Early Monday morning Sarah's secure office
Sarah, Ellie and Casey were waiting for the unexpected conference to begin. Beckman had called them during the night asking them to meet an hour before they had to head to CTTF. The monitor came to life and the image of Beckman appeared."
"Good morning agents. I'm going to vary this briefing a bit from normal. You both know that for many years there has been a large issue of trust between the NSA and CIA. My predecessors had issues with how the CIA, under Graham, tried to entice young people to join them by using personal issues against them. They began inserting NSA people into the CIA disguised as broken kids."
"So we have agents of ours in the CIA doing what?" asked Casey.
"Most our people are desk jockeys that never see the field. They subtlety assist these kids the best they can. Another thing they do is alert some of the kids to Graham's plans and offer them a way out."
"Do you think Graham is dirty?" asked Casey.
"I don't know about that yet; I'm talking about his being unscrupulous in his dealings with recruits that should never have been selected. The NSA has had its suspicions about him in the past, but could never prove anything."
"I never did like him," groused Casey.
"John, what I'm going to tell you is a closely guarded secret known only to a handful of people. Around ten years ago a young girl was being hunted by the CIA in hopes of luring her into being an agent. Graham believed she was seventeen, but in reality she was a few years older. He figured he could use her father's crimes as a con artist against her and force her to join the CIA." Beckman paused here to take a drink from her coffee mug.
"Her being the daughter of a can man paid dividends when it came to creating false identities. What Graham didn't know was she had already enlisted in the Navy using her real name to escape that life. A recruiter for the NSA got to her soon after her enlistment started but prior to Graham and offered her a chance to go to college on the nations dime as long as she served four years with the NSA. During her junior year in school Graham began his full court press to get her to join. She went to her handler and informed him. They developed a plan where Graham could find her recovering money her father supposedly hid. She agreed to join," Beckman said using air quotes, "the CIA in hopes of preventing this from happening to other kids in the future. She switched schools to fall in line with the CIA program. When she graduated she was commissioned in the Navy as an intelligence specialist at the rank of Lieutenant."
"General, from what you are telling us she is your pick to be the team lead? And if so when does she get here?" asked Casey. He turned and looked at the two women in the room because he was confused at the giggling coming from them.
"Yes Major Casey she's going to be the team lead. The answer to your second question is sitting next to you. Major Casey I'd like to formally introduce you to NSA Agent Sarah Walker, Commander United States Navy."
"Commander Ma'am? Really?" Sarah shouted as she jumped from her chair to accept hugs and congratulations from Ellie.
"Yes Commander, I had your promotion fast tracked and it came across my desk last month before all the intersect shit came down. That was the good news, now the bad. Casey asked me if I thought Graham was dirty. One of my good friends that works in Langley informed me a few weeks ago there are rumors floating around that indicate Graham could be dirty. Please be careful on how you deal with his intel."
Sarah was slightly taken back by the news about Graham possibly being dirty, but was pleased about the other news she received from the General. "Thank you General, I'll keep that in mind when it comes to the missions Graham assigns us."
"I'll leave you to get to work. Remember John, keep Walkers cover in place. See you in a few hours," said Beckman before she disconnected the call.
"Congratulations on your promotion Ma'am," said Casey as he stood to shake her hand.
"Thank you Casey. Fates a fickle bitch isn't she?" began Sarah giving Casey a less than favorable look, "All those negative comments you made about me in the past, my being a CIA skirt and honey trap come to mind. Turns out all along I'm one of yours. You'd do well to remember that in the future Major. Let's go Ellie. Casey has crow to eat and some thinking to do before work."
Not many things shocked John Casey but this was one of them. Finding out that Sarah Walker, an agent he thought very little of in the past, was an NSA agent that had been undercover in the CIA for her entire career. She now out ranked him as well. He realized he had a lot to think over in the coming days.
Monday CTTF
Chuck and Sarah entered the Counter Terrorism Task Force (CTTF) headquarters and headed straight to the briefing room. Sarah took her seat at the far end of the table facing the large screen TV that was mounted on the wall opposite her. Chuck took the seat to her left and they waited for the rest of the selected agents to arrive.
"How you doing so far Chuck?"
"Not too bad considering what's going on. I'm still not liking this a whole lot. It's hard to believe last week I was working at the Buy More making peanuts, now I'm about to become a spy," he sighed. "On the bright side I'm glad I can keep some things normal in my life like game nights with Morgan. I think I'll get used to it in time however." Just then Casey made his entrance and sat to Sarah's right.
