A/N: I wonder if they keep ownership of Chuck in a ritzy mansion somewhere. It deserves it.
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Chuck and Sarah were working the party, casually chatting with the other guests. They had set their mics so Amy could hear the conversations. So far, they had learned that the party was being thrown by a man named Von Hayes, although whether his last name was Von Hayes, or his first name was Von, they had no idea. Everyone just kept referring to him by the full name.
Many of the guests were investment bankers and venture capitalists from Wall Street. It seems Von Hayes' new company "Unloct, LLC" was in the cyber-encryption and decryption business and Von Hayes was in the process of raising investment for the fledgling venture, hence the financiers on the guestlist. There was also a smattering of journalists from the business sections of various publications, most of whom seemed delighted by the good food and free booze.
As the evening progressed, Amy was using the van's computers to try to find anything she could about the host and his new computer company. They could tell from the sound of her voice that she was frustrated by a lack of available information. There were a number of recent newspaper articles about Von Hayes and his company, but they were light on detail and heavy on puff. The Wall Street Journal had carried a piece which was the most even-handed, seeming to conclude that prospective investors in the new company should kick the tires before handing over a check.
Amy switched to the governmental sources and became even more frustrated by the lack of information. Had Chuck been behind the keyboard they felt he could have had more success, but of course he was otherwise occupied.
One of the most intriguing news stories involved a demonstration of Von Hayes' decryption techniques. In a public display he invited members of the audience to present him with some encrypted data and he would decrypt it while the audience watched. Usually, the decryption took a mere matter of minutes. The audience, and most importantly the attendant press, was awestruck by his abilities.
Chuck and Sarah had been loving and affectionate to each other as the evening progressed. Establishing sufficient PDA could give them reason to slip away if the need arose at some point.
They were feeding each other strawberries when the tango music started. Sarah quirked a happy eyebrow at Chuck and gave him a little smile. He smiled back and took her hand, leading her to the dance floor.
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Bryce was walking around the party with a napkin over his forearm and a bottle of wine in his hand, serving the guests and listening to the conversations. He understood that Chuck and Sarah were feeding directly to Amy, which made sense given their roles. They had more ability to engage in conversations with the other guests. As a waiter, he could loiter near an active conversation, but it was difficult to participate. He had already spoken to the other serving staff, but they were merely local help, hired for the event and having no knowledge of the host.
Meanwhile, Bryce watched the Carmichaels in action. They were charming and outgoing, chatting with numerous guests, moving from one knot of people to the other effortlessly. With a small smile, he realized he was incredibly proud of Chuck. He could see that his old friend was thriving in the spy world. He mentally kicked himself again for his limited vision and short-sightedness years earlier at Stanford. The assumption that Chuck couldn't succeed in this world was outrageously wrong and had caused his only friend in the world great harm.
More recently, Bryce felt suitably chastised by Chuck's discussion with him in the car. Chuck had been right and he, Bryce, had been wrong. Bryce owed him an apology...again. Team Bartowski's record of success had proven that and Chuck's argument was unassailable. Bryce had seen the divergence from the spy world and tried to move Chuck to fit, for his safety and the safety of the team. What he'd never realized until Chuck rubbed his face in it was that Chuck was somehow powerful enough to change the spy world rather than vice versa. Casey and Sarah and Amy had seen it and adapted. Bryce understood that there would be growing pains for him personally, but he made a vow to himself to do so. And not to underestimate his friend again. He would apologize to Chuck the first chance he got.
As he watched, Chuck led Sarah out to the dance floor and they began to tango. Holy shit. Holy shit. He'd never imagined what he was watching. Chuck and Sarah were … amazing dancers. As thunderstruck as he was watching them, he saw the dance floor gradually clear as more and more people stopped to watch. Sarah was really putting on a show, making sure that their efforts wouldn't go unnoticed. She looked so incredibly beautiful and sexy and so passionately in love with her dance partner, it just made him...
"WHAT THE HELL?" the man bellowed as Bryce poured the wine into his lap instead of his wine glass. "WERE YOU DROPPED ON YOUR HEAD AS A CHILD, YOU IMBICILE? YOU ARE THE WORST WAITER EVER."
"Very sorry, Sir," said Bryce.
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As Chuck and Sarah danced, they compared notes and surveyed the crowd.
Sarah said, looking towards a tall slender man with long straight hair and an ivory suit, "He looks familiar."
Chuck said, "Amy, you see that guy near the door? You got anything?"
"Yeah, Chuck. That's the host. Von Hayes," she said. "There were pictures in the press."
"I've seen him somewhere before," said Sarah.
