A/N – Thank you all for the incredible support. I really, really enjoy reading reviews and engaging with readers directly either through the reviews or through the private messages. Anyone who has followed my stories before knows I do my very best to reply to every single review or private message, so let me know what you think of the story as the foundation develops.

I also urge all readers to consider joining the Facebook Chuck Fanfic group. It's a terrific environment populated by so many prolific Chuck FanFic writers and readers, and new stories and new chapter releases are announced there by group members.

Thanks to Nevr for pre and beta reading, as always.

Finally, don't own Chuck and certainly don't profit from writing or posting this AU story.

-O-

Valkyrie's Invisible Shield

Chapter 2 – New York, New York

Date: Tuesday, 30 November 2021

Time: 10:00 EST

Location: Normandie Court - 225 East 95th Street, New York City – Walker/Miller Residence

Special Agents Bartowski and Grimes flashed their credentials to the doorman of the residential building and gained entry. Normandie Court was an expansive rental property development with several buildings covering most of a city block. They calmly rode the elevator up to the 19th floor, then knocked on the door to the apartment rented by Sarah Walker and Carina Miller. They waited. Once they were comfortable that there was no one home and that the hallway was clear, Morgan picked the lock to gain entry. The two men entered the apartment, quietly closing the door behind them. They entered a small vestibule that led to a kitchen on the right and a small powder room on the left. Directly ahead of them was an open-plan salon combining the living and dining areas. Once past the kitchen and powder room there were two closed doors on opposite sides of the main salon, presumably the two bedrooms. Morgan went right, and Chuck went left, each quietly opening their respective doors.

Morgan had happened upon Sarah's room, made evident by the family photos on her dresser. He moved to the walk-in closet and carefully began placing GPS trackers in selected items. Across the salon, Chuck had entered Carina Miller's room. Upon seeing that it wasn't Sarah Walker's room, he returned to the living area, quietly closing the door behind him, and began placing some wireless micro-cameras and listening devices in the air vents. Chuck was standing on a chair, placing a camera in one of the air vents, when the door to Carina Miller's room swung open. He froze as Carina walked out wearing Pajamas and a Bose headset.

"Who the hell….." Carina pulled off her headset as it took a moment for her to recognize the man standing on the chair. "Agent Bartowski? What the hell are you doing in my apartment?" Carina Miller didn't feel well that morning and decided to sleep an extra couple of hours before heading to work. She had been in the bathroom taking her own temperature while quietly listening to a conference call through her headset with her microphone muted. She had never heard the knock or her lock being picked, so she was as surprised as Chuck was when they saw each other.

"Oh, crap!" Chuck looked sheepishly at Carina Miller. "Ms. Miller. Hi. Yes, it's me, Special Agent Bartowski. It's good to see you again." Getting busted on the first day of their mission was impossibly bad for Chuck and Morgan. Faced with imminent failure, Chuck made a decision on the spot and moved decisively forward. "Ms. Miller, we thought the apartment was empty, so our apologies for the intrusion, but this is a matter of national security, so I, we….Morgan, get out here….need to talk. And I would add that since you know we are here, we desperately need your help to protect Sarah."

Carina stood silently for a moment. "Why don't you two sit down and explain to me why the United States Secret Service wants to put hidden cameras in the apartment of two single women…. And before you answer, try to remember that you are speaking to a lawyer." Carina Miller was not smiling.

Chuck cringed at Carina's implication momentarily, then straightened himself and began introducing his partner, Morgan Grimes. Chuck then went into great detail about the threat against Sarah's father and why it also meant that Sarah was potentially in danger. He explained that Sarah's parents, frustrated with Sarah's stubborn rejection of protection, asked The Secret Service to put an invisible layer of protection around her. They were also very transparent about Sarah's likely reaction if she were to discover their mission. The more Chuck pulled Carina into the story, the more Chuck became sure that if he could gain her help as an ally, she could greatly benefit the mission.

