I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway.
Sarah has several things that need to be accomplished today. Most immediate is giving Kate and Heather a legitimate exercise. She also needs to make the guys understand what she is asking Kate and Heather to do – and that it's no threat to their relationships. High on her priorities is to make Chuck Junior and Alex understand who she was – and is.
I'll be sure to post warnings on chapters that have violent or sexual situations. I'm going to keep this T – but I might dance on the edge for a bit.
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The Birth of Agent Sarah Walker
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Sarah knew that this was going to be a tough afternoon for her. After all, it had been the hardest thing that she had ever done in her life. And even though she had told Chuck most of this story, it was something that they never discussed beyond the initial time that she told him. He could tell that it was something that she didn't want to have to even think about – much less talk about it. He had read the mission reports. So he knew most of the general details.
Sarah led Alex and Chuck Junior into the briefing room that was adjacent to the shooting range. She had let Joe give the guys their shooting lesson. And they actually performed amazingly well. After all, they had been using the tranq-guns for a while. Real guns were not that big of a stretch. Once they got used to the recoil, it was pretty much the same. So, all in all, they were feeling pretty good about themselves.
"Have a seat, guys," Sarah said as she let out a big sigh. "It's time that you heard about my mission in Italy. Before I tell you this story, I just want to warn you. There are some details that are going to shock you. Please keep in mind, this was well before I met Chuck."
Sparky and Alex just nodded their understanding.
"Okay," Sarah began. "I was on my own because my partner, Janice, was still in the hospital from Bogotá. I think that you've heard enough about that to know what happened there, so I won't bother with any details. Anyway, they must have been impressed by my mission in Bogotá because we had only been there a few days when I got a phone call from the Director himself. That in itself was unusual for such a junior agent. Before I knew it, I was ordered back to Washington and I was in his office being briefed about my next assignment. It all started with some intelligence that we were getting about a new terrorist group who was planning on something big to make a name for themselves. That's about all that we knew. So, later that day, I find myself on a plane to Rome. My assignment was to infiltrate the group and find out what they were planning. Naturally, my orders said to use any means necessary. When they say those words to a female agent, it's a code phrase. What they are really saying is… something else."
Chuck Junior's face immediately turned red – but he didn't say anything.
"We didn't know much about the terrorist group," Sarah said. "As a matter of fact, at first we didn't even know its name. We only knew the identity of one member. He was a low level person named Serge. They had surveillance on him. So it was pretty easy to find him in a bar – and even easier to pick him up. He was a bit of a horn dog – if you know what I mean."
"Pick him up?" Chuck Junior asked. "You mean that you went home with him?"
"I didn't sleep with him," Sarah said. "If that's what you're asking. I did date him a few times – and we had a couple of pretty heavy make-out sessions. But really, I just wanted to get Serge to introduce me to the leader of the group. Eventually, I was able to gain his trust enough so that happened. It turned out that the leader's name was Stephen. Once he did introduce us, I went behind Serge's back and made a date with this Stephen character. It was pretty easy. He had been clearly checking me out pretty overtly. He was obviously interested. That's when the fun started…"
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Kate and Heather left Janice and Elise sitting at the table and huddled together for a quick strategy session.
"Look," Kate said. "Let's face it. Neither of us wants to do this, right?"
Heather smiled. "I can safely say that's correct," she said. "But we have to, right? Your mom is depending on us."
"I know," Kate said with a sigh. "We have to. So let's approach it like we have to. That might make it easier. Tell me something, Heather. Be completely honest with me. Are you going to be my sister someday?"
"Completely honest?" Heather asked. "I don't know. That's sort of up to your brother. Elise thinks so. I sure hope so. Anything that you could do to put in a good word for me – I'd really appreciate it. Was that what you wanted to know?"
Kate smiled. "Yes," she said. "It was. For what it's worth, I agree with Elise. I've seen Junior with a lot of women – but I've never seen him act like this."
Heather had to blink back some tears. "Thanks," she finally was able to whisper. "That means a lot to me. I'm looking forward to it. I don't have a sister."
Kate's smile turned into a grin. "I don't have a sister either," she said. "I'm really looking forward to it too." Then Kate's face got decidedly serious for a moment. "Okay, sis," she said. "Follow me. I know exactly what to do. You can owe me one."
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Chuck Junior listened to the rest of his mom's story in silence. Finally, he sighed. "Let me get this straight," he said. "You pretended to be this terrorist leader's girlfriend for two weeks – and that gave you inside access to their plans. I assume that meant that you… umm…"
"Yes, sweetie," Sarah said sadly. "We might as well get this over with. I slept with him. I tried to string him along for a while. But he was clearly getting suspicious. I could tell that their plan was much bigger and more dangerous than we originally thought. I found out that they planned on using the Italian President to gain control over Italy's portion of NATO's nuclear weapons – and then targeting the capitals of Europe. At first, I thought that was just a fantasy. You know how these terrorist groups think. They always have these ridiculous dreams of blowing up the world. But the more I found out about the plan, the more it sounded real. I just didn't really know exactly how – or when. There was no way to stay close enough to the group without giving in and sleeping with him. So I did – a few times. If you don't mind, I'd like to not share any of the gory details about the sex part. Suffice it to say, he was very demanding – and not all that gentle."
