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.

10. Chapter 10

A/N: Today's date is 3/28/21. Yes, it's been a while since I've updated this story - just over three months - but rest assured, I have not abandoned it. I'm not sure if I could abandon it, really. As those of you who follow my stories (I thank you wholeheartedly), you'll know I've been consumed with "Chuck vs. His Destiny", and to extend the "consumed" analogy, it's given me nothing but mental indigestion... and a little actual indigestion, if I'm honest. I needed to take a step back and return to my roots, so to speak. I will also be dedicating some time to Stolen Life as well.

This story, from its beginning in "Asking Chuck Out" has followed an unintentionally strict form. I've done my best to lock it in to Sarah's third person perspective but I know I've slipped up in places on that. As a story progresses, this gets more and more difficult to maintain because I can't step outside Sarah's perspective to provide insight that she doesn't have. It makes plot building that much more difficult. I'm going to continue that aspect of the story because I'm something of a masochist I guess. After all this time, it would feel weird to suddenly step out of that pattern of the story, though I reserve the right to change my mind later.

The other unintentional form is that it follows *roughly* a day in-story per chapter, going all the way back to chapter 1 of "Asking". Because of this, I haven't been concerned with inserting Date/Location headings in the story. This can't continue indefinitely for obvious reasons - some days are fairly mundane, even in the world of international espionage and intrigue. Much of what our heroes are involved in at the moment are fairly repetitive processes; for example, in this chapter, we witness the interview of a prospective LAPD team member. I don't see the need to write more of those because as Carina so famously said, it would be like if a yawn could yawn (I love that line). I actually found myself writing out an entire conversation between Stanton and Sarah about miscellaneous concerns with the build out of Castle until I seriously heard Casey in my head saying, "What the hell are you doing, moron?".

Recap: Sarah is fully into her role as Team Leader and head of the Executive Order task force to investigate and root out Fulcrum from the Federal Government. Carina and Bryce have joined the team and are taking on their own roles to get the task force up and running. Bryce has developed a plan to move the Fulcrum captives from Gitmo to a holding facility outside LA and Carina is working to staff-up the task force. Chuck, while busy building the technology systems to support the task force, is also working with Buy More corporate to outsource the Nerd Herd. Sarah has successfully purchased the strip mall and is managing all the various tasks of the team as well as the build out of Castle. Lot's of moving pieces and we still have bad guys out there performing their nefarious deeds. What will happen next? When I know, I'll write it.

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Sarah and Carina were seated at a long conference table as the attractive, dark-haired, dark-eyed Hispanic detective stepped cautiously into the room and knocked on the open door. Sarah thought she looked a little nervous as she closed the door and smiled at the two of them. Since Sarah didn't want their LAPD superiors to potentially hold applying to the task force against them in the event that they were not selected, she'd had Carina book a conference room at a nearby hotel to hold the interviews.

Carina stood up and held out her hand. "Detective Garcia, I'm glad you were able to come in on such short notice." she said with a friendly smile. Carina had a natural ability to put people at ease that was nearly as strong as her ability to make them uncomfortable with her blatant flirting. It didn't matter that the Detective was a woman; Carina was an equal opportunity flirter, and as likely to follow through with either.

Detective Garcia smiled as she shook hands with Carina. "It wasn't a problem. Everyone knows about the federal training grant that the Vice Division just received. Last we heard it had been denied, but now suddenly it's approved. It doesn't take a genius to see you guys working some quid pro quo behind the scenes. I think the brass is a little afraid if they aren't seen fully cooperating, you'll pull the plug on the grant."

Sarah groaned and said, "Getting that grant approved was one of the hardest things I've had to do so far as part of this new task force. I'd rather give myself a root canal than deal with that bureaucratic jackass again. But don't tell the brass that. It can't hurt to keep their cooperation through fear." She stood up and shook hands with the detective who chuckled at the observation.

"They won't hear it from me."

"Have a seat and let's get started," Carina said as she sat down, Sarah taking the chair next to her. She opened a folder to take some notes as the interview went on.

"So, Detective Garcia, we've been through your personnel file. Agent Walker and I both agree that you have an impressive resume. You're one of the youngest Detective 2 ranks in LAPD, you have a master's degree. Several commendations in your file for work on various LAPD programs. By all accounts, you're a rising star at LAPD. Why jeopardize that by leaving, even if only temporarily, to join this task force?" Carina asked.

The detective nodded thoughtfully. "That's a fair question. From my perspective, I'm actually in a perfect position for this task force, career wise. This was a no-brainer for me. I'm single, no kids or extraneous attachments. This isn't to say that I don't have a social life because I do, but it's not one that I can't step away from for a while. Yes, I'm ahead of the curve at LAPD but I can feel things slowing down for me. I applied for a lateral move to homicide recently but was denied. As for this task force, there's no down-side for me. If it's a six-month term, I take my Detective 3 promotion and they won't be able to tell me no when I request homicide and I'll still be one of the youngest. If it's a one-year term, I'll make Lieutenant before I'm 31 and I will be the youngest by far. It usually takes a minimum of 12 years to make Lieutenant, but I could theoretically do it in 10. I could make Captain by the time I'm 37."

"Is that your goal?" Carina asked.

The detective thought about it for a moment. "The answer is more complicated than yes or no. It's one path, yes and it's an exciting one, but I'm still not certain that I actually want to climb the ladder that far. I still feel young, and I want to be in the field doing the work for as long as I can. That stops when you hit Lieutenant. After that it's all management and bureaucracy. Once you hit Captain it becomes bureaucracy and politics. At that point, you may as well run for City Council or Congress."

"And that doesn't interest you?"

"No, not at this point. Ten or fifteen years from now, who knows? But right now, I want to be in the thick of things," she replied.

"Given how I described the job, the level of commitment we're looking for, does that give you pause at all?"

"No, not in the least. In fact, I find the idea rather appealing right now. It's a mark in the 'pro' column, not the 'con' column. I ended a five-year relationship about six months ago and dating has been an ongoing nightmare. I'm so done with that. I get together with friends from college every few weeks, but they'll still be there in six-months or even a year. I'll keep in touch via email even if we don't have time to get together here and there. I'm not worried about it at all," the detective said sincerely.

Carina made some notes in her folder. "Other than career advancement, what is your primary interest in the task force? How would you define your role, if given the opportunity to do so?" she asked.

