The Betrayal

by Timber63

At the end of Season 2, Sarah leads Chuck to Casey to be tranqed and sent to the Bunker. Something happens on the way and Chuck ends up on his own. Bryce Larkin becomes the intersect and joins Casey/Sarah. Do Chuck/Sarah have a chance to come back to each other. Adventures arise.

15. Chapter 15

A/N:

A/N2:

No Beta, all errors are my own.

I don't own Chuck / Nor have any rights to characters portrayed

Chapter 15

November 14, 2010 – Ritz Carlton Hotel- Suite 1202 – 2:30am

Ziva was watching the end of the movie 'The Rock' with Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage. Link and Morgan had gotten back earlier and were already asleep in their respective rooms. Ziva had never really been into movies or television until she joined Team Orion, but when she was recovering from her torture with Chuck, they spent a lot of downtime watching movies. Ziva, who was a very active person wasn't much for sitting around and watching a movie, but as she was recovering and healing, she couldn't really be active, so Chuck took it upon himself to get her movie and pop culture education going. She of course had seen the original Star Wars trilogy first, then the start of the Marvel universe. They had watched some James Bond, and that was when she decided she really liked Sean Connery and was interested in seeing more. 'The Rock' happened to be on 'on demand' and despite what she first the, The Rock of the WWE was not part of it. She was enjoying the ending when she heard the click on the door to suite open and in came Chuck. Looking, she could see that he looked mentally exhausted, he came over to the couch she was curled up on and sat down next to her, have a deep exhale he laid his head on her shoulder.

"You, ok?" Ziva asked.

Chuck took a minute, "yea, I will be, eventually."

"I take it Sarah found you?" She asked.

Chuck lifted his head and looked at Ziva, he was a little surprised by the use of Sarah's first name, in all their past conversations, Ziva always referred to her as Agent Walker, or just Walker, never Sarah.

"She did." He answered.

"How'd it go? Did you get the answers you have been looking for?" She asked.

Chuck just sat there, blankly looking at the tv a million thoughts running through his mind.

"I got some answers, we talked. For the most part, I think that was the most honest conversation we have ever had." He paused, then continued, "she still doesn't trust me, not completely anyway."

"What do you mean?" Ziva asked.

"I told her about Ryker and his men, how they were gone, and Baby Anna is safe. They changed the baby's name to Molly, and she is living with Sarah's mother like we figured. When I mentioned Ryker and the baby, she played dumb. Eventually she admitted it, but she wants me to give her another chance, to 'trust' her, but she still doesn't trust me." Chuck finished in a bit of a huff, the frustration evident.

Ziva just sat there, listening, taking it all in. From her earlier conversation with Sarah, she truly did believe what she had said, she realized the mistake that she made, and Ziva felt at the time she was doing what she thought was best for Chuck and his safety, she just hadn't thought through the consequences of Beckman never letting him out.

Ziva was broken from her thoughts as Chuck continued, "Am I crazy? I mean I want to trust, believe her. She says she wants another chance, but she still doesn't trust me. How can I trust her if she doesn't trust me? For a long time, I have felt like all she did was play me, for over 2 years just dangling that carrot, Casey was more the stick. You know, she had lied to me before, right to my face, so easily. There was this time, right at Christmas, Fulcrum had taken over the BuyMore, although at the time, we didn't know it was Fulcrum, just what we thought was some crazy depressed guy named Ned. Casey and Sarah had come into the BuyMore through the tunnels from Castle, they were ordered to get me out. You know, they expected me to leave everyone there with a gunman, not just the BuyMore staff, but Ellie and Awesome were there to. They knew I wasn't going to abandon Ellie, the absolute last person I would ever do that to. They ended up being caught with me in the employee break room. Later they were released and traded for the LAPD hostage negotiator, Lieutenant Mauser, Casey had been injured, actually lost his toe." Chuck smirked. "I am sure he still blames me for that. Ned, said he was doing me a favor by letting my girlfriend go."

Ziva listened in wrapped fascination, this wasn't a story Chuck had shared with her before.

Chuck continued, "so turns out after they leave, I flash on the Mauser's watch, turns out he was Fulcrum. They set this up to try and find out where Bryce Larkin was. They thought he had the intersect and had done background on all the BuyMore employees and found out I went to Stanford with Bryce. They knew who Casey and Sarah were. I told them I was just an analyst, but then they threatened to kill Ellie if I didn't tell them where Bryce Larkin and the Intersect were. I honestly didn't know where Larkin was, but in the end, I told them I was the Intersect. Mauser took me out to an ambulance and as we started to drive away Sarah and Casey must have shot out the tires, because we crashed into the Christmas tree lot in the BuyMore plaza. I jumped out and ran, hiding in the Christmas tree lot. I thought was caught, but it turned out Sarah found me first. I told her Mauser was Fulcrum and knew I was the Intersect. She told me to run back to Castle and she would take care of it. I didn't want to leave her, but she ordered me to go, saying my life was more valuable than hers."

Chuck stopped, a look on his face that Ziva hadn't seen, it was a cross between annoyed and angry.

"What's wrong Chuck?" She asked.

"I hate when they say that." He answered.

"Say what?" Ziva asked, a little confused.

"My life is more valuable than hers, or Casey's. All life is valuable, it gets lost in this spy world. I understand there is evil out there, and sometimes the only way to stop it is to put them down. But I will never believe my life is worth more than hers, or Casey's, or Zondra, or Carina, or."

He stops. A smirk on his face, "ok, maybe it is worth more than Larkin's."

Both Ziva and Chuck laughed at that. Ziva knew Chuck didn't mean it, even though in everybody's opinion, he was right.

