Ugh, sorry about that. I have been trying to write this new chapter for weeks now, and between work and a serious case of writer's block, I haven't been very successful. I had written the first couple of sections of the story right away, but then I started having trouble transitioning into the second half of the chapter and deciding what should go in and what should stay out. One of the big scenes in this chapter, in fact, was done after I threw out a good two or three pages of writing (hope you like the shout-out to Chuck Versus the Wookiee). And I've gotten a bit obsessed with work as of late. On the good side, I've got some steady work coming up for the next few months, so I hope things will be a little less insane.

I will try to post another chapter by the end of the year. With schools off for the holiday now, my free time should increase a bit. Hopefully I can iron out a number of items going on around here. Fingers crossed.

Anyway, I'm glad you've stuck around to read this. Please be sure to leave a review, and I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season. If you're nice, maybe I'll write a Christmas one-shot. :-D

Enjoy, and thanks again for your patience!

Buy More – Burbank, CA
June 4, 2016
7:00 PM PDT

"Here you go, Chuck."

Morgan handed Chuck a bottle of Chardonnay as Jimmy finished setting up the computers they would need to hack into the Ring's systems to see if they could discover any new information about the organization.

"Did I…miss something?" Jimmy asked.

"My man needs his thinking juice," Morgan replied. "When he gets on the computer like this, he is unstoppable. You know, like Hugh Jackman in Swordfish."

Jimmy gave him a bizarre look. "OK, whatever. But I ain't flashing my tits at anybody. I don't care how much you pay me."

"We'll do this in two parts, Jimmy," Chuck said as he settled at his computer. "I'll use my dad's program to get past their firewalls and keep them occupied while you dig in and get anything you can find."

"Where is everybody else?" Morgan asked.

"Case and Ilsa are watching my family. Everybody else is checking the other locations my father found that could be Ring sites. If they find something, they'll let us know."

"Yeah, we have to be proactive," Jimmy added. "After what happened earlier, the gloves are off."

"Do you think they know about the Buy More?" Morgan asked.

"Hopefully not. We don't think Beckman had that information on her computers. The Ring knows we're trying to build an Intersect, and obviously they know about Chuck since they went after Ellie, Devon, and you. If we're lucky, they won't put the pieces together and realize how important this place is."

"And we also have to hope they don't know we've figured out Beckman's computer has been hacked," Chuck said.

Morgan stood there for a moment. He then started jumping up and down. "I got it! I got it!"

"Dude, I beg of you. Switch to decaf," Jimmy groaned tiredly.

"Everybody is looking for where the Ring is, but they're looking for the Intersect, right?" Chuck and Jimmy nodded. "It's that same episode with Jen and Jack Coulton being framed with that fake intel that made them look like the bad guys. Only this time, you play the bad guys!"

"You mean plant some information on Beckman's computer that tells the Ring where the Intersect is being built?" Chuck asked.

Morgan eagerly nodded. Chuck and Jimmy looked at each other. "It could work," Jimmy said. "We feed backdated intel into Beckman's computer placing the Intersect at a location of our choosing. Get them to send everything but the kitchen sink at us and take them out."

"You get on that," Chuck said. "I'll try to get into the Ring's network and see what I can find."

"Good. We'll have to keep an eye on their systems, especially their communications, if we can. The easiest way to beat a surprise attack is to not be surprised."

The two got to work setting things up.

Tangerine Hotel – Burbank, CA
June 4, 2016
9:00 PM PDT

Casey knocked on the door to Sarah's room. "What's the latest?" she asked as she answered the door. "Is Chuck's family secure?"

Casey nodded as Sarah let him enter. "They're in for the night. Barker brought a few of his friends to the hotel for rotating surveillance on them. I made sure Ellie and Devon had a nice room. She's not thrilled about being kept under lock and key, as you can imagine. Maybe Devon can calm her down, order dinner and a movie, something like that."

"What about her father?"

"Still working on the new Intersect." Casey sat down on a chair. "But we got him settled into a room as well."

"And Chuck?"

