"Chuck, I'd like to start by saying I'm sorry. I've only been recently briefed on what's been going on, thanks to Agent Walker and Agent Casey. Secretary Jones sends his best Agent Walker. Told me to tell you you're still the best he's ever seen with a knife."
"Thank you sir."
"Secretary Jones? As in the Secretary of State?" Chuck asked, and Sarah nodded.
"I was loaned out for a year to the Secret Service for his protection detail. After our conversation in the car, Casey and I made a call. The Secretary went to the President."
"Thank you. Both of you. I owe you both. The Secretary as well. I'd like to thank him Mr. President, if I could?" Chuck asked, not seeing the looks that Casey, Sarah and the President were giving him. This man had been treated as he had by his own government, and yet somehow he owed them?
"Absolutely. I'll set it up. But Chuck, you're wrong. You don't owe anyone. We owe you. What happened to you with Bryce Larkin-"
"Asshole." Sarah muttered, and the President chuckled.
"Quite. What happened to you with Bryce Larkin wasn't something that you asked for. You didn't volunteer to have the intersect in your head. But from what I've been told, you've been nothing short of exceptional."
"Mr. President, any success is due to the intersect, and Agents Walker and Casey." He replied, and Casey snorted.
"You really are a moron aren't you kid? Yeah, Sarah and I do good work. Yes, that computer in your head gives you the data. You're the one who put it together. Or are you going to tell me that diffusing a block of C4 using porn was in the intersect?"
"How did that work Chuck? I saw it in the report from Agents Walker and Casey, but I'd like to hear it from you if I could." The President asked.
"Well, the C4 was attached to a prism computer and we sell those things at the Buymore. They've recently been having problems with Irene Dimova. You go to her website, and the computer gets fried." He said, and the President nodded.
"Okay, and who came up with that idea?"
"I did." Chuck replied,
"Who executed that idea?"
"I did." He said again, and the President smiled.
"Exactly. You did."
"Chuck, that was you. That wasn't the Intersect." Sarah told him with a smile.
"Agent Casey, Agent Walker may I please have a moment with Mr. Bartowski?" The President asked, and the two Agents walked outside, Sarah putting a reassuring hand on Chuck's shoulder before she left.
"Chuck, I've done a lot of research into you since I was briefed earlier today. I know everything, including what happened at Stanford." The President said, and Chuck hung his head.
Stanford. The beginning of the five year hell that he'd found himself in.
"I am having my people look into what happened, but for now there is something you need to know. Professor Fleming recruited for the CIA. More specifically, he recruited for Project Omaha. Project Omaha is-"
"The Intersect Project. That's what they called it. Fleming was on the lookout for potential candidates." Chuck said, coming out of his flash.
"Correct. What you don't know is that you scored a 98%. Agent Larkin scored an 82%. Prior to your expulsion, Professor Fleming wanted to recruit you to Project Omaha. Apparently Agent Larkin had different ideas."
"So what you're saying is, I may have gotten the Intersect anyway if Bryce hadn't screwed me over?" Chuck asked.
"That's exactly what I'm saying. But now, that leaves us in a quandary. From what I've seen so far, people have been making decisions for you without asking what you want. So let me ask you Chuck, What do you want?"
Chuck shook his head. What did he want? He wanted to know if he and Sarah were real, or if they ever could be. He wanted to stop burning the candle at both ends. He wanted to be treated like an adult capable of making his own decisions.
"Honestly sir, I want to be treated like more than a computer. I love my country sir, and I am happy to serve. But I don't want to be treated like I'm expendable. I want to stop having to work at a freaking Buymore. I want to know if Sarah...I'm sorry Agent Walker...could ever have anything beyond a cover relationship."
The President nodded. Then he asked Chuck to call Sarah and Casey back inside. When they had rejoined them, the television screen split in two, with another screen showing General Beckman and Director Graham.
"General, Director. I was briefed earlier today on the details of Project Bartowski. Ask me who gave me those details." The President said, anger clear in his voice.
"Mr. President, I don't know what-"
"General, I didn't ask for a commentary. I asked you to ask me who briefed me on Project Bartowski."
"Who briefed you on Project Bartowski sir?" General Beckman asked.
