I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point.

I've seriously grown tired of this site. I mean, technically speaking, it's a great place to publish stories. It gives you statistics and facilitates reviews. It's easy to use and is widely known. I have made many friends here.

But it is also seemingly filled with anonymous people with the emotional maturity of a three year old.

I knew when I started writing this it would be too dark for some people. So I rated it M. I loaded my chapters with content warnings. I heard from several of you that it was too dark and you would start reading again when that part of the story was over. I completely respect that. I even replied with the chapter (8) where you should start reading again. But I wanted to tell an adult story. It's kinda the story that Chris Fedak hinted we would get in the finale… but really didn't. We were led to believe that we would see Sarah falling in love with Chuck all over again even though she didn't remember him. I liked that. I looked forward to it. If you saw that in the finale, you have better eyes than I do.

So, yeah, starting off this is pretty rough. Chuck isn't Chuck. He's Carmichael. He's Agent Walker's sworn enemy. He's playing her, has been ordered to break her, and even to deliver evidence to Jenifer Bowles of her total degradation for her amusement. That would end most relationships.

But it won't end this one.

The point of this story is that they have far too strong of a bond to have this break them. In fact, something dramatic is going to happen pretty soon that makes them closer than they ever were. It's going to be sappy and romantic. The second half of this story is a pissed off Intersect and his giant blonde she-male wife going on the warpath getting justice on the people who would dare try and break them up as they turn Venezuela into a war zone.

Yeah, I get that this is currently uncomfortable. It's supposed to be. But IMO the comments that Sarah betrayed Chuck in any way are ridiculous. I'm questioning if we're reading the same story. It should be abundantly clear that cheating on Chuck would be the very last thing the Sarah of this story would ever do. Anybody who would dare seriously suggest it to her would find themselves beaten to a bloody pulp. She was at Carina's only because Chuck set it up in the first place. She even told her that the only way she could do this was because there was no way for Chuck to feel like she was cheating on him. Making a sexy tape was the task he assigned her. She told him that whatever she had to do for his plan to work, she'd be all in. She had to drink a lot more then she was accustomed too just to be able to go through with it. How could Chuck (or you) possibly hold that against her? And yes, she made herself get into it with Carina… and that happened a lot more than she expected. She learned something about herself. But isn't that what she promised Chuck? What she thought he wanted to see?

If you haven't paid any attention to my numerous content warnings so far, you're unlikely to pay attention to this one. But I'll give it one last try. If you're in the camp that believes that what Sarah did with Carina was unforgivable, you should stop reading.

BTW, thanks to all the people I've never heard of before sending me a note saying they would never read another story of mine. Not that it matters, but I didn't know you were reading in the first place. Frankly your voice would have a much stronger impact on me if you had bothered to comment on any of the previous 80 some chapters you must have read to get to this point.

OOC. I don't know how to answer that. Sarah Walker is a fictional character. On the show, she was the figment of Chris Fedak's imagination. In this story, she is the figment of mine. And yes, I get that I'm putting her in situations you would never see in an 8:00 network TV show. They couldn't possibly and stay on the air. But I do think that, even on the show, we've been shown hints of Sarah using sex to get what she wants from Chuck. The very nature of fanfic is to take the hints we've been given about the characters and extrapolate then into other situations. I believe that I've written my Sarah very consistently throughout these 70 some chapters. I actually think my Sarah is more consistent in this arc than the one on the show. I like her better. Is she exactly the Sarah from the show? It's impossible to say. Both Sarah's don't exist.

The group speak comment that has my head scratching the most is that this is like Season 3. Huh? Everything in this story that Sarah has done is because she is desperately in love with him and wants to prove that she'll do anything to make him happy. Does that sound like Season 3? Really? Maybe I should go and re-watch it. On second thought… nah.

So anyway, I'm seriously on the edge of being done with this site. If I get much more vitriol, I'm going to mark the story complete and post the rest on my LiveJournal site. It's not my favorite. But at least there I can control who reads and you can't be an anonymous mean spirited coward.

