"Chuck Versus the Reboot"
by Estee
ACT III
EXT. APARTMENT COURTYARD - DAY
Morgan, Lester and Jeff sit on the fountain.
LESTER
If he's not at the Buy More and
he's not at home...
JEFF
(pervy)
Maybe he's at Sarah's.
LESTER
Option three: making sweet love to
his lovely lady friend.
Morgan sighs.
MORGAN
Unfortunately, Chuck desecrated the
potential bachelor pad by having
Sarah move in with him so--
LESTER
Getting the milk for free. Sweet.
JEFF
Mmm. Milk. Have you guys ever tried
milking a donkey?
Lester and Morgan trade a disgusted look. Jeff starts
humming the "Cops" theme song again.
EXT. WOODCOMB HOME - BACKYARD - DAY
Chuck, Sarah and Casey stand in the cage. Casey and Sarah
both have their guns drawn. Slowly, the backdoor opens.
STEVE (O.S.)
You could have just knocked.
The trio looks around at one another, shocked to see STEVE
BARTOWSKI standing at the backdoor.
INT. KITCHEN - DAY
Casey, Sarah and Chuck sit at the three stools in front of a
countertop bar. Steve is at a nearby counter making a
sandwich. He turns to them.
STEVE
Would anyone like anything?
Casey starts to speak, but Chuck talks over him:
CHUCK
No. Dad, what are you doing here?
STEVE
Making a sandwich?
Steve turns to face him with half a smile.
STEVE
Come on, you think I'd just leave
Ellie? Or you, for that matter?
CHUCK
Wouldn't be the first time.
Steve slides his plate back on the counter and walks to
Chuck.
STEVE
I left because it was the best way
to keep you and Ellie safe at the
time. Things are different now.
CASEY
So you booby-trapped the house
against break-ins?
STEVE
I built a fortress, Major Casey.
CHUCK
(cough talking)
Colonel.
STEVE
(unimpressed)
Oh, Colonel. Congratulations.
Steve's eyes are drawn to Sarah. She looks around
impatiently. Steve glances back at Chuck.
STEVE (cont'd)
Come on, I'll show you around.
CHUCK
Ellie already gave us the grand
tour.
STEVE
She may have missed a few things.
Chuck raises his eyebrows. Sarah and Casey exchange a look.
INT. HALLWAY - DAY
Steve leads Chuck, Casey and Sarah into the living room. He
pushes up his sleeve and hits a few buttons on a newly
designed wrist computer.
The fireplace shifts aside to reveal a secret doorway.
INT. UNDERGROUND LABORATORY - DAY
This place is amazing. It's clean, pristine and neat -- the
opposite of Steve Bartowski. Monitors line one wall. There
are various other computer stations around the room, all
hooked to high-tech equipment.
SARAH
Oh my God.
Casey looks around with a raised lip.
CHUCK
I thought buying the house was a
stretch. How could you ever afford
all this?
STEVE
I have money, Charles. It's just
not always easy to access.
CASEY
Looks like you found a way.
STEVE
You are correct, sir.
Steve glances at Sarah who is silently taking in the lab.
STEVE (cont'd)
So...
Sarah looks up and meets his eye, but then looks away. Steve
turns to Chuck.
STEVE (cont'd)
Now you know why I'm here--
CHUCK
Not really--
STEVE
What can I do for you?
They all look around at each other.
INT. KITCHEN - DAY
Casey and Sarah stand in the kitchen together. Casey
searches through the fridge while Sarah admires the granite
counter tops.
SARAH
These counter tops are gorgeous.
Casey closes the fridge and finds Steve's sandwich on the
counter. He picks it up and sniffs it.
SARAH (cont'd)
It's probably booby trapped.
Casey grunts and takes a bite.
SARAH (cont'd)
This house is perfect, isn't it?
For Ellie and Devon, I mean--
CASEY
You don't have to warm me up,
Walker. Just get to the point.
SARAH
Fine. I'm thinking of resigning.
Casey growls then tosses the sandwich down and spits the
bite into the sink.
