A/N First I want to thank everyone for the incredible response to Permutations. It was very humbling and I can't thank you all enough. That was a very personal story and I was so pleased it seemed to touch so many readers.
Sorry for the lateness of this posting but this chapter turned into a monster and I wanted to get it right. Thanks again to esardi for his pre-read. As always he pointed out things that made it better.
I hope you all enjoy it.
Still don't own Chuck, except the DVD's, a T-shirt and my #Emmy4Yvonne shirt.
Chapter 24
The Name Reveal
Castle Secure Server Room
10:52 pm PDT
Chuck had been monitoring LA County traffic cameras for the past thirty minutes, ever since he had flashed on the name Eva Schneiderman. He had watched Sarah take off in typical Porsche fashion leaving Shaw and the tails in the dust while he saw Casey and Carina follow the Mercedes and the Camry respectively.
It looked like Shaw hadn't caught on to the tails as he was focused on trying to keep up with Sarah for the first few minutes but he seemed to give up when the superior handling of the Porsche and the skill of the agent driving would have made it look suspicious if he kept up her pace. The last thing he needed was to be stopped by some local police officer for racing his Tesla against a blonde in a Porsche. Chuck saw him break off and head in a what looked like the direction of his penthouse in the Hoff building. The Mercedes had thankfully stayed on Shaw's tail and had let Sarah go.
Chuck also noticed that the Camry had stayed with Shaw and the Mercedes as well. Whomever was driving the Camry seemed to have had some basic training to keep from being spotted as she didn't seem to be noticed by the Mercedes who was intent on staying with the tall Agent.
Carina and Casey had done a masterful job of staying out of sight using tandem tailing protocols and it seemed that neither had been spotted. Through the comms and using the traffic cameras, Chuck had acted as a third car allowing both Carina and Casey to drop from both cars rear view mirrors.
Sarah arrived at the BuyMore plaza and headed into the Orange Orange using her key. At this time of night the parking lot was deserted except for a few lone cars outside the Large Mart. She quickly headed into the freezer and down the steps to Castle. Chuck noticing Sarah's picture on Castle's security terminal quickly opened the doorway to the server room and called her name.
"Sarah, I'm so glad you're here and all right." He walked out and met her at the main computer terminals in the Castle conference room.
"Ok, Chuck what the hell is going on and what does this have to do with my Red Test?" Sarah's face was filled with apprehension. Her Red Test was the worst day of her life and she had been trying for over six years to put it behind her. But sadly just the very mention of it had brought a lot of those old feelings of pain and despair back up. She had relived that moment all over again as she drove to Castle.
Chuck who saw things in Sarah no one else had ever been able to decipher in the beautiful agent immediately knew she was in turmoil. He quickly reached out and lightly slid his hand down her right arm. "Sarah, I know there is a lot we need to talk about but I'm sorry that will have to wait for a few minutes. Please come over here and sit down. I need you to keep an eye on the traffic cameras and relay to Casey and Carina Shaw's position and anything you see with those two cars I have tagged on the screen. I have a few more things I need to check out and confirm first. But I'll be back out in a few minutes I promise." Chuck saw the pain in Sarah's eyes no matter how hard she tried to hide it. He knew her better than anyone and he sensed that whatever happened that night was very painful for her. What he saw in her eyes for even that brief second was something he had never seen in those beautiful blue orbs before, despair. He slid his hand further and touched her hand smiling softly letting her know he was there for her. They would talk about it all later but right now the mission came first.
"Ok Chuck." She turned her palm over and squeezed his hand in reply. He leaned in and lightly kissed her, reminding himself to wipe the security footage in case Shaw tried to check on what had gone on the next time he came to Castle. He then turned around and headed back to the server room.
During the time he had been monitoring the traffic cameras Chuck had contacted General Beckman and got a two hour extension on his access to Graham's files. He needed to go back and reread many of the earlier files in hopes that the new data he had seen in his flash coupled with the data in those files would trigger a new set of flashes that would shed more light on what his original flash had meant.
While Chuck had been watching the traffic cameras and relayed info to Casey and Carina both the experienced agents could hear the tension in his voice. They knew something important had happened but were focused on the two vehicles they were following. But when Sarah got on the comms she was all business. Her mask that had slipped when she saw Chuck was firmly back in place at least for as long as she needed to stay focused.
Hoff Building
11:13 pm PDT
About ten minutes after Sarah arrived, Shaw had driven back to his penthouse and pulled into the residents underground parking garage and went inside. The Mercedes parked across the street with a good view of the entrance and exit. Surprisingly the Camry didn't park outside like the Mercedes did but drove into the garage instead. Casey radioed to Carina for her to follow the Camry while he monitored the Mercedes from a distance. The Lexus entered the garage and watched the Camry park in the visitors parking area she had parked in the night she had slept with Shaw.
Carina watched a middle aged woman exit the Camry and head to the elevators. It was dark but she seemed to be carrying a bag that looked like it might contain groceries. The woman stayed in the shadows out of sight until she saw someone leaving and stepped out from behind an SUV and politely asked if they could hold the door for her. They obliged as she seemed to be struggling with finding her key card and juggling the bag of groceries. As she stepped into the lit area in front of the elevators even though she had a scarf around her head Carina was able to see her face clearly and took pictures she would relay to Chuck back in Castle. Carina watched her enter the elevator and head up to the twenty second floor, Shaw's floor.
