Sorry for the delay. Thanks to Bill for the beta. Any lack of Charah goodness can be blamed on him. Two or three more chapters I think.

Intersect Command

"Use these to secure Greg's ankle to the desk," Sarah instructed, dangling a pair of handcuffs in front of Chuck's face.

Clenching his teeth, Chuck tore the cuffs from Sarah's grasp. He angrily got on all fours and clipped one loop of the cuffs loosely around the analyst's ankle. The other end was clipped to the metal leg of the bulky computer desk. Once the task was completed, Chuck rose to his feet, turning to face the woman who had betrayed him.

Sarah tightened the grip on her gun, seeing the look in Chuck's eyes. She could clearly read his anger, pain, and determination. Reaching behind her back, she produced another pair of restraints. She handed them to Chuck. He looked at her expectantly.

"Please cuff your hands behind your back," she said.

Chuck blew out an exasperated breath before complying with her instructions. "You're holding a gun to my head, there's really no need for niceties," he growled.

Sarah opened her mouth, as if to deliver some sort of response, but quickly shut it in favor of silence. Chuck didn't notice the spy's conflicted actions. He was too intent on maneuvering things he could not see. Hearing the click of success, he tugged on the molded metal to demonstrate his predicament.

Ignoring Chuck, Sarah turned her attention to the wide mouthed CIA analyst. "I want you to stay here and work on an antidote. Study the code and find some kind of cure. I'm taking Chuck to the Upload Room."

Despite his restrained status, Greg felt the need to protest. "I don't think that's such a good idea. We don't know how his brain will react to another uplink," the analyst said.

"You just stay here and work on a solution. I'll handle the Intersect," Sarah ordered, adjusting her gun.

Greg's eyes widened at the gesture. "Of course. Can't go anywhere even if I wanted to and believe me, there are a lot of places I'd rather be," he stuttered.

"Enough of the mind games Sarah. Let's just get this over with," Chuck interjected, shouldering past her. If she decided to shoot him in the back for insubordination, he didn't care. Nothing mattered to him, at that point in time.

"Fine, Chuck. Lead the way," Sarah acquiesced, holstering her gun. Despite the fact that she was no longer brandishing a deadly weapon, neither man made a move to escape or subdue. Instead, Chuck trudged across the vast computer center and Greg swiveled to face his computer screen.

"Do you even know where you're going," Sarah questioned, coming up behind a befuddled Chuck.

"Of course I know where I'm going," he lied.

"Well, unless the Upload Room has been transported somewhere else, we're going the wrong way," Sarah corrected, grabbing Chuck's elbow.

Her touch was like lighter fluid on a bonfire. Chuck exploded, jerking his body out of Sarah's grasp. In his haste to get away, he lost his balance and stumbled into the wall. Without his hands to brace for impact, Chuck's shoulder took the brunt of the collision. It was a miracle that he managed to stay on his feet.

"What the hell are you doing," Sarah asked, aghast at the scene that played out in front of her eyes.

Chuck rolled himself over so that his back was against the wall. "Don't touch me," he ordered, choppy breath betraying his racing heart. "I don't want you to ever touch me again. If you're going to kill me, get it over with."

Sarah pursed her lips, contemplating the best course of action to calm the erratic man before her. "Look, I don't have time to explain things to you right now but there is an explanation."

Chuck gave a disbelieving snort, pushing himself off of the wall. "Are you trying to tell me that you submitted the corrupt Intersect information and pulled a gun on me but you're still one of the good guys?"

Sarah averted her gaze to the ground. When she returned it to Chuck, he could see despair swimming laps in her pools of vibrant blue. To even further unsettle the newly minted government asset, she said, "I don't know what side I'm on anymore."

"What I do know is that I don't want you to die. We're going to get this contraption out of your brain and go from there," Sarah continued.

"Fine," Chuck exclaimed, not quite sure how to handle the intense situation.

"The room is three doors down on the right," Sarah supplied, letting Chuck take the lead.

