A/N: Happy Holidays everone.
I took a little more time with this. My hope is you will be able to see a little higher quality in the chapter. I would appreciate knowing what you think. I don't care if you review or just drop me a PM. My biggest reward doing this is talking about the stories with you and exchanging ideas.
Also, I've had a number of very nice reviews by non members which means I have no way to respond to your kind words. Just so you know, I really appreciate you all.
Three Days of Project Omaha
Chapter 4
When the car came to stop outside the iconic hotel, Sarah reached for the door handle and hesitated. "Wait here. I'll only be a few minutes."
"Sarah, wait. What's your cover?"
"What do you mean?"
Chuck looked at her, puzzled. "I mean, what's your strategy for going in there without being recognized?"
"Oh," Sarah laughed. "I look completely different than I did when I was here earlier. I don't think I'll be recognized."
"Yeah, but wouldn't it be better if you had a cover?"
Sarah looked at him trying to understand what he was getting at. "Your point?"
"Take a look in the glove compartment."
Sarah did as instructed and saw a small jewelry box. She looked at Chuck with her brow pulled down to her eyes. "What's this?" She asked as she opened it.
"I think we should get married."
"What?" she said, not able to take her eyes off the stone. A million thoughts skated through her mind as she recalled dreaming of a guy just like Chuck asking her that question countless times in her imagination.
"We should go in there together as a couple. That will be much less innocuous as if you go back in there by yourself. The ring just adds to the cover."
"Oh," she said, hoping she didn't sound disappointed.
"That was Jill's. She gave it back to me last week. Put it on, we might as well get some good from it."
Sarah looked at Chuck and thought about what he had said. He was right and she knew it. This would be much less suspicious for her. But on a completely differently level, she didn't like putting on Jill's ring. She had never met the bitch but she knew one thing for sure. She didn't like her. She recognized that she was jealous of someone she had never met over a guy she didn't really know. She glanced at him. I wouldn't mind getting to know him, she thought and mentally shook her head. She needed to stay focused.
She took a deep breath as she slipped the ring on her finger. She noted with a huge amount of satisfaction that it fit loosely on her finger. She couldn't help the catty remark as she exited the car. "Jill must have fat fingers," she said to herself but loud enough for Chuck to hear.
He chuckled to himself as he met her on her side of the car and offered her his arm. She took it with a smile. With the four inch heels, she could almost look him straight in the eye. As he looked at her, his expression changed from smiling to serious as he searched her eyes. Sarah had never had a man look at her this way and it made her nervous. The empty silence that ensued made her want to start babbling. She wanted to do something to fill in the silence of this void. But somehow she knew as if from instinct, that she had to wait it out.
As they neared the hotel, Chuck saw Sarah's reflection in the windows of the large front door. Her red dress stood out and he could not pull his gaze away. Actually, it wasn't really the dress but the woman that had captured his attention. Living in LA, he had seen his share of sexy women, but walking next to Sarah as they walked inside the spacious hotel, he realized just how sensual she was.
It was clear she wasn't wearing a bra but you couldn't tell it by the proud position her breasts assumed beneath the low-cut dress. But what really gave her away was their tantalizing movement as she walked. The metered rise and fall of that most alluring of features cadenced with each step drew the eye of every man in the building. And their eyes stayed on her as she and Chuck made their way to the front desk. They stayed on her because they had no choice but to watch her gavotte through the hotel lobby up to the front desk.
And for the men watching as she passed by, for an instant the disappointment was evident in their eyes as she passed them and they could no longer see that bewitching motion that so captivated them. Then, there was an almost painful glimpse of her perfect backside as she swayed from side to side with each step, her dress both clinging to her rump and swishing with each step in such a way that left no doubt she was as panty-less as she was braless. Their longing was almost absolute.
Although Sarah had not noticed the effect she had on the men inside the hotel, Chuck had. He looked back into her wake to see men pulling on their collars and taking deep breaths or just talking with one another with moronic grins on their faces. He wasn't sure, but he believed that a couple had even broken out in a sweat as they realized they were looking at feminine perfection. It was clear to Chuck that Sarah was world class.
Sarah was unaware of this because as she walked towards the front desk of the ultra posh, marbled floor of the hotel, she saw Ana Wu waiting for the clerk.
Chuck felt Sarah tense on his arm and he looked around to see what might have caused her alarm. He only saw one person standing at the desk. She was an attractive, but small, Asian woman dressed to the nines in a tasteful business formal skirt and white blouse. She watched them as they approached,looking at Chuck casually but more attention was concentrated on the blonde in the red dress. She was clearly appraising Sarah, more than appraising, she was appreciating her.
