Here's part 2
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights on anything associated to Chuck, the tv show and the characters and storylines they involve. This is a purely fan-generated story from a different perspective if a few events were changed, and if attitudes were different.
Chapter 3: The Cynic's team and the good doctor – Part II.
Most people think that luck is arbitrary. From there they go two ways – they choose to either believe it happened to them due to pure chance or choose to believe that it was prearranged to have it occur to them. However, even fewer take the other two ways – they tussle between the two or completely ignore both.
Chuck was a proponent of the second but last method. He believed that everything good in his life had been pure luck of the draw, and everything bad was to an extent done willingly. That's not to say that he had the worst circumstances in human history. People have come back from much worser or fallen from much greater heights. But, to have systematically, meticulously, and periodically beat him down when things were looking up – that cannot be natural. It had to be engineered.
For instance, the last three weeks had gone so well. He had slowly started getting Sarah to open up and even Casey was beginning to infuse humour and amusement into his stinging remarks, a great progress to the emotional zombies he met on the rooftop waving guns.
Then, it all had to go to shit because of traitor and Intersect drone, Dr. Zarnow. He had some incredibly torturous thoughts on how to punish this freak of a human. First he came to take Sarah away (as in promise to remove the intersect thereby ending the mission) – which in itself was bittersweet. Then he got himself blown up, resulting in no Batty the next morning and a fucking awkward position between him and Sarah.
After that both Sarah and Casey telling him not to trust the other. It was getting a bit out of hand. Finally, his Corolla outside blowing up with him and Casey just a few feet from there.
He wasn't sure what hurt more – Sarah was Bryce's partner and never once mentioned it to him in the past three weeks or the thought of her seducing him to use him against the United States in turn making him, once again, a patsy. A fucking patsy. Just like Bryce. Just like everyone else dumping their problems and finding ways to make him the collateral damage in their solution.
And then to hear that Sarah had poisoned all those French diplomats and she was coming for dinner tonight… He didn't know how he let his two worlds clash again despite making a resolve to never let it happen again. He needed to compartmentalize and deal with shit later. Something that he picked up in prison. Don't be forthright in everything. Keep somethings, shut things down for a while and then come back later with a pointed focus.
Casey was preparing to send him into a bunker in Washington. That had to take priority and would be disastrous if Sarah was really threatening his family. Although, he wasn't sure how to change his mind. Then a brilliant idea took root. "So that's it, huh? The legendary John Casey. An operative so well-known across the global intelligence spectrum. The guy to have single-handedly dismantled innumerable threats to American imperialism and idealism, admitting defeat to a young girl who hasn't achieved even close to how much you have because you had to retreat. (Scoffing) Yeah. Right. Best my ass."
Casey was incensed beyond anything imaginable. "You do not want to test me now, cowardly felon."
"Or what? You'll break me before bunkering me? What if I don't co-operate with you in your bunker? Would you threaten my sister to get me to talk? Or maybe use those truth serums that will fudge my brain processes basically making the intersect useless? Or would you rather have my co-operation and make this operation the best possible thing in your career and prove everybody wrong that you are more than just a burnout cold-school killer?"
Casey started laughing. "You don't think I can see through your machinations? I have been taunted, dressed down and manipulated by masters in this field and still won nearly every time. You can't do shit."
"If I wanted to manipulate you, I have a lot of blackmail in my head that if released would leave your boss and you in a prison without a second's thought. No… I am giving you an opportunity for retribution and redemption of a bruised reputation for being beaten by a girl, who was the partner of a traitor and beat you with a fork when you had a gun on her. (At his astonished look) Yeah. I saw the security footage.
"By the way, I am not sure she did it. (On another incredulous look) Yeah. I know she fought you, was the partner of a traitor, blah, blah... But I choose to give both of you the benefit of the doubt for now. I have, overtime, become distrusting. Yet, until I know for certain, I am not going to assume she is out to get me. That's just idiotic and would hamper our progress."
Casey was puzzled. "She just tried to blow us up. She killed Zarnow, your best chance of removing the intersect. And you are still defending her?"
