Chuck put the last finishing touches on his crawler program. He saved, and shut off his laptop. He slid it into the foam lined metal and Kevlar case Jordan found for him, before tossing it into his bag. He checked his watch and saw it was 8:35 PM. He grabbed all of his things and headed for his car. When he got outside he saw someone keyed the side of his door. He looked around and saw a security camera pointing right at his car. He smiled. He would find the person that did this and he would pay them a visit, but not now, no, he would wait, he was a patient man, and he had important things to do. But next week the keyer was fair game. And he would make sure it got out, it would add to the legend of Charles Carmichael.
He pulled into the drive way ten minutes after he burned out in front of RI. He opened his door to find the doorman waiting to park the car. He smiled an evil smile as he handed the keys over. "Do you see this scratch on the side?" He asked and the doorman nodded. "It happened at RI, when I find the person that did it I'm going to kill them very slowly. If I find anymore scratches on it I'm going to know who put them there, and I'm not going to be pleased about it. I'd spread the word around." Chuck said menacingly.
"I understand Mr. Carmichael sir." He said taking the key and getting into the car very slowly. When he pulled away Chuck let the laugh bubble out. When he walked into the apartment he saw the lights were off and Melissa was sitting by the table with a candle light dinner waiting for him.
"Welcome home Chuck, have a good day at work?" She asked as she waved him over to the table. He sat across from her and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. He knew something was up, he could smell it, well that and the plate in front of him. He broke eye contact and looked over the spread. A big stake was sitting on his plate along with a huge baked potato, and green beans with shaved almonds.
"This looks really good, but who's the extra plate for?" Chuck asked.
"Sam, that's what I wanted to talk to you about actually. Remember three night ago when I cried on you for being a traitor? Well I would like you to do the same thing for all of the other ladies. They're in need of good conversation, some drinks and cuddling. They need love Chuck, and kindness, and understanding." Melissa said with a sad smile.
"I don't get it. You want me to seduce them?" Chuck asked scratching his chin, he found himself doing that a lot today. He now understood why people grew beards, it gave their hands something to do when they were thinking. Chuck liked doing it. Plus it made him look like an evil genus.
"Kind of, but not really. Remember when you held me and told me I had to be good at something? You sat me down on your lap and held me and talked to me like I mattered. Like I was the center of your world. It was amazing. I want you to do the same thing with them." Melissa said.
"I still don't get it. Why do they need me to do all of that?" He asked looking at his stake, he was getting very hungry sitting here looking at his plate.
"They need you to do this because they never had someone do it before, or in a really long time. They're all in need of comfort and reassurance. They need the attention and love of a very good man. They all have doubts about their future on the team, or in some cases, as agents all together. Sam feels like an unredeemable traitor. She thinks she should be shot where she stands. She's been in so many dangerous situations over the last two years she's always on edge, and yet she lost all of the fire she used to have. Kate's just waiting for someone to tell her to strip. She's been used so many times she doesn't know anything else. She's probably forgot more about being an agent then I ever knew but she forgot how to be an agent all together now. They turned her into a hooker that knows how to hold a gun. Jordan thinks she's too old to still be an agent. She feels responsible for getting in the situation she's in right now, and she feels like she's failed her son. She was never there for him growing up but she made a promise to herself to never put him in danger because of the work she did. She broke that promise, and now she thinks she's not fit to be an agent anymore. Like an old knife she feels like she lost her edge. Chuck you need to help them like you did me. I've never felt more confident then when you said all those things to me. You turned a traitor call girl in to an agent. For the first time I'm on a real mission. I have a job to do that doesn't require me to be on my back. You did that Chuck, and now I need you to do it for the others." She said with a smile.
"So you want me to what? Date them? Make them feel special again? Hold them and sleep with them?" Chuck asked rubbing his hands over his face.
"Yes." Melissa said.
"Okay, how are we going to do this?" Chuck asked taking a drink from his wine glass.
"That's it? No big argument? No protesting? No speeches about cheating on Sarah?" Melissa asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Nope. I just want to know how this is going to work. I'm guessing you have a plan? Cause I'm drawing a blank. I mean if it was just seduce them I would have no problem with Jordan or Kate. Sam's too good, but the other two I could charm easily. But I'm guessing it's more then that?" Chuck asked looking at his stake longingly.
