A/N: yeah, I know it's been a little while…sorry about that…things have been a little strange…I got a bunch of chapters almost finished…hopefully by the weekend…thanks to everyone for their patience and to Grey Alchemist, YGBSM and Wassupchuck for the notes and kind words…had a little mental hiccup and not sure how this chapter turned out…hopefully you, the kind and patient reviewers will let me know…thanks to Quistie for a story that keeps me smiling and if, by some cruel twist of fate you haven't been reading her Sound of Music mash-up…well, there really is no excuse…stop reading this twaddle and go find that story…see how a great writer does it…and then come back here for a little compare and contrast…you be glad you did…go read Quistie's stuff, that is…not necessarily the coming back here part…as always, reviews are greatly appreciated and encourage because your opinions on my scribbles…like 'em or hate 'em…are always nice to get…DON'T OWN CHUCK…or make money doing this…and still Beta free.
Wasn't having fun for a while there but it seems to be slowly coming back around. JT
Bryce Larkin - Douche Bag At Large - Chapter 15
Chuck looked up from the paperwork he'd been concentrating on at the sound of the tiny service bell to find Sarah standing in front of him. Glancing at his watch, he was surprised to find that it was a little after eight o'clock. The last three hours had flown by while he'd been catching up on old installation reports. Normally it would have taken half the time he'd spent on the forms but he had been continually interrupted by Jeff and Lester as they told anyone who would listen about the view of perfection they'd experienced earlier in the day. He found himself smiling when he remembered some of the more outlandish versions of the story he'd heard, marveling at the way Lester had turned a one second flash into a try-out for the latest GIRLS GONE WILD video.
"Hi Chuck" Sarah said with a smile when his eyes met hers.
"Holy crap!" Chuck blurted out when his mind connected the dots after he realized that Lester and Jeff had been out of sight for almost twenty minutes. Taking note of the sudden confused look on Sarah's face, he promised himself to explain the odd greeting once he'd investigated the theory that he'd just formulated. "Be right back" he said as he jumped up and started moving towards Big Mike's office, hoping he was wrong and, if he was right, hoping he got to the two idiots in time.
He was about half way to the office when John Casey stepped into the aisle, forcing him to do a spinning side step to get around the big man. Ignoring the 'what the hell, Bartowski?' he heard from behind him, he closed the remaining distance to the office and skidded to a stop, one hand reaching for the door knob. Giving the knob a quick twist, he grimaced when he realized that the door was locked. Trying to not waste any time, he pulled his keys from his pocket and quickly unlocked the door. Throwing open the door, he rushed across the office and roughly shoved Jeff and Lester away from Big Mike's desk.
"What the hell, Charles?" Lester yelled as he struggled to stay on his feet, clutching at Jeff in the attempt to remain upright. The shove, combined with Jeff's questionable sobriety, proved to be too much to overcome as the two Nerdherders fell to the floor in a tangle of limbs.
"Hey!" Jeff slurred, obviously confused about his sudden horizontal position.
"Charles, you have no right…" Lester started before shutting up when he took note of the glare being directed down at him.
Chuck held up a finger in a stalling gesture and after taking note of the worried look on the faces looking up at him, he turned back to the desk top and looked at the monitor, not at all surprised to find that the morons had accessed the stores closed-circuit system and were in the process of trying to download the footage of Sarah's flash from earlier in the day. After taking a moment to enjoy the sight of the beautiful blonde and her amazing breasts, he went to work erasing all of the footage, ignoring the pleas of Lester and Jeff as they begged him to stop what he was doing. He ignored the pair as he went through all of the recent work on his bosses computer, making sure that the now whimpering pair hadn't sent the images…anywhere. Five minutes later, sure that he'd been in time, he finally allowed himself a sigh of relief as he leaned back in Big Mike's chair.
"Well, Charles, I'm afraid that Jeffrey and I are left with no choice. We're going to have to report your 'abuse' to corporate. You know that Buymore frowns on employees laying their hands on their fellow employees and…"
"Shut up!" Chuck hissed at the two men who were slowing getting to their feet. "You broke into Big Mike's office. You used his computer to access security footage…that is off limits to everyone except the store manager or his superiors. You attempted to download images from said footage and then you were planning to send the images to several websites that are on the restricted access list for Buymore work computers."
"Well, maybe we can reach an agreeable compromise…" Lester responded as he made a show off dusting himself off and straightening his tie.
"Lester, have you forgotten the paperwork from the other day? You're hanging by your fingernails and if you do one more thing…just one more, teeny, tiny, thing, I'm going to make sure that you're out of here, permanently. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"
"Uh, yes" was all Lester could say as he mopped at the sweat that was now covering his forehead.
