Hello. I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I've been trying to get things organized at home and I've been working to get a full-time job. And of course, it's Christmas time so I've been trying to find temporary work to buy gifts for the family. I hope to have the next chapter out before the end of the year. It'll be the second half of Chuck vs. the First Date. These two chapters follow the show canon fairly closely (apart from a few changes), but the next parts of the story go off-canon a bit. And those of you wondering if Carina will be getting involved more in the story, that's coming up. Also, Chuck will make an important decision for the team that will hopefully reflect how different he was in Season 2 compared to Season 1.
The season 2 opener was one of my favorites because of Michael Clarke Duncan, who of course played Mr. Colt. I have never heard a negative word said about the man. I even liked him in Daredevil and I remember my mother telling me he was the best part of The Green Mile. R.I.P. Michael. Everybody misses you. And we still haven't found any oil on Uranus. :-D
Anyway, please read and review. Whether or not you like a story, a review tells the author you are interested in the story, and that's what counts the most. Hope you like the chapter, and have a Merry Christmas!
Los Angeles, CA
December 17, 2015
12:30 AM PST
"Before you do anything rash, I think you should know that I have the Cipher!"
"Hand it over right now."
Given the man was holding Chuck upside-down out the window of a warehouse four floors up, he wasn't in much of a position to argue. "Don't you think we should discuss terms first?"
And when the man, who was even taller than Chuck's 6'3" form…and about 150 pounds heavier…pulled him up by his shirt with one hand, Chuck was certain he was a dead man. He may have even wet his pants a little.
"Now…who are you?"
"You know what? You probably wouldn't believe me."
The man let go of Chuck's shirt and grabbed his tie, which made Chuck tip towards the ground again.
"Oh! "Oh!"
"Last chance," the man said in a threatening tone.
Chuck didn't know what the hell to do. This guy would never believe his story. HE still didn't believe his story. Three months ago, he was just a Nerd Herder at Buy More. A nerd who was given all of the secrets of the government and became the Intersect. Then he met Sarah Walker, Hollywood star. She liked him, and he thought she was wonderful…to say nothing about being incredibly beautiful. He then met her co-stars, her friends on the show. The gruff, hard-nosed Casey, the sultry Carina, and the lunatic laugh riot Jimmy. And then he found out the people who played spies on a popular TV show really were spies, and they were there to protect him from the bad guys. Thanks to them, he survived an attack by two dozen enemy agents before becoming the hero himself, saving those people in the hotel from a bomb that was about to go off.
And that was the first night.
His life had been turned completely upside-down ever since. He helped take down one of the most elusive terrorists in the world, saved his sister's life, found out Bryce Larkin got him kicked out of Stanford to keep him away from the spy life, and brought down the biggest boss in the Russian underworld. But beyond that, he also helped Casey reunite with his former love, laughed at Jimmy's misfortunes with the Hollywood crowd, and even saved Sarah's life when she was poisoned.
And that kiss…
He never felt a kiss like that in his entire life. He knew there was a connection between Sarah and him. But he also knew she was not good with relationships. Her relationship with Bryce broke her heart, and he understood that. He could live with being friends with her as long as it was her job to protect him. Maybe someday…
But the large man dangling him out the window made that someday suddenly very bleak.
"Chuck! My name is Chuck! And see, the thing is, I kind of work for the CIA and the NSA in my off hours when I'm not working at the studio, and this is kinda sorta a second job for me. And though I know I don't look it, being lanky of build, you should know I am probably the most important intelligence asset in the world."
The man looked at him. "Chuck, that is the single dumbest story I've ever heard."
"That very well may be, but if you drop me, there are a group of people who are going to be very, very upset."
The man didn't look at all impressed. That is, until the door behind him exploded. They flew open, and Sarah, Casey, Carina, and Jimmy entered with guns drawn as if they timed it to the second.
"What the…" the man said, not expecting in his wildest dreams to be facing four actors.
"Let the geek go!" Casey yelled.
"Wait!" Sarah interjected. "Not out the window!"
"Aren't we picky."
Carina rolled her eyes. "Really, you two?"
