A/N: Thanks to Sharp for doing a beta. All new errors are my own. Also, I only own my laptop.
Chapter 5: Admissions of Truth
Outside Chuck Bartowski Hospital Room, Escondido, CA
The hospital ward was in chaos. The armed Fulcrum agents had silently entered the hospital intent on covertly checking each floor for signs of a patient who could be The Intersect. Instead, all hell had broken out
They had not expected to know anyone on the Intersect's security detail. They definitely did not expect to find Sarah Walker in the midst of a heated argument in the hallway.
However, not wanting to loose an opportunity, the closest Fulcrum agent fired his gun at the blond agent.
Sarah, sensing the attack at the last second, tackled Ellie to the ground. She instinctively pushed her body between Ellie and the gunman in an attempt to protect the young doctor. At the same time, she reached for her gun. But Sarah knew her effort was futile.
The armed man had the drop on her. Sarah heard the gunshot almost at the same time as she felt an excruciating tear in her side.
The velocity of the bullet as it entered her side twisted her body mid-air and slammed her against the wall. Almost in slow motion, Sarah slid down the wall leaving an ugly red stain smeared upon the wall. Sarah fell upon Ellie, who trembled upon the ground.
Ellie yelped as Sarah's body fell upon hers. Ellie pushed up against Sarah but the agent did not respond. The young doctor struggled to move the dead weight upon her and crawl out from under Sarah's listless body who's arms and head hung listlessly.
The armed man walked up to the women on the floor. He ignored the scrambling of the people around him. Ellie stopped struggling when she saw his feet in front of her. Ellie felt fear deep in the pit of her stomach as she realized that Sarah would no longer buffer Chuck and herself against the long line of armed men, that seemed to enter their lives.
The armed man standing above Ellie was Rob Piersen. He had recognized Sarah immediately as he had walked down the hall. They had worked together on a CIA surveillance job at a state dinner once.
He was well aware of how competent of an agent Sarah was. Her presence in the hospital seemed to verify that The Intersect was close. He knew of no other CIA missions currently ongoing at the hospital. She must be here because of The Intersect.
Piersen nudged Sarah with his foot. He was technically still a CIA agent. But his loyalty was to Fulcrum and he was here to capture The Intersect at all costs.
As such, he had shot the blond agent without hesitation. Piersen was well aware of Sarah's lethalness and he needed to remove her from the situation.
Satisfied that Agent Walker was no longer a threat, he assessed the obviously terrified dark haired woman. He reached down and pocketed Sarah's gun. He then stood up and kicked the blond agent off of the young doctor. With his gun pointed aggressively, he ordered Ellie to stand up.
Ellie wiped the tears from her face and stood up slowly. She stole a quick glance at Sarah. Tears started to flow again. Was Sarah dead?
All her pent up hatred and dislike washed away. She started to think about all the family events they had shared. She had to believe that she had known Sarah at least a little. Ellie started to cry, but the armed agent interrupted the doctor's reverie by viciously grabbing her arm and shaking her violently.
"Where is The Intersect?" snarled the Fulcrum agent. He knew The Intersect must be close due to Walker's presence….but he didn't know where. The dark haired woman was his only lead.
Ellie's blue eyes widened in confusion and she nodded in exasperation.
"I don't know what you are talking about," cried Ellie. She looked down the hall and saw a second armed man holding his several nurses at bay. Her body trembled. It was like she was reliving The Institute.
Piersen was good at reading people and he saw the unvarnished confusion in the young doctor's eyes. He saw her look down at Sarah again.
He needed information from the brunette. He angrily asked, "How do you know Agent Walker?"
Ellie looked up at him sharply. "I don't know her."
Ellie justified her white lie by telling herself that she really didn't know the real Sarah. Not really. It didn't matter that Ellie had spent nearly a whole year's worth of holidays with the blond woman. It had all been a lie. Ellie wouldn't feel sorrow for the blond woman dead on the floor. She just couldn't let herself. She had to focus on protecting Chuck.
No Ellie told herself, she hadn't lied. She prayed that the armed agent believed her, even if she couldn't quite believe it herself.
Piersen furled his eyebrows. The women were in a heated fight when he had approached, but the brunette seemed genuine when she said that she didn't know Sarah Walker. Why would the women be fighting?
