The Sam Gunn Omnibus

Selene City

Jim Gradowsky guffawed and leaned back in his swivel chair so far that Jade feared he would topple over.

“That’s terrific, kid! Great story.” Wiping his eyes, he smiled at Jade as he asked, “What’s next?”

Jade had dreaded this moment. “I don’t really know,” she replied. “I’ve run out of people to interview.”

Gradowsky’s happy face turned to gloom. “Come on, Jade, there must be half a zillion people who’ve known Sam over all those years.”

“They’re all back on Earth,” she said, her voice low.

“Oh. And you can’t go to Earth, is that it?”

“That’s it, Jim.”

He took in a deep breath and reached into his desk drawer for a cookie. “You’ll have to do it by videophone, then.”

Nodding, grateful that her boss understood, she said, “There’s this one woman I’ve got a lead on, in Ecuador. She’s the daughter of their former president and the wife of their current president.”

“Go get her!”

“It won’t be easy,” Jade said. “She says she’s busy with their space tower project and—”

Gradowsky puffed out an exasperated sigh. “Jade, honey, if it was easy anybody could do it. You get to her. One way or another.”

Jade nodded. “I’ll try.”

“We all try, kid. You’ve got to succeed.”