THEY ALL SAT for a moment in shock. Could this be? Was this some cruel, sadistic hoax? No, Mischa thought. The French government wanted this trial over now, before there could be any more bomb threats or riots or assassination attempts. "What happened today was a slap in the face for them," Huey Nickerson had said. Of course. They wanted a quick confession, the passing of a sentence, and closure.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr87JrWaP60
"I'll take the deal," Lindsay announced.
"Oh, you'll take it, will you?" Rihanna sprang to her feet. "What happened to 'They tricked me into singing that statement'? You'll just throw me under the bus, then?"
Lindsay popped up as well. "I'm not the one who made us go to that nightclub. I'm not the one was secretly meeting her boyfriend. And I'm not the one who forgot to mention that her boyfriend was the goddamn president of France!"
"As if that would have mattered. You had your eyes---and hands----all over Renaud the moment you saw him. Don't make this my fault."
"No?" Lindsay moved closer. "And how do we really know that while we were sleeping, you didn't go out and kill them, Rihanna? How do we really know that? I mean, it sounds like your president boyfriend was about to dump you!"
"You think----you actually think that I could have....." Rihanna gasped and placed a hand on her chest.
"Guys," said Mischa. "Come on. Don't do this. This is what they want."
Mischa was sure of that last point. LaForge knew as well as anyone that we'd been separated from each other since their arrest. They'd each harbored some resentments and this was their first opportunity to vent them. LaForge was forcing an all-or-nothing plea bargain. He was making Lindsay and Nicole Richie an offer so inviting that they couldn't possibly turn it down, thus forcing the hands of Rihanna and Mischa.
"I'm accepting it, too," said Nicole Richie, standing next to Lindsay. "Rihanna, the cold fact of the matter is that whether you did it or not, they have you dead to rights. You're right lucky to get forty years, you are."
"Well, isn't this just lovely?" Rihanna stopped forward, her hands in fists. "And Nicole, I couldn't help but notice that all the blood and DNA and fingerprint evidence---you seem to have been left out of it totally."
"Everyone stop," said Mischa.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Nicole Richie cried. "Oh, I'm just saying how very convenient that is for you, love. The rest of us look guilty but not you...."
"Convenient?" Nicole Richie stepped forward and slapped Rihanna hard across the face. "Convenient? You think any of this has been con...."
Rihanna lunged at Nicole Richie, punching her shoulder and grabbing her hair. They locked in a struggle, an awkward dance, slamming against the wall before Mischa managed to slice an arm between the two of them and separate them.
"Stop now!" she demanded, holding each of them at arm's length. "This isn't going to solve anything."
"She's got to face facts, Mischa," said Nicole Richie, panting. "If she doesn't take that deal, none of us gets it."
"This is your fault, Rihanna." Lindsay poked the air. "You got us mixed up with these people and now our lives and careers are ruined!"
Rihanna started to respond but halted. She looked to and fro at Lindsay and Nicole Richie, two of her closest friends, and then collapsed to the floor. She began to sob uncontrollably, wailing like a wounded animal, pounding the floor with her fist, her body convulsing as if she were being shot full of electricity.
Lindsay looked at Mischa. "You have to convince her, Mischa. You're the only one she's ever listened to."
Rihanna went on like that for what felt like one hour. Her wails finally turned to dull moans, and then she curled into a fetal position and grew still. She stared forward at nothing. She didn't need to convince her of anything.
"I cant----do this anymore," she said, her voice flat and scratchy, void of any life at all. "I'll take the deal."
Mischa dropped her head. It was bad. Rihanna was mentally deteriorating. So was their four-way friendship. They were scared beyond comprehension and trying to find a way, any way, out of this mess. There were no good options----only shitty ones and less shitty ones.
Twenty years, thought Mischa. Objectively, a decent offer. Her lawyer would be thrilled. 314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlywLfjRdNL
A life. Some kind of life, when she got out. If she got out alive.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡga2KgvSPr2
"So we're all agreed?" Lindsay asked.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs6V7iVpSaI
"A package deal," LaForge had said.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGeIL5VEvj7
Three down, Mischa to go.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1353W6C7nx
Hope, Mischa had always preached to Zoe and Hania. Something to look forward to. A light at the end of the tunnel, even if it's a twenty-year tunnel. 314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbutVmbznre
MIscha took a deep breath. Her head fell back against the wall. She looked upward. Maybe she was searching for a sign.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEXLptixcK
A sign that she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life.314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCSFWbcfmvX
"I'm sorry," said Mischa. "I can't agree to this deal."314Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYpCCz0Zn4
