FATE
Chapter 5
A/N: Sorry for the delay, I'm trying to keep the quality up and not get ahead of myself. Thanks for all the reviews everyone left so far, and please keep letting me know how I'm doing. I enjoy all your reviews. I try to respond to everyone who has a log in, who says more than "update soon please". With that in mind please at least mildly enjoy the next chapter. Sorry Charah shippers but you're time is coming. I tried to get some Chuck/Sarah in this chapter but it just didn't fit. It was getting pretty long as it is. Thanks to KROBLUES for beta-ing for me. Mistakes are still mine.
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0005.5 A.S.L.
Los Angeles
CIA Special Training Station
Chuck yawned as he shuffled himself to the door of secure building, the bulletproof door looming in front of him ominously. Chuck patted himself down franticly and cursed at himself. Damn it, left my badge in the car again. Sigh... Chuck turned around and headed out to the parking lot, glad again that his parking spot was, in fact, right next to the entrance to the building. Snagging his badge from the visor where he'd left it Chuck extricated himself from the car in time to almost bump into one the agents, trip over his own feet and as he began falling to the ground he inadvertently grabbed onto the agent, burying his face in her skirt and knocking her onto the ground with him in the process. Chuck turned several shades of red as he did his best to extricate himself from the poor girls lap and help her to her feet.
"Um, I oh so very sorry about that...uh, yeah." Chuck muttered as quickly as possible. More awesomeness from the eternally coordinated Chuck. Why doesn't the Intersect fix this?
"That's OK sir. It's my fault I wasn't watching where I was going." The agent said. Cause I was staring at your cute ass. "I'll just get going inside then."
"Sorry again, uh, I don't know your name, I'm sorry." Chuck said, rambling and embarrassed.
"Lisa. Agent Lisa Anderson. Don't feel bad, I just got here last week. I haven't classed up yet so I don't know anybody. So you didn't forget it." Lisa said, smiling widely. I hope he's in my class...I hope he's in my class... She chanted in her mind, taking in the sight of the tall handsome man in front of her.
"So, Agent Lisa Anderson what are you here for?" Chuck asked her as they walked into the CIA training center. Chuck put his access badge carefully away after using to finally gain access to the building, noting mentally which pocket it was in now. Oh, of course the hot blonde I just fell on is called Lisa... what else would her name be?! Chuck's mind stated to himself incredulously.
"Oh… um… master level stealth and infiltration, Seduction level two and advanced counter-surveillance" Lisa said, kicking herself for stuttering in front of the cute brown eyed agent.
"Well, Agent Lisa Anderson, I guess you'll be seeing a lot of me then." Chuck said, pausing.
Oh, yeah! I'm so in.
"I'm Instructor Carmichael. You're in all of my classes." Chuck continued, "At least we know you've got stealth down." Chuck finished speaking with a grin on his face.
Shit. Not in.
"That's...great." Lisa said, recovering as quickly as she could from her disappointment. "I'm not even in class yet and I'm already falling down on the job."
"Uh, you're going to have to work on your puns." Chuck said laughing a little at the early morning attempt at humor. "Come on, I'll let you into the classroom. I have to go to my office before class starts, so don't let anyone else fall for you, I mean, on you." Chuck said, surprised with himself that he was a little flustered. Dear god, it's just her middle name, get over it already.
Chuck left the poor girl at the class room and made his way to his office. Once again, it was time for his morning routine of headaches. It had been a week since he'd been forced to come to the office. Thankfully most of the training he gave didn't require him to be in the office. The break in classes and random missions had let him get away long enough to make a short trip to Hawaii and visit Morgan, who surprisingly was still pursuing his dream of being a Benihana's hibachi chef. It had been refreshing to spend a couple of days just vegging out and eating Japanese BBQ, though at this point it would be a while before he could bring himself to eat any more of it. The only downside to the trip was the constant blubbering from Morgan about screwing things up with Anna.
Opening his office and pulling himself into his chair Chuck slipped his access card into the card reader, activating his computer console. Chuck sighed as he saw the number of emails he had to work through. Chuck didn't begrudge the work. He preferred it immensely to the alternative of field missions. However, one thing Intersect 2.0 or any of its later sub-versions had failed to fix was the headache that followed every flash. The scary part was there were one hundred and forty-five potential headaches waiting from him in his inbox. Sorting through the emails and opening the safe ones Chuck was able to eliminate about half of them without flashing. Not wanting to push his luck that morning Chuck logged out and headed for the classroom. He'd save the flashing for later.
Standing up from his desk Chuck stretched, and headed for the classroom. He peaked in the door and noticed Agent Anderson was still the only student to arrive. Chuck, still recovering from the morning's incident, decided to hit the break room for a coffee. He was feeling a little sluggish, having for some reason he couldn't think of, skipped his morning run to Starbucks. It's going to be a really loooong three months.
Returning to the classroom with a pair of Coffee mugs and every available type of sugar and cream stuffed in his shirt pocket, Chuck moved over to Agent Anderson.
"Right, so, I..uh, didn't know how you like your coffee so I brought, well, all the options we had." Chuck said as he handed her a cup. Reaching into this shirt pocket he fished out the assorted sugars and creams and held them out for her to choose. She selected two creamers and smiled up at him from her seat. Chuck tossed the remaining items onto his desk at the front of the classroom.
"Thanks Instructor Carmichael, I forgot to get some this morning, and you kind of locked me in here." Lisa said, as she added her creamer to her coffee.
"Oh, god, I'm sorry Agent Anderson, I'm a little out of it today. It's unlocked now feel free to wonder the halls now." Chuck responded apologetically.
"So what's the policy regarding Instructor / Student relationships around here?" Lisa asked deciding to go for broke.
"Oh, there's no rules like that here. This isn't the Farm, Agent Anderson. Although I think unless you're into girl on girl you're going to be out of luck. I'm the only male Instructor here." Chuck responded innocently, obviously missing her point.
"Oh look, the rest of the class is starting to arrive now. Let's get started shall we." Chuck said as he moved to the front of the class.
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0005.6 A.S.L.
