2564/Just Another Newsday

Just Another Newsday
Date of Scene:	22 July 2020
Location:	Bullpen - Daily Planet Building
Synopsis:	Lois and Clark give Terry a lot of advice on the Titan Story he is working on.
Cast of Characters:	Terry O'Neil, Lois Lane, Clark Kent

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Terry O'Neil has posed:
The days after a major crisis are a welcome respite in the world of the Planet. This means that journalists and interns alike get to spend some 'down time' from alien invasions and similar threats and focus, instead, on more mundane, everyday stories, like cyberterrorists, mutated alligators in the sewers and power-hungry dictators threatening nuclear war.

It was all a matter of perspective.

Terry's copy had been on Lois' desk early in the morning- which meant, of course, that he had finished it and printed it late last night. There it was, The Piece, the article towards which he had been working from the day he officially became the Titan's 'pet reporter', and which had necessitated several amendments and add-ons due to Things That Just Kept Happening And Which Needed To Be Mentioned.

It was done, however- what better time than the present, after the Titans had performed with distinction in two separate catastrophes? The article, which started with the somber preamble of the team's separation at the Doomsday event, had been difficult to write, especially as the human reporter had to juggle the perspective of the Cheshire Cat and the reality that he was no longer an observer but a participant. It was the narrative of How The Band Got Back Together, complete with brief asides into each team-member's journey... some less detailed than others, to preserve identities where needed and, in the case of Raven, to preserve his immortal soul from being devoured.

But it was done. And the anxious redhead sitting across from Lois looks like he's about done, too. At least for the day. He looks like he hasn't slept well, but he also has the quiet satisfaction of someone who has spent a good part of a month climbing a mountain.

His green eyes stare at Lois with anticipation, anxity, fear, hope and dread all at the same time.

And he clears his throat a little. "So... um, on page three, that's actually not a typo, Beast Boy actually did mean 'ducking.'"

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois is leaned back in her chair staring up to the ceiling as she spins her stylus in between her fingers. Lost deep in thought about her afternoon. She has an interview with a prominent Senator from New York who is pushing for interesting defense legislation in the wake of the continued sequence of alien attacks.

Lois is worried that it would crack down on friendly aliens overly much, not just alien invasions. Especially in the hands of the wrong administration. I mean what would President Luthor do with such a piece of legislation when everyone already knows he thinks the Kryptonians are an unmitigated menace.

If he manages to get into office this fall it will be bad enough without Congress handing him a blank check right..

It is questionable if she has read The Piece really, at least until Terry sat down which was right on queue for the meeting on her calendar to talk about the cub reporters big scoop.

So now her stylus is spinning as she lets him sweat it out. It is probably healthy and not at all a form of hazing to let him squirm under the editorial power of publish or perish moments like this. I mean sure the hard part is done and Terry got approval to chase the story.... but this is also part of the process.

"I figured he might have, he is so squeeky clean if I didn't have a stronger hunch he is actually like that I would be suspicious he was hiding something truly dark Terry."

She still hasn't said if she even likes it or not.

"So were you texting him the other day when you texted me after the whole Brainiac thing?" knife twist.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
It's amazing how his skin can get almost as red as his hair. While he may appear perfectly composed and seemingly unfazed by Lois' question, his skin looks like he has just dived headfirst into a Jacuzzi. The heat that starts at his ears quickly spreads to his face, and soon he becomes the reference picture for anyone who says 'Siri, show me the definition of "rubicund."'

"..." he opens his mouth and no sound comes out. Happens to everyone, right? He tries again, "Nnnno. That was for my mom. I didn't need to text Gar that because I was there with him." Pause. "He's not /that/ squeaky clean..."

Lois Lane has posed:
Okay that might have been a tad mean but Lois has been sitting on this for days really in the busy aftermath of the Brainiac attack. There was no good time to poke the intern over his texting flub since then with all the actual work to do.

Here though. Here is the perfect moment. One solid hour of her calendar set aside to make Terry a better reporter.

"Well that is good, I imagine your mom appreciated it." the laughter is in her eyes as she manages to just dead pan that. "As for Garfield Logan, you do not need to start citing your sources on that or piling up evidence. He is though about as straight laced and down to earth as Kent is." that isn't an insult really just a statement of fact. "Probably has to do with the similar big heart." nope not an insult at all.

