Chuck vs. Where Loyalty Lies
Here's another new chapter for you folks. I know I left off with a intense cliffhanger but here's what happens next. This chapter will focus on Eddie and what he's about. I know I'm doing something awesome when people have already wrote in their reviews that they truly dislike him. I'm doing my job then. lol A hint of Charah in this story but I promise there will be in the next. Enjoy the read peeps.
Again, if you enjoyed reading my stories and left a comment please leave a comment for this this one as well. Tell me what you think and I hope you enjoy the read.
I don't own Chuck and I'd like to keep it that way.
Crouching Nerd, Hidden Dragon
XXX
A very concerned Travis briefly glances at the man standing beside him directing his attention in the opposite direction. "Dude."
"I'm way ahead of you buddy." responded the father-to-be.
Instantly, he initiates a flash and upon doing so he suddenly begins descending into a low crouching position, his left arm/left leg extended to the front with both hands forming a claw. To Travis, he is truly bewildered by what he is witnessing but soon realizes he's about to do a drunken fist martial arts fighting style. He's seen enough Jackie Chan movies in his lifetime to recognize moves that will not only confuse the armed thugs surrounding them, but throw them off completely. Travis shakes his head then refocuses his attention on the thugs in question around the two of them.
The attack instantly begins when one thug armed with a bat runs forward straight at the two men. The thug in question rears back swinging the wooden weapon over his head causing Travis to quickly react by pushing Chuck out of harms way while he spins away avoiding being hit. As for Chuck, he falls to the ground on his side leading to the two thugs armed with a metal chain and a tire iron to lunge forward in their attacks. Thinking they have the advantage, they rear back. However, looks can be deceiving as Chuck uses all his lower body strength in order to do a spin kick move causing not only sand to kick up in the process but lands solid kicks to the side of the two men's face. In doing so, it leads him not only to be at a vertical base but plants himself into a low crouching position once again.
Meanwhile, Travis is busy with not just the thug armed with a bat but another one wielding a metal rod. He continued to dodge and parry blows avoiding the bat to the point where he clutches it tightly underneath his right arms. Once he does, a hard right elbow to the face stuns the thug giving the former member of Team Chuck to manipulate the bat to his advantage in order to block the overhead metal rod strikes. After knocking an overhead striking attack away, he quickly initiates a hard front kick to the man's gut then a right leg windmill kick to the face causing him to fall off the side. In that moment, he returns his attention to the thug presently behind him using his own weapon against him by taking the meat end of the bat and pulling forward with such force it makes contact with the thug's face.
The sheer impact leaves the thug totally disoriented causing him to stumble back and fall to the ground without the bat in his hand, which is now in Travis' possession. As he takes a moment to express a smirk, he arrogantly twirls the bat around then goes for the offensive instead of being on the defensive. While he presses forward, Chuck strikes at the chest of the thug who is wielding the knife who is completely thrown off by the way he's attacking him. Immediately, the former reluctant spy stumbles in for a shoulder block to where his head rolls under the thug's chin inevitably causing a quick blow to that same vulnerable area to where he's absolutely stunned. Essentially, it instantly allows him to slide across the thug's body leading him to bend his own body back from the waist to the point where he kicks the legs out from under the thug armed with a tire iron running at him. In an instant, he and the tire iron wielding thug hit the ground but it's far from over as Chuck punches him in the face.
The brown haired business owner isn't down yet as he has a firm tight grasp on the knife wielding thug's right arm. He pulls him down and over him on to the ground where he's met with a swift guillotine left leg strike to the face then a hard fist hitting him squarely in the ribs. It's clearly on the money as the would be assailant yells out in pain. In that instance, Chuck rolls backwards once again contending with 2 more armed thugs who are aren't giving up any time soon and seem relentless in their attacks to take him down. In Chuck's mind, they're most definitely not making this easy for him.
