Ahh, another chapter. reformatted, rewritten, restructured. Thank you Charahkids for betaing! Personal thanks at the bottom as always.
Chapter 4 (originally chapter 3) 4210 words
New Chapter 4 (originally 3) 5768 words
6 months later
Sarah Walker, spy extraordinaire jumped from the roof of the building following the target and duck rolled back to her feet on the lower lever roof of the next building. She quickly followed him, using a bar nearby to swing her forward to kick him in the back to knock him down. He fell flat on his face and quickly rolled to his back to reach for his gun, but it was too late. Sarah stood over him, gun drawn, poised to shoot.
"One move and I kill you." She spat ruthlessly. By then other agents involved from the op they were on flooded the roof pointing their own guns at the target. Sarah relaxed and stepped back slightly, allowing a fellow agent take charge of the now captured terrorist. She took that moment to catch her breath and wipe the sweat from her brow as she kept watch over their current suspect.
"You may have stopped me Agent Walker, but there are more out there just waiting for their chance. You cannot stop us!" The man shouted at her as the agents struggled with him towards the roofs exit.
"That isn't cliché at all." She grumbled to herself, not bothering to respond to the threat. It wasn't anything new.
Though the world and technology had changed in the five years she had lost, the world of criminal activity had mostly stayed the same. With that came their typical comebacks when being apprehended. It used to invigorate her, make her stronger, more determined at hearing those words. It would make her determined to weave herself further into the case and seek out all those involved.
Now it just made her tired and wary.
"Nice job Agent Walker." SAC Andrews stated walking up to her. She gave him a look and a slight nod of her head before turning and walking away. Andrews followed her, stepping up to walk beside her as she headed for the stairs.
"Can I help you Agent Andrews." She asked, trying to keep her voice neutral. Since she recertified at the farm a few weeks ago she had decided to keep everything professional for now on. Seeing how personal entanglements have not worked out in the past for her. Agent Andrews just smiled slightly at her blunt politeness and Sarah resisted rolling her eyes.
"Just curious on what an Agent with your skills is doing chasing down a simple little 2 man terrorist group in Virginia. I've read your file, you are, or were, the CIA's top Agent." He stated. Sarah didn't even glance at him as she went down the staircase quickly, disgruntled at the moment that he apparently was following her and there were 18 flights to go. She quickened her steps, taking two or three at a time in order to get down faster.
"I would think they would have you off in far off places, doing much more important things." He continued, oblivious to her indifference to the conversation as a whole. She continued down the stairwell to the bottom and exited out the side door, banging it against the wall as she burst through it and heading to her car.
"Agent Walker!" He shouts after her. She stops in her steps and turns around with an annoyed look.
"What is it Agent Andrews." She said icily. He just smiled at her and waived.
"It was nice working with you." He stated simply. She nodded once and continued on her car.
She had spent the next hour driving around Virginia with no real destination to calm herself down. She had loved the feel of the high after capturing the target. It would make her energized for days afterwards. Now it just wound her up, made her tired.
Something was wrong and she knew it, but she refused to acknowledge it. After leaving Burbank she had come back to Washington to recertify at the CIA farm. Her body felt weird to her, a sign she was out of the spy game for a while and she hated it. She hated the feeling, she hated the way she felt, the way her body felt so foreign to her. It made her feel like her body was snatched by some alien entity and was used for their own purpose until she gained control again.
Sarah narrowed her brow at that thought, her car slowing down as she searched her mind for where it came from. She knew nothing about aliens or what they could do. Her entire life has always been grounded in the here and now.
'Chuck' Her mind supplied a moment later and a vision of the two of them, lounging on the sofa, his head laying on her lap as they watched television tossing popcorn at each other trying to catch it in their mouths. A soft gasp escaped her as a small smile crossed her face at it. She felt her body shake a tiny bit as a chuckle came out at the memory.
