Sleepingwiththeenemy7

Apology: The rant was all mine not Jim's. He was already on his way back to work when I posted his stuff. Sorry. He really couldn't care less about the #. He's looking for feedback on quality and eeze of reading. I'll be in PA before I can post again. Cold there.

Nik

Snipers occasionally fired at an exposed agent or at their own who'd been captured and was being taken to the airfield for transport. Walker and Casey rode in their hummer to the 'medical facility' to meet with the deep cover agent and hear her report on the immediate activities of Fulcrum at this location. Formal debriefing would be much more intense and detailed and would take months. This was just a quick peek at the situation, nothing more.

Dr. Elaine Pesich, MD, was thrilled to be back among 'her own kind'. She'd been in deep cover ever since she'd been approached by a 'research foundation' to participate in some exciting clinical trials of drugs in third world countries. The money was good but the intent of the trials was genocide and she found a way to contact the government and offer her services.

She'd been told her father had 'passed away' and she returned to Dallas for the funeral. Her father had died when she was three. She met then Colonel Beckman and started her life as an untrained spy for the CIA/NSA. The CIA finally issued a sanction order when the congressional committee started investigating some of their operations.

The two agents listened to her summary report. Roberts had her arrange for the notes through Fulcrum agents to keep interest alive in Bartowski's fate. She didn't want the government forgetting about the intersect asset. Dr. Pesich knew that Roberts had first planned to 'drain his brain' and send back a husk as a warning but changed her mind as she became emotionally compromised.

The plan to have him become a Fulcrum agent was rejected by the council after he'd been recognized in Laredo. Roberts then fell back on another option to keep him alive: program him to become a Fulcrum-directed assassin and return him to NSA control. Contacts would 'forward' orders for assassination targets and no one would ever suspect the 'nice intersect boy' of anything so foul.

His final targets would be his team and his control – General Beckman and whoever took Graham's place in the CIA.

Neither agent believed her. They thought it was all BS to make sure she got out in one piece – until she showed them the hundreds of video files that she said would corroborate her story. Every second of Bartowski's time with his 'wife' had been recorded and analyzed and used to create further programs and hypnotherapy sessions. Nothing had been overlooked. It had been the perfect operation until Chuck had been recognized by the DEA in Laredo.

"He's in there", she pointed to a storage closet, "and whatever it was that you did to the power supply down here messed up their plans. The council members watched the final steps and then Roberts took them to the airstrip. I don't know if she left with them or if she made it into town and hooked up with the Cartel."

"It figures they'd stuff the moron in a storage room with all the other useless things." Casey was afraid they'd find his dead body, just like Walker.

Pesich gave an exasperated sigh and pushed the agents out of the way and keyed in a code and the lock cleared and then she took a flashlight and led them through the buckets and mops to the far wall that was 'ajar' since it opened automatically when the power failed.

"In there. Get your medics down here. I don't have anything on this level to sedate him and believe me, when he catches sight of Agent Walker he'll need to be sedated for her sake and his. You'll understand when you review the vids and other records."

Casey and Walker exchanged glances but Casey radioed for the medical extraction team. "We've found Bartowski and the CIA mole. Report to our location grid reference 4017. Use the storage room entrance off the main corridor of the medical facility. Bring a medic."

Sarah's POV

'What did she mean when she said when he catches sight of me he'll need to be sedated for his sake and mine? Chuck would never hurt me, never.'

"Dr. Pesich, what exactly has been done to him that makes him dangerous to me, specifically?"

"Agent Walker, he believes that you went rogue and shot him on an operation several years ago and that his wife miscarried trying to rescue him. That's what he's been conditioned to believe. He must want children very much for it to have affected him so deeply. He hates you, Agent Walker. It's the result of his conditioning. He tolerates 'General Casey' only because he wasn't directly involved."

'Surely he can't believe such lies?'

"Doctor, how long did the conditioning take before all this was sprung on him?"

"Daily for the first two months then every other day once he was 'reintroduced' to his wife and his 'life'. It was all very subtle and efficient. Nothing was left to chance. The entire facility was geared around Operation Icarus. Everything from calendars in every room in the facility to news broadcasts and periodicals – everything – was geared towards the deception and it was a great success. He thinks it's 2013 and that he and Jill have been agents since a few years after graduating from Stanford."

