A/N: Posting date: 5/20/21.
I really do love working on this story, even as much as it sometimes fights me. So what if I have no plan to speak of – the characters are writing the story for me. It's not my fault they often won't tell me what happens next. Hey, you talk to Sarah, see how far you get… Yeah, that's what I thought.
We pick up right where we left off in the last chapter. Chuck plays devil's advocate, and coming up, Sarah rolls a natural 20 on an intimidate check. I think I poo'd a little.
Important Definition: A "Flight" is a military unit describing an aerial force typically composed of three to six aircraft and includes the requisite pilots and support personnel. There's a test later.
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The group was quiet for a few moments as they continued to ponder the implications of having to arrest General Beckman. The three of them looked at Chuck as he stood up and started pacing around the living area.
"Can we talk through this for a minute?"
The three of them looked at him questioningly, Sarah being the first to respond.
"Of course, Chuck," she stated. "What's on your mind?"
"Beckman being compromised by Fulcrum doesn't make sense based on the information we have," he said plainly as he walked a few steps, then turned and walked back.
"How so?" Bryce asked.
Chuck continued walking back and forth as he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and gesticulated with the other, gazing up toward the ceiling as he paced. "Put yourself in her position and think about it from both perspectives. On one hand, she's not compromised and on the other she is. If she is compromised, how and why is one of her own senior, most trusted agents investigating the group she's tied to? Is he off the reservation, doing this investigation without her knowledge? If he is, he obviously realizes what's at stake and yet he still chose to trust her by making her the recipient of all his investigative findings. That immediately tells us that his investigations didn't find anything that could implicate her. Also, her actions don't really track with being a Fulcrum operative. If she were really Fulcrum, she would have burned Forsythe's report as soon as she received it. Why make noise by doing the opposite and going digging?"
Carina looked impressed. "He's got a point."
Sarah wasn't convinced. "Chuck, for all we know, she's the one who burned Forsythe for getting too close. Yes, she admitted to it all when Graham confronted her, but a good lie is mostly truth."
"Sure, that's a possible explanation, but it's pretty thin." Chuck continued pacing as he ran one hand slowly through his hair. "And it doesn't answer why she was digging in CIA files. Why do that, especially right after receiving the file from Forsythe? If she is Fulcrum, we have to assume she's part of their top-tier leadership, right? Wouldn't she already know who - if any - of Ryker's senior agents are already on board with Fulcrum? She wouldn't need to dig into CIA files for that information." Chuck stopped behind his chair and looked at her. "Sarah, remember when Graham called her the other night, her subdued response? It's like she expected the call. And how I told you that whoever was poking around either didn't know how to mask their terminal address, or didn't care? As the head of the NSA she almost certainly would know how to mask her terminal – it's not that difficult. She had to know that going digging like that would provoke a response; Graham even said as much. Part of me wonders if digging around highly secured CIA personnel files wasn't her way of reaching out to Graham without actually making a call. Masking her terminal would have been counterproductive."
Sarah shifted on the couch, pulling one leg under her as she thought about what Chuck was saying. "Chuck, don't forget that Fulcrum is still working in the background trying to find out what happened to their Oligarch team," she reminded him. "Beckman could be using Forsythe's file as an excuse to go digging, looking for information about that. Looking at the senior agents Ryker handled would be a good place to start."
Chuck obviously didn't agree. "Then why wait until now? Graham himself admitted that she technically had the clearance. She could have gone after those files months ago when it was obvious that operation was blown. The fact that she didn't is another point in her favor, not against her. Also, would Fulcrum risk exposing someone as high up the chain as General Beckman for that particular task? The risk versus reward on that doesn't add up," Chuck insisted. "I get that this is far from definitive. I'm just making the point – as the team's analyst," he added with a small smile. "Her actions track more with her not being compromised. They make more sense when viewed from that perspective. To my mind, her actions make no sense when viewed as being undertaken by a Fulcrum operative. There's no upside to her actions. It's all exposure with no payoff."
After several drawn out moments Bryce was the first to speak up. "I agree with him. If Beckman is Fulcrum she would have gone after those personnel files as soon as it was obvious that the Oligarch operation was blown. And the point Chuck made about Forsythe sending all his findings to the General. The fact that he still trusted her says a lot."
Sarah looked at Carina who nodded after a few seconds. "Yeah, I agree as well. When you weigh her actions, they support her not being compromised."
Sarah nodded as she looked at Chuck and smiled. "Good job, Chuck. You've made a thoughtful, cogent argument by walking us through all the facts. I agree with you too. All the evidence currently supports the supposition that the General is not compromised." Chuck smiled and looked extremely pleased. "With that said, we still have to be prepared to take her into custody. At this point I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, but a lot will depend on how she responds at our meeting on Friday."
They all nodded their understanding. Since both Carina and Bryce had busy days ahead of them, they left with promises to follow up later that evening. Chuck was attired in his Nerd Herd uniform and Sarah found she couldn't resist tugging on his ridiculous grey polyester tie and pulling him into a deep, heartfelt kiss before he left for the day.
After Chuck left, the first item on her agenda was to bring Coburn up to speed. As she pressed the speed dial selection on her phone for the Special Agent In-Charge of the LA FBI field office, Sarah again contemplated the ramifications of arresting one of the most powerful figures in the United States. SAC Coburn didn't give her long to ponder the question, answering on the second ring, but it was one she'd been struggling with for days already. She really hoped Chuck was correct in his assessment.
"Coburn," the agent said gruffly.
Sarah couldn't help the smirk that settled on her features as she asked, "Why do you always sound like someone just kicked your big-wheel into a ditch?"
She heard a grunt in reply. "So people think twice about bothering me with mundane shit," he explained plainly. "What can I do for you, Walker? It's been a few days since I heard from you."
"I know and that's partly why I'm calling. Things are progressing, and I can give you an update, but I have a high priority item I need to discuss first. Are you on a secure line?"
"Of course."
"Are you familiar with General Diane Beckman?" Sarah asked.
"I've met her a few times over the years at various events," he admitted. "I know her reputation, which is fierce, but I wouldn't say I know her. Before she was appointed to the NSA, she was the commanding General of Air Force Intelligence and Cyber Operations. I remember thinking she was a good pick to head the NSA when I heard about her appointment."
"I've heard the same thing about her in regard to her being a force to be reckoned with. Anything else you can think of?"
Coburn grunted a negative. "Nothing you don't probably already know or could easily find out. I'm sure you realize what she's had to overcome to rise to the level she has. One thing that no one ever told me about her is how physically small she is. On a tall day she's five-foot-two-and-a-half, maybe ninety pounds soaking wet. But what she lacks in physical stature, she more than makes up for in force of personality. As you're no doubt aware, she's the first female head of the NSA. Word is she could be the next DNI but of course that's up to the next POTUS. She'd certainly be on a shortlist for that position, regardless of who wins next year," he explained. "What's this about, Walker. Why the interest?"
