I'm posting the latest chapter to my series finale. This one took a bit of time because I'm at a part of the story where I left quite a bit up in the air. More of what happens in the later chapters were planned all along, but I wanted to add a few elements to this chapter. Kind of a rest period after the roller coaster ride in Chapter 11. Hopefully, I'll get myself back on schedule with Chapter 13.
This chapter contains a little shout-out to an old friend of mine who passed away this week. I went to school with him, and we did a lot together. To this day, he remained one of the smartest and one of the funniest people I ever met. Everybody I know has said how much they'll miss him. So will I.
Enjoy and review. Dudley, this is for you, buddy. :-)
Washington, D.C.
May 17, 2011
9:00 AM EDT
General Beckman poured over the reports that were coming in regarding the breach of Castle. She was beside herself to wonder how this could have happened. How did this person get through the security system? What were they looking for? And why in the hell did it take Morgan Grimes and Dr. Woodcomb to stop them?
She would meet later with Cheryl Costello, the young woman who was supposed to take Agent Walker's place. The general would have more than a few questions for Cheryl and her supervisors as to why she wasn't given a more detailed outline of the cover work she was doing. She would also talk to Morgan Grimes and Dr. Woodcomb to get their versions of what happened. Most of all, she wanted to find out why she had been unable to reach Chuck or Sarah since she ordered them on lockdown. Although contact was always kept to a minimum with someone on lockdown, regular status reports were expected. She did not get those from them, nor did she receive updates from Agent Slade regarding his progress in finding Colonel Casey.
She was interrupted by a call on her private, secured line.
"Beckman."
"General, this is Stephen Bartowski," the voice on the other end of the line said.
"Mr. Bartowski, I'm afraid this is a bad time to call. We are dealing with an incident that took place in Castle."
Stephen's voice came in a rush. "Is everything OK?"
"The incident did not involve your son or Agent Walker," the general quickly replied to assuage his concerns. "However, we are still investigating."
"Please keep me informed with whatever information you can give me. In the meantime, were you able to gather that data I requested?"
"Yes. They just finished compiling all of the information, and we'll transfer it over our secure lines by the end of today. This is a tremendous amount of research you requested, Mr. Bartowski. It wasn't easy to gather."
"I assure you, General. If everything works out, it will have been well worth your efforts."
"Please keep us up-to-date on your progress."
"Good luck, General."
Beckman hung up her phone and returned to analyzing the reports from Burbank that were still coming in. Her intercom buzzed.
"General? We have a call for you from the DGSE in Paris."
Paris, France
May 17, 2011
5:00 PM
Sarah walked through the hallways of the mansion where they were staying under the watchful eye of President Sarkozy's security team and British Intelligence. Certainly neither agency expected any of the agents to attempt an escape, but the SIS had very difficult times ahead of it. The extent of the corruption would have to be ascertained and eliminated. But nobody wanted to take any chances. For now, if all she could do was await her fate, at least she had her closest friends with her, especially the man she would spend the rest of her life with. Fate had dealt her far worse cards than this before.
She paused for a moment and smiled. She just thought of Casey as a friend instead of a partner. Of course, he had been a friend for quite some time. Given his team was an emergency barrier away from killing her four years ago, as well as the two of them going after each other when they first found Chuck, it was quite a journey to get to where they were now. Even his little sarcastic quips about Chuck had subsided recently. Certainly she never knew anybody who was better in the field, not even Bryce. But what surprised her most was finding out these details of his past that painted a picture far different from the image of a sadistic burnout she first had. Casey may have still been a guarded, cynical person, but he was also someone who always put others first, even sacrificing having a family, to defend the country. And as time went on, Casey accepted, albeit rather slowly, that Chuck and she were in love with each other. Even better, he was willing to do whatever it took to make their dreams come true. Sarah was hard-pressed to think of anybody who had more integrity or was more faithful to their job…and to Chuck and her…than Casey.
She walked to the basement of the mansion. This was as relaxed as she had been in weeks. Of course, she had Chuck to thank for that. A member of the security detail told her a full gymnasium was set up, and she wanted to get some exercise. After two days spent primarily in bed with Chuck, she wanted to get out and stretch. Since Chuck was napping in their bedroom, she thought she would take the opportunity to work out.
