A/N: Here it is, the much-supported sequel idea that I had for Chuck vs The Trouble Shooter. If you didn't read that fic, this one might not make total sense, but feel free to give it a shot. If you did read that fic and either reviewed or voted in the poll saying you wanted a sequel, this is for you! :-)
Setting: This takes place in Season 2, after Cole's visit in Beefcake/Lethal Weapon but before the Orion arc that started in Predator.
Disclaimer: Chuck and all its recognisable characters belong to Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak, and other important people that aren't me. I own the original character, Marie.
Chapter 1
"Why do things never go according to the plan?" yelled Chuck as he pelted down the hotel corridor at top speed, arms and legs flailing like Kermit the Frog.
From around the corner behind him appeared the regulation gun-toting thug that was after him. Of course he didn't get any further as Sarah appeared out of the door right in front of him, slamming him to the ground with a well-placed kick, and ensuring he was going to stay down, before hurrying to catch up to the Asset that meant so much more to her than just the job.
"Casey" she barked into her watch as she ran, "One down, one still loose" she warned him, "I'm taking Chuck back to the Castle. Watch your back"
"Always do" came his response, as he peered around the next corner, gun ready in his hands should he run across the second of the enemy pair that had caused them trouble tonight.
It wasn't as big a problem as it might be, they weren't Fulcrum or anything, just a couple of wannabe bad guys that had got in the way of a little recon. Unfortunately, they had guns that were no less capable of causing injury or death, in fact their nervousness and lack of skill made it all the more likely they would cause Casey harm. It didn't matter much to him, this was what he lived for, the thrill of the chase, the drama and action of it all. So much the better without Bartowski hanging like a weight around his neck as he did the job he loved.
Peering around the corner at the same moment as the enemy, Casey ducked back just in time as a shot rang out down the empty hallway. Backing up a few steps, keeping alert and aware that at any moment he could be under attack again, the NSA agent really was not ready for the door to open behind him and a maid to step out into the corridor. Reacting lightning fast the second his back bumped hers, Casey spun around, training the gun on perhaps the last face he had ever expected to see.
"Of all the hotels in all the towns..." she breathed, a smile curving her lips as she pushed her new copper-dyed waves back over her shoulder.
"Think you'll find you're in my town, Clarke" he told her, no real malice in his words as he let his grip on the gun loosen, a hardly-ever-seen smile forming on his face.
"Clarke, huh?" Marie looked amused and surprised by his words, "So formal, John, after all we shared" she teased him, feeling the heat as genuine between them now as it had been over a year ago when they'd last seen each other.
"What are you doing here, Marie?" he asked her seriously, trying to remember he also needed to be on guard for the guy somewhere behind him, still armed and out to get him.
"Well, y'know if I told you I'd have to kill you" she told him, one hand skimming the edge of her short skirt, hitching it up a little further til Casey saw the edge of the gun she had strapped to her thigh.
Clearly some kind of mission had brought her back to Burbank, and as with all agents, Marie could not reveal any details for fear of trouble from either the enemy or the bosses. Casey understood that, and whatever Marie was here for didn't matter to him, so long as she was on his side. He didn't always like members of the CIA, and that included Walker, but this particular member of the force he could deal with having around.
"Why do I think now isn't a good time for catching up?" she asked him as he peered behind him around the corner again, still very aware of his own mission.
"Can't say you're wrong" agreed Casey, turning a moment later and firing off a couple of shots - one bullet hit the wall, the other skimmed the oppositions shoulder, but it didn't stop him firing back, "Why won't this asshole just die?" he said more to himself than to Marie.
She laughed lightly at his words, peering around the corner herself and leaning all over Casey in the process. He would've argued but there was little point, besides which it wasn't the worst feeling in the world and evoked all kinds of memories he couldn't help but enjoy.
"He's not so tough" she said as she moved away again, pulling the gun from the holster at her thigh and flashing Casey a decent view in the process, "You work a hotel like I've been doing, you get the layout locked down before you start" she smiled, tapping the side of head as if to indicate all the information she could possibly need in there as she suddenly ran off in the opposite direction.
Casey couldn't quite make out what her plan was and didn't have time to wonder. In the few seconds that he spent trying to decide between going after her or making a new attack on the enemy, he heard a crash and turned to find the guy who he'd been trying to out manoeuvre was lying on the floor, his head and arms visible around the corner now. With a frown of confusion, Casey approach him carefully, gun cocked and ready for attack, only to have Marie appear at his side once again, now with two weapons in her hands, her own and the enemy's gun apparently.
"You wanted him dead, right?" she asked him, breathing heavily, her chest drawing his attention some, not least because her shirt had got torn in her tussle.
Casey knew he ought to be a professional, worry first about disposing of the body and then getting back to the Castle, letting Walker and Bartowski know everything was taken care of. Strangely, or perhaps not really so strange, all he could think about was the night Marie Clarke had last left town, what almost happened before they found out who she really was.
