A/N: So sorry about the long wait between chapters. Life has kicked into high gear, keeping me far busier than I am liking. Anyway, I enjoyed the reviews for the first chapter. I decided to split this chapter up because it was getting really, really long. So the next one should be up in a few days, just need to polish it up a little. Big thanks to TheJusta for the beta work. Any mistakes are still mine. Standard disclaimers about me not owning Chuck still apply.

Chuck vs. The Grid

Chapter 2

July 19, 2010 Seedy Las Vegas Hotel

Chuck pocketed the bullet. He knew he had to return it to Casey, one way or another. Then a thought hit him. Casey had been waiting for him, with a whole bunch of NSA goons. It had been a set up. They were waiting for him. Good thing for Chuck he was always being extra careful, especially after what had happened in Charlottesville. He shook his mind to rid himself of those thoughts. Too painful, too recent, and more of a reason to find Orion and end this madness. Someone must have found out about his connection with Roy, and that's how he was set up. If they knew Roy was helping him, then Chuck had to warn him. He pulled out his sat phone and called him.

"Hello," Roy said groggily. He sounded asleep.

"Roy, it's Chuck. That tip you gave me was bogus. It was a set up. There was an NSA team waiting for me. I managed to escape, but I have even more blood on my hands." Chuck was wallowing in self pity. Three more lives he ended in the pursuit of his freedom. Would the bloodshed ever end?

"Chuck, wait, what are you talking about?" Roy sounded alert, and somewhat panicked.

"Either your friend gave you up or Casey figured it out. Either way, you have to get out of there. I'm sure they're going to be coming for you for helping me."

"Where are you? Me and Lily will come to you. As much as she hates to admit it, I think she is starting to care about you." Chuck laughed a bit at this.

"I'm in some shithole outside Las Vegas. You'll need a new car and everything. I'm sure they know all about you."

"Don't worry Chuck. I'm still ready to go off grid. Meet us where we first met in about 12 hours."

"Alright. I need to catch a few hours sleep before I head out. I feel dead on my feet."

***

Dec. 24, 2008 Burbank

The alarm clock on Chuck's nightstand was beeping loudly. Chuck quickly shut it off. Even though he was up late planning his escape and got very little sleep, he woke up with a lot of energy. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat there for a few minutes. 'Tonight's the night' he thought. 'I'm going to do this.' He took a deep breath, then got up and went to the bathroom for a shower.

He finished quickly, too excited to enjoy the feel of the hot water on his body. He looked at his alarm clock. It read 7:15 am. He grabbed his phone and called Morgan.

"Hello?" Morgan mumbled. He sounded like Chuck had waked him up.

"Hey, Morgan, you want me to stop by and pick you up for work?"

"Umm, yeah, I guess. How come you don't do that more often?" Morgan actually sounded hurt that this was one of the few times Chuck called and offered to pick him up.

"I don't know," said Chuck honestly. "Usually I'm too tired to get up earlier enough to get you."

"I hear you, buddy. Sleep is a man's best friend."

"See you in a little bit Morgan," Chuck hung up.

Chuck tried to remember Ellie and Awesome's work schedule as he got dressed. He was sure that they were both working this morning and afternoon so that they could have tomorrow off. He had already told them he was going to be working all day and probably most of the night, so they should have no reason to come into his room. With that thought in mind, he took the photo of him and Sarah from his nightstand and removed it. He placed a note in its place, and then put it face down.

Chuck then went to his computer to type his farewell e-mails but then decided he would rather write his goodbye letters by hand. He grabbed a couple pieces of paper and took out a pen. He had two letters to write. Ellie's was hard because there was so much he wanted to tell, but couldn't. It took him almost ten minutes, and he only had about a paragraph. It was too hard to continue. Sarah's letter was easy because he could be honest with her. He then went over to his bed. He pretended to be tying his shoes, but he was really slipping the two letters in between his mattress. Chuck gave his room one last glance and then went out the Morgan door for the last time.

