A/N: Sorry everyone for the delay. An entire month without posting? That's definitely my worst. I'll blame it all on the grant I was working on. The sheer number of projects I've had to create, read up on, and then forget for this thing ... I'll spare you the details but I did get the grant so things are good for the next couple years.
Anyway, the last we saw our hero, he was hurtling through the Morgan Door on his way to try to save Sarah, as the dastardly Shaw had put a hit out on her. And off we go ...
Something's wrong!
Usually the voice in the back of Chuck's head only whispered, reminding him he'd forgotten his keys or was late for work. This time it screamed. As he sprinted for the courtyard exit, it took him only a second to realize what had tripped his internal alarm. Casey's front door was ajar but the apartment was dark.
Oh shit, they got Casey too!
Chuck caught the blurring movement in his peripheral vision a moment before it hit him. He was lifted off his feet, his mouth clamped, pinned against his sister's door. The Intersect activated a moment later but before it could take over his assailant growled in his ear.
"Company. Six. Organized team. Couldn't see faces. Probably armed."
Casey! You're alive, thank god.
Casey's words registered a moment later and Chuck's eyes went wide. He felt the grip of a gun shoved into his hand and looked down to see the characteristic extended barrel of a tranq pistol. Casey was holding its twin.
To Chuck's questioning look, Casey replied, eyes sweeping the apartment complex. "Too much collateral damage for bullets. Wait for my signal." With no futher explanation he sprinted to the planter by the east entrance, ducking behind the foliage.
Then the lights went out. Swiftly and with little sound, several bodies entered the courtyard, fanning out. Chuck attempted to still his breath but his surging adrenaline and hammering heart fought him. He brought up his tranq pistol aiming at a dark shape then paused waiting for a signal.
Light flared from the windows of Casey's empty apartment, illuminating several men, their backs to Chuck. The Intersect began firing, calmly choosing targets, but at the first pops of compressed air the intruders were in motion, ducking for cover and locating their attackers. Chuck saw one, possibly two fall, then …
Pain.
It exploded outward from his abdomen through his entire body. He dropped to the ground, wracked with cramping convulsions. Through blurred vision he could see uncoiled wire trailing over a lighted halo of fern leaves, extending down towards his middle. A shadow moved through the light and then a knee was pressed into his kidney, his arms pulled behind his back.
No! Sarah!
His mind began to scream, knowing she must be fighting for her life; in a moment he would be powerless to help her. The scream built till, unexpectedly, he could hear it in his ears, growing in pitch and volume. Then suddenly it became words Chuck recognized: "That's my friend you asshole!" His captor apparently heard it too as he paused in his movements.
"What the f …"
Abruptly Chuck was released and a stream of grunted swearing erupted behind him. He managed to roll over on his back and was greeted with a sight both heartwarming and disturbing at the same time: Morgan Grimes, legs latched around the man's abdomen, was biting his neck and clawing at his face like a crazed spider monkey.
Buddy!
Unfortunately, superior hand-to-hand combat training prevailed a moment later. Morgan was thrown to the ground, a booted foot in his back. To Chuck's horror, the goon slid a knife from a sheath at his thigh and pulled Morgan's head back by the hair.
"No, asshole! You want me not him!"
Chuck cursed at his limbs, willing them to move, but knew he'd be too late to help. His eyes focused on the glint from the blade that told him it was at Morgan's neck. In the moment before it bit into flesh, Chuck caught a streak of red hair and blue satin from the corner of his eye. Without slowing, the streak slammed into Morgan's attacker, delivering a wicked head butt to the back of his neck. The man sprawled forward, releasing Morgan, then began to roll over and face his opponent. Before he could recover, the small figure leapt at him, barely avoiding a lethal cut to her femoral artery from the uptipped knife. She brought her knee down, with full force into the man's nose and face, killing him instantly.
Fabrice stood, death and red fury on her face, then ripped the hem of her dress to press against her wound. Nodding to Chuck, she grabbed the goon's knife and stood defensively over Morgan, facing the courtyard. Chuck turned then, becoming aware of the other struggle and saw Casey in a losing fight with two attackers. A third was pulling a silencer off a downed comrade and screwing it onto a 9mm pistol.
Weren't expecting a fight, were you?
Before the man could finish, Chuck rushed him, his muscles fighting every movement. He flashed on the target as he ran, information fluttering up from a previously suppressed corner of his brain. David Allegheny: Taproot leader, convicted of human trafficking charges but receiving a much reduced sentence due to his willingness to testify against co-conspirators in the executive administration.