The same goes for Travis as he stumbles back after being hit in the face but he quickly recovers. He resumes his assault with renewed fury. After blocking then deflecting a chain and metal rod, the former member of the Zeitgeist takes a hard right swing making contact on the faces of both men. The two men fall to the ground completely knocked out. As he briefly stands there in a defensive position clutching the bat tightly in his right hand, he peers down at his handwork.
"2 down…" he grinned. "…4 to go." Travis added breathing somewhat heavily. It's not over by a long shot as he readies for an attack by the next 2 armed thugs who go after him. In that moment, he knows he can't rest or he'll lose just more than his head. "Bring it on." he mutters under his breath.
As Travis contends with the two armed thugs coming straight at him, Chuck is unfortunately pinned against a wooden post by the thug wielding the metal rod. While being pinned back, the thug carrying a pipe goes in for the kill. Fortunately, the former nerd herd leader quickly initiates a counter attack striking and inevitably landing a front kick to the gut then a punch to the face causing him to stumble back from the impact of the blows. This allows Chuck to do something absolutely unconventional…reach up with both hands and tickle the thug on both side. To his surprise, it works causing him to loosen his grip and once he does he fully extends both arms back then lunges forward, sandwiching the thug's head right in between them with such immense impact it completely disorients him so much so he stumbles back.
Chuck takes a brief moment to position himself then charges forward to finish the fight by slamming a spinning kick across the side of his face knocking him to the ground. Once he decimates the 3rd would-be-assailant he turns his attention to Travis who takes care of the 4th and 5th now unarmed thugs with a double slam to the gut with the wooden bat then an upward thrust to their faces knocking them out as well. All that is left, is the thug who started it all and as the two men who are still standing turn around they see the thug in question wielding the same knife at them. However, he keenly notices his fellow thugs are presently down for the count and once he does he drops the knife to turn tail in order to run. Unfortunately, he doesn't get very far as he's suddenly met with a piece of driftwood to the face.
The former teammates watch as Eddie steps out from behind a large post with a smirk on his face. He turns his attention from the knocked out thug laying unconscious on the sand to his two running buddies down to his left who are bending over with their hands on their knees lifting up their heads to witness his handiwork.
"That was easy." mused Eddie. He drops what is left of the broken piece of driftwood on the thug's unconscious body. While he is reveling in the easy victory, Chuck and Travis who did all the hard work simply turn to each other expressing a mixture of amazed disbelief. The two out of breath men return their attention back to Eddie who continues to stand there at the opening with a smug look expressed on his face.
XXX
The early morning events were truly an unexpected situation to say the least. After the authorities arrived to haul the 6 unconscious thugs away to jail, the 3 men would find themselves in Casa Bartowski decompressing from the adrenaline pumping altercation. As Chuck is being tended to by his beautiful, pregnant wife concerning a small cut above his eye at the kitchen/dinner table whileTravis, who has a small bandage above his right eye, is pacing back and forth in front of the coffee table in the middle of a phone call. As for Eddie, he is comfortably sitting back on the black leather couch listening to the one sided conversation.
"I'm fine babe. It wasn't anything Chuck and I couldn't handle." Travis suddenly stops then turns his attention to his brother-in-law sitting on the black leather couch. In that instance, Eddie raises both eyebrows anticipating a possible question pertaining to him by his baby sister. "Yeah, Eddie is okay too. Shannon, don't worry. I'll be home soon to see the kids off to school. I love you too." he smiled. After hanging up he sticks his Iphone into the right front pocket of his jogging pants.
As the two blood brothers exchanging looks towards one another their attention is suddenly directed to their left by the sound of someone in pain. That individual is Chuck being cared for by Sarah.
"Ouch! That stings." hissed the father-to-be.
"Hey…" responded Sarah. She quickly gives a gentle Gibbs slap to the back of his head. "…relax you big baby." she added. The blonde beauty returns her attention to the small cut above her husband's left eye.
