I uploaded two chapters at the same time, so if you haven't read Ch9 yet, you may be a little lost...
Keeping to the smaller corridors, Tommy had managed to lead the group away from their pursuers and to the Foundry, just as Chuck had ordered. They entered the area, a huge production room that had sat vacant and unused for decades. Chuck nodded when he recognized the room from the Intersect data.
"This is it, all right," Chuck said, handing Tommy his gun back. "Okay, Tommy, he's all yours."
Bryce and Sarah both erupted simultaneously. "WHAT?"
Chuck looked at Sarah. "We had a deal."
"You're giving Bryce to him? Chuck, have you lost your mind?"
"Sarah, it's the only way. Believe me." Chuck looked her in the eye. Sarah saw something there, something she recognized. It was the look they shared on the beach, that first night they met. Sarah decided to go along with Chuck.
"If you say so," she said, stepping back.
"You're really doing this, Chuck?" Bryce asked.
Chuck nodded sadly. "If it makes you feel any better, we can call it even now."
"Even?" Bryce wailed. "This is beyond even, Chuck. Whatever I did to you was nothing like this. Do you have any idea what he's going to do to me?"
Chuck shrugged. "I'm better off not knowing."
Bryce's expression went cold. He stared at Chuck for a moment, then finally spoke. "I guess this is goodbye, then."
"I guess it is," Chuck said casually, and turned away.
Tommy put a hand on Bryce's shoulder. "Let's go, Larkin." Bryce lingered for a moment, then allowed himself to be pulled along with Tommy. Chuck's voice called out after him.
"Bryce."
Bryce stopped and turned. Chuck stared at Bryce wistfully. "We'll always have Poughkeepsie," he said.
There was a flash of recognition on Bryce's face, gone a moment later. He nodded somberly and followed Tommy again. They turned down a hallway and were gone.
Chuck turned to Sarah. "I know you've got a lot of questions. And I know this isn't the way you're used to things going. But I've got to ask you to stick with me for a little while longer. Can you do that?"
"You've got a hell of a lot of explaining to do, Chuck."
"Is that a yes?"
"It's a yes."
"Good," Chuck said. "Then help me with this." He handed the vest to Sarah, and pulled one of the bricks of C-4 off. He tore into the brick, ripping it open to reveal a detonator.
Sarah laughed. "Hiding a detonator inside C-4," she said. "Aren't you the clever one."
"Actually, most of it is clay," Chuck replied. "This," he said, pulling another brick off," is the only real one. Can you wire it?"
"I'm on it. What are we blowing up?"
"Interesting thing about this facility," Chuck said, as he looked through the equipment. "It was an engine production plant during World War II. The Foundry part of it required an elaborate venting system that stretched throughout the entire facility. As a result, an explosion in the Foundry would easily cause a fire throughout every section of the plant. So, they installed a blast door system back then that would be triggered by a seismic event in the Foundry. It locks down all the major areas of the plant."
Sarah finished wiring the C-4 and handed it to Chuck.
"So," Chuck continued, finding an appropriate spot and placing the C-4. "Casey is off finding us some transportation out of here under the pretense that he's looking for us. If everything has gone according to plan, he'll be here at 8:15. There's a supply tunnel for the Foundry that runs all the way out of the facility and dumps out close to where we came in. Then, at 8:20, when the virus has run its course and the systems come back on line…"
"We detonate the C-4," Sarah said, getting it. "The blast doors drop--"
"And every major Fulcrum leader in the world gets to sit here and wait for the CIA and the NSA to come and get them," Chuck said, smiling. He set the timer on the C-4. "By then, we're long gone."
"I'd like to rip your clothes off right here and now, you know that?" Sarah said.
"Everything in moderation," Chuck grinned.
--
In the guard station, several agents went through the group of bodies.
"Over here," one said.
Milo groaned as one of the agents tore open his uniform to reveal a bulletproof vest. With help, he was able to struggle to his feet. He felt his holster, finding it empty.
"Give me a gun," he growled.
--
Casey shot the Crown Vic through the narrow corridors leading from Dillon's office to the Foundry, feeling the smoothness of the old flathead Ford V-8. And even better, Dillon had installed a few upgrades. Casey tapped a green button on the radio and saw a digital display come up. He dialed a frequency into the radio.
