A/N: Sorry it took me a while to post. Life got in the way. May be happening more and more now. But I plan on several more chapters to this story. I hope you enjoy this one. And I'll get the next out asap. Again and as always, I love to hear your feedback.

Disclaimer: I DON'T own Chuck or anything remotely famous.

Chuck vs Information

Sarah sat there being held by Ellie. She had never been so vulnerable with someone before. It felt like so much of the pain and pressure that she carried around inside of her had been released. She felt free in so many ways, but still felt that there was a burden on her mind. Something lingered that she couldn't quite get relief from. She wasn't going to take this reprieve for granted though. She understood now the anguish that her life had been.

When she didn't know that there was any different, she couldn't feel the pain. You can't understand how empty being alone is, until you have experienced what it is like to have someone there for you. Someone to rely on. Someone who cares for you more than they care for themself. And now she has experienced that. With more than just a few people. Chuck was above all, and Ellie was already a close second. She had never had someone like either of them, and she wasn't entirely sure how to process it. But she knew that she wouldn't take it for granted.

"Sarah, I trust you. With our lives, and with Chuck's. I know you feel like you aren't able to be trusted, but I have seen you. I have seen how you look at Chuck. I have no doubts in my mind that you would never do anything to hurt Chuck intentionally. What has happened to you is incredibly tragic and I can't imagine having something like that happen." Ellie said as she continued to sit close to Sarah.

"Ellie, I really appreciate hearing you say that. I just don't trust myself because this is the first time that I have any issue remembering exactly what I did. Only when they apparently use the programming on me is when I lose myself and can't remember what I did for a time after that. And I assume that the time frame is just until the task is completed. And that lack of awareness means that I am capable of doing anything. It all just depends on how they programmed me. Which we haven't been able to find." Sarah said, looking down at her hands.

"We can do more tests on you, and do you know any of the trigger words or phrases? I could use those while doing a brain scan and then we can have one of the psychologists that Beckman has in mind come in and see what they think and work with you on it. If you are worried about the safety of the people around you, then I would say that that is something we should do. If you are able, please write down any of the words or phrases that you know are triggers for you." Ellie said, once again leaning into her professional side.

Sarah nodded in agreement, and wrote down the only one she knew so far. Seeing it sent a chill down her spine, but she was thankful that it didn't seem to cause any issues with her programming. She handed it to Ellie, and was surprised at how little hesitation she had giving this other woman essentially the keys to controlling her. Controlling me. Here I had always prided myself in being a bit of a wild card. Someone who you couldn't always know what to expect from. And yet the entire time I was actually just a pawn. Someone else's toy to do with as they pleased. It wasn't even with my consent. They just imposed their will on me. For ten years. Sarah thought as tears came back to her eyes.

Ellie saw her getting emotional again, but knew that she had to remain detached for the moment to be able to get her job done. They made their way to get an EEG and got her hooked up. Not knowing what could happen when the phrase was said, Sarah convinced Ellie to strap her down well.

Ellie then made her way to the observation room, and started the scan while watching the activity in Sarah's brain. Ellie started talking to her, using basic small talk. She noticed that the areas of the brain that are usually active when lying were active when she asked Sarah about her past. Specifically the amygdala was not lighting up, indicating no emotional response to questions about her family. Ellie found that very interesting, and noted it for herself later. She would definitely have to talk to Sarah about that. It upset her, but given what she knows about her line of work now, it makes sense.

Then Ellie said it. "Remember, we will always have Omaha." Instantly Sarah's prefrontal cortex shut down, and her amygdala lit up like Christmas, indicating severe trauma. This was an entirely emotional response. The exact opposite from before. Looking up at Sarah's face, it was blank. There was nothing on the surface you could see that showed she was even coherent. "Agent Walker." Ellie said in a commanding tone. Sarah looked toward the observation room. "Eliminate Chuck Bartowski." Ellie said, taking a gamble. Sarah blinked.

Kill Chuck? That isn't an option. No, you have to follow orders. But that is wrong. Doesn't matter, you follow orders Walker. I can't. He has done nothing wrong. He is more than innocent. HE IS THE TARGET. FOLLOW ORDERS. I can't do it. FOLLOW YOUR DAMN ORDERS AGENT! "NOOOOOO!!!!" Sarah screamed, and her head started feeling like an icepick had been stabbed into her temple. Her nose was slightly bleeding. And she fell unconscious.