"No charming. No seducing. Just be Chuck, not agent Carmichael. Trust them and open up to them. Find that one thing that they love and do that with them. Like you did with me and dancing. I felt like crap and you held me close and just swayed with me. The perfect gentleman. That's what they need. They're used to frogs, I don't think any of them have ever meet a prince." Melissa said.
"Okay set it up. Can I have my steak now?" he asked with a wine to his voice and a pout on his face.
"Let me call Sam up and then we can eat together." She said pulling out her phone.
"Fine, but I hope it's still warm, you do know you can't microwave a steak right?" Chuck asked.
"She's coming, and I ordered the food on super hot plates. And it just came a minute before you got here. I had Jordan call me when you left the office." She said going to the door. A few seconds later Sam knocked. "Come in, we're having diner, I hope you feel like steak?" Melissa asked leading Sam over to the seat next to Chuck.
"Hello Chuck." She said shyly.
"Hello Sam, how are you doing this evening?" Chuck asked taking a bite. It was still hot. His eyes rolled back in his head as he savored the flavors. "Who made this? We have to keep them on the staff after the takeover." Chuck half said half moaned.
"Hungry Chuck?" Sam asked with a smile.
"You have no idea. I've been sitting here looking and smelling this steak for the last ten minutes." Chuck said giving Melissa a fake dirty look causing the two women to laugh.
"Hey I wanted to talk to you at work, but you were too busy remember?" Melissa said smirking.
"If I knew this was waiting for me I would have come home with you at six instead of eating that tofu salad thing that Jordan got me. Does she really eat that crap? She said it was one of her favorite things from the cafeteria. It tasted like butt." Chuck said between bites.
"You really like steak don't you?" Sam asked looking at Chuck.
"I like anything that tastes like this." Chuck said pointing to his plate with his knife and fork.
"And for the record, Jordan does eat that crap as you called it. I do too for that matter. So does Kate and Sam here. You think this happens by accident?" Melissa asked waving her hands at her and Sam's bodies. "Hell no it doesn't. I spend four days a week at the gym when I'm not in a bunker. In fact this is the last red meat I'm having for the rest of the week." Melissa said cutting her steak in to small bite size pieces.
"You do know there's a gym on the first floor right?" Sam asked.
"Your kidding? Well I know what I'm going to do tomorrow, I think you should set aside time to come with me Chuck. We don't want to send you home to Sarah fat after all." She said with a big smile.
"But the gym means I have to work, and get all sweaty!" Chuck said pouting.
"Suck it up you big baby. You're out of shape as it is. I bet I can out bench you." Melissa said flexing a well toned arm in his face.
"Hey until last week I never had to think about things like fitness. I'm just learning you know." Chuck said staring sadly at his flat arm as he flexed.
"Well, I wouldn't tell that to Jordan. She's up every morning at 5am running ten miles on a treadmill. She then runs through an hour long work out that has me questioning if she's human or not." Sam said. "You do not want any part of her morning workouts. Trust me on this. She tries to get me to join her when I'm not on missions."
"How hard can it be? She's what like 40? That's almost grandma age." Chuck said dismissively.
"You know what? I tried to warn you, but you didn't listen. If you really don't believe me head down there some time she's there from 5:30 to 7am every morning Monday through Saturday. I'll let her know you think she's old enough to be a grandma. That's going to go over really good with her. Tell me Chuck, do you know kickboxing?" Sam asked between bites.
"I do, I just downloaded it today." Chuck said feeling very proud.
"I got twenty buck that says that grandma can kick the shit out of you." Sam said smirking.
"I'll take that bet. I would love to spar and test out me new skills." Chuck said. He looked to Melissa. "You want in on this? I'm making plans to take Sam's hard errand money." Chuck said with a smirk to match Sam's.
"Sorry Chuck, I'm betting against you." Melissa said softly as she took a drink.
"WHAT!? Your going against me? Your own partner? The Intersect? You wound me woman! For that I'm sleeping on the couch tonight!" Chuck said with a huff.
"You would leave me in that big bed all by myself?" Melissa asked in a hurt voice but with a big smile on her face.
"Yes! I would take away your snuggle time!" Chuck said sticking his nose in the air setting them all off.
"Fine but I'm still betting on Jordan." Melissa said pouting.
"Don't make that face, you know I don't like it. Fine I'll give you back your cuddle time. Just cut back the puppy dog eyes." Chuck said hugging her.
"You two are so cute it's sickening." Sam said making a face.
"let's change the topic before we make her sick." Chuck said sharing a smile with Melissa. "So Sam what do you like to do for fun?" Chuck asked.
