AN1 There will be lots of Chuck/Zondra this chapter, so if you can only ship Charah and behave as though no other male or female exists on the planet at the same time that Charah does, then you probably shouldn't read this chapter. Seriously, I'm not joking. If you want Charah and only Charah and if for some reason you cannot compromise on that, then come back next chapter. If you're open-minded and neutral, however, then enjoy the chapter! :)


The Spy and the Soldier

Chapter Four, The Soldier vs. the Dark Haired Spy


Pope Field

Fort Bragg

Friday, 26th September 2008

Three days until the upload

It was afternoon when the C-130 carrying the troop of Delta Force and Zondra began to touch down onto the runway of the airfield at Pope Field. The twenty-three soldiers and lone spy began to wait for several minutes as the plane taxied its way towards the departure location at the airport.

Chuck, along with most of the other military personnel onboard the aircraft, had slept for most of the six-hour flight back to Fort Bragg.

"Home sweet home," Morgan declared as he, along with most of the other soldiers on board, began to stretch their arms and legs in preparation for their departure from the aircraft.

"Have you visited Fort Bragg before, Zondra?" Chuck asked as he gazed at the attractive spy seated opposite him.

Zondra shook her head. "No, but there's a first time for everything," she declared with a smile.

Chuck nodded as he laughed a brief suppressed chuckle. "It's not as glamorous as some of the places you've visited, I'm sure. But for us, it's heaven," he stated with a warm grin.

Zondra suppressed a laugh of her own. "From everything I've heard about it, it sounds like the perfect place for me to be at, too," she declared.

Chuck grinned. "Yeah?" he asked as they held their gaze from the opposite sides of the aircraft they were seated at.

Zondra nodded.

"Then you really should join us. We'd love to have you here with us," Chuck continued the exchange.

"Where do I sign up?" she asked as they continued to hold their gaze.

"I'm sure that's not necessary. I'm sure we could fast track you into the unit. Right, Major?" Chuck said as he averted his glance from Zondra and to where Major Moore was seated next to him instead.

"Absolutely! We'll even make you a Captain like one of the Captains sat on opposite sides of me. How does Captain Rizzo sound?" the Major said as he got in on the playful exchange.

Zondra smiled at the two officers seated opposite her. "Pretty good actually," she admitted as they shared brief laughter.

"Great. Then we'll make it official just as soon as we depart," Chuck pushed the conversation.

"I'll look forward to it. Though I'm sure I won't look as good in my uniform as you all do in yours," she flirted.

"Now, I'm not so sure about that!" Morgan quickly protested.

"Nor me!" Major Moore added in.

"I'm sure you could make anything look good and with ease, Zondra," Chuck flirted back, and he was met with sharp agreement from his comrades, and a warm glance from Zondra.

The C-130 then came to a stop at its final destination, and the ramp at the tail end of the aircraft began to open. Once the ramp had fixed itself into place, the soldiers and the spy all moved to stand, and they spent the new few minutes departing from out of the aircraft and into the open air. It was late September, and the climate was still humid in North Carolina.

As Chuck departed from out of the C-130 and onto the airfield, he gazed up into the air, and with not a cloud in sight, the sun shone brightly in all of its glory, many millions of miles away on this lovely Autumn day.

"We'll set you up with accommodation for the night, Agent Rizzo, in case you decide to spend the night in our company," Major Moore said as the troop of soldiers and lone spy began to walk on the ground of the airfield.

"I think that's the least I can do. As a thank you for the rescue," Zondra declared, causing approving laughter from Chuck, Morgan, the Major, and two other soldiers in their proximity.

"We vehemently agree. I'm sure one of us could show you around. We'll probably fight for the honor," Chuck said with a lot of humor attached to his tone.


The troop of Delta Force and Zondra had just finished a quick debriefing of the rescue operation, and Major Moore was preparing to dismiss his soldiers for the weekend.

"Well, I think we have just about covered everything so that about wraps it up for the weekend. I will see all of your ugly faces again Monday morning sharpish," Major Moore joked, causing an immediate outburst of laughter inside of the operations room that had been used to hold the debriefing.

"He's letting us go early! That's a first!" Sergeant Will Jackson joked furthering the laughter of the soldiers.

"Well, I have to show off and pretend what a nice guy I am in front of Agent Rizzo," the Major continued the joking spirit, and the laughter continued on as the enlisted soldiers began to depart the large operations room.

Chuck, Morgan, and Major Moore, as the three officers of the troop in addition to Zondra, who wasn't part of the unit, remained inside of the room. Morgan and the Major then began to engage in conversation in one of the corners of the room, and Chuck approached Zondra, who was stood in another corner as he would very much like to engage in conversation with her because, one, she's highly attractive. And two, he would like to talk with her about her time in the CAT Squad and the CIA, seeing as though he is about to be seconded to the agency.

"You again, huh? I'm beginning to think that you're stalking me," she teased as they made eye contact with each other.

Chuck laughed. "Guilty as charged," he flirted

"What, you don't even want a trial?" she flirted back.

