A/N- Thank you for your reviews and PMs.
This chapter took a little longer than planned. I thank you for your patience and putting up with my historical sub plots.
Sincere thanks to michaelfmx for the time and effort he puts forward in editing this story.
RAT- remote access Trojan, a malware program.
"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for."
-Epicurus
Chapter 10
Hi, my name is Chuck and here are some things you may not know.
It's been three days since Emily, Cole, Sarah, Kajetan and I saw the letters from Joseph Stalin, while we were sitting in Jacob's library and study.
Yesterday at noon, Kajetan instructed Janek to send a partial photo of one of Stalin's letters to Alexandra Maltsev, aka Captain Vladmilla Tretiak. The old fox said this would wet the FSB's appetite.
Well, as you can imagine the FSB's reaction was pretty much instantaneous. Just what Kajetan had been hoping for.
Janek was immediately asked by Vladmilla to identify the person who had the letter, where they lived and any other useful information he might have.
Much to my regret, and my vehement disagreement, Janek also had to reveal Malina's name and that she was Jacob's daughter. Oh, and another piece of information Janek was asked to share was that Malina worked at Valyrian.
Can you believe it?! Whiskey Tango Foxtrot or what?
I haven't seen Sarah, Emily or Cole since they dropped me off back at my flat in Bern, three long days ago. I'm not exactly sure where they are, I think they've gone totally dark.
Why do I think that? Well, because Sarah hasn't reached out to me, not even a text. I know from past experience what she's like when she's in full blown mission mode. All three of them are in the center of a very big spotlight. It's a make or break moment for the three of them, career wise.
When I was dropped off at my flat, Sarah came upstairs with me in order to grab her carryon suitcase. She hardly said a word to me, she was focused and consumed with the responsibility that was now on her shoulders.
The team now needed to capture an elite FSB extraction team and keep the bloodshed to a minimum. Many lives were at stake. And it was Sarah's plan they were going to use in order to accomplish that seemingly impossible task.
It didn't take this blonde, beautiful and deadly CIA agent very long to pack because she still lived out of her suitcase. The space in the closet I'd cleared out for her still sat empty..
Earlier, I was going to say my blonde girlfriend but sadly, somewhere on the journey back from Trub to Bern, I think I lost my girlfriend. She was nowhere to be seen, instead I was in the presence of someone I met two years ago.
The CIA's best agent.
There was a brief moment, however, when Sarah my girlfriend emerged. In that moment she did manage to notice me, and she gave me a quick hug and a peck on the cheek before she rushed out of the apartment.
As soon as I found out that Janek was going to release Malina's name and that she worked at Valyrian, I packed an overnight bag and rushed over to my office. I called Reudi on the way and told him that we had very little time to prepare for a cyber visit from the Russians. He joined me in the office an hour later.
We've both been at the office for the last two nights with little to no sleep.
Reudi and our team have been preparing for the storm that's coming our way. Oh yeah, did I mention that I called Kajetan for his assistance?
There's an individual that Reudi and I wanted to assist us in preparing for the inevitable cyber attack. He's an elite hacker known to us as 'Nightshade'. He and the Piranha have traded one or two pieces of code over the last four years.
The only thing Reudi and I know about him are the online rumors that he's British.
Kajetan called his old friend Sir Franics de Guingand, also know as 'C',the head of the SIS.
We quickly found out that Nightshade was indeed British. We subsequently learned that his real name is Nigel Waddell, and guess what? Yep, you guessed it, he was one of the SIS's cyber warfare team.
Apparently, he was caught hacking the wrong site at the wrong time and was given a choice; work for the SIS or spend five years in a place where you never bend down in the shower to pick up the soap.
Kajetan and Sir Francis must go way back in the spy game because MI6 flew Nigel over on a private jet along with his own bodyguard. Nigel and this guy with a very thick neck, and a total lack of humor, are now living here at Valyrian.
