Chapter 33: The Fallout part 2

California, Los Angeles, Echo Park, February 9th, 2008

Chuck wasn't staring morosely at a paused game when she came home, Sarah noticed, but he wasn't looking happy either, watching the news on the TV. So, the talk with his father hadn't gone as well as he had hoped. But how bad had it been? She'd find out. "Hi, Chuck."

"Hi, Sarah," he replied, smiling rather tiredly at her.

She sat down next to him on the couch. "Nothing new at The Castle."

"You haven't started the investigation into Gonzàlez yet?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "It seems that this will be left to the police until we 'discover' the electronic trail to his accounts."

"Ah." He sighed. "You're not asking after my meeting with Dad?"

"I'm sure you'll tell me when you're ready," she lied.

"Uh." Another sigh. "He would do it again, and worse, to keep me and Ellie safe."

"He said that?"

"Yes."

She looked into his eyes. "So would I."

He didn't reply for a moment that felt far, far too long. Then he nodded. "I know. But you're a spy. Dad's…" He shrugged.

"He's a spy as well," she told him.

"I guess so."

"And he's your father." Which was the problem.

"Yes. But that's not the problem. Not the real problem - I mean, I don't like what he did, but, well… I understand why he did it."

She nodded. That was good. "And what's the real problem?"

"Well, I'm planning to become a spy myself, right?" He didn't wait for her to answer. "I know, we talked about this already - I know that I don't have to do… don't have to kill people. Not like an assassin, at least, you know what I mean, don't you? Right. But… what if I start killing like… well, Dad?"

Or like me, Sarah thought. "You won't," she told him, hoping she wasn't lying. "That you're so concerned about it is proof of that."

He didn't seem to believe her. "Aren't converts usually the most fanatical?"

"Chuck, you've killed before, and you didn't like it. And even now, when you understand your father's reasons, you don't like it." She slowly shook her head. "You won't turn into a killer. Trust me."

She could see him struggle.

"Trust me," she repeated herself.

He finally smiled and nodded, but she knew he still worried. It was a good first step, though.

Chuck sighed - silently; he didn't want to wake up Sarah - and stared at the ceiling in their bedroom. She was convinced that he wouldn't become a killer. And she was an experienced spy - she knew assassins. And she had been there, as you'd say. Well, as some people said on the Internet. Or wrote.

He blinked. His thoughts were wandering. But he had to focus on this. This was important. Crucial. He sighed again. He had been thinking about this all day and he wasn't any closer to a resolution than before. Talking with Sarah had helped, but… without being arrogant about it, as his girlfriend, she was a little biased. He needed a more objective opinion.

Morgan was his best friend. He nodded. He'd talk to Morgan tomorrow.

California, Burbank, Buy More, February 10th, 2008

"Morgan!" First thing after entering the Buy More, Chuck made a beeline to his friend.

"What did I do?" Morgan asked, wincing a little. "Or what didn't I do?"

Chuck blinked. "What? No, no. I just need to talk to you."

"Yes?" Morgan nodded and stood a little straighter.

"Not here. In private."

"Oh. One of those talks?" Morgan asked.

"Yes." Chuck nodded, then reconsidered. "Wait! What kind of talk are you thinking about?"

"The kind that involves Caridad or Sarah?"

"No, no. Not that kind of talk. Well, in a way. Look, I need some advice. And not about my love life."

"Ah." Morgan smiled at him, then reached up and patted Chuck's shoulder. "Of course I'll help any way I can. You're my best friend!"

"Thanks, Morgan." Chuck smiled at his friend, though he felt a little guilty - he hadn't been spending as much time as he used to with Morgan.

Then he remembered the game night mess and didn't feel guilty any more.

"So, what kind of advice do you need?" Morgan asked an hour and a half later as they entered the home entertainment display room. "If it's about beating that sniper nest in the expansion…"

"No, no," Chuck shook his head.

"Ah." Morgan nodded. "Well, it was a long shot anyway - you wouldn't ditch your break with Sarah for gaming tips, would you?"

