Major John Casey sat down at the desk to his hotel room and opened up his laptop so that he could contact General Beckman. A few clicks on the keyboard later and Beckman was on the screen.
"Report, Major."
"Apologies for the long delay General. It appears that the target, Charles Bartowski, managed to look at the email sent to him by Agent Larkin. Somehow the Intersect seems to have been downloaded into Bartowski's head. He managed to give Agent Walker and I some intel that allowed us to divert a bomb from detonating." Casey reported stiffly and formally.
"The Intersect was never meant to been seen by one person. This is extraordinary and possibly dangerous. Where is the Human Intersect now?"
"Agent Walker is tailing him. He doesn't trust me at the moment." Casey answered.
"I will discuss the situation with Director Graham and get back to you."
"Understood, General."
After General Beckman signed off, Casey took the opportunity to take a shower. Since he had killed Bryce Larkin, Casey hadn't had a chance to rest and it was starting to make his control over his senses a little shaky. A nice hot shower and a nap would help him get back his control and prepare him for whatever orders the General had for him.
Four hours later, a beeping from his laptop telling him that General Beckman was trying to contact him awakened Casey. He pushed the covers off his nude body and grabbed his robe to cover himself. He tied the robe while walking over to the desk so that he could answer his superior.
"Agent Casey hope I am not disturbing you." The General said.
"No ma'am." Casey answered automatically. The General could call him in the middle of having sex or killing someone and Casey would answer the same.
"Director Graham and I have decided that you and Agent Walker will remain in LA to protect the Human Intersect. You will also be available for any missions that might come up as a result of any information that the Human Intersect 'flashes' on."
Casey thought that if it was anything like what Bartowski's flash led them to last time that this assignment might get interesting.
"Of course, General." Casey said.
"There is one other thing, John." Beckman said and Casey dreaded her next words. Whenever she used his first name, Casey knew it was going to be bad.
"We did some digging on this Charles Bartowski. It appears that while he was at Stanford, Mr. Bartowski took the GPE (Guide Placement Exam) and scored an even 1200."
Even though Casey stiffened at what he knew Beckman was getting to, even Casey had to be impressed. Not even some of the best guides in the country scored that high.
"Agent Walker has already managed to get close to the Human Intersect using her 'skills' and as you have said Bartowski trust her more than he does you. We want to be sure that the NSA have their grip on Bartowski as well. This is a perfect opportunity. I want Mr. Bartowski to take the NSA guide training course here in DC so that we can pair the two of you in hopes that you can bond to the Human Intersect. However, I will not order you to do this Major."
Casey rubbed his face with his hands. He had always managed his job and his senses just fine without a guide. A guide made a sentinel vulnerable in the field he worked. Casey knew he wasn't getting any younger, however, and the opportunity of this new mission with the Intelligence that the Human Intersect brought to the field would be the pinnacle of his career. This would also insure Bartowski's loyalty and his continued service. He had no doubts that if he did not agree eventually a new computer Intersect would be built and Casey would get his orders to terminate the Human Intersect.
"How high of a bond would we have to achieve?" Casey asked.
"At least a 2. While I would like to see a higher bond level, I know that it might not be possible, but a 2 would be an assurance that the bond could not be casually broken."
Casey nodded. A level 2 bond was a strong connection with both the guide and the sentinel equally connected mentally but it was not a sexual bond. Beyond a 2 required more than John was willing to give at the moment.
"Then if Bartowski agrees General then I will as well." Casey said.
"Good. I will contact Director Graham so that he can have Agent Walker bring the Human Intersect to your hotel room so that I might discuss this with him. It appears that you and Agent Walker will be working closely together to protect the Human Intersect. Director Graham has already established a cover for Agent Walker. I will have to inform Director Graham of your status as a sentinel if Mr. Bartowski agrees to the training. And Agent Walker will also need to be informed."
"Of course, General." Casey said. With Graham, Bartowski and Walker knowing that would make exactly six people that would know that John Casey was a rogue sentinel working for the NSA; four too many in John's opinion.
Casey signed off with the General then went to the closet where he had hung up his clothes earlier so that he could get dressed and wait for Agent Walker and the Human Intersect to arrive.
When the knock on the door came a few hours later, Casey removed the gun from its holster at the small of his back and carried it with him as he walked to the door and looked through the peephole. Agent Walker was there along with Chuck Bartowski. Both looked exactly as they had when he had left them on the roof. Obviously neither had had time to change their clothes or get cleaned up. Taking the time to replace his gun back in its holster and turning down his sense of smell, Casey opened the door and let the two of them in.
Chuck looked nervous unsure of Casey and seemed to stick close to Walker. Casey shut the door then walked over to the desk and contacted the General.
"Good, you are all three there. Major Casey, Agent Walker I would like to speak to Mr. Bartowski alone. Will the two of you please step outside and take up a guard position outside the door and the balcony." General Beckman wasn't asking.
"Yes ma'am." The two of them answered. Casey chose the balcony while Walker stepped outside the door shutting it behind her.
The General had not given orders for Casey to not listen so he turned up his hearing while he scanned the area with his enhanced sight.