"Walker, Bartowski," he said with a sight grunt coming through. "Casey" was their reply. The door opened again and a stunning red head entered the room and her face lit up in a smile when she saw Sarah.
"Sarah," the red head exclaimed, "long time no see." As she walked over to Sarah who had risen from her chair to give her a big hug.
"You too Carina. You know Casey of course, this is Chuck Bartowski, he will be joining the team when he completes his training."
"He's cute, in a geeky kind of way," she said while eyeing Chuck up and down like a piece of meat. "Two questions, where's Larkin? I was told this new unit is supposed to be made up of the top agents from several agencies. Which leads to my second question, why is Bartowski here?"
"I have no idea where Larkin is, why would I? Chuck's presence will be explained during the briefing so you'll need to wait." They spent the next few minutes catching up on the past while they waited for the others to arrive. The next to arrive was Stephen Reynolds the representative from the FBI. He was followed by Jackie Stone of Homeland Security. The newly assembled group spent the next hour getting to know each other while drinking coffee or tea and eating the sweet treats that had been provided.
"Alright people please take your seats, the briefing is ready to begin," Sarah announced. She sat in her chair, pushed a button on the side of the table that brought a hidden laptop into view. She began typing on it and a few minutes later the large screen on the wall turned on displaying the face of Beckman. Sarah made the introductions then turned the briefing over to Beckman.
"What we discuss in this room goes no further, not even your supervisors can be informed. Is that understood?" a round of yes Ma'am followed.
"Your superiors assured me that you are among the best agents your agencies have to offer. This assignment will test your skills and then some. We've recently learned there is a rogue group of former spies and former members of the military out there called Fulcrum. It is their belief that the country has gone soft so they are trying to take over the government from within and mold it into what they believe our nation should be. In addition to what you do on a normal basis it will be your job to stop them." She paused for a moment to look around the room and became alarmed when she saw Chucks face. He was pale as a ghost and glassy eyed. "Walker is Chuck alright?"
Sarah looked over at Chuck and noticed he looked ready to faint. She whispered a few things in his ear and placed her hand on his knee for support. He gave her a small nod and motioned for her to continue.
"Chuck, let me know if you need a few minutes and we can take a small break," said Beckman. Chuck gave her a nod and small smile. "I'm going to make a long story short. In an attempt to streamline our intelligence community after nine eleven a plan was put in place to store all of our data in one location. This computer system was designed to use certain clues to recall that information. Last week it was stolen by a rogue CIA Agent Bryce Larkin and sent to Chuck. When he viewed the data sent to him, somehow he was able to retain all the information he saw. We tested him over the weekend to verify his ability to correctly recall and use the data. He passed all the tests without error. Chuck is the first human intersect." During Beckman's speech all the people at the table turned and looked at Chuck with wide eyes. He gave them a small wave similar to a young child.
"In addition to stopping Fulcrum, your job will be the protection of Chuck. As of Sunday he became the most important intelligence asset the government has. Agent Walker suggested that in addition to our protection he be trained as an agent because he would be more valuable and effective in the field rather than in a van or office. After this briefing concludes he wants to speak to each one of you individually before he makes his decision. Are there any questions so far on what I went over?"
"General, the logistics of his protection during off duty time and down time will be problematic at best. Is there a plan yet on how we do it?" asked Reynolds.
"There is. Several blocks from Walkers place there is an apartment complex that has several vacancies. While Chuck is away at training you will be moving in to those units. They will be modified and updated to fit our needs. When he returns he will be moving in with agent Miller, who will pose as his girlfriend."
"Oh goody, I get my own boy toy," Carina said with a predatory look in her eyes. If that wasn't enough to worry Chuck, the fact she was rubbing her hands together was. Sarah just sighed.
"Will we be operating out of here or someplace else?" quarried Agent Stone from homeland.
"There are two answers to your question Agent Stone," began the General, "The unused sub-basement of the Buy More has been acquired by the NSA and will be renovated to meet our needs so it can be used for any intersect related missions. I also secured the building across the plaza that will be an Orange Orange frozen yogurt cover business used by us to enter castle. We will have trainees operating the front counter. It will allow you unrestricted access to the new substation. There will be dedicated agents monitoring the parking area around the double O and Buy More. When there is no actionable information on Fulcrum you will assist Walkers task force or your own agency."
"What about the security at the complex?" asked Reynolds.
