Chapter 18
2012 Pt. 1
I
June 09
Beckman returned to her office, frustrated and depressed. She sat in front of her ornate cherry desk, pulled open the center drawer over her lap, and withdrew a pen and paper. On this, she began drafting her resignation letter.
For over thirty-five years, I have honorably served this great Country, she began. There she stopped.
She had never felt so strongly about anything in her entire life. Nor so conflicted. Was she really about to abandon a post she had worked so tirelessly for since she was sixteen? For a cause so patriotic to her? Over one subject's insubordination?
But could she really stay and watch powerlessly as that subject took increasingly desperate emotional risks, gambling with the safety of the entire country, just to impress a woman?
No… that wasn't what was driving her away. This wasn't just some unmanageable subject, this was Chuck Bartowski – her best agent. One whom, she had to admit at this point, she cared for. She was watching him fall apart. And she couldn't bear it.
But… Beckman sighed. She knew that running was not the answer. The stakes were too high. For the sake of this country, and her friends, she needed to find another way.
II
June 09
Chuck walked briskly, with his head held high and shoulders pulled back confidently, into the maximum-security CIA cellblock thirty floors below ground. He was flanked on both sides by two rows of three heavily-armed agents; but of course, he himself needed nothing more than the Intersect.
His posturing as he approached Daniel Shaw's cell wasn't entirely conceited as one might think: Shaw's and Chuck's rivalry originated with Sarah, so Chuck's current relationship status gave him a self-conscious air from which he needed to distract (or in perhaps less kind terms, he needed to compensate).
Regardless, he felt no fear as he used his keycard to unlock Shaw's cell.
"No shackles today?" Chuck asked semi-sarcastically when he saw Shaw standing by his small cell bed, completely unbound.
"Good behavior," Shaw returned with a wry smile.
Manipulative bastard, Chuck thought, but he just returned Shaw's smile mockingly as he approached and forcefully cuffed his nemesis.
"So where's your better half," Shaw jabbed as Chuck half-dragged him out of his cell.
"Wouldn't you like to know." Chuck embellished his response with a chuckle, but Shaw knew he'd struck a nerve.
"I would, actually – thought I'd send her some gifts for the little bundle of joy she—"
Chuck buried his fist in Shaw's gut. The guards – all loyal CIA brethren – saw nothing.
"Yeah…" Shaw grimaced, "figured I wasn't invited to the shower."
"Don't worry, you've got something much more interesting to look forward to."
"I've heard!" Shaw smirked, then added to answer Chuck's quizzical expression, "there's this visitation program. Only for the best-behaved prisoners—"
"Oh yeah? Do good boys like you get an extra juice box with lunch too?"
"You jest, but you should see the action I get around here these days. This girl – you might know her, actually – she told me all about the Guardians' plans with me. Once you put another Intersect in my head, it'll all be over for you, your friends, your family – everyone."
"You know Shaw, your threats might be a little more convincing if you weren't my prisoner."
"Oh, I wouldn't call it a threat. You see, I know all about what you're going through. And I know that no matter what I say, nothing is going to stop you from putting the Guardians' Intersect into my head, because you're an idiot." This comment caught Chuck off-guard; Shaw continued. "Your wife left you. You haven't even bothered to get back in touch with her, because you got it in your stupid little head that the only way to 'win her back' is by becoming the hero again. You want to bring all the Guardians together into one little room and take us all down. Kinda like how you dealt with The Ring, isn't it? Maybe you're just out of ideas; don't worry, it happens to everyone.
"It doesn't really matter what I say, because you think, no matter what, you'll end up winning. Again. And to be frank, for all I know you could be right. Again. But I have confidence in my team.
"So I wouldn't call it a threat. I'd call it… savoring the moment."
By this time, they'd been riding the final elevator to their destination. Chuck wasn't sure what to think of Daniel's remarks. After all, he was remarkably on-the-nose about everything: He knew what Chuck was planning, and he knew that no matter what he said, Chuck wasn't going to relent. So… did Daniel really have a shot this time? Or was he just trying to get under Chuck's skin.
As the elevator approached their floor, Chuck decided: Daniel knowing his moves was nothing new. It wasn't a superior intellect that had that had given Chuck his wins, but passion for his friends and family.
III
August 01
Chuck sat with his team in the Pentagon meeting room, on a conference call with Guardian operatives. Shaw stood toward the back – shackled, naturally. Beckman stood in the sidelines, listening but unwilling to take an active part of any operation involving Daniel Shaw. Besides, she had other communications to attend to – if anyone would actually respond to her messages.
