Fate
Chapter 8
A/N: Oh, I know it's been longer than usually for this update. I'm really trying to upgrade my writing style. So it's going to be a roller coaster. I've update the timeline and added, upon several requests, the key to all the current ciphers. Thanks for waiting and reading and reviewing, man that's a lot of stuff, and all I have to do is write...enjoy. Big props to Kroblues for the Beta on this one.
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The Kroblues TIMELINE
1990.4 A.D. Snapshot of Chuck/Ellie/Orion/Mom (Ch7)
?????????? Creamy Charah video file (CH4)
2009.6 A.D. Sarah/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.L. Chuck finds Sarah gone (CH1)
0000.2 A.L.C. Sarah confronts the new CIA Director (CH1)
0000.3 A.L.C. Sarah fights with Beckman (CH5)
0000.12.31 A.S.L. Chuck learns more about the Intersect and hears from Bryce (CH5)
0001.2 A.S.L. Chuck finds out Sarah was shot and flips (CH4)
0001.2 A.L.C. Sarah in Italy after being shot (CH2)
0002.3 A.S.L. Chuck is in Australia in the "Bush" (CH1)
0002.3 A.S.L. Chuck's real reason for being in the "Bush" (CH3)
0003.4 A.S.L Chuck vs. the Chinese Station Chief (CH2)
0003.4 A.S.L. Chuck'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)
0005.7 A.S.L. The Venice mission continues (CH7)
0006.5 A.T.I. Casey reminisces about the good old days
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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Ciphers
\ / \ / 1 5 # j 0 0 \ / \ / | _ | 2 # 3 r (LEET/1337) = Wish you were here
CMD7AE61L411L853 (Caesar box code) = Call me
lg cyl cepl_n lkb-y mcpqq pkgu (modified Caesar box code / french) = Don't ignore me Chuck. -Sarah
SBsb3ZlIHlvdSwgcGxlYXNlIHdhaXQgYSBsaXR0bGUgbG9uZ2VyLiAtU2FyYWg (Box64) = I love you, please wait a little longer. -Sarah
49206e65656420796f7520746f207472757374206d65 (Box16)= I need you to trust me
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0005.7 A.S.L.
Italy
Venice
Chuck was kicking himself. Yes, he needed to focus, yes, he missed Sarah and yes it certainly had been hard to play that stupid game on the boat but this was about finding and rescuing Casey, there was no way to anticipate this kind of twist. Chuck swore someone was writing a novel and he was the main character. Obviously this writer has some serious issues to work out. After toweling himself off, Chuck went back into the room to shower before heading back out. As he passed it the laptop blinked alerting him to an incoming conference call. Looking out at the tub he signaled to Lisa to make her way inside for the briefing. Chuck tapped on the keyboard a few times and brought up the call.
"Evening Beckman, what's the situation?" Chuck started before Beckman could begin to rattle off her instructions like usual.
"Since you're so eager to know, Agent Walker has been recalled to avoid any… complications. Agent Barker is not under U.S. purview and has elected to stay on mission though his agency. I want you to reestablish a connection with Barker and continue the mission in cooperation with him. He is to remain unaware of your condition. Your cover story will be that you are a promising young agent now, minus the Intersect and Lisa is your handler. Bartowski, you still have tactical and field command, however since your cover has Anderson as your handler, be able to adapt in the field if such a situation arises."
"Roger, Beckman, one last thing. After this mission I'll be meeting with you in person. We have matters to discuss. Out." Chuck said, ending the conversation before Beckman could add her two cents.
"Ballsy, Chuck, Ballsy. That's all I have to say." Lisa chimed in, a little glad that she, if only for a tiny while, would be "in charge" of The Intersect.
"I've got a couple of phone calls to make. We need to be ready for rendezvous soon. I think we can skip the ostentatious stuff tonight. No need for keeping up pretenses." Lisa had seen that coming and had already planned accordingly.
"Got it covered Chuck. I guess that means I have to wear panties tonight." Lisa retorted, loving how any mention of anything slightly risque sent the normally unflappable agent into panic mode. And he teaches seduction? OK, so he's insanely good at it, but come on. Chuck shot her a pleading glance, and Lisa rolled her eyes in response, letting him know she had been kidding. Sort of.
