“How long is the interview?”

“It’s a half hour. Give or take a few minutes.”

“Can you come in for this?”

“Jack, I already have too much visibility. If we’re going to save these guys, we need to have them front and center. And you’re probably out of time.”

“Priscilla, I don’t like running it until I’ve seen it.”

“Your call, Jack. But if you wait, you may not get to see it.”

“Is there anything in there that might cause a lawsuit?”

“There’s nothing defamatory in it. Just aliens in a desperate condition caused by natural forces. And some high-level people who don’t want it getting out.”

“So, you’re saying there’d be no legal liability?”

“I’m not a lawyer, Jack, but I don’t see how there could be.”

“Okay. Hold on.” Again she heard him talking to someone else. Then he came back: “Priscilla, we’re going to need you. And the aliens. Where are they now?”

“As far as I know, they’re still on board the Eiferman. They won’t be available.”

“I guess that doesn’t surprise me. How much time do we have before they ship them out?”

“It’ll probably happen as soon as they can manage it. I didn’t see another interstellar in the dock, so they may need a couple of days for maintenance. But they’ll be pushing hard to get rid of them. Especially since Zhang knows about the interview.”

“How’d he find out about it? Come to think of it, how do the Feds know?”

“It’s a long story, Jack. Listen, I have to go.”

“Hold on. We need you here, Priscilla. As soon as you can get here.”

“Jack, that’s not the way to do it.”

“Priscilla, please.”

“Okay. I’ll be on my way in a minute. But don’t wait for me. Get started.” She told Cary, her AI, to record whatever was playing on Cosmic Broadcasting. Then she tried again to call her mother but still got no response. Her commlink, a recording told her, was no longer in service.

Okay. First things first. She set out for Cosmic Broadcasting, which was a half hour away. Fortunately, traffic was light on the expressway. She was passing Lorton when her commlink sounded. It was Mom.

Thank heaven. “Mom,” she said, “you okay?”

“I’m all right. Where are you?”

“On the expressway. I’m headed for Cosmic Broadcasting. Who was at your door?”

“Feds. They had a warrant to seize my electronic gear. They took everything. Except Gina.” Her AI. “They shut her down.”

“What are you using now?”

“I’m next door. At Larry’s.”

“Damn. This is my fault.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Did they tell you what it was about?”

“They wanted to know about you. And they knew about the interview.”