It was the evening for the Pulitzer Prizes to be awarded. Clara, Devi, Angela, Lily and Holly were all seated around a table together. Clara was wearing a green dress that Devi had bought her for Christmas, a large pair of earrings, and a ring with a large bright red stone. Devi was wearing a dark blue dress and a simple ring with no stone, and had her hair tied back in a bun. Angela wore a simple red dress, Lily a snazzy green and yellow one, Holly a long black one. Clara felt excited at being at such an important event, though a bit overwhelmed by all those flash cameras.
Finally, the announcement was made:
"And the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting goes to . . . Holly MacIver and Devi Bose."
Applause from all around the room. Clara beamed as Devi stood up from her seat, only to be surprised when Devi held out her hand to her. After some hesitation, Clara smiled and stood up. She looked back at Angela and Lily, who smiled encouragingly at her, and then she took Devi's hand and walked with her, behind Holly, to the stage. It was unnerving for her to be walking past so many strangers, but a proud moment as well.
Holly accepted the trophy, then stepped up to the podium to deliver her acceptance speech.
"Thank you for the award. I feel very humbled and honoured to receive this tonight. Well, in the last few months we have seen some quite extraordinary events: the White House Chief of Staff sentenced to prison, a President removed by impeachment for the first time in our history, less than five months after a landslide election victory, then being expelled from his own party, and now being investigated by the FBI for misuse of public funds. We have brought down the entire house of cards. I suppose we can take heart that at least one of our great parties has not been completely taken over by an authoritarian populist, but we must always be aware of those who seek to abuse their power, or use it for their own gain. We should always be fearless in exposing such people: the health of our democracy depends on it. No matter what the consequences are for ourselves, we must always investigate wrongdoing by those in power. There should be no place for those who would suck up to corrupt politicians, or for cowards, in the press pack or in our editors' offices. But above all, it is up to those in the White House and on Capitol Hill to make sure that never again can a Crawley emerge to poison our political system. I hope that President Liu understands this, but if she does not, she can be sure that I will hold her feet to the fire at the White House press briefing. Thank you."
Long and loud applause followed. Holly stepped back from the podium, and Devi strode forward to take her place, though it was several minutes before the applause died down sufficiently to enable her to speak.
"Thank you, Holly", she began. "I am happy that you took me under your wing and for the guidance you have given me. I am very proud to share this award with you. But now, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to hand the mike over to a very special person. They tried everything to silence her: rape, intimidation, abduction, attempted murder, blackmail, slander . . . but she rose above all that to tell the truth in court, and was able to prove that she was telling the truth. She is, quite simply, the bravest person I have ever met. Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for Clara Hewson!"
The crowd roared. Blushing, Clara slowly made her way towards the podium on wobbly legs. Once she had got there, she took a deep breath: all these strangers there, how would they react? But she cleared her throat and began her speech, her voice slightly shaking.
"Well, you all know what happened to me. There were times in those awful days when Trampler kept coming to my apartment and raping me, when I wondered if I would ever be happy again, if I would ever be able to go out again, to see Devi . . ." She looked over her shoulder at the smiling Devi, then continued in a choking voice.
"To be constantly raped, shouted at, for him to always call me bitch . . . I felt so awful, so horrible, so helpless. And then, to be tied up in a van, to be told I was going to be killed, I just don't have words for how horrible that was. The long hours of being driven to that place in Virginia, then hearing him dig my grave, then thinking he would spare me only to then have to run from the van, from him . . . it really messed up with my mind. And then, in court, to be called a liar, for him to attack and threaten me again . . . But", she added, now in a more confident voice, "I am so happy and grateful that I had people to help me on the way, to help me get justice. I would like to thank Holly", here she turned round and pointed to an embarrassed-looking Holly, "Commissioner Russell, Officers Grundy and Rodriguez, and Monica Gonzalez, for the help you gave me. I would like to thank Angela and Lily, for always being there for me. And lastly I would like to give thanks to Devi, my beautiful fiancee, for being my rock: I will always love you." Clara looked back at Devi as she said those last five words: Devi was smiling her broadest smile, and her eyes were sparkling - she looked more beautiful than ever, Clara thought.
"I couldn't have done this without any of you. And one more thing,", she concluded, a distinct note of pride in her voice, "Crawley and Trampler said I was an inconvenient woman. But look where there are now, and look where I am. While Crawley isn't President any more, and Trampler rots in jail, I'm a survivor."
The crowd cheered loudly again: Clara watched in astonishment as one by one they all got to their feet to applaud her. She searched the crowd for Angela and Lily and found them, both with joyful expressions on their faces. She felt someone take her hand: she looked around, and, yes, it was Devi, smiling with pride, joy and love. She had never felt as happy or as proud in her life.
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