"Where have you been, Espinosa? Nobody has the right to tell another person who his friends should be and hold a promotion over his head for a relationship that goes back years. Jack Emery has an impeccable reputation, so it doesn't make sense. Washington politics suck. I want an in-depth interview with both Cummings and Navarro. Both will run under the fold. You following me, Joe?"

"Got it. If that's it, I'm on my way. But before I go on my way, do you want to step outside this office so we can talk?"

Maggie laughed. She let him off the hook when she said, "Yeah, I guess this office is intimidating." She could have said she was intimidating, but that would have frazzled Espinosa's delicate psyche.

Outside the "intimidating" office, Maggie was once again one of the guys.

"You want to tell me what the hell is going on? Is there any way any of this can backfire on me, you, the paper? I'd just feel better if Ted were here. He's got instincts I'll never have. I do better when I know what's going on."

"All you have to do is show up, cover the scene, and get me some good pictures. The interviews have all been arranged for four o'clock this afternoon. Just show up at Cummings's office. Get me the interviews on time. He's expecting you. You're right about Ted, but today is one day he doesn't need to be at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for reasons I won't go into right now."

Espinosa offered up a sloppy salute of sorts and loped off toward the elevator.

Maggie returned to her office and clicked on her television. She sat glued to her chair, her eyes fixed on the screen.

An hour later, a Channel 5 news commentator suddenly appeared on the screen, the reporter rattling off a prearranged opening. A running banner under the full screen said, BREAKING NEWS. "We don't know why this emergency meeting is being held here at the White House, since it wasn't on the president's schedule today. We assume it has something to do with the upcoming Senate vote this Friday on Bert Navarro's nomination to succeed Director Cummings."

The reporter's cameraman let his pictures do the work as he panned the parked car that belonged to Director Cummings. The reporter started speaking again, saying, "These meetings never last more than twenty minutes. We're told that Cummings and Navarro have been in with the president for over forty minutes, which is an indicator to those of us in the media who know about these things that something serious is going down or will shortly. Back to you, Stu," the reporter said.