A/N: Some of my reviewers didn't like how I was portraying poor Daniel; well, if you were expecting him to become a super spy suddenly, you will be disappointed. If that is what you want from this story, I suggest you stop reading now.
Also, I had one reviewer think that maybe more of the characters in the story could be gay. However, this is only the case for Bryce. Not that there is anything wrong with it, but this story will not feature any gay relationships.
I don't own Chuck.
Chapter 4
"What the hell are you talking about, Shaw? Is the heat getting to you?" Asked Sarah.
"No, but maybe to you, is that why you undid those extra few buttons on the shirt or was it just to give fire boy over there a thrill," said Shaw.
"Shaw, what I do or don't do with my buttons is none of your business," responded Sarah.
Shaw snorts.
"Besides, we have other things to worry about, like what are they doing in the camp, and I think we will have to move?" said Sarah.
"That is correct; Agent let's quickly pack up what we can so we can get moving," said Chuck.
"Just one second here, boy scout, this is my operation. I am in charge, and we will move when I say," said Shaw.
"Yeah, let's listen to the moron that is supposedly his agencies expert on this group and didn't even know they had ties to Al Qaeda," said Casey stepping into the open.
"Who the hell brought the NSA along, and you have no idea what we know and don't know?" said Shaw defensively.
"I know because I have been listening to you for the last day with a directional microphone." Said Casey, then added, "You are lucky that Walker seems to have some misguided loyalty to your agency because I tried to get her to leave you two behind."
"Thanks, Casey, but we both know that our rescuer is calling the shots, and yes, Shaw, that is right. As of now, until we are safely away from this fire, Bartowksi here is in charge, orders direct from Graham," said Sarah.
Sarah sees Bryce blanch at the name and always seems to have someone or some object between himself and Bartowski.
"Well, it's all well and good, but I am not moving from here until Graham has approved," said Shaw.
"Suit yourself, but if you stay here, you will burn like a piece of 4x2, and the rest of us will not wait for you to have the conversation. So, pack up, and let's get moving," said Chuck.
As Bryce quickly packs up his gear, she goes over to ask.
"Hey, what's going on with you? Do you know Bartowski? Are we compromised? Is he not what he seems?" asked Sarah.
"If what he seems is a hero and probably the nicest guy you will ever meet, then no, that is just what he is," said Bryce.
"Then why are you hiding from him?" asked Sarah.
"We have history," said Bryce.
"Well, he will already…" said Sarah, but Chuck was over with her and Bryce before she could finish.
"Bryce, you can stop trying to hide your face; your agency kindly provided me a dossier of all of you fire bunnies; I knew you were out here before I hit the ground," said Chuck.
Bryce just looked up at Chuck; it was a look Sarah had never seen from Bryce before. It was like Bryce was ashamed. Like he didn't like who he was. But with a hint of something else.
"So I guess you didn't die like everyone thought… you going to disappear and leave everyone else behind to burn in the fire here too?" asked Chuck.
"Chuck, please, it wasn't like that. I was ordered to leave," answered Bryce.
"Tell someone that cares or has time to care. At the moment, all I care about is keeping everyone alive," said Chuck.
Bryce could only nod.
'What the fuck?' Thought Sarah, 'What fire are they talking about?'
After Chuck left Bryce to start working the path out of their hide, she returned to Bryce.
"What the fuck is all this about? What fire is he talking about?" asked Sarah.
"Sarah, Chuck is right; we need to keep our heads on the task at hand. If we make it out of this, I will explain what I can," said Bryce.
"Ok, people, listen, it's time for a bit of education. We have the fire triangle; for fire to continue burning or even light, you need oxygen, Fuel, and Heat. Fuel is anything that can burn, and heat is anything from the radiating heat from a fire or directly from the flames. A fire will consume fuel and oxygen and produce heat. Our bodies need oxygen and do not like excessive heat, and our bodies can be fuel." Chuck looked around the four of them.
"For us to survive, the main thing we need to do depends on the circumstance; when we are in the open, we need to reduce fuel around us, so if we get trapped, we have less direct flames to worry about. When it is time to shelter, we protect ourselves from radiating heat and conserve oxygen."
