A/N: Sorry for posting later than usual, but I had a visitor and I couldn't exactly blow him off to finish the chapter. I hope this installment's events (and its extra length) will adequately compensate for the delay. I won't say anything else, because I don't want to spoil it for you.
It never gets old to say how AWESOME you all are. Thank you for all your reviews, comments and suggestions.
"Section leaders, SITREP," Casey barked into his mike. A chorus of "all clear" answered him.
"I heard," said Sarah. She was busy checking an electronics mounting rack. "The place was cleared out in a hurry," she remarked, holding up the ripped off plug end of a network cable.
"Do you think Bartowski was right?" Casey asked, referring to Stephen's earlier assertion. "Did they really have an Intersect here?"
"There's only one who can answer this question definitively, Casey. We need to get Chuck's Dad here ASAP."
A member of the tactical team interrupted their conversation. "Excuse me, but we have finished interviewing the night shift staff and I have news." He waited until both Casey and Sarah nodded and continued. "Most employees and interns didn't notice a thing. However, some said that a helicopter landed on this building and took off some time later. A janitor reported seeing a crew loading several pallets into it."
"Can he describe the bird?" Casey asked.
"No need, sir. We are going over the security footage and as soon as we have something concrete we're going to contact the FAA."
As soon as the man left after telling them a few more things about the situation, Sarah pulled Casey to the side. "I have an idea," she said. "We can contact Chuck and ask him to open a line to his father. We have lipstick cameras, so with the signal relayed from our own base, Stephen can consult without leaving his family."
"The geek's been rubbing off on you, Walker," remarked Casey without a trace of mockery in his voice. If anything, he was impressed with Sarah. She'd gone back to being an agent as if the months she'd spent with no memory had never happened.
She smiled. "For future reference, he prefers to describe himself as a Nerd."
*grunt* (Yeah, whatever, just call him and set it up already)
Sarah reached into a pouch and retrieved her phone. The call to Chuck was short and sweet. He promised to take care of everything. While waiting, she had the team search the entire place from top to bottom for hidden access doors and secret rooms – just in case.
Chuck got back to her a few minutes later, having successfully set up a link to his father's laptop computer. "You can talk freely," he informed her. "Dad and I made sure the line is completely secure."
"Thank you, Chuck. Stephen, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear," replied Stephen. "Chuck says you need me to confirm the site was being used for the development of an Intersect? I thought I was clear the last time we talked."
"Just covering all bases," Sarah reminded him. "After all, you can potentially spot things Casey and I could miss."
"Ah, flattery," laughed Stephen. "It always works." Then he got serious. "Walk me around the building and follow my instructions." She did and a few minutes later he had seen enough to confirm his earlier assessment. "Just as I thought. He was trying to develop his version of the Intersect."
One of the tactical team section leaders called out to Casey. "Sir?"
"What is it, Sergeant?"
"My section spotted something suspicious while securing the rooftop helipad. It could be a booby trap. We've cordoned off the area and called an EOD team."
"Ask him what it looks like," Stephen told Casey over the radio link, having heard the Sergeant's report. Casey relayed the question.
"It doesn't have any lights or anything, but it looks kinda like a hockey puck but smaller, sir. I think it had electrical contact points, too. I didn't stay around it long."
"It's not a booby trap, most likely," Stephen concluded. "In fact, I think I know what it is. Can you take a quick look at it? Just in case, stay away from it. Charles will zoom in for me."
"I can do that," replied Casey. He followed the Sergeant to the roof and, as recounted, there was something by the stairs leading to the helipad. "Do you have a visual?" Casey asked Stephen.
"I need a little more light, if you please." Casey obliged, shining his flashlight at the object. "It's safe," declared Stephen. "Like I suspected, it's a processor used in the Intersect, called the Cipher. This must have been one of the spares. The unreliability of Roark's main processors was another reason he lost the tender. I guess this was one of the spares he had on hand and fell off the pallet while they were carrying it up to the helipad."
