They both turned as a sharp trumpet sounded from the nursery. A gangly calf came lolloping into view, blanket skewed across its back, ears flapping as it barged into the side of a trough. In the distance, Elijah jumped slightly at the noise, steadying the bucket he was carrying. Kamau, trying to guide another calf with cautious arms, winced as the young elephant sneezed on him, spraying half-chewed greens across his shirt.

Nyah laughed, loud and delighted. “Look at them! They’re terrified of the babies! I admit, watching them get bullied by baby elephants is its own kind of justice.”

“It should be,” Bette said with mock gravity. “Those babies are more honest than most men I’ve met. And heavier.”

Nyah grinned, shaking her head. “You’re a mean one when you want to be.”

“I’m just getting started,” Bette replied. But her eyes, for a moment, drifted east, toward Nyali, the sea, and the girls she’d sent away for safety.

”You didn’t call me out here for tea and gossip,” Nyah returned to more serious matters. “So. Let’s have it. What are we doing?”

Bette gave a tired smile, a wry twist of her lips that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “We’re doing something stupid. Maybe necessary. But definitely not simple.”

Nyah’s brows lifted slightly. “You’ve got my attention.”

“I need your help,” Bette said, stepping up beside her and glancing around instinctively. “What I’m planning… it’s going to need discretion. Coordination. Someone I can trust to move pieces while I’m in the thick of it.”

“Ah,” Nyah said, taking a thoughtful sip from her thermos. “So we’re stepping beyond petitions and permits now, are we?”

Bette looked away for a moment, her jaw tightening. “This is bigger than anything I’ve dealt with. Bigger than this foundation. And it all leads back to Chang.”

Nyah tilted her head slightly, waiting.

Bette went on, her voice low and deliberate. “He’s not the kingpin. He’s a gatekeeper. A critical node in a much larger system. The firm behind him, whoever they are, they don’t tolerate disruption. If Chang starts to slip, if even one domino in his carefully guarded chain falls, the rest might start tumbling down after it. That’s the risk. And the opportunity.”

Nyah let out a low breath, her eyebrows lifting in quiet astonishment. “So, you want to tip the first one.”

Bette nodded. “Kamau and Elijah’s defection rattled him, and if what they’ve shared is true, he’s likely spiralling into paranoia already. If we press with what they know, names, routines, hideouts; we might corner him just enough to force a mistake. That’s what I’m counting on. One wrong move, and he’ll expose himself. We might not bring down the whole network, but it could be the slip that lets us cut deep enough to protect what matters.”

Nyah looked out toward the edge of the compound where the sun was warming the fence lines and the elephants shuffled and trumpeted. Then back at Bette.

“It’s very risky,” she said quietly.

“It is,” Bette replied. “But it’s one worth taking.”

Nyah gave a slow, deliberate nod. “Then let’s see if we can make the whole thing collapse.”