"Of course not!" Chuck exclaimed. As if anyone would. Well, Morgan perhaps. "No," he continued before Morgan could speculate some more. "I need some advice about killing."

"What?" Morgan was staring at him with wide eyes, obviously surprised.

Chuck closed his eyes and sighed. "That came out wrong. I don't need advice about how to kill. I need advice about how to handle killing."

"Oh." Morgan reached for the armrest of the couch next to him, then leaned against it. "Is this about the Caribbean?"

"No." Chuck shook his head. "It's…" He took a deep breath. "Have you ever executed someone?"

"Oh," Morgan repeated himself. "No, Phil was always the one to do that, when it was necessary. Did you have to, uh, execute a spy?"

"No." After a moment, Chuck added: "But I saw it happen."

"And now you're not sure how you feel about your love killing someone in cold blood? Well, I do have some experience with that, indeed." Morgan nodded.

"What? No, it wasn't Sarah," Chuck told him.

"You saw Casey killing someone, and now you're worried that he'll flip and kill everyone in the store?"

"No, no. I'm not worried about that!" Although… perhaps he should be worried about it, Chuck realised. Working in retail was stressful, everyone knew that, and the Buy More staff was a little more colourful than most. Even Chuck had fantasised a few times about hurting Jeff and Lester, after all. "Anyway, it's not about Casey's possible serial killer tendencies." He blinked. "Or, in a way, it might be."

Morgan gasped. "You think he's going to come after us? First Jeff and Lester, then me?"

"No, no!" Chuck held up his hand. "Let's forget about the risk of Casey going postal for a moment, alright?"

"Alright. But I am now worried, Chuck."

Chuck sighed again. "I'm worried that I'll become like Casey." There, he'd said it.

Morgan was staring at him with a rather dumbfounded expression. "What?"

"I'm afraid that I might end up like Casey - always ready to kill someone. You know, slippery slope, coverts being fanatics?" Chuck smiled encouragingly at Morgan.

Although his friend seemed to be more afraid and disturbed than encouraged. "Chuck… are you getting enough sleep?"

Was that a dig at his relationship with Sarah? It counted as rest, anyway. "Yes, my sleep schedule is perfectly alright," Chuck replied. This wasn't like when they had started Everquest together.

"So, why would you come up with such an absurd fear?" Morgan shook his head, chuckling. "You're the last person who'd become like Casey. Hey, the fact that you're worried about it is proof that you won't become like him."

"Sarah said the same thing." Chuck sighed and leaned back, resting his head on the couch's back.

"You talked to her about it?"

Morgan sounded a little hurt, he noticed. "Well, it came up at home."

"Ah." His friend nodded. "And you didn't trust her. I mean, her judgement."

"No!" Of course he did trust Sarah. "I mean, yes… I needed a second opinion by someone who knows me well and isn't biased." And wasn't a spy.

"Ah." Morgan smiled. "Well, in my expert opinion, you're not in danger of becoming a stone-cold killer like Casey."

"Thank you, Morgan." Chuck was surprised to realise that he meant it. Two people close to him - closest, though in different ways - believed in him.

If only he believed in himself as much. But it certainly helped.

Although it was worrying - more than a little worrying, if he was honest - that both Morgan and himself had been using Casey as an example of the worst case. The NSA agent was their - well, Chuck's - teammate, after all.

Well, every team had their dark horse. Or something like that. "Let's get back to work," Chuck said.

But when he opened the door, he was almost bowled over by Jeff and Lester.

"Hide us!"

"Help us!"

"He'll kill us!"

"What?" Chuck managed to say as the two troublemakers rushed past him and hid behind the couch.

"What did you do?" Morgan asked.

And there came Casey, glaring.

Chuck swallowed and stepped in the agent's way. "Whoa, whoa, whoa… let's calm down before we do something everyone will regret."

Casey snarled, but Chuck stood his ground. "What happened?"

"They wrecked my lunch," Casey spat.

