I don't know if you guys deserve a new chapter. Thanks for the reviews. They really do mean a lot to me, so don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I know this chapter is a little shorter but I know where I want to go with this story. The only problem is coming up with the individual missions and such. The story is going to take a bit of a serial path to it as they hunt for the agents revealed by the Ring lockbox. If you have any ideas, feel free to let me know in a review or PM. Thanks for reading and enjoying my stories so far. It really is a blessing that people can enjoy such amateur writing so thoroughly. Now where's my Pulitzer Prize in Literature?
I do not own Chuck.
February 18, 2005
"Besides that hiccup," Shaw states sarcastically, but with an upbeat tone, "we're on a good track. With the new files we got, we know where the majority of Ring agents are. Now it is just a matter of taking out the most important ones that are doing the most damage first." Shaw turns around to type a few keys into the Castle keyboard until an image of a person appears on the main screen. "This is Jason Locke… Yes," Shaw turns to the unspoken information Bryce just brought up through the Intersect, "was a former U.S. Senator, who made his name in multiple government agencies. He has been selling government secrets for the last two years."
"And he's been selling them to the Ring," Bryce enthusiastically adds after his flash told him so.
"What would we do without you?" Shaw jokes with a friendly smile.
"How does he still have up-to-date secrets?" Sarah ponders verbally.
"He has a contact in the government," Shaw answers without a beat. "We need to find out who this mole is through Locke. He has an apartment in D.C. so we leave in thirty."
"It almost feels like we're going home," Chuck quips.
"I can drive my car again," Sarah chokes up in glee and reverence.
"Maybe we can have our cars shipped back here after the mission," Chuck suggests with a hopeful shrug.
"It would be nice to stop carpooling so often," Bryce teases.
"Yea, a Crown Vic isn't exactly meant to hold six people," Jesse jokes before turning to Casey, "no offense."
"The Crown Victoria is a fine American machine that works just fine," Casey responds curtly.
February 18, 2005
"So this is where an ex politician lives," Chuck muses from a café across the street as he looks upon the luxurious apartment complex fit snugly between high rise flat apartments.
"Modest… for a traitorous pig selling secrets to the enemy," Casey snarls begrudgingly.
"So what's the plan?" Bryce wonders. "We can always sneak in, find some evidence, and arrest them?"
"No, we don't need evidence," Shaw declares. "He will give us the name after an interrogation. That is all the evidence we need."
"We go in fast and hard," Casey surmises with an excited hum. "Just like old times."
"Casey," Chuck humorously looks over at the big man, "were you a Navy Seal or something?"
"It's classified," Casey grumbles cryptically.
"Wow," Chuck drawls incredulously, "how did I not see that coming?"
"Enough, guys," Shaw amiably chides. "We need to wait for Locke to come home. The one nice thing about being in D.C. is we don't need to wait for the government to ship us our weapons."
"The Pentagon," Casey sings like it is the most angelic orgasmic place in the world. "The top weapons in the world, the best gear research can design…"
"Am I the only one who finds that creepy?" Chuck questions out loud.
February 18, 2005
"Oh my god," Chuck sighs in pure wonderment as he glances all around him, "this is just like the Matrix." Chuck is walking through an aisle of weapons on both sides inside the Pentagon armory. Multitudes of guns and weapons fill both racks on each side of each aisle in the four column, eight row room.
"The only thing missing are black leather trench coats," Bryce jokingly adds in from the aisle next to Chuck.
"Guys," Jesse jokes from another aisle, "I think I'm lost," she chuckles. "This is like a maze."
"Well, you can always blow your way out with the hundreds of weapons," Sarah quips from her own aisle. The clack of a rifle slide echoes through the room. "I wasn't serious, Jesse," Sarah deadpans, knowing the sound came from an assault rifle and isn't nearly penetrating enough to blow through an aisle. Probably Casey, she guesses in her mind.
"We're not raiding a fortress," Shaw's voice projects through the large warehouse as he waits by the door. "A handgun would suffice."
