Sarah vs Fulcrum

by Steelejay

This is the continuation story of Sarah vs. Asking Chuck Out. You should read that first. I marked that story complete because I felt like they'd made it through the first part of their journey. This will be a more plot driven story but still with the all the Charah you can handle. It's marked at T but be forewarned, it's a hard T, with an asterisk. Adult interactions do occur.

5. Chapter 5

A/N: Those who don't appreciate the more adult content will be happy with this chapter. The same cannot be said for upcoming chapters.

"Screws fall out all the time. The world's an imperfect place." - John Bender

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Carina sat up in the deck chair with a serious expression. "Jesus Christ, Walker! Where do I start?" she exclaimed. "Ok, how did you meet him?"

Given Carina's tone of voice, Sarah instantly regretted making the offer of answering questions. "Carina, do we have to do this now? There's so much work that needs to be done and this story needs context. You won't get it and you'll make judgments that could affect how you work with him."

"Sarah, you brought your boyfriend in on a mission! An Executive Order mission authorized by the freaking President! Do you realize how fucked up the optics are on that?"

"I don't give two shits about the optics right now!" Sarah yelled, already getting pissed off at the direction the conversation was going. She took a breath and forced herself to calm down. "Carina, you and I have worked together a lot over the years. You're one of the few people I trust implicitly. It's why I asked you to be a part of this team. Do you trust me?"

"Of course, you know I do," she replied.

"I'm going to tell you the story, but I need you to come at this from a perspective of trusting my judgement. I'm not compromised here. I know what I'm doing, and I know why I'm doing it."

"Okay, that's a reasonable request," Carina admitted.

"What do you remember about our last mission together, what was it, about six months ago now? Not about the mission, but about me, about my state of mind. And be honest."

"I don't know, Sarah," Carina said, sounding uncomfortable. "I guess you were a little out of sorts. You were angry all the time, any little thing would set you off. You spent all your down time in the gym kicking the shit out of the heavy bag. Getting you to go out and blow off steam was a freaking nightmare, worse than when I first met you. And when you did go out, you had this 'fuck off' vibe that everyone picked up on. I just figured you needed to get laid or something."

Sarah gave a mirthless laugh. "No, I didn't need to get laid. And you're exactly right, I was angry. So damn angry and I didn't even recognize it, couldn't even try to understand it. I had been for a while. And that anger only got worse. Then this whole thing with Ryker happened and it all coalesced around that. My anger had a focus. I thought, ok, I stop this, I catch this asshole in this fucked up, horrific scheme and I'll be ok. I actually had that thought, which is strange when you think about it. I told myself I'd be ok, even though I hadn't admitted there was anything wrong."

"So what happened?"

"Well, you know that part. I did it. I stopped him. I caught everyone involved, the perfect mission."

"And?"

"And then I got sent out here while Graham and the rest of them tried to figure out what to do next. Everything was kept very quiet, obviously, but a lot of people were losing their shit behind closed doors. Of the few people that were in the loop, no one had any idea what to do with them, or how to really start the investigation. It's why they were sent to Gitmo. I mean think about it; a couple dozen CIA field agents and another dozen outside contractors in a plot to kill an important foreign national's entire extended family? Then add in this secret sub-group within the CIA. It's a scandal of epic fucking proportions. Something that could hamstring CIA operations for years, could really cripple the Ops side of the agency.

"I was told to basically chill out for a while. They put me in charge of some civilian analysts, but it was pointless. When you've got nothing else to do, self-reflection is inevitable. And I realized that I was still angry. Just so angry at everything and nothing. The mission took the edge off, but it didn't resolve it. It took me a few weeks to realize it, but I was done. Done with all the bullshit. I wanted out. Ryker's betrayal was the last straw for me. I'd started trying to figure out what kind of civilian life I wanted, but nothing made sense," Sarah paused, remembering the angst she'd felt, being only a couple of weeks removed from it. "Anyway, this was just a few weeks ago. I seriously felt like I was going a little crazy."

"Jeez, Sarah," Carina said. "Why didn't you call me? I've got time coming, we could have gone to Cabo for a month."

"That's just it, Carina, this wasn't something that a vacation could fix. This was an existential crisis of sorts," Sarah paused, considering how to continue. "Carina, I've read your file, so I know the answers, but humor me. How old are you?"

"I'll be thirty-one in November."

"And you were recruited into the DEA when you were what, twenty-four, right? After serving with the NYPD for a couple of years?"

"Yeah."

"And you had to put in two years with the DEA before they'd let you go solo undercover, right?"

"Yes."

"Carina, I was recruited into the CIA at seventeen, right out of fucking high school," Sarah said intently. "I was doing active field missions as part of my training in my first year which means I've been an active CIA field agent for ten years. More than a third of my life."

"Holy shit, Sarah! Is that even legal? How is it you've never told me that before?" Carina asked, obviously shocked at the information.

Sarah shrugged. "It's never come up. You know it's not something we're encouraged to talk about."

"So you're saying that after ten years, you were burned out?"

"Yes, but it's more than that. Keep in mind, I was a Non-Official Cover operative. We work a little differently in the field than the DEA does. When you were operating under deep cover, you still had an out. You had a safety net of sorts. Drop a quarter into a pay phone and an armored Suburban would pick you up and haul your ass to safety in most places, right?"

Carina rolled her eyes. "That's an oversimplification, but yeah, for the most part."

"Well, we don't even get that over-simplified version in most cases. We get burned, we're legit on our own. I'll admit, it was exciting at first. But the shine wears off after a couple of years of near misses. A couple of not misses that equate to fucking bullet or stab wounds, and you get pretty goddamn tired of being on your own. That, and the lack of any kind of real human connection, it takes a toll. It takes a toll that you don't even really see or understand."

Carina sighed. "Ok, I'm starting to get it. You were burned out, angry, lonely, then they sent you out here and piled bored on top of all the other shit. Does that sound about right?" She asked, but not unsympathetically.

"Yeah, pretty accurate actually."

"Ok, so pick up from there. How did you meet Chuck?" For the first time, Carina sounded genuinely interested rather than simply bewildered and disbelieving.

