A/N: Seeing the passion in some of the reviews is quite satisfying because I interpret it as them really being involved with the story and that is the best thing a writer can hope for. I wrote the previous line as soon as I finished the last chapter and while the sentiment is still true I can understand some grumbles from the delay between chapters. I'm not sure who is following this anymore, but this is the longest chapter of the story and while it simply cannot be worth the wait I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 10
"Well Agent Walker, I was waiting to see how the Ice Queen was going to react to the woman that initially snared her boyfriend."
Sarah was dumbfounded and a little scared by the declaration. However her training kicked in immediately and forced her body to subtly scoot towards her prisoner in a non-threatening way; psychologically showing an interest for the person speaking to continue. She was also thankful on not changing her outfit as she was certain her face did not fully hold back her surprise from the statement. In the midst of her physical reaction Sarah realized the Fulcrum Agent was in fact referring to the Bryce-hole and not the person whose heart this tart had shattered six years ago.
Jill was also slightly taken aback as she expected a more pronounced reaction from the famed 'Wild Card'. She took a small breath before trying to probe again, "I mean we could always compare notes; woman to woman. From our intel Larkin is the only person you've allowed to sully your reputation. I've even seen a few reports; apparently neither man nor woman is able to resist your charms before they even get to second base. I really wish I could say the same, but I am not ashamed for anything I've had to do for the cause. Both of us do have one other thing in common: we've never failed on a solo mission. Granted with this long awaited confrontation one of us will have a blemish on their record unless…"
Sarah reluctantly gave some credit to the person opposite her. Until her performance last night she would have never considered the possibility of Jill Roberts as a spy. Last night with jealousy clouding her judgment she needed Beckman and Montgomery's non-biased insights; otherwise she might not have found out before it was too late. This development also brought a lot of other questions to light including wondering how Chuck's gaffe at their dinner last night is going to play out. Two distinct noises almost simultaneously erupted from Sarah's watch causing her to rise from her chair. Sarah took a quick glance to confirm what she already knew: Chuck was on his way down and a communication would be coming in from Beckman in around five minutes. Looking over at her prisoner Sarah calmly shrugged her shoulders and pointed to her watch explaining their time was up. Jill uttered a resigned grunt, believing she had made some headway. After securing the room and stepping out Sarah only managed to take her hood off before Chuck traipsed in.
Sarah couldn't help but spot the lopsided grin that she recently allowed her brain to finally admit was adorable. His visage quickly changed to the look of admiration that accompanied his initial viewing of whatever outfit she deigned to wear. The other difference was that his body language screamed 'relaxed'. Sarah ran through her memory trying to recall the last time Chuck appeared so and came up with the night that was the turning point of their relationship. Her smile dulled considerably after assuming what brought about this change was the reemergence of the women who now occupied Interrogation Room 1.
Going down the stairs to Castle Chuck felt a sense of clarity that he hadn't had since that horrific day at Stanford; returning with his last portion of hope to have it be utterly squashed. That day he desperately clung to the belief that Jill would bring him out of the swoon he found himself falling in, but after hitting the first ping pong ball against her window he never would have guessed it needed to be over five years later for her to completely reconcile his festering swamp of self doubt. At first being with Jill again felt like the pieces of his life were starting to fit together, but something in the back of his mind was screaming at him that this was not right.
After a decent night's sleep, waking up, and having Sarah's state of mind on the forefront rather than Jill's was the first step in bringing him back to where and whom he wanted to belong. It was reinforced with the impromptu banter at the diner. Whatever there had been between he and Jill was barely a scintilla of what he felt for Sarah. He couldn't help but smile as Sarah was clad in a ninja style outfit which coincided with his perfect image of 'Spy Sarah'; dangerous and stealthy. 'Regular Sarah' was typified with that pastel blue sweater and jeans combo… and he needed to put those thoughts out of his mind quickly as he noticed Sarah's smile begin to fade.
Chuck rushed up to her and whispered not knowing if there were any other agents present, "Sarah, I'm not sure that ninja outfits were especially designed to stun their opponents by just looking at them, but…"
The blush had already started as she reluctantly squeaked out, "Chuck… Thank you, but there is something urgent I have to tell you about Jill."
Chuck chirped, "Actually, I do have something to ask you regarding her as well. Do you mind if I go first, because I'd like to take care of this as soon as possible."
Sarah's mouth scrunched together as she was unable to read Chuck, but from a lifetime of disappointment her brain was scrambling to rebuild the walls it had artfully sculpted throughout her life. She was so saddeningly entranced with visualizing the walls she missed what Chuck's question was. She felt a flash of comforting heat on her cheek and another hand cup her chin to bring it up. Her head reflexively tilted towards the hand on her cheek and while she held back the sigh she needed to bite down on her lower lip to do so which could easily be read as the same physiological effect. Reluctantly she opened her eyes knowing Beckman and Co. were at most a minute away from signing on. Chuck surprised her as the only emotion on his face was concern.
"I know it sounded trite and I never want to disappoint you; nor will I ever conclude I understand women. However, I never thought telling Jill I never want to see her again via text was something that would create this type of reaction." Chuck softly said.
Sarah's eyes almost popped out of her head as she wrapped her arms around Chuck and mumbled something into Chuck's shoulder. Chuck shook his head as he realized this was what Ellie had to be referring to in the midst of her diatribe before he went out with Jill last night. He knew Sarah was emotionally vulnerable regarding her past, but he didn't think she would be affected more than he with this current mission. Granted Ellie did not know his date had been sanctioned by the government, but apparently his sister's insight was spot on as he again lifted Sarah's head to see she was fighting back tears.
"Sarah, Beckman should be on very soon. You might want to splash some water on your lovely face. I'll… uh, come up with something."
Sarah quickly regained her composure and nodded, quickly leaving to the nearest facility before turning and uttering in one breath, "I'm sorry Chuck, but you don't need to text her because Jill is a spy. I'll be back shortly and I don't want to hear anything out of your mouth about a spastic colon."
Chuck stood with his mouth hanging open as the three beeps signifying a live transmission echoed through the room. Beckman's throat clearing snapped Chuck out of the doldrums he was in as he turned and meekly uttered out, "Jill is a spy?"
