?Where do you think you?re going?? demanded Tate.
?Back to our hotel, where we?ll cheerfully explain to our many readers that we have no news for them today because?after uncovering an act of criminal bioterrorism on United States soil?we were unable to attend a conference with our candidate since, oopsie, the new man on the ticket thinks the media can?t be trusted.? I smiled. ?Won?t that be fun??
?Georgia, sit down,? said Senator Ryman. He sounded exhausted. That was no surprise. ?You, too, Shaun. Buffy, Rick, you can sit or not, as you prefer. And you, David, will please try to remember that these folks are the only ones who cared enough to really look at the ranch rather than writing it off as a simple outbreak. You?ll be courteous, and we?ll trust them to keep on being as they have been: perfectly reasonable and willing to work with us.?
?There?s still the matter of our recording devices, Senator,? I said, staying still.
?That was a bad decision, and I?m sorry. That being said, I?m going to stand by it for now, and ask that you allow me to conduct this meeting.?
I raised an eyebrow. ?And what do we get??
Governor Tate sputtered, growing red in the face. Senator Ryman waved him down, looking at me squarely, and said, ?An exclusive interview with me, no editing, regarding what you found yesterday.?
?No deal,? said Shaun. The senator and I looked toward him, surprised. My brother was sitting up, suddenly alert. ?No offense, sir, but you?re not that impressive anymore. Our readers know you. They respect you, and if you keep on the way you have been, they?ll elect you, but they won?t be razzled and dazzled by the fact that we managed to get you.?
The senator ran a hand through his hair, looking pained. ?What do you want, Shaun??
?Her.? He nodded to Emily. ?We want an interview with her.?
?Absolutely n??
?Yes,? said Emily. Her voice was weary but clear. ?I?m happy to. I only wanted to be left out of things for the sake of? for the sake of my family.? Her voice broke. ?That?s not a concern anymore.?
?You aren?t worried about the safety of your younger daughters?? I asked.
?They aren?t at the ranch. They have the best security in the world. They?re safe. If I can prevent people from going out and killing other people?s pets because of what happened to Rebecca and my parents, well.? She managed to muster a smile. ?It?ll be worth the strain.?
Senator Ryman reached for her arm. ?Emily??
?Accepted.? I sat next to Shaun, ignoring the senator?s stricken look. ?We?ll be setting up interview times with both of you later this afternoon. Now, I assume there?s a reason we?re all here??
?The senator would like to discuss the tragic evidence of tampering that your crew discovered at his family ranch, Miss Mason,? said Governor Tate smoothly, all traces of his earlier aggravation gone. The man was a natural politician; I had to give him that, even if I wasn?t willing to let him have anything else if I could help it. ?Now, I realize this may seem as if I?m questioning your journalistic integrity??
?Hey, Rick, ever notice how dickheads only say that when they?re about to question your journalistic integrity?? asked Shaun.
?Oddly, yes,? Rick said. ?It?s like a nervous twitch.?
The governor shot them a glare and continued. ?Please understand that I don?t ask this for personal reasons, but simply because we need to determine the truth of the situation.?
I looked at him. ?You?re wondering if somehow, to drive up our ratings, we smuggled evidence of terrorist activity through the checkpoints and managed to plant it while our own cameras were broadcasting over a live feed to an audience that can be conservatively estimated, judging by yesterday?s ratings, as being somewhere in the millions.?
?I wasn?t intending to put it in quite those??
I held up my hand to cut him off, turning to face Senator Ryman. ?Senator, you know I?ll ask this again when I?m permitted to film the exchange, but in the interests of killing this line of questioning here and now, I?m going to sacrifice spontaneity in favor of clarity. Have the lab results come back on the syringe??
?Yes, Georgia, they have,? said the senator, jaw set in a hard line.
?Can you tell us what those results were??
?I don?t see how that?s relevant to the original question,? said Tate.
?Senator?? I said.
?The contents of the syringe were determined to be a suspension of ninety-five percent live-state virus, common designation ?Kellis-Amberlee? or ?KA?, isolated in iodized saline solution,? the senator said. ?We?re waiting on additional information.?