A/N: Guys, I was totally blown away by your very heartening response to the beginning of this story. Thanks a bunch for the reviews, favorites and alerts. As promised and on time, here is the second installment.
In the previous chapter, I forgot – inexcusably – to mention another source of inspiration for certain aspects of a story. It's one of my favorite books, Enigma, by Robert Harris. The movie with Dougray Scott and Kate Winslet diverges somewhat from the book's storyline, but keeps to the same premise, so it's not half bad.
Unaware of the storm brewing all the way across the country, Chuck finally woke up. Yawning, he stretched his long limbs and got out of bed. A quick shower later, he put on a pair of jeans and one of his favorite Call of Duty t-shirts. A glance at the bedside clock told him that it was eleven in the morning. Ellie and Devon would be at work, so the coast was clear.
"Happy hour," he said to himself and grinned evilly. His hopes, however, were dashed when he got to the kitchen. Decaf was the only kind of coffee he could find in the cupboards and any other known or potential hiding place. "Damn," he groused. Ellie was serious about keeping him caffeine-free for the duration of his recovery. At least she didn't forbid him to watch TV, so he turned on the morning news. It was the usual boring stuff, so he randomly channel-surfed, until he found an old TV show he loved. He sat down to watch it with a cup of decaf and a couple of slices of home-made cheese, ham, olive, onion and pepper bread, or, as he'd named it, pizza loaf a la Ellie.
Morgan had been given a key to his best friend's apartment, but he still knocked.
"Who is it?" Chuck yelled from inside.
"It's me!"
"Use your key, dude!"
He did, and entered. "Hey Chuck."
"You know you don't have to knock, right? This is why I gave you the key."
"I know, but it's better to play it safe. After all, you could be, ahem, entertaining someone."
"I wish," Chuck sighed. "Even if I'd bothered to find someone, Ellie would certainly scare her away."
"Don't be too hard on her."
"She won't be doing it on purpose," Chuck explained. "But she'd try to tell her what to do and what to avoid with me, using her no nonsense approach and… you can guess the rest."
Morgan thought about what Chuck had just told him. "You're right."
"I usually am, but it doesn't make it suck any less."
"It sucks majorly, all right. Hey, what are you watching? Are those Matlock reruns?"
"Yep, it's the episode where he dreams of solving a murder in the Old West."
"Ah, season six, episode four," Morgan said without batting an eye. "I always loved this one. But it seems I've missed about half of it."
"Help yourself to some coffee and pizza loaf a la Ellie and make yourself comfortable. The A-Team is on next."
"So, we'll be having an old TV show marathon today?"
"For starters," Chuck confirmed. "Then we can play a little Far Cry."
"You didn't get the memo, did you?"
"What memo?"
"Ellie's no gaming whatsoever decree still stands. She's even keeping all your games locked away ."
"She's such a killjoy," he grumbled.
"No, she just wants you in top shape again soon. And I just happen to agree with her."
"Traitor." For good measure, Chuck threw a cushion at his friend.
"You'll be thanking us later, dude. Now, let's enjoy our oldies."
-o-
Meanwhile, in Bryce's apartment, Graham looked at his three subordinates in turn. "If your expressions are any indication, Sarah here has already told you about Charlie's doppelganger."
All three nodded dumbly.
"Good. Just after Sarah left, I had him checked out quite thoroughly. It wasn't hard to identify Charlie, after all Bryce had one Charles as a roommate in Stanford. I also had a very interesting conversation about Chuck Bartowski with Professor Fleming. You do remember Fleming, don't you Bryce?"
"Yes sir." Bryce was dreading the next part of the conversation.
"He was quite adamant about standing by his decision to side with you and not qualify your friend for recruitment and, frankly, under any other circumstances I would have agreed with him."
"I sense a caveat here," Sarah said.
"Yes. As I said, under other circumstances." He looked again at the three of them. "We have a lot to cover, so is there any chance of a cup of coffee?"
"Sure thing, sir," Jill replied and got up to start a pot.
"Sarah also brought cupcakes," Bryce added.
"Well, I definitely wouldn't say no to one." He waited until he had his coffee and a cupcake in front of him before continuing with the briefing. He took a file from his briefcase and showed Bryce and Jill a photograph.