"It was an accident!" Lester piped up from behind the couch.

Chuck saw Casey's eyes widen and spread his arms to hold him off. "Hold on!"

"They're about to have an accident," Casey growled.

"What about they're about to pay you another lunch?" Chuck smiled as widely as he could. "Two lunches?"

Casey stared at him, then sneered again, but nodded. Well, he jerked his head up and down, but that was Casey for you.

Crisis averted.

California, Burbank, Wienerlicious, February 10th, 2008

"...and I really wonder if those two are bent on suicide by Casey." He shook his head as he opened the carton with the curry.

"If he really wanted to kill them, he wouldn't go after them like this," Sarah told him, blowing on her Peking duck. "Thank you for buying lunch, by the way."

"It's the least I could do for missing our break," he replied. "And I know that, but Jeff and Lester are… you need to get used to them. Build up a tolerance." And Jeff was a demon.

"Casey's been through worse. He was a marine before he joined the NSA - if he's still sane after a decade in that business, then a pair of store staff won't break his mind." She took a bite and smiled. "Mhh. That's good. Did you find a new take-out?"

"Not new, but it's a bit further from here than our usual selection, so I rarely head there for lunch," he replied. "But I'm not sure if he's actually sane."

She didn't roll her eyes, but the look she gave him conveyed the message anyway. "Chuck, Casey's a sniper. If that made you insane, we'd have hundreds of serial killers in the country."

That was a terrifying thought.

"Although," she went on with a frown, "speaking of serial killers, without the FBI suppressing the evidence, most vampire killings would trigger a serial killer flag just from the number of missing persons in a given location."

Chuck nodded. "Yes, the FBI does that. And that's also how the Council finds a lot of the established vampires and demons. And the odd human serial killer, I guess."

"And how do they handle them?"

"They usually pass them to the authorities - if they manage to catch them alive. Not everyone cooperates."

"Ah." She took another forkful, closing her eyes for a moment and moaning softly. "That's really good."

She looked like… He blushed a little. And licked his lips for a reason that had nothing to do with his own meal. Then he blinked. "Are you trying to distract me?"

Her grin was answer enough, but she quickly grew serious. "Chuck, you shouldn't dwell on this like that. That's not good for you."

Hadn't she told him that worrying about starting to enjoy killing was a good sign? He didn't ask, though - that would have been petty. "Alright," he lied.

"Good."

California, Burbank, The Castle, February 10th, 2008

"Agents, Mr Bartowski, you've got a new mission," General Beckman said, frowning at them through the screen, before her image shrunk and a few files and pictures appeared next to her. "Yesterday, Agent Aaron Cooper didn't show up to work. He was one of a number of suspects for having ties to Fulcrum, so a team was sent to his apartment. They found it deserted.

"Scumbag ran. Someone must have leaked that he was being investigated," Casey muttered.

"That is being looked into, yes. But more importantly, when the logs of his computer access were analysed, it was discovered that he had been trying to access the database of some of our contractors."

Chuck gasped. "Like the one who prepare the safe houses - or this base?"

She nodded with a grim expression. "Exactly, Mr Bartowski. While it has been confirmed that he was unable to penetrate the database with the most sensitive information, we discovered that he managed to access secondary and tertiary files - including travelling plans which will have allowed him to deduce that there was a secret construction in Los Angeles."

Chuck felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. If Fulcrum knew… but Los Angeles was big, and they already knew that the Intersect was in the rough area, didn't they?

The general wasn't done talking, of course. "This happened a month ago. Fulcrum must have been investigating Los Angeles for at least a few weeks, without us noticing," she told them as her frown deepened.

Hey! That wasn't their fault.

"This throws a new light on the assassination of Gonzàlez."

"Oh?" What did she mean? Chuck grew tense, as, he noticed, did the others - even Bane.

Beckman glanced at him for a moment, and he forced himself to smile, "Sorry."

