CHAPTER 1: The Inner Desire
Friday 1800
Both Chuck & Sarah trying to diffuse what seems like a faux Bomb. Sarah asking Chuck to run away while she tries to diffuse the Bomb.
Sarah angrily shouts at Chuck "Why are you so stubborn?"
Chuck didn't want Sarah to die replies "I see this as a rare moment of courage, I don't know where this is coming from, I think you bring out the worst in me."
Sarah curtly replies "And you in me!"
They both look at each other trying to fathom the uncertain situation. Sarah still unable to understand what is happening. Her thoughts spiraling onto Chuck as she has failed in her mission to protect Chuck. She thinks if She is going to die she might as well see what it feels like to cherish the soft lips of Chuck Bartowski. She wants to see what it feels like to kiss a man who could make her jealous.
Chuck closes his eyes. Finally, she gives in to her desires. She Starts kissing Chuck, hoping he reciprocates which he does after a brief interim as he is too flabbergasted at the mere thought of kissing the woman that he loves so much. They both start kissing each other passionately forgetting everything that is happening around them. Finally, after several moments, they come to their senses and separates from one another.
Sarah: I don't think we are going to die but this looks like an awkward situation.
Chuck: Seems perfectly fine to me.
After the incident, Chuck became sure that Sarah does feel something for him but he is unsure about a lot of things as to why she would say she doesn't see a future for them together under the influence of the truth serum, however, she kisses him when she thinks they are both going to die. She tries to push him away when he advances towards her, but she always likes to be near him, and she laughs at all her stupid jokes. Sarah Walker is an enigma wrapped in a maze box to Chuck. He hopes he could somehow understand even a small part of her.
Chuck kept calling her again and again trying to fix up a date with her, all his calls kept going to the voice mail. Meanwhile, Sarah was torn emotionally between her duty and her feelings which has surfaced because of Chuck. Her inner desires of having a normal life, family with Chuck which has eluded her entire lifetime kept knocking her knees to the ground. She is unable to hold her own in the whole debacle. She keeps remembering the day she met Chuck and how in a short amount of time he has turned her life upside down. Before Chuck she didn't even know what caring for someone was, all she saw were peoples as either marks to be toyed with and dispose of when not required or civilians from whom she should keep her distance. Chuck has shown her what feels like to care about another Human being, his honesty and kindness has moved her to her core.
Sitting on her bedside she kept thinking about the situation until she receives a message from Casey to come to the rendezvous point where the alleged bomb was present. Reaching there she was shocked to see her former partner and lover Bryce Larkin inside the bomb as it opened. Bryce was in an unconscious state with tubes attached to his body.
Later Sarah comes to Buy More in search of Chuck. She finds him behind an alley of racks shuffling through hard drives. As soon as he sees her, he stops doing what he is doing and jumps up to her. She looked like she hasn't slept the whole night yesterday and was in distress.
Sarah half-heartedly greets chuck, "Hi Chuck!"
Chuck starts to stammer "Hello Sarah, it's good to see you. Oh! It's so good to see you here. How have you been? You look pretty… as you inadvertently always do. With that said, why are you here...?"
Sarah feeling slightly amused at his rambling and at the same time unable to understand her feelings tells him that Bryce has returned and wants to talk to him.
Chuck in a confused tone "What! Bryce is alive. The same Bryce that got me kicked out of Stanford, the one who sent me the Intersect, and your former boyfriend is back from dead. How is it possible
"I don't know but he wants to talk to you only" says Sarah
Chuck inquiringly "Me, Why Me? I don't know anything about what's happened to him"
"Chuck, I don't know but we have to follow protocol."
After thinking for some time Chuck decided to meet Bryce.
They reach the CIA facility where Bryce was held captive in an open room with dimly lit lights. Bryce was plugged onto a life support system. He looked unconscious.
Casey nonchalantly "Glad you are here. Talk to the traitor and find out what is he doing working for the Fulcrum."
Chuck in an afraid tone says "I am afraid to talk to him. What if he attacks me?" "Don't worry Chuck, Casey and I are just outside in case anything wrong happens." Sarah tries to relax Chuck.
"I am still not comfortable with the plan."
