A/N: Sarah may have become comfortably settled into her new life, but her plans need money to be put into motion. As luck would have it, she's given a chance to make some extra bucks, courtesy of Chuck and Marco (special guest star: Dolph Lundgren). In addition to not owning Chuck, which has been mentioned already, I don't own the anime franchise saluted in this chapter.
And I would be remiss not to thank you all once more for your comments and support. Enjoy the new chapter!
Chuck turned the screen off and tossed the remote on a pile of files and folders resting on his desk. A smile formed on his face. The Japanese were enthusiastic about the game he'd developed and Mr. Morimoto had given the project his unreserved approval. This in turn meant that he was going to have to start the promotional campaign soon and then the game would go online.
A loud rumble from his stomach reminded him that he'd skipped breakfast in order to rush to the office and be on time for the videoconference with Morimoto and his associates. Ellie had even gone big sister on him when she spotted him rushing out of his place before it was even light outside and told him, in no uncertain terms, to grab something to eat and not wait until lunchtime. Unfortunately, the pantry in the break room was empty and in any case of the stuff he usually stocked there – Oreos, crackers, microwave popcorn Pop-Tarts and Hot Pockets – couldn't be considered adequate breakfast food, with the exception of the last mentioned, so he decided to go out and treat himself to a nice filling morning meal.
He was almost at the door when the phone rang and had to rush back into his inner sanctum to answer it. "Nebula Games, Chuck Bartowski speaking," he said.
"Good morning son."
"Dad? How did you know I was going to be here?"
"A little bird told your mother and in turn she told me. How did it go with the Japanese?"
"We closed the deal," replied Chuck. "I was just about to go out and grab a bite to eat, since I ate the last Hot Pocket yesterday."
"Congratulations on closing the deal. You are Aces, Charles. Anyway, I need a favor, but don't hesitate to tell me if it's too much trouble."
"Go ahead, Dad. I've got nothing else to do this morning, other than start planning the game's promotion. What do you need me to do for you?"
"I need some computer parts. But there is a catch. They are for an old model which I'm restoring for Hartley." Restoring old computers was one of Stephen Bartowski's hobbies. "He wants to use it as a functioning decoration in his renovated office. It's nothing difficult, but I can't find the parts I need online, because it was a relatively rare model."
"No problem," Chuck said smoothly. "I'll go to the Buy More and ask the guys if they happen to have anything in the Cage and, if they don't, they can spread the word to the Nerd Herds of other branches. Just text or email me the specifics about the parts you need. I'll call you back as soon as I can."
"Son, on behalf of Hartley and mine, thank you. I'm sending you an email with the full list right now."
-o-
"Hey, look who's come back!" Jeff Barnes exclaimed from behind the Nerd Herd desk.
"Who?"
Jeff glared at the rookie. "Don't they show the Nerd Herd Wall of Fame to newbies any more? This is Chuck Bartowski, a legend among Herders. Good morning Chuck."
"Good morning Jeff. Say, is Marvin around? Or Skip? I have some things to ask them about."
"So, it's not about a Mac," Jeff mused. It was well known among the Burbank Buy More Nerd Herd that he and Lester Patel specialized in fixing Apple products.
"Nope."
Jeff smiled and turned to the rookie. "Go find Skip or Marvin. Tell them that Chuck needs some help."
"Sure thing, Jeff," replied the newbie and left to find one of the other two Herders.
In the meantime, Chuck was making small talk with Jeff, comparing their rookie times with those of the newest employees and, like true veterans, managing to find fault with the younger generation. Jeff also sang Sarah's praise, claiming the quality of the Wienerlicious' offerings had improved ever since she'd started working there. Chuck smiled, listening to the older man. He could be weird on occasion, but he was a genuinely nice guy, with a good sense of humor. Chuck had enjoyed working with him at the Buy More before starting his own business.
"Chuck!" Skip called out to him. "It's been a while."
"Yeah, Jeff and I were talking about the good old days. Say, can you check the spares stores for me? I need parts for an old computer that may be a little hard to get."
