A/N: I'm beginning to think no one owns Chuck, because that's all I keep hearing.
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Sarah had driven halfway to Winters, the nearest town, before she got a cell signal. Once she did, the cleaners arrived within the hour, which was a nice surprise considering how far out in the country Freddy's place was. With them were a crew of paramedics, who tended to both Casey's and Freddy's wounds. Darkness had fallen, and they had set up large floodlights, illuminating the area so they could more effectively sanitize it.
After they had both been tended to, Casey said to Freddy, "You know, if you were military, you would have earned a Purple Heart this afternoon."
With his trademark lopsided grin, a little looser now that he'd self-medicated, he said, "Would be a helluvan honor, but I think I'd rather have avoided it, Major. I mean, all things considered."
"Yeah. Guess I can't say I blame you." He reached out and squeezed Freddy's uninjured arm. "You did good today. You held it together, even with that son of a bitch Mead. Not a lot of civilians could have done that."
"Thanks," he replied.
"You have potential. Be a shame to waste it," said Casey, giving him a long, serious look.
Freddy held the gaze for a little while then looked away, embarrassed. He said, "Yeah. I hear ya...I'm thinking maybe it's time to try again...maybe go back to Duffy's...figure out some way..."
"Give it another shot, huh?" asked Casey.
"Yeah. I guess. You know...see what comes of it."
Casey took out a business card with his name, rank, and cell number. He handed it to Freddy and said, "If you think I can be any help, give me a call."
Freddy took the card, studied it for a bit and said, "Thanks, Major. I'll do that." They shook hands.
Next, Casey went to talk to Candy who was saying a heartfelt goodbye to Chuck and Sarah. They were leaving her at the cabin to stay with her brother for a while. The siblings were both a little rattled by the day's events.
As Casey got to them, Candy, sounding chipper, was saying to Sarah, "It would be fun. You know...we could hang out. Do girl stuff."
"I'd like that, Candy. It's a date. The next time I'm up this way. Promise."
Candy turned to Chuck and said, "And as for you. Bryce was right. You're a good guy. I'm really happy you got to me before the bad guys did. Thanks, Chuck. And take good care of my friend here, ok?"
"I will, Candy. I promise. You take care too, huh? You and your brother both. Bryce would be really, really proud of what you did for him. Not just today, but before...getting the disk from the library too. Really proud." He gave her a gentle smile and a hug.
She smiled back and said, "Thanks." Then, a little sadder, "I'll miss him."
"Yeah," said Chuck. "Us too."
They went to the SUV, leaving Casey alone with her. Casey said, "Bye, Candy. Thanks for all your help."
She said, a hand resting lightly on his arm, "You know, Casey, you saved my life today. Nobody has ever done that. And you got hurt doing it. I really owe you a big one. Maybe...I don't know...maybe if you are up my way again...maybe you can look me up?" She looked at him with a slightly nervous expression.
"It's ok, Candy. You don't owe me anything." He saw her expression crumble just a little and continued, "But you know what I would like? I'd like to take you out to dinner. Talk for a bit. Like a date, maybe. Can we do that? Next time I'm around?"
Her mood brightened instantly and she gave him a huge smile and said, "Yeah. We can do that. I think I'd like that a lot, Casey. I'm looking forward to it, in fact. You know," she looked at him from under her eyelashes, looking very pretty, "I make a pretty good part-time spy's girlfriend." Her laugh was musical as she kissed him on the cheek.
"I'll bet you do, Candy. I'll bet you do."
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When they were well away from the cabin and on their way back to Palo Alto Chuck said, "I found something really weird when I opened Fleming's files. I'm in there. There's a file with my name on it in the Omaha Project files." He was taking his laptop out of his bag and turning it on.
"What are you doing?" asked Sarah.
"I'm going to open the file with my name on it," said Chuck.
"Sure you want to see that, kid? No telling what's there," said Casey.
