CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #1: Hey everyone, i'm back with more Desire! I know it's been more than a month, but i've been busy trying to enjoy my summer, so my mind hasn't always been on writing. On top of that, i've also been working several other projects. I've started a rewrite of "Never Again", I wrote "The Inferno", and now i'm working on a sequel to the Inferno tentatively titled "The Inferno Part II: The Search for Tyrannus." It's all very exciting! On the tpoic of this chapter, I felt that it was past time for the teams new roster to go out into the field on a mission, so we're gonna go do that lol.
CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #2: This chapter was once again beta'd by my good friend Nev, he's a brilliant writer in his own right, so I'm always thankful for his contributions to making my work not suck XD
Desire
A Story by
CharmingCharles2896
Chapter Twenty-One
Hackers
Chapter Inspired by the Song
Bury by Mire.
Maison23, Room 833
Burbank, California
Friday, May 22nd, 2009
1:45 AM PDT
Tonight, was the first mission for Team Intersect since the team had been restored to its pre-49B composition. The General had told them that the mission was at three thirty in the morning, so Sarah had taken Chuck home for a nap. She knew that finding time to sleep before a night mission was imperative. At the moment, Sarah was under the covers, cuddled up against Chuck's sleeping form. The poor guy had done five installs today. He'd been on the go all day long, which meant that Nora had been following him around in her rental car that she'd gotten from the LA field office. There was a problem with the transport of her things in DC to her hotel room in Burbank, so she was still waiting, which Sarah knew was just awful.
Things at the Buy More were… interesting. The Buymorons, as Casey called them, had refrained from pranking her yet, likely due to fear. That didn't mean Sarah was drinking the coffee in the breakroom or trusting that her lunch would be safe in the breakroom fridge. Things were working fine; Casey's promotion was already paying dividends. Casey's experience in the Marines leading men had made him ideally suited to lead the Green Shirts. Chuck was the leader of the Nerd Herd and he was the brilliant leader she remembered him being.
The team was being very cautious after Chuck's weird incident on Monday, but it was looking more and more like a prank call. The team had scheduled a day at Castle, where Ellie would be briefed on the Intersect. The meeting next Saturday was a long time coming, in Sarah's view. Nora's ideas for testing Chuck after flashing had been worked into the plan as well. Tonight's mission was a veritable cake walk compared to some of the stuff they'd done as a team. That didn't mean that Sarah wasn't terrified by the fact that Chuck would be in the van, which he could leave and go get hurt. Sarah had insisted on being in the van with him, which Chuck had objected to passionately at first, much to Sarah's disappointment. Eventually, Chuck had acquiesced begrudgingly.
Sarah wasn't super tired, her nerves keeping her awake, but she was still enjoying cuddling with her husband. She'd had the day off from work, so she'd gone down to the field office and collected the rest of her things, which were now stacked up in plastic tubs on one side of the room. They desperately needed a new place; they needed a home where they could start a family together. They needed a place where they could start the rest of their lives, because the current arrangement wasn't working out. Sarah wanted a real home. She wanted a place she could decorate, put out a welcome mat, hang tacky things on the wall that said "HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS!" Sarah wanted exactly what she'd left behind when she'd left home as a kid, but she hadn't told Chuck about her desire just yet. They had so much going on already, the last thing she wanted was Chuck worrying about finding the perfect place.
The sound of her alarm blaring told her that it was time to wake up her wonderful husband. Chuck merely groaned and turned over away from Sarah to bury his head under a pillow. Sarah sat up in bed and had to giggle at her husband, the poor guy was so tired. Sarah leaned down and kissed Chuck behind the ear. "Wake up," she whispered between kisses. "We've gotta get going." Chuck groaned once again and shook his head into the pillow.
"Let me sleeeeeeeep," he whined adorably. Sarah's heart was filled to bursting with love for this man. He had a huge heart and he was just so kind. She wanted to let him sleep, but it was time for him to go to work.
