A/N: Sarah is back, as you know. In this chapter, there will be action and some of the questions you so thoughtfully asked will be answered. There will be some issues left, but they will be addressed in upcoming chapters.
Also, I would be seriously remiss if I didn't thank you yet again for all your steadfast support. Enjoy the chapter!
Sarah and Casey didn't bother taking the time to change. Even if they had something to change into, they simply couldn't afford the delay. Someone had surely heard the three shots she'd fired into Decker. In any case, although the boathouse had been cold, the rest of the cabin was heated sufficiently to take the edge off the worst of the chill, plus they were both highly trained agents. They'd been through worse than this in training.
The first people they encountered while clearing the cabin were two men sitting in a room watching TV. Communicating by hand signals, the two agents approached them silently from behind and noiselessly dispatched them both. They also helped themselves to the suppressed automatic weapons belonging to the now dead men. The room was outfitted as a security monitoring center. Upon seeing the banks of monitors displaying the feed from various hidden security cameras, Casey realized how he and Cole had been made.
"How many more do you think there are?" Sarah whispered to Casey.
"I counted nine when they nabbed me and Barker…"
"Wait, did you just say Barker? As in Cole Barker the PI I hired?"
"Yes. I hired him too. I talked to him and this was how I knew you were coming here. Anyway, as I said, there were nine, plus Decker, and these are all I saw."
"Add the receptionist to the list, which makes eleven that we know of. There was also another man with Decker, but he left before the questioning began."
"We got rid of three so far. That leaves at least eight."
She nodded. "Right now my priority is finding Chuck and Cole. Of course, if anyone makes the mistake of trying to get in my way…"
"Agreed," said Casey. "Cover me."
"Take turns?"
"Works for me," she agreed. "Let's go."
They found just one more man in the cabin (Casey killed him), which they thought was rather strange. Also, there was no sign of the receptionist.
"Where is everybody?" Casey wondered.
"Beats me. Let's take a better look." They went room to room, but didn't find a living soul. Only four dead bodies were in the cabin with them.
"Walker, you're shivering," Casey pointed out suddenly.
"So are you." Even with the heat turned on, they were both feeling the effects of the immersion in the cold water, although the adrenaline rush helped.
"We need to do something about it."
"I didn't see my clothes anywhere. What the fuck did they do with them?"
"Hey, take a look at this," Casey interrupted her, pointing to a small refrigerator in the staff lounge. "There is a bigger one in the corner over there, so what are they keeping in here? And this one looks medical."
Sarah opened it and smiled. She took out two vials, handing one to Casey. "It's the Serum," she said.
"Huh?"
"You weren't briefed about the Unit, were you?"
"If you mean the special unit of some sort you were attached to when you disappeared, no, I wasn't told anything about it. So, what is this serum?"
Before replying, Sarah carefully read the label on the vial. "It's an older version, but it works," she said. "Twist the cap off, pour some Serum into it and drink up. It's going to help us warm up," she said, going ahead and taking a small dose from the vial she was holding. "Don't worry. The dose is too low to have any unwanted side effects. In fact, this was based on a drug originally intended to be used in treating hypothermia."
He took her advice. "You've got a lot to explain, Walker."
"I will," she promised him. "After we make sure Cole and Chuck are OK, I'll tell you everything. I owe you that much. Graham won't mind."
It didn't take long for the serum to work, warming up their bodies while they carefully pondered their next move. Casey found some stuff in Decker's closet and decided to change out of his sodden suit. He preferred black, but apparently the rogue agent liked grey. At least they were the same size.
"Looking good, Casey," said Sarah with a smirk.
"Thanks. Are you going to stay practically naked?" Casey shot back, referring to her minimal, and still very much soaked, outfit.
"There is nothing for me to wear in this place. I checked when we were clearing the rooms. I'm not cold anyway. Besides, it might come in handy." Her words were very, very true. They were heading towards the exit, when another one of Decker's men entered. Seeing Sarah's scantily clad body made him pause, allowing the two agents to take him down with no problem at all.
