Allison and Nicole exchanged a puzzled look.
"Kind of odd," Nicole said as she collected her files."I hadn't heard we were going to have a drill today."
Allison's stomach lurched as she thought of what had happened in Seattle last month. She clutched the sleeve of Nicole's jacket. "Maybe it's not a drill."
As Allison and Nicole turned toward the exit, they saw that one of the prospective jurors, a hunched old lady with a cane, was having trouble getting to her feet. They helped her up, and then Allison took her arm. "Let me help you down the stairs."
"No, I'll take care of her, Allison," Nicole said. "You go on ahead. Remember, you're evacuating for two now."
Allison had been so busy concentrating on the jury selection that she had actually managed to forget for a few hours that she was pregnant. Eleven weeks along now. She didn't quite show when she was dressed, but her skirt was only fastened with the help of a rubber band looped over the button, threaded through the buttonhole and back over the button.
"Thanks." She decided not to argue. At least Nicole knew her child was nowhere near here. What if this wasn't just a drill?
Allison hurried through the black padded double doors and toward the stairs.
Chapter 3 Channel 4 TV
Juggling a handful of colorful dry-erase markers, Channel 4's assignment editor, Eric Reyna, stood in front of the whiteboard at the station's morning story meeting. Around the table, staff passed copies of the three pages of potential story ideas that Eric had compiled. Everyone sat on a rolling office chair--everyone except the new intern, Jenna Banks. She was balanced on a bright-blue exercise ball that she claimed helped strengthen her "core."
Crime reporter Cassidy Shaw was already tired of the ball, and how Jenna bounced on it, and how her blonde cascade of hair rippled when she did, and how her tiny skirts rode up her slender thighs. But there was no point in complaining. She would just look old and bitter. It was a measure of the cruel reality of the news business that at thirty-three she might legitimately be considered old and bitter.
Eric ran his free hand through his thinning, gray hair as the reporters scanned the list. As the assignment editor, Eric was like the air traffic controller of the newsroom. He monitored scanners, managed news crews, and generated stories, And he ran the morning and afternoon story meetings that decided what aired at noon and what aired at night. He was a good ten years older than anyone in the room, but since he was never on camera, Eric didn't need to worry about his potbelly or lack of charisma.
And while no one knew his face or asked for his autograph, Eric made it clear to Cassidy and the rest of the on-air staff that he saw himself as the true brains behind the pretty faces that spent time in front of the camera.
Led by Eric, the team quickly decided which stories to follow up on. A Portland couple accused of allowing underage drinking at their New Year's Eve party was due back in court. Some environmental activists had chained themselves to the fence at the headquarters of a company they claimed used cancer-causing chemicals to line their aluminum cans. And the station's political reporter, Jeff Caldwell, was chasing down a report of misconduct at city hall.
Once the day was planned out, Eric said, "Okay, people, during sweeps we'll be running some special programming."
February--as well as May, July, and November--was a sweeps month, when the Nielsen company measured the audience watching each television program. That information set the price advertisers paid for commercial time. The more people who watched the news, the more Channel 4 could charge for advertising for the next four months. During sweeps month, every news story had to be bigger, stronger, and just a little bit crazy.
Cassidy made her voice low and sonorous. "It killed Lucille Ball, Albert Einstein, and George C. Scott. And it's caused by something you probably have in your medicine cabinet. Is your life in danger? Tune in at six to find out more."
Everyone laughed. Everyone except Eric, who continued on as if she hadn't spoken. "Cassidy will have that special piece about domestic violence that will air right before Valentine's Day. I'm anticipating a lot of viewer reaction."
Everyone looked at Cassidy. She straightened up and smiled. Then Jenna had to spoil it all by patting her hand and saying, "You're so brave," in the exact same tone as she would use to compliment someone competing in the Special Olympics.