Buy More – Burbank, CA – October 9th 2007, 10:30 am
A handful of days had passed since Zarnow had been eliminated. Ellie's mood, while not great had eased. Chuck was wondering when his actual first mission would be. The CIA and NSA would want to utilize the Intersect for something more than reading reports and commenting.
There was some adjusting to do with Casey working and living next door like he did, but things were easing in for him too. Chuck and Casey had developed...well it was something. Casey would make a dig at Chuck and Chuck would take it sometimes dishing it back out.
Chuck was playing the awkward nerd; it felt like a warm blanket for him. The closer the truth, the easier the lie and he really wasn't fond of his agent personas anyways. Ellie was playing overbearing sister as their plan dedicated.
He had filled the last few weeks with nailing down his surveillance infiltration, writing code after running his key stroke scrambler, and wishing he could spar or shoot or do something with his nervous energy. Running had been his only outlet. He was chomping at the bit for some action. Instead, what he got from Sarah and Casey were reports to read and provide insight on.
In an even lower blow, his substitute for action was the large task of getting through the backlog or repair orders in the cage in the back room. At least it would help keep him busy even if it was dull. Big Mike assigned it to him to show he was management material. He didn't actually want the assistant manager position, but it was better to keep Big Mike happy. Who really wants to be the ass man?
Chuck was busily working at the Nerd Herd desk when Sarah came in for a visit. He walked up to her saying, "Hey, how are you doing?"
She whispered, "Give me a kiss."
"I'm sorry, What?"
"We've been on three dates. We have to sell it."
Chuck was not interested in letting Sarah handle him. He kissed her cheek, quick and awkward.
"That's it?" Sarah was clearly not impressed by his attitude.
"I'm not really good with PDA." He did not want to pretend some cover relationship was more than it was. He knew what agents had to deal with and Chuck certainly didn't want Sarah forced to fake feelings with him. He was hoping that he could get her to tone down everything to the friend level. It would help her not to have to figuratively sell herself for the government and it would help him not to fall for his mark. Really, it was better for them both.
She took his hand, "Hmm, well let's go somewhere more private." She led him to the home theater room, Casey followed quickly behind. Truly it seemed that Casey did not like being out of the loop as was apparent from the complaints he had. And he called Chuck whiny. The two handlers bickered incessantly, he wondered when they would start acting like partners. It was near intolerable to Chuck. They needed to start acting like a team.
Sarah laid a set of photos on the table on the table through the moments of bickering with Casey. Chuck looked at them both and then at the photos. "Mom, Dad, can we get on with it? I have hard drives to fix." Chuck said. "Why are these people sleeping?"
"They're not sleeping," said Casey.
"They were killed, Chuck, and we want to know why," said Sarah.
He instantly knew who the people in the photos were. He didn't have to flash. They were all Volkoff lackies that had escaped take down of Volkoff Industries and the Hydra Network four years ago. Of course, he couldn't let his handlers know. He planned to let it go and just report to the Charter later about the victims so they could investigate if more work was still due to be done. "I have no idea." Chuck replied to them. Casey was insistent, "Well look again." Chuck acted defensively and squigged out, "I would rather not. It's kind of creepy."
Then Jeff came into the room and interrupted. Chuck saw the painting on the cover of the newspaper Jeff was carrying. This time he did flash. Quick Intersect Math told him he would need to engage the CIA and NSA for this one. His flash was on La Ciudad, she escaped the demise of Volkoff Industries. La Ciudad had to be stopped. He gave his handlers a fake flash, knowing his real flashes never had a visible display component, deciding to tell them about the painting and La Ciudad.
"Chuck, what did you see?" Sarah said seeing his fake flash.
"Um, I don't…I'm not… I'm not totally sure. A water lily painting, weapons, an art auction tomorrow night. Does the name La Ciudad mean anything to you?"
"Why?" Casey said stunned.
"Because I think he's going to be at the art auction tomorrow night. Right then. I'm going to go fix some hard drives. Good luck with the spy stuff. Excuse me." Chuck said walking right out on them.
Maybe Chuck wouldn't have to deal with more Volkoff issues. Theory said that the CIA and NSA were more than capable of taking her down if they knew where to look. Maybe just telling them would be enough to have them get La Ciudad. He knew that the government databases didn't have her face in them, the Charter's did. He also knew most assumed that she was a man.
