The air outside of the restaurant was chilly. A wind had begun to pick up, indicating an impending storm was brewing. In Charlotte's heart, a similar storm was beginning to form. One of past heartbreak.

"I'm fine. Really.."

"Charlotte, seriously. This is straight up crazy! You need to leave, now. Leave Denver."

She shifted her weight, scowling as auburn hair swirled around her face.

"You don't get to call me and demand things Marcus! This isn't fair!"

"Listen, I'll come then. I can't shake the feeling that something is wrong there. And that you need me."

His words stung. That you need me. She had once needed him, no, depended on him. They were inseparable at work, on all the trips. They were more. But now he was married. The word tasted like a bitter pill, waking her up from a dream.

"Ok, yeah, come here to help me, I'm sure your wife would love that!"

The line was quiet as the pair breathed, frustration and old feelings pulsing between them. Charlotte avoided talking about his choice whenever possible. It was too painful.

Marcus spoke quietly, "We're separated."

She couldn't take any more of this, so she switched subjects, redirecting to what was happening in Denver.

Liam watched from inside the restaurant. He could feel his pulse quicken as he listened in on her conversation. This Marcus guy was apparently more to Charlotte than he thought. That made him an added liability. And he didn't like the way he was speaking to his charge. Not that it mattered, he wasn't going the route Zach was, he would keep her at arm's length. But still, he disliked any woman being treated poorly.

"Look, I left my lunch early to call you back. I needed to ask one of these guys some more questions, and you know how important that is when digging. I don't get why you suddenly thought about me."

"It wasn't sudden," Marcus softly said, relenting to the situation. "You're always on my mind Char."

Silence again spread through each like silky butter on a roll. No headway was to be had right now and they both knew it.

"I'll check in with you tomorrow. Is that ok?"

Charlotte sighed, "fine."

With the line dead, she sighed deeply, slipping her phone into her pocket. Marcus had to pick the worst time to repeatedly call. She only managed to eat her salad and ask surface level questions of Liam. And she knew there was much more to what he disclosed.

Thankfully, he gave me his number.

She planned to use it soon, to set up another meeting with the handsome head of security. For now, she had a lot to get done for her next podcast. She planned to debut it early the next morning. Her email inbox was simply flooded with replies from listeners, and full of tips.

"Anything I need to know?" Zach asked, slipping his jacket on.

"She's attached to some jack off in LA. But he's married," Liam said, glancing at his counterpart. "I'm going to follow her, will let you know if anything else happens."

The pair watched as Charlotte got into a waiting taxi.

"Fine,"Zach muttered.

Liam slipped out of the restaurant and got into a taxi as well, leaving Zach alone to stew over the situation. This wasn't what he planned for the day. He was hoping Charlotte would accompany him back to DIA. Then he could further establish their relationship through another possible tour. Now he would have to come up with something else.

She's going to need another juicy breadcrumb.

Inside Charlotte's taxi, the air was thick with pent up tension. Marcus had gotten to her, distracting from what was needed. Vowing to keep him at arm's length, she resolved to switch her focus. She had to find out more about Johir. And Trinity Bus Company. She took out her phone and checked her email. Johir. He'd sent an email about her wreck, instead of a text. That was odd.

Charlotte,

I was shocked to hear about your wreck. Apparently the news spread fast, and Tim found out this morning. He didn't want to bother you but asked that I send a message. If you need anything, he hopes you'll let him know. The same goes for me.

At your service (should you need it),

Jeremy

She read it twice. Tim Brown, the former worker she had interviewed, wanted to check on her. But how had he heard about the wreck? And how could he have known it was her? She mused about the nature of small towns as the taxi pulled next to the hotel entrance. It was possible that Tim tipped his benefactors off. Though she hoped that wasn't true as well. This case was full of deception, far more than she could even realize.

"Thanks," She told the taxi driver, tapping her card to pay.

As she made her way into the hotel, she glanced behind her, a feeling she was being watched seeping in.

I'm always being watched.

Once she made it to her room, she opened her laptop at the desk and began to search for Jeremy Johir. Johir wasn't as popular of a surname as she'd thought. In fact, only a few dozen were reported online. But she did find an old newspaper link for one in Saudi Arabia of all places.

"He comes from a rich family." She said aloud, stunned.

Jeremy Johir was the sole heir to a construction company originating in Riyadh, the capital and largest city. Why was he then operating in the US, and under a much smaller company? She kept digging, clicking on one obscure article after another, until she found it. A recent record tying Johir's to one of the former US Secretaries of State. A large cash payment was deposited from their company in Riyadh directly to the charity the Secretary of State had at the time.

"Bingo."

She jotted down notes and saved tabs on her laptop. She knew the particular government official had ties to the Freemasons. In fact, he had resigned specifically because of an illegal scandal involving the masons and the US government. At the time, she thought the former official posed no real threat, but now, she wasn't so sure.

"Just how deep does this go?"

Instead of searching further, she sent a quick email to her contact in the CIA. Her old friend from high school was always willing to help with her film investigating. This wasn't much different. Once sent, she then turned her attention to Trinity Bus Company. Ken was the name of the man who had stopped to save her from the wreckage. But she didn't know his last name.

Typing in the company name, she found nothing that was from Denver, or even Colorado. She decided to switch search engines. There was a smaller one she liked to use for hard-to-find information that might be filtered from the larger search engines. It worked, Trinity Bus Company came up immediately. Only it was listed under DIA. Not as a stand-alone company.

Interesting.

This meant it wasn't independent. She searched for DIA buses and came up with only the tram contractor that was used for the trams inside the airport. Nothing else was listed. Not anywhere. In her experience, this meant Trinity Bus Company was likely a shell. But for what? And why?

"I need to ask Liam about this.." she mused.

As head of security, he'd surely know about the buses. She took her phone in hand and sent him a text, asking if he would be able to meet her for lunch the next day at the airport. Not expecting a quick reply, she set about making the podcast notes for the morning. There was a lot to announce. It should be even better than the first episode.

Outside of the hotel, Liam sat in a dark SUV, the engine running. His phone vibrated with an incoming text message. He already knew it was from Charlotte, but the vibration still tugged at the corners of his mouth. Oddly, he was enjoying this. He'd followed worse targets before. He glanced at the screen. She wanted to meet him tomorrow for lunch.

Alright then. Going as planned.

Knowing there was ample surveillance, he slowly pulled out of the parking spot he had been sitting in and headed out of the city. There was something he had to check on. His duties had been doubled now that he was put in charge of Charlotte.

They better not have launched yet.

The freeway quickly turned into a stretch of dark roadway as Denver appeared in the rear-view mirror. There were cars out but mainly semi-trucks now as day had shifted to night. Stars glittered above as Liam sped to an obscure exit. There was nothing but farmland and empty tracks where no one resided. He took a dirt road far from view of anyone and carefully drove towards his objective.

Once he reached a tucked back area, he saw large black tactile vehicles beginning to stage. His pulse quickened as he took in the sight. It never got old. And he loved the job he did.

"Sergeant Major Mintz," a voice announced, as Liam exited his SUV.

Men dressed in blacked out uniforms turned towards him, their guns at the ready.

"Evening men. Let's prep for the launch."