Fate's Design
Chapter 6
Main Cast
Charles "Chuck" Bartowski – Zachary Levi
CIA Special Agent Sarah Walker – Yvonne Strahovski
Major John Casey, US Marines, NSA – Adam Baldwin
Eleanor "Ellie" Bartowski – Sarah Lancaster
Devon "Captain Awesome" Woodcombe – Ryan McPartlin
Morgan Grimes – Joshua Gomez
Supporting Cast
Michael "Big Mike" Tucker – Mark Christopher Lawrence
Jefferson "Jeff" Barnes – Scott Krinsky
Lester Patel – Vik Sahay
Guest stars
Carina Miller, DEA - Mini Anden
Nathaniel J. Patel - Colin Samson
David Schmidt - Ricky Jay
"This is possibly the worst idea in existence," grumbles a man as he stares at a network of pipes with no idea what to do. Another man, larger and bulkier, slaps a wrench into his chest a little harder than necessary.
"Why don't you quit complaining and get working," the larger man growls. "If you haven't noticed, moron, there are armed guards outside who will wonder why the plumber they hired isn't doing any plumbing."
"You see, that is the flaw in your plan," Chuck retorts. "May I point out to you that I am a computer geek. Not a DIY geek. I have absolutely no idea what to do." He shoots a look at the pipes in front of him. "I know for a fact that if I touch those, this room's going to flood with raw sewage."
"I think I'm going to have to go with Chuck," Sarah adds as she attempts to stop a pipe from drenching her with water. "We should have gone with my plan. It may have been a tiny bit more risky, but at least we wouldn't have this problem." She shoots an annoyed look at Casey, who growls again and smashes a pipe with the wrench in his hand.
At once, the contents of the pipe spray out and within minutes water, along with God knows what, is beginning to rise from groundlevel. Chuck looks thoroughly unimpressed. "Great, Casey, now we're going to drown in the bad guys' excrement. Another brilliant idea."
"Shut it, Bartowski, or I'll force you to drink it," Casey threatens and knocks on the door. "Hey! You two! Open the door! The room's flooding!" Naturally, the two guards rush to open the door and after it slides open, Casey smirks. "Thanks." He reaches forward and smashes their heads together, knocking them out cold.
"I still hate you," Chuck shouts as he steps out carefully. "You good, Sarah?"
"Yeah, but I could have done without the sewage bath," she replies, taking a gun and several clips from the unconscious man lying not he floor. She slides one in and loads it, before putting on the safety and slipping behind her back. Chuck is just staring at her. "What?"
"That makes you look so sexy," he breathes and she swats him playfully. "It's true! Not that you're not absolutely stunning anyways, you know." Sarah shoots him a smile and they follow Casey down the corridor.
Five hours earlier
"This is Nathaniel J. Patel, ex-SAS turned gun merchant. He supplied weapons to the Taliban in Afghanistan, drug cartels in Mexico, the list goes on," General Beckman says. "For the past year, we've had absolutely no leads on him. The man was a ghost. Until last week." She hits a key and pictures of Patel with another man appear. "These photos were taken by a CIA reconnaissance team in Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas."
Chuck concentrates on the man on the left - he is short, around five three, and a bit chubby. His black hair is swept to the side, evidently heavily gelled. He looks a little closer and sees a pendant around the man's neck.
A merry-go-round
A swimming pool
Files on a David Schimdt
Transaction records between Schmidt and a Geocorp International
The strange bonsai symbol accompanied by an eagle emblem linked to Geocorp
FULCRUM in large red letters
A swimming pool
A merry-go-round
Before he can say a word, Chuck's eyes catch sight of a suitcase Schmidt is carrying.
A turtle lying on its back
A pair of blue flowery curtains
Blueprints for the computer server housed within the suitcase
Server labelled FULCRUM
A short video demonstrating how to open the suitcase without triggering any of the inbuilt alarms
A pair of blue flowery curtains
A turtle lying on its back
Chuck blinks a little, rubbing his eyes. "Wow, double whammy. I seriously hope that never happens again." The General coughs and looks expectantly at him. "Oh right, the man on the left is David Schmidt, an employee of Geocorp International, which is actually a front for our favorite evil organisation. Fulcrum. And that suitcase he's holding contains a mobile Fulcrum computer server."
