Fate

Chapter 10

A/N: Horray! I actually got off my butt and wrote something. Sorry for yet another long wait, but life happens. Thanks to KroBlues for his never ending patience.

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The KROBLUES Timeline has outlived its usefulness. But we're all still very appreciative right? We're mostly in the present now. The occasional foray into the past will be briefed and clearly labeled. (booooo :P)

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Cypher are all but coming to a close now. I'll add the fixed cyphers in the applicable a/n's.

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0006.3. A.S.L.

Greenland

Avannaarsua Ice Flow

The night was drawing to a close and only one of the two bodies in the tent emitted the even breathing of sleep. Chuck hadn't allowed himself to go to sleep, last time he'd let himself sleep he'd ended up tangled not so innocently with his partner. Chuck had however turned over and offered his back to Lisa so she could sleep. The tent was too small to have two sleeping bags. Chuck was sure that was Lisa's plan all along. While Lisa had finally given up more or less and accepted her fate she didn't shy away from any chance at physical contact.

Chuck pulled out his other phone and checked his signal. He hadn't bothered before as his iSat was all but crippled up this high. He was surprised to see it had full bars. Ok, that's strange, and worrisome. The only explanation was that someone was targeting his reception and limiting it. The only reason you do that is if you're targeting someone. Chuck was immediately alarmed. Someone knew they were there, and cared enough about it to watch them and on top of that had the equipment to suppress his signal. Chuck decided it was time to do a little recce. Why didn't I see this before?!

Chuck turned around to wake Lisa up but she was already sitting up, looking at Chuck strangely.

"What's up Chuck? You're letting me get cold again." Lisa said, a pouting look on her face.

"Lisa I think someone is tracking us, and very likely not for our safety. My secure phone is getting full bars, so it's not the location limiting the reception like I thought it was. Someone is jamming our signals. I'm going out for a look around. I'll be back in a few hours. Stay awake and re-arm the perimeter alarms in about twenty minutes."

"Are you sure I shouldn't go with you?" Lisa asked switching instantly to agent mode at the mention 'our safety'. She knew his response already, but needed to ask anyway. Chuck had explained to her before about his preference for working alone when he could. He didn't like people seeing him when he was in 'Intersect mode' as he called it.

"Actually, you know what, you should leave too and make a circle north. Leave at least two trails. Make it an hour long loop. Leave the light on in the tent. If it's on when you get back stay away, if it's off come back in." Chuck said as he busied himself with pulling on his clothes. "Be careful."

"I will Chuck, you just come back alive, you don't know how to be careful." Lisa replied as she got herself ready for her own solo mission.

Chuck zipped up his outer jacket and adjusted his goggles. Satisfied with his level of readiness he unzipped the front flap and headed out into the early morning. Zipping the door back up, Chuck stole into the early morning darkness using his iSat as a finder watching the bars for hint of a stronger suppression of his signal. Moving due south seemed to garner the most change and Chuck made his way south, only venturing out of the shadows when it was necessary.

Chuck was unpleasantly surprised. Only thirty minutes into his trek Chuck caught site of group of armed men heading directly for the camp. Chuck decided to let them pass and circle in behind them. Chuck figured Lisa would know what to do. They would catch the attackers between them. Chuck marked his location and the attackers on his GPS for further investigation of their source. He would return and continue his recon once they had rid themselves of the more imminent threat.

Moving out behind the group about one hundred yards Chuck shadowed them as he readied his knives Chuck was rethinking his plan, and considering taking out the group before they even got to the camp. They could easily radio in the position before he could take them out.

Moving silently along an ice outcropping Chuck moved up parallel with his prey. Unaware of their impending doom, the group of men plodded along joking and generally messing about. Apparently they expected their targets to be stationary and over a mile away. Your mistake, and your last one.

As he came up parallel to the group Chuck overheard the leader of the little pack discuss with one of the other men what their plan was. Kill the operatives and take over the search. I guess that makes my job easier. No worrying about what their intentions are.

With two knives in one hand and one in the other he propelled himself over the verge and let fly two knives, both of which found their targets before Chuck's feet hit the ground. Not remaining in place, a ready target, Chuck immediately rolled on pausing only to reach out and slice through the back on the one of the three remaining targets legs. He went down with a scream. Chuck came out of the roll and immediately reversed directions leaping sideways, his body parallel to the ground, and caught his next target in the spine. Chuck left the knife in place and drew his remaining knife from its sheath at his back. The last target wasn't sticking around and had started making a run for it back the way they had come. Coward.

