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She nodded, then took a drink of her Pepsi. “But that’s not all. Give me a second. I need to send this video to the media.”
“Video? Wait. Who’s on it?” Charlie asked.
“Me. Offering a quarter of a million dollars per hit man, for their names and pictures. We both know they can’t be arrested unless they make an attempt on my life, and I’m not willing to take the chance that they will oblige me and screw up as badly as Barrett Taylor did. But this bounty will sure slow their asses down. As soon as I verify their identities, I’m making them and their connection to The Righteous public. I’ve also put these safeguards in place. The bounty can’t go to anyone connected to the cult, because I’ll be damned if I let them profit off me when they’re trying to kill me, and it will be nullified if either of the men are harmed. Also, if anyone makes a false claim, then I’ll file charges against them for bearing false witness, and attempting to obtain money under fraudulent pretenses.”
“I’m not sure all of that is legal,” Charlie said.
Wyrick looked up at him. “I don’t really care. You’re the only reason I’m still alive, and the law can’t do anything to the other two men unless they make a move toward me. So I’m changing up their choices.”
She turned to the computer monitor, pulled up the media list, attached her video and hit Send.
“Ta-da!” she said, and then popped another square of chocolate into her mouth.
Charlie was speechless. It was the gutsiest move he’d ever known anyone to make, but Jade Wyrick was a law unto herself. He also understood her desperation, and the need for haste.
There was no way to predict when the next attempt to take her out might happen. And a quarter of a million dollars was a hell of a lot of money. She hadn’t threatened anyone’s life. She was just paying for names and pictures.
“Ta-da is an understatement,” Charlie muttered.
“Don’t worry,” Wyrick said. “The faster this hits the media, the safer I become.”
“I get the concept, but the certainty of a positive outcome is iffy.”
Wyrick leaned back in her chair and stared Charlie down without speaking. Finally, he was the one to give.
“What?”
“You still don’t understand,” she said.
“Understand what?” Charlie said.
“My entire existence began based on uncertainty. How many different DNA donors should Universal Theorem use on the embryo that became me? How many others failed before I became viable? What did they hope to achieve, other than the curiosity of seeing if they could do it? Did Universal Theorem ever once consider the humanity of my existence? Why was I born a genius? Did they intend to weaponize me for my brain? Why do I know things before they happen? How is it that I have patents for things that will not be useful for another fifty years? Why is loss and suffering more familiar to me than laughter? Will I ever burn out? Will I wake up some morning with the realization that the expiration date on the vast knowledge that is second nature to me has suddenly arrived? Am I going to go out in a pop and a flash of fire, like a diode in an old television set, or will I be curled up in a ball in some institution, drooling and picking at sores I’ve made on my body? Every fucking thing about me is uncertain, and to exist in this world, I can’t let myself care.”
Charlie felt sick. He wanted to put his arms around her, but she would have decked him for the show of sympathy. Instead, he shrugged and put his hands in his pockets.
“I am so accustomed to you being you, I forget what you already went through before we even met. Sorry for the momentary loss of focus. We deal with what we have to as it comes. Just don’t forget... I’m on your side. Always.”
Wyrick shrugged. She needed to change the subject before she started crying.
“Want to make a bet that Agent Raines calls you instead of me?” she asked.
Charlie frowned.
“Why would he be calling me when you’re the one who sent the file?”
“Because he’s scared of me, and we both know it,” Wyrick said.
“If I agree with you, why would I bet against you?” he asked.
Her eyes narrowed. “For the hell of it?”
He grinned. “Okay...so what do I win if you’re wrong, and he calls you first?”
“I’ll be responsible for dinner for a whole week,” Wyrick said.
“And if he calls me first...which we both know is likely going to happen...then I have to furnish a week of dinners?” Charlie said.
“That’s the bet,” Wyrick said.