A/N: Time for some badly needed answers for Chuck and Sarah.

The following chapters will be rather more original, but I will include some of my favorite lines in them.


Chapter 9 – Getting Answers

Chuck, Sarah and Casey were clustered around one of the Castle computers, watching the video taken in Professor Fleming's office years ago in Stanford. Chuck had wanted to know why he was in the Intersect and why his name was included in the disc. They all saw a different Bryce than the one they knew; a desperate man almost reduced to pleading for his best friend's welfare.

"I don't get it," Chuck said finally, breaking the heavy silence that hung over the room. "Bryce got Professor Fleming to lower my score from 98% to 60% to get me off the CIA's radar. At least he didn't go along with the Professor's original idea and get me expelled. But he also got a low grade on that test."

"He had already been recruited," Sarah said. "He was in the CIA regardless of his test results."

"Either that, or his publicized score was deliberately low. I mean, he could have scored much higher, but only the CIA would know his true score," Casey offered.

"It makes sense," Sarah agreed. "Since he was an agent, they wouldn't want to call attention to him. Also, the Omaha Project is still very highly classified and potential candidates would naturally be given special security measures so as not to compromise their identities."

"What about you, Sarah?"

"What about me?"

"Did you ever take a subliminal image retention test?"

"No."

"No?"

"I'd remember it if I had taken one, believe me." She sank into a chair. "But come to think of it, there was a similar class in Harvard. I just opted not to take it. I thought it was boring."

"You'd ace it, had you taken it."

"You think so, Chuck?"

"I know so."

"Maybe it's for the best that I didn't. Otherwise I could have found myself in your Chucks."

"Being the Human Intersect is not that bad, come to think of it. Wait… Did Sarah Walker just make a joke?"

"Why, can't I be funny on occasion?"

"The geek is rubbing off on you, Walker," Casey said.

"NERD!" Chuck and Sarah corrected him. "And proud of it," Chuck added. "Not to mention that what we just witnessed is definitely an improvement over the old and so not funny Sarah Walker."

"We still have no explanation for Larkin's recent actions."

"Maybe he had a good reason for stealing the Intersect, Casey."

"And maybe he had a good reason for sending it to Chuck."

*grunt* (we may never know)

Later, in his office, Chuck and Sarah were trying to deal in their own way each with the memories and emotions that the video had stirred inside them. He was playing Zork on his computer, while she was letting her gaze wander all over the room. Finally, her eyes rested on one of the bookcases. She got up from the couch and approached it. It was full of textbooks old and new on electrical engineering and computer programming. But it was the framed photographs that caught her attention. She picked one of them up. It was Bryce, Chuck and a few others from the Gamma Delta Phi fraternity. Sarah traced the outline of Chuck and Bryce's faces with her thumbs.

"Yeah, that's us back in Stanford," Chuck said, breaking her reverie.

"Bryce had the same picture in his DC apartment. He once talked to me about it; about Dave, Pete, Ed, Mac and Charlie…" Suddenly, she made a connection. "You are Charlie!"

"I am."

"He said that you were the best of the whole group."

"He did?"

"He was right," she said, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. "You are a great guy, Chuck."

He hugged her tight as she buried her face in his shoulder.

"Bryce was behind some of the best times in my life. Although I could never beat him in 'Gotcha!' as he always managed to get the drop on me."

"I'll remind you that he was already an agent."

"I didn't know that back then. And he was a mean prankster, too. I wish I could talk to him… thank him for keeping me out of the spy world back then and also ask him why he sent me the Intersect. Speaking of which, I should probably work on the backlog of the dailies."

"You are welcome to use the computer in my office."

"I'll be right over." First he went to Morgan's office and asked about the day to day running of the company. With him busy with creating new software, games and all, plus his secret life, most of the administrative tasks had by default been assigned to Morgan, who was coping admirably.

"How did it go with Morgan?" Sarah asked when he entered her office.

"It went well."

"I've loaded the dailies on my computer."

"Let's see what we've got."

-o-

"All the flashes gave me a headache," Chuck complained after he finished reviewing the last file.

