The Boy from the Woods(33)



“But it didn’t blow up.”

“Not yet it hasn’t.”

“In fact, The Rusty Show is off the air. Rusty Eggers is now a leading candidate to be the next president of the United States.”

“Exactly, that’s the point. Now that he’s running for office, there will be much more scrutiny. When Dash Maynard’s damaging tapes are released—”

“Wait, do you have any evidence that these tapes even exist?”

“—my client’s business will be seriously and maybe irrevocably harmed.”

“Because they advertised on the show?”

“Yes, of course.”

“So in short, you’re suing for a fraud that hasn’t happened and that you have no proof was committed based on something you don’t know exists or even if it does, how or if it would damage you. That about sum it up?”

Strauss didn’t like that. “No, that’s not—”

“Saul?”

“Yes?”

Hester leaned forward. “This lawsuit is complete nonsense.”

Strauss cleared his throat. The big hands tensed. “The judge said we had standing.”

“You won’t for long. We both know that. Can we be honest here? Just between us? This is a frivolous suit designed to raise awareness and pressure Dash Maynard into releasing tapes that might be embarrassing to Rusty Eggers and derail his campaign.”

“No, that’s not the case at all.”

“Are you a backer of Rusty Eggers?”

“What? No.”

“In fact”—Hester had the pull quote on a graphic that they put on the screen now—“you said, ‘Rusty Eggers needs to be stopped at all costs. He is a deranged nihilist who could lead us into unimaginable horrors. He wants to tear down the world order, even if it kills millions.’” Hester turned to him. “You said that, right?”

“I did.”

“And you believe it?”

“Don’t you?”

Hester wasn’t about to be drawn into that one. “And so if Dash Maynard has something in his possession damaging to Rusty Eggers, you believe that this information should be released to the public.”

“Of course it should,” Strauss said. “We are voting for the most powerful position in the world. There should be total transparency when it comes to a candidate.”

“And that’s really the point of this lawsuit.”

“Transparency is important, Hester. Don’t you agree?”

“I do. But you know what I think is much more important? The Constitution. The rule of law.”

“So you’re defending Rusty Eggers and Dash Maynard?”

“I’m defending the law.”

“I don’t want to sound hyperbolic—”

“Too late.”

“—but if you saw Hitler coming to power—”

“Oh, Saul, don’t start with that. Please.”

“Why not?”

“Just don’t. Not on my show.”

Saul Strauss leaned toward the camera and addressed it directly. “Dash Maynard may have tapes that could change the course of human history.”

“Well, as long as you don’t want to sound hyperbolic,” Hester said with an eye roll. “By the way, how do you even know these tapes exist?”

Strauss cleared his throat. “We, uh, have our sources.”

“For example?”

“Arnie Poplin, for one.”

“Arnie Poplin?” Hester couldn’t keep the skepticism from her voice. “Arnie Poplin is your source?”

“One of them, yes.” Strauss cleared his throat. “He has direct knowledge—”

“Just to clarify for our viewers, Arnie Poplin is the celebrity has-been-turned-conspiracy-nut who appeared as a contestant on The Rusty Show.”

“That characterization is misleading.”

“Arnie Poplin claimed, did he not, that 9/11 was an inside job?”

“That’s not relevant.”

“This same Arnie Poplin calls my producer weekly demanding to be a guest so he can air some new whacked-out theory involving UFOs or chemtrails or some similar malarkey. Seriously? Arnie Poplin?”

“With all due respect—”

“That’s never a good way to begin a sentence, Saul.”

“—I don’t think you see the danger in this Rusty Eggers campaign. We have an obligation to air these tapes and save our democracy.”

“Then find a legal way to air them—or there isn’t much of a democracy to save.”

“That’s what I’m doing.”

“With this dinky fraud case?”

“I can start by going after someone for a parking violation,” Strauss said, “and if I stumble across a murder, well, so be it.”

“Wow, that’s a stretch, but it seems to be a philosophy you and Rusty Eggers have in common then.”

“Pardon me?”

“Ends justifying the means—a tale as old as time. Maybe you two should find your own country?” Strauss’s face turned scarlet, but before he could counter, Hester spun to the camera. “We’ll be right back.”

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