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The Inside Job

x-x-x-x-x

"That is, without a doubt, the stupidest plan I've ever heard."

Sarah stood there with her hands on her hips watching the grin that was honestly becoming more than a little annoying spread across his face. "It's far too dangerous," she continued her rant. "In fact it's foolishly reckless. I can't believe that you expect them to..."

But then in mid sentence she realized how harsh she probably sounded to him and thought maybe she'd better temper her criticism a bit. "I'm sorry that I'm being so negative," she sighed. "I suppose you're expecting me to be more supportive. With your amazing track record…"

Chuck's grin never faded. "Actually," he interrupted. "It's OUR amazing track record. Do you really think that I could have done any of those things without you? I'd have been wearing a body bag the first week. And for the record, that's pretty much how you always react when I tell you about a plan. I'm fairly used to it."

"Then let's talk about this," Sarah said, much more softly. "I don't see how your surrendering accomplishes anything. That just gives them three hostages instead of two."

"I won't be a hostage," Chuck replied. "I'll be more like a mole. There are some things we need to do that can only be done from the inside. We have to hit them from all sides in one decisive blow before they know what's happening. That's the only way this will work. If they see us coming, they'll defend themselves. We can destroy them so they'll never recover."

Sarah considered that for a long moment. "Then maybe it should be me to surrender," she suggested softly.

Chuck's grin turned into more of a contented smile. "That wouldn't work," he insisted softly but firmly. "It has to be me. We've set it up that way. It's the only thing that makes sense. For one thing, I'm the one they really want. For another, you wouldn't know what to do, and I can't tell you, because I don't know myself yet. It has to come from the Intersect. Besides, they have to think that you're currently… um… doing something else. Sarah, I know that you're not crazy about this part but it's key. I know how they think. That's all they're going to be thinking about. Look, I understand that you're being protective of me. And yes, I appreciate it. But I know what I'm doing here. It's time to believe in me."

"I believe in you," Sarah immediately protested, honestly offended. "Come on, Chuck, you can't seriously be questioning that at this point. That was a horrible thing to say."

"I didn't mean it like that," Chuck said softly. "I'm sorry if you're offended. Of course I don't question that. But believing in me also includes the times when you think I'm wrong. Besides, I won't be alone. I know that you're worried, a mile outside of your comfort zone. I understand that you were trained to look at problems as a lone wolf. But, Sarah, one of the biggest changes you made over the past five years was when you stopped being that lone wolf and became part of a team, a kick-ass team. I know this is probably the hardest thing for you, but it's time to trust the team."

Sarah stepped up and wrapped her arms around him. "I do believe in you," she said. "You're right, this is hard for me." It was nice being in his arms. Nice wasn't even the right word, comforting was more like it. "Okay, I'll work on being part of a team. But Chuck, please, please be very careful."

x-x-x-x-x

Alan marched into the conference room where the half of his new team that was not currently on guard duty was assembled. Since the room was never designed for a general assembly, it was overflowing. There weren't even enough seats for all of the thirty or so men and a handful had to stand. But this was important for morale. There were already rumblings that perhaps this project wasn't totally sanctioned. That kind of thinking needed to be nipped in the bud. Part of that was they all needed to share this hard earned victory. After the shift changed, he would brief the other half of the team.

It was an odd mix of people in the room. About a third of the people were scientists, clearly recognizable by the white lab jackets they constantly wore... like a nerd badge of honor. The agents made up the rest of the group. They were just as recognizable in their blue business suits. The room was split down the middle, white lab jackets on one side, suits on the other.

There was clearly the buzz of anticipation in the room. Surely something was up to schedule a briefing with the entire team. That never happened and especially at this hour. The suits and lab jackets were never in the same room. Truth be told, they pretended the other didn't exist whenever possible. All of their assignments and most of their information came from their section leads. Alan could feel the palatable anticipation so he got right to it. "Our mission is ready to move to the next phase," he said with a grin as soon as he reached the podium. "I just received a text message from Agent Gold. Bartowski surrendered in Chicago a few hours ago. Two agents from the Chicago office are escorting him here. They should be arriving within the hour."

