A/N: Thanks to those that left reviews for the last chapter. I always appreciate them and reply to those I can.
Thanks also to Captainrick944 who turned the beta around really quickly.
This chapter is a rewrite of two episode from season 2: ""Chuck Versus the Beefcake" and "Chuck Versus the Lethal Weapon." Yeah, the Cole ones…
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Chapter 20: Bond
Sarah had managed to keep the wedding dress a secret from her fiancé for months. She'd actually ordered it back in the fall.
She thought back to when she'd gone with Ellie to try some on and how stressful it had been.
Most dresses that she tried on looked good on hangers but didn't suit her at all, or at least, that was what Sarah thought. Ellie liked some but, thankfully didn't express that too loudly. It was strange. Sarah never normally had problems with clothes. Most suited her, but that wasn't the case with wedding dresses, it seemed.
This continued until the fourth dress shop, and with increasing frustration, Sarah saw what she thought was going to be it. When she tried it on, she knew it was. The squeal from her shopping partner sealed the deal.
Selecting the maid of honor dress for Ellie, thankfully, was easier and done in the same shop. Ellie's bustier figure fitted the dress perfectly, so they could have taken it immediately. However, they did need to make adjustments to Sarah's dress, so Sarah had to wait. They kept Ellie's as well, so she could collect them together. Now, she'd been told hers was ready.
Keeping what it looked like from Chuck had taken all her compartmentalization skills.
She had received the call while at the Orange Orange, so, for today, he didn't see her eyes light up at what was to happen. She called him and said she had to pop out but gave no reason why.
She didn't want to cram it into her Porsche, so she hastily called Ellie who, fortunately, wasn't at work, so Sarah set off for Echo Park. As she drove, her whole body was humming.
Ellie drove them to the shop. When Ellie had parked, Sarah grabbed her hand and dragged her as fast as the doctor could run, especially while giggling at Sarah's desperation. Sarah had to stop herself from looking ridiculous and bursting into the shop.
When she had the dress on, it looked even better than before. She desperately fought back tears of joy. She knew she was attractive and looked good in a lot of clothes, but the woman looking back at her from that mirror was something else. She had only taken a quick look before because they needed to sort Ellie out, but now she took the time.
Ellie was also trying to hold back her squeal again.
How the assassin Sarah knew she was could transform into someone who not only wore this beautiful dress but looked right in it was a miracle. She never expected to see so much joy on her face.
Ellie would store both dresses for them, and Sarah knew that Chuck never read her mind so he would never find out what hers looked like from the doctor. She, herself, would have to bury it again.
"It feels so much more real now, Ellie!"
Ellie looked at her passenger, who was almost bouncing in her seat. She grinned. "I felt the same. You weren't around when I tried on or collected mine, but Jane, my other bridesmaid, took me to collect it. It was a lucky she did as I was in no state to drive afterward, just like you now!"
Sarah remembered they were on a mission when that happened.
Tears were threatening now. "Ellie, this year, we're both going to be married!" She still couldn't believe it was actually happening. She was so excited. Ellie let go of the steering wheel with one hand to reach over and squeeze Sarah's.
Ellie dropped Sarah back at the Orange Orange before driving home with the dresses.
Sarah knew she wouldn't be able to keep the excitement in and rushed over to the Buy More to see Chuck. As she walked in, she saw Chuck talking to Morgan. It didn't look good.
She walked over to them and failed to block out Morgan's thoughts. It seemed that Big Mike, whose wife had left him, was now sleeping with Morgan's mom. Ouch!
"Just another reason you need to move in with Anna," Chuck said.
"I know. We just haven't found anywhere yet," Morgan replied.
Both Chuck and Sarah 'read' the bearded guy's thoughts on that. He had been dragging his feet again.
"Do you want to lose Anna again?" Sarah asked Morgan.
Morgan jumped as he hadn't seen her arrive. However, he responded quickly. "No, of course not! Why d'you even ask that?"
"Because I know you well enough to know you're not trying hard enough to find a place, Morgan." She bent down to look him in the eyes. "Tell me I'm wrong."
Morgan gulped. "I'll try harder," and he rushed away.
"You know he's still my best friend, don't you?" Chuck asked.
She stood straight and gazed at him. "He needed a bit of a push."
He chuckled. "He already finds you intimidating."
She smiled. "I know." Then, her smile widened. "Chuck, I've got my wedding dress!" She was desperately trying not to bounce up and down as she told him.
He grinned. "God, Sarah. It's less than three months away now!"
"I know!" She kissed him.
"Save that for later," Casey said as he walked up to them. "We've got a call from Beckman to get to."
"Can you handle it without me?" Chuck asked. "I need to talk to Big Mike."
"No problem, Chuck," Sarah replied, and she and Casey walked over to the Orange Orange.
Once they were in Castle, Casey called Beckman. She brought up some images and a grave site, but there was no body.
"Who's the stiff?" Casey asked.
"The corpse was dug up from a CIA dump site. The grave belonged to Brad White," Beckman answered. His image appeared next.
