A/N: Thanks for all the positive reviews for the last chapter. I'm glad that people are enjoying this as much as I am. FanFiction was playing up again and reviews didn't get stored for at least two days, but they were there today, so I have now caught up with my responses.

Thanks to MarkeyDeSad for the beta again.

We left Chuck, Zondra and Casey trying to escape from the trap that they had triggered on the mission in Tokyo. Let's see how they get on…


The Novelist
Chapter 6: Saving the day


After three hours of dragging the rubble away from the hole they'd created, Casey had slumped to the floor, unable to do anymore.

Looking at his partner, Chuck was amazed that Casey had done as much as he had, but he would be no more help to them. In fact, he'd probably be a hindrance.

Zondra didn't look great either. When Chuck had asked her whether she'd passed out like he had, she'd denied it, but he was dubious; that head wound was much more severe than his, after all. Now she was having difficulty walking in a straight line and staggered through the gap they'd created and over to the wall outside. She leaned on it just long enough to slide down to the floor.

Chuck knew they needed to keep moving, but they also needed to know more about their situation. He stepped through the hole and over Zondra's legs. Neither partner commented as he walked to the stair and quietly climbed up them.

Before he reached the top, he scanned the scene above. Most of the floor to the right, above where they had been before, was gone. No one would be walking that way. In the other direction lay the bunker exit. That way was completely intact. There was no movement or sounds coming from either direction.

He crept to the door and opened it slightly. Looking out to a dull overcast day, he saw no one out there, either, although he couldn't see far.

He knew the bunker entrance was at the end of a slope and obscured by overgrown bushes, so there would be little chance of detection until they reached the top of the slope and walked out into the open.

He eased the door open and crawled up the slope to take a look around. There was no one in the grounds. The path just beyond the slope was in shadows. Over at the main building, he could see movement inside, but no one outside.

He hastily, but quietly, headed back to Zondra and Casey. He had to get them out now. The timing and conditions were perfect.

He shook Zondra and she opened her eyes. He explained what needed to happen and she nodded, pushing herself up off the floor.

Chuck then repeated that with Casey who needed help standing. He had to accept help from Chuck with his arm slung over the shoulders of the younger man. Chuck smiled to himself. He'd make the most of opportunities to remind Casey of this.

It took quite a while to get Casey to the slope and up it. Zondra made it on her own.

Chuck had to get them out of here and either back to the hotel or to the Tokyo NSA field office. The latter seemed the best bet. Either way, they had to get to their car first.

The sun broke free of the clouds, casting light onto the Japanese garden in front of them. Some of the light reflected off the water and the path lightened a bit.

Looking up at the sky, Chuck could see darker clouds beyond the patch of clear sky. He tested the breeze and concluded those clouds were heading in the right direction. He wasn't sure how long but the path should be in the shadows again at some point.

He looked at the two behind him. Both could do with the rest. He sat to wait it out.


Zondra was really struggling. She'd lied to Chuck about a possible concussion. She didn't know how long she'd been out, but she definitely had lost consciousness. She lied because she knew how he would behave, overdoing the help he offered. Hell, he needed to do that for Casey and didn't need another dependent.

She was impressed at how Chuck had stepped up, though. They should be protecting him, not only because he was 'so precious' to General Beckman, but also because he was the only one here who stood any chance of stopping the current threat. Instead, he was their protector. Ironic, really.

She looked over at Casey. She reckoned at least eight broken ribs. Four, maybe five on his right side and three or four on the left. If they encountered any trouble, they'd have to ditch him. She knew how well that would go down with Chuck.

She sighed. Things were much simpler back when she was on solo missions.

Chuck had told them to rest until the area was in shadow once again. Looking up at the clouds, that would be soon. She lifted herself up and got ready to move when Chuck told them.

She smiled. A day ago, she'd have scoffed at the idea that she and Casey would be following Chuck as their leader. As she looked at him at the top of the slope, scanning their surroundings, she reconsidered his title; maybe rescuer would be more accurate.


Casey hated being a burden. He hated being so useless. Basically, he hated everything right now.

He could also see that Rizzo was struggling too, but hiding it quite well from Bartowski.

All in all, this was a shitty situation they found themselves in.

What was worse was that they were dependent on someone who had never been out in the field like this. Sure, Bartowski had come on missions with them, but was always the backroom guy, not really out there with them when things got tough. It would be the first time he did. that everything went pear-shaped and worse that he had to take control of getting them out of there.