"Five down," Sarah noted.
"You were right, Walker. It did come in handy. Now let's go find the others."
"He came from there," she said, pointing to a side door.
"Let's go." He led the way. The door opened to a porch shared with the cabin next door. Covering each other, they made their way to one of the French windows and carefully peeked inside. "I don't see anyone," said Casey.
"Me neither. Strange, if you ask me."
"At least we're in no danger of being detected. We took out those on duty at the security office."
He shushed her as the wind carried the sound of voices over to them. Motioning for her to cover him, he cautiously crept towards a corner and took a quick look. "One goon loitering near the gate," he informed her. He must have gone out while the two agents were going down the stairs to the lobby and reception area.
"This means six spread between this cabin and the next one," she whispered back.
"At least," Casey reminded her.
"At least," she agreed. They carefully entered the cabin, working together in perfect harmony. The first few rooms were empty, but they heard voices coming from one of the upstairs rooms. They went slowly up the stairs, Casey in the lead. There was an armed man standing guard in front of a door, and he was quickly taken out with a quick shot to the head from the NSA agent's weapon. The thick carpeting muffled the sound of the body dropping. With Casey covering her, Sarah peeked inside the nearest room through the open door, finding nothing. To avoid any unpleasant surprises, they also checked the rest of the upstairs rooms before turning their attention back to the definitely occupied one. Sarah even knelt and looked through the keyhole. Her eyes flew wide before she regained her composure and stood up.
"I see at least two of them inside. They're interrogating Cole. Judging by the voices, there's at least one more," she announced.
"Breach on my mark. Ready?"
She nodded.
"One, two, three, MARK!" He kicked the door open and they entered, guns blazing. The two hostiles talking by the bed went down first, courtesy of Casey. Sarah shot the last one, who was torturing the British PI.
"Bloody hell," muttered Cole, shaking his head in disbelief. "You really are an agent, Ms. Walker. I thought they were pulling my leg."
"Fortunately, my memory returned right on time," she smiled. "How are you feeling? Do you need medical attention?"
Cole shrugged. He'd obviously been smacked around a bit, but it didn't look too bad. "No, I don't think so. In fact, it's not as bad as it was when a Foxhound overturned in Afghanistan with me and a few other blokes inside," he said, referring to an accident he'd had on his last tour in the war-torn South-Central Asian country.
"Good to see you're OK," she said, freeing him of his bonds.
"You look great as well, Ms. Walker," he replied, his eyes raking over her minimally clad body.
"Tsk, tsk… What would Alex think?" She grinned at his expression. "Oh, come on! Anyone could see you've got the hots for her and she's also crazy about you." She found his shirt on the bed and tossed it to him. "Get dressed. We need to find Chuck. Pick up a weapon or two and follow us."
"Do you know where he is?" Cole asked.
"In the last cabin, most likely," replied Casey. "We've cleared this one and the big one as well. No sign of Walker's boyfriend. Bear in mind that there is one guard by the main gate."
"Should we take him out first?" Cole wondered aloud, while buttoning his shirt and grabbing his jacket.
"I'll take care of him," said Casey. "You and Walker clear the cabin and get Bartowski out."
"How many are left?"
"We eliminated four in the other cabin and four more here, so…" He didn't finish the phrase, because a flash of movement caught his eye outside. "One more is patrolling the property. When he gets to the gate, I'll make my move. Might as well kill two birds with one stone."
"Take Cole with you. If we did our math right, there's only the receptionist in the last cabin. I'll deal with her."
"Assuming there were indeed eleven of them and not more," Casey cautioned. "Short of thoroughly clearing the place, we have no way of knowing for sure."
"For all they know, Decker is still torturing me and Casey. They won't be expecting trouble, just like the guys we just took out. They were way too lax and too reliant on their security systems to give warning of approaching trouble. Plus, the soundproofing was too good and no one heard anything when I shot Decker."
"Agreed," Casey nodded. "Only those by the gate should be alert and they won't be expecting anyone to sneak up on them from here."