Los Angeles
CIA Special Training Center
Chuck sat at the edge of the gymnasium mentally noting the progress of the students as they moved around the track. Finding himself staring at a certain agent's backside several times he decided to leave the PT supervision to another instructor. Chuck looked around and smiled. Perfect.
"Instructor Wu, I need some lunch. You want something from the deli?"
"Chuck, you call me Instructor Wu one more time and I'll kick your scrawny ass. My name is Anna, and for crying out loud, when are you going to learn? Students are like servants. Observe." Spinning around and looking around the gym she located her prey.
"Anderson. Martin. Get over here." Wu shouted. The two agents skidded to a stop and sprinted over to Anna, a slight look of fear in the two students' eyes.
"Uh, Agent in training Anderson, reporting." Anderson said as she snapped to attention in front of Anna. "Agent in training Martin reporting." Agent Martin said parroting agent Anderson as she finished.
"Kinda slow on the response don't ya think agents?" Wu challenged, her hands on her hips menacingly. Both agents were about to respond when Anna cut them off, mid thought. "Never mind, I think that's my answer. Now, we haven't had lunch yet. Chuck what were you thinking of having?" shifting her gaze to Chuck, who was wearing a smirk on his face as he watched Anna interact with the "Agents in Training" Man, she REALLY takes this seriously...
Deciding to play along, no need to undermine her 'authority' over a sandwich, Chuck spoke up, "I'll take a Chuck."
Anna snarked, and both agents stared, with slightly incredulous looks on their faces. "I'll need it before..." Chuck glanced at his watch, "...noon. Instructor Wu what sounds good to you?" Chuck said, his grin now in full force as he turned toward Anna.
Anna stood looking at Chuck, apparently in thought. "I'm thinking, noodles, and a Morgan special" pausing before she continued noting the slight panic now seeping form the two agents, "That's Sizzling shrimp for those of you who haven't been paying attention at lunch." Disdain present in her last words, at the lack of observation of her charges.
Both agents audibly sighed, thanking the gods they didn't have to figure out what a "Morgan Special" was. Question was, where the hell do you get it from.
"I'm thinking I'd like my lunch by noon as well. We'll be at the beach. I suggest you get moving. I'll be thinking of what happens if you're late or wrong while you...seriously?! You're still here!" Anna said, the incredulity quite evident in her tone. Anderson and Martin sprinted off.
"You shouldn't be staring at the students' asses, Chuck. I catch you cheating on Sarah and you won't know what hit you."
Chuck flushed bright red at being caught. "You know I'd never do anything like that Anna. Don't you worry."
Changing the subject as quickly as he could "You know you're a natural at this, Anna, you should have been a Marine drill instructor." Chuck said.
"Oh please, Marines are a bunch of pussies." Anna said with disdain. A passing student laughed at her remark as he ran by.
Anna stalked off toward him, "Oh you think something's funny do you?! The wall, Now." Agent in Training Harris blanched like he'd been asked to cut off his own leg, and ran for The Wall.
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Lisa was thinking hard as she left the building. Trying to think of where she'd seen Chuck's "chuck" before. Noticing Martin was falling behind she admonished him. "Let's go Martin, I'm not going to fall prey to one of Instructor Wu's evil plans. Sizzling Shrimp is easy. There's a place down in China Town. It's in the window. You'll see it. The beach they're talking about is by the Santa Monica Pier. I'll meet you there. Now move it."
Lisa suddenly had an idea; she stopped in her tracks and ran back into the building. Please let Instructor Carmichael be alone. Lisa quickly found him, running headlong into his arms. This time Chuck was ready for her as he wasn't bent over the door or his car this time. Sliding slightly to the side and gripping Lisa by her arms he brought her up against his side, saving her from bouncing to the floor.
"You know, someone might think you're doing this on purpose, this running into me thing." Chuck said.
"Um..." Lisa said mumbling under her breath. Damn it, why is so damn charming.
"So, Instructor Wu didn't say how I'm to figure out what a 'Chuck' is, so I thought I'd just ask you." Lisa tried.
"Well, points for thinking out of the box. But I'll do one better, come on I'll show you." Turning Lisa towards the door as he prodded her toward it, Chuck stopped a serious look on his face. "Provided Instructor Wu never hears anything about this. I'm sure she'd kick my ass right along with yours, if she found out."
Lisa smiled. "Not a word." Finally I get him alone. It only took three freaking weeks.
Chuck kept them engaged in lively, innocent discussion while he drove them to his old haunt.
Lisa's eyes widened. Oh, duh. "Lou's. I knew that. I've had one before. I totally forgot."
"You've been to Lou's? Why were you way over here in this corner of Burbank?"
Lisa paused. Oh god. He can't know I'm trying to figure out his past. "Oh, uh well. I got lost coming back to the school house and I was hungry. I saw the sandwich shop sign from the road. The Chuck sounded perfect. Some creepy Indian guy in a Buymore uniform ordered it before me but it sounded good so I tried it. It wasn't on the menu so I asked the girl behind the counter what it was. I get the feeling she almost didn't want to tell me. It was weird... Holy crap. You're Chuck... the sandwich was named after you? Instructor Wu calls you..."
"Yeah, we're going to keep that on the down low, got it?" Chuck said interrupting Agent Anderson's ramble. "A turkey, muenster and egg bread sandwich. You should try you're Chuck hot, they're way better that way." Chuck offered, again his unintended innuendo escaping him.
"I will." Lisa said, smoldering in her seat. Jesus I haven't wanted anything more than that in ages. Hot Chuck...mmm.
"Uh, agent Lisa? Earth to Anderson." Lisa realized she was staring at him and quickly looked away. "Do I have something on my face?" Chuck said, maneuvering for a view of his face in the rear view mirror, as he put the car in park, looking for the phantom blemish.
"No. I'm sorry. Let's get you that sandwich. Agent Martin is going to freak if we don't show up there." Lisa offered hoping to distract Chuck from her more than obvious gazing.
"Let's" Chuck said simply and extracted himself from his car, trotting around the car and opening the door for Lisa.
