Disclaimer: I do not own Chuck but if I did, there would be no memory loss scenes.

Chapter Two:

First Assignment

Tuesday, November 29

10:00 hours

The next morning in the lives of Agent's Carmichael and Walker goes by reasonably fast as both of the agents mentally prepare themselves for the task ahead.

Sarah needs to go for a run this morning. She has not seen Chuck yet. They are to meet each other at 13:00 and quite frankly, she is still hot and bothered after last night's encounter with him.

She quickly slips into her sports bra and her sweat pants and she then heads out on her run as she pushes herself to extreme limits to remove from her mind what had happened last night. Did it work? Not in the slightest bit! But nevertheless, she needs to keep up her physical training and running was her favorite hobby anyway so it did her good. Sarah had been alone for as far back as she could ever remember, so it was nice for her to have somebody in her thoughts. Though Sarah was the up-most professional and she will never let it distract her from her job. But maybe when their job is over with she can get to know him a bit more. She'd like that. She'd like that a lot.

Chuck woke up smiling this morning. He had expected his new partner to hate him. He had read reports of how previous partners of Sarah ended up having, 'accidents.' He figured they'd advanced on her and she obviously must not have taken too kindly to their advances. Mental note to yourself, Chuck. Do not piss Sarah Walker off.

Chuck then begins to head down to the hotel gym to hit the treadmill to keep himself warmed up in preparation for tonight's operation. He then begins to lift some weights and he then heads back to his room on finishing his exercising.

On returning to his room at around 12:00, he still has one hour to kill until he was due to meet up with his colleague again.

He is not comfortable entering foreign soil with no clear extraction because if they are caught then the U.S. government will deny their existence and him and his partner will rot in jail for the rest of their lives. He will not allow that to happen. Chuck Bartowski will not fail himself or his partner. He goes over the mission plan that himself and his partner had laid out once more as he then begins to feel a tiny bit more satisfied than he was feeling a little earlier and he then cleans his weapon...

It was now afternoon and Sarah and Chuck have met up together as promised. They both head out to grab lunch together while only eating basics to avoid an unpleasant situation as the last thing either agent needed was to be stuck on the toilet all night after contracting food poisoning.

They begin to talk to each other over lunch and they tell each other a little about their past. Chuck tells her about his family and that his older sister Ellie practically raised him as her own and that she's all he has left family wise. Sarah could have easily cried on hearing his story if she wasn't a deadly trained spy when he tells her how his mother had ran out on him at the tender age of nine and his father was never really around until he then disappeared too.

Little did Chuck know, Sarah had shared a similar childhood life as Chuck but she was no-where near ready to open up that can of worms to her new partner. Her life for the last few years had been purely focusing on her next mission and nothing else.

So all she does is give his hand a light squeeze and she immediately feels it. It was a spark of electricity that she has never felt ever before and judging by Chuck's reaction, he felt the exact same thing too. They both smile at one another before they begin to feel slightly awkward and reluctantly let go of each others hand...

By the time lunch had finished it is now 16:00 and they needed to return to get ready for the party.

Once back inside the hotel they spend the next two hours getting ready and it was almost time to leave. Chuck begins to check through his equipment one last time and he then heads towards the door separating both of their rooms and he proceeds to knock on the door being careful not to make the same mistake Sarah that did the previous night. Awkwardness like that before a mission could prove disastrous. "Just a minute," Sarah calls out to him.

Sarah had just finished getting ready and applying the necessary make up when she heard Chuck knocking. She smirks as she briefly thinks back to last night's encounter.

Sarah then finishes up and she heads to the door to open it and her jaw drops at what she sees on the other side of it.

A tall, unbelievably handsome man in a tux that looks so, so neat on him.

"Wow..." they both say together in unison.

And there Sarah was...

Chuck had seen her in four outfits since he met her for the first time yesterday and she was incredibly gorgeous in all of them but this dress is better than all four combined. Sarah is wearing a red velvet dress that looks so gorgeous and if there was a thermostat on Chuck's body then it would have just gone of the radar because his body temperature immediately rose by about a gazillion percent.

Chuck recovers first. "Sarah, you are jaw-droppingly beautiful!" he croaks out to her as he tries not to gape and stare at his partner too much as he doesn't want to end up like any of her former partners. He very much likes living.

Sarah is still overcome with desire from what stands in front of her, and she slowly comes back to life and gives him her own response. "You look goooood," she says, as she draws out each letter ever so slowly so that he can see she really means what she has just said to him.

Chuck grins widely on hearing her compliment but deciding not to press the situation any further he then asks, "Are you ready to leave?"

"Just a second," she responds, before moving in close to his proximity to fix his bow tie properly.

Chuck half panicked as Sarah had advanced towards him until he realized that she was only fixing his bow-tie.

