AN1 Hey there! I hope you all had a good weekend :)
The Spy and the Soldier
Chapter Eight, The Soldier vs the Intersect: Finale
Washington D.C.
Five days since the upload
Chuck discharged a double-tap from his Glock 19 towards the dead center at a target at an indoor gun range inside a private government facility. For the past few days, Chuck had been kept busy with many performance-related Intersect tests. Even the young Captain's attendance at the gun range today was strictly related to the Intersect. General Beckman, Director Graham, Agent Walker, and Major Casey were all on hand as they oversaw and evaluated Chuck's reaction speeds from the point of him obtaining information from the Intersect to his neutralizing of the target having received that information. Chuck had been occupied with this particular phase of testing for the past three days. The time between obtaining information from the Intersect to shooting the target in front of him had decreased from five seconds on the first day to less than a second on the third and final day.
"Very impressive shooting, Captain Bartowski," General Beckman said with a formed gaze and a nod of recognition towards the junior officer.
"Roger that," Casey muttered in approval, which caused Chuck to glance briefly at his new partner to acknowledge the remarks he had made before he shifted to look towards the General.
"Thank you, ma'am," Chuck replied, affording the superior officer a hint of a smile due to her bestowal of praise toward him.
The seasoned Delta Force operator then moved to re-holster his sidearm with the testing for the day now at an end.
Director Graham chimed in for the first time in the exchange, "Very impressive shooting indeed, Chuck. I think we have seen all that we need to see regarding the functioning of the Intersect. It is beyond clear that we chose the right candidate, and if nobody has any objections, then we will officially commence the project and put your team immediately into action?"
Having asked his question, the Director of the CIA began to change his glance between the small posse in search of an answer. However, the General and the three partners remained silent.
Taking the silence as an indication that nobody had any objections, Director Graham continued on, "Very well. Then let us mount up, and we will take you to your new place of cover..."
A short while later
The CIA director, NSA director, CIA agent, NSA agent, and Delta Force operator came to a stop in their four transport vehicles just outside an office building in downtown Washington D.C. This particular office building that the small-government posse was now parked outside would be the place of cover for the three new partners for the duration of their assignments on Project Intersect.
Filled with enthusiasm to explore their new place of work, the three partners promptly departed from their vehicles, and they followed General Beckman and Director Graham as they paced with purpose towards the entrance of the building.
Changing his glance between his two partners with a smirk present on his face as they walked together, Chuck joked, "When I signed up to join the Rangers, I would never have expected that I'd ever have to become a boring nine to five office worker just a few years later!"
Chuck's remarks caused Sarah to snort in an attempt to hold in her immediate laughter, and she shared a warm gaze with him.
While Casey grunted in approval, and even General Beckman managed to share a humorous glance with Chuck.
Director Graham, however, appeared unamused from the comment made by his Intersect candidate, and he proceeded to tell him so, "I'm sure you would take a 'boring nine to five office job' any day of the week over being placed in a maximum security bunker, Chuck."
With his point made, the Director immediately continued walking.
Chuck, however, was unwilling to leave the conversation where Graham had intended, which was as foolish as it was brazen. The young Captain proceeded to scoff briefly, and while staring at the back of the CIA director with a blank face that showed absolutely no fear nor emotion, he said, "You can go right on ahead and try it if that's what you want."
Director Graham instantly paused from walking, and he turned around to glare at Chuck. There was no attempt by the head of the CIA to hide the distaste that he felt towards the soldier for his remarks made, nor was Chuck backtracking from his comments as he remained steadfast and held his unyielding stare towards the pompous government suit in front of his eyes.
However, the standoff that had now ensued between the soldier and the CIA director was quickly interrupted by General Beckman, "Let us proceed on with a tour around your workspace."
The General's intervention thankfully had its desired effect as Director Graham turned away from Chuck. He then entered inside after General Beckman, with Chuck, Sarah, and Casey following closely behind.
And with the preceding incident apparently now forgotten, Director Graham began to talk once more, "All Intersect operations will be based from this location, in addition to your cover work, which will obviously be secondary to your real responsibilities. It has been a busy week with the testing of the Intersect and with our hunt for those responsible for the security breach, so I do not think that you have yet been apprised of the full information surrounding your cover, Chuck, unless your partners have apprised you of it when I touched upon it briefly with them a few days ago?" the Director asked as the small group came to a stop.