"Casey with the help of the NSA will install cameras and motion sensors around Chuck's apartment. Agents in the double O will be able to monitor them during downtime. With Carina living with Chuck we don't believe internal monitoring will be needed," answered Sarah.
"Damn," sighed Carina looking at Chuck, "I always wanted to be a film star." It took a few moments before the laughter ended and Beckman spoke again.
"If there are no more questions my portion of the briefing is finished. Walker they're all yours."
"Before I conclude this briefing and you talk to Chuck about your agencies I need to give you some more information on Chuck," began Sarah, "He's probably one of the smartest people in the world but too modest to tell anyone, he'll do anything for you even at his own expense. And the big one, he's a hacker extreme," Chucks eyes grew as wide as dinner plates and his jaw dropped when he heard this, "known as the Piranha. Chuck can you explain that to us?"
"I've liked computers for as long as I can remember," Chuck started, "My dad used to work on them before he left. He showed me how to decipher computer languages and write codes. The older I got and the internet got bigger I grew with it. I met some people online who talked about hacking, got interested in that and began testing myself. I tried businesses first but they were easy so I moved up to government sites. I began build my rep online and was given the nickname 'Piranha' by a guy known as 'Hacker two three'. He helped me a time or two and gave me some awesome codes. I did it for fun, not to get information," concluded Chuck.
Sarah glanced at Chuck and said, "I want us to be a close knit team with little to no confrontations or secrets. This mission is too important to screw up, in essence your careers are riding on this. If we do well there is no limit to how far we can go, screw it up and the next job you will be able to get will be saying would you like fries with that order? Any questions?"
"Uhh, not a question Sarah, but can I say a few things?"
"Sure, the floor is yours."
"Thanks," Chuck said while getting up. "Like Sarah said please call me Chuck. Last week I was happily plodding along at the Buy More fixing computers, now I'm supposed to help save the country. I'm in way over my head here in case you missed my almost passing out earlier. I promise to work hard at this so you guys don't have to babysit me all day. Trust me I'm going to need a lot of help but I know I will be an asset to the team once we get rolling." When Chuck was finished he sat down Sarah explained a few more things before she ended the meeting. Casey and Sarah sat back and observed Chuck as he interacted with the other members one on one. He seemed to be enjoying himself more as he relaxed.
"How do you think the kids gonna do?"
"Good I hope, if he doesn't my wife will kill me."
"Any guess on what agency he will pick?"
"I have a good idea based on my knowledge of Chuck. He tends to stick with things he's familiar with and change ruffles his feathers. When he got the boot from Stanford he went right back to Ellie. It took us months to get him out of there and on his own. When he did leave he went right to Morgan, his best friend and they became roommates. He knows I work for the CIA and I'm familiar to him. So that's my guess."
"Makes sense," Casey said. "In a way I feel sorry for the kid. We signed up for this, he more or less got drafted."
"It would be a lot worse if Ellie wasn't allowed to know. You saw how he panicked about what to tell his friends. Could you picture him if he had to lie to her? Ellie is going to be a big help to him. He was in full blown panic mode last night. They video chatted most of last night and that helped calm him down."
"He really depends on his sister doesn't he?"
"Their parents split when they were young and Ellie raised him on her own. We think he has trouble separating between her as his sister or his mother. We need to be careful with him at the start or he could go south in a hurry."
"You know him pretty good, any suggestions?"
"Ellie and I have a few ideas. I said Chuck was smart, he can grasp anything thrown his way, but and it's a big but, he has to process it his own way. We can't treat him like another recruit, you know beat it into his head. We show him the correct way to do something and get out of his way." She paused for a minute to gather her thoughts before going on, "this is going to sound strange but here's how Ellie explained it to me. Think of him as a puppy you want to train, when he does something well, give him a treat, when he screws up let him know but show or tell him the right way to do it. His parents leaving crushed him, then Larkin getting him booted and stealing his girlfriend made it worse. Our opinion is we need to build his confidence up, once we do that the sky is the limit for him."
"I think when he starts training that should help."
"How so Casey?"
"We see it all the time in the Corps during boot camp, kids come in all the time not sure of themselves or what to expect. Once they start getting things right on a regular basis their confidence grows quickly. The approach is different but the end result is the same. I have to ask, is Ellie ok with all of this?"
"She's torn between yes and no right now. On one hand she believes it could be the kick in the ass he needs to do something more than work in a Buy More. On the other hand, she now has two people who mean the world to her risking their lives at work." Sarah glanced away from Casey and towards Chuck, "He looks like he's wrapping it up now, let's go see if he made his decision."
