“No, and I don’t care.”
“Less than one percent,” Chilly replied matter-of-factly. “I’m serious. We’ve run this scenario countless times before, but no one’s ever tried this. Regardless of how scared or angry they’ve been, no one’s ever used that knife to confront me. That’s impressive.”
Jeri pressed the knife harder against his neck. “I swear to god, if you don’t start explaining what this is about, I’m going to–”
Chilly suddenly leaned his body back away from the sharp blade. At the same time he deftly grabbed her wrist and snapped her arm violently upwards. In an instant Jeri was lifted off the ground and propelled towards him. She collided against his broad chest as he wrenched her arm overhead, forcing her to lose her grip on the knife. Jeri then watched in stunned silence as her only weapon flew high into the air above them before sailing over the edge of the bluff. She followed its tumbling descent to the beach far below, then glanced anxiously at Chilly. His handsome face hovered just inches from hers. He stared back at Jeri with a placid, friendly expression as he slowly lowered her arm, his muscular body pressed firmly against hers.
He then gently released her wrist and took a step back.
“Recruitment, Jeri,” he said calmly, reaching into his back pocket. “That’s the answer to your question. To all of your questions.”
Jeri watched as he pulled a cigarette from a mangled pack and quickly lit it. His dark, intelligent eyes narrowed on her as he inhaled. “What are you talking about?” she asked.
“I’m telling you what we do,” he said matter-of-factly. “We’re not terrorists. We’re corporate recruiters.”
Jeri eyed him skeptically. “You don’t really expect me to believe that, do you?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Okay then, convince me.”
Chilly gave her a thin smile as a gust of hot, sandy wind swept over the bluff, whipping the smoke from his cigarette into oblivion. “Did you read the book?” he asked flatly.
“Yes, I did,” Jeri replied. “What else was I supposed to do on the drive down?”
“Care to give me a quick summary?”
Jeri cocked her head in irritation. “Is this a test?”
Chilly smiled. “Everything’s a test, Jeri.”
“Fine, here’s your summary,” Jeri replied curtly. “My father believed that the world’s economic power was going to shift from major governments to large multi-national corporations. He based this belief on a fundamental rule of evolutionary biology – that an organism’s size and strength are dictated by the limitations of its environment. Of course ‘environment’ is better defined as ‘economy’ in this sense, but the principle still applies. My father understood that while a government’s growth and power are limited by the boundaries of its own economy, those same limitations are far broader for global corporations. Of course, if you believe my father’s premise, then you know it’s only a question of time before the world’s largest corporations grow into the corporate states he described. Once they do, they will become the new economic and financial world powers; the global apex predators that control everything around them. From the governments that set the laws, to the media that cover the news, to the consumers that purchase the products– the corporate states’ collective political and economic influence will be inescapable. From that point forward, nothing will be as it appears. Corporate-driven wars designed for pure economic gain will be sanctioned by governments and fought under the guise of humanitarian or ideological differences. Corporate-controlled media will subvert the true facts to coincide with their own agendas. And the rest of us – the consuming masses – well, most of us won’t have a clue that anything ever changed in the first place.”
She crossed her arms and glared at him harshly.
“How was that?”
“That was perfect,” Chilly replied. “Which means I don’t need to explain just how much power your father entrusted to Chip when he handed him that book. You’re a smart woman, Jeri. You know that everything your father predicted in those pages is coming true. Imagine being handed something that predicted the evolution of the global economy twenty-five years before it happened. Imagine the doors that information would open for you. Christ, the money you could make on Wall Street alone would be in the billions.” He took a deep drag of his cigarette and shook his head. “It would be so easy to abuse that knowledge, to use it for your own selfish ends.”
Chilly paused and tossed his cigarette onto the ground before crushing it under his foot. He then turned and looked at her. “But what if you didn’t?”