"I'm just sayin' babe." he responded back. After patching him up she leans down kissing the bandaged wound above Chuck's left eye. The two exchange soft smiles then his attention on his lovely wife turns to his former partner standing on the other side of black leather chair. "You didn't tell Shannon how many men we were actually up against."
Travis shrugs his shoulder the answers his lanky friend. "Like I said, it wasn't anything we couldn't handle."
It's at that point, Eddie decides to chime in. "You got that right." he grinned. Eddie's response causes Chuck and Travis to turn their attention to the man currently sitting comfortably back on the black leather couch. They simply stare at him to where he gives his response. "What?"
"Where were you? You could have helped you know." stated Travis.
"Hey…" answered Eddie standing up. "…you told me to call the police remember. Unfortunately, I forgot to charge my phone and it died on me. At least I helped out. That counts for something."
"1 guy. 1 guy who was running away after we…" Chuck expresses a mixture of agitated annoyance as he repeatedly points to Travis then him. "…took care of his buddies." He then points to Eddie. "You just hit him in the face with a piece of driftwood."
"He didn't get away because of me." insisted Eddie pointing to himself.
"Come on bro…" retorted Travis. "…all I'm saying is we did all the hard work." His attention on his brother-in-law and Chuck turns to the blonde woman standing next to him. "You should have seen us Sarah. I went all Casey Jones ala Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on him…" he explained stepping forward swinging an invisible bat in his hands. "…and Chuck channeling his inner crouching nerd, hidden dragon." he added reaching out for a fist tap.
Chuck reciprocates the fist fast expressing a smile of his own. "Indeed. You swung for the fences dude. I give you props for that." he added. In that instance, he turns to his wife who expresses a stern expression on her eyes towards her chocolate brown eyed husband. "What?"
"I'm glad you boys helped a women in distress but you're missing the big picture here." she firmly stated.
"What big picture?" wondered Travis. His right brow quirks up and then cross his arms.
"It doesn't take a spy to know you two were lured there." explained the former C.I.A. agent.
"What are you talking about?" inquired Eddie stepping forward.
"A set up." chimed in Chuck. "That's what Sarah is talking about." he firmly stated.
The Bartowski living is silent letting what Chuck said sink in but it would quickly be broken by Travis speaking up. "Who and why?"
"I don't know." responded Chuck shaking his head.
"Me either but I do know one thing…" Eddie stated walking over towards the hallway. "…I need to go the bathroom." he added disappearing out of sight.
All 3 individuals momentary stands there watching Eddie walk off. There attention would inevitably be broken by the sound of Sarah's voice. "I'm going to make breakfast."
She leans over gently pressing her lips on her husband's. They exchange soft smiles towards one another once again then the blonde beauty steps forward walking past the father of her child and heads towards the kitchen. Once she's out of sight, he turns his head continuing to express the soft smile on his lips. However, that would gradually fade upon noticing the serious expression on Travis' face standing just a few feet away from him.
"Hey…" said Chuck stepping over to him. "…what's on your mind?" he added with curiosity.
Travis shakes his head then looks in the direction of the hallway where Eddie shuffled off to for the bathroom. "Eddie. He said he wasn't able to call the police because his cell phone died."
"It happens." nodded Chuck.
"He lied. His cell phone was fully charged." said Travis furrowing his eyebrows.
"How do you know?"
"I saw it plugged in before I woke him to go running with us." he answered.
The former teammates stand in front of each other letting that revelation sink in more so for Chuck than Travis. As they continue to stand there, Eddie emerges from the hallway leading the two men to look directly at him causing the eldest Haschal sibling to stop in his tracks. "What?"
"Nothing." responded Travis shaking his heads. He gives a quick stare intently eyeing Chuck who gets the message. "I'll lock the door on my way out." Afterwards, he turns his attention back to his brother-in-law. "You ready to go?"
"You bet." he answered clapping his hands together.
