“Who is your husband?” the administrator asked.
“Senator Everson Moore.”
“Oh, my God,” Sandra shouted, as she covered her mouth. Everyone just stared at her.
“He twisted or broke his ankle running through the woods,” Eugene said. “We had to leave him behind.”
Mrs. Moore began crying. “Oh, God. They’re going to stick him in that awful place again. I’ll lose him for good, now.”
Chad came over. “We’ll look for him ma’am.”
The three Blues started down the road. “Let me come with you,” Dennis said. “If you get caught I can pretend to have captured you. You’ll be safe.”
“No,” said Chad. “Your place is with your wife and family now.”
“What if there are more guys out there?” Eugene pleaded. “Let me go with you.”
Armstrong smiled. “Thanks, Gene, but the woods are clear. Besides, you’ve got a new life now; not to mention someone who loves you,” motioning to Sandra, who was talking to Mrs. Moore. “The only thing from you I need is where you last saw the senator.”
“We left him in the north woods when we were running toward the road.”
“Hey, you guys,” said the administrator. “Use the scooter cart. It’ll be faster, and if you need to carry the Senator, this’ll come in handy.”
Earlier That Night
Senator Everson Moore fought the pain as he moved slowly to a large tree. He leaned up against it, still holding the Berretta he had with him. He could hear voices ahead and behind him, but no one was coming for him. In time they moved farther west, until he could hear them no more. All he could do was crawl, dragging his painful foot. He knew he had several miles to go, but reasoned that he could make it in ten or twelve hours.
He would periodically take ten minute rests; then start again. Hour after hour passed. Where is everyone? It’s so quiet. Are they still ahead of me? What if they retreated back to the gate? What if I’ve been wandering in the wrong direction? Oh, I can’t bear it, but I won’t die out here.
Moore was sure he was moving west. He could see the North Star to his right. He reasoned that once he heard voices he would stop. Hour after hour passed and still there was silence. Then he heard voices and froze. He looked around for a tree to hide behind, but the voices grew closer. He couldn’t move now. Any noise he made might be heard by the people he presumed would kill him or drag him back to Hell House.
As Moore sat in a frozen state, he could hear more clearly what the men were saying. He recognized one of the voices. It’s Armstrong. But what if I’m wrong? I must listen, carefully.
“Jack,” someone said.
Could it be Jack Wrenn? Oh, I need to be sure.
Then came the terrible realization that the voices were now moving away from him. If it was Armstrong he heard, this would be his chance for rescue. If he shouted after them, and he was wrong, it could cost him his life. What do I do?
Dennis approached Eugene, but he was looking at Sandra. Eugene was nonplussed when Dennis called over to her. “Hello, Sandy. Do you remember me from the old neighborhood?” Sandy just stared at him without recognition.
“We were just kids the last time I saw you.”
“Dennis. Dennis O’Reilly. O’Reilly! I knew your name, but I never made the connection before.”
Dennis smiled. “They didn’t take away my childhood memories,” he said. “I always remembered you. I knew you before Gene did. I guess I had a thing for you. When you moved to Springfield, I tracked you down. One day I saw you talking to some boy. You were laughing and he was smiling. I turned back and went home.” Eugene just stood there stoically while Sandy looked surprised.
“I just figured that that was the end of that. I told a good friend of mine about it. I didn’t know it then, but he kept tabs on you. I think he liked you too. Anyway, one day he calls me up and tells me that you were in Joliet. I instantly saw the opportunity. This was when I knew Jaydan Casimir was seeing Catherine, but she was drinking heavily. She got real shit-faced and Casimir began souring on the relationship with her. So I got an appointment with the big guy—”
“Wait!” Gene said. “Weren’t you supposed to be just a Squad leader at the time? Why would the commandant of the whole Lightning Squad want to see you?”
“I talked my way in. I didn’t really need to, as I’ve come to understand. Anyway, I told him about Sandy, and he went to see her. You know the rest.”
“Now I understand how I came to know Sandy again after all these years,” Eugene said. “It wasn’t any coincidence. You were responsible. You tipped her off to Casimir, and ruined her life.”
“You have a right to hate me—both of you. I deserve your wrath. I ruined both your lives, and I killed my brother and his wife.”
Sandy saddened while Gene just stared at him.
“That’s right. I ruined a lot more lives. I wasn’t in my right mind, you might say. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, Dennis,” Sandy said. “Once they change you, they can make you do anything they want.”
“Is it really you, Dennis? I mean the Dennis I knew as a kid; the Dennis I thought I knew when I went to your house?”
“There’s still a lot I don’t remember, but now I have accepted the fact of who I was and really am.”
“That day of the barbeque last August, were you telling me the truth about why you were watching over me?”
Dennis cast his eyes downward and then looked up at Eugene. His eyes looked saddened now. “No, I wasn’t. I just made up the excuse of your father’s run-in with the Squad. I needed an alibi. The truth is Casimir told me to keep an eye on you. I was supposed to keep you out of trouble; make sure you didn’t run off to New America or see Professor Zinney anymore.” Dennis hesitated and looked down.
“What?” Gene asked. “Something more?”
“I haven’t told you the worst of it yet.” Eugene just looked on and Dennis appeared reluctant to continue. Finally, he looked at Eugene with a pleading look.
“I’m sorry, Gene. I was supposed to ruin your marriage. But then I didn’t have to when she…. When you described your feelings about Catherine I just couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t do it. You would have gotten angry if I did. I had to wait for you to mention it first, and then I would have eased into that discussion. But things quickly spun out of control when you met Cassandra.”
Eugene looked down. “Why? Casimir could have her if he wanted. Why didn’t he do the same to her as he did to Sandy?”
“I don’t know. I just think he got more desperate with Sandy. Anyway, Ray and Cassandra were my bigger problem. Teresa warned me Ray would contact you. She and Ray wanted you to go to New America and write about the two countries.”
“I know. They wanted to start a revolution.”
“Anyway, Cassandra killed an entire squad and Casimir thought you joined her in a revolution against the country.”
“But why Dennis? I could never figure that out. Didn’t they know I was innocent?”
“Of course they did. They also figured you were pissed off and would talk. That made you dangerous. Dead people don’t talk.”
“Then why didn’t they kill me?”
“Commandant Casimir told me of his grand plan. First, he called your parents, telling them he was the company lawyer. He spilled the beans about you being in Joliet. I couldn’t tell you that, of course, when I was taking you to your parents’ home. Casimir told me that I was to claim I talked him into dropping the charges on you, and then, by taking you to your parents’ home, I could win them over. All this was necessary for the grand part of the scheme.” He hesitated. “You were supposed to undergo treatment. End of problem.”