The Assignment 4 (3 page)

“Is that what you were in DC for?” Lacey said.

“That’s exactly what I was in DC for. I had to sign a confidentiality waiver. What led you to all of this, Lacey? Is there talk of this in The Club?”

“Sort of.”

“Jesus Christ,” Sandra said. “I had no idea you were going to come back with a story like this. Lacey, you have to understand, this is big news. It’s very sensitive, politically. What’s being proposed is completely new ground, legally and constitutionally, and no one’s going to be happy if the cat gets out of the bag before an official announcement has been prepared.”

“I thought this was the sort of story you were looking for,” Lacey said. “I thought the whole point of sending me in to The Club was to find out this sort of thing.”

“The whole point of sending you in was to uncover a sex scandal, maybe catch a few city officials taking bribes. I had no idea you were going to come back with this. We’re going to have to thread very carefully around it. I signed a court order stating that I wouldn’t publicize anything about the senate hearings until a public announcement had been made. That was a condition of attending the committee hearings.”

“But all that information is available publicly,” Lacey said.

“It’s available,” Sandra said, “but only because it’s required by law to be available. No one would ever come across those documents unless they were specifically looking for them. I’m afraid I won’t be able to break this story till the confidentiality agreement has been lifted.”

“Then what the hell am I doing in The Club?” Lacey said. She was loosing her composure, which she really didn’t want to do in front of Sandra. She’d gone through hell and back to get this information and now she was being told that it was public record and couldn’t be published anyway.

“Lacey,” Sandra said, her voice stern and firm, “I sent you in there to catch politicians sleeping with hookers. Didn’t anything like that happen? Jesus Christ, what kind of call girl story are you writing?”

“It’s all connected,” Lacey said. “The sex and the politics are the same thing. It’s all the same story.”

Sandra was shaking her head. “I know it feels like that, honey. To us, things always feel connected. But that’s not how men like these view the world. To them, everything is separate, compartmentalized in its own box. Sex is one thing. Politics is another thing. I was hoping you would be telling me about the sex.”

Lacey couldn’t believe it. She thought she was doing real journalism, coming up with a real story, something that actually made a difference. Now she was finding out that all Sandra wanted was for her to fuck a few politicians and come back with the details. She felt as if Sandra really was treating her like a whore rather than a journalist.

“If all you wanted was a story about fucking the mayor, you could have hired an actual whore,” Lacey said. She knew she would regret losing her cool with Sandra but it was too late to take the words back. She’d been through too much to get this far. She couldn’t just drop the story. “Why even send me in there?” she said. “Why go to all the trouble?”

“Lacey, please understand,” Sandra said, “I’m not discounting the information you gathered. I know it’s real news.”

“It is real news,” Gretchen said. “If Wall Street is looking for a military contractor to protect it from US citizens, that’s news, Sandra.”

Lacey was grateful for the support from Gretchen. And she was relieved that Gretchen felt the same way about the story. This wasn’t just about a private security contract, it was about a military force being set loose against Americans, on US soil.

“I know it’s news,” Sandra said. “Jesus, I know it is. It’s one of the biggest stories of the year. There’s no doubt about that, but it’s not the news I was expecting from this assignment. I was looking for a sex scandal, Lacey. I’m sorry, but that’s what I wanted. This security contract is definitely news, but it’s not illegal. It’s not part of a cover up. The government invited a group of prominent journalists to DC to hear it being discussed. We’ll be allowed to say what we want on the issue, but only once the government knows what its own position is. They want to be able to make up their minds without the interference of a public outcry. I signed a waiver. I can’t go with this story. Not yet.”

“You can’t go with the story?” Lacey said. She couldn’t believe it, not after all she’d gone through, after all the humiliation and abuse she’d taken from Lally and the mayor and Wolf. She decided that she wasn’t going to accept no for an answer, she couldn’t accept no for an answer. “The biggest story of the year and you want to sit on it?” Lacey said.