Malena Bernal, and known close associate, Yuri Gobrienko, were known to work together frequently and rarely was Malena seen without Yuri. Malena liked to think that those that saw her face were killed; but really that wasn't practical. There were still people that had seen her face and lived. One doesn't work as an arms dealer without customers. Malena and Yuri were probably the biggest players from the Hydra Network and Volkoff that were still at large. Chuck was particularly concerned that Yuri would be able to ID him as Sasha Petrov.
Sasha was his alias when he worked under the Charter to bring down Volkoff. It was a huge risk for his current mission and his current cover identity/real life. Intersect calculations had the NSA and the CIA higher ups wanting to put him in the field to identify "him". He hoped for once he miscalculated.
Fox Run Condos – Echo Park, CA - October 9th 2007 – 9:30pm
Chuck was turning in, he'd spent the evening with Ellie, Morgan, and Devon. They all debated what Chuck should do with his life. Ellie was still working on establishing his cover, and while he appreciated the efforts, he couldn't be less interested in engaging about a future that was definitely not going to be his future.
Casey was waiting at the window and startled Chuck. "You just got your first mission—tomorrow night," Casey said cryptically. "Hope you're ready for the real world, huh?" and like a thief in the night was gone.
Well, at least he was going to see some kind of action, even if it was a mission he wasn't keen on.
Buy More – Burbank, CA, - October 10th 2007 – 3:56pm
"So, the dress attire for this evening, sneakers? Or are we classifying this as a more of a shoe event?" Chuck was asking Casey, mainly to get under his skin. He was trying to pay him back for sneaking up on him last night.
"I rented you a tux," Casey was trying to walk away, but Chuck wouldn't let him. Operation, needle the handler was underway.
"Oh, that was very nice of you. How did you know my size?"
"NSA, they have records of your rental information from prom night." Chuck was amused. He never went to prom. He wondered what analyst put that tidbit of information in a database somewhere for the NSA to find while they were digging out all the information they possibly could. Then Casey gave it away. He was pulling his leg, "I checked the suit in your closet. Okay?"
"This my first foray into undercover spy work, so you could ease up on the sarcasm. That would be great. And how am I supposed to recognize La Ciudad? Is there a picture or something?" Chuck needled Casey some more after the suit business.
"If there is a photograph, why would we need you?" Chuck was glad for the confirmation that the CIA and NSA had no clue who they were after. It made his own exposure less likely. They probably didn't know of her involvement with Volkoff Industries. Also, he felt like he checked a box for his Charter mission. No more than a souped up database, just like the King had instructed.
Chuck wasn't done bantering, "What did we just talk about?"
"I'm sorry, We're hoping something in the event triggers a flash," Casey condescended.
"See, that's all you had to say. Now, uh, hand-to-hand combat. In all seriousness, if it comes down to me and La Ciudad in some fisticuffs or something, if there, like a 20-minute tutorial you can take me through? I've taken Tai Chi with Morgan, you know."
"Ha, Tai Chi. Don't worry, you're going to be fine. Nothing is going to happen to you. That is provided you know to tango."
"Seriously?"
"Oh, I don't joke about your life," Casey said dryly and walked away.
Chuck was laughing on the inside. It was the first hint that Casey wasn't so freaking serious. A good-natured light hazing for a first mission. Chuck was hopeful that this was the first step in actually becoming a team with his handlers. He finally got a feel for his humor. He was tickled, even if he couldn't show it.
Of course, Chuck did know how to tango. He'd never used it on a mission before though, now the Waltz, that was a different story.
{o}
Sarah had shown up early to pick up Chuck from work. They needed to get Chuck ready, it was going to be her version of a mission brief, just for him. Morgan agreed to cover for him with the computer repairs, promising to keep the nerd herd on task. But when he asked where Sarah and he were headed, Chuck lied through his teeth. "Ah, we are going on a date, my friend." Chuck winked at him, and Morgan didn't ask more. Chuck knew better than telling Morgan any mission details. Not that he'd ever made that mistake, but he had years of practice. Morgan could be a needy friend. While Chuck needed him too, he did not need him interfering in any way shape or form with his clandestine work. Morgan had developed a sense when Chuck wouldn't give details and learned to drop it thinking nothing of it.
Sarah was giving Chuck an undercover 101 for the evening mission. Chuck gave it one more shot to stay out of it, "Wouldn't it make more sense for me to be remote and you and Casey to just send me a video feed to see if I flash on anyone?"
