Sarah had been driving for the last fifteen hours she stayed south for most of the trip, taking advantage of the warmer weather, but about six hours ago she had started to head north and now she was in the middle of a snow storm as she crossed into Washington D.C. About an hour ago she had stopped off at a gas station to change out of her old lady get up and into mission blacks. She was now sporting a pair of knee high leather boots, a pair of tight jeans and a wool sweater. She also pulled her hair back and put on a ski cap. She turned off the expressway and drove around looking for Carina's new place. She wasn't surprised in the slightest that Carina was staying at a very expensive brown stone town house. What was surprising was her name was on the lease. Carina didn't believe in collecting things. She was always on missions and when she wasn't she was squatting in very nice houses. She only owned about a dozen very expensive bra and g-string sets, a few pairs of jeans, two bikinis, and a few shirts. The rest of her possessions consisted of six cocktail dresses so small they were inappropriate for more then Seduction mission and picking up men in bars, and two nickel plated Glock 19's. Seeing as she was a size zero it all fit into one small Massonite suitcase. She didn't know what was sadder. The fact that Carina still lived like that, or that she herself used to be the same way up until she moved to Burbank.
A sad smile formed on her face when she thought about the still meager amount of possessions she owned now. If she was honest with herself she would admit that all of her things could fit into three small suitcases. Not a lot of stuff considering the amount of time she lived there but at least it was more then she used to have. She drove by the house and saw the lights on. She stopped a block away from the townhouse and looked at the clock on the dash. It read a little after nine. She had just under three hours to subdue Carina, and convince her to help her with her mission before she needed to meet with Casey's contact.
She parked and got out of her crap car. She pulled a black cashmere scarf around her neck and a full length black wool coat around her shoulders. She walked the block to Carina's at a casual pace. Taking stock in the very nice neighborhood. She walked past the house on the opposite side of the street and saw the lamp in the living room was on. She crossed the street and made her way to the small back yard next to Carina's house. From there she hopped the fence and ditched her coat on the back deck. She pulled the scarf up to just under her eyes and climbed up the side of the building using the window frames. She used a small knife to pry open the window lock. She slipped into what looked like a guest bedroom and shut the window behind her. She ghosted to the door and saw no light under it. She cracked it open and saw the hallway was empty. She slipped out of the room and crouched by the stairs. She saw Carina laying on a couch in a pair of red panties and an open red silk robe reading a book. She pulled her gun and ghosted down the stairs sticking to the shadows cast by the banisters of the hand rail. When she got to the bottom she front rolled across the floor coming up in the middle of the room with her gun pointed at Carina's face. Carina looked up from her book and raised an eyebrow at her. "Are we done playing ninja now, Sarah?" She asked with an eye roll.
"How did you know it was me?" She asked pulling down her scarf.
"Chuck emailed me a few hours ago and said he was going to come see me. I was hoping he wanted to finish what I started a year ago. As you can see I was waiting for him to show up. But I guess you'll do, come on I'm horny as hell sitting here waiting." She said tossing the book on the floor.
"Put your tits away, I'm not interested and I need to talk to you." Sarah said as she walked through the open kitchen and retrieved her coat for the back deck. When she got back Carina hadn't moved to cover up, in fact it looked like she sat up and opened the robe more. "I'm serious, put your little titties away. I need to have a real talk with you." Sarah said taking a seat in the armchair next to the couch.
"Little! You used to like my tits." She said closing the robe.
"We had sex one time! And it was at the Farm, for a Seduction class. And for the record, I always thought you were flat." Sarah said making a face, she had never really been attracted to women. But the truth of the matter was until Chuck on the plane last week, Carina had been her most skilled lover. Say what you want about the skank, but she knew what she was doing.
"How dare you! We can't all be big Amazon bitches like you. What do you want anyways? Like I said I was expecting your boyfriend tonight. Not you." Carina said crossing her arms and pouting.
"What are you talking about? Chuck e-mailed you? When? And did he say he was coming over for, you know?" Sarah said pointing at her lack of clothes.
"Chuck e-mailed me at a secure ghost address. He said he was going to be in the D.C. area and he wanted to meet me tomorrow. So I gave him my address and told him I was looking forward to it. Then he hit up two days ago and moved the date up one day." She said with a smirk.
"He didn't tell me about any of this, he just said you would be here and gave me your address." Sarah said
"Now that you asked your questions can I ask a few?" Carina asked and Sarah nodded. "Why are you AWAL? Did you really run away with Chuck? And why was there a kill order out on you and how did you make it go away?" Carina asked.
"The short answer, to have the future I want. Yes. And it's all part of the plan." Sarah said with a straight face. They both started laughing. "All joking aside I need your help on a covert mission tomorrow. It's off the books and highly illegal. I have a meeting with a contact in two and a half hours. Until then I think I can get you up to speed with what's going on. I guess it all started with Chuck being held hostage at the buy more…" and in an hour and a half she told her everything. "And right now we need to meet Casey's contact to get the package for tomorrow. You need to get dressed." Sarah said.
"Wait a minute Blondie. I didn't agree to help you. You assume I will." Carina said crossing her arms over her chest.
"No. I know you will because you owe me, and you know it." Sarah said angrily.
"Well you're wrong, I don't owe you enough to risk treason. No way in hell."
"What about the time I saved you from that assassin in Serbia? Or the time I broke you out of that prison in Chile? Or that time I killed the Rossetti twins for you. That was your job, but no, you had to go running off with that pilot! Lets face it Carina, without my help you'd be dead, tortured, or out of a job, and that was just three I can think of off the top of my head." Sarah said pacing the room like a caged tiger.
"Now don't get all high and mighty on me, I've helped you plenty of times. I will do it if for a price." Carina said with a smirk.
"You want money? Fine, but it's the last time I ever talk to you." Sarah said in disgust.
"Not money. No I want a spot on your little super spy team." Carina said as she played with her hair.
"No! in fact hell no! I can't have anyone on the team that I can't trust!"