"Come on, Chuck, we have a job to do," Sarah said a bit more directly, which got a knowing groan from Chuck.
"Yeah, but I'm so tirreeeeeeed." Sarah rolled her eyes, amused at her nerdy husband.
"You're also acting like a big baby," she said as she pulled the covers off of the both of them and left the bed.
"Meanie," Chuck said childishly as he sat up, his eyes red from lack of sleep.
"Damn right," Sarah began as she silenced the alarm clock across the room. "Now get up, we need to be showered and dressed in thirty." Chuck nodded and stood up drowsily, still half asleep obviously. Chuck ran his hands over his face in an attempt to wake up.
"Why does Beckman schedule missions at three in the morning?" Chuck asked, not paying attention.
"Because then she can debrief us first thing in the morning in DC," Sarah said as she tossed her shirt at Chuck, hitting his drowsy form in the face. Chuck pulled the shirt off of his head and looked over at Sarah, only to look away from her topless form.
"I'll let you shower first," Chuck said without making eye contact. Sarah shook her head, amused at Chuck's continual nervousness around her. Sarah saucily walked over to Chuck and turned his head to look at her. Chuck gulped nervously as he took in his gorgeous wife.
"You don't want to wash my back?" The smile she gave him, part predatory, part lusty, made his palms sweat instantly.
"As stimulating as that sounds, we don't have time for that," Chuck said, trying to make eye contact only. Sarah turned on her heels, her hips swaying in her denim jeans. As she rounded the corner into the bathroom, her jeans and panties flew back out into the room.
"Not with that attitude." Chuck gulped and seriously thought, before the brute in him slapped the gentleman in him in the back of the head for even considering turning Sarah Bartowski down. Chuck nearly sprinted after her, the both of them making sure the other was very clean… very, very, clean.
~X~
LA Field Office
Downtown Los Angeles, California
Friday, May 22nd, 2009
3:45 AM PDT
Nora and Casey weren't happy, Chuck and Sarah were late… again. The happy couple had been late to Thursday's morning briefing, because they'd lost track of time in the shower. Casey was certain the same had happened here. The sound of a four-cylinder engine grabbed Nora's attention. She looked to her left and quickly spotted the nerd herd branded car. She snickered as she saw the two very aggravated occupants of the car. They pulled into the lot, parking next to Casey and Nora's cars. When they got out Casey spoke first.
"What the hell took you so long; fooling around in the shower again?" Nora snickered, but the look Chuck and Sarah gave John was surprising to Nora.
"We took my Porsche, but it died five minutes into the drive. We had to leave it on the side of the road and walk back to the hotel to get Chuck's car," Sarah said with obvious annoyance.
"What happened to your Porsche?" Nora asked, intrigued.
"No idea, all we heard was the engine start ticking. A mile farther down the road, the engine just died and that was that," Chuck said as he grabbed all of their gear from the back of his car.
"You might have thrown a rod, you could have cracked a piston, you could have spun a bearing. I can take a look at it tomorrow, if you'd like?" Nora offered.
"Do you know a lot about cars?" Chuck asked Nora who nodded.
"I used to fix them up with my father, it was our thing." Nora's three teammates nodded at once.
"That would be great, Nora; I don't know if I want to fix it, considering I'm going to need to buy a different car once the baby is born," Sarah said honestly. Chuck handed Sarah her go back and the four of them walked into the field office.
"You'll want to if you plan on selling it. A car without a functioning engine is worth far less." Nora said as they all walked in. Because they'd arrived earlier, Casey and Nora were already changed into their mission gear. Chuck and Sarah quickly went to the locker room to change while Casey and Nora took the rest of their gear to the motor pool. Due to the mission parameters set out by the General, a surveillance van was already set up and waiting for them. As Chuck and Sarah changed into their black mission outfits, Chuck couldn't help but steal looks at his wife. Chuck was worried about her, she looked exceptionally upset.