Carina was very bright, asking insightful questions without jumping to conclusions and keeping an open and engaged mind throughout the discussion. It was clear to Chuck that Carina cared deeply for Sarah, and the more they spoke, the more confident Chuck became that Carina could be convinced to help.

"So, Special Agent Bartowski," Carina asked. "What is the biggest problem you have with managing her protection?"

Chuck grimaced. "Well, the main issue is that she has rejected our offer of protection, so that means we need to cover her surreptitiously. We need to station ourselves further away than we would like, and we need to remain hidden, which can limit our visibility. Those two factors raise the risk that we miss something or are physically too far away to intercede and effectively intercept a potential threat, so we were planting the cameras and GPS trackers as partial mitigants. I would also add that with the Managing Partner's permission, we have also placed monitoring devices in her office. This is an incredibly serious matter, and while I certainly appreciate Ms. Walker's desire to remain completely unencumbered to work and pursue her personal life, the implications of something happening to her as a result of this threat have national implications. And Ms. Miller, please call me Chuck."

"Ok, Chuck. So, as a practical matter, explain how your surveillance and protection would work?" Carina's line of questioning made it clear she wanted to get into the details.

"Morgan and I will trade off eight-hour shifts. When on duty, one of us will be in the car monitoring the electronic surveillance equipment while the other sleeps, though there will be short periods during hand-offs where we will both be in position. And we will have some additional support from the New York field office." Chuck responded.

"Wait….You mean one of you will be sitting in the car outside the building all night, then trade off with the other to follow her to work and sit in the car all day to cover her there? That's insane. How long can you possibly keep that up? What if this goes on for more than a week or two?" The pitch in Carina's voice had gone up as she stared at the two men. She leaned back into the couch and ran her hands through her hair, taking time to think.

"Chuck, why don't you stay here with me?" Carina suddenly blurted out as both Chuck and Morgan sat in stunned silence.

"Hear me out….and stop calling me Ms. Miller. It's Carina, Ok?" Carina continued. "We can pretend you are my boyfriend. This way, you are here at night, close to Sarah and not in a car, and you can both get a decent rest and then trade off during the day shift. Of course, we would need to figure out how to stage everything so that Sarah buys into the whole boyfriend thing, but don't you think it's a better idea than sitting in a car all night in the cold?"

Chuck looked at Morgan as he considered the idea. It wasn't a bad idea at all, and it had tons of tactical and strategic merit, but would Sarah buy Chuck being Carina's sudden boyfriend? No. No friggin way. But then he thought about it some more.

"Carina….that is actually an excellent idea from the perspective of providing covert protection. But honestly, given Sarah's sheer animosity toward me at Thanksgiving, I don't see a scenario where she will buy me as your boyfriend." Carina nodded thoughtfully in agreement.

"Yeah, you're probably right. She was unnecessarily harsh with you, which is totally not who she is! Sarah is the most…."

"But Morgan here," Chuck interrupted Carina as Morgan's head snapped towards him. "Morgan might really fit the part. For the deception to work, it needs to be carefully woven into a framework of truth. So Morgan can't be some random guy you just met." Chuck thought for a moment. "What if you met in D.C. while you were at the White House? Did you have any time alone? I mean, time without Sarah, where you could explain that you met Morgan and the two of you just, sort of, connected?" Chuck asked while Morgan just sat there with his eyes and mouth wide open, dumbfounded.

"Uhm, yeah. Actually, this is perfect. I had some work to do on that Friday, so I gave Sarah plenty of space to be with her parents while I caught up on office stuff. Sarah also told me very specifically to not hit on any of you Secret Service guys, which I can use to explain why I never mentioned meeting Morgan." Carina was really getting into the idea now, and her brain was going a mile a minute. "Ok. The way we start this is with a phone call. I'm sure with the cameras and all you will know when Sarah gets home, so give her a little time to settle in, then Morgan can call me. During our conversation, I'll make some comments that Sarah will overhear, and then I'll break the ice by telling her we met, we connected, and that since Morgan has some time off, I'm inviting him to New York." Carina paused pensively before she continued. "That will work for a week or maybe ten days at the most, but we will have to sort something out after that. I mean, presumably, Morgan would have to return to work at some point."

