A/N: Thanks for the reviews. The mission begins.

"And we're set."

Sarah turned from where she was taking the case out with all of the comms gear they would need for this part of the mission at the sound of Chuck's voice, followed by a bunch of typing. Zondra had just shown some concern over letting Chuck take control of the entire van's console, but Sarah had given her a look.

And now she saw she was right to let Chuck do his thing.

His thing was exactly what they needed.

"Well, okay," Zondra chirped, surprised. They both scooted up to sit at Chuck's shoulder, looking at the screens as they came to life. "Is that the inside of the Restaurace a penzion Pod Dračí skálou?"

"Yep!" Chuck tapped a few more keys and the last screen lit up with an angle of the front door of the place. "I hacked into their security cameras. It's a lot easier than what we were going to do, having me wear a camera. Too bulky, ya know? And Manoosh isn't exactly a rube. He's a tech genius. He knows a body cam when he sees one. I'm sure he's worn them enough, had to hide them enough, to know I'm a spy the second I walk in there wearing one."

He turned to look up at Sarah and she felt his gaze on her face. But Zondra was in the van too, so she merely gave the smile she meant for him to the screens. She knew he'd get it was for him.

"Good thinking," she said.

"You hacked their security cameras... Are they gonna know their cameras are hacked?" Zondra asked.

"Pfft. Nah. Come on. They probably check these things once every few weeks if anything happens, like a dine and ditch or something. They had guys come and install them. They're not gonna know who's gained access to it and who hasn't. And anyway, it's a restaurant, not a bank. Why would anyone hack into a restaurant's security feed?"

Sarah couldn't help putting a bit more space between them in case she was tempted, because the confident little scoffing sound he made definitely did something to her that it really shouldn't have.

That lack of self-esteem he'd always seemed to harbor about almost everything, especially where she was concerned, definitely did not extend to hacking and anything else with technology. Noted, she thought a bit saucily to herself.

He was brimming with confidence.

"Works for me," Zondra said. "Put your comms in. Let's get this little shithead on our team."

Sarah passed out Chuck's comms and supervised as he put them in, then she handed him a jacket for the freezing Prague night air outside.

"No, not that one," he said, pushing it back into her hands. "The leather one."

Zondra snorted. "Really? Oh my God."

"You can make fun, but trust me. The leather one," Chuck said, sending Zondra a sassy look. Sarah shrugged and grabbed the leather one she hadn't really even noticed until he pointed it out. She thrust it at him. "Thank you, Agent Walker."

"Sure," she drawled, amused. But then she saw he'd gotten the collar twisted under as he put it on in the rather cramped interior of the van. "Uh, Zondra, can you...fix his collar?"

She couldn't do it. Not with Zondra sitting right there. It would be too intimate if she did it. Instead, Zondra chuckled at their NSA partner and reached over to yank it out, slapping him on the back. "There ya go, little tike."

"Ah! There he is." Sarah moved in close to the outdoor camera's feed and tapped the screen. A short, skinny guy who looked like he was maybe a few years younger than she was trudged up to the front door and pulled it open. "That's Manoosh."

"There's your little friend, Agent Carmichael," Zondra murmured in a sing-songy voice. "Getting that Hot Love." Chuck snorted. "Go time, Agent."

Suddenly the calm ease and confidence he'd exuded before seeped out of him and he went a little pale. Zondra had rolled her chair away to get her gun ready just in case and left Sarah beside him in the opposite corner of the van.

She leaned in close. "You okay?" she whispered.

"Hm? Wha—? Yep. Fine. Totally. I got this."

"I know you've got this. You know what you're going to do. It's a good plan. You know guys like Manoosh better than any of us do. He's just a fellow hacker, right?"

Chuck took a deep breath and nodded. "Right. Right, right."

"Ey. Carmichael. You take much longer and Manoosh will suck up all that Hot Love and be outta there before you even get outta the van."

"You're really enjoying the whole Hot Love thing, aren't you?" Chuck asked conversationally. That got him a glare and he cleared his throat. "Right. I'm going."

Sarah watched him closely as he swiveled in his chair, fixed his leather jacket, pushed a hand through his curls to try to tamp them down, and then slid the van door open.

"Hey. Don't forget this." Zondra pushed a gun at him and Sarah felt herself freeze from the inside out.

Chuck just stared at it. "I don't need it."

"What, so we gotta come in and save your ass if things go south?"

