I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway.

Sarah has taught the kids all that she could given the amount of time that she had. She taught them to be in shape, fight when only absolutely necessary – and run the first chance you get, be careful who you trust, and that you have to use every weapon at your disposal. Let's see what they've learned.

I'll be sure to post warnings on chapters that have violent or sexual situations. I'm going to keep this T – but I might dance on the edge for a bit.

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Final Exam

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Sarah didn't give the two young couples much time alone. Oh, she knew that they needed a little. After all, they had all had quite a traumatic morning. All of them, except for Alex, had been captured and treated harshly. Heather, in particular, was still quite shaken. But Sarah didn't want them to talk about what was going to happen this afternoon. She wanted a chance to talk to the guys first. And the last thing that Kate and Heather needed was any more guilt. So Sarah told them to tell the guys as little as possible. And if they pressed, to tell them that this afternoon was going to be spent in weapons training. That was true, after all. It's just that Kate and Heather had a different kind of weapon. So she gave them a couple of hours to relax in their rooms and told them to report back to the parade grounds at thirteen hundred.

The kids weren't the only ones that were eager to be alone. Joe was acting like a kid counting the minutes before Christmas morning. And based upon the obvious redness in Elise's face, Sarah quickly surmised that they had made a bet on this morning's outcome. And since Elise had failed to capture Alex, the winner was clear. Sarah smiled – after all, she was very familiar with that kind of bet – from both the winning and losing side.

Sarah clearly wasn't the only one who figured that out. Chuck grinned at Joe. "Are you sure that two hours are going to be enough?" he asked.

"Phase one only," Joe replied with his own grin. "I've suddenly discovered that I love Alex. I'm going to have to buy him a present – what kind of car does he like?"

Elise's face got even redder – if that was even possible. She didn't often lose these bets with Joe – almost never, actually. So she knew that he was going to take full advantage. She also knew pretty much what he was going to ask for.

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Kate knew very well how she was going to spend her two hours. Alex deserved a huge, huge reward. After all, Elise was an expert, world class seductress. According to Mom, she was one of the best in the whole world at getting men to do what she wanted. She had just given it her best effort to distract Alex enough to capture him. And while he really wouldn't tell her what exactly happened, Kate could sure as hell guess. It clearly involved Elise showing Alex some skin. And her Alex turned her down flat.

"I'm so proud of you," Kate sighed – as soon as they were alone in their room – and she could come up for air. "You're a natural at this spy stuff. Why are you doing so much better than the rest of us?"

"Come on, Katie," Alex said. "Do you really think that another woman could tempt me with sex? That's just plain crazy. I'm already sleeping with the most beautiful woman in the world. I happen to be head-over-heels in love."

Kate looked at Alex with a grin. It was a very, very good answer. He actually sounded offended – and he looked so amazingly adorable. "I'm sorry," she said. "Please don't take that the wrong way. I know that I don't have anything to worry about. It's just nice to be reminded every once in a while."

"So," Alex said. "Why don't you tell me how your morning went? Heather was pretty shaken. What in the world happened, anyway?"

"Sorry," Kate said with a sly grin. "That's classified. If you really want to know, you're going to have to interrogate me. And there is really only one way to get me to talk."

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Sparky was getting concerned. Heather was really shaken by her experience this morning. So all he could do was hold her – for a long time. "Don't worry," he finally said. "I'll talk to my mom. This is just too much to expect you to handle."

Heather just looked at him. "Please," she said. "Don't give up on me. Not so soon. I'm really trying."

Sparky was surprised at the desperation in her voice. "I'm not giving up on you," he said. "Why would you think that?"

Heather was quiet for quite a while. "You grew up in this family of bad asses," she finally said. "You're used to it. I'm not. I'm really trying… but your mom scares me. I thought that your dad might be okay… so I hug him… then he cuffs me and turns me over to a group of bad guys. I just don't know what to think. I'm trying so very hard to impress them – and all I do is get my ass kicked and strip searched. They're going to think I'm a sissy."

Sparky just smiled. "Nobody thinks that you're a sissy," he said. "You just went toe-to-toe yesterday with one of the top agents in the world. You bloodied her nose. I'll tell you what - let's make a deal. I won't give up on you – and you won't give up on me. My family can actually be nice. You just caught them at a very bad time."