Forcing his base instincts down with his forceful resolve and over-riding need to do his job for his country's sake, Casey tore his eyes from the shapely form of his impromptu partner and concentrated on getting a message back to the Castle.
"Walker, it's Casey" he barked into his watch, "Two down, just gotta deal with the aftermath"
"Copy that, Casey" came Sarah's reply, "We'll need disposal, Room 515" she spoke of the other body left behind, "You need a hand?"
He glanced at Marie who shook her head no as she put her gun back in her holster, the other in the waistband of her skirt and then set about dragging the body by its arm down the hall.
"I can handle the clean up" he said definitely, breaking the connection then and helping Marie with getting rid of the guy who had already been a pain in his ass all day, "There's another one on the fifth floor" he told her.
"Not a problem" she assured him, all business for a minute as they took the body to the room she'd originally come out of and dumped him there.
Within seconds she was talking into a radio to some team somewhere, ordering a pickup by the sounds of it as she gave them the number of the two rooms where the dead men lay.
"You didn't need these guys for anything, right?" she checked, to which Casey shook his head no, and they left in silence, her locking the door up again behind them and hanging a Do Not Disturb sign on the knob just in case, "Hate that part" she winced a little as she turned away.
"Death is part of life" shrugged Casey, not at all phased apparently, "Better them than us" he told her easily.
"That is true" she sighed as they walked down the hall together, "I mean, some people are just too pretty to die" she said with a playful smile that was impossible for Casey not to react to.
"Yep" he said as he looked down on her there beside him, "We're gonna be here a long time" he told her, sure of himself enough to be so bold, sure of her too.
There was no denying she was a hell of a women, not just in looks though she appeared to have been built to drive men crazy with her figure and face combined. Still, it wasn't only that getting to John Casey. Fact was he liked a woman that spoke her mind, that didn't take crap from anyone, not even him, and who looked equally as good in a pretty dress being shy and smiley as she did playing action hero with a gun in her hand.
"So, Major Casey" she asked as she stepped in front of him, one hand pushing her hair back from her face and the other landing on his chest, she looked up at him with a seductive sort of a smile, "What do you think you and I should do with all this time we have to spare?" she wanted to know, the look on her face telling him just exactly what was going on in her head, if everything else wasn't already making to obvious.
"I think" he told her, putting his hands to her shoulders and moving her aside, "we should do our jobs, Agent Clarke" he told her, just then realising his rookie mistake.
Turning her away had put her back against the wall, and his hands on her body only confused the situation for both of them.
"Hmm" she sighed, "All work and no play, makes Johnny a dull boy" she joked, side stepping towards the nearest door, he followed without comment, "Y'know, I have all these keycards, so many rooms to choose from..." she said, reaching a hand behind her and easily opening the lock, "Bingo" she smiled as she pushed open the door and tripped backwards into the room.
Casey followed her, catching her with lightening fast reactions when she almost fell. He simultaneously kicked the door shut and pulled her close enough to kiss. This might be his worst idea ever or his best, he honestly wasn't sure, but there was every chance that she was going to walk out on him again tonight and this time never come back. They had unfinished business and that was something John Casey didn't take kindly too. Still, messing around with Marie could lead to all kinds of complications...
"C'mon, John" she encouraged him when he seemed to hesitate still, "I'm the one taking the risk here, after your little handcuffing trick... and it wasn't even in the fun way" she reminded him, waiting to see how he'd react.
She didn't get a chance to think on it long as he suddenly crashed his lips onto hers, kissing her deeply. It was all she was waiting for, all the encouragement she needed to go all out tonight. Guys like Casey didn't come along too often and she planned to quite literally grab him with both hands now she had the chance. Last time had just left her wanting him all the more, maybe because he was what she knew she couldn't have, but there was no time right now to wonder on the whys and wherefores.
The back of Marie's legs hit the bed, but she didn't fall, Casey made sure of that. He lifted her up effortlessly, never letting up on kissing her, touching her, thrilling her.
"Don't get fat-headed or anything" she gasped as they worked at getting each other out of their clothing, "but I've been waiting a long time for this"
"Might've thought about it myself" he admitted, as his arms wrapped around her, fingers running through her hair.
"Okay, not good" she said then, breaking another steamy kiss and feeling less than amorous as his watch caught in her hair and pulled tight.
In haste she reached to unbuckle the damn thing, and sacrificed a few strands of her red hair to get it away from her all the quicker. Flinging the watch to the ground, she pulled Casey back down to her a second later, kissing him long and hard, determined this night wasn't getting ruined like the last one. It felt too good to stop, to care what happened before or after.
Unfortunately, both Marie and Casey were so caught up in their passion, they failed to notice that the watch she'd flung aside had activated. Had they realised they might've done something about it, as their gasps and moans were audible not just in the empty room but in the Castle too...
To Be Continued...
A/N2: So, did I do the Casey/Marie relationship justice so far? Does this seem true to the show? I hope each of you who read this has enjoyed the first of many chapters, and I would so appreciate any feedback you care to leave me :-)