Outside Castle Secure Server Room
11:18 pm PDT
With Shaw now inside his penthouse Sarah headed down the hall to find Chuck in the server room. Her mission now completed the stress and tension she had been feeling all during the drive back to Castle returned with a vengeance.
Sarah's Red Test. How could that horrific night have anything to do with Daniel Shaw or the Ring? She knew that Chuck would make it as easy as he possibly could but what possible benefit could be gained by reliving that experience? It was the lowest point of the very troubled life she had led until she got the assignment in Burbank. The assignment that brought her to the man she would now have to share that horrible night with. Something she had always hoped she would be able to protect him from.
This was the part of the spy life that she had so desperately wanted Chuck to never have to experience. It had been why she had wanted to run with him back that night he came to her hotel room after he had downloaded the 2.0. She, Casey and Beckman had all kept the 'final exam' part of Chuck's training from him. They all knew Chuck would have a huge moral dilemma when faced with the Catch-22 of either killing someone in cold blood, something so alien to him, or losing his chance to become a full agent and possibly seeing himself as a failure. He had experienced so much agony and self-doubt after his supposed best friend had betrayed him at Stanford. But this was different and ultimately much worse as he may think Sarah would see him as a failure as well. She knew she never would but Chuck still had insecurities that crept to the surface at times and many of them stemmed from his worry that he wasn't worthy of the love of such an amazing woman. The irony of that thought wasn't lost on her as she contemplated what they were about to talk about.
So following CIA/NSA protocols, the three other members of Team Bartowski kept that part of his training from him. Protocol dictated that it was only to be discussed with the trainee just prior to them being given their assignment so they could gauge their actions under extreme unanticipated stress. Upon completing the test, it was never to be spoken of again as it was basically illegal government sanctioned assassination.
But now Chuck would learn about it from the woman he loved. Sarah worried that he would never look at her the same again. Not only was she a cold blooded killer, but she had been weak. It had affected her deeply and even though she knew Chuck would never judge her and he would try to comfort her, she still felt awkward at showing weakness to anyone and she knew she could never hide that from him. If she tried to be stoic while discussing that night he would see right through her. She knew her only course of action was to be completely honest with Chuck, tell him the truth and hope that he would still see her the same way he did now.
All Graham had given her was a place and a picture. She, the young rising star under Graham's careful watch was simply told the woman was a traitor that needed to be eliminated. She had betrayed her country and the penalty for treason was death. If Graham was the judge and jury, then Sarah was the executioner.
Castle Secure Server Room
11:19 pm PDT
The flash that Chuck had gotten when he had seen the name that was used to rent the Toyota Camry was brief but devastating in content.
Red Test report Mar 2004
Eva Schneiderman: aka Agent Evelyn Shaw
Affiliation: Suspected Double Agent for formerly unknown group now believed to be called The Ring
Action authorized: Termination
Agent assigned: Trainee Sarah Walker
Current Status: Deceased
Spouse: Agent Daniel Shaw
Final report: Red Test successful Sarah Walker awarded full Agent status
Daniel Shaw's wife. The name reveal had caused him to flash on a connection to some files that were found buried in the private directories of Director Graham that he had been working on for the last almost four hours. Combined with some old Intersect files that had been altered recently it filled in some of the gap of time that followed Shaw's mission in Thailand. Some reports that were found in the private files of Director Graham showed
Shaw began working for Graham exclusively in the fall of 2004. It seemed likely that these incidents were related. Shaw's wife was a Ring Double Agent and shortly thereafter Shaw began working as 'expert' on the Ring for Graham.
Had Graham used Shaw's expected rage at his wife's killing by telling him that the Ring was responsible for the shooting? It certainly wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that an agent would be lied to, to get them to become intensely focused on destroying his loved one's killers. The CIA said personal lives made you vulnerable but they weren't afraid of using that to their benefit as well. What terrified him though was that The Ring didn't kill her, Sarah did. Did Shaw know? Did that explain his fascination with Sarah? There was still so much more they needed to learn. Nothing he had learned confirmed that Shaw was working for the Ring, just that it appeared his wife had.
Chuck focused on the screens in front of him and deep in thought, never heard the soft footsteps of his lover and partner behind him. He jumped when he felt her hand lightly placed on his shoulder. But what startled him most was that the hand, Sarah's hand, was slightly trembling. He reached over and placed his hand on hers gently and spun around in his chair to see the beautiful blonde agent standing there, the faint traces of recently shed tears on her cheeks.
He smiled warmly at her trying to lighten the mood a little but also to mask his own concerns and fears.
"I love you Sarah."
She smiled and her breath hitched a bit before responding barely above a whisper, "I love you too, Chuck."
He pulled her down onto his lap and her head lay upon his shoulder. They held each other there for a few minutes not moving but just letting the tension they both felt melt away from the strength of their loving bond.
Sarah picked her head up and placed a tender kiss on Chuck's lips before standing up and moving to the other chair at the end of the desk Chuck was working at. Chuck looked at her as her eyes were focused on her fingers now sitting intertwined, resting on her lap.
"Sarah, I don't know what happened back then but I can tell this is hard for you. If you don't want to talk about it I'll understand. It's just we need to figure out what all this means and how everything is connected."
Sarah looked up, closed her eyes briefly and Chuck could tell that Agent Walker was back in place. Sarah, he would comfort later. "It's ok Chuck. I'm fine."
Chuck gave her a questioning look.
"Ok, I'm not fine. I should know better than to try to fool you. But I'm ok to do this. We need to do it."
"Ok, but if this get's too difficult let me know and I'll move on to something else."