The two agents then leave the hotel together arm in arm as a posing married couple as they begin to head to the French Consulate. It is visibly evident the entire journey that they are both excited to be working with each other together for the first time...

Arrival at Consulate

19:45

Upon arrival at the Consulate, Chuck and Sarah present their invites to the security and they then begin to head into main reception area arm-in-arm. Many eyes glance over at the young couple as they make their way through the building. Chuck is sure that all eyes are on Sarah. Sarah notices other women's eyes on Chuck. For some reason, she felt uncomfortable at that thought of other women looking at Chuck...

They then receive glasses of champagne from a waiter and they begin to toast warmly together before they both then begin to work the floor in search of three things. Firstly, they need to identify Pierre, the Mark. Secondly, they need to come to terms with the security infrastructure inside the Consulate. And lastly, they need to identify any possible enemy personnel that may be a threat to them.

Chuck spots Pierre after a short while of him working the floor and he informs Sarah that the target had been located and Sarah then gets to work as she begins talking away with Pierre while Chuck carries on mingling in search of Pierre's protection detail occasionally glancing at Sarah who is now flirting away with Pierre.

'Damm...' he admires her. She is so amazing at what she does. Chuck quickly went into agent mode as he locates somebody on the CIA watch list and confirms him to be an associate of Pierre. Chuck once more informs Sarah that he did have company via their communication devices and that she should get Pierre alone in an on suite room and he would follow behind protecting her rear and eliminating anybody following behind if necessary.

Sarah continues to flirt away with Pierre for a little while longer before then suggesting to him that they head somewhere more private.

Pierre is a ladies man and the two agents had read the file that Director Graham had provided them with so Sarah knew this would be easy she just did not think it would be this easy...

20:30 hours

As Sarah and Pierre begin to head out from sight, Sarah feels physically sick inside. Pierre like all other marks before him are not her type. Sarah never enjoyed seduction missions and she very rarely let it get physical. Get in, get the intel, neutralize the threat and get out. Today is exactly the same as any other mission only this time she feels more secure knowing that Chuck has her back. It was always just her working alone but now she has somebody to protect her and she has to admit, she feels better for it.

Chuck follows on behind using a thirty yard rule remaining vigilant for any other activity. He sees his colleague enter the suite and he positions himself so he can cover the entire area while waiting for Sarah to give him the command to enter the room.

20:40 hours

Chuck is still in position when he sees one of Pierre's foot-soldiers heading towards the room his partner is inside. Chuck knows that he is one of Pierre's because he is a giant who is obviously hired muscle and he can see the metal holster through his suit. Chuck begins to wonder how he had managed to get his weapons into the Consulate. Both of the CIA Agents have deep, deep covers so they would never have been searched but a man this size should surely have came under suspicion from consulate security?

Chuck has to be careful as he can not blow the operation but he will under no certain terms allow that muscle to enter into the suite and leave his partner with a two on one situation.

20:41 hours

As the guard begins to edge closer towards the suite, Chuck has to make an immediate tactical decision and he requests Sarah for a status update on the intelligence.

"Sarah, how are we looking in there? You have a hired muscle of Pierre heading straight to your location," he says calmly to her.

"Copy. I've located the intelligence. We need to wrap this up in case any more muscle turn up," she whispers back to him.

Chuck promptly agrees with his partner's assessment. "Copy," he says as he puts down his champagne glass and he goes combat ready.

Chuck begins to approach the guard in a friendly manner as he pretends to be drunk and lost from the party that was in full swing back in the main reception area, the music is loud and there are no security cameras overlooking this floor. The beefcake looks on warily at Chuck momentarily but he soon looks away disinterested on determining that Chuck is no threat and instantly Chuck is on him. Chuck grabs the man from behind and he kicks him with all of his force into the back of his knee, the guard falls to the floor and Chuck immediately proceeds to reach for his weapon and he hits the guard over the head using the full force of the side of his weapon. He then opens the suite door that Sarah and Pierre were inside of and he proceeds to use his superior strength from his biceps and shoulder muscles to launch the guard into the room and then closing the door from behind him as he then immediately proceeds to access the situation of his partner in case she needs his assistance...

Sarah knew that Chuck was about to breach but she waited for the exact moment before she made her move. As soon as Chuck entered into the room she immediately reaches for Pierre who is about to scramble and she uses all of her power to kick the mark and it connects right onto his jaw and Pierre falls to the floor and she is on top of him in seconds and she knocks him out cold with a single punch to his head. Disable the target first, ask the questions later. Standard procedure.

Chuck watches on admirably as he watches Sarah kick Pierre and he then watches her punch connect with Pierre's head and he winces at the impact as he then watches Pierre get knocked out cold and disabled on the floor. 'God, she is quick,' he thinks to himself with strong admiration.

