A/N: Ladies and Gentlemen, now the moment you've all been waiting for! No, this is not Jackrabbit Slim's Twist Contest, because this is not Pulp Fiction. Read on to find out what's going on. I think you'll enjoy it quite a bit.
"Hello?"
Did I call the wrong number? Chuck thought for a moment before he realized who had just answered the phone. "Hello Mrs. Walker," he said aloud.
"Chuck, how many times do I have to remind you to call me Emma?"
"One more time, I guess," he replied cheerfully and chuckled when he heard some baby babble over the line. Emma was probably holding little Molly in her arms. "Is Sarah there?"
"No, um…" Emma hesitated, but decided it was better to just rip the Band-Aid off. "Her boss called the other day and she had to go out of town."
"Her boss?" Chuck echoed. This explained a lot of things, like why her mother was answering the phone instead of her. She'd left her personal one with her folks.
"She tried to call and let you know she was leaving town for a while, but all she got was a busy tone."
"Yeah, sorry about that," Chuck said. "I've been a bit busy lately." He didn't elaborate further and Emma didn't ask. "How are Molly and Jack?"
"They're doing great. Molly's a lot easier than Sarah was at her age, but let's make this our little secret."
"My lips are sealed," Chuck promised solemnly. "Can you please tell her to call me when she returns?"
"Don't worry, Chuck. I have a feeling she'll call you the moment her assignment is done and not wait until she gets here."
"Hmm, I hadn't thought of it that way. You're probably right, Emma." He heard her chuckle at his calling her by her first name this time. "Thanks. I won't bother you anymore."
"You are never bothersome, Chuck. Feel free to call or drop by any time you like."
"Again, thanks. We'll be in touch. Bye now."
"See you around."
As soon as he hung up, Chuck debated calling either Jill or Bryce and see if they could tell him when he could expect Sarah back in LA. He went so far as to pick up the phone again, but changed his mind. He was no longer under contract to the CIA and therefore he wasn't allowed access to classified information such as ongoing operations. In any case, he had other things to take care of. One of said things was taking out the garbage. He went to get it and frowned when he saw the two full black garbage bags. "How on earth did we generate so much garbage in a mere three days?" He shook his head, picked up the bags and went to throw them in the dumpster by the parking spots. Casey was there, polishing his beloved Crown Vic.
"Good morning Casey," Chuck said cheerfully and proceeded to get rid of his cargo.
Casey looked up and nodded pleasantly. "Good morning Bartowski. No Walker today?"
"She's currently a bit busy," Chuck said, knowing Casey would get the message.
"Then how come you were left out?"
"Didn't you hear? I'm done with the Company. My contract ended, job well done, blah-blah, got my fee and a hefty bonus and…"
"They sent you on your merry way," Casey finished for him.
Chuck nodded. "Pretty much. I miss her, but I don't mind. It's her job."
"You've got quite a positive attitude there," commented Casey. "I'm impressed."
"Don't forget I've got firsthand knowledge of what she, Bryce and Jill, are capable of. She'll do the job and come back soon." He decided not to tell Casey that Sarah was seriously considering leaving the CIA in favor of a different and as yet undetermined career.
"Walker is good," Casey agreed. "She also has some additional motivation to make sure she stays safe and not to take any foolish risks… although that's more Miller's style."
"Is there anyone you don't know?" Chuck wondered aloud.
"I'm accustomed to working with the best. Miller, her unorthodox methods notwithstanding, is an excellent agent."
"So I've noticed. Hey, I meant to ask you or your wife about something."
"Is it about my daughter and your friend?" Casey inquired. "Because if it is…"
"No, no, it's got nothing to do with them. They are both consenting adults and in any case Sarah warned him not to break Alex's heart. She likes your daughter very much. She's Molly's babysitter and one of her favorite persons, after all. There's another matter we need to discuss. You and your wife are homeowners in the complex, together with me, plus Devon and Ellie."
Casey smiled knowingly. "Then it must be about fixing the water piping to the fountain. I noticed it's leaking every time someone tried to turn it on. We'll have to have a part of the paving torn up to get to the main pipe."
"Exactly," Chuck confirmed. "We thought we should get offers from contractors and decide on the best. What do you think?"
"Sure. Schedule a meeting and let either me or Kathleen know. Is that all?"
"Um, there is actually something else I need your advice on."
"I'm listening."
"I was thinking about a new job for me and I got the idea of adding starting my own cyber security solutions company among my options. I knew quite a bit already, but working for Uncle Sam turned out to be a treasure trove of knowledge. The question is, will I incur legal difficulties in any way if I decide to make use of the experience I acquired…?"
"No," Casey shook his head. "If you refrain from revealing sensitive classified information, you won't have any problem at all."
"Oh. I see, thanks."
