Lou had once told him that the biggest disadvantage one could ever have by hiring henchmen was that they tended to be enormously stupid, something they usually made up for in brutal strength or strength in numbers. Of course Chuck didn't want to generalize about everyone like that but the ones travelling with Ciudad didn't seem that hard to fool. He could have easily taken them out if he wasn't worried about his flashes being hindered due to being in a closed space like an elevator, and despite his incredibly heightened reflexes overall, he was no Barry Allen, so it'd be bye bye Chuck if they started shooting bullets at him. Besides regardless of all his training and fighting skills La Ciudad was still a dangerous foe to deal with. So instead of drawing their attention by making any sudden movement, he decided to pickpocket a small knife from Melena's purse.
Melena used her room card and entered her suite, Chuck looked at her questioningly as two of her bodyguards grabbed each of his arm and dragged him inside the room, holding him tight while Yuri stood outside guarding the door.
Once her henchmen were done tying him to the chair, she moved in close, putting her arms up and around his neck. He looked at her in disgust. He reeked of nervousness, something she could clearly see. She then began sucking on a tender spot on his neck.
Chuck was so angry for what she was doing. The deadly woman wanted to cop a feel.
"Just get it over with , lady." He thought with frustration as he swiftly began working on freeing himself from the ropes. He couldn't believe this was happening to him, even after everything he had endured since past couple of years.
"Let's start with an easy one cutie-pie, What's your real name?"
"Charles Irving Bartowski. But I haven't used that in a while. I write softwares for living! For christ's sake , there was a lot bad blood between me and that woman, that's why I didn't want to talk to her."
"Now you are being honest." She replied with a smirk , giving him a nip on that spot on his neck. "So what do you know about that painting?"
"Look I saw the original picture of the monet in the LA times, okay? But it had a much different frame. It was kind of bland compared to the current one but that's still a crucial part of the classic, so I didn't know why anyone would mess with an original monet just days before the auction." Chuck explained, trying his best to appear as much panicked and anxious as he possibly could.
"So you had no intention of bidding on it?"
"Why would I?" He laughed nervously, "I only attended this party to enjoy myself and have a taste of high life. I can't afford to spend a few hundred thousand bucks on a piece of decoration. " He then looked up at La Ciudad as if he was sharing some inside joke with her, " Seriously Melena, you are freaking me out here. May I ask what brought this on please?"
Laughing derisively at him like a huntress mocking her prey, she went to retrieve a sharp knife from her belongings. She held the nasty blade to his neck , caressing it with it's sharpened tip and nicked it drawing a little blood. Chuck couldn't help but wince at the small cut.
"It's very unfortunate, Mister Bartowski. I believe you are telling the truth but the problem you have seen my face, so I have to kill you."
"I guess it was just a matter of time." Chuck shook his head with a sigh.
"Don't worry, Mister Bartowski. It will be fast." She gave him a wicked grin.
Chuck replied flatly , "Funny thing Melena, I was about to tell you the same."
But before she could realize what he truly meant by that or notice the binding rope holding him about to fall on the floor, there was a loud thump and the indisputable sound of a body slamming hard against the door. Without sparing him a single glance, La Ciudad turned around and started shooting bullets at the door.
BIG MISTAKE!
From his sitting position, Chuck immediately swept his feet below her, causing her to trip on her feet and land face first against the hard wooden coffee table, knocking her out cold in one swoop.
One of her guards noticed this and went to help her out, while other one was still busy battering the door with bullets. This time Chuck fully freed himself from his binds, dashed towards them using his Intersect enhanced reflexes. Instantly delivering a chop strike to the lackey's occipital lobe, followed by a nasty headbutt which caused him to drop like a sack of potato, out of commission until someone revived him. This entire maneuver had taken less than five seconds on his part so by the time the remaining henchman noticed that his boss and his friend were knocked out cold on the floor, it was already too late. He did try to point his automatic gangsta style fire arm towards Chuck, only for his family jewels to meet Chuck's vicious knee with a satisfying crunch, alongside a vase smacking on the back of his head.
Within a few moments after the shooting stopped the door burst open, Sarah and Casey commando rolling inside the room with their guns drawn, but they were astonished at the scene of a panting Chuck kneeling on the holding a broken vase in his hands.
Two men were lying on the floor. One unconscious, while another with his eyes swollen shut , groaning while holding his family jewels. Where as the only woman inside the room, supposedly the nefarious arms dealer La Ciudad, was knocked out cold, a nasty bruise forming on her forehead.
Sarah quickly lunged for him, not giving much thought to what might have happened here before their arrival, cause all she cared about right now, was Chuck's safety and well being. She just couldn't believe she put him in harm's way once again and this was only their first "official" mission together.
"Are...you okay, Chuck?" She asked in a shaky voice as she helped him get back on his feet, gently stroking his hairs.
Chuck gave her a half smile in return. Even though he had the situation in control for the most part, he still felt overwhelming relief at seeing her and Casey. It wouldn't have been that easy for him if they didn't cause such a ruckus outside the door and distracted La Ciudad and her hooligans to the point, where they even forgot about him being present in the room altogether.