"I told you to take a break and not do them in one go," Sarah said, trying to sound casual, but there was no hiding the concern in her eyes.

"You were right as usual. Next time we have a backlog to clear I'll do it in stages."

"Do you have any aspirin in here?"

"Yes, it's in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom." He started getting up.

"Relax. I'll go get it." She soon came back with aspirin and a glass of water. Chuck nodded gratefully as he took the pills and washed them down with the water.

"There you are," Morgan said as he entered unannounced. It was one of his quirks Chuck had learned to live with a long time ago, but Sarah was still adjusting. "Are you all right dude?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a headache. What have you got for me, buddy?"

"I need you to sign these."

"Did you go over them?"

"They are OK. I double and triple checked."

"Then I can sign them." He affixed his signature on the documents Morgan gave him.

"And, Morgan, next time knock," Sarah said, possessively circling her arms around Chuck.

"Oh, sorry, um, I promise to remember that in the future. Now, if there isn't anything else you need me for, I'll go see my girlfriend."

"Have fun!" For a few moments after Morgan left Sarah still kept Chuck in her embrace, breathing in his masculine scent without even realizing what she was doing. Just as unconsciously, Chuck's thumb was rubbing circles on her wrist.

"Are you feeling better now, Chuck?"

He looked up and smiled at her. He wanted to kiss her so much. Instead he said "I'm better than fine." Incredibly, she didn't let go of him immediately, but gave him an affectionate squeeze first.

"We should be closing up shop. By the way, did Devon manage to get the UCLA warpaint off?"

"He did. I recommended something we had used in the past."

"And what was that?"

"It's funny, actually. During my last year at the Buy More, Big Mike – the manager – had this funny idea to have the entire staff paint their faces in Buy More colors for the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, he sent Jeff and Lester, don't ask about them, to buy the paint. It proved to be a pain to wash off."

"Hmmm…"

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm just trying to picture you with your face painted."

"Take a look at this," he said and opened a file he kept in his computer using the office LAN for remote access. "Morgan and I goofing around on that day."

She took a good look and immediately started laughing. "You look so funny in the Nerd Herd uniform and face paint," she said.

"One of our finest moments. You make sure we haven't forgotten anything here, I'll go check my office."

'Will you lock up, or should I do it?"

"If you wait for me, we can leave together."

"Thanks, but right now all I can think of is a hot bath and my bed."

"You're not getting away that easily, Agent Walker."

"Huh?"

"Her Imperial Majesty Eleanor Faye Bartowski decreed that you will join us for dinner and movie at the Echo Park Palace. Sorry I forgot to tell you earlier."

"I'll meet you there, in that case."

"She is expecting to see us together. You can use our bathroom; it'll look good for the cover."

"No argument there. OK. I'll do it your way."

"The things spies have to do for the job," he joked.

"You have no idea. Well, you do, actually, but this is something I'll enjoy."

-o-

"Sarah, so nice of you to come!"

"Hi Ellie, nice seeing you too."

"Don't just stand there, come in!"

"Where is Awesome, sis?" Chuck asked as he pulled a somewhat reluctant Sarah inside.

"I sent him to buy some stuff I needed."

"Then he got the paint off."

"He did, thanks to you, little brother."

"If you'll excuse me," Sarah said, "I could really use a shower right now."

"Take your time. I'll need your help in the kitchen, but I can't do anything until Devon comes back from the store."

"Ellie, I'll be more of a hindrance than help. I'm hopeless in the kitchen."

"Nonsense, Sarah, you'll do fine, if that chocolate soufflé is any indication."

"Okay," Sarah said hesitantly. She should have known that the damn soufflé would come back to haunt her. She disappeared to the bathroom.

"Is there anything you want me to do, sis?"

"Not for the moment, Chuck."

"Fine by me." He sat down on the couch and turned the TV on.

"Ellie, help!" Sarah called out a few minutes later. Chuck and Ellie were both alarmed and ran to the bathroom.

"Sarah, what's wrong?" Ellie asked. She seemed fine. Sure, she was still wet from the shower and wearing only a towel wrapped tight around her body and covering it from chest to mid-thigh, which caused Chuck's heart rate to spike, but looked fine, although she was clearly worried and embarrassed about something.

