The Denver Chronicles

Chapter 22

Liam stopped at a recessed point in the wall, and waved his badge into the darkness.

"How did you even see this?" she asked, disbelief in her voice.

He chuckled, "I know every inch of the airport."

Placing a hand softly on the small of her back, he gently guided her inside a very small elevator space. Charlottes skin prickled at the contact. Goosebumps shot up on almost every part of her body. As he joined her in the space, their bodies settled a mere inches apart.

"It's cramped, sorry," he softly said.

"It's ok."

Her reply was weak and an octave higher than normal, causing Liam to blush. His hands itched to touch the woman standing on so close to his chest. But he resisted the urge.

"We going deep down? I was in a similar elevator with Zach..."

The doors shut and the tiny lift began its descent, causing Charlotte to trail off, and to grip Liam's forearm with a hand. He tensed at her mention of his coworker. Picturing them both in a similar situation bothered him. Shaking the thoughts off, he focused on the warmth of her tiny hand.

"Are you scared?" he asked.

"It's dropping fast.."

She gripped him harder and inhaled, closing her eyes. Stomach churning, she fought the dizziness.

"I should've warned you this elevator was like this," he said, pulling her closer with his arms. "Here, this will help. We're almost there."

Sliding his hands up the side of her neck, Liam gently massaged Charlotte's temples in a circular motion. The elevator comes to a jarring stop as the pair mashed together at the first bump. Liam took in her form suddenly pressed into his and cleared his throat. His mind muddled, he flashed to his late wife. She was around this exact height.

"That..that does help. Thank you," Charlotte muttered. " Are we there now?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes."

He pushed the button on the dark wall and the doors opened. Stepping out, Charlotte steadied herself on the non-moving ground. The air felt cold and a shiver ran through her body.

"Almost there now," Liam softly said, walking past.

Their feet echoed on the floor as they walked along another dark hallway. The same recessed lights illuminated on and off as they passed by. Finally, they reached the end and a set of heavy doors.

"It's going to be busy in here. And you'll need to sign in, it's government policy."

Government policy?

Before she could think much further, the heavy door slid open at the beep of his badge, eliciting a sharp inhale. Suddenly she was in a huge indoor room with what appeared to be hundreds of uniformed Air Force personnel. They lined the walls and sat at clusters of desks, as well as a few large buses being driven through.

"What is this?" she asked absentmindedly.

"The part no one gets to see," Liam replied. "It's a connection to the Air Force base. The public doesn't know it's here, for national security reasons. Though some do."

He waved at a taller man in uniform that had begun to walk over.

"Liam."

"Colonel."

The officer gave Charlotte a once over.

"Charlotte I presume?"

"Yes.." she answered, taking his outstretched hand.

"Good. Liam informed me of your visit. You're a podcaster. I love podcasts. Listened to yours already. Informed stuff."

Her mind blanked at everything that was happening. She looked at both men as they stared back at her. Liam cocked an eyebrow and with a slight turn of his mouth, she snapped back to the moment.

"Thank you. Thank you for listening. Forgive me, this is just a tad overwhelming. I wasn't expecting this."

The officer laughed, "I see he still carries his sense of humor, let me guess, our DIA security head failed to tell you where he was taking you?"

Nodding, he extended his arm out for Charlotte to hold on to. She obliged and the trio walked towards a gated area. No one seemed to pay them any attention though. As they passed in front of a bus, Charlotte felt a weird tugging in her chest. She glanced at the side of the bus and saw a familiar logo. 'Trinity Bus Company' was imprinted in a very discreet way.

Just like the night of my wreck.

The hair on the back of her neck stood at attention. Why were they this far underground? She couldn't understand it. Was the bus company a covert way to bring in civilians to the Air Force base? Like what they had in New Mexico at Area 51?

"Alright, our airmen will sign you in and give you a badge. Then Liam will give you a brief tour, though you can't see much. You aren't cleared as you lack a security clearance."

Understandable.

"Liam," the officer said, nodding.

As fast as he appeared, he left the pair to deal with far lesser pay grades.

"Ma'am, please sign here."

Charlotte did as instructed until she was given a badge to clip to her blouse.

"So why not just tell me about this ahead of time? I feel like an idiot..." she whispered to Liam.

Once he was given the ok, he steered Charlotte through the gated area and into a longer tunnel.

"Oh but where is the fun in that?" he teased.

"Seriously, the government has been hiding this from everyone. I mean...this is pretty big!"

"Yeah, but you can't talk about it. I just showed you to show you."

Charlotte stopped walking, turning to look at her guide.

"I can't use this for my podcast?"

"Afraid not. But you can say there's alien paraphernalia here."

He resumed walking as she stood stunned.

"Come on, let me show you."