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4:08 AM
Casey just pulled the truck to the curb when Sarah slid open the van door and sprinted outside.
"Walker!" Casey called after her, but she ignored him. They had left Chuck alone for far too long. It was almost 4 AM and they left at 6 PM. She was wide awake, not even a little tired. Her focus the entire night had been on Chuck and his well-being.
She opened the gate and closed it carefully as to not wake the neighbors. Chuck's house loomed into view as she rounded the corner. Sarah rushed to the window and pulled it open. It was locked.
No, no, no.
Sarah ran to the front door. Casey just crossed into the courtyard and caught up with Sarah.
"Calm down, Walker! You'll wake the whole complex!"
"This is a government asset we're talking about, Casey," Sarah turned on him, "This is Chuck."
She pulled a pin from her hair and forced the lock open. The CIA and NSA handlers furtively moved past the living room to the bedrooms. Casey and Sarah made it to Chuck's bedroom door. It was slightly ajar.
"Casey," Sarah breathed, her heart beating. She just stared at the open edge, dread filling her body.
"Get inside," he grumbled, "hurry!"
Sarah shook her head and entered Chuck's bedroom. The bed was empty. The sheets were tangled. There were scuff marks on the carpet, clear signs of a struggle.
"Oh, no," Walker felt her heart constrict, "No, Casey, no. This can't be..."
"Quick, check the rest of the house!" John growled.
The NSA agent quickly exited the room and started making his rounds throughout the home. Sarah was left alone in the dark room. She felt her legs grow weak and a rush of ice fill her from head to toe. Walker sunk on to the bed, looking at nothing.
She failed at her mission, she didn't keep Chuck safe even after all the promises she had given him. That curly brown hair, goofy smile, his lanky body, and sarcastic humor. She would never see that again.
Chuck was gone.
5:17 AM
"Good evening, General Beckman," Casey spoke to the monitor, "I am sorry to have woken you so early."
"What's the issue, Major?" Beckman delivered him the same terse look. She didn't look the least bit affected by his wayward call.
"General, while Agent Walker and I were on our mission earlier today, it appears that Chuck Bartowski was taken."
"I'm sorry?"
"Someone kidnapped Chuck," Sarah stood up, rage spilling into her tone, "because we were forced to go on your mission."
General Beckman's lips pursed into a fine line, "I will ask you to address your tone, Agent Walker."
She looked down, her fists clenched with anger.
"Major Casey, give me the details."
"We arrived back at the asset's complex a few minutes past 4 o'clock in the morning. Sarah and I both went to Chuck's bedroom and noticed the asset wasn't there. We examined the rest of the perimeter. We checked his calendar and recent call logs. There was no communication on his behalf past 10 PM and his vehicle was still in the garage. There was no possible way Chuck could have left the complex without being taken from there by a third party."
"Did the cameras get anything?" Beckman pressed.
"They were disabled," Casey concluded, "and there were signs of a struggle in the asset's bedroom."
"I see," Beckman sighed, "Major Casey, Agent Walker, I applaud you on your efforts-"
"You applaud us?!" Sarah retorted, "Our asset was kidnapped, we failed our primary objective of the mission!"
"Walker!" Casey intervened, glaring at her with disapproving eyes.
"And the mission you sent us on was a bust! The Colombian drug dealers never showed!"
"Agent Walker!" Beckman's tone hardened, "I will not be castigated by you. You did your job, you did what you were told to, you followed orders. If the mission was inconclusive, that is the result of third-party factors. Occasionally, our missions are not successful, and that is a matter you will have to adjust to if you are having difficulty processing it."
Sarah looked to the floor.
"You have grown too attached to Mr. Bartowski, I have seen it for some time. As soon as we retrieve him, I am going to seriously consider reassigning you to a different mission," Beckman finished her speech and looked to Casey, "Major, find whatever evidence you can. I will have a forensics team there shortly to assess the situation. Until then, your orders are to stay put until we have further intel. That is all."
"Thank you, General," Casey dipped his head.
"Thank you," Sarah mumbled without looking at the screen.