A word (I know this is getting long) about Alex. This is not the same Alex we know from the show. We didn't know much about her anyway. But this AU departs from the show well before we knew there was an Alex. I thought about using an original character. I decided to use Alex because we know what she looks like, and Chuck being attracted to her made sense. That is a key part of this. I also like the dynamic that Casey being her dad brings. Any preconceived notion that you have about her character is probably not going to be consistent with her in this story.

Back to Hell

x-x-x-x-x

This was exactly the break that Agent Carmichael needed. Maybe it was for the best. Now he wouldn't have to face her again. And yes, it would take some time to get over her. But maybe this was just what was needed. After all, he was a Fulcrum Agent. He had taken an oath. And actually so had she. There was no clause in those oaths that dealt with falling in love.

But that didn't make it one bit easier.

He dialed his phone as he ran to where the boat and jet skis were parked. "Alpha Tango Bravo Three Six Nine," he said as soon as he heard the beep.

Once he entered the correct code he was immediately patched into Fulcrum Operations Command Central. "Identify yourself," the Officer of the Day said.

"Alpha Tango Bravo Three Six Nine," Chuck repeated. "Charles Carmichael."

"Report status," the OD said.

"Acquisition complete," Chuck said. "Repeat, acquisition complete."

"Roger," the OD said. "On my mark turn on your locator. Mark."

"Roger," the OD said. "We have your signal loud and clear. Rendezvous as planned."

Chuck started the jet boat engine. Even over the sound of the powerful engine roaring to life, he could hear the raucous applause in the Operations Room.

"Congratulations, Chuck," the OD said, completely breaking protocol. "It looks like I owe you a beer."

"I'll see you soon."

x-x-x-x-x

It was a long while before Carina could speak and break the wonderful spell she found herself in. Technically her two hours had been up for a few minutes now. Finally she opened her eyes and returned to the living. "So," she said after taking a deep breath. "It's official. You're no longer a virgin. How does it feel?"

"Odd," Sarah admitted with a silly grin. "It's sort of like I felt when I lost my real virginity… relieved… but dirty somehow. Like I had just become a notch on somebody's bedpost."

"You gotta admit," Carina said as they started giggling. "For as much as you're constantly playing the poor victim role, this conquest location is nicer than the back seat of that car back at the Academy Orientation."

"Much nicer," Sarah agreed. "It's ironic. He didn't use cuffs. And yet you were a much gentler deflowerer than that sweet talking jerk. Thank you for that."

"You wanted to learn something about yourself," Carina said. "What did you learn?"

Sarah shot her a sideways glance. "Okay, you were right. Under the right circumstance, recreational sex can be a little fun. I've been a hypocrite. I keep asking Chuck for stuff, and then I make him feel guilty about it. That has to change. If I'm going to tell him that I'm up for anything, then I'd better be able to get up for anything."

"And that's all you learned?" Carina asked skeptically.

Sarah sighed. "You're really going to make me say it, aren't you?" she asked. "Okay, yes. You were right all along. I'm going to be listening to you gloating for the rest of my life. Once we got started I really got into being submissive. So it wasn't as horrible as I feared." Sarah paused for a moment. "So how about you?" she asked. "You were moaning pretty good. Did this notch on your bedpost live up to your imagination?"

"Close enough," Carina sighed. "Thank you. Is there maybe any chance we can do that again someday?"

That got Sarah giggling again. "You're welcome," she said. "I hope you didn't misinterpret me. Making myself get into it is not exactly the same as looking forward to it again. Then again, we've been called CIA whores for ten years now. So who knows what the price tag is going to be?"

And that got Carina giggling even harder. "That's true," she said. "You do know that I'll gladly reciprocate?" she teased. "Maybe I can build up some in store credit. As a whore, I imagine your price tag is going to be pretty expensive. Besides, you're still on fire. And after the impressive effort you just put in, it seems unsporting somehow to let you leave not completely satisfied."

