A/N: Finally, I've gotten round to putting up the next chapter. I know, I know, it's been well overdue, but I've been busy with exams and things, and considering the next few weeks are filled with my favourite passtime (sitting in an exam hall in silence for a couple hours each time), I don't think realistically I'll have another chapter up for a while.

Just a heads up to any would-be beta readers, I would dearly love to have someone to look over the coming chapters and remove some of the detritus I sometimes write! So if you are interested, please PM me :-)

Big thanks to stormwolf for finally making me get off my ass and upload this, I hope you all enjoy! Also, I'd just like to say, in response to some of the criticism I'm getting about the realism of some aspects of this fanfic, please remember this is AU. I'm trying to keep it as plausible as possible, but believe me, if I were to go for the totally realistic approach, where would be the fun? Also, read the author note at the bottom for a more in depth explanation!

Without further ado, here y'all go:

DISCLAIMER: I do not own NBC's Chuck (unfortunately), or anything else in this fanfic - I wrote it entirely for entertainment purposes!

Second Time's a Charm

The Next Day

Richmond Hotel Complex

Malibu, California

8:23 am

Casey packed silently and methodically, taking each item in turn and placing it neatly inside of his suitcase. As he reached for a well-folded t-shirt, the television screen flickered on, and General Beckman stared out at him, as emotionless as usual.

"Major Casey," Beckman began, "I hope you aren't packing up just yet."

"Why?"

"We have a...complication. We have received intel that the diamond you stole is an Afghani war diamond that Peyman Alahi was holding for one of his associates. If he has the diamond, it appears his associates will attempt to sell it for surface-to-air missiles."

"Hmph," Casey grunted, "we still have the diamond though."

"That's the complication. Our extraction team was intercepted by Alahi's men en-route late last night and we believe he has kidnapped them and retrieved the diamond."

"So Alahi got his diamond back, huh? Do you want us to move in, help with the rescue operation?"

"That is exactly what I don't want you to do, Major. We have received a tip off that Alahi is holding the extraction team and the diamond at two different locations – we have tracked the team to a location in downtown Los Angeles, which means the diamond must still be in Alahi's estate."

"So we retrieve the diamond?"

"Yes. We have a Special Forces team on standby to raid the location in Los Angeles, which will distract Alahi and draw away his forces, at which point you will move in and recover the diamond whilst it is at its most vulnerable."

"I assume Walker will be accompanying me on this mission?" Casey enquired.

"Agent Walker and Agent Miller will assist you in the operation, Major."

Casey let out a growl of disapproval.

"Whatever your feelings for Agent Miller are, you cannot deny her outstanding record with the DEA. Her help will be invaluable to the success of the mission."

At that moment, their conversation was interrupted by a harsh drill on the door. Casey squinted through the peephole, until the distorted faces of Sarah and Carina became visible. Reluctantly, Casey swung the door open and allowed them entry.

"How are your thumbs doing?" Carina teased, gazing at the bandages wrapped around his thumbs.

A snarl from Casey indicated that he didn't want to talk about it.

"The NSA have set up a force to assault the compound where the extraction team are being held. Whilst they deal with most of Alahi's forces, we'll move in on his estate and get the diamond back. Understood?"

"How do we know what security will be like at Peyman's estate?" Sarah asked, "After all, he won't want to make the same mistake twice."

"We have access to a NASA satellite," Casey explained, "we'll have up-to-date information on the number of guards patrolling the estate, and a detailed floor plan of the estate itself."

"Well then, I will leave you to do your jobs," the General explained, before adding "Agent Walker, Agent Miller, Major Casey."

Beckman logged off, and the flat screen reverted to its original state.

"Right," Casey exclaimed, pulling the orderly piles of clothes out of his suitcase, "it looks like we aren't leaving just yet after all."

Peyman Alahi's Estate

Malibu, California

10:52 pm

"Ssh!" Sarah hissed, as Carina's heels clacked loudly on the edge of the driveway.

The team had done as instructed and waited for the Special Forces unit to begin raiding the Los Angeles location. From their vantage point in the bushes near the estate, they could see swarms of Alahi's men leaving in cars to defend the position, giving them a perfect opportunity to strike at the diamond. All three were clad in black, and in the faint moonlight they could only just pick out each other's silhouettes.