More and more memories came flashing back to her every day. She was ordered, as part of the agreement of her return to the CIA to see a psychiatrist, and to make actual progress, not just waste their time. She had hesitated at first, never being one to share what she was feeling or thinking but after the first few sessions had helped her sort what she felt about the memories and feelings that would sometimes overwhelm her at times now, she took it seriously then.
Sarah was startled out of her own thoughts by the sound of her phone ringing. Her heart beat rapidly and she berated herself for not being more observant. She pulled off to the side of the road and grabbed her phone, noting the encrypted number before finally answering.
"Walker." She stated briskly.
"Agent Walker, I hear we captured the target before he was able to pass on his package." Deputy Director Mika Carlos stated on the line.
"Yes sir. He is being transported to the holding facility right now by Agent Andrews." She replied.
"Good. Have your report on my desk by Wednesday. In the meantime, you are to report to General Diane Beckman tomorrow morning at 8:30 am. She has requested your presence in a joint NSA/CIA taskforce."
Sarah was silent for a moment. Not quite sure what to say. She knew General Beckman was head of the Intersect project, which handled Chuck, her supposed husband. He had downloaded the Intersect into his head before she had left.
"Agent Walker, did you hear me?" The Deputy Director asked. Sarah took a deep breath to steady her nerves.
"Yes sir. May I inquire what it is that they need me for?" She inquired, holding her breath waiting for the answer.
"You will have to wait and see tomorrow Agent Walker." He said. And with that final response he disconnected the call.
Sarah held the phone to her ear a few beats longer before finally pulling it away from her ear and tossing it on her seat. Her mind darted from one scenario to another as she tried to figure out what it was that General Beckman wanted with her. It all came down to one answer; Chuck.
A car horn blared loudly as they passed by her bringing her away from her thoughts. She looked around the dark road that she had pulled over and shook her head before turning her blinker on, deciding she would put off thinking about it until she was at least back home.
Ten minutes later Sarah pulled into her parking spot of her apartment complex. Quacking cutting the engine and then just sat there breathing deeply trying to calm herself down. She wasn't quite sure if she was ready to deal with anything having to do with her life from Burbank just yet.
Opening the car door, Sarah stood on steady legs and headed into her apartment, tossing her keys into a bowl by the door and pulled her jacket off, tossing it onto the couch. She covered her face for a moment with both hands and just breathed, letting her mind finally take in what she had to do tomorrow. She sincerely hoped it had nothing to do with Chuck or the Intersect.
Her hands dropped, allowing her to see into her dark apartment. It wasn't really a home, she knew that. She didn't feel like home when she was in it which is why she did just about everything she could to stay away. She would leave early in the morning and only come home when she was practically falling asleep. It was bare and empty as if it were a show room. There were no personal effects, no decorative items, nothing at all. It was the complete opposite of what her apartment was in Burbank.
A warm feeling overcame her as she thought of that. As she remembered the apartment she had shared with Chuck. It was warm and bright and personal. Every corner looked lived in and showcased a story of happy people who shared their lives. If she would be honest with herself she'd admit that she missed that environment and craved its comfort even if she didn't remember any of it. But she couldn't, she wouldn't know what to do or how to handle it if she did.
"No point fretting right now." She muttered to herself, letting herself drop heavily on the couch and leaned her head back. Sarah closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. Tomorrow would come soon enough.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
From the way she was ushered quickly into General Beckman's office the next morning when she arrived alerted Sarah that whatever this task force is that she's being requested on could be big. If she should be secretly excited or not, is the question of the year.
She walked into the office briskly, walking up to the front of the large desk where the General was currently reading a report. The smaller superior didn't acknowledge her presence right away but Sarah stood tall with her hands clasped tightly behind her back waiting patiently.
"Have a seat, Agent Walker." Beckman finally stated without looking up. Sarah sat down in the chair across from the desk that seemed to swallow the little general up, crossing her leg over her knee and stared ahead waiting for General Beckman to begin. The room was engulfed in silence again for a few long moments; the only sound to be heard was from a steady ticking sound in the back of the office behind her and the shuffling of the General turning the pages on what she was reading.
