JR and Xpl, thanks.
Nancy, thanks, on Charade, I must admit that I was going to can it and leave as I was angry with what was going on on the site, but I don't believe that the story is done yet, probably why I haven't marked it as 'complete' yet. I'll see about picking it up again when I've thought about it.
NB: Made a minor change in Mama where the shadow group are only the ones who were reactivated, but they've kept contact with a few times that many.
Still fluffy.
Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed, this isn't the real world and nor is it a Disney Princess story.
Pasadena - September 2007
As soon as Sarah had left, Chuck got to work, as he had to finish getting things set up before the morning. The only details of their cover lives that he'd touched on so far was that he'd offered Sarah a job at PS&T and quietly told her that officially, Anna would be sharing his apartment with him and Casey would be taking over Anna's apartment. He had until morning to create everything else. He also had an even bigger job, finishing a bullet proof business case to convince everyone that the human intersect team had to be operated under very strict parameters if they wanted him, as the human intersect, to keep working.
By the time that Diane came on-line at about 3AM his time, he had most of it done, the records showed that the smaller building beside El Castillo had been sold to Shadow Security and they'd had the development application to alter the building approved by the planning department while they were going through settlement. All the records were in place to show that Shadow Security was a legitimate company, made up of a franchise of an established security services company based in Austin Texas that had merged with a smaller but well regarded security company in L.A. that they'd taken over. The owner of the L.A. company, Gertrude Verbanski, would be running Shadow Security as the L.A. operation of the parent company. The story line was that the owners of the parent company were proud patriots and had agreed not only to take John Casey on as the second on charge for the L.A. operation, but also to allow the government to add whatever they wanted to the premises while the building was being rebuilt.
The personnel list that Chuck had put together for Shadow Security made Diane shake her head, it was made up of people from the core shadow group, who'd been supposedly been brought in from other franchises of the parent company, this was Gertrude, Marco and Ilsa, along with Yuri Gabrienko, Louis Chekov, Sydney Prince, Robin Cunnings and Alexandra Forrest. As well as that, Gertrude was bringing over the people from her security company (who were also part of their 'friends') to make up the rest of it, Javier Cruz, Vincent Smith, Richard Noble, Robert Simms, Michael Colt, Zoe Alleyne, Victoria Dunwoody and Sofia Stepanova. All of Gertrude's people were ex-military, with experience in corporate and celebrity security, and the Shadow group had all been highly respected operatives, so the Shadow Security team made for a formidable force, especially with Casey added to it.
Part of the work that Chuck had had to do was to ensure that all of the ones from the shadow group (and most of the ones from Gertrude's company) had records that would stand up to investigation by the CIA, and the NSA for that matter. He was still doing that when Diane came on-line and they started discussing it. He filled her in on what he'd told Sarah and cleared with Anna, that Sarah would bring up the fact that he'd offered her a job with his company and Anna would be listed as sharing his apartment. This was both to make it more believable for them to be living in a place like El Castillo, and so that the 'NSA' could lease Anna's apartment for Casey to use, the records now showed that it had just become vacant after the previous tenant moved east. He also pointed out the fact that he'd altered the records to replace his and Anna's names in regard to the other companies with other identities that he'd created and embedded in all the necessary systems.
That was the easy part, the hard part was finishing putting together the in-depth history of Chuck Bartowski, basket case, and making it bulletproof. This included counsellor and psychiatrist reports, statements from colleagues and customers, a mountain of evidence to show that Chuck Bartowski would be a basket case who was good for nothing but a rubber room if he ever had to experience betrayal or abandonment again. They had a few things in their favour here, like the fact that he hadn't had anything to do with any woman other than family members and his lesbian best friend since he finished at Stanford, except for that one date he went on with Agent Sarah Walker. As General Stanfield had commented, he didn't even talk to women most of the time. Then they had the fact that over ninety percent of their business dealings with customers or anyone else were actually handled by Anna, Jeff or Skip, mainly Anna, because Chuck was usually working away behind the scenes.
Put together with the reports and statements that he'd created and salted throughout the systems, they showed the image of a brilliant but exceedingly fragile young man who'd been destroyed when he was betrayed by his best friend and long term girlfriend at university. His business was apparently only functioning because his best friend was running it for him, and he was incapable of having social interactions. This all made the fact that he'd actually had a date with agent Walker all the more amazing.
The NSA's favoured psychiatrist, Dr Leo Dreyfus, had formally reviewed all the reports about Mr Bartowski and stated that in his professional opinion, any further indication of betrayal or abandonment could finish what the betrayal that he'd experienced at Stanford had started and would render him an irrevocable basket case. He further opined that Mr Bartowski had probably only opened up to Agent Walker because she was almost the total opposite of the woman who'd come so close to destroying him.
They'd also manoeuvred the DNI into establishing the formal position that America NEEDED the Intersect database, and if the only copy of this database was in the head of a rather fragile young man, then NOTHING could be allowed to threaten the emotional stability of that young man.