Chuck stood up straight, brought his arm up and let fly the knife. It sunk into his target's head sprawling him out in an awkward position, limbs lying strangely askew to his body. Chuck shuddered at the sight of the red blood against the blue white of the icy ground. Chuck readied himself for the task of dragging the bodies out of sight. He found a fissure in the ice a few yards away and begun the task of disposing of his latest kills.

Chuck searched each body for intel and useful items before tossing them into oblivion. None of them had Id's or identifying papers. Only one of them had more than a rifle, a radio. It was short wave, which meant that whoever it was meant to communicate with was relatively nearby. After dumping the last body into oblivion Chuck grabbed a handful of snow, and washed the blood off his hands.

Deciding to return to base before investigating the source of the enemy Chuck plodded northward back to camp. He would pick up Lisa and they would head south together. He hurried along; no doubt they would send out another group when they figured the first one wasn't alive anymore.

Chuck reached the base and made a quick recon around the base before moving in toward the tent and switching off the light. A few minutes Chuck heard the unmistakable noise of footsteps and something being dragged.

"Thunder"

"Flash"

Chuck stuck his head out of the tent and watched for a moment as Lisa struggled with something behind her.

"I found it Chuck, I tripped right over it."

"You've got to be shitting me. That's awesome." Chuck responded, leaping into action, and helping Lisa drag the hunk of burnt up metal towards the tent opening. Grabbing some tools Chuck quickly went about loosing the all important circuit board from inside its burnt husk. Minutes later Chuck exclaimed, "Got it. We're so out of here."

Lisa laughed. "It's about time. I've lost my love of snow forever."

Chuck smiled lopsidedly, "We're going to have to come back. We need to know who and what we were dealing with. I took out a squad of hitmen on their way here to eliminate us."

Lisa's smile quickly turned to a frown. "Are you OK Chuck? Any injuries?" Lisa was moving over for a close look.

"No injuries, it was a flawless ambush. They never saw me coming." Chuck responded, trying to put an end of Lisa's probe.

"Figures you get to have all the fun. Here I was lugging around space junk while you get all the action." Lisa complained.

"For a seasoned agent you certainly pout a lot." Chuck playfully chided.

"It's your fault Chuck. You've made me soft and mushy inside." Lisa responded.

Chuck rolled his eyes. "Common, grab everything you can't live without and lets sanitize this site."

"Ready to go." Lisa said simply, grabbing onto his arm.

"Very funny Lisa, come on, get packed. They're sure to send another team soon." Chuck said seriously.

Chuck's tone of voice and the look on his face spurned her into action and they both set to work.

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0006.7 A.L.C.

Japan/UK

Sarah made a quick stop in Japan at a safe house before grabbing another flight. On the way to Japan she had ascertained what the hell PSC 46 Box 36 meant. It was an address in England on a Royal Air Force Base. What was Chuck doing in England on a British Air Force base I wonder?

Sarah left her thoughts and settled into her seat for the flight across Asia and Europe. She slid her seat back as far as it would go and quickly fell asleep. She arrived at London Heathrow Airport fresh and alert from her extended nap. Snagging a cab as she came to the curb she slipped the cabbie a note with the address and sat back in the seat again. Her backside was getting sore from all the sitting but she was betting the reward was worth it.

Sarah had managed to unlock the files in the USB plug Chuck had given her. Ok, it was actually a geek friend of hers who had owed her over a dozen favors. It still astounded her, the sheer amount of the missions Chuck had completed. One in particular had initially made her quite mad. She wasn't sure whether she was mad at Chuck or just pissed at the whole situation. It had been Chuck that had ghosted her targets in South America. The whole thing stank of Beckman interference. The mission file confirmed both things. She was ironically heart warmed that Chuck had, however, practically dragged both the director and Beckman over the proverbial coals with several reviews over man power waste and resources misuses. Beckman hadn't been able to successfully make a funding request for months afterward. The Director was replaced. What's that make…three Directors Chuck has fired?

