I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway.

Kate decides that this spy stuff is easy – or is it? What happens when the bad guys don't do as you expect?

I'll be sure to post warnings on chapters that have violent or sexual situations. I'm going to keep this T – but I might dance on the edge for a bit.

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A Spy is Born

x-x-x-x-x

"Okay team," Elise said over the comm. link. "I have Kate safely in the van. Proceed with Phase II. Confidence remains high."

"Rodger that," Joe's voice quickly responded. "Sparky and I have a visual on the limo. The tracker that Kate planted corresponds to his physical location. So we're falling back out of sight. We'll let you know when he reaches a destination."

"I also copy," Sarah said. "The bug that Kate planted on his phone is coming through loud and clear. He is talking to Shaw as we speak. It sounds like he bought it. Are we recording?"

"That's affirmative," Elise said. "Chuck just verified that we are intercepting the call. We'll have a transcript by the time we return to home base. We also have Shaw's cell phone's current position identified. It appears to be where Gold and the limo are heading."

Sarah was smiling so hard that it was hard for her to talk. "Advise our new spy," she said. "That Alex and I have a bet going on which one of us gets to hug her first."

"I'll advise her," Elise responded. "But I'm afraid that you've both lost. Heather and I have already taken those honors. Her dad currently has her wrapped up. Be advised – there is one matter that we have to take care of. Kate improvised and told Gold that she had another offer. We're going to have to come up with one."

"Wow," Sarah said. "That is simply brilliant. Why didn't Chuck or you think of that? We need to call Janice and have her work something out."

"Already complete," Elise said. "Chuck just got off the phone with her. She doesn't anticipate any problems. Advise my good friend Alex that there was no physical stuff at all. The whole thing wasn't nearly as bad as we feared. A little banter – that's it. I know that he'll be relieved to hear that."

"I'll wait until we get home," Sarah said. Of course, she knew full well that Alex was listening to the entire exchange on his earpiece. "He's about to bounce off the ceiling as it is. It's making it hard to drive. Just to be extra cautious, we're going to swing by and backup Joe and Sparky. We'll see you at home base in an hour. We'll debrief in the media center. Tell our girl that I'm going to make her a root beer float."

Alex turned to Sarah. "A root beer float?" he asked.

"That was her favorite treat when she was a little girl," Sarah answered with a grin.

Alex felt better than he had ever felt in his life. It was like he could get out and run faster than the car was moving. "A root beer float," he said – more to himself than Sarah. "That's good to know."

x-x-x-x-x

Kate felt – well – fantastic. Not only because her dad was hugging her. Dad was a hugger. He always had been. Mom was always the serious one and Dad was always the emotional one. But tonight was different. Oh, she knew that her parents were proud of her. She absolutely did. And they weren't ever at all hesitant about saying so. They always acknowledged her good grades at school. And they were clearly proud of the work that she had done on Janice's campaign.

It's just that – well, those things were easy. They came natural to her - not like this spy stuff. And she was the only member of the team that had yet to do something spectacular to save the day. Alex, Sparky, and Elise went on that incredible cross country suicide rescue mission. Joe showed up in the nick of time to save Sparky's life – twice. And even Heather came through and saved Sparky from being captured and almost assuredly killed at that bar.

But tonight, it was Kate that had come through. Sure, Elise was talking her through it. But still – she had done it. She even had to admit – it wasn't all that horrible. As a matter of fact, if she hadn't been so worried about Alex, it might have been a little fun.

Elise was absolutely right. The guy was blinded. Whenever she smiled, he simply switched his brain off. It was magical. And this was a trained agent. How could he possibly have allowed himself to be bugged that easily? Kate was almost embarrassed for the guy.

But right now, Kate didn't want to think about that. All she wanted to think about was how good it felt to finally come through for the team – oh, and have Dad holding her.

x-x-x-x-x

Daniel Shaw couldn't believe his ears. "What do you mean that she's got another offer?" he asked incredulously into the phone. "How could that be?"

"I don't know, sir," Gold said. "I mean, she is incredible. Some other companies must think so too."

"What does she want?' Shaw asked. "More money?"