"Why bother? I'd only be found guilty anyway," he continued the exchange as they shared laughter.

"I'm not so sure. Maybe you could coerce some of the witnesses," she said coyly.

He nodded. "You're right. Maybe I could argue my case as to why I felt the need to continue to interact with you," he replied as they held their gaze.

"Why is that?" she replied as neither broke their gaze.

"Well, because you're highly attractive for starters," he declared with a grin as he continued to gaze into her brown orbs.

Zondra smiled. "And for seconds?" she retorted as she continued their exchange.

"For seconds, I would very much like to find out what you were doing in Colombia, which led you to be captured, that is if you can share it with me?" he asked.

Zondra held her smile, and they continued to hold their gaze. "Sure. I was attempting to get close to a member of the Colombian cartel, and I had been undercover for months. I did get close to him, and in the process, I had learned that they were in close cooperation with FARC, which is nothing new as I'm sure you know," she stated.

Chuck nodded. "Yeah. The cartel has been paying FARC protection money for decades," he declared.

Zondra smiled. "Exactly. And that's how I got caught. I saw an opening into FARC, and my mission objective expanded into infiltrating FARC. I got close to a FARC guerrilla leader, Alejandro Sosa, and I began learning everything I could about the chain of command. Sometime later, I then prepared my report, and I followed CIA protocol to arrange a drop and to share what I knew with the agency, and that's when they caught me in the process of making the drop," she informed him.

"Wow. How did they know?" Chuck inquired as they continued to remain idle inside a corner of the operations room.

"I was caught inside his office intelligence gathering a few weeks ago. I made up some sorry excuse for being in there at the time, and I thought it was enough, but evidently not."

A sincere smile formed on Chuck's face. "I'm sorry your operation was compromised and that all those months you spent were for nothing," he declared.

Zondra returned his smile as they continued to hold their gaze. "Thanks."

"What will happen now?" Chuck asked.

"Now, I'll file a report of everything I know about the Cartel and about that particular branch of FARC, but they will have already torn everything up, and they will be long gone from all of the locations that I know they were at. Your assessment was quite correct, all those months of me being undercover were for scraps because that's all we'll now get from it," she said in despondence.

Chuck smiled, consolingly at her. "I know that feeling. I've had some operations since joining CAG go balls-up myself. It's not a nice feeling knowing our time was for nothing," he admitted.

Zondra suppressed laughter at his crude slang used. "Balls-up? Isn't that British slang?" she asked.

He nodded with a vibrant grin. "Yeah, it is. I was on an operation with a British team a while back, and our mission went so wrong on so many levels. They called it an almighty balls-up, and it has stuck with me since," he chuckled.

Zondra laughed at his revelation. "I like it. It might stick with me too!" she said as the spy and the soldier continued to hold their gaze.

"Well, it's mine. You can't have it. Find your own slang to use!" he laughed to her.

"And there was me thinking you liked me," she said coyly.

Not breaking their gaze of intent, he confidently declared, "Oh, but I do like you."

She smiled at him once more. "Maybe now is an appropriate time to ask about my accommodation while I'm a guest here?"

Chuck nodded as they held their stare. "The Major will have to help you with that. I'm sadly just a team leader," he declared.

Zondra laughed. "Oh, you want his job, huh?" she asked, playfully.

Chuck shook his head in sharp disagreement. "Hell no! I didn't join the army to be tied down behind a desk!" he declared as he began to chuckle.

"I like your style," she declared as she pointed at him, and she gave him a beaming smile.

He grinned. "Can I ask you something else?"

"Sure?" she replied as they held their gaze.

"When you were in the CAT Squad, how many bad guys did you successfully bring down, and thus, how many missions did you guys complete?" he asked.

She smiled once more. "Ten successful," she informed him.

"Wow, so a very successful team, then. How did Gaez always manage to get away from you guys, though?" he asked.

Zondra briefly frowned at him. "He was always one step ahead of us every time we thought we'd gotten close. But how do you know so much about me? Have you read my file, if so, why?" she asked.

Chuck grinned at her once more. "I'm sorry, but I really can't say how I know of you, but no, I haven't read your file, I can tell you that much," he declared.

Zondra shook her head. "You're no fun," she teased.

"I can assure you that I am very fun," he stressed.

"Yeah?" she retorted.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"I may just take you up on that assurance," she said flirtatiously.

"Well, I may just accept," he continued the exchange as they shared another warm gaze.

"But if you haven't read my file, then you must have read someone else's. Either your team was sent on a mission related to Gaez, or you've read another file of one of the CATs. I don't see you working with Carina or Amy, but maybe Sarah. But last I heard, she was with Bryce," Zondra said.

Chuck immediately tensed upon hearing the name of Bryce once more, which was a big mistake, as Zondra noted it as soon as he did it because it was the first time in their conversation so far that Chuck had become uncomfortable and not at ease or confident in engaging with her.

"I'm guessing from your reactions that it was Sarah's file that you read then. What is she, an ex-girlfriend?" she asked.

