Chapter 4
"You sure you're alright bro?" The very large, very tan man asked Chuck. Chuck really wasn't ok. Then again, who would be okay if they had just realized that they had been inadvertently tackled by a drug dealer/cold blooded killer? He was able to hide the fact that he was freaking out just long enough for Sarah to take the lead.
"I am sure he is fine." She gave the man a dazzling smile, which he had no option but reciprocate. "He is a lot tougher than he looks," now looking at Chuck.
"Um, ya I'm fine. Sorry about ruining your game."
The man seemed friendly, though Chuck was still uncomfortable. "Ah no biggie, I think it was about half-time anyway. My name is Billy."
"I am Chuck and this is Sarah."
"Cool to meet you both." Billy was looking over Sarah, "And Sarah is your…" He stopped to give them a chance to finish his sentence. Chuck did not reply as he was both uncomfortable with the question at this particular time as well as unsure of how Sarah would want to approach this situation. Fortunately Sarah jumped in to answer the question for him.
"Girlfriend, I am his girlfriend," as she put her arm around Chuck and smiled.
Chuck was a little surprised by her answer. Billy was obviously interested in Sarah. That is no surprise though. She is Sarah and he is…well…breathing. She normally would have used this to her advantage, working her way close to him and then taking him down. That is what she does oh so well, isn't it? Is she doing this for me or is there another reason?
"Really, would not have guessed," Billy did not attempt to hide his surprise that this nerd was with such a beautiful woman. Though upon seeing that neither were thrilled with his reaction he was quick to add, "How did she get lucky enough to land a guy that can take a hit like that?" His joke seemed friendly, but despite the large smile he was wearing there was an uncomfortable chill that originated from his eyes.
Chuck made an attempt to smile at Billy's joke, but was unable to suppress a small shiver in response to the man's gaze. Chuck replied with a nervous laugh, "It may be difficult to imagine but she does have a few redeeming qualities herself."
Sarah slapped him on the arm and everyone laughed. Billy then explained that he and his friends were going to be hanging out a while and invited them to join them for a drink. Sarah had told him that they would love to join them but needed to run back to their own friends first. she promised that they would stop back for the drink soon.
As they walked along the beach to the area where the rest of Bartowski and company were sitting, Chuck informed Sarah of everything he had on Billy Wave. He was a major player in the So. Cal. drug game. He was known for the introduction of new drugs. The most recent drug that he was responsible for was called Wild Side. It was a stimulant that eliminated the users' inhibitions. The users generally had no fear of any consequences of their words or actions. Billy was known to be in charge of distribution and believed to be in charge of production of the drugs as well. Unfortunately, only a few people have ever stepped up to testify against him, and they always found a way to end up dead.
Sarah seeing that Chuck was beginning to freak out again decided to inform him of the plan to help calm him down.
"When we get back to our stuff I want you to get your phone and call Casey. Have him take position behind Billy's group. Tell him to park in the parking lot and bring his rifle. I will buy us some time from the rest of the group. I would say that you could just stay behind, but I need you to come along to see if there is anyone else that you flash on. She knew by the look on his face that he would have loved to stay with his family. Don't worry though. We will go take care of Billy and be back before you know it. Her smile did not seem to help him feel any better.
They had walked for a few more minutes before Chuck broke the silence. "Billy seemed interested in you, why did you tell him that we were together. I thought you would have just batted you eyes, gave him that smile…you know, get close to him." Chuck was fishing for some answers.
Sarah was mentally preparing herself for the mission and was nearly in full blown agent mode. The warm smiles that she had been giving Chuck to reassure him were becoming less frequent the longer they walked. Before she could stop herself she responded. "I could not take the chance that one of your friends or family would walk down the beach and blow our cover. I still may need to get close to him, but he doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who would be too concerned about me having a boyfriend." Sarah looked at Chuck as she was finishing. She could see that Chuck was hoping for a different answer but was not surprised by the one she gave. He didn't ask her any other questions, dropping the issue. Sarah would normally have had no problem letting the conversation die there and refocusing on the mission at hand, normally that is. Nowadays nothing seemed normal. She sighed and added, "I also did not want to make you uncomfortable if it can be avoided. I meant what I said about trying to re-earn your trust." Chuck had grinned and nodded when she said this.
