AN- Chapter 11 in the increasingly not lining up with FF's chapter numbering. I suppose I should just name them later.
Like some of the others, people that are not lying to each other react differently to their situations. So I went in a few different directions. In the show Truth led right into vs the Imported Hard Salami and its drama. Which setup Nemesis and a chunk of season 2 actually. All of that changes if Chuck knows where he stands. Which he does. So, part one of the three part vs the Truth of the Imported Hard Salami Nemesis I suppose. Which makes about as much sense as most other titles they used.
Sarah leaned in to kiss Chuck again and he fended her off. "Chuuuck. We're more than ready to deal with Ellie's questions at dinner. Lets get back to the purpose of our visit to the store room?"
"Sarah, this is big. Its a double date – which is new for us. Its the first dinner with no Morgan or Casey buffer in a long time." Chuck paused and looked even more panicked. "Oh GOD, its the first dinner since I moved in with you. You've got no idea how much she's going to pry."
"Chuck, Ellie and I go for coffee and pastries every Saturday. We talk all the time." Sarah said, as soothingly as she could. "I'm sure she gets most of the prying out of her system then. And if not… I'll just start talking about sex. That usually shuts her up."
Chuck's expression went through a sort of emotional whiplash before settling on disturbed. "You talk to Ellie about…" he trailed off.
"Not really, I make the occasional comment. She reacts almost exactly like Casey. I laugh. I wouldn't go into detail with your sister." Sarah smiled. "Now, next time Carina visits… be prepared."
"I do not find any of those points reassuring." Chuck replied.
Sarah pouted. "Shut up and kiss me, my break's almost over."
Neither one of them noticed the pounding on the door. Nor did they notice the lock being turned. They did notice when Scooter, the pimpled 'manager' of the Wienerlicious, opened the door and spoke in his oddly subdued voice. "Girl on top. Nice." he sighed. "When herr Wienerlicious signs your paycheck, I doubt he's factoring in make out breaks with your boy toy."
Sarah, still pressed down onto Chuck as her shirt was mostly open, hissed back. "He does allow me break time, of which I still have five minutes." She looked up at him. "Scooter, if you're trying to sneak a peek right now I'll gouge your eyes out with a spoon and serve them to you on a bun. Along with another part of your body you'll miss rather dearly." The door slammed shut and the lock clicked. Sarah returned her attention to its previous target. "Now, where were we?
Later that day, after Sarah had finished her shift, she left to pick up a few items before meeting Chuck. Casey had the close protection and Chuck was better about reporting in and following the basic rules – so she was fairly confident in his safety at the moment. Hence, her surprise to see her phone ring with Morgan's number. He rarely contacted her directly. Privately she assumed he found her a bit intimidating.
"Hey Morgan. What's up?" Sarah answered the call.
Morgan's voice was hushed. "Chuck's in trouble, there's a brunette hitting on him."
"Morgan…" Sarah said, a note of annoyance entering her voice. "Chuck's a good guy, I love him. I'm sure he can fend off a few unwanted advances."
"Sarah, she's short and cute… plus she's having phone problems. She's freaking out and he's calming her down. I swear its like one of those rom-com meet cute things." Morgan hissed. "She's trouble, I swear."
Hmm, OK. That is a teensy bit worrisome, still… "Chuck's got this. He has my trust and he won't break it." she said, chewing the inside of her cheek. She sighed. "Still, that is a common approach technique. Get a picture if you can and we can have Casey run it through facial rec to see if anything pops. Will that make you feel better?"
"Will it make you feel better?" Morgan replied.
"Goodbye Morgan." Sarah said and hung up.
A moment later and her phone beeped with an incoming message. She opened it to see a picture of a short brunette walking away from Chuck who was looking at a phone in his hands. The woman had a little smile on her face, but Chuck seemed oblivious. Good god, she's small. Like… fun sized candy bar small. That was concerning, short women had a leg up in playing the damsel in distress. The only person who'd come close to beating Sarah's scores in Roan's class had been a tiny little redhead who could cry on demand. That girl could go from being 'comforted' to making out with nearly any guy in ninety seconds. Sarah decided to prioritize the background check, and to make a definite appearance at the Buy More tomorrow. Best to warn off the little minx before things could get ugly. She quickly sent a text to Morgan to ask him to get her the time the phone repair was estimated to be completed.
Just about an hour later, Sarah had finished selecting some fruit when her phone rang again. She liked shopping for the fruit and other fresh items, Chuck normally handled non-perishables and cleaning supplies. About half the time they shopped together. It was a sign of how, over the past few weeks, they'd settled into a rhythm that worked well for them. Walker, the Ice Queen. The Enforcer. Looking forward to grocery shopping with her boyfriend. She shook her head and then glanced at the phone and around her. "Hey Casey."
"Ran that picture the troll took." Casey replied. "He's got a career as a stalker waiting for him. Anyway, the basics. Lou, short for Louise, Palone. Owner of Lou's Deli. Quick peek at the records, and her shop's in the black. Twenty-eight years old. Unmarried. No red flags in her background, seems like a real person not a cover. Sorry, Walker, no black bag and tranq gun for this one. You'll have to handle this like a normal girlfriend."
Sarah sighed in relief, and tensed again. She wasn't really worried, particularly if some agent hit on him. His reaction to Carina proved that he wasn't going to fall for those things. This 'Lou' though… She was normal. That he might actually find attractive. "Ugh! This is what I get for answering the phone when Morgan calls. I could have gone blissfully on without worrying about this."
Casey sounded uncomfortable when he replied, as if he were trying to restrain his normal mannerisms. "Walker, you're not worried right? I mean Bartowski's a moron, but not about this sort of thing."
"No…" Sarah replied, then let out a sigh. "I'm not worried about him. Its just that…"
"Woah, woah, Walker!" Casey interrupted. "That was not an invitation to all the ladyfeelings. Go talk to Ellie. She's the team's ladyfeelings expert."
