FATE
Chapter 7
A/N: We're getting closer and closer to the present. You'll please notice the decided step up in Charah interactions. The Government can only hold them apart for so long. What will happen with Lisa? When will Beckman's scaly carcass finally wither and die?
Thanks for hanging on with me through this story. I see a light at the end of the tunnel. Please read and review, it makes me happy, when I'm happy I don't feel a strong urge to write angst…
My usual Beta is on 'oliday as they say where he's from and so this will undoubtedly not be as polished as usual so bear with me. Please, if you find any horrible mistakes let me know and I'll fix 'em.
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The KroBlue TIMELINE
?????????? Creamy Charah video file (CH4)
2009.6 A./Chuck/Casey on a Mission (CH1)
2009.6.3 A.D. Chuck talks with Beckman and the plot thickens (CH3)
2009.8 A.D. Chuck gets shot / Sarah freaks out (CH1)
2009.10 A.D. Chuck/Sarah/Casey in Venezuela on a mission (CH2)
2009.11 A.D. Cream Charah Fun in the Caribbean Sun (CHARAH) (CH6)
0000.0 A.S. finds Sarah gone (CH1)
0000.2 A.L. confronts the new CIA Director (CH1)
0000.3 A.L. fights with Beckman (CH5)
0000.12.31 A.S. learns more about the Intersect and hears from Bryce (CH5)
0001.2 A.S. find out Sarah was shot and flips (CH4)
0001.2 A.L. in Italy after being shot (CH2)
0002.3 A.S. is in Australia in the "Bush" (CH1)
0002.3 A.S.'s real reason for being in the "Bush" (CH3)
0003.4 A.S. vs. the Chinese Station Chief (CH2)
0003.4 A.S.'s real reason for being in China (CH3)
0003.5 A.L.C. Sarah in South America missing Chuck (CH3)
0003.9 A.S.L. Chuck takes out Sarah's targets in South America (CH3)
0004.4 A.S.L. Chuck returns to L.A. (Prelude)
0004.11 A.L.C. Sarah returns from South America (CH2)
0004.12 A.S.L. Chuck in Sweden getting ready to climb a mountain (CH1)
0004.12 A.L.C. Sarah looses the sat signal and freaks out (CH2)
0005.1 A.S.L. Chuck renews his non-disclosure agreement and sees Casey (CH1)
0005.1 A.S.L. Chuck leaves D.C. for LA and gets a text (CH2)
0005.5 A.S.L. Chuck meets Lisa (CH5)
0005.6 A.S.L. Chuck eats a Chuck (CH5)
0005.6 A.S.L. Chuck returns to Case Bartowski again (CH6)
0005.7 A.S.L. Chuck gets a new partner and goes looking for Casey (CH5)
0005.7 A.S.L. Chuck and Lisa are in Venice on a mission (CHARAH) (CH6)
0006.5 A.S.L. We all morn the loss of Colonel Casey and Chuck catches Obama...I mean Osama (CH4)
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1990.4 A.D.
Location: Information redacted
"Mooooom, Chuck glued himself to me." Ellie whined from the living room. An exasperated woman emerged from the kitchen with a towel in her hand.
"Chuck, why are you glued to your sister?" She asked, slightly amused at her son's latest antic.
"Ellie said she never wanted me to leave her, so I glued myself to her. See? Now we're stuck together forever." Chuck said full of triumph.
"Ellie, why would Chuck leave you?" Their mom asked, puzzled.
"Cause he has a girlfriend now." Ellie responded matter of fact-ly, as if that explained everything. Her mom looked at her quizzically. Before asking, "Why would that change anything?"
"Because when you get a boyfriend or girlfriend you get married and move away." Ellie answered.
"Oh, well, Chuck can't get married until he's an adult, so it's going to be a long time before he leaves with his new girlfriend." Mom said before escorting her children into the kitchen together. "Now, hold still Chuck I'm going to separate you to."
Chuck blanched at the sight of the knife in close proximity to his hands. His mom deftly flipped over the knife to the blunt side and slowly pried a part Chuck's hands from each other.