"You are welcome." He finished polishing the last wheel cover and neatly repacked his car detailing kit. "Feel free to come to me if you have any further questions, although I'm sure Walker can help you just as well."
"I'll keep that in mind, thanks again, Casey. Have a nice day."
"You too," the big man said and headed towards his place.
-o-
"Do you see anything?" Sarah asked Bryce. She was wearing a pair of light blue three-quarter length tapered Capri jersey jogging pants, her favorite running shoes, and a blue hoodie. She also had a brunette wig on as well as a baseball cap. Bryce was also dressed as a jogger in a blue tracksuit and was currently sitting on a bench, the left leg of his pants rolled up. Sarah was kneeling before him, pretending to be helping him with a cramp.
"He's still inside the house," he replied. "We can't stay here much longer."
Sarah got up. "Get up and pretend it's still hurting. Limp a little and then sit back down. Drink some water, and basically do anything to make our extended stay here convincing."
Bryce did as she told him and sat back down on the bench. "It was nice of Graham to allow you and the others to take point on this one," he commented. "And I consider it a privilege to help. Chuck should be here for this too, however."
"As much as I'd like to have him here, considering how well we work together, he's no longer employed by the CIA and doesn't have a security clearance any more. Thus, the point is moot."
"You are right, of course." Since they weren't alone on this stakeout, he decided to contact the rest of the team, so he spoke into the mike concealed inside the collar of his tracksuit jacket. "Carina, Zondra, status report, please," he said.
"There's movement visible through the window as we speak. We can't tell exactly what he's doing, but he's still in the living room," Carina answered Bryce's call.
"Why didn't we know he had this safe house?" Zondra asked in all seriousness. The answer to her question came when her tablet beeped. "Hang on, we've got more info incoming." She speed-read the text of the message and sighed. "The house belongs to his ex-wife Evelyn. Looks like he kept keys to it. Graham had her checked out thoroughly and says she's not a suspect." She read a little more and continued the narrative. "According to her file, she was seriously injured during an operation in Paris a few years back when Shaw made a bad call and almost screwed it all up. They divorced a year later. She is currently an instructor in the Farm and comes here when she takes vacation days."
"So the bastard knows she's all the way across the country and decided to use her place as a safe house," Carina deduced. "It ends today," she added vehemently.
"A part of me wishes we could give Shaw's head to Amy as a present, but I don't think she'll appreciate it," Zondra said.
Sarah actually laughed. "She'll tell us that the head, and any other body parts of his, clashes with her apartment's décor."
-o-
While Sarah and her team were preparing to take down Shaw for good, Chuck was sitting in front of his computer, looking for affordable office space to rent. The monetary reward for his services to the government had been more than generous, but he knew he was going to have to be careful with expenses, at least until Carmichael Enterprises, as he wanted to call his new business venture, started turning out a steady profit. Finally, after quite a bit of searching, he found what could be the ideal place. Not wanting to let the opportunity go to waste, even though he hadn't yet decided on the exact nature of his future venture, he called the number listed in the ad and spoke to the real estate agent even as he got dressed in a nice tailored business suit and tie, a memento from his CIA days that had remained in one of his suitcases. He decided against taking the Mercedes, preferring the SAAB instead.
The meeting with Sylvia, the lady from the real estate agency, didn't take long. She showed him the property and was quick to answer any and all questions he had about what was allowed into the building. He was especially interested in installing a backup power system with batteries and even a generator to guard against outages, a necessity considering the expensive equipment he would have to use. In the end, they reached an agreement and he promptly signed the lease, putting down a security deposit as well. "Thank you Mrs. Arculin," he told the lady. "You've been most helpful."
The blonde smiled. "You are welcome, Mr. Bartowski. Admittedly, this was a difficult property to rent, as people found it either too small or too big for their purposes."
"Well, it's ideal for my job. It's in a good neighborhood, not far from where I live and it's also close to business and commercial areas." They shook hands and he watched as she got into her car and drove away. He then took a couple of steps back and looked up at the windows of his new office. He was making a new start, and this time he was going to be working for himself and not slaving away only to have someone else enjoy the fruits of his hard work. He had a big smile on his face as he went to his car.
He'd almost reached it when a black Tesla Roadster zoomed by, almost clipping his side mirror. "Son of a…" He never finished the curse, as he noticed someone he knew very well driving a sapphire blue Infiniti QX70 some distance behind the Roadster. It was Bryce. The person in the passenger seat bore a remarkable resemblance to one Sarah Walker, too. Then it hit him. Even though he'd only gotten a fleeting glimpse of the Tesla's driver, he remembered him: Daniel Shaw, aka Jim Daniels. It didn't take Mensa intelligence to know that Shaw was the target of the operation Sarah had been assigned to. The decision came easily to him. He wasn't working for the CIA any more, but he wanted to help if he could. He quickly got in his car and caught up with the Infiniti and the Roadster at the next red light, staying in another lane and some distance behind Bryce's car. He didn't have a gun, but he had all the Intersect-provided martial arts, close combat and other useful skills. Being entirely focused on following Sarah and Bryce, he failed to notice a fourth car in the small procession Shaw was leading: it was a cherry red late model Corvette and its occupants were none other than Carina Miller and Zondra Rizzo. Likewise, the girls failed to realize the uninvited guest in their operation.