Upon returning to the rest of the group Chuck called Casey. He was not happy that his day off was being interrupted until chuck mentioned bringing his rifle. Chuck was surprised that Casey didn't even take the time to insult him before hanging up. He really does get excited about gun play.
Sarah had told the rest of the group that she and Chuck needed to have some time alone for a while, and smiled. Chuck, on the phone at the time, had not heard Sarah's conversation with the rest of the group. As he hung up his phone Sarah discreetly grabbed her gun and a few throwing knives from her bag and quickly led Chuck away from the rest of the group. As they walked away Chuck could hear Devon and Morgan yelling, "You go Chuck. OOOWWWWW you dog." Chuck just looked back and smiled, which only made the other two start chanting, "Chuck, Chuck, Chuck."
"What did you tell them?" Chuck asked Sarah.
She smiled and blushed slightly, "nothing really."
As Sarah and Chuck were approaching Billy and his friends Sarah tried to reassure Chuck one last time. She reached out her hand taking his. "Remember we only need to get close to Billy to see if we can learn anything. I doubt that there is anything even going down here today. You just keep an eye out and let me know if you flash on anyone." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and smiled at him. The brief moment was interrupted when they heard Billy call their names as he waved them over to where he stood.
He was standing next to a series of coolers containing both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
"Hey Sarah, Chuck. Glad to see you guys could make it back. Would you guys like a drink?"
"Nothing for me," replied Sarah.
"I'll take a soda, whatever kind you have." Chuck was about to reach into the cooler when Billy stopped him.
"Ah, let me get that for you. You are after all my guests." He grabbed a soda and poured the contents into a plastic cup. Chuck and Sarah both failed to notice that Billy had also dropped a couple small bright yellow tablets into the cup as well. "Here you go," as he handed the cup to Chuck with the same smile and cold eyes that Chuck had noticed earlier. "So what do you do Chuck?"
"I own a small software company, you know just a regular computer nerd."
"That sounds…interesting." The sarcasm in Billy's voice was not hard to find. "What about you Sarah?"
"I am an aspiring actress. I moved to California about a year ago to try to make it, just have not had my big break yet." Sarah smiled again at Billy. She was not overtly flirting, though she was making sure to maintain Billy's interest in her.
"A beautiful girl like yourself, your big break is bound to happen." Billy was staring directly into Sarah's eyes.
Chuck felt like he should say or do something. He felt like he was a third wheel. Should he act protective of his "Girlfriend" or continue to be friendly. Just as he felt like the silent moment was going to cause him to burst, he was rescued. Billy had noticed some other people walking toward the group out of the corner of his eye. His attention had shifted from Sarah to a group of four men that were not dressed for the beach. One man, whom the other three seemed to be following, was dressed in khaki slacks, dress shoes, and a white button up shirt. The other three, larger men were dressed in black. Chuck flashed as soon as he saw the man in the white shirt, seeing a series of images.
Billy's expression was now fully exposing the cold look that had been barely visible the rest of the afternoon. He looked back at Sarah trying to muster a small smile, though this was difficult as his jaw was clinched tightly. "Please excuse me for a moment."
"That is Julio Vasquez. He is, or was, Billy's largest competitor in the LA area. He has more muscle in his operation but has been unable to compete without having access to the new drugs that Billy has been selling," Chuck whispered into Sarah's ear. After saying this Chuck felt a little light-headed and swayed slightly. Sarah, who had been watching Billy and Julio very intently, noticed Chuck sway.
"Are you ok?" She made no attempt to hide the concern in her voice.
"Ya, I'm fine. I guess I am just a little light headed from flashing after being on the beach all day." He had gathered himself and they both returned their attention to Billy who was speaking to Julio. His body language portrayed a very agitated state.
"I guess there is going to be something going down today." Sarah whispered to Chuck. Chuck looked at her with a confused look on his face as she continued, "Julio is saying something about an exchange at 6 o'clock or else. He also said that he will be back then and he had better not be disappointed." She realized that Chuck was still not sure how she knew this. "I can read lips. I am not great at it, but I can get by in a pinch."