Chuck shook his head, and as he did so, he was sure that he observed a light smirk escaping from his new boss for the briefest of moments.
"Well, in that case, Chuck, I must bring you up to speed on the details. Charles Carmichael is the founding CEO of a newly formed Private Military Company. Its fellow founding members, Sarah Walker and John Casey are long-standing close acquaintances of yourself. You met John Casey while serving in the military on operations together, and you built up a close friendship with each other. Once leaving the military, you decided to become partners in search of more lucrative financial incentives. Your second business partner, and fellow company director, Sarah Walker, you met at school together. While an attraction between you both was evident from the outset of your junior years, the fact that you were in separate years prevented you from exploring an intimate relationship together. As soon as you both left school, however, a personal connection between you quickly blossomed, and you have been dating each other ever since."
"Excuse me, did you just say dating?" Chuck suddenly interrupted the CIA director, and he did an immediate double-take as he ran one hand up to rest on his chin while he pointed questioningly with a finger from his other hand towards Graham.
This time, the smirk on the face of the Director of the CIA was beyond evident, while Casey began to grunt in approval, and Sarah broke contact from looking at Chuck, and her gaze shifted down at the floor, and she was unable to remake eye contact with him. She was evidently as embarrassed over the situation as he was.
General Beckman, however, became irritated by Chuck's comment.
"Captain Bartowski, what you do, and how you behave in private with Agent Walker is between the both of you. But while you are on this assignment, and while you are in any place where a hostile operative could have eyes on you, you will live this cover as if your life, and your partners' lives, and your countries' safety depends on it, and I can assure you that it does. Is that understood?"
"I know how to cement a cover, General. I've just never had to date or pretend to date a teammate before, and I cannot help but feel slightly uncomfortable by that, that's all," Chuck stated, unable to hide his reservations, as he began to tense up from the situation he apparently now found himself locked in.
"Well, get used to it, Chuck. Because this isn't the military. Things are different here, and you volunteered to be here. So if you have no objections, then let us proceed on with the tour," Director Graham stated with growing frustration.
Chuck remained silent, and he proceeded to gaze without any significant purpose towards Sarah. And as she met his gaze, a feeling of unease and downright awkwardness overtook him once more. The last time he had felt like this was many years ago, way back to his days at Stanford University when he had met his ex-girlfriend Jill for the first time. A return to his former self, even for the briefest of moments, was not a welcome return for the young but confident Captain, and he quickly blocked out those past experiences from his mind once more. Though glancing at Sarah, he knew that she was experiencing similar embarrassing thoughts, but like the CIA director had said, they would just need to get used to it...
The small group proceeded to begin the tour.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O
"I have to say, I'm kind of a little disappointed. I was expecting some kind of weapons cache or secret base hidden behind some movable object. Maybe the CIA isn't as cracked up as it's made out to be!" Chuck said tongue in cheek, though after how his last lighthearted joke had gone down just a little earlier, he was reluctant to do so.
Casey grunted in approval while Sarah smirked at her partner.
"Diane, would you like to do them the honors?" Director Graham suggested suddenly, which took all three of the newly formed partners by surprise, as none of them had any idea what Director Graham was referring to.
The three partners then observed as General Beckman stepped forward, and extending her arm out, she placed her hand inside a bookshelf.
Chuck, Sarah, and Casey heard something click before the bookshelf began to move outward towards the small posse, which left all three of them stood rooted in amazement.
"You were saying?" Sarah said smugly as she began to smirk at Chuck, who turned crimson.
"Sometimes I open my mouth too soon," he admitted, glancing around the group.
"Clearly," Sarah added, holding her humorous glance towards Chuck.
Chuck no longer knew where to look as General Beckman promptly stepped inside the now opened secret passage, and the group followed her inside.
The three partners then observed as Director Graham clicked a switch behind them, and the bookshelf started to make its way back toward the group before it clicked shut in its original place.