"Ok, Chuck." She smiled a small smile as she looked into Chuck's loving eyes.
"Sarah, somehow all this is related to your Red Test. I have an idea what it is but it seems that there is very little about it in the Intersect. Can you tell me more about it?"
"Chuck, a Red Test is the so called 'final exam' for an Agent. To become a full fledged field Agent you have to pass a test proving you wouldn't hesitate in using deadly force if so needed in the field. Any hesitation could mean the loss of an Agent, their partner or innocent civilians."
"So basically it is a way to prove an Agent will kill when necessary."
"Yes." Her voice slightly cracking.
"Then if it is so important and every agent must pass it, why is it so rarely mentioned in the Intersect files?"
"For a couple of reasons. First to keep the element of surprise intact so they can get a more accurate response but also because in many cases it is not entirely legal. It is basically sanctioned assassination as part of an Agent's training and that fact is something they want to keep under wraps. It's the deep dark secret of the spy life."
"Sarah, you don't have to tell me, I'll understand, but what happened with yours? It seems like it is somehow connected to all this."
"It's ok Chuck. Maybe talking with you is what I've needed to do all along. It's just that it happened long before I met you. It was even before I was working with Bryce or the Cats."
"Cats?"
"Clandestine Attack Team. There not relevant here but I'll tell you about them later. It's how I met Carina."
"Ok"
Sarah took a deep breath before she began telling Chuck about that awful night. "Graham simply gave me a time and a place along with a picture. Nothing else. I was supposed to go there, find the target and... and kill them. When I finally saw her I was shaking. I reached into my pocket that was holding my gun and just as I was about to pull the trigger she dropped something and leaned down to pick it up. I couldn't shoot her on the ground like that so I kept on moving. But I saw a reflection of what I thought was her pulling a gun on me. I simply reacted. I wheeled and fired. I wanted to stop and check to make sure she was in fact armed. The thought of killing an unarmed woman unnerved me. But I didn't have time. I had to get out of there before the police came. It was the worst night of my life."
Sarah looked down again at her hands that were clenched tightly on her lap. Her knuckles were turning white and tears were ever so slightly falling down her cheeks again. Chuck got up and kneeled in front of her, reached out and placed both his hands on hers. The tension in them released a little and the blood began to circulate again. Chuck could see the marks from her nails on her palms.
"It's ok Sarah. You were following orders and she was a traitor."
Sarah looked down at the man kneeling before her. Their eyes locked on each other's. "Chuck, how can you know that for certain? What if she was innocent? What if she was unarmed? What if she was being set up? What if she was a civilian and I killed her in cold blood? Chuck, I'm a killer and a monster. She was my first but there have been so many others since. That's the worst part."
"What is?"
"After that night I've killed a number of times and never felt anything. No remorse, no pain, just nothing. When I killed Mouser, the only thing that bothered me was having to lie to you about it. Little did I know you saw that horrific part of me right before your eyes. Dealing with killing that woman left me numb and I didn't even know her name!" Sarah almost shouted.
Chuck knew that Sarah must have asked herself those same questions countless times over the years. He didn't know if this would help but she had the right to know.
"Evelyn Shaw" Chuck said quietly.
Sarah pulled back in shock. Her mouth opened in a gasp. "What?"
"Agent Evelyn Shaw, she was your target." Chuck took a breath before he continued. "Eve Shaw, Daniel Shaw's wife."
"I killed Shaw's wife?" Sarah's face was an array of emotion. Horror, confusion, anger worry. This was just too much.
"Yes."
"How do you know? Did you flash on her?"
"I flashed on Eva Schneiderman. It's the name the Camry that was tailing you and Shaw was rented under. Eva Schneiderman is Evelyn Shaw."
"Wait, if I killed her then how did she rent a car six years later?"
"I don't know. All I know is she was suspected of being a double agent for the Ring and Graham assigned you to terminate her. How she rented a car at LAX tonight I have no idea."
"So Shaw's wife was working for the Ring, Graham had her killed and then turns her husband into some sort of Ring specialist?"
"Yea, they must have told him the Ring killed her and hoped that a quest for vengeance might arise and he would do whatever it takes to take them down."
"Do you think he knows it was me? That I was the one that killed his wife?"
"I don't know for certain but it would explain a lot of things especially his special interest in you."
Sarah thought for a second. It made sense in a perverted way. Graham would have no qualms about using the death of someone's wife for his own purposes. Knowing it was her would explain why she and Carina both got an uncomfortable vibe about him when it came to Sarah.
"But wait, this doesn't prove that Shaw is working for the Ring. Just that if he does know it was me and that the CIA ordered the sanction, it might be enough to get him to turn. Finding out the agency you worked for ordered the death of your spouse could turn all but the most loyal of Agents."
Chuck shuffled a little closer, still holding onto Sarah's hands. The tension much less this time around. "But Sarah, we need more. I've been through these files again and I've got nothing, all we know is that Shaw's wife was your Red Test and she or someone using her name rented a car at LAX tonight."
"Well when Casey and Carina get here we are going to have to tell Beckman. Maybe she can help us find something else tying Shaw to the Ring."
Chuck got up and leaned in to give Sarah a kiss. This had been a tough night and though they had more answers, they still didn't seem to have fewer questions.
Suddenly Chuck's phone beeped with an incoming message. He quickly picked it up and tapped on the screen to open a picture Carina had sent him. as he saw the picture his eyes fluttered just for a second. His jaw dropped and he placed his other hand across his mouth.