Casey in an irritated tone "Just go inside moron!"
Hesitantly Chuck goes inside to find Bryce now seated in a chair with his hands strapped to the arms of the chair. He looked pale and weak.
"Hi, Bryce. You wanted to talk to me?" Chuck trying to maintain distance between him and Bryce.
"Prove to me that you are Chuck."
"I have my ID and my Nerd Herd desk Card if you would like to see, Chuck says Jokingly."
Bryce says something in Klingon
Chuck Come on Bryce. You're making me look bad.
Bryce: Say it!
Chuck: "Jibbe Jibbe"
Bryce: Come near me. I want to say something to you.
Sarah: We have to stop Chuck from getting near Bryce.
Casey: You're right. Let's interfere
Sarah signals Chuck on his earpiece to not go near Bryce and come out instantly. Chuck on receiving the cue comes out at that moment itself.
Chuck: Guys! What happened? I was kinda getting some intel from Bryce.
Casey: Moron! We don't know Bryce's intentions and we don't know what he would do to you if you go near him. He is very dangerous.
After Casey disappears Chuck and Sarah are alone.
Sarah: I think I should go too.
Chuck: Sarah we need to discuss about the incident.
Sarah: Not now Chuck.
Chuck: Why? What happened?
Sarah: Nothing.
And she also goes away leaving Chuck awry.
Bryce meanwhile finds a pin that falls down from Chuck's pocket when he was in his room. He uses the pin to open the handcuffs and he hurries down the hallway.
Upon seeing Bryce, a guard charges towards him, Bryce takes him out with an upward kick to his face. On hearing sound, two more guards come running towards him. He takes them down instantly. Bryce uses the elevator shaft to escape from the facility.
Meanwhile, Chuck and Sarah are having a thanksgiving meal at his house in Echo Park when Casey interrupts them. Ellie, Chuck's Sister invites Casey and asks Chuck to get him a chair from his room. Chuck obliges and goes to his room to get a chair where he finds Bryce. Chuck is shocked to find him there.
Chuck: Bryce, what are you doing here and how did you escape the facility?
Bryce: I came here to talk to Sarah. I want you to ask Sarah to meet me in the room.
Chuck: And why should I follow your order?
Bryce: Because of Fulcrum, because if I don't talk with Sarah, Fulcrum will come looking for me and it will not be good for any of us. We need to alert CIA about my condition. I'm not rogue Chuck.
Chuck: Why did you send the intersect to me?
Bryce: I don't have time for this Chuck. Please just call Sarah.
Chuck thinks for a moment then finally asks Bryce to wait in his room while he calls Sarah.
At the Dinner, Chuck sees all of them enjoying the feast. He gestures Sarah to go to his room. Sarah on Chuck's cue goes to his room discretely. On arriving there she finds the room empty, while going through the room she hears a faint noise of a door creaking and she looks behind her to see Bryce standing opposite her. His lean, tall stature shining in the backdrop of the light coming from the backyard. She jumps towards him and tries to inflict a jab at his jaw, he defends himself by moving himself away from the hit.
Bryce: You're getting a little rusty Sarah!
Sarah: Why do you care? What do you want from me?
Bryce: I am not rogue Sarah. I want you to trust me.
Suddenly Chuck comes to his room to check in on them and sees them wrapped around each other, Bryce trying to control Sarah's anger, Chuck perceives it they engaging in a fight and he charges in. Hearing someone come in Bryce let go of Sarah and escapes out of the Window albeit Morgan door.
Chuck: Hi Sarah, what did Bryce say?
Sarah: We should go out.
Chuck: Ok. Let's go.
Seeing them going out Casey excused himself too leaving Ellie dumbfound as to what has transpired all of them at once to go out. Chuck and Sarah go to Casey's apartment to find Bryce there.
Bryce: Sarah please listen to me. The Intersect was a deep undercover project until I realised, I was working for a rogue agency within the CIA named Fulcrum. So, I had to run away. I was part of a project named Sandbox; I am not a rogue spy.
Chuck flashes on the name Sandbox and verifies the authenticity of Bryce's words.
Chuck: He's right. CIA did have a project named Sandbox.
