Disclaimer: I do not own Chuck.
A/N: Got this out quick since I finished the exams, with flying colors I might add. Have fun reading Chapter 4.
Chuck vs. the Scarlet Ibis
Chapter 4
Los Angeles, California
Sarah's Hotel
2:22 PM
February 01, 2008
"Oh my god, Bryce."
"Hi Sarah," he replies.
Chuck and Sarah unlatch from each other, both standing to their full heights, Chuck a full head taller than Bryce, and Sarah shorter than Bryce by a mere one inch. Her hand grabs his, giving him a reassuring squeeze before letting go of his hand, and begins her questioning of Bryce's reappearance.
"What are you doing here Bryce? I thought you were in deep cover? Aren't you supposed to be taking down Fulcrum in some seedy country?" questions fly out of her mouth, trying to decipher his reason for being here.
"I was called by Graham to get out here as soon as I could, he didn't let me in on any other information."
Sarah smiles as she hears him say that he doesn't know anything, not even that Chuck is an Agent. 'This could be fun,' she thinks.
Turning towards Chuck, she whispers in his ear, "Chuck, go home and get changed. I'll meet you at your house at three. Let me have some fun with Bryce."
"Wait, what? Fun Sarah? I thought we were together!?"
"No silly, have fun messing around with his head. Trust me Chuck, the only one I want to have that kind of fun with is you," she whispers seductively, smiling as his face turns a beet red.
"I love you, I just want you to know that," he whispers, conviction in his voice.
Her eyes tear up, but she refuses to let them fall, trying to keep her composure for the upcoming barbing of Bryce. In contrast, her heart soars into the clouds, never wanting to touch the ground again. Her mind flashes once again to the house and white picket fence.
She sighs and whispers back, "I love you, too. Now get out of here so I can have my fun toying with his head."
The words stop his heart, encasing the moment in his mind forever. He'll remember this day clearly until he is in his old age, hopefully, with Sarah by his side. She clears her throat, signaling he should leave.
As Chuck walks to the door, his voice sounds into the room, head still turned away, "Bryce, you're lucky to be where you are. Be grateful. Don't be late for the briefing, 4:00 PM sharp.
He stalks off, both agents staring at his departing back trying to decipher the meaning behind his words.
Returning to the matter at hand, "So Sarah, what was that I just saw?" Bryce says, voice monotone.
"Bryce I can explain"
"How do you explain falling on top of your asset, mouth glued together in a deep lip lock? Explain that to me." He says sharply, dropping the monotone voice.
"Look Bryce, we did it to keep our cover. You have to understand, people have to begin taking us seriously. We can't just walk in here not hand in hand or lips on each other, it would look suspicious." she lies, hoping he takes the bait.
He pours over her words, torn between wanting to believe her and not trusting her words. He stays silent and Sarah presses on, "Bryce, trust me, there is nothing going on between me and Chuck. Now I'm going to go take a shower and if you want to join me, you'll be quick about it."
As she walks off, she reaches into her nightstand, pulling out a pair of furry pink handcuffs, doing it so that Bryce can see. She walks into the bathroom while taking her pants off, leaving her just in her panties, swinging the handcuffs in her hand. The scene looks so hot, Bryce immediately forgets what he is thinking about and moves to quickly follow her.
Once in the bathroom, he finds her sans shirt and pants, and walks swiftly behind her, chest flushed against her back. She turns around in his arms, and pushes him back against the wall, slipping the handcuffs onto one of his hands. She pushes him into the shower, and presses her body against his, simultaneously slipping the handcuffs over the handle of the shower door. H doesn't notice it, the feeling of Sarah's body on his, drowning out any other feeling. She steps back, and admires her handiwork.
His eyes grow wide as he finds himself handcuffed to the shower door, nothing lying around to help him escape the tile prison.
"Sarah, what are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing? Leaving you here to go find Chuck, of course. You sir, are a self-righteous, egotistical bastard, who has the audacity to play god with your former best friend's life. What makes you think he couldn't have handled the life of a spy? The reason Chuck Bartowski is a good person doesn't cut it. Because of that good person, he has been able to do missions and save millions of lives. I don't know what you were thinking in college, but it seems like Chuck was meant for this life. So Bryce, bug off and leave us alone."