When they finished going through the final touches of what he'd put together, Diane laughed. "Have you ever considered going into politics Chuck? You've got the DNI and the President almost ready to order anyone who MIGHT do something to disturb your delicate equilibrium banished, and they're on the verge of begging Sarah to marry you, just to get you to be happy and stable. I've expressed my concerns that the CIA may not be willing to handle this in the manner that we believe necessary to keep you working properly and they're pushing to have that executive order to have Sarah transferred to my control, along with the rest of it, done."
Chuck grinned at that "I would be willing to make the sacrifice of marrying Agent Walker for the good of the country General."
"I just bet you would! Chuck, we're not out of the woods yet, but with the groundwork you've done I believe that we can get Sarah locked into this and protected from that bastard Graham's plans for her. I hope you're as proud of yourself as I am of you!"
"I'll celebrate when she's safe Auntie Di. We can't underestimate Graham."
"I know Honey, but we've got a really good case now, thanks to you!"
With that, he sent everything that she'd need for the morning through to her and told her that he'd make sure that all the rest of the records would hold up before he went to bed. He put another hour in before he crawled into bed, and Anna let him sleep in until 8 because she knew the sort of hours he would have been putting in the night before. She had looked up what he'd put together though, so after she'd given him his coffee, she hit him "Are you kidding me? Did you specifically go out, looking for tall bitches? Gertie's the shortest of the lot of them, way to look out for my self esteem issues Chuck!"
He shrugged "Hey, you can blame Gertie for Zoe, Vicky and Sofia, I just brought her people across with her, for the others, I had to go with the ones in the shadow group who were available and had the skill sets we needed to fit into the company we were creating. If it makes you feel any better, think of how Casey's going to be when he sees Louie, Mike and Yuri."
That got a grin from her. "Oh yeah, he won't like that, damn they're big!"
"I'd say Yuri's more tall than big but yeah, Mike and Louie certainly have the big title down."
"Uhuh, anyway, time to get up, you need to get some work done before your girl comes back and distracts you again."
He swatted her on the behind for that and she leant in to kiss him with a laugh, then turned serious "I'm so glad you found her Chuck! I have to admit, I thought you'd be searching for her for the rest of your life and die lonely, and you don't deserve that, you're the best man there is. I was never been more glad to be wrong in my life!"
He hugged her, quietly saying after a bit "I've wondered about that quite a bit myself over the last eighteen years, I can tell you."
She wrapped her arms around him and said "Well you don't have to wonder about that any more, you've got her back, now we just have to sort out the American government and stop them from interfering with us, no problem!" With that, she kissed him again and headed out the door.
Downtown Los Angeles - September 2007
Sarah met Casey outside the FBI's L.A. office, her earwig already in place so the others could talk to her while she was in there. For the benefit of the CIA's bugs, Casey asked "Did you tuck Bartowski in all snug last night Walker?"
"I made sure that the asset was delivered safely into his apartment building, if that's what you're asking Casey!"
"No need to get snooty Walker, after you!"
She proceeded him into the building, sharing a quick smile when they knew that they were out of range of the cameras.
Once they were in the secure teleconference room, the link to D.C. was initiated and they went over the events of the night before. Diane didn't bother trying to cover up her look of triumph when Graham buckled and formally (if reluctantly) agreed that it would be in everyone's best interests for Charles Bartowski to remain 'in the world', with the Walker and Casey as his handlers, though he made a point of eagerly stressing that Walker's cover was to be Bartowski's girlfriend.
When they started discussing the arrangements of the assignment, Sarah brought up the fact that Chuck had offered her a job in his company and that was quickly locked in as no-one could argue with that being a good thing. Graham was rather suspicious when Diane said that they'd already managed to secure the newly vacant apartment next to Mr Bartowski's for Casey, and also that they'd placed him as the second in charge of the security company being established next door, and furthermore that that the owners of that security company had given the government carte-blanche to change or add what they wanted while they were rebuilding the property, so they were working on plans to add an operations centre underneath the building for the team.
When she baited the hook with in a dig about there being room for Sarah in the apartment that they'd acquired for Major Casey if required, Graham bit, just as she'd planned. "That won't be necessary General, we'll be setting up Agent Walker at Maison23 on a short term basis, but her orders are to rapidly progress her relationship with the asset with the aim of her moving in with him at the earliest possible opportunity, I expect that to happen within a month, two at the absolute most, as this operation needs to be brought under control as soon as possible."
Diane could see Sarah getting upset about such a blatant order to screw Chuck into submission as fast as possible, but then saw her calm down when Casey said something to her. She looked at Graham "Have you reviewed Mr Bartowski's file Director?"
"I've skimmed it, what of it?"
She reached forward and picked up a very thick folder from the front of the desk, dropping it onto the desk in from of him. Graham's eyes went wide, as the CIA's file on Bartowski wasn't anywhere near this size.