"That's one of the Fulcrum agents who tried to run the Intersect test on Chuck and me," Sarah responded. "Why would they rob his grave?"
"That's what we need you to find out," Beckman replied. "We picked up chatter that whatever they took is potentially game-changing intelligence."
"They still don't know Chuck has the Intersect, General," Casey pointed out.
"No," she answered. She looked at Sarah. "But make sure he's safe."
Sarah nodded.
After the call, Casey said, "I can look out for him in the Buy More."
She grinned, "And I'll keep him wrapped in my arms all the rest of the time."
He groaned and set off to go back to the store.
Casey had told Chuck about the development. He mulled over it for a while, but when he got a break he headed over to the Orange Orange to talk to Sarah.
"Why the hell would someone dig up White's body?" he asked.
She looked at him before chopping up a banana. "We have no idea yet. Didn't Casey tell you that?"
He huffed. "Yes. Okay, I admit, I just used it as an excuse to come and see you."
She grinned at him. "You don't need an excuse. Come over anytime."
"I love you so much," he said.
She chopped the banana and then looked at him. "I know. What's brought this on?"
He sighed. "Mention of White reminded me how close I got to losing you to that Fulcrum Intersect test."
She nodded. "But you and Casey saved me."
Casey walked up to them from Castle. "Downstairs now. Beckman's on."
A series of images of a man surrounded by women appeared on the screen.
"We were able to lift a print off the body bag. It seems the grave was robbed by a Fulcrum agent, Cole Barker," the general told them.
"Seems like a real ladies' man," Casey noted.
Beckman continued, "He arrived at LAX this morning and took a cab to the Standard Hotel. We suspect that's where he's going to meet his Fulcrum contact later and make a handoff. Agent Walker will attempt to retrieve the intelligence he's carrying using any means necessary. That's all."
"She's thinking of a seduction mission, isn't she?" Chuck asked.
Sarah nodded. "Thankfully, with my new skills, I won't have to do any of that."
Chuck smiled, then spotted something on the last picture of Cole in LA. "Hey, can we get a little closer on this picture of Cole, maybe push in on his groin?"
Casey zoomed in but couldn't resist commenting, "What, you seeing something you like down there, Bartowski?" Chuck and Sarah both flashed.
"Okay, the intelligence is in Cole's belt buckle," Chuck said.
Casey looked at them both before saying, "Well, you're going to have to get his pants off, huh, Walker?"
They both glared at him.
The three of them were in the bar of the Standard Hotel. Casey behind the bar, and Chuck and Sarah sitting at it nursing drinks.
"I hate having to take off my engagement ring," she moaned.
"Won't be for long," Chuck reassured her.
"Game on," Casey said quietly. "Beefcake just stepped in."
Chuck frowned. "Really? That's what you're calling him?"
"It's what he looks like," the NSA agent said.
Sarah hadn't been listening to them but tried to read the man's mind. He was definitely a spy, as his thoughts were buried. Then, he was out of her range. "Chuck, did you read him at all."
Chuck blushed, "Sorry. I was talking to Casey."
"Looks like I will have to approach him, then," she replied.
"Where is his contact?" Chuck said.
"Do I have an Intersect in my head? Look around," Casey responded. Then he looked at Sarah. "We don't have much time here, Walker, so get to his room. Get his belt off. Make it a quickie."
Both of the seated people glared at him.
They waited for a while to see what Cole would do.
After a few minutes, Casey said, "Cole's Fulcrum contact's going to be here any minute. Time to make a move, Walker."
She nodded.
Chuck said, "I still don't like you having to get close to him, Sarah."
She held his gaze and told him, "You know I will be safe. Besides, we have a safe word. If I ask for any Cristal champagne, Casey will know I want help."
"She'll be fine," Casey said. "Trust me."
Sarah stood up and walked over to Cole. She sat by him, showing a lot of leg. "I noticed you sitting alone."
"Very observant," he responded, showing little interest in her. She detected a British accent.
He was still guarded, so she was going to have to probe beyond his barriers. She tried to soften him up. "Do you want some company?"
"Not really."
"Well, neither do I," she said. "But, uh, the problem is, if I sit alone at the bar, then every guy in here is going to think I'm lonely and desperate. They'll try and take a shot at a total stranger."
He chuckled. "Isn't that what you're doing right now?"
The thought that she was a spy and attempting a seduction sprang into his mind. She realized he had already guessed this. She dug deeper. She almost gasped. He wasn't a Fulcrum agent, but MI6. However, she still didn't know what his plans were. "Guilty as charged," she replied.
He nodded. "If we're going to continue this conversation, I think I should make one thing abundantly clear. I'm not a very nice guy."
"Good... 'cause I'm not into nice guys," she replied. 'Just the one,' she thought to herself.
He raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why is that?"
She continued the act. What she said next was everything she loved about Chuck. "Well, all they want to do is talk about their feelings and emotions, and sometimes what a woman really wants is a man who acts." She had to stop herself thinking about how Chuck acted.
"Well, then why don't we stop talking and take this up to my room? You have my word: nothing nice will happen."
