I’m not self-destructive. I don’t want to self-immolate and erase

CHAPTER 9 Escape Artist I’m not self-destructive. I don’t want to self-immolate and erase myself from the pages of history. But if we don’t take chances, we can’t win. —EDWARD SNOWDEN, Moscow, 2014 TT" NEXT EVENING, May 18, Snowden drove to Honolulu Inter- national Airport. He left his leased car in the parking lot. He took with him only carry-on baggage, including a backpack and a laptop with a Tor sticker on it. “I took everything I had on my back,” he said, referring to the backpack. He also said that he took enough cash to pay for his fugitive life and he took the thumb drives con- taining the NSA’s keys to the kingdom. At this point, of course, Snowden was not wanted by the author- ities. He had provided his employer and the NSA with a medical excuse for his absence from work so he would not be immediately missed. He had a valid passport, a credit card, and ID. Snowden’s des- tination was Hong Kong. After crossing the international date line, Snowden waited about three hours in the transit zone of Narita. He then boarded a plane to Hong Kong. After the four-hour flight from Narita, he arrived in Hong Kong early in the morning on May 20. He had visited Hong Kong at least once before, with Lindsay Mills, when he was stationed in Japan. According to Albert Ho, his | | Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.z.indd 81 ® 9/29/16 5:51PM | | HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019569