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Once they got back together, the first thing that Elise and Janice did was to take the girls shopping. Well, that was actually the second thing. The first thing was that both had some major fences to mend with Kate. Janice had it pretty easy. All she had done was double-cross her on this morning's mission. But that was her assignment. Kate sort of understood that. Elise, on the other hand, had just attempted to seduce Alex. That was going to earn her an icy shoulder for some time. But finally, Elise was able to convince Kate that no seduction was ever really going to take place. And she was also able to point out that Alex had come through with flying colors. And, indeed, now Kate knew that Alex only had eyes for her. So if she ever had any question about that - it was put to bed. The argument seemed to appeal to Kate – to a point. It helped even more when Elise entertained them with the heavily edited story of her losing her bet with Joe. Kate had to admit, it was funny… a little creepy perhaps… but funny. She still wasn't ready to hug Elise – but she also gave up on her plan to 'accidentally' stab her in the heart with a steak knife at dinner tonight. So all in all, they called it good.

Then it was time for some shopping. After all, you weren't going to be seducing anybody wearing fatigues. They all bought what Janice called the Agent Seduction Uniform. It consisted of a plain semi-transparent white blouse, a navy blue skirt, and matching pumps. Then it was off to Victoria's Secret shopping for sexy underwear. And actually, Kate and Heather might have had a good time there laughing at some of the outrageous outfits. After all, they were quickly becoming close friends – if they didn't fully understand why they would possibly need sexy underwear. But they did.

It's funny. One would have thought that it would be Kate that would be more apprehensive about this training. But it was actually Heather. Kate was completely confident that Alex understood. She was very secure in their relationship. She knew that Alex loved her unconditionally – and that wasn't going to change. He might not like it if she flirted with a guy on a mission. But he wouldn't get mad. Her guy was simply amazing. If anything he would be worried about how she felt. She actually looked forward to putting on a big show of making it up to him. No, Kate's problem had nothing to do with Alex. She just didn't like men looking at her chest – she never had. It made her feel self-conscious. Kate always wanted to be judged on her intellect – not her figure. It always frustrated her when people would assume that a pretty girl couldn't be smart. Besides, she wasn't sure if she could be effective. She couldn't keep the look of distain off her face whenever she would hear one of her friends flirting with some guy. It was sickening.

With Heather, it was exactly the opposite. She actually enjoyed it when men would check her out. She even wasn't above dressing to encourage it. It had been a point of contention between her and her dad on more than one occasion. But Heather was on the edge of panic that Sparky would take any flirting the wrong way. And where Kate and Alex were clearly meant for each other Heather wasn't nearly as sure that Sparky was completely there yet. They were just too new. After all, they really hadn't formally said 'I love you' to each other yet. So she surely wasn't ready to test him. The last thing that she needed was something to get between them at this point. And really, if Heather would be truly honest, she was torn over which she feared more. That Sparky would get jealous – or that he wouldn't.

So when they got to the bar, Janice and Elise knew that they had some work to do. So they sat at a table and ordered a drink.

"I don't understand," Kate said as she cautiously took a sip. "How do you know how far to go?"

"Come on, Katie," Elise said. "No one can tell you that. It's always a pure judgment call. Sometimes it would be worth it to go quite far."

"How far?" Kate asked skeptically. "When?"

"Okay," Elise said. "Let me give you an extreme example. We'll see how far you would go. Daniel Shaw's gang has captured Alex. He is probably being tortured as we speak. He definitely doesn't have more than a few hours left to live. We have a team in the area ready to rescue him. There is only one small problem. We don't know where he's being held. But see that guy at the bar?" She indicated a man in his fifties sitting at the bar nursing a beer.

Kate nodded. The man that Elise indicated was pretty overweight. He also looked very comfortable on that bar stool. He was clearly a regular.

"He knows where Alex is being held," Elise continued. "He saw them dragging him out of the car earlier when he was making a delivery. He is able to convince you that he does know. He is able to describe what Alex was wearing perfectly. He might be willing to tell you – but he wants something. Guess what he wants, Katie. He looks at you – and he likes what he sees. He likes it a lot. That's not a big stretch – most men would. It's no skin off his nose either way if Alex lives or dies. He really doesn't want to get involved - he just sees an opportunity to get laid. I mean look at him – it's probably been a while. He just figures if he is going to do you a favor, it's only fair that you should do one for him. That's just the way guys like him think. Now, Katie, you could probably arrest him – take him in – torture the information out of him. But that would be too late. By the time you got the information out of him Alex will already be dead. How far would you go to find out where Alex is? Would you take him in the back room and give him what he wants to save Alex's life?"

Kate just looked at her.

Elise just stared back at her for a long moment. "You know Katie," she finally said. "When these sick bastards are torturing somebody to death they like to do it slowly. They enjoy making their victim suffer as much as humanly possible. The preferred method is by slowly breaking bones. First it's usually the fingers, then the arms, then finally the legs. By the time they get to the legs, he's usually already dead. Every minute that you sit there staring at me, Alex is that much closer to losing another finger."