Casey watched The Fulcrum Agent at the nurse's station from the safety of hidden position in the stairwell. He had a partial view of the hallway and he could see a second armed man holding Ellie.
He tried not to look at Walker. She was down. He couldn't let her condition distract him. Casey's mission was to protect The Intersect. He couldn't let the loss of a partner interfere with his duty to protect Chuck.
He set his jaw aggressively. But he certainly was going to make sure both men paid dearly. He checked his gun with determination. Yes, they were going to pay.
Piersen scrutinized Ellie's face attempting to determine her level of truthfulness. He was confused by her behavior. He was about to threaten her again when the door behind them opened up.
A pretty nurse and an orderly hesitantly poked their heads out of the door behind them. They were arguing between themselves regarding the cause of the loud noise outside the room. The nurse and orderly blanched as they saw the blond agent unmoving on the ground. They took in the smeared blood on the wall and Piersen holding a gun on a terrified Ellie.
The pretty nurse looked at Ellie and the Fulcrum Agent noticed that they exchanged a meaningful look. They knew each other somehow.
He immediately pointed his gun at the medical personnel and motioned them back into the room. He then pushed Ellie into the room and followed her in with his gun raised. He carefully closed the door to assure that they wouldn't be interrupted.
Piersen scanned the room. He saw the young man in the bed. He smiled coldly. He motioned the nurse and orderly to stand in the corner and then turned his attention back to Ellie.
"Is that The Intersect?" He pointed at Chuck with his gun.
Ellie didn't know what the man meant; all she knew that her brother probably was involved in something big. It was no coincidence that yet another evil man with a gun was interested in her brother. She didn't know how to respond.
Seeing the agent's annoyance at her silence, she replied, "He's my brother."
The Fulcrum Agent noted the resemblance and smirked. He approached the bed. "Something tells me Agent Walker wouldn't have taken so much of an interest in you… unless your brother was The Intersect."
Ellie didn't know what to say. She stood paralyzed as she watched the man inspect Chuck. Piersen pointed his gun at her and asked, "What's wrong with him?"
Ellie hesitated, but the warning glint in the Fulcrum Agent's eyes made her answer promptly.
"He has a brain injury," replied Ellie, with regret in her voice.
Piersen grunted in disapproval. "We should have never trusted Lindermann," grumbled the Fulcrum agent.
Ellie's eyes grew wide in terror. This guy knew about the doctor. She suddenly realized that he must be with the same group of men who had attacked them in Monterey. Her stomach lurched.
She looked at her brother. He was so hurt and vulnerable. She desperately tried to think of some way to protect him. She felt powerless.
Piersen, seemingly satisfied at his perusal of Chuck, stood up straight and looked menacingly at Ellie. He walked towards her and then motioned that she should join the two frightened medical personnel in the corner.
"Nothing personal here. I just can't have any witnesses," explained Piersen in a consolatory tone.
The nurse grabbed Ellie's hand as the trio stood together waiting for Piersen to shoot. The hispanic orderly next to Ellie began to pray in Spanish under his breath. The trio stood immobile as they prepared to die.
Piersen took aim at Ellie. The young doctor braced herself for the worst. She thought about Devon and Chuck. She closed her eyes and silently wished them goodbye.
She waited for a few seconds but felt nothing.
She opened her eyes and looked quickly at her companions to see if they were okay. Their wide eyes made her turn towards the armed man.
She was startled when she saw him. His eyes bulged as he arched backwards on his knees. He had dropped his gun and he was trying to grab something in his back. Contorted in pain, he finally collapsed forward. Ellie saw a knife lodged deeply in his back.
Ellie looked beyond the prone agent and saw Sarah leaning heavily against the wall.
Not knowing what to say Ellie remarked, "I thought you were dead."
Sarah shrugged. "Not quite." Ellie was silently relieved. She didn't want to contemplate trying to protect Chuck on her own. She eyed the blond agent warily, trying to gauge the level of her injury. She had been shot. Ellie wondered how Sarah was able to function with her injury. Ellie ignored the feeling of elation she had at knowing that the armed man hadn't killed Sarah. She reminded herself that the "Sarah" before her wasn't the person she thought she knew.