Chuck and Carina had been developing the plan as if Morgan wasn't sitting two feet away. Finally, Morgan spoke up.

"Carina, that is a well-thought-through idea and one that seriously makes our job much easier. You are obviously an excellent friend to Sarah, but are you sure you want to go through with this?" He paused and looked sincerely into her eyes. "No one could possibly doubt your loyalty to your friend, but this….doing this will be a serious disruption to your personal life. You don't need to worry about Chuck or me, and you have my assurance that my behavior will always be completely professional, but there may be instances where we have to sell the romantic angle to maintain the cover. It also means that for the sake of the cover you just outlined, she will likely expect that I'll be sleeping in your room. Are you sure…."

Carina jumped in, aggressively interrupting Morgan and waving her hands. "Morgan, if anything happened to my best friend….that would be a serious disruption in my life. I'm not currently dating anyone, and we are all adults here, so I'm sure we can make this work for a week or so, while you people catch the bad guys or whatever. Besides, if she is at risk, then by extension, so am I. We live together and spend much of our free time after work and on weekends doing things together, so having one of you here also makes me safer." Carina stood and looked at the two men. "We're doing this for Sarah, so you can count me in, and you can also count on me to make this work." Carina turned and went to the kitchen to make coffee, signaling the end of the discussion. "You guys want some coffee? I think Morgan and I need to spend some time discussing the details of our meeting for the cover and some ground rules for the time he is here." she added, turning her attention back to the coffee maker.

Chuck and Morgan exchanged a quick look before Morgan answered. "Thank you, Carina. Yes, please. I take mine with a little milk."

Chuck gave his partner a curt nod and stood. "Tell you what, guys, I'm going to station myself by Sarah's office and cover her. While I'm there, I'll brief our boss on the new plan and get caught up on the latest developments in the investigation. In the meantime, you two develop your cover story." Chuck moved towards the door and stopped for a moment. "Carina. Thank you. What you are doing is important not only for Sarah but for the President and the First Lady and for the country as well. Sarah is lucky to have a friend like you." He opened the door and stepped out, leaving Carina and Morgan to manufacture a budding relationship they could sell to Sarah Walker.

-O-

Date: Tuesday, 30 November 2021

Time: 14:30 EST

Location: Outside 9 West 57th Street

"Casey," John Casey answered his phone in his usual gruff tone.

"Bartowski. I wanted to update you on our status." Chuck was a bit nervous about telling Casey that Carina disturbed them while they were planting their surveillance equipment, but sometimes things went sideways in the field, and when that happened, the most important thing was to adapt and overcome to ensure the success of the mission. To hedge his bet a little, he opened with the successful implementation at Sarah Walker's law firm. "Our meeting with Douglass Bradley went very smoothly, and we had no trouble putting our monitoring devices in Valkyries's office. Unfortunately, Carina Miller, Valkyrie's roommate, disturbed us while we were planting our surveillance equipment in their apartment, so to ensure she would not compromise Invisible Shield, we read her in and solicited her assistance. She has not only agreed, but as Valkyrie has not previously met Agent Grimes, he will assume the role of Ms. Miller's new romantic interest and stay at her apartment in the evenings. This considerably lightens our workload, puts Morgan in close proximity to Valkyrie during night hours, and I will cover during the day." Chuck let out a quiet breath, waiting for Casey's reaction.

Casey released a muted growl across the line and into Chuck's ear. "I don't like that you guys got busted, but assuming you two can pull it off, it's definitely a much better position from which to cover Valkyrie outside of commuting and working hours."