"You can trust me, when have I ever done anything to make you not trust me?" Carina asked with an innocent look on her face.
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!" Sarah yelled.
"Okay so I have done some things in the past, but it's all behind me now. I can be a team player. I swear. You can trust me not to mess up any missions." Carina said and for the first time that night Sarah saw fear and desperation in Carina's face. She knew there was more to this then wanting to work with them, she just had to figure it out.
"You are trying way too hard. I know there's something you're not telling me and I want to know now. Why are you so desperate to join the team?" Sarah asked and a predatory smile formed on her lips.
"There's nothing going on. I just want to work with you again. Can't a girl want to work with her oldest friend in the world?" Carina asked keeping up the innocent routine.
"Okay well my answer is no and I don't need your help anyways. You were just backup now that Chuck changed the plan from seduction to bribery and sneaking around. So I don't need your slut skills for this, I'll just go alone. I'll just be leaving now." Sarah said walking to the front door. She got all the way to the door before Carina stopped her.
"Okay you got me! I need this Sarah. They're going to take away my field status. They're busting me down to desk duty for good this time. Sarah they're going to take everything from me." Carina said hugging her self as tears flowed down her cheeks.
Sarah had known Carina for a long time. They had been through a lot of bad things together. But this was the first time she had ever seen her cry like this. She knew what she was saying. They were going to chain her to a desk, and not let her go on missions ever again. She knew what that would do to her. She would kill her self.
Where Sarah had the dream of one day starting a family and living a quite life with Chuck. Carina did not. She was a field agent. It's wasn't what she did, it's what she was. She lived off the adrenalin high. The fast cars, gun fights, and hot sex with random partners. The money and the first class flights around the world. It was what made her, well, her. Without it she would go crazy. Then it all clicked into place for her. She was expecting to sex up Chuck tonight to get assigned to the team. That's why she was all excited tonight, and why her eyes lit up when She told her about Chuck's super team. But could she trust her? To not go off script during a mission. To not put their lives in danger? But when she looked at her again she knew she could trust her. She wasn't looking at Carina Henson CIA agent on loan to the DEA. She was looking at, for maybe the first time, her friend Carina. Her friend that was at the end of her rope and needed her help.
She sighed. "Carina look at me." She said taking a set on the couch next to her. "I'll let you on the team, but only if you agree to a few things." She said looking at her crying friend. She waited until Carina wiped her face and turned to look at her. "The first thing is I'm not letting Carina Henson, supper bitch, on the team. I'm letting my friend Carina on the team. The same friend I met at the Farm. The girl that stayed with me over that first Christmas break. The girl that saw I was having trouble with the seduction class and took me out to a bar and showed me how to talk to boys for the first time. The girl I shared a room with for two years at the Farm. You're my sister Carina, in all but blood, and if you want in on the team you need to remember that. In fact I want you to forget the bitch you've been for the last ten years. That bitch died today as far as I'm concerned." Sarah said with a hint of a smile.
"I can do that, but I don't know if I can be as good of an agent without the bitch. She was responsible for keeping me alive for the last ten years." Carina said with a sad smile.
"You were a good agent before the bitch and you will be just as good without her. Plus now you have backup on missions, you don't have to go into a situation alone I'll be right there with you. The next thing I need you to know is that you will not go off book with us. The second you do I'll kick you off the team. You'll be back to pushing paper in the field office. You got me?" She asked and Carina nodded. "No, I'm sorry but I need you to say it. I need there to be no ambiguity about this. The second I think you screwed us I'm going to kick you out." Sarah said.
"I understand. I will follow orders. I wont do anything to jeopardize the mission or the team." Carina said
"Good, last but not least, I want you to listen very carefully. You will not fuck my husband! You wont touch him, seduce him, kiss him. You won't even look at him sexually. If you do I will kill you. Do you understand? Dead. I will end you. Look into my eyes and tell me I'm playing. You see Chuck showed my how to be a person again. If you take him away I lose that part of me that's normal. Once I lose that there's nothing to stop me for hurting you. You know what agent Sarah Walker would do to you." Sarah said with a deadly look in her eyes. For the first time Carina was looking not at her friend Sarah, but the woman that killed a ten man Hungarian hit squad. She was scared.
"I understand. I wont touch him. But for you to act like this means you really love him. I mean really, really, love him. Dose he know?" She asked.
"No I don't think he dose. He understands that I would kill for him, but I don't think he knows that I would start a war for him. If he was taken from me there's not a force in the world that could stop me from getting to him. I love him so much it scares me sometimes." Sarah said playing with the sleeve of her sweater.
"Wow. The great Sarah Walker is in love. Are you going to quit the spy life to be with him?" Carina asked.
"No, unfortunately I brought him in to the spy world to be with me. I don't know what to do about it. I don't know what to feel about it. On the one hand I feel very proud of him you know? That's my Chuck, untrained but still a badass spy. When he does things like disarms bombs, or flip a Chinese agent, or even Fed-ex's a diamond to the General's office. I just want to rip his clothes off sometimes you know? But then on the other hand I get this feeling in the pit of my stomach like I just took his innocence. I feel dirty, in a way I've never felt before. I know what happens to people in this business. I know how corrupted we become. Every time he does one of those things I'm proud of, the feeling gets worse. I know one day he's going to have to kill someone, and on that day I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. Because I know he wont be my Chuck anymore, and the worst part about that is I know I wanted him to be an agent. To be with me in the field. All because I can't give up being a spy. Hell he doesn't even want me to give up being a spy. What am I going to do when that day comes?" Sarah asked as tears slid down her face.
"Your going to pull yourself together right Fucking now and think like an agent. You and I both know we didn't know anything about the first person we killed. The Red Test is made that way for a reason. We're not supposed to know anything about them. We get a picture and a location. How did you feel after that happened? I'm betting horrible" Carina said standing up and pulling Sarah up the stairs. They entered a bedroom and Carina pulled off her robe and took some clothes out of a small suitcase. "Did you have anyone to talk to afterwards?" She asked as she pulled on a matching bra and a pair of black leather pants.