"Still at the Buy More with Slade and Grimes. Slade planted the false flag into Beckman's computer and Chuck's still working on getting into the Ring's systems."

Sarah exhaled slowly and shook her head. "I wish he'd take a break. Ellie said he can get obsessed with projects like this. They could be there all night. On the other hand, that's probably good news for Jimmy since Alex is still upset about that motorcycle ride they took today. Not that I blame her."

Casey gave a grunt of agreement. "If Forrest ever played Marry, Screw, Kill, Slade would be all three at once."

Sarah managed a weak smile as she slumped into the other chair across from Casey. "I never expected any of this," she said quietly. "Never in a million years could I have guessed all of this happening. I thought we'd get the Intersect data back and move on to the next mission. These last nine months have been nothing short of insane."

"That doesn't mean they were bad."

She stared out into space for a moment before a tiny smile graced her lips. "No, they weren't." She then looked at Casey and raised an eyebrow. "You could have used the phone to update me. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," Casey quickly replied, even though both of them knew he was lying. "Just…I'm…"

Sarah grinned and stood. She walked over to the bar, poured two glasses of scotch, and handed one of them to Casey.

"…just avoiding Ilsa?" she finished for him. He let out a low growl, making her laugh. "John, the poor woman's been waiting for some quality time with you. And it may be a while before you get another chance. You really need to be with her."

"You sure you have the right to give me relationship advice, Walker?" Casey shot back.

"Would you rather I have Ellie dog you about this? And she's been with the same guy for almost a decade."

Casey grumbled in frustration. Walker would do that, too. He took a sip from his drink. "You're right. These last nine months have been out of control. But I'll still take them over those three months after Bryce left."

"Those were very difficult for me." Sarah sank back in her chair and shook her head. "Everything changed. I felt completely lost. I should have been leading us when Bryce was still around and I didn't. That was my fault."

She turned to Casey and smiled. "Thank God you were there to get me back on track, to get me to do what I was supposed to do and lead the team."

"Bryce was never a team player, Sarah," Casey replied in a much softer tone. "It wasn't his style. Plus, Carina was a lot wilder back then and we all know I'm no people person. Once you stepped up to the plate, it started to click. And by the time they brought in Slade, you did what needed to be done. Good thing, too, given the mess he was in the beginning. But he came around fast. You made that happen."

Sarah chuckled. "I'm glad now we only went on five dates. Neither of us were in a good place at the time. I was just trying to get the last remnants of Bryce out of my head and the poor guy was having so much trouble adjusting to all of this. Alex is a much better fit for him." She shrugged in laugh of disbelief. "I'm still surprised at how different she is from three months ago, but she can keep Jimmy from getting too crazy and he can help her relax and be herself again."

"Agreed. Plus, Bartowski makes more sense for you. The kid's impressive, I can't deny it."

"Sometimes…sometimes I wish he wasn't as gifted as he is. We keep using him on these missions and his life has been in danger so many times in the last nine months. He didn't deserve to have any of this happen."

"But it did," Casey said firmly. "And because he helped us, we stopped a takeover of the government. He'll be done with this and soon. Both of you will. You two deserve to be together."

Sarah's eyes widened. "I never thought I'd hear that coming out of you," she said with a smile.

"I would never stand in the way of someone wanting to be happy. If I did that, everything I fought for in the last twenty-five years would have been for nothing."

Sarah went over to him and wrapped her arms around him. "Knock it off," he grumbled.

She laughed as she let him go. "I'm starting to believe you'll never change, John. I might need to get Ellie on your case after all."

"Don't even think about it."

"Get going, will you? Ilsa needs you."

Casey exhaled, finished his drink and stood, walking towards the door. He turned back. "Thank you for helping to bring Ilsa home. I thought she was dead once, and I don't think I could have gone through that again."

Sarah smiled warmly. "You've always been there for me. You deserve to be happy, too. And I'm going to make sure that happens."

Casey gave a gentle grunt and walked out of the room, returning to Ilsa. He opened the door slowly. Sure enough, she was waiting for him, giving him a look.