"Now go and try and wash the glue off your hands Chuck, and then come back in here for dinner. You too Ellie, go wash up."
"Yes mom." Both children chimed before scampering off.
Catherine Bartowski smiled as she finished cleaning up the kitchen before dinner. She paused her work in the kitchen and stuck her head through the basement door and called out, "Steven Batowski, you get your butt up here for dinner. You children have a story for you."
Downstairs amid a myriad of electronics, wires and notes Steven Bartowski smiled. Only two things could pull him away from his work, His beautiful wife Cathy and his two children Charles and Eleanor. His interest was piqued with the mention of a story and he began the task of extricating himself from his mess. He answered his wife's call as he worked his way toward the stairs. "I'm on my way up Cath. I'll be there in a minute."
Chuck and Ellie raced into the kitchen as their father emerged from the basement and they all collided together in a heap on the floor. Cathy laughed and skirted around them with dinner in her hands. Steven and the children stayed on the floor and laughed and tickled each other before Cathy returned from the dining room and instructed everyone to get there or loose their food.
All three shot up and quickly made their way to the table. There was no way they were missing dinner. Especially mom's cooking.
Dinner was a quiet affair after the day's stories had been told. At least until the doorbell interrupted everyone's chewing. It was unusual for the Bartowski's to get visitors, especially this late in the day. Cathy and Steven locked eyes and Cathy's hand went to the small of her back, Steve shook his head and headed for the door, Cathy was up from the table not far behind him. The site he was greeted with when he opened the door didn't surprise him but it was certainly not welcome.
On his doorstep stood the director if the CIA.
"It's for you Catherine." Steven said as he retreated from the doorway. He wasn't going to greet the pathetic excuse for a human on his door step; furthermore he wasn't going to be invited into his home. Hell, he wasn't welcome on his property.
As he turned towards his wife he stated firmly, "Not one foot in this house, not one foot." Cathy had been expecting the reaction from her husband, and in reality her thoughts mirrored his, but both knew if the Director decided he was coming in there was nothing to be done about it.
Catherine stood at the door and took in the scene. The Director was flanked with two protection agents while standing on her door step. In the background a black non-descript car idled. Guess he's not staying long. The Director wordlessly handed Cathy an envelope and stood waiting apparently for her to open it. She did and she nearly dropped both the photo and the document to the ground. She recovered before she did and looked up at the Director. He nodded and left, still without saying a word.
"Director." Catherine spoke up, "Wait." She marched over toward him and stood face to face with him a look in her eyes that would wither the toughest man. Wither the Director did. Before the two agents could do anything about it she punched him square in the face. He went down like a sack of potatoes.
"Agents, get him out of here before I kill every one of you." The amount of authoritative venom pouring out her words caused the two shocked agents to fearfully drag the director off as quickly as they could. They had no doubt if they didn't comply she would carry out her threat.
Steve had returned to the table to finish dinner with his children, fearing that after that visit they were all that was left of his family. He assumed, quite rightly, that Catherine had finally been reassigned. He would likely never see her again after tonight. He turned from the table and watched as she walked stoically toward their bedroom, not emotionally able to stop and speak to her family.
Chuck caught on that something was wrong and he voiced his concern, "Dad, what's wrong with mom, she's walking funny."
"Chuck finish your dinner and help Eleanor with the dishes, I'm going to go talk with your mother." Steven said, trying his best not to let his emotions run into his words. He stood up from the table and headed after his wife to the bedroom, leaving and confused Chuck and Ellie at the table. Neither of them felt up to eating anymore and decided to get on with their chore. They would talk to dad about mom later.
"What's wrong with mom and dad do you think? Chuck asked his sister.
"I don't know Chuck, hand me those plates." Ellie said in response. She was worried, dad never did that. He always answered their questions.
Two hours later Steve exited the bedroom in search of the children. He smiled sadly as he realized his children had put themselves to bed. He checked on both and tucked them both in before returning to the bedroom. When he returned to the bedroom he sat back down on the bed besides his wife trying his best to comfort her. She hadn't stopped sobbing since she'd made it to the bed hours ago. They were quiet sobs, barely audible, but Steve knew they were there, and it broke his heart.