She picks up the print out again and looks through it finally. Maybe they are moving on. "Okay so it does show through that you are really close with the Titans. Probably too close the way it is written to be an objective reporter Terry. This is more of a biography sort of feel to some of the sections so we need to work on it."

She flips some pages. "Probably tighten it up. Get some additional comments from people who they have helped, the city they have their tower in, that kind of thing. I almost never tell a story this big about Superman with just Superman as the source of truth for the article because then it is just a fluffy story and no real meat.. all empty calories or worse it reads like some publicist wrote it."

She turns it around and shows him a paragraph. "So we need to work on the objective tone a bit in several sections, but don't worry the Titans have come back with a vengence and there should be no shortage of sources outside the team to build up the article too."

Because after all this is the Daily Planet not Entertainment Weekly.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Oh yeah, she definitely appreciates them and takes them as part of her due tribute for not telling me constantly that I'm going to get killed for hanging out with the Titans as just a reporter." Oh, if only she knew.

He clears his throat a little, "Yeah, the closeness. You'll recall I was a little worried that would be an issue when... you know. Gar." He clears his throat again, "At times it does feel like I am part of the team." Oh if only SHE knew.

"I'll get you some more sources. I've got an appointment to meet with the head of the labs the Fearsome Five tried to wreck. But I'm afraid you're not getting more on Robin- nobody associated with Batman is very much into 'sharing', and this one is way too new for Harley to have run into him to get at least maybe an amusing or embarrassing anecdote. And the cat-person, I'm pretty sure he's half-crazed and you can't take anything he says at face value." A little poisoning of the well in the hopes that she might never actually know.

Lois Lane has posed:
Well. Lois is a little more on edge after the Smallville incident. If Only Terry Knew. But still she hasn't figured out from his writing alone how deep down the ... rabbit hole... Terry has gone native on this one.

"I don't mind not having as complete a set of statements or interviews with some of the Titans. I figure they have reasons. Secret Identities. Bad Attitudes. You need to work with what you have and you don't want to piss off your friends in this case so I get that." she looks over some more pages.

"Still for the ones who won't talk you should see if you could get their teammates to at least give you some color to flesh out their profiles." she taps the stack "Probably Raven, Robin, and the Cat from the thinness of those sections. Especially since Raven isn't even one of the new recruits you mention... she was one of the originals so there should be more on her."

Still considering. "Still all in all Terry this is really good as a first draft, very promising. Send me the electronic version and I'll mark this up ... considerably.. and comment out where I think you need some more information." pause.

"You did get this all on the record right, not just over pizza while hanging out with Gar and them all talking off the clock?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Yeah, they're aware of when I'm on the clock. I've run what I've said by the pertinent parties, just to make sure I might not accidentally include what to me might be a minor detail but ends up being something that blows their secret identity." He leans back on his chair and hms. "Robin is literally just a month into the team or thereabouts, and he acts like a social life is something that happens to other people. I've /never/ seen him actually socialize with his team-mates outside of things like training, so we may be S.O.L. with him. As for Raven..."

He grows quiet for a second, as if to choose his words, "She's difficult. But I think I can get Troia to open up to me about her without Raven eating my soul." He's joking. Probably.

He looks at Lois for a second, and suddenly seems to be struck by something. "You know... on the journalistic side of things. We're supposed to report in an honest and balanced manner in current events and ... you know, the public interest, right?"

Lois Lane has posed:
"Well yeah...." she seems abit amused about it. "Not every story actually has two sides though.. I hate both siderism when reporters kill themselves to present both sides as equally valid or real but yes we are supposed to be objective. Reporting in a balanced honest manner about events in the public interest."

She tilts her head "Why .. what struck you?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Well..." the redhead crosses his arms and runs his index finger along the outline of his arm, a gesture that's common to him when he's thinking, "Let's say that... I don't know. Superman tells you his secret identity, right? And then let's say some government bigtop decides that people should know who he really is. And then let's say that rags like the Bugle and the like make a case for it and a large number of the public now agrees that it's something that should be known."