The three recipients on the other side all leaned back with that response, each either unwilling or more likely knowing they were unable to offer the emotional support for the man in front of them. Luckily it only took a deep breath from Chuck and the reappearance of Sarah for him to speak again. "So does this mean no on the break up text or really go for it?"
The relief on the other side was palpable while Sarah fought a smile and shook her head, "You cannot text her Chuck because I have her phone and I don't foresee her getting it back anytime soon." She looked to the monitor, "Jill Roberts is currently in Interrogation Room 1. After Chuck left their breakfast she contacted a person marked 'Leader' on her phone. Her part of the conversation was sent to you, but I haven't heard anything from the analyst yet. During the call Roberts commented on a 'seduction impossible' and that she was going to get the 'info' soon. In my judgment, it was better to bring her in now, rather than give her time to set up some contingency plans."
The three people on the monitor each gave their contemplative look, but Beckman spoke before the faces on the other two changed. "I agree Agent Walker. I hope the analysis of last night from myself and Agent Montgomery helped and have you had a chance to question our latest guest?"
Sarah took a quick glance to Chuck to make sure he wasn't mentally blocking himself off, but it appeared he was fully invested in the conversation, although his guilty expression started to appear. "Yes your analysis was especially helpful, without it I would have been content to merely parabolic the breakfast. Instead by being there and pushing a few buttons we got Roberts to make a mistake." She offered a quick, but noticeable glance and smile Chuck's way as she said that. "I did not get a chance to ask any questions or reveal my face to her. Although she did surmise that I was Agent Walker and after trying to catch me off guard by saying she had my boyfriend first." Both Casey and Roan swallowed and stared at Chuck while shocked at the nonchalance Sarah uttered that statement with.
Chuck felt the eyes upon him although he was looking downward, "I'm sure Jill meant Larkin," came out with a bitter edge none of the other people had ever heard Chuck use before.
From the resulting silence he looked up to see if he made a bigger ass of himself than if he had just remained silent. His brain suffered a temporary amnesia when he felt a slightly cool sensation on his palm and a subsequent squeeze of his fingers brought his gaze down to see Sarah's fingers intertwined with his. The mega-watt smile he supplied was soon returned with hers as the world completely disappeared for the two. Casey's reaction was initially a sly smirk initially thinking finally the two are on the same wavelength, but it was turned upside down as he realized if his reveal was good enough to reclaim his spot on the team would they force PDA such as this or even worse constantly upon him as payback.
Beckman's instant response was attempting to clear her throat in a futile attempt to get this conference back on track, but a firm hand on her shoulder with a stern shake of Roan's head puzzled the General. After a minute of silence Roan lifted the hand off her shoulder and held it up in a surrendering gesture. The resulting grunt from the General brought everybody back from wherever their thoughts had taken them.
"I'm sorry General. After that statement she made an ambiguous offer starting with neither of us noted for having never failed a mission; making this a potential first for one of us, but it didn't have to necessarily be that way. That was when the initial signal that our briefing was going to happen occurred and that is when I left her… watching Pretty Woman."
Chuck couldn't stop the laugh, especially after Casey quipped about having to check the Geneva Convention codes. Sarah felt a little unsure as she always did when everybody in a room was laughing at what she said until she felt the blistering warmth squeeze their still connected hands. This time they merely exchanged a shy glance to one another as Roan uttered a contented sigh and Beckman rolled her eyes; although she was starting to resign herself that this was something she needed to get used to as this was easily the best team 'in the game' currently and she was racking her brain to find a better one, in terms of results, in the past.
"I would suggest Agent Walker that you reveal your identity to her when you go in after we've finished here. There is some chatter stating something is happening on the West Coast today. So a direct, instead of covert approach should be the way to go. Do whatever you need to get the info. Do you think she suspects the true whereabouts of the Intersect?" Beckman inquired while leaning in and encompassing well over half the screen.
Answering the question first Sarah adamantly shook her head, "No, I don't think she has any idea about that. However I am sure she is going to try and leverage her knowledge to walk away scot free if it pans out. Are you saying I have the authority to follow up on that if her intel is good?"
"You can promise it as a last resort, but we will not be letting an important Fulcrum operative leaving the facility a free woman. We'll be expecting her along with the two of you on the jet headed to DC once you handle this situation." In an attempt to offer an olive branch Beckman chose to add something rather than her typical way to end; simply terminating the feed, "If you need additional resources, all available first response units are aware that something is in play for today."
Chuck raised his hand to catch her attention and Beckman contained her eye roll long enough for her to exasperatedly state, "You don't need to raise your hand Chuck. What is it?"
"Is it possible Jill is using herself as a Trojan horse? The Iliad was her favorite book… Sorry, it was just a thought. I'm sure since you all figured out she was a spy right away…" Chuck's voice drifted off and Sarah realized why Chuck had that look when she entered the communication room.
Roan also seemed to recognize what Chuck was going through as he leaned towards the camera to speak, "Charles, I am the expert on this subject, but it took me halfway through the second viewing for it to register on what I was really watching. Her performance last night was a seduction masterpiece, in theory. She blended three different strategies seamlessly when normally agents are loathed to even have to attempt to merge two. The fact that you were able to resist her when anybody else would have…" Roan drifted off knowing if he had to continue he had to tread very carefully with the Brigadier General well within striking range. Chuck's grateful grin and thankful nod allowed Roan to breathe a sigh of relief rather than continue.
Beckman chose to ignore the end of the last conversation as she was busy contemplating Chuck's concern and realized there was legitimate merit to it. She cleared her throat before she spoke, "Your concern about a Trojan Horse is a worthy one." Everybody else on both sides of the meeting gave a wide eyed look as it was rare for the General to offer up any semblance of praise after a mission was complete; it was almost unfathomable for her to offer it in the midst of one. "I do think Agent Walker move preempted Fulcrum's attempt. Roberts' maneuvers last night showed she wanted to regain your trust and not merely the 'seduction impossible'. Roberts' offer to Walker is most likely a ploy to stall and think of a way to save her mission. The chatter still supports there will be an event here in LA tonight and right now this keynote speech still seems to have the greatest likelihood. We are confident of the when and where, but we need the what to fully understand and that is the info we need from Jill Roberts. We should keep Chuck's concern in mind and not delegate the full arsenal unless we are certain of all components."