"I'm sorry about your car, I know how much you love that car," Chuck said as he zipped up his black mission suit, shoved his bag in the locker, closed the locker, and locked it. Sarah shrugged silently as she too zipped up her outfit. Hers was a little more form fitting than Chuck's. It wasn't a catsuit, but it definitely showed off her curves more than an ugly jumpsuit. She liked it that way though, it gave her better mobility and didn't restrict her movements at all.
"It's okay, I just really can't afford a new car at the moment. I was counting on selling the Porsche to be able to afford another car." Chuck nodded in understanding.
"Well, then we'll figure it out together," he said as he turned to face her. The two of them shared a small smile. Sarah knew the truth in Chuck's words. For the first time in her life, she knew that she wasn't alone in this. Sarah had a partner for life, no matter what. The two of them left the locker room and walked through the hallways, holding hands the entire time.
"You know, we still need to go pick out rings," Chuck said with a smile creeping into his tone.
"How about this Sunday?" She asked with a beaming smile of her own.
"Sounds perfect to me, Sunday it is." Chuck said happily, still mildly in shock over how lucky he was that someone as special as Sarah was in love with him. As the armory came into view, Chuck turned and walked in, much to Sarah's shock.
"What are you doing?" she asked as Chuck pulled his new CIA credentials out of his new wallet that had a secret compartment for such things.
"I'm getting a side arm. We're going into the field, I want protection," Chuck said like it was the simplest thing to understand.
"But you don't like guns, you hate them," Sarah replied as Chuck stepped up to the counter, where a very tired looking woman was standing.
"May I help you?" the tired woman said to Chuck.
"Yes, I need to check out a tranq pistol as well as ammunition, two extra magazines, and a holster." The woman nodded and shuffled to the back to gather his requested items.
"A tranq pistol?" Sarah asked in shock.
"Of course, you didn't think I was going to check out an actual gun, did you?" Chuck replied to Sarah who looked away to hide the fact that she'd thought exactly that. "Sarah, I may know how to use guns, but I still hate them. I know for certain that Casey didn't pack me a tranq pistol. He's still in that asset mindset, so if I want a weapon, I've got to get it myself." Sarah silently signaled her understanding as the woman behind the counter handed Chuck his items. Chuck nodded and quickly removed his utility belt in order to attach the holster. After that, he took the remaining items and the two of them walked off towards the motor pool.
~X~
Centennial Systems
Simi Valley, California
Friday, May 22nd, 2009
4:15 AM PDT
The mission was rather simple. Casey and Nora would break into Centennial Systems, which was thought to be a Fulcrum owned business. Once inside, the two of them were to find the computer systems and plug a drive in, so that Chuck could hack the system and collect data.
"I still don't understand why I can't do the hack myself; I've been trained to do it," Nora said as she velcroed her bullet proof vest into place. Casey checked his Sig Sauer once more before tucking it back into his holster.
"I have a bachelors degree from Stanford, dual majoring in computer science and electrical engineering. I am a certified electronics technician. I have extensive experience hacking computers, something I used to do in college. I literally cannot be more qualified for this job," Chuck said with a hint of exasperation. "All I need you to do is connect the drive to the system and I'll be able to get in and we can finish this thing." Nora looked away petulantly, obviously bugged about being a glorified courier.
"All right, enough yammering, let's get this done," Casey said, rising and walking to the back of the van. Nora followed closely behind him, closing the door behind her. Chuck and Sarah sat in silence as Chuck booted up the computer and readied the surveillance. He'd done this what felt like a thousand times at this point. He was almost certain he could do all this blindfolded. As Nora and Casey's body cameras came on screen, Chuck spoke into his microphone.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, we've got bodycams up, just get me hooked into the security cameras."
"Roger that," Nora said. "Don't make any jokes. I know I just said roger; yes, my last name is Rogers. I've heard them all before," Nora said flatly, much to Chuck's disappointment.
"Dang it, I had a great Star Wars joke lined up," Chuck said.
