A/N – I'm going to keep saying it, but the positive comments and attitude toward this story have humbled me. Thank you again and I hope you like this update.

The usual applies – I don't own Chuck and I have no beta, so mistakes are my own.

Please remember to join us over at the Chuck Fanfiction Fb page as you drop a review.

Chapter 7

Opening his laptop with a broad grin, Chuck cracked his knuckles and sat down, tapping the power button. As the machine loaded, he glanced around the room, still feeling the softness of Sarah's lips as his own tingled happily. He'd been in a daze on the journey home, his mind still wrapped in the warmth of her embrace and the inferno of their kiss. Knowing that he'd have to focus to go full Piranha, he pulled on a pair of headphones and turned on his iPod. He decided on The Matrix's soundtrack, ironically selecting the Neo Vs Agent Smith theme to begin. As the music flowed into his ears, he opened his browser and began typing.

Finding his hidden storage of tools on the dark web, he downloaded a few and set to work, opening the corrupted screen where the Kingdom's website used to be, his fingers blurred as he typed, cockily snorting as he decided what order he'd have to take back each system. Security and finance were his highest priority, followed by all the personal data held on the staff, the website itself would be last, so no-one inadvertently logged back in and transmitted the virus to their system.

Frustratingly, every time he tried to regain control of something, it immediately reverted, making him repeat every keystroke. Chuck quickly decided on a new approach, dropping the window and looking through online hacking forums for Neo's footprint, or rumours of this virus. The obvious paranoia of the hacking community was only equalled by its arrogance and if Neo had used this method before, someone would know. Only saw one name appeared….The Omen.

As he bounced from chatrooms to message boards he rubbed his face and ran his hands through his curls, the virus' code going through his mind again. He brought up the screen, absorbing the subtle rhythm in the way the code pulsed across the monitor. After a couple of minutes he recognised a definite pattern, certain letters were inverted as they appeared. Closing the chatrooms completely he began to jot down the apparently random letters. It began to cycle again and Chuck realised which letters were repeating.

As he minimised the screen, causing the virus' code to vanish temporarily, Chuck glanced at the pad, the virus' creator had stupidly left his name hidden within. Whoever this Colin Davis was, he was clearly confident, arrogant even, to be so open with his name. The Piranha knew his target's name and Chuck cockily laughed as he began the hunt for his prey. "Was Colin Davis, Neo?" He doubted it, but swiftly reopened the chatrooms and enquired about his new target, typing furiously. Rumours abounded that the man was a government plant, trying to infiltrate their community. Knowing there would be far too many Colin Davis' listed on the DMV's system to narrow any search, he grinned widely and reached for a nearby energy drink, relishing the challenge ahead.

Routing his IP address through dozens of servers and at least three continents, he set his sights at the pinnacle of the food chain… the NSA.

He'd toyed around in their system back at Stanford, stupid pranks that his roommate decided on, somehow staying under their radar, and so far, the Piranha only rarely needed to nibble at the NSA's network since.

Opening up one of his apps, he blew past the security of the smaller office in San Diego and easily found Davis' record. He dipped briefly through the myriad of projects that Davis had apparently worked on, noticing repeated mentions of 'trans-morphic code' and 'A.I. driven' in his most recent work, before quickly retreating. For the first time in a while he was glad that his 'day job' gave him access to such cutting edge technology. The security manager of the casino had mentioned before the interview that their new system used both to adapt to any intrusion and he'd inadvertently hinted at the weaknesses.

With that thought fresh in his mind, the confident smile appeared again, knowing it wouldn't take as long as he feared to take apart the Omen. Cracking his knuckles again he started.

Chuck's frustration at his original incursion was forgotten as the nerd clicked and typed his way into Sarah's network, easily slicing through the barrier Neo had laid to before him… The Omen swallowed wholesale by the Piranha, and it tasted good to the nerd.

Giving Sarah back her financial records and starting on the building's security system, he laughed out loud. As each system flickered to life he muttered trash talk, enjoying the victory. He knew that Sarah's network was still vulnerable, so before he completed his final task, he copied his personal firewall setup and placed it at the forefront of Sarah's defence.

As he finally restarted the network and brought the Kingdom to life, a wide toothy smile fixed itself to his face, picturing himself bathing in the light of Sarah's smile. The Piranha's protection forever in the shadows. The nerd picked up his phone and sent a simple text to his girlfriend, the wide smile crinkling his nose.

