A/N: Things are heating up. We are heading toward the end now. Hopefully I will tie up all lose ends along the way.

Witness Protection

Chapter 11

"Sir, the place was empty."

Director Kemmet squeezed the sheet of paper he held in his hand into a ball and threw it into the waste can in complete frustration. "Any leads on where she went?"

"No sir, but our people on the scene have one report of her and a man driving off in an older government issue Ford."

"You think it's Casey?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Might be a coincidence, but if I had to guess…its Casey."

"You know it's going to be even harder to catch them now. The only hope we have is to saturate Bartowski with agents. I want to know when he takes a shit. I want to know when they show up to talk with him. Is the cover story for him in place?"

"Our men are in place and they believe he is an asset of some minor importance and that they are really looking for a couple of government agents that will try to make contact with him. When they spot them, they are to call in for instructions," he said. "And, we've heard from Kelly. She got a look inside his house and reports there is nothing of interest there."

"Thank God for that! At least Bartowski's procedure is holding up."

"Kelly expressed surprise that we used actual pictures of Sarah and him together. But I think that turned out to be a good call on the Medical Unit's part. Having a picture of anyone else would have only disturbed him on some level. This way it appears that he has accepted the fact that his girlfriend is dead and he is moving on…to some degree."

"What I don't understand is why Casey hasn't brought Walker in with him. If he has all his memory back, why is he still running?" Kemmet asked.

Maybe he doesn't have it all back or maybe he's got some misinformation or maybe they just want to make sure their asset is okay before coming back in…I don't know for sure, Sir."

"Pull Kelly out of there. We don't need her nosing around up there. The less she and anyone else knows about this operation, the safer Bartowski is. That's the whole point of this, isn't it?" Kemmet said.

"Yes, Sir. I'll get her on her way today." The project director started for the door.

"Steve, wait a minute." Kemmet waited for him to return. "Why aren't they coming in?"

"I'm sorry."

"Think about it. Casey and Walker would run through a brick wall to protect Bartowski. You've read the psych reports on them. They must know the safest thing to do is come in. They're vulnerable on the outside by themselves."

"Yeah, that makes sense. But I don't know why?"

"Figure it out. If they know something we don't - we need to understand it… help them with it." He turned his back as he continued to think. "If they make it to Seattle and we can bring them in, we will, but in the meantime have your guys working on why they aren't coming in on their own."

"You got it, Boss." The younger man left in a hurry.

Chad Brown hated Sundays. Sara died on a Sunday. His business was closed on Sundays not that that stopped him from working. But he just couldn't stop thinking about her on Sunday.

His memories began to play tricks on him more on Sundays too. It concerned him because he would see events that had never happened. She was always in the memory but it seemed that she was not the elementary school teacher that he knew. In the brief flashes of memory that he had experienced, she seemed like a much more forceful person than his Sara.

He missed her. God, how he missed. It was like she was still living in his neurons, moving around in the synapses of his brain, always calling to him, asking for him to join her, not in death but life.

And then there was Kathy Winslow. He had no idea why, but he didn't trust her. He was sure that she didn't like him either but he really couldn't pinpoint why he felt that way. He thought she had a bit of a cruel streak because she always found a way to make sure Wendy knew when they were working together. He didn't know why, but he had Kathy pegged as a person only out for Kathy Winslow, everyone else be damned.

But what tore at him above anything else was the fact that he had started talking to this woman over the phone when he was working. He had had a number of conversations with her and it always felt like he was cheating on Sara in one way but it felt so right in another. It was confusing.

It was just after one of these phone calls when he had another of his mystery memories where Sara actually talked to him about fate. She said that if something was meant to be then it would be and nothing could change that. She asked him if he agreed and he told her he did. He didn't know what had triggered that memory.

So, as much as he enjoyed the conversation that he shared with this woman of mystery and potential threat, he had decided that he would back away. He would not call her again and when she called him, he would politely discourage whatever it was that they had developed.

He just wasn't ready to leave Sara.

