Chapter Eleven: Bombshells Away
April 15, 2010
Castle
Burbank, California
"Guess Casey still doesn't trust you, Sam," Al said.
"May I have a moment alone with Charles?" Sam asked the others. Sarah and Morgan both stood up from the table, to respect his wishes. Casey, however, stayed right where he was.
"Why doesn't Casey have to leave, too?" Morgan asked, as he and Sarah headed out of the room.
"Come on, Morgan. I'll get you some frozen yogurt," Sarah said.
"You haven't answered my question, yet," the colonel said, after the two had left.
"The answer concerns the Intersect," Sam replied.
"Uh, Dad, then I don't see why you want to speak to me, I mean, I'm not an Intersect anymore, remember?" Chuck said.
"Classic denial; see, this is why Orion threw a knife at his face in the original history," Al said. He seemed to imply that maybe that wasn't such a bad idea. Sam turned away from Chuck and Casey and took a couple of steps towards Al.
"I am not going to throw a knife at his face!" Sam hissed. Chuck frowned. What was that supposed to mean? Surely he'd heard wrong.
"Talking to Al again?" Casey asked. This was interesting; he remembered the spy saying that someone had thrown a knife at his son's face. He hadn't known who the man was referring to…
"As a matter of fact," Sam said, turning to face Casey. "Al and I were just having a disagreement. He thinks that the easiest way to get Charles to stop denying the truth is to force him to flash." Sam glanced at Al. There was another way that he knew he could use to trigger a flash.
"Oh, no; Sam, forget it! Don't you dare say my name!" Al exclaimed, almost as if he had read Sam's mind. "We've exposed the Project enough as it is. Just hurry up and tell them about the Governor, already. If Chuck wants to stay in denial, let him."
"What if you did throw a knife at his face, and it turned out that Al was wrong about Chuck?" Casey asked out of curiosity.
"Al isn't wrong," Sam said, gesturing impatiently, as if annoyed by such a dumb question.
"How do you know?" Chuck demanded.
"Trust me, I know. Our intel is very reliable." Sam said.
"So why are you afraid to test it?" Casey asked.
"Look, I don't need to put it to the test. If I did need to test it, I wouldn't do so by throwing a knife at Charles' face. Now to answer your earlier question, Casey, the Governor is a device that Or—that I invented to counteract the side-effects of using the Intersect."
"What side-effects?" Chuck asked. "The Intersect doesn't have any side-effects. I mean, I had one in my head for two years, and I never noticed any side-effects."
"You wouldn't have experienced them right away," Sam replied. "The symptoms start after a period of time; say, about three years, give or take."
"And what are the symptoms?" Casey asked.
"Wait, don't tell me! Let me guess, symptoms may include: nausea, diarrhea, and frequent urination," Chuck quipped, trying to parody the average ad for prescription drugs. His smile faded as he saw the expression on the inventor's face.
Sam did his best to break the news to Chuck gently. Chuck sat as if frozen, horror gripping him.
"No," he said. "No, that can't be!"
"It can," Sam said, softly. "But that's not going to happen to you, Charles. Orion is, I mean, I am going to make a Governor for you, so you won't have to worry about that." Chuck was too distracted by the fear of what the Intersect might do to him to notice Sam's little slip.
"You can do that?" Chuck asked, forgetting that he'd been pretending he had not downloaded 2.0.
"Of course," Sam nodded. No, I can't, he thought to himself. But if I can just finish this leap, then Orion can.
"And you're really not mad at me?" Chuck asked. Sam shook his head. Casey rolled his eyes.
"And you have a Governor for yourself?" Casey asked.
"Yes," Sam said automatically.
"That's funny, considering you told me yesterday that you'd removed the Intersect from your head," Casey said. Chuck looked puzzled. He hadn't heard about this before.
"I told you that was a mistake, Sam," Al said.
"What's more important right now, is stopping Shaw," Sam said. "I don't know how, but he's discovered the flaws with the Intersect, and he knows I've invented the Governor, which means—"
"He's going to be coming after you," Chuck said.
"Precisely," Sam said.
