A/N Thanks again to all who reviewed, read, and alerted this story. A special thanks to those that just recently found it and read all 25 prior chapters. Thank you so much for that and I'm so glad you are enjoying it. BTW Check out Maverick41's new story Chuck vs The Domino Effect I am helping with. It's a very good story that keeps getting better.

This chapter has turned into a bear and just keeps growing. The original single chapter grew to two and now three. I've struggled a bit with it and that explains some of the delay in posting. But I did want to get this out before Thanksgiving.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I want to thank Esardi again for his read through. I also want to say I'm thankful for all the readers, reviewers and PMers who I have gotten to know during my time on this site. You all mean so much to me and have added so much to my love of these incredible characters and the incredible actors who played them. The only thing I'm not thankful for is that I don't own Chuck. I hope you enjoy this one. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Chapter 26

The Other Girl part 2

Little Tokyo Public Library

Basement Server room

7:35 pm PDT

Chuck arrived at the command center that the NSA had set up in the basement of the Little Tokyo Public Library that was adjacent to site of tonight's event and meeting with Shaw, Sarah and the Ring Director. Vibiana was originally known as the Cathedral of St. Vibiana and is one of LA's most historic landmarks. It had served as a Catholic Church until it was severely damage in the Northridge earthquake in the early 90's and was decommissioned. In 1999 it was taken over by a firm that specialized in reuse renovation of historical buildings. It was then converted into a multi-use function hall for state of the art special events and performing arts. It has been the home of the LA Fashion Week gala for the last few years.

During its time as a Cathedral, tunnels had been dug connecting it to the Rectory that once stood on the grounds where the library stands now. Those tunnels were no longer in use but the NSA had been aware of them and reopened one of them as an egress point for Team Carmichael if needed. Their existence had been removed from the sites documentation when the renovation permits were filed when the Rectory was torn down to make way for the library. But General Beckman had gotten access to the original plans from the Archdiocese. It always impressed Chuck who the diminutive General had connections with.

The library location also provided easy access to the Vibiana network as both of the buildings communications and their fiber networks went through the same manhole just outside the library parking lot. This had provided Chuck with a perfect location for his command center. He had access to the event's cameras as well as those that had been installed by the NSA as part of the setup crews for the Fashion event. The high tech gear the event required made a perfect cover for the team's operations.

While Chuck worked his magic with the servers, Casey was checking the comm links with his team.

"Carmichael, all our comm packs are up and running except the sat links to the DNI. Those should be up before the guests arrive. How are you doing with the cameras?"

"All set Casey. I've been scanning their coverage areas in relation to the plans we received from Beckman looking for areas we don't have covered. Once I'm done with that I'll give you them so you can notify the team any areas of concern. I've also been looking for 'other' members of the security and function teams to see if I can identify anyone who doesn't fit."

"Any areas of interest so far?"

"Just one. I expect that the meet will take place here." Chuck pointed to a large open area near the offices and lounges in the annex off the main stage area. At one time it was a chapel used for smaller services. "It has good access to the facility through here, the street here, and the gardens which will be filled with guests of the event. No way can we do an extraction through there. I expect the Director will have his escape planned to use Second Street. We will however use the tunnels our guys reopened back to us here in the library."

"Is that it Chuck?"

"No, my real concern is the lack of cameras in that area. It only has two in the corridors and none in the room itself as it is used as a dressing area. Unless we can get some in there quickly we will be blind when the meeting actually takes place."

"We'll get 'em up in an hour, that should give us plenty of time before the meet."

Chuck reached over and picked up a small case from the stack of road cases the NSA had brought and placed it on the counter. He opened it and revealed two very small disks. "Thanks, Casey have the NSA guys install their normal GLG-65 devices, the Ring will be expecting that but I also want you to install these as well."

Casey looked closely a the devices as Chuck handed them to him.

"These disks are modifications to a design a friend of mine who works at JPL has been working on for the next generation interplanetary missions and rovers. I added some features that make them undetectable when the Ring finds the GLG's as I fully expect them to." Chuck's attention was suddenly diverted to the screen as something caught his attention.

