CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #1: Sorry everyone, I know I should have posted this already, overslept then forgot. *Shrugs* Sarah's a whistleblower now and everything seems rather settled, but evil forces have been working in the background. I had fun with some of the decisions I made where certain characters are involved in this chapter. We'll see some familiar faces in this chapter, so look forward to that!
CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #2: Thanks to the amazing nevr for helping me with the beta of this story. Thanks for the help Nev!
The Monster You Made Me
A Story by
CharmingCharles2896
Chapter Nine
Seeking Courage
Office of the Director of the National Security Agency
Fort Meade, Maryland
August 10th, 2023
11:20 PM EDT
Following the revelations of Walker's history with Graham and the new evidence it provided against Graham, many things were set in motion all at once. Phone calls with the DOJ, led to calls with the FBI, then congressmen, the back to the DOJ. By the end of it, Chuck and Sarah had been registered as whistleblowers, as well as offered immunity in exchange for testimony in all manner of court cases, congressional hearings, classified briefings, the whole smack. For Chuck, spending thirty-five to forty-minute-chunks of time away from his daughter for the last four hours wasn't optimal. He had a duty as a father to look after her, so he couldn't spend all of his time working on his problems, no matter how much he knew he needed to. Chuck loved his daughter to bits, so everything was worth it.
Chuck sat back in his chair, having been away from Molly for almost an hour this time. He couldn't get away, too many documents had to be signed, too much had to be settled to get away.
"Thank God, that's over," Sarah said before yawning. Exhaustion was starting to creep up on Sarah, her short cat nap earlier, as well as some real food had done much to keep her going.
"With all of that out of the way, I think we can call it an evening," Beckman said as she to sat back in her chair. "I'll call some people to get the three of you a place to sleep for the night on the base." As Beckman grabbed her desk phone once again, for the one-thousandth time that day, Casey's phone rang.
"Yeah?" Casey said in his typically gruff voice. "Who is this?" Casey asked after failing to recognize the voice of whoever was calling him.
"Erika, can you connect me with housing?" Beckman said into her phone, only to get silence. "Erika?" Beckman said after getting no reply. Chuck and Sarah shared a confused look, as Beckman's brow furrowed.
"Bartowski," Casey said as he held the phone away from his ear. Sarah saw the slightly pale tinge of Casey's features and her guard was instantly up. "It's for you," Casey said to Chuck who grabbed the phone and put it to his ear.
"Hello?" Chuck said cautiously. Long moments passed before an unfamiliar voice greeted his ears.
"How safe do you feel, Mr. Bartowski?" came a serious, imposing voice on the other end of the call. Chuck's brow furrowed as he looked around.
"Who is this?" Chuck asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Erika isn't answering; what the hell is going on?" Beckman said as she set her phone down and stood up.
"My name isn't important, it's what I have taken, that is," said the mysterious voice. Chuck's blood ran cold as a bad feeling manifested in the pit of his stomach. Beckman walked to the door to the waiting room and opened the door. The gasp from Beckman grabbed all of their attention. Chuck turned in time to see Beckman race into the room. In an instant, Chuck knew what had happened, he knew even before he heard her call back to them.
"Get security!" Beckman called urgently. Sarah saw Chuck's entire body quake and shutter as the color drained from his skin. Looking towards her now, Sarah saw nothing in Chuck's usually warm eyes. Chocolaty brown had become stale grey. The phone dropped from Chuck's hand as he turned and took off for the waiting room. Sarah lurched forward and caught the phone, bringing it to her ear.
"Who is this?" Sarah said as she heard a primal wail emanate from Chuck in the waiting room. Casey and Gertrude sprang into action, leaving Sarah alone.
"Every betrayal has a price, Agent Walker," came Agent Smith's voice before the call went dead.
"Oh, God," Chuck screamed in a tone that conveyed heartbreak, and despair. "Please, no!" came Chuck's voice as the sound of another door opening told the shocked Sarah that he'd run off in a panic. Sarah's body moved without her knowledge, as if the universe propelled her along. As Sarah walked into the waiting room, she was greeted by a grizzly scene. Erika's dead body was sitting in her chair. A tranq dart was clear to see in her neck, likely how Smith neutralized her. The cut across Erika's throat and the subsequent torrent of blood all over her was a clear message, as was the piece of paper speared to the table by an enormous blade stuck into the top of the desk. Looking down at the note, Sarah's worst fears were realized.
To Mr. Bartowski and the traitor… Brooklyn Park, the baseball diamond at the corner of 10th Avenue and Valley Rd. four o'clock tonight, come alone or I'll cut the girl from her navel to her throat and leave her in a ditch for the racoons. - Every betrayal has a price.