Sarah pushed herself off the wall and approached the unconscious agent. "Check him for weapons, while I keep a gun on him."
The women watched as the orderly removed numerous knives from the man along with two more guns. They were aghast and the number of deadly weapons upon the man. He was a literal walking arsenal.
After the orderly was done, Sarah pocketed her confiscated gun and turned to the nurse and orderly.
"This man was going to kill you for what you saw and heard in this room. You might not think you heard much, but have no doubt…you would be killed for it."
She narrowed her eyes at the medical personnel. It was if she was looking into their souls. In her coldest voice, she continued.
"I am going to let you go. But before you leave, I need for you to understand the situation. Admitting to anyone that you were here today will get you killed. Trying to negotiate your way out of something, by admitting that you know us, will get you tortured and then killed."
"Do you understand?"
The orderly and the nurse nodded their heads in agreement, but there was a look of bewilderment in their eyes. Sarah sighed.
"I realize that you might be saying yes to me now, but deep down you're planning to go to the police later. Don't do it. This man who was going to kill you….he worked for the government as an assasin. I work for the government in the same capacity."
Sarah noted the shocked look in the medical personnel's eyes. She had to make them understand the enormity of the situation.
"What you've seen here is beyond local law enforcement. People who witness these types of things just disappear. I'm giving you a choice to not be one of them. Just forget what you've seen here and go back to your normal lives."
Sarah saw an unwanted acceptance in their eyes. She motioned for them to leave and warned them about the additional agents that were bound to be in the hospital. Once they were gone, she let her look of strength falter.
She grabbed the edge of the counter near the wall to maintain her balance. The gunshot wound in her side was sapping her strength. With a clinical regard, Sarah noticed that the blood stain on her shirt was growing in size.
Ellie watched silently as Sarah dealt with the medical personnel and noted the agent falter after they left. She was relieved to see Sarah alive but at the same time she was torn by a myriad of conflicting emotions.
Ellie didn't trust Sarah. She knew that the cold blond woman was a manipulator and capable of unthinkable things. The young doctor had personally seen Sarah kill more than a hand full of people in the last week.
But these feelings were tempered by Sarah's continued diligence in maintaining their safety. She needed Sarah to protect Chuck. Ellie knew she couldn't protect him alone.
Ellie didn't really understand what was happening around her. Ellie needed as many answers as possible if she ever hoped to protect Chuck and get their lives back. Unfortunately, the only one who could provide that was the blond agent before her. Ellie steeled herself. She needed answers from this woman but she couldn't let herself get trapped into thinking of her as the 'old Sarah.' That woman wasn't real. She couldn't be.
Trying to stay on neutral ground, Ellie asked, "Do you think they will be safe?"
Sarah shrugged as she tried to gauge Ellie's reaction to yet one more violent incident. Seeing that she seemed somewhat calm, she answered.
"Yes, as long as they deny ever seeing anything here."
Sarah couldn't read the pensive look on Ellie's face. She wanted to try to comfort Ellie somehow, but she knew that she probably couldn't. Not after everything that had transpired between them. Besides, she really didn't have time to worry about Ellie's feelings.
Sarah turned away from Ellie and began looking through the drawers in the room. She needed to find items to help in their escape and she needed something to hide the rather large and growing blood stain on her shirt.
"Sarah, why didn't you do that for me?"
Startled by the strange tone in the doctor's voice, Sarah stopped her search and considered Ellie's plea. Sarah saw the vulnerability in Ellie's eyes. She didn't know what to say. The blond agent replied, "I'm not sure I understand what you mean."
"Why didn't you give me the option to return to my normal life too?"
Her words felled Sarah. Tears accumulated in the blond agent's eyes. She had always felt an affinity towards the young doctor. Sarah knew what she was being asked. It was a difficult answer. How could she explain to Ellie why her life as she knew it was no more?
"Ellie, don't you think that I give almost anything in the world to let you return to your normal life?" asked Sarah imploringly.
Ellie shook her head dejectedly. The answer was hit too close to home. It made Ellie waiver in her belief that the woman before her wasn't a little bit like the Sarah she thought she knew.
"Sarah, I don't know that. I don't know that at all. After everything I have seen. I think I might be one of those people who just disappear." Ellie wiped away the moisture on her cheeks. Suddenly the truth seemed too much to bare. Ellie couldn't look at the blond agent.