Chuck replied, " I am not defending her. And I don't know who tried to blow us up or kill Zarnow. For all I know someone else is trying to do this. How can you be sure it isn't the NSA trying to frame the CIA to get them off this project? Or for that matter, couldn't someone have been tailing Zarnow for something else and saw us meeting him, assumed that we had something to do with him and decided to eliminate all of us cleaning up any loose ends? Maybe this had nothing to do with the intersect but some way some enemy of yours or Sarah's found out this was your temporary assignment. Just about anything is possible. Chalk it upto my naivete but I am not going to sow mistrust in this fledgling operation that may stretch out for long time."
Casey stood there, analyzing the weight of Chuck's words and realized that the asset was right yet again. He and the CIA dummy had jumped to the conclusion that the other did it because of the bad blood between their organizations. He didn't want to admit his mistake. So… he did what he best. He grunted out his question, "So, what do you suggest."
"We are having dinner tonight. So, I'll tell Ellie I invited you over as you are my head of security. Let's go. We are going to be late."
That was as good a plan as any.
Ellie was thrilled. It felt like Chuck's life was finally getting on track again. After his catastrophic downward spiral with felony charges, Jill's betrayal, Bryce's backstabbing and a two-year limbo at the BuyMore, he found a gorgeous girlfriend, divorced himself from Morgan professionally, started his own company and was adding value to society.
She was ecstatic. His arrest stung really hard. She did her best to take care of him and he threw it all away with one careless retribution against Bryce, when he had already cleared his name. He should have just kept his head down and let it go. But, nooooo. He just had to get back at him.
Ellie knew of Chuck's misadventures in the cyber hacking space. She knew he was really good. When he was 16, he diverted a huge amount of money to an offshore account from a drug transaction between the Cartel and their distributors in the US… This cartel was unusually sophisticated in their laundering and had managed to make it so that federal authorities had no idea through which institutions the money went through. However, Chuck hacked through their (poor according to him) security and drained their accounts. Every penny to help her out and make ends meet.
She was scared, unhappy and terrified while also being really amused and happy with Chuck's desperation to help her out. So when they said they traced back the hack to his computer, initially she supported him but had doubts. Yet, with the amount of evidence they presented in court, she was hurt that he would lie to her and break her heart.
Anyway… That was all in the past. He has moved forward with his life and is looking for her approval again. She will forgive him eventually. After all, unlike her parents, he did his best to stick it through with her the whole time.
Onto happier thoughts, she was absolutely gobsmacked with Sarah's beauty. She had no idea that Chuck could be a go-getter. She always knew Chuck was underappreciated. Yes. He was no model or even Devon… but his attractive appearance was lost on him and in the past he had always diminished it further by appearing nerdy, wearing mismatched clothes, with no fashion sense and it just was a turn-off for most people. But, once he got out of prison, something had changed. He began to care about his appearance, as much as she did. He dressed well. Got rid of all his comics, action figures and posters and reformed himself into a closet nerd instead of an out-in-the-open nerd. Now, all his comics were digital and no more comic-book conventions, well none in person anyway. He used to have Morgan do the heavy lifting with autographs and pictures, but yeah.
Morgan was horrified but Ellie would rather have that bearded gremlin as far away from Chuck as possible. Morgan was the kind of friend you want emotionally and maybe for support. But Ellie would never allow Morgan to get attached to Chuck professionally unless he grew up and stopped with the childish insinuations and other stupid stuff.
Coming to Sarah… That was one cool drink of water. If Ellie were still in college and feeling frisky, she was sure she would have tried something out with Sarah. She didn't only wear herself so well, confident in her clothing but was also receptive in understanding, bold enough to correct her boyfriend's family from picking on him yet nervous to actually make a good impression on them. First impression… Chuck hit the jackpot. Looks, brains, emotional receptivity and understanding.
And she brought a chocolate souffle. So well-mannered and well-cultured. And now she and Sarah got to dish on Chuck for being late to his own family-girlfriend meet party. This was going to be a fun dinner._
Sarah was honestly concerned. Chuck should have been here by now. Did Casey bunker him after their fight? She started smirking. She beat him and he ran away. Huh. If that was the best NSA got, this would be a cakewalk to have them removed if and when necessary.
Then she started frowning… Maybe she should contact Graham just in case. Never know how her asshole of a boss would let her live it up if she sat there gloating over a small battle, when she might have lost control over their asset in total.
She felt a small prick of revulsion over the word asset. If the CIA hadn't drilled into her head the protocols between asset and agent, she was sure she would have jumped Chuck's bones by now. Field agents had that tendency to live their life every moment. Waiting 3 weeks had been agonizing. Especially with all the attraction she was feeling towards him and those agonizingly familiar and confusing feelings she developed for him.