"No, I didn't. I called Gram and all he said was: okay. Like it was no big deal." Sarah said sitting on the bed.
"Exactly. Now think about your second kill, you knew the target. You knew what kind of a evil shit head they were. When you killed them did you feel as bad as you did the first time?" Carina asked pulling on a dark green knit top, and a pair of knee high boots with four inch spiked heels. She tossed on a leather trench coat and tied the belt.
"No I just pulled the trigger and his head exploded. I never looked back. I just did it. Then again he was a Russian mob guy that trafficked young girls into sexual slavery so he kind of had it coming." Sarah said as they made there way out the door and down the street to her crap car.
"That's what I'm trying to say. Chuck's first time wont be some random picture and a location. He'll know what kind of animal he's dealing with. When he's done. You can hold him and talk him through it. I think he'll be fine. You said he was okay with the number of people you've killed right? You said it yourself that he didn't even blink when he added it up. In fact he read your whole file, and didn't balk at anything. Let it play out and see how he reacts. If after he's made his first kill, and he freaks out then you can take him someplace quiet and take care of him till he gets over it. You said he's on a seduction mission, how is he doing with that? For some people that stuff is harder to do then the killing." Carina asked as they drove up to a roadhouse bar.
"He was okay yesterday when Casey checked in. Then this morning he couldn't go along with it. He stopped just shy of oral and read her in. A part of me is very happy that he didn't go through with it. Both as his wife and as his partner. But another part of me, the agent side, is disappointed that he trusted an enemy agent with vital information. But then I'm also proud that he flipped another enemy agent. That's two by my count. He's like an idiot savant when it comes to female agents. They all end up falling for his nice guy charms." She said looking through a spotting scoop for their contact. They had about ten minutes before the meet.
"I know. The last time I was there I tried to seduce him. I called him to my hotel room. I was dressed like I was when you walked in. I had a bra on that time. He was so nervous, he kept telling me that he should call you. He was stuttering, and sweating. But he never let me touch him. I don't remember the last time someone told me no like that. He didn't even look at my tits. He kept eye contact the whole time and ran out of the room so fast he left a smoke trail." She said laughing. Sarah had a sad little smile on her face. Her Chuck had turned down a night with Carina last year when they weren't really together. He turned her down because he knew she wouldn't like it. Her Chuck was so special. She looked through the scope again. "So what do we know about the contact?" Carina asked pulling out a small lens and attaching it to her iPhone so she could look around too.
"Major Steven Snow, Retired. Used to be NSA. He was on Casey's strike team a while back. He quit six months ago to take care of his wife and two kids. She has cancer. It's bad. The reason he needs the money is to pay for her cancer treatments. He's moving his whole family to Burbank so she can go to the hospital out there. Casey said he was very good. He said he was the best tactical heavy weapons guy he knew. The mission tonight is to get the package and feel him out for recruitment later." Sarah said looking around again. That's when she saw the guy she was looking for. He stood out in this crowd like a sore thumb. Both because he was the only black face in the area, and because he stood an impressive 6'8" tall and at least 350Lbs of pure muscle. He was wearing jeans and a pea coat, and he had a duffle bag in his hands.
"That's our guy." Sarah said pointing out the hulking man standing in the doorway.
"Oh my, I do hope he's willing to renegotiate the price. I would be willing to work off a payment plan." Carina said with a wicked smile as she eyed up the Major.
"Down bitch! He's married and Casey's friend. If you fuck up this deal I'll kill you. Chuck's life depends on this. We need the package. His wife needs to pay for her cancer treatments. We need to see if he wants to get back to work. That's all we are doing here. If you try anything I'll leave you in this parking lot and never talk to you again." Sarah said reaching into the back seat for the duffle bag with the money.
"Wow I was just joking! You don't need to get all bent out of shape you know." Carina said pouting.
"I'm not messing around. The sooner you understand that the less likely it will be that I shoot you." Sarah said. "Now get out of the car and stand over by that truck and be ready for anything. For all we know he might have sold us out." She said pulling her gun and putting it on the seat between her legs. Carina opined her door and slipped out into the night. Sarah flashed her lights and Steven turned and walked over to the car. He got into the passenger seat and placed an STI 2011 on the center of the dashboard.
"You've seen mine, lets see yours." He said in a deep baritone voice and a sad smile. Sarah nodded once and placed her gun next to his. "John told me I was going to meet a very pretty lady tonight but he didn't say how pretty. I must say John is a very lucky man."
"Yeah well he didn't tell me I was going to meet the Incredible Hulk either. He's funny like that. Sarah Walker." She said holding out her hand.
"No shit?" He asked surprised. "Major Steven Snow. Ma'am It's an honor to meet you Ma'am." He said shaking her hand.
"So Steven, what do you have for me?" She asked with an innocent smile.
"I got everything you asked for." He said unzipping the bag and showing her. "I got two female Army dress uniforms. And two full sets of credentials. One for a Major S. Bartowski, and one for a Lt. C. Henson. Also brass and bars to match. I took the liberty of including a pair of M9 sidearms. The devil's in the details remember?" He said handing over the bag.
"And I have everything you need." She said handing over her bag. "Inside is four first class tickets to Burbank, ten thousand dollars, and the lease to a nice ranch style house in a good neighborhood not too far from us. Casey will hopefully meet you at the airport in three days, if not he'll send someone else to get you guys. We also setup an appointment with the best cancer doctor in the country. He knows that we're covering all the expense." She said with a smile.
Steve looked at the brick of cash and the lease and closed his eyes. "I want you to know I would have helped John without this, but I needed it for my family. I feel bad about all of this, but I had to ask for it." He said in a voice thick with pain.
"I know Steve. So does John. We did this because it's the right thing to do. You quit the NSA to look after your family. We can all understand that. Family means everything to us now. I have one for the first time and I know I would do anything for them. Now go home and get your family packed. You have to be on the other side of the country in three days, and I'm guessing your wife can't help too much right now. When this is all over we want to offer you a job." Sarah said grabbing his shoulder.
