Flashback, One and Half Years Ago.
Fort Bragg. USASOC
As usual, Chuck was having lunch by himself, next to the tree which overlooked the Ft Bragg campus. It was a pretty good day overall; the sun shone brightly without a cloud in sight. He stopped to think before taking another bite. An image of the previous day's events, especially when Lou kissed him out of nowhere appeared in his mind.
"I nearly lost myself in that kiss. That woman is HOT as hell." Chuck shook his head and covered his mouth. His tongue still couldn't stop simulating the sensation he felt the day before.
"Ah, a woman's ability to pursue others with her beauty is a passive one; but when it's intentional, it's impossible to break away from such divine figures." A voice said from behind.
"No shit. I was practically falling for... Huh?! What the hell are you doing here, Professor Montgomery?" Chuck's eyes widened in realization as he noticed a grey-haired man decked in G-man attire standing in front of him, staring at him in amusement. He looked calm and collected, and seemed to have a distinguished air about him.
"Please, call me Roan. I hate it when people call me Professor Montgomery." The old man chuckled and sat down beside Chuck, to the latter's utter displeasure. "Now what's this about you kissing someone?"
Chuck grit his teeth. He knew he couldn't afford to anger Roan Montgomery, who for all intents and purposes was one of the most senior and respected instructors in Ft Bragg. He wished he could say no and just tell him to get lost, but he had failed his class three times in a row. That was a problem since the Admiral had issued an ultimatum – either Chuck passed said class this year, or he would be shipped to a new location to start all over again.
He didn't get it. Why the hell did this man constantly give him a failing grade?
"It's about a girl. I don't know if... she's trying to seduce me so she can take advantage of my I... um, situation."
Roan paused thoughtfully before replying once again.
"There might be another reason for her interest in you."
"Such as?" Chuck asked out of curiosity.
"She wants to be loved." Roan responded matter-of-factly.
"(COUGH)! AHK! (CHOKE)! WHA-ACK!" The mere suggestion made Chuck choke on his lunch.
"Get real, Pro- I mean, Roan!" Chuck shook his head and drank from his Thermos. He wasn't in denial but he believed whatever relationship / partnership they had was temporary. For someone like Lou to develop feelings for him, he must have done something spectacular. "I really have no idea why she would see me that way. It's not like she ever..." Roan could easily see Chuck was now fishing for a reason.
The seasoned spy sighed in response.
"Bartowski, you really are naive to a fault. No wonder you keep failing my class."
"Huh?" Chuck asked, dumbfounded.
"From what I have seen and experienced, people always look for someone who can accept and cherish them for what they are. They can be easily influenced by you if you make them believe that's who you are. Someone who meets their ideals, completes their shortcomings or just gives them the feeling of being cared for. Perhaps this lady found one or more of these qualities in you. Humorously enough, I have yet to find the perfect answer for the being known as woman." Roan responded sagely as he stared at the cloudless sky.
"So what does that have to do with my situation?" Chuck asked.
"There is no simple answer. It is up to you to draw that conclusion yourself. She may have feelings for you now, or she may develop them later. It can only be determined over the course of time." Roan explained in a nonchalant manner, causing Chuck to frown a bit considering how apathetic the old man seemed.
"Is everything just so... black and white for people like you?" Chuck wasn't sure if he could agree with such logic or not.
"Depends."
"On what?" Chuck asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You really want it to make sense? Or can you accept that it doesn't have to?" Roan asked quizzingly.
"...Huh. I never thought about it that way." Chuck tried his best to interpret what the seasoned spy was trying to convey to him. "I guess having a crush can't be quantified. And if you try too hard to make sense of it, it's not really loving, is it?"
"Indeed. You may be a bit on the slow side but I finally made you understand what seduction is all about in essence." Roan responded with a proud smile.
"Again, why must you make everything into such a roundabout debate?" Chuck's eyebrows twitched in irritation.
"A great teacher knows what's good in getting the right answer if you don't know how you reached it." Roan responded with a dramatic flair as he stood up and left with a friendly wave.
"You cop out, son-of-a... There was no answer. It's just a feeling." Chuck cursed under his breath, realizing that at the end of the day, the old man didn't help at all.
If only he could call Ellie and ask for advice...
Flashback End
...xxxxxxxx...xxxxxxx...
Breathe in, Charles. Only a couple of hours till I make it back to the NGA and ask the Admiral to sort out the NSA situation. Besides, who's afraid of hanging out with ace assassins? I like playing my life in hard mode anyways.