"Bartowski, you there?"
--
Chuck's earpiece came to life, startling him with the sound of Casey's gruff voice. "Casey? I didn't think these things worked at a distance. Are you close?"
"No, I found a long-range transmitter. I'll explain when I get there. You in place?"
"Ready when you are, big guy. Come and get--"
The emergency lights clicked off, and the regular lights came back on. Chuck's heart sank. "Uh, oh."
"Bartowski, you seeing what I'm seeing?"
"Uh… yep. Looks like they recovered from the virus faster than I thought."
"Which means their camera system is back online," Casey grumbled. "You better get ready for company, I'm not going to get to you fast enough."
--
At the guard station, the lights came back on, and the security screens flickered to life. Milo quickly scanned the screens, but came up with nothing. "I don't see them. Is this everything?"
"All the active areas, yes," replied the agent manning the control console.
"What about inactive areas?" Milo asked. The agent punched a few sequences into the computer. A moment later, the screens switched. Milo pointed to one that showed static. "There. Where is that?"
"The Foundry. Probably a bad camera, that room's been sealed off for years."
"Call in all personnel to that location," Milo barked as he rushed out of the room.
--
Sarah looked at the shattered camera.
"Nice shot," Chuck said.
"It won't fool them," Sarah answered. "Maybe it'll buy us a couple minutes. Where's Casey going to turn up?"
Chuck pointed to the far end of the room, to a set of double doors large enough to accommodate a truck. "Through there."
"Okay, you get those doors open, I'll figure out where we can make a stand," Sarah said. Chuck ran to the doors, struggled with the rusty latch, and finally got them to slide open.
Sarah pushed over a metal table so they could get cover behind it, keeping it between the main entrance to the Foundry and their escape route. She ducked behind the table, watching the entrance, as Chuck settled in beside her. They were quiet for a moment, watching the door.
Chuck looked at Sarah. She had her game face on, and was concentrating on the entrance. Even now, bruised and dirty from the past two days, she was so beautiful. And they had made it so far. Just a little bit further, he thought. We're so close. Just a little bit further, and we'll be all right.
"Sarah," he said, quietly.
"Yeah?" she replied.
"I wish things could be different sometimes."
Sarah turned to Chuck. She smiled sadly. She opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a metallic clink.
Sarah peeked out past the edge of the table and saw a metal canister roll into the room, trailing smoke. "Gas," she whispered. "Hold your breath."
Sarah aimed at the ground directly in front of the canister, and shot. The bullet skipped underneath the canister and bounced it right out of the room. They heard panicked yells from just outside the room.
"Did I say 'nice shot' earlier?" Chuck asked. "That one was poetry, Annie Oakley."
Suddenly the room erupted in gunfire. "Well, they know we're here," Sarah said. A few shots rang off the table, leaving dents that imploded inward on their side. Chuck yelped.
"Cease fire!" a voice from outside the room called. The guns went silent. "Walker, we know you're in there." It was Milo's voice.
"Milo!" Sarah called back. "How's the head?" Chuck looked at her questioningly. "I guess we've both got some stories to tell," she whispered.
"We've got plenty of tear gas out here," Milo continued, ignoring her taunt. "But, that stuff really stinks up the place. Why don't you just surrender, and we'll save each other some trouble."
"Sure," Sarah called out. "Come on over, I'll hand you my gun."
"Funny," Milo responded. "Listen, you're worth something to us alive, I'll give you that. But considering the trouble you've given us today, I think it's safe to say no one's going to shed any tears over your death."
"Not even you, Milo?" Sarah asked. "I thought we made a connection back there in my cell."
Chuck scowled. "Yeah, you're going to have to tell me all about that," he whispered.
"I'm giving you three seconds to throw your guns over here by the door. After that, it's out of my hands. One."
"This never goes well for me," Chuck mused.
"Two."
They heard a low hum from behind the double doors. It quickly grew into a throaty growl. Chuck smiled.
"Three. Sorry, Walker."
They heard another metallic clink, but this time Sarah saw something different. She grabbed Chuck by the collar and yanked him towards the double doors.
"COME ON!!"
They took off running, bullets flying past them. Chuck glanced behind them and saw a grenade come to rest a few feet away from where he'd planted the C-4.
"Oh, no."