"Well I used to like going to the shooting range, and just let off a few hundred rounds, but I haven't had the time to do that in a while. I would love to do that again. It's been so long since I've shot at a target that was made of paper." Sam said wistfully.
"Really? What are you doing tonight?" Chuck asked.
"Nothing really, why?" Sam asked.
"I might be able to help you, hold on." Chuck said pulling out his Blackberry. "Hello Jordan? Yes, can you put Ted on the phone? Hey Ted, I ran into a coding problem and it's driving me nuts. I need to blow off some steam. Does Fulcrum have a shooting range? You do? And you can set that up for tonight? Make sure they're stocked up on 9mm because killing paper targets is the only thing that helps me get over a coding block like this. Thanks Ted I owe you one. Okay we can call it even. See you at the office tomorrow." Chuck hung up the phone and turned to the two women staring at him. "What? I figured he'd have a range somewhere. When we're done here I'll take you. Do you have anything beside that Golck19 in your back?" Chuck asked cutting his steak.
Sam sat there in shock for a few seconds until her brain kicked in. "Um I have an MP5 in my apartment, and a few other hand guns." she said.
"Cool I have an MP5-SD6 in my tactical bag, I'll bring it along and we can have ourselves a little competition. Say the loser has to buy the winner an ice cream cone." Chuck said.
"An ice cream cone?" Sam asked looking at Chuck like he was nuts.
"You've never eaten ice cream after spending time at the range? You have no idea what your missing. I'll show you what I'm talking about later when you buy me a cone." Chuck said with a smile.
"What do you mean when I buy you a cone, you mean when you buy me a cone." Sam said.
"I hear a lot of talk, but I don't think your ass can cash the check your mouth just wrote." Chuck said teasingly.
"I hold marksman titles at the Farm you know. I can out shot anyone." Sam said with real indignation. How dare he challenge her.
"Yes but that was Agent Samantha Glass CIA. When was the last time you shot competitively? I bet you an ice cream cone and raise you my dry cleaning that I can out shoot you." Chuck said with a smirk.
"How dare you! Do you know who I am? I'm Samantha Glass! I was born with a gun in my hand. You don't want any of this!" She said with a core of real anger. She was playing before but how dare he call her out like that.
"I'm so scarred. I can barely stop myself from shaking in my boots. You talk a big game but I don't see you raising the steaks, come on Agent Glass, call me out." Chuck said smirking. Melissa was sitting there confused, he was supposed to be charming her, not challenging her.
"Fine you want me to raise the steaks? I will! Melissa what's Charlie here good at, he started with the chores, what should I ask for?" Sam asked Melissa.
Melissa looked over at Chuck with a raised eyebrow and he nodded once. She smiled, he had a plan. "Ask for a foot massage. He's got magic hands." Melissa said blushing.
"Oh I like the sound of that, alright Charlie I want a foot massage when I win." Sam said giving him a hard stare.
"Then I want a show if I win. I want agent Glass to put on a little show tomorrow. I want you to bring me lunch, in a sexy little black dress, and I want people to see you hand it over to me." Chuck said laughing.
"Fine! But I'm going to get that foot rub. Meet you in the lobby in ten minutes. You better bring you're A game Charlie! Cause I'm gonna bring mine!" Sam said getting up and walking out of the apartment.
"Chuck, what are you doing?" Melissa asked.
"I'm getting to know Sam. Well I'm getting to know agent Glass first, then later I'm going to get to know Sam." Chuck said getting up and walking over to the tactical bags. He dumped them out on the bed. He put the MP5 and five mags back in one of the bags. He added Melissa's extra Glock19 and five mag along with five mages for his Sig229. He put the rest of the stuff in the other bag and left it on the side of the bed. He changed out of his suit and into blue jeans and a black tee shirt. He put on his Chuck Taylor's, and grabbed a leather motorcycle jacket before he came out of the bedroom. "Don't wait up for me, it's going to be a late night." Chuck said heading out the door.
"I won't, I'll see you tomorrow Chuck. Good luck!" she said waving to him.
When Chuck got out of the elevator Sam was in the lobby waiting for him. She changed out of her skirt and dress shirt. She was now sporting black cargo pants, a black tank top and a leather jacket. She had her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail and she was wearing black combat boots. She look every bit the bad ass her file said she was standing there with her gun bag slung over her shoulder. She looked him in the eyes with her cold agent mask in place. But he also saw how her shoulders slumped just a little when she thought he wasn't looking or how sad here eyes looked. He needed to keep here focused for this to work, he needed her angry. He wanted her to feed off that anger.