She fought the urge to ask the General what this was about, but knew that would not be well received. Higher ups frequently used the silent busy tactic to unnerve those below them to signify who is in charge of the meeting. She was about to give in to impulse however when Beckman finally spoke.
"We are just waiting for Col. Casey to arrive. I've been informed he should be here momentarily." She stated, still not looking at Sarah. They waited a few more moments in silence before the door was opened and Col. John Casey entered the room.
Sarah stood up from her seat, not quite sure what to say or how to greet him. From all accounts they had been partners and friends for five years, going through ups, downs, and all in-betweens that no other pair of agents have ever done. They had been one of the most successful team in the history of either the CIA or NSA.
She couldn't remember any of it. Nothing substantial in any case. Only flimsy glimpses of her life that was stolen from her.
Her eyes widened however when behind him entered none other than Morgan Grimes and Mary Bartowski. She looked from each one of them and back to General Beckman in confusion, knowing without a doubt now that this somehow involved Chuck and her stomach dropped a few feet in fear and anticipation of seeing him after walking away from him almost 8 months ago.
Sarah waited with bated breath for the moment that the tall slender man would enter the room, each second she didn't see him felt like torture as she braced herself. But after a few moments the door was closed quietly by the secretary outside, a slight click and buzzing sounding indicating the room was secure.
"I'm glad you're all here. Please take a seat." Beckman said gesturing towards the conference table on the opposite side of her large office. They all glanced at each other and took seats around the head of the table where Beckman continued standing, being sure to make eye contact with each of them before she handed each of them a file with the NSA seal on it and a large stamp in red saying "CLASSIFIED". On top of the file was a thick stack of papers which Sarah leafed through skimming.
"Is this a gag order Diane?" Mary Bartowski asked flipping through it as well.
"Yes it is. You are all sworn to secrecy already from your affiliation with being government employees but this is classified at the highest level." She looked at the 4 sitting before her, making sure to make eye contact with each of them, drilling in the importance of this mission into each of them, spending a little more time glaring at Morgan until he squirmed and tried ducking behind Casey, who just growled in annoyance at him.
"I don't understand General, what is the mission." Sarah asked confused. She's never had to sign extra confidentiality agreements before. Being one of the top agents in the CIA has given her the highest possible clearance level available already.
"You could probably walk right up to Area 51 and demand to see the aliens there." Chuck's voice echoed in her ear as a vision of the two of them in a Chinese restaurant flashed before her. She had grinned wide, giving a genuine laugh at his comment.
"Or we could just ask Casey, I'm pretty sure he would have been the one to take them down." She had replied.
Sarah blinked a few times clearing her vision, stealing a glance around the room at the other occupants to see if anyone had noticed. She sighed in relief as they read their own forms.
Beckman just pointed at the forms in front of her and sat down waiting. The next few minutes was filled with silence as they read through what they were signing, except for Morgan who didn't understand any of it anyways and waited to see if Casey would sign it before signing it himself, probably figuring it would be ok at that point.
They passed the signed forms up to the tiny General who glanced through each stack making sure everything was dotted and crossed. Seemingly satisfied with them, she stacked them neatly and placed them in a large envelope that was sitting next to her before sitting forward against the desk, placing her hands together ready to begin.
"The reason you four are here is because the Joint Chiefs believe you are the best candidates to handle this task." She motioned for them to open the files in front of them. Sarah sat forward and flipped it open, eyes widening at the sight of Chuck's photo sitting in front of her.
"What the hell is this Diane?" Mary burst out after opening her own file. She glared up at the General who met her look just as hard. Sarah stared back and forth between the two women for a moment before looking across the table to Casey. His reaction was as stoic as ever, and a bit of anger built in the pit of her stomach that he might have already known what was going on.