The spontaneous celebration was for multiple reasons, both equally genuine. The lab jackets were eager to work with this Bartowski. Not only was he a legend, they were under a ton of pressure to get something working as quickly as possible. The plans they were working from were very detailed and complete, yet incredibly complex. Their efforts to date were creating an ever growing laundry list of questions that only access to a working intersect would completely answer. But the suits were actually happier with the news. They had heard from first hand witnesses how painful facing a hostile intersect and his pissed off badass wife could quickly become.

Alan allowed the celebration in the room to only last for a few moments before he turned on the projector. "There is actually more," he said loudly to get everyone's attention. "Agent Gold sent us a video. He wants to make sure that we show it to Bartowski. I think you might like it."

x-x-x-x-x

Emma was lying on the bed next to Molly. Fortunately Molly was asleep. And that was a good thing. After all, the boredom was perhaps the worst part of this ordeal so far, and sleeping was the best way to kill time. She really wished she could sleep. But it simply wouldn't come. This was all far too real.

Naturally, her prime concern was for Chuck and Sarah. It was pretty obvious that was who they really wanted. And whoever these men were, and they seemed to be incredibly well financed and organized, they wouldn't go to this drastic of an action unless they wanted something serious. It was just a guess that it had something to do with Sarah once being a CIA Agent, nobody had ever said that, but what else could it be? Sarah had never told her any details of what she did on her missions. But Emma wasn't so naïve to think it was all sunshine and roses.

In fact the one mission that Emma did know details about was lying next to her sleeping. Could this possibly have something to do with Molly? Emma's greatest fear, the one that had always lived about an inch below the surface, was that one day someone would come and take Molly away from her. It had almost happened just a few months ago. Emma always tried her best to stamp down that fear, but she knew that if it ever happened it would end her.

Not so far down the seemingly never ending list of things to worry about was Sarah's marriage. Chuck was simply an incredible man, more than she ever dreamed for in a son-in-law. She couldn't have possibly been happier for her daughter. And Sarah honestly completely loved him. She was sure of that. You could see it in her face, hear it in her voice. Emma didn't question that. What she did question was - could Sarah express it well enough to him? Marriage was all about trust, it couldn't survive without it. That was something that she knew full well from first hand personal experience. Being a lousy wife was a family legacy that she would rather not pass down. And even worse, Sarah was a loner, just like Jack. None of this came naturally to her. Would she trust him? Could she earn that trust from him in return? When push came to shove, could she be a wife?

So when Alan unlocked the door and entered the darkened cell, Emma noticed it immediately. She was very careful not to wake Molly as she got out of bed and went to face him.

"I have some good news," Alan said. "Your daughter has come through for you. She has arranged for your release. Very soon this will all be over."

Emma didn't respond. She had the sinking feeling that his smirk said that there was more to his news.

Her instincts were spot on.

Alan handed Emma his phone. "She sent you a message," he said. "She's been in fairly intense negotiations with my boss over the past several hours. She wanted to send you an update on how it was going."

The video that was playing on the phone only lasted for a few seconds, maybe twenty. And it wasn't really the best quality. When Gold had recorded the scene he really hadn't done a very good job of holding the phone still. But it was clearly Sarah. She was lying on her back on a bed. Her hands were visibly cuffed over her head and secured to the headboard.

The video concentrated on her face so you really couldn't see anything past her bare shoulders. But the Victoria's Secret bra that was lying bunched loosely around her neck probably told you all you needed to know about her state of dress. Her eyes were closed and she was plainly biting her lower lip as her face was contorted with a look that Emma had never seen before and couldn't really identify. Her head was rocking back and forth on the bed in time coinciding with the rhythmic grunts coming from behind the camera. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was happening. As soon as Emma realized in horror what this was, she turned her head away from the disgustingly vivid scene.