"What kind of a job?" He asked sounding unsure for the first time. "I would do anything for John, but I draw the line at treason. In fact if I didn't know John like I do I wouldn't have got you that stuff." He said pointing at the bag.
"Relax Steve. We are putting together a taskforce to deal with the worlds worst scumbags. The really bad guys. You would be in charge of tactical situations. Just think about it, and ask John questions when you see him. Besides if this mission goes south tomorrow we wont have to worry about the taskforce." She said with a smile.
"I'll think about it. Thank you, and good luck." He said taking his gun and bag as he got out of the car and walked across the parking lot. A minute later Carina slipped into the car and they drove away.
"What's in the bag and what's the mission?" She asked.
Sarah reached into the bag and handed her the Lt. C. Henson name plate and Pentagon security badge. "Tomorrow morning, at six AM, we're going to walk into the Pentagon and have a talk with General Stanfield. We saved his life once and he told me if I ever needed anything I should come see him. Well I'm coming to see him." Sarah said.
"What do you need from him?" Carina asked looking at the badge. If it was a fake it was the best fake she had ever seen.
"I need him to get a meeting with the President. We need him to sign off on the mission Chuck's on and to approve the taskforce." Sarah said.
"Oh is that all? We just have to sneak you, a wanted felon, into one of the most secure buildings in the world, and force a four star General into taking you to see the President? It sounds very easy." Carina said sarcastically.
Chuck was tired. He had spent the last two hours dancing with Melissa. She taught him a few dances, including the man's side of the tango. That was a source of a lot of laughs for her. "So you wooed La Cauid by letting her lead you around in the tango? And what about all that stuff you talked about when we first met yesterday? About really tangoing? About hot Argentinean nights? Was all of that bullshit?" She asked rolling around on the couch laughing so hard she was crying and having trouble breathing.
"Laugh it up but I had you with that bullshit, as you called it." Chuck said pouting.
"No you didn't!" She said still laughing.
"Please, I had you the second I sat in that car! If I wasn't with Sarah right now I would have had you six ways from Sunday by now!" Chuck said with confidence.
"I don't think so! I could have stopped you at any time! You were my assignment remember. To me you were seducing yourself. So I let you." She said sitting up and giving him a sexy smirk.
"I could have you panting right now if I wanted to. I will agree that of the two of us you've had more sex, but I've made more love, and I know how to use that to my advantage. The fact remains that if I wasn't such a nice guy you would be in love with me right now. I saw the look in your eye last night. I had you. If I continued today you would have been a slave to my charms." Chuck declared puffing out his chest and sticking out his chin.
"Would not!" she said
"Would too!" he said
"Would not!" she said
"Would too!" he said
"Would not!" she said
"Would too!" he said
"Would not!" she said
"Would Not!" he said
"Would too!" She said then a look of confusion crossed her face making her look so cute.
"AH HA!" He said raising his arms in victory. "And the Duck Hunting Season strikes again!" Chuck said bouncing around the room like a little kid on a sugar high.
"Just because you outsmarted me now means nothing!" She said pouting harder. But she just laughed at the way he was acting. The truth is he did have her. He still did, if he said the words right now she would be out of her clothes in seconds. He had her the second he set foot in that car. He was so right and it scared her a little. It was his smile she thought, the way he looked at her and told her a fantasy. He was sex, and power, and lust rolled up in a very nice looking package. He had her, he knew it, she knew it, hell Walker, form across the country knew it. Sarah was very lucky he was such a good person. Because if he told her to strip and get in bed she'd be there before the words even left his powerful mouth. Oh did that mouth hold power over her. She thought licking her lips subconsciously.
"Okay fine, but I said I owe you a dance and I think it should be the tango I told you about. Well not exactly. I don't think I'll be really tangoing with anyone but my wife." He said with a shy smile as he pulled her off the couch and into his arms. That was two hours, and countless dances ago and now he was dead tired. They sat and had a late diner of chicken and pasta, with a very nice red wine. After diner he was really dead. From the not sleeping last night, to the emotional rollercoaster of the day, to the two hours of dancing and fun of the evening. Add diner and wine on top of that and he was so ready for bed. He walked over to the bed and collapsed on top of it. Melissa came over and sat next to him.
"How are we going to do this?" She asked pointing to the bed.
"Well the bed is very big, and if we keep some clothes on, I think we can share the bed, don't you?" He asked sleepily.
"Okay, I'm fine with that, but if I roll over in the middle of the night and touch you, your wife, The Enforcer, is not going to kill me is she?" She asked with a smile.
"No I think we're fine. Plus we have to share a bed for the next few weeks anyway. Might as well start acting like we're used to it now. Remember you're supposed to be a play thing for me, it's what you said they would believe. We can start by being able to be comfortable with touching each other." Chuck said pulling off his jeans. And rolling under the cover.
"Okay, you're right. I think we should spend tomorrow kissing and cuddling to get over the first few awkward times. You know to get familiar with each other." she said dropping her jeans and leaving her in her panties and tee-shirt. She pulled back the cover and slid in next to him.
"Okay, I can see how that would be a good idea." He said flipping off the light.
"When are we shipping out tomorrow anyways?" She asked rolling into him and laying her head on his pillow.
"I'm not sure. I think sometime after noon. I know Casey wants me to look over every one in his NSA team. You know the one you were on? I need to see if anyone else is Fulcrum on the team." He said rolling over on his side to face her.
"You mean besides me right?" She asked with a sad look on her face. In the dark of the room he could just make out the tear that rolled down her face before she turned away from him.
"Hey, that is not what I meant." He whispered to her as he wrapped his arms around her pull her to him. She let out a sad little laugh. "Okay so that is what I meant, but it's not true now and I shouldn't have said it that way. You know how much I trust you right. You're my friend Melissa. And for the next few weeks you're the only friend I'm going to have. I need you to talk to me." He said softy while hugging her close to him.
