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

If there was been a single theme in the reviews for this story, it has been how much you hate Jones. Several have described how they would like to see him suffer. Folks, this is your chapter.

Thanks to the amazing ladies who constantly try to keep me from writing something stupid. Brickroad, HappyDayz, and Poa have been great. They hardly ever agree, but that keeps me on my toes, lol. Each has had a significant influence. Not only in how I view Chuck, but how I view storytelling.

If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review. If you didn't enjoy it, send Poa a PM (just kidding).

Renegotiation

- - - -

The Fulcrum agent that Jones had previously identified only as 'Smith' entered the room. He stepped up to where Jones was sitting. "Excuse me, sir," he said. "But the webcast is ready. We have issued an organizational alert for all of our agents to be ready on a moment's notice. Currently, we have received confirmation from about eighty percent of our active agents. Within the hour, that should reach close to one hundred percent. There are going to always be a handful that we can't reach. Those on deep cover assignments."

"Excellent," Jones said. "Let me know when we have reached everyone. Stand by and wait for my instructions."

"Yes, sir," Smith said as he left the room.

"You know," Mark said thoughtfully. "Maybe we should do some testing of our own. After all, Fulcrum has done a lot of research on building our own intersect. Nobody survived our many attempts. Perhaps we should create a control group and intersect them first."

"Not a bad idea," Jones said. "We can identify a few individuals and make sure there are no glitches. It will take a little more time. But there is really no rush."

Sarah caught Chuck's eye as they sat across from each other. This was always the part of the plan that they feared most. But to Sarah's surprise, there was no fear in his eyes. As a matter of fact, he winked at her. Is there something that he's not telling me? On the one hand, it made Sarah relax a little. If Chuck was confident, what could go wrong, even if it was crunch time? On the other, if he was holding out on her… there would be hell to pay.

- - - -

Once Casey and Janice had Bryce safely back in the van and had removed his cuffs, Janice excused herself to go in the back and keep her promise to Casey.

"Thanks," Bryce said as he exaggerated wiping his brow. "I'm glad that I didn't make it to their headquarters. It would have been a long torture session. I don't have anything to tell them."

"You would have had to flash," Casey said with a laugh.

"Seriously," Bryce said. "Where did you learn to shoot like that? I thought that I was a decent shot. But that was amazing."

"Practice," Casey said. "Lots and lots of practice. There was a long time when I practically slept with my gun."

- - - -

Sarah ending up sitting on the couch next to Chuck. It was obvious to everyone that he really didn't want to be that close to her. But with his hands secured behind his back, there wasn't really much he could do. So he just sat there and let Sarah snuggle into his neck. They were all just sitting there in the awkward silence when one of the guards came racing in.

The guard went up to Jones. "Sir," he said breathlessly. "We have a problem. The intersect has escaped."

"What!" Jones as he stood up. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, sir," the guard replied. "When they didn't show up at headquarters, we sent a team looking for them. We found the car with the bodies of our five men. There was no sign of Larkin."

"I told you," Sarah shouted as she stood up. "I told you to send more men. Now we're really in trouble."

"What do you mean?" Mark asked.

"He is going to be coming after the disc," Sarah said. "He knows that it's here. He's probably watching the grounds as we speak. It will only be a matter of time before the intersect comes up with a plan. It will probably only take a few minutes. He may wait until after dark, but make no mistake. He's coming for us."

Mark and Jones glanced at each other. Both men's eyes registered grave concern. "What should we do?" Mark asked.

"So," Sarah said facetiously. "Let me be clear. Now, you're asking for my advice?"

"Yes," Mark said softly.

"You were foolish to underestimate him," Sarah said with a sigh. "You don't understand the power that the intersect gives him. The only way to fight it is to have some intersects yourself."

"Let's go with the webcast," Jones said. "That way, we'll have an army of intersects. He won't be able to last a minute against us."

"Wait a minute," Mark said. "I don't trust this situation. We still need a test."

"We don't have any time to be screwing around," Sarah said. "He's out there. Fine, you want a test? I'll upload it."