Chuck turned a little fidgety as he attempted to conceal his thoughts. "Me and Sarah? No. I don't even know her," he deflected from the topic in an attempt to hide his connection to Bryce and his upcoming partnership with Sarah.

Zondra scoffed. "Yeah, right! And I'm Santa Claus! I just watched you tense up when I mentioned her! It's fine if you have some bad history with her. I do myself," she admitted.

"Because of the whole traitor thing, right?" Chuck asked.

Zondra nodded. "Yeah."

"For the record, I don't believe either of you are the traitor," Chuck declared.

"But it has to be someone. I know beyond all doubt that we had a traitor. And Sarah was the only one in Milan," Zondra argued.

Chuck shrugged as he didn't know anything more about the CAT Squad except for the small extract of what he had read in Sarah's file yesterday. "Zondra, I haven't seen any of that information. I don't even know the first thing about Milan. Everything I know about the CAT Squad, I've already told you, so I don't know very much at all. But I don't believe either of you is the traitor. I am sure there is another explanation out there somewhere, you just need to find it."

"It's too late now. We broke up as a team five years ago, and the damage between Sarah and me is irreparable," Zondra declared.

Chuck shook his head, and he gave her a warm smile. "Zondra, it's never too late," he encouraged in a soft tone.

Zondra smiled as they continued to share a warm gaze, and a brief silence then ensued until the silence was broken by the voice of a third party for the first time in however long they had been stood idle at their location. "Captain Bartowski?"

Chuck averted his gaze away from Zondra and his glance connected onto Specialist Laura Wood, who was one of numerous support personnel attached to Delta Force.

"Yeah?" he inquired.

"You are wanted for a conference with General Beckman immediately. The General and CIA Director Graham have been calling and attempting to get in contact with you all day, and they aren't very pleased, I can tell you that much," the Specialist informed him.

Chuck gulped at the Specialist's revelation.

Chuck then fixed his glance back onto Zondra. "Zondra, I'm sorry. I really have to take this," he stressed.

"It sounds like you've been a very naughty boy, Captain Bartowski," she said with a smirk.

He nodded. "If I'm not back in half an hour, then send out the search party. I may be the one to need rescuing this time," he joked with a grin.

"Who says I'll still be here in half an hour?" she asked with a straight face.

"It was just a guess, based on the signals I've been reading. But I would like you to be," he stated as his body language and tone continued to ooze confidence, and he continued to feel completely at ease in communicating and engaging in overt flirting with the gorgeous woman in front of him.

"I have to report to the Director anyway, so I guess I'll still be here," she then declared.

He nodded. "I'll see you soon then," he replied as he grinned at her a final time.

"Yeah."

Chuck quickly began to walk away from Zondra and past Morgan and Major Moore, who both winked at him, and he linked up with Specialist Wood as they walked along the hallway of the building for a minute until they arrived at their destination.

"The General already is waiting on the line for you, Captain Bartowski," Specialist Wood said.

Chuck nodded. "Thank you, Specialist," he replied.

"Sir," the Specialist said as she nodded and then walked away.

Chuck picked up the communications headset, and he moved to put it in place. Standing in the center of one of several conference rooms in the building, he resumed the transmission that Specialist Wood had placed on hold.

"Ma'am?" he said into the microphone of the headset.

"One moment," an aide of the General replied into the headset.

Chuck waited in pause for a short moment as the line went on hold once more, before he began to hear activity again.

"Captain Bartowski?" General Beckman said into the communications device.

"Yes, ma'am," Chuck replied into the microphone.

"What the hell are you playing at, Captain Bartowski?! Do you know how long I have been attempting to get into contact with you for?!" the General fumed in a loud enough tone that caused him to grimace anxiously at the impending storm from both the General and the Director because if this was just the opening salvo, then he was in for one hell of a reprimand that's for sure!

"My apologies, General. I was out on operations with my unit, and I have only within the last hour returned with the team from the operation."

"Captain Bartowski, our assignment is to begin in three days!" General Beckman protested into the headset.

"I know, ma'am," Chuck replied calmly to the superior officer.

"Then why did you go on this operation knowing that your far more critical operation is about to commence? I demand an explanation, Captain Bartowski!" the General shouted in her continued raised tone of voice.

Chuck sighed for the briefest of moments as he prepared his response. "General, you're military. You know that I can't excuse myself from an operation when I am still part of my unit. That wouldn't go down well, and I'd be received very badly by all fifty-thousand soldiers on this base. I'm sure I don't need to recite the Ranger creed to you. I'm sure that you're aware of it. You knew who I was when you chose me as your candidate. I didn't go on this mission to tick you off. I didn't go on this mission to play the hero. I went on the mission because duty demanded that I do so. I hope you can understand that ma'am," he argued his case.

The General began to sigh. "I do understand that, Captain Bartowski," the General paused for a short moment. "It was just dangerous, and Project Intersect has cost our government a lot of time and money, and it was thrown into chaos when you got onto that plane to begin your mission."

"I understand that, General. Truly I do," he replied as sincere as he could possibly be.

"Were there any injuries on the operation?" the General asked.