He continued with the story, "anyway, I started to head back to Castle, then I realized I couldn't leave Sarah alone with this guy. If something happened to her and I just ran back to Castle, I could never forgive myself, so I headed back. When I found them, Sarah had her gun pointed at Mauser, his hands up, it was over. I remember breathing a sigh of relief, Mauser was saying something, I couldn't hear them, but he was almost laughing, next thing I know Sarah shoots him in the head. I couldn't believe it. I saw my mothers charm bracelet I had given her earlier in the day dangling from her wrist. I think I was in shock, I had seen her kill people before, but this was a straight up execution. She didn't see me standing there, so I made my way back to the BuyMore, at this point the hostage crisis was over. I walked in, everyone seemed to be ok. I was sort of just standing there, still trying to grasp what I saw outside."

He stopped, deep in thought. Ziva could understand what Sarah had done, if this Mauser knew Chuck was the Intersect, even in prison he was a threat. She would have done the same thing. But knowing Chuck, even though he now had a better understanding of the need to kill in this line of work, he still hated it. Even when he had killed Ryker, he knew he was an evil man, and a threat to Sarah, and an innocent little girl, he still had nightmares about it, even though he wouldn't always admit it.

He started again, "she came up to me at the BuyMore a little while later, said I was safe, they got Mauser. She didn't know I had seen what happened. When I asked her what happened, she told me she arrested him, and Casey was taking him to a black site prison and he wouldn't bother me again."

Chuck paused again, "She looked me right in the eye, and said it like it was true. Like nothing had happened. Not 30 minutes early she just executed someone, and she was talking to me like we were making dinner plans. You know, I understood why, or at least I thought I did. The thing that got me was how easily she could lie to me and not give it a second thought. I had nightmares about that for weeks. They morphed into her coming to kill me. Knowing about the termination order, I think that in part is why I never told them about being in contact with my father and the updated intersect upload. Turns out I was right not to."

Ziva knew Chuck still loved Sarah, but he was conflicted, this would have been hard enough for him without her betraying him as she had. While Ziva wasn't objective, she loved Chuck like a brother, she did understand Sarah's thinking in both instances. She wasn't sure what it was, but she felt like she had to say something to him. A key to their relationship had always been complete honesty, even when they may not like what the other was saying.

Ziva took a sip of her tea and started, "Chuck, I understand your conflict, but I also understand Sarah's. She and I are very much alike, we have had similar training and from being a spy, very similar experiences. Obviously, I didn't grow up with a con man father, but my dad was a spy, and as you can see, there is not a lot of difference between the 2. Before she met you at the beach, she came here, and we talked for a while. I have never thought much of her from what you and Ellie have told me, I know her reputation in the espionage community. She is one of the best, the 'ice queen', I have had colleagues who have worked with and against her and she is very good at what she does. Unlike Sarah, I have never been asked to protect and 'asset' like you nor for the length of time. While I might not agree with all her decisions, I do understand them and can respect them. Chuck, I really believe in both cases you mention, and probably more that you have not, she was looking out for your safety, she did what she had to. I would have killed Mauser to. People can escape from prison, or they can get messages out, had Mauser lived, Fulcrum would have known you were the intersect, then not even a bunker could have kept you safe. You would be dead or in a Fulcrum facility somewhere being tortured. By killing Mauser, she saved your life and allowed you to consider living your life as close to normal as you could." She finished.

Chuck heard what Ziva was saying, he did understand that it did take some time, but he had come to same conclusion. "I get that Z, I do. What bothered me more was the fact she was able to lie so easily to me. Why couldn't she just tell me the truth when I asked her about?"

"You just said it Chuck, it took you some time to understand it. How would you have reacted if Sarah had told you she had disarmed Mauser and then executed him? My guess is he was probably taunting her, thinking even though he had lost the fight, he had won the war. Chuck, even now you deplore the violence and killing, while you are able to do it and process it, it still affects you. Can you honestly tell me you wouldn't have freaked out had she told you the truth then?" She asked.

Chuck knew, he would have freaked out, he already had. He had always regretted not confronting Sarah about it in private, after they had talked after the 'Rockstar' mission as he called it, he had felt better. In the back of his mind, he always knew she could lie to him so convincingly, but he maybe hoped more than anything she wouldn't.

"You're right, I would have. I would have had a million questions. I should have talked to her in private afterward and confronted her about it. I had weeks of nightmares about that night, I was almost afraid to go to sleep." He said.

"Chuck, after speaking with her, I am certain she does love you. I can understand why she betrayed you, I don't think she thought it through, about what would happen or not happen after you were 'safe'. Maybe she gave Beckman too much credit, but she knew right after Casey tranqed you she had made a mistake. For what its worth, I believe she would do anything to make this right for a chance for the 2 of you. Might be nice to have another female that can kick ass on this Team," she said with a smirk.

"Z, can you honesty tell me you could trust her, knowing what she has done?" He asked, honestly wondering.

"Chuck, that's not the question, I trust you. If you brought her on the team, you don't just bring anybody, if you brought her on that meant you trust her, and that's good enough for me. The question is, do you trust her?"

Chuck sat back on the couch. As much as he might want to, the answer was no, he didn't trust her. He had once and almost ended up in a hole in the ground.

"No, I don't trust her, not enough to bring her onto this team." He said.

"I can understand that, but then the other question is, do you think someday you will be able to. And I am not just talking about the team." Ziva asked with a look.

'I don't know. Maybe I hope so, but I honestly don't know right now." He said, almost saddened. "Someday, maybe. Ok, I am going to get some sleep, we have a briefing later this morning, you should get some sleep too." He said.

"I will, goodnight, Chuck. Remember, we're all here for you." Ziva said with a small smile.

"I know," he responded as he was walking to his room. He stopped and turned around gave Ziva one last look, "and Z, thanks." With that he was off to bed.