As the two blood brothers head out, Travis glances back over his left shoulder giving a head nod. Chuck gives a head nod back then walks off towards the kitchen where his wife is currently making breakfast.
XXX
It's 11:45 a.m. and Chuck is behind his desk steadily at work and punching away at the keyboards to his computer. As he continues to sit there with a pen behind his right ear and a pencil clinched between his teeth, he can't help but think about what Travis said concerning his own brother-in-law Eddie. Intentionally lying to the two of them regarding his cell phone dying on him and unable to call the police only to find out from Travis it was fully charged he thinks to himself. Was it all a set up? Did he set them up and if so why?
Chuck leans back removing the pencil clinched between his teeth. As he takes a momentary break from working hard, he tries to makes sense of it all as to what possible reason Eddie, if any, would cause them intentional harm. It's a hard pill to swallow even for Travis who he considers a blood brother and not outright accusing him of doing so would most definitely cause not only conflict but a rift between the family. True, 5 years has been a long time to go without speaking with each other, especially between a brother and a sister.
In his mind, he couldn't even imagine not going 5 minutes rather than 5 years without speaking to his big sister Ellie. He remembers before Bryce's email and becoming a spy the two of them would sit for hours talking with each other about practically anything and everything. They confided in one another about their worries, fears, hopes, dreams, and whatever else came to mind. Nothing was off the table because they were that close in the brother-sister relationship. The two of them share an unbreakable, strong bond and it will continue to last until they grow old.
Unfortunately, once he became an asset because of his former Stanford roommate's email he would have to keep secrets from her and that meant lying to not only her but everyone else in his life. The burden of unbearable weight placed on his own shoulders causing him personal, emotional, mental, and most definitely spiritual strife. To him, it was hard every day of his life to keep everything bottled up inside and not letting anyone know why he really suffered scrapes and bruises. The daily attempts to keep the lies from overlapping one another were challenging enough but remembering them was considered the greatest challenge of all.
Thankfully, he was able to talk to the one person who eventually found out his secret…his best friend Morgan Grimes. Of course, he wanted to blurt out to the world that his best friend is actually James Bond but he didn't. Fortunately, his bearded hetero life partner knows how important it is to keep a secret of that magnitude and scale he thinks to himself. For Chuck, he's more than a best friend he's family who has stood by him since day one. The loyalty he has shown him means more than any victories on Call of Duty X-Box games can ever receive.
When it comes to the relationship with his sister, it has grown immensely stronger more than ever. There are no more secrets between the two of them and that's how it should be he thinks to himself. The relationship they had before the whole asset/spy situation has returned but she's now more of a pitbull knowing he and Sarah are now having a baby together. He knows it's truly going to be an adjustment, especially for Sarah but Ellie along with everybody else will be there for the two of them. That's what's loyalty amongst friends and family is all about.
His thoughts concerning the matter abruptly end when he hears a buzz on his office phone. He leans forward pressing the button.
"What's up Bev?" he wondered.
"Mr. Riley and his brother-in-law are here to see you Mr. Bartowski." she answered back.
"Awesome. Send them back."
"Yes sir."
In a matter of few moments, a knock is heard on his office door leading Chuck to stand up behind his desk. "Come in."
The door to Chuck's office opens with Travis entering in with Eddie following closely behind him. The head of Whiz Kid Systems, Inc. walks around his desk in order to meet them half way. "What's up guys? This is unexpected."
"Sweet digs Chuck."
"Thanks Eddie." His attention on Eddie is averted to the man standing in front of him. "So what are you doing here?"
"Lunch. Want to come with?" he wondered.
"Sounds like a plan. Let me grab my coat." he said backing up then turning around heading towards his desk.
In that instance, the sound of cell phones ringing is heard leading all 3 men to check. It ends up being Travis who stares at the name on the screen then answers it. "Yeah?"
After a few seconds, of listening to the person on the other end he hangs up. This leads Chuck to wonder what's up by the bewildered expression on his face. "Dude?"