***

As usual, the Buy More was packed with shoppers, what with being Christmas Eve. 'Man,' Chuck thought, 'this means the mall is going to be like ten times worse.' That was about the only thing that seemed to dampen his mood. He had been sitting at the Nerd Herd desk all morning with a stupid half grin on his face. Something about what he knew he was doing was exciting to him. He was finally taking control of his life. But as always, doubt started to seep into his brain.

'You really think you can outrun the NSA and CIA?' asked doubtful Chuck.

'Yeah, I think if I can go the first week without being caught I'll be good,' replied hopeful Chuck.

'You know if you get caught, it's a bunker or a bullet that awaits you?'

'It's that either way when this is over. My plan will allow me to live a normal life.'

'If you think you can beat the odds, go for it, but I won't say I told you so when you get caught.'

'I won't get caught, and I'll free myself. You'll see.'

This debate was common for Chuck ever since he planned to run. Every time he thought he could actually pull it off, a nagging reminder told him it was impossible. But Chuck had finally put his foot down. He was running and he was running tonight.

His phone vibrating caused him to break his thoughts. He looked down and Sarah's smiling face looked up at him. He ran his fingers through his hair before answering.

"Hey, Sarah, what's going on?"

"Oh nothing," replied Sarah. She sounded bored. "I was wondering if you were going to stop by and have lunch."

"Oh, umm, I can't. I gotta go to the bank and cash my check, you know, pull some money out. I need to buy a few last minute gifts for everyone."

"Hmpf." Chuck actually smiled at her disappointed noise. "I really wanted to see you today."

"I know, me too. But with the holidays things are a little hectic."

"I know." She definitely sounded disappointed. "What time should I stop by tomorrow morning?"

"Umm, 8:00 should be good."

"Cool. I'll see you then. Bye."

"Later."

Chuck sighed. He was most assuredly going to miss the sound of her voice. A glance down at his watch told him it was almost noon, which was when his lunch break started. He grabbed his briefcase, which held his new identity, and made his way to the Herder.

The bank was what he was most nervous about. He needed cash. But he wasn't sure that the bank was going to let him just cash the large check he had and leave with the money. It wasn't too busy when he got there, for which he was thankful. He approached a young female teller and asked her if he could cash his check.

"Umm, I'm not sure we're supposed to hand out this large an amount, sir. Maybe I should get the manager."

"No," Chuck said nervously. "Look, I need the cash. Fast. Please, I'm sure the bank has plenty in its vault and can afford to do this. Please, just put it in this briefcase. Small bills, non-sequential." He was pleading with the teller.

The teller looked at the fear and desperation in his eyes. 'Okay,' she told her herself, 'this must be to pay a ransom of some sort. And the check is from the government. Better just do what he says.'

Ten minutes later the teller appeared carrying his briefcase. He thanked her and made his way to the Herder. He opened the briefcase, saw the money and let out a sigh of relief. He quickly made his way the Buy More and took up his post behind the Nerd Herd desk. 'Just a few more hours,' he told himself.

Chuck was becoming bored. The day was dragging and he was anxious for night to arrive. He was involved in a mean game of Tetris on his computer when the bell dinged. He looked up and was surprised to find Sarah standing in front of him, holding a couple of sandwiches. She was smiling brightly.

"What, ah, what are you doing here?" Chuck asked, his mind racing. 'Does she know about the cash?' he thought.

"Oh," said Sarah, a little hurt by his reaction to seeing her, "Well, I knew you didn't have time for lunch, and this was my break time, so I thought I would bring you something to eat," Sarah finished softly.

Chuck just grinned, relieved that she suspected nothing. "Always looking out for me, aren't you?"

"Well, it is my job," she smiled back. "Wanna go in the break room and eat these?"

"Umm..." Chuck started. He really didn't want to the leave the briefcase currently by his legs. And he couldn't bring it with him; that would look suspicious. "Why don't we stay here?"

"Well, where am I supposed to sit?" Sarah asked him, wondering why he didn't want to get away from work.

"Right here," said Chuck, backing away from the desk and slapping his lap.

