Chapter 4 – Day One, 10:10 AM

Chapter 4 – Day One, 10:10 AM

Before they crossed the street toward the Buy More, Sarah reached for Chuck's hand. It was warm. Steady. Real. The kind of touch that completely contradicted the dangerous world they lived in.

"I know this is hard," she said quietly. "And if Mariana weren't involved… …everything would be different."

Another moment passed. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you."

It wasn't a threat. It was a promise. Chuck looked down at their joined hands, almost afraid that if he stared too long, the moment would disappear. Then, just before they reached the Buy More entrance, Sarah slowly let go. With that simple gesture, something else seemed to change. Agent Walker returned.

"Try not to get into trouble at the Buy More," she said, her tone becoming more businesslike. "Casey's on high alert today." A tiny pause. "So am I."

Chuck raised an eyebrow. "That's somehow comforting… and terrifying at the same time."

Sarah ignored the joke. "I'll stop by during lunch."

Chuck nodded. "Okay."

"And after work, we'll leave together." She hesitated almost imperceptibly. "Then we'll go back to your place."

Chuck blinked. "Okay… is this the 'we're going home together' version… …or the 'I'm making sure you don't get killed on the way home' version?"

A faint smile touched Sarah's lips. "Both."

Chuck sighed dramatically. "You know… If there wasn't a homicidal ex-spy trying to kill us… …this could actually be romantic."

Sarah looked at him. One second. Two. Then, barely above a whisper— "It is."

And just like that, she stepped back, as though she hadn't said anything at all. "Go to work."

Chuck lingered for another moment. "Yes, ma'am."

XXXXXX

The fluorescent lights of the Buy More belonged to an entirely different universe. No gunfire. No vineyards. No supposedly dead super-spies. Just customers. Discount televisions. And Morgan Grimes talking at a speed normally reserved for auctioneers.

"Chuck!" Morgan slapped him on the shoulder. "I knew it! You had some kind of adventure last night." His eyes widened. "Were you with Sarah?"

Chuck froze for half a second. "Yeah… Uh… Long story."

"Tell me!"

"No."

Morgan narrowed his eyes. "That's suspicious."

Chuck opened his mouth, but Sarah's voice echoed in his head. Try not to get into trouble. "You know what?" he said quickly. "We had a date. Now let me work."

Morgan stared at him. "That doesn't sound like you."

Chuck shrugged. "New era."

He headed back toward the register, but his mind wasn't on work anymore. Sarah's hand. Her voice. And the words she probably hadn't meant to say out loud. We'll go back to your place. Then another image refused to leave his mind. Sarah… At his apartment. Not on a mission. Not as Agent Walker. Just… Sarah. His girlfriend. He caught himself sighing as he rang up a customer buying a discounted game console. Okay… This is heading somewhere dangerously hopeful. He couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Sarah would be spending the night with him. If it weren't for the danger Mariana represented… If it weren't for the fiction of their cover… He'd probably be looking forward to it far more than he should. I wish it weren't fake… I wish… The thought never finished. Reality interrupted. Morgan was once again trying to invent creative ways to avoid doing any actual work. Across the sales floor, Jeff and Lester were circling an exceptionally attractive customer, each desperately trying to outdo the other in fake helpfulness.

"This HDMI cable will change your life!" Jeff declared with ridiculous enthusiasm.

Lester rolled his eyes. "It'll change your life if you stop embarrassing us."

Behind the Nerd Herd counter, Morgan appeared to be deeply engaged in what he proudly called "administrative responsibilities." In reality, he was hiding behind a computer monitor. "If I concentrate hard enough…" he whispered to himself, "…I might actually become invisible."

Casey stood nearby, perfectly still. Like a bad feeling that had somehow taken human form. His eyes swept across every aisle, every customer, every suspiciously slow shopper wandering through the store. Chuck glanced sideways at him. "Just another normal Friday…"

Casey answered without even looking over. "There is no such thing."