"Good. Now, give me the key" he said as he held out his hand towards the two men.
"Uh, Charles, what key are you referring to…exactly?" Lester asked while he seemed to be searching for an escape route from Big Mike's office. When he realized that Chuck was effectively blocking the only means of escape, he decided to check on his shoes, hoping that, if he ignored he question, it would go away.
"Alright…Jeff, where's the key?"
"I'm sure that there's no key in Lester's pocket" the older man answered.
Chuck struggled to keep the smile from his face. "Lester, give me the key. You know you're not supposed to have it and if it's not in my hand in fifteen seconds, I'll go ahead and pull up the footage of the two of you entering this office…without permission…and I'll forward it to corporate…along with everything else. Have you got your resume updated? In five seconds, if that key isn't in my hand, you'll get the opportunity to see if anyone wants to hire you."
"Here you go, Charles." Lester said as the key in question seemed to magically appear in his hand. "I'm not sure where Jeffrey found this…"
"Hey…" Jeff blurted out, still looking confused.
"Shut up, both of you. Now, get out of Bog Mike's office and don't let me catch you in here…again." Chuck said as he stepped to the door and gestured for the two men to leave. After Jeff and Lester had exited the office, Chuck pulled the door shut behind him, making sure that it was locked. He promised himself that tomorrow he'd suggest to Big Mike that he might want to have his lock changed, sure that Lester probably had multiple copies of the key he'd just confiscated.
Chuck made his way to the Nerd Herd desk, hoping that Sarah hadn't taken his 'holy crap' greeting the wrong way, promising to explain everything to her once they got out of the store. When he opened the 'employee's only' door, he paused when he caught sight of John Casey standing with Sarah, wondering what the NSA agent was up to. Just as he stepped behind the desk, Casey grunted in his direction and then walked away.
"Sarah, I'm sorry about running off on you like that. The two pervs were up to something and I'm actually glad I caught up with them before it was too late" Chuck said while he reached under the counter and pulled out the plastic bag that contained the remnants of Sarah's phone that she'd left with him earlier in the day. After handing her the bag, he reached under the counter again and produced a small box which he extended towards the blonde standing in front of him.
"As promised, one new phone. It seems that the 'crazy woman' who you said destroyed your phone, wasn't able to damage the SIM card so, I was able to put all of your old information into your new phone" Chuck said as he held up the new phone. "Now, Sarah, while I was transferring the information, I noticed that it seems that the 'crazy woman' seems to have taken a number of photos of me, asleep, and somehow, the sheets seem to have fallen completely off of me."
"Really? Wow, I can't imagine how that happened" Sarah said with a smile as she snatched the phone from Chuck's hand and quickly stuffed it into her pocket.
"Well, it seems that you don't need and help figuring out how to use your phone's camera" Chuck replied with a pout, "so, I guess the 'photo shoot' tonight is cancelled?"
Sarah leaned across the counter and grabbed Chuck's tie, using it to pull him towards her. Leaning in, she whispered into his ear. "It's a new phone, Chuck, and I still want you to show me how to use the camera…and if some of our clothes happen to fall off while you're teaching me how to use my phone, well, we'll just have to deal with it" she said and then gave his earlobe a nip before releasing his tie.
Uh, ok, I think that would be alright."
"Alright, Chuck? I have a feeling it will be a little more than alright. Now, why did you disappear as soon as I said 'hi'?"
"Well, I think that I'll save that story for later. I was hoping that you wouldn't mind giving me a ride to my place so I could grab some clean clothes."
"Of course. I'd also to be happy to help you get changed…if you'd like…after we stop by Casey's."
"Why are we stopping by Casey's?" Chuck asked as he rounded the counter and paused at Sarah's side, offering his arm.
"Well, the powers that be have requested a meeting. It seems that we have a mission tomorrow night and the Director and the General want to have a briefing" Sarah answered after taking his arm and following him towards the front door.
"A mission? What's up?"
"I honestly don't know any more than you do. Casey just told me about it, right before you got back." Sarah said as they approached her Porsche. After unlocking the passenger door, she waited until Chuck had eased himself into the seat and then slid in, making herself comfortable in his lap. "I've been needing something from you since I dropped you off after lunch"
"Oh really. And what that be, Miss Walker?"
"This" she said as she threw her arms around his neck and pulled herself to him, her lips attaching themselves to his and her tongue demanding, and be granted entrance. The kiss became very intense, very quickly and it was only the sound of a disgusted grunt that made the pair break the contact.