Lisa offered a big smile and a, "Thanks" as he helped her out onto the sidewalk. They moved into the sandwich shop. No sooner had he entered the eyes of certain sandwich shop owner lit up.
"Chuck!" Lou squealed before schooling herself, noticing the blonde coming in with him, "I thought I told you to go elsewhere for your sandwiches."
"What?! You've never enforced that ban before." Chuck pleaded.
"Yeah, well you've never brought a date before. I thought you came to see me? Are you telling me it was just for the sandwich all this time? Take a number Chuck. Like everyone else." Lou said, a serious look on her face.
Chuck smiled slightly as he remembered the last time he had to do that and snagged a number from the red dispenser, directing Lisa to a seat along the wall. "There's nothing to do but wait." He said shrugging his shoulders as he slumped into a chair, next to Lisa.
Lisa sat next to Chuck enjoying to small amount of contact the closeness was allowing. Lisa was contemplating whether she liked or dislike Lou. On one hand they obviously had a history together that Lisa didn't, but she was obviously threatened by Lisa's presence with Chuck. She had also inadvertently revealed a small but significant fact; Chuck didn't normally bring anyone or at least any girls with him to the sandwich shop. And he offered to take me here. Score.
If Chuck hadn't been completely oblivious to Lisa's attraction to him, he could be considered borderline cruel for his following statement.
"You know, this is the first time I've even shared a Chuck with someone besides Lou."
Lisa froze in her seat. Oh god, oh god, oh god. Speak damn it. Say something you silly girl. "Well, thank you Instructor Chuck, for sharing."
"No problem." Chuck flashed her a big smile. Not a Sarah smile but close. "Just don't ask for the imported salami. Trust me."
"I'm not much for salami anyway." Lisa replied.
"Fifty-six"
Chuck jumped up. "That's me Lou. Fifty-six." Chuck nearly shouted, offering the brunette his little number tab. "Two Chuck's please, hot."
"There's only one hot Chuck I know of, but two it is." Lou offered back as she moved around behind the counter preparing the sandwiches.
Chuck smiled then stopped. His neck and then his face began turning several shades of red as he snuck a sly glance back at Lisa. Oh dear God. Ellie is right. I'm just really, really dumb when it comes to women. He realized the very obvious way that Lisa was staring at his back side and the unconscious flirting he had been laying on the poor girl. I've been inadvertently leading Agent Anderson on. I'm an Idiot.
Leaning on the counter, Chuck watched Lou finish up the sandwiches. When she was done he moved over to the register and waited for Lou to bag up the sandwiches. Lou handed him the sandwiches.
"I let it go this time. But next time you cheat on me and bring another woman into my shop, amnesty is over, Chuck. Got it?" Lou said, the flirtatious mirth dripping off her words. "I miss you Chuck. You don't stop by enough. Now make yourself scarce and take the tramp with you."
"Thanks Lou. You're the best." Chuck said as he leaned over and placed a peck on Lou's cheek. Lou blushed slightly as he stood back up. "I'll stop by more often."
"Alone, Chuck. Alone." Lou responded, as he headed for the door with Lisa in tow.
As they made their way to the car Lisa spoke up, "So, are all the girls in L.A. in love with you?"
Chuck laughed politely, he seen this coming, "No, I don't think so. I used to work around here. I dated a chick in that store over there, too. Actually, it used to be an Orange Orange. It was good times. Lots of.....yogurt."
Lisa gave his a questioning look at the last line, knowing he was changing something from what he was going to say. She was expecting a response but he didn't offer one and she let it drop.
Chuck fired up the car and pulled it out and into traffic. Chuck's driving style allowed them to arrive a few minutes earlier than the dead line, and with his passenger white knuckled. "Holy crap Instructor, you can really drive."
Chuck just grinned at his passenger and hopped out of his car. Chuck and Lisa found and empty bench and sat down. Handing Chuck his sandwich, Lisa pulled hers out and bit into it. "Mmm, this really is better hot!" Lisa said, dirty, dirty thoughts running though her head.
"Oh, look, there's Agent Martin. Oh that sucks for you guys, It's twelve-o-five. I guarantee you Instructor Wu is waiting somewhere around here. "
"Yes, I am, Instructor Carmichael, and you're a big push over." Anna said as she appeared behind them, "Anderson, that was smart and out of the box. Martin on the other hand...", she trailed off as she stalked off towards the soon to be chastised Martin.
"I think we'll leave those two to get better acquainted. Come on I'll take you back to the school house." Chuck offered as he gathered himself up, and helped Lisa to her feet.
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0000.12.31 A.S.L.
Mazatlan, MX
Senior Frog's
Moving through the crowd Chuck took in the sights and sounds of the famous Senior Frog's bar. On the peninsula of the Mexican Baha it stood as a reminder of just how much money American's are willing to spend to feel like home in a faraway place. It was full of College students on some sort of break. Chuck didn't care much which one. It made no difference to him.
"Sir, your cervesa." A waiter was standing in front of him with the beer he had ordered. Chuck reached out and grabbed it. Earlier that day he'd taken a trip to the Pacifico Factory. Thank God the beer in his hand wasn't from there. The Pacifico Factory was right on the river. Anyone who took one look at that river would never drink another beer from there again. The amount of trash and human waste floating in it was enough to make Chuck green in the face. Bottled water only, the rest of the trip.
Taking a sip of the imported Budwiser, Chuck thanked his lucky stars for good old America and its non-crap covered rivers.
Scanning the crowd again Chuck didn't see anyone he recognized and didn't flash on anyone. I guess this will be a good day after all.
Chuck looked at his watch and his mood fell a little. The orange and black hands of his watch indicated the time was 23:59. One minute more and it will have been one year since Sarah left and two years since Intersect 2.0. What a drag.
Chuck watched it flip over to 00:00 and sighed, taking another look around the crowd when his head erupted in a searing white pain, dropping him to his knees He pressed his palms to his head trying to alleviate the overwhelming pain. This had to be some new type of new flash he'd never experienced. It couldn't have been his watch that set him off; he'd had it for a year now.