"I'll bet I've watched this a hundred times," Alan said with a smirk as he took the phone out of her hand. "You have a very beautiful daughter. Everybody thinks so. You should be very proud of the sacrifice she is willing to make for you."

Emma didn't respond. She knew that's exactly what he wanted. She couldn't keep the blush from her face. But she refused to acknowledge his cruel attempt to bait her. She just stared into space.

"Of course maybe it wasn't such a sacrifice," Alan continued his taunt. "She actually looks like she is enjoying this, especially towards the end. You know her better than I do. What do you think? Look at the way she is biting her lip, the expression on her face. Is she getting into this, maybe suppressing the urge to ask him to go a little harder? After all, it would only be human, right? That's frankly what my men mostly think. The video is titled 'Agent Walker Surrenders – Round Three'. I guess that sort of implies there are maybe two other videos we haven't seen yet. My men are starting a pool on what she's doing in them. Maybe you'd like in?"

Emma knew that she shouldn't respond. That's clearly what he wanted. She just couldn't help herself. "You classless bastard," she hissed still without giving him the respect of looking at him.

"Emma," Alan responded in mock concern. "You'll hurt my feelings. As you probably have guessed, your daughter has made more than a few enemies in her long and distinguished career. I'm actually one of the newest ones. Unfortunately, as long as we need her, I probably can't do anything physical, so that will have to wait. But I have to be honest here, Emma. I wouldn't mind causing her some serious emotional distress. In fact I would quite enjoy it."

Pure surprise caused Emma to turn and look at him.

Alan was clearly enjoying his sport. "One can plainly see where she gets her good looks," he said. "I'll bet in your day you were a pretty good little negotiator yourself. If you'd loosen up and dress a little less conservatively… who knows?"

That was the last thing that Emma expected him to say. It had been a good twenty years since one of these pigs had hit on her so blatantly. It was one of the things about growing older that she frankly didn't miss all that much. So she was frozen with surprise. For one thing she didn't want to wake Molly. So she could only watch in shocked horror as he reached over and casually popped open the top button on her blouse.

"See," he said, now making absolutely no attempt to hide his smirk. "That is a little better. A few more buttons and I'll bet you could be quite the MILF. Wake up the girl. You're going to be moved soon. Your lovely daughter went to a lot of trouble to make us this entertaining video. When we get to your new location I've made some arrangements for you and I to return the favor. We might just have some fun."

"You're insane," Emma snapped. "I'm doing nothing of the sort, you disgusting pig."

Allan grinned as he conspicuously glanced over to where Molly was sleeping. His unspoken meaning was clear. "I'm pretty sure that when the time comes I'll be able to talk you into it," he said. "I'm really very persuasive when I'm properly motivated. It would actually be a nice touch if you would bite your lip just like your daughter. Tell me the truth, Emma. How long has it been since you last... negotiated with a man? It won't be the first time you've starred in a sexy video, right?"

Allan, even as hard as he was laughing, was able to easily block and avoid her wild swing attempting to slap his face. She was far too angry to keep silent, even if it was the smart thing to do.

"You classless bastard."

x-x-x-x-x

Cleveland Emery could only look at the email staring at him from his in-box in disgust. Gold was never to contact him directly. That was made fairly clear. And not following his orders to the letter wasn't all that bright. Not that Gold was the sharpest knife in the drawer anyway.

The Deputy Director of the agency had quite the reputation. Not only was his violent temper fairly famous, it was widely known that he handled all of the things that the agency was into that could never become public knowledge. Widely known perhaps, but never openly admitted. It was always hard to separate fact from urban legend, but some of the stories were simply bone chilling, even for the seasoned spies of the agency. Whatever the truth, one thing was for sure. This wasn't a guy to piss off.

But Cleveland had to admit, the video was fairly entertaining, enough to inspire him to save it. That ex-Agent Walker was an amazingly beautiful woman, no denying that. At one time he knew her well. She was Franklin Graham's personal enforcer. Cleveland had personally given her several assignments that he would deny under oath ever happened. So seeing her on the other side was quite satisfying. Better yet was the fact that she had clearly surrendered. That meant Bartowski would be soon fully on board if it hadn't already happened.

