The Mission

The phone rings. The voice on the other end says "We need you again." then hangs up.

Neal was lazing about his apartment when his phone started ringing. Picking it up, he answered the call.

"We need you again." An unfamiliar voice stated the bland phrase.

As the line clicked, he rolled his eyes and set the phone back down. "Of course you do." With a sigh, he walked across his apartment, opened the closet door, and walked to the back. Sliding a couple of suits aside, he opened a secret panel and removed a duffle bag.

Changing, he pulled out a t-shirt that said 'suit up' showing a version of himself in a suit between the U and the P. It was comfortable, nerdy, and playful. Combined with an easy pair of jeans and shoes flexible for running, and he was ready to go.

You know, no one bothered me this much when I was dead.

Entering the secret substation meant walking into the inconspicuous restaurant upstairs, pretending to meet some friends, going through a back party room with the doors closing behind, flashing his badge at the rear waiter for entrance to the closet, and then scanning of his fingerprints, retinal's, and voice recognition before an elevator ride. Of course, the agency couldn't leave out the maze of hallways and chambers for him to walk before he came to the correct door. Knocking, his guides stated his arrival before the door was opened and he was directed to enter.

Taking his seat, Neal was no longer a con artist. He was Bryce Larkin, Agent in charge, an officer of the CIA. "You know, no one bothered me this much when I was dead," he smirked at the general.

"That's because we need you alive again." Then she got down to business.

What do you mean, work with him? He tried to kill me!

Listening as she ran through what the mission would entail, Bryce wasn't bothered by anything until she stated who his partner was going to be for the operation.

"What do you mean, work with him? He tried to kill me! More than once… and technically succeeded once!" Seriously, he was going to be assigned Casey? That complicated things. Sure, the two could work together when they had to, their few brief run-ins after Chuck entered the picture proved that, but they were more accustomed to working against each other as rival agencies.

"Yes, you will be working with Agent Casey. You know as well as I do that he is the best military person to support your mission, and he is also the most likely to keep up with you." She was stern and immobile. The mission had been given, and it was going to be followed.

With a resounding slap, the case files hit the table forcefully. Bryce knew what he needed to do, and he was going to complete his job regardless.

"Oh, and that means Chuck will be in the picture with Agent Walker." The general added in parting as he reentered the hallways of the underground warren.

You don't strike me as a professional criminal. That's what makes me so good at it.

Making his way back toward the surface, Bryce wasn't startled when his old friend started walking beside him. Chuck was the same person in so many ways, and yet he was someone completely new and different. This wasn't the calm nerd he had gone to school with, this was that same man years later who had been through loss, and who had seen things most couldn't comprehend.

"You don't strike me as a professional criminal." His voice was calm, something that would be expected of an experienced agent.

"That's what makes me so good at it." No one even slightly suspected him of being anything more than the character he portrayed. Something he was proud of.

"So, tell me about yourself. What have you been doing since the white room?" Something of the old Chuck surfaced again; he was trying to repair the damage with his best friend.

"Well…" Bryce shifted back into Neal as the elevator door slid closed. Soon he would be reentering the surface world, a place where he needed to keep his cover just in case.

You know, normal people don't have a basement full of weapons. I'll have you know that every single one of these knives saved my life at least once. What about that gun over there? Oh, that? That's just for decoration.

Talking as they made their way to the rendezvous point, the two agents worked through some of their standing issues, things that had hung over their friendship for years.

Beginning to genuinely laugh again, they were making a good start when they ended up in front of an apartment building.

"So here is where the colonel has been living lately… I run past this for my morning exercise every day." Neal paused in concentration. "No wonder I get the feeling someone is watching me…"

Smacking him in the chest, where the red light was pointed at his heart, Chuck glared at the window it was emanating from. "Spy senses tingling?"

"Ha-ha." Neal shoved his hand away. "The colonel won't kill me, at least not right now. We're supposed to be working together for this operation."

Opening the door, the man in question revealed that it was only the laser sight in his hands. "Who knows, I could have taken you out so many times over the last month." There was an underlying eagerness of the trigger happy assassin to his expression.

"I'm on assignment, so you still would have had to explain to the Pentagon and multiple agencies why you killed an agent you had no reason to kill. Just because I died on you last time, doesn't mean I did something stupid like change sides." Neal let a little Bryce back into his stance as he sized up against the larger man. If they were going to work together, then they would have to get their antagonism out of their systems somewhere other than the field.

"Alright, be nice, both of you." Sarah entered the room. She was still the same serious agent when she wanted to be, even though Chuck had allowed her to reconnect with her softer side.

Separating, the two agents turned serious. Walking down the hidden staircase to the weapons armory hidden in the basement, Bryce chose a different way to mess with the colonel.

"You know, normal people don't have a basement full of weapons." They weren't normal, but that didn't mean he couldn't point out the assassin traits of the older agent.

"I'll have you know that every single one of these knives saved my life at least once." Casey waved his hand toward the large selection of weapons. They weren't his favorite means of fighting, but he was as capable with the blades as anyone.

"What about that gun over there?" Bryce pointed at an unnecessarily large specimen hung on another wall. Since the colonel loved guns, it probably had a good story attached.