Sarah sighed. "Because I might have to arrest her," she admitted.
That elicited a surprised grunt. "Well. Yeah. Ok then."
"I need you to be present at the meeting and have a team on standby this Friday. Director Graham and General Beckman are flying in together. Not sure what time they'll be here, but we're meeting in a remote hangar at Edwards so we can have a secure meeting without too many people asking questions."
"You don't really think she's connected to.." He let the statement hang, not wanting to mention the word Fulcrum even on a secure line.
"God, I hope not," Sarah admitted ruefully. "If they've managed to infiltrate that high into our intelligence services, we may be too far behind them to stop whatever it is they're planning."
"What's your gut telling you?"
"That she's not compromised," she admitted. "And it's not just my gut. Chuck actually laid out a pretty compelling argument that she's on the level and I agree with him. Her actions support her claims so far. But this is too important. I need to have contingencies in place. Asking her to prove she's not associated with this group is basically impossible, especially if it's a situation where she's unaware. It's possible she's being influenced by agents she otherwise trusts."
"Maybe," Coburn grunted skeptically. "But that's a hell of a lot better than her actively working against our interests. I'm not saying it's impossible, Walker. I'm just saying it seems extraordinarily unlikely. She didn't get where she is by being easily manipulated."
"I don't disagree."
"What's leading you to suspect her in the first place?"
"She tried to access my unredacted personnel file out of the blue the other day, without talking to Director Graham first. She couldn't open it because it's encrypted, but she was able to copy it. Given her resources, she's probably already cracked it. Chuck had set an alert on my file, so he got an alarm when she tried, and he was able to trace it back to her. Short story, I called Graham, he called her, and we confronted her."
"And?" Coburn asked.
"She explained that she received a hardcopy file of an ongoing investigation from an agent who had a failsafe in place. Thomas Forsythe, who was apparently investigating the same group on his own. He went dark and the thinking is that led to the file being sent to Beckman because he didn't check in to stop it. He's now presumed dead. Ryker was implicated in the file. Beckman claimed she was using that as a starting point and looking into all his senior case officers. Obviously, I was one of them."
"That's a perfectly reasonable explanation," Coburn observed.
"I don't disagree, and that's part of the argument that Chuck made, but like I said, this is too important to not cover all possibilities, no matter how unlikely," Sarah insisted. "You and I both know that a polygraph would be a waste of time. This entire investigation could hinge on how we – how I respond here. Like I told the team, she could be a powerful ally, or she can ruin us. Part of me thinks that the safest course of action is to arrest her; that the harm she represents if she's compromised is greater than the help she can offer if she's not."
"I'm not sure I agree with that assessment, Walker. She's the Director of the NSA. She could give you direct access to a lot of resources, help provide cover for members of your team as part of the investigative process. Not to mention the fact that if she's innocent, you'd be destroying her career by arresting her. You'd be slamming shut every door she opened during her career."
"Or by trusting her I could be sending my people into situations where they're already burned," she countered. "As far as her career goes, maybe it deserves to be destroyed. Maybe Graham's does as well. Both of the organizations they command have been infiltrated by a rogue organization. Doesn't the buck stop with them? Someone eventually has to be held accountable."
His answering grunt seemed to acknowledge her point without conceding the debate. "I don't envy you your position. I'm sure you've already considered the fact that arresting the General is going to be a hard thing to cover up. Maybe impossible. She's going to have staff there, security personnel; people who are loyal to her who might not be inclined to abide by a gag-order placed on the knowledge of her arrest."
"I know, trust me. I've already gone through a few scenarios, trying to predict the fallout. All of them suck." Sarah sighed and ran her hand through her hair as she leaned back in her chair and gazed out her apartment windows at the LA skyline. "But I can't let fear of the consequences hamstring me from doing my job. We all understood that this investigation was going to lead to places we didn't want to go, force us to make uncomfortable decisions." It's one of the reasons I didn't want the fucking job. She kept the last thought to herself. It sounded a little petulant, even in her own head.
"I agree," Coburn admitted. "I'm not trying to sway you one way or the other. I have nothing invested in General Beckman."
"I appreciate that. Obviously, I haven't made a decision yet. I want to talk to her first. Look her in the eye while she lays this out for me. I just wanted you there because if I make the call, you'll be the one putting the cuffs on her."
"Lucky me," he observed drily.
Sarah chuckled softly. "Anyway, beyond that, I can bring you up to speed on the rest of our tasks. Carina is making an offer to our first recruit from LAPD today and the second one by Friday. My hope is they can both come on board next week. We'll need to get FBI credentials for them. I was able to finalize the purchase of that strip mall so the build-out of our HQ can proceed unhindered. I've contracted with Verbanski Corp. to help us with relocating-"
Coburn interrupted her. "If this is information pertaining to our guests currently residing at Gitmo, I honestly don't need to be in the loop on that part. I am still a Fed after all."
Sarah couldn't help but snicker at that. "Technically so am I."
"Yeah, well, let's just implement some need to know on that particular aspect of your plan. I get why it's necessary, it just complicates things."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Coburn," she mused with a smile.
"I've been with the FBI long enough to appreciate the meaning of plausible deniability, Walker," he grumbled. "When do you think you'll have the details for your meeting on Friday?"
"Probably not until tomorrow night," she admitted.
"Ok, I'll put a small team together. You give the word, and we will take her into custody. But Walker?"
"Yeah?"
"You know she's too high profile. There's no way taking her into custody doesn't blow up in your face. Once word gets out, regardless of her guilt or innocence, she's got literally an army of loyal troops who will come to her aid. Many of them powerful in their own right. If she's dirty, then on top of her friends coming after you, the guys you're after will come for her. If for no other reason than to protect themselves."
"We just went over this, Coburn. I've been working on this for a while already. I have a contingency plan, or hopefully I will by the end of the day. I hope to God I don't have to use it, but I'm prepared to if it comes to that."
Coburn grunted his acknowledgment. "Again, probably the less I know the better."
"Yeah, in this instance I agree, you don't want to know," Sarah admitted. "But if I do give the order to arrest her, and at any point after we leave I give you the code phrase "Full Custody", you will have to divert our transport convoy to a new destination. One I will give to you beforehand."
There was a long pause on the line as she waited for Coburn to respond. "I understand," he said finally.
"This is all on me, Coburn," she reminded him. "You remember what I said about Rebecca Wright and her shutting me out of the strip mall, what my knee-jerk reaction was?"