"Chuck, what is it? Did you just flash?"
"Sarah, remember when we said we had no proof tying Shaw to the Ring?"
"Yea?"
"Well we just might now."
Hoff Building
Suite 2210
11:19 PM PDT
Special Agent Daniel Shaw was pissed. He had pulled off the perfect seduction in his mind and he should be in the middle of giving a certain, very naked blonde agent one last night of fun, well fun for him at least, before she met her very timely demise. That demise was also the key to his ascension into the upper echelons of the leadership of the Ring. He had been working towards this goal for the last 8 years and it was so close to being within his grasp that he could taste it. But his night of debauchery was taken away by that diminutive red-headed General whom he couldn't wait to take down once he was seated in his rightful place at the 'head table' in the Ring.
He had thought about altering his plan and keeping Agent Walker alive after the meeting with the Ring Director but thought better of it. The goal was too important to risk over one night of debasing a CIA agent. Once he was in his proper position of leadership he could have as many playthings as he could possibly ask for. Sure the blonde was one of the most beautiful and seductive women he had ever seen and her 'talents' were probably inspired. You didn't get the reputation as the CIA's best female Agent by being anything but the best in all aspects of what was required of a female Agent. But in the long run he could just order an assortment of two or three others to make up for this one particular bed warmer. Sure she had killed his wife but seeing he had secretly leaked the false intel that she was a double agent to Graham in the first place in hopes of being assigned the CIA's Ring specialist, she had ultimately done his bidding and should be rewarded for that. And boy did he have a reward planned. But whatever the General wanted from Sarah ended any chance of her collecting her 'prize'.
"Well two brunettes and a redhead just might make have to take the place of one special blonde, that seems like a fair trade." He smirked as he muttered to himself and headed into the bathroom to begin his nightly ritual. After all even perfection like his still needed some attention.
As he was looking in the mirror standing shirtless, checking for any changes in his hairline, he heard a soft knock on the door. "Well looks like she couldn't stay away from all this afterall." He said smugly with a devilish grin. "I'll just make sure she'll have to work a little harder after disappointing me like that."
Shaw opened the medicine cabinet and reached for the pill bottle he had hidden behind a secret panel. He opened the bottle and poured out two little blue pills into his hand and swallowed them down dry. He took off his pants and boxers and wrapped himself in a towel. "Might as well save some time." he thought.
The soft knocking became a little louder the second time. Shaw picked up his gun in his right hand and placed it behind his back. He was still a spy. He reached for the door knob and spoke as he slowly opened it.
"Sarah, I'm glad you came. I was just about to take a shower, maybe you could join..." Shaw looked up and his jaw dropped. He stood there stunned. It was a blonde female standing in front of him but instead of the young agent he had hoped to spend the night with, it was a middle aged woman he had not seen in six years. There in front of him was his one time mother-in-law.
"Ursula, what the hell are you doing here?" He said with a little more anger than he intended. The natural hormones flowing through his system coupled with what else was going to be happening with his blood flow in about twenty minutes were about to cause a very uncomfortable scene.
"That's a nice way to greet your mother-in-law after all this time, Daniel. Aren't you at least going to invite me in?"
"I'm sorry I was just expecting someone else is all. Please come in." Shaw stepped aside and let the woman he had not expected to be here in his penthouse let alone in the US into his living room.
Taking a seat on the couch she looked up at Shaw with a fire in her eyes. "I can see I may have come at an inopportune time for you. Were you actually planning on 'entertaining' your wife's murderer before you avenged Eve's death?" The disgust and anger in her voice only thinly veiled.
"Ursula, I know you must be angry. But this was all necessary for our plan to work. Sarah Walker is a great agent, maybe the best. We need her to let her guard down if we are going to have our revenge. She is just too good to underestimate. Any slight hesitation is all I'll need to finish our plan."
"So you were going to screw this woman, then dump her and kill her the very next day in front of the man who supposedly cares about her? That's pretty cold even for you Daniel. Why don't you just invite her parents to dinner first and do it in front of them too?"
"Hey, I'm a man and she took my wife from me. Why shouldn't I have a little fun with her before I avenge Eve's death? It will make it that much sweeter to see the look on her face when she realizes I was the one who betrayed her."
"You're not a nice guy, Daniel. I hope your lies keep you warm at night."
Shaw angered by her dismissive tone decided it was better to change the subject. He didn't care if it offended her, he wanted Sarah Walker and that was all the motivation he needed. "So why are you here, Ursula?"
"First, can you put some clothes on please. I really have no interest in seeing my son-in-laws package." She chuckled a bit the state of his undress and his all too obvious reasons for it.
"Fine, give me a second and then I want to know what the hell you are doing here. I've worked too hard and too long for this to fall apart because of some unforeseen visitor." Shaw went into the bedroom and came back dressed in some casual slacks and a button down blue shirt. He grabbed a couple of water bottles and handed one to Ursula. He then sat across from his surprise guest and waited for her to begin.
"It's simple Daniel. Did you actually think I was going to stay in Europe while you took out my daughter's murderer? What kind of a mother do you think I am? I want to at least see her face in person one time before she dies a hopefully very painful death for what she did to my daughter."
"So you decided to come here unannounced? Why didn't you call and let me know? What if someone saw you and put us together?"
"Daniel, I've been around spies for over thirty years. I've learned a thing or two about watching for tails. But it seems like you haven't. You didn't notice the black Mercedes that followed you from the restaurant."