"You mentioned the opportunity for undercover work, and I love doing that. Having grown up in LA, I think it's a little bit of the actress fantasy life but with real world implications. It always amazes me how a little cleavage can drop twenty points off most men's IQ," they all three shared a laugh at that observation. Detective Garcia continued, saying, "You also mentioned doing real intelligence work. Getting into the nitty-gritty of analysis is one of the other things I love about the job, but in our work at Vice, it doesn't really come up that much. Most of what we do, we already know most of the answers regarding who's doing what. We know who the bad guys are and what they're doing, we're just looking for proof we can take to court. A lot of what we do is repetitive. A change from that would be welcome. It's one of the reasons I was looking to transfer to homicide, for the chance to do more investigative work, but at the loss of being able to do the undercover work. This task force looks like an opportunity to do both."

"Anything else about the role that appeals to you?" Carina asked after making some notes.

The detective looked a little hesitant. "I wasn't going to admit it, but your speech yesterday morning at roll call struck a nerve. The fact that you started out in Vice with NYPD, but called this task force a seat at the grown-ups' table. I have to admit, that intrigues the hell out of me. What you guys are doing, going outside the government to recruit, combined with the fact that it's a federal task force. It all points to some kind of national security investigation. I could be wrong, but I don't think I am. Plus there's the two of you," she paused seeming to want to say more.

"What about the two of us?" Carina asked, genuinely curious.

The detective sighed and said, "I hope this doesn't sound like I'm trying to kiss your ass, because that's not it at all. The two of you just radiate… competence. As did your third agent, who's name I wasn't given. I can't imagine the guy in the van we didn't get to meet is any less impressive. You all have a confidence in your ability but it's confidence without arrogance. For example, when we all applauded you yesterday morning, we could tell you were uncomfortable with the recognition. You guys saved over sixty women from sex slavery and in just a few hours, took down a gang we've been fighting for years, but you didn't want any gratitude or acknowledgement. From the first moment we met early Saturday morning at the SSMC takedown, your level of professionalism and proficiency was impressive. The idea of being on a team with people of your caliber is incredibly appealing. It's not an opportunity that comes along often. And I want to be a part of it."

Carina nodded and took some additional notes. "As Agent Walker mentioned in the meeting, given the nature of our investigations, if selected, you would have to sign a National Security Act document prohibiting you from talking to anyone outside the team about what you are doing. It's possible that you may never be allowed to talk about the work the team does. Does this present any problems for you?"

"Not at all," the detective replied simply.

"Ok, that's all the questions I have," Carina said. "Sarah, do you have anything?"

Sarah shook her head. "No, I think you've answered all our questions quite effectively Detective Garcia. Do you have any questions for us?"

"I do. I know you've read my file and I know what my strengths are. I'm good at this job but I also know I have more to learn. From your perspective, as it pertains to this task force, what do you view as my greatest points of weakness?"

Carina answered, saying, "Honestly, the only areas of concern were your marksmanship scores, which were a little below what we'd like to see. We'd also like to see your hand-to-hand combat ratings go up, but those are things we can work on."

The detective nodded. "Yeah, that's fair. It's not something LAPD puts a lot of emphasis on unless you're applying to SWAT. The minimum requirements are pretty easy to pass."

Carina snorted at that. "The minimum requirements are a joke. SWAT actually represents a good baseline. With the exception of our field analyst, when it comes to training in tactics, marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat, our current team is made up of agents who could walk onto any SWAT team in the country and fit right in, even excel. So yes, you will have some work to put in to get up to speed in that regard, but that just makes the time commitment even more stringent for you. In addition to the focused work with the task force, you'll have to put in additional hours for weapons and combat training. Still no concerns with that in mind?" Carina gave the detective a very focused look.

"If you guys have a place I can sleep and shower, I'll live at the office. I'm only sort of kidding when I say that. Honestly, the timing and the duration of this opportunity is sort of perfect for me right now. For the next six or twelve months I can dedicate myself to the job and then return to LAPD with a fresh perspective and some impressive new experience."

Carina made some additional notes as she nodded. After a few moments she looked up and said, "I think that about covers it. Once we've completed all the interviews, I will call those who have been selected and let them know when and where to report for the new assignment." She stood up and held out her hand. "Detective Garcia, thank you for coming in. We should have an answer by tomorrow afternoon."

"It's been my pleasure," the detective said as she shook their hands.

After the door closed behind her, Carina looked at Sarah and said, "Bringing her on is a no-brainer, don't you think? She just nailed the interview process, at least from my perspective."

"I agree, she did great. I could easily see her leading one of the squads once we get to that level. Which leads me to something else I was thinking about."

"What's that?"

"When we get fully staffed, I'm thinking of splitting the team into two primary groups, one here in LA and the other in New York," Sarah admitted.

Carina looked thoughtful for a moment. "Are you telling me this so that I'm not blind-sided when you ask me to lead the New York half of the team?"

"If that's what we end up doing, you're the logical choice to take that on. It would be more of a leadership role than you've had with the DEA to this point unless your personnel file is missing important details."

"That's true," Carina admitted.

"Bryce could do it but he's still too new to me. I trust him but he's already demonstrated a tendency to lone-wolf it. It's understandable given how we were trained but if we split the team, I won't have the time to micromanage the other team leader. That leaves you."

Carina nodded and said, "I appreciate that. Let's save that discussion for when we get fully staffed, which is weeks away at best."

"I agree. And I also want the full team to have some time to work together as a group and get to know each other. These two NSA cryptographers will give us that opportunity."

Carina made a throaty noise that sounded very much like a growl. "Uhg, I fucking hate that we're not already tearing those guys' lives apart."

Sarah nodded and made a sympathetic grunt. "I agree, which just serves to keep us on point with these other tasks. We need to move fast but smart at the same time. Speaking of which, I need to meet with the contractors for the build out. Can you handle the next interviews on your own?"

"Honestly, I was expecting to do them all on my own," Carina said, waving her hand dismissively. "You go do your thing. I got this."

Sarah stood up and made her way to the door. "All right, C. You know how to find me if you need me," she said as she left.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sarah glanced at her watch as the meeting with Joel and James Stanton ended. LA traffic had been conspiring against her and she'd long since realized that she wasn't going to make it home before Chuck's get together with his fellow Nerd Herders got started at their apartment. She'd sent him a quick text letting him know to not wait for her, to which he responded with a thumbs up and some kissy-face emoticons. She couldn't help but smile as she'd responded in kind. She couldn't remember ever having sent an emoticon before meeting Chuck and now her text history was rife with them.

It was after seven in the evening when she finally arrived home to their apartment and walked in to hear indie rock playing and saw a number of pizza boxes on the kitchen island. She noticed Chuck and his crew, along with Morgan, standing out on the deck eating pizza and drinking beer. The group was talking animatedly as they motioned out at the LA nightscape arrayed around them, watching dusk recede and darkness slowly take over. She saw Chuck notice her through the window as she pulled a beer out of the fridge and her heart fluttered at the smile that seemed to burst out of him when their eyes locked. She felt her own spontaneous smile take over her expression as he came inside, and she walked over to meet him. The stress of the day seemed to melt away as he wrapped her up and gave her a soft kiss.