Nigel is twenty-two years old, but looks like he's eighteen. He probably shaved at most twice a week. But, I'm very happy to report to you that Nigel is a nerd of the very first order.
The three of us hit it off almost immediately and we are now getting ready. There isn't much time left. A dark storm is coming from the east and I'm not sure whether our plan will work.
November 30th, 2010 – 3:30 am Bern,Switzerland- Offices of Valyrian (GmbH)
Chuck, Reudi and Nigel were in the board room drinking red bulls and putting in place the final touches to what Nigel was calling the 'Kursk defense'. It was a layered defense strategy with a nasty surprise when you got through the outer rings.
We were now certain that the Russians were coming.
Several small probing cyber attacks had already hit Valyrian's fire wall over the last six hours. They had been easily defeated, too easily.
At exactly 3:30am, the Russians unleashed a massive cyber attack with thousands of 'bots' leading the charge. Alarms that sounded like klaxons in their tired ears began clanking on all three of their laptops.
Everything was now happening at speeds that no human being could possibly comprehend. The attacks, the feints and the defenses, the moves and countermoves were all preprogrammed.
As expected, Valyrian's first firewall was defeated in two minutes, a lifetime in the computer world.
Nigel looked at Reudi and Chuck. "Well, we did very well to last two full minutes on our outer perimeter, much better than I'd hoped." Chuck took a sip of his red bull and looked at his computer dashboard. "Reudi, they're already five percent through the second firewall."
Reudi called up a program and pressed enter. Valyrian's system launched a vicious counter attack at the unseen electronic enemy. Nigel had explained to Chuck and Reudi that their counter attack was doomed to fail. But it would slow the Russians down.
Twenty minutes later Chuck looked up. "Guys, they're going to defeat the second firewall in less than five minutes.
Reudi ran across the hall and disconnected a very thick fiber optic cable from an array of servers.
Nigel didn't look worried at all. In fact he was smiling, because once the attackers got through the second firewall they would be able to grab all of the encrypted files sitting in a huge database. The huge database seemingly was the prize the Russians were after.
Reudi ran back into the room and put his hand on Chuck's shoulder and, with relief in his voice, said. "Okay, all of our real data is safely on the mirrored system and disconnected from the outside world."
The data that the Russians were going to grab was encrypted with commercial software. It would take the FSB four or five days to crack the encryption with their state of the art computer systems; Systems and people that only a nation state could possibly bring to bear.
However, once they cracked the encryption and accessed the files they would not like what they found inside.
The files contained a toxic mixture of malware, RATs and a little surprise that Nigel had prepared. He fully expected the Russians to minimize the damage caused by the malware and RATs in the file, but Nigel was hoping that while they were busy cleaning up the toxic code, they'd miss his little surprise. A cyber 'Trojan Horse'.
Nigel couldn't share this information with Reudi and Chuck because it was strictly need to know.
Nigel's surprise was a tiny piece of seemingly benign code that would go to all IP addresses that the Russians were using to decrypt Valyrian's database. At a precise time the software would execute and send out a single 'ping', then it would delete itself.
At the precise moment the software sent out a 'ping', GCHQ and the NSA would be waiting and watching from their satellites. When that 'ping' occurred, they would record the exact locations of Russia's most important cyber sites. It would be a small but important victory in a war that would continue.
The Russians cracked Valyrian's last firewall four minutes later.
Nigel looked across the table and smiled. "Well done gentlemen, that was hand to hand cyber combat, and Valyrian acquitted themselves very well indeed. I'm most impressed with what both of you accomplished here tonight."
Reudi thanked Nigel and then asked a question he didn't expect an answer to. "Nigel, are you going to tell us about your little surprise?" Nigel smiled and shook his head. "Sadly chaps, I'm not at liberty, but MI6 owes Valyrian several favors.
"Don't hesitate to ask 'C' for the favors when the time is right. Well, my work here is done. My masters were very clear that I shouldn't tarry. They want me back in London post haste."