"Just tell me exactly what you need and I'll see what I can do. The Buy More finally adopted the suggestion you'd made all that time ago and now there is a unified database for all fourteen Southern California locations."
"Better late than never, I guess. Here's the list."
Skip took a quick look. "This is… ancient history would be a nice way of putting it."
"My Dad's restoring an old computer and he can't find the parts online."
"Here goes nothing," said Skip and moved behind the Nerd Herd desk, searching for the parts in the system. "Well, you're in luck," he said finally. "We have everything you need right here. Some of the parts are brand new, and the rest are second hand, but functional. Your Dad won't mind, I hope?"
"He won't," Chuck assured Skip. "I'll go pick up some more stuff for the office while you can find the parts in storage, OK?"
"Sure thing, Chuck."
"You guys all earned five stars… again." He smiled at his friends and proceeded to fill the customer comment card. He then did his own shopping, picked up the spares and went to checkout where he paid for his purchases. The pang of hunger reminded him of the need to have breakfast, so he exited the Buy More and went to the Wienerlicious.
Sarah looked up from wiping down the counter when she heard the bell above the door ding. "Chuck!"
"Hi Sarah. I was in the neighborhood and decided to drop by and see how you're doing. Morgan also gave me your regards the other day."
"Well, as you can see, I'm doing okay. Not remembering things can be a bitch at times, but I suppose it's better than being dead. Can't complain, though. Maybe one day soon, I'll be able to hire a PI to help me. Do you know what the worst thing about this situation is, Chuck?"
"I haven't been in your situation, nor have I known anyone who has, so anything I might say could be off by a wide margin," he admitted.
"The worst part is not knowing if I have family somewhere, people who miss me and whom I can't miss, because I don't remember them. At least I know for sure I wasn't engaged or married. There was no ring or ring mark on my finger when I woke up in the hospital. Anyway, enough talking about me. What about you? How did the deal with the Japanese Morgan mentioned go?"
"It's done," he smiled. "It took some long hours, but it was totally worth it."
"Really? I'm happy for you. Now, try this." She offered him a corndog. "It's our new breakfast corndog with country sausage and syrup-grafted pancake."
He took a bite and chewed for a few seconds. "Delicious," he enthused.
The tomato timer dinged and she whirled around to take a fresh batch of fries from the fryer. "The fryer's timer broke down," she explained. "This is the best alternative I could think of. I got it at the Buy More, too."
"Smart move," he said approvingly. And then an idea came to him. "I came here for breakfast, but I could take a look at your timer, if you like. It's digital and electronics happen to be my specialty, so…"
Sarah knew that Scooter would like to have it fixed as soon as possible, so she took the initiative and accepted Chuck's offer. "Knock yourself out. I'll go get you some tools." True to her word, she returned with a couple of screwdrivers and a pair of pliers. "In the meantime, I'll make you the Breakfast Special."
When Scooter got back, Chuck was on his knees, checking the connection between the timer and the basket elevating mechanism.
"Ms. Walker, what's going on?"
Sarah looked up from whisking eggs for Chuck's breakfast omelet and smiled. "Chuck offered to fix the timer and I took him up on that."
"Hey Scooter," Chuck greeted without getting up. "I think I found what's wrong. A wire worked itself loose. Here we go." He stretched his arms and reconnected the wire, making sure it was secure. "Do you have any tape?"
Sarah rummaged in a drawer underneath the cash register. "Will electrical tape do?"
"It's perfect for the job." He held out a hand and Sarah placed the roll of tape in it. Finally, he got up and closed the access door. "Give it a try. I'll go wash my hands."
When he got back, his breakfast was waiting for him on a table. The big plate held three breakfast corndogs, an omelet loaded with cheese, peppers, onions and tomatoes, plus there was toast, hash browns, crisp bacon and a nice cup of coffee. "It's on me," Sarah said when he reached for his wallet to pay.
"She's right. You fixed our fryer, so the least we can do is offer you a meal," added Scooter.