"The reports are that Mr Bartowski experienced a traumatic incident while he was at Stanford, one that involved your Agent Larkin and his long term partner, Jill Roberts, to be specific. Your Agent Larkin framed him for cheating and actually managed to get him expelled, until Mr Bartowski's family had that overturned with the FBI's assistance at least, it was reportedly the damages settlement from that incident which gave him the money to start his business. On top of that, your Agent Larkin then had sex with Miss Roberts and proceeded to make sure that everyone in Palo Alto and any forums he was on knew about it. Mr Bartowski fell apart and required considerable psychiatric help before he was able to become functional again."
"He is still a semi-recluse. His friend Anna Wu effectively runs his company for him and helps keep him on an even keel. He has not had anything to do with any woman other than those in his immediate family or Miss Wu, who is a lesbian by the way, since he was betrayed and abandoned by Miss Roberts."
"Our agency psychiatrists have reviewed the reports of the psychiatrists he was seeing over the past six years, and have have expressed concern that any further incidents could well effect Mr Bartowski's ability to function as the Human Intersect."
"We were all amazed that Agent Walker could manage to get past his defences enough for him to not only agree to have a date with her, but by all accounts enjoy it up until the point where he saw that bomber. The fact is, no other woman has managed anything close to that with him in six years, but Agent Walker jumping into bed with him straight away would almost certainly remind him of Miss Roberts and destroy what trust he apparently has in her, and that in turn could possibly effect his ability to function as the human intersect. We cannot allow you to endanger this operation in that way Director."
"The only way that this would be allowed to progress would be if Agent Walker were to engage in something more akin to a real courtship with Mr Bartowski, to allow trust and affection to develop between them at a more natural pace. And while we're on the subject, in view of Mr Bartowski's previous betrayals, if Agent Walker were to go down that path, there could never be any circumstances, on mission or off, where Agent Walker was engaged in any activities that Mr Bartowski would be expected to regard as a betrayal of his trust in her. Would you be willing to commit to that Agent Walker?"
"What do you mean Ma'am? I don't really know what you're asking?"
"No missions involving any form of seduction, unless it's minor and we, or more to the point you, have agreed it with Mr Bartowski previously, or any dating or engaging in activities of a compromising nature in any location where you may be seen or recorded so it could get back to him."
"That is rather restrictive, and I must say intrusive into my private life Ma'am."
"Yes, I am aware of that and am sorry Agent Walker, but our reviews of Mr Bartowski's records have led us to the believe that any further betrayals would push him into a state when we could well lose access to the Intersect permanently. Therefore, I will ask again, would you be willing to commit to the conditions we've discussed?"
Sarah pretended to consider for a moment. "Under those circumstances, yes Ma'am, I would."
Graham growled "You can choose what you do in your personal life Walker, but on missions you will follow your orders. And furthermore, General, you do not have the authority to dictate to the CIA what missions we give our agents!"
"Perhaps not Director, but I have been authorised to enforce the operating conditions for the Human Intersect project, given Mr Bartowski's history and mental state. Without formal commitment to the conditions stated, Agent Walker and hence the CIA will not be part of the Human Intersect project."
Graham sneered "Under who's authority, General?"
The screen suddenly split and the DNI appeared on one side. "Mine, Director! I have been monitoring this discussion as I had concerns about what way it would go. It appears that those concerns were valid. So it's me asking now Director, will the CIA formally commit to complying with these requirements, or not?"
Graham gritted his teeth "Yes sir, but we'll have to replace Agent Walker with another agent, we cannot afford to lose our best agent to a project of this nature."
"That is not an acceptable option Director, as General Beckman has stated, the experts have been astounded that Mr Bartowski has extended himself as far as he has for Agent Walker. From their reports, he would almost certainly regard it as yet another betrayal if Agent Walker were to suddenly disappear and someone else was pushed on him to take her place. Therefore, the conditions on this are that Agent Walker will be permanently, irrevocably and exclusively assigned to the Human Intersect Project. She will only operate within the Human Intersect team and not perform any other missions outside of the Human Intersect team, either solo or with any other agents. She will not complete any functions relating to seduction unless both she and the Human Intersect have agreed prior to the mission. She will also not be involved in missions where she is required to act in a compromising manner with other agents. General Beckman will have final authority on all orders issued to Agent Walker. If the CIA agree to these conditions the paperwork will be prepared for your, my and General Beckman's signatures and we can continue."
"That is too restrictive sir, we cannot lose the services of our best agent like that. Under those conditions, the CIA will opt out of any involvement in this Human Intersect project, we will continue to look for our own suitable candidate and proceed with them when we locate one."
"Is that your final word Director?"
"Yes sir."
"Very well Director, remain there in General Beckman's office, as there is other paperwork that must be processed."
Washington - September 2007
Graham was certain that he'd just been manouvered into something, and that was confirmed by the fact that Beckman was obviously trying to hide a smile. When he saw Walker go from looking upset to relieved when Casey said something to her, he knew that they were up to something and barked. "Walker, we're leaving, I expect you to be on the next plane to Langley!"
As he said that, the door to the office opened and the DNI walked in to hear the end of Graham's order. "Director Graham, are you disobeying the order I gave you?"
