A/N: Before you begin, have you read Altonish's Sarah vs 22 minutes with Carina? It provides some set-up for this chapter and it's a fun read. You should check it out!

So we've finally the last of the set-up chapters. Hopefully now you'll have a better idea of what everyone's motivations are because it's about to get messy.

The Set-Up: Sarah

Sarah had only been inside the general's office for five minutes and already she knew Carina was wrong. Carina might have gotten her choice of assignments, but Sarah was going to be force fed crap and there was nothing she could do about it. The realization annoyed her. What was the point in being at the top of her game if she couldn't get out of assignments like these?

"General, with all due respect, I don't feel like Los Angeles would be the best use of my skills set." She spoke in a calm and assertive tone, as she had been taught to, but her eyes bore into the diminutive General's.

It just wasn't fair. They were clearly punishing her.

To her credit, General Beckman hardly batted an eyelash. "Agent Walker, you are aware of Project Omaha?"

It was a redundant question. The woman had her file open on her desk. "I am aware," Sarah replied. She had been assigned to the project for a brief period of time years ago before she was (thankfully) reassigned.

"I understand it was not especially successful."

General Beckman's lips tensed into a thin line. "No. Not yet at least. Even our best candidate lacked the ability to process encoded images rapidly enough to be an efficient processor of information."

Sarah felt chills run down her spine. That was an awfully cold description.

"However we still believe that success is possible."

Sarah furrowed her brows. "You mean..."

"We believe we can create field agents with the entire repository of CIA and NSA intelligence inbedded into them. Yes." General Beckman didn't give her time to interrupt. "We have reason to believe it is not only feasible, but that others are attempting to do it right now as we speak. We suspect that a covert organization known as Fulcrum intends to utilize this technology to train a new generation of super operatives."

Sarah had to bite the inside of her cheek not to laugh out loud. This sounded like the back cover of a bad sci-fi novel. What happened to good old kidnapping and ballistics?

"I don't see why this requires me to relocate to Los Angeles." Especially since she was all too aware of an assignment in Rome involving dinners with foreign dignitaries and an upscale apartment three minutes away from the Fontana di Trevi.

"At the inception of Project Omaha, the lead designer created an aptitude exam for cognitive recognition and recall. This test was given to students around the nation and the scores were pooled together. Among the finalists was a candidate who scored exceptionally well. Unfortunately the test subjects' identities were protected by a cipher. This was done for the safety of all involved. While we have the test scores for the highest scoring candidate, we no longer have access to the cipher that can identify who the test subject was."

"Can't you get that from the recruiter that administered the test?"

"Possibly. However Professor Fleming left a distress call at our Los Angeles substation some time ago and went underground. He's not been heard from since. We have to believe he's been captured by Fulcrum."

Sarah arched a brow. She sensed there was more to the story that General Beckman was not telling her. It wasn't unlike other assignments she'd been sent on but it was annoying.

"There is a chance that someone knows the location of the cipher. Professor Fleming had one particular student who he was quite close to and whom he kept in contact."

Sarah sat motionless in her seat. "I'm sorry, General, I don't understand what this has to do with me." Her time in Project Omaha had been limited; she hadn't even understood her role before she had been recalled.

"Your mission is to determine the identity of the candidate and bring them back for further testing. Should you find evidence of Fulcrum's similar endeavours in regards to the Intersect, your orders are to gather information only. Our primary objective is the identity of Candidate X.

"Your new cover is Manager of External Relations under the Software Division at Roark Industries. You will answer to the Division Manager, who will also be leading the search for Candidate X.

Sarah grimaced. "I'm answering to someone else on this mission?"

"It's the only way he would agree to help."

Sarah rolled her eyes. Great another prima donna mission leader. As if working with Carina wasn't bad enough. "Who?"

"Bryce Larkin."

Sarah choked. "Excuse me? I thought Bryce Larkin was out of commission."

General Beckman hesitated for a moment. Her hesitation spoke volumes more than anything she'd actually said. "He was…at least for the purposes of his cover."