"That works for me," Bryce finds his way back to the front with a stylish new sleek black Glock 39.
"Good choice," Shaw remarks.
"I read online that this gun was great," Chuck appears with an H&K UCP pistol.
"Nothing compares to the fine American design of the Browning M1911," Casey states with a state of reverence for the weapon as he pets it gently.
"You have to go with my boys, Smith and Wesson," Sarah haughtily muses as she spins a Smith and Wesson M&P45 on her trigger finger.
"We're waiting on you, Jesse," Shaw whistles through the armory.
"Coming!" Jesse responds and a few seconds later, she appears six aisles away from the entrance. "Is this a good gun?" She asks sweetly as she flashes her handgun to everyone.
"Hmm… Beretta Px4 Storm," Casey muses thoughtfully. "Not bad. Italian-made. Light with low recoil. Good choice."
"Thanks," Jesse beams.
"Okay, let's get our gear," Shaw commands sincerely.
February 18, 2005
"This is Amadeus Strickland," Shaw introduces the lab coat engineer inside the lab standing in front of a table with multiple gadgets and accessories. Amadeus is a tall lanky man with blonde hair and horn-rimmed glasses.
"Amadeus, Amadeus… Ahhmm… adeus," Chuck sings as he bobs his head side to side with each syllable. Everyone looks at him with the most perturbed expression. "Amadeus, Amadeus… Ahhmm… adeus. Amadeus, Amadeus… oh oh, Amadeus. Come and rock me, Amadeus," he finishes in an Austrian accent.
"What the hell was that?" Sarah demands in complete confusion as she furrows her brow deeply from beside Chuck.
"Moron," Casey grumbles with half-lidded eyes as he shakes his head in embarrassment.
"Oh come on," Chuck huffs in utter disbelief. "How could you've never heard that song before—sorry, I couldn't help it," he adds in sincerely with a glance at Amadeus. "Rock me, Amadeus was a classic hit by Falco. I can't believe no one else has heard that before. Kids these days," Chuck shakes his head in mock disappointment.
"Moving on," Shaw drawls to gather everyone's attention.
"That's a cool name by the way," Chuck mutters quickly to Amadeus. "Better than Chuck at least; well Charles."
"I like the name Chuck," Sarah crooks her head adorably as she smiles at Chuck.
"And," Shaw nearly shouts to keep everyone form interrupting further, "our mission is a simple breach and clear. Do you have anything that could help us?"
"Come on, rock me, Amadeus," Chuck adds in before mouthing 'sorry.'
"Certainly," Amadeus perkily responds. "This right here," he lifts a small cylindrical device, "is a suppression grenade. It releases an odorless and clear gas that will disorient anyone within an entire apartment building in less than ten minutes. And it's only airborne."
"What does this disorientation do exactly?" Casey questions curiously.
"Blurred vision, loss of balance, minor amnesia," Amadeus lists off.
"Is there a way to contain it in just one apartment?" Chuck asks. "We wouldn't want to disorient everyone in the building."
"Sure, I just need to reduce the amount of gas inside it."
"Great!" Chuck perkily enthuses. "Amadeus," Chuck puts a friendly hand on his shoulder, "you just rocked me…" he quickly notices the odd look on Amadeus' face. "Not in a sexual way; I was just saying it because of the song…" Chuck sighs tiredly, "I give up," by the end as he pulls back.
"Moron," Casey shakes his head in embarrassment as Sarah, Jesse, and Bryce chuckle.
February 18, 2005
"This should be a simple snatch and grab mission," Shaw informs them through their earpieces.
"And you wanted to bring the battering ram," Chuck dreadfully rolls his eyes at Bryce.
"Hey, we're breaching and have you seen those things in the movies?" Bryce enthuses excitedly. "It completely blows the door off its hinges and wood shards are flying everywhere…"
"Wow," Jesse raises an incredulous eyebrow and mock repulse, "and I sleep in the same bed as that?"
"Ouch," Bryce deadpans as he covers his heart in mock pain.
