Dalton sat in the lobby of The Knox pretending to read a newspaper. Lizzy looked on, enjoying her coffee in the lobby bar. Valeria was out jogging around the area for her morning run.

“We have trucks pulling up,” Valeria said through her communication device. “Claudia just arrived with a camera crew. I’m out; they’re going inside,” Valeria said as Dalton heard her jog off.

Dalton answered, “I’ll follow. Lizzy, you cover my back.” He set down his paper and stood up as Claudia walked in with two men and a woman trailing after her and a big security guard leading the way.

“This doesn’t feel right,” Lizzy warned as Dalton fell into step ten feet behind the group. “There are too many people for an assassination attempt.”

Dalton raised his hand and called out, “Hold the elevator, please!”

The security guard stopped the doors from closing but stared Dalton down. Shit, he didn’t like being noticed. “Thanks.” Dalton looked at the panel and saw the second-floor button pressed.

“Floor?” the guard asked, still looking at him as Claudia completely ignored him.

“Three, please.” Dalton kept the security guard in his line of sight as the elevator went up one floor and opened. The group filed off and Dalton hurriedly pressed the door close button.

On the third floor, Dalton darted off the elevator and dashed down the flight of stairs. Slowly he opened the second-floor door. The guard was standing by the door to the ballroom. Shit. Dalton needed to get in there.

“I need a distraction for a guard,” Dalton whispered. “He’s seen me, so I don’t want to be the one to take him out.”

“On it,” Valeria said. “Give me two minutes.”

Dalton kept watch as not a single person walked down the hall. The guard stood directly in front of the door, preventing anyone from entering or leaving. The stairwell at the opposite end of the hall opened and Valeria limped out with sweat dripping off her face.

“Cramp!” she called out in pain as she dropped to the ground. “Ow, ow, ow.”

The guard looked down at her as Valeria sat on the floor, crying out in pain and holding her leg. He finally gave in and headed toward her. Dalton didn’t waste any time slipping quietly into the ballroom with his gun in hand. But what he found wasn’t an assassin shooting, but a shooting for a television show.

The ballroom was decorated to look like an old-time set filled with candles and people in period costumes. Several people mulled around behind Claudia sitting in a chair with the famous director of those sweeping epic historical romance movies Dalton never watched. And was that Kerra Ruby? Dalton looked closer. The boobs gave Kerra away. She was dressed in a huge ball gown from the 1800s, and her trademark fake blonde locks were now dark brown. But the boobs were still on full display.

“This movie really makes a statement. It’s about people who weren’t afraid to stand up and protest the establishment,” Kerra said seriously. “Just like today, we need to fight for what we deserve. We need to say we aren’t going to take this anymore and rise up against a government who is stealing our money and getting rid of our jobs.”

Dalton shoved his gun into his pants and covered it with his shirt.

“Are you talking about President Stratton’s alliance with the rebels in Zambia and the traitor, Prince Noah, causing the dollar to weaken to the point of a looming economic collapse?” Claudia asked.

“Yes, it’s very scary, and we should march on the White House,” Kerra said as she puffed out her breasts.

“It’s a very scary time for our country. It’s scary that so many people don’t see what we do, and they are blindly following the president to their destruction. I’m hoping that with this movie, people will wake up to what we in Hollywood have been telling them,” the director said seriously.

“What are you doing here?” Dalton heard as a strong hand clamped down on his shoulder.

Dalton looked over his shoulder to find the security guard behind him. “I was hoping to get Kerra Ruby’s autograph,” Dalton responded. “You think you can hook a man up?”

“This is a closed set. Sorry, buddy.”

Dalton shrugged and headed out the door without a fight. “It was worth a shot. Have a good day.”

Dalton went to the stairs and walked to the lobby. Son of a bitch. He’d almost blown his cover over a TV interview for a movie. Now the security guard had seen him and Valeria. Dalton hoped he didn’t put two and two together.

Back at the bar, Valeria stewed over her computer. She finally slammed her hand down. “We could have all been caught, and it would have been freaking Kerra Ruby to take us down.”

Alex looked down at the floor he was mopping. “I’m sorry. I thought it was important.”

“I know, Alex. It was right for you to bring it to us, but wrong for the president not to listen to our plan to observe and report,” Lizzy said gently.

“It’s because of Little Miss Sunshine,” Valeria said with disgust. “She’s a weak link.”

“Birch wouldn’t react the same if you or Lizzy were in that situation,” Dalton said as he drank some orange juice.

“Yeah, because Tate’s worthless,” Valeria spat.

Dalton shook his head. “No, she’s not. She’s just not like you and Lizzy. But the president reacted differently because he feels differently about her.”

“What are you talking about?” Valeria asked with anger and confusion clear on her face.

Dalton tried not to lose his patience. Valeria hadn’t liked Tate since she joined the team, but he thought it was getting better until this. “He likes her. It’s clear as day.”

“No way,” Lizzy laughed.

“Seriously?” Valeria snarled at the same time.

“Yes, seriously. It’s written all over his face when Tate is in the room. It also explains why he flipped out when he thought Tate was in danger,” Dalton said, finding it funny that the women couldn’t see it.

“Dude, totally true,” Alex muttered, still looking like a whipped puppy.

Lizzy and Valeria exchanged a look, and Dalton could see them replaying every meeting between Tate and Birch. Their eyes widened and they looked back to Dalton, and he knew they realized it was true.

“Great. Now we have a leader who is being ruled by his dick,” Valeria said with a roll of her eyes.

“Last I heard, I was in charge of this group, and I don’t have a dick,” Lizzy countered. “So, let’s get back to work. Any luck on Epps?”

“I’m pulling a string. I’ll let you know what I find.” Valeria turned to her computer and blocked everyone else out.

“What do you want me to do?” Dalton asked.

“I don’t know yet. We pulled a partial print from the orders left in the rock for Phylicia, but we haven’t found a match yet. I need to get prints to compare. Want to drive around to some houses and go through the trash?” Lizzy asked sweetly.

“I’ll look around, but my guess is they have a lot of security. If a man shows up on multiple cameras looking through the trash of high-level officials, they will be on to us,” Dalton pointed out.

“I know. I need Tate and Humphrey in on this.” Lizzy pulled out her phone and sent instructions.

A moment later Lizzy looked down at her phone. “Good. They are having a staff meeting tomorrow, and Humphrey will set down glossy folders and then pick them up before they leave. He’ll put their names on the inside so they’ll be marked. And in the meantime, Tate is shadowing Sandra today. I’ll work on a list of all the ranking members of the Senate, House, and cabinet to determine if we need any more prints.”

Dalton flipped on the television as he stocked the bar. The morning reporter for BBN filled the screen with a sad look on her face. “According to Brent Eller of Tinselgossip.com, ambulances have been called to Hollywood financier Tanswell Patton’s house. Brent is reporting the investor of numerous top Hollywood hits has died from a possible drug overdose.”

Valeria’s head shot up. “What kind of drugs?”

Dalton shrugged and Valeria immediately went back to work. He knew the look well. She was onto something.