Take The Reason Prisoner Part 5

"The procedure is as usual except that, when the prisoners go into The Cage, they are going to get an overnight conditioning treatment.

"But until they've had that treatment, you must be alert! These are all dangerous men."

Beside the general, Thornberry whispered hearty agreement. "Yes, yes!

Except for Rooney, everyone on that list is here for armed robbery or murder and usually both."

Bennington lowered his megaphone. "I almost forgot to tell you. I added a complete physical search to your metal-detectors, we're doing it right inside the door to the corridor.

"And we're keeping all their personal effects. That was bad, Dr.

Thornberry, letting them have their money. As long as a prisoner has cash, you can't trust any guard."

Thornberry froze. "As prison psychologist, I protest. I consider those procedures an unwarranted invasion of physical privacy and a forcing of a man into dependency with traumatic effects--"

"I would much rather make a prisoner dependent on my good will than have him bribe my guards, doctor. And I would much rather invade his privacy than have him invade my stomach with a knife made out of bone.

"A metal-spotter is, perhaps, good, but too many killing tools can get by them."

Thornberry seemed more than willing to continue the discussion, but the tractor-trailers were pulling off the bridge. After a moment's jockeying, they turned so that the back of the trailers pointed toward The Cage.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

A corporal eased out of the white car that had led the convoy. He s.h.i.+fted his shotgun to his left arm, saluted, said, "General Bennington? Corporal Forester, with thirty-four prisoners."

"Thirty-four? We expected thirty-five."

"Ralph Musto tried to get another idea in the Harrisburg terminal.

He'll be in the hospital about ten days."

"Musto?" For a moment, the name meant nothing to Bennington.

"Connecticut, sir, one of the murder and bank cases. Are you prepared to accept delivery of the others?"

"Yes, we are. But we are unfortunately a little short-handed today...."

"We always stay around till the boys are in The Cage, sir," the corporal said.

"Thanks. Start unloading."

Corporal Forester saluted again and turned to face the vans. He waved his arm and another trooper unlocked the door of the trailer to the general's left. A group of men slowly jumped out and stood blinking in the sun.

A trooper opened a large compartment beneath the van and yanked out several large bags, all locked, all bulging, all the type Bennington had known too well since the Second War.

The prisoners' personal effects, Bennington decided, and lifted his megaphone.

"Form a single line facing the gate," he commanded.

There was an excess of shuffling movement, but at last a line was formed.

Corporal Forester waved his hand again. The doors of the trailer were locked and it started across the bridge.

Then the second trailer was unloaded and sent away. When its cargo had added themselves to the line, the corporal again approached Bennington.

"Want a roll call, sir?"

"The count is correct, but a roll call will help get them in order, in the right frame of mind." Bennington raised his megaphone to his lips.

"Now get this! When your name is called, sound out HERE and run for that gate. Then walk up the path and through the open door.

"John Musto."

A stockily-built, dark-faced man stepped from the line and with an exaggerated slowness dawdled toward the gate. His pose lasted only a moment. One of the Duncannon guards stepped forward and smacked his rifle barrel across Musto's kidneys. The bank robber and murderer pitched headlong to his knees, got up slowly with a snarl. But when the guard gestured again with his rifle, Mus...o...b..oke into a shambling run.

Bennington waited until the first of the brothers stood panting at the gate, then called, "Pietro Musto."

One example had been enough. Pietro took off on the double. In five minutes the last man had vanished into The Cage.

"You get these, too, sir." Corporal Forester, with a bundle of papers.

"Right. And thanks for staying, corporal. By the way, isn't there something I sign?"

The trooper produced a form and a pen. Bennington signed and they saluted each other. The corporal grinned, then his expression sobered.

"That's a real bunch there, sir."

"We're conditioning them immediately, corporal."

"Good idea, sir. The sooner, the better!"

With another salute, the corporal turned to his car and Bennington started toward The Cage.

Inside The Cage, Bennington went into the corridor that led behind the mirrors. He wanted to watch the weapons-check and the conditioning; he found Thornberry waiting for him.

Bennington looked through the mirrors at the men standing as he and his party had stood yesterday. Room One of The Cage was marked off into numbered squares. Each man stood on a number, separated from his brother cons by about ten square feet. They knew they were being watched, although the men behind the mirrors were invisible to the prisoners. They stirred restlessly, standing first on one foot, then on the other, looking uneasily in all directions and seeing nothing but their own reflections.

"Dalton is on Ten," Thornberry said.

Bennington looked and saw an exceedingly average-looking man. Wouldn't notice him in a crowd, the general thought and realized that he had learned one reason for Dalton's success.

"Start the random sequence with him," he said. The system was set up so that no prisoner knew when he would be summoned.

"I told them to do that," Thornberry said.

"Number Ten", the loud-speaker boomed.

The general moved down the corridor until he was looking into the hallway between Room One and Room Two. Until yesterday, the prisoners had simply walked down the corridor while detectors checked them for the presence of metals. They had then been held at the end of the hallway until they had stripped themselves of everything that had registered on the screens.

Today was different. Inside the door Dalton was being thoroughly and completely searched. Nothing was found, but Bennington could sense Thornberry's grim disapproval of the procedure.