Sarah still didn't understand how Chuck wielded so much power over the pair of Directors, without being able to fix their 'status'. According to the files Chuck had summarily sacked three Directors and squashed any chance of Beckman ever making another promotion. There was also note about a whole building of FBI agents that were transferred to far off remote places where running water hadn't even been heard of yet.

Two hours later Sarah looked up from her laptop. They were at the gate of a military base in the middle of some farmlands. Bleak place. I feel sorry for whoever has to work here. The taxi driver seemed unwilling to drive any further on his own so Sarah instructed him to pull up to the guard house. The cabbie gave her a mild look of apprehension before slowly driving forward to the man with the gun slung on his shoulder. When they reached the gate guard Sarah pulled out her badge presenting it as was customary for inspection. The gate guard took it examining the curious badge he had been handed. It wasn't anything like the usual military ID he was familiar with. He called his supervisor over the radio. At this point Sarah was becoming a little impatient but she resisted the urge to berate the poor guy. Undoubtedly he'd never seen her kind of identification before. She was sure there wasn't call for many CIA agents at this base in the middle of nowhere.

Finally the guard handed her badge back and gave her a sharp salute. "Welcome to the JAC, ma'am."

Sarah nodded stoically at the greeting and tapped the shoulder of the driver to move forward. She was looking for the post office and she didn't have a clue where to start looking for it. She noticed a gas station off to the right and figured that was as good a place to start looking as any. "Drop me over by the gas station." Sarah instructed, gathering her things from around her.

Once the cab came to a halt in front of the building adjacent the gas station she got out and told the driver to wait for her to return. He nodded again apprehensively before Sarah walked away. She was rewarded quickly for her choice as only a few feet past the small shop was the post office. Once she was inside it only took a few seconds to find the box.

That's when she realized she'd missed something. There was a spin combination on the box and she had no idea what the combination was. After a few moments pondering her problem. She decided to try another approach. Thanking her lucky stars that the post office was currently manned she walked up to the counter. She rang the service bell. A few seconds later a man walked around the corner dressed in the same funky camouflage as the gate guard at the front. Sarah couldn't think of a single place on earth that that particular camouflage would conceal its wearer.

"Can I help you?" The man stated, obviously perturbed to be called away from whatever non-work he was engaged in.

"Yes, I have forgotten my box code and I was wondering..." Sarah was cut off by the man.

"Box number?" He said.

"Thirty six, thanks." Sarah replied, giving the young man a great big fake smile. It was the least she could do for pulling him away from whatever it was she had pulled him away from.

After disappearing around the corner again he returned with a small package in his hand. He placed the package on the counter wordlessly before staring blankly at her seemingly waiting for something. When she didn't say anything he turned around without a word and disappeared around the corner. Someone needs to teach you some damn manners. Lucky for you I just don't have the time.

Sarah's hands trembled slightly as she took the package from the counter. Holding it like it contained the secrets to eternal life. Something from Chuck! Sarah resisted the nearly overwhelming urge to rip at the package right then in the post office but exercised some caution, as she had no idea what was in the package and she had no idea who was watching. Chuck had gone through a lot of trouble to set this up and she wasn't going to ruin it with a brief bout of impatience.

Gripping the package under her arm she marched out of the building as quickly as she could manage without breaking into a run and practically leapt into the cab, instructing him to head back to the airport. She didn't want to spend any unnecessary time in this country. She needed to get back to the states, or to where ever Chuck was, someday.

Back inside the cab and on her way back to the airport, Sarah began tearing at the packaging. Chuck had packaged it well, very well. By the time she got at the object inside there were pieces of wrapping and box strewn about the back of the cab. The cabbie looked none too pleased at the mess that had erupted in his passenger area. At any other time Sarah would have felt guilty enough to clean it up but this was about her and Chuck and she couldn't bring herself to concentrate on anything else.

Inside she found two things; A phone, quite similar to an iSat but somehow different. Maybe it was thicker? The other item appeared to be another usb key, this too looked slightly modified. Both were likely a product of Chuck's tinkering. She also figured that whatever Chuck had optimized them with wasn't currently available to the rest of the government.

Sarah powered on the cell phone. She wasn't surprised when it required a thumb print for authentication. Pressing her thumb against the indicated area the phone scanned and verified her print. Then it required an eye scan, a vocal sample and a password. Jeez Chuck, think it's secure enough?