Two more goons left the building, guns clenched rather obviously in their hands. Whispering something to the other, one of them got into a SUV and fired up the engine, before the other got in the back of the car and the pair backed aggressively out of the driveway. As the sound of the engine faded into the ether, Casey murmured quietly to indicate that the team should move up.

Quickly, and without so much as a loud breath, Carina, Sarah and Casey stealthed around the perimeter of the building, keeping a close eye out for any guards.

"I see four security cameras by the poolside." Carina whispered.

Nodding, the Major pulled a handheld computer from his pocket and tapped frantically at the touch screen. Locating the cameras, Casey set the computer to send out a scramble signal, which interfered with the CCTV footage and rendered the cameras almost useless. Stuffing it away in his pocket, he grabbed his SIG Sauer P229 from its holster around his waist and screwed on the suppressor attachment.

With the security cameras successfully disabled, the team hustled around the poolside and up to the back door of the estate, which is when Casey flashed. An AK47 being fired; footage of a steel door with touch sensitive technology; schematics of an alarm system; the AK47 again.

The flash ended, and the Major shook his head profusely to try and still the raging headache. Only this time, it didn't work. Every inch of his head felt like it was just waiting to detonate, and he struggled to breathe through the intense pain.

"Casey," Sarah quizzed, "is something wrong?"

Casey didn't reply, instead screwing up his face into a plethora of creases and gritting his teeth as the throbbing sensation worked its way to the very core of his brain. Dropping his gun and squeezing his hands into angry fists, he sat it out, refusing to allow the agony to get the better of him.

"Casey?"

Shaking his head one final time, the pain began to fade, leaving him breathless, but alive. Carina wasn't paying much attention – she was too busy watching for any guards approaching their position, but Casey saw genuine concern in Sarah's face.

"Come on Walker, what do I look like? An amateur?" Casey said, reclaiming his gun from the floor and edging closer to the door.

"It's touch sensitive," he explained, "there's no way we can get through here."

"I bet the windows not..." Sarah replied.

Casey looked around. Accompanying the door was a small window which sat relatively low down on the wall.

"You break that window, and every guard on the premises is after us." he warned.

"That's why we don't break it." Sarah asserted, pulling a knife from her thigh.

With skill unmatched by most, she used the razor-sharp knife to cut around the rubber sealers holding the window on. After just a few minutes of work, and anxious sweeps of their position from Casey, the window collapsed into Sarah's waiting hands without so much as a crack.

Casey had to admit he was impressed, and grunted as if to confirm this. Sarah smiled, and manipulated her slender figure to fit through the window. The Major had slightly more trouble accommodating his large build in the small window frame, but he eventually managed to work his way through, before Carina followed behind.

A corridor of artwork looked very different at night, it seemed. The paintings lining the walls were lost to the inky blackness, and only the defiant glow of a few overhead lamps revealed anything at all.

At the junction of the corridors, the team took a left, and were soon confronted with the same room they'd ransacked the day before. Except for one thing. It was empty.

Casey's eyes widened, and his breathing became unsteady.

"Where's the diamond?" Carina hissed, carrying a similar expression.

"Looking for this?" a familiar voice called down the corridor.

Each team member twisted in turn, and were confronted with Alahi and an entire squad of his men, each holding an M16 assault rifle. Alahi himself had the diamond in one hand, and a hefty gold-plated Desert Eagle in the other.

"Kill them." Alahi ordered, before his team began to shower the team with a relentless stream of bullets.

Diving for cover, Casey ripped the suppressor off his P229, squeezing the trigger with his iron sights firmly lined up with one of the men. The body fell limply to the ground, and Casey glanced to his right to see Carina and Sarah pinned down by another goon's M16.

Fire zipped by just centimetres above his own head, and he had to squat down to avoid the wrath of yet another torrent of fully automatic fire. Silence hit the corridor like a tonne of bricks for just a few moments, as Alahi's men reloaded. Bringing his gun around on another guard, Casey felled him with ease, his corpse joining the other on the ground.

Sarah simultaneously rolled sideways out of cover, her Smith & Wesson throwing a lethal barrage of bullets down the corridor. Two more guards down, but her magazine was empty. She dropped it uselessly to the ground, and felt for another on her waist to replace it. A heavy knot appeared in her throat and the room suddenly felt a whole lot hotter. She was out of ammo.

"Sarah, get down!" Casey ordered, flinging himself across the corridor and scattering bullets downrange.