Inside Chuck's head an audio recording began playing. Outside his head he was being rushed to the local hospital, his body limp like he had experienced cardiac arrest.
Chuck if you're hearing this it means something bad happened and you have the Intersect 2.0 instead of me. Whether I'm dead or not, hell, I'm dead aren't I? It would probably be the only reason you have this in your head. I don't know how we got here but we are, so I've got things to tell you.
First, don't ever trust Beckman. It's hard not to place some kind of trust in her but do your best to be one step ahead of her at all times. She's a master of strategies and will always make decisions based on saving her hide. Next, you can always trust Sarah to do the right thing. She'll kill herself to do it too, so watch out for her. I know you can now; you have everything you need in your head. Casey is, well, special, if he ever lets you speak more than two words let him know I don't harbor any bad feelings toward him, he was just doing his job.
This next part you're not going to like, but it's easier for me to tell you now since, well, you can't hurt me. While I did what I did to you in Stanford for your own good, Jill was not part of that plan. The whole stay away from Chuck to help the separation thing was my fault. It was my idea. I had been using my new seduction skills and I stole her away from you. You may not believe me but of all the stupid and evil things I done in my life I regret that the most. Even more than sending you the old Intersect. I hope to God I didn't send this one to you too!
Finally when this message stops playing, there will be some things available to you that even Beckman doesn't and should never know about. There is a whole other level of Intersect in there with the upload that you wouldn't have had access to before. Ways to modify reports, other agents private files, including Beckman's, and certain information regarding your past that you have the right to know. They were in the old Intersect but the trigger for them would have been your mom and...well, it's in the file. Check it out. You'll understand why your parents worked so very hard to keep you from this life.
I did try several times to get Sarah to leave with me, every time failed, she really didn't even think about it. It was always you. Hopefully fate has stopped screwing with you two and this is old news, if not I hope this information helps you and her be happy, together. You both deserve each other, in a good way.
Oh, one more thing. Once you wake up, yes you look like you're just about dead right now. Thought you should know that. Say, "Orion's Belt doesn't fit." for your file and 'Beckman is an Anaconda' for some interesting tidbits that I've left for you. Best save that second one for when you're alone.
Very, very alone.
Everything that I own that didn't go away in the will from my first death is yours. There are some safe houses, and some decent bank accounts, cars, etcetera. I want you to know that you were my only real friend. I'm sorry for everything and I'm proud to have known you.
Bryce Larkin signing out.
Chuck sat up and opened his eyes. Wow, what a rush. Oww, the PAIN! Chuck looked around and noticed, through the white haze of said pain, the startled look of two nurses who look like they'd seen a ghost. Chuck looked down at his feet which incidentally enough were missing the shoes that had been on them. He did, however, have a nice little toe tag. So that's why they think they've seen a ghost. I was 'dead'. Guess I'm glad it was short audio file. It would be a bit hard to claw through six feet of dirt. I wonder if they put you six feet under here or not... The intersect informed him that there were no regulations concerning the depth of corpses in the country of Mexico. More fun facts brought to you by the U.S. Government.
Chuck shifted himself off the gurney and headed for the front door of the clinic he was in. Strangely enough no one tried to stop him. He looked around and got his bearings. I need to get to my hotel room. I've got some...
Another flash hit him. This one was like the normal ones and like Bryce promised, about his parents. Chuck carefully started reading though the files as he hailed a taxi. Bryce, you finally game me something I wanted.
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0000.3 A.L.C.
Washington D.C.
The Pentagon
Several agents had attempted to stop the striking blonde stalking through the Pentagon, luckily people in this building knew exactly what an Executive CIA badge meant and she was mostly unmolested as she stalked towards General Beckman's office. There had been one Marine who had either had too much coffee that morning or was just mainly incompetent who tried to stop her. He was on his way to the hospital with several broken fingers. Beckman had several offices, but Sarah had narrowed her location down to this one.
Having been warned by the front desk of Sarah Walker's impending unannounced visit, Beckman gathered her thoughts in preparation for the inevitable verbal showdown. She already had planned on calling her in for this talk but it was to be on her terms. Now she had a very angry CIA agent homing in on her like damn missile, with the potential to be lethal if things didn't go well. Beckman had already moved her gun to her lap in preparation for the visit. She hadn't qualified with it in nearly a decade, but it had rarely left her side in all that time.
Sarah had reached the doors of Beckman's office expecting some type of delay tactic but, instead she was greeted by a stoically reserved marine with a side arm on his hip who opened the office door for her and added, "She's expecting you."
Of, course, nice try at a power play, Beckman. It's not going to work on me. You're messing with the wrong woman.
Sarah brought herself to a stop in front of Beckman's desk, her quest at an end.
"Beckman, you are going to explain this all to me, and for your sake it will make sense." Sarah finished, a very evident edge in her voice.
"Sit down, Agent Walker, and we'll discuss this." Beckman fired back trying to match the level of disdain with Sarah's.
"No. You stand. We're going for a walk. I'm not having this conversation in here." Sarah fired back, undeterred. She moved toward the door and stared at the General, daring her not to comply.
Beckman sat at her desk, hoping that her desk, a symbol of power, would cause her assailant to break down and keep the discussion in the room. No such luck.
"You're not moving. You should be." Sarah spat out. The menace in her voice clearly evident, every feature of her face and body communicating a very real threat to the general's person.
Beckman succumbed to the pressure of the blonde and stood up from the desk. "I know where we can talk." Beckman said as she slid the weapon into her purse as she prepared to leave her office. The weapon and its current location were not missed by Sarah.
"I bet you do. Which is why we're not going to go there."
Sarah turned around a headed out of the office. Moving back through the building Sarah looked like she was taking the general for a walk. The way she padded along behind the much taller woman made her appear like a lap dog following her owner. A sight not missed by most of the staff that they passed on their way.
After finally clearing the myriad of security check points Sarah motioned for the waiting taxi. Beckman looked incredulously at Sarah, but she didn't respond. She just pointed at the cab's open door and waited for Beckman to enter. She did, not wanting to start something on the sidewalk in front of the Pentagon.
