When he thought about the interrogation, torture, and the almost certain fate of being publicly executed amid the scorn of thousands, possibly implicating his family...
Boundless fear washed over him like a tidal wave. He could not endure such humiliation and pain, absolutely not!
He wandered like a headless fly in the chaotic office, his gaze finally fixed on the locked lower right drawer of his desk.
He almost lunged at it, fumbling a small key out of his suit's inner pocket. Due to extreme panic, it took him several tries to fit it into the keyhole.
With a "click," the drawer popped open.
Underneath a few inconsequential documents lay a meticulously maintained, gleaming handgun, an HK P30L pistol produced by the German company Heckler & Koch, 9mm caliber, one of his favorite weapons.
With trembling hands, he reached out, the metallic touch sending a shiver through him, tightly grasping that familiar polymer grip.
