A/N: Another chapter and in only a week's time! I can hardly believe it myself. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one. I'm not really sure if it's ready or not, but I have made revision after revision on it and honestly I just can't stand the thought of going over it one more time. Anyway, I hope you like it. As always, than you to all of you who have been reading and reviewing and who have continued to stick with this story. I really appreciate it.
Chapter 28
His head was throbbing. His vision still blurred and obscured by the fresh blood that was dripping from his forehead when he finally came to. He found himself tied to a chair in the middle of a small empty room. The eyes of his two assailants on him, neither of whom Chuck recognized. He jerked his body pulling at his restraints. His hands were bound securely behind him, the ropes cutting into his flesh with every movement.
"Relax Mr. Bartowski. You will only make this harder on yourself." came the voice of one his captors as he stepped into the light. Chuck immediately flashed on him. He was CIA, but from what Chuck was able to learn from the intersect; this guy was a straight arrow?
"I'm sure you know why you're here, Mr. Bartowski." the other man stepped into the light beside his partner. Again Chuck flashed, another CIA agent with a clean record. It didn't make sense, why would they be after him?
The first man stepped closer to him yielding a metal pipe in his hand, tapping it repeatedly against the palm of his free hand. "Tell us everything you know about the intersect."
Chuck swallowed the lump in his throat as his eyes focused on the pipe and then he realized what was happening. This was his training. Or at least he hoped it was.
Casey watched from his monitors as the two agents grilled Chuck on what he knew about the intersect and where they could find it. Beckman and Johnson had decided to take chuck by surprise. They made it clear to Casey that he would oversee this leg of the training but they didn't want him to be the one to interrogate Chuck or inflict any pain on him. They wanted a neutral party, someone Chuck didn't know and who didn't know him. He would have no idea how far these agents would take things with him. They had no personal attachment to him. They wanted to see if he would crack under the pressure.
Casey rubbed at his temples. It had been 4 hours since Chuck was brought in. He had been questioned for hours, threatened numerous times and even sustained several blows from the agents interrogating him yet he was holding up. He refused to crack. The men had left him half an hour ago to sit and stew for a while.
Casey watched him closely as he tried to free himself from his restraints. It was obvious, the man was beat. The ropes were digging deeper and deeper into his flesh, drawing blood along the way. He had finally decided to give it a rest.
"Major Casey how would you like us to proceed?" came the voice of one of the agents over Casey's ear wig.
"Let him wait it out another half hour, then you can start up again."
"Roger that." came the reply.
Sarah watched from across the pool as Arturo Cruz placed his hand on Sabrina's bare leg. She could see her tensing up as he moved his hand suggestively over her.
"Relax Sabrina." Sarah instructed over her ear piece.
Sabrina exhaled and tried her best to let the tension go from her body. She never had to get this close, this intimate with a mark before. Sure, they learned all this stuff at the academy, but it's a lot different when you're in a classroom.
"My dear I'm sorry I had to cancel for dinner tonight, duty calls. You understand?" Cruz apologized.
"Oh of course, I understand completely." Sabrina replied.
"I have to say though I am thrilled that you were able to join me for some time at the pool this afternoon."
"Well I am thrilled to have received the invitation." Sabrina nearly choked on her words.
He smiled at her as he eyed her bikini clad body up and down appreciatively.
"Yes well, I would be a fool not to take this opportunity to spend time with such a beautiful creature as yourself."
'Creature? Seriously? Ugh this guy is a pig.' Sabrina thought to herself. She discreetly reached for her towel and pulled it up over her.
"Are you cold?" Arturo asked, not missing a beat. He looked like he was about to pounce on her. That was all she needed, him offering to warm her up. She could see it now.
"Oh, no, not really, I was just...trying to get some cover from the sun...sensitive skin you know. I wouldn't want to burn."
"Ah, not to worry my dear. I have some sunscreen right here. SPF of 75. I too am quite sensitive to the sun. Allow me to apply some to your back." he sat up in his lounge chair and reached for the bottle.
'Oh crap!' Sabrina sat upright in her own lounge chair. "Okay." she replied hesitantly, turning so that her back was to him.