Without a word, he followed her instructions. Waiting briefly for Sarah to open the door, the pair entered a darkened command center. Chuck could clearly see the Upload Room through an adjacent door. Sarah led him through that door and to the edge of the white medical chair. With less casualness than she displayed before, Sarah grabbed Chuck's arm and undid his cuffs. Chuck positioned himself on the chair and Sarah strapped him down.

"What's with the handcuffs, if you're not a bad guy," Chuck asked, skeptically.

"I'm sorry about that. I needed to get you in here without a fuss. I'm not sure who's watching or who I can trust," Sarah explained.

Chuck nodded his head, accepting her explanation, but not agreeing with it.

"I'm going to go set everything up. I'll be able to talk to you through the intercom," she explained.

"You do know what you're doing right," Chuck wondered, a hint of nervousness cracking his voice.

"Yes," Sarah answered, as she exited the Upload Room and entered the command center.

Flipping on the power switch and selecting the right computer programs, Sarah prepared the equipment for extraction mode. Making a few more slight adjustments, she grabbed the nearby microphone and employed the intercom.

"Here we go. Just sit back and relax," Sarah said soothingly.

Not waiting for a response from Chuck, she pushed the activation button. Intently, Sarah watched as the room brightened and began displaying images. A special film on the one way mirror prevented viewers in the command center from encoding any information.

Sarah's happiness at the machine's progress was short lived, however. Lights began to flicker, as a loud roar penetrated the room's thick walls. The building shook violently, triggering shrill alarms. Sarah was about to end the upload process when the power went out completely. The emergency lights came on immediately, but Sarah lunged for the Upload Room entrance. Stopping the process with the proper authorization would have allowed for detox images to be displayed. A power failure did not offer the same luxury. Sarah wasn't sure what to expect.

Throwing the door open, Sarah noticed that Chuck's body was arched slightly in the air. His fists were tightly clenched. She hurried to his side and removed the restraining straps. At a closer proximity, Sarah noticed that Chuck was shaking. She had to bring him back to consciousness.

"Chuck,can you hear me?"

His only response was a moan. Sarah struggled with how to revive him. A crazy thought struck her. She had no idea whether it would work, but she placed her hand over Chuck's closed eyes.

"Chuck, open your eyes for me."

"Can't," he mumbled.

"Please try," she urged.

Sarah felt Chuck's eyelashes flutter against her palm. Gradually, she spread her fingers to allow more and more light to filter into his pupils. When his hand swatted hers away, she knew that he was functional.

"What happened," Chuck asked, his voice cracking.

Sarah helped him sit up, saying,"Either someone's attacking the building or there's been some freak explosion. No matter what, we have to get out of here."

"Let's go," he said. Chuck got to his feet, only to plummet to the ground quickly thereafter.

"Chuck," Sarah yelled, scrambling to his side,"What's wrong?"

"Just out of sorts. My feet don't seem to be responding," he said, grabbing his head.

"Let me help. We need to move now," she offered, throwing his arm over her shoulder and hauling him to his feet.

After a few feet of stumbling and adjusting, they found a rhythm. Exiting the command center, Sarah was surprised to see thick smoke filling the hallway.

"Sarah, Chuck," yelled a voice from the other end of the hall.

"Bryce," Chuck shouted over the noise, astonishment prevalent in his tone. Sarah released the hasty grip she had put on her gun, as a head of jet black hair appeared through the smoke.

"What are you doing here," she questioned, equally as astounded by the agent's appearance as Chuck.

"News of the attack leaked out. I came to warn you guys. Looks like I was too late," he said, flashing a cocky grin.

"It's so good to see a friendly face," Chuck exclaimed. His glee at having another helping hand caused him to miss the pained look that briefly graced Sarah's face.

"No time for chit chat, let's get out of here. I have a car waiting outside," Bryce explained, grabbing Chuck's free arm and slinging it over his shoulder.

Together, he and Sarah assisted a weary Chuck down the hallway. Sirens and explosions continued to resonate through the complex. Only the occasional falling ceiling tile impeded their progress, until Sarah stopped abruptly.

