Chapter 19

2012 Pt. 2

I

August 05-13

Beckman had spent over a week in the hands of her captors. Truthfully, it hadn't been a miserable experience – the room she was locked in for most of her days was rather comfortable, with guards who acted almost like hotel staff toward her. She had food whenever she needed it, television if ever she wanted it, and even a wide selection of books to study at her leisure. Of course, she did none of these things: her time was spent either in meetings with Martin Shaw or in strategizing.

It was pointless, in her current position, to wonder whether she was being played by Martin's promise to give it all up for Chuck; no, for now she could only work on how she was going to turn him, and hope that the Guardian take-down would eventually materialize in the meantime.

The first step in turning an enemy is getting to know them: you have to understand what they want, what they crave, and convince them you can offer it to them – or at least, offer more than their current allegiance. Shaw had obviously already made it clear he was after Chuck's head, but obviously this was out of the question for Beckman. No, she had to find something deeper within him.

Could she use Daniel? Surely he was still alive, but where? Who swapped him with the corpse she saw in his cell? Since Martin thinks Chuck killed his brother, it would stand to reason Chuck was the one down there with him.

But after thinking for some time, Beckman realized that was preposterous: Chuck was fully on-board with using Daniel for the Intersect experiments. There was no reason to change tack so suddenly. Not only that, but Chuck was no killer – perhaps Daniel tested his limits, but the guard whose keycard was taken was completely innocent.

But… who else could have had the technology used to incinerate that body so completely? Martin himself called it the technology of a Bartowski, and unless Ellie had decided to so suddenly flip the board over…

Unless it was all a trick. Think about it, Beckman told herself: who else could have gotten a hand on Bartowski tech: perhaps the Ring operatives who killed Orion. Daniel was among them.

What if this whole thing was a ploy, a move orchestrated by Martin to save his brother and implicate Chuck in the process? Martin's word was all Beckman had on the subject of who was down in that cell block before her; maybe he was among them?

But that still left open a pretty big question: Why continue the whole Guardian charade?

No, the Guardians wouldn't stop with Daniel's freedom and Chuck's capture. They were much too sophisticated a group only to want that. Moreover, if they did just want Daniel and Chuck, there were much simpler ways to go about nabbing – well, for nabbing Daniel at least.

After about the first day of ruminating, Beckman came to the following conclusions: First, Martin Shaw had to be telling the truth about being stuck under the authority of this group: she had already observed enough of him quarreling with other members in voice calls alone, and regardless of whether he was really the one who took Daniel from his cell, there was no other reason for him to bring her here and tell her these things about wanting to trade Chuck for freedom from the Guardians. Second, and a corollary to the first: Martin Shaw hated being controlled by the Guardians. Perhaps she could use this.

It certainly wasn't enough to hedge on, so for the seven or so days thereafter, Beckman spent as much time as she could with Martin. He himself wanted to use that time to strategize with her on how to execute his stated plan, so it was relatively easy for her to extract extraneous bits of info that she could use to put together a rudimentary profile of her captor.

From what she gathered, Martin Shaw had grown up in the loving shadow of his brother Daniel: For all Daniel had basked in the spotlight of his family and friends, Martin stood behind, less regarded but always happy to cheer his brother on. Daniel, Beckman gathered, had either loved his younger brother or shown false appreciation to keep him happy; either way, he was likely deliberate in keeping the attention to himself.

Daniel had originally chosen a life of Service to his Country possibly with the aim of gaining power, for according to his younger brother, he was "eager to climb the ladder, always letting those around him know whenever he'd been promoted or received a commendation – which happened a lot, I might add. Impressive man, he was…" Additionally, for reasons Beckman never managed to ascertain, but which must have been related to Daniel's quest for power, he had arranged for Martin to move away and change his identity around the time Daniel had decided to enlist.

Daniel had only written occasionally to Martin in the years that followed, ceasing completely when his wife was killed. "The last thing I'd heard, in his final letter, was that his wife had learned something – 'a big secret' was all he called it, and maybe even all he knew about it, since it didn't sound like his wife was ready to reveal it. It was about one of their superiors in the agency. It's been so long, I don't remember the name. It might have started with a 'G'."