-o-
Shaw stopped in front of a residential building on James M Wood Boulevard and parked his car. Bryce drove by and stopped half a block over. Carina parked her car on the other side of the street and well within visual range of the mark. Given the traffic conditions, Chuck had no choice but to stop across the street from Bryce and Sarah, taking the first empty spot he found. The building Shaw went in was old, but it had recently been renovated and turned into luxury condos. He had bought one, registered to an offshore shell company he'd created especially for hiding assets acquired with his ill-gotten gains.
Sarah and Bryce followed him inside, but the doorman cut them off. "Sir, ma'am, how may I help you?"
Bryce flashed his badge. "Federal Agents," he barked. "Where did that man go?"
"Um, Mr. Windsor owns unit 17C, sir. It's on the third floor."
"Thank you. The rest of my people are coming too. Let them in without a fuss, OK?"
"Sure thing, sir."
He turned to Sarah, who nodded. "Let's go," she said, turning towards the elevators. Carina and Zondra chose that moment to enter. "Third floor, 17C," Sarah informed them curtly.
Carina nodded. "Is there a back door or something around here?" The question was directed to the doorman.
"Yes ma'am, there is the service door leading to the alley. The fire escape is on the same side of the building, too."
"Thank you. We'll take the side, in case he tries to rabbit," Carina told Sarah and Bryce and turned to leave, Zondra going with her.
Chuck arrived soon afterwards. "I'm with the group that just got here," he told the doorman.
"17C, third floor, sir," the doorman recited. He believed the latest arrival was keeping his statement of the purpose of his visit ambiguous in order not to worry a family of four following behind him. He motioned toward them with his eyes and held up five fingers, indicating to Chuck that the family was going to a fifth floor property and was going to be out of the way. Chuck nodded, relieved. He didn't want innocent bystanders caught in the middle of a potential gunfight.
"Thank you." None of the elevators was on the ground floor, so he decided to take the stairs. He was in excellent shape now and running up to the third floor was going to be no problem. On the way up he flashed on martial arts and close combat techniques. He wanted to be ready, especially considering he was unarmed.
The first thing Shaw did when he reached the safety of his condo was to switch on the feeds from the miniature cameras he'd planted in the hallway outside on one of his earlier visits. He'd learned about Ryker's demise from the grapevine and he'd lost touch with a couple of his contacts, so it seemed it was only a matter of time before they came for him too. So far it didn't look like his Windsor identity had been compromised in any way, and he still had several more in reserve. Being a practical man, he decided to flee to a non-extradition country via Mexico and proceed to liquidate all the assets he had in the United States through various shell companies and maybe even with the help of some of his clients. He definitely didn't want to go to jail.
His security system beeped, so he hurried to check the monitor… and roundly cursed his bad luck as he recognized a certain blonde whose file he'd come across at work not too long ago. There was no doubt as to the purpose of her and her partner's visit, especially since he saw them draw their guns. He reached for his, and cursed again when he realized he'd forgotten it in the car's glove compartment. Not much harm done, he decided eventually. The last thing he wanted was to get into a gun fight. No, stealth was preferable in this case, so he hid into the cabinet of a walnut counter that was along a wall by the door. It was cramped, but it wasn't the place anyone would look for him in, at least not in the beginning of a search. It might just give him enough time to slip out and get a head start on his pursuers while they were busy looking for him inside the condo.
Bryce was covering Sarah as she picked the lock. When it clicked open, they both burst inside, executing the appropriate actions for clearing the place. But there was no sign of Shaw.
"I don't get it," Sarah grumbled after a search of the walk-in closet turned out nothing except for an assortment of very expensive designer clothes and shoes. "This is his unit. He can't have vanished into thin air."
Instead of replying verbally, Bryce dropped down on his side and aimed his gun under the bed. "No, he's not there either," he said, getting up and dusting himself. "We need to check every single cupboard, closet and cabinet. He must be somewhere around here."
In fact, Shaw had just slipped out. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, he started for the common room at the end of the hallway. From there, he could either go down the fire escape or slide down the garbage chute for a more discreet exit. As he ran, he collided with someone running up the stairs and bounced off of him and into a wall.
The force of the collision with Shaw sent Chuck stumbling backwards, but managed to keep upright by grabbing hold of the railing. As the two men regained their balance, they got a good look at each other.