"Wait a minute," she said, maneuvering out of Chuck's grasp to face Bryce, "how could you have known we were even here. The information was eyes only."

"I told you, there was a leak," Bryce replied, following Sarah's example and shrugging off Chuck's arm. Chuck placed a hand on the nearest wall to remain upright. The exchange before him tied knots in his stomach. It was like he could sense the impending doom.

Sarah reached for her gun. "That doesn't make sense. It would have had to be from our side. Why wouldn't you call it in," she said, bringing her weapon forward.

Unfortunately, Bryce was faster. He whipped out six inch long piece of molded plastic that strangely resembled a remote control. Two dart-like entities connected to the box by wires struck Sarah's stomach. Her gun clattered to the floor, quickly followed by her body. A grotesque scream broke through the blaring alarms. Sarah's writhing quickly stopped, leaving her body lying motionless on the floor.

"Why did you do that," Chuck asked, astounded by the series of events he had just witnessed. He didn't need to ask what happened. Endless months in a mental institution had familiarized him with the array of non-lethal weapons.

Bryce tucked the taser into one of the hidden compartments in his vest. He looked Chuck straight in the eye, saying, "Because she's rogue. She was going to kill you."

Instinctively, Chuck wanted to defend Sarah. Even though her name was all over the virus ridden Intersect file and she had pulled a gun on him, his gut told him to trust her. There was something about the sorrow in her eyes.

"I don't think tha-," Chuck began saying, only to be cut off by Bryce.

"Chuck, buddy, we don't have time for this. We need to get you somewhere safe. Are you all right to walk now," Bryce inquired.

"I think so," Chuck said, testing his stability.

"What's wrong with you anyway?"

Chuck hesitated. If he didn't fully trust Sarah, he certainly didn't trust Bryce's sudden reappearance, especially after his recent actions. There was no way he could tell him about the Intersect. "Just took a hit to the head during the explosion," Chuck lied.

Bryce eyed Chuck skeptically, but eventually shook his head in acknowledgement. "Well, be careful. It's shouldn't be too much longer to the exit," he encouraged.

Bryce set off down the hall. Chuck trailed behind him, one hand on the wall for guidance. He hesitated when he got to Sarah's prone form. Checking to make sure that Bryce wasn't paying attention, Chuck crouched to the ground. He grabbed Sarah's discarded gun and tucked it into his pant pocket. Adjusting his shirt to cover the protruding metal, Chuck hurried to catch up to Bryce's steady pace.

"You OK," Bryce asked, sensing that something was amiss.

Chuck swallowed heavily, averting his gaze. "Yeah. I just had to slow down for second. I'm still a little dizzy."

Despite Bryce's fast pace, the journey was arduous. He had to stop at every doorway and intersection to make sure the coast was clear. Once they reached the end of the hallway, Bryce motioned for Chuck to take cover next to the door with the giant EXIT sign above it. Chuck complied, folding himself into the corner.

"I'm going to check for any hostiles. There's a black BMW sedan parked fifty yards from our present location. Once I give you the signal, book it. If someone fires at you, run in a zigzag pattern," Bryce instructed, checking his gun and extra ammunition.

"Why would someone shoot at me? Wait, what's the signal? Is it a one, two, three count or something silent," Chuck rambled, as Bryce cautiously opened the door and disappeared.

Several seconds later he heard a faint 'Go' from outside. "Guess that's the signal," Chuck joked, pushing to his feet. Heaving in a deep breath, he threw the door open and ran. Thankfully, no gunfire rained down upon him. In mere seconds, his hand grasped the cool door handle of Bryce's BMW.

Bryce jogged up behind him, brandishing the keys. "Nice running," he te.ased. As they began to pull the doors open, a bullet crashed into the windshield inches from Chuck's terrified body. Both men spun on their heels. Chuck's mouth fell open in surprise. Bryce tightened his jaw.

"You shouldn't play the nice spy Bryce. You should have just shot me when you had the chance," Sarah spat, leaning heavily against the doorjamb Chuck had just exited.

