CHUCK VS A NEW BEGINNING

EPISODE 14: SMACKDOWN SHOWDOWN (PART 5)

BOB HOPE AIRPORT / BURBANK, CA

Sitting on board A.J. Casino's private jet, Chuck laid back on the very comfortable sofa relaxing with his head on Hailey's lap. He's enjoying the soft feeling of her hand softly running through his hair in a tender caress. He only wished Ellie could be happy for him because he's taking that first step towards improving his life that she so desperately wanted for him, finally getting out of the Buy More and moving on to a brighter future. He couldn't believe Ellie was disappointed and blamed him again for his complicated relationship troubles with Sarah, but he couldn't tell her the entire relationship was fake because Sarah's a government agent with the CIA.

Ellie couldn't see past the incredible acting that Sarah put on in front of her, instead she accused him of being dense and not really having a clue on dealing with women. He had to admit he too was under Sarah's spell for the entire time they were together, Carina helped open his eyes with her honesty and told him the true nature of Sarah's relationship to Bryce. That's not the reason he was upset with her about it, she continued to lie about it instead of telling him at least the truth on just that one delicate subject.

She constantly gave him mixed signals and kept using the "handler/asset" rule to say they could never be real, that's what heavily contributed towards his new attitude. Clearly he's in a no-win situation on that front, because he had the feeling Ellie would take Sarah's side over his anytime. Chuck's startled out of his thoughts when A.J. Casino sat down across from them looking at the scene in front of him.

Casino: "Looking a little rough there Chuck, what happened?"

Chuck: "I appreciate your concern A.J. but to be honest, Ellie can be very over-bearing and really pushy. She can be very scary when she starts up with her questions and won't let up until you answer everything to her satisfaction."

Casino: "Sounds like your sister's a natural born interrogator. She'd definitely be perfect for the spooks, if not a police detective. Don't worry Chuck, your sister can fire all the questions she wants. I will answer them to take the pressure off you. Now as far as being scary, I will take your word for it. However, I've been in worse places and faced pressure lots of times. Sometimes, it's just one action that could make all the difference in the outcome."

Chuck: "What kind of situation would that be? That's if you can tell me."

Casino: "Texas Hold 'Em tournament at the final table in Las Vegas, nationally televised on ESPN2. It all comes down to you and the other guy, you know he has a good hand and raised the bet to go all-in. Knowing full well there's the possibility his cards have that higher kicker to put him over the top. You look at the cards displayed on the table again, the chips already accumulated in the pot you know are worth over $50,000,000 and all comes down to your next action. Do you call going all-in to match and risk losing it all? Or will you simply fold your hand giving him the entire pot, along with the money advantage to control the game and finish you off slowly dragging it out to prolong the suffering and agony?"

Chuck's pondering what he would do if he ever found himself in that situation when the guys boarded the jet, Casino looked up seeing everyone was on board.

Casino: "Looks like everyone's here. David, how would you like to do this?"

David: "One thing's for sure, we're not going to let this slide and the numbers indeed are on our side right now. We could go to Echo Park and straighten things out between Chuck and his family to prove everything's on the up-and-up. However, it would also mean risking a direct confrontation with his spook friends. Chuck's been through enough for one day, and needs this time to get his bearings back to relax before we put him to work."

Wildfire: "The entire complex where Chuck lives, was under constant surveillance by his handlers. The apartment he shared with his sister and her boyfriend, was filled with audio and video bugs before we handled that issue."

David: "It would be understandable if Chuck was the only occupant, but that's invading the privacy of the other occupants. Which itself is violating their constitutional rights."

Artman: "What else would you expect from the spooks? They can do what they please, and the law's just a piece of paper that can be ignored by flashing their badges."

Hailey: "Chuck, this is your call. They've laid out the options, and looked at things from all the angles. Keep in mind that we're looking out for your best interests, along with your mindset. I know you want to straighten things out with Ellie, our biggest concern's your welfare. After all the drama that happened today, with the Buy More and the unexpected fight with your sister. Looking at you right now, it's very easy to see. You've been physically beaten, your mental state's fatigued, and you're stressed through the roof. Your body language even shows that you have no energy left to endure another battle today."

Chuck looked very sullen knowing that Hailey's speaking the truth, he didn't have the heart to debate anything. Things with Ellie shouldn't be left as it stands, if he wanted to accompany them and explain everything to her with the new job would help. In the end, he knew that she'd be harping more about his relationship with Sarah and continue to beat him over the head until he succumbed to her demands. Gambino grasps Chuck's shoulder to get his attention and to lend him support.

Gambino: "Chuck, what Hailey's said is true on all aspects. We can deal with this at a later date when you're healed up on these fronts, or more right now in the state you're in. Your whole life people made the choices for you, without your direct input. We're not going to repeat that trend, it's time to take charge of your life Chuck. The choice you make is your's alone. We want you to know that whatever choice you make, we'll support you and stand by your decision. That's what makes a great team, but most importantly makes a stronger bond in friendship. To know that your friends, will always have your back."

Chuck: "I want to thank you all for being here, and offering your encouraging words of support. The only people I could count on for that, were my family and friends at Buy More. Do I want to patch things up with Ellie? Of course! With everything that's happened, I'm not really in the mood to hear from her. Especially about how everything's my fault, such as my relationship issues with Sarah."