The monitor went black.
"Sarah-"
Walker yelled in frustration and kicked Casey's bonsai plant off the table. It went flying across the room and shattered to pieces at the far wall. She was burning with anger. How dare Beckman tell her to not react when Chuck was out there somewhere, alone and frightened?
"Casey, we can't sit around and do nothing! Chuck is out there!"
"Orders are-"
"Forget orders!" she shouted, "I am going after Chuck, whether you like it or not."
"Are you suggesting we go AWOL?" Casey took a step forward, sizing her up.
"Yes," she said through clenched teeth, "and you can't stop me."
She saw Casey's jaw tighten as he looked to the floor, "You don't have to."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm going with you, Walker."
"Wha-really?"
"Chuck is my mission. I swore an oath to protect him, and by God I'll do just that."
"Casey, I-I...thank you."
"Don't get used to it," he grumbled, back to his usual fortified self, "let's start hunting."
Chuck slowly came to. His senses gradually returned to him, conscious thoughts starting to flow through his head.
He opened his eyes and quickly shut them. A blinding white light glared down at him. Chuck groaned, still feeling a bit groggy from the tranquilizer. He opened his eyes once more and forced them to adjust. When the blinding pain started to recede, Chuck started to remember what took place.
He froze.
There were armed men in his room. He remembered a prick and a needle. He felt hands hold him down, there was a cloth in his mouth. He remembered fear, his worry for Ellie and Awesome.
Chuck looked around. He was in a white, padded cell. A cot hung off the wall, which was where he was placed. He was wearing a white jumpsuit and sneakers. Who changed me?
Chuck ran his hands along his body, feeling for any pain in case he was injured. He seemed to be okay except for a splitting headache. The lights weren't helping with that situation.
"Hello?" Chuck called. He swung his feet over the bed and swayed as he tried standing upright. A lightheaded feeling hit him, but it soon passed. The small cell just had the padded walls, a concrete floor, and a small cot, but a black camera eyed him from the corner.
He called again, some fear creeping into his voice, "Hello?"
Questions mobbed his head: Where was he? Where were Ellie and Awesome? Did Sarah and Casey know he was gone? What day was it? Who took him? What was going to happen to him?
They probably knew he was the Intersect, that's why he was taken and put into a padded cell. He was probably going to be questioned, tortured, or killed. He was no Casey or Sarah, he didn't know how to endure that? Chuck felt a choking feeling in his chest.
Okay, Chuck, cool it. What do you remember?
The shadowed figures under the moonlight. The syringe. The numbers on the vest-
The numbers on the vest!
Before he blacked out, Chuck remembered seeing a series of white numbers on the black vest. What were they again…?
10192000.
He felt a familiar feeling grip him as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. A series of images flashed before his eyes as reality escaped him and the secrets trickled in from the computer in his brain.
10192000.
Marine Corps Veteran.
Former CIA Agent Seeley Jones.
Former Special Ops.
Dishonorable Discharge
Gun for hire.
Chuck shook his head as he returned to reality. He was still stuck in his white, padded cell, but at least he had some information. He might not have been able to flash before because the tranquilizer effects already took hold of him, but now he was wide awake. Now, he had an advantage over these people.
Chuck eyed the corner and saw a red light appear under the camera. They were watching.
"Agent Seeley Jones?" Chuck ventured, "Marine Corps Veteran? Former CIA Agent?"
Nothing.
"A dishonorable discharge too, huh?" Chuck's voice shook a little, "Must be hard finding work now as a gun for hire."
Come on, come on.
He looked at the door, expecting it to open. Something very different happened.
A white gas started to pour through the vents. Not what I was expecting.
Chuck's eyes widened and he jumped onto his cot, trying to stay elevated as to not escape the gas.
"No, no!" he called, "Please, let me out of here! Sarah! Help!"
The room became cloudy. Chuck lifted his shirt over his head and pressed the cloth against his nose. It was no use. He felt his limbs grow heavy and his eyes close.
Not again….
Chapter 3 coming soon!