“Where the fuck were you last night, junior?” He was crunching on his breakfast cereal as he spoke. “We tried to get you all night. A rather big story happened last night on your patch of turf—the biggest goddamn story in the world, as a matter of fact. The sort of thing we thought our Paris correspondent might deign to cover for the late editions. It would have been nice to lead our page with something other than a frigging wire story, don’t you think? Bowman had to write a news analysis from Washington. Where the hell were you, anyway?”

“I got arrested outside Taillevent. I was held all night by the Interior Ministry. They wouldn’t let me call anyone.”

“Cut the shit. Who were you banging? I’d rather have the truth.”

“I’m telling you the truth, Ed. They arrested me because I snuck into the restaurant. I was inside the place! I interviewed the terrorists and the hostages. I had the whole thing—the story of my life—and these pricks arrested me.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Yes, sir. Totally serious. They released me an hour and a half ago.”

“How the hell did you sneak in?” His voice had a sudden enthusiasm. This was the sort of newspaper escapade that warmed Weiss’s heart. Somehow, over the years, he had not lost sight of the essential mischievousness of the news business.

“First I tried to go across the rooftops, but they caught me and were going to send me back to the bureau. So while I was waiting, I just called the damned restaurant and spoke to one of these crazy Africans and told him I was a reporter, and that I was going to make a run for the door in five seconds, and that he had to let me in. And he did. I stayed about forty-five minutes. I have fabulous stuff.”

“I love it! Love it, love it, love it.” He was absolutely gushing now. “You are a devious prick, Truell, you know that? And after those heroics, they arrested you?”

“Yup. They jumped me as I was leaving the restaurant. They beat the crap out of me, as a matter of fact.”

“God damn it!” he roared. “We’ll sue them. We’ll protest to the Foreign Ministry. We’ll get Sellinger to raise hell with his French business friends. If these bastards think they can assault a staff reporter for The New York Mirror, they’re wrong. They have picked a fight with the wrong damn newspaper!”

You had to love Weiss. He played the role so perfectly, he was the role. His voice returned to its normal register.