"Phew. That guy looks like Chuck's lost twin brother," Jill remarked.
"The resemblance is uncanny," Bryce agreed. "I could meet this guy in the street and mistake him for Chuck. Who is he, anyway?"
"His name is Hans Lichtenstein."
"It sounds vaguely familiar," Bryce said.
"Yeah, isn't he that elusive German billionaire playboy who shuns the press?" Sarah added.
"The same," Graham confirmed. "Although he claims that he prefers to keep his privacy, he has a host of other reasons for avoiding the spotlight, namely being involved in several questionable ventures."
"Questionable as in of interest to the CIA?" Sarah ventured.
"The whole alphabet soup, actually," Graham admitted. "We had a joint op with the NSA and liaising with several other agencies, US, allied and international, in order to finally put a stop to his activities, but it all went awry." He paused for effect and straightened an almost invisible crease in his immaculate suit pants. He definitely held the undivided interest of his small audience. "We didn't count on dumb luck and the sometimes unpredictable frailty of the human nature."
"How poetic, Boss," Bryce commented dryly.
"But true," Graham continued. "You see, Lichtenstein was attending a party in Switzerland, when he suddenly collapsed. As it turned out, he'd had a severe allergic reaction to something he ingested."
"Is he dead?" Sarah queried.
"Fortunately for us, no, he's in a coma and currently being treated in a Swiss hospital. Until yesterday, we were resigned to waiting for him to wake up, but now we have an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"Fuck me sideways!" Bryce's eyes widened in understanding.
"Holy crap!" Jill exclaimed.
"You want to substitute Chuck for the real Lichtenstein?" Sarah voiced what everyone else was thinking.
"That's the general idea. I had our experts compare photos of Lichtenstein and Mr. Bartowski. They say even their mothers would be unable to tell them apart."
"Sir, no," Bryce said firmly. "Over the years since our graduation from Stanford I've kept touch with Chuck. Do you know that he came really close to dying recently?"
"Of course I do. Like I said, I had him checked out very thoroughly."
"Then you know he's in no shape for spy games."
"So much the better." Graham noticed Bryce's enraged expression, so he held up his hand to stave off the expected angry protest. "I'm not being callous, Bryce. But let's face it, Hans Lichtenstein is in a coma. It would be weird, to say the least, if he woke up from it in top shape. Your friend's unfortunate predicament actually works in our favor."
"So, how are we going to do it, assuming of course that we actually go ahead with this crazy plan?" Sarah asked.
"Well, making the switch at the hospital will be a piece of cake. We already have people in there, monitoring Lichtenstein's condition and informing us of everything. We've been putting together a more comprehensive dossier on the guy, and I'm confident we'll be able to coach Mr. Bartowski sufficiently for him to pass convincingly as Lichtenstein."
"Hang on a second there, Boss. You've obviously made some way into planning this thing, but don't forget it all hinges on Chuck. He has to accept becoming part of all this."
"You and Jill know him quite well. What do you think he'll say?"
Bryce and Jill exchanged meaningful looks. They both knew there was no way Chuck would say no to helping make the world a safer place for everyone by taking down Hans Lichtenstein's criminal organization.
"My point exactly," Graham said smugly.
"I want in on this," Bryce piped up suddenly.
"How? You can't walk without crutches, you're still on pain meds and you're too close to this."
"Bullshit," Bryce said harshly. "With all due respect, sir, I can help. Maybe not with the field work at first, but this could turn out to be a long term assignment. You need people like me, people who know Chuck. Plus, it will be easier on him to have someone to turn to when it gets too much."
"Point taken. You're in."
The young agent crossed his arms and smiled smugly. "Who else will be in on this?"
"I was thinking we could start small. I have a core team in mind, which, aside from you and Mr. Bartowski, will include Dr. Roberts, Agent Walker and, from the NSA, Major Casey."
"Casey babysitting an asset even one as gold-plated as Chuck?" Bryce exclaimed. "Damn, I'd definitely pay to see the day… OUCH!" The cry of pain was due to a swift kick from Jill, fortunately on his good leg. "If it were about someone other than Chuck, Jill," he qualified his previous statement. His girlfriend just grinned smugly.
"Since you are of limited mobility, you will stay here in DC and work basic mission logistics with Major Casey, Bryce," Graham began assigning roles to the team.