"Bro?" inquired Eddie stepping forward.
"We're needed in Castle." answered Travis.
It's those 4 words that are truly surprise for Chuck who has not stepped foot in the secret underground government facility in over 2 months.
XXX
All 3 men continue to stand there after Travis revealed that they are being summoned to Castle. It's much of a shock to Chuck than anything else because he made a promise to Ellie he would leave the spy life behind and that meant not ever stepping foot back into the one place that tends to suck back people in. The momentary silence is eventually broken up by Eddie who speaks up.
"What's Castle?" he wondered.
In that exact moment, Morgan walks by hearing the word Castle. He jumps into the room and quickly closes the door. Once he does that, he turns around looking at all three men standing in front of him. "Who uttered the word that shall not be named?"
"What? Castle?" Eddie repeated again in utter bewilderment.
Eddie's response causes Morgan to wave his hand around like a madman. "Don't say that word." he replied standing right beside his best friend.
In response Chuck rolls his eyes and then gives Morgan a Gibbs slap to the back of the head. "This isn't Harry Potter Morg and Castle isn't Lord Voldemort."
For Morgan, ever since learning of his best friend's other life he made it his mission to try to keep his secret from being exposed. Granted, he did go a bit overboard at times to the point of interrogating his employees who would knock on his best bud's door thinking they would be walking into something they should not have seen. He would have a discussion with Chuck that using Castle's equipment such as knock out spray wouldn't most definitely be not a good thing he thought to himself. Plus, he would have to deal with Casey who threatened him many times to not step foot in his home away from home.
Morgan reaches up to rub the back of his head the responds to his lanky hetero life partner. "I know dude. I'm just looking out for you. The promise you made to Ellie and all."
"I know buddy. Thanks for having my back." he retorted patting Morgan on his left shoulder. "I'm certain it's not mission related."
"I hope not. For Ellie's sake." responded a concerned Morgan.
"Let's go." said Travis.
"Yup." nodded Chuck. The two men head behind his desk with Morgan and Eddie standing in front of it. "Morgan, inform Bev I'll be out of the office." he firmly stated eyeing his little bearded best friend.
"Gotcha."
The whole time this is going on, Eddie is completely bewildered and confused as to what is happening. He is about to say something when he suddenly sees Chuck pull a row of fake books back to reveal a key pad behind it. Afterwards, he punches in a sequence of numbers and once completed the bookcase on the left opens revealing not only stairs, but a hidden passage way that leads from his office to Castle located across the street from Whiz Kid Systems, Inc.
"Whoa." breathed out Eddie in astonishment.
His attention on the secret passage way would be averted to his brother-in-law. "Eddie you're coming with us." he firmly stated.
"I am?"
"He is?" said Chuck quirking his right brow.
"You are." nodded Travis.
Eddie is a bit reluctant as he slowly moves forward and around Chuck's office desk. Eventually, all the 3 men enter the hidden passage way as the book case closes behind him. After a moment or two of walking through the corridors of Castle, they step through a door with Travis immediately heading towards the conference area. For Chuck, it's been along time since he's stepped foot in the underground government complex and much to his surprise it hasn't changed a bit, probably due to Casey since he still is part of the agency. As for Eddie, he's amazed at what he sees before his very eyes.
"I was wrong." stated Eddie doing a 180 degree turn. "This is some sweet digs."
The eldest Haschal sibling is simply captivated by his new surroundings. As he continues to follow Chuck and Travis to wherever they are going, he asks a seemingly pertinent question.
"Why are we here? Better yet…" he clarified. "…why am I here?" he inquired.
"You…" Eddie suddenly stops in his tracks because he knows that voice. He turns his attention towards the man standing in front of the main computer console of Castle. "…you're here because of you." the mystery man nodded. "Haschal."
Eddie's eyebrows furrow and eyes narrow at the man stoically standing in front of the empty conference table. "Tobias." he firmly said clinching his jaw.
XXX
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