She almost smirked, knowing Cole wouldn't like what was going to happen at all. As they walked out, Sarah thought at Chuck. "He's MI6, not Fulcrum, but I still don't trust him.'
'Be careful, my love,' he thought back.
As they entered the elevator, Sarah asked, "What floor?"
Cole replied, "Hit 11."
"Well, we know where they're heading," Casey commented.
Chuck told him what he now knew.
It wasn't long before Chuck and Casey heard, in their earpieces, Sarah say, "Which room is yours?"
Cole replied, "1121. It's a suite with a fantastic view, giant king-sized bed, and a Jacuzzi tub."
Casey looked at Chuck. "You okay?"
"Not really," Chuck replied.
"Maybe you shouldn't listen," Casey responded.
Chuck shook his head. "No. I want to know what's happening. Shouldn't we get up there?"
"She'll be fine, Bartowski."
Chuck looked around and spotted two men in suits waiting for the elevator. He flashed on them. William Whitmore and John Kemp, both Fulcrum agents. "Casey! The two suits getting into the elevator right now; they're Fulcrum. They could be the contact."
Casey said, "You stay here. I'll handle this."
"No way," Chuck replied, rushing after him.
The two entered the elevator behind the men and a woman with a baby in a stroller followed.
Casey said, "Hey, guys. Could you hit 8?"
Sarah, meanwhile, was busy kissing Cole as they burst into his room. He was a good kisser but not a patch on her love. She hated this sort of assignment and couldn't wait to finish it.
As she kicked the door close behind her, she sent a command, "Sleep!'
Cole slumped to the floor.
She bent down and removed the belt.
"All clear," she said.
The elevator reached floor 8, and Casey pulled his gun on the two men.
"Okay, hands up! NSA." He looked at the woman. "It'll be okay, ma'am. Step off the elevator with your baby."
As she walked out, Chuck read her mind before she spoke, "Please, just don't shoot."
As soon as she was out, she reached down to get something from the stroller, and Chuck commanded her to sleep. As she slumped down, Casey looked at her surprised, as the two men reached for their guns. Casey shot both of them and then looked at Chuck. "Did you do that to her?"
Chuck nodded. "She's Fulcrum, and that's not a baby."
"A heads up would've helped," Casey grumbled.
"Sorry, I had to act quickly."
"I need to call this in," Casey said. "You go and help Walker."
Just at that moment, Sarah's message got through to them both.
Chuck grinned. "That's my girl."
Sarah commanded Barker to wake once she had him cuffed.
Chuck was impressed. 'So, you can send commands to a sleeping mind, and it works.'
'I wasn't sure but thought it easier if he walked than we carried him,' she replied.
They walked out of the building. Casey had yet to join them, so Sarah called him, "Casey, we've got the belt and Agent Barker, and we're heading to the car."
Barker said, "You guys are making a huge mistake."
"You just keep your mouth shut, and we'll deal with you later," she replied. 'We need to keep him like this until we talk to Beckman,' she told Chuck. 'I still don't trust him and haven't been able to dig enough into his mind.'
"There won't be a later unless you don't listen to me," Barker replied. "You have no idea who you're dealing with."
They heard noise from above and looked up to see a helicopter. "That's not our ride," Sarah said.
A hail of bullets hit a car near them. "Chuck, get down!" Sarah cried. All three dived behind a car.
"Who are they?" Chuck shouted.
"Not ours. You stay here," she said to Chuck and the bound Barker. 'They are too far for me to command them, Chuck. Can you tell them to stop firing and land?'
He tried, and the shots stopped. Sarah stood and talked into her watch, "Casey, it's Sarah. We have visitors."
"On my way," he replied.
Sarah walked over to the downed helicopter. She had to duck when both of the occupants leaned out with handguns to shoot at her. She was about to commanded them to stop, when bullets hit both of their heads.
"Glad I didn't miss all the fun," Casey quipped.
Barker stood up. "What the f-."
Casey hit him over the head, knocking him out. "You're not going anywhere," Casey told the unconscious Barker.
General Beckman was not happy when she heard about the MI6 agent they had locked in one of the cells. "They should not operate on US soil without logging it with us first!" she growled at the three of them.
Casey agreed, then asked, "You told us that before, General. You and Graham were going to discuss it with your counterparts."
She said, "We did, and they apologized. They also promised that it wouldn't happen again!"
"This is worse, General," Sarah said. "He was going against Fulcrum."
"So it seems," Beckman replied. "Has he come to yet?" Casey nodded. "Then bring him in for this call."
Casey went and got him. Barker didn't like being led there, still cuffed.
"You can remove the cuffs, Major," Beckman said.
"I told them I was MI6!" Barker exclaimed.
Beckman glared at him. "Operating on US soil without logging it!"
He ignored that. "You people just blew eighteen months of undercover work!"
"Which is all your fault, Agent Barker," she snapped.
Chuck intervened. "We have the intelligence he stole, though, General."
Barker glared at Chuck. "Whatever information is on that chip is useless without the playback device."
"Why?" Beckman asked.
