A/N: There are so many amazing stories dropping new chapters almost daily, which is unbelievably awesome. It also means I need to be more thankful to those of you who have taken the time to favorite, follow, and review or PM me. I appreciate you are probably reading multiple stories, so thank you for the extra effort you have made on Valkyrie's Invisible Shield….I hugely appreciate your continued support.
This is an important transitional chapter, as it lays the foundation for several key elements of the story line that will develop into their own threads, and inevitably run into each other causing some excitement. I hope you enjoy it, and find a minute or two to follow, favorite, review, and/or PM me.
Also, please give some thought to joining the Facebook Chuck FanFic group. It is really great for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is getting fresh updates on new stories or new chapters being released.
Thanks to Nevr for pre/beta reading, and of course, I don't own Chuck or profit financially from writing this completely AU story and have no financial interest in Facebook or the Chuck Fanfic community.
Valkyrie's Invisible Shield
Chapter 4 – Good Plots Bad Plots
Date: Thursday, 9 December 2021
Time: 06:30 EST
Location: Normandie Court - 225 East 95th Street, New York City – Walker/Miller Residence
An alarm blared on the nightstand on Carina's side of the bed, causing her to stir and grumble for a moment. Morgan had been awake for about fifteen minutes, but given that Carina was currently coiled around him, he stayed immobile, feigning sleep. He was so stressed about appearing to do anything inappropriate that even having a stunning goddess wrapped around him wasn't enough to produce the expected physiological reaction. Thankfully.
Carina rolled over, hit the snooze button, and surprisingly came back to snuggle herself into Morgan's side and threw her leg over his. "I hope you don't mind, but you are really warm and comfortable," Carina muttered, sleep still in her voice as her hot breath caressed Morgan's neck. Morgan responded with his best rendition of a sleepy grunt, then pulled her in a little closer. Less than a minute later, the unavoidable reaction to Carina's body pressed against him took over forcing him to turn away from her as she grumbled.
"Do you mind if I use the bathroom first?" Morgan asked, keeping his back to her.
"Two more minutes…pleeeease?" Carina whined, but there was no way Morgan could allow Carina to snuggle him in his current state.
"Sorry, Carina, I really need to go." He stood and slipped into the bathroom to shower and hopefully calm himself down. By the time he left the bathroom, Sarah and Carina were talking and organizing breakfast in the kitchen. As Morgan approached, both women stopped talking and smiled innocently.
"Good morning, Sarah." Morgan offered. "Did you sleep well?"
"I did, Morgan. Thank you." Sarah smiled.
"I did, too," Carina chirped happily, handing Morgan a cup of coffee and giving him a peck on the cheek. "Best sleep in ages, in fact."
"Me, too." Morgan smiled. "Me, too." The test of the first night had been a success, and if he was totally honest, he felt a sense of relief. Over the next forty-five minutes, they shared a light breakfast, after which Sarah and Carina left for work. As soon as Sarah left the apartment, Morgan called Chuck, who had parked within sight of the residence.
"Chuck, she is on her way down."
"Thanks, Morgan. Stand by." About two minutes later, Chuck called back. "Got her. I'm trailing. The car is on 96th near the subway entrance. Speak later."
Chuck slipped out of the car and followed Sarah from a discrete distance. To aid his cover, he hadn't shaved since he received the assignment, so he was sporting a light beard. He wore a black pea coat with the collar turned up, a pair of thick-framed glasses with plain glass lenses, and a black watch cap. Over his shoulder, he had slung a backpack. Aside from his height of six foot four, his appearance was unremarkable, and he blended in easily with the rest of the commuter crowd pouring into the 96th Street subway station. Sarah was focused on the copy of her Wall Street Journal and gave no outward sign of noticing him. It was a typical Thursday morning on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Chuck stayed on Sarah all the way to her office, spotting the brown Taurus parked in front of the cafe thirty yards further down and across the street from the entrance to Sarah's office building. As Sarah walked through the front door of her building, Chuck crossed the road and entered the Cafe to find Morgan already there with two large coffees.