"We agree, Sir. Morgan and I will split daytime coverage and selectively use resources from the local field office to cover her commutes on the subway to ensure Valkyrie does not see us following her. And with direct access to Ms. Miller, we have more visibility into Valkyrie's plans when she is not at home or at work," Chuck added confidently.

"Ok. Bartowski. Keep her safe, and don't screw this up, or you and Morgan will be protecting a weather station in Antarctica for the next two years," Casey growled before his tone became more human. "By the way, we lucked out. The apartment complex where Valkyrie lives is a rental-only property, and they have several studio units immediately available in the building next to hers. The people in the N.Y. Field Office are working on getting you something on a lower floor to shorten response time. They should let you know by later today. Once that is set, we'll get them to put a few basic furnishings in for you guys, and then you can move in and set up the surveillance equipment."

"Thank you, Sir. Any news from London?"

"Nothing new so far, Bartowski. As soon as I know something, you and Grimes will also know."

Casey cut the line, leaving Chuck with a sense of relief. The call went better than expected, and they had to thank Carina Miller for that. Chuck needed a coffee, so he stepped out of the car and walked into a delicatessen a little further down the block. As he walked out, he saw a New York City cop walking up to the brown Taurus and pulling out his summons book. He quickly approached the officer.

"Good afternoon, Officer. I'm Special Agent Bartowski with the Secret Service," Chuck noted the officer's name and badge number while discretely showing his credentials. "We are conducting a surveillance operation, so you should expect to see my partner, Special Agent Grimes, or me in or near the car around this location for the next week or so. This is a sensitive matter, so I would greatly appreciate it if you could avoid calling attention to us or the vehicle when we are on station here." Chuck gave the officer a friendly smile and received a curt nod in return. "Thank you, officer." It never hurt to be polite, particularly to cops on their own beat.

-O-

Date: Tuesday, 30 November 2021

Time: 19:15 EST

Location: Outside 9 West 57th Street, New York City

Chuck had downed four or five large coffees over the course of the day. Shortly after lunch, he repositioned himself out of the brown Taurus, snagging a seat inside the cafe by the window where he could settle in and keep a watchful eye on his charge.

The day had been filled with the sights and sounds of Sarah Walker. The listening devices worked perfectly, and he could hear her talk to clients, talk to colleagues, and occasionally talk to herself. Her voice penetrated him. Deeply. Her words were always clear, well-considered, and precise, and he grew increasingly fascinated as he also experienced a wide range of Sarah Walker's emotions. One minute, she was tearing the head off of a senior investment banker who was in the process of blowing up a deal because of his ego and lack of attention to detail. The next, she was consoling a first-year associate who fucked up a motion she was preparing for one of the partners. He was stunned at how many facets of Sarah Walker came through her voice. But what really overwhelmed him was the video feed that accompanied the audio. Sarah was beautiful, really beautiful, but as he watched her speak, he was stunned at how much her facial expressions could convey while she spoke. Minute movements of her lips, a slight cocking of her head, a raised eyebrow, and of course, eyes that sparkled in a shade of blue he wasn't sure could be named, all served to underscore the emotion with which she spoke. This was not a cold, spoiled brat. This was an exceptional woman who would not stand to be challenged. Perhaps Sarah's unfortunate behavior toward him was probably all driven by misdirected anger at something else. He was convinced she would have been considerably more gracious if he had met her under different circumstances. Heck, she might even like him….he caught himself thinking stupid and dangerous thoughts and clenched his jaw, chastising himself.

Chuck's musings were interrupted by the sight of Sarah packing up for the evening and bidding some colleagues a good evening as she left her office. He grabbed his phone and hit the speed dial for Morgan, who picked up on the first ring.

"Grimes."

"Valkyrie is on the move. Stand by." Chuck held the phone to his ear and waited. About five minutes later, he saw her pushing through the revolving door of 9 West 57th Street. She wore a long camel's hair coat, a colorful silk scarf, and a messenger bag slung over her shoulder. She wasn't walking as much as she was gliding down 57th Street. Sarah Walker was overwhelming, and she was going to be trouble.

