Chuck Versus a Man called Crescent
This is my first story arc guys so be cool…..
Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck, but I do own the characters I create. No-one steals Crescent from me, oh no no they don't.
Some Stones are Better Left Unturned
At exactly eight o'clock, Daine knocks on the door, wearing a loose blue shirt with rolled up sleeves and a simple pair of jeans. As the door opens, he puts on his fake smile and greets his new neighbours. "Good evening," he says, "I hope I'm not late."
"Of course not, in fact you're right on time," says Devon. "Come on in, bro. Make yourself comfortable. Ellie! Our guest is here!" Ellie pops out from behind the counter with a baking tray with cookies on it. She immediately puts them down, hurries over to Daine and reaches for out a hug, which he reciprocates.
"Thank you for coming tonight, Daine, dinner will be ready soon." she says. "You look great!" He smiles, responding with the same compliment and causes her to smile as well. Something bubbles dangerously close to the edge of a pot and she almost leaps back to the kitchen to deal with it. Suddenly, she screams and the two guys rush over. "Are you hurt?" exclaims Devon, and his wife shakes her head, pointing at the pot roast with a pouting expression on her face.
"Honey, have you eaten tonight's dinner already?" she says with gritted teeth and a forced smile. "If you have, you have a lot to answer for!" Devon steps back as she approaches him brandishing a spatula at him in a menacing manner. "No, babe, I didn't, it must have been an animal or one of Chuck's friends from the BuyMore."
Ellie gasps. "You let those weirdos in here and left them alone with our food? You're coming with me, mister, and we are having a talk about who you can or cannot let into our apartment." She effectively drags him behind her and Devon shoots an apologetic glance at Daine. When he is alone, he pulls out the locket, which he flicks open, and gazes on the image of him and the young woman from the other photo, sending him into a flashback into his past.
The crops in the field swayed and rippled like waves as soft breezes of wind blew over them. The sun shone brightly, reflecting off the stream running down the middle of the field and making it sparkle like a diamond. The surface of water was still and undisturbed, providing a perfect reflection of the clear blue sky above.
Suddenly, the reflection is shattered like a mirror into a million tiny shards as two figures jump in and splash each other, grinning and laughing out loud like young children. The woman jumps onto her partner and kisses him on the lips passionately, only breaking apart to catch a breath of the clear fresh air. The man smiles with genuine happiness and leads her under an old oak tree, where a picnic has already been set up. They eagerly tuck into the food and drink, and when they finish, she cuddles with him on a blanket and they stare out at the sky and enjoy the views until the sun sinks down and the moon rises accompanied by the brightness of the hundreds of stars dotted on the sky.
The moonlight reflects off her unblemished skin, bathing it in a beautiful glow. Her eyes shine just like the stars in the sky twinkling away above them. The man knows that this is the moment, and he takes out a small box and gets onto one knee, opening it in front of her, revealing a beautiful ring studded with diamonds in the shape of a crescent moon. He looks deep into her eyes, and she gasps, seeming a little shocked. For a second, there is intolerable suspense, until she nods and crashes her lips onto his, pushing him over. She lies on top of him with the happiest expression on her face as she slips the ring onto her finger.
Daine is snapped out of his trance by the knocking on the door, which he answers, pulling open the door and revealing Chuck, who is still wearing his Nerd Herd uniform, and Sarah, who obviously had a lot of time to prepare since she was wearing a stunningly beautiful red dress. "Hello," he begins, attempting to greet the two, but they brush past him to say hello to Ellie and Devon instead. Casey also walks in, holding a bottle of red wine, but he stops and holds his hand out to Daine, who looks justifiably surprised but shakes his hand anyways.
"Guys, I'm sorry, but Devon here was an idiot and let in Jeff and Lester, who promptly ate our dinner for tonight," says Ellie, "so, if you don't mind, we'll have to either go out for dinner or stay in and call for some takeaway. I hope you're not too disappointed."