"Chuck, our bosses think we will have the most success if you are there in person, plus they want to see how you handle the Intersect in the field," was Sarah's response.
Chuck sighed. The math was hardly ever wrong, but he couldn't help but try. They moved on to aliases and cover legends. "Charles Carmichael, simple, dignified." 'And not a name I've used before.' Chuck added mentally. "Graduated with honors from Stanford. Runs a hugely successful software company. Semi-retired and is considering entering America's Cup." 'Ok that part I've used, accept with UCLA,' He continued talking about how he saw his life would go after graduating. How Charles was how he saw himself, he hadn't been expelled. He then told her about the tests that Bryce framed him with.
Sarah asked him if he cheated. He could honestly say he didn't and acted a little affronted when he replied to her. He had to sell this story; even if she knew his file and that he'd been expelled, he needed to keep her thinking he was the good guy, which really, he was….
Fox Run Condos – Echo Park, CA – October 10th, 2007 – 6:13pm
"Hey, Ellie, I have this date with Sarah tonight. We are going to this art auction and apparently there is dancing, I heard it would be good to know the tango and I want to impress Sarah." Ellie was amused. Ellie knew full well Chuck knew how to tango. The handlers were trying to pull Chuck's leg and he wanted Ellie to know. "Will you teach me?"
"Did someone say tango?" Devon sundered out in only bike shorts.
"No thank you, Captain Awesome, I'll look it up online. Will you please put a robe on or something?" Chuck turned to a wet glistening Devon invading his personal space.
"Did a semester abroad in Buenos Aires. Spent many a night tangoing my way into señoritas' pantalones," Devon said seductively, mainly for Ellie's benefit.
Even more amusing than the handlers and the tango, at least to Ellie, was Devon and the tango. Next thing she knew Chuck was learning the ladies' part to the tango. Of course, Devon hadn't bothered to put on more clothes.
The looks Chuck gave Ellie could have killed. At least she was having a good time. Chuck was in good humor that now he knew both the ladies' and the gentlemen's part of the tango. Maybe if his spy/real life fell apart and he had to go deep he could become a ballroom dance instructor somewhere in the Midwest. Maybe St. Louis, he mused.
Maison23 – Los Angeles, CA - October 10th 2007 - 8:30 pm
Chuck went up to Sarah's hotel room for the first time. It was bright and well-designed but had an unsettling amount of green in the accent pieces. Chuck sat down on one of those green pieces and Sarah sat next to him. "Here wear this, it's a tracking device and you should be able to contact Casey and me by pressing this button. Here is a panic button that will give us an alert that you are in distress." Sarah taught him the ins and outs of the watch. "This should be a pretty simple identification and then we will get you out of there. You've got this. Just listen to Casey and I and everything will go smoothly." Chuck was glad they were at least a bit concerned with his safety but annoyed at the watch. He suspected they would want him to wear it all the time now, even if she didn't say it this time. They went down to the limo Casey had gotten to drive them to the art auction. They got in and made their way to the other side of LA.
Casey was giving him a hard time about the tango again and after Sarah challenged Casey, Chuck let himself "realize" that Casey was pulling his leg. "Spy Humor, I like that." They went into the hotel. Chuck was in mission mode, but very subtle about it. The quicker he identified Malena as La Ciudad the better. He hoped Yuri wasn't with her, but thought he likely was. As they walked around the ball room, Chuck flashed on several British Intelligence officers. He ran a couple of quick Intersect simulations and decided to use them to his advantage.
Chuck faked a flash for Sarah's sake and turned to her saying, "Those guys over there? Those guys are British Intelligence."
She eyed them up and down, assessing them. If she had the same thought as he did, it was that they stood out. They would never catch La Ciudad with that bunch around. She nodded to the other room, the bar. "Go to the bar, Stay there. I'll find you there." With that, she walked away.
The Intersect simulations he ran told him his best shot that keeping his cover while still having Yuri and Malena apprehended was to make sure the British Intelligence agents were involved. They would request extradition and the US would grant it quickly.
The less time Yuri and Malena were questioned by US officials the better for Chuck. If Yuri made the connection, he might say something. He didn't think that was likely, but he didn't like the risk. Yuri would likely not have much to say about how he was part of Alexi Volkoff's crime syndicate. Nevertheless, Chuck was concerned that there was a small probability that Yuri could mention seeing the same agent that took down his boss in Russia.
