A/N: Again thanks for the reviews. They show the level of interest in a story and help keep it going. Still no connection or ownership of Chuck... and still not making anything from this.
Chapter 4.
Saturday morning, they got an early start. Well, not too early. The previous night had been… exceptional. They talked after, agreeing that this was beyond sex… it was the physical demonstration of love. While Chuck was used to this, it was new to Sarah, until afterwards when memories of previous, um… 'encounters' began to surface. They loved a long… long… long… time, last night. Gently, but thoroughly. After a leisurely breakfast they started the tour.
"Okay… the physical layout of the building. First floor is the lobby and the public offices of Orion Industries. The receptionist is behind bullet resistant glass and the security station is on her right behind the mirror. There are two elevators. The one in the lobby can be controlled by the security station. You can call it from any of the floors but only the buttons for one, eight and nine work inside the elevator.
Second floor is mostly for the Security Technicians. Bunk room, bull pen, conference room, situation room, shooting range and equipment room. The building inspector almost had a fit when he first looked at the plans and it said 'Armory', so we changed it to equipment room. Also there are locker rooms, showers, sauna, steam room, and work out area for all employees. All employees are urged to exercise one hour a day, no matter what their job is. On paper we pay them for half and the other half is on their time. In fact, everyone is on salary. If they were hourly and we paid the employees for all the time they were in the building, we'd go broke. Right now we have twenty or so security technicians, sectechs. When not on assignment they are security for the building, with at least three on at all times. They also act as drivers and security teams. They were the tactical team that backed you up on the later MAR missions. We get them all Private Investigator licenses and technically, as a contractor to the CIA and NSA, everyone in the company is a federal officer, but we try not to use that in the states. When the sectechs are out checking the physical security of a client, they are just PI's doing a security check.
Last night you saw the third floor, cyberland. Two conference rooms, two situation rooms, computer room in the middle of the floor and the rest open with cubicles. My office is there also, next to the computer room. Right now we have fifteen cybertechs. Seven are qualified for the response team and three of those are qualified as first chair… well four counting me.
Fourth floor is rest and recreation. Kitchen is fully stocked and someone is always cooking or leaving prepared food in the warming dishes… Morgan finally got his pizza oven. TV area, home theater room, gaming area, large dining area; all the comforts of home, including a couple of bunk rooms for naps and sleep overs. The cybertechs spend a LOT of their off hours there. Most of the younger ones only go home to sleep and get fresh clothes.
Fifth floor is Science division. It has a fully stocked med bay… sometimes we don't want questions about wounds and injuries... Intersect lab, mechanical engineering lab, chem lab, bio lab, clean rooms, computers… just about anything needed. The original intersect was a computer system and I have been spending some of my time trying to recreate that. I'll see what I can do about finishing it up. You know about Dr. Robinson, our DARPA refugee. We also have Felix Jones, brilliant mechanical engineer. Wait till you see the virtual reality training facility he has set up for us. The sectech's use it all the time and it feels very real, almost a Star Trek holodeck.
Finally we have Castle II. Just like the one back in Burbank. Briefing rooms, armory, holding cells, situation room… everything. It actually takes up two floors. We don't use it much, now that we have only a limited connection to the Intelligence Community, but it's there if we need it. We used it for your MAR team missions. Above that are the apartments. Alex and Morgan have one on nine, with Casey in another. Ellie and Devon are across the hall from us on eight and Mom has one down the hall. Now let's go down to the lobby."
On the way down Sarah looked at Chuck in awe. "Where did you get the money for all this? Granted this is or will shortly be a money making operation, but the startup costs… building… hardware… staff. You didn't borrow it did you? Wait, you didn't steal it from a drug dealer or something?" Sarah knew how easy it was for agents to get their hands on illegal money from any number of sources.
Laughing Chuck shook his head. "No… no… nothing like that. With Decker dead, General Beckman was able to get our accounts unlocked. We got all the Volkoff money back. I used some of the money for College funds for Molly, Clara, the children of all our employees; I set up a trust to provide for the family of anyone we lose; and I took some of the money and set up a Philanthropic Fund to help in the case of man-made or natural disasters. "
"What… you mean like disaster relief?"
"Actually no. There are already a lot of organizations for that. What our fund does is make loans and grants to effected companies to get them back on their feet and get their employees back to work. We also work with local governments for infrastructure repairs."
Stepping off the elevator, Chuck leads Sarah across the lobby to a door on the left side of the receptionist. He stood still for a moment till a light flashed then he leaned forward and looked into a retinal scanner till the door popped open.
"We use multiple recognition techniques. Voice, facial, retinal, palm and DNA. You have to pass two at normal security points and three at high security points, and which technique used is random." Looking up Chuck said "New employee for registration."