As she approached, she could hear the sound of a heavy bag being hit repeatedly with considerable force, followed by rather angry grunts. As she turned the corner and peeked in the doorway, she could see the security agent who was assigned to Jimmy. Chuck, Sarah, Casey, Ilsa, and Jimmy had three agents assigned to each of them on a rotating basis, but Sarah's escort was kind enough to give her the maximum safe distance. Jimmy's guard was sitting at a table with a book, but Jimmy's activities caught his attention more.
Sarah tapped on the shoulder of the security agent. "How long has he been down here?"
The agent shook his head. "Pretty much since all of you arrived. If he's not in here, he's in the pool swimming laps. I checked our security logs for the reports from the other people watching him. If he's gotten two hours of sleep since being here, it would be a shock."
Sarah exhaled deeply. She wasn't completely sure why Jimmy was doing this, but she had a few highly-educated guesses. "Could you wait outside the door? I need to have a little talk with him."
"Certainly," the man replied. The two security agents stood outside the lone entrance to the gym. Sarah approached Jimmy at the heavy bag. He wore a tempestuous look on his face and was landing punches and kicks with enough force to make Sarah wonder what the heavy bag did to deserve such punishment.
"How long have you been down here?" Sarah asked in a projected voice to get Jimmy's attention over the sounds of the bag and his grunting. He turned and was surprised to see her.
"I don't know. Ten or fifteen minutes?"
Sarah glared at him. "You can't lie any better than that? Your shirt is much too wet to have been here for only fifteen minutes. And don't you think I would have asked your escort that question first?"
Jimmy exhaled in frustration and walked over to a table where a stack of towels were. "OK. A while," he replied tiredly as he grabbed a towel and wiped his face and arms.
"Try two days," Sarah replied with a steadily-rising anger. "And if you weren't here, you were over in the pool. You haven't slept since being here. Tell me this isn't about being captured in the DGSE."
Jimmy looked at the ground. He turned back to the table to remove his t-shirt and dry himself off. He put on a clean shirt from his gym bag.
Sarah was furious. "That's what I thought. I have half a mind to recommend Beckman take you out of the field when we get back. You don't have to worry about being killed by some enemy agent. At the pace you're going, you'll end up killing yourself!"
"If we even have jobs after this," Jimmy muttered quietly with a bit of irritation.
"That's not the point! This is what you do all the time! You've done this since the day we met you! No matter how much you've done, you still don't think it's good enough. You rescue Ellie, and you think you're to blame for her being taken hostage. Beckman makes you the scapegoat for Las Vegas, and you just accept it. You pull Alex out of that building in New York, and all you can think about is not getting a couple of account numbers. Why must you always think you failed? Why can't you feel good about what you've accomplished?"
Jimmy sat on the edge of the table, looking down at the ground. He was eerily silent. Sarah's anger gradually subsided, and she gently lifted his chin to look him in the eyes.
"Don't pull a Casey. Talk to me. We've been through too much together for you to shut me out."
After a few moments, Jimmy spoke up. His voice was very subdued.
"Years ago, I tried to lose all that weight I used to have. I tried more than a few times, actually. I'd go to those meetings every week where they talk about healthy eating, and you'd weigh yourself, et cetera. I always started out really well. I'd be losing the weight, until one week when I gained weight or didn't lose as much. I couldn't figure out why. And these places would always tell me, 'don't let it frustrate you; don't let it get to you.' But I couldn't do it. It got to me. After the fourth or fifth time I tried these programs, I asked someone flat-out 'how do you not let it get to you?' And they simply said, 'you just don't let it get to you.' But how? Nobody could give me an answer. I mean, how do you not get angry about something when anger is the only thing you know how to feel?"
Sarah stood there in silence. Even with all of his good qualities, Jimmy was still one of the most aggravating people Sarah ever knew. Had she been told to guard him four years ago, she probably would have tranqued him and put him underground within the first five minutes or fired two into the back of his head and put him out of his misery. But it was amazing how meeting Chuck made her see the bigger picture in life. As much as she wanted to yell and scream at Jimmy for hating himself, he behaved almost exactly the same way she did when she first started. She spent more than a few sessions in Dr. Torres' office learning how to open up and trust others. It was a rough road, to put it mildly.