"Ouch," Chuck says as he pauses to smirk briefly before continuing, "Nice kick. I bet that hurt. You good?" Chuck asks calmly while feeling very impressed by that karate kick that had came from his partner. 'You watch too many movies,' he then tells himself.

"Yup, piece of cake. And nice work yourself," Sarah says as she studies her partner's own piece of work who was laying unconscious on the floor as she smiles at Chuck.

"Do you have the intel?" Chuck asks her.

"Yup, right here," Sarah says while waving the chip in her hand.

"Then let's get out of here before these two wake up and become ready for round two. Beefcake here won't be best pleased with me," Chuck says as he grins.

Sarah smiles on hearing his response. This is the first time she has seen Chuck confident about his own abilities and she likes it a lot she has to admit. Don't think about the bed, Sarah. You're on a mission. she tells herself and she quickly snaps out of it.

20:47 hours

Sarah and Chuck begin to adjust their attire as they make themselves respectable again after their little confrontations and Chuck holsters his weapon once more and Sarah puts the chip away inside her purse before they begin to leave and head back down to the Main Reception to exfiltrate.

On their way down to the reception, Chuck and Sarah witness two more of Pierre's men heading towards the suite they had just departed from. They need to get out of here fast as Pierre may wake up at any moment. They both skip across the dance floor and quickly head for the exit.

20:54 hours

Sarah begins to leave the consulate building first to check the surroundings outside to make sure their exit was secure. While Chuck remains inside the consulate as he positions himself to cover their rear to make sure Pierre or his guards weren't heading in their direction. And to his dismay, they are...

20:55 hours

Agents never panic. Chuck remains calm and he measuredly informs Sarah of the development. "Sarah, we have company," he says.

On hearing her partner's communique, Sarah immediately dashes to the Consulate door as she waits for Chuck to leave. And as Chuck departs the consulate, they hurriedly begin to bolt for the exit gate. The exit gate is about two hundred yards away and two armed guards are stationed at the gate and there are probably ten others in a security building five hundred yards away.

Pierre and his men had just left the Consulate building through the exit door and they begin withdrawing their weapons as they look in the direction of Chuck and Sarah. This situation is escalating rapidly as Chuck and Sarah are still a hundred yards away from the exit with limited cover. Chuck taps on Sarah's shoulder and he nods his head towards the two armed guards and she nods her head back in response. The time for a quiet withdrawal was over.

Chuck withdraws his weapon and he immediately begins firing on Pierre and his guards who immediately scramble for cover, while the two guards at the gate start to panic on the gun-battle now taking place. One of guards began to reach for his radio and the other guard began to reach for his weapon and Sarah takes out the guard with the radio first using a hidden blade that she has holstered and she then sees the second guard drawing his aim towards Chuck. Sarah once more withdraws her second of three hidden blades that she has holstered and she throws it towards the guard's throat. It was unfortunate that a security guard has to be killed but it was him or her partner and she will never allow that to happen. The guard was sadly just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sarah then withdrew her own weapon and she turns around to cover her partner who is advancing back towards the consulate to eliminate the threat of Pierre. They can't just run as it is now too dangerous. They have to take the fight to the enemy.

Chuck is advancing cautiously towards the consulate from the side when he sees Sarah start to provide suppressive fire and he immediately picks up his pace as he half sprints to the nearest enemy. The enemy was positioned in cover behind a bollard and Chuck raises his SIG and dispatches two rounds towards the targets head and he drops instantly. There is still one other guard along with Pierre and beefcake must still be immobilized.

Sarah is now down to three mags while Chuck still has four. Sarah stops suppressing Pierre now that Chuck was in cover and she repositions herself with a better view of the consulate entrance where Pierre and his guard were.

Sarah then sees a guard pop out who is carrying a Scorpion machine pistol and she immediately double taps her Smith & Wesson 5906 towards the target hitting him once in the chest and shoulder. It is just Pierre left now. Chuck is almost on top of him when Sarah sees figures scrambling about three hundred and fifty yards away and closing in fast. Sarah immediately fires off a few rounds towards them to buy Chuck the time he needs to deal with Pierre.

Pierre is focusing his aim towards Sarah so he doesn't see Chuck when Chuck attacks him from the side and both men immediately begin tussling with each other. Pierre is no match for Chuck's hand to hand combat who within seconds has dispatched of Pierre and he is now on the floor, his left arm broken from Chuck.

Chuck knows what he now has to do. Chuck doesn't like this part of the job but it is either this option or his partner may possibly be killed and he will definitely not allow that to happen so Chuck raises his weapon towards the head of Pierre who desperately begins pleading for Chuck not to do what he has to do. Pierre is rambling away saying something that sounds like "Setup" and Chuck is finding it hard to understand him because of his strong French accent.