Ellie watched as Sarah's blood pressure spiked, her eyes started darting back and forth. Sarah made no attempts to move, But her heart rate continued to increase. Suddenly, Sarah jerked in her seat, as if someone had punched her in the face. Then she started screaming NO, and she started bleeding from her nose. Ellie rushed to get into the room, but as she reached her to try to bring her out of it, Sarah collapsed.

Her vitals returned to normal after she fell unconscious. That gave Ellie peace. And what she saw, just reiterated the fact that she knew Sarah would never hurt Chuck. As long as Sarah was ok once she woke up, she would release her to go home and rest. And then contact Beckman to see when they would be able to get Sarah in to see a psychologist.

Shaw checked Sarah's apartment to see if she was there. He was hoping to start progressing to Phase 3 of the plan, but he was having trouble finding Sarah. She wasn't at Castle, or her apartment. If she was with the Asset then he wouldn't be able to get to her until after they had finished. But he had checked several times at both places in the last few hours. Agent Walker was nowhere to be found. He debated on calling Beckman, but didn't feel it would be smart to draw attention to the fact he was looking for her. So, he resigned himself to stake out duty. He posted up just down the street from the entrance to her apartment complex, and waited. Watched and waited.

Chuck sat at his computer scrolling through the documents that he had in front of him. All were about Agent Daniel Shaw. Most were case debriefings, and he knew just from reading them, they were exaggerated. Just like Bryce, he had to find a way to make himself look like the hero, even when it was his fault that things went pear shaped. He skimmed through the travel logs. There was so much information.

Shaw had no family. A trust fund baby from parents that had passed. He was raised by the state, but not in the normal way. He could have been Batman. Raised by a butler. Top of his class at West Point. Though under the name Brandon Rutledge. He served 2 years in the Army before being assigned to a secret group, the. Processed into the CIA. Then there are months missing from his training, followed by him directly reporting to Director Graham. Just like Bryce. After which he had been a part of Project Ananke. But he soon after was designated to investigate The Ring. He'd made some headway, but never any true breakthroughs. He seemed to have a success, and then be stale for months.

His training was mostly standard except for those missing months. At the farm he was good, but not great at anything. He got top 50% in every mark, but never good enough to turn heads. That wasn't what you'd expect from someone with his past of success. And that is when he saw it. The trigger. The thing that could unravel Shaw.

He was married. Shaw had been married to an Evelyn Shaw, who also got assigned to work on The Ring case, but had turned. She was ordered executed by Graham. The Piranha had started rifling through the information now. They had been married for 2 years when she was killed. Shaw met her in France. They were both on mission, and it seems he was smitten with her. And she with him. They filed immediately for a relationship authorization from the CIA. And were married within 2 months.

Chuck felt that the name Evelyn was familiar. He started looking through his files, and there he saw it. She had been part of Project Ara. Chuck looked over it again, then pulled up her portion of the file. Similar videos to what had happened to Sarah. Beaten, starved, brainwashed to follow orders.

Chuck got curious, and looked into Project Ananke. He found a list of participants under the files on Graham he had gotten. A small list. Graham himself among the participants, along with Bryce and Shaw. He couldn't find what the project was intended for, but he had an idea now. The months Shaw and Bryce were missing, correlates to the months that Sarah had been as well.

They at were training them to control the other agents. Chuck fumed. He couldn't believe that the CIA did this to their own agents. What more could they have allowed to happen? He kept looking through the files. He needed as much information as he could get now.

He didn't understand why Graham had had Evelyn executed. Especially if they had had her brainwashed. Wouldn't they have just had to say the control phrase and then she would be back to doing as she was told?

He started looking into all of the missions leading up to her death. All the missions she had been on, seemed to be dead ends. For months leading up to her death, she had been sent on several missions, and came back with nothing. Almost all were seduction missions. All with what was indicated as possible high priority Ring members. Watching her mission debriefings, she seemed emotionless. Agent mask in place the entire time. There was no life in her eyes.

Shaw's mission logs seemed to remain the same. But this happened during one of the periods of plateau. He hadn't had a break in a few months before her death. And then there was a break after her death. Which lead for him to be moved. They had been stationed in France for those 2 years.

