Hello. Well, I did say to make whatever comments you wanted about the story, and you did. Some more than others. Actually a few of the requests I got I have to agree with and will certainly try to fix those in future chapters. But like I said last time, I'm flying a bit blind in writing this. This is the first long-form story I've written where Chuck and Sarah weren't together from the outset. And I have to admit making a few mistakes. But remember, the journey is long, and even when I put them together that doesn't give them a happily ever after. And of course, the story promised the ENTIRE team would be affected by coming to Burbank. The first of those will occur in the next chapter.
I think the other thing some people might be forgetting is that Sarah, who really has been the focus of the story so far (despite how it may look otherwise) is not the same Sarah we knew in season 1 of the show. She isn't a lone wolf anymore. She had been partnered with Bryce for some time and has been working with a four-person team for five years. She can't be the same as she was in the show. Although there are one or two things she does have in common with canon Sarah, some of which are discussed in this chapter.
Anyway, hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading this (and the parts that come from the show are still the property of NBC and Fake Empire Productions), and please leave reviews. Thanks!
Buy More – Burbank, CA
November 21, 2015
7:30 PM PST
Chuck walked into the Buy More in a far different mood than a couple of days ago. What happened earlier this evening was still burned into his mind. Actually, he figured it would be there forever and he could definitely live with that. The kiss he shared with Sarah was one of the most intense experiences of his life. And the most exhilarating. He never felt a kiss like that…ever. Not from any of the girls he dated in high school…both of them…and definitely not from Jill. It was…magical.
No, it was beyond even that.
Perhaps the element of fear played into it. They were only seconds away from what they thought was certain death. And they had spent that last half-minute yelling at each other. Granted, he thought Sarah was insane to try and dismantle a bomb he didn't flash on…not to mention threatening to kill him in order to not be blown up by the bomb.
But in those final seconds he realized everybody was right, that Sarah was not the cold-hearted nasty person he thought she was over the past month. And uncomfortable moment or not, you don't kiss someone like that if you have no interest in them.
He needed to talk to someone about it and Morgan was the perfect candidate, primarily because he knew what Chuck had gone through in the past, especially with Jill. He also wanted to assuage Morgan's fears about any problems he was having with Sarah. It certainly didn't feel like they had problems now.
Chuck spotted Morgan in the back, avoiding work as usual. Wisely, he contacted Jimmy Slade before going to the Buy More to tell him he was going there and reassured him he was just going to visit Morgan. This time, Jimmy let him go without an argument. He figured Jimmy wanted to cut him a break after what happened earlier. Thankfully neither Carina nor he saw Sarah kiss him. He couldn't even imagine what would being going through their minds if they had…to say nothing about Casey.
"Bartowski!"
Chuck turned around. He was surprised to see Big Mike at the store so late on a Saturday. Actually, it was unusual for Big Mike to ever be at the store on the weekend, given how much time he devoted to fishing.
"Mike, what's going on?"
"You don't film next week, right? And is Walker taking you to some chalet in Europe?"
"No on the first, and I don't even know if she owns a chalet. But we've made no plans for next weekend, if that's what you're wondering."
"I could use your help around here. You know what next Friday is?"
Chuck nodded in pain. "Black Friday, yes. I've spent quite a few Black Fridays here. Last year, it took a week before the headaches went away."
"Tang is gone, so I need someone with half a brain to help run things."
Chuck's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Harry Tang is gone? What happened?"
"They transferred him to the Buy More in Oxnard. Things with him here got…incompatible," Big Mike replied, attempting to cover up what really happened…and not very well. "That's why I need you here. What do you say?"
"I'll…have to talk to Sarah about it. We haven't made any plans, but you know actors can be, especially when they finally get some time off."
"Yeah, what a rough problem," Big Mike huffed. "Work for only half the year, make a six-figure salary each week, and have the world think you're a hottie. What a bitch that must be."
Chuck gave him a weird look. If anybody didn't have the right to talk about working hard, it was Big Mike. "I'll let you know," he told him and continued towards Morgan.
"Dinner's at 8:30, sweetie," Anna said to Morgan and gave him a kiss, much to Chuck's surprise. "Hey, Chuckles," she said as Chuck approached Morgan.
"What is going on?" Chuck was flabbergasted. "I was in here two days ago, and now Harry Tang is gone and Anna is kissing you? What, did someone step on a butterfly and alter time?"
"Chuck, this week has been so epic!" Morgan couldn't be happier if Katee Sackhoff and Tricia Helfer wanted to have a threesome with him. "First, Harry goes ballistic at Big Mike over some video Harry claims he saw of Big Mike and his wife together. But he can't prove it and goes nuts. Corporate sent him out of here. Then Jeff was saying he was going to ask Anna out and she overheard him. She tells Jeff she'd rather date ME than him! Can you believe that?"
"If the choice was between you and Jeff, then yes," Chuck replied. "If the choice was between Jeff and any other person on the planet, I'd still say yes."
"So Anna and me, we're playing Call of Duty, and I try to give her a kiss. She got mad, and I felt like an idiot. I thought she liked me. I made a fool of myself. The guys at Sbarro even named a pizza slice after me: no sauce, all cheese. They called it "The Loser." But then Anna came back to me and decided I was worth it, and we're dating now."
"Morgan…I'm impressed!" Chuck said, holding out his hand to let Morgan give him a high-five. "I never would have expected that to happen for you."
"Wait," Morgan said, suddenly a little set back by Chuck's words. "You…you think this would have eventually happened for me, right?"
"Right! Right." Chuck realized the error of his ways. "You having a girlfriend is not as far-fetched as most people think. And hey, I know you were worried about me and Sarah, but things have changed there, too."
"Sweet! Changed how?"
"Well, I thought it wasn't going anywhere, that it was over. And then…and then we had this…this moment. This really…I mean…great moment."
Chuck's mind wandered to the kiss. "Then in the moment after that, I realized I was wrong about the problems we had been having. That we should be together…that…"
Chuck turned to see Anna straddling Morgan and kissing him passionately, little giggles coming from her.
"Yeah, I'm gonna…I'm gonna leave now," Chuck said cautiously as he backed away.
Morgan reluctantly broke away from Anna. "Hey, is it cool that Anna comes for Thanksgiving dinner?"
"Yeah, of course! I mean, you know how Ellie loves big Thanksgiving dinners."
"Is Ellie going to be there?" Anna asked warily.
"Well, yes. Because Chuck lives at Ellie's apartment," Morgan replied.
"I know that."
"And she kind of makes all my favorite dishes. You know, like stuffing with apple chips and sweet potatoes with marshmallows."
"And I know that, too," Anna said, jumping down and spiking Morgan's shoe with her heel as she walked away.
"She…scares the crap out of me," Morgan said quietly to Chuck. "She's got this crazy idea that I'm in love with Ellie."
"Because you ARE!" Chuck exclaimed.
"Why does everybody know that?"
"Because that's what you tell everybody!"
"I…I don't know what to do, man. I'm in love with two women." Morgan shook his head and looked at the ground.
Chuck looked towards the door. He was actually relieved to see Jimmy there. Chuck waved him over.
"So sorry to bother you, Chuck, but we have to go," Jimmy said.
"Ah, the life of a Hollywood star," Chuck mocked.
"It has its bad days every now and again," Jimmy replied, trying to maintain the actor cover in front of Morgan.
