The Mission Refused
Two weeks later, Cardinal left the prison through the back gate. Two weeks! When he was about to be put to death, the place was ringed with singing hippies protesting the death penalty. When he was pardoned, the hippies were abruptly replaced with middle-aged conservatives furious that he was not going to be fried. The warden couldn’t release him until they left – they were more violent by far than the hippies – and that didn’t happen until rumors spread about a abortion clinic opening up in a nearby town.
It was amazing how fast you could ignite a rumor with email and a fax machine.
It was 6 am. Cardinal started down the dusty road on foot. The warden had begrudged him even a lift into town.
No more than 200 feet from the prison, he felt the hair on his neck rise up. A black helicopter was bearing down upon him, the words “FBI” inscribed on both doors.
“Those idiots have a lot to learn about low-profile operations,” Cardinal thought. For the first time in his adult life he was in a public place without a hand-grenade. He lowered his head and walked faster.
The helicopter descended to about 5 feet off the ground, and slowly trailed him down the road like a scrawny owner holding the leash of a big dog.
A voice came out of the wind. “CARDNIAL,” it said. Someone was using a bullhorn. “GET ON THE CHOPPER. WE HAVE A MISSION FOR YOU.”
He looked over his shoulder. “Classified?”
“YES. TOP SECRET.” The sound of the horn echoed off the prison walls.
“The last time I took a mission from you clowns I ended up killing my mother.”
“YOUR MOTHER IS STILL ALIVE. WE FAKED HER DEATH FOR THE GOOD OF THE MISSION.”
“My mother is still alive? What about the insurance adjuster?”
“OH, HE’S STILL DEAD.”
One out of two ain’t bad.
“LOOK, JOHN, ARE YOU GETTING IN THIS CHOPPER OR NOT?”
“Hell no! I had enough of you people.”
“THEN I GUESS WE HAVE TO DO THIS THE HARD WAY. DON’T MAKE US SHOOT YOU.” Cardinal saw the steel of a silencer wink in the sunlight as it slid through the helicopter window.
Oh, hell, Cardinal thought. He lurched into a sprint, bullets flying over his head.
Why, oh why didn’t the warden give me my grenade back, he thought angrily. I did get a full pardon, didn’t I?
Next Episode – The Second Escape