Freedom

Chuck opened the window to his room and they slipped in. Bryce dropped onto Chuck's bed, exhausted.

"Let me sleep a couple of hours, please," he whined.

"You're going to have to return to the family soon," Nightwing said. He took pity on the person who had been locked up by the CIA for the past day. "We've been worried."

Bryce hummed noncommittally.

"Damian."

"Fine."

"I'll watch over him," Chuck said when Nightwing turned to him. The moment Nightwing was gone, Chuck closed the window and grabbed a comic book. If he was going to stakeout, then he was going to be entertained while he did it.

Nothing interesting happened while Bryce slept. The ex-spy stirred as the sun started to rise and jumped out of bed, somehow with a knife.

Chuck raised an eyebrow. "Where did you get that?"

"I always have a weapon on me," Bryce responded. With a flick of his wrist, the knife was gone. "Anyway, we need to do something about Fulcrum."

"We?" Chuck repeated. "Why 'we'? I didn't sign up for this! My sister didn't sign up for this! Do you know how worried she'll be if she finds out that I've been hanging out with a vigilante?"

"Good thing I've been putting my time into being a spy then."

"Not the point."

"You didn't tell Mary about the spies hanging around, did you?"

Chuck imagined his sister facing down Sarah and Casey. She would probably fly to Washington to scold the leaders of the CIA and NSA. Some of his horror must have shown on his face because Bryce chuckled.

"I doubt she'll be as bad as you're imagining. Now Fulcrum. They're a risk, Billy."

"It's Chuck. Billy was... a name I took because my father asked me to."

"What?"

Chuck shook his head. There was no way he was sharing any of that mess with Bryce right now. "Just tell me about Fulcrum. What are they?"

"A splinter group in the CIA. And possibly the NSA. They have agents everywhere and they want the Intersect."

"That doesn't sound very good for me, being that I have it an all."

Bryce nodded. "If they get their hands on you, you'll be locked in a room for your life while they experiment on you. These are not nice people Chuck."

"Okay. Do you have a plan or am I bringing down the lightning?"

Bryce smiled at little at the implication that Chuck would go superhero to beat up Fulcrum. Even if it wouldn't work. "I'm giving the CIA once chance to work with me. The CIA, not Fulcrum. I'm going to get in contact with them and make my offer." Chuck nodded his understanding, looking relieved that he wouldn't have to be involved. "However, I need you to identify whomever the CIA sends to pick me up."

"Why me?"

Bryce reached out and tapped Chuck in the forehead. "Because that wonderful computer in your brain is the only way I trust of identifying these guys."

"Then... I need to tell Casey and Sarah. We can't do this CIA related thing around them without them finding out. And even if we did manage to keep it a secret, they'll get suspicious." Of what, he didn't know. He just didn't want to give them a reason to suspect he was anything more than just plain old Chuck.

Bryce thought about that. It would probably be easier to convince the CIA he was serious about working with them and the threat Fulcrum posed if he worked with the CIA/NSA team Chuck had here. "Your terms are agreeable, for now. We just need a public place to meet."

Now that, Chuck could handle. He had just the place.

Gathering

It was Thanksgiving morning. While Chuck had made it clear that Bryce didn't have an invitation to the dinner later that night, he didn't mind sending the guy out for breakfast.

Bryce wondered if he purposely forgot to tell his sister that he was here.

"Chuck said you wouldn't be a problem," Ellie commented in a huff, looking ready to stab him with the knife she pulled out of the kitchen drawer. "Why are you here, now?"

"I'm here for a job," Bryce said. Seeing the glower on her face, he added, "not for the Buy More. A job for the big guy."

"Big guy?"

Chuck's pounding footsteps brought a halt to their conversation as he came down the hallway and slid past the kitchen and almost into the lounge. "Elliedon'thurthim!" he blurted out, arms flailing as he fought to keep his balance.

"Why not?" Ellie responded.

"Uh... he works for Batman?"

She didn't look convinced. Bryce sighed and unclipped his bat-communicator. Even though only those with Batman's blessing had them, they were recognisable even to those who had been out of the game for years.

"I guess that explains your attitude-" Bryce's offended 'hey!' went ignored. "You better not pull Chuck into anything dangerous. He needs to keep the Buy More job until he can find something better."

"Of course," Bryce agreed. "I don't understand why he still has that job; he's obviously made for so much more."

Ellie glared at him. "There are other ways to help outside of vigilantism, you know?"

Bryce was confused. "That's what I meant. Chuck's a brilliant programmer and great with computers. Both skills highly valued in today's society. It's a waste for him to be in the dead-end Buy More job."

"Hey!" Chuck said, offended.

"He has a point, Chuck," Ellie said.