She sighed. Never in her life did anything come easy. It was crazy that she was fretting over something as insignificant as sex. After all, in their line of business, it was a sort of business leverage. You could trade it, use it for control, just have it as a release and basically run all-over the violent, malevolent male shitheads and a few female types in her world. But, it seemed sacrosanct to her to not indulge in seducing her asset. CIA guidelines were clear – As long as she didn't have feelings for the asset, she could make him compliant in any and every way possible. And in the past, if any feeling this remotely intense she had developed for any asset, one disappointing night was sufficient to let it all go. So, why didn't she try it already? It had been three weeks and many many cover dates… She was sabotaging herself and she was all over the space on this.
Bryce's funeral was coming up in two days and perhaps that's what evoked such emotions in her? She shook herself off this dangerous track. Last time she thought of Bryce, she shed tears… Compartmentalize. The word drilled into her by that insufferable pervert in the farm. But, she needed to get her best cover girlfriend out for Ellie.
Ellie. Devon. Morgan.
Yet other complicated variables in this increasingly frustrating equation. To be honest, she tolerated Morgan and his slightly gaping and leering gazes. He was cute in a 'oh-look-at-that-guy-he-is-as-cute-as-a-kid' way and probably just as annoying and irritating. Fortunately, she didn't deal with him as much. Thank you Chuck for making sure my cover job wasn't some corndog waitress or some shit like that.
Devon was what she had come to expect in her world. Classically handsome, had all the right features, perfect smile and teeth, great eyes and cheekbones, ripped to that last possible muscle. And maybe a few years back she would have drooled at the possibility of nailing that. Now, she understood that those outward looks doesn't necessarily translate to a good time. Or even just a great person. Her life taught her that at every step. Besides, Devon was just a little too immature for her taste. And that was saying something coz she fancied a legit nerd right now.
Ellie was a force to reckon with. Beautiful. Tall. Green Eyes. Pretty Fit. Brunette. Smart. Accomplished. Well-established. Focused. An amazing family person. And not emotionally stunted. All things (except for green eyes and brunette, coz everyone knows blondes are better) Sarah so desperately wished for herself. It was extremely intimidating. Sarah took lives, she save lives. Sarah was a violent destruction waiting to happen, she was the compassionate reconstructive balm to soothe all injuries and remove the hurt. It was like meeting you opposite and you just can't bring yourself to hat her because you love her too much to do hate her.
Sarah was inordinately envious of Chuck's life immediately. He had such great friends and family, even if their parents were as shitty as they could be – in their own unique of ways. Even if their lives weren't entirely what one might call a successful societal endeavour, she would rather go three years in jail than be the cause of pain all over the globe in the name of the greater good. She had been manipulated so many times, injured and wounded innocents (sometimes fatally), created so much mayhem and caused a lot of change – not as much as Casey, not even close; but he had a 15 year head start and she didn't want to be here for that long – at the behest of the CIA and the other commanding officers.
Nightmare plagued her to extents she never thought possible. All the glory and glamour in espionage depicted in Hollywood and other filming houses were just fabrications. None of the gritty work to eliminate your adversaries and enemies, collect intel, blind killing, psychological issues and mental health problems, sometimes physical problems and the way you burn assets – innocent or otherwise – etc. It all took a toll. But, you had to soldier through all the shit and go do the same job all over again. And nothing ever changes. Like the Greek Hydra Monster. Cut off one head and two take its place.
Dismantle a cartel, remove an ammunition smuggling ring, take out Jihadist camps, and all the shit. Nothing ever changes. Someone else sees this vacation as an opportunity and takes over. She was tired and exhausted of this constant struggle and her role in it. But, she didn't know any other way and change was hugely discomforting.
In a way Chuck understood. Not on the scales she did. Yet, the smaller scales like imprisonment and etc., he understood the evils of the world. She couldn't believe that the state and Stanford had pressed for felony charges against him for something as small as hacking.
Maybe they took violation of their whistle-blower policies that seriously. But, she knew that something else had to have been afoot. Someone must have forced them. Pressured them into excessive action and consequences.
She felt that he was a good guy who made a few bad choices. Unlike her, he didn't have Graham to wipe his record clean, which was basically nothing. Hers was first a ledger of guilt. Now, it was soaking red.