Suddenly Casey comes in and before they could react Casey fires his revolver at Bryce leaving him flat on the ground. Hearing the voice Chuck falls down too and becomes unconscious causing Casey to smirk in amusement.
After some time Bryce wakes up. Sarah picks him up.
Chuck: I fell too!
Sarah ignored Chuck at the moment. She is trying hard to shut Chuck out unable to realise what Chuck is doing to him. How to face him. She has left her whole life in isolation, keeping away from people, shutting them away. Suddenly Chuck comes into her life and open a whole new world to her, a hidden desire to have a normal life which she has been deprived of ever since her childhood after she decided to run away with her father and joining the CIA, later on, didn't help either. It was just lies and deception in her life.
After contacting Beckman, The NSA general, and Graham; CIA head, Bryce gets reinstated into the CIA. Bryce after his formal meeting with the Generals comes out wearing a Black Tuxedo with a bowtie looking like a professional spy.
"Guess it's time to go." said Bryce
"Where are you going, Bryce?" inquired Chuck
"Deep Undercover hunting for Fulcrum. I Can't even tell you, Chuck. Goodbye!" replied Bryce.
Bryce goes to Sarah and holds her hands.
"Guess it's Goodbye Sarah." Sarah has tears in her eyes.
"Sarah, We will always have Omaha" Bryce said before leaving.
Sarah was in emotional tethers at the moment. She is unable to understand her feelings. Being with the man she loves could lead to his death and going away with the man she loved or she thinks she loved until she met Chuck, she didn't know what Chuck was. Chuck was a CIA asset and Sarah was his handler, being emotionally involved with Assets is not allowed in the CIA and that has been engraved into her right from the first day at the CIA training at the Bootcamp.
Chuck on hearing the conversation between Sarah and Bryce thinks maybe Sarah will leave him to go with Bryce. That night Chuck goes to Casey's apartment and brings him some leftover turkey Sandwich from the thanksgiving dinner.
"Hi, Casey. I thought to drop by and bring you some leftover turkey Sandwich"
"Thanks, Bartowski but I have work to do"
As Casey was trying to close the door, Chuck interrupts him.
Chuck asks "What does Omaha mean Casey?"
"Probably some code. Bryce is going deep Chuck, if Sarah wants to join him, she should do it now."
Sarah's leaving!
Casey smirkingly "Don't worry Chuck, I am sure CIA has a great collection of beautiful female CIA agents in its catalog. We will surely find you someone in place of Agent Walker."
Chuck departs after his conversation with Casey to call Sarah.
Meanwhile at Sarah's apartment. Sarah has packed her bags with her gun and passport kept on her table. She receives a call on her landline from Bryce. At the same time, she receives a call on her cell phone from Chuck. Unable to decide she thinks hard. Her mind saying to run with Bryce but her heart wanting to stop by with Chuck. Finally, her mind wins over her heart and she decides to go with Bryce because she doesn't want to hurt Chuck. Being with Chuck could lead to his demise as she is not able to control her emotions when present around him.
The next morning Chuck comes to buy More to find Sarah's Porsche not present on her parking spot. He thinks she has left with Bryce and accepts his fate yet there is a glimmer of hope in her mind.
Casey says to Chuck "Sarah's gone, Chuck. Stop looking at the Weinerlicious."
Chuck jumps up "What! I wasn't looking at Weinerlicious."
At the briefing, Beckman comes on to the screen along with Graham.
"Is everything all right? I want to inform you that Agent Walker has requested to join Bryce and will not be continuing her duties as your handler Chuck" Graham started the briefing.
"What General! When did this happen?" asked Chuck flabbergasted.
"Yesterday night she called and today morning she mailed me a letter confirming the same" replied Graham.
Chuck didn't say anything.
"I would like you to meet your new handler, Chuck. Her name is Kate Parker and she should be arriving right about now." Beckman added coldly.
"Hello Everyone! sorry got a little late. I am Kate Parker"
"I am John Casey, Agent Parker"
"Hi, Agent Parker. I am Charles Bartowski but people call me Chuck"
"Hello, Chuck," said Kate excitedly.
Beckman says to everyone before turning off the screen "That's all team. I will leave you all to know each other. If some mission comes up, I will let you know."
