Chapter 36: The Fallout Part 5

California, Bird Rock, Aston Imports & Exports Compound, February 18th, 2008

Sarah's smile didn't last, though. "Chuck! Are you hurt?"

"Just my leg," he replied. "I think it's broken." It shouldn't be - the extinguisher hadn't hit him that hard.

"Let me check." She knelt at his side.

"Just be carefuAHH!" His leg hurt like… damn, it hurt!

"Sorry. But yes, it's broken."

"I'll carry him!" Caridad announced. When had she arrived? He had completely missed her.

"Let me splint the leg, first." Sarah held up her hand before the Slayer could grab Chuck.

"Wait!" Chuck said. "Did you take down Petrova? Professor Irina Petrova. She's the one doing the brainwashing for Fulcrum. She fled a few minutes ago - and she saw me take out those thugs here."

"Oh." Sarah understood at once what he meant while Caridad looked puzzled for a moment.

"We didn't see any woman," the Slayer said.

"We're looking for a woman, Irina Petrova," Sarah spoke into her radio. "Scientist. Stop her if you see her."

Chuck didn't hear the replies, but Sarah seemed satisfied as she pulled out a rod - a baton - and started to splint Chuck's leg.

Which hurt again, but Chuck managed to grit his teeth this time and avoid whining. Until Caridad lifted him up and threw him over her shoulder. That really hurt. "Please be careful," he snapped.

"Sorry!" she replied. She did sound as if she was sorry, he noticed. And she did move carefully, without jarring him, as they left the room.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"It's my fault you were kidnapped," she replied.

"No!" he retorted. "It was my own fault. If I had been a little more observant…" Or if the Intersect had kicked in.

"No, I should have been quicker with the kids," Caridad insisted. "I should…" He felt her tense. A moment later, she was sprinting up the stairs, going all-out, with Sarah right behind them.

And Chuck was yelling with pain all the way.

They didn't slow down until they had left the building and didn't stop until they had cleared the fence and reached a side alley.

"What's going on?" Chuck asked once he finally wasn't bouncing around with a broken leg any more.

"They found bombs - the place is rigged to blow," Sarah explained.

"Oh." That was a very sobering thought. He looked around, "Where are the others?" he really needed a radio.

"They should be coming out… now," Caridad told him.

There they were. Vi, with Morgan behind and Bane bringing up the rear.

Chuck relaxed. They had made it out before the bombs went off. Now they just had to clear the fence, and they could go through the hole Caridad had cut into the chain-links.

But before they reached the fence, the bombs went off. The three runners staggered, and Flames erupted behind them.

"Fire bomb. Probably rigged to look like an oil tank malfunction," Sarah said. "Less attention from the cops."

Chuck had heard that fire investigators were very hard to deceive, but this wasn't the moment to mention that. Even though he was quite sure that the speed with which the fire spread to the entire building was not normal. "Did they soak the walls in gasoline?" he muttered.

"Probably inflammable insulation by design," Sarah replied.

He had been joking, but… "They built a base that was extra-inflammable?"

"Fulcrum's not the kind of organisation to value their agents over their secrecy."

And wasn't that a chilling thought? "And they know I'm not a normal guy, now." He pressed his lips together. That was a disaster.

"Not if we find this Petrova," Caridad said. "What does she look like?"

"Blonde, about forty, white lab coat, shoulder-length hair," Chuck told her.

"Phil said she didn't leave through the front or north side," the Slayer reported. "That leaves the back and south side." She bared her teeth. "We're going hunting!"

Well, not Chuck. He wasn't going to go anywhere for a while. Not with a broken leg.

But he was alive, and all his friends were all unhurt. And Fulcrum didn't have leverage on them.

California, Bird Rock, February 18th, 2008

"No trace of her," Caridad reported - rather grumpily, Chuck noticed - half an hour later and about three miles away from the burning building. "She must have slipped out while we were rescuing you," she stated the obvious.

