Chuck Bartowski sits behind his desk chewing on the tip of his pen between his teeth. He's hunched over in front of his computer screen steadily typing away. The light brown dress shirt he's wearing is unbuttoned on top as his tie hangs loose around his neck. The sleeves on his dress shirt are folded below his elbows meaning he's digging into some serious work. The black pleated pants are a bit scratchy causing him to squirm in his chair. It's most certainly a far cry from what he used to wear, but what didn't change are those unmistakable Chuck Taylor converse shoes that are currently on his feet.

He briefly stops to take the pen out from between his teeth. He clicks the top of it with his right thumb in order to write down information on a yellow notepad filled with writings and scribbles just off to the side. The focus in his eyes shows a new found intensity within them that hadn't been seen for quite some time. He continues punching the keys on his keyboard and after a few minutes he pauses to take a break in order to rub his eyes after staring at the computer screen for several hours.

He looks across the room to see the Tron Poster his father gave him when he was a little kid hanging near the door to his office. Looking at it, thoughts of his father begin creeping into his mind. It has been 6 months since his father passed away and within that 6 month period he left his managerial job at Buy More and started his own business. A business that wouldn't be able to come to fruition if it hadn't been for Sarah's father Jeremiah Wexler giving him the seed money to basically start it from scratch.

Chuck, Sarah, her sister Cassidy and her father spent days searching for a suitable location for his business. There were several possibilities to where he would set up shop but none of them either didn't pan out or just didn't feel quite right. They would eventually find a sweet spot located in downtown Santa Monica within an area bustling with opportunities for not only networking, but also the possibility of expansion in the future. Chuck's business started out slow but as time went on it began to pick up through word of mouth, which was considered to him one of the best ways to advertise.

The first 2 months he would be mainly doing service calls and in house repairs of computers. It was a good feeling to be his own boss because it freed him to do things such as close up shop whenever there was a mission. Chuck's business would eventually see enough profit to hire some employees to help him handle the load of work that seemingly piled on. Chuck would also hire a secretary, which Sarah and Ellie would be personally involved in helping in the selection process. To Chuck, it wasn't just about fixing and installing computers as it was also about creating games for both computers and video game systems. It was something he envisioned for his five year plan before being kicked out of Stanford. Anyways, he didn't whine about how hard it was because he loved what he did and quite frankly it kept him busy.

Chuck shakes those thoughts out of his head. He picks up the phone on his desk to his right. Next to the phone…a framed picture of the love his life Sarah Walker. A grin appears on his face as he presses #2 on his speed dial. After a few seconds of tapping his pen on his desk waiting for the person on the other end of the phone call to pick up it finally does.

"Hey, can you come in here." requested Chuck.

He hangs up placing the phone back down on its base and then continues typing away on his computer. Chuck suddenly hears a succession of rythmic knocks as the door opens to have Morgan Grimes standing at the doorway of his office. He's holding string cheese in his right hand and a can of grape soda with his left.

While Morgan is standing there, a name plaque on Chuck's office door behind his head reads: CHARLES BARTOWSKI with the words WHIZ KID SYSTEMS, Inc. on the bottom.

Thanks to Sarah and Casey, he has his Electrical Engineering Degree and his five year plan can possibly comes to fruition. Now when it came to naming his business he chose the name Whiz Kid. Whiz Kid was a fitting tribute to christen and call his business because it was the nickname given to his father by his friend Big Sal Tessio.

"What's up Chuck!" said Morgan as he shuffles over in front of Chuck's desk.

Morgan Grimes was a simple man who loved simple things in life. He loves to play video games namely Call of Duty on Xbox. He loves string cheese and grape soda both of which were habits that he wouldn't be breaking any time soon. Most importantly, he loves his girlfriend Anna Wu and after the first 3 months of living together they cohabitated quite nicely with the occasional squabbles that any normal couple goes through if you actually consider their relationship normal.