"We've been keeping tabs on this and similar incidents in your area of operations. The police investigation blames a rival cartel, but according to our analysis, the assassination would also fit the modus operandi of a foreign intelligence agency - or a rogue CIA operation."

"Fulcrum." Sarah nodded with a serious expression, and if Chuck hadn't known better, he would have believed that she had no idea what had really happened.

"Correct. It's conjecture, but it's the best lead we have. Investigate the incident and find out if Fulcrum was involved in it. And if what's case, what their goal was." The general nodded at them.

"Yes, ma'am," Casey snapped as everyone straightened.

"Dismissed, agents, Mr Bartowski."

Chuck glanced at Bane. They would have to investigate their own mission and 'discover' the planted evidence without revealing themselves to the general or Bane. And all that while the real Fulcrum mission, whatever it was, continued undeterred.

Great.

"A Fulcrum operation in Los Angeles," Bane commented, shaking her head. "At least we have a lead. We'll need to get the most up to date files from the police investigation."

Casey snorted. "Won't help much, what with the rubble still smoking. They haven't even finished tallying the dead, much less identifying everyone."

Which, to be fair, was a little difficult, what with the entire building having collapsed, Chuck knew. Dubois's body was buried under ten stories worth of debris and rubble.

"It's a first step. If Fulcrum went after Gonzàlez, then they had a reason. We'll have to investigate him to find out what it was," Bane insisted.

Chuck nodded in agreement. "Exactly. I'll see about getting the records from their database."

Bane looked surprised for a moment before she nodded. Chuck couldn't tell if it was about his support for her or his hacking, but he certainly hoped that he wouldn't have to ask Dad for help for this. Which, he realised, he would have to do anyway so the data could be suitably altered and sanitised, if needed. But at least things were progressing somewhat according to plan in this area. With regards to Fulcrum, though… "So. What do we do about security? There is a Fulcrum operation out there. Probably not as out as we'd like. Especially me."

"We continue as we were," Sarah said. "Our cover was set up with such scrutiny in mind."

"Uh…" Chuck knew this, but that had been in the abstract, or something. Knowing that there were enemy spies in the area searching for him changed things. Or should change things. "What about decoys, or something?"

"Those would only confirm that we're in the area," Sarah pointed out. "If we don't do anything, they might give up and assume that was a decoy."

"Ah." Chuck nodded - that made sense. Although in a warped way. Which, he realised, he could easily follow. "So, I'll get started on the police files," he said, making a point of flexing his fingers as he sat down at the base's main computer terminal.

"You do that. We'll recon the actual area," Casey said.

"Careful," Bane told them. "This might be Fulcrum's way to lure us out of cover."

Casey scoffed. "We know what we're doing."

Uh. Chuck drew a slow, deep breath as he had a thought. Bane had a good point actually, even though she didn't know it - Fulcrum might suspect that the CIA was behind the Gonzàlez killing. That kind of assassination certainly would fit what they knew about the CIA's effort in Los Angeles.

He blinked. Both Bane and Fulcrum might be correct despite working with entirely incorrect assumptions. He glanced at Sarah and Casey. Had they thought of this as well? They would have, being experienced spies, of course. Still, what if they hadn't? They might underestimate the danger. And Chuck couldn't really warn them without Bane getting suspicious… "Be careful anyway," he said. "Please."

Casey rolled his eyes, but Sarah nodded. "We will."

Then they were gone, leaving Chuck with Bane in the base. Well, he had a task to do himself. He grabbed a coke from the fridge and started working.

But he had barely begun his first attempts to poke the police's firewall when Bane joined him and looked over his shoulder. "How is it going?" she asked - uncomfortably close to his ear.

He shifted in his seat a little, turning his head to face her, but she didn't back off. "Uh. I'm just starting on the LAPD firewall. It's not the best-maintained setup, and their IT security isn't that good, but it'll take some time to find an exploit to let me in."

"How long will it take? I could do social hacking to get you a password."