Just a few steps ahead of the group was an encoded door. The three partners remained stationary as General Beckman operated a handprint recognition scanner, followed by a facial recognition scan.
With the verification completed, the thick steel security door opened, and the General stepped inside.
"Welcome to Castle, your new base of operations," the General declared.
The three partners shared a glance before the group began to descend a flight of stairs until they arrived on the ground floor of the secret facility.
"Intersect operations must always be conducted from this facility and never from upstairs. There will be frequent comings and goings of personnel. However, your cover as an established private military company just as soon as we can get your name on the map will easily facilitate the movement of personnel through this office," Director Graham said.
Chuck, Sarah, and Casey nodded.
"Who will assume command of the facility?" Casey asked.
"Command of the facility will remain primarily at the disposal of the three of you. We would prefer not to be here, and we will only make an appearance if it is essential. Mission briefings will primarily take place via uplink, though occasional meetings will be scheduled where necessary," General Beckman said.
The team of three nodded once more.
"This concludes the day. Barring an incident of national security or intelligence we need you to look at, Chuck, you all have the weekend off. Please, by all means, take a tour of Castle yourselves. We have spared no expense in setting up this base of operations, and you will quickly see for yourselves the numerous state-of-the-art facilities present in this facility," Director Graham said.
"The three of you have already been granted full access to the facility. If there is nothing further that you have to add, Langston, then we will leave them to it?"
Director Graham remained silent.
"Very well. There will be a briefing at 08:00 on Monday. If you require my assistance earlier than that, then you know how to contact me. I bid you all a good evening," Beckman said her farewells.
"Good evening, ma'am," Chuck replied.
"Ma'am," Casey replied with a nod.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Casey arrived at the armory inside Castle after taking a tour of the facility. Glancing at the vast arsenal of weapons, Casey's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Chuck!" he exclaimed excitedly.
The marine then proceeded to closer inspect the many firearms stored at their disposal.
Meanwhile, Chuck and Sarah had also taken a tour through the facility, only they had embarked on their tour together. Since the incident at breakfast several days ago, a wall had clearly been placed between the two of them on a personal level, and they were not as comfortable around each other as they had been initially. However, they weren't children at kindergarten. Instead, they were responsible adults and employees of the United States government and they were expected to behave like so. Therefore, the very next morning, they had both put what had happened the previous day behind them and continued on with their work, though neither of them had brought up the topic any further.
Arriving at the physical training area of the facility, Chuck declared, "This place is great."
Sarah paused from walking, and she turned to glance at Chuck. Nodding, she said, "Yes, it's very sophisticated."
Sarah observed him as a grin formed on his face, and he declared, "You know, now that I have the keys to the place, I'm thinking about turning it into an evil spy base to make myself rich. It would be nice to retire early and live the easy life!"
Sarah's eyes narrowed, and a half-smile began to creep through her lips. "I hope you're joking with me, Chuck," she said as her half-smile developed into a full one. She knew he was just playing, of course. Still, she had to ask.
He suppressed a laugh before he said, "What, you don't want the easy life and to utilize this place to perform our evil deeds instead of the boring stuff for a change?"
In amusement, Sarah shook her head. "I didn't see anything in your file that indicated you were such an evil mastermind," she pushed the joke.
"Well, what can I say, Sarah? We all have a dark side. Muhahaha!" Chuck said, raising his hands as he shook his fingers rapidly towards her.
Sarah suppressed a laugh, and they shared a warm glance for a long moment.
A short while later
Chuck arrived at the armory where Casey was fidgeting with a carbine assault rifle.
Grinning at the actions of Casey, Chuck crossed his arms, and his grin soon turned into an approving wince as he took an overview of the arsenal of weapons afforded to them.
Detecting Chuck's presence, Casey returned the firearm to its place of rest. With his action completed, he turned, and he walked into Chuck's vicinity.
"It's not quite Fort Bragg, but it'll do," Chuck declared, nodding at the weapons provided to them.
"Roger that," Casey said with a nod.
The two men departed away from the armory, and they walked over to a table together.
Arriving at the table, Chuck said, "So, Casey, I know Beckman said we have the weekend off, but I was hoping we could spend some time this weekend properly setting up our cover here. If you want to take Beckman up on the weekend off, that's fine by me. I'll be happy to go over it myself."