She watched Chuck head out to the balcony, his phone in his hand. She heard the beginning of the discussion before he was out of her hearing range. "Evening Director, have a bad memory do we? Let me refresh it for you..." Lisa smiled to herself before moving on to get dressed for the night's meeting. Only Chuck could bad mouth the Director of the CIA and there be no consequences.
Nearly half an hour later Chuck emerged from the balcony and spoke up before Lisa could ask. "Barker will meet us here, at this point we still don't want to be seen in public together unless absolutely necessary.
"Half an hour of waiting and that's all you talked about?" Lisa said fishing for more. If Chuck was talking to the Director she wanted to know about what, exactly.
"The call to Barker was, remarkably short. It was my phone call to the Director that took more time. I guess I should explain something to you. First, the reason both Beckman and I trust you isn't some kind of naively placed hope. With the help of the Intersect I know your history back to grade school, thanks to your military schooling. I'm on this mission for one reason. An old friend of mine needs my help, and with the last meeting of old friends it's a regular reunion. Sarah Walker and John Casey were my handlers once upon a time. With me so far? Any questions?" Chuck said pausing to let Lisa catch up.
"Uh, you researched me?" Lisa asked.
"Believe it or not, the school serves a secondary mission. I re-vet all agents that come through the school house. Some are suspected of subversive activities and some are simply being checked on. My unique ability allows me to observe and report on all students in the school. Apparently this last class was Beckman's idea of a recruitment to her little cause. Namely, me. Before you I was a solo operator, and before that I operated with Walker and Casey. Apparently we worked too well together. Beckman's sense of control was waning and she likely suspected us of going rogue at the smallest disagreement so she broke up the team. Despite her knowledge of the Intersect program she underestimates me. I don't need a team to go out on my own. Don't worry; I'm not planning on going rogue. My sense of right, wrong and duty runs too deep to betray my country."
"My point in all this is, Sarah Walker and I had for a time the only sanctioned relationship in the agencies. It's still a relationship; it's just no longer sanctioned. The relationship undoubtedly grated against Beckman's sense of regulations and rules, and in her mind it had to be stopped. All the cloak and dagger crap regarding my "condition" is Beckman's idea." Chuck said with some measure of chagrin. "To be honest, it's good to be able to share my secret with someone other than the midget troll of D.C. Even if it isn't with the first person I'd want to share this with."
"Chuck, I can understand the reasons for Beckman's desire for secrecy, the less people who know the safer those secrets are, think of it this way. You don't like this world you were forced into, right? If more people and agencies knew about you, you'd be on more missions than you could handle. Beckman is, in a roundabout way, doing you a favor, even if she doesn't know it herself. Still, I will never understand the NSA. They are so stuck up sometimes; nearly every CIA field agent with a partner is romantically involved somehow. It's still against the rules but I don't think it's been enforced, well, ever. Crap, so on the boat, that probably wasn't the nicest thing I've done to you is it? I'm so sorry." Lisa said noting with a little sadness at the look at longing on Chuck's face. He was clearly in love with one Sarah Walker. Lucky girl probably doesn't deserve half of Chuck.
"You had no way of knowing, since I didn't tell you. I could tell you were regretting that last minute wardrobe change by time you headed back down into the cabin." Chuck added an amused grin crossing his features. My turn to cause involuntary reactions.
Lisa blushed violently. How does he do that?! Oh yeah, 'insanely good at seduction', duh. "Yeah, yeah, lover boy, so we have a mission to complete. When is Agent Barker getting here?" Lisa added changing the subject hoping he hadn't noticed her very un-agent like reaction to Chuck's comment. Since when did I turn into such a mushy school girl?
"Barker should be here within the hour. His tracking device stopped moving in his room, which means he probably found it already and is headed our way." Chuck said as he moved to sit down on the bed.
"How did you get a tracking device on him? I didn't see it happen." Lisa said in awe.
Chuck tapped the side of his head. "Intersect."
Lisa rolled her eyes. Intersect or not, that was smooth. Like it or not Chuck, you've got what it takes. Even if you don't want to.
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Two canals over, Sarah Walker was packing away the last of her things and preparing to head for the airport. She was pissed now. What is it about Chuck and me being together that the government finds so damn scary? Are they really afraid of us? Sarah doubted it was true. Likely it was Beckman for some reason or another.
