A/N: Happy Wednesday and welcome to Chapter 19 –Old Friends and a Funeral. I hope you enjoy it!
Last chapter, Jack and Casey arranged for Chuck's seemingly untimely demise to take him off the field of battle with a hastily concocted plan. Sarah played her part to perfection, selling the story wholesale to anyone who saw her, but to make the plan work, the secret needed to be kept to a very tight circle.
With news of Chuck's passing, Roark breathed a sigh of relief, though the timing of events was a perhaps a little too convenient. He needed some help to do more digging and escalate his plan, so he reached out an "old friend." That meant team Bartowski would need to keep selling Chuck's death if they had any hopes of keeping him safe so he could do his work. While things were in constant motion in and around Washington, Volkoff was spotted in St. Petersburg boarding his jet for destinations unknown.
Who knows about Chuck? Who is the "old friend" and where is Volkoff scampering off to? Read on and find out.
I want to thank you all for the amazing support and give a special shout out to those of you who enjoyed learning about the book on Chuck's nightstand. I also have to say that I've never received so many encouraging PM's from so many readers before…and for that, I am incredibly grateful! Thanks!
The chapter was beta'd and pre-read by klipdoctor and CliffM respectively, for which they have my greatest appreciation. Thanks guys! And as usual, I don't own Chuck or profit in any way from writing this completely AU story.
Valkyrie's Invisible Shield
Chapter 19 – Old Friends and a Funeral
Date: Thursday, 30 December 2021
Time: 09:00 EST
Location: Number One Observatory Circle, Washington, D.C. - Vice Presidential Residence
"Graham." Roark grinned as he heard Langston Graham's all too blunt and gruff greeting.
"Langston, you old bastard. How the hell are you?"
While it was true that Ted Roark and Langston Graham knew each other from college, Ted's recollection that they were friends was a not-too-mild overstatement. The truth was that they'd barely tolerated each other. The two men belonged to the same fraternity and campus political organizations and both were also incredibly ambitious and competitive, creating a healthy distrust of each other. And while Ted Roark looked at that as a friendly rivalry, Langston Graham was certainly not as generous with his assessment. Moreover, Langston Graham knew this call was not a social "let's catch up on the old days" call. This was business, and he needed to be careful with the United States' Vice President.
"It's been a long time, Ted. What can I do for you?"
"It has been, and that's on me, Langston. I should buy you lunch at a minimum. I'll have my girl call your office and send an invitation."
Graham was no stranger to how the games in D.C. were played. First, a little foreplay, whispers of sweet nothings, and soft wet nibbles on your earlobe before you got brutally fucked. Graham was a master of using the same technique to get what he wanted, so he played along. "Lunch is fine, Ted. So….tell me what I can help you with."
"I have a rather personal matter that I need to be taken care of discretely. I would never ask for your organization to be involved, but I was hoping you might know of a person or people on the outside who I could trust to handle said personal problem for me. They would be well compensated, of course, and I would only agree to work with them if I had your assurance that this would in no way be traced back to you or your organization. I wouldn't want to besmirch your reputation, Langston." Roark smiled inwardly.
There was a long pause on the phone. "Ted, I don't want to know what your "personal problem" is, but I do need to understand what skills such people would need to have so I can connect you to the right resources." Now, it was Langston's turn to smile.
"I need an operator or a small team of very discreet operators with covert field experience. Someone has something of mine that I need to get back, and I need them to get it for me. It's rather embarrassing, so that's all I can say, really."
Graham had played this game with Ted Roark before, so he suspected it might be another woman who had something to say about Ted Roark. He needed to give him the name of a capable resource loyal to him because he would want to know precisely what Roark was up to and whether that information had real political value. He would have connected Roark with Clyde Decker again, but through his network learned the Decked had been killed in London. Ted Roark was a piece of shit, but he could conceivably be President at some point, and Langston Graham was very good at playing the long game.
"Okay, Ted. I'm going to give you a name, a number, and a passphrase, without which the person on the other end will hang up. Are you ready?"
"Go ahead, Langston."
"The number is German. +49 16055 51212. Your contact's name is Hugo Panzer. You tell him that Gandalf the Black sent you; hopefully, he will talk to you. Let me know if he hangs up on you, and I'll find someone else."
