CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #1: Welcome back everybody, this is the big one, the chapter that so much of this story has been building towards. This chapter is intense, some of the most intense stuff i've ever written. I'm super excited (and slightly terrified TBH) to hear what all of you think of this one. This chapter has been rewritten and revised something like five times at this point, which is likely a record for me. I've put an insane amount of effort into the revision for this story, I hope it shows. This chapter was inspired by the song "Sights" by London Grammar. As my friend Nev will tell you, London Grammar is a great band and all of you should go check out their three wonderful albums. That's all i've got to say at the moment, i've got a migraine as I type this, so i'm just going to shut up and let all of you get to the good stuff.

CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #2: No beta readers were harmed in the making of this fanfic. Enjoy!

Numb

A Story by
CharmingCharles2896

Chapter Six
Sights

As Sarah walked into the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills, California, she couldn't help the feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. They'd planned on her meeting up with Casey before she went in, a last respite before she had to enter the lion's den. She couldn't help but hate the fact that Casey was going to see her like this, with so much skin visible in such a trashy way. The man was almost old enough to be her father, so their dynamic had never been a sexual one. This was all to say that Sarah hoped to keep it that way. Everyone in the lobby was giving her the same look, one of judgement and scorn. More so than ever before, Sarah Walker felt like a cheap hooker. Pressing the button for the elevator, those around her gave her a wide birth, even choosing not to board the elevator with her. All the same, she preferred it that way. As the elevator dinged for the eleventh floor, Sarah quickly walked down the hallway to room 1121. Knocking quickly, Sarah spoke quietly.

"Casey, it's me, open the door." She heard a flurry of activity on the other side of the door before the door opened to reveal the one and only John Casey, suited and booted as Chuck had said earlier. His plate carrier with bullet proof steel plate inside, Mk18 SBR, and dark clothing gave off a menace and readiness that actually did much to calm Sarah. Casey was ready to rock and roll, so if things got hairy up in the penthouse, she wasn't alone.

"How do I look?" Sarah asked jokingly, striking a half-hearted pose. Casey shrugged and let her in, closing the door behind her.

"Like a very expensive hooker, the kind that rappers and billionaires spend time with." Sarah stopped in her tracks, turning to look at Casey after his strangely nervous reply.

"Feeling alright, Casey?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. Casey cleared his throat and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, just hate this plan," he said honestly, still looking strangely uncomfortable. Sarah gave him a small smile and nodded. Seeing Walker now, Casey understood Chuck's request. Walker was a ticking timebomb of stress and anxiety, which begged the question, why was she even on this mission to begin with?

Closing the distance between himself and his partner, Casey spoke softer than Sarah had ever heard from him. "Walker," Casey said calmly, getting her attention. "Take a breath and relax. All of us are going to do everything we can to look out for you. If Beckman and Chuck think things are going too far, I'll kick the motherfucker's door in and take all of them out. Royalty or not, I will smoke all of them to get you out of there, solid copy?" The fierce growl in Casey's tone did much to buoy her nerves.

With a nervous nod, Sarah spoke in a soft tone, "thanks, Casey." She saw the gruff former marine look away humbly.

"You're the best partner I've ever had, Walker." Sarah merely nodded and walked to the couch, sitting down on it with a huff. Thinking quickly, Sarah crossed her legs before she flashed Casey and scarred him for life.

"I've got a while before I'm expected to be at Volkoff's room, so I'm going to take a moment and meditate for a bit," Sarah said as her eyes closed and she began taking calming breaths.

"Do whatever you've got to do, Walker," Casey said as he turned his back and walked away towards the suite's bedroom, opening the doors and disappearing inside to get ready.

Back at Castle, General Beckman couldn't help but be impressed by the concern the members of this team had for one another. When all of them had been thrown together two years ago, Agent Walker and Major Casey had been ruthless lone wolves. Fast forward to the present and the three of them had become a team.

As she listened to Agent Walker's slow, meditative breathing, she switched off her headset and turned to one of the computers in front of her. That niggling doubt wouldn't leave her alone. The feeling of doubt sat there in the back of her mind, looming over her every thought. Typing her login information into the U.S. Joint Intelligence database, she quickly went in search of a specific file, one she'd glanced at a long time ago. Chuck was sitting to her right, about three feet from her. He was focused on something on his iPod, so she wasn't worried about him seeing. When she found Langston Graham's mission files from seven years ago, the file in question was right at the beginning of the list. The codename of "Artemis" was an interesting choice from the late DCI. As Beckman opened the digitized file, the mission objectives were stated clearly at the top.