Chad finished reading the paper, went to get his shower and got dressed. He walked into his junk room as he called it, thinking about going into his secret study that he had constructed but decided against it. Instead, he walked into the TV room and turned on the TV, more for the noise than anything else. He sat down and started surfing the channels looking for something to watch, but his eye automatically drifted over to the pictures of her.

As he sat there looking at the few items he had of her, he became aware of the tightness in his chest. Always a precursor to a new memory. He had difficulty swallowing as he allowed himself to feel the pain that he felt from their separation.

Suddenly, he had another one of those disturbing memories that he could not explain. He and Sara were in some seedy motel and were kissing. It seemed raw with emotion. He could actually feel his desire for her, wanting her for the first time.

But they had met and dated about five times before they had sex. And he would never have taken her to a motel like that.

Yet, he could still see the scene play out in his mind…clear as if he was watching it on TV. That was definitely him and that was definitely Sara. And that was definitely not the kind of place he would take any woman to impress her.

I'm losing my mind. That's the only explanation that makes sense, he thought.

His thoughts started spiraling downward from there when the ringing of his phone saved him. He looked at it and his brow drew down in anxiety as he saw who had called.

"Hello."

"Yes, Wendy, Why are you calling on a Sunday?"

"I don't think that's a good-"

"Okay, sure. I'll see you then." He hung up the phone, got up and started to pace the floor. What in the world had gotten into her, he thought? She was certainly upset.

Chad walked into the kitchen and made a fresh pot of coffee. Something in the tone of Wendy's voice told him this was going to be a long morning. He realized that for some reason she liked him but he tried to tell her that he had nothing to give. Until Kathy came along, she had accepted the status quo.

He dreaded her coming over because he was pretty sure he knew what the topic of discussion was going to be. He felt sorry for her. He was pretty sure she had fallen in love with him. And he knew that he could not return that love.

That poisonous bitch Winslow is behind this, he thought. But then he returned to thinking about Wendy.

It must be awful loving someone that cannot return that love, he thought.

And just as if the thought triggered the memory, he saw a scene between him and Sara where he asked her if they had any chance at a relationship and she told him no.

It hit him like a punch in the gut. He stood there feeling the sting of the rejection. The look on her face was so detached. It hurt to see it play out in his mind.

What is happening to me? He thought. Sara never told me that.

After putting the coffee on, he made a glass of ice water and went back to the TV room to wait for Wendy. He had felt this way before but this time it seemed more intense. But he was confident that it would play itself out in a while. It always had in the past.

The scenes playing in his head were so clear it almost seemed like he was watching a movie. After about ten minutes though, he started to feel it ease and he started to feel somewhat normal again.

He took another sip of water when the doorbell rang. He got up and walked to the front door and opened it.

There was Wendy standing outside and he saw she was most definitely upset.

"Hey Wendy come in. Is everything alright?" He led her into the kitchen where he poured her a cup of coffee. He noticed that she had tears in her eyes but said nothing. Sara would have hated for him to comment on that.

"No, Chad, everything is not alright." She sat where he indicated and waited for him to return with the coffee.

After handing her the coffee, he sat down and looked at her seriously. "What's this about, Wendy?" Even though he was pretty sure what it was about.

"Chad, I've waited for you to get over Sara. I've done what you asked. I backed off and I've left you alone. Because you asked me to. But while I've been doing what you asked, Kathy Winslow has stepped in and I guess you two are dating now. Right?"

"Wrong, where did you get that idea?"

"Kathy."

"She said we were dating?" he said, not believing she would stoop so low.

"No, not exactly. But it was the way she said it and what she didn't say. I know you invited her to your house. And you don't do that with anyone."

"I didn't invite her. She invited herself. We just worked on the project."

Wendy suddenly seemed embarrassed…and relieved.

"You're not seeing her?" she said almost childlike.

"No, and for the same reason that I told you I wasn't interested in dating. I don't see that changing anytime soon, Wendy." Chad had decided that he needed to be brutally honest with her. But he realized that he had that same expression on his face that he had seen on Sara's in the new memory just a second ago.