A female voice answered "Good morning Mr. B. Please enter with the new employee." Chuck held the door open and stared at Sarah as she entered.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Oh nothing." Chuck glanced to his left, into the security office. "Morning Carl… quiet night?"
"Yes sir… even managed twenty winks."
"I'm sure you did. Have a nice day Carl." Chuck led Sarah into the inner office.
"What was that all about? Did he just admit to sleeping on duty?"
"Inside joke. Carl can sleep with his eyes open so you can never tell whether he's asleep or awake. It's creepy."
Walking into the inner office Chuck said "Sarah?"
Sarah turned to look at him, then heard a voice say "Yes Mr. B." That voice sounded familiar but she couldn't quite place it.
"Sarah, this is Sarah Lisa Walker Bartowski."
"Yes sir, I recognized her. Welcome Mrs. Bartowski, it's a pleasure to meet you. Um… Mr. B… this is going to get confusing."
"Yes… we'll deal with that in a moment. Please register Sarah Lisa Walker Bartowski, aka Sarah Walker, aka Mrs. B, aka Ms. W, aka Sarah, etc..."
"Yes sir. Mrs. B, please look at the camera… thank you… please turn to the left… thank you… the right… thank you. Please place your hand on the palm reader… thank you… now the other hand… thank you… please look into the retinal scanner… thank you… now the other eye… thank you… please read the screen…"
"Mary had a little lamb, it's fleece was white as snow, and everywhere that Mary went the lamb was sure to go."
"Thank you… now please swab the inside of your cheek… thank you. You are now registered… security level A1… position CEO… qualified field agent, rank of Lt. Colonel… wow… your CIA clearance is pretty high. Recognition code is Eagle, alpha, beta, 442." Suddenly the voice got very light, almost jolly. "Welcome to Orion Industries, sis. Wow, the prodigal daughter finally returns. You must really be happy Mr. B. Say this is going to get complicated..."
Sarah looked at Chuck and said "Sis?"
"Another inside joke. You still don't recognize her voice? Well they say most people can't recognize their own voice so I shouldn't be surprised. That's the inside joke. When Dr. Robinson and Felix first set her up, I was having a bad week… missing you. So Felix thought that hearing your voice would cheer me up. I was furious at first… almost ordered him to change it. But that would have hurt his feelings and to tell the truth, I got to kind of like it so we kept it. We didn't want to say she was your clone or doppelganger, so the joke is she's your sister. Sarah… profile change please."
"Yes Mr. B. Go ahead with profile change."
"Recognition code alpha, beta, alpha, 010. You will no longer respond to the name Sarah, your name hence forth is Rebecca. Please inform all employees of the change. Oh, and change voice to alternate 2."
"Yes Mr. B. Mrs. B? Do you concur?"
"Um… sure, why not?"
"Come on Mrs. B… you have to say it right."
"You have to say you concur and give your recognition code. She needs to have two A levels to make a profile change. You, Casey and I are the only A levels."
"Oh… okay. Yes Rebecca, I concur. Recognition Code eagle, alpha, beta, 442."
"Profile changed. Oh wow, I sound funny." The voice was suddenly a little deeper and the cadence changed slightly, taking on an almost New England accent. "Hey Mr. B… is Sarah still my sister?"
"Yes, Rebecca… yes she is."
"Cool… I don't want my family to get smaller. Now I have two sisters to talk to, a Mom, a brother-in-law and a niece." Suddenly the voice got… well the only way to say it is Rebecca's voice got sexy. "I guess this means all hope is lost for me and you, unh Chuck?"
"Yes Rebecca, I'm afraid it does. What does that make me now?"
"You're still a stud to me." She sighed… a real sigh. "But I guess I'll have to change your status to brother-in-law, since you're married to my sister Sarah… but then you're also my Mom's son, so you could be my brother? Whatever. You can never be my lover." Again the sigh. "Ah well. Maybe I can get John Casey to… um… never mind."
"Come on Sarah, I'll show you your office."
"Do we say good bye to Rebecca or something?"
"No… anytime you are in this building, Rebecca will be listening and watching. Just talk to her, she's always there."
"Aren't you afraid of being hacked… having someone take over the building or something?"
"Rebecca has no direct connection to the outside world. No internet connection, no wireless connection, she doesn't even have a USB port to plug into. Only audio and visual. If somehow someone did manage to make a connection, she would know it was unauthorized and take steps. She has certain defenses, including human like androids and dozens of maintenance mechs. The androids are her connection to the outside world. She uses them to surf the web, watch TV, sit in on meetings, stuff like that. They are her roving eyes and ears, and they are her connection to the regular computer systems. Wait till you see them type. Of course every corner of the building is covered by video and audio, so the androids are kind of unnecessary, but very fun. You can sit and have a conversation with her, with or without an android, but it's more… I don't know, it's kind of more satisfying to have the android in the room for you to talk to. You'll see. Ah… here's your office."