Casey shook his head. "Where you go, I go, Bartowski. Those are my orders."
Chuck nodded, albeit reluctantly because the last thing that Chuck wanted for the next three years was a babysitter tripping over and mollycoddling him.
"Though I'm surprised in you, Bartowski. I would have thought you'd be wanting to work on your cover with Walker in a more personal way, now that you have an excuse with you two apparently having already been dating each other for a while."
Shaking his head, Chuck pointed at Casey, and he said, "Don't start any of that!"
Feeling very pleased with himself, Casey grunted.
"Though actually, I'm kind of glad you brought up the topic. I wanted to ask you if that's how things are usually done in the spy world, having to live fake relationships with your teammate and sleep in the same bed as them?"
Casey nodded. "Roger that."
Chuck shook his head in disapproval. Being expected to live a fake relationship with his teammate for the next three years was not something Chuck had foreseen when he had agreed to the assignment. He wasn't even sure if he was capable of the task, but he was damned sure that he would rise to the occasion, because like General Beckman had said: their lives now depended on it.
"How do you cope with living that life constantly, being a military guy yourself?"
Casey shrugged nonchalantly. "I made a choice to protect and serve my country, and I put those interests before my own," he paused, and he pointed at Chuck. "You have done the same. It takes some time getting used to, but you'll get used to it. It happens all the time, Bartowski. Just be thankful they're not getting what they want from you while you're in a bunker."
Chuck narrowed his eyes. "He was serious with that?"
"Roger that. The CIA doesn't play around. But just so we're clear, I'd put you in that bunker myself if given the order," Casey stated as he held an intense glance towards Chuck in an attempt to make the junior officer flinch.
However, not a single part of Chuck became nervous as he held Casey's glance. "You can try it, Casey, but just so we're clear, I'm not some computer nerd that doesn't know how to protect himself. If you come for me, then you had better damn well make sure you take me down the first attempt because if you don't, then I'll take you down without a second thought."
Casey nodded. "I think we'll get along just fine, Bartowski. You've got balls, and I've no doubt that I'll always know where I stand around you. I can admire that in a man."
Chuck nodded. "Same for yourself, Casey."
O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Chuck, Sarah, and Casey were now outside their two respective vehicles, and they were about to retire for the evening.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Chuck," Casey said.
Chuck nodded.
"Tomorrow? I thought we had the weekend off?" Sarah inquired, shifting her gaze between Chuck and Casey.
Chuck turned to glance at Sarah. "Ah crap, I'm sorry, that's my fault. I told Casey earlier that even though we have the weekend off, I would like to spend some time properly setting up our cover here. Just like I offered Casey, I will also offer you the same. If you want to take Beckman up on the weekend off, it's fine by me," he suggested.
"Chuck, my orders are to protect you at all times. For me, there's no such thing as a day off. My life that I'll be living for the next few years is the life that you live," she said, nodding at him as she finished.
Just like he had towards Casey earlier, Chuck became unsettled by her comments. "Sarah, that level of protection is quite unnecessary. I don't mean to be big-headed, and if it comes out that way, I apologize. But I've likely seen more action than almost everyone in the CIA combined. I am adequately capable of protecting myself, but at the same time, I am not attempting to diminish why you are here because I'm looking forward to working with you as my partners."
Gazing into his eyes, Sarah said, "You're also the most important intelligence asset in the entire world now, Chuck, and it's important you consider that now, and not just having your feelings hurt because you're too proud to have somebody else watching over you."
"Roger that. Couldn't agree more, Walker. And on that note, I'll be off. If I don't see you both here tomorrow, I'll understand. Now that you're officially a couple, you should make the most of it," Casey declared as he began to chuckle.
Sarah immediately shot Casey a death glare. If looks could kill, then Casey would be dead right now. The gaze that Sarah was burning towards Casey at the moment was extremely malicious and full of venom due to his teasing of the awkward situation she now found herself in with Chuck. She had gotten close to marks before, but the period of the assignment was short-lasting. With Chuck, however, firstly, he was not her mark; they were partners. And secondly, this assignment was to last much longer, for a period of up to three years. So yes, Sarah found the situation that she was now placed in to be very freaking awkward indeed, especially considering her boss had all but said that she must use sex with Chuck if necessary to reign him in. The CIA had a habit of placing her into unsettling positions.