"Mr. Bartowski I understand from Agent Walker's and Major Casey's reports that you wish to stay in LA with your family. Director Graham and I willing to accede to these wishes on the understanding that Major Casey and Agent Walker will remain in LA to protect you. You will follow their orders and maintain the secrecy of the Intersect." General Beckman said.
"Uh, yes ma'am." Chuck answered.
"Good. I was reviewing your records and noticed when you were at Stanford that you took the GPE. Your score impresses me. Where you planning to become a guide?"
"I wasn't sure, I thought it might be interesting but…" Chuck shrugged. After getting kicked out Chuck didn't think those tentative plans would come to fruition. Though he had no idea what a computer nerd would need with a sentinel partner.
"Mr. Bartowski I would like for you to take the NSA guide training course here in DC. It is a three week course." General Beckman said.
Chuck was confused. "Uh why would I do that?"
"Mr. Bartowski I am going to send you a picture that should cause you to flash. What you see in this flash I must tell you is classified and should not be discussed with anyone including Agent Walker and Major Casey."
"Sure." Chuck mentally prepared himself for a flash and the headache for afterwards.
Replacing the general's face on the screen was a tattoo of a snarling tiger crouched protectively over a globe of the world. Immediately other images and information bombarded Chuck's brain. It was a file more specifically Major Casey's file. Pictures of dead men with the back of their heads blown out, Casey in a group photo of men wearing white gi's, names of cities with dates, photos of Casey's nearly nude body covered in burns, whip marks, bruises and a medical report of the tortures he had endured at the hands of Ba'ath separatists. At the end of the long succession of photos was Casey's ID photo with the words 'Rogue Sentinel' flashing across the agent's picture.
Chuck jumped back blinking his eyes rapidly as if to dispel some of the images from his vision. He couldn't believe what he had seen. The term 'rogue sentinel' repeated through his mind. He remembered from his few sentinel studies classes that a rogue sentinel was a sentinel whose normal protective and nurturing instincts were either nonexistent or skewed usually from either a birth defect or childhood trauma. Most rogue sentinels became criminals and had to be locked up in sentinel institutions for the rest of their life. The fact that John Casey was working for the government as an assassin suggested that his instincts were there but skewed in some way.
"That's quite a lot to take in." Chuck said finally.
"I imagine it is." General Beckman told him. " I will be frank with your Mr. Bartowski. Major Casey might be a rogue sentinel, but his dedication to his country and to his job are absolute. His rogue abilities are what allows him to do the jobs that other sentinels would not be able to do."
Chuck knew she didn't need to define what those jobs were. According to the file he had seen John Casey was the NSA's most deadly assassin.
"I would like for you to take the course so that you can become John's guide. It will be a good cover for John and allow him to protect you more easily. "
It would certainly explain Casey's sudden appearance into his life. Still it was a lot of responsibility. It also meant that he would not be able to leave the spy life when his time as the human intersect was over, if it was ever over.
Still the idea of being a guide even to someone as scary as Casey was one Chuck couldn't seem to stop thinking about. As Casey's guide it meant that he would be able to actually trust Casey to protect him and not hide things from him. Sarah might ask him to trust her but what assurances did he have that what she did would be in his best interest. Even a rogue sentinel would protect his guide. Most rogues however refuse to bond.
"I'll do it." Chuck said.
General Beckman smiled for the first time in a long time. "Good. We will send you an acceptance letter so that you can use it as part of your cover. When the training is done you will introduce Major Casey to your family as your sentinel after you have achieved a level 2 bond. The trainers in DC will be able to help you with that."
Chuck nodded.
"Major Casey go and get Agent Walker so that I might give you both your orders." Beckman said in her regular tone.
Casey moved from the balcony and entered the apartment heading to the door to get Agent Walker.
Once the three of them were standing in front of the laptop, General Beckman addressed Agent Walker. "Agent Walker what I am about to tell you must remain in strictest confidence. Director Graham will be informed of this conversation."
"Yes ma'am."
"Mr. Bartowski will be coming to DC in one week for a three week guide training course. You will encourage Chuck to do this as part of your cover. He will then return with Major Casey in tow as his sentinel. The three of you will work together on missions that might come up as a result of any flashes that Mr. Bartowski has as well as any missions we send your way. You are not to interfere in any way with the sentinel/guide bond nor act in any way that disapproves of it in front of Bartowski's family. Is that understood," General Beckman said.
"Yes ma'am. I take it that Agent Casey is a sentinel and not just part of the cover." Agent Walker asked.
"That is correct Agent Walker. The fact that Agent Casey is not just a sentinel but a rogue sentinel is classified and any breech of that will be a an act of treason."
Agent Walker's eyes widened at that. Most everyone has heard of rogue sentinels. The few famous cases had made it a household word. Most people believed that rogue sentinels were insane criminals who were unpredictable in their behavior and were locked up for everyone's protection. No one would ever believe that a rogue sentinel could ever be an intelligence agent.
"Good. Then we will proceed. Major Casey I need you to stay out of sight until the training begins, then you will accompany Mr. Bartowski to DC without his family being aware of your involvement until later. Agent Walker you will remain behind and continue to maintain your cover and protect Mr. Bartowski's family should they need it. "
There was a chorus of 'yes ma'ams' from the three of them.
"Good day then." And with that the general signed off.
