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Dressed in the prison jumpsuit, the lawyer was still taller than Kyle, but he
would walk with the prisoner s habitual slump, so it wouldn t matter that
much, if at all. They were ready now, but the plan called for them to stay
together for the full hour. Just as they always did. Everything exactly the
same. Rituals to be observed.
Do you want to ask your questions the eight? the lawyer said. Or should I
ask them?
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Kyle went through the usual questions. Then neither of them spoke for the
remainder of the time they had together. Kyle Craig seemed to be almost in a
trance. But he was just thinking ahead, making plans.
Finally, when only a minute or so of the meeting remained, Kyle rose first,
looking like the lawyer, of course.
Then the lawyer stood, looking like Kyle Craig.
Kyle extended his arms, and Mason Wainwright moved into them. In your
honor, the lawyer whispered. I apologize that this took so long to arrange.
Masterpieces take time, said Kyle Craig.
Chapter 32
MASON WAINWRIGHT WAS SLUMPED over slightly and looking down at the floor when
the guard opened the door to the small meeting room. Let s go, Craig, the
guard ordered. Play period s over. Time to go back to your suite.
Wainwright muttered his assent, then he moved down the hallway in front of
the ill-tempered turnkey. He was bent over and shuffling like the dead man
walking he was supposed to be.Just don t let him see you blink , he reminded
himself.
This was the time when the whole plan could go up in flames. Everything could
be lost in the next few minutes. His part was an easy one to play, though stay
calm, keep quiet, head down unless the guard noticed some change, some error
on his part. The lawyer had studied Kyle Craig s mannerisms for months and
believed he pretty much had everything down. Still, he couldn t be certain
until this was over.
Suddenly the guard s nightstick was in the small of his back.What was this?
Shit, no !
He d obviously made a mistake and wondered what it was.Where had he messed up
and ruined the escape Kyle Craig had been planning since the first day he
arrived at the supermaximum-security prison ? Maybe even before then, since
the Mastermind seemed to anticipate everything that could possibly happen.
Thisway, Mastermind. You forget the way to your own cell, genius? the guard
said, and laughed derisively. C mon, let s move it! Gotta get back to my
Court TV.
The lawyer didn t look around at the prison guard, didn t acknowledge him in
any way, just turned down the indicated corridor and continued to slump along.
Fortunately nothing else went wrong on the way back to Kyle Craig s cell.
Finally the guard slammed the door, and Wainwright was alone.He d done it !
Only then did the lawyer raise his eyes and dare to look around. So, this was
where the Mastermind had lived, andhow he had lived for the past several
years. What a disgrace that such a fine mind would be trapped in a space with
virtually no stimulation and that Kyle had been subject to the urges and whims
of bestial prison guards and slow-witted administrators.
In your honor, the lawyer whispered again, then he prepared himself to
follow the rest of Kyle Craig s instructions.
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The lawyer checked out the small cell, which was made of poured concrete. The
bed, desk, stool, and bedside table were screwed into the floor as a safety
precaution. The toilet had an automatic shutdown so cells couldn t be flooded.
Kyle had earned a black-and-white TV, but it only played self-help and
religious programming, so who would want to watch it?
The lawyer felt claustrophobic, terribly so, and thought that it would be
difficult not to lose one s sanity in this tiny hellhole. Mason Wainwright
finally had to laugh at that. Most people would feel that he had lost his
sanity a long time ago, even before he became one of the Mastermind s
disciples.
When a guard did a check just before mealtime at six that night, he couldn t
believe what he saw. He immediately pushed the panic button on his belt. Then
he waited for help to come running. Still, the guard couldn t take his eyes
away from the jail cell.
Kyle Craig had hung himself!
Chapter 33
THE SUN WAS SHINING in Kyle Craig s eyes, and what a glorious thing that
was.The sun! Imagine . He drove Mason Wainwright s Jaguar coupe a couple of
miles over the speed limit to a mall outside Denver, where a Mercedes SUV was
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