"Hnng." Sarah thought his grunt sounded… predatory. Anticipatory. "Yeah, I remember. You said your knee-jerk reaction was to drop a nuke on her and pick up the pieces later."
"Yes, exactly. I'm not leaving anything to chance. If she's dirty and we arrest her, I'm betting they come at us right away and they come at us hard. They can't give us the opportunity to question her. If they do come at us, they are going to be in for a surprise."
"Ok, Walker," he agreed quickly. "This is your show. I'll back whatever play you feel the need to make."
Coburn sounded like he actually hoped Fulcrum came at them, if for no other reason than to see what she had in store. Sarah realized part of her hoped the same thing.
After she ended her call with Coburn, she made a series of calls to Vandenberg Air Force Base, hoping that military bureaucracy could work in her favor.
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Sarah couldn't help but think of Coburn as she followed the dusty, sunbaked Crown Victoria through the maze of streets to a nondescript office building in the heart of Edwards Air Force Base. They'd been sitting at the security gate, apparently waiting for her arrival and she'd been instructed to follow them to the building where the Commanding Officer's office was located. She parked in a remote spot and walked to the main entrance where the two USAF Security Forces airmen that had been in the Crown Vic were waiting for her. As she approached she sized them up. They both had muscular builds, one of them a little over six feet tall, the other slightly shorter than her five-ten. They were wearing no-nonsense expressions, but they looked so ridiculously young that she couldn't help but wonder if either of them was old enough to actually be in the military. If things went badly here, she might be forced to tie the two of them into knots.
"We've been ordered to escort you to General Wallace's office, Ma'am," the taller of the two informed her.
She motioned to the door and said, "That's good because I don't know how to get there. Lead the way."
The shorter one opened the door for the taller one who went through first, beckoning her to follow, and they proceeded that way, one of the Security Forces airmen in front and one behind her. She followed the taller airman through several corridors to an unassuming door in an unremarkable hallway. The tall one entered without knocking and the three of them walked into a large anteroom where the General's assistant was seated behind a massive metal desk.
As they entered, the assistant glanced up at them for a moment before returning his attention to the large monitor in front of him, his fingers zipping across the keyboard. She had called ahead to politely but firmly demand an audience with the base commander, Brigadier General Randall Wallace, and was told, after some back and forth, that he would make time for her before lunch. Given the nearly two-hour drive to get to the base, it was just after eleven am and she hoped the General did not intend to keep her waiting all day, just to prove he could. The two Security Forces airmen took up parade rest positions against the far wall, bracketing a picture of the President, as Sarah stepped up to the gigantic desk.
Without taking his eyes off his monitor or interrupting his typing, the Lieutenant simply asked, "Special Agent Walker?"
"That's me, Lieutenant," she replied.
He nodded towards a row of uncomfortable looking chairs. "Have a seat. The General will be with you shortly."
She schooled her features to hide her disappointment but understood that Generals didn't appreciate people barging on to their schedules. She kept her expression even as she went through a mental checklist of all the various projects she had going. She wanted to get the two LA Vice officers ramped up quickly and have them start passive surveillance on the two NSA cryptographers. Bryce could supervise them when he wasn't working with Verbanski on the detainment facility. She still needed to get in touch with the appropriate people at other law enforcement agencies in Chicago and New York to make sure Carina was able to keep up the momentum with bringing on personnel. She wondered if maybe Deputy Chief Norm Davis had any links with his counterparts in other major cities. It was worth a call to him to find out.
That task of bringing on personnel from out-of-state reminded her that she should try to have appropriate housing available for them and she wondered if Rebecca Wright could maybe help her with that. Thinking about Rebecca led her to wonder about the young woman, hoping that she was learning to cope with the trauma she'd endured. She had just decided she would call Rebecca on her way back to LA after meeting with the General when the phone beeped on the Lieutenant's desk.
Again without looking at her, the phone or slowing his typing, the Lieutenant said, "You can go in now, Agent Walker." The General had only made her wait about a half hour. Knowing it could have been worse, she hoped that was a good sign.
Sarah opened the heavy door and walked into the General's office. The office was large but like the rest of the building, completely unremarkable. The General did have some interesting scale-models of various test aircraft from generations past, as well as an understated "ego wall" of framed degrees, service awards and photos of him with various politicians, mostly Presidents, past and present. Outwardly Sarah thought the General fit well in the office, being a trim but otherwise plain looking man in his early sixties, of average height with thinning grey hair and a pale complexion. His expression was neutral as he stood up to greet her.
Hoping to make amends for the brusque nature of obtaining the meeting with the General, Sarah tried to set a conciliatory tone. "General Wallace. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice. I sincerely apologize for forcing myself onto your schedule this morning. Unfortunately, I'm under some significant time constraints that are dictating my actions." She approached his desk and held out her hand. "I'm Special Agent Sarah Walker."
The General did seem to be somewhat mollified by her apology, his expression going from neutral to slightly more open. He shook her hand once firmly then sat back down.
"I appreciate the apology, Special Agent Walker. Now what exactly is so urgent?"
Sarah sat down in one of the chairs facing the General's desk and reached into her bag. "Sir, I am heading up an Executive Order task force," she said as she pulled out the leather-bound EO and held it out to him. "I am exercising my authority under this Executive Order and requesting that you form a special Flight, dedicated to my task force. This Flight will fall under my direct authority and will be answerable to me and those on my staff that I deem appropriate." Sarah noticed that the General seemed at a loss for words, obviously unused to taking orders from a woman younger than his own children. He donned a pair of reading glasses that he pulled out of his shirt pocket and started reading the EO. The further he got into it, the more shocked his demeanor became.
"Jesus and Mother Mary!" he exclaimed quietly. "This document gives you the authority to take over my entire fucking command if you decided to!" He looked at her with disbelieving eyes.
Sarah couldn't help but scoff at the notion and wondered why it was so difficult for people to see past the surface level of the Executive Order and understand the true implications. All they seemed to see is the potential for abuse of power rather than simply ask why on earth such a document might be necessary in the first place.
She did make an effort to hide her disdain at his rather ludicrous observation. "General, I'm sure you realize that while that might be technically true, I'd be called to account for such a decision almost immediately. You must understand that there are consequences for any actions I undertake using that document. I will have to justify creating this Flight outside the normal chain of command, and I am prepared to do so. I will see to it that the funding comes from a separate Pentagon budget. All I need from you is the appropriate space to house the personnel for the Flight, hangar space with appropriate maintenance equipment and priority take-off and landing authorization. I'm not sure how long I'll need them, but I need to plan for the long-haul."
