~Seattle area~


    When they woke up on Friday morning, Sarah was not sure what to say to Aiden. He was getting ready with her to go for a morning training even though Ste told him that she will not train him.


    Sarah was not sure if she shouldfort him, or to discourage him, or… she really didn''t understand what made Ste act the way she did. Sarah wentst night to talk to Ste about that, but she was not sessful in getting any answers.


    "Don''t worry about me.", Aidenforted Sarah when he saw her troubled expression. "It can be another test. For my resolve. Whatever it is, I will not give up."


    …


    Sometimester, Ste is practicing with Sarah, and Aiden is sitting on the ground nearby, watching them.


    "You can go and work. I will not train you now." Ste told Aiden without looking at him.


    "I know you have your reasons. You don''t need to work with me. I will watch." Aiden was persistent, even though he didn''t understand what made Ste change her mind.


    On Wednesday it all went well. Ste even said that she will work with him so that he can protect Sarah. ''What happened? Why did she change her opinion?'' He decided to sit and watch how Sarah trains. Maybe he learns something. Maybe Ste changes her opinion again. Maybe this is another test that he needs to pass.


    ...


    Ste ended morning session with Sarah earlier. As soon as she was alone, she texted her brother, "What is the progress on your research?"


    She got a response few secondster, "Still working on it."


    Ste was frustrated. "Tonight, I want to see what you found."


    She was troubled seeing how persistent Aiden is. ''He really looks like a good kid.''


    Another thing on Ste''s mind is that she knows that Sarah loves Aiden. It was evident that Sarah was troubled and had difficulty to focus during morning training.


    ...


    After lunch, Ste called Sarah in the study.


    "Close the door." She instructed Sarah.


    "Is this about Aiden?", Sarah has her guesses.


    Ste nodded. She looked at Sarah for some time before asking, "What would you do if he is an enemy?"


    Sarah froze. "Enemy?" Her chest was constricted, she was not able to breathe. At the same time, her heart was pounding like it wants to jump out of her chest.


    Ste was trying to choose her words. "Yes. What if he is not one of the good guys?"


    "No, mom... no..." Sarah shook her head uncontrobly. "No... no..."


    "Calm down... " Ste walked to Sarah and held her shoulders seeing that she is about to break down. "I''m investigating... Nothing is certain at this point."


    "Is that why you don''t want to work with him?" There was disappointment in Sarah''s voice.


    Ste nodded. "I just want you to brace yourself... That he might not be who you think he is."


    Sarah''s face became cold. "Not one of the good guys? Who determines who is a good guy and who is not? … He is not who I think he is? And who might that be? Are you saying that he is not the man who saved me more than once? Or the man who pulled me out of thea-like state when I was surrounded with nothing but darkness? Or the man who can calm my heart when I''m consumed in raging anger? Or the man who treats me like I''m the most precious thing on Earth? Which one of those is not him?" Sarah removed Ste''s hands from her shoulders. Her head shook lightly, her voice was cold and firm. "I don''t care who you say he is. I know who he is. I will not abandon him."


    Sarah turned her back to Ste and walked out of the study.


    When door closed behind Sarah, Ste took a deep breath. ''It''s already toote. If it turns out that Aiden is a spy, I will lose Sarah.''


    ...


    Sarah found Aiden in the bedroom. She pulled him in the bed and curled up next to him.


    Aiden noticed that Sarah is not her usual self. He embraced her. "It will be all right, I am here."


    She looked up at him. "Promise mi one thing."


    "Anything."


    "That you will not abandon me, no matter what."


    "I promise." He held her tightly. "That is an easy promise to keep."


    …


    That afternoon, Ste was waiting for Sarah next to the river. "You arete."


    "I didn''t want toe." Sarah answered in a cold tone. "But he made me."


    Aiden was with Sarah. He sat under a nearby tree and was ready to watch.


    River has number of sharp and pointy rocks sticking out of the water. That afternoon training included for Sarah to bnce on those rocks while avoiding ck des and catching ck balls that Ste threw at her. Balls are about the size of a golf ball, but much heavier, while des are very sharp. Just bncing on rocks is challenging, and Sarah can''t recklessly jump from one to another rock because they have sharp edges. Sarah performed beautifully. No mistakes. Aiden was admiring her silently.


    After about two hours, Sarah felt fatigue getting to her. She didn''t want to admit that to Ste and braved through the exercise. At some point, Sarah lost bnce and was falling backward toward sharp rocks. Ste moved to try to catch Sarah, but before she could make few steps, Aiden was already in the river, standing on the rocks and holding Sarah.


    "Thank you." Sarah smiled.


    "I will never let you fall." He said in a gentle voice while helping her get her bnce back.


    Ste watched two of them gaze into each other''s eyes, and her heart was moved. She can see that they have deep feelings for each other. "We are done for today." Ste went into the ''cabin''.


    As soon as Ste got into the study room, she made a phone call, "Oleg, send me now what you have."


    Few minutester, Ste got notification that she received an email. She took herptop and started reading through documents.. Her expression was unreadable.