Sarah's thoughts were nothing new; she'd had this conversation with herself a thousand times in the past few years. Seeing Chuck only brought them back to the forefront. The new part was the confusing part, the rest was simply frustrating. Why was Chuck in Venice at the same time as her? This couldn't have been a coincidence. Chuck had to be involved somehow. His message all but confirmed it. He had, as he always had, reassured her as well as informed her. He had to either know what was going on or be involved, that much was plain. The Intersect must still be functional, and not just in the silly super-agent tales that she'd spun at the CIA headquarters. What was Beckman playing at, lying to her and Casey?
Sarah was broken from her thoughts as Cole came back into the room. He'd been on the phone with someone, likely MI6. When he came back in his hand went up through his hair and Sarah caught a glimpse of something in his sleeve. She rushed over to him, signaling him to be quiet, despite it being too late after the phone call he'd just had. She reached for his hand and picked a device from the inside of his coat sleeve.
"You're getting sloppy Cole, how long have you had this on you do you think?" Sarah hissed, now searching the rest of his person and herself for other devices. Finding none she rushed to her case and pulled out a device and began scanning the room. Cole inspected his bug more closely and determined it was just a GPS location device and not capable of listening in. He also recognized the maker.
"Sarah, I think you can relax a bit. This is an NSA bug, and a new one. They just, and I mean just, introduced these out at SID two weeks ago, some super brain back in the U.S. made these. They can track a target for over thirty days before conking out. The only person I had my guard down to was Chuck back there on the boat. I think he was making sure we weren't the bad guys, either that or he was looking out for you, which would make just as much sense." Cole said, starting to make some connections.
"I didn't find anything else. Why would Chuck even have a bug like that?" Sarah said, not ready to let him in on her revelation or Chuck's message to her.
"I just received a phone call from Chuck himself. He is definitely on mission here. Him and his handler, Lisa. They're here to find Colonel Casey of all people. This is a small, small world. I also heard that you've been pulled off for more pressing matters. I can't say that I'm not disappointed. I was looking forward to some action with the queen of the CIA.
"They told you all that?" Sarah asked, incredulously. They didn't even tell me that.
"Professional courtesy, Walker." Cole answered. "I've got to meet them soon so if you're ready I'll take you to the airport before I head over there."
Sarah recognized a veiled attempt to ensure she was on her way when she saw one. "I'm good, Barker; I can make my own way back to the airport. I have to schedule a flight still anyway. Please let me know if you find Casey, he was a good partner and friend."
Cole nodded seriously as he headed for the door. "Stay safe Walker, I'll see you around, we should work together more often."
It was Sarah's turn to nod as he closed the door behind himself.
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Cole made his way to the dock and into his boat. Cole couldn't believe the unnecessary amount of the drama the American agencies put themselves through. The British services at least were all under the same agency, and as such operated much smoother. He steered the boat in the direction of Chuck's hotel.
The connections were starting to make sense. MI6 had been getting small tidbits of information regarding an assumedly American agent that had cleaned up several impossible situations on multiple continents. One piece of information that they had confirmed, the agent was a tall lanky brown haired man, with "kind eyes". Chuck was a dead ringer for the description. With Chuck's presence in Venice and the stunt with the GPS tracker, it was looking more and more like Chuck was the super-agent they had been trying to identify. If not for anything else, MI6 simply wanted a name for the man who had saved their agent's butts in several missions in the EU.
Cole pulled out his phone, and hit a dialed a direct line. "Raven speaking. I have a possible lead on the John Doe..."
When he pulled up to the dock Chuck and Lisa were waiting for him at the top of the stairs. Did he manage to bug the boat too?
"Do you always bug fellow agents?" Cole tried.
Chuck only gave him a quizzical look before indicating that they should move inside. Cole's head was on swivel now, if Chuck was who he thought he was than this mission was likely much more difficult than he had previously assumed.
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Sarah wasn't headed directly for the airport. If she was at all honest with herself she wasn't headed back to D.C. anytime soon at all. She headed toward the dock she'd watched Barker pull up to. She saw Chuck, Lisa and Barker through the glass front of the hotel room engrossed in an animated discussion, most likely regarding the mission. Feelings of jealousy washed over Sarah as it dawned on her who Chuck was staying there with. She pulled up her own craft that she had borrowed to an adjacent dock and watched the trio from a distance. After a minute she watched Chuck disappear from view. She made her way off the boat and into the garden hoping for a better view, namely to get eyes back on Chuck.
