Prophet (41 page)

John had gone over the script, first in the computer and in the printout before him. He was ready. The candidates were going to be the top story tonight, followed by the sidebar story about the ongoing abortion battle. After he’d read Marian Gibbons’s package he’d tried
to swap stories with Ali Downs so he could do the candidates story and she could do the abortion sidebar, but she didn’t like last-minute changes, and, not surprisingly, Rush Torrance wasn’t tolerant of the idea either.

So now it was up to him to do the lead-in and the scripted question, professionally and objectively. He had no doubts that Ben Oliver would be watching to make sure he did. He even wondered if Ben had already ordered that John Barrett, the costly news anchor, would do the story and no one else.

But the Brewers would be watching as well, not to mention Carl. He would have some explaining to do, and it was not going to be easy.

If they’d only been here
, he thought.
If they’d only seen all the factors involved, all the forces and interests and circumstances . . .

Four fifty-four. Weatherman Hal Rosen joined them at the right end of the news desk, while sportscaster Bing Dingham took his place at the left end.

Four fifty-six. Time for the teaser that played right after the syndicated controversial talk show.

Mardell counted down, then pointed.

Busy music. Camera Two, four-shot of John, Ali, Hal, and Bing sitting at the news desk, ready to go. They were on the air.

John started. “Good evening. Coming up on NewsSix at Five . . .”

A videocassette began to roll. Governor Hiram Slater in a rather animated speech, followed by challenger Bob Wilson, even more animated.

John’s voice over the video: “The race for governor is heating up over the abortion issue.”

Video: The Women’s Medical Center, followed by a close-up of Deanne Brewer talking on her front porch.

Ali read the copy over the pictures: “And the abortion battle rages on as parents try to break through the privacy barrier at a local clinic.”

John intro’d Hal Rosen. “And Hal will have our weather, what there is of it.”

Camera Three on Hal, close up.

He laughed apologetically. “Hey, what can I say? More of the same cool gray stuff, typical for this time of year, but the weekend does look better, so there is hope!”

Ali intro’d Bing Dingham. “And Bing Dingham will tell us what in the world happened to Billy Graylark.”

Camera One, head-on to Bing.

“Billy’s nursing his wounds, and so are his promoters. We’ll have highlights of the bout, and reactions from Graylark and Bengal. It sounds like they’re still fighting!”

“In and out of the ring,” John quipped. Bing answered, “Most definitely,” and John chuckled at Camera Two as the camera got all four of them in a wide shot. “All those stories and more coming up on NewsSix at Five.”

The monitors in the news desk cut to a commercial, and they knew they were off the air.

Up in the control room Rush Torrance stood at his post, headset in place, nervously paging through his script. “Brother, we’re still too tight. Marian’s package on the abortion parents is . . . what? Two minutes! That leaves . . .”

Susan the director leafed through her script. “We’re full up to the first break. We can move 199, the Lanford trial, ahead and open up another thirty, but that crams the second section.”

Rush found a solution. “Okay, go to section three and we’ll pull 399, the Gullywump story. Then move the dead body from section two to section three.”

Susan found the Gullywump story and pulled the pages. “Okay, 399 is out.” She pressed her intercom button and advised the anchors. “John and Ali, pull 399, Gullywump, and move 299, the dead body, up to the first place in section three, right ahead of 301, car dealer protest.”

Susan dropped 399, Gullywump, on the floor.

Rush pulled out 399, Gullywump, and tossed the pages in a trash can.

On the news set, John pulled the pages. “There goes your story, Leslie.” He dropped them to the floor.

“Ready . . .” said Mardell.

Show time. They struck a busy pose, checking their scripts, looking serious. In just a few seconds viewers everywhere would be able to soar out of the sky, crash right through the roof of the NewsSix broadcast house, and land in front of John Barrett and Ali Downs, ready to hear the day’s news.

