Thanks for the reviews. Your dedication is unrivaled. Apparently taking that long of a break discourages all of you, so I'll do my best to update quicker. The ideas I've been storing for quite some time are finally coming to fruition, so hopefully it will inspire me to write faster.
I do not own Chuck.
February 16, 2005
Shaw carefully lifts out the four discs neatly aligned within a tray from the inside of the lockbox they just opened with the key they acquired from the last mission. He pulls out the last disc and places the tray containing the three remaining discs onto the table. "Upload these immediately," Shaw states before disappearing. The remaining spies share a skeptical look with each other because of Shaw's abrupt exit with one of the discs. Casey overlooks Shaw's disappearance as he takes the tray and brings it to the computer mainframe.
"I'll scan it for malware," Chuck follows Casey to the computer system to upload the discs.
Sarah is still skeptical of Shaw for everything he has done so far. She knows everyone wants to know why Shaw took the last disc, but knows no one is willing to confront him. But she is a confrontational person. When someone does something completely inconsiderate or foolish, she isn't afraid to call them on it. She doesn't do it to spite the person, but to teach the person for future references. And Shaw is being inconsiderate for taking a disc that could have vital intel and disappearing without any explanation.
Sarah walks through the corridors of Castle until she nears the room Shaw is in. She hears a female voice solemnly declare, "I love you, Danny."
"I love you, too," Shaw whispers sensitively as Sarah enters the room to see his hand against the monitor as if he could touch whatever he's watching as his head is lowered in somberness.
"What's on the disc, Shaw?" Sarah demands skeptically.
Shaw sighs tiredly as he turns the monitor to show a frozen image of an attractive brunette woman. "The agent inside the Ring," Shaw explains painfully, "the agent who collected all this data… is Agent Evelyn Shaw; Eve…" Shaw gets choked up at the words, "and she is my wife. She left me a message," Shaw explains as he grounds his emotions. "You can listen to it if you want," Shaw pops the disc out and opens his palm out to her with the disc resting atop it. "I just miss her so much."
"I'm sorry," Sarah responds sincerely as she softens at the realization that Shaw has human emotions. "I know how tough it is to have someone you care about in constant danger."
"I still ask myself if I made a mistake in falling for another agent," Shaw sadly ponders.
February, 16, 2005
"You ready to reveal the names of hundreds of Ring agents?" Chuck quips as everyone is gathered around the table inside Castle.
"Just play it," Casey grumbles from his seat. Chuck starts the download and the first image appears of a young man with dark wavy hair and brown eyes. Below the picture, it labels him as George Kelso, Ring Agent along with his most recent location. After a few seconds, the next Ring agent appears; an aging woman with silver streaks in her red hair.
"This is going to take a while," Bryce rolls his eyes dreadfully after realizing the pattern of fifteen seconds between each agent. "Wake me up when it's over," he quips as he shuts his eyes and crosses his arms in mock sleep before sobering up.
The next agent appears and Chuck lazily glances up to see another picture of someone he doesn't recognize, but he feels a flash course through his brain. It has been awhile since he allowed a flash to upload the information to his brain because he's been hiding the fact that he is also an Intersect from Shaw.
A grass field on a clear sunny day.
NSA Agent James Montrose.
Three years of field service. Distinguished Service Medal.
Two years on Secret Service for the Secretary of Defense.
A grass field on a clear sunny day.
Chuck perks up suddenly, nearly forgetting that Shaw can't know he has an Intersect when Bryce speaks up enthusiastically. "I just flashed!" Bryce glances around at everyone. "He's an NSA Agent and was on the Secret Service for a couple years."
No mention of being a Ring agent in the Intersect, Chuck ponders curiously after his flash. Must be my Intersect is outdated, he surmises.
"Most of these agents are going to have a U.S. military background," Shaw explains confidently. "That's the worst part about the Ring. They've turned good American citizens."
