Images flashed through Chuck's brain one right after another. When they stopped, he looked at Sarah excitedly.
"I think this is it!" he exclaimed. Sarah's eyebrows rose in surprise. Jill looked confused.
"Why there?" she asked. "What makes you think that's the spot?"
"Well... it just sorta sticks out and several of these places I think we checked already, but this...this just feels like the one." Chuck felt a tightening in his chest. He was so excited about the flash that he'd blurted it out without thinking. Now he was just hoping Jill wouldn't get suspicious. Fortunately, Sarah was thinking the same and intervened.
"It's definitely worth checking out" she said, before Jill had a chance to think about Chuck's reply. "In the meantime there's not much more we can do tonight and it's getting late so I suggest we all get some sleep."
"Sleep does sound good" Jill replied. "Alright well I guess I'll see you two in the morning." With that, Jill got up and walked to the guest bedroom, the one that used to be Ellie's room. As soon as the door to the bedroom closed, Sarah turned to Chuck.
"Are you absolutely sure we can trust her?" she asked, a serious look on her face. "Because if there's any chance of her running, I will go in that room right now and handcuff her to the bed."
Chuck blushed a little as the image of what that would look like appeared in his mind. He cleared his throat as he realized Sarah was waiting for him to respond.
"She's not going to run" he said firmly. "I'd stake my reputation on it."
"I'm taking a risk Chuck but you haven't given me a reason not to trust you."
"Thank you Sarah I appreciate that."
"So now that that's settled, are you ready to go to bed?"
Chuck nearly fell out of the chair he was sitting in.
"Are you...you mean...together?"
Sarah smiled.
"We're married Chuck. How would it look if someone walked in on one of us sleeping on the couch? I told you I was going to commit to this cover."
"Okay then" Chuck replied, nervousness in his voice. "My...our...bedroom is this way."
He led Sarah to the bedroom. She made several trips back out to get her bags and then went into the bathroom while Chuck fretted over what to wear to bed.
Well I can't sleep naked that's for sure he thought. I should probably wear more than just underwear, I don't want Sarah to feel uncomfortable. Chuck finally decided on wearing a t-shirt and boxers. He waited for Sarah to finish in the bathroom so he could use it himself. When she emerged a few minutes later, he did a double take. Sarah was wearing a light blue satin nightie that left very little to the imagination. It was short enough that he could see she was wearing matching underwear. He gulped.
"Wow" he finally managed. "You look incredible."
"Thanks" Sarah replied, flashing him a grin. "I figured, first night with the wife back in town, most couples would probably do something special."
"You really go all in" Chuck replied, absolutely mesmerized by the vision of beauty in front of him. "It reminds me of...never mind"
"What?"
"Well, there was a night back when you were my handler, and my cover girlfriend, when you decided it was time for us to spend a night together. You surprised me that night too. Though I think you dialed it up another notch this time. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to bring up things you don't remember"
"Chuck it's ok" Sarah responded gently, placing a hand on his harm. Chuck's skin tingled from her touch. "I knew things like this would happen."
Chuck managed a small smile, but his thoughts were whirling around all the things he wished she remembered. Having her there, like this, he had several things he longed to do. He'd slept alone for so long he knew he'd be fighting to keep from trying to cuddle with her. He felt like his skin had a mind of its own and was trying to reach out to her, to hold her.
"I'd better get ready for bed myself" he managed to say.
He went in the bathroom and took care of his nighttime routine. When he came out, it was like a vision of the past. Sarah was in bed in her usual spot, wide awake and looking at him with those beautiful blue eyes. The only thing missing was the longing look she used to give him that made him practically jump into bed. He missed that look. Shaking the memory from his mind, he made his way to his side of the bed and climbed in. It was awkward, having Sarah lying just 6 inches from him. She might as well be 6 miles away. He wanted to hold her so much it hurt. But he choked down his feelings and turned to her.
"Night Sarah."
"Night Chuck."