He vowed on the spot that he would do all and everything in his power to keep his children from this life. It wasn't really a life. Just an empty existence filled with pain and infrequent bouts of joy.
This covert life takes and takes and gives nothing in return. Then when you're all used up they just ask for more, and just like that his wife had been taken back from him. It seemed like he'd reached the age where life stops giving you things and starts taking them away.
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0006.5 A.T.I. (After The Idiot)
Russia
Vladivostok Naval Base
Casey sat in his car musing at the situation. Once again, The Idiot had crept into his thoughts. He could use that massive brain right now. He wouldn't have to do this mind numbing surveillance. Casey had come to appreciate just how good his team with Walker and Bartowski was. They had meshed and performed like a well oiled machine. If it wasn't for the whining it would have been the perfect situation. It was all in the past now. Intel still had to be gathered and now he found himself going about it the old fashioned way. Bugs, stakeouts, and cold coffee had once again snuck back into his life.
Casey keyed the radio and growled into the microphone. "Surveillance teams report." Casey grunted in response as his three teams reported in their findings. They had been at this for two weeks now and had come up with next to nothing. This new submarine they were trying to get information on had proved difficult to flesh out. How on earth do you hide a whole damn nuclear ballistic submarine?
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0005.7 A.L.C.
Italy
Venice
Cole spoke up over the noise of the water and the engine, "Walker, you are not going believe what I just saw."
Sarah looked up from phone and replied, "What is it Barker?"
Cole slowed down the craft as they entered the canals. The engines quieted to a purr before he spoke up. "I'm almost positive I just saw Chuck Bartowski."
Sarah shot up like a jack in the box, her head on a swivel, looking desperately for her Chuck. "Where Cole, where is he?" Sarah demanded when she didn't immediately spot him.
"He was headed out of the city." Cole responded pointing into the distance behind them. "There's more though Sarah. He's with someone. A Blonde. She looked distinctly like CIA issue. You know you never did say why you weren't his handler anymore."
Sarah had balked slightly at the "CIA issue" quip before continuing her scan of the horizon. "I was replaced, Cole, you know I was getting too long in one place."
"Turn around Barker, I need to see him. I need to make sure he's not been dragged into the situation here." Sarah added, businesslike.
Cole dutifully slowed and turned the small craft around and directed it toward Chuck's craft out on the horizon. He throttled the engines back up to speed up the process.
What WAS Chuck doing here? Beckman had never said anything about a new handler. She would have seen something in the CIA files if Chuck had been mentioned in a report. Who's the woman? What's her connection to Chuck? Has he given up on me? Sarah quickly stopped her self interrogation. She didn't know the answers and it would do no good to torture herself over them. Unless Cole was mistaken she was about to find out at least half of her questions.
Cole caught sight of the craft with Chuck and Lisa in it. He steered in towards them. It was made easier now that the other vessel had come to a stop. Cole pulled alongside but was surprised that only the pilot was on deck.
"Ahoy, is there a Chuck on board still?" Cole inquired to the pilot. The pilot looked at him quizzically. He didn't speak English apparently.
Sarah spoke up, "C'è qualcun altro a bordo?" The pilot perked up when he heard his native language. "Sì, sono qui di seguito. Vuoi me per annunciare loro?" The man replied. He turned around and stuck his head into the cabin and announced to the occupants that they had visitors.
Inside the cabin Chuck looked up in a slight panic at the announcement. The visitors could only be one certain couple. He turned to Lisa, "Stay here Lisa; I'll take care of this."
"But… really?" Lisa said incredulously. Why is he hiding me?
"Lisa I'm not arguing about this. Stay down here unless I call you up. Promise me you'll do that."
"Fine, Chuck, I don't understand this. It doesn't fit out cover. You're in charge so I'll sit down here like a child till you call me." Lisa said, trying to keep the disappointment and distain out of her response.
"Thank you Lisa. If all goes well it won't be a long wait." Chuck said, realizing he had irked his new partner with his unusual request.