"No, sir," Gold said. "She wants to meet Mr. Volkoff. She says that it's going to come down to which company she respects more."

"Wow," Shaw said. "That's going to be rough. Although Mr. Volkoff is in the country. I suppose I could mention it to him. After all, he definitely does have a soft spot for beautiful women – and Miss Bartowski certainly qualifies."

"Yes, sir," Gold replied wistfully. "She certainly does."

Shaw laughed. "Speaking of rough," he said sarcastically. "I hope that young Kate is ready for him to be. Mr. Volkoff has a reputation for liking it when they don't give in right away. Maybe she'll learn to be careful what she wishes for."

"Probably," Gold said. "But I don't understand. Why don't we just grab her now? I mean, isn't turning her over to Volkoff a bit much? I've heard horror stories about his seduction techniques."

"You're not falling for her, are you?" Shaw asked with the smile in his voice plain. "No - this is actually a win-win. We do a favor for Mr. Volkoff. And he does a favor for us. I want to see her fall. I want her to think that she is on top of the world – and then have it all come crashing down around her. I want to see the mother and daughter watch each other slowly bleed to death. That's what I want. Any questions?"

"No, sir," Gold said. I'll set something up."

"Good," Shaw said as he ended the call. "I'll talk to you when you get here."

x-x-x-x-x

The first thing that Sarah did when she got home was to go looking for her daughter. Naturally, Alex was already with her. That was as it should be. She was just kidding about racing him for the first hug. She actually hung back for a long moment as they held each other. It was such a sweet scene. She even flashed back to her and Chuck at that age. Well, not exactly at that age. That hadn't even met each other for like seven more years.

But still – it was a very familiar scene. And Sarah was very happy for – well, for both of them. The honest truth was, even though they might not look like it – they were perfect for each other. It was another thing that they had in common with her and Chuck. Sarah watched the look of pure joy on her daughter's face – and realized how happy she was that Kate would have those extra seven years. The seven years that Sarah so many times wished that she could have back.

It really wasn't that long before Alex saw Sarah standing there and stepped away. He actually stepped away so that a mom could have a moment with her not-so-little girl. That's just the kind of man that he was.

"I just talked to Elise," Sarah whispered as she held Kate tightly. "She told me what a phenomenal job you did tonight. I honestly couldn't be more proud – of both of you."

"Thanks, Mom," Kate said. "I hope that this doesn't sound arrogant or boastful – but I'm proud of me too."

"Well," Sarah said. "It's like the man said. If you can do it – it ain't bragging. You do realize that we still have some work to do? Let's go meet with the team and plan on ending this thing. After all, I believe you have a deal with a pretty amazing guy that you need to uphold."

x-x-x-x-x

Alan Gold only knew one phone number for Kate. And that was her phone at the Senate office. He knew that the office would be closed. So, he left a message.

"Hi, Kate," he said. "This is Alan. I have good news. I was able to set up the meeting with Mr. Volkoff that you asked for. He wants to have dinner with you tomorrow night. As it turns out, he is a huge admirer of yours. If you two hit it off like I know that you will, I seriously doubt that money is going to become an issue. No matter what anybody else is offering, Mr. Volkoff is very used to getting what he wants. One thing, he is a bit of an eccentric. He insists that anybody who meets with him is swept for bugs first. Silly, I know. But please don't be offended. Anyway, I'll plan on picking you up at six – just like tonight. I just know that you're going to have a very exciting evening."

Elise sighed as she picked the transcript off the printer. Things had just gotten a lot more complicated.

x-x-x-x-x

Janice and Casey were on the screen waiting when Kate walked into the Media Room to begin the conference. Joe made it official by being the last member of the team to hug her and tell her how proud they were. Even Sparky had stepped up and hugged her – although that might have been more for Mom's benefit. After all, she was watching with her typical eagle eye.

Chuck was already in the conference room. Actually, everybody was – except for Elise. Kate wondered why Dad was looking so sad. After all, it had been a great evening – then he passed out the copies of the transcript of the call between Shaw and Gold.

Instantly the joy that had permeated the room vanished. Gone like the air being let out of a balloon.