"You're right. It's not easy. I had to do it myself, and it took a lot of time. Time which, unfortunately, you don't have. They want you to be the next Intersect; the way the project was meant to be. I said you could end up a better agent than any of us, and you're well on your way to doing that. But to pull that off, you have to stop being upset at any little thing that goes wrong. You have to ease up on yourself and realize you can do this."
Jimmy shook his head and looked down at the ground again. "When I'm out there, sometimes I think about all those kids who used to tease me and beat me up. Some of the names they used to call me still echo in my mind. When something goes wrong, it feels like they're being proven right. I keep thinking one day I'll wake up and all of this will be taken away from me. And then I'd be back to where I was. That…that I really am no good. I don't know…it…"
He let the words trail off. Sarah sat on the edge of the table next to Jimmy. She was quiet for a moment. A smile drew itself across her face.
"A few years ago, we had a mission that took me back to my old high school. Chuck kept goading me into talking about my past, and I was furious with him. We weren't in love yet, or at least we didn't admit it. He was still an asset, and I was still his protector. The people in my high school couldn't get over how different I looked. Granted, one of them tried to force a classmate into selling technology to the Russian mob, and I had to take her down. But in the end, as Chuck pointed out to me, my memories of high school were a lot worse than what really happened. And I was a much better person than I ever gave myself credit for."
Jimmy gave her a weird look. "Don't tell me you think I've been exaggerating what happened to me in school."
Sarah smiled and shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant. You had it very rough and for a lot longer than any of us. And you never got to have that moment like I had at my reunion where you could make the people who hated you eat their own words. But it's easy for us to forget that because all we've ever seen of you is that funny, courageous, handsome guy you can always rely on. It's just like you not believing I didn't always look or act like this because you've only ever seen me with Chuck. But I can picture what would happen if you ran into those people now who used to torment you. They would never get over how different you are today. It would drive them insane."
Jimmy was skeptical. "Drive them insane?"
Sarah looked at him in surprise and gestured to the heavy bag. "It's been driving you insane, hasn't it? Or are you normally in the habit of beating up innocent punching bags?"
Jimmy nodded and gave a slight smile, conceding the point. Sarah hugged him tightly.
"Just try to picture yourself as you are now, not as you were. See yourself the way we see you. You were meant to be an agent. You've got loyal, caring friends, you've done more in the last 18 months than you've done in your entire life, and you've got a beautiful, intelligent woman who is totally in love with you. None of it is going to be taken away. You went out there and earned it."
"You really think Alex is in love with me?"
Sarah smiled and nodded confidently. "If she isn't, then she doesn't know what she's missing," she replied as she gave Jimmy a kiss.
"Thanks, Sarah," Jimmy said quietly.
She raised an eyebrow and wiped something off of her cheek. "And next time I should wait until you dry yourself off completely before kissing you."
Jimmy gave an annoyed look and reached for a towel. "Here you go," he said and playfully smashed the towel in her face. Sarah took the towel from him and pushed it back in his face. Both of them started laughing.
"Now get out of here. I want to use the gym," Sarah said.
"Meanie," Jimmy replied, giving her a mischievous Bronx cheer as he exited the gym. Sarah stretched and got on the treadmill.
Paris, France
May 17, 2011
10:00 PM
"If you ever mention this to Bartowski, Walker, or Slade, it'll be the last time we ever do it."
"Oh, John. You need to relax. There's nothing wrong with doing this."
"This is not something I do for just anybody. You do realize that."
"You mean in all of the years you've been an agent, you've never had to do this?"
"Once or twice. But I could have done without all the bubbles."
Ilsa laughed hysterically as she reached for the scented bar of soap on the edge of the bathtub. She reached behind her to take Casey's hands and get them wet. She then rubbed his hands over the bar, getting lather all over them. She leaned back against Casey.
"I take it you know what to do from here?"