"Just…just updating Walker on everything," he stammered.

"Uh-huh," Ilsa replied. "You could have called her. Still avoiding me, John?"

"No, not at all," he quickly replied with the worst poker face imaginable. "It's just that…"

Ilsa raised an eyebrow and undid the sash on her robe, letting it fall off to reveal the silk bra and tiny panties she was wearing underneath.

"I wasn't trying to…" Casey began.

She then pulled out a set of handcuffs from behind her back, dangling them off her finger. Her expression was unmistakable.

Casey exhaled in enervation. "As Slade would say…aaah, hell."

Casey wrapped his arms around her and she kissed him hard.

Tangerine Hotel – Burbank, CA
June 5, 2016
8:00 AM PDT

Everybody gathered in the conference room to go over the details of what Chuck and Jimmy found on the Ring's servers. Both looked quite tired, and both Sarah and Alex were quite upset with them, although for different reasons. At the other end of room, Ilsa sported a wide grin and Casey looked like he was just caught cheating on a test.

"We were able to uncover some of the front companies the Ring was using to launder their funds," Chuck began. "We found over three dozen, but they probably have a lot more than that, everything from mom-and-pop stores to huge corporations. We're talking billions of dollars."

"Can't worry about those for now," Casey replied. "We send the IRS after any of them and the Ring we'll know we're onto them. We'll have to seize those funds from the inside."

"Here's the good news," Jimmy continued between large sips of coffee. "Morgan's idea worked like a charm. We altered some of Beckman's inventory reports to show the CIA controlled a warehouse out in this area and had equipment moved in a couple of weeks after the wedding. Everything you would need to build an Intersect. Servers, monitors, surge protectors, the whole nine."

"Did they take the bait?" Carina asked.

"We think so," Chuck replied. "A few hours after we planted the info, there was a flurry of activity on their systems. I found emails going back and forth, and Jimmy found hits on what we think they use to communicate between agents. They know we're building a new Intersect, and hopefully they think this place is where we're doing it."

"Jimmy, call the local office and tell them to keep their eyes on that place," Sarah said. "Then you and Alex keep monitoring the Ring's network. Chuck and I will escort Ellie and their father back to the Buy More and keep an eye on them there. Everybody else, be ready to go. This could go from zero to full throttle in a heartbeat."

Everybody nodded their agreement and set about to their tasks. Chuck and Sarah walked down the hallway towards Ellie's and Stephen's hotel rooms.

"You don't look happy with me," Chuck said softly.

Sarah stopped and stared briefly ahead before shaking her head clear. "No, it's just…"

"What?"

"I kind of…missed you last night. You were right, Chuck. I keep flipping back and forth between being an agent and wanting to just be Sarah. You needed to work last night; we needed your help. I guess I just wanted…"

Chuck took his face in her hands and gave her a gentle kiss. "I missed you, too. But the good news is, I wasn't in any danger this time…apart from Morgan arguing with Jimmy about what will be the better movie this year: Suicide Squad or Doctor Strange."

Sarah laughed. "Aren't you the one who wanted me to be Captain Marvel? I can't accept the role even if they offered it to me. I work for the government! They won't even let us do commercials!"

"Yeah, but how cool would that have been? I mean, Brie Larson's a good choice if the rumors are correct, but you would have been awesome. And there are plenty of people who would agree with me. Really, it's your own fault."

"My fault?"

"If you weren't such an amazing and beautiful person, you wouldn't have millions of adoring fans that are now disappointed you won't be in the movie."

Sarah rolled her eyes at that. Chuck pulled her close to him. "I don't know. I mean, once this is over, what do you want to do?" he asked.

She was silent for a moment. She then wrapped her arms around Chuck. "As long as I have you, it doesn't matter what happens after this. Wherever we go, it'll be wonderful because we'll be together."

Chuck gave her a big smile, which brightened Sarah's mood even more. She gave him an ardent kiss, running her fingers through his hair.

~/^\~

Jimmy slumped into a chair at the desk in his room and checked his laptop, which was still accessing the Ring's network. He went through the program he was running while taking another long drink from his coffee, making the occasional adjustment.

