A/N: First, thanks to Michael66 and Aerox who have both contributed chapters to the Sarah Walker : Broken Beyond Repair challenge. The efforts are spectacular and if you haven't had the chance, please check them out. If you would like, any and all contributions for this story are greatly appreciated and will be given proper acknowledgement when they are added to that AU…happy to see that we're still getting great stuff posted here and I look forward to each day so I can check out the new stuff. Thanks to everyone who's alerted or favorited any of my scribbles and I'm especially happy for everyone who's taken some of their valuable personal time to review…now, the semi-important stuff…I don't own Chuck, the tv series or any of the characters featured there in…I'm not making any money doing this and I continue to flaunt my mediocre control of spelling and grammar by doing all of this without a beta. Thanks to BDaddyDL for the bday greeting and 'howdys' to Tom, Danny and Nate for their support. I know that someone is waiting for more TRFW and Swimmer and I hope to have some soon. Still having fun so thanks to Jim. JT
P.S. Hey, DocinOz, it was just an attempt at humor, however feeble it might have been.
Run For Your Life, Chuck Bartowski - Chapter 2
Chuck Bartowski sat staring at the computer monitor, wondering what his next move would be if he hoped to get out of the jam he'd managed to get himself into. The three Czech enemy operatives had been following him for three days and if he didn't do something drastic, he'd either be captured or take a bullet to the brain and that wasn't how he wanted to finish his day.
He didn't have a clue who his enemies were, just that they had been stalking him for almost seventy two hours. He'd hoped his latest foes would be as easy as the operative from Australia had been but they seemed to take their assignment with a scary amount of determination. He wanted to smile when he remembered the code name his Aussie adversary had chosen, calling himself DocNOz and constantly wanting to chat about the merits Vegamite as a replacement for whipped cream and chocolate sauce in the bedroom while they struggled to outwit each other. Chuck had given him the slip in Tijuana and later, when he caught up with him on the docks in San Pedro, managed to bludgeon him to death using a frozen salami that a friend had smuggled into the country for him.
Shaking his head as he struggled to decide which option would afford him the best chance to make it out of the cheap hotel with his scalp intact, the faint scent of grapefruit wafted around him just before a pair of strong but definitely feminine hands slid over his eyes and a pair breasts made themselves known to his back. The urge to flinch and scream with fear warred with the altogether too enjoyable sensation his back was enjoying. With the sudden addition of warm breath against his ear whispering 'guess who?', his little head officially took over his response and the scream that was lodged in his throat died a silent and un-mourned death.
"Agent Walker?" Chuck asked after a quick survey revealed that no one was within listening distance. He felt the woman at his back stiffen briefly before dropping her hands and then grabbing his shoulders to spin him around to face her. He took note of the mixture of confusion, anger and, strangely, hurt that filled her eyes.
"Chuck, you know better than to call me that where people can overhear."
"Sarah" he replied with just a hint of exasperation, "there's no one close enough to hear me but, if it'll make you feel better, I'm sorry I slipped and I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again." He watched as his handler took a quick look around to see if he had been correct in his assurance that no one could've heard him 'out' her.
"How did you know?"
"There hasn't been anyone close for the last five minutes" Chuck explained while he reached behind himself and hit the escape key, not wanting Sarah to know about the game he had been in the middle of. "I know better than to say something that might endanger our cover, Agent Walker."
"Chuck, have you noticed that you've been calling me 'Agent' a lot more recently? Is there a reason for that?"
"Isn't that your title?" he replied, honestly confused. Ever since the night of the 'almost' sanction, the beautiful blonde had been much more aggressive about PDAs and wanting to spend time with him. If it hadn't been for the fact that he'd overheard her talking to Casey that night, he might have allowed himself to believe that he was the luckiest man in the world because the most beautiful woman in the world had finally given in to her desires and was now ready to start 'something' with him. Each time she threw her arms around him and pulled him close, many times whispering suggestions that would leave him breathless and blushing he would have to remind himself that he was just a job. Each time they'd have a movie night at Casa Bartowski and she'd spend the night cuddled with him, he'd spend the whole time both hating and loving the Intersect, cursing Bryce Larkin for the bundle of contradictions that he'd been responsible for inflicting on his life.