Wow! That never made the news.
The Intersect quickly broke off the flash as Allegheny turned on him. Chuck knifed his left hand into the pistol, deflecting the barrel aside then grabbed at the man's clothes for a judo throw. Before he could gain purchase, however, Allegheny rolled backwards, planting a foot in his sternum, gaining the distance to fire.
"Freeze! Hands on the back of your …"
Surprise and confusion crossed Allegheny's face as he looked to see he was holding only half a gun. Chuck smiled flinging the gun's slide assembly into the planter then dove his knee at the commando's solar plexus. Allegheny rolled with lightning speed, dodging the blow, returning with one of his own to Chuck's back. The strength of the man nearly knocked Chuck on his face but he recovered with a roll, popping into a fighting stance.
Allegheny was on him instantly, swinging an eight-inch blade towards his rib cage. Chuck turned, deflecting the blade past his shoulder and sent a knee to the man's midsection. This had little effect other than giving Chuck a split second to recover before he had to dodge the blade again. Several more times the blade flashed and Chuck parried, having just enough time to deliver an ineffective blow in return.
He quickly began to tire and it occurred to him that Allegheny was merely slashing at his upper body — not a killing move. You're supposed to keep me alive, aren't you? Shaw still needs me! Allegheny was using his superior conditioning to wear him down till he could be incapacitated. Knowing his stamina wouldn't last much longer, Chuck made a gamble and dove at Allegheny's midsection after the man appeared to stumble. He knew he'd been tricked when his arms closed on air and he found himself being driven into the ground with the weight of a body on top.
Chuck's breath exploded out of him and he lay stunned. Steel vices gripped his arms, painfully twisting them behind his back. He struggled, gasping for air. The courtyard began to go dark around him. His vision contracted at the edges. Then strange sounds began to ring in his ear.
Ping … ping … ping.
It reminded him of his one summer in little league, chawing on Big League Chew, listening to the aluminum bat make that unnatural sound during batting practice when Danny Werbacher would knock them over the fence. Then the sounds stopped, a weight lifted off his chest, and the wad of gum in his mouth disappeared. Sucking in deep gulps of air, he realized he could move and rolled over, the darkness receding from his vision. The figure above him was the last he expected to see.
"Ellie?"
Her gaze was fixed on the motionless form of Allegheny beside him. She didn't react to the sound of her name as a bloody bat fell from her slack hand.
Oh god … Ellie! I'm so sorry I got you involved with this.
The sounds of fighting pulled Chuck back into the present. Across the fountain Devon had joined the fray and was helping Fabrice hold off an enormous beast of a human as Casey grappled with another beside them. His friends looked exhausted and he knew they would fold soon if this didn't end. Chuck raced two steps around the fountain then sprang at the behemoth, twisting in the air. With the last of his reserves he lashed out with his heel, hammering the pressure sensor in the man's carotid, then finished his spin curling into a ball behind the knees of Casey's opponent. Both attackers fell simultaneously, the beast's blood pressure dropping precipitously, the other tripping over Chuck's back with the weight of Casey on top of him. The commando's head smacked concrete and he lay dazed.
For a moment everyone remained frozen in a state of shock, except for Fabrice who began searching the big attacker with an efficiency that belied experience. She pulled zipties from a pocket at his thigh and began tying him up, then threw a pair at Chuck and Casey. Rather than grab for them, Casey rolled off his dazed attacker, collapsing to the ground. Chuck suddenly became aware then of the red, weeping gashes on his partner's arms, legs and abdomen.
"Jesus … Casey!"
"Zipties, moron … before he comes around."
To Chuck's relief, Ellie snapped out of her shock then and knelt at Casey's side. Casey's warning had been accurate though and his attacker began to return to consciousness, flailing his arms. Chuck wasn't the slightest bit hesitant about knocking him across the skull to subdue him before securing his wrists and ankles.
Ellie straightened from Casey's side, her voice commanding now that she had a problem she understood. "Devon … first aid kit … and I need some light."
"Got it, babe." He started for their apartment. "I'll call 911 too."
"No!" Casey and Chuck shouted it simultaneously. Ellie tried pushing Casey's shoulders back down but he resisted, grabbing Chuck's wrist. "Probably too late anyway. Bartowski, you're gonna have to hold off the cops with a story till the cleanup team gets here. And you need to order a cleanup team. You know who to call?"