"So what are we doing here, Sarah?" He asked the beautiful agent accompanying him, privately even more intimidated by her than he previously was but didn't let it show on his face. Finally all those sessions on Neuro Linguistic Programming (a catchy name for a class which taught "Sneaky ways to influence people" in reality) which nearly made him rip his ears off finally paid off.
"Hmm? I did ask you to help me try out the menu in a cafe a friend recommended, didn't I?" Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're reneging on our deal so soon?" She continued in a mock upset tone.
"I already agreed, didn't I?" Chuck pointed out. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you will somehow make it even worse for me if I don't agree, so might as well take the lesser of two evils." He concluded in a somewhat jovial tone, hoping it disguised the fact he was being serious.
"Good boy." Sarah approved with a playful smile, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Glad to see that even after all these years, you haven't lost your sense of humor in the slightest."
"Gallows humor is the only thing that keeps you sane in the chaotic world we live in." Chuck stated matter-of-factly.
"I dunno much about that Chuck, because I am clearly not funny."
"Is that what you were trying to hide, by the way? 'Cause I've spent a long time trying to figure out what went wrong with you."
"Oh, plenty. Believe me!" Sarah piped up causing him to raise his eyebrow.
Shaking his head, he responded in a casual, joking tone, "And I was thinking either she was replaced by a cyborg sent from the future to eliminate me, or she's just not that funny anymore." His newfound knowledge of Sarah's current occupation put him in a tough spot and made him question everything he knew about her. So when she gave him the opening he was looking for, he took it, figuring her response would give him a glimpse of her true personality.
Though Sarah probably found it even more hilarious, due to how serious he looked while saying those things.
Sarah twisted away to muffle her own laughter. It was genuine, full-throated laughter too; Chuck had no idea a consummate spy / ace assassin of her caliber was even capable of such in the first place. He felt his inhibitions and defenses lower, which he didn't mind much (to his surprise). In fact, he felt his confidence bolstered as time went by. He begrudgingly conceded that he missed this feeling, not having felt it since his relationship with Lou ended.
"Not a cyborg, that much I can promise." Sarah retorted playfully, lightly nudging him on the shoulders. "Like I told you before, I haven't been in a good place for a while and I still have a lot of baggage to deal with. But I am slowly getting there."
That was just weird. Chuck shuddered. She doesn't look or act any different than the Sarah Walker I used to know. Wait... Nononononoo... NLP-105... That's how that old sleazebag – Roan or whatever he was called – taught us to operate. I must be careful. If I slip up even once, a highly capable individual like her can take advantage of it. And why did I utter such a bizarre comment? What's wrong with me? Whenever I meet her my brain-to-mouth filter stops working! He pinched his nose in frustration. Wait, her hands... they felt really soft and warm. He blushed and mentally facepalmed. Okay, this is ridiculous. I refuse to even acknowledge I might have a crush on her, especially after what the Intersect showed me! Okay, she is smoking hot. And looks at me with really kind eyes. She... also has good legs. But Lou had the better waistline- NO! Now I'm even more conscious of her! Stop thinking, stupid! Chuck clenched his fists inside his pockets, immediately banishing all the not so stellar thoughts from his mind.
He really needed to stop reading Twilight.
Before he could recover lost ground, Sarah reached over and squeezed his hands comfortingly as they suddenly stopped in front of a building, which Chuck didn't recognize. It had windows with the words Ma Fille Pâtisserie written on them in smooth cursive. Surprisingly, the CIA agent opened the door for him.
"After you."
"Thanks." Chuck grunted. They entered the warm little cafe, where light jazz music was playing in the background. They were greeted by a pretty waitress who smiled at both of them.
"Ah, table for two?" She asked, giving Sarah a knowing look.
"Yes, thank you." Sarah nodded, laying a hand on his shoulders and steering him to the two-seater table the waitress led them to.
"Good morning, Sir, Ma'am. My name is Claire and I will be your server for the day." She said once they were settled in, handing them each a menu. "Today's special is Boston clam chowder. Complimentary breadsticks, Ma'am?"
"Hmm... I would like the caffè corretto with a side of a blueberry and mixed fruit cheesecake, please. Oh, I haven't eaten breakfast yet, so I'll have a strawberry cornetto as well."
"Certainly. And for the gentleman?"