Chuck took a deep breath - it wasn't her fault. Having had to wait half an hour in the car with a broken leg made him a little cranky. And he had been the one to ask them to catch Petrova.

"I'm really sorry - we should've been prepared for that," she added.

"We didn't have enough people to lock down the area and get Chuck out," Sarah retorted.

"Yes. It never ends well if you try to overreach," Morgan added. He was probably speaking from Call of Duty experience, but Chuck wasn't about to ask.

"It's OK," he managed to say. It wasn't OK, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. And he was glad they had prioritised saving him over killing Fulcrum. "They already thought I was the key to controlling you." But now Fulcrum would assume that he was a 'test subject' as well.

"Really?" Caridad blinked at him.

"They drew their conclusions from incomplete data," Chuck explained. "They knew about the Initiative, but thought it was a research project about cybernetic augmentation." Phil looked a little lost, so he added: "Bionics."

"Ah. That American TV series." The Watcher nodded.

"Yes."

"But how did they think you could control us?" Vi, standing outside the SUV and leaning against the open window, asked.

"They wanted to brainwash me into turning you traitor since I 'obviously' was your best friend," Chuck told her.

"They wanted to turn you into a honeytrap?" Bane sounded a little too amused for Chuck's ego.

"More like a friend trap, I think," he said. He hoped they would put his annoyance down to the pain from his broken leg. Which really did hurt. "But can we go get my leg treated now?"

"And find a good cover story," Caridad said.

"Easy," Morgan said. "We'll just say…"

"...that Chuck was trampled in the evacuation," Sarah said with a glare.

"That's what I was about to say, exactly!" Morgan claimed with a forced smile.

"Right," Chuck deadpanned. "Hospital? What about painkillers? It's safe now, right?"

"Safe enough," Sarah agreed.

Phil and Caridad went back to the Watcher's car while Chuck tried to get comfortable in the backbench of the CIA SUV.

"You know," Bane said as she prepared to drive but had to let a police car pass, "I hope this trend of setting buildings on fire won't catch on."

Chuck froze for a moment. Did she know the truth about the Gonzàlez assassination? Did she suspect? "Yeah," he said before the silence became noticeable. "Although burning down buildings sometimes is the only way to deal with some demon infestations, the authorities really don't like it."

Bane looked over her shoulder. "How many buildings did you burn down?"

"Not too many," Morgan said. "And we always had a good reason. Good enough for Phil, at least, and you know how he is."

"Ah."

Chuck wondered if Bane knew Phil better than he had thought, but then Sarah finally gave him a painkiller, and he didn't think at all for a while.

California, Burbank, The Castle, February 19th, 2008

"...and they planned to brainwash me into a traitor," Chuck finished his explanation.

"I see. So Fulcrum kidnapped you because they thought you were connected to Miss Caridad's organisation." General Beckman frowned. "An entirely correct assumption, seeing as you do have close ties to that organisation."

"No, they thought I was connected to a secret project which has nothing to do with the organisation Caridad belongs to," Chuck corrected her while he refrained from trying to scratch his itching shin through the cast.

"Another secret project?" The general's eyebrows rose.

"Yes. And I had nothing to do with it at all," he explained. "They made a mistake. Well, two, actually. They mixed up the organisations and my importance."

"And which organisation was behind this other secret project?"

"That's classified, ma'am," Chuck told her, wincing at her expression. "Classified by the government, not, uh, by Caridad's organisation."

"Really."

He refrained from saying 'yes, really' and simply nodded.

"Yes, ma'am," Bane agreed. "That's what the information we gathered during the rescue operation points to." Well, half-agreed. Like a real spy.

Perhaps they shouldn't have informed her about the kidnapping, but with a chemical spill making the national news, they hadn't had much of a choice but to tell the general.

"I see." And she didn't like it. At all. That was plain to see. "That means Mr Bartowski and his family are in greater danger than before."

"Yes," Chuck said through clenched teeth. He could defend himself - well, unless he was falling for ambushes and traps - but Ellie and Devon?

"We'll have to assign them a protection detail," Bane said. Chuck blinked, then stared at the spy.