"We have a plan," mused Cole.
"We do," said Casey. "Let's go."
"Try and leave one for Cole, will you, Casey?" Sarah teased. The return of her memory meant that she now remembered the older man's reputation, although she'd never met him face to face before.
"Please, there's no need to go to any trouble on my account," Cole shot back. "And we should keep at least one alive for questioning."
"We can do that," said Casey. "Let's go, Barker."
When they left, Sarah carefully entered the last cabin. She didn't find a soul in the lower level, so she went up the stairs. The first room was empty. The door to the second one was ajar and she heard a woman's voice from inside. It was the receptionist, Lizzie.
"Come on, Charles. You should stop being so stubborn. Tell me what I need and not only will you live, but I'll also show you a good time. You'll easily forget the dumb blonde you've been seeing."
Sarah peeked inside and what she saw made her blood boil. Chuck was tied to a chair and Lizzie was in his lap, provocatively grinding against his crotch, her hands cupping his cheeks, while he was telling her, in no uncertain terms, that her advances were totally unwelcome.
Both Chuck and Lizzie turned towards the door at the sound of a throat clearing. There, in all her minimally clad glory, was Sarah, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed and looking supremely pissed. Lizzie jumped off of Chuck as if he'd suddenly become radioactive.
"Having to stoop so low as to try and take advantage of a tied man speaks volumes about your femininity or lack thereof, skank," Sarah growled menacingly. "And I don't like other women feeling up my boyfriend."
"Sarah!" Chuck called out happily. "You're here!"
"We'll talk in a minute," she told him, not taking her eyes off of the short brunette.
Lizzie kept up the surprised act for another couple of seconds, even as she drew a small gun stashed inside her waistband. And then it flew from her hand and landed in the far corner of the room. Another gun had appeared in Sarah's hand as if by magic and smoke was coming out of the muzzle.
"I'm gonna enjoy kicking your scrawny ass, bitch," said Sarah, tossing her gun aside and advancing.
Meanwhile, still tied to the chair, Chuck was looking on with wide eyes as the two women got in fighting stances and wearily circled, faking jabs and testing each other's defenses. And then the fight began. Lizzie ducked a left cross from Sarah and responded with a left jab, which Sarah blocked. They were both good, there was no doubt about that, and he watched, entranced, as they traded blows. Sarah mostly managed not to get hit, but she couldn't avoid a kick to the shin from Lizzie's boot clad foot. She grunted in pain, but managed to keep upright long enough to take advantage of her opponent's momentary loss of balance and brought her fist down hard on Lizzie's jaw, knocking her out.
"Ha! Got you, slut," she crowed. Making sure the brunette was out cold, she hobbled over to Chuck and cut the cords binding him to the chair. He just sat there, looking at her in shock, even as she bound and gagged the unconscious Lizzie.
"Who are you?" Chuck finally managed to stammer.
She finished trussing up her prisoner and stood straight. "I am Sarah," she replied. "The spy," she added in a sultry voice. Then she headed for the door, turning to see him just sitting there. "You coming, Chuck?"
That seemed to do the trick. He jumped up, jogging to catch up with her. "Um, Sarah?"
"What?"
"Maybe you should put some clothes on. It's rather chilly out there."
"Can't find my clothes," she grumbled. "And that skank's stuff won't fit."
"They must be around here somewhere," he said.
"Well, they were not in the other two cabins. What the hell did Decker do with them?"
"Speaking of Decker…?"
"I took care of him, permanently," she informed him.
"He's dead?"
"He tortured me by dunking me in the water. Fortunately for me and unfortunately for him and his goons, it reminded me of the night before we met, kick starting my memory. And now I'm back."
"Wow…"
"You weren't off when you said I might be a spy, Chuck."
"I was joking," he said lamely.
"I know you were." She paused, wrapped her arms around him and kissed him sweetly. "And that makes it even better. I only wish that we didn't have to go through all this. It's kind of annoying."
"Try scary," he said. "Until now, the most dangerous thing I'd ever imagined you doing was changing a tire on the side of the highway."