Mark studied Sarah for a long moment. Then he shook his head. "You'd like that," he said. "Wouldn't you? That's been your plan all along. The super spy Sarah Walker with an intersect in her head. She would be unstoppable. No, I think we'll pick someone else."

"Who?" Sarah asked. "We don't have much time."

"Mr. Bartowski," Mark said. "I know that your marriage isn't exactly in great shape right now. But how would you like to save your wife's life?"

- - - -

Janice had already changed her clothes. Honestly, she was stalling. She knew that she needed to rejoin them soon. After all, she didn't want to leave Bruce and Casey alone for very long. Not that she was too worried. They were on a mission. And both were far too professional to allow personal feelings to affect a mission. But she was encouraged that they were talking to each other -- actually talking to each other and not past each other. Maybe if she gave them a minute, they would actually make some progress towards tolerating each other. Janice knew they would have to tolerate each other at some point. It wasn't realistic to think that Bryce wasn't going to be around. As long as Chuck was the intersect, they were going to be connected. And there was no way that she was losing Casey. So if they could learn to get along, it would make things a lot easier.

"I understand that you've been sleeping with more than your gun lately," Bryce said. "Congratulations. She's really hot."

Janice feared that Casey would take offense. She knew that she had better get back out there to get between them. But she was very surprised by Casey's reaction.

"That's what you'd think," Casey said softly. "Isn't it? I'll admit it. That's the first thing I thought when I first saw her too. Beautiful but stone cold CIA Agent who would screw her own grandfather if the mission called for it. She could make you think that she was in love with you one minute and shoot you in the head the next."

"Plus," Bryce said. "She's super hot."

"But that's not really it," Casey said with a smile. "That's only the surface. Once you spend a couple of hours with Janice, you find what an amazing person that she is. She's smart, funny, generous, a genuine hero among heroes, and fun to be around. And sure, she's sexy -- but not in some high maintenance, diva way. She's just as comfortable eating a slice of pizza and drinking a beer as she is dining on lobster and drinking champagne. She's the most amazing person I've ever met, Bryce."

"And she's hot," Bryce offered weakly.

Janice suddenly found herself grinning from ear to ear. Janice had never wanted a mission to be over as much as she did right now. She was going to find someplace where they could be alone and… well… thank him for the compliment.

"I'm just afraid," Casey said softly, more to himself than Bryce. "She's confused. She was looking for something with you that didn't happen. Then the whole mess with Chuck and Sarah. She says that she knows how she feels. But I'm just afraid that she'll realize… I don't think I can handle that."

The grin was gone as quickly as it had come. Now Janice could feel the tears filling her eyes. Was he crazy? Janice knew one thing. She needed to get him alone and find some way to make him understand. She wasn't confused. She was happy -- happier than she could remember. Maybe she could get Chuck to talk to him. Chuck could fix this.

- - - -

"Okay, Mr. Bartowski," Mark said as he handed Chuck the laptop. "Go into the bedroom and watch the disc. That will upload the intersect. Then come back out here and we'll test you. For every minute past ten that you don't return, your wife here loses one of her lovely fingers. And that would be a shame. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Chuck said. "I'll do it. Please, don't hurt her."

Sarah wrapped her arms around his head. "Don't be afraid, sweetie," she said.

It was only about five minutes before Chuck came stumbling out of the bedroom. He staggered to the sofa and collapsed next to Sarah.

Mark studied Chuck intently. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's a side effect," Sarah said. "Bryce told me all about it. Uploading the intersect takes a lot out of you for a few minutes. It's like running a long distance race. Are you okay, sweetie?"

Chuck nodded.

Mark held up a picture of a man and showed it to Chuck. Naturally, he immediately flashed.

"That's Omar Robinson," Chuck said as soon as the flash ended. "He is the Fulcrum liaison to the Columbian Drug Lords. Previous to that he was a hit man. He has forty-two known kills. He defected to Fulcrum twelve years ago. He currently lives in Miami. His address is…"

"Very good," Mark said. He then held up a picture of a building.