Further ties with Rusovian royal family

Below that there was a notation from Graham, written in black pen…

Candidate Walker exhibits classic signs of sexual inexperience and requires further training to be effective as an agent. Will field test to determine suitability.

Graham had indeed whored the young woman out to one of his underworld friends to break her in sexually. General Beckman believed in the usefulness of the practice of seduction missions, but there had to be a real reason. To read that Langston Graham had taken a sexually inexperienced young women and thrown her at one of the most vile and abusive men Beckman had ever read about, made her sick. Reading the details of the mission and comparing them to Agent Walker's version of events was stark. The official report made no mention of the abuse Agent Walker was subjected to during the ordeal. At the end of the document, there was an addendum, added after Graham's death when his own personal files had been discovered and reconciled with the official copy on file.

Opening the addendum, General Beckman gasped at the image she saw. Chuck looked over at Beckman, wondering what she was so surprised about, but she quickly minimized the file before the man saw the images of a nineteen-year-old Sarah Walker, covered head to toe in gnarly welts and bruises.

"What's wrong?" Chuck asked, sitting back in his chair. Looking over at Chuck, General Beckman now understood Agent Walker's last words to her.

"Try to protect him, please…"

"Chuck absolutely hates it when I get hurt…"

"I fear there will be a lot of things that Chuck won't be able to handle, tonight…"

Knowing she had to answer Chuck, the General sat up straighter and spoke. "No, there's nothing wrong, I just remembered that I'm going to need groceries when I return to D.C." it was a horrible excuse, but it was all the General could think of. Chuck just shrugged and returned to whatever it was he had been doing. Turning her screen away from Chuck, General Beckman reopened the file, seeing the horrifying image. The tears in the much younger Sarah's eyes, one of her hands covered her chest while the other covered her mons pubis made Beckman's heart constrict. The poor thing was absolutely covered in wounds and marks, so clearly traumatized by the entire ordeal. Scrolling past the image, Beckman saw a note, written in a different person's handwriting.

Ms. Walker demonstrates the typical symptoms of acute post-traumatic stress in relation to the mission codenamed Artemis. The sexually aggressive conduct of the mark has had a noticeable effect on Ms. Walker's ability to be in the presence of men. I strongly advise against any further field work at this time and recommend regular therapy sessions. Will update progress in one month. – Signed, Pauline Morrison PsyD C.A.T.S.M.

As Beckman read, the dread in her stomach reached an all-time high. After that night seven years ago, Sarah didn't go on another mission for two years, because she was in therapy for two whole years! Graham must have understood the danger to Sarah if she was assigned seduction missions and did his best to shield her from them. As the gravity of what was to come began to sink in, General Beckman's mind raced, trying to come up with a way out of this. The looming threat of a loose nuclear weapon, as well as the lack of any other leads on the location of it, pointed her once again at Yevgeni Volkoff. A deal had been negotiated; one she knew could not be renegotiated. Yevgeni Volkoff hated the west, so his willingness to negotiate with her at all was a massive boon for U.S. intelligence. To think she could call him up now and beg for a different price was folly. She couldn't send Major Casey in and simply beat the information out of him, that would cause an international incident that the U.S. would never recover from geopolitically.

The reasons for this entire ordeal had been good ones. A loose nuclear weapon was a top priority. Still, Agent Walker's reactions and almost constant anxiety made a ton more sense given what General Beckman now knew. If tonight's actions were anything like seven years ago, Sarah would be a wreck. Lord only knew how her boyfriend would react to treatment like that. Now understanding that she owed it to Sarah to look out for the man sitting to her right, General Beckman closed the file, stood up, and walked away. Chuck watched the General walk off, unsure where she was going. As Beckman walked further and further away from Chuck, she pulled her phone out of her interior jacket pocket and dialed a number she hadn't dialed in years. She couldn't stop this trainwreck from happening that die had been cast. Just because she couldn't stop the disaster to come, didn't mean she couldn't take steps. The phone rang for only a brief moment before a familiar masculine voice sounded in her right ear.

"Hello, Diane, to what do I owe the pleasure?" came the smooth voice of Leslie Richardson. She'd used the contractors at the Los Angelis based Stone Hawk Security on more than one occasion when she needed off the books tactical support in a place the U.S. wasn't technically allowed to go.

"I need your help, Les, tonight," the General said into the phone as she looked back in the direction of Chuck.

"What kind of help?" Les replied into the phone.

"The kind of help that gets Stone Hawk Security a new defense contract when the next appropriations bill is up for a vote."