The doorbell rang. Immediately, she went into cover girlfriend mode. When Ellie opened the door to Chuck, she smiled brightly. To which a tight smile was returned. He was dressed well enough – in a nice black leather jacket, light blue t-shirt, dark jeans, and his chucks. He had made a serious effort to look good giving her the impression that he was taking her cover seriously. However, she was worried. She didn't get that big Bartowski smile she had come to love about him. Something was wrong.
The grunt from behind him confirmed her suspicions.
Dinner was a quiet affair with mixed successes and failures. Chuck said, he decided it was prudent to introduce not only his girlfriend and business manager but also the head of security of his company tonight.
That hurt Sarah. While the other congratulated Casey and the way he stressed the words "business manager, and security" prickled her. Couple that with a tight smile and she knew something had gone horribly wrong. This dinner was supposed to be when she got to know Chuck much better – especially all the embarrassing details from his boyhood and when they would get to know her better. But, they couldn't do that and she couldn't ask anything remotely intimate or personal in front of the NSA. She couldn't convincingly establish her cover and that was a failure. Yet, successes came from Ellie being incredibly delighted on finally meeting her, Devon congratulating her and asking her not to judge Chuck too harshly if he does any mistake and he was a truly great guy, and Morgan being Morgan – nothing much to do there.
Unfortunately, Morgan and Chuck started having a food fight just before the deserts instigated by Casey when someone shot a few peas at Morgan. Predictably, Morgan thought it was Chuck and retaliated. It all ended with her painfully hand-made chocolate souffle ending allover their faces. That topped it off for her. While everyone else was laughing, she was enraged. She stood up stiffly. Everyone stopped.
"Chuck… May I have a few words with you?" Chuck was nervous. Sarah was an assassin. Till now everything had gone smoothly. Once he got to know that Sarah brought desert, when he and Casey had gone to get the chair, he told Casey his plan to get the food fight to get going. If there was poison then with such small amounts that would go into their mouth shouldn't land anyone in the hospital or Casey could help him with the medical recovery.
Seeing Sarah's anger, he understood he messed up big time. So, he excused himself and they both went into his old room.
"What's wrong with you, Chuck? We have to establish our cover properly… And why did you do that to my souffle? I worked so hard on it." Sarah's heated whisper was nearly burning him up from the inside.
Chuck tried to dodge it. He didn't want to tell her he doubted her intentions and wilfully hurt her. Even there, he just controlled himself from exploding with all the hurt that seeped into him. He let himself trust another unattainable woman. "I'll tell you everything later. Come on, let's get back." He started back, when Sarah pulled him back roughly.
"No… We are doing this now."
"Sarah. Be reasonable. Ellie and the rest are just there. If they hear us, they'll begin wondering a lot of things. Not only will our cover be blown, but whatever semblance of a nice dinner we are having will also be dispelled. So… let's cool it, put a smile on and go back. I promise I will tell you everything later." He started leaving and Sarah was dumbfounded. She had no control of her asset (still felt a bad taste when she called or even thought of him that way). She had to break away and get clear. Regroup and understand. So, she decided to make a polite exit and then Chuck will receive the heat.
Chuck had just taken his seat when Sarah came out stiffly from his room and sat beside him. She glared at Casey and wordlessly intoned to him to meet at Chuck's apartment. The chill radiated across the table and the dinner ended on a lot more sober note than it should have been. But, it the cover was established and the family convinced.
Sarah and Chuck excused themselves and wished everyone goodnight.
Sarah was driving erratically. And with her Porsche going 120 on a 40 road had Chuck a touch scared. Just a touch. "Sarah, would you perhaps drive more… within LA's traffic laws? We don't want to blow our cover by entering the national PD database… Well, you that is. I am already there. So… would you slow down…"
Sarah stayed silent but floored the accelerator and reached 150. "Or not…" Chuck said gripping the handle even tighter in the car to his right. Fortunately for him, he had some experience with crazy people in the joint. Nonetheless, he hoped beyond hope that he would survive this in a single piece.
He could feel the freezing nature of Sarah's emotions right about now. "Why are you mad at me? I didn't do anything…" Sarah's sharp glare promised him pain if he continued on this track. "… Shutting up now."
They reached his apartment in record time – 20 minutes in heavy LA traffic. Chuck internal musing was along the lines of crazy chick, insanity, love for his life, CIA's inhuman evasive driving manoeuvres.