Sarah scrunched her nose up at the sight before her as she watched Cruz begin applying the lotion to Sabrina's back. She did not envy her one bit. She couldn't help but feel sorry for her though. She had been on the receiving end in that very same scenario all too many times.
"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" the large, burly man asked interrupting Sarah's thoughts.
She tipped up her sunglasses up to look at him.
"What?" she asked.
He pointed to the empty lounge chair next to her. He didn't wait for her to reply before sitting down.
"I'm Marcos and you are one gorgeous specimen. How about a drink?"
Sarah pulled her bathing suit cover around her in disgust at his audacity.
"Actually, that seat IS taken, and I suggest you leave before my boyfriend returns!" she snapped back.
"Oh come on sweetheart. I've been watching you for a good 20 minutes now. No one is sitting here. So how about that drink? You look like maybe you could use some cooling off." He said ogling her body with a perverted grin plastered on his face.
Sarah smiled in response to him and sat upright in her chaise. "A drink huh?" she ran her hands over his that clutched his glass. She swiftly removed the beverage from his hands and slowly brought it to her lips. "Don't mind if I do." she said just before taking the class and dumping its contents all over his head.
Marcos jumped to his feet in shock. "What the hell did you do that for?"
Sarah laid back on her chaise and pulled her sunglasses back down over her eyes.
The man reached for a towel that was draped over the back of the lounge chair he had settled down on and walked off heated as he wiped away the cold beverage that was dripping from his head and down his torso.
Sarah worked hard to stifle her laughter as she watched him leave in a huff.
His body was suspended in the air. They had strung him up nearly five hours ago and delivered lash after lash across his back. He had completely lost all feeling in his arms. It was nearing 16 hours now. 16 hours that he had been tortured and grilled incisively, yet he refused to crack. 16 hours that he had gone without food or water. The pain was excruciating and he didn't know how much more he could take. It was all just too much; he wasn't cut out for this.
'You're stronger than you know Chuck.' Her words echoed in his head. 'I'm with you…No matter what. Don't forget that.'
"Sarah." Her name escaped him as he struggled to remain conscious. His eyes shot open when he heard the footsteps. 'Oh God! Please no, no more.' He thought to himself as he tried to prepare for what was sure to follow.
The door flung open and the large figure entered. Everything was a blur to Chuck. He was trying to block out the pain. He had nearly cracked hours ago when the men had mentioned his sister, the doctor. They knew everything about her. Her name, address, where she worked. Chuck remained strong through it all.
Without any warning, the man flicked a switch and Chuck was dropped to the floor.
"AHHHH!" he landed in a heap on the floor. He cowered when he felt the man standing above him.
"Chuck."
Hearing his name, he strained to focus on the man standing over him. After a few seconds things began to come into focus for him.
"C…Casey?"
"Here, sit up." Casey reached out and helped him into an upright position. He squatted down beside him. "Drink this." He said offering him a canteen filled with ice cold water.
Chuck hesitantly took it from him.
"Drink it." Casey ordered again. "It's not going to do you any good if you die from dehydration."
Chuck took a large swig from the canteen and instantly began to choke. "Easy now." Casey instructed. "Slowly."
Chuck drank again, pacing himself this time. Once he had some fluids in his system he was a little more coherent. He looked up to Casey with questioning eyes.
"You're doing great Bartowski, hang in there, you can do this."
"No!...I can't Casey. I don't know how much more I can take. I'm not a spy. Can't we just stop now?"
"So that's it huh? The going gets tough and you're ready to split? What would Walker think?"
Chuck's eyes met Casey's. The mention of Sarah lighting a fire beneath him.
"She doesn't care if I'm a spy or not Casey. She never wanted this anyway!" he spat back.
Casey grinned. "But you did. You care. You want to prove yourself. Not just to her, but to yourself. You want to prove that you're good enough for her."
Chuck's gaze fell to the floor. He couldn't stand to look at him anymore. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Casey was right. He wanted to show everyone and himself that he had a purpose. To prove that he was worthy, that he was good enough for someone so out of his league, someone so unattainable like the great Sarah Walker. Sure she had told him numerous times that she didn't care if he was a spy, that wasn't who she fell in love with. In fact, she had been against the whole idea of him becoming a spy since the very beginning. She didn't want him risking his life, putting himself in danger. Despite that she stood by his decision to do this and here he was letting her down.