"Sonofabitch!" Sarah growled angrily as she struggled to control the tears that were presently clouding her vision. Everyone turned to look at Sarah, all of them seeing the furious hurt in her eyes. "Just wait 'til I get my hands on him; I'll squeeze the fucking life out of him!" Sarah roared as she stormed off towards the hallway to find Chuck. As she walked past Casey, she pressed his phone into his chest, Casey having to juggle it to get ahold of it. Bursting into the hallway, Sarah looked both ways, her frantic mind not seeing the man that she knew must be in a dark place. Eventually, Sarah's eyes found Chuck, down on the floor, sitting against the wall, his knees up against himself. Sarah knew she could never fathom the feeling that Chuck must be experiencing, but she knew she had to be there for him.
Walking over to Chuck, Sarah sat down on the floor next to him, her right arm pulling him in for a comforting hug. In a surprise twist, Chuck leaned into her hug, far more than she'd originally thought he would. The sound of Chuck's despair broke her heart and steeled her nerves at the same time.
"Molly is not dying. I promise you, Chuck," Sarah said softly but with confidence. "I will not let that monster hurt her." The diamond-strong resolution in Sarah's voice sounded like a siren; daring the universe to try and stop her.
"We don't even know where she is," Chuck said despondently. As Sarah sat beside Chuck, a trio of men came running down the hallway towards the two of them. The three men were clearly on their way to deal with the crime scene in Beckman's office.
Refocusing on the man beside her, Sarah spoke softly. "We have a meet in Brooklyn Park at four, tonight," Sarah began. "I am going to get her back, Chuck, whatever it takes."
"No, you won't," Chuck said softly, despondent misery seeming to exude from his very being. "That isn't how this story ends," Chuck said with a crippling finality, as if the future was already set and he had no choice but to play his part in the coming calamity. "I'll go with you, but only so my baby doesn't die alone." Sarah wanted to say a million things, but the hopelessness in his voice was beyond heartbreaking, so she said nothing and looked away from the tragic despair in his eyes. "I appreciate the emotional support, but can I be alone for a while?" Chuck finally asked as he extricated himself from Sarah's embrace. Sarah nodded silently, wiping the tears in her eyes as she stood.
Leaving Chuck sitting there in the hallway felt wrong to Sarah, but she knew that everyone handled adversity differently. Sparing one last look at Chuck, she saw him pull his burner phone out of his pocket. The way he was looking down at the phone was interesting, as if he was contemplating.
"I guess I should call my sister," Chuck said quietly. "Let her know that we're not gonna make it for dinner on Saturday." Sarah blinked away tears, unable to stomach any more. Sarah walked back into the waiting room for Beckman's office, the three men investigating the scene. Looking beyond the scene in front of her, Sarah saw Beckman, Casey, and Gertrude in Beckman's office, huddled around the computer. Sarah walked across the waiting room, passing one of the men who was dusting for prints.
"How did it even happen?" Sarah heard Gertrude ask as she watched the screen, breaking what looked like a long silence.
Casey spoke up as he looked over towards the waiting room, at yet another dead innocent. "Graham must have loyalists in the NSA, willing to help his people."
"No, Graham was hated by a lot of people," Sarah said as she walked over. "Just getting his family out of the country likely cost him every favor and piece of blackmail he had. Smith did this on his own, this is very much his M.O.," Sarah added honestly as all of them looked at her.
"But how did he get to them?" Gertrude asked with a mixture of disbelief and confusion in her words.
"Does it matter how he did it?" Sarah replied her hands held out wide, as if she was welcoming one of them to supply a reason to care.
"She had five children at home," Beckman said softly, sadly, refocusing all of them on the tragedy that still rested in the waiting room. Sarah said nothing as she pulled out a chair and sat down, emotionally and physically exhausted.
"How are we going to handle this?" Sarah asked, pivoting towards the present issue. Beckman, Casey, and Gertrude remained silent. "I hate the idea of blindly following Smith's instructions; especially if they're a trap like I suspect they are." Casey nodded in agreement after Sarah finished speaking.
"If we had his location we could observe," Casey muttered as he walked away from Beckman's computer, which had the security tapes of the waiting room paused mid playback.
"It normally takes hours to get assets in play for something like this; we're going to set a speed record," Beckman said as she grabbed her phone and went to dial, pausing before doing so. Beckman looked over to Sarah and spoke. "I'm going to call security so they're aware of all this; go get Mr. Bartowski. We're moving to NSOC, immediately." Done speaking, Beckman began to dial on a phone and waited. Sarah turned and quickly hobbled towards the door, leaving the three other people in this with her and Chuck, to handle next steps. After passing through the waiting room, Sarah stepped into the hallway. Standing just a few feet down the hall was Chuck Bartowski, tearfully saying goodbye to the only other family he had left.
"I know, Elle, life isn't fair; but I can't let her die alone," Chuck croaked into the phone, fighting tears. Seeing Chuck on the phone, Sarah walked over to him and took the burner from his hand, placing it next to her ear.
"Is this Eleanor Woodcomb?" Sarah said into the phone, stopping whatever the woman on the other end of the call had been saying. Chuck went to protest, but Sarah pointed at him, menace in her eyes. Chuck silently acquiesced to her actions.