"Yeah, pretty sure. I mean, I've been under the impression that I'm involved in all this stuff sort of randomly, almost by accident. But here I am in Fleming's file on whatever Project Omaha is. Somehow I was in a CIA file back when I was at Stanford. That's got to be interesting, I think."
Casey nodded and with an expression that said, 'yeah, guess it would be.'
Chuck inserted the disk and found the file. After a moment, he said, "It's a video...holy shit...pull over, Case...we should all watch it together."
Casey pulled to the side of the road, put on the car's hazard lights, and he and Sarah twisted around in their seats to see the screen of Chuck's laptop. He turned the volume to max and restarted the video clip.
It was Fleming's office at Stanford. Fleming was behind his desk and filled the screen, adjusting the camera and speaking into it. "Test Subject 032. Bartowski. This will be his first interview." He turned from the camera and pushed a button on his desk phone. "Send Chuck in." Moments later the door to his office opened and Bryce Larkin stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "Bryce? This isn't a good time. I'm waiting for another student."
"Chuck Bartowski. He never got your message," said Bryce, sitting down in one of Fleming's office chairs.
"What are you talking about?" asked Fleming.
"You put Chuck on the CIA recruitment track."
"It's not up to me, Bryce. But they want him for the Omaha Project..." said Fleming.
"That's a military operation," said Bryce with concern in his voice.
"I should never have told you that."
"Yeah, but you did. They'll turn Chuck into..."
"I'm required to send all the top test results to the Agency."
"I want my friend out of this," said Bryce.
"He's a perfect candidate. The key words in his essay responses correlate to 98% of the subliminal images in the exam."
Bryce looked distinctly unhappy. "You don't get it. Chuck's a good person. He's got too much heart for this kind of work. He's no operative. You can't put him out in the field. He won't survive." Bryce was actually yelling by the end of his words and he banged his hand on the table for emphasis.
"The Agency is not going to let go of a recruit this promising. The amount of information he can retain..."
"They're not going to give him a choice?"
"He's in no matter what."
Bryce looked away from the camera for a few moments, clearly deep in thought. Finally, he said slowly, "If he cheated on the exam. Copied all the answers...that would invalidate the results, wouldn't it?"
"Yes," admitted Fleming.
"Good, now you're gonna help me, Professor," said Bryce. Fleming turned once again towards the camera and the tape ended as he turned off the camera.
There was silence in the car for a few moments. Casey put the car back in gear and moved back onto the road to continue the drive to Palo Alto.
Chuck said, with wonder in his voice, "Bryce framed me for cheating to save me. Why didn't he just tell me that?"
"He was already recruited by then. He might have felt he couldn't," said Sarah.
"That's bullshit though. He wouldn't have started work for the Agency until after graduation. He wasn't a spy yet," said Chuck. "Fleming even admitted he shouldn't have told him about the project."
"True. Well, he had his reasons for framing you. Maybe he had his reasons for the rest of it. Breaking into the Intersect and sending it to you," said Sarah. She was still twisted around in her seat to look at Chuck.
Finally, Casey said, "What the fuck, guys? Why would Larkin frame you to keep you out of the CIA and then, five years later, send you the Intersect?"
"It makes no sense," agreed Sarah, still trying to digest this new development.
Chuck said, "I know. He destroyed our friendship because he thought he was protecting me. And then he turns around and puts the biggest ever bullseye on my back by sending me this thing in my head. It's borderline schizophrenic. Casey's right. What the fuck?"
"This video does seem to indicate that you are a good candidate for the Intersect. Isn't that what Fleming said? The amount of information you can retain from subliminal images? I guess Bryce would have had his reason, but..." said Sarah.
"And just who does that asshole think he is?" asked Casey angrily. "Making this kind of decision for you? Not even talking to you about it? Destroying your life because he wants to protect you? Protect you?! You have the right to make your own decisions, for Chrissakes. What a douchebag. I'm glad I killed him. You don't need friends like him, kid."
"Oh, I know it, Case. We weren't friends. Before yes, but not after that."
"Well, it sounds like he really did think pretty highly of you, Chuck. What he said to Fleming on that tape matches what Candy said Bryce had told her about you. That you were a good guy," said Sarah.