"That's the plan, Zondra. Manoosh will definitely see if he has a weapon. He's practically a kid but he's also working with the Ring. Don't underestimate guys like this." She realized the extra meaning in what she said as she watched Zondra shrug and pull the gun back, Chuck finally swinging himself out of the van. Chuck looked into the van, almost as if he was letting himself take her in one last time, before he slid the door shut again and made his way towards the restaurant.

Don't underestimate guys like this. Guys like Manoosh. Like Chuck Bartowski. Not that they were the same, not deep down. Chuck would never hop onto Team Ring; Piranha wouldn't even do that. But on a more surface level? The hacker, the tech genius, flying under the radar, underestimated by everyone at first glance? Chuck had been sorely underestimated by everyone. He'd taught her not to underestimate people, especially not someone like Manoosh.

If only Chuck knew how much he'd helped a seasoned CIA agent become a better spy…

But he was in the restaurant now, having walked through the outdoor seating area. He held the door for a couple leaving and smiling, nodding his head politely at them as they thanked him.

Manoosh was alone at a small two-person table in the corner of the restaurant near the fireplace, already being served the dessert he ordered so often, according to Chuck's research. She couldn't see it super well from the angle of the security feed, but she could see Manoosh at the table, alone, staring down at the bowl, the ice cream heaped with whatever else was on it.

And then there was Chuck, slowly making his way through the rest of the tables and past the fireplace, stepping into the cozy little nook where there was another small two-person table and taking his seat.

"Jen Hot Love. Prosím." He handed the menu to the waiter, smiling, and then he slowly peeled the leather jacket from his shoulders. And then he yawned, reaching his arms up over his head and stretching.

"Hey," Zondra muttered. "He's looking. Our resident nerd ordered the right thing. Can we zoom in with this camera? I can't see Manoosh's face." She leaned over the panel and then pressed a button, slowly zooming in so that they could see both Chuck and Manoosh well enough, the footage only a little grainy in the dark cave-like lighting of the restaurant. "There."

Sarah stared at the scene, Manoosh leaning forward a bit, then gesturing to Chuck. "So say we all," he said then, reading the words on Chuck's shirt.

Chuck looked down at his own shirt, tugging on it and chuckling with a nod. "So say we all."

"I like the jacket, too. Leather?" Manoosh asked.

Sarah's eyes widened and she slowly turned to look at Zondra who was gaping back at her.

"What the—?"

"Sh!" Sarah hissed, turning back to watch, trying to listen to the conversation. She missed what Chuck responded with, but both men turned back to their respective tables then, and the waiter returned with Chuck's order.

"Děkuju." The waiter bowed his head and set the Hot Love in front of Chuck, before he moved away again. Sarah guessed Chuck would start up the conversation again, say something else about whatever movie or whatever it was the shirt came from, or maybe something about the dessert. Anything else besides what he did say.

"I know you."

Manoosh jolted a bit and slowly looked up, licking the raspberry sauce from the corner of his mouth as he turned. "Excuse me?"

"I know who you are, Manoosh Depak. And I know who you're working for."

"What the fuck is he doing?" Zondra hissed. She pressed the button for the comms. "What are you doing…" Sarah reached over and clicked it off so that he couldn't hear Zondra. "...you freaking crazy… Don't do that. Why'd you turn off the comms? He's scaring away the—"

"Sh!" She clicked on her own comms. "Keep going, Chuck. Ignore her." She turned it off again. And then she turned to Zondra. "I have no idea, but we're not in there. He is."

But really, what in the hell was he doing? He said that without even trying to get Manoosh's trust first.

"Uh, I'm sorry. I don't think I know you, dude. I should be go—"

"The Ring."

"Fuck!" Zondra snapped. Sarah waved her off, starting to feel her nerves get the better of her. What was Chuck playing at with this?

Chuck sat back against his chair and dabbed his lips with his napkin nonchalantly. "I know how they operate. They got their fuckin' talons in me, too. Saw what I was capable of. Pulled me off the market, put me to work. Yanked me around on a fuckin' leash. I know you, Manoosh. Because I was you."

Sarah's jaw dropped.

"Ho...ly...shit," Zondra muttered.

"Uh, I-I don't know what you're even talking about, man. I'm just trying to have my ice cream," Manoosh tried. He was shaken up.

"Don't play games with me, Manoosh," Chuck said, a slight smirk on his face. "I respect you. I've seen your work. It's impressive. Impressive enough that it got you on the Ring's radar. They snatched you up just like they did with me. Only I managed to find a way to get out. And I can help you do the same."

