Shadow Mountain Estates

Grand Lake, Colorado

Six Months Later

Ellie leaned against the rail on the back terrace of her assigned home. She felt so lost as she considered the cool waters of the lake that was steps away from the multi-million dollar estate that the government had converted into a safe house for Chuck and her.

The term 'safe house' was a relative term. It was designed to keep Chuck and all the secrets in his head away from enemies of the government. But it also assured that her brother remained a pawn to powerful, anonymous men who would stop at nothing to assure that he performed on command.

When they had arrived at the estate, Chuck's condition had been dire. Neurologically it was clear that he had significant injuries from the torture he had endured at the hands of the infamous ex-CIA doctor, called 'The Brain Snatcher' for his proclivity for destroying the brains of his patients. But it was really his emotional state that had truly endangered his life. She had seen many patients during her career that had died from non-life threatening injuries because they had simply given up while working at her hospital.

She had seen the hopelessness in Chuck's eyes and she knew he was on the edge. In the first few weeks of their arrival, Ellie even contemplated Chuck actually dying. It was during these musings that she first realized that if her brother died, the government would surely kill her.

She realized that she would be a loose end without Chuck. When she saw the medical wing attached to their safe house, she knew that for now the government had cast her in to role as Chuck's physician. However, without Chuck her prospects were quite dire considering the government had no need for a civilian physician, especially one who knew about Chuck and the ability for the government to embed data into people's head.

Not that she had much time to dwell on her plight. Upon their arrival, Ellie had been ordered to immediately start giving bi-weekly reports on her brother's condition. Her report were given via ultra-high secured communication channels that bordered on something she would expected to see in a James Bond movie.

But her fascination with all the gadgetry quickly faded away when she realized that she was being forced to report her findings to a panel of humorless men who's faces were intentionally blurred to maintain their anonymity on her telecommunication monitor. They questioned every tiny detail of her report. It was clear during their teleconference calls that her questioners deemed her medical skills insufficient and took pleasure in condemning her perceived incompetence at her every move.

It was mortifying to have John Casey witnessed her crucifixion each week in the small office she used in the medical wing of the estate. He would stoically watch her scramble to satisfy her questioners each week as she described every detail of Chuck's condition and the laboratory test results that she was forced to run on him each week.

Initially she had been so intimidated. She was no allowed to know any details regarding the intersect technology or how it had affected Chuck neurologically. Instead her questioners would brutally cross-examine her efforts to care for her patient. It was clear that they wanted Chuck's recovery in order for him to once again become The Intersect. But his eyesight had been badly damaged, and for some unknown reasons Chuck had been experiencing a series of mini-stokes, which were damaging his brain in small incremental amounts. It hadn't made sense to her, but her interrogators seemed disinterested by the fact.

Ellie remembered the day she first had an indication that she had leverage in her situation.

John Casey had just witnessed yet another session where she had been cut to the bone. He was required to listen to her bi-weekly report to ensure that she never intentionally or accidently used Chuck's name or gave any indication of their whereabouts to the unseen examiners.

Whether out of frustration from the call or the stress of the overall situation, Ellie started to cry after a particularly bad call. It had made John clench in his chair as Ellie wiped a tear from her face. "They just don't like me," offered Ellie apologetically.

Casey's face had turned molten red and she practically fell back out of her chair when John throttled the table between them. "Do you think this is some congeniality contest?"

"Who gives a shit what those fuckers think!" snarled Casey. "Don't you get that they all want to be you? They can't bare the fact that they can't get near The Intersect. So they are trying to prove to their bosses that you are in over your head."

"But I am Casey. I don't know nearly enough about Chuck's condition. It's all top secret and they won't tell me," cried Ellie hopelessly.

Casey grimaced and shook his head in dismissively. "You are Chuck's primary medical doctor. After what has happened, unless those pricks prove that you are incompetent, they won't be allowed to ever meet Chuck and they damn well know it."

"But I…"

"Stand your ground. Force Beckman to give you clearance. Or soon, those asses will be here and you won't," growled the NSA agent.

Seeing the blood leave Ellie's face, Casey grimaced uncomfortably and tried to explain more gently.

"If you make your case logically as to why you need information on the technology behind the intersect in order to establish a treatment plan for Chuck, you will get the information."

"The government is comfortable with you, his sister, providing medical care to Chuck. They don't want other doctors who might be affiliated with Fulcrum or have their own agendas to have any access to Chuck. You are the government's first choice unless you prove to be incompetent. "

"The government doesn't want me," denied Ellie. "The government doesn't want me. I'm just Chuck's tag along sister who happens to be a doctor."

"You're wrong," replied Casey. "As his sister, its true that you are important because you help reinforce Chuck's emotional well being. But they all trust that as his sister, you're less likely to betray him. That goes a long way in minimizing the possibility of a security breech. The government knows that the less people who know about Chuck, or what he looks like, the better to maintain this secret," explained Casey.

"You just have use your brain," growled Casey.

And that's exactly what Ellie did. She proved to Beckman that she needed to be briefed on the medical technology behind The Intersect.

And now as she looked out upon the cool water of Grand Lake, she marveled at the darkness that was in the hearts of men. It seemed so far away, unimaginable in this clear mountain retreat. But now she realized how very clever evil could be.

She had finally seen the medical reports on Chuck and the other poor subjects who had also been given The Intersect. It was clear that her brother truly was a medical marvel. It was a wonder that he was even still alive.

But it was also clear that Chuck was living on borrowed time. There would be no cures from the government. Quite frankly they were too invested in keeping Chuck for their use. They had even allowed the blond CIA agent to return to the Estate. Ellie was sure it was to distract Chuck from what was truly happening. The government would use Chuck until his hapless body could do no more. She hated the government and its blond temptress. Her presence seemed to reinforce the trickery that seemed to pervade their existence.

It both angered and focused Ellie. She was the only one who could truly free Chuck.

And so the young doctor began to plan her own dangerous agenda.