"Yeah. Don't really know what the take-away is there. That this is the way he treats a good guy? That he'd really, really have screwed me over if he thought I was a bad guy? That I should consider myself lucky that I'm not locked-up in the sexual predator wing of a prison in Pakistan? That he was just doing me another favor when he started to sleep with my girlfriend? Maybe he thought she was ultimately not the right one for me? You know, that he was looking out for me there too?"
"Wait," said Casey. "What? He started to sleep with your girlfriend?"
"Yeah. After he got me kicked out of school to protect me from joining the CIA, my girlfriend dumped me and Bryce took up with her."
"Jesus. What an asshole. I changed my mind. I'm sorry I killed him. Now I wish he was alive so I could beat the shit out of him and then kill him again."
"And what's with Fleming? Why keep this video clip? This should have been destroyed right away. Why give this to the CIA?" asked Sarah.
"Well, he did think he was giving it to Bryce. At least that's what he said. To destroy. He thought Bryce would destroy it," said Chuck.
"Yeah, but what if he didn't?" said Sarah.
"You're right. Even if Bryce had never sent me the Intersect, this would have brought me to the CIA's attention. Five years later, but for sure. What the hell? Guess it's one more question for Fleming to answer. Dude's gonna be doing a lot of talking," said Chuck.
"Yeah, he is," said Casey, with an angry growl.
They drove in silence for a while longer, the dark road illuminated only by their headlights. Chuck was thinking about what Bryce had done to him, both at Stanford and then more recently. Finally, Chuck said, "Parts of the spy life really suck. Lying to everybody sucks. The violence sucks. Today sucked. All the violence today. Killing all those men. I don't like it. I mean, I know it's necessary, and it was self-defense and all, but it was terrible." Casey started to say something, but Chuck cut him off. "No, no, let me finish, Case. Please. The only reason I can be here now to face all this is because of you both. You've changed my life. You are the best thing to ever happen to me...Sarah, you being my girlfriend is the best, best thing that ever happened to me, by a long, long shot, but I'm deliberately not talking about my personal life here...working with you ...with you both, has given me purpose. I'm doing good and helping people. I feel that what I'm doing is important after five years of ...well, nothing. I want to be doing this. I'm not here just because with his last act on this Earth Bryce figured out yet another way to fuck me by putting this thing into my brain...I mean, I know that's right. I know that's how I ended up here and why you both work with me, but ...I want to be here, even if I don't want this thing inside my head. And I figure that eventually someone will figure out how to get this thing out of my head, and when that happens I'll go back to my old boring, but safe, life. But in the meantime, I want to be doing this, even with all the truly sucky parts, like Einerson and his men today...like Mead...Mead killing Reis. That really sucked. The fact that Mead bugged my messenger bag when he brought us sandwiches in Fleming's office and was listening to us for the last two days, at least until the bug's battery ran out. It all sucked. But even so I still wouldn't want to be anyplace else...Anyplace other than right here with you both...doing what we are doing. That's all. That's all I wanted to say."
Sarah reached out and squeezed his hand and gave him a soft smile. "I'm glad you're here with us too, Chuck."
"You're a good guy, Bartowski, but if you ever try to quote me on that I'll beat the crap out of you," said Casey with a small smile.
"Cone of silence, Case. Cone of silence."
"Right, see? I have no idea what you are talking about there," said Casey.
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Some time later, they were still on the road. Chuck was driving one-handed and holding Sarah's hand with his other hand. Casey was stretched out on the back seats, snoring quietly.
Speaking softly, so as not to wake Casey, Chuck said, "When did Bryce go rogue?"
"March...oh, you are wondering about Valentine's Day...yeah, we were still a couple on Valentine's Day this year. He told me he had to be out of town for work. I didn't ask...not my business. I mean, we were partners...professional partners...but each of us would get solo assignments from time to time too. No big deal. Secrecy, you know. He wouldn't have asked me and I didn't ask him. Guess I know what his solo assignment was in mid-February this year." She gave a rueful laugh.