Sarah slid in behind Beckman and nodded to the driver. He nodded to Sarah and left the curb.
"In case you're wondering about national security" Sarah said while taking the identification of the driver and handing it to Beckman for verification. "He's cleared higher than either of us and he's been verified as not part of the Ring. Feel free to speak in here."
Beckman nodded tersely as she pushed the identification back through window. "I don't know what you're here for Agent Walker. The Intersect project is over. You already submitted your report. I didn't have any further comments for you, so I don't understand the meaning of this visit."
Sarah let her finish her tirade. She anticipated Beckman's need to keep the illusion of control. "Are you done Beckman? I'm not here to play games with you. I'm here so you can explain yourself. You and I both know the Intersect program wasn't shut down. It's moving on and I should be part of it. I was in on this project before you ever got involved. Secondly, this move to keep Agent Bartowski as an NSA protected asset is complete crap."
Beckman interjected, not used to being talked to, that was her job. "Oh, please, you're just pissed because you got pulled from your latest agent boy toy. Yes, you were part of the Omaha project before me and that means you should be even more aware of the reasons for necessity for a clean break from this project. I don't know where you heard that the Intersect program wasn't over but I hope you didn't pay much for that information. It's wrong. I'll have my secretary send you the original report signed by the DNI. It's over Agent Walker, now get over it and do your job." Satisfied with her retort Beckman sat back against the seat, her hands clenched over her purse on her lap, her lips pursed in a show of finality.
"Once again, I'm not impressed. Why was the team not made aware of the changes made to the Intersect? That's just irresponsible even for you, unless there's something else going on, in which case it would mean you're hiding something from us. So, talk. If I ever find out you lied or held back from this conversation I'll come back and ensure you are unable to continue."
"I'm sorry but there are some elements of that project were and still are classified above you. The CIA might have a disdain for the rules but the NSA does not. I'm not breaking the law because you looked at me severely, or made open ended threats. For the safety of the Asset and his family all ties with CIA and the NSA have been severed except a direct line to me in case of emergency or a relapse of his abilities. I can tell you that after several attempts to recreate a functional Intersect, that the project was abandoned. Without the help of Orion our research has come to a halt."
"This is bullshit. When was the last time a handler wasn't allowed to know all the details of their operation? What do you mean 'our research'? Who else is doing research on it?" Sarah asked.
"This time, Agent Walker, there is no more that I can discuss regarding that subject. Now if you don't have anything else, you'll let me out of this car. My security detail is itching to raid this car at the moment." Beckman stated with a measure of triumph in her voice, as she looked over her shoulder at the waiting vehicles. She turned around waiting for Sarah's response when she noticed she was the only one in the car. Even the driver was gone. Damn spooks.
_______
A lone figure slipped back into the shadows and removed his earwig. He chuckled to himself and then stopped his happy thoughts. Nothing said by Beckman was good, but it was all good news on Sarah's end. She was fighting for them even against the very long odds she was presented with. The lone figure wanted to run up to her as she passed him and draw her into a deep hug. He only stopped himself by remembering that Sarah would be disappointed in him if he were to break the rules. He watched Sarah and what was apparently her new partner walk past him and down through an alley and disappear around a corner. Please wait for me, Sarah. I'll fix this.
_______
Sarah pulled her coat closer around her body as she walked along side her new partner. She felt alone. She wrapped her coat around her to try and feel warmth. It didn't matter that it was August in Washington D.C. and it was swelteringly hot outside. She felt cold and alone without Chuck. These feelings of separation were new to her. She'd rarely had anything to hold on to in her life. She'd certainly had never had someone to hold on to, to hope for a sight of, to miss, to be missed by. It surprised her, these revelations, she had thought her ability to be truly attached to someone had been drilled out of her in the years before he'd come into her life. Chuck will make this work. I'll wait for you, Chuck.
_______
0005.7 A.S.L.
Los Angeles
CIA Special Training Center
Chuck didn't like getting up before ten o'clock on Saturdays. This, along with the fact that his coffee machine had suddenly stopped working didn't bode well for the day. On top of all that General Beckman arranged a conference this morning at six o-freaking-clock. She has no damn idea what day it is, I bet. Chuck had stopped at a seven-eleven and snagged a black coffee, to match his mood. Chuck knew what this was going to be. A mission, and probably have to kill someone 'in the name of the greater good'. Chuck wasn't fond of the greater good anymore. He was still hopelessly bound to it and would in no case abandon it, but hey, who actually likes their job?
As he pulled up to the building his senses came to full alert. The building was supposed to deserted on Saturdays. No exceptions. Yet there was a car in the parking lot. It seemed familiar too, but he couldn't place it. Chuck reached into his glove box and retrieved a set of knives and concealed them under his blazer. Chuck sat for a full two minutes and let the Intersect scan the building and surrounding areas for anything out of place or that could present a threat. He saw nothing. This worried Chuck more than anything else. Usually if there was danger or something out of place the Intersect helped him figure it out. He had come up empty. Either there was nothing actually out of place, besides the car, or something had just outsmarted the entire U.S. Government. Leaving his car he moved swiftly towards the door, suddenly wary of every sound and swaying branch. Everything is normal. Why? Chuck simply couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong or about to go wrong.
As he entered the building Chuck accessed the in wall security panel behind the normal panel and pulled up the surveillance. Ah Ha! There was someone in the briefing room. A blonde. Could it be her? No, Beckman had always been so adamant about separating us. Why, I have no idea, but it was something she worked very hard at. Chuck couldn't see her face and without going to his office he couldn't pull up the recorded surveillance. Whoever it was, had to be good or very very good. Three people had access to the building on Saturdays. Himself, Anna, and General Beckman herself. It wasn't Anna Wu or Beckman. Chuck began to move toward the conference room hoping to gain something about the intruder before entering the room. Chuck had diverted the camera feed to his wrist and was waiting for the figure to move or look in another direction.
Chuck didn't have any doubt he could survive whoever was in there but he was hoping against hope that he wouldn't have to. Chuck paused at the door and checked the camera again. She was still sitting there, unmoving and silent. Her back was to the door and he slipped into the room without her noticing. Well, I'm going to go with 'good' not 'very, very good'.