After Nigel left with his bodyguard, Reudi looked up at Chuck with very tired eyes. "At 6am we'll shut down the system that was hacked and we'll shut down our website."
Given that he'd only slept four hours in the last two days, Chuck was exhausted.
"Reudi, we have to pretend like we've been hacked for real over the next two days. By then hopefully Emily, Cole and Sarah will have had time to complete their mission."
Chuck went downstairs to the lobby. He stepped outside to get some fresh air. Fatigue tugged at him and he put a hand against the wall to keep upright. He now had a moment to think about Sarah.
He was simply too tired to be really angry when he thought about how quickly Sarah had grabbed her carryon and disappeared. Maybe later he'd feel the anger at how brusque she'd been.
It was the usual Sarah'shit', mission first, then deal with the feelings and emotions afterwards.
December 1st, 9am - Chalet of Jacob and Anita Risch. Trub, Switzerland
Captain Vladmilla Tretiak waited with four Spetnaz operatives in a black SUV.
The SUV was hidden in a stand of cedar trees three kilometers from Jacob and Anita's chalet. Each of Vladmilla's team had come into Switzerland separately via Germany, Austria, France and Italy. They'd crossed into Switzerland by car with ease.
They'd come together as one team in a safe house ten kilometers south of Basel. The FSB had prepositioned SUVs, body armor, weapons and a mini-drone.
Vladmilla looked back into the interior of the SUV and smiled at her team, so far, so good.
She contacted her two hidden sniper teams perched in camouflaged blinds near the chalet. The sniper teams were nestled into the contours of the land and nearly invisible. They were almost exactly where Cole Barker had predicted they would take up position.
Vladmilla was under immense pressure from Moscow to quickly obtain the documents by any means necessary and return them to the Kremlin. The Spetnaz team were all seasoned veterans, all very professional.
She didn't like being rushed, she hated that the chalet was isolated. Vladmilla and the leader of the Spetnaz team, Major Yuri Shatalov suspected a trap but had taken every precaution necessary to sniff out a trap.
The snipers had been in place for the last two days.
The small drone the Russians were using to look down on the chalet Jacob and Anita owned had infrared and normal cameras.
One of Vladmilla snipers was at this very moment monitoring a blue Toyota Verso approaching the chalet. The Toyota stopped outside the front entrance and three people got out.
The sniper teams had been sent photos of Janek, Malina and her boss an American, Charles Bartowski.
He observed the threesome as they approached the front door, and he watched it very closely as it swung back on its hinges.
The two snipers easily recognized Jacob and Anita. They'd seen a lot of the old couple over the last two days. The sniper lined up his crosshairs on Jacob as he greeted his daughter with a hug.
Malina, Janek and Charles were ushered into the chalet.
Vladmilla received the eyewitness report from the snipers. She then turned to Major Shatalov. "What is the drone telling us?"
Major Shatalov maneuvered the joy stick and switched to infrared. "The five individuals are headed for what we believe is the library.
As the SUV covered the three kilometers, Major Shatalov kept an eagle eye on the movement in the house. He saw one body moving back and forth from the library to what he knew was the kitchen.
He turned to Vladmilla.
"There is a large heat source in the kitchen that's blurring the image. I think it's one of those big cast iron Aga stoves. The other four bodies are all nicely grouped around a table in the library. It looks like Anita is bringing food into the library."
Vladmilla gave a thumbs up signal. Now was the time to strike.
When the SUV was fifty meters away, Major Shatalov fired up the electronic jammer and the Spetnaz team and the snipers switched to a very high UHF tactical channel.
Vladmilla reminded everyone, "Remember, our bosses want minimal bloodshed, get the original documents and we'll be out of Switzerland in less than two hours. I'll buy dinner for everyone once we're safely back in Russia."
The front door wasn't locked and the images from the drone showed five people were still in the library. The rest of the house was empty.
Vladmilla gave a signal and she and her team quickly walked up the hall, paused for several heartbeats and entered the library.
Her team fanned out to the left and right.
