A/N Once again I want to thank all of those who took the time to read, favorite, alert or write a review of my story. It really has inspired me to try and do this subject justice.
The drama begins in this chapter. Things are not going to go as planned for a little bit. But that is the point of a story like this isn't it?
Disclaimer. I don't own Chuck but if I did I'd be looking to cast Sarah's mom real soon! All mistakes are mine.
Chapter 3
The Meeting
John Casey woke up at his usual time of 5 am. Even after all of the bizarre circumstances of the past 72 hours his internal clock would not be trifled with. He had spent far too much time in the military for that to be changed by some "lady feelings" from his partners or whatever the state of his current mission was.
The first thing he did every morning was check the "asset". Though he wasn't sure if that title was appropriate for the kid after what had happened last night. So when he looked at the monitors and saw that Chuck wasn't in his room like he was last night when he went to sleep, a slight panic arose. He checked all of the other cameras in Chez Bartowski but got the same result. So he quickly minimized the camera feeds and called up Chuck's GPS tracker in his watch. He grinned just a bit as he saw his location. "Walker's" he said aloud.
"I guess they deserve a little quiet time" he thought but of course he would never tell them that. In fact he was actually proud of the moron. He had made a choice that he knew was difficult for him and chose to once again fight for the greater good putting aside his own wants and needs. Casey of all people could respect that. Maybe he could become a great agent after all. But at what cost? Well that was too close to his own inner demons as he thought about Kathleen, his inner secret that he had kept locked inside for 20 years.
He was curious about why Bartowski did it. Why he chose this life again after for so long running as fast as he could away from it. He also wondered what this meant for him and his assignment. He thought he was finished in Burbank and this long "Nerdtastic nightmare" was finally over for him. He knew it hadn't all been bad, though much of it was. He even chuckled at that. He had got to work with the best partner he ever had. Sarah Walker was the best agent in the CIA. Infinitely better than that pretty boy former partner of hers.
Now John Casey, career military man, was never one to bad mouth a fallen comrade who died in the line of duty but truth be told a part of him wasn't sad that someone else was a better shot than him this time. Plus he thought that assigning Walker to work with Larkin again was a mistake. Sarah's reputation for being Graham's "Wild Card Enforcer" may have been warranted when he first met her but she was different now. Hell HE was different now.
He knew that she could never go back to that role in her heart and she would have had to, to work effectively with that douchebag. He knew about her feelings for Chuck and the humanity that he had awoken in both of them would get her killed if she went back to that life. Besides Larkin would be out to prove himself if he had the Intersect and would take risks without regard for his partner if in the final analysis it would show him off as the greatest spy ever. He knew that with Larkin it was never "no man left behind" it was always Larkin first and to hell with the consequences. He had seen that too many times with CIA pretty boys and it always ends up with some good people killed or captured.
But now everything had been changed. Larkin was dead and the nerd went and became the hero once again and downloaded the 2.0. WTF was that all about? Plus Casey had witnessed Chuck single handedly take down 5 Ring agents at one time. Hell he hated to admit it but he would rather Chuck have the 2.0 than Larkin. If it had been up to him Larkin never would have gotten the assignment to get the 2.0 after what he did with the original. But this wasn't his call to make and he just followed his orders. He didn't make them.
He needed to talk to his team, or former team, or future team, he had no idea what they were anymore. The 2.0 had changed everything. For the nerd, for Walker and yes for him as well. He just didn't know where it put them yet. Given a choice he would probably want to stay. Their success rate had been the best he had ever known and Bartowski was a big part of that. He just didn't know where they stood and he needed to find out before their meeting with Beckman.
So Casey sent off a quick text to Sarah 'Need 10 minutes to talk before Security Team arrives. Bring Bartowski'
So with that John Casey grabbed a cup of coffee and set off on his daily exercise routine. It was going to be another in a long string of bizarre days.
Castle
8:45 am Pacific
Chuck and Sarah had arrived at Castle to meet up with the new security team. Sarah was a little concerned about why Beckman thought they were necessary but with the news about The Ring and Chuck now having the 2.0 the danger was definitely greater than it had been the day before. So with that she decided to check out the new team and make sure they knew nothing about The Intersect but were also aware that Chuck's safety was top priority.
