Jerome knew he and Jessica were in big time trouble the moment their heads where covered. Even though this practice is strictly forbidden by international law and considered a form of sensory torture, it didn't stop their captors from doing it anyway. He wasn't a dummy and was well aware the real reason for the shrouds was to mask their approach to a location their captors didn't want revealed. It was evident they were after Edgar and Devon and there was no telling what these people were going to do to them both, him especially, to obtain that Intel. During their ride over, he could hear Jessica squirming and yelling in the background and on a few occasions, he told her to knock it off. She was going to need her energy later, but any interrogation of her was useless. Jerome didn't tell her anything about what Edgar and Devon were up to. She knew about the whole online auction part, but where they were going and what plan they had up their sleeve wasn't exactly provided to her. Jerome knew a lot, and knew they were going to push him hard to make sure he split his guts and gave away everything. Jerome had no intentions of helping them, but only needed to know what time it was because once it was done, that information was no longer valuable. Chances are the operation they had on the go is likely already done.

Once the vehicle they were in came to a stop. Jerome didn't put up any fight and did his best to cooperate with his captives as much as possible. He walked when told to and stopped when commanded to. By his count, he took a little over seventy steps since getting off the truck and passed through four doors that required either a pass card or some voice authorization before finally being told to take a seat. While people were walking around the room and mumbling he took the time to use his foot to survey the texture of the floor. It was a smooth surface, and based on the grooves he was feeling, it was tile. Not a good sign. Not good at all.

They were separated and likely in their own rooms, but Jerome did his best to keep his cool. There was no need to panic until his captors gave him a reason to do so. For all he knew, they were going to just sit down and have a conversation, in which he would do his best to stall and chit chat as long as possible. In the background he heard the door slam, and took that as a clue that they wanted to get started.

"Hello?" he called out to no one in particular, "Is there anyone there?"

He sat there in silence until a voice finally responded, "Are you going to co-operate with us Mr. Ryan?" the voice said with a rather calm tone.

"I'm not sure." Jerome said rather honestly, "I have a hard time trusting someone I can't see."

"A good motto to live by." the man responded.

Moments later the cloth covering his head was removed. Jerome couldn't identify the man sitting at the other end of the table in front of him, but he seemed to be the man in charge. Jerome got this from the fact that his handcuffs were removed by the guards by a single gesture. He sat there for a moment, and the finally asked a question,

"Do you plan to co-operate, Mr. Ryan?" he asked as second time.

"Of course." Jerome said with a friendly smile, trying his best to remain calm, "I don't want to cause any problems, Mr...."

"Carlson." the man at the table responded quickly but a little too casual for his liking.

Jerome likely suspected the name was an alias but it was something to go with, "Thank you, Mr. Carlson. I want to let you know that Jessica's interrogation is pointless. She knows very little if anything about what Edgar is up to. The information she does know, I'm going to give you with very little if any resistance."

"That's very kind of you." Carlson responded, with a hint of disbelief, "If that's true, I'll make sure you both are taken care of during your stay."

"And how long would that be?" Jerome asked, being a little playful.

Carlson cracked a smile.

"That isn't known at this time." he said quietly, "But I'll let you know when I obtain that information."

Jerome could tell that he knew more than he was providing, but realized that this was a good pace to take, aware of what was going on out there. This was a pace that he could use to his advantage. He didn't feel the need to give up too much until there they at least they insisted he co-operate. Right now they were in the courtship, as the two of them were trying to get to know one another before the real fun started. Jerome slouched back and did his best to relax.

"Is it all right if I have a glass of water?" Jerome asked.

"Of course." Carlson made another gesture and one of the guards left the room and later returned with a bottle of rather fancy spring water. It was sealed so Jerome tore it open and took a slug, "I hope that's to your satisfaction?"

"It will do." Jerome said as then noticed the brand, "The best taxpayer's money can buy?"

"Only the best for our guests." Carlson responded with at smirk.

"No complaints here." Jerome approved as he took another slug, "So I assume you're the man in charge. I mean it's pretty obvious with the respect your presence commands from the goons over there."