"Everyone calls me Ellie, who is this?" Ellie said back to Sarah.
"This is Sarah Walker of the Central Intelligence Agency. I will get your niece back, safe and sound. Chuck is understandably in a low spot, but I promise you, I will get Molly back."
"Are you good at what you do, Agent Walker?" Ellie asked Sarah.
"Call me Sarah, no Bartowski is going to call me Agent Walker," Sarah said, needing to correct the elder Bartowski sibling. Hearing Agent Walker made her skin crawl, she hated the dehumanizing aspect of it. Refocusing on Ellie's question, Sarah spoke up once again; "I'm the best of the best."
With a tone devoid of emotion, Ellie spoke. "Keep my little brother safe. When all of this is over, I want to meet you." Before Sarah could respond, Ellie ended the call. Sarah pulled the phone away from her ear and looked over at Chuck. His face was a mixture of anger and despair. Without thinking, Sarah handed the burner phone back to Chuck.
"You had no right!" Chuck said as Sarah's arms encircled him and pulled him in for a comforting hug.
"I told you, Chuck; you and Molly are going to get through this," Sarah cooed into Chuck's ear as she comforted the man that she hoped she could call a friend one day.
"I'm so scared," Chuck said barely above a whisper. Sarah just held Chuck tighter, knowing the two of them were about to venture into the unknown.
"So am I," Sarah admitted as she continued to embrace Chuck tightly. "We'll get through this, Chuck; I promise."
"How can you be so sure?" Chuck asked as the two of them finally ended their hug.
"I surveilled you for ten days before I finally went in to do what Graham ordered me to do. Watching you and Molly have a big, family dinner with Ellie and her family made me unspeakably jealous. I never got that as a kid, my childhood being as complicated as it was. I want to experience that with you and Molly… if you'll have me," Sarah said nervously, unable to meet his eyes.
The feeling of Chuck's hand tilting her chin up to look at him surprised her, but not as much as the small smile on his face. "Are you kidding? If we pull this off, Ellie will demand to meet you, if only to negotiate my dowery for our pending arranged marriage." In spite of the terror and worry Sarah felt for Molly, Chuck's joke got a genuine laugh from Sarah. The sound of Sarah's soft, musical laughter in that situation did much to lift Chuck's cratering spirits. Sarah reached out and grabbed Chuck's hand, giving it a squeeze. Just then the door to Beckman's office opened and Beckman, Casey, and Gertrude walked out into the hallway. Chuck and Sarah looked behind Chuck at the three people walking away from them. Beckman was dialing on her smart phone, clearly making a call.
"Come on, we're moving to NSOC," Sarah said to Chuck, pulling him along.
"What is NSOC?" Chuck asked as the two of them walked at a steady clip to catch up to the three people ahead of them.
"The National Security Operations Center or NSOC, is the NSA's command center. Their new building opened last year," Sarah added as they caught up to Beckman, Casey, and Gertrude just as the elevator doors opened.
"You're not listening to me, Ray; this is happening whether we like it or not. I don't care if we have to wake up God himself, we are going to get on top of this." Beckman paused to listen as the five of them walked onto the elevator. Casey hit the button for the ground floor. "I can't tell you that over the phone, just get everyone back to NSOC at once," Beckman said before hanging up her cellphone. Beckman shook her head and began dialing once again as the elevator began to move.
"Colonel Bartlett," Beckman said into her phone. "I know what time it is! Listen, I need a Delta team sent to Fort Meade on the double." Everyone watched Beckman listen for a moment as the elevator dinged and the door opened. Beckman spoke as the five of them left the elevator. "I know that, Colonel; I just don't care. I've got a high value hostage situation that threatens national security and I want the best if I have to resolve with force. Our deadline is four A.M., so I need that team here by one forty-five, thanks." Beckman hung up and led all of them outside, where a pair of SUVs were waiting for them. For Chuck, all of this was beyond surreal. It was as if he was living a Jason Bourne film and he wasn't enjoying it. As the five of them piled into the SUV's they all sped off for the three-minute drive to NSOC.
In the car, Chuck looked over at Sarah, who looked like she'd gone ten rounds with a grizzly bear. The injuries to her face were starting to bruise, as evidence by the black halo around her eye. The walking boot didn't look comfortable and watching her limp around made him feel bad. Looking to her right, Sarah saw Chuck watching her. At first, she was confused, but eventually that turned into embarrassment.
"What?" Sarah asked quietly, getting a look of concern from Chuck in return.
"Just worried about you," Chuck replied quietly, looking away briefly. A hint of a smile graced Sarah's face, it felt nice to have others who worried about her.