Casey and Sarah walked over to where Chuck was standing talking to Carina and were surprised to see his arm around her waist. They were laughing at something she said.
"Hey guys," he said. "I'm ready when you are." That's when Chuck noticed they were both looking at his arm around Carina, "What? Oh no, no, it's not like that!"
"Relax Chuckles," Carina said through a giggle, "we were talking over our cover and he explained his aversion to public displays of affection. So I told him we need to be able to sell the fact that we are a couple or we could end up dead so I made him put his arm around me. At first he was shaking like a leaf but the more we talked the more relaxed he became. We were laughing because I told him his next lesson was public necking and he came back with, as long as the lesson after that isn't public sex I'll be ok." This caused the other two to begin laughing as well.
"I've got to tell Ellie that later."
"I didn't get a chance to tell you yet, but Ellie invited me over for dinner tonight, Carina and Casey too. She said she's making lasagna and I'm not missing that for the world," said Chuck.
"If you need a ride Casey can give you a lift and if not you can follow us," Sarah offered.
"I'll follow you guys there if that's ok? You don't mind swinging by my hotel so I can shower before we go head to Ellie's, my plane landed this morning and I'm kinda funky."
"No need for that Carina," said Chuck with a smile, "I can ride with you and wait in your room while you freshen up. When your done we can head over to Ellie's. It will save them waiting for us."
"That ok with you Sarah?"
"As long as you don't try anything funny, then sure."
"Funny? Me?" Carina said putting on her most innocent face. Sarah just rolled her eyes and Chuck smiled.
"Before you head out tell Beckman I'll join the CIA. Come on Carina lets go, I don't wanna be late for dinner." He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the meeting room and to the others shock she was laughing as he did.
"I take back what I said earlier about Carina, maybe we should worry about her instead?" said Casey.
"This is uncharted waters for me. Every time I've seen him with a girl he's a blubbering mess. I've never seen him make the first move like that."
"Do you think we have to worry about them?"
"I'm not going to say a damn thing. Ellie wants me to get her cleared to join the team as a medical consultant when we have missions close to here, she had a blast on the missions we did together. How can I say other members of the team can't be together if my wife is on the team?"
"Good point Walker. We should call Beckman and let her know his decision." They both took seats at the far end of the table and brought up the video conference screen and waited for the General to answer.
"How did it go? And where is Chuck?"
"Very well General," replied Sarah, "Chuck made his decision today. He picked the CIA like I figured then high tailed it out of here with Carina."
"You let him go with her? Are you sure that's a good idea, based on her reputation she may break him."
"You better worry about Carina, Ma'am," stated Casey. "While they were talking he had her laughing, then when they left he was dragging her out by the hand and she was giggling like a school girl." Casey and Sarah both noticed the blank look on the Generals face before it returned to normal. "That was our reaction as well."
"One more thing before we go, Ellie wants to join the team as a medical consultant."
"I thought about asking her earlier but didn't know if she would be open to it. Then I did some digging through some of your past missions and found a few where your partner was referred to as Black Widow (no kiddies, not the one from Marvel). When I questioned Graham he informed me thinks it was your wife. You two did good work by the way. I have no problem with her joining the team as long as her job is ok with it."
"Thank you General I'll tell her tonight at dinner."
"If that's all I'll get his training set up and send you the dates. You'll need to bring him here to do his paperwork so we can start paying him." With that she closed the connection.
"That wraps it up for today Casey, I need to do a bit of paperwork before I leave so you can go. Remember be at our place around four." As Casey was leaving Sarah whispered under her breath, I hope Carina keeps her mouth shut tonight.
When she arrived home she noticed that Casey's and Carina's cars were already there. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw when she entered her apartment. Chuck was seated on the couch next to Casey with Ellie standing behind them frantically waving her arms. In front of them was Carina moving her arms side to side to emphasize whatever point she was trying to make.
"Walker and I are pinned down by gunfire from three enemy agents at the base of the Eiffel Tower and we're low on ammo. Then I hear this banshee like scream and the Black Widow here," pointing at Ellie and causing Chuck's eyes to flutter, "comes flying out of nowhere, guns a blazing, taking out the three guys like it was a walk in the park. She was a woman possessed if you ask me. Craziest fucking thing I ever saw in my life." When she finished she took a bow and plopped down on the couch next to Chuck. That's when she noticed the look on Chuck's face, the panic on Sarah and Ellie's. Casey was trying to hold back a laugh because he knew what was coming.
