A/N: Yup. Ownership of something.
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The day after Orion reached out to Chuck; Castle
The call from Ellie came through on Chuck's phone, but Sarah answered it for him.
"Hi, El. It's Sarah. He's asleep in one of the guest rooms here at Castle," said Sarah.
"Up all night?"
"Yep. I'm not sure what he was working on first, finding the supposed Orion or figuring out how the security of his computer was breached."
"Probably connected, though," said Ellie.
"Yeah, probably." Sarah said. She let out a sigh and perched her butt on one edge of the large conference table in the center of the main room. "He didn't show it too much last night...at least not to the bosses, but he was really disturbed that Orion or whoever had penetrated his computer's security. He had believed that to be impossible."
"I can imagine he was. His mastery of computers is a big part of his self-image. He must have been badly shaken," said Ellie.
"Yeah. He really was. Finding out how Orion got in and did what he did is going to be an itch he can't scratch until he figures it out. Hell, Ellie, even after the day he had yesterday with you and his dad, all the driving, he still spent all night on the computer. Came down here to be able to use the more powerful computers. He didn't go to sleep until about an hour ago when I pretty much yelled at him to take a nap."
"How long will you let him sleep?"
"I haven't decided yet. He's still got a diagnostic running on his computer, so at least til it stops humming, I guess," said Sarah with a shrug.
"Well, when you do wake him up you can give him some good news. Tell him all the data on the computers from the Intersect project has been wiped out. All the servers are empty, even the offsite ones. Orion, or whoever that was, got in and did it just like he said he would. But, because of Chuck's good sense last night and the warning he told me to spread, everything was backed up and is safe. He did good," said Ellie.
"And now Orion thinks he's killed it," said Sarah.
"I guess so," said Ellie.
"So, he won't try again until he realizes that he failed," said Sarah. "If Chuck can close whatever opening through the security that Orion exploited, when it's restarted normally it will be secure from Orion."
"I hope so," she said.
"Ellie, get through to Malone and the rest and tell them to start leaving a digital trail of freaking out. Make it look to Orion that he was successful. Some four letter emails might be a good idea."
"Yeah. That's smart. I'll do that. On another matter, are you still good to go with me to the florist this afternoon?"
"I am, unless work interferes and we have to go out of town unexpectedly. Don't know what Chuck's investigation into last night's visit will reveal."
"Ok, girlfriend. See you later, maybe."
"See you, El."
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Aboard the Citation X; Airborne, heading east
Zondra appreciated the luxury of the jet, but still twisted and turned to get comfortable in her seat. They didn't have the range to make it all the way to Karachi, Pakistan without multiple fuel stops, extending the duration of the flight. She intended to get outside and stretch her legs whenever she could. This was going to take a while.
She looked over at Chuck, who had his head down looking at his computer screen and had been in almost the same position for the last four hours. She could see his lips moving a little as he studied the lines of code on the screen. She had last worked with him on the Gentle Hand mission and knew well his brilliance, but that brilliance had been mixed with a gentle easy-going good humor (at least until that mission had gone from merely horrible to living-nightmare). Today he was unsmiling and super-intense. His computer magic had pointed them at Karachi, but that success didn't seem to cheer him. Zondra understood from Sarah that Orion had penetrated Chuck's computer system and that he was more than a little shook-up by that. It seems that he considered it a personal affront.
Sarah was sitting next to her Chuck working on some proposals for Carmichael Industries. Every once in a while she would get him a drink or something, but mostly she sat by his side and let him work. Just being near to lend her support.
Casey was asleep farther back in the aircraft. As a military man, he seemed to have the ability to sleep at a moment's notice. Before he fell asleep he'd advised her to give Chuck space to solve the riddle that had been dogging him since Orion had virtually visited.
She had tried to sleep herself, but found it elusive. Across the aisle of the aircraft sat Bryce Larkin, similarly awake and looking out the window at the clouds below.
Perhaps he had sensed her looking at him. He turned his head and said, "Can't sleep?"
"Maybe later," she said. Both were speaking quietly, so as not to wake Casey and not to disturb Chuck.
"Me too." He grinned rakishly and said, "Just trying to luxuriate in this mode of travel. Private jet beats the shit out of traveling coach."
"Hell," she replied, "it beats the shit out of first class."
"Now there's a point." As he was standing he said, "What can I get you to drink? We're gonna be here for hours yet. No reason not to take the edge off."
"Thanks. If they have tequila stocked, I'll have one of those with some ice."
"Coming right up, Ma'am."
He returned in a little while with a drink for each of them. They clicked glasses as he sat. Zondra said, "To our first mission together."
"L'chaim," said Bryce with a small smile and a nod.
They each sipped the fiery liquid.
"What are you drinking?" she asked him.
"Irish," he said.
"Ah," she said. They sat in silence for a while until she said, "First mission together, indeed."
"I missed the Gaez mission. When Amy was...when she was lost." He looked very sad at the memory.
