Hello. I finally got off my derrière and updated this story. I apologize for not working on this sooner, particularly how well-received the first chapter was. I will try my best to update my chapters in both this story and Upon Further Review.

Things are better these days. I'm still working that full-time job (and lamenting how expensive health insurance is), but I will definitely take this over being in the hospital every other day. My leg is still recovering, but I can walk most days without any help, and I haven't had to stay in a hospital for nine months. Let's hope I can keep that up.

Anyway, I appreciate everyone's patience, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Stop by the Chuck FanFiction site on Facebook and meet some very awesome people. And please leave a review here. I'd really enjoy it.


Reveler's Hour, Washington, D.C.
March 22nd
7:45 PM EDT

The two looked at each other in shock.

"Vicky Vale?" Chuck whispered under his breath.

Or so he thought. "Vicky Vale?" Sarah asked quizzically.

Chuck was the deer in headlights…if those headlights could be seen from space. "That…" he stammered. "That…w-was from…from…"

"Batman, I know," Sarah replied. "Never had anyone compare me to Kim Basinger before."

Those headlights got even larger. "Oh, God. I didn't mean to…"

Sarah grinned. "I admit I would have been more flattered being compared to Marilyn Monroe, but I'll take the win."

Chuck gave a nervous laugh. It was clear to Sarah that Chuck was not exactly an expert in the dating scene, but that may not have been necessarily a bad thing. Certainly, Zondra's incessant badgering of her to get out more led to a few first dates. And based on the quality of the men she met…or lack thereof…there weren't any second dates.

"I'm glad," Chuck said in relief. "Although it does scare me now if there's an actor I remind you of."

"I want to say you remind me of that movie I saw a couple of years ago. The one where a kid becomes a superhero, but that doesn't sound right."

"A lot of people say I remind them of that guy from The Office."

"John Krasinski, right!" Sarah felt very relaxed around this person, which itself unnerved her. "Yeah, I can see where people would say that."

Chuck's shy smile morphed into a full grin, much to Sarah's delight. "You seem to know a lot about movies and TV shows."

"Rigors of the job," Sarah replied with a shrug. "It's hard to be an advertising executive without knowing a few things. Is that bad for me?"

"No, not at all. Just unusual to see in someone that's…" Chuck fell silent.

"That's what?" Sarah said with a raised eyebrow.

Chuck pretended to zip his mouth shut. "I refuse to say any more on the grounds it will incriminate me," he replied through his closed mouth, which gave Sarah a laugh.

Casey walked up to the three. "Our table is ready."

The two couples grabbed their drinks and followed the hostess to their table. Casey and Zondra sat next to each other…moving their chairs so they were really close together…while Chuck and Sarah took the opposite seats…as far apart from each other as possible without looking suspicious.

"So, you work for John?" Zondra started. "He's your boss?"

Chuck nodded. "And apparently his authority stretches into my social life."

"How can I be in charge of your social life?" Casey countered. "You don't have one."

"Yes, and thank you for telling two strangers about that." Chuck tried to hide how upset he was at Casey…and wasn't exactly succeeding. "I already get enough badgering from my sister and her husband at home."

"Oh, you have a sister?" Sarah asked with what Chuck hoped was sheer interest. Or maybe she was heading off more abuse by Casey and Zondra. Either way, Chuck was relieved.

"Yeah, my sister lives in Chicago with her husband, Captain Awesome. They just got new jobs there."

"No. You actually call him Captain Awesome?"

"Yeah, you should meet him. Everything he does is awesome. Climbing mountains, jumping out of planes…flossing…"

Sarah laughed heartily before catching Zondra giving her an 'I told you so' look. That quieted her down immediately. Sarah looked away to hide her anger at Zondra.

"So, you two work together?" Chuck asked to get the spotlight off of him.

Zondra nodded. "We both work for the same advertising firm here in D.C. I convinced Sarah to take the job when we had an opening on my team. She is very creative and is an improvement over the last person by 10,000%."

"Really, the last person couldn't cut it?"

"Let me put it this way," Sarah replied. "You remember the cat litter commercial that had Katherine Heigl in it?"

Chuck's eyes widened. "Oh, God. What a joke that was!"

