Ch. 13
A/N: Strap in. There's a whole lot of action coming up. After this chapter it will start to get fluffy. This chapter, not so much. For those of you who like stories where Sarah kicks ass, you should like this.
"Why are you asking for Frost to help search for your nerd?" Casey looked as confused as he felt. "What in the hell is geocaching? And, what does it have to do with the package?""
Sarah didn't rise to the 'your nerd' bait. "It's Chuck, not some package. Geocaching is a game where prizes are hidden in a cache with clues as to the coordinates. The 'text' address isn't a phone number, it's his coordinates. Agent Frost is handling a related part of the operation that is outside of your need to know. Beckman can confirm all of this." Casey glared at her, although not expecting an agent of her caliber to back down. Like all agents on the receiving end, he hated "need to know" even though he understood the rationale for it. Sometimes.
Agent Neuberger ran the number as coordinates. "Major, the numbers matched the coordinates of a shuttered-up drive-in movie theater in Barstow. I believe that Agent Walker is correct." Casey phoned in a report to Beckman, as the three of them jumped in a CHP helicopter that took them to a nearby Army base, Camp Parks. After a check of their credentials, they proceeded directly to a helipad on the base where an MH-60M Blackhawk was waiting for them. Casey looked excited at the weapons that were awaiting them inside of the helicopter. They received immediate take of clearance, and flew directly down to the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Barstow itself. While en route, Beckman sent Casey ground penetrating radar images of the drive in. There was a sizable subterranean base on-site.
By the time that Sarah and Casey arrived at the USMC base, there was a full NSA tactical reaction team and a cleaner team standing by. None of the NSA personnel had the willingness to challenge Sarah when she started suiting up in assault gear. Agent Neuberger, however, helped her into the gear, and made sure that Sarah was equipped with an earwig on the team's tactical frequency. "What do you say we go get you your nerd?" With that, Sarah decided that not all brunettes were despicable. Damn right he's mine.
Sarah debated for a moment before pulling out her phone, her thumb hovering over the button for a second or two before pushing the button to make the call. The call was answered on the first ring, confirming Sarah's suspicion. "Yes, Agent Walker?" Sarah slowly exhaled as it dawned on her how important this call was on a personal level. "We have a lead on where Chuck is. We're mounting the rescue op right now. I'm going to get your son back."
"Agent Wa- Sarah, you know that you can't make promises like that. Every mission has unknown risks. You do your best. I'm aware of just how good that is." Normally, Sarah would have been thrilled to get such a stamp of approval from a legend in the CIA. "I. Will. Get. Chuck. Back." There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment. "Thank you Agent Walker. Good hunting." For a moment, Sarah had been speaking with Mary. But it was Agent Frost who ended the call.
After reviewing all information and images available for the drive-in and surrounding area, three NSA Suburbans raced out of the base to a staging point three hundred yards away from the drive-in concession stand.
"We wait here," Casey ordered as the SUVs parked out of sight behind a tree line.
"What?" Sarah's eyes were blazing as she heard Casey's command. "We are not going to wait! He's in there. We need to get him. Now."
Casey climbed out of the driver's seat and used binoculars to scan the drive in. "We have to wait for a warrant to enter, Walker. This isn't some CIA op. In the NSA, we do things by the book and by the numbers. Besides, we don't even know how to access the subterranean base yet."
Sarah checked the flashbang grenades on the tactical vest webbing, as well as the throwing knives, her pistol and spare clips. Pulling the charging handle on her M4 assault rifle, she glared at Casey. "Good thing I'm not NSA, now isn't it?" Behind Casey's back, Neuberger flashed her a smile and two thumbs up. Neuberger nodded her head towards a sling backpack on the ground that Sarah discretely scooped up as she stormed away from the NSA team.
She slid through the trees to loop around to the back of the apparently derelict building at the drive-in. The trees provided the closest access to the concession stand/projection booth. A quick check of the backpack showed some bricks of C4, detonators and some fragmentation grenades. Sarah let out a low whistle before slipping it back over her head and shoulder.
Casey smirked and issued grunt #17- figured she would do that. "Establish a perimeter. Nothing goes in but us, and nothing comes out," he barked out. His second in command approached him. "But, sir, what about Agent Walker?" Casey gave the man a blank look. "Agent who? I'm not familiar with anyone at the NSA named Walker. But stay alert. If we happen to hear any gunfire or explosions from that property over there, we will have probable cause to enter without a warrant."
