AN: I don't own Chuck. It's been a busy month. Still writing. This one is a little shorter because it felt right to split it here before writing the next stage. Thank you for all those who are reviewing. Your encouragement is appreciated.

Chapter 25 – The Dogs of War

The sun was up, and the heat was lingering under the trees and vegetation that spotted the hill slopes and ridge line. Chuck was embedded with the soldiers from Col. Theil's unit. They were slowly advancing up the side of one the hills using the trees, underbrush, and large rocks for both cover and concealment. The cover was not the issue at that moment, but concealment was, and if it was lost, cover became the most important thing. Still, Chuck hated the feeling of the camouflage paint smeared on his face. It made it feel like sweating was three times harder than normal, and it itched. Chuck wanted to use his fingernails to scrape it all off and to ease his primal desire to scratch. Chuck was nearing his wits end when they stopped for the millionth time. That is when he felt the most annoying thing in the world. A drop of sweat rolled down his backside right between where left meets right. Chuck thought to himself, "This sucks. How do soldiers do this day in and day out?" He decided to look ahead and see if he recognized any of the hand signals being communicated between the lead soldiers.

Two soldiers moved forward and assumed positions across from one another. They laid prone facing a small clearing in the vegetation. Once they were in position, then two soldiers from the back of the group moved forward, ran between the other soldiers and across the clearing. When they reached the other side, they fell prone and faced the directions they were traveling. Then two by two the rest of the unit followed the example of the soldiers that had just crossed the clearing. Chuck followed suit when it was his turn to cross the clearing. Casey crossed with him, and once in a secure position he whispered to Casey, "What are we doing?" Casey rolled close to Chuck and whispered, "Crossing a danger zone."

Once all the soldiers were across the area they continued their movement along the ridge. Chuck was surprised that these men could move so silently while carrying the loads they hauled on their backs. Indeed, they were lived up to their motto of being silent professionals.

It wasn't long before they came to a stop. Just beyond a clearing, a cabin sat back into the woods. They could see some men performing a roving patrol. There were probably about 20 men altogether within and without the structure. Chuck looked at his watch and then in the sky. It shouldn't be long before Sarah brought the boat up the lake with the parasailers preparing for their aerial distraction. He maneuvered slightly and realized he could see the lake from his vantage point. He began scanning the surface when he heard the sound of a boat engine and saw the wake on the surface.

Unfortunately, Chuck wasn't the only one to notice the boat moving toward the shoreline. One the members of the roving patrol saw the boat. He quickly rushed over to a storage shed and removed a rocket launcher. Dropping to a knee and firing before anyone could react, he unleashed a rocket headed directly for Sarah.

Chuck was helpless to do anything but watch as the rocket made direct contact with the ship turning it into a fireball. Chuck snapped. The Intersect activated, and Casey would later report that Chuck's actions were similar to the time when he ingested the Laudanol. He leveled his suppressed M4 and fired a single shot at the man who fired the launcher. The man quickly dropped to the ground as the round struck him just behind the ear. It was a clean shot, and Chuck was moving.

He ran into the clearing and used the Intersect's fighting skills to take out the dead man's two partners. He then moved up to the window beside the door, smashed the glass with his elbow and tossed in a flash-bang. The grenade went off disorienting nearly everyone in the room. Chuck kicked in the door and entered the building without backup.

Casey could only watch in amazement as Chuck surged forward. He looked to his forward right and saw the additional troops start to round the corner to support their friends. Casey opened fire and taking down the first two men to move out from the cover of the building. This is when Thiel's men opened up and began to assault the side and rear of the cabin. Casey was just reaching the steps when Chuck entered the front door. He could already hear the sounds of battle inside.

When Casey entered the living room, he saw beaten and broken men lying around the room. It was clear that none of them were living. Chuck was just finishing off a man when Casey called for him to, "Stand down!" Chuck looked Casey directly in the eye, and it startled Casey. Chuck simply removed his hand from the man's chin in a quick snapping motion that sent another man to eternity. Casey was about to say something else when another man popped up from behind the sofa leveling a pistol. Casey's shot flew true, and the man fell back while the man's round went through the ceiling. When Casey turned to look, Chuck was moving through a door in the cabin that looked like a bedroom door.

Chuck kicked the door in and moved straight into the room. His eyes leveled on the two people in front of him. Jill was right there with a knife to Carina's throat. Jill opened her mouth on seeing him, "I knew one day…" She never finished. Chuck didn't hesitate, he leveled his pistol and fired a clean shot between the eyes. As she fell back, her blade made a superficial cut on Carina's neck. Carina didn't feel or see a thing. It was evident she was still knocked out from some kind of sedative. Chuck looked passed them to the open window and saw that the curtains were pushed outside. Someone had just left through the window. He was off to catch them.

Casey entered the doorway after hearing a single shot. He looked in, and Carina was slumped over with a bloody mark on her neck, and Chuck was diving through the window like an acrobat at the circus. Jill was obviously dead. He rushed over to Carina and gently moved her head to look at her neck. His hand reached for her wrist and feeling a pulse, he let out a sigh of relief. He didn't want to think about life without her, now that he was letting himself think along those lines. He gently laid her head back on her chest and went to the window. He saw Chuck standing there looking down a path where dust could be seen receding. He knew instantly that someone got away on an ATV. As Casey watched him, it clicked. Sarah was on the boat that exploded!

