A’shai immediately sprang into action. “Let her go,” he yelled, trying to force bass into his voice.

“You’re not supposed to be here. You’re…” before the man could finish his sentence A’shai had kicked the man square between his legs, causing him to double over in pain. Without needing instruction, A’shai and Liberty took off, running to the other side of the port.

“You see those kids?” A’shai asked as he looked in the near distance.

“Yeah!” Liberty shouted.

“Run to them… go… we can blend in with them,” A’shai shouted. He turned his head to look back at the man who had given chase and as he turned back around he collided head first into a woman, the impact sending him to the ground. He looked up into the eyes of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Like a model on a TV screen, her blue eyes made her angelic and he was momentarily star struck by her magnificence.

Liberty stopped running and looked behind her. The man was coming up on them fast.

“Stop them… stop them!” he shouted as A’shai scrambled to his feet and grabbed Liberty’s hand as he looked around desperately for a way out.

“It’s okay,” the white woman said as she put her hands up. “Everything will be fine.”

The man came running up, breathing hard as he finally caught up to them. “These two… stealing… stealing fruit…” He was so exhausted from the chase that he could barely get the sentence out. He put both hands on his knees as he sucked in air.

“He’s lying!” A’shai shouted back defensively.

“It’s okay. They’re with me. They just got lost,” the white woman insisted as she looked the two kids up and down. She pulled out money from her pocketbook and handed it to the man. “This should square things, right?” she asked.

The man grumbled something underneath his breath, snatched the money, and then walked away.

Confused and skeptical, A’shai looked at the woman as he stood in front of Liberty.