A/N: Once again thank you all so much for the reviews! I'm really glad you like the story because I love writing it.
Day 584 4:30 PM (Sarah)
When Sarah woke up the first thing she felt was the cold metal of the handcuffs against her wrist. Then came the disorientation. Then the vomiting. She took a few deep breaths to quell the unease in her stomach then she opened her eyes again. Sarah had no idea where she was or how she got here. The last thing she remembered was catching up to Agent Montana near a small church on the border of Panama and Colombia. She was about to draw her gun then she woke up in this place.
Where was she anyway? From the inside it looked like a small shack. She was laying on a dirt floor and it was dark except for where light streamed in from the cracks in the wood planks that made her prison. Sarah tried to sit up, but it was no use, she was still disoriented. Instead she wracked her brain trying to remember the details that led her to Panama.
She and Casey had been following Agent Montana for months. They were able to take out other agents in the meantime, but Montana was always their first priority. About a week ago they caught a young Fulcrum agent who was easily persuaded to talk. He told them Montana was headed for one of the Fulcrum safe houses in Panama. He also told them that Fulcrum knew Sarah and Casey were hunting them. That scared her. When people get desperate and frightened they get dangerous. It made her worry about Chuck. Graham and Beckman would put Chuck in an underground facility in a second. Fortunately, no one in Fulcrum knew Chuck was the intersect. They were still convinced it was Bryce. As long as they thought that, Chuck was safe.
Sarah was jolted out of her thoughts by the sudden sound of gunfire. She bolted upright, ignoring the urge to vomit again. People were shouting now, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. The chaos ended as suddenly as it came and everything was quiet again.
What the hell is going on? Sarah tried to reach for the knife she always had hidden in the waistband of her pants, but it wasn't gone. Who was she kidding? Fulcrum would have made sure to strip her of all her weapons. A shadow passed over her shack and the small door to her left was violently flung open. A large man with a mask walked in carrying a gun. Sarah sat up as straight as she could and put on brave face. She looked up to her captor and was about to say something when he raised his gun to her.
Day 584 7:00 PM (Chuck)
"Ellie is going to kill me!" Chuck hastily organized the papers on his desk, grabbed his coat, and hurried out of the building. His sister was throwing Morgan a birthday party and he was supposed to be there a half hour ago. He lost track of time at work and still had to go home and change.
"Goodnight, Mr. Bartowski," the janitor said as Chuck jogged past him.
"You too, Steve," he offered over his shoulder as he opened the door. Chuck was leaving the office later and later these days. His company was putting the finishing touches on a huge project that he was pretty influential in creating. Everyone told him he was going to be promoted at the launch party in a few days, but Chuck didn't want to get his hopes up. Either way, he loved his job. It was so much better that working at the Buy More.
By the time he reached his apartment he had two missed calls from Ellie and a text message from Awesome asking him to pick up more ice on his way to the party. He changed his clothes, wrapped Morgan's gift, and was ready to leave when he heard a soft chirping coming from his computer. He was going to ignore it, but he found himself walking over to it and seeing two people he never really wanted to see again.
"Hello, Mr. Bartowski."
"General Beckman. Director Graham. Nice to see you again," he lied. "Uh, how can I help you?"
Graham and Beckman exchanged a look, and then Graham addressed him. "We have a situation. It's not safe for you right now. I made a promise to Agent Walker that I would exhaust all options before putting you into protective custody and in order for me to do that, I need you to cooperate with us."
Chuck tried to swallow the fear rising in his stomach. This wasn't happing. He thought he was done with this life. "What's going on?"
"We have reason to believe that your identity as the intersect may be revealed."
"How is that possible? Was Bryce captured?"
"No. Agent Larkin is still working to take down Fulcrum."
"Then h-," Chuck trailed off. There were only five people that knew he was the intersect; Sarah, Casey, Bryce, Graham, and Beckman. If three of them were fine, that left Casey and Sarah. He didn't want to think about what was happening to them if there was a chance his identity could be revealed.
"There is no reason to panic Mr. Bartowski," Beckman said. "We just want to take precautions to ensure you're safety and the safety of the intersect. We are sending an agent to look after you. Do whatever he says. If you don't cooperate we will be forced to take you into custody. Do you understand?"
