Author's Note: Once again, thank you all for the kind reviews. Here is the latest chapter to this story. My plan right now is to alternate publishing chapters for this and my other story, Chuck vs the Apocalypse, ensuring that neither story goes to long without an update. I've also got a one-shot Chuck story in the works that I'll be publishing soon.

Chapter 10

Office of Carmichael Security Services (aka Castle)

Operations Office

Los Angeles, CA

October 7, 2007

2200 hours

"What went wrong tonight?" Graham demanded. He and General Beckman were on the computer screen, having called a video conference when Casey and Sarah had reported the events of that evening.

"I'm not sure, Director." Sarah answered, keeping her face neutral. "I was escorting the doctor out. Per our plan, the support team had placed a tracker on his car and I placed another one on him. For some reason, the doctor must have gotten suspicious, either that or he just decided it was worth the risk to try and grab me. I'll admit he caught me off guard; nothing in his file suggested he was as skilled in hand-to-hand combat as he was."

"Yes. I was surprised at that as well." General Beckman said. "Especially since according to the Director, you are supposedly better than any agent in either the NSA or CIA. And yet, from the surveillance, it appears as though he was able to gain the upper hand on you."

"General, you know as well as I do that no matter how good you are at something, two things are universal. First, there's always someone better. Now I'm not saying he was better; I was able to hold my own against him and would have handled the situation. But there's always the second thing – sometimes the bad guy gets in a lucky shot. Which is what happened. Thankfully Analyst-in-Training Bartowski heard the commotion and was able to distract him long enough for me to recover the tranquilizer gun and tranq him." Sarah said, mentally crossing her fingers that Beckman bought her explanation.

"Yes, Mr. Bartowski." Graham interjected. "That was very stu-"

"Good work." Beckman interrupted, glaring at Graham. "I knew from the NSA dossier on you that you've been taking martial arts for several years now, but it didn't do justice to your skill level. I must admit to being surprised and impressed."

"Thank you General." Chuck replied.

"That being said, I hope you realize that what you did was potentially disastrous. If Agent Walker hadn't been able to tranq the doctor, and he had managed to overpower you, you could have been killed, or worse, kidnapped." General Beckman said. "Do you understand how bad that would be?"

"Yes, General. I do." Chuck said, centering himself and remembering Sarah's advice on how to deal with this if asked. "I'm fully aware of my importance given my possession of the Intersect and do not take it lightly. I had already given my word to Agents Walker and Casey that I would not take impulsive and needless risks. I do not believe my actions in this instance violate that word. In my defense, I did activate the emergency beacon before I considered intervening. I had planned to leave it at that but then Dr. Zarnow went for the gun. He had his back to me, his attention was on Agent Walker. I knew I could get to him and hold my own long enough for Agent Casey to get there or for Agent Walker to get back in the fight. I'm sorry General, Director, but don't ask me to look the other way when someone's life is in danger, if there's a reasonable chance I can do something about it. That's not who I am."

"Major Casey, your thoughts?" General Beckman inquired.

"Ma'am, I would say that in this case, Mr. Bartowski's actions, while problematic, were warranted and justified. I'd prefer he'd had stayed in the office after activating the emergency beacon. But after reviewing the security log and talking to both Agent Walker and he about the circumstances, I understand his analysis of the situation and agree, reluctantly, with it." Casey responded.

"Very well." Director Graham said, sensing he was in a losing argument, yet again. "But let's not make a habit of this, shall we, Mr. Bartowski?"

Office of the National Security Advisor

White House

Washington, DC

October 8, 2007

0800 hours

"Special Agent O'Day? The National Security Advisor will see you now." The National Security Advisor's secretary said from her desk. Special Agent Patrick O'Day, Federal Bureau of Investigation, got up from the seat he has been sitting in for the last twenty minutes and walked towards the door. The FBI Director had gone in to the National Security Advisor's office at that time, to report on the status of an investigation that would send shockwaves through America's intelligence community for years to come.

O'Day had been an FBI agent for fifteen years, and assigned to the FBI's National Security Branch since 2000. In that time he had worked many counter-terror and counter-intelligence cases, but none compared to the one he was now assigned. His thoughts went back to three weeks ago when he had been called into the office of the Director of the FBI and given his current assignment. He had been absolutely floored when the Director had told him about the dossier that the National Security Advisor had handed him earlier that day.

