I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway.

Beckman has been hoping against hope that she won't have to ask Chuck to become a Dark Intersect and subject the team to the side effects. Well, her time is up.

Warning: There is a fairly gruesome main character(s) death in this story. Read at your own discretion.

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Code Blue

Washington D.C. - General Beckman's Personal Quarters:

General Beckman knew that something was seriously wrong when her Chief of Staff came bursting into her bedroom at three in the morning. Military protocol dictated that one would knock and wait to be invited into a superior officer's quarters. Indeed, his face was very flushed.

Major Collins was clearly out of breath. "I'm very sorry, ma'am," he said between pants.

"What is it?" Beckman said.

"Adam Colson, ma'am," he said as he still struggled to catch his breath. "I'm afraid that we've found another body."

And even though there was no rational reason, the look on his face said it. It was her worst fear. It was Janice. Somehow the bastard had found Janice. "Who?" she asked as she fought to control her own composure.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Collins said. "It's bad. It's Bryce Larkin."

The fact that she felt a little relieved instantly caused her to feel guilty. But this was also horrible news. Not really personally. Oh, Bryce was an excellent agent. And a valued member of the team. And she liked him – as far as that went. But she didn't love him. And she certainly didn't feel the personal attachment that she felt for the rest of the team. But the truth was that Bryce knew things. Things that could lead Colson right to them. So her voice noticeably cracked when she asked, "Was there a video?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. "I'm afraid it is beyond gruesome. It is being analyzed as we speak."

Beckman could barely get the next question out. "What about the team?" she asked.

"We think it likely that they are not compromised," Collins replied. "Yet. If Colson had learned their location, he would have attacked before letting us find the body. We believe that Larkin more then likely gave up the location of the old Castle. We're reviewing surveillance tapes to see if there has been any unusual activity there. Larkin didn't know their current home base location so he couldn't have given that up. It's possible that he compromised Colonel Casey's residence. But again, it seems like Colson would have attacked first."

"What about Bartowski?" Beckman asked. If he knew, even so much as Chuck's name, his sister would be a sitting duck. After all, her name was in the phone book.

"There's no indication that Larkin gave up Bartowski," he replied. "He is not in the intersect… so Colson would have had no reason to ask about him. The video was directed mostly at Agent Walker. He obviously has some sort of sick obsession for her." Collins was a career solder. A real hard core SOB. And that was a compliment. So when his voice cracked… it meant something. "But Larkin didn't die easily. It's… it's… it's very tough to watch, ma'am," he said.

Beckman wasted no time taking command. "Have my plane ready within the hour," she ordered. "We're out of time. Now we have no choice. Contact Agent Beckman and Colonel Casey and order them to travel separately to the home base. Advise them to assume they are being pursued. Contact the rest of the team. Put them on full alert and confine them to home base until I arrive. Assume command here in my absence."

"Yes, ma'am," he said as he turned to leave.

Beckman waited until he was almost out the door before she threw the covers off herself. After all, he didn't really need to see her sleepwear. "We'll continue this once I'm in the air," she called. "I want to be fully briefed on our analysis."

The Major didn't turn. He was obviously not any more interested in seeing what served as Beckman's pajamas than she was at showing them to him. "Yes, ma'am," he called over his shoulder.

Sulivan's Nightclub - Burbank:

Ellie and Janice were sitting at a table trying hard to keep a straight face. But it was hard. It was very hard. After all, Elise was at the bar working her magic on Andy. And he most definitely was not making it easy on her. His hands were all over her. So much so that it was on the very edge of what would be appropriate in a public place.

Ellie leaned in towards Janice to hide the smirk. "Let me get this straight," she said. "You made Elise go and ask this Andy guy for a favor and then you tipped him off that she would do anything to get him to go along?"

"Pretty much," Janice said. "Technically, it was Casey who told Andy. But that's a minor detail."

"Wow," Ellie said as she tried to control her laughing. "That's cold. What do you think he made her do?"

Ellie's eyes got wide as Janice whispered into her ear. The blush quickly traveled up her neck. "You're kidding," she gasped. "Janice, that's disgusting."

Janice laughed. "I'm just guessing," she said. "But I'll bet I'm right. It's what they always want." At that point Janice's phone began to ring. She could see that it was the NSA Command Center. "Ellie," she said as she stood up. "I'll be right back. I have to take this call."