"I'll tell you the story, but I have to preface it with how intense my physical attraction was right out of the gate. Like nothing I've ever felt before, and I could tell he reciprocated my feelings. Like, within a few seconds of meeting him I was wondering what his curls would feel like in my hands, his eyes were freaking hypnotizing and his smile made my heart go pitter-pat," she said smiling at the memory. "And you also need to know that he was in a similar mental and emotional place as I was. Without the anger and obviously for different reasons, but still, similar fucked up state of being."

"Ok, you're right, that does add context," Carina admitted.

"So, how I met him is, I went to the Buy More and he fixed my phone. No drama, no mission. Just a chance encounter."

Carina looked confused. "That's it? He fixed your phone, and you're like, do me you stud?"

"No, you crass bitch," Sarah said, unamused. "I asked him out. He said yes, and it was wonderful. I laughed more in those first few hours with him than I had in months. For the first time in I have no idea how long – months? years? – I wasn't angry. He was charming and sweet and unintentionally sexy. He wasn't handsy with the hot blonde that asked him out. He was a gentleman from the beginning; he opened my car door for me for God's sake, how adorable is that? He didn't try to talk himself up, he was honest about where he was in his life and why.

"And on top of that, everyone he introduced me to during the night seemed to know and genuinely like him. Two different people told me he was 'one of the good ones'. I learned about some completely amazing things he did to help people, for no other reason than he could. We went to this club to listen to live music and the night got even better. We literally got lost in each other's eyes for almost an hour on the dance floor that felt like this instant fleeting moment. It was like nothing either of us had ever experienced. He admitted as much to me that it was the same for him. We got drinks at the bar and I asked him about his dating history, and he opened up to me honestly about it. He got hurt by his girlfriend in college and it was pretty brutal. He was still sort of working shit out. It was this insane level of intimacy that I'd never even come close to before, all just in a simple night out with a man I'd only met the day before."

"Wow," Carina said, sounding maybe a little jealous. "So what happened then?"

Sarah couldn't help but laugh at the memory. "We were standing at the bar, talking, kissing a little. I had already kissed him two or three times at this point, and oh God it was even better than I'd hoped. Anyway, we're having our moment, when out of nowhere this asshole grabs my ass. That alone should tell you how distracted I was, to not be aware that someone was in my space like that."

Carina nodded. "I was thinking that exact thing, like how could a guy get close enough without you seeing it coming."

"Yeah, well, he'll never do it again, at least not with his right hand. I nearly tore his thumb off and handed it to him."

Carina burst out laughing. "Fuck I wish I could have seen that. That must have been so goddamn satisfying. What happened after that? Let me guess; you guys couldn't get back to your hotel fast enough," she said with a knowing smile.

Sarah grinned. "I would have settled for the car, but it was this tiny little two-door hatch back. So, yeah, I made him give me the keys to his car because he drives kind of slow," Sarah paused, remembering.

"Well, don't leave me hanging. How was it?" Carina demanded.

Sarah sputtered for a second. "Carina, I don't have words for it. To say it was the best sex of my life doesn't do it justice. It's like it was the best sex of anyone's life, ever," Sarah explained with a dazed expression. "And it's only gotten better! It's a little scary sometimes, if I'm honest. We do it two or three times a day. It's an insane pace that I know neither of us can maintain, but God I just can't get enough! He's like my own personal orgasm machine."

"Uhg, I fucking hate you so much right now," Carina said. "How long ago was this first date?"

Sarah smiled. "Today is our two week anniversary."

Carina's mouth dropped open. "Holy, shit, Walker! Forget the fact that you're moving at goddamn light speed with this guy for a second. I'm more impressed by the fact that you guys have been doing it twice a day for two weeks straight?"

Sarah laughed again. "Leave it to you to focus on the sex aspect. To answer your question, yeah, pretty much. Morning and night, most days, with an occasional afternoon delight thrown in. That was yesterday, three times. Today, once already and I'm looking forward to tonight."

Carina shook her head, a little dazed. "You've got me beat, Walker. My most voracious love affair was a four day fling in Havana a couple of years ago, and after four days of two or three times a day, I was spent," she admitted.

"I'm going to be getting my period in a few days and I don't know how we're going to cope."

"There are other… options… you know. Just takes a little planning and forethought," Carina said with a twisted grin.

Sarah didn't take the bait. "Well, just to be clear, this is not a fling. I mean, obviously you don't ask a fling to move in with you a week after meeting them. I'm in love with him. Heart and soul. And you know me. You know how difficult it would have been for me to admit that," Sarah said, getting a knowing nod in return. "And he's in the same place with me. Christ, the way he looks at me sometimes just makes my heart want to pop. The distance we've come in the two weeks we've been together is unimaginable."

"Well, I guess good for you. You deserve it," Carina said. "I'm genuinely happy for you. But none of this explains why he's on the team."

"So the guy who fixed my phone at a random Buy More, who happens to have graduated with Distinction from Stanford University with a major in Electrical Engineering and a double minor in Computer Science and Business Administration? You're asking why is that guy on the team?"

"Ok, he's got an impressive resume, but why is he working as a friggin' Nerd Herder? So, yeah, Walker, I'd still like to know, why is he on the team?"

"Because in addition to all that, he's also one of probably the top ten best hackers in the world," Sarah admitted plainly.

"Bullshit!" Carina exclaimed. "No hacker with an ounce of self-respect would be a Nerd Herder!"

"I'm sure you're probably right. No Black Hat would. But he's a White Hat, Carina. He breaks into the most secure systems in the world, then leaves notes on how to close the holes. The NSA was after him six years ago when he was still in college. He was that good back then, you think he hasn't gotten better? This part will blow your mind; I was read-in to the NSA op to catch him back then. I took a pass."

Carina looked completely disbelieving. "That can't possibly be true. It can't be the same guy. The odds of that are fucking astronomical."