"This is the mission Mary." Beckman stated simply. She cleared her throat before continuing. "As you can see from the report in front of you, the objective is to apprehend Agent Bartowski."
"Why? What has he done?" Sarah asked baffled. The few memories and feelings she had gotten back from her time with Chuck had all been warm and comforting. The man she was married to seemed kind and gentle and far too timid or loyal to do anything that would garner this attention.
"Agent Walker." General Beckman started then paused. The older woman seemed to be trying to gather her wits giving Sarah the feeling that she herself wasn't pleased with the situation at hand. Sarah stared at her expectantly.
"Chuck is gone Sarah, he just vanished, and it's the governments fault." Morgan burst out fidgeting in agitation.
"Grimes!" Casey growled at him at once, trying his best to not disrespect General Beckman and strangle the life out of his daughter's boyfriend at the same time.
"What? It's true!" he shouted back standing up. "Sarah destroyed Chuck and the government took advantage of it."
"Sit down Grimes, or I'll sit you down." Casey growled angrily at the man standing next to him. Morgan gave another little huff before plopping down in the chair, allowing it to spin away from his friend as he pouted.
General Beckman looked sternly at Morgan before casting her eyes at Mary indicating that she should help calm him down. But Sarah could tell from Mary's expression, Beckman would not have an ally there. Mary Bartowski was pissed, and she showed it. She obviously agreed with Morgan that the government was to blame for what happened to her son, and Beckman must have known that she would not help make this any easier.
It was Sarah who stepped in, looking from each of them before finally settling on the small but powerful General, knowing she'd get the most answers out of her. Ignoring Morgan's outburst and his clear indication that whatever state Chuck was in was her fault, Sarah stared at Beckman expectantly for a few moments while General Beckman collected herself.
"As you are aware Agent Walker, Agent Bartowski had uploaded the Intersect again into his head. Out of any and all people who have uploaded the Intersect he has proved to be the only one who was capable of handling it with any form of efficiency and without too many negative effects. The Joint Chiefs were eager to put him back to use in the field." She paused for a moment letting Sarah absorb the information she'd been given so far.
"He shouldn't have been in the field. You had fired him from the CIA, he wasn't an agent any longer." Mary stated angrily beside Sarah.
"He had confidential government information." Beckman argued. "Regardless of his status as an agent, Chuck Bartowski has been an asset to the US government since he first downloaded the Intersect. He was in it for life whether he was an active agent or not."
"He's a human being Diane, not a piece of property!" Mary shouted slamming her hand hard onto the desk. Silence descended after that as the two women glared at each other, but soon enough Beckman gained control of the meeting once again.
"Be that as it may there was a problem. The Intersect is greatly tied to his emotions." Sarah looked down at that, knowing what was coming. She knew she had hurt Chuck by walking away. She knew he loved her, but at the time she couldn't return the feelings he felt for her. She knew he had been distressed as she walked away from him and their life, hearing him shout after her, pleading with her as she quickly got into her car and drove away from him, never returning.
"So the Intersect didn't work" She said softly, schooling her face to show no expression. But to her surprise Mary reached over and placed her hand upon Sarah's that was resting on the table and gave it a small squeeze. She looked over at the older spy and saw a small encouraging smile on her face. Sarah wasn't quite sure what to make of the gesture, sure that if anyone would hate her it would be the mother of the man she had hurt, but Sarah returned it with a small corner smile of her own.
"Correct Agent Walker. In fact…we were quite close to losing the Intersect all together." She said quietly.
"What? How?" Sarah asked stunned.
"Because when you left it destroyed him." Morgan said quietly, for once not getting growled at by Casey. Sarah glanced at Casey, taking in his still stoic expression as he watched her closely, feeling chills run down her spine. He was not one to be messed with she knew.