"And I still owe you," continued Sarah. "So, if you need anything, be it a meal here, emergency shopping, or whatever, don't hesitate to call me."
"Do you know how you will pay me back, Sarah?" He intended it to be a mostly rhetorical question, so he quickly provided the answer: "Go on with your life. Be happy, no matter what."
"I can promise to try," she said. "Now, eat up. I expect your comments and observations on my cooking."
-o-
Director Graham and General Beckman met once again in the DIA building. The subject of their meeting was, once more, the plane crash. This time, Graham had a stack of reports to give to his NSA counterpart.
"I have the final report on the accident," he announced.
"That was quick," she remarked.
"It was, because we had the survivors' testimonies."
"Care to give me the CliffsNotes?"
"Certainly. The fire that led to the crash was caused by a chemical leak in one of the cargo pallets. It's all in the papers, so I won't even attempt to pronounce the names of the chemicals involved, but according to this, turbulence encountered shortly before the fire broke out caused the containers to rupture in their boxes and when the chemicals combined they reacted violently, causing a self-sustaining fire and fire extinguishers had no effect whatsoever. The fire eventually burned through the control runs to the tail, leading to loss of elevator and rudder authority just as the pilot attempted an emergency ditching."
"We learned an important lesson then, unfortunately at a steep price in lives and equipment: the chemicals need to be transported in improved storage containers and kept separately."
"In a nutshell, yes, General," Graham nodded. "I've also got some good news for a change. The selection of volunteers to make up for the unit's losses is almost complete. Dr. Zarnow estimates it will take a couple more days for the final selection, but once it's done they can begin training again."
"Good. With the mess in the Middle East we may need them. I predict they will be much in demand after their success in the Philippines."
-o-
A couple of days later, Chuck was freaking out monumentally. The first major promotional event for the launch of his new online game was going to begin in little more than an hour and even though he was pretty sure he'd planned it to perfection despite his inexperience in handling such things, he couldn't help but feel anxious. Morgan and his friends from the entire mall had come over to congratulate him to the point of making him feel overwhelmed. Not only that, but the event was going to be covered by every major gaming news site. He sought out the man he'd hired to direct the event. He found him in the tech van, clipboard in hand and a phone to his ear.
"Marco," he called out when the other man hung up the phone and tossed it angrily on a folding table inside the van. "Talk to me, is anything wrong?"
"Wrong doesn't even begin to cover it," said Marco, tiredly rubbing his face with a hand. He was a tall, blond, powerfully built man, but now he looked older than his mid-fifties. Chuck had hired him because he was successful in directing online documentaries and he'd shown interest in the project, claiming it would be a nice change for him. He was also ex-military, which meant he knew the details he needed to pay attention to in order to achieve realism.
"What is it? I'm freaking out big time here. We can't afford to screw up, not now!"
"Rita just called in sick and let me tell you, she sounded horrible over the phone. Her brother is taking her to a doctor as we speak. Rita was supposed to play Kay today. Without Kay, the whole thing goes down the drain."
"Crap," muttered Chuck. "Can't you find a replacement? Call the agency. Maybe they can send another actress to take Rita's place."
"Don't waste your breath, Chuck. I've already called and there is no one available, at least no one suitable for the role."
"Can't you just have another of the girls we have here take Rita's place?"
"Sorry, no can do. We wrote the script for five people and we can't edit it for four in less than an hour..." Marco sat heavily down on a planter and immediately jumped up again. "I have an idea," he said.
"Huh? What idea? Tell me."
"Wait here! I found someone who can make a good Kay." He took off running for the Wienerlicious.
It was Sarah's day off, but she'd forgotten her new, cheap, pay-as-you-go cell phone in the locker room the previous afternoon, so she'd come by to pick it up. She didn't mind the unscheduled bus trips this necessitated, but it got her thinking. Maybe she should go ahead with getting a driver's license and finding a cheap used car to buy. It would certainly give her a lot more freedom of movement, although she also needed to be careful with expenses, especially if she was going to hire a PI, like Alexis had suggested.
