A/N1 Ah, the golf course. The scent of freshly cut green grass.

Um, well, in this case, the scent of freshly hosed green astroturf.

More story.

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Don't own Chuck.

Chutes and Ladders

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Neo Turf Masters

Morgan welcomed Chuck, Sarah, and Sasha inside. He leaped up from his stool at the counter and walked over to them. He grabbed Sarah and gave her an enthusiastic hug. She returned it, touched by his immediate, open affection for her.

"His Girl Friday!" Morgan said to her, then he laughed and playfully punched at Chuck's stomach. Chuck shook his head but laughed in amusement too, shooting Sarah a shy, loving smile.

Morgan looked to Sasha. He leaned down - Sasha tilted her head up a little - and Morgan gave her his biggest smile. "Hey, little lady. And who would you be?"

"I...would be….Sasha." Sasha struggled with the phrase. But she bravely went on. "And who...who would...um, what's your name, mister?"

"Morgan, that's my name. I am Chuck's buddy, and this is my putt-putt course."

"I like it! Can I play?"

"Sure, but I think Alex is bringing you something to eat. How about after that?" Sasha nodded enthusiastically.

Morgan gave Chuck a look, raised eyebrows, dropping his head sideways at Sasha. Chuck mouthed, "Later."

Morgan grabbed a club, an orange golf ball, and a plastic cup. He put the cup on the floor and gave the club to Sasha. He put the golf ball down a few feet in front of the cup. "See, you can practice until Alex gets here."

Sasha stood over the ball and hit it toward the cup. It went in. "Yes!" Sasha and Morgan yelled simultaneously, both throwing their arms into the air. Then Morgan grabbed one of Sasha's hands and they began a rollicking victory dance.

Alex came in carrying a plastic tray heaped high with tacos, chips, and salad. She stopped when she saw the two tiny dancers - one more tiny than the other. She smiled at Morgan with deep affection.

"Hey, all! Food's here." She put the tray down on the table away from the window and began dividing the food among Chuck and Sarah and Sasha. Sarah made sure that Sasha could handle her taco. Alex had thoughtfully given her a soft one, and she gave the girl some salad and a couple of chips. Sasha began eating with appetite. So did Chuck and Sarah.

"Mmmm. This is yummy." Sasha mumbled toward Alex, her mouth stuffed with taco.

"Glad you like it, Sasha."

Sarah was struck again by how good the tacos were, and she thought of that day, not long ago and forever ago, when she shared her classroom beach with Chuck. "Mmmhmm. So good, Alex, I…"

"Well, if it isn't Dr. Watson…"

Everyone inside the clubhouse turned at once toward the counter, the open window. Jessup was standing there, his hand inside his coat, his eyes fixed on Chuck.

Sarah got up from the table. Jessup's eyes flicked to her, his gaze a mix of contempt and hunger. "And Sherlock, too."

"C'mon, Bartowski. You're coming with me. A small matter of murder and attempted murder, Larkin and Roberts."

Alex and Morgan gasped. Sasha, still eating, not understanding, frowned at Jessup.

"Look, Jessup," Chuck started, standing up beside Sarah, keeping his voice even, "this is a mistake. Casey will vouch for me. Rhonda too. I had nothing to do with that."

"You can explain all that at the station…"

"But Casey will be here in a minute…" Chuck offered, but Jessup cut him off.

"No, he won't. He's talking to the new Chief about some goings-on in the desert," Jessup's face hardened around a suppressed flare of anxiety. "Now, C'mon. I don't want to pull my gun here…"

"There is no need, no need," Chuck said, hurriedly. He looked at Sarah. "I guess this is the moment when the detective tells his best girl he's gotta go downtown."

Sarah nodded, her lips compressed into a thin line. She took her eyes from Jessup. Stepping to where Chuck blocked Jessup's view of her, she said in a whisper: "Chuck, I don't trust him. How'd he know you were here? Casey wouldn't have sent him…" Chuck blinked; he understood her.