"What about me?" Sarah asked.
"You will fly to LA and make initial contact with Mr. Bartowski. Drop Bryce's name if you think it'll help things along, which I believe it will. Convince him to trust you and reassure him that he'll have all the support he will need, whenever and wherever he needs it."
"Yes sir."
"I would have sent you, Bryce, but traveling is inadvisable considering your injury."
"I understand, Boss. But I do want to talk to him when he gets here."
"We've missed him," Jill added.
"OK, then," Graham got up, gathered his files and prepared to leave.
"Sir?" Bryce stopped him.
"Yes?"
"Boss, Chuck's birthday is tomorrow. What do you say we leave him to celebrate in peace before turning his life upside down, as this job is almost certain to do?"
"I have no problem with that. Sarah, discuss the approach strategy with Bryce and Jill. Since Mr. Bartowski is a friend of theirs, they'll have some useful advice to give you."
"Yes sir."
"I'll show myself out, kids. See you at work."
"Goodbye sir," the others chorused.
-o-
"Chuck, I was doing some thinking and Devon agrees," Ellie said, while they were sitting in the living room talking.
"It doesn't have to do with some miracle cure or something, does it?"
"No, not at all," Ellie shook her head emphatically. "It's more along the line of making you feel better emotionally. We are going to throw you a birthday party."
"Big deal," he scoffed. "You do that every year whether I like it or not."
"This time it's going to be a small affair, a friends and family kind of thing. Here, I already made a list of stuff to get."
Chuck skimmed over the list. "Root beer? What happened to normal beer?"
"No alcohol for you!"
"But I'm not on any medication any more!" Chuck protested.
"I know what I'm saying and it's for your own good. Besides, you love root beer floats."
"Fine," he huffed. I'll just get Morgan to spike the punch, he thought. Or, keeping in mind that Ellie may have already gotten to him, I'll spike it myself and let the others blame him, hehe. It's the perfect crime.
"Don't sulk, bro," Devon tried to cheer Chuck up. "El and I went over the results from your latest tests. Give it a couple of weeks more, tops, and most if not all of the restrictions will be gone."
"Two MORE weeks?"
"Tops, I said tops, allowing for any unexpected occurrences, relapses, episodes, whatever."
"Fat chance of those happening, not with all of you hovering over my shoulder all the time," Chuck remarked.
"Still, it's better to be safe than sorry, little brother," Ellie pointed out. "Keep reading the list. I think you'll find many things that will cheer you up."
He smiled as he kept reading. Ellie was right. He loved a lot of the snacks his sister was planning on making for the party.
"You didn't tell us," she continued, "how was your day?"
"It was just fine. I woke up at a comfortably late hour, and had some of your horrible decaf and finished off your pizza loaf with Morgan while watching reruns of my favorite old shows on TV."
"Hey! Don't diss my choice of blends!" Ellie protested indignantly.
"Normally, I wouldn't dream of it. But I want regular, caffeinated coffee for a change. Right now, the only caffeine I'm getting is from cokes and chocolate milk, of which there is plenty in the Buy More, fortunately."
"Hrmph. What happened next?"
"Morgan informed me about the continuation of your ban on computer and video games, much to my displeasure, of course."
"Of course," she parroted, her voice dripping with both irony mixed in with a good dose of sisterly concern.
"Anyhow, we watched an episode of Matlock, followed by an A-Team one and finally we caught one of my all-time favorites, Mission Impossible."
"And then?"
"Then Morgan had to go pick up some stuff for home, so I just read a bit and then went for a walk around the Park. Oh, and I also got the latest issue of Justice League. All in all, I had a pretty good day."
His phone, which was on the coffee table, rang and he excused himself to answer it. He spoke in hushed tones and then rejoined Ellie and Devon.
"Well?" Ellie asked.
"That was Big Mike," he said, sitting down and placing his phone back on the coffee table.
"You are not on call today. What did he want?" Ellie interrupted before he had a chance to elaborate.
"There's been a change of plans. The Buy More will be closing for renovations and Big Mike wanted me to supervise the making of the necessary signs. It'll be a very easy gig, so I expect to be done with it in a couple of hours tomorrow morning. After that, all of us will be put on leave for the duration of the renovation work."