She and Major Shatalov had memorized the photos of Jacob, Anita, Malina, Janek and Charles. They knew whatever information the FSB had been able to collect about the five of them in the last three days.
Instead of five frightened people, she found four heavily armed people in full body armor and an old man sitting at the head of a large table with his empty hands resting on top of the highly polished surface.
Vladmilla hid her shock well, as did Major Shatalov.
MP5s and Bizon SMG's were now leveled and aimed. Each trigger finger had some pressure on the triggers. It was a Mexican standoff.
Every person in that room knew that the first person to pull the trigger would unleash a blood bath. There would be few winners and many losers.
Kajetan cleared his throat, for some reason it was very dry. He switched to Russian. "Captain Vladmilla Tretiak, my name is Kajetan Baran. I'm the head of the Polish AW. Do you recognize me?"
Vladmilla shook her head once. She'd heard of the man but had never seen him.
Major Shatalov spoke up. "I recognize you Kajetan Baran. We met at a reception in Moscow, six years ago."
Kajetan nodded his head with some degree of relief. "First of all, we're all professionals. I would ask everyone to listen to me carefully. Each of our lives now depends on that professionalism. The Swiss government and I wish to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed. I will ask my people to take a less threatening stance."
Emily, Cole, Sarah and Colonel John Casey still had their targets lined up center mass but relaxed the tension on their trigger fingers. It was noticed by the Russians.
Kajetan took a deep breath. "Captain Tretiak, the documents you've been ordered to retrieve are already in Zurich with the Swiss Government.
"I'm sorry to say your primary mission is impossible to complete."
Kajetan focused all his attention on Vladmilla because her actions in the next couple of minutes would determine all of their fates.
"Allow me to introduce you to my colleagues. On the far left is an Agent with the FIS, beside her is an Agent from MI6 and the blonde lady and the rather husky gentleman are friends from America we've invited over."
Vladmilla had her weapon aimed at Kajetan and gave him a wolfish smile. "You and your colleagues are cut off. All electronic communications have been jammed. You are isolated and, as you can see, outgunned five guns to four.
"We, however, are not alone. If we should die, anyone still alive will not leave this building alive. I have two sniper teams who will avenge us."
Vladmilla felt her courage grow. If this was a trap, it wasn't a very good one.
"I suggest, Mr. Baran, that you order your colleagues to put down their weapons. After we've questioned Jacob and made sure that the documents are not here, we'll leave you unharmed. That is my offer. I urge you as the leader to do the right thing for the sake of your colleagues."
Kajetan had, over the years, met dozens of young agents like Vladmilla, full of zeal and patriotism who would gladly sacrifice their lives. He thought to himself, why is it that if you give a young person, a cause, a white horse to ride and a flag to follow, they'll gladly ride into the jaws of death?
Everyone in the room heard Kajetan let out a big sigh.
He looked over at Colonel Casey and gave him a nod.
Casey looked directly at Major Shalatov and spoke to him in Russian. "I assume you're in command. Let me introduce myself, I'm Colonel John Casey, USMC. Sir, please ask your snipers to look to the ground on their immediate left."
At first nothing happened, Major Shatalov's eyes were boring into John Casey's skull as if to read his thoughts. The tension in the room turned up several notches.
Finally, Major Shalatov spoke to his two sniper teams.
Both Russian snipers looked to their left and noticed a red spot moving on the ground just to their left. A lump formed in the sniper's throats because they now realized that both of them were dead men. They'd been out flanked.
John Casey could see that the Spetnaz commander was hearing back from his sniper teams. Major Shatalov looked over at Vladmilla and shook his head. Casey then looked over at Vladmilla to explain.
"There are two SAS sniper teams, courtesy of MI6. They are located 300 meters behind each one of your teams. They've been in place for three days waiting for your men to arrive and set up. Their infrared signatures are no larger than that of a rabbit."
