AN: When I came up with this idea in the back of my mind a good God knows how many months ago, I had no idea it would have such a good reception. So you can imagine my surprise when after school, I went online and found an odd thirty or so emails of reviews, story alerts, etc. Thanks to all you guys who have Favorited or reviewed, you are just awesome.
The title for this story was kind of stolen from the Capcom video game, Rival Schools: United By Fate, which honestly I never played but heard of and while thinking up the title, one thing led to another.
Anyway, here is the next chapter of United By By Red Tests. Hope you enjoy and please review.
Chapter 2: New Partners
Two Weeks Later
Washington DC
Sarah's Apartment
Two weeks. That was how long it had been since the worst day of her life. Since the day she'd killed her mark in cold blood. After her arrival from Paris she wanted to jump straight into missions, try forget anything ever happened. Instead, Graham gave her two weeks off. He called in a vacation. Sarah thought of it as torture.
Trapped, with nothing to do but think about what she'd done. She couldn't sleep. And once she'd finished crying her eyes out about what she'd done and no more tears could come, she tried to work out in the gym. Between thinking and working out, Sarah didn't do too much. The punching bag in the gym needed to be replaced after she'd been at it, Lord knows how many times when she couldn't sleep.
She was at the gym, pounding the crap out of yet another punching bag when her phone rang. She saw it was Graham and gave a final hit to the punching bag before answering.
"Walker, secure."
"Graham, secure. Agent Walker, I'm afraid your vacation is going to come to an end," he said.
'Thank God,' Sarah thought. "I know, Sir."
"I need you to come in now."
"Of course, Sir. What is this about?"
"You have a new partner."
"Who is is?" she asked.
"I believe you may have heard of him. His name is Charles Carmichael."
Washington DC
Chuck's Apartment
It felt like he'd been tricked. Tricked by Graham, Flemming, the CIA. Everyone in this business tricked him. Chuck still couldn't believe he'd shot the mark, killed Perry. It was so unlike him. Or who he thought he was. Who was he now anyway? It probably wasn't Chuck Bartowski, the nerd who walked in after Stanford.
The thought of him changing kept him up many a night since that test. He wondered what Ellie would say if she found out. She didn't know about him being a spy, neither did Devon or Morgan, it was to keep them safe. He'd talked to a CIA therapist a few times during his 'vacation' and now he was lying flat on the bed in his apartment. He hadn't seen Casey since the day after his red test. He'd probably been assigned somewhere else. Chuck had stocked up on cheese balls, he always ate them when he was feeling depressed.
His phone rang, rolling on his side he picked it up.
"Carmichael, it's Graham. I need you to report in as soon as possible."
"Uh, yeah, sure. What's this concerning?"
"You have a new partner, Carmichael."
Chuck raised a brow slightly. "Um, sure. Who is that?"
"Agent Sarah Walker."
Chuck almost choked on a cheese ball he'd been eating. He cleared his throat a couple of times. "I'm sorry, we're talking about the Sarah Walker?" Chuck had read some of her mission reports in his days as an analyst. Beautiful, fast, strong and very capable apparently, she was nothing short of being the perfect agent. Not to mention being personally groomed by Graham, himself.
"That is correct. Agent Carmichael. I'll see you soon," Graham hung up.
CIA Headquarters
Washington DC
30 Minutes Later
After showering and changing Sarah Walker made her way down to Graham's office, like she had so many times prior. She was getting a new partner, Charles Carmichael, an analyst-turned-field agent.
She didn't know too much about him. He was smart, definitely, he had only been on a handful of missions but so far, all proved successful and he seemed to do his job well enough. Sarah wasn't too used to working with someone else, aside from a few missions with her old handler, Ryker and a few with some of her training partners, Sarah worked alone. And needless to say she did it very well. She wondered what it was going to be like with this Carmichael guy.
She really hoped that he wasn't some cocky, arrogant, James Bond wannabe type douche bag. She'd seen those far too many times to count and it was always a pain when she had to work with them. This Carmichael guy, just based on the reports seemed okay enough, but then again, reports could always be biased in some way.
At least this whole new partner thing got her mind off the red test, off the day she was trying so hard to put behind her. Sarah pushed those thoughts out of her head as she opened Graham's door and saw Carmichael sitting by Graham.
He was tall, lanky, with big brown eyes and hair that seemed to be trimmed short. And somehow, instantly, Sarah knew in that moment that he was different. He stood up and offered a handshake.