"The hell you think you know about me?" Manoosh asked. "You don't know shit. I don't want out. I get paid big bucks for what I do. Making more money than I ever did."

"Yeah, and at what price?" Chuck challenged him. "Guys like us, we've been pushed around our whole lives. Underestimated. Just a couple of geeks peering into computer screens, not worth anything." He scoffed, shaking his head. "Nice guys passed over for girls who want the pretty boys, the bad boys, the star quarterback on the football team…"

Manoosh's eyes were widening and he was starting to lean in.

"Shoved into lockers because we like working on computers instead of playing with balls." He snorted derisively. "All those assholes jealous because we've got the brains. I spent my whole teenage years hacking into highly classified databases, changing codes, stealing information, distributing it to the masses." He let out a slightly evil chuckle and shook his head, spooning ice cream into his mouth. "What they don't get is that someday, we're the ones who are gonna rule the world."

"Yeah, we fuckin' are," Manoosh said, pointing at Chuck with his spoon.

"Oh my God, Carmichael speaks entitled disillusioned whiney geek," Zondra breathed. Sarah shushed her again, leaning in, fascinated as she watched Chuck do things his own way, totally and completely off the book.

"The Ring? They won't even know what hit 'em. You really want to spend the rest of your life—however long they even let you live—stuck doing their bidding? Letting them treat you like their fucking pet hacker? Man, I couldn't stand it anymore. The disrespect. I know you, man. I've been there. I get it. I get you." He made a pfft sound and shook his head. "They always order guys like us around, treat us like dirt. Man, aren't you tired of it?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I am." Manoosh lowered his head, anger in his face. He dug into his ice cream with his spoon spitefully. "I used to make my own hours. And yeah, maybe I didn't have a steady paycheck, but people respected my name. My work."

Chuck nodded. There was a long pause and Sarah could just barely see something in his face in that grainy footage. She turned on her mic. "Chuck, whatever you're thinking about doing right now… Whatever you're thinking about saying… Make sure you know what you're doing."

He heard her. She knew he did. She could see it in his face. He bit his lip. And then he raised his head.

"Yeah. Back in my Piranha days, I could've had the world on its knees."

The van went silent as recognition crossed Manoosh's face. Sarah kept her hard gaze on the screen as she felt Zondra shift and turn to look at her. They knew. They both knew. Zondra had to have heard of Piranha. Any agent worth their salt would've known the stories, at least. Even if it was before their time at the agency. It would all click. Oh God, Chuck… What was he doing?

"Piranha?" Zondra asked at the same time as Manoosh's voice got picked up by Chuck's mic.

"Piranha? The Piranha? No fucking way. Man, you gotta be my age. There's no way you're…" Manoosh shook his head. "You're fuckin' with me."

"Dude, I was literally a child when Piranha became my moniker. I just didn't have a signature before that."

"What the fuck is happening?" Zondra whispered, grabbing Sarah's arm. "This guy is the criminal hacker Piranha? Did you know that, Walker?"

All she could do was nod.

"And the bosses?"

"Beckman knows."

"Shaw?"

Sarah spun to look at Zondra, her features hard. She shook her head. "No. Not Shaw. Not Shaw, Agent Rizzo."

The other woman's eyes widened a bit and she nodded. It was just a slight nod. "I see." She turned back to the screen. "Holy shit," Sarah heard her mutter.

"How'd you even know where to find me?" Manoosh asked. "Why the hell did you find me? What the fuck you care about some down on his luck hacker working contract for the Ring? Why not just let 'em chew me up and spit me out the way they did with you?"

"They didn't chew me up and spit me out, dude. I got the hell outta there before they could. Went on the lam. Been in hiding ever since. I got out because I saw the signs. They weren't just gonna toss me to the side. You think when they're done with you that you're gonna get to walk out of there?" Chuck asked, leaning in close, a conspiratory look on his face.

Manoosh gulped and faced forward. She imagined he'd probably gone pale, too, but she couldn't quite tell. Sarah was fully in awe over the show Chuck was putting on, but she still felt the cold chill of the fact that two more people knew he was Piranha, one of them a federal agent. Manoosh would end up under lock and key, never to be heard from again, after this. But Zondra… Sure, she had gotten the message that Shaw didn't know about Piranha for a reason. Zondra was smart, wily. But she'd wonder why. And Sarah wasn't so sure she'd keep that secret from a superior.

Fuck, what did Chuck do? Did he know what he'd just done? He had to know what he'd just done. It had to have been calculated.