"And you should have stayed down," Bryce fired back, moving around the car toward Chuck, who didn't know whether to dive into the car or jump into Sarah's arms.

Sarah mimicked Bryce's actions, advancing on their location. Her steps were strained, but determination flared in her eyes. She would have intimidated the most experienced spy, so she scared the socks off of Chuck. Bryce, however, seemed unfazed.

He pulled his gun from its holster and stopped several feet from Chuck. Sarah, who's gun had never wavered from its aim on Bryce, came to a stop on Chuck's other side. They formed a triangle, a very deadly triangle.

"What are you doing Bryce? Whatever it is, it's unsanctioned," Sarah inquired.

"Depends on who you're answering to. I came here to stop you," he replied.

"Stop me from what?"

"Taking the Intersect, killing him," Bryce said, a small smile appearing on his face. He knew his answer would needle both Sarah and Chuck.

"Excuse me," Chuck said.

Bryce flicked his gaze toward his old friend, but quickly returned it to the gun targeting him. "You didn't really think she could like a guy like you did you Chuck? She needed to get close to you three years ago and she needed to do the same three days ago. Fulcrum couldn't have a bunch of little Intersects running around the country."

"Shut up Bryce," Sarah yelled, taking a small step toward the shorter man.

Bryce's small smile morphed into a full blown look of glee. "She didn't tell you Chuck? Sarah went rogue. She joined Fulcrum years ago."

Like it would if a literal bomb had been dropped, silence filled the air. Everyone in the triangle took a step closer to one another.

"What," Chuck gasped.

Sarah could only spare him a quick look, but it was filled with regret. The one thing she didn't do was deny Bryce's accusations.

"Tell me it isn't true, Sarah," Chuck pleaded.

"She can't Chuck," Bryce laughed.

"Shut up," Sarah said, shaking her gun. "It's not entirely true Chuck. I just can't explain it to you right now."

"Come on Sarah, doesn't he deserve an explanation. You were going to terminate him, if the virus didn't do it," Bryce goaded.

"I was not," Sarah said, before drawing to a pause. Something had struck her. Her mind started to connect the dots. "How could you know about that Bryce? There's not that big of a leak and we just discovered the virus."

"Can't say. Confidential," Bryce stated, with less bravado.

"It was you," Sarah proclaimed, lowering her gun slightly.

"Don't try and pin this on me," Bryce countered.

"All this time we've been working together and I didn't see it. You went in to take down Fulcrum, but they turned you instead," Sarah postulated.

"No, I'm not the one who committed treason. That would be you," Bryce replied.

The assassins would have continued bickering, but a gunshot interrupted their childish exchange. Instinctively, they both ducked. Realizing they weren't hurt, they turned their eyes on the source of the disturbance. They turned their eyes on Chuck, who lowered the gun from its position above his head and awkwardly aimed it in the agent's general direction.

"Just stop. Someone explain to me what is going on," Chuck ordered.

"Don't be silly," Bryce said.

"Chuck, please put down the gun," Sarah urged.

"Explain," Chuck yelled, squeezing off another shot.

Despite Chuck's obvious agitation, both agents kept their guns trained on one another. Sarah was the first to speak.

"Bryce is rogue, Chuck. He didn't come here to help us. He came here with the Fulcrum team to level the assault," Sarah explained.

"She could only know that because she's part of Fulcrum," Bryce argued.

"What does Fulcrum have to do with anything," Chuck asked, trying to focus the conversation.

Sarah sighed. "I joined Fulcrum over a year ago, just after the David situation. I was angry at the agency and my country for how they treated the both of you. I regretted the decision almost immediately and went to Director Graham. He was furious with me, but decided it was better to utilize than neutralize. I began working with Bryce to gather information, at least I thought we were working together," Sarah sneered.

"Don't listen to this bull, Chuck. She went rogue and she stayed rogue. It was always her goal to destroy the Intersect program and it looks like she finally found a way to do it," Bryce said.

