Yep. Wil Wheaton is a spy.
Penny rolled her neck and bounced on the balls of her feet. Sweat trickled down her back and her side was tender. Rodriquez had a wicked high kick. She watched him closely, waiting for her opening. She didn't want to break him, just put him on the mat. The instant his thigh muscles tensed, she darted in with a round house kick just above his knee. The second his balance was off, she spun around behind him. She jumped up and locked her ankles around his waist, her arms moving in for a rear choke hold. He clawed at her arms, but the sheen of sweat kept him from getting a good grip. It only took him 8 seconds to tap.
She released him quickly and sprang out of reach. Rodriquez watched her curiously. Penny walked to a bench and picked up her towel. She watched Rodriquez head toward the doors. She froze as he passed her. "Bowling Alley on 8th street," he mumbled softly. "7 pm. Don't be late." What was that about?
Penny checked her revolver before opening the door to bowling alley. She walked over to the counter and a perky redhead with a huge wad of gum bounced over.
"Hey. Welcome to Memory Lanes. What size shoe?"
Penny looked up to find Rodriquez approaching calmly. She gave the teen her shoe size who then found her a pair and handed them over.
"That'll be 4 bucks," she giggled, making goo-goo eyes at the handsome Hispanic.
"She's with me," he said coolly. The red head pouted as he took Penny's elbow and led her over to lane 11. He looked Penny over from head to toe and nodded approvingly at her jeans and Ramones t-shirt.
Penny took the bowling ball he handed her, surprised to find it was the right size. He smirked at her expression. "So, what's this all about?" She asked.
Rodriquez picked up his own bowling ball and stepped up to take his turn. They bowled in silence for 4 frames. Then he sat down beside Penny as she scored his latest roll. "I don't know how long you've had your memories. I also don't care," he said softly. "There's a traitor in the agency and I am convinced that's why you are back. You're here to find them. I want to help."
Penny stood and took her shot at the pins. She left the 4 and 7 pins standing, so she waited on the ball return, her mind working furiously. She lined up her shot and sent her ball down the lane. She walked back, staring into his eyes the entire time. Penny had always been a good judge of character. But she was also cautious and wary. It's why she had survived that life so long.
She sat back down and suppressed a twitch when he threaded his fingers through hers casually. "I don't have any idea what you are talking about," she said simply. "If you think there's a traitor, you know protocol. You go to the higher ups." She used her other hand to remove his fingers from hers. "And I don't fraternize. Ever."
Rodriguez's eyes flickered toward a group three lane away. Penny grinned. "You think I didn't see them come in? I've been tailed since I came back."
"I know," he said. "Which is why you and I are going to be spending a lot more time together." He stood to take his turn. "Because despite what you say, I know what I know." They finished their game while talking about innocuous things like movies, food, etc. When the game was over, they parted company.
Penny climbed into bed that night wondering if she dared trust the enigmatic man. She knew little about him, but her instincts told her to be wary. She couldn't afford to take chances, but she desperately needed to catch a break. The sooner she solved this, the sooner she got back to Sheldon.
Sheldon taped up the box in front of him, only paying scant attention to his Mom. She was reluctantly folding his clothes, while trying her utmost to talk him into not moving.
"Shelly, please talk to me. Explain to me why you are acting as you are!" Mary begged.
"Mom, I am acting in a sensible manner. The landlord was offered more money for 4B than Penny was paying and chose to allow Amy to move in, so I see no reason to stay here. I am no longer comfortable living in this apartment. I have found one closer to work, with acceptable neighbors. I believe Penny will like it, as well. Therefore, I am moving."
"Shelly Bean," Mary said sadly, "you keep talking like Penny is coming back. I don't understand how you can be so sure of that. You haven't heard from her, seen her, or had any letters or calls from her. If she cared about you, surely she would have at least sent a message to you in the last three weeks."
"Mary, I want to go home," Meemaw said as she joined them. "We came here because we were worried about Moon Pie. I am convinced he is doing what is best for him. It's time we left."
"Mother," Mary began with exasperation, "I'm not convinced. Shelly is at odds with his friends, he's clinging to some sort of relationship that may not exist…"
"Mom, I have never been comfortable with the casual way people touch each other," Sheldon said quietly. He looked up at his mom and grandmother with confidence. "It's different with Penny. I can touch her without discomfort. I actually relish being around her. I miss her very much. She would be here if she could. She will return. And until that time, I am content to wait."
Mary looked at her son and found she had no more arguments. Sheldon had always walked his own path. He did things his own way, in his own time. She sent up a silent prayer to God that Penny didn't break her little boy. Finally she moved forward and pulled him into a firm hug. "Okay, Shelly. I'll do things your way. But you call me if you need me."
Sheldon relaxed as much as possible and hugged her back. "Thank you, Mom."