"Everything I will do is to give us all a better chance of survival, which is not guaranteed. So whenever you are not listening to me and do what I say, you improve the odds for all of us," said Chuck.
%-%
The group of five make their way over towards a river.
"Ok, everyone, we are approaching a river. I want you to take the opportunity to have a drink and fill up any water bottles you may have," said Chuck.
While they all take turns filling up the bottles, Chuck sees Shaw taking off his jumper and putting it in the water.
"What are you doing?" asked Chuck.
"Boy Scout, I am insulating myself from the heat by wetting my clothes; I thought you were supposed to be smart?" Responded Shaw.
"Shaw wet fabric is a much better conductor of heat than dry," said Chuck.
Shaw looked at Chuck, confused, "What are you talking about? Everybody knows you hold a wet rag to your face to keep cool in a fire," laughed Shaw.
"Ah, holding a wet rag over your mouth will help filter out the particulates in the air, not for keeping your face cool. Besides, what do you think the radiant heat will do to your wet clothing?" asked Chuck.
"Well, it will dry it, but it will cool me down before that," said Shaw.
Chuck heard a snort and a grunt come from Casey several feet away.
"Ok big guy, can you tell him what will happen?" asked Chuck.
"The heat will dry your clothing alright by turning the water to steam," said Casey.
"Fuck will it steam him alive?" asked Sarah.
"Close to it, though the radiant heat will probably kill him before becoming a steamed dumpling with the extra heat conduction." Said Chuck.
Chuck could only continue shaking his head. "In the future, if any of you have a bright idea, please ask me before you do it, and make sure you listen to all the instructions before you carry anything out." Said Chuck.
"Agent Shaw, tie the jumper around your pack so it will dry… Dry Long-sleeved clothing will provide some value when the radiant heat gets to us," said Chuck.
Chuck gathered the five of them together and let them know that they would follow this river for about a quarter-mile.
The order was Chuck first, followed by Sarah, then Shaw, Bryce, and Casey following up at the rear.
"So what should I call you, Firefighter Bartowski?" asked Sarah.
"How about just Chuck," said Chuck.
"Only if you call me Sarah," said Sarah.
"First name basis, what will your kids think," asked Chuck looking back at Bryce and Shaw.
"Wha… ah oh. Yeah, the kids will have to deal with it, won't they" said Sarah smiling.
Sarah realized that it was only an hour ago that she thought that this was the end of her life and counted down everything she had done. But, just the introduction of one tall and mysterious rescuer, she couldn't remember being happier. She was smiling; a genuine smile stuck in a wildfire in the middle of Yellowstone Park. It was simple, and can't remember the last time without consciously trying. The only other time she can remember was back before she left her mother and a few times with Carina.
"So Chuck, you mentioned that I had to make it out because I had to go out with Carina; well, I'll make you a deal. I do whatever you tell me so I can make it out of here as long as you join us," said Sarah.
"Oh, look, Carina is a nice girl, and I am sure we would probably have some fun, but I am not interested in her," said Chuck.
"Chuck, who said anything about you coming along for Carina. I want the opportunity to know you better. In fact fuck Carina just the two of us go out if that makes you more comfortable," said Sarah.
Chuck turned around to face her and was wearing a smile that seemed brighter than the wildfire around them, and stayed for several seconds until Shaw started making noises. "How about we keep our minds on the job, and we can talk about this later, Because you keep talking like that, and I will forget where we are and what we are doing," said Chuck.
"Agent Shaw, how is that clothing going? If it is dry, you should put it on. I can feel the heat increasing and coming for us," said Chuck.
Sarah could hear Shaw mumbling under his breath, and that usually would have annoyed her, but nothing seemed to be stopping her good mood. She would get out of this hell she is currently in and start exploring a bit of heaven. She was giving some muscles on her face a good workout with a huge smile. That thought made her smile even bigger, thinking about muscles a little lower that hadn't been exercised in a while.
She looked ahead and saw Chuck's ass, 'Fuck am I a horny teenager, just like Shaw?'