"Right. Bye." Sarah said and hung up. Mood dampened she looked around trying think of something to distract her. Her eyes fell on a stack of wood cutting boards that were on special. Perfect.
With a whistling noise and a solid 'thock' the knife embedded itself in the cutting board she'd hung on the wall of the living room. Sarah frowned. It had hit a bit off center from the stick figure brunette she'd taped to it. She closed her eyes and emptied her mind, then drew a knife from her waistband and threw it in one fluid motion. The sound was more of a 'THUNK' as it hit much harder. She opened her eyes. Much better. The knife had hit dead center of the stick figure's head. She heard a key and the opening, then closing, of the front door and ignored it, throwing another knife right next to the last.
"I have received calls from both Casey and… Morgan." Ellie's voice came from the front entry. "You know I hate talking to Morgan directly." Footsteps as Ellie crossed to one of the simple leather armchairs that had replaced the camping seats. "Casey said something about a ladyfeelings explosion. Morgan was saying something about brunettes being the enemy and Chuck. And you're destroying a perfectly good cutting board." Sarah could hear Ellie settling in and thud of her feet on the coffee table after the sound of her dropping shoes. "Explain."
"Its nothing dangerous, not on a national security level." Sarah replied, retrieving the blades and walking back to where she'd been standing. She threw another one, 'THUNK'.
"So it is dangerous on a personal level then?" Ellie said. "Or at least someone's worried it is?"
Draw, throw, 'THUNK'. "Why would I be worried. The background check came up clean. I trust Chuck, even if an adorably tiny brunette is hitting on him." Draw, throw, 'THUNK' "I mean why would I ever be worried about someone who resembles his ex and is normal and not a spy and runs a business making sandwiches in the mall." Sarah went to retrieve the knives again.
Ellie stood and intercepted her, gently taking the knives and putting them on the coffee table. Then she took down the paper and crumpled it up. After she'd thrown it away, she turned back to Sarah. "Sweetie…"
"I know, I'm being irrational." Sarah said, walking into the kitchen and retrieving what was becoming their traditional attitude adjustment wine. She poured two glasses and dropped into one of the chairs at the table.
"Don't forget possessive and jealous." Ellie replied, picking up her glass and leaning on the counter. "But… is that a bad thing?" she said, then took an appreciative sip.
Sarah looked up, just a bit shocked. "What?"
Ellie shrugged. "So long as you don't let it go to far, things like this kind of help put your feelings in perspective. I know we talked about it once already, but I bet now… you really feel it. Plus, you aren't hovering over him right now, which is a good sign." She paused, sipped. "The background check is concerning."
"Morgan's influence. He was spiraling and I was remembering how I met Chuck along with this tiny little thing from the seduction classes." Sarah sighed. "I kind of wish she'd have turned out to be a spy or something. Then I could have justifiably tossed her in a cell."
"Well, you'll muddle through." Ellie said comfortingly. "Just try not to do anything to Chuck until he actually makes a mistake of some kind?"
Sarah nodded and was about to speak when she heard a key again. "Don't say anything to Chuck. I'll be fine. I won't even make inappropriate comments about shower sex tonight. Please?" she said quickly.
Ellie rolled her eyes, but nodded as Chuck came in. "Hey baby brother, want a glass? Devon's got surgery tomorrow so he's driving tonight. No reason not to get started early." Ellie held up her wineglass.
"No, I'm just gonna go clean up and get ready." Chuck said, heading down the hall. "Remind me to tell you what I caught people doing today. I ended up putting Morgan in the Hole to remind him that…" his voice trailed off down the hall and they could hear the bathroom door shut.
"You think Morgan exaggerated to tweak Chuck for that?" Sarah asked.
Ellie shook her head. "No. I think Morgan spiraled because a pretty girl talked to his friend and he still hasn't quite come to terms with what you do for work." She got up, and retrieved her shoes after putting the wineglass in the sink. "I'm going to go get ready as well. Just come bang on the door when you guys are set. We don't have to make a reservation or anything so the time's flexible."
Dinner had gone without a hitch. She'd never gone out for sushi with Chuck and they made a game of guessing what each other wanted, which Ellie laughed at. Devon managed to embarrass Ellie by letting slip part of the first meeting and subsequent make out session during class. Both of them considered it her lucky sweater. Chuck had shuddered at the double meaning.
Leaving the restaurant, Devon spoke up. "You guys wait here, I parked around the corner." He headed off around the building.
Sarah, holding Chuck's arm, leaned in and relaxed. Tonight hadn't been about anything in particular and, apart from their information gathering, they were between missions.Its nice to just relax...She looked up, suddenly alert, as a stumbling man approached them at a staggering run. The man knocked over a street side table and then collapsed after shouting "No!" Sarah eased the knife she'd half drawn back into her waistband and started scanning the crowd for threats. And I jinxed it.
Ellie went from pleasantly relaxed to doctor in an eyeblink. She gently rolled the man and began to check him over. "Chuck, call 911, then hold the phone for me." As Chuck was calling, she was asking the man questions, trying to see if he could respond. He did, a few times, ask for help – but it didn't seem like he really understood what was happening around him. Chuck had given the operator the address and they were dispatching an ambulance. He held the phone out and Ellie spoke rapidly to the operator and asked for a routing to Westside's ED. Apparently there was a bit of an argument because she snapped at them. "Look, its the closest ED anyway, and I'm one of the attendings. Yes, Dr Bartowski. Just do it." She rolled her eyes and jerked her head at Chuck to take the phone back.
A few minutes passed and the paramedics arrived. Sarah had continued to watch the crowd, mostly. Groups like this made her uncomfortable as it could easily be staged to snatch a target like Chuck. She was only half listening as Ellie gave the symptoms to the paramedics, calling them both by name. As they were loading the man into the ambulance, Chuck started to say something. "Elanor…" Chuck was saying, proudly, right when Sarah grabbed him and shook her head. Something about the whole situation felt off. Ellie tossed Chuck the man's wallet and asked him to look for his information. As he did, she saw the flash.