"How can I help?" Les said into the phone with his typical tone. General Beckman was taking steps, because she owed all of them that much at the least.

Ninety-five minutes later…

The clock on the wall said that it was that time. Sarah's meditation had helped her find her calm once more, but the abject terror she felt when thinking back to that night seven years ago wouldn't leave her. She'd been able to push that terror down just enough to function, but it was right there under the surface. Standing from the couch, she saw Casey reappear from the bedroom, closing the bedroom door behind him quickly.

"Does Beckman have anything for me before I go." Casey nodded and asked as such, waiting for a long moment before groaning.

"Yes, I'll tell her, keep your pants on, Bartowski," Casey said before looking back towards Sarah. "Your boy toy says that hooker was a little harsh, earlier. He says that the politically correct term is sex worker and I should know better." Sarah couldn't hold the laughter in, especially after seeing how much it pained Casey to say that. Sarah laughed, which she assumed was the whole idea behind Chuck's comment.

"Beckman says that when you've satisfied your obligations, Volkoff will give you a thirty-three-digit alphanumeric code. That code will unlock a highly encrypted document. This document was sent to the General one day ago and it contains the information she, uh, bargained for."

Sarah nodded, silently considering the trade that had been made. Sarah's body, her mental and physical health, as well as her dignity had been sold for thirty-three letters and numbers. Fair trade in the eyes of Uncle Sam. "See you later, Casey," Sarah said somberly. Casey just nodded, knowing there was nothing else to say. As he watched her leave, the momentary levity of Bartowski's remark faded. For Sarah, the only solace she took was the fact that she was fully trained this time; a well-trained and experienced CIA agent if there ever was one. She'd taken down bigger and stronger men than Yevgeni Volkoff in the seven years since that horrible night. That night, she hadn't been combat trained, hadn't done hardly any training at the farm at all and was basically pulled out of class at Harvard and thrown at the Rusovian crown prince. The other good news is that the boots she was wearing had a special compartment inside each one that housed a throwing knife. The elevator door opened to reveal the top floor, where the penthouse was located, Sarah took a deep breath, this was it. Each step she took towards the penthouse suite felt like she was moving closer and closer to an inevitable fate. Her career had started in a hotel room, naked, with Yevgeni Volkoff. Reaching the door, Sarah now understood that her career was going to end exactly as it began, in a hotel room, naked, with Yevgeni Volkoff… time was a flat circle.

Knowing that there was no delaying this any longer, Sarah took one last deep breath and knocked on the door. Sarah took a step back from the door, just as it opened. The burley Rusovian man who opened the door stepped aside, ostensibly to welcome her into the room. "Hands against the door," he said in a thick Russian accent, the native language of the Kingdom of Rusovia. Sarah turned and placed her hands against the now closed door, her feet slightly more than shoulder width apart. In a flash, she felt the man's hands on her. At first, he seemed to be doing his job and actually searching her, but that deviated quickly. The fingers that snuck under her dress, quickly found their way inside her, making her tense.

"Highly doubt I've stashed a weapon in there," she remarked as the man's cold hands continued to molest her. After his thorough exploration of her nether regions, his hands found her chest, each hand finding one of her breasts, first outside of then inside of her dress.

"How did you know that being sexually assaulted turns me on?" she cracked sarcastically as his hands left her dress and yanked her clutch out of her hand. She heard him rifling through the small clutch. Sarah couldn't imagine what he expected to find, it wasn't like she could fit a gun in the fucking thing. When she heard him snap the clutch closed, she spun around to look at him, sizing up the massive bodyguard. The man looked to be in his late thirties, standing over six feet tall. The tattoos on his neck suggested Rusovian mafia ties. The man motioned for her to go on, so she grabbed her clutch out of his hand and walked in. The penthouse was truly spectacular, the perfect venue for impressing dumb, coke addicted bimbos that seemed to be a dime a dozen in this town. The clear presence of coke on a coffee table, a small mountain of it to be exact, demonstrated her point well.

"Agent Walker," came the voice of Yevgeni Volkoff. Sarah turned in time to see the imposing future monarch as he entered the room. He hadn't changed much in seven years. He wasn't as muscular as he used to be. His features seemed rather ragged, like he hadn't slept in a while. The cocaine that she'd seen on the table was likely the culprit.

"Yevgeni," Sarah said with her best forced smile.

"Bet you're surprised I knew who you really are. Your old boss told me you needed to loosen up, so I offered to test you out for myself." Sarah knew this was meant to shock her, throw her off balance, but she wasn't going to let him get to her this time.