"I, um, well, I kind of forgot to bring a change of clothes," she replied sheepishly and briefly glared daggers at Chuck for getting her into this situation.

"No problem, I'll get you something to wear. We are about the same size, so my clothes should fit you nicely."

"Thanks Ellie."

Chuck allowed her what he thought to be sufficient time to get dressed and then entered his room hoping that she was decent. He would have knocked, but Ellie, who was hovering nearby, might find it weird, as Sarah was supposed to be his girlfriend. Fortunately, Sarah was dressed and was in the act of putting her shoes on.

"Sarah, I was thinking… Since your cover is being my girlfriend, shouldn't you have some of your clothes in my closet?"

"You've got a point there, Chuck," she replied. "I'll take care of it."

"Ellie's waiting to give you your first lesson in how to become a master chef quickly and effortlessly." He said that with a straight face. She laughed and went to the kitchen. Chuck sat on the bed and furrowed his brow in thought. The decision on what he had to do was easy; he selected a few items of clothing, mostly boxer shorts, button down shirts and T-shirts, plus a set of sweats and a few pairs of socks and arranged them neatly in a drawer before writing 'For Sarah' on a post it note and pasting it on said drawer. He smiled. Now the cover would look even more authentic. Well, he was hoping that it wouldn't be a cover for much longer. He loved her and somehow knew that her feelings towards him were not entirely faked.

Dinner was a fun affair, as usual, and then Ellie dropped the bomb. She wanted Sarah to help her prepare the Thanksgiving dinner in two days. With the appropriate hesitation, Sarah agreed, thinking it would reinforce her cover and also because she really enjoyed spending time with Chuck's family and friends.

-o-

"Good evening, boys and girl," General Beckman said during their second briefing on a rather uneventful day. "One of Chuck's flashes from this morning's dailies was combined with other information we had and resulted in actionable intelligence."

"Finally, we get a mission," muttered Casey.

"Yes, Major, we have a mission for you," Graham interjected. "Our analysis states that there is some sort of sensitive cargo waiting to be picked up by the recipient somewhere in the port of Los Angeles. You are to investigate and find out what this cargo is and the identity and aims of the recipient. As usual, you have been sent an email with the pertinent information. That will be all. Good hunting."

"The port is full of various items of cargo," Chuck complained. How are we supposed to identify what we are after?"

"We'll use the computer you are carrying around in that noggin of yours, idiot."

"The good news is that we have a ball park," said Sarah. "We won't have to scour the entire area."

"So, when do we go in?"

"Right now. I'll go change," she said.

"I'll be reading the brief."

"I'll go get my guns," said Casey. "Just in case."

-o-

"Where did Graham say that this cargo will be?"

"It should be right around here."

"Oh. And where exactly is here? I mean, where are we?"

"Will you shut up, Moron?"

"We are in the cargo transit area, Chuck."

"It should be somewhere in that lot up ahead, Walker. You and Bartowski look for the item. I'll secure the area."

"Be careful, Casey."

"I'm always careful, Bartowski."

Later…

"Well, Chuck?"

"Sarah, I've looked at every container and cargo crate in the area. Nothing triggered a flash."

"Looks like the mission is a bust."

"Yeah… Hey, where is Casey?"

"He's still looking around, covering us."

"Sarah?"

"Yes?"

"Is that warehouse over there a part of the lot?"

"I don't know…"

"There's a map here… Yes, it is. Let's check it out."

"I'll go in first." Sarah deftly picked the lock, drew her gun and stealthily entered the warehouse. "Come in, it's all clear," she called a couple of minutes later.

"There's not much in here," he said, walking around the floor. Suddenly… "Sarah, I just flashed! That crate over there is the one we're looking for."

"Let's see what's in it." She tossed him a crowbar and took one herself. Together they opened one side of the crate. Inside there was a huge capsule-shaped container – with a timer.

"That doesn't look good…"

"No time to call the bomb squad. Chuck, run! I'll stay and try to defuse it."

"No! I'm not leaving you alone, Sarah. Maybe the Intersect can help."