"What the hell were you two trying to pull? I thought you were a professional Casey and a little disagreement has you running for the hills?" Sarah fumed at them.
"Firstly, if anyone is getting too worked up over nothing, it's you. It was just some cake…" At the twitching of her eyes, he gulped and hurriedly continued, "It was Chuck's idea so get mad at him. Secondly, it was a reasonable yet hurried conclusion that led me to take these drastic measures. Lastly, you got a lucky shot. Next time, you won't get even that."
Sarah had fumes coming off her head… If one were to make an omelette and were absent a stove, they could easily have done it there. She grinned ferally at Casey and said, "Next time? You wish you old coot."
Turning to Chuck, she saw him clearly antsy but trying to mask it under a shroud of confidence. "So… what was with destroying my incredibly hard-to-make hand-done chocolate souffle, huh? What exactly were you thinking when you did that?"
"Look… I apologize, alright? I panicked. I maybe a former inmate. But, I don't have any idea how your world works. So, maybe when I heard that you poisoned a bunch of French Diplomats and were Bryce's partner, I may have panicked. So, I didn't want to spoil the dinner but I certainly didn't know what to make of your dessert. Hence, the Morgan food fight plan." Chuck had a genuinely apologetic face when saying it.
She almost melted… Almost being the keyword. This had happened because he didn't trust her. Especially after she asked him to trust her and he said that he did. His lack of trust hurt her a lot more than it should have. Assets in the past hadn't trust her either… Yet, she had their compliance through, erm, other techniques. Somehow, she couldn't bring herself to do that to Chuck.
"I didn't ask you to believe me Chuck. I asked you to trust me. If you can't, then it is better I go back to Washington and this mission is wrapped up with you in a bunker."
Chuck got angry. Previously, he used to usually be annoyed, frustrated, unhappy, disappointed and to an extent angry all the time. The last few weeks, these were alien to him. He was in a constant state of anxiety and suppressed rage. But, never outright angry.
His reply was soft, cutting and curt. "I am sorry… in which sphere of life is there trust without belief? How can I trust you when I can't figure out fact from fiction? I have the fucking intersect in my head. I know the both of you have done a lot more wet work than I can stomach. If the bosses order it, I know I am end up in a ditch in some gutter of Burbank. So, forgive me if my trust is a bit in short supply.
"Maybe, you also missed out on me being Bryce's Larkin Soccer ball. And you never seem to mention that you were his partner… And CIA partners are not exactly known to not have similar goals. (At their surprised looks) What? I have been in the joint… I still have grapevines in the underbelly of human society.
"So colour me surprised and feeling betrayed that the assigned protector of the intersect just so happen to be my tormentor's partner and his assassin. And I wasn't the one that caused the confusion. You both let the bad blood between your organizations get in the way. Instead of tackling this like a team, you both assumed that the other did it… Where's the trust there huh?
"I was the one who convinced Casey that you should be given an opportunity for being trusted in the first place… when I also convinced him to ride through this rough patch and not threaten or prepare to bunkerize me." Chuck's soft-spoken rant was eye-opening.
Sarah was still angry and decided to get another shot in. "And you call attacking my souffle a sign of trust? Wow! Chuck… I didn't think you were a liar, cheat and a jerk." Chuck's eyes flashed. That hurt deeply.
"I apologized for that… I did it out of misplaced concern but also induced by my fear from your poisoning episode in Paris. I panicked."
Sarah told, "but you didn't consider why? Huh? How about they were French assassins out for my blood? I am glad I got them before they did me. And you making all those judgements from you moral-"
Chuck cut her off. "I think you and Major Casey have problems you need to hash out. You are my handlers, Agent Walker. This has been a fucked up day from top to bottom and maybe you both need to trust each other, get on the same page so that the fucking asset can be kept in one piece. Now if you don't mind me, I am going out for a walk and clear my head. It's been a long day.
"Feel free to use Casey's apartment next door." Saying he practically sped out of the door and slammed it shut. It was then they both realized that they had screwed up as monumentally as possible and the mission hadn't even really begun.
Chuck was walking down the roads in his neighbourhood… Typically, people are advised against it given the volatility of this place. But Chuck's special. When he first arrived, he was under Tiny's protection. So, none dared to touch him. Tiny was very influential in this neighbourhood.
