Chapter Seventeen #2
Olivia shook her head. “I spoke to Lauren and asked for a list of Aegis clients here in Montana. Anyway, as she was giving me pushback, I started thinking maybe I need to look at this differently.”
Eli caught her gaze. “How so?”
“I know Sean. How he thinks. The rest of the projects in the file that Aegis sent are small potatoes in comparison to the resort and the carbon capture facility. No real media coverage. No public outrage. To complete his objective, he would want something that’s going to make a huge splash, dominating the news cycle.
Maybe the next target isn’t affiliated with any of those.
” Olivia went back to her laptop. “What if the person is connected to the first two projects somehow?”
Eli sat beside her and picked up one of the Ironside tablets while the others gathered around.
“Start with the resort from the beginning of the project,” Autumn said.
“Who had the power to grant eminent domain?” Chance asked.
Eli knew this one. “The Rising Rock Town Council.”
Autumn sat in a lounge chair. “Are any of the members investors in the resort?”
“I’ll check.” It took Olivia a minute to go over a previous Aegis report and cross-reference it against the names of those on the town council. “Nope.”
“Okay.” Eli sighed. “What about the carbon pipeline? Who authorized that again?”
“The Montana DNRC, Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.”
“Let’s see what I can find.” Eli ran a quick search. “The director approved the project. Josie Brown.” A detail in the article struck him as odd. “And she was recently appointed. Sound familiar?”
“Like Fred Lloyd,” Olivia said, “the director of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Who appointed them?”
“In the article, it says the governor appointed Brown.” Eli looked up the director of FWP. “The same person put Lloyd in his position, too.”
Chance groaned. “Please, don’t tell me Arlo Forrester is the connecting thread.”
“Chip Whitney mentioned the governor planned to attend the grand opening of the resort.” Olivia clacked away on her keyboard, stopped, and perused something. “You’re not going to believe this, but he was also an investor.”
Dropping into a chair, Chance groaned even louder. “He made a profit off wiping out an endangered species and covered it up. That doesn’t surprise me in the least. He is not a good man. At all.”
There was bad blood between Chance and the governor, but nothing that would stop anyone on the team from doing the job of saving Arlo Forrester’s life if necessary.
“But why would Forrester help Horizon Energy?” Autumn asked. “What did he have to gain?”
“Two powerful industries in Montana control who gets elected.” Chance raked a hand through his hair. “Agriculture and mining and energy.”
“Oil and gas,” Olivia said. “Like Horizon Energy.”
Chance nodded. “They were one of his biggest donors in the last election.”
“Considering everything you shared about your conversations with Sean, his main objective was to eliminate corruption,” Eli said. “This sounds pretty corrupt.”
“And there’s no one higher up or more powerful in the state than the governor.” Olivia whipped out her secure satphone. “I’m going to call Lauren again.”
“Doesn’t she ever sleep?” Chance asked.
Olivia grinned. “No rest for the wicked.”
They listened on speaker as she went through the procedures to get her boss back on the line.
“What is it now, Kestrel?” Lauren’s tone was matter-of-fact as she called Olivia by her code name that was only used in the office. “I told you I need to consider the ramifications of your request.”
“I may not need the names of every Aegis client in the state,” Olivia said. “But I need you to confirm whether one specific person is.”
“Who?”
“Governor Arlo Forrester.” Silence was the only response on the other end of the line as they stared at each other. “Are you still there?”
“I am.”
“Is he a client?”
“He is. But you need to handle this with care,” Lauren said, her voice firm.
“No mention of Osprey’s true identity under any circumstances.
Allow everyone to continue calling him Shepherd.
Reach out to your FBI contact. Let him take the lead in case this goes south.
I don’t want any nasty blowback on Aegis. Understand?”
“Yes.”
Lauren disconnected.
Olivia set the phone down. “The next target is Governor Forrester. He’s an Aegis client and there isn’t anyone in the state more prominent or powerful.”
“Or more corrupt, apparently,” Autumn said.
“I know where he’s going to be tomorrow.” Chance glanced at his watch. “Or rather today.”
“Where?” Eli asked.
“At the Buckthorn Club.”
The place was swanky and exclusive and Chance had a membership.
Olivia’s brow furrowed. “How do you know he’ll be there later today?”
“Every year Forrester has his annual Big Sky Ag Golf Classic. It’s a one-day charity event dedicated to advancing the interests of and safeguarding the welfare of ranchers and farmers. It’s set as the Monday after Flag Day.”
“Let’s contact Trujillo, wake the others, and gear up.” Standing, Eli resisted the inclination to wince. “It’s time we finish this.”
One way or another, they had to cut off the head to kill the snake.