He peers at Lois, the expression in his eyes is a little hard to read, "Common argument would be that the public interest points in one direction. A surface reading of reporting might even suggest that we should do what's in our power to find out and report on it... so..." he tilts his head, "At which point do we decide that the public interest /isn't/ the public interest?"

Is he really uncertain about the answer to that question? Not really. But he is curious about other things...

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois has begun to flip through Terry's article or expose really once more, carefully reading it while he works on getting his thoughts together on what is bothering him about The Public Interest. Her red pen is marking here and there, correcting this and that, putting some margin notes on areas Terry needs to revisit and tighten up.

She pauses and looks up when he lays out that example about Superman and Secret Identities.

"Well Terry, first off if Luthor becomes president I am positive he will do something horrible like demand that or demand some sort of registration act. We probably desperately need more shield laws to protect secret identities in this country." she considers that. "Also the Bugle would certainly as you rightly label them a rag start whipping up hysteria..." there is a sigh there.

"The bigger thing though is balancing your informants and the public good with the public interest. Yes it is totally subjective. Yes it can be used by tabloid reporters to justify all sorts of invasions of privacy because it is subjective." a tap of that red pen. "It is really the difference between an ethical reporter and a sleeze who has to pay money to get information. One of them wins pulitzers and the other works for the Bugle or the Sun." the lightest of shrugs. "If someone is sticking their neck out to help people risking life and limb, you shouldn't unmask them. They may have families or causes that would suffer greatly."

"That said.. if you run across the identity of a villain or someone hurting people.. go hog wild O'Neil."

Clark Kent has posed:
Coincidentally, just then Clark Kent sidles up to Lois's desk, holding a cup-carrier with two takeout coffee cups in it in one hand, a manila folder in the other, and a strawberry frosted donut with rainbow sprinkles between his teeth. He has to turn sideways to nudge past Terry's chair, but eventually squeaks through, saying "fcufe me, 'erry, 'omin fhruu."

He gets to just beside Lois's desk, then stares at each of his hands in turn, blue eyes telegraphing a sense of 'I did not think this through' strong enough to communicate through his glasses. He tucks the folder under the cupholder arm, retrieves the donut from his mouth, realizes he now has no hands again, sets the cupholder down on Lois's desk, tries to pry the coffee cup out of the tray one-handed, then finally stuffs the donut back in his mouth and manages to free the cup, which he slides toward Lois.

There's a thumb-sized smudge of pink frosting on the rim of the lid.

Finally, he settles with the donut in one hand and the folder in the other, looking sheepish. "Sorry, Terry, I'd have gotten you something, but I didn't know you were in today," he says with a wince. "You can have mine, if you want? I'll just get some from the break room. What were you two discussing?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry gets a bout of anxiety watching Clark do the world's most stressful office juggling act. His hands describe a few vague figures in the air along the lines of 'here let me help you oh okay you got this oh no you don't let me help you.' Once Clark managed by himself, Terry lets out a breath and relaxes, sitting back on his chair.

"Hey Clark! I was just bringing my Titans draft for Miss L to take apart and tell me how not to suck. Then we got talking about Superman's secret identity and the public interest. And Lex Luthor becoming president..."

He shudders and looks at Lois, "You know, if there's any danger of /that/ happening... do you think maybe we could get another alien invasion? On just, you know. The White House."

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois narrows her eyes just a touch. The coffee is critically important after all. Also she always enjoys watching Clark carefully traverse not being clumsy. Yes some of the schadenfreude has been wrecked with the knowledge she has, but she likes to think of it as just being layered with knowledge of just how good he really is at all of this.

"You definitely didn't think this through Smallville." she notes amused when he telegraphs his thoughts like that. Giving verbalization to the obvious yes but she is enjoying this.

"O'neil actually did a very good first draft of this Titan's piece and we will get him sorted once on not sucking." she reaches for her coffee giving Clark a smile. "Thank you Clark." then she licks the bit of frosting off before taking a sip of the life giving beverage.