"The Secretary of State. Not the head of the CIA or the head of the NSA. The Secretary of State. He was contacted by Agent Walker and Agent Casey after Mr. Bartowski expressed his frustration over the kind of an operation you're running. And do you know what? He has every right to be frustrated. Hell, I would be too if there was a kill order with my name on it!" The President yelled.
General Beckman glared at Casey.
"Agent Casey, there is a chain of command and-"
"And it begins and ends with ME! I am Commander in Chief of this nation, and as Commander in Chief I want to know what the fuck you were thinking putting a kill order on an innocent American! Both of you!"
"Mr. President, the termination order was necessary. With the second intersect potentially up and running in the next six months, the risk of having two intersects out there where our enemies may be able to get their hands on it was simply too great."
"Bullshit. Did it occur to none of you to figure out a way to remove the Intersect from Mr. Bartowski without killing him?" The President asked.
Beckman and Graham didn't respond.
"That's a rhetorical question. Clearly, we have our answer. Idiots. Well as of right now, the kill order is off the table. Agent Walker, Agent Casey. If you ever get another order like that, you are to inform me immediately. Should anyone come to carry such an order out, I would expect you to treat them as an enemy combatant, and deal with them accordingly. Understood?"
"Yes Mr. President." Sarah said, while Casey just nodded.
"Onto other issues, and there are many. First off, from what I've been told Mr. Bartowski has performed exceptionally well. However, I don't see any form of compensation. Chuck, have you ever received a paycheck or any form of compensation for your service to this country?"
"No Mr. President. I've never even been told I should be compensated."
"Director, why has Mr. Bartowski not been paid for his service as any other government employee?" The President asked.
"Mr. Bartowski is an asset, and as such is-"
"I'm sorry to interrupt Director, but I'm unfamiliar with the term. Agent Walker, could you please explain to us what an asset is?" The President asked, and Sarah nodded.
"An asset is an individual, usually a foreign national or member of a terrorist or other enemy organization who provide intelligence to the CIA or NSA." Sarah said.
"Thank you Agent Walker. One more question. An asset and their handler. Why are relationships among assets and handlers forbidden?"
"Relationships are forbidden due to the belief that if a handler develops feeling for their asset, the handler may then be compromised, resulting in their inability to protect the asset or resulting in them turning on their country."
"So, let me get this straight General, Director. You have been treating Mr. Bartowski, who may I remind you is an American citizen, as though he were a foreign operative or a member of a terrorist cell? Are you completely insane? We don't do this to our own, and Mr. Bartowski is one of our own. Let me explain what is going to happen. As of right now, Mr. Bartowski will be paid as a Senior CIA Analyst with three months back pay. I think given his performance in the field as well as his other useful skills, that would be appropriate." The President said, and Chuck winced. While he may have thought mentioning the Pirana was the right move at the time, he could get in serious trouble for what he'd done. He may have been a white hat, but he was still a hacker.
"Mr. President, about my skills-"
"Chuck, you're not in trouble. In fact, I'm writing a Presidential Pardon for any past crimes you may have committed prior to your employment. Anything else you may have to do for your job is covered by that job."
"Thank you Mr. President."
"You're welcome. Now Chuck, I'd like for you to be able to quit the Buymore. So we will be opening a new cyber-security company where Agent Walker's current job is. Primarily, you will be contracted with the U.S. government so that you will be able to go on your missions. However, I would also like you to find holes in our firewalls. You will of course be paid accordingly in addition to your usual salary. If they and you agree, Agents Casey and Walker will act as your head of security and CFO respectively."
"Mr. President, could Agent Walker and myself step outside with Mr. Bartowski so that we can discuss this? We make decisions as a team." Casey said, and the President smiled.
"Certainly. I need to finish with Director Graham and General Breckman anyhow."
Chuck followed Sarah and Casey outside, feeling completely overwhelmed.
A/N: Here is chapter 3! I hope you all enjoyed it, and the next chapter will be up soon! Honestly, I never understood how Chuck could be treated as an asset by anyone with a brain. While Sarah and Casey stop treating him as one fairly quickly, it takes far too long for Beckman and Graham to stop seeing him as just a guy with a computer in his head.