"Did you flash?"

"I'll try," he said and focused on the timer and its keypad. "Come on, flash! Show me how to disarm it! Flash, dammit, flash!" All the while Sarah was trying to figure out which wires to cut.

"Chuck, it's not working! GO!"

"No!"

"The Intersect is too valuable to lose. Go! Get out of here or I shoot!" She aimed her gun at him in desperation.

"Look at what you are doing! You are going to shoot me to prevent me from being blown up? Great plan, Agent Walker!"

"Why are you so stubborn?"

"Actually I consider this a rare moment of courage! I don't know where it's coming from, I guess you just bring out the worst in me!"

"And you in me!" Sarah said, finally putting her gun away and stepping closer to Chuck. The timer started beeping to announce that less than ten seconds were left. Chuck and Sarah looked at it.

"It was nice knowing you," he told her, as they turned back to look at each other. He closed his eyes. Sarah reached up, took his face in her hands and kissed him. She didn't know why she was doing it, only that she really wanted to do it. And he was kissing her back, too. They were both kissing passionately, desperately until they realized that there was no cataclysmic explosion, no searing ball of fire and then oblivion. Whatever that thing was, it was not a bomb. They opened their eyes again.

"Well, the good news is that we are alive," she said. "And the bad news is that this is kind of an uncomfortable moment right now."

"It was completely comfortable on my end. Just saying," he replied. Sarah, like him, was breathing heavily. She had screwed up as a handler, again, as she berated herself. But it had seemed so right when she kissed him. Chuck's voice brought her back to reality. "It's empty!"

"What? Let me see!" The capsule had opened and she could see various items of medical equipment inside. "This is for transporting patients in very critical condition who would otherwise not survive being moved," she deduced.

"Yeah, but where's the patient?"

"Well, there's no one in here. My guess is that it somehow activated itself while being handled and just exhausted its life support system oxygen supply."

"Who was it intended for?"

"Whoever it was for, it was someone who could afford it."

"Bartowski, Walker, did you find it?" Casey asked as he finally found them. Sarah wordlessly indicated the now empty capsule.

There was definitely someone in here," Chuck said after closely examining the interior of the capsule.

"But where did this person go?" Sarah asked.

"And who was it?" Casey added.

"There." They followed Chuck's pointing finger and saw a security camera nestled among the roof girders.

"I'll go find the tape."

"I'll call it in," Sarah said.

"And I'm going to wait in the car," Chuck yawned.

"Go home and get some rest, Chuck. We'll take it from here."

"See you tomorrow then. Goodnight."

Sarah arranged for a tactical team to secure the area and remove the patient pod. As one doctor told her, it was top of the line equipment and extremely expensive to acquire and at the same time very economical to operate. Casey found the security office and summarily confiscated the digital tapes from the camera that interested them. They returned to Castle together and Casey popped the most recent tape in a player. He fast forwarded it until they saw the capsule lid open. Slowing to normal speed, he zoomed in on the image of the person groggily getting out.

"It's Bryce!" Sarah gasped.

"I didn't kill him?" Casey was just as dumbfounded.

In the morning Chuck opened the office as usual. But as time passed and Sarah did not show up, he started getting worried. He was about to call her when she shuffled into his office, looking haggard.

"Sarah! Are you all right?" He steered her to the couch and made her sit down. She was unconsciously playing with a button on her suit jacket. "What's wrong, Sarah? Talk to me, please."

"Bryce is alive," she said simply, her voice almost a whisper.

"Come again?"

"Bryce is alive," she repeated. "He was the one in the medical pod. Apparently the sedative drip cut out and he woke up before he was supposed to."

"How is that possible, Sarah? I mean, we went to his funeral for crying out loud!"

"I don't know," she said tiredly. "Casey and I reported it and there will be a team assigned to look into the matter."

"That team won't be us?"

"No, we have other priorities."

"But, Sarah, this is Bryce we are talking about! My old college buddy. Your former partner and…"

"We have our orders. Besides, he could be halfway across the country by now."