"Got her," Morgan responded. "Meet you at 96th Street."

Chuck hung up the phone, walked to the brown Taurus, and started the drive through mid-town Manhattan's impossible traffic toward Normandie Court.

-O-

Date: Tuesday, 30 November 2021

Time: 20:30 EST

Location: Normandie Court - 225 East 95th Street, New York City – Walker/Miller Residence

Sarah and Carina sat on the couch watching the evening news while enjoying a glass of wine. It had been a busy day for Sarah, and while Carina was feeling better, the stress of the morning's conversation with Chuck and Morgan had left her feeling particularly exhausted. Carina was reaching for the wine bottle to refill their glasses when her phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered. "Oh my God, it's you! Hi, Morgan. I was really hoping you'd call."

Sarah raised an eyebrow as she looked at her friend, who seemed to suddenly have a massive smile on her face.

"Yeah? Me too! Morgan, can you hold on a second?" Carina stood, grabbed her glass of wine, and moved towards the kitchen, ostensibly for a little more privacy, while Sarah looked on curiously. "Sorry, Morgan, I just needed to move to a quieter space to speak…no, no, you are not interrupting. I'm really glad you are calling." Carina spoke in a tone low enough to make it appear she was being discrete but loud enough for Sarah to hear.

"Really, that would be so great. I'd really like that….A hotel all the way downtown?... Why don't you stay here at my place, and with the money you save, you can take me out to a nice dinner and some dancing!... Of course, I'll ask her if it's ok with her….Really? You want to what? Ooooh, I'd like that…..Hold on." Carina then went into her room and closed the door behind her, assuring her privacy.

"Ok, Morgan. I can tell she was listening, and I think she was totally hooked on our conversation." She smiled confidently into the phone. "I'm sure the minute I step back into the living room, Sarah will become the inquisitor general and demand I spill the beans about who was calling me...Yeah, I think so….Yeah….I'll let you know how it goes….. ok….bye, Morgan." She hung up the phone, let out a few hearty laughs, and then took a minute to put her most innocent face on, before heading back to the living room. As expected, Sarah was waiting impatiently, anxious to grill her friend about the mystery caller. Carina had no sooner walked out of her bedroom when Sarah pounced.

"Who was that?" Sarah asked, feigning innocence.

"Who was what?" Carina dismissed Sarah's question, pretending to play dumb.

"Really, Carina? We were the two smartest women in our class at Yale Law, and you want to play dumb?" Sarah pushed.

"I don't want to talk about it. Besides, it's my business!" Carina pushed back, knowing perfectly well how to bait her best friend.

"Your business? Carina, there is no such thing as your business when it comes to men. In fact, I would say you go out of your way to rub your numerous conquests in my face, and that was obviously some guy you met or hooked up with or whatever, so talk!" Sarah commanded, though the smile and sparkle in her eyes made it clear she was asking as a friend.

"Ok, Sarah, but you have to promise not to get mad at me." Carina winced a little as she spoke.

"Carina? What did you do?" Sarah demanded a little more forcefully. "Come on, out with it!"

"Promise you won't be mad?" Carina insisted.

Sarah put her hands up in surrender. "I promise I won't get mad. Now talk!"

Carina ducked her chin a little and looked up almost apologetically. "Well. Do you remember when we went to visit your folks for Thanksgiving?"

"Of course, I remember. It was last weekend, and I'm not an idiot, so quit stalling." Sarah gave Carina a flat look.

"Ok. Remember when you gave me that crap about the White House and decorum and …."

"You didn't…." Sarah interrupted.

"Well, yeah, I sort of did." Carina squirmed and took a big gulp of her wine.

"Carina! I leave you alone for a couple of hours, and…..Oh my God, did you sleep with one of the Secret Service men?"

