She closed her eyes and tipped her head back and slowly breathed in three more lungfuls of the crisp, tingling air. Silently she dared any snipers to take a shot. Go on, hit me, she challenged.

Not a one. Too bad. Would have saved everyone a lot of trouble.

THE EARLYBIRD™/ WEDNESDAY / 6:46 A.M.

THE E-NEWSLETTER TRUSTED BY WASHINGTON'S POLITICAL ELITE

Good morning, EarlyBirders™. Here are the morning’s need-to-know stories:

WHITE HOUSE MYSTERY: One story will dominate the day. WHERE IS THE FIRST LADY?

CRUSOE SHOCK: FLOTUS hasn’t been seen with POTUS since the Fashion Fights Fascism gala honoring Tory Burch ten days ago. Time to ask the obvious: IS FLOTUS LEAVING POTUS?

VENEZUELA PRAYS: Makeshift shrines are popping up across Venezuela. In FLOTUS’s hometown of Maracaibo, hundreds hold vigil praying for her safety.

EarlyTipsters SHARE THEIR THEORIES ABOUT FLOTUS: She could be sick with cancer. Recovering from plastic surgery. On a sensitive diplomatic mission. Helping a loved one through a tragedy. EarlyFact: No president has ever gotten divorced while in office!

Spotted: Pentagon officials seen entering Colombian embassy. If they’re negotiating safe passage for Rigo, why isn’t State Department present? No comment from Foggy Bottom.

**EarlySponsor™: GlobalCom’s QuickLaw™ International. From Tricky International Partnerships to Quickie Divorces, Our Global Network of Lawyers Can Help You.**

20

Manufacturing Content

Wedged in a middle seat on board a flight back to DC, Natalie was sitting with her eyes closed trying to deep breathe. Her piece with the OpSec guys was scheduled to air at the top of the hour and she was expecting the worst.

As soon as they’d finished the shoot, Matt had hustled them into the rental car insisting it was time to get to the airport. “But what about the script?” she’d asked naively. She wanted to write the script and oversee the edit.

You know at heart I’m a stairs person, part of her protested.

Her input wasn’t needed, said Matt. The script and edit had been left “in the trusted hands of the network,” a phrase that had caused her to start hyperventilating. “This is good news,” he continued. “You don’t have to bother with the work part, like Ryan.”

You’re an elevator person now, she thought, and hated herself for it.

Eyes still closed, she felt something knocking on her skull.

“Hello? I know you’re in there.” It was Matt, from the seat behind her.

She opened her eyes and checked her watch. Two more minutes till the piece aired. “I feel sick,” Natalie said.

“At least get to the bathroom first,” Matt said, prompting the woman next to Natalie to scoot slightly away.

“It was a figure of speech,” she assured the woman, who still looked suspicious.

“Do you want the good news or the bad news first?” Matt asked her from between the seats.

“Bad,” Natalie said.