"Graham?" Beckman offered, putting the pieces together in her head faster than Martin could.

Martin stared at her with a mixture of intensity and quizzicality.

"Langston Graham was Director of Central Intelligence at the time; he ordered Sarah Walker's Red Test against Daniel's wife. I was never given knowledge of his reasoning, but if she learned something damaging about him…"

Another hit: Perhaps answers as to why Daniel's wife was murdered could be traded.

Unfortunately, this was all the life history Martin would provide; still not enough for a coherent strategy to turn him.

II

August 14

Beckman had made her way back to DC the night before, and she was exhausted. So, naturally, she arrived early to work the next day. Her inferiors and equals had all been concerned by her absence – not for the length, but for its proximity to Daniel Shaw's death. To be honest, most were surprised to ever see her again.

Beckman had no time for any of them – except for Chuck himself. Unsurprisingly, he was just as interested in meeting with her.

"What on Earth were you thinking?"

They were in a small empty room with nothing but a tall window with half-closed slat blinds. Little light streamed in, the low morning sun opposite them, but what did streaked across both of their torsos, leaving their heads in shadow.

Beckman chose her words carefully; she needed to know what Chuck knew, and she wasn't sure if he would outright tell her. "I was down there, as you know, when Daniel was killed. I watched him die. I watched his body incinerate so completely, not a trace was found. The new model NSA Incinerators couldn't come close to that level of perfection."

"What… the hell… is wrong with you?"

From his reaction, Beckman confirmed Chuck had nothing to do with Shaw's disappearance.

She wouldn't tell him he was still alive.

"I watched him die, but I didn't kill him."

"Oh sure, you didn't kill him. You, who were there that night, who wanted to stop me from using Shaw to save all of us from these monsters, totally didn't kill him."

"You don't have to believe me, Chuck. The Guardians do.

"They think you killed him."

Chuck was as much confused by Beckman's speech as he was outraged. "What… did they turn you or something?"

Beckman rolled her eyes. "Chuck, listen to me: something strange happened down there last night. Shaw was killed, Heather Chandler escaped, and no one knows who's behind it. But here's the thing: it doesn't matter what happened down there. We have much bigger problems." (One would imagine locating one of the most dangerous men in the world was one of the "bigger problems," but Beckman's mind was nowhere near Daniel Shaw right now.) "The Guardians want a new test subject. They won't tolerate any more delays or feet-dragging – they're demanding someone they can use immediately. Chuck, if you don't find someone else fast, they're going to demand you."

"I don't know if I can stop them if they—"

"You can't be one of their subjects; I'm glad we at least agree on that. But they don't know where the Volkoff's are, and no one seems to know what happened to the Gretas, so unless you can think of anyone else who can make a good Intersect candidate, you and your family are in danger."

"General I… This is a lot…

"I need time to come up with a plan."

"There's more: I think I might be able to turn Martin Shaw."

The expression on Chuck's dimly lit face was all she needed to know he thought she was crazy.

"I spent the last week with him. He feels suffocated under the Guardians, and he genuinely wants out. The issue is, right now he'll only turn if I give him you." Beckman put her hand up at Chuck's reaction. "Relax, Chuck, I'm not doing that. I need time to find something he wants more deeply. A good start would be finding out why Langston Graham ordered Sarah to kill Daniel's wife. Martin was obsessed with his brother: we can use that at the very least."

"We stall, you work Martin, I learn as much as I can about Graham."

Beckman nodded. As she opened the door to leave, she turned back to her colleague: "And Chuck, don't look for the Gretas. If we have to provide another Intersect candidate, it must not be anyone competent."

It took until after she left for Chuck to realize what she was implying.

III

September 22

So far, Beckman's plan to work Martin was not seeing much success; but on this night came a breakthrough.

He had been some (not-quite-intentional) help in stalling the Intersect project: he didn't want Chuck involved since he wanted Chuck for himself, and the other known Intersect candidates were slow to be found – he was a little too trusting of Beckman's excuses, perhaps. But it wasn't until tonight's… irregular meeting did Beckman truly understand why, and what she could potentially do next.