"Got it. Thank you, Langston. Lunch is on me." Roark closed the call, picked up one of his burners, and dialed the number. Several miles away, the flag popped up on the monitor of an NSA analyst, who forwarded the recording and transcript under "eyes only" protocol to General Beckman.
-O-
Date: Friday, 31 December 2021
Time: 11:00 EST
Location: 1801 E Street, SW, Washington D.C. - Congressional National Cemetery
The air outside was dark grey with a damp, cold wind that cut through most clothes. Inside the chapel, Sarah was seated in the front row. Emma was sitting to her left, and next to Emma was Jack. To Sarah's right was Ellie, with Devon next to her. Sarah held her mother's hand to her left and Ellie's to her right. Carina and Morgan were seated behind the first row, along with several colleagues from the Secret Service, including Vincent Boles and Gertrude Verbanski. The mood was as grey and somber in the chapel as the weather was outside. The memorial service was brief, with the priest saying a few words before inviting John Casey to eulogize Chuck.
Casey's eulogy was incredibly poignant and accented by anger more than sadness. He praised Charles Bartowski as a loyal, brave, and shining symbol of what all members of their elite family of agents should strive for. It was not hard for Sarah, Ellie, and the handful of others who knew this was a charade to cry real tears, as they thought about what might have happened. Once the memorial service was concluded, the guests and their sizable protective details left the chapel and walked the short distance to the Lockwood Columbarium, where Chuck's ashes would be placed. Seats had been set up for the First Family and Ellie and Devon while all the other guests formed a semi-circle around the niche where Chuck's ashes would be laid to rest. Once again, the priest quoted scripture and offered a prayer before the niche was sealed with an engraved granite plate bearing his name and relevant birth and death dates. Moments later, the first family, along with Ellie, Devon, Carina, and Morgan, made their way to the motorcade while the official White House photographer snapped away at the somber scene. Once loaded into the cars, the motorcade would take them all to the White House, where the small group would have a private lunch in the Presidential residence.
-O-
Date: Friday, 31 December 2021
Time: 12:30 EST
Location: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C. – The White House.
Once Ellie, Devon, Carina, Morgan, and the First Family were safely ensconced in the private dining room, Casey arrived.
"The memorial service and the funeral itself worked perfectly. Robert, the staff photographer, will have some photos ready within the hour we can put out to give Chuck the cover he needs." Casey paused for a moment. "And I'm glad we went through the trouble of doing all this."
He pulled out a file with several glossy black and white photographs of a large bald man taking photographs of the funeral. "His name is Hugo Panzer, and he was a member of the KSK, Germany's Special Forces Command, but for the last ten years, he's been operating as a mercenary. A gun for hire. We are aware from other intelligence services of his involvement in several fairly brutal assassinations, but never on U.S. soil. Separately, we picked up a call from Roark to a number in Germany but had no idea who the recipient was. Since Panzer is now at Chuck's funeral, we are confident the call to the unknown German number was to Panzer. So, now, at least, we know what we are dealing with, which is good news."
"Thank you, Casey. Why don't you join us for lunch and fill us in on the rest? There's plenty of food." Emma invited as Jack jumped in, confirming the invitation.
"Casey, how's Chuck doing? Is he okay? Has he moved to the cottage yet?" Sarah didn't want to reveal that she had been secretly corresponding with Chuck through the World of Warcraft site, though she had already let Ellie know and was passing messages between the two.
"Sarah, Chuck is fine. He relocated to the cottage this morning and has already reported the all-clear. I also just received a message from him that he found something interesting, so if you are amenable, I can call him now and put the call on speaker."
"Is it secure?" Jack asked.
"Yes, Sir. Chuck and I have several burners each and have a pre-set schedule for when we switch to the next phone in the sequence. These are not traceable."
"Then, by all means, let's hear what Chuck has to say," Jack ordered.
Casey pulled out the burner and hit the speed dial.
A familiar voice answered in an upbeat tone. "Hey, Casey. How was my funeral?
"It went perfectly according to plan….you are on speaker, and I'm with the First Family, your sister and her husband, Grimes and Ms. Miller. What did you find out?"
