The day went on, Chuck slept most of it off, mentally willing his body to shut down…
"He's in here, ma'am. Please don't go too close, the subject is somewhat unpredictable."
Chuck heard the soft clicking of heels coming his way, and he turned to face her.
"Ah, General Beckman, what can I do for you today? You need a flash or two? I'm sorry, I'm all tied up," Chuck let sarcasm fill his voice, not hiding his contempt for the woman who had refused to tell him about Casey.
"Mr Bartowski, please don't use that tone with me. I'm here to see how you're doing, I heard from that you were quite close to not making it, your little stunt scared pretty much the entire NSA."
Chuck didn't answer, just looked at her with venom in his eyes.
She looked at him with a confounded expression, curiosity painted across her face.
" I have to admit that I'm… intrigued. How is it that a computer technician could fight off security guards, destroy an entire hospital ward and steel a pen from a physiatrist, whilst you were being video monitored?"
Chuck smiled, a small and weak smile, as something private flushed his memories.
"… Casey…" He whispered, barely audible for the general, "…Casey taught me a few things."
The general looked at Chuck and smiled back.
"Of course Casey taught you, Mr. Bartowski, he was deeply concerned for your safety, I just didn't know he'd taught you as well as you displayed earlier… Look, Mr. Bartowski, I would like it for you to get better, soon. We are already treating you with a special strain of antibiotics, that will kick start you system, and once you healed, you'll begin with psychical therapy. We need you back in the field, you're very valuable to us."
Chuck sighed, knowing very well that nothing he said could make the general give the order to end his life. But something could always happen along the way, maybe an accidental running into a knife or something in training… He smiled slowly to himself, a smile used only by suicidal people with a plan. And by people with a lot of painkillers in their system.
A week passed by, Chuck was slowly recovering, physically at least. Mentally he still tried to think of ways to, well, off himself.
Each time he left the bed, he was surrounded by guards with stun guns, not even leaving him alone in the bathroom. When he ate, he was given easy breakable plastic cutlery and the guards searched his person after every meal.
Soon he was well enough to be moved to a psychical training center, but at nights he was still locked up in a cell, wearing nothing but a pair of the ugly white trousers and a blanket. No one ever came into his cell, no wonder after what had happened the last time they'd tried it. He had a small touch screen in his cell, keeping him occupied by skimming through NSA material, not being allowed any news broadcasts or access to the internet.
He had a session with a psychiatrist every day, and at first he said very little. That was before the plan of getting out of the NSA had started to form in his head, a plan that involved cooperating. At least to pretend to be cooperating.
As he spoke to the psychiatrist, he slowly made "progress", which of course was reported to General Beckman, finally believing that the human Intersect was on the road to recovery. He did his exercises in the gym and he stopped attacking the personnel even though he sometimes would give them meaningful glances when the evaluators weren't looking. Just for the feeling of it. Casey must have influenced him more ways than he'd realized.
The rewards he received for his good behavior were small but appreciated, he was moved to a more comfortable housing, still a cell but not so "cell-like" as it had been. He was given a soft bed which helped during the nightmares that stilled haunted him at nights. Nightmares of Casey lying on the ground, slowly bleeding to death as Chuck was tied up, unable to help him. He would wake up at nights, screaming and crying, frustration evident as his body shook from being tied up, his body obviously reliving their capture.
After a while, Chuck was allowed free access to the gym facility, and that's where he spent most of his days. He trained hard and pressed himself harder than what was good for him, but at least it kept his mind off Casey and the muscle burn was a welcomed pain, burning its way through his body, making him try harder to reach that level of pain, over and over.
Before all of this, Chuck would've never have turned to psychical exercise as a way of relieving stress, but once again, Casey's influence had affected him and it actually felt good doing the strenuous exercises.
Chuck was in the gym, surrounded by his usual band of guards as he was lifting weights. He was actually quite impressed by the look of his own biceps. He'd always been the skinny nerd and now… Well, he didn't match Devon but at least his arms weren't as straight as chop sticks anymore.