"You didn't answer my question. How'd you find me? And why do you care?"

"I'm Piranha, bro. I can find anyone I wanna find. You think after the shit they put me through I wasn't going to try to keep an eye on who they got to replace me?" There was a long pause and Chuck leaned in even closer. "Nobody ever gives a shit about us, Manoosh. So we gotta do it. We gotta look out for each other."

Sarah could literally see the tension in Manoosh easing. His shoulders sagged and he put his spoon down. "You're...looking out for me? Seriously?"

"Don't get all mushy about it, kid," Piranha chuckled, spooning ice cream into his mouth and smacking his lips. "I want to get 'em back for the way they treat people like us. And I have a way." Manoosh smirked a bit at that. "With your brains and know-how, with you having a way into the compound, and my unrivaled hacking skills, we could be rich. You know how often I siphoned money into my own pockets out of big business accounts?" He whistled low.

Manoosh gave him a dubious look. "Piranha was good but he never pulled dirty shit like that. He didn't steal. He was weak like that."

Zondra let out a quiet, "Oooo…"

But Chuck didn't bat an eye. He just gave Manoosh a crooked grin. "You think I'd put my signature on siphoning money out of big bank accounts? Dude, I was trying to get rich, not get tossed in prison."

Zondra let out a barking laugh and grabbed Sarah's shoulder, shaking it. All Sarah could do was grin, shaking her head in absolute awe.

Manoosh chuckled and rubbed his hands together. But then he looked tentative again, nervous. "Look, I appreciate that you seem to...care...about what happens to me. We're the same. And I-I don't want to end up…" He made a cutting sound and brought his thumb across his throat. "But this could be dangerous...and...I just...don't know…"

Chuck made a face. "Hold on. Manoosh Depak...is worried about this being dangerous? With what you can do, and what I can do…? Bro, we work as a team and this will be a piece of cake. Come on, it's us." He carefully put his hand on Manoosh's shoulder and squeezed.

That did it. Manoosh dropped his walls. It almost made Sarah's chest ache, despite the guy seeming like a dick, joining forces with the Ring, helping them, having an apparent antipathy for people who weren't "like him"... But just being touched, having a friendly hand on his shoulder, being shown empathy and camaraderie, had been the final persuasion he'd needed.

That was it.

"Wow," Sarah breathed, shaking her head.

Manoosh nodded. "Okay. Okay…" He lowered his voice and looked around. "...Piranha. I'll bite. No pun intended."

"Oh God," Zondra muttered dully.

"Good one," Chuck said, pointing. It obviously stroked Manoosh's ego. Another brilliant move.

The guy looked like he was sailing high now, riding the wave of his own hubris. "So we're gonna steal from the Ring. How exactly are we going to do that?"

Chuck looked around the place, then stuck his hand in his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper and slipping it into Manoosh's palm. "Meet me there at nine tomorrow morning. I have a plan. Something that'll be easy. I have everything we need to carry it out. You'll have to trust me, though."

"Trust you? Why?"

"I trust you to be able to carry out your side of the plan. But you have to trust me enough to be willing to do it. And know that I'd never hurt...one of my own."

Manoosh looked him right in the face. And then he nodded once.

He stuck the paper in his pocket, put money on the table, and got up, leaving Chuck alone. Sarah scooted back to let Zondra slip past her and climb out of the van. She would tail their mark just to make sure he didn't betray his new friend to any Ring informants.

And Sarah was left sitting alone in the van, watching Chuck as he finished his Hot Love.

Unless Zondra came tearing back to the van with news that Manoosh hadn't been fooled, that Ring agents were closing in on Chuck, Agent Carmichael had just pulled off something so impressive she wasn't even sure the CIA could teach it in the Farm.

That was the most Chuck Bartowski display of spy work she'd ever seen. It was something she hadn't thought would ever be possible. And he'd done it. Right in front of her eyes.

He'd connected to Manoosh on a deeper level, spoken to the soft parts in the hardened young man's soul, related to him, formed a bond. And he'd done it bluntly and with more honesty than any other spy ever would have. No subterfuge or talking in circles. And he'd been successful. Chuck's greatest strength was making people feel at ease, and he'd somehow found a way to bring it into the spy world.

And damn her because this wasn't the time, nor was it the place, and they still had so much work to do and were going to be walking right into the belly of the Ring beast where everything could still go so horribly wrong… but the combination of Chuck being himself and a good spy all at the same time was more of a turn on than she was altogether prepared for. She felt a heady combination of absolute heat and soft warmth.