"I don't want to disappear. I just want to see Devon again. Sarah, I just want to go home."
Sarah shrugged her head in despair. "You are Chuck's sister. Piersen told you that Chuck is The Intersect. The difference is that you can connect Chuck's identity with The Intersect. The other two…they couldn't make the connection."
Ellie started to cry.
"Knowing both of Chuck's identities guarantees that your life in danger. Ellie we kept you in the dark so that you could stay safe in your normal life. But it's all changed now. It has been since The Institute."
Ellie just shook her head. "Sarah, I don't understand. What has changed? And how you could know that guy?"
Attempting to answer the easier question, Sarah replied, "We worked together once. We are both CIA agents." Sarah noted the shocked look in Ellie's eyes when she admitted that she worked for the CIA.
Sarah continued, "He must have changed allegiances. There is a rogue organization inside several of the government's intelligence agencies. This entity has its own agenda. They want Chuck for their own ends."
Sarah watched Ellie begin to tremble as she begun to understand the severity of the situation. Ellie asked, "And this guy Piersen?"
"As Chuck would say, he must have gone over to the dark side," offered Sarah with a slight smile.
Ellie hugged her own torso and asked, "If things were this dangerous, why didn't you take Chuck earlier and leave?"
Sarah grimaced because she knew the young doctor wouldn't like the answer. But Sarah decided that it was best to be as truthful.
"The answer was you. Chuck wasn't ready to leave you yet. Plus he was safer outside the normal intelligence community than inside. At least he was until his identity was compromised." Sarah closed her eyes as a tremor ran through her body. Her body was weakening from her wound. She sat in a chair near Chuck's bed.
Taking a few moments to rally her strength, Sarah continued, "Chuck loves you. He just wanted a little more time with you. He would have been eventually forced to leave. He would have disappeared for your safety and for everybody else that he loves."
Ellie's eyes grew moist. She suddenly saw her life without her brother overlaid with what her life would be like without Devon. She was torn. She didn't want to leave her brother, but how could she give up Devon?
"But why keep me? It doesn't sound like Chuck can go back. But why can't I?"
"We are pretty sure that both your identities have been or will be compromised," replied Sarah. She looked at Ellie sorrowfully.
Ellie looked at Sarah warily. Could she really believe Sarah?
Sarah grimaced. This was difficult news. "Bryce Larkin isn't really dead. He is a deep cover CIA agent. He jeopardized his new identity to help us during the incident at The Institute. He was captured and is likely being tortured as we speak. In all probability, he will be broken. When that happens, Fulcrum will know Chuck's identity. Unfortunately, that means they will know yours too. They will go after you to get to Chuck."
"Bryce is alive? Oh my God, I don't know what the hell is real anymore," screamed Ellie, as she clutched her head in her arms.
"This is the stuff I shouldn't know. Why are you telling me this Sarah?-- Oh my God--my life must be over. I don't want to disappear," wailed Ellie, dejectedly.
Sarah stood up in alarm. She grimaced at the pain she felt at her quick movement. Ignoring the wobbly feeling, Sarah approached the doctor awkwardly.
"No, Ellie your life isn't over. I had to explain this to Chuck too. It's just going to be different. You asked for answers and I gave them to you. Ellie, I'm sorry I couldn't talk to you before. You were so angry. You weren't ready to hear about the reality of the situation. But you have to know that everything that I've done…it was to keep you and Chuck safe. Please believe that."
Sarah was about to attempt to hug Ellie who was visibly shaking. However a sound at the door made Sarah shift into agent mode. Sarah pushed Ellie to the side and pulled her gun. Ellie whimpered in fear at Sarah's sudden movement. She took cover near Chuck's bed.
The door exploded open and Casey rolled into the room with his gun drawn. Both agents stared at each other for a long moment before sheathing their weapons.
"Damn Walker, I thought you bought the big one in the hallway." Casey looked at the downed agent in disgust. "That was sloppy work to have left you alive."
Sarah let out a stifled laugh and straightened up painfully. "Yes, Piersen was always sloppy. But it was my gain this time. The man didn't even shoot me in the right place." Looking thoughtfully at Casey, Sarah remarked, "It took you enough time to get here."