Sarah shook her head vigorously.

"Initially, yes, I was furious about the resurrection of the human Intersect program, but I barely had any contact with it, inside and outside of Fulcrum. You, on the other hand, have always been knee deep in it. How did you corrupt the file and pin it on me," Sarah accused.

"I didn't," Bryce growled.

"That's right. You couldn't have. You don't have anywhere near enough authorization, even though you've been deep under for years. Someone must have helped you. Fulcrum must have another mole in the program. Someone with high clearance and intimate knowledge," Sarah supplied.

"Like the head of the Intersect sector," Chuck chimed in, unconsciously moving him gun toward Bryce.

"Of course, Bob Smart was your mentor. You and he consulted on the initial programming. How convenient. Did he introduce you to Fulcrum Bryce or was it the other way around," Sarah said, moving forward to take away any advantage Bryce had regarding proximity to Chuck. She knew he wouldn't try to shoot him. He needed Chuck for something.

"Why would he sabotage the Intersect program when it was his department," Bryce argued.

Sarah paused her big reveal momentarily, thrown off guard by his question. Her mind struggled to find the right equation. Chuck found it for her.

"The meeting," he said.

Sarah blanched. "Of course, his ascent of the company ladder has all but died. He was furious when I was promoted. You have something running at Langley," Sarah accused.

"You have a history with Bob too. It's your name on the virus file," Bryce argued, ignoring any talk of CIA Headquarters.

Chuck's arms moved more toward center. Bryce, however, wasn't going to wait for Sarah to act or Chuck to decide. He charged toward the female agent, barreling into her torso. Chuck fired, but his shot wasn't true. With Bryce and Sarah so close together, he couldn't risk another.

Sarah was caught off guard by Bryce's sudden actions. Her gun slid from her grasp and skipped across the asphalt, as her body crashed to the ground. Bryce put his hands around her throat, stealing the already depleted breath from her lungs. Sarah futilely struggled for a few seconds before swiping her legs in the air. Knocking Bryce off balance, Sarah was able to leverage herself into the dominant position.

She landed a few punches to the face before he managed to push her to the side. He was on her quickly, delivering two powerful punches to her rib cage. Her limbs momentarily froze from the pain. Using her weakness to his advantage, Bryce grabbed Sarah's neck. He used it to smash her head into the ground. It only took a few impacts for Sarah to go slack.

Getting on his haunches first, Bryce hopped to his feet. Dusting his pants off, he made his way toward a frantic Chuck. Clicks from an empty clip echoed through the still air. Bryce let out a small laugh.

"Come on Chuck, put the gun away. I really am here to help you," Bryce urged, invading Chuck's personal space.

"Like I believe you," Chuck replied.

"And you believe Sarah?"

Chuck hesitated. "I don't believe you, that's for sure."

"Sadly, it doesn't matter who you believe. You're coming with me," Bryce responded, grabbing Chuck's elbow.

Chuck struggled fervently, managing to push Bryce away. The agent stumbled backwards, but remained on his feet. He set his sights on Chuck, when the sound of a revving engine permeated his consciousness. Headlights appeared, temporarily blinding Bryce. The vehicle moved closer, but it wasn't slowing down. Bryce pulled out his gun and fired several shots. It was useless. The car hit him going 40 MPH.

Tires smoked, as the car screeched to a halt. Bryce, however, continued to move. He flew over Sarah's now conscious body, landed, and continued to slide for several feet.

The driver's side window on the black SUV whined, drawing Chuck's attention. He was anxious to meet his last minute rescuer. Chuck nearly fell over when the tinted window finally finished its journey.

"Casey!"

"Someone has to catch you when you fall Bartowski. Now get Walker and get in the car. The bad guys are coming," Casey growled, fighting off a smile.

Ignoring the feeling that he was in the Twilight Zone, Chuck scurried to Sarah's side. She was awake but groggy. He knelt next to her, unsure of what to do.

"Sarah, we have to get out of here. Casey said danger's coming," Chuck explained softly, shaking Sarah's shoulder.