"And dude, I'd totally believe that if I didn't see that picture of you with Beyoncé in Entertainment Weekly backstage at Madison Square Garden," Morgan said with not a little jealousy.
"Catch you later, buddy," Chuck said as he walked out of the store with Jimmy. They got into his car and drove off.
"What's going on?" Chuck asked.
"Sarah called me and told me to come get you."
"What for?"
"I don't know. She didn't say."
"Wait, wait. Do you really not know or do you know and you don't want me to know? Because shouldn't I know what you know from you instead of her or is she the one who wants me to know what I don't know that you don't know?"
Jimmy gave him a weird look. "You should take that sentence to a tailor. I'm sure they can shorten it for you. She didn't say a thing to me. I'm assuming that's because I've stuck my foot in my mouth so many times this week, I'm crapping shoelaces."
Chuck faced forward for a few minutes. He felt guilty because Jimmy was inadvertently caught in the middle of his fight with Sarah, fell three stories into a dumpster, and separated his shoulder as a result. To his credit, the scream he made popping his shoulder back in place was as mad as he got.
A smile came to Chuck's face. "You actually took a pic with Beyoncé?"
Jimmy shook his head and laughed. "And where was the paparazzi then?! Figures they don't try to link me up with her. I would have been OK with that. She's twenty times hotter in person and she's really nice. She loves the show, too, although she admitted to me Casey is her favorite. I think she felt bad for me when she heard about the whole Kanye debacle."
"Why were you in New York?"
"All of us were. We'll film episodes all over the place as a smokescreen for missions we're on."
"So, what mission were you on in New York?"
"Can't tell you. Sorry," Jimmy replied, and he received a very evil glare from Chuck. "We were trying to prevent a chemical weapon from being released in the New York subway system."
Chuck's eyes widened. "You're right. You shouldn't have told me."
"Carina and I jumped onto a speeding subway train. Thank God she's such a good shooter because one of the terrorists had me dead to rights while I was trying to disable the bomb. Sarah and Case were on the surface in a car chase to get the rest of the terror cell. If you ever see Casey laughing while watching a car chase scene in a movie, you'll know why."
Chuck laughed. "Really?"
"Even the good ones. The French Connection, Bullitt, Goldfinger, The Blues Brothers, you name it. He thinks they're complete bullshit."
"Well, you have to admit you do lead some pretty exciting lives. And I'm just basing that on what I've seen so far. Oh, while we're on the subject, what did you do to get Harry Tang transferred?"
"What makes you think I did anything?"
"Because you actually said you would get him out of the Buy More."
Jimmy shrugged, once again learning the hard way he separated his shoulder only a couple of days ago. "Well, Harry may have seen video of his wife getting some…attention…from another guy," he grumbled as his shoulder throbbed once again. "Let's face it, Tang was 24/7 about that store. Frank Burns on M*A*S*H was more easygoing than Tang. He went after the culprit, but the video suddenly disappeared, so he couldn't prove his wife was cheating."
Chuck smiled. "The employees would throw a parade for you if they knew you did that."
"I'm assuming you know why it would be a bad thing to tell them I was involved in any way in this."
Chuck put his hand up. "Yes, I know. I still can't believe Big Mike was sleeping with Harry Tang's wife."
Chuck then got a mental image of those two hooking up. "Oh God," Chuck said in disgust. "Please drive faster."
NSA Medical and Holding Facility – Santa Clarita, CA
November 21, 2015
9:00 PM PST
Chuck and Jimmy entered the facility and got two steps in when Sarah stopped them.
"Jimmy, go meet Casey," she said quickly and gestured towards the door that led to where Bryce was being kept. Jimmy walked quickly to the door and down the hallway.
"Chuck, we have to talk," Sarah said to him.
"Can I say something first?" he asked.
"No. Chuck…"
"It's the kiss, right?" Chuck nodded confidently. "It is. It's got to be the kiss. First of all, I know that the moment was very…life or death-ish. And normally, I'd run from a situation like that. You, on the other hand…you, um…you kissed me. Which was just…"
Chuck struggled with his words and the pained expression on Sarah's face didn't help one bit. "But the thing…the thing that I'd like to talk about is I'd like to invite you to Thanksgiving dinner, because Ellie…"
"Chuck, Bryce is alive," Sarah finally said.
Chuck could feel the blood drain from his face. Sarah took his hand and led him down the hall to the containment center. Bryce was strapped to a chair with an IV inserted into his arm. Casey, Carina, and Jimmy observed him from behind a one-way mirror.
"Sarah, you told me Bryce was dead," Chuck eked out as he stared in shock at the man he thought had betrayed him but may have saved him instead. Although Chuck had to admit using that term loosely given what had happened to him since that day at Stanford. "I read his obituary. How is this possible?"
"We don't know, Chuck. He won't talk to our people," Sarah answered.
"Not even you?"
"Bryce doesn't know any of us are here," Carina said. "He didn't just leave Sarah. He left all of us. The question is: why?"
"Why not go in there and talk to him? Weren't all of you friends? You worked together for three years."
"Because he asked for you," Casey replied. "We want to know what happened to him. We think he'll talk to you."
Chuck stared at Bryce for a moment. "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Hold on a second. You want me to go in there and ask him what, exactly? Just so we're on the same page. 'Hey Bryce, why did you send me the Intersect? Why did you choose my life to ruin?' How exactly do I start that conversation?"
"You've known him a lot longer than any of us," Jimmy replied. "Just talk to him. Be a friend. You're good at that."
Chuck looked slowly at Sarah, Casey, Carina, and Jimmy. He felt completely out of his element despite what the four told him. He walked to the door and looked through the slat at Bryce.
"Remember, he's rogue CIA, a trained assassin…so be careful," Casey warned him as the door slid open.
Chuck walked into the room timidly and took very small steps towards Bryce, who was still groggy and staring at the ground. The team observed from the one-way mirror.
"Who are you?" Bryce asked in a fog.
"Hey. Hey Bryce, buddy," Chuck said anxiously. "It's me. Chuck."
"I don't believe you. What did you do with the real Chuck?"
Chuck walked back to the one-way mirror. "I'd like to come out now, please."
Casey scoffed. "Natural born interrogator, huh." Sarah shot him an evil glance.
"Fantastic," Chuck muttered to himself when he realized they weren't going to let him out. He turned back to Bryce. "Alright…well, unless we're in the Twilight Zone right now and there really is another Chuck and I'm his clone, then the answer to your question is 'yes'. I am Chuck."
"Prove it. "tlhIngan Hol Dajatlh'a'? (Do you speak Klingon?)"
"Come on. They're watching us right now."
"Do it," Bryce replied forcefully.
Chuck exhaled in frustration. "KiJa'. BIpIvKa'law'. (Yes. I have many times.)"
Bryce stared at him for a moment. A tiny smile drew across his face. "Your Klingon's a bit rusty, Chuck."
Chuck nodded. "Yeah, I've been kind of busy lately. Ever since I got your email."
"You opened it, didn't you."
"Yeah, I did."
"Your computer?"
"Destroyed."
"So you're the only one."
Chuck's fear was quickly switching to anger. "I don't get it, Bryce. Why'd you do it? Why'd you send me the Intersect? Then why did you destroy it? And last up: how the hell are you still alive?"
Bryce looked away for a moment. "It's complicated."
"Who saved you?"
"They did."
"'They' saved you? Did they? Could you be any more cryptic? Can I get a name, a place, a something?"
Bryce gestured with his head. "Come here," he whispered. Chuck moved closer.