"OK," he said tiredly after a few moments. "The computer is scanning anything going through the Ring's systems and matching any code words they use with the ones we've cracked thus far. If one of them comes up or something else unusual happens, it'll beep at you."

He got up and turned towards Alex. He then looked away in shame. "I admit, that wasn't my proudest moment yesterday, the thing with the motorcycle."

"Not your first time, though," she replied, to which Jimmy gave a little nod. "Carina and I were talking last night, and she told me a few stories."

"I'm sure she did. The boat jump, the grenade, jumping onto the SUV, the lion …"

"What lion?"

Jimmy's eyes shot wide open. "Never mind." He exhaled in frustration. "I know I don't use my brains out there most of the time. Which is ironic since I'm supposed to be very smart. It's…maybe it's just left over baggage from my days working alone before they put me with Sarah and the others. I think she was right. I was trying to spy my way into an early grave when I started. I just…I still have a hard time having any regard for myself."

"In the past, maybe." Jimmy looked up and stared at Alex. "But Carina agrees with me that you have no limit to what you'll do for the people you care about. It's not that you hate yourself necessarily, although it's true you used to. You are just determined to hang on to what you now have. You joined Casey to retake that village and you rescued Carina from those separatists single-handedly. You also wouldn't let her rescue Cole on her own; you made sure she stayed safe. And you had no reason rescue me again and again, but you did it anyway.

"I was mad at you yesterday, sure. I thought what you did was dangerous and stupid. But given time to think about it, what else could have been done? We had to get those agents away from Ellie and Devon and make sure they didn't discover the Buy More. I can't sit here and say I wouldn't have made a few of the same choices myself. We had to act on instinct. And despite how you can get sometimes, you're still here and so is everybody you've ever had to protect. Including me."

Alex took his face in her hands and gave him a kiss. "Just…try to dial down the crazy stuff, OK? You won't be a very good Intersect if you're dead. We need you. I know I do…badly."

Jimmy gave her a shy smile and returned her kiss, gently caressing her. "I will."

He tilted his head towards the bathroom. "I'm going to go take a shower. Yell if there's a problem."

"You got it," she replied, and he departed for the bathroom. She sat at the desk and kept an eye on the monitor. She could hear the shower running behind her. She was tempted to join him in there, but work had to come first.

She sat back, taking a sip from the coffee she got from the room service tray, and tried to make heads or tails out of the search program that was running. She thought about what she had told Jimmy two days ago, that she wanted to be here, be part of the team…if that was possible. Certainly, they would need someone to replace Sarah, and her skill set was respectable in its own right, albeit a bit rusty since she had just returned to the field. But she had always worked alone; any instance when she needed a partner, they were assigned against their will. To say she had a bad reputation among her fellow agents was putting it mildly. She knew she wasn't the same person she was three months ago. Sarah and the others made that happen, especially Jimmy. But would they accept her?

"You OK?"

Alex jumped in her seat. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Jimmy said softly, having finished his shower. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, and Alex was already thinking he was overdressed.

"I'm fine. Just…" Alex let the words drift off.

"What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking about what I told you on the beach the other day, how I hope to become part of this. I know it was a bit of a playful moment for us, but I really do want to join the team. Not just because of you…although you have certainly made me feel welcome." She reached forward and gave him a kiss. "I think I was right about what I said when Cole lost Amir. That being alone in the spy world takes something away from you. And now…things are so different. I'm not looking at the world the same way I did when we first met. Do you think the others will see that? Would they trust me on the team?"

Jimmy was quiet for a moment. He then pulled her close to him. "Six years ago, Langston Graham called me into his office. He told me about the show, how Sarah, Bryce, Carina, and Casey were actual spies and the show was their cover. He then said Bryce had disappeared and he needed me to replace him on the team and on the show. I did everything I could to convince him I was the wrong person. I had absolutely no confidence in me to work in such a high-profile role with that gifted of a group. But he wouldn't be dissuaded. Those first few months, I was scared out of my mind. I was always afraid of making a mistake and jeopardizing everyone's lives. And I was even more scared when Sarah asked me out on a date. But they worked with me. They were patient with me. I could trust them and they trusted me. And they were the first people who ever really did that for me.

