Chapter Three – Paranoia
The breeze from the ocean blew Sarah's blonde locks back as she faced the ocean. After a brief moment she resumed her scanning of the surrounding area for possible threats. After the anxiety of the past few weeks, the uncertainty of knowing what to do, the inner conflict that prevented her from making clear decisions, Sarah relaxed. Chuck still had to prove himself to be trustworthy to her, but for now, Sarah felt Chuck had something at stake in their survival, allowing her to relax knowing there was another vigilant individual watching her back.
Chuck was cleaning up inside and the sounds of him moving about the safe house bled through the walls of the house, allowing Sarah to track his movements as he moved about the house.
Sarah thought back to the time at "their spot" on the beach at Malibu. Without knowing why, she had gone there and simply waited. Chuck's arrival had not surprised her Sarah realized although she had not gone there to wait for him.
At her request Chuck had told her their love story. It matched so much of what Casey and Morgan had told her, what the video log Casey had given told her in her own words. But all of that could be faked. Quinn himself had told her the stories he had told her about Chuck were a lie, a lie designed to force her to obtain the Intersect for him.
Then there was Morgan's idea of a magic kiss. One kiss that would restore her damaged memory, restore her as Sarah Bartowski, Chuck's beloved wife. She had asked Chuck to kiss her, she had wanted the kiss to work. While her memories as such had not returned, Sarah had enjoyed kissing Chuck. Her body responded in such a way that Sarah knew physical intimacy was something the two of them had shared.
But it all could have been part of an elaborate cover. Bryce had used her for sex in the past. Why couldn't Chuck? Sarah thought back to her days as Jenny. She had been so lonely she would let boys touch her in places just to feel wanted, but the experiences only left her feeling dirty and more unlovable, hating herself, Jenny, even more. Jenny had never surrendered her virtue, but the experiences made her sense of abandonment by her father even greater, magnifying her distrust of men even more.
Sarah had a vague sense that Chuck had been a gentleman and treated her with respect. The past night when they had shared a bed seemed to reinforce her belief Chuck had never used her for purely physical reasons, that he had always treated her with respect in that regard.
Yet, Sarah still had a sense of unease about Chuck. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on, telling Sarah to be cautious in trusting Chuck. The more Sarah thought about withholding trust in Chuck until he had proven beyond a doubt, to Agent Walker, that Sarah could trust Chuck, the more confident she felt that was the right course of action.
Sarah's thoughts returned to the beach in Malibu. Chuck had told her that she could trust him. He had told her their love story and even the part of Sarah that was Agent Walker believed much of the story was true, if nothing else the story was true in the sense that it had been their cover. The kiss had been sweet and familiar. Sarah knew they had been married. It was possible she had broken the one rule a spy must never violate and fallen in love with Chuck. This still was not proof she could trust Chuck, he could have played her for those five years and he could still be playing her now that her memories were damaged and missing. Chuck was the Intersect. Who knew what he was capable of?
Then there was the shock of gunfire, the rounds from an assault rifle kicking up the sand near Sarah, but not Chuck. Chuck had grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. They had run, zig-zaging to make themselves difficult targets to hit. Chuck had led her to his car and they had fled. Sarah had never seen a single enemy, a single sniper. Chuck had driven for hours until they arrived at the safe house.
They had been sitting ducks on the beach. A pro would have taken the both out with two rounds. Head shots, one each, with a well-sighted sniper rifle would have been easy for any moderately good sniper.
Something was wrong. It seemed like a set up, a ploy to get her to go with Chuck, to trust him. It was something Agent Walker had done herself too many times to count.
Sarah looked back out at the ocean, letting the breeze blow her hair. For now, she had no real choice, so long as she was at this safe house. She had one pistol and three knives. No cash, no car of her own and no papers to run on. This had to change.
Sarah stood up and brushed the sand the wind had blown on her off her clothes. Agent Walker checked her weapons and went inside.