The grenade went off, and the explosion caused the C-4's detonator to misfire. The C-4 went off a split second later, and the entire facility shook. Chuck and Sarah were lifted off their feet by the force of the second blast, and thrown through the double doors.
Casey saw them drop in front of him, and stood on the brakes. The Crown Vic skidded to a halt a few feet in front of Chuck and Sarah.
"What the hell was that?" Casey asked. "I thought we had five more minutes!"
Chuck and Sarah scrambled to their feet and ran to the Crown Vic, scrambling in through the passenger door. "Just go!" Sarah yelled. Casey floored it.
--
Outside the Foundry, Milo picked himself off the ground with a groan. All in all, it had been a bad couple days for him. He looked around at the rest of the team, who were all recovering from the explosion. He opened his mouth to bark an order, then paused when he heard something.
"What's that noise?"
--
Even over the roar of the engine, Chuck could hear the grinding sound of the blast doors shutting. He looked ahead of them and saw one of the doors slowly closing off their escape route.
"Faster," Chuck said. "You must go faster."
--
Tommy led Bryce out of the golf cart, into the abandoned warehouse where the tunnel had deposited them. Suddenly the ground shook beneath their feet.
"What the hell was that?" Tommy asked.
--
The Crown Vic rocketed towards the closing blast door. Chuck gripped the door's armrest. "We're not going to make it," he said.
"We're going to make it," Casey growled.
"It defies the laws of physics," Chuck whined. "There's no way that an object of this mass is going to gain enough velocity to attain--"
"Good thing I failed Physics," Casey snapped.
The blast door loomed closer; they were almost on top of it. Chuck closed his eyes. Sarah buried her head in his chest. And the Crown Vic--
--Scraped its roof as it passed under the door. Casey howled in triumph. Chuck opened his eyes, gasped for air, and tapped Sarah on the shoulder.
"Sarah," he said. "It's okay. We're safe."
"I know," Sarah responded. "I'm just going to stay like this for a minute, if it's okay with you."
Chuck just smiled and stroked her hair. "It's more than okay with me." He turned and shared a rare grin with Casey.
Casey gripped the steering wheel, elated. "Best mission ever."
--
Tommy stood in the warehouse with Bryce, listening for any other explosions. Satisfied that there would be none, he led Bryce to a corner of the warehouse where a large object was hidden under a cloth cover. He pulled the cover off to reveal a 1971 Buick Centurion convertible.
"Hop in," Tommy said. "You've got a doctor's appointment."
"I don't think so," Bryce said.
Tommy glared at him. "You don't think so? You don't get to think, Larkin. You do what I say, understand?"
Bryce smiled. "I didn't figure it out until Chuck mentioned Poughkeepsie," Bryce said. "See, Chuck came with me to visit a cousin of mine in New York back when we were in school. After a couple of days, we realized that my cousin was the single most boring person in existence."
Tommy shook his head. "I don't see what that has to do with--"
Bryce held up a finger. "I'm getting to it. So, we were stuck out there with my cousin, whose idea of fun was watching reruns of Mama's Family and inhaling paint fumes. Chuck and I played a little game with him. We rewired the remote to the TV with the board from an old cell phone so that when he'd try to change the channel, it would actually speed dial the house phone. We had him running back and forth the entire time we were out there."
Tommy's face went slack with realization. Bryce continued, pulling a device out of his pocket.
"The dead man's switch? It's actually a homing device. While the trigger was depressed, it was off. But once I let go of it in the guard station, it started broadcasting a distress signal to the CIA, along with our location. We're going to be surrounded by the Company's finest in a matter of minutes."
Tommy drew his gun and aimed at Bryce, pulling the trigger. There was an empty click. Bryce covered the distance between them in half a second, slamming his elbow into Tommy's neck. Tommy dropped to his knees. Bryce knocked him out with a blow to the back of the head, and Tommy slumped to the ground.
Bryce picked up Tommy's gun and ejected the clip, finding it empty.
"Attaboy, Chuck. Looks like you proved me wrong after all." He opened the trunk to the Centurion and dropped Tommy in, shutting it. He took a good look at the car. It was in okay shape, but a bit worn from the years.
It was a beat-up old convertible. The perfect kind for a road trip.
One more chapter, and then I think I may do an epilogue.