"I'd like to think they would do that for you, too. There's no question you have the talent, and you've already proven you're not the same person we first met. You want to get Chuck and Sarah out of the spy business, and you want to help us take down the Ring."

Jimmy took his face in her hands and smiled. "And I'm a different person today thanks to you. I mean, anybody who can make me get my head out of my ass should qualify by default."

Alex grinned and kissed him hard, pressing herself up against him. She became more heated feeling Jimmy's large frame around her and reached down to pull his towel away.

Jimmy's laptop started beeping incessantly.

"Dammit," Jimmy growled. "Figures my own computer interrupts us." He looked at the monitor. He then reached for his smartphone.

"Case, it's Jimmy. Get everybody ready and load up your favorite toys. The Ring's about to make a house call."

Grosvenor Boulevard and Marina Freeway – Los Angeles, CA
June 5, 2016
9:00 PM PDT

Three large vans drove up to the warehouse, passing by a cherry picker being used by a local cable company to fix the lines. Two men exited one of the vans and began to scan the area for heat sources coming from the warehouse.

The person on the cherry picker pulled out a radio. "Time to party," Cole said quietly from just behind a set of cable lines.

"Copy that," Casey replied, waiting on one of the catwalks. "Everybody in position?"

Carina, Jimmy, Alex, and Ilsa responded in the affirmative from throughout the building. Fifty yards away from the warehouse, three dozen federal agents patiently waited in tactical gear with automatic weapons at the ready.

"Call it out, Cole," Casey ordered.

Cole used a pair of night vision goggles to observe all sides of the warehouse. "Looks like they're scanning for heat sources. The two are getting back in their van and the three vans are splitting up…now they're stopping."

"Are they sending people in?" Carina asked.

"No." Cole frowned. "What are those wankers doing?" he muttered to himself.

"The intel said they were going to be here already. We've been here for four hours and they're just coming to take a peek?" Ilsa inquired. "Something's not right."

Cole kept an eye on the three vans. Each of the vans then turned and backed up slowly towards one of the sides of the warehouse.

The roof on each van opened, and an agent rose up from each one. All three were shouldering rocket launchers.

"GET OUT!" Cole screamed.

Casey, Ilsa, Carina, Jimmy, and Alex ran for their lives as the three agents launched rockets at the building. Each of them exploded, decimating the entire structure. Casey and Ilsa dove out of one side of the warehouse and landed hard into a large dumpster on one side. Carina, Jimmy, and Alex broke through the windows on the opposite side. Carina and Alex held on as Jimmy fired his piton gun, the cable swinging the three across to the warehouse roof next door.

Cole immediately got out his sniper rifle and opened fire on one of the vans, killing one of the agents. He continued to fire, but the van got away as Casey and Ilsa pulled themselves out of the dumpster. A half-dozen agents from the van nearest them tried to get out, but both of them sprayed the area with a pair of Heckler and Koch MPK5's, taking all of them out. Carina and Alex ran for the ladder with weapons at the ready as Jimmy leaped down from the roof, still attached to his harness. He opened up on the third van with a pair of MAC-11's as he landed, taking out the occupants of that van. Carina and Alex ran out just as the first van got to them. They fired away with their weapons, decimating the vehicle.

Cole brought the cherry picker down as the other five ran towards him. Casey ordered the other agents to move in and seal off the area.

"What happened? What the hell happened?" Alex growled.

"No way in hell they'd destroy that place if they thought the equipment was in it," Casey said in equal fury. "They would have tried to grab it first."

"Then how…"

"They played us. They fuckin' played us!" Jimmy cursed, enough steam coming out of his ears to elect a new Pope. "We waited four hours. They should have been here before now. They pulled the same move on us that we pulled on them."