Before leaving, she turns around and cocks her right hand back, letting loose a solid punch to his jaw line. His head snaps to the left and stays there for a couple seconds, taking in the impact of her fist. Blood trickles down the side of his mouth and onto the floor, smearing it red. He lets loose a fit of coughing which spews even more blood onto the tiles of the shower. She turns around and walks out of the bathroom, a satisfied smile playing on her mouth. Her thoughts go, 'That felt pretty damn good.'
***
Stuck there with nothing to do, he makes one last ditch effort to try to make Sarah his again. He pulls out his phone, punches in a couple numbers, listening to the dial tone. The phone prompts him for an extension, and he speaks the extension number, connecting him to his boss.
"Graham, secure."
"Larkin, secure. Agent Walker has been compromised. Her objectivity towards the asset has been affected."
"Agent Larkin, we've known that for a while, but it's not important. Chuck Bartowski's asset role has been changed. He's being considered an Agent, partnered to both Agent Walker and Agent Casey. Technically, it's not an asset/handler relationship."
"When did this happen? Why wasn't I notified of his change of status?" panic striking his voice, trying to think of a way to change Chuck's status back to an asset.
"You were going to get all the information at the briefing, but now you know Chuck Bartowski is an agent, and you are the factor that pushed him towards it."
He holds his phone a long while after the dial tone had sounded. His mind runs through what he has just heard. How is he the factor that pushes Chuck to becoming an agent? How is he even able to be an agent? The Chuck Bartowski he knows can't hurt a fly.
"What's going on?" he asks the walls of the empty shower.
***
Echo Park, California
Casa Bartowski
2:49 PM
February 01, 2008
She pulls into the parking lot of Chuck's apartment, surprised to see another bike next to his Yamaha R1, a dazzling blue Suzuki GSX-R1000 that glimmers in the sun. She remembers the story he told her this afternoon, and her eyes register that it is the same bike from his mission in L.A. She can't wait to wrap her arms around Chuck's stomach again and ride into the horizon. She shudders at the thoughts of feeling Chuck's abs again.
She finds herself in front of his door, and she lightly knocks. The door opens a couple seconds later, showing a pretty hot looking Chuck.
He's wearing a black T-shirt that highlights his abs, and a pair of grey skinny jeans, pairing with his classic Chuck Taylors, low cut in-style. He's wearing a blue Dodger's cap, hiding most of his curly hair, but strands of it stick out here and there. The clothes show off his toned body, her mind clouding with lustful thoughts. She audibly gulps and to her chagrin, he smiles in amusement, his eyes dancing with mirth.
"What's so funny Mister?"
"Nothing, nothing. Well, it's kind of funny watching you watch me in these clothes. Not what you expected, huh?"
"Yeah….you look really, really, really…ummm…hot," she manages to get out, but not before a squeak is let out on the last word.
He chuckles and wraps her in his arms, pressing a soft, but short kiss to her forehead, and she sighs in content.
"So, what did you do to Bryce?"
"Oh, I handcuffed him to the shower, shouted at him for a bit, and hit him in the face. That pretty much sums it up. It feels surprisingly good to hit that bastard Bryce Larkin."
"So, you pulled a Carina, just not on the bed, but in the shower?" he teases, a smile playing on his face.
"Are you referring to the time where Carina handcuffed Casey to her hotel bed? If you are, I still have a picture of it on my iPhone."
"Really? I have to see this! Carina told me after the debriefing. I had quite a laugh, the great agent John Casey, loses it to the feminine wiles of a very beautiful female agent."
She shoots him a look at the words "very beautiful," which tells him to remedy the situation or else.
"Sarah, you're the most beautiful woman in the world. I love you, no I'm in love with you. Sure, Carina is beautiful, but what female agent isn't. You're beautiful, but there is more to you than meets the eye Sarah Walker, and that is why I truly and ardently love you."
Her eyes tear up and she looks at him in wonderment. He always seems to find the right words to comfort her. His sincere brown eyes stare back at her own sapphire spheres, strong emotions alight in his eyes. His mouth tilts upwards in a smile, and she returns it, snuggling closer into the warmth of his arms. Her arms wind its way around his waist, and he pulls her into the living room.