"Uh… shouldn't be longer than a day," Chuck said. "I've done this before." For Morgan and Caridad, when they needed some information from the police and didn't want to ask the Council for help, but it counted.

"Ah." She nodded as she straightened, giving him more space, but kept her hand on the backrest of his chair. "Good. It would take about as long to arrange a social hack."

By which she meant seducing some IT support guy, Chuck knew. "Yes," he said. "There's also the option to physically break in - there's always a desk with the password on a post-it note next to the screen."

"You've done that as well?" she asked.

He shrugged in response. "Once or twice." With Sarah and Casey.

"You've got experience." The way she said it seemed to hint at something else. Or was Chuck misreading this? She might just be friendly after he supported her plan. On the other hand…

"A little," he said. "But I should get on with it."

She patted his shoulder as he turned back to the screen. A friendly gesture of support. Or so he hoped.

California, Los Angeles, Downtown Los Angeles, February 10th, 2008

The police had cordoned off the still smoking ruins, but that hadn't stopped the press and spectators from gathering. Even now, three days later, there was a decent crowd. Not enough, though, to hide Sarah and Casey from an observant spy.

But there were other means. Quite convenient ones, even. Sarah suppressed a smile as she approached the police officer apparently in charge. "Officer? We're from the Department of Public Health. We're here to take soil and air samples."

"What?"

She repeated her spiel while Casey, standing behind her, grunted something about this being a waste of time.

"I wasn't informed of that," the police officer told her.

"Oh, great!" Casey exclaimed. "Another screwup!"

"Please check with your superior, then," she told him. "We transmitted the forms yesterday." At least that was what the backdated entries would claim.

"But forensics isn't yet done here," the man protested.

"Should give them a kick in the ass, then," Casey grumbled.

Sarah smiled sweetly. "Please excuse my colleague; it has been a rough few days."

"Here too, damn," the cop replied.

"But we really need to take samples. What if the building's remains are releasing toxic substances? Can you imagine the consequences?"

"Hell of a lot of lawsuits," Casey added.

Sighing, the cop pulled out his radio and called headquarters. It still took ten more minutes until they got permission to enter, and they were restricted to the outskirts - but that was, again, a good thing.

They walked the perimeter, stopping to take pictures and 'take samples' every few yards - a cover to observe their surroundings.

"We should've taken Bartowski with us," Casey grumbled after a few minutes. "The Intersect was made for this."

"It's too dangerous for him," Sarah replied. They had been in disguise during the mission, but Chuck wasn't a very experienced actor yet. And what if he had a flashback in the middle of the ruins? This had been probably the most stressful mission to date for him. "And he can check our pictures."

"You can't keep protecting him, Walker," Casey replied in a low voice. "If he's to be a spy, he needs to be able to face this."

Did he know what Sarah feared? Or was this just a dig at Chuck's relative inexperience? "Someone also has to hack the police system," she replied. "And he's the best hacker we have available." Apart from Orion, but they couldn't risk bringing in Chuck's dad with Bane on the mission.

Casey grumbled something she didn't catch.

She glanced at him. "Hm?"

"It'll be a bitch and a half to dig out all of this. They might just bulldoze it over."

"Without finding Dubois," Sarah said. That would be an ideal outcome - a perfect scapegoat for the CIA. Then she blinked. "Take a look at the forensic team there," she whispered.

"Full masks and suits?" Casey snorted. "With firemen and cops having walked all over the rubble already? A very good way to hide their faces. Let's see if they take a break and keep the masks on."

They didn't. During the time Casey and Sarah walked the perimeter, the forensic team she had spotted didn't take a break, nor did any of the three people pull up their breathing mask. Unlike others working in the area.

"A buck says they're spies," Casey said.

Sarah didn't take the bet. "Let's see if we can find out more about them."

A few chats with cops later, they knew that the suspicious people were supposedly an FBI team. But if they were from the FBI, the agency would know - such things went through Homeland Security these days. Someone in the FBI could be playing games, of course - this was a high-profile case. But Sarah didn't think that that was the case. "Let's Chuck run this through the system."