"How was the commute, partner," Morgan asked cheerfully as he handed the steaming cup to Chuck.
"The morning commute is pretty easy. It's quite crowded, so it's easy to blend into the crowd, even if you need to get close. Having said that, I think we should have some of the NY team pick up as much of the commuting as possible to minimize the detection risk." Chuck took the lid off the cardboard cup and blew across the top of it before taking a sip. "Did you check the trackers?"
"Yep. They worked as well as expected, Chuck. Clear as day above ground, but varying levels of distortion when she was in the subway depending on how deep underground the particular subway car was at any given point in its journey."
"Good. Sounded like things went ok with Sarah and Carina. Any issues?" Chuck asked.
"Smooth sailing, partner. Carina did an amazing job of selling the cover, so I didn't pick up any behavior from Sarah to suggest she was suspicious. In fact, she could not have been nicer. You didn't follow on the surveillance equipment?"
"Nah. You were on site, so no need to listen in. Besides," Chuck smiled a little uncomfortably. "I got the sense of that things were going well from the phone call. Had you guys been drinking? Sarah seemed a little….I don't know….flirty? Maybe?" Chuck looked at Morgan. "Anyway, after Thanksgiving, I think I prefer this version of Sarah."
"Well, the ladies did drink some, but I think my being there was a factor. Having said that, I think last night was the real Sarah Walker….not scary Valkyrie, Sarah Walker." Morgan patted Chuck's shoulder. "She asked me about you. I think she might be warming up to Chuck Bartowski. She certainly felt terrible about Thanksgiving." A sly smile was on Morgan's lips.
"Hmm," Chuck contemplated, then deflected. "And how was your first sleep-over, Grimes?" Chuck asked with a grin.
"Uhm….It was….uhm….It was fine. No problems at all. Everything was fine," Morgan stammered, clearly a little uncomfortable, as Chuck nodded without pressing. "I'm going to go to the hotel and do some paperwork. Let me know if you need me to relieve you or if you intend to call the local guys to trail her home. See ya later, Chuck."
"Thanks, Morgan. Please report in with Casey, let him know how everything went, and then check in on where the things are with our apartment." Chuck gave Morgan a friendly wave as the shorter man walked out of the cafe and blended into the Manhattan crowd.
-O-
Date: Thursday, 9 December 2021
Time: 08:00 EST
Location: 9 West 57th Street, New York City – Law Offices of Dunmore, Bradley, and Caine
Sarah walked into her office, hung up her coat, and started her morning routine. She started perusing a file when her mind drifted momentarily….to Chuck Bartowski, of all people. She had a little too much to drink last night but remembered listening intently to Morgan Grimes talking about Chuck with a bit of awe in his voice. She recalled her behavior at Thanksgiving, particularly his facial expression, as he did his best to remain professional. But there was something in his eyes. His seriously expressive, deep brown eyes. Was it anger? Or maybe it was more like…disappointment? Maybe? Then suddenly, she recalled her commute and, for a moment, she thought she saw him. Or rather, she caught a glance of someone who reminded her of him. A different guy with a beard and glasses, but the eyes. There was something about the eyes.
Sarah picked up her phone and hit speed dial number two.
"Hi, sweetheart." Emma Walker's warmth flowed freely across the phone lines. "Is everything ok?"
"Hi, Mom. Everything is fine. And why does something need to be wrong for me to call you?" Sarah asked.
There was a pregnant pause on the line for a moment before Emma answered. "Ok, who are you, and what have you done with my daughter?" Emma chuckled.
"Mom?"
"Sarah, darling, when was the last time you called home on a weekday morning when something wasn't going on with you? In fact, your father and I are pretty sure that if we didn't have holidays that compelled family togetherness, we'd probably never hear from our daughter, the Warrior Witch of Wall Street. Now, what's wrong?"