Chuck moved towards and out of the cabin door, drawing himself out and onto the deck. Chuck was worried, no, scared, at the implications of this chance meeting. Not only would he being seeing Sarah for the first time in almost six years, he was doing so unsanctioned and directly in violation of Beckman's orders. Nothing good would likely come out of this. Chuck moved toward the rail and made eye contact with Cole, nodding in acknowledgement. He turned his gaze toward Sarah and smiled before addressing the couple.
"Cole? Sarah? Hey guys, fancy seeing you here. What brings you two to Venice?" Chuck asked innocently as possible.
"We're in Venice on our honeymoon, Chuck. We were actually on our way back in from a little scuba diving. You?" Cole responded, catching note of the sour look that flashed across Sarah's face before she moved to play the part.
Chuck had caught the expression as well and knew that it was an act right away. It was besides the fact that Sarah had recently sent him a message contrary to the story he had just been fed. He realized that neither of them knew, or could even know about his real reason for being here. The personal reasons alone would be too painful for Chuck to allow it to happen. He had to speak with Beckman as soon he could manage it.
Chuck responded as if surprised, "Wow, that's awesome guys. Congratulations! Are you still working for...?" Chuck trailed off implying but not saying the obvious.
Cole caught on quickly, "No we run a private firm now. What are you doing now, are you still at the Buymore?"
Chuck laughed, "No way man, I moved on from that years ago. Believe it or not, I no longer work with computers. I write tourist books and spend my time checking out cool places to visit. It's not why we're here, though. Funny enough, it seems we think alike. The wife and I are here to do some scuba diving ourselves. In fact, let me see if she's decent enough to come out and say hi."
Chuck leaned into the cabin and called out, clearly for the benefit of Cole and Sarah, "Hey, Lisa come on out, I want you to meet some old friends of mine."
Lisa who had been at the door listening the whole time gave Chuck a weird look before catching on that they didn't know she'd been waiting for her signal to come out. She spoke up, again for the benefit of their visitors, "I'll be right out babe. Who is it?"
Lisa emerged from the cabin, now only in a bikini, which caught Chuck by surprise. He stared a little before recovering. Why? The cover, it's for the cover. Don't make a scene.
Across on the other boat Sarah was retreating into a deeper and deeper hole of despair with every new revelation. Married? Traveler? LISA? Jeez, and she's a beautiful leggy blonde, at least she's not a freaking brunette. Sarah couldn't help but notice the stark similarities between herself and this Lisa woman. She was a few years younger but nearly everything else was a dead match. I've been replaced by a younger me. Chuck had found a girl with the name Lisa, of all the names... Chuck has realized his dreams without me.
Lisa stared territorially, momentarily studying the pair who had claimed prior knowledge of her Chuck. Lisa realized then that it hadn't taken her very long to move into that mode. Protecting Chuck, although she knew if anything he would protect her. She moved to the railing and into Chuck's arms to greet them. "Hi. I'm Lisa and..." Chuck spoke up and introduced them. She already knew their names from listening in but once again she had to feign ignorance, and Chuck filled in with his duties. "Lisa, this is Cole and Sarah Barker." They used to live in L.A. several years ago. I was good friends with Sarah for several years before her work took her away from me."
Lisa moved to shake hands over the railing, "It's so nice to meet friends of Chuck's. He has so many, past and present that I'm still finding out about new ones all the time." Lisa looked at Chuck and saw that he and Sarah had been silently communicating with each other during her response. There was a lot being said apparently because when she finished they were still locked on to each other. There's definitely more than friendship in their past. "Friends" don't communicate like that. Not on that level anyway. Lisa was feeling the pangs of jealousy start to well up. She needed to change the subject.
Slightly frustrated that Chuck was letting their cover slip so obviously she spoke up, "Chuck? Chuck why don't we catch up over dinner? I'm sure there's a more comfortable place, that's better conducive to old friends getting reacquainted than out here on a couple of boats."
Lisa's statement pulled Chuck and Sarah out of their staring match, and both just stared at their feet momentarily before Cole picked up on the silence. "Lisa, Bar…Chuck, that sounds like a great idea. Sarah what do you think? Would you like to catch up? We didn't have anything planned for tonight did we?"