Morgan: "Chuck, dude, what the hell is going on? Larkin's dead? The Jill-bot: someone tried to kill her?" Morgan's surprised tone became reflective. "Well, that, I admit, makes sense."

Sarah turned and saw Alex kick Morgan under the table, motioning toward Sasha. "Shut up, darling. Not helping." But Alex looked perplexed too. Sarah nodded her thanks.

"What are you doing here, Jessup?" Chuck's question had a marked overtone of smartass.

Jessup jerked slightly. "What's that mean, Bartowski?"

Sarah saw Chuck stand straighter, emphasizing his height, stepping toward Jessup to tower over him. "It means you are the worst detective on the force, too lazy even for luck. So, how'd you find me?"

Jessup's tongue flicked out of his mouth and he licked his lips. There was a cruel pinch in the corner of his eyes. "I'm here, that's all you need to know."

Chuck gave a skeptical chuckle. "Oh, C'mon, Jessup, fess up." Chuck glanced at Sarah. "Detective poetry." Sarah giggled.

"You pissant," Jessup growled through clenched teeth. "Stupid college boy playing detective. Well, you're about to get yours."

"Yeah, right, Jessup," Chuck said, stepping toward Jessup again, so that only the counter was between them, "like a clock-punching cop schmuck like you could ever hope to best me. Every part of me that matters is twice the size of you, brain and...all."

Jessup's face grew blood-red with fury. "Give it to me, you shithead," Jessup demanded, his hand clearly clenching his gun beneath his coat, the threat palpable.

"Give you what, Jessup?"

"The program."

Everything stopped. Sarah felt dizzy.

ooOoo

"Give it to me, Bartowski, and I will walk away. You can take your chances with another officer. Give it to me!" Jessup seemed to have lost control. "They'll be here soon. Give it to me and you can make a run for it. Refuse, and one of the holes on this course will be your grave."

Sarah noticed that there was a box of plain yellow golf pencils on the counter, the box labeled 'Buy More'. She noticed it because she saw Chuck's hand inch toward it. She prepared to go for a knife.

Chuck grabbed the box of pencils and threw them in Jessup's face, hurdling the desk behind them. He punched Jessup, who had stepped back in the shower of lead, and Jessup stepped on some of the pencils, then skated on them, his feet rolling out from underneath him. He went down hard on his back.

Chuck took off toward the far side of the course, angling toward the back. Jessup got up and gave chase.

Sarah wheeled around. Morgan and Alex had their mouths agape, their eyes wide as saucers. Sasha was still contentedly eating her taco, although she was giggling at what she took to be Mr. Chuck's funny antics.

"Sasha, we're going to play a game with Chuck. Hide and seek. You go hide with Morgan and Alex in the taco truck." Sasha nodded excitedly.

Sarah continued, looking at Alex. "Take her, lock the truck down, don't open it for anyone but me or Chuck - or your Dad." Alex jumped up and got Sasha's plate. Morgan lifted Sasha up.

"Are we going to run again, like Mr. Chuck?"

"Guess so," Morgan said, taking off but offering the little girl a quick, reassuring smile.

Sarah hurdled the counter and went after her guy. She looked back over her shoulder and saw Morgan, Sasha, and Alex get into the taco truck. They closed the door.

There was a screech of tires. A dark SUV had squealed to a stop in the parking lot. Shit. Three men piled out. Shit, shit, shit.

Sarah ran on.

The course was larger than most miniature golf courses. She had noticed that when they came up, and it was not, on the back side, where the higher numbered holes were, flat. There were undulations on the ground and hedges atop them, so that some holes were not visible from where she was. Chuck and Jessup had gone that way and were evidently hidden by the hedges.

Sarah ran toward Hole 12, the one with the giant frog. She had no time to grin at that fact. She heard shots ring out; her blood froze, chunks of ice. Chuck.

My God, if Jessup hurt him, Jessup will not leave this putt-putt course alive...