After ten minutes she turned her head. "I know." She said softly. "But this morning I woke up a traitor and I'm going to bed a good guy. It just hit me, that's all. Thank you for holding me." She said snuggling into his body and sighing.
"Hey it's what friends do. They hold you when you need to be held." He said as she dozed off.
The alarm clock next to the bed started ringing and Sarah's hand reached out and smacked it off the table. It was 4:30 am, and the sun wouldn't be out for another three hours. She rolled her neck and she heard two very loud pops. "Oh, that feels good." She said as she rolled over in the guest bed in Carina's house.
"Well it sure as hell didn't sound good." Carina said from the doorway. Sarah shot out of the bed pulling the gun from the nightstand and pointing it at Carina's head. "Very good reaction time!" She said sidestepping out of the line of fire and up to the bed. "Here I brought you coffee." She said handing Sarah the mug and taking her gun. She put the safety on before putting it on the table and sat next to her.
"How long you been up?" Sarah asked her taking note of her wet hair and silk robe.
"About a half an hour. I couldn't sleep. I'm nervous. It's been a week since my last mission and I got a rooky shot. Today if things go wrong we get hanged for treason don't we?" She asked Sarah with a sad smile.
"No we wont." Sarah said taking a sip form her mug. "They shoot you now I think. Yeah I'm pretty sure they use a firing squad for treason." She said with a straight face. The silence lasted for a minute before they both broke down laughing. "I honestly believe this is going to work. So far everything Chuck said happened, or something better presented itself. I know I was tense last night but today I feel calm. Like everything is going to work out for us. You know how I am during mission, always on edge looking for the next threat, but not today. Today I feel good. I feel real good. Did you hang up your uniform?" She asked Carina.
"Yeah, it's been a while since I wore one though. I almost forgot where all of the brass goes." She said.
"The last time I wore a dress uniform I was posing as an British officer to get into MI-6, I needed to test their security, they failed. I remember their director tearing the poor agents a new one. I felt really bad about that." Sarah said picking up the brass oak leafs.
She looked over at the ribbon bar and saw six ribbons. The purple hart with the five stars was easy to understand. five time she was wounded in the line of duty. It was more then that, but she didn't think they made one with ten stars. The other one she knew was a light blue ribbon with five horizontal stripes, form the center out was one yellow, two red, and two dark blue. This one had four stars. It was the ribbon for the intelligence star. The highest award given out to agents. This one was missing stars as well. She had eight of them, the most given out to one agent ever. The next closest was some old guy who was big during the cold war and he only had six of them. The next one down from that was Agent Samantha Glass, she had five of them, looking at the ribbon and thinking about Agent glass made her frown. She had been missing in action for two years now.
She shook her head and looked at the ribbon again, eight Intelligence Stars she thought. It was the one thing she was very proud of in her spy life. She remembered the missions she won them for in vivid detail. The last one she knew was a blue and gold striped ribbon. It was from her time in the Secret Service. It was for valor in the line of duty. That was also a time when she got a purple hart. She was proud of the fact she took a bullet for the Secretary of State.
She saw the other three ribbons and picked them up. On the back of each of them was a sticker label. The first was a gold, blue and red striped ribbon. It said Iraq campaign. Technically she didn't serve in the campaign but she did conduct intelligence operations during the first few weeks of the war. She also got shot again. She shook her head, she got shot way too often back then. The next one was a green and gold striped ribbon, this one was for marksmanship. The last one was a green and silver stripped ribbon for joint National Defense. That one made her smile, and think about her partner. She knew Casey had requested the uniforms and the ribbons. Hell he came up with the idea of sneaking into the Pentagon instead of trying to charm their way into the White House. She was very proud to be his partner. Over the last year and a half they had put aside their differences and worked as a strong team. Their record showed that. They had cleared more missions in one year then most teams cleared in three years.
"You got more then me, I only got the purple one, the green and gold one and the intelligence star medal one." Carina said looking over Sarah's shoulder.
"How many heart and stars do you have?" Sarah asked.
"Three Hearts and one Star. How about you?" She asked.
"Ten Hearts and eight Stars." She said standing up and heading into the bathroom.
"Did you say eight!?" Carina yelled through the door.
"Yes. Now go get dressed we have to move."
Sarah took a fast shower and slipped on a white underwear set. She then put on the uniform shirt, followed by the green skirt. She threaded the sidearm holster onto her belt and add the small tie thing that she hated. She then took some time adding her brass to her jacket, ending with the oak leafs. She pulled the jacket on and loaded the M9. She didn't like the gun very much. It was too big in her opinion but she would look strange carrying her nickel plated Smith and Wesson. She sighed and holster it before slipping on the plane black pumps. She then combed her hair out and pulled it into a tight bun at the back of her neck. The last part of her disguise was a pair of black plastic rimmed glasses. With the glasses and no makeup she looked different enough to not be recognized at first sight. That plus the very early morning time they picked to go was going to hopefully get them to Stanfield's office without any trouble. She grabbed her rarely used black metal briefcase with the CIA logo on it and walked out of her room. She saw Carina was dressed the same as her and she was pacing the living room floor playing with the slide of her M9.
"You okay?" Sarah asked with a smirk.
"Yes! No. I don't know okay." She said coming to a stop in front of Sarah.
"Well you have until we get there to get okay. After that we're in mission mode and I don't want you to freak out on me. Now lets go." Sarah said pulling on her wool coat over her uniform and walking out the front door. They got in the car and drove in the pre-dawn light to the Pentagon parking garage entrance. This was the first of six check points they had to cross. It was also the first time they would see if the credentials passed inspection. Sarah pulled up to the gate and a young man in a black BDU walked up to her car. She rolled down the window and handed him her ID along with Carina's. He ran it over a scanner in his hand and when the light turned green he handed them back with a smile.