"Excuse me, Miss?"
She turned and saw the big guy approaching her with fast strides, also noticing his rather anxious look. "Yes?"
"Um, would you be interested in making five hundred dollars in one day? Wait, this came out sounding wrong... I'm the director of a promotional event taking place here at the Plaza and an actress called in sick so I have to find a replacement in a hurry," he hastened to explain. "Based on your looks alone, you'd be perfect for the part."
Five hundred dollars? For a day's work? It was definitely a lot better than the twelve dollars an hour she was making at the Wienerlicious. Yes, she was most certainly interested.
Marco could tell she was clearly interested, so he informed her that they had less than an hour to get her ready in every respect, so she was going to have to make a fast decision.
"OK. I'll do it," said Sarah when he finished the sales pitch.
"Excellent. Come with me. We need to get you a script and then off to wardrobe and makeup."
"Marco, where did you disappear to...? Sarah?"
"Chuck, hi. You two know each other?"
"I was about to ask the same thing about you two," said Marco.
"We are friends," Sarah explained. "Wait, is this your gig, Chuck?"
"Uh-huh. It's about the game I'm collaborating with the Japanese on."
She turned to Marco. "Since Chuck is involved, I think I'll do it for free."
"Absolutely not," Chuck objected. "You'll be here for hours, on your day off no less, so you are getting paid no matter what you say about it."
"What do I have to do?"
Chuck proceeded to explain. The game was based on the Girls Und Panzer anime, which was about girls practicing Sensha-do – the Way of the Tank, and Sarah was to portray the Saunders College team leader. They even had an original M4 Sherman tank and four other ladies to play the parts of the driver, assistant driver, gunner and loader, in short a complete tank crew. Sarah agreed it sounded like fun, especially with the subtle twists Chuck had been working on.
In short order, she was in the capable hands of the makeup specialist and reading the script provided by Marco. When she also put on her uniform, she was still easily recognizable as Kay the anime character, only, instead of the fresh clean look of the cartoon girl, she sported an M1938 tank crew helmet and her face was covered in dust, grime, sweat and a streak of grease – all done with makeup, of course.
"What do you think, Marco?" Chuck asked the director.
"She's got it down to a T, all right. It's Fury meets Fantasy Island," commented Marco, referencing the World War II tank movie and the sixth episode of the 1998 remake of Fantasy Island, which featured an alternate World War II fought by women instead of men.
Sarah was looking at her reflection in a mirror, marveling at the skills of the makeup artist. For some reason, even the holstered Colt .45 at her hip did not feel uncomfortable. On the contrary, it had an almost familiar feel to her. Maybe I used to dress up as a cowgirl for Halloween, she thought. Marco's approach pulled her from her thoughts.
"Sarah, are you ready for a quick rehearsal with the other girls?"
"I think so," she replied and looked at her watch. "We still have half an hour before the event begins. Do you think we can make it work?"
"The others have rehearsed this already. It's mostly for your benefit."
"Let's do it."
In the end the event was a resounding success. The people from gaming news sites had only praise for the performance of the cast, especially the girl playing the part of the tank commander. They also loved the game itself, which was gritty and realistic, while staying true to the spirit of the anime that had inspired it.
Sarah was both beaming with pride for her performance and humbled by the heartfelt congratulations she was receiving. She was also very happy when Chuck handed her the check for five hundred dollars.
"So, what are you going to do with your well deserved earnings, Sarah?"
"Frankly, I haven't decided yet. I do want to get a car, but first I'll have to get a driver's license. Maybe I'll contact one of the PI's on the list Detective White gave me and see if he can shed some light on who I really am. Thanks to you, I now have enough money to pay him to at least start looking."
"Well, I wish you all the best." He debated internally on whether it was the proper time to ask her out, but somehow it didn't feel right, plus she looked really tired. No, he could do it some other time, he decided.
"Keep in touch," she said and on impulse rose on tiptoes and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek.
"Count on it, Sarah," he said, managing to keep his voice at a normal pitch.
Next update in 2015!