"I believe so, yes," the general said.

"It might also explain Fulcrum's interest in Gonzàlez. He might have been tasked with subverting Chuck and tried to betray them," Bane went on.

Oh. Chuck blinked again.

That would… well, that would be really helpful with Dad's plan. Until the CIA caught a Fulcrum member who knew the truth.

Damn.

There was something else, though. "Uh. That aside, what are we going to do about this brainwashing doctor of Fulcrum?" Chuck asked.

"A team is already investigating the compound in Bird Rock," the general replied. "If they can turn loyal people into mind-controlled traitors, then that's a serious game-changer." She stared at him. "We need everything you can remember about it, and everything the Intersect can deduce."

"Yes, ma'am." Chuck wasn't about to point out that someone who was mind-controlled wasn't a traitor in the technical sense. Or something. The general looked mad, and he had the impression that she blamed him at least partially for this, even though it hadn't been his fault. Well, not according to her information, at least.

But they already had enough trouble to deal with; they couldn't afford more friction with the CIA.

California, Los Angeles, Echo Park, February 19th, 2008

"So… what do we do now?" Chuck asked as everyone - with the exception of Morgan, who was with Bane to keep her busy - was assembled in his and Sarah's living room. "The CIA is sending another team to protect Ellie and Devon."

"Not an entire team," Casey countered. "Two or three agents at most."

"Uh. That seems a little… light?" Chuck wasn't an expert, but he had read the files and handbooks, and a protection detail usually was composed of more people.

"They don't have enough spies that have the clearance for this and can be trusted," Casey said.

"Yes," Sarah said. "They'll be focusing on hunting down traitors in the agency, not protecting two civilians."

"That really doesn't fill me with confidence," Chuck remarked.

"Good," Casey commented with a sneer.

"We seem to be in a pickle," Phil said. "Expediting your recruitment might be a solution - but while the Council does care about the families of their members, they're not really set up to defend against secret agents. They would probably move your family to a safer place."

Chuck grimaced at that. Ellie wouldn't agree with that. Not at all. Going into hiding would've wrecked her wedding plans. Not to mention her career. Still… "So we're about to meet two or three more spies we can't trust with the truth. We're going to be outnumbered now," he said. Bane knew about the supernatural, but not about Orion - Chuck would have to make a chart to remember who knew what if this continued. Well, almost.

And joining the Council while needing so much help wasn't exactly how Chuck had envisioned their new career.

"We'll have to take down Fulcrum, then," Sarah said, looking grim. "Before things go out of control."

"More than they have already," Casey commented.

Great. They would have to do what they had been trying to do for months.

Chuck wasn't feeling very optimistic about this. "Uh, so how do we do this?"

"Simple," Casey replied. "We're using you as bait."

"What?" Chuck blinked, That was…

"It's either you or your family," Casey went on.

Chuck shut his mouth.

"The CIA won't let Chuck risk himself like that," Sarah said.

"They don't have a choice," the NSA agent replied. "The traitors now know that Bartowski isn't a normal civilian. They'll think he's a cyborg - and they already managed to capture him once; they'll come for him again." He bared his teeth. "Besides, we don't have to tell the CIA all the details."

That was a good point. Sort of. Chuck slowly nodded.

"Bye! See you tomorrow!"

Sarah saw Chuck, seated on the couch with his leg propped up, wave and smile as the last of their 'guests' left, but it wasn't his honest smile.

She still waited a few minutes before she addressed the issue - enough so the two Slayers wouldn't overhear them. "So, how are you doing?" she asked when she joined him on the couch after filling the dishwasher

"Uh…" He winced. "I don't know, actually. Not about being bait, of course - better me than anyone else. But what are our chances to actually deal with Fulcrum? We haven't done well so far."

They had done quite well for a small team facing such an organisation - a fact even more apparent now that they knew about Fulcrum's mind control machine. But Chuck wouldn't see it like that. "We've hurt them several times already," she said. Just exposing the conspiracy was a big step - the traitors would have had to adjust all their plans in the face of the CIA's reaction.