'Oh, yeah, a fucking great success.'

I can see that Casey's ready to kill her. He's pissed, mostly that Bartowski could possibly believe such…such crap! But knowing Casey, he's equally pissed at this so-called 'doctor' for allowing it.

"You seem to take pride in mind-fucking Bartowski. Just what was your role in the 'great deception'?"

"I monitored his blood pressure, his cerebral pressure, kept him in excellent health and monitored his various metrics remotely via implanted sensors. I rarely saw him and that was just to give him routine physicals to ensure his incisions were healing and to give him his meds prior to going into conditioning."

"When did you decide to call for extraction? What made you suddenly decide to terminate your infiltration mission?"

"The rumor was that when the operation was terminated that all the 'support' people would be cut loose. I knew too much and I was afraid that I'd be killed so I requested extraction."

"So if Bartowski had been killed and the operations here continued, you'd have remained on-mission?"

"Yes, probably. Dr. Roberts and I had talked about further experiments and…"

"You bitch!"

I can't help myself. She would have watched him die and recorded the 'events'. I hit her across the face with my pistol, just barely in control.

"Walker! Get Chuck out of that Nazi bitch's contraption and get him ready for transport! You're not helping matters any when you pistol whip the deep cover agent. I'm sure Beckman will have issues with her just as we do but for now, deal with Bartowski!"

He's right, of course. I have to help Chuck. I just can't move right now. I want to kill this bitch so bad I can almost feel the recoil of the pistol in my hand and feel the bitch's blood spray over my face. I want her dead so badly for what she's done to him.

I feel a stinging on my cheek. Casey slapped me!

"Get it together, Sarah! He needs your help. Beckman will deal with the quack in her own time. Help him!"

The medics show up and I can only watch as they remove the helmet and sensor leads and begin cleaning him up. He's bearded and his hair is shot through with gray but what I notice most is how pale and thin he is.

"Pesich, has he been ill? Why is he so thin and pale?" Casey watches her while she struggles to compose an answer that won't result in me kicking her ass again.

"The conditioning treatments leave him weak and in the beginning we badly misjudged how violently he'd resist conditioning. It was necessary to weaken him so that the conditioning would take. Dr. Roberts was fattening him up gradually since then but his training burned off any real weight gains. He's completed 'agent training' as well as all firearms and hand-to-hand training."

"Hand-to-hand? Chuck Bartowski?"

"Major Casey, he's considered quite adept at Krav Maga and has been on several infiltration missions where he and Jill entered a facility and planted bugs, bombs and stole critical computer files. He won't carry a fire arm for some reason but uses a trank pistol with great skill."

"Agents, we're ready to transport him to the airfield. Who will accompany him?" The NSA medic interrupts and gives me a chance to think.

I have to stay with him. I don't plan on letting him out of my sight for one instant. "I'm going with him. Has he been sedated? And restrained?"

"Yes, per instructions. You and the major are to accompany him everywhere he goes. We'll take care of the 'doctor'. The General has a debriefing scheduled at the Moab facility. She's less than thrilled about our initial reports as you can well imagine."

"We're not taking him to Moab. No way." I panic. Moab's a detention center – a bunker.

"No, Agent Walker. You, Agent Bartowski, and Major Casey are going to FT Hood, Texas for debriefing and for a full medical on agent Bartowski. She's going to Moab." The NSA medic has been taking Chuck's vitals and making notes. When he glances at Dr. Pesich it's with contempt and thinly-veiled disgust.

Casey's on the phone with the general and he glances at me and smiles. I can hear Beckman's voice practically screaming in rage at what's been done to 'her asset'. I have a feeling Dr. Pesich's homecoming will not be all she expects. I hope they remove her skin, slowly, and then pour brine over what's left. I can't believe she and Ellie are both in the same profession.

Casey closes his phone and grimaces. "Walker, you and Bartowski are out on the next bird. I'll be along once we pull all the files, vids and programs and photograph everything for the General. She's talking to some shrinks about 'deprogramming' him and what it will entail. Sounds painful. I'll meet up with you at the safe house. There are three doctors already there and the General's calling Ellie with some story and she'll be joining up later."

I can't say a word. If I do I'll start to cry. He's had enough pain for a lifetime. It's about time things changed for us.

