The Sky Is Falling

Dana stood there in shock. "Expelled. Why? What has he done?"

"Perhaps we should discuss it in person. I would appreciate it if you would come and pick him up."

"Mr. Henry - "

"I'll explain when you get here, Miss Evans. Thank you."

Dana replaced the receiver, stunned. What could have happened?

Olivia asked, "Is everything all right?"

"Great." Dana groaned. "This makes the morning just about perfect."

"Can I do anything?"

"Say an extra prayer for me."

Earlier in the morning, when Dana had dropped Kemal off at school, waved good-bye, and driven away, Ricky Underwood was watching.

As Kemal started to walk past him, Ricky said, "Hey, it's the war hero. Your mom must be real frustrated. You only have one arm, so now when you play stinky finger with her - "

Kemal's movements were almost too swift to be seen. His foot slammed hard into Ricky's groin, and as Ricky screamed and started to double over, Kemal's left knee shot up and broke his nose. Blood spurted into the air.

Kemal leaned over the moaning figure on the ground. "Next time I'll kill you."

Dana drove as fast as she could to Theodore Roosevelt Middle School, wondering what could have happened. Whatever it is, I have to talk Henry into keeping Kemal in school.

Thomas Henry was waiting for Dana in his office. Kemal was seated in a chair opposite him. As Dana walked in, she had a sense of deja vu.

"Miss Evans."

Dana said, "What happened?"

"Your son broke a boy's nose and cheekbone. An ambulance had to take him to the emergency room."

Dana looked at him in disbelief. "How - how could that have happened? Kemal has only one arm."

"Yes," Thomas Henry said tightly. "But he has two legs. He broke the boy's nose with his knee."

Kemal was studying the ceiling.

Dana turned to him. "Kemal, how could you do that?"

He looked down. "It was easy."

"You see what I mean, Miss Evans," Thomas Henry said. "His whole attitude is - I - I don't know how to describe it. I'm afraid we can no longer put up with Kemal's behavior. I suggest you find a more suitable school for him."

Dana said earnestly, "Mr. Henry, Kemal doesn't pick fights. I'm sure that if he got into a fight, he had a good reason for it. You can't - "

Mr. Henry said firmly, "We've made our decision, Miss Evans." There was finality in his tone.

Dana took a deep breath. "All right. We'll look for a school that's more understanding. Come on, Kemal."

Kemal got up, glared at Mr. Henry, and followed Dana out of the office. They walked toward the curb in silence. Dana looked at her watch. She was now late for her appointment, and she had no place to put Kemal. I'll have to take him with me.

When they got into the car, Dana said, "All right, Kemal. What happened?"

There was no way he would ever tell her what Ricky Underwood had said. "I'm very sorry, Dana. It was my fault."

Rad, Dana thought.

The Hudson estate was nestled on five acres of ground in an exclusive area of Georgetown. The house, invisible from the street, was a three-story Georgian-style mansion on a hill. It had a white exterior and a long, sweeping driveway leading up to the front entrance.

Dana stopped the car in front of the house. She looked at Kemal. "You're coming in with me."

"Why?"

"Because it's cold out here. Come on."

Dana went to the front door and Kemal reluctantly followed her.

Dana turned to him. "Kemal, I'm here to do a very important interview. I want you to be quiet and polite. Okay?"

"Okay."

Dana rang the bell. The door was opened by a pleasant-faced giant of a man in the uniform of a butler. "Miss Evans?"

"Yes."

"I am Cesar. Mr. Hudson is expecting you." He looked at Kemal, then back at Dana. "May I have your coats?" A moment later he was hanging them up in the front hall guest closet. Kemal kept staring up at Cesar, who towered above him.

"How tall are you?"

Dana said, "Kemal! Don't be rude."

"Oh, it's all right, Miss Evans. I'm quite used to it."

"Are you bigger than Michael Jordan?" Kemal asked.

"I'm afraid so." The butler smiled. "I'm seven feet one. Come this way, please."

The entry was enormous, a long hall with a hard-wood floor, antique mirrors, and marble tables. Along the walls were shelves of precious Ming Dynasty figurines and Chihuly blown-glass statues.

Dana and Kemal followed Cesar down the long hallway to a step-down living room, with pale yellow walls and white woodwork. The room was furnished with comfortable sofas, Queen Anne end tables, and Sheraton wing chairs covered in pale yellow silk.

Senator Roger Hudson and his wife, Pamela, were seated at a backgammon table. They rose as Dana and Kemal were announced by Cesar.

Roger Hudson was a stern-looking man in his late fifties, with cold gray eyes and a wary smile. There was a cautious aloofness about him.

Pamela Hudson was a beauty, slightly younger than her husband. She seemed warm and open and down to earth. She had ash-blond hair and a trace of gray that she had not bothered to disguise.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," Dana apologized. "I'm Dana Evans. This is my son, Kemal."

"I'm Roger Hudson. This is my wife, Pamela."

Dana had looked up Roger Hudson on the Internet. His father had owned a small steel company, Hudson Industries, and Roger Hudson had built it into a worldwide conglomerate. He was a billionaire, had been the Senate majority leader, and at one time had headed the Armed Services Committee. He had retired from business and was now a political adviser to the White House. Twenty-five years earlier he had married a society beauty, Pamela Donnelly. The two of them were prominent in Washington society and influential in politics.