"Mr. Lichtenstein?" Shaw asked.
"Who is Lichtenstein?" Chuck shot back. "My name is Carmichael, Mr. Daniels, or should I say Mr. Shaw?" He perversely enjoyed the way all color drained from the traitor's face. "It's all over for you. The question is, will you come quietly or not? Ask yourself: Do I feel lucky? Well? Do ya… punk?"
He got an answer when Shaw swung a punch, which he easily ducked. His opponent was by no means out of shape, but riding a desk for so long instead of going on field operations meant he was a bit out of practice. The way he unwittingly telegraphed his move didn't help either. Chuck countered with a backwards kick that propelled Shaw towards the common room. He impacted the door, forcing it open and almost wrenching it off its hinges.
The noise from the hallway outside alerted Sarah and Bryce, who rushed outside to see their mark fighting with someone they never expected to see on this phase of the operation. "Chuck?"
"Hey guys," Chuck greeted them out of reflex. The momentary distraction was enough for Shaw to land a good punch and send him reeling two steps back, but he soon recovered and got back into the fight, sidestepping a kick, answering with a series of sharp jabs to the gut that left Shaw gasping for breath and finishing with a right cross to the jaw which sent the villain crashing into the garbage chute hatch.
Shaw was badly winded, but managed to grab a mop resting against a wall and tried to use it as a makeshift bo staff. Chuck again avoided his move, snatching the mop from his hand and whirling it around to slam the wet cloth of the head into Shaw's face. Anger over the grief the traitor had caused Sarah, her family and friends took over. He dropped the mop and proceeded to pummel Shaw with a series of vicious blows, leaving him bruised and bloodied. He was moving automatically, but a small voice in the back of his head made him stop as he had Shaw by the throat and was ready to break his neck.
"You'll have to kill me, Carmichael," Shaw croaked.
"Unlike you, I'm no killer. Besides, I won't give you the easy way out." He let go of Shaw and turned to his friends. "He's all yours."
Shaw snarled viciously and reached into his boot for a long thin dagger, intending on plunging it into Chuck's back, not caring if Sarah or Bryce killed him immediately afterwards.
"Chuck, look out!" Sarah screamed and moved between her boyfriend and her mark. Her hands closed around Shaw's right wrist and, using his own weight and momentum to her advantage, executed a perfect judo move that turned him one hundred and eighty degrees and made him lose his footing. When she released him, inertia kept him moving until he crashed through the window, shattering it and plunging screaming towards the alley below. Only, instead of ending up splattered all over the asphalt, he fell into the open hopper of a front-loading garbage truck which had just emptied one of the building's dumpsters. Despite the somewhat hard landing among the dumpster's contents, he was still conscious, but the whine of the hydraulic compactor drowned out his screams as he was crushed to death among the trash. The city's Sanitation Department driver had no idea of what had just happened and continued merrily on his route.
On the third floor, Chuck, Sarah and Bryce looked down through the window in morbid fascination, lost for words. Carina's voice in their earpieces dragged them back to reality. "Talk to me guys, what's going on up there? Who fell out the window just now?"
"Um, nothing much," Bryce replied, having been the first to recover. "Sarah just threw out the trash."
"It was Shaw, then," Carina said, letting out a relieved breath.
"Yep," Sarah said finally. "It's over for good. Did anyone see the garbage truck's number so that we can put it in our report and have people collect the body?"
"I got it," Zondra replied. She was closer to the alley's exit and she'd had the presence of mind to make a note of the truck's number.
"OK then. Let's call Internal Affairs for a follow up, inform the LAPD, get the hell out of here and submit our report." She turned to her boyfriend. "And, Chuck?"
"Yes, Sarah?"
"I want you to tell me how the hell you managed to not only show up here but also how you found Shaw and prevented his escape."
"Sure thing," he replied agreeably. "By the way, Bryce, the Sarah throwing out the trash bit… it was classic, man… epic… awesome… and so very, very fitting."
"Thanks buddy. I'll buy you a drink just for that compliment, as soon as we're done here."
"I look forward to it, pal."
They made their calls and when backup arrived briefed the other agents quickly and went to get their cars, answering questions from Carina and Zondra on the way, after introducing the last mentioned to Chuck. She seemed suitably impressed, too.
Graham had been surprised to learn how Chuck had been able to help, but thanked him for it when they gave their report over a video link. The CIA director was glad to have one less problem to worry about and soon dismissed them.
"Bryce, go home to Jill," Sarah said after the videoconference ended. "Chuck, let's get out of here and go home." Her tone indicated just how much she'd missed him over the past few days.
P.S.: There you have it; the end of Daniel Shaw. To those of you, like Chuckfanster, who suggested creative ways of getting rid of the most hated character in the Chuck verse, I hope I didn't disappoint you and that found it enjoyable instead. Until next week.