"Bryce still works for the CIA?" Sarah asked in shock. There'd been a time when the two of them had been quite close. He'd been her partner. Then she'd been recalled and last she heard, he'd quit the Agency.

"Yes, well more specifically, Bryce Larkin works for me," the General replied. "Fulcrum has penetrated the very core of our government. Fulcrum hunting operations are kept extremely close to the vest. That's my job. To find and destroy Fulcrum. I only use agents that I trust implicitly."

"And that's me?" Sarah asked. She tried not to sound too surprised and whatever feelings of self-import she may have felt at being the chosen one was short-lived.

"Not exactly. Bryce, however, has indicated that he trusts you. Therefore for the purposes of this mission I must trust you as well; I need someone on the ground in Los Angeles who is a capable field agent."

Sarah frowned. "So what am I, an extra? Bryce is a perfectly capable agent. The best…actually."

Beckman frowned at her. Silence stretched between them until Sarah started to squirm in her chair; General Beckman's gaze was unsettling. "There was an incident, years ago. As a result Bryce isn't cleared for field activity. He's more of an analyst at this point. He's a good man, brave…a patriot, but he's not agent. Not anymore."

There was something more there. Something insidious that Sarah didn't like thinking about. Still with Bryce gone, she was one of the best.

She and Bryce had been a long time ago. Even if Bryce had requested her, it didn't feel right. Her talents were best spent on the bleeding edge, not performing PI duties in Los Angeles. "There must be someone else you can send. I'd be a waste for this kind of junior detective work," Sarah tried.

When General Beckman doesn't immediately answer, Sarah realized that was exactly what she was. She clenched her teeth. So this was punishment.

"I could be far more useful to you where a more experienced hand is needed. In Rome, perhaps?"

General Beckman narrowed her eyes. "Someone has already been dispatched to Rome," she informed. "As for Los Angeles, I believe it's the perfect assignment for you. I think it's about time you had some time to recollect your thoughts."

The thought of sitting in a cubicle auditing credit card receipts and phone records in a vain attempt to uncover villainous activity made her eyes glaze over.

"If it's about Bogota I've already explained myself. Agent Miller took longer than we'd planned to set up the explosives and in order for the mission to be a success I had to engage."

General Beckman nodded. "Understood. However Commander Lopez was the nephew of President Frederique. The President has demanded that the person responsible face a trial."

"His nephew was dirty, he was supporting the cartel!"

"We believe you, but diplomatic relations…"

"Diplomatic relations!" Sarah cried. Why bother having diplomatic relations with them at all?

"Yes, diplomatic relations are rocky at best right now. It would go a long way if the CIA were to burn the agent responsible for Commander Lopez's death.

Sarah shot out of her seat. "You're burning me?" She couldn't believe it. After all the effort, the dedication, the self-control she showed not to slap Carina upside the head—and this was the thanks she got?

"Please control yourself, Agent Walker," General Beckman said. Despite everything, the diminutive woman remained unmoved. "We are not burning you, you're simply coming to work for me, but for the purposes of the CIA we will have to consider you burned."

Sarah tried to stare a hole through the General.

"You will go to Los Angeles and assist in the search for Candidate X. Upon completion of your mission your burn notice will be lifted and you'll be welcomed back into the CIA."

"I can't believe this. Agent Miller gets a raise and a commendation and I get burned?" Sarah sputtered.

"Yes, well the budget is tight at the DEA and Agent Miller did recover one point four million in drug money. From their perspective the operation was a success… However, someone has to take responsibility for the death of Commander Lopez."

Sarah blinked. "One point four?" Sarah clarified.

General Beckman picked up a piece of paper on her desk and scanned it quickly. "According to the mission debriefing, yes."

Sarah was going to kill Carina right after she chewed her out and beat her sorry ass to a pulp.

Later, after this nightmare was over.

"What if I don't agree to this?" Sarah asked. "What if I say no?"

General Beckman gave Sarah a tight smile, the kind she saved especially for these situations. "Well we can always make the burn notice real."