Neither Victory Nor Defeat
Since both agents (and their respective bosses) considered their offices as no man's land, Chuck suggested setting up a secure video conference on his home ground, Fort Belvoir. Calls were made from both sides. As always, Michael was prompt to act on this request, making sure all the necessary protocols were established in his office with military precision.
On the way back to Fort Belvoir, Chuck tried to coax both parties into having a polite conversation with each other, but neither bit. To make matters worse, he could feel the tension mounting at an accelerated pace, adding to the stress already placed on his shoulders. His blonde spy friend had already laid claim to one of his hands and was gaining access to his torso. Her grip tightened whenever Casey offhandedly remarked how good she was when it came to assignments like this. To anyone else watching – men in particular – it was a sight to be envious of. However, only Chuck could sense the tense aura Sarah was radiating right now.
It certainly wasn't a good time to be anywhere near her!
Still, that didn't stop Casey from going on and on about how someone like him would be better off with the NSA instead of the Completely Incompetent Asses. Not only that, he would be rewarded with extremely generous compensation in exchange for helping their agency receive preferential treatment where Project Intersect was concerned.
In response, Sarah asked Casey if they made any progress in finding the missing scientist. With a smile on her face, she then (sarcastically) thanked him for dropping Chuck off near the bus stop, otherwise she might have had a harder time finding him. It was an obvious dig at his agency's competence and trustworthiness when it came to fulfilling their obligations towards their promising recruits.
Chuck feared what hanging around too much with such hotheads would do for his safety and mental health. Thankfully, before both agents could start beating the crap out of each other, they were called inside the office.
He was surprised to not see Annie, a pretty brunette in her early twenties who used to work at the reception and always greeted him with a welcoming smile. Not that he judged people based on their hair color. And he certainly didn't have a type. He would argue that point to death if he had to.
In the hallway leading to Kernan's office stood a tall, lean and observant-looking man clad in full battle attire with green beret, armed with a suppressed KGP-9 sub-machine gun. The words US Army and McQuaid were embossed over the two top pockets on his jacket. Despite having a very stern-looking countenance, the man greeted him with a knowing smile and a firm yet enthusiastic handshake. Chuck presumed he was the special agent who replaced Lou as the Admiral's head of security and personal aide a few months back.
Once they entered Kernan's chamber, they found him clad in his usual naval attire, decorated with the stars, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of a US Navy Admiral, sitting at his desk with a lit pipe in his hand. He was facing a huge home theater screen, waiting for his fellow agency heads to start proceedings.
Michael sized both agents up with a cautious look. "Agent Walker, Major Casey. It's not everyday I get to meet the top intelligence officers of their respective agencies at the same time," he greeted them in a jovial tone. "Welcome to our humble abode."
"Admiral." Sarah replied in a courteous manner. "Many thanks for your cooperation and understanding. Director Graham always speaks so highly of you and now I can see why."
"It's alright, Agent Walker. I just like to follow protocol and procedure to the T, unlike some unruly individuals around here." Michael smirked a little, showing his 'happy face' to Casey.
Casey shook his head with a sigh. It seemed that Admiral Kernan was still a bit pissed about the recent incident.
"I apologize if it felt like I was intruding into your turf, Sir," he said through gritted teeth. It was Beckman's fault for arranging that presentation in the first place. She just didn't have the patience to wait for Kernan's approval and wanted to see the NGA's prized engineer in action. "Orders are orders. I can't disobey them."
"That doesn't mean you have to comply with anything unethical. You are a serviceman, not a drone." Michael frowned in disapproval.
Sarah was dumbfounded upon hearing that. Did Admiral Michael Kernan – one of the few individuals regarded by her boss as his equal in every regard – really just say it was okay to question an order? Spies did what they were told. They didn't question their orders, whether or not they agreed with them.
Admittedly, she herself had questioned her orders – but only once. It was a special case, an exception. Other than that, she always did as instructed, just as she was taught back at the Farm. While the notion of disobeying orders was still hard to completely wrap her mind around, she felt somewhat relieved that such an individual was in charge of the agency representing Chuck's interests.
"You shouldn't smoke that stuff, Chief. You may be old, but that doesn't mean you should let the smoke kill you faster." Chuck joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
The Admiral laughed a bit and put the pipe away for everyone's benefit, though it didn't seem like Casey would have minded much, being a fellow chain smoker as well. "Welcome back, Charles." He then got a good look at his face and asked in a stern tone, "What the hell happened to your face?"