The General starts in surprise. "Fulcrum? We had no idea they were involved." She thinks things over. "I am sending you three to Las Vegas tonight. Find Patel and Schmidt, and bring them and the server back. However, the server is the main priority. It must be recovered. Understood?" Sarah and Casey nod. "Very well. Good luck."
Present
"Casey, remind me how doing plumbing made our mission easier?"
"Get over yourself, Bartowski," Casey grunts. "It's just a little bit of poo." He takes a quick look down the corridor to their right. "There's another guard in front of that door. We need to get in there." He nods at Sarah. "You're up, Walker."
"I hardly think- Sarah, what are you doing! Come back!" Chuck hisses. The blonde ignores him and heads over to the guard with a suggestive smile. "What is she doing!"
"Induction of enemy personnel," the Major replies. Seeing the nonplussed look on the nerd's face, he rolls his eyes. "Seduction, moron, she's seducing him."
"You're kidding, right?" Chuck asks. "Right?"
Casey gives a "see-for-yourself-moron" grunt and Chuck takes a look. His jaw drops.
Sarah is practically kissing the guy.
"Sarah!" he exclaims, forgetting where they are. The guy looks surprised at the newly arrived nerd and before he can do anything, Sarah punches him hard in the stomach.
"What are you doing!" she hisses at Chuck, before turning around and sending her foot into the guard's face, slamming him into the wall. He collapses to the ground unconscious.
"You were basically kissing!" he argues indignantly. "I, as your bo- friend, think that was slightly disgusting. And when I say slightly, I mean incredibly disgusting!" Casey shoots them suspiscious glances.
"We'll talk about this later," Sarah replies through gritted teeth, shifting her glance between Chuck and Casey. "Let's get that server."
After they get past the door, they find a service elevator and Casey smiles briefly. "That, moron, was the reason why we did the plumbing."
"An elevator." Chuck claps sarcastically. "It's not like we passed five of them on the way here." Casey glares at him and he immediately shuts up.
"Chuck, this elevator can get us up to the VIP level," Sarah informs him. "And this is the only elevator which doesn't have a security camera."
"Oh. I didn't know that."
Ten minutes later, the doors slid open, and the trio of spies slip out. "The suite Patel and Schmidt are in is down that way," Sarah whispers. "Number 306." Casey nods and makes his way to the suite.
Once the NSA agent is out of earshot, Chuck taps his gitlfriend on the shoulder. "Sarah, we need to talk. What the heck was that back there? I don't know about you, but when I see the person I'm dating canoodling with another person-"
"Canoodling?" Sarah can't help but be amused. "Seriously."
"Okay, I admit, poor choice of word, but the point still stands! What was that?"
The blonde sighs fretfully. "Look, Chuck, I promise I'll tell you, but not now, okay? Please?" Chuck still looks reluctant, and so Sarah gives him a kiss. "I promise, Chuck."
"Okay." Chuck nods. "I trust you."
This affirmation makes Sarah smile a bit. "Come on, let's hurry before Casey gets any ideas."
They hurried to the suite, where Casey was already preparing to break in. "Where'd you two run off two?" he asks.
"Chuck, uh, got scared," Sarah makes up, earning her a pointed look from her boyfriend. "I had to persuade him to come along."
"Typical Bartowski," the Major grunts. "There's three people in there - Patel, Schmidt and another." He places a device on the door and taps his earpiece. "And from the sounds of it, they've hired themselves a little entertainment."
"How are we supposed to do this?" Chuck whispers. "We don't have tranq guns. If we go in guns blazing we'll alert everybody on this level."
"That's why Walker's going in," Casey grunts. Chuck grimaces a little, but trusting his girlfriend, he allows himself to loosen a bit.
"This is what you wanted?" the woman asks seductively as she slowly pulls off her shorts, wiggling her hips as she does so. Patel nods and pulls her close to him. He strokes her smoky red hair and breathes in her scent, sighing deeply in relaxation.