~X~
Bryce Larkin had never operated on American soil, as a member of the United States Military, he was not allowed to operate on American soil. That made the call he'd gotten at twelve-thirty in the morning all the stranger. Apparently, the story was that the NSA had encountered a serious problem, had called the DOD for support, who called his superior's superior, who in turn ordered Bryce's superior to call Bryce. That was how ten members of the Delta Force, found themselves on a plane to Joint Base Andrews. Being back in this area reminded him of the woman he'd gone on a couple of dates with. She was with the agency, so what they had was never super serious, but they had fun the few times they went out. Of course, that was almost eighteen months ago, who knew what she had gotten up to since then.
A part of Bryce had hoped to get her in bed, but Sasha, or Serena, or whatever her name was, turned him down. Either way, he'd had fun and the idea of giving her a call once all of this business was over, was very appealing. Her body and her blue eyes had been the thing that had drawn him to her most.
Bryce was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of their newest edition, Lance Corporal Hicks. "Sarge, why are we on a plane in the middle of the night, flying to Andrews with all of our gear?" Hicks asked loudly over the drone of the engines inside the C-17. Bryce looked over at Hicks and gave him a look. Lance Corporal Hicks was a good man, a crack shot with a marksman's rifle, but he was still a bit green when it came to their operations. Hicks' red hair and Irish features were highly distinctive in their unit. At only twenty-two years old, he was also the youngest member of their group.
Bryce spoke up, having to project his voice inside the loud aircraft. "You know the drill, Hicks, they don't tell me shit until I need to know it. Clearly, I don't need to know it, because-"
"They haven't told me shit!" yelled all ten Deltas in the plane at once.
"All I know, is when we land in DC, a chopper is to fly us to Fort Meade," Bryce added.
"NSA?" Staff Sergeant Bishop called back to Bryce, who simply shrugged. Bryce didn't know what to tell the men under his command, this entire situation was highly unorthodox. It was clear that they were doing a job for the NSA, on American soil; that was all Bryce knew.
~X~
The Morrison Center (NSOC)
Fort Meade, Maryland
August 11th, 2023
1:30 AM EDT
It had taken a long time for everyone to get back to NSOC, but by one o'clock, sleepy people began filing into the massive spy lair. Chuck had never seen a place so cool, it was like he was in a spy movie. He'd always though that the room with the big screens and all the computers was a movie thing, but the massive wall of screens and the several rows of computers on tiered levels was beyond cool. It took a lot of effort not to geek out, in spite of the terror and worry that he felt when thinking about Molly.
At present, Casey was sitting at a computer station trying to get a location on the origin of Smith's phone call. Chuck doubted Smith was sloppy enough to be found, but Casey was going to try anyway. Gertrude was sitting at a different computer, a completely different task assigned to her. Gertrude was hooked into the security system for the NSA headquarters, trying to find out how Smith even got to Molly. If she was able to figure that out, she was then to figure out how he got her off the base. Chuck hated the waiting, hated the long moments without news. His little girl was out there somewhere and not being able to do anything about it made Chuck feel less than powerless.
As everyone was getting set up, Chuck had observed Sarah, even as she continued to observe everyone else. Sarah was not okay; Chuck could clearly see it. Though he wasn't himself a neurologist, he had grown up with one. Ellie had wanted to be a brain doctor since she was a teenager, so Chuck had learnt a lot from her over the years. Chuck could plainly see that Sarah was concussed. Between her shakier balance and slower thought processes, Sarah was clearly suffering from a mild concussion. In spite of her condition, Chuck knew that trying to get Sarah to sit out the coming meet was impossible. Chuck was afraid to even mention the idea, afraid of the wrath she'd rain down upon him. Instead of trying to get her not to come, Chuck was going to watch her like a hawk and make sure things went well. The fate of his daughter hung in the balance, so Chuck was going to do whatever he had to do to get her back.
At present, Sarah was seated in a chair at a desk off to the far left of the large room. A member of the DOJ was questioning her, likely as part of the whole whistleblower thing. Chuck knew he'd likely have to answer those same questions, but now was not the time. Every time the woman asking Sarah questions began to talk, Chuck would see the faraway look in Sarah's eyes, the poor woman clearly struggling.
From the other side of the room, Casey's booming voice sounded, "I got the son of a bitch!" Chuck, Sarah, Beckman and Gertrude and everyone else in the room turned at once to find Casey sitting back in his chair, a pleased smile on his face.
"For someone so feared, Agent Smith is arrogant and sloppy," Casey said as he pressed a few buttons and then pointed to the screen on the wall. The information that had been on his screen was now plastered all over the large screen on the wall. "Unlike in Hollywood, tracking someone's phone is actually rather easy." Those words were aimed squarely at Chuck, but he didn't say anything.
"I pinged his phone from the closest cell tower. His cellphone pings in Brooklyn Park, Maryland. His phone pings from a location within a tenth of a mile of the cell tower, which would be this area," Casey said as he used his mouse cursor to point out an area on the digital map.
"That's got to be three hundred homes and businesses," Sarah said as she hobbled over to everyone.