By any means necessary was left unsaid this last time, but prominently on the minds of Chuck and Sarah as well as Casey's; especially given the time frame. Chuck looked to Sarah and attempted a wordless conversation that instead left Sarah scrunching her face in confusion. Chuck shook his head and looked up to the screen, "Does this mean I should be in the interrogation room as well? With Sarah showing her face to Jill that probably fills in the pieces she hadn't put together yet."
Beckman shook her head, "No, I want to preserve anybody else's knowledge of the amount of your involvement as long as possible, just in case. This isn't a scolding for the hiccup you had last night saying you 'just had a meeting with Bryce that allowed you to vent out your frustrations with him'. From my viewing of the tape I have a feeling that you might come up in the negotiations. When Walker shows her face I want those jealous thoughts to enter her mind, throwing her for another loop and it will be easier if you are not in the room. This should allow her imagination to run unfettered regarding the level of your involvements both here and with Agent Walker." The diminutive General offered up her 'not to be trifled with' glare and felt it was successful given the silence and subsequent gulps from the four other people with access to the conversation.
Chuck's head initially instinctively leaned down to look at his shoes. However, the lack of her usual scolding tone and the quick look he gave to her face gave pause to his movement. He quirked an eyebrow and his lips curled up slightly despite the huge gaffe he had committed; apparently the General realized she didn't need to bring him to the front of the class and whack his hands with a ruler. He realized he needed to offer her something in return and contritely looked up to the screen and offered an earnest, "I'm sorry General and it won't happen again."
Beckman's mouth almost flashed a small smile, but held stoically as she nodded to Chuck and turned back to Sarah, "Agent Walker my people have assured me they have fixed the bug that has been intermittingly causing problems with transmitting from that room, so we can monitor your progress with Roberts back here in DC in real time. Use the Alpha code words if you need something immediately from us. Again we need to handle this quickly, but completely, and once you have accomplished this there will be a jet on the tarmac waiting to bring you here." The transmission clicked off before any response could be offered, but both had grown accustomed to this.
Sarah took a deep breath and began to turn as she realized they were still holding hands. She allowed herself another moment to enjoy it before reluctantly releasing his hand from hers. She brought that hand up and gracefully ran it down the side of Chuck's face and noting his content she playfully bopped the tip of his nose with her index finger. That caused a faux pout before getting the easy laugh she needed to hear. Both appeared to be stuck to the spot as silence and awkwardness began to creep back in as Chuck was waiting for Sarah to tell him if he should stay and observe or just go to the Buy More and meet up for lunch while Sarah was waiting for any type of signal from Chuck in which he felt more comfortable doing.
Finally, after the Agent Walker mask solidified back in place she chose to speak, "Chuck, I know your first instinct is to want to stay and watch and even though she appeared amenable before; she has had enough time to gauge her bearings and form a plan. I don't want it to come to it, but I may have to employ techniques that aren't exactly pleasant and do not involve Julia Roberts. I don't want you to feel guilty watching these things happen to somebody you once cared about." What she left unsaid was the main reason: she did not want Chuck to see her unleash the full brunt of her 'Enforcer' personality and risk him viewing her differently.
Chuck listened intently and slowly nodded his head before stopping and looking Sarah dead in the eye. "Thank you for your concern. However, if the negotiation appears to be headed to that direction, there are two things that could be helpful. First, Jill apparently knows your reputation and I'd doubt she'd put herself straight into your crosshairs with even an inkling of what you would put her through. Second, I'd ask if you think you are at that point, step outside and we can talk about it. Perhaps I can offer some advice or spotted a tell from her. Even though I may not really know her now, I'd like to think there is still some of that shy, gawky freshman left in her."
Sarah's eyes screamed from the adulation she held for the man in front of her and remained professional and nodded her head. She took another deep breath and began to focus; bringing Agent Walker back to the forefront. Chuck resisted the impulse to intertwine their fingers once again while walking to the room as he could tell she did not need the distraction. When they got to the room she merely tilted her head to the viewing room and allowed herself a quick smile to Chuck's wave as he closed the door. Taking another breath, she closed her eyes for a second, opened them and walked into the room.
After Agent Walker left the room the only focus point was the movie that was playing; Jill could only shudder in revulsion as she recalled the beginning from the many times it had been viewed by her sorority sisters. She steadfastly refused to give in to what was transpiring on the screen and instead began to conceive of a plan to complete her mission. She was already inside their secret base, now she just needed a way to escape, make sure the op is still in play, and transmit the location of the base to Leader.
Out of the corner of her eye Jill caught Richard Gere in a suit and for some reason her mind immediately replaced him with Chuck. Her attention was now totally transfixed on the movie as she watched Chuck spectacularly fail at handling a manual transmission and her feminist ideals didn't bat their theoretical eyes as she placed herself in Julia Roberts' role as the prostitute. Her mind had long ago coped with the predominant aspect of her assignments; which some would obtusely view as not too different from a street walker. These people could never understand the power she held by exuding her complete control during every single one of these encounters. She eagerly watched as Julia/Jill rescues both the car and she assumes eventually Richard/Chuck by driving them to his swanky hotel. Watching the movie start to play out her mind was brought back to five or possibly six years ago in what she had figured was the last time she would ever see Chuck Bartowski again as he was walking away from the sorority house with his hands in his pockets and head down in complete dejection. Her roommate/sorority sister/fellow Fulcrum operative was also witnessing this, but did not attempt to hold back her glee at watching the sullen figure slowly walking away. She was shocked off that expression as Jill in a fit of rage picked her up and quickly brought her into their room and locked the door.
"Why did you do that to him? You broke him." Jill thundered out initially, but ended with little more than a whimper.
