“Nic, you mentioned that your aunt attempted to take care of you, keep you out of trouble,” said Gator.
“Yes. That’s right. She was Felix’s sister. She was a good person and didn’t want me in that life.”
“No. No, she didn’t. Did you know she had another brother?”
“Of course. My father was the other sibling. As I said he’d died or disappeared when I was just a baby.”
“He didn’t die,” said Ham. “He was working with Felix the entire time. He was living well, enjoying the life that Felix was giving him.”
“Wh-who are you talking about? I knew all of my uncle’s men.”
“He was probably hidden from you most of the time. His name was Julio.”
“Julio. I knew Julio. I knew him and he was good to me. He gave me advice on how to handle Uncle Felix.”
“He gave advice because he knew Felix better than anyone,” said Gator. “I’m sorry, Nic. Felix killed him before he left his villa. Your father is gone now.”
Nic was quiet for a long moment, just staring at the room. He stood, pacing back and forth and then looked at them again.
“I’m truly free? I can leave here and not worry about dying?” he asked.
“Well, accidents happen,” smirked Ham. “But I don’t think your uncle will be coming for you. I don’t think he needs to, nor do I think he’ll have the resources to do so.”
“I-I see,” he said nodding.
“Is there somewhere you’d like to go? Someplace you want to settle for a while?” asked Gator.
“I’ve always wanted to live in the mountains. As strange as it might seem, I’m not really a fan of warm weather. I enjoy the snow and cooler temperatures.”
“Alright, you pick the spot and we’ll get you there and get you started with a new life,” said Ham.
“What about what I’ve done? Those people I cremated? Am I going to stand trial?”
“If we put you before a court, you would be testifying against dead men,” said Gator. Nic’s eyes widened as understanding struck his body. He nodded. “You would take the punishment for something your uncle ordered. Yes, you drove the truck but you didn’t kill them. Yes, you cremated them and buried them. You’ll have to answer for that when it’s time.
“Maybe, when you get settled wherever you go, you can find a way to help others and give back. Try to make amends for what you did, Nic.”
“I swear to you, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to do just that. I won’t let you down.”
Nic was taken to a small town in upstate Washington. He was near the mountains and yet just as close to the sea. The team made sure he had a small account to get started and helped him to find employment.
As promised he went to work for a non-profit helping others with their own new adventures. From all sources, he was happier than he’d been in his entire life.
But the adventure at home was just beginning.
“Senator Ming, to what do we owe the honor?” asked Ham.
“You might not thing it’s an honor when we’re done,” she frowned. “The president has called a state-of-the-union where he plans to divulge something big. He’s only given hints but insiders are telling me that he’s about to blow the whistle on a whole bunch of people.”
“Including himself?” said Ham.
“I wish that were true but we both know he won’t implicate himself. Do you have evidence to the contrary? Anything that would help us to prove he was involved with all of this mess from the beginning?”
“Yes, ma’am. We do,” said Ham. “We’ll be sending a familiar face to present the evidence before congress. It’s going to get ugly and finger pointing is going to be at its highest level.”
“We’re prepared for that,” she said. “I want to thank you all for what you’ve done and I hope that we can become partners in the future. I know that your fathers and grandfathers before you had relationships with our government and we owe them a debt that can never be expressed or repaid. I’d like to be the next generation of those that will build that relationship once again.”
“We’d like that very much, Senator. I know that the Vice President expressed the same thing and we’re happy to work with him as well.”