Chuck never in a million years thought his best friend Morgan would leave Buy More. He had a comfortable life of doing as little work as possible and he was good at it. However, when Chuck left it wasn't as fun anymore and the schemes being pulled weren't that fulfilling causing him to quit his job much to the chagrin of Big Mike. Why? He was left with the two most incompetent employees there…Jeff and Lester.

It would be Morgan who asked or should I say begged Chuck for a job to be along side him and despite growing concerns from his sister Ellie that it would be a mistake to hire him he would anyways. To Chuck he was more than just his best friend to him as he was considered a part of his family. A family member who at the moment had pieces of string cheese embedded within his beard.

"What's the situation on Zork?" asked Chuck.

Morgan bites into the remaining string cheese clutched in his right hand and then takes a quick sip of his grape soda. "Its looking good boss." replied Morgan with a grin on his face. "The boys in the tech department are working on some new codes so we're getting there."

"Morgan…" He paused shaking his head. "…how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me boss?"

"Sorry boss…I mean Chuck" responded Morgan quickly correcting himself. "What do you want to be called?"

"I don't know?" answered Chuck shrugging his shoulders.

Morgan shifted his head from left to right pursing his lips together contemplating what moniker to bestow on his tall, lanky best friend. From Chuck's standpoint the way he's looking at him was the same exact way a dog would look trying to understand what his master was saying. He couldn't help but be oddly transfixed at what Morgan id doing to the point where he's unconsciously mimicking him. Chuck's concentration would be broken when he suddenly snapped his fingers and pointed directly at him.

"I got it!" Morgan excitedly said.

"Do tell Morg."

Morgan meandered over to the side of his best friend's desk planting himself in front of Chuck. The brown haired business owner swiveled around in his comfy craftsmen brown leather swivel chair in order to look up and face him.

"Captain…" He give his answer with such ferver that Chuck knew it wasn't a joke. In his mind, he's being completely serious about it. The bearded little man continued on. "…since I consider you the Captain of this ship. Plus, if this were the U.S.S. Enterprise I would be your second in command."

He actually made sense Chuck thinks to himself. He could see that his best friend really wanted this keenly noticing both his eyebrows perking upwards expressing that please say yes look. Chuck takes a breath and gives the best response that suited the situation.

"Make it so #1." Chuck commanded with a smile on his face.

A raised fist in victory is all Morgan gives and to celebrate he finishes off the rest of his grape soda. Chuck quirked his right brow at his bearded best friend and chuckled with amusement.

"What's so funny?" a female voice asked.

Chuck turned his heads to see Sarah's sister standing at his doorway. Cassidy Wexler has on black open toed high heal shoes. She's wearing a grayish looking pants suit with a white top minus the jacket. Her blonde hair flowing freely past her shoulders leading to show the pearl necklace hanging around her neck. She's far less abrasive and not to mention bitchy when they first met at Weinerlicious.

"Hey Cass." said Chuck giving a nod of recognition towards her. "I was just laughing at what Morgan said.

He pointed at Morgan who is busy chugging down the remaining drops of grape soda in the can. Cassidy turns her attention towards the little bearded man standing there who still had bits and pieces of string cheese showing in his beard. She tilts her head slightly to the right and gave him a look cocking up her right eyebrow. From the blank look on his face, he has no idea what was going on.

"What?" inquired Morgan. He quickly looked down at the zipper of his pants to check if his fly is down.

"Nothing Morgan…" Cassidy responded shaking her head. "... I just came to see if Chuck is free so he can go with me to see Sarah." she added stepping into the office.

Chuck looked at his watch. "Yeah, I'm free." he replied. "When did you get into town?"

"30 minutes ago. It's a surprise visit."

Chuck lifts himself out of his chair stepping around Morgan who is still checking to see if his fly is down. He gives her a hug and before leaving with Cassidy, a look of concern appears on his face causing him to turn around to get his attention.

"No prank phone calls Morgan. I mean it."

Without looking up Morgan responded. "Gotcha buddy." He gives a quick thumbs up in Chuck's direction.

