Max switches on the television while they eat meat and drink beer. Max wants to change the channel from the news but Carl refuses.

“An unknown man handed himself in to the police in connection with the stolen gem. He said he wasn’t alone in this robbery. These are the pictures of the ean who robbed the sapphire from Treasure Quest Hall.”

Pictures of Gary, Carl, and Lesley appear on the screen. The reporter talks about how worthy the sapphire is and its history.

“You guys are dead. At least I am out,” Max says happily. He stands up, jumping for joy until the news carried on.

“They were helped by a security guard that worked at the Hall.”

Then, a picture of Max was shown on the news.

“Let’s run!” Carl shouts.

The men run out of Max’s house and find an unlocked car that will help them escape. Carl jumps into the driver’s seat and turned the car on. He motions to the other guys to jump inside, and they drive away.

“We should just surrender. We have no else to go,” Max says.

“You think I am going to give up this easily?!” Carl shouts.

“But, boss, we have no other option,” Lesley explains.

“We have to run!” Max shouts.

“Where? …We can’t go to jail,” Carl pushes on the accelerator, making the drive even faster.

Carl’s eyes are on the dust road: he wasn’t sure where they were going, but he knew they were moving too fast. Max and Lesley hold on to the handles just in case Carl gets into an accident.

Suddenly, they see police cars in front of them, causing Carl to put the car in reverse and try to turn around. However, the police have them surrounded.

“I am going to run,” Carl whispered.

“You can’t, you will get shot!” Lesley pulls him away from the door.

Carl pushes Lesley away and jumps out of the car. Instantly, they hear shots being fired, and Max and Lesley hide under the seats. Eventually, the gunshots stop, and Max and Lesley peek out of the car window. It didn’t take long for them to find Carl’s dead body lying on the ground.

“We have to surrender,” Max whispers. Lesley nods because he doesn’t want to die.

Max opens the door and slowly puts his hands above his head, with Lesley following close behind. The police surround Lesley and Max with their guns drawn. One officer checks to see if Carl is alive, but confirms that he is dead. As Lesley and Max are put in handcuffs and taken to a police, reporters rush towards the scene.

“Did you catch the culprits?” one of the reporters asks.

“Yes, we did,” one officer answers.

“Please can you explain?” another reporter asks.

But before the reporters could get an answer, the police put a barricade around the scene. The reporters stand behind the barrier, trying to get more information, but no one will tell them anything new.

Max and Lesley are taken to prison, and Gary is taken to another prison. Gary only spends seven years in jail because of good behavior while Max and Gary serve fifteen years.

Carl manages to tell the police who he sold the sapphire to, and London authorities are notified and are able to catch Mr. Brown in Scotland with the sapphire. He is sent back to Johannesburg and sentenced to fourteen years in prison, but he dies after getting stabbed by one notorious, barbaric, jailbird.

While Max and Lesley serve their time in prison, they planned on getting revenge against Gary. However, Max decides to not go through with the plan, leaving Lesley to do it alone.

Two days after his release, Lesley walks to Gary’s house in Soweto. Lesley brings a revolver he bought from the black market. He wears a hood and black gloves so he won’t leave any evidence behind. He watches Gary walk to the tavern a few houses from his place. Lesley tries to plan a way to kill Gary without being noticed; he doesn’t want anyone to recognize him and tell the police.

Lesley enters the tavern behind Gary and acts as if he is invisible. He doesn’t buy a drink but watches Gary closely. The drunkards and women in the bar didn’t take notice of Lesley because the tavern is packed with people dancing to the loud panstula music.

Gary drinks five bottles of Castle then walks back home, with Lesley following close behind. Gary starts to feel uneasy and can sense that someone is following him, so he starts to walk more quickly.

“Stop following me! I have nothing to give you,” Gary yells behind him.

Gary thinks it’s the Nyaope Boys because they always rob him when he leaves the tavern. He looks at the person following him, and thinks he knows him from somewhere but he doesn’t know from where.

“You have forgotten me,” Lesley says, revealing himself.

Gary realizes who Lesley is and tries to run away, but Lesley is faster and grabs him. Lesley points his revolver at Gary’s cheek.

Gary tries to scream for help but no one is in the street, it’s so empty and dark. The only things he can hear are alley cats meowing and Lesley’s breathing.

“I can give you anything…” Gary cries, silently.

“Anything I want? Can you get me my life back? No, you can’t! Carl is dead because of you. I went to prison because of you. Do you know what I went through?” Lesley rants.

“I am sorry, but I told you to surrender…” Gary tries to defend his actions.

But Lesley doesn’t care and points the gun at Gary’s forehead. Lesley starts laughing and looks Gary in the eyes.

“You think surrendering would have helped me?” Lesley asks, clicking the gun.

“Please, don’t kill me. I have a wife and children…” Gary pleads.

“Sorry, but because of you, I don’t have a wife or children. You deserve what is coming your way,” he says, angrily. Lesley looks Gary right in the eyes and pulls the trigger.

Gary’s body falls to the ground, and Lesley shoves it aside, looking at the body for a minute. He looks around him to make sure the coast is clear and throws the gun in a bin. Then, he runs back to his shack and throws himself on the bed. Lesley falls asleep immediately, and has no guilt about what he has done. He knows no one will suspect him because no one would think that Lesley or Max would risk going back to prison right after they were released.

Max wakes up in Nylstroom Farm. He puts on his work suit and walks to the hall for breakfast. The television is on and the news is talking about a dead body being found in Soweto.

He quickly remembers what Lesley had told him when they were still in prison. “Even if you don’t join me, I am going to kill Gary.”

Max is happy he had refused. Max doesn’t want to do crime anymore. He wants a clean life with a wife and children, and he knows that that would be impossible if they got caught and went back to prison. Max is dedicated to turning his life around.

Tell us: If you just got out of prison and blamed someone for what happened, would you have acted like Lesley or like Max? Why?