Fate's Design
Chapter 2
"So, Sarah, what have you been up to since you left Stanford?" Chuck asks as he takes a sip from his tequila.
"I tried lots of different things - teaching, other stuff like that - I even tried getting into a modelling agency, but they told me that they weren't looking for any new people."
"Well, I think that you would have been a great model, you look absolutely fantastic." Realising what he said, he blushes and tries to backtrack. "From a completely independent point of view, of course, but it's not that I don't find you good looking- wait, what I meant was-"
Sarah smiles as Chuck continues to bumble on and speaks up. "Hey, Chuck, it's fine. Thanks for the compliment - it's been a while since anyone told me I looked good." Chuck responds with his own bright smile.
"What! Really?" he says in disbelief. "I'd hate to be in your boyfriend's shoes. Oh yes, I remember your kickass ninja skills and especially that time when you decked Bry-" He stops before mentioning Bryce's name and for a second his smile disappears from his face. Sarah notices his subtle change in mood and places her hand on his.
"Chuck, I'm really sorry about what he did to you," the blonde says softly, looking into his distant, sad eyes. "You didn't deserve it."
The nerd laughs mirthlessly. "Who are you kidding? I was surprised it didn't happen sooner - guess he wanted to rub salt into the wound by doing it on the wedding day." He sighs. "At the end of the day, I was always just a bookworm and Bryce - it was obvious Jill would choose him over me."
Involuntarily tightening her grip on his hand, Sarah sighs. "Listen to me, Chuck," she says, "don't blame yourself for what happened. You're a great guy and Jill didn't realise that. All she got from running off with him was a shallow guy who just had good looks. She has no idea what she left behind."
Chuck's expression clears. "Thanks Sarah," he says quietly. He flashes her a small smile, and they sit there for a long time, gazing at each other. She suddenly realises that her hand was still firmly gripping his and immediately lets go, trying to hide her blush from him. Chuck clears his throat loudly and stands up. "Uh, I have to use the, um, bathroom."
As he weaves his way towards the toilets, Sarah's eyes follow him, unconsciously resting on his butt. She shakes her head and mentally shouts at herself. Damn it, Walker, get a hold of yourself. Don't get distracted from the ass- damn it, I mean mission. She inwardly groans and her phone goes off.
"Graham, secure."
"Walker, secure."
"Agent Walker, I've spoken with the NSA director and basically, it looks like they're going to play dirty to get the Intersect. I assume you've met Major Casey."
"Yes sir, I have. He's a formidable opponent."
"Well, he's going to try and snatch the target away again soon. We picked up his trail and he's heading towards your location so be careful. And make sure we get Bartowski first. Graham out." With that, the line goes dead and Sarah slips her phone back into her purse.
"Who was that?" asks Chuck as he slips back into his seat.
"Oh, just the estate agent," Sarah lies. "I'll be moving out tomorrow."
There is a long silence between them. "I could help if you want," Chuck blurts out. "I wouldn't mind or anything." He looks hopefully at her.
"That would be really helpful, thanks," replies Sarah. In the corner of her eye, she catches sight of several men in suits with earpieces heading towards them. "Hey, do you remember that dessert place we used to go to?"
"Yeah, as I recall one time I lost a bet to you and had to pay for all that strawberry ice cream you ate. I was fifty dollars poorer that day-" He is cut off when Sarah grabs his hand and takes off, nearly yanking his shoulder out of its socket. She discreetly draws one knife out of its sheath on the inside of her thigh and throws it, striking one of the suits in the knee. He keels over as the tranquilizers coating the blade take effect.
They reach the Nerd Herder parked out on the street and Chuck gasps. "Jesus, why me?" he mutters under his breath, observing the slashed tyres. "Great. I'll call the AA and see whether they can tow it home or something." He pulls out his phone and tries to turn it on. "Aw, you are joking me! I charged this for two hours!" The stubborn phone refuses to switch on and lets off a fume of smoke as the internal circuitry burns up. Chuck drops it and takes a step back. "That was... weird."
The blonde shoots a look back inside the club they had been inside and sees the remaining suits forcing their way through a crowd of people. "Chuck, let's go." She sprints down the street and Chuck runs after her. As he crosses a bridge, he glimpses a motorcade passing underneath and stops in his tracks.