"So what you're saying is that you came here to ask for our help," Casey said.
"Yes, I did, but also to warn you about Shaw. I'm not the one he really wants; to him, I'm just the means to an end. He's going to go after you, all of you, unless we stop him." Chuck blinked.
"I guess we should call Sarah and Morgan back in now."
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The Burbank Buy More
Chuck frowned after he hung up his phone. Team Bartowski had dispersed after mapping out a plan for foiling Shaw, and the Ring, once and for all. Ellie had just given him a call and, if he didn't know any better, an ultimatum. So much for thinking that she had taken the news well. Chuck sighed, and dialed Casey's number. He wasn't sure where the NSA agent had disappeared to after leaving Castle. When, after a few rings, a recorded voice told him to leave a message, he disconnected the call. Probably best that he didn't pick up, Chuck thought. Was I seriously going to ask him to go over there? I can just imagine what he would say. 'Your cover was blown, mine wasn't, moron.' He left the store, and headed across the parking lot to the Orange Orange. Sure enough, Sarah was behind the counter.
"Is something wrong, Chuck?" she asked, noticing the expression on the Nerd Herder's face. Was he worried about the upcoming mission?
"It's Ellie," Chuck began. Sarah's eyes widened.
"Is she hurt?" she asked, concerned.
"No, it's not that. She's fine. It's just, I need to ask you for a favor," he said, before explaining to Sarah what his sister had told him. "I know that we're going to have to start getting ready for the mission soon, but I figured there's still enough time, and so I was wondering if you could—"
"Chuck, it's okay. I'll go talk to Ellie," Sarah said.
"Really?" Chuck asked.
"Yes, really," she said, smiling. Not that she was looking forward to this, but the look of relief on Chuck's face told her she was doing the right thing.
"Thanks, Sarah! I really appreciate thi—" he was cut off by Sarah's lips pressing against his own.
"Don't mention it, Chuck," she said, after she pulled away.
"Have I told you I love you?" he asked, grinning.
"Yes, you have."
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At the sound of a knock on her door, Ellie stood up from the couch and went to answer it. This was it. Now she would get to meet—and scrutinize—one of the agents charged with protecting the life of her baby brother…
"Sarah?" Ellie blinked.
"Hi, Ellie; may I come in?"
"Of course," Ellie said, stepping back so that the blonde could pass. "But I'm actually expecting company in a few minutes." Sarah cleared her throat.
"Actually, Ellie," Sarah said, as she took a seat opposite the doctor, "I think you were expecting me." Ellie stared at Sarah, her mind refusing to process what she was being told. "Chuck told me you wanted to see me," Sarah went on, speaking as if she was just visiting her boyfriend's sister, and not dumping a bombshell into Eleanor's lap.
"No," Ellie said, shaking her head in disbelief. "No, you, you've been dating my brother, on and off, for the past—Oh my God, for the past three years!" Ellie said, remembering what Chuck had said to her this morning. "I've been working with the CIA and NSA for about three years." Didn't Sarah move to the area around three years ago?
"I've been protecting him for the past three years," Sarah said.
"You—so that, that relationship that was all fake; the whole thing was an act?" Ellie's heart sank. It was bad enough to learn that her brother had been putting his life in danger on a regular basis. Now it appeared that, contrary to what she'd thought, Chuck hadn't had a real relationship since Jill, after all. Maybe she shouldn't have told Chuck that she wanted to meet his handlers. Maybe it had been better not to know.
"It did start out as part of my cover," Sarah said, feeling uncomfortable. She would do anything for Chuck, but right now, she'd rather face Ring agents than have this conversation with his sister. "But somewhere along the line, that changed." Ellie looked at Sarah, hope surging through her. Then suspicion kicked in.
"So what are your intentions towards my brother? Are you moving in together?"
"We haven't talked about that," Sarah said.
"But you do love him?" Ellie asked. Sarah froze.
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The hand-link squealed.
"What is it, Al?" Sam asked. They were in the break-room/locker room of the Buy More, having just left Castle. Sam had climbed the stairs; Al had used the hand-link. At the moment, they had the room to themselves.