"Morgan!" This time Chuck's tone is more authoritative and emphasized showing he isn't playing around. "Just because you don't work at Buy More anymore doesn't mean you can make prank phone calls to Mighty Jock."

Morgan responds with a look of complete innocence on his face. As for Cassidy, she is standing in his office simply amused at what is going on.

"Why would you think it was me?"

Chuck walks over to the left side of his desk and opens the top drawer taking out an envelope. "I have the phone bill to prove it." He moves the chair to the side and stands in front of Morgan. "Do I have to repeat #4 of the prime directive to you?" he firmly stated.

Cassidy quirks her right brow at the bearded man standing a few feet away. She exudes this puzzled look on her face as to the meaning of what Chuck said. Her eyes shift towards Morgan wincing as he is being thwapped on the forehead with the envelope containing the phone bill in question. To Cassidy, it looks liked a dog being reprimanded with a rolled up newspaper for being bad.

In the time Cassidy had gotten to know Morgan, she always wondered why Chuck would be friends with a guy who she sees as immature and irresponsible. She stands there shaking her head and thinks to herself friendship aside, if he was an employee working for her she would immediately fire him on the spot. She couldn't rack her brain around it and just chalked it up to being a guy thing. Her thought process is soon broken when Chuck stands with his back to her as she hears him giving one last say to the little bearded man.

"Come on." pleaded Chuck. "Work with me buddy!"

"I will, you can count on me."

"I hope so." said Chuck as he turns to leave with Cassidy.

Morgan quickly steps out hollering at Chuck down the hall. "I will not let you down dude!"

XXX

Orange Orange stands across the street from Whiz Kid Systems. The C.I.A would buy out the previous owner and completely renovate it turning it into a cover business in order to keep a close eye on their most important intelligence asset. The frozen yogurt shop is situated within a populated area that has a tanning salon, a gym, sunglass hut, and a sandwich shop. On the surface, the froyo shop resembles a typical eating establishment that serves tasty treats. However, located underneath is a state of the art command center where according to Casey they would finally have a place to run a first rate operation. The command center would be aptly named Castle.

The setting sun shines through the glass partition sitting on top of the counter hitting Sarah's gold locket hanging around her neck. The reflection of the sun hitting off the locket illuminates her face making it glow like an angel. The uniform she wears consists of an orange headband holding back her long golden blonde locks, orange top that accentuated her assets, white Capri pants, and orange sneakers with blue shoelaces.

She begins wiping down the counter itself when her thoughts turn to how glad she is that she no longer works at Weinerlicious. She had two reasons one of them being that she just didn't like her manager Scooter. The other reason was that at the end of the day her clothes smelled like sausage, but there was one upside in all that. Sarah kept the uniform not for posterity reasons but for the simple fact that Chuck found it sexy when she wore it especially in the bedroom to which a devilish smile slowly appears on her face.

It wasn't before long her thoughts gravitated towards her family, but more importantly her father Jeremiah Wexler. Wexler Industries provided state of the art weaponry for the United States military and he expected nothing less than absolute perfection in what his company built. He takes great pride in not only all that he put in what his company creates, but also in his employees who he envisions having great potential.

Sarah's face cringes at the thought of the word potential. Before joining the C.I.A taking the cover name Sarah Walker and being a top cover operative for Graham, she was DeAnna Wexler who grew up in the mountainous terrain of Breckinridge, Colorado and spent much of her young life vying for the approval of her father who continually pressed the point of utilizing her greatest potential.

She shakes her head knowing how much she truly despised it growing up with a father who in her own mind treated her and her sister as employees rather than daughters. It was a source of great pain for her emotionally and psychologically that it would cause her to lash out to spite him. DeAnna considered herself the black sheep of the family because of the trouble she would be always getting herself into whereby becoming a disappointment in her father's eyes.

It wouldn't be just her father eyes that she would see disappointment in as her sister Cassidy would exude them as well. As much as she loved her older sister when they were younger, Cassidy Wexler would turn out to be just like her father from her attitude to the way she carried herself. It irked her on how she would inherit the same annoying mannerisms and echo the same sentiments her father would give the times she bailed her out after finding out her little sister was in trouble getting into fights in school.