Again, Chuck flashed. "That's the Fulcrum East Coast regional headquarters," he said. "It is in Boston. The building was built in 1998. There are offices for fifty-three Fulcrum officers and eight hundred and fifty-two field agents. It is commanded by…"

Mark and Jones looked at each other. Neither could keep the excitement off their face. "Excellent," Mark said. "It works."

Jones couldn't suppress his grin. And after all, there was no longer any need. This was his hour. In a few minutes, he was going to be a top leader in the most powerful organization on the planet. It meant that he could have anything – or anybody that he wanted. And, right now, he knew exactly what was on the top of that list. "Schedule the upload for the top of the hour," he said to one of the guards.

"That's twenty-two minutes from now," the guard said. "For everyone?"

"Yes," Jones said. "Let's do this while we still have the chance."

Sarah held Chuck's head against her shoulder and gently ran her fingers through his hair as they watched the clock on the wall. She made no attempt to hide the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, sweetie," she said. "I'm sorry about everything. You know that I love you."

- - - -

Casey, Bryce, and Janice were getting ready to roll. Hopefully, they wouldn't encounter any resistance. But it didn't hurt to be prepared. And in this case, being prepared meant vests and weapons. Lots and lots of weapons. They estimated about twenty guards. They knew that, if they had to fight, there was no choice but to shoot first and ask questions later.

Janice knew that she couldn't talk to Casey now. Not before such a dangerous situation. The last thing that she wanted was to endanger him. As a matter of fact, it was time to get her own game face on. But she knew. As soon as was practical, they were going to have a little chat. Hopefully one that included a make out session. But definitely a chat.

- - - -

Fred Jones could barely contain his excitement. He grinned as he watched Chuck and Sarah sitting there helplessly. So he did the only thing that made sense. He sat down in the chair opposite them and joined as they watched the seconds click off the clock in silence.

With about two minutes to go, one of the guards entered the room. "Excuse me, sir," he said. "We have received confirmation from all except eighty-three of our agents. That's well over ninety-nine percent. Do we have permission to proceed?"

"Permission granted," Mark said. Then he addressed the two guards. "Go and join them," he said. "Mr. Jones and I will stay here and wait. Then we'll upload after everyone has recovered."

Chuck realized that he was holding his breath watching the clock. Finally it clicked to the top of the hour. The upload of the intersect into virtually every Fulcrum Agent in the world had begun.

- - - -

Fred Jones waited for a couple of minutes. Then got up and walked to the opposite side of the room. "Agent Walker," he said. "Will you come over her for a second?"

Sarah's face registered surprise. But she wordlessly got up and walked over to him.

"You said that sex with an intersect was better," Jones said. "I think you said – amazing. I think a comparison test is in order. Now would be a good time for the before side. In a few minutes, we can compare the after."

"We had a deal," Sarah said sharply.

Jones lifted his hand to slap Sarah. But then he controlled himself. "And I'm renegotiating," he said sharply. "You should have known better than to make a deal with me. One other thing. If you ever raise your voice to me again, your husband will pay a severe price. Do you understand me?"

Sarah looked at him and swallowed. "Yes, sir," she finally said in defeat. "You're right. I'm very sorry. What is it that you'd like me to do?"

"Really," Jones said incredulously. "You're giving up that easily?"

"It's over, sir," Sarah said. "Fulcrum has won. You are now one of the most powerful men in the whole world. It's time that I admit that and do whatever it takes to get on your good side. I'm pretty sure that I know how to do that. Maybe that way, you'll be merciful to me and my husband. There are some favors that I'm going to ask you for. I realize that I'm going to have some work to do to earn them. Why fight it? What would you like me to do?"

This was the moment Jones had been dreaming of non-stop for the past two weeks. Sarah Walker was actually surrendering to him. "Why are you looking so sad?" he asked with a smile. "You're actually, quite lucky. I'm going to give you the chance to talk me into letting you and your husband go. So naturally, I expect your best effort. But first I think that it's time for the show that you have put off for so long."

