Sarah meets the new nerd herd
Chapter 18
"Oh God, shoot me now," Zondra groaned as she met Sarah for their morning run.
"What?" Sarah asked, trying and failing to look innocent.
"I thought you were in a disgustingly good mood yesterday. I would have bet my favorite gun there was no way you could get more cheerful than that. How could I have been THIS wrong?" Zondra's gesture swept over Sarah from head to toe.
"My new team of fairy godmothers are just making up for the old one leaving me in the mud with third world gang bangers for two years," Sarah turned her nose up and tried to look haughty. "I think they're doing an entirely adequate job."
Zondra sucker punched her. Or tried to anyway. She wasn't putting much power behind it, intending the punch to do no more than knock a little of the cheerful out of Sarah, but her fist met nothing but air. Sarah followed through on her neat dodge with a playful shove, pushing Zondra over her extended leg and landing atop her. She bopped her on the nose very lightly, then rolled back to her feet, locking her hand around Zondra's wrist and bringing her to her feet as well.
"Intersect," Sarah explained. "It does a body good."
"What the hell did I ever do to deserve a friend like you?" Zondra muttered darkly.
"I understand I'm hell to put up with at the moment but I WILL pay off the huge tab I'm running with you, Zee," Sarah said seriously. "Antonia agreed to work something out for your security detail when I told her I wanted to be paid in Zondra protection, at least until you find a guy ready, willing, and able to put a smile on your face."
"Seriously?" Zondra was taken aback. "I thought you were just kidding about making that your top priority."
"I told her it was Zondra first, hypercar second. You KNOW how much I love cars so I'm as serious as a head shot," Sarah assured her.
"Alright, maybe I can put up with you for another day," Zondra conceded.
They ran mostly in silence, just enjoying each other's presence as they worked their legs and lungs. By the time they finished their run both women had settled down.
"Sorry for being such a bitch," Zondra apologized ruefully. "I guess I'm more jealous than I realized. It's tough when your hapless loser friend wins the lottery and gets crowned queen while you're still a jobless fugitive."
"I haven't forgotten what it felt like to be a hapless loser, Zee," Sarah replied soberly. "You'll always be my sister and you'll always be the baddest bitch I know. If I have my way you're going to be Charles Galois' sister-in-law and you KNOW what family means in this part of the world."
"Are you telling me I had sex with my future brother-in-law?" Zondra grimaced.
"Who hasn't?" Sarah snorted.
The women shared a heartfelt laugh, hugged, and parted as close as ever.
Sarah ended up spending the entire morning working on her shooting skills. It was hard at first to get Sarah Soldier front and center as she was still in an extremely playful mood after the exhilaration of the previous day's workout. Once she was in the groove, however, she completely lost herself in shooting while moving and honing her senses to correct her aim. She had to resist the urge to whine when Antonia told her it was an hour past their regular lunchtime. She REALLY wanted to try dodging bullets.
Antonia had thoughtfully had lunch delivered to the bunker and while they ate they discussed the mechanics of the shooting solution program and how it differed from more traditional marksmanship. Sarah had to admit she felt a lot of guilt over the ease with which her skills had taken such a huge leap. She respected the craft and the time great shooters put into refining their technique. Rendering them obsolete felt like a terrible betrayal. All the hard won knowledge gained by the blood and sweat of generations of fighting men and women made useless by some damn nerd. Where was the justice? Sarah Soldier hated Chuck for that. Sarah felt the conflict as the rest of her was all in on team nerd and ready to string Sarah Soldier up by her tits for hating on Chuck. She took a step back and weighed both sides of the conflict. In the end, traditional soldiering would never stand up to an intersect no matter what Sarah did. Sarah Soldier was an unsentimental pragmatist. She accepted defeat and laid aside all loyalty to less effective techniques on the battlefield.
"Do those deep thoughts have anything to do with training?" Antonia asked politely.
"Yeah, I was just thinking about how pissed the world's top snipers are going to be when they realize they're obsolete," Sarah admitted.
"I understand, it does seem unfair," Antonia said quietly. "On the other hand, guns are unfair to people who only have swords and steel is unfair to people who only have clubs. The world has reason to be grateful that the advantage is in the hands of a man like Charles."