The man looked at Chuck and then at the four people in front of him. He took Chuck and threw him through the air. Chuck knocked Jimmy over and fell on top of him as the man grabbed a rope hanging outside the warehouse and slid down it.
"How many times do we have to tell you to stay in the CAR?!" Jimmy growled underneath Chuck.
"You know, it's NEVER safe in the car!" Chuck groaned, still trying to shake off his latest near-death experience.
Casey and Carina went to the window to fire at the man, but he was well out of range. "Well, did you get it?" Casey asked Chuck. "Tell me you got it."
Chuck got up and held the small square case in his hand as he helped Jimmy to his feet. "I got it! Of course I got it. It's me."
Casey walked past Chuck, snatching the Cipher out of his hand. Sarah gave him a smile.
Hotel Amarano - Burbank, CA
December 17, 2015
2:00 AM PST
"Excellent work, team."
The five were gathered around the video monitor as Director Graham and General Beckman heard their report regarding the recovery of the Cipher.
"Our transporters will be taking the Cipher out of Los Angeles," Graham said.
"General, what exactly is the Cipher?" Sarah asked. "Mercenaries break into an NSA lab and this is the only thing they take?"
Beckman and Graham looked at each other. "The Cipher is the artificial brain for the new Intersect computer," Beckman replied.
That got Chuck's attention. "The new Intersect?"
"We've been working on a new one ever since the original Intersect was destroyed," Graham said. "The Cipher is the final piece."
"Uh, wait. Time out, time out for just a second here. What happens to me, the old Intersect?"
"In 72 hours, the new computer will be online and Operation Bartowski officially comes to an end. We'll develop an exit strategy to get you off the show and away from your cover as Sarah's boyfriend. You'll be done with us. No more briefings, no more missions…no more spies."
Chuck stared at the screen in complete shock. He thought this day would never come. And truthfully, he didn't know how to feel about it. Certainly he wouldn't miss the constant danger and the possibility of death at any time. But to go back to being an ordinary person, the thought filled him with as much fear as staying in danger.
And he'd never see the four people in front of him again. Especially Sarah.
He never bonded with a group of people like this in such a short time. Certainly not with Bryce or Jill. Outside of Morgan, he never felt as close to others as he did to these four. He could still picture Jimmy shoving Sarah and he out of the way and taking on that SUV to protect them. He remembered Carina shooting it out with the bad guys in the lecture hall at Stanford to allow him to escape. And it still made him smile when Casey and he were tied up by those Russian mobsters and fought them, even if they did fall into a pool from sixteen floors up. And that kiss with Sarah right before they were going to die…he couldn't possibly forget any second of that night. How intense, how electric it was.
He looked at the four. They didn't appear to be pleased with Graham's announcement either. Not even Casey or Carina. He wondered if they felt the same way about him as he did about them.
"Enjoy the rest of your life, Chuck," Graham said before the monitor went blank.
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
December 17, 2015
3:00 AM PST
Chuck walked through the courtyard with Sarah. She wasn't sure if she noticed, but he was trying to walk as slowly as he could. If he wasn't going to see Sarah again, he wanted whatever time he had left with her last as long as possible.
"Are you OK, Chuck?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm uh, uh, I mean I don't believe it, but I'm great, actually."
"Well, you're going to get your old life back."
Chuck laughed. "Yeah, I was starting to think the four of you were going to be my spy protectors forever. Or whatever the adult version of forever is."
"Don't tell me you're going to miss all of this," Sarah said with a grin.
"No," Chuck quickly replied before reconsidering his hasty answer. "I mean, I don't think I'm cut out for a job where you can disarm a bomb, stop CIA data from being stolen, or jump off of a building."
"Well, you could have fooled me."
"That's very kind of you to say, but I think my girlish screams in the face of danger kind of give me away."
Sarah smiled again. That very smile Chuck always liked to see. He knew he wouldn't miss the danger, but the woman in front of him was something he wasn't sure he could live without.
"I'll certainly miss the four of you," Chuck said with an abashed look. "That gruff exterior of Casey, which we both now know contains a gooey center." Both of them laughed at that. "Carina, Jimmy, they're great. And…"
Chuck fell silent and nervously stared at the ground. He was starting to feel that tension again where he wanted to be more than just a pretend boyfriend with Sarah. But he knew he had to put that away.
