Natalie wasn’t listening. She was reading the messages from viewers on Instagram. “Can you explain how the president got that money from the Lystras?” “Do we still take oil from Venezuela?” “Is it legal for the president to invade Venezuela?” “Are we going to war?”

“Look at this,” Natalie said, mostly to herself.

“Yeah, I can’t explain why they’re all idiots,” Matt said, eyeing the messages on her screen.

“They’re not idiots. They don’t spend all day researching this stuff like we do,” Natalie said excitedly. “They just want to understand.”

Natalie smiled shyly. “What if I just reported here?” She held up the phone.

“Seriously, Natalie? You’re going to make bank on TV and be a star. No way you give that up to vlog on Instagram from your apartment. You’re just overtired.”

She considered what he said. It’s true, she was tired. And it did sound crazy. “But if I just reported directly to real people, they wouldn’t care about my hair. No gatekeepers.”

Matt shook his head and laughed ruefully. “Let’s talk about this once you get some sleep.”

After that, they were quiet and Natalie looked at the endless stretch of thawing mountains glittering in the afternoon sun. It was a strange, fierce, beautiful landscape.

It wasn’t the North Lawn, but she was starting to think she could uncover more about the country from outside the White House gates than within.

Matt looked up from something he was typing on his iPhone. “Hang on a sec. How can you be so confident you’ll get an audience. Do you have something else, like another story to break?” He squinted at Natalie. “Are you sitting on a lead on something else?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” She shrugged with a knowing smile.

“Tell me. What’s it about?” he demanded. “Karima? POTUS? Oil? Bieber?”

“You know what they say in Reportuguese.” Natalie grinned at him mischievously. “Stay tuned.”

33

That Happened

“Cronkite! Colin Powell!” James’s voice was firm and commanding. The dogs had just raced past them and were careening toward a family on the other side of the Washington Monument. At the sound of his voice, they slowed to a trot instantly.

Natalie laughed. “That was impressive.”

“It’s all about making clear what you want,” James said.

Natalie was pretty sure they were talking about more than the dogs.

She felt herself blush and, looking up at him, couldn’t remember the last time she felt this at peace.

She’d even left her phone at home to ensure she’d give James her uninterrupted attention. Since she’d landed back in DC, she’d again been inundated with requests to speak to the reporter who’d broken Lystragate.