"There's nothing wrong with being a nerd," Chuck defends airily. "Plus, can you imagine that in like Max Payne slow Mo bullet time? All the shards flipping in the air—oomph," Chuck immediately stops as he is hit by a mirthfully grinning Sarah. Chuck inaudibly mouths, 'You know you love it.'
'I know,' she mouths back.
"So this gas is going to work, right?" Jesse asks for reassurance.
"Amadeus said so," Bryce responds. "And he seemed to know what he was doing."
"Good," Jesse grins as she plays with the straps of her gas mask. Silence falls upon the team waiting on the roof of the apartment complex.
"I can't believe you guys have never heard 'Rock Me Amadeus,'" Chuck blurts out incredulously. "When we get home, I need to give all of you guys a crash course in awesome music."
"Hell no," Casey responds grumpily. "You're not poisoning me with that crap."
"I bet you only like bands like Kansas and Lynyrd Skynyrd," Chuck quips teasingly.
"Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American classic," Casey grumbles defensively.
"Oh my god, you're stuck in the 70's," Chuck rolls his eyes in disbelief. "Well he's not changing now, but the rest of you…" He lets his words hang almost like a threat but not quite.
"Look alive," Shaw interrupts from his post in the café. "Locke is pulling into the garage now."
"So he should be up in few minutes," Jesse concludes. "We should get into position."
"That's probably a good idea," Chuck agrees humorously.
February 18, 2005
"Three… two… one," Casey commands as they all crowd the front door; each of them wearing a gas mask to repel the gas from the suppression grenade they rolled under the front door after Locke entered his apartment. "Mission is a go!" Casey kicks the apartment door in, straining it on its hinges as it tears out of the frame. The team rushes inside with their guns drawn. The apartment is luxuriously furnished with silk drapes and suede couches. The team splits up because there are four rooms, two on each side. Casey takes the room on the far right, Bryce takes the room on the far left, Jesse takes the room on the immediate left, and Sarah takes the room on the immediate right.
"Um… guys…" Chuck ponders as he is left alone in the foyer of the apartment. "I'll just wait here then," he starts petting the couch as if it is suddenly interesting. "Is that suede?"
As the spies clear the apartment, Jesse finds herself in Locke's bedroom, where Locke is standing by his dresser trying to hide something, but struggling to stand up straight after being affected by the grenade. "Freeze!" Jesse shouts as she cautiously takes a step closer to Locke. "Stop what you're doing or I will shoot." Locke sighs heavily as he lowers his arms and turns to Jesse. "Guys!" Jesse shouts throughout the apartment without taking her focus off Locke. "I got him in here!"
"What the hell are you doing breaking into my home?" Locke demands angrily as he slumps down to the floor with his back against his bed. "I'm a former senator! I can have you reassigned to Antarctica with just one phone call!"
"I really doubt that," Jesse replies snootily. "You're a traitor to this nation and deserve what is coming to you." The rest of the team step into the bedroom to see Locke lazily resting against his bed as Jesse stands confidently with her gun aimed at Locke.
"Good job, Jesse," Chuck smiles at her.
"Thanks," she replies without taking her eyes or aim off of Locke.
"There's only one thing I hate more than traitors," Casey grumbles as he kneels over Locke and forcefully grabs him by the collar, "and that's politicians."
"I saw him trying to hide something in the dresser," Jesse informs everyone.
Sarah digs into the dresser until she comes out with an oddly shaped black discus device with green touch buttons. "I bet his contact is on here," Sarah hypothesizes victoriously.
February 18, 2005
"What is it?" Chuck queries as the team hovers over the black discus device Locke was trying to hide. They are in the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia in a secured base of operations.
"I don't know," Jesse whispers conspiratorially.
"Maybe we should try pressing some of the buttons," Bryce suggests harmlessly.
"It's a cell phone," Shaw finally states from behind them, ruining the fascination everyone had with the device. "It is a common Ring accessory."
"Maybe it will lead us to his contact," Sarah hopes optimistically.
"Then we can stop that bastard from betraying his country," Casey surmises with a scarily upbeat grin.