"How will they explain us breaking up?" Chuck asked.
"We'll come up with something," Sarah replied. "Don't worry, Chuck. Neither of us will look bad as a result. The last thing I would ever want is for anybody to think even a little badly of you. I'll take the heat if it has to be that way."
Chuck smiled. "Wow, it's the first time I'll get the 'it's not you, it's me' speech and I'll know it really wasn't me."
Sarah laughed at that. "So what happens now? You're almost free. What are you going to do next?"
"Well, you know, I'm sure they'd take me back at the Buy More…"
"Chuck, can I tell you something?"
"Of course."
"You can do anything; I've seen you in action. And I'm not just talking about the bomb defusing or standing up to the bad guys. I mean, anything you wanted, you can have."
"I don't know. It's kind of hard to think of what I can do given what I've seen from the four of you."
Sarah shook her head. "Chuck, we're not a group of superheroes. None of us have some magic skill set we were born with. We just trained to be spies and do that for a living. We have decades of experience among of us, but you walked right into this with no training and no idea what would happen. And not only have you survived, you have thrived. You've done more than most agents could hope to do in their entire careers."
Sarah gently took his hand in hers. "You even saved my life."
Chuck looked down at the ground in embarrassment. "I'm pretty sure you still have the lead in the whole 'life saving' department, Sarah."
Her smile went up to full wattage. "I never kept count, Chuck."
As Sarah turned to return to her car and Chuck entered his apartment, a man observed them from the shadows. He took a few notes on his smartphone. He then dialed a number.
"I'm in Los Angeles," he said to the person on the other end of the line. "I have the target located."
"You're on hold for now, Agent Gruber," Director Graham replied. "You will wait until we've verified the new computer is online and functioning correctly in approximately 72 hours. Then you'll terminate Bartowski."
"Understood."
"Might I suggest you scout the team. I want to keep the body count to a minimum, but I have a hunch Walker, Casey, Miller, and Slade will not react positively to this."
"Should it be necessary, I will take care of them."
"Do NOT underestimate them. They're the best team of agents in the United States for a reason."
Director Graham hung up the phone. Karl Gruber was Divison 7's best wetwork man. And Graham hoped Chuck would be the only person to not walk away from this. But if he had to order the execution of his sister, her new fiancée, his Buy More co-workers, or the team he put together, he would not hesitate.
~/^\~
Chuck only got a few hours of sleep, but he didn't need them anyway. The smile on his face was permanently etched in stone. Not only would he be done with the spy world, not only would he not have to worry about bad guys chasing him or be just seconds away from bombs blowing him up, but a little while ago, he realized something very important.
In just over 48 hours, Sarah wouldn't be his protector anymore.
As he walked into the bathroom, his mind was racing. He had to come up with the perfect way to ask Sarah out on a real date. This was probably his only chance to do so. Surely Sarah and her team would be off to another part of the globe after this, and the best he could hope for was a tiny smile gracing his lips whenever Jen Burton and her friends were battling evil in some part of the world, knowing they would really be taking on the bad guys wherever that would be.
He wiped the fog off of the mirror, wondering why there was so much of it. And then he found out why the hard way.
"Morning, Chuck," Devon said from inside the shower…with Ellie hiding behind him in total mortification.
"AAAHH! My eyes! I'm blind! I'm blind!" Chuck covered his face and quickly ran out of the bathroom.
~/^\~
Chuck sat quietly at the table eating his cereal. He was quite tense, as was Ellie. Devon was entirely oblivious to their discomfiture.
"OK, uh…first, uh, first of all, Devon," Chuck finally managed to eke out. "Congratulations on…on the…whatever God gave you there. Second of all, the door was not locked so I'm not a complete pervert. And third of all, this is just another reminder of why I need my own place."
"There's no rush, Chuck," Ellie replied, far more calm now that Chuck broke the ice. "It's great having you here. But maybe you're right. You make a lot more money these days, right? We could help you look for some place really nice. Something that will impress Sarah. I'd imagine she's stayed in some beautiful places, so you'd really have to step up your game."