"Yes ma'am, two of my troop sustained two minor gunshot wounds, but they'll be all healed up in no time. Other than that, it was a clean operation, and we achieved our primary objective in addition to several secondary objectives, too," Chuck informed the General.

"Other than the injuries of your teammates, that is good news," General Beckman said in a quieter tone.

"Yes ma'am, and once more, my apologies for being out of contact for almost twenty-four hours. I can assure you it won't happen again," he said.

"I would hope not, with the assignment to begin in three days!" the General said in a raised tone once more.

"Yes, ma'am," Chuck replied with a very composed demeanor.

"Well, Captain Bartowski, I wish you a pleasant weekend, and I will see you at the location of the Intersect on Monday."

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you. And I wish you a happy weekend too," Chuck replied, and with that, the General terminated the transmission.

With the transmission terminated, Chuck removed the headset from his person, and he breathed out a deep sigh from where he stood. After a grueling mission, the last thing he needed right now was people down his ear. The General, however, did have a point, and she was very respectful and understanding the entire transmission, except for her shouting down his ear.

Chuck turned, and he walked to exit the conference room, and as he did so, he noted as Zondra departed from out of another conference room. She quickly noted his presence, and they met each other halfway out in the corridor of the large building.

"Wow, Chuck, my boss wants to speak to you immediately! He sounded in the worst mood I've ever heard him in. You have pissed him off," she said with a smirk.

Chuck shook his head. "I've just had General Beckman down my ear. And now I have another earful to look forward to. Just great!" Chuck complained with a long sigh.

Zondra smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry you're in so much trouble all for rescuing me."

Chuck returned the smile. "Don't worry about it. What did he say?"

"You really want to hear it?" Zondra asked.

Chuck nodded. "Uh-huh. Give it to me," he replied.

"GET HIM ON THE PHONE NOW!" Zondra then recited the Director's words, which caused numerous military officials to pause in place and to glance at Zondra to query her loud outburst.

Chuck winced. "Ouch. He really screamed it like that?" he asked.

"It was worse than that," she declared with a smirk.

"God help me!" Chuck grimaced.

"Good luck," she said with a warm smile.

Chuck nodded. "Thank you. I'll need it," he declared as they shared a final gaze before Chuck walked along the hallway in search of one of the communications personnel in the building. He found one a minute later, as his gaze connected onto Specialist Wood once more.

"Specialist?" he flagged the enlisted soldier down.

"Yes, sir?" Specialist Wood replied.

"Could you get me the CIA Director in a conference? He's requested me."

"Sure, that's no problem at all, Captain Bartowski, if you'd like to follow me?" the Specialist said.

Chuck nodded as he followed the Specialist into another conference room in the building.

"You're popular today, sir," Specialist Wood said as they entered the room.

Chuck nodded. "Tell me about it," he laughed.

Specialist Wood chuckled as she then spent the next few minutes setting up the conference with CIA Director Graham.

"Ok, that's all set up for you, sir. He's waiting on the line, and he doesn't sound happy," the Specialist said.

Chuck nodded. "Thank you, Specialist."

Specialist Wood nodded, and she then departed the small conference room.

Once more, Chuck moved to place the communication headset onto his person, and this time he took an extended moment to prepare himself for the impending storm because he remembered Major Moore's words to him the previous day. Having taken a moment, he removed the call from being on hold.

"Director?" Chuck said into the microphone.

"AH, THE PRODIGAL SON RETURNS FROM PLAYING THE HERO!" Director Graham blasted out in such a loud burst of decibels that it caused Chuck to yank the headset away from his ears before they exploded.

Crikey! What the hell have I signed up for on this assignment?!

"Care to tell me where you been for the past day, Chuck? Actually, let me guess; you've been gallivanting through half of Colombia! AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THAT INSOLENT SWINE THAT YOU REFER TO AS MAJOR MOORE!"

"Director," Chuck attempted to protest. However, he was quickly interrupted by another barrage from Graham, "If only that son of a bitch knew just how important Project Intersect was to national security!"

"Director, I must protest," Chuck said with strong distaste over his new boss's insults towards a good friend of his.

The Director continued his scathing assault, "Oh, you must, must you? Well, I have a protest or two of my own! Have you won any more medals on your latest heroic adventure?"

There was a brief pause, and Chuck was about to use the break as his opening to voice his growing complaint about the Director's conduct towards him, but he stopped short when Graham resumed his scornful reprimand, "If you want to run off and play the hero, Chuck, then that's fine by me! We can delay the project for several more months, costing millions upon millions of dollars and American lives in the process!"

Chuck had now had enough of the CIA Director's extreme pompousness and superior attitude since the very first moment the call connected. Chuck was a Captain in the United States Military. He didn't need to take this scathing assault on his and his friend's character by a civilian employee. The CIA was not part of the Department of Defense.

"You know what? I am appalled by your conduct, Director! Zondra is your agent! I can't believe you are seriously suggesting that she was on her own and that we should have left her to the rebels! If that's how you do things in the CIA, then I'm starting to become very sorry that I agreed to this assignment!" Chuck snapped back as he began to get very frustrated by the pompous ass that so happened to be his new boss.