He recovered and gave the wallet and ID to one of the paramedics and stepped back as Ellie climbed in with them. She looked out and called. "Tell Devon I'll call as soon as I can."
The doors slammed shut and the ambulance headed off fast. Devon was pulling up as it pulled away. Sarah jumped in the passenger seat and Chuck slid into the back. Sarah took in his expression. "A man collapsed in front of us. Ellie's headed in with the paramedics. Head back to the house for now." Then she turned to look at Chuck. "You flashed?"
"Mason Whitney, nuclear scientist." Chuck said, his tone worried. "It was weird, like there was more but the Intersect didn't have all the data? Like there was a threat that it couldn't identify. It felt like worry, but not from me?"
Sarah tilted her head, then said, "That's… weirdly how I felt. Now I'm really wondering who programmed that thing. You said before that one time it pulls what seems to be actionable information, not random data. And this time… it almost seems like it has instincts. More to put on the list to look into whenever Ellie has time to root around in your head more." She pulled out her phone, hit a speed dial. "Casey, run a name up the chain. Mason Whitney. He's a nuclear scientist. Collapsed right out in front of the restaurant we were at. Looked to me like he'd been poisoned, he's already on the way to Westside so we'll be able to find out."
Casey's reply was loud enough to hear without speakerphone. "Dammit, can't a man watch a war documentary in peace?" There was an audible sigh. "I'll run the name and notify Beckman. You want me to head over and keep an eye on the doc?"
"Yeah. Something was off. Chuck said even the Intersect thought, I guess if we can call it that, something was wrong." Sarah replied. "Stick close to her."
"Roger that. I'll call you when I hear something from NSA." Casey said and hung up.
Devon looked concerned. Sarah smiled reassuringly. "Casey will keep her safe and give her a ride home." Devon looked relieved and returned his focus to the road.
Sara sat next to Chuck on the couch in Ellie and Devon's living room. Devon was pedaling away on a stationary bike, apparently too keyed up to sit. Sarah was flipping through a textbook on California estate law. It seemed like the planners were leaning towards a financial services group once the substation facility was ready, and Sarah liked to be at least able to discuss a topic. Chuck hopped up and paced back and forth.
"Hey… do you think Ellie's OK? Casey would call if something went wrong, right? Should I call the hospital?" Chuck said in a rush as he turned to walk the other direction for the few steps it took.
Sarah put a slip of paper in the book and set it aside. "You've called ten times in the past twenty minutes. Casey would let us know if anything happened." she said patiently.
"Yeah, I know, but what about sweaty poisoned nuclear guy? What if he hurts her?" Chuck was spinning himself up.
Devon chimed in from his bike. "Dude, you really think Casey isn't keeping an eye on that guy?"
"She's in a public place with security, people saw her at the ED." Sarah said, standing up and getting in front of him. "She's gonna be fine."
"Hey, you guys staying over here tonight?" Devon after as he got off the bike and chugged his water. "If you're worried, room's always open."
"No." Sarah said with a grateful smile for the change in topic. "We'll just hang out until Ellie gets back. Make sure everything's OK."
"Chuck, she's a doctor. Emergencies happen. You know, like when someone asks is there a doctor in the house? That's our cue, bro." Devon said. "Really, just think. Even if this guy was totally normal and had nothing to do with the spy stuff, Ellie would be helping him."
Sarah looked at how wired Chuck was and decided against coffee. "Anyone thirsty? I saw some juice or we could make something. Coffee this late is probably not a great ide…" Sarah was interrupted by the door opening.
Ellie was coming through the door, with Casey trailing behind. Devon looked up and smiled. "Hey, there she is."
"Hi honey." Ellie replied tiredly.
"Ellie!" Chuck said, relief evident on his face. He ran over and hugged his sister, picking her up briefly. "So glad you're OK. You are OK right? Casey, everything OK?"
Casey just shook his head and grunted.
"I'm fine. Just tired, and drained a bit. We tried everything, but whatever poisoned him… we lost him." Ellie said sadly. "I saw your flash Chuck, so I know we need to find out what happened. I'll talk to the pathologist tomorrow if you guys don't find anything."
Chuck opened his mouth and closed it when Sarah put her hand on his arm. "Chuck, I think she probably just wants to go to bed. We can all check in tomorrow, OK?" Sarah said, then looked at Ellie who nodded gratefully.
"Good night guys." Ellie replied and moved off down the hall with Devon following.
After they'd made it down the hall, Casey turned and said, "Now, I have an appointment with a cigar and the Battle of the Bulge. Don't stay up too late, briefing in the morning." He turned and headed out, leaving the door open behind him in a pointed reminder that they should probably go as well.
Sarah took Chuck's hand and led him out, closing and locking the door behind them. They crossed the courtyard and Chuck sighed. "It just feels like I put Ellie in danger."
"It could be worse, trying to compartmentalize and keep this all separate." Sarah offered. "It leads to a sort of existential spy crisis of 'what is real'. To be honest, it kind of sucks when you get to that."
Chuck opened their apartment door and held it for he as they walked in. After locking up, he turned to look at her. "How do most spies deal with that?"
"You've met Carina?" Sarah asked, eyebrow raised. After a moment the light dawned and Chuck's eyes widened. "I'm not going to say I was as bad as her, but I did go through a time of pretty hard partying with the CATS." She saw the flash start. It lasted a good thirty seconds. She winced and walked over to grab the pill bottle she kept on the kitchen counter, and a bottle of water.
Chuck was standing perfectly still with a hand on his head. She passed him two ibuprofen and the water. He swallowed the pills and then blinked. "I'm not sure the painkillers are more than a placebo. I get the feeling the headache is deeper inside." He took a few steps and dropped onto the couch. "So the CATS? With Carina? Please… tell me you still have the suit?"
"I had thought you read my file, it should have all been in there." Sarah asked, slightly confused. "So why the flash?"
