Page 328 of 5+Us Makes Seven

“This is the female journalist who has nothing to do with it,” Cooper said.

“Come with me,” the man said.

“Can we get your name?” I asked.

“Mr. Sorenson. This way, please.”

He held the door open. Cooper stepped forward first. I met them in the hallway. The three of us walked down one hall then another. By the time we stopped at a door, I wasn’t sure where we had ended up in the building.

“Take a seat,” Mr. Sorenson said while adjusting the oval, wire-frame glasses on his face.

Something was off about him, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. As I sat down next to Cooper in another uncomfortable chair, I watched the man’s face for any signs of lying.

“Thanks for coming in,” he said, opening a folder on his desk. “As I said, if you give us information on what happened before, we will make sure you’re not charged with anything.”

“Hold on a minute,” I said.

“I thought you were a journalist not a lawyer,” Mr. Sorenson said with a chuckle. “Although they’re both kind of hated the same these days.”

“People hate the media more. Trust me. I’m…”

“We know who you are,” he interrupted. “And we’re glad you came in too. When we saw you asking questions about Max Erickson renting office space, we thought you might not be involved after all.”

“You know she’s not, right?” Cooper asked, sitting on the edge of his seat.

I rubbed his back with my hand, more to support me than him.

“We’ve been listening to phone calls and reading emails, and, yes, we know she’s not involved.”

“Wait. You’ve been listening to my calls and reading my emails?”

“It’s all standard stuff,” he said. “The Patriot Act has given us a lot of power.”

“Too bad America doesn’t seem any safer,” Coope

r said, getting upset.

“Let’s not get into a political argument,” Mr. Sorenson said. “As both of you have had contact with Mr. Erickson before, we want to wire you and get something we can use in court.”

“Absolutely not,” Cooper said.

I raised my hand.

“Hold on a minute. I have a say in this too.”

Cooper turned. I looked at him.

“If I can finish the story that I started in Afghanistan and clear your name at the same time, I’m all about helping.”

“You don’t understand the risks,” Cooper said.

I turned my attention back to Mr. Sorenson.

“What do you need me to do?”

I wasn’t ready to commit but definitely interested.

“Easy. We’ll give you a recording device, and you get Max to admit what he’s doing.”