"What is it, Bartowski?" Casey asked noticing Chuck's gaze at the screen.

"I'm not sure exactly. Give me a second." Chuck began to furiously type on his laptop that was connected to the server he was using to hack into Vibaina's systems. Casey backed off. He knew Chuck well enough to know when to give his amazing brain the space it needed. Chuck then pulled out a small circuit board with a three inch antenna extending from one end from his messenger bag and attached it to an unused port on the Cisco switch. Another connector on the device he connected a USB port on his laptop. He quickly ran an app that looked like a graph with small spikes moving in what looked like random patterns across the screen.

"Got it!" Chuck then entered some code and suddenly four more cameras appeared. Chuck checked the blueprints that they had received from General Beckman.

"Casey take a look at this." Chuck pointed to an area in a back hallway of the annex at Vibiana then pointed to the screen. "None of these cameras are on these blueprints."

"Ring cameras?"

"I expect so. This are is a blind spot on the normal cameras. I think we need to work from the approach that if we thought of it so did they."

"Does that mean they will also be able to hack into ours as well?"

"Well so far I haven't seen any anomalies on the regular network but I picked up a small pulse like it was being scanned. It had a very interesting modulation trace signature."

Casey rolled his eyes. " 's that device and keep the nerdisms to a minimum."

"It's something I've been working on for a while. It's kind of like a Spectrum Analyzer as it scans radio frequencies but it looks for patterns in small carrier pulses."

"I said minimum as in none." Casey's expression let Chuck know he needed to get to the point.

"Ok. Basically this is like a police scanner where you can listen in. But like some trunked radio systems instead of staying on the same frequency all the time, they change them every few milliseconds. If you don't know the pattern, you can't see the picture. This board searches for and finds that pattern."

Casey nodded that he understood or at least the explanation made enough sense to move on.

"These cameras seem to be looking at a possible entrance and egress point. I think this is where the Ring Director will leave the building after the meeting."

"Makes sense, its private, easily defended and allows for a quick evac if needed. Good work Bartowski."

Chuck turned towards the Colonel a little shocked. "Was that a compliment, Casey what the..."

"Yes but don't expect another this year, moron."

"And we're back."

Casa Bartowski/Walker

7:25 pm PDT

Sarah's attention was drawn to the sound of the doorbell ringing. Checking her makeup and hair one more time in the hall mirror she approached the door cautiously. She triggered the security monitor Chuck had installed in the mirror and saw the figure of the tall agent who was to be her escort for the evening. Putting her gun down in the drawer of the end table by the door she walked over and opened it.

Shaw turned around and smiled with his ever present cocky smirk on his face. Sarah's stomach clenched ever so slightly at the sight. He tilted his head to one side just a bit taking in the beautiful site before him. "Sarah, are you trying to make the models jealous tonight? Not one of them can hold a candle to how you look this evening." Sarah thought she saw a hint of drool in the corner of Shaw's mouth.

Sarah was dressed in a formfitting beige gown with a sequined bodice. The gown had a rather dangerous slit up her right leg that came above her mid thigh but it's purpose was more to allow Sarah to defend herself if necessary rather than to highlight her gorgeous toned legs. It was a dress made for dancing and that meant it would work well for fighting as well. The dress was also just low cut enough to be flirty but not so much that it screamed for Shaw's attention to be drawn to her ample cleavage. She had thought about wearing the purple dress she had just bought last week but purple was one of Chuck's favorite colors on her and she wanted to save that for an evening on Chuck's arm, not the wooden agent now standing in front of her.

"Thanks, Daniel. You look rather nice yourself."

'Rather nice? Come on Sarah we will be the most attractive couple there. Too bad you won't be leaving in such an attractive state.' Shaw thought to himself but his response was measured. "Thank you Sarah. Shall we be going?"

"One second, let me get my clutch." Sarah turned and walked over to the peninsula to get her purse. Shaw stepped in and checked out the apartment she shared with Chuck.