With what little emotion her roommate still had she gently grasped Jill's slightly shaking shoulders, "That was the only way to make sure he stayed away. Yes it was cruel, but he is your weakness. He makes you soft and right now we cannot afford any distractions. You've worked so hard; to throw everything away now doesn't make sense." She stopped and looked Jill in the eyes, "I'll tell the sisters you aren't up for the party tonight. Since just about everybody saw the display they'll understand… ice cream or liquor or both?"
Jill remembered becoming enveloped by a numbing feeling that has never really gone away and shrugged, but as the thought of chocolate chip mint ice cream easily drew her back to the person who offered her a bite from his cone on their first date no longer offered her any comfort. She quickly mumbled out, "Liquor". An outside perspective would easily claim that this was the moment where Jill Roberts lost a large portion if not nearly all the humanity she had once possessed.
It just so happened that Jill's reminiscing was disturbed right at this moment by a hand pounding the table. Jill immediately jerked up and tensed as she felt the remnants of a tear on her cheek. Reverting back to her training she refused to brush it off and intently stared into the eyes of… the waitress that served her and Chuck this morning. Jill's eyes blew wide open as she tried to reconcile these new circumstances, but her mind was scattered in too many directions to focus on anything. So she began to attempt to compartmentalize and concentrate on prolonging this conversation for as long as possible to give her time to conjure up any plan that first got her out of this room. She was surprised that Agent Walker hadn't used this showing of emotion to jibe her. A glance into her eyes showed more than a hint of amusement and she realized that the Enforcer was going to save this show of weakness when it would benefit her the most and the hollow feeling in her gut grew just a little more.
When Sarah walked into the room and saw Jill's expression she chose not to interrupt and closely study her to see if she was acting or if she was currently lost in her mind. It also offered Sarah the chance to wonder if Roberts was solely a seductress and what field mission experience she had. She knew that it was far better to over value her experience and intelligence and get this done as quickly as possible because even though Jill was giving absolutely no clue that she was acting, her performance the previous night made Sarah wary.
First, the attempt of a throat clearing was futile in bringing Roberts back to the here and now. Sarah followed up thirty seconds later by simply slamming her palm against the metal table. The discombobulated look and tear evident on Roberts' face could not be faked and Sarah allowed herself a small smirk as she began to gather information. After initially confirming that the event was going to happen tonight and was at the keynote speech Jill had recovered enough to ebb the flow of information.
It was apparent that Jill was flustered by the events of the day and that was exacerbated by having confirmed certain things with little resistance. Sarah shifted gears off the blitz attack when she sensed the resistance start to build in Roberts, going back to reconfirm things she had already stated because one of the major keys in interrogation is once you get the 'perp' to start talking once they shut up it can be damned difficult to get them started up again. She still had that emotional moment chip to play, but Sarah was convinced it involved Chuck and she wanted to keep from hearing those thoughts at almost any cost.
While not an expert by any means, Chuck liked to pay attention to Sarah when she was interrogating a suspect. Who was he kidding he liked to pay attention to Sarah when she was wiping off the counter of whatever food supplier the CIA chose to house at the surface of this spot. He was glad Beckman nixed the idea of him going into the room as seeing Jill's face did conjure up a memory: the night when Jill had been told by her father they didn't have the money for her to continue at Stanford. Chuck's mind went through their history once more with the knowledge that her Uncle Harry's generosity was most likely a colloquialism for Fulcrum. It did match the, at first, subtle shift from the girl that wanted to provide free vaccinations for every child on Earth, to whatever she was now… someone on the verge to unleash some mutated virus that only she and LaFleur had the formula for the cure.
Why? Was the question Chuck couldn't stop thinking about. Assassination, there were no people on the list of invitees that caused a ping from the computer, but that doesn't rule out Fulcrum knows something they don't. Killing a room full of people just for one would sadly seem to be an effective way of forcing the good guys in utilizing resources needing to check out any motives for the collective as well as every individual. Ransom for the antidote; perhaps badguyery is affected by the sluggish economy, it could also explain why LaFleur was taken out. Tying up a loose end and not having somebody assumedly untrained in handling interrogations spilling the beans before Fulcrum was ready. The third option that came to Chuck was the one that unsettled him the most, but he couldn't place a rationale for it. Fulcrum was ready to go public and somehow whatever rules were in place between the two entities are now out the window.
While Chuck was ruminating on the potential reasons behind the attack; in the interrogation room Jill had collected herself back to the point where she was negotiating for the information she was willing to part with.
"For what I'd be giving you; complete immunity, Witsec level 2 protection, five million dollars, Chuck, a small, but well fortified villa in Paris… with a view of the Eifel Tower..." Jill stopped as she finally noticed any semblance of a reaction from Agent Walker. She tried to keep the grin from appearing on her face, but since this was the first glimpse of any potential inroad it was futile to hide it. "Well it seems one of my demands you have a problem with. I mean the immunity and protection are par for the course, and while the money and villa may rile some fiduciary responsibility I have the strangest feeling your only concern is with a simple Buy More employee." Jill's smile grew throughout her declaration which was reflected in her voice and by the end there was little doubt she was convinced there was no doubt if given a choice Chuck would choose her every time.
Her counterpart across the table began to breathe heavier and Jill decided to start her plan: get Walker ticked off enough so she reacts physically and her superiors replace her with somebody she can manipulate into giving her a bathroom break. This would allow her to peruse at least a part of the station and time with her hands free. Jill knew the plan was far from grandiose, but Walker was at least as good as her reputation. The flirtation and innuendo Jill added to her offer did not even register to the blonde. For a nanosecond Jill contemplated whether the disappointment she felt was from the rebuff from the spy or the opportunity lost. Even at the diner she tried to play off how attractive she was and the easy way she and Chuck had bantered and this was before having an idea who she actually was, but in just a single word Agent Walker was stunning. A brief vision of a small bowl of assorted fruit, another with ice cubes, and a silk sheeted bed to test her reported stamina caused her salivary glands to kick up their production. This brought Jill back to reality and placed her plan of action in the 'must go now' mode.