Sarah looked over at Chuck and then at Cole before responding to the whole group, "That sounds like a great idea, honey. Where should we meet?"
Chuck spoke up finally, "Cole why don't I get your number and we'll give you a call when we're finished here. I'm still learning this city and don't really have any good suggestions."
"Sure, we can look around while you guys have some fun. Oh, by the way the South side of the wreck underneath us is the more interesting side." Cole leaned over after pulling a card out of his shirt pocket, handing it to Chuck.
Sarah realizing she had been doing a horrible job at her cover piped up, "You guys have fun, and we'll see you at dinner. I'm looking forward to catching up for sure."
Chuck and Lisa nodded and waved as Cole hit the throttles and pulled the visiting boat away, heading it back towards the city.
All four spies thought the same thing. Well, that was a disaster. Chuck and Sarah for the obvious lack of objectivity, Cole because he really didn't have time to have dinner that night and Lisa because Chuck was going to be catching up with what had to be, with out a doubt, an old girlfriend.
It didn't really matter; the dinner was never going to happen. Chuck knew as soon as he informed Beckman of the situation that either Cole and Sarah, but more likely he and Lisa would be on the next available vehicle capable of carrying a person leaving the city. Not only that, Chuck had some not so friendly words for the director to deliver regarding Sarah and so would Beckman. Chuck finally drew in the connecting lines on the blank profile from the CIA. It was, of course, Sarah Walker.
Chuck hated that the situation had been thrown on him. Fate is a bitch sometimes. He was the only one who really knew what was going on. Even Lisa was in the dark. Now Sarah would wonder if there was anything to for her to come back to. Dispelling her fears would mean admitting to his status with the NSA, and that would threaten everything he had worked so hard to preserve. This whole thing was a god damn mess. Chuck needed some time to chew on this new problem; he needed answers to three problems now, the most important being the situation developing with Sarah. Chuck would not let Sarah sit in dark, wondering if he'd moved on. It was too cruel. Deciding that he could knock out one of his problems now while mulling over the others as he did so, he put scuba back on the to do list. Sarah and Cole were counting on them doing it now regardless.
Lisa had been looking at Chuck as he stared off into space. She knew he was working through a problem. Having seen it many times during training it was obvious he was working on something big or multifaceted. She decided to leave him at it and go back inside. She had instantly regretted the decision to go with the bikini, the wind was blowing out there where there were no walls of buildings to stop the wind and she'd got goose bumps almost as soon as she'd come out of the cabin a few minutes earlier. Once inside her mind's gears started grinding. She realized there was a lot not being said between the other two agents. She'd pegged Sarah instantly for it. Cole had taken her a minute, if he was an agent he was foreign, probably MI6. Lisa wondered what kind of past Chuck had with them. Field work? Had they been his support of some kind? She knew one thing; Chuck did not want them to know she was an agent, or that he was still one himself. Why? Oh yeah! There was that damn "Bar..." again. What was everyone hiding from her?
Lisa didn't like being kept in the dark and resolved to quiz Chuck about it later.
Chuck came out of his trance and addressed Lisa, "We need to keep up the cover for now. Scuba is back on, so help me get the gear ready. We'll contact Beckman when we get back to the hotel. We're not going for the long swim anymore; just need to kill some time down by the wreck."
Lisa nodded in agreement and began to gather their equipment, helping Chuck retrieve the bottles from the side boards. Twenty minutes later they were ready to go. They signaled the boat driver that they were going under and he nodded, smiling. Lisa and Chuck flipped over the side, quickly disappearing into the depths.
An hour later the forms of Chuck and Lisa emerged from the water, smiling. Lisa had thoroughly enjoyed herself. It had been a while since she'd been able to go diving without a mission objective, and Chuck had been a great dive buddy.
Chuck had been able to concentrate on his problem, but still everything hinged on Beckman's response to the evolving situation. Basically, it boiled down to how badly Beckman wanted Casey back which in turn would likely determine how things went in the near future.
The boat driver assisted the pair out of the water. Soon after Chuck and Lisa shed their equipment the driver started the boat and headed it back to their dock in front of their room. Chuck spent the time flushing out what he was going to say to Beckman; for once he was going to have to be tactful with the leprechaun. Lisa spent the time fighting, like always, with her emotions about Chuck, trying to be the friend and partner he had requested, instead of the more that she personally wanted to be to him. Could they be siblings with benefits?