The next picture shows up and passes with no stipulations. Six agents later, the image of a bald man with dark brown eyes appears on the screen. "No," Chuck gasps as he sees the familiar face of Vincent Smith. "But he's dead," Chuck continues in confusion.
"You know him?" Shaw questions curiously.
"He… He's part of Fulcrum—was part of Fulcrum," Chuck explains flabbergasted at seeing someone who has evaded death multiple times now. "How could he survive? He was in the bombing…"
"Maybe he escaped like you," Sarah supplies unsurely.
"He had to of," Chuck agrees. "But why is he here with Ring agents? He was Fulcrum."
"Many Fulcrum agents were part of the Ring," Shaw explains knowledgeably. "He could've been working for the Ring the entire time."
"We need to find him!" Chuck demands in awe as an idea just strikes him. "He's the one who killed Graham. Not me! We can prove my innocence!" Sarah's eyes widen at the revelation. If they can find Smith and make him confess, they won't need to run away.
"We don't have time for a side mission," Shaw explains with no remorse. "We have to put that on hold until the Ring is stopped."
"No!" Chuck stands up in protest. "This is my only chance! We have his information and location, but he won't stay in the same place for very long. Please," Chuck nearly begs, "this is my best chance."
"I'm sorry, Chuck, but this'll have to wait," Shaw remains stoic and uncaring for Chuck's personal wellbeing.
"This is bullshit," Chuck huffs angrily as he storms out of the room.
"Chuck!" Sarah hollers as she follows after him. She finally gets Chuck to stop at the end of the hallway.
"This isn't fair," Chuck sighs exasperatedly.
"I know," Sarah gently places her hand on his chest to calm him.
"I don't care what Shaw says, I'm going to find Vincent and get him to confess," Chuck declares confidently.
"Then I'm in," Sarah nods with the same confidence without even a slight hesitation. "I'll do whatever it takes. You know that, right?"
"I do," Chuck smiles gratefully. "And thank you." He brings his voice down to a whisper, "I so want to kiss you right now."
"I know," she whispers back with an elated smile. "And I so want to kiss you back."
"Maybe Bryce and Jesse will help too," Chuck hopes optimistically.
"I'm sure they will," Sarah beams at Chuck.
"Should we inform Beckman?" Chuck wonders.
"No," Sarah states adamantly. "If we prove your innocence, she won't have any leverage on us."
"You know," Chuck lets out a quick laugh, "it's kind of funny because we don't need leverage. I'm happy being a spy."
"Me too," Sarah grins as she has to fight the urge to jump into his arms and devour his lips in heated passion.
February 16, 2005
"Thank you guys for helping me," Chuck states honestly towards Bryce and Jesse inside Castle late at night.
"No problem, man," Bryce assures amiably.
"You know we'd do anything for you, Chuck," Jesse grins joyously as she straps a bulletproof vest around her torso.
"Again, thank you, guys," Chuck reiterates in elation as he slides a recording device into his back pocket.
"This should be a simple mission," Sarah explains as she straps the belt of throwing knives around her right thigh. "We sneak into the building, capture him, and interrogate him."
"What's the layout?" Jesse asks.
"One story mansion," Sarah answers.
"Yea, apparently working for Fulcrum and the Ring is a high paying job," Chuck quips.
"I think the correct words are 'apparently crime does pay,'" Bryce revises jokingly. Everyone else rolls their eyes incredulously.
"There're most likely going to be a few sentries and guards, but we should be able to sneak past them," Sarah continues her mission plans.
"Quick and stealthy," Bryce muses with an ecstatic grin. "That sounds fun."
"Don't get cocky," Chuck smiles teasingly as he slides a thick black turtleneck shirt over his vest.
"Never," Bryce snorts haughtily.
Sarah starts handing out silencers for each person's pistol. As she hands Chuck a silencer, his hand trembles with fear. "I know," she whispers soothingly, "you don't like killing, Chuck. And I don't expect you to kill, but you need to defend yourself. You know I can't… I can't lose you, Chuck… I just can't," her eyes start to well up with tears.