"I replaced the person who came up with that."

Chuck grinned. "I guess you didn't have to do much to impress your new bosses."

"It turns out I actually did, though. You know those insurance commercials where the guy tries to teach people how not to become their parents and constantly fails?"

"That was yours?"

Sarah nodded. Even though it was a complete lie, it wasn't as if Chuck could verify it, as the company Zondra and she pretended to work for actually did that campaign. "That got me noticed by the higher-ups."

"Her work got us contracts with two big companies to run Super Bowl ads for them next year," Zondra added.

"Wow, which ones?"

"Sorry, we're not allowed to say. But we'll start shooting them in September, and if all goes well, both of us will be getting very nice bonuses for Christmas. I'm already shopping for a new Ferrari."

Chuck sat back in his chair. "Wow, you two must be really good. I think I have the wrong job."

"Want me to tell them what you were doing before I hired you?" Casey retorted with ample snark.

"No, that's OK," Chuck quickly said in retreat. That gave the entire table a laugh as the waiter came up and took everyone's orders.

"Oh, come on," Zondra prodded as the waiter left. "What were you doing before working with John?"

"Ah, it's nothing," Casey said dismissively. "Found him on my doorstep shivering, cowering. He looked so pathetic sitting in all that shredded newspaper and whimpering."

"Will you knock it off!" Chuck couldn't believe Casey was still busting his chops even after agreeing to the blind date. But he did have to admit Casey knew attractive women when he saw them.

Casey smirked. "Actually, he was working at a Buy More in Connecticut. I was up visiting my mother and getting her stuff for her house, including a new TV. Chuck showed me the best one to get her and made sure I didn't blow too much money on it. We got to talking, and he told me about his work at Stanford before he got kicked out."

"What happened?" Sarah asked.

"They thought I was cheating on an exam, but Casey did some digging and discovered I was framed. Of course, Stanford couldn't admit they kicked out the wrong student, so they struck a deal with Casey: my degree for his silence and a job offer."

Casey shrugged. "I figured I'd get someone with a few miles on the odometer for the price of a new grad. It turned out to be a good investment. Bartowski moved up the ranks quickly with how intelligent he was. I had to grab him before some desk jockey did and wasted his talents."

"Sounds like it worked out great for both of you," Sarah said, liking Chuck more every minute now that he seemed to be relaxed.

"Well, I won't be shopping for a Ferrari anytime soon," Chuck replied with a smile. "But I can't complain. I have a nice apartment, and the work makes me feel like I'm actually accomplishing something."

"That can be very important. Actually, liking your job puts you in some rarefied air these days."

"Well, there are some downsides to it," Chuck quipped as he glared at Casey, who was trying to give his best innocent expression…that nobody was buying.

"So…I'm a downside?" Sarah retorted with a raised eyebrow.

Chuck froze hard enough to make a penguin shiver. "No, no! I…you're not…I mean…"

Sarah grinned. "Wow, it really is fun to keep you on your toes. Now I see why your boss enjoys it."

Casey and Zondra laughed hysterically, and even Sarah couldn't hold it in. Chuck rolled his eyes before finally giving in and laughing a bit, too. He may not have been thrilled with being the butt of everyone's conversation tonight but hearing that laugh of Sarah's and gazing into her azure eyes certainly alleviated any embarrassment. And then some.

~/^\~

The four walked along Calvert Street near Pierce Park. Even though spring had only started yesterday, the temperature was mild enough for a walk if you had a decent jacket on. Casey and Zondra walked a few steps behind Chuck and Sarah. Although the two wanted to talk to themselves, it also gave them a good view of how Chuck and Sarah were doing on their blind date. So far, nobody could complain.

"I have to say, I feel relaxed on a blind date for once," Sarah said.

That piqued Chuck's curiosity. "Really? What am I doing right?"

"More like…what the other dates did wrong."

"What's that?"

"When they hear I'm an advertising executive, they think I've met everyone in Hollywood, and they want to know what they're really like."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Chuck remained silent. Sarah gave him a look. "You want to know what they're really like, too."

"What? No, I don't…" Chuck began, but Sarah gave him a very disbelieving glance. "OK, I'm a little curious. But in my defense, I work at a computer all day crunching data. You have a much more exciting life than me."