"You think that you're sorry?! I am coming to the conclusion that we picked the wrong candidate!" Director Graham fired back.

"You know what? Maybe you did! I've just been on a grueling mission! I'm tired! I don't need this crap right now!" Chuck shouted back as he continued to engage in a verbal engagement with Director Graham.

"Then, don't go and play the hero and throw my vital operation to national security into the air just because you felt like playing the soldier with your friends!" Director Graham shouted back at him.

Chuck started to shake his head as he began to find it increasingly difficult to curb his growing frustrations over the CIA Director's disgusting behavior. "Yes sir, whatever you say, sir," he said mockingly.

"Do you think this is funny?!" Director Graham shouted back.

Chuck scoffed with a scowl on his face. "I don't think it's funny! I think it's absurd! I returned from the operation in one piece! Your agent is safe! Mission complete!" he shouted back, and he was now close to yanking the communication device from his head and throwing it at the nearest wall in immense anger at the disgusting behavior shown towards him.

"Watch your tone with me, Captain Bartowski! Agent Walker will be there on Monday at 07:00 hours to bring you to the secure location housing the Intersect. I expect that when we next meet, I will be given the proper respect due to me! Consider this your first and only warning! Until then, Captain," the Director said, and with that, he terminated the transmission.

Chuck immediately yanked the headset from his person, and he threw it at the table. "Son of a bitch!" he exclaimed in immense anger as he moved to slam his fist into the table in a rare loss of composure, but Director Graham had managed to provoke a strong reaction that was extremely rare from him and was entirely out of character. Throughout Chuck's life and his military career, he had always held his composure, especially in the military in where he'd been under intense gunfire, and he hadn't lost his composure as he had just done, which was very worrying for Chuck, as he would now have to work for the Director for a period of up to three years.

An RPG connecting just yards away from where I'm standing would bring me much less disorientation than what I've just got from Graham! I now have a headache from hell! The pompous, motherfucking asswipe!

Chuck began to depart the conference room in his now riled up frame of mind, and he made his way towards the operations room that the earlier debriefing was held in. He arrived outside the room a minute later, and he moved to enter inside. Morgan and Major Moore were no longer present inside of the room, but Zondra was.

Chuck moved to close the distance between them, and she smiled at him. But Chuck wasn't in the mood for pleasantries right now after that royal ass-chewing that Graham had just handed to him.

"Wow, you look ready to explode. Was it that bad?" she asked with a sympathetic smile.

Chuck nodded. "Yeah. I've never felt so angry! Zondra, I don't know how you can work for the CIA. He just gave me hell because I risked an upcoming assignment to rescue you. The assignment wasn't even beginning for another four days! He was seriously suggesting that I should have left you for dead. I think you should find a new career because your boss doesn't give a damn whether you live or die, and anyone on the planet deserves to have a better employer than that!" he stated with immense distaste towards the CIA.

Zondra continued her smile towards him. "I know that I'm on my own. But that's how I like it. I'm very good at it. And I enjoy it," she admitted as they continued their gaze.

Despite his foul mood, Chuck managed to suppress a laugh on Zondra's admissions. "In that respect, you sound a lot like me then. I'm very good at what I do too. And I don't just enjoy it, I love it," he declared as a grin formed for the first time since arriving back in her presence.

Zondra shared his warm glance. "How long have you served?" she asked him.

"Six years," he replied.

"Was it always what you wanted?" she asked as their gaze continued to hold.

He shook his head. "No. But 9/11 changed that," he declared.

"Yeah, it did for a lot of people."

He nodded. "Mm-hmm."

There was a brief pause between them until Zondra broke it once more."So, with the debriefing and conferences apparently, over, why don't you show me around the base?" she suggested with a seductive smile.

Chuck breathed out a long sigh. Before his conference with Graham, he was in a great mood, and he was extremely interested in Zondra, and he still was, but the Director had very much killed his mood as all he felt right now was anger and stress. "Zondra, I'd love to. But I'm now in the worst mood that I've ever been in, and it's all because of your boss. I wouldn't be pleasant company for you right now," he admitted as he broke his gaze from her in guilt because he had been a willing participant in whatever it was that they had going on ever since her rescue. Though, now all he wanted to do was to fire his rifle a thousand times at a static target to relieve his extreme stress triggered by his new douchebag boss.

"Wow, I don't think a man has ever rejected me before," she declared with a smirk.

Chuck suppressed laughter. "See, now you're just making me feel bad!" he joked but quickly turned serious. "But seriously, Zondra, it wasn't a decision I took lightly, I can assure you. You're an extremely beautiful woman. And if that pompous ass hadn't had just killed my mojo, then I'd have bitten your hand off for the invitation. But, now, I'm just gonna be in a rotten mood and bad company for the rest of the day, and it wouldn't be fair on you."

She smiled in acceptance. "Your loss," she declared.

Chuck laughed. "Oh, I am certain of that! I must be missing a million brain cells to turn down your offer to me! And believe me, I wouldn't have turned it down if Graham hadn't had just barked down my throat for as long as he did."

