Hi everybody! Hope you are enjoying Part II of what started in Postcard!

Thought I would give this chapter to Colonel Casey. He's deserving. (You wouldn't want to tell him he's not deserving.)

Disclaimer: No characters from the TV show Chuck are owned by me.

Thank you to editors extraordinaire: My wife and Anon!

Thank you to all reviewers. Please, keep reviewing! And bring friends! Thanks.

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"People let you down in the end." - John Casey

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Colonel John Casey ignored the stitch in his side as he leapt to tackle the retreating form of an escaped prisoner.

Casey missed, his quarry dodging at the last moment, then swiping the Colonel's legs out from under him. The prisoner stood up, a vicious grin on his face. He sneered, "I've told you before; you need to rise above your weaknesses, John!"

The sneer turned to shock as Casey pulled back and smashed his booted feet into his enemy's chest, shouting, "Would ya just SHUT UP?"

The prisoner snarled and dove at Casey, which was an error, for Casey used that downward momentum to his advantage while he brought his knee up to collide under his adversary's chin.

That seemed sufficient. The prisoner's eyes rolled up and he fell over. Insensate. Heh. Good choice of word.

Casey stood up and considered the unconscious form of his old teacher, Ty Bennett. He muttered, "You're losing your touch, Sensei. Didn't even get me to break out in a sweat that time. I know a nerd that could kick your ass."

The Colonel chuckled under his breath as he hefted Bennett's body over his shoulder.

Though it did give him pleasure to clobber Bennett again, Casey couldn't deny that the trip had been a waste of time.

He would have much rather dealt with that bastard, Miles. Well, that wasn't going to happen. The former Marine, now Ring agent, had almost as much security around him as an ex-president.

Casey had tried to plead his case with Beckman, but knew from the get-go that it was no good. Casey had long ago demonstrated that he could be a loose cannon in regard to those he knew who had turned around and betrayed their country. Betrayed him. He had proven that with Bennett before.

Perhaps trying to assuage Casey, Beckman had suggested an alternative: namely, that Casey visit Bennett in prison and try to determine if Bennett had known of the Ring while he was pursuing his global arms scheme. Casey pointed out that since Bennett hadn't even been Fulcrum, that it was highly unlikely. Beckman turned it around into an order. She was obviously trying to just keep Casey out of her hair until he returned to Burbank. Casey stewed over it, but he followed orders, figuring that it was a harmless excursion. Besides, the Colonel was quite aware that he had been bending rules of late. He'd better not push his luck just now.

A day spent getting out to the prison, and, as expected, Ty Bennett didn't know squat. Casey would have loved an opportunity to fully interrogate the man, but apparently Bennett had caved to interrogation techniques virtually the moment he had originally become incarcerated. He had spilled everything he knew about his criminal enterprises and those of others, in an attempt for leniency, but also because Bennett couldn't stand up at all to any kind of prolonged interrogation. It was pathetic, really. John Casey had long viewed his sensei as a giant of a man. Apparently, Bennett wouldn't even qualify as a dwarf of a man. He could dish it out with much enjoyment. He sure couldn't take it though. Casey was amazed that he had never caught on that his teacher was nothing more than a skilled bully.

Casey actually enjoyed being something of a bully, himself, but he didn't like it in others.

After a fruitless hour of questioning Bennett about Fulcrum and the Ring, Casey tried a different tack. He wouldn't be able to bring back anything of use to Beckman, but maybe he could get something for himself.

Looking Bennett in the eye, Casey had asked, "Why'd you do it? Why'd you betray your principles and this country you swore to protect?"

Bennett had burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that tears fell down his face. He pointed at Casey, and choked out, "You are such a naive man, John! I did it for money!"

It took all of his self control for Casey not to reach out and break the finger that was pointing at him. He didn't say another word and he left his former teacher to rot.

To Casey's surprise though, he had been given the opportunity to express his physical displeasure, after all. He had spent some time talking with a few prison officials, when he learned that Bennett had broken loose from the guards returning him to his cell.