Suppressing a laugh, Chuck jokingly said, "Actually, Case, that might not be such a bad idea. Maybe I will take the weekend off and get up to all kinds of freaky things with Sarah."
However, Sarah did not find the joke funny, and she had now shifted her death glare to Chuck, as she burned a fierce stare through his eyes and the intensity of the scowl was almost enough to punch a hole through his eyes, and for them to explode.
"Ok, maybe not! Tomorrow here it is!" Chuck said quickly as his grin changed to a nervous glance as Sarah continued to stare him down.
Casey began to chuckle satisfactorily before he quickly departed, leaving Sarah and Chuck to be alone.
"Well, Sarah, jokes aside, I guess our lives are going to change now, huh?" he asked as he climbed into Sarah's car along with her.
Sarah nodded. "Yes, but we're not teenagers anymore. You must have seen a lot with those eyes since I first saw you?" she asked as they gazed at each other.
He nodded. "Yeah, you're right about that. Teenagers, we are not. And in answer to what you said, I have seen a lot of things, yes. Some of the things that I've seen I will never be able to cancel out."
Sarah gave him a comforting smile. "Me too."
Chuck nodded. "I guess now is the time for me to ask if you've ever thought about living a normal life? You know, a nine to five, living in a family home with the love of your life?"
Sarah shook her head. "Chuck, I've never lived a normal life, not even before I joined the CIA," she admitted.
It was Chuck's turn to give Sarah a comforting glance of his own. "I'm really sorry to hear that, Sarah. It feels like a lifetime ago since we were in Burbank. You know, I regret not trying to approach you back then, but I was too shy," he declared as he began to laugh in embarrassment.
Sarah gave him a loving smile. "Don't worry, I have always preferred to keep myself to myself anyway, even back then. By the way, there's nothing wrong with being shy, Chuck. At least you weren't a bully."
Chuck returned the warm gaze towards her with a grin, and they entered a brief pause in reflection.
Sarah then broke the quiet between them eventually. "But how about you, Chuck? Do you regret joining the military and not choosing to do something else with your intellect instead?"
Holding his gaze towards her, he said, "Sarah, if I had the chance to go back and be put in that position again, then one hundred times out of one hundred, I would have signed up. I'm serving my country, and I'm helping a lot of people with what I do. No other career, no matter how good it was, could compare to what it is that I do."
"Wow, one hundred out of one hundred? Not even a small blip anywhere about your decision?" she said as she laughed sweetly, and she held her warm gaze towards him.
Grinning at her, he shook his head. "How about you? Do you question your decision to have joined the CIA? However it was that you did it?"
Sarah took a brief moment in pause as she pondered his question. "Uh, yes, there are times where I question if I had taken a different approach somewhere along the line. But I didn't, so here I am," she declared.
Chuck nodded before the partners soon departed for their hotel.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Chuck and Sarah arrived back, and they entered the hotel room that Chuck was staying at with Sarah.
Glancing at his partner, Chuck said, "Hey, um, Sarah, I'm gonna head out for a jog now. You can do whatever you want to do yourself."
"I'll join you," she promptly announced.
Chuck tensed slightly. "Sarah, I'm not sure it's sustainable long term for us to be joined at the hip 24/7. There should at least be some free time for us both to do whatever we wish to without having to do it together," he complained.
"Chuck, what did I tell you at the car a short while ago?"
Chuck puffed out a sigh, and he looked up at the ceiling briefly, and he shook his head at the situation of having to be babysat. Glancing back at Sarah in resignation, he said, "I hope you're a quick runner at least."
The mood between the two instantly lifted as Sarah began to smirk at him. "Quick enough to beat you," she declared.
Chuck returned the warm gaze. "We'll soon see about that!"
A short while later
Along the embankments of the Potomac River close to their hotel, Chuck and Sarah were out jogging together.
Chuck stopped running because he wanted to speak with Sarah about something, and she stopped with him.