However, the kid was doing really well. Casey had been surprised at how well he'd stepped up. They still weren't safe, but Casey's confidence in that happening had increased over the hours. This next bit was going to be tricky, especially with his ribs now causing him to struggle to breath. He believed one must have pierced a lung, although he thought he'd managed to hide that from the others by only taking shallow breaths. If they started to rattle, both of his teammates would know. That would be bad because Bartowski would fuss over him, the last thing he wanted and, worse, it would take the geek's focus off what he really needed to do.

Damn that door!

Bartowski's comment that they had walked into a set up was playing on Casey's mind. It was more than just a rigged explosion to take out enemies; this whole thing felt more personal. However, it would have been much simpler to just shoot the three of them when they arrived at the compound than all that. This was to look like they had destroyed the device, taking the threat off the attention of the intelligence agencies. The team doing that getting caught in the explosion was unfortunate, but things like that happened.

If he was right, it meant that their presence was known and the whole thing planned. That would also explain why there were no other enemy agents in their way as they got closer to the trap. That, in turn, meant there must be a leak for the enemy to know their plans.

He shook his head. These thoughts weren't going to help them, but would be important to explore when they did get to safety.

He noticed that Bartowski and Rizzo were getting ready to move. The rest, albeit short, had helped him recover slightly. He pushed himself up, wincing at the pain, but was determined not to hinder their escape.


Chuck was pleased to see both of his partners preparing to move. Even Casey, who he'd thought he would have to support all the way. "Keep close to the bushes," he whispered.

Casey grunted. Chuck was impressed with the amount of sarcasm that grunt relayed. It had even more impact than the sardonic 'Really?' he'd expected from Casey.

They moved out, slowly creeping towards their way out of the compound, hugging the edge of the bushes, making sure they stayed in the shadows. If it hadn't been for Casey's condition, Chuck wondered if he, himself, would have gone so slow; all his instincts screaming for him to run as fast as possible.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't be able to escape the way they came in, over the wall. Casey wouldn't be able to do that and Chuck wasn't sure the shaky Zondra would cope well either. He cursed himself. Why didn't I think this through before?

They would have to go via the main entrance, which meant passing the security guards posted there. There was no way they'd be able to do that without drawing attention to themselves. He hated thinking about what was needed but knew he was going to have to shoot the guys, or at least one of them, if Zondra could take out the other. Casey wouldn't be much use and if he missed, they'd be in serious trouble and the same was true for Miss Wobbly.

As they approached the gatehouse, Chuck stopped the others and took out his gun, he also retrieved the silencer from his bag and fitted it. "I'm going to take out the cameras first," he told them.

He quickly did that, glad that he had studied the compound plans so that he knew the ones to hit.

The movement in the gatehouse was as expected and they could hear the two men in there with raised voices. Before they could raise an alarm, Chuck ran to the doorway and shot twice. He knew he wouldn't miss, so he didn't stop to check, but ran back to his partners.

Speed was more important now, so he grabbed Casey's hand and drew it and the arm following it over his shoulder. They rushed through as quickly as they could.

Chuck kept his focus on the escape. Thinking about what he'd just done wouldn't help right now.

Once they reached the car he helped Casey into the passenger seat and strapped him in. Zondra slid into the back while Chuck leaned his back against the car, his head between his legs and was sick. After he finished, he slid into the driver's seat and they were on the road. Neither of his partners said anything about his little breakdown.

"Not the hotel or the NSA field office," Casey muttered.

Chuck had planned on the latter. "Why?"

"Moles," Casey replied.

Chuck hadn't thought about that possibility, but Casey was probably right. "So where?" Chuck asked.

"We'll need to find a smaller hotel, somewhere out of the way," Zondra replied.

She pulled out her phone, thankfully still intact and working after everything that had happened, and started a search on the Internet.

Chuck was jealous. His phone hadn't fared so well.

After a couple of minutes, Zondra gave him instructions on where to go. Chuck followed those but was worried about the guy sitting next to him. Casey really needed to be taken to the hospital.


The three of them were in Casey's room in the small hotel. Zondra had called the general on her cell phone, the only one still working. She had it on speaker.

Chuck was glad that they didn't have video because then Casey would be trying to sit upright. As it was, he was lying on his bed, with Chuck and Zondra sitting in the chairs pulled up close.

"We thought we'd lost you," General Beckman said. She sounded relieved. "Did you destroy it?"

"No, General. We didn't even find it," Zondra replied.