Sarah laid awake next to Chuck who had fallen asleep and tried to figure out exactly what she was feeling. She had to admit the way Chuck looked at her when she came out of the bathroom in her lingerie gave her a warm feeling inside. She also knew she couldn't let that show. She wanted to keep his spirits up but she didn't want to lead him on either. It was a tough balance. She also couldn't shake the feeling that maybe some part of the role she was playing was getting to her, just a little. Chuck had been sweet and respectful to her, but the love in his eyes was something he couldn't hide. She saw it. Part of her wished it wasn't there, but a small part of her seemed to crave it. She shook her head.
What is going on? she thought to herself. Why am I having so much trouble with this? I know better. I can do better. I just need to focus on the mission, not the man.
Sarah finally closed her eyes, putting all those thoughts out of her head. As she dozed off, the only thing Sarah was thinking about was a song called Feeling Good.
Chuck woke to find himself alone in his bed. For a moment he thought maybe he'd dreamed the night before, but then he heard Sarah's voice coming from the bathroom.
"Morning sleepyhead."
He rolled over to face her. She was standing in the bathroom doorway, a smile on her face.
"How long have you been up?" he asked, noting she had been up long enough to change into a red tank top and jeans. He was a little disappointed. He had been hoping to maybe get another view of her in her gorgeous nightie from last night.
"Not long" she replied. "Just long enough to get dressed really." She raised an eyebrow. "I know what you were hoping to see, you don't exactly have a poker face Chuck. Maybe I'll break that little number out again as a surprise some night."
"Here's to surprises" Chuck replied, pretending to hold up a glass for a toast.
Sarah couldn't help but smile, and a little chuckle escaped her mouth. It didn't last though. Her face quickly became serious again.
"Get dressed" she commanded. "We need to talk about your flash before we leave this room."
Chuck dutifully grabbed jeans and a white t-shirt from his dresser, walked into the bathroom, and promptly changed. When he came out, Sarah was sitting on the end of the bed. She gestured for him to join her, which he did.
"Okay Chuck, what makes you think the location you flashed on last night could be the Overseer's base of operations?"
"When I flashed, I saw all the information regarding that property. Specifically it's purchase history. The money to pay for it didn't come from a FULCRUM account or any realtor, it was sent from an offshore account in the Cayman Islands. There was no information on who the account holder is, and there was no name on the purchase agreement. All the information led to a dead end and was never followed up on. It wasn't seen as important. It's exactly the way The Overseer would go about buying a building. Keep it off the books but not worth investigating, and therefore you don't attract any attention."
"Okay, but why did you flash only on that property? Why not all of them?"
"I'm not sure but the fact that I did means we're probably on the right track."
"Alright, then let's get everyone and pay that place a visit. Where is it?"
"Akron, Ohio. Good thing for us Carmichael Industries has a private jet."
"For what this jet cost you'd think we could afford baggage handlers" Casey growled into Chuck's ear as everyone loaded their luggage and supplies into the jet's cargo hold.
"Well I had to choose between that or a big flat screen for in-flight entertainment and I know how you hate missing those daytime soap operas."
Chuck couldn't hide a grin as Casey ground his teeth.
"If you try to put any of that garbage on during the flight Bartowski I'll throw you out the door at 30,000 feet. 50/50 chance I include a parachute."
"I see Gertrude has really brought out your softer side" Chuck replied with a chuckle, loading the last bag.
Casey slammed the cargo door closed as Chuck climbed the stairs into the main cabin. Sarah, Carina, and Gertrude were already aboard and settling in for the flight. Sarah was sitting on one side, directly across from Gertrude. Carina sat on the end, seemingly content to have a little room to herself. Chuck plopped down in the seat next to Sarah. He thought about putting an arm around her but decided against it. They didn't need to stay in their cover roles with only Carina, Casey, and Gertrude with them at the moment. Jill had agreed to stay at Chuck's place, and Chuck had arranged for Morgan to periodically check on her to make sure she didn't try to run, something Sarah had insisted on.
