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Walking into the newsroom was like walking into a beehive in the middle of honey season. And who was heading straight toward me but the Queen Bee herself.
“Good God, Bianca, where have you been?” Greenlee hissed as I made for my desk. “Edmund was going positively haywire looking for you.”
“Why, what’s the matter?” I queried, taking in the frenzied activity all around me.
“Can’t you see what’s happening? We’re being shut down,” she responded as she hurried toward the back exit, her arms full of files. “Grab your stuff and get yourself home A-S-A-P.”
“Shut down? Why?” I called after her, but she was already out of earshot.
I sat down and began pulling together as many files as I could gather. Everyone around me was doing the same thing. They all looked worried and excited at the same time.
“Bianca! Bianca!”
I wheeled around to see Maggie.
“Is it true we’re being shut down?” I asked her.
“Yeah, we have to go home and stay there,” she replied, her eyes wide as saucers. It was hard to believe but she actually looked more stupid than usual.
“There’s a curfew as well,” she said. “Because of the military operation going on in the desert.”
“Where’s Leo? Where’s Jamie?”
“They both took off. I think they’re chasing a story. Anyway, who cares? We have to get out of here. So come on, let’s go.”
“Just a second Maggie.” She was really starting to piss me off. I wanted to find Leo and get the dope on what was going on. But he was nowhere to be found and his desk looked like a cyclone had hit it.
“Montgomery!” a voice boomed in my ears. It was Edmund. “Don’t you know there’s a state of emergency happening here? You can’t just go running off without telling anyone where you are!”
“But I didn’t …”
“Get your stuff together and go home. And stay there!” he bellowed, his face practically purple.
I watched him stomp off angrily. What the heck was wrong with him? He acted like he hated me, but I couldn’t fathom why. I turned back to my desk where Maggie was still standing, staring at me.
“He’s worried, that’s all.”
“What?”
“He’s worried about you. He feels responsible.”
“Maggie, just drop it OK? I just want to get my stuff and get out of here before someone else goes off on me.”
“Hey, what’s that?” Maggie motioned toward the wine bottle I had placed on my desk. The cloth was still wrapped around it, but the shape was obvious.
“It’s nothing,” I replied. “Just something from Lena.”
“She gave you a gift? You aren’t supposed to take gifts. It’s like taking a bribe.”
“What? Oh, for Pete’s sake, it wasn’t like that,” I said, getting flustered. Then I found myself wondering; what was it like?
“Hey, I can take it. Then you won’t get in trouble for taking bribes.”
“It’s not a fucking bribe, Maggie,” I said, snatching it away from her. “I’ll handle it.”
She seemed taken aback for a moment, but quickly collected herself.
“Let me come with you,” she paused and caught her breath.
“What? No!”
“I’m scared, Bianca.”
“It’s OK,” I sighed. “Geez, get a grip.”
She was being such a baby that I had to remind myself she was actually a few years older than I was. But I did feel a bit guilty for being so sharp with her. So I relented.
“OK, you can come with me. But I’m stopping at Sonny’s first. I want to check if Leo’s there.”
Her lips tightened but I didn’t wait for a reply. Stuffing everything I could into my shoulder bag, including the wine bottle, I headed for the door. A fretting Maggie followed hard on my heels.