"Please, of course I did. They've been following me for the past three days. I'm guessing they are with the Ring. They know I'm the lead Agent investigating them."
"And that doesn't concern you?"
"No, in fact I was counting on it. I need them to be the fall guys when I kill Sarah."
"Oh, I see. So you kill Eve's murderer and blame it on The Ring Agents who have been following you taking all suspicion off of you. You then can get Agent Carmichael to help you against the Ring as he will want to avenge her death like you have with Eve."
"Yes, Carmichael's 'special' abilities that they sent him to you to develop, will be of great use to me. But Ursula, I can't let you screw this up by being there. Carmichael knows who you are and I can't let him learn about Sarah killing Eve. He's very good at what he does and he will put this all together if he gets one whiff of any connection with you."
"Fine Daniel. I just wanted to see her in person once like I did tonight when you left the restaurant. I'll stay out of sight in my hotel if you promise to let me see her body once it's done."
"If I can I will. I promise."
Ursula stood up and headed to the door. As she was about to reach for the handle she turned back around to look at her late daughter's husband. "Daniel, don't let Eve down. She loved you and this murderer must pay for what she did to our family."
"I won't. I loved Eve just as much as she loved me if not more. It's been my life's mission these last six years. Sarah Walker will die for what she did to my beloved wife. That's a promise."
"Thank you Daniel. Eve and I are counting on you." She stepped up on her toes and gave Shaw a kiss on the cheek.
"A word of advice Daniel. Make sure you know who is at the door before you pop those little blue pills." She turned away smirking as she left. Ursula had no intention of staying in her hotel room tomorrow night. She had waited six long years for this and nothing or no one was going to stop her from watching her daughter's killer die before her eyes.
Castle Secure Server Room
11:53 pm PDT
"Chuck, what do you mean? What was in your flash?"
"Sarah, take a look at this picture Carina sent me." Chuck hands Sarah his phone with the picture of Ursula in the garage lobby of the Hoff building.
Sarah looked at the middle aged woman whose face can be clearly seen. "Remember when I emailed you through that TV show site while I was in Zuoz?"
"You mean that email you wrote in what was it, ...Romulan?"
"Yes. Sarah...the woman in that picture is the person who sent that email to you."
"What?" Sarah was stunned at the revelation. What was someone who helped Chuck in Zuoz doing visiting Daniel Shaw?
"Her name is Ursula Reidy. She was my nurse at the training facility. I didn't know her last name till I just flashed on her picture."
"Chuck, if you saw her in Zuoz, why didn't you flash on her then?"
"Well remember at first I couldn't flash at all. My emotions kept me from accessing the Intersect. It wasn't till you contacted me with the plane that I was able to finally flash. I realized then that you are a big key to the success of the Intersect. I mean you always had been on many levels but once you contacted me and I was able to control my emotional state, it removed the weight that was holding down the Intersect from functioning. It was like a rock had been lifted."
Chuck leaned in and lightly kissed her. The cameras still being off-line with alternate data files looped. She smiled at the memory of that day flying through the Swiss valley over Zuoz. God she had wished he could have been there with her in that plane. It was so beautiful.
"But Chuck, if you saw her after you started flashing again why didn't you flash on her then?"
"Actually I did but it was all just her basic personnel file. It was all clean."
"So what was different tonight?"`
"It wasn't the picture exactly that was the stimulus but what I had learned earlier about the name Eva Schneiderman made new connections that gave me access to data that seeing her picture in connection with Shaw caused the Intersect to flash on."
"So something you learned in an earlier flash tonight made a connection that caused you to flash on something that you wouldn't have with that earlier flash in Zuoz?"
"Yea I think so. The more I use the 2.0, the more it's evolving as it gets new data and new connections. It's kind of like Skynet in my head." He said with a chuckle.
"Well I just hope you don't start turning into liquid metal anytime soon." Sarah said with a sly smile.
"Hey, I see my pop culture education has not been for naught." He leaned in and kissed her again.
After they pulled back Sarah asked. "So what did you learn from this 'evolved' flash?" She asked with a bit of a smirk.
She noticed Chuck's face had turned serious again. Another shoe was about to drop.
"Sarah, Ursula Reidy's maiden name was Schneiderman. She's Evelyn Shaw's mom."
"What? You have got to be kidding me."
Just as Chuck was about to speak, they both were alerted to the arrival of their partners back in Castle.
"Good. Carina and Casey are here. I want to discuss this with all of you before we alert Beckman with what I've found out and how it impacts on the plan for tomorrow's meeting with the Director."
"You still want to go through with it?"
"Yes, I think we should. We just need to be very prepared as things have changed dramatically tonight."
Chuck and Sarah headed out to the conference room to meet Casey and Carina.
"So anything new guys?"
Carina spoke first. "Well the woman in the Camry went to Shaw's floor and stayed for about twenty minutes and then she left. I followed her to the Tangerine Hotel where she checked in. Casey stayed with the Mercedes outside Shaw's penthouse."
"Take a look at these Bartowski. I got some pictures of the guys inside. They are pretty dark but hopefully you'll see something we can use.
Chuck looked at the pictures but they weren't clear enough for him to flash on their faces. "Unfortunately no, I can't get enough of an image to flash on." Chuck looked at the pictures again and this time something caught his eye.
"Casey download these into the computer. I want to take a look at the small lit area of the dash."
Casey did as he was asked and the four Agents watched as Chuck displayed the image on the monitor and ran it though some image processing software he had been working on. After a few moments the group saw what had caught Chuck's eye, a Ring communicator in the hand of the passenger in the car.