"Hey, beautiful," he whispered as he hugged her tight. She could only respond with a low groan as she squeezed him back. She eventually noticed that all eyes were on the two of them as the Nerd Herders seemed to find their embrace more interesting than the LA skyline. She gave him a quick peck on the lips as she reluctantly let go of his shoulders.

"I'll be glad when you and I can hug without it shutting down all conversation amongst your coworkers," she said quietly.

Chuck laughed softly. "I still say I kinda know what they're going through. Every time I see you after being away from each other for a few hours, it takes me a minute to find my voice as well."

Sarah felt herself blush as he winked at her and smiled. He knew when his compliments hit home. "Good one, Chuck," she whispered as she leaned up and kissed him again.

She took a long pull on her beer as they walked out onto the balcony together. "Hey, guys," she said to the group as she stepped up to the railing. Morgan held his beer out towards her, so she clinked it with her own eliciting a grin from him. "Hi, Morgan."

"Welcome home, Sarah. And how great it must be to call this home," he said as he gestured around them.

Sarah smiled as she saw her opportunity to pay Chuck back. "It's only home because this lanky nerd is here," she said as she looked at Chuck and grabbed his hand. "Otherwise it's just another fancy apartment." She winked at him as he blushed. He was about to lean in and give her another kiss when someone sneezed violently.

Everyone turned to look at Lester who innocently said, "Oh, excuse me."

"Bless you," Chuck said drily.

"Thank you, Charles. Is the pollen count high today? It must be high today. Does pollen get up this high? The pollen count is high and up high."

There were several drawn out moments of awkward silence before anyone spoke. "So, Chuck, not that we don't appreciate being invited over to your nice new apartment for beer and pizza, but you still haven't told us what's been going on with all your meetings at Buy More corporate. Is this a promotion celebration?"

Sarah was shocked to see that the speaker was none other than Jeff, sounding more coherent than she'd ever heard. She also noticed that his hair was neatly combed, and his Nerd Herd uniform was neatly pressed and clean. Upon deeper analysis, his eyes were bright and clear as well, not hooded and bloodshot like they normally were. She also saw that he had a bottle of water in his hand instead of a beer. He looked… Normal.

"You're right, Jeff. I guess we should get to it. Let's all go inside, have a seat and I'll fill you in on what's been going on."

They all filed into the living room and Morgan pulled a few chairs in from the dining room set to make room for everyone. After they settled, everyone looked at Chuck expectantly, who looked at each of them in turn before he spoke.

"I guess first of all, I'd like to ask you guys a question," he said. "What is the one thing you would change about your jobs as Nerd Herders?"

Chip spoke up when no one else did. "More money would be nice, of course. Better medical benefits, retirement benefits." Sarah was surprised to see a wedding band on Chip's left hand. She'd never noticed it before and wondered how a guy with the emotional range of an amoeba got married.

"The opportunity to get more advanced technical training," Anna said.

"We need better leadership," Jeff advised. "That's nothing against you, Chuck. I know as the Nerd Herd supervisor you have very little actual authority. As a group, we need more oversight and input from corporate, along with the opportunity for growth. We need direction from someone with actual authority. The ability to reward us for a job well done or write us up for poor performance. I think that's technically supposed to be Big Mike, but he doesn't even understand what we do."

Lester was looking at Jeff as though he'd grown a second head and the rest of the group was nearly as shocked by Jeff's cogent response to the question. "What on earth has happened to you recently, Jeffrey?"

Anna gave Jeff a thoughtful look and said, "Yeah, Jeff. You've been different the past few days. Did you start a twelve-step program or something?"

Jeff looked a little embarrassed. "All I did was start sleeping at my apartment again last week, instead of in my van. When Chuck started going to meetings at corporate, I got a little worried about getting fired and figured I'd sleep better in an actual bed, so I'd at least be well rested for work. I guess I was right because I slept pretty well. So well, in fact, that I've slept there every night since. I haven't felt this good in years."

"Good for you, Jeff. I noticed that you've been much more attentive at work the past few days. I actually noticed that about all of you," Chuck admitted as he looked at each of them again. "I figured it had something to do with everyone being a little nervous about my meetings with corporate. So, here's the story: I've signed a contract with the corporate office to start a pilot program to out-source the Nerd Herd. The pilot program will start with our store and if it's successful, I'll start taking over the Nerd Herd divisions of the other Buy More stores as well."

Chuck gave them a moment to process the information as they looked at him with expressions ranging from confusion to fear. Then they all started talking at once.

"What does this mean for us?" from Chip.

"Why didn't you tell us about this sooner, Chuck?" from Anna.

"Are you firing us all, Charles?" from Lester.

Sarah noticed that Jeff had a small smile and seemed to understand the implications but didn't say anything as the others spoke over each other.

After the group quieted down, Chuck addressed their questions. "No Lester, no one is being fired. Anna, I didn't tell you sooner because we just finalized the contracts yesterday. And Chip, what this means for you guys is that basically you're going to get all the things you guys just asked for a minute ago. At least, if you agree to come on board with me and my new company."

"So let me get this straight," Lester said angrily. "You're starting your own company and Buy More corporate has agreed for this company to take over ownership and management of the Nerd Herd of the Burbank Buy More."

Chuck nodded. "That is correct."

"And to that effect, you want to hire all of us to work for your company," Lester continued.

"That is also correct."

"And if we come work for you at your company, you're going to pay us more, give us better benefits, access to training and other potential growth opportunities."

"Again, correct," Chuck said with a smile.

Lester narrowed his eyes and gave Chuck a suspicious glare. "And what do you expect from us in return, Charles? What's the catch?"

"Well, I guess the catch is that I expect you all to actually work, not goof off all the time," Chuck admitted.

"A-HA!" Lester exclaimed. "I knew it was too good to be true. You want us to be your worker drones!"

"Shut up, Lester, you idiot," Anna said derisively, then turned to look at Chuck. "There's got to be more to it, Chuck. How did you get corporate to agree to all of this?"

"Honestly, Anna, it wasn't that hard. The Nerd Herd as an organization is a massive headache for Buy More corporate. They jumped on my idea pretty quickly. We had an agreement in principle at our first meeting last week. The rest of the time has been spent working out the details of the pilot program and then the ramp-up of taking on the other stores."

Jeff raised his hand politely. "Yeah, Jeff?"

