Condemned by John Nicholas Iannuzzi Page B

heads—not because they’re skeptics. A lot of them are not—not anymore. They shake their heads because they can’t believe they’re even thinking seriously that this might be the necessary solution.”
    â€œKnowing politicians—present company excluded,” said Sandro, “it probably frightens them to think about going out on a limb and telling their constituents they think drugs should be made legal.”
    The Senator laughed softly. “When push comes to shove, the thing they keep coming back to is, what are you going to do about all the people who come from out of state? You’ll flood the state with junkies, like Amsterdam. That’s what we have to work out, Sandro.”
    â€œIt should be introduced in Washington, nationally. Then we wouldn’t have that problem.”
    â€œWe’re just showing Washington the way,” said the Senator. “But you have to make the bill foolproof, work out the residency requirements, constitutionality, all that; otherwise it’ll be sucked down ass-backward. We don’t want to provide the morality lobbyists a hook to pull us down with.”
    â€œAre there a lot of people lobbying against it?” said Sandro.
    â€œYou bet. Most of them represent law enforcement, D.A.’s, Police, Corrections.”
    â€œCorrections?”
    â€œThey say they’ll have a problem with the thousands of people who are in for crimes that aren’t going to be crimes any more. They never bother to mention the real reason that they’re concerned: the huge loss of funds currently being poured into correction facilities. They get twisted when I say, okay, we’ll pardon the people in jail for crimes that are no longer crimes.” The Senator laughed. “They come back and say, then you’ll be putting thousands of convicts on the streets.”
    â€œSounds like you’re having a lot of fun,” said Sandro.
    â€œAt least we have the vagasites moving. But, nothing’s going to happen if you don’t finish the bill. Your secretary said you’re going to be out of town for the weekend, racing?”
    â€œWhat’s the matter with her, telling people where I’ve gone for the weekend.”
    â€œDon’t be putting me in the position of getting your secretary in trouble because she told me where you were. I told her how important it was, that I needed my bill. She told me because she knows we’re close.”
    â€œWe are?”
    â€œJust tell me when I can get my hands on the bill.”
    â€œI’m on my way back in,” said Sandro. He glanced over at Tatiana. She smiled.
    â€œBack to New York? What happened to your racing weekend?”
    â€œMerian Ellis happened. She sent a Marshal after me.”
    â€œFederal Court Merian Ellis?”
    â€œI hope there aren’t two of them.”
    â€œWhat did you do now?”
    â€œApparently something happened to Red Hardie’s lawyer,” said Sandro, “and Ellis plans to stick me back into the trial.”
    â€œDo you have to accept the case?”
    â€œShe can do anything she likes,” said Sandro, “including putting me in jail for contempt if I refuse. But I’m going to appeal to her sense of decency and fairness.”
    â€œWhen you tell me that, I know you’re in real trouble, pal,” said the Senator. “I may try and sell her on the de-criminalization bill, that these people shouldn’t be tried for a crime.”
    â€œFat chance on that one,” the Senator said. “When will you be in? You want to get together later tonight?”
    The tall towers of the George Washington Bridge, with its network of cables, appeared out of the early evening sky. “Maybe we’ll do something like that,” said Sandro. “I’m just getting to the G.W.B. We were supposed to go out to celebrate Tatiana’s birthday.”
    â€œAnd your anniversary,” said