5-min Freewrite: Not Our Jurisdiction

It was difficult to shake Lena. She was persistent, and most importantly, cautious from her ten years as an investigative journalist.

But, a shiver went down her spine as she stared at the tiny black flash drive on her desk.

It had come in a plain envelope with no return address that morning. No note. No explanation. Just a USB drive that opened hundreds of files when she plugged it into her laptop.

The flash contained the kind of evidence that could bring down influential people. Evidence in the form of bank transactions, video recordings, and leaked documents.

At first, Lena thought it was a mistake. Maybe someone had meant to send this to a lawyer, or the FBI, a lawyer. But the more she scrolled, the more she realized the drive was meant for her to receive.

And whoever sent it knew exactly what they were doing.

She called the local police.

“This is beyond what we handle,” the detective said. ”Not our jurisdiction.”

The FBI also brushed her off.

So she had two choices: bury the story and pretend she never received the drive… or publish everything and brace for the consequences.

After hours of careful deliberation, she finally made a decision.

She decided that if no one had jurisdiction over the truth, then she would make sure the whole world did.

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