AN: So, I quit my job to travel parts of the world. This gave me an idea for a Chuck fic. And here we are. I will try to update once per week. I have a few chapters written already. Chapters will be on short side. Story should be 20k words at least. Please enjoy and review.
Chapter 1
Egypt
Pyramids of Giza
Mid-March
"For me?" Chuck asks, surprised by the turn of events.
The robed man in front of him nods vigorously and shoves the carved wooden pyramid into his hands. Chuck smiles and bows slightly in thanks before taking a minute to compare the miniature in his hand to the massive world wonder in front of him. The pyramids of Giza are striking. It is early in the day, so the suffocating crowds have not yet arrived. Chuck has most of the area on his side of the first pyramid to himself. As it is the beginning of spring, there is a chill in the air, especially when the breeze rushes in.
Chuckling slightly at the improbability of being given a pyramid sculpture by a stranger, he puts the trinket into his backpack and continues wandering around. After a few hundred feet, he stops to take a selfie that shows all three engineering feats over his shoulder. The first two attempts aren't great, but the third try does the trick.
Shouting from behind draws his attention. It is the man who gave him the replica, along with two other men. They are hurrying in his direction, shouting and gesticulating. He turns around but doesn't see anything. Confused, he walks towards them to offer his help. Soon, they are upon him, and it quickly becomes clear they are yelling at him, not some invisible being behind him.
Chuck doesn't speak Arabic. He cannot understand why they are angry. Eventually, he catches the word "statue". They want their pyramid statue back, he assumes. Chuck shrugs his bag over his shoulder, unzips the front pouch, and takes out the pyramid. When he tries to give it back to them, they push his hand away.
"Here, take it back. I'm sorry if you weren't giving it to me," he says, again trying to return the stressful object. They still refuse. When they continue shouting, he understands the words "pay" and "hundred"
Chuck's eyebrows rise on recognition. "You want money for it? A hundred pounds? Ok," he agrees, reaching into his pocket for his wallet.
"No, dollars," the pyramid man says.
Chuck's shoulders sag and his face blanches. "I don't have a hundred dollars on me. I am sorry. Please just take back the statue," he says, his voice straining at the difficulty of being in a situation where he can't properly communicate.
The next word he understands is "police". They are going to call the police over. His heart leaps into his throat and he fights to swallow it back down. Convinced he is about to be arrested in a foreign country, Chuck's mind goes into a panic trying to remember what he read on the internet about these situations. But all he can come up with are horror stories like Amanda Knox's. Who will play him in the made-for-tv movie, he wonders.
Just as all hope is lost, someone saves him. A tall woman wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a light blue headscarf pushes herself into the middle of the conversation. She begins arguing with the men. Well, Chuck assumes they are arguing, but when you are frazzled like he is, any foreign language would probably seem angry. The men gesture at him and then so does the woman. Finally, the woman turns around and grabs the statue out of his hand. She also takes the one hundred pound note he retrieved earlier when he misunderstood what they were asking. His savior gives both items to the men, puts her hands on her hips, and stands there waiting for something. The men try to stare her down, but then they just throw their hands up, mutter something in Arabic, and storm off.
Chuck is perplexed by the turn of events. His perplexion morphs into confoundment when the woman just walks away in the direction from which she came. What is happening, he wonders. Finally gaining back some of his wits, he hurries after his savior.
"Hey," he calls out as he jogs up behind her. She is walking really fast. "What was that? What did you say?"
She doesn't stop moving, but she yells a response over her shoulder. "Don't take anything from the locals. Don't take a picture with them. Don't pet their camels. They will say it is no problem and then come at you for money."
Something about her response strikes Chuck. He jogs faster until he is well in front of her. Once at an acceptable distance, he turns and begins walking backwards so he can face her. "You're American," he says excitedly, smiling.
She gives him a penetrating look, and her beauty finally smacks him upside the head. Her scarf highlights the deep blue of her eyes and wisps of blond hair peek out the sides of her scarf.
"I could be Canadian," she says, and Chuck has no idea why. Then he remembers his previous statement. His smile dims.
"Oh…are you?" he asks quietly, feeling properly chastised.
Her face falls a bit as she says, "Well, no, but you shouldn't assume." She tries hard to regain her look of righteous indignation, and it tickles Chuck from the inside. He barks out a laugh and falls into step beside his hero.
"I'm American too," he chirps, thrusting his hand in front of him. "I'm Chuck."
She slows down but doesn't stop. After a wary glance, she shakes his hand. Belatedly, he hopes they aren't too sweaty. He sweats when he freaks out, and the pyramid situation definitely warranted a freak out.
"And you are…," he leads.
"Someone who just stopped you from getting scammed," she answers, blocking his attempt.
Chuck shakes his head and runs a stressed hand through his hair. "Heh, yea, thanks for that by the way. I was convinced I was about to be mincemeat in an Egyptian jail."
She laughs at his joke but does not offer anything else. Unwilling to let the meeting end, Chuck continues to walk beside her. "So, you here alone?" he asks before his brain can tell him not to.
"Crap, don't answer that. What a creepy thing for me to say. I just meant that I am here by myself and was wondering if we have that in common. I am not some predator waiting to push you into a van," he rambles. He is relieved to see a small smirk of amusement on her face.
"Are you on drugs," she jokes.
Chuck gapes at the boldness. "What? No! I just have a foot in mouth disease, especially around beautiful women. My sister has been working to treat it for years. She's a doctor. Perhaps I inspired her towards the field," he says, looking over at her with a grin. She looks back at him and laughs. He hopes she didn't register the 'beautiful woman' comment, or ignores it at the very least. He demonstrates his disease even as he tries to explain it, what are the odds.
His savior looks back forward and kicks up a few rocks as they continue to walk. "Funny, but to answer your question, I am here by myself. Today is my last day in town, and I have some unusual free time," she explains.
"Oh, well that is nice for you. I just got here yesterday. Still a bit jet lagged," he says, weirdly sad to hear that this stranger is leaving so soon.
They continue on in silence for a few moments while Chuck musters the courage to ask his question. It finally arrives, and he tries to affect a totally unconcerned tone, "So…since we're both alone, would you want to be alone together? Hang out here at the pyramids together?"
He isn't looking at her, he can't or his nervousness would be too evident. But he can see out of the corner of his eye that she whipped her head around to look at him, surprise on her face.
He continues quickly, trying to play it cool. "I mean, I have great selfie arms," he jokes, holding his arms in a selfie pose to demonstrate how long they are. He also makes a ridiculous face as if he is really taking a photo. She laughs like he hoped she would. "But it is nice to have someone else to take a photo for you. Plus, I would enjoy the company."
He stays quiet, but his body is tensely coiled waiting for her response. It finally comes.
"Sure, why not," she says in a light and amused voice.
"Awesome," Chuck says loudly, doing a little victory fist pump. She pushes him away playfully to show how crazy she thinks he is.
They turn the corner around one of the pyramids, and Chuck begins to admire the view of the Sahara behind the pyramids contrasted with the hectic city of Cairo on the other side.
"Sarah," she says out of the blue.
Chuck is surprised. "Huh?" he asks.
She bumps her shoulder with his. "My name is Sarah."
He grins full bore. "Nice to meet you, Sarah."