Chuck grinned awkwardly. He didn't feel proud of losing the fight against Mauser the way he did. He basically had it in the bag but that wasn't something he could admit in public.
Thankfully, Sarah decided to handle the explanation. However, the Admiral could sense she was being a little evasive. She was also looking down in shame somewhat, which he felt was odd given what he heard about her reputation from his trusted sources.
Strange. I thought Graham's enforcer didn't like being emotionally attached to her subjects. It seems as if... she almost feels responsible for him.
"I was held at gunpoint and taken hostage by rogue operatives with links to my former partner. As per policy, I secured Mr Bartowski's exit beforehand but... he didn't follow my instructions and engaged with those individuals in order to free me. He managed to deal with three of them but their leader, Frank Mauser proved to be a bit too much. Thankfully, I had recovered enough to intervene by then."
The Admiral's mood improved and he let out an aged chuckle. "I must thank you for protecting our agency's resident knucklehead. His IQ might be off the charts, but at the end of the day he is a moron without any sense of proportion. And let's not get me started on his proclivity for risking his life to save people. If anything, I should recommend you for this year's National Intelligence Cross."
Chuck was not looking too happy about being labeled an idiot, though he stayed silent for the most part. He didn't tell him about the G-Intersect impairing his fighting skills as he didn't want to belittle the valor shown by his spy friend by insinuating he didn't need her help in the first place. Nor did he wish to expose the O-Intersect to the other agencies. At least for the time being.
"It's alright, Sir. Even with that failing I would be proud to..." Before Sarah could finish her sentence, both General Beckman and Director Graham appeared on the screen.
"Took you long enough, you two," Michael greeted casually. "Busy getting anyone shot?"
"No, Admiral. But it's getting closer." Beckman was the first one to acknowledge his greeting with a cordial smile, sounding a bit more polite than she usually did whilst attending the so-called informal mix-ups between government agencies. It didn't come off as a huge surprise, given she was addressing someone who was her handler at a crucial point in her career.
"My aim isn't as good as it used to be, Warhawk! Anyway, I suppose we should get to business," Graham replied with a smug grin. It was quite obvious he was ecstatic to see Bartowski in action. As far as he was concerned, it was a dream come true. Things finally came full circle and the Intersect ended up where it was always supposed to be, despite the machinations of a certain douchebag. He then turned his sights on the man of the hour himself.
"First of all, I want to congratulate Mr Bartowski for the initiative, bravery and wit he showed in dealing with Mauser's squad and leading Agent Walker and Major Casey to the bomb. A bomb which, according to our leading EOD experts, was unlike anything they had ever encountered before. And you managed to disable it as well. Without any help from the Intersect!" he exclaimed with a critical and appraising look. "You seem to think well on your feet, Mr Bartowski. I didn't expect it from a mere nerd like you."
"Director Graham, Sir." Chuck replied evenly. While the comment sounded strangely uncomplimentary, he decided to let it slide. People like Graham weren't exactly used to complimenting low-level analysts. Or treating individuals as if they were normal, actual human beings and not simply as tools to be exploited. "I was just performing my civic duties. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Ahem. If you don't mind, Mr Bartowski..." General Beckman cleared her throat, looking at him questioningly. "How were you the only person in the room to have the entire Intersect database downloaded into your brain?"
"I am not... sure myself either, Ma'am." Chuck responded with a slight hitch in his voice, clearly scared of giving too much away about his true origins. "A brilliant English neurosurgeon named Hartley Winterbottom came up with a concept to improve memory retention for those suffering from brain trauma using a perfect formation of three-dimensional textured subliminal imagery of all correlated data. Theoretically, it was supposed to create a mental map the human brain could recognize in an instant. They never tried it on a person before – at least that's what the official DARPA project report said. Though from what I can recall, in order for that to happen a person would still require the ability to perform intellectual analysis and recognize the visual trigger to perceive the mental map..."
Graham's eyes narrowed as he looked at Chuck, leveling stony eyes on him. "What exactly do you mean by that, Mr Bartowski?"
"The program used a line from an interactive fiction computer game Bryce and I created back at Stanford. Only someone familiar with the coding process could have discerned the pattern behind that cross-data correlation. But that's just a theory on my part, Ma'am." Chuck explained matter-of-factly.