Home Base - Chuck and Sarah's Bedroom:

Chuck and Sarah were sleeping. Well, they should have been sleeping anyway. At least, they were pretending to sleep. After all, it was after midnight… and they did have a three month old baby. That kind of limited their late night options. And for once, they were actually not cuddled together. Truth be told, they were sort of upset with each other.

Oh, it was nothing serious -- one of those silly arguments that all couples have from time to time. Chuck had probably even forgotten why they were arguing. But Sarah was going to be more than willing to remind him. After all, he knew dammed well that she was sensitive about her cooking. And, okay, so the casserole didn't turn out exactly like the picture on the recipe. But was that any reason to actually say something? The moron knew that she struggled in the kitchen. Couldn't he see that she was trying her best? If he had a brain in his head he would have just shut up and eaten it, called it delicious, and never asked her to make it again. But he didn't. Okay, even Sarah had to admit, it was pretty awful. But still – did he really have to say something?

So when they their cell phones rang at exactly the same instant, both sets of eyes immediately popped open.

Sulivan's Nightclub - Burbank:

Janice quickly stepped outside. There was no way to take a phone call in the noisy club. Getting a call from NSA Command Center wasn't really common – but it wasn't a cause for alarm either. It usually was only a courtesy. Being a senior agent, whenever something happened in their sector, they were notified. And usually it was nothing. A known perp was seen in the area. Or maybe a foreign dignitary was passing through town. Sometimes it was even a drill. "Beckman, secure," she answered.

"Agent Beckman," the voice said. "This is Major Collins."

That immediately got Janice's attention. Collins was General Beckman's Chief of Staff. Something was wrong. "Yes, sir," she said.

"We have a situation," Collins said. "You are directed to proceed to home base and await further instructions. You are to assume you are being pursued and defend yourself using any means necessary. Do you understand?"

Janice relaxed. This was obviously a drill. "Yes, sir," she said. "I am currently with Dr. Bartowski." Ellie and Devon were both designated as primary assets. After all, either one could be used to compromise Chuck. "How should I proceed with her?"

Janice smiled at the pause. Collins was obviously looking up this contingency in the drill instructions. It was a major gaffe to not have memorized them. The General was certainly going to have his ass.

"I'm not sure," Collins said. "Stand by while I patch you through to General Beckman."

That was Janice's first indication that this was no drill. Something was up.

After a single click it was the General on the line. "Hello, Janice," she said. "Where is Dr. Woodcomb?"

That made it official. The general using her first name meant only one thing. This was serious. "I believe that he's home ma'am," she said.

"And Colonel Casey?" Beckman asked.

"He's home," Janice said. "How should I proceed?"

"We need to assume that Dr. Bartowski has been compromised by her association with you. Take her with you to home base."

"Yes, ma'am," Janice said. "Agent Walters is here as well. Should she also report to home base?"

"Yes," Beckman said. "Assume hostile pursuit. Once you are at home base, assume an attempt to attack your location is imminent. Protect the assets and yourselves at all cost."

"Yes, ma'am," Janice said.

"Janice," Beckman said. "There was a vulnerability in her voice that Janice had never heard before. "Please be careful."

Janice knew that she needed to follow protocol. But she had just called her by her first name. Something was terribly wrong. And she had to know. "Mom," she said. "What's going on? Please tell me. Is Casey okay?"

"No time," Beckman said. "Colonel Casey is in no more danger than you are. That's all I can say. I'm in route. I'll brief you as soon as everyone is securely in home base. Until then, I'm counting on you."

"Yes, ma'am,"

"Janice," Beckman said. "I… I love you. I'll see you soon. Be careful."

As soon as Janice stepped back inside the club she walked directly up to Elise. "Code Blue," she said, making sure that only Elise could hear her. "Meet me outside in two. Assume active hostiles are in the area. I'll secure Ellie."

Elise really didn't know if Janice was serious or not. And she really didn't care. Facing active hostiles beat the hell out of being pawed by Andy any more tonight. "I'm sorry, Andy," she said. "Something has come up. I have to leave." She really didn't wait for a response. She thought that he called something about Saturday. But that honestly was the furthest thing from her mind at the moment.

Janice walked over to where Ellie was sitting. "Come on, Ellie," she said. "I need you to come with me right now with no questions asked."

