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Chuck's eyes fluttered open. A bright light invaded his vision. He closed his eyes, to protect them from the blinding pain. The outlines of objects were blurred, and undistinguished noises rang in his ears.
He felt hands touching him around his shoulders and chest. Chuck groaned and tried to lift his head. That was a mistake. A pounding headache rocked through his brain. His forehead felt like it had a tangle with a jackhammer for a few hours.
Come on, Chuck, get up, he urged. Something in his distant consciousness told him it was urgent he get up and flee. He couldn't remember why or how, but it was a persistent sensation.
He braced himself yet again and tried to sit upright. His vision swam and a nausea overtook his body. He could feel his skin go pale and a cold sweat break out across his body. When his eyes focused, he noticed he was in a white room, much like a hospital room.
"What?" he squinted, trying to orientate himself, "What's going on?"
There were two petite older female women who were in the middle of dressing him into a hospital gown. They tied the strings behind his neck and ushered him back under the bed covers. Chuck was too weak and and incoherent to react. He might have slightly batted at one of the nurses with a blundering, heavy hand, but she carefully rucked it under the sheets.
"Ah, Mr. Bartowski," a new voice sounded in the doorway, "you're awake."
Chuck turned his head towards the sound. It was a tall man in heavy black gear. He should've recognized him, he knew he did….
"Seeley Jones," he remembered, "what-where am I?"
"After you took your nice nap-"
"Which was because of you," Chuck narrowed his eyes in slight anger, feeling the memories trickle back, "you-you hit me with your boot."
"Yes," Seeley nodded, looking down at his shining steel-toed shoe, "that's besides the point. Now that you've so generously volunteered to remove the Intersect from your mind, we shall begin the procedure."
"I didn't volunteer for anything," Chuck's voice rose, "you kidnapped me!"
The moment he yelled, he regretted it. A blinding pain engulfed his head and he groaned painfully. His body hit the pillows again, as he waited for the feeling to pass.
Jones waited patiently.
"Details, details," the ex-CIA agent approached with a smile, "the doctor is nearly ready for you. In the meantime, don't strain yourself. Get some more rest."
"Wait," Chuck grabbed Seeley by the arm. Jones stiffened and looked at Chuck dangerously. He didn't care, "am I-am I going to...you know...make it out of this thing?"
"I'm surprised to see you so accepting of this procedure, Mr. Bartowski."
"Do I have a choice?" he laughed defeatedly, "you've got me trapped here. I've tried escaping and look where that got me," he referred to his head wound, "just answer my question."
"No, Chuck," Seeley was emotionless, "you will likely not survive the operation."
He gulped, fearing that much, "I just have one request."
"You are in no position to be making any requests, Mr. Bartowski."
"Just grant me this much, okay?" he pressed, "my sister and brother-in-law, can you let them know? Not-not that I was kidnapped by an ex-CIA syndicate to remove a government computer program from my brain, but-but that I was in an accident of some kind, and that I love them and I'm sorry."
Seeley looked down at the helpless Chuck Bartowski in bed, injured, and afraid. Yet, he was still thinking of his family's well-being. Those were the qualities of brave men, those who faced probable death with selflessness and honor.
Pathetic.
Seeley smiled maliciously. He tore away from Chuck's grip and walked out of the doorway without another word. Chuck sighed desperately as he watched the ex-CIA agent leave the room.
"That's it," Sarah eyed a dilapidated building from the passenger seat window of a car Casey and her stole, "that's the building Martin said Jones hides out in."
"Come on, let's get geared up," Casey opened the driver door and rounded to the trunk. Sarah followed.
The back compartment looked like a mini army arsenal. Casey wasn't modest with his weapons. Both agents strapped on protective gear, then armed themselves with weapons of their choosing. Sarah pulled her hair back in a ponytail. Her skin was prickling knowing Chuck was so close, but she had to calm herself. She couldn't go barging in just yet, but she'd want nothing more than to gun down any fiend in there hurting her asset.
"I've got a gameplan," John spoke to Walker quickly, "I'll take in the big guns and take the front entrance. Meanwhile, you enter from the roof and work your way down. I'll meet you in the middle."
"Okay," she nodded, "will you be alright by yourself?"
He raised an eyebrow and gave her a crooked look.
"Right, sorry," Sarah cracked a smile, "I assume their control room is somewhere near the top."
"Yes," Casey confirmed, "their security level is the basement. They'll come after me first since I'm the closest, but they'll find you soon."
"Okay, so I'll have to hit the control room as soon as possible. Take out their cameras."
"Yes, you've got to be quick. They'll have backup power up within a few minutes. That gives you a small window to get Bartowski and book it."
"You'll meet us in the middle?"
Casey nodded.
"What if Chuck is injured, what if he can't walk?"
"Improvise," he grunted, "I called one of my buddies in the Air Force. He'll have a helicopter waiting for us when we get out."
"Anything else I should be aware of?"
"The place used to be a crazy house," John explained, "lots of cells, lots of locked rooms. Chuck could be in any one of them, so you've got to find a way to isolate Chuck's location. You don't have time to be knocking down every door."