"So you live here long with Carmichael?"

"Not very long, just a few months. Our cover has been as boyfriend/girlfriend for a almost 2 years and it seemed like a natural progression."

"You ok with it? The live together cover I mean."

"It works for the team and it was nice to get out of my hotel room and into a real place. Carmichael's pretty easy to live with and he's an ok cook. One of the advantages of this kind of cover."

Shaw stepped a little closer to Sarah who had walked back towards the door. "But what about a social life? An arrangement like this might cramp a beautiful woman's style." It was obvious he was asking where she brought her gentlemen callers. His lecherous smirk quite evident as he reached out to touch her forearm.

"Don't worry Daniel, I've been doing this a long time, nothing cramps my style if I don't want it to." She said seductively and pulled her arm from his grasp as she headed towards the door. "You coming? We do have a mission Agent Shaw." Just a hint of snarkiness in her voice.

"Yes, AIC Walker." Two could play that game.

The Ring Hive

Glendale, CA

8:06pm PDT

"Is everyone in position?"

"Yes Director. Everyone you have requested is on location. The buildings security feeds are being monitored here along with the new spread spectrum systems we 'procured' from Korean Intelligence."

"Good. I want every Agent accounted for before I arrive."

"Yes, sir. So far we have four probable NSA Agents identified and will have any additional ones sent to your communications device."

"Any sign of Agents Shaw, Walker or Carmichael?"

"No sir, they haven't arrived."

"Let me know as soon as you have visual."

The lead agent nodded and stepped back while the Ring Director tied his tie for his tuxedo. Calmly, he looked at himself in the mirror. This was an important night for the Ring and his career. He was about to deliver a fully cooperative Intersect Agent to the Ring elders. As long as he had control of Agent Walker he had control of Agent Carmichael. She was his blind spot. It also seemed like she was the key to his emotions and his emotions had a direct impact on the usefulness of the Intersect and his ability to control it. One thing he had gathered from the reports he got from his training in Switzerland before it seemed anyone there realized it, was that the latest version of the Intersect was much more integrated into other areas of the brain than just data analysis like version 1 was. Because the new skill set in the 2.0 relied on a higher level of control of the muscles in the body it also had to be impacted by the hormonal changes such physical manifestations of the new data sets would likely trigger. The 2.0 caused biochemical changes in the body when it flashed. Hormones were tied to those changes and emotions were tied to hormone production. So control the emotions, you control the biochemical changes required to control the skills the 2.0 added to the host.

Yes tonight was going to be an important night on multiple levels with the added benefit of getting rid of that pompous, self-absorbed Agent Daniel Shaw. The Director knew Shaw was out to get him and his job. It was going to be fun to show the ass just how far behind he was when it came to all the things needed to be at the upper levels of the Ring.

The mission for tonight was simple, lure Agents Shaw and Walker into the kill zone set up under the guise of a clandestine meet. The kill zone was an area in the annex of Viviana that was a blind spot from any security cameras. Any additional cameras installed by the NSA would have been seen on the Ring cameras installed yesterday and would be disabled by the Ring team on site. Once Agent Walker was out of view, Agent Carmichael would certainly attempt to come to her rescue. Then the Director would play the surveillance video from Agent Walker's Red Test. Much of what happens next counted on Shaw being able to give a decent performance of the broken agent set on vengeance. This was one area that concerned The Director. Could Shaw pull that off or would it come across as flat and emotionless as he always seemed to whenever he had to perform a difficult part. He had to make it look like the CIA had ordered Agent Walker to kill an innocent agent. This would help with the 'conditioning' he had planned for both Agent Walker and Agent Carmichael once they had been captured.