"I see you're taking this seriously, good I don't want to face Sam glass tonight, no I want to go up against agent Samantha Glass CIA. I want your best tonight. This whole thing is fueled by respect. I want to know if I owe you some or not" Chuck said as the doorman pulled his car up. They got in and Chuck punched in an address in the navigation.
"I want that foot rub. Plus I want you to know this now. I'm gonna whoop that ass Charlie." She said smirking. Chuck drove them twenty minutes south to a warehouse district by the harbor. He found the building they were looking for and parked in the almost empty lot. When they got to the door they where met by a guy in a suit.
"Fulcrum Command said to open the range for you. If you will just hand over your RI badge I can enter you into the system and I can leave you to it." the man in the suit said. Chuck handed over the ID and the guy swiped it through the card reader and punched in a ten digit code. He handed the ID back and opened the door. He lead them into the storage area and through that into a full shooting range. "Fulcrum Command said to give you full access to the all of the range. That includes the gun cage over there, your ID will open it. You will find a huge selection of guns in there. That door over there leads to the ammo room. Help your selves. When your all done if you can kill the lights and lock up that would be great." The guy said before he left them. Chuck sat his bag on a table and pulled out his gear, he looked over at Sam and saw she had the same things. An MP5, hers was an mod. A1 with a red dot sight, and two hand guns. A glock19 and a sig229. When Sam looked over at his table she laughed. "How you wanna play this?" She asked slamming a mag in her MP5.
"How about we let off a few rounds to get started, then we can play a little game of horse. We'll take turns calling out guns, target size and distance." Chuck said holding down the button to send the paper target down range. "I do have to ask you a question though. That sign says the range is 120 feet long. How far would you say that target is?" Chuck asked letting go of the button.
"Um… 80 feet? Give or take?" She said looking at the small six by six inch target. "Why?" She asked.
"Well I just wanted you to know who you're up against. You talked all that big game at the apartment about holding records, and my file says nothing about me so I wanted to level the playing field by showing you." Chuck said before he pulled his sig and let off three shots. He smiled and put his gun down holding the button to call the target back. When it go closer she saw the X in the ten ring was replaced by a round hole. He handed the target to her smirking. "You can call off the bet now if you want to." He said with a cocky smile.
Sam looked at the target and knew she was going to lose, but a part of her, the part that was Agent Glass didn't care, he challenged her and God damn it she was not going to back down! "You think I'm afraid of you?" She asked laughing. "I want you out of your shirt when I get my foot massage, I want something to look at when I'm getting pampered." She said eyeing him like a piece of meat.
Chuck's smile feel off his face. "It's so on now! I'm going to make you dress like June Claver when you drop off my lunch tomorrow. I think you'll call me honey when you do it. I bet you would look good in pearls." Chuck said putting on his agent mask, but on the inside he was smiling, she was playing into his hands and she didn't even know it. But he got to meet Agent Glass now, and he liked what he saw. Gone was the slumped shoulders and sad look in her eyes. No they were replaced by fire. She radiated power, and she was looking to put him in his place.
"I'll give you pearls." She said before she shouldered her MP5 and let off a long burst of full auto on a salute target ten feet away. When Chuck looked at it he smiled. She shot a line of holes across the neck.
"Get warmed up, let off a few hundred rounds. I don't want you trying to make any excuses when you bring me lunch tomorrow." Chuck said smirking. She gave him the evil eye and emptied the rest of her 32 round mag into the center of the paper target.
Chuck walked back to his lane and put up another six by six inch target. He sent it to the back of the lane and shouldered his MP5. He shot once and the X was replaced by a hole. He spent the next two minutes emptying his magazine and called the target back. He smile when he saw just one big hole in the ten ring. He spent the next half hour just shooting. Getting comfortable with holding different guns. He pulled an M4 from the cage and ran a few mags through it. He did the same for the UMP.45 as well. He was just going to pull a G36c out when Sam came marching up to him. "We gonna do this or what." She asked.
"I'm good to go. You pick first." He said.
"Okay, I say Glock19, six inch target, fifty feet." She said. Chuck loaded up the target and moved it out fifty feet. She stood up to the lane and took aim with her Glock19. She fired and landed her shot dead center. "I want to see you do that." She said smirking confidently.
Chuck looked at the target, nodded, picked up his Glock19 and fired. There was no second hole.
