I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point.
Yeah, it's been a while. I made a promise early on that I would finish all my stories. I want to keep that promise. Let's see if I remember how to post. If you're reading this, I guess I did.
The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything.
The Spy Way
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Sarah was maybe in the last place where she wanted to be… up to and including hell. There was a time when she would have been excited to get back to Washington… a little anyway… especially now that she was with Chuck. If she had a home town, this was probably it. It was where virtually every CIA Agent was based. She still had some things in one of those long term storage units that someday she'd have to claim. She would have had a good time showing her fiancé the sights… to the apartment she shared with Carina… to that little out of the way restaurant that made her favorite crap cakes… maybe even to that club where the agents hung out… the one that the other girls always dragged her too, the site of her being the recipient of oh so many pickup attempts by macho agents with far more testosterone than brains. She would have probably spent a day showing Chuck her favorite parts of the Smithsonian and they most definitely would have gone to Arlington to check out Bryce's tombstone. Even though he wasn't actually there, his ashes were scattered around Paris, it would be a nice monument to a hero's hero. All in all, the trip would have been a fun, relaxed time.
Not today.
For one thing, she was forced to actually wear clothes. Chuck was just teasing when he told her that being naked might give away where they had been hiding. Come on, Chuck. You could get a full body tan in a lot of places. It had only been a few months and Sarah had almost forgotten what they felt like. Did clothes always bind and pinch like this? Why hadn't she noticed it before? The stupid bra that she had worn probably a thousand times had already made a noticeable red mark under her chest. Even the plain black mission outfit she was wearing felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. Why on earth did she ever think it was comfortable?
Beckman's office was a windowless four walls somewhere deep in the bowels of the Pentagon. Whoever had decorated it had plainly gone for a 'no frills' look using khaki green paint. It looked as dark and unfriendly as Sarah currently felt. The kicker was that Shaw was sitting calmly off to the side between Casey and Carina with that annoying smirk on his face. All in all, it would be safe to say that Sarah wasn't in the best of moods. Normally in this formal situation, she would be standing, more or less at attention. Screw that. Beckman didn't deserve that much respect. She stood there defiantly holding Chuck's hand with her nostrils flaring.
"Where in the hell have you two been?"
Okay, so Beckman was an intimidator. Everybody knew that. In this situation her thinking that she had absolutely any standing to take that tone was almost comical. Sarah was going to launch into her well-rehearsed profanity filled rant aimed between the good general's eyes and stomp out… dragging Chuck back to their private island to resume their retirement. Maybe she'd wait until they were actually on the beach to ditch the uncomfortable outfit. It wasn't really the ideal outfit for the 'welcome home' show she had planned. In fact, she had picked it today for that very reason. Then again sexy was a state of mind. Chuck's pump didn't need all that much priming anyway. She was pretty sure she could make do with squirming suggestively out of the mission outfit. So maybe she'd keep it on… but the torture device called a bra certainly wasn't going to survive a quick trip to the first ladies room she could find.
Fortunately, they had already decided that Chuck would do the talking. He was the calm one. "Let's understand something," he said. "We no longer take orders from you. You've forfeited that right. You don't protect the constitution by violating its basic principles. So wherever we were, or for that matter, wherever we go from here is no longer your concern. The only reason we're even standing here is that we honestly feel led to serve the greater good."
"Give me a break," Shaw snorted. "Who are you trying to fool? You two are so obvious. Your girl here needs a mission. That's what she lives for. It's at the top of her fitness report… written in red. It started the day she graduated from the Academy and if anything, it has gotten worse. Everyone knows that. Frankly, I'm surprised you've been able to keep her entertained for this long. Isn't that right…? Sam?"
So now Sarah was seeing nothing but red. Yeah, Daniel Shaw was an ass. That was already well documented. In her current mood, taking a cheap shot at Chuck had just become a capital offense. If Chuck hadn't squeezed her hand, she would have reached inside of her boot for the ever present knife… and Shaw was going to quickly find out why they had once called her 'The Enforcer.' Was Chuck actually laughing?
"Actually, Sarah was against this," Chuck said. "I had to talk her into it. As it turns out, I found a new way to entertain her. I should have thought of it two years ago. Well, actually, I did think of it two years ago. It took a while to get her to see it my way. I'm sure that you can relate. Trust me. It was well worth the wait." Confident that his counterpunch shot had just landed between Shaw's eyes, he turned back to Beckman. "Maybe our objectives still align at some level. The Ring needs to be defeated. As long as that's true, we might be willing to get back to it under some conditions."
"Conditions?" Beckman stuttered. "What conditions? I can have you tried for treason."
Chuck stopped Sarah's rant with a look. He pushed a button on his phone and there was an immediate knock at the door. "Hold that thought," he said with a humorless laugh. "I think we'll take our chances. First off, to charge us with anything, you'd have to find us. Good luck with that. You've been trying for months. How did that work out for you? Second… well… allow me to introduce my secret weapon."
Chuck nodded to Casey who went and opened the door. In stomped one Eleanor Bartowski-Woodcomb. If Sarah was in a foul mood… and she most definitely was… she was downright giddy compared to Ellie. One could almost see the steam rising from her head. She had Morgan and two other men in tow.