"Nice work Chuck." Carina said with a smile. "I guess you earned your geek cred tonight."
"Nerd!" Sarah and Chuck both replied.
"Geesh sorry, my mistake, nerd cred." The four sat back down around the conference room table.
"So Ring agents are following Shaw. Anything on the Camry or its driver?" Casey asked.
"Yea something must be definitely up with that one. You went all mother bear over Sarah after you found out she and Shaw were being followed." Carina added.
Chuck looked at Sarah with an unspoken question in his eyes. She nodded ever so slightly giving him the go ahead to talk about that horrible night. Chuck looked back at her letting her know he was there for her and knew this would be painful.
"The Camry was rented at LAX earlier this evening under the name Eva Schneiderman."
Sarah closed her eyes briefly at the mention of the name again. Casey and Carina both looked over at Sarah's reaction and then back to Chuck waiting for him to continue.
"Eva Schneiderman was the real name of a former CIA Agent." Chuck took a deep breath before continuing. "That person's agency name was Evelyn Shaw."
"Shaw? Is she..." Carina asked.
"Yes, Evelyn Shaw was Daniel Shaw's wife... his late wife."
Casey looked at Carina who looked as confused as he was and then back to Chuck before he spoke.
"So Shaw's dead wife rents a car at LAX, tails him and Sarah from the restaurant and then goes to visit him at his hotel? Sounds a little like a soap opera."
"Not exactly."
"Chuck, just tell us what's going on and what all this has to do with Sarah and our mission." Carina said with a hint of frustration.
"Yea, that woman had to be in her early fifties I assume that wasn't actually Shaw's wife." Casey added.
"No it wasn't. I'll explain her in a minute. There's something more important you need to know.
Chuck reached over and put his hand on Sarah's, feeling the tension in her fingers.
"Come on spill it Bartowski." Casey growled.
"Ok, ok. Eva Schneiderman, aka Eve Shaw was sanctioned by the CIA over six years ago based on evidence of being a double agent."
"So the CIA put out a termination order on a traitor who was married to another agent? Unfortunately I bet it's not the first time." Casey said shaking his head in disgust.
"Yes. It looks that way but what's more important is who the Agent was that was given that termination order." Chuck squeezed Sarah's hand a little more tightly.
"Who was the Agent assigned.?" Carina asked leaning into the table with anticipation..
"I was." Sarah spoke very quietly.
"What? You killed Shaw's wife?" Carina was stunned.
"Yes...It was my red test." Sarah's soft voice trembling just a bit..
"Wow, if Shaw knows that, then that would explain his obsession with you." Carina said before leaning back in her chair taking it all in.
"Yes it would."
"So wait, then who went to see Shaw?" Carina asked.
"Her married name is Ursula Reidy. But her maiden name was Schneiderman. Ursula Schneiderman, Eva Schneiderman's mother."
"Damn, this just keeps getting better." Casey just shook his head as he spoke.
"Unfortunately that's not the last of it."
"What the hell Chuck, there's more?" Carina was still trying to grasp all she had heard tonight. But it seems there was even more to be revealed.
"I'm afraid so."
"Ok, lay it on us Bartowski."
"Ursula, the woman who went to see Shaw tonight was my nurse at the training facility. She's the one who helped me contact Sarah. I also believe she is the one responsible for sending those files on me to the Ring."
"Ok let me get this straight. Agent Shaw's wife was sanctioned by the CIA for being a double Agent. Sarah here, is given the assignment as her Red test by Graham explaining why Shaw seems so hung up on blondie. But that's not all. Shaw's former mother-in-law is working at the facility where our boy Chuckles is training to be the next super agent. She then sends files of his training to The Ring that Shaw supposedly finds out about from a 'contact' on the inside. We capture those files and suddenly Ring Agents are following Shaw. But it keeps getting better. Shaw's monster-in-law shows up at his apartment on a night where Shaw was trying to get Sarah back there for a boring ass ride between the sheets. Plus it just so happens to be the day before we are supposed to be having a big meeting with the Ring Director... Damn this is some fucked up shit."
"Tell me about it. It all seems like some really bad fan fiction to me."
The other three Agents turn and look at Chuck as if he had two heads. "What? Fan Fiction? You've never... Ok moving on." he says trying to hid his embarrassment.
Sarah let go of Chuck's hand and placed her elbows on the table and her chin on her fists. "What's this all mean Chuck? There are just too many coincidences for this to all be random. If Ursula was working for the Ring, why would she help you contact me?"
"I guess they wanted to find something or someone to use against me. Maybe set a trap for you to get to me if I didn't cooperate after they tried to kidnap me. And one more thing I forgot to mention that wasn't in the Intersect, Ursula told me that at one time she lived with Graham's family as a nanny back in the seventies."
"Holy Christ!" Casey stood up and walked away with his hand on his forehead. "So Graham ordered a sanction against his nanny's daughter?"
"Seems that way."
Carina shook her head in disbelief. "That is cold, even for Graham."
The four agents looked at each other as they contemplated what they had learned in just the one evening. Sarah looked at the other three and spoke first in her role as AIC. "We need to call Beckman."
After a few minutes a slightly groggy General Diane Beckman popped up on the monitor dressed in a rather stylish silk robe. It was one of the few times they had ever seen her out of uniform.
"Ok Bartowski. This better be good. I take it those special privileges I granted you were worthwhile but shouldn't we be discussing them in private ?"