Barker replied, "Fulcrum devised a system to ensure that if intercepted, critical information couldn't be read. My mission was to bring the chip to my contact and find out what was on it. To do that, we need the playback device."
"I'm ordering you to stay locked down in Castle tonight, Agent Barker until we speak to your superiors and figure out our next move." She looked at the three others. "Major Casey will stay with you to make sure you don't get yourself into any more trouble."
"Aww. Couldn't Agent Walker do that?" Cole said.
"No chance," Sarah responded.
Beckman almost smiled. "Indeed."
To make things easier for Casey, once Barker entered the cell they decided to use to keep him there, Sarah sent Barker the thought, 'I'm sleepy,' then she commanded him to sleep for twelve hours. Casey thanked her for that before she and Chuck headed home.
As they set off, Chuck asked, "Did you have to kiss him?"
She had held the thoughts back, not wanting to make Chuck have to see them. She sighed. "I did. And if I hadn't been able to get into his head, I would have struggled to keep his hands off of me."
"I hate him," Chuck said.
She 'saw' his thoughts and reached over for his hand. "He is attractive, but not what I look for in a man anymore, Chuck. You are the only one for me. You know that, don't you?"
He sighed. "He's the personification of James Bond, Sarah. I feel inadequate around him."
She sent images of the two of them making love and her associated thoughts of how it felt to her. "You are NOT inadequate!"
That brought a smile to his face. "That's not what I was talking about, and you know it!"
She grinned, though. "Well, I just wanted to remind you that you are far more than adequate in that way! Far, far more!"
He laughed. "Thank you for that, Sarah, but let's be serious."
She stopped grinning. "Chuck, I don't compare you to spies. If I did, you would always win, hands down. They are always full of themselves. They have no idea how to treat a woman. What I saw in Barker's mind was just a desire to screw me after he had overpowered me, then demand to know who I worked for. Does that sound good?"
"Depends how desperate you were?"
She laughed but looked at him. "If you and I weren't an item, maybe, but I think even then, if I was here with you, I would probably have wanted to break all the handler/asset rules and have sex with you anyway by now. He wouldn't be of any interest." She pulled into the parking lot for the apartment block and switched the engine off. She turned around and took hold of his hands. "You are it for me. Forever." She leaned over and kissed him.
When she pulled back, he said, "God, I want to get you out of that short dress!"
She grinned and leaped out of the car. "And I want you to!"
They held hands as they ran to the apartment laughing.
The next morning, a very grumpy Agent Barker was back in the conference area. "I don't appreciate being locked in a cell."
"You slept like a log, though," Casey replied.
Sarah walked in and sat next to Barker. His expression changed. "Good morning, darling. You missed a night of pleasure."
Casey choked back a laugh.
Sarah turned and looked at Barker. "Let me make this very clear. I'm not interested. Besides, you're wrong. I had a night full of passion with my fiancé." She waved the ring at him.
Cole was shocked. "You're engaged?"
Sarah nodded and grabbed Chuck's hand that was resting on the table.
That took Barker by surprise too. "You?"
Chuck grinned. "Yup."
"Wow! I'm surprised," Barker said.
Sarah leaned toward him with her very angry and stormy blue eyes. "He's more of a man than you'll ever be! He fulfills my every dream!"
Barker looked appraisingly at her. "You're quite frightening when you get mad, aren't you?"
"You better believe it!" she hissed.
Casey brought everyone's attention back to the device they had taken from the belt buckle. "So, if we can't open it, how do we get the playback device?"
Chuck intervened, "Well, maybe I can hack the chip. I've cracked a data drive or two in my day."
Cole shook his head. "Not like this. It's a little more complicated than you and your friends stealing video games."
Both Chuck and Sarah bristled at that. Chuck tried to remain calm. "My job is a certified computer and electronics technician."
"Great cover," Barker replied.
"It's not his cover. It's his life," Casey commented.
Barker said, "Look, the only way we're gonna read what's on that chip is if we get the playback device. Maybe my cover is still intact. I'll call my contact and arrange a new meet."
"No. That's too dangerous," Sarah said.
"Oh. It's sweet that you're worried about me, but I can handle the heat," Cole replied.
She glared at him and said very clearly, "It's not that I'm worried about you. It's the intelligence that is on that chip falling into Fulcrum's hands."
Barker huffed. "Fine. I'll go without it. Leave the chip here. Worst case scenario: we use this opportunity to smoke out a few Fulcrum agents."
"Worst case scenario: they catch you and kill you," Casey reminded him.
"Yeah. Well, that's a chance I'm just gonna have to take," Barker responded.
"Okay," Casey said, and the two men got up.
Chuck looked at Sarah. "I'm sure I can do this."
"And what if you trigger some alarms and Fulcrum finds out? What if that draws their attention to you? Please don't do that."
He saw her fear and just nodded.
"Shouldn't you get the general's approval before heading out with him?" Chuck asked.
Sarah leaned down to him. "If we can solve this before she knows, it will be good for all of us."
"I don't like it," he replied.
"Trust me, Chuck," she said.
"Oh, I do."
She gave him a kiss and went to join the others to get weapons.