"How about you do a little more?" he says, taking a wad of cash from his pants. "Let's see you without your top." She giggles and pushes herself off him.
"Not yet, sugar," she wags her finger at him. She is about to continue dancing when there is a knock at the door.
"Get it, Schmidt," Patel says. The other man huffs, and then gets up. He opens the door and smiles widely when he sees the person on the other side.
"Hello darling!" he exclaims. "Come in, please, come in." Sarah smiles and, giving him a wink, walks into the suite. "I had no idea you were coming."
"There must have been some sort of mix up at the agency," the CIA agent answers. "I was told to come here. Although, I can't say I mind at all…" She looks Schmidt up and down with a glint in her eye. "I'm Charlie."
"Hmm, Charlie…" The man takes her hand and leads her to the bedroom. "Hey! Patel! There's another girl!"
"Double the fun," the other guy manages to get out, engaged in a fierce liplock with the woman sitting on his lap.
"So, Charlie, amaze me," Schmidt says in a silky voice.
Sarah smiles seductively. "No problem." She leans down as if to stretch, and then quickly cartwheels forward, kicking the man in the forehead. He collapses backwards in a heap.
"The fuck!" Patel swears and shoves the woman off him, reaching for a gun tucked under the pillow. However, before he can bring the weapon to bear, he is struck from behind and falls forward, unconscious.
The red-haired woman smiles as she steps over Patel's prone form. "Well, well, if it isn't little Sarah Walker. How's my bestie been doing?"
"Carina?"
The next day
"Team, this is Agent Carina Miller of the DEA," General Beckman introduces.
The red-haired agent smiles. "I think a few of us are already acquainted. Casey, I hope I didn't hurt your back permanently the last time we met?"
The Major growls something under his breath about "damn hardwood chairs". Sarah suppresses a grin. She is already aware of the "chair bondage incident", having been informed by her friend the day after it happened.
"I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you, though," Carina turns her attention to Chuck, and gives him a flirty look. "And you are?"
Before Chuck has a chance to answer (and most likely make a fool of himself), Beckman coughs and they focus back on the screen. "Thank you. As for the mission, I am pleased to say that the package was safely transported and dealt with."
"General, if I may ask, what was in that suitcase?" Carina inquires. "Intel the DEA recieved suggested it might be some kind of weapon-"
"I'm afraid I am not at liberty to divulge that information to you, Agent Miller," Beckman answers. "It is highly classified. I hope you won't pry further into this matter?"
Pause. "Of course not." The redhead puts on a smile. "So, General, should I be leaving now?"
"Orders haven't come through from the DEA yet, so you are to stay in Burbank until further notice. If that is all, goodnight." The General signs off.
Carina gets up from her seat and stretches, deliberately giving Chuck a full view of her smooth toned belly. He gulps loudly and Sarah stares at him, looking evidently annoyed.
"So, who are you, boy scout?" Carina asks, smiling brightly at him.
"Wh-who, me?" Chuck laughs nervously. "I'm, I'm, uh, Ch-"
"Charles Carmichael, CIA," Sarah cuts in. "Just brought out into the field."
"Charles, you say?" Carina eyes him hungrily, and Chuck begins to feel what it must be like for a mouse when hunted by a cat. "I'm Carina."
"Hi!" His voice sounds an octave higher than usual.
Carina leans in close and whispers into his ear, "You know, Charles, you're very handsome. Maybe you and I can, you know?"
Seeing this exchange, Sarah is doing her best to keep herself from pummelling her friend to a pulp, and clears her throat loudly. "Carina, can I have a word?"
The red head shoots her a sideways glance. "Sure, why not?" She turns back to Chuck. "Remember, Charles." Before he can do anything, she leans forward and places a delicate kiss on his lips.
Chuck can practically feel the death rays emanating from Sarah and quickly pushes Carina away from him. "That was, uh, completely uncalled for, and, um, not welcome at all. I'm, ah, going to pretend that never happened." Without another word, he made a run for the door.
He slams it behind him. "Oh god, I am so dead. So dead!"
Once they were alone, Sarah frowns deeply at her friend. "Carina…" she says warningly.
"What, he's not gay, is he?" Carina asks. "Because that's totally fine with me."