Morgan had been stunned when he found out about Jill. He sided with Sarah about having her arrested but Chuck had eventually talked him into keeping an eye on her while they were away. For now Chuck had also convinced Sarah and Morgan to keep Jill's presence a secret from Casey and Gertrude. Morgan wasn't crazy about the idea but agreed. Sarah had been livid, certain this was putting everyone in significant danger. So Chuck had taken an additional step to get Sarah to agree: he'd installed hidden cameras in various spots in and outside the house without Jill's knowledge and given Sarah access to them so she could monitor Jill remotely at any time. The only limit he had insisted on were that no cameras would be put in the bedroom Jill was using or in the bathrooms. Chuck didn't want to violate Jill's privacy too much, and other cameras had been strategically placed so she couldn't sneak out without being seen. Casey had also rigged up an invisible laser tripwire, fully in view of the various outdoor cameras, that would send an alert if someone passed through it.
What Chuck couldn't understand however, was why Sarah seemed to be more upset that Chuck cared about Jill's privacy than she was with the potential security issues. In fact after they'd settled on the plan with Jill, Sarah had barely spoken to him except to arrange the flight they were now on, and the moments when she needed to act in her cover role on the way to the plane. Chuck hoped the roughly 4 hour flight would give him time to figure out what was wrong.
When Chuck sat down next to her, Sarah was torn between two reactions. One was to completely ignore him, the other was to open up and tell him what she was feeling.
But what exactly AM I feeling? she wondered. I know I got really upset about how much he wanted to protect Jill. But I had a right to be upset, right? She's a major security risk, and I'm a professional spy. Spies don't leave security risks alone like this. Carina told me I could trust Chuck on this, but how does she know? He's the Intersect, but that doesn't mean he can't be wrong. But it's more than that.
Sarah suddenly had a realization. It struck her as absurd but she couldn't deny it.
I was jealous. I was jealous of the way Chuck was looking out for Jill. How in the world could I let myself get jealous?
Suddenly Sarah was somewhere else. She was remembering something, or at least part of something. She was dancing with Bryce Larkin, and wearing a beautiful yet also very sexy dress. But she wasn't focused on the dance. She was focused on something else...she just couldn't remember what. But there was jealousy in the air. Strong feelings of jealousy. But they weren't coming from her. Before Sarah could figure out what exactly was going on, she was back on the plane. It felt like a movie abruptly stopping with no warning. She felt disoriented, and it took a moment to realize Chuck was saying her name.
"What...?" she murmured, still a bit dazed.
"Sarah, are you ok?" Chuck asked, concern in his voice. Sarah finally was able to regain her focus.
"I'm fine Chuck."
"Are you sure? I just said your name three times before I got a response. Were you daydreaming or something?"
"Something like that" she replied.
Chuck looked like he wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by the pilot boarding the plane and closing the door. Sarah slipped seamlessly into her role and slipped an arm through his, planting a kiss on his cheek. The pilot walked towards the cockpit, then stopped and turned to address the group.
"Hello folks my name is Cory Latimer, I'll be your pilot today. If you need anything feel free to knock on the cockpit door at any time except during taxiing, takeoff, and landing, unless it is a true emergency. My co-pilot, Jeff Dennings, is already in the cockpit making preparations for our departure, and based on the latest info from air traffic control, I expect us to be in the air in about ten minutes. Have a nice flight everyone."
Everyone thanked the pilot and settled in. Sarah sensed the moment to talk to Chuck had been temporarily lost and turned her attention to the window behind her, looking out at the airport. Next to her, she could sense some disappointment coming from Chuck.
The plane began rolling along, making its way to the runway. Chuck barely noticed. He was having trouble not staring at Sarah. He had already tried once to get her attention to talk but she was either lost in thought or ignoring him and he was hesitant to try again. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her further if she was already mad. So, Chuck forced himself to focus instead on Casey, who was eyeing the plane's small galley.
"Hungry or thirsty?" Chuck asked, an amused smile on his face.
Casey turned his head and his attention towards Chuck.
"What?" he asked gruffly, with a look that was equal parts irritation and confusion.
Chuck continued smiling, aware Sarah had turned her head to look at him, but he kept his focus on Casey.
"I see you eyeing the galley. I was just wondering whether its because you're hungry or thirsty."