All in Unison "Ok general."
CHAPTER 2: THE TORN-UP WORLD
It's been five days since Sarah left Chuck to go with Bryce and Chuck has hardly been focused on his work. He has been an emotional mess since her departure. He has hardly gone to work even when at work, he doesn't talk much. He spends most of his time alone. For 3 days since he learnt about Sarah's departure, he didn't get up from his bed. Ellie and Devon, Elie's boyfriend has been worried about him. They tried to console him many times that Sarah will come back. Last week he quit Buy More citing personal issues. Chuck has stopped taking Casey's call. He has directly told Beckman of his refusal to work. The thought of Sarah just leaving with Bryce without even a goodbye has been too hard for Chuck.
Beckman after some consideration thought it would be best to give Chuck some time to heal as it could lead to major catastrophe seeing that Chuck is the only remaining Intersect and the government cannot lose him. Kate & Casey has been ordered to stay put in Burbank for the time being.
This morning Ellie comes to Chuck's bedroom to motivate her brother.
Ellie shouts at Chuck "Chuck get up. I am tired of seeing you like this, mopping all the time. Sarah will come back. I am sure she loves you too and she will come back."
Chuck says dejectedly "She's gone Ellie and won't be back. She left with Bryce." Immediately he tries to backtrack his words at the mention of Bryce.
Ellie on hearing Bryce's name sprang up "With Whom? Bryce, your old friend, the guy who got you kicked out of Stanford. I thought Bryce died."
Chuck tries to control his slip up "No..No..No Ellie. This is not the same Bryce. This guy is someone else. Bryce Larkin is dead. Although I think, Bryce must have a reason to get me expelled out of Stanford. I shouldn't be too hard on him."
Chuck obviously could not tell Ellie about his whole CIA stint and how Bryce in order to save him from getting recruited into the CIA got him expelled from Stanford. The CIA wanted Chuck to join their Omaha project because of his genius brain.
"If you say so. However, you are getting up today and going to work, that is an order." Said Ellie
No matter how much he wanted to stay in his bed but he couldn't defy his elder sister. So reluctantly, he got up. After getting freshen up, he reached the kitchen for a meal of fruit loops and milk.
"So, Chuck what is your plan for today?" inquires Ellie.
"Don't know El. I was planning on sleeping all day before you deprived me of that privilege."
"Very funny. Why don't you look for a job?"
"I have a job sis which I can get any time Sis. Besides who will give a job to a guy who has been dismissed from college?
Ellie replies "I'm not talking about Buy More, I'm sure you can do whatever you want Chuck. You need to believe in yourself. You're the most amazing person I know and sometimes I don't think you realize that about yourself. Promise me you won't let the departure of Sarah hurt you so much that you will go back to your old state before Sarah. I can't see you like that anymore Chuck. Just do it for me."
"Ok.. Ok.. Sis. I will do it. I will start to look for a job."
Ellie smiled "Good."
Right, that time Devon walks in after his Nightshift at the hospital.
"Hello Chuckester!" greets Devon
"Hi, Awesome! How was the shift?"
"Same old Chuck. How are you feeling today? Ready to take on the world now?"
"What!.." Chuck suddenly realized Devon doesn't know about Cover Job at the CIA says "I am feeling much better"
Awesome!
After breakfast, Chuck calls his best friend Morgan.
"Hey Buddy, where are you?"
"Hi Chuck. You know at the Buy More. When are you coming back, Buy More is not the same without you man."
"I am thinking of not going back to Buy More anymore. I want a real job, Morgan"
"You telling me Buy More is not a real job?" inquired Morgan.
"Don't take me wrong buddy but I want to do something that excites me"
"So where shall we start our Job hunt?"
"Our Job Hunt?" Chuck said Mockingly
"Yeah; where will we work then Chuck?"
"Ok. Let's see, we will meet and discuss. Meet me at Weinerlicious in half an hour"
"You got it Chuck"
At the Weinerlicious-
"So, how's Buy More?"
"Not same without you Chuck. The whole Nerd Herd division is broken without you man. Big Mike is going crazy. However, leave all that how are you dealing with Sarah?"