CASEY
I hate Dijon mustard.
SARAH
How would you feel if I quit?
CASEY
(clueless)
Feel?
SARAH
What would you think?
CASEY
I'd think you were giving up on
your country just because
Computer-for-Brain boy forgot about
you.
SARAH
No. If he can't remember me... I'll
stay.
Casey narrows his eyes and grumbles.
SARAH (cont'd)
I have feelings for him.
CASEY
Chuck's been trying to have this
conversation with me for two years,
what makes you think I want to hear
your side of it, Walker?
SARAH
Because I know you better than
Chuck does, John. And I know things
about you that he doesn't know.
CASEY
Fine, you want my take? I think
country comes first and you're
being selfish. You're one hell of
an agent and Chuck Bartowski is one
hell of an asset to the U.S.
government. Get your head screwed
on straight then look at the
situation. You're the only one who
can handle Chuck. You're the key to
this whole operation and you don't
even realize it.
Sarah bites her lip and looks away.
INT. UNDERGROUND LABORATORY - DAY
Chuck sits on a table with electrodes stuck to his forehead.
He stares at a large, white screen.
STEVE
You learned Kung-Fu, but you forgot
an entire videogame.
Chuck nods.
STEVE (cont'd)
Same with the explosives guy, but
you forgot your handler.
STEVE (cont'd)
Fascinating. I've never experienced
anything like this. Occasional
headaches, but never memory loss.
CHUCK
Lucky you.
STEVE
Unfortunately, this throws a bit of
a wrench in my initial theory.
Steve zones out a second, lost in thought.
CHUCK
Do you think you're going to be
able to get my memories back?
STEVE
I don't know, but I sure hope so
because Sarah... she's great for
you, Son.
CHUCK
Dad, you know she's just my cover
girlfriend, right?
Steve smiles to himself.
STEVE
I'm hungry. I never got to eat my
sandwich earlier. Let's take a
break.
INT. KITCHEN - DAY
CASEY
Aside from being far too warm and
fuzzy for my liking, this whole
conversation is going to be moot if
Dr. Creepshow can't fix the
Intersect.
Chuck and Steve shuffle into the room sending Casey and
Sarah into instant silence.
SARAH
Any luck?
CHUCK
He was hungry...
Steve looks around then opens the fridge.
STEVE
Where's my sandwich?
CASEY
In the trash where it belongs.
STEVE
You threw away my sandwich?
CASEY
Dijon mustard is un-American.
STEVE
You tasted my sandwich?
Steve gets close to Casey who growls. Chuck steps in between
them.
CHUCK
Okay, calm down. I'll order a
pizza. There's a number right here.
He points at the fridge then pulls out his cell and dials.
CHUCK (cont'd)
(on phone)
Yes, this is for delivery. Large
veggie pizza with no black olives.
Sarah glances up, looking intensely at Chuck.
CHUCK (cont'd)
Nineteen Fifty-three Sycamore.
Thanks.
Chuck hangs up the phone. Sarah watches as a thought occurs
to Chuck.
CHUCK (cont'd)
Oh, no. I think it's happening
again.
Chuck puts a hand to his temple. Steve rushes to him.
STEVE
What's happening? What's wrong?
CHUCK
I think I forgot that I don't like
olives.
Steve calms down instantly.
STEVE
Chuck you love olives. It was the
first vegetable you'd allow on your
pizza. We worked our way up from
there.
CHUCK
I remember that, but then why would
I order a pizza without olives?
Sarah takes a step toward Chuck.
SARAH
Chuck. It's me.
CHUCK
I know. I didn't forget you again.
SARAH
I'm the one who doesn't like
olives.
CHUCK
Well, how'd I know that?
CASEY
You're the reason he doesn't order
olives? Maybe you should quit.
SARAH
Casey!
CHUCK
Quit? You're quitting? Why?
Sarah glares at Casey.
CHUCK (cont'd)
Not because of me? Because of this?
SARAH
No. Not exactly.
STEVE
We need to get back into the lab.