Behind her, Sarah heard more tires screeching, but she did not turn. She ran on. She high-stepped through the tires on Hole 14. She leaped over the downward funnel green of 16. But she had to turn aside and go around the hedge between 16 and 18.

As she rounded the corner of the hedge, she saw Chuck standing, gun out, barrel smoking, in front of a giant clown head. The clown head was smoking from a hole right between its eyes. Tinny music began to play - familiar to Sarah from the circus. Enter the Gladiators? Jessup was on the ground, squirming toward his gun. It had fallen. There was blood on the thigh of his pants leg.

Chuck seemed hypnotized, like a man at a seance. He stared at Jessup but said nothing and did not react to Jessup's hand as it darted toward the gun. Sarah reacted. Silver knifed through the air and Jessup screamed, yanking back his hand, a blade through it.

Chuck jerked to life at the scream. He focused on Jessup, ran to him and kicked the gun away just as Sarah reached them. She grabbed Chuck and hugged him to her, holding on as if her life depended on it. Because it does.

More shots from the front of the course. A scream and a curse. Then...silence...and more silence.

Silence. Sarah held Chuck for a long time before she made herself face the fact that she did not know what had happened on the front of the course.

She reluctantly surrendered her embrace of Chuck and ran to Jessup's gun, picking it up. As she did, she heard footfalls on the course, coming toward them. She readied the gun. She seemed to be standing there forever. The music went from tinny to wonky, speeding up and slowing down randomly, and the clown head was now smoking heavily, an acrid stench filling the air around them.

Someone came running around the hedge. It was Virginia, gun in hand. Sarah recognized the gun: a silver S&W. Virginia stopped. Her eyes swept the scene. "Par for the course for you two?"

There was obvious relief and the barest hint of merriment in her eyes as she continued. "Sasha's fine - everyone in the...taco truck?...is fine too. Everyone's fine."

ooOoo

Chuck slumped in relief. "Thank God."

Virginia put her gun away. She walked to Jessup. She saw the knife in his hand, the hand he was cradling carefully against his chest. Virginia looked at the blade and then at Chuck and Sarah. Sarah nodded. "Impressive, Miss Walker. You are not a normal kindergarten teacher. I would have felt a lot better for a long time if I had guessed…"

Monroe dialed her phone. "Agent Wilmore here. We need an ambulance and a cleaner team at…" She looked at Chuck. "What's the address again?" Chuck told her. She repeated it into the phone. "Keep the local LEO away…"

"Wait," Chuck broke in. "One of them is my friend, Casey. That's his daughter in the taco truck. His partner's name is Rhonda." She told the person on the phone to make an exception for Casey and Rhonda. "C'mon. Matthew took a bullet but he's okay." A flash of pain showed on Virginia's face. It passed. "The three guys chasing you are...not okay."

"What about Jessup?" Chuck looked at the bleeding man, who seemed to be on the verge of passing out. Virginia looked at him impassively. "He'll keep bleeding, but not to death, dammit. Anyway, he's not going anywhere. C'mon. We need to talk."

Sarah gave Chuck a look and she returned it. He put his gun in his holster and took Jessup's from Sarah. He put it in one of his pockets.

At just that moment, Chesko burst into flames and Jessup passed out. Chuck went back and pulled Jessup carefully away from the blazing clown head. After getting Jessup situated, Chuck turned. Sarah was watching the clown head burn, the orange flames reflected in her blue eyes.

"Morgan's going to be pissed," Chuck said, grinning despite his words.

"You don't seem to be, Chuck."

He flinched slightly, embarrassed. "I hate clowns."

A/N2 More answers next time as we hear from Virginia and Matthew. Chuck and Sarah begin to reckon with the question he did not not ask and the answer she did not not give. Chapter 23, "What's My Line?"

Thoughts?

Z

PS A photo I took years ago of a putt-putt frog, a photo that has been on my mind as I wrote this story, is on my blog, Quantum Est in Rebus Inane. I assume everyone noticed the 1s and 0s that surround the ladder on the story avatar.