The General seemed to ponder her words for a few moments before he nodded reluctantly. His demeanor clearly indicated that he was agreeing against his better judgement. "It would seem I don't really have a choice, Special Agent Walker. But I feel like I should pass along some of my hard-won experience. Nothing in this business is free or easy. This document should scare the shit out of you," he waggled the folder in his hand to emphasize his point before handing it back to her. His body language insinuated he wasn't sure he should give it back. "I don't know off-hand who I would trust with this much power." The unspoken 'But it wouldn't be a little girl' was clearly implied in his tone, if not his words.
Sarah held the folder for a few seconds after taking it back, running her hand slowly along the leather binding and across the gold embossed Presidential Seal, thinking about his comments and overall demeanor. She kept her expression perfectly even as she realized she was more than a little pissed off. The General didn't seem to think she was worthy of the authority the Executive Order conveyed to her, even though he knew precisely nothing about her. Nothing about the circumstances under which she'd accepted this responsibility, nothing about her decade of experience in the field. Nothing about her foiling a massive conspiracy and uncovering perhaps the greatest intelligence threat of modern times. He saw a pretty, blonde, twenty-something FBI agent, waving around an Executive Order like a drunk high-school cheerleader with a fake ID. He didn't even try to look past his own preconceptions and see the deeper implications. She also couldn't help but wonder if the General would be as concerned if it were someone like Bryce sitting here with the EO, making the same demands. She sincerely doubted it, which also fueled her ire.
She looked back up at the General, her eyes piercing, ice-blue daggers. She replied to his statement, her voice clear and firm. "General, this document doesn't scare me. What scares me is why this document was deemed necessary in the first place. And contrary to what you might think, it doesn't actually give me power. Yes, it conveys a certain amount of authority, but more than that it gives me responsibility. And while it is not a responsibility I sought out, I accepted it when it was asked of me and it is one that I take seriously," she paused for a moment as she imagined trying to actually see his retinas, her stare intensifying. "Deadly serious."
Without consciously realizing she had done so, Sarah had slipped fully into her former Agent Walker mode and was staring at the General with the Wildcard Enforcer's laser-like intensity, her expression almost completely devoid of emotion. What little emotion that might be present certainly could not be called "friendly". It was the same emotion that was present right before her trigger finger applied the necessary force to send a few ounces of lead down range, usually into someone else who had underestimated her.
It wasn't until she saw the tension around his eyes and recognized the sudden fear in the General's face – muted but still recognizable to her trained eye – that she discerned her current state of mind. It made her a little sad to return to this state of being, but the sadness was a soft echo of a real emotion, subdued by Agent Walker's iron will. She held firm to the Enforcer's cold disposition for the time being.
She knew the General had abruptly realized that there was more to her than her outward appearance had led him to believe. He'd fallen into the same trap that countless others had before him, not realizing that her beauty was more than matched by her capacity for deadly violence. She'd been in this position many times before, seeing the very moment when a mark of hers had sudden insight into how badly he'd misjudged her, often fatally.
She didn't elaborate on her statement, simply held his eyes with hers, pinning him to his seat like a peculiar but ultimately unremarkable bug. One whose continued existence might be in question. After a few moments he cleared his throat and took off his reading glasses, taking the opportunity to break her penetrating gaze. He took his time folding them and slipping them back into his shirt pocket.
He cleared his throat again before speaking. "I apologize if I came across as condescending, Special Agent Walker. That was not my intent," he said quietly as he looked back up at her. "Tell me exactly what it is that you need, and I'll see to it immediately."
She consciously softened her expression, letting the Enforcer slip away, and gave him a small nod. "I appreciate that General," she acknowledged. "Thankfully, I was able to do a lot of the heavy lifting earlier this morning." She pulled a folded piece of paper out of her bag and slid it across the desk. "This is the contact information for Major Timothy Lovett, the former unit commander for the 76th Helicopter Squadron. As you may know, the 76th HS was deactivated just a few weeks ago, but the bulk of their forces are still at Vandenberg awaiting reassignment. I spoke to Major Lovett this morning and he has already separated out the aspects of the Flight that I need from what remains of the 76th HS. The pilots and the crew have been selected and are awaiting word from Major Lovett on where to report and when. I'm hoping you can have them billeted by the end of the day today because I need to brief them tomorrow for potential action on Friday."
To Sarah's surprise, the General did not hesitate. He pressed the speaker button on his phone and dialed the number on the paper.
After a few rings, the Major answered. "Major Lovett speaking."
"Major Lovett, this is General Wallace, C.O. of Edwards."
"Good morning, sir," the Major replied crisply. Sarah could almost hear him come to attention.
"Major, I understand you spoke to Special Agent Sarah Walker this morning and have appropriated the necessary components and crew for the Flight she has requested?"
"Yes sir, I have. We've all been sitting on our thumbs for the last several weeks waiting for our new orders to come in. Once I put the word out, I had crews climbing all over each other to be selected. Agent Walker requested the best and that's what she'll get. They're waiting and ready to go, sir."
"And they all understand the unique nature of this assignment? That for the time being they will be outside the normal chain of command?"
"Yes sir, they do."
"Well then, tell them to get their thumbs out of their asses and get them in the air, Major. Have them report to Edwards immediately. Send me a list of the crew and I'll have housing assignments ready for them when they get here."
"Will do, sir."
"Thank you, Major. As you were," the General said, then disconnected the line.
"I guess that wasn't so difficult after all," the General offered with a smile. "You mentioned you wanted to have a briefing with them tomorrow. I can make an appearance at that briefing if you like, just to make sure these rotor jockeys understand you're the one calling the shots."
Sarah didn't think it was particularly necessary from her perspective, but it couldn't hurt to have the pilots and ground crew reassured that she was in fact authorized by powerful figures to command their unit. She didn't like to invoke the EO if she could avoid it, and this would help her do that. She also knew it was the General's way of offering her an olive branch. "That would be great, General Wallace, thank you. I was planning to brief them at thirteen-hundred hours, but I was going to get here at twelve-hundred and have some lunch brought in so we could have a little get-to-know-you session beforehand."
The General pulled a business card out of his desk and wrote a number on the back before handing it to her. "That's my direct cell. Shoot me a text when you're ready for me and I'll drop by for a few minutes."
Sarah did appreciate that he was making a real effort to put her at ease, after having caught a glimpse of the true Agent Walker. Or perhaps more accurately, the old Agent Walker. She stood up and offered her hand once again. "Thank you again, General. In the future I'll be sure to follow protocol as it pertains to getting on your schedule." She offered a small smile to show her comment was good-natured.
"I'm happy to help, Agent Walker," he offered as he stood up and shook her hand. "At least, I am now that I have a better understanding of your… situation." He gestured to a picture on the wall, of him with the current President, sitting astride horses, smiling and relaxed in each other's company.
"The President and I go back a ways. He's a good man. Maybe not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but a good man, nonetheless." Sarah struggled not to laugh at that characterization of the leader of the free world while the General continued talking.
