Chuck Vs. The Omni
Chapter 12: Alterations and love complications
October 26th 1886 (6:58pm)
"We will not forget that Liberty has here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected."
United States President Grover Cleveland stepped down from the podium and proudly showed off Lady Liberty's brilliant torch. Seeing the horrified faces of the crowd he lowered his husky arms and gazed into the night sky. A giant airship fast approached and an intense static filled the air. Everyone's body hairs to rose and their hearing numbed from a high pitched frequency.
"What the devil is that?" The President cried out. "What is happening?"
A long shaft of blue light emerged from an open compartment on the airship and zapped the statue in the mid section. Liberty was sliced in half. The crowds screamed as the upper body rocked back and forth and swayed as if alive. The President's bodyguards dragged him to an escape sailboat. President Cleveland turned his face away from the scene. The Statue's famed sculptor and architect, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, fell into the torch flames with an agonized scream. The blue laser shot out again, and the statue's head flew off. It bounced onto a terrified crowd of people and slammed on the left side of the Island. The statue finally gave out and its upper body toppled. It crushed anyone left in the area. The laser struck a final time and spliced the immense feet. The lower half collapsed into heaps of metallic ruins. It crumbled the stone base underneath and a thick cloud of dust rose and obscured the entire island.
The airship floated past the devastation as if nothing were amiss. Mission accomplished.
Liberty was dead…and freedom demolished.
September 24th, 2007 (On a skyscraper rooftop in the heart of Burbank. Late night)
"Sarah! Woah, woah…hold on a sec! Was I not supposed to look at those pictures?"
Sarah Walker was about to answer the distraught Chuck Bartowski's questions but a deep chill ran down her spine. She glared at him and hoped he would understand.
"Okay, I may have to aim my gun at you, so just don't freak out!"
Chuck was already on the verge of a breakdown after receiving a confounding email from his ex-college roommate Bryce Larkin. The email uploaded thousands of cryptic images into his brain. He couldn't make sense of anything in the last two days and now the gorgeous woman who'd accepted a date turned out to be a CIA Agent.
They barely made it out alive from a car chase that ended with the Nerd Herd mobile smashed in the building's garage. He still wondered how he'd to tell Big Mike the awful news. He saw his Assistant Manager position whisk away into his cloud of broken dreams, and Harry Tang's obnoxious, gloating face floated into view. Chuck's glory days at the Buy More were numbered.
He could only stammer out one word. "Why?"
Sarah steadied her gun and didn't respond. A man walked out of the shadows with a vicious grin. He ran a gnarled hand through his silver hair and straightened his black tie. He twirled a toothpick across his full lips.
"Well, well, well…two birds with one stone. This is going to be good."
Sarah tried to control her shudders. Major Robert Bradshaw was the meanest and cruelest assassin the NSA employed. He was also a loose cannon rumored to be on the take with chief institutions and Government officials around the world. If you so much as blinked the wrong way he'd kill you in a heartbeat. She already imagined what his initial orders were – take Chuck Bartowski alive and leave her for dead. She played it cool.
"Nice to see you, Bradshaw. It's been a while…don't be too hasty." She warned.
Bradshaw cocked his gun and aimed it straight at Chuck's heart. He moved closer. Chuck cringed and wondered how the man got the five inch scar that ran from his upper lip to his right temple. Murder emanated from his pale eyes.
"I'm never hasty, Agent Walker. I know exactly what I'm doing. This man is coming with me, the NSA wants him."
"I can't let you take him! Chuck Bartowski is our only key to finding the Intersect, Major!" Sarah replied.
Bradshaw raised his gun higher, and the red dot glowed in the center of Chuck's forehead. Chuck couldn't take the incessant tingling in his legs; he only had one way of escape. He turned and raced a few feet to the ledge. Both Sarah and Bradshaw cried out for him to stop.
