I looked down. I was frozen in pizza position, a folded slice poised a few inches from my mouth. I laid it down, took a deep breath. “I guess I drifted away,” I admitted.

Howie waved it away, no big deal. “You’ve been a lot of places,” he agreed, then walked away.

The media assault began the instant the shooting ended. Whatever actually happened on that block, a heroic portrait was being created. Praise for the troops was showing up on every platform. Wrightman had his team out in force, making certain he was given plaudits for his “leadership in a crisis.” Instant poll results reinforced the message that a significant majority of Americans supported this attack. I glanced at several threads and comments, almost all of them lauding our troops and the president for his decisive action. My, my, I thought, it’s almost as if the administration is writing these blurbs itself.

Within minutes, several approved photographs were circulated to the media, among them a blurry image showing a soldier carrying a computer out of a burning structure. If it had been necessary, the government happily would have put the factual F on every post or message; I would also have given them the F, but mine would have had a very different meaning. A deluge of positive and supportive hype filled Facebook and Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat; people were even creating Pinterest boards and, I was certain, were looking for celebratory companionship on Tinder. It was a masterful performance.

Less than ten minutes later, Press Secretary Kaufman tweeted an official statement: “Earlier this evening elite Special Operations commandos surrounded a house in which an unknown number of suspected terrorists positively associated with the recent attacks were believed to be hiding. Attempts to negotiate a peaceful surrender failed when gunmen inside the house began firing on our troops. In the ensuing battle, an unknown number of persons inside that house were killed. The unit suffered one casualty, which is being described as minor, in the assault. Computers, cell phones, and tablets were recovered and will be sent to the FBI Forensic Laboratory for examination. This is only the first strike in what will be a prolonged campaign to bring the killers of innocent Americans to justice. The president and first lady would like to express their gratitude to our brave men and women who risked their lives to protect this country. God bless them, and God bless America.”

I began to work my own sources, trying to confirm or dispute what little was known and add whatever bits I could grab. What I really wanted to know was if the people who died in that house—that’s assuming there were people in that house—actually had a connection to the attacks. Call me Mr. Cynic. Here’s another fact: You spend eleven years in the military, you develop a highly sensitive bullshit detector. It becomes necessary to navigate that system. My bullshit cowbell was clanking. That house seemed too small, thinking metaphorically, to have played a role in something so big.