First story.
"I own not, you sue not."
-LOS ANGELES, CA: EXACT LOCATION UNKNOWN: 10:00 PM-
"I'm losing you! Franco, you there?" The crackling earpiece had barely even nicked "Rebecca's attention from the hard, dark pavement before her, all of it a blur.
"Shaw, I'm going to kill you!" "Rebecca" growled through the earpiece, quickly turning left of the large corporate building, starting down a new path. To her, it all looked the same. Dark on top of dark. The cold air froze her cheeks as she tore through it, making her hasty escape.
"Shaw's not there." Justin's cold voice filled the other end of the line. "Do you have it?" his voice was raw with anxiety. Not for her….for the chip.
"No." She replied steadily, her gaze falling behind her as she turned her head. The guards had just caught her turn and were drawing their guns. She approached a quick fork in the road.
"Right or left?" She demanded, panting the words out.
A pause.
"JUSTIN, NOW!" she cried.
"Left." He decided, his voice cold and calculating, as if she wasn't about to get shot.
Sarah turned left, into the darkness, running fast and hard.
There were five armed security guards there, advancing on her with their guns raised.
"Stop!" They cried as she wheeled around, eyes scanning the thick darkness for some sort of escape…..anything would do. She checked her surroundings; an alleyway. She eyed the dumpster beside her and kicked up in a flurry, using it to fling herself over.
The gun shot rang out.
"Ah!" "Rebecca" cried, hitting the floor with a solid thud.
Several more shots rang out, than cries. Her supposed "team" had arrived. Where the hell were they two minutes ago? She couldn't control the tears that immediately fell as her arm throbbed at first, then felt as if someone were tearing it apart.
Examining it for bullets, she found none. Sighing in relief, she got up to her feet, eyes immediately scanning her surroundings for any more threats. The men behind her were gone, engaged in a firefight she couldn't see. Seizing the opportunity, she hurled herself through the darkness, recognizing the area she was in as the back way to the corporate building she'd stolen from. Her own personal hell.
Both the tension and humidity were palpable as she continued to drag herself forward, abandoning her so called team in the night air. They lied to her. Used her. They led her right into their trap. Shaw, Justin, Lazlo….all of them, she'd been a sucker.
She made her way through the darkness, seeing the faint lights in the distance. She was heading towards the outskirts now, in what was probably the Burbank area.
Minutes felt like hours as she trudged on, tightly pressing her jacket around her wound as she winced and cried. She didn't care….no one was there to see her.
She went on and on towards the light, finally reaching the main street way, where cars were flying by; blurs in the dim light. She let out a huff as she fell against a streetlight, content to die there.
Justin and Shaw could screw themselves…..she had the chip. She'd lied to Justin…..that's why he'd wanted to kill her off. Without the chip, she was nothing but a liability, nothing but some skank they'd picked up.
She was much smarter than that. And her reward? A very serious arm injury in one of her many near death scenarios, the kind her line of work, if it could be called that, brought upon her.
"Morgan, it's not in the trun- Oh my god!" Sarah's head shot up, hands slipping to her knife on her side….the one she'd lost in the building.
The curly haired man looked genuinely confused as he dropped his phone, Sarah watched as it clattered to the hard cement floor.
"Are you alright?" He asked, watching her in utter horror. His eyes fell to the wound on her arm, her black jacket sleeve damp.
"Is….is that…b…blood?" He stuttered, his rich, dark chocolate eyes searching the area. Finding nothing but speeding cars, he immediately came to the conclusion that no one was going to save her.
"Oh god! Let me call 911!"
"NO!" The beautiful blonde spoke for the first time, deep blue eyes meeting his. She winced, leaning back harder against the thick street light. "No…hospitals…" she breathed, angry with herself. How could she let it get this far?'
"What…you'll die!" He argued. "Where's your family? Where do you live?" Questions poured out of him as he ran to retrieve his cell phones. He knelt beside her, eyes finding the wound again. "Let me just…"
"No." She repeated firmly, arm throbbing. She closed her eyes for a minute, the searing pain too much to bear. "I can't…."
Chuck watched her in horror. "What do I do?" He half whispered, unsure of whom it was that he was asking.
"Nothing…." The beauty replied, leaning her head back. She wanted the man to leave….to let her die already.
"My sister is a doctor!" He suddenly seemed to remember. "Our home….it's only two minutes away, please!" he cried, unable to watch someone die on the street when he could help so easily.
"Oh….okay…" Sarah nodded. Chuck turned to open the door, knowing she'd need major help getting back up. The moment he turned away, the blonde ripped the tracking chip and comm. link from her ear, tossing it under his car wheels.
Turning, the chocolate eyed man hurried over, easing her into an upright position as he got her into the car, shutting the door slowly, as if the sound its self could hurt her.
Sliding into the driver's seat he murmured. "I'm Chuck, by the way." He was already pulling out. Sarah thought she heard the comm. link crunch as the ran over it, much to her satisfaction. "Chuck Bartowski…"
Sarah, for whatever reason, decided to go by her favorite, unused alias. "I'm Sarah." She managed, clenching her teeth as she felt a sharp pang in her right arm…her good arm. "Sarah Walker…." And unable to bear the pain anymore, she gave in to the swirling city lights around her, head hitting the window with a gentle thud.
Chuck knew she was running out of time.