"Maybe I'll go and get captured again so you can rescue me and we can try again from the beginning," she said, playfully.

"It probably won't be me this time," he admitted.

"Oh? You are too young to retire."

"Reassignment," he admitted.

"Anywhere nice?" she asked.

"I wish I could tell you," he laughed.

"It's not nice to withhold information from a lady," she said coyly.

He nodded. "I'm with you there. But you would have to blame the government for that," he joked.

She laughed. "Maybe it's actually my loss. But, if I can't tempt you otherwise, I guess this is goodbye then."

"Au revoir! M'lady!" Chuck quipped back as he began to turn away from her but immediately turned back facing her. "Actually, Zondra?"

"Yeah?"

"The least I can do is show you to your accommodation for the night. With Major Moore no longer being here, I assume he set that up for you before he left?"

Zondra nodded. "He did. That would be great. Thanks."

Chuck grinned. "No problem. If you're ready, then we'll depart?" he asked.

"Sure, let's go," she replied.


Chuck and Zondra had just arrived outside of the housing that Zondra would be staying at during her overnight stopover in Fort Bragg. It was reasonably close to Chuck's own residence, and it was well within walking distance of the operations room, which is what they had just done to get here.

"Well, thanks for the guide," she said as they stood outside the door to the housing.

Chuck grinned. "That's no problem. And thank you for the company. I've enjoyed every moment of it," he declared.

She returned his smile, and she was about to turn away from him to enter, but she paused when Chuck began to talk once more. "Can I leave you my number? Just for if you need a lift back to D.C. tomorrow. I assume you'll be heading back there for reassignment?" he asked.

Zondra nodded. "Sure. If you can spare the time, then that would be great," she replied.

Chuck nodded. "Absolutely. It's the least I can do," he said as he removed a pen and a small notebook from his person, and he wrote out his number. He then handed the piece of paper to Zondra. "Here you are."

"Thanks," she replied, and they shared a final smile.

"No problem. Well, bye then," he said.

"Bye," she replied as she turned away from him to enter the accommodation, and Chuck walked away.


One hour later

Chuck had just finished showering, and he had changed into civilian wear with him now being off-duty for the weekend. He had calmed down a little bit since his verbal spat with Director Graham. However, he still wasn't in the best of moods, which was a great shame, as this upcoming weekend was probably the last chance in a while that he would be able to have a good time, with his pending reassignment to work with the CIA and the NSA. He was stood in the lounge area of his housing, deciding what to do with the rest of his day when his door began to knock.

Chuck departed the lounge area, and he walked to the door of the housing, and he opened it up, and his gaze connected onto Morgan and Major Moore.

"Hey, buddy," Morgan greeted him.

"We expected to find Zondra here with you," Major Moore stated.

"Yes, we did, Chuck," Morgan added in.

Chuck shook his head. "Nah, just me," he declared.

"I have to say, Chuck. I'm disappointed in you, man," Morgan said while pointing his finger at him and shaking his head.

"How about that catch-up?" Major Moore asked.

"I'm not really in the mood. I just went to war a little earlier with the CIA Director. What a pompous ass he is!" Chuck said with disgust.

"Don't remind me of him! My ears still hurt," Major Moore joked, causing Morgan to laugh.

"Yours do?!" Chuck fired back. "Try being me! He gave me a barrage for several minutes! I'd sooner be tortured by the Taliban than go through what I just did with him again!"

"Which is why we're heading out. You sound like you need it, buddy," Morgan said.

"Guys, I'm not sure. I don't want to be lousy company," Chuck protested.

"We're not taking no for an answer, Chuck," Major Moore said.

"Damn right, we're not, so let's go," Morgan demanded.


Chuck, Morgan, and Major Moore were now at an officer's club on the base, and they were seated together and catching up.

"It feels ages since we were here last," Chuck said as he took a sip of his drink.

"It's only been two weeks," Morgan declared.

"Yeah. It feels longer, though," Major Moore replied. "So, Chuck, are you looking forward to your reassignment?"

Chuck heartily shook his head. "Not anymore," he admitted.

Major Moore laughed.

"Was it really that bad, Chuck?" Morgan asked.

"Worse, it was hell! He went off on me worse than the Drill Instructors at Basic," Chuck said with distaste.

Morgan frowned in surprise. "Wow, really?" he asked.

Chuck nodded.

"Morgan, after the onslaught I got from him yesterday, I can very much attest to Chuck's assessment." Major Moore said.

"Wow, what a total douchebag!" Morgan said, shaking his head in contempt.

"Yeah," Chuck agreed.

"So, Chuck, what went wrong with Zondra? We purposely stayed out of your way to allow you to do your thing. Usually, we'd get in on the action too, but it is your last days with us, so..." Major Moore said.

"I turned her down," Chuck admitted, which caused immediate groans of complaint and disapproving stares from both Morgan and the Major.

"Oh, hell, no, Chuck! Hell no! No member of CAG that is single can refuse an offer from a woman as beautiful as that!" Morgan said lividly.

