Thanks for keeping up with this story so far! Er, the first bit is of Sarah and Bryce and I know a number of you lot don't approve, so it's fine if you skip it - I was just following the time line for Chuck a bit. Enjoy!

Note: I do not own Chuck and what not.

Chuck Versus The Red Test

15 May 2005

1400 Hours

Bogota, Columbia

Sarah Walker was a top agent of the CIA, a professional. What she didn't understand was how she turned into the opposite as she compromised herself with her partner, Bryce Larkin. She didn't know when exactly their relationship turned to more than being professional, but there she was pressed against the wall by her partner in a deep make out session, greatly utilizing their cover as a loving young couple 'The Andersons.'

Breathing heavily, Bryce pulled away from her when he noticed the coast was clear. He smirked while he handed her the briefcase they had been after."Shall we?"

Sarah smiled momentarily before she heard the shouts of the Columbian henchmen whom they were trying to flee from. "Let's." They both ran for it, knowing their pursuers were right on their tail. After several abrupt turns, they hid in an empty alleyway, listening for any signs of the henchmen.

"You have something that isn't yours." A low, heavy Columbian accented voice stated from behind them. Sarah spun around to discover Bryce being held with a gun pointed at his head by one of the henchmen. "Give me the briefcase and your partner doesn't die."

"Okay, okay. It's yours." She held her hands up in surrender and began to extend the briefcase to him. Signaling Bryce through a nod, Sarah dropped the briefcase to remove her gun from its hiding place while Bryce wrenched free from the henchman's loosened grasp. She squeezed the trigger after accurately aiming it with ease; the bullet found its mark on the henchman's head. Second kill… It's getting easier. Sarah sighed in her head.

Bryce smiled once again when he finished planting a long kiss on his girlfriend's soft lips. "Thanks for the save, partner."

May 19, 2005

2:43 AM

Unspecified Movie Theater

Los Angeles, California

"That was MIND-BLOWING!" Dressed as Chewbacca, Morgan exclaimed as he walked out of the movie theater beside his best friend, who in turn was dressed as Han Solo. "Man! Chewie got some screen time, too! Best. Night. Ever!"

Chuck patted him on the back, laughing knowingly that Morgan will pass out immediately once they were on the road as he drove his currently very hairy friend back home. Feeling the guilt increase as a result from being away because of the numerous amount of missions that all required the Human Intersect's attention, Chuck was more than willing to take Morgan out on this greatly anticipated night of the premiere of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. "I know right! And Obi-Wan and Anakin's fight scene; Man!" He added as his friend read his mind, causing them to suddenly pose before they started to reenact the fight scene themselves; Chuck took the place of Obi-Wan while Morgan took the role of Anakin/Darth Vader.

0328 Hours

Casa de Bartowski

Echo Park, Los Angeles, California

Chuck went into his room through the Morgan Door so he wouldn't wake up his sister or Captain Awesome. Yawning, he shuffled his way to his bed; not bothering to change from his Han Solo attire, he all too quickly fell asleep once his body made contact with the bed.

"Bartowski! Move your ass out of bed!" Agent Forrest hissed whilst she got a hold of Chuck's ankles and pulled him off the bed. He sleeps like rock. She scowled at her partner's deeply asleep form where he landed on the floor; heaving him up into a sitting position against the bed, she slapped him. Hard. Wake the hell up!

Chuck cried out, "Agh! Ow!" Rubbing his stinging cheek, he looked at Forrest in agony. "Was that really necessary? After two years of working together?"

"With the way you were sleeping." A hardly evident smirk showed on her face. After helping Bartowski up, she raised an eyebrow at his outfit. He took it in that he was still wearing his Han Solo costume and was about to explain, but Forrest prevented him. "We need to go. New mission. Hopefully with more gunfire." The last statement was more to herself than to Bartowski. She was getting more and more disappointed with every mission that didn't allow her to go trigger-happy. Why doesn't Bartowski see the joy of guns? "Change, Star Fights boy. It's already noon."

"Star Wars. It's called Star Wars. Geez, Forrest. Get it right." He said in a mock hurt tone. Chuck chuckled inwardly when he heard a "whatever" from her as she left through the Morgan Door.

Now out of his costume, Chuck made for Forrest's apartment that was situated across the courtyard from the apartment he shared with Awesome and Ellie. Her apartment was where they had been receiving their assignments, allowing Chuck to remain close to his family and friends while performing the responsibilities of the Human Intersect. The door opened before he had even raised his hand to knock; after being conducted in, he took his spot standing next to Forrest, who waited for the video conference to begin.

One of the two idle computer screens switched to the live video feed of Graham looking intently at them despite being across the country. The wonders of technology, Chuck thought.

"Agent Forrest, Bartowski." Graham gave his own version of acknowledgement then went on with the meeting. Glancing at the file in front of him before returning his attention to the two, his following statement elicited a grumble from Forrest. "This 'assignment' is more directed at Bartowski."

"It has occurred to me that you have more than proven yourself during past missions that you are more than simply the Human Intersect. I believe you will do more good out in the field as an agent than for us to point and allow you to flash then let other agents do the work."

Chuck held his normal face while his mind contemplated on what this meant for him. Actual field work. I'll be undercover. Not as a waiter but with actual aliases. His excitement grew as he kept on thinking about it. No more waiting in the sidelines.

"The training you received at Langley will not go to waste." His plan for Bartowski was at last going into play; Graham had intended for the Human Intersect to be out in the field ASAP, but he had to wait for approval from his superior and the other departments of the government. Despite the two years it had taken to convince the higher-ups that the pros outweighed the cons, he was granted authorization all the same. "There is one last test for you to take before you will be able to be referred to as an official CIA operative. Are you willing to become an agent?"