"There was a mention of the team and the horribly acronym. Not a lot of detail." Chuck replied. "This… there was video."
"Oh no." Sarah said, sinking into one of the armchairs. "Video of what?"
Chuck had shoved a knuckle into his mouth to contain the laughter, but it leaked out. Finally he blurted. "It was like the opening of an 80's TV show. I've never seen so many hair flips and grappling hooks."
Sarah could feel her face turning red and she buried it in her hands. "God, I knew that was a mistake. I told them that was a mistake. Even Carina said it was a mistake. Hell, everyone said it was a mistake. One congressman makes a comment though…"
Laughter continued to leak from Chuck's attempts to stop it for a solid five minutes. Eventually he got himself under control. "So… they made you film a trailer? For like an appropriations committee?"
"You should see the videos defense contractors put together for tanks and missiles." Sarah said, rolling her eyes.
"Seriously though." Chuck said, looking at her. "Do you still have the suit?"
The briefing had been pushed to later in the afternoon the next day. So, a bit early, Sarah walked into the Buy More and saw Chuck talking with a short, attractive, brunette.Ah, I'm just in time for Ms. Palone.He was holding up a phone and saying something that made the woman bark out a short laugh as she took it from him. She couldn't hear the words, but the body language was fairly clear. Chuck seemed oblivious to the fact that he was being hit on. She walked up behind the woman just as she was handing Chuck a bag. He looked up at the movement and saw her. Sarah had put a bit more effort than usual into her outfit and appearance that day. His smile warmed her right to her toes and half her worries evaporated. The real worry evaporating thing... she got the same look pretty much no matter how she dressed.
The short woman trailed off, after saying something about getting a sandwich fresh. Chuck didn't seem to hear her, he was still staring at Sarah, and Lou turned and looked up. She mouthed 'Oh' silently.
"Hey, sweetie, who's this?" Sarah said, smiling at Chuck before glancing down at the woman and letting her smile cool a bit.
"Lou came in to have her phone fixed. Brought me a sandwich, which was really nice, she owns that deli in the mall." Chuck rattled off and pointed at the device.
"Oh? We might have to stop by sometime." Sarah said, keeping her tone level. She held out a hand. "I'm Sarah, Chuck's girlfriend." She put a tiny bit of emphasis on the last word.
Lou's back was to Chuck, so he didn't see her expression change and the slight blush of embarrassment. She cleared her throat and took Sarah's hand to shake it gingerly before releasing it. "Hi." She paused and seemed to regain her composure. "Chuck saved my ass. My life basically is stored in this." She waved the phone.
"He seems to do that a lot." Sarah said, with a warmer smile since Lou seemed to be taking it well. "I'm not sure he quite gets how much what he does for people matters." Sarah paused and shrugged. "By strange coincidence, I actually met him in a similar circumstance. He fixed my phone right in front of me." Smiling again she stepped around and put her arm around Chuck. "Left him my number but had to make a return trip before he got the idea."
"The good ones don't know it do they?" Lou said with a rueful chuckle. "If only my phone had broken a few months ago!"
Sarah laughed, the last of the tension easing. She was starting to like Lou, who seemed to be a woman who thought fast and handled changing situations quickly. The situation seemed to be under control, there seemed to be no need to stage a terrible accident for the small brunette, and they chatted for a few more minutes about the shopping complex. Sarah promised they'd come by for lunch in a few days. After an only slightly awkward goodbye, Lou headed back out of the store.
Sighing, Sarah turned her head to look at Chuck. His expression was one of dawning comprehension. He began to stammer. "Oh no, I wasn't, I swear…"
"Chuck, let me stop that spiral before it gets off the ground." Sarah said and gently poked him. "I received a phone call from Morgan which led to a background check by Casey on her. I did a bit of my own spiraling, and you can make fun of me for it later." She stopped and gave him a hug. Then she spoke more quietly. "You probably don't notice that there are a lot of girls who flirt with you. There's a natural charm that you have. I'm just lucky I got you."
"Mutually lucky?" Chuck asked.
"If you insist." Sarah replied, then walked away towards the back of the store. She counted in her head, reaching forty-six when she heard something hit the desk behind her and rapid footsteps.
"… incorrectly perceived Whitney as a threat." Beckman was finishing saying.
Sarah looked up from the hard copy file with a frown. "That's not exactly true, General. He didn't identify Whitney as a threat, not exactly. He told me the Intersect was… worried for lack of a better term. Like it almost had enough information to identify a threat. My own instincts were screaming at me as well. Something was wrong at that restaurant, but I haven't been able to put my finger on it. Who poisoned him, for example. He'd been running, from whom and to where? Chuck's not wrong very often." she finished with a small smile.
Casey grunted. "Yeah, but he's annoying all of the time."
"Whitney was primarily a nuclear engineer, and was also a programmer. He has, in the past, done work on our nuclear arsenal's positive action locks." Both Sarah and Casey sat up straighter. Beckman smiled thinly. "Precisely, Agents. He has knowledge and capability to design a weapon. Or to describe how to bypass PALs." Beckman's face turned grim. "We had some people look at his workstations and logs. There are holes in his activity, and unauthorized file access."
"What do you need us to do?" Sarah asked.
"I want you to take the Intersect with you to the morgue, see if there's anything he can get from the belongings. Get us samples and test results, we need to know what the poison was and who did it. See if there's anything on his body or in his clothes that might be a data storage device."
Chuck slipped into the home theater room then, late and also smiling.
"Mr. Bartowski, good of you to join us." General Beckman said, unsmiling. "We were just discussing our next steps to gather information on what Whitney was doing. You'll be accompanying Agents Walker and Casey to the morgue."
"My apologies for being late, General. I was taking care of something in my day job." Chuck replied, now grinning and obviously suppressing mirth. "Of course, any way I can help."
Beckman's eyes narrowed. "Something amuses you about this situation?"
