A/N: Faced with the question of whether or not I own Chuck, on the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer.
A/N2: Welcome to the start of the sixteenth arc of our story. I'm calling it the Perseus arc. It is based on Season Two, Episodes 15 and 16. Yes, I'm introducing Cole Barker. Once again, I'm doing things out of order, and once again, I have my reasons. Hope you guys approve.
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"Mr. Neilson's office," said the pleasant-sounding woman who answered the phone.
"Good morning. My name is Sarah Walker. I was referred by Langston Graham. I wonder if I may speak to Mr. Neilson, please?"
"Of course, Ms. Walker. Just one moment," she said.
A few seconds later, Mr. Neilson came on the line, "Sarah. So good to hear from you. It's got to be what...seven years?" His voice was deep and brimming with good cheer.
"That's about right, Mr. Neilson. I think I was still in school the last time I saw you," she said.
"It's John, please. I think you are right. I came down for the baptism of Kevin's boy. I saw you at the party afterwards," he said. "I was busy giving Langston shit about having a grandchild already." He chuckled to himself. "Of course, now I have three, so who gets the last laugh?"
Sarah laughed lightly, "I remember that. You and his other buddies were teasing him. It was so funny."
"That's what you get with your oldest friends. You'll see. Ah, what's wrong with me? Congratulations. I heard you're engaged. Delightful."
"Thank you, John. I'm really happy about it. It's about to be a pretty busy time in my life, I think."
"Indeed, it is. Langston called me this morning to warn me that you might reach out. You want to start a business with your fiancé and a couple of others, is that right?"
"It is. Cyber-security. Penetration testing of client's computer systems and then writing up reports of where the holes are. We expect to work mostly with government clients."
"Ok. One thing I need you to know, though, Sarah, before we get started. You should know that I do a lot of work with the National Intelligence agencies. I represent a number of officials in various internal and external matters. I have a top secret security clearance and have for decades now. It's renewed every five years. Anyway, that's a long way of telling you that I've known what your real job is ever since I met you years ago. I know what you and your soon-to-be partners in this business really do for a living. Langston is very high on you and your team, by the way. Hell, I hear that your fiancé was the unnamed hero of Union Station back in the fall. I'm just telling you this so you don't have to worry about secrets when we talk."
"Ok, John. Got it. Thanks. That does make things easier."
"Good. Now tell me about the business you have in mind. Three other owners, right?"
Sarah began to tell him about their ideas and all the questions they had. The conversation lasted over forty-five minutes. He explained to her how no-bid government contracts worked and what to watch out for in the negotiations. He explained the different forms of ownership that the four of them could use for the business, the liability and tax ramifications of each. He asked her a huge basket of questions about how the internal operation of the business would work among the four of them, hardly any of which had even occurred to them. He gave her a quick primer on the laws related to hiring employees, although he noted that he was not licensed to practice in California, and while his firm had an LA office, he'd have to speak more generally about that. Finally, she asked him about the financing to get a business off the ground.
"Well, I'd steer away from the start up sharks. Otherwise, there certainly are small business loans available. Some community banks will also lend to a start up with little collateral. I'll bet Langston could hook you up with one or more federal programs to get off the ground. Even IC slush fund money if it came to that."
"We thought about that. If possible, we'd prefer to avoid it, though. The government will be the customer. If we want to charge a market rate for the services being provided, we don't want to owe them a favor on the other end. We'd prefer that the business relationship be arm's length to the extent we can."
"That makes perfect sense. Gets you all off on the right foot with them. Langston wouldn't take advantage of the relationship, but I can promise you that others would. So, let's think outside the..." He paused.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I have an idea. I need to look into it, though, before I start broadcasting it. What's your cell number?" She told him. "Ok. I'll call you later one way or the other."
"Ok. You've got me curious," she said.
"Just be a little patient. This might take me a day or two."
"Ok. Thanks," she said.
"You bet. Talk to you soon."