Steve grabs Chuck and pulls him out of the room.
STEVE (cont'd)
You two, come on.
Casey and Sarah follow behind him.
INT. HALLWAY - DAY
The group moves down the hallway.
STEVE
See, my theory was that flashing
was Swiss-cheesing his
brain--cutting little holes out
that, at best, we could plug up.
INT. UNDERGROUND LABORATORY - DAY
The group walks into the lab.
STEVE
But it sounds more like this new
Intersect is overwriting his brain.
They all stop.
CHUCK
Well, that sounds way better.
STEVE
Each time the Intersect is
accessed, it copies the information
into the brain's "working memory."
Casey and Sarah trade a confused look.
SARAH
(to Casey)
Are you following this?
CASEY
He lost me at "Swiss cheese." Also
un-American, FYI.
STEVE
This may have been happening all
along, but based on what you
described to me, Charles, these new
files are exponentially larger.
They need much more space.
CHUCK
640K outght to be enough for
anybody.
Steve laughs heartily. Sarah again looks to Casey.
CASEY
I speak nine languages, but
nerd-ese isn't one of them.
STEVE
The space also needs to be more
organized--maybe pre-organized.
CHUCK
You think the Intersect took my
Agent Walker file and overwrote it
with its own Eric Bahmmer file?
STEVE
A person for a person. A skill for
a skill. A trade-off, of sorts.
SARAH
But he didn't forget me until...
the next morning.
STEVE
Sleep works like a reboot for the
brain.
Chuck considers this, nodding along.
STEVE
Here's the important thing: the
information may have been
overwritten, but it's not gone.
Chuck's olive order proves that. I
believe we'll be able to recover
what's been lost.
Everyone looks around at each other.
INT. BUY MORE - NIGHT
The store is closed. Morgan, Jeff and Lester walk in,
looking tired and dejected.
LESTER
I can't believe we waited for four
hours and still no Chuck.
JEFF
We may as well face it, we've lost
Chuck forever.
MORGAN
Come on, guys, we can get him back.
BIG MIKE (O.S.)
You better get him back.
Lester screams and jumps into Jeff's arms as Big Mike walks
out of the darkness.
BIG MIKE
Part of his new managerial plan is
ban doughnuts from the break room.
Jeff, still holding Lester, frowns.
JEFF
That's a crime against humanity.
BIG MIKE
Exactly. So you clowns find
Bartowski, get him back here, and
use his big brain to figure out how
to get rid of Emmett so he never
comes back. Comprende?
They all nod in agreement.
INT. UNDERGROUND LABORATORY - NIGHT
Casey stands watch at the door. Steve runs models on a
computer. Chuck sits on a counter next to a half-eaten pizza
with a slice in his hand. He takes the last non-crust bite.
Sarah enters with a small condiment cup. Chuck takes notice
right away. He watches the cup as Sarah walks over and puts
it in his hands.
CHUCK
Ranch?
SARAH
Uh huh.
CHUCK
I love ranch on my crusts.
SARAH
Uh huh.
Chuck dips the crust into the dressing then takes a bite.
CHUCK
So good.
Sarah smiles.
CHUCK (cont'd)
You know, it's weird--you knowing
everything about me, me knowing
absolutely nothing about you. Oh,
except that you hate olives.
SARAH
It's the nature of our
relationship.
CHUCK
Right, I guess the handler has to
know all about the asset, but--hey,
is Sarah even your real name?
Sarah looks down.
CHUCK
Right. You can't tell me.
She nods.
CHUCK
Well, thanks for protecting my
life. You've obviously been doing a
good job taking care of me, even if
I can't remember.
She looks off, her face pulled into a tight frown.
SARAH
You're not just the secret anymore,
Chuck. You're a secret agent now,
and you're capable of taking care
of yourself.
She looks back at him and finds ranch dressing on his face.
She grabs a napkin and wipes it away for him. He grins.
CHUCK
You sure about that?
His grin turns wistful as she doesn't answer.
FADE TO BLACK.
END OF ACT III