"Did you miss?" She asked.
"No I just put my shot through the same hole." Chuck said shrugging.
"No way in hell. I want proof, put up another target." she said crossing her arms.
"Okay, but the results will be the same." Chuck said sending a target down range in the next lane. When it lined up with the other one he picked up the Glock and fired. The hole was dead center. "I duplicated your shot, so no letter this round. My turn. Ten inch target. One hundred feet away, MP5." Chuck said calling the target back and sending out the bigger target. At about one hundred feet he stopped it, picked up his MP5, shouldered it, and fired, hitting the dead center. "Your turn Honey." He said stepping back. She picked up her MP5 and took careful aim. She shot and missed the center by just a few centimeters. "Nice try, but I do believe that's an H don't you?" He said.
They kept at it for an hour, and as 11PM rolled around Sam had 'HORS' and Chuck had 'HOR' it was his turn to duplicate her shot. He looked down range. Eighty feet. Ten inch target. Glock19. Closest to the bull's-eye. He knew he could make that shoot. It was well in range for him, and he didn't mind using the Glock19, but the point was not to win this competition. No the point was to get Sam back to being Agent Glass. To get her confidence back. He took aim and fired.
"Ah ha! I got you! We're on the same level now!" She said smirking as she held up the target showing his miss low and to the left of hers.
"The game ain't over yet Honey." Chuck said smirking. "One last round. We're tied right now. Lets play this one a little differently. One shot. Six inch target. As far out as it can go. You pick the gun and take the first shot. Closest to the X wins." Chuck said sending the target out.
Sam walked over to the cage and pulled out an M14 with a scope. Chuck saw the rifle and had to turn away so she wouldn't see him smile. He was really starting to get good at this planning stuff. He didn't know if it was the Intersect, his years of gaming, or his time spent around Casey and Sarah. All he knew was that his mind made these connections now, and it did it very fast. Even hungry, and tiered he still knew just what to do. The point of going to the firing range was to get her back into the agent mind set. He was hoping the compotation would bring back memories of being at the Farm. He knew that if he got her mad enough she would forget about the here and now and concentrate on beating him. It had been working well but she still was holding back. He was about to start in on the verbal abuse but he didn't have to. Samantha Glass had completed many mission in her eleven years as an Agent, but three of her Intelligence Stars came from missions involving the assassinations of three very bad men. On three separate occasion she had made some very important shots. All of them fired from an M14. Two of them at distances close to the very edge of the M14's maximum kill range. She put the gun on her lane counter and leaned over, bending at the waist. She dropped one round into the breech and let the bolt carry slide home. She rolled her shoulders and took a deep breath. As she let it out she squeezed the trigger and rifle barked sending the brass jacketed lead round down range. It hit the target with laser like accuracy. She stood up and handed the rifle to Chuck with a sexy little edge to her smile.
"Your turn Charlie. But I do think I won." She said in a seductive voice.
Chuck looked down range and put the rifle down. "I would have paid any price to see agent Samantha Glass fire an M14. It's like watching Deviance paint the Mona Lisa. A true thing of beauty." Chuck said bowing his head over her hand and kissing her knuckles.
She blushed and looked away. "I haven't made a shot like that in a long time. It felt good. It felt right. I feel powerful. I haven't felt this good in a long time. Thank you Chuck." She said softly.
Chuck walked around her and stood behind her. He bent over and whispered in her ear. "I want you to close your eyes and just savor this feeling. Let it wash over you. Take it in and just let it roll around in your body. I need you to remember it. Because the next time you feel like you're not an agent any more I want you to close your eyes and remember this feeling. This moment, right now." She closed her eyes and shivered as goosebumps ran up her arms. Chuck circled his arms around her and pulled her to him. "Sam, you were one of the best agents the CIA has ever had. You think your not that person anymore. But you are Sam. You still are, and you've never stopped being that person. It's been my goal form the very start of this mission to form a team. To recruit the very best of the best. From the moment I saw you in that lobby I knew I found another member of that team. Sam it's time to be an agent again. It's time to stop pretending that your not the very best of the best. It's time to shake off the last two years and answer the call of service again. Your country needs you Sam, but more importantly, I need you. The team needs you." Chuck said holding her close.
She lest out a choked sob and bowed her head. "I Don't know if I can anymore." She said.