"Goddammit," Carina said in a huff. "This was the stupidest thing we've done since letting Case give the thank-you speech at the People's Choice Awards."

"But why make us wait…" Ilsa began.

"They made sure we were in the place before they attacked," Jimmy concluded. "They wanted us dead."

"But how did they keep an eye on the place without us knowing it?" Cole asked.

Casey paused for a moment before slamming his fist into the van. "Satellite recon. Beckman's mole tipped them off and must have ordered satellite recon on the warehouse. That's what they needed the time for: to get the satellite in position to watch us."

Carina immediately got on her smartphone. "Sarah's phone went right into voicemail."

"So does Chuck's and Mr. Bartowski's," Jimmy added.

The six agents looked at each other, and the same horrifying thought went through their minds.

"Let's go!" Casey shouted as they ran for one of the agency vehicles to drive back to the Buy More.

Buy More – Burbank, CA
June 5, 2016
9:00 PM PDT

Sarah walked out of the office where Chuck and Stephen were working on the Intersect and began to stretch, walking around the main floor. The store closed an hour ago, and Big Mike and Morgan had locked up and left already. She hadn't heard anything thus far from the team, who was waiting for the Ring to show up at the warehouse. She checked her watch. She knew she'd have to drag Chuck and his father back to the hotel; no way would they leave if Sarah left them to their own devices. Or device, in this case, of obsessing over projects.

She began to walk back towards the office. A figure grabbed her from behind. She found a knife at her throat.

"So, the great Sarah Walker. Not just another pretty face," her captor hissed.

"Hey, take the wallet. It's yours," she whispered in fear, trying to pretend she was simply an actress.

"I'm afraid your acting is much better on the show than it is now. Isn't that right, Special Agent Walker?"

Sarah turned carefully to look at her captor. "Who are you?"

"I'm the person whose life you changed many years ago," Daniel Shaw hissed. "When you murdered my wife."

Sarah's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

The blade pressed further into her throat. "Don't…just don't," Shaw's grip on Sarah tightened even more. "I've been given a chance to right this egregious wrong, and I intend to take full advantage of it. Your friends? They're dead by now." Sarah began to shake. "Cute little trick you tried of putting false information on your boss' computer. It was so good, I convinced my new employers to try it themselves. And thanks to a few 'friends' in the government, the Ring was ready for your pathetic attempt."

Shaw started dragging Sarah towards the back. "As much as I will enjoy making you suffer as much as I have, there is one task I must complete first. They want your boyfriend alive. Although that does leave a lot of room to inflict pain and suffering on him."

Shaw took out a set of handcuffs and put them on Sarah, looping them through the rail around the Nerd Herd desk. "And best of all, you'll have to watch."

"Let her go."

Shaw turned towards the voice. He smiled at seeing Chuck there. "Well, I must thank you for making my job easier," Shaw teased.

Chuck began to flash, seeing the entire file on Daniel Shaw. His transcripts, pictures of him with Evelyn at Iowa, and many images of Shaw working as a very effective spy.

Chuck doubled-over from the pain of the rather intense flash. Shaw was taken back. "Amazing. I'm not really sure why the Ring wants you so badly. You seem to cower at the littlest thing."

"Don't do this," Chuck almost pleaded as he straightened up again. "If you want me, let her go. She doesn't have to be hurt."

"Oh, but she does." Shaw's tone was borderline maniacal. "The Ring wants her dead. They want all of her friends dead. And they are. She's the only one who remains."

Shaw started to walk towards Chuck. "But before I do that, let's see how much she can handle her boyfriend in pain."

Shaw raised his knife, and Chuck began to flash. A flurry of different combat styles flooded his mind, and he doubled-over again in pain. Chuck could barely stay on his feet. Shaw cackled and got ready to attack.

Chuck spun and kicked the knife out of Shaw's hands. Shaw stood in complete surprise as Chuck straightened up again, gritting his teeth from the pain of his flash. Shaw came at him, but Chuck spun out of the way and landed a kick at the back of Shaw's head, sending him stumbling forward. Shaw came back and tried to throw several punches but Chuck blocked each one. Shaw spun and sent a kick at Chuck's head, but Chuck ducked down and shot his hand up to grab Shaw's leg, throwing him to the floor. Shaw quickly got back up and went after Chuck again, but Chuck sidestepped him, throwing him across the floor. Shaw landed next to the handcuffed Sarah.