He sits them on the couch, lying back so Sarah is on top of him, her head lying on his heaving chest. She presses her ears to his heart, listening to his steady heart beat. She looks up, leans into his face, snagging his lips in hers. He responds with fervor, tongue darting out of his mouth to tangle with hers.
They roll over, falling off the couch and onto the carpeted floor, Chuck now on top of Sarah, going down on her like no tomorrow. He mixes in quick pecks, with long drawn out kisses, their tongues gently dancing together in passion. The door opens, revealing a slightly shocked Ellie looking at her brother and his girlfriend making out on the floor of the living room like there is no tomorrow.
They notice the door swing open, but they continue their forbidden dance, until a slight "Eh hem," breaks them from their passionate make out session. They both turn to see Ellie, an amusing smile playing on her face. They both blush a deep red, smiling sheepishly as they stand up, fixing their clothes and hair. They sit themselves back down on the couch, trying to catch their breath enough to talk.
Chuck catches his breath first, "Sorry, Ellie. Forgot we were in a public area of the apartment," he says sheepishly, a coy smile finding its way to his face.
Sarah can only nod at the statement, too embarrassed to speak. Her face is still red, much to the amusement of the Bartowski brother and sister. They part ways with Ellie, and with a gentle arm at her back, they move to his room and sit down on the edge of his bed. One of Chuck's statements back at her hotel when Bryce was there finds its way to the front of her mind. She decides to voice her question.
"Chuck, what did you mean when you said Bryce was lucky to be where he is? I know you know that I wasn't going to have sex with him, but what did you mean? Answer me honestly, please babe? Please?" she pleads, putting on her puppy dog face, eyes going wide and lower lip pointing outward.
"Sarah, you don't have to give me the puppy dog look, I'll tell you what you want to know about me. We share a life now; you and I are together forever. Parts of the whole we make."
The words fly straight to her heart, momentarily stopping it, but it quickly starts again, her pulse, moving faster at his words. She looks in his eyes, and she can tell he really means it. They are really two parts of the whole. They are two people in love, and if one of them is not around, the other feels down, missing the other person.
"Well, are you going to start or do I have to make you?" she says, finally coming down from the high that his earlier words elicit.
"I'm afraid to see how you're going to make me, so I'll start now," a smile finding its way to his face.
"Well, it was a mission in Munich, Germany."
***
Munich, Germany
Terrorist Warehouse
8:00 PM
June 16, 2005
"God damn it, I'm supposed to be on vacation," he curses into the night sky, before moving towards his destination, moving silently like a ghost.
Graham tasked him with a mission right before he had asked for vacation, and he couldn't say no to the mission when he heard the details. His mission was to save Bryce Larkin, CIA agent extraordinaire, the asshole who had gotten him kicked out of Stanford two years ago.
Even though he still held hatred in his heart for him, he couldn't pass up on helping his old friend out of a sticky situation. That thought brings out many memories from Stanford of them running around, getting in trouble with the cops and professors on campus. A smile finds its way to his face at the memories, but he quickly schools his emotions and the smile returns to a tightlipped slit.
Moving silently onto the hill, he takes out his L96A1 sniper rifle, suppressor attached to deafen the flight of the steel projectile. He looks through the scope, painted green with night vision equipment, and spots two snipers on the roof, looking east and west. Luckily he sat towards the north, out of the range of vision of each sniper. It is going to be hard to kill both of the snipers with out alerting the rest of the terrorist soldiers on the ground.
He shifts his body into a prone position, stomach on the ground, head cocked to the right looking through the scope, hand adjusting the lens to make the shot.
He sees them reporting in and once their radios are sat back down, he kills the one looking towards the east, the sniper on the right totally oblivious. Quickly pulling the bolt back, he shifts his body once again, fixing the scope to compensate for the change in distance, and squeezes the trigger as the sniper turns around to look at his partner. The bullet catches him in the throat, surprise on his face, at his dead companion or the bullet in his throat, he didn't know, but he didn't really care.
Looking through the scope, he confirms both kills, and slings the gigantic green sniper rifle over his shoulder, resting on his back. Another gun lay on its side at his hip, an AK-74u suppressed submachine gun, the terrorist counterpart to the American MP5-Navy. AK-74u's are known for their destructive power, but amazingly high recoil. He handles it with ease, slinging the strap over his shoulder as he moves towards the guards at the side entrance.