%-%
They were approaching a widening of the river, and up ahead, Chuck could see some spot fires breaking out on the edge of the river bank. "Look, we can get in the river," said Bryce.
"Water is not deep enough, and too much fuel around the banks will result in loss of oxygen" it's best if we keep moving. Chuck notices a spot fire ahead and starts using his Pulaski to throw From dirt on the brush fire around them.
"No need to panic, everyone; this is just a spot fire that we can quickly take care of; keep following me. I will put out those flames close to where we will be walking," said Chuck.
Out the corner of his eye, Chuck could see a body breaking away behind Sarah and making its way to an upturned aluminum dinghy on the side of the river.
"Fucken Shaw, "Chuck yells as He turns in the team's direction. Get up here, Casey; you keep us moving. I have to save the idiot," said Chuck.
Shaw made it to the dinghy and got underneath it, and before Chuck could get to him, a sizeable burning branch from the tree above the boat fell onto it.
As Chuck approached the dinghy, he launched into a spin. He threw out his Pulaski in one fluid motion like it was a part of him and came into contact with the most significant part of the branch, cleared it off the dinghy, and lifted it, releasing Shaw. He quickly pulled him out and threw him over his shoulder and then onto the ground back with the group.
"What did I say about just going off and doing something stupid," said Chuck.
"What is the difference between getting under that and those fancy fire shelters you have, and you need to give me more respect," said Shaw.
"For starters, I will respect you when you start respecting the lives of the other people here, and you can do that by listening. The shelter works to trap the air within the shelter by sealing the sides with your body; otherwise, the fire will suck out all the oxygen and suffocate. Also, did you not see that large burning tree directly above it?" Asked Chuck.
"What tree? It was no danger," said Shaw.
"No danger, this huge burning branch, larger than the boat, fell on it, you idiot. If Chuck didn't use his ax thing, you would still be trapped under it," said Bryce.
"Chuck, who is Chuck?" asked Shaw.
"The guy who saved you, yah moron," said Casey.
"Oh, so we all know him just as Chuck now, do we," asked Shaw.
Chuck could only shake his head, "Does this guy realize our situation, or is he like a hamster and forgets after about three seconds. So stop all these ridiculous conversations, and let's work on listening to what I say, and then doing it so we can all get through this firestorm." asked Chuck.
"So we should be listening to the fool who doesn't even know that it's a goldfish with only a three-second memory, "said Shaw.
Chuck only sighed." And I guess you also believe in the five-second rule? We don't have time for this idiot," said Chuck.
"You call me an idiot, but you had no comeback for me challenging the memory of a hamster," said Shaw.
"No, he did respond, but obviously, you were not smart enough to realize it," said Sarah.
Chuck picked up his firefighter radio" Base; this is Jumper Bartowski. Do you copy?" Asked Chuck.
"Hey Chuck, this is Carina; what is the status?" Responded Carina.
"I am with the team, and I am having some issues with one of the Agents; he refuses to listen to direction or logic, and he is putting lives at risk. Permission to cut him loose?" Asked Chuck.
"Pretty Boy or the child in a man's body?" Asked Carina.
"Agent Shaw," responded Chuck.
"If it were up to me, I'd just get you to chop his legs off and leave him to bleed out, but I'll loop in Graham. Can you put him on the radio," asked Carina.
"Here he is," said Chuck.
"Agent Shaw, they want to talk to you," said Chuck as he handed the headset over.
They could only hear Shaw's side of the conversation, and he didn't seem to have much opportunity to get a word in.
He passed the headset back to Chuck, and he put on the headset.
"This is Bartowksi again," said Chuck.
He heard a clearing of a throat. "Mr. Bartowksi, I hope you have no further problems with Agent Shaw, and remember, Agent Walker is like a daughter to me," said Graham.
"Understand, Director, I will make sure that we have every chance to survive this, but we should get moving this contact lost us some time, but unfortunately, it was necessary," said Chuck.
"Ok, let's get moving, everyone; we are closer to the firefront than I had hoped," said Chuck.
"Agent Shaw, I want you upfront with me, Agent Walker, you up back with Casey," said Chuck.