"Have a nice day Ma'am." he said as she drove into the parking garage. They parked in one of the many open spaces and took the elevator, which needed them to swipe their id's to activate up to the third floor. From there it was just crossing through the check points in the hallway outside of the elevator, the one by the door to access the hall housing the high ranking military brass, and the door to Stanfield's office. When they got to the General's office his secretary greeted them with a small smile.
"Can I help you Ma'am." she asked Sarah as she stood up and saluted her. Sarah returned the salute like an old pro.
"Yes Captain I need to see the General immediately. It's a matter of national security. Tell him it's in connection to the bomb that almost killed him a year and a half ago." Sarah said handing her a file that had top secret stamped across it.
"Yes Ma'am, right away Ma'am." She said taking the file into the generals office. "Sir we have a matter of national security." She said placing the file on his desk. When he opined the file a picture of Sarah, Casey, and Chuck was sitting at the top. Stuck to it was a post-it that read. 'I'm calling in that favor you owe me.'
He looked behind the picture and found all of the Mission files they should have sent to Beckman if the Mission was on the books. He read through them with the speed of a man that had seen way too many of these files come across his desk. He read about the fake AWAL, Chuck getting caught, how he flipped a Fulcrum agent, and how the next stage of the plan was already in place. He even read a mission brief about the success of the Mission Sarah and Carina were on now. It even had a detailed account of the route they took to get the file to his desk. That made him smile. They were ballsy, very ballsy, and he liked that. You needed confidence in this game and these people had it in spades. Thinking it over he knew he was going to help these people. The benefits far out weighed the risks. Plus he owed them a debt that needed to be repaid, and any time he could mess with Diane Beckman was just too good an opportunity to pass up. He looked up at his assistant. "Becky, send them in, and lock down the office. Also get on the phone with the White House. Tell them I need a meeting with the President give him the code word: Blue Flag. Tell him I need to see him at his earliest convince." He said and Becky walked out of his office.
She went to her desk and motioned the two into the inner office. "He will see you now." She said picking up the phone. Sarah and Carina entered his office and stood at attention in front of his desk before saluting him. But he just waved at the chairs in front of his desk.
"Have seat, and cut the crap. We don't have time for it. What do you have for me as far as this mission goes, I hope this isn't all of it." He said waving his hand at the file on his desk.
"No sir, I have files on Fulcrum, Ted Roark, and the Intersect project. I also have my partner Major Casey standing by with a phone so we can talk to Chuck. My husband is the expert when it comes to this mission, it was his idea and he knows all of the players involved." Sarah said pulling files out of the brief case. Stanfield looked over the files for the next fifteen minutes. Sarah used this time to focus on calming herself and thinking about Chuck. He would be getting up soon. Carina on the other hand used the time to tap her foot and fidget at the fifteen minute mark she couldn't take it anymore and flew out of her seat and started pacing. She walked over to the side bar and grabbed a glass of orange juice and a donut, she then ate them while she paced.
"She's not a very calm person is she?" Stanfield asked with a smirk.
"No sir she is not, I think she has ADHD, but I'm no shrink. CARINA SIT YOUR ASS DOWN NOW!" Sarah yelled and Carina dropped into her seat. "Good now sit there and stop acting like a small child." Sarah said rolling her eyes. Carina didn't say anything she just played with the hem of her skirt and tapped her foot. Becky knocked on the door and told them that she got a meeting with the President in a half an hour. They all stood and walked out of the office and down to the garage where a town car was waiting for them. As they made the short drive Stanfield looked at the two of them.
"Have either of you two ever been to the White House?" He asked.
"Yes sir, I have, I did a year long stint on the Presidential protection detail." Sarah said pointing out her Secret Service ribbon. He turned to Carina and she just shook her head no.
"Okay I'll say this for your benefit young lady. Once we get in the building you are to surrender any and all weapons. You will follow me. You will keep your mouth shut until you are asked a question, and you will address the President as Mr. President, or Sir." He said and Carina nodded. "Good here we go." He said getting out of the car and helping the two agents out after him. They walked up to the security desk and they checked they're guns. They were lead to an outer office and told to wait. A few minutes later the door opened and they were lead into the Oval Office. They stood at attention and saluted. The President asked them to sit on one of the couches and he sat down on the other one.
"Now what's so important that you had to call this meeting?" He asked.
"Sir have you heard of the domestic rogue intelligence group know as Fulcrum?" Stanfield asked.
"Yeah, Beckman read me in on it in the intelligence briefing. What about them?" he asked taking a drink from his coffee cup.
"Well sir they are getting stronger everyday and they are hell bent on world domination. They are a bigger threat then any other foreign enemy we have. We have new information that says the head of Fulcrum is Ted Roark, of Roark industries. He is using the funds generated from his multi-billion dollar corporation to fund domestic terrorism, but we have an agent going under cover to infiltrate Fulcrum. He is Agent Charles Carmichael, of the CIA. You may also know him as Charles Bartowski, the human Intersect." The General said handing over the three files. Over the next twenty minutes the President read the files and asked question for clarification. Like in Stanfield's office Sarah was calm and collected, giving straightforward answers. Carina on the other hand was still nervous. She spent the whole time fidgeting.
"So agent Walker, you and your team want me to rubber stamp a rogue, off the books, mission?" The President asked flipping through the mission file again.
"Yes sir." Sarah said confidently. She made it to the Oval Office, now she wasn't leaving till she got what she came for. No was not an answer in her vocabulary.
"And you're confident this Charles Bartowski, a man with no training can pull off a deep cover mission on his own?" He asked looking her in the eye.
"Yes Sir. I believe in my Husband. I believe that he can do anything. I would like to point out his file. He did all of those things without any training. He has this ability to asses situations and think three steps ahead. He put together this whole plan in fifteen hours and with very little intel. For the last six days he has been right, or the situation has turned out better then he even thought it could. We put him in a room with a Fulcrum agent, his mission was to use her to get to Fulcrum. Instead he flipped her, and now she is willing to risk life and limb carrying information in and out of the Fulcrum camp to him. He was supposed to soften up General Beckman, she gave him a title, and back pay legitimizing his cover. His asset calls in to report his recruitment, she talks to Fulcrum Command. My husband might not have training, but he's more of an agent then half of the people I've worked with in the past. So yes Sir, I believe he can do this, and not only will he make it out the other side, I can promise you he comes out with more then he thought he would. He said he could get the information to bring them down. I will bet you treason charges he not only takes down Fulcrum, he does it by himself and quietly enough that the people that work for Roark Industries won't even know it happened. He's just that good." She said with a level of conviction that scared all of the people in the room including Sarah herself.