"Uhh..." Chuck said ever so eloquently, looking at the menu in confusion at seeing all those fancy names which he couldn't even pronounce. "...Just coffee with cream and sugar, please. Oh, and a cheesecake too." He added as an afterthought, remembering that he also missed out on breakfast.
"Ahem." Sarah coughed, prompting Chuck to look at her in confusion.
"What?"
"Such a shame, only buying regular coffee in a place like this." Sarah continued in a rather teasing manner. "I thought the famous golden boy of the NGA had more of an... international palate. Ah well, there's always next time."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Chuck confessed. There is going to be a next time?
Sarah raised an eyebrow before giving both him and the restaurant a once over, as if scanning for potential threats. Chuck blinked in confusion as she closed her eyes for a brief moment, then something shifted inside her. When she looked back at him, her eyes no longer seemed warm and inviting. The sudden change in her body language (in terms of nature and intensity) felt highly unsettling and disturbing, given his recent knowledge of her occupation and... professional accomplishments. He had no idea what the hell she was planning to do right now.
"Chuck... I hate to make this all awkward and serious but this is the only way I can explain this to you. I am aware the NSA summoned you to Ft Meade with regard to a highly classified military project."
Chuck was surprised by her revelation. Sarah flinched when his eyes morphed from his usual warm shade of chocolate brown to an almost unreadable pitch black; his facial expression also became unreadable. That was new. She didn't know he was capable of masking his true emotions.
"What are you trying to say?" Chuck furrowed his eyes, sensing the serious atmosphere.
"What I showed you back then... it was just a cover. In truth, I am a special operative of the CIA." Sarah paused for a moment before continuing further. "And my agency has sent me to hand you a proposition. But before that, you deserve to know something. Something I don't think the NSA would have bothered to tell you in the first place."
"What do you mean by that?"
"The rogue agent who tried to steal all those highly classified government secrets and ultimately failed... was none other than Bryce Larkin."
Chuck was stunned. "Just to be sure, are we talking about the same Bryce Larkin? My former best friend since freshman year? My good old roommate from Connecticut, who slept with my ex-fiancée and had me kicked out of Stanford? Are we talking about the same backstabbing son-of-a-bitch?"
Sarah let out a sigh. Of course she knew Bryce was responsible for the whole cheating scandal which ruined Chuck's life before he caught the attention of the NGA. Though as far as the break up was concerned, she felt Chuck's fiance was equally to blame as well; Now only if Graham told her about his real identity beforehand or she had gotten any indication from Chuck about how he looked back then, she wouldn't have gotten involved with him in the first place or perhaps made sure he never survived their first mission together. She had no love lost for that betrayer after all. But there was no use crying over spilled milk right now; and she feared about revealing anything about the real nature of their partnership to Chuck , lest he decided not to touch her with a ten-foot pole. Before then, she had to be sure he could accept the truth and not feel betrayed by her.
"We briefly worked together at the CIA. His cover name was Brian Anderson." She couldn't control the hitch in her voice and actually had to look away for a moment.
The familiar sensation took hold once he heard the name and Chuck's eyes lost focus as the data flashed in front of his mind's eye.
Goldfish
CIA logo
Project Omaha
Classified data
Pictures of Sarah and Bryce
Special Agent Brian Anderson
Special Agent Amelia Anderson
Visuals of Mickey Mouse playing piano
Goldfish
Looking away from her, Chuck started blinking rapidly, trying to digest the new information as fast as possible. He turned ghostly pale and was overcome with shock.
Fuck me sideways! His mind replayed some momentary passionate moments between Mr and Mrs Anderson, who appeared to be heading in that very directi- No. Not going there. More importantly – as he feared back in that meeting with the General and that Casey guy – Bryce Larkin had been a CIA agent. And thanks to him, Chuck now had two federal agencies to worry about where this godforsaken Intersect was concerned. He was almost glad Bryce was dead.
"Erm...!" Somehow, Chuck managed to calm himself down. After going through what he did that morning, he built a modicum of resistance to situations like these. Even though he fumbled a bit, he managed to get the words out.
"So... What can I do for your... agency?"
"You are the only one capable of extracting data from the device and restoring the Intersect. Whoever you decide to work for will have primary control of this project moving forward." Sarah explained. She didn't like getting involved in inter-agency politics and had always been more at ease in the field than the boardroom. Nonetheless, she couldn't help but sympathize with the position her boss was in courtesy of the actions of her dead partner / ex-lover. Graham had always fought tooth and nail to keep the project within the aegis of the CIA; with funding and project control now up in the air (and Bryce's PDA in the NSA's possession), she had to tempt Chuck to their side. Failure was not an option.
