Betrayal
by MySoapBox
This story is set after 3.7 "The Mask" AU after.
Hannah didn't like coming here. Even though she was a wushu master, even though she had felt the bones of many men crack under her hands, something about the coldness of the warehouse, the emptiness of it, gave her chills. She shook off the feeling, and approached the guards at the entrance where she flashed them the secret sign and mumbled the code word. The men nodded and she pulled open the door. The protocol was probably not necessary; they had seen her come through those doors enough times; but as Confucius taught, prudence, not protest, was always the best course of action. After all, she didn't need any unwanted attention.
The echo of her heals on the cement changed from high staccato, to low and resonant as she passed from the panic room into the vastness of the dark warehouse. The large brazen ring pulsed above the Council of Elders. She paused for a moment and took in the sight of the humongous symbol of her organization. Hannah's heart used to beat to that pulse. There was a time when she was absolutely converted to what the Ring stood for. But now, she had begun to question… She took a deep breath. It was not wise to have thoughts of weakness before her superiors. Focusing her mind on her mission, she stepped from the shadows into the beam of light at the center of the room.
"Xiăo Lóng." The deep male voice echoed eerily in the vastness of the room. "What is your report?"
She held her chin up and tried to focus her eyes in the bright beam. "My time with Charles Bartowski is at an end," she said confidently. "I have learned what the Elders desired to know."
"Tell us then, Xiăo Lóng." It was a woman's voice this time. "Does Charles Bartowski have what we seek?"
******
24 Hours Earlier
Hannah sat back in the cage of the Burbank Buy More, a pile of components sitting on the desk in front of her. She had always been good at networks, database management, that sort of thing, but hardware was not her forte. But she liked the solitude the work provided, and she needed the chance to listen in on the short range bug she had planted on Chuck.
She was getting close to learning what she wanted to know; she could feel it. Every time he made a lame excuse for yogurt, he was really going to a government base where he worked with three other agents, including that ex-girlfriend of his. They had the Intersect. At first she thought that it must be in that base, but then the few times she had been able to monitor him when he went on missions, she learned that they carried it with them somehow. Chuck was the main technician. The other three always went to him for Intersect information. But she had been through all of Chuck's apartment and work space and had found nothing, even when she knew he had the Intersect and hadn't had time to return it to his base.
He could have disguised the super computer to look like anything. Hannah was a computer expert, but next to Chuck, she was just an amateur. He was a genius. She was amazed that no one else around him seemed to notice. Even the agents on his team seemed to take him for granted. Hannah had been in this line of work long enough to know that Chuck Bartowski's abilities should not be underestimated.
She heard him entering the store, and she unconsciously smiled when he asked about her whereabouts at the Nerd Herd desk. Shoving her earpiece in her purse, she picked up a screwdriver and started to work on the back of a CPU. Chuck came walking into the cage.
"Hey. You're working hard," he said, leaning in for a kiss, and then sitting on the edge of the desk opposite her. She loved the easy way he kissed her and the genuine way he seemed to miss her when they were apart.
"Well, you know," she said with a smirk on her lips, "always good to get back to the fundamentals. You know - 'to become one with the computer'."
Chuck nodded knowingly. "Jeff and Lester bothering you again?"
"They are a little creepy," she acknowledged.
"Uh huh," Chuck said, reaching out for her, and pulling her easily to him. "I guess I'll have to whisk you away from this place and save you."
Hannah giggled; dropping the screwdriver on the counter, she wrapped her arms around him. "You're my hero, Chuck." She looked up into his eyes, and saw the sparkle that she had grown so fond of. She loved the way his eyes crinkled at the edges when he smiled, which was often. She felt his breath on her cheek and his hand came up and brushed her hair over her ear. She closed her eyes as she felt his hand on her jaw pulling her into him. As they kissed, she reveled in the warmth that she felt deep in her chest, and the way it spread across her whole body. Yet somewhere in the back of her mind she knew feeling this way was a big mistake.