Sarah thought about what the world would look like if the Intersect 3.0 were in the hands of the Ring and shuddered. There wasn't a shadow of a doubt in her mind that GMSP were the good guys in that struggle. With a grim smile she resolved to get back to work.
Remembering the Ring and the betrayals of Shaw and LaBarge helped her transition to Lisa. All too soon the dozen combat dummies Antonia had secured for Lisa's training were scattered in small pieces around the training room.
"I think we can consider the lethal combat module a success," Antonia noted as she surveyed the wreckage. "Normally we send these back to the factory for reconditioning but I don't think there's much point, do you?"
"No," Sarah admitted with some embarrassment. "I guess I got a little carried away."
They took a break, then finished their day with tactics training. Sarah had a blast with the simulations. It felt great to get Patricia more engaged than she'd been in years and when it was time to stop she felt another wave of disappointment.
"I understand, training in new intersect skills can be intoxicating," Antonia sympathized. "Don't worry, you will have plenty of time to explore them. I'd like to ask you a favor while you're still drunk, if I may?"
Sarah nodded warily.
"It would mean great deal to me if you would let our trip to Rome tomorrow be an overnight visit," Antonia came to the point directly. "I know asking you to spend a night apart from Charles is no small thing but seeing you so bright and giddy is reminding me that my own needs have been left unmet for longer than I would like."
"Are you saying you have a lover in Rome?" Sarah asked.
"Exactly so," Antonia acknowledged. "I don't wish to distract you with the sad tale of my own sexual misadventures but as a result of my history, I have to be very selective in my choice of partners."
"After all you've done for me, spending ONE night away is a small step on the road to repayment," Sarah said seriously. "Of course we can make it an overnighter."
Sarah broke the news to Chuck shortly after their salads arrived, "I've agreed to stay in Rome overnight tomorrow. Antonia has an itch that needs scratching."
"That's not a problem," Chuck replied easily. "I'll have no trouble finding a student or two eager to warm my bed."
Sarah's jaw dropped as her fork slipped from her fingers. Chuck chewed a mouthful of salad, completely oblivious. Then he looked up to meet her gaze and winked at her. She stood up and threw every roll in the bread basket at his head as hard and fast as she could.
"NOT funny," she blustered.
Chuck held up a hand with a small gap between his thumb and index finger, raising his eyebrows and lowering his head to gaze upward at her with big brown puppy dog eyes. Sarah glared down at him, unmoved, "No, not even a little funny."
"I guess I'll just have to keep vigil and spend the night on my knees in the chapel, praying for your forgiveness," Chuck relented sadly.
"Seems like kind of a waste," Sarah admitted reluctantly. "I'm not sure I like the idea of you wearing out your knees unless you're servicing me."
"I really WAS just trying to be playful," Chuck said earnestly.
"Pick up those rolls," Sarah grumped as she returned to her seat.
Chuck dutifully did as she asked. Sarah stared pensively at his ass every time he bent over. Her body began reacting and she had to close her eyes. When Chuck finally sat down again she opened them.
"Sorry I'm so touchy," Sarah apologized. "It's just that you're kind of a big deal and I'm really sensitive to how much I do NOT deserve your attention."
Chuck was instantly kneeling at her side. He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.
"You are Sarah. Fucking. Walker," Chuck whispered urgently into her ear. "If you could only see yourself through my eyes, you'd understand how much you DO deserve my attention. Let go of what you've done. Focus on discovering who you are. I promise you're going to amaze the hell out of yourself. Enjoy the journey and know I'll always be here for you and no one else."
"No sleeping with students when I'm away?" Sarah pouted.
"I've never bedded a student and I never will," Chuck answered solemnly. "Not even if she's a consenting adult and you beg me to because it totally excites you."
Sarah giggled at the idea. She pulled his face to hers and gave him a lingering kiss. Then she pushed his face away and stared deeply into his eyes.
"Fine. It was a LITTLE funny," she admitted reluctantly.
Chuck kissed her tenderly and gave her one last squeeze before returning to his seat. The mood through the rest of dinner was a bit awkward. Sarah found herself thinking about Chuck's failed attempt to tease her. There was no way a man like Chuck would ever have sex with a student. The idea was absurd. Hitting on a woman you had authority over was sexual harassment, pure and simple. That was something a scumbag like Shaw might do but despite his man whoring, she'd never heard the whisper of a rumor that Chuck had ever been disrespectful to a woman. As she unpacked her reaction Sarah realized that the only reason she hadn't seen he was teasing immediately was that her fears had shut down any rational thought process. There were plenty of beautiful young women brimming with promise and unspoiled by past mistakes or emotional baggage who would eagerly take her place. Why on earth would Chuck stay committed to her? He told her he couldn't help loving her but surely once he got all the pent up yearning he'd built up as her asset out of his system he'd move on.
