The Stolen - Jason Pinter [108]
and Raymond Benjamin found children who were born
with diabetes, whom you could subject to these sick experiments to rob them of years of their lives.You take them away,
then use their disappearances as leverage to get good press,
gentrify the towns. The crime rate plummets. Property
values go up. In come landowners who are more willing to
vote for you.You bring in Reggie Powers to rebuild the town.
You steal lives for political gain, you fucking monster."
Talbot shook his head like a teacher whose student was
too stupid to understand a simple equation. "That's the
black-and-white version," Talbot said. "But who's really
losing here? These kids lose a couple years of their lives,
but when they come back their towns aren't criminal
beehives anymore. Their schools aren't run-down. Drugs
aren't sold on their blocks. It's a small sacrifice for a
lifetime of happiness, for them and their families."
308
Jason Pinter
"So one life is worth shattering if it saves another, is that
right? The ends justify the means?"
"They always do," Talbot said. "And if I'm reelected
because of it, if this leads me to the governor's mansion
or, heaven look upon me, the White House, it will be
because I take steps weaker men aren't willing to take. If
you can sacrifice one life to save others, don't you have
to do that? As a human being?"
"I don't buy that," I said. "Reggie Powers contributed
thousands and thousands of dollars a year to political campaigns. Want to bet if we looked up his history of donating
to your fund, we'd find a little more than 'Good Samaritan' money?"
"Reggie had a good heart," Talbot said, and I detected
a hint of real sadness. "He was a true hero. But he was
compromised. Just like the Reed family, it was only a
matter of time before Reggie's heart got the best of him."
"So you're tying up your loose ends," I said. "Dmitri
Petrovsky. Reggie Powers. Ray Benjamin. Everyone who
knew about this is dead. And if we hadn't found them first,
the Reeds would be, too. All those lives, you're actually
trying to say these people's deaths are worth furthering
your demented cause?"
"Without a doubt, absolutely. You cannot put a value on
one life, Henry. But I can tell you that a hundred lives, a
thousand lives, are worth more than a simple few. The tree
of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the
blood of patriots and tyrants. Those children, these men,
were our patriots. They gave their lives to prevent others
from suffering in the future. Men like Raymond Benjamin
are our tyrants. He represents everything wrong with our
culture. And so while he was a means to an end, so, too,
did his blood need to water the ground."
The Stolen
309
"And Daniel Linwood," I said. "Michelle Oliveira.
Caroline Twomey. Their blood funds your campaign, too."
"If my platform must stand on a column these children
have provided, so be it. I can live with that. I am sorry, Henry.
Consider yourself a patriot. Your death will save lives."
"One thing before I, you know, go," I said.
"Yes, Parker?"
"The blood might choke the ground," I said, taking my
still-connected cell phone from my coat pocket. "But with
my plan I get a signal pretty much anywhere."
Talbot looked at me with horror, and right as he raised
the gun to fire, I heard the sound of several sirens
approaching. Talbot turned around to see a police cruiser
pull into the construction site, followed by half a dozen
more along with two ambulances.
A dozen cops leaped from their vehicles, guns raised,
pointed at the silver-haired senator.
"Drop your weapon!" a cop yelled. "Drop it now or we
will take you down!"
Talbot looked at me, and for a moment I saw a fear and
confusion in his eyes that brought terror to my heart. He
raised the gun an inch, aiming straight and true at me, and
for a moment I believed the senator would end my life
along with everything else.
Then he lowered the gun, his eyes dropping to the
ground, and the gun clattered on the gravel.
Instantly he was pinned down by three police officers,
who handcuffed