"It's my title, Chuck, but it's not who I am. I thought you knew me better than that" she said while leaning closer and tugging at his tie, straightening it and then pulling it to the side and then straightening it again, her eyes flitting from his tie to his eyes and then back again. "Is something wrong, Chuck? You've been acting so strangely, ever since I had to tell you that the new Intersect had exploded and you weren't through with the government after all."
"Well, that was a shock" Chuck shot back, not bothering to add that having the news delivered by a 'goddess' wearing underwear that wasn't really there had been the best and worst way to find out that the powers that be weren't through with him. The sight of her, standing in front of him as he gathered up the shards of glass that the shattered beer bottle had left on his floor, had very nearly blown his mind, the unplanned clenching of his fists had resulted in the network of scar tissue that now covered the palm of his right hand. Glancing down, he thought again about the way his hand had tickled when Ellie had finally removed the stitches, pronouncing him healed after almost three weeks. He was sure the stitches could have been removed earlier but his sister had insisted that they remain in until he'd finally threatened to remove them himself.
"Chuck, are you mad at me about something? Have I done something wrong?"
"What? Why would you ask that?" he asked, both confused and a little worried. The last thing he needed was his handler worried about his behavior, watching him with an increased level of scrutiny. His list was coming together and his plans were almost ready to launch, just a few more weeks and he'd be ready.
"Well, because you don't seem to want to spend time with me, Chuck" Sarah spoke in a whisper as she reached out a hand and gently stroked the line of his jaw. "And you're spending so much time playing that video game, whatever it is. What is it, World of Wartcrap or something Bergs or whatever it is that seems to take up so much of your time."
"It's World of Warcraft or Angry Birds" Chuck managed to correct the woman standing in front of him, the air conditioning in the store and the new work outfit for the Orange Orange combining to do their best to distract him. "I think it's adorable that you don't have a nerdy bone in your body" he added, purposely avoiding a direct answer, not wanting to tell Sarah about the game Morgan had discovered and he was now playing with an almost religious zeal.
He remembered his best friend's excitement about finding a new online game that offered a strangely addictive combination of hide and seek and weapons. According to his bearded buddy, the game had been developed by two former CIA operatives who had originally hoped to create a training tool for their employers but had decided to take it online after their bosses laughed at the idea of a video game actually being used to help train agents. In less than five weeks, the game, 'Run For Your Life' had become an honest to goodness sensation with thousands of people 'becoming' spies.
Chuck had been skeptical when Morgan had first described the premise but within two hours after playing the free demo, he was signed up and addicted. The game offered players the choice of running or hunting or, was often the case, a combination of the two. Once he'd established his 'cover' identity, he'd spent time at the virtual 'Farm', learning from his pixilated instructors the art of establishing a cover identity and then taking that identity 'off the grid' so one could hunt down fellow players or, as he'd taken to, hiding from other 'hunters' who wanted to sanction him.
'Yeah right, Morgan. The SIMS meet the CIA' he remembered teasing his oldest friend, trying to not laugh at the hurt look on his face. 'Alright, I'll give it a try' he'd said and that, as they say, was that. He remembered watching as his hetero life partner bounced from one foot to another while he logged onto the 'RFYL' website that first time, his bandaged hand hampering his typing ability but not making it impossible.
In the four weeks since he'd chosen his cover identity, he'd been spending a surprising amount of time, learning the ins and outs of going off the grid and staying there. In fact, John Walker had become surprisingly adept at staying off the radar and often found himself wishing Casey or Sarah could see him at 'work', sure they'd be impressed with his burgeoning skills. He'd toyed with the idea of turning his handlers onto the game, fairly confident that they'd enjoy challenge but decided to keep quiet, not sure how they might respond to the knowledge that he was becoming adept at avoiding 'agents' who were searching for him.
"Well, I wouldn't mind if you wanted to put a nerdy bone in my body" Sarah whispered into Chuck's ear, jarring him from the wool gathering he'd just been in the middle of.
Uh…what?" Chuck somehow managed to stammer out, sure that his face was a deep shade of red. Reaching up, he hooked a finger into his collar and tugged, sure that his sudden difficulty breathing was a direct result of Sarah's adjustment of his tie, just moments earlier.