"Once you left, Agent Bartowski fell into a severe depression that caused his sister to put him in a psychiatric hospital. It was at his own request and Dr. Woodcomb had fought him on it but it was what Chuck wanted. He did not fare any better there, much to our dismay. It seemed Agent Bartowski had given up." General Beckman explained.
"Then why are we here discussing apprehending him? Isn't he still there if he's this bad off?" Sarah asked still confused.
"That's where the governments fault comes in." Mary finally pops in. "Diane, would you like to explain what you people have done to my son?" She pushed heatedly. Sarah looked back to Beckman who almost looked remorseful.
"The Joint Chiefs wanted the Intersect in the field no matter what. So they ordered that he be given Laudanol." She said slowly, closing her eyes for a moment. It was obvious that she had been against that course of action but regardless, she had gone along with it.
"Forgive me, but, what is Laudanol?" Sarah asked going through the list of drugs in her mind trying to think of it.
"It's a drug that was developed for soldiers to eliminate fear and help them work better in the field. It makes them fearless, stronger, and even reduces pain. In other words the perfect way to make a super solider, just by giving them a pill." Casey explained.
Sarah was horrified at the description, knowing already where this was heading.
"It wasn't tested on humans yet, the only prototype they had had been taken by Chuck during a mission a few years ago. The results were positive in that he was able to overcome his fear and take down the enemy but…"
"He almost killed one of them by strangling them." Sarah finished quietly for Casey. Mary immediately sat up and turned towards her.
"You remember that?" She asked her hopefully. Sarah stared at the desk a few beats more before meeting Mary's eyes.
"He had stopped. When I said his name. He was so horrified by what he'd almost done. The fear in his eyes, it frightened me." She said.
"Correct Agent Walker. We were lucky you were able to stop him that time, but it was decided after that that the Laudanol was just too dangerous at the time to test further, so it was back shelved. "Beckman finished her explanation.
"But that was until their precious Intersect was broken and they decided it was time to do more tests, using Chuck as the guinea pig." Mary spat. Sarah blanched at that, horrified. Her mind replaying the few moments in which she had almost witnessed the person everyone would agree with was the sweetest, gentlest person alive, killing somebody with his bare hands. That the government she worked for, while she knew they did horrible things, would still use a drug like that on not only Chuck, but on someone who was clearly not stable mentally and emotionally baffled and troubled her like never before.
"They transferred a few CIA doctors and nurses into the facility where Agent Bartowski was and had tried to help him before it came to what they did. Nothing worked so we took drastic action."
"Drastic as in you kidnapped my son and forced a drug into him." Mary said derisively. "I don't think 'drastic' is quite the term I would use."
"I'm well aware of what other words you would chose Mary. Regardless the effect was immediate and they were happy with the results."
"You took him out without telling anyone?" Sarah asked aghast. Through her memory recovery she did remember how close Chuck and Ellie were. She remembered that his parents had abandoned them both at a very young age and his sister had for the most part raised him. Sarah couldn't even begin to imagine what Ellie must have gone through once finding out her brother was missing.
"It was classified Agent Walker. Ellie Woodcomb had power of attorney over everything involving Chuck Bartowski. The superiors knew that even if we had read her in she would never have agreed to give Agent Bartowski the Laudanol and they wanted the Intersect.
That stopped Sarah for a moment. She knew that with walking away from Chuck and going back to the CIA she had no claim on him. But for some reason it bothered her that someone else, in Chuck's time of need, had that position. Even though it was Ellie, and she was glad for that, knowing already that nobody would have Chucks best interest more than Ellie Woodcomb.
"How did you three find out then if it was classified?" Sarah asked. Casey took lead on this one.
"When I got a call from Alex a couple days after it had happened I figured it out. Verbanski and I did a little digging with Mary and found out about the Laudanol." He stated simply, always to the point.
"And you didn't tell Ellie?" She asked. Casey shook his head.