His body made contact with hers, throwing her out of the line of fire just as a guard clipped another magazine into his M16 and restarted his assault on the team. Shots rushed past, and one ripped through Casey's leg which lay exposed in the open. He muffled his cries of pain, and instead focused on laying down covering fire for Sarah, until she could get to safety.

"Casey," Carina exhaled, "I'll draw their fire by attempting to flank them. You move up and we'll attack them from two fronts."

The Major nodded, throwing another magazine into his gun and chambering a round, before Carina set off down the next corridor, rounding the corner and beginning her assault on Alahi's men from the side. This provided enough of a distraction for them that Casey was able to move up.

He glanced quickly at Sarah, and, satisfied she was in no imminent danger, he limped down the corridor, his gun picking targets almost automatically and his finger responding with a deadly flick of the trigger. Another two guards were cut down by a combination of Casey and Carina's fire, leaving a trail of assault rifles banded across the floor.

Casey evaluated his position – Alahi's men were all but defeated, but where was Alahi? He claimed enough time to check on his leg – the bullet had left an ugly hole, but it had torn through relatively cleanly. Blood spurted from the wound, and Casey couldn't help but feel his life draining away with every red splotch which dispersed across the floor.

A scream from the other end of the corridor was enough to shake him from these thoughts, and he wheeled around to see Alahi using Sarah as a human shield, his gold-plated pistol forced against her head.

"Leave," Alahi instructed, backing away, "and you might get the girl back."

Casey sneered, and watched gleefully as Carina rushed from behind at Alahi, a roundhouse knocking him from his feet, whilst Casey simultaneously fired at the man. The diamond flew from Alahi's hand along with the gun, and Casey's bullet tore through the rock, shattering it into several hundred pieces. Sarah, freed from Alahi's grasp, finished him off with a brutal kick to the chest.

The Major's pulsing veins stuck out sharp from his skin, to the point where they threatened to detach from him altogether. He'd destroyed the diamond, but the General wanted it in one piece. He considered that a partial mission success, and from the look on Sarah's face, she was just happy to be alive.

"Casey," she called, rushing over to him, "you're wounded."

"It's fine." he growled, pushing her away.

Sarah seemed unconvinced, but nevertheless bit her lip and accepted his diagnosis.

Hobbling over to the unconscious Alahi, the fragments of the diamond caught Casey's eye, and his vision phased out to be replaced by reams of new information. A satellite image of a Taliban compound; an execution; the diamond; a missile exploding; the compound again.

His brain was booted back into reality, but his head was enveloped in unbearable agony. It felt as if someone had brought a hammer to his head – repeatedly, and every fibre of his brain felt like it had been torn apart. He collapsed to the ground, doing his best to stifle his scream. With sweaty palms, he clutched his head, willing the torment to cease, but it continued relentlessly.

Hazing in and out of focus, his vision was severely hampered by the white tunnel which encroached on its edges. With every new level of pain, the tunnel thinned, until all put a tiny pinprick of actuality was clouded by the whiteness.

Suddenly, in a flash, the tunnel retreated, and the pain lessened, the cold, dark corridor flooding back. Sarah was leaning over him, clearly concerned.

"Casey? Are you alright? Is it your leg?"

Casey shook his head. He wasn't one to talk much, but he had to tell someone about what was happening.

"I think the...the Intersect is...it's damaging my brain." he breathed, still recovering.

"The Intersect?" Carina questioned, walking over, "Now what might that be?"

A/N: I hope you enjoyed that, I must say, writing the action scene was pretty entertaining. Now many of you requested some more original content - believe me, recycling canon material with Casey's spin on it is NOT where I want this fic to go. Believe me, it's coming, along with a possible gamechanger. After much thought, I threw most of the next chapter out of the window, in favour of something more original, and (hopefully) more entertaining. That said, I'm only about 30% done with the chapter so unfortunately I won't have it up for a while!

And in response to all you Casey/Sarah relationship "is it/isn't it?" readers, you'll just have to see, won't you! Believe me, I have a few tricks up my sleeve to liven this story up coming soon!

Finally, I want to thank you, the reader, with a glimpse of the start of the next chapter, entitled First Contact:

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"A man in a dark trench coat and a hat entered the room, and stopped for a moment, as if unsure of something, before pulling the chair out and sitting at the desk. Pulling open the laptop, he typed just two words: John Casey, and hit the enter key."

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A/N: Who could that be, I wonder? Please review, folks!