Normally, Sarah would have said no. But the idea of sitting on Chuck's lap seemed so inviting that she couldn't help herself. So for 20 minutes, they sat there joking, eating, and laughing at certain customers' predicaments. Casey walked by a few times, giving them both dirty looks, but they ignored him. Finally, Sarah declared her break was over and stood up.

"See you tomorrow," she said happily as she bent down and gave him a kiss. Even though he was expecting it, it still managed to take his breath away. He watched her as she left the store. She turned around right before she was out the door and gave him a little wave. Even something as simple as that still made his heart skip a beat. 'Get your head in the game,' he told himself, which caused him to shake his head like a dog shaking away water.

Over the next several hours, Chuck waited patiently behind the Nerd Herd desk. He never left it once, not even to go to the bathroom. He was too afraid someone would take his briefcase. Finally, the time came to close the store. As he was getting ready to go to his car, Casey approached him. Thinking this had something to do with him, Sarah and lunch, Chuck waited for the verbal insults to begin.

"Bartowksi," Casey said loudly, "You want to carpool home?"

"Oh," responded Chuck, surprised. "I can't. I gotta go the mall and pick up some last minute gifts. Then I have to come back here and wrap them. Plus, I'm the Nerd Herd on call tonight. So I don't see myself getting home for awhile."

Casey eyed him for a second before grunting and leaving. Chuck sighed as he watched Casey get into his Crown Vic. He was praying that since it was Christmas Eve, both Casey and Sarah wouldn't be so diligent in their surveillance duties. I mean, who really expected Chuck to run, on Christmas Eve no less.

Chuck slowly made his way through the vast amount of traffic that seemed to be on the roadway and into the mall parking lot. He was still wearing his Nerd Herd attire, complete with his briefcase, which caused a few glances to be thrown his way, but he didn't mind. When he entered the mall, he just shook his head. 'Who waits until now to buy Christmas presents?' he asked himself incredulously.

Chuck made his way to a clothing store first. He normally would have been a little more picky about his clothes, but he knew looking fashionable wasn't his top priority. He bought himself a little bit of everything. T-shirts, sweatshirts, button up shirts, polo's, jeans, shorts, khakis, sweatpants, socks, and boxers, you name it, he was buying it. He wanted to give himself a couple weeks worth of clothes. He would pick up some here and there, but not so much that he had too many to carry around.

The cashier looked a little surprised by the amount he had, but also by the fact that he managed to pay in cash. She looked at him, scrutinizing his face. She wondered whether she should call the police about this man. He didn't look like a criminal, but it was hard to tell these days.

"For my nieces and nephews," Chuck said as he caught the lady eyeing him with a scowl on her face. "I totally forgot, and I'll never hear the end of it from my family if I don't get anything for them."

The cashier smiled at him, apparently believing his story. Chuck heaved a huge internal sigh of relief.

He also picked up a piece of luggage, a set of clippers and shears for his hair, a couple of prepaid phones, stocking hat, gloves, a coat, heavy duty shoes, and a pair of sunglasses right out of Beverly Hills Cop Part II. He was heading north to start with and this time of year it was cold up north. Chuck also drained his savings account via the many ATM machines that were placed conveniently around the mall. After a few hours, and right before closing, Chuck left the mall with many bags and made his way back to his car.

***

Dec. 25 2008 Just After Midnight

Chuck quickly made his way back the Buy More. He took the bags and his briefcase in the store and into the home theater room. He started cutting and ripping off tags, packing the clothes hastily into the suitcase. Once he had everything secure, he felt around the table looking for Casey's switch. He found it, flipped it and a compartment on the table opened. There were a couple of 9mms with silencers attached and magazines of bullets. There were also tranquilizers and the device Sarah used to pick locks. Chuck grabbed the guns and a few mags, as well as some tranquilizers and lock pick gizmo. He placed them into the suitcase that already housed his clothes.

Once everything was packed away, Chuck got ready to leave. He was carrying the luggage piece and his briefcase. If they were watching the cameras, they knew what he was doing and would be waiting for him. If they were just monitoring his position, they'd know it would look like he got a call. He slowly made his way out the back door and found no SWAT team waiting for him.

