AN- People that share and talk about things have fewer trust issues. This has logical consequences for the progression of storylines like Sandworm.
Around Chuck vs the Sandworm
Another boring day in a grease soaked hellhole. Another day of mixed disgust and amusement when people tried to look down her shirt or up her skirt. I wonder if I could setup a camera to catch their crazier attempts to get a look. Some of them have actually fallen over. A thought came to her and she smacked herself in the forehead. Oh hell, cameras, surveillance… on him. I'd meant to talk to him about it but we always got sidetracked. She dropped the rag she was holding and yelled over her shoulder at Scooter. "I'm taking a break." as she left the shop and briskly walked to the Buy More. She heard some noise coming from Scooter as she left, but ignored him. At this point, being fired would be a blessing.Have to see where the planning department is on the franchise/new business.
Entering the store, she felt a smile overtake her face when she saw Chuck leaning over something at the main Nerd Herd desk. His brow was furrowed in concentration. The curls of his hair were threatening to take over completely again. She quietly walked over, staying just on the edge of his vision, figuring he wouldn't notice her yet. When she reached the desk, she leaned casually on the counter. "So, wanna take a break to find a closet and make out?"
There were some literal sparks as he reacted to her presence. Sadly, they were of the electrical kind, as the screwdriver he was holding slipped and scrapped across the device he was repairing. "Aaagh!" Chuck yelped, dropped the tool and jumped up. "Sarah, here, I mean hi!"
"Should I feel bad about that?" Sarah asked, pointing at the now likely ruined board. "Also, should you have been working on that out here, and hooked up to power?"
Chuck looked at her, gulped air and looked to be counting. Finally he raised an admonishing hand and said, "You should feel bad for taking about three years off my life by sneaking up on me. Again."
She smiled and batted her eyelashes. "How ever can I make it up to you?"
"And there's the evil seductress I've come to expect." He tried to look angry but the smile was leaking through. "What is it you want?"
"I can't just want you?" she said with an exaggerated, and sexy, pout.
"Sarah, the pout isn't fair and you know it." Chuck sighed. "Its mid-morning, less than two hours until lunch when you would be seeing me anyway. As fun as they are, it seems a bit early for a supply closet visit. Ergo you want something. Either," he lowered his voice, "national security related." Then returning to normal volume. "Or something else."
"Bit of both actually." Sarah said, now seriously. "I'd have waited, but I'm trying to not put off discussions or things you need to know."
"And now I'm worried. Lets try the cage, most of the team is avoiding work this morning." Chuck said, and came out from behind the counter, reaching out a hand to her.
She took it and they headed off to the back of the store. The area around the cage was dirty, and smelled now from its proximity to the dock and dumpsters which obviously needed a pickup. Chuck stopped them when they were in front of the cage itself and leaned against the workbench outside the chain linked area.
"This spot is just outside of most of the camera views back here. I know that because… well lets just say it scarred me for life what some people do back here. What's up?" he said after finding a comfortable spot.
"People getting some on the returns and repairs?" She asked, at his nod she shuddered slightly thinking about the majority of the Buy More employees. She took a calming breath. "Funny you should bring up cameras." Sarah began with a thin smile. "Its another one of those areas where my habits and training steered me wrong. And John doesn't even consider that it might be an invasion of privacy."
"Tear the bandaid off Sarah."
"You knew, probably know at least, about the surveillance in the courtyard and around your place. Standard stuff. I mentioned in passing knowing something your sister had said, but I'd forgive you for forgetting considering what happened after that." she sighed and reached out to play with his tie. "You probably don't know about all of the bugs inside your place."
"All of the bugs... inside my place? Just how many are we talking about here?" he said, voice rising a bit until she waved a hand in a downward motion. "Its not enough that John moved in next door to watch me, he has to watch… wait. Just where are all these bugs? Ellie and Devon aren't a part of all this."
"I'm not sure where they all are actually." Sarah said, trying to be as forthright as possible. "I know where exactly one is, well was going to be, but not the others. I'd be happy to help you find them or at least learn to fool them."
He looked at her, angry and hurt, before the light dawned. "Wait, you were planning on putting one in of your own? Do you not trust me either?"