"Get a room…after the briefing" Casey growled at them as he walked past, heading towards the Crown Vic that was parked just a few spaces away. "Seriously, briefing…don't be late" he added over his shoulder as he un-locked his door and climbed into his car.
After watching Casey pull away, Sarah was about to return to the kiss that had been interrupted and was surprised when she felt Chuck pushing her off of his lap. "What? Did I do something wrong, Chuck?"
"Of course not…that was very right, as a matter of fact. I just think that the sooner we get this briefing thing done with, the sooner we can get to your camera tutorial" he said, adding the Bartowski eyebrow dance which earned him a smile and a quick kiss on the cheek before Sarah pulled herself across him and into the drivers seat. "You really are a temptress…you know that, right?" he asked after Sarah had managed to grope, fondle and rub her breasts against him while she was sliding over to the driver's side bucket seat.
"Who, me?" she answered, offering her best innocent look before starting the car. "Buckle up, Chuck. I feel like seeing if I can beat Casey."
Chuck thought about crossing himself after he'd made sure his seat belt was in place but decided against it when Sarah's sudden acceleration made it difficult to move. When the car drifted sideways as Sarah pulled out of the parking lot, he simply closed his eyes and sank back into the seat.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"We're here , Chuck. You can open your eyes now."
Following Sarah's suggestion, Chuck opened his eyes and was surprised to see his sister and her boyfriend standing on the sidewalk, less than ten feet from the parking space that Sarah had managed to slide into, literally, after cutting John Casey off. Both Ellie and Devon stood there with their mouths hanging open, a shocked look on their faces.
"Sarah, I hate to say it but my sister doesn't look happy. You're in trouble." Chuck said as he opened his door and started to get out.
"Chuck? What the hell is your problem? Are you trying to kill somebody?" Ellie asked as she took a step towards him.
"What? Ellie, did you notice what side of the car I just got out of? I was a passenger…Sarah was…" Chuck stopped mid-sentence, not knowing what to say next. He looked across the roof of the car at Sarah who'd just gotten out of the vehicle and then looked back at his sister. Shaking his head, he decided to just wait to see what would happen next.
"Ellie, I'm sorry. It was my fault" Sarah said. "I was in a hurry to get Chuck back here so he could…uh, I…sorry, I really have no excuse. I wanted to beat John back here from the Buymore. Chuck really had nothing to do with it" Sarah said as she made her way around the car and came to stand beside Chuck.
Ellie seemed to consider what Sarah had said and then, having reached a decision, walked over and smacked the blonde woman on the wrist. "This is a residential area, Sarah. I really hope you don't drive like that all the time. Now, do you guys have plans or would you like to join Devon and I for a movie night?"
Chuck was dumbfounded at his sister's sudden change in attitude and didn't know how to respond. Sarah spoke up for both of them. "We don't have any plans and after we stop by John's for a few minutes, we'd be glad to join you guys for a movie…isn't that right, Chuck?"
"Uh…yeah, that would be great" Chuck replied, still confused and just following Sarah's lead.
"Alright, Ellie, we'll see you guys in a few minutes" Sarah said after she hooked her arm through Chuck's and started to lead him towards Casey's apartment.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The briefing lasted almost thirty minutes and it seemed to Chuck that most of the time was spent asking him the same questions, two or three times. The first order of business had been an announcement that the three of them would be attending a charity art auction the following night because several agents had been killed while tracking a painting that had been on display in a museum in Iraq which would be auctioned off at the event. When an image of the painting in question had appeared on the monitor, Chuck had flashed and then asked who 'La Ciudad' was. When he mentioned the name, both Director Graham and General Beckman expressed a sudden, intense curiosity about what he knew while Sarah and Casey both stared at him, waiting to hear what he said. After going over all of the information he'd gleaned from the flash, he spent the rest of the meeting going back over the same information while Sarah and Casey explained how things would happen the next night.
Chuck had been appalled when he'd seen all of the acts that were attributed to La Ciudad and he couldn't believe that they were expected to somehow identify someone who'd never been photographed. When he'd expressed his worry, Casey had simply grunted, telling him to 'man up' under his breath. Director Graham added that MI6 had an agent who would also be at the event, suggesting that charity events rarely got dangerous and that as long as he dressed appropriately, he shouldn't have any problems. Moments later the video conference ended, leaving the three of them staring at each other.
When Chuck had pointed out that he didn't own a tuxedo, Sarah had promised to take him shopping for some new clothes, telling him that the CIA would be picking up the bill for whatever new clothes he might need. When Casey had mumbled under his breath about Sarah having a new doll to play dress up with, she'd given him the classic one-fingered salute and then grabbed Chuck's hand, pulling him towards the front door.