"Big Mike was having an affair with Harry Tang's wife. Tang quitting shut off the… access. Big Mike blames Morgan because Tang had complained about him… So now he's running him ragged on the sales floor with extra work and we just made him supervisor of the green shirts so he's kind of your boss now sorry Casey." Chuck said in a rush and with a few giggles.
"Dammit Bartowski!" Casey said, with a bit of heat. Then he stopped. All three of them stopped. There was an unfamiliar noise.
General Beckman was laughing.
All three of the team looked at each other, then back at the screen.
When the laughter was under control, the General nodded solemnly at Casey. "Major, I expect you to include full details of this in your report." Then she terminated the call.
For getting into the morgue without drawing too much attention, they'd the late afternoon for their incursion. She'd dressed in a more business casual look and a white lab coat, complete with hospital ID. Pressed for time, she'd cloned Ellie's card and just put her picture and 'Dr. Franco' on it. She knew Chuck could fix the logs later. No one had argued with the 'new' doctor when she'd told them to run off and she'd man the desk.
"Welcome to the glamorous world of espionage." Sarah said, jokingly, as she closed the door to the morgue behind them. "Underneath the glitzy parties, the running gunfights, the desperate last moment disarming of a bomb… are less glitzy tasks. Going through someone's trash, sitting in a stuffy van with a surly agent, long hours of boredom, and… sometimes cavity searching a dead man in the morgue while the attendant is on his break. We probably have about thirty minutes, guys." she finished briskly and moved to start looking at the drawer numbers.
Chuck looked at her and grinned. "You said you weren't funny."
"Living with you has made me adapt." she replied dryly. "Got it, Casey?"
They opened the drawer and pulled out the table Whitney was on. Casey moved to a stack of boxes off to the side and began looking for Whitney's clothes.
Staring at the body, Chuck started talking to himself. "Okay, this is just a storage room. They just happen to store people in this room, people who are no longer breathing and who are refrigerated."
"Man up, Bartowski." Casey said, pulling a bankers box from the stack and dropping it on a cart next to Whitney's drawer. "Gotta store 'em somewhere. Better than leaving them stacked up on the curb like garbage." He paused and turned to pick up a silver case which he opened and started pulling sampling equipment from. "Get in there and start digging."
Chuck sighed and stepped closer to the body with obvious distaste. He opened the box and was about to reach in, when Casey smacked his hand. "Gloves, numbnuts. We talked about this."
"Right, sorry. Distracted by the dead guy." Chuck said, reaching into his pocket for a pair of gloves and snapping them on. "Good lord, the man is naked!"
"Appears rigor mortis has set in, too." Casey replied. "Eyes on the prize, look at his stuff, not his junk."
Sarah shook her head and began a surface examination. She wasn't finding anything and wasn't sure if they were actually going to have to… delve. She hoped they found something, or if they didn't that the pathologist had taken some xrays.
Casey watched Chuck and waited for him to look up from the box of clothes. Then he jabbed a huge needle into the dead man and drew a blood sample. Chuck coughed and gagged. Casey grinned evilly at him. Chuck quickly turned to the box.
"I've got nothing." Chuck said, after he finished looking through the clothes. "Even the seams all look good. I doubt anything's hidden in the clothes. I poked through the wallet and didn't see anything…" he trailed off, thoughtful. "Where are his keys..."
"Hold up. I've got something." Sarah said looking at something on the body's neck. She pulled at it the slightly off color skin with her tweezers. It came off and she looked at it under her magnifying glass. "Bug."
There was a beep from the equipment Casey had brought. He grunted. "Huh. Yeah, this guy was poisoned. Lethal concentrations of some pentathol derivative." He shook his head. "Truth drugs. Amateurs are fascinated with the things."
"You guys don't use them?" Chuck asked, curious.
"You can be trained to resist the effects, tell stories or things other than what the questioner wants. They don't induce truth, just sort of… mess with your ability to think and plan." Sarah said, then smiled. "Kind of like tequila."
"In vino veritas." Casey muttered, then looked up. "So, no. We don't use them except in specific circumstances. We certainly don't use lethal doses or let our prisoners run around full of it. Like I said…"
"Amateur." Chuck finished. Casey nodded.
"OK, lets get this back to Casey's and send off the analysis. Maybe we can trace the bug." Sarah said, slipping it into a small metal case. "Shielded. Just a precaution."
They'd reported their findings and since Chuck hadn't flashed on the bug, sent it off for a deeper look at an NSA office. This had meant a return to their cover or day jobs respectively. Scooter was in fine form during the afternoon, demanding that she remain for the final few minutes rather than leaving early because he needed a second person 'while the green was out of the machine'.
When they'd gotten home she relayed that story to Chuck who, after he finished laughing, offered her a massage. Generally this led to somewhere Sarah liked being so she'd slipped out of her shirt and down to her underwear in a matter of seconds while he went to get the lotion. Chuck was just getting to the point where her remaining clothing would have to go when they heard a door open and a raised voice from across the courtyard.
Ellie, muffled but clear enough, was finishing a statement. "… and so awesome is just mediocre!" Silence for a moment. "I need to talk to Chuck!"
Chuck looked at Sarah who was still, if only barely, covered. Then the door. "Did we lock…"
The door flew open.
"… nope." Chuck said. He surreptitiously put the lotion on the end table.
"I've known him since the day he was born!" Ellie said, sweeping into the room and leaving the front door open. "Obviously." She moved to the couch where Chuck and Sarah were sitting, plopping down in between them. Devon, in boxers was following.
"Babe?" Devon said. "Um, lets…"
"You know what? When people would ask him what he wanted to be when he grew up? He always said the same thing." Ellie babbled. "A big boy! How cute is that?" she finished looking at Sarah.
"Ellie, you're kind of killing me… and the mood, here." Chuck said, cringing back a little.
As if she hadn't heard him, Ellie continued, looking back and forth at the two of them. "And now he IS a big boy. Big job." She made a shushing gesture and spoke in a loud whisper. "Can't talk about the other job, spies are like that." Then she raised her voice back up. "Big new apartment." She looked at Sarah, then down. "And he's with a big… Big girl." Sarah turned a bit pink.