"Got it," Sarah nodded with determination, "I'll figure out a way."
"Be sure that you do," he locked and loaded a magazine in a large assault rifle, "wait for me to make an entrance and lure the security my way. Then head to the roof."
"Good luck," she wished the NSA agent as he stealthily approached the crumbling entrance.
Sarah sat by herself by their stolen car for a few minutes. She was waiting for Casey's signal. Her heart was beating abnormally fast, it was never this bad in their previous missions.
"Calm down, Sarah, calm down," she growled at herself, "you're going to get Chuck back, he's going to be okay."
Something in her heart still tingled with fear.
Gunfire started to blast not too far away. That was her signal. Sarah saw heavily armed men go running towards Casey's location. They definitely were in the right place.
She sprinted across the gravel towards the building's rear. No security lingered, Casey managed to lure them all away. She saw a rickety fire escape cling to the side of the building. Sarah took the rusty stairs two at a time. They weren't near any civilian-heavy areas, the cops wouldn't be here for a little while since no one would be reporting it yet.
By the time she made it to the roof, a light sweat layered her skin, and her chest fell with heavy breaths. Her eyes scanned the roof, and she saw a small structure with an old door pressed against the side of it. That was her way in. Sarah sprinted over and gripped the doorknob. It wasn't opening. She grunted with frustration and tried to break away the years of rust that blocked the hinges. With one last heavy heave, she was able to break open the door. It screeched against the concrete, but she was able to slide through the open crack and fly down the stairs to the top floor.
The interior was worlds away from the condition of the building's exterior. Inside, the technology was state-of-the art, the hallways and floors were clean and sturdy, and a full staff worked inside the building. Sarah peaked through the door leading to the hallway. She saw doctors and nurses in scrubs walking up and down the hallway. The place looked like a hospital, why was an ex-CIA agent hiding out in a hospital disguised as an old, abandoned building?
She would ask questions later, right now she needed to get Chuck. A young woman who looked like a nurse was just about to pass her hiding spot. The hallway was empty, and she was facing the security camera's blindspot. Sarah waited for the exact moment and she struck. She grabbed the nurse's shoulder and yanked her through the door into her hiding place. Her hand covered the nurse's mouth, who struggled and kicked under her strong grip. Sarah placed her in a standard chokehold until she was unconscious.
Sarah swapped her clothing with the nurse. Now, she was clad in pale blue scrubs with a face mask. She hid the nurse's unconscious body in the corner, and stepped outside.
Where could Chuck be? She thought. Walker passed by a few doors and windows, but she stopped when she passed an operating room, they are performing surgeries here? What is this place…?
Her heart beat like a racehorse. She needed to find Chuck, she needed to find him now.
"Excuse me?" Sarah put on a smile and asked a passing doctor, "I'm new here, I was wondering where I can talk to any sort of management?"
He gave her a hard glare, "What code group are you?"
"Pardon?" she felt herself sweat nervously.
"Your code group?"
She quickly looked down at her badge, "Delta 5."
""Hmm," he eyed her warily, "you have clearance on this level, but Delta quarters are a floor below us."
"And the control room?"
"What do you need the control room for?" his voice was stern.
"Well, my keycard is malfunctioning, probably because it's my first day and I'm not registered yet. The personnel in the control room can fix it for me."
"Floor 3."
She was on Floor 6. Sarah saw the number when she was coming downstairs from the roof.
"Thank you very much," she smiled and batted her eyelashes, "just one more question, I think I am assigned to scrub in for a surgery, where can I find the schedule?"
"My, my, did they teach you nothing on your first day?" he sounded frustrated, "I'll need to have word with the Delta 5 management. The OR Board is right down the hall. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a surgery to perform."
The doctor roughly passed by, scraping her shoulder as he walked curtly down the hall. Sarah walked quickly down the corridor until she reached the OR Board. The reason she wanted to see it was because she didn't want to realize her worst fears. What if Chuck's name was on that list.
Her eyes scanned the chart, looking at patient names, doctor names, and OR numbers.
"Please don't be on the list, please don't be on the list, please don't be on the list," she whispered to herself as her eyes darted from line to line. Sarah started reaching the end of the list, and her heart was just about to give out with relief, until she saw it.
No.
CHARLES I. BARTOWSKI; DR. KLAUS HEINRICH; 3:30 PM; O.R. 5
A cold feeling of dread washed through her. She glanced down at her watch with blurry vision. It was 3:18 PM. When she looked up, Sarah was overcome by nausea and the hallway was spinning. She staggered down the hall until she came across a restroom. Walker jumped inside and locked the door clumsily.
She was hyperventilating. This had never happened before, why wasn't she keeping a grip!
Sarah steadied her breathing slightly and spoke into her earpiece.
"Casey," she panted, "Casey!"
"What is it, Walker?!" the static reply came back. Casey sounded like he was a little preoccupied as the sound of bullets and gunshots raged through her the speaker.
"It's Chuck," she gulped, "they-they have him, and they're going to kill him."
Chapter 9 coming soon!