"I got something for you," he said, letting her go and reaching into his back pocket. He pulled out a small black square dangling on a key chain.
Her heart skipped a beat, but she immediately dismissed the idea that the Intersect could be so small. "What it is?" she asked.
"It's a digital picture frame. Now you can carry your favorite pictures wherever you go," he said, holding it out to her.
She was truly surprised at the gift. "What's the occasion?"
A big smile crossed his lips. "Don't you remember?" She quickly thought of what she might be missing. He didn't make her think long. "It's been four weeks since our first kiss," he offered.
"Oh, you're right. That's so sweet," she said and kissed him again before taking the small gadget from his proffered hand. The screen showed a picture of them together. They were wearing their Nerd Herd uniforms, his arm was around her, they were smiling. She recognized it from the first week she worked at the Buy More.
"You can see the next picture by pushing this button." Chuck reached around her and put his hand over hers to show her where. The next picture was her at dinner with Chuck's sister and her husband last week. It was the first night she met his family. She shouldn't have, but she couldn't suppress the small thrill she felt when he introduced her to them as his "girlfriend."
In the next picture they were wearing 3D glasses waiting for Avatar to begin. They were holding hands and he had a big tub of blue popcorn on his lap. That was the night he first turned her down when she offered to spend the night. He said he wasn't ready, that he wanted to take things slow.
There were only a couple more pictures on the small device: a romantic night at the pier and a Lost season premier party with the Buy More gang.
"That's the last picture," he said, though he didn't back away or break contact. "Sorry there aren't more."
"We haven't been together that long." She turned around and faced him. "That's the sweetest thing anyone's done for me in a long time," she said.
A grin covered Chuck's face. "You like it?" he asked.
"I love it," she said, and then pulling him closer she whispered. "If you let me, I'll show you how much." She leaned in and kissed him, promising things to come. He kissed her back, and for a moment it was nice, but then he ended it prematurely.
Pulling back, he smiled, but let loose of her a little bit. "I'll look forward to that," he said.
Hannah made sure not to let it show, but her heart sunk a little. "Hey," she said after an awkward pause. "How about I take you out to dinner tonight to celebrate? My treat."
"Sounds great," he gave her a little squeeze before letting her go. "Well, I guess I better get back to work," he said while jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "Or those guys are going to start wondering what we're doing in here."
"I guess so," she said. She couldn't help the feeling of disappointment that washed over her.
He started to push through the door back to the showroom. "I'll see ya later then," he called out to her.
"Yeah, see ya." Hannah collapsed in her chair and spent a long time looking toward the door where Chuck had just been. "Crap, Hannah," she mumbled, "get your head in the game." She fished in her purse for her ear piece, and then picked up the screwdriver from where she had abandoned it on the counter. Getting back to work on the CPU she tried to mentally review the objectives of this mission. But even in the act of doing so, she knew it was pointless. She was already too gone.
*
She picked up Chuck at his apartment and they headed to an exclusive little Chinese restaurant she knew across town. Her mother had emigrated from Indonesia, but her grandparents were originally from Tianjin. If there was one great regret that Hannah had, it was that she hadn't learned more from her mother before she died. But one thing she did remember was the traditional food she would cook. Eating some dishes was like having her back. And even though she knew she couldn't tell Chuck what it meant, at least she could share it with him on some level.
She and Chuck sat in a small booth, covered with decorative red and purple silk. When the waitress came, Hannah ordered for both of them in Mandarin.
He laughed when the waitress left the table. "I hope you ordered me something good. We're not having monkey brains or anything like that."
She smiled mysteriously. "I guess you'll have to wait to find out."
She had left her hand out on the table, and was glad when he took her hand in his. There was a pause in the conversation and she marveled again at how much she loved his eyes. It was like she could see into his very soul.
Chuck cleared his throat. "So where did you learn to speak…"
"Mandarin," she supplied.
"…Mandarin, then."
"My last job had me travel a lot. I learned a few things along the way."
"Well, I think that's just awesome."