That got Sarah laughing again. "I'll take a rain check, Mistress," she teased as she reached for her pants. "If there is going to be a next time is far more up to my husband than it is me. That's always going to be true. So maybe you should have this discussion with him. If he ever does decide it should happen, I'm cuffing you next time. My head hurts where you were pulling my hair."

"Sorry about that," Carina said as they continued giggling. "What exactly do you think that 'conquest' means?"

"Well," Sarah said as she buttoned her shirt. "I'm afraid your conquest time is up. I have to get back to Chuck."

"Something tells me I'm going to still have several opportunities to be satisfied tonight."

x-x-x-x-x

As Sarah walked up the gangplank to board the Enforcer, she had to admit something. She didn't have a clue what lurid scene she was going to find. She had blocked the thought from her mind until now. After all, she could very well walk in on the scene she had frankly encouraged. Alex on her back moaning as Chuck plowed her, a look of pure lust on his face. That would be worst case.

Sarah gave herself a firm pep talk. Chuck wasn't the bad guy here. He was just giving her what she wanted. She should be happy. So even as much as she didn't want to see him with another woman, especially Alex, she promised him that she was going to set aside her jealousy tonight. She almost demanded that he have sex with Alex right there on that beach. And after that, making feel bad in any way was patently unfair. It was the price she would have to pay to get him comfortable enough to keep asking for things. So whatever she found she told herself to smile sweetly and either wait until they were finished or lose her clothes and join in. Maybe even give him an up close and personnel demonstration of her new skill with Alex assuming Carina's position.

So to say that she was surprised to find Alex alone on the deck, sipping a drink, fully clothed, didn't come close. "Where's Chuck?" she asked.

Alex's face showed her surprise. "I figured he was with you," she said. "As soon as you left, he told me he'd meet me here. He never showed up."

There were several competing emotions raging through Sarah. Naturally there was concern… lots of concern. Chuck had been acting so… well odd, all day. There was also a fair measure of guilt. He was going out of his comfort zone to do things she asked him for… because of her own stupid hang ups. That was clearly messing him up. But then there was… "On the beach," Sarah asked. "Did you guys… umm…"

"Fuck?" Alex coyly finished her awkward question.

Sarah felt the blush rising up her neck. Why would she be embarrassed? She left him on that beach with a beautiful naked woman. She had almost demanded that he have sex with her. So she just nodded.

Alex grinned as she shook her head. "No," she said. "Believe me, I offered as hard as I could without jumping on him. He just wasn't all that interested. He's plainly too hung up on you. It looks like my seducing Chuck Bartowski is going to be a bigger challenge than I thought. That's okay. I've always liked the chase. It can be a long term project."

Yup, then there was that. Relief… pride… with even a little gloating mixed in. She had given him full permission to fulfill his wildest fantasy with a very willing woman he admitted he felt was incredibly attractive. He didn't hesitate because he was worried about any repercussions. She had assured him there wouldn't be any. He didn't do it because he didn't want too. Alex's instincts were right. When push came to shove he wasn't interested. And that meant… wow. And okay, it definitely made her the biggest hypocrite on the planet. She wasn't even sure why. It wasn't what she wanted. But Sarah couldn't keep the silly grin from her face.

Sure, Alex's expectations about any long term project would now need some serious adjustment. She was clearly confused about what Sarah was willing to tolerate. But that misunderstanding could probably be forgiven given the mixed signals they were sending. That potentially rather tense discussion about Sarah's fanatical possessiveness could wait for a calmer time when the sun was shinning. For the first time, she noticed the usb drive that Carlos had left on the table was sticking out of Alex's phone.

Alex clearly misinterpreted Sarah's grin, because hers turned coy. "You missed your calling as a spy,' she said holding up her phone which was displaying one of the raunchiest of Carlos' 'creations.' "You could have made it big as a centerfold. Who took these? Chuck?"

