Ch. 3 An Admirer Is Born
A/N: We promised another chapter to make up for Ch. 2 being short…and supply one that's even shorter. We end these at the natural break point in the story, rather than strive for a set word length. In this chapter, and moving forwards, words in italics represent the thoughts of the character.
Thanks to all of you for so much support for the story. A lousy day at work can turn a lot better after reading a supportive review.
Chuck let out a long sigh. He had just gotten back to his office after a lunch meeting with his mother and father. He felt momentarily guilty about how infrequent an occurrence those events were even though he and his father worked in the same department at Stanford. Pushing that thought to the side, he reflected on the request that his parents had made courtesy of a friend of theirs at the CIA.
He sat in his chair and spun around, thinking about what they had talked about. He had been asked to go make friends with a spy. Suddenly the guilt he felt about those infrequent luncheons lessened considerably.
On the surface, the request wasn't so terrible. Even though he was aware that his mother had a long career as a CIA agent, Chuck had never seen her in action and, therefore, still had a view of the occupation influenced by Ian Fleming and Robert Ludlum. He was certain that the reality was far less glamorous, but he wondered if there wasn't a fancy gala here or there, or some romantic setting on the coast of some European country…yep, definitely influenced by Fleming and Ludlum. His mother had always been extremely tight lipped about what escapades she had been up to during her heyday as an agent in the field.
But how was he expected to help some superspy adapt to college life? She was a spy for crying out loud, she was already exponentially cooler than he was. He hadn't exactly had a great experience in undergrad. Well, it had seemed pretty great for a while. Straight As, great friends in the fraternity, a beautiful yet nerdy girlfriend, and a best friend whose closeness was only matched by Morgan. Chuck stopped his memories in their tracks there. Six years later, the pain still haunted him. He knew that Ellie and his mom were right. He needed to get over Jill. Any day now.
On the other hand, that betrayal had spurred Chuck to focus on his studies to the exclusion of everything else. Bryce had been quickly booted from the fraternity, but Chuck let the friendships with his other fraternity brothers fade away as he relentlessly poured himself into his studies. In return, he had made a breakthrough on quantum entanglement encryption that would have earned him plenty of accolades if the NSA hadn't classified it. Although, the exclusive rights assignment of the encryption technology to the ODNI soothed over the forced silence.
The accompanying check hadn't hurt matters either. The classified accolades, meanwhile, had also helped Chuck to becoming the youngest tenured professor in Stanford history. The scaled down version that had later been authorized for release to the public was leaps and bounds better than any other security software on the market. Chuck still kept an eye on the dark web for new viruses, and would periodically issue updates to keep his software the best in the business. He was bringing in so much money from his software that he could have donated his entire university salary to charity and not noticed any impact on his lifestyle at all.
Chuck decided to look over all of the information available to him to figure out how best to approach this CIA agent. Aside from geographical location, approximate age, and the fact that she and mom have the same career, what would I have in common with some superspy? Nothing.
Chuck had accessed the student directory in order to find out what a Sarah Walker looked like, as well as what classes she was taking. He had approached the mission of befriending a superspy by the most logical approach.
"My own mission," he muttered to himself. "Heh." He probably shouldn't be so amused with himself, but he was.
His first step was to find out what she was interested in and then be able to point her in the right direction. That was a good, rational plan. As he scanned the photos in the directory, his plan went right out the window. He found himself staring at her photo, his brain misfiring. She was beautiful…no, scratch that. Stunning. She was so gorgeous that if Botticelli himself had been commissioned to paint her portrait, he would have quit as not being up to the challenge.
Despite his academic achievements, Chuck's confidence in realm of computer science didn't translate into confidence with the opposite sex. His previously low self-esteem in that regard had taken a near fatal hit when his college girlfriend, whom he had presumed would be the love of his life, cheated on him with his supposedly best friend. Coming up on six years, I should be past that by now. Or not. Hmm, maybe tomorrow. "Probably not," he muttered to himself. He looked back at the photo and now found himself at a crossroads…a quandary if you will
His mother and father had made a rare request for his assistance. They had always been quick to offer love, support or advice, but hardly ever did they ask him to help. The few times they had done so, he had leapt at the chance to pay them back for everything they had done for him. Come to think of it, Mom was smirking when she asked me to lend her a hand with a new project. She probably knew that I would say yes before even asking what the project was. He wanted to help them, but more than that, they thought he could help her.
He was sure it was the fact they were his parents, and your parents always thought the best of you, at least the goods one do. They thought he could help this spy. Chuck shook his head. They obviously hadn't seen her. He doubted she needed help. He turned away from his desk where the file was before pausing. But what if she did?