They heard Beckman draw in her breath. "Explain," she commanded.

Chuck took the lead and told her what had led them to the bunker, then Zondra described what had happened.

"Why aren't you telling me, Major?" Beckman asked Casey.

Chuck answered that one, "Because he urgently needs medical treatment. Several broken ribs and at least one has punctured his lung."

Casey glared at Chuck who ignored him.

The general replied testily. "Why the hell isn't he being treated, then?"

"Moles," Casey wheezed out.

They had discussed this on the way here. Chuck spoke next. "The whole thing was a set up. They knew we were coming. Had to be an insider, or maybe more than one."

"Tell me more," the general instructed.

Chuck and Zondra quickly explained.

"We don't think we can trust anyone here in Tokyo, General," Zondra concluded.

The general thought about this for a second, then stated, "I'll find some medical support we can trust. So, what about this device they were to test today?"

Chuck replied, "We think that was a fabrication as well. Why go to all those lengths to stop us, if they were that close?"

The general acknowledged that. "So, what next?"

Zondra replied, "We need to get into the main building there. The device, in whatever state it really is, is probably in there."

"Major, you are out of this one… ," Beckman started. Casey tried to speak. "No arguments," she stated flatly. "I will find someone to join you."

"We may not have much time, General. I think Agent Rizzo and I should go tonight."

Zondra stared at Chuck, but couldn't fault his logic. Beckman obviously couldn't either. "Very well, but, Mr. Bartowski, do whatever she tells you."

"Yes, General," Chuck replied. "Oh, and Casey and I need new phones."


Ellie had only checked up on Sarah once since the tour. She seemed to be working through the new novel reasonably well, but had decided to focus on the plot first and would come back to the romance angle later. Ellie smiled, thinking that was because Sarah wanted to experience it first herself and couldn't while Chuck was away.

She wondered how he was getting on over in Japan. If she was honest, she felt quite jealous of her brother being out there, but knew he wouldn't be seeing the sights if he was busy. Maybe they did on the weekend.

He was due back next weekend. She looked forward to going with the lovesick Sarah Walker to meet him.

Her phone rang and she reached for it, noting with surprise that it was Zondra. "Hello, Zondra," she answered it.

"Not Zondra, El, it's me," Chuck replied.

She frowned. "Why are you using her phone?"

"Mine's broken," he explained. "We were in an accident."

She sat upright. "Are you ok?"

"Some scratches, but I'm ok. Casey is in a worse state though, so we are unlikely to leave as quickly."

She quizzed him and he replied but without much detail.

"Can I have Sarah's number again, El?"

She smiled at that. Of course, he'd want to call her and would have lost her number with a broken phone. She gave it and told him to keep her abreast of the situation.


Sarah snatched up her phone when it rang. "Chuck! Are you alright?"

Chuck was taken aback by the panic in Sarah's voice. He desperately tried to reassure her. "I-I'm ok."

Although relieved to hear that, she knew something had happened and quizzed him, "You're not needed in the field, so what happened?"

Chuck froze, not knowing what to say. Sarah seemed to have guessed. "In- In the field," he repeated.

Zondra was glad she had questioned whether it was a good idea to talk to Sarah after this because, as she'd said, "She's worked out what we do. She can't know, but might ask questions or say things I don't want recorded." Chuck had ensured the call was routed in such a way that it wouldn't be traceable. However, that didn't stop him getting in a mess and there was a possibility he might tell Sarah things she shouldn't know,. Zondra snatched the phone off him. "Sarah, we had a car accident." She emphasized the last word. "That's all we can say for now."

Sarah gulped. She now knew it wasn't just an accident, but something they couldn't discuss on a call. She expressed her disappointment in a disguised phrase, "You said you'd be driving safely, so I am surprised that an accident happened. Is he really ok?"

Zondra was impressed at Sarah's quick thinking. "Part of a building fell on us, but, yes, he's ok. Our friend isn't though, so we'll probably be here longer, while he recovers."

Sarah's mind was racing. Were they staying for the mission or was that Casey guy really hurt? "Will you get another car to get to and from the hospital?"

Zondra really liked this woman. That was a question about continuing the mission. "Yes, I will and Chuck will be safe in the car with me. Our friend will recuperate at the hospital."

So, Casey was injured and Zondra and Chuck would continue without him. However, Zondra had emphasized that Chuck would still be safe. "Take good care on those corners and try to avoid any more of those shaky buildings."