"Roger Rogers? Haven't heard that one before," Nora said sarcastically, which made Sarah laugh quietly.
"Focus, I don't want this to take any longer than it has to," Casey said quietly. Chuck and Sarah refocused silently. Sarah was following Casey's bodycam, while Chuck watched Nora's. The building was dark and quiet, which meant that it was empty. Nora and Casey were using NVG's, which Chuck found so cool. Nora found a room that had the word security on it, she quickly inserted the key card emulator and watched the device quickly crack the electronic lock. The device beeped and the door unlocked with an audible click.
"I'm into security, stand by for security tap," Nora said levelly as she crept over to the computer and pulled out one of the little drives that Chuck had given her. Both Casey and Nora had two of the tiny little drives, one each for security and one for the servers in the server room.
"Roger that," Sarah said as the camera feed appeared on the van's monitors. "We've got picture, stand by while we doctor the camera footage." Chuck watched Sarah work on the computer he'd given her to deal with the cameras. While Chuck waited for the tap into the servers, he switched to Casey's bodycam.
"Casey, that door at your ten o'clock," Chuck said into the microphone.
"I see it," Casey whispered as he walked over to the metal door with the words computing, painted on it. Casey used his card tool and the door quickly opened. When the door opened, Casey was hit by a sudden blast of freezing cold air. Casey instantly saw the banks for servers, quietly humming along. Casey pulled out his drive and inserted it into one of the servers.
"Drive inserted," Casey began. "Jesus, why is it so cold in here?" Casey whispered with a chilled breath.
"I've got it Casey, hack started, stand by." Chuck began typing fast, Sarah unable to keep up with everything that her husband was doing. Chuck had already broken through their first line of cyber security; it was actually embarrassing.
"God, this government security is laughable, remined me to upgrade Castle's cyber security," Chuck grumbled with a shake of his head.
"How much longer, Bartowski? If I stand in here much longer, my fingers are gonna freeze and fall off!" Casey hissed into his comms.
"At least ten minutes, we're trying to extract a petabyte of data, this takes time," Chuck shot back as he continued to type quickly.
Nora's voice came over the comms next. "How is it possible to grab that much data? I thought that technology didn't exist." Chuck got a sly smile on his face.
"It doesn't exist, officially at least. The engineers at the DoD have been working on it for over a year. They gave us the first working prototype about a month ago to trial. I've been working with them to develop it since then." Sarah had to smile; her nerd was so smart.
"Where is it in here?" Sarah asked Chuck, who pointed at a large teflon bag behind her. The bag was a massive rectangle, standing twenty-six inches tall, twenty inches wide, and nine inches deep.
"It's in there, connected via cable to the system installed in this van. When we're done here, we'll disconnect it and carry it back in Castle. It weighs nearly sixty pounds, but for a prototype, it's pretty impressive," Chuck said honestly as he finished typing and hit enter. The screen changed from a wall of code, to a progress bar.
"Extracting data, ten minutes to go," Sarah said into the microphone as her hands patted Chuck on the thigh. Chuck sat back in relief; his job was done. Sarah heard the machine in the bag behind her start making a ton of noise. The machine obviously had built in fans to cool it and it was clear that they were working hard already.
"Great job, Chuck," Sarah said with pride on her tone; Chuck leaned over and kissed her lovingly.
"Don't make out in the van; makes me sick," Casey grumbled into the comms with a shiver. Nora chuckled and walked down the hallway towards where she suspected Casey was. Chuck and Sarah separated, both smiling and turned back towards the camera feeds from the building. The sound of a beep, grabbed Chuck's attention. Chuck looked back over towards his laptop and saw the alert in the middle of the screen.
"Intrusion Detected…"
Chuck straightened in his seat and frantically began typing. Sarah instantly noticed Chuck's change in demeanor. Her husband was typing like a madman, obviously looking for something.
"What's wrong?" Sarah asked Chuck who never looked from the screen.