"Let me show you something." He said walking her up to the lane. He called the target, and when it got to them Chuck pointed at the bullet hole, "Stop lying to yourself. Look at it Sam. Look at the perfection of the shot. Look at your skills, your talent. You were born from spies Sam. The blood of two legends flows through you. You were born as a spy. You were raised as a spy. You were trained as a spy. And no matter what you do form this day forward you are going to die as a spy. I want you to do me a favor. Carina is going to fly to D.C. tomorrow afternoon. I want you to go with her. I think you need to remember who you are. I have a mission for you. I want you to walk into Arlington cemetery and find your grave site. I want you to look at it standing there with the rest of the heroes, and I want you to think about the fact that you are going to end up there no matter if you join the team or if you spend the rest of your life on a beach somewhere. You're a hero Sam. You can be happy with that fact and your eleven years of flawless service, or you can look at that grave and say: 'not yet! I'm not done yet.' I will respect you no matter what you do. While you're there you might want to visit your mother's grave as well. Tell here about the last two years and ask her what you should do. When you have your answer I want you to come back here and tell me. We'll go out to dinner and celebrate your retirement, or your new position on the team." Chuck said pulling her tighter.
She turned her head and rested it on his chest. "Thank you Chuck. I needed that. Now I think you owe me an ice cream cone, and a foot rub." She said smiling.
"That I do. Let's get our things together and lets go. I know a shop that serves the best ice cream late at night." Chuck said packing up his guns and grabbing five boxes of 9mm ammo.
Ten minutes later, and Chuck pull into the parking lot of a an ice cream shop called 31 shades of green. Sam looked at the sign and looked back at Chuck. "What kind of ice cream shop is this?" She asked eyeing a group of stoners stumbling out the front door.
"Well that's a long story." Chuck said leading her into the shop. "About five years ago this guy opened up a specialty ice cream shop. He made his own crazy flavors and stayed open late, well his shop became a hangout for pot smokers, so he got a license to sell medical marijuana. Now he sells both, and some medical baked goods. I come for the ice cream. So what do you want?" He asked pointing to a huge board with names on it.
"I have no clue?" She said smiling.
"Okay lets start with the basics, cone, or cup?" He asked pointing to the waffle cones.
"You said cone, so I want a big waffle cone." She said.
"Okay next question, are you in the mood for sweet, savory, or both?" He asked.
"Um, both." She said.
"Okay, well he makes this special blend called the munchies. It's chocolate cookie dough ice cream with potato chips in it. It's very good and I think you'll like. I my self am getting a two scoop of olive oil, and black cherry ice cream. How about this, if you don't like your ice cream we can trade?" He asked as they got to the counter.
"That sounds good." She said nodding.
Chuck ordered and they got their cones. They sat outside on a bench and Sam tried her cone. "Oh, this is good! It's the perfect blend of everything! Do they sell it by the pint?" she asked between licks.
"I'm not sure but I think if you went in there and asked real nice he would sell you anything." Chuck said laughing.
"Your's looks good too. What's it taste like? I've never heard of olive oil ice cream." She said eyeing his cone.
"You want to try it?" He asked.
"You're not afraid of coodies?" She asked trading cones.
"Nope. I had a coodie shot when I was in the second grade." He said trying her cone.
"You know those ware off right?" She asked laughing.
"OH GOD I'm GOING TO DIE NOW!" Chuck said panicking. Sam laughed so hard she almost feel off the bench. "How can you laugh at a time like this!? I just found out I got coodies!" Chuck asked scratching his arms.
"I think you'll live." She said between laughs.
"How can you be sure?" Chuck asked looking at her with hope in his eyes. That set her off again.
"Here hold out your arm." She said. She took his arm. "Circle, circle, dot, dot, now you've got a coodie shot." She said poking his arm. They both laughed. When the laughing died down she hugged him. "Thanks Chuck. I had a good time tonight." She said going back to her ice cream and handing him back his cone.
"Well the night's not over yet. I do believe I owe you a foot massage." He said wiggling his fingers.
"That's right! I can't wait. My left foot's been hurting since I got caught in the blast of the drug lab. I think I sprained it." She said finishing her cone.
"I must admit. I don't mind the foot massages. I'm always surprised you ladies like them so much. I mean what's the big deal?" He asked finishing his cone and walking towards the car.
"Women ware uncomfortable shoes. We end up with foot pain." She said shrugging. She flipped on the radio and found a rock station, and Closing Time by Semisonic was on. Sam smiled. "I love this song." She said singing along with the words, Chuck smiled and sang along too. They made it back to Roark Tower singing Jumper by third eye blind. They got out and Chuck tossed the keys to the door man with his scary look.