That was why she was so grateful he let her join GMSP, she realized. After the inevitable happened and he dumped her, she could continue to be part of his team. So why had she felt guilty that he was shutting down his sanctuary? Why had she wanted to continue sharing him with other women? Where was her insecurity then? As she pondered this Sarah realized that she was hoping to become a long term affair. Keeping him all to herself was never going to last but maybe she could become one of his favorite side pieces if she didn't disrupt his life too much. Chuck's urgent whisper resounded in her mind, "I'll always be here for you and no one else." He didn't want her to be his obedient little bed warmer like she'd been for Shaw. He wasn't using her to put old ghosts to bed. He didn't want her to be ONE of his favorite flavors. Despite her catastrophic mistakes and the mountain of baggage from her fucked up childhood, he saw something in her that convinced him she DESERVED to be his one and only permanently. Impossible. There was no conceivable universe in which that could possibly be true. Something must have gone seriously wrong with his brain.
As she started in on her dessert she cast a critical eye over her companion. Charles Galois, the living legend, burped discreetly into his napkin. He was only human, of course he could be mistaken. He was blinded by an ideal woman in his mind who she could never possibly live up to. He was a poor deluded sap. But something about that description rang false. She remembered his unflattering comments on what she was like when she hid from her emotions. He knew her better than she knew herself then. If he saw something in her which she considered impossible, which of the two of them was more likely to be wrong? The answer was blindingly obvious. He told her to let go of the past, which was where all her mistakes and baggage lived. Could she really just let go and have it no longer be a living part of her?
Suddenly a vision appeared in her mind. It was herself freed from all the spy rules that had become her religion. Free to laugh, free to love, free to play. Dear Lord she was beautiful. Tears of joy streamed down her face.
"Sarah, what's wrong?" Chuck asked urgently.
"I think I saw her," Sarah said as the vision in her mind faded to be replaced by a worried Chuck. "I think I saw what I look like through your eyes. She was amazing."
"Close your eyes," Chuck ordered softly but firmly. "Find her again."
Sarah felt Chuck's arms lift her out of her chair and carry her. What did she look like again? Her vision came back quickly. She was in her adult body but she was scrambling up the climbing wall with Sam's enthusiasm. She was shooting with Sarah Soldier's supernatural accuracy. She was fighting with Lisa's intensity and truly terrifying. She was calmly quarterbacking a raid gone sideways, helping her team adjust, adapt and succeed with Patricia's cool confidence. She was making love to a living legend and giving him the grace to be a dorky nerd with insecurities whenever he needed to be.
When they got back to the suite, Sarah pushed Chuck onto a chair and found some classical burlesque music. She forbade him to use his hands and treated him to the sauciest strip tease she could imagine, ending in an energetic lap dance.
"Wow," Chuck panted. "I thought I'd be sleeping on the couch tonight. I certainly didn't see THIS coming."
"Silly boy," Sarah replied playfully. "Like I'm going to make you pay for MY insecurities."
"You truly deserve to have me kneel in an all night vigil praying for your return," Chuck said, awed. "But since you insist I only kneel for you under one condition, I'll have to offer my vigil tonight."
Chuck's vigil didn't last ALL night but when she finally begged him to stop Sarah had absolutely no doubt about the depth of his devotion.
"Rough night?" Antonia asked when Sarah met her at the car for their trip to Rome.
"Long, yes. Rough? Not so much," Sarah replied with a blissful smile.
Antonia just shook her head in disbelief, then slid into the driver's seat of her experimental sports car. Sarah stowed her overnight bag and took the shotgun position. Like most soldiers, Sarah could sleep instantly almost anywhere. She was lightly snoring within sixty seconds of securing her seat belt. Antonia mercifully let her sleep for most of the trip.