Sarah shook her head ruefully. "You don't know the half of it, and unfortunately you can't know the rest because it's code-word classified. But the odds are so much higher than you realize. So this is where you have to trust me, because him being on the team has nothing to do with him being my boyfriend. He's on the team in spite of the fact that he's my boyfriend, because he has skills that we desperately need. And, we also need people we can trust on this, like I trust you. I trust Bryce too, mainly because he has a connection to Chuck."

"Yeah, I asked Bryce about that. The other night when Chuck clocked him. I saw that punch coming a mile away. Bryce could have kicked his ass all over the parking lot but instead he stood there and took it. It was kind of impressive actually," Carina observed.

"What did Bryce say about it?"

"Not much, just that they went to college together and had history. And there was that bizarre comment that Chuck made to him that I thought I'd misheard. He said, 'Thanks for saving me from the CIA'," Carina narrowed her eyes and looked at Sarah. "Jesus Christ, Walker. Your boyfriend was supposed to be recruited by the CIA in college and somehow his friend stopped it from happening. Whatever it was created some bad blood between them."

Sarah closed her eyes and shook her head with a smile. It was the cost of working with smart goddamn people. They had a tendency to put shit together. "Carina let it go. I cannot confirm or deny anything you just said. What I can confirm is that Bryce knows about Chuck's hacking skills. He was something of a known entity in his fraternity. Just ask Bryce. Tell him I said you're cleared to be read-in on Piranha."

"Fine, I'll ask him," she relented.

Sarah was happy for an opportunity to change the subject. "What's your take on Bryce so far, anyway?" she asked, curious to get another read on him.

"He seems competent," Carina said. "He hasn't hit on me which is refreshing and annoying at the same time, because he's hot and I've been in a bit of a dry spell. He's a little more serious and intense than most, but that could just be this particular mission bringing him back in touch with his past."

"Any idea what he's up to right now? Has he gotten back to you about meeting here?"

"I have no idea what he's up to. He's played it pretty close to the vest since we got here," Carina said as she checked her phone. "Yeah, he says he'll be here by noon."

"While we're waiting, I need to call the management office regarding that strip mall. I'm going to buy the whole damn thing."

"Impressive. Must be nice with working with an unlimited budget," Carina noted.

"It's not terrible," Sarah said as she dialed a number from memory.

A familiar voice answered after a few rings. "This is Nancy."

"Hi Nancy, it's Sarah Walker calling regarding the Burbank strip mall, across from the Buy More on Alameda," Sarah said brightly.

"Yes, Sarah, of course. Do you think the location we gave you access to on Tuesday will be sufficient?"

"Well, yes and no. I was calling to see if the property owner would be willing to entertain an offer on the entire complex. We can make a cash offer to escrow with closing in as little as 30 days."

"Um, well, that's a little unexpected. We do directly represent the property owner. I can definitely get in touch with them to see if they're interested."

"That would be great, I very much appreciate it. Also, just so you know, the company I represent is looking at several other properties in the area, but they want to move quickly given the current economic climate. They're inclined to go with whoever responds first with an equitable deal," Sarah said.

"I understand. I'll get back in touch with you right away once I have some information."

"Thanks, Nancy, I appreciate your help," Sarah said politely.

"How many empty storefronts does that complex have?" Carina asked after Sarah ended the call.

"Three out of twelve, so it's at 75% occupancy, but Chuck says the cut-rate cell phone store is going to close soon, then it will be at 66%."

"It seems like it would be in their interest to sell," Carina admitted.

"If I have to, I'll force their hand. That building will be mine," Sarah said determinedly. The buzzer sounded at the door, indicating a visitor in the elevator. "That should be Larkin. Can you buzz him up? I have another call to make."

They both stepped inside from the balcony and Sarah took a seat in one of the chairs in the living area as she dialed while Carina went to the front door.

"Stanton and Sons," a harried voice answered.

"May I speak to Joel Stanton, please. It's Sarah Walker calling."

"Hi, Agent Walker. This is Joel. You have fortuitous timing. Thank you for getting us that retainer so quickly. I was going to call you today to see if we could meet with you tomorrow to go over our preliminary plans."

"That would be fine Mr. Stanton. I can meet you at your office at ten am tomorrow morning if that works?"

"Yes, that's fine with me."

"Are there any concerns I need to be aware of beforehand?" Sarah asked, crossing her fingers there weren't.

"The only initial concern I have is a Radon analysis, but you've already indicated that you want level 4 ventilation capabilities, along with cooling for a small data center, so I think we should be fine in that regard. So, no, nothing that will significantly delay the build out process."

"That's excellent news, thank you Mr. Stanton. I'll see you in the morning."

"Yep, see you then," he said, disconnecting.

Bryce walked into her living room with Carina as Sarah hung up the phone. "Thanks for joining us Bryce," Sarah said.

"Sure," he said.

"So, what've you been up to?"

"Well, I may have found us a place to house up to 250 prisoners," he said, sitting on the couch while Carina took the chair opposite Sarah.

Sarah was a little surprised at that information. "You're kidding."

"Nope, and we've got the FBI to thank. Or rather, J. Edgar himself." Bryce said with a smile. "The much maligned founder and former head of FBI was not a big believer in the Bill of Rights and felt that he and his people needed places where he could detain certain undesirables where no one would notice or care when said person's rights were violated. To this end he used questionable funding to build a number of small private federal jails right here in California. One in particular later became a mental health institution specifically for housing those found not guilty of crimes due to insanity or mental defect. It served in that capacity until last year when funding was cut. The facility in question is available for lease or purchase and is in remarkably good repair."

"That is interesting. If we leased it, do you think we'd have the appropriate privacy from the property owner?" Sarah asked.

"Oh yeah, privacy from everyone. The place is in the middle of the Mojave. I was thinking that we use a private prison conglomerate as a front. Then it would be perfectly normal to treat it like what it is. A prison."

"Where is it?" Sarah asked, impressed with his resourcefulness.

"Yeah, that's the downside and why it probably won't do as temporary workspace because, like I mentioned, it's kind of in the middle of nowhere. It's just outside of Helendale, which is about a half hour southwest of Barstow," he said. "It's about a two-ish hour drive from here. That's where I was this morning."