Casey smirked. "Finally, we get to the good part." He started running his soapy hands all over Ilsa, and she sighed contentedly, relaxing even more against Casey's chest, and enjoying the feel of his hands all over her.
She arched an eyebrow. "I can tell this is your favorite part. Unless you like to bring toys into the bathtub."
"Only one toy."
Ilsa playfully wiggled against Casey. "Mmmm, that's a good toy."
"I don't break it out for just anyone," Casey replied with a bit of a lustful inflection in his voice.
Ilsa gently pulled Casey's head down to kiss him. "I know I've said it a thousand times, but it still doesn't feel like enough. Thank you for everything you did. I owe you my life."
He returned the kiss and placed a few more along her neck. "No charge," he softly replied.
"I never really asked you what you have been doing since I last saw you. Clearly you are still working with the same people. Given what they've done, I can certainly understand why."
Casey nodded in agreement. "The job has had its ups and downs. But I couldn't have done it without them. It's been quite a learning experience."
Ilsa sat quietly for a moment. She took Casey's hands in hers. "It's strange. You condition yourself for the possibility that something like what we've been through could happen. There are so few people you can trust in this business. Then one day, someone decides to do something unthinkable, and suddenly you're fighting for your survival just because of some traitorous bastard. No matter how much I thought about that happening, it still astonishes and saddens me being faced with it."
Casey leaned back in the tub. He stared out into space. "That sounds very familiar. I was going back to my old unit after Bartowski was about to leave the Agency. And one of the people in my unit, someone I thought I could trust, was a double-agent. He killed all of my old buddies in cold blood. He almost killed Chuck, Sarah, and me as well. I can't even count the number of times I wanted to go to his jail cell give him a slow, painful death. Some people in this world can forgive just about anything. But those people never had to walk back to a poker table to see all of their friends lying dead around it."
Ilsa hung her head. "I'm sorry, John."
Casey gently ran his hands over Ilsa's arms. "No, don't be. There are a lot of things I've gone through in the last twenty years. Some of it I'm not proud of at all." He paused as he attempted to gather his thoughts. "I…I never told you this. I was engaged to be married once."
Ilsa turned in surprise. "You were?"
"It was long before I met you. I was engaged just as I finished my first tour in the Army. But I was offered a chance to join an elite unit assigned to do Black Ops work. Another one of those things I'm not proud of now, given that my C.O. turned his back on the country and held my fiancé hostage. But to join the unit, Alex Coburn had to disappear forever, and John Casey took his place. I left a daughter behind too, as it turned out. She was named for me. I found her a year ago and did my best to keep her safe. It's taken a lot of time to build that relationship with her."
Ilsa was suddenly quiet. She had a feeling of trepidation. "Do you still love your fiancé?"
Although Ilsa never turned around to see, Casey shook his head. "Back then I did. But I was a different person at the time. I'm sure she found someone, and I want nothing but the best for her. I didn't think I deserved anybody after what I did. But someone else came along. Someone who put up with me and had that little look of trouble that always gave me an extra spark."
Casey gently put his hands on Ilsa's shoulders. "She was beautiful, smart, and truly incredible. And she's even more so now."
Ilsa turned in the bathtub to face him. Casey gently took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed into him, kissing him passionately.
Paris, France
May 17, 2011
11:00 PM
Chuck pulled back the covers on the bed. Given what had happened in the last few weeks, he thought it a bit odd to be in a good mood. Sarah and he found themselves hiding out from someone trying to find them, only to walk into danger on a much grander scale. He certainly didn't expect to be in the middle of a shakeup in the French government. He thought they were just going to help Casey find Ilsa. But Sarah always reminded him a lot of this job relied on being able to improvise. He knew he was a good agent. He put in a tremendous amount of effort to be one. He had come a long way from the days when his fighting skills were limited to pulling a Morgan. But sometimes it still felt like a dream. A dream that took him to the deepest levels of danger and heartache but also took him to heights he never expected.