"Enough to matter?" Chuck asked, sounding morose.

"Yes," she said, nodding emphatically. "They don't have unlimited numbers, Chuck."

"They can use their mind control machine to make more," he retorted.

"They can't make more spies," she pointed out. "They don't have the Intersect."

"Oh. If they combined Petrova's work with the Intersect…" Chuck started to pale.

"Yes." That would be a nightmare scenario - Fulcrum would have a nigh-infinite reservoir of trained spies, loyal unto death.

"Uh, should we be using me as bait in these circumstances?" A very forced smile appeared on his face. "I mean… I'm not afraid of playing bait - well, not much - but if they get me…"

"They won't," she told him, squeezing his thigh - the one of his good leg. "We won't let them."

He nodded, but she wasn't sure if he believed her.

California, Burbank, Buy More, February 22nd, 2008

Chuck didn't mind playing bait. Well, he did, but better him than Ellie and Devon. Or anyone else, to be honest. He wanted to be a spy, after all, and that was a high-risk profession. Well, technically, he was planning to become a Watcher, but that wasn't exactly a safe job, either.

But playing bait when the enemy thought that he was some cybernetically enhanced superspy and would plan to capture him with that in mind? That was if they didn't plan to simply eliminate him - if they expected bionics, they might think his corpse would be enough to examine…

He shuddered.

"Are you alright?"

Chuck didn't jump, but only because he was sitting and had a broken leg. How had Lester sneaked up on him without him noticing? Some spy he was… "What?" he asked as he turned his seat around.

"You were shivering. You aren't running a fever, are you? You shouldn't be working if you're sick."

Chuck smiled. That was quite caring for the man. "Don't worry…" he started to say when Lester cut him off.

"Because you might infect others, and I don't want to catch anything. I can't afford to be sick. Jeff & Lester finally got a good paying gig!"

Ah. Of course. Chuck should have expected something like that. "No, I'm not sick," he told Lester with considerably less warmth. "I was merely suffering a flashback to getting trampled by overweight shopaholics and breaking my leg."

"Ah." Lester nodded. "I get it - you're suffering from PTSD. All the fighting couldn't do it, but when your safe place turned into a death trap, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. Did you consider therapy? I think this would qualify as work-related trauma, so the Buy More would have to cover it."

Chuck narrowed his eyes at him. Why would….? Of course! "Even if I did take therapy, you wouldn't get my job."

"Why not? I'm next in line among the Nerd Herd. I'm the beta to your alpha. You know, wolf pack rules."

"Lester," Chuck said, sighing, "It doesn't work like that. We aren't wolves. And if we were, what about Anna?" He nodded at the young woman, who was busy staring down a biker trying to return a used DVD in the home entertainment section.

Lester paled a little. "Uh… forget I said anything, OK? I've got a house call coming up!"

Chuck sighed as the man vanished. At least with his leg broken, he was exempt from making house calls. Small mercies. With his leg broken, he was also not in an ideal shape to fight off kidnapping - or assassination - attempts. Especially attempts by The Chameleon - Chuck didn't believe that the man had perished in the assault on the Fulcrum base. The spy could be passing for anyone, after all. He might've been the one interrogating Chuck - or that could've been another disguise.

Well, almost anyone. Chuck glanced at the Do-It-Yourself section, where Vi was studying axes and machetes. And had been doing so for half an hour, apparently without losing interest. Slayers and weapons...

But with her present, The Chameleon would have to disguise his scent to avoid detection - and even if he knew about that weakness, doing so would make him stand out anyway, greatly reducing the number of suspects they had to worry about.

It would be easier if they could've hired Vi as a Buy More employee, but Big Mike was still adamant about not hiring Caridad or any of her 'crazy friends'.

"Hi, Chuck!"

"Hi, Morgan." Chuck looked over his shoulder and saw his friend approaching - with two sodas in his hands.