"I know all about that, Yevgeni." Her words clearly shocked him, making him stop in his tracks for a beat. "Spy, remember?" she asked like he was dumber than a disabled four-year-old. She watched the smile blossom on his face.

"You've grown up, you're no longer the pretty little virgin girl that you were," he said mockingly as his eyes roamed her form. She wanted to laugh, she wasn't a virgin when she'd fucked him the first time, Tommy Willis had seen to that at Harvard.

"Would you like some coke? You Americans have great coke in this country," Yevgeni said as he took a pinch and rubbed it into his gums. If her nerves didn't calm the hell down, she may have to take him up on his offer just to get through this.

"Maybe later," Sarah began. "My boss tells me you've got information to share," Sarah said, moving this boring back and forth along. Yevgeni nodded as he stopped before her, towering over her. Taking off his shirt to reveal his ink-laden chest, he spoke in a tone that sounded reassuring, but wasn't in the least.

"You'll get what your boss bargained for, but not until you pay the price my beautiful, blonde friend," Yevgeni said as his fingers traced gently down the side of her head. Sarah flinched away from his hand, making him smile.

"I see you remember our last night together," he said, leaning in close, his breath reeking. "That's good, means you'll remember what happens when you don't obey me," Volkoff said with a hint of menace. Knowing this was the moment, Sarah nodded quietly.

"I think I'll take that bump of coke now," Sarah whispered, unable to speak any louder. With a tremendous grin, Yevgeni stepped back and handed her a tiny tin that was covered in trace amounts of the white powder. Opening the tin, Sarah took a small amount and snorted it, the sensation unpleasant at first. The slightly numbing sensation in her nose arrived not long after as the coke began to hit. The slightly manic sensation of coke-fueled confidence, steadied her nerves considerably. Closing up the tin, Sarah handed it back to him and spoke.

"Why don't I get us started by getting out of this dress, something to perk you up, if you will," Sarah said lustily, ready to get this over with. The slimy smile Yevgeni gave her as he sat down on the couch told her all she needed to know, not that she hadn't known before. Without music, this would be difficult, but not impossible. Closing her eyes to get in the zone, she imagined music, sensual, something to set the mood.

The world was on fire and no one could save me but you
It's strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you
And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you

Yeah, a little bit of Chris Isaak was perfect to set the mood. As Sarah let the internal melodies of Wicked Game take over, her hands began to explore her form. As her body swayed back and forth, her hands explored her hips first, breasts, neck and up. As her hands returns south, the left strap of her dress slipped, naturally. The hint of cleavage pulled him in. She'd always known that she wasn't the most well-endowed, of all the agents she'd come across, but what she lacked in blonde bimbo size, she made up for in an ability to make less mean more. She'd mastered the art of the tease while on the farm, the second time. She'd impressed her instructors, who'd been shocked at her work ethic after what had happened two years prior. As the other strap of Sarah's dress slipped off of her shoulder, her arm caught the loose garment before it fell off of her completely.

Opening her eyes, she watched him for a flash, gauging his reactions, his lust was rising. Apparently, the memory of their last night, had him on edge. His apparent lust for her was nothing but good news. Her hands cupped her breasts as her dress fell to the floor at her feet, revealing her lack of a bra or panties. Twisting in place to give him a better view of her body, she tuned out the world and got to work.

~X~

Back at Castle, a part of Chuck was grateful that her eyes were closed at the present moment. Thanks to the intersect in his head, the image of Valtteri Kozlov molesting his girlfriend had set the tone. The brief flash of her body as she stripped for Yevgeni Volkoff had told him so much more about tonight's events than he'd wanted to know. Her cleanly shaven mons pubis, as wells as her lack of underwear made him burn inside, but he forced it down. As Beckman watched Agent Walker's work and her boyfriend's subsequent reactions, she couldn't help but hate herself. The General had never experienced something like this and she wasn't enjoying it to say the least. This was so degrading and Agent Walker's poor boyfriend was seeing it all. In that moment, Beckman was happy she had the audio, because the words that Volkoff was saying to Sarah were just vile, disgusting, and degrading.

"My, oh my, Agent Walker, it would appear you aren't a little girl any longer, are you?" came Yevgeni's voice over the feed in Beckman's ear. "Come over here and blow me, I never got to sample your talents last time," Yevgeni said, making Beckman wince. Chuck saw the wince and looked over at her.

"What is it?" he asked Beckman, who just shook her head no, giving him a sideways glance.