"No sir, I was just giving my agent her orders."
The DNI looked at the screen "Agent Walker, stay right there!"
Sarah nodded without saying a word.
Then he turned back to Graham. "It is my belief, Director, that you were in the process of wilfully disobeying an order that I had given you, but I will deal with that another time." He put some documents on the desk in front of Graham. "I require you to sign these to accept receipt, and then action it as ordered."
When Graham scanned the document, his face hardened. Looking up he said "I decline sir, I will not give up my best agent!"
The DNI turned grim "What gives you the impression that you have any choice in the matter Director? That ship sailed the second you said that that was your final word. Now, sign to accept receipt of your orders or I'll have the General sign on the next page to say that she witnessed you refusing to sign to accept receipt! In case you've forgotten, refusing to accept a direct order from the Commander in Chief can be construed as treason under some circumstances."
He suddenly stopped and faced the screen "Agent Walker, I've just realised that we owe you an apology, we've been treating you as something to be traded about instead of an extraordinary young person who's already done and sacrificed so much for your country. This document (waving at what was on the desk in front of Graham) is an order signed by the President, and if it is executed, you will be part of the CIA in name only, you will be subject to no orders from the Director, or anyone else in the CIA, only General Beckman, as the Director of the Human Intersect Project, and she in turn will be subject only to orders from myself as the DNI, and the President. A similar order will be presented to the Director of the NSA for Major Casey, and a slightly different one for General Beckman. Under the terms of this order, you will only operate as part of the Human Intersect team under the terms that we were discussing and you cannot be made to perform any mission, by yourself or with other agents, outside of the team. Your assignment to the Human Intersect project will also be permanent unless you request to return to the CIA, another option is that you may resign at any time you wish. I apologise for not treating you with the respect that you have earned, and deserve, prior to this. My only excuse is that we were on an extremely tight schedule to get this done, but I am now formally asking whether you wish to transfer to the Human Intersect Project under these terms, or you would prefer to stay in the CIA in your current capacity?"
Sarah's eyes were shining but she kept her expression neutral as she drew herself up "I choose to transfer to the Human Intersect Project sir, and I thank you for offering me this choice."
The DNI nodded with a smile, saying "It was no more than what you have earned Agent Walker!"
He then transferred his attention to Casey "Major Casey, we have also shown you the disrespect of proceeding down this path without asking whether it is what you wish, so I ask you the same question, do you wish to transfer into the Human Intersect Project under the terms discussed, or do you choose to stay with the NSA in your current capacity? Your orders are slightly different in that the other project that you are currently assigned to is also coming under the same umbrella."
Casey also drew himself up "I choose to transfer to the Human Intersect Project sir, thank you."
The DNI nodded and then turned back to Graham. "Are you prepared to sign the document Director, or must I have General Beckman sign it as I have said?"
Graham grabbed a pen and angrily signed the three copies of the document before throwing it down, whereupon the DNI calmly picked up the pen and signed the documents as well, passing them to Diane in turn for her signature. He then picked up one copy of the document and extended it to Graham, saying. "This is your copy Director, now as this is a meeting for the Human Intersect Project, there is no need for you to remain. You will be formally advised, along with the other agencies, of what the parameters for engaging the Human Intersect team will be."
The document wasn't quite snatched from him and Graham gritted out "Sir. General." before he stalked out of the office, not quite slamming the door.
The DNI relaxed with a small smile and said "I must admit that I enjoyed that a little, he likes to throw his weight around too much for my liking." He turned to look at the screen "Agents, I think that it's only fair to fill you in on what we're planning for the Human Intersect team."
He glanced at Diane and she nodded for him to continue. "As well as yourselves, we are planning on adding representatives of the DEA and the FBI, though we have no Agents in mind as yet." He stopped when Sarah suddenly brightened at that "Do you have any suggestions on that front Agent Walker?"
Sarah hesitated and glanced at Casey "I know and trust two excellent agents in the DEA and the FBI sir, but Major Casey may not be comfortable working with one of them…."
Casey gave her a suspicious look as the DNI asked "Who are these agents, Agent Walker?"
"Carina Miller of the DEA and Zondra Rizzo of the FBI sir, I was working with both of them for two years as part of a successful multi agency team."
They heard Casey mutter something like 'Oh hell no!' while Diane snorted. The DNI raised an eyebrow at her and she quietly said "Prague, sir."
The DNI tried, with little success, to stifle a grin as he then remembered the infamous picture of the Major, handcuffed naked to a bed, that had been doing the rounds of the intelligence communities for a while.
He schooled his expression and asked "Would you have any objections to working with either if these agents Major?"
Casey gritted out "No sir."
The DNI nodded and looked at Diane "General, do you believe that these agents would be suitable for your team?"
Diane nodded "Yes sir, the team that Agent Walker was part of was very successful. They were unfortunately sabotaged by the second CIA agent on the team, who was in fact a traitor. After she was killed in a trap that she was attempting to set for the others, the team was arbitrarily disbanded, even though many people in the intelligence community had argued for it to be allowed to continue."
