Hello. I knew there would be a delay in getting out the next chapter, mainly because of the holiday and publishing my traditional one-shot stories. But I was trying to come up with a good path to take this story. I'll try to get out the third chapter by next Monday. (I hope.) In the meantime, I'm still counting down the remaining episodes until the Chuck finale. (and getting more depressed each week, yes) But at least I learned a few things about myself. You might find this weird, but writing these stories is well out of my comfort zone, as I'm accustomed to just staying in the background and not putting myself out there. Granted, a fanfic story isn't exactly doing Shakespeare in Central Park, but I was never known for attempting to be creative. Just surviving was enough of a task for me.
Anyway, enough about that. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Thanks to BDaddyDL for some feedback on what I wrote. Please leave reviews. Thanks!
Hyatt Regency Hotel, Washington, D.C.
March 16, 2033
8:00 PM EDT
He thought he would have been used to them by now, but he wasn't.
Chuck Bartowski stood in front of the mirror in their hotel suite trying to get his tie just right. He was wearing his best navy blue suit per the boss' orders. The boss, of course, being his wife, Sarah. After almost twenty-two years of marriage and nearly that long as the head of Carmichael Industries, having met three Presidents, a half-dozen foreign leaders, and giving enough money away to charity to make Bill Gates jealous, Chuck still hated getting dressed up. An oxford shirt and double-knotting his Converse Chuck Taylors were his limits when it came to fussing over his attire. But he always deferred to Sarah in these matters, even if they were just meeting one of their friends for dinner.
Of course, when your wife emerges from the bedroom in a form-fitting teal-colored dress, looking as beautiful as she did the day she walked into the Buy More twenty-six years ago, your tendency was to defer to her judgment on a regular basis.
Chuck stood there with his traditional stunned silly expression upon seeing her, which always generated a smile from Sarah. How he was able to look at her the same way he had for over two decades was beyond her comprehension. Psychologists theorized that truly happy couples never saw their partners they way they were in the present; they always saw them the way they looked when they first met. Given how much she loved her husband and vice versa, Sarah had no problems accepting that theory.
"And you look handsome, too," she said as she gazed upon her husband, her crystal blue eyes sparkling against the lights of the D.C. skyline.
She walked up to him and straightened his tie. "Worried about the kids?"
Chuck nodded shyly. "A little bit. John will be going to college in five months. I guess it still hasn't sunk in yet. Emma will start high school next year. It feels like everything is just flying by."
"And if that's not enough, the boys are asking her out now."
"Yeah, where's Casey when I really need him?"
Sarah laughed. "God, I feel so sorry for his two daughters when they reach Emma's age. He wasn't around to threaten Alex's potential boyfriends, so he has some catching up to do."
Chuck smiled at that. Despite having a daughter back when he was still Alex Coburn, Chuck never expected Casey to get within ten miles of having kids ever again and he assumed Gertrude Verbanski was the same way. However, as they continued to manage their security company, Casey and Verbanski decided to start another little project. They adopted two baby girls who lost their parents during the Russian Civil War ten years ago. Chuck and Sarah figured Natalya and Olga would be permitted to date around the time they were old enough to be great-grandparents.
"Thankfully, Alex ended up with the right person." Chuck paused for a moment. "Or, at least there are plenty of guys much worse than Morgan."
"Very true, Chuck," Sarah replied with a giggle as she went to the closet to get her coat.
"We're just meeting Alex tonight, is that correct? Jimmy won't be there?" Chuck asked.
"He's off on another mission somewhere."
Sarah shook her head with a tired sigh. Alex Forrest-Slade and she had many conversations over the years regarding Alex's husband. Sarah felt a bit of guilt about it since Chuck and she were the ones to encourage Jimmy to become a spy. They never realized he would be so good at it. To say nothing about becoming the CIA's top agent for over two decades; a real-life James Bond. Although to hear Jimmy tell it, one would have thought he was a cross between Inspector Clouseau and Maxwell Smart.
Hell, that'd be an improvement, he undoubtedly would have said.
In a way, Jimmy was responsible for their trip to Washington. Chuck was almost ready to present his latest project to the government; his final one, in fact. He had been working on this project for the last nine years. In reality, his family had been working on it for six decades, going all the way back to his father, Stephen. But the project would reach its conclusion this week.
After that, Sarah and he would begin planning for their retirement from Carmichael Industries.
