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“Ha. I see. The drug-addicted criminal. Nobody will ever ask questions.”
I let that all sink in, but then, it didn't really matter to me. I had accepted the fact that I would die anyway.
“Elise knows nothing” was all I said.
“I made sure they know that.”
I looked straight into his eyes. “Thank you.”
He nodded. “Again. I’m sorry, my friend. I’ll see you on the other si—”
Just then, the door opened and two men marched into the room. Neither of them looked like a doctor, but then who cared about that detail? For a second, my mind jumped to a plan to escape. I could launch over the table and take the gun Murphy most likely carried on his hip and shoot both men. Then I could try to get as far as possible. But for what? Even if I made it out of here in some James Bond–like stunt, they would hunt me and would use Elise to catch me.
No.
It was better to just go in silence for the woman I loved and the child I loved just as much, although I had never held her in my arms.
Calmly, I stretched my arm out on the table to show the men I was ready for the injection without a fight. But just then, Elijah Radcliff stepped into the room, looking like he had just stepped out of a barber’s shop for his morning shave.
My eyes widened at Elijah in shock. He nodded at me as he stared at Luck Murphy, who was already on his feet talking to the two other men in suits.
"Luck, uncuff him,” the older of the two men in suits said.
I stared at Luck Murphy as he said quickly, “Andrei already did us that favor.”
All men exchanged glances.
Radcliff stepped closer to me. “It’s good to see you again.”
I threw him a curt nod. Then he pointed at the taller of the two men.
“This is Richard Healy, the new CIA director,” Radcliff explained.
Murphy gasped in utter shock. “You... you got rid of Wiser?”
Radcliff looked disturbed. “Got rid of? No. There were some problems with Wiser and he, well, decided to retire early.”
Murphy gasped for air as Richard Healy walked over and extended his hand for a handshake.
“I made you a promise,” Redcliff continued. “This is me fulfilling that promise.”
With a smile on his face, he handed me a letter with the seal of the president. For the first time since I left Elise, I felt joy and hope. I opened it and let my eyes run over the lines of the letter over and over again. All I could see were the words “presidential pardon” toward the end of it.
“Nobody but us knows,” Radcliff said. “Keep it this way. I’m not sure I could afford another one.” His tone was serious, and I believed him.
“You are free to go,” Healy said and stepped aside. He raised his hand toward the door. “We have a private plane waiting for you to take you back to Indonesia. Stay out of the public for a while.”
Slowly, as if this all was a dream I didn’t want to wake from, I stood up, walked toward the door, and turned once more.
“I... can go now?” I asked, looking from Murphy to Healy to Radcliff. Healy nodded. Murphy and Radcliff smiled.
So I got the fuck out of there.
In a matter of seconds, I went from lethal injection to freedom. I was in shock to say the least.
They all followed me out of the room and down a corridor. There, we were stopped by security, who held me by the arm and tried to put another hood over my face. I tried to fight them off, but Radcliff told me, “It’s standard protocol. This location is secret and, well, don’t take it personally, but freedom doesn’t mean they trust you.”
So I allowed the hood to stay on. Then one of them held me by the arm and guided me outside. Once there, they helped me into the back of a car that smelled of expensive leather and we drove off.
