The Gaz was dead. Colin knew that from the moment Lynda walked into the newsroom. He did not, at first, realise how dead it actually was until Lynda gave the orders to rearrange all the furniture, take down the new graphic logos and burn them--along with any remaining copies of the Gaz that could be found. Every story that was on the boards for the new edition was cancelled. Every innovation that he had introduced was eliminated automatically. Worst of all, the decisions to do all these things were made within five minutes of her setting foot in the building. She was in the meeting room now. Unfortunately, so was he. She sat there glaring at him and said nothing. He began to sweat. Lynda was seething, but she gave him nothing to work with. If he knew what she wanted to say, he could tailor his alibi appropriately. He gave her his best salesman's smile.

"What the hell did you do to my paper?" she snapped.

"Lynda, I'm glad you asked me that. And, may I say, you look simply ravishing today. A look to die for, I am sure." Lynda's face darkened and Colin realised what he'd said.

"Colin, I've put up with your dodge business dealings, your inability to account for our funds, and your inattention to details. You have gone out of your way to make my nights sleepless sometimes, but I tolerate you barely, because you keep us in business." She slammed a copy of the Gaz down in front of Colin. "This is the last straw. I want to hear from your mouth one reason why I shouldn't fire you here and now. It had better be good, too."

Colin shifted in his seat and smiled sweetly.

"Well?" Lynda asked in exasperation.

"It was Danny!" Colin said suddenly. Cornering him was the way to get what she wanted, Lynda could see that.

"Really," she said, disbelief ringing in each word.

"Somehow, I don't remember Danny being editor...more like Colin Matthews!"

"No, no, it was Danny....and Julie, too. I didn't want to be editor, I mean, who could follow in your footsteps? Who could live up to the standards of the incredible Lynda Day? Who could even begin to..."

"Colin! It's not working." Lynda tried to hide a smile, knowing she had Colin right where she wanted him. "Explain to me again, Colin, how Julie and Danny are responsible for you turning my paper into this...this 'Gaz.' Somehow, I don't quite see the connection."

"Well, obviously they brainwashed me." Colin said, with an unconvincing note of finality in his voice. "There's no other explanation why I would try and undermine the Lynda Day, a woman of such power and integrity and..."

"Out Colin!" Lynda ordered. Colin scurried out of the room, knowing he was off the hook, for now anyway. He'd known that as soon as he'd mentioned Julie...

"So...Julie Craig..." Lynda muttered to herself, throwing an angry glance towards the graphics room. Thoughts of slowly and painfully killing Colin disappeared as she pictured finally getting at Julie.

"And Danny too...well, there are ways of fixing that." A smile played on her lips; she hadn't yet noticed who had joined her in the meeting room.

"Hey Boss, still reeling from my welcome, I see?"

Lynda looked up in surprise. "Spike!" She tried to look angry. "I cannot believe you did that, in front of the whole news team. I mean honestly, what are they going to think is going on between us now?" Spike grinned at her. She quickly added, "Not that there is anything, of course...or for that matter, ever will be. If you even so much as come near me ever again, I will..." her voice trailed of as she searched her mind for a truly threatening way to end that sentence. Spike looked at her expectantly for a few seconds before she finally said, "I'm not going out with you!" He grinned at her again.

"Shut up, Spike! Now what do you about Julie trying to ruin my paper?"

" Oh that! some aliens from outta space took over Julie's body, and decided that the way to take over the world was to start with the Junior Gazette. 'A voice for today's youth'!"

Lynda wondered how he could joke at a time like this. She looked up and saw him with that cute little smirk on his face, no hold on a sec he's not cute at all, Lynda thought, he knows something. He thinks he has power over me. He thinks that he has me wrapped around his little finger.

"No way Spike! There is no way in the world, that you have me wrapped around your little finger"

Spike looked startled and said "I don't think you are Lynda. I'd actually rather it if you were wrapped around something else of mine.

"Not unless you disinfect it first" Lynda said on a repulse action. Then she walked out of the office with the triumphant last word. I can't believe I said that out loud, Lynda thought, and I didn't even manage to get any information on Julie. Lynda knew that Kenny would tell her. Kenny couldn't keep a secret, not from her.

"Lynda you're paranoid!" were the first words out of Kenny's mouth, "do you really think that Julie has the brains to do this?" Kenny couldn't believe he was hearing this.

"But Colin said that she had something to do with it." reasoned Lynda. "And you believed him?" asked Kenny in disbelief, who would believe Colin?

"I want her out Kenny. We need to find a reason to fire her." Lynda had her mind set. As usual Kenny was struck speechless. "Right here's the plan. You have to tell her that she's fired. I'll pay Sophie and Laura to dig up a reason to fire her.

"I'm not having any part in this!" Kenny said, he was shaking. "Fine then! turn your back on me, again!" emotional blackmail always worked on Kenny.

"Lynda. I'm not turning my back on you. I'm just not helping you." "It's always the same isn't it? Remember when we were 8 and we broke my Grandmother's antique vase? You ran away leaving me to deal with the trouble we were in." Lynda had millions of these memories to pull out just when she needed them.

"Lynda, you broke the vase. I was in the other room when you did it. I had the good sense to stay where I was. That's not running away." Kenny was amazed at himself for talking back!

"DAMN!" Lynda cursed and stomped off.