Ziva smiled. He had been there in her worst moments and helped bring her back and has helped make her life so much better than she ever could have imagined. She hoped she could help him figure out what he wanted to do.

November 14, 2010 – Maison 23 – 2:10am

Sarah had gotten back to her hotel feeling a mix of joy, optimism and also a little bit of insecurity. She changed for bed, she needed to get some sleep before seeing Chuck again at the briefing. She changed into a pair of boy shorts and faded red Stanford T-shirt of Chuck's she had 'borrowed' from his apartment after he ran.

For the most part, the talk with Chuck had gone better than she could have hoped. He listened, let her say what she had to. He also gave her a lot to think about. She had to be more open with him, volunteer more, she had to be the initiator of those conversations going forward, she couldn't wait for him to ask. He was right, she had never volunteered anything, almost everything 'real' about her he learned was either by accident or from snooping. While she didn't like anyone snooping into her life, she really had not given Chuck any choice. She was concerned that he had flashed on her file, she knew how he felt about her, he was never good about hiding it, after not giving him anything he took it upon himself to learn about her. There was nothing nefarious, he just wanted to know her, the girl. And he knew about her mother and Molly. Of course, only Chuck could piece that together with limited information. The google search was not something she would have thought of. She meant it when she said she wanted him to mee them. With Ryker and his men taken care of, maybe she could now have re-establish a relationship with her mother and with Molly. She felt a closeness, a sense of responsibility for Molly. Sarah had never thought of herself and kids, at least not until she met Chuck Bartowski. She always thought that maybe with Chuck they could have the family she knew he wanted, maybe even they could be Molly's parents. First, she had to fix this, she had just got through telling him she trusted him, then when he brought up Molly and her Mom, she played dumb. That was a mistake, and she knew it shortly after she did it. She should have explained it to him, not pretend it didn't happen. She would have to own that with him, she did trust him, old habits and it was her Mom and the baby, he would understand that, wouldn't he(?)

It was her out of her comfort zone, but he was worth it, they were worth it. He said he didn't know if he could trust her, it was her job to show him that he could, she would never betray him again.

November 14, 2010 – Ritz Carlton Hotel- Suite 1202 – 10:30am

Team Orion was sitting around the dining room table in their suite finishing up the room service breakfast they had been having. The debrief with General Beckman and Team LA was scheduled for 12pm PST. They had Jimmy and Devon on video conference with Team Orion back at Talus on as well. Chuck started the Team Orion meeting,

"Ok, everything went about according to plan and expectation. We were able to get the data and also put the tracking spray on Remington. As expected, Larkin tried to one up us, I didn't expect the flash to debilitate him as much as it did. Dad, what do you think?"

Orion spoke, "I didn't think at this point that a flash or in this case, multiple flashes would have taken Bryce down like it did. He is in worse shape than I expected. He needs to use the suppression glasses before its too late. He is doing damage with every flash, but multiple like that could put him in a coma or kill him."

Ellie was next to speak, "Chuck, while I hate Bryce Larkin, he needs to have the intersect suppressed before its too late. You really need to impress upon him the urgency of it, each flash for him is like Russian roulette."

"El, I have told him, you know how arrogant he is, he thinks he's god's gift and the ultimate spy. I will try again, but ultimately its his choice." Chuck finished.

"Ok, do what you can." Orion finished.

Chuck took back control, "ok, after the meeting we are headed to the airport, so lets have all our gear packed up. Jimmy, I want you and Devon to pick up the falcon and take off from LAX, pick us up at the airfield in Malibu. We are going to take the long way there, confirm if anyone is following us and try to identify who they are using to tail us. Once in the air, we will use Orion's spoofing program to utterly confuse air traffic control and whomever is trying to track us."

Jimmy answered, "you got it Chuck, I spoke to the ground crew, and we're fueled and ready to go, just call when your ready for us to land and we'll grab you guys and go."

"Sounds good Jimmy, Morgan, make sure you have someone set to pick up both SUVs."

"Will do Chuck." Morgan answered.

Chuck nodded to Morgan, "ok, first mission working with Team LA is done, will debrief and get out. I have a feeling Beckman is going to try to get us to stay, but we are going back. We can conference with them from Talus, we won't stay in LA long term. Morgan, how is the search for a LA base coming?"

"I have some options to look at next time we are here. We can go over them on the flight back or when we're back at Talus. Nothing perfect but we do have some options." Morgan finished.

"Ok, any questions from anyone?" Chuck asked.

Ellie knew this wasn't the time, but she couldn't help herself. "Chuck, how did your talk with Sarah go?"

Everyone on the monitor and in the room looked at Chuck. He just shook his head, "we talked, I will tell you all about it when we're back, but now is not the time."

Everyone in the meeting nodded acknowledgement. With no other questions, they ended the call. Team Orion I the suite finished their breakfast and finished packing their gear. Morgan and Chuck brought it down to the SUV and walked around the hotel for a little bit. They expected Team LA just before noon.

They had been walking together in silence when Morgan spoke up "you ok Chuck?"

Chuck kept walking with Morgan next to him. "I'll be fine buddy, just got a lot to think about."

"I'm here if you need anything, or just want to talk it out and have someone listen." Morgan added.

"Thanks buddy,' Chuck responded.

November 14, 2010 – Castle – 11:00am

Team LA was gathered in Castle for a briefing before the 'official' debrief with Team Orion at their hotel. The Team was gathered around the main conference table. Bryce was sitting there, and he looked much better than he had the night before. Zondra and Carina had noticed Sarah came in looking better than she had in quite a while, even Casey grunted something when he saw her arrive. While the Team was waiting for the meeting to start, Carina who was sitting next to Sarah asked her, "hey blondie, you have some pep in your step, anything you want to share? Did you help nurse Bryce back to health?" Carina knew full well Sarah didn't, but she was Carina, and she couldn't resist.

