CHAPTER 25
I wake up to find myself on the floor, Eric Swensson staring down at me.
“Ian? Ian?” He looks concerned. I try to tell him not to worry, but I can’t find my voice.
“It’s all right,” he tells me when he sees that I’m awake. “It was bound to happen this way. It’s what we were expecting.”
I’m having a hard time stringing his words together into coherent meanings.
“The sentence had to come first,” he explains. “Now we’ll get the Americans involved. The North Koreans have put their chips on the table. It’s time for the bargaining to begin.”
His tone is reassuring. I expect he’s trying to comfort me, which is odd because I don’t remember feeling scared or worried or in need of assurance to begin with.
Eric reaches out and feels my forehead. “Has he been given any medical attent