"Where does that leave us?" Sarah queried.
"Best case scenario, they still need to develop it further, so having to move everything in a hurry was certainly a setback for them," said Stephen without hesitation.
"And the worst case scenario is…?"
"They've completed it and they moved it to a new location to make it operational. Sarah, you need to find them. I think it's prudent to assume the worst. Roark's intersect might work, which means we have to work fast."
"I know," she said. "We're still waiting to hear from the FAA."
"There's nothing more to be done here," agreed Casey. "Let's head back to the base. The tactical team will remain available should we need them."
"Good, I'll be waiting for you," said Chuck. "In the meantime, I'll go over everything I've managed to get from Shaw's hacker and see if anything pops. I'll also check with remote support. Maybe they've managed to identify him from the picture I sent them."
"Your boyfriend is taking everything in stride, Walker," said Casey as he drove them back to the office. "Frankly, I didn't think he had it in him. Another guy would have been running away screaming right now, but he hardly batted an eye. The kid's got quite a set of balls on him."
"He's… I can't find the right words to describe him," she confessed with a slight blush. "Saying he is a great guy somehow doesn't seem enough. Maybe it's genetics. His Mom used to be an agent and she's a legend in the CIA."
"Frost, I know," Casey supplied. "Anyway, we're lucky he got involved. He's helped a lot in this case."
-o-
"Guys, guys!" Chuck exclaimed enthusiastically when they entered the office. "I just heard back from Langley. They came through! My cyber opponent is this man!" He pointed to a large screen displaying a screen capture of the other hacker. "According to your people his name is Laszlo Manhovski and was recruited as a programmer and tech analyst because of his amazing skills, which however turned out to be not up to the level of yours truly." He bowed theatrically, making Sarah laugh. "Langley also said he's slightly unhinged and taking meds. Decker used to be one of his handlers, which is how they got him on board. I'm in the middle of analyzing the data collected during our little hack-off. With a bit of luck, I'll have his location for you soon."
"I shouldn't be impressed, knowing what you're capable of with computers, but I am," said Sarah. "You did great, Chuck. Mind if we take a look at the data you stole from him?"
"Not at all," he replied affably. "Holler if you need me to explain anything."
Sarah sat at one of the computers and Casey joined her, while Chuck returned to his own designated workstation. He went over the logs, tracking the IP address, revealed after working through the proxy servers and anonymizers Laszlo had used. In the end he let out a triumphant yell, startling the other two. "Ha! Got ya!"
"You've got a location?" Casey asked.
"The IP address leads to an office building not far from here," replied Chuck. "Should we go check it out?"
"Walker and I will go. You stay here."
"No, I'm coming with you. You'll need me there. Computers are my thing, you know. This Laszlo guy may have left something important in his hurry to get away."
"Chuck's right, Casey," Sarah pointed out. "I don't know if there are any risks, but he's capable of taking care of himself. Besides, we'll be right with him."
"Fine," Casey grumbled. "He's in. You've got the address?"
-o-
"OK, we're here," Casey announced. "Where to, Bartowski?"
"Tenth floor," replied Chuck. "Just be careful. Even at this hour, there are still people working in some offices here."
"How do you know where to take us, exactly?" Sarah asked.
"When I got Laszlo's mug shot, the building across the street was visible in the background. It was a simple matter to use a special program and get the exact location of the office he's using." They piled into an elevator and got off on the tenth floor. Chuck took the lead. "This way." The door to one office was open. Not carrying a gun, he let the others get in front of him, but just in case followed his father's advice and activated the Intersect-provided martial arts skills.
"Clear," declared Sarah, finding no one inside. Casey confirmed it seconds later. 'He's been cleaning the place out," she added. Chuck stood at the door and looked inside. There was still quite a bit of computer equipment remaining, although a lot had already been removed.