"How the hell did you find it?" Carina asked

"I'm a full grown CIA agent," he quipped. "I got skills." He gave them both a smile Sarah was sure he thought was charming, but she was still ever so slightly irritated with him for his lack of communication.

"What would it need to take over as the new home for our friends?" Sarah asked.

"Not much, actually. The property owner has been pretty diligent about maintaining it. There's a guard service there 24x7 to keep out squatters and vandals. The power and utilities were never shut off, cleaning crews go through once a month. The security is a little archaic, but workable. We'd need a full crew of experienced security personnel, which is really where things get dicey. Our 'friends' as you call them, are all Americans, all highly intelligent, and highly trained, including in psy-ops. Your typical prison guard could be susceptible to manipulation from any one of these guys. Nothing against run of the mill prison guards, they just don't have the training we need. A guard gets duped and makes the wrong kind of phone call, we could be looking at some very uncomfortable questions. Last thing we want is for these assholes to accidentally end up in the system and us in front of a congressional sub-committee," he looked at Sarah pointedly. "Well, you in front of a congressional sub-committee."

"If we're looking at it as a private prison, we could use a private security contractor to provide the guards," Carina offered. "Those guys are contractually bound not to talk about their assignments. If we dress them up as typical guards, we might be able to flip it around on our friends. Make them think there's an opportunity to work the guards. It'll be expensive, but those guys know how to keep their mouths shut. Plus, most of them are former SpecOps guys, so they can handle a little psych-warfare from a bunch of chained up former spooks."

Bryce nodded and said, "I like it. We could even take it a step further. Make sure we get private contractors that speak fluent Arabic and Pashto, dress them in appropriate garb, arm them with AKs and we could maybe make our friends think they've been transferred to a really unfriendly location. It's the Mojave out there, nothing around for miles. It could easily be the Afghani desert."

"Do you think we could pull off that kind of deception for any length of time?" Sarah asked, intrigued by the idea. "We try and fail, we could end up looking weak to them. It might bolster their resolve. For example, after we fly them in, just transporting them from the airport to the facility is problematic. I've been on the kinds of busses they use in Afghanistan to move people around. They barely run, they're held together with bailing wire and bad language, they're loud and they fucking stink. Locals bring all manner of livestock on board, which then proceed to shit and piss everywhere. Even hooded, you'd easily be able to tell the difference between that, and a typical prisoner transport bus like we'd use here. Just moving the prisoners could ruin the deception you're trying to create."

Bryce nodded. "I see your point. Could be an interesting exercise but you are correct, it would need to be very well thought out and carefully orchestrated."

"It would be complicated to implement, I agree, but if done right, it would freak me out if I were in their position," Carina admitted. "If I were one of the five women in the group I would be terrified. If we make them believe they're anywhere in the region of Afghanistan, all of them would have reason to be very, very nervous but the women especially. Gitmo is relatively safe. They're surrounded by Marines. We make them think we're prepping them for disposal in that part of the world," Carina shivered a little at the thought. "That alone could get some of them to start talking. I'd certainly question my dedication to whatever ideology has these guys so tight lipped thus far."

Sarah held up her hand. "I'm intrigued, but let's not get too far into that idea just yet. First let's look at the viability of actually using the facility as their new home, using a private prison company as a front and military contractors as guards. That's our baseline. From there, see if you can expand on it with this psych-warfare option, but let's not get so married to that plan that we lose sight of our overall objective. Bryce, this is going to fall mostly on you as I'm tasking Carina with getting our manpower issues resolved." They both nodded. "Ok, you dig deep into this and put a plan together, soup to nuts. If we all agree that it's a viable option, we'll start to put it in motion. We have access to funding now, so if we need to move forward on something, let me know. Do you think we need to put some kind of hold deposit on this facility to keep it off the market until we decide yay or nay?" Sarah asked.

"I'll find out," he said, standing up to leave.

"Bryce hang on a second," Sarah said, getting a questioning look. "I have no interest in micro-managing the people on my team, and I know we're just getting our feet under us here, but moving forward, please keep me a little more apprised of your movements and things you're working on. This facility sounds like a good find, but I may have already had that worked out and you would have been spinning your wheels."

"Understood," Bryce said nodding, taking the minor chastisement in stride. "I'll let you know about needing a deposit and start working on a detailed movement plan for the subjects. I'll be at the hotel."

Sarah nodded then turned her attention to Carina as he left. "How quickly can you move in on the LAPD to start looking at Vice candidates?"

"As soon as you pave the way, so they know to expect me. I could be at roll call tomorrow morning."

"I think this is a chance for Coburn to earn his keep," Sarah said, picking up her phone and dialing his number.

He answered quickly. "Coburn."

"It's Walker. I need a favor. Or rather, I need an introduction," Sarah explained.

"I'm listening," he said.

"How familiar are you with the LAPD Chief?"

"Bill Branton? We've met a few times, mostly local law enforcement charity events and gatherings. I'm actually pretty good friends with the Deputy Chief, Norm Davis though. Why?"

"Miller had an idea for personnel that I think will work perfectly. Perfectly for us anyway, but it will take cajoling of the department heads we're raiding. She suggested we look at the Vice squad of various departments around the country, starting in LA. We'd set it up like a sort of application process, starting out as a six-month assignment with an option to renew for an additional six."

"I'll hand it to Miller. That fills your requirements quite nicely, and the odds that any of them are compromised is effectively nil. As to recruitment, the EO doesn't have the same authority for you to demand State resources as it does at the Federal level. Anyway, rather than pull rank and make enemies, my suggestion would be to horse trade. You're taking valuable personnel from them, you'll need to give them something valuable in return."

"Like what?" she asked.

"Ask them. Let them tell you what they want. Approach it like a negotiation. And I would definitely recommend going through Deputy Chief Davis rather than Chief Branton. Branton is the political side of the force, Davis handles more of the daily operations."

"Well, if you're friends with the guy, it makes things that much easier," Sarah admitted. "Anyway, I need you to set up the meeting and come along to provide credibility. Once I've got LAPD on board, I can use that to help my position with other Police Departments I contact."

"When were you thinking?" he asked.