Even though they never pressured them at any point about it, both of them hoped either John or Emma…ideally both…would run the company someday. John was still deciding his major for college, but business and law were near the top of his list. Emma wasn't quite the brainiac her older brother was, but she was quite intelligent when she applied herself. She had her mother's skills, although how she developed Aunt Carina's mischievous streak was a mystery and a source of constant aggravation for her parents.
"Poor Alex," Chuck said with a knowing laugh. "I guess that's what you get when you decide to marry a co-worker."
"Really, Chuck?" Sarah said with a raised eyebrow.
He quickly backtracked. "But you and I are different, because…well…"
"Waiting…" Sarah teased as her mouth formed into a wide grin.
Chuck looked at his watch, even though he didn't have one on. "Oh, look at the time. We don't want to keep Alex waiting."
Sarah pressed a button on her bracelet. "Secure," was the curt reply from the bodyguards outside of their room, a gift from Casey and Verbanski. Chuck went to the door and held it open for Sarah. She stepped outside.
She caught a glimpse of their two actual bodyguards lying on the ground near the end of the hallway. Before she could react, a dart hit her in the back of the neck. Chuck stood in shock at seeing Sarah hit as another dart hit him in his sleeve. Both of them slumped to the ground unconscious. Two other men emerged from the elevator in masks and black clothing to join their similarly-clad partners. They picked up Chuck and Sarah, carrying them to the freight elevators and down to a waiting van.
Langham Hotel, London
March 19, 2033
12:20 AM GMT
John sat on the chair in stunned silence. He was having difficulty breathing. The mere presence of so many of his parents' friends in the room was a shock in and of itself. But discovering his parents were missing was overwhelming him.
Samantha poured a glass of water from a bottle on the table and brought it to him. She knelt down so she was at eye level with him.
"John?" she began softly.
"My-my…parents? What…"
He tried to take a sip of the water but his hand shook so badly, he was having difficulty holding the glass steady. Samantha put her hand over his to calm him. He breathed in and out a few times in an attempt to collect himself. It didn't have much of an effect.
"What is going on? Who took them? Why were they kidnapped? Why are all of you here?"
He then glared at Samantha. "You…were just pretending…?"
"John," Alex began and waited until he turned towards her. "There is a lot to explain. Your parents would have told you everything eventually. The last thing any of us ever wanted was to tell you like this."
"Emma," John blurted out. "Is she in danger, too? She's all alone…"
"She's fine, John," Jimmy replied. "Remember, she was originally going with Uncle Morgan and his wife to Cancun for Spring Break? They were going to keep an eye on her while your parents were in D.C.? They're still doing that, only now they'll stay at a beach house the government owns. There's security everywhere; she's better guarded than the President right now."
"But…why? Why were they kidnapped? What would anybody want with them? Do they want money? Why can't we go to the police?"
"It's not about money," Casey replied quietly. "It's about who they are. Who...all of us are."
"What are you talking about?"
"Long ago, before you were born, all of us were covert spies for the government. And so were your parents."
John sat for a moment before breaking out in a disbelieving cackle. "Oh, come on! Give me a break. I mean, Aunt Alex maybe. She's, like, an advisor to the President, so that I can see. But my parents? And all of you? Spies? License to kill, vodka martinis, the whole thing?"
"It's true, John," Jimmy replied. "In fact, it's how your parents met."
"No, that's not right. Mom tells the story to Emma all the time because she thinks it's so romantic. Dad worked as a Nerd Herder in the Buy More, and Mom brought her phone in one day to be repaired. Then she watched Dad help some father with his daughter's ballerina recital?"
"Well, that part did actually happen. The part she didn't tell you is that she was sent to find out information regarding your dad. The phone was just her way of approaching him."
"Your father came across an email he wasn't supposed to see," Carina continued. "Sarah and Casey were both sent to investigate. Your mother was an agent in the CIA, and Casey was an operative for the NSA. Eventually it was decided both of them would work closely with your father to keep him protected. I worked for the DEA back then, and your parents even helped me apprehend a fence for an arms dealer. But I knew back then Sarah was falling for him. And your father…well, Sarah was certainly the best thing to happen to him as well. It didn't happen overnight, but eventually they fell in love and got married."
"Wait, so you don't work for a clothing manufacturer?" Carina shook her head at John's question. He turned to Jimmy. "And you don't work for the Nationals?"