"One hundred and five," Chuck said as he stared at the screen. Everyone looked at him in a mixture of shock and confusion. Feeling everyone's eyes on him, Chuck replied nervously. "What? I was a scholarship student at Stanford for a reason," Sarah just gave Chuck a small, proud smile and refocused.
"Fisher," Beckman called as she looked for someone in the room.
"Yes, Ma'am?" replied a short, Asian woman about twenty feet behind Beckman.
"Get access to traffic cameras in that area. Run facial recognition and find that bastard, Smith." Beckman ordered as she turned to address everyone else in the room. "I want this motherfucker found and I want it done now!" The room scrambled back into action, sensing the urgency in Beckman's orders.
Still standing beside Beckman, Chuck turned towards her and spoke in a resolute tone. "No matter what happens to my daughter and I, make sure Graham pays for what he did to my mother. Make sure Graham pays for all of the things he's done." Beckman looked over at Chuck and quickly saw his acceptance of the situation, clear as could be and doubly heartbreaking.
"Nobody is going to die, nobody!" Sarah growled back at Chuck with as much strength and vigor as she could muster. Now standing in Chuck's face, Sarah spoke in an angry tone. "Molly Bartowski is walking away from all of this; even if it means I have to kick down the fiery gates of hell to do it!" With that, Sarah turned on her heels and made to storm away. After only a few steps, her legs grew shaky and one of the many NSA employees working in the NSOC had to catch her before she collapsed. Chuck watched the entire scene play out, a growing sense of dread brewing within him.
Casey pivoted his work from geolocating the phone call to looking into each and every building in the search area. In spite of everything, Casey couldn't help but think about how much he had actually missed this. The situation was completely fucked and totally awful, but the hunt was exhilarating. Casey had always loved the hunt, the pursuit of someone who didn't yet understand how screwed they were. Vincent Smith was out there somewhere, holding an innocent little girl hostage. The most likely outcome of all of this was a tragically mixed bag. Graham was likely going to get his, Smith was likely going to die, but some combination of Walker, Bartowski, and the little one wouldn't make it back. Of course, Casey hoped for the best, but he knew better than to trust a hope.
~X~
Jill Roberts hadn't thought about Chuck Bartowski in years, not since she'd amicably broken up with him at Stanford after graduation. He'd been eyeing a job in the tech sector, while she'd already made the decision to join the NSA, it was just best for them to part ways then. To hear that Chuck had gotten married, had a child, and then lost his wife to cancer, had saddened her. To hear that Chuck hadn't realized his dreams of being a computer engineer, was equally disappointing. Still, he'd made it sound like life wasn't all bad, before all of this happened, that is. The short briefing she'd been a part of with Director Beckman, Chuck, and several other people had been… interesting to say the least. The shock of seeing Chuck again, followed by a quick summary of things had left her feeling a sense of urgency that she didn't often feel in the field.
Walking down the dark, poorly illuminated street, Jill saw the house in question, 2319 12th Avenue, Brooklyn Park, Maryland, 21225. "Lancer approaching location, stand by," Jill said quietly as she continued to stumble down the street. The house was older, its white siding dirty and faded from weather and time. The metal, chain-link fence around the property was almost completely overgrown by brush, a clear sign of little to no upkeep. The place looked deserted, which was likely why she'd been ordered to approach it. Walking through the fence gate, Jill's clothes were disheveled and she smelt like a distillery. Walking to the door, Jill knocked sloppily, seeing lights come on. Heavy footsteps followed before a series of locks clicked and clacked on the other side of the door. Wobbling slightly, Jill Roberts was greeted by the coldest pair of eyes she'd ever seen. The man before her must have been six-feet-five-inches tall and over two-hundred and twenty pounds.
"What do you want?" the man said flatly, devoid of emotion. His thunderous voice, felt like an earthquake.
"Do you, like…" Jill slurred, blurry-eyed, her body swaying. "Cellphone I could borrow?" Jill waved her bricked phone around wildly, before giggling. "Sorry, I think I might be a little…" Jill never finished her sentence.
The towering man looked Jill over, his brow furrowing. "Fuck off," the man said before slamming the door in Jill's face. Jill turned and sloppily walked all the back to the highway, about five-hundred feet or so. Once she was sure she was out of sight, the drunk act disappeared and she reached up to her ear to turn her ear-wig back on.
"Olympus, this is Lancer, that is a positive identification on the target. No sigh of the package, I repeat, no sign of the package. I did spot windows leading to an underground basement," Jill said professionally as a car pulled up for her. Climbing into the car, Jill sat back and listened to her superiors.
"Roger that, Lancer, return to holding area and await further instructions." With that, Jill closed her eyes and prayed. Not since Jill's days in Sunday school as a child had she prayed, but for that little girl, she was praying hard.