"You're right," Chuck pulls her into a tight hug as he runs his hand up and down her back to calm her. "I'd be foolish not to at least carry a weapon, but you know I won't use it unless absolutely necessary."
"That's all I ask," she squeezes onto him tightly. She quietly whispers, "I love you."
"I love you too," he responds into her ear before they release the embrace. He looks over his team and grins. "You guys ready?"
"Yep," Jesse perks up as she slides her silenced Beretta M9 into the holster on her hip of the tactical pants she is wearing. The entire team, dressed in black tactical outfits with Kevlar vests, head towards the entrance of Castle when Casey appears, blocking their path.
"Casey?" Chuck squeaks in shock.
"Going somewhere?" Casey raises an eyebrow as he crosses his arms over his chest.
"I'm capturing Smith and proving my innocence," Chuck answers simply, not letting Casey scare him otherwise. "You're not stopping me, Casey."
"You made three crucial mistakes," Casey stands up tall and brooding. "You didn't realize I tailed you here, you don't have nearly enough firepower…" At his second point, everyone's eyebrows furrow slightly. "And last, you didn't ask me to join."
"Casey," Chuck is shocked by his words as his tone comes out almost childish, "would you like to help us clear my name?"
"You've proved your loyalty to your country and deserve to be exonerated for what you've unrightfully been accused of."
"Is that a yes?" Sarah asks with a completely confused perplexed expression.
"Under one condition," Casey grumbles, "I'm bringing my M82 sniper rifle."
Chuck looks back at his teammates to gauge their responses before turning back to Casey. "Well, I don't see any problems with that. Guys?"
"Not a problem," Bryce remarks with a shrug.
February 16, 2005
Casey breathes in and slowly releases his breath as he peers through the scope of his suppressed M82 sniper rifle atop a grassy knoll a few hundred feet south of the mansion. "I count six sentries," Casey explains into his microphone headset over his ears with a small mic in front of his mouth. "Two on the east, two on the south, and two on the west."
"We're sneaking in on the west side," Chuck informs Casey from his and Sarah's hidden post just outside the compound. The mansion is rectangular and stacked with two floors with a grand dual stairwell in the south entrance and a large Italian style fountain on the west side.
"We're coming in on the south," Bryce informs Casey from his and Jesse's hidden position a few meters off the compound.
"I'll let you know when it's clear," Casey whispers into his microphone as he blinks his eyes and wipes the bead of sweat smearing his black makeup along his face keeping him invisible to the naked eye. He watches calmly as the two sentries on the west side split up to circumvent the fountain. Casey sucks in his breath and fills his lungs with enough oxygen to steady his aim. He lines up the shot two inches above the target and three inches to the right to make up for the moving target. One swift squeeze of the trigger and the subsonic bullet fires out of the barrel of his rifle, spiraling towards its target. Casey's rifle jumps from the power of the chamber firing as he re-steadies the rifle to take out the other enemy.
The bullet spirals rapidly towards its target until it tears through the enemy's skull, a spatter of blood spraying out the opposite side. The body falls silently to the ground as the other sentry hears the faint noise of his partner dropping. He looks over to see nothing but the water gracefully brimming down the fountain and his brow furrows deeply. Before he can contemplate where his partner has gone, a dimmed down muzzle flash from atop the grassy knoll south of the mansion reveals a bullet that tears through his chest and blows him back to the floor.
"The west is clear," Casey updates Chuck and Sarah.
"Roger that," Sarah responds as she and Chuck step out of the bushes and head towards the mansion.
Casey quickly sweeps his scope to the left to locate the two south sentries, who have no idea that two of his friends are now deceased.
Chuck warily steps around the sentry with a hole in his chest. "Wow, I knew Casey was a marine but who knew he was a master sniper?"
"He had two tours with the Navy Seals," Sarah describes, "where his main position was a cover sniper. Some of his file was redacted, but I'm guessing he was part of Seal Team Six."