"Well, you've been changing history, alright, Sam," Al said, after tapping a few buttons.
"I'm sensing a 'but.' Don't tell me he still gets killed?"
"It gets worse. You've moved up the time table. Now there's an 83.7% probability that you—that is that Orion—will be killed sometime in the next 72 hrs," he shook the hand-link. "And now there's also a 34.8% chance that Sarah will be killed, too."
"We have to do something! We have to have another meeting, and change our strategy…where is everyone now?" Al checked with Ziggy.
"Let's see, it looks like Chuck and Morgan are here at the Buy More. Sarah is with Eleanor and…Casey's at a diner." Before Sam could ask, 'what diner?' the locker room door opened.
"Oh, hey, you're Chuck's dad, right?" Jeff asked. "Who's your friend?"
"You can see me?" Al asked. The middle age, balding Nerd Herder nodded.
"Of course, I can see you," he slurred slightly. "What's your name?"
"Al," the Observer said hesitantly. His fingers reflexively began punching the buttons on the hand-link that would open the Imaging Chamber door, so he could disappear.
"Well, why wouldn't I be able to see you, Al?" Without waiting for an answer, Jeff went over to his locker, retrieved a bottle and a cloth, and within moments, was slumped over one of the tables. Sam's first instinct, as a doctor, was to check to see if the man needed medical attention. Seeing the steady rise and fall of the man's chest, though, he decided that Jeff would live. Orion might be another story.
"Sam, did he just—"
"Don't worry. He'll be fine, Al. Which diner did Casey go to?"
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Casey pretended to study the menu in front of him, but his mind was elsewhere, on the upcoming mission, and on the words that 'Orion' had said earlier, while they were in Castle. They're not above using our family to get to us. Whether or not that warning was from Orion, Casey believed him. He looked up as the waitress approached his table, to take his order.
She was a young brunette, whose name tag said, "Alex." She smiled at him. John had first shown up in the diner a few weeks ago, and he was fast becoming a regular patron. Each time he came, he sat at one of the tables Alex waited on, and they had begun to chat while she brought him his food. He seemed like such a nice man; she might miss him after she graduated and quit this job.
"Good afternoon, John. What can I get you today?" Casey hesitated. He wasn't here to order food. Nor did he come just to spend time with his daughter. Still, he hadn't finished sorting out what he would say to Alex. He might as well order something to buy him some time.
Alex barely refrained from rolling her eyes as John, after great reflection, ordered the same thing he always ordered. She scribbled it down on a pad, and then took another look at John. Was it her or was he quieter today than usual? The bell over the door rang as someone came in. Alex didn't pay the newcomer any attention until he walked right up and sat down across from John. Hmm. John seemed to recognize the man, but he didn't look too happy to see him.
"What are you doing here?" Casey hissed.
"We need to talk," Sam said.
"Can I get you anything?" Alex asked, after clearing her throat.
Sam looked up at the waitress, and read her name tag. Wait a second! Al had told him about her.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to your daughter, Casey?" Casey glared at him, but said nothing. Sam turned to Alex, who was looking puzzled.
"Guess I'll have to introduce myself, then. Hi, Alex, I'm a friend of your dad. You can call me Stephen."
Author's Note: First off, to those readers that have not heard, you can find the conversation between Ellie and Chuck (the one missing from Chapter 10) in "Chuck v. The Big Sister," a companion piece filed under "Chuck." Thank you again, BDaddyDL, for expressing interest in their conversation.
Thank you asearcher, movieholic, BDaddyDL, CiciRose, teliskim, Patty1965, and Lorraine Anderson, for reviewing! And as usual, thank you to those who have added the story to your story alerts, or as a favorite story.
Now, readers, you have the opportunity to make your voice heard. Were you wondering when I would finally update? Are you confused as to why Alex thinks that Casey is a nice man? Or more confused by why Jeff would be able to see Al?
Keep in mind, readers, that, as teliskim said, some users judge a story by the number of reviews it has. (That's a very bad omen for "The Big Sister.")