Chuck threw his arms out and tottered. He pulled back just in time. He saw a hotel building across the way. His mind blanked and hundreds of images flashed before his eyes, including one of the Serbian assassin who'd tried to kill him in the Large Mart earlier that day. He raised his arms slowly.
"They're gonna kill him." He mumbled.
"Who's going to kill who?" Bradshaw barked.
"General Stanfield! The NATO guy who's making a public address at that hotel on the other side of the street! Any minute now he's gonna die!"
Sarah looked at Chuck incredulously. "How do you know that?"
Bradshaw heard enough. He curled his hairy finger over the trigger. "He's a covert working with that punk Bryce Larkin…and now he has to die! I already made sure I put Bryce on ice...nice, slow, and painful!"
"He's dead? Oh no! I'm not working with him! I'm a computer technician! I'm not a spy! I keep seeing all these images ever since I opened Bryce's email. I don't know what they are! All I know is the CIA and NSA both know about the Serb…please believe me!"
Bradshaw shrugged nonchalantly. "All lies."
"No! Don't kill him! He knows about the Intersect! He can lead us to it!"
Sarah rushed for Bradshaw, but it was too late. His gun went off and Chuck never knew what hit him as his body plummeted to the concrete hundreds of feet below. Sarah fired a shot with unusually shaking hands and just missed Bradshaw's shoulder.
Bradshaw whipped around and shot twice. Sarah slumped on the roof floor, her eyes glazed. He twirled his weapon, wiped it off and shoved it into Sarah's cold hands, making sure her fingerprints were on the trigger. He stuffed her gun into his holster. His insider would make sure the gun registries were switched. Bradshaw's men came up and he pretended to check her pulse.
"Men, over here! We got two down! I knew this Agent was rogue! She worked with Larkin! She killed Chuck Bartowski, you'll find him scattered all over the pavement. I tried to stop her, but it was too late. She didn't even give him a chance to explain. It looks like we've lost the Intersect forever."
The other NSA Agents all stood at firm attention, but extreme fear crossed their faces. The fate of the Country rested on the information the Intersect provided. Bradshaw grunted and stumbled to his feet. At fifty-five, he was getting too old for all this dirty work.
"Bag her…and hurry up and scrape up that guy's body before too many other people notice. Check every landing, he might've gotten caught on another floor. Make sure to clean it all before the morning. We don't want any traces left, do you understand?"
The other three saluted and dragged Sarah away. Bradshaw shook his head and popped a piece of gum in his mouth. Chuck Bartowski had family and friends. They'd have to be dealt with too in case they knew something about the Intersect. He leaned on the ledge of the rooftop and checked his watch. In exactly five minutes the hotel would explode. He hoped the Serbian didn't foul up the plan. He made a mental checklist of which countries to call and tell the good news. Now all their secrets were safe and it was time for them to pay up. His hard work didn't come for free.
~Oo~
Voyager Headquarters: Present Time
Phineas Bogg realized that Chuck Bartowski was a smart man. The Buy More Technician overcame his uncertainty and insisted on helping Bobby and the archivists locate traces of Casey's past. The Matthew Casey and Colleen Baldwin line ruptured along with thousands of others on October 26th, 1886. They found portraits and clerical records. The images of Matthew and his likeness to Casey startled both Sarah and Chuck. There were no further records of the couple's existence beyond 1886, even though Chuck discovered the ship logs that transported them from Chicago to New York City.
"It says there was a delay because of mechanical failure. Their ship didn't arrive until a few hours after the inauguration." Chuck said. "But if the Caseys survived…there's no telling for how long. We don't know why they disappeared. There's no reports of them ever returning to Chicago on VHQ's Time Frequency Database…but your paper files of the ship logs subsequent to the torch lighting say different… they were back on the boat two weeks after the inauguration. I don't understand it!"