"How about bored?" Casey replied evenly, then let out an exasperated sigh. "Awhile back I got a couple bottles of Beluga vodka from Volkoff, or rather Winterbottom, as a thank you gift. I hadn't opened them yet but I made sure to get one put in the galley. Normally I don't go for anything foreign, but Russians know their vodka. Soon as we get the all clear to get up, I'm cracking that bottle open."
Casey motioned to the galley with his head.
"You want in, or are you too much of a lightweight to join me Bartowski?"
Chuck scrunched his brow, pretending to be deep in thought.
"Try a high end vodka I normally wouldn't even have access to unless I was in Russia, or sit and get called a lightweight... I'll go with the vodka."
"You'd better be planning to pour a glass for me" Gertrude interjected, a playful look on her face.
"Make it four" Sarah added.
Carina held up five fingers to indicate one more.
Casey nodded his head in approval.
"Good thing I kept the other bottles at my place. Those ones I don't plan on sharing."
Gertrude cleared her throat, drawing Casey's gaze. She gave him a fake look of irritation followed by a slight grin.
"Except with you of course" Casey told her, a hint of a grin on his face.
"Good answer" she replied quietly but playfully.
Casey turned back to Chuck.
"Bartowski, you gonna need me to mix yours with something fruity?"
The plane had reached cruising altitude and everyone had their glass of vodka. Casey had thrown down a glass already and grunted his approval, but was now slowly sipping his second glass, as was everyone else. Despite Casey's teasing, Chuck had asked for his vodka "neat" after the other three had done the same. Now he was staring at the glass in his hand, ignoring how cold it was, and marveling at how smooth the vodka went down. He felt a nudge and looked up to see Sarah smiling at him.
"There must be something absolutely fascinating about your glass, Chuck. Or have you just never seen vodka before?" she asked playfully.
Chuck looked down at his glass then back up at Sarah, feeling himself blushing. He smiled back.
"You caught me, I'm a vodka virgin" he joked. Sarah let a soft giggle escape her lips.
Alright this seems like a good opportunity to try talking to her again Chuck thought to himself. He glanced over at Casey and Gertrude, who were over near the galley which was on the opposite end of the plane, and saw they were having their own private conversation. Carina had flirted her way into the cockpit. This was probably as private a moment as he was going to get.
"Hey Sarah, do you mind if I ask you something?"
"Hmm?" Sarah replied, in the middle of taking a sip of vodka. Chuck took it as a cue to continue.
"I don't really know a tactful way to ask you this, so I'm just gonna be direct. You seem like you've been mad at me ever since we made the arrangements for Jill to stay at the house." He was careful to avoid saying OUR house, even though he wanted to. "Did I do something wrong? I mean, even Casey agreed to the plan we came up with."
Sarah's face noticeably darkened but she didn't look angry. If anything, she looked embarrassed, which Chuck was not expecting. She leaned towards him and spoke softly.
"Chuck, you didn't do anything wrong. You trust Jill, and while personally I wouldn't have left her without a 24/7 guard or better yet, locked up until we get back, you're right, we agreed to this plan. I'm not upset about that. Obviously I'm not exactly thrilled, but I'm not upset."
"Ok so then why have you barely spoken to me then?"
Sarah sighed and fidgeted a bit, clearly reluctant to respond. Chuck frowned, baffled by her hesitation.
"Chuck, I don't know how say this without coming across the wrong way."
"Sarah, right now you're coming across like someone about to go in for a root canal. You don't have to tell me, but if you can't open up to me, don't expect me to keep waiting around for you. You want strictly professional, that's what we'll be.
Sarah was stunned, both by what Chuck said, and the fact that it actually hurt a little to hear him say it.
What is wrong with me? she wondered. I wanted this to be professional, and he's saying that's exactly what it can be. I should be thrilled. So why aren't I?
The two of them sat in silence for several seconds: Chuck staring intently at Sarah while waiting for her response, Sarah staring at the floor thinking of what to say.
"Well?" Chuck asked firmly but not harshly. Sarah looked up.
"I think it would be best if we just drop this and focus on the job" she responded softly.