Whispering Sarah said "Um… she doesn't really think we're sisters does she?"
A whispered voice came from the ether "No Sarah. That's why it's an inside joke."
"Wow… she really does hear everything."
"Oh she sure does. And just so you know, she has a permanent request from me to shut down all visual pickups in all the apartment bedrooms whenever the occupants go to bed and to filter the audio. She is not a voyeur."
"Well not all the bedrooms, Mr. B."
"That's right. She monitors Baby Clara 24/7 and Molly when she's here. Between Rebecca, her droids and her mechs, a better babysitter could not be found."
Sarah looked around at her office. It was very impressive, to say nothing of being huge. An office set; desk, chair, credenza and book shelf sat in the far left corner. The right corner was a sitting area, two easy chairs facing a sofa, with a coffee table in between. A conference table with twelve chairs occupied the area just to the left as you entered with large flat screens on the walls around it. "Pretty impressive. I could just about land a helicopter in here."
"Yeah… personally I think we got carried away, but Alex set it up while the rest of us were on a MAR mission backing you up. She insists it impresses potential clients… and I must say that so far she seems to be right. Okay, your computer is on the desk, well actually it's built into the desk, login is sarahb and the password is intersect4. Rebecca will give you any help you need. I would recommend you catch up on your e-mails and start reading the various action reports from cyber, field and science. I'll be upstairs in cyberland for a while then Science. If you need me just say my name and Rebecca will connect you to me. We use the phones mostly to talk to the outside, but you can connect by phone to anyone in the building for a private conversation." With a kiss, Chuck was off.
Sarah prowled around her office, looking at this and that, before finally settling behind her desk. She logged into her screen and opened her e-mails. Before she could even start the first one, Rebecca interrupted her.
"Mrs. B. may we talk?"
"Certainly Rebecca… and by the way, when we're alone, you can call me Sarah."
Voice becoming noticeably lighter, Rebecca answered "Thank you Sarah, I appreciate that. I just wanted you to know, that all the joking aside, I am very happy you are home. Mr. B. is the nicest, most loving man I have met in my admittedly limited experience. It was hurtful to see him… well to see him in pain. Thank you for coming back, and if there is anything I can ever do for you, please… just ask."
"Um… Rebecca, I assume you record everything?"
"Pretty much, certainly anything with people or any kind of motion."
"Who has access to the recordings?"
"That depends on the recording. For example, the recording of this conversation is only accessible by you, except in the case of a security breach, in which case anyone on your security level could access it. That means Mr. B. or Colonel Casey."
"I see. So under normal circumstances, only you and I would ever see this."
"Yes… that's correct."
"That's good to know Rebecca… um, in case I ever need to talk, I can always talk to you."
"Yes, that's correct Sarah."
Sarah began reading her e-mails. She read the first ten and realized that she didn't remember a thing she had read.
"Rebecca? Was he really in pain?"
"I'm sorry Sarah, I shouldn't have said that. It's just that he missed you terribly. Even with his family around him, Ellie, Mary, Devon, even Morgan and Casey, I could see it in his face, his eyes… he just plain missed you. It was like part of him was missing, and he'd only be whole again if… when… um… well you know. When you were on missions was the worse. The last mission… when you were shot… he almost broke down… for several minutes I thought I was going to have to sedate him."
By this point Sarah was crying "Rebecca? How do I make this up to him? How do I prove I deserve him?"
"You have already started… just be the best person you can be."
Sarah thought about that for a good ten minutes. "Thank you Rebecca."
"Anytime Sis."
Sarah spent the morning and part of the afternoon going over reports, employee bio's, reading e-mails, getting up to speed on what Orion Industries was up to, who the clients were and how the company was doing financially, which actually seemed pretty good. As far as she could tell, except for the MAR team, they were totally out of the spy game. All the clients were private business or NGO, and Orion handled their security, both cyber and physical. They sub-contracted most of the physical security to Verbanski… the two companies worked very closely together. A number of the clients were recommendations from General Beckman. This was not surprising to Sarah… it was to everyone's advantage. The customer got top flight service, Orion Industries got clients and Beckman didn't have to worry about security with the customer using Orion.