Shaw had planned to spend the thirty minutes prior preparing in his apartment. His partner, one of the Guardians watching over Beckman the month before, was with him.

"You know she's playing you, right?"

"I don't know, I think she's right about Chuck. We need him docile if we're going to execute our takeover properly. I'm confident we will locate another subject within the week."

"You said that last month, Martin! I don't know what has gotten into you, but—

"Enough with the cologne." She put her hands on Martin's shoulders and pushed him around to face her. "Listen, I don't mind wining, dining, or even fucking a mark. But this woman is not an asset to be turned: she's an enemy operative. What are you thinking?"

Martin let out a frustrated sigh. He had had enough of this woman. He had only dated her so she – one of the organization's Directors – could vouch for him in times of high scrutiny. "You really want to know what's been going on in my head, Sally?" He put his hands firmly on her shoulders and started walking her into their large Master Bedroom. "All my life, I thought I had inherited the same qualities as my brother, except for one." The woman struggled, but couldn't free herself. "I had the same lust for power, the same yearning for revenge… but it wasn't until I met Diane that I realized, when it comes to the right woman, I do have the same sense of passion my dearly departed brother felt toward his fiancé."

Martin checked his shoes as he departed his apartment.

IV

September 22-23

For Beckman's part, she knew the moment she had been seated in this way-too-romantic restaurant what Shaw had planned – and what her angle would be. She long detested the idea of romantically manipulating an asset, even as she commanded her inferiors to do such a thing so often in her career. Nor did she understand what Shaw saw in her, an agent over a decade his senior who had done nothing to show affection for him; her only goal had been intel gathering, which necessitated those long nights of stealth interrogating through feigned interest in what he liked and…

Oh dear God… Beckman thought to herself. It was at that moment that she realized that Martin Shaw, as brilliant as he might have been at plotting and scheming, was no spy, and had so little social awareness at spycraft that she really didn't need to try as hard as she had to infiltrate and even potentially turn him. It was a fascinating weakness, not unlike some of Chuck's own shortcomings, and it perfectly explained why Martin could not completely gain the trust of his colleagues and inferiors in the Guardians – and why he was not fit to lead them at all.

If she could get Martin, the brilliant biochemist who designed the bioweapon threatening the Government of the United States, to simply feel loved, perhaps she could get him to betray the organization built entirely around his own prowess. From there, nothing else would matter.

But the next morning, after she had left the apartment into which she had invited Martin the night before, her anxieties returned. The conversation the pair had shared the night before was not entirely pleasant, and there was one person she needed to consult.

They met in the same cramped room in which they had argued five weeks before. Beckman began with her own explanation: "I know how we can disable the threat against us, but I need more time to acquire the antidote for their bioweapon. The Guardians won't give us any more time to stall; we need to find a candidate now."

"I've already told you, I'm not—"

"No, Chuck, not you. We need a candidate who can't possibly succeed. Someone we can string along just long enough to get that antidote and turn the tables."

"Wh—what are you talking about?"

"Someone whose only Intersect experience was malware, Chuck."

It took Chuck a second. "No. No goddamn way! You are not—"

"Chuck, I promise you, no harm will come to him. We'll give him bogus tests, throw red herrings and roadblocks every step of the way. Just like we did with Daniel. I only need a few weeks."

"How are you so sure you can get the antidote from Shaw?"

"Because, Chuck, Martin Shaw is…" she hesitated before finally deciding to keep it vague: "He's a lot easier to manipulate than I thought."

Then she turned to leave, but this time Chuck stopped her: "Wait. About the other thing: I didn't flash on anything in Graham's files."

"Figures, most of the info we had on him was scrubbed even before he died."

"But there was one file I recovered from cold storage; someone tried to delete it, but they didn't realize there was a backup. Everything in that file was redacted except one name: someone called Claude Declan. Do you know what that means?"

"Of course: it was one of the shallow codenames of a protégé of his: Clyde Decker."

Chuck's eyes widened. "That Clyde Decker? The agent who tried to kill my friends, who said everything in my life was orchestrated as part of some grand plan?"