But now that dream would be concluding, or at least be painting a different picture. No more falling from buildings, no more people shooting at him, and no more torture, save the inevitable calls from Ellie demanding to visit and pestering them to have kids. As crazy and incredible the last four years have been, every day convinced him more that leaving was the right thing to do. He had a lot of dreams he still wanted to fulfill. Thankfully, all of those dreams would happen because of the one dream that was already fulfilled. No other dream would ever top falling in love with Sarah.
Given that she emerged from the bathroom wearing a black silk lace bra and matching see-thru boy shorts, Chuck wondered how any other dream even had a chance of topping that.
She started laughing at him. "Chuck, why are you trying not to look at what I'm wearing? I think the whole point of me wearing this is for you to stare at it."
Chuck prayed he wasn't drooling. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack on purpose? I mean, if I drop dead at 31, people are going to ask questions."
She raised an eyebrow. "Ah, you discovered my evil plan. I give you a heart attack, then run away and have a torrid affair with Jimmy, only to lose him in a tragic boating accident in the Mediterranean…at least that's what the authorities will say…and then I make Ilsa disappear so I can have Casey all to myself."
Chuck laughed hysterically. "All of that just to be with Casey?"
"You've never seen him cleaning his M-16."
"Oooh, good point. That would be hard to resist," Chuck said as he walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. They kissed.
"God, every time I'm with you like this, it's like I'm a Little Leaguer playing his first game in Yankee Stadium."
Sarah gazed into his eyes with a bit of disbelief. "Why, Chuck?"
"I mean, look at you. You're so beautiful and sexy…actually, even those words aren't good enough to describe you. Do you even realize how beautiful you are? The only thing that doesn't make me think I'm completely out of your league is that I don't think there is a league that's worthy of you. You're just…"
Sarah kissed him passionately. It felt like the only response good enough when he said those things to her.
"Baby, stop. I hate when you talk like that. You are everything to me. I'm the one who's fortunate. Besides, if anybody doesn't get how beautiful and sexy they are, it's you."
Chuck looked down in embarrassment. "Sarah, come on. I'm not sexy. I can never be that. Cute and sweet is more my ballpark."
"Chuck, half of being sexy is about attitude. It's just like being a spy; if you believe it yourself, you can do it. You can be very sexy. You just have to know you are and project that."
Sarah led Chuck near the edge of the bed, and she sat down on it. She pulled out her iPod and started scrolling through the songs. Chuck was a bit surprised.
"Wow, you have really filled that thing up. When did you find time to do that?"
"I've been asking around for advice on music. I talked to almost everybody: Ellie, Devon, Morgan, Carina, Alex. I bought a few songs online and got some from them. Most of this came off of Jimmy's iPod. He copied them for me back in March. He listens to a lot: some classical, some country, some rap, lots of Sinatra and Elvis, but mostly 70's and 80's songs and classic rock. Quite a variety."
She found the song she was looking for and attached the iPod to the stereo in the room. "OK, now just forget everything else and concentrate on proving to me you're sexy. You're trying to turn me on."
Sarah hit play on her iPod, and the opening horns of You Can Leave Your Hat On filled the room. Chuck laughed a bit and stared in slight disbelief, but Sarah gave him a look that she was taking this seriously. Chuck settled down and started swaying his hips tentatively.
"Attitude, Chuck," Sarah replied, trying to encourage him. "Make me believe you're sexy."
Chuck growled gently but tried to follow her directions. He let himself relax and take in the song. He began moving to the music, trying to keep his eyes locked on Sarah's at all times. The occasional smile that escaped her lips let him know she was starting to enjoy it. He sauntered closer to her, timing his steps to the song. He got within inches of her face and gazed into her eyes with want and desire. She had the same expression as well as his hot breath on her cheek and ear sent electricity through her entire body. She tried not to move so he could continue, but he was getting harder and harder to resist. Chuck slid upward and worked his hips as he slowly pulled his t-shirt off. Chuck's body was always a turn-on for Sarah, but the muscles he developed through exercise and training during the last two years was sending her into a frenzy. Chuck gyrating so Sarah got a good look at his ass was the clincher for her.
The song faded out, and Chuck turned around. Sarah got off the bed and stood barely centimeters from him.
"How did I do?" he meekly asked.
She grabbed him and tripped his leg, making him fall on the bed. She fell on top of him.
