“I’m sitting next to the police right now, and he’s just as drunk as I am.”

“Let me speak to Dino, please.”

Stone handed the phone to Dino. “Lance wants to speak to you.”

Dino took the phone. “Yes? Yes. Yes. I understand. Go fuck yourself, Lance.” He handed the phone back to Stone.

“Yes?”

“I tried to persuade Dino not to deal with this information in such a way that it might immediately become public knowledge.”

“I heard his answer to that request,” Stone said.

“Stone, when you and I, and perhaps Dino, have all sobered up, we should have a conference call on this subject. I believe I can convince you both that it is not in the interests of anyone, particularly the President, for this information to leak, unless we release it at just the right moment.”

“Okay, call us both at ten tomorrow morning. Dino and I should be sober by then. I don’t know about you.”

“Thank you, Stone, I’ll do that. Is there anything else?”

“Yes, there is. Ed Rawls has printed and bound two hundred copies of his manuscript and they are awaiting mailing now, addressed to as many ‘opinion makers,’ as Ed likes to describe them.”

“Jesus God. Where are they?”

“I am not at liberty to divulge that information, and neither is Ed, since he doesn’t know, himself. Perhaps you would like to include that subject in our conference call tomorrow morning. Good night, Lance.” Stone hung up.

Dino smiled. “Did Lance shit a brick?”

“I think that is not an inaccurate description of his reaction. He’s going to call us tomorrow morning at ten and beg us to come to our senses.”

They paid the bill and made their way gingerly back to Dino’s SUV. When they were inside the cop in the front passenger seat sniffed the air and said, “I should issue both you gentlemen with a summons for traveling in the rear seat of a motor vehicle while under the influence.”

“There’s no such charge,” Dino said.

“Lucky for you, Commissioner,” the cop replied.

—

STONE AWOKE an hour later than usual the following morning and managed not to throw up immediately. He drank an Alka-Seltzer, ate half his breakfast, and eventually arrived at his desk.

Joan came in with the mail. “Good morning,” she said. “You look like you were hit with a baseball bat.”

“That is an approximation of the way I feel,” Stone replied. “Do you have any aspirin?”

“How many do you want?”

“Many, please.”

She brought an aspirin bottle and set it on his desk beside a glass of water. He shook four into his hand and got them down. “I’m expecting a conference call with Lance Cabot and Dino at ten, and I’d appreciate it if you’d hold all my calls until we’re finished.”