"I'm sorry," said Chuck softly and squeezed her hand.
Sarah was silent for a while and finally said, "Thanks, Chuck. You don't have to be, though. I've been thinking about it a lot since this afternoon. I'm sort of … it's weird...I...I don't care. Weird, right? I actually don't care. Yeah, he was sleeping with Candy while he and I were a couple, but it doesn't bother me. I know what he was thinking. He was servicing an asset..."
"Servicing?" asked Chuck.
"Well, really servicing, I guess...just business. I'm sure Candy isn't an official asset, but he got her involved in the spy life, so he thought of her that way. They were both professionals, as it were. It was transactional. He didn't love her. It was just business. Did he like her? Probably. Hell, I like her. She's a nice girl in an unfortunate line of work. But he didn't love her. He would have considered it no big deal." Sarah was silent for a while looking at northern California pass by her windows. Eventually she said, half to herself, "I don't even care. Hmmm." She looked at Chuck silently for long seconds as he drove. When he turned to her, she squeezed his hand and gave him a little smile, then went back to looking out the window. She was tired and her hair was a mess and she was dirty from the day and smelled of cordite and sweat, and in the soft light from the dashboard, Chuck thought she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
Ten miles later she said, "I hate to admit it, but it was good to see him on that video though. He looked so much younger, but it was only a few years. Good to see him. We were a good, effective team for a while there. I want to remember that part."
"I know what you mean. Me too. It did bring back some happy memories. He and I were good friends for years. It must have tore him up to do what he did to me. We had a lot of good times, laughs. Rest in peace, Bryce," said Chuck. He squeezed her hand and she squeezed his in return.
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The next morning, Beckman and Graham looked out at Team Bartowski from the TV in the Palo Alto hotel suite.
"Do you believe Mead's story? About Fleming?" asked Beckman.
Sarah said, "It hangs together. It answers some questions I didn't get to ask Fleming. It never made any sense that Fleming would bolt when he saw Einerson in his classroom unless he recognized him and knew what he was there for. Einerson had to have known that Fleming had downloaded something and Fleming had to know that Einerson knew that. If he had been approached by Einerson already and not contacted Black Code, why didn't he? Well, dealing with these renegade spies would answer those questions. Having discussions about selling them the Project Omaha files."
"What is Project Omaha, anyway?" asked Chuck.
"It's the military spin-off of the Intersect. The CIA was further along in the research than the Pentagon, so they sub-contracted their research to the Agency," said Beckman.
"Well, it seems that the rogue element in the Intelligence Community is after the technology," said Sarah. "One thing we don't know is if Fleming knew Bryce was rogue when he contacted him months ago. Mead never said anything about Bryce. And we are no closer to finding out why Bryce went rogue in the first place. Did Bryce have anything to do with this organization Mead was talking about or did he go rogue for an entirely different reason? Is it safe to assume that Mead was part of the same group that first protected and then killed Zarnow and that you both have been trying to get a handle on for a while? He was just about to give us the name of his cabal when he was killed."
"We must work off that assumption, at least for the time being, that they are the same. To assume otherwise is to contemplate two separate, internal conspiracies, and we are not prepared to go there. Not at all," said Beckman with a shudder.
"If Mead was telling the truth, they had gotten to Fleming as well, even if he was not a fully committed participant," said Graham.
"Well," said Chuck, "as Sarah said, it explains why he bolted from the classroom when he saw Einerson. And why he wrote down the book location for the dead drop."
"What do you mean, Chuck?" asked Beckman.
"Think about it, General. He wanted me to give that note to Bryce not knowing Bryce is dead. Why? It was Bryce's dead drop. He was the last person in the world who needed that information written down. The location. All he had to tell me was to tell Bryce to service his dead drop. Done. But he didn't do that. He wrote it down. Not for Bryce, obviously, but for someone who didn't know the location of the drop. Some third party. Who? Einerson is the most likely candidate. Mead's story answers that puzzle too, if we can assume he was ready to trade the disk for a payoff. Maybe Fleming has a different explanation. I don't know."
