“Take it easy,” I said, stepping inside. “There were no flights this morning. No car came to get me. No taxis either. Believe me, I wanted to be on that plane.”

He ran a hand through his thinning hair then snatched up the newspaper he’d tossed a moment before. He held it out for me to see.

“You don’t usually read the Indian Herald. Nothing else available?”

“This is the only one we could find. They’re saying the government shut off the electricity to the papers to prevent this news from getting out.”

I read the headline.

EMERGENCY DECLARED

JP, Morarji, Advani, Asoka Mehta & Vajpayee Arrested

“JP is Narayan,” I said. “The guy I was going to interview.”

Frank sank into his chair behind the desk. “You don’t think I know that? I was hoping you were there in Delhi, standing by his side, when they slapped the cuffs on him. Good job, Jacobs.”

He’d dispensed with “Dan,” meaning I was on the outs. Next he’d be handing the plum assignments to Joey Rahman instead of me. I didn’t have to worry about Herbie. He was running on empty, energy-wise. Joey, on the other hand, was eager and resourceful. Too bad he couldn’t write.

“Come on, Frank,” I said. “There were no flights this morning.”

He stewed despite my reasoning. “On top of everything else, we’re out your airfare. Maybe Janice can get a refund. If not, it’s coming out of your salary.”

Great. Not only had I already spent it on my room at the President, I’d have to spend it again to pay him back if he didn’t cool down.

I spent the next several hours digesting what news I could piece together and writing an article on the evolving situation. I ran it by Frank then filed it by telex to New York.

Around six, he called me to his office again. The rain was streaming down the windows outside, and it was hot. He called to Janice to get some coffee. She informed him that Vikram—Vikky—the chaiwallah, had left for the day.

“Goddamn it!” he said. “Get me some coffee.”

“Take it easy, Frank. It’s not her fault.”

He took a deep breath, lit a cigarette, and asked me what I thought our next move should be.

“I called the Press Club,” I said. “Looking for some guidance. They told me the government was preparing rules for the domestic and international press organizations.”

“Censorship?”

“Most likely. The guy said to call again in the morning, maybe he’d have more information by then.”

“Okay,” he said, taking a deep drag and blowing out the smoke. “How are we going to get the news out if they censor us?”

“Could be risky.”

“Nevertheless, we’ve got to prepare. Any ideas if they put us in a headlock?”