"No!" Sarah replies, annoyed. "Just lay off him, okay?"
Carina raises an eyebrow. "Why? Is he taken already? 'Cos that fine too." That earns her another look from Sarah. "What? If he chooses to cheat, that's his decision!"
"Your morals are loose as ever."
The redhead offers her a wink. "Only way to live and have fun, Walker. Hey, you want to hit the bars? This time of night they'll be packed full of guys, ripe for the picking."
Sarah puts on her best faked apologetic face. "Thanks, but no thanks. I've got a lot of stuff to finish off." Maybe I can get some couple time with Chuck, she wonders.
Unfortunately, the DEA agent sees past the façade. "Oh, Walker, you didn't." Carina covers her mouth. "Oh dear lord, you did."
"Did what?"
"You're in love with Carmichael!" the DEA agent proclaims loudly.
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too, infinity times and no returns!"
"You know we're not four."
Carina shrugs. "It doesn't matter, my point still stands. You're in love with Carmichael! You broke the cardinal rule of spying!"
"I most certainly did not," Sarah replies, schooling her features into an impassive mask. "And I have no interest whatsoever in Agent Carmichael."
"Is that so?" Carina grins as she folds her arms. "So if I went up to him and made out with him, you personally wouldn't have a problem?"
"No, I suppose I wouldn't," Sarah agrees through gritted teeth. Boy, Carina's going to pay for this.
"Good, 'cos I'm going to do that right now," Carina grins as she takes off after Chuck. Sarah growls and heads for the door as well.
A CIA transport van is making its way to a Supermax prison when suddenly a rocket strikes it in the side, knocking it over. The drivers scramble out, coughing, but are despatched quickly with shots to the head.
A few balaclava-ed men rush to the van and smash open the locked doors, revealing a coughing Patel and wheezing Schmidt. "Good, you're here, get us out," Patel groans.
The men nod and help the two out of the wrecked, overturned van. "I want to know who those women were within an hour," Patel orders. "When you find out, I'm going to find them and kill them myself."
Chuck slouches on his couch and turns on the TV, flicking through until he finds a channel playing Star Trek. He leans back just as Carina walks through the front door, and he immediately turns the TV off. "Um, hi again-"
Carina grabs him by the shirt and pulls him into a searing kiss, wrapping her arms around him and rubbing as much of herself against him as possible. Chuck's eyes bulge in panic.
He sees a flash of gold and feels himself being torn away from the redhead, and finds himself standing in front of his girlfriend, who looks absolutely livid. Carina, on the other hand, looks as happy as a kitten with a ball of yarn.
"Carina," Sarah growls. "Get. Out. Now." Carina obliges and leaves, but not before waving flirtatiously at the nerd.
Chuck has a feeling he's going to die. Yup, by the look on his girlfriend's face he is definitely going to. "Sarah, before you do anything, you must know that she came onto me-"
"I know that." Sarah allows herself to deflate a little and wrings her hands. "It's just that… Carina's like a sister. An ultra-competitive sister. She knows that you and I are, you know, and so she won't rest until she's, well, slept with you."
Chuck's eyes widen. "What!"
"And that's not going to happen, is it, mister?" Sarah inquires with a sweet but deadly tone. "Because you know what will happen if it does?"
"I'll die?"
The blonde's eyes narrow. "Much worse than that, Mr. Bartowski, much, much worse." For effect, she throws a pencil at a photo he has on his desk and impales it. Chuck's jaw drops. "Got it?"
Chuck nods dumbly and his girlfriend smiles. "Glad we got that sorted," she says sweetly. "Now, let's go lunch." She leads him out to her Porsche. "Got any good ideas?"
"Well, we could always swing by the Wienerlicious," Chuck suggests with a grin and Sarah makes a face. "What? I personally find their corndogs so good that it's worth having the several consecutive heart attacks that come with them."
The blonde grins. "I once had to work in a Wienerlicious as a cover, and I have to say, it was horrible. My clothes constantly smelt of sausage, or rather burnt sausage. I was never very good at flipping the sausages." She huffs a little. "Anyways, Chuck, what's it going to be?"
