Jack Cavanaugh - Death Watch

“A press release will be sent out tomorrow morning,” she said. “We’ll announce it on the air tonight Yes, C-O-R-I just one R That’s right, five years. No, she’s filled in, but she’s never been a prime-time coanchor before Fort Worth. yes.”

Helen hung up. Several minutes of awkward silence passed, long enough for Sydney to get angry that the station would reward Cori Zinn with a promotion after all the things she’d pulled.

“I thought you were smarter than this, Sydney,” Helen said.

Sydney said nothing.

“You know, they’re blaming you.”

Blaming me? For what? Why was Helen being so cryptic?

Since she didn’t understand this conversation, Sydney decided to launch one of her own.

“Helen, we know how to defeat Death Watch!” she said. “Hunz was just the first. Cheryl McCormick—remember Cheryl? The pregnant contestant on Wonder Wheel? —this morning, Cheryl confirmed—”

“The way network executives see it,” Helen said, cutting her off, “it isn’t Hunz. He doesn’t have the background for this kind of stunt. You do. Midwestern Protestant roots. Church attender at an evangelical—”

“Helen, listen to me! We know how to stop the deaths! I know it sounds crazy, but—”

“Here’s how they see it: The two of you, going off together the way you did. A romantic affair. He becomes infatuated with you. You tell him nothing can come of it because of your religious faith. He says he’s willing to convert for you.”

“Helen, listen to me!”

“Sydney, you’re fired.”

“What?”

It wasn’t as though Sydney didn’t see it coming. It was one of the scenarios she’d imagined at thirty thousand feet. But imagining it and hearing it were two different things.

“Of course, the union will protest,” Helen said. “They’ll say a person’s personal religious beliefs are not grounds for dismissal. The station will counter that you were well aware of the rules against proselytizing. I’m confident we’ll work out some kind of settlement.”

Helen spoke as though the settlement had already been worked out.

Sydney leaned forward on Helen’s desk.

“Don’t do this, Helen. You’ve got to listen to me! We know how to stop Death Watch!”

Helen looked at her with deadly earnest eyes.

“I went out on a limb for you, Sydney,” she said. “Perhaps I was assuming too much. Even if I were to overlook all this religious mumbo jumbo, your actions these past two days have been unprofessional and irresponsible. Sydney, if you want to save the world, you’ll have to do it on your own time.”

Hunz was waiting for Sydney when she came out of Helen’s office. She didn’t see him at first. He was off in the distance, standing next to a monitor playing a Gilligan’s Island episode. Mary Ann and Ginger were putting on a stage production for the castaways.

Sydney wondered if they had Gilligan’s Island in Germany, then wondered what the German actors thought of the state of American television script writing as they dubbed over the voices.

As she walked toward Hunz, Sydney noticed the Homeland Security Awareness system symbol in the bottom corner. In contrast to the canned laughter of the sitcom, it was still set on Level Four.

Had anyone taken Hunz’s broadcast seriously?

Hunz heard her coming. He turned. “Are you all right?” he asked. “Sol told me.”

Sydney made a casual gesture with her hand. She pretended it didn’t hurt, but it did, despite the fact that she was still pretty much numb from the shock.

“What are you going to do?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I haven’t had a lot of time to consider my options. I wanted time off to go back to Evanston. Guess I got my wish. How about you? Did Sol banish you from the KSMJ kingdom?”

Hunz smiled. It wasn’t a real smile. “In essence. He’s sending me back to Germany. Said he was disappointed in me.”

“Seems to be the theme of the day around here,” Sydney said.

They ambled to Command Central and lingered over the huge conference table, quiet now.

“What does EuroNet have to say about all this?” Sydney asked.

“They’re heated. Particularly because it aired shortly before six o’clock in the evening.”

“That’s right, the time difference.”

“They’re upset that Sol is angry. They say I’ve given EuroNet a black eye.”

Hunz spoke in a low tone. Sydney could tell this was hard on him too. And getting harder. She didn’t want to ask the next question.

“When do you fly back?” she said.

“I don’t. I quit.”

“Hunz!”

“I promised Cheryl I’d help out with Stacy.”

Sydney couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. Did Hunz Vonner, internationally recognized newscaster for EuroNet, really just say he was quitting his job. to take up babysitting? He even shuffled his feet like a little boy when he said it! Stacy McCormick had really done a number on him.

“What about your career?” Sydney asked.

Hunz became deadly earnest.

“Sydney, we know how to stop Death Watch. How can I continue broadcasting descriptions of death watch tragedies when I know how to prevent them? How can I report the latest theories about who is behind the terror when I know who it is and how to stop him!”

“We do know, don’t we?” Sydney said excitedly. “But they won’t let us broadcast it.”

“We’ll just have to find other ways to get the word out.”

“Even so, Hunz… your career ”

“Sydney, knowing what I know, how can I possibly keep silent?”

Our heartfelt thanks—To Frances Cavanaugh, Shirley Strong, and Fred B. Kinne for their insightful comments on an early draft of the story.

To the staff and radio guests at Save a Friend ministries, whose prayers and encouragement were felt each step of the journey.

To Steve Laube, constant friend and advisor.

To our wives, Sheri and Marni, who have been a loving support through the years, especially during this project.

To the staff at Zondervan, particularly Karen Ball and Diane Noble, two talented women and faithful friends.

Founded in 1931, Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins Publishers , is the leading international Christian communications company, producing best-selling Bibles, books, new media products, a growing line of gift products and award-winning children’s products. The world’s largest Bible publisher, Zondervan ( www.zondervan.com) holds exclusive publishing rights to the New International Version of the Bible and has distributed more than 150 million copies worldwide. It is also one of the top Christian publishers in the world, selling its award-winning books through Christian retailers, general market bookstores, mass merchandisers, specialty retailers, and the Internet. Zondervan has received a total of 68 Gold Medallion awards for its books, more than any other publisher.

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