Chuck Versus the 42
by: Sam Lincoln
Disclaimer: The characters of Chuck and Alias both belong to their respective rights holders and I make no claim of ownership on either
Summary: The Ring steals information, Chuck has a flash, and who is Sydney Bristow and how is she involved?
Spoilers: This story takes place after the events of Alias and during season 3 of Chuck, in between Chuck Versus the Honeymooners and Chuck Versus the Tooth
Act 2:
"Isabelle," Vaughn said as he and Chuck entered her room. "Are you awake?"
"No," a quiet voice said.
"Well in that case I need you to wake up sweetie," Vaughn said. He walked across the room and lifted the girl out of her bed.
"What is it daddy?" Isabelle asked.
"This is mommy and daddy's friend Chuck, can you say hi to Chuck for me?"
"Hi Chuck," Isabelle said.
"Hi there Isabelle." Chuck held out his hand to the girl who reluctantly shook it.
"We're going to go on a little trip with Chuck, but Mommy and Daddy need to do a few things around the house before we can leave so Chuck is going to take you."
"But you said I shouldn't go anywhere with strangers," Isabelle said.
Vaughn sat Isabelle on the ground and knelt down in front of her. "That's right, and you're a good girl for remembering that, but Chuck isn't a stranger, he's a friend from Daddy's work like Uncle Marcus. You Remember Uncle Marcus right?" Isabelle nodded in response. "Good, now go with Chuck and do everything he tells you to like a good girl, okay?"
Isabelle looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding again. "Okay Daddy."
Vaughn kissed Isabelle on the forehead. "You are the best girl and Mommy and Daddy love you very much." He lifted Isabelle and handed her over to Chuck. "There's a hidden exit down the hall to your right," he told Chuck. "Keep her safe." Vaughn ran a hand over Isabelle's head.
"Like she's my own family," Chuck said to Vaughn. The two men nodded their understanding and went their separate ways.
Back in the living room Sarah and Sydney plotted their defense. "Where do you keep your guns?" Sarah asked.
"We don't have any guns," Sydney replied. She was busily closing and barricading doors between the front entrance and the living room.
"What do you mean you don't have any guns? You're both spies."
"First of all we're both retired spies, with an emphasis on retired. Secondly there's a small child in the house, it wouldn't be safe."
"And how safe are we now?" Sarah asked. She ran into the kitchen and retrieved all of the knives she could find. She placed them and her gun on the kitchen island.
"How much ammunition do you have for the pistol?" Sydney asked.
"Just two magazines," Sarah said and placed them next to the gun.
"In that case I'll use it since I'm the better shot."
"How do you know that?" You've never seen me shoot."
"Trust me, I'm the better shot." Sydney picked up the gun and spare magazines from countertop. Sarah shrugged and picked up a large chef's knife.
Vaughn walked into the kitchen and looked down at the gun in Sydney's hand. "Any chance I could use that?" He asked his wife. She arched an eyebrow in response. Vaughn gave a short laugh and retrieved a broom from a cupboard. He snapped off the end, leaving himself with an improvised staff.
"Is Isabelle safe?" Sydney asked.
"She and Chuck made it out of the house."
"That's a relief, at least she won't get caught in the crossfire." The three CIA agents found cover in the kitchen. Sarah and Sydney behind the island while Vaughn swung open the refrigerator door and used that as an impromptu shield. "And you're sure you boyfriend can look out for Isabelle?"
Sarah did her best not to roll her eyes. "For the last time yes, Chuck will move heaven and earth to keep your daughter safe."
"Good because I fully intend to see my daughter again," Sydney said.
The door to the kitchen burst open and two Ring agents dressed in tactical gear ran into the room. Sydney popped out of cover and opened fire. Her first two rounds dropped the lead attacker and the her second two injured the man behind him. She dropped back behind the island as the remainder of the Ring team opened fire from the cover of the hallway.
"Okay you are the better shot," Sarah said. She unsheathed one of her throwing knives and flicked it at the wounded gunman. The knife caught the man square in the throat and he dropped to the ground in a spray of blood.
"That's both impressive and disturbing," Sydney told Sarah. They both winced as bullets impacted the other side of the island.
"Syd!" Vaughn yelled from his position behind the refrigerator door. "Cover me, I'm going for their guns." Sydney nodded and started to fire blindly down the hallway the attackers were coming from. Vaughn raced across the kitchen and grabbed the feet of the man Sydney shot. He noticed a stun grenade on the dead man's tactical vest and yanked it free. "Flash bang out!" he yelled and rolled the grenade in the direction of their attackers. He snatched up the man's assault rifle then dove over the kitchen island to shield himself from the blast.
