"I fail to see how slaughtering tens of millions of people will give your fallen soldiers peace. It's not even an act of war.
With all due respect, this madness is purely selfish, seeking to comfort your own soul. You, General, appear to me to be nothing more than a hopeless idiot." As
Mason spoke, Jack's body subconsciously tensed. He hadn't expected the old man to be so bold. If he provoked his wrath, he would have to resort to the worst possible strategy.
Unexpectedly, Hammer laughed instead, as if he had become addicted to debating with the old Englishman. "Thomas Jefferson said that the tree of liberty must be constantly watered with the blood of patriots and tyrants alike."
"Oscar Wilde also said that patriotism is an evil virtue." Mason's response, also a quote from a famous figure, nearly made Jack laugh.
Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States and the author of the Declaration of Independence. Along with George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, he is considered one of the three founding fathers of the United States, a figure comparable to the founding fathers.
The problem was that Mason was British. The moment the New World colonists cried out for freedom and launched the Revolutionary War, it was naturally the beginning of treason for Britain.
The context of Oscar Wilde's words is even more interesting. An Irishman born in Dublin, the country he was referring to was precisely Britain, which had stood by and watched the Irish famine.
History is so interesting. Whether a patriot or a traitor means something different when spoken by different people.
Hammer, who had not been angered before, finally lost his temper and punched Mason in the ribs.
The old British man was still quite strong and he straightened up quickly, jokingly saying, "Thank you for proving my point with your actions."
Jack wanted to say that he was planning to rely on his eloquence to delay time and had no intention of resisting with his body, but the role was snatched away by old man Mason, so he had no choice but to change his strategy.
"General, I implore you to consider my suggestion. Since you're a general who cares about his soldiers, you should be able to see the situation clearly. Everything is over now. Why not give those soldiers who followed you a chance to live?"
Jack said, pointing to the sky. "Drones and satellites are watching us. Everything happening here is visible. The reason Air Force bombers didn't show up immediately is that many people still believe you're a true patriot.
The Pentagon has always believed that you, with your outstanding achievements, are not the kind of person who would kill innocent people."
"That's because they underestimated my determination." Hammer glanced at his subordinates, who were looking at different expressions, and winked at Major Buster. "Lock them up first, then notify everyone to assemble."
Jack thought to himself that things hadn't come to the worst after all.
-
"Go!" Another rifle butt struck Jack's back, again from the thick-lipped, bowl-cut black soldier.
Jack stumbled forward, his cheek still stained with freshly congealed blood. He looked like a hero about to die a heroic death.
The cells on both sides contained the unfortunate tourists who had visited the island the day before. When they saw Larry Henderson, a father of three, who was also brought back as hostage behind the two men, they stretched out their arms from the iron bars and some began to pray loudly.
After locking Larry Henderson back in the cell, Major Buster pointed at Jack and Mason to the black soldier and said, "Put them both in solitary confinement."
Jack rolled his eyes and asked casually, "Mason, do you remember which cell you were originally locked up in?"
Mason looked towards the second floor knowingly and said, "Of course, the fourth room on the second floor, my VIP suite. It's very luxurious and quite nostalgic."
Major Buster sneered after hearing the conversation between the two and said, "In that case, I don't mind letting you revisit the old place and lock them up in that cell."
The cell door was locked with a "clang". Listening to the footsteps gradually fading away, Mason sat down on the musty bed and patted the sheets as if with some nostalgia. As a result, he was choked by the dust and coughed repeatedly.
"Ahem, it looks like our mission is accomplished?"
"Of course not," Jack said, surveying the cell. "This is far worse than the ones I was in. How did you manage to hold on?"
It was a single-person cell, no more than five square meters, so cramped that you couldn't stretch your arms without hitting the wall. It was truly inferior to the four-person cell in Margrave.
"I hold onto hope. Hope that if I could one day be free, I might see my lover and daughter.
Hope is humble, but it keeps the will to live alive and prevents madness."
The old man began tearing the tattered sheets. Jack, knowing what he was about to do, helped him rip them into strips.
"You knew Jim Womack wouldn't let you go easily, so you tore up the pardon papers when you got them. So why did you offer to help me before?"
"I told you, freedom and seeing my daughter is my only hope for staying sane and alive. Why would I help you?" Mason glanced sideways at Jack, took the strips, and began to weave a rope.
"That bastard Womack isn't trustworthy, but you, the little fox, and the old fox behind you might be worth a deal. I can't just watch you get trapped here and die in a bombing."
Jack glanced at the rusted bars on the cell door. He figured it wouldn't be too difficult to break them by force, but he had to accept the old man's favor.
"I can certainly find a way to get Jade out of the country without the Bureau knowing, but that's going to take time, probably a year or two at least."
Jack paused. "And that only works if she's willing to cooperate."
"Yes, yes, if she's willing." Mason paused, as if he'd never considered the issue before. Jack's words made him anxious.
"That's fine. Even if she doesn't want to, I can still find a way to stay by her side."
Jack shook his head. "Then you'd better try to convince her. I forgot to tell you, my team specializes in hunting down wanted criminals, and I don't want to see you on the wanted list again."
Mason smiled wryly. "Isn't it a little early for us to talk about this now?"
"I don't think we'll have time to talk about this after this is over." Jack rolled his eyes. "Have you never considered handing over that secret?"
"Help." Mason gestured for Jack to lift one end of the iron bed and, with a single effort, detach the iron leg.
"Hand it over? Once Womack gets the film, he'll immediately put a bullet in my head. That's their usual solution."
"But what if the order is reversed?" Jack asked with a smile as he watched him tie one end of the braided rope to the bed leg.
"What do you mean?" Mason asked, puzzled, as he lifted the bed leg out through the prison bars and began to swing it in circles.
"You disappear first, then hand over the film in exchange for the FBI's tacit approval and dropping the wanted notice." Jack's words made the old man pause slightly.
(End of this chapter)