If it wasn't for the situation they were in, Zondra would laugh at that, but instead said, "Will do." Then she thought Sarah ought to know how proud she was of her partner. "He was great, you know. Pulled us from the wreckage and got us safely away. A real hero."

Sarah was in two minds. Part of her loved hearing him being praised, but the other half was horrified that he'd needed to do that. "Thank you, Zondra."

"No problem," Zondra replied, then handed the phone back to Chuck, covering the microphone as she did, saying to him, "No mission details."

"Hello again," he said to the woman in Los Angeles, where he yearned to be right now. With her.

"A hero, huh?" Sarah cooed.

He blushed and tried to play it off. Zondra guessed what Sarah must have said and called out before leaving Chuck to it, "A real hero."

"When I see you next," Sarah said, and boy did that sound good. "I want to talk to you about car safety."

He gulped but agreed. Then, he said, "I really miss you, Sarah."

That took the edge off her rough feelings. "I really miss you too, Chuck. I hear you'll probably be there longer."

"Hopefully not too much longer, but yes beyond the original plan."

"Please do whatever Zondra tells you to do, Chuck."

He smiled at that. "I will, but when I get back to LA , yours is the first face I want to see when I get there."

She chuckled. "I think you might see quite a lot before mine, but mine might be the first with a smile just for you."

They finished the call and Sarah was still worried, but at least knew he was safe. For now.

Ten minutes later, she remembered she wanted to know who to contact if they were silent again. Damn!


Zondra was glad they had found where the device was located. It wasn't where they'd thought. In fact, it wasn't in the compound at all.

The security at the compound had increased. Well, it would be with the bunker destroyed and the two guards being dead at the security gate. Zondra was surprised at how Chuck didn't seem affected by killing those men. He was probably suppressing it.

The security wasn't good enough to stop them, however. They planned to start the search at the east end of the main building, but were lucky. Just as they entered, Zondra overheard two people talking. She was fluent in Japanese. When she heard someone mention a device, she stopped Chuck and listened carefully.

It was housed on a yacht at one of the ports on the Western coast of the mainland, on the Sea of Japan. Fortunately, the yacht's name was mentioned. It would be leaving in two night's time. The other person had asked why they were going out to sea and was told they wanted the testing to be away from cities in case the reach of that test was underestimated. Obviously they wanted to contain it.

The two of them got out quickly and headed back to the hotel they were now staying in now.

A quick check on the Internet showed them where the port was and how to get there. Chuck had loved the fact that they got across the mainland via a bullet train.

Beckman arranged for a car to be ready for them when they got there. Of course, getting to the yacht would be a challenge, but Chuck was surprisingly the one to work that one out. They'd get there underwater by sea scooter and climb on board when the got there.


Zondra was still shivering standing outside the room housing the device and now, two unconscious scientists, two security guards in the same state and Chuck. The guards they had taken by hand, but the scientists were downed with tranquilizer darts. Yes, she had agreed for Chuck to bring that gun. All were bound with thick duct tape and their mouths taped the same way. Darts in the guards added to their confidence. Chuck would not get disturbed unless too many approached Zondra and overpowered her.

Chuck seemed confident as he closed the door on her.

They'd hidden their sea scooters the other side of the next yacht along and swum across in the dark.

Now, she just stood guard. This wasn't what she'd signed up for, but in a way it felt like retribution. She'd failed to protect Chuck yesterday and had been hurt herself causing Chuck to be the one to rescue her! And Casey!

She leaned against the wall just outside the room and waited.

After an hour of standing out here, her mind started to drift. She thought about the woman Chuck was now dating. She knew they officially hadn't had a date but it was obvious to Zondra, and to his sister, that they were an item, just not in name.

Sarah Walker was an amazing writer and, without any real knowledge, had almost perfectly captured what it was like for a female operative in the CIA. The only variance was how the other male operatives and bosses treated them. She had them belittling the women and some of the men acting as if the women should willingly be their bed partners; she also had the suggested seductions being pushed. All of that was true, but she didn't emphasize the aggressive nature of those advances or how demanding the bosses were. Maybe the latter was just Graham, but it had sickened Zondra to be told to screw the marks, if necessary, to get the intel from them. Thankfully, it had never come to that.

However, Sarah's mind was obviously tuned in to the espionage business. That meant Chuck would have difficulty hiding what was happening from her. Zondra snorted to herself. Anyone would have difficulty, but for Chuck it would be impossible.