Chuck glanced at the time in shock, it was nearly lunch time and he was obviously late for work, again. Deciding that the best option was to simply try to call in sick, the nerd tapped his phone and called Daphne, letting her tell his boss, knowing that if all else failed, the brash secretary's bitter coffee would calm Casey. Thanking the woman, he dropped the phone on the desk.

Having to track the hacker back through a trail, something he'd done countless times to punish cyber-bullying as a student at Stanford. Confident that the NSA had never heard of the Piranha, he snorted to himself and blew back through the NSA's firewall, this time beginning to search for Neo's identity. The pattern of his attack was so specific that the nerd was sure the hacker was on the NSA's radar. If they hadn't heard the name Neo, they would soon.

From even a cursory look, he realised the hacker had the government staring at him with both barrels. A massive back catalogue of hacks sat before him, all performed by Neo, fortune 500 companies and a number of attempts to do exactly what Chuck was doing right now, look at government files. The NSA had investigated every trail but the most recent one, The Frozen Kingdom. "They'll be here soon" he thought with a wince and hurried himself along. Apparently there had been a dead end in Connecticut last year and an older one at Stanford, but other than Neo's obsession with leaving Matrix quotes in his demands, they really had no solid leads. Seeing the link to Stanford, made Chuck wince, painful memories rushing through him.

"Where are you….Mr. Anderson?" he mumbled in his best Hugo Weaving impression.

Zondra closed her eyes for a moment as she listened to the elevator doors close. She wasn't looking forward to another disappointing afternoon of reassuring investors and trying to buoy Sarah's mood. That was one of the few things she admitted openly she'd never been good at… it was Carina that Sarah needed right now, not her and that was frustrating.

The old adage about feelings having no place in business ran through the brunette's head, but seeing her friend's broken demeanour when the LAPD left the previous day, enraged her beyond anything she'd felt in… well months if she was honest. Despite the LAPD's reassurances, the two women had taken the attack on the company personally and while Sarah was in shock, Zondra fell into her default, anger.

The brunette glanced at her knuckles in pride as she pictured a moment not too long ago when she'd let that fury go, the Kingdom's then Head Security Officer Cole Barker being the recipient of her ire, having drunkenly offered to "butter her muffin" at the annual company shindig. Thankfully Sarah had overheard the inappropriate comment and stepped in quickly, preventing a major altercation from ruining a wonderful day, but the cocky Brit left that day feeling like he'd been shot, twice.

Last night she'd decided for the first time to use her aggression positively, rather than heading to the gym and hitting things, she let its strength keep her going as she explained the situation again and again to the frightened investors and fighting off the calls of a battalion of reporters. Knowing that Sarah just needed a little time to regain her usual control, she'd sent the visibly stunned blonde home, taking it upon herself to stay long into the night. Sarah's absence left her alone with Skip as he tried everything he knew in a vain attempt to regain control of the company's data. She frowned at the memory of his mumbled repetition of the word "omen", the dumbfounded look on his face. His inability to even get basic functions, like the cameras back, made her regret hiring the nerd. The brunette opened her eyes and gave the numbers above the doors a gimlet stare, moving far too slowly for her liking, their apparent immobility echoing the stalemate she felt they were in with the hacker.

As Zondra stepped past the empty desk outside her friend's office, wondering where Sarah's assistant was, she took a deep breath, resignation and hope settling itself on her face. Deciding to push her own frustration aside and help her friend through another stressful day, she opened the door and stepped through.

"Where's Kayla?" she called as she walked in, holding the door and gesturing to the empty desk.

"She came in earlier and I told her to go home, like everyone else. I said she should go to the audition she told me about… the one for that pilot." The blonde didn't turn around, instead gazing though the window.

"Ah, was that the one where she was gonna be the hero's neighbour? She was really hyped about that call back. I kinda felt sorry for her…" Zondra gave a tight lipped smile as she remembered the teary girl crying at her desk. Zondra began to watch her friend curiously, something was different.

"Yeah I know, but let's be honest, she can't even remember how I take my coffee after two years." The blonde shrugged and looked away, grinning meekly.

"Did you manage to get any sleep?" Zondra said, looking closely at Sarah who glanced back over her shoulder and slowly nodded, flashing a warm smile. As she heard the door finally shut, Zondra closed the distance between them, mirroring the blonde's pose, and leaned against the large windows. Ignoring the cloudless blue sky outside and concentrating on her friend, she noted quickly the wide hopeful smile and confident gaze perpetually fixed to the blonde's face as she looked over the city. Zondra felt relief that Sarah had regained her calm centre, allowing herself a moment of peace, but the intensity of the smile still worried the brunette a little. Sarah distractedly bit her thumbnail for a moment, as she began tapping her bare foot absent-mindedly, the almost metronomic sound, the only outward indication to Zondra of the previous day's stress.