"Betrayed by my own sister!" Chuck bemoaned. He ducked as Bryce threw a fork his way.

"Whoa! What's going on here?" a chipper male voice said. Devin stood right behind Chuck, holding the thrown fork in his hand. Bryce quickly took back the communicator. "Ellie, babe, who's the guest?"

"That's Bryce Larkin."

"The same Bryce who-"

"That's right."

Bryce shrunk a little under the glare Devin sent his way. "Chuck, what's your old college buddy doing here?"

"Uh, we're working together on something?"

"And you approve of him being around?"

"Yeah."

"Okay then, I'm off to work." With that, Devin walked out of the house.

"Wait for me!" Ellie called, gathering her things. Devin was her ride since they worked at the same hospital. Before leaving she said 'I'm watching you' to Bryce.

Bryce was considering himself suitably warned. He had no doubt she'd revive her superpowered career in order to beat him up.

"Your sister is terrifying."

"Good. I guess," Chuck said, sitting down to eat. "You did throw a knife at me." Bryce decided not to respond to that. He had learnt things while dealing with his brothers. "I hope you can at least stay put until tonight. Casey and Sarah will be over for Thanksgiving and we can discuss our plan then."

Chuck was shocked when he opened the door to see Casey standing there, waiting to be let in to celebrate Thanksgiving dinner. Ellie had invited him, since he was the loner neighbour who had just moved in and didn't seem to have anywhere else to be. It probably helped endear her trust that he was currently working at the Buy More as part of his cover.

Chuck reluctantly let him in. Ideally, Bryce had been hoping to keep Casey out of it by just telling Sarah but there was no way he could arrange a meeting between the fugitive hiding in his bedroom and his handler without his bodyguard finding out. Chuck didn't know if he was relieved or not. Bryce wouldn't tell him why he was so hesitant about including Casey.

"Ellie!" Chuck called out as she began giving orders to Casey. She wasn't shy about getting those around her to help when there's a job that needs doing. "Did I mention that Morgan was bringing someone?" Were they going to have enough seats?

"A real someone or imaginary someone?" she called back from where she was checking the oven.

"A real someone. Her name's Anna and she's-" using Morgan as entertainment between boyfriends, "nice."

"She?" Ellie came out of kitchen. "You said 'she'?"

Right, Morgan didn't date much, he was too caught up in the superhero world that he tended to chase women off. "Yes. His girlfriend. She seems to think that there's something between you and Morgan."

Ellie's excited smile turned to something more disgusted. "Ew. No offence, Chuck but dating Morgan would be like dating you."

"We're family, I know." Chuck ignored Casey's eye twitch, which for him was like gagging disgustedly.

Morgan, Anna and Sarah arrived at the same time. It was impossible for Chuck to pull Sarah away to talk to Bryce.

"Are you okay?" Sarah asked when they were seated. It was the first time she had been able to pull away from Ellie and Anna to talk to him. "You keep looking behind you."

Because that's where the hallway leading to his room is. "I'm just nervous," he responded. "And wondering what it would be like if Bryce Larkin was in my life right now. Like maybe in my room."

That earned him a couple of strange looks. But Sarah seemed to get it as her eyes widened and she excused herself.

"I should go make sure she's okay," he said, following her.

"About time," Bryce said as they walked into the room. Sarah stormed up to him and then froze as he pulled a gun. For a moment, it was pointed at her but then he pointed it at Casey.

"Chuck, get out of the way and close the door."

Chuck sighed and did as Bryce asked.

"Put the gun down, Bryce," Sarah instructed.

"Him first," Bryce said, nodding at Casey. "Or would you rather let him try again? You'd like that right, Casey? The chance to try again."

"'Try again'? Casey, tell me if I'm wrong but it sounds like you were the one who shot Bryce in the first place?"

"You get a chance to shoot Bryce Larkin, you shoot to kill," Casey responded.

It wasn't an answer but Chuck figured it meant 'yes'. He turned to Sarah. "Did you know about this?"

"It was in his report," Sarah responded.

"Chuck, it's fine," Bryce said. "It's the way the spy world works." And boy, now Chuck felt like he should be thanking Bryce for keeping him out of the CIA's clutches.

"That's not cool. Listen, Casey put the gun away and listen to what Bryce has to say. He was set up."

"How did he even get here, Chuck?"

"He was locked up in a CIA facility, some place so deep and dark that even I thought we wouldn't be seeing him for a very long time."

"Ask him later. Right now, we need to make sure he's protected."

"Chuck flashed. That's how he knows to trust me."

"I wouldn't say 'trust'," Chuck countered. "But I know you're not lying."

Sarah looked hesitant and Casey waited a moment before putting his gun away.

"Okay, let's hear it," she said.