Kajetan softened his voice. "Captain Tretiak, you and I are players in the great game of espionage. I've been playing this game for over thirty years. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. The game is all absorbing. It is often fraught with danger and of course the thing we love, the thing we get addicted to is … the great excitement.
"Nothing we're doing here today needs to be life or death. If you stay alive, you get to continue to play the game. Who knows, maybe next time you, Vladmilla Tretiak will win and I, or one of my colleagues, will lose."
"If you put your weapons down, you'll be returned safely and unharmed to Russia. You will not be interrogated. You can keep all your precious secrets.
"At this very moment the Russian Ambassador is in a meeting with the Swiss Minister for Security.
"I urge you to call the Ambassador." Kajetan looked down at his wrist watch. "I think by now he is expecting your call and he will confirm what I've just told you."
Vladmilla felt the bitter anger building up within her. She'd been tricked, lied to by Janek, her asset, and outmatched by this old man sitting in front of her.
Her spotless record of achievements with the FSB would be forever tainted by this mistake. A part of her was shouting out for her to 'pull the trigger'. Perhaps somehow in the ensuing blood bath her shame would be washed away and her honor saved.
She would die a hero's death.
Major Shatalov sensed the anger building in Vladmilla. He had no desire to die for nothing. He snarled out to her. "Call the fucking ambassador!"
Vladmilla blinked once and then again. She slowly lowered her weapon and pulled out her cell phone.
The jammer was turned off and everyone waited for Vladmilla to finish her conversation with the Ambassador. They heard a lot of yes sirs, of course sirs and I understand sir.
Vladmilla could feel the adrenaline start to slowly drain from her body.
It was over.
She had her orders. She nodded to Major Shatalov and he ordered his men to lower their weapons and stand down.
Vladmilla felt like she'd been punched in the stomach and spoke in an uncertain tone. "Mr. Baran, we are supposed to surrender to FIS Agent Emily Summers."
Emily lowered her weapon and introduced herself.
"Captain Tretiak, you and your men will be handcuffed and taken to Zurich to a special safe house, you'll be under house arrest. Someone from your Embassy will be with you the entire time to ensure your well being and continued cooperation. We will arrange an exchange of agents with your government."
As Vladmilla was being handcuffed, she looked at the stern, no nonsense blonde woman in front of her. "I don't understand. Where are Jacob and the others? We saw and identified everyone at the front door. The infrared cameras tracked everyone from the hall and into the library. Where did you and your comrades come from?"
Sarah made sure Vladmilla's handcuffs were secure then looked up. "Captain, you saw what I wanted you to see. You saw the five people walk to the library. Over the next five minutes as you and your men approached the chalet you saw a person going back and forth to the kitchen."
Kajetan was smiling at Sarah with almost fatherly affection. It was Sarah who had come up with the idea of how to 'switch the bait'.
Sarah continued, "There is a door beside the big cast iron stove that leads to a cellar. The cellar is lined with mylar foil to mask any heat signatures. The heat from the people hiding in the cellar was being vented through the stoves exhaust pipe.
"That's why the stove looked so hot on your scanner. The five people you saw walk into the library stayed only momentarily, one by one they walked to the kitchen and we took their place before you arrived.
"You believed that it was the same person going back and forth from the kitchen to the study bringing in food and drinks."
As Vladmilla was being led away to an approaching convoy of FIS SUVs, she smiled at Sarah and looked over at Kajetan. "I look forward to the next time we meet in this thing you call the great game. I assure you …. next time …. I will win."
Kajetan gave her the briefest of smiles and closed the door.
The Aftermath
Chuck was cooped up down in the cellar with eight other people. There was Jacob, Anita, Malina, Janek and a four man Swiss Army Special Forces team. There was barely room to swing a cat.
Emily had insisted that all the civilians were to be outfitted in a complete set of body armor in case the plan went sideways. Sarah and Cole had backed her up.
Chuck was still getting used to seeing Casey after all this time.
When it was Chuck's turn to leave the study and head for the kitchen, he wasn't expecting to see the Colonel emerge from the cellar when the door opened.
