âIâm his assistant.â
Mina flushed. So did Jason.
Zen laughed. Clearly he was going to have to coach Jason a bit on how to deal with reporters . . . and women.
When they arrived at the lobby floor, the door opened on a small crowd. Zen felt a flicker of trepidationâwere all these people waiting to talk to him? But it was a tour group, queuing to get up to their rooms after dinner. He rolled around them, heading down the corridor to a small conference room. Meanwhile, Jason went over and found a hotel employee.
The man unlocked the door. It was set up for a small talk, with four dozen chairs facing a podium at the front. Zen rolled down the center aisle to the open space near the podium and turned around.
âGrab a chair and fire away,â he told Toumi.
She hesitated a momentâhis slang had temporarily baffled her. Then she took her voice recorder out and began asking questions.
âSo, you know about the accident?â
âI donât know much about it at all,â said Zen. âI heard earlier that there was a bombing incident in Libya, and there are reports that civilians were hurt. This would be a tragedy, if true.â
âIf true?â
âI donât know whether it is true or not,â said Zen, trying not to sound defensive. âCertainly if it is true, it would be terrible. Anytime anyone is killed or even hurt in war, itâs tragic. Civilians especially.â
âShould the perpetrators be punished?â
âI doubt it was deliberate,â said Zen.
âBut even mistakes should be punished, no?â
âI donât know the facts, so weâll have to see.â
âIn your experience,â boomed a loud voice in American English from the back of the room, âare robot planes more apt to make this kind of mistake?â
Zen looked up. The man who had asked the question was wearing a sport coat and tie. Someone with a video camera was right behind him.
Several other people crowded in behind the two men as they came up the aisle.
âAre robot aircraft more prone to this sort of mistake?â repeated the reporter.
âIâm sorry, I donât know you,â said Zen.
âTomas Renta, CNN.â The man stuck out his hand. âPleasure to meet you, Senator.â
Iâm sure, thought Zen as he shook the manâs hand.
âFirst of all, I havenât received any official word on what sort of planes were or werenât involved,â Zen told the man.
It was an obvious fudge, and the reporter called him on it before Zen could continue.
âIâm sure youâve heard the rumors and saw the YouTube tape,â said Renta. âEveryone is saying it was a UAV.â
âWell, theoretically speaking, unmanned planes are no more likely to have accidents than any other aircraft,â said Zen. âThe statistics are pretty close. Frankly, since people have been flying for so long, UAVs look a little better. Statistically.â
The reporter drew a breath, seemingly gearing up for another question. Zen decided to beat him to the punch.
âBut that doesnât meant that they canât have accidents,â he said, looking directly into the camera. âIt has to be investigated, obviously. Iâm sure it will be. Speaking as a civilianââ
âAnd former pilot,â said another journalist.
âAnd former pilot, yes.â He gestured toward his useless legs. âMy perception is, accidents can happen at any time. And they may be terrible ones. But I donât know what happened here, and I donât know that it would be of much value for anyone to pass judgment on anything until all of the facts are known.â
âShould the U.S. compensate victims?â said the journalist. Zen thought he remembered him from a conference somewhereâhe was an American representing AP overseas.
âI donât even know if it was a U.S.