Chapter 54 Arctic Waters, 64° 57′ 0″ N, 19° 0′ 0″ W Unidentified Destroyer

Andalas opened his eyes. He felt incredible pain throughout his body. He was in a small clinic room that was commonly found on a ship. He was getting medical treatment while handcuffed to the bed.

He didn't have any idea how long he was unconscious in the cold Arctic Sea before the first speedboat arrived and saved him. Had they come minutes later, he would have turned to a frozen fossil in that freezing sea. Or, he would have been eaten alive by the meat-eating fish.

At least he was still alive. Even though Andalas knew this was only temporary. Once they managed to extract information from him, he would be killed in the end. They saved him so they could get as much information as possible about Doctor Aslan's plans.

Andalas tilted his body. Grabbed the buttons on his sleeves with his mouth then quickly laid back down because he heard footsteps approaching.

The iron door opened. Three people entered the room. One of them was a woman in the typical white lab coat and the other two were in military uniform.

"How's the killer doing, doctor?" A deep voice asked. "He's getting better. The guy has good physical abilities. Now it's just a matter of recovering, Commander." The woman dressed in the lab coat answered.

She took Andalas's arm and checked his pulse. She put the stethoscope on his chest and said,

"He's amazing, Commander. He should have been hypothermic and had pulmonary edema considering he's been submerged in waters as cold as the Arctic Sea for quite some times."

"I'm not surprised. According to the Executor, this person is one of the most dangerous assassins in the world." That deep voice again.

"So when can we interrogate him, Doctor?" another voice, curt and threatening.

The female doctor took a deep breath. Her tone seemed to be under pressure as she answered weakly.

"He will be completely healthy and fit tomorrow morning. I will give him a vitamin infusion so he can recover as soon as possible." Andalas felt sympathy and anxiety from the doctor's tone.

"Alright, doc. We'll pick him up to the examination room tomorrow morning before docking at Kefavlik base."

Andalas was secretly surprised. Kefavlik? It was one of the NATO military bases in Iceland. This destroyer turned out to be NATO. The influence of the Organization was extraordinary.

The two military men left. The female doctor stayed in the room.

Andalas opened his eyes slightly to see what the doctor was doing. The woman was just sitting pensive. She seemed to be thinking hard about what to do next.

Andalas felt very sorry for the doctor who looked very depressed. Tomorrow morning was the deadline for his execution. He had to act tonight.

While Andalas was making plans in his head, the female doctor got up, took a small tube from the small glass case, and walked back to Andalas's bed. She got the syringe and injected it into the Andalas's arm.

Andalas felt a huge flow of energy boost. The doctor injected him with adrenaline. She brought her face closer and whispered in his ear.

"I've helped you recover faster. I wish you could escape from here. I'm tired of helping them hurting people."

After a brief whisper, the doctor left the room leaving Andalas by himself.

Deep down inside, Andalas was very grateful to the doctor he barely knew. Whatever her motivation was, the doctor had given Andalas a chance to escape by returning his strength faster than what she promised to the military men earlier.

Andalas tilted his body and pulled out the button of the shirt he took before, and bought it to the corner of his mouth. With a slight pressure, a small steel needle came out of the button. Calmly, the man fiddled with the handcuffs.

It didn't take long for the handcuffs to be unlocked. Andalas jumped out of bed. His body felt light and fresh. The doctor must have been very experienced. The dose of Adrenaline that she injected was just right. The slightest more would surely make him faint. If the dose had been less, he would have not been this fit.

Andalas slowly touched the revolving door handle. It was already unlocked. The doctor really did help him. Andalas opened the door and sneaked out of the room and looked around carefully.

Andalas frowned. No guards outside or around the corner of this ship's passage. Andalas rushed to find the exit through the stairs at the far left.

Outside, Andalas found himself on the deck of the warship. There was a guard at the end of the deck. But because it was dark, the shadows looked very faint. With slow but firm steps, Andalas headed for the dark side of the ship and was not getting any light. Usually there was a speedboat tied to the side of the hull.

He was right! He saw a small speedboat bobbing on the surface of the sea. Andalas untied the rope tying the speedboat to the iron railing of the ship and changed the knot. With careful calculation, Andalas descended the ship's wall through the rope and jumped into the speedboat. After that, with a flick to the left, the rope knot released itself. Andalas touched the speedboat's starter lock slot. Frowning again because the key was still hanging there.

Hmm, they are careless.

He let the speedboat's body move away from the waves generated by the ship. After feeling safe, Andalas started the speedboat engine. Twisted the gas lever to maximum. The boat spitted the cold Arctic Sea in the early morning. He directed the boat toward the light that looked faint in the distance. Reykjavik.

He had to find Cecilia and Akiko quickly. The three of them had to continue with the original plan. Time was at the essence. They must be very worried about him too.

Andalas breathed a sigh of relief as the port began to appear in front of his eyes. He didn't think it would be so easy to escape from a destroyer full of soldiers. This was beyond expectation.

Cecilia and Akiko definitely hadn't left him. Hantaa 05 should be docking somewhere in the harbor. He should go there. They must still be there.

Elsewhere, off the Arctic coast, on an unidentified destroyer, several people were gathered on the ship's bridge watching the monitor screen. The little flashing dot was already anchored in the harbor. The captain of the ship reached for the phone.

"Prepare a ground attack! I will send the target position. He has arrived at the port to meet his friends."