"Yes, sir. It's what I've wanted from the start." Chuck smiled along with his reply, more than ready to take on whatever Graham had for him.

Graham gave a satisfied nod. "The file for your test has been sent. Contact me when you have completed the task." The last statement was followed by the computer screen turning black to mark the end of the video conference.

Chuck watched as Forrest went to her seldom used kitchen to warm up a Lean Pocket. It was all he had seen her eat most of the time unless they went out for a mission. "So what do you think the last test is?"

"The Red test," Forrest replied as she retrieved her burnt Lean Pocket from the microwave. She was not keen at all on having Bartowski take the test since she knew fully well of the after-effects it had on agents new to the job. "You'll have to kill someone. Someone the agency picked out."

"K-kill?" Gulping nervously, Chuck didn't know what to think of it. I want to be an agent, but... to kill someone? I can't take a life.

Forrest answered in the form of a small grunt before taking another bite of her meal. No way can Bartowski do this. Kid's still new to all this.

May 20, 2005

8:48 PM

Casa de Bartowski

Echo Park, Los Angeles, California

Ellie furrowed her eyebrows together as she watched her brother play video games unenthusiastically, which was very out of character for him. She took a seat beside him on the couch, asking gently. "Chuck? Is something wrong?"

Chuck broke out of his thoughts once he heard his sister question. "Yeah. Why?" He smiled, hoping he was giving the 'I'm fine' smile and not the 'Don't freak out' smile.

Taking a moment to study her brother, she shook her head. "No reason. Just concerned about my baby brother." She allowed him to get back to his game as she got up to head to the room she shared with her boyfriend. I wonder what's wrong…

She contemplated about how much Chuck had changed while he was off searching for a purpose after getting kicked out of Stanford. That Bryce Larkin is a jerk, Ellie thought with contempt. I can't believe his nerve to- Pausing to take a calming breath, she envisioned herself telling Devon to beat the crap out of Bryce. Ellie sighed. A girl can dream.

22 May 2005

2000 Hours

Unnamed Location

Southern California, USA

Identifying his mark, Chuck vigilantly kept an eye on his position. The man matched the file he was given of a Kyle Turner; medium, athletic build with dusty brown hair and eyes that warily took in his surroundings.

For some reason, Turner began to pick up his pace. Someone or something must have signaled him about my presence. Chuck frowned as he went to blend in with the crowd, allowing to let Turner believe that he had lost his pursuer. His target slipped into an alley then began to run; Chuck, thankful for his long legs and increased endurance, effortlessly caught up to him in a matter of seconds.

"Stop!" His shout echoed throughout the abandoned warehouse that they had ended up in. His mark had tripped while he was backing away from Chuck and he now was flat on his back, begging for his life. Raising his gun, Chuck took aim at Turner's head.

I-I can't. Chuck slightly lowered his gun, no longer aiming it at his target. "You're under arrest." He clenched his jaw; after the chase he had made and the mental preparation, he still couldn't kill. So much for being an agent. He reasoned with himself that the man in front of him was his target for a reason; he sold government secrets to the bad guys. What if he has a family? His imagination was going into overtime as he thought of possible backgrounds for his mark. Stop it, Chuck. Stop it.

Chuck, too occupied with arguing with himself inwardly, failed to notice his mark reach for his own weapon.

The shot's bang still rang in Chuck's ears; breathing heavily from the adrenaline, he turned to look around to find Forrest with a gun other than a tranq in her hands. Before making her escape, she nodded his way and uttered "We can talk later. Contact Graham. Tell him you finished the test."

Chuck muttered a reply, "Right." He retrieved the phone that was to be specifically used for contacting Graham. You just killed a man. Act like you just killed a man. Hitting the call button, it didn't take long for Graham to answer. "It's Bartowski. Target eliminated."

Graham smiled on his end, "Good. Head back home for now. I'll have Agent Forrest brief you on your first mission tomorrow. Do you have an alias in mind that you will be listed under as?"

"Carmichael. Charles Carmichael." Chuck replied, surprised by the indifference of his voice. He had used the name before, but it was Morgan who had given it to him; his friend wasn't bearded at the time and he had planned for them to get inside a club using fake IDs back when they were eighteen.

1998

7:48 PM

Unnamed Club

Los Angeles, California

"Teen wolf? Really, Morgan?" He towered over his friend from the sudden growth spurt he had undergone during the previous summer. He disliked his now wiry frame and was unused to his long legs that more often than not now made him trip or something else that cemented the adjective of klutz that he was labeled at school.

"I'm Scott Howard; I don't know who this Morgan is, but I'm sure he's quite the lady's man and -" Morgan dropped his statement as the line moved forward, placing them in the front of a very stout man wearing the customary black bouncer shirt. They both handed their IDs to the man who instantaneously pulled out a pair of scissors from his back pocket to cut up the fake plastic cards.

"Nice try, teen wolf." The bouncer grunted, amused at the two awkward teenagers he faced. "And what was your name? Charles Caramel? Hah. Next."

"Charles Carmichael." He tried to correct the bouncer, but he and his friend had already been pushed aside by the impatient patrons behind them. "Come on. We always have Duck Hunt."

I dunno when I'll update again since I've been getting a bit of a writer's block for this story for a while now and sigh. I know Sarah and Chuck will meet soon. Sorry this one was so short! Please review and tell me your thoughts! I really do take them into account.