Sarah stood closest to Ana as Chuck asked if they had rooms available. Sarah dared look at her only once but smiled a hoity smile that she hoped went with her appearance.
"Uh, yeah, do you have any rooms on the first floor?" Chuck asked.
"Yes, Sir. We have one king size room."
"That will be great," he said thinking that they wouldn't be staying anyway. He pulled out a platinum American Express card and handed it to the teller.
"Chuck, I know it's getting late, but could we grab a bite to eat? I'm famished." Sarah smiled at him innocently.
"Sure, he said trying not to stare at her.
"Do you have any luggage, sir?" The man at the front desk asked.
Chuck hesitated for an instant.
"No, we're just here for the night. Our house is being fumigated," Sarah said as smoothly as if it were true.
Chuck marveled at her ability to conform to the situation. That's what spies do, he thought.
Just then, the person who was helping Ana Wu came back. "I'm sorry but there are no messages, Miss Wu."
Ana looked disappointed. "Alright, when Morgan Grimes gets in, have him call me before he leaves the front desk."
"Sure thing, Miss Wu," the desk clerk said.
Ana turned and looked at Chuck and then a little longer at Sarah before turning to walk away, most of the men in the area watched her as well but not quite with the same intensity as they had with Sarah.
Sarah took a deep breath as they turned away from the desk.
"What's wrong?" Chuck asked, picking up on her mood.
"It's nothing…it's just that woman is CIA. I know her by reputation but I don't think she knows me." Sarah spoke in a whisper so on one else could hear.
"Really, is she here because…?"
"No, but I'll bet she's involved in the investigation. You can't imagine what a big deal it is when an agent gets killed, especially on US soil. On top of that, whoever did it evidently thought they were killing me. You don't understand how odd that is. What's worse, they know they've made a mistake and they're still looking for me. Right now, I don't know who I can trust and who I can't because I don't know who they are."
Chuck was silent, obviously concerned for her. His expression was easily readable as he stood watching her.
Sarah took one glance at him and decided to lighten the mood. "Hey, are you gonna feed me or what?" she asked with a smile on her face.
"Yeah, sure. The entrance to the main restaurant is this way," he said as he put his hand on the back of her shoulder to guide her.
He led her to the swanky, candlelit restaurant and they were seated at a small marble topped table close to the bar. When Sarah sat down after having Chuck pull out her leather chair for her, she found herself looking at the mahogany bar which had more patrons than did the restaurant at this time of night.
The waitress was fast and efficient. They had their drinks within seconds and the meal within minutes.
Much to Sarah's relief, she found herself eating the swordfish in no time.
Halfway through her meal, she caught her breath as she saw Ana Wu sit down at the bar with Morgan Grimes. She had always thought that Morgan was the epitome of a secret agent. She had seen men who were more handsome but not many who were more sophisticated…Morgan Grimes oozed confidence with a dash of old-time debonair elegance. He always dressed in tailor-made clothing which added to his charm. His handmade shoes were imported from Europe. Although Chuck was obviously a well-to-do businessman, Morgan's belts probably cost more than Chuck's suits.
She continued to watch him as he and Ana finished their drink. Then to her amazement, and a little concern, they left the bar and walked directly toward her, but stopped short, sitting at the table nearest her and Chuck.
Sarah made sure that Chuck was aware of their presence with a touch of his foot with her own and a glance their way.
Not long after that, Ana seemed to notice Chuck and Sarah and smiled at both of them.
"I hope that pest problem is better soon," she said more to Sarah than to Chuck.
"If it isn't, I'll just die," Sarah said, slipping back into the character of Chuck's girlfriend, a character she quite enjoyed.
She had spent the majority of her adult life day-dreaming about practically anything under the sun, anything that took her away from her lonely and boring life. So playing the role of Chuck's girlfriend seemed as natural to her as breathing air.
"What kind of pests do you have?" Ana looked at Chuck this time.
Chuck stammered as he looked nervously to Sarah for help. She realized that he was going to blow it with these two highly trained operatives.
"To tell you the truth, it's not really the kind of pest you're thinking about. My fiancé's ex-girlfriend, who is an old friend of his family, is staying over at our house. Normally, she's almost tolerable but when she gets a little too much to drink…I'd rather stay at a hotel than deal with her talking about the great times she and Chuck had back in the day," Sarah said knowingly.
Ana winked at her as she nodded her head. "I can understand that," she said, smiling warmly. "Aren't ex-girlfriends the worst?" Ana shot a quick look at Morgan which told Sarah that there was an ex-girlfriend in their situation too.
Sarah rolled her eyes in response.