Chuck locked the device in the safe before heading over to the Buy More.
Sarah and Casey let Cole Barker go to the contact point at the time he'd arranged. They were standing behind him, a little way back. Sarah had decided to call the British agent by his first name from now on.
Over the earpieces they got the message from Cole, "My contact is late. I don't see him anywhere in this crowd."
Sarah said to Casey, "Any sign of Fulcrum?"
"Hard to tell. They all look the same." He was right. There were a lot of men in suits and sunglasses.
"This was a stupid place to meet," she said.
"Yeah," Casey agreed.
"There they are. We're on," Cole said as a car pulled up.
"Signal Sarah when you see the playback device," Casey told him. "Then we'll move in."
Cole walked up to an older man who had just gotten out of the car and said, "You got the chip?"
"You got the playback device?" Cole replied.
"Not here. But not far away," the man replied.
"That wasn't the agreement," Cole said.
Sarah spotted a woman in the car and 'heard' her thoughts as she started to speak into a device of her own. 'Take him.'
Sarah realized that men were converging on Cole. She 'commanded' them to stop.
The woman jumped out of the car and walked toward Cole. Sarah casually walked there, too, with Casey saying, "We're not authorized to be here, Walker!"
Sarah pushed a gun into the woman's side. "I think you need to come with us." Then, she sensed another man approaching her with a gun. 'Drop it!' she commanded him.
She also sensed the two men still in the car, reaching for their guns. She commanded the Fulcrum team to forget what had happened and to sleep. That took a lot out of her, and she staggered back, but Cole caught her before she passed out.
Casey called in a team to help them carry all the Fulcrum team to bring them to Castle. He lifted the woman, and Cole set Sarah down, who was still weak, before lifting his contact.
Casey and Cole got the woman and the contact into the Fulcrum car for Cole to drive. Casey then picked up Sarah and carried her to the Crown Vic.
Sarah had recovered, and she talked quietly to Chuck as she drank some water to go with the painkillers he gave her.
Chuck 'commanded' Cole to forget how things had happened too.
"So, let me get this right. You went ahead without getting my approval?" Beckman stared at them.
"We thought time was of the essence, General," Casey said.
Chuck had 'read' the contact's mind, and Casey and Barker had just retrieved the playback device and left an NSA team ransacking the place.
"So, we have the playback device and will use it to read the chip," Cole said.
"Very well." Beckman acknowledged. She said to Cole, "And then you return to the UK. You have a flight scheduled this evening." She looked at the other three. "You will report on what you find on the chip."
When the call ended, they inserted the chip into the device.
As they watched a recording of all the victims of the Fulcrum team in Meadow Branch being tested with the corrupt Fulcrum Intersect, Chuck felt sick and left the rest of them to it, sitting a little way away.
Sarah gasped when she saw herself being prepared for it. That was the last recording.
"Wow! So, you were a test subject?" Cole asked.
"Nearly. Chuck and Casey saved me," she replied.
"Impressive," the British spy said.
She looked at her partners. "They are."
"We're a good team," Chuck commented.
"I don't know what happened today, but the results are good," Cole said.
Sarah and Chuck 'read' the confusion in his head. "They are," she replied.
At the end of the afternoon, Cole needed to collect his things from his hotel.
"You're an interesting team," he commented. He shook Casey's hand first. When he got to Sarah and Chuck, he said, "I wish you luck with both your wedding and marriage." Both read his thoughts that espionage was not conducive to married life.
'We'll prove that wrong, but also get out of it as soon as we can,' Chuck thought.
'That's dependent on your dad,' Sarah replied. 'We need to find out how he is getting on with the testing of the removal.'
After his taxi had collected Cole, the other three packed up for the day.
Chuck and Sarah had a less strenuous evening than the previous one. They still made love, as they always did, though.
Sarah's phone rang after they finished. "I am so glad it waited until now," Chuck commented.
Sarah chuckled. "Not good at multi-tasking?"
"I don't think you screaming down the phone would work well for the caller." She laughed and then answered the call.
"Barker's been captured. Thought to be Fulcrum," Casey told her.
"Shit!" Sarah responded. "Luckily, he didn't find out about the Intersect."
"Yeah," he replied. "I'm leading the search for him."
"What happened?" she asked.
"They shot the taxi driver on the way to the airport."
"Let us know if we can do anything," she said before the call ended.
"What is it?" Chuck asked.
Sarah told him, then said, "If he knew you had the Intersect in your head, we would have had to go into lockdown somewhere secure."
"A bunker?"
"Probably," she replied.
"He's a really tough guy," Chuck said. "Maybe he wouldn't have talked."
She held his gaze. "Chuck, everyone talks."
She didn't hold back the images of torture. He paled in 'seeing' those. "Well, fortunately he knows nothing, then. But surely we're going to rescue him?"
"Casey's on it," she replied.
"So, we just go to sleep and wait to find out what happens?"
"Unless something crops up and Casey needs help," she said.
"Well, just in case that call comes through in the middle of the night, I suggest we go to sleep soon," he replied.