Chuck could see Sarah's face fall, and he knew he would have to think about what that meant later, but he needed to keep a close eye on Shaw.
%-%
They were making their way along a path with still plenty of trees around, occasionally coming upon a spot fire that Chuck quickly put out and removed as much fuel to create mini-breaks in fuel.
Sarah was watching Chuck work with the Pulaski and would be the first to admit that she was feeling hotter than just from the fire; what surprised her was that whenever she looked at Bryce, he too was watching Chuck.
"Hey Walker, what is going on between our rescuer and pretty boy?" asked Casey.
"Shaw?" asked Sarah, Surprised.
"No, not the moron, pretty boy Larkin," said Casey.
"I don't know, Casey; from what I know, they have some history, something about another fire and not dying in the fire." Said Sarah shrugging.
"Is that why it looks like he is mooning after him?" asked Casey.
Sarah looked back at Bryce, "Oh shit," said Sarah.
They all reached a clearing, and Chuck got everyone into a group and took off one of his packs.
"Ok, everyone, this is where we will make our stand; the only way out of this fire is through it, which is giving off too much heat for us to survive. So the plan here is to try and clear this area of as much fuel as possible and set up our shelters for the fire to pass us by," said Chuck.
"Is this the best place to do this?" asked Bryce.
"Yes, before dropping in, I identified this area; it will give us the best chance for survival. I wanted to get here with enough time to clear fuel and then shelter in place," said Chuck.
The team was busy removing all fuel from the surrounding area to prepare for the soon to arrive fire. "Do we have to remove everything?" asked Bryce.
"Yes, live foliage and dead foliage at these temperatures will not make much difference."
%-%
Chuck quickly used his Pulaski to clear down to the rock and soil and could tell the tension that had now built amongst the five; nerves were very frayed.
"I just saw a fire run up that hill faster than I thought possible," said Sarah pointing into the distance.
"Think of the fire triangle again; if a fire is presented with a positive gradient, the heat from the fire will rise and expose more of the fuel uphill to the radiating heat, facilitating a quick spread uphill, but it is the opposite downhill. Fire will spread around four times faster on a twenty percent gradient than on level terrain. So plotting the spread of fire through a landscape is a little like plotting the path of a golf ball through a putting green just reversed.
"We need to collect all guns and ammunition and bury them. The fire could detonate the gun powder in the bullets even in the shelters." Said Chuck and walked over to Casey.
"Big guy, can you help me ensure that Shaw doesn't have any explodable ammunition on him. It will be a sad end if we get this far and die from injuries suffered from exploding bullets.
Chuck and Casey ensured that Shaw did not have anything, and then Chuck went away with his Pulaski and buried the bag downhill from where they will be sheltering.
Chuck dropped his Pulaski at his feet while he started pulling rectangular pouches out of one of his bags.
"Do we need to get that away from us? Is that fuel too?" Asked Sarah pointing at the combination ax and hoe.
"No, the handle looks like its wood, but it's made of fire-resistant fiberglass; it could melt but will not burn.
"Ok, these are our Fire Shelters, they are single-occupant shelters, and when they are up, we lay face down and use our arms and legs to get as good a seal as possible to trap as much air inside as we can. I have four large and one small. You will feel the radiated heat still in the shelter, but the shelter will deflect most of it, so no matter how hot it feels in the shelter, it will be much worse outside."
"Now, with the shelter, take it out of the pouch and remove the red tape. Take the two tabs, one in each hand. You can see them labeled left and right, pull apart and shake…" but before Chuck could complete his explanation, Shaw panicked, grabbed one of the large shelters on the ground, moved away from the group, and removed it from the pouch. Before Chuck could stop him, he had the shelter tabs in each hand and started to shake…
A/N: Hmmm, now what is Shaw up to? What will be his fate? We all know how well a piece of untreated 4x2 goes up in flames. So will Chuck finally give in, or will his natural selflessness and going out of his way to help others win in the end?
I know I haven't addressed the buttons on Sarah's shirt, but that and more will feature in the next chapter. Charah is slowly simmering; I promise the heat will increase next chapter ?.
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