"Here!" Morgan handed him one. "Wouldn't want you to strain yourself and limp over to the break room, right?"

"Thanks." Chuck popped it open and took a sip.

"No problem. I hope this also makes Fulcrum think that you are much more disabled than you are. That way, you'll attract their attention like a crippled member of a herd."

"Thanks," Chuck said in a flat voice. He wasn't quite crippled, but he really couldn't run, only limp at a decent speed.

His friend seemed to miss Chuck's less than enthusiastic response since he smiled widely. "No problem. We want this mission to succeed quickly, right?"

He wasn't wrong there. "Of course," Chuck agreed. Mostly.

"Preferably before the bodyguards arrive," Morgan continued as he leaned against the Nerd herd desk.

His friend sounded a little concerned, Chuck noticed. "Something wrong?" Had Bane told him something about the new agents?

Morgan looked around, then shrugged. "Just… we won't get lucky forever, you know?"

"Yeah." Chuck nodded, then emptied his can. He knew that very well. Sooner or later, something would go wrong.

"So far, the agents they sent worked out. Sarah, Kirsten, even Casey. But that's bound to change," Morgan went on.

Chuck nodded, though he wasn't just concerned about the new agents. Morgan thought that Bane had 'worked out'? So much for keeping his distance and being careful.

Damn.

"It never rains, it pours," he mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing."

California, Burbank, The Castle, February 22nd, 2008

"Unless someone else likes black SUVs and our parking spots, then the bodyguards are here," Chuck announced to the rest of the team.

"Thanks," Bane said as she joined him in the room. She had changed from her Wienerlicious uniform, Chuck noticed. As had Sarah, who followed the other spy. Both wore black turtlenecks and matching trousers.

"Right on schedule," Casey commented, entering from the armoury and wiping his hands with a rag. He, too, was wearing a black shirt and trousers.

"Uh… should I have changed?" Chuck said, pointing at his Buy More working clothes. "You all look like spies, and I look like..."

"...an undercover spy," Sarah told him as she stepped up to his seat and squeezed his shoulder.

"Ah."

"The more harmless you look, the better," Casey grumbled. "If there's a traitor among them, they'll underestimate you."

"Ah." Chuck nodded, though the idea that the people who were to protect Ellie and Devin could be enemy spies was disconcerting. That would pretty much… He blinked. But if all the others were dressing up to emphasise that they were experienced spies, wouldn't that mean that they were playing bait for him?

Before he could voice that thought, though, the door opened, and the three spies entered, led by a tall, dark-haired man. Agent Daniel Shaw - they had seen his file in advance. Behind him followed Agents Jason Morris and Roberta Flores. Morris was a little shorter than Shaw, but far broader and wore a blonde crewcut, and Flores was of average height and weight and wore shoulder-length straight hair. Dyed black - she was actually a brunette, according to the Intersect's compiled file.

Everyone else stood a little straighter. Chuck, sitting with his broken leg propped up, just sat a little straighter and hoped he didn't look as pathetic as he felt.

"Hello, Agent Shaw," Sarah said, nodding at the man. "Agent Morris. Agent Flores. Welcome to The Castle."

"Agent Walker." Shaw returned the nod with a smile. "Agent Casey. Agent Bane. Mr Bartowski."

Had Shaw stressed the 'Mr'? Chuck couldn't tell. He smiled back anyway. "Hello! Thank you for coming to protect my sister and her fiancé."

Shaw's smile slipped for a moment, then came back with some teeth. Or something. "Let me make this clear from the start: We're not just here to protect your family, Mr Bartowski. We're here to destroy Fulcrum. They'll come after your sister and her fiancé, and then we'll get them."

"Uh…" Chuck grimaced. "I'm supposed to be the bait, here. Not Ellie and Devon."

"He's correct," Sarah added. "You were briefed about the mission, weren't you? You're here to protect two civilians."

"Of course we were briefed. And we will protect the two objectives. But that's not all we will be doing," Shaw retorted. "I've been hunting Fulcrum for a long time - this is the best chance to capture their top operatives, and I won't let that slip through my fingers."