Something doesn't add up with this. This all seems too easy. To neat. None of our missions are this patterned. There's always loopholes. Issues that come up. Curveballs. But this seems like a train schedule. Like you could set it on the calendar that Shaw would get a break in the case. But then she dies and he has nothing. But there is no stop. No time off. She's just gone. According to Graham's notes, she had turned. She had started working for The Ring and that's why she hadn't gotten results. But that doesn't make sense if they had brainwashed her.

Chuck saw it. In Sarah's file. Her red test. Her official Red Test. She had been the one to carry out the order. She had been sent to France to execute Agent Evelyn Shaw. Graham sent her. Graham sent a brainwashed agent to kill another brainwashed agent. The only thing that makes sense is that Evelyn had found a way to break the control. Chuck thought as he headed to get Casey.

Orion was sitting at a park across the street from a large warehouse in Hong Kong. He watched several vehicles come and go from the building. He pulled up his wrist computer and typed away at it. Pulling up schematics for the building, he looked through what he thought was the safe in the base of the building.

He reached into his coat, and pulled out a drown. Tossing it in the air, he turned back to his wrist computer. Controlling the drone, he sent it around the building, scanning it. He marked the security guards making their rounds. He marked the entry points. Pulling up the utilities for the building. Laying out where they all came into the building. He brought the drone back to himself.

Putting it away, he stood up. Looking around, he started to make his way across the street. Typing more on his wrist, he shut down the power. His glasses automatically changing to night vision, with thermal readings. He reached the doors before the automatic generators brought the power back up and reengaged the electromagnetic door locks.

Entering the building, a group of security ran past him as he made his way down the hallway. He continued to type. The water started backing up in the bathrooms, flooding into the hallways. He kept walking towards the safe. Walking down the hallways at a normal rate. Walking past rooms where he saw drugs being parted into packages, money being counted, weapons storages. These were not good people. He'd known that. Good people wouldn't have what he was after. Good people are rarely useful for how he has lived for the last decade. He tried to do good things. But he was not a good person. He hadn't been for a very long time.

He got to the safe, and typed in the code. Grabbing the drive that was inside, he turned to leave. 2 guards burst into the room, and he launched at them. Kicking the first one in the side of his knee. Causing his tendons to rupture inside. It gave a sickening snapping sound as he collapsed. Turning, he grabbed the wrist of the other guard on the arm that had his gun sticking straight out. He shifted to the left, pointing the gun directly at the guard on the floor. Two shots were fired into the already disabled guards head. Orions elbow shot up into the nose of the guard still standing. Crushing it and causing him to stagger back. Orion kicked him in the chest. The guard hit the wall and fell to the floor. Orion stomped his foot down on the guards head, as he walked out of the room.

He calmly walked out of the building. No one else bothering him as he made his way to the exit. The power slowly coming back up. Orion made his way back across the street to his bench. When he reached it, he pulled out 4 more drones, and set the C4 charges on them. Tossing them in the air, he controlled them all through a window on each floor of the building. As another set of vehicles made it back to the building, he watched them pull in. "Boom." He said as he hit the button to detonate the C4 in the building.

All 4 levels of the warehouse exploded, as Orion turned and made his escape from the scene. Making his way to the airport, where he had already set a ticket for himself. Changing the security footage as he went. Deleting himself completely. Looking down at the drive, he plugged it into his wrist computer. He downloaded the contents, and then fried the drive.

:THE DRIVE IS CRASHED. AS WELL AS THE DRIVERS. I HAVE ONLY COPY. ILL REPORT AS SOON AS I KNOW MORE./

He watched the news as he waited for the plane to be ready and for a reply. He saw that there were several large illegal weapons busts recently. That made him smile slightly. He wondered how Charles was doing. He figured once he got a private moment he would check in on him.

:CONFIRMED. NEW TARGET SET. FILE INCOMING./

Orion looked at the file once it downloaded. He pulled up the picture of a handsome man. Dark hair. Strong Jaw. Reading the name. Agent Daniel Shaw.

Casey was sitting in his favorite chair. He had been able to have more time to himself now that Chuck had been fully employed by the NSA. It allowed him more leeway. Of course he ceased still on duty. But he was able to enjoy his time more. As he watched a documentary on the Cold War. "Commies" he said with a grunt.