~X~
As Chuck listened in on Jill Robert's comms, he still couldn't believe that his college girlfriend was an NSA Agent. Their short conversation to brief her had been shocking enough, but listening to her in action was eye opening. When the two of them had broken up years ago, he'd always assumed she was joining the NSA as a researcher or something, not as a field agent. Seeing her again had been surreal, considering he hadn't thought about her in many years. Chuck had met Nora not long after he'd left college, so he hadn't spent much time on the market, so to speak. When Jill had been briefed, she'd been surprisingly emotional about Molly. Chuck hadn't thought Jill was very fond of children, so her shock and sadness was heartening to say the least. Sarah's reaction to the hug that Jill had given him was interesting, but Chuck didn't have the time, nor the emotional and mental will to analyze that at the moment.
"Olympus, this is Lancer, that is a positive identification on the target," came Jill's voice over the speakers in NSOC. Chuck, Sarah, Director Beckman, Casey, Gertrude and everyone else in the room sighed in relief, it was a start. Drone footage of the house in question shone on the large screen on the wall.
"No sigh of the package, I repeat, no sign of the package," came Jill's voice, a hefty amount of disappointment in her tone. Chuck's eyes closed to prevent tears. Chuck had been hoping she was there. If they could confirm her presence, then this could end soon, but trusting a hope was always a fool's errand. Sarah reached over to her left and took Chuck's hand in hers, giving it a comforting squeeze.
"I did spot windows leading to an underground basement," Jill voice declared, getting everyone's attention. As Jill's superiors, standing beside Chuck, responded to her information, Chuck and the rest of the people in the room shared a look.
"There are only two ways of confirming now," Casey said as he sat back in his uncomfortable chair.
"We either kick the fucking door in and risk it, or try to get thermal scans of the place," Gertrude began as she looked at her watch. "-In the next, ninety-six minutes."
"Switch aerial surveillance to thermal imaging," Beckman commanded as she continued to watch the screen. As the standard video feed became a panorama of vivid colors, Chuck and Sarah looked over at Beckman, who just shrugged with a cocky smirk on her face.
Looking at everyone around her, Beckman spoke defensively, "We're the NSA, we always have the coolest toys." Chuck just nodded, not feeling bold enough to exclaim how terrifying that was. Standing up from her seat, Sarah hobbled closer to the large screen, her eyes squinting at the images she saw.
"What is that in the far corner of the property?" Sarah asked, seeing a strange blue shape against the blue backdrop of the thermal image.
Beckman spoke once again to the man operating the drone. "Can you zoom in on the northeast corner of the property?" Without delay, the thermal camera zoomed in on the far corner of the property and what they were seeing became clear.
"That is a tool shed," Casey said as everyone sat up.
"There is something very warm in there," Beckman said before turning to Chuck. "How tall is Molly?"
Chuck replied quickly; "thirty-nine and a half inches. I measured her last week."
"Smith cannot be that sloppy, can he? I thought these Enforcers were supposed to be the best of the best?" Casey wondered aloud, disbelieving.
Sarah looked over and Casey, a hint of arrogance in her features. "Graham's Enforcers were always agents he knew were loyal to him, who lacked things like scruples, and specialized in violence and moral turpitude. Each of his Enforcers were good at one thing or another, but all of them usually lacked skills in other areas. When he recruited me out of high school, he told me I was going to be different, that my skills would make me superior to his other Enforcers," Sarah said as she thought back to that time so long ago. Graham had mentioned other things in his pitch, but as she thought back, he'd always intended her to be his all-rounder.
"I've spent my entire career doing all of the real spy work that Graham needed from his Enforcers. He only started giving me wet work once he knew I was obviously superior to everyone else in his private hit squad. They all resented me for that, because I was always the one that he praised, the one he relied on most. Vincent Smith is good at making other people suffer, he's good at ending lives and inflicting physical and emotional pain. Actual trade craft was never one of Smith's strong suits, at least in my own observation," Sarah added as a hedge, considering she wasn't an expert on Graham's other Enforcers.
Everyone seemed lost for words, unable to respond to Sarah's revelatory information. Sarah looked at all of them, unsure what the problem was. "What? I may be utterly ashamed of what I did for Graham, but that doesn't mean I won't acknowledge that I was the best at it." Chuck walked over to Sarah, his right arm encircling her shoulder and pulling her close to him. Sarah relaxed into Chuck for a moment, before the sound of the door to the hallway grabbed her attention. Everyone in the room turned as a short, Hispanic woman motioned for someone in the hallway.
"This way, gentlemen," the woman said before turning towards Beckman. "Director Beckman, Master Sargent Larkin and the Deltas have arrived." The sight of ten members of the Delta Force was imposing for Chuck. The presence these men had in the large room was formidable. Even when considering then large size of the room, these ten men felt like towering titans of warfare.
The Deltas saluted Beckman, as one of them spoke, "Reporting for duty, Ma'am."
