“When history tells the story of time, the truth will be known!” Ziggy Marley PPenelope Spence was awakened by a light tapping on her door. It took her a few seconds to orient herself and remember where she was. She was surprised to see that Paula had not actually been sleeping in her bed but had been sitting in a chair watching her. Paula opened the door and Walker, Timothy Ellison and several people she didn’t know burst into her room. Sally Winters held out her hand and introduced herself. “Sally Winters. I was your body double at the Salt Lake City Airport.” Ellison flipped her suitcases onto the bed and said, “You probably should change so we can get going.” “Going where? And what time is it?” “7:30 Eastern,” Walker said. “We need you to wear something that will look nice on television.” Sally Winters already had her suitcases open and had picked out a nice professional business suit with a pale blue silk blouse. “What’s going on? “Remember the promise I made you day before yesterday?” “God. Has it only been three days?” Walker smiled and said, “I’m ready to deliver. You are about to become the most important reporter on the planet.” Walker pulled her aside so they could not be overheard and squared her up so their eyes locked. “I know how pigheaded you can be.” 221 The Fourth Awakening “Steadfast still sounds better.” “But isn’t nearly as accurate.” She hadn’t realized how much she had been enjoying his company until he had left. “Until this storm blows over, you are going to need to let these people make all of the decisions for you that don’t involve the story. At first you’re not going to like it, but you’ll get used to it pretty quickly. When they tell you to eat, you eat. If they tell you to sit down, you sit down. If they tell you to take a nap, you take a nap. If you put your full focus on this story, by this time tomorrow you will have every newspaper in the world begging you to come work for them.” “Okay. But when are you going to make me twenty-three again?” “I told you, that boat has already sailed.” It suddenly hit Penelope that while she had been talking to Walker, Sally Winters had stripped her down to her bra and panties. It was like one of the costume changes from when she was working on Broadway. None of the men in the room seemed to notice and for some reason she didn’t feel the least bit self-conscious. “Arm,” Winters said. Penelope stuck her right arm in the sleeve of her blouse, followed by her left . Th e other woman had her completely dressed in less than two minutes. Another person Penelope had never seen before stuck his head in the open door. “The cars are ready.” “Let’s go,” Walker said. Out front of the Wort, two V-8 Jeep Cherokees were idling. Painted on their doors was “Lazy S Ranch”. As Penelope breezed through the lobby, the day desk clerk who had just come on duty strained to see the person at the center of the entourage. No one had told him a celebrity had checked in overnight. Walker and Penelope took the backseat of the lead 4x4 with Sally Winters riding shotgun and Lucas Haley behind the wheel. “I have Mark Hatchet on the line.” Winters leaned over the seat and handed the phone to Spence as the car pulled away from the curb. “Mark?” “Nellie? We haven’t heard from you in over 24 hours. We were starting to get worried. What the hell is going on?” Walker motioned for the phone. “This is Michael Walker. Please listen carefully, since the clock is running. I’m going to put you on speaker. If there is anyone else with you, I would recommend you do the same. Th is call is being recorded.” Winters leaned over the seat again with some kind of mobile cell phone 222 Rod Pennington & Jeffery A. Martin speaker that Walker placed between himself and Spence. They could hear rustling on the other end. “This is Mark Hatchet, managing editor of Th e Washington Post. With me in the room are the publisher, Bill Flickling and our lead legal counsel, Leon Steinberg. Our CEO Franklin Mitchell is on his way and should join us momentarily.” “On this end we have Ms. Penelope Drayton Spence and I’m Michael James Walker. Ms. Spence has been my traveling companion for the past two days. We are currently in Jackson, Wyoming. I would strongly recommend you get out here as quickly as possible.” “Why is that, Mr. Walker?” Hatchet asked. “Through the efforts of Ms. Spence, she has secured for Th e Washington Post a twenty-four hour window wherein you wi............