"I said…" Sarah started to speak only to be interrupted by a harsh voice from behind them.
"Bartowski! Am I paying you to sit around and play kissey face with your girlfriend?" Big Mike barked as he waddled towards them, a half-eaten bear claw grasped in one hand and a small stack of papers in the other. "Damn right I don't! Now, I need you to make sure all of Jeff and Lester's paperwork is in order and then…"
"Why do I have to make sure that Jeff and Lester's paperwork is…?"
"Because I told you to, Bartowski. It's part of the assistant Manager's responsibilities and…"
"And I'm not the assistant manager" Chuck interrupted the big man, his voice soft but steel hard. "You're not paying me to be the assistant manager and, to be honest Big Mike, I'm getting a little tired of doing everything an assistant manager does, plus a lot of stuff that a manager should be doing" he said, gently moving Sarah to the side and after taking a moment to log off of his computer, getting to his feet to stare into his bosses eyes, "so maybe we should re-think this whole 'Chuck working for the Buymore' thing because, to be honest, you need me but I'm feeling less than appreciated" he said, taking a step closer to a suddenly dumbstruck manager, " and maybe I should take that offer from Large Mart. I'm going to take my lunch break, Big Mike and then I'm going to take the rest of the afternoon off" he finished and then moved to step around a still speechless manager.
"Now just a minute, Bartowski. I don't think…"
"That's the problem, Big Mike, you don't think. Now, consider this…if you think I'm not going to lunch with my girlfriend and then planning to spend the afternoon with her, playing kissey-face as you so elegantly put it, you really could have a problem because I really wouldn't miss this place at all" Chuck said before taking Sarah's hand and pulling her towards the front door.
"Bartowski!" Big Mike yelled after him and suddenly fell silent.
Chuck looked back over his shoulder and found John Casey standing next to his 'civilian' boss, one of his big hands on the other man's shoulders, speaking into the man's ear. A quick glance also told him that every other employee who was on the floor, along with several customers, were watching as he walked out the door with his arm around Sarah's waist.
"So, Chuck, you're going to take me to lunch and then we're going to spend the afternoon playing kissey-face?" Sarah asked after the automatic doors had slid closed behind them.
"Of course I would never assume to tell you what we're going to do this afternoon, Agent Walker and…ow!" Chuck cried out, rubbing his shoulder where he'd just been punched. "What the hell?"
"Stop calling me Agent Walker, Chuck" Sarah responded, keeping her eyes focused straight ahead, her feet carrying her directly towards her Porsche. "It's a good thing I can pretty much set my own hours now that the CIA is the actual owner of my cover employer. So, Chuck, what are we going to do with our afternoon?" she asked.
"Well, I thought I'd go down to the comic book store and after picking up a few books, I'd head down to the beach and kick back for a few hours" Chuck answered, he feet and their destination taking him away from Sarah's side and towards the Nerdherder that was his usual mode of transportation."
"And what am I supposed to do, Chuck? Sit around, twiddling my fingers while you're off being a…"
"A what, Sarah? A nerd? It's what I am, you know that" he shot out, the keys to the Nerdherder dangling from his fingers as he stared at his handler.
"No, an asshole who hasn't been paying enough attention to his girlfriend" she shot back, turning and stomping over to where he stood, stepping into his personal space and staring into his eyes, her blue eyes flashing with anger.
"Well, Agent Walker" Chuck hissed back, stressing the words in an effort to remind that she was 'on the job', "what exactly is this 'asshole of a boyfriend' expected to do. I certainly don't want to do anything that doesn't fit your description of the perfect mark/boyfriend, now do I?" Before he could move, Sarah's right hand came out of nowhere, the sound of the slap reaching his brain just a moment before the sudden, almost blinding, blast of pain hit.
Reaching an arm back, Chuck used the small car behind him to keep from falling, his knees threatening to buckle and leave him sprawled on the asphalt of the parking lot. He felt his eyes tearing up and lifted a hand to gently touch the side of his face that felt like it might be on fire.