Casey was already there and Sarah signaled for them to go into women's locker room to talk and avoid the surveillance. All three slipped out separately after heading off for a few minutes before the new team arrived.
Chuck was dressed in his nerd herd uniform and was fidgeting with his tie to the annoyance of all.
"Chuck stop, we don't have much time" Sarah spoke first with as stern a look as he had seen on her since they started working together.
This isn't a time for nerves Chuck thought.
Casey grunted a #22, 'thank you ' grunt to Sarah. He leaned against the locker room door, looked at Chuck with a piercing look and said "WTF Bartowski? What was that about yesterday? You downloaded the 2.0? I thought you wanted out of this game so you could go back to your pathetic life at the Buy More?"
"John, enough!" Sarah interrupted with a death glare that caught even Casey by surprise.
"We don't have the time for this crap!"
Sarah turned to Chuck and gave him a 'NOW Chuck!' face.
"Umm mm. Casey we can talk about all that later but right now I'd like to know what your plans are?
Casey squinted his eyes and looked at Chuck in complete disbelief, "I'm a spy moron, I don't get to have plans. I'll do what I'm ordered to do"
"John, just hear him out please" added Sarah.
"Casey, I …, we, want to know if you want to keep the team together or if you want out of Burbank once and for all?"
"This 2.0 stuff is going to be a big change for me and I need people around me I can trust and the only people I trust completely are you and Sarah. I'd like to have you with me as I try to figure all of this out."
Sarah added "Casey, I agree with Chuck. He needs you on the team. I.. want you on the team."
"So you are up for this too, Walker? I thought you were leaving to be with Larkin?" He knew that was low but couldn't miss the chance to give a little dig to his partner.
Sarah not wanting to give him more than necessary simply replied "I was assigned to the Intersect 2.0 project not Bryce. Chuck IS the Intersect 2.0. Besides Bryce is dead." Sarah looked back at Chuck and gave him the tiniest little twitch of her upper lip hoping he understood why she said it that way.
"Casey, please. I'm scared shitless about this and want you guys to have my back like you always have. Our success was because of the three of us working together and with the 2.0 I can contribute more to the team. But I still need both of you right there with me."
"Guys, the security team will be here any minute. Let's talk more about this after we meet with them and before our conference with Beckman."
"Please think about it Casey. I need the best and that's you and Sarah."
Castle
9:00am Pacific
The door at the top of the stairs opened and 4 men in complete cliché G-Man grey suits, sunglasses and earpieces walked down the stairs at exactly the stoke of 9. Punctuality was more important than style it seems.
"Agent Walker, Agent Casey I'm Agent Watkins is Mr. Carmichael here? We were supposed to take over security at precisely 0900 hours."
"Right here, yep Carmichael that's me. Just had to go to the little boy's room. Although that's not really appropriate as none of us are little and not all are boys. But I…"
"Mr Carmichael, this is Agent Walsh, Agent Smith, Agent Jones and I'm agent Watkins. We are here to take over your protection for the foreseeable future"
Chuck looked at Sarah with a bit of a shocked look on his face. "Agent Watkins, I thought you guys were here to supplement Ch.. , Mr. Carmichael's security not take it over from us?"
"Agent Walker, I have my orders you can take it up with General Beckman at your conference."
"Now Mr. Carmichael can you come with me? Agents Smith and Jones will accompany you back to the holding area to wait for your conference and further orders."
With that all three looked at each other in stunned silence as Chuck headed off to his new "cell".
"Agent Walsh, please station yourself at the entrance to Castle. I'm going to check on the security protocols and the armory. If we are going to protect the asset I need to know what kind of firepower they have here."
"Agents Walker, Casey, if you'll excuse me I'll be in the Armory. Your meeting with General Beckman is at 11 am"
With that both of the remaining agents went to their assigned positions and left Sarah and Casey alone by the meeting table dazed and confused.