She didn't know if her hands were shaking because of her declaration of trust in her husband, or she just talked to the President of The United States like that. Either way she didn't care, people were going to respect her Chuck, and she was going to make sure of that. She was the Enforcer, no one fucked with her, and from now on they were going to treat her better half the same way God damn it! She thought with a small nod. She lifted her hand to her chest and felt his ring under her shirt. She took comfort from it. From the knowledge that he was out there doing his job and he was going to come home to her. He had to, he still had her ring, and he said he would bring it back to her. He made a promise and he always kept his promises to her.
The president sat back in his seat and looked her in the eye. He then looked down at the file and rubbed his chin. After a minute he looked back at her. "I want to talk to him, you said you had a way to do that, I want to talk to him before I okay this." He said.
"We can do that sir. We just need to make a couple of phone calls and we can get him on the phone." She said pulling out a burner phone marked 9.
"Don't tell him it's me before you hand him the phone, I want to judge his reaction." He said taking a drink from his cup.
Chuck was in a deep, comfortable, sleep. He was warm and content. He tightened his arms around Sarah and breathed in her sweat citrus smell… wait, Sarah smelled like lavender. He frowned and took stock in his surroundings. He was laying on a bed, spooning a woman. He knew it was a woman because his right hand was cupping her left breast. He slowly removed his hand, and he heard her moan in protest. "Chuck." She moaned in complaint. "Put it back, it was so nice. I feel so good." She sighed grabbing his hand and putting it back to her breast, and Chuck was painfully aware of his morning erection.
"Melissa, please let go of my hand." he said gently pulling away from her.
"Why?" She said spinning around and planting a kiss on his lips. "Why can't we start our practice session now?" She asked kissing his jaw and neck.
"Because I have to use the bathroom." He pleaded.
"Fine, but when you get back I get kisses." She said releasing his hand and letting him get up.
Chuck ran to the bathroom and shut the door. He took a few deep breaths and shook his head, that's when he heard the laughing through the door. As realization hit him he banged his head back into the door. "She played you. She played you and now she's laughing at you. You can't let her get away with that. You were trained by the best. She thinks taking off her top is seduction. You get out there and show her differently!" He said to himself. He took a few deep breaths and realized he really did need to pee. After he washed his hands and brushed his teeth he walked out of the bathroom. He advanced on her and spun her around to face him. Before she could react he was kissing her. It took a second but she returned it with the same vigor he put in. He sucked her lower lip and she sighed opening her mouth and closing her eyes. He kissed her jaw, then trailed his tongue down her neck kissing her at cretin points. He got to the pulse point on her neck and nipped her just hard enough the to make her cry out in pleasure and pain. He trailed his tongue down to her tee shirt collar, and she let out a shuddering breath. She pushed him back and pulled her shirt over her head when she went to kiss him he was not there and she fell off the bed. She looked up and saw Chuck standing over her laughing.
"That's not funny Chuck! I'm all hot now and you're laughing at me!" she said with a pout.
"Come on, we're even now. Lets go get dressed and order something to eat. We have a few meetings then we have to get abducted." He said pulling her up off the floor.
Just then the door banged open and Casey walked in holding a phone. "Chuck, I got the urgent phone call that you've been waiting for. Chuck I need you to get your shit together. This is the President." Casey said holding his hand over the speaker.
Chuck stood up and took two calming breaths. He took the phone, "This is agent Carmichael." He said.
"Agent Carmichael, this is the President. I hear you're the man responsible for this plan?" He asked.
"Yes Sir." Chuck said.
"I Think it's crazy, and more than a little bit risky, but I like it. I just have two questions to ask before I rubber stamp this mission. I want a no bullshit assessment, do you think you can pull this off son?" He asked.
"I'm not going to lie to you Sir. There is a long list of things that have to go right for this to work. So far it has, even this conversation we are having now was part of the plan. I had a big, confident speech all thought up for you but I think telling you the truth is more beneficial to me. You see the truth is I can't say for sure if this is going to work. For all I know I could be dead by tonight, but I'm willing to try sir. I'm willing to go out there, be abducted, and taken to see Fulcrum Command. I'm willing to sit across form him and tell him a pack of lies. I'm willing to sit there knowing that he could order my death with a few words and the wave of his hand. I'm willing to do all that because I know that if I don't then one day they will try to take over this country, and if they succeed, then the rest of the world will fall to them." Chuck said with the same level of conviction Sarah had used just five minutes before to talk about Chuck.
"Okay son, my next question was if you would be willing to do anything for the mission but I think you answered that for me. I'll sign off on this, and wish you luck son. God bless and good hunting!" He said.
"Thank you sir. I was wondering if you could hand the phone to my stunning wife please Sir." Chuck asked with a smirk.
"Sure thing, although I have to ask you how you landed such an amazing woman?" He asked with a laugh.
"I have no clue Sir. I'm still waiting for the day she wakes up and comes to her senses." Chuck said laughing.
"I think every man that marries an amazing woman feels the same way son, hell I do from time to time. Here you go," he said handing Sarah the phone. She walked out of the office.
"Chuck?" She asked so many questions with that one word and Chuck knew what she was asking.
"I'm okay Sarah, and the mission is on. I'm ready for the next step and I feel good about the mission so far. I also want to talk to you about the seduction mission, I, Sarah I just couldn't do it. I was in position to do it and I couldn't do it, I got to stage four and I puked my guts out, I felt absolutely horrible about it, for you, for Melissa, and for me." Chuck said with a sad smile.