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One thing was nice; when the Intersect was doing the work it gave you time to think. Well, it was nice until recently. Now it was becoming yet another curse. As he made his way out toward the figure in the shadows, his mind went into over drive. It was always about the same damn thing.
You never really rid yourself of those moments, killing someone that is. No matter how hard or often you try to bury them, forget them, the memories always return. They don't come in anything so cliché as a nightmare, just waking memories that glaze over the real world, a constant reminder of the monster I have become. It doesn't take much to trigger it these days. There are so many memories to choose from. Sometimes it's just a flash of color, or a sound, sometimes it's a name or a smell. Smells....butcher shops are the worst. I can't even walk past the deli section anymore. You'd think that I could become callous to it after all this time. Just let it wash over me and let be gone, but it simply doesn't work that way. I wasn't meant for this, yet these moments will stay to haunt my footsteps for the rest of my life.
I wonder how the long timers do it? How do they justify their own existence alongside another's? Was the greater good more important than a life? Surely not. Shouldn't the greater good include that life as well? What makes it greater anyway? Surely a life it was more important than a passing thought, a steady or waning empire, or an ideal. These things were no more tangible or frail than a life itself. What was it about this business that emboldened mere mortal men to make such final decisions? Was it pride? I have none. I hold no illusions that I'm some kind of savior or hero. A champion of a great cause. I'm simply a killer, an errand boy for the powerful. No doubt my actions have swayed more than the plans of terrorists. It would be naive to assume that some politician hadn't in some roundabout way paid for my services at one time or another.
I need to get away from this, but I can't. I always carry these questions and memories. Only one has ever kept them at bay. It's been almost six years since I've been at peace. Too long to get by unaffected. Will it still work? Will she still want me, with what I've become? Who could? I am a demon, silently stealing people's lives with no more regard than the next. Can an angel love a demon?
A figure stole through the shadows. Cursed, enough to go unnoticed to even the most discerning eye. More of a ghost than a man. But not enough of a ghost to escape this hellish reality that had become its life. It silently slid towards its target, thrilling in the hunt, in anticipation of the release of a life. It would be disappointed, however. This target had not been marked for elimination.
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A shallow almost inaudible whisper came from next to her. She whipped around to see who could have possibly snuck up on her and saw nothing. She suddenly got an eerie feeling that this was the same shadow from South America. Her curiosity was roused, for some reason she was not afraid. She heard a noise behind her and to the right. Heading toward the sound and into the shadows of a tall set of bushes she was met again with nothing. Suddenly she was embraced from behind by a powerful set of arms. It was certainly a shock when the voice belonging to the pair of arms pinning her sounded remarkably like Chuck's voice. "Trust me Sarah." The voice said. Sarah stopped her fruitless attempts at wiggling away and leaned against the body behind her. "Chuck?" Sarah whispered, not daring to believe she was finally back in his arms. "It's me, Sarah." Sarah could feel the smile behind him. The muscles in his body twitched ever so slightly when he wore his biggest smile, and she felt them now. Turning around in his arms she locked eyes on his. Chuck didn't waste any time. His lips crushed into hers. They held each other, lips, arms locked together until both of them were light headed. Neither of them willing to end it before they had to, fearing the illicit contact wasn't real, a dream. They collided back together after sucking in enough air for a repeat performance. Sarah was content to continue the cycle all night but Chuck interrupted. "I love you." Tears were threatening to break out onto her cheeks when she heard the words. "I love you back." Sarah closed her eyes, not to blink away the tears, but to ruminate on the set of words she'd heard. When she opened her eyes Chuck was gone. She felt incredibly alone at the absence of Chuck's arms. As she began to replay the contact in her head she noticed her jacket was slightly heavier on one side. She reached into her pocket and found a nondescript USB drive. She would investigate the device when she was done here.
A minute later, her attention back on the windows, she saw Chuck reappear in the room. That's just creepy, he's every bit the super-agent I made up for the CIA. The difference is, he's MY super-agent. Sarah let herself drift back to the moment they had briefly shared. Trying to bring back the feeling of his arms around him. His lips crushed against hers. It was a familiar yet foreign feeling, his lips against hers. It had been so long since a kiss was a wanted expression.