-Moments Earlier-

Sarah sat on the boat scanning the sky and ridge line making sure that her team was way safely. That is when she saw the puff of smoke and the rocket trail headed her way. In an instance, she flashed and dove. She just cleared the boat, and dove under the water trying to swim deeper when it seemed like the water above her turned to fire. She felt the shock wave drive her body deeper. It was then that the Intersect kicked in and gave her the ability to correct herself, and make her ascent to the surface. When she broke the surface, her lungs were screaming for air. She looked around momentarily and found a piece of the boat. Latching on for the support she began making her way to the shoreline. As she was swimming, she heard the sounds of battle on the ridge above.

-0-

Casey rounded the corner of the cabin, but Chuck was no longer in the path. That is when he noticed Chuck running through a clearing downhill towards the lake. He looked like he was trying to get ahead of the ATV that was winding down the path that led towards the lake. For moment Casey imagined Arnold Schwarzenegger driving a suburban downhill with no engine trying to stop the people who kidnapped his daughter Alyssa Milano. However, all that ended when he saw Chuck leap off a cliff headfirst, and out of sight.

-0-

Sarah had just walked up on the shore when she heard what sounded like ATVs roaring just overhead. Her eyes quickly tracked the dust and looked ahead for a possible destination. That is when she noticed the speedboat docked slightly off-shore. That had to be their destination. She was about to take off running, well she was going to run as much as she could being 6-months pregnant, but before she could take off two bodies came crashing down in the sand on the shoreline. It only took her a moment to realize one of the bodies was Chuck's body.

-0-

Chuck was not thinking about how crazy this was to run downhill chasing three ATVs. In fact, he wasn't thinking at all, all he knew was Sarah was gone, his baby was gone, and if he's life was over, so was those who ended his. Therefore, when he came to the cliff and the ATVs were directly below them he leaped forward. As he flew over one the ATVs, he grabbed a guy on the back of the center vehicle and crashed further over the side, landing in the sand along the lake's shoreline. He had just rolled out of the crash and was preparing to snap this guy's neck when he heard Sarah screaming his name.

"Chuck! Chuck!"

He had the man's neck in the crook of his elbow, and he was standing behind him. He locked his hand on his opposite forearm for leverage and was squeezing when he realized she was really there. At that moment, he eased back and allowed the man to pass out rather than ending his life.

"Sarah?"

"Chuck!" She ran into his arms. "I heard the battle, and I was so worried."

"Sarah?" Chuck couldn't believe she was there. He pushed her back from him and held her by her shoulders. She quickly ran his hands along her arms, as he looked her over for any injuries. "You're really here. Are you alright? How did you escape? Is the baby?"

"Shush." She kissed him. "You're spiraling." She pulled back and looked him over. He had a fair amount of blood on him, and dust and dirt and his clothes were torn in several places. However, what unnerved her the most was the pistol holstered on his side.

"I… thought you were dead," Chuck had tears in his eyes. Then he simply collapsed at her feet. It was then that Casey ran up to them. He took in the scene and noticed Chuck collapsed, and Sarah distraught over his condition. She was kneeling beside him running her fingers through his hair. That is when Casey heard Sarah as well. She kept begging, "Chuck, talk to me. Just tell me what is wrong." Chuck kept saying over and over, "Please, still love me." She finally looked up and saw Casey. He shook his head, reached into one of his vest pockets, pulled out a tranq dart and stuck Chuck with the dart.

"Casey, what happened?"

"He thought you were dead. So did I. He snapped and," he stopped and took a deep breath before finishing. "Remember when I told you about what happened down at the train?" She nodded and gave a faint smile through her tears. She was beginning to understand what happened. "How he wasn't wired to be a killer like us. Well, we know that when push comes to shove, he can take someone out like he did Shaw. However, this wasn't like that, you weren't about to be killed, you were killed. So he did what I was going to do, he took out anyone in his path without hesitation, and with fierce accuracy. He saved Carina and killed Jill, but someone escaped, and he gave chase. Looks like he caught at least one of them, but it also seems he's still not wired like us."

"And he's scared I will not love him anymore." Sarah hated how she held him to a double standard all those years ago, while being drawn in by Shaw. She would find a way to fix her love. She had to find away. There was no way he was going back to the good doctor. "Casey, we need to keep Beckman in the dark to his condition."

"Come on. We need to oversee the cleanup, get that one to interrogation, and get Chuck and Carina some rest. He will be better after some rest, and as long as you're there when he wakes to reassure him, he will snap back. Then we need to find out how he went into Rambo mode with no emotions."

"Rambo mode?" Sarah raised her eyebrow.

"I kid you not, Sarah. Call him going all the other Chuck or Rambo or I don't know what, but he tore through the other guys like they were not even trained professionals. Just wait until we get back up there, and you see it for yourself."

"The other Chuck?"

"You know Norris?"

A few hours later when they loaded Chuck and Carina, both freshly sedated, on to the chopper, Sarah sat down put her head in her hands and hid her tears from everyone around her. Her Chuck had become death, and it looked like hell followed him. She prayed like she had done as a little girl, that God would not allow this to break her Chuck. As she prayed, Chuck was locked in a dream as the sedative wore off.

Hannah was kissing him. Hannah was beside him on the plane. Hannah was watching when he came back from taking care of Panzer and the stewardess. Hannah was giving him the full-court press. Then the scene switched to Shaw and Sarah, "My people are never alone." The view split like two sides of a television screen, on one side Shaw was calling Sarah Sam and putting the moves on her, and on the other side, Hannah was pressing Chuck.