"What just happened, Casey?"
"I think we are being pushed aside"
"But why would they do this now? It doesn't make any sense."
"Sarah, everything has changed. The 2.0 is a completely different animal and with it being in Bartowski and not Larkin I'm sure things in DC are in an uproar."
"Their plans for their "super agent pretty boy", Casey chuckled as he said that ever so slightly, "have been turned on their asses. They are probably just putting him into isolation while they figure out a way out of this mess."
"But why close us out of this? Haven't we protected him for 2 years?"
"I don't know but maybe we can figure out something when we speak with Beckman."
"Casey, I don't like this. Not one bit. But I need to know if you are with me, with us on this?"
"Hey, I don't like being kicked aside any more than you do. But I do like the successes we have had. Hey Bart… Chuck has served his country with honor. He never asked for any of this but he did it to the best of his ability. Now that he has made the honorable choice to do it for real this time I can't stand by and not do what he needs when he asks for my help. He deserves that much from me and if I'm completely truthful so do you."
Casey leaned towards Sarah and whispered into her ear. "Hey, what ever is going on, has gone on or will go on between you two I don't care and I don't want to know about it as long as it doesn't affect the mission. You two have proven yourselves to be the best damn partners I've ever had and I stand by my partners, you know that. But if you ever tell him what I just said I swear to God you'll pay, partner or not."
"Now we just need to figure out what the hell is going on."
With that Sarah leaned back and mouthed "Thank You, John" and walked off towards her computer to work on her report from last nights mission.
Langley, VA
12:45 pm Eastern
Acting Director Mitchell sat in his office awaiting a call from Brigadier General Diane Beckman of the NSA. Fred Mitchell, the 49 year old nephew of former Nixon Attorney General and Watergate conspirator, John Mitchell, had been appointed Acting Director six months following the death of Director Graham at the hands of Fulcrum. The Mitchell family name had taken a beating in Washington following the activities of his uncle and his rather "colorful" wife Martha. Fred had been working hard to rebuild that reputation and knew that if he could be named permanent Director of the CIA it would go a long way towards achieving that goal.
That was the reason he was so enamored with the idea of Bryce Larkin being the Intersect 2.0. Larkin was what he dreamed a spy should be. Handsome, cocky, confident and completely and totally focused on the mission and himself. Larkin never let emotions get in the way of doing his job as well as padding his already long list of bed partners. Hell he even betrayed Sarah Walker, the hottest piece of tail the CIA had ever produced to fulfill a mission. He had no qualms about screwing a mark or even another agent one minute and putting a bullet in their head or abandoning them the next. Secretly Fred Mitchell idolized Bryce Larkin. He was living the life he wanted but never got the chance after Uncle John and Aunt Martha screwed the pooch for the family in DC political circles.
But at least Fred could control what Larkin did and with whom. Hell if he wanted a woman he had no chance with, he'd simply send Larkin on a mission with some trumped up info of a connection to Fulcrum and secretly arrange for video evidence of his encounter. Hell it wasn't the same as screwing her himself but at least he got pictures. Besides Larkin was always willing to oblige his bosses "proclivities". Hell he didn't care as long as they were closer to him being responsible for taking down Fulcrum. Mission first and… well there was no second.
Acting Director Mitchell looked around his stark, almost antiseptic office with its phony cityscapes instead of windows as it was 5 stories below ground. He slid his leather high backed chair to the side and glanced back over at his computer screen once more rereading the reports.
How did this happen? He mused. How did the new Intersect end up back in the brain of a loser computer nerd? How did Bryce Larkin, his best agent and the key to his regaining control of the Intersect project from his rival General Diane Beckman get himself killed and this geek comes out the hero once again?
"This is a fraking nightmare" He said aloud to an empty office. Larkin probably went in there without enough weapons or ammunition. It was a common theme from his incident reports. He viewed going into a gunfight with only one gun and ammo clip almost a challenge to himself to see if he could still accomplish the mission when he was severely outgunned. A couple of seasoned agents refused to work with him after those missions.