"But how do we get it to work?" Chuck questions. "It doesn't look like there is a text interface at all. Some of the symbols are obvious like the mail symbol, but I have no idea what this one is."
"We'll have our best analysts on it to decipher everything," Shaw explains.
"Do we have time?" Bryce asks.
"If Locke doesn't report with his contact, the contact could hide under his shell for good," Sarah worries calmly.
"The Ring works in very secluded cells and don't call in until they've accomplished their mission. So don't worry, the Ring would only expect a call from Locke if he had new intel. The analysts have it done by tomorrow," Shaw assures.
February 18, 2005
"I haven't been back here in forever," Chuck admires the apartment he and Bryce share in D.C. as they enter their apartment with Sarah and Jesse. They've been in Los Angeles since he rejoined the team and hasn't been back here since before being taken by Roark and Fulcrum.
"We left your room how you left it," Bryce informs Chuck with a smile.
"It was too hard for us to go in," Jesse sadly grins at Chuck.
"It's okay," Chuck smiles brightly as he gently places his hand on her shoulder. "At least you guys didn't pack up all my stuff. That would've been inconvenient," he jokes to lighten the mood. "And you guys didn't impound my car, did you?"
"No way," Bryce exclaims. "I was going to take it as my own," he quips jokingly. Chuck, Sarah, and Jesse chuckle at Bryce's pronouncement.
"He even put a tarp on it to keep it clean," Jesse adds in comically as Bryce walks over to the kitchen.
"Hey! We still have a few beers," Bryce informs them as he shoves his head halfway inside the fridge.
"I'm going to pass on that," Sarah deadpans with a scrunched up nose in disgust.
"That stuff is probably all expired," Jesse states with a grin. "We're best off just throwing it out."
"It only expired a week ago!" Bryce exclaims as if they are just being big babies about it.
"Go ahead, buddy," Chuck mirthfully allows as he heads towards his room. "But if you get sick, don't expect me to hold your hair up." Chuck walks into his bedroom to see it exactly the same, "My Tron poster is still there," he reverently smiles at it from his door frame as Sarah wraps an arm around his waist.
"You know," she hugs onto him affectionately as she playfully teases, "We never did consummate this room."
"Mmm…" Chuck bounces his eyebrows as he grins mirthfully.
"Get a room, you two," Jesse jokes with mock disgust.
"We have one," Sarah shouts back before turning to Chuck with heightened eyebrows. "Well?"
"We're going to be waiting anyways," Chuck turns towards her and lifts her into his arms. She giggles joyously as he kicks the door closed with his foot and carries her to the bed. "We might as well make the most of it," he gently tosses her on the bed and climbs over her. He lowers his lips to hungrily capture hers in heated passion.
February 19, 2005
The whole team is gathered inside the CIA base of operations in Langley, Virginia. "So?" Sarah questions as they approach Shaw standing by the Ring phone inside a special jamming case.
"They were able to extract a name," Shaw answers calmly as he looks at the spies. "They're running it against the databases now."
"What's the name?" Bryce asks. "Maybe I can flash on it. That's the point in it after all." He makes sure to be cautious enough not to state he has the Intersect in case someone overhears.
"Brandon Scofield," Shaw responds.
Chuck feels the effect of a flash overtaking him and he quickly withdraws the flash by focusing on the Ring phone. He looks over to see Bryce coming out of his flash. "Scofield, Brandon," Bryce murmurs almost like he is reciting information of a transcript, "NSA analyst, twelve years of experience, suspected of selling secrets to enemy governments but charges were found inconclusive."
"That bastard," Casey grumbles angrily. "No one makes a mockery of the NSA."
"He probably tried selling secrets before," Sarah ponders out loud. "That's why he was suspected for it."
"I bet Locke got him out of the charges the first time and has been using him ever since," Chuck surmises.
"The analysts have nothing on you, Bryce," Shaw quips with a smirk.
"Well," Bryce shrugs, "I am the best," he beams.
