The Present………………
"Ellie! Please, wait I can explain." Casey ran after her. "Ellie!"
But it was too late. She was already in her apartment with the door shut and he was sure barricaded. Casey hurried back into the room, stopping only to grab his shoes.
"Colonel, this briefing isn't over." General Beckman sounded as perturbed as she looked.
"With all due respect general, it's over for me. I have to see Ellie and explain. She's upset and I need to make sure she's ok." Without waiting for a reply, Casey reached over and turned off the monitor.
He secured the weapons he had been concealing when the General interrupted him with one of her surprise briefings. He had been in his bedroom getting ready to lock them up when the General had appeared on his bedroom monitor. If he had just moved downstairs to take the call, then none of this would have happened. Making his way to the front door he set the alarms and prepared himself for the confrontation ahead. How was he going to explain this to her and make her understand. He knew what she was thinking and he knew that he had to get to her quick.
Running across the courtyard, he made his way to her door and knocked. "Ellie, let me in. We need to talk."
"I have nothing to say to you." The reply was so quiet he almost couldn't hear it. He could tell she was crying and it was breaking his heart that he was responsible.
"Ellie, please. You don't understand. I know what you heard, but if you'll just let me explain, I promise you it will be alright." He sounded desperate. Maybe because he was. If pleading wasn't going to work, then he would do what he did best. Take the situation in hand. "If you don't open the door, I'm going to bust it down."
"You wouldn't dare." She replied.
"I would. Because you see I'm desperate and a desperate man will do about anything to get what he wants." Casey explained.
"Give me a few minutes. I want to wash my face and pull myself together. Can you do that for me? She asked.
"Five minutes Ellie. Not a minute more. If this door isn't open in five, then I'm going to open it myself." He answered.
As he stood in the courtyard, he thought back to how what was supposed to be a nice quiet evening had turned into the mess he was now trying to straighten out…………………………..
Earlier………………………..
Ellie gave herself one final look in the mirror. She hoped John liked her new dress. They were going out to dinner to celebrate the six month dating anniversary. He had told her he would pick her up at seven, but she was in a hurry to see him and his reaction to the dress. It was blue and short and had a plunging neckline. Deciding she couldn't wait any longer, she grabbed her purse and keys and locked her door. Making her way across the courtyard to John's apartment she knocked. When he didn't answer she used the key he given her and made her way inside. Closing the door behind her she heard voices coming from the bedroom. It sounded like he was talking to a woman on a speaker phone. Making her way down the hall, the voices became clearer and she could make out what they were saying.
"I must admit Colonel, that when you first told me you were going to date Chuck's sister I had my reservations. But since it's allowed you to get closer to him without compromising your cover I see that I was wrong."
"Thank you General." Casey couldn't be smug even though he wanted to. "Dating Ellie has enabled me to not only spend more time with Chuck, but get a handle on other areas of his life that might affect his work as the intersect." He couldn't let the General know that he was dating Ellie for a hell of a lot more reasons than that. Number one being that he was head over heels in love with her. The General could never find out.
"Well, just don't blow it Colonel. Use Chuck's sister however you need to to keep the mission on track. And I hope for your sake she never finds out that you've been using her to further your cover. A woman that finds out she's being used, is never a good thing." Just as the general finished speaking, Casey heard a gasp from the doorway. Spinning around he caught a glimpse of blue as it made its way down the hallway.
"Holy shit." He thought to himself. "Ellie had come into the apartment and heard his conversation with the general. "Damn it." He hadn't had the silent alarms on because he had been recalibrating them and had yet to finish. This wasn't good. She was thinking that he was only seeing her to use her, when nothing could be further from the truth.
Present Day…………………..
Casey came out of his day dream just as his watch signaled her five minutes were up. Just as he started to kick the door open he heard tires screeching out of the tenant's parking lot. He got to the street just in time to see Ellie's BMW disappear down the street.
"Damn it!" He exclaimed as he realized she had tricked him. Running back to the apartment he found the window to her bedroom was open. She had climbed out. Climbing in through the same window, Casey found her closet and dresser drawers open. Moving to the closet he saw that her suitcase was missing. She wasn't planning on coming back any time soon. "Double damn it!" He exclaimed as he put his fist through the wall.
Reaching into his pocket he took out his cell phone and punched a number. He was not looking forward to this, but he needed help. The phone rang twice and then answered. "Get your ass home now Bartowski. We've got a situation." Without waiting for a reply, he hung up and sat down on Ellie's bed. Remembering the first time he was in her room where she knew about it………………………..
Five Months Before……………………….