After navigating through the robust security features Sarah was greeted by a modified iSat home screen. Sarah opened the phone book, she wasn't surprised that the only contact inside was 'The Intersect'. Unable to wait any longer Sarah clicked on the name and selected the call feature.

"Hello?" a groggy and decidedly female voice answered. "Hold on."

Sarah heard the same voice call out, "Chuck, Chuck, you have a call on your other phone. Seriously Chuck it's freaking three in the morning."

"Tell that witch to call back in the morning. What the hell is wrong with her?" Sarah heard Chuck say. Sarah's heart sank into her stomach.

"Chuck, it's not Beckman, it's a blocked call." The woman said.

"What? Oh crap, give me the phone." Chuck's voice said. Lot's of shuffling and banging could be heard through the phone as Chuck made his way to Lisa, her arm extended out with the cell phone. Chuck snatched the phone from her hand and bought it up to his ear.

"Sarah?" Chuck said.

"Chuck?" Sarah said.

"You found the phone, and you figured out the password." Chuck stated. "Took you long enough."

"Chuck, who's with you?" Sarah asked.

"My partner Lisa. Chuck said, "Oh, it's not like you're thinking."

"It's not like what, Chuck? Why would she be answering your phone in the middle of the night?" Sarah demanded.

"She lives in the apartment; she was in the office when the phone call came in. I don't leave that phone in my room for a reason. Beckman calls on that phone." Chuck replied quickly, Sarah's heart returned to its rightful place in her chest.

"Ok, Chuck. I believe you. I, I'm sorry for not trusting you. It was just... I'm sorry." Sarah said, nearly breaking into tears.

"Sarah, it's over. When are you flying back to the states?" Chuck asked excitedly.

"Wait, what? I'm heading to the airport now. What are you talking about?" Sarah asked.

"I've cleared the restriction, so make your flight for Los Angeles. I'll meet you there." Chuck said cryptically.

"Chuck, so help me, explain 'cleared restriction', stop being so damn cryptic Chuck." Sarah said, her voice now filled with exasperation.

"I made a deal with Beckman and whoever the current director of the CIA is at the moment. There is no longer a restriction on our contact. I don't know why it was put there in the first place but it's gone now."

"...." Sarah didn't say.

"Sarah, you there?" Chuck asked after a nearly a minute of silence on the line.

"I, uh, that's, well, the best news I think I've ever heard." Sarah finally managed to get out. "But, weren't you just at Casey's funeral? Why didn't you tell me then?"

"It wasn't in effect until just after you boarded your plane to England. Actually, it was fluke thing. Literally, you can thank Osama Bin Laden for this. I caught him while tailing you at the airport. Beckman had no choice but to give me whatever I wanted. You can figure out the rest."

"That's random." Sarah said. "So Osama Bin Laden was in the international terminal of LAX?"

"Yeah, I can only describe it as one of the two good twists of fate in my life." Chuck replied. "Listen there's so much more to say but I want to tell you in person. Call me when you get off the plane in L.A., OK?"

"OK," Sarah said, pausing, "I love you Chuck."

"I love you too Sarah. I can't wait." Chuck responded, a great big smile on his face.

Lisa sat in the other room listening to the conversation, or at least this side of it. It was enough, though. Lisa had been trying to mentally prepare herself for this day. The day when 'The Sarah' came and took Chuck away from her. It hadn't worked in the slightest. More than a few tears made their way down her cheeks before she bothered to wipe them away. Lisa wasn't going to brushed aside, she knew. Chuck wasn't like that. In the short year that they had been operating together they had become close friends, family really. It was a struggle everyday to be just his friend and partner. Now it would be even harder, having to endure Chuck with Sarah. No longer able to spend the close times with Chuck that she coveted so much. It wouldn't be so hard that she would ask for reassignment. Some Chuck was far better than no Chuck.

Lisa let herself cry. She would shore up in the morning. If she was lucky Chuck would notice and offer some comfort. She covered her head with her blanket. As much as she wanted nothing more than his comforting arms around her she didn't want to mar the happy moment of his reunion with his Sarah.

Chuck had noticed, however.

He'd heard the soft sobs of his partner. She was obviously trying to hide them under something in the next room and so he headed for her room as soon as he hung up. Her sobs tugged at his heart strings. She had quickly become like a real sister to him. Someone he could share things with, without worrying about security or judgment. She was like a mix of Ellie and Sarah in a way. He felt somewhat responsible for her present state of mind and he would do what he could to make her feel better.

