The American Connection

lived in the house. Chris had been away at his parents' home during the Thanksgiving raid.

‘Hold tight and lay low,’ Chris told Par.

‘I’m on my way over to pick you up and take you to a lawyer’s office where you can get some sort of protection.’

A specialist in criminal law, Richard Rosen was born in New York but raised in his later childhood in California. He had a personality which reflected the steely stubbornness of a New Yorker, tempered with the laid-back friendliness of the west coast. Rosen also harboured a strong anti-authoritarian streak. He represented the local chapter of Hell’s Angels in the middle-class County of Monterey. He also caused a splash rep- resenting the growing midwifery movement, which promoted home-births. The doctors of California didn’t like him much as a result.

Par’s room-mates met with Rosen after the raid to set things up for Par’s return. They told him about the terrifying ordeal of the Secret Service raid, and how they were interrogated for an hour and a half before being pressured to give statements. Scott, in particular, felt that he had been forced to give a state- ment against Par under duress.

While Par talked to Chris on the phone, he noticed a man standing at the end of the row of pay phones. This man was also wearing a walkman. He didn’t look Par in the eye. Instead, he faced the wall, glancing furtively off to the side toward where Par was standing. Who was that guy? Fear welled up inside Par and all sorts of doubts flooded his mind. Who could he trust?

Scott hadn’t told him about the raid. Were his room-mates in cahoots with the Secret Service? Were they just buying time so they could turn him in? There was no-one else Par could turn to. His mother wouldn’t understand. Besides, she had problems of her own. And he didn’t have a father. As far as Par was concerned, his father was as good as dead. He had never met the man, but he heard he was a prison officer in Florida. Not a likely candidate for helping Par in this situation. He was close