"How long will they be closed?" Devon asked.
"Big Mike said something about two weeks or so, why?"
"Then you may not have to return to the Buy More."
"You could use the time to look for another job," Ellie added.
"She's right, bro. Like I said, in two weeks you'll be fine. I just hope you've learned your lesson."
"Don't you doubt that, Captain. However, who is going to hire someone with my recent, ahem, medical history?"
"Hey, no pessimism allowed, Chuckster. A guy with your qualifications and experience will be much sought after, trust me."
"Well, I guess there is no harm in looking. Big Mike won't like me leaving on such short notice, though. Bah, I may just put in some extra days after the Buy More reopens, depending on when I actually land a new job."
"Don't tell me you got comfortable in there! You are so much better than an electronics retail chain," Ellie said.
"Sis, we all agreed my working there was always going to be a temporary thing. The only reason I got the job was to avoid going stir-crazy, as you perfectly well know. Dare I remind you how you were totally against me finding a way to keep busy?"
"Yes, because you needed rest and relaxation to recuperate."
"In all fairness, I think my recovery was actually speeded up."
Devon decided to side with Chuck. "Babe, he's right. You overlooked the psychological angle. By keeping busy and not feeling useless sitting around the apartment, Chuck made real progress in his recovery. I would have expected it to take at least an additional week otherwise."
"OK, enough said about my current and future career prospects," Chuck said. "So, what are you guys planning to do tonight?"
"Devon and I are not on call, and we thought about going out."
"It's been a while since you two last had a date night. Go, I'll be fine on my own. Maybe I'll do a little more work on my gaming rig." One of Chuck's pastimes was creating the ultimate home gaming system. While working at Roark Instruments, he hadn't had the time to do more than the occasional tinkering, but now he could devote more time to it and he'd made progress.
"Fine, but don't overdo it."
"I won't."
-o-
Graham had left them a thick dossier with everything his people had compiled on Chuck Bartowski. Although Bryce and Jill knew him well, they still leafed through it together with Sarah. It helped fill in some blanks, especially with regards to certain aspects of his professional life over the past five years.
"There is something else about Chuck that you won't find in any file," Bryce said finally.
Sarah was intrigued. "What is it?"
"Chuck was, and quite likely still is, one of the best hackers around. Have you ever heard of the Piranha?"
"No, but then again network security wasn't something I was ever tasked with."
"Well, he was rather famous in certain circles. Using his skills, he and I had a blast in Stanford."
"Oh, it was harmless fun, then."
"For the most part, yes," Bryce nodded. "But I do remember one incident Jill had with a TA."
"What happened?"
"He came on to her, that's what happened. His advances were totally unwelcome, she was with me after all, but he was an insistent bastard."
Jill took it from there. "The guys decided he needed to pay for it, so Chuck blocked his access to the university server for two weeks and also flagged him with security for sexual harassment."
"What else did you do to him? You wouldn't have let the guys have all the fun."
She grinned. "I slipped a little something of my own concoction into his coffee. It was an extra strength laxative I made in the lab. In the end, he got fired when he was caught harassing another student."
"I'm impressed," Sarah said. And she really was.
"Sarah, it's mentioned in passing here, but I want you to know it was important. Chuck is my friend and since my friendship with him is what will get him dragged into all this, I have to tell you. He had a girlfriend until about a couple of months ago. She's a really good girl, so Jill and I cannot blame either of them for what happened, but…"
"They broke up just before Chuck got sick. It's all in here."
"Yes, the family business got something of a windfall, and it was Chuck who actually encouraged her to go work with her parents. He said it was the opportunity of a lifetime and he didn't want to be the one to hold her back."
"It was very selfless of him."
"Yes, but in doing so, he lost one of his supports, which accelerated his collapse. My point is, he's still vulnerable, emotionally. Try not to do anything to hurt his feelings, OK?"
"Sure," Sarah replied. "Like you both said, he's a great guy and I can't help but like him, even though we haven't even met yet. And since I know how much he means to you, I promise to look after him as best as I can. Besides, you two will also be involved. We're all in this together."
"Deal," Bryce and Jill said in unison.
Next week we'll have the first meeting between Chuck and Sarah. Stay tuned!