She leaned in and hugged him quickly. "No, that's not it. Its just… I like to be able to hear you when I'm not there." She leaned back and smiled a bit shyly. "I miss you, it helps me sleep."
"You could just call me, you know." he replied, now smiling just a bit.
"I'm a spy Chuck, we don't think like that." Sarah said seriously. "I'd actually meant to go over this a while back. Then the whole thing with Mei Ling happened. Anyway, I was thinking about setting up a camera at the Wienerlicious, remembered, and I came to talk to you about it." She shrugged. "I don't think we can get rid of it, not all of it, but even if we could I'd argue against that. Its really there for your protection primarily. If something happens, we can go back and get information we might need."
"Somehow I don't think you'd allow that in your place, Sarah. Even if it would be helpful." Chuck said, somewhat bitterly.
Sarah nodded. "No, I wouldn't and by policy its not supposed to happen to our private residence. Casey has his place wired up, but he's weird." She looked at him and took one of his hands in hers. "I've got a device to limit it, but for now… Look, I know it has to make you angry, and I get it. I just didn't want this to be something that totally blindsided you. We should have told you up front."
"Yeah. Anything else I should know about my life?" Chuck said with an almost petulant tone.
I will not yell at him. I will not yell at him. Don't get mad, explain Walker. "Well, you know your watch has a tracker. In addition to its alarm and communications. You know about most of the modifications to the herder cars, and the home theater room. We are looking for a permanent location for our support equipment and armory, but that's not going to be in place for months. I'm going to have the local office find me a real apartment near you as well." she shrugged. "What kind of things were you wondering about? Do we sometimes make adjustments to the Buy More systems to alter your schedule or create 'offsite' jobs? Yes. Do we monitor Ellie and Devon's work schedules to some extent to limit the possibility of exposure to a mission or briefing? Yes. Do I adjust my schedule to be near you, yes, but you knew that one since we ride together most of the time. Spending more time with you is the biggest fringe benefit of the security arrangements. Does it also mean Casey has to spend a lot of time watching and listening when I'm not around? Yep." She smiled then, impishly. "As a note, he hates nerd discussions and 'ladyfeelings'. So feel free to torture him." She sobered. "Do I try to make all of this as easy as I can? Yes, Chuck. I've spent a substantial amount of time and effort trying to make your life as normal and seamless as possible. As for Casey, I planned to talk to him again after lunch. Or maybe this evening. Believe it or not, he and I discussed some of this before after he agreed to help us. Also, there aren't to my knowledge, any cameras in your place. If there are, they're gone as soon as I get there later. I'll also see to it that the audio capture is more focused." She leaned in, hugged him again and kissed his cheek.
He hugged her back and replied. "Thanks. I guess its not exactly a picnic to be saddled with a total newbie to this life."
"No, its more that it sucks to do things that make that life less normal. You don't deserve that." Sarah said and stepped back, tugging on his hand. "Now, by my calculations, we have time left on my 'break'. There has to be a better spot around here somewhere…" she yanked him along behind her as she headed for the other side of the storage room.
Later that day, Sarah waited in Chuck's room for him to catch up with her. Ellie had let her in and told her to 'head on back, you basically live here you know'. Sarah spent a while considering that, the amount of time she spent there. Could she sell it as close surveillance given that meeting? Would it annoy Ellie and Devon to have to share facilities with someone? Could she just grab the apartment next door? She wondered if they'd go for her moving in with Chuck in the current apartment. They'll probably want me to have a separate place just for communications security, best go ahead with that plan. She'd come over because Chuck had called her and Casey in something of a panic after running into someone who'd recognized his watch. What Sarah really wanted to know is how Chuck ended up at the pier. Alone. She'd have to ask Chuck and possibly have words with Casey.
"Who is this Lazlo character? He just ID'ed me as an agent." Chuck said, as he came into his room.
Sarah rose from sitting on the edge of his bed and stepped over to him and put her hands on his shoulders. "Relax, we're looking into him. The basic info is that he's a CIA scientist, and all we know beyond that right now is that Lazlo was involved in a violent incident. Right now is that there's an agent on his way with more information. You did well. Except for going to the pier alone – what was that all about?"