As the tango ended, Von Hayes walked out onto the dance floor and raised his hands dramatically with a crocodile smile. He said, in a British accent, loud enough to be heard in the farthest reaches of the party, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. Today is yours truly's birthday. I have a lot to be thankful for. I'm rich, handsome, and I'm an extraordinarily gifted lover, but most importantly, I know how to throw one hell of a party. So, let's get it on, people."
As he spoke, Sarah's eyes got wider. She killed the feed on her watch and motioned for Chuck to do the same. She said, "Von Hayes, my ass. It was the voice that did it. That's Ralph Simonson, or at least that's what he was calling himself when I last saw him. He's a con man. A friend of my dad's. The last time I saw him he was bearded with a shaved head."
"When was that?" asked Chuck.
"Jeez, fifteen years?"
"So, you would have been, like twelve?"
"Thereabouts, I guess," she said.
"Pretty good work to recognize him after all this time," he said, nuzzling her nose.
She shrugged and said, "Well, that answers something. His company's bullshit. This is a con and he's trying to bilk the investors."
"So, he's not a brilliant cyber-encryption specialist?"
"No more than I'm a sumo wrestler," scoffed Sarah. "If Fulcrum is coming to get his help, we have to warn him off."
"Yeah, makes sense. I don't want to use a civilian as bait. He might get hurt," said Chuck.
"Let's do that," she said. "Let's warn him.'
Chuck reactivated his watch and said, "Guys, Von Hayes is a civilian and doesn't know dick about cybersecurity. We are going to warn him about Fulcrum."
"Ok, Chuck," said Bryce.
"But, if he's approached..." said Casey.
"Yeah, good idea, Case. We'll hang around and see if we can spot anyone who makes a play for him. In the meantime, we are going to go off the net to have the chat."
"Roger that. Be careful," he said. Casey might not have known everything about Sarah's past, but he had put some facts together and was pretty good at reading between the lines.
Chuck and Sarah made their way across the dance floor to the host, Von Hayes/Simonson. Sarah cut into his dancing with a serious looking brunette, but Von Hayes didn't seem to mind in the slightest and probably considered it an upgrade.
She smiled at him and said, quietly, "Hi, Ralph."
He stopped dancing for a moment or two and just stared at her. Then he pulled himself away and said, about twice as loudly as necessary, "Oh, my God. Of course. I would love to. What a fantastic idea. Come with me. You and your husband both."
Followed by his large blond bodyguard, Von Hayes led Chuck and Sarah to a side room and closed the door.
He stood back and looked at her with pleasure, a grin splitting his face. "Sarah Walker." He looked at Chuck and said, "Hey, there." Looking back to Sarah he said, "There's supposed to be another one. Looks like a cop."
"Bartender. There's also a waiter and an agent in a van outside." She cocked her head to the side and said, "You know the name I'm using now...I'm guessing you spoke to Sid."
"Yes. Couple of months ago. Told me an outrageous story that ended with that Kirk asshole going to prison for...well, forever I suppose, but I'm being so rude. You remember Pete Miner, don't you? Bernie Miner's son."
Sarah looked at the bodyguard, who didn't look particularly intimidating at the moment. He was smiling shyly.
"Pete, Oh my God. The last time I saw you, you were..." she held a hand out to her side at about waist height.
"Um, yeah. I mean...I guess...I know...you were.. I mean you are...have..." said Pete.
"I think what my tongue-tied friend is trying to say is that you're all grown up now too," said Von Hayes with a laugh.
Sarah laughed with him and said to Pete, "Tell your dad I said hello."
"Ok," he said with a smile.
"So, Sarah. You here to bust me?" asked Von Hayes.
"Nope. Not my department or jurisdiction. I'll let the SEC talk to you or whatever. No. I came to warn you. An encrypted computer chip was stolen from the government by some very, very bad people. We don't need the info on the chip, but it's very important that they don't get it. The splash you've made in the press seems to have attracted them."
"Right. I guess my little dog and pony show got the attention it deserved," he said ruefully, giving Peter.
"How did you do that anyway?" asked Chuck.
"They were shills, Sweetie," said Sarah. "The people who gave him things to decrypt were part of the con."
"Ah," said Chuck.
"Ok. I can get the chip from them to decrypt and give it to you. Would that work?" he asked Sarah.
"No," she said. "I don't want you to do that."
"Mr. Von Hayes..." said Chuck.
"Call me Ralph," Von Hayes said.
"Ralph," continued Chuck. "The people we are talking about are incredibly dangerous. Really, really bad people. You want to have nothing to do with them. We will not use you as bait to get the chip out of their hands. We understand that they intend to approach you here at this party. If they do, tell them you can't help them and then point them out to us or one of the other agents. We'll take it from there."
Von Hayes looked concerned. "Ok. I'm suitably freaked out. You two deal with some real nightmares. Please, be careful yourselves."
"We will. But this is what we do and we are pretty good at it," said Sarah. "But thank you, Ralph."