It took a couple of days for the letter of acceptance to arrive. The letter of course didn't say that it was an NSA course. Instead it appeared to be associated with Georgetown University. To Chuck it seemed Ellie wasn't sure whether to be happy for him or not. On the one hand, a she explained, at least Chuck was moving forward in his life, but on the other hand being responsible for the well being of sentinel was a lot of responsibility and hardly something he could afford on the salary of a Nerd Herder at a Buy More.
Sarah of course was supportive of Chuck's 'decision' in front of Ellie and Awesome which seemed to help Ellie to be more supportive of the idea. Awesome thought it was 'awesome' of course. In the end Ellie backed Chuck's decision and was willing to welcome any sentinel Chuck chose into her family and home. Fortunately their apartment had another bedroom and Awesome promised to move out his exercise equipment before Chuck returned and Ellie promised to make sure Devon did.
Chuck was nervous about the training course. When he and Sarah went out on their 'dates' they usually ended up at Casey's hotel room where they received some photos and reports that Beckman sent to see if Chuck could flash on any of it to give other agents in the field additional information.
Chuck flashed at least on ninety percent of the photos and only about five percent of the reports, but his information proved useful as Beckman would report later. Director Graham was usually with Beckman and seemed just as impressed if a little sullen. He had not liked the new information or that the NSA was going to have more of 'in' with the Human Intersect. He had ordered Sarah to step up her seduction of Bartowski but Chuck seemed more entranced by the idea of being a guide at the moment.
Finally the day came. Ellie drove Chuck to the airport with Devon, Sarah and Chuck's best friend Morgan with them.
"I am proud of you Chuck." Ellie said as she hugged her brother. "When you get back I want you to give some serious thought about your future."
Chuck told her he would. He couldn't tell her that his future was already assured. Once Casey was his sentinel, General Beckman had guaranteed that Chuck would be getting a paycheck from the NSA. The checks would come as part of a supposed 'game' that Chuck helped develop and was receiving royalties on the sales. Chuck had even offered to help develop a real game. Beckman had given him some specs to a simulation that the NSA was using to train their agents and told him if he can improve that in any way then the NSA would be grateful. Chuck had spent three days working on it and had improved the AI a good fifteen percent making it even more able to learn its real life opponents and make the game harder and more challenging for the agents. The simulation would eventually become a game that the NSA would release in partnership with a real gaming company. Chuck's name was to be added as one of the designers.
Eventually Chuck left his family and made his way through airport security then headed to his gate to await boarding orders. There Casey was waiting for him, sitting in one of the chairs and reading a Tom Clancy novel.
Chuck found that amusing. Apparently Casey found the book amusing. He nodded to Chuck's presence but continued to read while being aware of their surroundings, as only a sentinel with enhanced senses was able. Chuck sat down in a chair opposite Casey and took out his PSP to play.
Eventually their rows were called and the two of them made their way onto the plane. Chuck's stomach was doing flip flops, his nervousness apparent to those who knew him or to any sentinel near him.
The three weeks of training were strenuous, nerve-wracking and exciting. Chuck learned quite a lot about sentinels, more than he had from the few courses he had taken at Stanford. He also learned more about the intelligence agencies some of the training NSA agents received and a bit more about John Casey.
Some of the myths Chuck had heard about rogue sentinels were debunked and some were firmly established. It was true that some rogues did not have the protective instincts at all. Those that didn't have them could not bond to a guide at all. Those without the instincts were born that way. The senses eventually drove them insane and usually killed them. Those who instincts were present but skewed could bond to a guide. They also could survive without a guide and were not driven insane by their senses just like any normal sentinel. How the instincts were skewed was a myth. It was thought to have always been caused by childhood trauma, however some sentinels were born with them skewed. Chuck didn't know yet how Casey fell into that category. He wasn't to know anymore until after they bonded.
The facility where Chuck was receiving the training also had dormitory like apartments where he stayed. He also found out that Casey was staying there as well in a room just across the hall from his own.
He called Ellie as much as he could to hear her voice and to be a part of the normal world that was forever lost to him.
In the third week the training was changed from the 'care and feeding of' sentinels to the bonding process. This part Chuck had learned from his Stanford classes. That week Casey was moved from his room to Chuck's room so that they could begin bonding. They only needed to reach a level 2 bond which could be achieved from being in each others space, a lot of casual touching, and some meditation techniques. Though they slept in the same bed, they were not having sex. Sleeping together was a good way of beginning the bonding process and establishing a level 2 bond.
Casey wasn't comfortable with touching. In the beginning, Casey would flinch at Chuck's casual touch, or growl jerking away depending on his state of mind. In bed, Casey had stayed as far on his side of the bed as he could unable to sleep the first few nights until he became use to Chuck's presence.
By the end of the week, Chuck was touching Casey quite a lot without the flinches or growls, and in bed Chuck ended up spooned up behind Casey by morning. By the end of the training, Chuck could tell Casey's mood and feel his emotions. Casey could recognize Chuck's scent and heartbeat and track him even in a crowded football stadium. An empath and senior guide was able to determine that a level 2 bond had been achieved and Chuck graduated from the course and became a registered guide.