"You've come so far…Don't give up now Chuck."
Chuck contemplated Casey's words. He was right, how could he give up now? He wasn't going to let her down. He wasn't going to let himself down. He didn't go through all of this for nothing.
Chuck nodded his head. "Okay…You're right." He took another swig from the canteen in his hand.
"Of course I'm right."
"I can do this." Chuck said, as if trying to convince himself. "I WILL do this."
Casey gave him one of his satisfied grunts "Rest up Bartowski, get recharged before your friends return…Drink that up." Casey stood up and made his way for the door. Chuck watched as he left, leaving him there alone in the cold dark, room, with no one to answer to but himself.
Sarah sat crossed leg on top of her bed going over their latest Intel on Arturo Cruz. Sabrina was across the room working on the computer. They had just given Director Johnson their report for the day. Tomorrow was the day they were hoping to take him down. Sabrina had spent the last few days cozying up to Cruz. He had invited her onto his yacht tomorrow evening where his latest deal was expected to go down. And they would be there to stop it and apprehend Cruz and his men.
Sarah tossed down her file in frustration. She ran her hands through her hair.
"You okay?" Sabrina asked looking up from the computer screen in front of her. She stood up and made her way over to Sarah's bed and sat down on the edge of it. "Sarah?"
"I'm fine. I just I want to wrap this up and get home." She replied.
"Have you heard any news on Chuck?" Sabrina asked, knowing that was what had her partner so irritated.
Sarah sighed heavily. It had been four days since she had spoken to him last. He had left her a voicemail that last morning before he started his latest training. She had been playing it over and over again, just to hear the sound of his voice.
"I spoke with Casey this morning. He said Chuck's been a real trooper. It's been four days and he hasn't cracked yet."
Sabrina smiled. "That's great. I knew he would do fine. When are they going to wrap it up?"
Sarah sighed. "I don't know…Soon I hope."
"You really miss him." It was more of a statement than a question.
Sarah looked up at Sabrina. She was at a loss for words. This week was taking its toll on her. She could deal with being away from Chuck for a mission, but going so long without talking to him, knowing what he was going through. She was finding it to be all a little overwhelming.
She nodded in response to Sabrina.
"We'll be done here in no time Sarah…heading home. You'll be able to see him soon." She tried her best to put her partner's mind at ease.
"Sure." Sarah replied. "Look, I'm tired, I'm not getting anywhere with all this right now." She said gesturing to all the files sprawled out on her bed. "You mind if we call it a night?"
"No, that's fine. I'm kind of tired myself." Sabrina stood up and made her way back over to the computer. She saved the files she was working on and shut it down before heading into her bedroom. "I'll see you in the morning." She called out before closing her door.
"See you in the morning." Sarah replied as she gathered the last of her files into one neat pile. Sarah pulled back the covers on her bed and hopped in. She was exhausted, physically and emotionally. She quickly checked her cell phone. No missed calls, no messages. She dialed her voicemail and held the phone to her ear as the message played back.
'Hey Sarah. I know you're busy and all, I'm just…I'm heading out to meet up with Casey and since I have no idea when we'll speak again, I just wanted to leave you a quick message and let you know how much I miss you and that I'm thinking about you and counting the seconds until I see you again. Please be safe. I love you…bye.'
Just the sound of his voice seemed to put her mind at ease. She replayed the message several more times before finally succumbing to a restless slumber.
Casey cringed as he watched his men dispense several more blows to the prisoner. Chuck was back in the chair again, tied and secured tightly to it. He slumped over, barely conscious. Casey looked at his watch, counting down the seconds. He breathed a huge sigh of relief when the hand struck twelve.
"Alright guys, I'm calling it. Stand down." he spoke into his mouth piece.
The agents immediately backed off, breathing their own sigh of relief. They had spent the past 96 hours interrogating and inflicting bodily harm on one Chuck Bartowski, not by choice, they were simply carrying out their orders.