There was a hint of anger on the blonde agent's face, but it was mixed with other emotions so Jill could not get a proper read. However she could see the Agent focus as some saliva escaped her mouth; as the agent's anger seemed to grow with this Jill chose the route to stoke the flame, "Sorry, I was just focusing on Chuck and lost myself for a second. You would never think it by looking at him, but if you think he knows how to work a computer you should see how he worked my body," Walker sighed and could not hold Jill's eyes which gave the Fulcrum operative more information and she moved in for the kill beginning with a chilling cackle, "Looks like I struck a nerve… hold on you've been here for over a year and you haven't been able to bed the man you so obviously desire. I mean in just one night I pretty much had him debating whether it would be room service or that diner for breakfast. I just felt it was better to slow play him a little. My god that must be the reason why you've never gone all the way on a mission; it is a shame a sexless creature would be given such a marvelous body to work with. I guess you need an instruction manual on how to work your body." Jill became lost in the mirth of putting down the Agent in front of her and only caught a glimpse of the now darkened blue eyes and snarl as the back of her head was grabbed. As Jill saw the table come closer she remembered one last piece of paper in Walker's file which came from an interview with her former handler: Kieran Ryker; if you piss her off, do it completely so she kills you straight away. Otherwise, it's more likely she'll cut off your tongue after tiring of the pleas to just go ahead and get it over with. His offer to join Fulcrum was rejected as it was clear he wanted to join solely to train a group to capture Walker and lead him to his purported retirement plan that she absconded Europe with. There was no time to analyze that thought as Jill heard what sounded like a thud and before her nerves were able to transmit pain there was nothing.
Sarah looked down in shock as she released the bitch's head from her hand and stared at it for a second. She took one breath, followed by another, but it didn't calm her. Her mind was racing on what to do after she checked to make sure Roberts wasn't dead; she was positive Beckman saw it and would be contacting her shortly that Casey was on his way back and although there was a deal in place, if they didn't think she was at her top capability both of their lives were at risk. The bile rose in her throat at that thought, but another breath gave her the beginning of the relaxing feeling she was yearning for. A knock on the window also reminded her there was a closer witness, and she was caught in a paradox: go to the one person whose understanding was all-important. However, if he rejected her she was certain she would never recover. She turned to the window and tried to offer a look that she was in complete control throughout, but the conjecture from that harpy rang far too true. Although leaning on another person led to disappointment had been figuratively beaten into her practically from birth, Sarah conceded to herself she couldn't do it alone any longer and took another two breaths before finally walking to the door and punching in the code to open it.
As soon as Chuck heard his name uttered by Jill his concentration returned to the spectacle before him. It was painfully obvious that the atmosphere in the room had changed and Jill was now somehow using him to gain the upper hand. Guilt filled him as he watched the girl who at one point he would swear was the only one who could truly hold his heart deride and ridicule the person he wanted to have at that position. Some anger drifted in as he thought about the words Jill unknowingly used to create the outburst from his ninja. Both emotions stayed as he watched her seemingly doubt herself in the aftermath and shakily make her way out of the room.
The miniscule whoosh of the door opening echoed throughout Castle as Sarah walked out. Her focus was completely on the door to the observation room waiting for it to open and then gauge the reaction from Chuck. She was silently praying that Chuck would understand in the way he surprisingly did better than anybody else, that in just leaving the room and not continue running was a big step for her and she hoped that he recognized this. After a few seconds she sighed and blinked her eyes. Somehow during that blink she was figuratively, and almost literally, knocked over by a ball of heat that encompassed her body. The instantaneous relaxation of her body both pleased and surprised her.
Chuck watched her leave and suddenly look over to the door he was in and stopped. He gulped as he could tell for one of the few times Sarah truly needed something from him and he would be damned if he would get it wrong. A few seconds passed by as he ran different scenarios in his head. He stopped as he noticed the forlorn look on Sarah's face and quickly raced out and chose to limit the talk and go with an Ellie option: hug until one of the participants tires of it. Chuck was pleased at Sarah's acceptance and both were content to stay there as long as possible. The beeping pattern from both of their watches let them know there was a finite end to their connection. A minute passed and neither had moved yet; Chuck's shoulders drooped as he resigned himself to letting Sarah go. Just before he did he whispered, "I'm sorry," into her ear.
Sarah quickly separated and stared at him with an inquisitive look trying to determine what he meant by that. Unable to come up with anything conclusive, she chose to ask rather than just assume, "What do you have to be sorry about?"
"Jill took advantage of you because of me…" Chuck stopped as Sarah's face contorted to a dangerous one.
"You think I'm weak!" Sarah distanced herself, gave a quick huff, before going back to the communication room.
Chuck was left dumbstruck and kicking himself wondering why he had to open his mouth in the first place as he slowly dragged himself into the room choosing to sit at the table instead of standing by Sarah's side.
Sarah was waiting and regretting for both the communiqué to begin and for Chuck to appear; mostly hoping the latter would happen soon so she could apologize. Despite the fact that she knew she was weak; Chuck was the last person in the world that she thought would call her on it. The fact he went to sit at the table spoke volumes to her and she silently cursed at herself; knowing there probably wasn't enough time, understanding her luck or lack thereof, to allow her to go to him. She instead turned and offered her most sincere and penitent look. Thankfully he chose to look up just before the monitor went live and nodded his head while throwing back a half megawatt smile. Sarah considered it was far more than she deserved and reflexively smiled back; only turning and putting her professional mask back on as Beckman announced her presence.
This meeting went surprisingly smoother and quicker than their one prior to the interrogation. The group was quickly in agreement that Jill's actions were to get Sarah kicked out of the room, and honestly, if there was another agent qualified to handle the interrogation because of the importance of the intel there would have been an argument to do just that. The only disagreement in their plan laid with how Chuck was to breakup with Jill. Sarah wanted to use Chuck's initial premise of a text and even allowing Jill to call Chuck to confirm it. She used the premise that it would still protect his involvement, but with all of them viewing the video the three in DC were convinced that Roberts knew Chuck was aware of who Sarah was. A different reason, that Sarah chose to share with Chuck later, was that she wanted Chuck to mention his attraction to the diner waitress as the final straw in barring the door to any relationship with the tramp. Sarah quickly refocused to creating a dialogue for Chuck to follow; she realized by his tone to the 'Three' insisting he was confronting Jill, that he instead was doing it more for what Jill said to her than what that incubator of untold bacterial combinations had done to him and that made her heart squeeze a little bit harder than she could ever recall and was subsequently caught staring at her nerd longer than necessary. A soft "Sarah" from Roan brought her back along with a brief blush at being caught. The group hammered out the general items that should hopefully bring out the info, but Sarah had her doubts, with a begrudging respect for the hussy, and kept one card to herself knowing that it was the only one she would call a sure thing.