"General Stansfield is in that car," he murmurs. He frowns in confusion. "What the..." Seeing Sarah disappearing off into the distance, he continues running again. "Hey, wait up!" he shouts whilst rounding a corner. He skids to a halt right in front of the CIA agent and pants for breath. "I, repeat," he gasps, "I, am, not an, athlete." After a moment, he stands up, regaining composure.
"Sarah, what is going on? One second we're having drinks in a bar, and the next we're sprinting down the street like crazies." He spots a red dot flickering around Sarah's forehead and tackles her down, narrowly avoiding a hail of bullets which zip through where her head had been moments earlier.
"Holy crap!" he shouts. The blonde shushes him loudly and pulls out a key from her purse. She quickly unlocks the door of a nearby Honda and slips in. "Get in!" she whispers.
"Okay, just a- wait, is that even your car?"
Staring icily at him, Sarah points the passenger seat. "In. Now." Chuck gulps and gets in. The car speeds away under another hail of bullets, glancing of the bonnet and smashing the windscreen.
"Please God, don't let me die now," squeaks the nerd, with his eyes firmly scrunched shut. He meekly opens them only to see a truck heading straight for them. "HOLY CRAP!" he shouts as the Honda banks hard to the left, fortunately only managing to clip its right wing mirror off. He turns to the blonde sitting next to him with a terrified expression. "What is happening? Tell me! Why are there people chasing and shooting at us?"
"I work for the government," Sarah replies, looking into the remaining wing mirror. There is a black SUV tailing them.
"So what, are you a cop or something? FBI?"
"CIA." Chuck's jaw drops. "And those people back there are from the NSA."
"Then why are they trying to kill us? We're all on the same side, aren't we? And anyways, why are they coming after you?"
"They're trying to get you, Chuck, not me." She spins the wheel right and the car turns down a side street, closely followed by the SUV. Several bullets impact on the boot as Casey fires whilst leaning out the window.
"Me?" the nerd asks. "I'm just a leader of a Nerd Herd and I earn eleven dollars an hour. I might become the assistant manager some day, but I don't even know whether I want that job. How could I possibly by of any interest to them?"
"Chuck, have you been contacted by Bryce recently?" she asks hurriedly, furiously spinning the steering wheel to execute a tight turn around a corner. Sarah looks through the rear window and sighs in relief when the SUV does not appear.
"What! Bryce? Why him?"
"He was working at the CIA as well."
"Bryce is a spy? Bryce Larkin from Connecticut is a spy?"
"A rogue spy! He stole a whole load of government secrets and we traced the message he sent to you. So think! Did he contact you?"
No, I don- wait, he sent me an email last night. And there was an attachment." Sarah's stomach sinks. "Did you open the file?" she asks quietly.
"Yeah, there was this line from a game we made back at Stanford, like a riddle, and I solved it and there were all these pictures... Wait, was I not supposed to see them?"
"If you've seen them, then-" The blonde never gets a chance to finish the sentence when all of a sudden the black SUV smashes into the side of the Honda and flips it over. The passenger seat swings open and Chuck crawls out, dragging an unconscious Sarah behind him.
"Don't be a fool, Mr. Bartowski," shouts Casey, stepping out from his vehicle. "You come with us now and no one will get hurt." Getting no response, he signals to the three agents in the SUV to attempt to outflank the target.
"Come on, Sarah," Chuck whispers urgently in her ear. "I really need you and your ninja skills right now." He takes a peek around the side of the overturned car and sees the three suits approaching slowly with guns drawn. He shakes her by the shoulders and she snaps back into alertness immediately.
Sarah pulls out several knives from their sheaths and Chuck's eyebrows shoot up. "Wow, so you guys really do that."
"Do what?" she replies whilst checking on the position of the agents. They are getting closer.
"You know how in movies the spies have weapons hidden all over their body? Well, another myth proved to be true." A few bullets ping off the upside down car. "So, how are we going to get out of here?"