Chuck smiled and shook his head. "You really are amazing…I mean at your job," he added as he tried to control his smile. Damn it, what made me say that? I really can't be letting her get to me like this, especially when we are surrounded by people that would kill us if they had any idea who we really are.
Sarah had appreciated the compliment even if it were a slip of the tongue. She decided not to make it any harder are on Chuck than he already was and just focused her attention on the two drug kingpins, though she now did so with a slight smile. "That means we only have a couple hours until the deal goes down. We can just hang out here until then. We should be able to get back in time for the bonfire with your family."
Billy was angry when he first turned to walk away from Julio, though he was making a considerable effort to control his emotions by the time he reached Chuck and Sarah. "Sorry about that, my business partner doesn't seem to understand the concept of a day off at the beach."
"What do you and your partner do?" Sarah voice sounded as innocent as could be.
"We sell extreme sports equipment as well as other recreational supplies."
"Extreme sports, huh?" Chuck asked trying to make conversation. "What did you think of the City of Angles iron man competition last week?"
Billy looked at Chuck surprised, as did Sarah. "I actually competed in it, and you?"
"Well, it is obvious by looking at me that I didn't compete but my company was a sponsor. I am more of a fan of extreme sports that a participant. I did think though, that the event was relatively well run, however the transition stations could have been a little better organized." Chuck was doing his best to remember what Awesome had told him after competing in the race.
"I completely agree. Maybe next year they will get it right." Billy looked at Chuck a little more attentively. He had apparently underestimated the geek.
Chuck was able to carry on a conversation with Billy for the next half hour about extreme sports competitions in the area. He was never more appreciative of Awesome's desire to involve him in his death defying escapades. Since Chuck was never willing to go along, Awesome would always fill him in on every detail when he returned.
Billy had eventually left to mingle with some of the other people gathered at the party, leaving Sarah a minute to speak to Chuck privately. She had been impressed with Chuck's ability to carry on a conversation in this situation without being nervous at all. Sarah took Chuck's hand and led him a short distance away from the group. "That was pretty impressive Chuck. I am guessing that we have Devon to thank for the conversation fodder."
"Yep. Of course it didn't take much to fool Billy. He is not very smart, though he does seem to have good taste in women." As Chuck said this he looked at Sarah. Chuck was swaying slightly as he spoke. Sarah noticed the swaying as well as the unusual tone in Chuck's voice. She knew he had not been drinking, but Chuck was not acting like himself.
"Are sure you are ok?"
"Ya, actually I feel…Grrrrreat!" Chuck did his best Tony the tiger impression.
"Ok, well the party is starting to break up but the deal doesn't go down for another 45 minutes. I need to be here when it does." Sarah was thinking for a second. "Here is the plan. We are going to have a fight. You are going to leave and I am going to go crying to Billy. I will act like I need a ride home and stick around her until the job is done. I want you to go back to your family and wait there. Casey and I will be able to take care of this. You just need to stay as far away from here as you can. Do you understand?"
"Let me get this straight, I am supposed to act all mad and leave, but instead of being in the car I am going to sit and stay like a good little puppy with Ellie and Morgan. In the mean time you are going to go GET CLOSE to yet another guy that doesn't deserve to even carry on a conversation with you just because it is your job. You know we should really start using the cover of me as your pimp and not your boyfriend, as that may be more accurate in these situations."
Smack! Sarah had slapped Chuck so hard that he had spun to his right and fallen to the sand. Sarah's face reflected some anger but much more so hurt. Everyone nearby turned to look at the couple including Billy, who smiled a knowing smile. Sarah realizing that everyone was watching turned and ran away from Chuck with real tears streaming down her face.
Chuck not really sure what was going on, stood up and looked around. He didn't understand why Sarah had hit him, or if it was all a part of the plan. He didn't like seeing her cry whether it was an act or not. He wanted to go after her and make sure that it was a part of the act, but decided to follow instructions. Besides if he went to talk to her now she may feel the need to sell the story and hit him again. He turned and slowly staggered down the beach.