After signing off and allowing Beckman to organize the potential groups on call: CDC, FBI, Fire, and Police; Chuck and Sarah did a brief run through which allowed Chuck to work out some issues as he was still highly emotional. Jill was playing possum as Casey caught certain movements that were not involuntary, so they proceeded with the plan. Chuck entered first by himself; with only an icepack with him. As he carefully lifted her head and placed the icepack on the mark clearly visible on her forehead everybody could hear the contented sigh the prisoner released. Jill 'recovered' quickly as she put on a full court press as she told a tale of how she had been brutally kidnapped, terrorized, and injured simply because she was trying to reconnect and make up for the biggest mistake in her life, letting Chuck go.
Sarah was slightly concerned as she could see Chuck's countenance soften as Jill spun her web of lies. She relaxed when she caught a twitch in his hand. That was a tell she picked up on while observing him when he was at the Buy More Geek Squad counter; it was his outlet when a customer was trying his patience. Sarah felt a little ashamed that she hadn't trusted Chuck enough, but a quick look at the brunette pixie stick told her Roberts was completely buying his performance. She gave a fleeting thought that Chuck could pull off being a spy, but brushed it off just as quickly; knowing he could do anything if he wanted, but the threat of his injury would make her a larger basket case than she already was. Just the thought of having to utilize her 'sure thing' began to cause a knot in her stomach.
Jill had finished her dissertation and Chuck started to speak and through his dismissive tone and accompanying look, the smile omnipresent on Jill Roberts' face disappeared leaving behind such a despondent expression even Sarah almost felt sorry for the Fulcrum operative. This Sarah attributed to watching her worst nightmare unfold even though it was happening to somebody else; knowing her cue was approaching she made her way to the entrance and brought up her 'Enforcer glare' before entering the room.
Having her emotional rug pulled out from under her by Chuck and then viewing Agent Walker entering looking as if she was ordered to work off her anger, but that exertion merely fueled it further. The gulp and wide eyed look made it clear Sarah had Jill clearly intimidated. The low snarl which Sarah now delivered her questions got some answers, but soon the delay tactics and cries of 'I don't know' were the only ones given. Despite Chuck placing his hand on top of Jill's and pleading with her to just answer the question, the prisoner steadfastly refused to answer. Sarah was afraid of this; although the others seemed to think this 'act' was the piece de resistance to break her, instead after the shock wore off, it turned into a dare: whether or not Sarah could unleash the can of whoop-ass on Jill in front of Chuck. The others, especially Chuck, all had insisted with time now running out she could do so, but it was a part of her she did not want to really unleash anymore unless it was protecting a select few. Jill had guessed correctly that having Chuck witness that side of her was the absolute last thing Sarah wanted; a quick glance at her watch told Sarah this was the moment where she had to either unleash the Enforcer or put her nuclear option in play. Knowing there would not be enough time now, since the bitch just chose to throw a smirk at her to regain consciousness before the conference started she invoked her plan.
"I can beat her to a pulp later, but we have to get somebody to that conference. I can't imagine it would be too difficult stepping into this walking STD's place and delivering the speech, wearing gloves of course," seeing Roberts scowl and begin to state Sarah's inability to deliver the technical aspects of her speech. Sarah quickly shut her up, "Just for curiosity's sake before I read your blah, blah speech is the reverse transcription done straight through RNA or is it set through proteins?" From Jill's blank reaction, she chose to completely ignore Chuck as she was well experienced with the look he would show whenever she surprised him with 'nerd talk' and knew that would distract her, "Don't want to tell me? Ok, I'm sure that is talked about in your speech."
A second of silence passed before Chuck spoke up as she hoped he would, "No! Sarah I can't let you do that. I'll go. You're right in that the speech should be easy to deliver and with LaFleur's death I doubt anybody would bother with throwing out questions to the person simply delivering the speech while his assistant was too traumatized to even show."
Sarah knew she wouldn't have to feign her reaction to his words and she could feel the scowl deepen from Jill as she both witnessed the Charah connection and to having her work disparaged. Jill could not hold it in any longer as, "Really, you think a person who I had to carry through an introductory level course could discuss any aspect of what I've done during the past two years," burst forth.
Both women were shocked as Chuck put out an indignant laugh, "Jill, I hate to break it to you, but if you are taking a class with your girlfriend in her major what is the easiest way to spend time with her?" Sarah caught the answer right away and offered a small smile, but Jill needed to work through it a little before acknowledging it. Chuck shared the answer as he knew time was wearing thin, "You pretend to struggle so you and her can study and cuddle." He leaned back from delivering that arguably rhyming line and looked at Sarah, who was beaming at him, to Jill who was still trying to deny what he had just said. "Jill, I scored a 98 on the final and you got a 93; granted yours was the second highest and it was cute watching you try to figure out which of your 'friends' was able to outdo you. It isn't anymore and to make it final and completely official to anyone with a semblance of brain activity. I cannot see any way that we could ever be together again."
Sarah's smile stayed firm as Chuck got up and left the room without giving Jill another look. After a half minute of absolute silence Jill managed to choke out, "You can't let him go."
Sarah compartmentalized and easily held back the joy that went with having a plan well executed and instead allowed her face to express its natural concern and in an emotional manner simply asked, "Why?"