Something in his peripheral vision made him turn towards the elevators. "Guys, he's using the service elevator to move his stuff to the parking garage!" He took off for the nearest elevator, with the other two hot on his heels. Sure enough, a person was loading stuff into a van in the multilevel garage adjoining the office building. It was Laszlo.
"Hands in the air, Manhovski!" Sarah commanded.
"Freeze!" Casey added.
"You're going to let me go," said Laszlo calmly. "If you don't, I've got enough explosives here to level the entire block. Are you willing to take the chance? Bear in mind that there are two bombs and the clocks are ticking. You can't defuse both of them in time."
"Uh, I think he's telling the truth," said Chuck, noticing a cart piled high with blocks of C4 explosive wired to a computer-controlled detonator. Another cart held a coffin-shaped device, with the lid open on the top. A look at the lettering on the canister containing the charge made Chuck flash. "This is a fuel-air explosive," he said.
"See?" Laszlo taunted. "Your buddy here knows his explosives. I'll be taking my leave now."
"Don't you dare move or I'll shoot you," growled Casey.
"Keep him covered. I'll see what I can do," said Chuck. His voice was calm, but inside he was freaking out. A lot of lives depended on the Intersect and him, his own, Sarah's and Casey's included. Failure was not an option.
"Can you disarm the bombs?" Sarah asked, not taking her eyes and her weapon off of Laszlo.
"I can try." He knelt by the first one. "This doesn't look good… unless…"
"I'd rather not be blown to bits together with you, so if you'll excuse me…" Laszlo made to leave, but Sarah again told him firmly to stay still with his hands in the air.
"This is a Prism Express laptop," Chuck muttered, mostly to himself, but the acoustics in the garage allowed the others to hear him. "It's got a DOS override." He quickly tapped a few commands and accessed the internet using through the DOS. "Mr. Computer, meet Mr. Internet."
Casey glanced momentarily at him. "Are you looking at porn?"
"Sort of," he chuckled and then the screen went blank. "I used a deadly virus spread from a fake porn site to kill the computer. The bomb is as good as a paperweight right now. One down, one to go."
Even Laszlo looked amazed at Chuck's feat. He wasn't expecting anyone to disable the first of his bombs so easily. It was obvious he was dealing with the same man who'd bested him in hacking. "The other one won't be so easy. Can I go now? I promise to disarm it remotely when I'm safe."
"Stay right there," Chuck told him. "I've got this." Laszlo just plugged his ears mockingly. Chuck grinned, reached inside the box and simply turned off a switch. The countdown stopped. "This bomb is a copy of the one used in Goldfinger. You have a nice sense of humor, Laszlo. He flicked a switch and the timer stopped at 007 seconds. "Bomb disarmed and you lose," he added smugly. Sarah and Casey laughed before proceeding to cuff Laszlo and call someone to take him to a holding facility.
"That was anticlimactic," remarked Sarah as she walked towards the car arm in arm with Chuck.
"I guess he wasn't expecting anyone to recognize his device. Any bomb disposal expert would have wasted time trying to figure out which wire to cut – and all wires were decoys."
"You two will have all the time in the world to get lovey-dovey with each other later," Casey reminded them. "The job isn't over yet."
As if on cue, Chuck's phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, he put it on speaker. "Go ahead, Dad."
"Charles, let me start by telling you once again you're Aces. Your little hacking stunt paid off in spades."
"Yeah, we got the other team's hacker, but we have no clue as to their whereabouts."
"I can help with that. I went over what you found and noticed a reference to something called Protocol Seven. It kind of rang a bell."
"Can we just skip over to where you actually tell us what it is?"
"It's an old CIA facility just outside of Barstow. It was disguised as a drive-in movie theater and abandoned in the eighties. It and the attached motel were used as a receiving station for agents arriving from overseas. The movie theater would be ideal for uploading the Intersect to many people at once. I'll text you the coordinates."
"Thanks, Dad. We're on our way there now." He looked at his girlfriend and Casey. He was already calling for the tactical team to meet them there.