After a long while she gave up watching the window and headed toward the grand channel, in search of a cafe, preferably with internet access. After a few minutes of idling along the main canal she found what she was looking for. It was small and out of the way. Most likely they were stealing their internet connection from the neighboring hotel. That would work perfectly as an easy layer of security from prying internet eyes. After tying up and making her way to a comfortable seat she pulled her laptop out of its case and powered it on. Reaching into her pocket she extracted the mystery USB key and plugged it into the computer.
At first nothing happened. She noticed her built in camera indicator light flash on for a few moments, then her computer rebooted itself. As it came back to life, several images scrolled through the screen. If it hadn't been Sarah Walker sitting there in front of the screen it would have rendered the viewer unconscious, and droolingly blank for the next thirty days.
The message was encoded.
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0005.8 A.T.C. (After Taking Control)
Washington D.C.
Beckman Residence
It was bound to happen. One day Bartowski was going to go too far and push me into a corner. One could only take so much insubordination. The constant rule breaking and calling the shots. Shots that were hers to take. Not this skinny twerp from Burbank. The creep actually made it into my office and place a hand on my shoulder. I hadn't wanted to make his family a target but it had to be done. It wasn't pleasant to do it, in fact I'm sure it will come back to haunt me someday. You'd never see it coming but the twerp was deadly, period. If he had any less of a conscience he'd have been everyone's worst nightmare for a while now. It wouldn't surprise anyone if he'd figured out how to fly like a god-damn superman. The amount of international pressure to reveal the source of her… problem solver, was intense. MI6 was in particular the most persistent in their inquiries. Even the CIA wanted to know; unsatisfied with the status-quo. Bartowski didn't appreciate the favor she did for him keeping him isolated. It had taken four years to find an appropriate, level headed, available agent that would mesh with him without instantly falling head over heels for him. It had taken nearly another year to vet her, finally sending her for her test under fire and she had come out with shining colors. She came from good stock, she was family. A niece and once removed, but family none the less.
Beckman sat at her desk still wearing her uniform, her coat unbuttoned for a measure of comfort. She had been waiting in the car for over an hour as the agents conducted a full occupy and sweep of her residence. After Chuck's visit to her office and the subsequent unfortunate discussion Beckman felt justified in a little bit of paranoia. He was still sitting in her palm but for how long was entirely up to him. Fortunately he didn't know that, maybe he was just as naive as he was made out to be. Finally relaxing, her elbows resting on her desk she let her guard down.
Her phone rang. Her personal phone. Only two people knew that phone number outside the president. Her daughter and that blasted Bartowski. It wasn't her daughter.
"Beckman that wasn't wise. I really thought that was above you. You know, my terms weren't exactly taxing; hell they wouldn't even cause you to lift a finger. You shouldn't start things you aren't able to finish. I just had the most interesting discussion with your daughter. She's a lovely girl. She's much smarter than you, that's for sure. Now, I'm not threatening you or her. I don't do stupid things like that, I use my brain. Threatening people brings them to an impasse. I don't do impasses." Chuck hung up the phone before Beckman could respond. She wouldn't have responded if he hadn't she was sitting with a slack jaw unable to formulate words.
Beckman was furious. Why had she let her guard down? How many times have I told her to be ready at all times? One more year till retirement. One more year. Beckman punctuated her thoughts with a double shot of the Sailor Jerry's she kept stashed in her desk. Ever since that day Larkin had screwed with project Intersect she had fallen back into old habits. She wasn't sure if it was keeping her from insanity or driving her towards it at a quickened pace. She didn't care, at the moment the burning sensation ebbing from her throat was distracting enough to draw her out of her thoughts and force her to pour another shot.
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Fate laughed at her. Did this woman really think that fate could be stopped by the simple power of will? That fate, now embodied by one Chuck Bartowski, could be stopped on any account? Once Fate has chosen a path that is how it will be. Fate laughed again. It would enjoy this fruitless struggle against its newest emissary. Some mortals simply didn't understand.
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A/N: Sorry for the brief chapter, but I needed to get something out. Thanks for your continued readership if you've been here since the beginning and hello and welcome to any new readers. Please let me know what you think. Thanks everyone who's been reviewing so far. You're all great!