The DNI nodded "Perhaps you should approach these agents with Agent Walker to determine whether they would be interested in joining the Intersect team then."
With that, he nodded to Diane and the screen, saying "I will leave you to make the necessary arrangements."
After a round of 'Thank you sir's, he picked up his copy of the order and departed.
Diane looked at the screen "John, can you work with Carina? I happen to agree with Sarah, they are both very good agents, and we aren't likely to find anyone else of their calibre who we'd be able to trust the same way."
"Yes Ma'am, as long as we can keep her away from any handcuffs."
Sarah piped up at that point "Her story was that you said some unkind things that hurt her feelings, and that was why she left you like that. And there's always the fact that you had to already be in that bed, naked, to be handcuffed that way."
"Alright, it wasn't all her fault, but she didn't have to send that damned picture to everyone!"
"In her defence, my understanding is that she didn't, she sent it to a few friends, like me, and somehow it went, what do they call it, viral?"
Diane tried to get it back under control "John, I'd like a serious answer, are you able to put that behind you and work with Carina Miller?"
"Yes Ma'am."
She nodded "Sarah, do you think that you can set it up for us to sit down and talk to them?"
Sarah nodded "Yes Ma'am."
Diane went on "OK, even though we have a controlled group now…."
She stopped when Sarah suddenly held her hand out with a panicked look, and dug out and held up her bugged CIA phone.
Diane's lips thinned angrily but she nodded, she'd forgotten all about that! Once she had control of herself she went on.
"I'm sorry Agents, I've just been reminded that I'm due in another meeting, we went over the time allocated for this meeting due to those issues. We will have to pick this up again in our next meeting, I'll leave you to make the arrangements as we've agreed, goodbye."
She cut the link and sat down, only just resisting the urge to pick something up and throw it across the room.
Pasadena - September 2007
In the FBI office, Casey held his hand out for the phone and Sarah handed it over as they headed out of the room. In the lift foyer he started talking "Stop bitching Walker, you know how damned slow these lifts are, it'll be quicker to take the stairs" as he pushed the door to the stairwell open. As he got to the top of the stairs he said "Walker, look out, your phone!" and then dropped it down the centre of the void in the stairwell. When it hit the floor at the bottom, it shattered quite spectacularly and they grinned at each other, even though it took them a while to pick up even the major pieces. They weren't too worried if they missed some pieces, once they'd confirmed that they had the SIM, and that any batteries had been separated from the rest.
Back at the Castle, Sarah held up the FBI evidence bag that held remains of her phone and said "My phone had a ackident!" with a grin and Anna burst out laughing. "That looks like John's work!" That made Sarah look at him and ask "Do this often, do you?" but he just shrugged "It's the quickest way to deal with something like that!"
Chuck came out of his office as he said that and laughed, taking Sarah's hand to lead her to the elevator. Casey went with them as he wanted answers about what had been set up, and he knew that Chuck would have been behind it.
After getting Sarah's choice of the phone she wanted, Chuck confirmed that the SIM was a legitimate one (IE: Not interfered with by the CIA) and put it into the new phone, along with the micro-SD card, then started transferring her contacts over. As he did this, he told them about what he'd been doing to build the case to show what a fragile flower he was, and how another betrayal would most probably render the human intersect permanently inoperable.
When Sarah asked when he'd had the time to do all this he just shrugged, saying that he did it between jobs and at night.
Sarah noticed how he tap danced around Casey's questions about this new security company, describing the people as 'off the books agents', but it was fairly obvious from the name who they were, or most of them anyway. He disagreed when Casey argued that they didn't need the separate bunker for this, pointing out that they would most likely be required to work with other agents at times, so they'd need an official 'Human Intersect' base that people could see and access. Reaching over to bring up the building plans on screen, he added that Casey's role would be officially set up to handle any walk in business and therefore there would be a small reception area dedicated to his office, and the access to the base below would be via his office.
Chuck pointed out that, for the time being at least, they'd have to go with the accommodation arrangements that had been described, adding with a hopeful look "With one possible exception?" Sarah smiled and nodded at that, leaning across the bench to kiss him. The way he smiled when Casey said that they may have a lead on the DEA and FBI agents to join the group pretty much told them that that had been his intention when he set up the whole thing, though Sarah would be asking him later how he knew about them.
While they talked, he went through the CIA add-ons in the remains of Sarah's phone, finding that luckily the bugs hadn't been sending things out real-time or recording timestamps, so he was able to delete all the recordings from just after Graham left, until just before Casey and Sarah went into the stairwell. He also deleted all of Sarah's private contacts and any records of private communications. When the phone had been scrubbed of anything that they didn't want the CIA to have, Sarah boxed it up and sent it back to Langley with a note to say that it had fallen out of her bag as they were going down the stairs in the FBI building, as would be supported by the final recording and the story they gave when they asked for an evidence bag to put the remains into.