Sarah was in far too good of a mood to be embarrassed. "No," she said. "Carlos is one of the workers. It turns out that he is an amateur photographer. Chuck commissioned this."

"It's unbelievably sexy," Alex sighed. "You look amazing. I never imagined you two were so wild. I have to admit that I'm looking forward to this tonight." She ran her hand up Sarah's arm. "What do you think we should do while we're waiting for him?" she asked coyly. "Maybe we could give him a sexy surprise."

That actually got Sarah laughing. "Wow," she said. "You sure had us all fooled. We were thinking you were this sweet young thing."

Alex's grin broadened. "I am a sweet young thing," she teased. "I'm just a sweet young thing who happens to love having sex… a lot. I love everything about it. I look forward to it… with almost anybody. I always have. I refuse to deny it. I don't think that should label me a slut. But if it does, well, I'll live with it. Joan says it may have something to do with not growing up with a father. Please don't tell dad. I don't want to dump all that guilt on him. He feels bad enough."

That got Sarah laughing harder. "I stand corrected," she said. "I meant a naïve innocent thing. We were afraid of corrupting you. If anything, it looks like you might try corrupting us. So I'll give the girls the good news that the bras that we've been forcing ourselves to wear as to not horrify you are now history. I'm not sure what's going to happen tonight. That's mostly up to Chuck. I assume that you don't want to spend the night with Morgan."

"That jerk," Alex sighed. "It's going to be a while."

"You can stay here on the ship tonight," Sarah said. "I'll show to your room," she added quickly as to not send any unwanted signals. "It's still early. You can go back down to the beach and dance until you want to go to bed."

"I have to go find my husband."

x-x-x-x-x

Ted Roark was grinning ear to ear as he poured Jenifer Bowles a glass of champagne. "Here's to world domination," he said as he lifted his glass in toast.

"Oh my," Bowles said as she drained her glass. "You broke out the really good bottle? I thought you were saving that."

"It's a special occasion," Roark said. "I just talked to Quinn from the ship. They picked up Bartowski. He had the glasses. We now have our own army of Intersects."

"Two Intersects is hardly an army," Bowles grinned.

"Two Intersects is more powerful than any army," Roark replied. "Besides, soon it will be three."

"Thanks for reminding me," Bowles said. "I owe Frost a serious ass kicking. She actually made me become Larkin's girl friend. I trust we find someone else this time."

"You know?" Roark teased. "A lot of woman wouldn't consider that such a horrible assignment. If it makes you feel any better, I just talked to her. She is just now walking without a limp after the ass kicking she got from Agent Walker. You have to admit, that's pretty impressive."

That got Bowles laughing. "You 'talked' to her?" she asked sarcastically. "Or something else?"

"Wow, Jen," Roark replied. "Was that actually jealousy? Refresh my memory here. Which one of us are you actually jealous of?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Ted," Bowles said as she continued laughing. "I was simply making an observation. Not to denigrate your seduction skills or anything, but that slut would fuck a lamp post in exchange for the light." She stopped laughing as she paused for a moment in thought. "This is actually perfect," she finally said. "Justice demands that we set up a rematch, don't you think? If I don't get to kill them, at least I'm owed a little entertainment, right? Watching those two bitches in the ring knocking each other silly would be very entertaining."

Roark joined her laughing as they embraced. "Poor Bartowski," he said. "Who is he going to root for?"

"His estranged wife… or his estranged mother?"

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah stood on the beach with her hands on her hips panting for breath from running. She was honestly getting more and more concerned. She couldn't find Chuck anywhere. Nobody had seen him. Well, Joan talked to him a couple of hours ago. But now there wasn't a trace of him.