"And if we see anyone on site?"
"If it ain't the Ice Queen or a string bean in serious need of a high and tight haircut," Casey said as his lips curled into a snarl that he reserved for traitors and seditionists, "introduce them to the business end of a bayonet or bullet." He turned to Neuberger. "You're with me. I want you handling any communications with Walker. She's in the shit now, and we're going to shovel it." She and Casey headed off in the direction that Sarah had gone, with Neuberger scanning the building with thermal binoculars as they moved into position.
They were about fifty yards from where Sarah had vanished from sight when Neuberger tapped Casey on the back, handing over the binoculars. "Second floor window at your ten o'clock. We've got company." Casey quickly scanned the spot. "I'm going to move over closer to Walker. If the sentry spots her, take him down. But be quick and quiet."
Neuberger simply nodded her understanding. As Casey moved off, she grabbed her M4 loading a round into the chamber and powering up the red dot scope. She alternated between focusing on the window and sweeping the building, binoculars in one hand, her rifle in the other. Out of the corner of her eye, she could just make out Sarah as she stealthily moved across the asphalt towards the building. Neuberger watcher Sarah in awe. She moved as if she were a damned ghost.
Just as Sarah was about to get to the door, the guard patrolling the second floor spotted her and quickly reached for his radio. As quick as he was, Neuberger was quicker. There was a single, muted cough from her suppressed rifle and the sentry was down.
Sarah was reaching for her lock pick set when she heard the tinkle of broken glass. Her hand quickly switched to grab the M4 until she heard Neuberger over the comm link. "We are clear to breach whenever we get the warrant." Sarah recognized the statement for what it was. Neuberger couldn't officially take action until authorized by the chain of command, but she was telling Sarah that she had eliminated a threat without saying so. Sarah knew that there were no remaining threats before she breached the building.
Sarah gave a quick thumb up in the direction she guessed Neuberger to be, before grabbing the lock pick and quickly opening the door. Given that the lock was to the exterior of a seemingly abandoned building, it was old and easily defeated. Sarah was certain that wouldn't be the case once she got inside. Fulcrum was sure to have top flight security to protect their base. A burst of inspiration struck. Sarah quickly, but quietly, went up to the second level. She located the slain guard and took his magnetic ID in order to bypass interior locks.
Before long, Sarah spotted a scanner next to the concession freezer that was the only thing in the room being powered. A quick swipe of the dead guard's ID, and a hidden door in the freezer opened up to a stairwell descending underground. She gave two clicks to her comms to let Casey and his team know that she was going in. As she did so, Casey ordered the power to the facility cut. Within seconds, the hum of a large generator could be heard. But when the power went down, so did the surveillance cameras. Casey wore a grim smile. He loved having a man, or in this case woman, on the inside.
Sarah made it to the end of a hallway before the lights (and security cameras) came back to life. She risked a quick glance through the security glass on the door. On the other side was a large room with two hallways headed in opposite directions, as well as another door which was conveniently marked "Stairs" with a drawing of stairs going down. When the lights came back on, Sarah quickly swiped the dead guard's badge to gain access to the base's ready room.
Fortunately, her BDUs were very similar to what the sentry had been wearing. She spotted more surveillance cameras in the ready room, but she knew that they wouldn't be monitored as closely as the cameras for outside of the base. Straightening up, she marched across the room as though she belonged there. Sparing a quick glance down the hallways, she didn't see any additional security, which she was sure to be present wherever Chuck was being held.
She didn't find Chuck, but she did locate a maintenance closet. It made sense that if there was an issue, they would want the fastest access to it, even for a secret base. She quickly identified the power mains, as well as natural gas lines. She quickly put a small shaped charge on the power mains, then a larger charge on the gas lines but with the fuse set to a different frequency. She had night vision goggles, so losing the power without blowing up the place might be helpful during their egress.
Making sure that her hair was concealed under her fatigue flat top hat, Sarah strode out into the hallway as though she was doing a security sweep. She marched across the room and started down the stairs to the second sublevel. A quick glimpse through the security window showed several armed men milling about, and several large cables running across the ceiling to an area behind a wall. The door on the wall had two armed guards flanking it. She couldn't help but smile. She had found him. "Okay Secret Admirer," she murmured to herself. "We've got a movie to watch. Time to get you out of here, Chuck."
