"My God, I've been waiting for this to happen." Van de Vliet sounded like someone who had just had the wind knocked out of him. "You know, Grant once mentioned that a reporter had been pestering him about getting an interview with me."
"First I've heard about it," Bartlett said. "I wish he'd told me. I could have taken steps."
"It might be the same person. Now that I think about it, I do remember he mentioned the Sentinel. How much do you think he knows?"
"I'm not sure. The question in my mind is, how did he find out about her in the first place? He's supposedly doing a book about us, Karl, a book about this project."
"Well, that's the first I've heard about that. Christ! A book!"
"I think he's just fishing at the moment. But this should be a warning. We've got to keep security tight."
"What do you know about him? Is he good?"
Yes, Bartlett thought, he's damned good. The truth is, I'm almost proud of him sometimes.
"He's the medical columnist for the paper. So happens, I own the building where their editorial offices are."
"Well, he's good enough that we may have to handle him somehow."
"What are you trying to say?" Van de Vliet asked, though he sounded like he already knew.
"What I'm saying is, he's a pro, and I get the strong impression he's hungry."
"If I knew that, I'd know what to do next," Bartlett said. Probably some of both, he thought, if the kid is anything like his old man.
"Then why don't we give him an interview? Meet the whole matter head- on. I've always found it better to shape the news yourself rather than trying to stonewall, which usually means a lot of speculation ends up getting published and then you have to correct it after the fact. It's also the best way to find out how much a reporter already knows."
Idiot, Bartlett thought, that's the worst possible thing we could do. This kid would have your balls for a bow tie.
"Karl, you've just provided a perfect illustration of why I have my own people handling the press. Some amateur like you starts talking to a guy like that, and the next thing you know, you might as well be on sodium pentathol. Again, his name is Stone Aimes. Remember it. And don't ever even think about exchanging a single word with him."
"W.B., my experience is that you can only stonewall the press for so long, if they're any good at all. Sooner or later, they're going to find out more than you want them to. The only way to forestall that is to parcel them carefully controlled information to work with. Trust me. I've had a little experience with reporters too. You can't treat them like they're complete dolts. You have to co-opt them, bring them into your confidence, and then convince them that it's in everybody's interest for them to help you rather than harm you. So why don't you let me talk to this guy? We could always start off with the carrot and then move on to the stick."