"Of course not sis. Personally I would like to stay here," replies Chuck. "I mean, it would be better if we could just have a more casual night and get to know our new neighbour." When no-one is watching, he glares at Daine with a look which said Remember what I said about not messing this up or else. The other guy acknowledges this with a nod, and speaks up. "How about this Chinese takeaway I know? Their dumplings are delicious, and so is the fried rice."
"Not a bad a idea, bro." responds Devon. "Any objections?" Seeing that everyone is happy with the choice, he picks up a phone, dials and begins to order some dishes. All the assembled people sit down and Sarah snuggles up to Chuck, who flashes her a million megawatt smile which made her melt inside every time he did it. The older Bartowski stifles a little sob and Devon asks her whether she is okay. "No, no, I'm fine, I just really happy that those two have finally decided to be together." "Thanks Ellie," smiles Sarah, and lightly kisses Chuck on the lips once. Casey also reacts, but it seems like he is stifling a groan and his sudden urge to vomit, and Daine's eyes just glaze over, as if he is remembering something else.
"Anyways," says Ellie, "as happy as I am for the two of you, I want to spend tonight finding out about Daine here." She turns to him. "So, what can you tell us about yourself? Where are you from? What do you do?" Daine doesn't answer for a second, but quickly replies. "Well, I was born in England, which is why I have this British accent, and I came over to the States to study at Harvard. Criminal Psychology." He takes a long drink from his glass. "That's when I met her. She was called Melissa. She was so…." Daine stops. "Sorry, it's just a little hard talking about her."
Ellie sighed. "You seem like a really nice guy, and I know you're having troubles trying to let go of your fiancé, but it's no use just wallowing in self-pity – whoever she was, she probably doesn't want to see you locking people out. That's what Chuck did for five years after he got dumped by his old girlfriend, until Sarah came along and made him happy. If you feel angry at me for saying this, I won't blame you, but I think you need someone like Sarah – to help you move on."
"Yeah." was his short response. "I guess you're probably right. I'll try, but I don't give you any promises for immediate actions on my part. I mean, who would ever go out with an emotional train wreck like me?" Devon speaks up, "Hey bro, don't sell yourself short, you have a kind heart and are pretty good-looking. I'm not pressuring you or anything, but I could think of several people I know who would love to go out with you."
"Thanks Devon."
"Don't sweat it, bro. And you can call me Captain Awesome. That's my nickname."
After the dinner, the guests leave, separating and going their own ways. Chuck, carrying a sleeping Sarah on his back, heads off to his apartment, attempting to unlock his door but ends up dropping his keys. He crouches slightly, and using his arm, he reaches out for his keys and feels Sarah slipping and immediately uses his arm to support her again. His dozing girlfriend must have felt it too, since she had gripped onto him a lot harder, like a koala bear hanging on to a tree, and started mumbling something that sounded like "don't leave me Chuck". He thinks, Not in a million years. I love you, Sarah Walker, and I wouldn't leave you even if I was going to die if I didn't.
By mere chance, the door to Casey's apartment opens, and the new room-mate walks out, clutching his chest and wheezing slightly. He takes a puff from his inhaler and exhales loudly in relief, and is almost surprised when he hears his "name" being called. Looking over, he sees Chuck looking a little annoyed and Sarah grabbing him with her arms like there was no tomorrow. "What's up, Chuck?" he asks. "The keys." gasps Chuck. "Door. Unlock. I'm about to be choked to death."
Daine picks up the keys from the ground and unlocks the door. "Thanks, Daine." Chuck says with gratitude after plopping Sarah on the couch. Robbed of her "mast", she unconsciously grabs a cushion and squeezes on it with all her might. "I almost died from strangulation." The other guy smiles and turns to leave, but Chuck stops him. "I also wanted to say thanks for not screwing up tonight."
"No problem. Just sticking to the rules." replies Daine. "Nothing to it." He starts to walk again, but Chuck halts him again. "Just one question – was your story about your fiancé real?" The other guy pauses for a moment, and then replies, "No Chuck. Of course she isn't. It was a pretty convincing lie, wasn't it? I'm a good operative, and I know settling down to a normal life with someone is dangerous for myself, as well as for them." With that, he returns to Casey's apartment, from which gunshots and explosions can be heard, leaving Chuck a little disappointed. It seemed so real at the time, he thinks, but like he said, it was a lie. Or was it? Breaking off from that line of thought, he closes the door and heads off to deal with Sarah.
