I've been to Mars, fought fires for multiple hours on end, competed in a mafia tournament and despite all that, this is by far the most dangerous thing I've done. Billy stood just outside the camera's direct line, barely visible. His face was blurred in real-time, voice scrambled to a slightly robotic drawl. A flicker of my hand set the filters in motion, pre-set algorithms kicking in.
I wasn't nervous.
But I was aware.
Because this wasn't just an interview. This was a Cold War with one side wired directly into my bloodstream. The minute I said the wrong thing, hell, maybe even hinted at it, they'd have me in front of every global channel before I could say "Mask". We were always walking a tightrope since we both could practically launch nukes of public information against each other in any moment.