"Oh, that? That's just for decoration." Casey's eyes gleamed as he looked at it. There wasn't a story yet, but he was just waiting for the opportunity to make one.

With a twitch of his mouth, Bryce managed to suppress the smile from fully spreading while shaking his head and selecting his weapons for the mission.

We have five people trying to kill us right now, what are we supposed to do? Actually, it's more like eight. Oh, sorry I wasn't specific enough!

"We have five people trying to kill us right now, what are we supposed to do?"

Crouched behind a barrier, Bryce was sitting with a gun in each hand while Chuck questioned him. He had just dropped from returning fire, but the reinforcements made him find cover. "Actually, it's more like eight." Why did the man feel the need to ask him anyway, like he always had the plans? "You're the supercomputer, don't you have an idea?"

"Oh, sorry I wasn't specific enough!" Chuck snarked in frustration. They were separated from the rest of the team, their backup wasn't going to make it in time, and they were running low on ammunition while the enemy was gaining the advantage.

Doing his best to provide cover so the enemy didn't get them surrounded, Bryce really hoped Chuck would come up with something. He didn't have a brilliant idea of his own; he was too busy keeping them covered.

Getting a spark of inspiration, Chuck chose to run with it before it was too late. Grabbing Bryce by the back of his collar, he drug him along as the agent endeavored to use the last of the ammunition to cover their retreat.

Throwing the useless gun away, Bryce turned to see what Chuck had in mind. Even though his head said 'oh, no' at the thought of jumping out of the third story window, he knew they didn't have any other choice.

With a pair of shouts, they broke the glass leaping into the open air.

Falling, falling, falling…

Watching the ground rushing up towards him, Bryce looked for any way to ease the landing. Spotting a cable stretched across the yard, he managed to grab it briefly for a slight reduction of speed. Then he hit the first story roof before dropping into a roll, falling the last story, and pulling another roll to rise to his feet running.

Chuck had matched his moves all the way down and the two fled into the darkness as bullets bounced and ricocheted behind them.

No, I said we were safer, not safe.

Reporting in, Chuck informed the others that they were safer, but the rumbling of vehicles approaching meant the chase wasn't over yet.

Pounding pavement again, the two agents sought shelter to evade the pursuing enemy, or if they were lucky to find weapons and cover to be able to defend themselves against them.

As neither was forthcoming, they continued to race through the back streets of the industrial complex of New York City.

"I thought you said you were safe?" came the worried voice of Agent Walker through their earpieces.

"No, I said we were safer, not safe." Chuck clarified again. They weren't surrounded and about to die, but there was the chance it could still happen.

Running and climbing, they hurried to cross rooftops until they reached a building high enough for rescue to reach them.

Dropping in with a helicopter to pick them up from the rooftop, Casey retrieved them and the object they had been sent in for.

He was leaning against the wall trying to support his own bodyweight and his gasps of pain were like music to her ears.

Returning to the substation, the team reconvened with the general presiding over the mission wrap up.

Bryce sat in a seat with ice packs to his more prominent bruises, but he was stoic about how much it hurt. Casey stood to the side guarding the object of their mission.

When Sarah entered the room, she was relieved to see Chuck. He was leaning against the wall trying to support his own bodyweight and his gasps of pain were like music to her ears. It was just some bruising from the rough landing and loss of breath from racing through the streets; he would be fine after a little rest.

Guiding him to the other seat, she made sure he had a few ice packs for his injuries as well.

Casting a proud glance sideways, Bryce encouraged Chuck. "Not bad for someone who wasn't trained the usual way. I think you're better for the unconventionality of your methods."

Smiling, Chuck was pleased with the compliment.

Clearing her throat, the general got their attention as she wound down the meeting.

Id' know that smirk anywhere.

As the meeting ended, the agents were released back to their normal lives. The plan was that they would disperse as if nothing had happened. Chuck and Sarah would return to the Buymore, Casey would move on to a new assignment, and Bryce would resume his Neal role with the FBI.

"I'd know that smirk anywhere." Chuck grinned as he realized Bryce had an idea.

"You are an old school friend of mine… I could say we ran into each other and you forced me to play paintball as payback for something from our old school days." Bryce grinned back in his Neal persona.

Getting the idea, Chuck smiled. They would have excuses for their bruises, and they could keep in touch going into the future. "I'm sure we can postpone our flight for a few hours… tomorrow afternoon wouldn't be too late."

Beside him, Sarah liked the plan.

They would paintball the next morning to provide stories for their cover lives when they returned to normal on Monday, but they would have cover stories to show up in each other's lives should Chuck visit Neal in the future.

Thank you, everyone, for reading, reviewing/commenting, following, leaving kudos, and choosing to favorite :D

Alrighty now, the votes took until later in the week to come in, but we've got a lead for the Co-Authorship: "Con or Man: to be or not to be" with Persuassioned coming in second. I was planning to post Persuassion until the votes came in so here's what I'm thinking. The Co-Authorship isn't a long fic so we ejoy it, then another round of voting, and then I will post Persuasioned if it hasn't been voted for in the meanwhile. This way you readers get a few decisions on whats next before we embark on my longest adventure presently completed and in the meanwhile, I'm working with Peter and Neal and the rest of the crew to set up some new twists for you to explore later ;)