Chuck shook his head, studiously avoiding eye contact with his sister. "I can't stay, Casey! Sarah …"
Fabrice put her hand on Chuck's shoulder. "You're right. If they sent this many after us … Go. I got this. Sarah needs you." Chuck turned wide eyes on her and she nodded, repeating, "Go."
"You're not an analyst, are you?"
"Neither are you."
Before Ellie could ask the questions that were on her lips, Chuck raced past the fountain, stooping for his dropped tranq gun, then slipped through the archway to the street. He didn't even notice Morgan, standing alone, forgotten, staring at the thug who'd nearly killed him and who now lay dead on the ground. The little man barely felt the shiver that ran through him.
My girlfriend did that.
He looked away from the grizzly sight, noticing Ellie bent over Casey and Fabrice pacing with her phone to her ear. His mind began trying to put together what had just gone on around him. Had it all really happened? Did a troop of badass commandos just try to invade the apartment complex? And did five of his good friends, some of whom he'd known for years, just take them down like characters in some action movie? Morgan froze, bearded chin in hand, reeling as he came to the only conclusion that made sense of it all.
"Everyone I know is a ninja!"
Chuck blew through another red light, slowing just enough to avoid an accident. Only a few days earlier the race had been to his apartment so he and Sarah could get naked as quickly as possible. If he could just have traded every green light from that trip for clear traffic now.
Oh god, why did I leave things so badly this morning? I'm such a coward. We're partners too, besides lovers. She at least deserves to know how I feel. Gah! Get your priorities straight, Bartowski. The only thing that matters is stopping that hitman.
He turned onto 3rd Street, gunning the accelerator for two blocks, then pulled up across the street from Maison23. Looking up, Chuck couldn't see any lights on in Sarah's room.
Oh Jesus! Chuck took a deep breath and blew it out as he crossed the street. No need to jump to conclusions. Maybe she just stepped out. She has to be okay!
The hotel's lobby was nearly empty so he sprinted to the elevator, but as he stepped on, a row of floors already lit confronted him. The sniggering of the elevator's other occupants, two weaselly pre-teens, explained the situation. Managing no more than a Casey-like growl at the grinning idiots, he got off and raced across the hall to the stairs. He sprinted up, taking the steps three at a time and made it to the sixth floor without slowing. By the tenth floor, however, he was gasping for air, just short of stumbling and promising to add stair climbing to his training regimen.
He opened the door to the hall, lurching as he rounded the corner. Icy, needling fear ran over his skin. Sarah's door was open, just a crack. There was no light on the other side. Trying to slow his breathing he pulled the tranq pistol from his waistband and nudged the door open.
Chuck had never seen so much blood. Just out reach of the light from the hallway lay a crumpled body.
"Sarah!"
"Chuck!" A vision of blonde hair and grey sweats rushed out of the gloom, wrapping him around the middle and threatening to wring out his last breath.
Despite his profound shock, Chuck couldn't suppress a groan as Sarah's chin dug into his bruised ribs. She quickly let go, running her hands and eyes over his torso, her expression instantly concerned. "Are you hurt? You should've gone to the hosp — unfff."
She was cut off mid sentence as Chuck pressed her to his chest, wondering if he'd ever be able to let go. He buried his face in her hair, letting the familiar scent convince the part of his brain that was slow to catch up. She was alive!
"Mmphffff." The sound came up from somewhere around his collar bone. He heard it again and noticed it almost sounded like his name. He loosened his grip. "Chuck …," Sarah took a few deep breaths, her eyes questioning, "… did you think that was me?" She indicated with her head toward the body behind her. Chuck nodded as she stopped just short of rolling her eyes. "Please! They only sent one after me? I should be insulted!"
Chuck felt a stab of frustration at her cavalier attitude but then saw the way her eyes cut away to the floor. For just the briefest moment he could see her relive the fear in her mind and he knew. This one must have been close. I'm sorry I wasn't here to help.
Sarah continued. "Somebody, I'm guessing Shaw, thought they'd disabled all the security to get to my room." She smiled but there was no humor, only cold satisfaction behind it. "You should never assume you know more than your opposition."
"You added your own?" Sarah's smile widened in response. "So you were just waiting here for him?" Chuck nodded towards the body on the floor.