"Ok, Mom, that's not too unfair. And I'm sorry. But no, there is nothing wrong. Not really, but I do have a question for you."
Emma knew her daughter well and was expecting a pointed question, one she did not want to answer, especially given their promise of total honesty. "Sure, honey. What do you need help with?"
"Mom, when we discussed the potential threat against Dad last week, I told you I did not need or want protection, so I want to know if you or Dad ordered protection for me?"
"Sarah, darling, even though your decision came from your stubborn sense of independence, which most times I love, your declining protection was silly. But it was your decision, and I assure you that neither your father nor I ordered anyone to protect you." Emma knew she was playing on a technicality. It was Casey who ordered the protection. Jack and Emma just wanted to know how to solve a problem. Besides, as a lawyer, Sarah should know to be more precise in how she formulates a question. She didn't ask the right question. Or rather, Sarah failed to ask the question in the right way. So Emma was comfortable playing in the gray area, especially for her daughter's protection. "Why do you ask, sweetie? Did something happen?"
"Thanks, Mom. And, no. Nothing happened. I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page." Sarah smiled, relieved.
"We are on the same page, sweetie. Now, when will you be coming down for Christmas? And this time, can we send someone to collect you? Taxis and Ubers will be hard to come by at Christmas, you know?"
"Thanks, Mom. I'll let you know when we get closer and my plans firm up. Ok?" Sarah and Emma exchanged a warm "I love you," Sarah closed the call, shaking her head. 'Back to work, Sarah. No idle thoughts about conspiracies or a certain tall and handsome Special Agent…..tall and handsome, where the hell did that come from…..Focus Sarah!' she chastised herself and returned her attention to the transaction file in front of her.
Chuck listened and, for a moment, was worried their cover slipped.
-O-
Date: Friday, 10 December 2021
Time: 18:30 SAST (South Africa Standard Time)
Location: 220 Madiba Street, Pretoria, South Africa – Tajiri Café
It was a warm and clear evening in Pretoria, South Africa, as Hans Gruber sat in the back corner of the Tajiri Café sipping his espresso. He checked the time on his vintage Rolex GMT and pulled out his laptop. He connected to the café's Wi-Fi and logged onto a cooking blog. Once logged in, he went to the private messaging function and skipped the many messages that he had no interest in until he found the one he was looking for:
"Chef. I have taken care of all the ingredients the recipe requires. How long do you expect the dish will take to cook?"
The funds had been deposited, and the arranger was asking for an estimated timeline. Gruber smiled for a moment as he considered his response.
"This is a very complex dish, and to get it right, each step of the cooking process needs to be carefully considered and planned for. As for cooking time, I'm sure you will know when it's done."
Gruber logged off, disconnected from the Wi-Fi, and left some Rand on the table after packing up. His instructions had been pretty open. The buyer needed the President out of the Oval Office and didn't care how it happened. The President of the United States was one of the most well-protected people on the planet, so assassination was more of a backup option. It would be much easier and safer to force his resignation by finding the right leverage. It would still take a lot of planning and preparation, especially if one intended to get away with it long enough to enjoy the payday. He thought about the timing. It was opportune to have the Christmas holidays approaching as it was a time when family traveled to be together.
Gruber's window was the quiet time around Christmas and New Year's, so realistically, he had a little more than two weeks to get it done or miss the window. He flagged down a taxi to take him to his hotel so he could pack, check out, and head to Johannesburg, where he would fly to the US. He would take a very circuitous route through Asia, then Canada, and finally, the west coast of the US before flying east domestically. When he arrived at his hotel, he reopened his laptop and opened the comprehensive dossier on the Walker family he had received from the arranger. He went through the file a few times, then did some online research and smiled. The daughter, Sarah Walker, was not under the protection of the US Secret Service….she was the low-hanging fruit. She would be the key. If he could grab her, he could easily force the President's resignation and fulfil the contract without having to evade the Secret Service. And once the President resigned, he would dispose of her. It was a shame, really; she was quite beautiful, but he certainly could not allow for any witnesses if he wanted to have any opportunity to enjoy his well-earned fees without looking over his shoulder the rest of his life. He began to plan.