The glare that Sarah gave Carina could scare the devil, "no Red I did not, I got him back to his hotel, and that was all."

Carina was not going to let her stop there, "that was not all, you came in here this morning almost like you were floating. I assume this has something to do with Team Orion's leader?"

"I went to Chuck's suite to talk to him, he wasn't there. I actually talked with Ziva for a while. After that, I found Chuck and we talked, really talked, maybe for the first time." Sarah added.

"How did it go, well I take it because of how your acting." Carina asked.

"He listened, he let me explain. It was more than I could have hoped for." She said.

"So, what does that mean?" Carina asked, "are you two going to give it a go?"

"I don't know, he said we would talk more. He told me he still cares about me. He actually told me he took care of a problem of mine I had never told anyone. I feel like there is a chance, and before last night, I wasn't sure there was. I will do anything to make this right and give us a chance." Sarah finished.

"I'm happy for you blondie. You did a shitty thing, but that shouldn't define you. I know from when he saved us, he still cares about you. Can he trust you? Only he can answer that. But I hope it works out, for both of you." Carina said, meaning it.

The monitor came to life and there was Beckman, "Team report." She barked. Casey decided to take the lead for Team LA.

"Ma'am, we met early and set up with Team Orion as ordered, everyone except Agent Larkin was in place and ready to go. Agent Walker and Bartowski arrived as planned after Cole and David. Walker and Bartowski made contact with the mark, Remington, they were able to get the information as well as get overwatch spray on him. We did confirm the overwatch spray is working and we are tracking. Bartowski's virus is working as planned." Casey finished.

"So, working with Team Orion went smoothly," Beckman answered, more of a statement than a question.

Sarah was about to speak up when Zondra beat her to it.

"Actually General, not completely, while the operation was a success, it did not go according to plan." Zondra answered.

"How so?" The General asked the group.

Sarah now spoke up, "Agent Larkin did not report to his assignment, Agent Larkin had been assigned to the van to watch the security feed and update Morgan Grimes and Agent Miller of anything he flashed on. Instead, he showed up to the event as a guest on his own. Once he entered, he started to flash repeatedly, because of this he collapsed and started calling for me, as my cover was to be Bartowski's wife, we had already introduced ourselves to the mark, this brought up questions. We believe we were able to allay any suspicion, but it was an unexpected and unnecessary complication." Sarah finished.

Bryce gave Sarah a glare as she finished summarizing the events of the night.

The General turned to Bryce, "Agent Larkin, care to explain you going off on your own. My orders were to work with Team Orion, they had operational control. Why did you not follow orders?"

Bryce turned to the monitor with he trademark smirk, at one point Sarah found it in a way charming, now she just wanted to slap it off him.

Bryce began, "General, I am the intersect, we know I am best utilized in the field. I am still not sure why you felt the need to pair us with Team Orion. Chuck Bartowski is not a spy, he is playing spy, this is serious work we do and you're going to trust a glorified analyst and his Team of misfits. Team LA is the best spy Team in the world, mostly due to the fact you have the intersect." He finished arrogantly.

Sarah was about to explode when Casey's grunt beat her to it. Casey began, "how dumb are you Larkin? Bartowski was supposed to be a spy before you decided you knew best. And you know what, for a guy with absolutely no training, he was terrific. Dammit, the first night I met him, he saved my life and about 1,000 others. If he had not been there that night, we would have never known about that bomb, that was the intersect, but both Walker and I and others would be dead if it weren't for him. Not the intersect, Bartowski. He didn't do any of this because he was trained, or his job, or the greater good. He did it because it was the right thing to do. Jesus Christ, you sending him the intersect might have been terrible for him, but it was best thing you could have done for the country. And look at what he has accomplished 'playing spy' as you say. His Team just gets things done. The damn mission last night, his plan was solid, and he executed and he adjusted when you came in and almost fucked everything up." Casey finished.

Sarah had a grin on her face, she knew Casey felt guilty about what they had done, but he just proved what she has known for a while, Casey respected Chuck.

Bryce smirk was gone, "he got lucky, he's a computer geek, he should be able to stop a laptop," Bryce shot back.

"NERD" loudly came from Sarah, Carina and Zondra at once. They all looked at each other and grinned.

Casey followed with "maybe once or twice, but our record ruing that time speaks for itself, we were better with Bartowski as the intersect than you, you arrogant asshat."

"ENOUGH", Beckman snapped. She had had enough of the infighting. Larkin was a narcissistic asshole, but he had been her choice for this. She couldn't admit she was wrong. "Agent Larkin, we need Bartowski and his Team if we are going to defeat the Ring. 2 intersects are better than 1. Agent Walker mentioned you collapsed due to multiple flashes; can you explain that?"

"General, when I entered the main room, and started to look around, I had multiple large flashes hit at once. Because of the number and speed at which they hit; I was unable to process the data. My head felt like it was going to explode, which caused me to collapse." Bryce finished.

"And what caused you to call for Agent Walker's help?" The General asked. "you knew she was there as Bartowski's wife. You calling out for her could have ended the mission unsuccessfully." Beckman finished.

"General, Agent Walker is usually posing as my wife in these instances, it was an error. I would recommend that to be sure of no further issues for all future missions Agent Walker and I are paired together in case something like this happens again." Bryce said, sounding confident his would be the case.

Sarah scoffed, she had no interest in working with Bryce Larkin again, let alone being paired with him as a married couple. Before she could speak up her displeasure with that suggestion, Beckman spoke.