"Someone is hacking into our system via the signal from the drive to my laptop."
"What?" Both Nora and Casey said at the same time. Chuck's palms were sweating, he hadn't been attacked like this since that one time in college.
"Someone is trying to hack our system, they've bashed through my first defenses," Sarah's eyes rose in shock.
"How is that possible?" Chuck shook his head, never looking from the screen.
"I don't know, but whoever is doing this is the best I've ever seen, better than I am, that's for sure." Chuck finished honestly.
"Is our system compromised?" Casey asked intensely.
"Yes, I say it's two minutes before they're totally in. Sarah, you see that black cable next to your foot?" Chuck said, never looking, just knowing it's there.
"Yes?" Sarah said in return as this got very real in a hurry.
"That is the power cable for the entire system in this van, if I tell you, I want you to pull it out of the socket." Chuck said intensely, fighting a delaying action at this point.
"Bartowski, pull the damn plug before this entire op is compromised!" Casey yelled into comms right as the intruder got through the last of Chuck's defenses.
"Yank it, Sarah, now!" Chuck yelled as he disconnected his laptop from the machine that was extracting the data. Sarah quickly reached under the desk and pulled the cable out, hearing the entire system die. Chuck and Sarah shared a look briefly, both in shock.
"Bartowski, can you read me?" Casey called over the comms, which ran independently of the van.
"We read you Casey, we're shut down in here," Sarah said a little calmer than before.
"What's the status of the extraction?" Nora asked.
"Lost, I had to kill it before the intruder got to it," Chuck said as he ran a hand through his hair, thinking about solutions.
"Shit!" Casey growled. "What the hell was that anyway!?" he said angrily.
"Someone far more experienced than I am. I think he used my laptop's wireless connection to break in," Chuck said as he spun his chair around to look at all of the equipment he had in the van.
"Does that mean we've failed?" Nora asked.
"Yes."
"No," Chuck and Sarah said at the same time.
"What?" Casey said, having heard their conflicting replies.
"We can still finish this, but I have to do it in there, manually connected to the servers," Chuck said as he got up from the chair and grabbed a computer bag.
Sarah looked at Chuck angrily and spoke, "what do you think you're doing?" Chuck gave her a look that told her now was not the time.
"I'm going to finish the mission," he said as he shoved a different laptop into the bag along with some cables. Once he'd zipped that closed, he walked over to the black bag that had the prototype inside it.
"No, you're not, it's too dangerous," Sarah said quickly.
"Sarah, I have a job to do," Chuck said back as he collected all of the cables that the prototype needed and shoved them into the bag as well. Once all of his thing were collected, he turned to open the rear door, only for Sarah to grab his arm.
"You don't go out into the field Chuck, that was part of the deal," Sarah said intensely.
"We don't have time for this, Sarah. Don't forget, I didn't even want you out here, but I was overruled," Chuck shot back as he slung the backpack over his arms, and nestled it against his chest, knowing that the prototype's bag had to go on his back.
"Chuck, I'm warning you," Sarah growled, fury in her eyes.
"I don't care, Sarah, we need that data to fight Fulcrum. We'll only get this one chance."
"I'm ordering you, stop!" Sarah bellowed furiously. Chuck turned back to her, equal fury.
"ENOUGH!" Chuck bellowed angrily, surprising Sarah. "I've got a job to do, and for once, I'm going to do what I want!" Chuck said as he yanked his arm from her grasp. Chuck opened the rear door and left a speechless Sarah, sitting there. Chuck hefted the sixty-pound bag onto his back with much effort and turned back to look at her. "Turn the system back on and get cams back up, the system isn't connected to anything, so you can observe them from here while I work," Chuck said flatly to Sarah, who was still stunned by the last exchange.
"Chuck…" Sarah began quietly.