"Guys, sorry. Didn't mean to muck up the mojo." Devon said apologetically. "Tried to stop her. Something's going on."
"Is she drunk?" Chuck asked, then paused his face paling a little. Sarah's eyes widened.
"No. What's going on guys?" Devon asked, and then Ellie started up again.
"Chuck, I think you need a haircut. Its starting to make funny animal shapes." Ellie went on. "Except that Sarah told me she likes the animal shapes. So she probably doesn't want that."
"Uh, lets go babe." Devon said, trying to capture Ellie's hand.
"When you were seven, I told you a burglar had stolen the money from your piggy bank. That was a lie, it was me. At the time I felt it was very important for me to have a Backstreet Boys fanny pack." She nodded like something had been decided. "Also, when we said that Peaches had gone to live on a farm that was a lie. Peaches was hit by a car and died."
"Ellie, are you OK? Have you talked to anyone strange, done anything out of the ordinary? Did anyone give you anything?" Sarah asked, her thoughts going where Chuck's probably were.
"That's the same question the policeman asked!" Ellie said, brightly, then made a face and looked at Chuck. "Peaches. Words taste like peaches."
"OK, that is not awesome." Devon said, worried. "Or normal. She hasn't had anything to drink tonight that I know of."
Casey came rushing through the open door holding a meter with an antenna. "I was picking up crosstalk on the courtyard system. I shouldn't be hearing inside your place, Walker." He followed the indicator and beeping towards Ellie.
"Those pajamas make you looked like Dennis the Menace's father auditioning for a kung-fu movie…" Ellie said, then laughed. Then passed out, falling over behind Chuck.
Sarah had a horrible sense of deja vu and leaned over to examine Ellie's neck before Casey even pointed the detector back. She found the slightly… off patch of skin and peeled it away.
"Yeah. She was poisoned." Casey said, putting away the detector and grabbing Chuck's phone from the table by the door. He started dialing and spoke into the phone ordering an ambulance.
Things started happening in a blur for all of them. The ambulance arrival, loading Ellie, calming Devon and Chuck. Dressing, not not remembering how you got that way. Devon rode in with Ellie. Casey, Sarah and Chuck took the Vic in. Chuck was working at his laptop, tied into the Echo Park surveillance and trying to find when and how Ellie got affected. Casey was on the phone with a group of people at the CIA who were rarely spoken to for this purpose. Normally this very secretive group was involved in putting people into comas and producing new toxins, not treatment. From the conversation Sarah could hear, they were oddly intrigued by both the toxin and the idea of treating it. Casey put it on speaker.
"…a central nervous system depressant, a barbiturate of the same class as pentothal, then outside of any specific additional toxins added – it shouldn't have the effect described. This sounds like some kind of additive intended to dispose of the victim after interrogation." a young sounding man's voice came from the speaker. "Messy and unreliable in my professional opinion, individual resistances could vary the terminal effects due to drug interactions. Treatment, at least in the short term, is simple enough. We've had good results using ADD medication in testing ways to improve resistance to such interrogation, there's no reason to think it wouldn't provide some benefit to this subject. Depending on body weight, any preexisting conditions, metabolism, and also taking into account if the subject has previously used amphetamine or derivatives… I'd suggest a higher than normal clinical dose… perhaps thirty-five milligrams of Methylphenidate and work upwards from there until you see a change in the subject's condition. We're still waiting on the sample delivery so I can't give you a good read on any toxins yet. If you can get us samples of the original dosing, that would help." There was a pause, and an uncomfortable throat clearing. "Bear in mind you may not have that much time. We stock counter-agents for nearly all of our… products. For lab accidents if nothing else. If your poisoner is reasonably competent, there should be one available. Finding the source is your best course of action."
"Thanks, doctor." Casey said, curtly. "Please contact the emergency department at Westside. Use the switchboard at Pendleton for cover and tell the doctors you were contacted by a retired friend for help with a poisoning case. Patient's name is Elanor Bartowski."
"Bart…" There was a pause. "Ellie Bartowski? Neurologist?"
Casey looked at the other two and blinked as he pulled into a space. "Yes, Dr. Bartowski is a neurologist."
"Shit." The response was simple and heartfelt. "I'll do what I can, and call Devon directly."
"What?" Casey blurted out.
"I went to med school with them." Another short pause. "Find this asshole, Major. Ellie's one of the people that exemplifies the 'greater good' we do this for."
"We're on it." Casey replied and hung up.
Chuck's looked up, shocked for a moment, but shook his head and returned to rapidly scanning through video. "Of course one of the people she went to med school with is CIA. I'm surrounded by spies, so it makes sense." After a moment he muttered, "In bizzaro world."
Sarah was watching him and remembered what Ellie had said. "Chuck! Policeman. She said a policeman had asked her the same questions. Why would the police as if anyone had given her anything?" Chuck looked up and then back to his laptop, rapidly working backwards from Ellie's appearance in the courtyard.
As they were pulling into the parking lot of the hospital, Chuck yelled. "Got him! Capturing a frame of his face for the facial rec database… OK, running. Sarah, this guy look familiar to you too?" He turned the laptop to face
Sarah looked, then tilted her head and tried to recall. "Mother-fu… He was standing there at the restaurant watching. He probably heard Ellie's phone call."
"What do we do now?" Chuck asked.
Casey grunted. "We've got a team working on finding the source signal."
"Or…" Sarah said, looking at Chuck.
"We have his bug, he was expecting it to go to the hospital at some point – and he doesn't know about the team?" Chuck asked.
Sarah smiled. "He'll come right to us."
"It would help if we had the data." Casey said, considering. "Perfect bait. But the it wasn't on him, he could have had a drop anywhere."
"Where were his keys?" Chuck said suddenly. "I was distracted by the dead guy before, so I didn't ask a second time. You could easily fit a small drive in a keychain… there has to be a reason the poisoner went after Ellie."