"There is another thing… The kiss last night, it was…"

"It should have never happened, Chuck. I'm sorry. It was very unprofessional of me. I failed as a handler and it's the third time I've done it. It was a mistake, my mistake." She got up and went to her office. Chuck did not follow her. Instead he analyzed her statement. She was right, it had been unprofessional of her and he knew that Sarah Walker was above all a professional. But the important thing was that she hadn't attempted to deny that there was actually something between them, feelings that led to the kiss. She could deny it as much as she wanted, but her eyes betrayed her. He smiled. There was still hope for them, it seemed, and he was determined not to let that hope die. The first thing he decided to do was send her downstairs to Castle to get some solid sleep after reminding her about the Thanksgiving dinner with Ellie, Awesome, Morgan, Alex and Casey.

-o-

"Why did you do it, Walker?" Casey asked her in Castle after she woke up.

"Why did I do what?"

"I watched the recording. I saw you play tonsil hockey with the Nerd. I guess his lips were the most convenient at the time, huh?"

"Casey… I don't know what came over me back there."

"Never mind," he said dismissively. "We still have Ellie's turkey to look forward to," he added. It elicited a small smile from her.

-o-

Thanksgiving dinner at the Bartowski/Woodcomb residence was a memorable occasion. Casey had even helped Devon stuff the turkey. Sarah, despite her earlier behavior had helped Ellie in the kitchen and was now playing the part of the loving girlfriend to perfection. Morgan also introduced Alex, who had made an excellent green bean casserole, to everyone else, and they took a liking to her from the start, even Casey, who had arrived last. She had also felt drawn to the big man.

"So, Ellie," Alex said, "Morgan tells me that your Thanksgiving specialty, besides the turkey, is sweet potatoes with marshmallows."

"It has been a staple of Bartowski Thanksgivings since, well, forever," Morgan interjected.

"I'd love to try them."

"I'll go get them."

"Let me help."

"Chuck," Ellie called from the kitchen, "did you get the marshmallows?"

"Uh, yeah."

'They are not in here."

"They must be in my car. I'll just be a sec," he said and got up from the table. He was returning to the apartment with two bags of marshmallows in his hands when a lone figure appeared from the shadows.

"Hello Chuck."

"Bryce! What the Hell are you doing here? Never mind that now, it's good to see you alive and well."

"Thanks. It was close, but I made it through. Is this your place?"

"Yep. Ellie, her boyfriend and I share it."

"You still live with your sister?"

"These are tough times, Bryce. Splitting the rent three ways helps save money."

"You've got a valid point there. Look, I need to talk to Sarah. Can you arrange it?"

"Bryce…"

"Let me talk to her. I can prove I'm not rogue."

"Okay," Chuck said hesitantly. "You and I also need to have a talk."

"I'll explain everything. I'll be waiting in your room," Bryce said and Chuck nodded before going inside. He handed the marshmallows to Ellie and Alex and leaned down to kiss Sarah.

"Bryce is waiting for you in my room," he whispered in her ear. Fortunately, she managed not to let the shock show.

"Excuse me," she said and got up.

"Hello Sarah," Bryce said when she entered Chuck's room. "I need your help."

"I can't help you, Bryce. You are a rogue agent. I have to take you in. Do I need to use my gun?"

"I'm not rogue and I can prove it."

"How can I believe you, Bryce?"

In the meantime, Casey noticed that Sarah was gone too long. He shot a questioning look to Chuck, who shrugged. There was definitely something amiss there, so he excused himself and went to investigate. Bryce heard him coming and turned to leave through the Morgan Door.

"Bryce, wait," Sarah said.

"What's going on in here, Walker?" Casey asked as he entered, gun drawn.

"I had it under control until you showed up."

"It was Larkin, wasn't it?"

"Hey, no guns at Thanksgiving," Chuck said as he entered his room.

"Did you know about this, Moron?"

"Casey, he came to us willingly. We should at least listen to him."

"I'll check the premises. You call it in from my place."

Chuck and Sarah stepped into the courtyard and suddenly he saw the lights in Casey's apartment coming on.