The persistent silence continued for a few minutes, beginning to unnerve the brunette. She reached across and placed a hand tentatively onto Sarah's shoulder, shocking the blonde from her musings, a knowing smile and glow evident in her eyes.

"Hey, you ok?" the brunette asked, her concerned expression returning.

"I was just gonna ask you the same… you're not usually this quiet" The blonde grinned sarcastically.

Squinting her eyes and smirking at the blonde "…and you're not usually so funny? I'm serious Sar, you ok?"

"I'm fine, good even… I can't explain it" she lied "…not really, but I have a feeling that we'll get the Kingdom back soon." She smiled and squeezed Zondra's hand as she stepped away from her friend and sat down at her desk.

"You're not paying that asshole" Zondra called defiantly.

Sarah shook her head defiantly and sat forward. She turned on the computer and waited, the earlier hopeful smile returning.

Zondra came and sat across from her, discussing how they'd get the company running again, when the crisis was over.

"There was one call I didn't make last night…" Zondra offered, smirking a little "Alexei…"

The blonde gave a warm smile before replying "I should've called him before I left. I could have really done with his support last night…" Sarah reluctantly lied, a flush began creeping up her neck as she remembering the support she'd had instead.

The nerd who'd simply held her and coaxed her to relax.

The kiss they'd shared when she'd awoken in Chuck's arms, the passion and warmth in not only the kiss, but his wonderfully caramel eyes, obliterated any remnants of yesterday's bad mood. Even thinking of that brief encounter, revitalised the blonde, the buzz of energy making her lips tingle and smile.

"Well whatever you did last night, it looks like it did you good…" the brunette stated as Sarah's smile turned secretive, the flush in her cheek spoke volumes to the brunette, she was hiding something but Zondra didn't really think she wanted to know…

"…you're here now, so call." she gave the blonde a reassuring smile. "Tell him I'll kick his ass all over the course next time he's in town…" the brunette added proudly, causing Sarah to snort.

"I'm sure you will…" she picked up the phone and dialled his number. Standing up, the brunette placed a warm hand on Sarah's shoulder and walked away, sitting on the couch at the far end of the room.

The phone seemingly rang for an eternity, although it was only a few moments, it gave her time to at least prepare an apology for her largest investor… no that was wrong, her friend.

Suddenly a strong British voice burst through the phone "Aaahh, Sarah my dear…"

It boomed. "I wondered when you'd call." His tone was warm but somehow stern at the same time, a talent of his that constantly kept Sarah on her toes.

"Hi Alexei. I'm sorry I didn't call yesterday…" she offered contritely "…I'm sure as you've already heard, we had a lot going on." She winced at the obvious platitude.

"Hmmm… I'm sure." He answered sardonically. "Have you managed to get our Kingdom back?" His playfulness surprised the blonde. "Do I need to step in? I know some VERY good people who can find this hacker…" she heard what sounded like him snapping his fingers as his tone hardened a little at the end. Sarah winced at the potential implication, but laughed anyway, knowing his dark humour. The quixotic businessman's attitude to life and humanity appeared constantly in flux. "If you recall, I mentioned an old college friend of mine a few years back, his was always bragging that his son was even better than him… maybe one of the best ever…" his playful lilt returned. "He's in L.A." he added quickly.

"It's Ok, I know a guy…" she interrupted proudly, thinking of Chuck's confident smile when he'd mouthed "I got this" as he left. The comment caused Zondra's head to snap around, suddenly attentive. Sarah grinned to herself before impatiently looking towards her computer, hoping that Chuck would complete his task soon. "I just wanted to let you know that we'll be up and running soon" she said hopefully.

"That's great news, so you don't need my guy?" he trailed off, clearly relieved. "Of course you don't, you've always been so independent, strong... Have any of MY reporters caused trouble? They're little scamps and I know they don't think I'm watching, but if they've upset my Duchess…" She smiled warmly at her pet name. "You know…I haven't had the chance to set The Gobbler on anyone in a while" he offered sarcastically, causing Sarah to chuckle at the memory of his overweight Chihuahua.

"How is the little guy?" She asked warmly.

"Hungry… as always" the Brit replied with a chuckle.