Still crouched down out of sight in the hallway, Sarah quickly slipped her night vision goggles onto her head, but kept them resting on her forehead. She swiped the ID card, which unlocked the door, but she held it open just far enough to keep the lock from resecuring. With her free hand, she detached two flashbang grenades. She slowly opened the door far enough to hold it ajar with her foot, while removing the pins from the grenades. She pushed the detonator for the shaped charge on the power panel. A distant thump could be heard just as the lights again went dark.
In one fluid motion, Sarah kicked open the door, tossed the grenades inside, then slammed the door shut again. Clamping her eyes shut, Sarah was going to cover her ears with her hands. She had just made out "Grenade!" coming from the far side of the door. She then covered her ears just in time before the dual detonations of the flashbangs. Grabbing hold of her M4 rifle in one hand, she used her free hand to fling open the door. One of the two guards was on the ground writhing in pain. She quickly figured that he had ruptured both ear drums. The second guard was disoriented, but still upright.
Sarah quickly put a three round burst into the chest of the upright Fulcrum guard. As she did so, a door to her right burst open and two more Fulcrum guards charged into the room. They were both a little the worse for wear from the flashbangs, but being in a separate room had spared them the worst of the effects. The first of these men was dropped with another three round burst to his chest before he even realized that Sarah was the room. The man behind him quickly raised his submachine gun, but with the lights out, he waved the gun around using the flashlight attachment to try to locate his target in the dark, smoke filled room. He too was eliminated before he ever spotted Sarah.
Not wasting any time with pleasantries, Sarah raced across the room, using her boot to break the door down. Through her night vision goggles, Sarah spotted three people in ostentatious lab coats inside of the room, as well as figure curled up under a desk. Another armed guard was in the room. He fired a shot towards the door without bothering to turn on the flashlight on his rifle. Even if Sarah hadn't had the NVGs on, the muzzle flash still would have been a dead giveaway. He was soon just as dead as the guards outside of the room.
Movement caught Sarah's eye as each person in a lab coat drew a pistol from underneath the coat. Sarah dropped the first scientist before spinning and crouching behind a filing cabinet. From that barricade, she quickly eliminated the second scientist. The third scientist unwisely spun to aim his gun at Chuck, who was the one hiding for cover under the desk. Sarah emptied the rest of the magazine into the Fulcrum agent for that move.
A quick scan of the room confirmed that she and Chuck were the only two living people left in there. "Chuck? Can you hear me?" Sarah's breath caught. There was no answer, and worry began to consume her. She didn't remember hearing any gunfire inside the room besides her own and the dead guard, but there had been someone trying to kill Chuck. "Chuck?!"
"Wha…" she finally heard come from under the desk. The voice was full of confusion, but to her, it was music to her ears. Apparently, the flashbangs had been enough to affect him inside of the room. "Who's there?"
Sarah sagged in relief. He was okay. "You asked me to pick you up to see Tron, and I'm here. Aren't you ready or do you need to some more time choosing just the right shirt to wear?" She was stunned at her lighthearted comment. She was always so serious on missions…so focused. Sarah heard a thump as Chuck apparently tried to jump to his feet. The desk above his head reminded him that wasn't an option.
"Ow!" Sarah felt bad for laughing out loud…at least little bad…somewhere deep down inside. She bit down on her cheek to stop laughing further. Chuck finally scrambled out from under the desk to stand and face her. "Sarah!" It was said with such joy, and such belief in her that she was stunned for a second. Deep underground in a secret lair. Sentimentality later. Finish rescuing Chuck first.
Chuck was apparently unable to read her mind as he scrambled over to where she was and wrapped her up in a quick hug. Two things instantly came to her mind. One he was very tactile. That wasn't in his school bio which probably wasn't unusual but given how nice the hug was, she thought it should be. Second, she normally wasn't a fan of random hugs, but this one she was good with…really good with.
Just as quickly as he had initiated the hug, Chuck leapt away from her, apparently realizing the potential impropriety of his action. Sarah instantly felt the loss of his arms around her, both physically and emotionally. She really wanted another hug, but she knew they needed to get out of the compound as fast as they could.
"C'mon professor. We've still got to make it topside. And I'm pretty sure that at this point they know that I'm here." Chuck beamed at her, making Sarah nearly stumble as she took in his complete confidence in her abilities. She looked around at the equipment, watching in shock as Chuck quickly disassembled the computer he had been working on so that he could take the hard drive with him. "What is all of this?" She had a sinking suspicion that this group was hard at work building their own copy of the NSA/CIA's most closely guarded (ha!) secret.
