The Not so Secret Agent Ch. 14

Once he crossed the southern border she would be ready, with a change of clothes, transportation, and he hoped, a stack of hacksaw blades. The collar seemed tighter than ever now that he was just hours from escape, but it was time to focus on the present.

Arthur swam out to the fastest flow in the river's middle, then flipped on his back and stared up at the sky. To the east Orion the Hunter glittered in the pitch-black night. Eridanus the River meandered further to the south. Arthur had always thought this constellation difficult to find, but tonight enveloped in the cold East Danube waters it seemed that the stars were especially bright to the south. By dawn he figured he would be eighty miles downstream near the southern border.

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Flurries blew in serpentine waves across the sidewalk and piled a centimeter high against the empty fountain. Spokesman Ralkliv was careful to avoid icy patches on the stairs. He took the elevator to the fourth floor and walked down the hallway to his office.

His secretary was busy filling out forms, she paused. "Sir, this package was delivered this morning; the courier said it was mailed from America but it didn't have a return address on it."

Ralkliv picked up the large box, which weighed 10 or 11 kilograms, and took it back into his private office. He sliced though the tape with a penknife and opened the top. Inside, strangely enough, was another large box but this one was wrapped up like a present with a bow on top.

Ralkliv lifted the wrapped box out of the larger one, cut the ribbon, and removed the lid. Inside was a curious collection of items with a letter on top. He read the signature on the last page, then dropped it and hurriedly dug through the box.

He felt its cold edge before he saw it. For a few seconds he just stared at it. The curved metal piece had been roughly sawed through right in front of the engraved # 88588. Other objects inside included some kind of a scuba suit, a flashlight, a wristwatch, a few tools and an envelope with American money in it. Ralkliv threw it all back in the box and picked up the letter.

Spokesman Ralkliv,

Enclosed in this package are the items that I borrowed for use in my escape. The dry suit and wristwatch were taken from the MNR's water rescue center; all the other tools belong to Jakt. It was necessary to cut a perimeter fence on the south side of the Rika Chorna rail yard so I sent some cash to cover repairs. I was a criminal for over three years but I'm not a vandal or thief after all.

I wish I could have written earlier to explain what happened and to make clear that no one else inside Danubia had any knowledge of my plans. Not even Samantha knew; this whole operation was carried out with the help of only one other person from the outside, and I imagine you could guess who that was.

It took years of preparation for my plan to succeed, so I hope you don't take too much blame for not keeping control of me. The reason I waited to write this letter was that I had some difficulty convincing the US government that I am the same Arthur Liggett who was arrested overseas three and a half years ago.

As I'm sure you're aware there is no formal extradition treaty between the US and the Duchy, but being cautious, I wanted some extra protection before making my whereabouts known. It took four additional months to gain my new legal status; now, from what my lawyer tells me, so long as I stay in the United States I'm beyond the reach of your government.

When I showed up in California Samantha just stared at me like I was a space alien who had knocked on her front door. It was kind of funny; she didn't even recognize me at first since she'd never seen me dressed before.

Samantha was confused, angry, and ecstatic all at once. After a couple tumultuous months we got married in her family church (there are a couple photos taped to the underside of the lid). My mother and her third husband attended as well as my sister Tee. Samantha and I now live in Louisiana, near Baton Rouge, strangely enough it's not far from where I lived when this whole adventure began three and half years ago.

It was unfortunate that we had to part in such an unpleasant manner; I do appreciate all you did on my behalf but I needed to do what was in my own best interest. I suppose another man in my situation might have focused on reforming himself and learned to gracefully accept his humble status in life with honor and humility. But I guess my mother was right about me always being so stubborn and defiant - the only change I was willing to make was a change of address.

By the way, I didn't return the collar to taunt or gloat about my escape. When I got the thing sawed off in the hotel room rented by my accomplice, I just threw it in a box with everything else and took it with me. I didn't want to even look at the thing anymore, but it felt wrong to throw it in the trash so I decided to send it back to the Duchy with all the other stuff. Maybe it can be recycled into something more pleasant.

I hope our friends and acquaintances can forgive us, or at least forgive Samantha since she didn't mean to deceive them like I did. My contact information is written on the back of this sheet if any of them still care to reach us. I would be pleased to hear from you too spokesman, as long as it's not in your official capacity, that is.

Arthur Liggett

With a furious growl, Spokesman Ralkliv threw the letter down and shoved the box off his desk; the flashlight, tools, and broken collar skidded across the hard gray floor tiles. He stood there breathing heavy for a moment then sullenly collapsed back into his chair with his head clenched in the palms of both hands.

"Why..." Ralkliv rubbed his temples vigorously.

Alarmed at the noise; his secretary hurried into his office to find the floor covered in all sorts of junk. Ralkliv was completely unresponsive, leaning forward in his chair holding his head as though he had a furious headache. He ignored her completely and just sat there asking that same question over and over.

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Why did I save him from the firing squad?"