Jimmy quietly laughed. "I thought I gave myself away when the Cubs finally won the World Series in 2024. But no, Alex and I are the only ones who still work for the government. Twenty years ago, all of us were together. Your family was the reason for it, all the way back to your grandfather."
"Really? Was Grandpa Jack a spy, too?"
"Oh, no. Your other grandfather, the one you never knew. Grandpa Stephen."
"But…Dad told me Grandpa worked for a computer company a long time ago. He even showed me pictures with his business partner. Very dry sense of humor? Use to trip and fall a lot? Great golfer? Loved to take vacations with his family?"
"Ted Roark. Well, your grandfather created something back in the 1980s that sort of started the ball rolling. It was called the Intersect."
"The Intersect?"
Jimmy looked at Casey and Alex, who both nodded in consent. "The Intersect was an idea for a computer system that your grandfather created. It was designed to quickly analyze all of the data that was coming from agents in the field and chatter heard through all types of communications at Fort Meade. It was designed to mine for patterns in the data so we could stop threats to the country before they happened. Your grandfather designed the code to convert the data into subliminal images. If you saw an image, you knew the secret hidden in it. That email your father received was the entire set of images. He saw them and knew every piece of information the government possessed. I'm sure you can understand why Sarah and Casey had to protect him."
"So…Dad became a spy because of all of this information he suddenly knew?"
"Exactly," Casey replied. "The amount of information he knew was endless. He saved this country more times than I can count. Your father's a bona fide hero, John. So is your mother."
"They are?" John couldn't wrap his head around the concept of his parents being anything other than those two people who owned a computer company and made sure he did his homework.
He took another sip of the water, grateful he was much calmer, even though everything he was told was still overwhelming. "So are they still spies or something?"
"No," Alex quickly replied. "They left the government around the time they got married and decided to stay out, despite repeated begging and pleading by my predecessor. The government tried to find another person to download the Intersect into their mind, but only one other person was able to handle it as well as Chuck. That was James."
Jimmy nodded in agreement. "I was the first person your grandfather tried the Intersect on over forty years ago, back when I was still in college. That version of it failed, but then your father found me one day at the Buy More and discovered I was a former Intersect. After a shakeup in the Agency back in 2012, I was given the latest version of the Intersect at that time and used it in the field until nine years ago."
"Nine years ago?"
"A terrorist group came very close to introducing a biological weapon into the water systems of New York City. The Intersect helped me put the clues together to figure out what group was doing it and where. The CIA stopped them."
"You mean you stopped them," Alex replied with a tinge of anger in her voice. "And broke your back in three places as a result."
Jimmy rolled his eyes. "OK, it wasn't the smartest thing I ever did, but what else could I have done?"
"Something besides diving off the top of a twenty-story aqueduct just to retrieve it?" Alex shook her head in frustration before turning back to John. "He was lucky to survive. He spent three months in the hospital."
"And another two months sleeping on the couch," Jimmy muttered with a sideways glare at Alex.
"Anyway," Casey snarled, annoyed Jimmy and Alex were arguing at a time like this. "It was decided it was too dangerous to let one of the government's best weapons stay in a human being like that."
"OK, is this the part that involves my parents?" John asked as his patience started to wane.
"We think whoever kidnapped your parents is after this," Verbanski replied as she showed him a small device. John studied it carefully.
"It's an iComm. Anybody can get one of these," he said in confusion.
Verbanski shook her head. "Actually, it's a gComm, issued to those in our intelligence community and the higher-ups in most government agencies. It's basically an iComm but several generations ahead. Your father invented it."
John was flabbergasted. He thought his father simply designed computer games. He was the inventor of one of the most popular tech items in the world?
"Why…why didn't my parents tell me?"
"To protect you," Casey replied.
"Protect me? From what?"
"After they left the field, neither of them wanted to be involved with the government in any way, and they wanted to keep you and your sister away from danger as much as possible. We respected their wishes. That's why you never found out what any of us really did."
"Me being the exception, of course," Alex added. "But that couldn't be avoided because I'm in the public eye a lot. I found out about what your father was working on and asked for his help. They didn't want to do it, but my story about the little stunt James pulled convinced them to help."
"But why sell the invention to Apple? Was that to protect us, too?"