Her eyes snapped open at the sound of Casey's name. She tried to pop to her feet, but intense dizziness caused her to slow down. "What is Casey doing here. I have to get you away," she slurred.

Giving Sarah a helping hand to her feet, Chuck shook his head in disagreement. "He's here to help. He saved me from Bryce."

Sarah's eyes widened again, as her memory of the preceding events returned. She had too many enemies to consider. It was exhausting. "Where is he? What happened?"

Chuck raised his free arm, pointing a finger in Bryce's direction. Sarah's followed his guidance. She took in the scene with a detached air. Turning back to Chuck, she placed a shaking hand on his chest.

"Please go wait in the car. I have to take care of something," she said.

"Sarah," Chuck warned.

Sarah clenched her fist in an attempt to fight off emotion. "Just please do this Chuck," she begged.

His only sign of agreement was his retreating figure. He kept his hand connected to her body as long as he could, but Sarah was quickly alone. She checked her body for weapons and injury, before confronting Bryce.

Blood puddled on the pavement around his head and leaked from his mouth. His breathing was labored. Sarah's mind concluded that he would die with or without her help. Cooperation would dictate the length of time.

Towering over Bryce's broken form, Sarah said, "Why did you do it? Why bring Chuck back into everything again?"

"Fulcrum wanted only Intersect," Bryce gasped, losing the will to lie.

"They wanted Chuck," Sarah assumed.

Bryce shook his head. "I was going to be Intersect."

Sarah's brows displayed obvious confusion. She wondered if Bryce was delirious from the pain. "Then why bring Chuck. I know Bob was the one who suggested it."

"To train me," Bryce whispered.

Fury erupted from Sarah's heart and coursed through her body. She quickly knelt beside Bryce, pressing a hand to his abdomen. He groaned in pain. "Use, abuse, and dispose, is that what you were going to do?"

The dying man's lack of a reply was enough of an answer for Sarah. "Damn you," she mumbled, looking to the sky for guidance. Her gaze was icy when it returned to Earth.

"OK Bryce, you have one shot at redemption. Tell me how to cure Chuck and I'll end things quickly," she offered, pulling a gun from her boot.

"Come closer," Bryce requested.

Sarah shook her head. "I don't think so."

Bryce began to laugh, like some hysterical villain from a badly reviewed horror movie. He knew he was going to die; Sarah knew he was going to die. There was nothing compelling him to be altruistic.

"There is no cure. He's going to die and there's nothing you can do about it. Shouldn't be long now," Bryce gloated, until a violent cough racked his body.

Sarah put her gun in a death grip. She threw her arms up in the air and angrily stalked away from Bryce. Seconds later, she returned, delivering several vicious kicks to his torso. "Damn you Bryce. Damn you. I can't believe I ever trusted you."

Bryce just continued to laugh.

Sarah secured her gun and jogged to the waiting SUV. Sliding into the passenger seat, she was greeted by the strangely comforting sight of John Casey. Chuck was eagerly leaning forward from his place in the backseat.

"You going to let him live Walker," Casey wondered, in the ambiguously judgmental way he had.

"He's going to die anyway," Sarah replied, bucking her seat-belt, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Casey chuckled, putting the car in drive. "You think the NSA stops caring just because you cart Chuck off to the loony bin?"

"Kind of. There are other matters of national security," Sarah replied.

Giving up his mysterious facade, Casey said, "We got chatter that something was going on here with Fulcrum. I heard through the grapevine that you and Bartowski were back together. Bartowski always brings trouble so I thought I'd give you a hand."

Sarah was about to give a sarcastic reply when a scream erupted from between them. Chuck clutched his head with both hands, throwing himself backwards. He continued to writhe on the leather upholstery, despite Casey and Sarah's protests.

"Chuck, Chuck what's wrong," Sarah asked, concern seeping from every pore.

"It hurts," he whined. Another bloodcurdling scream quickly followed. Chuck stamped his feet against the door in pain.

"Ahhhhh," Chuck yelled, before everything went black.