"Yeah, you did. The single worst mission I've ever been on. And I'm not just talking about getting hurt. The whole thing, from start to finish was just one giant suckfest. Another one like that and I'll reconsider this line of work."
"Bad as it was, you got the bad guy. You got Gaez," said Bryce.
"Yeah, we did. And that was Chuck. He was the one who figured out all the bits that needed brilliance. When I first arrived in LA, Amy was gushing about him. She warned me that she was going to sound like some stupid fangirl. By the time the operation was over, I was fully on-board with that. He's just that good."
"Yeah. He is. He's that good. Always has been."
"That's right. You've known him for years. His old buddy." said Zondra.
"Yeah. Old buddy." He sounded almost bitter, looking out the window, his mind elsewhen. "Not that it helped with this team. To be honest I had a few major stumbles when I joined them. Truth is, I'm sort of on probation here. If I fuck up again, I'm history."
"Like Forrest?"
"Yeah. Exactly," said Bryce taking another drink.
"What'd you do? If you don't mind saying," asked Zondra.
"Don't mind. It was simple. I didn't listen to Chuck. I thought I knew better because I was the experienced spy. I disobeyed his orders in a tactical situation. I got shot and almost killed. But what's worse is I got a civilian kidnapped by Fulcrum. The team got him back, but that wouldn't have been necessary if I'd have just listened to Chuck."
"Shit," said Zondra.
"Yeah. And to make matters worse, I had spent the early part of that evening bending Chuck's ear with my criticism of his running of the team. Like I knew better." Bryce shook his head at the memory.
"What did he say to that?" she asked.
"In the nicest Chuck-like way imaginable, he told me not to let the door hit me in the ass on the way out," said Bryce with a sardonic grin.
Zondra laughed softly. "Sounds like him."
"Yeah."
"You and Sarah used to have a thing, right?" asked Zondra.
"Used to. Yeah. But it was a different thing. Not … not like what she and Chuck have." He paused thoughtfully. "Bud Light compared to Bacardi 151. Barely even recognizable as the same category of thing...of relationship. What she's got with Chuck...well, it's pretty damn special."
"You got that right," she said. "Is it weird...to be on a team with your ex?"
"Little. I try to make it easier on her, but sometimes..." He shrugged.
"Yeah. I can imagine."
"Honestly, Z, it's a wonder she's let me stay on the team. She really doesn't like me."
"Bad break-up?" Zondra asked.
"The worst. I totally ghosted her. And we were professional partners too, which makes it even worse. But that's not why she doesn't like me. It doesn't even make it to the list of the top five reasons. I've done some pretty shitty things to Chuck over the years. That's what it is. She neither forgets nor forgives. Chuck's different, thank God. If Chuck didn't go to bat for me...over and over again, Sarah and Casey would lose me from the team in a heartbeat."
"Hummpf. So, what are you going to do about it?" she asked.
"Well, I'll tell you one thing I'm going to do. I'm going to do exactly what Chuck tells me to do, whenever he tells me and no matter what. I am never going to second guess him ever again on anything. You know, all through college I thought of him as my wingman. Now, if I can, I am going to work my ass off to earn the honor of being his." Zondra was sure she imagined it, but for a moment she thought she heard his voice catch with emotion.
"From what I've seen of him, that sounds like a sound decision. I'll drink to that," said Zondra. They clicked glasses once again.
After a while he said, "How about you? You good with the new assignment?"
"Very. When Sarah and I were on a team together before, she was one of my best friends. I can see that happening again. And the team... the dynamics are wonderful. And with the influence we have with the bosses we can really make a difference. So much of the bureaucratic bullshit has evaporated. You want to get DNI Malone on the phone at midnight? Just take out your cell and hit favorites. Hell, to take the conversation full circle, we have our own jet to fly around the world in. It's no wonder other agents are jealous that we're teacher's pets. I can't think of anyplace I'd rather be. This is shaping up to be the best job ever." By the time she was done, she was grinning from ear to ear.
With a smile of his own, Bryce said, "Yeah, it is. If we can keep it."
"Well, yeah," said Zondra. In her heart, though, that wasn't a concern for her. She had confidence that she wouldn't run afoul of Chuck and she wished Bryce luck in his 'probationary' period with the team.
They lapsed into silence after that, each lost in his or her own thoughts.
After another hour, Bryce had fallen into a light sleep. Sarah looked over and saw Zondra awake. She whispered something to Chuck and got up to come over to her friend.
"Can I talk to you a minute?"
"Sure," said Zondra.
Sarah motioned with her head for Zondra to move with her further down the cabin, so as not to disturb the sleeping Bryce.
As they sat, Zondra said, "What's up?"
"So here's the thing. You and I...we were on the outs for years..."
"Yeah. I know. But that's yesterday's news," said Zondra.
"Yeah, but while it was still ongoing, I started making plans. For the wedding, you know?. And I asked Amy to be a bridesmaid. And..."
"Yes," said Zondra.
"And with Amy gone..."