"Very observant." Carlson said as he played along, "It's such a shame I have no need for a forensics expert on my team, you're a bright one from what I've gathered from your file."

"Coming from someone as secretive as yourself, I'll take that as a compliment." it was going pleasant, so Jerome decided to test the waters, "So you're also the person in charge of this re-location project?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about?" Carlson evasively responded.

"Ah, come on..." Jerome said as he took a more casual posture, "This isn't something to hide. I happen to think it's one of the most brilliant projects ever designed and executed."

"Is it now?" Carlson said.

"Of course it is!" Jerome added, "I mean there are so many people needed to make this work, normally it's a breeze to find a dozen people to trust, but to get hundreds is truly amazing. I mean the fact that no one has leaked this to the press or tried to expose it is incredible. You sir run a tight ship and deserve all the credit for holding it together, especially for this long."

"Thank you." Carlson conceded, not really giving anything away.

"I'm just getting started!" Jerome chirped with excitement, "The FBI runs a witness relocation program but get to apply for as much funds as they need on a yearly basis. The fact that you can run that same program secretly with a tight budget has to be nothing short of a miracle, especially when you're dealing with at least over a hundred people."

"Two hundred and sixty-six." Carlson quickly corrected, feeling a little proud of the accomplishment.

Jerome paused for a moment, trying to calculate the information he was just given, "Flight 77 only had fifty-nine passengers and a few more if you include stewards and pilots. If you have over two hundred and fifty people that would mean the other flights were also..."

Carlson interrupted Jerome by slamming an open hand into the table.

"I think we need to change the subject." he seemed a little disturbed that he let his ego get the best of him, "What I prefer to talk about right now would be the location Edgar Willis and what he's up to."

"I'm not aware of where he is, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what he's doing." Jerome said trying to answer and yet not answer his question at the same time.

"And what exactly would that be?" Carlton asked, now getting somewhat annoyed.

"He's looking for Mrs. Johnson." Jerome said, "We were hired by Jessica to find her and bring her home."

"So you don't deny looking for a dead woman. Don't you feel bad taking money from this young woman to look for a ghost?" Carlson casually stated.

"If she's a ghost and I'm wasting my time and her money, " Jerome started, "Then what the hell am I doing here? What is your interest in my activities? You can't tell me this some secret branch of the better business bureau?" Carlson wasn't biting this time, so Jerome continued, "Our job is to first determine if she was alive or not. Our goal was to either prove or disprove her story. Edgar thought finding her alive would save a little time and money, so he was determined to work with the assumption that she was still around and kicking." Jerome tossed the now empty bottle into the trash can by the door.

"Were you successful?" Carlson asked, playing along.

"That depends." Jerome answered, now being a little evasive himself.

"Depends on what?" one of the goons at the door barked, tired of the word games that were likely giving his pea sized brain a inklings of a major migraine.

"On what time it is right now." Jerome responded, knowing what kind of reaction it would get. One of the first things the goons took away from him was his watch, so for a while now he had no concept of time. That lack of time had ended with the beginning of his interrogation. One of the other reasons why Jerome suspected that Carlson was in charge of this outfit was the presence of a fancy gold plated Rolex on man's left wrist. If Jerome was reading the clock correctly, even from his upside down view, it was close to five in the afternoon. If that time on his wrist was right, Edgar and Devon should have had enough time to at least hit two of the three locations they had agreed to hit today. If one of them was the right target, they should be the hell out of dodge by now if all went according to plan.

"Nice watch." Jerome said, "Is it real?"

Despite the cloud of doubt that hung over the two goons at the door, Carlson quickly figured out what Jerome was up to this whole time: delay. He had been stalling since minute number one and was covering up for some sort of operation that was being executed at this exact moment. Carlson immediately scrambled from his chair and vacated the room, obviously going to check up on the status of Mrs. Johnson and make sure everything was all right. Just the panic he left the room in was enough to confirm to Jerome that he and Edgar were on the right trail; Mrs. Johnson was indeed alive. Hopefully Edgar and the guys were out of town, because Jerome was pretty sure the alarm was being set off right now, so they had little or no time left to make their escape.