They went up to Sam's apartment on the third floor. Chuck walked in and tossed his coat on loveseat. He pulled off his tee-shirt. "Okay so where do you want to do this?" He asked.
"Why did you take your shirt off?" She asked.
"Because you told me too. Remember? I want something to look at?" He asked taking a seat on the couch.
"I was kidding, you can put your shirt on." She said laughing.
"What, you don't like my body anymore?" He asked in a pouty voice.
"Put your shirt back on. Do you want something to drink?" She asked pouring herself a vodka tonic.
"Johnny Walker if you got it. On the rocks please." He said putting his shirt back on. He was getting more comfortable around women with his shirt off he thought. He didn't know if that was a good thing or not.
She handed him a drink and sat on the couch next to him. She pulled off her boots and put her feet on his lap. Chuck pulled the socks off and started in on her right foot. "Wow! You are good at this." She said putting her head back on the arm rest.
"So tell me about yourself Sam." He said.
"Well you know my mom was Jennifer Glass. I was raised by my grandmother Bee, in Queens New York until I was three, Mom's cover was blown and she got shot in the leg on a mission. She needed physical therapy. So she moved me and my grandmother out to Pasadena California. She hooked up with her doctor and they got married after they found out mom was pregnant with Bobby. When Bobby came out as light as me he said Bobby wasn't his, a DNA test backed that up and he split. Mom never could keep it in her pants. I spent the next five years living with my grandmother and Bobby in California. Mom was always off on a mission somewhere. When I was ten, she was caught in an ambush and shot multiple times. She ended up with a shattered hip and couldn't work in the field any more. She moved us all out to D.C. so she could work at Langley. She took an interest in me when she saw me run track in school. From that day on she groomed me to be an agent. Every moment not spent in school was spent learning field craft, or Russian, or knife fighting. By the time a turned fifteen I could run the obstacle course at the Langley military base under the course record. At sixteen I finished the fast track at my high school and graduated top of my class. I was enrolled at The Farm the next week. I spent the next three years setting records at The Farm. Many of them held up until your wife showed up. I got my Red Test a week before my nineteenth birthday. I was on a plane to Russia the week after that and I never looked back. I spent every break I got with Bobby at home. My mom would always debrief me about my missions. She lived her last six years vicariously through me. She died in a car crash seven years ago. I started taking more breaks after that. By then a new agent had come along and started taking the suicide missions. They called her The Enforcer. She was a demon in the field. Once she gained a reputation for getting the job done no matter what, the pool of missions started to dry up. She was doing the work of three agents sometimes. She never took a break, she never took time off, she even worked hurt. There were roomers that she wasn't human. She was some kind of Terminator." Sam said with a sad smile.
"Did you ever work with her, or talk to her?" He asked rolling up her pants legs so he could work on her calves.
"No I never did, but then again I hated her up until two years ago. And she knew it. I was very vocal in my hate of her." Sam said as a look of shame crossed her face.
"Why?" Chuck asked.
"I'm getting to that just wait." She said playfully, but then she sobered up. She looked off and sighed. "After a while I was only used in Russia. It became my specialty. I spent some time working for Volkoff Industries. I tried working my way up the food chain but I never got close to the boss. It got to the point were I was doing questionable things for no real mission gains so I got out. That was five years ago. When I made it back to Washington I heard that while I was spinning my wheels in Russia, the Enforcer had overthrown a corrupt Chilean government by her self, with no support from Washington. I never meet Sarah Walker until today but I have to admit I hated her. I hated this young upstart, hot shot. I hated her for taking all the glory. For making me obsolete. I tried making waves, I tried to get a good assignment, but I was rejected. I was assigned to the US Embassy in Rome instead. I knew what it meant. They were giving me an unimportant job to keep me out of The Enforcer's way. Then three years ago an important mission came up in Moscow. Word got to me through one of my contacts of a credible threat on the Russian Prime Minister's life from within the Russian government. I called it in to Gram and I was expecting a call back with the green light. I sat in my apartment in Rome with my bags packed, just waiting. When the call came it was not for me to report to the Kremlin, no they sent Her again. They sent her to my territory! Russia was mine, MINE! They kept me busy though, they asked me to look over her dally reports to see if I could add something to them. It was the biggest slap in the face I had every seen. I took a leave of absence after that. I spent time with Bobby. Four months later they sent me on a fools errand in Bangkok. When I came home after that Fulcrum black bagged me and told me they would rape and torture Bobby if I didn't work for them. I think they thought I would jump at the chance to get real missions again. They didn't know I would rather die then turn traitor. Sarah Walker spent four months looking for me. She was only a few steps behind me. A few times we were even in the same building, but I never made contact with her. I was afraid of what they would do to Bobby. A lot of my hate for her died over those four months. She was so dedicated to finding me. She kept looking even when the CIA called off the search, and declared me dead. You Married a good woman Chuck. She's dedicated to the job and to doing the right thing. I never thought I would ever get the chance to tell her that. But now I will. I didn't do it today but I will soon." She said with tears in her eyes.