"Our scans confirmed the failure of our joint operation," a voice from the call informed. "It appears the Omen Virus remains operational. We cannot continue without the removal of this adversarial programming.
"Our technicians have analyzed the software your agency developed to thwart the original virus in their own computer networks, and we believe we can configure it into another Intersect upload, with your agency's assistance of course.
"It is required," the voice of the Chairman added after hearing no response from Chuck's team, "that you comply. Otherwise, we will be forced to use… other means to bring this about."
"Chuck," Beckman, alarmed by these plans, whispered. "Chuck, mute the mic."
Chuck ignored her.
"Chuck, don't even think about it, Chu—"
"We'll arrange a joint session in the morning," Chuck declared, assertively hanging up the call.
"CHUCK?!" Beckman called out in disbelief. But he ignored her. Quite frankly, he was getting pretty frustrated with Beckman's constant objections. How could she not see he needed to do this, for their Country and for Sarah?
"I don't know, Chuck," Shaw replied in mocking sympathy. "Once I have the power to kill you again—"
"Shut up, Daniel," Chuck rolled his eyes.
"I'm just saying, I'm a Shaw: Revenge runs in our blood. You still have a chance to turn back before—"
"Gag him," Chuck directed one of the guards standing next to the prisoner. Then he sighed. "Everyone dismissed," he decided, "we have work to do."
But Beckman didn't leave with the rest of them. The last thing the government needed was the threat of an operational Daniel Shaw on top of the Guardians themselves. Yet Chuck showed nothing but utter disdain for this threat whenever she tried to bring it up.
"Chuck," she spoke softly, slowly, almost begging; "take a step back and think about what you're doing. Truly, seriously think about it."
This tone was new for the General, and in spite of their prior tension, Chuck responded conciliatorily. "General… I know this seems brash and and and crazy and all that… but we have to do this. It's the only chance we have of flushing them out. We don't have time to ar—"
"Time? Chuck, we need more time." She slowed her speech even more, emphasizing every word of her next sentences. "We need more time to plan. I haven't told you this before – in fact, I've told as few people as possible – but two months ago, I assembled a clandestine team to try and find these people. They've found nothing. These spies… they're too good. And I don't understand why you think giving one of the most dangerous people in the world an Intersect will change that."
Chuck let out a deep sigh. "I've explained this to you before: He's not just one of the most dangerous people in the world: He's a Shaw. His brother will—"
"They've been estranged for—"
"His brother will make a move for an Intersect."
"WHY? Chuck, why? They're not stupid. They won't walk into the lion's den."
"They won't have a choice!"
"With an Intersect of their own on the inside?"
"Do you seriously doubt me, General?"
"Chuck, you're an Intersect. No, you're more than that: you're the greatest agent I've ever worked with. But you're not invincible."
Chuck looked deep into Beckman's eyes. He thought for a moment before responding. "We don't have time for this. If you don't have a better idea right now, then please, General: stay out of my way."
IV
August 02
The General wasn't the only one alarmed at the Guardians' plan. Having been as deep undercover as Orion was over the past two years, he had to find new, more creative means of monitoring his family.
His method of choice was hacking into his own tools he had previously bequeathed unto Chuck. The wrist-computer and Governor were his targets – the latter would be guaranteed to be with Chuck 24/7, but the former had much greater technological capabilities (such as video monitoring).
These devices were created by Stephen; thus, they realistically could only be compromised by a Bartowski. He felt conflicted in pulling this task off: on the one hand, it felt like an insult to his prowess (and ego) to mar his prized possessions like this; but on the other, the fate of the world was sorta at-stake, and all that.
The Governor streamed audio of the meeting the day before. This was too much for Stephen not to intervene. He didn't understand why his son was acting so irrational, but he knew he had to put a stop to this plan of his.
An expert sleuth, all Stephen needed was a working keycard (he could easily "borrow" a high-level agent's for just long enough to make a copy), a body (a certain serial killer recently transferred from a state prison to a local morgue would do), and an incendiary device.
The break-in was a cinch. After all, this was about the sixth or seventh time Orion's had to break into a highly-classified government facility in the last decade. Even burdened with a 200-pound body stuffed in a giant duffel bag, he managed to navigate through guarded rooms without being spotted, get to Shaw's cell, incapacitate his target with a little gas bomb, swap bodies, and rig the incendiary device to burn so hot it'd cremate any biologics within that cell the moment the timer went off.