Chuck found Casey at the bar. Not only Casey, but Alan Wattermen, 'what an asshat,' Chuck thought as he flashed on Alan's forth coming indictment; further cementing him as the asshole he always knew him to be.
"Chuck Bartowski?" Alan asked, of course he wanted to talk.
"No, name's Carmichael," Chuck hoped he'd leave it alone knowing he wouldn't. Alan had been one of the biggest jerks in his fraternity at Stanford. He took advantage of all the brothers. He never helped with any of the service projects and he would take credit for doing nothing. Really, just a general asshat. He wasn't surprised by the impeding indictment considering the air of entitlement that radiated from him and his single malt.
Of course, his cover was blown, and Chuck tried to roll with the punches. Casey was right there; he needed a balance of not terrible at handling the situation and not great either.
"Alan Watterman. Stanford?" Alan tried to get Chuck to remember him.
"Hey, how are you?"
"I'm great, I don't know if you heard, I sold my company. Kind of unemployed. Problem is, I'm too young to retire. I'm too rich to work!" Alan bragged.
"Ah haha, that's quite a pickle you've found yourself in." Chuck wasn't about to ask more questions to hear more from this man.
"What are you doing now? Last I heard, you were fixing computers or something."
"Yep. I work at a Buy More. Thanks for asking. I can get you a 10% coupon for installing virus protection if you want."
"Huh, I always thought you would make something of yourself." Not sure what to say next, Watterman asked, "Did you come by yourself? Bring a hot date?"
"Nope, just little old me. I was hoping to pick up someone for the night," Chuck winked at him, making sure it was as creepy as he could manage.
Chuck seemed to be successfully playing his favorite, scare the girls away, game with Watterman. He'd be gone in no time flat by his reckoning.
"You know, if you need help with the whole job thing. I know people," Alan was still trying to converse with him.
"I bet you do."
Watterman handed him a card. He needed this conversation to end. Chuck used it to fake flash on to say some embarrassing parts of the investigation.
"I'm gonna guess that your friends don't know about the insider trading and offshore accounts in the Caymans?"
"What did you just say? Do you work for the SECC? I gotta go." Watterman made himself scarce real quick.
Finally, Chuck was able to tell Casey about the other agents. He left to help Sarah, making sure to tell Chuck to stay put. There was not supposed to be British agents here; there had been no coordination. Really, they shouldn't be working there either. This whole mission should have been handled by the FBI or the ATF. They were on fuzzy ground, the Brits were on fuzzy ground, and Chuck, who worked on fuzzy ground all the time, didn't care as long as La Ciudad was brought down. She was still a high value target for the Charter regardless of Chuck's Intersect and Fulcrum missions.
It wasn't long before Chuck left the bar, impatient to determine if La Ciudad was here. Chuck was checking out the ballroom for any signs of Malena. He made his way over to the painting that triggered the mission. It was not the prettiest painting, but that wasn't what caught his attention. He flashed on the frame. MI6 had replaced the frame and the plutonium that it encased in favor of one not containing nuclear grade explosive material. Good choice on them, last thing the world needed was Iranian dirty plutonium floating between arms dealers. It was apparent to Chuck, they planned to use the painting to lure La Ciudad here. He guessed that MI6 planned to arrest whoever won the painting in the auction. He stood there pretending to admire the painting in hopes of getting Malena to show. It worked. A few minutes later there she was.
"So, you like this painting then?" she asked casually. She was definitely trying to determine if Chuck was her competition for the painting but more importantly the plutonium. "Honestly, no. I was wondering how something of this quality ended up at an auction. I mean, look at the color composition, terrible. Also, I was trying to figure out where the poor sap who bought it would hang it. I was going for the bathroom, right next to their Bob Ross happy little tree painting," he spoke to her playfully. He needed to engage her until Casey, Sarah, and the MI6 agents got back from fighting over jurisdiction that was none of theirs.
"Bob Ross, who's that?"
"Oh, never heard of him? Used to be on PBS, taught the world how to paint and relax. More importantly, I was playing a favorite game of mine. Maybe you want to play too?" Chuck gave her sultry eyes.
"Call me intrigued, what is this game?"