When they sat down to talk through things properly, they had to concede that the argument that Auntie Di had used against Graham meant that they'd have to have separate accommodation arranged for Sarah, but while they were talking about what they needed to get organised for her she suddenly smiled. "Actually, the General made an offer about that and I think I'll take her up on it, I will be sharing with Major Casey!"
Chuck grinned at that but Casey looked displeased "Oh I won't ACTUALLY be staying with you Casey, not most of the time anyway, that will only be officially listed as my residence! And who'd be crazy enough to try and get in there to check whether I'm living there or not?" That was enough to get a smile from him, thinking about the fun he'd have if anyone tried.
Now that she had a clean and secure phone, Sarah called Carina and Zondra and asked whether they were in the States? Zondra was, but Carina wasn't getting back for a few days, so she made arrangements for the three of them to meet for dinner in D.C. the night that Carina got back. She sent a note to the General to get her to clear her calendar for that night.
After that, they went upstairs to set her up as an employee of Piranha Security & Technology while Casey went off to meet Gertrude. The family laughed when they thought of how the two of them would work out, because John and Gertrude struck them as a match made in a particularly scary part of heaven.
With Casey gone, Chuck quietly asked whether Sarah was OK with Anna sharing the apartment with them, particularly the fact that she still needed to come in and be comforted at times about Jill, and maybe the morning coffee visits. Sarah made him look her in the eye when she said yes to each point to make sure that he understood she meant it.
They called Auntie Di and told her what the living arrangements would be so she could make them a matter of official record. Chuck had already sent the plans for the Shadow Security premises through, and Auntie Di told them when the government contractors would be coming, so that Gertrude and Casey could ensure that they were there to meet them and agree the requirements. Chuck called that through to Casey straight away, while Sarah went to get her things from the hotel and check out.
The next couple of days were largely spent with Sarah and Casey getting settled into the Castle and their cover jobs, Sarah working with Chuck and Anna (and their staff) and Casey working with Gertrude and her security team. Neither Sarah or Chuck were looking forward to the next day, because it would be at least a day and a half that they'd be apart when she went back east so that she and the General could meet with Carina and Zondra. That was why they jumped at the idea when Auntie Di suggested that Chuck and Casey come along.
Though they'd locked the Human Intersect operation down pretty well, the overall Intersect team still wanted to do tests on Chuck, to hopefully improve the operation of the human Intersect program, and it would only be logical for his two handlers to come with him for that. The fact that this would also cover up the core reason for Sarah to be in D.C. was just another bonus, as was the fact that Marco, Robin and Alex would be flying back to L.A. with them (and providing additional security when they were in D.C. as well).
This meant that they left L.A. first thing in the morning and then drove straight to Fort Meade from Andrews AFB. Chuck had to endure about four hours of testing at Fort Meade and then they drove straight back to Washington to get there in time for dinner.
Washington - September 2007
Carina and Zondra took one look at Sarah's skirt suit when she arrived and knew that this wasn't an 'I missed you, let's party!' visit, so she was greeted with. "What are you up to Blondie?"
"What, no 'Sarah, where have you been, we've missed you!' ?"
"Yeah, all of that, now tell us why you're dressed like that and why you arrived with Casey and that other guy!"
Sarah laughed "I love you too Zondra! I've missed this, well like a hole in the head, but I HAVE missed the two of you!"
Carina leant in to kiss her on the cheek, whispering in her ear "What about tall, dark and gruesome and the leggy bitches over there? Are they with you or after you?"
Her reaction when Sarah's lips met hers was utter shock, as that had always been something that made Sarah uncomfortable before, but Sarah shrugged, murmuring "Sorry, someone's lesbian best friend was part of the package deal I took with the new gig and some things are changing, in answer to your question, they're with us, part of our backup singers."
"OK, who are you and what have you done with Sarah Walker? I think I might keep you though, you're way more fun."
Sarah smiled mysteriously but sat up and looked a little more serious "So, are your worlds still screwing drug lords and chasing nickel and dime gang bangers?"
They looked at her until Carina growled disgustedly "You know they are, what's your point?"
"Do you want to change that?"
That got their attention. "What are you saying?"
"Just what I said, do you want to get away from what you're doing now, or not?"
Carina and Zondra looked at each other and Zondra said "You know we do! What games are you playing Blondie?"
"No games, if you want out of your current lives, my new boss wants to talk to you."
They just looked at her as she stood up "Well, come on! Do you want to talk to her or not?"
They scrambled to their feet and followed her to the private room that Casey and Chuck had gone into.
The two women noted the way the three at the table in the back followed their every movement as they crossed the restaurant. When they reached the room, Sarah knocked once and went straight in, closing the door behind them. There were three people in the room, only one of whom they knew, John Casey.
The younger man who'd come in with Sarah and Casey was sitting at the table, and Carina in particular noted the look that passed between him and Sarah as she entered, smirking to herself at the thought that she could have some fun here.
The last person in the room, therefore, had to be the mysterious 'boss'. On the face of it, she didn't look that impressive, a small redheaded woman in her fifties, but that being said, if she commanded the best of the CIA AND the best of the NSA, she had to be powerful.