"I didn't do anything, I just flashed on the guy." Chuck replied, calming down a bit. She used her grip to guide him to sit on the bed, she sat down next to him. "It wasn't anything big, Morgan had disappeared for a while and was needed back at the store. So Big Mike asked me to go find him.
"Well, on that, you should have had one of us covering you. Next time call me, or at least let Casey know. We can't have you completely uncovered out there." She held his gaze for a long moment.
Finally he threw up his hands in frustration. "So exactly how far is my leash? Can I go to the bathroom at least?"
Sarah spoke firmly, but smiled still. "Your leash is as long as you'd like. So long as Casey or I have your location at all times and coverage at that location to ensure no one is murdering you or kidnapping you." She paused and let her earlier spike of worry when she'd found out about his outing color her voice. "Chuck, if something happened do you… To be honest I'm not sure how far I'd go. So, please, for public safety – let us do our jobs."
It took several moments, then his shoulders slumped slightly. "OK, that I'm sorry about. I didn't think about, have never really had to think about, my own safety. Or how it might affect someone else." He smiled suddenly. "So I'll try to stay out of trouble to keep you from going on a murderous rampage."
Smiling sweetly, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Then she whispered in his ear. "Bear that in mind if you ever think about breaking up with me." Then she leaned back and spoke more normally to his somewhat stunned face. "As for Lazlo, you followed protocol, you did exactly the right thing. We'll know more in the morning, there's a briefing scheduled." she replied and let go of him to reach down into her bag. "I have a gift for you, I thought you might like this. Casey got a guy to rush it after our talk earlier. Should have been done a week ago – so it really wasn't a rush so much as a 'get your crap done numbnuts' if I heard the phone call correctly."
"Uh, when did you take this? I mean how did you take this?" Chuck said, looking at the photo. Sarah leaned over and put her head on his shoulder. The picture was of them, in a similar pose, sitting on the beach. It was a bit grainy, but it was clearly them and the sunrise was still pretty.
"I managed to snag a good shot from the surveillance on us at the beach." She put an arm around him and squeezed. "I thought having a picture from our first date would be nice, even if it came from the NSA."
"I guess not all surveillance is bad." Chuck said, smiling at the photo. "Creepy, but oddly thoughtful."
"Casey wanted to photoshop something up, just to get it in here. Something real seemed more appropriate." Sarah took the photo from him and flipped it over, taking her arm back from around him to use two hands. "And it has other functions, take a look here." She opened the back and pointed at two small devices with little rat tail antennae.
"Are those…" Chuck started to say then his eyes fluttered in the telltale signs of a flash. "EM-50 listening device. Commonly used by the NSA for its long duration and reliability." he blinked and looked again but shook his head. "The other thing, I've got nothing."
"I'd be surprised if you did. Its a custom device that piggybacks on an EM-50. In fact it can loop audio or simply overload with generated white noise, any others inside a ten meter radius." Sarah smiled. "It was… not easy to have made. We started on it about when I asked Casey for help."
"Sarah, is that… are you going to get into trouble?" Chuck asked.
"Less trouble than I might get in if Casey has to hear us… well you know. He's been making jokes about workman's comp for brain bleach overdose. He's aware of the device, he helped it get made. This little tab, here on the back, turns on a white noise transmission. Flip the other way for a loop of the last thirty minutes. It was all the memory they could get in there. You may want to tinker, see what you can do with it. Takes two AAA batteries, it will beep if it needs new ones. I'd suggest we normally just use the white noise." Sarah replied, and closed the picture frame. Showing him the tiny tab/switch and placing it on the night stand afterwards. She flipped the switch to the white noise quietly, she gave it better an even odds they'd need it before she could make it to the door. "Now, I should get going. I've got to follow up on this Lazlo guy. He'll probably come to you again and I need to be set up."
"Hold on, wait… Look, you want to hang out a while? I'm a bit frazzled and… Awesome and Ellie kinda think we're…" Chuck was stammering cutely and blushing. It seemed a bit strange for someone who'd had his hand up her skirt last night to be embarrassed when the two of them were alone. But that's part of what makes him so adorable. I suppose the odds were much better than even...
"Well…" she said slowly, putting her hands on shoulders while she moved to straddle his lap."I'd hate to disappoint…" she kissed him on the neck, and continued to work along to his earlobe.