Jill paused as she knew giving this card was throwing everything away; her resolve completely diminished as she recalled another 'gem' from Ryker: currently Truffaut(Walker) is disillusioned, but still is among the top players in the game; if she eventually finds something or someone she is passionate about she will be relentless if it is at risk of being taken away or harmed. A quick glance made Jill question whether she should have given up her faith; as a quick glance afforded her the chance to see the Enforcer glare was back and behind it a righteous anger that screamed if Chuck tripped on his way to the podium Hell would be a much better alternative for her. Jill shuddered as she was now lost in her head comprehending what she could be put through and for how long. Once again the growing familiar sound of an open hand slamming against the table startled her.
"You tell me now or I swear I'll keep you alive for at least a year and then release what's left of you!"
Jill almost nervously laughed as she was trying to comprehend what exactly her threat was when The Princess Bride and Wesley's threat of 'the Pain' found its way prominently in her mind. The look on Walker's face showed the recognition of where her mind was and instead of the expected smile her snarl seemed stronger. Even as Jill revealed the complete plan during the keynote speech, Agent Walker's face never let up; in fact, it seemed to grow even more tense as Jill shared the details. Apart from her parents, Chuck was the first 'outside' person Jill had encountered whose demise would even register with her; potentially being the cause of it sickened her, but when she finished with the details Jill offered a silent prayer that for both her and Chuck's sakes, the cute nerd that was once hers would make his way out of this unscathed.
After Jill finished and insisted she revealed everything she knew about this mission; Sarah rose from her chair never letting her eyes leave Roberts'. Before she turned to step out of the room she subtly sniffed and looked at the floor once she passed the threshold she allowed herself a very quick smile as she sent a call to Chuck.
The call caught Chuck as he was almost there and although Sarah wanted him to turn back and let the CDC handle the antidote in Jill's room and the FBI/Police to apprehend the person who will 'unleash' the virus from the air vent. Chuck's insistence on continuing to go there and help where he can left a flustered Sarah to tell him that he was not to go wandering by himself and that she was on her way. Chuck took note of the strain in her voice and decided to heed her call. He furnished the information to the groups, organizing them, and chose to remain in the parking lot waiting for Sarah with the 'leaders' of the respective groups in a makeshift command center consisting of a tent next to the SWAT vehicle.
Contacting Beckman after hanging up with Chuck left her with the problem of what to do with Roberts. Neither brought up the easy option of simply putting a bullet through her; Sarah because shooting an unarmed, handcuffed prisoner brought back thoughts of her Red Test. Beckman didn't bring it up as Roberts was a potential fountain of information about Fulcrum's operation, but with Walker's insistence about going out to the asset… Bartowski, Beckman reluctantly allowed it. She relayed that there were two customers currently in the Orange Orange who are undercover NSA. If Bartowski was at work they would be at the Buy More and when he was in Castle they would be assigned to walk around the mall area as a perimeter lookout. Beckman contacted the two to go to Castle via the bathroom entrance as the person currently working the counter was one of the few civilian workers employed. While Walker should easily enough be able to leave through the emergency exit next to the freezer.
Sarah was torn in protecting Chuck and keeping an eye on his ex; even though she was eventually broken to give out the information Jill Roberts still presented a definite threat in Sarah's mind. She vehemently insisted to the two agents not to underestimate the prisoner, but she could tell it was simply going in one ear and out the other. She headed out to her Porsche and allowed the car to burn through her negative energy as she sped towards the hotel.
Her mood dramatically shifted as she pulled up to the hotel; immediately finding him she couldn't hold back the smile and seemingly in a few strides leapt from the Porsche into Chuck's shocked arms. After Chuck's utterance of 'why', Sarah whispered out, "You listened to me."
Chuck had to take a few breaths as his immediate response would have been that he always listened to her, but to this point he hadn't even realized that her previous request was the equivalent of 'stay in the car'. From the relief exuding from the blonde superspy Chuck chided himself for never realizing before now, just how much Sarah was hurt, even though things always had turned out alright. He clutched her a little tighter as the outlet to keep his emotions in check. After releasing each other their hands kept in contact as they made their way to the 'command center' where the LA SWAT commander, the Fire Chief, and a CDC scientist all miserably failed in an attempt to convince the two they did not witness their PDA. Soon after the awkwardness lifted a squawk came out of the radio that the 'terrorist' had escaped the first line of defense and was making his way to the kitchen.
Sarah jumped on that stating she would take care of it and ran off to the side where the kitchen delivery entrance was located. As she turned the corner, the SWAT Commander Hondo said, "A fine ass woman like that, who drives a Porsche, carries a gun, and kicks ass," Hondo pauses as Chuck nods with a huge grin on his face, "looked at me like I was every birthday and Christmas present she could ever want. That my friends is the dream."
Chuck blushed while the CDC scientist nodded, the fire chief hesitated for a moment before he spoke up, "Well, it used to be getting some curly fries in an order of regular fries, but after seeing this one was actually possible… yeah, that is the dream. Don't blow it kid." They all then focused on the radio play by play account as Sarah knocked out the Fulcrum agent in less than two minutes. The other three casually took a look and could easily see the pride beaming from Agent Carmichael as Sarah dropped the scumbag and this time he rushed over to her when she turned the corner. Chuck took a cursory look to make sure she was fine and although she tried to roll her eyes it was obvious she enjoyed the concern shown by her partner.
It was effectively silent for the next ten minutes as they cleared the conference room while both identifying and isolating the distribution device. The group in Jill's room made their way back and started talking hardcore genetics leaving all non-CDC people shaking their heads. Finally the one who was in the command center broke it down for the others that this would have been at the least, a severe flu for everybody, but designed to be fatal to a target group. When Sarah asked if they could identify the specific target the scientists shook their head and said they would need to run tests back at their labs regardless to test the strain's viability, even if they found Jill's laptop which happened to be locked away in Castle, there was important information that needed to be verified to help offer them a clue as to what potentially could be coming.
A SWAT pair came down carrying a box that appeared to be locked via a puzzle. Chuck's eyes brightened as he started to talk quickly about Fibonacci, but Sarah grabbed both his wrists and offered a slight glare that had him quickly pull his hands off the box. While she grabbed a large plastic bag and placed the box in it. At the inquiring look from the others, "Don't want this to be booby trapped," was all Chuck offered, but the group all seemed perfectly fine with that explanation; even the ones slightly disappointed as their brains concocted a shared superspy safety shower scenario.
