MISCHA WAS DROWNING in a sea of boiling water, her flesh tearing from the bone. She tried to cry out; nothing escaped from her mouth but a desperate whimper. When her head went back underwater she saw the wavy images of her sisters, Zoe and Hania, above her. They were calling to her, offering a hand to her, but she didn't want to reach out for them; she was afraid the water would scald them. Go away now, she silently pleaded with them. Go away before you get burned....369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6iNsYn0FW
Mischa popped up in bed, sucking in deep breaths of air. There was a man standing at the door of her cell, raking a metal key across the wired bars.
Still pulling herself out of the dream, out of that water, Mischa blinked through bleary eyes.
"Get up," he said.
She got out of bed and he led her by the arm out of the cell. Another man, also in black, was waiting out there and followed behind them. She struggled to keep up with the man pulling her forward. She was hardly awake and her socks had no traction on the slippery floor. They walked down two flights of stairs. Then he led her into what seemed to be another cell. It was pitch-black, but she sensed it wasn't empty. She could hear a labored breathing and noticed a smell she couldn't quite make out. The smell of fear.....
The lights went on. Lindsay, Nicole Richie, and Rihanna were each sitting in a different corner of an unfurnished cell, each wearing a gray gown like the one Mischa was provided. They glanced at each other, squinting with bewilderment. They looked like Mischa assumed she did-----bloodshot eyes, disheveled hair, roused from the depths of sleep.
A few minutes passed in silence. None of them spoke. None of them understood. Then they all turned as they heard the echo of footsteps on the concrete floor.
Colonel LaForge---Eye Patch---entered the room. He stopped in the middle and looked around at the four of them. He studied each of them with something close to the amusement. Then he began to stroll around the room casually, nodding his head and cupping his chin with his hand.
"Rihanna killed the president. This is----beyond debate, of course. The rest of you? You knew of the scheme to blackmail, but that is all. You did not intend any murder. You played a role in hiding it, but this was-----afterward. As for Rihanna, it was not her intention to commit murder. She---how do you say?---snapped. There was no plan. No---premeditation. A blackmail scheme that----went wrong."
LaForge stopped and looked around at each of us.
"Is that a question or a statement?" Mischa asked.
"A statement," he answered. "A statement that each of you will make when court resumes on Monday. And then the trial will end. Monday, the trial ends."
"That can't be," Mischa said. "We have weeks' worth of testimony ahead."
LaForge shot Mischa a confident look and ambled over to Lindsay. "What I have described is quite like the statement that you signed, Ms. Lohan."
"You tricked me!" Lindsay spat.
He wagged a finger at her. "Let us have no more of that. You cooperated previously and you will cooperate once again. You will state what I have just described."
"In exchange for what?" the red-headed starlet asked.
"Ten years," he answered. "The prosecutor will recommend ten years of prison. And the court will accept that recommendation."
"And just how the hell do you know that?" Mischa called out.
LaForge ignored her and walked to the corner where Nicole Richie sat. "Ms. Richie, I say the same to you. You also previously signed this statement. You will also receive ten years." He opened his hands. "Ten years is a gift. Your boyfriends and their relatives will still be young when you are released."
Nicole Richie and Lindsay were still, but their faces had grown intense.
"Ms. Fenty," LaForge turned to Rihanna. "The evidence against you is quite overwhelming. You are facing a certain life sentence. You are quite fortunate that France does not have the death penalty." He rolled his hand. "But now you will receive forty years because of the absence of intent. A long time, yes, but preferable to life. You will still have some good years left."
Rihanna was speechless. It wasn't a terrific offer but LaForge had struck a chord with her. The evidence against her was very strong. In her wildest dreams, she hadn't expected to receive an offer of any kind from the prosecution.
"And Ms. Barton," he said, turning to Mischa.
Mischa took a breath.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrzl3bU15P
"You did not cooperate, but neither did you shoot the men or plan a murder. For your lack of cooperation, you will receive a sentence of twenty years."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsHaecHSdEQ
Mischa shook her head. "You couldn't possibly have the authority...."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrkjDLTIBq
"You'll really just give me ten years?" Lindsay cut in."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwlCD8h6GF
"I'll really give you ten years," said LaForge, still staring at Mischa. "And Ms. Barton, you think I do not have the authority? I am Central Intelligence. I am the authority." He looked at his watch. "It is two hundred hours. You have until sunrise to make a decision. Then the offer will expire."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfY0enYbzKx
He gestured to the two thuggish gendarmes, who followed him out the cell door.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMT3cZ7sEfk
"Oh, there is one more thing," he said, peering at them through the bars of the cell. "This is a----how do you say?----package deal. Either all of you accept, or none of you accepts."369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xVIPZWGrU
He slid the cell door shut with a metallic clang and disappeared.369Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPADza16Ry