"Yes General they were very helpful but that data along with some additional information that has come to our attention, we feel affects the entire team and it is important enough to wake you, ma'am."
"Ok Agent Walker this is on you as AIC, what happened this evening?"
Sarah proceeded to tell the General what they had learned and Chuck filled in what he had told the team but assured her that he had not stepped over the boundaries of the executive order granting him the access to Graham's files.
"So team in light of all this, should we call off the meet tomorrow until we know more about Agent Shaw's motives and connections?"
"No!" Sarah said emphatically. "Chuck and I both feel this is our best chance to identify some of the Ring leadership. All we've learned here just means that we need to be very careful and keep another backup plan or two just between us. If Shaw is working with the Ring we will just have to be smarter than him."
"That shouldn't be too difficult." Casey muttered under his breath.
"Enough Colonel." The General said sternly.
"Sorry ma'am."
Chuck looked over at Sarah with very anxious eyes. "But Sarah, you can't go with him alone. If Shaw knows you killed his wife he is going to be gunning for you. Any man would be affected by that knowledge, spy or not."
"I agree," The General said before Sarah could respond. "And that is why she is going to have constant backup. What kind of a boss would I be if I ordered an Agent to go on a mission alone with another agent of very questionable loyalties? You're right Chuck. It wouldn't be a smart move at all to trust Shaw if he in fact knows about Agent Walker's involvement in his wife's death. I would hope none of us is that stupid." Turning to the redheaded agent the General continued. "Agent Miller, you will be assigned specifically as Agent Walker's backup. Agent Shaw is to know nothing of your participation in the operation. We will tell him that the DEA requested your assistance on another matter in LA."
Carina nodded at the monitor and Chuck gave her a smile of thanks. He had seen them work together and he trusted Carina to have the love of his life's back completely.
"Very well Agents, we will convene tomorrow morning at 9am sharp here in Castle to get an update from Agent Shaw on the plans for the meeting and will have a private follow up later on at Colonel Casey's apartment. Nice work tonight team, and Chuck thank you for making the risk I was taking with those files worth it."
"You're welcome ma'am. But General if I may, I have one more request I'd like to make..." Chuck smiled one of his patented nervous smiles that the General knew meant some bizarre out of the box request was coming.
The General rolled her eyes pointedly causing the rest of the group, even Casey, to chuckle for a split second. "What now Mr. Bartowski?."
Casa Walker/Bartowski
01:23 am PDT
Chuck sat up in their bed leaning against the headboard waiting for Sarah to finish in the bathroom. He tried reading one of the latest DC comics Morgan had loaned him but it was a lost cause. He was worried about Sarah. Even though it was just briefly, he had never seen this brilliant, strong, amazing woman look as vulnerable as when she talked about her Red Test. He knew she had probably never shared the details of that night with anyone as that simply was not what a great Agent did. But he desperately wanted to let her know that he was here for her if she needed to talk. That he wouldn't judge her for what she had done or for how she seemed to have shown a hint of weakness in dealing with it. That was something Chuck knew that Agent Walker never wanted anyone to see. But he didn't want to talk to Agent Walker, he wanted to talk to and comfort Sarah, his Sarah, the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
But he was also curious as to why no one had ever told him when he agreed to become an Agent after downloading the 2.0, that he would be expected to assassinate someone in cold blood to get his badge. He didn't think he could ever do that no matter what the reason and maybe that was why they kept it from him. He would have to tread lightly here but maybe this was the way he could get Sarah to open up to him about what happened with hers.
He placed the comic back on the night stand, it was pointless to try and read it anyway and waited a few more seconds when he heard the bathroom door open and the focus of his concerns walked into their bedroom.
"Hey." He said looking to see if there was evidence of any internal turmoil in her expression. But she smiled lovingly as she walked around to climb into her side of the bed.
"You ok?"
"I'm fine." She said, but her body language was letting him know she was anything but.
He opened up his arms and gave her a soft, warm look as he beckoned her into the safety of his loving embrace. Sarah quickly jumped at the offer and laid her head on his chest. The calm rhythm of his breathing slowing her anxious heartbeat. They had learned over the years of working together a secret language. Simple looks or words said with a particular tone or phrasing told the other so much more than the words themselves. During these months since they had gotten together as a couple that bond and unspoken language had only grown stronger. It was one of the many, many reasons Sarah loved Chuck. He knew her, her moods, her tells, her frailties like no other person ever could. But what made him so special was he never took advantage of that. He simply used it to love her and care for her even more. He truly was a gift.
Taking a breath he decided to approach the subject carefully.
"Sarah, can I ask you something?"
She lifted her head from his chest and looked at him and smiled. She also knew this was his way of talking with her about something he was unsure she wanted to talk about.
"Of course Chuck." She said with a warm half smile.
"If this makes you uncomfortable you know you don't have to answer. I'll understand, I promise."
"It's fine Chuck, go ahead, ask.."
Taking another deep breath he began. "Sarah, when we spoke back at your hotel room before I agreed to go to training and become an Agent, why didn't you tell me about what a Red Test was?"
She closed her eyes for a few seconds. From the moment he told her they needed to talk about her Red Test when she left the restaurant, she had wondered if he was going to ask her why she kept that from him. She had always hoped he would be able to bypass that requirement because of his skill set with the Intersect. But she knew it would probably come up at one point. She just didn't think it would come about because of the worst night of her life.