Chuck nodded. "Maybe you're right. I mean, I've only been seeing her a few months. I've been thinking about stuff, uh, like my life and where I am right now."
"Unburden yourself, Chuck," Devon replied. "Where's that head of yours?"
"I…I don't know. I just think…I need to…make my life more stable…get a real job."
"But you have a real job now, Chuck," Ellie said. "And you have a great girlfriend. Do you even realize how much you have now? And you earned it. You deserve it."
"No, you're right. It's just that…all of it could disappear tomorrow." Chuck paused and tried not to let any expression show on his face. If only Ellie and Devon knew how true that statement was. "I think I have to be ready in case things change. Maybe go back to school, go get my degree."
"What happened?"
"You know when you meet someone, and they just kind of…you know…they flip you on your head? Just shake things up a little bit?"
Devon put a hand on Chuck's shoulder. "You're talking about a Mr. Tony Robbins."
Chuck smiled and shook his head. "So close…and yet so far away. Honestly." He looked at the watch that wasn't on his wrist. "Look at that! I have to get to the studio."
He bolted from the table and ran out the door.
O.C. Studios – Hollywood, CA
December 17, 2015
10:00 AM PST
Chuck walked down the main aisle to his computer setup to work on the episode being filmed to start the new year. He wanted to get done early because there was a beach scene being filmed today and he had a look at the script, even though his skills wouldn't be needed for the episode. But the scene looked funny as hell on paper and he wondered if it would be that funny when they actually filmed it.
"Chuck!"
Chuck turned and groaned when he saw who it was. "Morgan, how did you get in here?"
Morgan looked back and forth. "I'd tell you, buddy, but that would sort of lessen the purpose of me being here in the first place." Chuck gave him a look. "Gave the security guard a $50 and insisted that you told me to come here."
"Great, just wonderful."
"Chuck, I need your help, man. I just need five to forty-five minutes of your time. I couldn't do this at the Buy More. Those Large Mart goons are all over the place."
"What are you talking about?"
Morgan unrolled the large blueprint he brought with him. "This. The compound level from Call of Duty. After our last battle with those Large Mart douches, I started to work on this. Planning on how we can take them all out. OK, listen up. Here are the specs, are you ready?"
Morgan took out a telescoping pointer. "23 infantry troopers, 16 snipers, seven heavy gunners, four demolitions experts, and enough ammunition to orbit Arnold Schwarzenegger. 50 gamers, one call, all ready for battle. With this team assembled…and my plan…I think we can beat them."
Chuck smiled. It didn't take much to understand why Morgan was so likable despite having almost no maturity. "Morgan, you are my new hero."
Morgan smiled at the compliment. "I know, man. And…whoah! DVD bonus material!"
Chuck turned around to see what Morgan was looking at. Sarah, Carina, and Jimmy approached, all wearing swimsuits. He couldn't help but stare at Sarah wearing a black two-piece outfit with so little material, he wondered how it would get past the censors. Morgan, true to his tastes, was actually drooling at the red bikini Carina was wearing, which was little more than red dental floss with three small patches of cloth in strategic locations. By comparison, Jimmy looked almost like a monk in his trunks, but Chuck still figured just as many women in the studio would be watching the scene as the men.
"Morning, Chuck," Carina said pleasantly before turning to Morgan. "Martin, right?"
Morgan was too flabbergasted to even form individual words. "Ca…Carina, you…you…"
"I'm going to go get some coffee while Morgan finishes his sentence," Jimmy said with a smirk. "Anybody want a cup?"
Sarah laughed. "This was the day half the damn studio's been waiting for for a month."
Morgan was still having trouble processing the situation. "Actually, we owe him a picture," Jimmy said to Sarah and Carina. "Can you humor him?"
Sarah and Carina nodded, which put the biggest smile on his face. Morgan handed Jimmy his smartphone and stood between Sarah and Carina. The three put their arms around each other and smiled as Jimmy snapped the picture.
"Great picture," Chuck said. "Hope you have a security code for your phone. You know what would happen if Anna ever saw that?"