Sarah pursed her lips, thinking. She smiled suddenly wider. Thanks dad. "We don't need to actually have the chip, drive, disk or whatever. He just has to think we do."
"Facial rec is going to take a few hours." Chuck said. "Lets hope we don't need that information to catch him."
The next steps went fairly smoothly. They opened the bug found on Ellie, in a room they had staged. Beeping equipment and all. Sarah was playing the part of Ellie, and Casey was playing the part of a doctor checking the equipment. Chuck was in a room across the hall. Casey made a point of trying to ask the 'unconscious' patient if the key chain in her pocket was hers, bringing Devon in to verbally note that it wasn't. Casey then said, "Well, I'll just leave it in the drawer here and we'll figure it out later."
Less than an hour later, things picked up speed. The poisoner showed up, Casey had shot him with a tranq gun while Sarah more or less napped. This had been Chuck's suggestion. Given the poisoner's paranoia he'd be ready for violence. So, threats would be useless. However, he possibly wouldn't expect to be shot immediately with no chance to fight or bargain. It had been a good idea and it had worked. Chuck watched on a camera feed, flashing on the man's identity. Riordan Payne. Sad story of lost athletic dreams, but interesting. He was a black market acquisitions specialist. With him in custody they'd have a chance to try to find the buyer. Even more interesting was that he had both the toxin and what seemed to be an antidote on him. A bit of time down in the lab, and with a 'Dr. Lynch' on the phone helping, they isolated the materials and verified the antidote. The treatment the CIA doctor had given them bought them more than enough time. Ellie was already responding to their version of the antidote.
Casey had gone downstairs to wait for a team that would pick up Payne, leaving Sarah and Chuck alone to watch as Ellie woke.
Sarah looked at Chuck's face, showing his relief now that his sister was finally coming around. She bumped his shoulder with hers. "You know, this would have gone much differently if we weren't a team."
"There probably would have been some overly tense scene where people were held at gunpoint. Even poisoned with the same stuff." Chuck replied.
"And then we'd have fought to avoid giving away any uncomfortable truths. Maybe even said something we didn't really mean." Sarah put an arm around him. "I bet, though, you wouldn't have asked anything bad."
"I already asked everything important to me." Chuck said, seriously.
They fell silent, just enjoying the fact that they'd managed to succeed in saving someone. And preventing whatever Payne had been after from getting out.
Some time later, after they'd assured themselves that Ellie was recovering and ready to go home, they all left. Casey drove Devon and Ellie home while Sarah and Chuck headed out together.
"So if I had been hit with a truth serum." Sarah said, after the other group had left. "You really wouldn't have asked me anything uncomfortable would you. Its hard to believe."
"Seems like I'd be betraying a trust." Chuck said, bumping shoulders with her as they walked to the car.
She smiled to herself and wrapped an arm around his. They were silent for a moment, and she pulled him to a stop before they emerged into the parking lot. "There's… sort of a last secret, pair of secrets,… I have to tell you." she said after a deep breath.
"Sarah, you don't have to do a…" he started to reply and she interrupted him with a quick peck on the lips.
"And that, Chuck, is exactly why I do." Sarah smiled at him. "You've been patient with me, all a spy could ask for… because you make me feel like more than just a spy."
"You've been patient with this total newbie to the spy world. The two of you have taught me a lot – and not just about what we do." Chuck responded. "I was comfortable before, Sarah. Stuck, stagnating, but comfortable. Even with the Intersect being sent to me, it wouldn't have kept me from that stagnation. It just would have moved my physically. You kept me out of a hole, and you kicked me out of the self inflicted hole I was hiding in. Even before, you know, us." he paused, face reddening.
"It wasn't just mind blowing sex that got you motivated?" Sarah interjected, grinning. "Am I going to have to try harder?"
Chuck stumbled and she helped hold him up. "Ah… no. Isn't part of your job keeping me alive? Pretty sure killing me with sex isn't part of that."
Sarah leaned in and quietly said, "I am an assassin, at least part-time. Perhaps I'm just playing a long game, trying a new technique."
"How long?" he asked.
"Fifty, sixty years?" she replied. "I don't want you to suspect anything before I strike."
He smiled. "So all the time you spend protecting me is just to lull me into a false sense of security?"
"I can't have anyone else killing you and messing up my perfect record." Sarah replied, with a straight face and solemn tone.
Chuck cracked, he couldn't contain the bark of laughter, and when he lost it – Sarah did too. She pulled them along towards the car then and stopped by the driver's door.
"Chuck, if you're not too tired…" she began.
He interrupted. "My god, woman! You really are going to kill me."
Sarah raised an eyebrow and gave him a more serious look. "As I was saying, if you're not too tired, I'd like to clear the air on a couple of things. I have the feeling I'm going to have to go to DC soon. Whether or not we take the whole team is up for debate – but it will be the start of a more dangerous phase. I don't want this hanging over me."
"The beach?" Chuck asked. She nodded and the two of them piled into the car and left for their spot.
The reached the beach and walked out onto the sand, holding their shoes. When they sat, Sarah molded herself to Chuck's side and said nothing for a long while. Chuck didn't speak, he seemed content to just sit with her. Eventually Sarah sighed. "You need to understand my frame of mind before I came to Burbank. Why I was… the way I was. I was at a kind of crossroads."
"I need to understand you. Whatever you want to share." Chuck replied.
She smiled thinly, and nodded. "I told you I killed people, and you've seen it in the Intersect, in my file. You've seen the missions, the breakup of the first team I was on, and Bryce's betrayal. I'd been… hollowed out. I pulled back inside, locked the feelings away and focused on the job. I leaned into my reputation as the Ice Queen. Graham's apparently soulless killer, his enforcer." She paused and snorted. "Even Casey's afraid of me, Chuck. Think about that. Through it all I just barely managed to hang onto that last shred, that last little bit of me that was sick with regret." she held up a hand to forestall a response. "I know what you're thinking. I love you and I love that you are about to tell me I don't have to if it will hurt me. Its important for you to understand, and its important for me to prove to you that I trust you with this. Prove it to myself, maybe even more." Sarah closed her eyes and luxuriated in his warmth for a long moment before speaking again. "Let me tell you about the mission before you. Budapest."