"Yes," Kate finally said angrily. "You want me to say it – fine. I would make the deal. If there was even a ten percent chance that it would save my Alex, I would take that guy in the back room and fuck his brains out. There, I said it. Are you happy?"

"Katie," Elise said sadly. "I know that our relationship has taken quite a hit in the past few days. A lot of that is my fault. I went sort of crazy with Sparky's seduction lessons. I'm very sorry that I took my personal issues out on you. But if you think that I take any pleasure in making you face that horrible choice – wow – we really have some making up to do. You needed to say it, sweetie. Not for my benefit, I already knew the answer. You needed to admit it to yourself."

Kate nodded – and held out her hand. "I love you," she said. "That hasn't changed."

"I know," Elise said with the beginnings of a smile as she grabbed Kate's hand. "So, Heather, how about you? Stop telling me how much you love Sparky. Are you willing to make that sacrifice to save his life?"

Heather quickly nodded. "Yes," she said. "Of course. There would be no decision to make."

"Good," Elise said. "I hope that after he finally told you and after Alex and Sparky were safe that you would shoot him in the head. But tell me something, Katie. Don't you think that Alex would understand what you did? Don't you think he would be grateful? Or would he think that you cheated on him?"

Kate took a deep breath – and calmed herself. "He would understand," she finally said. "Of course he would."

"You're right," Elise said. "Of course he would. He would do the same thing for you in a heartbeat. So, Heather, if Sparky would understand the sacrifice that you made on your back with that guy – surely he would understand you smiling at him – maybe touching his arm and laughing at his stupid suggestive joke – or on the outside, standing where he can get a small peek down your shirt – don't you think? After all, even though it's something that girls do in bars every night - that would be a sacrifice for you. Nobody is expecting you to enjoy it. And trust me, that is as far as we're ever talking about you going."

"Here is the world's worst kept secret," Janice said. "Men want to do things for beautiful girls. They just do. Come on, girls. You know this already. You don't need us to teach you how to be attractive to men. You already are. All you need is some… motivation. That brings us to your assignment."

"Your assignment is ridiculously easy," Elise said. "It is currently just before fifteen hundred. Rogue Agents Bartowski and Walker have captured Sparky and Alex and are holding them at an undisclosed location somewhere on the base. Your mission is to rescue them. Accomplish that before eighteen hundred and you pass. You are authorized to use any means necessary."

"I don't understand," Heather said. "We don't know where they are. That's only three hours. The base is huge. How can we possibly find them in that amount of time?"

"I don't know," Janice said. "That's up to you. I am authorized to give you some information that might help. See those two solders at the end of the bar?"

Heather nodded.

"They know where Sparky and Alex are," Janice said. "Agent Walker has been using the men to help with her training. Those two drove them to where they are. Their orders were to drop them off, report here until eighteen hundred and then come back and get them."

"They have orders to stay here," Heather said, more to herself than anybody. "They would risk getting in trouble by leaving early."

"That's right," Janice said with a grin. "They would. They would need to be talked into it."

"Here are some ground rules," Elise said. "Heather can't use the fact that she is an officer. You can't tell them that this is an exercise. If you do decide to identify yourself to them, it will be as undercover Agents Moore and Bartowski. Anything that you tell them, they have to believe is real. And this is the most important rule – when you actually do have sex with them, you have to insist that they use a condom."

Elise couldn't help but laugh at the looks of horror on their faces. "Come on, girls," she said as soon as she could get the words out. "I'm just teasing. The other rule is there will be no touching on this assignment – flirting only."

Kate and Heather both breathed huge sighs of relief. "Very funny," Kate said. "You're a regular comedian. Now, what should we do?"

"That's your assignment to figure out," Elise said. "There are a lot of different ways you could go. Just look at them. They are fresh out of basic training. They haven't seen a woman in ten weeks – much less two as incredible as you. Unbutton one more button on your blouse, smile at them and you should be able to talk them into driving you to Mexico if you wanted too. Getting them to take you to where Sparky and Alex are is almost too easy. Kate, your mom clearly wants you to pass. She could have made this a lot harder."

"So," Kate said. "How do we approach them?"

"I don't know," Janice said as she looked at her watch. "All I do know is that the clock is ticking. Need I remind you what is at stake? If you pass this test, Agent Walker goes on permanent vacation. How great would that be? If you fail, you're going to have to deal with one pissed off team. I certainly wouldn't want to be in your shoes at dinner tonight."

"One thing is for sure," Heather said. "We're not going to be doing anything just sitting here." She reached down and unbuttoned her top button. Then she glared at Kate. Her meaning was clear.

Kate paused for a moment. Then she sighed – and unbuttoned her own top button. "I feel like such a slut," she said sadly.

"That's good," Heather said. "Actually, I'm thinking that's the kind of woman those two will be hoping for anyway."

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