15
I didn’t care about any of that. It wasn’t my choice, I 16
felt, but his. He could walk free at any time or answer my 17
questions and eat steak.
18
“Mr. Bennet,” I said.
19
“Mr. Dodd-Blakey.”
20
“Are you ready to answer my questions?”
21
“Don’t you mean am I ready to go home?”
22
“Not before you answer my questions.”
23
I thought that there were tears in his eyes, but I wasn’t 24
certain.
25
“Why do you want to be down here in this cage?” I asked.
26
“Don’t you see? Haven’t you been listening to me?” he S 27
said. “With a word from me, your life could end. Maybe R 28
just with a gesture. A sentence could level a city block or
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Walter Mosley
1
blow a jetliner out of the sky. A dream could destroy Phila-2
delphia. A disagreement could throw western Africa into 3
famine for five years. You see it every day on TV, but no one 4
listens. People like me move around, but no one knows our 5
names.”
6
“Maybe you’re hiding down here,” I suggested.
7
“I’m not afraid to die, Charles. I’ve truly walked 8
through the valley of death.”
9
“If you aren’t hiding, then are you afraid of what you 10
might do?”
11
“There’s nothing I can do. Nothing.”
12
“I don’t understand. If you feel like you don’t make a 13
difference, then why torture yourself ?”
14
Bennet looked at me with wide frightened eyes. “Don’t 15
leave me in the dark again, Charles. Give me a couple of 16
days with some food and light.”
17
“All you have to do is answer my question, Mr. Bennet.”
