Author's notes: This chapter has a few Chuck spoilers but not many.

Really had a bit of fun with mixing the three series.

Chapter 13- What the Chuck?

Juliet slowly opened her eyes. It was dark and chilly. The last thing she remembered was being in the hospital, warm in a bed. She tried to get up but immediately regretted it when she accidentally leaned on her broken wrist and let out a short gasp of pain. Her head also felt like she had smacked it on concrete after a 30 foot jump from a burning building. "Oh wait," Juliet thought bitterly, "I did."

With a grunt of effort and making sure she used her good arm, she sat up and looked around. She was in some kind of bedroom. "Probably an apartment or hotel." She reasoned. There was a bed but she had been placed on the floor. None too gently by the way she felt. She tried to piece together what she remembered but it was very little. She didn't remember falling asleep at the hospital. The last thing she remembered was talking to Henry.

When the door to the room abruptly opened, she turned her head to look too fast and almost passed out again. With a hiss of pain she put her hand to her head, forcing herself to stay conscious. A taller man walked in and knelt by her. Juliet recognized him as Lance by the obvious black eye he possessed. She remembered Shawn saying something about Lance being behind the bombing of the precinct. For the short while she was awake in the hospital she caught word that one of the detectives had died and many more people were injured.

"You son of a bitch. You blew up my station!" Even though it caused her pain she reached out and tried to punch him in the face. Lance moved quickly and grabbed her arms to stop her from swinging at him. He did avoid her broken wrist which puzzled the injured detective.

Lance gave her a scrutinizing look. "I can see what he likes about you." He sniffed her. "You have guts. You barely smell of fear, but I think your little group has to work a lot on their anger issues." Pushing her away, Lance raised an eyebrow at her. "Let's hope your detective boyfriend," Lance waved his hand in a dismissing gesture. "Is smart enough to take the deal for you."

"What deal?" Juliet scoffed.

"The detective and the psychic have to find me the cure that Cynthia hid by the end of the night, or I kill you." Lance shrugged nonchalantly like killing Juliet would be as emotionally impacting as swatting a fly.

Juliet gave Lance a cold stare. She wanted to scream and swear at him. She wanted to kill him herself but she suppressed the instinct and remained silent. Anything she said to him about Shawn and Carlton would give him more ammo against them. Turning away she faced the wall and refused to look at him. Her guys were coming for her, and when they got there Lance would be sorry.

"At any rate, if they do bring me the cure I promised I would let you go." Lance stood and looked down at her. "I never said I would let them go though." He let out a cruel and humorless laugh as he walked to the door. "And they are just going to love the surprise I have in store for them, especially the psychic."

The laugh sent a shiver down Juliet's spine and for a moment she hoped that they were not coming to get her after all.

All three vehicles, a blue Toyota Echo, a dark blue Ford Fusion, and a green Dodge Challenger, pulled up to Henry's house at the same time. Being that it was past midnight on a weekday there wasn't much traffic on the neighborhood roads.

Carlton and Gus got out and headed for the house. They stopped at the door before realizing Shawn was still by the vehicles and looking at his phone. "Shawn!" Gus shouted. "Are you coming?"

Shawn waved them on. "I'm going to try my dad again. You know where the key is, go ahead."

Shrugging Gus reached under the potted plant next to the door and pulled out a key. "A potted plant, really?" Carlton looked at him disbelievingly. He thought Henry would have a more secure home than that.

Gus gave Carlton a sly look and headed around to the back of the house. Curious, Carlton followed him to the front of the garage. As Carlton watched Gus used the key on a hidden lock box that was underneath a bird feeder he wondered aloud, "Shawn isn't doing well with this is he?"

The black man paused and looked at the detective, if Carlton was picking up that Shawn was getting a bit unstable it must be getting bad. "No, he's really not." Carlton had started walking to the house but Gus made a b-line for the garage door.

Gus unlocked the garage and went in as Carlton replied. "I'm almost surprised really. I never thought Spencer would have enough introspect to be this depressed."

Shaking his head at Carlton's stupidity, Gus stopped in front of an old clock on the wall. Behind that was yet another lock box but this one had a code. Gus faced Carlton and made a twirling gesture with his finger. With an eye roll and a sigh Carlton turned around while Gus entered the code. "You should give Shawn more credit. He's a smart guy, but even smart guys can be idiots sometimes." Carlton got the feeling that Gus had been talking about him but let it drop. "I got it. Let's go."

They left the garage and Carlton cast a look of disbelief at the younger man. "He has you go through all that just to get the house key?"

"Would you do any different?" Gus gave him an incredulous look.

