This phone transcript was recorded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation several days before Tyler Kress (designated "T") encountered the subjects. After it became clear Mr. Kress was an individual of some import it was obtained through the usual chanels. The female voice has been identified as Jennifer Lewin (designated "J"), a reporter for the Village Voice.
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Jennifer: "hello?"
Tyler: "Hi Jen, it's me"
J: "...tyler?"
T: "um, yeah, sorry to call so late...or at this point I guess it would be
early..."
J: "oh, well don't worry about it. I was up anyway..."
T: "You were up? Why would you be up? You have work tomorrow"
J: "You know I can't stand to miss an episode of the Golden Girls, and now
Lifetime plays them all night. My sleeping schedule has gone straight to
hell"
T: *giggles* "Well I guess in that case I wont feel guilty about calling you
so late"
J: "Don't worry about it. So, what's up? I haven't seen you at the office in
a while...though congrats are in order. I did hear it through the grapevine
that you got bumped up to staff. How'd you manage that?"
T: "Oh the usual; lies, deceit, and blackmail. Actually I go these amazing
shots of the riots and that fight on the bridge. They'll be all over the
next issue, I'm sure."
J: "Jeez, you were OUTSIDE when all that stuff went down? The people in my
building were informed that we weren't allowed to leave the premises due to
a police lockdown."
T: "........yeah. It was insane. I've seen a lot of shit that scares the
crap out of me. That's kind of the reason why I called..."
J: "I was wondering when you'd get to that, I know you wouldn't dare wake me
at this hour to chat."
T: "I actually have a health question for you, I figured you'd know better
since you went to college and all."
J: "Well, I'll give it a shot."
T: "Well, I've been feeling, um, under the weather for the last couple days.
That's why I haven't been in to work for the last couple days. I haven't
been able to eat since Sunday. I just have no appetite. Last night I tried
to force something down, but I couldn't hold it. I threw up."
J: "Have you lost any weight?"
T: "No, none at all"
J: "Are you still going to the bathroom normally?"
T: "No, not really. It's been really hard for me to keep track of events and
time since the weekend. Sometimes I feel like I've been living in a dream
world."
J: "I have a question, what exactly did you see during those riots and
stuff?"
T: "..............I saw a lot of things."
J: "Have you spoken to anyone about what you've seen? Have you spoken to
anyone at all this week?"
T: "uhhh......well I talk to Rueben all the time."
J: "Rueben?"
T: "Someone gave me a dog"
J: "Tyler, I think you're in shock. You need to go speak to someone. You
probably need to go to the Emergency Room by now too, for malnutrition."
T: "No, No. I don't think that's necessary..."
J: "I'm going to come over there rig-"
T: "NO!"
J: "....why don't you want me to come over there?"
T: "You're...you're right. I'm a wreck. I guess I should go see someone."
J: "After people see really crazy shit they go through all sorts of things.
It sounds like that's what's happening to you. You just can't totally
withdraw from the world Ty."
T: "...i, i wont. That's why I called. I really needed to speak to someone
else, you know, who thinks of me as a person. You're right Jen, I do need to
go see someone and stop just hiding here like this, getting sick and tuning
out. First thing tomorrow I'll start to get my act together."
J: "Are you sure you don't want me to come over there and keep you company?
I really don't mind....I'm really not worried about sleep anymore for
tonight...."
T: "No, no. That's alright. Just talking to you has helped a lot."
J: "Hey, look on the bright side. Now that you're staff insurance will cover
any doctors you go to see tomorrow..."
T: "huh?"
J: "You know.....when you go see someone first thing tomorrow about your
health and stuff. Now that you're staff you're insured, so you wont have to
pay for it all out of pocket..."
T: "Oh, OH! Oh yeah, yeah. It's like I'm a real person all of a sudden. It's
kind of funny in a way."
J: "How so?"
T: "...uh, I'll explain it to you some other time. I think I need to get
some sleep before tomorrow, and I'm sure you definitely need some."
J: "it is like almost 3 in the morning..."
T: "so I'll let you go, sorry to wake you and...thank you, just thanks for
being there to answer."
J: "My pleasure. well, not really my pleasure, but that's what friends are
for. Are you sure you'll be ok tomorrow?"
T: "Yes, I'm sure. I'm gonna dig myself out this rut and see about things."
J: "Great. I'll give you a call to check up on you, ok?"
T: "...sure. Don't be surprised if you get the machine though. I may end up
calling you late-ish, will that be ok?"
J: "Yeah...I guess, though you should really try to get yourself back on a
normal day-night schedule."
T: "...yeah. well, thanks again. Have a good night."
J: "You too. Bye-bye"
T: "Bye."
Transcribed and maintained
Elizabeth Kent