"Hmmm, I think I know a place."
As they enter the restaurant, Chuck notices that Sarah has stopped and is looking nervous. "You okay, Sarah?"
The blonde shifts uncomfortably. I have to tell him. Even if it ruins what we have. I can't lie to him. After the waiter leads them to their table, she reaches forward to clasp onto his hands. "I know you want an explanation for what happened during the mission, and I'm going to tell you the truth." She draws in a deep breath. "Chuck, in this line of work, in order to achieve your goals you have to make use of everything, because if you don't, it could cost you your life." She grimaces. "It means that sometimes you have to use yourself."
"That's… horrible," Chuck frowns. "You must hate it."
Sarah nods. "I do, it's the worst part of the job. Going around, flirting with strangers, letting them touch you, it makes me feel like- like-"
She feels a warm arm over he shoulders and leans down to rest her head against Chuck's chest. Only then does she realise she's crying. "Sarah," he whispers, "I understand. Don't cry, please don't cry, I'm sorry…"
She sniffles. "What for?"
"I didn't think before I shouted at you back there," Chuck replies. "I'm such an idiot sometimes…" He tilts her chin up and looks deeply into her eyes. "Can you forgive me?"
"Chuck…" She cannot understand how she could have been so lucky to have him. He isn't holding anything against her, and instead blaming himself for what happened. "You didn't do anything wrong, you were just-"
Chuck silences her with a gentle kiss. "Hey, it's okay, you know I lo- like you a lot, I understand completely."
Sarah makes no reaction to his slip-up and wipes her eyes a little. "So, this is a Morgan recommendation," Sarah asks with a watery chuckle. "You sure this place is properly sanitised?"
"Hey, hey, no faith in the bearded one!" Chuck exclaims with surprise. "Morgan, despite his outwardly messy and scruffy appearance, demands the best from everything which goes into his stomach. Any suggestion of his is a good one to follow."
"I'll have to trust you on that," the blonde replies, her mood brightening a little. "So, what are we having?"
"Dumplings! According to Morgan, they're like "little edible bags filled with the delicate flavours of the Orient", which is actually surprisingly eloquent." Sarah nods in agreement. "He's not as stupid as he leads you on to think, that Morgan. You know he figured out you and I were together before I even told him?"
"Really? Morgan?"
"What can I say? Being my best friend for over twenty years has made him an expert at reading me." The waitress places their orders on the table and smiles courteously as she leaves. "Aha!" he declares, picking up his chopsticks, and begins to eat, when Sarah snickers at him. "What? Is there something on my shirt?"
"No, it's just that you're holding those a little wrong," she points out, showing him how she held the chopsticks. "Move your index finger a little, no, back a bit, now your middle finger, yeah, there! You've got it."
Chuck picks at a dumpling. "You are a fantastic teacher, Sarah Walker." He continues to eat, but stops when he sees a man seated on a table a few metres away from them. "Oh no, not now, please not now."
A birght pink flamingo
A tango dancer in a flaming red dress
Files on a Sergey Kaplov
Images of Kaplov's kills
A tango dancer in a flaming red dress
A bright pink flamingo
"Did you just flash?" Sarah asks, concerned.
"That is Sergey Kaplov, ex-KGB, now a hired gun," he whispers back. "I'm sure he's just here for the superb prawn dump-"
"He's got a gun."
"So? You've got a gun too."
Sarah looks at him. "About that…"
The nerd slaps himself in the head. "Of course you didn't bring your gun. Just had to jinx it."
"Chuck, I don't bring guns on dates!"
"What? Why?"
"Because it's a date!"
"Is everything okay, sir?" the waiter inquires. "More water?"
"Yeah, water would be-"
A man wading out to sea
A run-down motorcar
Files on a Lora Rhodes
Photos of Rhodes making bombs and setting timers
Newspaper articles on explosions in Chechnya
A run-down motorcar
A man wading out to sea
"-good." Chuck puts on a fake smile and the waiter nods, heading back to the kitchen. Sarah is now looking worried. "Sarah, that was Lora Rhodes, private mercenary, responsible for the murders of hundreds of civilians in Chechnya." Chuck turns around to check on Rhodes' position, and catches sight of a table of people sitting close by the window.