He came around his desk and walked her slowly to his office door. "I should have realized it before I spoke out of turn, but I know he wouldn't write that document you're carrying around without damn good reason. I don't need to know, and I don't want to know what that reason is. But I do want you to know that if there's anything I can do to help, you call that number, and you'll have it."
"Thank you again, General. I'll definitely let you know if there's anything I need," she replied, still fighting down a smirk at how he'd referred to their Commander-in-Chief.
"Good luck, Agent Walker," he said as he opened the door.
"General. I look forward to tomorrow."
The General nodded and looked over at the two young Security Forces airmen still standing against the far wall and said, "You men report back to your Lieutenant. Special Agent Walker no longer requires an escort."
"Yes, Sir!" they exclaimed in unison.
The shorter one once again held the door for Sarah and as they walked into the corridor he looked at her with a wry smile. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone win the General over that quickly. Airman Grant and I had a bet on if we would have to escort you off the base or not," he said with a wry smile.
"Who won?" she chuckled.
The taller one answered. "We both lost. The General's assistant told us that he was in a bit of a cranky mood after your call demanding to see him without explaining why. We both figured we'd be escorting you off the base, the bet was whether or not you'd be in handcuffs."
Sarah couldn't help but laugh and noticed their slightly affronted looks. "No offense meant, guys, but there's no way I would have let you or anyone else handcuff me." She smiled sweetly at their dubious expressions. "Let's just be glad we didn't have to go down that road."
"Yes, Ma'am," they replied, once again in unison.
As they left the building the taller one made his way over to their Crown Vic while the shorter one looked longingly across the lot at her car.
"That is a beautiful R8," he admired. "Is that the new one with the Lambo V10?"
"It is," she replied with a smile.
"Gated six-speed manual?"
"Of course," she replied, rolling her eyes jokingly.
He glanced at her briefly before looking back at the car. "Not exactly FBI standard issue," he observed.
Sarah chuckled and said, "Uh, no, not so much. That's my personal car."
The young airman sighed wistfully. "You enjoy the rest of your day, Special Agent Walker," he said as he walked to the dusty Crown Vic. She couldn't help but wonder if they had something in the regs about not washing the damn things as she realized she wasn't even really sure what color it was under the dust. The windshield where the wipers didn't reach was a slightly paler shade of the rest of the car and the other windows were only marginally cleaner.
Sarah gave them a little two fingered salute as they pulled out of the lot and she walked to her car. She took a deep breath as she slipped behind the wheel and closed her door. She was pleased with how the meeting with the General had resolved itself, but she was more than a little disconcerted with how easily she'd slipped into her prior frame of mind - the old Agent Walker, the Enforcer. She'd incorrectly believed that her time with Chuck had somehow freed her from that; exorcised Graham's Wildcard Enforcer like an evil spirit.
But a few moments with a slightly misogynistic old General and the Enforcer had stepped right to the front of line and said hello to the man the only way she knew how. With the not-so-subtle implication of imminent violence. And it worked. It wasn't the first time some misogynistic jack-ass had gotten into a dick-measuring contest with her only to come up short, metaphorically speaking.
She felt that sting of sadness full force now that the old Agent Walker wasn't present to stamp it down. She really had thought that she was done with that part of her previous life. She'd associated that aspect of her personality with her former role at the CIA, and with her deep, unrecognized loneliness. Now that she was free of both of those things, she'd incorrectly assumed that she was free of Agent Walker; free of the Enforcer who could pull the trigger, end a life and then fade into the background, leaving Sarah to deal with the mental and emotional fallout.
Her sadness was immediately tempered by the recognition of two important truths; The first was that she was now in a place where she didn't have to deal with these negative emotional experiences alone and the second was that contrary to her previous method of dealing with things – suppress, compartmentalize and ignore – she actually wanted to talk about these feelings. She recognized that she wasn't in this life alone any longer and the joy she felt at that realization overwhelmed the sadness.
She picked up her phone and hit the speed dial for Chuck, who picked up almost immediately.
"Hey, sweetie!" She could hear the joy in his voice at her call and it amplified her own. "Your timing is crazy. I was just thinking about you"
"Is that so?" she asked, grinning like an idiot.
"Yeah, though admittedly that happens a lot. It's just that I was thinking about you extra hard right before you called."
"Oh were you now? Exactly how hard were you thinking about me, Chuck?" She popped the 'K' in his name knowing the effect that on him. She thought he'd probably laugh her off but the low, guttural growl he uttered took her by surprise, tightening things low down in her abdomen and making her heart suddenly race.
"Oh my God, Sarah. If you were here I'd show you exactly how hard," he moaned.
Sarah swallowed the lump in her throat. "H-How would you do that, Chuck?" she asked breathily.
"The new surveillance vans were delivered early. We'd be in one of those vans right now. I'd be in you in one of those vans right now."
Sarah was shocked at how brazen his statement was, but shocked in the best possible way as a shiver ran down her spine. She leaned her head back on her seat and took another deep breath as she closed her eyes. "God, Chuck, you're killing me here. I'm at Edwards Air Force Base. I'm two hours away."
She heard him take a deep breath as well. "You started it," he said with a low chuckle. "Now I have to sit here in the cage for an extra few minutes and think about zero-point energy or the power requirements for an Alcubierre drive or something. Anything but kissing your neck while I run my hands over your-"
"Chuuuuck, staaaahp!" Sarah whined into her phone.
"Kittens! Baseball! Morgan's beard!" He paused suddenly. "Oh, hey, that worked. I'm all good now. Arousal conquered!" he crowed the last two words emphatically and Sarah couldn't help but giggle at his antics.
"Do you have any idea how much I love you, you amazing nerd?"
"I do, but you know, a reminder couldn't hurt." Sarah could perfectly envision the cheeky grin he would have at that moment.
"Don't be so sure about that, mister," she taunted.
"Ok, now it's your turn to stop," he said with a laugh. "Seriously though, is everything OK? You called me. Did you need anything?"
She took a relaxing breath and smiled. "I did, Chuck, but you've already given me exactly what I needed."
"You needed to be sexually frustrated?" She giggled again at his deadpan delivery.
"Ah, no, I could have lived without that," she admitted. "I guess I just needed to hear your voice. I had kind of an unpleasant meeting with the base commander here and I wanted to talk to you about it, but I felt better as soon as you answered the phone. We can talk more about it tonight at home."
"You sure?"
"I am. I need to get on the road, and I have some other calls to make while I drive."
"Ok, sweetie. I'll be here if you change your mind," he offered sincerely.
"I know. I'll see you at home tonight. I love you, Chuck."