"What? No! Of course not…. What do you think I am?" Carina pursed her lips for a moment. "I just gave him a blow job in the Lincoln Bedroom." Sarah blanched as Carina exploded in laughter. "Gotcha!"

"Damn it, Carina….That's not funny." The color started to return to Sarah's cheeks.

"Come on. It was a little funny….and you set yourself up for that, Sarah."

"Ok, I did. And you're right….it was a little funny. So who was on the phone, and what are you not telling me, Carina?"

"I met someone there, and yes, he is a member of the Secret Service, and he's really sweet and cute, and we sort of connected, but…."

"For the love of all that's holy, Carina, please don't tell me you connected with Agent Bartowski. I treated the poor guy like crap and…."

"Agent Bartowski?" Carina raised an eyebrow. "Pray tell, Ms. Walker, why would my connecting with a certain tall and sexy man named Agent Bartowski be an issue? Is there something you want to tell me….Ms. Walker?" Carina smirked.

"What? No! Of course not." Sarah went on offense. "I don't have anything to say about Chuck!"

"Oh. So it's Chuck now, is it? Not Agent Bartowski?" Carina was a litigator, so she had much more expertise in cross-examination than Sarah, who specialized in Mergers and Acquisitions.

"Knock it off, Carina. You, my mom, and dad called him Chuck while you gave me hell at Thanksgiving. Besides, he's not my type, and I don't even find his eyes or hair remotely attractive," Sarah continued, suddenly taking a large gulp of her wine under Carina's observant gaze.

"Ah," Carina decided to make her friend squirm a little more by quoting Shakespeare's Hamlet. "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." Having made her point, Carina started laughing again. "Relax, Sarah. His name is Morgan Grimes, but he does work with Chuck. So, I can set us up on a double date if you want." Carina winced as Sarah threw a decorative pillow at her. "Anyway, we kinda had a connection, and I gave him my number. I didn't think he'd call, but apparently, he has a week of vacation and asked if he could see me. I wanted to invite him here but wanted to make sure you wouldn't kill me first."

"Ok, wow….Carina." Sarah shook her head and took a sip of her wine. "You really like the guy?"

"I think so, Sarah. We didn't have much time together, but yeah. I do, and I wanted to see if this could go somewhere." Carina was playing the cover so artfully that she almost forgot it was a cover. "If you are ok with it, I'd like to invite him to stay here for the week. He was planning on getting a hotel downtown, but given that I don't have time off, I would rather he stay here with me….but only if that's ok with you."

"Carina, Promise me you will be discrete, please. I don't want to have to explain this to Mom and Dad, and I certainly wouldn't want this to create an issue for your friend at work because of who I am." Sarah's expression turned serious. "If you can promise me that, I can live with you having a government-issued boy toy for a week. Just don't keep me up at night with your sexual escapades. Oh, and one more thing, Red….don't get any ideas about setting me up with Chuck Bartowski. I mean it."

Carina jumped up with a happy giggle and gave Sarah a hug. "Love you, sis! And are you sure you don't find Chuck's deep brown eyes or his dark and curly hair remotely attractive?" Carina ducked as a second decorative pillow flew over her head. She gave Sarah a cocky smile, then grabbed her phone and called Morgan Grimes.

"Hi Morgan…yeah, she's totally cool with it, but wants to make sure that you won't get in trouble at work because of this….. ok, I'll tell her…..yeah….me too….. ok….see you soon." Carina hung up the call and sank back into the sofa, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them while she grinned at Sarah. "You might want to get some earplugs, Blondie….cause there's gonna be some noise." She winked, and both women broke out in laughter and settled back to watching the news.

As the two friends sat quietly sipping their wine, Sarah's mind returned to the call with her Mom and Dad about the threat on her father and that they wanted her to accept protection, at least temporarily. Carina suddenly hooking up with a Secret Service Agent and asking him to stay with her at their place was more than a little suspicious. She would let things slide for now, but when this Morgan showed up, Sarah Walker, a litigator or not, would do some cross-examination herself.