"I am fine Sarah. La Ciudad was boundlessly arrogant and never expected me to fight back, also you guys showed up at the right time, otherwise I would have been dead in a second or two." He sighed in relief, taking a a few deep breaths to calm himself.
Casey grunted, taking out a bunch of zip and bound the perps Chuck had incapacitated on his own, alongside the still very much out of commission La Ciudad. He continued pointing his guns at them , just like Sarah, wary of any surprises.
"Good job Kid, I guess you performed exceptionally well in our absence." He chuckled with a flourish, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulders, adjusting his crooked bow tie
Chuck was immediately taken aback about this man's nonchalant attitude about leaving him to fend for himself against the likes of Ciudad and her pretty much formidably armed bodyguards. He did consider himself lucky in a sense that he was a highly trained individual with a supercomputer inside his head which allowed to move much faster than a human mind could possibly comprehend. He could have easily taken them out using more of his extravagant flashes but he didn't want to get caught using them on candid camera. And he had no idea whether their effectiveness was affected by the recent upload of government intersect or not. But now, he managed to knock them out cold using his own battle skills and without any unnecessary risks being involved. So, in that sense, he did consider himself lucky. Still, Casey being so casual about putting him in harm's way didn't sit well with him.
"Okay, you know what? Major, I know you are a big boy with big guns , so I am going to ask you very nicely, would you please ease up on your sarcasm?" Chuck frowned in response.
"Eh..I am not being facetious. You are still alive and kicking and at the end of the day, we managed to capture one of the world's most dangerous and elusive killers without it turning to a bloody chaos, I am not sure what you think CIA and NSA do exactly, but I'd consider this an incredibly impressive feat." He remarked casually as he began sending a message the SWAT team on standby.
"Oh ha ha! You are so funny Major Blue Falcon!" Chuck retorted with a sardonic laughter, his voice heavily dripping with the sarcasm, "Seriously guys, I meant to tell you from the very beginning but now is a good time as any, I guess. Next time we go into the field, can we please make sure we are all on the coms? I know you two are supposed to deal with all the heavy lifting but I am still very much part of this team, not some deadweight. And how come any of you didn't know about my former batchmate from Stanford and a colleague from my buy more days attending this auction. I mean...don't tell me the so called analysts working for your respective agencies, didn't even bother to run a basic background check on this exclusive high society event, despite knowing the fact that one of the world's most dangerous and elusive killers was going to be here . The only reason I got in trouble with Ciudad was because my cover was blown before I could get in touch with you two. I hope you pay attention to such trivial matters from now on, cause even the luck of the devil can't help me all the time." He threw Sarah and Casey a scrutinizing look before he left through the door.
Casey was the first to break the silence as Sarah was still too much racked with guilt about nearly losing Chuck twice in a row to say anything.
"Well, it seems we messed up a little this time."
Sarah frowned, not in a good mood by any stretch of the imagination despite the fact that their mission turning out to be a huge success with La Ciudad and her henchmen captured and the human Intersect relatively unharmed
"Yeah, he is right Major. I think we both made basic mistakes because we were too blindsided by our task of capturing Ciudad that we completely forgot to take Chuck's safety and wellbeing in consideration. We are supposed to count on him for intel, not expecting him to fight terrorists for us every five minutes. We have to get our brains in gear, Casey cause let's not forget the fact that we didn't take down Ciudad, Chuck did and in addition to all that, we almost got one upped by a bunch of nosy brits on our home turf, I highly doubt this mission is going to reflect too well on either of our records
Casey then gave out a sigh as if considering what she had just said, he then spoke after a full second. "Look Walker, the day that kid took down Mauser and his cronies and defused a bomb by his hacking skills, I had an inkling this mission would be crazy. I have had my doubts if Chuck would behave like a normal analyst, but he has shown us from time to time that it won't be the case. Any other person would have folded in a blubbering heap when confronted by one of the world's most dangerous and elusive assassins, but this kid managed to keep his wits about himself like it was just another typical tuesday for him. Distracted or not, they were all extremely dangerous individuals and he managed take out all three of them in one swoop at the first chance he got, all by himself! Just what kind of self defense classes he attended back then?"
Sarah agreed with a mirthful laughter, "It sounds like he does have the luck of the devil in some way, doesn't it? I already told you that he is exceptionally well at unarmed combat. I am pretty sure his skills will be on par with us with a bit more training and push in the right direction. However, what happened today was just the right combination of adrenaline , basic common sense and ignorance on Ciudad's part. But I know him too well Casey, he is too emotional and we can't expect him to cope with one hairy situation after another. After All, we are the ones who are supposed to do all the heavy lifting , not him, so we should make sure that he won't have to put himself in danger like that ever again."
Casey nodded approvingly, "Some people sign up to be the heroes, like us and some have to be one ,regardless of their choice, like the kid. Our agencies are already asking asking a lot of him as it is. We can't keep dropping a ball on him like that. He doesn't deserve being put in such dangerous situation because of our silly mistakes. I will definitely run this by Beckman and Graham in our next briefing and ask them to be more careful before assigning us missions in future. Have some rest tonight, Walker. You have earned it."
