Chapter 83:His Return is Confirmed

 All news outlets were a buzz of activities. Speculations started flying from all kinds of directions. They all wondered at first at who was this so called man. The man who called himself Ghost. A man so powerful that he got the president of Serbia to side with him on such a huge case that was being watched by the whole globe and expecting a verdict. There was some sense of confusion when she played this recording and the judges were visibly confused too. But it would all end when the panel of world leaders voted on whether she was fit to stay on the panel and whether her veto vote would actually stand or whether they would have to vote again.

Murmurs had circulated inside the court room with some people wanting her to give a detailed explanation as to who the Ghost was.

For a brief moment, Alpha wasn't sure whether he was actually on the right track when he thought that it was Jason who had finally decided to come back to the world or whether this was just coincidence. The Krovaçic brothers had turned and looked at him as if they too had thought the same and were looking for some sort of explanation. He just shrugged his shoulders at them when he saw Djokovic mouth something like 'what the hell! ' to him. He was as confused as they were. He didn't know Jason well enough to know the lengths that he would go to have his way. One thing that he did know was that Jason had something against the mayor and the president and knew that he would try his best to always have one up on them. And from the look of things, things would be going on great if this was Jason's doing. Both Loki and the mayor looked jittery from the moment the president of Serbia passed her vote and played that recording. This was evident since they seemed to be very happy about the sentence that was passed on Magraff prior to the vote and now looked like cats that had been rained on for hours on end.

"Who is that?" One reporter shouted and asked Martha since no other reporter seemed to have the guts to ask her that question directly.

"Mrs Magraff, do you know who that is?" Another reporter got the courage to ask. This time the question was directed towards Belinda when they noticed that she looked confused and lost in thought. It was as if she had an idea who it was but wasn't so sure.

"Would you care to comment Mr Magraff" the same reporter asked now directing the question to Magraff once she noticed that the questions were being ignored.

In a matter of seconds the whole courtroom was engulfed in a series of uncountable questions flying in from every direction and not only from the reporters, but also from the audience in attendance. The chaos was starting to build up and things started to look like they were about to go out of control if it was not contained. 

"Order in the court! Can we please have some order. This is a court and I expect that all of you should give it the respect that it deserves. Now, Martha, would you please help us by identifying the man who you just used as your source?" The judge asked when the noise in the courtroom had died down

"Do I have to?" She asked back

"I mean, it's not a requirement by law but I do think that it would at least help with your defense when the panel votes on whether you should be part of them and whether your vote would stand." One of the judges answered when she realized that it isn't a must.

"Well I do think that the person in question already answered that question himself,or he didn't?" She asked

" Last time I checked, no one identifies themselves by the name Ghost in Sin City or Panem in general. Would you kindly give more insight as to who he is? " One member of the jury said before directing the question towards her

" But someone used to go by that name "Maurice spoke out loud as he looked to be deep in thoughts. It was as if he was joining some dots in a puzzle and some things seemed to make sense while others didn't.

"For some time someone used to go by the name Ghost but it has been a while since he has been talked about. No wonder it didn't click in our heads immediately he said 'Ghost is back '. Of course, this is the best time to come back after going underground for too long. Pop back up just when the whole world is focused on such a big case and make an epic comeback. It's almost like he stole this move from the movies and applied it in real life. If I'm not wrong, the Ghost of Europe is back, and he is in Sin City" Maurice said after he realized that he had everyone's attention.

There was a brief moment of silence and shock when he said these words. A few heavy gulps were heard and even the camera shutters went silent for a while. The tension that arose from those words was intense. Jaws dropped, hearts skipped beats, breaths were held, shivers ran down spines and some got chills.

It was unbelievable, that a phenom such as the Ghost could probably be back after disappearing from the public eye for such a long time. For some, this would be great news for they would be in his era once again but for some, this would be a nightmare.

For Loki, the mayor and the commander of Sin City, this was their worst nightmare. On the brink of settling a problem that was about to be thrown under the rug, another obstacle just appeared out of nowhere. But this wasn't any other obstacle, this was the Ghost of Europe, one of the most revered personalities in the world. 

"Is this true?" A member of the jury asked

" Just for clarification, that is indeed the Ghost of Europe and he contacted me telling me that that man right there is a victim of something that is clearly bigger than what we are aware of. And it is because of this that I stand with the Ghost and I choose to believe that what he says to be true, something that he has promised to address when he's ready" the Serbian president answered as she gave her reasons as to why she made her decision. With this new information in light, she seemed to be more comfortable now that the cat was out the bag.

Had she made an argument on her own there was a high possibility that she would be voted out and the case would go on as planned. But now, with the Ghost on her side, the odds had changed and were now in her favour since it would take a great deal of convincing to prove that the ghost would be wrong on this one.

"Now, your honours, I believe you are to conduct a vote and see whether I'm fit to stay or leave the panel and whether my vote stands or not." Martha said confidently

" I guess so. I'd like to officially start the vote to determine whether Martha is fit for her position on the panel of world leaders. I would also like to point out that this vote will be determined by the numbers and a veto doesn't apply in this situation. So let the votes come in" the senior judge said as the presidents got ready to cast their votes.

After a few seconds of silence, the votes started streaming onto the screen for everyone to see. It was shocking to see that she got four votes saying that she should be on the panel and one voted that she shouldn't be on the panel. 

"I guess then it's official, Martha's position on the panel has been solidified and her veto vote has to be upheld. Therefore, I hereby have to request that all of you in this room and for everyone who is watching this from their comfort zones to acknowledge that the sentence passed on to Mr Magraff has thereby been suspended under the same article that it was drawn from due to it not passing the world leaders' vote. 

The court also announces that this hearing will be held again in due time after the court gives a detailed report on the reason as to why the court found him guilty. This court is now adjourned " the judge said as she hit the gravel bringing the case to a close for that time. 

It was at this moment that Magraff seemed to be coming to his senses. After everything had seemed to float around him and with him not being able to differentiate between reality and a nightmare, he now seemed to have some grasp between the two when the gravel hit. He didn't believe his ears, it all seemed like it was still a dream to him because at one moment he had lost all hope in life being that he had at one point know that his fate was about to lie in the hands of a firing squad but now he had some hope in life.