It caused him to soften his approach, he identified with Wendy after having said it. Just seeing the vision or memory or what ever the hell it was, he knew how she felt and he couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

"Hey, since you're here, come into the TV room where we can be more comfortable and talk. We've sort of lost touch since Kathy and I have been working on this project." Chad got up and led her into the TV room.

Wendy followed still feeling foolish and small.

Chad sat down on one side of the couch and Wendy on the other.

"Chad, I feel stupid for what I said earlier."

"Don't Wendy, it's-"

"In one way, I feel bad but in another I feel good be…cause-"

Chad watched as Wendy's brow wrinkled as she looked at the fireplace mantle. She glanced at him in puzzlement before standing and walking over to where the pictures of Sara were.

She looked at one picture for a long time. "This is Sara?"

"Yes." Chad knew that her tone asked an unvoiced question.

"She's beautiful," Wendy said and smiled at Chad because she realized the irony of her statement. Wendy looked like Sara's little sister. The resemblance was remarkable.

Chad laughed catching her devilish smile. "Yes, she was, very beautiful."

Wendy walked back to the couch, the mood in the room suddenly lighter. "When did you guys go to Malibu?"

Chad frowned. "Go to Malibu, what do you mean?"

"Malibu beach…when did you and Sara go?"

Chad's frown deepened and he knew that what Wendy would say next would creep him out. "I don't understand. We never went to Malibu."

"Sure you did, in that picture on the mantle. I've been to that very spot many times myself. That's Malibu beach for sure."

Chad rose from the couch and went over to the picture. He looked at it closely for many seconds. "Now that she pointed it out, he saw that the picture was not taken in Seattle. How could he have missed that before?

As he looked at the picture, trying to ascertain anything more, he felt that odd headache again, only this time it was much more intense. So intense that he dropped to his knees and cried out in absolute misery.

"Chad, what's wrong?" Wendy said, rushing to his side.

"I've been having these headaches recently," he said through the pain. He stopped not sure what more he should say about it. "They've been accompanied by some really strange visions. But the pain, the pain this time is far worse than before," he said holding his head in his hands.

"Chad, what's wrong with your voice?"

He looked up at her confused by the oddity of the question; his vision became blurry from the pain in his head. "I don't understand. There's nothing wrong with my voice."

She searched his eyes for a sign that he was kidding her or that he was faking for some other reason.

But she saw nothing of the kind.

"Your accent, it's gone. You sound like an American."

"That's because I was born and raised right here in sunny LA, Sarah. Is this a joke of some kind?"

"Chad, you're scaring me. We both know you were born in Manchester." She looked at him but he didn't respond. "Manchester, England," she finished. She thought that he had called her Sara as a mistake and decided not to call him on that.

"Sarah, why are you calling me Chad? Is this a mission prep? I'm having some difficulty seeing clearly."

Now Wendy was concerned. He talked different, even his facial expression seemed different. It was almost as if another person was in the house with her.

"I'm calling 911. There's something wrong, Chad."

Wendy walked towards the kitchen to where she remembered seeing a phone. About halfway there, she was stopped by her boss's voice.

"Stop, come here. I need your help to get up."

She turned around and dashed back to Chad. He reached out a hand and she grabbed it and pulled, raising him from where he had sat on the floor. But instead of the thanks she expected to hear from him, he grabbed her by the shoulders roughly and with a tone that she had never heard from Chad, he spoke, "Who are you and what have you done with Sarah?"

"Chad, Sara's dead. What's wrong with you?" Wendy said, her voice was as innocent as a child's. She looked into the eyes of the man she thought she knew so well, who continued his vice like grip on her shoulders. But she noticed his expression change, become softer. She wasn't sure why he changed his behavior.

"Sarah's not dead. Now, tell me who you are?" he said and then he had an afterthought. "And tell me who you think I am?"

Wendy was confused. She was more than confused, she was panic stricken. But she did as she was told. "You're Chad Brown…you're my boss. You live here in this house…in Seattle."

"Seattle! What the-"

"Chad, you need to get to the hospital. You may have had a stroke or something."

He ignored her.