That snapped Morgan back to reality. "Oh, man. You're right." He quickly programmed his phone to require a four-digit number to access it. "Good call, Chuck. I should get back to the store. Good to see all of you!"
Morgan took off. Chuck turned to Sarah. "So sorry about that."
Sarah smiled. "It's OK. Jimmy said Morgan was a big help when we had to keep you away from the media when…"
She let the words trail off. Nobody needed to be reminded of how uncomfortable those few weeks had been right before they ran into Stavros Demetrios.
"Sarah, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Of course," she replied pleasantly. "I'll meet you two on the set," she told Carina and Jimmy, who walked down the pathway to where the beach scene was set up. "What did you want to talk about?"
"I…" Chuck began to lose his train of thought. "Sorry, it's hard to talk to you when you are…well…" he gestured abashedly at her bikini.
She laughed, took the robe she was holding and put it on. "I think you bring chivalry to a whole new level."
"Is it my fault?" Chuck replied with a laugh. "Really, have you seen you?"
"OK, fair enough. So what's up?"
Chuck paused and steadied himself. "You want to go on a date sometime?"
Sarah stared blankly at him. "A date? A real date?"
Chuck nodded. "An actual date. Without aliases and spy gear and a mission?"
"Chuck, we went over why we couldn't do this."
"But in 48 hours, you won't be protecting me anymore. The four of you will be off somewhere across the world…probably quelling a revolution with a fork."
Sarah smiled but Chuck could tell her guard was up. "I'm still a CIA agent and there are a hundred reasons why I shouldn't do that."
"What do you have to lose? Before you know it, you'll be gone and off leading the team again. Stopping Casey from shooting anything that moves or dragging Carina home after she has too much fun or smacking Jimmy upside the head for…whatever. I'm sure he'll deserve it. Just think: you'll be off… in the middle of Jakarta in the middle of a knife fight with some evil-doer. And in that exact moment, you're going to wish that you would've spent…one last night of fun with me."
Sarah stared at Chuck but this time, he didn't look away. She could feel her mental objections, all of the reasons why dating an asset was a bad idea fade. This was no ordinary asset. This was someone who never put himself first, who cared as much for her partners as she did.
And those damn puppy-dog brown eyes were too tough to resist.
"OK," she finally said with a smile.
"Really?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Tonight. Our first real date."
"Or our second first date."
"No gunfire, I promise."
Sarah gave a smile as she walked down the pathway to film the beach scene.
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
December 17, 2015
6:30 PM PST
Chuck quickly buttoned his shirt…the fourth one he had tried on…and straightened his hair. He was feeling a bit nervous. This was an actual date with Sarah. Just the two of them, no weapons, no mission, and no spy work. He felt a bit of regret that Sarah would be gone in a few days, but he decided to follow the advice he gave her. He could have one last night of fun with her and then he would return to a normal life. The hard part was knowing what that 'normal life' would look like now. He was serious when he told Ellie that he wanted to go back to school and get his degree, now that he knew he could have done that. But other than that, he wasn't sure what he could do or even want to do. Sarah said he was capable of anything. Unfortunately, that didn't make the decision any easier.
He walked into the living room, where Ellie and Devon were laid out on the couch, still in their hospital scrubs.
"Hey, date tonight?" Ellie asked.
"Yeah, yeah…we're going to go grab some Chinese food and then maybe hit the Echo after that," Chuck replied.
Ellie turned to Awesome. "Did you hear that, Devon? Do you recognize the sound of a proper date when you hear it?"
"My tank's empty, babe," he replied tiredly.
"That's my future husband," she told Chuck with a tinge of snark behind it. What about you? Any revelations? Any thoughts of what you would do if you weren't on the show?"
"Um, yeah. A few…"
"If you say 'pilot the Millennium Falcon', I will hit you."
"I…why would I say that? That's absurd! I'm going to be a…ninja assassin."
"No, try again."
"Um…Olympic…"
"Uh-uh."
Chuck paused. "Secret agent?"
Ellie exhaled in annoyance. "This is what happens when you sit in front of the television set too long. Seriously, what are you going to do?"