"Wow," Chuck sighs in awe, "Casey is the ultimate badass."
"More badass than me?" Sarah quips with a pout.
"No one's as badass as you," Chuck replies with a smile. "Plus, you're definitely sexier than him."
"I better be," She gives him a peck on the lips. "Now get focused and ready your aim."
"Okay," Chuck hesitantly slides his silenced H&K USP .45 out of its holster.
"Only use it if you have to," Sarah supplies to comfort him. She knows he hates using guns because the notion of taking a life is too great for him.
Casey chuckles gleefully as he watches the second sentry on the south entrance collapse from the bloody explosion in his chest. "South is a go," Casey informs Bryce and Jesse.
"Thanks, Casey," Bryce and Jesse head up the stairwells to the front entrance.
Chuck and Sarah hurry to the breaker box. "Sarah," Chuck asks sweetly. She quickly pulls out her lock pick set and goes to work. Within thirty seconds, she pops off the Master key lock and opens the breaker box.
"Your turn," Sarah perkily states as she steps out of the way. Chuck pulls out a small electronic device with a four inch screen and plugs it into the breaker. Sarah is flabbergasted by the speed of his typing as she doesn't know the first thing to do when hacking into a system's surveillance and security.
"And… we're good," Chuck quips as he taps a single button on the device. "Ta da! Now there security system is down, but they will have no idea until it is too late."
"God, I love it when you talk nerd," Sarah sighs suggestively.
"Not even a mission is sacred?" Casey grumbles in disgust.
"Sorry," Chuck mumbles embarrassedly while Sarah giggles as she picks the lock to the door to enter the mansion. As they both get inside, they find themselves in the center of a north to south hallway. "We should split up," Chuck informs her. "You go get Bryce and Jesse in. I'll go this way," he points towards the north.
"Are you sure?" She asks with glaring concern.
"Yea," Chuck smiles at her, knowing the feelings coursing through her. "Don't worry," he taps his ear, "I'll be on radio contact."
"Okay," she nods tentatively. "Just be careful."
"I will," Chuck smiles at her before heading north as she heads south.
Chuck stalks through the laminated hallway as he reaches the end. He finds a door on his left and cautiously enters with his gun aimed first. He recalls his training with Bryce when they had to infiltrate the kill house so long ago. He makes sure to keep his eyes peeled for anything that could help him as he enters another empty hallway. Given the pattern, he believes that the mansion must be squared with a hallway along each facet. He continues through the hallway, ensuring to duck below the windows just in case a sentry happens to look inside. He finds a door halfway through the hallway and ponders on how to approach. He looks around and finds a small framed picture hanging on the wall and slides it under the door to see if he can see anything off the reflection. The room is dark, but he can make out the shapes of a bed and a couple drawers.
He quickly puts the picture frame back before turning back to the door. He quietly and slowly spins the doorknob until he hears the faint click of the bolt sliding into the door. He silently opens the door to see the hallway light illuminate the room in a soft glow. There are distinctive lumps in the bed that give the illusion of a person. Chuck raises his gun to shoulder level as he aims at the bed. He creeps forward when he hears the distinctive click of a bullet being chambered into a handgun. Not again. "I really hate that sound," Chuck remarks as he lowers his gun in resignation.
"Who are you?" The voice demands from behind him. "Turn around slowly and drop your weapon. Chuck follows the orders and lets his gun clack to the hardwood floor before turning around. "You!" Vincent gasps as he sees the CIA agent turned Fulcrum.
"I could say the same thing," Chuck replies patronizingly. "I didn't think anyone survived that blast but me."
"And Roark," Vincent smirks evilly. "That was quite clever of you; saving Roark only to arrest him."
"How'd you know Roark was alive?" Chuck demands in shock that Vincent would know anything about Roark.
"And why should I tell you?" Vincent questions snootily.