"I'm pretty sure I said it right, but don't be too surprised if she brings us a taxi or a bathroom, because those are the other phrases I know."
Chuck chucked, "I'll watch out for that."
Their server returned with some traditional sweet and sour soup, and Chuck, who seemed apprehensive after his first taste, dipped his spoon in for more. Their conversation was easy and pleasant. The topic soon drifted from work, to her telling him about her favorite café in Paris, and Chuck sharing a funny story about him and Morgan in high school.
Their dinner arrived in an assortment of several small decorative covered bowls. Hannah loved the way his face lit up as he reached to uncover each lid, like he was discovering treasure - golden pork in one, dumplings in another. Hannah sat back and chuckled as he clumsily serve up the dishes onto his plate with his chopsticks.
"This is almost better than sizzling shrimp," he exclaimed after tasting the curried prawns.
"Then what?" she asked, never having heard of the dish.
"Oh, just this place Sarah and I…" he trailed off. "Never mind. What I mean to say was this is wonderful, Hannah. Thanks for bringing me here."
"I'm glad you like it," she said, overlooking his blunder.
A few minutes later, as Hannah reached for the last dumpling, she heard raised voices from across the room. She looked up to see a young man in a Lakers jacket standing next to a table where sat several men in dark suits. He was yelling in Cantonese. She didn't know much of the language, but there were enough similarities that she was able to pick out a few words.
Across from her, she saw Chuck shutter, and his eyes roll up into his head. "Chuck, what's wrong?" she asked.
"That guy over there," he stammered. "His name is Zhou Yat-sen. He's a member of an extreme Tibetan separatist movement …."
"Chuck…" Hannah interrupted, "how do you know that?"
But he went on as if he didn't hear her. "And that guy he's yelling at – that's Hu Pai, a low level agent at the Chinese embassy. Zhou is demanding the release of one of his friends from prison!"
"Since when do you speak Cantonese? Chuck?"
"I have to call Sarah!"
"What? Why do you have to call Sarah?"
"Did I say Sarah? I meant the police. I think we should call the police." He reached for his phone .
The argument was getting louder and then the young man turned around and yelled in a thick accent, "All people, hands up! I have a bomb!"
The patrons in the restaurant let out a collective gasp of surprise and fear. Chuck dropped his phone and he and Hannah raised their hands, along with the other customers.
The young man unzipped his jacket to reveal several canisters wrapped in duct tape connected with wires. He started to pace around the room like a caged tiger. "If this man," he said pointing to one of the men in suits at the table, "does not call the embassy and get my friend free in the next thirty minute, I will blow this place to hell!" He pulled a small cylinder, the size of a lighter, from the vest and clicked in a switch with his thumb. "If any of you cry for help, we will all die."
He continued stalking around the room, displaying the bomb. He passed right by where Hannah and Chuck were sitting and as he turned briefly to face them, Hannah saw Chuck's eyes flutter again, and he jerked slightly before shaking his head and refocusing.
"If any of you try to leave or call on phone, we all die!" The man picked up Chuck's phone off the table and tossed it across the room as he continued walking.
She felt Chuck's hand tighten around hers and he leaned across the table. "That bomb is ammonia based - favored by the Chinese mafia - and that thing he's holding, it's a death switch. If he lets go of that we are all done for," he whispered.
Hannah's heart started to hammer. After all that she had seen and done in her life. She never imagined that it might end like this.
"The only way we all going to get out of here alive," the young man continued, "is when my friend is free." He finished pacing at the back of the room, and stood facing everyone. He looked at his watch. "The time begin now."
She could feel Chuck's had tremble in hers. "We have to do something," Chuck whispered.
"Do what? Chuck, how did you know all that? The names, and what he was saying, and about the bomb?"
"I…" She could see his forehead start to shine with sweat. "I'm good at remembering stuff," he said.
"Like a photographic memory?" she asked.
"Something like that," he answered.
"No talking!" the man with the bomb yelled.