Sarah cast her eyes back at the screens and saw Chuck shrugging his leather jacket back on over his nerdy shirt, zipping it up. She knew him well, better than she knew anybody else in the world. So she saw his nervous energy as he got up and made his way through the restaurant.

Nobody was outside of the restaurant. Zondra was still tailing Manoosh. But he didn't know any of that. For all he knew, he'd walk out of the place and get jumped. He'd completed the first step, and now he was walking right out into what could very well be a trap.

She knew he wasn't going to feel safe until he was back in the van, even if she spoke up to ease his mind. And as he made his way through the outdoor seating and down the stairs to the parking lot, his step was hurried, even as he tried to appear nonchalant.

He looked both ways as he crossed the street past the parking lot, rushing the rest of the way. She tore the sliding door to the van open before he even arrived, and the moment he appeared, she reached out to grab him by the front of his leather jacket and yanked him inside with her.

"Whoa!"

Chuck landed in a heap, moving his legs so that she could slide the door shut again.

And the moment that door was shut, Sarah wrapped Chuck up in her arms and held him tight, burying her face in his neck.

"You are absolutely nuts," she breathed. "You know that? Nuts."

It felt so good, having his arms around her, hugging her close, even with the way he'd brought the chilliness of the air outside into their embrace. She'd take it. As long as it meant he was holding her like this.

He chuckled nervously and finally pulled back, relief in his face. "Did I get him?"

"Yeah." She beamed. "Yeah, you did. You were brilliant." She cupped his face. "Magnificent. I don't think there's anyone in the world who could've done it so well and so easily."

"You thought that was easy?" he asked asked, widening his eyes and whistling. "That was n—"

Sarah smothered whatever he was going to say with her lips. She crawled up to her knees and kissed him hard, pulling him in tight with her hands still on either side of his face. The moment her fingers slipped into his curls, he let out a soft growl and grabbed her, yanking her in against him, kissing her back with a fury.

But he stopped just as quickly, pulling back with a startled hum, spinning to look behind him, and around at the rest of the van interior. "Z-Zondra. Where—Oh, she's not here. I thought… Oh."

"She's tailing Manoosh, making sure he actually fell for your shtick."

"Oh. That's-That's smart. Yeah." He turned back to her. "I'm just gonna—"

"Yep."

"Kay."

They both dove back in, kissing, hands roaming under jackets, clinging to warm skin with cool hands tucking beneath shirts, fingers tangled in hair. And she reveled in the closeness, the way neither of them held back even for a moment.

But then she realized something, and she broke the kiss again, panting. "Wait. You told… Are you crazy? You said you're Piranha. Out loud! You know Zondra and I could hear everything you said to him, right? She knows now. She knows you are a hacker wanted by the federal government."

Chuck's lips were still pursed as he blinked a few times. Then his brow furrowed seriously as his brain seemed to catch up to what she was saying. "I know. I knew what I was doing, Sarah. I weighed everything before I said it."

"And if she tells Shaw?"

He swallowed hard, his hands squeezing her hips a bit distractedly. "What'd you tell her?"

"That everyone knows except for Shaw." He nodded. "I'm pretty sure she understood the implications."

"Good." He looked off to the side. "I decided to trust her. I know it's probably...crazy. After everything. But we have proof she isn't a double agent, that she was framed. And I want her to feel like she can trust us. That we trust her." He licked his lips and lowered his weight onto his haunches. "She has to know she's a real part of the team, at least for this mission."

Sarah stared at him, then mimicked his position, lowering herself to her haunches as well.

And that was the crux of all of this, wasn't it? He was Agent Charles Carmichael of the NSA. But none of this had done away with Chuck Bartowski, at least not yet and not in the way she thought it might. The way she feared it might.

He was nothing like the agents that came out of the intelligence agencies. And yet, he'd just delivered in a massive way. With compassion and warmth instead of fear and blackmail.

And he had made a calculated choice to trust someone he barely knew in the hopes it would get her to trust them back.

Agent Sarah Walker looked her partner in his face and shook her head a little. "You know what, Chuck Bartowski?"

"Did I fuck up?" he asked, wincing.

"Definitely not what I would've done." He looked a bit downcast at that. "But you did not fuck up." She shook her head again and smiled, closing the distance between them and falling into him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and kissing him again.

This time it was slow and intimate, and she noticed Chuck's hands wandering much more freely, sneaking up beneath the black long sleeve shirt she wore. She grabbed his shirt and pulled it up so that she could feel the warm skin of his back, the muscles there.