", could you come here please?" One of the guards called to him, gesturing at a lonely chair at the end of the gym.
Chuck put the weights down and walked over to the chair, slumping down whilst wiping his forehead. His brigade of guards gathered around him, upholstering their guns.
"Hey, guys… What's up? The Intersect remember, no touch, no kill…. " Chuck put his hands up in a mock defense, smiling at his guards.
"Hello, . " Chuck turned and saw General Beckman walking towards him.
"Hi, general, how are we this fine morning? Or night, is it sunny outside? I don't really know. What month is it?"
"Today is tonight, it's raining and the month is May. Is that all, or could I start briefing you?"
Chuck nodded at the general who stopped in front of him, arching her brow.
", we have decided to put you back on active duty. You we´ll be joining agents on assignments and using your skills to their benefit. Home base for you will be the NSA headquarters in L.A, where you will receive combat and weaponry training, preparing you for the real life as a NSA agent."
Chuck awed, his mouth almost ajar with surprise. He was getting out of here, he'd be going home! And it scared him. He actually longed to get back, his first thought had been to go home, not to go kill himself.
When the hell had that happened?
"We need you to return to your normal life, that's when you're at the most value to us, seeing things in everyday situations, but we need you to be able to defend yourself. That is why you will be moving in to a house close to the NSA HQ in L.A. Agent Walker will be moving in with you, so as to keep up your cover. Is that understood?"
"Sarah! Really? That's awesome, but…..But what about me being gone, for, I don't know how long?"
"Agent Walker has been keeping up your cover whilst you were gone. You two have travelled the globe, and sent frequent postcards. We've taken care of everything, , all you have to do is to go back."
She stared at him, her gazing eyes locking with his.
"All you have to do is to go back… And stay alive. We've got you under constant surveillance and will not tolerate any type of behavior like you've shown in the past. The psychiatrists have told me that you're stable, and I don't trust them, Mr. Bartowski, just so you know. If I think for a second that you're endangering other agents, I will give the order, understood?"
Chuck looked down on his feet, knowing full well that she was right, he never knew when those feelings hit him, and it could ambush him while he was training or just reading.
"Agent Walker will come and pick you up later tonight, you´ll be using a private jet to take you back to L.A and you will arrive at your location. Any questions ?"
"I don't know really, I mean… I can't believe I'm leaving… and its…it's just hard to grasp, you know?" He felt really exposed under the gaze of Beckman and he needed to get away.
"Can I go back to my room now please?"
The general smiled at him before stepping in closer. The guards around Chuck closed in on him, making sure he didn't try anything this close to his release. She put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a small, rare smile.
"You're going to be alright, . Maybe you don't believe me right now, but…" She leaned in closer and whispered in his ear, "I know that you will get better," She leaned back and winked at him before she turned on her heel and left, leaving Chuck utterly confused and not sure he'd actually seen the stone cold general wink at him. She obviously knew something he didn't.
The guards stepped away and left Chuck sitting by himself. He pulled his hand through his dark brown mop of hair and stood. The showers were calling for him and he strode towards the waiting watery heat.
With his guards in tow, he stripped out of his clothes and stepped in, ducking under the hot water spray before letting the water flow freely. It felt so good! His sore muscles ached and the feeling he had felt about leaving almost resembled joy. It felt nice… weird, but nice.
He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a fresh towel around his slender hips before he walked back to his cell, as always, with guards accompanying him. One of the guards opened the door and showed him inside.
"Hey Chuck," A sweet voice came from within the cell.
"Sarah? Oh, my god Sarah!!!" Chuck moved quickly into the cell, making his guards a bit uneasy as he gave her at big hug, almost not letting go after a minute's passed, "Sarah, it's so good to see you! I'm so glad you're here! How are you? Are we leaving now? I should get changed, shouldn't I?"
"Yes, you should Chuck," Sarah smiled, "It's alright, you're excused, I'll handle him." Sara told the guards.