Casey grunted. "It figures the guy was a screw up. After all, he was CIA." He smiled at the annoyed look on Sarah's face.
He then pointed down at the scrubs that he was wearing. "I had to find a pair of scrubs that fit me and take out the Fulcrum agent at the nurses' station," explained Casey.
He pointed to the red stain on Sarah's shirt. "Do you have lead in you?"
Sarah nodded negatively. "Nope, I have an entry and exit wound. It's in my side. It's a bleeder but I don't think anything major was hit. I'm a little weak but am okay for now."
Casey grunted uncommittedly. He threw a pair of scrubs at Ellie and some bandages at Sarah. "We can't have you bleeding all over the place."
Casey looked at Ellie to see if the doctor might help look at Sarah. He noted that she was purposely looking at her brother. Her body language clearly indicated that she was unwilling to help Sarah. He sighed. It was still too much for Ellie. She still couldn't let go of her hard feelings towards Sarah, even after the blond agent had save her life.
He ordered Ellie to change into the scrubs and walked over to Sarah to inspect her wounds. He wondered if Sarah had caught Ellie's slight.
"Walker, you are going to need stitches but the bandages should hold for a bit."
Sarah seemed fully engaged in applying the bandages to her wounds. Maybe she didn't see the slight.
Casey noted that Ellie relaxed a bit when he proclaimed that Sarah would be alright. Maybe things between the women weren't as bad as they appeared.
Casey finished applying the bandages on Sarah's wound and handed Ellie's discarded shirt to Sarah. "Put this on. This shirt should keep you from causing a scene in the hallway."
Once everyone was changed, Casey hid several guns under the blankets on Chuck's bed.
"It's time to get the hell out of here. We have several bad guys still roaming the hospital. Ellie and I are going to be pushing Chuck's gurney. Walker, you are going to provide cover. Are we ready people?" barked Casey.
The women nodded and Sarah hit the fire alarm lever on the wall. Sirens immediately went off throughout the hospital. Casey smiled as he looked out the door and saw that the ensuing chaos in the halls. It would provide good cover for their escape.
"It's show time people," smirked Casey. He nodded to Ellie and they pushed the gurney out of the room. He leveled a last meaningful look at Sarah before disappearing out the door.
Sarah sighed. She walked up to the unconscious body of Rob Piersen and put two bullets in his head.
She had been serious about how dangerous it was to witness the events in the room. There could be no trace back to Chuck…at least until Bryce Larkin broke.
She looked around the room one last time. She walked over to the oxygen switch near the bed and turned it on. She heard the swishing noise of pure oxygen entering the room.
She bent down and fished for something underneath Chuck's nightstand. Having found it, she pulled a small box out with a rapidly pulsing red light on it. She placed it near the hissing oxygen.
She walked back to the door and waited for Chuck's gurney to round the far corner of the hallway. Satisfied that they were safely away, she exited the door and closed it. She walked down the hallway a bit and pulled out her cell phone.
She punched in a few numbers and hit send.
Chuck's room and its door exploded in a fireball. The force of the explosion threw her against the ground. She had used the oxygen supply as an accelerant for the small bomb she had triggered in Chuck's hospital room. It had gone off with more force than she had calculated.
Sarah heard screams along the hallway as people scurried away to safety. Her side hurt. Her fall had worsened her condition. Looking down, she saw that blood has seeped onto her clean shirt. She gulped. She couldn't let herself think about the pain. She had to think positive. She had eliminated any chance that their fingerprints would be found.
She stood up shakily and tried clean the debris off her clothes. Making sure that there was no immediate threat nearby, she began walking down the hall. She needed to meet Casey at their pre-arranged rendezvous point and flank the bad guys that were sure to be there.
Sarah tried not to think about the pain in her side as she entered the stairwell. She started to climb, praying that she could keep going. Chuck needed her. She looked down at her shirt. She had lost lots of blood.
She knew it was too much blood. Ignoring the pain, she pushed herself up the stairs. The rendezvous point was going to be a huge gunfight. She had to get there. Without her help, Casey couldn't get Chuck and Ellie to safety. Fighting her body's need to stop, she pushed herself up the stairs.
Without her to flank them, they were all lost.