The Sensei had been resourceful. Making good use of hostages, Bennett had made his way out the door, and managed to elude the guards. From that point on, he was running free in the compound, trying to find the best way out.

Casey knew that a full manhunt wasn't going to be of much use in Bennett's case. Silent infiltration and escape were some of the top things he had learned from Bennett, and the Master had been adept at keeping out of the sight of groups before. The last time he had dealt with the Sensei, Casey had required Chuck's help to locate where Bennett was holed up.

Not this time, though. While the squads looked, Casey had made his own way around the complex. It took him almost two more hours, but he ultimately found his quarry, and the rest was history.

It was simply a matter of returning Bennett to the main building. Now, Casey was sweating. Bennett wasn't exactly light, and he was dead weight while out. Casey grunted in annoyance. Then he thought a little bit. Placing Bennett's body on the ground, Casey glanced around to make sure that there were no guards immediately present. Cameras? Maybe. Casey found that he didn't care at the moment. Taking care in case his sensei was playing possum, the Colonel reached down and snapped the finger that had pointed at him earlier. A groan came from Bennett's form, but he stayed unconscious. Feeling much better about the day, Casey hauled Bennett up once again, and saw him back to his confines.

Casey's good mood was only briefly sustained. He had the feeling that he would be blamed for Bennett's albeit brief escape attempt even though the Colonel hadn't actually been in the same room when it had happened. Whether Beckman truly believed that or not, she would use it as another reason to keep Casey away from Miles.

Casey was having difficulty fighting off depressing thoughts. Money. That's all Bennett had cared about. Casey didn't understand. He didn't understand any of it. What was happening to the values that brought people to serve in the first place? Casey had met scores, no - hundreds of patriots in his time in the service. Men and women who would have (and had) laid down their lives for a better cause. Such malevolent acts of treason were beyond him. How could anybody bring such dishonor to those who had come before them? At least Fulcrum, and apparently the Ring, had their own values for the country, evil and twisted as they might be. At least they weren't shallow.

What bothered Casey more was that in the space of a year, he had learned that two men he had deeply trusted and respected had become traitors and dishonorable killers. What did that say about Casey, himself? Not that Casey was in danger of becoming corrupted. He had absolute faith in his own patriotic values, but if he could so misinterpret the motives of his brothers-in-arms, what was he to do? While Casey had a reputation as a loner, he knew full well that he didn't serve in a vacuum. He relied on others in the service. If they failed him and their country, he was well and truly screwed. And though he was certain of his own loyalty, would others think the same? Or would he be painted with the same dirty brush?

Casey thought about his "relationships" - he hated the word - with fellow service members. Simple partnerships. These people relied on each other, and bonded well. They didn't need girly language to express it, either. Poker, beer and cigars, and rough and tumble activities were all they needed. However, he painfully recalled that such were the activities in play when three of his fellow marines were gunned down by a traitor, and Casey was almost taken as well if not for the "mercy" of that traitor.

Casey's thoughts turned to his current partners.

A love-struck CIA agent and her chicken-necked dweeb.

Somewhere along the way, these partners of his had somehow become… friends.

John Casey wasn't used to having friends. Colleagues, yeah. Buddies, sure. Lovers, of course.

Friends were different. Friends weren't simple. Friends snuck past your boundaries. Friends could get you in trouble. And they already had. For friends, Casey had broken rules, lied and not followed orders. Friends would interfere with the big picture, and that was dangerous.

For that reason, Casey tried to think of Sarah Walker and Chuck Bartowski only as his partners.

When he had first met Agent Sarah Walker, Casey had never imagined that one day, he would say that she was the best partner he ever had. No, that first time, Casey had scoffed at the reputation of the "CIA skirt", imagining she'd be an easy kill. She quickly changed Casey's impressions by besting him twice, the second time in hand-to-hand combat. She continued to earn his respect through demonstration of skill and loyalty to her mission, her asset, and to Casey, himself. She was perhaps the best agent he had ever seen, with the possible exception of one complication.