That night Lynda, Sophie and Laura searched Julie's graphics room by torchlight. An hour later and while finding several objects of Julie's that all three would rather not have seen, let alone touched, there was nothing that could really be used to actually fire her. To prove her rather interesting taste in men, maybe, but other than that...

"Damn," Lynda said. "Well, I've had enough of this. Who does Kenny Phillips think he is anyway? He was the one who stood by while my paper was turned into that thing! He's coming down here right now."

Kenny sighed into the phone. "I meant what I said before, Lynda, I am really not helping you and there's honestly no way you could get me down there. What could you possibly find that could fire Julie anyhow? A step by step outline of how she intended to change the paper into a tabloid rag purely to ruin you? And why would she leave it hanging around the graphics room anyway?"

"That'd be exactly Julie's style", Lynda retorted. "Just set the whole thing out and leave it for me to find. And you're the perfect person to look for it. See you in ten minutes, Kenny."

"But, Lynda...", said a tinny, far away voice as Lynda hung up the phone.

"Now," said Lynda to Sophie and Laura, " we should be able to get some stuff on Julie out of Kenny eventually. You know what he's like. I might have to leave Danny for you two though..."

Kenny sighed heavily as he pushed the door to the newsroom open. For the hundredth time he wondered what he was doing here. He had got out of bed at 2 am to come down to the newsroom, and for what? To help appease Lynda's insane paranoia? This time, he told himself, Lynda had gone too far.

She didn't even look up as he came in. She merely tossed a file in his direction. "Ah good, you're here" she added. "Make yourself useful and scan that file for any incriminating evidence".

"Lynda." Kenny began.

"I'm looking through her own personal records. I didn't know espionage could be so informative"

"Lynda, some of this could be private information, which Julie wouldn't want anyone to read"

"I know. Great, isn't it?"

He tried again. "Lynda, this is crazy. You are crazy." For the first time, she glanced up at him. "Julie Craig wasn't conspiring against you. Nobody was."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because, Lynda, I'm not insane. Julie's your friend, Lynda. She just did what Colin told her to. He was the editor, you know."

"Oh and that makes it alright, does it? Just because Colin is the boss you all start acting like idiots? Would it have hurt you to rebelled even a little bit?"

Lynda's words were harsh, but to Kenny's sensitive conscience they were almost crippling. Venom rose in his throat as he returned: "Well, we didn't have much of a chance - we were thrown into chaos when you just abandoned us like that!" Kenny saw Lynda go a bit pale at that remark, so he pushed it. "Typical Lynda Day!" You up and abandon us all without a word, and now you're back you expect us to all have just carried on as if you were here. And anything against your plan you turn into some grand conspiracy so you don't have to blame yourself" Kenny tossed the file back to Lynda in disgust.

"I'm sorry Lynda," he continued, "but it isn't as easy as that. You can't just unload your guilt by creating paranoid fantasies about Julie Craig. And if you want to try, you're not going to make me a part of it." The last phrase rang with defiance as Kenny dramatically stood up, grabbed his coat and stormed out of the newsroom.

Lynda was so shocked he'd almost reached the door before he heard her squeak "Kenny?" in shocked anger. As incensed as he was, a smile crossed his lips. For once, he had told Lynda just what he thought of her. Must be the late hour, he mused absent-mindedly as he walked back out into the cold night air.

A few minutes later, the pure silence of the darkened newsroom was broken gently by the sound of slow, strained sobs, as a line of tears fell from Lynda's eyes.

Spike just happened to be walking past the Junior Gazette building at that moment. He noticed that the a light was on -- not the main lights, but Lynda's desk lamp. Curious, he checked it out. Strangely, he wasn't surprised to find Lynda there, nor was he surprised to find her crying. "You alright?" he asked softly.

Startled, Lynda looked up. "What are you doing here?" Embarrassment made her snap the question.

"I could ask you the same question, but that won't get us anywhere. Is something wrong?"

Lynda gave him a Look, ignoring the question. Instead she returned to the subject Spike had expertly deflected earlier."What do you know about Julie and Danny trying to ruin the paper?"

"What makes you think they were trying to ruin it? Colin was the democratically elected editor."

"The staff voted for Colin?" Lynda said disbelievingly. "What about Sarah? Or Kenny?" Spike told her about the election and how Tiddler got Kenny to run.

"You're kidding?!" Lynda giggled. "How did Tiddler get his trousers?" Suddenly she remembered what Kenny said and she sobered. Spike noticed.

"What is it, Lynda? Somehow I don't think it's just about Julie and Danny anymore. Did you and Kenny have a fight?"

Lynda was amazed at Spike's astuteness. "How did you know?"

"I could tell. Do you want to talk about it?"

Lynda started to shake her head, but thought better of it. Remembering that it was Spike who sought her out about the Gaz and tried to help her deal with feelings about David, she decided to trust him, For once. Briefly she told him what Kenny had said earlier.

"Kenny told you off? Wow!" was the first thing Spike said. "I never thought he'd have the guts to tell anyone off."

"Spike!" Lynda growled, exasperated. She never should have told him.

"What do you want me to say, Lynda? That he was wrong? That I agree with him? What do you think?

Lynda sat there for a moment in silence. "What do you think, Spike?" she finally asked in a small voice.

"I think that you have lot to deal with, and dealt with it the only way you knew how." He left that hanging, then grinned. "I also think you have great legs." Lynda narrowed her eyes at Spike's raised eyebrows.

"Shut up, Spike!"

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