"I love you too, Sarah," he replied, his voice brimming with the truth of it. "Bye."
"Bye, sweetie."
Sarah could only smile as she pushed the button to start her car, clicked her seatbelt on and snicked the shifter into gear.
She knew she had a lot on her plate and many items that she could be following up on, but none of them really needed her direct attention at that moment so she felt like she could take a few hours for a side project. Not to mention that she'd sort of made the woman a promise.
She dialed Rebecca Wright's number from memory while she was stopped at a traffic light in Rosamond, a small town that basically only existed to service Edwards.
"Hello?" Sarah heard Rebecca's voice answer.
"Hi Rebecca, it's Sarah."
"Hi, Sarah! Oh my God, it's great to hear from you!" Sarah thought she sounded maybe too happy to hear from her.
"Well, I remember that you mentioned that you had a therapy appointment scheduled for today and I wanted to check in with you. I know it's only been a couple of days, but how is everything going?"
"Meh, things are ok. Still not sleeping great. I have gotten out of the house for a little bit every day, like you suggested. I had my therapy appointment this morning and it was OK I guess. I might be the only twenty-four-year-old in LA that has never talked to a therapist before, so it was a little weird talking to a total stranger about these crazy intimate things. But I'll admit that it did feel good to get some of it out there. We put in a standing appointment for every Wednesday morning."
"That's great. I'm glad to hear that you're getting out of the house too. That might be one of the most important things you can do is just get out for a little bit each day, give yourself a change of scenery if nothing else."
"Yeah, and I have, but I'm not going to lie. It's been a struggle to make myself go out when I don't really have anywhere to go," she admitted.
"What about your real estate company?" Sarah asked. "Don't you have an office where you go to oversee everything?"
"No, other than trying to get through the financial crisis that you resolved for me, I don't handle any of the day-to-day operations. Nancy and the management company handle everything."
"Well, I know you've already been out of the house for your appointment this morning, but how would you feel about getting together with me for a late lunch this afternoon?" Sarah offered. "I'll be back in town around two-thirty? Do you have a good local place you like to eat?"
"Yeah, I could do that, though my appetite has been pretty low lately. There's this little Italian place that my uncle loved. I'm sad to say I haven't been back since he died. I could meet you there if you like. It's on Santa Monica Boulevard, near the intersection of Wilshire. It's called Da Pasquale Trattoria. My uncle was really good friends with the owner."
"That sounds perfect. Why don't we meet there at about two-thirty?"
"Ok, I'll see you then. Bye, Sarah."
"See you soon!"
Given the relatively light traffic early in the afternoon, combined with her penchant for high-speed driving, Sarah arrived at the restaurant about fifteen minutes early and saw Rebecca at a table inside next to the window. The lunch rush was long since past so there were only a few diners seated at various tables, but she thought she heard a somewhat boisterous group using one of the banquet rooms. As she approached the table, Rebecca surprised her by standing up and pulling her into a friendly hug. She smiled awkwardly at Sarah as she pulled away.
"I'm sorry about that," she said, obviously a little embarrassed. "I guess I'm just really happy to see you."
Sarah waved her hand and made dismissive noise. "Don't apologize. I don't mind hugs," she said with a smile as she sat down across from the younger woman.
"I'm not normally a hugger or generally overly affectionate," Rebecca admitted. "I know I've got some kind of hero complex thing going on with you that I'll need to talk to my therapist about." She rolled her eyes and grimaced a little.
Sarah didn't want to belittle her feelings on the matter, so she chose her words carefully. "Hang out with me for a while and any hero complex you might have will be quickly rectified," Sarah explained lightly. "I muddle through each day as best I can, just like everyone else."
Rebecca snorted a laugh. "You don't expect me to believe that, right? You're like some kind of supervisor or something at the FBI, aren't you?" Sarah shrugged and nodded. "You're just a few years older than me so that tells me you're way ahead of the curve. Muddle through each day. Ha! I'm a muddler and I've never seen you at any of the meetings."
Sarah laughed at the reminder that Rebecca had a unique sense of humor from the time she'd spent with her at the hospital. "Well, as a muddler, do you even make it to any of the meetings?"
Rebecca giggled at that. "Touché."
Sarah picked up the menu and asked, "So you mentioned that you used to come here with your uncle?" Rebecca nodded. "Any recommendations?"
"Everything here is good, but the eggplant parmesan is really good if you're a vegetarian. The Calamari is incredible. Really you can't go wrong."
As she was perusing the options, a set of double-doors opened on the other side of the restaurant and out of the corner of her eye, Sarah saw several people dressed in green polo shirts and tan slacks that seemed entirely too familiar to her. She looked up to see a bunch of Buy More sales staff filing out of one of the private banquet rooms and was completely nonplussed to see Morgan among them. He was talking to another green-shirt that she was sure she'd never seen in the Burbank store.
"Morgan!?" Sarah blurted before she could catch herself. Almost as a single organism, the group of green-shirts turned to look at her. She saw several mouths inexplicably fall open as their owners turned to gape at the short, bearded man.
Morgan's head jerked around. "Sarah?!" he exclaimed, as surprised to see her as she was him. "What the…?" He obviously didn't know how to finish the sentence as he walked quickly to her table. She stood up and gave him a warm hug.
"What on earth are you doing in Beverly Hills?" She noticed that the other green-shirts were staring at the two of them and she was reminded of visiting Chuck at his store in Burbank. "Are you cheating on the Burbank Buy More, Morgan?" she asked with a grin.
He snorted a laugh and said, "I would never. No, it's a sales cross-training thing. A few times a year, Corporate makes us go to other stores to learn their sales techniques. I'm spending the week working at the Beverly Hills store and the Manager brought us here for a sales meeting. He looked back at the group of green-shirts still standing a few feet away, staring at them. He seemed startled by their disbelieving expressions, taking a half-step backwards. "Uh, guys, this is my friend Sarah. She's actually Chuck's girlfriend."
That seemed to break whatever spell had temporarily befuddled the group as heads nodded and they murmured their understanding. The group started making their way towards the exit. "You guys go ahead, I'll catch up in a minute," Morgan said to one of the last to leave.
"Sure thing, Morgs," the green-shirt answered.
"How bizarre to run into you like this," Morgan observed with a smile, turning back to Sarah.
"I know, right?" Sarah laughed. She noticed that Rebecca had an amused expression on her face.
"Oh, sorry! Rebecca, this is a friend of mine, Morgan. Morgan, this is Rebecca. She ah, she owns an apartment complex I looked at a while ago," Sarah found herself briefly struggling to explain how she knew Rebecca, not wanting to shed any light on either of their involvements with the SSMC.
"Cool. Nice to meet you Rebecca," he said offering his hand.