Some men might be a little guilty using a man's wife like that... not Cleveland. He had long ago decided that personal feelings like guilt were a luxury he couldn't afford. The intersect was far too important to the work they were doing. The needs of the many required sacrifices from the few.

Cleveland played the video again. She really was beautiful. As long as it was required, might as well enjoy it.

Right?

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck, Sarah, Ellie, and Morgan were in what used to be the main room in Castle going over the final details of the plan. "You know what to do," Chuck said confidently. "This has to be precise or it won't work."

Morgan was having far too much fun with this for Sarah's taste. She might have been willing to put up with some nonsense from Chuck… a little anyway. But lives were on the line, including the people she loved most in the world. So if he noticed her glare, he was able to ignore it. "Yes, sir," he said sporting his classic Morgan grin. "Don't worry about me. This isn't my first rodeo."

"How is the prisoner?" Sarah asked, purposely trying to change the subject. She was working on trusting the team like Chuck asked. But that didn't mean she had to listen to Morgan being flippant and not respect the mission.

"He'll live," Ellie said dismissively. "This guy is a CIA Agent? I thought they were supposed to be tough. He's sort of a crybaby."

Chuck turned to his sister. "Are you ready for phase three?" he asked.

"All set," she replied. "All I need is for you to do your part." She turned to Morgan and grabbed his hand. "Let's give these honeymooners some privacy to say goodbye."

As soon as they left, Sarah grabbed both of Chuck's hands. "So tell me something," she said in mock seriousness. "How do I usually punish you? We've never really talked about it. I mean withholding sex is out. That would punish me more than you, hardly seems fair. Sleeping on the couch like we did two nights ago also hardly seems like punishment. I must have had some favorite way."

Chuck pretended to give the question some thought for a moment. "Silent treatment," he finally said. "Trust me, there is nothing colder than a Sarah Walker cold shoulder."

"I think there might be one thing colder," Sarah said as she leaned in to quickly kiss him. "And that would be a Sarah Bartowski cold shoulder. So tell me, did you really jump off the top of this building wrapped in only a banner? Tell me, Chuck. What could you possibly have been thinking?"

Chuck smiled. "So, you remember that night?" he asked. "That's good. It was almost four years ago. In my defense, it was Roan's idea."

"I remember standing there watching in horror as you flew through the air," Sarah said. "I couldn't believe it was happening. That reckless, totally foolish action without a doubt saved my life that night… and I still wanted to strangle you."

"I have a confession," Chuck said with the twinkle in his eyes very plain. "It was before Intersect 2.0 so I was pretty proud of myself for doing that, maybe a little too proud. That was the night that Roan called me out on being in love with you. He said that the first rule of being a good spy was to never fall in love. I told him that meant that I wasn't much of a spy. He told me to ask myself if you were worth dying for. I guess you know what my answer was. That was the same night I tried the Montgomery. I was thinking maybe that saving your life…"

"I know exactly what you were thinking," Sarah interrupted. "And if Bryce hadn't showed up when he did, you undoubtedly would have been right. In retrospect it's probably a good thing it didn't happen. We weren't ready. Well, I wasn't ready anyway. Chuck, I was an idiot. But I'm ready now."

She clearly wasn't really teasing. In fact it was now clear how far the once mighty Agent Walker had fallen. She was preparing for a life or death mission... and she was actually standing there necking with him. And the even more amazing truth was that she didn't feel guilty about it in the least. He was the one who actually finally broke the embrace.

Chuck was plainly having fun calling her on it. "We're coming very, very close to breaking one of your main rules," he said with a grin. "Don't you remember? No sex during a mission?"

Sarah sighed as she considered the prospect. He was probably right… for now. "Fine," she said reluctantly. "For the record, that sounds more like a guideline than a rule."

"Thank you for clarifying that," Chuck teased her. "That information would have come in a lot handier a year ago. You don't remember the Handburg mission, the longest two weeks of my life?"