Chuck seemed to loose his concentration, but eventually said, "Have I mentioned how lucky I am?"
"Interesting choice of words, Chuck." Sarah replied.
Chuck had not been happy with her plan for when Lazlo contacted him, but had agreed after she explained how many people Lazlo had hurt. The plan was, wherever Lazlo contacted him, to get him away and to a spot away from cameras to see if they could first talk him into surrendering. If not, or if he seemed to be a threat, they'd tranq him. They discussed several options for locations and words to work into conversation to indicate them. All in all, Sarah considered it a good starter for training Chuck with a few field skills.
Late in the evening, the next day, Lazlo had tried to contact Chuck again as they had predicted. He managed to get to him in a gap in their coverage. Or what seemed like a gap. Casey was inside, Sarah had been ready to come over and was in her car. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw the gun, and Casey almost shot Lazlo. Casey had noticed at the last moment that it was a water gun, a bit before Chuck did. When Lazlo was distracted, Chuck hit the connection on his watch so, they'd heard the entire conversation and Chuck's attempt to talk Lazlo down.
"I could really use some pancakes." Lazlo was saying. Sarah sat in her car about two hundred yards off, listening. Casey was much closer, just inside the Buy More.
Chuck's voice was nervous when he replied. "You know what, I know just the place. I took my girlfriend there for breakfast not too long ago." Excellent, he remembered.
Sarah flipped channels and spoke into her comm. "Casey, Chuck just slipped us the location he's taking Lazlo to. I'll pick you up at the side entrance and we'll go get setup." Casey's grunt was the only reply she got and she put the car into gear.
It was about thirty minutes later, and Sarah stood in a shadowed corner of the diner Chuck had brought Lazlo to for pancakes. She watched as they talked and wondered, not for the first time, if it was a good thing to turn him over. Lazlo could, probably would, do a lot of damage if left to his own devices. On the other hand, the CIA is partly responsible for the fact that he's a nutjob. What is it with our recruiters and handlers being borderline sociopaths. Casey was ready outside. With a tiny bit of luck, they'd be able to do this and no one else would get hurt. Maybe they'd get this guy some actual help.
Chuck had chosen a booth away from the main part of the restaurant, and where the kitchen noise was annoying. There were times she was certain he had instincts like a spy, or soldier of some kind.Or maybe its all the gaming.There were no bystanders to get hurt, and he'd managed to place Lazlo so that his back was to her. She shook her head and focused on the conversation.
"They can help you, Lazlo. They're the good guys." Chuck was saying earnestly.
Lazlo snorted. "There's no such thing in this business. I mean you don't believe me? Go home and search your room, see what kind of bugs your…"
Chuck interrupted. "Seven at last count. And sh.. they even gave me the ability to turn them off from time to time. Lazlo, they didn't lie to me. Its not perfect, and they're not perfect, they didn't even think it would bother me at first – but they addressed it. They've got no interest in listening to me yell at people in Halo, they're trying to protect me."
"No. They had to have lied, you can't trust anything any of them say. They're out to…" Lazlo was getting agitated and his voice was rising. Sarah quietly walked up, raised the tranq gun and put two darts into his back. The noise was lost in the background of the kitchen. Lazlo sat up straighter, raised a hand and then slumped over. Sarah stepped close and plucked the darts from his back, putting them in her pocket. She checked his pulse, and nodded to Chuck with a small smile.
"He's out, but he should be fine in about six hours." Seeing Chuck's face, she sighed and sat down next to the now lightly snoring Lazlo. "I know its hard to set someone up like that, but he can't be roaming free. Not just because of what he knows, Chuck, he's out of it and needs help. Even Casey agreed after I showed him the file. He's going to turn him over to Beckman directly, not the department he'd been with. Lazlo will face charges for the people he killed, but he'll likely end up in psychiatric care. Not prison, and not a bunker. Graham won't be happy, but I think it will work out."
"That's good. I think… I see something that could have been me if I wasn't lucky enough to run into you." Chuck said with some obvious relief.
Sarah grinned. "I think we both got lucky." The two of them made googly eyes at each other for a happy few minutes until they were brought back to reality by the bell on the diner's front door.
