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Chapter 4

Beckman vs. Ellie

The Casey Stronghold

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Knock. Knock.

"Walker. Ellie."

"Casey"

"Hi John."

"Come on in. Ignore the rifle on the table. I was cleaning it when the General called and told me you two would be needing the terminal. It's ready to go. Do you know what this is about, Walker?"

"I wasn't told, but I could guess."

"Oh, that again. But she isn't cleared."

"Maybe she will be. Beckman's getting desperate."

"Not that desperate. At least, not yet. It's probably just the red, white and blue pitch. Well if you excuse me, I really don't want to be part of a gal tea party discussion with its lady feelings. I'll be out washing the Vic."

Slam

"Wow, Sarah. That was abrupt. Do you still think he holds the frying pan against me?"

"That's just the Colonel side of him, Ellie. One more thing before the General calls. During the call I may seem like I am taking her side. Don't worry. I'm really on your side. I just can't let the General know that. She needs to think I am on her side the whole time. That way, when I end up supporting your decision, she's more likely to back off. She might even be testing me during this call, so I need to put up a good face. I know it sounds complicated, but I'm really good at this. I was in love with your brother for a year and a half before they figured it out. Unfortunately I didn't explain what I was doing to Chuck, so he and I kind of blew it in front of the General once. It almost got me reassigned. Just remember, I'm on Chuck's side, and we're on your side. Understand?"

"I guess so."

"So... Frying pan?"

"Oh, he didn't tell you? Well I guess we all have some secrets around here."

"Secrets?"

"Fine, I'll tell you. When Justin was talking to me, Devon, Morgan, and John thought I was having an affair."

"But you would never do that to Devon."

"Of course not. But these are the same three stooges who got my husband arrested while trying to help Chuck win you back."

"Ok. Granted."

"John decided to snoop around my place. I guess that's what you spies do. Don't ask for an explanation. Just break and enter."

"Occupational hazard."

"Well John must have read Chuck's fridge and did not know I switched shifts with Marcie because of her nephew's birthday party. Anyway, I got home and heard John snooping around. Justin had told me Casey was a double agent after my father, which I guess you know from the debriefing. I called Justin, and he told me to shoot John with a gun he hid out in a radio/bug killer box."

"More like a bug, not a bug killer, but go on."

"I have a thing about guns."

"Just like Chuck."

"So I went with a big frying pan. Two swings later, and John was out cold."

Ha ha ha. "That is the funniest story I have heard in a long time. Please don't tell him I know. This is going to be fun for a while."

"Ok deal. But we should let Chuck in on it too."

"Of course. Maybe not Morgan, though. After the Alex/Morgan thing, I afraid Casey might snap and kill him."

"Alex and Morgan? Really? She just seems so, normal. Not like Anna."

"Morgan's matured. He turned down Anna a few weeks ago."

"If you say so. Of course maturing for Morgan means acting like a sixteen year old instead of a twelve year old."

"You're right there."

"Eh hem. Am I interrupting, ladies?"

"Sorry General. Ma'am, I don't believe you have officially met Dr. Eleanor Woodcomb. Ellie, this is General Beckman."

"Yes, Dr. Woodcomb. You have been causing us quite of bit of unrest—"

"I'm sorry to be an inconvenience. I never wanted my family to be a part of this spy world of yours."

"That's exactly the problem. This is not about what you want. It's about keeping the country safe. Your family has been part of the spy world for years—your brother for the last three and your father for many years before that. They were vital to protecting this country before you had a say about it. This country suffered a great loss with the death of your father. Now with him gone, Chuck is even more important. I realize you and your brother are both trying to recover from the events of the past few weeks. Now, however, due to some sense of obligation to you, Chuck has walked away from service to something greater."

"Excuse me, General, ma'am. A long, long time ago, I made a promise to my father to protect my little brother. That is all I am doing. I can protect Chuck, the brother. I can't protect Chuck, the spy."

"I see. Well you do not have to worry about that anymore. We have spent millions of dollars training and protecting Chuck so he can defend himself and defend this country. We also have two highly trained agents dedicated to his protection full-time. I assume that is still your preferred assignment, Walker?"

"Yes ma'am."

"So see, he is in very good hands."

"I'm sorry ma'am, but I don't see that. Last week I saw my father murdered and my brother kidnapped by some really bad men. The only reason that we are having this conversation is because I, Chuck's over protective big sister, followed the vehicle and called my husband for help. When Chuck's safety depends on two doctors and a Buy More Assistant Manager, I don't have a lot of faith in your protection."