She nodded. "As long as you hold me, so I have contact with you all night."
"Of course," he said. She lay down facing her side of the bed, and he wrapped his arm around her waist and pressed up against her back.
"Not sure I'll go to sleep straight away," she said, "But this feels so good, Chuck."
"For me too."
When Sarah walked down into Castle the next morning, Casey was there. He looked as though he'd had no sleep. He was packing things up.
"Cole Barker was picked up 12 hours ago by Fulcrum," he said. "We spent the entire night looking for him and failed. Langley thinks when he talks, they may come looking for this base."
"Where are we taking it?" she asked as she started doing the same as him.
"Offsite storage," he replied. He looked up at her. "You won't be able to continue working upstairs."
She nodded. She'd need a new cover job somewhere close. No time to think about that, though.
"No need for Bartowski to get involved," Casey said.
"Thank god Cole knew nothing about the Intersect," she said while gathering up files to put in the boxes Casey had laid out.
The alarm went off. Both looked at the display on the security screen. It said, "Perimeter Breach."
"Back door," Casey said, and they both headed there.
Both had their rifles at the ready as the door was unlocked from the outside, and it opened. They both lowered them when they saw Agent Barker panting and holding onto the door frame with ripped clothes and covered in blood.
"Cole?" Sarah said. She handed her rifle to Casey, and rushed to the man who looked like he was about to fall to the floor.
"Did you miss me?" Cole asked. "Don't worry. I didn't say a word." He dropped to his knees, and Sarah stopped him from falling further.
"Look at that," Casey said. "Maybe we're not packing up after all."
"Let Chuck know what's happened," Sarah told Casey. "I'll get him patched up."
Chuck and Casey were listening to Cole talking to Sarah in the interview room.
"After that, it was eight, maybe nine guys until I got to the door," Cole said.
Chuck read his mind, and the memories of that many were there. "Nine guys?" he said, shaking his head. .
"I've done nine before," Casey said.
Chuck looked at him. "You've taken out nine guys?" He couldn't read Casey's mind on that.
"Just saying it's doable," Casey replied.
Chuck said, "I'm not doubting it, just amazed that a guy who has been tortured could do it."
Sarah asked Cole, "What did they question you about?"
"They wanted to know who had the Intersect." Chuck tensed as Cole said the word but relaxed as Cole continued. "I have no idea, so I couldn't tell them anything."
"But you know what the Intersect is?" she questioned.
He scoffed. "Of course, we know. Only you Americans would go that far playing with technology, causing problems, and then think you can keep it secret."
She gritted her teeth on hearing that. 'I hate him, Chuck. The smug bastard!' Chuck chucked.
"You think his comments funny?" Casey growled.
"No. Sarah just told me what she thinks of him for saying that." Casey grunted his approval.
Sarah changed tack. "Did they question you about this base?"
Cole shook his head. "I wouldn't have told them if they had." She looked at him dubiously. "It's not my first dance, Walker."
Her next question was on the minds of the two men outside. "Why come back here after you escaped?"
"I wanted to make sure you were safe," Cole replied.
"By potentially bringing a Fulcrum tail?" Chuck said.
"I can believe he'd be better than that," Casey muttered,
"Of course," Chuck grumbled. "He's James Bond."
Casey looked his way. "You're not jealous of him, are you?"
Chuck huffed. "Not really, but the personification of all spy movies turns up on our doorstep. It is a bit unnerving."
"Walker is so into you, Bartowski. She won't be swayed, even if she liked him."
Chuck smiled at Casey, saying something nice. "I know that, but it's still nice that she hates him."
"Thanks to information provided by Mr. Barker, we now know that Fulcrum is protecting a man that goes by the code name 'Perseus.'" General Beckman said. "Perseus is the head scientist behind Fulcrum's effort to build their own Intersect."
'Anything, Chuck?' Sarah asked.
'No,' he replied to her.
"I spent the past year undercover trying to get close to him, but only the inner circle is ever allowed contact with the man," Cole said.
"Intel tells us Perseus is attending a formal event tonight at the Swiss Consul's office. The State Department has arranged invitations for the two of you," Beckman told them.
"I'd be happy to accompany Agent Walker," Cole said with a smile.
"No, Agent Barker. Fulcrum is still actively searching for you. You will stay in Castle and monitor by remote feed with Major Casey while Agent Walker and Mr. Bartowski go."
"So, you're sending an analyst to do an agent's job?" Barker challenged.
Beckman stared at him. "Mr. Bartowski has more than proved himself on missions, whereas all you've done since arriving on US soil is get caught twice, once by us and once by Fulcrum."
Cole huffed but couldn't argue with that.
"Video check," Sarah said while looking into the camera on Chuck's lapel. "Do we have a signal?"
"Yep, we got you," Cole replied. "And you look fantastic, Sarah. Is that dress CIA issue, or do you just make everything look that good?"
"None of your business, Barker," she replied with a hint of anger.
"Stay focused," Casey growled. "This is a mission."
"You do look gorgeous, though, Sarah," Chuck said.
"Thanks, Chuck," she replied and smiled at him.