February 19, 2005
The team storms through the NSA office in Washington D.C. and into the analyst floor. As they pass each cubicle, each residing analyst glances in awe and fear of the team, but most of all, the large burly man leading the pack. Major John Casey's reputation in the NSA is well-known as a cold school assassin who never questions orders. "Wow," Chuck exclaims teasingly, "it seems you're quite famous here, Casey."
"Who would've known," Sarah grins mirthfully as they continue through the corridors, "Casey is a celebrity."
"Maybe there is even a star on the sidewalk outside the building," Bryce continues to joke as they turn a corner to the left.
"Or a mold of his handprints," Jesse adds in sweetly.
"Enough!" Casey barks agitatedly with flaring eyes as he glares back at them for a second.
"Whoa, whoa," Chuck puts his hands up in surrender, "we're just kidding, big guy."
"We're just about there," Casey grumbles as he ignores Chuck. They turn the corner to the right and three cubicles down; they arrive at Scofield's cubicle. Casey steps into the enclosed space to see a man with graying hair sitting at a desk typing on a computer. "Brandon Scofield?" Casey questions calmly.
"Huh? Yeah?" He turns around indifferently to see none other than Major John Casey. "Major Casey, sir?" Scofield suddenly sputters out fearfully. "Um… uh, how can I help you?"
"By coming with me," Casey commands as he grabs Scofield out of the chair by his collar and pushes him against the wall of the cubicle. What Casey didn't realize was how flimsy and frail the walls are and he accidentally pushes Scofield through the wall and onto the next cubicle over.
The man one cubicle over hollers in fear and shock as his wall collapses over his desk with his co-worker against the thrashed desk.
"Casey!" Sarah shouts in protest.
"What?" Casey defends. "I didn't try to throw him through the wall. That thing is like paper!"
"Wha—what, what do you want?" Scofield begs in utter confusion and fear, surprised that he isn't in horrific pain form being thrown through the wall.
"To kill you," Casey grumbles simply. Scofield isn't any more relieved that he wasn't hurt from being thrown through the wall.
"Casey," Shaw warns calmly.
"You're giving away government secrets to the enemy," Casey grouses as he closes the distance between his face and Scofield's.
February 19, 2005
With Scofield confessing to everything in a government cell, the team gets the night off until they leave for Los Angeles tomorrow. Chuck and Sarah are relaxing on his bed in his Washington D.C. apartment. Chuck is in an undershirt and sweatpants while Sarah is in Chuck's Stanford shirt and some pink cotton panties. She is cuddled against his left side as they rest their backs against the headboard. Her head is resting on his left shoulder in tranquil comfort. Chuck has his iPod on and they are each sharing an ear bud as they listen to the calming melody of Bon Iver. "Chuck?" Sarah nearly whispers in their amiable silence.
"Hm?" He responds in a mumble; enjoying the music and cuddling.
"Do you think this is dangerous?" She asks sweetly with pure curiosity.
"No, I don't think listening to music is dangerous," Chuck deadpans with a grin.
"No, I mean me staying here," Sarah responds with an eye roll. "I just don't want to put us in any more danger and Shaw could find out."
"Honestly," Chuck responds seriously with a hint of humor, "he seems more interested in Bryce."
"Thank you," Sarah emphasizes in a huff. "I thought I was the only one who noticed how spritely he got when talking with Bryce."
"Complimenting him on everything he does?" Chuck joins in the complaining with a mirthful grin.
"Yea, it was creepy," Sarah responds as her mouth instantly matches his smile. "I mean sure, Bryce is a good agent and all, but it was really just the Intersect that was helping us. You could've done just as well with your Intersect. I saw you flashing," she smirks mischievously. "You can't hide that from me."
"But I need to hide it from Shaw," Chuck responds honestly. "I don't know how much different Bryce's Intersect is from mine other than giving him abilities."
"I love you the way you are," Sarah spins so she is straddling his hips. "You don't need some Intersect to be a great spy," she plants a chaste kiss on his lips. "And I love the song by the way," she beams as she kisses him again.
"It looks like there's hope for you yet," he teases as his hands grip her hips as he pulls her in for another kiss.
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