"El, I just came to this decision today. Well, at least seriously thinking about it. I do know I want to finish college, like I said. I want to travel, and maybe Sarah will take me somewhere or I'll go on my own. And I want to learn an obscure language that only really cool people know. But I promise, it will happen."
"Wow, look who's all grown up."
Chuck smiled. He gave her a hug. "See ya, sis. Love you."
"Love you, too. Have fun."
Chuck exited and went to pick up Sarah at the hotel.
Hilton Hotel – Universal City, CA
December 17, 2015
7:30 PM PST
Jimmy took the elevator up to his room on the 11th floor. He still had on his swimsuit from the day's filming and he was exhausted. It wasn't shooting the scenes over and over again that bothered him; it was the crew giving him all sorts of grief about getting to have Sarah and Carina all over him throughout the day wearing almost nothing. It wasn't his fault; the script called for him to go undercover as a high-profile trafficker and they were pretending to be his arm candy. To make matters worse, they had to do an interview with Entertainment Tonight at the end of the day and the studio insisted they stay dressed like that to generate more interest for the episode. Social media had been blowing up ever since ET posted the interview on their Facebook page. Given the public knew Sarah was 'dating' Chuck and Carina and he were just friends, a new hashtag had emerged: #NeverGetsLaidSlade.
He went out to the balcony. He could see the lights coming from Universal Studios and CityWalk. Hundreds of people were out enjoying themselves as they got ready for Christmas. He had to smile; he was a bit jealous, actually. He had only celebrated Christmas twice in his entire life…during the last two years. And that was at Sarah's insistence. He wasn't sure what to get everybody, but he figured gift cards couldn't be too bad. Casey bought him a new Glock, Carina got him a half-dozen pairs of silk boxers…one size too small, naturally…but Sarah gave him the best gift. It was a framed picture from the show of Lance McCall carrying Jen Burton out of an exploding building. On the back she wrote, "To the man who thinks I carry him all the time, proof positive he's wrong. Love, Sarah." Casey and Carina received similar pictures…a shot of Duke and Jen back to back with guns drawn and a shot of Jen and Jill kicking ass…with similar sentiments. He had to smile: Sarah always went out of her way to make everyone on her team feel important. It was little wonder why they would go to their graves to protect her.
He turned back to the room…and saw six guns pointed at him.
The Fox & Hounds Pub – Studio City, CA
December 17, 2015
7:30 PM PST
Carina walked into the bar and ordered her usual drink. This was typically her first stop when she wanted to party throughout the evening. She would throw back a couple of Vodka and Red Bulls and take a look at what was out there. If the clientele in here looked hot, it made her more optimistic for a fun evening. Of course, she was already in a bit of a good mood, having tortured poor Jimmy during that ET interview and putting Sarah a little on edge with her not-exactly-chaste flirting with the reporter.
The man next to her was sizing her up. He wouldn't exactly be walking a runway in New York anytime soon, but he might be good for a warm-up act this evening.
"Hello," the man said. "You're from that show, right?"
"Yes, I am," Carina replied. "Are you a fan?"
"You could say I have a vested interest in it."
Carina looked on in confusion until she saw the gun pointed at her. The man was keeping it out of sight to not draw attention.
"Why don't we head outside?" the man said.
There wasn't much Carina could do in the bar without blowing her cover, so she walked outside, hoping she could dispatch of this person quickly and quietly.
Unfortunately, she'd also have to get rid of his two friends in the alley, who also had guns trained on her.
Toluca Garden Chinese Restaurant – Studio City, CA
December 17, 2015
7:30 PM PST
"Wow, this food is good. So how did you hear about this place, anyway?"
Chuck smiled. He knew he picked the right place to go. "Morgan, as a matter of fact. The man has a black belt in dumplings. I trust any recommendation he gives me for food items less than ten dollars."
Sarah raised an eyebrow. "So our first date is a Morgan recommendation?"
Chuck stared at her with a big grin on his face. "Wow, no faith in the little bearded man. OK, I think you should know he's always been supportive of our fake relationship. And he's never found it remotely unbelievable that a guy like me could be dating, um…you know."
"What?"
"Um…you know. You."
There was a playful twinkle in Sarah's eyes. "What about me?"