"Get that close to a rogue killer. No, that's not a dumb thing to do, Chuck. Not at all," Jimmy said as he gripped the window frame.
"Chuck, get away from him," Sarah whispered in fear.
"I'm sorry, Chuck," Bryce said. He then ripped his arm out of one of the restraints and pointed a syringe-filled needle at Chuck's neck. "Untie me!"
"OK," Chuck said in a panic, untying Bryce's other arm and legs. The team poured into the room with guns pointed. Bryce got behind Chuck, using him as a human shield and keeping the needle at Chuck's neck.
"Bryce! No!" Sarah shouted.
Bryce was in shock but kept a tight grip on Chuck. "Sarah? What are you doing here? What are all of you doing here?"
"Making sure the rumors of your death won't be greatly exaggerated," Casey snarled as he cocked his gun.
Bryce gave a little smile. "I always loved the way you threatened people, Case. Bet you're sorry you weren't the one to kill me."
"The night's still young."
Bryce looked to Casey's left. "And Carina. Looking as femme fatale as ever." Bryce turned to Chuck. "She used to hit on me all the time, even though she knew I was with Sarah."
"Some confession," Carina replied, doing a slow burn. "She's been seeing me do that since our CAT Squad days."
"And you must be my replacement," Bryce continued as he looked at Jimmy. "I have to admit, you're way funnier on the show than I ever was."
"Compliments won't make me lower my gun," Jimmy hissed through gritted teeth.
Bryce pushed the needle further into Chuck's neck. "I don't know what's in this syringe, but I'm sure enough of it will not be good for Chuck."
Bryce backed up to the wall and slid along it to prevent anyone from getting behind him. He marched backwards out of the holding room with Chuck in tow.
"Stand down!" Sarah ordered the half-dozen security men who came running when the alarms went off. The team followed her out and down the hallway.
"Don't do this, Bryce!" Sarah pleaded. "We're all on the same side here."
"And what side is that?" he replied with scorn as he walked backwards to the lift with Chuck in tow.
"I have a shot," Casey said.
"No no no!" Chuck yelled. "No shooting, no shooting! I'm susceptible to bullets!"
Bryce pulled Chuck into the lift. "The access code!" Sarah stayed silent. "I'll kill him, Sarah!"
"Between you and me…" Chuck said several octaves above his normal voice. "…I think he means it!"
Casey continued to keep his laser sight on Bryce's forehead.
"5-1-6-0-2," Sarah said, finally relenting to the team's displeasure. Bryce punched in the code and the doors slid shut.
"Sarah?" Chuck called out as he disappeared from their view.
Bryce breathed a sigh of relief, took the needle away from Chuck's neck, and pushed him forward in the lift.
"You knew I wouldn't do it, right?" Bryce said with a big grin, slapping Chuck on his back.
Chuck turned and looked ready to kill Bryce. "No! No, I did NOT know that! How would I know that and what are you trying to do?"
"What are they doing here?"
"They're protecting me, OK? We're the good guys! Look, you need to stop this right now before someone, namely me, gets hurt."
"It's too soon," Bryce said, ignoring Chuck's comments. He looked at the display for the lift. "We're slowing down."
Chuck rolled his eyes in frustration. "We don't have to do the whole thing…" Bryce grabbed him, spun him around, and placed the needle back at his neck. "Wait! Don't, don't…"
The elevator opened. "Stop this elevator…" Bryce began as the doors opened, only to find Tommy Delgado waiting for them.
"Bryce," Tommy said calmly. "Who's your friend?"
Chuck began to flash, seeing images of a plane, several dead people, all of whom were killed by Tommy, and most importantly, a top secret file folder with the label 'Fulcrum'.
"You step back," Bryce threatened.
Tommy didn't even blink. "OK. I wouldn't want you to kill some random person. I'd…feel just terrible. Of course, I don't believe the man you're holding hostage is random."
"Tell your people that I'm gone."
"This is your chance, Bryce. This is me being reasonable. Let's go. Let's be friends again."
"We were never friends."
"Ouch." Tommy continued to talk in that same staccato voice that gave away no emotion whatsoever. "Now my feelings are hurt."
Tommy regarded him for a second. "You're gonna run, aren't you. Do what you want. We'll get to you eventually. We can always start with the other four. Shame, too. I really like the show."
The doors closed again and Bryce let Chuck go. "Who was that?" Chuck asked.
Bryce stared at the door, still not believing Delgado was actually at whatever facility to which they brought him. "Nobody."
Chuck turned to face him. "What's Fulcrum?"
Bryce looked at him in surprise. "Where did you hear that?"
"The Intersect," Chuck replied while pointing at his head. "I have these flashes."
"I was right!" Bryce was ecstatic. Relative to him, anyway. "You can remember its intel. Is it always that fast?"
"What is Fulcrum, Bryce?" Chuck demanded. "Who are they and how do they know you?"
An alarm bell sounded as Bryce halted the elevator. "This is my stop."
"No, wait! I have questions, millions of questions."
"Chuck…this is going to sting a little."
Bryce stuck the needle in Chuck's arm, releasing what was in the syringe.
"Tell Sarah it's hard to say goodbye," Bryce said as Chuck fell unconscious to the floor.
The doors opened a few moments later. Sarah and Casey moved in, and Jimmy climbed up to look for Bryce in the elevator shaft, but Bryce was long gone.
"Chuck, hey Chuck," Sarah said, gently shaking his face back and forth to wake him up. Chuck opened his eyes slowly but was still quite loopy from whatever Bryce injected him with.
"Hey…ehhh...Hey," Chuck said, reaching up to caress Sarah's face. "Hey…hey…"
Casey came into his view. "Eh…AAAAAGH! Not pretty! Ugly!"
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
November 21, 2015
11:45 PM PST
"It wasn't a full dose he gave you," Sarah said as she walked Chuck back to his apartment. "It should be out of your system in a few hours."
"Thanks. I think I can handle it from here." Chuck wasn't sure why Sarah chose to walk him back to the apartment if Jimmy was now his primary handler, but he didn't give it much thought. "So are the four of you going to go after Bryce now?"
"No. Bryce is probably halfway around the world by now. It's someone else's job to find him."
Chuck couldn't believe it. "Sarah, this is Bryce Larkin we're talking about here. Your old flame, my old nemesis. We have to do something."
"We each have our own assignment," Sarah replied, a little agitated Chuck was challenging her on this.
Chuck exhaled in frustration. "It's just…I need to know why he did this. Why he sent the Intersect to me, why did he leave again, and who that person was in the elevator that knew him."
"We'll get answers, Chuck. That much I promise."
"But what if…hey, sis!"
Ellie walked up to Chuck and Sarah. "Hey, Sarah. It's good to see you. Are you coming for Thanksgiving?"
Sarah looked at Chuck momentarily. "Of course," she replied, figuring that was the right answer. There was enough tension already between Chuck and her and she was afraid to let it spill over into Chuck's family.
"Wonderful. Do you think any of your co-stars would like to join us? They must by dying for a home-cooked meal."
"I will certainly ask them."
Chuck had to smile. Ellie was doing this for reasons beyond receiving more compliments on the feast she typically put out, as great as it was. He knew Ellie had a mini-crush on Jimmy, although he wondered if Ellie knew Devon liked the 'bad girl' image of Carina that was a contrast to Ellie's girl-next-door personality. Toss in Morgan bringing a real date, and Chuck figured this to be a memorable Thanksgiving meal.