"I'm fine, except for this blurry vision. The pain's completely gone now." He peered at her intently. "I'm sorry, what did you say your name was again?"

Wendy let out an anguished sob of fear for her boss. "I'm Wendy. Please listen to me. You need to get to a hospital."

He calmed himself so that he could calm her, even though he was as confused as she was, he knew that in the spy world, crazy things like this happened all the time. He would take his time and figure out what had happened.

"Wendy, listen to me carefully. My name is Chuck not Chad. I'm from LA not Manchester, England. And I suspect that somehow you've gotten mixed up in something you shouldn't have. My partner's name is Sarah, Sarah Walker. Have you seen or heard from her?"

"You mean the Sara in the picture?"

"Yes, have you seen her or a big ugly guy that likes to grunt instead of speak words?"

"She's your partner…not your girlfriend?"

"Uh, that's complicated, Wendy."

Wendy shook her head in response. "Could you let go of my arms, Chad, I mean Chuck…you're hurting me?"

Chuck quickly let go. "I'm sorry," he said and turned his back to her with his head down pacing around the room.

He turned back to her quickly. "How long have you known me?" he said as though the question was completely normal.

"Ah, about three and half months, I guess."

"Three and half months…shit. What's the date?"

"Chad, Uh Chuck, you're scaring me."

"Date! What's the date, Wendy? This is important."

She looked at the fierceness in his eyes. She had never seen Chad look like that. Chad was always so calm. "February, February 14th,, 2010"

She watched him begin pacing again. Slowly she began to realize that something extraordinary was happening and that Chad or Chuck or whoever this guy was was not having a stroke. That something truly bizarre was happening.

"The last thing I remember was." He stopped short in his tracks and his face looked grim. "Bryce died. And then all the confusion about whether we caught all of the Ring Agents or if one could have gotten away." He turned his back to her.

"Ok, this is what we're going to do. We are going to act just like we always do. We're going to work tomorrow just like always. I'm sure we've got at least one CIA agent on the scene. Maybe more than that."

"CIA! You're with the CIA?"

"It's a long story. Wendy, I need to know I can count on you."

"I'll do whatever you need as long as it's not illegal."

"Good girl," he said putting his hand on her shoulder. "What we need to do is act like we have for the last three and half months."

She responded to his hand on her with a smile. "We've already screwed that up. This is the first time I've ever been to your house."

"Okay, nothing we can do about that now. We will proceed as normally as possible from here."

"Okay – can I ask you a question?" she said.

"Sure."

"Is there any danger involved with whatever it is you're doing here?"

Chuck wanted to reassure her. He wanted to tell her that there was nothing to worry about, to ease her mind. But he couldn't. "I won't lie to you, Wendy. Yes, this might be dangerous. But I will do everything I can to see to it that you're safe, okay?"

She nodded her head with a worried smile.

"Now, you need to get home and do whatever it is you do on Sunday afternoon. I'll see you at work tomorrow, okay?"

She continued to nod her head in agreement as she walked to the door. She left without another word.

She drove to her downtown apartment, parked her car in the parking garage, took the elevator to her floor and unlocked the door to her apartment. Her mind was a blur. She didn't know what was up or down or right or wrong. She didn't know if the man she had fallen for even existed. She began to tear up at the thought.

She threw her keys on the table and took off her jacket. She walked into her living room and stopped short.

"Take a seat," the blonde said with a deadly expression. "We've got a lot to discuss."

Wendy recognized her as Sarah Walker. She recognized that for the first time in her life, she had a gun being pointed at her.

Wendy complied. She made the decision that she would not tell this woman what she had learned today. In the blink of an eye, she had decided to protect Chad or Chuck and just play dumb. She didn't know how much she could trust her until she talked with Chuck.

She took a deep breath and began to play a game that had she known just how outmatched she was she would have been more scared than she already felt. But she focused on the man she worked for. She cared for him and she wasn't so sure that this woman with the deadly stare was really for his best interest. Even with the gun focused steadily on her, she calmly began to play.

"I know you. I thought you were dead."