"Fulcrum somehow got its hands on some of the first generation Intersect hardware and software. But they weren't able to get it to work right. It kept turning their best and brightest agents comatose, if they didn't die outright from aneurysms." Even though he was talking about traitors, she could see that he was still upset at such a callous disregard for human beings.
As Chuck finished his disassembly, Sarah moved around the server farm in the back of the room. She had always taken to heart the instruction to bring twice as much ammo as you think that you might use. In this case, she had doubled down on the amount of C4 she took from Casey's stash. And here she was, scraping the last few grams here and grams there in order to destroy as much of Fulcrum's equipment as possible. Her last detonators were set to the same frequency as the brick on the gas main in the maintenance room that should turn the entire facility to ashes.
Sarah hurried over to the door, cautiously checking the main room for any signs of movement. Unfortunately, it wasn't so much any signs of movement as it was many signs of movement. "Chuck, I need your help here." Chuck scrambled over in the dark room as quickly as he could.
"I, uh, should tell you that aside from videogames, I've never actually fired a gun. So, I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be."
Sarah couldn't help but smile at him, not that she tried that hard to suppress her grin. "I'll bear that in mind. For now, I just need your help opening the door when I give you the word. You just hide on that side of the door, swing it open, count to two, then shut it again. Ok?" Chuck looked relieved, while still nervous-either about his role, or the likelihood of them making it out of the room alive. "Alright. I'm going to count down from three."
Chuck quickly interrupted. "Do we go on one, or is it three, two, one and then we go?"
"So, it will be 'three, two, one, go.' Got it? On 'go', you pull open the door. Count two Mississippi, then close the door just as fast. Good?" Chuck nodded. "All right, let's do this."
Chuck swallowed hard as Sarah removed two M67 hand grenades from the now empty sling backpack. His eyes widened in terror as Sarah removed the safety pins on the two grenades. She caught his eye and figured why he was suddenly turning green. "It's ok. The grenades are live now, but won't arm until the safety lever on the side releases. Once I let go, we've got four seconds to get behind cover. That's why I want you to close the door so quickly. You open, I toss, you close, they blow up. Ready?"
Chuck gave a tentative nod of his head. Sarah reciprocated with her most comforting smile before she started to count. "Three, two, one. Go!" Chuck was a fast study, as the moment she called out "go", he yanked open the door and called out, "One Mississippi, two Mississippi." As soon as he was done with the second Mississippi, he was shutting the door. But once he had yanked the door open and began his count, Sarah, who had her back to the wall on the other side of the door, slid over to fling the two grenades out into the room, while keeping her body behind the wall. As her hands cleared the door frame, she snapped the wrists in different directions while flinging the grenades as far as possible.
Chuck slammed the door shut, and both of them spun with their backs to the cinderblock wall on either side of the doorway, then slunk down against the tile floor. The two grenades went off within a fraction of a second of each other. The door blasted open, riddled with holes from the fragmentation grenades. Chuck sat stunned as the mangled door swung into what had been a neat orderly room just a minute or two earlier. They both soon heard the screams of at least two men who had been hurt badly by the hand grenades.
Chuck hadn't even begun to process the thought that he had helped maim and possibly kill some of the people who had just kidnapped him. Sarah, however, had yanked two more grenades off of her tac vest. They started spewing smoke before Sarah had even released them. But the two grenades soon tumbled end over end out into the battle ravaged room. Within moments, the room was filing up with smoke so dense that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
Sarah reached over and pulled Chuck to her side. "Ok, we're going to head straight across to the stairwell to get us back to the surface. I want you to grab a hold of the back of my vest with both hands and DON'T LET GO." The smoke from the main room was starting to fill up the computer lab as Chuck did as instructed. Sarah slid a fresh magazine into her assault rifle before checking to confirm there was a round in the chamber.
Just before she stepped into the room, Sarah heard her comms come to life. "Shots fired inside the building. Go for breach. Deploy CS gas to second floor and move Delta 1 for extraction. Wait on my command to enter." Sarah smiled. Casey was letting her know that the SUV would be waiting for them by the concession stand, and that anyone they met inside of the building on the way out would be a hostile. For a grumpy NSA agent, he's not totally bad.
"Alright, Chuck, let's move out. Stay low and stay behind me." In a crouch, Sarah moved swiftly across the room. Movement to her right made her spin and fire a short burst. She could vaguely see a form drop to the ground with a thud. Rather than check to see whether the Fulcrum agent was still alive, she got Chuck out of the room and into the stairwell.