"Well the alien invasions do seem to like Capitols... I for one hope we won't be getting any more anytime soon really. That said it is a likely target if they do decide to invade. Brainiac picked the Mall down in DC for a reason." she looks distasteful. "The other options aren't much better. Kelly is just as likely to demand super hero registrations.. well maybe just mutant but he is a hate monger just as much as Luthor is." things she has to be more careful about when she puts it in writing vs. spilling out of her mouth in the safety of her corner of the news room.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry realizes that, in his verborrhea, he had completely overlooked Clark's offer, quickly adds after Lois is finished, "Oh nono, you keep yours, I don't need any. And I wouldn't take any from the break room if I were you. Gary changed the coffee filters today.".

This was a dire warning. The last time Gary had changed filters, the taste of Gruyere was pervasive in all the coffee brewed that day. Even after changing filters three times.

Nobody knew how he did it.

Clark Kent has posed:
"That would have to be a pretty specific alien invasion," Clark says good-naturedly, adjusting his glasses. "And I'm not sure aliens hurting Luthor would really do much to sway his followers' prejudices. Personally, I'd rather see a solid exposé than an alien attack." He gives his reporting partner a fond smile and adds, "Fortunately, that's why they've got people like Lois in newsrooms like this one."

He turns around to pull his own chair across the aisle to Lois's desk -- it squeaks along the floor as he does so, drawing a few annoyed glances, which he answers with an apologetic wave-and-grin combo -- and then plops down into it. "Do you mind if I take a look when you're done, Lois? I doubt I'll have much to add, but I wouldn't work here if I didn't like knowing tomorrow's news today."

While he waits for an answer on that point, he chimes in on the other topic, "As for secret identities, remember that there's a big difference between an interested public and the public interest." He squints and tilts his head back and forth, weighing two sides of the argument. "Mostly, it's better for people to know things than not to know them, but there are exceptions. We withhold the names of rape survivors unless they ask to go public, for example. People might be curious, but they won't actually benefit from the information -- no public interest -- and the potential harm to that individual is pretty huge."

He picks up his own coffee cup, extends it toward Terry, and offers again, "You sure? I can always go get more on my way to my next interview, and you'll be in here working on revisions anyway."

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois waggles the red pen at Clark. "That is really well put Smallville.. an interested public is different the public interest. I know I've heard that before." hell it might have been Mr. White or maybe even Miss Lane. I mean yes i could also be a clever way of putting it Clark just came up with.

"Still good words to remember Terry." she peers towards the breakroom now. "Damn... I really wonder why Gary is still here. Someone should scoop that story." because honestly Gary is not the best intern.

She makes a couple last markups and then offers the papers over to Clark. "I told him he needs to get some more direct quotes from the Titans and also from their neighbors and the city their funny shaped Tower is in." pause "Maybe even some other capes."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I'm sure, really, don't bother yourself on my account. Besides," He raises an eyebrow and grins, "If I stay late and I'm low on coffee, I can always use it as an excuse to call Gar and get some delivered. He'd do that." What he doesn't say is that he'd offer to make a Rabbit Hole on the sly to save Gar the flight, of course.

"I don't mind, I need all the feedback I can get, and you two have so much experience-" he catches himself before he talks about how he'd read Lois' articles on Superman when he was a little kid, because that could probably get him shanked, "... I'd really, really appreciate it."

He seems to think about what was mentioned earlier, and nods, "It's a fair point. Public interest versus interested public. I already know /some/ things about the Titans that I can't, and won't, divulge." Oh, if she only knew, "It's kind of heavy when you think about it. Being entrusted, basically, with the key to someone's fate. What if, like, a mind-reader reads them off my mind?"


He looks up when Lois mentions other capes, and huhs, "I could ask Wonder Wo- wait, no, I can't. Troia is her sister... that's the reveal about her on page... three," he points out, helpfully, "And I sure as hell wouldn't ask Batman. I hear he eats souls. I could ask Power Girl for another interview again but... she's... kind of super intimidating. And I wouldn't bother her over something like a quote..." he taps his chin.

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark accepts the draft with a smile, but raises his eyebrows at Terry before diving in. It's his story, and although Clark is probably known around the bullpen for being a big ol' softie, that's partly because he does occasionally do crazy things like tamp down his nosiness. When Terry says he'd like more feedback, he smiles and starts reading.

"Well, Lois is right, you're never going to hurt from having too much context, so long as you pick the most relevant points for the story itself," he says. "It's the unexpected details you get from the people others don't think to talk to that can really take a piece to the next level -- have you ever read 'Frank Sinatra Has a Cold?'"