One of the agents gets too close and goes down after being struck in the thigh by one of Sarah's knives. "It looks like they want to take you alive and judging from what they've been doing, they're probably trying to eliminate me." She throws another knife and there is a thump as one more suit hits the ground. "But none of that's going to happen. Do you trust me, Chuck?"
The nerd looks into her eyes and replies with a firm nod. "Good," she says, suppressing the smile threatening to appear on her face even at this time. "I want you to take this homing device and get to the top of that building. By the time you get there, there should be a helicopter waiting to take you to safety."
"What about you, Sarah? I can't just leave you here."
"I'm sorry, but you have to listen to me. You do not want to end up in their hands. So take this," she presses a small cylindrical object into his hands, "and go." Chuck shoots a fleeting glance at Sarah as he runs off towards the fire escape of the office block.
Tossing her final knife and hitting her target, the CIA agent dashes out towards the prone body of one of the suits whilst dodging fire from Casey. She dives forward, picking up the discarded Glock, and turns, firing it at the remaining NSA agent and forcing him to stay down.
"You're pretty good for a CIA skirt, aren't you?" mutters the Major whilst squeezing off another few rounds. He ejects the now empty clip and slides in a new one, but by the time he takes aim again Sarah has already disappeared. He snarls and follows her up the fire escape.
Several minutes later, Chuck bursts through the doors on the roof of the building and slams them shut behind him. He pushes a crate against the door and steps back to admire his handiwork. Suddenly someone starts hammering on the door from the other side.
"Chuck!" shouts Sarah. "Open the door!" The nerd quickly removes the obstructing box and lets her through. She locks the door and after looking around in the sky, she turns to Chuck.
"Did you damage the homing device?" she asks.
"No! It's working perfectly! So where's the chopper?"
Sarah tries calling with her own phone but can't get a signal. "Casey must be jamming the signal." The doors jar as something slams into them. "That'll be him. Look, Chuck, I may need to point my gun at you." Before he can start protesting, the CIA agent grabs him around the neck and points her gun to his head. Casey kicks the doors down and walks onto the roof, his sights trained on the two figures.
"Hand him over, Walker," barks the NSA agent, "and maybe you'll get out of here alive."
"Not going to happen," responds Sarah, tightening her grip around Chuck's throat. "And if you tale another step, I'll kill him, and we can both go home empty-handed."
"Sarah, you are kidding right?" whispers Chuck. In the corner of his eye, he sees her stone cold expression and can hardly recognise the kind caring person he knows.
Laughing, Casey advances. "Fine by me. You shoot him, I shoot you, and then I throw both your bodies into the sea. Then maybe I can finish off this joke of a mission and get a snack. I'm thinking pancakes."
As Sarah continues to back away, Chuck manages to catch sight of a hotel five blocks away and his eyes roll back. "Sarah," he chokes out from under her headlock. "Sarah!" "Not a good time, Chuck!"
"Can everybody just stop pointing guns at each other for one second and just listen to me!" shouts the nerd. "They're going to blow up General Stansfield! You see that hotel over there? He's making a speech right now and the bomb's going to blow him away!"
"How did you know about his location?" questions Casey. He snarls as he draws his conclusion. "You were working with Larkin."
"No, Casey, wait! He opened Bryce's email. He saw all the images."
"And that means what, exactly?"
"Chuck, if you saw all the pictures, you know the secrets they contain. It means that you're the computer now." Sarah lets go of Chuck and he stumbles forward, rubbing his neck.
"Oh, crap," grunts Casey. "So now all our secrets are in a civilian's head. Beckman will not be pleased." He lowers his aim. "We need get over to that hotel, pronto." He hurries down the stairway. "You two coming?"
Ten minutes later, General Stansfield is finishing off his speech when three people throw the doors open and rush to the centre of the room. The one with brown curly hair lifts the cover off the trolley, revealing a laptop connected to a mound of C4 charges. The security detail in the room immediately starts to evacuate the room and the General himself is bundled away via the back exit.
"Shit," swore Casey. He holds up a massive amount of coiled wires. "I can't diffuse this. Call the bomb squad, Walker."
"It'll be no use; by the time they get here the bomb will have gone off already. There must be some other way." She inspects the wires going into the laptop. "Disconnecting them won't work, there's a failsafe installed. Damn it!"