Sarah shakes his arm. "What is it? Where's Rhodes?"
"Sarah," Chuck hisses out. "I think we're surrounded."
"I'm calling Casey," Sarah whispers back, reaching for her phone. Immediately, the assembled mercenaries stand up and train their weapons on them. Chuck shrieks.
"I wouldn't try that if I were you." A man clad in a posh suit steps in and cocks his gun in Chuck's face. "Would you mind telling me who you are?"
Chuck gulps at the sight of the weapon. "I'm, uh, nobody! Really, really nobody! And she's nobody too! Well, not nobody per se, because she's my girlfriend, you see, but I'm guessing she's nobody to you, huh, right?"
Patel sneers. "On the contrary, I happen to have a great deal of interest in your lady friend. She and I have some unfinished business." He points the gun at the blonde. "Now, you're going to tell me where your partner is right now or I'll blow your brains out." Sarah makes no response and he presses the barrel against her temple. "Do you want to die?"
There is a blur of movement and Patel screams, clutching at his throat, from where two wooden chopsticks are protruding. Sarah yanks the gun from his grip and, pulling Chuck to the ground with her, opens fire on Kaplov, tagging him in the shoulder and stomach. He topples over his chair and hits the floor with a thud.
All hell breaks loose as the assembled mercenaries fire their weapons at the couple. "Chuck!" she shouts. "Call for back-up!"
Chuck reaches into his pocket and pauses. "I, um, left my phone in my room." Sarah glares daggers at him. "What? You left your gun in your room!"
Sarah fires off another few rounds. "Need I remind you again, I do not bring guns on dates!" Another few shots. "You're damn lucky I've got my phone! Back pocket!"
Carina is throwing knives aimlessly at a chopping board in Casey's apartment. Hmm. So, Walker's gone and found herself a replacement for ol' Bryce Larkin. Good for her.
To be honest, she never really liked Larkin (the guy was more cocky than she thought was possible), and beyond a good one-night-stand she can't really see what Sarah saw in him to make it a semi-proper relationship. She tosses another knife.
This Charles Carmichael business is an entirely different matter. Sarah is possessive, protective, and downright aggressive when it comes down to him, and this is something Carina never saw during the entirety of the blonde's relationship with Larkin. Maybe that says something. Maybe Sarah really loved the guy.
She throws again, only this time the knife is caught in the air, millimetres from the board. "Casey!" she whines playfully.
The Major growls warningly. "This is not a playground, Miller."
"Could've fooled me," she mutters under her breath. "So, Casey, you remember that night in Jakarta?"
"I try not to."
"You ever wonder what could have happen that night if you hadn't chickened out and ran?"
"First of all, I did not chicken out. My mission was over. So I left. Second of all, no, I do not. Not all of us are driven by a insatiable libido."
"Well put, Major," she gets up and wraps herself around him. "Now, I'm going to show you what you missed." Casey can barely get a grunt out before Carina pulls him onto the ground.
A long hour later, Casey pulls himself into a standing position, supporting himself on the table. His face twitches slightly in pain as he massages his back, and he staggers forwards the fridge.
Carina giggles as she gets up. "Wow, John, I never knew you had it in you," she purrs. "I hope you liked it, and, judging by your grunts during it, it seems you did." She laughs again when Casey growls in annoyance and takes a swig of cold water.
"This doesn't change anything between us, Miller."
"Oh, I know. The last ten times didn't change a thing - you're still Uncle Sam's biggest fan, and me? Well, I'm just me." She sneaks a bottle of beer out of his fridge and flicks off the lid with a knife. "What did you do to get stationed in this suburban bore? You didn't kill somebody you weren't supposed to, did you?"
"Don't want to talk about it." He brings his glass to his lips just as his phone rings. He picks it up. "Walker?"
"Casey? Casey! It's Chuck!" the nerd screams into the phone over loud gunfire. "We have a problem!"
Casey grabs his car keys and ushers Carina to the door. "Where are you?"
"The Paper Lantern in Chinatown!"
"Hurry the hell up!" shouts Sarah. "I'm nearly out of ammo!"
