CHAPTER:

The fog crawled along the street in tendrils, wrapping itself around the people who walked in near darkness, the street lamps glowing yellow but not filtering through to the cobblestones beneath their feet.

"Cold." Leonard muttered into his coat collar.

"I told you to stay at home." Sheldon sneered, taking in the street in front of them.

"Are you sure this is it?" Penny whispered, huddling close to Sheldon, her coat wrapped tightly around her.

"The China Rose." Wolowitz hissed, "This has to be it."

"You said that last time." Raj muttered, taking another nip from his flask.

"Well, there are only six places in town that could fit, and we've already checked the other five." Howard muttered back.

Sheldon glared at all of them. "You three wait here with the car. Penny and I will go in."

"Why does Penny get to go?" Leonard whined.

"Because we're undercover." Sheldon replied with a snap. "And she's the only other person with a gun. Furthermore, I don't trust her."

Penny rolled her eyes. "So what's my 'part' honey? Am I your secretary, your girl, your long suffering wife?"

"I don't really care." He replied, taking her arm and pulling her into the mist towards the establishment.

Penny smirked and tightened her gloved hand around the arm that was pulling her forward, adding an extra sway to her hips and straightening out her back. Girlfriend it was.

"How does he DO that?" Howard hissed.

Leonard shrugged glumly. "He doesn't even notice."

"Cute couple." Raj announced. "I wonder if they will kill each other one day."

"I think you've had enough sauce." Leonard replied. "But I'd be willing to bet on it."

~S~

They pushed through the door and then paused, adjusting to the light. Penny was clinging to his arm in a way that strongly suggested she'd been in his bed last night, peering up at him through artificially darkened eyelashes.

He gave her a look that implied she was laying it on a little thick and then made his way to an empty booth. "We'll sit here."

"Sure babe, whatever you say." She sighed sweetly, turning her back to him and shrugging off her coat into his waiting hands.

When she turned around to face him, her eyebrow was raised, and her lips were pulled together in a sassy pout. She held his gaze as she slid into the booth, then patted the seat next to her.

He shrugged off his own coat and laid them both across the opposite seat than sat beside her, looking around the room, but speaking to her out of the corner of his mouth. "Not much to that dress, is there? Or did you just forget to put it on."

She fluffed her hair and leaned towards him with a smile, "The less clothing I'm wearing, the less likely anyone will look at my face and possibly recognize me." She hissed into his ear, and pinching him viciously under the table.

It hurt like hell but his face remained impassive, his blue eyes cold. "Sweetheart, I can guarantee you nobody is looking at your face." His own eyes flickered briefly over her.

She leaned in again, "so what do we do now?"

"We order dinner, and see what comes with it."

"A side order of intrigue?" She guessed.

"Indigestion more likely." He sighed. The waiter came over to their table and he ordered for them both, then leaned back with his arm along the back of the booth, just above her shoulders, and a bored look on his face.

She noticed several men on the other side of the room leering at her and leaned into his side, her face turned up at his. "Is that a gun in your pocket or are you happy to see me?"

"How original." He muttered out of the side of his mouth. She pinched him again, and he gave her a look of annoyance.

"They're staring at me." She whispered.

His lips smirked, and he tilted his head towards her, his lips brushing over her ear, his fingers sliding over her jaw... "You shoulda thought of that when you put on that dress. Don't be a ninny." His voice was cold.

"You're made of ice." She hissed with a smile.

"And you're more venom than sugar, doll, that's why you're here, remember." He placed a finger on the tip of her nose.

There was a cough, and they both looked up to see a rather large man in a grey suit glaring down at them. "Did you bring it?"

"You'll have to be more specific than that." Sheldon replied in a bored tone.

"Don't get smart." The man growled.

"I am smart. I have an IQ unmeasurable by standard tests." Sheldon shook his head. "Your message was intercepted, that's why I'm here, you'll need to repeat the message." He said suddenly, his arm sliding around Penny's shoulders, his hand caressing her arm. "My girl's case was stolen last week, some vagabond." He muttered.

"I want the shoes. You have forty eight hours. Now get out, you've been here long enough."

Sheldon shrugged and stood up, he was as tall as the man in front of them but much thinner. He reached for their coats and helped a silent Penny into hers before sliding his own on. "Tell the cook to cancel our order, I'm sure he'll understand." His hand slid down over Penny's lower back and over her butt. "These women take so much," he paused and leered down at her, "energy."

The man smirked, and Sheldon pushed Penny out of the restaurant and down the sidewalk, pulling her into the first alley and covering her mouth his his hand.

They stood in the dark, waiting. Listening.

Penny was glaring at him over his hand, but he had his face tilted, his eyes searching for something.

"Are you sure that was him?"

The voice was clear, and coming from down the alley a bit below them, a door had opened, two men stepped out.

"It was her, and he gave the signal." The other voice replied.

Sheldon pressed closer to her, the voices were drawing nearer.

"Do you trust him?"

"Nope, but I'd like to get a handful of her." The voice laughed harshly.

Penny's fingernails dug into Sheldon's wrist and she yanked his hand away, but Sheldon pressed his mouth to hers and she forgot what she was going to say to the jerks when they passed.

His lips were surprisingly soft, and he cradled her head in both his hands, his body pressing her to the wall, his hat shielding their faces from the sight of the two men when the passed by, laughing and whistling.

He kissed her until their voices and footsteps had faded, and then he abruptly let her go, and stepped away. "The sign must have been when I touched your nose. Interesting." He wandered out into the street. "Aren't you coming Penny?" He turned and glanced back at her.

She gaped at him than sighed. "I should shoot you."

"You already did." He reminded her. "But you missed."

"I didn't miss, I wasn't aiming at you." She reminded him.

He ignored her and climbed into the car, where the other three were sitting, waiting.

"So how did it go?" Leonard asked, staring the motor.

Sheldon looked thoughtful. "Well." He said simply.

"That's it, no details?" Howard protested.

Penny studied her gloves.

Sheldon's face was blank. "Penny is better at kissing then acting, and her rear is quite pleasing, and a very large man wants her shoes." He glanced back. "Did I leave anything out?"

She glared at him. "Just the gun in your pocket."

"Oh yes." There was a ghost of a smile on his face. "Have I shown you my new Enfield revolver Wolowitz? It just arrived the other day."