"Ellie, last week was an extraordinary situation. Chuck left me behind to run with your father. Right after he left, I was captured. If we were together, we would have kept each other safe."

"That's correct, Walker. And if Chuck were to return to the CIA, I could guarantee that Agents Walker and Bartowski would be permanent partners. Now, I think I have figured out how all of you Bartowskis work. You have a process that you go through before making the right decision. The right decision, in this case, is to let Chuck be what he was born to be—a spy. What I would like to know from you, Dr. Woodcomb, is what can I do to help speed up that process?"

Thud.

"Chuck!"

"Sarah. Ellie. General."

"Mr. Bartowski. You are no longer part of the CIA and are not permitted to be part of this call."

"I see, but Ellie is? I thought I told you, General, that my whole family, including Morgan, is out. And Sarah is only in as long she wants. Fortunately I noticed Casey washing his car when he normally would be watching the Berlin Wall special on the History Channel. Hopefully he is DVR'ing it—"

"This call was approved by Agent Walker, and Dr. Woodcomb accepted. Surely your big sister does not need your protection. I thought it was the other way around."

"We take care of each other. So, let me guess. You were trying to intimidate her into releasing me from my promise."

"There was no intimidation—"

"Bribe? Guilt trip?"

"Before you interrupted…I was merely explaining to her that your safety is not her concern anymore as the resources of the entire United States government are backing you up."

"That's true, Chuck. The General was just explaining the situation to Ellie. How the country needs you and how I would never let anything happen to you."

"Et tu, Sarah? Explaining, huh? Well maybe that's the problem. With everything that has happened the past week—the past three years actually—she has no reason to trust the government, you, or me. Maybe if we told her the truth, about what has really been going on around here the past few years, she could trust us. Then she might be willing to listen to your explanations."

"Chuck, that information is classified—"

"Ellie knows more than she realizes already. Her name has appears in many of those classified reports."

"—and the less she knows, the safer she is."

"You told me that the first night after our date. Maybe it was true then, but it just doesn't make sense anymore. Once they bad guys figured out my alias, knew my real name, and knew who my father really was, everyone trustworthy close to me should have been told. Justin tricked Ellie to get to my father. That never would have happened if she was in the loop. In fact, after the bad guys made the connection between Bryce and me, then Morgan, Devon and Ellie should have been told. My loved ones could have been used as leverage against me from day one. In fact, that happened, multiple times. The only difference with them knowing my secret is I could have been used as leverage against them to spill what they knew. That logic doesn't wash, though, because I was the big secret. If they could leverage me, they already had me. Game over."

"No, Chuck. That is not how it works."

"The only reason to keep them in the dark, Sarah, is some stupid power trip. They are trustworthy and have the right to know what is going on—"

"Eh hem. Walker. Bartowski. I see the problem here is trust. Ok. I'm sure I'll regret this later. Here is what I propose. Bartowski, you can brief Dr. Woodcomb—"

"Both of them."

"Fine. You can brief both Dr. Woodcombs on your activities for the past three years. Agent Walker, you will ensure that they sign the proper non-disclosures and will limit the information disclosed as you see fit. Please use your discretion. After you have talked, I hope we can continue this conversation with a more positive outcome."

"Just a minute General—"

"Yes, Chuck."

"Maybe Alex and Kathleen should be brought into the loop too. The relationship between them and Casey is known, so the same logic applies."

"Fine. If Colonel Casey wishes to brief them, he is free to do so. Agent Walker, please relay this option to the Colonel. I'm certain he can be trusted to use his own discretion. If that's all."

Click

"Well, that was-abrupt."

"She's always like that Ellie. Sarah, I—"

"—can't believe—"

"—that worked."

"What worked? I'm not following guys. You two were in a heated argument a minute ago and now you have these goofy grins."

"You want to tell her, Sarah. It was mostly your plan."

"Ok. Ellie, you know when we were talking earlier I was dodging certain topics?"

"Yes, I caught that. I thought maybe with a little more wine."

"I'm trained for that. It would have taken more than alcohol. I once told Chuck we had no future together while under the effects of truth serum. That was a lie."

"Wait, Sarah, you can lie under truth serum?"

"Of course that was a lie, Chuck. You know you should have figured that out with that kiss I gave you a few days later."

"I thought that was a mistake. That I was the most convenient lips available at the time."

"You're so cute, Chuck. And back then, you were sometimes really clueless—"

"Excuse me, but would one of you explain what you are talking about?!"