Chuck laughed nervously. "You're really going to make me say it, aren't you." Sarah shrugged and smiled as she continued to eat her noodles. "OK, fine. All right, we'll play it your way. A girl like you. Or more appropriately, a woman like you, considering the fact you can probably kick the ass of every person in this joint. And…a smart one at that. Not to mention cool…and hangs out with some very cool people. And…extremely beautiful. And…you can stop me anytime with the compliments if they're becoming, you know…"
Sarah laughed and looked down. Chuck couldn't believe he actually made her blush. This was going way better than he anticipated.
"No. No, that was very sweet," she replied.
"Sweet. Golly gee, thanks for making me feel like I'm eight."
She laughed again, feeling she made such a good move into agreeing to have a real date with Chuck. He made her laugh more than everyone she had ever met put together. And comedy was a big part of her show cover.
"Well, you're not so bad yourself," she finally said.
"Please, I'm fantastic," Chuck answered in jest.
"Yeah, you are," Sarah replied…and not in jest.
That made Chuck look up from his food and concentrate on her. He was kidding and she wasn't. He felt that tension again, but this time he felt like there might be something more to it than that. After all, like he told her, they wouldn't see each other again and they certainly liked each other.
"What would your team think if they knew we were doing this right now?" Chuck asked her.
"It would probably kill them."
Toluca Terrace Apartments – Burbank, CA
December 17, 2015
7:45 PM PST
Casey heard the doorbell to his apartment ring. He was expecting the couriers from Washington, D.C. and they were right on time. He grabbed the Cipher and walked to the door.
"Who is it?" he said into the monitor, looking at the image of the man on the other side of the door.
"Messenger," the man replied.
Casey activated the door scanner, which searched for weapons on the person, but it came back clean. Casey opened the door.
"Pickup call placed by one G. Beckman?" the man said.
"Verification code?" Casey asked curtly.
"Morning glory."
Casey nodded and handed the Cipher to the courier. He placed it in a box.
Casey looked around. "Where's your backup?"
The courier put a mask to his face and aimed his other hand at Casey. A powder spray shot out of his sleeve, hitting Casey in the face. The courier left as Casey doubled-over coughing, struggling to take a breath.
He dove for the wall opposite of the door and hit a button on it as blood came out of his mouth.
Toluca Garden Chinese Restaurant – Studio City, CA
December 17, 2015
8:15 PM PST
Sarah cracked open her Chinese cookie and read the fortune inside.
"So, does it say where you're…uh…going next? Your new mission?"
"Actually, it does," she replied.
Chuck was amazed. "Really?"
"No, not really." Sarah couldn't believe he fell for that. "Besides, it doesn't work that way. Our assignments could be anywhere. There isn't even a guarantee they'll keep us together, although I'm sure they will. Even the government doesn't argue with success."
"But you…what if they didn't?"
Sarah shook her head. "A CIA officer doesn't get to choose their assignments. Not even us."
He gave her a smile. "You know, I…still have an awful lot of secrets in my head," he said as he leaned in a little closer. "The Lindbergh baby, the formula for New Coke…"
"What are you saying, Chuck?" Sarah replied, leaning in closely as well.
"What I've always wanted to say, Sarah."
Both of them started moving towards a kiss. Right before closing his eyes, Chuck glanced to his right…and wished he never had. He caught a look at one of the patrons and began to flash, seeing images of the man on FBI and Interpol reports for trafficking and smuggling.
"Oh…" he then looked to his left and flashed on a woman at another table, seeing a German police report and several dead bodies, all of them slashed with a knife by her.
"Oh, oh, oh…" he then flashed on the waiter, seeing a Chinese 'Wanted' poster and a picture of the man in a leather coat.
Chuck sat back, his teeth tightly clenched. "Chuck, what is it?" Sarah asked in fear.
"We're surrounded," he replied in exasperation. The restaurant patrons and staff pulling a slew of weapons out confirmed Chuck's theory. "Sarah, you have your gun, right?"
"Nope."
"Why…why not?"
Sarah looked back and forth pensively. "You don't bring a gun on a real date," she whispered quietly.
"Hello again, Chuck."