Sarah watched Chuck's response. At first he didn't do anything but continue staring intently, and for a moment she wondered if he'd even heard her. Then he almost imperceptibly nodded his head once and turned away from her. He didn't see the tear that escaped Sarah's right eye, and when she got up and headed for the bathroom, he didn't see the additional tears she was trying (and failing) to hold back.
Professional it is then Chuck thought as he turned away from Sarah. Part of him couldn't believe he'd even said that to her. But the rest of him knew this was the reality that was always there. Sarah was different without her memories. She was a spy. She was Agent Sarah Walker. The Sarah he knew, the one he'd married, was gone.
He heard Sarah get up and glanced back just in time to see her go into the plane's restroom. A moment later Casey and Gertrude came over from the galley. Casey grabbed a small table and moved it between his seat and Chuck's. He went to the cockpit door and knocked, and a moment later Carina emerged, smiling smugly. Casey then went over to his bag and took out blueprints for the building they were headed to and put them on the table.
"I know we're all having so much fun flying Air Force Chuck, but it's time to get down to business and figure out the plan for when we get to the hideout." he said.
Sarah emerged from the bathroom after a few minutes. She'd cried softly for a bit, then dried her eyes, gotten her emotions back under control, and taken a moment to check the cameras at Chucks, confirming Jill was still there. She then took a few more moments to put herself back together so no one could tell she'd shed any tears.
Can't let my emotions show like that again she told herself. I need to be focused or else I'll be useless.
When she re-entered the main cabin she saw Casey, Chuck, Carina, and Gertrude hunched around a table that had been moved into the middle of the room between the chairs they'd all been sitting in. As she walked over to the group and knelt down, she felt a pang when Chuck didn't even look up to acknowledge her, but brushed it aside as she recognized the blueprints for the building they were set to potentially invade.
Casey was in the middle of going over what he felt was the best plan to approach the place, surveil it, and potentially breach it, and hopefully catch the Overseer. She immediately pitched in her own ideas, and over the course of the remainder of the flight, they pieced together their official plan of attack. By the time the plane landed, they knew what supplies to bring, and exactly what they were going to do. They rented a car at the Akron airport using one of Carina's fake IDs, which they had planned in advance, and before long they were speeding towards the building they believed was the base of operations of the Overseer.
Right away, Chuck sensed something was off. They'd parked about a quarter mile away and changed into their gear: dark clothes to avoid detection, weapons, and various gadgets designed for surveillance and breaching the building. After gearing up, they'd stealthily made their way towards the target building. It was an old factory that had been decommissioned over a decade ago. The area around it was overgrown but there was still a partially paved road leading to what was the primary entrance to the building that was clearly still being used. The group avoided the road and instead made their way through trees and brush, utilizing whatever cover was available, until they were just 100 feet from the building.
Chuck had been using a powerful set of binoculars scouting for any guards or lookouts, but as they neared the building, he hadn't seen a single person, and it was making him uneasy. He voiced his concern to Casey who agreed that it was highly unusual to have not seen anyone, but Carina attributed it to the Overseer's confidence that no one knew where he or she was located, and posting guards outside a seemingly abandoned building could draw unwanted attention. However, Gertrude pointed out that just because there was no visible physical surveillance, that didn't mean there was no electronic surveillance set up, so Chuck now focused on looking for cameras, sensors, or anything else that could detect their approach. Casey and Gertrude took point as they neared the building, using handheld devices designed to detect any electronic equipment within a range of about 20 yards. When the group reached what seemed to be a side entrance without detecting a single thing, they were all on edge.
"This doesn't smell right" Casey muttered as he ran his hands on the exterior of the side entrance door, trying to detect anything unusual.
Gertrude waved her device over the door and shook her head.
"It's clean as far as I can tell. No electronic signals."
"So this either is an empty building after all, or someone is awfully sure they're secure in there" Carina remarked.
"I say we find out exactly which one it is" Casey replied, an evil grin on his face as he pulled out his sidearm.
Gertrude gently tried the doorknob, but it was locked.
"I don't think we can kick this one down" Chuck remarked, noting the door looked quite sturdy.
"Then we go in the fun way" Casey replied, the grin still on his face.
