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De
De
Martha Brice was completely at home at Le Bernardin or a society gala. De
De
“Good to see you, De
De
“Fine,” he answered.
“I’ve been keeping an eye on you and I’m very pleased with your work.”
De
“I know you haven’t been given the most challenging assignments,” Brice continued, “but one way I gauge how dedicated and competent my reporters are is to see how they handle assignments I know won’t necessarily interest them. Now it’s time for you to take a step up. Are you interested?”
“Definitely,” De
“How old are you, De
“Twenty-five.”
“You would have been thirteen, twelve years ago,” Brice said, more to herself than De
De
The editor nodded. “The press called him ‘Satan’s Guru’ and the case was plastered on the front page of every newspaper in America. Mr. Marsh first gained notoriety during a prison standoff at the state penitentiary when he saved a prison guard’s life. He was rewarded with an early release and wrote a best-selling autobiography called The Light Within You, which attributed his miraculous conversion from petty criminal to hero and alleged humanitarian to the discovery of God’s light within himself. The TV talk shows ate it up.
“Marsh started calling himself Gabriel Sun and hawking self-revelation and salvation through I
Brice slid a thick folder across her desk.
“This is background on the guru. It will give you enough information to conduct an interview with him.”
De
“Marsh is hiding out in Africa, isn’t he?” he asked, starting to remember facts about the subject of his story.
Brice nodded. “He’s in Batanga.”
De
“Those rumors about President Baptiste eating the ex-president’s heart have never been verified. I suspect he spread them himself to scare the dickens out of anyone who was thinking of opposing him. But you can ask Mr. Marsh. I hear he knows the president very well.”
“So, how am I doing this interview, by phone?”
Brice smiled warmly. “You know that’s not how we conduct business at World News. I’ve booked you on a flight to Lagos, Nigeria, that leaves at seven tonight from JFK.”
“This evening?”
“That’s not a problem, is it?”
“No, no. I can leave tonight.”
“Good. It’s a short hop from Lagos to Baptisteville.”
De
“Is there anything special you want me to discuss in the interview?” De
“Don’t worry about the interview. Mr. Marsh will be returning to the States with you and you’ll have plenty of time to talk to him.”
De
“Yes. That’s why he’s returning. He’s always claimed he was i
“Wow! So this could be a really big story?”
“It will be a really big story, and it will be your story. Do you think you can handle it?”
“Definitely!”
“There could be a book in this, too. You’ll see what I mean when you read through the file.”
A book! A huge story and a book! De
“There is one thing, though,” Martha said. She reached behind her desk and pulled out a valise that looked like it had gone through the wars. “When you pack I want you to use this suitcase.”
“I have a nice valise at home.”
“I’m sure it’s much nicer than this but it doesn’t have seventy-five thousand dollars concealed in it, does it?”
“Seventy-five…”
“Mr. Marsh is in great danger. He could be dead by the time you land, tomorrow. Hopefully, he’ll be alive and you can give him this money, which will be used to aid his escape.”
“This sounds dangerous,” De
“It is dangerous, but so is reporting in a war zone or flying into the eye of a hurricane. Top reporters court danger. I had you pegged as someone who would welcome the chance to take risks to land a story that could win a Pulitzer Prize. Was I wrong? If you think this is too big for you…”
“No, no, I can handle it, but won’t Mr. Marsh be arrested when he lands in the States? Don’t they check to see if you’re a wanted criminal on the computers at Immigration when you fly in from a foreign country?”
Brice nodded. “That’s why he’ll be using a passport with another name.”
“But that’s illegal.”
“Probably.”
“I’ll be arrested if I help him sneak into the country illegally.”
“Perhaps, but we’d hire the best lawyers for you. Besides, I suspect you’ll be protected by the First Amendment.”
“Is that true? Have you asked a lawyer about that?”
“There wasn’t any time. Mr. Marsh’s life is hanging by a thread. Do you want to chance his being arrested, tortured, and killed while we seek a legal opinion?”