Sarah gave a little smile. If only he knew how true that statement was. "I'll tell you what. Since the date has been going well, I'll give you three people to ask about. But if I've never met them, you don't get a freebie."

Chuck tried to regain his integrity. "I swear I have no need…"

"Offer expires in five seconds…"

"Dammit," Chuck cursed under his breath. "OK, fine." He gave it some thought. "Lebron James."

"Worked with him. He's pretty nice if you can stick to your schedule and don't press him too hard."

"What bout J-Lo? I hear she's supposed to be a real diva."

Sarah shrugged. "If she is, she never was in my presence. She was fairly professional. Maybe her handlers know how to take care of her. I don't know."

"OK, last one." Chuck gave it a lot of thought. "Matthew McConaughey?"

"Ha ha! Never met him."

"Dammit. I knew I should have gone with The Rock instead."

Sarah turned and walked backwards with a big grin. "Yup, you should have. I actually met him, and he's…"

"Sarah!"

Chuck grabbed Sarah and pulled her to the ground with him. She turned back and forth to see what happened. Then she saw the car that sped through the stoplight and almost killed her.

"Thank…thank you," she said breathlessly as she lay on top of Chuck.

"Are you OK?"

"Yes…yes I'm OK." Sarah's head was in a bit of a fog as Casey and Zondra rushed to the pair. "I'd swear that light was green."

Suddenly, the four heard a loud crash. They turned to the intersection to see two cars had collided with one another. The passengers of both vehicles got out of their cars and staggered around. Zondra went to help them.

Chuck looked up at the stoplights. "What the hell?"

The stoplights at the corner of Calvert and Beach Drive were green in both directions.

"How the hell did that happen?" Casey asked in shock.

Chuck pulled Sarah to her feet. "Is there a short in the control box?"

Casey gave it some thought, and then he ran over to a nearby park bench. Standing up on it, he could see stoplights on two other nearby corners.

"All green," he said in confusion.

Chuck and Sarah started to look around. "Something's not right," he whispered.

Suddenly, his smartphone began to vibrate. He checked the message. "Oh, no. Sarah, I'm so sorry, but we have to cut this short. Our boss wants both of us in the office."

Sarah nodded as Casey pulled his car up. "No need to apologize. The FBI is not a nine-to-five job." She kissed him on his cheek. "Thank you for saving me."

Chuck gave her a smile and hopped in the passenger seat of Casey's car. As they departed, Zondra walked up to Sarah. The police had arrived and were directing traffic.

"You didn't tell him we had to go, right?" Zondra asked.

Sarah shook her head. "John and he were called into work before I had to say anything."

Zondra nodded and looked around. "Graham calls us into his office right after this happened? I get the feeling these stoplights failing was not a coincidence."

Sarah gave a long exhale. "Something tells me we're not going to like what he has to say."

The two walked back to Sarah's car.

Fort Meade, Maryland
March 22nd
10:30 PM EDT

Chuck and Casey walked into the office of Diane Beckman, where Bryce and Morgan were already waiting.

"Have a seat, gentlemen," Beckman said, gesturing to the two empty chairs in her office. Based on her tone, Chuck and Casey both had the feeling whatever was going on was much worse than they could imagine.

"I gather you heard about all of those stoplights going crazy in town," Casey began.

"That doesn't even scratch the surface," Beckman replied.

She aimed a remote at her television. On CNN, there was breaking news. Chuck stared in absolute shock at the headline on the chryon at the bottom of the screen: Plane Crash at Chicago O'Hare.

"This is turning into a really bad night," Bryce said quietly.

"That's understating it," Beckman replied.

"What happened?" Casey asked.

"Officially, a bolt of lightning struck the plane and fried it's onboard systems during approach. That's the story the NTSB will release. That's easy enough, given it was a pretty stormy night there."

Chuck swallowed hard. "What's the unofficial story?"

"Someone hacked into TRACON out at the FAA facility in Elgin. Someone crashed that plane on purpose."

"Whoah," Morgan said. "You mean like the bad guy did in the second Die Hard movie?"

"A little crass, but essentially correct. But that's not all that we're looking at. The mayors of Portland, Baton Rouge, and Boston all died within the last twelve hours. A heart attack in each case."