Everyone took a step or two back as Casey attached a silencer to his weapon, leveled his gun, and aimed it at the locked doorknob. He fired two quick shots, and the only sound was the quiet "pfft" from the gun and the sound of the bullets crashing into the metal knob. The knob was knocked completely off. Casey reacted almost as soon as the knob fell, kicking the door with his full strength. Sure enough, the door flew open and slammed into the wall. Casey ran in first, Carina, Sarah, and Gertrude drew their weapons and were just a step behind, with Chuck bringing up the rear. As soon as they entered what turned out to be the factory's main floor and got a quick look at their surroundings, they stopped.
"Ok, what the hell is this?" Casey growled in frustration and lowering his weapon.
The factory's interior appeared just as abandoned as the exterior. There were old and broken pieces of machinery scattered about, dusty stacks of crates, garbage and rubble all over the place, and several rusty stairwells leading to small to medium sized landings, each of which provided access to currently closed doors that probably led to the other sections of the factory. A couple of the stairwells had broken apart, likely from rust, the remnants of which were on the floor where they had fallen along with a few inaccessible steps still clinging to the landings. Every inch of the room told the same story: no one had been here in a very long time.
"I don't get it. Why would anyone make such an effort to hide buying this place and then do absolutely nothing with it?" Sarah asked.
Everyone looked dejected, especially Chuck. Suddenly Casey noticed something.
"Hey, check out that landing. There's something attached to the bottom of it. Looks pretty out of place. Weird looking. Almost like a kaleidoscope."
Everyone looked in the direction Casey indicated. As soon as Chuck's eyes caught sight of it, he immediately flashed. Only this flash was different. There was no series of images or a burst of data. Instead Chuck's flash contained exactly one image: a black screen of some kind with words on it. The words were white in color, in a style that looked like it was made on an early 90s computer. There were just two words: HELLO INTERSECT.
At almost the exact moment Chuck pulled his eyes away, stopping the flash and alerting him to the danger they were in, the doors on the landings scattered around the room burst open. All of them. Men in dark clothes, clearly armed, ran out, roughly 4 or 5 men from each door.
"Get down!" Casey barked.
Almost instinctively, everyone found cover. Fortunately there were no landings behind them, so they were able to manage a bit of safety hiding behind some of the leftover machinery or crates. Chuck and Casey hid behind a rather large misshapen object that might have once been a large motor or been part of a conveyor belt system. It gave them good cover as it was wide and taller than both of them. The two of them were closest to the door they had come in through and therefore furthest away from all of the landings. Carina was to their left, hiding behind one of the stacks of crates. Gertrude was slightly in front of them and to their right, inside what looked like a storage area. The medium height cement wall that formed an L shape and connected to the building's wall concealed her. Once again it was fortunate no one was behind or directly above them, as the metal ceiling that covered the little space had mostly rusted away, only pieces of it remained and would have offered no protection. Sarah was the most vulnerable. She was ten feet or so in front of Chuck and Casey, ducking behind a short square-looking rusty metallic object. If she stood, the object, whatever it was, would have only come up to about her belly button, so she was crouched as low as she could to keep any part of her from being exposed.
"Ok, what do we do now?" Chuck asked Casey, fear in his voice.
Before Casey could respond, one of the men on the landings yelled a command to open fire. Bullets pinged off the metal and concrete everyone was hiding behind. From the sound of the weapons and the speed they were firing at, it seemed the men were armed with handguns. Casey quickly peeked around the corner of their hiding place and fired off several rounds, causing several of the men to instinctively drop to their knees in a more defensive posture.
"You better sit this one out Chuck!" Casey bellowed.
Soon Gertrude, Carina, and to a lesser extent Sarah, were returning fire, but given the disadvantage they were at, aiming was next to impossible, and for awhile they only managed to reduce the bullets coming at them as some of their assailants retreated behind the protection of the doorways they'd entered from.
"I've got an idea!" Casey yelled over to Gertrude, loud enough for Carina and Sarah to hopefully hear as well. "Follow my lead!"