Unfortunately, even a master like Orion wasn't perfect; or perhaps his age was starting to give him a blind spot. Either way, he nearly had a heart attack once he heard the "psst!" behind him.
"Hey," a voice whispered through the meal slot of the cell opposite Shaw's. "Need some help with that?" A finger protruded, pointing toward the duffel bag.
Orion had done his homework before the break-in: he studied the patterns of the prisoners in the cell block, so he knew they should all be asleep by now. Yet, she wasn't…
His first thought was to eliminate the witness. But… he wasn't a killer – not when he didn't have to be, at any rate. What complicated matters further was who exactly this prisoner was:
"Heather Chandler," he greeted trepidatiously.
"You know me?"
"I know everything about you… except why you're still here."
"Yeah, well, turns out saving Chuck's team's asses was only worth commuting three of my seventy life sentences according to the US Government. Only 67 more to go!
"You don't happen to know any large-scale terrorist plots I can foil, do you?" she quipped sardonically.
Orion looked at his watch, thinking quickly. "I don't have time for idle chit-chat, and I-I'm guessing in your situation you don't have p-particularly tight lips."
Heather shrugged, but Orion couldn't see anything but the fingers protruding from the small meal slot.
Finally, Orion made up his mind; he pulled an earpiece from a pocket in his trench coat and passed it to Heather: "put this on."
Through the meal slot he could hear the device activating. "What is this?"
Orion briskly hacked open her cell door. "Knowing who you are, I expect you'll cooperate," he explained as he handed the heavy bag to the surprisingly buff agent. "But, uhh, if I die or you try to cross me, well, th-that thing will detonate."
"Ring tech, nice." She sounded genuinely impressed.
"Actually, it's one of mine," he explained bitterly as they began their escape. "Rather unhappy with the deadly modifications they made, but I suppose it came in handy this time."
He silenced himself as the pair sneaked through an area of heavy patrol, utilizing another one of his own wrist computers to monitor others' movements. Eventually, they made it out and over to an escape vehicle he had stashed. Orion stopped Heather in front of him, looked at his watch, and used his fingers to count down the seconds. Once he got to zero, the pair noticed alarms blaring back at the facility they had just escaped. "You are now a top-priority escaped convict. If the United States government ever finds you, they will kill you. The earpiece is the stick, but here's the carrot: If you help me, I will give you a new life: an untraceable identity. You'll be able to remain in this country or leave it without fear. Do you understand?"
Heather nodded. Then she put the pieces together. "Hey, I know you. You're that guy who keeps faking his death. Chuck's daddy, right?"
"You can call me Orion."
V
August 02
One of the blips on Orion's wrist computer as he made his escape was none other than General Beckman, who, in those early morning hours, had decided the only play was to go drastic.
She was there to kill Daniel Shaw.
The General didn't have Orion's stealth, but she didn't care. Guards saw her, acknowledged her presence – one even asked her how she was doing (to which she did not reply) – there was no hiding this. The only thing she had going for her was a silencer and the fact that the next sweep of Shaw's cellblock would not commence for another thirty minutes.
But, of course, things didn't go according to plan: when she made it to Shaw's cell, Beckman saw a completely different body within.
"What the he—"
As she was about to open the cell to investigate, Orion's incendiary device activated. The room was filled with a blinding light and the sound of some sort of chemicals burning. It was lucky Beckman didn't get to the door milliseconds sooner, or she might have suffered the same fate as the poor cadaver within.
But the General didn't have time to investigate this intrusion – nor did she have the mere seconds it would take to wonder what Daniel Shaw's disappearance meant for… everything. For the alarms were blaring, and Beckman – with means, motive, and opportunity – could only think about how she was going to get out of there.
VI
August 04
She had managed to shuffle past guards without being suspected – after all, she wasn't the one who started that fire that everyone else thought killed Shaw, so when she would run into a guard and alert them of the explosion in his cell, she sounded perfectly genuine.
Unfortunately, this didn't change anything: she knew it was only a matter of time before her colleagues discovered her in security footage of that facility, figured out 1 + 1 = 2, and accused her.
As drastic as her murder attempt was, she had no intention to let herself get caught; immediately upon reaching her car, she set out on a long trek west. But fleeing was not her intent: while it was true that she had contemplated desertion, the events of the past couple months had – perhaps ironically – steeled her resolve. No, she wasn't trying to flee, even when she would undoubtedly be arraigned for Daniel Shaw's murder.