"Agent Walker, hi, um, Charles Carmichael," he rambled nervously as she shook his hand. "This is such an honor to meet you, I've heard remarkable things about you," he smiled.
"Pleased to meet you, Charles," she replied. "And thank you. I've heard great things about you, myself."
He smiled again, nervously. "Well, thank you. And please call me Chuck."
"Agents," the Director said as Sarah and Chuck took their seats. "I've read your files and some of your mission reports and I have decided that the two of you would make a good team. I trust that there are no objections."
The two agents both nodded.
"Good, then its settled. You are now partners. I suggest you get acquainted, you'll be briefed on your first mission later. Dismissed."
Sarah began to walk away after the two of them exited the Director's office when Chuck called out and half-ran after her.
"Agent Walker. Um, uh, do you wanna go somewhere for lunch maybe," he rambled, his hand trying to flatten his hair. "It's just that Graham said we should get acquainted and it would be strictly professional, I swear. But I uh, I understand completely if you have other plans so-"
"Chuck," Sarah decided to cut him off. "Yes."
"Yes?"
"Sure, I'd like that. And please, call me Sarah."
They ended up going to a local Italian restaurant, where for the first time in two weeks, either of them felt at ease. It was just something about each other, they could find some amount of comfort.
"Pizza looks good," Sarah mused.
"Sure, what kind?"
"Vegetarian, no olives."
Chuck ordered one. After which, they sat in silence for a little while, Chuck was pretty nervous. He had just been partnered with the Sarah Walker, the star former trainee and agent. It was the first time in a while Chuck wasn't feeling guilty as much as he was nervous. It was actually a nice change of pace.
"So uh, tell me about yourself," Sarah broke the silence.
"Me? Wow, uh, what about me? Um, I was recruited at Stanford. Studied electrical engineering and I was recruited as an analyst."
"Stanford? That's impressive."
"Thank you."
"What changed?"
"Well I guess it started when I read the reports of some agents," he paused for a moment. "And there was this one, where the agent had been captured and tortured for information and almost killed. Luckily, he managed to escape, but by the time he got back he had broken ribs and gunshot wounds and injuries. And it got me thinking," Chuck looked down for a moment.
"Here's this guy, going through hell for his country, you know? Being a real hero to protect people. And then me? I sit at a computer reading mission reports and cracking codes and that's when I decided, you know, I wanted to be an agent, actually save the world and help people, not just sit in front of a computer screen," he managed a light chuckle at the end."
"That's very admirable," Sarah said.
"Thank you," he replied. They stopped talking as the pizza arrived.
"And as for analysts, you guys do way more than sit in front of computer screens," Sarah said.
"Well thanks, Agent Walker."
"I'm serious. Field agents, we couldn't work without you guys."
"What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Oh come on, Walker, I got the essay question, now its your turn," he joked.
Sarah laughed. "Well I was recruited in high school."
"By Graham, right?"
"Yeah."
"I've heard he only recruits the best of the best," he said.
"Well, high school was not the best time of my life. Graham picked me, gave me a chance to be a spy. I took it."
They had just finished eating lunch when Sarah got a call from Graham.
"Walker, secure."
"Graham, secure. Is Carmichael with you?"
"Yes."
"You two have a briefing. Be here in fifteen minutes," Graham hung up.
Sarah pressed the end button on her phone. "We've got a briefing."
"Now?"
"Yep, Graham wants us there in fifteen."
15 Minutes Later
Director Graham's Office
CIA Headquarters
"His name is Yassen Kazakov," Graham slid a folder across his desk, it had a picture of a stern-faced man with a scar across his cheek and blonde hair. "He's Russian, an arms dealer on the black market. But the real catch is this," Graham flipped the page to show a chip.
"A chip?" Chuck asked.
"A CIA agent went rogue around six months back, but he stole a chip containing CIA Intel. We captured the rogue agent but he didn't have the chip on him and we were unable to find its location. We now realize that Kazakov has it in his possession. And to our knowledge, he's planning to sell it."
"To who?"
Graham flipped the page to fond a picture of a short-balding Asian man. "This is Hee-Soon Kim, he works with North Korean Intelligence. We believe he is meeting Kazakov at a party at the Bernstein Hotel, tonight. We need you to find Kazakov and bring in both him and the chip," Graham said.