"Worked for me," she panted as she kissed him hard.
Los Angeles, California
May 18, 2011
11:00 AM PDT
Mr. Diaz remained in his holding cell in the basement of CIA headquarters in Los Angeles. He was still upset over being captured. However, he was also a professional and knew the CIA would play by the rules…for now…and merely interrogate him. Of course, he had been through this enough where there wasn't any chance he'd tell them what he was doing or who was helping him. In spite of the bad turns this mission had taken, he still felt he could accomplish what he set out to do. But he would need some help.
Keeping Dana Browning from them was important. It was possible they suspected her by now, and almost certainly he would be transferred to Langley for more intense interrogation. He wouldn't be surprised if they used some of the same drugs on him he used on Cole Barker and Jill Roberts. Dana would have to break him out of custody before he was sent to Virginia. Otherwise, his hopes of a big payday would be up in smoke.
Paris, France
May 19, 2011
8:00 AM
Chuck, Sarah, Casey, Ilsa, and Jimmy were gathered around a table in the mansion eating breakfast. Despite the fact they spent the last four days in hiding, they certainly couldn't complain about the hospitality they received. The food was superb, and they had every opportunity to relax and enjoy themselves. The only things they couldn't do were leave or contact anybody. Although Chuck was dying to tell Ellie, Devon, and Morgan that they were OK, he accepted the reasons why. They hadn't seen much of Casey or Ilsa over the four days, but they assumed it was a matter of those two catching up. To be on the safe side, Sarah made sure Jimmy's escorts reported anything out of the ordinary. The only thing they reported was that Jimmy was up overnight once or twice watching the Bulls and the Blackhawks play in their respective leagues' playoffs. She had to concede that. How do you grow up in Chicago and not be a sports fan?
Robert Vigier walked into the room and greeted everybody. He sat at the table and poured himself a cup of coffee.
"I gather everyone is well-rested? Was everything to your satisfaction?" he asked the group.
"It's a bit difficult being kept in the dark, Monsieur Vigier," Ilsa replied cautiously. "But the house itself was quite satisfactory." Everybody nodded in agreement.
"Again, I must apologize, Agent Trinchina. But I am here today to discuss what will happen next. Some of it is good news, but some of it isn't."
Vigier took a sip of his coffee. "British Intelligence has given us a preliminary report into their investigation of both the incident and the DGSE. Their report of the incident mirrors what all of you told us. As for the DGSE, it appeared most of the agents who were involved believed they were under legitimate orders from Toupin. There were a few who were in on the scandal, and they will be dealt with. However, we believe it is safe for all of you to return home to America. We will fly you back later today on our private jet."
Chuck, Sarah, and Jimmy relaxed their postures, but Casey didn't. "What about Ilsa?" he asked Vigier.
"I'm afraid that's where part of the bad news comes in, Colonel Casey. Unfortunately, her knowledge would pose a permanent risk to the security of our country. You may have faked her death, but the administration cannot take the chance some other group, political or otherwise, might discover the truth and exploit it to their advantage. I'm afraid Ilsa Trinchina must stay dead to the world. We will fly you to the country of your choice and set up a random account for you. Consider it severance pay to be used to stay out of sight. But you may never return to France. And the governments we have ties with are cooperating with our request to not use you in their intelligence agencies. We do not want you to be found."
Casey was upset and looked ready to tell Vigier what he could go do with himself. But Ilsa put her hand on his arm to calm him. After a moment, Casey relaxed. She was being given almost the same fate he was given after he went rogue to take down Colonel Keller. And presumably the French government was giving her enough money to keep her living comfortably the rest of her life. Judging by the way Ilsa's hand slid down his arm and held his hand, it was also obvious to Casey where she planned to go after they left Paris.
"I am sorry it has to come to this, Agent Trinchina, but President Sarkozy is under pressure from his cabinet to deal with you in a more permanent manner. There are a few who have no qualms about having someone kill you, in spite of everything you did for them. But the president would not hear of it. He wanted me to convey his personal gratitude for uncovering a traitor in his Cabinet.
"Do any of you have any questions?"
Jimmy raised his hand timidly. "You said you had other bad news?"