They would then let Shaw play his little game about joining the Ring now that it is revealed that Agent Walker had killed his wife on orders of the CIA. Shaw will threaten Agent Walker causing Carmichael to reveal himself trying to save her. Shaw will give some lame weak speech about how he has to reek vengeance on the CIA and teach them a lesson for killing his wife and how Walker must pay the ultimate price for that betrayal. While Carmichael tries to rescue Agent Walker The Director signals the Ring team to tranq both Walker and Carmichael then eliminates Shaw with Agent Carmichael's gun. With no video available, any audio recording would point towards Agent Carmichael having pulled the trigger on his own Agent. Then they would capture Agents Walker and Carmichael return with them to the hive. Any threat by the NSA Agents on site would be dealt with by the undercover Ring agents thereby guarding their escape.

"Is there anything else, Director?"

"No, I just hope that Agent Shaw can pull off his role tonight."

Vibiana

Los Angeles

8:12pm PDT

Sarah looped her arm through Shaw's elbow as they headed up the stairs into Vibianas. They had parked Shaw's Tesla in a private lot a couple of blocks away and walked to the entrance behind the crowd awaiting the arrival of the many expected celebrities from the media and fashion industries. The last thing two CIA Agents needed was a paparazzi photo ending up on the cover of some fashion magazine. They timed their arrival to coincide with the limo containing the latest starlet looking for media attention with a well planned 'accidental' wardrobe malfunction to arrive on the red carpet. This allowed the distraction a beautiful woman like Sarah needed to avoid having one of the tens of photographers notice her as she entered the main door.

Once inside both agents scanned the room for any possible threats, egress points, suspicious and out of place 'workers' and every thing a good spy is taught to see from their surroundings.

"How many do you see?"

"I've got two possibles in the wait staff."

"Good work Shaw, I've got those and at least one in security."

"Should we check our comms?"

"Yes," Sarah removed her arm from Shaw and pressed a small ruby on the diamond encrusted bangle on her wrist.

"Comm link established Agent Walker"

"Blue Team leader confirms 5 by 5 as well"

Sarah looks at Shaw and he nods.

"Anything new for us?"

"We can confirm at least 4 suspected Ring Agents among the staff and some additional video surveillance in the annex where we believe the meet will happen. All systems are 'green across the board' Sarah." The last phrase was code Chuck and Sarah had worked out to let her know the new camera systems Chuck had worked on were installed and operational. If the Ring had broken their communication encryption and were listening the new cameras would still remain secure. This also kept the knowledge of their existence away from Shaw in case he was in communication with the Ring agents as well.

"Copy the message Chuck. Keep us updated. No sign of our objective but we have some time."

"Roger that."

"Well Sarah, it seems we have some time to fill, shall we take a look around?"

"Good idea, lets take a walk around the perimeter this way."

Sarah again looped her hand into Shaw's elbow and they began to survey the entire facility. The high ceilings of the interior of Vibanas were lit with cascading lighting effects. The colors danced across the arched ceiling and poured down the old cathedral's columns. It created almost a waterfall effect. At the end of the main hall where the altar had once been, white curtains created a bright glowing wall at the end of a thirty foot catwalk. Three rows of chairs lined the catwalk on either side and some round tables behind those with additional seating. In each of the four corners of the room were bars tending to the drink requests of the patrons. Tickets for the event were priced at a thousand dollars that went to support many of the charities supported by the Los Angeles Fashion Council.

Sarah and Shaw noticed two NSA operatives working security in the northeast corner near the stage and one in the southwest corner. They also caught two others that looked a little too straight laced to be the type of bartenders that would have been hired by the Fashion council in the opposite corners.

"Chuck, bartenders northwest and southeast."

"Not ours Sarah. Checking facial recognician."

Unknown to Shaw, Chuck had flashed on the additional Ring agents already when he had been scanning the cameras during setup.

"Serbian nationals with suspected ties to east European arms dealers. High confidence they are Ring agents"

"Roger that. Any others?"

"Two 'roid heads' standing near the entrance to the annex."

"Got them. Any word on our mark?"

"Still scanning the arrivals. I'll keep you posted."

"Copy."