"Agent Larkin, you will work with who I say you will, do not try and dictate personnel. As for this incident, we need to move forward. Our goal is the same, we need Bartowski onboard, or we need his governor for Agent Larkin. Because of my current agreement, any operations working with Team Orion, they will have control over personnel, pairings, and planning. That does not mean we may not dictate new terms as it becomes necessary. Ok Team, we have the debrief with Team Orion in less than an hour, you are to get yourself to their suite. We do not currently have another mission, but you are too 'encourage' them to remain in LA until the next mission. We do not know where there base is located or how they arrived. We have checked private planes and airfields with no luck so far. If there are no questions, you are dismissed." Beckman ended the transmission before anyone could ask a question.

Zondra was the one that said it this time, "she can never say goodbye". The joke of course started with Chuck and since the new Team LA was formed, it was a running joke between the former CAT squad members.

Casey then spoke, "ok, we need to be at Team Orion's suite for in less than hour, see you all there." Before he could leave, Carina spoke, "can I catch a ride with you Casey?" Casey looked at Carina and grunted. Carina took the grunt as a yes, so she followed him up the stairs. Zondra looked at Sarah, ok Blondie, guess I am riding with you. Bryce saw what was happening, and spoke up, "hey, can I grab a ride with you two." Almost in unison, both Zondra and Sarah said "NO", and started up the stairs.

Beckman was sitting at her desk, still trying to figure out what she could do next to get control of the situation. She needed Bartowski, but if she couldn't get him, she needed that governor to make Larkin functional. It was obvious he was getting worse, and she needed get him working at 100%.

What Beckman or any of Team LA didn't know, was Orion and Anna had been monitoring the entire conversation. They had been monitoring all Castle communications since Team Orion was formed, but they weren't going to let Beckman know that. They would brief Chuck, although I am sure none of what they heard would surprise him.

November 14, 2010 – Ritz Carlton Hotel- Suite 1202 – 11:55 am

Team Orion was waiting in their suite, their gear all packed and loaded into the SUV. There was a knock at the door, this time Link got up from the couch and walked over to the door. Opening he saw the 3 remaining members of the Cat Squad and Colonial John Casey; Agent Larkin was not with the group. He stepped aside, letting them in. Ziva and Morgan got up from the couch and everyone gathered around the dining room table, where they had the monitor set up for the debrief video conference with Beckman. Chuck was still in his room on the phone, getting the update from Anna his father. Chuck came into the hall, heading to the main living room when he heard a knock at the door, as he was closest he went to answer and their stood his nemesis, Bryce Larkin. "Larkin," Chuck said with a very cold demeanor. "Chuck," Larkin answered. This back and forth, you would have never known that these 2 used to be close friends. They both walked into the living/dining room area where the rest of the Team was gathered. Sarah caught Chuck's eye and smiled, Chuck gave her a half smile and nod. Pleasantries were exchanged when the plasma flickered with NSA logo and there sat General Beckman.

"Hello Team, I saw the written report of last night's operation, and it seems congratulations are in order." Beckman said, trying to sound happy.

Chuck decided to take the lead, "Diane," he liked the annoyed look she got when he referred to her by name and not title, plus if she was going to scheme against him and his Team, she didn't garner any respect in his mind. "We were successful in obtaining the information, planting the virus as well as marking Remington with overwatch spray, while we were able to accomplish the operational objective, things did not run according to plan."

"I see in your report, Agent Larkin did not follow his assignment, is that correct?" Beckman asked, trying to feign ignorance.

Chuck had noticed with Diane Beckman, if you didn't know her, or hadn't spoken with her much, she was an accomplished liar. But if you worked with her regularly, which Chuck had for almost 2 years, she had quite a few 'tells', that and the fact Chuck knew about the earlier 'debrief' with just Team LA, he had decided to put an end to this game.

"Diane, cut the bullshit." Everyone on Team LA turned and gaped at Chuck, while Team Orion smirked. Chuck continued, "look I have no doubt you have already done a 'debrief' with your Team, this is more of an act. The operation was successful, but Agent Larkin again went rogue and disobeyed orders, trying to grandstand to show himself the 'ultimate spy'. As per our agreement, Team Orion had operational control over any missions we work with Team LA. As Agent Larkin has proven to not be able to follow orders, we will not work with him going forward. He can monitor and provide interest flash data via comms from Castle, but we will not work with him in the field." Chuck finished, no question in his tone.

Bryce actually turned to Chuck, a stunned look on his face. "Chuck, what are you talking about? You've had your fun, but its time for you to stop playing spy and let the real spies do their work."

"First off agent Larkin, only my friends get to call me Chuck, and just so we are clear, we are not friends. Second, maybe I am playing spy, but I sure as hell play it better than you. Our mission was successful despite you trying to throw yourself in the middle of it. Third, you nearly pissed yourself from all the flashing. You do not have control of the intersect, use the glasses I gave you, have it suppressed, our medical Team saw the tape, you need to suppress it before you do permanent damage to yourself."

Bryce did not like the tone or words coming from his former best friend, "Fine, Bartowski, that was a nothing mission, just a chance for you to play spy and try and impress the Cat Squad over there, he said gesturing toward Carina, Zondra, and Sarah. Congrats, you got a nothing drive and marked a money man with overwatch spray, any rookie could do that."

"Larkin, I don't want you anywhere near me or my Team, and for any operation we are running with Team LA, I want you as far away as possible. We are a TEAM, we watch each other's back, when on a mission, I am responsible for everyone's safety, including yours you arrogant, narcissistic piece of shit. There was a reason I told you to stay in the van, I did just as much flashing, but it didn't overwhelm me like you, didn't even have a headache. You were rolling around crying for Walker. It could have resulted in a mission fail, as well as being captured or killed. You say I am playing spy, but I am taking this seriously, you should start." Chuck spat. He was tired of this pompous jack ass.