"You're expanding the operation of the Nerd Herd aren't you?"

Chuck looked genuinely surprised. "Yeah, Jeff. How did you figure that out?"

"It sort of makes sense. We all know that if we didn't screw off so much, we could get a lot more work done, but then corporate would realize we're overstaffed and maybe fire some of us. Plus all the questions you were asking last week about building surveillance vans. You're going to bring in even more work for us than the consumer work we get through the store. Probably corporate contract work, right?"

Once again, everyone was looking at Jeff as if they weren't sure who he was. It took Chuck a moment to respond. "Uh, yeah. You're absolutely right, Jeff. I actually already have some corporate work lined up."

Lester slowly reached up and poked Jeff's cheek. "Are you a pod person?" he asked quietly. "What have you done with my best friend?"

Jeff shrugged and said, "I'm still your best friend, Lester. I just don't feel the need to be high, stoned or drunk all the time. I like the way I feel right now."

"But who's going to be my wing-man at Bennigan's now?" Lester asked sadly.

"Lester, when has either of us ever come close to scoring a date at Bennigan's?" Jeff asked.

"No, Jeffrey. I mean who's going to help me polish off a full plate of Benny's spicy chicken-wings? That's the Jeffster Friday night jam!"

Sarah was taking a sip of beer and snorted involuntarily as the absurdity of the statement caught her by surprise. She coughed beer into her hand to avoid spitting it all over Chuck. He handed her a napkin he'd had under his plate as he grinned at her.

"Ah, sorry," she said as she cleared her throat and dried her hands. "Went down wrong."

"Said no man, ever," Lester mumbled.

Sarah narrowed her eyes at Lester and was about to say something when Chuck jumped in, squeezing Sarah's hand and giving Lester a cutting look. He took the opportunity to get the conversation back on track. "Guys, think about this for a minute. This represents a real opportunity for all of us. If you help me make this pilot program successful, you'll be the most senior technicians in the company as we start rolling in other Nerd Herd groups. If the pilot program works, corporate has a very aggressive on-boarding schedule. We could be looking at taking on the Nerd Herd for the entire western division within a couple of years. That's hundreds of technicians. Any of you want to take on a management or leadership role down the road? This is a chance to do that. You want to cross-train in a different technical specialty? Great. Even if you just want to keep doing what you're doing, that's fine too, I just ask that you put in an honest day's work. I'm going to be setting aside a portion of equity in this new company. Any one of you or all of you could earn a piece of the company. Just show me you're committed to it."

Chip spoke up next. "Chuck, what if we decide we don't want to come work for you? I mean, I know we don't really hang out, but I consider you a friend as much as a coworker. What if I don't want to work for my friend?"

Sarah looked at Chuck as he pondered the question for a moment. This question was starting to get closer to the reality of the new company, that Chuck would truly be their boss, not their friend. "Well, the pilot program is a done deal, and the contract stipulates that the Burbank store is where it starts. If any of you don't want to come work for my new company, then you'll be transferred to another Buy More in the area. The only downside is that you might become a green-shirt if there aren't any Nerd Herd positions open."

There was a collective intake of breath at that information. None of them had any desire to move to the sales side of the Buy More store structure. "That's blasphemy!" Lester exclaimed.

Chuck simply shrugged at their discomfort and Sarah thought that was an appropriate response. "Guys, changes are coming to the Nerd Herd regardless. BM Corporate is fed up. It's affecting the bottom line which means it's affecting their bonuses, and that is something they won't tolerate. If it's not my out-sourcing plan, it will be something else and it will almost certainly include staff reductions. If you agree to this plan, you'll be going to work in the same place, potentially doing even more technically challenging work, and you'll be making more money, have better benefits than before, as well as better guidance, training and future growth opportunities. All I'm asking is that you actually put in some real effort. Is this really that hard of a decision?"

Anna was the first to stand up. "I'm in, Chuckles. This is a no brainer." She held out her hand and gave his a firm shake.

"Thank you, Anna," Chuck said with a smile.

"No problem, boss. Now I'm getting another beer," she said as she walked to the kitchen.

"I'm in too, Chuck," Chip said as put out his hand. "You've been a good boss at the Buy More, even as hamstrung as you've been by corporate policies. I think you'll be an even better boss when it's you calling the shots. I think this represents a pretty incredible opportunity for all of us." Sarah thought he still sounded a little bored with everything, but she was sure she detected a hint of mild interest in his tone.

"Sign me up as well, Chuck," Jeff agreed.

"Are you sure, Jeff? I mean you've been a Buymorian for nearly twenty years. I thought you'd be hesitant to leave the mother ship, so to speak."

Jeff looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded his head. "I think it's time to forge a new path, Chuck. I'm looking forward to really working for you, not working against you the way Lester and I have in the past." He held his hand out to Chuck, who shook it firmly.

"Thank you, Jeff."

The group looked pointedly at Lester, who was avoiding making eye contact with anyone. He finally gave in.

"Oh, dear GOD!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up dramatically. "Yes, of course, I'm in as well. Duh. You would all be lost without me anyway."

"Great, Lester, I'm glad to hear you'll be around to keep us all from getting lost," Chuck said with just a hint of sarcasm. "Thanks everyone, I can't tell you how happy I am you all decided to give this a shot."

"So, boss," Anna said with a smirk as she popped the cap off her beer. "Exactly how much more will you be paying us?"

"So, this doesn't take effect until the first of the month, but starting then, you'll each be making $18 per hour. But now that you've all agreed, I can tell you that there's a signing bonus that you'll qualify for after ninety days. Stick it out with me until the end of the year and you'll each get a five-thousand-dollar bonus. I didn't want to tell you about it before because I didn't want it to seem like I was bribing you to take the job."

Sarah couldn't help but smile at the stunned faces of Chuck's new employees. Lester was the first to speak. "I've always loved you, Charles," he said softly, earning groans from his coworkers.

"That's really generous of you, Chuck," Jeff observed.

"Not at all, Jeff. I think you guys have a lot of potential," Chuck replied. "I view this as me investing in my business by investing in the people who will help make it successful."

Lester leered at Morgan. "What about you, Morgan. What's your role in tonight's festivities?" he asked derisively.

Morgan gave him a big smile as he leaned back in the overstuffed chair and took a swig of his beer, letting Lester's attitude roll off of him. "I'm just here to support Chuck. Honestly, Lester, I'm happy for you guys. Even when we were little kids, I always knew Chuck was destined for great things."

Chuck smiled and held up his fist at Morgan who bumped it. "Thanks, Morgs. I appreciate it."

The group dispersed to refresh their beers and acquire more pizza. Sarah stood up and walked out onto the balcony and simply admired the view. She felt Chuck step up next to her after a few minutes.