Hannah closed her eyes and started to put the pieces together: the weird eye shuttering; Chuck's sudden bursts of knowledge; all the conversations about the Intersect she had heard over the bug. Could it be possible? She opened her eyes to see Chuck looking nervously around the room. She followed his eyes to the bomber, standing coolly, looking over the crowd. It wouldn't be hard to kill the bomb guy, she thought, sizing him up. She could do it with one stroke. But then that would expose her cover with Chuck. Best to keep her head low and hope this worked itself out.
"I'm going to try talking to him," Chuck said.
"What?!" That is exactly what she didn't want to do.
He stood from the table. "You stay down," he said to her.
"Chuck!" she called out, but he was already walking towards the bomber.
She'd be damned if she was going to lose him now. She stood and followed behind him, her muscles tensing, and her mind calculating the best moves to kill the bomber if she needed to.
"You there," the man called out to Chuck. "Stay where you are. No closer!"
Chuck held up his hands to show he wasn't armed, but continued to approach the man. "I just want to talk," Chuck said.
The bomber answered with something in Cantonese. Chuck replied in Cantonese. Hannah saw the young man's eyes widen. Their exchange went back and forth, and Hannah was able to make out a few words like "innocent" and "different" and "people".
For a moment it looked as if the man was going to back down, but then he yelled out something and raised the hand with the death switch. Chuck's head shook a little and then, as quickly as any master she had ever seen, Chuck spun round and kicked the man in the face. Simultaneously, he reached out and balled his left hand around the outside of the man's hand that held the death switch.
The people in the restaurant screamed and scattered, stampeding towards the exit, while Chuck and the bomber struggled. Hannah pushed a table out of the way, to try to reach them and help Chuck. Chuck used their joined hands around the death switch as a sort of fulcrum point, swinging the man towards him and landing another kick to his head. The man collapsed to the ground.
"Grab this switch, will ya?" Chuck called to her. She could hear sirens in the distance as she made her way around the table to where Chuck loomed over the man.
Hannah carefully slid her finger over the switch as Chuck released his grip on the unconscious man's hand. He pulled open the Lakers jacket and she could hear him mumbling: "Where are you, where are you," as he moved his hands over the bomb. "Got ya!" he finally said and pulled out a little wire from the bottom of one of the bottles. "It's okay, we're okay now," he said, panting and collapsing back on his knees. "You can let go of the switch."
Terror coursed through her. Didn't Chuck say that if this switch was triggered they would all die? "Are you sure? How do you know?"
He looked up to her and placed his hand on her arm. "Trust me," he said. His eyes were clear and confident. He should have been falling to pieces but his hands were no longer trembling. "I know."
She considered him for a second. She knew Chuck was a spy, but he was also the most genuine guy she had ever met. True, he was often running off somewhere with a lame excuse for his absence, but when they were together he made her feel like the most important person in the world. She looked into his eyes and somehow knew the only lie he would ever tell her would be one meant to protect her. She was safe with him. Hannah took a deep breath and let go of the switch. Nothing happened. She breathed a ragged breath of relief.
"Now, if you don't mind, I'd rather not get involved in this," he said.
She nodded her head. She felt the same way. "A long police questioning is the last thing I want to go through tonight," she agreed. Chuck smiled and reached up his hand. She pulled him to his feet and they embraced.
"Let's get out of here," she said. Chuck picked his phone off the floor and hand-in-hand, they fled the restaurant.
*
The drive home was quiet. Hannah went over and over in her mind what had just happened. She was positive that the Intersect wasn't some super computer like she was led to believe, but it was Chuck Bartowski – or in his head at least. She should drive him to Ring headquarters right now and collect the small fortune that was promised her. But then she remembered the look in his eye when he asked her to trust him and she felt an ache deep in her chest. One more night, she told herself. What would one more night change? And then tomorrow she would report what she learned and let some Ring lackey do the dirty work, somewhere far from her eyes. But would it be far enough away from her heart?
"Uh, Chuck," she ventured. "Would you mind terribly, if I stayed at your place tonight? I can't get the image of that guy…"
He looked over at her. She was sure he could see the distress she left unmasked in her features.
