Chapter 4
Invited:
The basement of the hotel was serving as a temporary holding cell for the terrorists until a more permanent facility could be arranged.
By the time Chuck and Sarah had reached the holding area, Casey had already started the report to the Director and General. Chuck and Sarah took their places by Casey in front of the monitor, but not before quickly flashing each other a slightly worried look.
Surprisingly, Casey's report contained little about the questionable material viewed the night before. Even more shocking was that he did not enter any comments in the written or spoken report to HQ about the stairwell kiss. As a matter of fact, he had down scaled the entire stairwell scene to the point it was a mere footnote lasting a fraction of the time.
The changes were not lost on either Sarah or Chuck.
After the report was given, Sarah asked Chuck if he would like to get a bite to eat with her before heading home. It was getting late, and unlike the terrorists who gorged themselves just prior to leaving the hotel room, the last time they ate anything was early afternoon
Casey had overheard the invite and made one of his grunting noises, immediately attracting their attention.
Sarah stiffened expecting Casey to start into her and Chuck about the stairs. Possibly giving an explanation on why he didn't mention the kiss.
Casey looked directly at each of them before he spoke for the first time since giving the report, "Well I suppose a celebration is in order."
Sarah and Chuck were shocked. Chuck was the first out the door with a surprised "Wha...wha...What are we celebrating?"
Sarah wisely remained quiet, although her gaze was as questioning, if not more suspicious then Chuck's.
Casey said, "I figure that a mission well done deserves a night out for the team."
Chuck was again the notable speaker, opening with "What about the other successful missions?"
Casey grunted. "Success is only in the eye of the beholder Chuck. Tonight I had fun. Therefore it was successful."
Chuck pressed further, "Ahh... Casey, I thought you hated the stakeout, not to mention that you didn't even shoot anyone..."
Casey, sporting an oddly wide grin, "I know Bartowski. I was there, remember?" Casey poked Chucks head as if to push the point home. "Feels a little weird to be in a good mood ...not having shot anybody..."
Chuck began again, "Well I don't...".
Casey cut him off with a very calm statement that sent chills down Chucks spine, "Bartowski, would you prefer I amend my report with a few sucking face references?"
Sarah was waiting for the other shoe to drop and this seemed like it. She reacted immediately, also sensing Casey's strange behaviour. She needed to find out what he was up to, and to do that, they had to play along. She placed her hand on Chucks arm to stop him from any more questions and just as sweetly replied, "I believe a celebration is in order. What did you have in mind John?'
Casey smirked "I knew you two would see it my way. How about I surprise you two. I'll meet you in a couple of hours at that Shrimp place you and the Bartowski's seem to like so much."
Sarah simply nodded and turned to Chuck, "Chuck, your with me. Lets go." Without waiting for Chuck to respond, she slipped her arm around his and began walking to her car.
She could drive to her place first to clean up and change for an evening out, while Chuck waited. The restaurant was closer to Chuck's than Sarah's apartment. They would easily be able to repeat the changing at Chucks' place and make it to the restaurant in plenty of time.
Once Chuck realized he was going with Sarah he matched his pace with her and wasted no time getting to the car. Chuck began speaking as soon as the car doors closed. "What the heck is that all about?"
"I don't know, but I don't like it."
Chuck was not satisfied with that answer as he could see Sarah working through what Casey said. "Was it the stairwell kiss? It wasn't that big of a thing...was it?"
Sarah gave a half hearted smile and small shake of her head. "No, I don't think so. Besides, it's not his type of thing. To blackmail coworkers, I mean."
Chuck's face looks at her in disbelief. It is obvious he has not thought of this.
Sarah knew she had to tell Chuck the stakes of the game. "Chuck, Casey knows there is something between us."
Chuck looked at her with a confused and expectant expression.
Sarah had steeled herself for a professional explanation, yet it came out with a little more feeling than she wanted. Much like everything she did with Chuck. More feeling than she realized. The downside to the outpouring of feeling was that it wasn't really intended. It's not that she didn't want to express them, but she did it at the worst possible times and it usually led to problems later. Re-calling their first kiss at the 'bomb' and the subsequent argument calling it a mistake she would not make again, was a prime example of how things went wrong.
She bit her lip, keeping her head pointed straight over the steering wheel and decided to just say it. "Chuck, he is aware we are getting closer. He knows it is a little more than cover". For once, Sarah is glad she is looking at the road, as she would prefer not to be looking into Chucks' eyes when she says this. Of course, keeping her face pointed directly ahead doesn't stop her brain from telling her eyes to dart a glance at Chuck to see his reaction.