Jimmy nodded. "The CIA gave his company the money to perfect the gComm for their use, and then they sold a watered-down version of the specs to Apple. They mass-produced it, and your family was able to stay out of the spotlight. Your mom and dad just had to sit back and watch the money roll in."
"And that brings us to now," Carina said. "Your father was putting the finishing touches on a Comm unit powerful enough to be its own Intersect. With an IntComm, every agent would have all the data they would ever need to do their job successfully."
"So, someone kidnapped them to get their hands on this new IntComm unit?"
"That's what we're worried about," Alex replied somberly. "And whoever it is has to be someone within the CIA."
John's blood pressure shot up fifty points at that thought. "Why?"
"Only a few people in the Agency knew your parents were coming to Washington. And the only people from Casey's security firm who knew were the two bodyguards, and both of them are dead."
John breathing got shorter and more strained. Samantha, who had been by his side the whole time, gently rubbed his back to try and calm him.
"John?" she said softly. "Are you OK?"
"They're going to kill them…they're going to kill my parents," he said as he bordered on hyperventilation. Suddenly he shot out of the chair. "We have to stop them! You can't let this happen!"
"John!" Samantha shouted as she steadied him. "That's why everybody is here. They're going to get your parents back. But we need your help."
Samantha gently guided John back into the chair. "What…what can I do? I'm not even out of high school yet!"
"Our theory is the kidnappers will try and contact you, thinking you'll give up the IntComm in order to get your parents back," Casey answered. "But they don't know you have us backing you up."
"We can't call the police or the FBI or anybody?"
"If we do, the mole in the Agency would find out," Alex replied. "I'm going to head back to D.C. to find out who the mole is. While I'm doing that, Casey, Gertrude, James, Carina, and Samantha are going to help you. They'll get you ready and help you deal with the people who kidnapped your parents."
"None of us wanted this to happen, John," Carina said. "But I think I speak for everybody here when I say we'd give up our lives to protect your mother and father. And you and Emma as well."
John slowly looked around the room. The expression on everyone's face conveyed agreement with what Aunt Carina said.
His voice was barely above a whisper. "What do you want me to do?"
Casey handed him a gComm similar to the one Verbanski had. "This unit is programmed to intercept both the phone at your house and your iComm. We wait for them to call and attempt to get a lock on where they are. Hopefully, they'll call from the same location where they have your parents."
John looked at the gComm in his hand as fear permeated his entire being. "OK, should I wait for them to call?"
"Why don't you try to get some rest," Alex replied as gently as she could. "We'll be staked out in the rooms on either side of you. If there's an emergency, just hit the function and 9 keys, and we'll come in immediately."
"And if you need to talk to us, you just have to ask," Jimmy added. "Anything you need, no matter how small it is. You got the kitchen sink thrown at you tonight, but we'll get your parents back. That we can promise."
Casey and Verbanski went to the door, Casey gripping John's shoulder as he went by. Alex and Jimmy followed. Carina and Samantha exited into the hallway, but Samantha stopped and turned around to look at John, who hadn't moved an inch.
"Is it OK if I stay for a few minutes, Mother?" Samantha asked. "I…think I owe him more of an explanation."
Carina turned and looked at John. She wasn't sure exactly what Samantha would discuss with John, but having been in her situation before, she had a few highly-educated guesses. In a way, she was jealous of her daughter for not being the cold-hearted man-eater she was when she was a young agent. She nodded her consent.
Samantha walked back inside and gently closed the door. She sat on the bed and faced John. After several moments, he looked up. The confusion and fear on John's face was accompanied by a new emotion: anger and resentment.
"I deserve that glare you're giving me right now," Samantha said quietly, unable to look John in the eyes.
"So, tonight was all a setup? Just wanted to see if I was a tough guy?"
"They weren't sure if you could handle yourself under pressure. There's no way to know that unless you actually experience it."
"Great, I beat up someone just to prove a point?"
"The guy who played the robber works for MI-5. That's his job: to take a beating like that. He works in their physical training section." Samantha looked at her iComm. "By the way, he sent me a text. He said you've got a really good punch and great technique, but never stand directly over someone unless you know they're unconscious. They might sweep a hand or leg and knock you to the ground. Always maintain distance until you attack."
"I'll keep that in mind," John replied acidly. "So, Michelle's job was just to get Connor away from us? Are they on an actual date or do we owe her some money now?"