Chuck says flatly, "I'm sorry to hear about Buy More buddy, things will improve there. I am starting to come to terms that Sarah is not going to come back. I should move on."
"Good for you. I know just the way to make you move on." Morgan said excitedly. "How about we go to the Tech expo this weekend at Roark Instruments. You can meet someone there or land a job with the freaking Roark Industries. What do you say? It's been so long since we spent some time together, just the two of us."
"Ok!" replied Chuck.
It's 4:00 AM in Budapest, ten days after Sarah has left Burbank, Sarah is awake laying on her bed with Bryce sleeping next to her. She hasn't slept properly in nearly the whole time she has left Burbank. She doesn't feel loved, she is definitely not happy. She keeps imagining Chuck and her fortune of Solitude that was Echo Park; the place where she shared many dinners together with Chuck and his family. She keeps imagining Ellie, who was like an elder sister to her, one which she doesn't possess. She keeps thinking about all the late-night movie marathons with Chuck where they just snuggled onto each other enjoying each others' company as Sarah has no interest in movies or music whatsoever. She just enjoyed Chuck's company.
In the hindsight, she keeps thinking whether it would be fair to Chuck if she stayed with him. Chuck wants a normal life with her, which is one thing that she can't give him as much as she wants to. Chuck is her Asset; he is her guy but the situation surrounding them doesn't allow them to be together. She couldn't believe her luck. Coming with Bryce was like running away from commitments. Bryce did love her but he isn't Chuck and Sarah knows that. She has been an effective spy but happiness has eluded her since she left Burbank.
Hearing her rumbling between the sheets led to Bryce waking up. Bryce has been happy to get what he wanted, Sarah. He was a spy always going as per book same as Sarah was before she met Chuck. For Bryce duty always comes first, same as was with Sarah. Sarah didn't realize the change until she went on a couple of missions with Bryce.
Bryce in a flirtatious tone "Hi Sarah Baby, why did you get up?"
Sarah replied coldly "Don't call me baby. I am just not feeling sleepy."
Bryce tries to contain the situation "OK! OK! I won't call you baby. What is troubling you?"
Sarah replies, "Nothing much I have just have a lot on my plate.
"You can talk to me anytime you want Sarah"
"I know"
With that Bryce again went back to sleep. Sarah's thoughts start to wander off what Chuck would have done if he had found out that she can't sleep. She imagines he would have entertained her; Chuck would go to any length to make her happy. The mere thought of Chuck made Sarah smile.
Sarah and Bryce reach for the briefing at 0900 from Graham.
"Good Morning Agent Walker and Agent Larkin" said the General.
"Good Morning General" Sarah greeted Graham
"Good Morning General" Bryce greeted too.
Graham started giving them instructions "You have to go to Siberia today. There has been fulcrum activity there. We would like you to infiltrate one of the offices of Roark Industries there in Siberia. You will go there as a potential client. Details of the same have been couriered to you. You will receive them shortly. Find out anything about Fulcrum there."
Sarah and Bryce in Unison replied "Ok General"
"Good Luck!" Graham said before disconnecting the call.
"So, I think we should get ready fast if we are to reach on time" Sarah said flatly.
Bryce replied mischievously "Ok. You freshen up first then I will get ready unless…"
"Unless...?"
"Nothing. We should get ready. You go first."
In the past, this would have led to them having shower together but now things have changed. Bryce has been noticing these differences in Sarah's attitude. She has been more distant to him. His charm hasn't worked on her even a bit. She has been quieter than her usual self. Bryce couldn't figure what has happened to Sarah. Sarah even refused to go on any mission as Mrs. Anderson, their cover before her last assignment in Burbank with Chuck.
Roark Instruments' office was a typical Tech office building with walls covered in glasses to reflect the sunlight. Opening a tech office in Siberia could cause certain concerns, However, Chevy Roark, the founder of Roark Instrument has deflected such accusation by merely stating that it's a data management office predominantly.
Bryce asks Sarah "So how do you want to go about it?"
"Lets just go as Business Partners and we want to improve our cybersecurity"
"Okay. Sounds good" replied Bryce.