"Hey, sure," he said, reaching out and putting his hand on her leg. She took her right hand off the steering wheel and put it on top of his. "Not every day you look death in the face like that," he added
She squeezed his hand. Only she could truly appreciate the irony in that sentiment unwittingly shared between two spies. Both of them had stared death in the eye more than any human being should. Maybe it was time for both of them to retire. They could get a ticket to somewhere far away on the other side of the world. Could he ever forgive her if she told him who she truly was? Or could she feed him a lie and entice him to runaway with her for a new life?
They pulled into the parking lot and walked up to the apartment hand in hand. She didn't see any lights on inside. "No Morgan tonight?" she asked, as Chuck fished the keys out of his pocket.
"He's over at Skip's for an all night Mass Effect marathon."
She wrinkled her nose. "Sounds exciting," she said dryly.
"It's a pretty cool game," he said. "But it's not as good as spending time with someone like you." He turned his key in the door. "Even if it did mean that we faced a crazy suicidal bomber."
Chuck flipped on the lights and Hannah walked in and dropped her purse on the sofa. "Yeah, I'm having bad luck lately. A few weeks ago I get locked in a museum vault with a very aggressive fire extinguishing feature, and then tonight I nearly get blown up over rice and dumplings."
She hoped he would laugh at her attempt at lightheartedness, but Chuck only shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm really sorry those things happened to you," he said. He seemed almost deflated.
"Hey," she said, coming over to him. "You saved me, both times. You shouldn't be sorry, Chuck. You're a hero."
"Being a hero just means that the people you care about are in danger," Chuck said, looking at the ground.
"The museum thing was not your fault. I shouldn't have gone there alone." She put her hand on his cheek so he would look at her. "And It wasn't your fault that there was a suicide bomber at the restaurant tonight. If anything it was my fault. I choose the restaurant."
Chuck smiled. "Yeah, I guess you're right about that."
"And you were brilliant, you spoke Cantonese, and you did some sort of Karate thing and you disabled a bomb."
"I…uh…" he stammered.
"Chuck, it doesn't matter." The moment the words came out of her mouth she knew it was true. It didn't matter that he was CIA and she was the Ring. It didn't matter that he was the Intersect that she'd been hired to find. It only mattered that he was Chuck and she was Hannah, and they were at the beginning of something that could be wonderful. "Whatever it is you can't tell me, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you saved my life – twice."
A smile lit his face. "Yeah, I did. Didn't I?"
She stood up on her tip toes and kissed him. "Yes you did," she whispered, and kissed him again, reaching up her hands around to the back of his neck. While their height difference didn't bother her, it did make it difficult to reach him the way she wanted when they were both standing. Chuck must have felt the same way because his arms wrap around her and he hoisted her onto the nearby table top. Their kisses deepened, and she could feel all the emotions of the night, all the stress and fear, begin to pour out. Again, Hannah marveled at how she could feel so strongly for him in such a short time. He was so unlike any mark she had ever worked. So many times they were scum bags, easy to burn in the end. But Chuck - a guy like him didn't come around more than once in a lifetime.
"Chuck," she breathed, "let's go to bed."
He didn't say anything, but answered her by picking her up in his arms. Their lips didn't part as he pushed his way through the bedroom door, and placed her in the middle of the bed, falling on top of her as he did so. Hannah started to work the buttons on Chuck's shirt. She could feel his hands across her back. Anxious, she ripped out the last button and began pushing the shirt from his shoulders.
He responded by pulling her shirt over her head and then taking her up again in his arms. She began to kiss his neck and she could feel his hands at her sides, across her stomach and around her back. But then as she went to kiss him again, she felt his hands freeze in place. And when she reached her hands down to unbutton his pants, he put his hand over hers, and stopped them. "I'm sorry. I can't," he said.
"Of course you can…we can. Chuck, after what happened today, we deserve this."
"I know. I'm sorry." He rolled off her and settled next to her on the bed.