"She would like that. I think you should tell her what you told me. She needs to know how close she was. She was crushed when she couldn't find you. It's the only real failed mission she ever had. And you don't have to worry about Volkoff, We're going after them next." Chuck said working on a knot in her left calf.
"Oh Chuck that feels so good." Sam said purring.
"I think you tweaked something in your leg. It's so tight. And this looks like a bruise. Just how close to this explosion were you?" Chuck asked lifting her pants leg higher to look at the dark purple bruise.
"I was running out of the front door as the drug house exploded behind me." She said rolling over to lay on her stomach.
"Well you need to spend some time in the tub in our apartment upstairs. It's got so many water jet. Melissa spent a couple of hours in it today." Chuck said moving up her thigh. Her whole left leg was one big knot. It always amazed him how these soft, beautiful women could put themselves through so much trauma on a daily bases. He made a vow to look after them. They acted so tough all the time it was easy to forget they needed to be treated like ladies sometimes. They needed to be pampered, and looked after. He would do that from now on. He made real friends in Melissa and Sam. He was hoping to do the same with Kate and Jordan. But his new job on the team was going to be the team protector. Not in a physical sense, but in an emotional sense. He would take care of them all, and there were a lot of them. They were all different, and unique, but they were still ladies. Yes they were all highly trained killers, but that didn't mean they didn't have feelings. He saw a lot of nights like this one in his future. Who else would do it besides him? Casey? What a joke. No, Casey had a lot of very good qualities. He was an honorable man. He was dedicated to the team and his friends. He was always reliable. But he was not an emotional person. The sight of a crying woman scared him. No Casey would be the team's father in a way. He would look after them and make sure none of them came to any harm. He would growl at any man that got close to the girls. He would worry about them. He wouldn't admit it but he would lose sleep when one of them was off on a mission. And if they were ever in trouble he would move Heaven and Earth to get to them. No the emotional shoulder to cry on was going to be his. And as scary as that sounded he didn't mind. The more time he spent with these women the more he found himself loving them. Not in a romantic way but in a big brother/ best friend way. He wanted to protect them, to look after them. To sit next to Casey and growl at the men that came to take them on dates as they cleaned their guns. That thought made him laugh.
He looked down at Sam and saw she was asleep. He moved her legs and stood up. He bent over and picked her up. He carried her to her bedroom and set her on the bed. She stirred and mumbled something as she grabbed the front of her cargo pants. "What do you need?" he asked.
"Pants, take them off. Uncomfortable." She said falling back to sleep. Chuck reached down and undid her belt. he unsnapped her pants and pulled down the zipper trying not to wake her up. When he got her pants open he moved down to the end of the bed and pulled the legs. As her pants slid off she rolled over and slipped under the covers.
Chuck bent over her and kissed her forehead. "Good night Sammy." He said softly. Her hand came up and grabbed his head pulling him down on top of her.
"Stay Chuck? Please?" She said softly.
He rolled off of her smiling "I don't have much of choice" He said with a laugh. He pulled away from her and she made a sad whining sound. "I'm staying, just let me get comfortable." he said as he slid off his shoes, socks and jeans. He slid under the covers behind her and hugged her.
"Okay Sammy. Good night." He said pulling her close to him.
"love you Charlie." She said half asleep.
"I love you too." He said kissing the top of her head. He sighed. Yes he would look after his girls. He smiled at the way she called him Charlie. Then he thought about it. His name was Charles, and he did have a team of highly trained and skilled beautiful women. The them song from Charlie's Angels started to play in his head. He looked at his dark Angel and renewed his vow. He would look after his Angels. Dooo da dooo, deee dee doo doo. He let a small laugh escape as he slipped off to sleep. He dreamed of his angels.