-o-
"The place looks well guarded," remarked Casey after carefully observing the facility. It was really crowded. He recognized Vincent Smith, Ted Roark and Daniel Shaw mingling with a large number of people, who he guessed were mercenaries waiting to have Roark's intersect uploaded. "We don't have enough manpower to get through to their upload device on time."
Chuck shrugged. "The device is most likely located in the projection booth. If it works the same way as Dad's they'll project the images on the screen for the upload subjects to watch."
Sarah nodded. It all makes sense. "We need to stop them before they start the procedure."
"This is easy," said Casey. "One rocket in the projection booth and the problem is solved."
"Let's keep that as a last resort," suggested Chuck. "I have a feeling your superiors would like to have Roark's Intersect captured intact for evaluation."
"He's right," Sarah said simply. "I was about to suggest the same thing, but Chuck beat me to it."
"Let me call Beckman and see what she has to say." Their orders came soon. They were to capture the Intersect if possible and destroy it only if absolutely necessary. Air support in the form of two Reaper armed drones was also on the way.
Sarah and Casey crawled to the fence behind the projection booth, followed by Chuck. They'd told him to stay put with the rest of the tactical team, but he'd insisted he could help dismantle the key components of Roark's Intersect, so he was allowed to tag along. The tactical team was providing overwatch support, while the drones were circling at altitude, unseen and unheard, ready to unleash their ordnance if necessary. Casey cut through the fence and they entered the facility, staying in the shadows until they reached the stairs leading up to the projection booth. A guard had been posted there, but Casey killed him without making a sound. Weapons at the ready, the two agents and Chuck made their way up. Roark, Smith and a technician were inside.
Sarah and Casey burst in. Casey clubbed the technician on the back of the neck with the butt of his rifle, knocking him out cold. Smith tried to draw his sidearm, but the next instant one of Sarah's throwing knives pierced his right hand. He cried out in pain and then she knocked him out with a roundhouse kick to the head. Roark just threw his hands up in surrender.
"Chuck, do your thing," Sarah commanded him as she retrieved her knife and used zip ties to secure Smith's hands behind his back. She also searched him, relieving him of his weapons. Casey secured the technician and also tied Roark to a chair.
"Chuck Bartowski," the older man said. "I thought you looked familiar when I saw you at the party. Give my regards to your father."
"He sends his regards too," said Chuck. "Just don't expect him to bring you cigars in prison. You're going away for a long time."
Ted Roark just smiled. He knew he had some bargaining chips he could use in order to stay out of prison or at least get a very light sentence. Chuck easily found the Cipher and the spares, placing them all back into their boxes. He then got to work removing the hard drives and other key parts from the rig set up and connected to the projector. He was almost done when a door opened and the sound of a gun's safety being clicked off echoed in the crowded room.
"Put everything back where you found them, please," said Daniel Shaw. "The rest of you drop your weapons and don't move a muscle." Were he alone, either Sarah or Casey would have taken him down, but he had three men with him. They'd been in another room of the shack housing the projection booth, which explained why the tactical team had not seen them and warned Chuck, Sarah and Casey. The bad guys fanned out, keeping the two spies and the Nerd covered with their weapons. Casey and Sarah had no choice but to drop their guns.
"You heard the boss," one of them said, motioning with his carbine towards Chuck. "Reassemble the system."
Chuck had once again flashed on martial arts and the man had made the mistake of coming too close to him. He flung the Cipher he held in his hand at the man's head and swept his leg, taking him down. The others reacted automatically, training their guns at Chuck, but one of them dropped to the floor with two of Sarah's throwing knives embedded in his chest. Casey shot the other one between the eyes with a backup gun he had in a spring loaded device concealed up his sleeve. The corpse fell on Shaw, knocking him off balance. Chuck seized the opportunity and snatched the M4A1 carbine out of the rogue agent's hands.