The fact that Bryce never left town meant Chuck had no idea just how memorable it would be.
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
November 26, 2015
4:00 PM PST
Chuck walked through the courtyard with the groceries Ellie asked him to purchase. He was thankful she sent him out for a few errands, as Black Friday orientation for the Nerd Herd was getting stale quickly. He already knew what he had to do, and Jeff and Lester couldn't help but like that the store had a code word for ordering an evacuation: pineapple. Naturally, once they heard the word, the two morons couldn't say anything else. He prayed they wouldn't become the boys who cried 'Wolf' and there was an actual emergency.
He opened the door. He wasn't sure what he was more surprised at seeing: that John Casey accepted Ellie's invite to dinner or that he was drinking a Cosmo.
Ellie took the bag of groceries. "Chuck, thanks so much." She then nodded in Casey's direction. "He's so sweet."
"Yeah…like honey," Chuck replied nervously.
Casey went into the kitchen at Awesome's behest to stuff the turkey. "Ellie, is it OK if Morgan brings someone tonight?" Chuck asked his sister. "A real someone, not an imaginary someone, I promise. She's really nice, and…"
Ellie turned to him in shock. "She? You said she?"
"Yes. Yes. Anna, Morgan's girlfriend. There could be a little issue, though, because she know about you and Morgan."
"What are you talking about?" Ellie said in confusion.
Chuck didn't have time to explain as the doorbell rang. "Just remember, it's not my fault."
He opened the door to find Sarah, Morgan, and Anna waiting.
"Sarah, hi!" Ellie exclaimed, giving her a kiss and taking the bouquet of flowers Sarah brought. "And hello Morgan and Anna."
"Very nice to meet you…finally," Anna replied, handing Ellie her green bean casserole. "Hussy," Anna whispered as she walked past Ellie.
"Carina and Jimmy couldn't make it?" she asked, turning back to Sarah.
"Carina's father came into town last night and surprised her, so they're out at a restaurant right now," Sarah replied. She didn't have the heart to tell Ellie that Carina loathed family gatherings and was out with a few of her Hollywood friends right now getting hammered.
"And Jimmy?"
"Actually, I didn't tell him about the dinner. Believe me, I was doing you a favor."
"What do you mean? Does he get drunk at gatherings and make a fool of himself?"
"More like…the complete opposite of that." Ellie furrowed her brow in confusion. Sarah couldn't decide what was more depressing: lying about Carina or telling the truth about Jimmy. "Jimmy is very uncomfortable being invited to dinners. He always feels like he has to help. At restaurants he's OK because he's paying for that. But he can't handle someone else doing the work and he is just a guest. At our Christmas party last year, he made all these hors d'oeuvres, bought all the liquor, and even cleaned up the party room when we were done. And the party was catered. He wouldn't relax and enjoy himself. It drove us crazy."
Ellie shook her head and laughed. "And where was that little tidbit eight hours ago when I needed it?"
Sarah smiled. "Does this mean Chuck and I have to stay together for at least another year so you can draft Jimmy into helping you next Thanksgiving?"
Ellie laughed even more heartily. "I wouldn't force you to do that. Although I'd be ecstatic if the two of you were dating for a long time. I mean, the way you two are together, it makes me long for my first year of med school when I met Devon."
"You've been together that long?"
Ellie nodded. "About seven years. We met in med school and missed our first class because we were fooling around in the broom closet in the lecture hall."
Sarah raised her eyebrows. The last thing she expected from Ellie was spontaneity like that. Her CIA bio work-up painted the opposite picture. "I admit, I never would have thought that of you."
Elle shrugged. "What can I say? It was…" she inflected her voice to sound like her boyfriend. "…awesome."
Sarah laughed at that. A genuine laugh. Something she had done many times since coming to Burbank. She was starting to think she wasted the last month being upset. She also figured the people on the receiving end of her anger would agree.
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
November 26, 2015
6:30 PM PST
Thanksgiving dinner was, as always, spectacular at the Bartowski household. Everybody, even Sarah and Casey, raved about the food. The only person not having a good time was Anna, who kept a wary gaze on Ellie the whole night. And Morgan eschewing her green bean casserole for Ellie's sweet potatoes with marshmallows only bolstered her anger towards Chuck's sister.
Chuck excused himself to go use the bathroom. As he walked down the hall, he noticed his bedroom door was open a crack. He swore he had closed it earlier, so he entered to see what was going on.
Bryce was waiting behind the door. "Hello, Chuck."
Chuck stared with full-on anger instead of shock. "Sarah and Casey are right outside. One girlish scream from me and they go into combat mode."
"Relax," Bryce replied, putting his hands up. "I just need to talk to Sarah. Could you get her for me? Alone, preferably?"
"Why would I help you?"
"Because of Fulcrum. That guy in the elevator, he works for them. And they want the Intersect, Chuck. They want you."
Chuck exhaled. The thought of Bryce and Sarah having been together was still a painful one, but he hoped Bryce simply came back to talk shop. "Be right back."
Chuck returned to the table and sat down. "Bryce Larkin is in my bedroom," he mouthed to Sarah.
"Excuse me," Sarah replied and got up from the table. She went down the hallway to Chuck's room and entered, carefully looking around. However, she didn't see Bryce.
"You're getting rusty," Bryce said, hopping down behind her.
"Bryce, I have a gun. Do I need to use it?"
"I'm unarmed. And I'm sorry."
At the table, Awesome got into a conversation with Casey about doing some whitewater rafting. "Chuckles, do you still have those brochures in your room? I'll go get them."
"Let me go get them," Chuck said quickly. "No, no, no, no. No…I'll get them. Please, you guys should…you know, talk...talk."
"Why shouldn't I arrest you right now?" Sarah angrily asked Bryce.
"Because I'm not a rogue spy," Bryce replied. "Because the Intersect was a mission."
Bryce walked closer to her. "Because, Sarah…you're still in love with me."
Bryce gently took Sarah's face in her hands and placed his lips on hers. For a few seconds, Sarah reveled in the feeling of her former lover's kiss. The feelings that it brought back to the surface, the ones she thought were long since buried.
Those same few seconds that Chuck saw through the slightly ajar door to his bedroom. Right then, he realized that he would never be someone that Sarah could be with. He couldn't compete against Bryce. He never could. Not in computers, not in assassination games, and especially not in women.
He walked back to the table, having forgotten all about the brochures he was supposed to get.
Sarah pulled back from Bryce, much to his surprise.
"No," she said with conviction. "I'm not still in love with you, Bryce. I was once, but I was a different person then. That person is gone now. You helped to drive her away when you left. I hated you for that. But I never realized it before now, that made me a different person."
Bryce hung his head before looking up again. "I hope it was for the better."
Sarah nodded. "It was. I always had doubts when I led our team while you were around. It felt like…I questioned every last thing about myself. But not anymore. I trust those three and they trust me. We take care of each other, far more now than we did in the early days."
As Chuck sat down, Awesome decided everybody should say something they were thankful for. "I'll start. I am thankful that I am here with the most beautiful woman in the world. Ellie Bartowski."
"Good call," Morgan said.
"Morgan!" Anna snapped.
"That's sweet, honey," Ellie replied, ignoring Morgan and Anna. "And I am thankful for my family and my friends."
Ellie and Devon looked towards John Casey. "Uh…I pass."
"Chuck?" Devon asked.
"I'm thankful that Bryce Larkin is dead and is not currently in my bedroom making out with my new girlfriend," Chuck said in an almost suicidal tone.
Casey cleared his throat. "Excuse me, please," he said as he got up from the table.
Morgan stared at Chuck. "Wow, buddy. That was really, um…dark."
"And specific," Devon added.
"Sarah, I need your help," Bryce said.
Sarah and Bryce heard the door open. "Please don't run," she begged Bryce as Casey entered. "Casey, everything is under control."
Casey was mad enough to chew through Anna's green bean casserole as he watched Bryce leap out of the window.
"Nice work, Walker," Casey hissed as Chuck re-entered his bedroom.
"Hey, no guns at Thanksgiving!" Chuck said as he saw Casey aiming his pistol out the window.
"Look, Bryce said he needed our help," Sarah said.
"He claimed he wasn't a rogue spy and the guy we ran into before he left the elevator worked for Fulcrum," Chuck added. Casey didn't look particularly convinced. "Case, if he was a rogue spy, why would he come back to the place where he almost got caught?"
Casey put his gun away. "Let's get back to the hotel and contact Beckman. Chuck, call Miller and Slade and send them over there. Sarah and I have to tell Ellie we can't stay."
Chuck nodded. "OK." He looked for Carina's number as Sarah and Casey went back to the table to establish their alibis.
Hotel Amarano - Burbank, CA
November 26, 2015
9:00 PM PST
Chuck, Sarah, Casey, Carina, and Jimmy took the elevator up to Sarah's floor. Carina was a little tipsy from her evening, and Jimmy was quite upset. Not only was he not invited to Thanksgiving dinner, the Packers were destroying the Bears so he couldn't even enjoy a good football game.
They walked down the hall, prepared to enter the conference room they set up across from Sarah's room.
"This might be the alcohol, but did you leave your TV on, Sarah?" Carina asked, pointing at the light coming from underneath Sarah's door.
"No, we see it, too," Jimmy replied. He then pulled Carina's skirt out, which was stuck in her panties. "That, on the other hand, might have been the alcohol."
Carina pulled Chuck away from the door as Sarah, Casey, and Jimmy readied their weapons. Sarah inserted the keycard to the lock and opened the door. Casey and Jimmy charged in, leveling their weapons at the person typing away at Sarah's computer. However, that person also had their gun drawn.
"Put the gun away, Bryce," Sarah warned him. "You've already ruined this night."
"I was on a mission, Sarah," he replied. "Three years ago, I was recruited by an outfit called Fulcrum. A special access group within the CIA."
"You're lying. We would know that."
"They knew who I was. My activation codes, my record. They ordered me to shed my agency contacts and go deep. That's what happened in Venezuela. I had to choose a place to disappear where the CIA couldn't ask a lot of questions. But then I discovered it was an internal strike to download and destroy the Intersect. Fulcrum had plans for its intel."
"How can we trust you?"
For the first time, Chuck saw uncertainty in Bryce's eyes. It was disturbing, to say the least.
"I…never meant to hurt you Sarah," Bryce replied quietly. "I never meant to betray the team, but I didn't know who to trust."
"Is that…is that why you sent the files to me?" Chuck asked.
Bryce nodded. "I needed someone who wasn't a spy, who wouldn't know about Fulcrum or any of the prior Intersects, like Agent X, Project Goodwin or Operation Sand Wall."
Chuck flashed, seeing images of file folders, cabinets, charts of brain analyses, and thousands of lines of computer code.
"Sand Wall," Chuck said. "That was the name of the mission. The Intersect he stole. I just flashed. Sarah, I think he's telling the truth. Agent X was the subject of an early form of the Intersect from the 1980s."
"And Project Goodwin was the Intersect project Jimmy was on," Sarah added.
Bryce stared in shock. "You're the same Jimmy Slade? The one who was supposed to have committed suicide?" Jimmy nodded. "You look completely different. Small world indeed."
"I still want to know: how in the hell are you still alive, Bryce?" Chuck demanded.
Bryce walked away from the computer, holstered his gun, and sat down in a chair. Everyone else lowered their weapons. "Ironically, the first shot is the one that almost killed me. Tommy shot me in the shoulder and I was bleeding profusely. Then he put the two through my chest and threw me in the car. I was starting to lose consciousness from the blood loss. Tommy discovered I was wearing a vest. He took it off and aimed at my head."
"Where are they? Where are the Intersect files, Bryce?" Tommy demanded. "Tell me or you're dead."
"I…I saw them. They're in me…" Bryce answered in a fog before passing out.
"Save him," Bryce replied in disgust. "Whatever it takes, save him."
"So they did. I was in a coma for a long time, I don't even know how long. Then one day, I'm in the same clinic I had been for almost six weeks in Europe somewhere…I think…and they sedate me again. I guess this was their way of smuggling me back into the U.S. All of my agency passports were likely flagged by then."
"So what have you been doing for the last three years?" Carina asked.
"I had been gathering intel on Fulcrum. Files, bank accounts, lists of rogue agents, anything I could find. I encoded the data and hid it here in Los Angeles. I wanted to get as much as I could to bring all of Fulcrum down so this would never happen again. I was getting close, but then I discovered Fulcrum was getting close to knowing the location of the Intersect data. I stole it before they could."
"You convinced them you're the Intersect?" Chuck asked.
Bryce nodded. "And I need your help."
"We're going to help you?" Casey asked with considerable derision.
"I need to turn myself into the CIA and hand over everything I have found over the past three years, but Fulcrum has operatives in every agency. I need to know I'm being handed over to the real CIA."
"I can do that," Chuck said. "I can do that. I can be there at the transfer. If I flash on whoever they send, they're Fulcrum. If not…you're on your way home."
"That'll work," Sarah said. "Smart, Chuck. Casey and I will set up the transfer. Carina and Jimmy will retrieve the intel Bryce hid."
"They still need a place where the transfer can go down," Casey said. "Public place, lots of people."
For the first time, a smile came to Chuck's face when he thought about what he was usually doing the day after Thanksgiving. "A public spot with lots of witnesses? I know just the place."
Buy More – Burbank, CA
November 27, 2015
5:55 AM PST
Big Mike had all of the employees lined up, including Chuck. Without Harry Tang around, Chuck figured to be in for a very long and busy day. And that didn't even count having to make sure Bryce was safely transferred to the CIA agents that would be here in ninety minutes to take him to the airport. Sarah and Casey would enter the store in thirty minutes and escort Bryce to the employees' breakroom. They figured it would be best to stay hidden so as not to be deluged by shoppers already champing at the bit to get in. Even Chuck had to be wary; surely a number of customers would have seen him on TV. But he had his answers to them memorized; that he was just doing a favor for his old friend and didn't want to leave his former co-workers in the lurch.
Sarah told him to relax…as did Carina, Jimmy, and even Casey…but he still couldn't help but be nervous. He had to make the call whether the CIA agents were legitimate or not. If they were, he was to bring them to the breakroom to make contact with Bryce. At the same time, it would be the signal for Carina and Jimmy to go into the storefront office in Torrance and hack the computers there to retrieve Bryce's intel.
"OK, listen up," Big Mike bellowed. "Three minutes before we let those animals in. If this was a zoo, I'd say run for your lives. But this is Buy More! For those days you did squat, THIS is where you make up for it! Don't let me down. This is the single most important day of our year."
Big Mike looked behind him at the throngs of people pounding on the door to get in. "And my door is LOCKED. Don't even think about knocking!"
Chuck went to open the doors, figuring everyone else was too scared to do it. Given how fast the store filled up, he knew how they felt. Anna manned the display table in the front, where she made sure everybody took only one 32 gigabyte USB drive that they were selling for $1.99. Morgan and most of the sales associates spread out to keep things under control in the various departments. Jeff and Lester contributed as much as they typically did at work: zero.
Chuck worked the middle of the store, directing customers around like a traffic cop who had been working for decades. He took in the compliments from a few that he was much more handsome in person than on TV, he explained to a few that he was helping out his former co-workers on Black Friday, and he ignored the one or two idiots who felt like they had to comment to him on how hot Sarah Walker was.
Chuck saw two men in suits walk into the store. "Sarah, Casey, Bryce, I think they're here."
In the breakroom, the three observed the store floor through the security cameras that Casey hacked into and displayed on a tablet computer. "That should be them, Chuck," Sarah said over his earpiece. "Do your pass."
Chuck walked slowly towards the two CIA handlers. He saw the Secret Service-like earpieces both of them were wearing. Neither of them said a word to Chuck.
"Hi, welcome to Buy More," he said nervously. The two agents continued to walk past him. "Hey, hey, hey, hey. Nothing happened. Nothing happened. There were no flashes, so the CIA guys ARE legit."
"Bring them to the breakroom," Sarah replied. "Make sure they give you the correct phrase. I'll contact Carina and Jimmy and give them the go-ahead."
Chuck walked back to the two agents. "Can I help you gentlemen find anything?"
"We were looking for a Surface 4 computer," one agent replied.
Chuck breathed a sigh of relief as the agent requested the correct computer. "Come this way, and I'll help you find it."
Chuck led the two agents to the back of the store and into the breakroom where Sarah, Casey, and Bryce were waiting.
"Great work," Bryce said. "One trip to the airport, we'll rendezvous with your cohorts, and the data and I are on our way."
"On your way?" Chuck asked. "Where are you going?"
"It's time for me to disappear. Once the agency has what they need, I'm off to somewhere else. It's what I'm good at."
"The superspy, huh."
Bryce shook his head. "It's not the glamor job the show makes it out to be. That's just a cover. What you've done with Sarah and the team, that's what really counts. And you have a family and a store full of people who love you. In everything about you, I envy that the most."
Bryce held out his hand and Chuck shook it. "Thanks, Chuck. For everything. And good luck. They'll take good care of you, just like they did for me."
"I'm taking him in, Chuck," Sarah said. "You stay here."
Chuck watched Sarah, Bryce, and the two CIA agents exit the breakroom and head out the back entrance. "Right," he muttered in annoyance. "Stay in the store, Chuck."
2701 Plaza Del Amo – Torrance, CA
November 27, 2015
8:00 AM PST
Carina tapped her foot impatiently as Jimmy finally got through to the files Bryce had hidden on the computer. He had almost 2 terabytes of documents, images, and videos to download. And as grateful as he was to have a USB memory stick to handle all of that information, he was still at the mercy of the three-year-old computer. It may as well have been the Dark Ages as far as Jimmy was concerned.
"Is it done?" Carina asked. She wasn't in too good of a mood, having to work so early with a nasty hangover.
The display reached 100%. "Finally, yeah," Jimmy replied. He took the USB memory stick out of the computer and checked to make sure there were no loose papers around. He then set the computer to purge the hard drive and erase all of the intel from it.
"I'll call Sarah," Carina said as she pulled out her mobile phone. She dialed Sarah's number and her eyes went wide. "Her phone went straight to voicemail. Something's wrong."
Jimmy turned to face the door…and saw the four agents standing there with their guns pointed. "That…is an understatement."
Intersection of North Hollywood Way and Winona Street – Burbank, CA
November 27, 2015
7:55 AM PST
Sarah and Bryce sat in the back of the CIA-issue car with Bryce's handlers up front. They were only a few minutes from the airport, where Bryce and his handlers would board a private jet and head to Virginia. Carina and Jimmy were to meet them on the tarmac and hand off the USB memory stick containing Bryce's intel.
"Are we good?" Bryce asked Sarah.
"Yeah, we're clear," Sarah replied.
"That's not what I meant. I just…you have this look like you still hate me for what I did, even after you learned everything. I don't want you hating me forever."
Sarah looked forward in the car. After a few moments, she broke her silence. "The last few days have been…tough to handle. Seeing you again, those old feelings coming back to the surface, it's…half of me wants to forgive you and the other half can't."
"You were never good at this. The 'saying your feelings' part. This is actually an improvement for you."
Sarah exhaled. "I thought you were dead, Bryce. I…then Graham puts us on the Intersect mission and we find Chuck. And now…I don't know. I feel like…"
She never finished the sentence as a cargo van t-boned them, knocking all four occupants of the car unconscious.
Buy More – Burbank, CA
November 27, 2015
8:10 AM PST
Chuck returned to the Nerd Herd desk. Somehow, Morgan coaxed Jeff into coming out of hiding to fix the ancient registers the store used. Lester, however, continued to cower somewhere in the store.
"Excuse me, can I get some service?"
Chuck turned towards the voice. It was Tommy Delgado. His fear went up immediately.
"You're Charles Bartowski, aren't you," Tommy asked in a calm voice. "We met the other day."
"Did…did we?" Chuck stammered. "So, uh…how…how can I…"
"I'd ditch that Carmichael name if I were you. Too lame. I'm looking for a computer. You might be familiar with this one. It was called the Intersect."
"Why? What makes you think I know about a computer called the Intersect?"
"You don't seem to understand the situation, Charles," Tommy continued. "You think all of these witnesses are a guarantee that nothing's gonna happen to you? You couldn't be more wrong."
"I'm...uh, I am so slammed right now. It's really busy. So I should probably get back to work."
"My team reacquired Bryce Larkin and Sarah Walker five minutes ago. And I hope you had nothing important to say to Carina Miller or Jimmy Slade because I sent people there to retrieve Bryce's data and eliminate them. I have over a dozen trained killers stationed throughout the store, including the back hallways and exits."
Tommy tilted his head to the left. "If you look over there, you can see my men have also neutralized John Casey."
Chuck turned to see Casey with his hands in front of him being followed by two agents in suits.
"See, here's the thing, Charles. Nothing stops me from fulfilling my orders. Innocents…civilians. If you make me, I'll execute every last person in this place."
Chuck looked around the store, seeing Morgan, Anna, Jeff, Lester, all of the employees, all of the customers, and he also saw Tommy's men. His face went ashen. He didn't know any way to get out of this.
Intersection of North Hollywood Way and Winona Street – Burbank, CA
November 27, 2015
8:20 AM PST
The agents in the cargo van pulled Sarah and Bryce out of the car and laid them out in the street. They shot the two CIA agents. They were under orders to bring Sarah and Bryce back so Tommy could deal with them himself.
One agent got on his mobile phone. "It's done. We'll need about two minutes to groom the area."
He hung up his phone and turned back to Sarah and Bryce. They weren't there.
A boot landed across his face and he was knocked to the ground. The other agent tried to fire, but he was taken out by a vertical kick from Bryce.
Bryce looked around. "Where is he?"
"Who?" Sarah asked.
"Their boss, Tommy."
Sarah's eyes widened. "Chuck!"
Sarah and Bryce bounded for the cargo van and took off to return to the Buy More.
2701 Plaza Del Amo – Torrance, CA
November 27, 2015
8:10 AM PST
The agents who captured Carina and Jimmy took their weapons and mobile phones.
"Hand over the memory stick, Slade," one of the agents threatened.
Jimmy stood there and didn't move. Carina turned away from the four men and buried her face into Jimmy's shoulder.
"Do you really think we're going to buy you crying, Miller?" the agent said.
"No," Jimmy replied with a smile. "She was just getting herself into position."
Carina kicked her leg up and pressed a button on her bracelet. The other dagger from Sarah's Jimmy Choo shoes flew out and nailed the agent dead-on. Jimmy grabbed her and spun her in the air so she could deliver a vicious kick to a second agent. She landed as Jimmy pivoted on his left leg and delivered a spinning back kick to a third agent. He took out the last agent with a brutal roundhouse.
Carina and Jimmy gathered their weapons and mobile phones. "They only sent four after us?" Carina complained. "That is so insulting."
"I know, right?" Jimmy replied.
"We need to get back to the Buy More. Chuck and Casey must be in big trouble."
"Then I'm so glad we used my car."
The two ran for Jimmy's car and sped off to the Buy More.
Buy More – Burbank, CA
November 27, 2015
8:20 AM PST
Chuck walked down the aisle with Tommy right behind him. They had two agents on Casey and the rest of the team was either dead or captured. He couldn't shake the fear that not only was he a dead man, but that Tommy may kill everyone in the store anyway.
"Chuck, the registers are down and I can't get them back up!" Jeff said as he crossed Chuck's path. "What should I do?"
Chuck stood there completely frozen. "You say more than one word and I'll kill him right here," Tommy whispered.
Chuck quaked with fear, but suddenly he realized he could at least save all of the employees and customers.
"Pineapple."
Jeff gasped and took off. "Let's go," Tommy said, pulling at Chuck's arm.
Jeff ran to Morgan, who was up on a moving stock ladder. "Pineapple!"
"Hey, dude, don't say that word, OK?" Morgan said. "It doesn't have any meaning if you keep joking with it."
"No, I didn't say it. Chuck did."
"Chuck?"
"Chuck."
Morgan's eyes widened. He jumped off of the ladder, and the large box he was holding landed on Jeff. He ran to the Nerd Herd desk, leapt onto the counter, and grabbed a bullhorn.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have an emergency. I need everyone to leave the store in an orderly fashion."
He turned to see Anna at the fire alarm pull box. "Anna…PINEAPPLE!"
Anna pulled the alarm. Horns and strobe lights went off all over the store, and the customers ran for the exit. The surprise was exactly what Casey needed. He spun and elbowed one agent to the ground, then took out the other with a wicked hook. He grabbed their weapons, charged across the store, and grabbed Chuck, carrying him to the home theater room. He locked the doors and got out his smartphone.
"Code black. Hostiles in the Buy More. I need a containment team right away."
Chuck hid behind the couch as Casey checked the clips on the two weapons he confiscated. He then grabbed his pants and ripped hard like they were basketball warmup uniforms, revealing a second pair of pants underneath. Only this pair of pants had various firearms attached to them.
"Where the hell did you get those?" Chuck asked in amazement.
"Gotta be prepared. Concealing weapons is another of Miller's specialties," he replied brusquely.
Tommy watched the last of the customers and employees leave the store. He was pissed they managed to escape, but he knew Chuck had not left the building.
"Lock the doors," he ordered. His men spread out over the store while two of them locked the main doors to the store. All of them aimed towards the home theater room.
"Stay down, Chuck," Casey said as he grabbed two of the guns. "This is when the shooting starts."
"Right…right now?" Chuck asked, scared out of his mind.
Tommy looked towards the theater room with a deranged smile as his men opened fire. The windows to the home theater room shattered. Casey returned fire. As Sarah and Bryce sprinted for the back door, Chuck hid under the couch, trying to avoid being hit by anything.
Sarah and Bryce got around to the back door, only to have to dive for cover as two agents fired away at them. A figure jumped from the exterior ladder leading to the roof, landing on the two agents. Jimmy grabbed them and rammed their heads together, knocking them out completely.
"Wow. Never piss you off," Bryce said as Sarah and he walked to the door. Carina came from the other direction.
"C-4," she said. Jimmy grabbed the plastic explosive and slapped it on the door handle. He then attached a detonator and waved everybody back.
"Fire in the hole," he said and pressed a button on his remote. The door lock exploded. He grabbed it and ripped it open. Sarah and Bryce went charging down the hall with Carina and Jimmy in close pursuit. They opened fire at two more agents in the hallway, taking both of them out. They got to the hallway that crossed into the store.
"Carina, flash grenade," Bryce ordered. Carina handed him one.
"Casey," Sarah said over her earpiece. "Flash grenade, plus five seconds…and mark!"
On Sarah's command, Bryce whipped the flash grenade into the store. Casey emptied the pistol he had and dove to the floor, shutting his eyes and making sure Chuck did as well.
The flash grenade went off and blinded several of Tommy's men. Sarah and Bryce charged in, leapt over the Nerd Herd desk, and went after the enemy agents. Sarah landed a hard kick to one agent while Bryce planted a boot into another as he swung over the table. Sarah took out two other agents with kicks, including one who had gotten the drop on Bryce. Each grabbed the arm of another agent and then sent back kicks at the agent their partner was holding.
"Wow," Chuck said in amazement. "They really are great."
Sarah pirouetted over the prone Bryce to take out yet another agent, and Bryce stood up just in time to throw a roundhouse at one more. Two other agents tried to take them from behind, but Carina and Jimmy, who guarded the hallway in the back, opened fire with their weapons and dropped each of them.
Casey grabbed Chuck, not seeing any more of Tommy's men moving. "Come on, Chuck. Let's go," he ordered as he dragged Chuck out of the home theater room.
"I am getting really sick and tired of…"
He never finished the sentence as Tommy pistol-whipped Casey, knocking him unconscious.
"Where's Chuck?" Sarah asked as she threw down the boom box she used to defeat the last two agents.
"Over here."
"They turned and pointed their guns at Tommy, who had Chuck in front of him and a gun to his head. Carina and Jimmy moved down the outside aisles attempting to flank Tommy, but he wisely kept Chuck close to him so nobody had a clean shot.
"Let him go," Sarah ordered. "Now."
"Does this look like my first time?" Tommy said derisively.
"Isn't it somebody else's turn to be the human shield?" Chuck asked, more angry than scared at this point.
Bryce tried to advance. "Stay there, Bryce," Tommy said, keeping Chuck between them.
"You all right, Chuck?" Bryce asked.
"Does it look like I'm all right?"
"I need to ask you something."
"Shoot." He turned to Tommy. "Not you, please."
"Khi-Ja yoD wep?" Chuck didn't answer. "Khi-Ja, Gho Be?"
Chuck stared at him. He was beyond scared about Bryce asking that question. "Khi-Ja," he finally said.
"Sorry, Chuck."
Bryce aimed at Chuck's chest and fired a shot. Chuck fell back to the ground, much to everyone's shock, especially Tommy.
"Hi!" Casey said and knocked Tommy out with his gun. The two who locked the main doors went for their weapons, but Carina and Jimmy opened fire, taking them out.
"What did you say to him?" Sarah asked as she knelt at Chuck's side.
"Ask him," Bryce calmly replied.
"Hey, Chuck. Chuck, Chuck, come on, wake up," Sarah said in desperation, giving his cheeks a few gentle taps. She looked down and ripped his shirt open. She breathed a sigh of relief at seeing the bullet-proof vest Chuck was wearing.
Chuck then coughed loudly and struggled to take in a breath. "Khi-Ja. Khi-Ja," he rasped. "Yes, yes I am wearing a vest."
Sarah looked between Chuck and Bryce, who was all smiles. Casey looked impressed as Carina and Jimmy gently pulled Chuck to his feet and helped him take off his shirt and vest.
He continued to cough. "That…that stings a little bit."
Outside the store, Big Mike was ready to kill Morgan. "Grimes! You just ruined the most important shopping day of the year. And for what? FOR WHAT?! Do you know what you are, Grimes?"
"There was a gas leak in the store." Big Mike turned around to see a firefighter standing behind him. Or unbeknownst to him, an NSA cleaner dressed as one. "And whoever evacuated probably saved a lot of people. It'll take us a few hours to clean all of this up, so I'd appreciate it if you'd keep everybody out of here until we give you the say-so."
Big Mike turned back to Morgan, who was smugly polishing his nametag. "Is this straight?" Morgan asked. "Does it look good?"
Big Mike walked away in a huff and Morgan basked in the glow of not only being credited for saving the store and its customers, but that Anna forgave him for last night when Morgan carried her out of the store to safety. The two were back together.
Buy More – Burbank, CA
November 27, 2015
11:00 AM PST
Chuck picked up a broken sale sign and placed it on the table where it was supposed to be. Now that the crisis had passed, he was exhausted. The team watched the NSA cleaning squad clean the store and replace the damaged merchandise with products stored in a local warehouse used for emergencies such as this.
Chuck gestured towards the home theater room, which had its curtains drawn. "What's happening with Bryce?"
"He's in there giving his report to General Beckman," Sarah replied.
Bryce emerged from the home theater room in a tuxedo and walked up to the team. "It would appear I have a new assignment," he said.
"As a maitre d'?" Chuck asked.
"Actually, it's a consulate dinner. The data I recovered helped but it was only the tip of the iceberg. They want me to continue to go after Fulcrum. On my own and off the radar."
Casey gave a grunt of approval. "Sounds like heaven."
"That means Bryce Larkin is dead. And he's going to stay that way this time."
He looked at everyone on the team. "Thank you for everything you did. Especially you, Chuck."
"This is so weird," Chuck replied. "Where are you going to go? Who are you going to be?"
"Sorry, not even you can know."
He then went to Sarah. "Take care of them for me," he said softly, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "They need you."
Sarah watched as Bryce walked out of the store. Chuck couldn't help but see the different flashes of emotion going across Sarah's face. He hung his head.
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
November 27, 2015
7:30 PM PST
Chuck lay on his bed, completely exhausted by the day. The NSA cleanup crew finished their work by 2PM. But like most stores on Black Friday, hardly anybody shopped after lunchtime, and the evacuation earlier scared away anybody who may have had a desire to buy a large TV or new laptop. After all, Large Mart was right there and had the same sales. With no evacuation.
Big Mike finally gave up and closed the store an hour ago, warning everybody they'd make a big push to sell on the following Monday. Chuck was thankful the show would begin filming again for the next episode, so he could use that as an excuse to not help.
He heard a knock at his window and turned to see Sarah there. He was surprised. He didn't expect to see her. He figured she would take off with Bryce and join him wherever he went.
"Can I come in?" she asked. Chuck nodded. "Sorry, I didn't want Ellie see me come in. She's great, though. Bryce was right; you're so lucky to have family like Devon and her. I'm a little envious myself."
Chuck gave a little laugh. "That's…funny. That either you or Bryce could be jealous of me. I mean, I get what you see in him. He offers a really exciting life. He always got the best girls."
"Chuck…"
"But I just need to know. That kiss…right when we thought we were going to die…did you kiss me because you thought we were going to die and mine were the most convenient lips available or was it actually about me?"
Sarah hung her head. She didn't talk for several moments. Chuck's posture softened at seeing Sarah in such obvious distress.
"I'm just confused, OK?" Chuck said far more gently. "We kiss that night and then I see you kissing your ex-lover a few days later in my bedroom. I don't…I don't know what to make of any of it."
Sarah finally looked up. "You saw me kiss Bryce?" Chuck nodded. "Did you see me push him away?"
That got Chuck's attention. "No, I…it just hurt when I saw it and walked away. But you didn't want him to kiss you?"
"For a moment, I was caught up in my past feelings for him. How we used to work together as partners, how we came to be on the show and led the team. But then I finally realized that he didn't see us the same way I did. Nor did he truly accept the responsibility of working with all of us.
"Over the last few days, ever since I kissed you and found Bryce alive, I questioned every last thing I've done over the past six years. How I didn't truly lead the team like I should have. And that was my fault; the show is named for my character, after all. When Bryce was around, I just did what needed to be done without thinking of how that would affect everyone else.
"Then one day, he was gone. Just like that. No explanations, no clues. I thought it was my fault and I almost cost us everything. Carina and John straightened me out, especially John. I realized I was the leader for a reason. Casey could be a leader, but he thinks too much in shades of black and white. Carina was a great team member but she'd have a hard time putting the team first ahead of herself. And when they brought in Jimmy to replace Bryce, I had to deal with an incredibly talented but a very broken person. I was the glue that held everybody together. I had to get the best out of everybody. Once I was able to do that, we truly became the best team of agents in the government. And we became better friends as a result, too."
Sarah moved next to Chuck and took his hand. "You wanted to know if that kiss was a mistake. At the time it wasn't. I…I thought we were going to die so in those final seconds I gave up trying to be Agent Walker and decided to take what I really wanted. But then we didn't die and I had to go back to being Agent Walker again. I wish I knew how to be in a relationship and be a good agent at the same time, but I don't."
She laughed at what she just said. "Even if I wasn't an agent, I'd be no good at relationships. I mean, Casey got mad at me for letting Bryce get away, Carina chewed me out last week because I was upset and taking it out on other people, and poor Jimmy ended up with a separated shoulder after being covered in garbage."
Chuck laughed as well. "Wow, suddenly what I went through with Jill doesn't seem so bad. And I know I messed up that relationship."
She smiled. "Somehow I doubt that. Maybe someday I can figure out how to lead this team and be in love with someone. But for now, I just want to say how sorry I am for everything that's happened. I mean, what you've had to go through being given the Intersect, put in constant danger, and yet still helping us, I really wish I could be in a relationship with someone like you. But I have a team to lead, and I have an asset to protect. And given how smart and wonderful he is, I really need to concentrate on doing that."
Chuck nodded and held his hand out. "Friends?"
Sarah's smile increased to full throttle, just the way Chuck liked it. "Friends," she replied, shaking his hand and leaning in to kiss him on the cheek.
"Ellie has a lot of leftover turkey," Chuck said. "Can I interest you in a turkey sandwich?"
"Sounds great," she replied. "Can we save some for Jimmy?"
"Sure, there's plenty."
"He's still depressed about the football game last night. He loves it on wheat, a slice of tomato, lettuce, and lots of mayo."
"Hmm, a man after Morgan's heart," Chuck replied, which made Sarah laugh. "No wonder why those two get along."
They got up from the bed and walked into the kitchen.
Author's Note 2: You didn't REALLY think I'd put Bryce and Sarah together in this chapter, did you? I don't have the guts to do that. :-D