"Sarah, why is someone in Casey's apartment?" She didn't reply. Instead she took her shoes off and silently padded inside, Chuck following behind her. Bryce was inside, trying to access the computer system. He heard the slight squeak of Chuck's shoes and whirled around, gun at the ready to find Sarah's S&W aimed at him.

"Stand down, Bryce," she commanded.

"Sarah, listen to me, please."

"Put the gun down!"

"Guys," Chuck said as Sarah's arm prevented him from moving forward, "lower your weapons, both of you." Incredibly, they obeyed. Bryce set his Beretta down on a table and stepped back. "Good. Tell us what's going on."

"I was approached by an outfit called Fulcrum, special access group inside the CIA."

"You're lying," Sarah said, her gun going up again. "We'd know about it."

"They knew who I was, my record, my activation codes, everything… They wanted me to shed my agency contacts and go deep. They wanted to do an internal strike, to download and destroy the Intersect. Fulcrum had plans for using the whole system."

"Why Chuck?"

"Yeah, why me?"

"I needed a friend who wasn't a spy… someone who wouldn't know anything about Fulcrum, the Intersect, or Sand Wall."

An office building

The Intersect Room

Schematics

Outline of Operation Sand Wall

Go codes for the operation

An office building

"Sand Wall… that was the name of the mission…"

"Did you flash?"

"Yeah. Sarah, I think he's telling the truth," Chuck said and Sarah finally put her gun away. At that moment Casey entered.

"Freeze, Larkin!" The only reason he didn't shoot was because Bryce was clearly unarmed.

"You want to try again, Casey?"

"Stop it! Casey, Chuck flashed. Bryce isn't rogue."

"Okay, now, let's just all sit down and we'll talk like civilized people. No guns," Chuck said and the others nodded. "Good. Bryce, how are you still alive?"

"I don't know how they did it."

"And who are they?"

"Fulcrum."

"Do you know why they kept you alive?"

"Yes."

"Should I pop some popcorn, or beat the answer out of you?"

"No thanks, Casey. I'll talk."

"Darn."

"They think I'm the Intersect."

"Then they don't know that you sent it to Chuck."

"No. At least we have that going for us."

"Bryce, why did you send it to me? I mean, I know you went to some lengths to keep me out of the CIA and, believe me, I'm grateful, but why did you change your mind now? And what was that about Casey trying again? Crap, Casey, you were the one who shot him, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Did Sarah know?"

"I read Casey's report, Chuck."

"Back to the main subject: I had no one left to trust. Sarah was undercover and out of reach and there are indications that someone in Graham's staff is a member of Fulcrum. I had to act fast, so I initiated Sand Wall."

"The contingency plan for the emergency, um, relocation of the Intersect, in case it was compromised," Chuck explained.

"Does the intel recall always work so fast, Chuck?" Bryce asked.

"Oh yes. And the expansion pack, too. Nice idea adding it to the email. It has helped on occasion."

"Glad to hear it. Now I have to turn myself in to the real CIA. Fulcrum has moles everywhere."

"He must talk to Graham," Chuck suggested.

"Later. We should be getting back to Chuck's place before the others start worrying about our absence," Sarah said.

Fortunately, Ellie, Devon, Morgan and Alex had been enjoying themselves too much to question where the rest had been for the last ten minutes. Bryce had stayed at Casey's. He was supposed to be dead, so he couldn't show his face to the civilians, two and possibly three of whom knew him from Chuck's Stanford days. Chuck promised to get him something to eat later, after everyone else had gone to bed. Casey also suggested, and Sarah agreed, that she should stay with Chuck for the night.

"You don't know how happy I am that Bryce is alive and well," Chuck said as he climbed into bed beside Sarah.

"And he's not rogue, which is quite a relief," she added. "I didn't know he liked Ellie's cooking so much. He really enjoyed the food."

"He's been a fan of Ellie's cooking since Stanford. Anyway, we should get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a really long day. Sweet dreams, Sarah."

"Goodnight Chuck."

In the morning Chuck woke up and found Sarah holding on to him in her sleep, one of her legs wrapped around his own. He relaxed and savored the moment. A few seconds later the alarm clock started ringing. Sarah opened her eyes and bolted upright when she realized why she'd been feeling that warm and pleasant sensation all night.