"Hi everyone. Thank you for coming to my funeral," Chuck joked grimly. "I appreciate the show of support."
"Bartowski…." Casey stopped Chuck's rambling.
"Yes….of course….sorry!" The line was quiet for a moment as Chuck refocused. "I found Volkoff," Chuck spoke unassumingly as Casey's eyebrows shot up.
"You found Volkoff? Where?" Casey was animated.
"As far as I can tell, he's on his yacht, the "Untouchable" just off Gran Roque, a chain of small islands less than a hundred miles north of Caracas. If you like, I can give you the GPS coordinates down to within ten feet….you know, if you wanted to drop a bomb on him or, better yet, go and arrest him." Jack looked at Casey with disbelief.
"And you're sure he's there?" Casey asked, wanting to be further convinced.
"Well, yes and no, Casey. I took the details you provided. The ones with the pictures of the jet in St. Petersburg….from there, it was pretty simple to break into the system used by the Russian Air Force to track air traffic. Volkoff's plane is a Falcon 900 with a range of just under 6,000 nautical miles. They flew to the westernmost part of the Cape Verde islands. From there, they filed a fight plan to Curacao, but once I knew the plane and tail number, I hacked into Dassault Falcon, the manufacturer, and learned that Volkoff's plane uses three Honeywell TFE731-60 engines…."
"Can you get to the point, Bartowski?" Casey interrupted rudely.
Chuck sharpened his voice a little and pushed back on Casey. "Casey, I don't have a picture of Volkoff on his yacht with a pina colada. What I do have is a series of data points that shape a clear and compelling conclusion. And since you seem to want to understand my confidence level, here, I'm going to give you all the relevant details so you have the full picture."
Chuck paused momentarily, having realized he'd just chastised his boss in front of their collective boss. "Casey, I apologize. I've been at it all night, and my nerves are a little raw. Where was I….right the plane's three engines….the engines automatically send telemetry readings back to Honeywell, which monitors performance remotely….anyway, I used their telemetry link to identify the satellites being used and, through triangulation, was able to track his flight all the way to Caracas." Chuck paused for a moment to catch his breath as Jack stared at Casey, stunned not only at what he was hearing but also at the incredible depth of Chuck's hidden capabilities.
"The fact that Volkoff moved his Mega Yacht outside of U.S. territorial waters to avoid seizure was well-publicized, so on a hunch, I searched for private marinas in Caracas that could handle such a huge yacht, and there aren't many. Once I had a list of candidates, I hacked into their systems including security cameras, eventually finding the yacht, and guess what? Within the last few days, the vessel had been fully fueled and taken on significant provisions, suggesting a prolonged time aboard was expected, and of course, they hired additional crew and….well….entertainment. The ship left Caracas yesterday, and by tracking the ship's navigation system, I can see that it is anchored off Gran Roque. I'll bet you a month's worth of cheeseburgers he's there as we speak."
"Jesus, Chuck. You really did all of that with just a few computers?" Jack asked.
"No, Sir. I did that with the laptop I stole from you. My main computer wasn't up and running until this morning." Jack shook his head in awe as Casey grinned.
"Impressive work, son." Sarah's eyes widened at her father's casual reference to Chuck as a son. The expression wasn't lost on Ellie or Emma, who gave each other a sly smile.
"Thank you, Sir, but I'm nowhere near done. May I have a moment to speak with Sarah privately, please?
Casey turned off the speaker and handed the phone to Sarah, who walked to a far corner of the dining room and sat down.
"Sarah….Hi!"
"Hi yourself. I miss you, Chuck."
"I miss you too. You would really like Casey's cottage. It's very peaceful and quiet here. But listen, I need your help, and I didn't want to say anything in front of the others. I hacked into the Trust company in the Caymans and the bank that manages the trust's money. I've uncovered a bunch of legal documents but can't make head or tail of them, though many make reference to a law firm, Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe LLC, from Baltimore, and two names are prominent, a Howard Cheatham, one of the senior partners, and Sidney Price, who is an associate. I've tried to get into the law firm, but their servers appear to be air-gapped, so I can't access anything in the law firm itself. I'm certain they're deeply involved, but I need someone to help me to understand who owns whom, where the money comes from, and where it goes. I'll send the documents I've uncovered to Casey, and he'll deliver them to you….if that's okay." Sarah smiled as Chuck asked for her help. It was sweet and so different from most men she knew.