Casey walked to their corner, grunted at the slumped over form of Lazlo, and then plopped onto the bench next to Chuck. "Area's clear, for once something went smoothly." He glanced at the table and picked up the napkin Lazlo had been doodling on. "Huh, the herder's self destruct." At their surprised looks he said, "Hey, I read things! I can't help that I like bombs." Shrugging he pocketed the napkin. "Guess this egghead designed it. I'd bet he had plans for one."
"Well, then I'm glad we stopped him." Chuck replied soberly. Sarah could see that he was starting to really believe they'd done the right thing. Which was good, because they had.
"Think we have time for pancakes before we head back?" Casey asked. "He won't mind."
"Casey…" Sarah started say, exasperated, only to be interrupted by Chuck.
"Now Sarah, we should not stand between your partner and pancakes. Breakfast food for dinner is a sacred thing." Chuck said smiling. "And I'm betting this is the first time Lazlo has slept in days."
Sarah sighed, then smiled. "Fine, but I'm having pie. And ice cream. And you're paying." She pointed at Chuck.
Chuck shrugged and started to say something, but Casey put up a hand. "The NSA's paying, this was an op. Its in the budget."
"Well, in that case…" Chuck said, then looked at Casey's face. "I shall keep my order reasonable and just get french toast. Lets not put too much on the taxpayers."
Casey grunted in approval. Sarah smiled. Lazlo continued to snore, and drool.
The next day, Sarah sat in Chuck's room again, engaging in one of her favorite pastimes. Watching Chuck scramble to get ready. She had already showered and gotten ready while Chuck was hitting snooze. Chuck was getting dressed and she was glad, again, that their bosses had taken her subtle suggestions and ordered the 'close protection and surveillance'. As he was finishing up straightening his tie, she gave him a bright smile and said, "You look nice."
Chuck looked back, his immediate smile fading a bit. "I feel a bit conflicted."
Sarah frowned, stood, and walked over to go over his appearance. And to have an excuse to touch him more. "How so?" she asked as she smoothed down part of his shirt.
"Lazlo. Doing what we do. And my dead end retail work and this interview for a job I'm not sure I want." he sighed.
She hesitated to interfere, she didn't want to seem like a controlling girlfriend, but on the other hand he wasn't happy. Which made her not happy. "So… don't do the retail work?" she said, after a moment.
"What?" he blurted out, surprised.
"Chuck, if you don't want to work at the Buy More… or at least if you don't want to be the assistant manager, don't. Your job is not you." She hugged him and spoke with her head on his chest. "You're not a slave or a prisoner. We can figure out covers if needed. Granted the Buy More is easier for us, but don't let that make you miserable."
He hugged her tightly and put his chin on the top of her head. "What would I do? I don't have a degree to work in the field I wanted or money to start my own company. I can't put 'part time government super computer' on a resume exactly."
Laughing softly, she pushed herself back and held his hands. "Do you trust me?"
"With my life." he paused, grinning. "On a shockingly regular basis."
"Go to the interview. If you don't want it and they offer it, turn it down. It never hurts to get the practice of doing the interview process and it gives you options." She smiled at him. "Casey and I are working to get you a job with us. One that provides a bit more reasonable protection for your activities and makes use of your skills."
"You want me to be a spy?" Chuck asked, with a wrinkled brow.
"No, I want you to be Chuck. The guy who sees the good in people like me." She stood up on her toes and kissed him. "The guy who doesn't think like a spy and is brilliant with information and tech."
"Careful, I might start to get a swelled head with all this praise."
"Good." She grinned at him. "I was going to mention, your head was all out of proportion with the rest of you." she giggled at his expression. "Get going, shoo." She pushed him towards the door.
The meeting with Graham and Beckman helped and would provide some official cover. Anyone read into the operation would buy it, she thought. However it didn't solve the fundamental, future, problems. Sarah wasn't a fan of leaving Chuck out of her planning these days given how well the truth had worked out for her so far, but this was one of those spy things that would just worry him. Sarah fully planned to explain everything, just not… yet. There where wheels to set in motion first. She pulled up to the hotel who's bar her contact had insisted on meeting at, she turned off the Porsche and took a deep breath. The meet wasn't particularly shady, or dangerous. However, it was the first step in what could be a dangerous and political power play. And it was eventually going to take her away from Burbank for a time. I am not looking forward to telling Chuck about that part. She steeled herself and got out of the car.
