“Admiral Lystra, hello, this is Natalie Savage,” she said, using his official title. “I understand you’re a big fan of acrobatics. You had a Vegas-style show at the embassy last night, with a sushi dinner, yes? Help us understand how that’s a life of solitude,” she challenged.

“Some of my friends have been kind enough to keep me company, this is true,” he said plaintively. “But I am still a prisoner.”

“Our own State Department says you can leave any time and they will guarantee you safe passage out of the country.”

“No, this is not true. The Venezuelans would take me.”

“What evidence do you have to support this claim?” Natalie pressed. “And, respectfully, why should we believe you over our own State Department?”

“Because the Venezuelans cannot be trusted,” Rigo said, raising his voice. “In America, you do not understand. Venezuela is very bad country run by very dangerous people. Very dangerous! It is a cancer in our hemisphere! The threat from Venezuela is greater than you and the American people know. Today they threaten me. Tomorrow they will threaten my country. Soon they will be a threat to us all. They must be stopped.”

Natalie, surprised he’d veered into a foreign policy argument instead of the he-said-she-said, was formulating a reply when a voice from the control room yelled in her ear.

“Guys, we have breaking news. We’re going to bye-bye Rigo. Savage, you’re handling the news. Someone should be out with a sheet by now.”

Out of nowhere, a hand emerged from under the anchor desk. Looking down, Natalie was startled to see the laconic associate producer she’d spoken to in the control room the day Rigo was kidnapped, crouched under her legs, using one arm to pass her a piece of paper. Accepting it, she resisted the urge to wave hello at him.

Suddenly music was playing in her ear and she looked up to see the monitors fill with bright red graphics and the words Breaking Development, which shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. Natalie faced the camera as a voice in her ear said:

“We are interrupting our coverage for breaking news—”

“We are interrupting our coverage for breaking news,” she said.

“From TMZ,” the voice said.

“In from the celebrity news organization, TMZ.” Oh god, her mind screamed, please let this be legit.

“FLOTUS lover,” the voice said in her ear.

“TMZ has new details about the Mystery Man in those videos with the First Lady,” Natalie said. Just then, the monitors went full with the surveillance video of FLOTUS with her unnamed lover, which allowed Natalie the freedom to look down and read from the piece of paper she’d just been handed.