Gone by Francine Pascal Page A

you—it’s a lemon. It’s damaged goods. Not only is it
not
what you signed up for, but it is something much, much worse. And I just thought you’d like to hear a few examples of—”
    â€œGet to the goddamn point.”
    â€œSir, yes, sir,” Chris replied sarcastically. “The point is that the drug you are about to give to your soldiers is a complete and utter disaster. It does not work. It has
major
side effects, including uncontrollable mania, brutally violent tendencies—not to mention the fact that it seems to be one hundred percent addictive. If you make this deal, you will be making the biggest mistake of your military career. Of your life, actually.”
    â€œThis is a joke. I’m not about to take advice from some teenage kid. If you’ve got issues with your daddy, then you can take them elsewhere, son. Find yourself a good shrink and don’t ever—”
    â€œGeneral, have you by chance been reading the New York papers? Do the words
Invince
or
Droogs,
or
ultraviolence
mean anything to you? Because if you’d been keeping up on your current events, then you’d know how serious this is, and you would
stop
talking to me like some idiot
child.
I am telling you, my father and my brother are trying to snow you. They just want to make the deal, no matter what the cost. But I havebeen out there on the streets, General. I have seen what this stuff does to people, and unless you want an army full of stark-raving-mad trainees murdering each other on Base 9 and wreaking havoc through the entire Republic of Congo, you will shut up and listen to me.”
    Colter was silent. He must not have expected Chris to be so well informed. Now he was listening.
    â€œI figured you’d have your doubts,” Chris went on, “so I’m going to make it very easy for you. I’m going to give you a demonstration of exactly what this stuff does to people. Tonight. Nine o’clock. In the lot on the corner of West Twelfth Street and the highway. You get your people down there. I will have administered doses of the drug to a group of boys not much younger than your trainees, and you just watch how they react. You watch and see what people hyped up on this drug will do to a man, and then you tell me just how much you want to buy it. I think you’ll find yourself quite enlightened about the scam my family is trying to pull on you.”
    â€œNow, you listen to me, boy—”
    â€œWe’re done here. Nine o’clock. West Twelfth and the highway. You can’t possibly be stupid enough to ignore this warning. And if you are, then I promise you, it will be your loss. And the loss of all your men once they’ve ripped each other’s throats out and shot each other to pieces. That is all.”
    Click.
    Chris’s pulse was racing double time. The blood was rushing through his head, pounding with every heartbeat. All things considered, he thought he had handled that rather beautifully. The general would see the carnage of the Droogs, and this whole operation would go up in smoke. Which left only one remaining problem.
    Once his family’s operation was exposed, Chris had to be damn sure that he didn’t go down with them. He was sure he could play the innocent little brother through any amount of police questioning. It was his word against his corrupt family’s, and he, after all, was the good-hearted young man who had exposed them. There was still just one little fly in the ointment. One nosy little spy boy who had witnessed Chris’s involvement in the whole operation. For Chris to be completely in the clear, that little problem would have to be dealt with.
    So now it was time to kill two birds with one stone. Chris picked up the phone again and dialed the main number for the Village School….
    â€œVillage School, how may I help you?” Ms. Kimball’s precious little schoolmarm voice was such a welcome departure from the