She walked into the hotel and turned right, heading to the bar. Since it was daytime, it was sparsely populated with a few employees and one man in an oddly formal outfit for the time of day. He was that way at the Farm. The only instructor to completely reject the standard polo and khaki in favor of suits and regulation violating martinis. She stopped about ten feet away and waited for him to gesture at the stool next to him before sitting. Montgomery was an old school spy, but still a spy. Sneaking up on one was hazardous.
"Sarah, you look lovely, as usual." Roan Montgomery said and gestured at the bartender. The man began to prepare drinks that were obviously ordered in advance.
Sarah ignored the compliment, it was background noise coming from Montgomery. "Hello, its been a long time, Montgomery. Let me come right to the point. Casey contacted you, so you know I'm part of a joint CIA/NSA operation in Burbank. We've got problems and I need your help." she said, getting right to the point. She held off on saying anything else as the bartender was returning with drinks.
Both of them watched the bartender return to the other side of the bar and a sports channel on the TV. "What exactly is it you want me to do, my dear." Roan said smoothly, taking a sip of his martini. He grimaced slightly. "Too much vermouth."
Sarah sighed. "I need to get Beckman on my side. The operation is on shaky ground from… multiple standpoints and our internal security is questionable. I'll need assistance from the people in charge to resolve the problems, but not assistance that anyone can see." Sarah took a drink from her glass. It turned out to be a very nice Chardonnay. One thing this guys knows, his alcohol. "I came to you because you have an in with Beckman. Its about as open a secret as any in the community."
"My influence over Diane is likely exaggerated." He sipped and set the glass down. "We are the very definition of on again, off again."
"I'm not looking for you to convince her to do anything except meet me unofficially." Sarah said. "I'm having to maneuver against… various interests and I have to handle as much as I can face to face. I just need her to be willing to meet and keep it out of her official calendar. She's got enough field experience to slip her coverage."
"You're lying, about why, not that you want to meet with Diane. Did pretty well, but I know most of your tells. Operational concerns do not make what you're suggesting necessary. You could handle that through channels, get additional personnel assigned for example. Use trusted contacts and work with known agents to vet new ones. Rotate out, yourself, if needed. We're an intelligence agency, we have mechanisms to deal with penetrations and betrayals." Roan looked at her speculatively. "Why exactly do you need do do this outside of channels, 'maneuver'…. Hmm... you are concerned about Graham?"
"Not just him, though I plan on a pointed conversation with him soon regarding some of my past assignments. There are concerns outside of simple security. Outside of the success of the operation, though I do believe we can enhance the team." She paused and at his look decided to just give him the real reasons. "Essentially our agencies are planning to put a bullet in my asset's head, someone who's done nothing wrong." Sarah replied, gritting her teeth at the sudden surge of anger. She deliberately relaxed her jaw and took a long drink. "There's a line Roan. We're still supposed to be the good guys even if we work in the shadows."
"If I may quote your ape like NSA partner, who rousted me from an entertaining tryst with a flight attendant last week. Bullshit." He sniffed delicately and then drained his drink, signaling for another. "We've all done worse. And, like your operational concerns, there are actually internal channels to bring up ethics complaints. No, my dear, the only reason you would be working like this is because there is something you personally want. Something that breaks the rules." He smiled broadly. "Which I find delightfully refreshing. You were always such a stodgy bore about regulations."
"You sure you want to know? By those same regulations, you'd normally be required to report what we're talking about." Sarah asked with a small smile. "Could drag you right down with me. What I've given is enough to cover you if you stick with the story."
"At this stage of my career, there is little I'm afraid of outside of boredom. Please, indulge me." He replied with a trademark grin.
"Putting everything else aside… I broke the cardinal rule." Sarah shrugged and smiled, the same goofy little smile she normally had to suppress whenever she thought about her Chuck. "I fell in love with my asset." And that makes two people I've told… and I still haven't told Chuck. Again ask yourself – What the hell is wrong with you, Walker?