“That’s what the confidentiality agreement means,” Sandra said. She was speaking sternly, defending her position, and she was clearly surprised that she was being challenged so openly by someone as junior as Lacey. “If I don’t comply with the agreement I won’t get invited to the briefings in future. That’s the way it works. They tell me what’s going on, and in exchange I cooperate with them about getting the information to the public in an orderly manner.”

“Cooperate with them? Sandra, they’re talking about setting loose an army, in New York!”

“It’s how things are done,” Sandra said. “It’s how things have always been done. Look, when the story is ready to break, we’ll be the first ones on the scene. Otherwise, if the government can’t trust us to comply with the waivers they’ll simply stop talking to us.”

“So you’re saying you can’t comment on the Atlas Lake security contract until the government says so?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“And what else can’t you comment on?”

“Just that.”

“What if there was a different angle on the story, different information, information not covered in the briefing, then could you break it?”

“That would depend,” Sandra said, a sly smile on her lips.

Lacey knew she could convince Sandra to run the story if she could just get it outside of the scope of the waiver somehow. Sandra was a true newshound. It was her calling. She was every bit as passionate about breaking a good story as Lacey and Gretchen were. The news was in her blood. She didn’t want to be gagged by a waiver any more than Lacey did. If Lacey could give her a story that went wider than the waiver, Sandra would run it. Lacey was certain of it.

“Would it make a difference if I said the process was being manipulated?” Lacey said.

She knew she was taking a risk. She didn’t have all the evidence she needed yet, but she could get it. She just needed a chance.

“What do you mean?” Sandra said.

“Well, you signed a waiver allowing the government to arrive at a reasoned position on this issue. But what if the government was never going to get a chance to debate the issue? What if the deal was being pushed through by a small group of rich and powerful men?”

“Be specific,” Sandra said. She’d taken out a pen and notepad and was jotting down notes.

“Aaron Lally, the head of Atlas Lake, has bought the mayor’s support. The mayor’s been made a member of The Club. Lally has also bought the security contract from Wall Street.”

“How?” Sandra said.

“He gave his daughter to Mark Wolf.”

“His daughter?”

“Claire Lally, twenty-nine, she married Mark Wolf last week.”

“I didn’t know that,” Sandra said.

“It was covered in the social pages.”

“It must have slipped by me.”

“There’s more here than just what’s going on officially,” Lacey said. “Atlas Lake, the mayor, Mark Wolf, they’re not going to allow the government to come to a reasoned position on this. They’re going to push the whole thing through, they’re going to buy the votes they need, and they’re going to make sure they get exactly what they want. The senate hearings are meaningless. The real decisions are being made behind closed doors. Isn’t that a story beyond what you signed in the waiver?”

“Lacey. Speak very carefully,” Gretchen said. “What you’re saying incriminates some very powerful men.”

“I am speaking carefully,” Lacey said. It wasn’t like her to speak so defiantly but she couldn’t allow them to overlook this story. She had to convince them that there was more to it than just a security contract. “There’s a story here, Sandra,” she said, “and it’s not what’s going on in Washington. It’s right here, in New York. These guys, Aaron Lally and his friends, they’re going to push this through.”

“How can they?”

“They’ve got the power to do it. I know they do.”

“Maybe in New York, but they don’t have the influence in Washington to get what they want, do they?” Sandra said. She looked at Gretchen. Gretchen only shrugged.

Lacey decided to make her stand, then and there. It was now or never and she knew it. She stood up to address Sandra as convincingly as possible. “They’ve got the influence,” she said. “I’m positive of it.” She pulled out the list of directors Claudia had prepared and passed it to Sandra.

Sandra and Gretchen both read it. Gretchen put on her reading glasses.

“That’s a lot of influence,” Sandra agreed.

“Just give me some time,” Lacey said, “and I’ll prove they’re buying this legislation. They’re going to bypass the political process and get what they want. Trust me.”

Lacey stood there, breathless, praying that Sandra would let her continue investigating the story. She knew she didn’t have all the facts. She was building the story and she only had a few pieces, but her gut told her there was more to it than met the eye. She knew she could put the pieces together. She sat down and looked at Sandra and Gretchen, desperate to hear their decision.