"What?" Beckman asked incredulously, staring perplexedly towards him. "How do you know about Dr Winterbottom's research?"
Damn, I really screwed this one up. She's on to me now.
"Actually, a friend of my sister from the NSF wanted me to help him upgrade their software for Brain Computer Interface and she is a huge fan of Dr Winterbottom's work. I mean... he is considered a legend in the field of cognitive neuroscience," he replied with an awkward and slightly embarrassed smile, looking to Sarah for moral support. However, her face remained an emotionless mask as a tight line formed on her lips. She stole a momentary glance at him, then avoided his gaze upon realizing he had been staring at her.
Is she mad at me? But why would she be mad at me?
He then looked at the Admiral, who made a slight gesture with his hand to calm him down. Deep down, Michael was still fuming over Larkin's actions and how they resulted in Chuck getting swept up in this whole affair against his will. He had always secretly feared the possibility, but never thought it would come to fruition in such a fashion. However, if he wanted to help his flesh and blood out, he had to keep his professional facade up.
Unbeknownst to him, a certain CIA agent thought the same.
I so want to have Bryce Larkin's head on my office wall right now.
"Don't act so surprised, Diane. Charles is an overly curious kid and highly knowledgeable in a breadth of disciplines. He does a lot of stuff like that in his free time."
Beckman quickly masked the shock in her eyes and smiled gleefully at him for the first time since the meeting started. Chuck didn't know whether to feel happy or scared about gaining attention from such individuals.
He wouldn't have minded if Sarah smiled at him like that, though.
Graham was the one to respond this time around, continuing in a grim tone. "Well I must commend you for reaching the right conclusion once again, Mr Bartowski. This intel might be far above your pay grade but I believe you have earned these answers through your actions and for being highly knowledgeable. Dr Winterbottom was working alongside a defense contractor / special consultant known only as Orion. They were working on a project which would have allowed agents to download mission-critical data directly into their minds before going on missions. In order to do that, the data was encoded into the pictures and shown to the subjects. Orion also theorized it was possible to bestow the subjects with a certain number of special skills, such as survival skills, enhanced combat abilities, code breaking, various forms of dancing, and so on. Unfortunately we lost Dr Winterbottom to a very unfortunate car accident and Orion hasn't been seen or heard for many years."
"Orion?" Casey raised an eyebrow, appearing slightly confused. "Though I assumed we were working on the Intersect in the past, I believed Orion was just a myth."
"He is very real, I assure you. However... there is little known of him right now." Beckman replied with slight hesitation in her voice. "I personally led the global manhunt against him when he went AWOL all those years ago. Unfortunately he was always one step ahead of us, thanks to his unorthodox mindset and mastery of electronic warfare."
Chuck buried his head in his hands. The wheels of his brain started to turn at a furious speed upon hearing the mention of his father's infamous moniker and the other Intersect inside his brain.
He knew what their answer would be, given his father's elusive nature. Nonetheless, he had to ask. At least for his own personal satisfaction. Unlike the agency he had been working for these past two years, the CIA and NSA were actively involved in the Intersect's creation so they might have learned something he himself couldn't, despite his having the original supercomputer stuck inside his head.
"Do we have... access to the program m- Orion and Hartley were working on? That might provide some clue as to... how to unload this database from my brain." He asked in a slightly excited tone.
"I am sorry, Mr Bartowski. I was informed by my predecessor that Orion stole the prototype they were building and wiped everything related to him and the project from our database." Beckman replied, releasing a long-suffering sigh. Both Kernan and Casey were surprised to hear how genuinely apologetic she seemed about the whole affair.
Chuck's mood deteriorated further. He stared at the table in front of him, starting to look crestfallen. "...Why? Why me? Why do I have this luck? Why did Larkin do this? Why did he use the very same game we built as the visual trigger to download the Intersect?"
"Drowning in constant sorrows is only for the weak and feeble-minded, Charles. I would hate to think that you, the crown jewel of Fort Belvoir, would take such a route." Kernan called him out in an encouraging tone.
Chuck looked at all three agency heads sharply, trying to appear as calm as he possibly could. He barely held a waspish remark back.
"Fine, I get it. Whether I like it or not, I'm now entrenched in this national security emergency. The computer in my head is a very complex piece of technology and no one really knows how to unload these files from my brain. So what will the next course of action be? What exactly do the powers that be have in mind for me?"