"Of course it's okay, sweetie. Send'em over, and I'll have a look." As Sarah spoke, she could hear multiple alarms in the background. "Chuck? What are those sounds….alarms?"
"It's fine, Sarah. My assistant, ADIE, told me she found something important. Let me go to see what she's in a huff about. I love…"
"Chuck….Who is ADIE? And why is she there with you in a cottage somewhere in Pennsylvania?" Sarah's eyes sharpened, as did her voice, causing everyone at the table to look in her direction.
"Sarah, ADIE is my program. Algorithmic Data Intercept Evaluator. She is a complex software program I developed while at Stanford. Microsoft offered me five million for the rights to her in Freshman year, but I said no. Love her too much to pimp her out like that…so relax…..you are the only carbon-based life form I have eyes for, okay?"
"Oh." Sarah reddened. "I'm sorry, Chuck. I just miss you so much. And when I heard a woman's name….well. I've been let down before." Chuck could hear and feel the sadness and embarrassment in Sarah's voice, which was evident as she spoke, turning her back to the rest of the room for more privacy.
"Sarah, I understand, but you need to know that I would never do anything to hurt you…." Chuck whispered softly.
"I know. I'm sorry, Chuck. I'm not very good at this relationship stuff, so please be patient with me."
"Always, Sarah. I promise…. okay?"
Sarah smiled as she whispered that she loved him before Chuck asked to be put back on speakerphone.
Ellie had been studying Sarah as she walked back to the table with the phone, her expression and posture showing sadness. She enabled the speaker function and then placed the phone on the table. "Chuck, when you get back, you and I are going to chat about your communication skills." Ellie blurted out.
"Yes, Mom…." Chuck groaned, getting a laugh from everyone. "My assistant ADIE….Sarah will explain. She just sent me an alert, so let me see what she's dug up. Casey, I'll call you later. Sarah, I love you!" Chuck closed the call to focus on his work while everyone's eyes were on Sarah Walker.
"ADIE?" Jack looked at Casey. "You gave him an assistant, John?"
Sarah jumped in. "Dad, it's not what you think. ADIE is the name of a program he created as a freshman at Stanford. He's using it to search for information relevant to the investigation."
Jack raised a suspicious eyebrow. "You mean he's working the investigation using a home-built program he developed when he was just a freshman when we could have the NSA's supercomputers do this for us?"
"He's pretty sure it will work. Apparently, Microsoft offered him five million for it, but he wouldn't sell it." Sarah added as Ellie turned white as a sheet.
"He turned down five million dollars? To work in the government where he could get shot?" Ellie's eyes were wide as saucers as she spoke. "I don't get it. I don't get him. That man could have anything he wants, and he chose this…." Realizing she was speaking to people who also put the country ahead of themselves, Ellie was suddenly embarrassed. "Oh, my God. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean…..this is just such a shock to me."
"It's fine, Ellie. We get it." Emma smiled softly, then turned to Sarah while shaking her head. "That man of yours is really something."
"Yeah….he really is." She smiled, then noticed John Casey gesturing to her to follow as he walked out the door.
"Is everything okay?" Sarah asked, a little nervous at Casey's pulling her into a private conversation.
"Yes, Ma'am," Casey replied politely, then shook his head. "That boyfriend of yours is a pain in the ass." He picked up a box that had been sitting on a side table and handed it to her. "Chuck made sure you had a set of burner phones as well. In fact, he basically insisted I give you these, even though it does represent a risk to operational security. Inside, there are five phones and a detailed instruction sheet. The phones are numbered, and you start with the number one, then change to two, and so on. There are two programmed "speed dial" numbers on these phones. The first is Chuck's, and the second is mine. The instructions will explain what to do with them when they expire, including how to treat the battery and SIM card. He will call you at ten this evening, and you two will work out your schedule. Oh, one more thing. When you use the phone, speak quietly, avoid windows, or have some background music playing. We want to make sure that if anyone is trying to listen in, they can't hear your conversation."
"Thank you, John. And I'll be very careful."