"I think that went pretty well, all things considered," he said as he sipped his beer.

She leaned into him as he slipped his arm around her shoulder. "Yeah, but did you really have any doubts that they'd join you? Cause I sure didn't."

"I guess not, but you know how it goes. I was second guessing myself. A lot was riding on them all saying yes. Any of them saying no would have complicated things, possibly delayed implementation of the pilot program, which could have slowed things down for our… other project."

"And yet none of them did, so your fears were unfounded," she said. "They know the score, Chuck. They know that Buy More corporate doesn't care about them in the least. But you do. I think that's what got them all to agree."

Chuck looked thoughtful for a moment, then scoffed. "Pff, no, it was the money," he said with a chuckle.

Sarah started to object, then stopped. "Ok, you're probably right. Maybe 60/40, you care vs. the money?" she said with a giggle.

Chuck giggled with her. "30/70 at best. Caring doesn't pay the rent."

Sarah turned and wrapped her arms around his shoulders as they laughed together, and she once again felt the stresses of the day evaporate while being in his arms. She sighed expansively as their laughter faded and she felt him hug her tighter.

"I don't know how I got by for so long without this, Chuck," she said quietly. "It's like I'm starving for your touch. Now that I have this, I can't get enough of it."

"I'm glad to hear that because when I'm in the same room as you, I feel compelled to be near you; be touching you. Part of me was afraid I'd eventually start to smother you," Chuck admitted.

She put her hands on his face and looked in his eyes. "Not a chance, Chuck," she said earnestly as she leaned up to kiss him. It wasn't long before the crew along with Morgan all joined them on the balcony, forcing them to put their pseudo-public display of affection on hold. They stepped out of their embrace, but Sarah stayed close enough to him that her shoulder brushed against his arm as they leaned back against the railing.

"So, Chuck, now that we've all agreed to join you in this venture, what's the next step?" Anna asked.

"Well, like I mentioned before, things don't officially start until the first of the month, but that's less than two weeks away. In the meantime I just need to have you guys fill out all the pertinent employment forms. I'll also have to go through the requisite HR and employment items. I'm having an employee handbook put together too, but that will be more important down the road."

Anna nodded her understanding as Chip sat down in one of the deck chairs and said, "From the outside, it's going to be hard to tell anything is different. All of us working in the same place, doing basically the same work, right Chuck?"

"Pretty much. I am eventually going to change the uniform a little," Chuck admitted. "We're going to have golf shirts and button-down shirts with my new logo on them." Chuck pulled out a few business cards he'd printed out himself and passed them around.

"Nerd Herd Cubed," Jeff read off the card, sounding impressed. "Pretty cool logo, Chuck."

"Thanks, Jeff!" Chuck said with a smile. "This will be down the road, assuming the pilot program works out."

"You mentioned that you already had some corporate work lined up for us. What kind of work?" Anna asked.

"Well, you've probably noticed that I've had my head buried in the racks back in the cage. I'm putting that together for a customer, but I've signed a non-disclosure agreement so I can't really talk about the project or the customer. I have some additional work from that customer that I think Lester would enjoy," Chuck said as he glanced over at Lester.

"Is that so, Charles? Pray-tell, what kind of work would that be?"

"Upgrading a bunch of MacBook Pro laptops with new Solid-State Drives," Chuck admitted with a grin as Lester's eyes bulged and Chip whistled.

"Why didn't you lead with that earlier, Bartowski?" Lester demanded.

"Like I said, Lester; I didn't want you to think I was trying to exert undue influence on you. And Jeff, you remember that hypothetical surveillance van I asked you about last week?"

It was Jeff's turn for his eyes to widen in surprise. "Don't tease me, Chuck. That's not a nice thing to do to a recently sober individual."

"The customer has ordered two of them," Chuck admitted. "Everything on the wish-list you built, including the vans. They'll actually be in later this week and I'm going to need you to get started on them right away. Since I'll need you to work on those before the start of the pilot program, I'll pay you a separate hourly consulting rate to start, but you'll have to work on it when you're not on the clock at the Buy More. I don't want any conflicts of interest before the pilot program kicks off. Pull Chip and Lester in to help you if you want, but these vans are a high priority. The customer needs them ASAP. I'll approve all the overtime you want to get it done. Just be sure to get it done right and document everything. I'll need wiring diagrams and layout schematics. The customer will need to know how these things are put together so they can troubleshoot any issues in the field if they occur."

Sarah noticed that Chuck's tone had become decidedly more commanding as he spoke. Still respectful, but firm and authoritative. She found herself biting her lip and consciously holding back from jumping on him and kissing him until one or both of them forgot their own names.

"And Jeff?"

"Yeah, Chuck?"

"You know how much the customer is spending here and the level of trust that implies, right? My reputation is on the line. I'm putting my reputation in your hands with this project. Don't let me down, OK" Jeff's throat made a clicking sound as he swallowed, and he took a long pull from his water bottle.

"I got this, Chuck. This is a dream install for me. Two dream installs. I won't disappoint you," he promised.

Chuck shifted his focus to the young Asian woman and she unconsciously stood up a little straighter. "Anna?"

"Uh-huh?"

"I'm going to be out on sales calls as well as managing my own technical projects. I'm going to be looking to you to take on the equivalent of my role as the Nerd Herd Supervisor. Scheduling, project management and so forth, as well as working with whoever's available to cover the day-to-day consumer stuff that comes into the Buy More. Are you up for that?"

She gave him a brilliant smile. "You bet your ass I'm up for that!"

Chuck gave them all one of his amazing smiles – Sarah noticed and was quietly thrilled that it was a couple of shades dimmer than the smile he reserved for her – and said excitedly, "Then that about covers it, guys. I don't know about you but I'm really looking forward to this!" He held up his nearly empty beer. "Here's to a new beginning for all of us!"

Chuck's natural charisma was shining through in spades and his excitement was contagious, drawing in and infecting everyone around him. Sarah could feel it herself and she wasn't even really involved, other than quietly rooting for them all to succeed. She couldn't help the grin that took over her face as his friends and coworkers cheered him for his toast, even Lester getting caught in the moment and shouting "Here-here!".

Sarah had begun to reconcile herself with the idea that she didn't deserve him; that she was damaged goods, tainted by the things she'd done in the name of the "greater good". It was true that she didn't deserve him. It was also true that it wasn't up to her and it wasn't about what was deserved. She was coming to terms with the idea that a person could never 'earn' or 'deserve' to be with another person. The truth was that he was a gift; undeserved but given anyway. One that she would cherish. She felt incredibly humbled and supremely happy that he was her guy.