"You told me you were going on a business trip for the hospital to learn a new surgical technique. You lied to me Ellie, how could you?" He attempted to get up but was held in place by Carina and Casey.
"I didn't lie to you Chuck, I just left out some parts of my trip, that part of the trip anyway. Besides what was I supposed to do, let my wife die?"
"What the hell," Carina said loudly, "Walker is your wife?" She asked and turned to face Sarah who was now making her way to Ellie, "and you didn't tell me?"
"That was supposed to be the point of this dinner, so we could tell you we're married," Sarah said sliding her arm around Ellie. "We didn't count on you doing a full recap of Paris before we could tell Chuck that Ellie has gone on missions." It took several minutes and lots of explaining before the situation was resolved. When things had calmed down the three agents gave Ellie a recap of the day including Chuck's comment. They all had a good laugh at that. Carina looked over to Sarah and gave her a wink.
Carina jumped to her feet and pulled Chuck up to her and planted a scorching kiss on him. At first he was taken back but suddenly got into it and pulled Carina in close and cupped her ass. It was the others turns to be shocked at the scene in front of them. When it became apparent the kiss wasn't going to end anytime soon, Casey let out a grunt that got their attention.
"If I let that go on any longer you would have gone into the public sex portion of the class. I don't need to see that." Sarah and Ellie both nodded their heads in agreement.
"Um, yeah, that wasn't supposed to happen," Carina said trying to compose herself but not letting go of Chuck.
"What she said, not that I'm complaining mind you," said Chuck who was looking flustered as well. "It's all good on my end."
This earned a smile from Carina and a confused look from Ellie.
"You two can let go anytime now," commented Ellie.
"Not the best idea right now Ellie," said Carina as she wiggled her hips a bit as if pointing out the reason and Chuck echoed her statement.
"For the love of Reagan, you two. I told you she was in trouble didn't I?"
"Yep," said Sarah.
"It won't be for a while either if you don't stop wiggling your hips. And you little brother have you no shame?"
"Ellie, first off it's a natural reaction, second she's gorgeous and really nice so how can you blame me?" Carina then slammed her lips on to his and he willingly accepted her tongue in his mouth.
"That's it! I'm getting a bucket of cold water and throwing it on you two if you don't break it off soon." Getting no reaction from the pair Ellie stomped into the kitchen causing the dishes in the break front to rattle. Ellie returned in short order with a large pot filled with water and ice. Seeing the couple had not broken apart yet she moved her arm back in preparation to toss the water and they broke apart.
After the two had separated, Ellie decided a break was in order. "Casey, we could use some more wine and since Chuck can't go by himself can you take him?"
"Let's go horn dog. I don't want to miss dinner," said Casey as he grabbed Chuck by the arm and pulled him out the door. As soon as the door closed Sarah rounded on Carina.
"What the hell was that about?" Carina flopped down on the couch and put an arm over her eyes while letting out a sigh.
"That wasn't supposed to happen again," Carina said. "but to answer your question, I have no idea." She peeked past her arm and saw the disbelieving expression on her friends face and tried the best she could to explain. "We talked about the cover on the way to my hotel, how we would handle the PDA aspect of it like kissing. He was nervous as hell, ya know. When we got to my room he asked if we could practice later, I said yes of course, because I don't want to end up dead. He pulled me into a hug and said thanks. We looked at each other and the next thing I know we're making out."
"That's not like my brother at all Carina."
"That's what he said as he was apologizing for what happened. I told him it was no big deal and not to worry because I enjoyed it. One thing led to another and we were close to jumping in bed when he stopped. He said he wasn't a hit them and quit them guy, that he needed more than that from a girl."
"Now that sounds like my brother."
"So I get cleaned up and dressed to come over. We had some time so we hung out and talked. He had me laughing my ass off at some of the things he was saying. For some reason I kept getting lost in his eyes, like I was hypnotized or something. Of all the things I learned about Chuck was how great a guy he is." Carina let out another big breath and reclined deeper into the couch. "I think he broke me. You know me Sarah, I'm all about sex, or was. Now after seeing you and Ellie, I find myself wanting more than that."
"I know just how you feel. The first time I looked into Ellies eyes I was toast," Sarah said while smiling at her wife.
"Ok you two, how do I go about this? Cause I have no idea."