"Tell me," Alex said, more to change the subject than anything. "I'm curious. Did their plan have a legitimate chance to succeed? It seems like nuclear weapons are pretty well safe guarded."
"I'm not going to tell you any details," Sarah said. "Because that is very sensitive information. But, yes, their plan probably would have worked. It caused NATO to form an emergency conference to review and change their entire procedure involving nuclear weapons."
Alex nodded.
"So," Sarah continued. "I had a big problem. I eventually found out what their plan was – but I had no way of telling anybody without blowing my cover. They were watching me really closely. I couldn't just leave. It was crucial that somebody be on the inside when this all went down. A key part of their plan was to kidnap the President's daughter."
"They were going to force the President to give up the nukes to save his daughter?" Chuck Junior asked.
"No," Sarah replied. "It was a feint. They knew that the President would never give up the nukes. Besides, no one man can authorize nuclear weapons. They understood the rules regarding the authorization process. They knew that it called for anyone to be temporarily removed from the authorization chain when they were under personal stress. So they kidnapped his daughter to force that to happen. I'm being intentionally vague here but they had it worked out that the President stepping aside would eventually put their man in charge of the launch codes. Long story short, I was able to identify the General who was part of the gang. When their plan went down I was there to tip off our people. There was a big gun and hand-to-hand fight – and the plan was foiled. Over fifty of the terrorists were killed – and seven of our agents."
"Why have I never heard of this before?" asked Chuck Junior. "You would think that this would be a famous story."
"The news of this plot was never reported," Sarah said. "The last thing that NATO wanted was for the world to know how close it came to losing control of its nukes."
"What happened to the daughter?" Alex asked.
Sarah's eyes immediately filled with tears. "She was killed," she finally said. "I wasn't able to save her. I tried my best. In the cover stories, they said that she was killed in a car accident."
"I'm sorry," Alex said. "That must have been horrible."
Sarah just nodded while she fought to keep her composure. Eventually she broke down and reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes. "She died in my arms," she was finally able to say. "If I had just been a few seconds quicker – she might have…"
At that point Sarah lost her battle for composure. She paused for a long time.
"She was so brave," Sarah finally was able to continue – but her voice was breaking. "She died asking if her mommy was all right. I actually think about her a lot. She would have been in her early thirties now. We'll never know what would have become of her life. Who would have been her great love? How many children would she have had? It doesn't seem fair, does it? I'm the one who messed up – yet I get to have a family. She never will.
Sarah again lost her battle for composure. As a matter of fact, there wasn't a dry eye in the room.
"That's when I decided," Sarah continued. "In order to survive in this business, I needed to take my personal feelings and bury them deep – where they wouldn't interfere. That's where the Agent Walker that you've been seeing for the past few days was born."
Chuck was just getting ready to step in when his son slid over and sat next to his mom. Chuck Junior put both his arms around her and squeezed her tight. He had never seen his mom like this. "Stop," he said gently. "You have nothing to feel guilty about. You didn't kill that little girl."
"Of course not," Alex softly added. "If anything, you saved a million little girls that day. Imagine all the love stories and weddings and babies being born that would never have happened if you hadn't been so incredible."
Sarah eventually nodded. She kissed Chuck Junior on the forehead. Then she reached out her hand to Alex – who immediately grabbed it.
"You said that this story would embarrass us both," Chuck Junior said. "I'm not embarrassed. Why are you? Because you slept with a terrorist a couple of times to save the lives of a hundred million people?"
Sarah just shook her head. "No," she said. "I'm pretty confident that you would understand about that. It's not a pleasant thing to think about – but it was necessary. I'm embarrassed because of the person that this life changed me into. I turned into someone who could tell herself that a beautiful seven year old girl being killed was an 'acceptable' loss for the greater good. I was pretty messed up for quite a while. If it wasn't for meeting your dad and having his family, I'd still be messed up. As it is, Agent Walker is obviously still around. When I'm under stress, she comes out. I'm so sorry. You hate her. I hate her. I want her gone."
Alex reached over and grabbed Sarah's arm. "I hope I'm not speaking out of turn," he said. "I know that I haven't been part of the family for very long. But I have to tell you. Mom, I'm so proud of you that I can't describe it. You're an amazing hero. You risked your life – but that's not what makes you so amazing. You risked the very thing that made you you. You gave up on having a normal person's feelings – to save untold millions of lives. So, please don't apologize for Agent Walker. We're very, incredibly proud of her – even if we're being screamed at. We still love her very much."