Casey shook his head with a quiet grunt. "My admittedly low opinion of this moron keeps rising. He has his priorities set straight, I will give him that much," he muttered dryly.
Sarah sent him a nasty glare for calling Chuck a moron, though she agreed with the general gist of what he said. Most individuals would have cracked under the mounting pressure of this chaotic situation – that much was obvious.
But not Chuck Bartowski.
That was only one of many things she liked about him.
"As of this moment, you are the most important and valuable member of the United States Intelligence Community. That fact alone might earn you some very deadly enemies," Beckman continued in an awkwardly sympathetic tone, despite being blunt and concise as usual. "If anything were to happen to you, there would be serious repercussions for everyone involved. It would be much better if you were to continue your Intersect work from a secure, off the books underground facility, preferably outwith the States. You will have the option of getting these files safely removed from your brain once we figure out how to do that. Until then, we would like to test your ability to cross correlate and find patterns from a wide variety of intelligence sources. We will also provide you with round-the-clock protection and take care of any amenities you ask for."
"I can't shake this bad feeling, General," Chuck replied tersely. He didn't want to expose his jitters any further. "The complex program Bryce Larkin was planning to use to download the Intersect inside his brain... It must have been written by someone who knew this project really well. Most likely a scientist who knew about the... original version Orion created. The Wolf Pack ascertained the delivery route for the next-gen tank plans no one was supposed to know of. Mauser's team learned of Agent Walker's undercover alias and smuggled a terrorist into a NATO event, right under the noses of the State Department, FBI, DHS, and every other damn agency that was involved. Traitors and scumbags are everywhere, Ma'am. Not just in the CIA and NSA. And unless you deal with them... I won't be safe, no matter where you put me."
His unease with the overall situation could not be shaken. It didn't help that his natural paranoia was making him a bit shifty. He kept expecting someone from Mauser's group to pop out of nowhere and grab him. Having no idea who they were and what any of them looked like wasn't helping him, either.
Honestly, who ever heard of a group of rogue spies targeting people like him? Aside from the O-Intersect inside his head, he was a nobody. That thought had given him pause more than once. The shady group was likely after the supercomputer inside his brain, and that meant nothing good for him.
Perhaps thinking so much was making him more shifty than he wanted to admit.
Michael raised an eyebrow in surprise. Charles had never struck him as the scared type. In retrospect, he supposed it was a good thing; it was better to be worried about your own well being than to have such unshakable confidence in your own skills so as to walk boldly into the face of danger. At least at this point in his career. It showed the chain smoker that his nephew knew his limits well.
Before Chuck could invite further ire from the NSA director, he bit the bullet for his sake, glancing sideways at Beckman apologetically.
"Diane, I hope you don't mind Charles! He has been through a lot recently and is just a bit shaken right now. But he raised some valid points here. We now know for sure that there exists an organization that wants to destabilize our entire Intelligence Community. If I were to send Charles into protective custody, I'd at least like to get the full scope of the situation beforehand. Just to make sure we aren't walking into a situation where we don't know what's coming."
Beckman fixed the NGA director with a stare. Her eyes bore into him, but he simply looked back calmly. She let her hard gaze travel around the table, her expression calculating.
"There are some unknown factors at play, Michael. We don't know who is working for this shadowy group. But let me assure you once again – I will try my level best to ensure Mr Bartowski's safety and well-being isn't compromised in any way."
"No offense, Ma'am, but the situation asks for a different approach. Given the nature of this emergency, we should conscript him into our DDP and DSDP development programs and see where he could go from there. If we take Bartowski to a safe house, we'd never know how the Intersect fares in the field or discern the true extent of his abilities. It is my personal observation that he is far more capable than your everyday office drones. His unique knowledge and skill set might very well be our best shot at taking out this group of traitors."
That speech came as a shock to everyone else. It was only through years of training and discipline the three agency heads managed to keep their mouths from gaping wide open. Such a glowing report from Major Casey was essentially unheard of. If the Admiral didn't know better, he'd suspect a touch of admiration and respect for the way Chuck handled himself thus far.
Sitting up even straighter, which Chuck hardly believed was possible at this point, Beckman spoke through tight lips. "Mr Bartowski, why don't you wait outside? We will wrap up this meeting soon. I'd like to have a word in private with Major Casey and Agent Walker."