The relationship was a rocky one to say the least but DeAnna could always count on her mother Emily as her saving grace. She was the comforting buffer that would always help keep her sanity in check and shield the negativity coming from her husband and older daughter. Her mother knew she wasn't like her father and wouldn't end up following in his footseps like her older sister did. DeAnna would be creating her own footsteps to success and she did as she ended up being recruited into the C.I.A.

DeAnna Wexler and Sarah Walker were two different people. Yet, they are one in the same and both would eventually come face to face with not only their father but also General Beckman as well. It would be in a secret facility known as level 36 under Wexler Industries that her two worlds would collide in the same fashion as Chuck when Ellie was poisoned with a high dose of truth serum. In that brief moment in time, she immediately knew things would never be the same again.

She was certainly right especially when it pertained to the relationship with her father. During that time in level 36, she was locked in a room with her father. She would confront him about what his now deceased associate Marcus Stefano about the remark he made during the standoff where he referred to her as a bad investment. Those two words would be a significant trigger that would set her off causing all the pent up anger she repressed to explode out.

It was a liberating feeling to express all that she was feeling over a course of many years towards her father and to be quite honest punching him in the face felt good. Luckily, she was holding back a bit or she would have to explain to her mother and sister why she accidentally killed her father. However, she did feel guilty afterwards but something positive came out of that situation.

DeAnna Wexler would not only have a reconciliation with her past but the relationship with her father would finally be resolved to the point where they became closer. She would be eternally grateful to her father for sticking his company, as well as his own neck out in order to save both her career and relationship. A smile grew on her face at that thought but it would soon fade from her mind when she hears the bell ring causing her to draw her attention towards the front door. The smile that appeared on her face grows even larger as she sees Chuck with a big smile on his face enter with her sister Cassidy.

XXX

"How long are staying in town this time Cass?" inquired Sarah.

"Not long. I have a business meeting and then I head back home to help dad with a new prototype he's creating for the military." replied Cassidy. "But you didn't hear that from me."

Chuck responds with a funny face as he gestures that his lips are sealed getting a laugh in the process.

Cassidy sits across the table from her sister and boyfriend. Sarah had looped her right arm around Chuck's left arm with her left hand intertwined with his as her head rests on his shoulder. For the life of her, she would have never expected her sister to fall in love wish such a nerd. Yet, sitting there she sees Sarah exhale a sigh of contentment and within that brief moment she's admittedly jealous that her baby sister finally found happiness but she wouldn't tell her that out loud.

"We've certainly enjoyed your visits. Plus, the stories you've shared with me about your sister growing up were very enjoyable especially about the one where she gave herself a haircut." Chuck said giving a small chuckle.

"Hey, I was 6 years old and I didn't know any better." retorted Sarah as she plafully slaps Chuck's left arm.

"So Chuck, I've been meaning to ask this ever since we left your office." said Cassidy.

"Ask away."

"What is the prime directive?" the eldest Wexler sister asked with intriguing curiosity.

Cassidy notices Chuck smirking as his eyes perk up when she requested him to explain it to her. She would learn how much of a nerd he truly is.

"When I started my business I came up with a prime directive. It's basically a set of guiding principles that I and my employees adhere to." answered Chuck.

Cassidy merely nodded acknowledging her baby sister's boyfriend. "That's sounds reasonable." she retorted.

"Yeah it is." nodded Chuck. "It's based on the fictional universe of Star Trek in which the Prime Directive is considered to be Starfleet's General Order #1 and is the prominent guiding principle of United Federation of Planets.

As Cassidy is sitting there, she immediately thinks he's out of his mind. Basing the principles for his business on a t.v. show that in her mind wasn't that good to begin with. She wonders if he's one of those fans calling themselves Trekkies who pathetically dresses up like their favorite character.

"Uh huh." responded Cassidy again nodding her head. "What…uh…are those guiding principles?" she inquired with a bit of reluctance.