Cole rolled his eyes, then said, "Casey, you get in Chuck's ear, and I'll get in Sarah's. Okay, you two, split up." Chuck and Sarah were expecting this.
"Sarah, you've got an unsecured exit at two o'clock. The guy in the bad suit standing in front of the Swiss flag is packing," Cole told her.
"I'm not blind," Sarah replied. "It's not my first dance, Barker."
Knowing she'd used Cole's phrase back at him, Chuck grinned. 'So proud of you, Sarah.'
Cole ignored that. "Okay, Sarah, you might not know this. The Italian minister for trade is headed your way. He can get a little handsy."
"Hello," the man said as he reached Sarah. "I'm Paolo Giordano. I saw you arrive and couldn't help but admire your beauty."
"His wife's name is Isabella, and he has three little bambinos."
The man took her hand and kissed it. She let him but said, "Thank you. How are Isabella and the children?"
He stepped back and nodded. "Signorina." He then walked away.
"Nicely done," Cole said.
"Thanks for the info," she replied.
"Have a look at the people by that ice goose, Bartowski," Casey said.
Chuck wandered toward them and flashed. "I think we may have found him. The shorter balding gentleman in the sweater, wearing the glasses, that has got to be Perseus."
Chuck and Sarah heard Barker ask Casey, "How does he know that?"
"He's one of the best analysts," Casey replied. "He does his homework before going out."
Chuck felt good hearing that, even though it wasn't strictly true here. "I remember him. His name is Howard Busgang. He's a research scientist with the Department of Defense."
"Good job, Chuck," Sarah said. "I'll join you."
A man bumped into Sarah just as she reached Chuck. "Ooh, I'm sorry."
He looked up at her, and Barker recognized him. "He's the guy who was torturing me! He's Fulcrum."
Having apologized, the man said, "You have a nice evening." He turned and paused to reach into his jacket before he walked away.
"We need to get Busgang out of here," Sarah said.
There was no response from Casey or Barker. "Where'd they go?" Chuck asked.
She looked at him. "My guess is that the Fulcrum guy made me and then jammed the signal. We have to move fast."
She walked toward Perseus. "Oh, Dr. Busgang. I don't believe we've met before." She reached out and shook his hand.
"How do you do?" he responded.
She leaned into him and said, "You must come with us." Chuck inserted the desire to do so into the man's thoughts.
"I'd like that," Busgang said and started walking with them.
Chuck sensed three Fulcrum people, including the one who had accosted Sarah, approaching. He 'commanded' a waiter that was passing them to trip and champagne and glasses hit the three of them. It slowed them down only slightly, but Chuck ensured the waiter fell into their legs.
While the Fulcrum men were trying to extricate themselves, Sarah and Chuck led Busgang away.
As they approached the exit, Chuck couldn't sense any Fulcrum agents outside, but that didn't mean there weren't any. Sarah 'read' his thoughts. 'There's unlikely to be any, but, just in case, you take Busgang off to the right and then head to the car. I'll go straight ahead. If you do sense any, knock them out.'
'You be careful, Sarah.'
'I will,' she replied, pulling out a pistol from her handbag.
Busgang was still muttering about his work, "... but the data acquisition problem in Minsky's 'society-of-mind' theory was addressed in large part by Singh's 'E-M-One' paperback in... 2005."
Chuck ignored him while desperately reaching out to sense any Fulcrum agents. He didn't find any and quickly got Busgang to the car. He was glad they had borrowed a larger car rather than come in Sarah's Porsche. He got the scientist into the car just as Sarah arrived.
'None,' both thought at the same time.
Sarah leaped into the driving seat and set off just in time. as the three from Fulcrum exited the building but didn't see them driving behind it.
As they drove away, she used her phone. "Casey?"
"Cole and I are just coming," Casey replied.
"No need, we got Busgang. We're on our way to Castle," she informed him.
"I work for the government," Busgang was saying in the interview room. "I work for the CIA."
"You've been working for a terrorist organization," Sarah told him.
"I swear I'm just a scientist. Duncan said I was helping the country."
"Not the case," she replied.
Chuck and Sarah 'read' his mind, and the image of Duncan was the man who had led the Fulcrum team trying to stop them from taking the doctor.
"I can take you to my lab and show you what I do," Busgang suggested.
"It's a good idea," Casey said.
"But what if the Fulcrum team is there?" Chuck asked.
"All four of us will go," Cole said.
This really didn't feel right to Chuck, but at the same time, seeing the lab of someone creating the Intersect was appealing.
So, Busgang escorted them to his lab.
For Chuck, walking into Perseus's lab was amazing. He had no idea what most of the equipment in there was for, but the whole setup was awesome.
"This is where I made the last set of modifications. I was doing some of it from my original notes, some from those I had from the rest of the team, and some from my rather sketchy memory."
"Rest of the team?" Casey immediately asked.
The older man's shoulders slumped. "I'm not supposed to talk about that original team."
Chuck and Sarah saw one name flash through the man's thoughts. Busgang had been a technician in the team working for the designer of the Intersect, who had the code name, Orion.