Both stopped their internal processes as the boat pulled up to the dock. Once they were secured to it they made their way off the boat and up to their rooms. They needed to shower and freshen up for the impending meeting. A little while later Chuck and Lisa gathered around his laptop to initiate the conference call. Once the screen was up and the feed was verified secure, Chuck began with the formalities. He had decided to treat this like any other mission brief update, even though none had been scheduled.
"General Beckman," Chuck began, "I've established contact here on site, and I have a probable location to scout. My initial scouting plans have however been thwarted by a chance meeting. Ma'am, were you aware that Cole Barker and Sarah Walker are also onsite?" Chuck paused both for effect and for Beckman's response.
"What?! Why that idiot director…I specifically…" Beckman regained her composure, interrupting her rant, "Chuck you are to stay on assignment, and maintain your cover. Both of them. Also I'm accelerating Agent Anderson's timeline. Get her read up on the whole situation. I'm going to make a call or two and get back with you, be standing by for further instructions." Beckman ended the call as she finished her instructions.
Lisa stared at Chuck. What the hell, what timeline? And boy what a revelation, it should be a surprise that Chuck worked with the best. Sarah Walker was of course a legend. Now I've met her in person.
Chuck looked at her apologetically, "Sorry you weren't supposed to find out this way. First off so that you understand the paramount of why both covers must be maintained. I am the Intersect. I'm sure you've heard of the program at one point or another. Initially I was a walking database; however several years ago an update enabled me to physically adapt every training program available to a government employee. Now I'm a walking/talking super spy. All thanks to General Beckman."
Lisa stood unable to formulate words. She had heard of the Intersect, though not in the terms he was referring to. As the CIA understood, the Intersect was a code name for the DOD's master spy, the top interagency agent with untold and amazing abilities. I'm working with THE BEST SPY EVER. Oh My God.
"Uh," Lisa sputtered, not able to get anything else.
Chuck continued to look at her sympathetically; he knew she was shocked and awed. He also knew what the CIA files had on him. Misinformation had spawned a nearly accurate tale of his own legend. It was embarrassing to think about it. But at least with his identity being a secret he didn't have to actually endure the unwarranted praise he would no doubt receive. "It's Ok, Lisa. It's the response I expected. Don't worry; you'll be fine in a minute."
Lisa was stuck in a loop. The man in front of me, the one I've fallen for, was THE Intersect, the most badass agent in recorded history. And he worked with the CIA legend Sarah Walker. Wow, just freaking Wow.
"Chuck, Sarah Walker was your old partner wasn't she?" Lisa finally formulated and then spoke aloud.
"Yes she was. My other old partner is why I'm on this mission. John Casey. He's likely met whatever fate several other agents have met here. Neither of them knows of my continuing participation in the government. For my safety and theirs they were informed that I was no longer the Intersect and was "normal" again, then reassigned, about six years ago." Chuck paused as he let her take the last set of information in before continuing. "Lisa, they can never know. Three people are aware of my status; you, me and Beckman, and it has to stay that way. Can you handle that? We have to do everything in our power to convince them of that. "
"Chuck, I would never do anything to risk your safety. Of course you can count on me to keep your secret. Chuck you should know by now that to maintain our cover will be not only be a joy but easy. It's everything that you won't let me have officially."
Chuck replied quickly, "Lisa, just remember, Sarah is exceptionally good at ferreting out the truth, better than me even. So don't let your guard down, ever around her. She's got more experience at this than both of us combined. So you have to keep your head in the game. I know you think it's going to be easy acting on the feelings you do have but don't let them distract you." Chuck sighed, "I know I'm talking to you like a recruit but this is all vitally important both to me personally and to the government."
"Chuck, I promise not to let you down, ever." Lisa replied simply, staring again, trying to come to grips with how much more awesome this man in front of her really was. He smiled at her as he moved away from the laptop; she watched him as he moved across the room and mindlessly sifted through his bag. She realized for the first time that she was seeing a lost Chuck. For the first time he seemed like he'd lost the air of control he always carried. She didn't understand what could make him like this. Nothing before had seemed to faze him.