One of the agents moved in and cut the restraints from around Chuck's wrists, followed by his ankles, allowing them to fall free. Chuck's limp body fell to the floor.
"I'm sending in the medic." Casey's voice came over their ear pieces once again.
Casey smiled. "The kid actually did it." he said to himself. He had had his doubts early on that Chuck would be able to complete such grueling training, but he had proved him wrong time and time again. Casey felt something that he rarely did, Pride. He was genuinely proud of Chuck. There was no denying it; the kid had come along way.
"The agents are in place Sabrina." Sarah spoke to her over her ear piece. "Cruz just went down below with his buyer." Sarah moved about the yacht mingling with Cruz's other party goers.
Sabrina gave her a nod from across the deck before following Cruz downstairs to get into position. She had planted a bug on him moments earlier when he was getting a little too hands on with her.
"I can have a shipment out to you as early as next week." Cruz informed his buyer. "Now, let's talk payment."
The buyer propped his black suitcase up on the table in front of Cruz and opened it to reveal a rather hefty sum of money. "It's all there." he said.
Arturo smiled with appreciation as he examined the contents of the case.
"Walker are you getting this?" Agent Andrews spoke into her mike
"Yeah. Get ready, we're moving in."
Chuck sat upright on the exam table while the doctor wrapped his broken ribs, securing the bandages and tape tightly. Chuck winced in pain.
"Ahhh!"
Despite the intense pain he was feeling, he felt a million times better, now that he was cleaned up, got some more fluids into his system and knew that the training was officially over. He had dropped nearly10 pounds in the past 4 days. He was already on his 3rd bag of IV fluids.
"You need to get some rest, no big movements. Give these ribs some time to heal." The doctor instructed. "I'll be back with something for the pain." he said making his way to the door. The doctor exited the room leaving Chuck alone with Casey in the infirmary.
"You did good Chuck. You did real good." Casey gave him a nod and an appreciative grunt. One Chuck had never heard before.
The makings of a smile formed on his face. "How's Sarah?" he asked. "Her mission?"
"She called earlier to see how you were holding up. She was going to be out of contact for the rest of the night. You won't hear from her until tomorrow."
"She was okay though?"
Casey shook his head. "She's fine Bartowski. Come on, get dressed. After the doctor gives you some pain meds, I'll take you to get something to eat."
Chuck reached for the clean sweatshirt that Casey had brought him and slowly proceeded to pull it over his head, trying his best not to make any swift movements.
After grabbing some food with Casey, deciding he was in no shape to be showing up at his own place and have to deal with Ellie and Devon's incessant questioning regarding his appearance, Chuck opted to stay at Sarah's hotel room for the night.
He made his way into the bathroom and stripped down to his boxers. Chuck glanced at his face in the mirror. The agents he trained with had actually done a pretty good job of sparing his face, with the exception of a few gashes and bruises, no doubt so as not to raise suspicions with his family, but the rest of him felt like he had been hit by a semi- truck.
Chuck examined the bandages wrapped tightly around his torso. His arms and legs badly bruised. Turning on the faucet, Chuck lapped up a handful of water in his hands and splashed it over his face. The cool water felt refreshing against his course skin. He grabbed a fresh towel and dried his face before proceeding to brush his teeth.
He slowly staggered back into the bedroom. The bed was a welcomed sight. He carefully slipped under the covers. Memories of the last time he had been in that bed flashed through his mind. It had been 6 days ago, the morning he and Sarah had parted ways.
Chuck reached for his cell phone. Casey said he probably wouldn't be able to reach her tonight, but he had to try. It had been too long since he had heard her voice. He held the phone to his ear and waited. After the third ring it went straight to her voicemail.
"Hey Sarah. I just...I wanted to let you know that I did it. I completed the training...I..." he was at a loss for words; the past four days had really taken its toll on him. "I really just want to hear your voice...Call me when you can...I love you." He reluctantly disconnected the call and placed his phone on the nightstand beside him in case it rang during the night.
Chuck reached for his bottle of painkillers, also on the bedside and the bottle of water he had placed there earlier. He popped one of the pills in his mouth and chased it with a gulp of water. It was only a matter of minutes before he succumbed to a much needed, deep, drug induced slumber.