She shook his hand and smiled. "You too, Morgan,"
Morgan looked out the window as his fellow green-shirts loitered nearby. "Man, I wish I could hang out and talk for a few minutes but I don't want to interrupt you guys, and I should probably get back to work. Tell my hetero life-partner I said hey when you see him, OK? Give him a big hug from his pal."
Sarah couldn't help but grin as she rolled her eyes. "I'll be sure to do that, Morgan."
Sarah gave him another quick hug and before he left he turned and said, "It was nice to meet you, Rebecca,"
"Thanks, Morgan. It was nice to meet you too," she smiled at him and Sarah wondered if she saw a hint of something in her eyes.
"Bye," he said, giving them a little wave and a goofy smile.
Sarah sat back down, still a little thrown by the unexpectedness of the encounter.
"So what exactly is a 'hetero life-partner'?" Rebecca asked with a grin.
Sarah couldn't help but laugh. "That's what he calls my boyfriend Chuck. They've been friends for over twenty years, since like kindergarten or something."
"So you were serious when you said you could relate to the feeling of seeing a beautiful man."
Sarah could feel the warm, tingling sensation she got when she thought about their first encounter. How entranced she'd been by him from the first moment with his silly Vicky Vale riff that she immediately teased him about.
"Oh, yeah, I was serious. I can relate. Hard," she added with a wry grin.
"Ok, I can tell," Rebecca said with a chuckle. "It's written all over you. You're practically glowing. How long have you guys been together?"
"We met three weeks ago today," Sarah answered, her grin magnified.
"Wow. Well, I can tell you've definitely got the best friend's seal of approval. That's certainly something."
"Yeah, Morgan is great. He was actually there when I met Chuck. Chuck's the Nerd Herd supervisor at the Buy More in Burbank and Morgan's one of the sales guys. I went in to get this stupid government issue phone fixed and Morgan was standing there when I came in. Chuck and I shared some flirty back-and-forth banter while he fixed my phone. We went on our first date the next night and have basically been inseparable since then."
Rebecca had an impressed expression on her face. "Nerd Herd guy, huh?"
Sarah nodded with a smile. "Yep."
"I know I don't know you, like at all really, Sarah, but I gotta say, I'm impressed even more now than I was before."
Sarah gave her a confused look as she asked, "What do you mean?"
"You just really seem to have your shit together on a whole other level from people I'm used to dealing with," she explained. "You're this incredibly beautiful, highly successful, highly competent and professional law enforcement official who also knows what she wants in her personal life. It's impressive is all I'm saying."
Sarah could only shake her head with a wry grin. "That might be true now, but If you only knew how far that was from the truth a month ago, you'd be even more shocked. I was a basket case before I met Chuck. Completely clueless about so many things. What's even more crazy is that he was too. It's like even our individual dysfunctions were matched to each other."
Rebecca looked dubious. "I find that really hard to believe."
Sarah shrugged. "It's true, though. All I really had was work. My job was all-consuming, had been for years, and I didn't even recognize the toll it was taking on me."
"I supposed I can imagine what that's like. I mean, I've never been in that position, but it's not an uncommon thing," The younger woman admitted thoughtfully. "When you met your boyfriend, his work situation didn't give you pause? I know you're not from LA, but this is a superficial town. People tend to judge others based on their jobs."
Sarah wondered how much she really wanted to share about her connection with Chuck. On one hand, he was perhaps her favorite topic of conversation, but it was still a very new, very personal thing. She found that she was really starting to like Rebecca and could see them becoming friends, which itself felt a little strange. A month earlier, the idea of making random friends would have seemed nearly as unlikely as having a boyfriend – a thought that could still make her tingle and smile uncontrollably. She decided to test out her new-found ability to share personal things about herself.
"I get it. Chuck actually judged himself more harshly than others did for where he ended up. He had higher hopes for himself but personal setbacks made it difficult. I know that saying my boyfriend works for the Nerd Herd in a Buy More doesn't sound particularly impressive, but I couldn't care about that in the least. He's impressive to me."
"That's exactly my point," Rebecca said, motioning at Sarah. "Most people do care about that stuff and it maybe causes them to ignore or not recognize opportunities. Your friend Morgan is a perfect example. I was thinking he was very cute and that beard of his is fantastic, but I also am ashamed to admit that I was thinking I couldn't date a Buy More sales guy. Like it's beneath me or something, which is crazy conceited, I know."
Sarah gave herself a few moments to think about the younger woman's comment before replying. While she was considering her response, the waiter came to take their orders.
"I guess I have to admit that given my life experience, I come at these kinds of things from a slightly different perspective," she noted thoughtfully. "Some of the worst people I've ever met, genuinely ruthless, evil people, were extremely successful, while some of the best people I've ever met tended to blend into the background. I learned a long time ago not to worry too much about a person's profession as it pertains to understanding who they are.
"As far as Morgan goes, he is a genuinely good guy and he's incredibly loyal to his friends, but if I'm honest, he's a bit immature for his age. Though I think he'll start to grow out of that soon. You could certainly do worse than to date someone like Morgan."
Rebecca's expression fell as the unintended implications hit home. "Yeah, he's probably not a sociopathic criminal for starters. Jeez, like I'm above dating anyone at this point."
Sarah reached out and put her hand on top of the other woman's. "Rebecca, I apologize. That's not how I meant that. I just meant in the grand scheme, Morgan is a good guy. Maybe not super ambitious, but he's sweet, he's funny and quirky. He has some growing up to do, but underneath the slacker persona is a genuinely good man."
The younger woman gave a wan smile. "I know you didn't mean anything by it, Sarah. This is all on me. I'm still working through everything that happened. How I let my hormones override my common sense. While I didn't fully realize the scope of his misdeeds, I knew full well that Jimmy was a criminal. I deluded myself into thinking that he was a misunderstood hero, helping the community, blah, blah, blah. You said he manipulated me, but I have to take responsibility for the fact that at a certain point, I let myself be manipulated. I actively participated by ignoring what was right in front of my face, cherry picking what I let myself notice."
"Everyone makes mistakes, Rebecca. Part of this process is going to be forgiving yourself for those mistakes. You certainly already paid a hefty price, why keep adding to it?"
"My therapist said something similar to that this morning," Rebecca admitted with a wry smile.
Sarah chuckled softly. "Yeah. I should probably leave therapy to the therapists."
The waiter interrupted them briefly to drop off their orders.
"So what else do you know about Morgan?" Rebecca asked as she stabbed a tomato from her salad.
Sarah used her spoon to help twirl pasta around her fork. "Not a lot actually, other than he plays a lot of video games and he likes grape soda. I've been pretty focused on his best friend. But he hasn't been jealous of me monopolizing Chuck's time, which I admit that I'm grateful for. He's just been really supportive and happy that Chuck is happy," she admitted.
