THE TOWERS FAMILY SAGA
        EPISODE 35
The transport bus arrived
at dawn. Robert was
shackled at the wrists
and ankles, the heavy
metal chain clinking with
every step he took across
the asphalt. He boarded
the bus and took a seat
by the window. The sky
was a pale, dusty pink
as the sun began to rise
over the Arizona desert.
As the bus pulled out of
the gate, Robert saw a
lone figure standing by
the perimeter fence. It
was Tyler. His son didn't
wave, and he didn't shout.
He simply stood there,
watching the bus go by,
his hand over his heart.
Robert pressed his shackled
hand against the glass in
return. He watched the
skyline of the city fade
into the distance, the
towers he had built, the
streets he had paved, and
the empire he had lost.
The bus turned toward the
north, heading for the
desert facility near the
Rim. It was the same
direction as the waste
drums he had hidden.
Fate had a sense of
irony, Robert thought. He
was being sent to the very
place where his lies had
started. The man sitting
next to him on the bus
nudged his shoulder.
"What you in for, old
man?" he asked, his voice
rough with years of the
street. Robert didn't
hesitate. "Truth-telling,"
he said. The man laughed,
a dry, hacking sound.
"That'll get you every
time. Most of us are in
for the other thing."
Robert looked out at the
shifting sands. "The
other thing is much more
expensive," he said
quietly. The bus rattled
along the highway, moving
away from the life of a
billionaire and toward
the life of a man. The
radical honesty had
carried him this far.
Now, it was time to see if
it could carry him through
the next five years.

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