There was a knock on his door. He grabbed his gun, and peeked out the peephole. He huffed loudly as he tucked his gun into his pants. Opening the door he gruffly said, "What do you what Chuck?"

Chuck looked at him in a bit of a panic. He started stumbling over his words. Casey was getting annoyed. He was starting to respect the kid, but in moments like this he was reminded at just how amateur he was. Not that he could really blame him for that. Chuck had only been on the job in total for a little over 6 months. He opened the door more and had him come inside.

"Slow down. I don't understand you when you jabber like a middle school girl." He grumbled as he stepped aside. Chuck rushed in and started pacing the floor. "Casey, I… just come with me. It's easier if you see it all." Chuck said, and then immediately turned and walked back out the door towards his apartment. It looked to Casey like Chuck hadn't slept at all. He followed him with a slight concern.

Inside his lab, Chuck pulled up everything he had. He was going through it all as fast as he could. It seemed to Casey like Chuck felt he had to prove himself. "Chuck. Stop. Calm down." Casey said. It was one of the only times he had used Chuck's first name, and it got his attention for sure. "You don't have to prove I can trust you. You have done that repeatedly over the last 6 months. Now get to the point if it's so urgent that you have your panties in a twist."

Chuck breathed. "Ok. So, long story short. Shaw is bad. But I'm not entirely sure just how deep it goes." Casey looked at him. His eyes growing dark, "When you say bad, are you meaning lies on taxes bad? Or murders puppies for fun bad?" Casey asked. Surprisingly no humor in his tone. Chuck replied, "leaning more towards puppies. I have proof here that Director Graham was running several projects, where the selected individuals were brainwashed at a young age to follow specific commands and Sarah was in that group. And in it at an alarmingly young age. Then, there was another project that she was sent through. That one I am still figuring out what all they did. But they did something to Sarah that required her to be inactive for a while to heal.

Beyond that, Daniel Shaw was married. And I don't think it was for love. I believe that she was brainwashed as well. And that Graham sent Shaw through a program to learn to control those who had been brainwashed. I'm not sure if each person had their own commands, or if they were individualized. But Shaw's wife died. Was executed. By Grahams order. He claimed that she had flipped to work for The Ring. But all information I have gleaned, she was with Daniel. So if she was failing, it was because he was commanding her to.

It honestly seemed like, from the footage I reviewed, that Daniel was using his wife as almost an escort service for the higher ups in The Ring. But I have no proof of that." Chuck took a deep breath. "The issue with all of this, I found proof that the agent that Graham sent to execute Shaw's late wife, was Sarah. It was her official Red Test. And I also have proof that he knows the phrases for Sarah. I'm not sure what he is planning, but I'm worried for Sarah's safety when it comes to agent Shaw."

Casey was floored. There was a lot being accused here. And as much as he didn't want to, he did believe Chuck. If Chuck said that he had proof, then he had indisputable proof. This wasn't a love sick puppy just trying to keep his girl to himself. This was someone genuinely scared and concerned for another person's well being. Casey grunted. "How sure of this are you?"

"100% sure. I have no doubts in my mind. The proof is all right here." Chuck said, as he scrolled through several pages of documents and links. "Ok. We need to call the General." Casey said as he turned to head back to his apartment. With Chuck following close on his heels.

Sarah woke up feeling better than she had for a while. Even with a slight headache that she felt throbbing behind her eyes. She looked around and reestablished in her mind where she was. Looking over at Ellie, she smiled remembering what the other woman had done for her. It was weird to think that she had already formed such a strong connection with her. When she had gone her entire life seeking to avoid connection.

She thought about the progress she had already made. She wasn't sure if she was ready for a counselor yet. But she also knew that therapy wouldn't be a bad thing for her. She knew she had major issues. The problem had always been that she didn't have someone wanting her to work through them. Graham had used her issues as a way to push her.

Her dad had helped create most of the issues. And she didn't do anything to change them since he had been arrested. She knew. She felt how far from mentally ok she was every day. But she was able to justify it as part of the job. The stress needed her to be on edge. It's how she stayed alive, right? That's why she hadn't done any therapy.

She'd always known the right words to say to get a clear bill. Anything to be able to return to the field. To get to the next mission. To avoid having to deal with the real things in her life. Her real problems.

She couldn't focus on that now. She needed to feel this win. Even if it were small. She knew she was stronger for being able to open up to Ellie. She knew she could trust Ellie to not betray her. She trusted her like she hadn't trust another person outside of Chuck. And even then, it was different with Chuck.