"Yes. Let him be useful," Casey said.

She glared at him, but didn't say anything - it wouldn't be worth it.

California, Burbank, The Castle, February 10th, 2008

An order requisitioning a van. Followed by a face, followed by case files. Murder. Assassination. Kidnapping. Sabotage. More murder and sabotage. And theft.

"Uh oh." Chuck drew a sharp breath - he didn't gasp. "Guys? I've flashed."

"You did?" Bane, who had been looking through the data Sarah had brought herself, turned to face him. "What did you find out?"

Sarah echoed her question as she came over to look at Chuck's screen. Even Casey put the gun he was maintaining down.

"That masked guy leading the suspicious team?" Chuck asked. "Bert Vandermas. CIA spy. Nicknamed 'The Chameleon' since he's an expert in disguises. Sabotage, assassinations, infiltration - he's done a lot of that. And according to the CIA files, he's currently on medical leave…"

"It seems Fulcrum still has their hooks in the Agency's medical branch," Bane commented. "Their agents should have been rooted out after they faked Larkin's death!"

Chuck suppressed the familiar mix of guilt and pain at the reminder of Bryce's death. "Well, they can go over the doctors again. But more importantly… what do we do now? The Chameleon could pass as anyone - according to his files, he even disguised himself as a general's mistress once, to assassinate the man!" He pointed at that file on the screen.

"Those were special circumstances," Sarah told him after skimming the report. "The general apparently had his mistress wear a veil on certain meetings so she wouldn't be recognised."

"So women with veils are a danger," Chuck said.

"Yes, Bartowski. Stay away from veiled women," Casey agreed in a mocking tone.

"This is serious," Bane cut in. "Vandermas will be able to recon a lot of places without us noticing."

"Yes!" Chuck nodded. "I didn't flash on his disguises - I flashed on the van's requisitioning forms."

"They still have to recognise you. No one but us and the general knows you're the Intersect," Sarah said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"That's true," Bane said. "Los Angeles is a big city - the odds of him walking into the Buy More are very, very low."

Chuck nodded, though he disagreed - Vandermas is an expert on disguises. He might recognise Chuck as the missing banker from the Gonzàlez case. After all, the police were already aware that it had been a cover identity since they hadn't actually been able to fake actual employment at an investment bank. Worse, the traces Dad had planted to frame Gonzàlez for the payments to Ellie might lead Fulcrum straight to Chuck...

He had to inform the others, as soon as they were away from Bane!

California, Los Angeles, Echo Park, February 10th, 2008

"...and if they follow up the money trail Dad has prepared, they'll come to Ellie and me," Chuck finished as they reached their street. "What can we do?"

Sarah looked grim, he noticed. "It's too late to remove all the traces," she said. "We'll have to fake a cover story for a possible CIA involvement in the assassination that doesn't involve you and Ellie."

"That still leaves us - me and her - linked to Gonzàlez," Chuck pointed out.

"A dead end," Sarah said, before wincing, "Sorry."

"It's OK," Chuck replied. "But how do we do it?"

"We'll have to fake a CIA operation involving drug smuggling and money laundering," Sarah said. "And you'll have to play the harmless overqualified computer technician convincingly so that Vandermas will assume you were simply a potential recruit for Gonzàlez when he investigates you and Ellie."

Chuck slowly nodded. "Alright." He could do it. He had to do it. For Ellie. "I've been a harmless IT support guy for years," he said, forcing himself to laugh. "It'll be easy."

"But you'll still have to work on the case so Bane won't grow suspicious," Sarah pointed out.

"Uh."

That would complicate things.

California, Burbank, Buy More, February 12th, 2008

There was a suspicious man. Wearing a trenchcoat? It wasn't that cold outside. And he had been staring at the laptop shelf for half an hour as if he couldn't decide which model he wanted. Despite Jeff's help. But would The Chameleon be as obvious? Or would he assume that such a disguise was too obvious to be considered suspicious by other spies?