Then a startling realization hit her, and hard, right in the gut. She had been so caught up in her own feelings she hadn't connected the dots until now.
Sarah Walker was his someone else. All the clues were coming together; Chuck's steadfast stiff arm to her, his obvious connection with Sarah on the boat, the mentioned forced disconnection. Chuck's strange need to inform Beckman of said connection. It had all fallen into place. She realized for the first time how painful that meeting must have been for him.
Chuck just told the love of his life that he went off and got married without her.
"Chuck, I'm so sorry, I just put it all together right now. We have to call it off. I can't be crawling all over you in front of her like that. It would tear her apart for sure….I….I'm sorry for the stunt on the boat." Lisa said, as she ran over to him and enveloped him in her arms. Chuck accepted the gesture and even returned it.
"No Lisa, as painful as this will be for both of us, it has to be done unless Beckman changes her mind or the Director orders them off before it happens. I'll fix this later, but for now we have to do our jobs." Chuck finished speaking and collapsed on the bed, releasing Lisa from his returned embrace as he landed. Lisa sat behind him for a minute before deciding to give Chuck his space. Tonight was going to be hard enough for him; she wanted to give him some measure of space before it all went down. She pulled herself away from him and off the bed and moved outside on to the deck. She watched as the sun was setting off to her right over the Basílica San Giorgio Maggiore's twin towers. She tried to shed all this new information and just focus on the amazing view offered her from the balcony when Chuck's knock on the glass interrupted her. He signaled her to come in. She did and when she'd made it over to Chuck Beckman was waiting on the screen.
"Glad you could join us Agent Anderson. Did Chuck satisfactorily explain the situation to you?" Beckman said without introduction.
"Lisa spoke up, "Yes, General he did. However I don't understand the logic behind the prolonged exposure to these other agents. What is more important the mission or Agent Carmichael's cover?" Lisa finished her question with a little more vehemence in her voice than she had intended.
General Beckman sat for moment before responding. Chuck was impressed. He hadn't expected that from Lisa and he realized that she was trying to save him from another impossible situation, and she had done it using Beckman's objectivity.
"Beckman spoke up, "I'm placing you on lockdown there in the hotel until further notice. Chuck you are to leave this com-link open for further instructions again. Right now you need to cancel the dinner arrangements Chuck just informed me of and sit tight. I'm waiting for the Directors definitive confirmation that Walker is being pulled from the mission as he intended to do. I don't know the extent of MI6's involvement is in this as they are being tight lipped about it as usual. Chuck it was a smart move to inform me of this, and in a way you've already begun to unravel this. Sarah Walker was one of the CIA's missing agents. So that's one down and several to go. I'll be back to you when I have more for you." Once again the screen went blank as her last words ended.
Chuck sat back down on the bed and slumped over his arms and hands in his lap. "Lisa, thank you. You didn't have to do that. I truly appreciate it. You stuck your neck out for me. I don't think you know how much that means to me." Chuck held her gaze to make sure she knew he meant every word.
Lisa didn't say anything just held his gaze until he looked away, and smiled as she did.
She got up and moved to her suitcase. "Chuck, come out to the tub. I promise to keep my hands in proper places, I think we both need to relax a whole lot after this fiasco. Since we can't go anywhere I'm going to order something and head out. Please, for your sake come out and join me." Lisa said as she went about ordering room service; simultaneously picking out an old shirt to cover her bikini.
Chuck sighed and lay back on the bed, contemplating just taking a nap, but decided against it. They were likely stuck here for a few days at minimum. He needed to be able to sleep at night. Chuck got up and fished out his pair of trunks and changed in the bathroom. He headed for the bathroom before stopping in front of the laptop. He sat down and thought for a moment. After a moment he pulled up a browser and went to work. A few minutes later he finished and set the secure connection back up, turning it toward the window so he could catch Beckman when she called. A minute later he joined Lisa in the spacious tub and was instantly glad he had. The water was already performing its magic. They sat, relaxing and silent for a long while.
