I stared at her, not quite believing what I was seeing.

She gave a courtroom smile, ‘Hello Danny.’

There was a seat in front of me, I fumbled my way into it and breathed out a sigh, ‘You’re the last person I was expecting.’

Streisand grinned for a moment, then her face took on a business-like look.

‘From what I hear you’ve had quite an adventure.’

‘You can say that again.’

‘And look where it’s left you now.’ She gestured to the metal walls around her, ‘Was it worth it Danny? All that trouble you’ve caused, the money that’s been spent trying to find you, the hundreds of newspapers and television screens with your face on them. Does it feel like it’s worth it?’

I stared at her face; it was older than I remembered it. I could see wrinkles there, or maybe it was just different lighting than in court. I nodded my head.

‘It was worth it.’

‘Explain that to me….’

I leant back and ran a hand through my hair

‘From as far back as I can remember I’ve sort of wandered through life. You saw me. I had no purpose.’

I took a sip of water from the cup beside me.

‘With Ayamin I suddenly had a purpose for my energy and a direction for my thoughts. I was helping this girl reach her dream, even if part of that dream was the shitty London suburbs I grew up in.’ I held out my hands, ‘So what if I go to jail, I was heading there anyway. At least now I have a good reason for being locked up.’

Streisand stared at me in silence. My throat was feeling raspy again and I took another sip of the water.

‘I spoke to Donna before I came over,’ Streisand said, ‘She’s doing okay, but it’s hard finding another job.’

I went to speak but Streisand held up her hand, ‘She lost her job because of your little stunt… These things you’ve done have a wider reach then you could possibly imagine.’

I lowered my head a little, imagining the sweet woman who’d looked after us standing in line for an unemployment check. The thought wasn’t a nice one.

Streisand took a deep breath, ‘Still, I think if it was her sitting in front of you right now instead of me, she’d forgive you if she heard what you’d said.’

The judge’s face lightened, ‘It doesn’t make much sense to me, but Donna said she cried when she listened to your radio interview – and I imagine she wasn’t the only one.’

I cocked my head as Streisand continued.

‘You may not realise it just yet, but both you and Ayamin have attained celebrity status. In just under two weeks her fate is to be decided in court,’ she pulled up a list of names on her phone, ‘I called in there on my way to see you and all of the media spots have been booked out. Whatever happens to Ayamin the world will be watching.’

‘They have to let her stay then, don’t they?’ I asked, ‘She just wants to live here.’

Streisand shook her head, ‘Not all publicity is good publicity. This trial’s got very political.’

I scrolled through the list – there were big names. The BBC, Guardian, CNN.

‘There are people saying it’s a good lesson on why we should have open borders, while others argue that the public interest shouldn’t sway the result and that she’s been known to associate with criminals, namely yourself.’

I blinked, ‘What can I do?’

‘You can’t do a thing – at least not in this cell… but speaking with you today I can see your heart is in the right place Danny,’ she nodded to me, ‘I will not help you with your own trial, as far as I’m concerned you deserve what you get – but I will help you with Ayamin.’

She glanced at the door of the interview room and back at me, ‘Do you pray Danny?’

‘What? Oh… no, not really.’

‘Well, maybe it’s time you start… There’s a chapel here. Inmates can use it on Sundays at around midday…’ she winked, ‘Maybe you should give it a go.’

‘I will.’

I reached over the table to hug her. Streisand went rigid, but eventually, she wrapped her arms around me.

‘Why?’ I asked, ‘Why are you helping her?’

Streisand stepped back, straightened her jacket, then held up her finger, ‘This is not to be repeated to anyone, ever.’

She looked into my eyes and sighed, ‘Because maybe I was one of the people who cried during your radio interview.’