Project Apollo

Chapter 14

"Working...." Bradley responded short.

"Oh I seeeee h...how it isssss..." His buddy's drunken antics motivated him to seek solitude.

"It's nothing personal, I'm just stuck on this story..." Bradley commiserated.

"Welcome to journalism!" His colleague had said it so much that it came out slur-free. He stumbled away, leaving Bradley to his desk of crumbled papers. After glancing over everything, he walked on from the desk and turned the corner to enter Producer Rachel Norton's office. She looked up from a first draft of a story and pulled her reading glasses down and off the tip of her nose.

"Bradley, come in..." He obliged and plopped down in a seat in the office.

"What can I do for you, Rachal?" He asked with as much charm as he could muster.

"You could give me the story on the missing scientists. Something... anything," she responded short, cutting through the crap.

"I have nothing," he responded defeated.

"You're an investigative journalist – your job is to find something," she reminded him.

"Every lead has been a dead end. I've tapped all of my contacts. They vanished without a trace. I've been working non-stop on this story for the last 3 months and I have nothing to show for it." Bradley's head bowed in his own disappointment. His producer felt a surge of empathy, her hardened cadence softened back to its normal warmth.

"Bradley, listen to me..." The journalist lifted his eyes up to her. "You are the best journalist the BNA's got!"

"Has..." Bradley corrected with a small smile.

"My point exactly! You know that I will always be in your corner. But you also know that Meeklesen is breathing down my neck, because of one core competency that is lacking here," she imitated her bosses lecture.

"Ratings," Bradley finished her thought.

Bradley adjusted in his seat as the elephant in the office was stated plainly.

"I think this story could be the story of the year. Something bigger is going on.... I can sense it. Every time I get close something odd happens to curtail my efforts. If I could just get one break... I could crank out an editorial you wouldn't believe. This could be the story that puts BNA back on the map. I'm talking Pulitzer here, Rachel" he argued.

"I'm not doubting that or you. But what does every Pulitzer start with?" She repeated her typical line of questioning to her staff.

"Letters, spaces and punctuation..." Bradley reluctantly repeated on command.

"You have till the end of the day to find me something. Then I'm pulling you off the story." Bradley exhaled the mounting stress and stared wide-eyed at the floor of the office. He nodded distantly and ascended to his feet.

"I understand..." Bradley responded, disarmed and vulnerable.

"You can find something. Take a fresh look at your leads, something is there I assure you. You just have to see it." Rachel pep-talked him, Bradley offered another nod and turned on his heel and left the office in pursuit of four missing scientists.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Marty Jacobs lived in a spacious apartment that mostly remained empty. Living the life of his career, he was consumed in work fulltime with no time for home décor, hobbies or even relationships. Despite his loneliness he slept on the right side of his king mattress, reserving the spot next to him for someone special one day. The only decoration in his bedroom was a photo of the President and him back at the DNC many years ago, but the picture was now flipped onto its face, no longer facing his bed.