She, in fact, had a much more important task: She had to snap Chuck out of it, and the only way she knew how was to get to the one thing Chuck wanted more than anything else.
After a two-day drive with only a short stop to rest, Beckman greeted Sarah Bartowski at the house Chuck had bought for them many months ago. She was in her third trimester, and she was – to put it lightly – protective of the child growing inside her. Still, Beckman thought the gun at her face was a bit much.
"Sarah, may I come in?" She asked coolly.
"Have you been followed?"
Beckman returned a smug glare as if to retort that Sarah new her better than that.
"I heard you killed Shaw." Sarah said flatly as she let Beckman slide into the door, lowering her gun but refusing to put it away. She gestured her guest to sit on a couch in the living room, opposite which Sarah reclined in a large, comfortable chair.
"Spying on us?"
Sarah shrugged.
"Then you must know what your husband has been up to."
"Is that why you're here? To convince me to take him back, to stop him from getting himself killed?"
Beckman looked at her with pain in her eyes; what she heard sounded a lot more like the Sarah of 2007 than the Sarah of 2011. "Surely you don't want that?"
Sarah dropped her eyes to her hands, which she began fidgeting together. "No, I don't. It's… it's complicated between me and Chuck. You wouldn't understand."
"How much of the past five years do you remember, Sarah?"
Sarah didn't answer.
"Last I saw you, you and Chuck were saving my life. You had just remembered Irene Demova, the virus Chuck used to defuse a bomb on your first mission. Is that the last thing you—"
"I remember everything." Sarah's admission, through a stifled sob, took Beckman aback. "All of it. Chuck had this… well, it was Morgan's idea, really." She gave a nervous chuckle. "He kissed me, and I… remembered everything.
"But… everything wasn't perfect. Our relationship wasn't perfect. Sometimes, Chuck could be… a little controlling. Like when he got upset with me for wanting a prenup, or with the kid and working and…" She sighed. "You know him, he has these ideals sometimes, and they're not always exactly what I wanted. He wanted this nuclear family, stay-at-home mom, these things that…
"The thing is… we had gotten through a lot of it once already. And maybe it's stupid of me to be obsessing over them again, but… when I remembered everything, I remembered everything, at once. The good and the bad. It was a lot for me to handle.
"We talked about it, for a bit, but eventually I told him that I needed some time to decompress. To figure everything out. It was around the time I'd found out I was pregnant. That night on the beach… Well, anyway, when I told him about the baby, he told me he wanted to spend at least the first few years at home, I told him that wasn't who I was, and, well, eventually, here we are. I offered couple's counseling, but I guess he thought saving the world again was a better plan."
Beckman looked at the dejected agent with steeled resolve. "Sarah, I'm sorry, but I'm not a marriage counselor. I am, however, a high-level government agent dealing with a major national crisis. And if the only thing stopping that crisis is you staying at home with your child for four or five years, then I'm sorry, but that will just have to be your next mission."
Sarah glared back at her former boss. "I don't want Chuck to get himself hurt, but I'm not going to give up my life and my passion just because he thinks I'm made of glass."
"When you took your oath, you gave your life for this Country. I'm sorry you apparently don't remember that, Agent Walker, but the fact is, I will not let you refuse this mission." Beckman stood to look down at her inferior.
Sarah stayed seated. "With all due respect, General, you're not my boss anymore."
"If you think that will stop me, you're more naïve than I thought."
"I think all your influence went down the drain when you murdered Daniel."
Beckman thought for a moment before responding: "Don't believe everything you hear." Then she walked to the door. "Expect me again soon," she added, before slamming it behind her.
She made it three steps. Suddenly, a gag wrapped firmly around her panic-stricken face. Her screams were too muffled for Sarah or anyone else to hear, and at the late hour, no one saw when she was dragged into the back of a dark van.
Her assailants were masked, but the person she was forcibly seated opposite was not. "Well well," he reacted in mock-surprise at the sight of his captive; "if it isn't the bitch who killed my brother."
VII
August 05
Heather watched Orion complete yet another transfer of his prisoner: Shaw, not let further awake than a heavy daze their entire trek west, was put back to a complete sleep before Orion removed him from the third getaway vehicle this trip – while he was sure they were safe with the escape, one could never be too careful. This time, however, there would be no more transfers. Instead, Shaw's body was hoisted out of the van and walked slowly to a small, unassuming building on the outskirts of Seattle, Washington. In here, a trapdoor led to a large, maze-like underground bunker – a hallmark of Orion for decades prior (and since).