"I like to walk around auctions like this and decide what the fate of these poor paintings will be. Whether its bathroom walls or pool halls; I like to guess at the future buyer and location the art will end up." Chuck did a scan around the room to check for Yuri or other bodyguards she may have nearby. He did so cautiously as to not alert them if they were.
"That sounds like fun."
"Ah, this one. This is one is the abstract expressionism version of dogs playing poker. It's going to be bought by a man in his midlife crisis and his wife will relegate it to his basement lounge, meanwhile she won't forgive him for the $100,000 he spent on it. The marriage will suffer."
"You are funny! Mr.?"
"Carmichael, sorry. Charles, and what lovely name matches the lady before me?"
"Malena." She took his hand to gently shake. Just then a tango started to be played. "I love tango! Do you dance?"
"I do." Chuck said, leading her to the dance floor. He looked around the room, still no Casey or Sarah. Slowly he led her into a seductive tango, pulling her tight in all the right spots. They glided across the floor almost effortlessly. To say she was moved from the dance, was an understatement. All the while Chuck knew the Intersect math had all the agents coming back soon. He kept his eyes around the room looking for them.
Then he saw Yuri. His massive build still imposing those around him. His eye patch made him more intimidating Chuck thought. Chuck was pretty sure he hadn't been made yet based on the semi blank expression on Yuri's face. He never seemed to be much of a brain trust, just highly competent muscle. The smartest thing Yuri accomplished was running from Volkoff after the Charter had his false eye removed to crack the Hydra Network.
Yuri knew he would be killed for losing the false eye. Volkoff had a well-earned reputation for volatility and cruelty. Of course, it was due to the Intersect skin that Hartley Winterbottom had given himself years ago. Hartley, a well-meaning good friend and colleague of his parents, went from mild mannered to a fictional Bond villain. It was both infuriating and predictable to handle through Intersect Calculations. In the end it was the Dr. No type behavior that brought Volkoff down. It certainly explained why Volkoff would put access to his Hydra Network on a false eye and why if you were the keeper of said eye, you'd end up dead for losing it.
As the music started to come to a crescendo for the end of the piece and the dance, Chuck saw who he needed to see. Sarah, Casey, and the MI6 agents filtered into the room. Chuck made eye contact with Sarah and then Casey and gave them a scared look. They knew instantly he'd found La Ciudad based on his expressions. Perfect. Chuck finished with a suddenly awkward dip and whispered into Malena's ear, "Frost sends her regards." Then Chuck dropped her. Right on the floor and scrambled away like a scared puppy trying to back away from a bear. Right into Yuri. 'Good, right-on time.' Chuck thought. Yuri, seeing Malena's eyes fume, held onto Chuck firmly.
"Where do you think you're going?" Yuri's deep thick Russian accent asked.
"Let's bring him upstairs to figure out who this is Yuri." Malena said, trying as gracefully as possible in a formal gown to pick herself off the floor.
Before they could move to anywhere, they were surrounded, "Freeze, federal agents." Casey shouted scaring the crowd with his drawn pistol.
'Yes, just like this Casey. So quick to draw a gun. Now they certainly will be off to the UK within the hour, rather than explain why the NSA was working with the CIA on domestic soil. They certainly wouldn't want to reveal the classified nature of the Intersect just to cover their asses. Good Luck Yuri, Malena.' Chuck thought, as Malena and Yuri surrendered to the agents.
Chuck saw another bodyguard slip away. He filed that face away for the future, there hadn't been anything in the Intersect about him. Probably just hired help. He was pretty sure that Yuri never even made him. But just in case he slipped quickly away from the scene and stayed out of sight at the bar until Casey and Sarah found him.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Sarah. I didn't know what do to. I flashed on her while we were dancing. She had this scar…" Chuck rambled, but Sarah interrupted him. "Not here Chuck."
{o}
Riding home in the limo was going to be likely the only "debrief" he was going to get. "So, what's going to happen to them?" Chuck asked. "I saw her file, it's scary Sarah, she has killed so many people to keep her face a secret. That's why the CIA and NSA didn't have her face in the database. Will she be able to get me?"
Sarah replied, "No Chuck, she's going to be taken by the MI6 agents you pointed out to us. What happened? You were supposed to wait at the bar."
Casey glared at him through the rear-view mirror. "I told you to wait there, moron," Casey grunted annoyed.