Before Bryce could respond, it was Sarah who spoke next, "He's right Bryce. You don't follow orders and always try to play hero. There were 5 of us already in the party, we knew the plan and had our orders. You had your assignment and chose to ignore it, make a new plan, and not tell anyone. You called for me when you knew my cover was as Agent Bartowski's wife." It did not go unnoticed that Sarah referred to Chuck as 'agent'. "If it wasn't for his quick thinking, you would have blown our cover right then and there. We are a Team Bryce, and if we can't trust you to do your job, we can't include you in missions." She finished, she caught Chuck looking at her with a small smile, but it was a smile.

General Beckman did not like where this was going so she spoke up, "Team, while this issue was disturbing, I will deal with Agent Larkin, however he is the intersect and will remain as part of the Team." She finished, thinking that would placate the Team.

"Diane, if you want this 'partnership' to continue, Agent Larkin will be assigned to Castle for all missions that Team LA and Team Orion work together on, or we're done." Chuck spat at her.

"Mr. Bartowski, if you and Orion would provide us with a governor for Agent Larkin, we could have 2 intersects working in tandem. Perhaps Orion could also provide an update similar to the one you received, as it seems to have helped and enhanced you version of the intersect. You don't want you friend to suffer, you made that clear by sending the suppression glasses with Agents Miller and Rizzo." Beckman was trying to appeal to Chuck's sense of right and wrong and hoping somewhere deep down, she could get what she wanted.

"Diane, we have already had this discussion, for the last time, we are not going to give you or the US government a governor and we are not providing any kind of intersect update for Larkin or anyone else in any government agency. The intersect can be a powerful weapon, and that's the issue. We have already talked about how you use the 'greater good' as an excuse to do despicable, immoral, and illegal things. Our final answer on this is no." Chuck stated, anger in his tone.

Beckman didn't like that response, but she thought best to move on for now, "very well, we can discuss this another time."

"Diane, we're done. We are not going to talk about this again, the answer will be the same. We have updated you. Agent Larkin will not be allowed in the field when working with Team Orion, and I would strongly recommend you take him out of the field completely until he suppresses the intersect. He will do nothing but put his teammates in danger. Between the intersect and his arrogance, he is going to get them killed." Chuck finished.

Bryce had had enough, he was pissed, of all people Chuck saying he can't handle the intersect. "Give it a rest Chuck, let the spy's do our job and go back to the BuyMore. You should know your place by now."

Everyone was stunned with what Bryce said but really shouldn't have been.

"We're done. We are going home. Ziva, Link, Morg, lets go." Chuck said, tired of all this bullshit.

"You are not going anywhere Chuck, it's time to handover the governor." Larkin barked.

Everyone was shocked by Bryce's outburst, even Beckman, although she was secretly pleased, he was looking to take control.

"That's not going to happen Larkin." Chuck said standing to his full height.

That's when they all saw it, Bryce flashed, he was a little off balance at first, but then he started his attack at Chuck. Chuck had simply closed his eyes, a little more than a blink and he and Bryce were having what look like a well-choreographed fight scene. After a minute or two, Bryce through an upper cut which Chuck moved to avoid at the last second, causing Bryce to be a little off balance. Chuck had decided to end this quickly, Chuck grabbed Bryce by the throat and lifted him, so he was above Chuck, then with all his strength he slammed Bryce through the table they had all been sitting around. Morgan couldn't help but grin at the chokeslam he just saw, a lot like those he and Chuck used to watch on WWF before it became WWE, which Morgan always thought was a little ridiculous. Much like in the WWF, Bryce howled in pain and was unconscious when he landed. Everyone in the room stared at Chuck, mouths gaping.

The fight was quick, and while Bryce tried to show Chuck he was the superior, he failed miserably.

Chuck looked at the monitor, Beckman with a stunned look on her face. "Your intersect looks like it will be out of commission for a while Diane. If I were you, I would order him to suppress it. Anybody else would have snapped his neck. You never should have had him as the intersect, but then again, you always wanted a 'real' spy to have it. Now you know what that looks like." Chuck glanced at the floor and remnants of the table and broken looking Bryce Larkin. "We'll bill you for the table Diane, we are leaving. We'll send you the bill for this operation included our expenses." Chuck stated. He then turned to start to leave and turned around, "and Diane, no more bullshit, keep that asshole away from me, my Team, and my family, or next time he may not get up again." With that, Chuck left out of the suite. Ziva, Link, and Morgan grabbed their backpacks and left.

Team LA was left in the room, mouths still hanging open, shocked at what they had just seen, and the fact Chuck had so easily defeated Bryce. Even if Bryce had been 100%, there was no doubt Bryce was not in the same class as Chuck was as the intersect. Beckman also thought the same thing, from what she saw, Bartowski was far superior in combat with the intersect than Larkin was, even before the intersect started giving him issues. She now had to try and figure a way to get Chuck into the fold or convince Orion to give her his updated version of the intersect. Realizing no one had said anything since Chuck had last spoken and Team Orion had left, they started to hear Bryce starting to stir, moaning in obvious pain.

Beckman finally spoke, "Team, tend to Agent Larkin and get him any needed medical attention. We will reconvene tomorrow in Castle at 0900." She ended the transmission, and the screen went dark.

Zondra called for medical support, no one really wanted to deal with Bryce, and medical would only take a short time to get there. After Zondra had called for medical Bryce was starting to stir more and in obvious pain, it looked like his right shoulder was dislocated, and going through the table probably cracked a couple of ribs. If anything, Chuck had successfully benched Bryce for a bit.

