"Um, John? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

John Casey was stocking some Nintendo Wii consoles on the shelf when he heard the grating voice of Morgan Grimes. He grunted in response, still focused on what he was doing.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you heard from Chuck?"

He hadn't. Although he would never admit it to anyone, he was concerned. Yes, it was his job to protect the Intersect. But he did actually worry about that annoying nerd.

"Why would I know where he is?" Casey asked, turning around to face Morgan. "I'm not his best friend."

"Touché, John, touché. It's just that he's not returning my calls, and I thought maybe he was mad at me. And you two hang out, so, naturally--"

"We do NOT 'hang out.'"

"My bad, dude." Morgan put his hands up in defeat and started to walk away.

"Wait a second, Pip Squeak. What makes you think Chuck is mad at you?"

"I borrowed a t-shirt of his."

Casey's left eyebrow raised.

"I gave it back! The thing is, I washed it first... and it shrunk."

"So?"

"So, I was with Anna at the airport last night, waiting for her parents to fly in from Taiwan. They're here all week, but at least they have a lot of meetings to go to, so we don't have to spend a lot of time with them. Because honestly, they make me nervous. I remember the first time I met them--"

Casey grabbed Morgan's collar and pulled his face deathly close to his.

"I'll make you nervous if you don't tell me what this has to do with Chuck."

"Okay, for one thing, you're already making me nervous. And secondly, I'm getting to it!"

"Get to it quicker," Casey grunted as he pushed Morgan away from him.

"We were at the airport--"

"You said that already--"

"And I saw Chuck. He was walking with some serious-looking badass. One of those people you don't want to make mad. You know, someone like you," he laughed weakly.

"Go on."

"Anyway, I yelled to Chuck, but it's like he didn't even hear me. Well, he did look drunk. Which is strange because I don't remember seeing him that wasted before. The other guy was helping him walk."

"Did you see where they were going?"

"They went to an Oceanic counter. Which is also weird. Ever since Flight 815, Chuck said he would never fly with them. Although, come to think of it, he hasn't been on an airplane in years."

"And you didn't find it strange that Chuck would go with a complete stranger on a plane to who-knows-where? Without telling anyone, including you? You are a piece of work, moron."

Casey angrily stormed off to the break room. Thankfully, no one was around. He dialed Sarah's number.

"Casey, I was just about to call you."

"I think I have a lead."

"I just heard from Chuck. Where are you, the Buy More?"

"Yeah. What's going on?"

"I'll explain when I see you. Meet me at the Castle in 10 minutes."