"Good morning Chuck," she said blushing and ran to the bathroom. Chuck just lay back and clasped his hands behind his head, smiling. Carina had been right. Sarah wanted him; she just didn't know it yet.

He and Sarah drove to work in their own cars. He worked for a couple of hours and then snuck downstairs to Castle. Casey and Bryce had just arrived and were waiting for Graham and Beckman to contact them. Sarah joined them just before the briefing was about to start. The screen came on and the look on their superiors' faces was priceless when they saw Bryce.

"Agent Larkin?" Graham asked, stunned. Casey had told them that Bryce was alive, but they never expected to see him so soon.

"Hello sir." Quickly, he proceeded to outline the events that had led to him being there. When he finished, the two directors were lost in thought.

"Are you saying that Fulcrum has infiltrated the CIA Director's staff?"

"Not just the CIA, General. But their encroachment is more extensive in the CIA, since they started out from there. I wouldn't be surprised if they have people in the NSA as well."

"We need to speak with you alone, Bryce. Agent Walker, Major Casey, Mr. Bartowski, please give us a few minutes." Obediently, Chuck, Sarah and Casey exited the main room. Chuck was called inside for a while and when he came back out he went straight to the medicine cabinet and downed some aspirin. Sarah shot him a concerned look.

"I'll be OK," he said. "I just had some really intense flashes. On the plus side, I was able to identify a few highly placed Fulcrum moles in the CIA."

Bryce then came out.

"I have my new mission," he said. "I am going after Fulcrum, alone, under the radar."

"Sounds like heaven," Casey said, with just a hint of envy in his voice.

"As long as they keep after me, Chuck should be safe. Can I talk to you in private for a while?"

"Sure." Chuck led Bryce to a side room.

"Look, I'd like to apologize again for making that comment about living with your sister… What you've done with the Intersect so far is nothing short of extraordinary."

"And you are still the super spy."

"Chuck, I have one friend in this world. You have a home, an office and a Buy More full of them."

"What happens now, Bryce?"

"Bryce Larkin will have to stay dead. Wish me good hunting." They bumped fists and went to rejoin Sarah and Casey. "One more thing," Bryce said. "I have an informant inside Fulcrum. I'm telling you about her so that you won't blow her cover accidentally, should you meet her."

"Who is she?" Sarah asked.

"Her codename is Sand Storm." At the mention of the code name, Chuck flashed.

"Jill? Holy crap, Jill is a spy?"

"Who's Jill?"

"Sarah, Jill Roberts is the girlfriend I had in college. I'll tell you about what the Intersect has on her later."

"She was recruited shortly after you graduated. You two had already broken up by then. Fortunately, I got wind of it and managed to convince her to work for the real CIA with me. She was the one who told me about Fulcrum's plans for the Intersect."

"Blows the mind."

"Guys, I have to be going now. Sarah, take care of Chuck. He's my only friend."

"No, Bryce, he's a friend. I'd like you to consider me your friend, too."

"I'll be more than happy to." They hugged. "We'll always have Omaha," he said and winked. Then he shook hands with Casey.

"Good hunting Larkin."

"Keep up the good work here, Casey." He then shook Chuck's hand and gave him a bro hug. "Give them hell, Agent Bartowski."

"Be careful out there, Bryce."

Sarah escorted Bryce to a car they had procured for him. Chuck stayed with Casey to review the first dailies. When he finished he looked up.

"I wonder what Bryce meant by Omaha, outside of it being some weird Casablanca reference."

"I guess it's code, contact point of some sort, for emergencies. Bryce is going deep, so communication through normal channels will not be possible."

For the rest of the day Chuck was happily writing segments of code for his new game. He was glad that Bryce wasn't dead and he now also had some answers he'd desperately needed. A few minutes after five in the afternoon he sent Morgan and Sarah home and then went to do the rest of the dailies with Casey.

In her hotel room Sarah wanted to relax and take her mind off work for a while. So, she drew herself a warm bubble bath and enjoyed it with the amicable company of a glass of good wine, a comic book she'd found in the office lounge and some soft music from a selection Chuck had made for her.