Chuck only nodded. The transmission ended and he sat down on his bed. This was not happening. He was worried about Sarah and Casey. And he was worried about what was going to happen to him if Fulcrum learned who he was.
"Don't freak out."
Day 587 3:00 AM (Sarah)
"Come on Sarah. You know how to make this stop. Just tell me where Larkin is."
Sarah watched as the man in front of her took out a handkerchief and wiped her blood off his knuckles. It took all her energy to keep focused and she could hardly process what he was saying. She knew what he wanted though. Bryce. Even if she knew where Bryce was she wouldn't tell him. Protecting him meant protecting Chuck. He could do whatever he wanted to her, but she wouldn't talk. She was pretty sure he knew that too. Too bad it wouldn't stop him.
The man walked up to her and hit her again. Her head whipped to the side and she heard something in her neck crack.
"This is the last time I'm going to ask. Tomorrow I won't be as nice. Where's Bryce Larkin?"
Sarah spit the blood out of her mouth and smirked at the man. "You're going to have to try harder than that." She regretted the words the moment they were out of the mouth, but the look on his face was almost worth all the pain that was about to come her way.
Day 587 12:45 PM (Chuck)
This was the last thing Chuck needed to happen today. When he went home on his lunch break he found that a pipe burst in his apartment and everything was drenched. The maintenance people said they needed to replace the carpets and make sure there would be no mold damage. He had to move back in with his sister until they finished the renovations.
He was setting up his old room with the few things he was able to salvage from his apartment. Ellie went to buy him a new suit for his party tonight and Awesome rushed off to the hospital after getting a page. It was eerily quiet in the apartment and he was a little on edge. He'd been a little jumpy since Beckman and Graham contacted him. The new agent hadn't showed up yet. Chuck was partly happy about that. He wanted to keep the government out of his life for as long as possible, but he knew he would feel safer once the agent arrived.
He heard the faint click of the front door and froze. There was no way that could be Ellie or Awesome. He scanned the room for something he could use as a weapon, but found nothing. Deciding escape was his best option; Chuck ran to his window and was halfway out when he heard a chuckle from behind him.
"Still haven't grown a spine, huh Bartowski?"
"Casey!"
Chuck stepped back into the room and hugged Casey. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see you!"
Casey grunted and pushed Chuck off him. Chuck took in his appearance. He had a faded bruise on the right side of his face and a small cut above his left eye. Then it hit him. If Casey was
here . . . .
"Where's Sarah?"
"That's classified."
"You and her were the only two unaccounted for. If you're here then she's the reason I may be in danger. And that means she's in danger."
"Walker can take care of herself. You're the intersect, we need to keep you safe."
"Casey, please just tell me what's going on."
The other man hesitated then sighed. "Walker and I were in Panama chasing down a Fulcrum agent. It was a trap. They captured us and held us in different rooms. The shacks they put us in were old. I was able to pry the chains from the wall and escaped. I tried to get to Walker, but her shack was on the opposite side of the facility. They opened fire and I ran."
Chuck could tell that Casey was upset. Running away was not something Casey liked to do, especially when he had to leave someone behind. "We have to go back. We have to save her!"
"A team was sent down there to get her. The only thing we have to do is stay here and not draw attention to ourselves."
"What's the cover for you being here?" Chuck didn't like that they weren't going to do anything to save Sarah, but he knew there was no point in fighting.
"My job in Seattle didn't pan out. I moved back into my old apartment and am looking for a new job."
"Well I guess it's a good thing my new apartment flooded. We don't have any openings in our building. It would have been hard for you to keep tabs on me," Chuck said sarcastically.
"Oh yeah. Sorry about that."
"What!? You flooded my apartment?"
"Like you said. It would have been hard to keep tabs on you."
Day 587 12:45 PM (Sarah)
Sarah woke up to the sound of dripping water. There was a leaky pipe outside her new cell that she used to get water. After the gunfight on her first day here Fulcrum moved her to a different holding area. This one was underground. It was cold. Sarah didn't really feel it though. Her whole body felt numb. She welcomed it though. As soon as the shock to her system wore off, Sarah was pretty sure she would feel the beating she got last night.