Sarah obviously cared a lot for Chuck and had worked out he was heavily involved in this mission. Should she report this to General Beckman? She was sure Sarah would keep things secret, but what would Beckman think? Would she want to bring Walker in for questioning? Worse, would the general allow Chuck to date someone that smart who wrote about the espionage business? Would she trust Sarah to keep real secrets out of her novels?

This was all too much for her brain, especially as it still wasn't right from the concussion.

She stopped thinking and instinct kicked in when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs just down the corridor she was facing.

She moved sideways to where the corridor turned and moved forward to lean against the wall of the side corridor. She slid to the ground and moved a hand mirror into place to see around the corner.

Two guards were walking toward the room at the end that she had been guarding.

She heard them question each other on the location of the two guards that should be here. She knew she had to act quickly or they would report it and she twisted around the corner and fired two shots. Both men slumped to the ground. She had the silencer on her gun, so others shouldn't have been able to hear anything. Then, she saw one had dropped his phone. Fuck! He was calling someone as I shot him!

She heard the pounding of feet coming from both corridors.

Opening the door, she called to Chuck. "Company arriving. We need to go."

"Just a minute. Nearly done," he replied.

She slipped into the room and pulled out her spare magazine for that gun along with a spare for her other gun which she pulled out of its holster.

She closed the door slightly but still wanted to be able to see both ways, so couldn't close it enough for complete protection.

This is going to be fun!

Running through her head was that she had to last long enough for Chuck to complete his mission. If she could, she'd keep going long enough for him to escape to safety, as she'd promise a second time to his girlfriend, that she would.


Chuck had quickly realized how far off the mark the expert views of this device were from reality. Fortunately, he worked out what was wrong and corrected for it, but it had taken time. Now he was ready to get his code executing. It would not only disable the device, but when they plugged their other computers into it to see what he'd done, viruses would be unleashed, which would be dormant until connected up to servers containing the device code. That code would then also be infected. Basically, it would remain inoperable. Sure, their guys would probably be able to identify the problem eventually, but by then the other thing unleashed would have identified the server locations. Chuck's other app would broadcast that.

He left the screen in a state that looked like he'd not managed to get into the code at all.

He had already heard Zondra start firing, so he initiated his app.


Zondra was confident that she had managed to shoot them all. Six men had joined the two on the floor of the main corridor and four on the side corridor. She knew her personal demons would give her hell tonight for killing twelve men, but that was what was needed.

As Chuck moved up behind her, she slipped out of the room and listened. Silence greeted her ears. So, she pulled him out and they slipped down the side corridor toward the way they had come onto the yacht, stepping over the bodies carefully as they went.

Chuck tried to ignore all the death scattered over the floor, but it still reminded him of those two men the night before.

Unfortunately, they had to get up onto the main deck to be able to slip over the side. They would be totally exposed if there were more gunmen on board.

At the top of the stairs they'd just climbed, Zondra turned to Chuck. "I'll cover you as you run over there and slip over."

"What about you?" he asked.

"I'll run fast and take my chances once I see it's clear," she replied.

He pursed his lips but had no better ideas, so just nodded.

She peeked out. There was no one in sight, so she waved him to go. She kept scanning the deck in both directions and up to the railings above. Non one appeared.

A quick glance confirmed that Chuck was gone. She scanned again and ran.

She was just slipping over the rail when the bullet hit her in the shoulder and she fell into the water.


Chuck heard the bullet being fired and then watched in horror as Zondra plummeted into the sea.

He quickly swam to her. She was struggling to stay afloat with just one arm functioning.

He stopped her flailing and told her to relax and he'd get them to the air tanks, gear and the sea scooters that were out of sight, just the other side of that other yacht, tied to it.

She knew he was a great swimmer and would be able to do this, but they needed to be quick before the men on this one used search lights.

He cupped her chin and started swimming backwards towards the other yacht. Zondra kicked as well giving them extra propulsion.

They were nearly at the other craft when spotlights lit up the water around the original yacht.

By the time the spotlights had covered the near water, they started to spread out and the yacht Chuck and Zondra needed was one of the first to be lit up. Fortunately, by then they had reached the other side.

Chuck lifted Zondra onto her ride and started to put her mask, tank and breathing apparatus on her. Before he finished doing that, she said, "I may not be able to grip with my left hand."

He reached for his pack and pulled out his rope. She grinned at him. "Your trusty rope again?"

He chuckled and using his knife, cut off a section of it and tied that around her wrist and the handle that she would grip.

Once he had himself set up they set off ten feet below the surface.