Sarah awoke when they reached the outskirts of Rome. She was fascinated by the mixture of ancient and modern construction. There was no mistaking the modernism of the quirky architecture that made up the imposing cluster of buildings on the Galois Media main campus. The center was a large sculpture garden. She was a bit surprised when they passed the main parking structure until Antonia turned into a small drive labeled 'Executive Parking.' The door opened automatically for her and Antonia pulled into a spot reserved for special projects near the elevators. The elevator identified Antonia and she told it to take them to special projects reception. Sarah was surprised to feel the elevator taking them down rather than up.
When they exited into a very plush lobby, a receptionist who probably moonlighted as a model welcomed them and ushered them into a conference room. Sarah recognized the slightly awkward figure of Orion as he came forward to greet them.
"Welcome Antonia! Sarah it's good to see you again," Stephen Bartowski said warily. "Let me introduce you to my analytics team."
A man with generic Northern European features including brown hair with a slight wave, blue eyes and a straight nose stepped forward.
"This is Yakko, he analyzes blogs, message boards and other social media," Stephen said.
"Wow, this is incredible!" Yakko enthused as he clasped her hand and pumped her arm. "Who could have predicted we'd be welcoming the Spookbomber into our little family? Sorry to be such a fanboy but I'm literally going to be bouncing off the walls until you tell me who was really behind the bombing. Conspiracy nuts have no consensus theory whatsoever."
"It was an internal CIA strike," Sarah replied dryly. "I was set up as the patsy by a guy who was himself the patsy of a rogue faction in the intelligence community."
"Oh my GOD!" Yakko looked like he was on the verge of an orgasm or an aneurysm. "That is SO crazy! I would owe you HUGE if could find the time to fill me in on the details."
Stephen tugged on Yakko's arm to save Sarah from further questions. A short, overweight, balding middle aged man who looked like the Italian version of David Suchet's Hercule Poirot stepped forward.
"This is Wakko, he analyzes financial and political data," Stephen said as the neat little man stepped forward to capture her hand and plant a respectfully dry kiss on her fingers.
"An absolute pleasure," Wakko said politely. "I too must admit a desire to hear as much of your story as you care to share. There is a puzzling lack of urgency surrounding the search for you after the incident. I'm sure you will make a wonderful addition to our team."
Wakko bowed and returned to his seat. Next up was a hulking Slavic man who looked like he should be beating up shopkeepers for the Russian mob.
"This is Hakko, he analyzes computer infrastructure," Stephen noted as the brutish man stepped forward and carefully clasped her hand.
"Welcome," Hakko said simply in the deep bass voice she had been expecting. "I have great admiration for your Charles and he speaks highly of you. I'm glad you are part of the team."
"And last but never least in anything except height, this is Dot," Stephen smiled fondly as a tiny Korean woman shyly stepped forward. "She maintains all of our Artificial Intelligence systems and is a prodigy at identifying patterns in any kind of data."
"Hi Sarah," Dot said with genuine affection as she hugged her. "We're so lucky to have you with us in Special Projects. I really hope we can be friends."
As they found seats at the table Sarah was shocked to see her mentor suffer an attack of shyness after making a beeline to an empty seat next to Wakko.
"Hi Wakky," Antonia said, her eyes only occasionally daring to rest on the man as her fingers unconsciously kneaded the back of her chair. "I've missed you," she confessed in a throaty whisper.
"My sweet, sweet Toni," Wakko replied fondly. He hugged her and gave her a short but very affectionate kiss. "It does my heart good to see you still shaming the sun. I am, of course, completely at your disposal at a moment's notice should your protege find herself otherwise occupied."
Antonia swayed slightly and Sarah stepped forward quickly, afraid she might be about to faint. Antonia quickly got hold of herself and took her seat as Sarah took the empty chair on her other side.
Without further preamble, Stephen launched into an overview of the shape of the world according to special projects analytics. Sarah was able to recognize the geopolitical dimension from her years with the CIA but there were other dimensions that were a complete revelation. She realized with a sinking feeling that there was an economic dimension to the Ring that was still completely intact and more than capable of replacing the two elders they had captured, given time.
After a much needed break from mind expanding revelations, Dot led a session covering the mechanics of information based intersect implants. They were fundamentally different from skills based implants in that they enabled the analysts to assimilate information in new ways. Information updates could then be transmitted by a much simpler and less invasive device. The analysts typically got an update in the evening and integrated it during sleep. Dot explained how she created programs that allowed the analysts to create a metainformation baseline and would alert them when their information systems picked up significant deviations so they could jump in and start assimilating updates in real time. Even though Dot's presentation was meant to be a broad outline Sarah felt she understood roughly half of it.