"Thank you for coming, Gentlemen," Beckman began as she walked up the shallow stairs in the center of the room. Beckman saluted back at the Deltas as she stood before them. "I'll cut to the chase, roughly two hours ago, a rogue CIA agent named Vincent Smith, possibly under orders from DCI Graham, kidnapped the four-year-old daughter of that man," Beckman said pointing to Chuck. "This is Chuck Bartowski, he's a whistleblower with incriminating information against DCI Graham." Chuck looked at Master Sargent Larkin, searching his mind for exactly why that name sounded so familiar.
"Wait, Bartowski?" Larkin said, looking over at Chuck. "Burbank, California?" Larkin asked Chuck, who got recognition in his own eyes.
"Bryce! I haven't seen you since high school; how are you?" Chuck said as he went over and shook Bryce's hand. The strength in Bryce's handshake nearly crippled Chuck, but he powered through it.
"Apparently better than you must be right now, Chuck." Bryce said before remembering where he was. "Forgive me, Director, small world I guess."
Beckman shook her head, "No matter, everything else about this mess has been stunningly unorthodox. Irregardless of all of that, Agent Smith somehow broke in to our headquarters and kidnapped, Mr. Bartowski's young daughter, Molly. Right now, we have a definite location on Agent Smith and a possible location on Molly. Mr. Bartowski and CIA Agent Sarah Walker," Beckman said, motioning towards Sarah. Bryce recognized those eyes; Sarah was her name! Sarah wouldn't meet Bryce's eye, she didn't know why she was blushing, but something within her felt embarrassed.
"Those two will travel to a public park not far from where we know Smith is holed up. They are to meet Smith at said Park at four. Right now, we are observing the location with aerial surveillance, and we believe Molly is in that shed on the northeast corner of the property." Bryce nodded, set his equipment down against a wall and stepped towards the screen, seeing the small, dark orange shape in the shed.
"Bishop," Bryce called, motioning towards the screen.
"Just like Karachi," Bishop said, Bryce nodding.
"Ahmad," Sarah said quietly. Chuck looked over at Sarah, unsure if he heard her. Seeing the confusion on Chuck, Beckman, Casey, and Gertrude's faces, Sarah spoke up. "About eighteen months ago, then-Sargent First Class Larkin and this Delta team assisted me in a hostage rescue in Karachi. The details are classified, but there are similarities." Chuck nodded, feeling like there was more that she wasn't saying. Across the room, Bryce could see the interactions between Chuck and Sarah, she liked Chuck, but Chuck wasn't nearly as openly possessive as Sarah was.
Bryce turned to everyone and spoke with authority. "I will lead Cruz, Hicks, Wheeler, Jace, Murphy, and Caldwell into the home to engage Smith. Bishop, I want you, Levenson and Mac to investigate the shed. If the package is indeed there, then the three of you will exfil south with the package."
"There's only one problem," Casey said, speaking up and cutting Bryce off. "If Smith has Molly wired, the second you kick his door in, he'll kill her."
"We can't risk it," Chuck said frantically, suddenly worried about his daughter being incinerated in a fiery explosion.
"We know Smith has to go to the meet at eleven. You should wait for him to leave and get him while he's in the open," Gertrude said to Bryce, who turned to Beckman.
Bryce pointed at Casey and Gertrude. "Who are they?"
"This is John and Gertrude Casey, they're retired NSA, I brought them in to secure Walker, Bartowski, and Bartowski's daughter earlier yesterday," Beckman said as she pointed to Casey and Gertrude.
"If Molly is indeed in that shed, then Smith will have to go to her. When he does so, you can take him before he gets there," Sarah said, adding her own ideas. Bryce nodded, liking this plan.
"Here's what we'll do," Beckman began. "Master Sargent Larkin and his team will position themselves around the house, out of sight. One member of Larkin's team will position himself on the north edge of the park, in a position where he can cover Mr. Bartowski and Agent Walker if it is needed. At the same time, John will be in a car, positioned east of the house, on the side of the highway for possible exfil of Molly. Gertrude will position herself in a car, southwest of the park, out of sight, but in a position to support Mr. Bartowski and Agent Walker if it comes to it. I'll leave positioning of the Deltas to Master Sargent Larkin," Beckman said as she looked at her watch.
2:33 A.M.
"We have eighty-seven minutes until the meet is set to take place. I suggest we get moving. I will stay here and quarterback from this room. Everyone make sure comms are on the same channel, I don't want any foul ups." As Beckman finished, everyone sprang into motion, all except Chuck, who seemed to be lost in his head. Bryce could see the fear and apprehension in his former friend's features and went to speak to him. Bryce saw Sarah about to do the same, but he motioned her off, shocking her.
Chuck felt Bryce's strong hand on his shoulder; Chuck turned to see the concerned look in Bryce's eyes. "Listen, Chuck," Bryce began. "Back in high school I was always someone you could rely on, you know that." Chuck just nodded. "God as my witness, I promise you, I will get your daughter back." The intensity and confidence in Bryce's eyes did much to steady Chuck's flailing nerves.