Chuck's jaw went slack when he saw Casey in full body armor. Before he could utter a word of greeting, Casey rushed past him and said, "Wish us luck Bartowski, your girlfriend has set up a high risk scenario." Then he smiled. "This is my kind of party."
And just like that he was gone, heading for the library. Chuck gingerly went down the stairs into a totally blacked out cellar.
Chuck was still smiling about Casey being here. It made so much sense to have his ex Intersect teammate here. They needed four other people to be with Kajetan in the study, and Sarah trusted Casey with her life.
Chuck knew what Sarah was planning, and he knew what Casey meant when he said, 'high risk'.
He waited and hoped he wouldn't hear shooting. If he heard shooting that meant Sarah's plan had failed.
Time moved agonizingly slowly. The tension in the cellar ratcheted up a notch for each minute that passed. Finally, there were a series of pre arranged knocks on the kitchen door.
It was the signal that everyone could come up. Chuck felt relief flood through him because Sarah Walker had pulled it off.
Damn she was good at being a spy. In that moment Chuck also felt a twinge of sadness because a thought flitted across his consciousness. 'Why, would Sarah Walker every want to stop being the best agent in the CIA?'
In times past Chuck occasionally had this sense that Sarah was weary with being a spy. But he must've been wrong based on what he was seeing this past week.
Agent Sarah Walker was in her element. She was like this pure breed Arabian race horse who had but one sole purpose … to run. How would she ever survive if she quit being a spy?
December 2, 2010- 2:00am- Chuck's Flat, Lorrainestrasse 6,- Bern
Chuck was looking down upon a sea of blonde hair covering his chest. Sarah was asleep and snoring softly. They had both been so exhausted, they'd climbed into bed and gone straight to sleep.
Chuck carefully reached over to the side table and checked his phone.
It was 2am, and there was a cold wind from the northeast howling outside. The wind had sent the temperature plummeting to minus 10oC, snow was predicted.
Chuck looked down at Sarah and gently slipped his arm from underneath her body and gave it a shake to restore some circulation.
He started to relive the events of the day.
When they'd finally returned to Bern, Kajetan had immediately set up a two hour conference call with their bosses. The bosses were very happy and Chuck was reminded of the old saying, 'Victory has a hundred fathers, defeat is an orphan'.
To Chuck's great relief, the call finally ended with the bosses saying, "Written reports are to follow in the next twenty-four hours."
Kajetan had congratulated all of them for pulling off a remarkable coup against the Russians. He then spoke to each one of them privately and gave them his private number.
As he was shaking their hand goodbye, he said, "I'm in your debt. If I can ever be of assistance,don't hesitate to call me .. day or night."
The split second after Kajetan left, Sarah grabbed Chuck's hand. "Chuck, it's time to go home."
Just before they got into the Audi, Sarah gave him a quick kiss and stepped back to look at him and smiled. She then handed him the car keys. "Chuck, you look like I feel. Home Jeeves and don't spare the horses."
Chuck carefully slipped out of bed, grabbed his housecoat and sat down at his tiny kitchen table. The snow had started to fall, it swirled, buffeted by the wind. It matched his mood perfectly.
Chuck pondered his dilemma; he really didn't want to be a spy. He loved working at Valyrian and with Reudi. He didn't regret the last five weeks because it had been amazing. He had had quite the ride on this incredible emotional roller coaster.
Sarah was back in his life, and not as his handler but as his girlfriend. They'd finally crossed the line and become true lovers. He knew with certainty that she loved him, and that made him feel so fantastic. Sometimes he thought it was all a dream, and he was terrified he'd wake up.
Chuck rested his chin in the palm of his hand and stared out into the courtyard.
In spite of what people might've thought, Chuck was a realist because having your parents disappear from your life, with almost no explanation, marked you. The lesson that Chuck had learned was that the person you loved could disappear from your life in the blink of an eye.
Sarah reported to the Director of the CIA, she was once again on the fast track, and deservedly so.