Something in Janice's tone must have told Ellie how serious she was. Because she didn't flinch. She simply got up and followed Janice out of the bar.

Janice knew that the first thing was to sweep the car for bugs. If there were electronics on the car, they would lead whoever was after them right to home base. And sure enough, the sweep was positive. Damn it. The car was bugged. That meant… Janice's spy instincts were ringing off the hook. She quickly pulled out her handgun and surveyed the area.

As soon as Elise saw Janice pull out her weapon, she realized her mistake. "I'm sorry," she said. "My locator is still on."

Janice didn't know if she should be more relieved… or pissed. Right now she was both. And the look that she flashed Elise was not exactly friendly. But as soon as Elise turned off her locator, the sweep came back clean. That was good news. But now Janice had a key decision to make. She knew that she was the best driver. But she also knew that she was the best shot. If they were indeed, being followed by hostiles, which skill would be more important? She had never seen Elise drive… but she had seen her shoot. So that decision was made. "Give the keys to Elise," Janice said to Ellie. "And get in the passenger seat."

"What's going on?" Ellie asked as Elise started the car and Janice climbed into the back seat.

"I'm not sure," Janice said, as much for Elise's benefit as Ellie's. "The call said to report to home base and assume we're being pursued. I need you to follow my instructions to the letter."

"Come on," Elise said. "This is a bullshit drill, right?"

"Most likely," Janice said as cheerfully as she could. But she locked eyes with Elise and shook her head slightly. Elise's eyes widened as she received the message.

Janice directed Elise to take a very indirect route back home. She even had her pull into a Walmart parking lot for a minute. All the while she kept a sharp lookout to see if they were being tailed. Finally she was convinced that there was no one following them and allowed Elise to drive to the house.

Home Base - Communication Room:

The first thing that Sarah did when she hung up the phone was to scoop up Kate and take her downstairs. There was a safe room that was designed to be a last line of defense in case the house was attacked. There was already a crib set up there for just this contingency. She gently sat Kate down in the crib. Thankfully, she didn't wake up. Sarah then went into the communication room where Chuck was busy firing up the perimeter surveillance cameras. A quick check showed no sign of any trouble. But Sarah was taking no chances. She went to the weapons room and cracked out two high powered rifles and some assorted side arms. Chuck and Sarah worked silently but efficiently as a team.

Finally, Chuck was convinced that they were relatively safe. And Sarah was clearly on edge. So he grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry that I made fun of your casserole," he said. "I was just trying to tease you. I didn't mean to actually hurt your feelings. I know that you're trying."

In spite of the tense situation, Sarah was forced to smile. It was classic Chuck. He always knew what to say to make her feel better. "I know, sweetie," she said. "I'm being too sensitive. It was pretty awful, wasn't it?"

"It was strategy," Chuck said. His face was nothing but serious. "I'm sorry that I doubted you. You're always the professional."

"Strategy?" Sarah asked in confusion.

Now one look at his face and there could be no question that he was teasing her. His eyes sparkled as the grin lit up his face. "Yeah," he said. "If the bad guys do come. We'll just heat the leftovers up and feed them. That'll teach em. They'll leave and never come back."

It was pretty dark in the room. The only lights came from the monitors. And since it was dark outside, they didn't give off much light – and she was in the shadow. So he couldn't see her laughing. But he could feel it as she put her head on his shoulder. It felt like heaven.

It felt so great to have someone know you so well that they always knew how to make you smile. No matter what the situation, Chuck could… well he could do pretty much anything. "Very funny," Sarah said.

Sarah could see on the monitor that Janice's car had pulled into the garage. She knew that in a matter of seconds they would have company. And that was a good thing. Now there would be four agents to defend against any attack. But she also knew that they were in lockdown. They would not be alone again for… who really knew? It might be hours. Makeup sex would definitely have to wait. And even that kiss would have to last them for a while.

So she made doubly sure that it did.

Right after Janice pulled into the garage, Casey's car with Casey and Devon quickly followed.

"I knew it," Casey's voice billowed as he marched down the stairs. "I knew you two would be down here in the dark playing grab ass."

"Hey, Casey," Chuck said. "Are you hungry?" It was a stupid question, really. Casey was always hungry.

Sarah's eyes caught Chuck's and she bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"We have some leftover casserole."

End of Chapter