Author's Note: first off, I want to thank everyone for their kind reviews. I really appreciate it. Second, I need to offer an apology. When I started this story, it was with the intention of doing weekly updates. That plan has gone out the window. I've started a new project at work and it has been taking up more and more of my time. Not to worry though, I have no intention of abandoning this story...it's just that updates will be longer in coming. Please bear with me. Also, after this chapter and the next, I'll be skipping ahead a little bit in the timeline; as much as I like writing the day-to-day evolution of Chuck and Sarah, and their team, I feel the need to move the story along at a slightly faster pace; at least for a little while.

Finally, I just need to vent about a pet peeve of mine with Fan Fiction writers in general. People, the category selections are there for a reason, to let the reader know, in general, what kind of story they are looking at it. I understand that sometimes it can be hard to categorize a story and that FF .net does not make it easy (I believe they only allow you to select 2 at most) but nothing is more frustrating than starting to read a story (more often than not well written) that's categorized as Romance, for example, only to get 2 or 3 chapters into it to find out is more angst than Romance. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with angst filled stories (though they're not my cup of tea) but at least be upfront with the reader about it. If your story has more than a passing amount of angst, then say so!

Sorry about that, just needed to get that off my chest. As you can probably guess, I've been bitten by this more than once, and just had it happen to me recently.

Hacienda Rojos Apartment Complex

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Saturday, July 16 2006

1300 hours

"Anything?" Casey asked the team as the stood in the kitchen of the raided apartment. They had spent the last two hours re-examining everything in the apartment. Around him, the rest of the team shook their heads.

"Nothing." Jack said, clearly frustrated.

"This is ridiculous," Carina said. "Nobody is this good."

Casey grunted in agreement. It made no sense that other than the forged passports and bomb materials, there was nothing remaining, no DNA, no fingerprints, nothing. Sure, a full CIA or NSA cleaner team could accomplish it, but not without there having been some indication of something happening at the location, like an exterminator tenting the building, or a major painting project, or something as a cover. All of which would have been noticed by the neighbors.

"Something's not right." Casey said. "We're missing something."

"What about the neighbors?" Forrest said. "I know the files we had Chuck look at had the immediate neighbors in it but this is a big apartment complex." Jack grabbed a stack of papers and started flipping through them. After a moment, he turned to Casey.

"Do you still have that list we got off the building manager?" he asked. Casey went over to the table and flipped through another folder, pulling a set of stapled sheets out and handing it to Ryan.

"What are you thinking Ryan?" Casey asked. Jack scanned the packet and stopped at the third page. Then he looked back at the first list.

"I knew I'd seen that name somewhere before!" he exclaimed. "Take a look; according the interview sheet the police gave us, apartment 301b down the hall is rented by Jack Lansing. They interviewed him but he didn't have any information. But according to the list the building manager gave us, that apartment was rented by a Thomas Riddle. Jack Lansing rents apartment 107c!"

"So either the building manager's paperwork is screwed up," Forrest began.

"I doubt it." Carina said. "I've seen his type before, very precise, anal-retentive. No way would he have screwed up the paperwork."

"Or the police have a mole." Casey finished.

Highway 10

Outside Juan Gonzalez, Puerto Rico

1330 hours

Aashif Alwari cursed under his breath as he saw the flashing red and blue lights of a Puerto Rico Police cruiser in his rear view mirror. His cell had been on the run since their safe house had been compromised several days earlier. They still had no idea how the San Juan Police had known they were there; it was sure luck that the cell had not been there when raid went down.

"I told Yusef it was a mistake sending me out to pick up supplies." he said. Aashif had been chosen because he was the only one of the five-man cell that did not have a record. This was his first operation. But that very fact was what made it a bad idea to send him. He had no idea how to handle situations like this. So he did the only thing that his instincts were telling him to do, he ran. Pressing his foot harder on the excelerator, his car sped off.

Highway 10

Outside Juan Gonzalez, Puerto Rico

Patrolman Rafael Garza cursed as the car he had been trying to pull over for a busted tail light increased speed and began weaving in and out of traffic.

What the hell is wrong with this guy? Garza thought. It's just a freaking tail light. Garza was relatively new to the force; this was his first high speed chase. Usually when he flipped on his lights, cars pulled over immediately. Then a thought hit him. Oh fuck. This guy must be wanted for something.

"This is 1-Adam-12. In pursuit of a white, four door Toyota Camry traveling west on I-10. License number Alpha-One-Three-Charlie-Six-Seven. Vehicle is driving at excessive speed and erratically." He said into his radio, then after a pause "Request backup. I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Roger 1-Adam-12." The dispatcher responded. Garza continued pursuing the car for a few more moments before his radio squawked again.

"1-Adam-12, this is 2-King-14" a voice said. "I am traveling eastbound on I-10, approximately 6 miles from you. I've got two more units behind me. Additional units are blocking exits 5 & 6. Will set roadblock with spike strip between those two exits."