Casey risked peering out from the side of his cover, and as quickly as he could, took aim towards one of the platforms. But instead of firing at the men standing on it, he aimed at the rusted supports. He quickly rattled off several shots. The first couple of rounds didn't seem to do anything, but then one found a weak spot and caused the support to break, tipping the platform, but not collapsing it. The men standing on the platform lost their balance initially, but they all managed to recover in time to avoid falling off. They didn't stick around though, instead they retreated back through the doorway, and closing it behind them. Carina hit a support on another platform, causing the same tip and reaction from the men.
Chuck risked peeking out and saw another group retreat, despite their platform not taking a hit. Then he saw one of the few men still remaining on the platform nearest to them look up at the ceiling, and raise his gun to aim at something. Chuck followed the man's gaze and when he saw what the man was aiming at, his eyes widened in horror.
During most of the fire fight, Sarah had to remain crouched or risk getting hit. She wasn't able to get many shots off. During a rare moment where she was actually able to lift her head high enough to get a few shots off, she had to drop flat to the floor almost immediately after as a barrage of bullets pinged off of the metal object she was hiding behind.
As she lay on the floor, waiting for the gunmen to turn their attention to other targets, a hazy image entered her mind. She was in a large building, a warehouse most likely, and she was fearing for her life. But it wasn't bullets that threatened her, it was a huge bomb, and the timer was down to less than ten seconds. Sarah felt fear, and she realized she was about to die. Then just as suddenly the emotion was replaced by another one, and she was suddenly acutely aware someone was standing next to her: Chuck. Suddenly all she wanted to do was kiss him before she died. She lunged at him, and just as their lips met, she was back in the factory, lying on the floor.
She looked behind her and saw Casey peeking out from his hiding spot, firing at the men who had ambushed them. She kept looking in that direction as Casey ducked back to safety, and a few moments later she saw Chuck peeking out from the other side. The moment she saw him, Sarah was filled with a desire to run to him. She had to force herself to remain still, as getting up would be suicide. But her eyes never left his face. She watched him intently as he suddenly glanced upward, and a look of terror suddenly appeared on his face. The next thing she knew his eyes met hers, and he started to shout.
"Sarah look out!" Chuck screamed as loudly as he could.
A moment later the gunman that Chuck had spotted opened fire, his shots hitting a rusty chain that was one of two wrapped around a clump of hollow metal pipe-shaped objects. The chain audibly snapped. Almost in slow motion, the pipes began to lean in the direction of the broken chain, then one by one they slid loose and fell to the floor below, the spot where Sarah was hiding.
Chuck watched in horror as the metal pipe objects clanged to the floor. Sarah rolled out of the way of the first one, then as the remaining half dozen or so fell, she tried to get up to run out of the way. For a moment Chuck thought she might make it. Then one pipe deflected off of another in midair, changing the direction it fell. Sarah had just gotten to her feet and taken two, maybe three steps, when the pipe slammed into her head with a sickeningly loud crack. Sarah went limp as a rag doll and flopped to the floor, unconscious, or worse.
"SARAH!" Chuck screamed.
Casey grabbed Chuck's arm and pulled him out from their hiding spot.
"The last group just retreated back through the door they came in, lets grab Walker and get the hell out of here before they decide to come back!" he barked.
Chuck was in a daze and initially didn't move.
"Chuck lets GO! If we sit around any longer we're ALL probably dead!"
Casey's second command snapped Chuck out of his daze and he ran to Sarah's limp form on the ground.
"Please don't be dead" he breathed as he rolled her on her back.
To his immense relief he saw she was still breathing. As quickly and carefully as he could, he picked Sarah up, doing his best to cradle her head. She didn't move or react in any way. Casey screamed again that they needed to leave, and as quickly as Chuck dared, with Sarah in his arms, he bolted for the door.
"Should we stop them Mr. Overseer?" the man in charge of the assault asked his boss.
The Overseer was standing in the shadows, but he could still see the little group fleeing through the small window in the door.
"No" he responded coolly. "The plan worked exactly as I wanted it to. Now I know who the Intersect is."
A/N: All I can say is, be ready for the next chapter, and I hope you enjoyed this one.