Moving into position behind her he readied himself for what he feared was the inevitable. His hand moved for one of the knives stashed in his jacket, when he stopped. He noticed an almost imperceptible scar on the woman's neck. A scar he'd seen inflicted on her. Moving his hand back into the jacket and placing the knife back into its sheath he spoke.
"Agent Anderson, explain yourself."
Lisa jumped out of her seat at the sound of the voice behind her. She spun around at the same time, her gun in her hand pointed at where the voice had come from. Chuck wasn't there, he had already moved to her side in the shadows. He emerged enough that she could identify him and she visible relaxed and returned her gun to her waist holster.
"Instructor Carmichael, I didn't hear you come in." Lisa said as her heart pounded in her chest. How in the hell does he do that!?
"Well that's kind of the point isn't it? Now, you're in the school house on a non-authorized day after being reassigned upon completion of your classes. Secondly I'm not Instructor Carmichael to you anymore, just Carmichael. You're not a student here anymore." Chuck said with a mixture of mirth and questioning in his voice.
"Right, you know, one of these days someone's just going to shoot you if you keep surprising people like that." Lisa responded, sitting as she continued. "General Diane Beckman, the Director of the NSA contacted me through my CIA relay and instructed me to be here for some kind of conference. I don't know why but I'm going to guess it involves you somehow." It's like someone hates me.
Lisa hadn't taken Chuck's refusal to go out with her very well. In the short time she knew him she fell completely head over heels for him. Eventually they had become friends again but Lisa had been a little glad when it was over. The relationship she had been holding out for had never developed, despite her continued attempts to create something more than just friendship. He had been understanding and sincere, kind and gentle about all of it. Something that she hadn't really expected from a top Agent. It only made it worse. His touch, on the rare occasions they did touch, had however always been comforting to say the least. If Chuck lays so much as one more finger on me I'll just suck on it...he won't be able to resist then. God, this is going to be awesome and suck, whatever it is.
"We'll get to the bottom of this in a minute I guess. Beckman should be on any time now." Chuck stated as he sat in his own chair across from Agent Anderson tapping his watch as they waited in near silence.
A minute later Chuck's sipping noises from his seven-eleven twenty ounce coffee were interrupted by the screen in at the front of the room lighting up and Beckman's upper half filling the screen. She was in her uniform as usual.
"Well, Beckman, to what do we owe the discomfort of being woken up so damn early on a Saturday? Oh and I must say you look practically garish in your pajamas. I have to assume you sleep, eat and work in the same clothes because I've never seen you in anything but, no matter what the hour or day." Chuck said with every bit of his disdain for the General practically oozing out of his words.
Lisa was beyond shocked. Her mouth hanging open like a cartoon characters. She turned and stared at Chuck, shocked again that he hadn't burst into flames yet. He just openly mocked and ridiculed the DIRECTOR of the god damn NSA and she didn't even blink. Who the hell is Agent Carmichael?!
"I see you're in a good mood this morning Agent Carmichael. Could it perhaps have something to do with your new parter for this next mission?" Beckman said, not missing a beat.
Chuck just smiled and responded, "Nope, you just repulse me, that's all. I'll need the justification for this mission if I'm going to agree to participate in it."
Lisa was about to go into cardiac arrest. Never in her five years in the CIA had she witnessed such blatant disrespect for a senior officer and not watched that person's career get sucked immediately into a black hole. Instead, it seemed like this wasn't even a bad day at the office. Something is going on here that I'm not seeing. There's no other explanation.
Chuck sensing the level of discomfort of Agent Anderson looked at her and said quietly but loud enough for Beckman to hear. "I'd tell you why this is how it is but it would be a waste of an NSA hit squad. Beckman would send a cleaner team, I'd bury them all and then we'd be at an impasse, again." Speaking louder, "And that wouldn't do would it, general?"
"Bar- Carmichael, I don't really have time for you this morning. I've sent the data package for justification. Your mission is simple. You and Agent Anderson will pose as a newly married couple in Venice, Italy and ferret out two terrorists who are staging a massive nuclear attack there in the city. Several other agents, both NSA and CIA have been sent in and never heard from again. This is obviously where you come in. I've sent you an encrypted photo with the details on the agents already sent. Your secondary mission is to find out the status of those agents." Pausing momentarily before continuing with an exasperated look on her face, "Go ahead Carmichael, you undoubtedly have questions, you always do."
"Just one. Why so exasperated? You called the meeting, not me." Chuck said.
The screen went blank.
Lisa didn't know if she should scream with joy or anguish. She decided to stick with joy for now.
Lisa screamed with joy in her head, and then she remembered something from the brief. "Bar-" bar- what? What was Carmichael's real name? There was no other explanation for the strange prefix the general had added to his name. Chuck had gotten the General flustered enough that she had almost slipped and called him something else. It had to do with whatever that 'something' was.
Lisa couldn't believe her luck. Not only am I going to working closely with the famous Agent Carmichael, I'm going to be married to him! Ok, so it wasn't real and there would be tensions and eventually it would be over but, oh who freaking cares, I'm going to be with Bar-Carmichael for the foreseeable future. Yes! Lisa mentally pumped her fist in the air.
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Lisa stood and headed for the door. It appeared that the General and Carmichael had more to discuss. Chuck's finger was on the redial button but he hadn't pushed it yet.
Lisa spoke over her shoulder, "I'll be waiting in the break room."
Chuck nodded silently and returned his eyes to the screen. Pressing the button finally as the door closed behind her.
Beckman's image reappeared on the screen. She hadn't scheduled more time but she knew he would be calling back.
"I knew you weren't finished." Beckman said, tersely. "There is something you should know before you read that file. You know one of the agents in that file."
Oh, God, not Sarah...
"It's not Agent Walker, it's Agent Casey. He was the last to go in and fall off the grid. He was on the mission only a week when it went off target. I don't know who the other agents are. There is a lot of paranoia running thought the offices in D.C. and the agencies don't trust each other. The information regarding the CIA agents involved was passed to me already encoded into the image. Apparently some people on Capitol Hill only trust you. Before you ask, understand that I am aware of your undying flame for Agent Walker, but if you let that jeopardize this mission or Agent Anderson's life I will make life very very hard for you as long as I am able." Beckman said.