Chuck took a deep breath and nodded. "Thank you, Bryce; I'm glad it's you who is doing this." Bryce just nodded, a small smile on his face, in spite of the trouble that was brewing.
"You should go talk to Casey, Gertrude, or Director Beckman about the meet. No offense, but I highly doubt you're prepared for this." Chuck shook his head and waved off Bryce.
"No offense taken, you're totally right. I am completely out of my depth here." Chuck paused in that moment, as if to consider something, before continuing. "That said, I did kill a deadly assassin to save Sarah this afternoon, so maybe I'm doing better than I thought." Chuck merely shrugged in the face of Bryce's shocked expression and walked past him to prepare. Bryce turned to Sarah, that same, small smile on his face. Bryce motioned for the hallway, and Sarah nodded, with a hint of reluctance in her features. Chuck watched Bryce and Sarah walk and limp, respectively, out the door and into the hallway. As the doors closed behind them, Chuck couldn't help but wonder what that was about. Did those two have history? Bryce did date the head of the cheer squad in high school, so it would track that he'd date a beautiful woman like Sarah. For some reason, that made the pit of Chuck's stomach roil just the smallest bit. Chuck forced that down and refocused on what he needed to do ahead of the meet.
Out in the hallway, Sarah turned to face Bryce, just as he closed the distance and kissed her. Sarah was caught off guard for a moment by the kiss, which was slightly familiar to her from eighteen months ago. In a split second, Sarah pushed Bryce away and slapped him… hard.
"Bastard," Sarah growled at him, fire burning in her sapphire eyes. Bryce just laughed as he rubbed his cheek.
"Just had to be sure," Bryce began, confusing Sarah.
"Be sure of what?" Sarah said as she took a half a step closer to Bryce, getting in his face.
"You like him," Bryce said, making Sarah rear back in shock.
"I don't-" Sarah began, making Bryce laugh softly.
"I get it, Sarah, Chuck is a great guy. Back in high school he was so down on himself that he didn't believe he had a chance with any of the girls in our school. Little did he know, half the cheer squad swooned whenever he walked into the room. Girls used to call him Prince Charming behind his back. He never saw it, so nothing ever came of it." The amusement on Bryce's face made Sarah blush.
"I don't know what to say to that," Sarah said quietly.
"He doesn't have a clue, does he?" Bryce asked, making the blush in Sarah's cheeks even worse. Sarah silently shook her head.
"His wife died of brain cancer less than a year ago; he's still grieving," Sarah said to Bryce softly. Sarah's words made the smile fall from Bryce's face; the blonde just nodded in response to Bryce's change in expression.
"He's lost a lot of people in his life, Bryce. Both of Chuck's parents are dead; his mother murdered when he was only six years old. With the death of his wife, Nora, I don't know if he can take any more loss." The emotion in Sarah's eyes told Bryce that Sarah was gone, her care for Chuck was more than a crush.
"Don't worry, Sarah, he isn't losing anyone else," Bryce said, more determined than ever to succeed. Sarah just nodded and watched as Bryce motioned towards the door. Bryce left Sarah standing there, he had to get ready. As Sarah stood there in the hallway, she leaned against the wall. A mixture of worry for Molly and fear of her affection for Chuck, swirled in Sarah's gut. Taking deep breaths, Sarah tried to calm herself, only to hear a slightly familiar voice.
"Courage, Sarah, courage," came the voice of Nora in her head. Calm descended over Sarah in that moment. Never in all of her life, had Sarah had to dig so deep for the continued will to stay in the fight. More than any other moment in her life, this entire situation had tested Sarah mentally, physically, and especially emotionally.
"Molly needs me," Sarah mused to herself as the steel-like influence of experience, steadied her nerves and propelled her into motion. "Time to end this…"
CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #3: Molly has been taken and the full weight of Americas intelligence services are mobilized to resolve this crisis. Can Chuck keep it together in the face of such a tragic development? Can Sarah find the strength within her to finish the fight and vanquish the forces of evil? There are only two chapters and an epilogue remaining, so be sure to tune in next Thursday, December 14th, 2023 for The Monster You Made Me, "Chapter Ten: Endings."
CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #4: I just want to take a moment to implore all of you wonderful people, to go to the movies. The latest Japanese Godzilla film "Godzilla: Minus One" is in theaters here in the states. The movie is in Japanese with subtitles, but I would argue it is a movie everyone who loves cinema should go see. Without hyperbole, this Godzilla film is one of the best films I have seen all year, right up their with Oppenheimer. Godzilla: Minus One is easily the greatest film in the 70-year history of the Godzilla Franchise. If you do not believe me, look up the reviews this film is getting, universal acclaim. Go see this movie before it leaves theaters on December 14th!
CHARMING'S AUTHORS NOTE #5: Did you like this chapter? Consider leaving a review! Did you see Godzilla Minus One already? Leave a review and tell me what you thought of it! I love reading your reviews, they help me improve as a writer.
Until Next Time :D