The Prisoner - Carlos J. Cortes [169]
General Erlenmeyer stood in the opening with a bundle in his arms—a frail figure with enormous eyes and almost translucent extremities. After a painful awed silence, the general stepped forward to occupy the vacant chair, still holding Eliot Russo to his chest like a baby. Then a man and a woman, with shaved heads carpeted with stubble, and a small man with a remarkable likeness to Woody Allen entered the room, carrying with them an obnoxious smell of excrement. Their shoes and trouser legs looked as if they had waded through something dark and slimy.
Odelle stared at the figure that General Erlenmeyer held, her face distorted by an expression of fascinated revulsion. After a few heartbeats, she reached under her hair with an almost coquettish gesture to unclip a small reddish-colored earring. Ritter started to move, but Senator Palmer reached over Genia and stilled his arm. Then Palmer locked eyes with Odelle and blinked once.
Odelle Marino smiled faintly, pushed the earring past her lips, and crunched it between her teeth. Then she leaned back and turned to look at Eliot Russo before convulsions racked her body.
Senator Palmer stood staring into Odelle Marino’s lifeless eyes as pandemonium broke out.
chapter 59
14:47
Senator Palmer moved to the desk and half sat on a corner, facing the group scattered on chairs and sofas in a large Congress office he’d commandeered to accommodate everybody. Eliot Russo sat wrapped in a blanket on one of the sofas, with Laurel holding his hand and Dr. Carpenter next to her. Most senators had scrounged a seat, but a few stood with the motley group stationed close to the door, the air heavy with the odor of excrement. The confederates had emptied the contents of the truck in a garage basement and trampled the stuff all over.
With Lukas and Genia stood Ritter, Harper Tyler, Raul, Henry Mayer, Antonio, Barandus, and Colonel O’Keefe, his regulation sidearm back in its holster. General Erlenmeyer sat on the sofa next to Eliot Russo.
“Now that you’re all gathered, I can tell you that, within a few minutes, the President will convene a press conference to inform the world about what’s happened.” Palmer paused to inspect his fingernails. “Enough lies: The President will give the world a version of what’s happened. It can’t be any other way. The full truth would serve no purpose and would cause this nation much harm.
“In her address, she will disclose having found one illegal prisoner in the system: Eliot Russo. The rest will be given the best medical attention we can muster. Some will be returned to their countries of origin and others will be granted asylum. Everyone but Russo will remain anonymous.”
“Er …” Bernard Robilliard cleared his throat. “The stunt all of you have pulled is remarkable, and it’s obvious other agencies lent a hand.” He nodded toward Genia Warren. “But I’ve just heard that the … shit tank and a van with the rest of your confederates passed through the gauntlet Director Marino had thrown around Capitol Hill. How?”
Senator Jerome Palmer glanced at Genia. “By the devices of a man unknown to most of you: Nikola Masek.”
“Ah, Odelle’s bloodhound. Hardly an innocent bystander,” Robilliard pointed out. “If anyone knew about the atrocities within the hibernation system, he did.”
Genia leaned forward. “Without his help, we wouldn’t be here.”
“And no doubt he’s been adequately compensated,” Robilliard mused as if to himself.
“The President will sign a document giving him full immunity from prosecution before the day is over,” Palmer said.
“And the man from Hypnos? Will he also enjoy immunity? And the others?” Floyd Carpenter blurted.
“No, my friend. Vinson Duran from Hypnos is in custody, and, within the next few hours, scores of people—a few occupying some of this nation’s highest offices—will be arraigned before the Senate.”
“And then condemned to the tanks?” Henry Mayer asked.
Senator Palmer held Henry’s gaze, then shook his head slowly. “I’m afraid not. A nation as large and complex as ours demands compromise. Perhaps