Soon they would be back on land and he'd help her out of her gear and into warm, dry clothes. Then, drive them back to their hotel.


The adrenaline pumping through his body was diminishing and the worries reducing. That meant his mind was focusing on other things. He was trying to concentrate on thoughts of Sarah Walker, but all the killing was encroaching on his mind too. The previous night had been one filled with nightmares of dead men rising and approaching him pointing at the bullet holes he'd created.

He needed to get involved in this call with the general, but it was difficult to focus.

"The chatter I am hearing is that the device was a complete failure." Beckman smiled at them. "Good work, team."

Zondra couldn't keep quiet, even though Chuck had asked her to. "Ma'am. Casey and I just provided targets for the enemy to hurt. Chuck did the work and saved the day, both times. He rescued both of us on the first day and me on the second. Just wanted you to know."

"Thank you, Agent Rizzo. Noted. Mr. Bartowski, you've done well."

"Thank you, Ma'am, but I couldn't have done it without these two." He paused then asked, "Could I have a private word with you after this briefing, though?"

"Certainly." She then moved on to the other topic that needed to be discussed. "We have tracked down the person who was working them; leaking information to them and sending you to that trap. Jeffrey Davis was a senior analyst back here in the NSA. He wasn't too clever with hiding his interaction, though. He was arrested and interrogated. As you know, eventually everybody talks. The faithless turncoat gave up his contacts rather easily." She paused, then added coldly, "Needly to say, he is no longer with the NSA." The way she said that made it very clear what had happened to him.

As the call was now over, Beckman asked Chuck, "Now, Mr. Bartowski?"

"When I get to my room, if that would be ok, General," he replied.

"I will call you in five," she replied and ended the call.

Casey and Zondra were both clueless about what he wanted to discuss with the general. Zondra would ask him after the call, though.


Chuck answered his phone immediately. "Thank you, General. This is a personal matter."

He could almost hear the sigh, but she replied, "Go on."

He rushed in before he chickened out. "There's a girl I want to date."

Beckman chuckled. "Do you want me to vet her for you?"

He smiled, but replied. "Not really, but you might want to. She's an author of spy novels."

There was a pause on the line. "And you think she might be a threat to us?"

"No, no, not at all, but I worried you might think she'd find out things and leak information through her novels. I am sure she won't but I thought I should inform you."

"Thank you… Chuck. What's her name?"

"Sarah Walker, Ma'am," he replied, nervously.

"Oh, she's good. I've read a couple of hers," Beckman replied.

"You have?" Chuck was stunned that these women read spy novels. Don't they get enough of that life without reading fiction about it?

"She's smart and pretty close to the reality of what goes on in that organization," Beckman replied.

That organization! No great love lost there!

Beckman added, "We'll check her out, but I don't think she's a problem."

"Thank you. Can I let her know that's going to happen?" he asked.

"Normally I'd say no, but in case they get intrusive, maybe this time. However, she shouldn't make it obvious that she is aware."

"Will do," he replied.

"Oh, and, Chuck, it's about damn time you started dating again." A note of what sounded almost like maternal pride colored her pronouncement and she hung up quickly, before he could reply.


Sarah answered the call quickly. "Hello, Chuck. Finished?" She crossed her fingers, hoping for a positive response.

"We'll be coming home tomorrow," he replied.

She squealed with delight.

"You sound just like my sister," he told her, chuckling.

"I've been waiting for this good news since you left me, Chuck Bartowski!"

"Before I get to you…" He paused thinking about that. She was thinking about it too. "… you will probably have some people asking questions about you." She could tell he was nervous as he said this.

"Why?" she asked, careful not to sound perturbed by the news.

He sighed, "To make sure you're not a security risk."

She could see where this was going and grinned to herself. "And why would anyone be worried about that?" She could think of a few reasons, such as her seeming to know too much about the CIA, but she was sure she knew this reason.

He blurted it out, "Because I want to date you, Sarah Walker."

She squealed again. "The answer's yes."

He smiled, but still said, "I didn't ask a question, did I?"

"Yes, I'll go out with you, Chuck!" she informed him. "Text me the flight details and I'll be waiting for you."

She'd been thinking about this. "I'll have to bring your sister, though." She added, "…as a chaperone." She couldn't help bursting out laughing after that.


A/N: OK, so I have both Zondra and Beckman reading and liking Sarah's novels. To be honest, I doubt anyone in their positions would read spy novels, but it amused me here.

A review would be great, if you can spare the time.