Sarah Walker used to be able to see the big picture. She had understood sacrificing one's personal desires for the sake of something bigger than self. Until her assignment to protect one Charles Irving Bartowski. And gradually, in spite of warnings from Casey, Walker had fallen down a well of feelings, and now she couldn't get back up again. Well, that wasn't entirely accurate. In spite of her recent attempt to run scared, Walker was made of stern stuff. Casey had no doubt that she'd pull out of this funk that she was currently in, and she and Chuck would be better for it, whatever the outcome. Casey's only wish was that they'd leave him the hell out of it. Unlikely. Even so, the whole 49B fiasco just underlined what Casey had already realized. Much as Beckman hated to admit it, the bond between Walker and Bartowski seemed to better their results.

Then, there was Chuck, himself. Self-involved, absorbed in useless minutia, completely without ambition. Worst of all, Chuck wore his heart on his sleeve, and was insufferable about it. It seemed to Casey that while there was a lot that differentiated Chuck Bartowski from Casey's respected peers, one thing in particular stood out. Chuck could not... shut... up. He demanded that everybody listen to his feelings. Feelings this. Feelings that. Fucking feelings.

And yet, that openness had one thing going for it. You virtually always knew where you stood with Chuck.

While Walker at least once understood the big picture, it seemed to Casey like Chuck almost never did. He never could grasp the need to sacrifice lives, innocent or not, for the greater good. The moron would even go out of his way to try to keep enemies alive. And Chuck would break virtually any rule to save the lives of people he cared about. That even included Casey. Casey, who unbeknownst to his partners, had almost followed through on an assassination order to kill Chuck. Even after Casey hunted down the AWOL couple in Barstow, Chuck still risked himself to save Casey's life.

"People let you down in the end." Casey remembered when he had told Walker that. It was during the original incident with Bennett. When he had found out that Bennett was a traitor, Casey had gone ballistic. He nearly killed Chuck in the process, and then went off the grid in an attempt to take down the Sensei, alone. In spite of this, Walker risked her own career to help him. Chuck came after him as well, and was the one who helped give Casey the strength to beat Bennett (though Casey didn't like to think of the way that Chuck had gone about it).

From the moment they met, Casey had viewed Chuck as a screw-up, a joke, a loser. Casey had assumed that Chuck would crack under the pressure of his circumstance, or would get quickly killed (and would likely get his handlers killed in the bargain.) And yeah, Chuck had made scores of idiot mistakes and endangered himself and others. But Chuck hadn't cracked. He hadn't been killed, or even seriously wounded. The results he was able to regularly achieve were incredible. Casey might have been able to chalk this up to insane luck, but what Casey could not discount was Chuck's bravery. Chuck threw himself in there all the time. He had served his country in an uncomfortable position, rarely asking for any reward. Though Casey had made the crack about Bartowski not being a true patriot if he cashed his compensation check, the Colonel didn't really believe that. He had thought Chuck deserving.

Finally, Chuck had come through in a way that nobody had imagined he would. Sacrificing the normal life he craved, Chuck had chosen to take on the burden of the Intersect again. Walker seemed devastated by it, and Bartowski even seemed to have a problem understanding why he had done it. Casey understood immediately.

A day after Chuck and Walker had their "talk", Chuck had approached Casey and apologized for effectively forcing Casey back into Project Bartowski. Casey had brusquely told Chuck he didn't know what he was talking about, and told him to get lost.

In John Casey's world, there was no apology necessary for doing the right thing, and choosing to serve.

Rough times were ahead. For Chuck to be effective, Casey was going to have to be tougher than ever towards him. They would have to overcome the limitations imposed by the Intersect and by Chuck, himself. Chuck was going to have to do things that he would flat-out, not want to do. The road would be frustrating and dangerous, but Casey knew three things:

Chuck was a hero.

Chuck would never betray his country.

Chuck would never let him down.

Casey had to admit, it was nice to have unwavering faith in somebody.