"Daniel, lets grab a drink and head over towards the annex entrance. I'll distract the muscle and then head back and take a look around. I want fresh eyes on the meeting room. We are a little light on camera coverage back there. You keep an eye out for our target and any additional backup."

Sarah and Shaw continued to weave their way through the growing crowd towards the bar on the left front side of the beautiful, historic facility.

"It's beautiful isn't it?"

"Definitely. It is one of the most historic buildings in LA."

"Well having been to so many incredible places around the world it's kind of hard to call a 130 year old building historic but it would seem for LA it qualifies."

"I guess."

"An historic building made all the more beautiful by your presence here."

Shaw's attempt at flattery caught Sarah's attention. Though she saw right through it she could see how someone less aware than her or maybe with one too many martini's consumed would be charmed by the tall agent. Many women would find him handsome but he did nothing for her. Ironically his attempts to charm her only heightened the repulsion his mere presence elicited in her. It was obvious from his constant attempts to press his seduction techniques that there was something else going on aw well. He was working her for something.

The longer she was with him the more convinced she was that he knew she had killed his wife. He had little subtle tells in how he tried to charm her. It wasn't the confident charm of a Bryce Larkin or the exciting and dangerous bad boy style of Cole Barker. When she looked into his eyes the lust she saw was accompanied by something far more devious. It was something she had seen in many a mark she had the unfortunate luck to be the object of desire of. He wanted her, but there was something else he wanted as well.

Once they crossed to the other side of the hall Sarah noticed the arbor extending out from the wall covered in flowering ivy. The small sensors hidden in the blossoms. She placed her other hand on Shaw's arm to distract his attention as she ably steered him under the arbor. Once through they headed towards the bar. Shaw handed Sarah a glass of champagne and took one for himself as they continued their way towards the entrance to the annex.

"Cheers" Shaw said as he held his glass towards Sarah smiling his most devilish and seductive smile. "To a very productive and pleasurable evening."

Sarah nodded and smiled fully expecting what was to come. Shaw took his other hand and gently slid it down her upper arm then leaned in and tried to kiss her. Sarah kept smiling but turned her head at just the last minute causing Shaw to kiss her cheek instead. Pulling back Shaw flashed a look of surprise and slight disappointment on his face.

"Now Daniel, no sense in messing up my makeup so early in the evening. We have a mission and even if we were a couple I wouldn't let you kiss me right now and mess up my lipstick."

"Just trying to work the cover Sarah. I thought..."

"Our cover is fine. Let's focus on the task at hand. I'm going to head over and talk to the security by the entrance to the annex. I'll slip backstage and meet you back here in ten minutes."

"How are you going to...?"

Sarah just lifted an eyebrow at the absurdity of that question.

"While I'm gone check out the rest of the room and keep an eye out for the Director and anyone else suspicious. I have a feeling we are not his only reason for being here in public tonight."

Sarah walked over and began talking to the security guards. Her gorgeous smile and the sparkle in her eyes were enough to keep the men distracted long enough as Shaw headed back towards the stage area and the final bar they needed to checkout.

"I know it's probably forbidden but do you mind if I head back to the models area?" She said holding her phone. "My roommate is one of the models tonight and she forgot her phone. She's expecting a call about a possible bikini layout with me in Fiji and doesn't want to miss the call." Sarah said with a very upbeat flirty voice. She noticed that both guards had spent very little time looking at anything above her chest. At the mention of the word 'bikini' both of their eyes focused intently on a particular area not on her face and after a few seconds they let her pass.

"Thank you. We really appreciate it." She smiled brightly with a little extra shimmy in her walk. The roid heads' eyes never once leaving her ass.

Once inside the annex Sarah noticed to her right in the direction of backstage, the bustle of racks of designer gowns, spring wear and half dressed models both male and female scurrying about. To her left she noticed a rope partition that blocked access to what looked like a larger function area where they expected the meet would happen. Directly in front of her are the catering and service staging areas.

Slipping behind a storage container that had been used to deliver many of the caterers items for the event, she pressed a small emerald on her bangle this time to access the private channel to Chuck.