The flash bang exploded with a deafening thud which momentarily silenced the Ring gunmen. Sarah seized on the opportunity to follow Vaughn's lead and dragged the other dead assailant behind the island where she quickly relived him of his gear.
"I don't want to be the one to state the obvious," Sarah said as she checked the magazine loaded in her carbine. "But we can't stay here forever."
"There's an exit down that hallway and we have a getaway car stashed a block over," Vaughn said. "I'll provide cover while you and Sydney make a break for it. Don't worry Syd, I'll be right behind you."
Sydney leaned over and kissed Vaughn. "You'd better be Michael."
Vaughn popped up from behind the counter and sprayed bullets at the Ring operatives. Sarah and Sydney dashed from the island towards the hallway. When they reached the hall, Sarah tore a flash bang off the tactical vest she had taken from the Ring agent. She shouted to get Vaughn's attention then tossed the grenade at their attackers. Vaughn used the opening to make his escape from the kitchen and the trio ran for the emergency exit.
Chuck lead Isabelle down the street towards the Herder. He kept his head on a swivel looking out for Ring agents, but he had not seen any yet and they had almost made it to the Herder.
"Mr. Chuck," Isabelle asked.
"Just call me Chuck Isabelle."
"Okay Chuck, where are you taking me?"
"We're going to a magical place called Burbank," Chuck said to the four year old.
"Burbank's not magical," Isabelle said with a giggle.
Chuck frowned as he heard the sound of gunshots in the distance. He wanted to run towards it, to save Sarah, but he knew he couldn't, that he had to look after Isabelle. He swallowed his nerves and did his best to appear upbeat. "Well maybe not magical, but it does have the best Orange Orange in the world."
"I love Orange Orange! My mommy takes me there every week. What makes yours so special?"
"Because my girlfriend works there and we can eat all the ice cream we want for free."
Isabelle's eyes grew wide. "All the ice cream I can eat, really?"
Chuck drew an x over his heart and forced a smile onto his face. "Cross my heart."
"Then what are we waiting for?"
They rounded the corner of the block and Chuck's heart sank when he saw Max Dressler standing next to the Nerd Herder. "Isabelle I promise you we're going to Orange Orange, but right now I need you stay right here, can you do that for me?"
"Why?"
"Because the man standing next to my car is a bad man, and I need to go have a grown up talk with him okay?" Isabelle nodded her understanding and Chuck walked up to Dressler. "Excuse me sir, if you need help with your computer I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to set up an appointment or come in to any of our conveniently located Buy More locations."
Dressler sneered at Chuck. "You don't think the Ring doesn't know the CIA uses Nerd Herd vehicles as a cover do you Agent Carmichael? What a terrible opinion of our intelligence you must have."
"No, no, no, no, no, I don't have that at all. Clearly you're a very intelligent man," Chuck said as he raised his arms. "Look, do we have to do this now? There's a kid over there." He pointed in Isabelle's direction.
"What's your point?"
"Well I don't want the sight of me kicking your ass up and down the street to traumatize her."
"Strong words, can you back them up?" Dressler balled his hands into fists and cracked his knuckles.
"Your intelligence really must be shoddy if you think I can't." Chuck lowered his arms and settled his body into a loose, fighting position.
Dressler shrugged off his jacket and drew a wickedly sharp-looking knife. "I think you need to reevaluate your position." He leered at Chuck.
Chuck closed his eyes and let the Intersect wash over him. When he reopened his eyes his head was filled with close quarter combat moves. "Last chance, back off," he said to Dressler.
"This will be fun," Dressler said before charging Chuck.
Chuck sidestepped DRessler's charge and brought his elbow down on the other man's wrist. The sudden impact sent the knife clattering to the ground. Chuck let his momentum carry him around and he slammed his other elbow into the back of Dressler's head. The force of the blow sent Dressler stumbling to the ground. Before the Ring agent could stand back up, Chuck delivered a kick to the head that knocked him unconscious.
Chuck looked up and saw that Sarah, Sydney and Vaughn were watching him; Sydney and Vaughn in amazement and Sarah in admiration. A distant part of his mind figured that they must have cut across the neighborhood lawns to catch up with him. However that was drowned out by the overwhelming sense of relief at seeing Sarah unharmed.
"Oh hey guys," Chuck said, slightly out of breath from the fight. "What's new with you?"
"The Ring agents didn't follow us when we left the house General," Sarah said. Team Bartowski, along with Sydney and Vaughn, were seated at the Castle conference table with General Beckman on video conference. Isabelle was taking a nap in a hastily redecorated holding cell.
"They probably assumed their mission was a bust the minute we put up a fight," Sydney said.