Sarah tried to get the meeting back on track – and the team thinking about something else. So she turned to Janice on the monitor. "Were you able to get another offer?" she asked.

"Are you kidding?" Janice asked sarcastically. "Companies are jumping all over themselves to get Katie to represent them. All I had to do was hint that she might be interested and it was like throwing blood into shark infested waters. We could easily start a bidding war. I have three offers that I'll fax over as soon as we're done."

Kate was simply stunned. "I can't believe that all these companies would pay so much," she said.

Chuck sighed at his daughter. "Don't take this the wrong way," he said. "I'm not minimizing you or what you've accomplished. I'm so proud watching you work those reporters that I could burst. Those companies would all want you anyway. But imagine having someone on your payroll that refers to the President of The United States as her Aunt Janice. They are assuming that Janice is going to become President. I have to say – I agree with them. You would guarantee that your employer would have instant access. The President would take the call any time that you called her. How many people can say that? That alone over doubles your value."

Just then Elise walked into the room. Chuck decided to try and lighten the room. "It was nice of you to join us," he said. "Did we interrupt your power nap?"

Elise smiled – as much as she could. "I wish," she said. "I could sure use a nap. But I'm afraid that we just received another intercept."

x-x-x-x-x

Elise played the tape of the call for the team. Alex reacted right away. "This guy actually likes you," he said. "You can tell it in his voice. He's jealous that you're having dinner with another man."

Elise reached over and grabbed Alex's arm – and smiled at him. "Well," she said. "Now you and Alan Gold have something in common." She quickly laughed as she saw the look on Alex's face. "I'm just teasing you, Alex," she said. "Alan Gold doesn't like Kate. He likes the flirting sexpot that she is pretending to be. Most men would. He would actually hate Kate if he ever met her – no offense, sweetie."

Kate just grinned. "None taken," she said.

"This is a simply a Greek Tragedy," Janice said. "We were so close. Volkoff is actually willing to meet with her. We could have captured him tomorrow night. Now he's going to get away."

"Why is he going to get away?" Kate asked. "I'll have dinner with him – you can follow me – and grab Volkoff."

"Weren't you listening?" Sarah asked. "He is going to sweep you for bugs. That means we would have no way to listen to what was happening. You would be completely on your own. That would be a ridiculously hard assignment for a top agent in her prime."

"So?" Kate asked. "I think I can handle Volkoff on my own. At least for as long as it's going to take for you to get there."

"No way," Sarah said firmly. "We would have no way to track you. How would we even know where to go? It's just too risky. If they lost our tail, you'd be defenseless. We know where Shaw is hiding. We'll just raid that location tonight and pick him up. That's still a huge victory."

"Mom," Kate pleaded. "Please. We have a chance to do a game changing thing. What about the greater good stuff that we're always talking about? Isn't that why we're doing this? Give me a chance."

Chuck jumped it. "No way," he said. "It's not happening. You haven't seen what I've seen. The guy is an animal. He enjoys hurting women. It's simply too big of a risk."

Of all the people in the room, it was the last one that Sarah expected to defend Kate. "She can do this," Alex said. "Besides, we can track her."

"How," Chuck snapped. "Didn't you hear? They are going to sweep her for bugs."

"They're not going to sweep Alan Gold," Alex replied. "We can track him."

That got everybody's attention. "Okay," Sarah said. "That's true. We know where his cell phone will be. But how do we know that Gold will be in the same place as Kate and Volkoff? This is almost assuredly not going to be someplace public."

Alex sighed. "He will take her to wherever Volkoff is," he said. "He'll wait for her. Did you listen to his voice? I'm sure that Kate can talk him into waiting outside for her to be done. She probably could talk him into waiting while standing on his head."

"Of course," Elise said. "Yes. Kate can get him to wait. She'll have to promise him sex. But she'll never have to pay off. We'll bust them just as soon as we know where Volkoff is. She might have to get a little physical in the car going over there – to convince him."

"Alex," Kate said. "Are you sure that you're okay with this?"

Alex sighed. "Let's finish this," he said. "We need to get on with our lives. As long as Volkoff is out there – you're going to be threatened someday. It's just that we'll never know when. We can end him – tonight. If that means that you have to let some creep think that he has a chance with you for ten minutes – I'll live."