"Look, Sarah. I will tell you the same thing I told the NSA. I already work for a federal agency." Chuck let out a sigh as he looked away for a moment.
"General Beckman is very smart, calculating, ruthless, and a seasoned spymaster. If she wanted to, she could take you whenever she wanted." Sarah looked into his eyes with a blank unreadable expression.
"Then why hasn't she?" Chuck asked.
"I am certain she wants to; chances are she is simply waiting for the opportune moment. You have no idea how invaluable you are to her agency."
"Let me make this clear to you. I am not interested in any part of this inter-agency rivalry. I just want to do my job."
"No one gives a damn what you think, Chuck! You are part of it, whether or not you want to be. I am only telling you because..." Sarah frowned. "I am telling you this, because you have to pick a side or others will pick it for you, and no amount of explaining, or show of goodwill will stop them from drawing their conclusions and acting as they see fit." She paused for a brief moment as she calmed herself. "I know you are just doing your job. But you must face reality. No one is going to leave you alone. And if you are useful to one side, that makes you a threat for another." She frowned deeper.
Loath as he was to do so, Chuck realized Sarah was right. As valuable as his skills and certain possessions were to the agencies, it seemed as though they ultimately deemed him a glorified chess pawn.
Useful to one side, a threat for another. This day just keeps getting better. Damn you, Bryce.
...xxxxxx...xxxxxxx...xxxxxxx...
A list had been made. Names were picked. In due course, Roark was going to cross almost every single one of them off.
Several people were overseeing the algorithm that revealed a myriad of possible candidates behind the NGA's groundbreaking technology. After what felt like countless hours, the list had been reduced to five hundred. At the same time, a team was working on the clip Zarnow provided them, which was more time-consuming than they expected. The NSA did a great job of keeping his identity secret. However, someone peculiar had caught Roark's eyes. A profile which stood out from the overwhelming number of scientists and researchers in the NGA's employ.
"It can't be..." He muttered in wonder.
"Charles Irving Bartowski. Our analysts have told us he is indeed the son of your infamous old frat buddy Stephen Bartowski. They haven't confirmed it yet, though." One of the men pointed out.
"Charles Bartowski..." Roark murmured. "I almost forgot about Stephen's children. It has been over a decade after all. So his son is on this list as well."
"Sir?" One of the aides, who happened to be a beautiful bespectacled woman in her late twenties, took a step towards his desk. "Do you really think a kid like that can do what an entire team of highly qualified and highly experienced engineers and scientists could not? That'd be like something straight out of a comic book."
Roark looked to his aide. "Perhaps. We can't be too sure about anything right now. In the meantime, continue with the program. And tell Meadow Branch to prepare our test subjects for the upload."
"When?"
"Now."
"Sir, the variation Dr Busgang is working on hasn't been properly tried and tested. Perhaps we should wait for the Government Intersect and new test results to show up. Then we will–"
"I don't care if it hasn't been fully tested. We will be the first. This is our chance to make sure the RING will see us in a new light. Never will we cast a seed of doubt to our greatest benefactors."
"Sir, there is a chance the test subjects will suffer from a multitude of side effects, some of which are potentially fatal..."
Roark turned to look at his sniveling aide in contempt, who nervously adjusted her glasses. "The trick to conquering death, Dr Roberts, is to let it happen and sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the greater good of humanity. Now do as you're told and give my orders to Meadow Branch."
The brown-haired woman didn't look convinced but it wasn't like she could do anything right now. After all, that was the choice she made for herself many years ago. She stole a nervous glance at the profile Roark pulled before turning to him.
"Test subjects will be ready in 24 hours, Sir." She responded with a reluctant nod.
...xxxxxx...xxxxxxx...
I am sorry that this took so long.
Life hasn't been the best since past few months, and this story suffered as a result. I could give details but they are just common issues of life, health, family, work .
But they still had an impact on my ability to write and my stories suffered due to that.
Still, this story is not dead. I have a vision for this story and I will follow it to the end. There are still twists I haven't pulled out and I can't wait to get to writing them.
So stay tuned XD
Anyways, as always, thank you all for reading and commenting, and happy holidays to all :)
Additionally, have a Great Deal of happy days ahead of this year. Keep Healthy and blessed!