Day 168
FT Hood, Texas
Safe House

The doctors here have done a total workup and are all agreed that he needs to rest and relax before any drastic measures such as 'deprogramming'. He slept while we flew back from Mexico. The doctors are keeping him sedated until Beckman can decide on a proper course of action. I've been talking with the General off and on about it.

"Agent Walker, this revelation that he's been conditioned to hate you for killing his unborn child changes the game plan. I don't think you should be around him until…"

"No! That wasn't the deal. I'm staying. We'll work through it together. Please, I need to be part of this. I can't be a disinterested observer, you know that." I'm pleading my case but I think she's already made up her mind.

"I'll compromise. I want another female agent with you at all times, someone he's familiar with and won't feel threatened by. I'm requesting Carina Hansen to join the team temporarily."

"Carina! Oh, for Christ's sake, General! She's…"

"She's the only reason he's still alive. Live with it. She won't cramp your style but is there to save your ass if he gets the better of you. Take it or leave the safe house, Agent Walker."

"Fine. But she doesn't sleep with him. I mean, in the same bed. It'll just confuse him."

"Put a cap on the jealousy, Sarah. Hansen knows the whole story. She's there to support you, not steal your boyfriend away." I can tell she's smirking into the phone. Damn it, Carina, of all people!

I curl up in the chair beside his bed and try to sleep but all I do is twist and turn. I can't get comfortable. He's lying on a double bed in restraints. What harm can he possibly do restrained?

I kick off my sneakers and lie down beside him. I'm not going to sleep. I'm going to just lie here…

Day 169
Safe House
FT Hood, TX

"WALKER! Do you have a death wish?"

I jerk out of a sound sleep and a beautiful dream. Casey's voice beats the crap out of any stimulant I've ever come across. He's right. I must have a death wish.

"No, John. I was just resting my eyes. OK, I fell asleep. He'd never hurt me, John. You know that."

I hope I'm right. I believe I'm right but I really wish I could say 'I'm right' with the same degree of certainty I would have before he disappeared from my life.

"Wash your face and meet me in the kitchen. The doctors are due here any minute and Hansen's been here for an hour already. Coffee's made. The General wants a video conference in 15 minutes. Try and look like you haven't been curled up around a security risk all night."

His smirk doesn't have to be seen. I know Casey. He's smirking even though all I can see is his back as he leaves.

I look over at Chuck and am shocked to see that he's awake and lying there like he doesn't have a care in the world.

"Chuck, I missed you. I'm so glad we found you. Everything's going to be all right, I promise you. This is a safe house, not a detention facility. Some doctors are coming in to give you a physical and some…" I'm smiling so hard it hurts my face. It's been a long time since I've had a reason to smile. It's all I can do to just keep my distance and not jump his bones.

"So these restraints are some kinky CIA sleep-over toys? What did I miss?"

He doesn't smile. His tone is about as blasé as can be and he doesn't seem at all concerned with his 'situation'.

"The restraints are…because your mental state is in question. I won't lie to you ever again. It's no longer necessary. For lack of a better term, think of me as your 24/7 Guardian Angel. I'll be back as soon as the docs get through. I promise, Chuck."

The look he gives me says volumes about my credibility with him. I make a mental note to work on that when time allows.

"I have to meet with Casey and Carina. I'll bring you back some coffee, OK?"

"Whatever. I'm sure you and General Casey have some catching up to do. Don't let me keep you, Walker. Tell Carina I'm sorry about Laredo but she blew our mission. I didn't even know she smoked."

His use of my last name and Carina's first with an apology really bring home how serious the situation is. Maybe Beckman was right. It's probably not a good idea for me to be here right now but I made a promise and I'll keep it.

I turn to leave the bedroom when he says, "Walker, I don't drink coffee but water would be nice."

"Sure thing. I – I forgot about – wait a minute, you love coffee!"

"Not any more. Jill says it increases my blood pressure and Casey had the docs put it on the no-no list. I'd kill for a cup but then it would probably kill me…on 2nd thought, bring me a cup. Large."

I just nod my head and leave. His tone of voice says what he won't. He thinks he's a prisoner or worse.

We need a plan to get him back. I need a plan.

Day 166 (continued)