This last mission showed Sarah to be at the apex of being a field agent. The promotions would come next and, ultimately, positions at the highest levels of the US intelligence community.
If Chuck supported her in that career choice, then he might end up working for them. He might become an analyst with the CIA or NSA. He tried to visualize their lives somewhere in the greater Washington area.
He would see Sarah very little during the week because she would be consumed by her job and responsibilities. She'd never keep banker's hours.
Chuck tried to imagine that existence and their respective roles. It might work out for them, but it was laden with so many risks.
He believed that Washington, with all of its power, politics and intrigues, was a caustic and toxic environment.
Deep in his heart he knew that kind of lifestyle wouldn't work for them as a couple because, if they were ever going to make it as couple, they needed to spend a lot of time together.
A great sadness welled up in him; he didn't want to leave Bern. He loved what he was doing, he loved leading his team. He also loved Sarah more than he could ever put in words ….. he didn't want to lose her again.
Chuck wasn't worried about Sarah being attracted to another man. He'd come to terms with the fact that Bryce was no longer a competitor for Sarah's affections. It wasn't a man, it was the CIA who was his chief competitor.
He wearily pushed himself up from the chair and headed back to bed with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Chuck, who loved to solve puzzles and tricky problems, was at a complete loss, because he didn't have an answer on how he could solve the puzzle of them as a couple.
Chuck instantly dismissed the idea of asking Sarah to leave the CIA. He would never, ever ask her do that, because that would be selfish. Chuck knew he had many faults and hang ups, but being selfish wasn't one of them.
He wanted her to be happy and fulfilled. And it seemed to him that she was so energized and so alive when she was a CIA agent.
So if that meant they would be separated for long stretches of time, and if that meant they couldn't talk about what she'd been doing and where she'd been …. well, he would suck it up, if that was the price of continuing to be with her.
He made himself a promise that no matter how shitty it made him feel to have to share Sarah with the CIA, she would have his full support. Such would be the price for her to continue to be a kick ass spy.
The phone call came at 5:30am.
Sarah was in a deep sleep and felt rage building at whoever had the audacity to call at this time in the morning. The lovely dream she was having about Chuck and her hiking together in the Alps had been shredded to pieces by the clamoring ring tone of her cell.
She pulled the cell phone towards her and squinted at the display. She saw the number and quickly sat upright. She was instantly awake. It was the Director calling.
"Walker, secure."
Chuck had woken up when he felt Sarah move suddenly in the bed. A bad premonition was settling over him like a heavy wet blanket.
He listened to Sarah's side of the conversation intensely so as to catch every possible word.
"Good morning sir….
"Thank you sir, I did have a lot of help, I didn't do it alone ….
"Yes sir, the initial plan was mine but Chuck gave me the inspiration …
"Yes sir, he is very clever….
"A letter of commendation …thank you sir ..
Then there was a long pause with Sarah listening. He saw her shoulders droop. When Chuck saw that, he mumbled under his breath, "Not good, not good …shit."
"Today sir, but I was hoping …
"Of course sir … no it's a privilege to be reporting to you..…
"About three weeks … uh, I mean, yes …
"A G5, registration number N170CC …
"Yes sir, report to Langley, first thing tomorrow morning …
The call ended and Sarah looked down at the phone. In that moment, she felt two very different emotions simultaneously. The first was disappointment. Her request for a well deserved vacation had to be placed on hold.
The second emotion was excitement, tinged with pride. She was thrilled at the promotion and the raise she'd just been told about, and of course the glowing letter of commendation from the Polish Government.
It was a singular honor to be reporting directly to the Director of the CIA and it was also recognition that she was the best of the best.
She turned and looked down at Chuck. Suddenly, she was back in touch with her disappointment. His eyes were open and staring straight into her own, like he could see into the depths of her soul. Being Chuck, she had no doubt that he'd figured out what this phone call meant .. what it meant for them.
He sat up beside her and reached for her hand. "So, your master's voice, I assume."