Sandra leaned back on her chair. She said nothing. She was looking carefully at Lacey, weighing her up, assessing her. She seemed to be thinking very deeply about the whole assignment, about what she’d gotten herself and the magazine into.

“Excuse me for a minute,” she said.

She got up and left the cafe.

“Where’s she going?” Lacey said to Gretchen.

Gretchen put her hand on Lacey’s arm. “Don’t worry yet,” she said, “she’s not leaving, she’s having a cigarette.”

Lacey looked through the window and saw Sandra standing outside in the cold, taking long draws from a cigarette.

“That was quite a presentation,” Gretchen said. “I’m impressed.”

“Thanks,” Lacey said. Then she said, “Gretchen?”

Gretchen looked up at her. She’d noticed the change in Lacey’s tone of voice. “Yes?” she said.

“I met a boy,” Lacey said, shyly. She wasn’t sure why she was telling Gretchen. Now that she’d found the gun in Jason’s house, and those photos, she wasn’t even sure she would be able to continue the relationship.

“Lacey, that’s wonderful. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“This is the first chance I’ve had.”

Gretchen’s eyes teared up. “Oh my God,” she said. “I’m so happy for you.”

Lacey felt embarrassed. She thought maybe Gretchen was overreacting a little. It wasn’t like she and Jason were getting married or anything. She didn’t even know if they had a future together. She’d only just met him! But she was grateful to Gretchen for showing an interest in her life.

“Tell me all about him,” Gretchen said.

“Well, he’s handsome.”

“Of course he is.”

“He’s very kind.”

“Oh, Lacey.”

“He looks after me.”

“You little sweetheart.”

“He treats me like no man ever has before.”

“Lacey, I’m so happy for you.”

Lacey was touched. Gretchen was tearing up. She was genuinely happy for her. She really was like the mother Lacey never had. She thought she might cry. “Thank you for always looking out for me,” she said.

“Lacey, you mean so much to me.”

“Things might not work out with Jason. He has a lot of secrets, he seems complicated, and of course I’m in the middle of this assignment.”

“Which you can’t tell him about, right?”

“Right.”

“Lacey, you really have to be careful. Don’t let it slip. It could put both of you in danger.”

“I know.”

“Especially now with this added political dimension. It’s a lot more than a sex story now.”

“Don’t worry, Gretchen. Like I said, it might not work out with Jason. I don’t even know him, and he doesn’t know me. It may be that we simply have too many secrets to keep from each other.”

“What kind of secrets does he have?”

“Well, let’s just say that he’s kind of mysterious.”

“Mysterious is good.”

“I know.”

“And you said he treats you like he loves you.”

“He does,” Lacey said, wistfully.

“Listen to me, Lacey. I’m speaking from experience when I say, don’t let love slip through your fingers just because life is complicated. Give him a chance. See what happens.”

“He has a gun, Gretchen.”

“What do you mean?”

“I found a handgun in his desk this morning. And a box of bullets.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”

“I know, but my gut tells me he’s involved in something dangerous, maybe even something illegal.” Lacey thought about the photos in the brown envelope. She didn’t mention them to Gretchen.

“Well, maybe you’re right to be cautious. You don’t want to get involved with someone who’s got trouble with the law or anything like that.”

“Exactly.”

“It will only break your heart.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Lacey said. She felt a pang of guilt at the way she was talking about Jason. He’d been so good to her, better than any man ever had, and she was talking about him as if he was a criminal. It wasn’t fair. She could feel in her heart that Jason was so much more than that.

Sandra came back inside. She ordered another coffee and sat at the table. Lacey got a strong sense that she was about to talk business. Women like Sandra Price didn’t get where they were in the world for nothing. Everything about this woman said that she knew what she was doing and that she acted decisively.

“Okay, Lacey,” she said. “Tell me exactly what you’ve got.”

Lacey took a deep breath. Everything depended on what she was about to say. If she couldn’t convince Sandra to let her follow up on this, her story would be reduced to a plain old sex scandal. It might be devastating for the mayor but she had a feeling it wouldn’t do much to harm Lally. And she’d sworn revenge against Lally. She had to get to him. She had to convince Sandra that this story was worth pursuing.