"Michelle is NOT a prostitute," Samantha replied, her voice rising to dangerous octaves. "She's an agent in her second year of training with MI-5. She could beat the shit out of both of you and not get a single hair out of place. So could I."
John stared at her momentarily before his posture softened. "Sorry," he said meekly.
"She actually volunteered for this assignment. She thought Connor was cute, and honestly, he was a step up from all of those emo rockers with the Mohawk hairdos and tattoos all over their bodies she dated since high school."
"Wait, Connor. What happened to him?"
"Exactly what it looked like. They went out to have some fun. Except in the morning, he's going to high tail it back to America."
"What would make him do that?"
"Casey did some research. Didn't Connor apply for a scholarship somewhere and get put on the waiting list?"
"Notre Dame. He wanted to be in pre-Law there, but he needed a scholarship. His dad had no interest in paying all that money for a school across the country when there were plenty of schools in California."
"Well, Casey called in a few favors, and Connor got that scholarship, only he has to show up at the campus by Monday to fill out the paperwork. So he'll be hopping on the first flight back to Los Angeles in the morning."
"All of that just to get him out of the way?"
"Your parents' friends seem to think it's worth it. Given the stories I've heard about them in the last day, I can understand why."
"And what about you? Was that just about doing your job tonight?"
Samantha looked down at the ground and remained quiet. After several moments, she raised her head. "When I was twelve, my mother told me everything. How she used to be an agent, some of the missions she was on, even some of the guys she had to seduce. It turned out, I was the result of one of those seductions."
John stared at her in complete shock but said nothing. Samantha continued. "She was trying to get some information from a computer analyst working for a company here in London. It turned out he didn't know anything, but she told me she was shocked when she found out she was pregnant. She considered terminating the pregnancy, but something in the back of her mind, I don't know what, made her decide to have me instead. She told me she kept wondering if she made the right decision. Even when I was born, she said it didn't feel real to her. She felt like she was still a spy. She was afraid to get close to my father and to me."
"So what happened?"
"When I was two, I had gotten very sick, and my mother was panicking. My father tried to get to her, but London is always gridlocked. She was going crazy, but then she said something snapped in her mind. Suddenly she knew exactly what to do. She called the doctor, told him exactly what my symptoms were, and the doctor forwarded the information to a clinic within walking distance of our flat. Then…this is the part I'll never forget…she said I was lying in the little crib at the clinic with small tubes inside my nose to help with my breathing. I opened my eyes and saw her. And I reached for her. She...she leaned down into the crib, and I touched her cheek. She said right then is when she knew. She knew she wanted to be a mother and raise me. No more being a spy for her. She wanted a family. My parents got married six months later."
Samantha took in a deep breath. "When I was old enough, she said she didn't want to hold any secrets from me; that I deserved to know the truth about her. So she told me everything, even things she wouldn't tell my father. She told me a story about Casey and her in Prague and how she used to get under Alex's skin by making some not-so-subtle moves on her then-boyfriend Jimmy. But what I remember the most is how she spoke of your parents, how she was always jealous of them. How both of them always looked out for her, no matter what she may have done to them.
"When Casey told her they had been kidnapped and might have to tell you everything, my mother asked me to help. Had it been anybody else, I probably would have said no. But the way she loves your parents, the way everybody does, I knew I had to do this for her.
"You asked me if I was just doing my job tonight. Well, part of it was that. And part of it was helping my mother. But most of it was thinking if there were two people who love each other as much as your parents do, they would probably have a son I would want to meet. That person would have to be someone special."
A smile came across her face. "I've never been more right in my life. Tonight...maybe it was my job to get you back to the hotel, but...it felt like something more than that."
She slowly stood. "Try to get some rest. I don't mean to put any more pressure on you, but this is just getting started. We will get your parents back."
Samantha started for the door but stopped where John was sitting. She bent down and kissed him on his cheek. "If you need to talk to someone closer to your age, you can call me," she said quietly into his ear before she straightened up and exited the room.
John slowly turned towards the door, but nobody was there. He took off his shoes before falling into his bed. The fear that had subsided while he talked to Samantha boiled to the surface once again, and his body involuntarily curled itself up into a fetal position as tears streamed down his cheeks. He stayed that way for a long time before exhaustion finally won out. He fell asleep in the same clothes he wore to the tavern.
He was awakened five hours later by the ringing gComm.