[backdated to before disappearances]

[knowthyexits]

Sarah is following Bruce.

She knows that she shouldn't, but there are certain things that she likes to keep track of and in this place, people are one of the few things she can control. She's been hovering six feet behind and easing behind trees and other objects, a weapon tucked away in the small of her back. Even if it's not a gun, she's made a shiv out of good solid wood and knows that it will protect her if ever she needs it.

Right now, though, she doesn't think she needs to be on the offensive. There are just things about Bruce that set her alarms on maximum and maybe she's just being paranoid. Maybe now that he's seen her all but naked, she's over-reacting, but she'd rather let the paranoid bitch out than play dead.

And so, she follows.

Comments

[defected.livejournal.com]

It didn't take long for Bryce to realize he was being followed — he wouldn't have been a very good spy if it did — but even when he had caught on to her presence, Bryce didn't rush to break Sarah's cover. Just as she was following him in hopes of learning something, he was allowing her to with the same intentions. How well she hid herself while staying on his trail answered once and for all any question he had about Sarah Baum: she was in no way a civilian, and likely hadn't been for a long while.

Having had no concrete plans for the day, Bryce set a course for a strip of beach that was usually deserted around this time, making sure to switch paths and scenery as frequently as possible. It was a test to see how well she adapted, how well she managed to stay hidden. Given enough time, Bryce he'd have a clear enough idea of her skills to make an educated guess at where she'd received her training.

[knowthyexits]

Sarah is grateful when she has trees. Trees and jungle are familiar to her and she could slide into the crags of dirt and behind rocks and become one with the foliage in a way that comes from having lived in Central America for years and raising an infant, at that. She allows slightly more distance when they get to more comfortable ground for her and she makes sure to cover her tracks, just in case.

Where is he going? she can't help but wonder.

[defected.livejournal.com]

Wherever she'd received her training, it was unorthodox, to say the least. She didn't bother with sticking to traditional conventions, and she seemed to trust instinct over protocol, something uncommon among even the most stubborn of agents. In short, he'd made no progress in placing her, and had succeeded only in ruling out more than half of the possibilities.

Upon finally reaching the beach — and he'd been right, it was quieter here than in most areas — Bryce jogged to the shore and took a seat just out of tide's range. He would sit, seemingly lost in thought, as long as he could bear. Having met Sarah, he figured it would probably be much longer than Sarah could handle; she was many things, but endlessly patient was unlikely to be one of them. As he sat, he wondered whether she would reveal herself — pretending that she'd only happened upon him, probably — or give up and head back.

[knowthyexits]

She watches, for a moment, and thinks about following further. Part of her is telling her to just stay away, but she has a sinking sensation that he might know she's there and she wants to verify before she leaves. And so after a moment of shifting around, she comes from a different part of the jungle and stops, just steps away from him.

She doesn't say anything just yet, just gauges him and then clears her throat. "Fancy meeting you out here."

[defected.livejournal.com]

"Fancy that." It was with the flash of an easy grin that Bryce responded, none of the underlying sarcasm present in his voice, as if this were merely a pleasant coincidence. And, as far as his cover was concerned, it absolutely was.

"Out for a walk?" He asked, rather than the standard 'how are you,' because if he wasn't allowed to call her bluff, he would at least poke as many holes in her alibi as he could. Something told him she wouldn't approach the challenge the way any traditionally trained agent would.

[knowthyexits]

"You could say that," she agrees, staring at him in the awkward way that Sarah typically has with people. Really, it's not her fault that in the past sixteen years, she's spent three of them in a mental institution and the rest on the run. Social skills are not her forte. "What did you say you did before here, Bruce?"

[defected.livejournal.com]

"FBI," he replied easily, as automatic as if it were true. "White collar crimes," he added, grinning, before she had the chance to ask. Doubtful that it would decrease her suspicion of him by much, but it couldn't hurt. He had been careful to choose a department that aroused little interest, one that seemed harmless at first mention. It tended to balance out the implied excitement of being an FBI agent.

[knowthyexits]

She comes closer to him, but doesn't sit. She just stands a little distance away and studies him curiously. "FBI," she agrees, even though the thought of it brings back Ellison and Cromartie posing as Kester and she still isn't sure whether she doesn't believe him because of instinct or because she just doesn't want to. "What's a regular case, then? For you? A regular day?"

[defected.livejournal.com]

High-speed car chases. Shootouts. Hand-to-hand combat. It used to be, once upon a time, and though he longed for it still, his cover couldn't sympathize. "It's a lot of paperwork, to be honest," he laughed, shrugging away the question. "Every now and then we get a high-stakes case, the kind that involves undercover work, stake-outs, the whole nine. But those are few and far between. Mostly, all my phenomenal field training is put to waste."

[knowthyexits]

She studies him, still on her guard, still wondering if he'd figured out that she had been there, and doesn't know what her next step is. She can try and call him out on this, but she doesn't want to bring attention to herself if he really is telling the truth. "And you always wanted to be white collar division? No aspirations to look into freakier stuff?"