"Of course I would! There would be at least one booby trap on the one with the bird house. If it didn't get anyone trying to steal the key, it would at least get some squirrels trying to get at the bird food."

Gus stared at him while using the key on the back door. "You've got problems."

Walking in they saw Shawn was sitting on the couch already finishing a bag of blood. "What the hell Spencer! You had a key the whole time?" Carlton was not happy.

Seeing his squeamish friend enter he quickly hid the blood back and stood up. "Lassie, don't be the chimp in the Clint Eastwood movies. Of course I have a key! It's my dad's house, who by the way I still cannot get a hold of."

Gus shot Shawn a worried look. "Shawn... do you think maybe Lance..."

Shawn interrupted him quickly. "Hey Lassie, there is blood in the fridge help yourself." He then walked into the kitchen to dispose of his own empty bag. From the kitchen he yelled to the pair, "Morgan called from the road. He is only a couple minutes away. Once he and Mick get here then we can plan."

While walking back into the living room, Shawn and Carlton heard a loud motor coming down the street. A few seconds later Gus heard it too. Mick's convertible was not exactly the quietest car in the world. Shawn rushed to the door and bumped into Gus as he passed him. "Ow Shawn! Watch it!" His friend complained.

Shawn however, was already out the door to greet Mick. Gus glared after him and checked the cure he had stashed in his pocket. It was still there. He wouldn't put it past his friend to do something hasty and just hand the cure over to Lance to get Juliet back. He and Carlton went outside to join Shawn.

Mick wasn't alone in the car. Beth, his girlfriend, got out of the vehicle as well. Stopping short Shawn looked from Mick to Beth with a worried look. She was human and he didn't want to put anyone else in undue danger to get Juliet back. She would never forgive him if he did. "Um, buddy... are you planning on bringing her with?"

"Don't worry. Mick has already told me more than once, I won't be going. I know what it is like being kidnapped and I just wanted to be there for Juliet when you got her back. " Both women had gotten along very well and Beth really didn't want a whole bunch of vampire guys to be the only ones around to comfort her.

Carlton stepped forward and shook Mick's hand. "Thanks for coming."

"Any time. Is Morgan here yet?" Mick looked around for him. As if on cue a very large black van pulled up behind Mick's Mercedes. Four people got out. It was almost like an action movie. Chuck and a stacked blond woman Shawn didn't know got out of the front. The back burst open and Morgan jumped out followed by an older, well-muscled man. All were decked out in tactical gear including coms and combat vests. They walked up in a perfectly straight synchronized line. Gus made googly eyes at the blond and Carlton noticed all the guns the older man was carrying. Both let out approving whistles while Shawn shook his head.

"Hey guys." Morgan said simply as they stopped in front of everyone.

Shawn raised his eyebrows at him. "Did you guys rehearse that or are you regular competitors in the sweet entrances competition in the Olympics?"

Chuck gave a toothy smirk. "I'd say a little of both. We are used to having to make a big impression on clients."

Gus was not listening to the conversation. He was too busy watching the blond who was standing there in a form fitting combat suit. "Helloooo Miss..."

"It's Mrs. actually. Chuck is my husband. I'm Sarah Bartowski." She smiled at Chuck and shook Gus' hand. Gus nodded and tried to not seem too heartbroken. "This is our weapon's expert John Casey." She said pointing to the older man.

Shawn gave a bitter humorless laugh. "Um, it isn't bring your significant other to hostage situation day is it? Because I am already ahead of the class on this, just saying."

John and Morgan shared a meaningful look. John had forbidden his daughter, Morgan's fiancé Alex, from coming with. For once Morgan had agreed with him, but Alex wasn't a super spy like Sarah was.

Carlton looked around at all the cars in the driveway and the people gathered on the lawn. "We should get inside so the neighbors don't start getting nervous."

Still feeling snarky, Shawn snapped. "It's not like they could call the cops now is it?"

The whole group looked at him. Some with anger, others with puzzlement. He definitely wasn't acting like himself. Gus started ushering people inside. "Lassiter is right. Let's finish the introductions in the house."

Shawn stayed where he was "I'll be right in. I need to try my dad one more time."

Gus gave one more glance back at Shawn before heading into the house.

As soon as he was sure everyone was inside, Shawn rushed to the back of the blueberry to finish his plan. He hadn't expected so many people to be coming and was going to have to alter his original idea. Grabbing the pen and paper he snagged from the kitchen he started writing a note. He was beginning to think the worst about his dad but didn't have the energy to focus on "what ifs." He needed to focus on how to get Juliet back and not freaking out.