"Bar..." Lisa began.
"...towski it's Bartowski." Chuck said, answering her question before she asked. They slipped back into the relaxing silence.
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Across the island Sarah sat on her bed in state of disarray. Cole was just getting around to taking a shower and had kicked her out of the bathroom finally. She'd been in there after her shower she'd finished nearly two hours ago just sitting lost in thought. It had been a whirlwind of a week, ending in a life crushing revelation. Chuck was married. He was lost to her after all this time. She had cried uncontrollably on the boat ride back to the hotel and had only managed to lock it up before they pulled up to the dock. Cole had been a saint and had just left her to herself.
She had turned her phone off when she got back to the hotel not willing to be interrupted till she was ready to re-join the world after her shower. She was surprised to find she had several missed calls and a message when she turned it back on. She skimmed through the missed calls and noticed they were all from the Director. She hit redial and waited.
"Director, Secure." The voice through the phone barked.
"Walker, secure." Sarah responded.
"Where have you been Agent Walker? I don't recall any orders outlining ignoring phone calls." The barking continued.
"Apologies Director, I was in the shower. What is it that's so important that I warranted eight phone calls and a message?" Sarah responded meekly.
"We're recalling you back to Washington. There has been an interagency mix-up and we need you here. Leave on the next available flight back. Also it has come to my attention that you had contact, seemingly unintentional in nature with an old asset of yours. You maintained your cover didn't you?"
"Yes director, Charles Bartowski is here with his wife, we happened to cross paths. I'll be on the next flight back. On a side note I have acquired the help of the MI6 via Agent Cole Barker. Seems there are a lot of agencies invested in this mission. Should he remain on site or should I advise him to head out as well?"
"Walker, I don't have any control over foreign agencies. I suggest that he contact his handlers for further instructions if he is unclear as to what he should do without you. I need you here now. Make it happen, ASAP." The Director said becoming frustrated with the length of the call.
"Roger that Director, Walker out." Sarah said, finishing the conversation.
Sarah hung up and tossed the phone on the bed. Interagency mix up? Was Chuck involved? Cole had mentioned that Chuck's wife had the air of CIA issue. Despite her loathing of the term, as it had been applied to her countless times, she had to agree and this new information seemed to jive with it. Had the agency allowed this Lisa girl to do what they had forbid her to do all this time? Marry an asset? She picked up the phone again remembering the message; the Director hadn't mentioned it so it must not have been from him. She was shocked and confused at the contents when it opened. It was a code. Was it Chuck? Please let it be Chuck.
The message said the following:
"49206e65656420796f7520746f207472757374206d65"
Sarah instantly recognized it as some kind of cipher or code, but she wasn't able to quickly figure it out. She was still teaching herself this stuff. She had, however, no doubts that it was Chuck. The complicated header was identical in reverse to the one on her last message to him. She realized he had gone though a considerable amount of trouble to replicate that. Of course, she doubted if it even took him a minute to do it. He probably wrote that code out in his head even without the Intersect up there to help him.
Sarah quickly pulled out her laptop thankful that the seedy hostel they were in at least had internet. She signed on and began a likeness search, finding a cipher after a few minutes that seemed to match. Cute. He used a similar cipher to my last one. She decoded it quickly with the help of a website and as she read it all of her stress disappeared. She smiled full and warmly for perhaps the first time in half a decade. She read the message one more time to confirm that she wasn't imagining it. It was short and simple and yet for her and Chuck the phrase spoke volumes. If you didn't know its significance it would mean almost nothing. She allowed a goofy smile to cross her face as she closed the laptop after encrypting and erasing her cache. All was not lost.
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A/N: See? Minimal angst from the Cole scene had plot significance. So all you crazy people who didn't want Cole angst can sit back and relax now. Don't worry the finale won't be all sunshine and roses though. I just can't do it the easy way. Thanks for reading all the way to the end of the chapter. Please read and review.
You put a __ __ __ on somebody if you don't like them.
P.S. I PROMISE to continue the Bartowski Family story. I know that's a horrible ending. It's not just for Angst's sake it has a point. ;)