Chuck didn't know. But he kept an eye on the man. And on the man in the far too expensive suit studying the microwave ovens. People who wore such suits didn't generally shop in the Buy More - they had people for that. And usually wanted more expensive appliances and gadgets anyway.

One day into mission 'playing innocent', and Chuck could already feel his stress levels rising steadily with every hour in the store. At least Bane seemed to have accepted that Chuck 'would have to play it safe just in case Fulcrum has more information than we thought', so she didn't question him being far more cautious when visiting The Castle instead of checking up on the base during breaks and lunch.

Still…

"Hi, Chuck!"

He jumped at the sudden greeting about an inch from his ear, whirling around… to face a giggling Slayer. "Caridad!"

She nodded. "What's wrong? You usually aren't that tense."

"Nothing," he said. "Just, you know…" He shrugged.

"Ah." She nodded.

Chuck wasn't quite sure what she was thinking. "How do you do?"

"Oh, I'm doing well. We finished tracking down that demon nest, and I totally showed up Vi!"

"Really?" He hadn't kept track of that, not with everything else going on. Two Slayers usually could handle almost everything.

"Oh, yes!" She beamed at him. "I killed far more…" She trailed off and cocked her head, staring with narrowed eyes at a young man browsing the game section for a few seconds before turning back to Chuck. "Sorry, just thought I'd felt a demon. Anyway, we were tracking them for days, you know? Through the sewers, as usual, but when we found them, it was great!"

Chuck nodded as she started to detail a gory, bloody fight that apparently counted as a great time. Slayers.

Then he noticed that the young man she had been staring at had vanished.

He turned to Caridad. "Was that a demon?"

"What?" She looked around. "The weird guy? No. Nothing hinky. Just… weird."

"'Weird'."

"Yes, weird." She nodded emphatically, then made a point of looking at Lester.

"Uh, right," Chuck said. Weird indeed.

California, Los Angeles, Echo Park, February 12th, 2008

"...and Jeff and Lester managed to wreck another PC in an attempt to convince me that they are Mac-exclusive tech support." Chuck sighed as he started setting the table.

"And what did you do?" Sarah asked from the stove.

"Told them to fix the PC or it'd come out of their salary." He wouldn't fall for their antics. And Nerd Herd needed more PC guys once Chuck was working for the Council.

"Good. Did you see any suspicious people spying on you?"

"Only a weird one Caridad noticed," Chuck replied.

"'Weird'?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Her words. Not a demon, though, according to her." Chuck shrugged. "He disappeared very quickly, though. Could have been a mage. Most of them get nervous when a Slayer pays attention to them." They had a reason for that, of course - many witches and warlocks weren't exactly using magic for good.

"Ah." She removed the pot and poured the water through the sieve in the sink. "The spaghetti are done."

"It's a good last meal," he commented five minutes later.

She rolled her eyes at him, but she was smiling, a little. "Chuck - we're just going over a few more details with Ellie and Devon. It's not the end of the world."

"It's never just a few details with Ellie," he retorted. "First the seating arrangement…"

"We did that already."

"...then the dessert…" he went on.

"Also already ordered."

"...and then the last minute alterations to the decorations." He knew his sister.

"The wedding is still two months away," she told him. "That's not exactly last minute."

"That's even more of a reason for her to change things." He shook his head. "We should have hired a wedding planner. One of those who don't take no for an answer and don't listen to the bride and groom."

"I don't think that a wedding planner who doesn't listen to their clients' wishes would have much success," she pointed out.

"They would only have to handle Ellie's wedding, and I'd be happy."

She laughed at that. "Although there's one thing we need to discuss with them."

She was smiling in that 'I've got bad news' way, he noticed. "Uh… what?"

"Security."

Oh. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Ugh." That wouldn't be pretty.

It wasn't.

"Security?" Ellie had skipped the 'what do you mean' part and gone straight to 'explain!'. With narrowed eyes and a deep frown.