"Don't ask questions you don't actually want answers to," Beckman said as the sound of a zipper filled her ears. Glancing over at the screens, she saw the two hands reaching for Yevgeni.

"Oh god," Chuck groaned while quickly looking away, regret and pain so clear in his features. The view from Sarah's POV was awful, Yevgeni was not an attractive man, and his slimy smile made Beckman's skin crawl.

"Just look away, it's okay," Beckman said as soothing as she could in the moment, knowing she needed to do something for the poor man. Thankfully, Sarah closed her eyes, so Beckman didn't have to watch it. That said, the sounds were worse than the video. Repulsive slurping sounds and gags told the story, a story Beckman no longer wanted to know. This was entirely her fault, and in a way, this was what she deserved for ordering this.

The sound of a swift smack, grabbed Beckman's attention as Yevgeni spoke, "Watch it, stupid cunt." On screen it was clear that Yevgeni had hit Sarah, if her looking away was any indication. Beckman could hear Sarah breathing, trembling, quick.

"Oh god, she's losing it," Beckman said as she reached for the button to key Casey's comms. Beckman stopped as she heard Sarah's voice, small, but steady.

"I'm sorry, won't happen again, I promise," Sarah said to Yevgeni, who's features exuded anger.

"I know it won't, stupid bitch," Yevgeni said as he reached for Sarah, pulling her towards the bedroom and throwing her onto the bed. Sarah looked back then, seeing Yevgeni pulling a cane into view, the kind that was common in the BDSM scene.

"Easy, big guy, no need for that," Sarah said quickly, backing away from Yevgeni, who climbed onto the bed, stalking her like prey.

Hearing the destress call, Beckman quickly hit the button on her headset and spoke into her mic. "Casey, she's in trouble, get in there now." When no reply came over the comms, Beckman hit the button again. "Casey, do you read me?" The sound of the cane striking Sarah with a vicious crack, grabbed Beckman's attention. Sarah screamed out in pain as Yevgeni swung once again. Chuck reached for the microphone and called into it.

"Casey, where the hell are you? Sarah's in trouble!" Chuck's terror and destress where only further highlighted by the series of strikes that Yevgeni Volkoff inflicted on the now cowering Sarah Walker. Her eyes were closed, so the video showed nothing, but the audio was a horror show of suffering in Beckman's ears. Chuck rose from his seat to investigate the comms setup.

"Time to pay up, Agent Walker," Yevgeni growled as a struggle could be heard.

"No, please!" Sarah begged, obviously struggling, terrified about what was coming. The video once again reappeared as Sarah looked up at the menacing man above her.

"Chuck," Beckman said as she recognized what was about to happen. Chuck stopped what he was doing and looked at the General before glancing at the video feed. "Leave the room, right now," the General said, terror in her tone. Chuck's eyes couldn't look away as he too understood the love of his life was about to be raped, and he'd get to see every horrible second of it. Pulling out her phone, Beckman speed dialed Les, putting it to her ear.

"Code red, move in now!" Looking back towards the screen, the menacing Rusovian loomed over Sarah like a monolithic shadow of evil and rage. Sarah was obviously paralyzed; she didn't speak or move.

"Please don't do this," Sarah whispered. Beckman heard it and hated herself, this was a nightmare of her own creation. Looking over at Chuck, Beckman saw a man breaking, powerless to stop what was about to happen.

"Look away, Chuck, she wouldn't want you to see this," Beckman said to Chuck, who was frozen in place.

The sound of an explosion grabbed Beckman's attention. On screen both Yevgeni and Sarah looked over towards the door in time to see one of Volkoff's guards fall to the ground in a heap. Yevgeni sprang into action, pulling out a shiny pistol, but was silenced before he could bring his own weapon to bare. The sound of indistinct Russian screaming was followed by a series of hissing sounds. Yevgeni fell in a heap as the assailants aimed their pistols at Sarah.

"Oh my god," Beckman breathed in disbelief as a hissing sound was followed by the image of Sarah collapsing down onto the bed in a heap, eventually falling off the bed and onto the floor. The images on screen hadn't changed in a while. Sarah's right eye was closed, her left eye only drooping, unmoving. Looking to her right, General Beckman watched a man's soul die, his body just never got the message.

"Sarah?" Chuck whimpered pitifully as realization set in.

"Major Casey, do you read me?" Beckman called into her mic once again, only to get no reply. "Major Casey, this is Beckman, can you hear me? Are you reading?" Nothing… not even static… gone…

CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #3: Numb will return July 17th, 2023 with chapter seven "In Church."

Until Next Time...