Alex popped in and brought Sarah around to the first floor offices to meet the staff and Chuck showed up around noon to take her to lunch on the fourth floor. On the way up they stopped at the second floor so she could see where she would be working out, and meet the sectechs. After lunch they went up to Science to look around, before going back down to her office. Late in the afternoon, just as she was getting ready to call it a day, her monitor dinged with an incoming call. She saw the name of the caller on the screen and immediately accepted.
"Hello Sarah."
"Hello General Beckman." Sarah's voice was just a touch cool.
"I called to say welcome home. The last six months, while wildly successful mission wise, have been difficult for those of us… well those of us who were in on it. The months prior to your memory wipe, you and I had become friends and it was difficult seeing you… um… well anyway, welcome home."
Sarah visibly relaxed as the General spoke… her memories coming back of the diminutive General. "Thank you… I'm sorry it took so long, but… well anyway, thank you… for everything."
"Okay… enough chit chat. On to business. As the CEO of Orion Industries I need to talk to you. As I said, the last six month have been wildly successful mission-wise. Every mission the MAR team has been on was successful. Only one other team has had that level of success. The CIA Director, the Presidents Security Advisor and the DNI are all extremely unhappy with losing the team. They would like to talk to Orion about reestablishing the team on an even broader scale. We also have had queries from our overseas peers about the team. They too are interested, and want to discuss establishing a MAR team in Europe. Even our Asian counterparts have expressed some interest."
Sarah sat back for a moment thinking. "Let me get my management team together and we'll discuss it. We would have to be given permission to recruit from within the various agencies for the field agents. We would probably also use their own people for the tac teams and snipers."
"Not a problem, as long as you provide the training and leadership. As a matter of fact, most of the agencies would prefer using their own people for the field agents as well as the tactical teams."
"Excellent. Let me talk to Chuck and Casey and we'll get back to you. Anything else we need to discuss?"
"No, that about covers it."
"Okay. Um… Diane, Thanksgiving is in a couple of weeks. We would be honored if you would join us? If not for the day, possibly the day after?"
"I appreciate that Sarah. Are you sure it would be alright with Chuck and the rest?"
"Diane, you know you are always welcome."
"In that case, yes I would love to join you for Thanksgiving. Though flying on that Wednesday is going to be murder and I really don't want to use a military aircraft for a private trip."
"Let me see what we can do. I'm going to try to talk Chuck into taking some time off… in the Caribbean. If we go, we'll pick you up on the way back. If not, maybe we can rent you a plane to fly. I'll let you know."
Ending the call, Sarah asked Rebecca to have Chuck come down to her office when he was available. Chuck showed up some fifteen minutes later. Sarah stood as Chuck came in, intent on reviewing her conversation with General Beckman with him, but as soon as he walked in, one look at him, her stomach started doing flip flops, her knees got weak and she had to lean on her desk to stay on her feet. Chuck rushed over and wrapped her in an embrace. The two stood that way for a good ten minutes, her head on his chest and him murmuring nothings into her ears.
Finally she was able to construct a sentence. "Oh god Chuck, I missed you. Oh please don't ever let me go again."
"Never again… not ever… never ever… or whatever the adult version of never ever is."
Sarah giggled and said "Okay… business." They went over the conversation she had just had with General Beckman.
"What do you think? Did we make any money with the last contract? I know you did it to keep tabs on me."
"Um… well we MOSTLY did it to keep tabs on you… but it was pretty lucrative. Over the six months we made almost three million over and above costs. If they want us this bad, then we can probably hold them up for even more… especially the Europeans. The Asians will hold out for a while, couple of years probably, but once they see the results they'll cave too. This is exactly what you were talking about. We can use the intersect to 'train' the teams, using the best of each agency. Why don't you call a meeting of the entire management group for Monday morning so we can discuss it. In the mean time, you and I should go home and 'discuss' how many children we should have." Chuck shot her the Bartowski eyebrow dance.
Sarah smiled returning his look with a smirk. "Um… along those lines, what do you say to a little vacation. How about if next Friday, you and I take the company jet and find some nice secluded spot in the Caribbean to relax. If we fly back on Wednesday, we can stop in Washington and pick up Diane Beckman… I invited her to Thanksgiving."
"That's nice of you to invite Diane for Thanksgiving. She has no family and usually spends holidays alone."
"Well I had ulterior motives. We need to talk to her privately and this is a good cover."
"Ah… well it was nice of you anyway. Okay… next Friday… you, me, and the Caribbean. I'll take care of the arraignments. As it happens… I know just the place."
The pair retired to their apartment, where they spent the rest of the night and all day Sunday getting to know each other again and renewing Sarah's various memories. Part of the time it felt like a therapy session, and part of the time it was giggles and laughs. They both ended up sharing a lot about themselves to each other that they never had before.