"You're welcome. Please help him stay focused on the hunt by keeping yourself safe. I'm pretty sure you're what he cares about most…..well, that and getting to Roark and his band of miscreants." Casey paused for a moment. "You know, Ms. Walker, Chuck is a pretty special guy. A colossal pain in my ass, but an extraordinary guy. Please be good to him…" Casey looked to the ground, almost embarrassed by his emotional outburst. Well, an outburst by Casey's standards anyway.
"I will, Casey. I promise. Sarah stood on her toes to give the big gruff man a peck on the cheek. "And thank you, John."
With the package delivered and the conversation ended, Sarah and Casey re-entered the dining room and joined the others.
-O-
Date: Friday, 31 December 2021
Time: 13:30 EST
Location: Outside 1401 25th Street SE, Washington D.C. – Mario's Pizza House
Hugo Panzer pulled his rental car to the curb in front of a pizza joint famous for its food, not its curb appeal. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an unused burner phone he had been sent. He hit the only preprogrammed number and waited.
"What did you see?"
"I saw a funeral. If it was a con, it was a really good one. Half the Secret Service was there crying into their cheap suits. The President and his wife were clearly sad, and the daughter was a teary-eyed mess. The sister held it together slightly better than her husband, the doctor." Panzer replied confidently.
"So you're sure this was all real….that Bartowski was buried today." Roark pressed.
"Look, I snapped dozens of pics from the time they arrived at the chapel for the memorial to the time they left the mausoleum, and yeah, they were visibly crushed." Panzer thought for a moment. "If you give me the address of a secure server, I can send you the pictures, and you can see for yourself."
"No. That won't be necessary." Roark acquiesced. He was going to pump Vincent Boles for all the details when he returned to his post.
"Okay, what's next? What do you want me to do? I know you didn't bring me all the way here to take pictures of a funeral."
"I have a problem I need to have taken care of. I had a package dropped off for you at the front desk of the Willard hotel under the name Mr. Sunset. Inside you will find a file with a set of instructions."
"Do the instructions have anything to do with the photographs you asked me to take" Panzer asked quietly.
"They do." Roark answered. "And if you get this done by the fifteenth of January, and there will be a generous bonus in it for you."
"Anything else?" Panzer asked.
"Yes. You work for me now, and once you complete the assignment, I'll need to do some house cleaning, which will include your friend at the CIA, so you'll have plenty of work for which you will be very well paid, and for which my office will protect you.
Panzer waited for a moment. "I'll retrieve the package, review it, and will call you once I've decided."
"Decided what?" Roark's anger flared.
"Decide if I'm going to take the job. I suspect I already know what is in the package, and its way bigger than what was communicated in our initial call. More complexity means more risk, and for that, I think a higher price is justified."
Roark desperately needed to close the deal, so he forced himself to calm before speaking again. "Look. I'm not just offering you a job here. I'm offering you a permanent position as a member of an extremely small circle of trust with the most powerful man in the world. You'll be very rich, and extremely well protected." Roark smiled to himself. "Do this for me, and you have a very prosperous and secure future."
There was a pause on the line before Panzer responded. "I'll review the package."
"Good." Roark knew he got his man. He smiled inwardly and closed the call.
-O-
Date: Friday, 31 December 2021
Time: 18:00 EST
Location: 1219 Lake View Drive, Penn Lake, Penn Lake Park, Pennsylvania – Bartowski Safe House
The sun had set hours ago, and Chuck sat alone, staring out the picture window over a darkened Penn Lake. A chill ran through him as he considered the darkness, the cold, and the distance between him and Sarah. Since he had spoken with Sarah earlier in the day, Chuck had discovered more pieces to the mosaic he was putting together. The additional pieces included the identification of Hugo Panzer and a call between what they now knew was Roark's phone and what they had presumed was Panzer's phone.
Casey had dispatched a team to secure the package at the Willard waiting for Mr. Sunset to pick it up, but by the time they received the transcript from Beckman, they were too late. Without the contents of the package that could be linked to Roark, they would not have a solid link to what was being requested. Not that it mattered, none of this information would be admissible in a court of law. And while the transcript of the most recent conversation between Roark and Panzer was not specific enough to warrant an arrest, it was still chilling. It also created a link to someone at the CIA. Presumably someone in a position of authority, who would have cause to have a relationship with someone like Hugo Panzer.