"We're aware of the opportunity this presents," Sarah told him. "Fighting Fulcrum has been the primary objective of this entire mission." She had crossed her arms and was not-quite glaring at Shaw, Chuck noticed. The whole stance reminded him of Caridad when she was meeting another Slayer.

"Uh…" he spoke up. "This isn't a competition, is it? We need to work together."

"Of course," Shaw agreed at once. "I'm merely pointing out that my team is more than capable of protecting our objective and conducting operations against Fulcrum."

Casey scoffed. "Don't bite off more than you chew, Shaw. If you underestimate Fulcrum, things will end badly."

Shaw narrowed his eyes at the NSA agent. "I know exactly how dangerous the organisation is, Agent Casey."

"We'll see," Casey said.

"We won't defeat Fulcrum if we don't work together," Bane cut in. "And that means we have to trust you to do your part, Agent Shaw."

"And we have to trust you to do your part;" Shaw replied.

It really was like a Slayer meeting without Buffy or Faith to keep them in line and focused. Chuck tried to tune out the bickering. Shaw thought that they were underestimating Fulcrum? Well, Shaw didn't know about the Slayers. And that Fulcrum thought that the Slayers were cyborgs. And if Fulcrum's agents came prepared for bionic women - and men - then Shaw would end up misjudging them. But they couldn't tell him the truth, could they?

Damn. So much for getting help from the CIA.

Sarah kept her temper in check. Shaw was an ass - and a pain in the ass, too - but she was a veteran spy, and they were, nominally at least, on the same side. She could ignore the snipes and insinuations that they were not to be trusted. She could be the better spy.

It helped, of course, that she knew a few things Shaw didn't. "Well," she said, smiling as sweetly as she could, "as you must have been informed, our team is working with another group of operatives in the area. While their mission and organisation are classified beyond your clearance, we do cooperate against Fulcrum on occasion, so you'll need to know their team."

"Ah. The mystery spies," Flores said, speaking up for the first time. She was smiling, too.

"Yes," Sarah confirmed as she looked at the only female spy in Shaw's team. How much of that smile was an act? The agency would certainly have told the new spies about the Council, and would, as they had for Sarah, heavily hinted at wanting them gathering information without ordering them to do so. Was Flores the distraction, the obvious investigator, leaving Shaw and Morris to actually spy on them? Or was she a double-bluff?

"We have been informed, yes," Shaw said, his frown growing a little more pronounced, as Sarah noticed. "But our information was… spotty."

"I believe that the word you're looking for is 'redacted'," Chuck said. "You don't have the needed clearance."

"As I understand, not even General Beckman has the needed clearance," Shaw said, glaring at Chuck.

"That is correct," Sarah interjected, drawing the agent's attention back to her. She didn't want him bothering Chuck.

"But you do," Shaw replied, glancing at all of them - including Bane.

"Yes," Sarah told him. She had to refrain from beaming at him when she noticed him clenching his teeth. "Our allies won't always be available, their own mission taking priority," she went on, "but when they are, we can count on them." Perhaps I shouldn't have stressed that, she thought when she saw Shaw's expression growing harder. Morris and Flores's, too.

"Anyway," Chuck said, "You'll all meet them soon."

"Here?" Flores asked, looking around.

"No, we're having a get-together dinner at Ellie and Devon's," Chuck told her, "and everyone's coming."

Her years of experience as a spy allowed Sarah to avoid giggling at the expressions of the new agents to that revelation.

"You're throwing a literal welcoming party?" Morris asked.

"Well… yes?" Chuck was honestly confused by their reaction, Sarah could tell. "You'll be working closely with them, after all."

"Ah. We'll be posing as new acquaintances." Flores nodded.

"Uh… yes." Chuck glanced at Sarah, and she raised her eyebrows in response. He should've expected that professional spies would interpret the situation with a certain bias.

But it was good to see that he hadn't.

She took a step forward. "Now let me show you the base - you'll be using it as well, I take it, and store most of your heavy weapons here."