He let out a sigh of relief and made his way the Nerd Herder. He got in and drove. He wasn't quite sure where he was going to go. He wanted to find a hotel with an underground parking lot, but he wasn't sure if he could actually face one of those. After driving around for 20 minutes, he found what he was looking for. Another car in front of him pulled into the same lot. 'Even better,' thought Chuck.

Chuck timed up his entrance into the elevator with the businessman he had followed into the parking area. The man was on his phone, sounding important, and took no notice of Chuck. Chuck smiled as he deftly removed his watch and slid it into the unknowing man's coat. 'Sorry buddy,' Chuck said to himself. He actually cracked a grin at the surprise that the man was going to get tomorrow morning.

Chuck exited the elevator on the third floor and then walked down the stairs into the garage. He quickly found his car and opened up the luggage he packed. He looked around to make sure no one was watching. He started to strip off all his clothes. He wasn't sure if they bugged his clothes but he wouldn't put anything past Casey. He quickly put on a new pair of boxers, socks, jeans, a button up shirt and his new shoes. He moved around a little to get a feel for all the new clothes.

He then took his wallet and emptied everything out but his money. All his credit cards and IDs went into the work pants, which, along with the rest of his Nerd Herd attire, wound up in the trunk of the Herder. He then got out the manila folder that contained his new ID. He looked at it and saw Chuck Finley. It was pretty much Chuck's stats, but with a few things changed here and there. He also had a social security card, a driver's license, and a passport. The man Chuck got this from also gave Chuck Finley a history. He had a GED, some community college credits, a work history, and some bank statements. Chuck looked at the picture. It was one of him from college, complete with a full beard. He laughed at himself. He remembered losing a bet to Bryce about Star Trek trivia, and the result was he couldn't shave for a month. He actually could grow a decent beard but it was always too itchy for his tastes. 'Tough shit now,' he told himself.

He filled his wallet with his new identity, along with the picture of him and Sarah that he took from his house. He took the silencer off the gun, placed the silencer in the luggage and put the gun in the back of his pants. He would always be vigilant now. He would be ready for anything, and he would do what was necessary if it came to that.

He grabbed his keys and phone and threw them in the glove box. He locked the doors and stepped away from the Herder with his suitcase and briefcase in hand. He knew he couldn't walk around carrying those, so he got out the lock picker. He looked around for a car he liked. He found a blue 2000 Ford Mustang. He stuck the lock picker in the door lock and it clicked. He smiled. He opened the door and put his belongings in the passenger seat. He took a seat and saw with relief that it was an automatic transmission. Chuck wasn't the greatest at driving a stick. He was sure he'd seen Sarah use the lock picker to start a car, so he gave a shot. He stuck it in the ignition, and sure enough, the car roared to life.

Chuck took a deep breath. "Here we go," he told himself.

Chuck took the Mustang out of the garage. It was 1:00 am. He figured he would have seven hours on Casey and Sarah, since she wasn't coming over until 8:00 am. He also had another little plan of misdirection ahead to give himself even more time to get ahead of Casey and Sarah. 'This will work,' he told himself.

***

Casey was sitting in his apartment. He took one last look at Bartowski's GPS location. He was currently at some hotel, not having moved for awhile. 'Must be a big job,' Casey thought and allowed a large yawn to escape. Casey fell asleep in his chair and was unable to notice that Chuck's GPS hadn't moved for some time.

***

Sarah was lying in bed, unable to sleep. For the first time in her life, she was excited that tomorrow was Christmas. She tried to fall asleep but thinking about Chuck made it nearly impossible. She rolled over and looked at the clock. It read 1:30 am. She really wished it could go faster because all she wanted was to give Chuck his present.

***

Chuck was on the I-5 and heading north. He rolled down the windows as he went. He felt like yelling he was so happy. He knew that since nothing stopped him tonight that he would definitely be able to find Orion and get the Intersect out of his head. He turned on the radio and started singing along as he drove into the night.