Chuck responded incredulously, "If you think I would knowingly endanger someone other than you, you are sorely mistaken. Secondly, quit with the damn games. You don't have to try to trick me into this mission. Just tell the truth for once, it's fun and it will make you feel good I swear. Is that too hard to ask? If you had simply said, 'Agent Casey needs your help' then you could have avoided all the stupid talk about justifications. And since that's more than likely what the justification is, you really have wasted your time. You need to play more chess. Your gamesmanship is truly slipping." Chuck snorted at the screen in disgust before hitting the end button on his remote. That woman is incorrigible. Switching gears in his head. This is bad if Casey is in trouble.
Chuck flipped open his wrist watch and moved the screen for his office computer to the conference room. Using the controls on his wrist he navigated through the new files on his computer and pulled up the agent's files. Seven agents gone missing in Venice. Maybe they all just got tired of your crap Beckman and decided Venice was as good a place as any to settle down. One file did worry him. Name, aliases, birth date, sex all were missing from the file. It looked more like a CIA place holder for a new recruit than an accomplished agent's case file, The only shred of evidence that it was actually a person was a date of service, and the date of the mission briefing. Nothing to indicate who he was looking for, of course. Retarded, I can't find someone with NO details. Sometimes…
Chuck skipped through the remainder of the agent's files and locked their pictures in his head for later. mentally added a reminder to cross reference the date of service with the files in his head. Specifically, the ones he wasn't supposed to have. Moving on to the mission file Chuck was surprised by the sparseness of the included mission packet. There was scarcely more than General Beckman had already outlined. There were a few grainy photos of the would-be terrorists and financial information that had no doubt already been tracked to the ground. Chuck didn't flash on either of the photos but attributed that to their abysmal quality. Chuck scanned over a few maps and diagrams that had been obviously scanned into a computer, the notes on the edges unreadable. Chuck tried to use the Intersect to clean up the images but didn't get anything more from the Intel packages. Nothing like going into the lion's den without any information or plan. Obviously, I'm going to have to do this all on my own. Nothing new there.
Now it's time to go face Agent "Infatuated".
Before leaving the conference room Chuck typed out a scathing review of the mission packet and set it back to the Beckman with a note attached. "You idiots should have called me first. This is sloppy. Love, CC."
Chuck snugged the wrist computer under his sleeve and headed for the door. As he'd figured, Agent Anderson had been trying to listen in. He heard the pattering of footsteps charging around the corner as he opened the door. Lucky this room is completely sound proof.
Chuck sighed a little as he headed for the break room, wondering if this life would ever go away or if he was doomed to this existence of half truths and shadows forever. Moving into the break room Chuck noticed Lisa sitting expectantly a cup of coffee in her hand.
"Well Agent Carmichael, you ready to go? As it happens I'm already packed since I was headed out before I got the message. If you need help getting ready to go just let me know ok? I left my phone number on your office door. Call me when you're ready to go." Lisa said as she brushed past him.
Chuck spun on his heels and called out after her retreating form, "Don't go far, I won't take but a couple of minutes." He saw her head nod in acceptance and left the break room himself, headed for his office. When he reached the door he snagged the note off the door and keyed himself in. Chuck couldn't help but notice the stark similarities of this new situation than his own not too long ago, except the roles were reversed. There were critical elements missing of course, but in other ways it was very similar. Now instead of Chuck pursuing Sarah, with Sarah pushing him away it was going to be Lisa pursuing Chuck and Chuck pushing Lisa away. Granted Chuck wasn't fighting against feelings for her like Sarah was with him but it was undoubtedly going to develop into a series of de javu's.
Chuck grabbed the ready bag from under his desk and placed it on his chair, confirming it held all the requisite items, which it did. He moved over to the wall safe and grabbed more required tools. Knives, drugs, and a set of wedding rings, CIA issue of course.
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Lisa hated being kept out of the loop. She'd gotten a bit used to it in the recent past but it still stung a little not being trusted by those around her enough to know everything they did. She pushed it out of her mind and made sure everything she thought she'd need was in the bag and after shuffling around some items she left the rest in the trunk. She stood up as a black town car pulled up to the entrance of the building. Geez, that was fast.
It was only a minute later that Chuck exited the building, a garment bag in one hand and a small suitcase in the other. When he got closer to the car the driver hopped out and took the bags from Chuck and placed them in the trunk. Chuck nodded at Lisa's luggage and he trotted over and grabbed them too. Chuck wordlessly entered the rear of the car and got situated as Lisa entered from the other side. The driver finished loading the bags and got back into the drivers seat. Chuck spoke up. "Entrance B" The driver nodded and they moved out.
"Do this often Mr. Carmichael?" Lisa said trying to break the strange tension that has somehow filled the car.
"No need for discretion in here Agent Anderson, he's a CIA driver, and yes this is a regular occurrence." Chuck replied stoically. Got to keep my 'agent' face on.
"Ok" Lisa said simply and timidly, not sure why Chuck had suddenly become so detached from his normal persona.
The rest of the ride to the airport was silent until Chuck's iSat broke the silence. It only rang once before he answered it.
"Yes sir... I'm aware… Only if you are sir…roger…will do." Chuck said, responding to the callers questions and requests. "It appears that you're going to be staying at the school house after this mission, provided we make it back of course. I'm not so sure we'll be coming back here if this mission is as treacherous as it made out to be."
"Was that the Director?" Lisa asked skeptically, "Why didn't he tell me that?!"
"Probably because I'm your new boss, and I had to finalize the decision. Now you're being informed. Don't worry; you'll get more action than you're thinking. The last class was the first one where I didn't get called away for some reason or another."
"Wow, why me? I'm mean this is probably the best assignment out there, I just didn't expect it." Lisa said, elated.