Chuck's eyes widened, appearing visibly confused about why they suddenly wanted him out of this meeting. He glanced towards Kernan who gave him a silent look of understanding, indicating that everything was under control. At least for the time being.
As he was about to get up, he felt Sarah's foot gently traverse his leg for a brief moment, causing him to look up. She gave him a subtle apologetic glance before avoiding his gaze once again. That didn't go unnoticed by Kernan, who gazed at her curiously. Chuck quietly left the room.
What is really on your mind, Sarah?
Beckman continued from where she left off, albeit in a slightly calmer and more composed frame of mind. "Any liabilities in case we decide to go through with this idea of yours?"
Casey let out a snort mixed with a grunt. " Bartowski is married to his work. He has no love. He has no life. No social obligations apart from a sister who lives in LA. Just like me in a sense, he goes every night to and empty apartment, eat half a stale dinner, fall asleep, wake up, finish the other half and then goes back to doing his job. Besides, We don't need any more info than what Admiral Kernan told us before the start of this meeting. Two words – moronic knucklehead.
Beckman chimed in, her voice as stiff as her spine. "In other words, he is a raw civilian with tremendous potential but lacks the requisite discipline of a serviceman."
Casey replied through gritted teeth, admitting begrudgingly, "That's what I said."
Michael shook his head with a sigh. It seemed both Diane and Langston's thoughts were following the same track. He didn't know whether that was supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing.
Suppressing a grin, Graham turned to Sarah. "Your opinion, Agent Walker?"
She replied calmly in a detached but professional voice. Michael couldn't help but be reminded of his own past when he used to put up a charade – a well rehearsed act of sorts – pretending to be a cold-hearted and obedient subordinate in front of his superiors.
"That sounds fine and dandy Sir, but it doesn't change the fact that the future of our entire Intelligence Community may depend on Mr Bartowski. It's vital for national security that he remains alive and safe. We can't have him run around DC unsupervised. If we are to do this, you need someone trustworthy who can not only make sure he is accompanied and protected all the time, but also provide him with a healthy, stable working environment so he can continue working on recovering the Intersect database for us. Only then will our scientists be able to rebuild the Cipher. This mission will likely be a long-term one. Major Casey may respect Mr Bartowski somewhat, but he lacks the temperament to actually work with him. They are as compatible as oil and water."
Beckman agreed, albeit reluctantly. What she said about Casey might be true, but it couldn't be helped. He was the only one she could trust with this assignment.
Sarah continued with a bored expression. There was no shift in her voice indicating this was anything more than words coming from a mere report. "I have gotten a good read on Bartowski from the very beginning of this mission. We were also acquainted for a short while before his recruitment into the NGA. I can tell he is trying to mask his fear and stress by appearing professional, but he is worried and afraid. This project will take a heavy toll on him if it hasn't already. He is extremely shaken right now and needs a sounding board to function properly. Someone to give him an ear and help him cope with the situation. He cannot talk to his sister and he doesn't have many friends either. If his situation doesn't improve, the stress from this assignment will cause him to crack wide open. And once he emotionally shuts down, we will lose access both to his intellectual prowess and ability to utilize the Intersect. That's just my honest assessment."
Casey spoke indifferently, though it seemed like he had been asked to swallow a bitter pill. "I somewhat agree with Walker here. Bartowski has already developed a good rapport with her. She kept him calm while he connected the dots and correctly deduced the assassination attempt on General Stanfield. Bartowski thinks he can't rely on anyone to get things done and can be a bit too stubborn to deal with due to that attitude of his. I'd rather not deal with that aspect of this assignment."
Beckman leveled stony eyes on Sarah. "I am thinking Mr Bartowski would be more receptive towards working with a different CIA agent, given Agent Walker's past relationship with Larkin. What do you think, Admiral?"
"I doubt it, Diane. As far as I know, Charles believes in letting bygones be bygones and wouldn't let trivial stuff like that bother him," Michael replied casually. He then turned to Sarah; he could see something in her eyes, something strange, something unspoken. "Do you believe this might be an issue, Agent Walker?"
Sarah tried her best to keep her tone professional. She was still angry with Casey for attempting to ruin her bond with Chuck and didn't like that Beckman was also trying to have her removed from this operation. "Sir, we have already talked about it so that shouldn't be an issue. I doubt he'd respond as well to anyone else."
