disappear and forget this ever happened.” “What if people find out?” “They won’t,” Pierce said confidently. “Parker’s giving up. The story’s over. Nobody’s going to keep digging. You sure?” “I’m sure. Now stop calling me.” Pierce hung up and sat back in his chair, satisfied. What he didn’t know was that Devin had recorded the entire call. And he was sitting in Gavin Parker’s office right now, phone on speaker, with Skye and Evelyn listening to every word.
When the call ended, Devin looked at them with red eyes. “That enough?” He asked quietly. “That’s perfect,” Gavin said. Devin put his head in his hands. “I’m going to jail, aren’t I?” “Probably,” Gavin said honestly. “But maybe less time if you cooperate. Give us everything. Every conversation. Every payment. Every instruction Pierce gave you.” “He’ll destroy me.” “He already did,” Skye said coldly. “You destroyed yourself when you took his money.” Devin flinched but nodded. “You’re right. I did.” He looked at her. “For what it’s worth. I really did think you were special. That part wasn’t fake.” “Don’t,” Skye said. “Just don’t.”..