"We didn't feel she should know. She was under a lot of stress. On top of having to deal with Chuck and his assets, she had Clara and Devon, the hospital, the Buy More. She was swamped." Mary consoled. "But rest assured that Ellie most likely knows who took her brother." With that Mary glared at her friend again.
"So you let her think that someone kidnapped Chuck?" Sarah was shocked at this.
"We had a choice Walker. Either was a bad choice so we went with the best option. We could tell her that the government was kidnapping her brother to force a drug down his throat that would turn him into a drone super solider and watch as chaos insures from her trying to get him back. Or we don't tell her anything and allow the investigation into the facility and disappearance go through. The police won't find anything." Casey stated.
"So from the beginning you were helping the government cover it up?" She said angrily.
"No Sarah. But we knew who had him and knew the best chance to get him back was to at least act like we were cooperating." Mary said trying to sooth her while at the same time quail her excitement that perhaps Sarah was remembering her feelings for Chuck. Beckman cleared her throat.
"It was a good call. The CIA is handling this investigation in the guise of LAPD so we are controlling it, as well as the lawsuit against the hospital. But that is not why we are here. We knew on the Laudanol Agent Bartowski would be dangerous and they figured they could control him buy limiting his access to the Laudanol." Beckman explained further.
"Hmm, so he'll be loyal as long as he'll need it." Casey grunted out.
"That was the point Col. However, what we under estimated was Agent Bartowski himself. Between his natural intelligence and the Intersect he was able to synthesize his own. We lost control of him, and he took off during a mission." Beckman said.
Sarah couldn't help the smile that crossed her face when hearing that Chuck had bested the government. However her smile was short lived when looking at the gloom hanging over the others at this news.
"What happened then, where is he?" She asked. Morgan shrugged.
"That's all we were able to get figure out after that. Perhaps Diane has more information." Mary prompted. General Beckman nodded in acknowledgement.
"This is what happened." She said simply, turning around to the TV behind her. She clicked the play button on the remote next to her on the table and the screen came to life. What played was the most horrifying scene they could imagine.
The view was a security feed in a large room. Inside were around 50 people milling around, talking, and drinking. It was some kind of gathering, a party it looked like from the way they were dressed. They all could recognize several people on the screen as terrorist, drug dealers, arms dealers. Just a bunch of bad guys and their dates. Sarah couldn't help the loss feeling of them not being able to take advantage of such a party in order to finally apprehend those in attendance. Some of the most powerful people were on that screen.
A few minutes into the video however everyone on screen cowered suddenly and dropped to the ground as gunfire was seen being shot off camera, the doors closing in the scene of their own accord trapping all the party guests in the room. No sound was heard, most likely a security feature to prevent whatever deals were taking place, but just from the expressions of the people there, Sarah could tell they were frightened. And what frightens powerful people is the stuff of nightmares.
They watched the screen for several moments as the massacre took place. Then to the horror of everyone in Beckman's office, a tall, thin, lanky figure stepped into the shot. She heard sounds of gasps and surprise from the other three around her as she watched in horror as the man she was slowly remembering, remembering as a kind, gentle soul, slaughtered everyone in the room in sometimes brutal ways.
Once his guns appeared to run out of ammo Chuck stepped into action, fighting off those who felt brave enough to attack him with every bit of his body. He kicked, spun, chopped, and grabbed. He was the perfect example of Kung-Fu and offensive fighting there was. But they were too horrified by the scene of Chuck killing so many people to be impressed by his perfect technique.
Whether one by one or as a group, while they attacked, Chuck ended their lives. He broke their necks, arms, ribs, legs, everything. At one point someone brought out a set of knifes and the blood bath began. Chuck quickly gained control of them, plunging one deep into the throat of its owner and pushing him back, swinging his arm back to catch the guy behind him.
Finally nobody was left to attack. The remaining survivors were the dates that had brought to the party who were banging on the doors in the back to get out. Sarah took a deep breath, thinking it was over but then he stooped down to the nearest body and picked up whatever gun was there and advanced towards the not so innocent victims. Chuck then proceeded to shoot each one.