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"Oh, God, Chuck, right there… Harder. Oh, yes! That feels amazing! God, don't stop!" Sarah arched her back and moaned as Chuck used one hand to repeatedly squeeze and twist the heel of her foot while his other thumb worked the ball just under her big toe. Whatever he was doing was sending currents of energy up her spine and causing sparks in her brain.

She heard Chuck laugh softly so she lifted her head to look at him. "What's so funny?"

"Um, context," he said with a grin. He gave her heel another twisting squeeze that caused her eyelids to flutter and another spontaneous moan to escape her throat.

"Oh, damn, Chuck, what the hell are you doing?" she demanded, her voice raw as she gripped the armrests of the deck chair. "God, that feels incredible. And what do you mean, context?"

"Just that you're making a lot of X-rated noises over there, but that I'm engaged in a fairly PG activity over here,"

Sarah couldn't help the snort that burst out with her laughter as she poked him in the side with her other foot. "Shut up you colossal nerd! I'm making perfectly G-rated noises!"

Chuck laughed. "I don't know what kind of twisted Disney movies you saw growing up, but you keep making noises like that, you're liable to get me pregnant!"

Sarah doubled over with laughter at the mental image that conjured, and it took her several moments to recover. "Oh, God, Chuck, don't even kid about that!" she said as she wiped tears from the corners of her eyes, residual giggles bubbling out of her.

He started in on her other foot and after a few moments she heard an example of what he was referring to as she groaned unconsciously. Her head popped up and she clamped a hand over her own mouth as he laughed at her.

"See? Triple-X rated!"

She leaned back in the deck chair and closed her eyes, letting the morning sun warm her skin as Chuck continued paying homage to her feet. "Whatever, just don't stop. Don't ever stop." she moaned again and it transitioned to a contented sigh.

"If Bryce and Carina are going to be here at nine, I should get started on breakfast," he said as he rubbed a particularly sensitive spot, eliciting a whimper.

"Noooo, you can't ever stop!" She whined pitifully causing him to chuckle.

"I think I just found your kryptonite, Sarah," he chortled. "Now, I have you at my mercy! You must do my bidding! Muuaahahahaha!"

Sarah bit her lip and looked at him lasciviously. "What are your demands, Master?" she asked breathily. It took a supreme effort of will to not giggle wildly as his mouth fell open and he gaped at her. She sat up, reached over slowly and pushed his jaw closed as she grinned at him. She climbed into his lap and kissed him soundly while she ran her hands through his sleep-mussed curls.

"You are so mind-bendingly adorable, do you realize that?" she asked as she broke the kiss and leaned back to look into his honey-brown eyes. "Do not ever change, Chuck Bartowski, do you hear me? You are my kryptonite and my yellow sun all at the same time. You make me weak in the knees and you give me the strength to leap tall buildings, all at once."

His mouth fluttered open and shut a few times as she grinned at him. "Did I break you, Chuck?" He closed his mouth and nodded. "Then I'll guess you just have to find a different way to use your mouth to express yourself." His kiss was able to express what words couldn't and she heard herself moan and whimper all over again.

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"Damn, Chuck!" Bryce exclaimed around a mouthful of food. "You've seriously leveled up your omelet game. This is incredible!"

The four of them were seated at the dining room table, Chuck and Bryce on one side with Sarah and Carina across from them. Sarah had curled her foot around Chuck's leg and started running it slowly up and down his calf under the table, then winked at him when he caught her eye.

"Thanks, Bryce," Chuck replied as he took a bite of his own. "Living with Ellie these past five years, I managed to pick up a few things. I like to make breakfast for her and Awesome on weekends. For the three of us I mean."

Carina swallowed a sip of coffee and asked, "What's an 'Awesome'?"

Sarah covered her mouth as she giggled. "Awesome is Ellie's boyfriend, and he is exactly what the name implies," she answered.

"Yeah, his name is Devon, and he's really one of the greatest guys you could ever hope to meet," Chuck elaborated. "He's a cardiothoracic surgeon, he's a little taller than me, but with another thirty pounds of solid muscle, blond-haired, blue-eyed Southern California surfer dude. He's into skydiving and rock climbing and other extreme sports. I took to calling him Captain Awesome when he and Ellie first started dating."

"I remember Devon," Bryce added. "So he and Ellie are still together, huh?"

"Oh, yeah. They are inseparable. It's only a matter of time before he pops the question. They're actually on vacation in Carmel this week. I wouldn't be surprised if he asks her while they're there."

"Good for them," Bryce observed with a smile.

"So your sister is a neurologist, and your future brother-in-law is a heart surgeon?" Carina asked, obviously impressed.

"Yep."

She shook her head with a wry grin. "Their poor kids."

The four of them settled in to eat in earnest, sharing casual observations about the view of downtown LA out the windows, the smog, the traffic and other various aspects of life in the second largest city in the country. All coinciding with various grunts of pleasure at the meal Chuck had prepared. They eventually finished and Chuck started gathering their plates. As he was stacking them to carry into the kitchen, it was obvious he had something on his mind.

"You OK, Chuck? " Sarah asked. "I can see the wheels turning."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Well, I guess I do have a few questions," he admitted. "Let me throw these in the dishwasher real quick and we can get to work."

"Let me help you out with that, buddy," Bryce offered as he started gathering up the remaining dishes and napkins.

"Sure, thanks, Bryce."

The two of them working together made short work of the cleaning and Chuck topped off everyone's coffee as the group settled into the living room to talk about their efforts on the Task Force.

Carina got the conversation rolling. "So what's on your mind, Chuck?"

"Yeah, um.. So, in the interest of full disclosure, when it's just the four of us together like this, I admit that I start to feel a little intimidated and out of my depth. You guys all have years of experience with this kind of thing. I want to ask questions, but at the same time I don't want to embarrass myself."

Sarah found herself struggling with falling into girlfriend mode rather than Team Leader mode and realized she was a little unsure how to assuage his fears and let him know that he was a critical member of the team, as well as a respected one. Carina unintentionally came to her rescue however as her laugh tinkled lightly through the room.

"Chuck, seriously, don't worry about that. We all know that you're new to this. You haven't been thrown into the deep end of the pool here, you've been thrown into the ocean during a hurricane. It is by far better to ask any question you have, than to not ask and potentially miss something. The great thing about a team like this is just that. We're a team. We're here to help each other."

Chuck smiled at Carina gratefully. "Thanks, Carina. I appreciate that." He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "I guess what I want to ask to start is sort of general. Like what should I expect as the investigation into these suspected Fulcrum agents begins? How do these things generally play out?"