"We're supposed to use your own stock as needed as well," Morris said.

"Yes," Sarah agreed. That was standard practice, after all. "The armoury is here."

Once more, the new team looked surprised. "Are those… flamethrowers?" Flores asked.

"Yes," Sarah said.

"They come in handy at times," Casey added with a toothy smile.

"Just be careful when refuelling them. Ask for help if you haven't done it before," Chuck cut in from his spot at the table.

"Flamethrowers." Shaw shook his head. "Did you set Fulcrum's base on fire?"

"What? No!" Chuck replied before Sarah could. "That was done by their commander. We didn't even have flamethrowers with us on that mission - they slow you down, and you can't really use a flamethrower efficiently if you expect hostages in the building."

Chuck was just being helpful, but Shaw's team was now looking at him with quite different expressions.

"Thank you," Shaw said after a moment. "We'll keep that in mind."

"Sure thing." Chuck nodded. "Also, don't use the leftmost one; that's Morgan's."

"Morgan… Grimes?" Flores said.

"Yes. You'll meet him and the others at Ellie's."

Sarah was sure that the agents would be looking at Grimes differently as well.

California, Los Angeles, Echo Park, February 22nd, 2008

"Sis? It's us!" Chuck announced as he led Sarah and the others into Ellie and Devon's apartment. "We're a little early, but that's OK, right?"

It better be OK, Sarah thought - Caridad, Vi and Morgan were already there as well, sitting on the couch in the living room. And there was Brown-Smythe at the table, reading The Times.

"We'll be right with you - just taking the snacks out," Ellie replied from the kitchen.

Sarah noticed Caridad and Vi perking up. They seemed even distracted from studying the newcomers. But only for a moment before they went back to staring at Shaw's team like cats staring at a new stray in their territory. Or at a mouse.

"Everyone, these are Agents Shaw, Morris and Flores," Chuck introduced them. "Agents - Morgan, Caridad, Vi and Phil."

"Philip Brown-Smythe," the old Watcher said, in his best Queen's English. "Good evening."

Sarah didn't miss the glances Shaw exchanged with the others. She just knew that they would assume that this was an MI6 operation.

"Hi!" Morgan said, smiling friendly. He didn't seem to notice the wary reaction he got. "I'm Morgan. Chuck's best friend. I've known him and Ellie since we were kids."

Caridad was curter. "Hello."

"Yo," Vi added, waving. Unlike Caridad, who was staring at the spies in a challenging manner, Vi was taking the other extreme, shifting to a slouch and pointedly relaxed attitude. As if Shaw and his team were of no concern.

Typical, Sarah thought. But then, she had expected that.

Chuck allowed himself to relax a little. Phil had talked to the two Slayers, as had Morgan. Still, with Slayers, there was always the chance that their egos got the better of them and started a confrontation over whose turf the city was.

"So, you're the mysterious team we're not supposed to know anything about," Flores said. The spy's smile wasn't just friendly, there was also a bit of a challenge to it.

Great. Just what they needed - not.

"Yes," Caridad replied. "And you're the bodyguards who are supposed to keep Ellie and Devon safe." She bared her teeth.

"Yes," Shaw cut in, "but we're not limited to bodyguarding. The best way to keep the objective safe is to take out the threat."

"Just leave that to us," Caridad said. "We'll deal with them soon enough."

"Yeah," Vi added. "Focus on protecting them; we've got this."

"We all need to work together. We can't underestimate Fulcrum," Chuck reminded them.

Caridad frowned but did look a little contrite. For about a second.

"Indeed," Phil said. "Trying to one-up our allies doesn't behove us."

"There's no 'I' in 'team'," Morgan added, nodding.

"We're just concerned about Ellie and Devon," Caridad claimed.

"As are we, of course," Devon said with one of his winning smiles as he placed a tray loaded with snacks on the low table. "Devon Woodcomb," he introduced himself to the new spies.

"Ellie Bartowski," Ellie added, bringing another tray.