She launched straight into it "Agent Miller, Agent Rizzo, nice of you to join us, please, have a seat."
Carina saw a chance to push Blondie's buttons and started to head for the chair beside the admittedly cute young guy, but the anxious pleading tone she heard in Sarah's voice as she whispered, apparently to herself, "Oh Red, no!" stopped her. She'd never heard her like that before and it confused her, so she took another chair and tried to get her mind off that and pay attention to the proceedings.
When everyone was seated, the woman started speaking. "Thank you for coming ladies, we'll try to make this quick so that you can catch up with Agent Walker, though hopefully you'll have plenty of chances to do that after you join us. I am Brigadier General Diane Beckman, and as you will have by now guessed, Agent Walker, Major Casey and Mr Bartowski work for me. We've recently created a new multi agency group, and we would like to invite you to join us."
Carina and Zondra exchanged a look "What can you tell us about this group General?"
"Not a great deal until after you've joined I'm afraid, because just about everything to do with it is way above your current security clearance. We currently have high level CIA and NSA agents (waving at Sarah and Casey) working with a top level information specialist (waving at Chuck), and we're planning to add high level DEA and FBI agents as well, we'd like them to be the two of you."
She exchanged a look with Sarah and continued "One thing I can promise you is that you will never be requested to sleep with someone for a mission, or risk getting yourself killed going after some drugged up gang banger who will be forgotten and replaced before the body's been taken away. We'll be dealing with serious targets and I plan for us to make a difference."
The two women shared a look again and Carina spoke up "That sounds like a wonderful opportunity General, and I certainly hope that Agent Rizzo can take you up on your offer, but unfortunately I don't see the DEA releasing me, because I've proven too useful to them."
The General looked at her sympathetically "Do you WANT to join us Carina?"
"Didn't I make that clear? Sorry, YES I would love to join you General."
The woman smiled at that, and looking down, picked up a document and extended it to her "Well I don't really think that anyone will be able to stop you then."
Zondra leaned forward to try and see what Carina had read that had shocked her so badly, but the General offered her the other document. When she'd looked at the document in her hands, she looked up with the same expression as Carina "Is this real?"
Sarah answered her with a grin. "Yes Z, you should have seen Graham's face when the DNI forced him to accept mine."
Zondra turned to her, stunned, but did a double take when she saw that she was openly holding that guy's hand. She shook that off and said "Just to be clear here Blondie, we're talking about the Director of National Intelligence of the United States, right?"
Sarah grinned "Yep!"
Zondra looked back at the General "Well General, in that case it looks like you have your DEA and FBI agents, so when do we get to find out about Lover Boy here?"
The General looked confused until she saw their joined hands and frowned, saying "Chuck!" disapprovingly, but Sarah beamed and said "Most of it will have to wait for your clearance Z, but the unclassified part is, this is Charlie!"
Both women's heads whipped around at that "Charlie, your Charlie, the one you've been moping about since you were a kid?"
Sarah nodded happily and they shook their heads in wonder.
Carina glanced towards the door "What about the backup singers then, can you tell us about them General?"
"Backup singers?"
Sarah said "Marco and the girls."
"Oh. Yes. They will be part of the security company that is Major Casey's cover job, and may be your's as well. They will also form the support team for the core team that you'll be part of. The personnel are essentially off the books as far as any agency is concerned."
The General looked at her existing team and at their nods turned back to the two women. "This will be a permanent assignment unless you choose to go back to your agencies, you may also resign at any time you like. You won't be under the control of your agencies, you will only accept orders from me, and in turn I only report to the DNI and the President. You will be based in Los Angeles with the rest of the team. For the record, do you, Agent Miller, and you, Agent Rizzo, choose to join our team?"
When they both nodded and said "Yes, Ma'am!" she nodded and said "Good, when you go home tonight, pack whatever you'll be taking with you." She handed over some paperwork. "Fill out and sign these tonight, and we'll have our people arrange for the agency removalists to ship the rest of your belongings to you in California."
"The team will be out at Fort Mead for most of the morning, if not more, tomorrow, and I will work on getting your transfers, clearances and the rest processed in the same time frame. You will be notified when you'll be picked up to fly back to Los Angeles with myself, the team and the, backup singers. Are there any further questions ladies?" When they shook their heads she went on. "Well in that case I'll see you at Andrews tomorrow, enjoy your night." She collected the President's orders and the rest of her paperwork and Casey escorted her out to hand her over to her protective detail.
When she'd left, the two women turned to Sarah "What the fuck? Blondie, what the hell's going on here?"
She grinned "You've just joined the most unusual team you'll ever see!"
Zondra jumped in because Carina looked a little dazed "What…." She stopped in frustration as she realised that most of what she wanted to know would have to wait until her clearance had been upgraded, but as Sarah had already said there was one thing she could talk about, so she said "For a start, explain THIS!" as she waved at the two of them.
Sarah beamed again (OK, that was going to get old real quick!) "I was sent to California to recover something that Larkin had stolen and sent to a supposed accomplice…."