"Poisoned?" Casey asked, already assuming it wasn't coincidence.

Beckman shook her head. "All three of them had internal pacemakers. Each has a sensor linked to the hospital where they had the surgery to put it in. It's supposed to regulate heartbeat, but it can shock the patient if the computer detects a ventricular fibrillation."

Chuck may have been nervous before at the stoplights malfunctioning, but now he was scared out of his mind. "Someone hacked the computers at those hospitals and programmed the pacemakers to send a shock when it wasn't needed."

"That's our theory." Beckman sat back in her chair. "Someone has launched a cyber-attack on our country. If I were to guess, I'd say all of these incidents were dress rehearsals."

"It doesn't make sense," Bryce replied. "Only Russia and China have the brain power at their disposal to do attacks like these. Killing mayors and messing with stoplights doesn't sound like their style."

"Unless…" Chuck stared ahead in silence.

"Bartowski, speak up," Beckman ordered. "Anything can help at this point."

Chuck sat in silence for another moment. "I think you might be right. This was a rehearsal. Or, to be more accurate, a demonstration."

"Someone is going to blackmail the country?" Casey asked with considerable doubt.

"No. There have been rumors some freelancers have been working on a superhack: a decryption program that works so fast and efficiently, it can get past any encryption it wants. Governmental, private sector, military, anything."

"That sounds ridiculous."

"It's quite plausible, Case. Robert Redford even made a movie about it. And that was before everybody was on the internet."

Beckman nodded. "We've been trying to run traces on where a program like this came from. All of you pack your bags. As soon as we know where to send you, it'll be up to all of you to get your hands on the decrypting program and stop whoever is doing this."

The four nodded in agreement.

CIA Headquarters, Langley, VA
March 22nd
10:15 PM EDT

"Are you sure we're the right people for the job?"

Sarah sat with Zondra, Carina, and Amy in Langston Graham's office. He had called the four in to discuss the events of the last twelve hours.

"If this threat is as grave as I suspect it is, I need my best team working on this," Graham replied. "That is the four of you."

"But if this is an attack on our computer systems, wouldn't we need a good computer geek in on this?" Amy asked.

"I'm tasking the Los Angeles office to assist you in any way you see fit. Sarah, you're in charge on this. You call the shots. But I want this handled quickly and quietly. If the public knew how vulnerable our computer infrastructure was, there would be rioting in the streets."

Graham gestured to each of them, and the four opened the sealed folders Graham gave to them earlier. "Everything in those folders is speculation, of course. But our programmers think that location might be the source of where the encryption program came from. And the two individuals in the folder should be treated as persons of interest. We don't know if they're involved or not. It's up to you to find out."

Sarah, Zondra, Carina, and Amy leafed through the documents and then saw the pictures of the two people to whom Graham referred.

All four of them grimaced.

Unknown Location
March 22nd
11:30 PM

Henry Carver got up and stretched. It had been a long day, but it was a successful one. He searched news outlets in the greater Washington, D.C. area, who were reporting about the myriad of automobile accidents throughout the city.

Three for three, he thought.

He had heard of the deaths of the three mayors on the news earlier in the day. And the plane crash at O'Hare was on every station at that moment. His program worked. Three completely separate computer systems, and all three went down without a fight. Hacking the traffic systems in D.C. was a cinch. Getting into TRACON to crash the plane at O'Hare took the most work, but clearly, he was successful. The pièce de resistance was actually the hospital hack. There couldn't have been that many people who would have thought to hack the company that made those pacemakers. But he needed to demonstrate how wide-reaching his program was, and he hoped this would convince the buyers. It had to: asking one billion dollars for the program was a pretty steep price. Fortunately, there were a number of people who would love to see the U.S. burned to the ground, and they had very deep pockets.

He began the transfer program, which wouldn't be needed until he was ready for the next demonstration. He had to chuckle; he had Hugh Jackman and John Travolta to thank for giving him this idea. Downloading the file onto that really old computer at that electronics store was potentially even smarter than the hacking software itself. He could hide the program in the last place nobody would look. And if he did, he had someone to be the fall guy.

Or to be more accurate, two fall guys.