Her smile faltered. "If I'd been waiting for him, he'd be tied up and ready for questioning ... or at least alive." Sarah shook her head. "He caught me coming out of the bathroom … without my cell phone. What is it I always tell you?"
"Stay in the car?"
This earned him an impatient look. "Besides that. Always keep your phone on you. And what do I do? I Leave it on the bedside table while I go to the bathroom. Stupid, stupid."
Chuck nodded trying to work out what that had to do with anything.
"I only had the key-entry alarm with me in the bathroom …" She pulled out what looked like a key fob from her hoodie pocket. "… and thank god I did, because if I hadn't known he was on the other side of that door …" She stopped for a moment, reading Chuck's face. "You know what, you probably don't need me telling you the rest right now. Just know, I will be much more careful in the future."
By this point Sarah had reached around Chuck, shut the door and turned on the light. He could now see the face of the man on the floor and recognized him immediately from earlier that day. Chuck's eyes rolled slightly, dancing side to side, images fluttering out of formerly repressed memory.
Julius Silverman: Former Navy Seal, most recently worked on Taproot. Convicted of human trafficking but sentence reduced. Just like Allegheny. One of SOG's foremost experts in assassinations. Trained assets in both Ghaddaffi's and Hamid Karzai's …
Holy crap! Beckman is literally going to kill me that I know this stuff.
"Did you just flash?"
"Yeah. Dead guy's from Taproot. Look, that doesn't matter now." The other significance of the flash had just occurred to him — foremost expert in assassination. Sarah had probably just been closer to death than she'd ever been since he'd known her. He'd come to the conclusion on the car ride over, thinking she might be dead, that she deserved to know how he felt. He couldn't just chicken out now that he knew she was alive. He took a deep breath and with no plan, let loose a rambling mess of remarkable stupidity.
"Sarah, you know I love you so much … and this is really bad timing but …" Sarah's eyebrows shot upward and she stepped backward, suddenly defensive. Fantastic opening, Chuck. Can't even make it out of the gate without stepping in it. "When I talked about moving in together this morning I did it because … well … sometimes I think about what it would be like … you and me. I mean … I think it would be nice." He pinched the bridge of his nose. Nice? Really? "God, this isn't going well. Okay, I might as well just … I know I was coming off a long drought when you and I started to … you know … have sex, so you might think I'm not being objective when I say it but … Sarah, I don't want anyone else … just you and me for the rest of our lives. I know I can't justify it and I don't want to. That's just how I feel. And I know you're not ready so I shouldn't be saying any of …"
"You … you!" Her tone was low and lethal, cutting off his rambling speech like an axe. He flinched, and for good reason, as a second later she punched him in the shoulder, again somehow finding the exact same place she'd hit him so many times before. "I've been wringing my guts for days over what's been going on in that head of yours and you choose now to tell me. You stupid man!" She wrenched him down to her lips, opening her mouth for a kiss that was spectacular and frightening in its intensity. It had to be, as she broke it off only seconds later. "Of course I'm ready! What the hell were you thinking? And I spent all Sunday night … and then today …" She made a frustrated half scream in the back of her throat. "God, you have awful timing!" She looked down at her watch. "And now there's no time. You're gonna have to help me. I need you to …"
Sarah's mouth was still moving, making words but they might as well have been in Swahili. Relief and endorphins had overrun his brain making his head swim. Then, suddenly, the words stopped and he felt the pressure of Sarah's hands on either side of his head, directing him to stare at two startling, intense blue eyes.
God, she's so pretty.
"Chuck! Focus! The way these things work there's going to be a guy, maybe two, probably dressed like EMTs, firemen, or cops, who are already on the way over to confirm that I'm dead. We need to make that appear to be the case. Do you understand?"
Chuck nodded automatically then ran the words through his head. "Wait … what?"
"Oh no. They did give you another concussion, didn't they? Great, that's all I need. Okay, why don't you come and sit on the …"
"Sweetie, I'm fine. No concussion. There's just a lot to take in. How about you tell me what you need me to do."
"You sure?"
"Yep. Whatever you need, I'm your man."
Sarah smiled, giving him a peck on the lips. "That's not a favorite shirt of yours, right?"
"Uh … no. Why?" Chuck felt a shudder run through him, suddenly realizing what was coming next.
Sarah kicked the boot of the body on the floor. "Can you put this guy in the tub for me?"
A/N: Most guys only have to take out the trash.