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