"You know the position we're in. We need to move fast. I'd like to have Miller at their roll-call tomorrow to announce the available positions or Monday morning at the latest," Sarah said. "What's your take on how this is going to work out for the officers involved? They'll be leaving their existing jobs for at least six months, maybe up to a year or longer depending on how this investigation plays out. How do we guarantee their old jobs will be waiting for them?"

Coburn's grunt seemed to acknowledge her concerns. "We can have a contract written up, but six months in Vice is a long time, twelve is an eternity. They'll be behind the curve when they get back, but they'll have a strong recommendation in their file from the two of us, so it will help them climb the ladder if that's their goal. We can also look at promotion schedules and give them a guaranteed bump, if it applies. If they prove their value on the Task Force, we can probably offer them a permanent transition to the FBI, but you don't want to dangle that until later. LAPD won't like you poaching their people up front like that. So either they'll go back to their old jobs and work their way back into relevance, or if they're good enough, we bring them into the fold here. Either way, I think the officers in question will understand the career risk they're taking, but you know those undercover types. They thrive on risk."

Sarah chuckled. "Yeah, I have some small experience with that."

"I'll call Davis and see if we can get on his schedule this afternoon."

"The earlier the better," Sarah said. "If we can't get in today, then tomorrow at or after lunch."

Coburn grunted an acknowledgement. "Noted," he said, then disconnected.

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Coburn called her back to confirm their meeting with the Deputy Chief of the LAPD the following day as Sarah was on her way to pick Chuck up at work. She walked into the Buy More a little before the end of Chuck's shift and saw him in the central kiosk surrounded by several of the Nerd Herd crew, which she was coming to think of as his minions. Morgan was the only green shirt standing among them. As she took in their motley appearance, she had a hard time believing that they had much to offer, but Chuck insisted that they had the technical skills to more than make up for their disorderly conduct. Almost as if he sensed her presence, he looked up and saw her coming. His minions saw the grin take over his face and almost as a single entity they looked up to see what had made him so suddenly happy. They had him boxed in, so he simply stepped up onto his side of the counter and deftly jumped down on the other side, walking quickly to meet her. Sarah felt a little on display as five sets of eyes followed their every move, but forgot about them as soon as Chuck pulled her into an embrace and kissed her.

"Hey, beautiful," he said as he pulled away.

"Chuck, I don't generally have a problem with PDA, but we sort of have an audience here," she said quietly, nodding her head toward the kiosk twenty feet behind them. The stares they were getting varied from bored on the tall, rail-thin man with extremely thick hair sticking out from his head like a blond Afro, who she figured was Skip, to half-stoned on Jeff, and what exactly was Lester doing with his mouth? And did Anna look jealous? Of all of them, Morgan just looked happy as he watched them, and Sarah felt a swell of fondness for Chuck's best friend.

Chuck looked over his shoulder. "Uh, guys? What were we just talking about? Chop-chop!" he exclaimed. They all looked startled for a moment then suddenly dispersed to other areas of the store, except for Morgan who started walking towards them.

"Well, that was impressive," Sarah said. "Was Lester blowing kisses at me just then?"

Chuck laughed. "He may have been. He's convinced you're a call-girl that I'm paying or blackmailing into pretending to be my girlfriend," he said with a grin.

Sarah shook her head. "I don't know whether to laugh or be offended."

"When it comes to Lester's behavior, laughter is generally a good first option," Morgan said as he stepped up beside Chuck.

"Hi, Morgan," Sarah said with a smile. "It's good to see you."

"You too, Sarah," he said. "Chuck filled me in on what's going on with you two, and I gotta say, I'm really happy for both of you. He said you invited me over for a movie or game night to hang out and see your guys' new place."

"I did, and that's part of why I'm here a little early. We've gotten our furniture, but we don't have any of our televisions or home entertainment systems yet and I figured what better place to come than here to get everything we need." She looked at Chuck who quickly picked up on where she was going.

"Yeah, buddy, in all the excitement of the other news, I forgot to mention that we need a lot of stuff for our new place. TV's, receivers, sound bars, game consoles. You think you could help us build it out, be our green shirt for the night?"

He stood up straighter and took on a friendly yet formal tone. "It would be my honor, good sir, madam, to assist you in your home entertainment needs," he said, giving them a little bow.

She walked along with the two of them, enjoying the back and forth banter of two men who'd known each other basically their entire lives. They were so comfortable with each other that she noticed on more than one occasion where they finished each other's sentences without even realizing it. She actually had a small pang of jealousy that she didn't have a similar relationship in her life and couldn't even fathom what it would be like. She quickly realized that she had a connection with Chuck that no other relationship she might have could come close to and from that point was simply happy for the two of them.

After they were done building the systems out on paper, Chuck looked at her and said, "Ok, we've got everything we need."

"Well, ok then," she said. As she started to dig into her purse, Chuck put his hand on her arm.

"No way, sweetie. I got this," he said earnestly.

Sarah suppressed the urge to argue and instead just smiled at him. "Ok, Chuck." She realized that since she'd put the advance down on the apartment and bought all the furniture, that Chuck probably just wanted to feel like he contributed his part to their new place. She made a mental note to give him the opportunity to do so in the future. They completed the process and set a date to have everything delivered over the weekend.

"How did your second meeting at corporate go today?" She asked as they left the store and walked toward her car.

He laughed. "I could tell they weren't terribly happy with my proposed numbers, but they couldn't deny the metrics I put together to support them. I hit them pretty hard with the settlements. I obviously couldn't tell them that I knew exactly what they'd paid out this year, but I could make some educated guesses. We're getting really close to finalizing the verbiage in the contracts. Once that's done, I'll send it to my lawyer to give it his stamp of approval and we'll be good. If I can get the crew to be just ten percent more effective in their work processes, this could really be something."

"Chuck-"

He stopped them as they got to her car and turned to face her. "Before you say anything, I know this idea is about helping us accomplish our goals on the Task Force," he said quickly. "I haven't lost sight of that, trust me. I will drop this pilot program in a heart-beat if it starts to be anything but an asset to what you… what we are trying to do."