He didn't mean to act like a dick towards everyone and was honestly touched that they had dropped what they were doing and rushed to help, but if any of them got hurt he would feel responsible. "Still," Shawn thought as he shut the trunk of the car. "having a small army show up on your lawn to save your girlfriend is pretty sweet."

By the time Shawn got back in discussion about their mission had already started. Beth and Gus were standing away from the group. They had been lost once the conversations had changed to gun calibers and hand grenades. "Ok! Listen up!" Shawn clapped his hands for attention. "The first thing we have to do is to convince Lance to meet us where we want. Lassie and I are familiar with a warehouse down town that would be a good place to set up."

John and Sara gave each other a confused look. "Lassie?" Shawn pointed at Carlton who rolled his eyes and raised his hand. John nodded in understanding. Chuck and Morgan always called him "Case." So he knew the head detective's pain.

"How do you know he is going to agree to your meeting spot?" Morgan asked.

"He's arrogant." Carlton interjected. "He might not see us as a threat enough to care."

Mick agreed. "From what I remember, he was incredibly sure of himself. You might just be able to pull it off if you bait him the right way."

"Ok," Shawn continued. "I need to know if any of you can shoot, and shoot good…well..." Shawn looked at Gus for help.

"It's 'well' Shawn."

"Yes! Well. I need someone that can shoot well." Shawn looked around the room.

Carlton smirked and was just about to brag about his shooting ability when Shawn stopped him. "It can't be you. Lance is expecting you to be there, and if you aren't it would make him suspicious."

Knowing Shawn was right, Carlton grumbled, "Fine."

Chuck pointed to John, "Casey can shoot. He's honestly the best any of us have ever seen." The compliment made John puff out his chest a bit. If there was one thing he prided himself on, it was his shooting ability.

Shawn made a note to test that someday. "Ok, Case. When you find a good position I am going to need you to stay low and wait for my signal." John grunted an affirmative.

"Shawn…" Mick started. "Can I see it?"

He didn't have to ask what Mick was talking about. Shawn looked to Gus who tentatively stepped forward and produced the small vial from his pocket and held it up. "You're sure it is the cure?" Morgan asked with wide eyes.

Shawn shrugged. "That or the cure for Hopkins Disease."

"It's Hodgkin's Disease Shawn..." Gus started to correct him.

"Either way!" Shawn interrupted the explanation, "Cynthia died to keep this safe. Making the cure was her goal, so yeah. I am pretty sure. Lance wants nothing more than to make sure this doesn't see the light of day…so to speak, and has done everything he could to kill anyone associated with it." He turned to Morgan. "He was responsible for the fire that killed Aaron's family and drove him crazy."

Morgan was the first surviving victim of Aaron's quest to make fledglings. All the ones before him went wild and were put down, so he counted himself very lucky to have survived. "So, Lance is the one who caused… everything? That dude's gotta go." Chuck nodded, agreeing with his friend.

Gus put the cure back safely in his pocket seeing Mick's eyes follow it the whole way. "Poor guy." Gus thought.

Returning to the matter at hand, Shawn proceeded to make a diagram of the warehouse, which wasn't hard since it was empty except for the freezer. The primary directive was to get Juliet out of harm's way as fast as possible. After she was out of the way, they would get Lance. There was no doubt his associate would be there with him so Morgan and Chuck volunteered to help take him down so Shawn, Carlton and Mick could focus on Lance.

"The problem is, if we try to hide, he is going to know we are all there by scent." Mick pointed out.

Shawn looked at Carlton with a grin. "Oh sweet justice no…" The detective knew exactly what Shawn was getting at even before he pulled it out of his pocket. The rest of the group around the table leaned in and saw the bottle of animal scent.

"It worked for me once. He'll know something is up and our sense of smell might be a bit blocked but it's worth the risk… and the smell." Glancing at the bottle again Shawn warned, "You may want to wear something you aren't too attached to."

Lance and his associate were sitting in the hotel room. It was almost 3am and there had been no word from the detective or the psychic. Lance was getting impatient. He had checked on the woman earlier. She smelled divine. He had not fed since that morning, but a deal was a deal, he had not harmed her.

Deciding it would be better to deal with things with a full stomach he turned to his associate. "I am going to go feed. If you hear anything let me know immediately." His associate nodded and Lance turned leaving the room.

Ten minutes later Lance returned wiping his mouth. The phone chose this moment to ring. Lance smirked, "Finally." He walked over to the cell phone he had set on the counter and answered it. "Did you find the cure?"