"Hey, Sarah, um, I want to apologize to you for my constant complaints about the situation we now find ourselves in."
Smiling at him, she said, "Chuck, you don't need to apologize."
"But Sarah, I want to. Coming into this assignment, I don't know what I expected. But what I can safely tell you is that I hadn't expected any of what's now been thrown on me. For starters, I'm now going to have to spend the next few years faking to be in a relationship with you, and I can tell you right now that it's not going to be easy,"
"Chuck," Sarah attempted to interrupt.
But Chuck quickly continued, "Sarah, please let me finish."
Sarah nodded.
"I guess you're more used to this aspect of the job than me, so I'm sure it will be easy for you, but it's going to take me time to adjust to this," he admitted.
Sarah took in a gulp of air before she fixed her gaze into his eyes. "Chuck, I've burnt more covers than I can count in the CIA, including dating ones," she informed him.
Chuck nodded. "Sarah, I'm sure you have. Lord knows I've burnt through quite a lot of covers myself. I'm not innocent in that department. I've been in many countries as a different person each time, so I totally understand that part. I'm not a rookie. It's just the dating of a teammate and spending my life 24/7 and sleeping in the same bed as her that I'm having some trouble with," he admitted.
Sarah held her gaze towards him. It's not easy for me either, Chuck
"It could be worse. You could be dating Casey," she eventually said, smirking.
Chuck suppressed a laugh for a long moment, and Sarah gazed cordially towards him. "You're right! It could be a lot worse!"
Sarah nodded as she laughed sweetly.
"And on that point, you'll never hear another complaint from me again!" he chuckled. "But seriously, I'm just feeling a little trapped with no air or space to breathe at the moment. It's like a never-ending mission with no downtime after it."
"Chuck, I can understand why it's not easy for you, but I'm just doing my job," she protested.
Chuck nodded several times. "Sarah, I totally agree with you. You don't have to give me an explanation. I've had to babysit people everywhere they go in close protection too. It just sucks when you're the one that's receiving it..."
O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Chuck and Sarah arrived back at their hotel room and swept it for bugs.
Once they had completed the task, Chuck spoke, "Sarah, let's head out for some dinner. We can also do some sightseeing and maybe take some pictures together. I've already been suckered and forced into this cover without being able to provide any input into the matter, so why the hell not?"
Sarah nodded.
A short while later
Chuck and Sarah arrived at a restaurant together along the Potomac River close to their hotel. They were seated facing each other with a river view as they waited to make their orders.
"This feels like a date."
Chuck glanced up from his menu to query Sarah's comment, and he began to ponder her sudden declaration for a brief moment before he nodded. "You're right. It's not what I intended, though, Sarah, I assure you."
Sarah nodded. "I know."
A brief awkwardness began to take hold between them as they realized the intimate environment they had both placed themselves in.
"Do you want to leave? We can leave if you're uncomfortable?" Chuck suggested.
Sarah took a moment to consider his proposal before she gazed back at him and said, "No. We're here now, plus it's actually kind of good for the cover, nor would it be good for the cover if we suddenly leave."
Chuck nodded as he placed his menu down so that he could have a meaningful conversation with her. "Sarah, I just want you to know that I don't intend at any point to take advantage of the situation we are now in on this assignment. All I care about is having a good teammate next to me. I give you my complete assurance that I do not intend to explore intimacy with you at any point, nor am I looking for fun in an intimate context. I intend to remain totally professional on this assignment, and for my inappropriate comment that I made at breakfast a few days ago, I apologize."
Sarah smiled as she held her gaze towards him. "Chuck, it's ok, I overreacted," she said softly.
He shook his head. "Sarah, it's not ok. We weren't given our assignments to play matchmaker with each other. And I most certainly did not join the military hoping to find a relationship from it, nor do I intend to start looking now. In fact, I will be honest with you and tell you something that I've not told many people. I signed up all those years ago in part to be able to move on from a bad relationship."
I joined this assignment to move on from one of those too, Chuck...
Holding her gaze with him, she admitted, "You would be surprised actually, Chuck. Dating in this line of work is more popular than you would think."