The man awakes as he feels drops of water falling and hitting his skin. He reaches out around him to find his beautiful fiancé but strangely all warmth has gone from her. He sits bolt upright, looks at her and gasps. Her eyes are wide open and her mouth is agape. Her body is contorted and her arms and legs are bruised. He pulls her to him and whispers prayers into her ear, hoping for her to wake up and tell him it was a joke, but nothing happens. He picks her up, running into the rain and the wind, until he collapses onto his knees and cries out in anguish and despair.
The vividly disturbing dream shocks its dreamer into consciousness. He pants as he fights to breathe, and swings his legs over the side of the bed. His internal clock had not gone off yet, but the nightmare was enough to drive him from his sleep. Closing his eyes, Daine breathes out and tries to relax a little, but is disturbed by Casey banging on the door. "Get up, Reynolds, and get yourself ready. Briefing in ten minutes." The Colonel walks off and sees Chuck and Sarah walk in holding hands, and he makes a mental note to make the moron's life a little unbearable for the torture he'd been exposed to.
"So, Casey, how did you enjoy last night?" asks Chuck. "You were very quiet – scared we might ask about your lady feelings, Sugar Bear?" Casey's eyes flash with anger and it seems that he is about to rain down pain and suffering on Chuck, but the blonde steps in. "Now, boys, let's play nice," she says, staring daggers at Casey, and he backs down. "Where's Daine?"
"Sleepy boy still in bed." Came the grunted reply, just as Daine wanders in with only his trousers on, revealing a well toned and muscled upper body which glistened from a thin layer of sweat. Sarah's eyebrows shoot up and Chuck starts choking on his last bite of breakfast. "Good morning, team," says the half-naked Daine. "Casey, help Chuck or he'll choke to death." Casey looks as if he is considering whether he should just let the moron do so, until the ever-present look of death on Sarah's face convinces him to do otherwise. "Moron," says the grumpy man under his breath as he "unchokes" Chuck.
The General pops into existence on the screen and looks at the members of her top team, who are either in a state of undress, standing behind another member with their arms wrapped around them, or looking very unamused. "Will somebody please tell me what on earth is going on?" she asks, exasperated. "Did all of you get drunk last night?" Casey sniggers, looking at Chuck and Sarah, and says, "No, General, Bartowski here caused a matter of national emergency when he choked on a bit of pretzel."
"In my defence I don't normally get up in the morning to find half naked men standing in front of me." "Numb nut." "Hey, you can talk, Mr. Suga-"
"Enough! I am here to brief you on your next mission, not act as a parent to some unruly children!" After the situation diffuses, she continues. "We have reason to believe that the people who Mr. Reynolds' team at the art gallery was working for are part of the Ring, and since they have displayed a fair amount of unwanted interest in the Intersect, you are to infiltrate their base of operations and eliminate all of them. These are the targets." Several images of men in tuxedos appear alongside Beckman's face, and Chuck flashes on all six of them. "Yuri Petrovich, Vladmir Stravinsky, Kurt von Schleiffer and Heinrich Hoeffer," he spits out, "all wealthy and influential businessmen linked to the trafficking of illegal weapons and drugs, but never charged."
"That's right, Agent Bartowski, they have never been charged because of the protection they buy from corrupt government officials. Both the CIA and NSA have had their eyes on them, and now we have discovered their link to the Ring, we see it fit for us to strike and potentially cripple the organisation."
"So, this will be a quick in and out mission then, General?" asks Daine.
"If you call a trip into Siberia a quick mission, then yes, Mr. Reynolds. Oh yes, and one more thing – this mission will not be officially sanctioned by the CIA or NSA due to the high profile of these men, so mistakes cannot be afforded on your part. Do you all understand?"
So chapter 5 is complete, and you can expect more, but probably only an update a week. Look out for Team Bartowski's adventure in the Siberian goolags!