"Where exactly did you find her, again?" Ellie asked Chuck, watching the beautiful blonde who was lying on Chuck's bed, arm in a sling. "Chuck, she barely scraped by…"
"Between Redford and Fairplace." He replied, listing the streets easily when he remembered she was under the light. "Somewhere around there anyway…"
"And you brought her here?"
"She wouldn't let me call the hospital, El! I tried, I swear!" Chuck whispered sharply.
Ellie ruffled Chuck's hair….maybe all the old posters in his dimly lit room made her feel nostalgic. "I know you meant good….you always do….but what if Devon and I weren't home?"
Chuck shuddered, clearly reluctant to think of what might have been.
Ellie decided it was time to drop that aspect of their current situation. "What's her name again?" Ellie eyed the blonde with a wondering gaze; the girl looked like she could be right off the cover of a fashion magazine…..but her clothes….it looked like she'd been in a burning house full of thorns….and that was putting it kindly.
"Sarah Walker…." Chuck told her. "That's all she told me before she was out like a light."
"Why didn't she want to see a doctor at the hospital?" Ellie still seemed skeptical.
"Maybe she hates needles like me?"
Ellie rolled her eyes. "Look at her clothes Chuck…..I just cleaned a bullet graze wound."
Chuck's eyes widened at the discovery. "No way."
"Yes…way." Ellie frowned. Who was the potentially dangerous stranger on her brother's bed?
"Oh god…." Chuck breathed. "Do we call the cops?"
Ellie suppressed a wry chuckle. "You think she's had enough for a night?"
"El, stop, you're making my head hurt…." He complained.
Smiling kindly, his sister winked at him. Ellie made a motion to shut the door, but Chuck didn't follow.
Frowning, she asked. "Staying?"
"I want to be here in case she wakes up." Chuck shrugged as if it were nothing.
Ellie sighed, and then nodded. "I'm proud of you Chuck."
"Love you El." He replied with a little Bartowski patented smile.
"Love you more, Chuck."
-CASA BARTOWSKI, ECHO PARK, CA: 8:00 AM-
Sarah woke up with a start, pushing off her arms to force herself into an upright position. She immediately cried out in pain, wincing as she regretted her move. Her eyes fell to her arm, resting in a professional looking sling.
"Oh my god, you're up!" The chocolate eyed man spoke….Chuck. "Are you feeling alright?"
Sarah took advantage of the water beside the table, taking a quick sip of the cool liquid to ease her dry throat. Leaning back, she nodded. "What happened….Chuck….?" she managed.
"I got you home and my sister patched you up….the injury itself isn't too bad, but you'd lost a lot of blood….and you were really banged up." He informed her, concern tinting his tone. "I thought we would've lost you for sure…."
Sarah bit her lip for a moment, glancing at him unsurely. This was the worst kind of situation; one without a clear escape route.
Chuck seemed to understand the uneasiness that covered the blonde's expression. He immediately reassured her, in hopes that she might choose to rest a while longer.
"Thank you…" she sighed. "I would've died, if not for you…." She may have wanted it that way.
"Of course…."Chuck nodded, genuinely glad she was alright. "Do you mind if I….ask some quick questions? I can get you breakfast right after."
Sarah took in a breath. Questions were never good. "Yeah….um, sure." She felt like an awkward teenager. Glancing deep into his eyes, she felt her heart rate rise. She quickly averted her gaze.
"So….ah…..what happened?" he asked gently, as if asking louder would make her leave.
"I was….." Sarah paused. How could she word it so that he wouldn't think she was a lying criminal…..she was, after all. "Doing something I shouldn't have." 'God Dammit Walker, that was the best you could do?'
"Uh huh." Chuck nodded, not willing to admit that he was utterly confused.
"Look….it's ah…um…"
"-let me guess….complicated?" Chuck tried, knowing the line all too well.
Sarah sighed, glancing down. Chocolate eyes over here wasn't making this any easier on her….she was screwed. She had nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, no money, and-the chip! Where were her clothes? She glanced down; finding herself in what was supposedly Chuck's sister's clothing. She sighed in relief when she found them on the chair beside Chuck, the chip hopefully in her pocket.
"I have nowhere to go…" she told him finally, taking in a breath. "I was doing something bad….and I screwed up…."
Chuck nodded, trying not to show any shock. "Family?"
She shook her head. She hadn't seen her dad in a long time, not since she was dropped off by him, leaving her to Shaw and his cronies.
Chuck frowned, taking in a breath. "Alright then, Sarah Walker…." He offered her a little smile. "How about some breakfast?"
Sarah's eyes widened. He wasn't going to kick her out on the spot? She was telling him about her criminal activity for god's sake!
"You're not going to kick me out?" She finally asked.
"What? Oh, god no…." Chuck answered immediately. "I'm going to try and help you…if anything…."
Sarah was shocked, honestly. Why? How could he possibly want anything to do with her? "Why….?" She finally found her voice yet again.
Chuck just smiled, rising from his chair.
"You didn't sleep all night?"
"What?" Chuck looked confused momentarily at the quick subject change. "Oh, no…" he replied. "I wanted to be here incase you woke up…" he reached to rub his neck. "Guess I fell asleep on the job…" he laughed.
Sarah allowed a beautiful little smile, a rarity these past few days. "Thank you, Chuck…"
Chuck smiled, cheeks burning red. "It was really nothing….I just…sleep isn't….I'll see you for pancakes."