"Yes," said Zondra. Sarah looked up at her, a little surprised.
"What?" asked Sarah.
"Yes, I'll be a bridesmaid. I'd be delighted."
Sarah started to grin, "You would?"
"Hell, yeah. It's gonna be fun," said Zondra with a huge grin. "Not to mention the bachelorette party."
Sarah started to laugh quietly, while reaching out to hug Zondra, "Thank you, Z. And why do all my friends immediately start thinking about the party?"
"Good sense, I guess," said Zondra. "Any idea when it's going to be?"
"Soon enough, I think. Ellie is putting it together for me. I'm doing hers."
"And what's hers?" asked Zondra.
"Weekend at a spa. Some girlfriends getting pampered. The Hilton in Santa Barbara. Friday night to lunchtime on Sunday. About a month from now."
"Has she given a hint for yours?"
"Not yet. But I know she's been on the phone with Carina..."
"Oh, boy," said Zondra, rolling her eyes.
"And my friend Rachel, who's like Carina's sister from another mother...well, except that she's a one-man woman. But otherwise, like she's a lot like Carina."
"So, we can expect something wild, is what you're telling me?"
Sarah started to chuckle, "Well, maybe..."
Towards the front of the plane they heard Chuck breath out, "Oh, my God." As they watched, he leaned back in his seat and looked at the ceiling.
They glanced at each other quickly and then both moved up the aisle to take seats near Chuck. He looked stunned by whatever it was he had found.
Sarah said, "Did you figure it out? Did you figure out how he did it?"
"Yeah, I did, but I can barely believe it. Wow. This Orion guy...wow."
"Will we understand it if you explain it to us?" asked Zondra.
Chuck blew out a long breath and said, "Maybe. I'll try. You know how computers work on operating systems, like Microsoft makes Windows and Rourk makes Rios, right?" The women nodded. "And the code that creates those systems is proprietary. It's what those companies sell and what makes them their money. Well, there's another model for software. Open source. That means that the underlying code is given away for free and any coder can use it and/or modify it as he or she wants. That's the idea with Linux, created by a Finn named Linus Torvalds. It's an open-source operating system. A lot of guys like me use it. We can reconfigure it however we want. It's what I have in here." He patted the edge of his computer. "You still with me?"
"Sure," said Sarah. "Anyone can see the code on your computer because it's open source."
"Almost. Because I wanted to make it work better for my specific computer, I re-wrote parts of it. Now for this, you have to know that this computer has dual quad-core processors. You don't really have to know what that means, other than that it makes this a very powerful computer. With that, I have sixteen threads..."
"Ok," said Zondra. "What's that mean?"
"It's how many simultaneous running processes it can perform. Not many applications are multi-thread capable, but I reconfigured the Linux software to take advantage of the multi-thread possibilities of the particular set-up of my computer. I'm crazy that way. Almost no one else would do what I did, because of the rarity of the apps that it would apply to. That's where the flaw was. It was in the specific code I wrote for the multi-thread reconfiguration."
"Is that how he got into the Intersect Project's computer systems too?" asked Sarah.
"Oh, God no. The way he got into mine...well, it's like one in a million. You'd not only need a computer with this set-up... a very, very expensive set up, I may add...and then running Linux, but then the operator would have to re-write the Linux software for the multi-thread capabilities. It's...it's really one in a million. I can fix mine and keep him out from now on. I was just very unlucky that he found it...and very stupid that I wrote it wrong."
"Could anyone else have found this flaw, Sweetie?" asked Sarah.
Chuck paused for a few seconds and said, "No one I know...or know of. I'm really great with Linux. I'm probably the best Linux coder I know...knew. But Orion is better. Maybe only a little better, but better. This really sucks, guys. This is not someone to underestimate. Not at all. I'll fix this glitch in my system, but if he..."
"Or she," said Zondra with a grin and a sparkle of mischief in her eyes. Zondra could see how relieved Sarah was that Chuck had solved the puzzle. During the conversation, her blonde friend had visibly relaxed. Chuck was kicking himself and was impressed with Orion, but was no longer quite as distraught and that had relaxed Sarah somewhat.
"Or she, wants to get in anyplace else, they will do it. Someone who can do this is going to be damn hard to stop."
"Well," said Sarah. "We don't have to stop him, only find him."
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A/N2: I should really make Steelejay the co-author of this arc, as all of the really cool things we talk about were his ideas. As you all know, he's my "go-to" guy for Chuck being brilliant with tech stuff. Here, though, I asked him to up his game a notch. In this one, it won't suffice to have Chuck-level brilliance. I asked him to produce Orion-level brilliance. And, of course, he did. Thanks, my friend. I'm buying the beer when you next get to town.
A/N3: Got some interesting reviews lately from a guest going by the name "Jack." Hey Jack, if you are still reading this, please get an account here and let me PM you. You had some interesting criticisms that I would love to talk to you about.
A/N4: What do you guys think? We are on our way to Karachi.