"Well…" said Chuck. "...the Directive states that members of Starfleet are not to interfere in the internal affairs of another species, especially the natural development of pre-warp civilizations, either by direct intervention, or technological revelation. When studying a planet's civilization, particularly during a planetary survey, the Prime Directive makes it clear that there is to be "No identification of self or mission. No interference with the social development of said planet. No references to space, other worlds, or advanced civilizations. Starfleet personnel are required to understand that allowing cultures to develop on their own is an important right and therefore must make any sacrifice to protect cultures from contamination, even at the cost of their own lives." the browned haired business owner states. "Anyways, that is what it can better explained in the original series episode called 'Bread and Circuses'."

Cassidy just stares blankly at Chuck for a few seconds and then turns her attention towards Sarah. "Did you understand any of what he just said?" asked Cassidy.

Sarah smiles as she proudly looks at Chuck and then turns to look at her sister. "Nope and I'm a spy who speaks several different languages." she replied. "Whenever he and Morgan are in their own little world talking about things such as Star Trek, I just smile and nod my head like you were doing."

"No I wasn't." Cassidy objected.

Sarah immediately chimed in. "Yes you were. I had that exact same look on your face when I inadvertently got pulled into a lengthy debate on who would win in a battle between Godzilla and Voltron."

"Run Sarah!" joked Cassidy as she playfully reaches over to pull her away from Chuck.

"Seriously though…" Chuck knew he needed to clarify the guidelines for Cassidy's sake. "…I'm not using the exact guidelines/principles for my business. Mine are bit more modified in a way that coincides with them. Oh and no I'm not a Trekkie but Morgan is though."

"Of course." said Cassidy rolling her eyes.

"When I told Morgan about repeating #4 of the business prime directive it basically states that no employee is to cause interference of any kind towards another business that would result in a possible physical or legal altercation resulting in total disharmony among the workplace."

"That makes perfect sense. Why didn't you say that in the first place?"

"You asked what Star Trek's prime directive was, not mine. You have to be more specific next time Cass." Chuck replied shaking his head.

Cassidy finds herself biting her bottom lip in order to not say what she's thinking. Instead, she calms herself enough to respond as she exuded a forced smile. "I will." she responded. Cassidy glanced down at her watch and then stood up from the table. "I better get going."

"Do you remember where the spare key to the house is hidden?" asked Chuck leaning back in his chair.

"Yup. I'll see you two later tonight."

"Later Cass."

"See ya sis." said Sarah standing to give her big sister a hug.

Cassidy heads towards the door but before she does she turns around getting Sarah's attention. "Oh, happy 30th birthday by the way." she said.

Cassidy witnessed the surprised expression on her sister's face at the mention of it as she walked out of Orange Orange. She thought her little sister would be disappointed that nobody remembered. What she didn't see when she turned to walk out is the surprised expression on Chuck's face at finding out something he has been wanting to know for quite some time.

XXX

It's 8 p.m. eastern standard time in Washington D.C. and C.I.A. Director Langston Graham exit's a local eatery named Teatro Goldoni. He frequents this place many times to the point where it became his preferred choice to eat at. The weather is chilly that night and the sudden rush of cool air caused him to briefly shutter. He begins heading towards his 1987 Ford Black Crown Victoria parked just a few feet away and in his right hand, he's carrying a to go box of unfinished leftovers.

He spots a couple walking towards him. A man in his early 30's, 5'9, dark eyes, medium build, dark hair, slightly balding, black wing tip shoes, and wearing a gray pin stripe suit. On his right arm, he would be escorting a woman in her early 20's, slim build, about 5'5, blue eyes, dark maybe brunette hair, well endowed to say the least, wearing a light blue evening dress, a light blue shawl wrapped over he upper torso, white high heels, and carrying a small studded purse held in her right hand. When they pass each other they exchange nods and at that moment he mentally makes the call that they aren't a threat.