"Yes, Agent Murdock," Vigier replied. "We had to contact your government to keep them informed of what was going on. President Sarkozy himself talked to a General Diane Beckman. He told her of the brave work all of you did for our country and yours as well. However, we got the impression she was not particularly pleased with what we said."
Chuck, Sarah, Casey, and Jimmy looked at each other.
"Uh, how not pleased was she?" Chuck asked.
Washington, D.C.
May 20, 2011
9:00 AM EDT
"What in the hell were all of you thinking!"
Chuck, Sarah, Casey, and Jimmy stood in General Beckman's office, shifting back and forth nervously. Even though they were among the best agents the CIA and NSA had, they felt like third-graders being admonished by their teacher for throwing spitballs.
"General, this is my responsibility," Casey replied. "I went off without orders. Bartowski, Walker, and Slade are not liable for what happened."
"Of course you are responsible, Colonel Casey! You disregard your standing assignment to go off on your own personal mission? But Agents Bartowski and Walker are equally responsible. They disobeyed direct orders to stay in lockdown and did not report the discovery of your whereabouts. And Agent Slade defied orders by not bringing you back or telling us that Bartowski and Walker were not in Burbank."
"General, we helped stop a major government conspiracy," Chuck protested.
"A conspiracy you shouldn't have been involved in to begin with! You meddled with the internal affairs of another country! And you did not go to Europe knowing that, did you Agent Bartowski?"
"We were trying to help Colonel Casey."
"With what? Getting his former lover out of hot water? Do you realize Castle was breached while you were gone? If it weren't for your brother-in-law and Mr. Grimes, God only knows how much damage would have been done."
"General, that could have happened whether Chuck and Sarah were there or not," Jimmy said, suddenly finding some internal fortitude. "If they were still in Burbank, this man could have captured them."
"I am not here to listen to a bunch of excuses. The French government may have absolved you of your sins, but I don't. All four of you are suspended until we decide what to do with you."
The four agents stood there in silence as Beckman started jotting some notes. Gradually, Jimmy got a look on his face like he wanted to strangle Beckman. However, he remained calm.
"Then I guess the Intersect project is dead."
Beckman's head snapped up at that statement. "What are you talking about?"
Jimmy shrugged. "Well, if I'm suspended, I imagine it will be very hard to get a new Intersect. Orion's deal was very specific. Only I get the Intersect and nobody else. But I guess the project is not as high priority as I thought."
Beckman glared at Jimmy. "Is that a threat, Agent Slade?"
"No, I'm just stating facts. I'd have to be working to be part of the project, wouldn't I? Right now, I'm out of a job. Plus, Chuck and Sarah have to visit his dad at some point, right? They do have a wedding to plan. It would be a real shame if Chuck was walking through his father's house and...I don't know…tried to use one of the computers. Only this computer accidentally flashed a bunch of pictures. Then…gosh darn it…Chuck shouldn't have been looking at that computer because suddenly his Intersect is gone."
Beckman stood and attempted to maintain her decorum. However, her fury could be detected in her words. "Do you honestly think you'd live another day if you tried that, Slade?"
Jimmy leveled his eyes barely inches from hers. "I've been dead once. Do you really think you can threaten me? Or do you honestly think you'd live another day if anything ever happened to those three?"
"Stop!" Casey called out. Chuck and Sarah turned towards him to see Casey looking as uncomfortable as he ever looked in his life. "General, I'll make you a deal. Let Chuck, Sarah, and Jimmy go without punishment, and I will step down."
Jimmy backed away, and the general turned to Casey. "What do you have in mind?"
"Let me stay on until Chuck has the Intersect removed. After that, I will retire from service. And this time, I won't blackmail you into coming back, no matter what. Allow me to retire at my current rank and pay grade, and the Intersect project will go through. I promise."
"Case, don't make a deal like that," Jimmy angrily replied. "You're not taking the fall…"
"Quiet, Slade. This is my decision to make, not yours. Chuck has proven over the last four years that the Intersect project is a tremendous asset to the security of our country. It's not yours to use as a bargaining chip. You asked to be the Intersect, and you are responsible for its success now."
