The Mission - June
As time went on, the powers that be realized the further back they pulled Chuck from tactical missions in the field, to including him in the strategic planning of the missions, the more successes they had. He was a force multiplier, and they should have realized that from the beginning.
Even before they had the distracting chaos of Fulcrum and The Ring, the powers that be thought small. For them it was just about creating a mobile data base. If an agent had mission critical information available a synapse away, they could be more effective in the field. So they were just looking for people with the best retention.
They never considered what the results would be if they put it in the head of a genius. Let alone a world class genius like Chuck Bartowski.
Chuck's eidetic memory allowed him to recall the information. His exceptional mental capacity, meant he could retain extraordinary amounts of data, like the entire fucking files of the CIA and NSA. And his genius allowed him to put together pieces of very complex puzzles, find solutions to problems they didn't even understand they had. If, and it was the most important if, he was pointed in the right direction.
It was becoming more evident, with each successful mission that, with Chuck involved, the right target could be determined, and they could chop off the head, instead of bloodily working their way up from the bottom.
Chuck's analysis, combining information about business, politics, terrorism and more, brings an unparalleled understanding of connections and root causes, International in scope.
He still goes out in the field with Carina, but they stay in the background, or on the edges, with just enough gunplay to fulfill Carina's adrenaline addiction. That, combined with the international travel and the socialite lifestyle the cover required, insured that Carina was having the time of her life. Her professional standing was sky rocketing. And, Carina's cherry on the top was wicked sex with her boy toy partner, whenever she could entice him into it. It wasn't often, but it was always excellent.
The Intersect kept others busy, too.
There has been, and always will be, flawed individuals who will cause harm to society, so there was no end to the moles who needed to be whacked. And Sarah was still good at whacking. It was just more selective now.
With the Intersect enhanced intelligence flowing through the CIA, key players could be identified. Ice Queen Walker could then infiltrate and judiciously kill the target, with no collateral damage. She didn't kill often, but when she was activated, bad people died, guaranteed.
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The Mission - Consequences
Chuck is trying to find happiness where he can.
Like, actually seeing some of the places missions took him, grabbing a picture or two, for Ellie and Morgan.
Losing himself in the music at the clubs or the music from his extensive collection. Checking out new music was a pleasure he maintained, being able to work it into the gaps in his busy schedule.
Losing himself in the physicality of exercise, or the focus of martial arts training.
He is trying to think about nothing. He meditates to try to think about nothing.
Carina, living life at full throttle, eyes on the next adventure, had been slow to notice his decline. His diet, training, and still youthful recovery ability, offset the physical toll of missions, partying, and repressed sadness.
But his eyes told the story, or rather began to not tell the story. Carina used to fear the depths of his eyes, revealing his soul and totality, and in the process unveiling your own. Now the depth was gone. Staring into his eyes only got you to a screen of near emotionlessness.
He seemed perpetually slightly distracted and catching his attention seemed to supply only superficial awareness. Shades were down, walls were up, and emotions felt only in brief moments of distraction, and when Carina could extract some fire and passion.
The life of a spy is a life of adrenalin.
Carina is an adrenaline junkie, she lives for it.
Sarah accepts it as a compensation for all the bad stuff.
Chuck is depleted by it. He suffers the physical and emotional downsides of the bad things he does for the greater good. And, for him the adrenalin is closely associated with the following crash, so it engenders anxiety, not excitement.
Still, he finds happiness where he can.
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