She saw Ellie looking at her. "Hey, how are you feeling?" Ellie asked as she got up and started to make her way over to Sarah. Sarah blinked and smiled slightly. "Better. Still have a slight headache. But I feel lighter. Happier. I can't thank you enough." She said as she sat up tenderly.

"Nothing to thank me for. I'm your doctor now. It is literally my job. But I also care about you Sarah. I can tell how much you care about my brother, and you make him happy. I'll do anything I can to support you both." Ellie replied with a soft smile. "As far as your health, as long as you feel up to it, you're free to go. I have a lot to go over, and I contacted General Beckman to let her know. She has a Company psychologist ready to meet with you. One that has been vetted by her and is in the know of what you do and what Chuck has. I think it would be very beneficial for you to talk with them. See what's going on. At least with the brainwashing issue."

Ellie reached out and gave Sarah's hand a squeeze. "It will be ok Sarah. Chuck will be happy you're going through with it. And trying to get healthier. It will be a process. But you have people that care about you and support you."

Sarah breathed. "I know. It's just scary. But I know I need to. I need to get past this, if I want to actually be able to have full control of myself. I still need to talk to Chuck about everything. I am not sure he knows how I feel about him." She says, trailing off as she finished.

"You'll get a chance to tell him soon. Right now, I think you need to head home and get some rest. Doctors orders." Ellie said as she stood. Offering a hand to Sarah. And then pulling her into a hug. "It's going to be ok. We will get through this. Ok?"

Sarah smiled into her shoulder. "Ok." She said with a sigh. She felt confident for the first time in a long time that things would be ok. She knew that there was rough times coming still but that didn't dissuade the smile on her face from growing.

Ellie sat at her desk looking over the charts. Comparing Sarah's charts from before and during the command being used, to the charts from Chuck's during a flash. There were similarities there that she found interesting. But she wasn't sure what they meant yet. She was still working on what all the Intersect did.

Sarah felt lighter as she made her way to her car. She had been surprised at how easy it came out once she started talking to Ellie. She knew it wouldn't be that easy with a counselor, but she would have to take it seriously if she wanted to make any progress. She got into her car and started on her way home.

I'm going to talk to Chuck tomorrow. I need to tell him how I feel. I can't keep him in limbo anymore. She isn't my asset, even if Shaw doesn't know that. We will figure out what to do with Shaw. But I wouldn't be breaking any rules. We can be together, and the only thing stopping it is me not being clear where I stand. He hasn't said the words, but I know he likes me. A lot. No man would put in this much effort without anything in return if they didn't have real and deep feelings. Sarah thought.

He deserves to know. He is such a good man. A pure soul. I may not deserve him, but I'm going to leave that for him to decide. He found a way for us to be together, and for him to not have to be like me. To have to go down that dark path. To remain in the light. And maybe, just maybe, he can show me a way to find some of that same light in myself.

Sarah was full of hope as she pulled into her parking spot. She got out of the car, and started towards the door. Her phone started ringing, but before she looked at it to see who's calling, she heard hurried footsteps coming up behind her. She reached for the knife she kept on her.

"Sarah. Sarah, thank god. Hey, I've been looking for you." Agent Shaw came running up. He was slightly panting and talking in a hurry. But as he approached, he slowed. His voice evening out, and suddenly very calm. It was soothing Sarah. "I've been looking for you. Please come with me Sarah." Shaw said as he came within reach of her. Taking her arms, he soft rubbed the insides of her wrists. "Come with me Sarah." He got close to her. His body was almost touching hers. Sarah's mind was getting fuzzy. She felt a slight building of panic and fear. And then nothing. She felt nothing. "Remember, we will always have Omaha." Shaw said. "Agent Walker. Come with me." He said, turning and heading towards his car.

He tossed her phone to the ground and smashed it with his heel. Sarah was following him. A blank look on her face. As she got into his passenger seat, he turned to her and stuck a needle into her shoulder. And her world went black.

A/N: if you have done some research, you know what the project names mean, and that's an indicator of what they are used for. I felt it was a fun way to foreshadow without it being in your face. Let me know if you figured it out. I think that's all the projects for this story, but it is really just telling itself. I'm just here to write it down. Until next time!