"Well, between the spies and the Slayers attending, there might be trouble," Chuck pointed out. "More trouble than just a few unruly drunks. I don't mean between the guests," he quickly explained. "But there might be an attack or something."

"An attack. On our wedding," Ellie said in a flat voice.

"It's just a possibility," Sarah said. "Unlikely, but we still should take a few precautions."

"Yes," Chuck agreed, nodding. "Perhaps a Slayer or two on guard. A sniper on overwatch, maybe a rifle team on standby…" He trailed off when he saw Ellie's expression darkening.

"You want to turn our wedding into an armed camp?" She stood, placing both palms on the table. "Devon! Say something!"

"Well…" Captain Awesome looked uncomfortable. "If there's a risk of an attack, by demons or, uh, spies…"

Ellie glared at him for a moment, mouth opening, but she closed it again without saying anything and sat down. "An attack on our wedding."

"It's not likely," Sarah repeated herself.

"Yes. With Council members attending, most demons should know better than to attempt anything," Chuck said. No one liked death by Willow. Or death by Slayer. Unless there were suicidal demons.

"That's not really reassuring, Chuck," Ellie retorted. "Can you imagine trying to explain to our guests how - and why - a couple of demons were hacked to pieces in front of the church?"

"Because they couldn't enter hallowed ground?" Chuck's encouraging smile died quickly in the face of Ellie's expression."Sorry. Bad joke. Anyway, we could claim it was a badly-thought-out performance? Live-action roleplay with Hollywood special effects?"

"At our wedding."

"Well…" Chuck shrugged. "It's something the staff at the Buy More could come up with, actually," he pointed out.

That didn't calm down Ellie, though. It made her more apprehensive about inviting anyone connected to the store.

Which, Chuck had to admit, was not an altogether unreasonable stance. Jeff and Lester's latest attempt to convince Ellie and Devon to let them play at the wedding by serenading them was just one of the more obvious reasons for that.

"Uh. Speaking of unlikely…" he said, clearing his throat. "Did you notice anyone, uh, stalking you lately?"

"'Stalking'?" And the frown was back, with friends

He smiled weakly. "Well, you see, there's this enemy spy…"

California, Burbank, Buy More, February 14th, 2008

Still no sign of the Chameleon. Of course that didn't mean that the spy wasn't around - just that Chuck hadn't spotted him. But that only made the whole situation worse. What if the enemy spy was observing Chuck at this very moment? Disguised as a harmless customer?

There were a number of possible disguises, Chuck noticed as he looked around the store. The housewife there - that floor-length new-age skirt could hide both a man's legs as well as many weapons, and the knitted top was shapeless enough to be unisex. The hair could be a wig.

Or the man pushing a stroller. Who would suspect a spy using a baby? It was the perfect disguise.

Or the delivery guy. They could enter almost every building - and bring packages with them that could contain anything. Weapons, bombs, poison… Someone had to have thought of this before.

He sighed and pushed the crooked paper-maché heart away so he could check his screen for appointments. This year's Valentine's Day decor was particularly hideous. Pink and red hearts were everywhere in the store, at the most unsuitable places. And so many of them - the Buy More staff had picked the worst possible way to display enthusiasm for their job and placed the stupid things, both paper-maché as well as balloons, on every surface. Including the cash registers, in some cases.

He shook his head. At least it would be over by tomorrow. If they had done this with Christmas decorations...

"Hi, Chuck!"

He jerked, then rolled his eyes as he turned around, "Caridad! Don't sneak up on me!"

"Sure," she lied. "How are you doing?"

He shrugged, then nodded at the closest heart-shaped balloon.

"Ah." She nodded, though she kept grinning. "So, speaking of Valentine's day…"

"Yes?"

Instead of answering, she frowned and sniffed the air. "I've smelled that before, last night."

"Oh?"

"On a patrol. Didn't catch whoever it was, though." She was looking around.

Someone had escaped a Slayer's notice? And was stalking her? They had to be very good at shadowing...

Chuck's eyes widened. Oh no!