She didn't want to look at his face while she ran through the nightmare that had been. So she opened her eyes stared out at the waves and she recounted the tale in a dry, dispassionate voice. Starting with the assignment by Graham. Her assessment that the use of a handler was due to her association with Bryce, who'd recently gone off grid. Insertion into the Eastern European country, equipment, communications, the basic mission prep. Sarah ran through the surveillance, the downtime. How she'd had time to check her voicemail at the river. The approach and infiltration of the mansion. She heard a sharp intake of breath as she ran through the tactical situation, the murdered family and Ryker's direction that she eliminate the men in the room. By herself. She wound down and paused.
"It was a fight, but a short one, they were all your basic street thugs hired for something they didn't understand. The fight was over in less than a minute, and I killed them all, they barely got close to me." Sarah sighed. "An even dozen more on my tab at one time." she looked at Chuck, who's expression was a mix of sympathy and awe. "Don't look at me like I'm some kind of superhero, Chuck. Killing… its just training and experience. It's nothing to be proud of, and like I told you before I hate it. It's one of those things that becomes necessary, from time to time, and you get used to it. Hopefully you never have to experience it, and if you do… you never get used to it. Hopefully you retain enough of yourself to regret it." She smiled up at him. "I want you to stay my Chuck."
"Sarah." Chuck said into the brief silence. "I don't believe that you're a 'soulless killer' or that you ever were or will be just 'used to it'. I never did." He paused and smiled back at her. "I can't say I wouldn't ever, reading what you've done and why… I could see how any person could, for the right reasons. I'll have to trust you to keep me… well me if it ever happens."
"I believe we agreed to take care of each other." she replied quietly. "I appreciate you saying that about me… but it would probably have been who I was. If it wasn't for you. If it wasn't for one other person. Let me tell you about the 'package' I'd been sent to retrieve." It only took a few minutes to recount, and she did her best to describe how it had felt to look down on that crib with its defenseless and orphaned occupant. How it had felt to hold something that fragile in her hands, a killer's hands. "She was so small, Chuck. She'd been crying, so I'd picked her up. The crying stopped and she looked at me… I felt completely unworthy to be on the receiving end of a look like that. Absolute trust." Sarah shook her head at the memory. "I truly didn't know what to do, until I heard Ryker on the radio asking about the package. I realized he meant to use her, possibly even kill her, just to get that family's money. I knew that if I turned her over to the CIA she'd be a pawn in a very dangerous game. It was right then when I was holding that child that I made the first real choice I'd made in a decade. I chose to save her." Sarah smiled and wound down, shrugging. "There may have been a part of me that knew I was trying to save myself as much as the baby."
"Somehow I think there's more to the story than that, Sarah." Chuck said after a moment.
"There was a fight, which was weird wearing a papoose." Sarah shrugged, then smiled as she said it. "I'd managed to wound Ryker, who figured out what I was doing. I got her to a safe house and told Graham the whole family had been killed, that the 'package' couldn't be retrieved. After I explained what Ryker had done he put out a burn notice on him. He's still out there though, looking for the girl."
"What happened to her?" Chuck's voice was filled with concern.
"I won't bore you with the details of covertly leaving Eastern Europe and getting to the US with an infant. It's mostly filled with me learning how to actually keep a baby alive and clean. That involved an uncomfortable phone call. There was a lot of waiting in airports. There was a certain amount of yelling and crying. Some of it was the baby." Sarah smiled up at him, and Chuck grinned at her. "This is the part of the story where I get to the dangerous details. And it ties back into who I was."
"You left her with your family, probably in California – and its why you didn't tell me your whole name, please don't hurt me I'm good at guessing things." Chuck said in a rush.
Sarah shook her head and let out a bark of laughter. "Very good. I left her with my mother. In San Diego. There's no tie in my CIA records to who I was before. I was living under a false ID then and moved right into Sarah Walker when I was recruited." She sat up, and turned to face him, then took his hand in hers and looked into his eyes. "Samantha Lisa Kowalski"
Chuck blinked and his eyes widened in a certain wonder, then he grinned. "Pleased to meet you. I, and the Intersect, seem to know nothing about you if that makes you feel any better."
Sarah sagged in relief. "I was worried there would have been enough data out there for the Intersect to tie Samantha to Sarah. This means they're probably safe, for now at least."
He sat there, holding her silently for a few minutes. When he spoke up it was softly. "Why tell me this. Why did you have to prove you trusted me?"
"I didn't want it hanging over me, or us." Sarah replied seriously. "If we're going to continue as we have been, if we're going to build a future… I can't hold back. Not from you."
"You know. If Ryker is still out there…" Chuck trailed off, his face showing concentration. "We can find him. We can find him and take him down for good. Intersect or not, we can do it." His face held a kind of grim humor. "You know if we tell this story to Casey, he'll insist. He'll whine about ladyfeelings, but no way on this Earth he leaves a kid in danger. Plus he'll probably get to shoot someone."
Sarah blinked and then just let the tears out. Like Ellie had told her, she had people now. People she could count on. The constant knot of worry she'd felt for the past… almost year she realized, started to ease. She took a moment to get a hold of herself and replied, fairly calmly. "We will tell him, he's my… our partner. We'll add it to the overall plan."
Chuck stood and helped her to her feet. She looked at him quizzically. "Lets go home. We'll get some sleep and then think about what comes next tomorrow. I know you, Sarah." He paused, letting her know he'd deliberately chosen to keep using Sarah. "You need some quiet and time to think."
Smiling she stood on her toes to kiss him, since barefoot in the sand she didn't have the advantage of heels. "Thank you."