Beckman deferred to Michael and Graham. "Well then, Langston. Walker is one of yours so I leave that up to you. Now that Bartowski has become a human repository for our intel, we should prioritize cooperation above everything else and work together to dismantle this group before it causes any more harm." Both agents and even Graham himself nodded upon hearing this. "I do not think I am needed any longer, plus I have to address the National Guard about a certain EOD expert who doesn't exist as far as they are concerned. Michael, I still have an uneasy feeling about this mess but we will discuss it some other time. Keep me posted about anything else pertinent, Major."
"Yes, Ma'am." Casey nodded with a salute as Beckman signed off.
"Agent Walker, as you've said yourself, this operation will likely be a long-term one. No one knows when we can ascertain how to safely remove those files from Bartowski's brain." Graham took a deep breath and whatever emotion might have been on his face disappeared. "Are you sure you want to go on a dangerous mission while babysitting a dork?"
Sarah crossed her arms, addressing him in her usual perfectly detached manner. "Mr Bartowski has obvious trust issues right now. Having information about the shady organization involved in the Intersect theft inside his brain isn't going to help him much with his fear and anxiety, especially since he knows people wanting to harm him are working within our Intelligence Community. He is just a civilian who became a victim of his own success, paying for his natural born genius with his fortune. His life had just gone from quiet and uneventful to chaotic and life-threatening. I think it'd be in the best interests of this operation that I move into his complex and increase my proximity to him, just to make sure he remains in a proper state of mind. Keeping him functional and making sure he doesn't lose faith in us is the most critical part of this assignment."
Michael gave her a contemplative look. This Walker was certainly turning out to be a fascinating character. While she wasn't lying and her arguments seemed completely valid from an agent's point of view, he could sense something was amiss. He had already seen the footage of the coffee date between her and Chuck; it seemed quite obvious that wasn't how Graham's Wildcard Enforcer would have conducted herself while attempting to bring someone into their fold. And there was something he heard about a mission in Budapest which smelled of redacted details. He would make sure to reach out to his friends within the OIG and see what that was all about before their next meeting.
For a brief moment, her eyes flared with defiance before the Ice Queen facade returned.
Looks like this project just got a little more interesting.
Though privately smirking, Michael sat stone-faced staring at Graham, trying his best to keep amusement out of his voice. "Are you sure about this, Viper? Selling this kind of protection detail might involve a far more intense cover."
Graham looked back at him with an indignant expression, before turning to Sarah with a terrible scowl. "Normally I would not condone such a thing, but we can't afford to let Bartowski have a nervous breakdown before he recovers the database. If making yourself available to him is necessary to keep him sane and functional, you should be prepared to cross that bridge. I will grant Mr Bartowski the latitude to do his own thing outside working hours, given we owe him a certain level of trust and gratitude. However, I expect communication anytime he flashes or makes any major breakthrough with the recovery process."
Sarah nodded, with her best poker face on. "I understand. You can count on me, Sir."
"Agent Walker!" The CIA director continued in a stern tone. "This assignment will test your ability to remain emotionally separated. Your job is to protect Mr Bartowski for as long as it is in the best interests of the government. If the time were to ever come where the Intersect must be destroyed, or we must prevent Mr Bartowski from falling into the wrong hands, you must be willing to do what is necessary."
"You mean kill him?" Michael asked disdainfully, staring at him with disgust in his eyes.
"I pray it never comes to that, Warhawk. But sometimes we have to make painful choices for the greater good. I am pretty sure Diane would agree with me on this," Graham said flatly. He then continued coldly, "If all else fails... we might need to pull a kill switch on this project. I trust you two will be able to comply with your orders if it comes to that. Agent Walker, Major Casey?"
Casey glared down at the ground. "I accept, Sir." He grunted in displeasure.
Sarah clenched her jaw. She really loathed the idea. It was nearly impossible for her not to glare at Graham, but miraculously she managed to keep her Ice Queen facade intact.
"Crystal."
And just like that Graham signed off, concluding the meeting between the three agency heads.
...xxxxxx...xxxxx...xxxxxx...
To all my loyal followers and reviewers, you guys are awesome! I always appreciate your feedback and your comments, so don't feel shy about it.
The whole point of this story to make you feel good.
So Be happy, dammit. Lol XD
Take care and stay safe ya all :)