-O-
Date: Friday, 10 December 2021
Time: 13:30 EST
Location: 9 West 57th Street, New York City – Law Offices of Dunmore, Bradley, and Caine
"This is Sarah Walker," Sarah picked up the ringing phone.
"Hey Blondie, What are we doing this weekend? I've only got Morgan in town for a few more days and thought it would be fun to do something different."
"Hi Carina, I'd love to, but I have no desire to be the 3rd wheel while you and Morgan do the whole stupid googly-eye thing at each other. You two are making me sick. And given that your boy toy needs to get back to work, you should have some time alone. I've got some work to do anyway." Sarah sighed.
"Sarah," Carina paused for effect. "What if I asked Morgan to call a certain Sexy Agent from Washington and ask him to come up for the weekend?" Carina giggled.
"Don't you dare, Carina, I mean it!"
"Aw, come on, Sarah, what's the harm. It's not like you would be dating him or something. You and I are friends, and Morgan and Chuck are friends. What's wrong with a couple of friends hanging out for the weekend?" Carina pressed.
"Carina, you are sharing a bed with Morgan….is Chuck going to join you and Morgan? Because he's not sleeping in my room!" Sarah barked back.
"Interesting idea, but no." Carina chortled. "Are the sleeping arrangements your main concern? Problem solved….he'll sleep on the couch. So it's all settled then. I'll call…."
"Carina, No!" Sarah interrupted, but Carina had already hung up while laughing. Sarah immediately called Carina back, but she didn't pick up.
Across the street, Chuck heard every word….He watched Sarah on his tablet after she hung up. Her expression went from annoyed to something else. Wistful, maybe? She blew a breath upwards, blowing a golden strand of hair out of her face, then sat back and bit into her lower lip. For a moment, he swore he saw the beginning of a smile. He snapped out of it and called Morgan.
"Grimes."
"Morgan, did you and Carina discuss inviting me to come to New York for the weekend?"
"No, Chuck. I wouldn't do that. Not without clearing something like that with you first," Morgan replied, confused. "Why are you asking?"
"Your girlfriend, the crazy redhead, just called Sarah and told her she was inviting me up for the weekend. Something about this being the last couple of days with you, and she wanted to pull Sarah along. Sarah didn't want to be a third wheel, so Carina took it upon herself to volunteer me. You sure you don't know….." Chuck was interrupted by Morgan's personal phone ringing.
"Speak of the red-headed she-devil. Stand by Chuck." Morgan picked up Carina's call but held the phone close enough for Chuck to follow the conversation.
"Hi, Carina. What's up? You done with work already?" Morgan played it cool.
"Hey, Morgan, I need your help. I want Sarah to meet Chuck, so can you arrange for Chuck to 'come up to NY' if you know what I mean?" Carina asked Morgan.
"Chuck? Why do you want Chuck to suddenly be visible to Sarah? Is something wrong?"
"Well, no, not really, but given that you need to, you know, go back to work in a couple of days, I thought that if I could get Sarah and Chuck together, they might hit it off, and it would make it easier to give Chuck an excuse to visit more regularly with you….You know, for the cover." Carina stumbled a little.
"Carina, what's this about? I mean, I'm happy to call Chuck, and your idea does have merit from the perspective of protecting her, but I'm uncomfortable with the idea of setting them up. It wouldn't be fair to either Sarah or Chuck, don't you think?"