"What brings you to LA?" Sarah asked.
"Business," Ana and Morgan said in unison. They way they said it made Sarah think that it was a practiced response. Maybe it was just something they were asked all the time.
Sarah nodded her head as if that said it all. "There's an odd vibe around here tonight." She looked at Chuck. "Don't you feel it, honey?"
"Yeah." He said nothing more. Chuck felt a little overmatched, playing this game of pretend with three CIA agents.
"A government agent was killed this afternoon," Ana said with what certainly sounded like legitimate sadness.
"What! You're kidding?" Sarah said, feigning shock.
"The really sad thing is it looks like another CIA employee killed her."
"What!" she said again, but this time the shock was real. Sarah's head was swimming. Did they think she killed Amanda or were these men that killed her with the CIA? Either way, she realized that she was in a far worse situation that she had known.
"Yeah, it looks like we have a dirty employee," Ana said.
Employee…not employees, Sarah thought. They think I killed her. She fought to stay calm.
"Ana," Morgan said, his expression told her to be quiet. The cold and calculating Morgan Grimes always played things close to the vest.
Sarah wanted to ask more questions but she knew instinctively that it would arouse the CIA agent's suspicions.
Instead she looked at Chuck.
"Isn't that just awful?" she said and ignored the spies.
He had a mouthful of food and just made an agreeable sound. She noticed her avoided her eyes.
For the rest of her time in the restaurant, she made small talk with Chuck, all the while listening to the conversation going on at the next table. She heard bits and pieces but not really enough to put the whole story together.
She knew that she had to contact her supervisor as soon as Carina arrived to make sure he knew that she was not the killer and that she was not on the run. She needed her laptop to do that.
After they had finished eating, Sarah asked Chuck to take her to their room. She noticed he seemed quieter than normal. But she wasn't prepared to say anything more until they got to the security of their room.
After they walked down the spacious and decorated hallway into the luxurious quarters, Sarah turned to Chuck.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" he asked nervously.
Sarah saw through him instantly. "Chuck, I didn't kill, Amanda. You saw those men chasing me."
"How do I know they weren't CIA trying to capture you after you did it…and I helped you escape?"
Sarah couldn't believe her ears. Her eyes filled with tears and began to sting. She wished she had the control of an agent to stop such an easy tell on how his words had affected her, but she could not keep the salty liquid from running down her cheeks.
"Chuck…I'm one person against the whole CIA. If they believe I killed Amanda, I will need your help to prove my innocence. It will be hard enough with you. I don't I have a prayer without you."
There was something about the last sentence she spoke. There was power in those words. She felt it and she knew Chuck did too by the odd expression that came over his face. The words seemed to take on a life of their own.
"What?" he said as if he had misheard.
She didn't have the courage to repeat them, although they ran straight and true to her heart. "What I mean to say is…I need your help or I'm afraid I'll take the rap for something, that I promise you, I didn't do." Her eyes implored him to believe her.
Chuck searched her eyes. Just when she thought he was about to say something, he renewed the close scrutiny of one eye then the other.
Finally, he shook his head as if he didn't really believe what he was going to say. "I hope you don't make me regret this…but…what can I do to help?" he said and watched for the first time as Sarah gave him her happiest smile. He couldn't help but respond as Sarah wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear.
"Thank you." Her lips barely touch his ear. "I know you don't have any reason to believe me but I promise that you made the right choice." Before leaving the close proximity of his neck, she took a deep breath, taking in the scent of him. Before she even knew what she was doing, she kissed him on the cheek.
The kiss took Chuck a little by surprise but what really got him was the feel of her soft, open lips as she rubbed them across the stubble on his cheek. It was more sensual than any other kiss he could remember.
They stepped away from each looking surprised and embarrassed as they both looked for something else to look at instead of each other's eyes. Sarah knew she was already too close to the tipping point, to that fulcrum that she had never crossed before…but wanted to.
She searched for something to say. "Chuck, would it be okay if we stayed here tonight? I would like to nose around a little more especially in the morning. Would you mind?"
"I don't mind, but what will you sleep in?" His expression showed his concern, or hope.
Sarah hadn't thought of that. All she had with her was the dress she was wearing. Before she could respond, he had another question.
"And where would we sleep?"
She knew what he was really asking. Would they both sleep in the same bed?
"I wouldn't mind us sharing the bed if I had some pajamas but sleeping in the raw and with you," she scrunched up her face. "Might just be too much."
Just then, Chuck's face lit up. "Hey, I keep a travel bag in my car in case I have to go to a store on the spur of the moment. I have a couple of shirts in it. You could wear one of them."