Casey broke the silence, "didn't know the Nerd had it in him." He said.

Carina was next to speak, "Z and I did. That was nothing compared to watching him cut through those terrorists that had Z and me. I saw him cut through something like 15, maybe 20 men. There were more than 30 that he must have taken out. I have seen both Chuck and Bryce as the intersect, hands down, Chuck is the better intersect." Sarah heard her, then finished for her, "and the better man." Carina looked over at her friend and nodded.

The medical Team arrived and started to work on Bryce who was now awake and whining about the pain in his chest and shoulder. A cleaner Team had arrived as well to clean up the mess from Bryce's attempt to take Chuck's governor.

Sarah was a little dumbstruck, she knew Chuck had changed, but she was shocked at what happened, not that Bryce didn't deserve it, but watching the smoothness of his moves, no wasted motion, his ability to deflect or avoid Bryce's attack. It was impressive. She was sorry it had come to a point that Chuck was in this life, she never wanted this for him. Its not that she never thought he could handle it, she knew he could, knew he could thrive in it. She hoped it wouldn't change him, she liked who he was, actually she loved who he was. But it had changed him, although after their conversation the night before, she knew he was still 'her Chuck'.

November 14, 2010 – Malibu, CA airfield – 2:45 pm

Team Orion was waiting at the airfield in Malibu, it wasn't so much an airport, more so for small private planes to the swanky Malibu community to use as opposed to LAX or John Wayne airport. The Team was watching as the Falcon with Jimmy and Awesome on board was landing. They would pick up the rest of Team Orion and be off. After the meeting and incident between Chuck and Bryce, the Team drove around a bit to lose any tales that they were sure Beckman had put on them. They had already removed an NSA tracking device from their SUV. They did stop and grab 6 bags worth in In'N'Out burger before heading to the airfield. Not much was said amongst the Team, Morgan loved the choke slam, and loved it more that it was Bryce who went through the table. Chuck may never admit it out loud, but he wanted to grin, putting Bryce Larkin through a table was almost therapeutic. He also realized the scrutiny it added with Beckman. She may push less for the governor and more for 'his' version of the intersect. It would be critically important to make sure both his father and sister stayed hidden from Beckman and the US government. They were safe at the compound, and in Oahu. They had made friends there who would protect them, but if they had to move off island, they had to be very careful, even more so than before. Luckily in the case of both Ellie and Devon, as far as anyone knew, they were somewhere in Africa doing Doctors without borders. Chuck was brought out his thoughts when Link asked, "ready Chuck? Jimmy has the plane down."

"Yea, lets load up and get out of here." Chuck said as he got out of the SUV and grabbed his bags.

The plane was loaded up and Jimmy went to the cockpit to take off, Chuck as his usually routine went up front with Jimmy to help with the takeoff. Everyone knew Jimmy didn't need any help, but it was a chance for Chuck to focus on something else other than the whole Sarah, Larkin, Beckman, shitstorm, and what to do next. In no time the Falcon was in the air, part of the flight plan was to fly east, then over Nevada, they would turn on one of Orion's programs and the plane would disappear from government view, so they can then turn around and head home.

They were a couple of hours into the flight when Chuck finally came back to the cabin. Morgan and Ziva were watching a movie on the plasma, Awesome and Link were playing cards. Chuck went back to the galley and grabbed a bottle of water. He came in and sat next to Devon. There was a somewhat awkward silence, finally after a few minutes Devon broke the silence, "so Chuck, hear you finally put Bryce Larkin through a table, bro, that's awesome." It was silent for a moment, then everyone started laughing, including Chuck. Jimmy had come in and caught the end of Devon's statement and was laughing as well.

"What brought that on Chuck? We all know he deserved it, but just seemed out of nowhere you decided to lay the slap down on him." Ziva said.

"Smack down,' Morgan tried to correct her. Ziva glared at Morgan, Morgan cowered, "or slap down, that works too." As the group started to laugh again.

"I was tired of his belittling me and our Team. When we were friends, now that I think back, he was always a narcissist. But it seems ever since he got me kicked out of Stanford, he's just out of control. He's always been about himself, but that garbage he pulled during the mission is unacceptable, he wants to get himself killed, go ahead, but when he puts us all in danger like that, he won't work with us again."

Chuck paused, "you know the funny slash ironic thing is, he seems to hate me 'playing spy', think's I'm taking this thunder or something, but that asshole started all this, first at Stanford, then 5 years later sending me the intersect. If the asshole wants to blame someone, he needs to look in the mirror. We all would have been better off if he had just downloaded the stupid thing, and then Casey aimed a little higher, problem solved."

Morgan next spoke up, at this point pausing the movie and listening to the back and forth. "You know Chuck, if that had happened, Fulcrum would still be around, your dad would either be dead or still in hiding, and while I luv you man, you would probably still be at the BuyMore. While it's been awful at times for you and you may not want to hear this, but the intersect brought Sarah into your life, and even if she was playing you the whole time, which I don't believe she did. She helped bring you out of your funk, helped you remember who you were and what you were capable of. The guy who went out and got a full scholarship to Stanford, the guy who was killing it there till that asshat got you thrown out. That, and then Jill man, it put you in a bad place and you never seemed to want to get out of it."

Everyone was silent looking around at each of them, Chuck was sitting there, sort of looking towards, but through Morgan, thinking. "Morgan, I don't know about all that."

Morgan shook his head, "Chuck, for 5 years you hid in the BuyMore, I was no help, it was an excuse to hang out all the time with my best friend. You may not want to say it, but you are so much better than working at the BuyMore. You were meant for more, and intersect or not, Sarah helped you realize you could be more, wanted to be more. From where I sit, that alone was a positive. Now things have changed, no one would blame you if you moved on. You need closure with all of this, and this is the best way to get closure and can move on and live the life you want to."