"Chuck, I'm so sorry about that. But I won't hide behind the fact that it is highly against protocol to tell a trainee about the nature of their final exam. I should have told you. But things were moving so fast back then. We were riding a whirlwind of emotions. With Bryce's death, you downloading the 2.0 instead of getting back to a normal life that I wanted so much to be a part of. To you telling me you loved me and me finally telling you that I had loved you for so long. Realizing that you were right, running like I had my whole life was not the answer but fighting to be together in the open was. Then they were going to whisk you off to training so quickly, it was all too much and it just never come up."
She leaned over and kissed him tenderly. "But maybe the real reason was that I wanted to protect you from all that. I never wanted you to have to deal with the dark ugly side of becoming a spy. I know you Chuck and I trust you completely, I always have, but I knew the Chuck I loved couldn't do it. That no matter what they tried to do to you in your training your amazing heart would always guide you through and you would never lose sight of the things that make you great. Chuck, you are so much better than them and I thought that maybe because you were the Intersect you wouldn't have to do it. You're not a killer Chuck. Not like Casey and me."
Chuck saw the tears forming in Sarah's eyes. He knew how much saying that last part bothered her. She had always wrestled with that part of her life and her job.
"Chuck but I have to be completely honest, part of the reason I didn't tell you was I was scared. Scared that you would look at me differently knowing what I had done to become an Agent. To simply be given a picture and a place and kill someone without really knowing why. But it was also because I was too scared to relive the worst night of my life. I had no one to help me through it back then and the pain is still there no matter how high I build the wall around it. It will stay with me forever. I didn't know if I could help you get through something so horrible after what happened to me. I'm sorry Chuck, I just didn't know if I could be that person."
Chuck pulled her in tightly again, kissing the top of her head. "Sarah, you are everything I will ever want or need. Just the fact that you love me is enough to get through anything this life can throw at me. For three years, you have always been my strength, my protector. Your faith in me is what keeps me going and makes me a better man. But I want you to know that I want to be that for you too. I want to be your strength, your protector and not just with what happens in our spy lives. Most importantly I want to protect your heart, protect little Jenny Burton from all of the Heather Chandlers and Dick Duffys in this world who try to make her feel less about herself. I want to be there for you always. Someone you can talk to or someone you just want to hold you. I wish with all my heart I could have been there for you that night. But I want you to know if you ever want to talk about anything. I'll be there. I will never judge you, and I will never ever think any less of you for what you have done to keep our country, and me safe. I will honor you for that like I know you deserve."
Sarah's cheeks were covered with the tracks of countless unshed tears. What made this moment so incredibly special was she knew he was absolutely telling the truth. He would always be there for her. She was as certain about that as the fact that sun rose in the east.
"You have no idea what that means to me. I love you so much, Chuck. More than you will ever know."
Sarah kissed him softly but it was filled with as much love and emotion as any kiss she had ever given. She settled back down into Chuck's loving arms and she felt safe, safer than she had ever known.
After a few moments Chuck felt her quietly sobbing into his chest. As her tears grew more pronounced, he lightly kissed her hair and pulled her a little tighter. He knew she didn't need him to say a word. What she needed was just for him to hold her while the pain and hurt she had bottled up ever since that night in Paris finally left her body. Chuck took that pain and carried it for her. It was the most beautiful gift anyone had ever given her and she knew he would gladly do it again.
After about ten minutes, Sarah's cries had finally subsided. She felt exhausted but a peace came over her. A peace she hadn't been able to feel since that night over six years ago. They both knew they had a very important and difficult day ahead of them but for now, this moment was as close to perfect as either had ever felt.
Bob Hope Airport
Burbank, CA
02:36AM PDT
A Dassault Falcon 900LX pulled into a hanger at the far end of Bob Hope Airport. Once the hanger doors were closed a middle aged British man waited at the cabin door for the stairs to deploy. Now fully in position he walked down the stairs where he was greeted by two Agents carrying Heckler & Koch VP70s. He then stepped into a Lunar Blue Mercedes S600 sedan. The two agents along with the driver headed out the far end of the hanger followed by a black Suburban holding four other Agents and an arsenal of weapons. As they headed towards a non-descript shopping center in Glendale the man pulled out his round, green back lit communications device, placed his thumb on the fingerprint scanner and quickly dialed the proper sequence.
"What's the status?"
"The target is in his penthouse we believe for the night."
"Is he alone?"
"Yes sir. He had a visitor earlier for a few minutes but she left a couple of hours ago."
"Agent Walker?"
"No sir but we couldn't get an ID."
"Very well. Keep me posted if there are any changes."
"Yes sir."
He pressed the upper left button, released his thumb and put the device back in his suit pocket. "Well Daniel, looks like you struck out tonight. Let's hope your luck doesn't change tomorrow. Agent Walker is very beautiful. I have a feeling your loss will be my gain." he thought to himself. Turning to the Agent beside him he spoke again. "Once we are in the hive I want a complete report on the set up for the meeting tomorrow. I want to personally go over the plans myself to make sure we have covered everything."
"Yes Director."
The Ring Director watched as the car in which he was riding drove through a holographic projected wall at the back end of an abandoned warehouse behind the shopping center. The car then drove down a steep ramp into an underground holding area. As he stepped out of the vehicle he spoke to the assembled members of his team. "Tomorrow has to go off without a hitch. I want Agent Walker alive no matter what Agent Shaw's plans are. She is the key to the Intersect and if I have her, I have him. Shaw, the NSA burnout and the DEA skirt you can kill."
A/N2 Next chapters should be action packed, at least I hope. Thank again for reading!