Then, they truly started to like him. They could all count on him to be there whether to mediate a dispute between two gangs or just hang out. He was the neutral ground for all of them. He didn't interrupt them and made sure he was clear from whatever crimes they committed. At the same time, they made sure that he wouldn't be involved with anything illegal.
All of them respected, adored and even loved to be around him. He was the right kind of funny, humane and yet terrifyingly good at destroying anybody's life with a few strokes of a keyboard. So walking with or around Chuck was considered a safe space for many people.
Apparently, traitors and greedy assholes didn't get that memo. Chuck had given his friends and top lieutenants in each of the crime syndicates a beacon which would signal for help if he ever needs it. And when deployed, he would have a roughly 600 strong group to get him back. But, he vowed to himself to not really on this until the last possible individual option was exhausted. So he had developed a lot of accessories to his ensemble should he ever be attacked or kidnapped.
As he was walking, he heard the cock of a revolver. "Well. Well. Well. If it isn't patient X."
Chuck couldn't believe his luck… But, he had learnt playing dumb was always the best way to get out of these situations. "I am sorry… who are you? If you are a part of a gang, you know I am off limits."
The voice laughed. "Do you consider me a fool, X? I have been following you since morning today. Both the agents assigned to work with the intersect are working with you, in a company that was supposedly established a month ago… What kind of name is OSEST, anyway? The cover is really horrendous. Well, atleast for experienced agents that is. Casey and Walker stand out like sore thumbs in the plaza full of nerds and salesman."
Chuck forced himself to grimace and reminded to make a note to better improve their cover… Maybe hire a bunch of idiots from the BuyMore to make it look like the company actually was a good cover. At the same time, he decided to continue the dumb routine. "Look, asshole. I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. I can assure you, I established OSEST because it was my dream to start a software company. Walker had a Harvard degree and lost her job in the DC due to some misunderstanding with her boyfriend and owner of that company. So, I decided that getting a business grad from Harvard for less than 50 Gs a year was a great deal. And Casey was a major in the Marine Corp. He is loyal, honourable and can keep idiots outside my office. So I hired him for about the same price as Walker. The cover stuff, agent stuff and whatever the hell an intersect is I don't fucking know."
He had his hands in his pockets during the rant and activated his emergency dial codes… his custom made SOS signal that send Sarah and Casey a distress message and provides them tracking capability on his phone through a hidden tracker in his boxers. His paranoia had gone really extreme… but he made sure to have them sewn in. Looks like they are finally coming in handy.
"Well… I can get the truth out of you. Just a few more hours and I will have half-a-billion in my account. Such an impressive piece of technology and innovation, wasted on a loser."
Chuck furiously turned around, surprising him and knocked the gun out of his hand… "Who the fuck do you think you are calling a loser? Bastard. Pulling a gun on me, punk." He kicked him hard in the gut and then in the ribs. However, the unidentified male took out a taser and soon he was unconscious… He stuffed Chuck into the trunk and threw away any identifying stuff like ID, phone, watch, wallet and even his shoes, and drove away.
Casey and Sarah admitted their follies and conversed on better collaboration and compliance of their asset. They decided to bury the hatchet including Casey shooting Bryce… When they both received the distress signal. They shot into action. A good thing chuck had got them to agree to setting these up. They rushed to his home computer and fired up the map tracking his location.
They rushed out and retrieved his stuff from the kidnap site. Sarah was aggrieved. Her last conversation with Chuck, they both hurt each other deeply. He had never called her Agent Walker since he got to know she was CIA. Never. And him calling her that, cut deep. What was she thinking throwing up his past again in front of him? He is doing his best to move on and reform. So, why had she intentionally pushed him away? Why was she breaking her training of asset compliance and compromising the mission? Urgh… Feelings are overrated. Compartmentalize. Save asset. Deal with all this later.
She and Casey had made up and come to an understanding. Until either can conclusively prove that the other is intentionally sabotaging their mission, they would work in the interests of their team together. Finally, the team was truly formed. Now, they only need to save Ch- … the asset. And he will get an apology and a dressing down. They left him alone, near his home for like 20 minutes and he managed to get himself caught.