Everyone was kind of shocked, not at what Morgan said, he was right, Devon completely agreed with everything he had said. The shock was that Morgan had said it. But to his credit, since Chuck went on the run, Morgan has grown up a ton, much like Chuck, a lot of people felt Morgan was living up to his own potential. Being asked to join Team Orion was something Morgan took seriously, and it was very good decision for him.

Chuck didn't know what to say, he just looked at his best friend and nodded.

It was Link who broke the silence, "where to we go from here Chuck?" It was a fair question, they all somewhat wondered if Chuck had just blown up the working relationship with the government when he put Larkin through the table, not that they disagreed, they were prepared that one day they might have to 'disappear', but it was good to know where they stood.

Chuck took a deep breath; he had been thinking about it since they left the suite. "Beckman will be pissed, I just put her intersect down for at least a couple of weeks. I know he has a dislocated shoulder, and probably at least a few cracked ribs, if not broken. It's the best thing for Team LA, as he can't get them killed with his arrogance. Honestly, I was surprised he was able to use the skills flash, but he seems to process and recover somewhat quickly. He's going to turn himself into a vegetable because of his pride." Chuck stopped took a drink from his water bottle. "We need to meet with everyone when we're back at Talus, the Team is still monitoring Beckman's communication and any communication to and from Castle. I'm sure she'll have a lot to say, but at this point, Beckman needs us more than we need them. With their intersect down, I am worried while they still will try and make a play for the governor, but after seeing the smoothness of my flash, I think we need to be even more careful because they are going to go after my father for an updated intersect like mine, or to fix their intersect. Luckily they think you and Ellie are doing Doctors without borders." Chuck said as he turned to Devon. "We should assume they are going to send someone to confirm you are in Africa, it shouldn't take them that long to figure out we're working with a neurologist to improve the intersect. We have plans in place if we have to dismantle and run, but I don't think we're near that point. To be safe, when we all get back, we will go over all our run plans. We'll get the whole Team together and go over where we are at. For now, if Beckman wants us to still work with Team LA, it's probably a good idea to keep the working 'relationship' in place for now. I may not trust them, but I have the feeling other than Bryce, no one on Team LA would sell us out, but we can't be 100% sure." Chuck finished.

He looked around the cabin, seeing the look on everyone's faces. "Any thoughts?"

Jimmy spoke up next, "sounds like a good plan Chuck, we trust your and Orion's judgment on this."

Link was next, "same, I trust you with my families lives, we're good. Remember, the only easy day was yesterday." Link finished with the Navy SEAL motto.

"Ellie and I are with you bro." Awesome said, clapping Chuck on the back.

"You've been my best friend since we were 6, of course I am with you." Morgan added.

Ziva had been quiet the whole time but listening intently. Chuck had turned to her and spoke, "What do you think Ziva? You're the only other 'real' spy on this Team, what do you think?" Chuck asked.

"You're right on a lot of this Chuck. Beckman can't afford to not use us now that Larkin is down. Really, after the display and how smooth your flash was, she can't not use us. But you're also right, she is going to triple her efforts to find Orion. I think its important we make them think while he might be working with us, we need to make them believe he is still hidden away from us as well as them. We should set up a separate office area if he needs to be on video conferences, he is someplace else. She'll still want a governor, but that is probably secondary to them, they will want an updated intersect."

Chuck nodded at this.

"Really nothing much should change, we keep working with them, but remain prepared and vigilant. We have the GRS guys if we need more firepower. We should update our run plans, make sure we all have those set up and documentation and money in place. I agree with you on Team LA, except for Larkin, both Miller and Rizzo think they owe you, so they won't sell you or us out. Casey is harder to read, but I believe he may look the other way. I think he feels guilty about what he did to you while you worked with him, but we need to keep a close eye on him. Duty is everything to him, but I think honor is a little more and he feels following the order to bunker you is a stain on his honor. Sarah is desperate for your forgiveness; I wasn't sure what to think of her until meeting her. I only knew her by reputation before, and she and I were very, very similar. But somehow you broke through her walls, probably like you have with all of us. She loves you Chuck, I don't know if I could forgive her, give her a second chance, but I'm not you. She can be a great resource for us in dealing with Beckman." She finished.

There was silence for a minute or 2, finally Link was the first to speak, "Ziva, I think that's the most I have heard you speak at one time since I have known you." Offering her a bottle of water in case she was parched.

The cabin exploded with laughter, Ziva throwing a pillow at Link. They were more than a Team, thanks to Chuck Bartowski they were a family. As the laughter died down, Chuck spoke next. "Ok, we know what we have to do when we get back. We will reach out to Team LA see what Beckman has next for us. As part of our original agreement, we can decline missions, but the sooner we can put an end to the Ring, the sooner we can get on with the rest of our lives and move on.

Everyone nodded, Jimmy headed back up to the cockpit, Morgan hit play on the movie and Link and Devon went back to their game. Chuck sat back and closed his eyes. There were still a lot of things to work through, much more than they had just discussed. He started to think about Sarah Walker, thinking about what Morgan and Ziva had both said. Thinking about what he and Sarah had talked about on the beach. Could he trust her again? He meant what he said when he didn't know what she could do to make this right. The other question was could she trust him. She said she did, but he kept going back to when he told her about Ryker. Her first response was to lie about it. If she still lied, she didn't trust him, but she had a lifetime of lying and it was second nature to her. If he wanted to be with her, how could he trust anything she said going forward and know it was the truth? He had done that once and even when he caught her lying, he still gave her other chances. Could she be truly honest with him? He felt like she was being honest before Ryker and Molly. He would need to figure this out, but not right now.