"What about the buyer?"
"The buyer is expendable. What we really need is Kazakov and the chip. Although if you can, bringing in Kim is a step up."
"Why do we need Kazakov?" Sarah asked.
"The CIA believe that the rogue agent was just one of many, that there is a group of rogue agents, some still within the CIA. If we get Kazakov, maybe he'll talk. He'll tell us who they are."
"And if he doesn't co-operate?"
"Carmichael, you know as well as I do that the CIA has ways of making people talk," Graham said. "Any questions about the mission?"
Neither agent spoke.
"Good, attire is formal. You are both dismissed."
Bernstein Hotel
Washington DC
7:30PM
The Bernstein Hotel was five-star, swanky, the type of place you'd never expect at arms dealer to be at. Chuck and Sarah entered, him looking very dapper in his suit and her looking stunning, as usual.
"Any sign of Kazakov?" she asked.
"Nope. If he's here, he's not making much of an appearance." Chuck made his way through the crowd, until he finally caught sight of Kazakov. Fairly tall, about 6'1, blonde hair and a stern face, Chuck could just make out the scar on his cheek.
"Sarah I just found Kazakov, he's chatting with an Asian man, I think its Kim."
"Alright, Chuck, where are they?"
"Near the bar," he answered.
"Okay, I will take care of Kazakov, you bring in, Kim."
"Okay. Got it. Wait," Chuck said as he noticed the two men moving away. "They're going somewhere. They're probably handling the exchange right now, we should follow them."
Chuck and Sarah stayed a reasonable distance away from Kim and Kazakov, the two of them made their was down to a cellar-type area, probably one of the basements in the hotel. The door was shut and Sarah began taking off her shoes.
"What are you doing?"
"Okay, I'm gonna go distract them and then you tranq them and then we look for the chip. Sounds like a plan?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "Just uh, just be careful."
"I will." His concern was touching, she would admit that much.
Snapping off one of the heels from her shoes and messing up her hair, Sarah opened the door and 'drunkly' hit the lights and half-stumbled down the few steps to the bottom where Kazakov and Kim were.
"Oh, it's so bright," she said, pretending to be drunk. "Hello. Anyone here?" she called out as she pretended just to notice the two men. "Oh, God," she laughed. "Oh God, I am so sorry,I've um, I'm just a little bit lost and had a bit too much wine."
Sarah noticed Kazakov and Kim's attention turning slightly more away from their deal and onto her. So things were working.
"I broke my heel and my ankle, kind of really hurts right now and..." She needn't say anymore as a tranq dart fired into Kim's neck. Kazakov reached for his gun but Sarah hit him on the head with her heel, distracting him enough so Chuck could tranq him as well. Both men dropped to the ground as Chuck came down the steps.
"Nice work, Chuck."
"Thanks, you too. Okay, let's find this chip."
Fifteen minutes later, they've found the chip and a CIA car is coming to take in Kim and Kazakov and bring them back. Chuck was glad he didn't have to use a 'real' gun tonight. He may have passed his test, but he didn't want to turn into a killing machine, into a cold-hearted assassin. Anyway, tonight went well.
9:00PM
Director Graham's Office
Washington DC.
"Good work tonight, Agent Walker, Agent Carmichael," Graham praised.
"Sir, has Kazakov said anything?" Sarah asked.
"He is still in interrogation, Agent Walker," Graham replied. "But, both of you, you did an excellent job tonight. Although, I would have expected nothing less from the both of you."
"Thank you, Sir," they said in unison.
"Hmmm. I knew pairing the two of you as a team was a good idea. Get some rest, you're both dismissed."
"Sarah," Chuck said after they'd both left Graham's office. "Just want to say, it was great working with you."
She smiled.
"I guess the reports were right, you are nothing short of excellent in the field," he remarked.
"Thanks, Chuck. You are not so bad if I do say so myself."
It had been the first time in two weeks that either of them had felt at ease, not just having the mission to distract them from the guilt of their red tests, but working with each other. They had been acting professional and not talking about the red tests because it might jeopardize the mission. But all in all, they were very compatible.
"So I'll see you tomorrow," Chuck said.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
AN: What do you think? This chapter was lighter than the first one and yeah, now you've got Chuck and Sarah working together as a team. I know that the red tests in their partnership didn't really play a role in this chapter, but it will, eventually. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review.