"Well, nothing was happening, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to look at the art. Malena started to chat me up when I was looking at the lily piece. The next thing I know this tango starts and Malena is wanting to dance. I flashed on her scar when we were dancing. I'm just glad that you both were there. I think she was going to kill me too. It was like she knew that I'd figured her out. And then that bodyguard." Chuck managed a shiver.
"We identified him Chuck, you are lucky. That was Yuri Golbrienko. MI6 had a rap sheet on him also. Apparently, he is known as Yuri the Gobbler, allegedly because he eats parts of his victims. Used the work for an arms dealer in Russia before Interpol took the arms dealer down. He must have slipped their grasp back then. Well, they'll have him now." Casey gave him a brief bit of information.
Chuck nervously looked at Casey, "He's going to the UK too, right? What if they find me? Oh my God, I don't think I can do this. Is every mission this way?"
Casey smiled, "Relax Chuck, the Brit's will have him locked up for a long time. He's not going to see the light of day anytime soon. And you did good, La Ciudad away, the Gobbler away, and you even got to tango on a mission. Not that I've ever needed to before."
Chuck felt a buzzing in his pocket. He'd finally decided he could check his phone, after it going off fairly regularly during the mission. Twenty missed calls from Morgan. This ought to be good. Chuck listened to all messages from Morgan left in desperation, then said to Casey, "Casey, can you take me to the Buy More? Apparently, Morgan got locked in the repair cage."
Buy More – Burbank, CA – October 11th, 9:00 am
Chuck had spent the rest of the night repairing the last computers. It was meditative and he liked to have some thinking time post mission. It helped with all the intense Intersect work that inevitably was required. Not that it was painful to use the Intersect, improvements that Ellie and Stephen had over the years made it efficiently run in the correct areas of the brain. Headaches were a thing of the past when using it, but it still took a toll mentally. It was like doing a long intense test for 8 hours straight, doable but exhausting, when he had to use it intensively like he had last night.
He wasn't even sure why he worked so hard on the task beyond needing the decompression. He didn't want to be assistant manager. Too much time commitment, too little chance to do his real job. It was good for his cover with Sarah and Casey to go for it, but he didn't want it when they left. He planned to tank the interview. Maybe there was a way to get Morgan in the spot instead.
Just as he was finishing up the last repair, Big Mike walked in, equipped with his morning coffee and donut.
"You finished Bartowski?"
"Yeah, I just finished up. Mission accomplished."
"Whoa! Two days was meant to as an incentive. I didn't think you'd really do it. I'm impressed. And I'm not easily impressed."
"Well, I can't take much credit. Morgan organized the team for me, and they had most of this done last night. I just finished the last bit."
"First rule of management, always take credit," Big Mike instructed.
Chuck was dubious of the statement and his face was filled with doubt at Big Mike. "Well, I don't work that way."
"Suit yourself," Big Mike took a gulp of coffee and walked out.
Fox Run Condos – Echo Park, CA – November 11th, 2007 – 10:18 pm
"Congratulations on your first mission Chuck, you did really well" Sarah said getting ready to part Chucks company. They had spent the evening hanging out with Ellie and Morgan. Now they were in the courtyard as he was walking her out.
"Stop it, I'm not really a spy. Your computer ended up in the head of a guy who only knows how to fix 'em, nothing else." Chuck replied.
She had the perfect counterpoint to him, "You survived apprehending one of the world's most elusive killers. I'm not sure what you think spies do exactly, but most of us would consider that a pretty good day." She was pleased that he'd managed to do as well on the mission as he did. Not pleased that Casey had pulled his firearm in a crowd of people.
"Okay, sure, so today I helped take down a major international arms dealer, but tomorrow, tomorrow I still gotta go clock in at Buy More. I mean, what's the good of being a hero if nobody knows about it?"
"You know and so do I."
"You know if we were really dating, this would be the part when I would be forced to kiss you good night." Chuck said with a smirk. "Would it be so bad?" Sarah's expression softened, looking into his eyes.
"I'm sure I could suffer through it." A genuine smile came across his face.
Sarah smiling replied, "Me too."
She walked away, letting him consider what it would be like to actually kiss her. Really what she wanted to know was what it was like to kiss him. Like a real kiss, like Sam kissing a boy. Not Sarah Walker kissing a mark or an asset. She sighed thinking it impossible, no matter how much she hoped it could be different. Maybe it was better this way anyways.