"Stay in the car, Sarah," Chuck said as he slammed the doors shut and took off, slowly, towards the building. As Sarah heard Chuck's footsteps fade away, she was shocked by what had just happened. Sarah had never seen that from him, anger like that. As she thought back over what had just happened, she realized she'd done it again. Chuck wasn't an asset anymore, he was an analyst, with just as much standing as her. Sarah had once again shoved Chuck into that asset box. Once again, Sarah Bartowski had tried to order Chuck, deny him his agency as a person. She'd once again tried to make decisions for him, which wasn't right, wasn't fair, wasn't what a wife should do.
Inside, Chuck huffed and puffed as he lugged the heavy prototype inside the building. As Chuck passed Nora in the hallway, he saw the shocked look on her face. That was when Chuck realized that he'd had that fight with Sarah on a hot mic.
"Which way to the servers?" He asked her, she silently pointed down the hall. Chuck nodded and took off for the servers. Once there, he walked into the temperature-controlled room, designed to keep the server banks cool. Chuck took the prototype off of his back and set it down next to the Server Casey had tapped into. Casey silently watched Chuck set up and get to work on the hack for the second time. He couldn't believe the blow up he'd just heard. That was the most heated Casey had ever heard Chuck become. Either way, the happy couple had just had their first fight, now they'd all see how they handled it.
~X~
LA Field Office
Downtown Los Angeles, California
Friday, May 22nd, 2009
6:26 AM PDT
The mission had been a cake walk after Chuck had done the hack manually. Afterwards, the four of them had rode in silence, nobody eager to talk after Chuck and Sarah's blow up. Chuck and Sarah for their part hadn't made eye contact since their argument in the van. Now, as the four of them changed in the locker room, they all just wanted to be done with this entire thing. Chuck stole a glance at his wife, she looked particularly upset. He knew why she was upset, he'd lost his temper and yelled at her, something that had never happened before. As much as Chuck felt bad about it and he did, he couldn't help but feel somewhat justified. They'd been sent to do a job. They had an objective to accomplish and while Chuck knew of her reservations, they couldn't just not complete their mission.
Chuck and Sarah had silently bid Casey and Nora goodbye, watching the two of them quietly leave. Now alone, Sarah couldn't help but look at Chuck. She could see the troubled look on his face and she knew the source of it. She'd done it again; she'd tried to order him around. As they two of them left the locker room, with their mission gear stowed in the bag they always packed it in, neither of them could stand the silence any longer. In the blink of an eye, both of them turned towards the other.
"I'm sorry," the two of them said simultaneously. "What do you have to be sorry about?" they both asked at the same time.
"I lost my temper and yelled at you. I was childish and wrong and I shouldn't have done that to you," Chuck said reticently. Sarah shook her head no adamantly.
"No, Chuck, you had every right to be upset. I tried to handle you again, when I shouldn't have," Sarah said back to him. Chuck shook his head no and spoke.
"No, you have every right to be upset, I shouldn't have yelled at you," Chuck returned. Sarah looked away for a brief moment to collect her thoughts. She wasn't surprised that Chuck was trying to take all of the blame, that was pretty on brand for him.
"How about we agree that we're both at fault? At least a little bit," she offered. Chuck nodded, which made her sigh in relief. "I shouldn't have tried to order you around; you are not an asset anymore and I have to remember that." Chuck heard Sarah say as she looked down at her hands. Chuck reached out to make her look at him; he gave her a small smile to convey that he wasn't mad.
"I understand that you're afraid that I'll get hurt out there, I totally understand, Sarah. The thing is, the time to argue that is during the briefing. If you want to protest and argue about me staying at Castle, I'll help you all the way. Once we're out there in the field though? If I'm going to be there, you have to let me do my job. I totally support you arguing against me going out there, I understand and agree with you. My problem is you trying to order me around out there. We're a team and if I'm going to be out there, I deserve to be treated like a member of the team." Sarah nodded, sufficiently chastised. Chuck saw her look down again and he knew that it sounded like he was blaming her.