Lunch was very nice but it made Sarah realize how spoiled the academy was making her. She decided she was going to have to schedule a training cycle of fasting and field rations just to keep her palate capable of roughing it. She found herself watching Wakko and Antonia in fascination. Antonia's beauty and charisma made her expect if she fell for anyone it would be Chuck's much more handsome and successful older brother. Wakko was well-groomed, polite and clearly talented but definitely not the kind of man she could see any woman getting lovesick over. Antonia seemed self-conscious about her behavior but that didn't stop her from staying as close to him as possible fawning over him like a crushing schoolgirl.
"Not what you expected Antonia's ideal man to look like, is it?" Dot said quietly.
"I would never have expected her to get so gaga over any guy," Sarah replied in a low voice. "But you're right. Wakko doesn't look like the kind of guy a woman could swoon over. Does he have a secret weapon in the bedroom perhaps?"
"Sort of," Dot whispered back. "He's the only person known to be immune to Antonia's bedroom superpower."
"What's her superpower?" Sarah was perplexed. She thought Antonia's superpower was reading people. She could see how that could make sex better but it didn't exactly seem like a superpower.
"Not my story to tell, you'll have to ask her," Dot replied as she got up to return to the buffet table.
Sarah watched Dot idly and when she saw that the woman sit down far from her she picked up her plate and walked over to sit beside her.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pump you for information about my mentor," Sarah apologized quietly. "I really would like to get to know you better and to be your friend. All my other women friends are hardened field operatives so I'm not exactly sure how."
"I don't really have friends so I can't advise you," Dot admitted sadly. "The closest I ever came to having a friend was my mentor."
"Stephen?" Antonia guessed.
"No, Charles," Dot corrected her. "He's the big brother I never had. I guess a big part of why I want to be your friend is because you're important to him which makes you important to me."
"I've got it!" Sarah was hit by a sudden inspiration. "Let's have a pajama party!"
"What's that?" Dot frowned. She quickly punched the term into her phone. She frowned at the results and looked up at Sarah uncertainly, "Are you asking me if I want to have sex with you?"
"Not at all," Sarah laughed softly. "Not that I find you unattractive or anything. The pajama party is an old ritual where girls get together to gossip and share secrets late into the night. The sexual experimentation is more of an adolescent thing and a favorite trope for pornographers."
"I see," Dot caught on quickly. "So would we do this in your room or mine?"
"That depends on how much you want to share" Sarah replied.
Dot took a deep breath and said, "My room. I'm not good at sharing but I'd like to try."
Sarah hugged her new friend whispering into her ear, "Thank you. I promise to be worthy of your trust."
Lunch was breaking up and people were already drifting back to the conference room. The next item on the agenda was an introduction to Sarah. Antonia started, going into detail about the strengths she saw in Sarah and why she wanted her as part of special projects. Sarah found herself blushing as Antonia praised her tradecraft and her bravery. Then it was Sarah's turn to tell her own story which she did in detail, savagely breaking every rule she learned in the CIA about keeping everything real hidden. She found that it was much harder than she expected. Those old reflexes were still stronger than she realized but when she stumbled, her audience was very understanding. They seemed to grasp why she was struggling and appreciate the trust she was showing. She gave particular attention to her entire relationship with Shaw and everything leading up to the bombing.
Rather than continue her story, Sarah made the spontaneous decision to take questions as she could see Yakko looked like he was about to wet himself in his excitement. The question and answer session was lively and Sarah invited Antonia to weigh in as well. They ended up going an hour past the time scheduled but Sarah learned as much about the analysts understanding of the Ring as they did about her experience.
They took a short break and Stephen decided it was more important to let Sarah continue her story from the bombing to the present. A short question and answer session followed but the analysts did their best to keep it as short as possible. After that, each analyst gave a short history of themselves, starting with Stephen. The only surprise to Sarah in his story was the knowledge that Chuck's mother was still in the wind. They had compiled a number of promising leads but decided not to follow up on them so they could focus on the struggle against the Ring.