She gave him a quick hug and they all went back to the party.
Sarah activated her mic once more and said, "Von Hayes is on board. If he's approached by Fulcrum, he'll wave them off and point them out to us."
"Great," said Amy.
Chuck and Sarah headed back to the dance floor. Casey served drinks. Bryce passed hors d'oeuvres. Amy wished the van had better AC.
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Almost an hour and a half later, an attractive brunette woman approached Von Hayes and said, "Mr. Von Hayes, may I speak to you in private, please. I have a business proposition for you."
"Certainly," he said.
He and Peter escorted the woman towards the back of the mansion. Once alone in the room with the door closed, Von Hayes said, "So, how can I help you?"
The woman pulled a silenced gun from her waistband and said, "Shut the fuck up." She fired once, killing Peter instantly. Von Hayes gasped in shock as the younger man's body fell to the carpet.
The woman spoke into microphone in her sleeve. "I've got him. Follow me out the back." She jammed her pistol into his side and said, "The only way for you to live is to do exactly what I tell you. Now walk."
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They had noticed Von Hayes heading towards the back with the brunette. Sarah caught sight of the dark haired woman and two men starting to move Von Hayes towards the back of the house and, if she read the body language properly, he was moving at gunpoint. They seemed to be moving casually, so as not to attract notice.
"Chuck, look," she said.
"Aw, shit. Guys," said Chuck. "They didn't offer him a deal for his services, they're just taking him. Seems they are going out the back, towards the beach. Sarah and I are going to loop around to get in front of them. Block their way to their transport. Don't engage until we are in position. Amy, any cameras from the house show the beach?"
"No," she said.
"Ok," said Chuck. "I'm guessing a four-wheel drive on the sand, but maybe a boat is possible. Amy, if it's an SUV or something, see if you can figure out where it might come out from the beach. Let's try to get the state police there if we can."
Bryce spoke up, "It's ok, guys. I have the shot. I'm taking the shot."
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Bryce made his way to see the three people pulling a reluctant Von Hayes through the house. He knew he could take all three in a matter of seconds. The only hard shot was the woman, as she was closest to the hostage.
Bryce said, "It's ok, guys. I have the shot. I'm taking the shot."
Chuck said, "No, Bryce. We aren't in position yet. Wait."
Bryce fired and killed one of the men. A heartbeat later, he shot and killed the second man. He was taking aim at the woman when a surprise fourth Fulcrum agent started to fire from Bryce's right side. The first shot hit him in the leg. The second shot...
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Chuck and Sarah had left the house by a side door and were running across the lawn when Bryce made his intentions clear into their ears. Chuck tried to stop him, but was interrupted by the sound of gunfire.
"Shit," said Chuck.
They saw the woman and one Fulcrum man pulling Von Hayes across the pool deck almost at a run now, guests scattering, screaming, throwing drinks to the ground in their panic. Whatever caution they were using to move him had evaporated with the gunfire.
Casey said, "Larkin's down."
Guns in their hands, Sarah and Chuck got to the pool deck behind the fleeing Fulcrum team. Sarah pointed her weapon at the enemy on the far side and yelled, "STOP!"
From behind the cover of Von Hayes, the woman threw a grenade. It came sailing through the air in a graceful deadly arc, curving upwards.
Sarah hadn't been on a volleyball court in six years, but she had been the star of Harvard's team, a middle hitter feared for her speed, a two-time All American. In an instant it came back to her. The world seemed to slow down. The only thing she saw was the grenade. She dropped her gun and took two lunging steps forward. She launched herself upwards, both hands rising together.
The grenade was curving downward in its trajectory as Sarah had jumped to intercept it. Both of Sarah's hands connected with it at her full extension and slammed it down and to her right. It hit the pool and plunged into the deep end. Even before Sarah hit the ground, it exploded.
Sarah landed on the pool deck hard. Very hard. Water erupted from the explosion as she felt Chuck land on top of her to protect her body with his own. The blast subsided and, as they were covered in the spray of pool water, Chuck said, "You ok?"
"Yeah," said Sarah. "Ok. Ok. Hard fall. Gimme sec."
"OK, Sweetie." He stood up just as Casey arrived. "Amy, Bryce is injured. Call for medical."
"Right," she said in his ear. "On it."
Chuck and Casey ran to the beach and saw the taillights of a truck disappearing.
"Shit," growled Casey.
They made their way back to Sarah. She was standing, but still a bit shook up.
"Go. Go," she said. Motioning for them to move. Both men went back into the house at a run.
Bryce was lying on the tile floor in a spreading pool of blood.
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A/N2: Who remembered that Chuck and Sarah learned the tango at the end of the La Ciudad arc? Give yourselves a gold star.
A/N3: Umm. Well, at this point I think you know what's expected of you. So, go for it.