Ellie made her way in front of Beckman's desk to glare at her. "I'd like you to meet my personal attorney," she said. "I believe you already know Morgan Grimes… and Congressman Brooks from the Intelligence committee."
Brooks stepped up to Beckman with a stack of papers in his hand. "I demand an explanation," he said. "I get that we sometimes do unsavory things to protect the country but since when do we condone blatantly unconstitutional processes? Forging evidence to imprison a private citizen?"
Shaw's smirk hadn't faded. "Says who?" he asked. "Whatever evidence we used against Dr. Woodcomb was obtained legally."
Brooks shook his head. "The information I have would seem to dispute that," he said. "I have transcripts of you on tape discussing a conspiracy to charge Dr. Woodcomb with a fabricated crime to get her to assist you. Maybe it's not treason… but it's certainly a serious felony. Dr. Woodcomb's constitutional rights have been trampled. Someone needs to go to prison. I'm still waiting for that explanation. Perhaps you'd like to wait and give it in front of my committee. Trust me. I can make that happen."
"How did you get this information?" Shaw asked. "Even if any of this was real, it would be privileged by executive order and highly classified. You, of all people, would know that. Anyone who leaked it would be facing multiple felonies of their own."
Ellie stepped up to Sarah and nudged her arm. It would be a stretch to say she was smiling but there was a definite twinkle in her eye. "Is this the man you left Chuck for?" she asked. "Really? Okay, yeah, I guess that he's fairly good looking… if you like the 'dumb as a box of rocks', cave man type. You actually dated this moron?"
Sarah knew that she was in a bad mood. Even that didn't describe it. She was in a 'Hothead Agent Walker, three state killing spree' mood. But she had to admit, Ellie teasing her made some of that go away. "Hey," she protested as she joined Ellie's sport. "In my defense, I didn't leave Chuck. He left me. It was a blind setup. You don't really find out that he's a moron until a couple of dates into the process. In my line of work I don't get to meet many men and I was on the rebound and vulnerable. I was still in love with someone else who I thought had rejected me. It was a bad time in my life."
At least there now could be no mistaking Ellie's smile. "Well, the way I understand it, that's certainly turned around. Aren't you afraid of wearing my poor little brother out? I doubt that he's used to keeping up with someone as 'motivated' as you."
At last, Sarah was able to return her soon to be sister's smile. "It's certainly turned around," she teased. "My life is perfect. I wouldn't worry about your poor little brother too much. He has proven to be surprisingly durable in that area. Not to mention that he's plenty 'motivated' all on his own. Someday he's going to have to tell me where he learned some of the amazing things he brings to the bedroom… well on the rare occasion that we actually make it all the way to the bedroom. You get the point I'm trying to make though, right?"
That got them laughing. Ellie held her hand up in protest. "Too much information," she said with a wink. She turned her attention to Beckman and put the scowl back on her face. "How does one become a general anyway?" she asked. "It sure as hell can't be based on brains. What else is there? I seriously doubt that you slept your way to the top unless your stepping stone men haven't seen a woman in ten years… if you get my meaning."
Ellie stood there for a long minute just shaking her head. "Do you have a clue in that pea brain who my father is?" she finally asked. "You could drive a railroad spike through his brain and he'd still be smarter than your collection of morons put together. Just try and charge him with a crime. That would be quite entertaining. We could record the arraignment and make it into a comedy special."
There was one good thing about Beckman. She was a pragmatist. Without the classified evidence, the lawyer wouldn't able to prove anything. He was just fishing. With the congressman, she probably could have sweet talked her way out of this by appealing to his loyalty. She surely wasn't used to being talked to like this, but the documents were plain. Shaw, with his usual inattention to detail, hadn't factored Orion into his plan. With his magic technology involved, they plainly had the goods. It was time to negotiate, get the best deal she could, and maybe stay out of an arraignment herself. She turned to Chuck. "Okay, Agent Bartowski," she said. "I'm listening. What conditions do you have in mind?"
Chuck breathed a silent sigh of relief. It wasn't all assured that Beckman would fall for their huge bluff. Dad had nothing to do with this. In fact, nobody knew where dad currently even was. Any challenge to the validity of their information would have exposed that Carina had used her access to gather it and pass it to Morgan… all treasonous acts. It would have given Beckman back all of the leverage… and then some. Chuck hadn't heard the entire story of the 'passing' yet but from the thirty second version he got on the phone, it promised to be quite vivid. Sarah was more than a little skeptical. She said that Morgan and Carina were maybe the last two people on earth who would ever hook up. Yet it apparently happened. Neither would ever be accused of being reluctant to find new and exciting ways to have fun in the bedroom. Morgan would be eager to get him alone to boast about the details of his conquest. Frankly, Sarah didn't believe it had happened until Carina verified Morgan's unexpected skill… and verified it… and verified it again.
"This has to start with my sister," Chuck said. "She needs to get a signed letter from the President, with the Presidential Seal, copied to her hospital, verifying that the evidence against her was tainted and apologizing for any inconvenience."