"You alright?" Sarah asked as she made her way over to her partner who was tending to her bleeding lip.
"Yeah. Occupational hazard right?" she chuckled.
"Right." Sarah replied.
Two CIA agents moved past them toting along Arturo Cruz and his latest buyer; their arms cuffed securely behind their backs. Cruz scrunched up his nose at Sabrina and gave her a deadly glare.
"Director Johnson is waiting on our report. You up to it?" Sarah asked.
Sabrina gave her a nod. "A spy's job is never done." she joked.
Sarah smiled. "Nice job tonight Andrews."
"Thanks. You too."
The two made their way up to the deck. "So, this means we get to head back to L.A. soon right?" Sabrina asked with a knowing smile.
The thought of home and what was waiting for her there brought a smile to Sarah's face. "Yeah." the grin grew by the second. The only thought running through her mind was him and she couldn't wait to be with him again.
It was hours later that the two agents made their way back to their hotel room. Director Johnson had asked for their reports tonight. He wanted this mission wrapped up. Sarah was just faxing him the last page of her report when her thoughts drifted to Chuck. He should be finished with his training by now; surely Casey wasn't still holding him. Realizing she had left her phone at the hotel room tonight, she quickly moved to retrieve it from her bag.
She had 1 missed call and 1 voice message. Her smile stretched ear to ear when he saw that they were from him. She quickly called her voicemail and punched in her password and waited. The sound of his voice was like music to her ears.
"Hey Sarah. I just...I wanted to let you know that I did it. I completed the training...I...I really just want to hear your voice...Call me when you can...I love you."
He sounded exhausted, defeated even. Sarah looked at the time, it would be close to 4 am in California, surely he would be sleeping at this hour. Oh what the hell she thought, if anything she could at least leave him a voice message for when he woke up. She dialed his number and could hardly contain her excitement as she waited for it to pick up. She wasn't surprised when it went into his voice mail on the fourth ring.
"Hey it's me. I'm sorry I missed your call earlier, Sabrina and I were working and I left my phone in the hotel room…I know you're probably sleeping, but I just wanted to leave you a message and tell you how proud I am of you. I cannot wait to see you. We wrapped things up here tonight so we are scheduled to fly back home early in the morning. So I will see you soon… I love you Chuck."
Satisfied with her message, Sarah disconnected the call. She was so caught up in her own little world that she was completely oblivious to Sabrina entering the room.
"Someone's in a good mood." she commented.
"Huh?" Sarah flinched, startled by her partner's interruption.
Sabrina laughed. "I take it you spoke with Chuck."
Sarah's expression changed to one of frustration. "No, not exactly. He left me a message. He completed the training today."
Sabrina's eyes lit up. "That's great!"
"Yeah it is. He sounded pretty beat though. It's late there, I'm sure he's sleeping. I just left him a message letting him know we would be heading home tomorrow."
"Well, I'm pretty beat myself. I think I'm going to turn in as well. You better get some sleep too; you'll want your beauty sleep so you look your best when you see him tomorrow."
Sarah suddenly became very self-conscious. She ran her fingers through her hair trying to straighten it up. "Why do I look bad?" she asked in a serious tone.
Sabrina laughed. "No, you look fine. It was a joke Walker. You're seriously nervous about seeing him aren't you?" she asked, her laughter subsiding.
"No, I just...well I want to look good for him." She said shyly. She wasn't used to talking openly like this with another girl.
"Sarah, when have you ever not looked good? You'll look great. Besides, I've seen the way that boy looks at you, you could be covered in garbage and I'm pretty sure he would still be looking at you like you were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen."
"Really?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah, it's kind of disgusting." She said with a laugh, eliciting a smile from Sarah as well. "Get some sleep." she said as she made her way towards her bedroom.
With a smile plastered on her face once again, Sarah proceeded to pick up her files. It was time for her to call it a night as well. She was looking forward to having some sweet dreams tonight as thoughts of her reunion tomorrow with the man she loved entered her mind.