"Are you sure agent Walker? He's not allowed visitors in his cell for…security reasons," The guard looked at Sarah, nodded at Chuck and Sarah in return gave Chuck a look of confusion.
"Yes, I'm sure. You are excused," Sarah told him.
The door close behind them and Sarah turned to face Chuck.
"What the hell was that all about?" She looked at him, not knowing what to believe.
"Ah…that….Nothing really, do you mind if I get changed?" Chuck smiled sheepishly, not wanting her to get the "right" idea about the brand new Chuck Bartowski.
"No, you do that, I've brought you some new clothes, they're on your bed," She watched as he closed the small distance to his bed, mesmerized by the "new" Chuck….He had become tight, hard and very toned. He looked like… almost like Captain Awesome, but more slender and not as buffed.
Chuck put the new clothes on, loving the feeling of wearing something that wasn't government issued. He sat down on his bed, just looking at her.
"It's nice to see you, Sarah. You look well."
"So do you Chuck. Very well, actually! You must have been training around the clock to get that body."
"Why, Agent Walker, are you flirting with me?" Chuck smiled at Sarah, feeling giddy bantering with her again.
Sarah laughed at him before becoming serious again.
"Chuck, why are those guards following your every move? And why shouldn't I be alone with you in your cell?"
Chuck felt his face become red. How the hell was he going to explain this? How was he going to explain all that inner rage that he'd felt, and sometimes still felt.
"It's hard to explain, Sarah, ok? There's been a lot going on and it's taken some time to process. I've not been feeling well, ok?"
"I know Chuck, I was there, remember? I saw what you did, what you almost did. God knows what would've happened if I hadn't showed up when I did."
She looked at him, sadness in her eyes. He hadn't realized that it had been hard on her as well; not only loosing Casey but being the one that had sent Chuck to this place. It was obvious the she needed to know more but she dropped the subject.
For now.
"I don't want to go over the details Sarah, I'm sure that the NSA nor the CIA has it on record," He sounded tired and rubbed his eyes.
"It's ok Chuck, why don't we get going? We've got a plane waiting for us at the airport."
They moved towards the door and Sarah knocked.
"This is Agent Walker, open the door."
She turned around and saw Chuck putting his hands behind his head, kneeling on the floor.
"What are you doing?"
"Just routine. You'll see when they open the door," Chuck felt embarrassed, that he was the cause of all this must be hard for Sarah to grasp.
Sarah stared at him before turning to the door as it opened. Two guards pointed their guns at Chuck and three more had stun guns at the ready.
She felt a cold chill pass through her body, what the hell had happened with Chuck?!
She passed through the wall of guards as she saw Chuck getting up to rest his hands on the wall, legs apart, before one of his guards approached slowly and started to search Chuck's clothes and body.
It took them a few minutes, thoroughness being the word, before he was allowed up.
As they walked down the corridor, making their way out of the building to meet the car that was going to take them to the airport, she noticed the guards casting long glances between her and Chuck, seeing them sighing with relief as he stepped into the waiting car.
Soon they arrived at the airport, climbing into the waiting plane, taking off quickly.
Chuck could practically feel the tension roll off his body, leaning back into the very comfortable chair.
"Why don't you try and get some sleep, Chuck? I need to go over a few things anyway."
"Okay, I'll just take a nap," Chuck was already halfway to dreamland and soon he was sleeping like a baby, arms kept close to his body, protecting himself even as he slept.
Sarah took a long look at him before looking at the laptop in front of her. She'd called her director and requested the file of one Charles Bartowski. Medical journals, statements from psychiatrists and videos. Videos showing Chuck attacking a guard with a syringe, piercing his neck when he didn't get his way. Videos showing Chuck lying half dead on the floor of his cell, pale, bleeding and smiling. And then there was a video showing Chuck beating the living daylight out of nurse, only to be dragged away by security guards.
She dried away the tears that had begun to gather in the corner of her eye.
"Casey… What the hell have you done to him?"
//Please review! It helps! *lol*