Sarah remembered first meeting the little dog, jumping at her knees hungrily as she offered Alexei samples of her food, amusing the older man as the dog's greed overtook his need to just yap incessantly at the stranger. The suave Brit had been surprised when she'd first entered his office, knowing how picky his pet usually was and gave the beautiful blonde a chance to pitch the idea of building the Kingdom.

The Brit had grown unbelievably disappointed over the next few days as he discovered, through a detective of Jack's transgressions, challenging the blonde's motives. Having tried Sarah's desserts and enjoying the youthful blonde's enthusiasm, he'd taken the girl on temporarily as his personal chef, giving her the time to prove herself. She'd refined the idea and recipes in her down time, using her experience from El Compadre and the Brit's delicate palette as a barometer of success. The bond they'd formed as she travelled the world with him, plying him with ever more delicious fare and cementing his trust, strangely gave the wannabe entrepreneur a positive male role model for only the second time in her life.

"Thanks for the offer Alexei, when are you back in town? Zondra said she'll kick your ass… again." she smirked at her friend, enjoying the way the brunette now squirmed.

His confident if not sarcastic "…she cheated last time, but I do look forward to our next tiny weapon fight..." making Sarah snort.

Listening from across the room, Zondra could hear the snort and see her friend's confidence return, the woman's posture straightening before her eyes. The call had obviously done Sarah a world of good, the slumped shoulders and hurt expression that Sarah had displayed yesterday were already gone beforehand but she sat almost statuesque in her confidence now. Alexei always had a way of bringing out the best in his people, and Sarah was definitely one of 'his people.' She envied the blonde's fatherly bond with the man, having been abandoned by her own father, years ago.

Sarah glanced distractedly at her computer, noticing another icon on the bottom of the screen. "He's doing it now" she thought, as a relieved smile plastered itself on her face. Gesturing with her free hand towards the brunette, she saw the computer screen flash a few times and then darken. It stayed that way for quite some time before she saw the tell-tale wallpaper appear, she'd never been so happy to see that Costa Gravan beach.

"…I'm sorry Alexei I got to go, it looks like MY guy has given us the keys to the kingdom back." She barely heard his jubilant reply as her joy overtook decorum, and she punched the air in victory. Putting the phone down quickly, she felt her mobile vibrate in her pocket. Pulling it out excitedly, Sarah glanced at the screen in amusement, the message from Chuck was a simple "Ta da…" causing her eyes to tear up in relief and joy.

Zondra crossed the room and reached for Sarah's hand, swept into the whirlwind of energy that emanated from the blonde. "That was Chuck, wasn't it? He's YOUR guy…" she smirked at the double meaning, noticing the flush that appeared on Sarah's face.

"Yeah…" Sarah said breathlessly. "…he is."

"That's why you were so calm when I got here…" Zondra pouted briefly "It looks like Carina won our bet…" the brunette frowned briefly before laughing at Sarah's pout.

"What bet? The blonde asked defiantly.

"That Chuckie boy would get some…" Zondra called, causing Sarah to huff.

Sarah inhaled sharply, folding her arms across her chest and staring down the brunette, who sat chuckling at her friend. "We didn't… I haven't…" she muttered defiantly, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment. "What did you bet anyway?"

"That doesn't matter… but Sarah, you tell her, I'm not paying this time." The brunette stood and placed a hand on her friends shoulder. "After what he just did… I think old Chuckie boy is getting paid." Zondra said sarcastically, with a shit-eating grin. "I said PAID, by the way" she laughingly added with a shrug at Sarah's surprised expression.

"And I thought Carina wasn't gonna be here until ten tonight." The blonde said playfully, Zondra looked at her watch defiantly and shrugged. "If I closed my eyes… you sounded just like her. I don't think L.A. could cope with two Carina's" Sarah added, shivering.

"I bet some guys would like to try…" Zondra suggested with a cringe.

"So might she… that's always been the problem." It was the brunette's turn to snort at Sarah's obvious insinuation.

The blonde suddenly started "Shit… I forgot to ask Chuck if he's free tomorrow."

"Just call him." Zondra said, finally calming herself. "I'll get started on opening this place up." The tall brunette headed for the door. "It'd be a lot easier if Kayla hadn't vanished just before she was needed." She called sarcastically over her shoulder as the door closed.

A/N2 I hope you're still with me. I'm obviously clueless about hacking of any kind and if you noticed obvious errors in my knowledge, I'm sorry. Please R&R is you liked it. Stay safe and take care. D.