"Ah, so what Casey hinted at is indeed true." Roan shook his head, with mock sadness. "Truly a terrible fate for one so young and beautiful. So, I presume some handsome, shady, fellow your operation has drawn in? Perhaps Romeo and Juliet, staring American and foreign agents?"
"Handsome enough for me." Sarah laughed, Roan was good at putting people at ease. "And not shady in the slightest, certainly not foreign, nor any kind of agent. He's the rarest of things, A good, honest, and innocent guy. Caught up in our world through no fault of his own, trying to make the best of it. Your training program left a deficiency in my education. A world class nerd who does nothing 'right' by your standards got me using sincerity, caring, and a sense of humor. You know, all of the things they tried to drill out of us. I had absolutely no resistance."
"In my defense, you aren't really supposed to meet normal people in our line of work. Much less…" He shuddered for effect then waited while his drink was delivered to continue. "Ah, yes. Normal people… few of those to be found in our work. Much less good or honest ones… but to fall to a nerd of all things. Tragic, just tragic."
"Maybe you'll come up with a curriculum modification. I'd come back as a guest lecturer, but I suspect I'd be a hindrance. I'm no long of the opinion that our humanity is a weakness." Sarah replied. "So, will you help me?"
"Of course I'll help you, my dear. That was never in any doubt, I just wanted to know why." He smiled, then sobered. "You believe he's worth it? Worth possibly killing your career… maybe worse?"
"Yes." She replied without hesitation.
"Well, then I have a trip to DC to arrange, Diane will be so delighted to see me. And you have a 'pitch' to prepare." He reached over and patted her on the shoulder. "I trust you're mostly done with that, you were never caught unprepared as a student." He returned to his drink. Then he glanced at her. "You should probably get going. Given the distance back to Burbank, you'll need the time to return before the end of your asset's workday. Presuming he works some dreary nine to five sort of job."
"Not… exactly. I do need to get moving though. I have to stop at the substation and pick up a wardrobe change." Sarah smiled to herself at the knowledge of what the wardrobe change consisted of.
"Ah? Some swanky embassy gala? Is there a party I should crash?" Roan asked.
Sarah laughed, and actually snorted, at the thought of Roan at the sort of party Ellie would throw. "Only if you like chips, beer, and a potluck. My 'asset'," Sarah actually used air quotes, "and his sister, are throwing a Halloween party."
He shuddered and made a shooing gesture. "Go! Go, before you infect me. I'll contact you when I have the details arranged."
When Sarah returned to Echo Park the party was in full swing. People overflowed the courtyard into the grassy area. Even before she got out of her car, she could hear the shouts of 'Sandworm!'. When she got out and headed towards the courtyard, she could see that Chuck and Morgan were making the rounds in the odd brown costume. When he'd explained the costume to her, he'd tried to get her to read Dune. She'd made an attempt, but realized that it simply was too much. She'd made it most of the way through the first book, but couldn't continue. It wasn't exactly bad it was simply… not fun for her. Politics, betrayal, serious Arab tribal parallels… all too much like her day job despite the science fiction setting. Chuck's reaction had been different from what she'd thought. He'd said, "Sarah, we don't have to like all the same things. Thanks for trying it." However, on the plus side, at least she knew what Shai-Halud was. Shaking her head at the memory, she waited until Chuck and Morgan had turned and slipped into the apartment to change.
After getting changed, she stopped for a moment to look at her outfit in the mirror. The local CIA station had 'obtained' the costume from a movie props company, which meant she'd have to give it back, but that was fine. With the accessories added, she had to admit she looked good. She'd picked it after remembering what Casey was going to photoshop for Chuck's picture frame. When she'd picked up the outfit from the support staff at the substation, one of the younger guys on their team actually passed out. Sarah figured this meant Chuck would probably approve. She stepped out into the hallway and was presented with a nearly naked Devon, who was wearing a flesh toned speedo, and a leaf. A large plush boa constrictor was hanging around his neck.
"Hey, Sarah! Wow, Chuck's going to freak. Awesome." Devon said and then raised a hand for a high five. Sarah returned it, and then he continued. "Check out my snake! Really completes the outfit."