"Please, sir," Sarah said. "I'm not demanding anything. I'm just respectfully asking. Can we go into the bedroom so that Chuck doesn't have to see it? He's been through a lot today already."

"Yes," Jones said. "You see, Sarah. As long as you ask nicely, I'm not such a bad guy."

"Can I go talk to him?" Sarah asked. "I'll only take a minute."

"Quickly," Jones said with a nod. "I've been waiting for a long time.

Sarah walked over to where Chuck was sitting and sat on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck. The grin on her face as she gently kissed him was evident. "Please sir," she whispered in Chuck's ear. "I know that this is not the plan. -- but can I kill him?"

Chuck was fighting unsuccessfully to keep a straight face. "I don't know, Mrs. Bartowski," he said. "You did ask nicely. But you haven't yet cooperated fully."

"Let me kill him," Sarah said. "And I'll owe you. I'll cooperate until you can't walk, talk, eat, or spit."

Chuck just laughed. "That's a lot of cooperation," he said. But when Sarah turned to leave, Chuck grabbed her wrist. "We need him for questioning. And you know how I feel about killing. But if you need to, I'll understand. I love you."

"I know," Sarah said. "I can't kill him. But let's see how close I can come."

"Be careful," Chuck said. "Remember Kate."

Sarah nodded with a grin. She then walked back over to Jones, who was trying unsuccessfully to hide his excitement, and extended her hand. "Are you ready for an experience that you'll never forget?"

Jones grinned and took Sarah's hand. Unfortunately for him, that was a serious mistake. He attempted to lead her to the bedroom but she didn't budge.

"I want to thank you," Sarah said.

"Okay," Jones said. "Let's go into the bedroom. You can thank me. Not that it matters but what are you thanking me for?"

Sarah smiled. "I'm thanking you for renegotiating," she said. "Now I don't have to feel guilty about doing a little renegotiating of my own."

Sarah immediately grabbed two of his fingers and twisted. The bones snapped with a sickening sound.

The attack came so quickly that Mark didn't have time to react. When he realized what was happening, he turned to Elise. "Shoot her," he cried.

Sarah kept hold of Jones's hand. He was paralyzed in pain. "That renegotiation was for Chuck," she said. "You are easily the sickest bastard I've ever met. You were going to kill the love of my life to force me to betray my country." Then, using his hand as leverage, she threw a side kick that landed directly in the middle of Jones's gut. The blow caused his breath to escape in a hiss.

"Why aren't you shooting her?" Mark screamed at Elise.

"Sorry," Elise said as she pointed her gun at him. "I'm actually with her. Did I ever mention that she is my hero?"

"That renegotiation was for Janice," Sarah continued. "Not to mention, all of your pathetic, sick plots to get me in bed. I'm married -- to the most wonderful man in the world. And understand something, you creep. You are never, ever going to touch me. Actually, I don't see touching any women in your future."

Sarah threw another side kick. This one aimed a little lower. Jones fell to his knees as the kick impacted his groin. Sarah delivered one more kick, this time to the side of his head, knocking him unconscious. "That renegotiation was for me," she said.

Sarah left where Jones was lying and stepped up to Mark. "You never actually touched me," she said. "So I guess I don't have to kick you around the room."

"Wait a minute," Elise said. "The bastard sure as hell touched me." She threw a straight kick directly into his groin.

"You're crazy," Mark moaned as he bent over in pain. "I have twenty men in the next room. Surrender now or you're dead."

"Do you?" asked Sarah. Then she turned to Chuck with a grin. "Does he?"

Chuck was now flashing his classic smile. "I don't think so," he said. "Let's check."

Chuck got up and walked to the door. When he opened it, the bodies of the Fulcrum agents were plainly scattered around the room. Casey, Bryce, and Janice were just walking in the main entrance.

"Hey guys," Chuck called. "Welcome to the party."

Sarah threw herself into Chuck's arms and began planting wild kisses all over his face. "I love you," she whispered between kisses. "You did it. You're a genius."

Chuck's smile couldn't have been any bigger. "Thanks," he said. "We're half way home. Now was that really so hard?"

- - - -