Langston Graham had been the Director for the C.I.A close to 30 years and within that time he is able to instantly get information down to the most insignificant detail with just one glance. He is a very cautious man and the only person he trusts is himself. Call it years of government training or just plain paranoia working in a business that is all about details he would not let down his guard for anything especially when it came to the safety of the United States.

When he reaches his car door he places the take out box on the roof and then proceeds to rifle through his right front pocket for his keys. After a few seconds, he retrieves them and in the semi-lit area of the parking lot he searches for the key that would open the door. He would eventually locate it and as he's sticking the key in, he hears a noise causing him to tense up and reach for his concealed gun located within the right frontside of his coat.

He carefully surveyes the area spotting anyone or anything seemingly out of place. When he finds that there is nothing to be alarmed about he opens the door, grabs the take out box, and jumps in closing the door all in one fell swoop. He strategically places the take out box containing the best lobster risotto in the city in the middle area of passenger seat. Next to the take out box, he places his M1911 single-action, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge along side it for precautionary reasons.

Several moments later he leaves to meet with General Beckman. He heads northwest on K St. towards 20th St. and the turns right inevitably turning right again on L ST. He passes Franklin Square and inside the car, the only light that is seen is shown on his eyes as the rectangular reflection from the rear view mirror exuding a sense of alertness as they dart back and forth on his surroundings. After a while, he notices a black Lincoln Town Car in his rear view mirror causing him to be suspicious because it had been following him for quite some time.

Graham implements evasive driving techniques in order to confirm that he is being followed. He turns on Connecticut Ave and makes several turns until he finds himself northwest of Mt. Vernon PL. Again the black Lincoln Town Care is behind him leading the C.I.A. Director to make the decision to stop at the next street light he comes to in order for whoever is driving the car to make their next move. He turns into New York Ave. that is fairly unpopulated and close to College Park. He stops at the red light waiting for the black Lincoln Town Car to appear and when it does he reaches over for his gun setting next time.

He sets the gun on his lap facing the driver's side door as the car slowly creeps towards the left turn lane and stops next to Graham. Glancing inside the car he sees the occupant and quickly determines he's a white male, possible late 20's, sandy blonde hair, wearing a dark v length shirt, with a dark brown sport coat over it, and talking on a cell phone. The driver of the car glances at Graham as he is talking to someone on his cell phone causing Graham to discreetly rest his right hand on his gun, releasing the safety, and then placing his finger on the trigger. Graham takes a look up at the light and then glances back at the driver to his left who again continues talking on his cell phone taking another quick glance his way.

Seconds seem like hours as both are waiting for the light to turn. Suddenly, the light turns green with both cars moving forward. Graham keeps a vigilant eye as the black Lincoln Town Car veers off to the left and as he is moving forward a Black Dodge Full Size Ram Van plows into his car basically T-boning it with such force it spins causes the leftovers laying on the passenger seat to spread all over the interior of the car including Graham. The impact causes him to knock his head against the drivers side window as the car ends up lifeless in the middle of the intersection as smoke billows out from the engine. The black dodge full size van's front side is equally as torn up leading two occupants inside to immediately get out.

They both head to the back opening the back doors in order to take out a miniature version of the jaws of life and then head towards the damaged car. Inside Graham is slumped over a bit but still strapped into his seat by his seat belt. His eyes flicker as he turns his head to not only see the blurry image of two men trying to rip away the door, but also sees the red headlights of the car that turned left backing up towards his direction. A semi-conscious Graham with blood trickling down the left side of his face instinctively reaches for the gun in his lap but it isn't there. Within several minutes, the two men get the door open, retrieve Graham, from the wreckage, and place him in the trunk of the black Lincoln Town Car but not before searching him first. What they are searching for is his cell phone and once in their possession they toss it to the side in order to not be tracked. Afterwards, the two men driving the van get into the car that is clearly a distraction in order to get the better of the veteran government agent. All this is performed in quick precision timing and when it's all said and done, all 3 men disappear into the night with C.I.A Director Graham in their clutches.

XXX

Note: Please comment and tell what you think. I changed my usual style that many of you are accustomed to. I hope you enjoy the read.