"It is something I did?" she asked, feeling a flush of disappointment course through her body.
"No, no, it's not you, It's me."
She breathed out in frustration. "We're not in Junior High school anymore."
"Sorry," he said again. "It's just too soon for me."
The vision of a tall blond entered Hannah's mind and she immediately knew what this was about. She had seen it on his face right after they first kissed. It was obvious that he and his partner were long from being over. "This is about Sarah, isn't it?" she said, picking up her shirt and pulling it on.
Chuck paused, and then nodded his head.
She so much wanted him to deny it, wanted him to take her up in his arms again. But the writing on the wall had been there from the very beginning.
"It still feels like a betrayal, ya know?" he said.
"You still love her," Hannah said. It wasn't a question.
"I can't betray someone I love. I'm just not that guy."
The only decent guy she had ever met and he had already given his heart to another. He reached out and brushed her hair behind her ear. "I don't know how long it will take. But when we are together for the first time, I want to be able to give you my whole heart, no reservations. Can you give me time?"
She could feel the tears well up in her eyes. "Of course," she said, her heart breaking. "I'll give you all the time you need." It was perhaps the truest thing she had ever said to him.
Chuck leaned towards her and kissed her. His kiss was slow and so full of promises of a future that Hannah knew would never be. He brushed her hair back from her face one last time, and then he stood and left her alone in the room.
Hannah crawled under the covers, not bothering to undress. She had to decide her next move before morning. She didn't even try to close her eyes.
******
"Tell us then, Xiăo Lóng." The woman's voice echoed in the chamber. "Does Charles Bartowski have what we seek?"
Hannah hesitated. A few hours ago Chuck would have found a goodbye note on his bed. Maybe he would go to her apartment looking for her. He might be worrying, when she didn't show up at work. He may have even called Sarah and the rest of his team to look for her. How long would it take them to discover who she really was? What would he think of her then? Whatever he thought it didn't matter. He loved Sarah, he always had, and perhaps he always will.
She stood straight and looked up toward the council. "Charles is only a technician. A talented one, but nothing more. I found no connection with the CIA or the NSA."
"But where then is the Intersect?" boomed another voice from the council. "We know it is connected to the Buy More in Burbank!" Hannah could hear the Ring's lap dogs waiting in the shadows.
She spoke loudly so that all could hear. "In all the time I spent working on this assignment, I never found any trace of the Intersect. If it was in Burbank, it is there no longer."
She could hear murmuring in the blackness all around her. A voice boomed out, hushing the room. " Xiăo Lóng, you have served the Ring well in the past. You're failure is a disappointment"
"You are disappointed because I bring you the truth?" she challenged.
"No, because you did not succeed in the mission," another Elder said.
Hannah tightened her jaw and her fists. "You're information is old. Your operatives sloppy. This error is not mine! I am Xiăo Lóng! I am the Dragon. I do not make mistakes!"
She stood in the light, her heart pounding out of her chest. She could she their silhouettes turned to one another and hear their whispering. This moment was more dangerous than a hundred restaurant bombers. Would they buy her bluff?
After what seemed an eternity she heard the voice of the lead Elder, "We will spare your life, this time. Do not disappoint us again."
Hannah bowed, but did not let her eyes fall from the Elders. She saw the man in the middle nod, and then she stepped out of the light. Temporarily blinded by the darkness, she kept walking, retracing her steps exactly as she had come. All her senses were at high alert to any attack from the Elder's henchmen. It would only be a matter of time before they discovered her lies, and then they would kill her, if they could.
She was relieved when she made it safely to her car. She turned to check that her suitcases were still in the back seat along with the documents for her new identity. Reaching into her coat pocked for her keys, she paused and ran her finger along the small digital keychain. She resisted the urge to turn it on. There would be time enough for heartbreak when she reached the other side of the world. She jammed her key into the ignition and sped away.
Thanks go to my beta reader Angelinthecrowd, whom I think I have convinced to overcome her fear and publish her first fanfiction.