While I've never worked for an intelligence agency (not for lack of trying - I applied for the CIA once and DIA twice, and even tried to enlist in the Army Reserve - the unit's active duty station is the NSA in Fort Meade; yes - I knew that ahead of time), I still get the need for Strong Drink to celebrate major changes.

Interagency dating (intelligence community) - frowned-upon, but happpens. (CIA/NSA, DIA/NSA, even DIA/FBI; all while I was still in the government.)

Sarah's figure is low - WAY low. CIA analysts start as GG-13s, with salaries of $85K/year - not including other compensation. NSA analysts start as GG-14s. (You read right; NSA analysts have higher starting salaries.) Note that in both cases, these are STARTING salaries; Chuck, due to that Stanford degree AND previous experience, would likely start closer to $100K per year - and that does NOT count his "Piranha" skill set - or even the Intersect - one or both skews that salary north; can we say "bidding war"?

Casey got it right about Graham - a shame he didn't hear BECKMAN making her HEAT reference (also with regards to Graham). Poor Diane; Ellie is going to put her on the grill worse than CHUCK or MARY PAT did.

A danged sensible idea - the business itself could use seized/confiscated goods - have we forgotten how much in terms of GOODS law enforcement - and that is just the military - seizes and confiscates annually? (That is public record.) And I did restrict it to the military - and that is merely the LOW end. (I restricted it because it would be the NSA setting things up.)

I think it's sinking in (for Diane) how much she screwed da pooch - what's worse, any of the last few NSA directors would tell her the same thing. (Huh? Yes; I'm serious. While the NSA is indeed a military organization, you usually don't get to be DIRNSA by being stupid. Further, the Deputy Director of the NSA is always a civilian - at least twice the Deputy Director has been female. Look up public testimony of Directors and Deputy Directors of the NSA before Congress.)

It's because of this story that I have an idea for a related (not sequel) story set after the finale that ALSO stars Mary Pat; in it, Diane Beckman realized she screwed up with the 49-B, so she goes to Mary Pat - who is about to become DNI (in effect, Beckman's boss); however, that isn't why Diane goes to Mary Pat. Diane also knows that she and Ed met on the job (this is not news); however, the details of how they met are (naturally) classified. Mary Pat tells Diane the story - which makes her (Diane) feel even worse - now she has to fix her errors.

Mary Pat Foley is the "cowboy" of the tag-team (her husband Ed is the other half) that ran Cardinal for years. (Ed and Mary Pat met OTJ at the CIA - so much for directive 49-B!). While Ed and Mary Pat knew Jack Ryan, they didn't recruit him; if anything, it was the reverse - first Ed, then Mary Pat, served as Directors of Central Intelligence during Jack Ryan's Presidency. (In fact, I'm thinking of a quote from Mary Pat when Jack told her that Ed was going to be DCI:

JACK: I need someone to swing the axe; could you serve under Ed again?
Mary Pat: It's the usual position, Jack.

Yes; she said EXACTLY that. The quote is in "Executive Orders". No: I did not do a spit-take.)

Absolutely amazing story. I really love it. Thank you for sharing this with us

If you have read the Jack Ryan novels, you'd recognize Mary Pat Foley. She and her husband Ed were a DO team that made their name running Cardinal - the highest-ranking AIP (agent-in-place) CIA defector in the Soviet Union. The Foleys later became joint DDOs, then Ed became DCI, with Mary Pat as his DDCI (when Jack Ryan became President of the United States at the end of "Debt of Honor"/beginning of "Executive Orders"). When Ed retired, Mary Pat became DCI herself. (When Gina Haskell was nominated to become DCI, I thought about Mary Pat and commented on it as life imitating art.)

Interesting chapter and plot and idea

Wow. Everyone's afraid of Ellie. Even a hardened Marine like Casey.

Wow, another good laugh from the same box of condoms.

Thanks for some laughs, loved the fact Casey gave the condoms to Sarah rather than Chuck.
Chuck pondering using "did you miss me?" with Casey was also a favourite.
Apologies for not reviewing the first couple of times I read this, it's an interesting read.
You have made it tough for yourself creating a relationship between Beckman and Chucks mother. So difficult to write the juggling act with the termination. Whenever I read these, for example Beckman is his godmother or Aunt, I imagine the scene where Mary comes home from Russia to find that Casey was successful in the termination on Beckmans order. Discussion might go a little differently with that Mary, rather than Mary-Pat.

Great story! When can we Chucksters have more to this story?