"Sarah, I can help," says Chuck. "We sell those laptops at the BuyMore. There's a DOS override which may work."
"Chuck, I- "
"Please. Trust me, I can do this. Just let me try to help." He looks sincerely at her and after a moment's hesitation; she steps aside and allows him to use the computer. Chuck smiles gratefully as he starts typing on the keyboard.
"Right, Mr. Bomb, prepare to meet Mr. Internet." He brings up the browser and types a name into the search engine.
"Irene Demova?" says the NSA agent in disbelief. "We're all about to die and you want to have your last little nerdgasm?" The nerd shoots him an angry look.
"Look, you don't know how to deal with this and you want me to help. Well, this is me helping!" He clicks on the first link and then shuts his eyes as several images unsuitable for the general population flash across the screen. The computer gives off a few sparks and after letting off a cloud of black smoke, the screen goes blank. Several seconds pass and the bomb doesn't go off.
Chuck gives off a nervous chuckle. "Woah. I did it. I did it! Oh my god. I diffused an actual, ticking bomb!" Beat. "Wait. What if I was wrong?" His face goes slightly pale.
"Don't puke on the explosives, moron," grunts Casey with a smirk.
After the bomb was thoroughly dismantled by the bomb squad, a lengthy argument between the two agents ensues.
"He comes with me. NSA gets him first."
"No way! You saw him out there tonight! He saved all of us from getting killed!"
"It was probably just a fluke," replies Casey dismissively.
"And if it wasn't? He could remember other pieces of intel. Information which we can use in the field to stop even bigger things from happening."
"Well, we can just drop in a cell and let him stare at four blank walls for a decade. We'll get the intel back."
"No! You don't even know how the computer works in his head. You'll crack him wide open."
"Hey. I just break things, I don't fix them. That's someone else's problem."
Chuck interjects at that point. "Both of you! No one is cracking me wide open or anything! I'm not going to spend the rest of my life in a prison just because you say so. And now, if you don't mind, I'm going home." Casey tries stopping him, but the other guy glares at him. "You need me. So don't try telling me what to do."
Chuck storms off by himself, leaving the two standing there.
"I'll put a trace on his phone."
"Don't even bother. It's fried. Anyways, I have pretty clear idea where he's going."
As the sun lazily begins to crawl out of the horizon, Sarah walks over the sand and towards the figure sitting down in the distance. She remembers the last time she was here with Chuck and all her old friends from Stanford. Funnily enough, she didn't really recall anything from that time besides the brown curled nerd.
"Hey," she says softly as she slides down onto the sand next to him.
"How did you find me?" Chuck asks curtly. "I suppose you put a tracker on me."
"I didn't." Sarah gazes out at the orange haze in the sky. "We used to come here whenever we didn't have any classes. You loved to just sit and watch the waves roll up and down."
"Yeah. Life was so simple back then. How did it get so messed up?" Chuck sighs, burying his face into his hands. Why did Bryce do this? How could he do this? How could he just ruin my life again?"
"To be honest, Chuck, I have no idea. I was his partner and even so, I didn't notice that anything was wrong."
"So what happens now? Are you going to lock me up?"
"Fortunately, no. You'll resume your normal life with your friends and family whilst we protect you from the bad guys. The scientists back in Langley and Fort Meade will figure out how to get the computer out of your head."
"So once it's out of my head, you and Casey will be gone?"
"Yes, I'll be assigned a new mission and he will too. Then you can be free of all this, Chuck, so don't worry." She offers him a small smile as she gets up. The nerd sighs again and follows her back to her Porsche.
"Can I ask you one thing?" says Chuck quietly and Sarah replies with a nod. "How did you get into this stuff? What happened?" The blonde starts to speak but then stops herself, looking sadly at him. He acknowledges this and gets into the car.
"If you don't want to tell me, I won't pry. Let's just get back home before Ellie completely freaks out. But knowing her, she probably thinking something happened between us."
The blonde quirks an eyebrow and Chuck lets off a real laugh for the first time in a long time. "She has this crazy idea that we were going out. On a date. Silly, right?"
