Tacos never tasted so good to Charlotte. She sat and examined them, chewing a bite practically bursting with flavor. They rivaled anything she'd had before. Even in Mexico.
They have incredible food at DIA. It's odd.
"What are you thinking about?" Liam asked.
His face appeared to have soften to Charlotte, as she glanced up and met his eyes.
Swallowing the bite, she blinked, "just thinking of my next podcast episode."
"I can't imagine wanting to do that for a profession. I really can't. The amount of work.."
"Is not that bad."
"You don't miss working in the film industry?" he asked.
"I miss parts of it. Traveling especially. But I want to know more about the airport."
Charlotte hoped Liam would change course on his line of questioning. She had bigger fish to fry, and the one man who held the key was sitting in front of her. If only he'd begin to cooperate.
"Well, let's finish up and I'll take you somewhere no one gets to go."
"No one?"
"No one."
Once lunch was over, Charlotte followed just slightly behind Liam as he led her through the crowded passenger terminal towards a set of doors recessed beyond where civilians could go. 'Employees only' was scrawled on the wall. They past through the metal doors into an open air hallway bustling with airline employees. A few smiled as they hurried past, badges affixed to lanyards but with varying colors. Charlotte assumed this was to distinguish between departments.
"Hey Liam! New hire?" a burly Samoan man asked, nodding at Charlotte.
Liam turned and spoke rapidly, "Naw brother, she's with me."
The man smiled knowingly and winked, off to work in whatever area of the airport he was assigned to. Charlotte's cheeks flamed at the obvious insinuation. She found herself fantasizing for a millisecond, that what her handsome guide had said was true.
Get a grip. Pay attention.
Listening to her inner voice, she began to take mental note of where they were walking. There appeared to be offices inside of the hallway, but without windows for anyone to see out. A door would open where Charlotte could peek in but then shut rapidly, as if on springs. She did see rows of desks with people sitting though.
"How much farther?" she asked Liam.
Turning slightly, he softly replied, "A ways."
Turning at the end of the hallway, Liam guided her down an almost empty area. Only a few workers walked by, giving Liam a slight nod as they did. Until they were the only two people left. The ground was carpeted here, muffling their footsteps. Which Charlotte also found odd.
Why not continue the cement flooring?
She began to pay attention to the walls, which were stark dark grey. Searching for something, anything, that might stand out. Images of the multi-pointed star kept popping up in her mind. It appeared before, when riding on the golf cart. And it was back in these non-public tunnels. If only it would happen again. But the farther they trekked, the more the walls seemed bland. Nothing stuck out.
"We need to go down in a smaller elevator. Are you claustrophobic?" Liam asked, over his shoulder.
"Claustrophobic? No."
"Good."
He pushed another metal door open and beckoned for her to follow. They entered a darker hallway. One with black walls, and tiny recessed lights along the baseboards, illuminating only when they passed by. Charlotte glanced behind as saw the lights go out after she moved on. It sent a shiver up her spine. Wherever they were now, it wasn't like anything like where they'd just been. It gave her a foreboding feeling.
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."