"Professional courtesy," Chuck responds cordially. "You have the gun pointed at me. The least I deserve is to know a few things before I die."
Vincent smirks victoriously, "The Ring is closer than you think. We knew Roark survived almost the minute he was arrested. I even had the honor of killing him. All he did was smile and succumb."
"And Graham," Chuck tries his best to stay calm about it. "You killed Langston Graham and pinned it on me. Don't even try to deny it."
"It would be unprofessional not to," Vincent states seriously. "You're correct. Graham was an obstacle in our way and I killed him. It was Roark's idea to pin it on you, which was quite ingenious. You have to give it to Roark, he was a criminal mastermind. It's just too bad he had to hide it behind his foolishly humorous exterior."
"Thank you for that," Chuck grins subtly. "It's nice to hear someone believe me finally."
"It was my pleasure," Vincent studies his gun almost admiringly. "You know… they teach you in the Ranger force to fire two consecutive shots in the same exact spot. They call it 'double tap.' It can do exponentially more damage than two shots in separate areas. Don't worry, you won't feel a thing. I'll aim for your heart."
"It would be unprofessional not to," Chuck borrows Vincent's words as he counts down the seconds till Sarah, Bryce, and Jesse come save him.
Vincent nods respectfully as he fires two quick shots to Chuck's chest. Chuck falls backwards and lands on his back from the thunderous shots.
"It's over," Sarah says bitterly from behind Vincent as she enters the room.
"I should've expected backup," Vincent lowers his weapon as he turns to his captor. "Isn't today just full of surprises," he smiles at the familiar blonde woman. "I have to hand it to the CIA. They know deception."
Bryce walks over and restrains Vincent while Jesse checks on Chuck. "How is he?" Sarah asks as Jesse tears Chuck's shirt apart. Sarah quickly walks over and kneels over Chuck.
"Took two in the chest, but his vest stopped them," Jesse answers as she pulls the mushroom-shaped bullets from his chest.
Suddenly, Chuck starts choking as he puts his hands to his chest. "Damn," he chokes out, "that hurts like a bitch."
Sarah smiles down at him; relief written all over her face. "Are you alright?" She asks sweetly as she runs her hand down his cheek.
"You couldn't come one minute earlier?" He quips as he slowly regains his voice and breath.
"Sorry," Sarah purses her lips with a grin, "one of the guards just happened to take a bathroom break as I was letting Bryce and Jesse in. You're okay?"
"Yea, I'll live," he smiles up at her. "Plus, I got the confession," he pulls out the recording device from his back pocket. He beams a big smile at her. "We're free." She plants a passionate kiss on his lips.
February 17, 2005
"That was reckless! Foolish! Irresponsible!" Beckman nearly shouts in anger at her team sitting around Castle as she exhausts the expletives coming to her mind. "You disobeyed a direct order!"
"General—" Chuck tries to speak, but she cuts him off.
"Agent Carmichael! I don't care about your personal issues and you could've endangered the team," Beckman continues lividly. "I put Shaw in order and you've forced me to put my own plans on hold for this."
"But General—" Chuck tries but fails again at explaining.
"I should imprison you for disobedience! For treason!" Beckman shouts furiously. Chuck isn't even sure if she took a breath since starting her rant. "This better not happen again! I had to put the damn President on hold for you! You want to explain yourself?"
"General, ma'am," Chuck has found it best to suck up to her when she is angry, "Smith was not only the one who killed Graham but he also killed Roark. I have audio confession that will hold up in court. Graham deserved justice and now he has it. Plus…" Chuck takes a deep breath as he knows how much she is going to dislike this. Using Sarah's hypotheses, he adds in, "You would've just hung that murder over my head for the rest of my life. You would've made me your puppet or you'd threaten me with imprisonment or death if I didn't comply. Don't even deny it. I know how your thought process works; country always comes first. So, I am not going to sit here and be admonished for freeing myself from my binds. And I won't apologize for what I had to do. But I will continue to help this team and this country until I feel like my time has come to relinquish my position to younger, more capable agents," Chuck finishes with his chest slightly puffed out as the confidence exudes from his body like a heavenly glow.
