Chapter 3
I don’t own Chuck
He was lying in bed, turning Ellie’s words over in his mind. “Why would Bryce Larkin send it to you?” It was a simple question, but there was not a simple answer. He thought there was; Chuck thought Bryce trusted him more than anyone else in the CIA. Chuck knew that Sarah and Bryce had been partners, and given her words earlier, he wondered if he did her the way he had done his girlfriends at Stanford.
Bryce hadn’t trusted Sarah, and Chuck understood that, but that begged the question, had he absolutely burned every bridge in the CIA that the only person he trusted was the guy he got kicked out of college? Or, was there something more.
He got out of bed, went out of his room and began to walk down the hallway. He was in an underground bunker of the NSA. He wasn’t being kept prisoner, but he was told he could not leave, because he was legally dead. His new papers were being created by Sarah, and she supposedly would give them to him when she arrived. She told him before she left it could take a few days because she was driving back, to avoid be tracked on airlines.
They were going to disappear. They were going on a hunt, and Chuck was in charge of their destinations. There were so many spots they could go, places that had popped up in the flash. Chuck had also been given Langston’s file and he had gone through it, but something about it bothered him. He had grabbed the file on the way out the door as he headed toward the atrium.
There were a few lights on, as he sat down on a bench, near one of the tall lamps. He flipped through Graham’s file, and something bothered him. Before age sixteen, there was nothing in the file about Graham. What bothered him was that was the same age he had recruited Sarah. He closed the file and tapped it against his leg.
“What’s eatin’ ya, kid?” a gruff voice asked, nearly making Chuck scream. “I’ve got cameras on you kid, when you left the room I was notified.”
“Sorry, Casey,” Chuck said. Casey waved his hand and sat down beside him. Chuck saw he had on a robe and a pair of slippers. He was scared to know how the man was dressed under the robe. “Something about Graham’s file bothers me.” Casey looked at him. “He recruited Sarah at sixteen, there is nothing in Graham’s file before he was sixteen. Is that a coincidence?”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Casey said. “It’s not really a surprise there’s nothing in there, but then again…” Casey trailed off. “Things happen to us as kids that shape us.” Chuck nodded. “Take Walker for instance.”
“Her dad’s influence affected so much of what happened to her,” Chuck said softly.
“And your Dad disappearing affected who you are,” Casey added. Chuck turned to Casey, surprised. “I read your file as well.”
“Makes sense,” Chuck replied. “Think it would hurt to do a little digging?”
“Not one bit,” Casey said. “So, where do we start?”
“Montgomery, Alabama,” Chuck told him. Casey’s eyes widened. “And, before you ask, he was born in 1954.”
“Damn,” Casey muttered. “That couldn’t have been easy. Montgomery, Alabama, the 50s, a minority.”
“He was only one year old during the bus boycott,” Chuck said.
“Yeah, but that stuff didn’t just blow over, overnight,” Casey said. “This might get ugly.”
“The director of the CIA is having his political and personal opponents murdered, Casey, I think we can drop the might,” Chuck replied. Casey nodded. “Listen, I know this could end badly for me.”
“It could end badly for all of us,” Casey corrected.
“That’s my point,” Chuck said. “I’m living on borrowed time, I should be dead, so if you can only save Sarah or I-”
“Bartowski, knock it off,” Casey said, standing. “Somehow you talked a killer into not blowing your head off. If I save her and not you, she’d kill me.”
“Casey, all I did was show her the truth. All I did was give her a reason to listen to what was already in her heart.”
Casey sat there a second and then snorted. “All,” Casey said. “Hell, Bartowski you have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
“I know,” Chuck bemoaned. Casey gave a gruff laugh. “What?”
“Christ, this is gonna suck so bad,” Casey said as he stood. “Try and get some shuteye, when Walker returns I suspect we’ll begin.” With that he left Chuck sitting there. Chuck starred out into the night sky, wondering what Bryce had gotten him into.
}o{
Casey looked down at Chuck who was asleep on the atrium bench. “Bartowski,” he said, kicking Chuck’s shin gently…ish. Chuck snorted and looked around as he woke up. “Fell asleep, huh?”
“Casey, I’ve been thinking,” Chuck began.
“Christ,” Casey muttered.
“Why did Bryce send this thing to me, a civilian?” Chuck asked. Casey didn’t say anything. “I mean I get he may have burned bridges….but, this really makes no sense.”
“He trusted no one in the CIA,” Casey muttered. “And, Beckman knew little about this thing.” He rubbed his jaw. “Maybe using NSA funds ain’t the smartest idea. Let me call Beckman.”
“Okay,” Chuck said. “Do we know where Sarah is?”
“No idea, she’ll get here when she gets here,” Casey said, walking off.
}o{
Chuck woke later that night, feeling warmth in his bed. He looked over, and saw Sarah sleeping beside him. “Sarah?”
“What?” she asked, raising her head. “What’s wrong?”
“Uh….your in my bed,” Chuck told her.
“Well, I don’t have a room here, I just got back, and we’re going to be sharing a room, Chuck, besides, this was Casey’s idea.” Chuck’s eyes went wide. “We will probably have to fake being a cover couple and I’m guessing you have no experience in that.”
“I mean, not officially, but I kinda think my ex-girlfriend was preparing me for this,” Chuck muttered. Sarah gave him a look. “Nevermind.” He laid back down.
“Chuck, you should know something,” Sarah told him. His eyes popped back open. “If you steal the covers, I will take them back, and it won’t be pretty.”
“Noted,” Chuck replied. He lay there for a long time before sleep took him.