"Thanks, Alex," Sarah said. "Don't apologize for not being part of the family long. You've earned your spot."
Alex nodded with a grin. "Thanks," he said. "You're right that Agent Walker has to go. You're just not right about the reason. It's not about us hating her. It's that we don't want to see what she is doing to you."
Sarah's eyes were shinning as the hint of a smile appeared. "Hopefully Agent Walker can go now," she said. "She's done everything that she can. You guys know how to shoot – and how to fight – and how devious your enemies can be. The girls have one more lesson to learn. Ironically, how successful they are going to be depends on you two."
"Us?" Chuck Junior questioned. "How does it depend on us?"
"The main weapon that a female agent has is the way men act around her," Sarah replied. "I have no doubt that Kate and Heather can use that weapon. The only thing stopping them is you. Sweetie, you just said that you understood when I had to sleep with a terrorist to save a lot of lives. Let me ask you a question. If Heather was doing that right now – would you be as understanding?"
Chuck Junior grimaced – and opened his mouth – but he didn't say anything.
Now the smile on Sarah's face was more obvious. "It's okay, sweetie," she said. "Don't worry. Heather isn't sleeping with anybody. She'll never have to face that choice. Even I would have a lot harder time now that I'm married. It would have to be a desperate situation before I would go that far – and your dad would have to be on board. But Heather smiling at a man – and maybe standing where he can look down her shirt could very well save a bunch of lives someday – including yours. But she will never do that knowing that it would hurt you. Will you allow her to use her weapon by controlling your jealousy? Alex, the same question goes for you. Will you let Kate use her weapon? Or will your jealousy block her?"
Alex didn't answer – directly. He looked at Chuck. "How did you do it?" he asked. "Don't you get jealous?"
Chuck just laughed. "Are you kidding?" he asked. "At first I went nuts. All I could think about was her smiling with another guy. After all, I knew exactly what those guys were thinking."
"He has been amazing," Sarah said softly as she smiled at her husband. "He has seen things that will never be asked of Kate or Heather. He's seen me pick up guys in bars. He's seen me promise to sleep with them. He's seen guys feeling me up. He's even seen me get naked once. And he's never made me feel guilty about any of those things – not once. I can't tell you how great that makes me feel."
Chuck Junior turned toward Chuck. "Dad," he said. "How did you do that?"
"A few things," Chuck said as he smiled back at his wife. "First off, I love her. Making her worry about me makes her less safe. That fact alone is unacceptable. But I also know that she loves me. She would never, ever do anything to hurt me. And after I thought about it for a while, I realized that she was just acting anyway. She couldn't stand those guys. She was playing them. Finally, we negotiated a way for her to make it up to me whenever I would get jealous. I won't go into details – but trust me, it's quite worth it."
It was a close contest to see whose face was redder. Alex, Chuck Junior – or Sarah's.
"Okay, Mom," Alex finally said. "Just what are Kate and Heather doing right now?"
"They have an assignment," Sarah said. "To pass, they are going to have to talk two male solders that they have never met into violating direct orders. Trust me - neither of them want to do it. They are both concerned that you will be hurt. How you react to them when they get back will define how safe they are in the future. I know that's unfair – but it just will."
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Sarah had assigned a two man guard detail to keep watch at the main entrance. After all, Sarah would let the girls pass the exam if they could only find them. But the real assignment was to rescue the guys. And Sarah was interested in seeing how they would do.
Privates King and Farley were clearly mesmerized. Elise was right, almost from the moment that Kate walked up to them, she could have asked them to drive her to Mexico, and they would now be well on their way. So when they pulled past the entrance, they immediately saw the two guards. So Kate asked the driver to pull around the corner just out of sight.
"Sorry, ma'am," one of the guards said as Kate approached. "This is a restricted area."
"At ease men," Kate said with a grin. "I don't want to go in. I'm just lost. This base is so big. I'm looking for the PX – and my car broke down. I can't get it in gear. Do you think that one of you could look at it for me?" She sort of leaned forward as she pointed in the general direction of her car. When Kate saw both sets of eyes immediately direct to the front of her shirt, she had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from laughing. Normally that would have been a huge turnoff for her. Under normal circumstances, she might have even said something. But today was not a normal day. Kate Bartowski had finally found something in the spy world that she was actually good at. And she knew by the looks on their faces that they would now do anything she would ask – up to and including barking like a dog. The power actually felt good. Kate was surprised at how good it felt. It was sort of a rush. Now, it was time to finish this. It was time to complete her assignment. It was, at long last, time to impress Mom about something other than how well she could be captured. But most importantly – it was time to do what the whole team was rooting for.
It was time to end Agent Walker.
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