David: "There is one alternative action we can take, if you're interested to hear it."

Chuck: "What do you have in mind David?"

David: "Let's just say I have a more favorable approach, A.J. we need to have a private chat."

Casino: "This could be interesting, guys let's take a walk. Chuck and Hailey, you look very comfortable where you are. I hope we don't need to watch you, so don't move a muscle."

Chuck looked surprised as he found himself back in the original position, laying back on the sofa with his head on Hailey's lap.

Hailey: "Very funny Uncle A.J."

Casino: "Hey, I thought it was."

Gambino had that smirk on his face, he quickly took his phone out and snapped a picture of the scene when Hailey noticed him.

Gambino: "Aw look a the cute little scene there, Hailey loving her cuddly teddy bear boy toy."

Hailey: "I'm gonna get you for that! One of these days Gambino, your six is mine!"

Gambino: "Looks to me that you already have a six, you don't need to add more to it."

Chuck watched the glare she sent Gambino as he laughed before heading to the back with everyone, he turned his attention up to look into her shiny blue eyes before smiling."

Chuck: "Definitely not going to move a muscle, am I?"

Hailey: "Not if you want to make it through the night."

The teasing he heard in her voice and the smile she gave him definitely lightened his mood, she leaned down and kissed his lips softly before Casino and everyone else walked back in with grins on their faces.

Casino: "Well that's settled and since it's the weekend after all, you're going to the club that's gonna help boost your spirits Chuck. There's going to be more people for you to meet and best of all, you may get an additional job thrown your way."

Chuck: "That sounds like a good plan, what else did you discuss?"

Maverick: "Oh, we're just gonna play nice with the spooks."

David: "While they make sure your handlers behave, A.J. and myself are going to visit your sister and fully explain the terms of your employment. Not to mention, we're gonna give her the news about Stanford to help with the strain. Now before I tell her the results, I want you to see for yourself and how it proceeded."

David opened up his briefcase and handed the file with the investigative reports on what he uncovered to Chuck, he sat up with Hailey next to him looking over the results. His eyes go wide as he read the findings and the after-action report, he's stunned into disbelief. Hailey taking full advantage of it, gives him a full passionate kiss to his lips making everyone laugh.

Casino: "You deserve it Chuck, now for the first order of business. You two are under orders to leave this jet and climb aboard this one rolling in next to us."

Chuck and Hailey look outside the window and seen the Gulfstream G280 roll up next to them, they turn back to Casino with questions in their eyes.

Casino: "Look at it this way, you two can get your weekend started off right and with style. This way we can get our business taken care of, and you won't have to worry about waiting for us. You can feel free to relax, without your handlers coming after you. Have a safe flight."

David: "You earned it Chuck, this is just the first step. As for you young lady, don't get any ideas if you know what's good for you."

Hailey: "Come on Dad, what could I possibly do?"

David: "You know exactly what I'm talking about, you're too much like your Mom and me. I know exactly the kind of trouble you can get into, now go before we come to our senses."

Hailey squealed in delight then gave both her father and uncle a hug and kiss, she grabbed Chuck's hand and pulled him off the plane bringing a chuckle to everyone.

ECHO PARK / LOS ANGELES, CA

John Casey had his bags packed with a variety of weapons and the appropriate clothing to blend in at a vacation resort, he's waiting on Walker's return before they would depart for the airport. Suddenly, an alarm was beeping on one of his tracking devices alerting him of movement from the asset. When "Operation Bartowski" began, Casey placed all of his tracking and surveillance equipment all around the complex along with inside of Casa Bartowski. Casey had switched out Chuck's wallet with a duplicate one, a GPS tracker covertly stitched inside that wouldn't be discovered without a bug sweeper.

After he obtained the location of the signal, Casey had a small grin on his face when the knock at his door prompted him to check the peephole to see Sarah returned. He opened the door let her in and noticed that at least on the surface she was composed with her game face on, he decided to give her the update he just received.

Casey: "Looks like our boy's doing some thinking Walker."

Sarah: "What do you mean Casey?"

Casey: "One of the hidden trackers on him just confirmed his location, he apparently must've come to his senses from earlier. Tracker showing he's at the beach."

Sarah: "The sooner we get there, the better. Time to remind him that it's our job to protect him, his new friends are a threat to national security!"

Casey: "The investigation they ran at Stanford opened up the secret meeting with Fleming and Larkin, it could've raised red flags with Beckman and Graham."

Sarah: "So what do we do Casey? Do we confront Chuck with his friends, or should we get some backup?"

Casey: "We're on our own Walker. It's wise to be friendly towards Bartowski when we arrive there, if we act like we did at Buy More it's going to be a disaster."

Sarah: "Casey, I thought Chuck would be alone?"

Casey: "You thought wrong Walker, Chuck will be there with his new friends in tow."

The limosuine arrived at the Echo Park Apartments as the occupants noticed that Sarah's Porsche in her usual parking spot when she visits along with Casey's Crown Victoria, Casey and Sarah step out of the apartment heading for the Vic. Once the car started it immediately began tearing off down the road heading in the direction of the beach, checking the watch to time it right. Four men exit the limo and begin walking into the apartment complex, two head in the direction for Casey's apartment and pick the lock to slip inside easily as the other two stroll over to Casa Bartowski.