CARL BARRETT WAS
one of the viewing public this night, sitting beside his easel in his grandfather’s shop, watching the little portable television on the workbench. He’d set up a new canvas on his easel for his next project, an expression of order in the universe even in the midst of chaos. Sure, it was a lofty goal, but he was excited about it and excited about being excited. Excitement about anything had been far from him for years, but this work he could actually see finished from the beginning, before he’d even started. He knew what he wanted, in a way he’d never known it before, and though he still needed to find which direction, which approach would best get him there, he knew where he was going.

But now he paused, set down his brushes, and turned on the television, feeling uneasy. He hadn’t heard from his father all day, and that bothered him. When he finally called Deanne Brewer that afternoon, he got bad news and perhaps good news. The Request for Medical Records had turned up nothing, and yet it seemed the story—or a story of some kind—was going to run anyway. Somehow John and Leslie were going to have something on the air. He’d called Rachel Franklin to make sure she knew about it.

But something didn’t feel right.

DEANNE BREWER WAS
too nervous to sit still, which made Max edgy too. “Babe, now sit down, you gonna wear out the carpet.”

Deanne had called Max at the shipyard and told him about her day, so he hurried home to be there, and now he, Deanne, and the three kids, Rebecca, Victoria, and George, were all gathered in front of the tube, waiting to see Mom on television.

AFTER RACHEL FRANKLIN
heard from Carl that the story might run on NewsSix at Five, she tried to keep an ear tuned to the wide-screen TV in the restaurant’s lounge, now tuned to Channel 6. Her boss said she could take her break early if that would help, and she was ready to take him up on it.

MARILYN WESTFALL HAD
no idea the story would be running until she’d closed up the Human Life Services Center and gone home. The phone was ringing just as she came in the door.

“Marilyn! Turn on Channel 6 . . . they’re going to say something about the Women’s Medical Center!”

Oh, goodness! Had the Brewers actually found out something?

She clicked on her set before taking her coat off.

Music. Big music that sounded like news, rushing along, charging along, sounding the call,
News is happening, happening, happening.

Video: Moving, aerial shot of the city, the Adams Tower, downtown. Traffic rushing back and forth, ferries pulling out from the dock.

Deep, sandy, booming voice: “This is Channel 6, The City’s Premier News and Information Station, your number one source for up-to-the-minute news.”

Pictures, fast pictures: a cameraman runs toward a fast-breaking story, zooming in, focusing; a female reporter stands in front of more news, hair blowing, microphone ready; a male reporter scrambles from a NewsSix car, his eyes locked on an off-screen event; Chopper Six lands with a bump as technicians bang switches in the control room . . .

New video: The city skyline from high above, the picture rocking, dipping a bit with the helicopter as it banks over the skyscrapers, catching the glint of the evening sun off the vast panes of glass . . .

Voice still going: “And now, from the NewsSix newsroom, this is NewsSix at Five, with John Barrett . . .”

As the camera flies through the air, circling over the I-5 freeway where the traffic flows like blood through an artery, a box appears at the upper left: John Barrett, new, fresh, improved, flashes a knowing smile at the camera.

“. . . and Ali Downs . . .”

Box at lower right. She has a new hairdo and a new look and delivers a shining smile.

The boxes disappear as the camera drops toward an imposing tower of glass adorned with a big red 6.

“Bing Dingham with sports . . .”

A box containing Dingham’s face leaps out from the tower and
slams into the upper-right position. Bing Dingham looks at the camera and cracks up as always.

“And Hal Rosen, weather . . .”

His box flies out of the tower and comes to rest at the lower left as he looks at the camera and winks.

The boxes disappear. Here comes that tower, closer, closer, we’re coming in for a landing, the big red 6 filling the screen, closer, faster, closer, faster . . .

“The NewsSix News team. NewsSix at Five!”

Crash! We’re inside the building, sailing past rafters, cables, floodlights, and then, like a roller coaster going over the top, we nose over, dropping down past rigging, wires, lights, monitors, into the open expanse of the NewsSix set, heading for the floor and the news desk where John Barrett and Ali Downs are ready and waiting to inform us, accepting with ease that we have fallen from the sky and through their ceiling to get there.

TWO-SHOT:
John and Ali at the desk, looking into Camera Two.