Casey hangs up and rushes to his Crown Vic, slipping inside and revving the engine up. Carina gets into the front passenger seat with a small smirk. "Boy, do you have an antiquated taste," she remarks.
"Can it, Miller," the Major growls. "Gun in the glove compartment." He reverses out of the parking lot and floors it, darting past a long line of traffic. Carina finds the weapon and loads it.
"What's the problem?"
"Walker and the moron managed to get themselves into trouble," comes the reply. "I'm guessing your friend Patel's looking for a good bit of revenge." He grins evilly. "Finally, time for some gunplay."
The CIA agent tosses her empty gun to the floor and forward rolls from behind her cover, before returning to a standing position, engaging Rhodes in a vicious duel. She feints a punch to the right, and then strikes out with he left fist, catching the mercenary in the gut and sending reeling slightly. Rhodes recovers, however, and succeeds in landing a kick to Sarah's abdomen, knocking her back to Chuck's position.
She is pissed, to say the least. Attemtping to kill her was one thing. Doing so whilst she was on a date with her Chuck was another. Getting back to her feet, she launches herself forward and delivers a hard punch to her opponent's jaw, grinning at the resounding crack as the bone fractures. Rhodes staggers backwards.
Sarah turns just in time to see a Crown Vic heading straight for the restaurant at breackneck speed and, reacting immediately, aims a kick at the nerd, and knocks him out of the way of the incoming car before diving to the side herself. With a loud crash, the Crown Vic plows through the front of the restaurant, slamming into Rhodes and catapulting her into the back table, causing the remaining baddies to scatter in search for cover.
"Somebody order drive-thru?" Casey announces as he steps out, firing as he goes. Carina rolls her eyes and follows suite, tacking cover behind an overturned table.
Chuck stares at Casey with disbelief. "Ha! Somebody order drive-thru! Ha ha ha! Did you think that up when you were driving here? Hey, maybe I'll say this after I crash into the restaurant!" Casey gives him a withering look in response and takes a few shots.
"Nice work, Walker," comments Carina observing a bled-out Patel lying among the broken furniture and plates. "Chopsticks to the throat. Not a nice way to go." She drops two guys with single taps to the chest. "Looks like I'm winning, Casey!" The Major merely grunts in response and continues to shoot.
Meanwhile, Sarah grabs Chuck and shoves him rather unceremoniously into the back seat of the Vic, slamming the door shut behind him. "Stay in the car!" she hollers over the gunshots.
"But-" Several bullets ping off the hood and Chuck throws himself to the floor with a shriek. "I will!"
Half an hour later
"-and that was how our first meeting went." Carina grins smugly at Casey.
There is an uncomfortable silence as Casey drives the four of them back to Echo Park. "That I did not need to know," Chuck mutters. Sarah agrees silently.
"Miller…" Casey growls with due anger. His hands tighten on the steering wheel.
"What?" The DEA agent asks innocently. "I thought it was a great story."
Before Casey can make a retort, Chuck coughs loudly. "No more stories, please, Carina. I think you've already given me enough sleepless nights with your last one." He glances behind them to look for, if any, cars in pursuit. "How the hell did Patel escape?" I distinctly remember you saying that he was supposed to be locked up in some Supermax prison."
"Someone must have screwed up," Casey says with a twinge of annoyance. "I'd love to know who did. Give them a good old session of disciplining."
The rest of the journey is silent and after ten minutes, the Crown Vic pulls up in the parking lot. They head back to Casey's apartment, but he stops the DEA agent from entering.
"We need a private debrief with the General," Casey grunts. "Wait here."
The team, minus Carina, put in a call to General Beckman.
"General." Casey salutes his superior briefly.
"Major Casey, I hope you have an explanation for the spectacle you caused in Chinatown."
"The arms dealer we took down somehow managed to escape," the Major says. "He went after Agent Walker and the Intersect, but was eliminated when Agent Miller and I provided back-up."
"I wasn't aware of the sitatuon," Beckman replies. "However, I have just dispatched a NSA cleaner team to deal with the scene. Your covers should be intact." She turns her attention to a new report an assistant places on her desk. "Thank you, Barbara." Flicking through it, a frown develops. "Schmidt was found dead in a dumpster downtown. It seems that somebody is cleaning up loose ends."