Mitchell had to figure out a way to make this thing still work for him. So first he sent in a new security team to grab control of the Intersect and sever the ties with Agent Walker and Beckman's point person, Colonel John Casey. He had seen the loyalty of the team to each other after the 49B incident. Both Walker and Casey had compromised themselves with the asset and he was questioning their loyalty. Walker was CIA but would she still put them first and burn the asset if she had to? Casey was NSA and his loyalties were always to Beckman first but even that was in question when it came to Team Intersect so he had to be removed as well.
Mitchell needed to control the situation and he needed to do it now. 'I need a plan' he had thought last night after he first heard the news of the Larkin debacle.
He worked on the plan most of the evening and into the wee hours of the morning. He had a conference scheduled with Beckman at 1pm to go over his plan with her before they jointly addressed the team at 2pm. Now all he needed to do was put it motion.
Langley, VA
1:00 pm Eastern
Mitchell turned just as the window opened up on his 47' LED monitor on his wall. He loved playing Wii tennis on that baby.
"Hello General, right on time I see"
"Enough small talk lets get to the point and figure out how to fix this disaster that your man Larkin has brought on us once again. Where do you get clowns like that anyway?" The diminutive General said with almost a smirk.
"Well General I have a plan I'd like to go over with you."
"I'm listening"
"First of all, I think its time we offer Mr. Bartowski a job."
"But he already.."
"Let me finish. Yes he did turn down your offer of an analyst's job but that was before his best friend was killed right in front of him and he downloaded the 2.0."
"I realize that Mitchell, who do you think I am some nitwit politician?" Beckman almost chuckled at that.
Mitchell winced. "Look General I don't like you and you don't like me, lets drop all the banter here and get to the matter at hand. Our plans…."
"They were my plans remember?"
"Our plans" Mitchell ignored her dig "were to download the 2.0 into a seasoned agent. Someone who we didn't need to be trained and who could handle themselves on a solo mission of any kind we chose to give them."
"But the agent YOU selected ,YOUR agent, went and got himself killed in the process."
"I get that. Agent Larkin failed at his mission and it cost him his life. At least give him some respect General"
"Fine, but that doesn't change the fact that we are in a bind here. I think the only choice we have is to have Team Intersect train Bartowski to once and for all become Agent Carmichael."
"Not so fast General. We need to get Bartowski to be able to be the agent we bought and paid for. He has to be able to work independently and from what I read in the 49B report there is a very strong bond within that team that can jeopardize m.. our goals for The Intersect."
"So what are you suggesting?" The diminutive General asked with a sincere look of distrust.
"What I'm suggesting is that we break that team apart. We send Bartowski off to be trained in isolation so that we can remove any dependency he has on his partners."
"He has to be able to function as a solo agent. Besides by doing this you get Agent Casey back and I get Walker back. It's about time she was finished babysitting the nerd."
"I'm still listening"
"Fine, I suggest we send him to the CIA facility in Zuoz. It's isolated, the Swiss government will look the other way and we can finally, shall we say "convince" Bartowski to fulfill his destiny. I've already sent a new protection detail to upgrade the security of the asset. They arrived there an hour ago to take over from Agents Casey and Walker."
General Beckman didn't like the fact that the CIA was going to be the one responsible for the asset's training. She was fully aware that Mitchell was trying to regain at least partial control of the Intersect project from her. After all she had been in singular command of this operation since the death of Director Graham. And she intended to keep it that way no matter what this "political appointee" had in mind. However she didn't really have an argument against the idea. The NSA didn't have any facilities outside the US that could handle this sort of thing and she knew it would be better to send him to another country to work on the 'isolation of the trainee'. She just needed to get her people in there as well.
"Fine, they can handle the extraction. But I have a few questions and some stipulations before I sign off on this"
"Go ahead."
"I have one very big concern. Who is going to handle the training? From day 1 we have kept a very tight lid on the identity of the Intersect host. Only the highest clearance levels have access to that info and that is on a strict need to know basis. Only 10 people knew that Bartowski was Agent Carmichael and with the death of Larkin and Chuck having downloaded the 2.0 we have to restrict that even more. I think its best if we keep a lid on the death of Larkin and have The Ring still believe he is alive and is now the new Intersect."
