Fool Me Once

“Maya?” Corey asked.

“I’m fine.”

“Get me a club soda with lime, please.”

The waitress left. Corey turned toward Maya.

“People think I want to weaken governments or businesses. Actually I want the opposite. I want to strengthen them by forcing them to do the right thing, the just thing. If your government or business is built on lies, then build them on truth instead. So no secrets. No secrets anywhere. If a billionaire is paying off a government official to get that oil field, let the people know. In your case, if your government is killing civilians in a war-”

“That’s not what we were doing.”

“I know, I know, collateral damage. Great nebulous term, don’t you think? Whatever you believe, accident or intentional, we the people should know. We may still want to fight the war. But we should know. Businessmen lie and cheat. Sports figures lie and cheat. Governments lie and cheat. We shrug. But imagine a world where that didn’t happen. Imagine a world where we have full accountability instead of unjust authority. Imagine a world where there are no abuses or secrets.”

“Are there unicorns and pixie dust in this world?” Maya asked.

He smiled. “You think me naïve?”

“Corey-can I call you Corey?”

“Please.”

“How do you know my sister?”

“I told you. She contacted me.”

“When?”

“A few months before her death. She sent an email to my website. It eventually found its way to me.”

“What did it say?”

“Her email? She wanted to talk to me.”

“What about?”

“What do you think, Maya? You.”

The waitress came back. “Two club sodas with lime.” She gave Maya a friendly wink. “I know you didn’t order one, hon, but you might get thirsty.”

She handed the drinks off, gave Maya a big smile, and then strode away.

“You’re not trying to tell me Claire was the one who leaked that combat tape-”

“No.”

“-because there is no way she’d even have access-”

“No, Maya, that’s not what I’m saying. She contacted me after I released your tape.”

That made more sense yet answered nothing. “What did she say?”

“That’s why I’m trying to explain our philosophy. About whistle-blowing. About accountability and freedom.”

“I’m not following.”

“Claire contacted me because she was afraid I was going to reveal the rest of your tape.”

Silence.

“You know what I mean, don’t you, Maya?”

“Yes.”

“You told Claire about it?”

“I told her everything. We told each other everything. At least that’s what I thought.”

Corey smiled at her. “She wanted to protect you. She asked me not to release the audio.”

“And you didn’t.”

“That’s correct.”

“Just because Claire asked.”

He took a sip of his drink. “I know a man. A group really. They think they’re like mine. But they’re not. They reveal secrets too, but on an individual scale. Cheating spouses, steroid users, revenge porn, stuff like that. Personal deceptions. If you want to do something unethical anonymously online, this group will out you. Like those hackers of that adultery website did last year.”

“And you don’t agree with that?”

“I don’t.”

“Why not? Aren’t they ridding the world of secrets?”

“Funny,” he said.

“What?”

“Your sister raised that point too. I won’t say we are hypocritical, but we do pick and choose our spots, don’t we? No way around it. I didn’t reveal the audio on your tape for, yes, my own selfish reasons. I had planned to do it later. To maximize the impact of the revelation. More hits on my website. More exposure for my cause.”

“So why didn’t you?”

“Your sister. She asked me not to.”

“Just like that.”

“She was convincing. You, Maya, are just a pawn, she explained. You are forced to be what you are by a corrupt system. Part of me wants to reveal that because, again, the truth will indeed set you free. But you’d be irreparably harmed. Claire convinced me that if I did that, I’d be no better than my colleagues who nail small-time cheaters.”

Maya was getting tired of the circling. “You were more interested in hurting the war cause than hurting me.”

“Yes.”

“So you provided the people with your own narrative. Let them hate the government. If they heard the audio, they might blame me instead.”

“I guess that’s true.”

Replacing the truth with his own narrative, Maya thought. Scratch the surface and we are all the same. There was no time or reason to ruminate on that right now.

“So my sister contacted you,” Maya said, “to protect me.”

“Yes.”

Maya nodded. That made sense. Sad, terrible sense. The guilt came rushing back. “So then what happened?”

“She convinced me of the righteousness of her argument.” A small smile toyed with his lips. “And I convinced her of the righteousness of mine.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Claire worked for a big corrupt corporation. She had access to the inner sanctum.”

It was starting to click. “You convinced her to leak information to you?”

“She saw the righteousness of the cause.”

Maya had a thought.

“What?”

“Was it quid pro quo?” Maya asked. “Did Claire agree to help take down Burkett Enterprises in exchange for you not releasing the audio?”

“Nothing so crude.”

Or was it just that crude?