They continued to make out inside of the van for some time, Sarah giggling when he got a little too excited and banged his elbow against one of the chairs. But before he could actually lay her out on the floor of the van, Sarah—still mid-laugh—caught sight of the hooded figure approaching the van outside on the screen they'd set up to make sure nobody ambushed them.

"Chuck!" she hissed, pointing at the screen. He looked and scrambled off of her, wiping his lips and pushing his curls down from where she'd messed them up. Sarah lunged up to sit in the chair Zondra had seen her sitting in when she left the van and Chuck stayed sitting on the floor, crossing his legs awkwardly and leaning his chin in his palm.

The van door slid open and Zondra climbed in, tossing the hood off of her dark hair and turning to shut the door again. "Welp! He walked right back to his apartment, a skip in his step."

Sarah turned to look at her over her shoulder. "He didn't meet anyone?" she asked, trying to disguise the breathlessness in her tone by clearing her throat.

"Not a single soul." Zondra crab-walked her way to one of the other chairs and sat down, swiveling it to face Chuck and pointing. "You're a fuckin' genius, kid."

"It—It was nothing," he said, giving her a closed-mouth smile. "Just doing my job."

"Right." She huffed and gestured up to the front. "I'm gonna drive us back to the hotel. After all that work you did to get us a mole inside of the Ring compound, we don't want Walker's driving to be the thing that kills us."

She got up and made her way out of the van again.

"Holy shit," Chuck whispered.

"Sh!" she admonished, biting her lip to keep from grinning too hard. "I've got shotgun," she said then, making to follow Zondra.

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll...just...stay back here."

Sarah gave him a look as he stayed with his legs still awkwardly crossed. "Wh—Oh." She got it. She swung one leg out of the van, still hanging halfway inside, and she smirked at him. "Sorry."

He glared as she got out of the van, slid the door shut, and made her way to the passenger seat.

}o{

The next night found them right back in the same van again, sitting hunched over, crowded with their heads together, looking at the layout of the Ring base that resided on top of the hill they were parked beneath.

They'd have to trek through thick vegetation and trees to get up to it, which he supposed was the whole point of the location.

"We have to be prepared for the possibility that Manoosh wasn't able to get a piece of tart to everyone in the place," Zondra said.

"Right, not everybody likes dessert." Both of his teammates slowly raised their heads to give him a look. "I'm just saying. It's not everybody's thing."

Zondra sighed and looked back down at the layout Manoosh had provided them. "So Manoosh told you they were…"

"Here," Chuck said, tapping the lowest level which was more of a basement than anything. "But he said one of them is being kept in a room by themselves on the top floor. This room here." He pointed to the room Manoosh had pointed out to him. "He warned me that he wouldn't be able to bring anything to the Ring's captives because nobody goes in or out of where they're kept except for the top brass in this compound. Doesn't even sound like Manoosh knows who they are or why they're there."

"You're sure Manoosh has the plan down?" Zondra asked then, looking him in his face. "He knows what he has to do?"

Chuck nodded. "Yeah. I gave him the drug to put in the dough this morning. He sent me a message when he got it in. The chef is doing the rest for us. He's gonna ping my watch when he's distributed it to those in the mess hall, the guards outside, and anyone else he can get to take a piece, right before he sits at the table and eats it himself."

"And we'll know it's safe to go in when we see the guards knocked out around the perimeter," Sarah spoke up. She was particularly quiet tonight, he noticed. More so than she usually was when she was in full spy mode right before a mission.

"Listen, I'll be in both your ears and I'll have both of you in mine...so if you need back-up, I'll be there. But...try not to need back-up, huh?" Zondra snarked. "And keep your eyes open. I have a feeling not everyone's gonna be knocked out. That's just the way my luck is working lately on missions. Get stuck with Walker again, have to listen to this one and his constant pop culture references..."

Chuck made a face and then he checked his watch. "We should get up there so that when he lets me know it's time, we can get right in, grab the Lius, and get out again."

"Good idea," Sarah said, zipping up her black jacket and grabbing a dark bandana to tie over her face. She tossed him one too and he tied it in place, throwing his hood up over his head. "All right, let's go."

Chuck felt the holster at his hip and breathed a sigh of relief. He felt a lot safer with that there.

And then he led the way out of the van, turning to wait for Sarah.

"Hey," Zondra hissed out of the door. "Comms on."