Casey continued in the analysis in an angry growl, "He's got a lot of explanations yet to give us. Why was he hiding from us, for example? He calls for help and then makes it tough for us to find him. Hell, he could have just bought a burner phone, called Black Code again, and waited on a street corner for us to pick him up. No big deal."
"Agreed, Major. Fleming will be interrogated thoroughly to answer those questions. He's already been relocated to a secure CIA medical facility," said Beckman.
"Another thing," said Casey, holding his hand up to forestall them from cutting the connection. "The man whose cabin we were at...who held the disk for Bryce's girl. Frederick Reynolds."
"Yes, Major?" asked Beckman.
"I want to get him into the addiction rehab clinic the Intelligence Community runs in Wyoming. The one for officers and assets who have a problem. He's developed an opioid addiction after trying to come off a doc's prescription."
"He's a civilian. I don't think we can use government resources so freely, Major," said Beckman with a bit of a scowl.
"General, he held the disk with Fleming's files for us. He knows about my team. He knows about whatever Mead's outfit had running. He participated in the gunfight at the cabin. All that information in the mind of an addict might be a security risk. I consider it a matter of National Security that he receive treatment...vital National Security." Casey said them as if they were magic words. He was almost sure he saw a tiny smile on Graham's face. Certainly there was a sparkle in his brown eyes.
"Vital National Security?...Do you agree, Agent Walker?" Graham asked.
"One hundred percent, Sir. And, what's more, we all know that treatment is more effective with the support of family. I view it as essential that his sister accompany him to Wyoming. They should be there as long as it takes Freddy...Mr. Reynolds, to get clean and sober."
"An excellent idea," said Casey.
"I don't see any security ramifications here," said Beckman, but Graham seemed to ignore her.
"Chuck? Your view?" Graham was still concealing a smile, but maybe not quite as much.
"I concur wholeheartedly with Major Casey and Agent Walker. It is a matter of vital National Security." Chuck maintained a serious straight face, but looking at Graham's tiny smile it wasn't so easy to do so.
"Very well, then. My responsibility, General. I will make that happen, Team. Leave it to me," said Graham. Beckman looked sour, as if she had bitten into a lemon. Graham continued "Once again, a fine job, Team. Thank you all. And Chuck, a special thanks to you. I know heading back to Stanford wasn't easy for you. I want you to know that that difficulty is both recognized and appreciated."
"Thank you, Sir. One last thing, if I may. I'm in Fleming's Omaha files," said Chuck.
"Why?" asked Beckman.
"What do you mean?" asked Graham.
"Fleming taped meetings in his office. He taped a conversation he had with Bryce Larkin where they agreed to conspire to frame me for cheating on Fleming's exam to keep me out of the CIA."
Graham's face darkened immediately. "That makes no sense. Why keep you out of the CIA and then send you the Intersect? Sending you that ensures your involvement with us...with the Intelligence Community. What the hell was Larkin thinking?"
"I have no idea, Sir. And we can no longer ask him," said Chuck.
Graham said, "Framed you? Got you kicked out of Stanford? … Are you kidding me? Destroyed everything you had worked for...to keep you away from me...what the fuck? And yet...here you are. Well, maybe I can no longer ask Larkin, but I can sure as hell ask Fleming. I'm going to be having a long conversation with Fleming about a lot of things. A very long conversation." He sounded really, really angry, but it seemed the angrier he got, the quieter his voice became. Chuck hoped he was never going to be on the receiving end of that anger, because it was pretty scary.
"Yes, Sir," said Chuck.
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AN2: Those of you who have been with me for a while now know of my antipathy to plot holes. This episode had more than its share. It took a bit of a longer story to try to close them. I hope I didn't miss any or (God forbid) create any of my own.
A/N3: The next chapter is either an epilogue to the Stanford arc or a prologue to the Payne arc. I'm not sure it matters too much. Suffice it to say, the event it depicts happens between those two arcs.