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Chuck, Casey, Amy and Sarah walked through the lobby of the Castle Studios office building. Casey, Amy and Chuck were dressed for the Buy More. Sarah wore her Weinerlicious outfit.
"How do you think they're settling in?" asked Amy. While they were away on their vacations overseas, the Hollywood press had been abuzz with the news that the east coast investors had hired Benjamin and Lisa Mattock to run Castle Studios and its diverse businesses. Of course, Team B knew them as Craig and Laura Turner, but those were no more their real names than the Mattock aliases were.
"Well," said Sarah, "they will have a raft of welcome-to-Hollywood parties to attend. You can be sure that Ben will enjoy those. Drinking on other people's dime, isn't that what he said?"
They approached the guard at the turnstiles and used their magnetic cards to enter. "Hi, Morty. All good?" asked Chuck.
"Just fine, Mr. B. You guys have a good one, now," he responded.
"Why do you have to be so friendly all the time?" grumped Casey.
"Why do you have to be so grumpy all the time?" responded Chuck.
"Do you have to answer a question with another question all the time?" asked Casey.
"Why not?" asked Chuck with a smile. Sarah and Amy laughed, while Casey just grunted.
Moments later they were in Castle.
Chuck settled down in front of the computer. He responded to Ellie's daily questionnaire about the Intersect. He checked for messages from Yuri in Moscow. Finally, he checked for a message from Bryce. There was one.
He found the message hidden in the picture and translated it from Klingon.
Two more of us taken. Man, name and picture below, coming to your town to sell us some information. Careful. And ask him about the man who killed the Gorgon.
Lower down in the message was a picture of a tough looking guy in his thirties and the name Tom Kaplan.
Chuck found the others to tell them about the message from Thirty. As they assembled, he sent a message to Beckman and Graham with the latest development.
Chuck pulled up the files on Kaplan and put the pictures of the man up on the wall monitor. The pictures were of a playboy looking guy with a bit of five o'clock shadow. In one of them, he was sitting with several attractive women. In another he was climbing out of a pool in a small bathing suit. Sarah did not look impressed. Amy, on the other hand, looked more than a little interested.
"Wow," she exuded. "What a hunk. What did you say this guy did, Chuck?"
"According to the files, he's an information broker. Acquires intel and sells it to customers. He's a Brit by nationality. Been on our radar on and off for a year or two now according to the files. Jet setter. Lives pretty high. Best hotels. Best restaurants. All over the world. First class travel. The whole shebang. Seems selling intel is pretty lucrative."
"Real ladies' man from the look of it," said Casey.
With a giggle, Amy said, "Don't say that like it's a bad thing, Case." Sarah gave a small smile.
"So, he's not Fulcrum?" asked Sarah.
"No. According to the files we have, he's just a third party with a product for sale. But, Thirty indicates that we should be careful. Also wants us to ask him about someone or something named Perseus. But he's coming to town to do business with Fulcrum."
"So, we watch him do the deal and then take down the Fulcrum assholes. Be a handful of them at least that we can nab and take out of play," said Casey.
"That's a good plan, Case, but I'd like to know what that intel is that he's selling. If Fulcrum wants it, I'll bet we do too," said Sarah. "Or at least we don't what them to have it. Do you know when he's coming in, Chuck?"
"Give me a second." Chuck pulled up the Immigration and Naturalization files, to which he had normal access through his clearances. "He hasn't passed through Immigration recently or there'd be a record of it. The message didn't give us a time or day of arrival. So, let's see what we can come up with..."
"Can't you just hack into the airlines? Now that this particular superpower is on the table, there're a lot more possibilities open to us," said Casey.
"Yeah. I can. And being a government agent, I won't even get in trouble. But I'm trying to come up with something faster. There are dozens of airlines that fly into LAX and no telling which one he's using. Hell, Case, what if he flew into Vegas for a few days of poker and is driving? I might find him, I might not. How about I check..."