Sarah was starting to feel mighty guilty. She was just trying to give him what he wanted, what any man would want. He was just too nice a guy to admit it. And okay, that just made her press him even harder. Had she gone too far? Could he really be this messed up about this? Something was clearly off. He had been acting so different today. Ever since…

Then it hit her. Ignoring the pain in her chest, she ran back to the Enforcer. Thankfully the pen recorder was still in his pants pocket hanging up in the closet. Sarah's hands were shaking as she connected the pen to the playback device.

x-x-x-x-x

The guys were in the middle of their regular night of playing cards when Sarah came bursting into the room. One look told them all that something was seriously wrong.

Sarah didn't hesitate. She stomped over and launched herself directly into the chair where Steven was sitting. They fell together in a heap on the floor. "You son of a bitch!" she yelled as she started swinging. "Your fucking invention. You just had to fuck with people's brains. Zero regard for fucking up people's lives… all in the name of science."

Naturally Steven was no match to fight Sarah, even if he wanted too. Fortunately, she wasn't interested in anything lethal because she had a clear opening and landed several stinging blows. The guys quickly pulled Sarah off before any serious damage was done. Devon was already checking out Steven who was still lying on the floor dazed.

"What in the hell is wrong with you?" Casey demanded.

Sarah was still not done fighting. Her eyes had a wild look as she struggled to get free. Truthfully, Josh and Casey had all they could do to keep her controlled.

Devon picked up the paper containing the transcript that Sarah had been holding and went flying as she pummeled Steven.

"Well?" Casey asked expectantly after giving him a chance to read.

"It's Chuck," Devon answered sadly. "It looks like they've manipulated his memories this morning."

"He thinks that he's a Fulcrum Agent."

x-x-x-x-x

For a long while, the room was pure chaos. Morgan had been dispatched to the beach to get the girls. Sarah was still wildly struggling with Josh and Casey to get free, presumably to continue her attack. Devon had determined that nothing was seriously wrong with Steven so he helped him up and to his chair. Frankly, his eyes were still a little glassy.

When the girls came running as one into the room they were stunned. "What happened?" Joey asked. "Sarah, what's wrong?"

Casey immediately took charge. "Fulcrum fucked up Chuck," he said. "They have him believing he's a Fulcrum Agent. His assignment is to get the Intersect glasses. We have to find him. Laura, get on the horn with security."

Joan's face turned white as she slumped into a chair. "He has them," she said, her voice no more than a whisper. "Oh my God. He asked me to give him a set of loaded glasses secretly. He said he had a plan. He asked me to trust him. I'm… so sorry."

Laura still had the phone pressed to her ear. "Security reports that the jet boat left about two hours ago," she said. "They assumed someone was going into town."

Everyone in the room was thinking the same thing. But it was Joey who expressed it. "He's on his way to deliver the glasses," she said.

"Oh fuck," Sarah cried. "Let me go. I have to go after him."

"In the middle of the Atlantic ocean?" Casey asked sarcastically. "With over a two hour head start? Where is your head at? Stop thinking like a worried wife. Calm down a little before I have them tranq you."

"Casey," Sarah said as she started struggling again. "Let me go right fucking now."

Casey nodded to Devon who fished in his bag and after a moment held up a syringe. He walked over to Sarah. "I want to give you something to help you relax," he said gently. "You're overwrought."

"Devon," Sarah spat angrily. "You don't know what you're doing. Chuck needs me. I swear. If you put that needle into my arm, your life is over. When I wake up I'm going to hunt you down and break your fucking neck. I have to go find him."

Ellie stepped up and took the syringe from him. "You can break my neck if you want," she said. "You won't have to hunt me down. I won't run."

"Ellie," Sarah pleaded. "Please. Please don't drug me. Not now. I don't have time for this. I need to find him. Maybe I can take the jet."

"Sorry, Sweetie," Ellie said as she plunged the needle into Sarah's arm. "You're panicked. You're not thinking clearly. This will help."

But it was Carina who stepped up and wrapped her arms around her. "We'll move heaven and earth to get him back for you," she whispered into Sarah's ear. "I promise. Stop worrying and rest while we get some actionable Intel. Then maybe we can figure out what to do." Carina just held Sarah tight until the drug took over and she slumped into her arms.

