The Charm School

the States and get picked up by the FBI. You can think about how sorry you are for the rest of your life in a federal penitentiary.” Hollis added baitingly, “You can study for your Air Force tests in the big house, General.”
    Rooney seemed at a loss for words. Several students began to gather around.
    Hollis continued, “They didn’t tell you that the rate of capture for you people is about two hundred a year, did they?”
    “No… they… I didn’t read about any…”
    “Even Western newspapers don’t know everything, you idiot.” Hollis snapped, “Get out of my sight.”
    “I’m sorry—”
    Lisa said, “You
know
better, Rooney. You
know
what a monstrous system this is. You all know, and there is no excuse for you. You are contemptible. Go away!”
    Rooney didn’t seem inclined to move, and neither did the growing crowd of young men and women. Rooney said, “I’m
sorry
. I really am. I… can’t understand why Colonel Burov—”
    “Then,” Hollis said, “why don’t you organize the students and make a protest to Burov?”
    “We can’t—”
    “No, you can’t because you are no more an American than Genghis Khan or Colonel Burov. You have no idea what it means to be a free man with rights and responsibilities.”
    “I do! I learned that here.”
    Lisa stepped closer to him. “You can’t
learn
that.” She poked him in the chest. “You have to live it every day. Go on, Rooney, go and exercise your right to freedom of speech, guaranteed in both our constitutions. Exercise your right to petition for redress of grievances. That would be good training for you.” She looked around. “For all of you.”
    No one spoke, and Hollis had the impression that some of the one hundred or so students in the barroom now were thinking about things, but a good number of them had that neutral vacuous expression that people wear when they hear a call to arms and pretend the speaker is addressing someone else. About half the students, however, seemed ready for some sort of action. Hollis said to them, “Do you understand that you have no more rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness than any prisoner here? Did you ever wonder what happened to the students who wash out of this school?”
    John Fleming, one of the men they had met on the basketball court, shouted, “You’re trying to seduce us in your typical Western way. We don’t listen to Western treachery.”
    Marty, the Landises’ boarder, called back, “If you’re going to argue with them, argue like an American, not a stupid Russian.”
    This brought some shouts pro and con. Suzie Trent stepped out of the crowd and walked directly to Lisa. “
What
happens to the students who wash out?”
    Before Lisa could answer, Jeff Rooney snapped at her, “Shut up! Do you want to get into trouble?”
    “I want to
know
.”
    The Landises’ other boarder, Sonny, stepped out of the crowd surrounding Hollis and Lisa and addressed the students. “
I’ll
speak like an American. These two are abusing their rights to free assembly and freedom of speech. They are inciting to riot and pose a clear and present danger to the peace. I propose we make a citizen’s arrest and take them to headquarters.”
    Hollis was impressed with Sonny’s grasp of the law and how it could be perverted. Hollis said to him, “Your master, Petr Burov, is going to illegally execute—”
    Sonny shouted, “There is nothing illegal about it! There are duly constituted laws in this place, Hollis, and Dodson broke one of them. He knew it was a capital offense.”
    Hollis stood face-to-face with Sonny. “What about the ten people to be executed at random? That is called reprisals and is unlawful in any civilized society.”
    Sonny put his face closer to Hollis’. “Are you saying we’re uncivilized?”
    Lisa pushed Sonny’s chest. “What do
you
call executing a POW who was doing his duty and exercising his right under the Geneva Convention to escape?”
    Sonny glared at Lisa, keeping a watch on Hollis out of the corner of his eye.
    The room was very quiet, and someone said softly, “She’s right. The execution is illegal under international law.”
    A few people murmured assent.
    Erik Larson cleared his throat. “Most of us are Red Air Force. We know that’s no way to execute a brother officer. Maybe we can draft a note to Burov—”
    “You needn’t bother,” Burov said as he strode into the room. There were six armed KGB Border Guards behind him. He