Earlier in the day, the alarms were linked to some interesting financial threads related to Kraken Capital that could be pulled on. Since then, Chuck sent all the files associated with the law offices in Delaware his search had found and made several adjustments to ADIE, his algo, including the addition of Hugo Panzer and a senior but as yet unknown subject at the CIA. Now, he just needed to sit back and let her do her work. Chuck decided to eat something, then take a short nap to be up at ten p.m. to speak with Sarah, expecting to work through the night.
At ten p.m., Chuck called Sarah on her burner.
"Hi, baby," Sarah answered. "Are you doing okay?"
"I'm okay, Sarah, but I miss you. I can't wait until this is over."
"Me too!" Sarah smiled into the phone.
The two let the quiet fill the space between them for a moment, each wanting to just feel the emotional closeness of the other and draw comfort from it until Chuck spoke, bringing them out of their moment of quiet intimacy. "Sarah, did you get to look at the documents Casey gave you?"
"Oh…Yeah. I did" Sarah refocused herself on the documents she had reviewed earlier. "Chuck, the documents themselves are inconclusive. They reference a series of what must be shell companies that, in some convoluted way, own or control the Trust. The only way to sort that out is to see the actual files at the law firm in Baltimore, and there is no way they would allow that without a court order. And even with one, if they tampered or destroyed files, we'd be no closer to making the necessary connections."
"The problem with everything we have and everything we're finding is that it's totally inadmissible in court. We have no FISA warrants, no regular search and seizure warrants, we have nothing. And if we can't use any of what we have, there is no way someone like Roark or his associates faces prosecution for their crimes. Our only play is to get Volkoff to eliminate him without causing world war three."
"I know, baby. Let me think about this some more. Maybe Carina can help me with the legal documents and issues," Sarah offered as the gears in her head started turning.
"Sarah, we need to get off the phone, but before we do, I want to wish you a happy new year and tell you how sorry I am that I can't kiss you at midnight," Chuck spoke softly, trying to convey the strength of his sentiments.
"It's okay, Chuck. I'm as disappointed as you are, but the sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can get you in my bed and have my way with you…..I'm going to eat you up." Sarah purred lustfully. "And Chuck…. Sarah is a very hungry girl." She let that hang in the air, smiling as she could hear Chuck gulp.
"Sarah, you have no idea how badly I want you right now, but kicking off a phone sex conversation is not going to get either of us what we want. More important is that it will distract me from what I need to do." Chuck squeezed his eyes shut tightly, trying to maintain the discipline he knew he needed. There was a pause on the line as Chuck assumed Sarah was doing the same and reigning herself in, but that was not the case.
"Chuck, you're right. Phone sex would be too distracting. I mean, I'm lying in our bed alone…..hold on a second." Chuck heard a rustling sound on the phone.
"Sarah, are you okay?" He asked.
"Sorry, Chuck, I just needed to take off my bra. Now, where were we?" Sarah giggled coquettishly.
"That is so not fair…." Chuck lamented but was interrupted by Sarah.
"Oops…There go my panties…. There, now I'm all naked in our bed thinking about touching you, tasting you…"
"Woman….!" Chuck growled. "Are you trying to kill me? I need to stay up all night to stay on top of ADIE, and now I need to take an icy shower so I can…."
"ADIE again, Chuck? Wouldn't you rather be staying on top of me?" Sarah started laughing. "I'm so sorry, Chuck. You're right. That was totally unfair. I apologize for my wanton behavior, but hopefully, when you do get a chance to sleep, you'll have something to dream about."
"Sarah, I'm going to go now, but I want you to understand two things. First, I miss you, love you, and want you. And the second is that when we are done with this, and I get you alone, I'm putting you over my knee and giving you a good spanking!" Chuck hung up. 'That'll teach her to play with the hot sauce,' he smiled and headed briskly to the bathroom for a freezing shower.
"Wait…Chuck? Chuck?" Sarah suddenly felt the heat building in her abdomen as she thought about Chuck's last words. 'Bastard….he totally schooled me,' she thought, realizing that she probably needed a cold shower even more than he did.