Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck, nor am I in any way connected to NBC or any of its affiliates. No copyright infringement is intended.

Summary: When an unknown CIA agent is captured by Fulcrum, Team Chuck must race against the clock to save her.

Chuck vs the Captured Agent

The sound of a fist making contact with flesh rang loudly in the dimly lit room. A young woman's head swung back from the impact, as the large fist made contact with her jaw. The owner of the fist, a heavy-set, wide-shouldered man raised his arm to execute another stinging blow, but was stopped by a harsh command from the other side of the room.

"Enough. I need her to be able to talk and she can't do that if you break her jaw."

Striding towards the woman, he signaled for the other man to stand back.

He squatted down and ordered the captive woman to look at him. From beneath blackened lids, bleary blue eyes stared resolutely at the man.

"Where is Bryce Larkin?" He demanded.

"I've already told you, Paul, Bryce is dead." Even with her mouth badly swollen, she managed to deliver the words in a calm and firm voice.

"You were his partner for a long time. Surely, he would keep in contact with you."

"He might, if he were alive." The woman tried to hold the man's gaze, but faltered as a spasm of pain racked her body.

Slowly, the man rose from his position and made eye contact with the man lurking in the shadows. Giving a curt nod, he began to walk away. The sound of her muffled cries and the pounding of flesh resumed as he made his way to the exit.

Leaving the makeshift interrogation room, he reported to his superiors who had been watching through the one-way mirror.

"She's not talking," one of the men in the room stated.

"She won't last much longer. She'll crack," Paul said with confidence.

"You've had her for days. She's one of the CIA's best operatives. You won't break her."

Paul looked like he was about to retort when the second man, who had been silently watching the exchange, raised his hand to speak.

"We need leverage. Search her apartment, Paul. Find something."


Paul had been tearing through the apartment for the better part of an hour. He had found weapons, an assortment of clothing, books, but not much else.

Disgusted and sweaty, Paul picked up the discarded books, shaking them roughly, hoping that a stray scrap of paper or anything else fell out of the pages to give him something to go back to his superiors with.

Cursing the woman for having damn near a hundred books, he continued his search. More than halfway through the stack, his diligence paid off when a single sheet of folded pair fell from the pages of "Scientific and Engineering C: An Introduction with Advanced Techniques and Examples."

He carefully unfolded the wrinkled paper, noting the 0's and 1's on one side, and on the other, a brief letter written in a somewhat messy scrawl.

"There are some days when I get up in the morning and wonder how the heck I got so lucky to find someone like you. I don't know why I'm writing this all down when I could probably just tell you in person. I just… sometimes, when I look at you, I lose the ability to think clearly and to say what's in my heart. I'm scared that you won't say it back and even more afraid that this has all been some sort of wonderful dream and I'll wake up from it and realize that none of it was real.

I probably shouldn't be doing this (although it doesn't matter anyway because I've just decided that I'm definitely not going to give this to you), but…

I think I'm falling in love with you.

Wow. It looks so odd to see it in writing. O.K. Yeah, I'm definitely throwing this away. I'm going to meet you later anyway at our special place on the beach, so hopefully I can work up the courage to say all of this to you in person.

Chuck"

After reading the hastily scrawled signature at the end, a satisfied smile appeared on Paul's face.

"Let's find out who this Chuck is."


A/N: So this is my first foray into Chuck fan fiction. I've recently becoming obsessed with the show and after reading so many stories out there I thought I would try my hand in writing one. I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think! I always appreciate comments and suggestions. The next chapter should be done shortly.