He takes a sip of the coffee that Terry has refused once again, and smacks his lips in appreciation. Going beyond the office Mr. Coffee was definitely the right choice. He gives Terry an amused look and says, "Personally, I find that the best defense against mind readers is to make sure the interesting bits are already in your story. But I guess I can't really say -- I've never been a big enough target to get a mind reader's attention."

As for his clever coinage, the midwestern reporter simply shrugs. "I think I read it on a plaque in a museum somewhere."

Lois Lane has posed:
"Museum.. I bet Mr. White said that to you at some point when you first got here Clark. It sounds like him." she sips her own coffee, letting Terry suffer as interns are want to do. Maybe she will send him out for coffee later and buy his for the errand of saving them all from Gary's work.

"It is true, when I say get a couple of quotes I definitely don't mean load it up with too many or bits that distract from the flow or the meat of the story O'neil. Also you probably aren't important enough for a mind reader to target Terry like Clark said. We may have our sources.... but we don't tend to have too many secrets about the capes a rule. If you do know some though don't ever tell annyone after the fact you just did today okay?" a shrug. "You are much more likely a target because you're canoodling the green furry guy then you are because you reported on them."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry whips up his phone and types in the title of the article. Gay Talese's portrait of the crooner goes immediately into Terry's "To read list" on his phone. "Haven't but I will by the end of the night," he says to Clark. He reads quickly, and he does have his coffee breaks. He gives his boss a look, and takes pains to correct her: "He's fuzzy, not furry. It's a subtle difference. He doesn't smell like a kennel when it rains. So... that does make me a target, doesn't it?" he muses.

"I imagine if some of the Titans that had secret identities, like Hawkeye, were to have day jobs... it'd be the decent thing to do, right? Keep up a secret identity and not endanger their co-workers? I guess those who don't need to think about those things can walk around without a secret identity. Wonder Woman basically comes from a race of immortal warriors. Anyone coming after /her/ mother..." he chuckles.

"But they might tell people they trust..." he blinks a couple of times, "Sorry. I was woolgathering for a moment. The Titans are an interesting group because Beast Boy, Flash, Cyborg and a few others don't have secret identities. It makes for interesting social dynamics when out and about. Some people are more worried than others about people asking why this perfectly normal person is hanging out with a bunch of superheroes."

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark's eyebrows shoot up, and he looks at Lois, mouth moving like a that of a fish plucked from the water. Finally, he looks back down at the article and starts to stammer. "Um...if you're, uh, /canoodling/" -- he goes very, very red -- "with the, uh, the subject of your article, you should, um. You should definitely disclose that. Have I just, uh, have I not gotten to that part?"

He flicks through the pages, and one goes tumbling out of his hands to the floor. "Oh, shoot, hang on." He pushes his chair back and bends down to chase it under Lois's desk with a hand. "I've, uh... wait, there it is. I've got it!"

He pops back into view, holding up the top sheet triumphantly. "You might even consider reframing it. Instead of a feature profile, you could write it as a personal essay. 'My date with a superhero,' or 'A day in the life of a Titan's boyfriend.'"

He flips the sheet right-side up again and reunites it with the others as he continues to muse, "Or put something else if you're not a boyfriend. I don't mean to assume; I know some folks can get creative with the arrangments, there." This is delivered with the blinking equanimity of a man for whom such creative arrangements might as well be Klingon opera for all that they have a presence in his life.

But there are singers he does know about, and he smiles as Terry pulls up the article on his phone. "It's a great, classic profile," he says. "Historically important, and also just a really excellent read. I think you'll enjoy it, and learn a lot from it if you read closely."

As to the social dynamics of superhero groups, Kent just gives the intern a helpless shrug. "It does sound interesting," he admits, then smiles and continues, "so I hope all of those contrasts are in your story... ah, here it is. Yeah, dig into that social dynamic that normal folks like us don't get to see."

Lois Lane has posed:
This is definitely a lot of enjoyment with Lois and the whole situation. I mean layers. Mostly because she isn't about to disclose anything of the sort when she is writing on Superman at all. Too damn dangerous as it is.