Inside the office, they were asked to meet the head of security, Mr. Volkoff. Alexi Volkoff was a man of sturdy build, in his mid-forties, who looked like he would shoot first ask questions later. He looked rather puzzled seeing someone coming to their Siberian office for cybersecurity as opposed to going to their Headquarters in Pasadena, USA.
Volkoff greeted the couple "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Larkin"
"It's Sarah walker and Bryce Larkin, we are not together. We're just Business partners" Sarah said coldly. Bryce flinched at her words but replied cautiously.
Hi, I am Bryce Larkin. I am here to discuss about improving our cybersecurity. Considering the importance of data security in our firm we would like to redesign our network to prevent any unprecedented intrusion in it.
You are right Mr. Larkin. CyberSecurity has become very important in this age of data. Before this goes any further, allow me to show our hospitality. What would you like, any beverage or drink?
No thanks, said Sarah.
Bryce too replied "It's all right. Please don't trouble yourself"
The next hour was spent with Bryce and Volkoff discussing Network and Cybersecurity which Sarah had no idea about. Bryce being a Computer graduate from Stanford was easily able to understand the discussion, Sarah was just nodding her head in agreement. Sarah kept thinking of Chuck in midst of the discussion and all the nerd talk was making her regret her decision of leaving Chuck. She kept looking around for any clue, but nothing came her way. In the mid of the meeting, she excused herself to go to the ladies' room.
"Please Excuse me. I need to go the restroom"
Once outside Sarah got into action. She searched the area to look for any clues which could connect Roark Instruments to Fulcrum. Everything looked so clean, it looked like exactly what it says it is. On one of the notice boards, she found a pamphlet for a Tech Expo at their HQ next week. She noted and decided to enquire about it with Volkoff. Sarah enters the room and sits in her chair. Bryce and Volkoff still busy with their discussion. Finally, after some time the meeting got over and they shook hands with each other. Just as they were about to leave, Sarah enquired about the Expo.
Sarah inquiringly "I noticed some pamphlet about Tech Expo next week outside."
Volkoff in a serious tone "Ohh! That's just Mr. Roark's' idea. Every year he organizes it. He unveils new products or services at the Expo."
"Okay. Thanks." Said Sarah.
Both Bryce and Sarah got up to leave the building. Once outside, Bryce and Sarah got into their Mercedes to depart for their hotel.
Bryce asked Sarah "Anything you could muster about Roark?"
"Nothing much. Just about the Expo which I asked Alexi"
Bryce replied "Me neither. The only thing I could figure out is that the system has very good security. My codes couldn't penetrate the security system of the firm. There's something shady definitely going on here"
"Let's have a call with Graham and discuss our next plan" said Sarah.
In the call with Graham, he asks them to go to the US for the Expo. He advised them to be discreet there. As the call was about to end Graham asks Sarah to stay there, he wants to talk to her privately. Sarah just nodded.
Graham inquires "How are you, Sarah?"
"I'm not sure I follow Sir!"
"The Intersect is not functioning back in Burbank. Bartowski has stopped going on missions, is there anything you want to tell me?"
"What? How is Chuck? When did this happen?" Sarah replied in frustration.
"Calm Down Sarah. He's fine. You still haven't answered the question about you and the Intersect. Why did you leave so urgently?"
Sarah replied "There is nothing to tell. Chuck was my asset but he isn't anymore. I needed to get out of Burbank. Bryce was my partner and we were a good team before so I wanted to continue the good work with him."
"Okay, if you say so. Keep me posted if anything comes up." Graham said before disconnecting.
Sarah: Sure General.
Graham was getting anxious about what to do with the Bartowski guy, he still couldn't figure out how much impact did Walker had on him. He contemplated assigning a new Agent to protect Chuck, someone tough and Casey-like, although he never assumed Walker would become so doe-eyed with Chuck. He hated Chuck for converting his best Agent vis a vis Wild card enforcer into someone who doesn't have complete control over her emotions.
Finally, he decided to send Agent Miller to be his protector. He had to pull some strings, but he thought given the predicament that Agent Carina has already met Chuck, she would be able to handle him emotionally. CIA still needed Chuck for another around six months till the new Intersect is up and running smoothly.