Bobby discussed with the trio about what he coined the 'safe haven' theory. For as long as Chuck and Sarah remained on Planet Voyager, their lives were spared the grisly fate that the Omnibus recorded from Planet Earth's current time line. Since Major John Casey never existed, a corrupted NSA Agent caused a dreadful chain of events when he destroyed the Intersect. This catastrophe, as well as the 10.0 Earthquake that struck California would be restored to normal once they found Jeffrey and Casey.
The news unsettled Chuck so much that Sarah thought he'd go into a state of shock. However Chuck was resilient. He immediately went back to his research and Sarah took it as a sign that he needed to be alone with his thoughts.
An hour later, Phineas quietly placed a cup of coffee near Sarah on the console. Chuck had his head down and lightly snored. All his worrying, pacing and brain wracking wore him out. Phineas motioned her to go with him. Sarah picked up her cup and sipped it. It was strong and slightly sweet, one of the best she'd ever drank. She finished half and left it aside. Sarah realized Phineas needed to get out of the OCC as much as anyone. She stroked Chuck's hair and brushed the curls from his eyes. He shifted, but didn't wake up.
Sarah literally felt her pupils dilate once they left the dim room. She didn't realize how long they'd stared at nothing but blinking computer monitors and data feeds. Phineas felt the same and they both rubbed their eyes.
"Woah…now I know why I shun this area when I visit Headquarters." Phineas admitted. "I'm pretty much computer illiterate, but I try."
"It's headache inducing after a while. Casey is actually the computer savvy one with all the cool gadgets at home. I prefer bright, natural lighting in my apartment."
Sarah gazed at him. His eyes were bloodshot and it was not all from artificial lighting. Phineas curled his mouth sadly and cleared his throat.
"Would you like to go out front for a bit?" He held his hands up quickly. "I promise, no funny stuff. I know what you're capable of."
Sarah sighed and bade him to put his arms down. "You know that I'm capable of understanding, in-depth conversation, and friendship? That's so intuitive." She noted with a slow smile.
Phineas' face warmed. With all the excitement he didn't have a chance to see Sarah's true beauty. There was gentleness in her features that he hadn't fully noticed before since he feared she'd wag the gun in his face. When Sarah walked ahead of him with her head down, he groaned. She'd seen his glare of attraction. He couldn't control the sensitive sparkle that lit up his blue eyes whenever he felt this way. He hurried to catch up and grabbed the door.
"Umm…after you, Sarah."
"Thank you, Phineas. You're a real gentleman."
Outside, dazzling beams of moonlight bathed over her and Phineas held back a gasp. She was ethereal. He cursed his pants for not having pockets and put his hands on his hips, then tentatively crossed his arms and rubbed his hair.
"Stunning night, isn't it? Those two moons amaze me."
Sarah stared into the purple jeweled sky and tilted her head toward him.
"It's glorious. We always take the grandeur of the universe for granted, don't we?"
"I'll say…when I was a pirate, I remember laying out on the deck and counting the stars, but it was completely moot. They're uncountable."
Phineas noticed Sarah's eyes take on a watery, green radiance and her pale, delicate throat moved up and down as she swallowed back tears. He wondered about the last time she'd ever received a simple hug from a friend. He couldn't let the moment pass. He gently moved his arm across her back and his other over her shoulder. Sarah's breath hitched. She fell into his strong arms and wept. For over a minute she was at a loss for words as Phineas held her close.
"It's okay, Sarah. Everything is gonna be okay. I have a lot of confidence…enough for all of us." He imagined how she felt to hear of her own demise, and the fact that she couldn't save Chuck in the current time-line on earth.
His tears were dangerously close to falling. Sarah pulled away relieved and wiped her nose. She smiled at him.
"It looks like we both have a lot to cry about."
"Yeah…for those we love." He sniffled.
Sarah feigned surprise. "Love? What do you mean?"
Phineas kicked the grass around. "I mean just that…love. I love Jeffrey and I miss him terribly. When Bobby told us the alternate history I felt like I wanted to…" Phineas exhaled and he shook his head.
"…Like you wanted to die." She finished.