Chuck woke up when a particular bumpy path hit his head to the ceiling of the trunk. Rubbing his head, he attempted to recollect how he got here… and then it all came crashing back. He groaned. Now, his handlers are going to stick with him everywhere. Why the fuck did it happen in 20 minutes? Just 20 minutes of a good time this day. That's all he wanted. He hated luck, chance and every other arbitrary probability theory as no way could he end up as the vessel for the intersect, sent to him Bryce Larkin, whose partner was assigned to protect him, as well as his killer and the guy who was sent to remove the intersect from his head, (and yes he recognized Zarnow's voice) is looking to sell him or extract the info from him. Definitely not coincidence.
The car stopped. He was glad he was paranoid. Now, he had a real chance in defending himself against the doctor and his goons. He had a vial of aerosolized chloroform along with a lock pick in a secret pocket in his pant… He could extract it right now and escape. But, he needed more information and decided to play along till he learnt more. Incredibly stupid risking his life but he had to know who the buyers were going to be.
When the trunk opened, Zarnow's face popped over and his eyes fluttered with a flash showing him to be a traitor selling scientific intelligence to North Korea for years, mainly nuclear technology. Bad stuff. However, it seemed Zarnow had mistook his fluttering to his awakening. "You have a choice right now, patient X. You can either give me what I need to know or my friends here will extract it from you painfully. So… what will it be?" Zarnow's friends were North Korean spies in tactical gear. Yeah. This is bad.
"I guess… it doesn't matter anyway. After all you have your buyers with your right now. I wonder… why do you want them to have me? They don't know how this works… Unless, you are providing them with the images as well." Chuck spoke in a firm, cold tone.
"I don't understand your motive. Why did you start sending them secrets? Why did you betray your country? I mean if I did that, then it is logical… I hate my country's legal system and this goldmine of information is basically up for selling. But, you? You are highly accomplished with dual PhDs and have had a successful stint at the NSA. Surely, it can't just be about the money?"
Zarnow smiled like a shark. "hello to you too, Patient X. Thought you were going to keep this pretence up for much longer. Boys, let's get going shall we?" The idiots in tactical suits grabbed him and took him to helo for extraction. "My reasons are my own. But, I'll tell you anyway. It's really fun to tell my brilliant plan to the 'good guys'. I guess that's why cliche villains do it.
"I don't care about country, culture and tradition. All that is man made and can easily evaporate as fast they form in time. No. I am a man of science and need nothing other than it for any ideological reasons. I don't have any emotional sob story to provide you for my duplicitous. No. My motivations are as simple as one might have. I am driven by monetary reasons. It is as simple as that. And if I gain favours from skilled operatives along the way, it is a benefit. Yet, overtime, I have come to enjoy the thrill oof doing something treasonous, big enough to change the balance in conflicts and get away with it. I guess that is the rush of power most people wish for. (Suddenly stopping) What is that in your hand?"
Chuck grinned and said "Oh, this? (Pausing for dramatic effort)It is my own special concoction. Here. Take it." Saying he threw it into the air where it released its aerolized contents, dousing all the people present. Sleep tight. "You are going to be paralyzed for the next eight hours. So, good luck."
Unbeknownst to him, one operative had stayed with the helo to ensure no one compromised their extraction and so all his comrades fall. So, he started firing at Chuck with his handgun. Chuck was hit in two places, in his right shoulder and in his stomach.
As the operative approached Chuck., he holstered his weapon and took out a tranquilizer and fired. Chuck closed his eyes within seconds. Just as he was losing focus, he saw the operative shot in the head and a worried Sarah hovering him, applying pressure to his wounds.
That is it for right now. I am sorry if the editing isn't upto standard. I will try to review it when I have more time. I have problems in my town. Due to unexpected heavy rains, my town's been flooded. And I am on my last dregs of battery for my laptop. So, I won't be updating for a little while.
Also… Thanks a lot for your positive reviews. It's great to see that this story has takers.
Till next time then. Let's see how it goes. Stay tuned for part 3.
Edit: Umm... So... I felt like I had to address an issue that most seem to have inferred and I hadn't meant it that way. Sarah isn't sleeping with assets and targets all the time...
I wrote when she had feelings in the past, she would get it out of her system as quickly as possible. It is a choice on her part to have some fun as well. Come on guys... I am trying to say she was sexually active.
Another thing - she is an exceptional agent. She has that tool on her belt and might have used it in the past as required. I am not making her into a whore...
Also... by other measures I meant deception and drugs... I suspect that intelligence agencies have in their possession various potent drugs to gain compliance.
Thanks for your well wishes. I hope this clarifies some of the issues.
