As Shawn and Sarah biked off into the night, both wary of each other's secrets but not yet ready for a confrontation, Sarah heard her earbud crackle to life.

"Walker, I ran a check on this Shawn Spencer character. It appears to be his real name, either that or he's been using this identity for a really long time. For the past thirteen years he's been touring the country doing various odd jobs. Never stays in one place for too long, but he also hasn't been making any attempts to slip under the radar. Seems our boy likes to get himself noticed - he's had two television gigs, is listed as a foot and ankle model, spearheaded a political campaign in Texas, and most recently he's set up shop as a 'psychic detective' in his alleged hometown of Santa Barbara. Seems he's finally settled down for the first time in his life."

Sarah pondered what such a history could possibly mean. Was Shawn on the run? If so, he was practically teasing his assailant, what with all of his high-profile escapades. And then Sarah had a second, more worrying thought. Despite the nature of some of his activities, Shawn's resumé seemed strangely familiar... it sort of reminded Sarah of her own.

Could it be? Sarah had spent her career hopping from cover job to cover job - she had woken up with a new name in a new city practically every week. Operation Bartowski was the first time in years that she had been stationed in one place for more than a month or two. Shawn's history seemed eerily parallel.

"Casey, how long has Spencer been running this 'psychic detective agency'?" Sarah took advantage of the roar of the motorbike and prayed Spencer didn't hear her speak.

"Since July 2006. Almost three years now." Three years. That was how long Sarah had been Chuck's handler as part of Operation Bartowski. She hoped against hope that this was all just one big incredibly improbable coincidence, but she doubted it.

"SARAH, DID YOU SAY SOMETHING?" Her train of thought was broken as Shawn called out from behind her.

"I SAID, I HOPE YOU LIKE CHINESE FOOD." And with that, Sarah slowed the bike to a halt and hopped off after Shawn, ignoring his offer to help her down, and the unlikely pair entered the Bamboo Dragon restaurant together.

-------

Shawn tried not to show how on edge he was as a petite Asian woman showed them to their table.

"So Sarah, tell me. What does a pretty girl like you like to do when she's not serving yogurt that's full of delicious flavor?"

"If you're really psychic, shouldn't you already know?"

"Touché." If Shawn wasn't slightly terrified of this girl, he might actually sort of like her. "I'm sensing that you're the adventurous type. You don't just park yourself in front of the TV screen when you get off work..." Spencer was going out on a limb here, but Sarah hadn't made any indication that she had recognized him from American Duos or his brief stint on a popular telenovela. "... and I'm sensing you do some kind of martial art?" Sarah's hands were not the delicate hands of a lady who served frozen yogurt all day - they were littered with small scars and calluses from repeatedly applying protective tape. A small scar above her left eyebrow confirmed his suspicions.

Sarah feigned a giggle. "Wow, you're really not messing with me. You actually are psychic."

"Do I look like I would lie to you?" Shawn looked up at Sarah with puppy-dog eyes.

Behind Sarah, Shawn watched as the waitstaff flitted expertly from table to table. To many guests, the members of this army of small Asian women would all look the same, with their matching black vests over crisp white shirts. But Shawn could easily pick out the differences: the one emptying off the table in the rear of the restaurant had small dimples framing her smile. The one pouring water at the table adjacent to theirs was wearing much more eye makeup than she needed to. The one who had delivered their menus was shy, with her hair practically covering her eyes. And the one who was approaching their table and would be their server for the evening... Shawn slowly looked up, taking in inch by inch the thin 6'4" figure that towered over him. Their server was neither petite, female, nor Asian. In fact, he was the same employee that he had seen Sarah with earlier at the Buy More.