"Fine," Beckman huffs as she blows out a strand of red hair that fell in front of her face from her outrage earlier. "But this will not happen again. You hear me?"
"Yes, ma'am," Chuck nods honestly.
"And Major?" Beckman turns her gaze to him. "I'm disappointed in you." She ends the feed before anyone else can retort her words.
"That really was reckless, Chuck," Shaw states disappointedly. "I specifically said that we don't have time for side missions."
"Well, we did it in one night, so I'd say we did have time," Chuck condescendingly responds, knowing he just put Shaw in his place.
February 17, 2005
Shaw catches up with Bryce after the quick debriefing, which was more an admonishing than anything else. "Bryce," Shaw sincerely greets.
"Yea?" Bryce turns to give his attention to the raven-haired man.
"I can't approve of your actions to help Carmichael," Shaw declares gently.
"I didn't ask for your approval," Bryce retorts coldly.
"That's not what I meant," Shaw quickly mutters. "It's just you're too important to go on these dangerous missions that don't help in our war against the Ring. You're the Intersect and you're the most important person on this team. We need to make sure you're as safe and content as possible. Going on rogue missions is not the way."
"Thank you, but I'm fine," Bryce replies kindly.
"Well that's good to hear," Shaw smiles brightly as he cordially places his hand on Bryce's shoulder. "We don't want to lose our best asset in the fight against the Ring."
February 17, 2005
"Yes, right there… oh yea…" Chuck sighs in pleasure as Sarah moves the icepack just over his heart inside Castle. Sarah is standing right behind him as he sits in a chair at the table. "You don't know how good that feels."
"If you need any more healing, I could think of a few other things," she whispers into his ear in a sexy murmur.
"Don't even tempt me, babe," Chuck replies out of habit.
"Chuck," Sarah states warningly as she pulls back.
"Sorry," Chuck sighs remorsefully. "It just came out. I think I got a little too comfortable on that last mission."
"Me too," she replies knowingly as she felt overly spoiled on the cruise ship mission. "But we have to be more careful. I know that we're safe from Beckman, but I still don't trust Shaw. There is still something about him that I just… don't like."
"I know," Chuck grins teasingly. "He does have that weird 'I look like I'm Superman' thing going for him."
"Shut up," she playfully smacks him with the icepack right over his bruises.
"Augh!" Chuck chokes out from the pain.
"Sorry," she pouts adorably as she places her chin on his shoulder.
"It's okay," Chuck replies kindly. "Honestly, I think you're just being paranoid."
"Well, he's secretive, he never goes out in the field with us, he's tried hitting on me—"
"That's not fair," Chuck interrupts. "You're absolutely gorgeous."
"Not the point, but thank you," Sarah deadpans. "But he was just… creepy in how he hit on me by using my first name. Then he started using everyone else's first name. Oh," Sarah chuckles repulsively, "did you know that his agent inside the Ring is his wife?"
"And he still hit on you?" Chuck furrows his brow.
"Yea," Sarah huffs exasperatedly.
"Okay, that may be just a teensy bit creepy," Chuck agrees with the love of his life as he pinches his thumb and forefinger to empower his words.
"That's what I thought," Sarah rolls her eyes with a grin on her lips.
"All I know is we're finally free," Chuck perkily states with pure optimism.
"To work for the same people," Sarah deadpans teasingly.
"Yea, but we're free," Chuck happily states with his arms thrown up in the air. "No more worrying about Beckman forcing us to do her bidding. No worry of cameras hanging over our heads. Now we just need to hide it from Shaw."
"Does that mean I can say I love you right now?" Sarah plays with the idea as she wraps her right hand around his neck to bring her lips close to his cheek.
"It can't hurt," Chuck quips as he turns and plants a gentle kiss on her lips.
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