Casey turned back to the general. "I owe it to Chuck to keep him protected until he is out of the field. Please allow me to finish my obligation to him, and I will leave."
The general looked at the four agents for what felt like an eternity. She slowly exhaled. "Very well. Colonel Casey, you may consider the protection of Chuck to be your final assignment. Agent Slade, Orion is waiting for you to continue with the Intersect project. I suggest you don't delay him any further. Bartowski, Walker, you will return to Burbank and consult with the CIA office out there. Jill Roberts already verified the man whom Dr. Woodcomb and Mr. Grimes helped capture was the same man who drugged her. Remain in contact so we may ascertain all that he knows."
The four agents exited the office. Sarah gently grabbed Casey's arm and pulled him aside.
"John, are you sure this is really what you want?"
Casey nodded and smiled for the first time in a long time. It took Sarah by surprise.
"I never wanted to admit it, but you were right all those years ago. I did want a normal life, to have a family. I thought I had to give that up to serve the country. But at some point you realize you've done everything you can to fulfill your duties to the path you've chosen. And you still have the obligation to yourself to get what you want out of life. Thankfully there's someone out there who wants to give me that."
Sarah smiled. She never thought she would see this day come. The day John Casey thought of himself first. Technically, he was doing this to keep Chuck, Jimmy, and her out of trouble. But she knew how special Ilsa was to him. Since she decided to join them in the United States, Casey finally found that one thing in his life he really wanted.
Sarah hugged him tightly. "You deserve it after all you did for Chuck."
Chuck and Jimmy stood and stared at the two agents hugging. They were surprised, to say the least.
"OK, now I can stop being an agent," Chuck said. "Nothing's going to surprise me after seeing that."
"Yeah, tell me about it," Jimmy replied. "Suddenly the Cubs winning a World Series doesn't seem so impossible."
Los Angeles, California
May 20, 2011
7:00 PM PDT
Dana Browning started shadowing the man two days ago. She had not heard from Mr. Diaz since arriving in Los Angeles. At this point, she had to assume the worst. She tried hacking into the computers of the area police departments but found little information. The only abnormality was a set of records being sealed on an incident that took place in Burbank Monday morning, but there wasn't much she could ascertain from that. It may have had something to do with Mr. Diaz, but that felt like a longshot at best. She had to do some research using the CIA's computers.
However, it was not a longshot to think the CIA is assuming she was a suspect into the break-in at the DNI last Saturday night. Certainly they would investigate everything, given that she killed two guards to get the material on the Cipher. She could walk into the CIA offices here in disguise, but she would need someone's ID card and passwords, as her own would almost surely be locked out by now.
The man sitting at the end of the bar was her ticket in. She followed him for the past three nights. She knew he worked at the CIA office, and the color of his ID badge indicated he had sufficient clearance to find out what happened to Mr. Diaz. She also knew he came to this bar every day, which meant he could use some company. With the blonde wig and nondescript clothing she was wearing, she hoped not to be too memorable to anybody in the bar.
She watched him head for the washroom. This was her chance. She walked back to the restrooms as well. She glanced into the bar to see if anybody was looking and slipped inside the men's room.
He just completed washing his hands and turned in surprise when he saw her. Sure enough, he did not consider it an unpleasant surprise.
"Um, are you sure you're in the right bathroom?" he asked.
Dana nodded while giving him her most sultry look. "Oh, I just had something I wanted to give you." She slowly started unbuttoning her blouse. The man's eyes were transfixed on her.
He never saw the gun she procured from behind her back until the two shots went through him. He fell to the ground.
Dana removed the silencer from her gun and put both in her purse. She quickly searched through the man's coat and found the ID of Tim Francis. She fished out his wallet and mobile phone. She just got lucky. He had all of his passwords saved in a little program on his phone. This person couldn't have been more helpful. She took the rest of his belongings out and scattered them on the floor to make it look like a robbery gone wrong, taking a few twenty-dollar bills with her.
She peered out of the bathroom to see nobody paying attention once again. She calmly walked out of the bar, leaving a generous tip for her server. After all, she could afford it. She just insured her $6 million payday.