Chuck began to move towards Shaw, but Shaw took out a gun and held it to Sarah's head. "I wanted to make her suffer. I would have loved to kill you right in front of her, and the last thing she would ever see in this world is your cold, dead corpse. Alas, I'll just have to settle for killing her now, just like the Ring already killed your friends."

Another flash went through Chuck, this one even more intense than before, causing even greater pain. Chuck fell to the floor as a result. Shaw cocked the gun aimed at Sarah and began to pull the trigger.

Shots rang out, and Shaw quickly ducked behind the Nerd Herd desk. He peeked over it to see Stephen with a gun out and firing away. He prepared to return fire when the sound of shattering glass filled the store. Shaw turned to see the team charge in guns blazing. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a disc. He set it and threw it at them. They dove for cover as the disc exploded, damaging a section of the store. Shaw used the opportunity to sprint past them and out of the store. Casey, Ilsa, Jimmy, and Alex gave chase, but Shaw was gone into the night.

Carina quickly went to Sarah and uncuffed her. She sprinted to Chuck, who was still on the floor.

"Chuck!" she cried, cradling him in her arms. "Chuck!"

"Sarah," Chuck muttered, slowly coming around as the pain from his flash abated. He reached out and she took his hand. "Sarah, are you OK?"

"Yes, yes I'm OK." She held him more tightly as Stephen knelt by his side to check on his son.

"What's going on?" Carina demanded. "Who the hell was that?"

"His name…his name is Daniel Shaw," Chuck said slowly, trying to shake off the effects the flashing had on him. "Former agent, disappeared years ago after the death of his wife."

"He thinks I murdered her?" Sarah whispered breathlessly.

"She was also an agent. Evelyn Shaw." Chuck slowly sat up. "She was killed in Prague thirteen years ago on a mission."

Sarah's face paled. "I was in Prague for two months back then. Graham sent me there, but…I killed his wife?"

W Hotel – Los Angeles, CA
June 6, 2016
12:00 AM PDT

"I want answers."

Shaw was beyond livid. He figured the Ring withholding information on him would happen, but the knowledge that Chuck Bartowski had the skills that he did would have been of great benefit. And to discover the Ring had failed in eliminating Sarah's team, despite the help he gave them, made this night an even greater disaster.

"The information on Bartowski was on a need-to-know basis," the man replied. The same man who brought him to California in the first place.

"Clearly you underestimated all of them again. Just ask the team you sent to kill Walker's friends. Oh, I'm sorry. You can't do that. They're dead."

"Don't try to…" the man began.

"Don't try to threaten me," Shaw shot back instantly. "Kill me if you want to. You'd be doing me a favor. Get this into your head right now. You offered your assistance to help me kill Walker. What I need right now is information. I need to know who this Chuck Bartowski is and why Walker and her friends are so determined to protect him.

The man exhaled. "It has to do with a project called the Intersect. We've been trying to get our hands on it, but we have been unsuccessful so far. In fact, I think you may have met its inventor tonight."

Shaw thought for a moment. "You mean the old man who shot at me?"

The man nodded. "His name is Stephen Bartowski, Chuck's father. We believe Chuck possesses the Intersect, and we have every intention of getting it from him."

"What is the Intersect? Explain it to me."

"Explain it?" The man gave a tiny smile. "I'll do you one better. After I show you what we have, you will have exactly what you need to kill Walker and bring us both Bartowskis. Are you willing to take that extra step with us?"

Shaw stared at the man. He wasn't sure what the man was proposing. But he failed in killing Sarah and capturing Chuck. And the Ring failed in killing her team despite all of the intel he gave them. Shaw needed an edge, an advantage against them.

"Whatever it takes," Shaw told the man. "I want Walker dead."