Maneuvering through the dense forest, he comes to a stop behind a tree, just out of vision of the guards, and holds the gun to his shoulder, looking down the iron sights, a red-dot sight to risky at night. Having taken aim, he squeezes the trigger, releasing a silent bullet, and quickly switches targets and squeezes the trigger again. Both guards slump to the ground, two gigantic heaps, blood seeping from the hole caused by the bullet lodging into their craniums.
Walking swiftly to the lifeless lumps, he drags them back into the forest, one in each hand, covering the bodies under bushes. He reaches into their pockets and extracts ID cards, giving him access to the building holding Bryce. He stares at their weapons, MP-44 assault rifles, made back in WWII.
He smirks and speaks into the night air, "Really now, outdated assault rifles? Who runs this place? Oh well, it'd look nice in my gun collection. Obviously can't use 'em here, no silencers on these old pieces of metal."
He picks up one of the guns and tosses it over his shoulder, the strap digging into his tactical shirt. Ibis walks up to the door and using the ID cards of the fallen guards, he scans himself in and he is now free to roam the facility. He slips the balaclava onto his face, obscuring his face, the only thing seen are the brown of his eyes.
He moves stealthily down the halls, opening doors along the way. The first door contains three terrorists, all asleep, and he silently slits all their throats with a knife, foregoing taking the shot. Behind the second door, he find a computer room, with one man working at the computers, and he silently moves to him, and puts the pistol at his head, blowing his brains into the wall. Approaching the final door in the facility, he quickly reloads his AK-74u, checks his pistol and knives, and then puts his hand on the doorknob.
He turns the doorknob and pushes the door open in a flourish, surprising three terrorists in the room, and he puts a bullet in each of their brains, the blood running together to make a red river.
He finds Bryce in the next room over, bloody and beaten, cuts adorning his face, eyes swollen shut. Once he checks him out, he calls in the cleaners, telling them to get here quick and bring an ambulance as well. He quickly leaves, not wanting Bryce to wake up and see him. His task was to save Bryce, but not give away his identity. Anybody knowing the true identity of the Scarlet Ibis would cause a problem.
He steals into the night, turning into a shadow and melts into the darkness of the woods. Pulling out his PDA, he dials a number and holds it to his ear.
"Graham, secure."
"Ibis, secure. Agent Larkin rescued, no serious injuries. Cleaners cleaning up the scene. I'll be in Langley in the morning."
"Good work, Agent. His partner will be happy to here he's alive."
"Just doing my job, Director. Ibis, out."
***
Echo Park, California
Casa Bartowski
3:29 PM
February 01, 2008
Disbelief runs its course along her face, as she absorbs the information that just came from his mouth.
Eyes growing wide, she rambles, "Wait, you did a cleanup on one of our failed missions? That was you? I got a call from Graham telling me an agent was flying in to clean up our mess. Wow, so you saved Bryce Larkin, my ex-partner, killed seven terrorist, disabled a terrorist network, gathered information on bombs, and left without anybody seeing your face?"
Nodding in the affirmative, he takes her hand in his and says, "I would have introduced myself if it wasn't for orders, which I am quite glad that he issued back then, after learning Bryce's god complex ruined my life at Stanford because he didn't want me to become a CIA Agent. Ironic, huh? He gets me kicked out so I won't join the CIA, but it ends up serving as the catalyst for it. I've long come to reconcile with it, and besides, without Bryce's meddling, I wouldn't have met you.
She climbs onto Chuck's lab, resting her head beneath his chin and whispers, "Chuck Bartowski, you are one amazing man."
"I could say the same thing about you, Sarah Walker, maybe except the man part," he quips, a serious lilt to his voice.
"We're even more amazing when we're together."
The words bring tears to her eyes, and she twists in his laps, causing him to fall backwards onto the bed. Straddling his lap, she smiles deviously, and leans her head down for a kiss. He responds instantly, opening his mouth to her probing tongue, and with a quick motion, their positions are switched.
"I believe I have a couple moves to show you, Agent Walker."
"Bring 'em on, Agent Bartowski," she says seductively, pulling him down for another kiss, which leads to more amorous acts.