Maybe it was cowardly on his part, but Sheldon decided not to tell Leonard and Amy he was moving until he had everything ready and a couple of large movers had transported his belongings. He had taken a personal day from work to supervise the move. Once everything was out of the apartment, he sat on his 0-0-0-0 one last time and waited on his former best friend and former girlfriend to come home. They had been fairly scarce the last two weeks. He suspected they were spending the majority of their time across the hall. He hoped they were finally realizing they were much more suited to each other than either of them had been to him or Penny.
The door opened and the couple stepped inside. He rose from his seat, mentally saying goodbye to the spot he had considered his exclusively. "Good afternoon Leonard and Amy." They looked at him suspiciously, since he had not spoken to either of them much lately.
"Hello," Amy said. trying to hide the hope she felt that maybe he was finally coming to his senses.
Sheldon jumped right to the point. "I have already talked to the landlord and paid up my half of our rent for the remaining two months of our lease. There is a check on the desk to cover my half of the utilities based on past expenses. I have already removed my belongings from the apartment. Goodbye." Sheldon moved toward the door but Amy jumped in front of him, her eyes wide with shock.
"Where are you going?" she asked frantically.
Sheldon clutched at his messenger bag strap and took a deep breath. "I have found a new abode for myself and Penny."
Leonard's shoulders slumped. "Penny is back? She's moving in with you?" Sheldon decided not to disabuse him of his assumption that Penny knew and approved. He was certain she would agree, after all. Leonard shook his head a bit. "I'll never forgive you for this Sheldon."
Sheldon looked at the two people standing before him. At one point life had been all mapped out for them all. Penny and Leonard would marry. Maybe they could have been happy, but he doubted it. Leonard was too jealous and the Penny of old too beaten down by failure. He and Amy would have married because it was expected of them, but she would have been miserable because of his lack of attraction to her, and he would have felt trapped by her expectations.
"Maybe you won't," he said softly. "I hope someday the both of you find your own happiness. Goodbye." He laid the key on Leonard's desk and walked out without another word. By the time he reached the lobby, he felt lighter. He had a future to look forward to. A future with Penny. He decided to visit the comic book shop. He had missed last comic book night because his mom insisted he spend more time with her since she and Meemaw were going home the next day.
Penny pounded her fists into the punching bag with fury. She hated this! She hated being away from Sheldon! She wanted so desperately to chuck this whole thing and go home! Sweat poured down her back, her lavender hair plastered to her neck and shoulders.
The door across the gym opened and Hector walked in. For two weeks Hector Rodriquez had made it a point to act as if they were getting closer. Before long rumors were flying about the two of them. She was still suspicious, but she didn't really see the point in correcting anyone. People were going to believe what they wanted to believe and she had more important things to worry about.
He walked over and handed her a towel before tucking her damp hair behind one ear. His eyes darted around the room before meeting hers. "Can we get out of here? I may have found something," he murmured softly.
Penny shrugged and headed to the showers. As she walked through the door, she passed Wheaton. He looked over her shoulder and smirked. "I'm surprised. I was sure that once you finally decided to come back into the fold you'd drag Cooper along with you. I guess he wasn't man enough to keep your attention after all," he laughed. He walked on into the gym leaving Penny to glare after him.
For a while Wil had made his own interest in her very clear and he hadn't been to thrilled to see Rodriquez staking a claim. Penny walked back to the shower stalls, feeling a bit confused. Something was nagging at her brain, but she couldn't figure out what it was.
Penny sipped her soda and watched Hector walk over to the table with their burgers. He really was a handsome man, but in her eyes, he was too broad shouldered, too muscular and his eyes weren't that sharp cerulean color she loved so much. Wheaton was way off. Sheldon was her ideal and that was all there was to it.
Hector sat down and passed her one of the plates. She picked up a couple of onion rings and smiled as the memory of her first ever fight with Sheldon popped into her brain. He looked at her curiously. "Thinking about him again?"
Penny sighed and nodded. Hector was insightful. He knew there was someone, but he didn't know who it was. "Yeah. I miss him," she replied softly.
Hector watched the woman he respected closely. He had heard so many stories about her from Kurt. Even before he had met her, he respected her. He knew the type of person she was, because he had respected Kurt, and trusted his judgment. He leaned in closer, giving the appearance of intimacy. "Someone has been tampering with the database," he said with a tender look. His eyes spoke of passion, but his words were all business. "Downloading the locations of deep cover operations and the names of go-betweens."
Penny reached over and fed him one of her onion rings. "How do you know?" she murmured.
"I was updating some old cases and found that my login was used while you and I were meeting with Thorny and Zack about the Tandle brief."
Penny kept her smile but her eyes flashed dangerously. "Who has your login?"
"No one below top management," he said confidently. "In fact, it was just changed eight days ago."
Penny tried to keep her attention on him, but that nagging feeling was bothering her. She leaned back and closed her eyes. She tuned out everything, even Hector. This was important. She could salvage their "date" later. What was it? Something….something….something….
Penny's eyes shot open and she found herself looking across the street, right into the very cerulean eyes she had been thinking off earlier. Sheldon looked at her and Hector with anger and disillusionment before turning and rushing away. "Holy crap on a cracker!"