The End of the Road

Chapter One

They say that hindsight is 20/20. Well, a lot of good that does me now! A well-trained agent should have the foresight to anticipate problems, but since I'm technically no longer an agent, I'm not sure that applies to me. I guess I was still one when I ran, of course, but at that point my only thought was to get away, to reach a place where no one knew me and where those who did know me would never find me. I've done that now....but at what cost?

I have nobody to blame but myself for this predicament, and that is exactly how I'd planned it. When Oscar came to my house to tell me the NSB was going to put me away, I have no doubt he'd have come with me, if I'd only asked. He was already risking so much in simply warning me what was ahead; asking more from him would've been asking him to turn his back on his entire life – and on the country that needs him. As badly as I wanted his help, that wouldn't have been fair, and I knew it.

Chris found me not long after I'd initially taken off. My first thought had been to go to a place where I'd always felt safe in the past, to collect my thoughts, so I went to my parents' old cabin in the mountains. I knew I couldn't stay there long, though, because while it wouldn't be the first place to pop up on the NSB's radar, they would figure it out eventually. I was just about ready to move on when the knock came at the door. Of course, I thought they'd somehow tracked me down already – but it was Chris. He said he loved me, that he wanted to be with me...but not on the run. He urged me to turn myself in and even said he'd go to the NSB's little 'retirement community' with me. As much as I cared for him, living the rest of my life without the freedom that our country promises its citizens....well, that just wasn't an option. I knew I had to keep going, alone.

Steve tried to help me, too. As soon as Skylab returned to Earth and Oscar and Rudy told him what I'd done, he took off on his own to find me. I saw him before he saw me and I tried for over a week to give him the slip and get away, but finally I gave in and met with him. He offered to find me transport to anywhere in the world, no questions asked and no strings attached. I had to sleep on that one, but ended up turning him down. Too afraid of leaving any loose ends behind me, I guess.

So I kept going....alone. I changed my appearance as much as I could tolerate, but doing that really bugged me. I mean, the entire point of running in the first place was that I wanted to feel like me again – and not like a robotic puppet dangling on the government's string – and seeing a stranger when I looked in the mirror sort of defeated the purpose, you know? So once I felt comfortable in my new place of residence, I gradually made the switch back to where the person in the mirror was Jaime Sommers, or at least the new and improved version.

I miss my friends and family terribly, but I have something quite valuable here – my peace of mind. (Or at least....I did.) How did I do it, you ask? How did I elude the Penguin Suits, the Wanted posters and the search dogs? First, I headed North. Still looking like me, I made sure to allow myself to be spotted on my way out of half a dozen areas, leaving a clear trail toward Canada. Then I doubled back (with my newly-changed appearance) and headed South. You can get a very nice little home on the edge of the South American jungle for surprisingly little cash...no questions asked. I speak just enough Spanish to get by, and the locals here are quite suspicious of Americans in general – and the U.S. Government in particular – so I've finally allowed myself to settle in and feel secure. I tuck my hair up into a hat or a brightly-colored scarf and I'm good to go, although most of the time I've simply stayed where I'm at, enjoying this new-found sense of anonymity...and freedom.

There's only one problem – something I should have considered but that never entered my mind. A couple of nights ago, I noticed a tremor in my right hand....

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