Chuck's eyes fluttered open. The bright sunlight piercing through the window. He squinted momentarily trying to block out the blinding light before attempting to open his eyes again. He tried opening them a second time, this time slowly allowing his eyes to adjust to the light. He yawned and attempted to stretch. He had nearly forgotten how badly his body was hurting. He felt as if he had just been run over by train.
Chuck groaned as he shifted his attention to the clock. He had to do a double take when he saw the time. It was nearly 1pm. 'Damn those painkillers really do the job.' He thought to himself.
Chuck reached for his cell phone off the night stand and began scrolling through the menu. Sure enough he had 4 missed calls and 3 messages.
He smiled when he saw that his first missed call was from Sarah, followed by one from Ellie and two from Casey.
Chuck held the phone to his ear as he listened to the messages. The first was from Sarah.
'Hey it's me. I'm sorry I missed your call earlier, Sabrina and I were working and I left my phone in the hotel room…I know you're probably sleeping, but I just wanted to leave you a message and tell you how proud I am of you. I cannot wait to see you. We wrapped things up here tonight so we are scheduled to fly back home early in the morning. So I will see you soon… I love you Chuck.'
His smile grew. She would be home soon and he couldn't wait.
Chuck's next message was from Ellie.
'Hi Chuck. We haven't heard from you a few days. I know we have all been working crazy shifts, I guess our paths just keep crossing. Anyway, I just thought I'd check in with you. Call me.'
Chuck took a mental note. 'Call Ellie today.'
Chuck's third message was from Casey.
'Bartowski where are you? I've been trying to get a hold of you. Call me back.'
Chuck's smile turned to a frown. Casey seemed upset. Chuck moved to sit upright in the bed.
"Ahhh!" he groaned making the transition to a sitting position. He flung his legs over the side of the bed and rested them on the floor as he sat himself upright.
He was just about to punch in Casey's number on the phone when he was startled by a pounding on the door.
"Chuck?" Casey bellowed from the other side of the door.
Chuck stood up and moved to answer it. The pounding continued.
When he opened the door and Casey came barreling in.
"I've been trying to get a hold of you. Why didn't you call me?" he roared.
"I was just about to." Chuck replied. I just woke up. Those painkillers did a number on me last night….What's the matter?" he asked, eyeing him skeptically. "Did something happen?"
Casey gave Chuck a once over. "Throw some clothes on we have to conference in with Beckman and Johnson." Casey moved over to Sarah's computer and began setting up the conference call. Chuck tossed on his sweat pants and the sweat shirt form the night before. He had just gotten the shirt over his head and pulled it down when Beckman and Johnson appeared on the monitor.
"General. Director." Casey greeted them. Chuck moved in behind him.
"Major Casey. Chuck." Beckman returned the greeting.
"What's this all about?" Chuck asked still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"First of all Chuck, congratulations on completing your training with Casey this week, it was no easy task." General Beckman spoke up.
"Thank you." Chuck replied.
"Now." Her voice turned more formal, more authoritative. "As you both are well aware. Agents Walker and Andrews completed their mission last night in Paraguay….or so we thought." Her voice softened.
"What do you mean?" Chuck questioned, moving in even closer to the monitor.
Director Johnson stepped up front and center. "Walker and Andrews were scheduled to take off at 0'800 this morning from Paraguay. Walker called in this morning. They had checked out of their hotel room by 0'700 and were en route to the airport."
"And?" Casey questioned.
"And, they never made it there."
"What do you mean they never made it there?" Chuck could feel the panic setting in. "Where are they?"
"We don't know Chuck." Beckman replied.
And in a matter of seconds he could feel his heart sink.
Beckman turned her attention to an equally shocked and speechless Casey.
"Casey, Chuck, I want to two in the air within an hour. You're headed to Paraguay."
Okay, so we really are nearing the end here. I am thinking one maybe two more chapters to go. I hope you don't mind that I didn't get too detailed with Sarah and Sabrina's mission in Paraguay, it wasn't meant to be the main focus of the story. I really wanted it to focus more on Chuck and his training and his and Sarah's separation during that time. I hope you all enjoyed it. I look forward to any reviews you would like to leave.