"Hotels," said Sarah. "Only a half dozen or so would fit with this guy's profile."
"Exactly. Let me take a look," he said. He began to tap at the computer keyboard.
"You know, without your computer magic, I'd have to call each hotel and spin a story about having to deliver a package and asking if he'd checked in yet," said Sarah.
"You may yet have to if this doesn't work," he said, tapping away. A few minutes later, he said, "Bingo. Standard Hotel. Penthouse Suite. Checking in tomorrow. And...hotel limo meeting him at LAX at...4:00pm. That would get him to the hotel a bit before dinner time given traffic."
"Ok," said Casey. "Unless he eats in the room, we can search his stuff for the intel when he's at dinner."
"And...I just booked us the two rooms on either side of his suite," said Chuck
Sarah rubbed her hand over the back of his neck and said, "Good thinking. Thanks, Sweetie."
"How many nights?" asked Casey.
"Um," Chuck checked the computer. "Two."
"So, odds are he'll do the deal with Fulcrum day after tomorrow," said Sarah.
"Yeah," said Chuck.
"Any indication where he's coming from?" asked Amy. "If we know the time difference from LA it might be easier to predict what he's going to do tomorrow night."
"No," said Chuck. "Good idea, but I can't tell from the hotel's systems. It'll take me a bit of time to go through arrivals landing tomorrow at ...say, 3pm, with maybe a half hour on either side."
"Ok," said Sarah, "why don't you give that a look?"
"And I'll study his file," said Amy. Sarah gave her a look and she said, innocently, "What? I want to get familiar with our target, that's all." With Sarah's continued look, Amy stuck out her tongue at her and giggled, tossing her blonde hair back. Despite herself, Sarah laughed at the other woman's antics.
Sarah said, "Case, got a minute? I want to fill you in on the conversation this morning with Langston's lawyer friend from New York."
It took about a half an hour for Chuck to find that Kaplan was arriving on a flight from the British Virgin Islands, meaning he'd be operating on a three-hour time difference. So, they could expect the man to take an early dinner, but probably not need to crash immediately afterwards.
"Ok, guys," said Sarah. "I think we planned this thing out enough for the moment. Let's get changed. We have to be at the party in about 45 minutes."
"Roger that," said Casey.
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There were some short speeches given by some of her peers and a long, funny speech from her supervisor at the United States Secret Service. Pat Kendler then gave her own 'thank-you' speech in return. It was funny and a little teasing, but expressed a general happiness with her decision to retire and a real love for the job to which she had dedicated decades of her life. It was followed by warm applause.
Amy was sipping a glass of wine and talking to Mike Casper, one of the Secret Service men who had helped take down Lon Kirk's counterfeiting operation in the Nevada desert.
Chuck, Sarah and Casey were standing off to one side; Chuck and Casey drinking beer from bottles, Sarah a glass of Chardonnay. They were the subject of occasional awed glances from some of the agents who knew their identities and exploits, but not nearly enough to make them uncomfortable.
After a while, Pat Kendler came up to them with her husband Bert. She was smiling a relaxed smile and clearly enjoying herself. If anything, she was even more tan than she had been when they last saw her in December. It made a stark contrast to her almost white hair. Bert was a tall slender man, with a hearty smile and a tonsure of white hair around a bald pate.
Pat said, "So good of you to come." She gave each a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks." Turning to her husband, she said, "Bert, this is Chuck and Casey. And you may remember Sarah."
Bert gave them a welcoming smile and said, "Well, hello. Sure, I remember Sarah. You were on loan to the Service for a while, right?" He leaned forward and gave her a peck on the cheek, and then shook hands with the men.
"Good memory. You had me over to your house for a cookout once."
"Oh sure. Fun night that was. We'll have to do it again with you and your friends now that Pat has so much free time coming up," he said with a laugh and a loving glance at his wife.
"I think we'd like that," said Sarah. Pat saw the ring on Sarah's finger and pointed to it. Sarah smiled a happy smile and reached for Chuck's hand. "Yup," she said. "We're engaged."