"I never thought I'd see the day when we were investigating the Director of the CIA for murder, extortion, and treason." He thought. "Not only that, but the amount of evidence that the Advisor's source gave him, it was incredible." There was so much information in the dossier that the investigation had proceeded fairly quickly, although VERY covertly. The last thing they needed was for Director Graham to get wind of things. Therefore O'Day's team was small – just two other FBI agents a technical analyst on loan from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, and two trusted agents from the CIA's Office of the Inspector General.

"Sir, I'd like you to meet Agent O'Day." The FBI director said to the National Security Advisor as O'Day walked into the room.

"Agent O'Day, good to meet you. Your record at the FBI is impressive." The National Security Advisor said. "The Director says you're one of the best he has."

"Thank you sir." O'Day replied.

"So tell me son, where do we stand?"

Outside Situation Room

White House

Washington, DC

October 12, 2007

0700 hours

Langston Graham was mentally cursing the President for the fifth time this morning. He had been awaken two hours earlier at his home by a call from the National Security Advisor, informing him that his presence was required for a meeting in the Situation Room at 0700 hours sharp. It was not the first time the President had called meeting suddenly and out of the blue – the man liked to try and remind everyone that he, not they, were really in charge.

"If that stupid bastard and his equally worthless National Security Advisor only knew." Graham thought smugly. Graham was convinced that if he wanted too, he could succeed where Fulcrum had been as yet unsuccessful – that is, taking the reins of government. But he shied away from direct and public power maneuvering. He was much more satisfied with doing what he had done over the course of his career – gathering power slowly and methodically, behind the scenes. The problem with being the "king" after all is that it makes you a very blatant target. He preferred to let others be the target, while he worked in the shadows, manipulating things. So Graham would play the part of the dutiful subordinate, even though he couldn't stand the National Security Advisor or the President.

As he approached the security check point at the door of the Situation Room, Graham saw that NSA Director General Diane Beckman, the FBI Director, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and interestingly enough, the Chairman and the Ranking Minority Members of the Senate and House Intelligence Oversight committees, were already in the process of checking in and entering. He took his place at the end of the line, and waited until the others had gone in. He then handed his ID to the guard. The guard inserted the card into a reader at the station. A few moments later, it beeped.

"I'm sorry sir, your access has been revoke." The guard said. Before Graham could respond, he felt someone grab him from behind and slam him against the wall.

"Langston Graham, you are under arrest on charges of embezzlement, falsifying government records, blackmail, conducting illegal intelligence operations, murder, and treason." Special Agent O'Day said, putting him in handcuffs.

"I'll have your badge for this!" Graham roared.

"I don't think so." The National Security Advisor said, stepping out from a side corridor. "You're through, Graham. We know all about your activities over the years. Take him away."

Various Locations around the US and the World…

At almost the same time that Graham was being arrested outside the situation room, nearly fifty other individuals in various locations around the United States and the world were also being taken into custody. All were taken by surprise by Federal law enforcement agents (in the case of those in the US) or by US military special operations teams (in the case of those outside the US) and most either surrendered right away or were overwhelmed quickly. Five individuals, Graham's most fanatic follower's, were killed engaging in fire-fights with the authorities. Additionally, warrants were served on a number of properties and financial institutions. Within an hour, the majority of Graham's personal empire had been wrecked.

Carmichael Security

Office of Sarah Walker

Burbank, CA

October 12, 2007

1100 hours

Sarah picked up her cell phone as it rang and hit the talk button. "Hello?"

"Hello ma'am. My name is Melissa Shaw. I'm a paid caller on behalf of the National Rifle Association. Would you be willing to take a brief survey?" Sarah perked up when she heard the name the caller used. It was one of several code names that she had pre-arranged with Carina, though the voice was not Carina's. Obviously she had arranged for someone to make this call.

"Sure. Go ahead." Sarah said. She proceeded to listen as the person on the other end asked a set of questions. Sarah responded, though her responses were not important. The questions themselves were a message, and a good one. The specific wording and order of the questions told her that her plan for Graham had come to completion. According to the code, not only had Graham been arrested, but so had the other individuals that were most culpable in his crimes, as provided by the dossier that had been provided to the National Security Advisor and the President.

But Sarah wasn't going to celebrate just yet; while Graham may be gone, she still had to make sure that Beckman continued to treat Chuck right and didn't interfere in their relationship. True, from the message from Carina, it sounded as though Beckman had been given new marching orders that seemed to bode well.

"I'll just have to keep a sharp eye on her and make sure she actually follows those orders." Sarah thought.