"That works for me. But the trainers will be selected from the cream of the crop at the Farm. They will all be completely vetted before we send them to Zuoz and only those that will actually be testing Intersect related skills will be given clearance for knowledge that Agent Carmichael is the Human Intersect."
"You do realize that we have no idea how deep The Ring is entrenched in our agencies. They could be anywhere and we need to be prepared for that. That's why I still think we need to send Casey and Walker to handle much of the training. They already have complete access to the Intersect's identity. If they were members of The Ring they would have already grabbed the Asset or at least made his identity known to their superiors."
"But there in lies the problem. They are too invested in the asset and he in them. Besides are you suggesting that my trainers can't be trusted?"
"Absolutely! No one can be trusted, not even you till we know for certain how deep The Ring has infiltrated"
"Enough!" Acting Director Mitchell slammed his hands down on the desk as he stood up and leaned into the camera." General Beckman, I will not stand by and have you accuse me of treason. My family has been devoted to the protection of the country for decades and I will not have that commitment be insulted by you or anyone else for that matter. Unless you have a better idea I can see no reason to not put this plan into action today."
General Diane Beckman was not used to being cornered and forced into a decision she was very apprehensive about. But the truth was she had no better alternative. But she would put together her own backup safety net, make no mistake about that.
"Fine, we have a conference at 14:00 with the team and we will update them on the plans then. But Acting Director Mitchell" she said with a pointed jab at his title, "let me make one thing perfectly clear. I will be keeping a very close watch on the operation in Zuoz and if there is even the hint of a breach of security from any source make no mistake about it I will take decisive action to protect the Intersect …. from anything."
Castle
11:00 am Pacific
As usual the conference started exactly at 11:00 am on the dot. Chuck, Sarah and Casey were the only ones in the room. The other agents had been told to stay in the holding area until notified otherwise. However what was unusual was that it wasn't just General Beckman on the monitor. She was flanked by a middle aged balding man with brown and grey hair, medium build who was looking away from the camera while gesturing to someone who could be seen leaving. Neither Chuck nor Casey knew who the new person was. However when the Acting Director turned towards the camera Chuck flashed on Fred Mitchell's file.
Sarah covered her mouth and whispered "shit". Chuck and Casey overheard and noticed her hand go up to her face.
"Agent Casey and Mr. Bartowski this is Acting Director Mitchell of the CIA. Agent Walker you seem to already be familiar with our new team member."
"Yes, ma'am"
"Agent Walker, so nice to see you again. It's been a while."
"Yes sir it has." Sarah said in a monotone that was not lost on Chuck.
"Agent Casey, it's a real honor to meet such a dedicated patriot as yourself."
"Thank you, sir."
"Mr. Bartowski it's a pleasure to meet you as well. I guess you all know why we are here."
"Please call me Chuck and yes I have an idea."
"Very well Chuck. Since the untimely death of Agent Larkin, and condolences to you Agent Walker I know this must be a very difficult time for you with your history with Agent Larkin."
"Thanks you sir but I'm fine" Again Chuck got the impression there was more to this Mitchell character than he knew from his flash.
General Beckman stepped in to break the obvious tension that was building. "Mr. Bartowski, while we are grateful for your help in rescuing you former team and keeping the 2.0 from the hands of The Ring, I must say I am very surprised that you decided to download it into yourself again. I distinctly got the impression from our last conversation that you wanted nothing to do with the agency and wanted your real life back."
"Yes ma'am, but things have changed."
"Obviously" The General responded.
"Look General and Acting Director, I realized that I could make a difference and that the Intersect is needed to defeat this new threat The Ring so I felt a duty to download it."
"Look, I know I am not your ideal candidate like Bry.. Agent Larkin was, but with the help of Agents Walker and Casey I believe we can be just as effective as Agent Larkin would have been"
Mitchell interrupted, "So you want us the use 3 agents to make up for the loss of 1? Does that seem like a fair trade to you, Mr Bartowski?"