Heather followed casually, remarking how dreary the city looked as she entered the building, and how similarly sad the bunker was when she climbed down.
Orion turned to her after electronically securing the perimeter: "You don't have to wear that when you're down here," he offered with kindness, safely removing her explosive earpiece. "I hope you understand I mean you no harm, I I just, c-can't take any chances these days."
"It must be hard having to trick your whole family into believing you're dead."
Orion slowly shook his head. "It's my best chance at keeping them safe. All of them."
The room in which the pair stood was only lit lowly, but didn't appear to have much in it. Heather was almost startled when she saw Orion wheel out a long gurney with body restraints. As she watched the old man tie Shaw securely into it, she wondered aloud, "so how come you didn't just ice the dude back east?"
"There are… experiments on the human Intersect. Tests I-I-I never… I never thought humane to try. A-And certainly n-not on my son. This man here… Th-this man is deserving of those experiments. H-he-he's going to become a critical part of my research i-in ways no one else could even imagine."
After a moment of silence, he added: "D-do you have a problem with this?"
"Nah," Heather said nonchalantly. "Just curious."
She watched Orion wheel Shaw back into the darkness. "To your left is a door, past which this place gets much more comfortable. Feel free to make yourself at home. Oh, and Heather," he added, pulling the door open to illuminate the entire room with striking fluorescents from beyond the door, standing in front of it to cast his whole body in shadow. "D-don't come in this room. You don't want to see what goes on in here."
VIII
August 05
Over 1000 miles south, Beckman found herself in the same situation as Daniel: Imprisoned in an underground bunker. But instead of being tied to a gurney, she was simply guarded in a locked room with a surprisingly comfortable bed. The woman guarding her was the only other face she'd seen in this place, but she would not stay long before Martin Shaw rapped on the door and dismissed her with a look that suggested he held a deep physical attraction to her.
"Don't mind Sally, poor girl's in a bit of a bad mood tonight; I'm sure she'll feel better once she gets out of this godforsaken town."
Shaw showed no fear for the unbound General as he pulled a chair up in front of her. "I'm gonna level with you: I know you didn't kill my brother."
The sudden admission nearly broke Beckman's poker face.
"There's some… politics," he continued, "involved in my line of work. You see, even creating your own clandestine organization doesn't always give you the freedom to run it the way you see fit, and – ah, well, I shouldn't ramble. The point is, my team needs to think I blame you, because my team needs to think I don't care about my brother's death."
Beckman couldn't help but wrinkle her eyebrows in confusion.
"I'm a Shaw: vengeance runs in my blood. My colleagues are well aware of my family's history with Chuck Bartowski; they barely let me get involved in the operation at all, quite frankly. So if they knew that I suspected him in Daniel's murder, they wouldn't let me anywhere near him."
"Why do you think—"
"There was another keycard used to access Shaw's cellblock that night; the agent was unrelated to your Bartowski – and they've been dealt with as a precaution – but the incendiary device used in the murder… only Orion could make something that destroyed a body so quickly and completely; Chuck is known to have access to his dead father's tech. Unless you think Ellie did it, but I find that a little less likely.
"So here's the deal: you're too important not to be noticed by this administration. Consider yourself very lucky of that fact. I'm going to convince my team that I believe either you or the agent we killed are responsible, but that I can't kill you. I assure you, you'll be monitored much more closely from now on. But in exchange for keeping your freedom until this whole ordeal is concluded, you will help me get the one thing I want.
"You will help me take Bartowski down."
"And why on Earth would I do that?" A defiant Beckman shot back.
"Well, for one, if you tell anyone about this conversation, I'll just have you killed anyway. For two… I'll let you in on a secret: I don't care about this project at all. The entire reason I started this whole thing was to free my brother and kill Chuck Bartowski. I may not get my brother back now, but I'm still willing to help you put a stop to my colleagues if you simply give me Chuck."
The look on Shaw's face was so full of hate, Beckman felt like he was being serious. Still… could this be some sort of play?
Did it really matter?
Beckman thought carefully before responding. There was no way she was going to let Chuck be killed. But… could there be another way? She figured Daniel had to be alive. If she could find him and give him to his brother, could that be enough?
Could Beckman turn Martin Shaw?
If so, it would have to be the most difficult operation of her entire life. But, she supposed, she didn't really have any other choice. Unless she wanted to risk Chuck's life.
"He's an Intersect. He'll be much harder to trick than you think.
"But I'll help you."