Carina broke in "Yeah, sorry about that Sarah, I know that the two of you were together for a long time…."
Sarah cut her off "Why? Casey did me a favour when he shot that bastard!" They whipped their heads around to stare at Casey, who'd just walked back in, at that "He was incompetent and he spent two years constantly trying to get into my pants even though…."
She stopped and looked at Chuck before she turned to Carina "Red, you're the expert on all things sexual, did you ever get a gay vibe from Larkin?"
Carina frowned as she thought about it "Are you kidding? The Golden Boy, gay? Come on, he screwed more women than….." She was running every encounter she'd ever had with Bryce Larkin through her head, as she had a photographic memory, and the brainless bimbo was just as much an act as the fact that she enjoyed being a sexbot. "No, you're right, he was very convincing, but it was always the cute guys who caught his eye, not the women."
She saw the 'told ya!' look on Chuck's face and her eyes's widened, oh no, she finally gets him back and he's gay? But what about? Sarah read the looks crossing over her face "Oh fuck no! Larkin was Chuck's room mate at Stanford, so he had Larkin trying to come on to him, and Chuck's best friend had called it when she met him." That last made Carina send her a questioning look and she nodded, figures, her dream guy's best friend is a lesbian, curiouser and curiouser cried Alice.
With that out of the way, Sarah continued "So I get to Los Angeles and engage the target, the woman who let me in calls for him and he comes out, totally engrossed in reading something as he's walking and then he looks up and it's Charlie! We're rambling on for a while, trying to catch up on the last eighteen years when I hear people running. I presumed that he'd been trying to keep me occupied until reinforcements arrived and got ready to fight it out, then Mama ran in!"
"But, I thought you said that Graham kept her locked up to keep you under control?"
She nodded "That was what the bastard always told me, but he never had her, she was in prison for about a year because my father had basically set her up to be arrested but, some friends, got her out. So that's where we are, we've set up this new group in Los Angeles and you'll be working with us now."
Carina and Zondra were shaking their heads, but Carina turned to Chuck "So Chuckie, are you going to give Blondie the night off so we can catch up with our girl?"
Her response came from Sarah "Carina, no, we've only been together for less than a week, I promise we can go clubbing like old times, but not tonight, please?"
That had them staring at her again, Zondra found her voice first "All of this has happened in less than a week? How the fuck did THAT happen?"
Sarah looked at Chuck and Casey before turning back to her. "That's part of what you're not cleared to hear yet, but this group and what we'll be doing, well it's important."
They nodded at that, they'd already seen and heard enough to confirm that, at least.
They decided to put business aside for the night, because there was too much that they couldn't talk about, so they called for food and drinks and spent the time catching up. At one point, Carina was drunk and morose and tried to clear the air with Casey. "Johnny, about that picture, it wasn't me who sent it to everyone, I don't even know who it was."
Zondra grinned at that "Why didn't you ask? I do! It was the bimbo, she was pissed because she figured that she'd rocked his world in the back room at that party, but he just kissed her and went back to the party, and then he went home with YOU. She was crowing about how she'd shown him, because she sent it to everyone after you sent it to us." She looked at Casey "Sorry Casey, but I was pissed at you at the time for what you said to Red."
Carina looked at him hesitantly "Are we good Johnny?" He smiled as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her "Of course we are!"
Zondra looked on, mostly relieved for Carina but also feeling a little left out. Sarah picked that up and chuckled evilly "Do you think Z would be Anna's type Charlie?"
Carina spluttered into her drink at that, but Zondra hadn't heard when Sarah told her about the lesbian best friend, so she looked a little confused. She worked it out soon enough to give Sarah a 'You'll be paying for that bitch!' look though, which just got a grin from her.
When they were kicked out of the restaurant at closing time, they made sure Carina and Zondra got home in one piece and then headed back to their hotel, getting up early to head to Fort Mead for more testing.
They pulled the plug on the testing at 1400, as the scientists would have continued forever if they had their way, letting the General know at that point so that she could make arrangements for the flight, and for her and her detail, as well as Carina and Zondra, to get to Ronald Reagan Airport. Chuck also called Marco to let him know that he, Robin and Alex had to get to Ronald Reagan, then they left Fort Meade to drive back.
The presence of the General's protective detail and the Air Force stewards kept any discussion to innocuous subjects on the flight, and Auntie Di had to fight to avoid laughing out loud at Chuck's exaggerated eye rolling when they exited the C-37 to see the row of oh so inconspicuous black SUVs waiting for them.
Her protective detail objected when they were told to park themselves in the lounge in the Piranha offices while the General went off somewhere else with the people she was calling 'her team', but they were reminded why she got the name 'Old Ironpants' when she dressed them down and then stalked off.
When they came out of the elevator in the Dungeon and saw the operations centre, Carina and Zondra's 'What the fuck?'s tumbled out as one.
Zondra shook her head as she looked at Carina and said "I don't think we're in Kansas any more Toto!" and matched Carina's grin when she replied "Who are you calling a dog, bitch?"