Surprisingly, there was no guard outside her cell. There had been the day before. It was probably just a change in shift. The new one would probably be here soon. It's not like she could go anywhere. Three of the four walls were rock, probably part of an old cave. The fourth wall was bulletproof glass. Even if she did get out and got past the guards, she wouldn't make it very far. Sarah didn't think she could stand on her own let alone mount an escape.
She leaned her head against the cold stone and closed her eyes. She was so tired of all this. If she made it out of here she was done. She would do what she needed to keep Chuck safe, but nothing more. No more knife fights. No more running for her life. No more killing. She smiled. A normal life. It sounded so nice. What made it better was that it would be a normal life with Chuck.
Sarah wondered what it would be like. Would they get married? Would they have kids? Would she get a new job or still work in some capacity for the CIA? Not that any of that really mattered, just being with Chuck was enough.
There were footsteps outside. They were heavy. It was probably the man coming to take her for another interrogation session. Probably the last one. Fulcrum wouldn't waste too much time with her. If she didn't tell them about Bryce today, Sarah was pretty sure they would kill her. It was strange thinking about a future with Chuck and in the next moment knowing she was going to die in a matter of minutes.
Sarah took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was trying to find some kind of peace. All she wanted was for Chuck to be safe when this was all over. It was comforting knowing that Graham and Beckman wanted Fulcrum gone as much as she did. They would not stop until they were obliterated. The footsteps were getting louder. They were almost to her door. She closed her eyes again and pictured Chuck. He was the last thing she wanted to see.
The footsteps stopped and the door flew open.
"Agent Walker?"
Sarah's eyes flew open. He was CIA. She knew him. They had worked together before. "Agent Summers?"
"I need to get you out of here. Can you walk?"
"Not really."
The agent helped her to her feet and half carried her out of the facility. There was a helicopter waiting for her outside. There were at least fifty CIA and NSA agents that she could see. This was it. They would capture almost all of the last Fulcrum agents.
"Where am I going?"
"Hospital," Summers shouted above the noise of the helicopter. He helped her into it then started to back away.
"No. I need to get to Los Angeles."
"Director Graham told me you'd say that."
Sarah stared at him until he caved. "Fine. The helicopter will take you to an airstrip where you'll board a plane that will take you to LA. At least let one of the doctor's take a look at you on the way."
Sarah smiled. "Thank You."
Day 587 10:00 PM (Chuck)
Chuck was tired of hearing the word "congratulations". To be completely honest, he didn't care about the promotion anymore. He was worried about Sarah. Casey said the CIA would save her, but something in his tone made Chuck think that even he wasn't so sure. He didn't even want to be at this party, but he knew it was important to keep up appearances.
He escaped to the balcony and welcomed the cool air against his face. Looking out at the city lights made him feel empty. Sarah had a similar view from her old apartment. For the first time, he seriously doubted if he'd ever get to see her again. Before it was just a fleeting thought in his mind, but now it seemed more like a real possibility. What would he do if she died? He couldn't love anyone else. He didn't want to. The weight of the thought made him want to curl into a ball bawl like a baby. If he had any more alcohol in him there was a chance he might actually just do that. Instead he just rest his elbows against the railing and continued to look out at the city lights.
Day 587 10:05 PM (Sarah)
It took all Sarah's willpower not to run through the ballroom in order to find Chuck. It was still hard for her to walk, but the sleep she got on the plane helped. It took a lot of make-up to hide her bruises and make her look presentable, but she thought she did a pretty good job. It was odd to think about the day's events. This afternoon she was sitting in a cell thinking she was going to die and now she was in an evening gown at a swanky LA party looking for Chuck. Her life was strange.
Sarah had scanned the room twice, but saw no sign of Chuck. She walked over to the bar, but he wasn't there either. She turned around to ask someone, then caught a glimpse of a figure on the balcony. She quickly made her way towards the door. Sarah opened it as quietly as she could and stepped through.
Day 587 10:10 PM (Chuck)
It was probably time he got back to the party. After all, it was his party. He'd make the rounds one last time, thank his bosses, and then head home early. For some reason he couldn't make himself move. He was rooted to the floor. A few more minutes of air wouldn't hurt.
Chuck could faintly hear the music from the band. He had never been a huge fan of classical music, but tonight it seemed oddly fitting. The sliding balcony door opened then closed quietly. Still he didn't move. Whoever it was probably just came out for a smoke break. He waited another moment, took a deep breath, and turned around.