Oh, right. Chuck reached up to switch it on. "Testing." Zondra gave him a thumbs up.

"Good?" Sarah asked after switching hers on.

"Perfect."

Chuck heard Zondra loud and clear.

"I've got point."

Chuck nodded and followed Sarah into the brush. Once they started up the incline, nothing but thick trees in front of them and behind them, Sarah pulled her flashlight out and turned it on, shining it on the path she was trying to forge through the thick foliage.

"We need machetes like in Tarzan," Chuck muttered.

"Hey, focus less on pop culture references and more on the mission," Zondra droned in his ear.

"Stick close," Sarah whispered over her shoulder, and he felt her gloved hand grapple for his. He held on tight, letting her pull him along. There was a sound off to the right, a twig snapping under a footfall, and then a loud hoot of an owl. "Shit!" Sarah whispered, stopping and stepping back against Chuck's chest.

He put one hand on his holster and held her tight with the other. "Think it was just an owl or maybe a fox or something."

"God, I feel like I'm in the Blair Witch Project or something," Sarah muttered then, as she flashed the light in her hand that wasn't holding tightly to his around them. He couldn't spot anything.

Zondra groaned. "Oh my God. What did I say about pop culture references? Now you're doing it too, Walker?"

Chuck smirked in the dark and leaned in to press his face against Sarah's head. Just to make sure she knew he was a little proud of her.

"Hey, you're not out here. You're not seeing how tall and skinny and ghostly these trees are. Just waiting for something freaky to step out from behind one of them. Or find some creepy stick dolls on the ground."

He felt a shiver go through him at the imagery Sarah had just painted with her words.

"I stand by what I said," Zondra snarked. "You've spent way too much time with this nerd. He's rubbed off on you. The Walker I knew never would have talked about a witch movie while on a mission."

"Yeah, well… The Sarah you knew was kind of a cold bitch," Sarah muttered, pulling Chuck along by his hand.

"I doubt that's even slightly true," Chuck said.

"Nah, it's true," Zondra spoke up. "But I mean, weren't we all? Except for Amy. Come to think of it, we're total idiots for not pegging that bubbly asshole."

"Seconded," Sarah groused, still scanning the path ahead with the flashlight as they carefully moved up the hill. Another creature made a freaky noise off to their left, this time sounding a lot closer, and Sarah leapt back into his arms with a gasp. He heard and faintly saw her cock her gun, pointing it out at the trees.

"Um. I can hear you two cuddling out there in the woods. Your mics are all muffled. Can y'all maybe not work out your weird I-Don't-Even-Know-What-It-Is thing you're both repressing while on a dangerous mission?" their third team member asked drily.

Sarah stepped out of his embrace and he felt himself blushing. What did he even say to that? How did he respond?

"There was an animal or something. It sounded like a chupacabra, okay?" Sarah spoke up for him.

Zondra snickered. "Afraid of forest animals, huh? Good to know, Walker."

"Shut up."

"And anyway, Zondra," he said, finally finding his voice, "a chupacabra is no mere forest animal, okay? It's potentially not even from this planet. That shit's scary. If there was one out here—which there wouldn't be since this isn't really its usual locale—we wouldn't live long enough to talk about it."

"Out of all of the times to have this discussion, can we maybe not have it right now?" Sarah hissed over her shoulder.

"Yeah, Chuck. Sarah's getting spooked," Zondra teased. "Man, you're both total dorks. I never saw this side of you before, Sarah. Which is probably good. If you'd have been like this back in the old days, I might've murdered you in your sleep."

"Fuck off," Sarah grumbled.

"Hey!" Chuck frowned, a little offended. He thought the best way to put their fellow agent off the scent of whatever she was sensing between him and Sarah was to go big or go home, as the saying went. He'd probably get murdered later, but at least she wouldn't know he and Sarah were actually together. "Look, Zondra. I get it, okay? You're jealous, and that's fine. You would love to be on my team. I know this. I understand it, even. I'm fantastic. And ever since I joined the NSA and I've been workin' out so much, I'm not so bad in the—"

"Oh God, seriously?" Zondra groaned.

"—fitness department. I'm a bit of a ladies' man, so to sp—" Sarah reached back to smack him and he let out an "ow!"

"I have news for you, I wouldn't tap you in a million years. I hope I'm coming in loud and clear, Mr. Too Big For Your Britches. Not in a million years. Walker? Maybe before she opened her mouth all those years ago and I found out she was a bitch."

"Ha ha," Sarah drawled, grabbing onto Chuck's hand again as they kept trekking up the hill.

