Sally said, “Colonel Harrington, if there was no truth to the story, I don’t think you’d be on the phone with me right now.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Then what is the point?”

“That a story like that is irresponsible. The ramifications can be huge.”

“I hope you’re having this same conversation with the New York Times,” Todd said. “Because they just ran with our story.”

Silence.

“Colonel Harrington?” Sally asked.

The phone chirped as the call disconnected.

“I got it all,” Todd said.

“Direct quotes?”

“Yep.”

“Run with it. Suck it, Washington Tribune.”

“They just put the story up, too,” Todd crowed. “We’re looking at wildfire here. A shit storm, indeed.”

Todd’s ringtone sounded like the call to battle stations, a clanging bell with a Klaxon behind it. When it went off, Sally jumped a foot, then slammed the table with her palm. “God damn it, Todd!”

He laughed and connected the call. “Todd McElroy.”

“McElroy, this is David Kirk, over at the Tribune. Have you lost your goddamn mind?”

“I need more than that,” Todd said. Over the last twenty years, David Kirk had carved out a reputation as one of the premier reporters in Washington. His sources were always spot-on, and his reporting on government malfeasance was the stuff of legend. Todd had never met him, but he recognized the voice from the Sunday talk shows, where Kirk was a regular.

“You know goddamn well what I’m talking about,” Kirk insisted. “Who gave you the go-ahead to put that story out?”

“My boss,” Todd said. “In fact, she’s right here. I’ll put you on speaker.” He pressed the button. “Sals, this is David Kirk. David Kirk, this is Sally Lambert. David was just congratulating us on our crack reporting.”

“Listen to me, you smug asshole,” Kirk seethed. His anger was palpable even through the phone. “That story was quarantined. What the hell were you thinking?”

“Worried about losing the scoop to an up-and-comer, there, Dave?” Todd said.

“Scoop! Jesus, you think this is about a scoop? You’re going to get a lot of people killed.”

Todd and Sally scowled at each other. “You’re being a little hypocritical, don’t you think?” Sally said.

“Hyp . . . What?”

“Your paper just posted our story,” she said. “That puts you in the business of killing people, too.”

“Jesus!” Kirk exclaimed. “Oh, my God, the hubris! You think we published your story?”

“So did the Times and half a dozen of the other bigs,” Todd said.

“Nobody published your story,” Kirk said. “Nobody even knows who the hell you are. We published our own stories, based on information we’ve been sitting on since yesterday.”

“Bullshit.” Todd and Sally said it together.