Beckman nodded.

"What did he even mean by that, anyway? At first I thought it was an empty threat, but… I mean if he's connected to Graham, to Sarah's Red Test… could it really be true?"

"I don't know, Chuck. But I do know his files are classified at an even higher level of clearance than the Intersect is authorized for. I'll try to find something myself, but the main priority for you right now is to get that candidate."

"General, I—"

"I know, Chuck. For all we've been through, for everything that's happened over the past few months, I hope you know that I truly don't want to hurt you, or your friend. I promise they'll be okay… you just need to trust me."

V

September 24

"Hey, Chuck! Long time no see," Morgan greeted as he opened the ajar door into the apartment of the despondent man sitting on a stiff chair, hands cupped together, head down almost implanted into the document opened up in front of him on the dining room table. It had just come in the mail. "Is that… uhh…" he tried to dance around the elephant in the room.

"Yeah, Morgan, it's exactly what you think it is." Chuck's voice was low.

"Are you gonna sign it?"

"It's what she wants…"

Morgan sat down next to his best friend and patted him on the back.

"I thought I could fix it. I thought I could be the hero and and and win her back or…"

"I know, buddy. I know…"

"I'm never gonna have anyone like her again, will I?"

"Yes you will."

Chuck looked to his bearded friend, almost annoyed at his positivity. "What makes you so sure?"

"Because, Chuck, if you just give Sarah some space, she'll come back to you."

"…Some space?"

"Yeah, I mean, I gave Alex some space when she needed it, and look where we are now!"

"That's easy for you to say. Alex isn't a spy with a baby on the way."

"Chuck, I've seen you and Sarah for the better part of five years now. I know she loves you, and I know she's not gonna risk hurting your child. I also know that she's not gonna be satisfied sitting around like an old housewife. You gotta let her… you gotta let her be herself, Chuck. You two will work out just fine if you just give her that."

Chuck sighed. "How can you say that with so much confidence, when you haven't even seen either of us in over half a year?"

"Because, Chuck, Sarah's a lot like you. She's passionate, and she's restless. She's a spy, Chuck. You gotta remember that."

"And what about our baby?"

"You two will work something out. I mean, c'mon, Chuck, you're gonna have to figure something out no matter what.

"What happens when the world needs saving when you have custody?"

Chuck didn't respond.

"W—I mean, if you get divorced, you are going to have shared custody, aren't you?"

Chuck remained silent.

Morgan sighed, hitting the soft back of the couch with his head in realization. "This was never just about Sarah, was it?

"Chuck, it's normal to have cold feet. I mean, having a child is a huge step. It's not gonna be easy, and – and you'll make some mistakes, sure, but at the end of the day, you're gonna be a great dad.

"It's what you've always wanted, dude."

"You don't know what it's like, Morgan."

"Well… no, I suppose you're right. But… I've seen you work the Nerd Herd! Those guys are basically children. Especially Jeff and Lester. And look where they are now! Touring the world with their terrible, supposedly ironic sound. They wouldn't have gotten there without you."

Chuck finally pulled himself out of his hands. "Be for real, Morgan."

"Look, Chuck, just—" Morgan grabbed the manila folder from the table, "don't sign anything just yet.

"Write Sarah a letter. Explain yourself. Then give her some time, and if she doesn't write back, or if she does and it's not what you wanted to hear, then… you just gotta move on from there."

Morgan waited for a response, but Chuck remained silent.

"Alright, tell you what: I'll give you a day to think about it," Morgan finally said, standing up with the folder. "I'll be back tomorrow, we can talk about this again, and if you really wanna sign it, I'll give it back. Sound good?"

Chuck didn't answer. Morgan took that as affirmation, and walked out the door, feeling good about his role as BFF.

Chuck didn't have the stomach to tell his best friend why he had actually been called all the way to DC on such short notice. Not when he had just been dealt such a blow from Sarah. Maybe he could do it tomorrow, when he'd be feeling better.

Unfortunately for him, Chuck wasn't the only one who knew Morgan, a known former Intersect, was now in DC.