"Scott?" Higgins called out. "One more thing."
Oh no, he thought, the hammer was dropping. He turned back to
Higgins. "Yeah?"
"Good work. You're onto something. Keep it up and keep it clean."
"No problem." Scott floated on air. "No, problem at all."
Back at his desk, Scott called Hugh Sidneys. He still worked at State First, as far as he knew, and it was time to bring him out of the closet, if possible.
"Hugh?" Scott said affably. "This is Scott Mason, over at the
Times?"
"Yeah? Oh, hello," Sidneys said suspiciously. "What do you want?"
"Hugh, we need to talk."
"About what?"
"I think you know. Would you like to talk here on the phone, or privately?" Sometimes leaving the mark only two options, neither particularly attractive, would keep him within those bounds. Sidneys was an ideal person for this tact.