"I know, Chuck. I appreciate that," she said, squeezing his hand and giving him a look of genuine affection. He was so earnest with her that it made her insides warm and her skin tingle. "But I was just going to tell you that I got all of the equipment on your list ordered this morning. Most of it shipped via overnight, so you should start getting deliveries here tomorrow."

"Oh," he smiled. "Ok, excellent. I was able to get the guys to help me clean up the storage area in the back where the racks are, so I'm ready to go."

"Are you ready to go to the car dealership? I'm excited to pick up my new car and see if there's anything there that interests you."

"Well then why are we just standing around here gabbing?" he asked as he swooped around to the other side of the car.

A half hour of LA traffic later, they were pulling into the parking lot of the dealership. "Holy bat-mobile, Batman, what is that?" Chuck asked excitedly as Sarah parked in front of the main showroom. "Is that…? Holy crap, it is! Those dark panels behind the doors are freaking carbon fiber!" He was looking at a car in the showroom.

She gave him a sly smile. "Carbon fiber, huh?"

He nodded. "Yeah! As in, what the freaking Space Shuttle is made of! Well, that and a lot of titanium and other alloys. Carbon fiber has a tensile strength higher than steel and is incredibly light."

"And guns made of carbon fiber and other composites don't set off airport metal detectors," she shared with a grin. "But they also don't handle heat well, and warp after firing as few as fifty rounds. That combined with the high materials cost makes them impractical for field use," she blinked rapidly and gave him her best innocent look.

He looked at her with wide eyes as a smile spread across his face. "Are you making fun of me, Sarah Walker?"

"Maybe a little," she admitted, her grin getting wider. "But you're just so cute when you nerd out like that. I thought I might nerd out a little with you."

"Is it weird that I find your knowledge of composite firearms super hot?" He asked quietly as he leaned against the console.

"No weirder than me finding you super hot when you nerd out like that," she replied, leaning in to him as well, sinking into the kiss and looking forward to when they finally got home.

Sarah enjoyed going on a couple of test drives with Chuck, and he really fell in love with a sporty sedan that matched her Porsche in raw performance, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to spend that much money on a car. When he discovered that Sarah had purchased the very car he'd been nerding out over in the showroom, his eyes nearly fell out of his head.

He followed her home and made the mistake of trying to keep up with her. She was standing behind her beautiful new car looking slightly amused, waiting for him when he pulled into their underground parking garage. "You didn't buy a car, you bought a four-wheeled rocket ship!" He exclaimed as he got out of her Porsche.

"What can I say, Chuck? I'm a woman who knows what she wants," Sarah said with a low voice, letting her eyes roam up and down his body.

"Is that so?" He asked quietly as he stepped up close to her, pushing a strand of hair off her forehead and tucking it behind her ear. "Is there anything in particular you want this evening?" He whispered against her neck. She sighed as he kissed her softly right behind her jawline, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into him.

"I want you," she whispered back.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Happy two-week anniversary, Chuck," Sarah panted as she fell on the bed beside him, cuddling into his side and putting her head on his shoulder.

Chuck needed a few moments to recover himself before he could reply. "Happy anniversary to you, too."

"God, I've been thinking about doing that with you all day. It was even better than in my head. If there's one downside to mind-blowing sex, it's that it can be goddamn distracting." she said with a laugh, running her hand through the fine hairs on his chest.

Chuck gasped with excitement. "Oh my God, the idea of you going through your day distracted because you're wanting to have sex with me… even after we had sex this morning. Seriously, it's almost more than my brain can handle."

"It's freaking annoying! Is this how guys go through life? Always thinking about it, always wanting it?"

"Speaking for myself, as far as it concerns you, yes, pretty much."

"I have to be honest, Chuck. I never really thought of myself as a very sexual woman before I met you. Sex was so far down on my list of priorities that it barely registered. This is new territory for me."

"I know exactly where you're coming from," he replied. "I think I've had myself locked down pretty hard since Stanford. I've never been a one-night stand kind of guy and since we know I was totally not into dating, I sort of had to block it off. I mean, as much as is possible."

"I should warn you, it's going to be that time of the month for me soon. I'm not into period sex, so we're going to have a dry spell coming up."

He rolled them over so she was on her back with him looking down at her. "I need some food and a couple of hours to recuperate, but I'm not done with you tonight," he said quietly.

"How are you doing this?" She whispered the question to him.

"Magic," he whispered back, kissing her softly.

They put on robes and went down to the kitchen to make themselves some dinner, after which they went out on their deck. Sarah sat in one of the chairs at an angle so she could put her feet in Chuck's lap, and he promptly started massaging them. They spent time talking about various things from their respective days. Chuck told her that he'd been dropping some hints with the other Nerd Herders that something was going to be happening to their group soon, and they knew he was going to meetings at corporate. The knowledge had them working somewhat more diligently that day and he thought he saw a way to keep them motivated. He needed to find a balance with challenging work, better financial incentives and a little fear that maybe their jobs weren't as secure as they'd been in the past.

Sarah told him about the facility Bryce had found but that he'd disappeared on his own for a while in the process and that she'd been a little aggravated with his lack of communication.

Chuck laughed a little at the information. "Yeah, that's the Bryce I remember. In our fraternity we each had things we were responsible for and we'd periodically have these little meetings to make sure everyone was staying on top of things. Bryce hardly ever came to those meetings, but we eventually gave up caring because whatever he was responsible for always seemed to get handled."

Sarah scoffed. "Yeah, that's great and all, but this isn't college and I'm not running a fraternity. This is National Security. He's going to have to learn to communicate better, especially with me."

"I'm sure you guys will work it out. You just need to find your groove with each other," he said confidently. "How are other things progressing?"

"Pretty good," she said. "I've got a meeting tomorrow morning with Mr. Stanton at his office regarding the build-out of Castle. I've got a meeting with the Deputy Chief of Police tomorrow at lunch to talk about raiding their Vice squad for experienced detectives that have the skills we need. I was hoping to do that today but didn't want to barge my way onto their schedule. I told the management company for the strip mall that I want to tender an offer on the property, and I hope to hear back tomorrow."