Swinging her rifle to scan the stairwell, Sarah activated her comms. "Sierra Whiskey. Successful recovery. Exfiltrating now." Sarah began to ascend the stairs, reassured by the steady grip Chuck held on the back of her tactical vest. When they reached Sublevel 1, Sarah paused. With the electricity still out, the magnetic card reader wouldn't open the door. Instead, she used the butt of the rifle to smash out the window to the stairwell door. She removed the last of her flashbangs, Sarah motioned for Chuck to cover his ears. She yanked out the safety pin and flung the grenade deep into the ready room. Dropping down behind the door, she clamped her eyes shut and covered her ears.
The flashbang was strong enough to bathe the stairwell in light and cause a ringing in Sarah's ears. She would have felt bad about the effects on any of the people in the room if they weren't traitors who were complicit, if not directly involved, in the kidnapping of Chuck. She had to push back on the desire to rush into the room and extract vengeance. Getting Chuck to safety was the priority. Later she could track down the Fulcrum scum and extract her pound of flesh for their actions.
Tapping Chuck on the shoulder, she started up the stairwell to the ground level. She pushed the manual opening for the hidden door in the freezer of the concession stand. Sarah moved into the freezer, checking all the corners to ensure there was no ambush awaiting them. She moved into the concession stand interior, relieved to see the NSA Suburban waiting just a few yards away. As she stepped toward the counter, she felt Chuck's hands let go of her vest.
Sarah spun to remind Chuck to not let go until they were safely inside the vehicle. Before the words were out of her mouth, she took in a sight that would haunt her dreams for years to come. Chuck was standing upright, terror shining through his eyes. Underneath his jaw was a Glock 19 clutched in the hand of a maniacal looking Ted Roark. "Drop the gun bitch. Or Chuckie boy here gets one in the noggin. As for you, Charles, your father cost me billions. You aren't going anywhere until I get my Intersect."
Sarah didn't give a damn about the sexist term, she was too busy beating herself up for allowing someone to sneak up behind them. But she felt more than a little flattered at how quickly Chuck went from being terrified to furious. "Watch your mouth, Roark. You are nothing more than a megalomaniac with a massive inferiority complex. Sarah is a thousand times more impressive than you could ever hope to be. Dumbass."
"Besides, my father told me that you couldn't design a motherboard for a TRS-80. He didn't cost you billions, he stopped you from stealing his ideas." Chuck glared at Roark. Sarah flushed at how protective he was being towards her, even though she was the trained agent and he had the gun to his head.
"Ooh, nerdy trash talk," Sarah cooed. "But let's save that for after we get out of here." Sarah decided that provoking Roark would be the best way to distract him. Once he was distracted, she could get Chuck back.
"Who are you supposed to be? A Barbie doll dressed up like a soldier?" Roark was practically frothing at the mouth. He turned to look at Chuck. "First, I'm going to kill the girl. Then you are going to get me my Intersect."
Chuck straightened up while sputtering. "Barbie? Seriously? You sexist ass. No wonder your software sucks. You're a complete idiot."
Sarah had been glaring Roark, evaluating each response by him to find a window of opportunity to seize control of the standoff. But her visage broke when she heard Chuck leap to her defense for a second time. "You're cute. I think that I'll keep you."
"That's enough out of you." Roark jammed the pistol harder against Chuck's throat. He then smirked at Sarah. The combined actions made Sarah's blood boil. "Are you running some sort of honeytrap on young Charles here? Seduce him into giving up the Intersect?"
Sarah forced a demure smile onto her face, when all she really wanted to do was beat the smirk off of Roark's face. "Actually," she replied as casually as she would when ordering a cup of coffee, "he was the one seducing me."
"You've got this, Sarah." She was stunned at the absolute conviction in Chuck's tone. But it was the blush adorning his cheeks that drew her gaze. Was he trying to seduce me? If so, it's working.
Sarah felt her infamous concentration slipping as she stared at Chuck as though she wanted to eat him alive. But she willed herself to deal with the threat before finding the nearest supply closet to drag Chuck into. She shifted her focus from Chuck to Roark, her smile being as warm and friendly as her gaze was ice cold. Quickly looking back to Chuck, she bounced her eyebrows. "Look, Chuck, Teddie brought a pistol to a C4 fight."