Beckman thought about it. That would mean an uncomfortable conversation with the President. He had signed the Executive Order but up till now, he had plausible deniability on the details of this matter. If this went public, the political firestorm would be huge. He had a well-known intolerance for incompetence and an even better known style of expressing his displeasure. Yet, what choice was there? "I can do that," she finally sighed.
"We're getting married this afternoon," Chuck continued. "It's real… not one of your casual CIA things. Our first condition is that our marriage always takes priority over any mission. So the seduction type assignment is history for either of us."
Beckman sighed. "You're taking away one of an agent's most powerful weapons," she said. "Agent Walker knows this better than anyone. It could save your life. But if you insist, I guess we can make that change."
"We most definitely insist," Chuck replied. "It's no longer going to be Agent Walker. The only person in the CIA that we come close to trusting is Agent Miller. We'll only accept assignments from and report to her. Colonel Casey can remain on our team. Agent Shaw needs to be sent packing back to his cave."
Beckman shook her head. "Be reasonable," she said. "We're fighting a war against the Ring. You're going to be our top team in that fight. Agent Shaw is our leading Ring expert. Without his involvement, you'll be stumbling around blind. You'll be a sitting duck. Not even an Intersect would save you. I'll agree to Miller and Casey. I'll even agree that Agent Miller will be the team lead, but Shaw has to be on the team. We simply have to work this out. It's a show stopper."
It was an impasse. The silence in the room was deafening for a long moment.
"There is a way."
Carina was probably the last person anyone expected to speak. "Let's face it," she said. "The General's right. This simply needs to be fixed. The core problem is that Agent Shaw thinks that Agent Walker owes him something. Actually, he's probably right. We should have settled this in Paris like I suggested at the time. She needs to pay off so we can move on."
Chuck looked at Carina sadly. "I thought that you were on our side," he said.
"I am on your side!" Carina shouted hotly. "Don't ever question that. You want me to take charge of the team? Well, this is what that looks like." After a moment she caught herself and lowered her tone. "Calm down and think about this, Chuck. You want to get married? You want Agent Walker to disappear and become Sarah Bartowski… with a new code of conduct where the main rules of engagement are 'forsaking all others' and 'until death do us part'… more badass wife than spy? How can that possibly happen with this hanging over her head? Do this right and end her spy life like a spy."
Chuck shook his head. "Whatever happened between Shaw and Sarah was personal," he protested.
Carina took a deep breath. "We've talked all about this," she said. "Remember in the car when we were driving to extract Agent Walker from her infiltration assignment? Agent Walker is a spy… the very best. She had been a spy for years when you first met her. Spies live by a code. It's how they survive. Maybe it's not written down anywhere, but it's every bit as real. With spies, nothing they do is ever 'personal'. Agent Walker made Agent Shaw a promise. She knows that as well as anybody. She even knew she was making a commitment when it was happening. Ask her. Even you know this. And why would it be so bad anyway? We're not talking about your fiancée having sex with someone. We're talking about Agent Walker completing an assignment. This is what Agents do. You watched her do much worse with Giles and his gang for a week without complaint. This would complete the loop. Deep down you know that I'm right. Agent Walker completes her spy career with a final unpleasant one day assignment and you both forget it happened. Then she can be full time Sarah Bartowski with nothing hanging over her. I know that you can get through that."
Chuck took a deep breath as he considered her words. "What do you propose?" he finally asked.
Carina nodded. "We do this the spy way," she said. "He is owed something. She doesn't want to pay. Spies settle disputes like this all the time. So Shaw and Walker meet in the ring, Academy style. If Walker wins, the slate is clean. If Shaw wins, Walker goes into seductive agent mode for a final single night and pays off. Either way, it's over and we move on."
Chuck's shoulders noticeably slumped. "How is that fair?" he asked sadly. "She can't win. Look at him. He has too much advantage. Why don't we just forget the fight and get this over with? I don't want her to get hurt."
Carina shook her head. "It doesn't work that way," she insisted. "Fair? I'm afraid that there is no room in the spy's code for fair. This is a disagreement between two spies. One round of winner take all. Then there can be no lingering doubt about who was right. Agent Walker has been in the ring enough times to know how to not get seriously hurt. Maybe she can't win but I know her well enough to know that we'll get her best effort. It will be enough to prove her point if she is able to just put up a good fight and survive for a while."
Beckman had stayed out of this. "Agent Shaw, Agent Walker," she finally said. "Does Agent Miller's proposal work for you?"
Shaw wasn't trying to hide the confident grin. Agent Walker had an impressive string of victories at the Academy… against other trainees. This was a different weight class altogether. Bartowski was ultimately right. She couldn't win. Agent Miller made sense. This was the spy way. His main task was figuring out how much pain to dish out before she surrendered. There had to be some. She had left him hanging for months. Claiming her submission in the ring would almost be as good as claiming the prize of her submission in the bedroom. She was going to pay full price. "Yes, ma'am," he said.
"Agent Walker?"
Sarah took a deep breath before finally nodding.
"Let's get this over with."
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