They found her clothes in another room, just as Casey and Cole came up to announce the all-clear. Fortunately, there was also an ironing board and a hair dryer in the bathroom. She put on a fluffy bathrobe as she dried her underwear and camisole. Chuck had found a first aid kit and talked her into sitting down for a minute. He then applied some cream on her bruised shin. The relief was instant and she thanked him. He just kissed her.
When she was fully dressed again, she and Chuck rejoined Casey and Cole downstairs.
"The place is clear and we have a prisoner to interrogate," Casey informed her.
"Make that two," she said. "I have the receptionist trussed up in a room upstairs. Anyway, it's out of our hands now. We should call our bosses and let them know of the latest developments."
"I'll call them," Casey volunteered. "We should also search the place for documents."
"Don't bother. Some of the stuff up here is still jumbled a bit," said Sarah, tapping the side of her head, "but I remember this place was used more as a transit point for Decker and Ryker's gang. It's not a base of operations or a staging area." She waved a hand dismissively. "Just call for a clean-up crew and someone to take the prisoners, Casey. The debriefing can wait."
-o-
Later, Sarah and Casey were in the office the latter used as a base, having a videoconference with their superiors. Graham was understandably elated to see her alive and well. He and Beckman listened attentively as the two agents gave their report of the day's events. Sarah also told them what she could remember from the day of the plane crash.
"Director, Major Casey told me that he hired Mr. Barker with the General's blessing. Seeing how instrumental he was in bringing this affair to a successful conclusion, I think the CIA should match what the NSA is paying him."
"He definitely deserves it, Sarah," agreed Graham. "I'll make sure it happens. Now, about this Shaw character that you mentioned… can you describe him?"
"Unfortunately no, sir," she replied. "He left before the tranq I was shot with wore off completely, plus he was staying in the shadows and I never got a clear look at his face. I didn't recognize his voice either."
"There are quite a few people in the CIA named Shaw," grumbled Graham. "We'll find him, however long it takes, whether he's CIA or not." Then a thought came to him. "Where are Mr. Bartowski and Mr. Barker? I'd like to know if they have anything useful to add."
"Walker and I debriefed them, sir," said Casey. "We've already relayed everything they've told us."
Graham nodded. He had one last thing to take care of. "Sarah, I told your father you were missing and presumed killed. He even came to the memorial service we held in Langley. You might want to drop by and see him."
"Thank you sir, that's actually the next thing on my list." She smiled and her smile got even wider as she thought about introducing Chuck to her Mom and Dad.
"I believe we've covered everything," said Graham. "Sarah, I want you to stay in LA. Major Casey will continue with the investigation and I want you to be available to consult or back him up as required."
"I was going to ask you to allow me to stay here anyway, Boss," she said. "In addition to helping Casey, I need to put the pieces of my life back together."
Chuck was waiting in the lounge for the debriefing to end. While his girlfriend was in the main office with Casey, he spent the time thinking about what he was going to tell Ellie. Casey had told him about meeting her and Devon and telling them about Sarah being an agent. He hadn't told them about any potentially dangerous situations though, since at the time he'd been unaware of Decker's involvement. Chuck decided to talk to Sarah and come up with a convincing story, leaving out the parts about their capture and subsequent interrogation by the rogue agents. The last thing he needed was having Ellie freak out and she definitely would if she learned the truth.
Just then, Sarah and Casey came out. "How did it go, guys?"
"I talked to my boss and Casey's," Sarah told him. "But we need to talk about what we're going to tell your sister."
"Funny, I was thinking about the exact same thing," he said.
"Call her. Tell her everything is OK. I'm sure she's pretty worried right now. Also tell her that you'll be at my place with me."
"Okie-dokie." Chuck pulled his phone from a pocket and called Ellie, reassuring her that both he and Sarah were fine and promised to see her later in the evening. "Done," he announced after ending the call.
"Good. Now, come on. There are some people I'd like you to meet." She looped her arm through his and pulled him along to go get the car.