Kate looked at Alex for a long moment – and nodded. "Thank you, sweetie," she said. "I love you."

"I know," Alex said with as much smile as he could manage. "I'm still holding you to our deal."

"I know," Kate said. "If you think that you're looking forward to it half as much as I am – you're just incredibly wrong." Then she turned to the monitor. "Speaking of deals," she said. "Aunt Janice, are you firing me?"

Janice could only look in shock. "Of course not," she said. "Katie, why on earth would you say something like that?"

"We have a deal," Kate said. "I'm going to get to stand on the platform while you take the oath of office – as your Chief of Staff. You promised me. I expect you to keep your promise."

"I know," Janice said softly. "But the money that they are offering - public service simply can't compete with those salaries. Think of your future. Think of Alex."

"I am thinking of my future," Kate said. "And of Alex. We haven't really discussed this – and, Alex, correct me if you think that I'm wrong – but we want to do something that we love – for someone that we love. I'm holding you to our deal. I expect you to keep your promise."

Alex smiled. "Of course you're not wrong," he said. "I was going to have this very discussion with you tonight. We have a chance to make history. How can money possibly compete with that?"

Janice didn't cry easily. And she didn't exactly cry. But she was clearly fighting it. "Okay guys," she said. Her voice was barely over a whisper. "I'll keep my promise. I'm nothing if not trustworthy."

x-x-x-x-x

As soon as the meeting was over Kate almost literally dragged Alex into the safe room. "I'm very sorry that I put you on the spot in there," she said. "That wasn't fair. You deserve some input. After all, this is millions of dollars that we're talking about."

"Not really," Alex said. "It's not money that we're talking about - not at all. It's what makes us happy that we're talking about. And if being Senator Casey's Chief of Staff makes you happy, well, that's good enough for me."

"That's sweet," Kate whispered. "But what about what makes you happy? You deserve to be happy too."

Alex chuckled. "You're joking, right?" he asked. "Trust me, Katie. If I'm with you, I'll be happy. I really don't care if we work at Taco Bell. All I can think about is driving to Vegas and saying our vows."

Kate had to blink back the tears – and didn't totally succeed. "You've been incredible," she whispered. "Alex, I just need you to know that I couldn't do this without you. And if I have to end up doing anything physical tomorrow – I'm going to get through it by pretending he is you."

Alex took Kate into his arms. "I know," he said. "You can't worry about me. You just need to do whatever it takes to be safe. Promise me that you'll do that."

Kate nodded. "I promise," she said. "I need you to promise me something too."

"What's that?" Alex asked with a smile.

"Promise me that we won't have to work at Taco Bell."

x-x-x-x-x

Elise and Sarah took Kate off for some last minute instructions. After all, she was going to be on her own with Gold for the first time.

"I didn't want to say this in front of Alex," Sarah said. "But you can't take any chances tonight. Gold has to completely believe that he is going to get lucky if he waits for you. He has to be burning in anticipation. A locomotive can't be able to drag him from that spot. That means you're going to have to get pretty physical with him in the car."

"I know," Kate said. "How far do you think?"

"You're going to have to make out with him," Sarah said. "And if he is like every other man in the world, his hand is going to be inside your shirt at some point. That's something that only you will know. There never will be a need to tell Alex."

Kate nodded. "I was assuming that," she said. "Okay, so Gold gets to second base. But I'm not keeping anything from Alex. He doesn't deserve to be lied too. Besides – I don't need too. He can handle it. He's amazing, isn't he?"

Sarah smiled. "He really, really is," she said.

"There is one other thing," Elise said. "In case something goes wrong – your dad is right about Volkoff. He's an animal. I've been with men like that. They want you to resist them – so that they can hurt you. So you're going to have to fight him. Let's go down to the gym and work on a couple of fight moves."

"I'm not going to fight him," Kate said. "I couldn't win. Besides, it won't be necessary."

Elise just smiled. "Why?" she asked.

"Because," Kate said matter of factly. "If it comes to that – I won't resist him."

x-x-x-x-x