"What happened to the team?" Sarah carefully asked.
"I have no idea. When we abandoned the original project, we split up, and I never saw any of them again."
'He'll still be able to identify my dad as Orion,' Chuck thought.
'But not where he is,' Sarah replied.
Chuck was starting to panic. 'Beckman will order a hunt for him!'
Sarah couldn't deny it.
They were all distracted, so didn't hear the Fulcrum team appear. Their lack of awareness was shattered when Duncan spoke. "Tut, tut, Doctor. Siding with the enemy."
Casey and Sarah spun around grabbing their guns, but not in time. Duncan fired a shot which hit Busgang in the forehead.
Sarah shoved Chuck down behind a bench as she started to fire.
Chuck was so stunned at what had happened that he didn't react immediately. However, it didn't matter. Casey managed to shoot one of the men, and Cole clipped another. Duncan ducked out, and Sarah ran after him.
She sensed him just around the corner of the corridor, waiting to catch her. She also read his thoughts that he had seen her securing Chuck, which seemed significant. She 'commanded' him to hold his fire and got to the end and turned toward him. He still had his gun pointing at her and was frowning at his frozen finger. She shot him point blank in the head as she threw herself back and down. It was just as well she did that, as his finger spasmed and a bullet flew over her head. Duncan's corpse then dropped in front of her.
"Impressive," Cole said. She hadn't realized he was following her.
As they walked back into the lab, Chuck had already sensed her and fired a thought at her, 'Thank god you're okay.'
She thought back, 'I had to shoot him. He was thinking you must be special.'
'I've grabbed a folder on Orion that was on a desk in here,' he told her. 'Don't want the main team to get it.'
'We'll have to tell Casey about your dad.'
'I know.'
"While we would have preferred to still have Busgang alive, by capturing his work, we've significantly set back Fulcrum's ability to build their own Intersect," Beckman told them as they stood in Castle facing her on the monitor. "So, congratulations are in order." She then looked at Cole. "Agent Barker, more secure transport has been arranged for you to get back to the UK."
"Thank you, General."
As her image disappeared from the screen, Cole turned to the others. "So, it seems my work here is done... again." He turned to the NSA agent and held out his hand. "Agent Casey, it's been a real pleasure working with you."
Casey surprised the other two by replying, "Yeah, likewise." It seems he no longer held any grudges.
Chuck and Sarah walked off to let them continue to talk.
After a few moments, Cole came looking for them. "You two are something else. Sometimes, it seems like you can read each other's minds." Both laughed at that.
"There are things I wouldn't want him to know about my past, so that wouldn't be a good thing," she said.
"I can imagine," Cole replied. He turned to Chuck. "You are so much more than just an analyst, Chuck. I sensed your nervousness around guns. If you could overcome that, you'd make a great spy."
Chuck smiled. "My gun phobia saves me, then."
Cole chuckled. "I guess it does. Particularly as the fiercest woman I know wouldn't like it."
Chuck looked over at her as Sarah said, "True."
Cole turned to her. "You taught me a lesson, too."
"Oh?" she replied.
"I can't always get what I want."
"You were just looking in the wrong place," she replied before looking at Chuck. "And completely outclassed."
'I love you so much, Sarah Walker.'
'I love you too, Chuck Bartowski.'
That evening, they called Chuck's dad and told him about Busgang.
Stephen remembered him. "Yeah, he was a technician on the team. One of the brighter ones as far as technology goes, but it seems not so observant about people."
"We got his file about Orion," Chuck said.
"I'd be interested to see that someday," Stephen said.
"How are you getting on, Dad."
"I think I'm about a month away from confirming I can get the Intersect out of your heads and leave the mind-reading ability there," he replied.
"That's amazing, Stephen," Sarah said. "Thank you so much."
He smiled. "See it as my wedding gift."
"We'd really like you there, Dad, and Ellie's one dream was always for you to be at hers, too."
Stephen sadly replied, "I would love to be at both weddings, but there are too many people looking for me and my skills to risk that, Chuck."
"I know," Chuck said.
"Take care of each other and take care of your sister," Stephen said as he signed off.
"I think if we could get rid of Fulcrum, he might risk coming to both," Sarah said.
"Ellie's wedding is less than two months away, Sarah," Chuck said. "I don't think we'll get rid of Fulcrum in that time."
"It can be a target," she replied. "In the meantime, be happy with what we achieved today and what Stephen has told us."
He nodded, brightening a bit.
She looked at him coquettishly. "Besides, I need some help getting these clothes off. Think you could help?"
He grinned, picked her up, and carried her to their bedroom.
A/N: I quite liked Cole Barker. That's not because we're both British or that he reminded me of James Bond, but because he respected Chuck and Sarah's bond once she told him she wouldn't go with him. I think he even approved of it.
So, we have six more episodes of season 2 to get through. That should be the next three chapters. I won't be taking this into season 3, as I've tackled that season in a number of other stories, some of which are still running. After season 2 completes, I will probably have one more chapter to get these two married, though.
Please send a review to let me know your thoughts on the Cole Barker chapter.