"Oh, that's wonderful," she said. The older woman pulled Sarah into a hug. "Wonderful."
Someone came over and said, "I'm sorry to interrupt, Pat, but Oliver has to leave and wanted to wish you well."
"Ok, I'm coming." To Chuck, Casey and Sarah she said, "Sorry. Guest of honor and so I get pulled in too many directions. Thanks for coming and congratulations on the engagement. Treat her right, Chuck. She's one of the good ones."
"Don't you worry, Pat. I intend to."
Bert said, "I'll be sure to arrange another cookout soonest. Maybe near the beach this time." He followed his wife to the other side of the room.
"What did we get her?" Chuck asked Sarah.
"A case of wine."
"Oh. Casey, what did you get her?"
"A tee shirt that says 'I'M RETIRED. CALL SOMEONE ELSE. IT AIN'T MY PROBLEM ANYMORE.'"
Chuck was caught by surprise and almost spit out his beer laughing, which made Casey smirk.
"Just leave the quips to me, Bartowski."
Sarah's phone buzzed. She glanced at it and said, "It's John, the lawyer from New York. I should take this." She took her phone with her out of the room and into the hallway.
She was back a few minutes later looking stunned.
"What is it, Sweetie? You look blown away," said Chuck.
"Yeah, Walker, what's up?" asked Casey.
"When John and I ended the call this morning he said he had an idea for financing for us. Financing the business. Well...his idea panned out. Chuck, you were instrumental in the capture of Andric at Union Station. There was a reward out for him from the stuff he'd done in the Balkan Wars."
"Well, yeah, probably, but I'm not eligible for any reward. No more than you or Casey. Federal law enforcement officer or something like that. None of us are eligible for that stuff. We're just doing our jobs."
"Chuck, John got the date on your employment contract with the government. You weren't a Fed until ten days later. Remember? We didn't give you that contract to sign until after I'd returned from the east coast. You were a civilian in Union Station. You're going to get the reward. John has worked it out so that it will be awarded to you quietly, without any announcement or fanfare. Just a check in the mail."
"Jeez...really?" he asked. He was starting to look as blown away as Sarah had.
"Yeah. He says you'll have the money within the week. More than enough money to start our business," said Sarah.
"How much?" asked Casey.
"Three million dollars," said Sarah, somewhat breathless, her eyes wide.
Casey reached out and steadied a slightly swaying Chuck.
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A/N3: My good friend Marc Vun Kannon is the man responsible for getting our friends the $3,000,000 Andric reward. He realized that Chuck wasn't a government employee at the time of Andric's capture in Chapter 3 and would be eligible for any reward for his apprehension. Marc, Team B and I both thank you. Now they can get started with forming a new company.
A/N4: Here we go. Mr. Kaplan (Cole Barker) is coming to LA to do a deal with Fulcrum. Have to wonder what intel he's ready to sell them. A few words about my divergences from canon. Beckman describes Barker as a Fulcrum agent. OK. Then why was he almost murdered by an attack helicopter on the roof of the hotel and then tortured when captured? Helluva way to treat your own guys. And, although I'm prepared to be corrected on this, Fulcrum is American, so how'd a Brit make it in? Makes more sense that he's posing as a middleman. Not quite trusted, but maybe useful. Also, when Team B first sees the files on Cole Barker he's a playboy Fulcrum agent, but when Sarah knows he's MI-6 later that same night the computer files for Cole Barker are (miraculously) about a tough, decorated British spy and ex-commando. How's that supposed to work? Makes more sense for him to be using an alias with a fictional legend while undercover and for the IC's computers to have separate files under the two different names.
A/N5: Let me know what you think, guys. It's always a pleasure to hear from you. And stop by the Facebook page for Chuck Fanfiction. We can chat there too. Stay safe, everybody. Things are getting bad again with the virus. Wear a mask, please.