"Chuck, I'm so sorry" Sarah whispered in a voice filled with hurt and regret. Taking a step towards, she started to lift her own hand, wanting to touch the damage she'd just inflicted. She was about to say something else when one of Burbank's finest rolled to a stop a couple of feet away.
"Are you alright, sir?' the officer behind the wheel asked, already opening the cruiser's door and starting to climb out. "Please step away form him" the voice asked, leaving no doubt that the request wasn't open to debate.
"That's not really necessary, officer" Sarah said, her eyes never leaving Chucks'.
"I don't remember asking you, miss. I simply asked you to step away from the young man."
Sarah turned, ready to put the unknown officer into her place when she froze, her mouth dropping open. She couldn't believe that anyone, let alone a brown eyed brunette, could look so good in a polyester uniform and bullet proof vest. Before she could figure out what to say, the officer stepped to the side so she could get a better look at Chuck.
Are you alright, sir?" the officer repeated her question and after making brief eye contact with her partner, moved around Sarah stepped closer to Chuck. "Would you like to press charges?"
"What?" Sarah barked out, stunned by the absurdity of the situation. "You can't be serious" she declared, taking a step towards Chuck but freezing at the sound of a safety be clicked off. Turning her head, she found the officer's partner leveling her Glock at her. "You have got to be kidding me" Sarah muttered under her breath as she shook her head, wondering how everything had managed to spin so completely out of control in such a short time.
"Would you like to press charges?" the officer asked again, lifting her hand to gently stroke the side of his face before dropping it back to her belt, pulling out a small pad that she flipped open with a practiced ease. Puling a pen from her breast pocket, she glanced back again to make sure that her partner had things under control before looking back to Chuck.
"Your name sir?" she asked, her hand gripping the pen, poised to write down everything she learned.
"Uh, Chu…Charles Irving Bartowski. Officer, this really isn't necessary. Sarah…"
"Chuck, uh, that's what your name tag says so I'm guessing that you prefer Chuck, right?"
"Yeah, Chuck's fine."
"So, Chuck, the name of the woman who attacked you is Sarah. Do you know why she struck you?"
"It was my fault, Officer. I uh, said something and she reacted without thinking and…"
"She hit you because of something you said?" the brunette asked, turning a disbelieving look towards the blonde who appeared to be less than happy about the situation. Before she could say anything else, her two-way radio came to life. Stepping away a few feet, she turned her back and after a short conversation, she turned back to face Chuck and Sarah.
"You seem to have friends in high places" the officer said, obviously unhappy with whatever she'd been told. Stepping closer to Chuck, she pulled a card from her pocket and offered it to him. "If you have any problems or just want someone to talk to, call me anytime, ok Chuck?" she instructed him, her eyes leaving no doubt that she'd welcome a phone call, anytime he wanted to call. Turning to leave, she paused near Sarah. "Violence is never the answer" she said before nodding towards her partner and then climbing back into the patrol car.
Sarah watched as the car slowly pulled away, torn between her desire to smack the skanky brunette who'd been using her badge to flirt with Chuck and her need to make Chuck understand that she didn't mean to hit him, that she never wanted to hurt him. Before she could say a word, John Casey's deep voice called across the parking lot.
"Walker, a word" the big man called.
"Just a minute, Casey" she answered after turning to look towards her partner.
"Now, Walker!" the burly NSA Agent commanded, his arms crossed over his chest and his tapping foot leaving no doubt that she didn't have a choice. She turned back to ask Chuck to wait just a minute only to find that he'd already slid into the Nerdherder and was about to start the vehicle and pull away.
"Leave him be" Casey called at her, using a finger to tap at his watch, plainly indicating that they could monitor him thanks to his watch. "We need to have a talk" he explained, nodding towards the Orange Orange and waiting until Sarah started walking in his direction before turning and heading towards the small store that served as the main entrance to Castle.
Confused and worried, Sarah paused as Chuck drove past her and she suddenly felt ill when he didn't even acknowledge her standing only a foot away.
"Let's go, Walker" Casey called from just outside the front door of the 'double 'O'.
"Yeah, yeah" she muttered under her breath, "I'll talk to Chuck later" she told herself, not realizing that her definition of 'later' was about to be put to a rather extreme test.
A/N:2 So, thoughts?