"Agent Shaw."

"Agent Flores."

"Agent Morris."

"Please help yourself to the appetisers before they're gone," Ellie said with a glance at the tray on the table, which the Slayers were already raiding. The spies wouldn't miss that, Chuck knew, but he didn't know what conclusions they might draw from it.

"Thank you for protecting us," Devon said.

"Just doing our duty," Shaw replied. He sounded not quite as humble as he probably had meant to, in Chuck's opinion. Though not as dismissive as he probably felt, either.

But the others had picked up on it as well, and a moment of awkward silence followed.

Ellie broke it. "So, you'll be shadowing us at work. Will you be around the house as well?"

"We were told that your home was already protected," Shaw told her.

"Yes," Sarah said. "We're living next door."

"And we can move in if it's needed," Caridad added. "It'd be no hardship, really."

She would've sounded more honest if she hadn't been stuffing her face with Ellie's cooking a moment before.

"Don't forget your other duties," Phil reminded her.

"I wasn't!"

"Don't worry, I can handle it," Vi said, earning a glare from the other Slayer.

"I can handle both!"

"You can't be at two places at once."

Chuck cleared his throat. "Anyway! We'll need to coordinate. Schedules, shifts, that stuff."

"We already know your shifts at the hospital," Shaw said, very matter of factly. "We need to be informed about any and all deviations and private trips you are planning."

"Err… yes. Of course," Devon said after a glance at Ellie. "That's only logical, right?"

It was, but Shaw could've worded it a little more diplomatically, Chuck thought.

"Yes, perfectly logical," Ellie replied with one of her 'I'm annoyed at you but will remain polite' smiles. "Drinks?"

Yes, things weren't going as badly as Chuck had feared, but they weren't exactly going well, either. At least the new spies hadn't commented about the age and attitude of the Slayers. But they hadn't even started eating yet, so there was plenty of time to hit that particular subject.

"The roast is delicious," Flores commented.

"Yes," Morris added.

"Thank you," Ellie replied.

Chuck resisted the urge to add 'as are the potatoes' to rub in how stilted the conversation was going.

"So, what do you do for fun? When you're not working, I mean. Do you do any sports?" Devon asked.

"We keep fit," Shaw replied in a tone that discouraged further inquiries.

Devon wasn't as easily scared off, though. "In the gym, or do you do outdoors as well?"

"It depends on the occasion."

"Ah. Ever do any free climbing? There are a few great routes nearby."

"I doubt that we'll have the time for that."

"If you want to, we can go climbing. You'd have to come along anyway, right?" Devon smiled his best winning smile at the agents again.

"We're more effective if we keep our distance," Shaw retorted.

"Ah." Devon's face fell slightly. "Well, if you change your opinion, just tell us. It's the least we can do."

"If you want to help us, just limit your exposure to potential threats," Shaw told him.

"And don't try to expose them to fun activities," Caridad muttered. Loudly enough to be heard clearly in the kitchen.

"We're here on a mission, not to have fun," Flores said.

"You can do both," Vi pointed out. "All work and no play makes for a dull life."

"We have our priorities," Shaw said.

Morris merely nodded - the man hadn't said much more than 'please' and 'thank you' all evening.

"A laudable attitude, though, in my experience, too much focus on your mission at the expense of your private life tends to result in a less than optimal performance," Phil commented.

"Yes!" Caridad agreed eagerly.

"Of course, our definitions of what constitutes 'too much' might differ," the old Watcher added with a wry smile that had the Slayer pout.

Shaw, though, apparently didn't agree at all. "We're here to destroy Fulcrum. Anything else is secondary."

The agent sounded like a fanatic, Chuck realised. Not just motivated but almost obsessed. He glanced at Sarah, whose lips formed a thin line - she had noticed as well, of course. "Uh, and we will," Chuck said. "Destroy Fulcrum, that is. But if we sacrifice everything and everyone for that, it's not really a victory, is it?"

Shaw's cold expression clearly stated that he didn't think share Chuck's opinion.