Before he could say anything, the reporter came over, and I had to admit I was a little star struck. Sarah Washington wasn’t the top interviewer for CNN, but she was one of their weekend morning hosts, and she was exactly what news agencies looked for in a television personality. Tall, blonde, leggy, with just enough cleavage to tease without looking slutty. She looked like that hot teacher or the sexy executive that every man has a fantasy about, if you know what I mean.
“Hi guys, I just wanted to come over before the show, kind of walk you through the interview,” she said, her eyes going mostly to Wes. I had to will myself to not feel a hint of possessiveness. “If you want, you can watch the rest of the taping from the sidelines too.”
Watching the program get filmed was actually pretty interesting. The giant sound stage acted like a three-part circus. In the main section, the lead anchor was sitting doing the live news, along with introducing segments that were being prepped on the two wing sections of the studio. We got to watch as two other interviews were done, one live and another being taped for playing throughout the day.
When it was our turn, we were set up in the smaller of the two interview studios, in chairs that I thought were surprisingly uncomfortable for the purpose. Sarah was seated across from us, her long legs crossed demurely but the short skirt showing Wes enough leg that I’m sure she knew what she was doing. I sighed inwardly and kept my composure.
In any case, the interview was pretty cut and dry. The story started with a quick video montage of the crash site and a digital recreation of our flight, along with pieced in clips of the search parties looking for us. Sarah then took over, talking a bit about how we had been found by the Park Rangers, and then she launched into her questions.
Since our story was kind of a feel good piece, most of the questions were softballs; she wasn’t trying to really pry into what went on. There were quite a few gasps of surprise when we told the story of my encounter with the wolf, and even Sarah’s face lost a bit of that practiced friendly but blank expression. “That’s amazing,” she said honestly, and I could see by the look in her eyes that it was the first time she had actually started to see me as a person, and not just another interview. “And your brother didn’t help you at all?”
“I was too far away, it was over before I could even get there,” Wes said. “But Robin was amazing, truly amazing. I didn’t know she had that in her. Not just with the wolf, but the whole week we were out there.”
I had to blink back tears at Wes’s kind words, and Sarah wrapped up the interview with a few more easy questions, nothing too difficult. She had well wishes for us both, and a pass over to the live anchor at the desk. Afterward, Sarah was kind enough to at least give us a real thanks before going off to her next assignment.
We got to hang out a bit longer while the producers wrapped up some last-minute checks for the live broadcast, and the same production assistant who had escorted us from the airport to the studio came by with checks from CNN as a thank you. They weren’t for much, but CNN was paying for our hotel in Atlanta, and like Wes had promised, it was five-star. The Hyatt at Buckhead was one of the best luxury hotels in Atlanta, and CNN hadn’t batted an eye when Wes and I requested that we share a suite. That the suite had two beds was expected, and we didn’t mind at all.
Wes
Getting to the hotel, Robin and I were both happy and relaxed. The interview went better than we had expected, and we had even gotten approached on the way out by a producer from one of CNN’s sister channels, wanting to do an hour-long “dramatic documentary” of our adventure, and asked if we would be willing to work with him on it. The money was a nice little sum, something that I could use without having to go into my Swiss and Cayman Islands accounts. I waited until we were back in the Hyatt to give Robin my big news, however.
“So, I need some advice from you,” I said once we were in our suite, and I relaxed into the sofa, pulling her down with me. “Now that I’m retired from the intelligence services, what do you suggest I do?”
“What do you mean?” Robin asked me, turning her surprised eyes to me. “I know you were telling me you were tired of it when we were out there, but retired?”
“Of course,” I said, chuckling and squeezing her tight. “I couldn’t imagine going behind enemy borders any longer with you in my life, Robin. I just used the CNN interview as an excuse. After all, it’s kind of hard to be a secret agent when you’ve done public interviews and documentaries, and your face is now known. Just ask Valerie Worthington.”
Robin chuckled and kissed me. “Is that why you agreed to do this? I thought you just wanted a cheap way to give me my five-star hotel weekend.”
I laughed and kissed her again. “Never. You would’ve gotten that regardless. I just have to get the money out of the Caymans.”