Ellie was the first to answer, "Before today I would have said let Chuck set the pace, but now who knows. That still might be the best approach, just don't push him and it should work out fine."
"I agree with Ellie on this one. You're the first woman I've seen him with that he's not babbling like a fool around."
"You damn Bartowski's are kryptonite to a spy aren't cha?" asked Carina. "You guys knock the 'spies don't fall in love' crap out of the training doctrine."
"You can't be serious Carina, it's too soon for that," stated Sarah.
"I don't mean right now, but I could see it going that way."
They spent the next few minutes chatting waiting for the men to return. When they did return dinner was served. Over dinner the conversation turned to Chuck's training.
"I'd like to wait a few weeks before I head to training if it's ok?" asked Chuck.
"I'm sure that can be arranged for the right reasons," answered Sarah.
"I'd feel bad about not giving Big Mike two weeks' notice for starters. Plus, I have to let Morgan know I'm moving out. He's still my best friend and I owe him that much. Anna's been bugging him to get a place and this should speed it up. The last reason is strictly personal," said Chuck.
"You make some good points Chuck," agreed Ellie. "What are the personal ones?"
"Let me finish before you ask any questions please. When I get back I'm going to be living with Carina. I'd like to take Carina on few dates before I leave to see if we have a chance at something more. If we do then we can keep it going, if not then we'll be friends that are familiar with each other, not blindly getting into it."
"The kid makes sense Walker," Casey said.
"Since I'm a main player here I like Chuck's idea. We talked about my past before and he doesn't mind, but I'd like to give this dating thing a shot. Like Chuck said if we crash and burn at least it's before the mission starts," Carina stated with conviction.
"I'm still a little bit shocked by Carina, but you all have some good points. It will give her a chance to meet Chuck's friends plus help in your cover. I'll let Beckman know our plans."
"Now that business is finished I told Carina we'd go out for drinks to get better acquainted."
"Don't wait up Casey, he's staying with me tonight," Carina quipped over her shoulder as they left the apartment.
"I'm going to head out myself," said Casey. "You two ladies have a good night."
"You've known Carina longer than I have, do you think she's serious about Chuck?" inquired Ellie.
"Surprisingly I do. She talked with conviction in her voice about dating Chuck plus I've never seen her act like she did earlier on the couch."
"Good to know, now let's finish cleaning up then watch a movie before bed," suggested Ellie.
"Sounds like a plan," answered Sarah.
Beckman agreed with her teams' decision to delay Chuck's training for a few weeks allowing him to tie up his loose ends. In the end it would be almost six weeks before he could start because of the measures that were being put in place for his safety. Morgan as expected took Chuck's news badly until Anna stepped in and told him in no uncertain terms she was his new roommate. Chuck and Carina went on dates every night, ending up at Carina's place most nights. The girls had also started Chuck's training during this time, nothing major just slow jogging and light weights. On the weekends they went to the beach. The second time they went Chuck surprised his Sister and Sarah by showing up in a wet suit carrying a surf board.
"Uhh Chuck what's with the board?" asked his very confused sister. A huge smile appeared on his face as he told his story.
"After I moved in with Morgan I realized there is only so much of him I could take. Between working with him every day and living with him I needed a break once in a while. You know I love the ocean so I went to the beach," he began. Carina moved close to him and wrapped her arm around his waist causing him to smile.
"I didn't think I'd be any good at volleyball but surfing looked fun so I took lessons and when I got better I bought a board and wet suit. I come here whenever I can to relax. Plus, I enjoy the hell out of it," he finished.
"You're just telling me this now little brother," Ellie questioned with mock anger.
"I don't believe him Ellie so I made a bet with him. If he can actually surf I'd buy him dinner for a change then seal the deal on our relationship," Carina added in with her own beaming smile.
"I'll show you all," huffed Chuck and he headed to the water.
"You still haven't sealed the deal with Chuck?" asked a shocked Sarah.
"Nope, we told you we were playing for keeps," Carina said. The women watched from the beach as Chuck completed his first ride of the day and looked good doing it.
"Damn he's really good," said Ellie from her position on the blanket.
"How the hell did he keep us in the dark?" questioned Sarah.
"I have no idea. It proves he's good at keeping secrets." They watched Chuck complete a few more rides before reclining and getting some sun. The rest of the weeks prior to Chucks leaving went about the same way. it was decided Carina would accompany Chuck to the training location as a personal fitness trainer. Casey would pose as his fire arms instructor and provide additional security.