"And you got all my equipment ordered today," he added. "So it sounds like a pretty productive day."

"Yeah, I just need to remember to be patient," she said with a sigh. "It just kills me a little that those two guys are out there right now doing God knows what, plotting something. I mean they're cryptologists. Their knowledge of our communication systems could really hurt us. In a very real way, they're more dangerous than the field agents we rounded up."

"Well, you might find this interesting. I gave Jeff a kind of mental exercise today. Remember how I told you that he's sort of a stalker?" Sarah rolled her eyes and nodded. "Yeah, I know. It doesn't say great things about the team I'm building. Anyway, I asked him about what it would take to make a really state of the art surveillance van using what's available on the consumer market. I used a hypothetical Private Investigator who needs to spy on people, cheating spouses and the like. As you can imagine, he really got into the idea and built me a list. It's pretty comprehensive."

Sarah nodded. "I guess I'll dig into that tomorrow at some point."

"He even included the best type of van to use. One that has room for all the equipment but doesn't leave the people inside cramped."

"As someone who's been on extended stakeouts in cramped surveillance vans, I can appreciate his thought processes. It's still creepy as fuck," she said.

"I don't disagree," Chuck said. "I guess I've just gotten used to Jeff and his creepy idiosyncrasies, just like I have with all the others. For example, Anna Wu is something of a sword master and I've always been a little terrified of her."

She smiled at the thought of five-foot-nothing little Anna Wu running through a sword form routine. Sarah was only passingly familiar with swords but was an expert with a staff or spear. "I think Anna might be carrying a little bit of a torch for you Chuck," Sarah said, giving him a smile.

Chuck snorted involuntarily. "What? That's crazy!"

Sarah shook her head. When would this man learn how desirable he was. "How are you so oblivious about your own attractiveness? What's crazy about it?" She asked, giving him a look.

"I don't know. I mean, I sort of see her like a little sister I guess," he explained.

"Well, when you jumped over the counter and ran up to kiss me tonight, she did not have a pleased expression on her face. I know jealousy when I see it."

"It still feels crazy. I mean, I don't know what I would have done if she'd ever said anything. It would have been super awkward. I mean, I'm her boss."

"She probably understands that you don't reciprocate and has just been ignoring her feelings. But then seeing you with me today sort of brought it up."

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I guess there have been other little signs that maybe I just dismissed or didn't understand. You remember when you dropped me off for work last week? That amazing seductress kiss you gave me?"

He smiled deeply at her and she gave it right back to him. "I do remember that kiss, Chuck. I knew it would be super hot and you did not disappoint me."

"Yeah, well, Anna was there. Everybody saw it and it's all anyone would talk about that day. You'd think we had sex on the hood of the car the way everybody was going on about it."

Sarah giggled at that information. "That was kind of the point, Chuck."

"Yeah, well, Anna was really snippy with me that day when she's generally one of the easier of the group to deal with."

Sarah spread her hands out and said, "There you go."

"Hmph," he grunted, seeming a little stressed.

"What?"

"I dunno. I just don't want it to be weird between the two of us. Anna and me, I mean."

"Just pretend you're oblivious," she said. "Up to thirty seconds ago you were."

"I suppose."

Sarah couldn't help shaking her head.

"What is it?" Chuck asked.

"Nothing really. I was just thinking about how my training had kicked in when I saw her face and part of me was thinking you could use her feelings for you to help keep the other Nerd Herders in line when you start this pilot program. Not by promoting her above them or anything, but just using minor flirtations to make her an ally, then sort of passively imply that you wish someone would help keep the others on task."

The thought obviously wasn't pleasant for him. "I don't think I could manipulate her like that," he said. "I mean flirting with someone you know has feelings for you with no intent to ever follow through is kind of mean, isn't it?"

"They don't train CIA officers to be nice, Chuck. And I'm absolutely not advising you to do that because I know that's not who you are. It's just where my mind went for a moment when I saw her face."

"Do you ever think about where you'd be if you hadn't gone into the CIA?" He asked after a few moments.

Sarah nodded. "Sure, I've thought about it. I would have continued on the grift with my dad. Once he figured out that I'd grown from a gangly teenager into an attractive woman, he never would have let me out of his cons. Honestly, I think the CIA saved my life. Not that I think I'd necessarily be dead by now, but it would have been a terrible life. If you think CIA agents don't trust anyone, grifters are worse. I would have eventually surpassed him because while he's really good, he tends to be a little arrogant. It's a curse of the con man. They spend so much time fooling people that they convince themselves they're smarter than everyone else. It makes you sloppy. It's how he got caught up with that arms dealer."

"So there was no other path for you?" He asked.

"No, not really. It's all I knew. Graham coming along when he did was a blessing," she poked him with her foot. "And like you said, how you feel about what Bryce did at Stanford. Graham put me on a path to you."

"He did, didn't he?" Chuck observed. He sat up in his chair and looked at her. "I've had enough recuperation time and it occurs to me that there's nothing between me and your amazing body except that flimsy robe."

Sarah sat up in her chair and let the robe fall off her shoulders. "What robe?" she asked.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So our architect and engineer have been through the site and have approved these preliminary plans. You asked us to look into where the secondary exit from the shelter ends up and it seems to open up into a kind of antechamber or large rectangular room that originally had a stairwell up to ground level," James Stanton – one of the sons in Stanton and Sons Construction – was explaining.

"So the stairwell was walled off and filled in with dirt and rocks most likely. But the antechamber is still there, and it almost looks like it could be a sub-basement for the Buy More store itself. It's directly underneath the store, taking up about a fifth of the overall store footprint, at a slightly offset angle. It's separated from the Buy More foundation by about fifteen feet of earth and stone. The original store builders were obviously aware of the antechamber and added reinforcement to the ceiling, so it's very stable."

"What are the options for creating a hidden entryway into the Buy More? Something very inconspicuous but relatively easy to access for someone who knows how?" Sarah asked.