"What? No hello, how are you? I feel our relationship is past the formal stage don't you think? I mean, kidnapping someone's girlfriend is a pretty intimate thing right?"

Lance was a patient person, but somehow this psychic had the ability to cut his patience to the quick. "I am done playing games. If you don't have the cure you can say goodbye to…"

"Fine! We have the cure. She stashed it in a safe on her property and we just got back. We have to meet somewhere you know."

Lance thought about it. He didn't know the town well and he certainly didn't want to meet him in a small hotel room again. As if reading his thoughts the psychic added, "I know of some empty warehouses we could meet in down town."

"Do you think I am stupid enough to meet somewhere that you pick out?" Lance spat though the phone.

"You know what, yeah. Yeah I do. Because if you want the cure you are going to meet us at 1520 State street in one hour. Unless you are scared."

Lance's grip tightened on the phone. "Not one hour. Now. We are leaving now and if you aren't there. The girl dies." Lance hung up and threw the phone down. Turning to his associate he said, "I'll bring the girl. You know what to do. Let's go."

"Son of a bitch." Shawn hissed as he hung up his phone. "Lance took the bait but he is getting to the warehouse now. We have to go!"

A flurry of cocking guns and activity followed as everyone got ready in record time. "Here Shawn." Morgan handed him a combat jacket before finishing getting ready himself.

Shawn saw that Gus was also getting ready. Hating himself for what he was about to do, he walked up to his friend. "Gus, could you hand me the cure?"

Not thinking much of it Gus handed the cure over. He saw something was wrong with Shawn, "What is it?"

"I don't want you to come with us." Shawn said, unable to look Gus in the face.

"You must be out of your damn mind!" Gus shouted indignantly. "Juliet is my friend too. I can't just sit around while some crazy vampire has her hostage."

Carlton was currently putting on his vest. It wasn't like bullets would kill him, but they would slow him down, plus getting a stake through Kevlar was neigh impossible. Looking over at the friends he grumbled. Gus could be just as stubborn as Shawn and they didn't have time for arguments. "Guster, just listen to him. We can't have an untrained human running around. Beth is staying behind. You can hold down the fort with her."

Carlton didn't realize it but he had just told Gus to stay at home with the women. They were really killing his pride. Shawn's next words were the last nail in the coffin. "Gus, I didn't need your help when I was attacked by Aaron and I don't need your help now." Shawn continued in a mocking tone. "You're a salesman Gus! These are trained spies." He gestured at Chuck and Sarah. "Now I want you to do what you do best, grab your little pharmaceutical case and hit the road!"

An uncomfortable silence settled on the group as they did their best to ignore the crushed look on Gus' face and filed out to the vehicles. Mick gave Beth a quick kiss and left as well. With one last look at Gus, Shawn closed the door to his dad's house and he hoped it wasn't the door to their friendship as well.

Out in the yard Carlton pulled Shawn roughly aside. "What the hell was that Spencer? I didn't want him to come either but that was completely uncalled for."

"So is your face." He didn't have time to explain even if his attitude was making Carlton angry at him. "He isn't coming with. That's what we both wanted so let's drop it and get Jules back."

Carlton pointed a finger at him before hopping into the black van, "This isn't over Spencer."

Before getting in himself Shawn looked and saw Gus staring out the window. "I hope not." He said sadly.

Gus paced back and forth, furious at Shawn for treating him that way just because he wasn't a vampire. They had been partners for six years! Just the day before Shawn was saying that he trusted him more than anything and now this. He couldn't understand Shawn sometimes.

Beth saw the agitation in Gus' movements. She didn't know him very well but she figured he needed to talk to someone. "Gus? Is there anything I can do?"

"Yeah, you can be my new best friend. I have a sudden opening in that department." Gus said bitterly before sitting down on the couch.

Sitting down next to him, Beth put her hand on his in a comforting gesture. "I'm sure he didn't mean that. He's stressed out right?"

"Yeah but there's something I don't get. I helped him when Aaron had him." Gus admitted.

Puzzled Beth asked, "What do you mean? He said you didn't help him."

Gus sighed and stood up to pace again. "That's what is weird about it. I am the one who staked Aaron. Why would he say I didn't help…" Gus froze in place. "Unless…" Suddenly Gus ran out the door with Beth right on his heels wondering what had made him so excited.

He reached in his window and opened the Blueberry's trunk. "What's going on?" Beth asked.

"Shawn figured the lie about Aaron would get my attention. Then he said to grab my sample case." Getting to the truck Gus threw it open and flipped the two latches on the case. Right inside was a note… and a small vial with red liquid.