"I think it is safe to disclose it somewhere and focus less on Beast Boy and more on the rest of the team and the stry as a whole. Don't make it central and don't make Beast Boy central and you should be fine." she looks to Clark. "He has done a very good job on being impartial and not a puff PR piece. That is why I wanted some sources outside the team and perspectives to broaden the whole thing out further." a light shrug.

She isn't going to throw too many rocks from her glass house after all. Sip the coffee Lane.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I do have a disclosure prepared. Finding the right place to insert it is the thing. See... it's touchy because Gar /is/ central to how this all started again. It's difficult because I was involved in events that resulted in getting the ball rolling on that team... for the sake of /not/ turning it into a puff piece, I've left as much as I could of my involvement out of that." He gives Clark a side glance, "I... didn't intend to canoodle. Canoodling just... sort of happened. You get a poor guy almost eaten by a mutant turtle from the ocean and next thing you know you're kissing. Not expected. At all."

Unexpected, yes, but undesired? That was a different thing altogether. He taps his fingers together, "but yes, it is more or less dating. But I did follow your advice and after covering the initial event that caused the team to start coming back together, I was able to fan out to the others. I left out the fact I ambushed poor Cyborg at that hero burger place and haranged him to talk to Gar and focused instead on the fact he was doing work at the Labs."

That had been a mean trick he pulled. He was surprised he didn't end up with a face full of burger and mayo. "So... it's not /that/ sucky? That means I can take your feedback and make it suck less, then."

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark nods and passes the article back to Terry. "Then my final advice is that you listen to the lady. I always do, and she's never steered me wrong." He leans toward the intern and says, sotto voce, "I think secretly she helps guys like us write better stories just because she wants to have some competition." He sends a mock-guilty glance back to Lois, who certainly had no trouble hearing all of that, and adds, "Don't let her know I'm onto her."

Sitting back into his chair, he gives all present a good-natured smile, betraying not a hint of amusement that he and Lois do, in their own way, have a bit of a modern arrangement of their own.

His amusement does surface as Terry tries to explain the events that precipitated his relationship, though. Clark blinks, and chuckles, and says, "Yeah... I hate when that happens." More seriously, he suggests, "If you want, you could make your personal involvement with one of the Titans into a framing device -- do a short personal essay that you split into chunks that appear at the beginning, ending, and between the sections of the article. That gets your disclosure out in a narrative way, right at the start. Otherwise you should probably just place it wherever ... Gar? ... first appears in the story, just as you would a title or another disclosure statement."

He takes another sip of his coffee, then huffs out a short sigh and says, "Oh, sorry. I guess that wasn't my final advice after all. But no, I don't think it's sucky at all, it just presents some challenges from your personal ties to the people involved. Navigating those wisely is part of how we do our jobs." He glances over at Lois with a smile.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois watches this interchange between the boys as she sips her coffee. Then she lifts a finger and taps the side of her head like that famous meme. Yup. Smart.

"Clark has a really good idea though about the framing device Terry. You could weave that in and handle the disclosure and explain how events played out with the Titans coming back together. There is a lot of good will right now for those kids with how much they helped during the Brainiac mess." she smiles encouragingly.

She returns Clark's smile then looks back to Terry. "Oh, before you get cracking at writing though I'd love my usual from the deli down the block. I'm sure Clark could use lunch too." yup, the interns life. Office ferret and aspiring cub reporter all at once.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry gives Clark a grin, "Sometimes I think she helps us because she can ransom help for coffee," he confides back, and then comments on the framing device advice "Good point, yes! I can bookend it like that- it'll be genius!"

Terry's energy level increases with feedback and encouragement. He takes Lois' order in stride, as it is his lot in this life to bring sacrificial offerings to the oracle of the office, lest the wisdom dry up and leave him to die of thirst in the desert. "I'll go ahead and get that food and I'll get back to start on the revisions. Your usual for both, right?" He has his usual, too. He is rathe very partial to the caprese salad they offer over there. It's a good way to tie yourself over until it's time for a larger meal.

"I'll be right back. I'll try not to get shot at or caught up in the middle of a supervillain heist or stuff like that. If I'm not back in twenty, send help," he jokes, and soon he is walking to the elevators, a spring in his step.