Sarah blinked. She was never sure if Devon was really making jokes like that or if he really was just… innocently straightforward. She shook her head, turned and yelled. "Ellie! Come collect your boyfriend. He's trying to get people to check out his snake."
A few seconds later, while Sarah and Devon both laughed, Ellie came walking up the hall in not much more than Devon was wearing. "Devon, honey, you have to stop asking people that." She looked at Sarah's outfit and nodded. "I give it a fifty/fifty chance that Chuck passes out."
"I'll be on the lookout. Can you actually go get him for me? Have him meet me in his room?" Sarah asked.
Ellie nodded, and grabbed Devon's arm. "C'mon. I don't think we want to be here for what they're going to do when Chuck gets in there."
Sarah waited in Chuck's room, idly flipping through his Klingon dictionary when she heard a noise at the window. She popped up, hand going to the one knife she had in this costume, and relaxed as she saw it was Chuck coming in through the Morgan door. She sat back on the bed waited for him to notice her. It took a few seconds as he was closing the window, but he finally turned and stopped dead. His eyes widened and he mouthed 'oh my god' before shaking his head. She smiled widely and said, "I take it you like the outfit? Its from some movie from the 80's, I wasn't sure about the gold metal bikini but…" She was interrupted when he kissed her.
It took some minutes before she was able to extricate herself.
"I take it this is a welcome surprise?" Sarah said, leaning back.
Chuck blinked. "Was I not clear? I'm going to have to try harder…"
"Not if we want to go back to the party in the next hour or so." Sarah said, poking him.
"I need to ask now – will you dress like that and come to Comi-Con?" Chuck said, excited. "I have just the thing, I wanted to do a Han Solo for so long. We can dress Morgan up as Chewie."
"Don't you mean an Ewok?" Sarah said, raising an eyebrow.
Chuck burst out laughing. "OK, you may be the perfect woman. And I'm going to let you tell him about the Ewok. So that's a yes?"
"Presuming no other things come up, sure. If you'll agree to go on trip to somewhere I like." Sarah said, carefully not mentioning those things. Her normal time off activities were considerably more physical than Chuck was used to. She'd wait to spring rock climbing in Utah on him until she got him into some training.
"Sure, no problem. Can't just do things I like all the time." Chuck agreed quickly. Sarah felt a tiny twinge, but it would be good for him.
"How did the interview go?" Sarah asked. "Its part of why I waited in here, wanted to see what happened."
"It went pretty well, the job is mine if I want it." Chuck said, shrugging. "Now I just need to decide if I do."
"Don't you already pretty much do that job, just without any authority or money?" Sarah asked. "So, it really wouldn't be a big change right?"
Chuck sighed. "Right, but it doesn't change the basic dilemma I had before. Still feels pretty dead end."
"Well, like we talked about, you could quit the Buy More. We'd find something else, in fact – we're actively looking to setup something else. I hate hot dogs, and as much as Casey likes Beastmasters… its not really helping with the missions. We took these jobs to watch yours." Sarah shrugged. "I know its hard right now, since we're not paying you. Casey and I can look at what we do as a disguise, you can't right now. My advice from before is still valid. You didn't make a permanent life decision by doing the interview. You won't make a permanent life choice by taking or not taking the job. And you don't have to decide right now, there is a party on." She smiled at him and leaned back in to hug him. "Chuck Bartowski is not the Buy More, and vice versa. At the end of the day its just a job. Heck, at the end of the day, being in the CIA is just a job – albeit a really weird and dangerous one. You helped me see that."
"Sarah Walker is not defined by the CIA?" Chuck asked, kissing the top of her head.
"Not anymore." she replied.
They sat, snuggled up, for a few minutes. Eventually Chuck stirred and said, "You said part of the reason you wanted to meet me in here?"
"Oh yes! I forgot. The costume didn't come with gold metal bottoms, just the oversized loincloth. I'm not totally comfortable hanging out commando as you called it once… So I was trying to decide between the thong and the… Chuck? You OK?" Sarah grinned at the face he was making and counted. When she hit forty-three she saw him blink and shake his head.
Chuck cleared his throat. "Commando you said?"
"You're welcome to check." Sarah replied.
They were, as she'd predicted, about an hour late to the party.