She manages to keep the look of disappointment from showing on her face and replies, "Yeah." Walker, what have you gotten yourself into, she thinks as she shifts into reverse gear. You've barely started this mission and you're already feeling jittery around him. There can be no way this can end well. The sleek sports car glides off back onto the highway and mingles in with the early morning traffic.
August 2001, Stanford University.
It's the start of the autumn term and new freshman students are gathering all around campus. Two guys, one taller, lankier and with brown curly hair and the other slightly shorter, attempt to weave their way through a crowd of new students. The shorter one pushes his way through the crowd and turns around to see his friend still stuck in there, attempting to get past put merely being pushed back further. He offers his trapped buddy a smirk and heads off to the car park, intent on taking his new car for a spin.
The brown haired guy sighs as he lets himself be carried backwards but nearly trips and falls over a person standing behind him heading in the opposite direction. He turns around and his breath catches in his throat, only managing to smile wordlessly. She responds with a nervous smile of her own.
The guy finally remembers to start talking. "Oh, ah, um, sorry for nearly knocking you over back there, I didn't mean to at all."
"It's okay, I'm fine." There is an awkward silence. She decides to break the ice by introducing herself. "I'm Sarah, by the way. And you are?"
He shakes off the nervousness developing and replies, "Charles Bartowski, but you can call me Chuck." The blonde looks at him quizically. "Yeah, my parents were sadists. That's why I'm called Chuck." This elicits a laugh from Sarah and his confidence grows. "Hey, you're new here, right?"
"Yeah, this is my freshman year. Everything's kinda new to me here."
"I can help with that. Maybe I can show you around campus sometime, if you want."
Sarah responds with a smile. "Well, Chuck, get a tour ready pronto because if you don't I'll just look for a map."
Chuck beams happily. "Great! I'll show you everything but first, first stop, cafeteria. Although I would steer clear of some of the curries, they are pretty tough on the stomach."
The two walk off, still talking and laughing, as a man in a suit looks down on them, talking into a phone.
"Yes sir, we've located the daughter. She's starting the term at Stanford." Pause. "No, she doesn't seem to be pulling any kind of scam. She also doesn't seem to be aware of what her father is currently up to." Another pause. "Do you want me to bring her in as well?" Pause. "Yes sir, I'll try to approach her, but recruiting her may be a lot harder. I'll do my best. Thank you, sir." He hangs up and heads towards the cafeteria.
The agent sees the girl sitting at a table with another person, deep in conversation. He sits himself down some distance away to avoid catching her attention but keeps his eyes trained on her. After about ten minutes, another girl shows up and practically drapes herself over the guy, who starts to look a little uncomfortable. The girl's expression hardens as she notices this, and after the new girl drags the guy off somewhere, her posture slumps a little and she looks a little dejected. Getting up, she exits and the agent follows her out into the hallway, where he is suddenly slammed against the wall by a golden blur.
"Why are you watching me?" questions the girl. "What do you want?"
"Calm down, Ms. Walker, don't panic. I am not here to hurt you. I am an agent of the CIA."
She laughs derisively. "I'll believe that when hell freezes over." He pulls out his indentification with his free and less painful hand and shows it to her. After seeing it, the blonde looses her grip but still keeps him pinned to the wall. "I've asked you already. What do you want with me?"
"Your father, Jack Burton has been arrested for his own protection."
"What?" she exclaims.
"He scammed some pretty dangerous individuals and that was the only way he would be safe. But they know that he has a daughter. They might be coming for you."
"So what? Are you going to throw me into a cell as well?"
"No. The Director was wondering whether you would like to accept a job proposition. He would like for you to join the CIA and work for us." He sees her hesitate and continues to talk. "It's the only way we can protect you short of bringing you in with your father. And think about it, you'll be serving your country too."
The girl doesn't speak for a while, but then she steps back and allows the agent to relax. "I'll join on two conditions - one, my father is treated well. Two, I get to meet and talk with your Director before I join. Okay?"
"No problem, Ms. Walker, that can be arranged. And, I suppose this is the start of your new job." He smiles charismatically at her. "On behalf of the CIA, I, Agent Roan Montgomery, welcome you to the spy world."
Well, thanks for all the positive reviews! It was great to see people liked it. As always, please review this chapter as well. Brownie points for those who do it first.