"It's okay Chuck, I'm proud of you, you did good. You got the mission done without having to do much, and by not doing it you turned another agent. I got the story from Casey, she sounds like a an innocent in all of this. You made the right call. But Chuck I want you to make me a promises right now. You're going to go deep cover tonight. If at any time you think you're being watched I want you to put on a show for them. I want you to look her in the eye and go for it like you love her. Your life could very well depend on it. I understand the situation and what ever you have to do I want you to do it. The only thing that will make me mad is you not making it out of this alive. If you have to kill I want you to do it. If you have to bang her brains out I want you to do it. And if you have to burn her I want you to do it. I know this is going to be hard Chuck and I want your word that you will do what it take to get back to me." She said in a very emotional voice.
"I promises Sarah, I will do whatever it takes." He said in a sad voice.
"Good now I miss you and I love you and I can't wait till I can see you again, I've been thinking about the things I'm going to do to you when you put that ring back on my finger." She said in a sexy voice. "Now Chuck I want you to put her on the phone." She said.
"I love you too." Chuck said before he gave the phone to Melissa and walked over to the couch.
"Agent Barns, I'm Sarah Walker. I know you know who I am. So I won't even go into all that, but I want you to do a few things for me. The first thing I want you to do is look at Chuck. He just got up so his hair is probably all sticking up making him look so cute. He's probably smiling right now, I want you to look at him and understand that no matter how good he is at this spy stuff he's not an agent. He has no training, and he's never killed anyone. I know from your file that you've passed your Red Test. I want you to think about that feeling and understand that he might have to kill someone in the next few weeks, and I won't be there to get him through that. I need you to do that. I need you to help him cope with taking a life." Sarah said sadly.
"I understand. If any killing needs to happen I'll try to do it. But if I can't then I'll help him anyway I can." Melissa said watching Chuck and Casey messing with each other.
"The next thing I wanted to talk to you about is, sex. If you think you're being watched at all I want you to make it look good. I don't want him to die because he feels like he's cheating on me. I told him this already but I want you to talk him into it if you have to. But only if you have to do it. I'm not giving you permission to have sex with him for the hell of it. This is on a need to basses." Sarah said firmly.
"I understand Ma'am. I'll push him if I think we have to. But I'm going to push for privacy. I hope to never have to push him in to doing it, but if I have to I will." Melissa said turning red.
"The last thing I wanted to say before I hang up is, if at any time you think it's not going good, or you feel like they might know something I want you to tell me and I'll lead the forty agent strike team to come and get you two out. The mission is not more important then your lives. Both of you." Sarah said.
"Thank you Ma'am, it means a lot to me that you trust me to do this." Melissa said feeling good for the first time in her career.
"I trust you because Chuck trusts you. If he didn't trust you I wouldn't let you anywhere near him. And do me one last favor, Call me Sarah. I just gave you permission to sleep with my husband, I think we can go by our first names don't you?" Sarah asked with a laugh.
"I think so, I will get him back to you Sarah, I promises." Melissa said. Melissa hung up the phone and walked over to the table where Casey and Chuck were looking over a big stack of files. "What are you looking at?" she asked.
"Casey want's me to see if I flash on any of these guys to see if they are Fulcrum." Chuck said as he held up a picture of a man in a black suit.
"Oh, can I go over the ones you did, maybe a can find one you don't know. Are these the agents from the team I was on?" She asked flipping through the files that Chuck looked at.
"Yes this is the same team. Did you know anyone?" Chuck asked.
"No I didn't." She said with a smile.
"You didn't see anyone form one of your super secret Fulcrum meeting? You know the ones where you gather around a fire pit in hooded robes and trade secrets?" Chuck said laughing.
"No, and I've never been to any meeting like that. I'm pretty sure you just made that up." She said laughing at him. He laughed too until he saw a photo of Mat Carson.
"We have a winner Casey!" Chuck called out holding up the picture. They continued to look through the files for another hour and didn't find any more rouge agents. "Well that's the last file. I think we got the only Fulcrum agent on the team." Chuck said handing the last file over to Melissa. "But I do think we might have a candidate for recruitment. She was in the Intersect. Her name Alex Dunbar, 26 years old, graduated high school at age 12, she has a degree in computer engineering from MIT. She has an IQ of 168. She been with the NSA for three years. She was Navy Intelligence for two years before that. She scored off the charts on problem solving. And is in peak physical condition. She ran track in high school. She put in for a transfer to the Strike Team twice, and was rejected twice. She's too small, only 5'2". She listed in the Intersect as a possible candidate for Intersect download." Chuck handed Casey the file.
"I remember this one. She kept to her self. Very quiet. Tiny too. Looked like I could break her in half, and she needed to do something with her appearance. She's not ugly, but she could use something." Casey said flipping through the file.
Melissa looked at the picture and nodded. "I sat with her two days ago. She's smart. She told me that she thought you were headed in the wrong direction. I asked her why she thought that, and she said because Carmichael would know better then to give them that much of a clue. Also she said there was no sign at all that they went north, she said it was more logical that they would have went to a big city and then move out from there. She had you pegged Casey. She tried to talk some of us into to calling the General to repot her suspicions. That was when the report came in saying that they were in Vegas. I think she still doesn't trust you fully. And for the record I think she is very cute, she just needs a make over. Chuck said she got a masters degree from MIT at age 20, I can't think she had much time for hair care and makeup." Melissa said taking the file.
"Well over the next three weeks feel her out. See what she's like. If you don't think it's a good idea to bring her in then we wont. It will be your call." Chuck said. "Maybe have Sarah talk to her. She used to be kind of an ugly duckling before she joined the CIA. They made her into the knockout she is today. Maybe she can help Alex."
"Okay, I'll look into her. If there are no more Fulcrum agents that means I can gather the team and prepare for the extraction. I'll swing by later with your things Chuck." Casey said as he left.
"Well how about that meal I talked about two hours ago?" Chuck asked picking up the phone.
"Sure I'm starving." She said sitting next to him.