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here?”
    “Colin got the call last night when we got home.”
    “From the right hand guy?”
    “Yep,” Colin said. “We have confirm that he’s still the kingpin of the criminal enterprise.”
    I sat back, taking in this information. Normally I’d be thrilled. When I was the EP, I would have been. As the person responsible for the network’s money being risked on a story that might not pan out, I couldn’t be thrilled.
    “He thinks he can continue to run a drug empire while running the country,” Colin reported.
    “And your plan?”
    “We gather B stories on the criminal activities, track the money, and confront him in an interview,” Colin said. “Dallas is working her contacts and can get stories on the effects of these activities on various groups.”
    “In South America?” I asked.
    “That’s where he is.”
    I waited a beat. They continued to smile as if nothing could go wrong. “And you think once you confront a drug and human trafficker on his turf that you’ll make it out of there alive because you’re on television?” I never used to be a news cynic, but once they handed the budget over to me, I had to become one. Plus, this was my best friend and her fiancé thinking they could waltz into another country to accuse someone of running a drug cartel.
    Dallas’s enthusiasm deflated. Colin paused beside her. It had been a while since either of them had done the field work on a dangerous story. They probably hadn’t thought the whole thing through.
    “We’ll get security,” Colin offered.
    “At a minimum,” I agreed.
    “He’ll be in Miami for a convention of Latin American leaders trying to shore up trade agreements with the U.S.” Van said. “We can head to South America to get the background stories then meet up with him in Miami for the interview.”
    “Perfect,” Dallas declared.
    “Better,” I confirmed. “He can’t decide to kill you on the spot if you’re in a hotel conference room in the U.S. It’s still dangerous having you collect these stories.”
    “We can handle it,” Colin said.
    This would be the story of the year. It could push their show to the top of the weekly news shows. A cable network at the top. It was also ten times more dangerous than anything we’d ever covered and ten times more expensive.
    “When’s the Miami trip?”
    “The end of the month,” Van said.
    My eyes flicked to Colin and Dallas. End of the month was their wedding date. Neither looked disappointed to have to delay that, which was the mark of a true newsperson.
    Numbers floated through my head. Flights, hotels, meals, transportation, bribes, and security, lots and lots of security. “When would you want to leave for the background stories?”
    “Tonight,” Van said.
    Lightning speed, but that was how things went in this business. I wanted desperately to run this by someone before authorizing it, but I was that someone now. “Go.”
    Dallas and Colin broke into matching smiles. Van looked on proudly.
    “We’re using different security,” I said firmly. “I’m not sending your entire show down there with just six retired cops. We need specialists and people who’ll blend.”
    “Agreed. I’ve got a firm in mind,” Van told me.
    “Get that in place and you’re authorized.”
    “What do we do about next week’s show?” Van asked.
    “We’ll tape the host segments today and run with the banking feature for the extra content we’ll need.” It wasn’t what we’d planned for the second to last show of the season, but the banking story was the only feature we had at midweek. It would have to do. “That still leaves us a show short, but I think I can make it fly with the network once I tell them what you’re working on. Or we can bring in a sub for the week. Weekend Janie is dying for air time.”
    Dallas and Colin exchanged worried looks. Janie was hankering for a permanent anchor slot somewhere. She was five years younger than Dallas and prettier than Colin.
    “I like