"Look I know it isn't ideal but no matter what the circumstances are, I'm all you've got"
"Well we will see about how all this will play out now won't we."
"So what are you suggesting General", looking to Beckman to take over at this point and save him from Mitchell.
"Mr. Bartowski, we would like to finally train you to become the kind of agent we believe you ought to be. Tomorrow at 06:00 your time we will be sending you to a training facility and test what the 2.0 can really do."
"We can be ready by then" Sarah interjected.
Mitchell jumped in before Beckman could respond. "Agent Walker, Mr. Bartowski will be departing by himself for training. We thank you and Agent Casey for your service to The Intersect project but Agent Larkin had asked for you specifically to be part of his team because he knew you were familiar with the operations of The Intersect. But with his death you are no longer necessary to work on the Intersect project at this time. Mr. Bartowski is personally familiar with the Intersect and needs no such guidance. Once Mr. Bartowski has completed his training we will decide who or if a new team will be necessary"
"What?" All three members of Team Intersect jaws dropped and finally they spoke as one.
"Agent Walker and Agent Casey will be receiving new assignments. We will give you time to finish your reports and shut down this facility before you are reassigned."
Chuck interrupted, "General are you in agreement with this? You know how successful our team has been. How can you go along with breaking us up?"
"Mr. Bartowski, just because you downloaded the 2.0 doesn't give you any role in deciding how we utilize it." Mitchell said with a condescending scowl.
"General with all due respect, I can't go along with this arrangement. Agents Casey and Walker have provided me with protection for 2 years now. Without them I'd be either in a bunker or more likely dead. I have no interest in trusting my safety to anyone else but my current team. I simply won't do it."
"That's enough" Mitchell interrupted. "Fortunately your concerns are irrelevant in this discussion. We've made our decision. Agents, you have your orders. We will have Agent Watkins secure the Intersect in the holding cell until he leaves with the transport in the morning."
"Wait, what do I tell my sister? She stayed at the Airport Marriott last night and left on her Honeymoon early this morning. What is she going to do when she comes home and finds I'm missing?"
Beckman took this one. "Fine, we will give you tonight at home to put your affairs in order. Leave her a letter saying you and Sarah are going on a long trip through Europe and Asia. That after the wedding you two talked and decided to try and work things out between you and want to get away from everything to give your relationship a real chance."
"Agents Smith and Jones will stay with you as security; Agent Watkins will monitor things from Agent Casey's apartment while Agent Walsh begins securing the servers here at Castle."
"Agents, you have your orders and Mr. Bartowski welcome to the CIA." Mitchell said with a smirk.
Then the screens went black.
"WTF was that? She's breaking us up?" Chuck looked at Sarah with a look of shock and dismay on her face. "That was not how this was supposed to go."
Sarah reached out her hand to take hold of Chuck's arm but stopped when she saw Agent Watkins coming down the hall. "Chuck, we will figure out what is going on. I promise"
Casey stepped in and quietly added. "Hey Chuck, Semper fidelis, don't you forget that" Chuck gave a nod of understanding to his now "former" partner.
With that Agent Watkins rejoined them and motioned to Chuck "Come with me please, Mr. Carmichael. We will leave for your apartment at 17:00 but you will have to remain in the holding area till then."
Chuck turned to both Sarah and Casey wide eyed and clearly stunned. He saw the look in both of his former teammates eyes and knew what he saw was a resolve to fix this. He just hoped they could do it.
Chuck turned and headed off to his "cell" to contemplate what had just happened.
Casey turned and looked at Sarah and both turned their palms up in disbelief. Neither was at all happy with what had just transpired. Something was up and they were going to get to the bottom of it.
Suddenly Casey's phone vibrated.
"Beckman" he mouthed to Sarah.
He showed her the text hiding the screen from the surveillance cameras and the other agents.
Take Walker and head home. Conference in 2 hours.
A/N 2 Good/bad? I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas. 3k done for Chapter 4 but with the holiday weekend it will probably be the end of next week before it gets finished and posted.
Thanks once again for reading my story.