"Morgan, I love Sarah, but all she does is work. She had a crappy boyfriend for a while, but thankfully he fucked off, and I think she needs to have a little fun. You know, something else in her life beyond work." Carina wanted to find the right words. "Look, Morgan, I'm not really setting them up, but think about it this way….Given that you are 'going back to DC' shortly, she would expect us to want to be together without her so that compromises your ability to cover her. If we can get Chuck here, she would not be a third wheel. It would just be two girl-friends going out to do fun stuff over the weekend with two guy-friends….and if something were to come out of that, well, I'd be ok with it." Carina held her breath for a moment. "Pleeeease, Morgan. It would mean a lot to me."
"Ok, Carina. I'll ask Chuck, but no promises. I'll see you at your place at about 7:00 pm. Now let me go so I can call Chuck."
"You are very sweet, Morgan. And a wonderful pillow. Thank you!" Carina was flirty again as she signed off.
"You get all that, Chuck?" Morgan asked.
"I did. Thanks, Morgan. Pillow?"
"No comment, Chuck….How do you want to handle this?" Chuck thought for a moment.
"Tell you what. Call Carina back and tell her that you spoke to me, and that I'm a little uncomfortable with the idea unless Sarah calls me herself and assures me that this is totally cool with her. We'll see if Sarah calls at all, and if she does, I'll make the decision based on her response. Ok, Morgan?"
"Got it. I'll let you know what happens." Morgan closed the call to ping Carina.
From his seat in the café by the window, Chuck had been monitoring Sarah's activity in the office since the call with Morgan. His stomach growled reminding him to eat lunch. He walked to the counter and ordered a corned beef on rye with coleslaw and Russian dressing, along with a Coke. He was about to take a bite out of his sandwich when his phone rang.
"Bartowski." Chuck put his sandwich down and picked up his tablet.
"Chuck? Hi, it's Sarah. How are you on this fine Friday afternoon?"
The call caught Chuck by surprise, as he had never heard Carina call Sarah. Then he realized that while she had appeared to be playing with her phone, she must have been texting.
"Chuck, are you there?" Sarah asked.
"Ms. Walk…Sarah, sorry. Hi. What a surprise to hear from you so soon. How may I be of service?" Chuck stared intently at the tablet with Sarah's image on it. She was leaning back in her office chair, bouncing one knee over the other, with one of her shoes dangling provocatively off her toe. Her head was tilted back, and she looked up at the ceiling while gently biting her lower lip. He was transfixed as he waited for her to speak.
"Chuck, I would like to ask you a favor, but before I do, I want you to know that it's totally ok if this is something you can't or don't feel comfortable doing….ok?"
"Uhm….Ok….may I ask a question?" Chuck replied hesitantly. "You sound a little nervous, so is this something that I can lose my job over, like…I don't know, you need help robbing a bank or something? Because if that's the case, I'd really need some time to think about it."
Sarah laughed. "Would it help if it wasn't a bank I was robbing?" She paused to give Chuck a moment to react, then thought better of it. "Just kidding, Chuck, nothing so dramatic. Let me explain….Carina wants to spend the weekend doing stuff with Morgan and wants me to tag along. I really don't want to be a third wheel, so Carina asked me to ask you to come up to New York so that we could all do stuff together." As Sarah spoke, she picked up a pen cap and started nervously chewing on it.
"Uhm….What kind of stuff did you guys have in mind, Sarah?" He asked innocently.
"You know, Chuck. The usual kind of stuff grown-ups do on weekends. Somewhere fun for dinner, maybe drinks and dancing after. Saturday, we could do a museum or check out a matinee. Maybe do a movie night at home with take-out….that kind of stuff." Sarah paused. "Nothing involving handcuffs and a whip. I Promise." Sarah had a mischievous grin.
"Chuck? Are you still there, Chuck?" Sarah heard Chuck's phone drop, causing her to giggle.
"Yeah, sorry. Slippery damned phone….It was all going great until you took the cuffs and whip off the table. Now I'm not so sure about the whole thing," Chuck deadpanned, causing Sarah's laugh to explode across the phone line. "Ok, ok….maybe the weekend thing can be salvaged. What are you planning on screening for movie night? But before you answer, Sarah, please note that movie selection says a lot about a person, so please choose carefully."