"Sorry, Ellie. We can explain that story better after you and Devon sign the forms over at our place. So where was I? Oh yeah, dodging certain topics. The problem was you and Devon did not have clearance to find out about anything Chuck has been doing the last few years. Chuck really wanted to come clean. I wanted you to hear it too. I know you think your brother is special because he is your brother, but you really have no idea how special he truly is. I thought you deserved to know. The problem was getting you both clearances. My request is stuck in bureaucratic limbo, which I referred to earlier. Casey has too much pride to try. Chuck can't officially make requests because he is no longer cleared divulge under any circumstances—"

"I'm no longer cleared to even to know what I know."

"—so Chuck and I came up with a plan. Chuck has been getting regular requests from Beckman to rejoin the CIA. Apparently she didn't let Chuck go because she was thankful for saving multiple branches of the government. She just thought Chuck was making an impulsive decision and that he would be back in a day or two. She doesn't understand Chuck's loyalty to you. It took me a while when I first moved to Burbank, and she does not have the benefit of first hand observation. So the first part of the plan was for Chuck to start ignoring the calls."

"That was not fun—seeing Beckman's face pop up on my phone every few minutes. Soon she staffed it out, which was stupid because my phone would say I was getting an encrypted call from an unknown caller. Why not just say, 'NSA Staffer, line 1'?"

"So Beckman would call me instead, and I could tell she was getting more and more irritated. This morning, Chuck grabbed my phone and hung up on her. That was the source of the tension when Chuck walked in."

"I was convinced Beckman would try talking to you today. We thought it would be at dinner. I guess we didn't realize how much I was annoying her. She doesn't like being ignored. Fortunately, I saw you two come over here to Casey's. The story about the Berlin Wall was to make it sound like I ran into Casey by accident. I just had to wait enough time for Beckman to hopefully get worked up, but not too long enough as to miss her quick hang up. Good job getting her worked up, sis."

"You're welcome, I guess. Wait, so the plan was to pick a fight with Sarah's boss, a General?"

"You go ahead, Sarah. Annoying Beckman was my part of the plan. I'm good at that. The rest was yours."

"Ok, the plan was for Chuck and me to get into an argument in front of the General. It was a minor one, but was enough to convince the General that I was against you finding out about Chuck's secrets. That would make her realize that I could not convince Chuck to come back and would cement the idea that only you could do that. The way to win you over was to win your trust. You would not trust the government while Chuck didn't, and Chuck was making a very valid argument that you should be trusted. Considering he was able to convince the General to let Morgan be a part of the team a couple of months ago, albeit with some blackmail from Casey, and considering you and Devon are much less of a security risk than Morgan, the decision should have been easy. And the best part is—she thinks it's her idea."

"Actually I think there are several best parts, Sarah. Beckman said the only limits to what we tell them are what you limit—"

"—and I don't plan on limiting anything—"

"—and Ellie, you are not obligated to anything afterwards. "

"So, Chuck. Sarah. Let me get this straight. I do not have to relieve you from your promise, and you don't have to go back to the CIA, but you get to tell me what the hell has been going on?"

"Exactly, sis. We are getting this for free."

"Is this what you spies do all the time? Trick people into doing exactly what you want."

"Sometimes. It doesn't always work. But Sarah is really the best at it. We once conned a guy out of, well I'll tell you later. She's been doing it a long, long time. Oops I'm sorry Sarah, was that ok to say? It's not spy related."

"That's ok, Chuck. We'll talk about it tonight. Ellie and Devon are coming over for dinner."

"Great! You already invited her. I'm drafting Morgan to help cook before I shoo him out with a doggie bag."

"Chuck, you shouldn't make Morgan do that. You could make that great Chicken Pepperoni you made last time."

"No. That meal was with my ex and was actually cooked by Sarah and her ex. Chicken Pepperoni is henceforth banned."

"What?"

"You'll understand after tonight. Morgan knows the back story already anyway. I've been running interference between Casey and Morgan because of Alex. He'll help out. And no you are not allowed to cook anything, sis. As much as you want to know what has been going on with me, tonight is going to be hard. I don't need you stressing out beforehand."

"Yes sir, brother, sir."

"Huh? What's with the salute?"

"Seemed appropriate for the brother who dresses down and cons NSA Generals."

"Sis, you haven't seen nuttin' yet."

"We'll see you and Devon for dinner at 7. Bye Ellie. Sarah, I'll see you at home after you talk to Casey."

"Chuck, will you quit it with the eyebrow dance in front of your sister." Kiss. "Bye Ellie. See you tonight." Hug. Well that part of the mission worked. Now I just hope I don't lose my new best friend after tonight.

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A/N: Coming Next: Casey vs. Alex