Chuck's mouth has dropped open as Sarah is freely admitting something he has been guessing at for some time. Heck she even told him a relationship was not going to happen while under the effect of a truth serum. Now, she nonchalantly tells him she has feelings for him! She didn't exactly say how deep the feelings go, but it is a huge improvement over the complete denial he had.
Even when he was giving his goodbye speech to her on the rooftop, she never really said she has feelings for him. He knew, but she never actually admitted it until now. Chuck doesn't even know where to begin.
Sarah takes the silence as a prompt for her to continue. "I think Casey noticed more than he said in the room last night and the Casey finding us on the stairs just reinforced it for him. If you were an assignment, I would not have lost track of time, or lost sight of my target and I definitely would not have been caught off guard by someone coming up the stairs."
Chuck thought about this for a moment before responding. "So what now?"
Sarah continued by stating what they did know. "Casey didn't turn me...or more importantly our actions, in to HQ. He may be holding this information for an 'opportunity' to use it to his advantage.
After a few moments of silence Chuck quietly volunteers another idea, "Sarah. I know Casey isn't the most pleasant guy, but isn't it possible he might actually be a better friend and partner than we give him credit for?"
A glance at Chuck made it apparent that he was seriously considering this. Leave it to Chuck to state something entirely plausible, if Casey was a civilian. She can't just dismiss his idea, as Chuck's upbeat and friendship oriented attitude seems to affect almost everyone, maybe even Casey. "I don't know Chuck. Either way we need to find out what his motives are."
The rest of the drive to Sarah's was done in silence as they both thought about what was discussed.
Sometimes no news is good news:
They made good time to Sarah's hotel suite. She showered, and changed into some form fitting black pants and a loose blouse. As usual, she was able to achieve a fairly upscale look in somewhat sexy clothes. She smiled slightly to herself when she saw Chuck watching her every move. She was quite pleased that he liked her choice of attire. She paused slightly while putting on her makeup. She realized she liked the fact that he watched her. She also liked it when he just talked to her. She would never exit the bathroom before putting on makeup, at least not when going on a date. With Chuck, it was...different. About the only thing he didn't see was her showering and dressing. Not that it wasn't something she wouldn't mind changing.
As usual, her efficiency in getting ready meant that they were back at Chucks' house with a lot of time to spare. Ellie and Devon were out, which was a good thing. Sarah waited in the bedroom while Chuck showered and changed.
While Chuck was in the shower, Sarah stepped into the Bartowski kitchen to grab some snacks for them to eat. It had been a long day and she would've preferred to just fall asleep with Chuck, after filling their empty stomachs, of course. Unfortunately, Casey was acting weird, and they needed to find out where he was going with this.
Her phone rang while she was pulling food out of the refrigerator. She looked at the ID Caller. It was Laslo!
There was no way he would actually show up on Caller ID. That meant he wanted her to know it was him so that she would answer. Of course, the last time they spoke, she was helping haul him off back into his underground bunker.
She answered on the simple grounds that she needed to know if he had escaped custody. If so, he might be hunting Chuck. After all, it was Chuck that disarmed Laslo's bomb at the pier.
Sarah: "Yes?"
Laslo: "Ms. Walker?"
Sarah: "Laslo? How did you get this number? Where are you?"
Laslo: "Look, I'm really sorry about before. You have to believe me. I can't talk for long and I have information about Chuck. Please don't be alarmed. I am at the secure facility and taking my medication. I have taken measures to ensure this line is secure and not tracked, recorded or otherwise monitored, as we would both be in trouble.
Laslo: I am sorry for how things turned out earlier, but I am quite...distressed...when I'm not on my medication."
Sarah: "To the point Laslo, or I hang up."
Laslo: "Chuck has more than the Intersect in his head. More to the point, the Intersect is more than a collection of data."
Sarah: "I'm not hearing anything that I can use. Hanging up now..."
Laslo (desperation echo's in his voice): "Chuck is in danger! You must hear me out."
Sarah (Laslo has her attention but she keeps her tone short and professional): "You have 60 seconds to explain, or I will hang up and report this conversation."
Laslo: "The Intersect, as it is called now, was not originally designed to be a computer search engine. Its initial design was a covert database of intelligence techniques that could be accessed in the field by agents or sleeper agents. I don't know the original call name designation. Unfortunately, no one could retain the data with enough recall or accuracy to perform the tasks at hand.