"Exactly! No matter how much I console myself that this history isn't set in stone, it crushes my heart to know he died and I wasn't there to help him. What went through his mind? Did he call out for me? If Casey didn't make it, then I know he didn't."
Sarah held his arm. "I understand. When Bobby told me what happened to Chuck in the other…reality…I felt the same way."
"You love him, Sarah. You just can't admit it because of your work. Hey, you probably have a little place in your heart for Casey, since he's your partner. I understand. Our work…our oath to serve a greater cause makes us sacrifice a whole lot."
Sarah pondered what he said and reflected on Casey's words to her. He once told her that they made a choice to protect something bigger than themselves, and they had to put personal feelings aside, because it was the right choice. Phineas' job as a Voyager was not much different. She was curious about the life and people he'd given up, but she decided not ask. He already had enough on his mind.
She raised her shoulders resigned. "Am I that obvious, Phineas?"
"It's all in your eyes…and motions. I saw the way you touched Chuck before you left the OCC. A woman would only do that for the man she loved." He said.
"If only he really knew. I keep pushing him away and one day I'm afraid he'll forget about me and move on. Everything about our relationship is so complicated." Sarah chuckled. "He hates when I use that word. It drives him up a wall."
"Chuck said the same thing…about things being complicated. I doubt that'd ever happen, Sarah. Chuck could never forget you. You're stamped in his subconscious thanks to the Intersect. I think he does know how you feel, but he also understands the importance of your mission with Casey. Don't give up on him yet. I believe that love is the strongest force in this universe."
Sarah put an arm over Phineas' shoulder. "How much do you charge an hour again?" She joked.
Phineas kissed the top of her head and pulled away so she didn't get the wrong idea. She didn't seem to mind his gesture and stroked his cheek. They gazed at one another and leaned closer and their lips made brief, sweet contact. Just as the kiss deepened, Phineas sighed and pulled away. She was a fantastic kisser. Sarah looked down, her confused emotions stirred again.
"The first sessions are always free, Sarah, but for some reason my patients never come back." He laughed. As much as he desired to go further, something didn't feel right. She belonged to one man only.
Phineas turned to go into the complex and Sarah clutched his arm.
"Wait…thank you, Phineas. You're a great guy and I'm sorry for the trouble earlier."
Phineas waved his hand at her. "Ahh…you were just doing your job, and you do it really well."
Sarah shook her head. "No…I know the guns disturbed you and I promise I'll never point one at you again. Somehow I feel that you and…"
She couldn't finish her sentence. Sarah felt an overwhelming rush of grief as she stared into his tranquil face. The idea of Phineas and those weapons would never mix.
"What is it, Sarah?"
"Never mind. I just had another thought…it's nothing."
Phineas shrugged with a wink. "Okay, then. Do you wanna go inside now?"
Sarah let his arm loose, embarrassed. "Of course…maybe they found something out in the last ten minutes."
"We can only hope…oh, and Sarah?"
"Yes?"
"Don't wait too long to tell Chuck that you love him. That's the biggest regret all humanity shares."
~Oo~
The OCC brimmed to life again as the night crews began their shift. Chuck was awake and he gazed at the Omnibus in deep thought.
'If Casey's family disappeared right after the inauguration and the Statue of Liberty was destroyed…'
He leaned over the keyboard and typed fast. It occurred to him they'd neglected one big aspect of this tragedy – Reports and eyewitness accounts. He scrolled through New York newspapers of 1886 and all the blaring headlines of the calamity. He stopped at the fourth paragraph of a cover story.
"Yadda, yadda…death, destruction…and a giant airship seen flying overhead just minutes before the Statue got zapped! A blimp! A Zeppelin! That's it!…wait…a sharp blue electrum unlike any the world had ever seen emitted from it…a laser! That's the only thing that could've done such damage! Yes! Okay! Okay! Bobby! Phineas! Sarah!… uh…Voyagers! I found it! I found the answer!"