He called Ellie and told her the news as well as saying that he had found a sentinel there in DC with whom he had a level 2 bond. Ellie was surprised that he had found a sentinel so quickly but was willing to welcome the sentinel into the family. Chuck wondered how Casey was going to handle that. He chuckled a bit at the thought.
After the phone call, both Casey and Chuck were called into see Director Graham and General Beckman.
"Gentlemen come inside and have a seat." General Beckman said.
In Beckman's office, the general was seated at her desk and Director Graham stood behind her. Sentinel and guide took a seat as requested sitting in front of the general's desk.
"The CIA has generously funded a base of operations in LA in the shopping center where the Buy More that Chuck works at is located. They bought out one of the fast food restaurants and turned into a cover job for Agent Walker. Major Casey I would like you to get a job at the Buy More so that you can keep a close eye on your guide during the day. I am sure that it won't be a problem thanks to your new status." General Beckman said.
"Big Mike wasn't too happy about my leaving for three weeks. I wasn't sure I would still have a job there when I got back." Chuck said.
"We took care of that. Big Mike received a call from the Buy More cooperate offices who got a call from us. They supported the training and you were even paid for your time off." Beckman explained.
Chuck was surprised by that.
"Also Mr. Bartowski you will be receiving an update on the Intersect data every three months, if more frequent updates are needed we will do so. Your paycheck will be sent every month to your account after it is taxed of course. A letter explaining your checks was sent to your home address. Here are your tickets for your flight home. We will be contacting you each night for a daily briefing at the base of operations codenamed Castle. Gentlemen you are excused."
And with that the two men left the General's office and headed out of the NSA building. A dark Denali was waiting outside with an NSA driver to take them to the airport their bags having already been loaded inside.
The drive to the airport was quiet since Chuck was following Casey's lead in keeping silent. At the airport they bypassed security thanks to Casey's ID and Chuck's ID that Casey had given him.
Chuck had been surprised by the NSA ID with its badge that gave the name Charles Carmichael as his alias, the name Chuck had chosen a few days before when asked by Casey. The ID also had the tag that identified him as guide with a small picture of Casey below it. Hidden inside the wallet was his new driver's license issued by the state of California that also identified him as a guide also with a smaller picture of Casey below it with Casey's DL number.
Upon seeing the IDs Chuck felt a welling of pride in his chest and the feeling stayed with him as he boarded his plane back to LA with his sentinel at his side.
In LA, Ellie, Devon, Sarah and Morgan were all waiting for them at the airport. Chuck and Casey had already gotten their luggage and were heading for doors when Casey spotted them and whispered to Chuck.
"Agent Walker is here with your sister, her boyfriend and your little troll." Casey said.
"Oh man, I was hoping to have this little homecoming at the apartment." Chuck said in a low voice that only Casey could hear. One of the things he had learned in guide training was to sub-vocalize his voice so that only a sentinel could hear him. It came in handy in the spy business.
"Looks like you don't have a choice."
Chuck plastered a smile on his face. He was happy to see his sister, but had really wanted to make the introductions at the apartment. Besides they had had a long flight and he was really tired. He could also tell from their bond that Casey was uncomfortable about the situation. Casey wasn't used to a loving nurturing environment and it made him jumpy when he had to pretend to be a nice average guy or sentinel in this case.
So Casey hung back a bit while Chuck hugged his sister and then his pretend girlfriend. He still wasn't used to Sarah despite the week they had spent pretending to be boyfriend/girlfriend but he was getting better with the playacting. Morgan got a little clingy but Chuck was happy to see his best friend.
Normally his sister was pushy about his life, but she said nothing while Chuck delayed in introducing Casey to them. He could see the curiosity in her eyes that was nearly eating her alive, but he also saw some of the compassion that made her a great doctor as she looked at the way Casey was holding back from everyone.
"Uhm guys this is John Casey my uh sentinel." Chuck knew Casey didn't like the possessive sound those words gave to the partnership but it was the way he would have introduced any sentinel he might have bonded to. "Casey this is my sister, Ellie Bartowski, her boyfriend Devon Woodcomb, my girlfriend Sarah Walker and my best friend Morgan Grimes. "
"Hey why I do I get last billing?" Morgan asked rather whiningly. No one answered him.
"Its nice to meet you, John." Ellie didn't offer to shake John's hand or hug him having watched his body language and figuring that he wouldn't welcome such intimacy from total strangers. Both Ellie and Devon had received quite a lot of training on sentinels during medical school to help them better treat them as patients. John's body language told them that he was touch shy. It worried Ellie wondering what history the sentinel might have or if he was overly sensitive.
"We brought two cars, so if you want to ride with me or Sarah you have a choice." Ellie said as they made their way out of the airport and into the parking lot. Ellie, Devon and Morgan rode with in Devon's black mustang while Chuck and Casey rode with Sarah in her Porsche.
"How exactly does a fast food worker afford a Porsche?" Casey asked referring to Sarah's cover job.
"When she inherits her money from a rich father." Sarah said. "Who owns the Orange Orange."
Casey shook his head at that.
They drove to the apartment that Chuck shared with Ellie and Devon. Once there they removed their luggage from Devon's car since a Porsche has very little trunk space.
