MISCHA MADE IT THROUGH security at Bordeaux-Merignac and sat at the gate for her departing flight, which was scheduled to take off at 1:50 p.m. Around her, a few female American students were talking about a boy one of them had met here in Bordeaux. She enjoyed a brief moment of peace and hope, as she pondered something that once seemed impossible: a new life.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5UBIIO3sB
All told, her journey would take her more than twenty-four hours. One day. And then she would be Audrey Becker, American expatriate, or someone else Drake invented for her. If, that is, she could trust him.
She closed her eyes as the flight attendant's voice came over the loudspeaker, first in French, then English. All passengers were still boarding. Starting with first-class passengers and elite members of the airline's loyalty program.
Now boarding for a new life. A life with fresh air and blue skies and the sweet taste of freedom.
She hadn't won, exactly. She hadn't solved the problem or corrected the injustice. She was close, she thought, but she remembered what Drake had said to her in Belroux: even if she were right, she couldn't prove anything.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35jMt3pOGI
She might be right. She didn't know for sure. But if she was taken back into custody, she'd never know for sure.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrBRtzxFDW3
Get away, she told herself. Escape.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1DUAnn1A4s
Then maybe you can come up with the answer. Surely you'll think of something, Mischa. But get away first.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61SpGOAyBl
The overhead loudspeaker called for the back rows of coach class, including the row she was in, to board.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRz9pH64cD
She took a breath, got up, and got in line.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvGt1G0H5Q