"We don't publish scores, for obvious reasons, at this training house but you currently hold nearly every record that can be held. You're improvisation skills are off the charts as well as your stealth. Those two are the most ideal for my type of assignments. The classes you went through were actually a selection group. You were in the top twenty agents across six different agencies. I was supposed to submit a list of four candidates for this job. I only had two. You were one of those two."
"Awesome!" Lisa responded, not able to think of anything else to say.
Chuck laughed out loud at her response and added, "I know someone who you would get along with quite well. We're here; let's get this show in the air." Chuck untangled himself from the back seat and headed for the waiting Leer at the end of LAX runway three. Still lovin' the perks. He moved to the back of the car and waited for the driver to pop the trunk. When it swung open Chuck extracted all the luggage and with Lisa's help situated the luggage inside the fuselage of the plane.
Once they were both inside and Chuck had secured the door he made his way into the cockpit and started up the plane. Through the intercom Chuck announced. "Make yourself comfortable, we'll be making a fuel stop in Virginia. Have a nice flight. If you get bored and can't sleep feel free to come up to the cockpit for a while." Chuck keyed off the intercom and went through his preflight checklist flipping various switches and making adjustment to various knobs before calling up to the control tower for flight clearance.
"LAX tower one, this is tail ident sierra lima whiskey zero zero one in position on runway three awaiting clearance for takeoff." Chuck said over the radio.
His headset squawked back, "Copy sierra lima whiskey zero zero one, we copy, you are cleared for take off on runway three, and have a safe flight."
"Copy LAX one, thank you, proceeding with take off on runway three. Over and out." Chuck responded as he began his taxi into position for take off. Throttling up the engines Chuck sent the plane rocketing forward, into the air, and maneuvered the plane into an ascent pattern. Once at cruise altitude he set his auto pilot and leaned back for a nap. An hour later his snooze was interrupted.
Lisa's head popped in from the cabin. Chuck had heard the handle turn and was awake and waiting for her entrance.
"Can't sleep?" Chuck asked as her head peered into the cabin.
"I can't sneak up on you can I?" Lisa said, with mock distain.
"Not likely, there's only one person who's been able to do that to date." Chuck responded, his mind appearing to wander shortly before returning.
"Well does your offer for a tour of the cockpit still stand?" Lisa asked.
"Sure, have a seat." Chuck said gesturing towards the co-pilots seat across from him.
"So do all the super agents get flight training?" Lisa asked, clearly in awe of yet another non-standard skill that Chuck possessed.
"No, probably not. Let's just say I've done an extensive amount of cross training, including military and civilian nodes. I've hardly used most of it." Chuck responded carefully, searching his questioner for any signs of disbelief. None presented themselves and Chuck relaxed. She still can't know about the Intersect, not until we return, if we return.
Chuck noticed Lisa's interest in the cockpit so he offered, "I'm not sure if you ever played any video games but it's pretty similar to any flight simulator, except when you crash you burst into flames, for real. Why don't you go ahead and grab the yoke there. It's the control there in front of you." Chuck added noticing her confusion upon hearing the foreign term, and pointed towards the strangely shaped joystick, in front of her.
"Now very slightly and slowly pull back on it. You should feel the plane pitch up." Chuck paused as the plane did in fact pitch up.
"Good now do the same thing pushing forward. Now feel those peddles below you, they're not the gas and brake, they're for turning left and right. Try 'em out." Chuck smiled along with Lisa as the plane turned left and then right. "Cool, now last thing, try turning the yoke like a steering wheel. That tips the wings in either direction. You need to be extra careful with that one as you could end up upside down pretty quick." Lisa performed a neat wing waggle before Chuck took over and brought them back on course.
"There's more to it but that's the simple stuff. There's throttle, flaps, fuel mixtures, cabin pressure, and a few others." Chuck said as he pointed to the relevant controls and indicators. "It's a lot to take in at first but it's pretty easy once you do it a few times."
Lisa nodded as Chuck finished. Chuck threw her a quick grin before changing the subject.
"So listen, to be fair, I never asked for a partner, as I have always operated alone, but if I needed a partner you'd be in my top three, and since the other two are not available that makes you the best match." Chuck paused for effect and to gage her reaction. She wasn't letting anything though yet so he continued. "I know we have a bit of history, but I need you to know that anything beyond friendship is off limits and certainly won't go anywhere. We're both excellent actors so I don't want us to get our signals crossed, OK?" Chuck finished speaking and waited for her response.
Lisa nodded in the affirmative.
"Oh, one more thing, you'll need this Mrs. Carmichael." Chuck added, handing her a pair of rings. "One CIA issue engagement ring and one CIA issue wedding band."
Lisa smiled sadly before accepting them and slipping them on her figure. "Well, I for one am going to enjoy being Mrs. Carmichael even if it's fake. You know you'd make a wonderful husband for someone some day. It's just too bad it's not me." Lisa smiled a full smile at Chuck as she finished and pecked him on the cheek.
Chuck noticed the disappointment in her voice and spoke up. "Lisa…" Chuck began, purposely using her first name."…I want you to know if there wasn't someone else, this would be different. I like you a lot, it's just my heart belongs to that someone else. She stole if from me actually and refuses to give it back. To be fair and honest, you remind me a lot of her."
Lisa smiled again, this time with only the tiniest bit of sadness. "I officially have a nemesis now. If only I knew her name, then we could have a showdown" Lisa joked. Ok, so she wasn't really joking. If I ever get to meet this mystery woman, I'm going to kick her ass for not being here with him now. "I've decided that if I can't be your lover I'm going to be your new sister. Can you make out with your sister, Carmichael? I know I can."
Chuck let the Bartowski Special slide onto his face before responding, "I think I'll manage. Since we're going to be siblings you can call me Chuck, it's what my other sister calls me."
"Chuck. It does fit you better than Charles, I think." Lisa responded. "Well I think I'm finally tired now, Chuck. Wake me up sometime over the Atlantic will you?"
"Will do. We'll go over some mission particulars."
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A/N: I know, I know, I promised CHARAH, but I'm not reneging just delaying. Thanks for reading. Please let me know how I did and your thoughts, positive or negative!