"I was in a foul mood and I predicted I wouldn't have brought my A-Game," Chuck protested.

Morgan shook his head in strong disapproval over Chuck's actions. "That's no excuse, Chuck! She would have made your mood better!" Morgan said in a loud complaint, and Major Moore nodded in complete agreement.

"What did she say exactly?" Major Moore asked.

"She asked me to show her around. And when I refused, she told me that she'd never been rejected by a man before and that it was my loss," Chuck said.

Morgan instantly moved to bend over the table and he slapped Chuck across his head.

"Ow!" Chuck complained as he glanced at his best friend with distaste.

"Oh, Chuck, you idiot!" Morgan said as he moved to sit back down and continued to shake his head and he gave Chuck a belittling stare in contempt of his friend's actions.

"Yes, Chuck, you idiot!" the Major promptly agreed.

"I am, aren't I?" Chuck asked as he shifted his glance between his two friends, and they both nodded.

"Yes, Chuck, you are!" his two friends said in unison, causing him to laugh.

"Chuck, our friendship is over unless you go and correct your mistake right now! Never turn down a woman as hot as that!" Morgan demanded.

"Never, ever, Chuck. You don't do it! You are bringing great shame and discredit to this unit. You have to correct your mistake before our reputation is forever ruined because of what you have done," Major Moore chimed in.

"It's ok for you, Chuck. You are being seconded away from us. But, we, we have to live with your mistake!" Morgan said as he pointed at Chuck with contempt.

"What about our catch up?" Chuck asked with a grin as he rotated his gaze between Morgan and the Major.

"We will happily reschedule it for another time! It's suddenly not important anymore! Seriously, Chuck, we look out for each other over here!" Major Moore said.

"Damn right, we do! Go to that woman right now, Chuck, or we'll pick you up and carry you there ourselves!" Morgan demanded.

"Yes, we will. Besides, we'll do the drinking for you, Chuck," Major Moore added in, and Morgan nodded with his CO.

"You guys are right. I've made a terrible mistake and one that needs correcting. I suddenly have other plans. I'll catch you both later!" Chuck said as he moved to down the contents of the remainder of his drink.

"Good man!" Morgan shouted approvingly.

"Don't do anything we wouldn't do!" Major Moore called out as Chuck quickly departed from the officer's club.

Morgan and the Major then began to grin and emit approving laughter together.

"That's our boy!" Morgan said with pride.

"He's leaving the unit with style," Major Moore declared.

"I'll drink to that," Morgan retorted, as himself and the Major moved to take a gulp of their drinks.


Zondra had showered, and she was in the accommodation provided to her while she spent a night on Fort Bragg. It was a pity that Chuck had lost interest at the last moment, because she'd never bedded a soldier before, and, if his confidence levels were anything to go by, she was sure that they would have had one hell of a night together. However, she couldn't blame him for his libido evaporating, because, in her conversation with Graham, she could tell just what kind of mood her boss was in, and Chuck had taken the brunt of that in his communication that had followed, because Graham's anger was directed at him, so she certainly understood why he had lost his desire for her. However, she was somewhat undeniably disappointed by his change of course.

Zondra began to watch some television, as she contemplated what to until tomorrow when the door of the accommodation began to knock. She wasn't expecting any visitors. Rising to stand, she made her way to the front door of the housing, and she paused to take a breath of air, before opening the door to greet whoever was on the other side.

Her gaze connected onto Chuck. He was no longer in his combat gear and was instead dressed in civilian attire.

"Hey," he said with a grin.

"Hi. I'm assuming you changed your mind then?" she got straight to the point.

He nodded. "I did. I made a terrible mistake, and I've come to correct it," he declared with that same confident tone of voice and body language that he'd displayed towards her prior to the incident with the Director.

"Yeah, you did," she smirked.

"Does the offer of showing you around still stand?" he asked.

"To be honest, I didn't want a tour of the base in the first place," she stated as they held their gaze.

"Fair enough," he said.

"The undisclosed offer inviting you to come inside, however, would still stand, but I'm not so sure I want you to anymore. Maybe it's my turn to reject you and to see how your ego likes it," she said flirtatiously.

He grinned. "Oh, Zondra, you can't do that! That would destroy me and it would probably get me killed on my very next mission! Besides, if you did refuse, then you'd be missing out on the best night of your life," he said as they continued their stare of intent.

Zondra smirked. "Oh, well, we can't have that then, can we?" she said suggestively.

"Which part?" he asked as they continued to hold their stare.

"The part where you'd go and get yourself killed. It's still debatable if it would be the best night of my life because I've had many," she said, playfully.

"It's not a debate, it wouldn't even be a contest," he said, with confidence.

"Confident in yourself, aren't you?" she continued their exchange as they held their stare into each other's eyes.

"Well, I'm a Ranger," he declared with a grin.

"Then I guess you'd better come inside. If you want to, that is?" she asked as they continued their unyielding stare.

"Just try and stop me!" he replied as he moved into her proximity, and he grabbed hold of her as they began to kiss, and she walked backward until entering into the accommodation, and he kicked the door shut behind them. They continued to kiss out in the hallway until feeling forced into breaking the kiss for needed air.