Yakko was from Poland and had been running a freelance troll farm but was under pressure to accept an exclusive relationship contracting with the Russians. Chuck's offer to hire him as a special projects analyst and absorb his people into Galois Media's regular operations was gratefully accepted. Wakko was an Italian investment banker wholly absorbed in his craft. When his bank lost the bulk of the personal wealth of a prominent Sicilian Capo, his jealous colleagues made him the scapegoat. Chuck not only helped him disappear, he also engineered the release of evidence of the framing of Wakko. The Capo pulled the original contract on Wakko and placed a contract of double the value on the executive responsible because no one gets away with making a fool of a Capo. Hakko was a Bulgarian hacker who managed to crack a particularly sensitive cache of CIA data. Chuck had been monitoring his activity and stopped him before he could extract anything. He abducted Hakko and offered to erase all evidence of the hack if he joined special projects. Hakko quickly realized the consequences of the alternative and gratefully accepted Chuck's offer. Finally, Dot was originally from North Korea. She managed to catch the eye of an RGB officer with fairly pedestrian tastes. She was his dutiful girl-concubine long enough to be relocated to his lair in Macau where she engineered his downfall and found work in a casino. Chuck found her there and was struck by her uncanny ability to gather tips without falling prey to the sex trade.
After dinner, Sarah brought her things to Dot's residence and told Stephen and Antonia she wouldn't need the room that had been arranged for her after all. She thoroughly enjoyed sharing all the silly traditions of an American slumber party with her new friend even though she had no more experience of them than Dot did. It wasn't until late in the evening that things started to get real.
"Part of me wishes you were spending the rest of your life in a CIA prison after the way you treated Charles," Dot blurted suddenly, then reddened and looked down, ashamed of her admission.
"I can understand that," Sarah reassured her. "I destroyed a very good, sweet man whose only crime was giving me the trust I asked for. He loved me even though he knew some of the awful things I did. I didn't deserve his love then and I CERTAINLY don't deserve it now."
She heaved a huge sigh before continuing, "Somehow Chuck still sees good in me and still thinks that even after every fucked up thing I've done I can still be worth loving. The very least I can do for him is to put every ounce of effort I can muster into living up to the potential he sees in me."
Dot gasped in surprise, her eyes wide. Then she burst into tears and hugged Sarah tight, saying, "I'm so sorry. I didn't see it. The courage it takes to let go of your guilt. You're my hero."
"Thank you, Dot," Sarah replied sincerely, hugging her back just as tightly. "Thank you for accepting me as a friend in spite of the horrifying mistakes I've made."
"I've never told someone I cared about something I didn't like about them before," Dot whispered.
"Thank you for trusting me enough to do that. I want to be someone you can be honest with," Sarah replied encouragingly. After they finally let go of each other she added, "Speaking of trust, I still don't understand what made you decide to accept Chuck's offer. Yakko, Wakko, and Hakko were all running from something. It seems to me like you were doing fine at the casino."
"When Charles first approached me I was terrified," Dot admitted. "I could tell that he was aware of my actions in a way that no one had ever been before in my life. For the first time in my life I felt completely exposed. If he had made a demand of me I would have complied immediately. Instead he was very gentle and reassured me that he was only curious. He asked me general questions about how I did what I did in a way that couldn't incriminate me and I found myself really enjoying discussing it with someone for the first time ever. When he got up to leave he gave me his card and told me to give him a call if I ever wanted to find a place in a world larger than the casino. It took me three more days in the casino before it felt like a cage I could no longer bear to be trapped in. I called him and he picked me up the next day."
"I know this might be a tough question to hear but it's the first thing I wonder about. Did your relationship with Charles ever get sexual?" Sarah asked.
"No, it never even occurred to me at the time. Afterward I did wonder what it would have been like," Dot giggled. "It's only recently that I've come to understand that people have sex for pleasure or for love. For me it was always a male need that females satisfied as a transaction."
"Well if you ever want to attend a party, I'll be happy to be your wingwoman," Sarah promised.
"I'm not sure what that is but I've never really considered socializing before," Dot replied. "With a friend to help me understand it from a regular person's perspective it might actually be fun."
They spent a bit more time being silly together without shame before settling into the same bed and going to sleep side by side.
The next morning was similar to the previous one but with the roles reversed. Sarah was happy to take her turn behind the wheel and let Antonia catch up on her sleep. She had to admit Antonia had a VERY sweet ride.