***
Echo Park, California
Casa de Casey
4:00 PM
February 01, 2008
Both walk into Casey's apartment building, fixing their hair from the physical work out that had occurred in Casa Bartowski.
"Thanks for the live porn show you two."
Sarah's face glows red, and she curses herself for forgetting Casey's bugs in Chuck's room. She sneaks a quick glance at Chuck, who is quietly laughing to himself.
"You're welcome Casey, now let's get this briefing started."
She stares at him in disbelief, the Chuck Bartowski she knew would have turned into a red ball of blush so adorable she would have had to giggle, but this Chuck Bartowski, cool and confident in the face of more fearsome opponents, was hot. Chuck Bartowski is the living embodiment of James Bond, nonchalant and smooth. Difference being, Chuck is still a lovable nerd who can separate the spy life from real life. That thought puts her mind at ease at the changing of Chuck from nerd to professional assassin.
The screen flickers on, showing the face of General Beckman sitting and Director Graham standing above her. Stern looks adorn their face as they take in the Motley Crew that is Team Bartowski.
"Where is Agent Larkin?"
"We had problems. He won't be joining us for this briefing. We'll fill him in on the information later," she says, a smile hinting on her face.
Both superiors show a smile, which is quickly schooled. Casey gives a side glance at Chuck and Sarah, who have obviously gotten over that little debacle of an asset/handler relationship.
"Okay to start things off, congratulations Mr. Bartowski on your promotion to Agent…again. He is not an asset anymore, as he is capable of looking after himself. Keep bugs in his room, but keep them down to sound bugs, no visual feeds.
Chuck and Sarah turn to each other, smile adorning their faces, and Casey grunts in disgust. He was going to have a hard time going to sleep from now on.
"What is it Major Casey?"
"Nothing, General!" he quickly says, trying to remedy the situation.
"See that it isn't. On to bigger things, the plutonium will be arriving two days from now at 2100 hours. You are to intercept the package and direct movement of NEST teams to take care of the package. As you know, this is Fulcrum. There is a reason behind it, and we need you three, plus Agent Larkin, to find the reason why. Infiltrate the stronghold and gather any information from their computers. Set hijacker viruses onto the computers, and have them screen information to NSA computers where I will have analyst pour over the data. Understood?"
"Yes, General," three voices sound out in unison, the three pairs of eyes flickering towards the faces of the others.
Graham smiles at the three and quickly adds, "Agent Walker, may I speak to you for a moment in private?"
Nodding to the other two to leave, she steps up to listen to her superior's news, good or bad. She braces herself for the upcoming conversation.
"Agent Walker, we got a call from Larkin saying you had compromised yourself with your asset and that is simply unacceptable. In my mind, you should be getting reassigned to a place so far from here that you won't even be able to make a simple phone call."
Looking down, she curses herself for forgetting to remove Bryce's phone in her haste to get to Chuck's house. Looking back up, she sees the smiles playing on the faces of her superiors, amusement playing on both. She stares back in confusion, not showing it on her face.
Picking up the conversation, Sarah tries to remedy the situation, "Director, I can explain –."
Beckman holds up her hand, cutting Sarah off from her explanation, "Agent Walker, we know you have been compromised for sometime now, but your work with the Intersect Project has been invaluable, which is why you're still here. Keep in mind, Agent Bartowski was an asset then, he is an agent now."
Sarah's eyes shine with tears as she registers the words, relationships between partners were often heard of before.
Plowing forward, Beckman continues, "Since you two are partners now, the NSA and CIA have worked it out so that you two, being Agent Bartowski and you, will have the only sanctioned relationship in the Agency. Congratulations, Agent Walker, I am sure I will be receiving an invitation to the wedding?"
"As do I."
She smiles, taking in the joy of the words of her superiors, "Thank you General, Director, and yes you will receive invites to our wedding."
A small ceremony on the beach flashes through her mind, her in a white gown, Chuck looking so dapper in his tuxedo. She sighs, and looks up at the amusing smiles of the General and Director, and she blushes.
"Call the other two back in, we still have more things to discuss."
Sarah walks into the hall and spots both of them in the courtyard, chatting and exchanging spy stories. She calls their names and they walk hastily back into the room.
"You feeling alright Sarah? Your face is kind of red."
"I'm just really, really excited because I can do this now without getting reprimanded."
Stepping onto her toes, she cranes her neck forward, giving a surprised, but eager Chuck a big wet kiss with the accompanying wet sloppy sounds a kiss like that elicits.
"Well I'm glad you can do that now, but I still don't know what you mean," he says, shrugging his shoulders indicating her to explain to him.
"Well, I just learned that we, meaning you and I, have the only, and I mean the only, sanctioned relationship in the CIA."
Her eyes light up just like his when he takes in the news. Both their heart soar into the clouds, neither coming down from the high of her words. He leans over and kisses her again, tongues dancing with fervor, until a "grunt" breaks through their eardrums. Smiling sheepishly, they turn their superiors, both with smiles on their faces.
"Ok, back to business. Since Agents Walker and Bartowski have decided to take the next step, we will be changing their cover. Agent Bartowski will be given money to create a software company. We need you to get away from the Buy More now and into something more elaborate for your appearance. Agent Walker, I know you will be disappointed, but your cover job is still at the Orange Orange. Both of you will begin apartment hunting, the government will pick up the bill. Choose your furniture and we will have it delivered to you. Agent Casey, you will stay where you are, but you will work as Agent Bartowski's security detail at his new company. Understood?
Three "Yes, Generals" elicit a smile from both Directors and they cut the connection with smiles playing on their face.
"Looks like Larkin will get a hoot out of this, losing Walker to Bartowski, and learning that Bartowski is a better Agent than he is." Casey grunts, everybody knowing his dislike for Bryce Larkin.
Sighing, "I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid after learning all this information."
"Don't worry babe, I'll make sure of it."
"Ditto."
They both look at the big, hulking man in wonderment at his addition.
"Umm Casey, what did you say?"
"I said ditto. I've lived alone a lot, and you guys have become the closest thing I have to friends. I'll be damned if Bryce Larkin shakes that up."
"So Casey, you do like us."
"Shut it Chucklebutt, you'll never see that again for as long as you live," adding a grunt to emphasize the point.
"Casey, just for the record, I like you too."
"…Thanks, Bartowski."
Sarah looks at Casey, her NSA partner. At the beginning, it was just a mutual feeling for the job. They begin to work together and they both begin to acknowledge the fact that they have become partners. Now though, they have acknowledged that they have grown to be something similar to friends. The gruff persona of the NSA agent has loosened a bit since the beginning of the assignment, Chuck wearing him down.
"Well Casey, looks like Sarah and I have some business with Bryce to take care of. Go do something constructive instead of cleaning your guns 24/7."
Casey stalks off with a grunt behind him and both Sarah and Chuck laugh at his departing figure. Turning around, he shoots them a glare and yells, "GET OUT."
Hightailing it out of Casey's apartment, they sit on the fountain, the lapping of the water mixing with their laughing. Their laughing dies down, and all that's left is a comfortable silence, the only exception the gurgling of the fountain.
Tiring of the silence, Sarah decides to speak first, "When do you want to go apartment hunting?"
"Right now, the only problem is, Bryce is still locked up at your apartment."
"He can stay there for a couple more hours; he probably deserves it for what he's done."
They laugh at the notion, but Chuck has other ideas, "Nah, let's just let him out. I'll admit, he deserves to stay there for a couple more hours, but it just doesn't feel right. Besides, we need to give him the full briefing and the…new developments," he says ending with a smile.
"Alright, well, at least I think he'll stay out of our way now."
"Let's just hope so."
Chuck stands up, walking into his apartment, and reappears a couple seconds later, keys in hand. He helps her stand up, and they walk hand in hand to his bike.
Handing her a helmet, he puts on his own, and revs the engine. She puts his arms around his stomach and rubs small circles into his abs. The feeling Chuck gets is amazing and he turns his head around, cocking his eyebrow.
"What, I can't admire your abs?"
She smirks as his face turns a deep crimson, and he shuts his visor and turns towards the parking lot. They speed out into the horizon towards her hotel and the inevitable showdown between Chuck Bartowski and Bryce Larkin.
A/N: So, the next chapter is the Chuck/Bryce showdown. I'll have a whole Saturday to write and if I don't get it out Saturday night, Sunday night or early Monday will be the next update. R&R guys!