Chuck sighed, turning his attention back to the dossier on Stanford's newest graduate student. Stunningly beautiful: check. Highly intelligent: check. Highly accomplished: check. Certifiably badass: check. Why would a woman like this want, or even need, my help? Chuck slumped back into his chair as he let out another, longer sigh. The thought of disappointing his mom made him feel terrible, but he had no idea what to do. He was sure it was his mother being overconfident in her son.
After wracking his brain, Chuck stood up and strode over to the window of his office in the Gates Building. As he continued to try to think up how to help a complete stranger, and avoid disappointing his parents, he watched the students ambling along the walkways. An idea came to him as he glanced back at the file on the spy. He wasn't sure how it was going to help him help her, but he was out of ideas. He also knew the risks. If the Dean found out about this, he was going to be on her shit list for the rest of his academic career…however long, or short, that might be. But he had told his mother he would try, and damn it, he was going to try.
Ignoring his state-of-the-art desktop computer, Chuck pulled out a private laptop. Quickly establishing a VPN, Chuck set to work using facial recognition software to scan all of the campus wide cameras operated by Stanford's Department of Public Safety. Hello Big Brother, Chuck thought with a grimace.
As far as Public Safety was concerned, a new Public Safety Officer was reviewing the feeds of all cameras as part of an evaluation of any coverage gaps in critical areas of the campus. The facial recognition software operation was completely hidden from their system. Once the scan was completed, any indication of the new officer would be deleted, with none the wiser of the massive invasion of privacy that Chuck was committing against the CIA agent. This might be a bad idea. A really, really bad idea. A Morgan eating whatever was in the mystery crisper level bad idea.
His laptop let out a beep to alert him that the facial recognition software had a positive hit. Chuck paused a second, thought what the hell, and hit the button to locate Sarah. She was at the outer edge of a small group of older students that were coming out of the Language Center in the oh-so-artistically named Building 30 on the main quad. Actually, it's a little refreshing to know that the school hasn't sold the naming rights to every single edifice on the campus. Hmm, I should have realized that she would be in Building 30. After all, it does house the Language Center within the Division of Literatures, Cultures and Languages. The cluster of students were all talking together, although as Chuck zoomed the camera in on Sarah, he could tell that she was just listening rather than talking. He knew that move. It was one he had perfected after Jill. His parents had insisted he remain close to people, and he did…physically. If anyone looked at the group at a glance, it would appear Chuck was with a group, or in this case, that Sarah was part of the group. But he wasn't…just like she wasn't.
"Why is she not joining them?" Chuck wondered aloud. He leaned back, tapping his lip. Was she worried about someone coming after her and this was safety for the group she was with? Was she trying to blend in, get to know everyone? Might she think one of them was a bad guy?
Chuck zoomed in as close as he could to try and get a look at her face. Was she really alone? Was she used to doing solo missions, and now this was…foreign to her? If so…maybe the two of them had a little more in common than he thought. He pushed those thoughts from his mind as the group hit the Quad. It splintered apart, with two or three students heading off together in different directions.
Except for Sarah. She proceeded in a different direction entirely by herself.
"Just like I used to," Chuck muttered. He leaned forward, finding himself hurting a little for her. As he watched, he remembered those days after Jill. The similarities were striking as he was feeling the loneliness radiating off of the woman on the screen as one of her classmates smiled and waved goodbye. Sarah had a smile on her face as she waved back, but Chuck was the only one who realized that her smile never reached her eyes. In fact, once the classmates' backs were turned, the smile dropped from her face completely. The loner in Chuck recognized a kindred spirit.
Did his mom know? Was that what her life had been like before he and Ellie had come into the world? Suddenly it was no longer about doing something for his parents, although it was an excellent byproduct. No, here was a woman who had done so much for this country, for the greater good. He didn't know how many times he had heard his mom and dad talk about that. Here was someone who deserved something better.
The spy who came in from the cold, Chuck thought. Hopefully her story turns out differently from LeCarre's fictitious Leamas. But the thought of the fictious spy gave Chuck an idea. Rather than focus on her looks, brains and badassery, he could focus on her career. What spy can resist a mystery?
Chuck smiled. A game, a chase…a good ole fashioned mystery. That's what he could do. Maybe something that would help that smile reach her face. Maybe something that would help her enjoy her time at Stanford, instead of just existing. Like he did.
"Sarah Walker…the game is afoot," he said in his best British accent. He shook his head. "That's more detective than spy, Chuck," he admonished himself. He pulled out a notebook and began to make plans.
A/N 2: So, backstories are largely in place. Except for the expulsion and his career track, Chuck is largely like in canon. No sign of the Intersect. Yet. Sorry, there's a clause in the contract that David made me sign that requires ending chapters on a cliffy. Because there wasn't a cliffhanger in the chapter, we put one in the A/N. Coming up next-first contact.