"There are a couple actually," he said, pointing to a section of the original design blueprint for the store. "We could put one in what's currently the media room where they have couches and chairs set up to watch TV. Access would have to be via a hatch in the floor. Or we could put a larger one in the employee locker room with access via a hidden doorway behind the lockers. That's probably the best route because they could theoretically redesign the media room in the future and possibly uncover the hatch."

"I'm a big believer in redundancy Mr. Stanton. I want both options in the plans. At some point you'll obviously need access to the interior sections of the Buy More. How long will you need access inside the store?"

"Call me James, please. Dad's Mr. Stanton," he said with a smile. "And unfortunately I can't give you a good answer to that question just yet. We can excavate our way up, but when we hit the underside of the Buy More foundation we'll need to run some tests on the concrete, so we know what we're dealing with. If it's a good solid pour, then we can drill pilot holes and blast through. However, if it's a weak pour then blasting could send fractures throughout the foundation and undermine the integrity of the building. In that case we'll have to cut the opening, which is harder from the bottom up and will delay things."

"Can you be working on the excavation to the underside of the BM foundation while the other construction is in progress? Burn the candle from both ends, so to speak?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, that's actually the current plan. We'll have to get creative with ventilation to start, but we've got some ideas there already. Our main concern at this point, is getting our crews, materials and tools down into the site. That's our biggest bottle-neck right now, and it's significant."

Sarah nodded. "I'm working on that. What about working hours? When will the work be performed? My concern is keeping the existing business in the dark about what's going on as much as possible. For example, the yogurt shop in the end unit, will they be able to hear anything going on?"

James shook his head and said, "No, they won't hear anything at all. We're not going to be doing any demo work. We'll be using mostly electrical tools, nothing pneumatic. And the shelter itself where most of the work will be happening is actually more under the parking lot than the stores, so there's a lot of dirt and rock to absorb the sound. As to the work schedules, I understand your concern. We're looking at four crews of twenty-five guys working rotating twelve hour shifts to get this done in the shortest amount of time possible. That's a lot of construction guys randomly coming in out of the strip mall stores. We can stagger the shifts so they don't match the open hours of those stores, which may help. We'll be down there twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for about eight weeks to get this done. Eight weeks assuming you can eliminate our access bottle-neck. We're at one-point-four-four million in labor costs, and three-quarters of a million in materials cost, with another quarter million in reserve for unforeseen issues. This puts our build estimate at two-point-four-four million. If we can't get unrestricted access, we estimate this will delay the build to ten weeks, which drives the cost up to two-point-eight million."

"How long for you to get everything lined up and ready to go after I give the go ahead?" She asked.

"The materials are pretty straight forward, but I'd need a week to get my crews lined up."

"Ok, I'm giving you the go ahead as of now, but under the restricted access plan. I'm working to fix that hopefully before the week is out, but I'd rather have you starting sooner and get you unrestricted access as soon as I can."

"Ok, we'll need a fifty percent retainer to get started, one-point-one-two million, taking into account the hundred thousand you already paid. Once we have that, I'll start getting crews lined up."

Sarah held out her hand and said, "You'll have it by the end of business today."

"It's been a great pleasure meeting you, Ms. Walker. I look forward to the project," he said, shaking her hand.

As Sarah was leaving Stanton and Sons' Construction, her phone rang and she recognized the number, a little surprised at the timing. "This is Sarah," she said.

"Hi Sarah, it's Nancy with Middleton Property Management."

"Yes, hi. Did you hear back from the property owner regarding a purchase offer?"

"Yes and I'm sorry to say that, unfortunately, the owner is not interested in entertaining any offers on the property at this time."

Fuck! It's always something! "That's very disappointing. I was rather hoping we could come to an arrangement on that location. I know you said he's not interested in entertaining offers, but he's looking at a sixty-six percent occupancy in a major recession. Can you please tell him that we can offer him three million in escrow by the end of business tomorrow?" Sarah asked, trying not to sound angry or desperate.

"I can surely pass your offer along, but I don't think it's going to change their mind. They seemed pretty adamant," she replied apologetically.

"Well, if that's the case, then I guess I'd like to begin contract negotiations for the existing empty units. The location works too well for us to pass up on those particular spaces."

"Yes, about that. We've been instructed to remove those listings. Apparently the owner has plans for that complex. I'm really very sorry for the inconvenience."

Sarah gritted her teeth. "That's perfectly fine, Nancy. Thanks again for getting back to me so quickly." She pushed the end call button rather harder than was necessary and dialed Chuck's cell number.

"Hey, Vicky Vale." She heard his cheerful voice say and she felt some of her stress simply dissolve. Some, but not all.

"Hi, Chuck," she said quickly. "Are you in a place where you can talk freely?" She put a little urgency in her tone as she started up her new car and pulled out of the lot, heading towards her lunch appointment with Coburn and the Deputy Chief.

"Sure, what's up? You sound pissed."

"I'm trying to rein it in, but yeah, I'm not happy. I think the owner of the strip-mall got wind of our project in the basement and is going to try and shake us down for the buy-out of the property. He's taken the empty storefronts off the market and has said he won't entertain any purchase offers and I don't have time for games. Stanton came in about a half million cheaper than I thought they would, and it's too perfect to let it go without a fight. That and I don't want to start over from zero on finding an HQ for us. I need information on the owner. How quickly can you hack his shit for me. I need his name, address, phone numbers, other properties he might own. Whatever you can get as quickly as you can get it. Also, I think it was the guy from the city planners office that may have sold us out. His name was Andrew Wright. If you can get his cell phone call logs from after we met there on Tuesday, we can cross reference that with numbers for the owner of the property. The timing of this stinks and if someone is trying to play me, they're going to regret it."

"Sarah, I'm on it," Chuck said. "I'll call you as soon as I have something, but it could take a couple of hours."

"Ok. I'm on my way to lunch with Coburn and the Deputy Chief. I don't know how long that will take but you can interrupt me if you find something you think can help."

"Ok, sweetie. Try to enjoy your lunch. I'll call you soon. I love you."

Sarah smiled at how hearing that never failed to make her feel better. "I love you too, Chuck."

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A/N: Head over to Facebook and join the Chuck Fanfiction group.