"Could it be… Fulcrum?" Sarah ventures. "Schmidt loses them a major piece of their network, gets executed as retribution."
"We're treating it as a definite probability at the current moment," the General responds. "The Fulcrum server we captured has turned up a vast amount of intel on their organisation and, thanks to your efforts, we know now the identities of several Fulcrum agents within the CIA and NSA. We have also intercepted a package being in transit to LA, and our technicians are dealing with it as we speak." Before signing off, she offers them a small smile. "Good job."
"So that wasn't too bad, was it?" Chuck asks cheerfully. "I mean, I only need about several thousand volts to wipe the image of a naked Casey tied to a bedframe from my mind." Casey growls loudly and the nerd takes it as a cue to leg it. Sarah follows with a smile.
"You're kinda tempting fate, aren't you?" the blonde says.
"I know, but it's too hard to resist, you know?" Chuck grins, and quickly kisses her. "Rather like you."
Sarah smiles back. "Thanks. You're not so bad yourself, you know."
Chuck pouts. "Puh-leese, I'm fantastic."
"Yeah. You are." They kiss briefly again, and then hug, enjoying the feeling of each other.
"Awwww…" sighs a woman's voice from across the yard. "They're so sweet!"
"It's just really awesome Chuck's finally found himself a girl that loves him as much as he loves her," agrees Devon, watching on from the doorway. "I wonder how long it's going to be before we hear wedding bells chiming."
"Not too long, I hope," Ellie says, giving her boyfriend a pointed look. She shifts her gaze back to the couple in the courtyard. "Hey! Chuck! Sarah! Dinner's ready! And I've made your favourites!"
Chuck smiles. "The call of Ellie. Come on, lets's go in before she goes hyper." He takes his girlfriend's hand and they head to their apartment.
After dinner, Chuck walks Sarah back to her apartment and after a rather long and eventful goodbye, the nerd saunters down the stairs with a grin plastered on his face. He does a little victory dance, and when he finishes he realises Carina, who has not yet left, was watching him the whole time. "Um, uh, ahem," he coughs hurriedly. "I was, uh…" He trails off and a faint tint of red develops on his face.
"Charles." Carina walks up purposefully to him, and Chuck immediately covers his mouth. "I'm not going to kiss you. I need to tell you something." Chuck slowly relaxes, still watching the red-head carefully. "I can see that you and Sarah are clearly in love, and that's great. She's my best friend, and she deserves someone to love her. Just don't hurt her."
"I wasn't planning to," Chuck answers firmly. "Ever. Sarah's… Sarah's the best thing in my whole screwed up life right now, and will be for the rest of it."
Carina allows herself a smile, satisfied. "Good. You'd better, or I'll come back and kick what's left of your ass after Sarah's done with it." She turns to leave, but stops midway. "Seriously though, after the whole Larkin disaster, Sarah really doesn't another heartbreak."
"I kno-" Chuck stops mid-sentence. "Wait. What "Larkin disaster"?"
"Bryce Larkin, her old boyfriend. He went rogue and got killed," Carina explains. "Betrayed her and stomped all over her heart. Didn't you know?"
"No." He keeps the shock from showing on his face. "I didn't."
Meanwhilst, the Major is in his own apartment, doing a little R&R. He brings a glass of Johnny Walker Blue to his lips and visibly relaxes after a long drink. He hits play on a remote and settles himself down for an evening of old war films.
Just as the first Howitzer goes off, the film cuts out, replaced by the face of General Beckman. "Major Casey. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
"No, ma'am," Casey answers. "May I ask why you're calling, General?"
"The package we intercepted earlier was opened by our technicians ten minutes ago." Beckamn pauses, and takes her glasses off. "Bryce Larkin was inside."
So here's chapter 6 for y'all, worked hard for this update, so please review!
Chapter 7's already in the works, so you can look forward to another update, maybe in a week and a half... (damn real world)
P.S. Thanks to coreymon77 for being my beta, he helped me shape this story, so everybody give him some applause.