The three experienced field agents shared a look that felt very much like a collective shrug. Sarah smiled and motioned to Carina to answer.

"These types of investigations don't have a script, Chuck," she explained. "What the three of us have learned from experience is that it's impossible to know how it's going to play out. We have to roll with things as they come at us, change our tactics as we get new information. We start with a series of questions we're trying to get answers to, some of those we covered in our first meeting last week. What are their goals? Who else is involved? How do they communicate? We start our surveillance on them, and we try to answer these questions. We will inevitably learn new things that could change the direction of the investigation. For example, right now it seems to be limited to intelligence and federal law enforcement agencies, but what if political figures are implicated? I think that's the thing we're most worried about at this point, though the nature of the Task Force gives us, or more accurately gives Sarah, a lot of investigative authority."

Chuck sighed. "Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Thank you for explaining what should have been obvious to someone who can be a little obtuse."

"Hey, Chuck," Bryce interjected. "Don't do that. You're not being obtuse; you just honestly don't know. We get it, you're not even sure what the right questions are in some instances. But I think you're losing sight of something a little more fundamental, buddy."

Chuck gave Bryce a confused look. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Chuck, I get the impression you're thinking that we expect you to come at this job like we would, like a field operative. Like we expect you to suit up with ballistic armor and a Glock on your hip while constantly looking for threats, checking sight-lines and noting the exits. That's why you're feeling intimidated. You're looking at your role on the team through the wrong lens. You're not a field operative, Chuck, you're an analyst. And I for one am damn glad we've got you. You proved your salt on the SSMC takedown and I know that was a cakewalk for you. If the three of us were looking at working on this team as analysts, with you as our goal post, we'd all be pretty intimidated by you. Does that help put the right perspective on it for you?"

Chuck's smile was deep and wide. "It does, Bryce. Thanks for that." Chuck held his fist out and Bryce bumped it with a grin.

"No problem, Chuck. Like Carina said, we're a team."

Sarah took the opportunity to further solidify Chuck's understanding of his role and how well suited he was for it. "Chuck, you remember what you showed me the other night at the Buy More? After you got the alarm on your phone?" Chuck nodded. "Chuck, I've been involved with cyber threats before, going after black-hat hackers and cyberterrorists, so I have a basic understanding of that world. I have never heard of anyone being able to come close to what you showed me. Not a whisper. You're our ringer, Chuck." She twirled her hand around to include her, Carina and Bryce. "Fulcrum expects field operatives like us to come after them. But they're never going to see you coming."

Carina's curiosity was piqued. "What did he do?"

Sarah scoffed. "Pff, not much, just hacked into the CIA mainframe in less than a half hour. Full admin access."

Carina gave a low whistle. "Daaaaamn, Chuckie. What the hell were you doing working at a fucking Buy More?"

Chuck sat back in his seat and motioned towards Sarah. "Waiting for her," he replied. Sarah couldn't help the blush that crept up her neck. Every damn day he found a new way to burrow deeper into her heart.

Carina hid her smile with a cough and said, "So what was this alarm Chuck got that led him to hack the CIA mainframe?"

"Chuck had previously set an alert on my file. Someone tried to access my unredacted personnel file and Chuck was able to back track their connection."

"Log trojan on the ARP function of the IP stack?" Bryce inquired.

"Yep. Once I mapped the MAC to an IP, it was just a matter of tracing it through the switch CAM tables," Chuck admitted.

"Jesus, Chuck, there's gotta be thousands of VLANs and isolated networks across hundreds of switches on that system. All with active packet sniffers just looking for suspicious activity. How the hell did you trace that?"

Chuck sat up in his seat and took on a shocked facial expression. He started moving his mouth without making sounds, then saying words that didn't seem to fit. "How dare you… doubt.. the Master! My kung-fu… is strong!" He held up his arms in a parody of martial arts movements while making swishing noises. Bryce grinned and mimicked Chuck's exaggerated kung-fu moves while making high-pitched Bruce Lee "waaah" noises. After a few moments of pantomimed fighting and bizarre noises, the two of them fell back in their seats laughing uncontrollably while Sarah and Carina stared at them dumbfounded.

Carina looked at Sarah as the two men were laughing. "What the hell just happened?"

Sarah just shook her head. "I have no idea. Some kind of nerd bonding ritual?"

Bryce sat up and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Oh, come on! Didn't you guys ever watch Saturday Morning Kung Fu Theater?" The two women just gave him blank stares. "Seriously? The crazy Chinese kung fu movies from the '70s with the awesome fight scenes, bad dubbing and the cool sound effects? No?"

Sarah was completely bewildered so she looked at Carina for guidance.

"Don't look at me, I'm as lost as you are," she said with a snort. "But that was indeed about the nerdiest thing I've ever seen in person."

Bryce shook his head as he laughed. "Oh, man, Chuck, we have to find time to introduce them to Kung Fu Theater!"

"I tried that same gag with Sarah that night, but she obviously had no idea what I was talking about," Chuck wheezed through his laughter. "Bryce and I used to do that all the time back at Stanford. Now I know he actually had real kung-fu moves to back it up!"

After their giggles subsided, Sarah shook her head at the two men but was quietly amused at their antics and was glad to see that Bryce appeared to be opening back up to Chuck. For his part, Chuck seemed ecstatic to have his friend back.

"If you two are quite finished?" Sarah intoned, but gave them a small smile. "There's this small matter of national security we have to deal with?"

The two of them sat up straight in their seats and while Bryce seemed perfectly even, she could tell Chuck was forcibly holding in his mirth.

"What Chuck was – I think eventually – going to mention, is that he was able to trace the person trying to access my file to none other than General Diane Beckman."

Carina gave another low whistle. "Holy shit. How did you respond?"

"I called Graham, then he called her while I was on the line. It turns out she had an agent go missing. Thomas Forsythe-

"Wait, Tom Forsythe? I've worked with him a few times. He's gone missing?" Carina interrupted.

Sarah nodded sadly. "Yeah, presumed dead. Apparently he had a failsafe in place. General Beckman received a hardcopy file of his investigation via mail with information about suspected Fulcrum members, including Ryker. General Beckman claimed she was looking for information on all the agents he supervised, and my name was on that list. Long story short, I flexed the EO on her and demanded she turn over everything to us. She'll be here with Director Graham on Friday. He's bringing in all the personnel files for everyone we currently have in custody as well as anyone involved in the investigation to this point. Once I'm fully convinced the General is not compromised, I'm going to loop her in. She could be a powerful ally for us."

"I know Forsythe and the General went back a long way. Her name came up a few times in conversation and he seemed to have a lot of respect for her. He was retired Air Force and I know they served together in Desert Storm," Carina added. "If he's dead, she's going to be on the warpath to find out what happened and drop a MOAB on somebody."