Casey tossed his duffel bag over his shoulder and watched as his guide walked with his sister and her boyfriend to the apartment door. He sighed inwardly wondering not for the first time what he got himself into. He hoped that the missions were what he was expecting; the dull life of a retail-working sentinel might just kill him if not.
And the loving atmosphere around his guide's family was too much to take in sometimes. Casey wasn't sure how to act, though he was fairly good at undercover jobs he had never really had to pretend to have a family. He wasn't too sure he wasn't in over his head.
Chuck had stopped at the doorway when he realized Casey hadn't followed him. He turned and saw Casey still standing at Devon's car looking toward them. He could feel the emotions of confusion, anxiety and even a little bit of emotional pain coming like waves through the bond they shared. Chuck smiled at Casey and tried to send encouraging emotions through their bond and waved a bit at him to come on.
With a look of weary resignation on his face, Casey strode toward the apartment that just might be his home for quite some time to come.
Their first mission after returning from DC came about due to 'an evening of Morgan'. Both Chuck and Morgan had invited Casey along but Casey would have rather have Afghani warlords bleed him from his liver than tag along with Chuck, Morgan and Sarah like a puppy. Instead he had planned to hang out in Castle cleaning and maintaining their impressive armory. Sarah had called him to tell him about the Chinese assassin that Chuck had flashed on.
From that point everything went to hell. The fact that the Chinese assassin was there to rescue her brother rather than a sanctioned hit would have been nice to know before they had interrupted her plans.
Casey wondered how Chuck could be so naïve even with all the Intersect secrets in his head but the fact that he had managed to get China's top spy to actually defect had amazed Casey. It had also amazed their superiors.
As he was herded out of Lo Pan's mansion with his hands tied together, Casey hoped that his death didn't affect Chuck too much. He knew the General would see to Chuck's welfare and broken level 2 bonds didn't always end in death for the guide. When Sarah gave him the chance Casey whispered into his watch telling Chuck to go back to Castle and lock himself inside. To contact the General and tell her what had happened and to not contact the police, only then did Casey turn off his watch and shut down the mental link between them so that Chuck wouldn't feel it when Casey was tortured and then killed as he knew he would be if Beckman was unable to send a team in time.
Because he shut down the link, Casey wasn't as conscious of Chuck's movements and so did not hear his monologue to himself as he drove the van and followed the vehicle that the three agents were held prisoner.
His first awareness that Chuck had not done what he had told him came when he heard the fireworks going off and then the link flared between them as Chuck came and opened the freezer door.
Casey was ready to lay into his guide for not following orders, but Chuck beat him to it. "Ah ah you can yell at me later." Chuck said. Growling under his breath Casey and Sarah helped free each other of the zip ties that bound their wrists and then took out the men who came back.
With Lo Pan safely in custody and Mai Ling now under NSA protection, Casey and Chuck returned to the Buy More in the Nerdmobile. Sarah took her car back to the Orange Orange to continue to maintain her cover job.
"You are not to do that ever again, Bartowski. I give you an order when it comes to the spy stuff and you had better follow it. The Intersect information is too valuable to allow it to fall into enemy hands." Casey said in a low very pissed off tone.
"I can't help it. When I felt you shut down the link, I knew I couldn't just let you and Sarah get taken without helping. I know why you shut down the link. You didn't want me to feel you die." Chuck's voice sounded scared at that thought.
Casey was silent for a moment trying to determine how to deal with this. "Chuck it is my job both as an NSA agent and your sentinel to protect you. Yes, I could die doing it, but you would survive it. You have your sister and her boyfriend and that troll of yours to help you with it. And maybe eventually you would bond again, but I won't survive your death. Keep that in mind the next time you decide not to follow orders."
Casey and Chuck were both silent as they made their way back to the Buy More.
Chuck apparently kept what Casey had said close to his heart and tried his best to follow orders during subsequent missions. Unfortunately, Chuck seemed to have the same bad luck that seemed to follow most guides everywhere. Only a guide would just happen to run into an escaped mentally ill asset at an arcade. And only a guide would then sympathize with said asset.
Chuck also had a problem with following simple instructions to stay in locked cars. Luckily Casey had felt Chuck's terror and gotten to him before the Icelander killed him. When they got back to Chuck's apartment, Casey let Chuck look at the CD he had found and discovered that Bryce Larkin had actually been trying to keep Chuck out of the CIA. Walker had been upset if the smell of tears were anything to go by, but she had taken the CD to lock up in Castle until a CIA transporter could pick it up leaving Casey with his guide who was just as upset, but without the tears.
Casey didn't know how to deal with people, he never did, but he let Chuck cling to him in comfort without shrugging him off. Instead of sleeping in his own room that night, Casey slept in Chuck's bed with Chuck holding him to comfort himself.
As the missions continued, Casey found himself sleeping in Chuck's bed more often as Chuck dealt with the nightmares and stress of seeing things he had no business seeing. Casey felt he was inadequate at helping Chuck. An assassin did not make a good counselor. Casey knew nothing of comfort and love and support. All he could do was either hold Chuck until he screamed himself out which usually brought Ellie running or allow Chuck to hold him at night like a living teddy bear or security blanket.
Casey made sure that an NSA psychologist was brought into LA for Chuck to have weekly sessions until he got better at dealing with the rigors of being a spy. If Chuck had not been bonded to Casey there was a good chance that Chuck would have been locked up in a secure facility like Lazlo.