Sarah and Phineas entered the computer sector just as Chuck called them. They raced to the Omnibus and Chuck jumped around excited.
"What is it, Chuck? What's going on?" Sarah asked.
"I know where Casey and Jeffrey are. They gotta be trapped in a Zeppelin airship…the same airship that destroyed the Statue of Liberty with laser technology…read the fourth paragraph! That's the only possible answer. I bet I know who's on it, too!"
"That Julian guy! Great job, Chuck! This has to be it!" Phineas patted his back heartily and Chuck stumbled.
Sarah pulled Chuck close for a hug and gave him an unexpected kiss on the lips. Chuck staggered back dumbfounded and Phineas covered his mouth to suppress his laughter. Someone needed to teach Chuck how to react in those situations. You milk it for all it's worth and kiss right back.
"I knew you'd pull through for us, Chuck. You always do." Sarah said.
Bobby and Tina hurried over. "I just heard all that. Do you want a job, Chuck? I can use a great man like you."
"Really! I…umm…No thanks, Bobby…I mean it's an honor, but I just want to save our friends and go home. I'm ready to jump right back behind the Nerd Herd and fix cell phones and faulty computers for the rest of my life!"
"That's what I thought." Bobby sniggered. He handed Phineas a gleaming brass omni.
"Top of the line, mate. Take care of it, and I want that other scrap metal omni as soon as you come back, it'll make a great paperweight!"
"Sure, I can mount it in a crystal box with a picture of me and Jeff." Phineas clutched the omni tight. He'd have to go over the manual of its new-fangled features later. His face glowed with hope. Bobby took him aside in private.
"Phineas, I want you to know we're taking a big risk…you know as well as I do what's really going on."
Phineas stared at the others. "We're breaking major counts of protocol…taking civilians on missions…and saving Jeffrey's life."
"That's right. Jeffrey's officially a Voyager, and if a Voyager dies on a mission, there's no going back, you know that."
Phineas was about to cut him off, but Bobby silenced him. "But…this is Jeffrey we're talking about, he's still a child. I don't care what the Tribunal says, Jeffrey never went to the Academy and wasn't even granted a personal Guidebook or omni. He's still a Voyager apprentice in my book. I couldn't live with myself if I let that boy die. I'll stand by your side at the Tribunal if there's any problems over this…all of us in the OCC will."
Chuck and and Sarah grinned and held hands.
Phineas let out a sob and hugged him. "Bobby, I can't tell you what this means to me. And as much as Casey is a pain to Chuck and Sarah…it means a lot to them too. Besides, he's a big part of the red light."
"That's right, keep thinking of good legal defenses, and so will Tina and I. I'll get Susan on this, she's still a hotshot lawyer, never lost a case yet since Drake vanished. Now get outta here and save our Jeffy!"
Phineas rushed to the others and flipped the omni open. "We're back in business. This omni won't give us a hard landing. Everybody latch on."
Chuck gripped Sarah's hand and she linked Phineas' arm. Phineas looked at the dials in shock before setting them.
"Bobby, this one has a clock?"
"That's right! It's super specific!"
"How do I know when to set it?"
Chuck looked at the Omnibus for the last time. "Fifteen minutes to seven. That's all we need to grab Casey and Jeffrey."
"That's cutting it very close, but okay…done."
"Hold on, we're forgetting that Wilhelm Julian destroyed the Statue of Liberty. He seems pretty powerful, we're going to need time." Sarah disputed. "He may have weapons, bodyguards…who knows?"
Chuck snorted laughter. "Sarah, Please. You're insulting us men over here. Have you taken a good look at that guy? I swear if Gumby had a brother…what could possibly happen?"
Sarah didn't want to waste time arguing the point. Sometimes men had to live and learn from their prideful mistakes more than women.
"Never mind. We're ready. Hit it, Phineas."
Phineas smiled at his new friends and the trio dematerialized within the blink of an eye.