"You wouldn't happen to have a pair of panties in there would you?" she said smiling.
"Uh," he hesitated as if he was actually going through the inventory, counting off each item on his fingers. "No." he finally said, grinning.
She smiled at him. She really liked his sense of humor.
"Wait here, I'll get my bag. You can wear whatever you like." Chuck left the room and hurried to his car.
Sarah went into the bathroom to wash her face and use the facilities. When she was through, she went to stand in front of the window and looked out at the city. Her focus switched from the hustle and bustle of the busy lights buzzing up and down the highways like neurons, to the blonde in the red dress. She couldn't believe how her life had turned upside down in the matter of a few hours. She had never thought of herself as homely before but now…she actually looked beautiful.
If someone had told her that she would be getting ready to spend the night with the kind of guy she had always dreamed about, she would have laughed in their face. This reality that she was actually experiencing was nothing more than a fantasy when the work week started.
Just as she started to think about actually being in the same bed with Chuck, something she had never done before, not just with Chuck but any man, he walked through the door carrying a leather travel bag and a smile that she found almost irresistible.
He walked over to the bed and sat the bag on it. He opened it and rifled through it until he found the desired items.
"Here you go, I think this will do nicely. Take your pick," he said pitching them to her as she still stood in front of the window. She caught them effortlessly; her hand-eye coordination was as world-class as her body.
She smiled at him sweetly. "Thank you," she said in her cute voice and walked towards the bathroom to change.
While Sarah was in the other room, Chuck stripped down to his boxers; carefully placing is clothes on the back of the chair and got under the covers. He anticipated her appearance, hardly able to take a breath. He could only imagine what she would look like dressed in only his button down shirt. It didn't help to know that she would be wearing nothing on underneath the shirt.
Just when he thought he could not wait another moment to see her, out she steps, looking a little embarrassed which only added to the aspect of her. He knew she was far too experienced to be embarrassed by something as innocent as this. But it gave her an allure that he found almost impossible to resist. She was a contradiction. An innocent prostitute, he thought.
She walked to the bed without removing her eyes from his. Her cheeks flashed red as she pulled back the covers and caught a small glimpse of his boxers and his muscled abdomen. It sent a shiver down her spine. She hurriedly slipped under the covers and waited for him to turn out the light on his side of the bed.
When the lights were out, she swore that he would be able to hear the sound of her deep and lustful breaths as she fought with herself for self control. It occurred to her after about five minutes that not acting on her desire to have him was the hardest thing she thought she had ever down.
She knew that in her current situation, she could not act upon her desires. It would complicate things too much. She had an uphill battle to fight the way it was. Having to do all of this, while dealing with her own desires, would be more than she could cope with.
She sighed heavily as she thought about how this night had to be and she heard Chuck speak in a hesitant voice.
"How long have you been doing this kind of thing?" he asked.
"You mean, how long have I worked for the CIA?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"Almost ten years now."
"I'll bet there's not much you haven't seen, huh?" he asked, awe hinting at the edges of his words.
"You could say that," she said thinking about all of the mission reports that she had read. It was true…there wasn't much that she hadn't seen, or at least read about.
"Can I ask you a personal question?" he asked.
Sarah heard the danger signals but couldn't actually say no. "Sure, she said knowing that it was a mistake.
"Do you have someone special… you know, when you come back home from wherever it is you go…is there someone waiting for you?"
Sarah looked over towards Chuck. She couldn't actually see his eyes but she knew they were searching for hers just like she was for his. She was suddenly grateful for the dark.
She found it hard to swallow. She tried twice with no luck. Finally on her third attempt, she found her voice. "No, I couldn't really ask anyone to wait for me…especially when I may never return." She tried to find his eyes again. "It just wouldn't be fair." She had slipped into that persona of Sarah Walker, super spy, that she so often day-dreamed about.
"It must be hard. Not having anyone to share your life with. I can't imagine how lonely you must feel sometimes," he said, his voice low to hide the emotion he was feeling.
Sarah could not take that. It was just too close to home. She was lonely. She had been lonely her whole life. She didn't need Chuck feeling sorry for her…not right now, while he was so close that he could stop the loneliness with just one touch.
"Chuck, please don't. Let's go to sleep. I've got an important day tomorrow." She turned on her side facing away from him. She could hear the disappointment in his voice when he answered.
"Sure, I'm sorry, Sarah. Don't pay any attention to me. I'm just a little star-struck by you." Chuck rolled onto his side facing away from her so that he could try to keep the thought of her proximity out of his mind.
"Goodnight Sarah," he said softly.
"Goodnight Chuck," she repeated and prayed that God would let her find sleep quickly.