Ellie was worried about Chuck. She didn't understand why he was stressed. Chuck tried to get Ellie to believe him when he said he was alright, but Casey could see that she did not. Casey finally ended it by telling Ellie that he had told Chuck some of his past and it had really bothered the empathetic guide so much that he had nightmares about it. Ellie didn't ask what in Casey's past caused Chuck to have nightmares about it. She knew that guides were very in tune with their sentinels and could easily pick up on Casey's own nightmares.
Chuck was very grateful that Casey had managed to get Ellie off his back and for bringing in the psychologist who seemed to be helping Chuck.
Though Ellie liked Casey, she was also supportive of Chuck's 'relationship' with Sarah. Sarah was a better actor than Casey and during the three weeks Chuck had been in training, Sarah had wormed her way into the rest of Bartowski family. Sarah and Chuck went out on 'dates' often that were just covers for their missions or their briefings. Casey never went with them on the dates, instead he always found some other excuse to leave the Bartowski home and meeting up with Sarah and Chuck for the briefings and missions as needed.
There were times however that they went on more real dates usually because they were double dating with Ellie and Devon. Which is how they ran into Mason Whitney.
Casey's instincts screamed at him throughout the entire mission after Chuck, Sarah and himself were exposed to the poison. Chuck was dying, and Casey's senses told him that every second. Casey was also dealing with the effects the poison on him. As a sentinel his body reacted differently to drugs and poisons. The penathol made him loopy and made his senses go haywire. The stupidest things fascinated him and Chuck was pulling him out of zones way more than normal. Between the two effects, Casey was very clingy to his guide, more so than he normally was and it bothered him as Casey was not a very touchy feely person.
They managed to get the antidote and the bad guy, but Casey still looked back on his behavior during that mission and cringed.
A few weeks after Bryce Larkin resurfaced and disappeared again to go after Fulcrum, Ellie invited Chuck, Sarah and Casey to dinner with her and Devon. Casey bowed out saying he had to work, which he did. Casey knew Ellie wasn't upset by Casey not going, she wanted it to be a couples celebration of Chuck and Sarah getting back together after the disaster with Lou.
Casey had to close to the store that night along with a couple of other Buy More peons who disappeared with the last of the customers. Casey was glad they were gone, he disliked the other workers in the store. Casey broke down the boxes in the storeroom using a knife to cut the tape holding them together.
As he was taking a pile of them out to the trash by the docks, Casey felt a tingling sensation at his shoulders. Before he could react to feeling, there was a hiss pop sound and a sharp pain in his neck. Casey reached up and pulled out the tranq dart.
The tranquilizer must have been an expensive one because Casey began to feel the effects immediately. Usually his sentinel metabolism allowed him to fight off the effects of a tranq with adrenaline, but instead Casey fell to the concrete. He was only slightly aware when a dark van drove up to the docks and several men jumped out dressed in dark clothes. Another man dressed in dark clothes stepped out of the shadows holding the tranq gun. The men were quick to buckle leather straps around Casey's wrists tying his hands behind his back with a short chain attached to the padded leather cuffs. Casey tried to struggle but the tranq was effective in taking away his control over his limbs. He was aware of them lifting him up and placing him on the floor of the van. The door was shut and the van drove away from the Buy More.
Inside the van, the men stripped Casey of his shoes and socks and placed padded leather cuffs around his ankles also with a short chain between them. Another chain was attached from the short chain at his ankles to the short chain at his wrists. A soft black hood was placed over Casey's face leaving air holes at his mouth and nose. The hood was laced up in the back. Casey gut clenched when a leather collar was buckled around his neck and a short chain attached to it with the other end attached to a ring in the van. It was at that point Casey knew why he had been kidnapped and it made an unfamiliar sensation of fear clench around his heart.
They had just received their meal when Chuck felt his sentinel's fear resonate along their link. Chuck paled. Casey was an NSA assassin; Chuck didn't think Casey feared anything. Sarah noticed Chuck's pallor.
"Chuck, what's wrong?" Sarah whispered.
"Casey." Chuck said, "He's in trouble."
Sarah nodded then excused herself to go to the bathroom. Once in the bathroom, she pulled her out her cell phone and contacted General Beckman who would send a team to the location of Casey's GPS coordinates from his watch. She returned to the table and made excuses about how her father had just called her saying her mother was ill. Chuck offered to go with her and the two of them left Ellie and Devon with money enough to cover their part of the bill.
As they drove to the Buy More at breakneck speeds, Sarah's cell phone rang. She answered and listened to General Beckman tell her that they had found Casey's watch, and the clothes he had been wearing in a trash bag in a dumpster about eight blocks from the Buy More. The General ordered her to take Chuck to castle until they could determine if Casey disappearance had anything to do with the Intersect.
Sarah hung up the phone and told Chuck what Beckman had said.
"I don't think it does, but I don't know that for sure. All I felt from Casey was fear and now all I feel is this quietness through the link as if he's asleep or unconscious." Chuck said.
