A/N:

Hey there! :)

So, I admit it has been a long time since I have written pretty much at all, but I hope this peaks your interest. Please review and don't be afraid to give some constructive criticism. I'm always open to suggestions! :D

I hope you enjoy!

CHUCK

The three members of Team Bartowski stood at attention, their eyes glued to the screen before them with the stony face of General Diane Beckman staring back at them, her eyes small and beady as always while a straight line was etched into her face where her mouth should be. Even as she spoke, her voice stayed as steady as a brick house in a storm. The map to the left of her stern face had a red dot blinking in the heart of New York city, showing them exactly where they needed to go.

Beckman informed the team, "This is the storage locker of an old acquaintance of mine. It's the home of some of the most dangerous and important artifacts to makind, which is why it's been locked up for so long. In this facility is also a package whose contents are vital to the perpetuation of human existence, and recently I've caught wind that its location may have been compromised. Chuck, you and your team must infiltrate this storage facility and obtain that package before anyone else. I've sent the exact location to your GPS, so it should be easy for you to find."

"Wait a minute," Sarah piped up before Beckman could leave again. "What kind of package are we dealing with? Do you have anyone meeting us?"

"No," Beckman answered, "The contents are too sensitive for that."

"Uh..." Chuck cleared his throat. "General, if you don't mind me saying, this whole operation seems a little... unusual." He crossed his arms over his chest, tilting his head to the side as the trio examined their superior for just a few more moments.

The woman on screen may have seemed stern before, but now – as her brow lowered over her eyes and her lips pressed together, making her cheekbones stand out more than before – she seemed rather terrifying. Chuck couldn't help but shuffle his feet, glancing away uncomfortably as she told him, "To be completely honest with you, Agent Bartowski, it's really none of your concern. As long as you're able to retrieve it before the competition, everything will be fine."

Casey joined in now with, "Understood, Ma'am. We'll acquire the package by nineteen hundred tonight."

"Perfect," came Beckman's reply. "To the rest of you – particularly you, Chuck – if you open the package, I will know, and you will be punished. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Chuck and Sarah chimed together.

"Good." Beckman nodded. "Remember: nineteen hundred tonight, and this is a stealth mission, but if you encounter the opposition don't hold back. They're vicious adversaries and will stop at nothing to get to it." With that, the image fluttered before giving out, leaving only a black screen with faint reflections of the team staring back at them. When they were sure the General was gone, Chuck loosened his shoulders and rolled his neck, letting out a heavy sigh before turning to the other two.

"I guess we better get crackin', huh?"

"Uhn," Colonel Casey simply grunted in reply before he turned and headed straight for the armory, leaving no time to spare between when he left and when he returned only minutes later with two duffle bags stuffed with all the weapons they might need, guns and knives included. He dropped them down onto the table as he started to sort them by what he liked and what might be useful on a trip like this.

As he watched his teammates get ready – Sarah, stuffing knives anywhere they would fit while Casey did the same with guns – Chuck wrung his hands together and stepped over to the computer, where Beckman had sent all the information about the package. An image of a small black box was showing in the corner of the screen. It was almost ancient-looking, with strange markings all around it, including a strange pentagram on top in some kind of white ink. He blinked a few times, stared at it some more, and narrowed his eyes when nothing seemed to be coming up from the Intersect.

"Anything?" Sarah asked. She came over to lean down beside him, her long hair sweeping over Chuck's shoulder while her hands pressed down onto the table beside him. Chuck felt his brow raise when he caught a whiff of her sweet perfume, making his nostrils flare slightly. He managed to keep his eyes steady on the screen.

"Uh..." He shrugged, his mouth twisting to the side as he tried to think of the right words to say. "No, uh, no flashes on this one. I just don't get it. Why would Beckman send us after something like this? It looks so..."

"Archaic," Sarah offered when Chuck failed to deliver.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Archaic."

It was a new voice from behind which snapped Chuck out of his perfume fever, and apparently which pulled Sarah out of her lean and into a pose with her hip cocked and one hand on it. Casey growled, "It doesn't matter why she would send us after it. It's a box, it's important. It doesn't matter what kind of voodoo was done on it. We go in, we get it, we get out. Simple."

At this, Chuck stood straight and turned to face the man – just as a gun was shoved toward him. He pinched his brow just above the bridge of his nose before taking it and attaching it to a holster around his waist that the other two had given him. Still, he continued to ask Casey, "And you're not even curious about what's in the box?"

"No," replied the man – or rather, machine. "Now let's get going. Nineteen hundred hours, remember?"

As they left the base, Chuck couldn't help but glance back at the computer, where he removed a flash drive he'd entered into the computer to gather all of the information. It was currently about one o'clock PM, which gave them about seven hours to get to New York and get the box.

It was about six-thirty when they set down their jet on the landing pad at the New York base just outside of the city. The team was given a simple black sedan to get to their destination – something that Chuck was honestly a little disappointed with, considering the place they were there to see. Honestly, though, it was better than getting a little Nerd Herder to drive around in, not to mention the class involved. Actually, now that he thought about it, it wasn't so bad to get something simple and sleek like a little, black car. It was when he was halfway through his thought, though, that the window he found himself staring at rolled down and Sarah's head popped out, her mouth upturned into a subtle smile while her wide eyes looked up at him from under some loose strands of fine blond hair.

"Chuck," she addressed him. "Get in."

He let out a small, rather huffy laugh before grabbing the door handle and pulling it open and sitting down next to her, while Casey sat in the front to drive. "Yeah," Chuck breathed as he did up his seatbelt opposite from Sarah, "Right.