"Oh, that's easy. I'll just let you pick the movies." Sarah smiled as she spoke.
"That is a wise answer indeed." Chuck beamed.
"Just remember," Sarah deadpanned now. "Movie selection says a lot about a person." Sarah was now fiddling with her hair.
"I see. Perhaps we can choose something together when I'm up there. Let me see if I can find a hotel near you…"
"You'll do it then? I mean, come to New York?" Sarah was smiling brightly now. "Oh, and you can crash on our couch if you are ok with that, so you don't need to spend crazy New York money on a hotel.
"Sure, Sarah. Sounds like fun. As long as you are sure this is ok with you. I know you are doing this for Carina, but I wouldn't want you to suffer all weekend because you have to hang out with me."
"I don't know, Chuck, but something tells me I'll be able to suffer through it."
Sarah was back to chewing on the pen cap while bouncing her knee, keeping her shoe in danger of falling off her toe. She was so damned cute, and she was flirting with him. The daughter of the President of the United States was flirting with Chuck Bartowski. Time to buy a friggin lottery ticket because this kind of thing just didn't happen to him.
"Uhm….when do you want me to get there? I mean, my shift is over soon, so I just need to grab some stuff and jump on a train. I need to check the schedule, but they have trains running hourly, so I think I can be there by around seven-ish if that works for you?"
"That sounds perfect, Chuck. Our place is 225 East 96th Street, apartment 19-C, but I'm sure you already have access to our address. The doorman will be expecting you. Ok?"
"Ok."
"Chuck?"
"Yes, Sarah?"
"Thanks, Chuck."
Chuck was momentarily puzzled. "Thanks for what, Sarah?"
"For saving me. Without you, I would have been that awkward friend who had to hang out with the lovey-dovey couple all weekend. Can you imagine?"
"You are good people, Sarah. And you are most welcome."
Saying goodbye came with a slightly awkward pause as if neither seemed to really want to hang up first, but they managed, leaving both to wonder what the weekend might bring.
-O-
As soon as Chuck hung up with Sarah, he called Morgan to get him up to speed. The next step was to get someone from the New York field office to relieve him and cover Sarah's commute home. Chuck's relief arrived an hour later, and he took off in the brown Taurus. He needed to do some shopping to make sure his clothes were sufficiently different from what he usually wore while watching over Sarah.
By 4:30, he put the car in a parking garage near the apartment the local field office had secured for them and carried his new clothes along with a canvas weekend bag back to the apartment. He made sure all the tags were removed from the clothes, took a shower, shaved off the beard, and packed the weekend bag. He had checked the Amtrak schedule, and there was an Acela Express that left Union Station at 4:00 pm and arrived at New York's Penn Station at almost exactly 7:00 pm. Another thirty minutes to take the subway to 96th Street meant an estimated arrival of 7:30 pm. He sent Sarah a text.
C – Caught the 4:00pm Acela Express. Arrive Penn 6:56pm. Will take the subway to you. ETA 7:30-ish.
A minute later came Sarah's response:
S – Perfect. Hope you like steak. Booked Sparks Steakhouse for dinner at 8:30 pm. Dinner is on me.
C – Sparks? Where the mob whacked Paul Castellano, the Godfather of the Gambino Crime family, back in 1985?
S – 1985 is way before my time. Do you want to go somewhere else?
C – Nah. Love the history. Besides, as a strict vegetarian, I'm glad cows only eat grass.
S – You gonna be like this all weekend? Is it too late to cancel the Chuck Bartowski comedy cavalcade?
C – Ouch. Tough crowd. And yes, it's way too late for that. I'm your problem now.
Chuck was caught in the banter, and only after hitting the send button did he realize the subtext of his message.
S – We'll see about that, Chuck….
Oh boy…...