"We can check the surveillance footage of the Buy More at Castle, maybe you will flash on something. " Sarah said as she pulled into the mall parking lot. Sarah pulled out her gun and did a sweep of the area before escorting Chuck into the Orange Orange and down into the Castle. She breathed more easily once the door to Castle was securely locked behind her.
At the monitor stations, Chuck typed into the computer and pulled up the surveillance footage from a few minutes before the time that Chuck felt the fear hit him. He watched as Casey brought out the cardboard boxes to be thrown in the dumpster. He saw how Casey seemed to get more alert and then get hit by a tranquilizer dart. Sarah was standing behind him watching the monitor as well, and she squeezed Chuck's shoulder supportively.
As the men got out of the van, Chuck narrowed his eyes and paused the video. Typing in some commands, Chuck managed to get the video to enlarge and enhance the area of the man's hand that held the tranquilizer. Just as the picture jumped into focus, Chuck began to flash.
The tattoo on the man's hand told him exactly who had Casey and he had nothing to do with the Intersect.
"Call the General, Sarah. Casey wasn't taken because he's spy," Chuck said as he turned his chair to look at the CIA agent, "he was taken because he's a sentinel."
When Casey regained consciousness the first thing he became aware of was that the hood was still on his head blocking his vision. When he tried to reach up to remove it he discovered that while his hands were now in front they were still cuffed with the padded leather restraints and chained to a belt at his waist keeping him from bring them up past his chest. The belt was part of a harness that was fitted over his chest and shoulders and wrapped around his waist and thighs holding it in place. It was also the only thing he was wearing, his clothes having gone missing. Touch afforded him the knowledge that he was laying inside a sleeping bag that was lying on a padded foam covering on the floor. His hearing told him that he wasn't the only one in the room. Some of the people in the room were motionless, while others walked around. He could hear some of the people who were lying motionless crying softly and knew that those were other sentinels who had been captured.
Casey tried to stand only to find out that where he was had too low of a ceiling for him to do that. Instead he crouched down on his knees and sent out his hearing as far as he could.
He found some voices discussing many subjects. Some of the guards were playing a hand of poker. Two others were enjoying their time off with each other. Eventually Casey found what he was looking for. A small group was discussing their plans on getting their captives out of the US and into international waters where they were planning to have an online auction.
"The ship is docking tomorrow. We will load the sentinels into a cargo container and have it placed on the ship. Our man down at the docks will make sure that our activities go unnoticed." One of the men said.
"We have a good haul. Each of those sentinels are worth five million at least." Another man said.
"Just make sure they are taken care of. Dead sentinels aren't worth anything. And if I catch any man marking up the merchandise I will kill him and feed his body to the fish."
And with that their conversation was done. Casey knew that the FBI had been looking for these men for quite sometime. These men or others like them have been responsible for the disappearance of over two hundred sentinels in the last eight years. Except they really didn't disappear, Casey had run into one of them when he had to take out a target in the Tangiers. Casey had hated killing the sentinel since it hadn't been the sentinel's fault that he had been sold to the warlord and forcibly bonded. Even a forced bond causes a sentinel to be protective of the guide and Casey had to take out the sentinel to get to the warlord.
Casey knew if he didn't find some way to escape that could very easily be his fate.
"I have contacted the director of the FBI in Los Angeles. Agent Walker and Mr. Bartowski you will be working with the FBI team investigating this group. Under know circumstances are they to learn anything about the Intersect or that Major Casey is a rogue sentinel." General Beckman told them after they had contacted about Chuck's flash.
"Is that good idea ma'am? The FBI hasn't had a good record when it comes to this sentinel ring." Sarah asked.
"No they haven't but they have the latest Intel on the ring. I will not allow Major Casey to fall into enemy hands even if we have to work with the FBI to make sure that doesn't happen."
"Yes ma'am."
General Beckman signed off after giving them the instructions on where to meet the FBI team in two hours.
"Why would they take Casey? How did they know about him?" Chuck asked.
"Do you think they recognized him?" Sarah asked.
"No I don't think so. It has to be something simpler than that. I mean I really don't see this group that's managed to avoid the authorities for years suddenly deciding to kidnap an NSA assassin even if he is a sentinel. What if they have someone or several people whose only job is to find their targets, and that someone saw Casey had the Buy More or at the apartment because that's like the only two places besides Castle that Casey hangs out at." Chuck speculated.
"You might be right. We should the surveillance footage of the Buy More for the few days leading up to today. We can go back a few days and if we can't find anything we can back further." Sarah said.
"How far back do we keep the recordings?" Chuck asked.
"Here at the Castle we keep them for four days but the CIA keeps hard copies on file from further back since the first day Casey installed them."
"Hopefully we won't have to go back too far."
"We still have to meet the FBI team. Hopefully we will have something for them."
Chuck and Sarah sat down in front of the screens. Chuck typed in some commands and brought up the footage from all the surveillance cameras inside the Buy More from two days before.
Knowing that Chuck would have to be the one to watch them in case he might flash, Sarah kept track of the time so that they would be able to make their meeting with the FBI team.
An hour later, Sarah recognized the tell-tale signs of Chuck flashing.
When Chuck was done, Sarah went up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "What is it?"
"That guy there," Chuck pointed at the screen to a non-descript customer talking to Casey. "That's their front man for LA. And what's more, I got a name." Chuck said turning to Sarah with a victorious smile. "Ricky Alvarez."