Chuck smiled to himself. "Fair enough."

For a little while, normal life returned. Registers. Price checks. Customers asking impossible questions. The noisy, chaotic, wonderfully insignificant world of the Buy More. But Chuck's mind was somewhere else. Sarah had said it so naturally. We'll go back to your place. And he couldn't shake the dangerous thought that followed. What if this wasn't just a cover anymore? A customer complaining about a sale price pulled him back to reality. "Yes, I understand," Chuck said automatically. "Look, technically… …this is still better than the end of the world."

The customer stared at him. Chuck blinked. "I—I mean… Sorry. That came out wrong."

Behind him, Morgan popped up from behind the Nerd Herd counter. "Chuck! We should have a movie night tonight." He grinned. "Just the guys."

"No." Chuck answered so quickly that Morgan looked genuinely offended. "Wow. That was immediate."

Chuck pretended to study the register display. His mind wasn't seeing numbers anymore. It was seeing Sarah. Standing in the doorway of his apartment. And wondering just how thin the line really was between a cover relationship… …and something far more dangerous. "Okay…" he muttered under his breath. "This is getting complicated."

Morgan folded his arms. "Fine. Then how about video games? Retro night?"

Chuck shook his head. "Can't. Family dinner tonight."

Morgan's face lit up. "Really? What are we having? Ellie makes the best roast beef. I'm telling you, that woman is a culinary superhero."

"Morgan…" Chuck answered with the patient tone usually reserved for explaining things to children. "Not tonight. I'm spending the evening with Sarah."

Morgan shrugged. "I mean… yeah. If I had a gorgeous girlfriend, I'd probably pick her too."

Chuck smiled apologetically. "We'll make it up another night. The food. The games. Everything."

Morgan dramatically leaned back in his chair as though Chuck had just canceled an international peace treaty instead of game night. "So I don't even get consolation prizes? One round of Pac-Man? Starfighter? Anything? I'd rather not spend another evening alone with Jeff's conspiracy theories."

Chuck continued organizing the register, but mentally he was already somewhere else. Family dinner. Ellie. Awesome. A glimpse of a normal life. And afterward… Sarah. "No can do, buddy."

Morgan sighed. "Okay, okay. I get it. 'Family dinner.'" He made exaggerated quotation marks with his fingers. "Or… 'Chuck is unavailable because he's on a classified romantic mission.'"

Chuck froze. "…That was… weirdly accurate."

Morgan shrugged. "Come on. I have eyes."

Chuck's smile disappeared. "What do you mean?"

Morgan leaned closer. "The Sarah thing."

"There is no Sarah thing," Chuck answered much too quickly.

"Uh-huh." Morgan nodded knowingly. "And I definitely haven't noticed that every time she walks in… …you magically become a functional human being for about five seconds."

Chuck rubbed the back of his neck.

"You look at her differently, man." He smiled. "Dude… You're in love."

Chuck let out a long breath. "It's… Complicated."

Morgan nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. Kind of like one of those terrible sci-fi movies where you're the main character and everybody dies if you push the wrong button."

Chuck laughed. "Thanks. That really helps."

Morgan grinned. "Anytime."

Chuck picked up his backpack. "We'll reschedule. I promise. Dinner. Games. Everything."

Morgan perked up. "You swear?"

"I swear."

Morgan sighed dramatically one last time, but the disappointment was gone. "Fine. But if you're canceling a Mario Kart night because of Sarah… …it better be for a really good reason."

Chuck smiled to himself. "Trust me. It is."

As he stepped out of the Buy More and into the afternoon sunlight, leaving behind the fluorescent lights and the illusion of normal life… …he wasn't thinking about Morgan. Or work. Or even the mission. He was thinking about Sarah. She would be at his apartment. Not because of a cover. Not because the CIA told her to be there. But because something between them— something neither of them had planned— was beginning to feel real. And somehow… that was more frightening than any weapon Mariana could ever point at him.