"Our response team found no evidence of the Ring team when they arrived at your house," Beckman said. "We currently have a cleaning unit there repairing the damage done in the fight. They should be done in a day or so."
"That's not high on my list of concerns at the moment, but thank-you General," Vaughn said.
"Do we knew anything else about what it was the Ring stole, and how it relates to me" Sydney asked Beckman.
"At this point no, but we do know that whatever they took it was placed there under the orders of Assistant Director Kendall."
"Kendall, that would explain a lot," Sydney said.
"Why, why would that explain a lot?" Chuck asked.
"Kendall worked for the Department of Special Research. He was in charge of the task force assigned to stop the Alliance of Twelve from exploiting Rambaldi technology, and he also investigated my connection to Rambaldi."
Casey held up a hand. "Before we go any further could somebody please explain to me who the hell Rambaldi is? Some kind of weapons designer or something?"
"Why don't you ask your friend Chuck since he seems to know," Sydney said. "And I really want to know how that is. For that matter how does someone who looks like he really does work at a Buy More take down Max Dressler like it was nothing?"
Chuck looked over at the video screen. "Can I tell them General?"
Beckman shrugged. "They both still have the proper security clearance, but it's your decision Chuck."
Chuck took a deep breath before speaking. "I have a top secret government database called the Intersect stored in my brain. Whenever I see or hear something that triggers it I get a flash and know everything the government does about that topic. It also lets me do kung fu."
"That's not the most outlandish story I've ever heard," Vaughn said. "Close, but not quite."
"It doesn't involve a mad Fifteenth Century prophet, how could it?" Sydney reached over and squeezed Vaughn's hand. "I was personally mentioned in a book written by Milo Rambaldi centuries before I was born."
Sarah blinked at the revelation. "That seems improbable."
"It's real," Chuck said. "There's a picture in the book and everything. Saw it in the Intersect."
Sydney stared at Chuck. "You are the single greatest threat to national security I have ever met. You know that right?"
"If it wasn't for Chuck and the Intersect those Ring agents would have attacked your house without any warning," Sarah said.
Chuck rested a hand on Sarah's forearm. "It's okay Sarah. We both know she's not wrong."
Sydney shook her head. "No Sarah's right, that wasn't fair of me. I've been on your side of the table, threatened with imprisonment for something people were afraid I might do."
"Do we all want to hug now?" Casey asked. Chuck opened his mouth to answer, but the glare from Casey was enough to convince him not to say anything. "Or can we get back to the job of figuring out how to stop the Ring?"
"Intelligence suggests the Ring is taking the package to a safe house in Los Angeles," Beckman said. "I want the five of you to hit the safe house and retrieve whatever it was they stole from us. I know you're both retired Agents Bristow and Vaughn, but I'm assuming you'll want to take part in this mission?"
Vaughn nodded. "They attacked our family General, of course we won't stand for that."
"Very well, I'll talk to you after the raid, good luck." Beckman terminated the video link.
"Speaking of family, what are we going to do with Isabelle?" Sydney asked. "She can't stay here while we're gone."
"Why not? I would've loved to have spent time in place like this when I was a kid," Casey said.
"This has been another episode in 'John Casey: My Creepy Life' tune in next week when we get to that most confusing time, puberty," Chuck said. Despite her best efforts a smile broke out on Sarah's face. Even Sydney and Vaughn started to chuckle when Casey glowered at Chuck.
"But seriously, we need a better place for Isabelle to stay," Vaughn said. "Among other things she doesn't know about our past and we'd like to keep it that way."
"I think I just might know the perfect person to help us out," Sarah said. "Though Chuck might not necessarily approve."
Chuck frowned. "Why wouldn't I?" Sarah shook her head. "Oh no, Sarah, no."
Casey scratched his chin. "You know what, I think Walker's right. Quit being a baby Bartowski."
"The area is already under surveillance and we can have a strike team nearby in case anything happens. Chuck, I know you don't like it, but this really is our best option. Unless you'd rather have Morgan baby sit her."
Chuck leaned forward in his chair and rested his face in his hands. "No that is an even worse idea. I know how, but he'd get Jeff and Lester involved and then Sydney would have to murder all of them, and I don't want to hide their bodies." He took a deep sigh. "Okay fine, we do it your way."
Sarah patted Chuck on the back. "It'll be okay Chuck, I promise. After all, who else do we know that we'd trust with a small child?"
-Echo Park
A short drive later Chuck knocked on an apartment door flanked by Sydney and Vaughn. The door opened and they were met by a half-dressed and sweaty Devon "Captain Awesome" Woodcomb. "Hey Chuck, what's up? I was just getting some cardio in."
Chuck adjusted his tie. "Er hi Devon, is, uh Ellie in?"