Hunt the Truth Season 1/Transcripts/Eight

Episode 08: DRIP, DRIP, DRIP

{Message tone. Chatter of newsroom heard in background.}

Petra Janecek (voice message): "Ben, what the hell have you done? Do you have any idea how much insanity this is causing, I can't even-- (away from recorder, to assistant) What did you- I know what they are, why are you putting them in my face? Hold the report!"

Assistant (in background): "I just thought-"

Janecek: (again to Giraud) "Ben, hold on, I need to fire an idiot for cause."

{Beep. Message ends.}

Ben Giraud (voice over): This was the first I'd heard from Petra in a while.

{Beep. Next message plays}

Janecek: "Ben, get your ass out of bed and CALL ME, NOW!"

{Click. Messages end}

Giraud (voice over): And judging by the messages she left me overnight, something major was happening. I hit her back right away.

{Outgoing call tone}

Janecek (in call): Well, Ben, congratulations, you now have us all fully engulfed in flames would you like to explain why?

Giraud: Uhh, wha....

Giruad (voice over): I had no clue what was happening.

Janecek: Any time today, Ben.

Giruad (voice over): Petra picked up on that.

Janecek: Oh, Mother, you didn't do this.

Giraud: I, wha-, wha-, what do we even....

Janeck: Ah, I dont have time for this. Check your feed, call me back.

{Click. Call ends}

Giraud (Voice over): I did what she said. And the feed hit me with a tsunami of information unlike anything I'd ever seen. Every journalism outlet, every social hub, seemingly every person alive was buzzing about the same thing. The leak. The leak! It had hit the open network overnight, and it was all about the Master Chief. I didn't understand. As far as the public was concerned, reports of Spartan activity had almost always been categorically unknowable. And now he was front-page fodder? I skimmed the stories frantically, saw the same tags popping up over and over: collusion with the enemy, civilian casualties, abducting a hero, assassinating an icon.

Giraud (on recording): Oh no, oh no, oh my God, what could- oh no! What?

Giraud (voice over): The Master Chief did that?

Giraud (on recording): What the Hell is going on?

Giraud (voice over): Those were just the facts reported by journalists. The opinions of the public were far scarier, like missiles firing wildly in all directions from every corner of inhabited space. This leak about the Master Chief, whatever it said had already begun deeply dividing people, sending ideologues on both sides scrambling to gain the moral high ground. I needed to see the source material. It didn't take long to find. Everyone had the same file. A suppressed incident report from an embassy in the outskirts, that had already been viewed almost a half a billion times. What it said was perfectly clear. Ten days ago, in the outer colonies, the Chief had suddenly appeared, in the middle of a densely populated city at a regional embassy, where, inside, long-awaited peace talks between human and alien delegates were on the cusp of an historic agreement. The Chief stormed in and instantly killed the body guard of outer colonies ambassador Richard Sekibo, starting a firefight that would claim nineteen human lives. He abducted the ambassador, and blasted an escape path through security personnel, mowing them down with extreme prejudice as he escorted the alien delegation to safety. Once aboard his waiting evac ship they left the planet, leaving years of diplomatic work in ruins. The next day, local officials picked up a signal beacon which lead them to a nearby field. There, they found the architect of the talks, revered peace activist Richard Sekibo, last seen in the Chief's custody, lying dead in the grass. I'm Benjamin Giraud, and this is Hunt the Truth.

{Theme plays}