"C'mon, your sister is waiting for us" Sarah said as she lead the way across the courtyard, letting go of Chuck's hand once they'd reached the front door of Casa Bartowski where she'd let him take the lead. She followed him into the apartment and wasn't surprised to find Ellie and Devon curled up together on the couch, the pair looking thru the 'on-demand' schedule.
"About time you guys got here" Ellie said when she noticed the pair as they walked into the living room. "Devon and I were trying to decide what to watch tonight…any thoughts?"
Chuck lead Sarah over to the large recliner and once he'd made sure she took the seat, he turned and headed towards the kitchen. "Anything will be fine. Sarah, beer?"
"That sounds great, Chuck" she answered while she watched Ellie and Devon as they skimmed the listings, making comments about different titles. Sarah would be the first to admit that she knew next to nothing about current movies and she was really hoping that Ellie wouldn't ask her any questions that would showcase that fact. Just as Chuck returned from the kitchen with two beers, Ellie asked her what movie she'd like to watch. "Anything would be fine. I'll leave it up to you guys" she answered as she took the offered beer from Chuck's hand and then watched as he sat down in front of the chair she was sitting in, making himself comfortable by leaning back against the foot rest. Moving her knees, she smiled when he slid further back and casually draped his left arm over her knee and then leaned his head back. Taking advantage of the situation, Sarah gave into temptation and gently ran her fingers through his curls, marveling at the soft feel. Looking up, she found Ellie's eyes on her and she quickly leaned back, pulling her fingers loose and dropping her hand back on to the armrest.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Sarah was still smiling when the movie ended and Chuck got up from between her knees, excusing himself to go and get changed. She immediately missed his presence and the strangely wonderful feeling of normalcy that just watching a cartoon about a super powered family had left her with. Looking up when Ellie got to her feet and headed towards the kitchen, she wondered what the older woman wanted when she'd asked Sarah to join her. Once in the kitchen, she'd been wondering what was going on.
"What exactly is going on, Sarah?"
"Well, your brother and I were going to go out for a while and then, hopefully, head back to my place so we could…well, um…"
"Sarah, I have a pretty good idea what's going on between you two. That wasn't what I was referring to. My brother is a big boy and…"
"Yes, yes he is" Sarah mumbled and was mortified when she realized that Ellie had heard her. She felt the warmth rising and settling into her cheeks, hoping that the brunette wouldn't notice the blush that she was sure was now creeping towards her hairline.
"Sarah, what the hell? I didn't need to hear that!"
"I'm sorry, Ellie. That just slipped out" she replied, surprised by how embarrassed she felt.
"I wanted to know what's going on with your bosses. What was the meeting at John Casey's all about?"
"Well, uh, we're going to an art auction tomorrow night" she answered, hoping that would be enough information but pretty sure that it wouldn't be.
"You're taking my brother on some mission tomorrow night?"
"Well, I, uh, I can't really talk about the specifics…"
"So, my brother's working for the government now?"
"Working? Well, uh…"
"He is getting paid , right?"
"Well, uh, no?" she answered, wondering where this line of questions was leading.
"What?" Ellie blurted out with a look of disbelief on her face. "Chuck!"
Chuck dashed into the kitchen with a concerned look on his face. "Ellie? What's wrong, El?"
Taking a quick step towards him, Ellie swung her hand out and smacked her brother on the back of the head. "Are you going on missions…and not getting paid?"
"Well, I haven't actually gone any missions"
"Are you going to some sort of function tomorrow night, for the government, and you're not going to be paid for your time?"
"Well, um, yes?" Chuck offered after a quick look at Sarah who looked as confused as he felt.
"No!" Ellie said as she reached out and grabbed her bother's earlobe before he could move. Before Chuck could say a word, his sister was pulling him towards the apartment's front door, pausing briefly to tell a startled Devon that she'd be back in a few minutes and she'd explain everything then. Sarah followed Chuck as he stumbled along behind his sister as she crossed the courtyard, making a beeline for John Casey's apartment. Stopping at the door, Ellie used her empty hand to pound out a demand for entrance. Once the door opened, the elder Bartowski pushed past the confused NSA agent, dragging her brother along behind her. Seeing the questioning look on her partner's face, Sarah shrugged her shoulders because she had no idea what was going on.
John Casey watched as the trio walk past him and he closed his door once everyone was inside. Turning around, he found Ellie Bartowski glaring at him with an open hand extended towards him, palm up.
"John, call your bosses and then give me the phone"
"What?" Casey replied, wondering just what was going on.
"Right now, John!"