Roark looked at Sarah as though he couldn't make any sense of the words coming out of her mouth. Chuck, however, grinned wildly. "Did you just change the quote from the Untouchables? God, you are so badass."
He then blanched as his eyes dropped from her own eyes down to her hands. Sarah moved the aim of her M4 off to the right with her right hand as she held up her left hand. Clasped in that hand was the detonator trigger. Roark froze in place, while Chuck and Sarah dropped to their knees as Sarah pulled the trigger.
A whump sounded below them, followed a moment later by the hidden door blasting open and a fireball fueled by the C4 and the base's natural gas lines burst out of the door and passing just over their heads. Sarah felt the superheated air cause the ambient temperature to jump. She was glad that she had the flat cap covering her hair. The nearby scream let her know that Ted Roark hadn't been as fortunate.
Sarah felt no pity for the man behind Chuck's abduction. "You know, Roark, there was a big party back in October where I was stood up because of you. I was really looking forward to dancing with my secret admirer. I think that he would have really, really enjoyed the Seven of Nine costume that I was wearing." Chuck's eyes went wide at that declaration, practically ignoring the fact that Sarah followed it up with a single shot to Roark's head.
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Sarah led Chuck out of the building that was now fully engulfed in flames. Chuck barely paid attention to the burning doorway, calmly stepping over the flames that leaped at his feet. As she opened the back door to the SUV, he looked over at her questioningly. "Were you really dressed as Seven of Nine?" That's what he wants to know after what I just did?
Sarah pushed him towards the vehicle. "We are Borg. Assimilation is inevitable." She turned back to look when she heard an "oof", and saw Chuck rubbing both shins. A laugh bubbled out as his vibrant blush told her that he had been so distracted by her quote that he had run smack into the SUV. "Try stepping into the SUV next time, Chuck."
As soon as Chuck was in the back seat, Sarah jumped in after him, slamming the door closed. She spared a quick glance back at the smoke billowing from the camouflaged spy base, her momentary mirth vanishing as she recalled what Chuck had just seen. The Ice Queen had been on full display. The second the door to the SUV shut, the NSA agent behind the wheel stomped on the gas, the engine roaring to life as they accelerated out of the drive-in parking lot.
Chuck took a moment to look over at Sarah. She once again had a hard, determined look on her face. But there was something different about that face, compared to the one he had spent so much time watching over the past several weeks.
It was her eyes. The crystal blue that had so captivated him now looked cloudy…troubled. The change couldn't be seen anywhere else on her face, and he doubted anyone who wasn't so obsessed with her would notice.
Chuck thought about at the bodies he had seen on their escape from the Fulcrum base. The kills had been quick, clean. Every single man had a gun lying on the ground near his hand. Horror once again flooded Chuck as he realized that they were there to stop Sarah from rescuing him. They were going to kill Sarah, but she saved him. He remembered Roark casually discussing her murder. The thought of her no longer being in his life, even given their odd relationship through surveillance monitors, felt like a punch to the gut. Then he realized that if Sarah had been killed, her death would have been because she was trying to rescue him. The guilt threatened to cripple him.
But then he remembered Sarah telling Roark how her Wednesday night had been ruined by not getting to dance at the Maus party…with him…in a Seven of Nine costume…As his brain locked up, his eyes drifted down from her face toward her body hidden beneath the tactical assault uniform. He had to tell himself over and over, not to ogle the woman who had just saved his ass. He quickly realized that was about as effective as telling himself not to picture an elephant in the room. He jerked his eyes away from her again, repeating not to ogle the most badass woman on the planet.
A/N2: If Hans Gruber can blow up the Nakatomi Plaza Tower and have Die Hard still be considered a Christmas movie, then David and I can blow up a subterranean Fulcrum base hidden below a closed drive in movie theatre and still have this be a Christmas fanfic. Then again, maybe listening to Henry Rollin's reading of "Twas The Night Before Christmas" wasn't the best idea when looking for inspiration for a fluffy Christmas tale.
Sarah saved her man, and kept her promise to Frost. Her promise to Roan to keep a low profile? That one maybe not so much. Several reviews had wanted Sarah to join forces with Frost (which would be a terrifying sight if you are the enemy), but we wanted it to be Sarah saving Chuck on her own. Frost already stopped an attack on Stephen, so she's in a no-win situation: leave Stephen exposed while trying to save her son, or stay and protect her husband while her son is held prisoner. Fortunately for Mary, there's someone just as lethal looking to rescue Chuck.