Chuck stood there for a moment, assessing the chaos he had caused. Nobody in the room breathed as he turned around slowly and look directly into the camera. Blood covered him from head to toe, but what was most disturbing to all was the look nothing on his face. He showed no emotion. No anger, regret, sadness, horror, nothing. He raised the gun he was still holding, pointed it directly at the security camera that was recording him and shot it.
Nobody said anything, or even breathed as the screen went fuzzy and then off. It was quiet in the room for what felt like hours as General Beckman turned the TV off and turned back around to face them.
"What…what have you done to Chuck?" Morgan stuttered out. Beckman just shook her head and sat back.
"There have been at least another 4 instances similar to this. Regardless that he is going after enemies of the US, the fact that he is willing to kill anyone in his way has made him a liability and we've been ordered to bring him in. However, any agent that has gotten remotely close to being able to do so has been killed as well. His estimated total killed is around 500 now. He needs to be taken out." She said.
"Taken out? You're going to terminate him? You did this to him!" Mary shouted standing. Beckman raised her hand in defeat, and motioned for her to take her seat again. Once she was Beckman spoke up.
"Which is exactly the point I brought up during the meeting on what to do about this situation. There is a termination order on Chuck Bartowski." She said, the other three started protesting but she raised her hand to silence them. "But I was able to talk them into allowing a chance to apprehend him. If you four are able to get to Chuck first, and bring him in, they will rescind the termination order."
"And then what? You put him jail? You terminate him in custody? What is your grand plan for him once he's caught?" Mary spat.
"It was agreed upon to attempt detox from the Laudanol, and depending on the results, they will ascertain what to do at that time-"
"What do you mean by 'depending on the results' " Morgan inquired raising a hand and finger in the air. The other three looked at General Beckman expectedly.
"Since there has been no human test subjects the withdrawal effects are currently unknown. But the projected results of it are thought to be devastating. The Laudanol suppresses all emotions. It is thought that with the withdrawal from the drug it could cause instability in the person and pain beyond anything." She let her words sink in.
The room was quiet for the next few minutes while everyone processed what they had learned. Sarah wasn't exactly sure what to feel, and considering the situation, thought it was kind of ironic. She wasn't sure what to do. She was remembering him sure, but she's being included on this team like she's his best friend. Which considering they are married would make her so? But still, this would be heading straight into her past, the five years missing. Was she ready for this?
"When do we start?" Sarah asked, taking a deep breath.
A/N: So, the delay is due to vacation in july, stress from being displaced during my works renovation and I've been given A LOT more duties to my job recently. but I'm still truckin along. I'm thinking Chapter 5 might be another new chapter. There's a big gap that could be filled.
phathead01: LOL, well my moving to my new desk gave me a better keyboard so YAY more writing! I may start the new one, just to start writing even if its not published yet. I still gotta finish that pesky vampire story. #regrets
sevenrez: HAhA I love dark and twisty...er...obviously since I keep writing it. heh.
phnxgrl: thank you for reviewing!
charahkids: Sadly I may have to do that
Mufc87: I'm glad. I noticed there were a few missing points in the original story. I aim to fill some of those up.
zanex9: With as much time that has passed since I first wrote it, imagine all the damage I can do to poor lil Chuck.
Sir Chucky: Welcome to the Chuck world! I'm into many fandoms and I've found the Chuck one to be the most warm and inviting so you picked a good one!
Nomadic Nerd: I really like Beckman as a character. I always strive to make her human but still the military official that she is. You don't become General for going against the company. While she's more than willing to turn her back on a few indiscretions, I have no doubt in my mind that she is first and foremost a military officer.
Lonny J: i thought i missed some. The first original chapter was just a complete and utter mess. I'm not surprised I missed some stuff. Perhaps at another point I'll re-read it as a learning tool to better my editing skills.