"I ride a bike, and I'm quite feisty. I won't be gentle with you. Are you sure you can handle me?" she asked as she gazed into his eyes from where they stood inches apart.

"Oh, I'm sure," he said with his continued swagger of self-confidence.

"Let's find out if you really can then," she replied as they moved to kiss once more, and he gripped hold of her, and she gripped him back as they began to tussle with each other while their lips remained connected until she landed roughly into the wall of the accommodation and he trapped her in place.

When they broke the kiss for air once more, she smirked as she said, "Wow, maybe you won't be too gentle with me either."

He laughed. "Usually I am, but there's just something about you. You've brought out the worst in me," he declared.

She suppressed laughter, approvingly. "I'm glad to hear it. Let's see if we can help your mood. If the CIA caused it, then it's only right the CIA fixes it," she declared, and he nodded as they resumed kissing once more, and they quickly made their way to the bedroom in the housing…


"How's your mood now?" Zondra joked as she gazed at Chuck from where they lay, naked on the bed in the room.

"Better than it has ever been before," he declared with a grin of contentment.

"Oh, you're good!" she said with a smirk.

His grin of happiness continued. "I know I am. But so are you," he replied, and they shared laughter for a long moment.

"How's your own mood?" he then asked.

"It's getting there. But it's still early, and I'm far from finished with you," she said seductively.

His grin continued. "It's still very early, and that aforementioned feeling is mutual!" he declared as they moved to kiss and they began to tussle with each other as they each took turns being the one on top during their chosen activities.


"So, Zondra, where does a woman as gorgeous as you originate from?" Chuck asked as he gazed at her from where they continued to lay.

She smiled sympathetically. "That's probably a bad idea. We'll be going our separate ways once we're finished. It's probably better that we don't become attached," she said.

He nodded with a smile of acceptance. They were having a great time, why spoil it in attempting to get to know each other when they'll undoubtedly go their separate ways on their new upcoming assignments. This could never develop into anything more than it was, which was a night of passion, lust, and mutual attraction.

"You're right. Besides, pillow talk isn't my specialty anyway," he declared as they continued their stare.

"Oh, what is then?" she asked seductively.

"I'll show you," he replied as they moved to kiss once more.


The next day

Chuck and Zondra woke up in bed together after an explosive night of passion. The soldier and the dark-haired spy were both awake, and they were gazing at each other from where they lay.

"Good night?" she asked him.

He chuckled. "Great night!" he declared.

"Me too. And you were right. It was the best night of my life. But... I don't do relationships," she stated.

He smiled. "Me neither, Zondra. I have a shaky history with long term commitments," he admitted.

She smiled. "One for the road?" she asked as they held their gaze.

He nodded. "Sure, why not. Then I'll drive you to your place in D.C."

"You don't have to," she replied.

"Yes, I do. I already made the invitation yesterday, but now I have to after the night you've just given me," he chuckled, and she shared the laughter with him before they quickly entered first base once more.


Later that morning

"Wow, nice wheels," Zondra declared as she entered inside Chuck's Lexus GS S190.

Chuck grinned. "Thanks. I bought it a year ago. What do you ride?" he asked.

"Suzuki GS-R600," she said.

A grin of amazement formed on Chuck's face. "Wow, I truly have never met a woman quite like you before, Zondra," he said in amazement.

Zondra smirked. "I'm one of a kind," she declared.

Chuck nodded in vigorous agreement of that declaration as he fired up the engine, and they departed for Washington, D.C.

Six hours later

Chuck pulled to a stop outside Zondra's apartment in the capital.

"Well, here we are then," Chuck said.

"Fancy coming in and staying the night?" she offered.

Chuck grimaced briefly. Zondra was right in what she said to him the previous night. It was better that they didn't get attached. "I'm not sure," he said apprehensively.

She smiled at him. "Come on. My assignment starts tomorrow. I would feel bad if you did twelve hours driving in one go. Why have one night when we can have two? We can say goodbye in style," she encouraged him.

He took the briefest of seconds to think before a wide grin formed. "Screw it. My new assignment begins on Monday. I'd kind of like a final weekend of fun too," he stated.

Zondra nodded in firm agreement as they began to kiss inside of his car for a minute before they departed the car, and he locked it as he followed Zondra up and inside her apartment...

End of Chapter

AN2 What Chuck and Zondra have just had was a weekend of fun and nothing more. The next time they will meet again will be many chapters from now. And I'm quite sure that Chuck's situation will have changed by then. Actually, it absolutely will have! And I predict that Chuck will have some explaining to do even though he has done nothing wrong because he was a single guy (the explaining will be because of the whole traitor thing, obviously).

AN3 The next chapter is upload day. And I will be very interested to see reviews so that I can gouge to see if there are any potential Chuck/Zondra readers present. It would certainly give me ideas for future stories because I have nothing against it. The only stories that I can't read are those containing Jill, Lou, Hannah, Bryce, Shaw, and Cole. I'm completely fine with Chuck/Zondra Chuck/Carina stories.