Chuck frowned his eyebrows. "Wow, I'm deeply surprised by that. Personally, I can see no positive outcome from crossing lines and mixing your professional life with your private one."
Sarah nodded. "Chuck, it should not happen, but sometimes it just does. We're all human, and sometimes we give in to our temptations despite being taught and trained that it's a bad idea..."
O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Chuck and Sarah were coming to the end of their day, and they were now stood outside the Lincoln Memorial together.
"I feel like a civilian," Chuck declared.
"Is that good or bad?" Sarah asked, gazing into his eyes.
Chuck pondered her question for a long moment as he gathered his thoughts. "I guess it's just hard having to adjust from working with a tightly bonded unit with my best friend," he paused, to point all around him and at himself and Sarah, "to this."
Continuing her gaze into his orbs, she asked, "Do you regret it?"
He shook his head several times. "No, because I'm serving my country," he paused to smile at her, which she returned, "But I didn't anticipate how lonely it would be. Being a spy must be very lonely. Hotel rooms... Missions... Hotel rooms... More missions."
Sarah suppressed a laugh, and she held her warm gaze at him. "You just described my life, Chuck."
Chuck nodded.
"But you're a spy now too. That will be your life also now," she admitted.
He shook his head as they held their gaze. "Sarah, until the day I die, I'll always be a soldier. You can change the surroundings, but you can't change the person."
Sarah laughed before she teased, "So you would prefer to sleep in some tent in Afghanistan than a five-star hotel, huh?"
Chuck took a moment to sigh. "Sarah, it's not so much the sleeping in the tent. It's sleeping in the tent knowing you're surrounded by your comrades and friends in the exact same situation as you. They would give their life to protect you without a second thought, and you would do the same for them. Togetherness. Brotherhood. Nothing could ever come close to that in life for me, and that's why I signed up. In a five-star hotel, in one room, you have a married guy cheating on his wife. In another, you have a couple expressing their love, and in another, you have a spy up to no good."
Sarah nodded. She didn't really know how to respond to that. She could see his point, but being a spy was an important task too. She may not have experienced the togetherness and brotherhood that Chuck had just detailed like a military person could. But the work that she did mattered. She mattered.
Lightening up the mood, Chuck added, "Fyi, I prefer to sleep in a hotel. And I intend to make the most of doing so for however long this assignment will last, but like I said, it's not where you sleep that's important..."
O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Chuck and Sarah arrived back at their hotel room after a long day. Closing the door to the room after them, Chuck immediately moved to collapse himself onto the bed.
Smiling at the actions of Chuck, Sarah moved to join Chuck on the bed, and they paused in silence for several minutes in reflection of everything that had taken place today.
Both Sarah and Chuck felt like they had made significant steps in their partnership today, and it had caused both of them to feel a lot more relaxed around each other and in the awkward situation that they had been placed in together.
After a few minutes, Sarah departed for the bathroom to freshen herself up, and once she had completed her activities, Chuck had done the same.
Now back in bed, only this time under the bedcovers and in their nightwear, the spy and the soldier soon drifted off into a peaceful slumber together.
End of Chapter
AN2 Significant progress for Charah in this chapter, but I can assure all of you right now that for every step forward, there will be occasional steps back for a while. I need to state this before people become settled and consider this chapter the normal moving forward. This story is a Charah story, but they're going to have to earn it. Every mission that occurred in canon will happen in The Spy and the Soldier; that includes Bryce Larkin, Lon Kirk, and most other things. However, those missions will be told in my own unique way central to the characters' situation in this story, which is both good and bad, because some things are going to happen that didn't happen in canon. Yes, that's one big teaser right there, and I hope you all enjoy the ride with me. By the end of 'Season 1', Chuck and Sarah's relationship status will have changed, but it's not suddenly going to happen overnight.
AN3 Thank you so much for all of the reviews and expressed interest in my story in recent days. I truly do appreciate every person who has interacted with my story, and I hope you will continue to do so. I will see you in a few days with more The Spy and the Soldier, which will include: a really fluffy and cute Charah scene at the pool together where they have lots of fun, a pizza no olives scene (of course, I'm Charah after all. I can't include a story where pizza no olives are not included!), and much more!