"Listen, Sarah," Chuck began softly. He waited for her to look back towards him before he continued. "Yelling at you was wrong. It was disrespectful to you as an agent, as a person, and most importantly as my wife," Chuck said as he gave her hands a comforting squeeze. "I promise you that is the first and last time I lose my temper like that." Sarah nodded silently.
"Okay, I'll try my hardest if you will, Chuck," Sarah said with a small smile, glad that the fight was over. Chuck nodded and spoke again.
"How about this," Chuck offered. "When we're out there in the field, we're Charles Carmichael and Sarah Walker, partners. If we argue out there, it stays out there, it never comes home to Chuck and Sarah Bartowski. How does that sound?" Sarah gave Chuck a warm smile and pulled him in for a kiss. When their lips parted, Sarah gave Chuck that one smile that was reserved only for him.
"You know," she began with a saucy lilt in her tone. "Post mission sex is really intense. I'm not sure if Charles Carmichael has ever done that before," Sarah said, making sure that her captivating eyes told Chuck everything he needed to know. "I know it's been ages since Sarah Walker has gotten any, what do you say we head back to my place and take care of that… partner?" Sarah said with a lascivious smile and a raised eyebrow.
"I think Sarah Walker is in for the time of her life, because Charles Carmichael never backs down from a challenge like that." Sarah giggled at her husband's antics, happy that the fight was over and their fun dynamic had returned.
"That's a lot of talk from an analyst. Are you sure an analyst can keep up with an agent as accomplished as Sarah Walker?" she offered as she walked away towards the parking lot. Chuck merely stood there with an offended look on his face.
Chuck jogged to catch up with her, catching her at the door as she'd pushed it open. "Be careful, Agent Walker, I don't want to ruin you for all other men. I hear you've got a husband at home; I'd hate to ruin your marriage so soon," he breathed into her ear, making her shiver silently.
"Trust me, you can't touch what my husband and I have; but by all means, give it your best shot," she replied with a grin as they clasped hands and walked towards the herder. Chuck and Sarah Bartowski were late for the debrief at Castle because Charles Carmichael and Sarah Walker had enjoyed each other immensely. If Nora Rogers heard the words Analyst Carmichael or Agent Walker ever again, it would be too fucking soon.
~X~
At an undisclosed location…
The room was dark, only electronics provided any light. He'd spent the better part of thirty years with his precious machines. These days his near obsessive mind was fixated on something else, something that intrigued him. As he watched the surveillance feed of the three agents and their analyst debriefing with General Beckman, he couldn't help but feel the nostalgia. His thoughts drifting back and forth from the present to those glory days so long ago. This analyst of theirs was very good, the best he'd come up against so far, that was for certain. He could see the love that this analyst had for the blonde CIA agent. It reminded him so much of another time, another lifetime ago. This analyst had stopped him, one of the few who ever had, but it was no matter, he still got what he came for by hacking the systems in their base later on. They thought they could keep him out? He'd designed their security years ago.
The thing was, he knew of only one person in the world talented enough to stop him and that was Piranha. If this was indeed Piranha, then that made all of this just that much more interesting. "You've got my attention, Piranha; or should I say, Charles Bartowski?" he mused to himself as he turned the feed off and returned to his work. One day all would be made right. Everything that was wrong would be made right once again, he just needed a little more time…
CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #3: There's chapter twenty-one! I hope all of you enjoyed this one. I kind of felt like it was time for Chuck and Sarah to have to face the realities of their professional relationship. We all knew it wouldn't be sunshine and roses right? lol Anyway, I don't have anymore of this written right now. I've got plans for a few more chapters of this current arc, but nothing written yet. I'm about to go out of town on a vacation (WOOT!) so that's kinda where my mind is at right now.
CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #4: If you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know, I love hearing from all of you. I love reading all of your feedback, it's how I know how i'm doing when it comes to all of this. Now, if you'll excuse me, i've got to be getting to bed, it's after three where i'm at O.O
Until Next Time :D