I was momentarily part of the great national dialogue—in which the big newspapers, television and radio all vibrated at the same pitch—discussing the same topic, beating it to death and then moving on. It was like a huge dinner-table conversation where only one person was allowed to speak at a time, and it was briefly my turn. It was fun, having people say they’d seen me on television or heard me on the radio. That sort of celebrity is the compensation for the passivity of being a reporter; it makes you feel like you’re somebody, even if you don’t really do anything.

That Thursday afternoon, the day my story appeared, I also received a call from a Nightline producer. He said they were doing the show that night on the China contract and asked me a lot of questions, but his assistant called back later and said they had booked someone else as a commentator. I turned on the show that night with some curiosity. To my surprise, I saw the perfectly poised face of Annie Baron. Nothing would have suggested to a reviewer that a few days before, she had been sobbing uncontrollably. Tonight, she was cool, clear-eyed. The usual host, Ted Koppel, was away, and the guest host was asking Annie what had gone on behind the scenes in the China deal. That was her specialty: tales of life under the volcano.

“The French are playing a dirty game,” she began. My heart stopped. I thought she was going to blow the whole thing right there, on national television. But she had a different purpose. “To win this contract, the French have done some terrible things. Bribery, bullying, even violence. I’ve only heard hints, so I can’t give you any details. But there are people who know the whole story—including people in the U.S. government—and I wonder whether they’ll do anything to make the French think twice about the tactics they’ve used. You know how tough guys in movies are always saying, ‘Don’t get mad, get even!’ Well, this may be one of those situations.”

The host pushed her to explain what she meant about the French and their dangerous game, but Annie had said all she intended to. She darted away on another vector, saying that in the wake of the China debacle, there were new rumors that the secretary of state would be replaced if the president won a second term in November. But I understood Annie perfectly. She was telling me to do something; and perhaps she was also warning me that she would take action herself if I failed to do so.