A shrill ring told Sarah, Beckman was calling for an update. She gave the Commander a look and he recited they were still sweeping, but had not located any other 'bad players'. Sarah took the call and relayed the information as well as the box located in LaFleur's hotel room safe. Beckman was pleased until a noise came from her end that caused her to lose her stoic demeanor and mutter an obscenity. Chuck initially was conversing with the other people until he felt compelled to take a quick gander at Sarah. Her furrowed eyebrows were enough for Chuck to excuse himself and make his way over to her.
As he approached he slowed down as it was obvious Sarah was pissed off especially as her last words before ending the call were 'If they survive my recommendation is castration. They can start to use their other head… yes General'. Sarah was all set to yell for Chuck when she saw him standing there with the bag containing the box and allowed an all too brief smile, in Chuck's opinion, to appear and disappear. She motioned to her car then broke into a light jog and Chuck naturally followed. As they entered he offered his questioning look, "Jill escaped from the two jokers posing as NSA Agents and made a call to the same person she contacted after the breakfast. Currently he is trying to break into Castle, they don't know the status of the counter girl at the Orange Orange; she was not able to activate the alarm and does not appear in the cameras." The sigh Sarah uttered told Chuck her concern over the girl and he placed his hand on top of the one holding the shifter. Sarah offered her gratitude smile and they sped off. The drive consisted of Sarah creating a plan which Chuck immediately rebuffed vehemently of his staying in the car while she rushed into the OO and taking on presumably the man called 'Leader'. The compromise plan consisted of Chuck entering Castle via the Buy More making sure the computers were still secure as Chuck had implemented the protocols before he left.
Sarah entered the OO via the side entrance and saw that Leader at first glance appeared to be a typecast villain from Central Casting and while he was furiously trying to bypass the biometric lock Sarah was able to sneak up on him and deliver her first blow, a thrust kick to his knee, that essentially tore all three ligaments rendering him one legged for the contest which was ended after an exchange of blows that had both landing some impressive shots. Sarah quickly found the girl gagged and bound in the bathroom, scared, but physically unharmed. Sarah cut the plastic ties and asked the girl if the man took her wallet, after a slight panic the girl stated her purse was still locked as far as she knew. Sarah led her to the locker area and grabbed her purse and jacket telling her to go home and the police will come by to ask a few questions. Sarah grabbed a few zip ties and waited for the familiar ding to signify the counter girl had left. She then approached the slumbering body of the Fulcrum jackass cocky enough to call himself 'Leader'. She anticipated him playing possum and was soundly disappointed as he only began to stir awake as the door to Castle swung open where she could hear a loud discussion between two voices she could easily identify.
Walking into the Buy More Chuck was gracefully able to avoid the two people who could cause him a problem, Morgan and Big Mike. Although Jeff spotted him and they exchanged a greeting, Chuck could easily deny it the next day and nobody, including Jeff would doubt it. He made his way to the entertainment display room and entered Castle. In getting to the communication room he passed the armory which was still locked and the locker room where he found an agent knocked out and bleeding lightly from his head which Chuck gagged at, but at albeit closer look than he wanted; it appeared clotted. The other agent was locked in the interrogation room with one hand cupping his groin, while the other would pound on the door for a few seconds before going to the back of his head. Chuck also noted he did not have his gun in his holster. Making a decision that this guy was too embarrassed, angry, and injured to think rationally Chuck chose to leave him in there for the time being. He found Jill at the bottom of the stairs with the gun tentatively pointing up towards the door.
As Chuck rose from behind one of the workstations he knocked some inconsequential item to the floor. The small noise was enough to cause Jill to turn and point her gun at Chuck when she quickly dropped her arm, "Chuck! What are you doing? I could have shot you!" The shock and concern on her face was evident, but Chuck closed his eyes, took a deep breath and upon opening them stepped out fully while pulling a gun from his waistband.
"Jill, I can't let you shoot Sarah."
"How do you know she's going to be coming down and not Leader?"
"Why are you holding a gun to the door if you believe in him that much?" Jill's doubt seemed to grow at that point and pulled her gun back to Chuck.
"Please don't make me shoot you." Jill pleaded, her look matched the tone of her voice and Chuck gulped, but still held his gun on her.
"Jill, you aren't a killer. If there's one thing I would state as a certainty it would be that. No matter what else you've done. Both the agents down here are still alive and you could have easily finished either one, if not both, if you wanted."
Jill swallowed at that and took a deep stare onto Chuck as if she was looking straight into his soul and without a word refocused both her attention and gun at the door. Chuck offered an incredulous look to nobody before uttering, "Why would you do that?"
Jill did not turn away, but still spoke, "You may be right that I have not killed, but I can easily offer the same opinion back at you. I cannot fathom that you are able to pull that trigger. On the other hand I have every reason to be able to pull the trigger on your precious Agent Walker." The spite venomously dripping off of every word and a hardened look on Jill's face Chuck had never seen before led him to change his mind about her veracity in pulling the trigger.
"Jill," Chuck offered in a placating voice, "After nothing for six years following that day at Stanford. How could you possibly think that I could ever trust you again?"
The break in Jill's voice when she said, "If it weren't for her you would have," offered Chuck no clue if he was helping or harming the situation at this point.
At that moment the door opened up and soon one shot, followed by another, with a metallic ping thrown in, and a thud along with some mumbled words were all Sarah could make out as she held her side arm as she cautiously made her way down the stairs.
A/N: Truly apologize for the cliffhanger. I did not plan to end this chapter here and for those ticked thinking they have to wait another ridiculously long time for the next chapter; take a deep breath, but don't hold it, as it is just about completed. I thought posting a 15k+ chapter was a little too much. Although I really wanted to 'finish' Jill in two chapters; it looks like she may have the proverbial nine lives of a cat. A preemptive answer to a potential question: the intermittent problems from the interrogation room are a result of all the times Team Bartowski has utilized loops to prevent the transmission of items they thought demanded privacy.