He concluded with a smile, extending his hand as a reconciliation gesture of sorts, which Sarah quickly shook with a grin of her own.
"Thanks Casey, Good night."
...xxxxxxx...xxxxxxxx...xxxxxxx...
Chuck didn't know why exactly Casey decided to stay back for some sort of clean up operation, even though they had already captured La Ciudad but decided not give it much thought. It wasn't like he really cared what the NSA agent did in his free time. He was his bodyguard and colleague, which seemed like the only possibly humane relationship he would be able to maintain with a hardcore consummate professional like him.
Sarah still wore a deeply concerned look , asking him if he was okay for the umpteenth time. While he clearly knew she meant well, he just couldn't help but roll his eyes in mild annoyance.
"I am fine, Sarah. Didn't I tell ya' I am made of sterner stuff than you think. "
The blonde hung her head in shame, still unable to meet his gaze, "I know and it was pretty damn impressive the way you managed to handle yourself out there but it's our fault that you had to fight her in the first place."
Chuck smiled a little, gently poking her in the shoulders, "Eh...don't beat yourself over it. It's not your fault some folks out there can't do their job properly."
Sarah nodded , an appreciative blush appearing on her face as she finally looked up at him, his smile had always been a welcome sight for her. She then dropped her head against his shoulder.
"Still, congratulations on your first mission. You did incredibly well on your own."
"It was alright." Chuck mumbled, scratching the back of his head, "I have been raised by a pretty scary individual myself. Ciudad is nothing compared to her."
"Your sister?" Sarah asked, and he nodded, a chill running down her spine.
"Well, you have no idea." Chuck added dryly, "She is usually sweet and kind but she can be like one of the world's scariest drill instructor and interrogator at the drop of a hat. "Make sure to eat on time , Chuck." "Don't talk about your ex at your birthday party, Chuck." He shivered , wagging his finger angrily with each imitation , acting like someone was preaching to him, "My dad once told me even mom was like that too. I guess it must be in our genes or something like that."
"It could be." Sarah giggled playfully
"I hope not." Chuck heaved a great sigh.
Approaching their current residence, Sarah's eyes panned up and down as a part of her routine , scanning for anything out of order, she quickly took in the sight of one of their second story windows sitting slightly ajar...
"Strange, it wasn't like that when we left for the mission."
Sarah thought to herself. She personally made sure to securely lock everything. And there weren't many who knew about this location or the fact that they had been using this mansion since last couple of weeks.
Or someone who was an expert at breaking into extremely secured places like these and asked her about her current address not too long ago.
Walking up to the door, Sarah stopped , her hand in her pocket, ready to withdraw her keys and open the door.
Just like Sarah, Chuck noticed the window being ajar as well, apart from that he could also hear the sound of glass lightly clattering against one another carrying in the otherwise quiet house.
"Someone's here…" He whispered scandalously, raising his left arm in front of Sarah protectively before she could open the door.
Her eyes glancing toward Chuck, she felt another rush of appreciation for him. Despite knowing the fact that she was a highly trained and extremely dangerous field agent who needed no protecting, the fact he was still willing to stand up to an unknown "burglar" for her sake, spoke a great deal about his character once again.
"It will be alright, Chuck." Sarah assured him , raising her hand, she gently grasped his raised arm, lowering his arm to the side as she pushed the door open
Clink, clink…
The sound of glass touching continued to waft into the hallway, a soft, feminine voice mumbling from inside the kitchen.
Casting a dubious look toward Sarah , Chuck slowly nodded , stepping aside to allow Sarah to take the lead. Stepping forward the CIA agent dashed towards the kitchen, with her service weapon ready in her hands, in case her initial assumption turned out to be wrong. Though that was highly unlikely. The sound of bottles clinking together getting louder as the agent-analyst duo approached the kitchen, while the lights were out, they could still see a stream of light slicing into the darkness in the hall from the kitchen.
The two of them rounding the corner they are treated to the sight of the refrigerator standing open, the light in the hall coming from the open appliance. An intruder dressed in black ninja like gear sat on their hands and knees in front of the refrigerator, one hand on the floor, the other inside the appliance. Upon seeing the two owners had returned, the intruder let go of the glass of lemonade in her hand and swiftly jumped back on her feet. Taking up a stand similar to a seasoned martial artist. Nobody moved, each occupant of the room was waiting for the other to make the first move.
Sarah whispered through her gritted teeth, "Chuck, do exactly as I say, understand?"
Chuck was spooked but bright enough to know his spy friend was more than capable of dealing with this situation on her own, "Aye aye Miss Walker, you are the boss."
Sarah relaxed her posture, taking a fighting stance of her as she directed a challenging grin towards the masked intruder, "So, shall we begin?"
"Thought you would never ask, blondie." The masked intruder responded, the voice clearly indicating that this individual was most likely a female
And just like that two extremely deadly fighters began dashing at each other as Chuck watched them from sidelines, unsure about what to make of this situation on his hand.
...xxxxxxx...xxxxxxx...xxxxx...