"It's a bit late to call…"
"Bullshit, John. Call your boss…right now!"
After he looked at his partner and got another shoulder shrug, Agent John Casey pulled his phone from his pocket and hit the speed dial and then put the phone to his ear.
"General…yes I know it's late…"
"Give me the phone, John. Right now!" Ellie said with a snap of her fingers.
"Well, General, I have someone here who is demanding to speak to you. Yes ma'am, I…" Casey was interrupted when Ellie simply snatched the phone from his hand, released her hold on Chuck's ear and then took a couple of steps away before putting the phone to her ear.
"Hello, General?…this is Eleanor Faye Bartowski…I don't care what time it is and your rank doesn't mean a thing to me. What I want to know why you seem to expect my brother to work for you without paying him for his time…yes, I'm very serious…he didn't ask for that douche bag, Bryce Larkin to give him that shit…well, because Bryce Larkin was working for you…I don't care if wasn't acting under orders, he was your employee at the time when he endangered my brother by giving him the intersect and I'm holding you responsible…NSA, CIA, I don't care! You will arrange to pay my brother for his time because it's the right thing to do…yes, I know what the intersect is…oh, really? Well, I wasn't threatening you, I was simply pointing out to you that if my little brother is going to be involved with this spy shit, you should be paying him for his time…yes, I think that would be a very good idea…you have a good night as well…yes, I'll put him back on…goodbye" Ellie finished and then handed the phone back to a dumbfounded John Casey. "Thank you, John" she said before turning and heading for the front door.
Sarah couldn't believe what she'd just witnessed and she was sure that the dis-belief must have shown on her face. After catching Chuck's eye, she nodded towards the still open front door and the retreating form of his sister. Reaching out, she took his hand and after giving a nod to Casey, who was listening intently to whatever General Diane Beckman had to say, she headed towards the door and the courtyard beyond. Closing the door behind them, she leads the way to the fountain and pulled Chuck down to sit beside her.
"Your sister can be a little scary, you know what I mean?" Sarah said as she wrapped her arm around his waist and pulled herself close to him.
"I know what you mean" Chuck answered with a smile. "She's been like that for as long as I can remember"
"Well, it looks like you just got a second job thanks to your sister. So how does it feel to be a government employee?"
"I think I wait until I see an actual paycheck before I answer that question. So, what would you like to do now?" Chuck asked as he leaned back so he could look into Sarah's eyes.
"Well, I thought we'd start with this" she replied and then pulled him to her for a kiss that quickly escalated, leaving them both short of breath when they finally broke apart a couple of minutes later.
"That was certainly a great way to start. What did you have planned after that?"
"Well, I thought we'd go and pack you an overnight bag and then we'd go to my place so you could show me how the camera on my phone works. Does that sound like a good plan?"
"Well, at some point, does this plan involve you in less clothing than you're wearing right now? After all, I seem to recall finding out that you've taken some pictures of me with little clothing and I was hoping to have the opportunity to return the favor" Chuck said while offering the Bartowski eyebrow dance.
Sarah reached a hand towards on her blouse and un-buttoned the top button. "I'd be happy to start the 'less clothing' thing right now, if you'd like."
Chuck reached out to stop Sarah's hands as they moved towards the next button "Why don't we save that for a less public location?"
"Like my car? Or the elevator at my hotel?" Sarah asked, dropping one of her hands to his thigh and slowly moving it towards his crotch.
Moving quickly, Chuck grabbed Sarah's hand and got to his feet, pulling her towards the apartment. Why don't we go pack that overnight bag and then we can move this discussion to your place."
"Well, if you're sure that I can't talk you into a little courtyard sex…"
"Go start the car. I'll go grab some clothes and be right out."
"Are you sure you don't want my help?"
"Oh yeah, I'm sure. I'll be out in five minutes"
"If you insist. Please tell Ellie thank you for me. I'm so happy she invited me for a movie night." Sarah said before pulling Chuck in for a surprisingly quick kiss. "Now, hurry up. The sooner we get to my place, the sooner we can have that photo shoot."
"Yes ma'am" Chuck answered before turning away and heading towards Casa Bartowski. Looking back over his shoulder he couldn't help smiling when he caught Sarah staring at his ass. "Hey, shouldn't you be heading to your car?"
"I just wanted to make sure you got home safe"
"Sarah, really? You know you could just say that you like looking at my butt."
"Chuck, go pack that overnight bag" Sarah said as she slowly started walking towards the parking lot. "Chuck?"
"Yeah Sarah"
"I do like looking at your butt"
A/N:2 - Coming next…the first mission and La Ciudad. Sorry about the wait. JT