After 9/11 the CIA was forced to work with the NSA and the government redirected covert program funding into the development of a human based search engine. It became Intersect, version Alpha 1. It was more successful than the initial covert program, but ultimately it failed for the same reasons. Personnel could not retain the data very well.
Later, government cutbacks and the multiple project failures forced them to restructure their focus to a more conventional approach. The scaled down project was the second attempt at creating an Intersect. It was designated version Alpha 2. More code was added in an attempt to use off the shelf computers, rather than people, as the engine driving a multi-point search program."
Sarah: "Laslo, that gives me a history lesson on the Intersect, but what does this have to do with Chuck?"
Laslo: "Each version was built using the previous code. The initial version with the covert spy and sleeper data was actually hard coded into the programming. It wasn't until version Alpha 2 that the search data was added as a block of coded images, stored in a separate format to allow for easy updating and modification. They couldn't remove the older code without rewriting the entire program, which would take years.
Sarah mentally sighs in frustration. She realizes that Chuck does have several gifts that no one ever gives him credit for. One of the most understated is his ability to simplify tech talk into something everyone can understand within a couple of sentences.
Sarah: "Laslo. Simplify it. What exactly are you getting at?"
Laslo: "Chuck has the entire original program coding in his brain, as well as any subsequent modifications and updates before it became the Intersect version Alpha 2. The newer versions of the Intersect just 'blocked' out the older code sequences that were not being used."
Sarah: (becoming very agitated): "Ok. This means what for Chuck...?"
Laslo: "A computer wouldn't know about the old code unless there was a bug in the current program that allowed the data to leak out. In Chuck's case he IS the computer and he could access the covert data at any time; possibly without even realizing it."
Sarah feels a cold lump form in her stomach as she is beginning to assimilate what Laslo telling her.
Sarah: "So what you're saying is he could potentially access data in his brain, on say, covert hacking techniques then use them to actually hack a computer?"
Laslo: "Or he could recall covert assassination techniques and kill his handlers or others before they knew he was dangerous."
Sarah is now very alert and thinking quickly. It is a moment before she replies.
Sarah: "Who else knows of this?"
Laslo: "No one that I am aware of. The electronic and paper copies of the old code were destroyed for security reasons, and the new code has the older stuff hidden.
The code itself is encrypted in sections, so you can only decrypt and work on one piece at a time.
In Chuck's case, the code is stored in his brain, and no one really knows how he accesses it. It is quite possible for him to bypass the encryption and access different areas, simply because a human brain works differently than a computer.
The segmented encryption scheme was used to ensure no one person could duplicate and sell the code to someone else. It also means anyone working on the project is unaware of any hidden sections of code. It's doubtful that anyone even kept the old encryption keys as they would have been stored with the backups they destroyed."
Sarah: "Then how did you know about it?"
Laslo: "They had me work on the initial projects when I was younger. I had forgotten...has to do with my medications...
Lately I've been reinstated to work on the new ...similar... projects.
I just thought you should know. I really do like Chuck, I just... I just missed out on so much of my life because of the CIA. The medication helps keeps me stable enough to function and I hate it too...
Ms. Walker, don't let them bury Chuck in here...
Please tell Chuck that I am sorry for what I did. I can't stay on the line any longer. I have to go...". Laslo hangs up.
Sarah hangs up her phone.
Why the hell is everything so complicated when Chuck is involved? He is like a bloody trouble magnet. Thinking of Chuck, she realizes the shower has stopped. She will have to worry about this later.
She closes her eyes and pauses for a few seconds to calm and clear her mind of Laslo and his news. She takes a deep breath, opens her eyes and grabs the veggie snacks she has pulled out of the fridge and heads to the bedroom to wait for him.
Chuck enters the bedroom with a towel around his waist and is busy drying his hair.
Sarah smiles to herself. At least he is not as self conscious as he used to be. She waits patiently as he dries his hair and collects clothes. As he passes she holds out the plate and he pulls a few veggie sticks off to nibble on as he gets ready.
She smiles again, as he takes the clean underwear and pants she has laid out for him back into the bathroom without a spoken word. A few months ago he would have been uncomfortable walking partial clothed in her presence, not to mention more than a little resistant to letting her pick out underwear for him to wear. Things were progressing well on a personal note.
At that thought, Laslo's news filtered back up and her smile faltered. On the other hand, the agent side had just hit a new wrinkle. A wrinkle as deep as the Mariana Trench.
She was going to have to figure out what to do about it next and determine whether or not she should tell Casey. Depending on how this celebration worked out, would factor in if she lets Casey in on the new intel concerning Chuck or not.