Sarah nodded. "Like I said, an ally."

"It's interesting that there was already someone at the NSA clued into Fulcrum and doing their own investigation," Bryce observed. "I can't help but wonder if that's true for the CIA or any of the other agencies that have been infiltrated. They would be as nervous about sharing information as we are for fear of who to trust."

"It's possible that's how Forsythe got burned. Trusted the wrong person with what he'd discovered. The fact that he had a failsafe in place tells us he was concerned for his safety," Chuck added. "From your guys' perspective, is it more likely that he trusted the wrong person, or was simply caught somewhere he shouldn't have been by one of the people he was investigating?"

Sarah thought it was an interesting question, but more of a mental exercise at this point. "You worked with the man, Carina. What do you think?"

Carina mulled the question over for a few moments. "Tom was a damn good agent. Smart - and by which I mean both intelligent and street savvy. I don't see him letting himself get caught in a compromising position. It's hard to be sure of course, but I'm leaning more towards trusting the wrong person. His hardcopy notes might shed some light on that."

"Speaking of hardcopy notes; Chuck, how are our tech systems coming along?" Bryce asked

"Good. The hardware infrastructure is all built and I'm more than halfway through the software systems. The next phase includes special laptops and smartphones. We're going to have our own private cloud system where you guys will be able to access everything we have on file remotely, from anywhere, with much better security. All the equipment for our two surveillance vans should be delivered to the Buy More tomorrow but building them is going to be a challenge from a time standpoint. It will probably take a couple of weeks before the first one is ready, the second one a couple of weeks after that."

"How are you balancing out all these projects?" Carina inquired. "It sounds like you've got a lot on your plate."

Chuck smiled and nodded. "I know I mentioned to you guys that I was working a deal with Buy More corporate to outsource the Nerd Herd. That deal was finalized on Monday, so I've got a group of technicians I can lean on to help with the ancillary projects. The surveillance vans are a good example of that. Jeff is much more suited to that task than I ever could or would want to be. Lester is going to help with the laptop and phone side. And before either of you ask, no, none of them have any clue about any of this, and they never will. As far as they know, it's all corporate work with non-disclosures that I can't talk about. Honestly, I doubt they will ever care about who the customer is, they're just excited about the work and how much more money they're going to be making."

"Chuck, why do it this way? It seems overly complicated. Why not just run these jobs directly through the Buy More. Why start this other company just to have the same guys do the work?" Bryce asked.

Chuck couldn't help but laugh at that idea. "Because first of all, it would take three times as long, and the end product wouldn't be nearly as good. And I'd be spending all my time cracking the whip on them to get it done and they'd delay even longer out of spite. I just gave these guys about a ninety percent raise and on top of that I'm immediately giving them the kind of work they love to do. And, if I'm completely honest, I think this idea is a long-term viable business model. The Nerd Herd division is imploding from corporate mismanagement, but it fills an important niche and it's got built in name recognition."

Bryce didn't look convinced but seemed willing to concede the point. "You say so, buddy. I just remember how much you hated having to go back and work there during summer breaks from Stanford. How much you complained about all the slackers you worked with."

Chuck smiled. "Yeah, and that was more than five years ago. It's gotten worse since then. This plan is a little bit of a risk, I'll admit, but what are our other options? It's too much for me alone, we need the help and they're perfectly positioned to provide it. We had a little get together here last night, and I filled them in. I'm feeling pretty good about it."

Sarah couldn't help but offer her opinion as well. "I know exactly where you're coming from, Bryce. When Chuck first pitched this idea to me, I was more than a little skeptical. But after last night, I'm not concerned at all. All of them are fully on board with Chuck. We'll see if they can maintain their enthusiasm for the long term, but they are all genuinely excited about this. I think that's going to translate into the work they do for Chuck, and by extension, for our Task Force."

Bryce nodded. "Ok, I'm sold. What's next on the agenda?"

Sarah answered, saying, "I signed the contracts with Verbanski yesterday afternoon. I have to transfer the retainer today, but she indicated that she's willing to get a jump on things with the facility. You'll need to follow up with her first thing when we're done here. I think she wants to meet with the realtors to begin the purchase process for the Desert View facility. I get the feeling she's going to steamroll them. I almost feel sorry for them but anything that saves us time."

Bryce nodded. "Cool, that should be fun to watch. I'll call her."

"Carina had some interviews with our applicants from LAPD yesterday. Any other candidates you want to select from, C?"

"Well, not including Detective Garcia, who I've already sent notification of acceptance to, I did six interviews yesterday and I have four more lined up for today. We got a total of fifteen applicants, but four of them didn't quite fit our criteria. I'll send everyone a "thank you for applying" form letter once I've made the final selections. Garcia was really the standout applicant. The rest of them are all very good, though maybe lacking in a couple of areas. As I predicted, they all have the skills we need covered. I think it's mostly going to come down to their personality and attitude in the interview process."

"Garcia? Wasn't she the lead Detective on the scene after we took down the SSMC?" Bryce asked.

Carina nodded. "Yep."

"Huh, cool. I guess you guys made an impression when you spoke to them Monday morning," he observed with a smile.

Sarah and Carina shared a look. "We did OK," Carina observed with a dry chuckle.

"The next item is the build out of Castle, which is going to take at least six weeks," Sarah observed. "Beyond that, one of the next steps is for me to pave the way for Carina to get in with other metro PD's so we can keep up this momentum we've got with recruiting. I'm thinking Chicago and NYC to start because we have targets there. I will also need to give Coburn a status update just to keep him in the loop. And lastly, we have Director Graham and General Beckman coming here on Friday."

Sarah sat forward and took a deep breath as she looked at the three of them. "I need to be clear on this point. I know I mentioned a few minutes ago that Beckman was a potential ally, and she is. But until I clear her, General Beckman is a suspect. We need to be prepared to take her into custody on Friday. I'm going to work with Coburn to have a team ready to do just that."

Chuck had gone pale at the announcement and Sarah noticed the small tells of stress that Carina displayed but other than an ever so slight flaring of his nostrils, Bryce seemed unaffected by the statement.

His too casual voice betrayed his discomfort, however. "So what did you do today, Bryce? Oh, nothing much. Just arrested the Director of the NSA for treason is all. Just another Friday."

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A/N: Thoughts? Drop a line via the comment box below or shoot me a PM. Maybe head over to the Chuck Fanfiction group on Facebook.

Thanks to WillieGarvin for his pre-read and editing assistance. If you haven't read his story "A New Day", seriously, what are you even doing here?