Sarah needed to change the subject. "Let's be clear on one thing. If you do anything foolish and reckless like jumping off a building tonight, we're going to find out just how cold that Sarah Bartowski cold shoulder can be." It was an empty threat and they both knew it.

Chuck's eyes didn't lose any of their sparkle in the face of her warning. "I seriously doubt that," he teased. "Here's the deal. You can't stay mad at me for very long. We both know it."

That got them both laughing. "Getting a little cocky, are we?" Sarah asked as soon as she could stop laughing. But quickly the tension of the moment returned. "I guess not," she finally admitted with a sigh. "Not with those big brown eyes. It's so not fair. But if I can't threaten you, maybe I can guilt you. Chuck, please don't do anything to make me worry about you more than I already am."

"You do realize that you're not the only one here who can worry," Chuck protested. "Your assignment is no walk in the park. You've already had more than one run-in with her. She can be sorta hard to be around sometimes."

"So tell me something," Sarah said with a smile starting to tug at the corners of her mouth. "How do I usually punish Morgan? I can maybe forgive spilling grape soda in the jet. But did he really mess up our possible first time by stealing the condom out of your wallet? I let him live after that?"

That got a huge grin. "You're starting to remember more and more things," he said. "That's good. What else do you remember about that day?"

Sarah returned his grin. "I remember a lot of things," she said. "I remember how turned on I was there in bed next to you wearing only that t-shirt and panties. I remember lying there watching you sleep, thinking that I was going to have to hit you with a stick to get you to ever make a move. I seriously doubt that this will ever come up again, but for future reference when you're in bed with a girl, you offer to sleep on the floor, and she tells you that you don't have to, guess what she is really telling you? Oh my God, Chuck, you were so clueless. But you were also so cute telling me to stay, over and over. Sort of like you would tell a pet collie."

That got Chuck laughing again. "I thought I was dreaming," he said. "I was sure that I'd come back and you'd have come to your senses and be gone. I never expected that I would be the one to stiff you. Um... nothing off color intended. Trust me, Morgan was suitably scolded. He avoided you for weeks."

"I also remember how big of a dump the place was," Sarah said, still laughing. "Maybe it was fate that our first time didn't happen in such a dump. I've become accustomed to a certain life style. Now that you're rich, I expect you to seduce me in much higher class places. I trust that the hotel in Paris was a lot nicer."

"Higher class," Chuck repeated in her teasing tone. "I'll work on it. For the record, you're the one usually doing the seducing, you're just as rich as I am, and you picked out that dump in Barstow."

Sarah stepped over to the control panel and pushed a button. The large monitor suddenly came to life. "I wouldn't feel right watching you go on a dangerous mission without you seeing something," she said. "Old Sarah could never say this to you. But you deserve to know what she was thinking." Sarah stopped talking... and let Agent Walker on the monitor, dressed in her old Orange Orange uniform, take over.

Day 564. Things are calm, for once. No missions, nothing… nothing really to report.

Except I still find myself sitting here… talking to myself.

Because… because I love him.

I love Chuck Bartowski and I don't know what to do about it.

As soon as the screen went dark, Sarah Bartowski quickly made a swipe at the tears running down her cheek and grabbed her husband's hand pulling him into her. Both were still blinking away tears as they held each other but Sarah's came through a smile.

"Maybe someday I'll be able to watch that without bawling," she said. "It may have taken a lot longer than it should have, but the good news is that I've finally figured out what to do about it. Come back to me safely and I'll show you."

Chuck's eyes twinkled noticeably as he fought to suppress the laugh. "Let me guess. Is sex involved?" he asked gently in a mocking tone.

Sarah was trained to manage her emotions. So she was able to keep a straight face. "Of course sex is involved," she said. "We still have plenty of first time memories to make. Any complaints?"

"No, ma'am," Chuck quickly replied. "I may not have a mission log to show you, but Chuck Bartowski loved you just as much back then. He still does."

"I know," Sarah said softly.

"Stay safe."

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