Seeing as he was now not only disarmed but outnumbered as well, Shaw tried to dash for the exit but Chuck caught a fistful of his jacket, pulling him back. Shaw instinctively tried to elbow Chuck, but misjudged his location, barely making contact. He then whirled around, grabbing a metal rod resting against a desk and swung. Chuck easily ducked it, answering with two short jabs to the kidneys which left Shaw gasping for breath, but he wasn't giving up. He hit a button on the wall, activating an alarm.
All hell broke loose. The mercenaries rushed towards the projection booth and the tactical team opened fire to pin them down. A Reaper fired a Hellfire missile, hitting a bus, the explosion lighting up the night sky. A laser guided bomb landed on the motel, and another seconds later completed its ruin. The force of one of the explosions shattered the projection booth's windows, making everyone duck for cover. Shaw again tried to escape, but once again Chuck stopped him. They traded more blows, Chuck giving better than he took. Sarah was trying to get a clear shot at Shaw, while Casey was firing out the window at the mercenaries below. Finally, Chuck landed a spin kick squarely on Shaw's chest, sending him against the door, which opened and he tumbled down the stairs.
"That must have hurt," Chuck quipped.
"Get the electronics," Sarah yelled at him, moving to the door to cover the stairs. She saw Shaw run around the corner and fired at him but missed. "Fuck!"
While Chuck was swiftly throwing pieces of electronic equipment haphazardly into a duffel bag, Shaw ran towards the screen side of the property, shouting into a portable radio.
"The way is clear, what's taking you so long?" The question came from the tactical team leader.
"We're still packing the electronics," replied Casey. "Keep firing and give me status report on the Reapers."
"The Reapers have expended their ordnance and are providing real time imaging," came the reply. "We can do without them, though. We have plenty of ammo."
Another member of the tactical team cut in. "Chopper inbound!"
"Is it armed?" Casey queried.
"Doesn't appear so."
"Then don't waste ammo on it. We need you to cover us until we get outta here."
"Done!" Chuck announced.
"Let's get the fuck outta here!" Sarah yelled. "Covering fire, now!"
"Bartowski, run!" This was from Casey. "We've got your back. Don't stop until you meet our guys! Walker, you're next!"
"Got it," she said. "I'll cover you when you come out!" She reevaluated the situation when she stepped outside. "Casey, the way's clear! Come on!"
"Right behind you," he replied.
The helicopter was still there when she turned to cover Casey. It was hovering above and to the left of the screen stage. She identified it as a late model AW109E Power Elite. Unusually for a civil helicopter, this one had a rescue winch fitted. It was currently used to retrieve none other than Daniel Shaw. Sarah cursed and retrieved an FN SCAR-H rifle that was on the ground next to the corpse of the guard Casey had killed earlier. She peered through the telescopic sight, aiming for the transmission in the doghouse underneath the main rotor. It was the surest way to disable the twin-engined helicopter, since she didn't have a clear shot at the pilot.
As she was taking aim, the pilot decided it was too hot to stick around and shoved the cyclic stick forward and yanked at the collective stick, making the chopper climb and start moving forward. The winch was still pulling Shaw towards the cabin when Sarah fired. Her first round hit the transmission, as did the second, the third and the fourth. The fifth flew true, but because of a minute course correction hit the winch housing, penetrating it and destroying both the electric motor and the emergency brake. Shaw was almost at the cabin door, but his weight caused the cable to pay out unchecked. He screamed as he plunged towards the ground, ending up in the burning motel.
"Die screaming, motherfucker," Sarah growled, finally lowering her weapon and running together with Casey back to where the tactical team was waiting.
"What took you so long?" Chuck asked. He'd been worried about them.
"It was nothing," replied Casey. "Walker just threw another log into the fire."
He looked puzzled for a moment until he realized what the other man meant. "So, it's over?"
"It's over," she confirmed, allowing him to hug her and hugging him back. "Let's go make our report and head home. It's been a long day."
ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT!