Just a reminder, this story takes place before the last two episodes. So, there is a Hannah, there's no Samantha and Morgan has no clue.

Also, in case anyone's wondering, the fact that Chuck and Sarah are going on a show that sounds suspiciously like a heavily promoted show on the same network as 'Chuck' is a coincidence. The fact that a bunch of other shows mentioned in this story sound like other reality shows is…not.

Chapter 4

"What is it, Agent Walker?"

Agent Shaw walked past the long string of male models and unemployed actors waiting for their 'Single Girl' audition, and quickly made his way into the hallway.

"Alright, I'll be monitoring you when the meeting happens." He hung up the phone and headed back into the room.

"Walker and Bartowski are going to be meeting with Schumacher some time today," he told Casey after he had sat back down. "The CIA van should be here shortly, so we'll have surveillance in position."

"Think there will be any danger?" Casey asked.

"We can't tell at this point. But stay on-line so you can be ready if anything comes up. Once your interview's done we can see if we can find you another cover. Maybe a janitor or something."

"May not be necessary. They might call me back for a second interview."

Shaw didn't respond right away. "I'm not sure we can plan on that."

Casey gave him a look. "What? You don't think women find me attractive?"

"Well, you know, they're probably looking for someone with a little more…charisma."

"I can be charismatic. I'm just like this for the job. If it job requires me to, I can charisma your ass off."

Shaw just shrugged, and turned away.

There were several offices aligning the hallway. Most of them were empty, and none of them seemed to contain anything suspicious. Chuck and Sarah searched through computer directories and file cabinets, but found nothing that mentioned the Ring or the Intersect. Things were beginning to get discouraging.

Finally, they found a locked door at the end of the hallway. Chuck thought he could hear a humming sound coming from the other side. "Well, this is promising," he commented. A moment later, his eyes flickered at the flash hit.

He looked down on the ground, picked up a paper clip, and straightened it straightened it out to form a makeshift lock pick. A moment of fidgeting later, he'd managed to unlock the door.

"Breaking and entering is in the Intersect?" Sarah asked as she quickly glanced around to make sure no one was coming.

Chuck shrugged. He'd stopped trying to figure out why things were in the Intersect when he'd flashed on how to fold a fitted sheet the week before.

The humming sound grew louder as Chuck opened the door, and a gust of air hit them from inside. The room was much larger than expected, with several giant servers against one wall. Several computer terminals were found throughout the room as well. Two large fans were on full power, cooling the room.

"Why would a reality TV producer need all this?" Chuck asked.

"He wouldn't. The Ring would."

Chuck leaned over one of the terminals, and started searching through files.

"Find anything?"

"Nothing about the Intersect. There seem to be a bunch of files about something called Operation Caboodle though."

"Operation Caboodle? Doesn't sound very dangerous. You didn't flash on it?"

"Nope, and I can't find anything specific about it in here."

"Alright. Can you copy any of the files?"

"I dunno. They're pretty big."

"Alright, well, I can't hear if anyone's coming so we should get out of here as soon as we can. I'll let Shaw know what we found."

They carefully snuck out of the room, and headed back down the hallway.

"Hold it!"

The two agents stopped in their tracks, and moved around slowly. As he was turning, Chuck saw Sarah put a hand by where she usually kept her firearm hidden.

Chuck was surprised to see the tattooed receptionist standing in front of them.

"I've been looking for you too."

"Oh, uh. My wife needed to find a bathroom."

"There's one right by the waiting room," the receptionist gestured back down the hallway.

"Ah, I told you honey," Chuck let out a nervous laugh.

"Doesn't matter. I just needed to tell you that Mr. Schumacher wants to meet with you both. Right away."

The young CIA agent nervously whirled around at the sound of the van door opening.

"Easy Agent," Shaw said as he climbed inside, putting a hand in front of him.

"Sorry, Agent Shaw," the younger agent said.

"It's ok. You can't ever be too careful. Just be sure you're steadier when you really do need to fire that weapon." Shaw nodded to the video screen. "So, the meeting starting yet?"

"Not yet. Agents Carmichael and Walker are waiting in Schumacher's office right now." The Agent looked back at the door. "How was your audition?"

"That's not important, Agent. We're here on a mission, and that's all we need to worry about." After a pause, "They said they'd call me and let me know."

"And Agent Casey?"

"Agent Casey is a patriot who loves this country. So I'm sure he won't be too disappointed."

The young agent chuckled before looking back to the screen. "I think the meeting is starting."

Chuck and Sarah stood up when the door opened. The man who entered didn't speak, but instead sat down on the office's leather chair. He was in his fifties, with graying hair swept back to reveal a sharp widow's peak. His tailored suit was draped over him, with an orange tie competing to draw one's attention. He gave the two agents a bored once-over.

"So my assistants said I should meet with you. They seem to believe you'd be perfect for the show." Schumacher pronounced the word 'they' as if it was the name of an ex-wife.

"So why do you want to go on TV?"

"Well, we've been having some marital problems lately, and we were thinking that this would be the perfect chance to work through our issues." Sarah spoke up for Chuck.

"Hmm, better than going to private sessions a marriage counselor, naturally." Schumacher seemed mildly amused. "You don't really fool me. I'm sure you have agents strategically placed somewhere nearby."

Chuck gave Sarah an alarmed look.

"Well I assure you that there won't be any contracts today, so you won't be needing representation at this point. And as confident as you two might be, no decision has been made yet."

Chuck relaxed a bit. If Schumacher was Ring, he didn't seem to be concerned about the two of them.

"So, you two are willing to discuss your private lives on camera, huh? You can handle having cameras tracking your every move, never giving you a second of privacy?"

"I think I can handle that." Chuck answered immediately.

"Ok. What about personal questions? What if I were to ask you when the last time was that you two had sex?"

"Oh, uh…" Chuck stumbled for a moment. "Well, we've been really busy lately. With work and everything. So there hasn't really been time." Looking at the producer's bored face he added, "Even when we try to get away, things happen. There was this one time in this motel…" An elbow to the ribs stopped him.

"Hmm. I see. Well, if we're going to use you two, we're going to have to play up your archetypes."

"Archetypes?"

"Right." Schumacher studied Chuck critically. "We need to lose that slicked-back hair. How about something scruffier? And the wardrobe." He waved away Chuck's current blazer and blue shirt. "Perhaps a short-sleeved dress shirt and a tie."

"Really? You think that would make me look better?"

"Of course not!" Schumacher snorted. "But we'll need to play up the whole dork and the hottie thing, even if it is a bit 2008."

Chuck smiled weakly, hoping that Casey wasn't in the van listening to this. He wouldn't hear the end of that one. Sarah tightened her grip on the chair she was seated in, but didn't say anything in response.

"Now, as for you," Schumacher turned to Sarah. "You'll need to find something more low cut…"

"Steady, Agent Walker," Shaw said into Sarah's earpiece. "Even if he is Ring we still need him for now. Once we have what we need, I promise you can kick the crap out of him as much as you want."

"I think Agent Carmichael might beat her to it," the younger Agent said to Shaw. After a moment, "That thing about the motel was a bit strange. I wonder if there was any truth to that."

"These are trained agents. They can improvise stories whenever necessary." As Shaw turned away from the younger agent, he did have to admit he had a point. Sarah and Chuck clearly did have a close relationship.

"So, if you make those few changes, then I think we can probably work with you." Schumacher glanced at his watch. "You'll still need to meet with my co-producer first, of course."

"Your co-producer?"

"Of course. He's done several shows on MTV, so he knows exactly what the 18-25 demo likes to watch. If he decides that's you, then we should be ready to go. So do you understand everything?"

"Yup." Chuck paused for a moment. "We can do everything you asked. The whole…kit and caboodle."

Schumacher gave Chuck a sharp look. "Ok. I see. Well it's been nice meeting with you, but I have a meeting at Spago in a few. My assistants will see you out."

"What were you thinking?" Sarah turned on Chuck once they'd left Schumacher's office.

"What?"

"Mentioning Operation Caboodle like that. You may have exposed our cover."

"I figured we weren't getting anywhere anyway, and it might make him show his hand." He stared down at the gold carpet as they walked down the hallway. "Besides, he was irritating me with his whole 'dork and the hottie' thing."

"Chuck, he was talking about our covers, he wasn't talking about you personally. You and I both know that there's a whole lot more to you than a label like that."

"Thanks. And you know you're way more than just a hottie."

There was an awkward silence as they walked through the waiting room. As they were about to reach the exit, Chuck said, "Before we leave I need to go to the little boy's room."

"Alright. Just be quick. We need to regroup with Shaw and Casey."

Chuck stared into the bathroom mirror. Despite what Sarah had said, he still resented Schumacher's suggestions. Unlike past missions, this Charles Carmichael wasn't the flashy agent, but was more like…Chuck himself. But he did get that he and Sarah looked like a mismatch.

Sighing, Chuck washed his hands, and dried them off with a paper towel. He turned to the wastebasket and tried to throw the crumpled up paper in. The ball missed and landed behind the basket.

Chuck sighed. Apparently, the Intersect didn't feel that wastepaper basketball was a vital skill. He was still thinking about Schumacher's words as he leaned over to pick up the crumpled up paper.

Because of this, he didn't notice when someone snuck out of one of the stalls and conked him over the head.