Only A Matter of Time

C alixte had always wondered how he would die.

And it seemed he had his answer now.

Why did I even bother trying to escape?

He was on an island run by one of the world's most wanted drug lords and his henchmen.

Alone and handicapped by a crushed kneecap.

Outnumbered, Calixte was used to.

He had survived much better odds than this.

But in all those instances, he had never been as badly injured as he was now, and with backup reinforcements only likely to take another hour before they could locate and rescue him---

This is it then.

He waited to feel fear or regret.

But instead, there was simply emptiness inside of him.

Jacques had warned him against taking this mission.

'Suicidal' was the term his cousin had used, if he recalled correctly, and to be fair, the description was looking more and more apt by the second.

You already know your informant has double-crossed you.

So why bother showing up?

Why do you want to kill yourself so badly?

At that time, Calixte had answered the way he would if subjected to an internal investigation.

Suarez is a high-value asset, and locating his base of operations has been a priority for over a decade. This may be the only chance we have to take him down.

But now that it was just him and the waves that would witness his inevitable recapture?

It's because I no longer care.

He wasn't sure when, where, or how it happened. He had just realized one day that he had changed. His life no longer had meaning, and the job he used to love was just work, nothing else.

And maybe that's why I've slipped up.

Calixte had made mistakes that were unforgivable for veterans like him, and the result had been inevitable.

Imprisoned in one of Suarez's infamous torture chambers underground.

Chained and beaten up.

And likely to be recaptured, once they realized he had escaped.

They would set their dogs loose to search for him, and it would only be a matter of time before they found him.

After that, they would torture him.

It was par for the course since all they knew of Calixte was that he was someone who mattered. But there would be no ransom to be paid if they didn't know his name and who to ask money from.

This is really it.

Death was a certainty at this point.

But the jury was still out on when they would decide to kill him.

Suarez would likely keep him alive for a couple of days. Maybe even have someone play bad cop, good cop. The man was no quitter, and he would likely have lost several fingers and toes before they finally realized the truth.

He would never speak.

And so they would have no choice but to kill him.