"But now? Neither of you. Nope. Even if you introduced me to your hotter, less neurotic, not-such-a-nerd brother who knows when to shut up, Chuck, I wouldn't tap him. And Sarah? I wouldn't tap your sister even if she was...not so blond and not such a bitch. Sorry to disappoint you both."

"She is not very nice," Chuck said to Sarah and she sent him a hazy smirk over her shoulder.

"Now you know why it took so long for us to make up," she shot back.

"You're both lucky I'm stuck down here in a van."

"Sh! Wait!"

He stopped when Sarah put a hand on his chest, and they both stilled, listening. She switched off her flashlight and he felt her press in closer. He could see a light up ahead. The mansion the Ring had fashioned into a compound for their evil deeds, no doubt.

"Has he let you know yet?"

"No." He glanced at his watch in the patch of moonlight coming through the canopy the trees formed high above their heads. "Nothing."

"What's taking so long?" she whispered.

"I don't know."

"Any movement at the house? Can you see anyone? A sentry? Anything?" Zondra asked. After a beat, he heard her say, "Copy." There was another beat. "That was our extraction team. I have their location. Once you get the Lius out of there and back down to the van, we'll make the trade-off about three miles from here." He heard a few beeping sounds and then her voice was back. "Already got it plugged into the GPS. Make it snappy, you two."

"We can't exactly make it snappy if our inside guy hasn't drugged the party yet," Chuck whispered hoarsely.

Sarah stepped forward then, slipping her flashlight back in her pocket, and she crept closer, closer still...until she ducked down behind a bush about twelve feet ahead of him. She gestured for him to join her and he snuck as quietly as possible until he was sidled up against her.

"Take a peek. Tell me if you see what I just saw."

"Got it." He carefully poked his head over the bush, gaping at the sheer monstrosity of the old house.

He scanned the grounds that he could see from this vantage point. Two sentries posted in front of the back porch, a third walking the grounds. "Two sentries, one stationed on each side of the porch. A third rounding the corner, pacing the grounds. Two upstairs windows with lights on." He glanced up at the house, counted two lights… "And one on the bottom floor. The dining room to be exact."

They'd come up the hill and emerged on the backside of the house which meant the back room with the light on had to be the dining room.

"Yep." She grabbed his jacket and pulled him back down. He turned to meet her gaze. "But did you see that the sentry walking around the corner has some tart in his hand?"

"Yeah. Did the other two though?"

Chuck peeked again when he heard a dull thump and saw that one of the sentries guarding the back entrance had lost consciousness and was now flat on his back, spread eagle. "One down," he whispered.

Suddenly his watched buzzed and he looked down. Manoosh had pinged him. The message read, "I did my part. Your turn."

"He is eating his piece now. Everyone inside must be unconscious."

"What the—"

Chuck watched from behind the bushes as the other man knelt down and tried to shake his partner awake. But before he could sound the alarm, he slumped forward as well, draped over his fellow Ring agent, unconscious. "Two down," he whispered.

"Third is coming," Sarah whispered back. "Oh God, he's gonna see them. If he sounds the alarm, we're screwed."

As Chuck watched, the sentry took a massive bite out of the wedge of tart Manoosh must've given everyone in the place. But then he halted dead in his tracks upon seeing the other two sentries laying over one another, and considering who he worked for, he must've figured they were dead.

"Wait here," Sarah breathed, and then she was out from behind the bush, sprinting fast but stealthily across the lawn. Chuck's heart went in his throat as he watched the third sentry spin around to face Sarah.

But before he could mount a defense or even open his mouth to call for help, Sarah was on top of him.

And just like that, he joined the pile of unconscious guards.

Sarah waved her arm over her head, then gestured for him to join her. He did, running way less stealthily towards her.

He didn't stop, leading the way up onto the porch, pressing himself against the wall beside the door and pulling his weapon out of the holster at his hip as Sarah knelt down at the door with a lock pick. She tried the door handle first and it popped open.

"Oh," she breathed.

Chuck smirked down at her, but she seemed to ignore it on purpose.

But then as they pushed into the house, they heard someone rushing through the hallway towards them.

Chuck saw him before Sarah did and quickly shoved her behind a room divider with a Chinese landscape painted on it, just in time for Manoosh to look up and see him.

A feeling of dread went through him as he saw the look on his fellow hacker's face. And his first thought was that they'd been betrayed.

A/N: Wuh oh. Thanks for reading. Please review.

-SC and DC