Office of the Director of the NSA

Fort Meade, MD

October 12, 2007

1700 hours

General Diane Beckman drained her third glass of scotch in the past hour, still in shock at the events of the last several hours. When the National Security Advisor had walked into the room and announced that Graham had been arrested, she hadn't believed it. It was only after he started detailing the various crimes that Graham had committed, as well as showing the assembled group the evidence collected, that Beckman and the others had been shocked. Beckman was not naïve, she had been in the intelligence game for a long time and was well aware had how often rules got bent and that most of the directors of the various agencies engaged in behind-the-scenes empire building. But the extent that Graham had gone was unsettling, especially what the National Security Advisor had revealed concerning his use of a small group of agents fanatically loyal to him to settle scores and conduct unauthorized assassinations.

The National Security Advisor had gone on to say that the President, even more disgusted at Graham's actions than the National Security Advisor, had also ordered a full review of all operations, past and present, to determine if there were any others within the community engaging in similar activities. Finally, he had stated that President had decided that a major revamping of intelligence policy was required. For too long "ends justifies the means" had been used to excuse the violation of policy, law, and even the Constitution. He made it clear that going forward, all the agencies were expected to behave in manor more in line with the new policy.

Once the meeting had been dismissed, the National Security Advisor had asked Beckman to stay behind.

Begin flashback

"General, I supposed you're wondering why I've asked you to remain?" the National Security Advisor said.

"Yes sir." She had replied.

"I'll cut right to the chase." He said. "With Director Graham now in custody, the President feels that the NSA should take over sole control of Operation Bartowski."

"Yes sir." Graham said, struggling to keep her emotions under control. This was what she had wanted all along.

"Effective immediately, Bartowski and Agent Walker are detached from the CIA and assigned to the NSA." The National Security Advisor said. "But understand me, General. I was dead serious when I said that the President is NOT happy with how the intelligence agencies have handled certain operations or engaged in questionable activities. With regards to Operation Bartowski, there will be NO coercive actions taken against Mr. Bartowski or his family. I've read the young man's file, as well as received reports from other sources. He became involved in this mess because we could not control our own. He did not ask for it. Despite that, he has been cooperative and based on the information I've seen, he's acquitted himself quite well. That young man is NOT to be treated like an asset. You are instructed to continue training him as a Field Analyst, and he is to be treated as such. He will receive the same rights and benefits of any NSA employee. Make sure that Agents Walker and Casey understand that going forward, they are to consider themselves his partners, not his handlers."

"Sir, that's very unusual. It goes against decades of policy and – "

"Stop right there, General. I'll say it again. Mr. Bartowski is clearly a special case. He is not a typical asset that came to our attention due to actions he took. He is an innocent American citizen who was dragged into this situation against his will. We will not treat him like a criminal. Is that understood? If I get even a whiff that he is being treated as such, I will have the President relieve you." The National Security Advisor said.

"Yes Sir." Beckman had replied.

"One more thing. I've noticed that Graham and you have a history of authorizing terminations of assets. In Graham's case, most of those termination orders were questionable at best. Luckily for you, it appears that those orders you have issued have been well within the bounds of legality and ethics. But I'm warning you know, as I said earlier we will be watching this more closely. If I even suspect a termination order has been issued when it should have been, being fired will be the least of your concerns. And though I hope I don't have to say it, I will. Under NO circumstances is a termination order to be issued against Mr. Bartowski, his family, friends or Agents Walker and Casey without EXPRESS direction of the President. If such an order is given without that direction, I will ensure that you have a very uncomfortable stay in the United State Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana while you await your own execution."

end flashback

Beckman honestly didn't know what to think now. Part of her, the part that had been in the intelligence game for years, had serious doubts about the President's new instructions. Protocol existed for a very good reason, and the intelligence game was not pretty – sometimes nasty and questionable things had to be done for the greater good. And to take a civilian, albeit one with the Intersect in his head and judging from his file, a number of useful computer and engineering skills, and turning him into a Field Analyst without having been carefully vetted and selected, would normally be unthinkable, even reckless.

But the other part of Beckman was relieved, if she were honest with herself. The depths of Graham's crimes had shocked and disgusted her – if the President's new policy helped eliminate the extreme abuses that Graham had been able to commit, she would be glad. After all, their job was to defend the United States and its citizens. Graham had gone rogue. In many ways he was as bad as Fulcrum, or any of the other enemies they fought against. And she did have to admit to being surprised by Mr. Bartowski over the last few weeks. He had indeed seemed to be adjusting to his new situation quite remarkably. The team had been much more successful that she had initially thought it would be. And much of that success seemed to be attributable to Mr. Bartowski.

"Perhaps, in this particular case, the National Security Advisor is right." Beckman thought.