Devon turned to the guys.

"Let's get her into bed."

x-x-x-x-x

"How is he?" Bowles asked.

"Not good, ma'am," Quinn answered. "I'm afraid she really got into his head."

"Will he be adequate operationally?" Bowles asked. "A lot is riding on this."

"I think so," Quinn answered. "He still understands his duty. He's just a little heartbroken."

"Can I help?" Bowles asked. "I offered him a reward. If it would help the mission, I'd hold my nose and pay off."

Quinn fought back the urge to laugh. When you were dreaming of sex with Sarah Walker, Jenifer Bowles as a substitute would fall somewhat… short. But telling her that might be fatal. "I don't think so, ma'am," he said as diplomatically as he could. "That would probably be the worst thing at this point. It might add some more guilt."

"Okay," Bowles said. "If fucking him won't work, maybe we need to try something else. I know just what to do."

"We need to find Larkin ASAP."

x-x-x-x-x

The first thing that Sarah noticed when she woke up in bed was that the room was dark. The second thing she noticed was that her right wrist was securely fastened to a long chain that was attached to the wall. "Where am I?" she groaned as she struggled to gain her bearings. To her surprise, her question was answered.

"You're in your room," Carina said, sitting in a chair in the darkness. "In your new cottage. We don't want you to sleep on the ship all alone any more. You're safer in here where we can protect you. How are you feeling?"

Sarah ignored the question. She jerked on the chain. "Why am I secured?" she asked. "Release me." She paused for effect. "Right now."

"Sorry," Carina said. "You know how much I hate sedating you, keeping you in chains. I feel horrible. But we all agree. This is for your own good. It's because we love you. What would happen if you were on your own is fairly predictable. The last thing we want to worry about right now is chasing your panicked ass around the globe. We have enough problems. I'll release you when you convince me that you're thinking rationally and back on the team. Please don't try and fool me. I know you too well."

"How long have I been out?" Sarah asked. "Where's Chuck?"

"About twenty hours," Carina answered. "We don't know exactly where Chuck is. Steven was able to access some satellite history. The jet boat rendezvoused with a ship. The ship then made a bee line to Venezuela. It docked about an hour ago. It's there now."

"Let me go," Sarah said excitedly. "We'll go look for him. We can take the jet."

Carina just shook her head. "Josh and Joey are already in route," she said. "They are going to get on that ship and find out anything they can. They went to San Juan and chartered a flight. We don't want to use the jet. Who knows who is watching us? The last thing we want to do is to tip off whoever is behind this that we know. That's our only advantage."

"What else are we doing?" Sarah asked?

"Casey and Laura are tracking down your new friend Carlos," Carina said. "The fact that he didn't show up for work this morning probably isn't a coincidence. Laura is particularly going to make sure that he doesn't have a good day. I've never seen that look on her face." She paused for a long moment. "Joan called Beckman," she sighed. "No big surprise, she freaked out. Other than that, she wasn't much help. She has her own problems. I'm afraid I have some more somewhat less than great news."

"She sent Bryce. He is here. He wants to talk to you."

x-x-x-x-x

Agent Carmichael had fairly mixed emotions. There was pride. Actually there was lots of pride. After all, he was a professional Fulcrum Agent. He had just completed an incredibly difficult mission. Everyplace he walked he was getting slaps on the back from the men and long hugs from the women. He was a genuine hero.

But there was the other side. How could you possibly miss someone so much? After a single day? It was pathetic. And they were clearly trying hard to get their latest hero over it. He already had several not so subtle offers from women offering to do their best to make him happy. But the truth was, that simply made it worse.

"Hi, Chuck. I've really missed you."

He was so caught up in feeling sorry for himself that he didn't notice her approach. All he could do for a long time was to stare into her face in wonder. How could she possibly be here? Finally after several attempts he could get the word out.

"Mom?"

x-x-x-x-x