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0006.7 A.T.C.

Washington D.C.

NSA Director's Office

"You What?!" The more than angry voice on the other side of the line practically screamed. "I thought my instructions were quite simple. No contact. Ever. What part of that wasn't clear?!"

"Orion, I agreed to keep that part of our agreement as long as it was in the interest of national security. It ceased to be, therefore I changed it." Beckman responded, matching Orion's level of vehemence in her voice. Beckman had never been comfortable with the uneasy truce that the NSA held with Orion. It was too tenuous, but had been necessary. She was getting fed up with the Bartowskis, both of them.

"I made the rule for a reason Beckman. It wasn't up for interpretation. The truce is off. I hope you enjoyed the last few years, because they are a thing of the past."

"Now hold on Stephen," Beckman began before being cut off by a dial tone. Probably shouldn't have used his real name.

The phone in her hand rang. Thought you might call back. "What?" Beckman said.

"Are you aware of my past Beckman?" A much calmer and softer sounding Orion asked.

"Enlighten me." Beckman said a rare moment of intrigue occurring to her.

"I have lived in and out of the clutches of the CIA, NSA and the DOD since I was nineteen. I swore long ago that I would do all I could to keep my family out of the monster's clutches. I failed, obviously, with Charles but I will not let the government sacrifice his entire life and happiness. Sarah Walker, despite her obvious connection to Charles, is a simple repeat of my life thirty years ago. It's like watching my life replay in front of me. Sarah is version two of my own Catherine. She finally freed herself from the CIA after being my handler and later my partner. We had a family; two children and then one day the CIA swept back into our lives, with no regard to anything other than their own ends and destroyed our family, taking Catherine with them. It's only a matter of time before it happens again with Charles and Sarah." Orion finished his story, waiting for Beckman's response.

There was silence on the line for a few moments before Beckman spoke up. "That's a tragic story Orion. I can see your point, but the fact remains I have already released the restriction. I wouldn't put it past Chuck to have already made contact with her, again."

"Again?" Orion asked. He hadn't seen any interactions between them through his tracking.

"About a year ago, a mission tasking garble put them both in Italy on a rescue mission of sorts. It was brief but they did see and talk with each other." Beckman informed him.

"And I wasn't informed of this because?" Orion queried.

"It was inconsequential, Chuck maintained his cover and the contact was severed. There was nothing to report." Beckman offered, not sure why she was revealing the information in the first place. Maybe she felt she owed the man some kind of explanation after his long and indentured service to his country. Or maybe, just maybe, she was getting soft in her old age.

"Fix this general, or I will. Fix it to keep the peace. I have work to do." Orion offered before cutting the connection again.

Beckman sat in her office unsure of what to do. She couldn't reinstate the restriction, Chuck would go off grid and cause more harm than she could mitigate. Beckman shuddered at the massive swath of destruction Chuck was capable of. Inaction would result in similar circumstances with the elder Bartowski. She was caught between two rocks. Hard places would have been an understatement.

Beckman pondered the notion of connecting the two Bartowskis and letting them hash it out between them. Chuck's father meddling in his love life wouldn't go unanswered she was sure. No, that would be a disaster unless handled correctly.

She dialed up the CIA director, Beckman had thought of a solution. A different kind of no contact was in order. Beckman wasn't a completely heartless monster. After all this was in the interest of national security and the greater good. Sarah Walker was about to grow past her usefulness to the CIA. Poor, poor CIA Director. Hopefully, for his sake, he understood the consequences of not acquiescing to a Bartowski initiative. Not likely.

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2015.7 A.D.

Undisclosed Location

Orion's Safehouse #2

Orion tossed the headset on his desk and sat back into his chair dejectedly. Was he doing the right thing interfering in Charles' life? Didn't he trust him to do the right thing? Hadn't he always? Orion moved to his bunk silently arguing with himself the pros and cons of his current predicament. He mulled over the possible actions of Beckman. How was she going to handle this? Stephen Bartowski silently prayed to whatever or whoever was watching to be kind to his son.

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A/N: That's it for this update. Hope you enjoyed. Please, please for the love of god review. It's like a drug and I'm having withdrawals.