"Chuck, did you get what he carrying?"

"Yes, Sarah. He has the specially modified Glock 17 with the modified bullets in his shoulder holster and a Walther PPK strapped to his ankle. He has two spare mags for the PPK in an inner pocket of his jacket."

"Roger that."

"Picked up a two other Ring Agents on the catering staff. Looks like Baretta M12sa stashed under some of the service carts as well." Chuck had actually been a little surprised at some of the things he saw come up on the arbor sensors. Some that made him blush rather brightly at the nature and location they were found on some of the guests. "Gotta love LA" he thought.

Sarah's instincts were beginning to alert her to something not being right. "Is our backup in place?"

"Yes she is"

"Chuck make sure everyone is on high alert. I just got a funny feeling about this mission."

"What kind of feeling?"

"I can't pin it down. Something seems off about all this. It's too high profile an event. There is just too much activity for the Director to show himself."

"But maybe that's the point. A hide in plain sight kind of thing."

"Maybe. I just don't want any surprises with all these civilians."

"I think that is what they are counting on. That we won't jeopardize our cover and the safety of everyone here by going after him in such a public place."

Sarah shakes her head slightly. Her instincts have never steered her wrong and she doesn't think they are going to start now.

"Just remind everyone to stay alert ok?"

"Will do. I've got your back Sarah."

"You always do. I've got one more thing to check and then I've got to go. My 'date' must be wondering where I am."

"Stay safe Sarah"

"You too, Chuck."

Sarah steps back out from behind the container and heads backstage and the madhouse of clothes, makeup and models. As she quickly surveys the area she notices a crazed man in his early twenties carrying a clipboard, wildly gesturing while obviously talking on his bluetooth oblivious to his surroundings. The first designer was to show their spring collection in 8 minutes and they were one model short. Turning to his right he notices Sarah and waves frantically for her to come and get ready.

"Let's go Blondie! You got 7 minutes to be behind that stage."

"Hey I'm not... I'm just looking for the ladies room."

"I don't care, we need another model and your the best looking woman here."

"Thank you but..." Suddenly a tall leggy brunette comes running past muttering about "damned LA traffic."

Sarah watched as the slender late arriving model simply stripped naked in front of everyone and jumped into the rose colored floral print mini dress. Once she was zipped up, she sat down in the last makeup chair and a tall beautiful blonde with stylish glasses walked over to her carrying her makeup case. The case was covered with stickers from various TV shows the artist had probably worked on. The artist looked at Sarah intently and gave her a small eye movement telling the Agent that there wasn't just makeup in that case. Sarah closed her eyes in acknowledgement of the message Carina had just sent her. The movement would have been undetectable by the Ring agents monitoring any cameras. They had also counted on the Ring tech support being distracted by all of the half naked flesh throughout the staging area when the agents made contact.

Realizing she had been backstage long enough Sarah headed back out to find Shaw. When she returned she noticed an obviously drunk, bleach blond woman, probably in her mid to late forties who had obviously spent a fortune with some of Beverly Hills not so finest plastic surgeons basically pawing the tall Agent. Sarah tried to hide the chuckle as she listened to the conversation as she approached.

"Come on Roger, don't be like that. We had such a good time at the club the other night and especially after." She said in her most seductive voice as her hand ran up the agents thigh. Shaw grabbed it before it found its final destination.

"I'm sorry Rebecca. I'm here with someone."

"Maybe she can join us. I don't mind sharing."

"I don't think she's into that. Maybe some other time." Shaw tried to hide his embarrassment when he noticed Sarah heading towards him.

"Party pooper." The woman said with a pout that looked rather odd with the restrictions caused by her overly tight skin before she turned and started back towards the bar.

" Friend of yours?" Sarah said with a perfectly innocent smile that hid the hysterical woman laughing inside.

"Ahh no. ... She was just looking for the ladies room. So ahhh what did you find out?"