"That's actually really cool," the younger woman observed. "That he hasn't been jealous or tried to come between you."
"Quite the opposite actually. I've made sure to push Chuck to invite him over to our place, have video game sessions, hang out. Make sure he doesn't feel abandoned."
Rebecca stopped in mid-chew and gave Sarah a confused look. She swallowed quickly. "Wait, I'm sorry. Did you just say, "our place"?"
Sarah had to cover her mouth as she grinned around a mouthful of food. She sat back and nodded. "I did say that."
Rebecca looked completely stunned. "You guys live together?" Sarah nodded with a smirk as she twirled another forkful of pasta. "But you just told me you'd only been dating for three weeks!"
Sarah smiled as she chewed slowly while the younger woman looked impatient for an explanation. "We've been living together for almost half of those three weeks," she finally replied
"Shut the fucking door!" Rebecca exclaimed, her eyes wide with disbelief. Sarah laughed as she ate another bite of pasta. "Sarah, how the hell does that even happen?"
"Luck?" Sarah offered, earning a snort in reply.
"You've got to give me more than that, Sarah. Please, seriously, I need to know how that happens. Like did angels sing when you first met or something?"
Sarah chuckled and said, "Sort of! I mean my heart certainly sang for him when I first met him. He was a little shy and bumbling but also ridiculously and effortlessly charming, and oh my, God, so beautiful. I was mesmerized by his brown eyes and his curly hair. And his smile made my heart pound. It was instantaneous, explosive chemistry between us. We both felt the same way. This was within the first few minutes of meeting. I was completely smitten."
Rebecca was entranced by the story, eyes riveted to Sarah. "So what happened? Did he ask you out or ask for your number?"
"No, unfortunately he got sidetracked helping a customer and I was late for an appointment so I wrote my number down on one of the cards at the desk and left it for him. He didn't call me that night so I went in the next day and asked him out."
"You went back to the store and asked him out even though he never called you? What if he'd had a girlfriend or something?"
"Well, then he'd have said no and I'd have been completely bummed. But he wasn't seeing anyone and we went out on our first date that night. If you exclude a silly nine-hour separation, our first date lasted almost six days."
Rebecca was obviously completely flummoxed. "How…? But…?"
Sarah couldn't help but laugh. She often felt the same way when she let herself really stop and analyze their situation.
Rebecca seemed to gather her train of thought as she asked, "What about work? How did you guys just spontaneously take a week off work to have this whirlwind affair?"
"Well, I was in a bit of a transition period because I just transferred out here from Washington DC a few months ago. I hadn't actually started in my new role with the Bureau quite yet. He called in and took a few days off to spend them with me. I'm not gonna lie, it was freaking magical."
"It sounds incredible," she admitted. "How did the two of you moving in together happen just four days later?"
Sarah shrugged. "Just crazy timing. My work situation stabilized and I was looking for a permanent place to live. I'd been at the Marriott Suites up to that point. He was going to be looking for a new place too and he was helping me because he's lived here his entire life. Every place we looked at I just couldn't help but picture him being there with me. We found this incredible apartment and I asked him to make it ours together instead of mine. He accepted."
"Wow. That's…" She made the exploding hands gesture next to her head.
"Trust me, I get it," Sarah said with a knowing smile.
"How has it been? I mean, two weeks in now, living together? Is the shine starting to wear off?"
Sarah shook her head. "Not at all," she admitted. "If anything, it's getting shinier. Each day has been better than the one before. It's sort of indescribable."
She thought maybe the younger woman looked equal parts skeptical and jealous. "Are you sure it's not that you're both still in that honeymoon phase where the other can do no wrong? Where both of you are always on your best behavior?"
Sarah gave her a one shoulder shrug and said, "Sure, that could be part of it, I suppose, but I know he's not hiding any character flaws from me and I'm not hiding myself from him either. We share a bed and a bathroom so there's not much we could hide from one another even if we wanted to. I get a little freaked out when I think about how deep I've let myself get with him. Let's just say I have trouble trusting; letting people in. I've seen a lot of ugliness in my work, the terrible things people do to each other and it's made me cynical. Chuck helped me see the good side, not just in other people, but in myself too."
Rebecca seemed to accept that as she nodded and looked a little sad. "I've lived in Beverly Hills basically my entire life. Most of my past relationships were fairly superficial and I guess I've become a little jaded by it all."
Sarah waited to reply as the waiter stopped by their table to drop off the check and clear away their dishes. "I can definitely relate to that," she assured. "It's hard not to become jaded working in law enforcement."
Rebecca seemed to pause for a moment before speaking. "If I was to ask you to give Morgan my number, would you be ok with that?" she asked after a few seconds, her voice hesitant.
Sarah let the idea percolate for a few moments as she thought about the implications, taking into account the traumatic experience the younger woman had recently endured. "If you honestly tell me that you're ready to take that step, then yes, I'd be ok with that. But I'd want you to be sure it's not just a distraction for you, something to take your mind off the Jimmy situation. I care about Morgan and I don't want to see him hurt."
Rebecca seemed to accept that as she nodded. "You're right, of course. I should talk to my therapist about something like that first. I genuinely think Morgan is cute, but the truth is that I don't know if needing a distraction isn't part of it. Anyone I date deserves more than that."
Sarah smiled and nodded. "Ok then, we'll talk about it next time we get together. I will say that if you do end up going out with him, you couldn't ever talk about how we actually met. There are aspects of my job that are classified, and my involvement with the SSMC is one of them."
Rebecca looked a little green at the thought. "Trust me, Sarah. I'm not sharing that particular story with anyone, ever."
"Well, then, if you don't mind a rather abrupt segue, I'd like to ask you about any residential apartment listings you have in your complex near Burbank. If things play out the way I'm hoping, I will need to secure several one-bedroom apartments over the next few weeks."
The younger woman seemed more than happy at the change in the direction of the conversation as she said, "Of course. Anything I can do to help!"
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A/N: It's interesting how the timing works out on some of this stuff. I, like many other writers, appreciate a certain level of authenticity in my stories. As I was DuckDuckGo'ing (fuck google), doing research into various US military bases and units, I stumbled across the 76th Helicopter Squadron (which was assigned to the 30th Operations Group) that was in fact based out of Vandenberg AFB, and was deactivated in August of 2007. I've never really specified exactly what the date is in this little A/U, but I've always felt it was September-ish/October-ish 2007, with the beginning of SvACO starting around the date of the Pilot episode. Ish.
This felt like a fortuitous discovery as I was looking for that extra little bit of realism. Admittedly, the 76th Helicopter Squadron was more of an Air Rescue group than any kind of attack or fighting unit, but still. It fit nicely.