"CHUCK, HURRY UP!" Sarah screams to her partner on noticing he is taking a few seconds longer than necessary and he still continues to hesitate for a few moments longer before she speaks to him once more. "Contact approaching from your three o clock two hundred yards away!" she shouts to him once more and on hearing Sarah's shouts without any further thought Chuck dispatches of Pierre with one quick round to his head and he withdraws back to the exit where his partner is positioned. They quickly leave the consulate and begin heading into a populated district to blend and mix in with the crowd as an affectionate couple out for an evening stroll together...

21:01 hours

First response units are now arriving at the consulate and both partners had built up a lot of adrenaline from the fire fight and they both know that talking to each other at this exact moment is not the best idea right now. They begin to head into a busy shopping mall before planning what to do next...

21:10 hours

As Chuck and Sarah sit and drink coffee in the mall together, both agent's senses were through the roof. They were both visually scanning the entire crowd in case they have been made. Chuck speaks first, "What the hell was that?" he asks her.

"Pierre's guards with sub machine guns?" Sarah asks him flatly.

"Yeah. Look, Sarah. Something is not right here. Somebody let Pierre and his foot-soldiers into the consulate they must have had some connections," Chuck then says.

Sarah nods her head in complete agreement with her colleague as you don't get a sub machine gun into a Consulate on foreign soil unless you had connections. "I don't know Chuck. Look... Let's go back to the hotel and provide the Director with an immediate sit rep..."

21:55 hours

Chuck and Sarah have just arrived back at the hotel and as they enter it they instantly snuggle up closely together as they didn't want any suspicion on them as their covers are that they are a married couple and if you're walking five feet apart then something is most certainly wrong. Sarah feels glad to be in the comfort of Chuck anyway, she feels proud of him today. He showed no panic and he covered her ass every single step of the way on their mission. Chuck is feeling the exact same, Walker protected his back and he protected hers, neither of them were hurt and the mission turned out a complete success in both of their eyes.

21:58 hours

As they arrive back on their floor they then leave the elevator still cuddled up closely together and neither attempt to leave the arms of the other agent.

They then enter into the two bedroom hotel suite and they finally separate from the embrace and they now have to secure the intelligence and make sure it is handed over safely to Graham while making themselves aware in case they have any uninvited guests decide to show up in the meantime.

Sarah immediately puts the chip down on the bed and she reaches for her secure line to contact the Director while Chuck does a sweep of both rooms to be safe, he then gives Sarah the all clear nod and she is now able to place the call into the Director.

"Walker, secure."

"Graham, secure."

Sarah was ready to speak but the Director's commanding authority stops her instantly. "Good job, Agent Walker. Please relay my congratulations also to Agent Carmichael. Do you have the intelligence?" he asks.

Sarah is not at all surprised that the Director already knew about the fire fight at the Consulate. He is the director of one of the most secret organizations in the world. He knew everything.

"Sir, the intel is secure. Extraction?" Sarah asks.

"It will be collected tomorrow at 09:00. Confirmation code is: it always snows in Vegas."

The CIA Director then continues, "Once the intel has been collected yourself and Agent Carmichael will report to me at 15:00 for assessment. Have a good night," he says as the Director then ends the call.

Sarah then relays to Chuck what the Director had said to her and he takes it in then they both move to sit on the edge of the bed thinking about what had happened back inside the Consulate. After a minute or two of reflecting on the five people they had jointly killed they both went to talk at the same time.

Sarah tells Chuck to go first.

"Look, Sarah. I just wanted to thank you. You had my back out there and I think we make a pretty awesome team dontcha think?" Chuck says as he grins at Sarah.

"You had my back too Chuck. I never once doubted your ability. I never had to worry about what was behind me or in front of me because I completely trusted that you would cover me and you don't have to thank me because I would do the exact same for you because it's my job," she says.

That statement she had just made wasn't however entirely true. Sarah didn't just watch Chuck's back because he was her partner. Sarah watched his back just a little bit more because she actually likes him.

"And yes, Chuck, we do make a pretty great team," Sarah finishes as she returns the smile to him.

They then playfully nudge into each other before then Chuck continues to tell Sarah about what Pierre had said about something being a "setup" and both of the agents let the thought play on their minds for a little until they both came to the same conclusion. A desperate man will try and say anything to save his life.

They then begin to wind down from their mission by watching TV and eating croissants together. The movie is a Sci-Fi and Sarah isn't too interested in it but she notices the geeky side of Chuck come to light. Chuck is so engrossed with the movie and not on the girl that is cozying up to him and if the truth be told, she loves it. Without even thinking what she is doing, she instinctively rests her head on his shoulder happy to have met this heart-warming guy. Telling herself there is no place she would rather be at this moment in time...