Duel With the Devil, Chapter 20 of The Greatest Liar

Stormy Forecast
I was dressed in a hazmat suit, sweltering beneath the tropical sun, supervising a group of sobbing Thai villagers sorting the chickens killed the cull that had destroyed their flocks and their livelihoods, separating the sickliest chickens from those not yet infected. They labored in tattered clothes, open sandals and cloth masks under the watchful eyes and rifles of the Thai Military Police, exposed to the pathogens oozing from the dead, decomposing flock.

My cell phone chirped, and my earbuds activated.

“Hello, this is Assistant District Attorney Glover, calling from New York. Is this Alexandra Rios.”

“Yeah, but it’s not a good time to talk.”

“We need to talk about your memoir.”

“I’ve got more important things to do than revisit my wasted youth.”

“It won’t take long, we only need to talk about three sections: ‘NDA’, ’My Turn as Apprentice’ and ‘Blast From the Past.’”

“If you’ve read them, then you know I can’t talk about them.”

“NDA’s don’t apply to me. I’m a criminal prosecutor, and if the NDA’s don’t exempt me, they’re unenforceable.”

“Read the prologue, it’s a just novel.”

“Your memoir ties to numerous verifiable occurrences. We need to know whether these episodes do too.”

“I’m in a Thai jungle with a million dead chickens. And guess what, I prefer their company to yours.”

“We know all about your bird flu research. We also know that you’re an outstanding witness and a courageous fighter.”

My fighting days are done. I don’t care about America or its crazed political culture. I’m Swiss, we’re neutral.”

“What’s more important than truth, and the rule of law?”

“They’re overrated luxuries for the chattering classes. Truth is relative to power, and reality is based on ratings.”

“Not in the courts, as you well know. They are the last bastion, and we need your testimony.”

”I’m busy saving the world from the next pandemic.”

“What about saving the world from political gangsters like the lover boy who paid you the 150k to bury evidence we need for a trial.”