Sarah reacted to his tone. "Chuck, he's my boss not my master. I …. I have to report back to Langley tomorrow morning. A jet …"
Chuck nodded. "Yes, I heard." He smiled, which seemed odd to Sarah. "Why are you smiling?"
Chuck made a gesture with his hand to her phone. "You mentioned the registration number for the G5 they're sending for you …if you changed the letters around a bit and added a 1, it's the same registration number as for the Enterprise .. you know Star Trek."
Sarah blinked her eyes. My God she loved this man, he was her Chuck, talking about a piece of trivia only nerd's would know. She managed to smile at him. "Well, don't worry, I doubt I'll encounter any 'birds of prey' on my journey back."
Chuck squeezed her hand at the 'bird of prey' remark. He would keep the promise he made to himself. He would be positive and upbeat about her success and her promotion.
Sarah reached up with her hand and caressed his cheek. "Chuck, I have to leave in two hours and head up to Basel to meet the plane."
"I'll drive you there, so let me get up and make some breakfast." As Chuck started to rise out of the bed, Sarah clamped her right hand on his wrist and pulled him back down beside her. "Chuck, I'm not going to see you for three weeks. I don't need any food … "
Many days later, Chuck would look back on the hour and a half he spent in bed with this incredible woman. He remembered almost every detail of their time together. He hoped it would sustain him while she was out there …. somewhere.
He now knew what people meant when they used the phrase 'bittersweet'. It was the perfect word for their lovemaking.
December 10th, 2010 –Bern (1 Week since Sarah left on her mission)
Chuck checked his text messages for the week. He and Sarah had worked out several protocols on how to keep in touch with each other. He didn't know where she was, he didn't know what she was doing. He assumed it was dangerous, that she was at great risk.
So far he didn't feel out of touch. They'd even managed an hour-long phone call that Sarah had set up. He was so excited when she called and so despondent when she had to terminate the call. She sounded okay, a little excited, certainly energized. They'd talked about the people at Valyrian and his team. They even talked about making plans for Sarah to finally reconnect with Ellie.
They'd both laughed because that first meeting between Sarah and Ellie wasn't going to be an easy one. Sarah had said, "I'm going to be wearing full body armor."
Chuck looked at the messages again and thought … only two more weeks.
December 23, 2010 –Bern ( 3 Weeks since Sarah left on her mission)
It appeared to be a very hurried text message from Sarah. Chuck received it at 11pm that night. He continued to stare at it and his heart sank.
'Chuck, must rush, last contact for a while, I have to go dark. Mission at critical stage. I love you.'
It was minus 12C outside. He grabbed his coat, hat and gloves… he needed to get out. He didn't care how cold it was outside. He needed to clear his head otherwise the four walls would collapse in on him and crush him.
The cold air almost took his breath away and the frost seeped into the smallest opening. He walked aimlessly for two kilometers and suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.
What the hell was he going to do? If Sarah stayed in the CIA and reported to the Director, then what he was experiencing now would be the new normal for him.
He needed to talk to somebody or he would go crazy.
He pulled out his phone and pressed a number from memory because he knew this person might be able to help him through his worry and sinking depression. He felt so absolutely helpless and useless. What if Sarah died … would they ever even tell him?"
The phone rang three times and .. "Ja, das ist Emily?"
Chuck looked down at his phone and hesitated. He knew his number was blocked and wouldn't show up. He still had time to hang up. Instead he coughed once to get his voice working.
"Emily it's Chuck .. I know it's late .. but I really need to talk to someone …."
There was a pause on the other end. Chuck was about to apologize for having bothered her and as civilly as possible end the call. Before he could apologize for disturbing her, Emily spoke to him.
There was relief in his voice when she responded. Chuck checked to make sure it was really okay."You're sure it's not too late … okay I'll grab a taxi .."
A/N- Good news is Chapter 11 is written and in the hands of my esteemed editor. Oh, I should warn you the next chapter is heavy on the Charah.