"The room is to the right as you go in. I saw two security by door to Second Street that I think will be the escape route, but there is a lot of activity with the models and the catering services. It would be pretty easy to get lost in the maze of people." Sarah still couldn't shake the feeling that there was something they hadn't prepared for. They were taking a big risk but she trusted Chuck and his plan.

Vibiana

9:36 pm PDT

"Sarah, you would look fantastic in that dress." It was a deep blue mini dress with a dangerously plunging neckline that Sarah's more ample bosom would show off far better than the pencil thin model currently wearing it. "The color is perfect to bring out the beauty in your eyes." The two Agents were standing behind the third row of seats lining the catwalk. Seated in the first few rows were some of the elite of the LA fashion world as well as the entertainment industry. From their position they had a good view of both the main entrance and the doorway that led to the backstage and Annex.

The thumping baseline being played by the DJ accented the steps of the models as they strode down the catwalk. For a few seconds Sarah had thought about what it would be like to give the models walk in front of a crowd of movie stars and fashion icons. But inside she chuckled at the idea that with her profession and her luck, she would more likely end up in a cat fight with an international model who happened to also be working for the Ring and selling arms to terrorists or drug kingpins.

"I'm sorry Shaw did you say something?"

As Shaw spoke he leaned in closer to be heard above the high energy music. "I said you are the most beautiful woman here and that dress would look fantastic on you." 'It would look even better rolled up in a ball on the floor of my bedroom.' He reached his arm around pulling her close and began to kiss her neck. Sarah had to fight the urge to wretch and the touch of the emboldened agents lips. But they both knew she had to just smile and bear it so as not to draw attention to themselves.

Fortunately for Sarah her hero, one Charles Irving Bartowski, came to her rescue once again.

"Sarah, Shaw the group of men at your ten o'clock."

Shaw pulled back as Sarah turned to see a group of four men talking with two obvious muscle standing guard nearby.

"We see them Chuck."

"The hispanic man is General Alehandro Goya, former communist revolutionary leader of Costa Gravis. The other hispanic man is Commandante Turrin of the Costa Gravis security force. Goya spends a fortune on fashion for his wife Hortensia. She is seated in the front row opposite you. They are also suspected of selling stolen Russian weapons to rebels in central and south America. The older Asian man with glasses is Binh Mahr, President of the First Bank of Macau. They are a suspected money laundering bank for Fulcrum and it would seem now the Ring. The shorter man with the sunglasses that looks way too much like Romo Lampkin, I believe is our target, The Ring Director. The muscle behind him are suspected Ring Agents."

"That commie's here?" Came with a grunt from a different radio.

"Hold on Casey. We'll deal with him another time. Our target is the Director."

Sarah and Shaw watched as the four talked for about five minutes after which hands were shaken and the group split up. Each headed a different direction.

"Sarah, the Director is headed towards the Annex and we just lost the 'NSA' cameras we installed back there." The use of 'NSA' in the message told Sarah that Chuck's special cameras were still functioning.

"Casey get your team in position." Sarah then turns back to look at Shaw. "Well Agent Shaw, you ready to join the Ring?"

"Absolutely Agent Walker." Shaw smiles and tries to lean in and kiss Sarah but a firm hand to his chest keeps him at bay.

"Come on Agent Shaw, mission first. Remember tonight you don't kiss me, you kill me."

"Oh I intend to" He thought to himself and couldn't hide the smirk. "Let's go meet my new employer."

Standing in the back corner wearing a brunette wig and dark glasses, a middle aged woman watches the couple intently. The glasses hiding the fire and hatred in her eyes directed at the blonde agent.

As she watches them head towards the entrance to the annex she follows, not noticed by the guests who were now focused on the swimwear models currently on stage.

She closes her eyes briefly and takes a deep breath. "Tonight my sweet Eva, I will make her pay for what she did to you. I only hope it might help make up for all those years I abandoned you."

A/N 2 Yea I know, we still got a way to go. I promise the final chapter of act 2 of this story will be out before Christmas and hopefully sooner as I've got my creative juices going again. I might even start on another story real soon.