Sarah nodded and inputed the name into the computer in hopes of getting an address. "Did you get anything else?"
"Yeah, something strange. Does the name Corkscrew ring a bell, cause that came up a few times, but nothing that tells me what it is."
"I can try to input the name as well but I don't know what it will give me beyond the obvious." Sarah said.
The information came up, but they were running short on time so Sarah made hard copies and then the two of them left Castle and headed downtown to the FBI office to make their 8:00 am meeting.
"Maybe I should call Ellie?" Chuck said.
"If you do don't tell her anything about Casey just yet. Just tell her you stayed the night with me, and if she asks you haven't seen him."
"When he doesn't show up for work Big Mike is going to call looking for him."
"We might have to let all that fall into place. Let you or Ellie file a missing persons report when the time comes. " Sarah said.
"He's a sentinel, we don't have to wait the 24 hours like they do with adults." Chuck said.
"Alright. I will talk with the FBI agents and see how they want you to proceed on that. This may take several days."
"I hope not."
They reached the downtown FBI office. They hung their Federal Ids on their shirts and took an elevator to the floor they would be meeting the team on.
The FBI team consisted of four Special Agents and their support staff. The agent in charge, Agent Malone, shook their hands and invited them into his office.
"We've received word from Deputy Director Scotts that the latest missing sentinel is an NSA agent but did not tell me why an NSA agent is in LA." Malone said.
"That would be classified, Agent Malone. The answer won't make a difference anyway. They kidnapped him due to his undercover persona not his real one." Agent Walker said her face impassive. Chuck recognized her professional mode.
"I see. How do you know this?"
"We have surveillance of a man that our intelligence believes is a front runner for this group talking to the agent. Its not a secret that the agent is a sentinel, its part of his cover, and its quite obvious from the lack of a bonding chain that the sentinel in question is not bonded beyond a level 2 making him a perfect target for this group."
Sarah handed over the DVD with the surveillance footage along with some hard copies. She also handed over everything she had found about Alvarez. Agent Malone called in his team and they went over the information. The team also brought folders filled with the information that they had managed to get over their years of investigating the group.
In a meeting room, the agents all went over the information while Chuck looked through the files the FBI had for any information on Corkscrew.
In the second file, Chuck saw a picture of an empty cargo container with the letter CS7456-a on the side. At the sight of the container Chuck flashed.
Sarah noticed right away and excused herself and Chuck from the room so they could confer in private.
"What did you see?"
"This empty cargo container. The FBI thought it might have something to do with the kidnappings. They were right. I flashed on it. They are using the cargo containers to transport the sentinels into international waters. They hold an auction online. A Navy computer that randomly listens to radio calls and internet chatter came across the website they were using. It's not there anymore, I am sure they change with each auction."
"So they are using ships, which means the docks. But in LA or somewhere else?" Sarah asked.
"I don't know but you might see if there any ships named Corkscrew or any companies that deal with shipping overseas with that name. I still think that's the key its just not coming together." Chuck said frustration in his voice.
Suddenly Chuck's phone rang. Chuck looked at it. "Its Ellie." He said looking at Sarah.
"Go ahead and answer, I will Agent Malone how he wants to handle it." Sarah said.
Chuck answered the phone.
"Hey Ell." Chuck answered. "Yeah Sarah's mom is doing better. No, no I haven't seen Casey yet, I stayed at Sarah's. He's not at work?" Chuck felt horrible about lying to his sister but knew there was no other way.
"I will try and call him….you already tried?….I don't know if we should involve the police yet…." Chuck looked up to see Sarah come over to him.
"Go ahead and tell Ellie you will call the police. Agent Malone is going to send an officer to the Buy More and to Ellie's to get the ball rolling." Sarah whispered.
"Look Ellie, I will call the police and report him missing. I will call if you I hear anything more. Yeah me too, bye Ell." Chuck hung up the phone. "I hate all this lying and sneaking around." He sighed.
"I know, I am sorry." Sarah said.
"Have you found anything on Corkscrew?" Chuck asked.
"They are still looking." Sarah said.
"You know if we had had a level 3 bond or higher this wouldn't have happened." Chuck said.
"Why haven't you?" Sarah asked curiously.
"Because Casey doesn't want anything beyond a two. Sarah I only flashed on Casey's military and NSA career but nothing on what happened to him before he joined the military. But something happened; something that makes the idea of being in a level 3-bond relationship scares him. "
"I can't imagine anything that scares Casey." Sarah said. "He's got quite a reputation as a cold dangerous assassin."
"Everyone's scared of something." Chuck offered.
Sarah smiled, "Yeah I am afraid of spiders myself."
"Really? You, special agent Walker, are afraid of spiders?"
"We all have fears Chuck, like you said."
"But spiders…that's so so…"
"So what?"
"Girlish." He finished.
"Chuck."
"Yeah?"
"I am a girl."
"Well yeah but you're a CIA agent, master of martial arts, pretty handy with a gun and your afraid of a little spider?"
"When you've been in the jungle with a spider the size of your fists with fangs that look like they belong on a saber toothed tiger, then you get to laugh." She said heading back to the conference room.
"A fist." Chuck echoed his eyes going wide.