"Roger 2-King-14" Garza replied. "ETA on your location at this speed is maybe two minutes." Garza continued following fleeing car. More than once the chase had almost ended in disaster as the fleeing car came very close to crashing into another car on the road, or forcing one off the road. He only hoped that the spike strip would do the job.

As they approached exit 5, the driver of the fleeing car began to swerve towards the exit, then back on the highway when he saw the roadblock blocking the exit. It didn't do him any good however, as within seconds he had hit the spike strip running across the road. The driver slammed on the brakes to stop, which Garza had been taught in the Police Academy was exactly the wrong thing to do, and lost control of the car as it spun and then crashed into the highway divider. Garza executed a stop before he came to the strip and exited his car, drawing his weapon. Ahead, several other officers were approaching the vehicle yelling instructions for the driver to get out. A quick glance showed that the driver was unconscious. In the distance, ambulance sirens could be heard approaching.

Safehouse

Juan Gonzalez, Puerto Rico

1430 hours

"And now we go to the scene of a deadly police chase that ended on Highway 10 about an ago." the male reporter on the television was saying. A moment later the image on the screen changed and showed an attractive brunette female reporter who was standing on the side of the highway. Behind her was a wrecked car and several police officers could be seen taking measurements and searching the area.

"Thanks Dave." the female reporter said. "About an hour ago a highway patrol officer attempted to pull over a white Toyota Camry for having a busted tail light. Details are still sketchy at this point, but it appears that the vehicle attempted to flee and was pursued by numerous units of the highway patrol. The chase ended at a roadblock set up on Highway 10 when the driver lost control and crashed into the highway divider. The information we have is that the driver, a man of Middle-Eastern descent in his 20s, was unconscious and has been transported of Juan Gonzalez Memorial Hospital and is in critical condition. There is no word at this time why the driver led police on a chase over a relatively minor traffic violation."

Yusef Hussein cursed as he turned off the TV. He had been able to read the license plate on the wreck car and knew instantly that it had been Aashif. I never should have sent him. he thought. It's only a matter of time before they find us. We're going to have to call off the operation. Yusef pulled out his disposable cell phone and dialed a number from memory.

"This is Yusef. Code Blue. Requesting extraction." he said. He listened to the voice on the other end for a few moments. "Understood." he said, hanging up the phone. He turned to the other remaining members of the cell.

"Grab you E&E bags. The operation is off. We're proceeding to an extraction point in a cove about fifty miles from here." he ordered. "Sanitize the house."

About ten minutes later the team had packed up or destroyed anything that could be used to identify them or the operation, not that there had been much left over since the flight from the first safe house. Piling into the second vehicle in the garage, they soon sped off.

Accident Scene

Highway 10

Outside Juan Gonzalez

1500

"Lieutenant! You better take a look at this!" a patrolman called from near the wreckage of the car. The highway had been shut down for the last hour or so as the crime scene team had reconstructed the events of the chase and subsequent crash. Lieutenant Michelle Reyes walked towards the patrolman.

"What have you got?" she asked.

"Found this in the trunk, in the spare tire compartment." he said, handing her a small bag. She took it from him and placed it on the ground. A moment later she had it opened and was looking at the contents inside, examining them. "Oh shit. Contact Inspector Garcia in San Juan. Tell him we may have found one of the men he's looking for." Then she turned to another officer. "Lock the scene down. No one touches anything else!"

Undisclosed Location

Unknown

1500

"It seems our proxies are no longer going to be of any use. It is only a matter of time before the authorities find them. They have asked for extraction and we have agreed." a man said, speaking into a phone. "Proceed to point x-ray and take care of it. Priority 1." After he had hung up, he turned to the others in the room.

"What about our other operative?" one of them asked.

"Unfortunately Officer Mendez is going to have to be sacrificed. We must give the authorities a reason to stop their investigation." the man said. "Contact Murdoch and tell him to handle it."

Apartment of Officer Carlos Mendez

San Juan, Puerto Rico

1600 hours

Officer Carlos Mendez walked towards the door as he heard the impatient knocking. Glancing at the clock, he shook his head.

"She said she would be here an hour ago." he groused. "And she's got the nerve to me knocking impatiently?" Not for the first time he cursed the day he had met Sydney. When she first approached him at a San Juan bar a year ago, he had thought he had hit the lottery. She was easily the sexist woman he had ever seen. That feeling lasted only a few days, when his nightmare had begun. It turned out that Sydney represented some very dangerous people; people who needed someone inside the Puerto Rico Police. He had refused at first, until she had shown him the photographs. How they had found out he didn't know but he couldn't let his family, friends, or coworkers find out. As progressive as the rest of the United States, hell even the South, had been getting regarding homosexuality, Latin culture and police culture were still very behind the times. And so he had done what the asked. Change some paperwork here, gave a few warnings about upcoming operations there. Then a month ago, things had gotten even worse. They somehow got him transferred to the department's Anti-Terrorism Task Force. And demanded he use his new position to help aid them in planting a terrorist cell in San Juan. It was then he decided that enough was enough. Except they had anticipated his change of heart. They presented him with recorded evidence of all his transgressions committed in their service, along with a number of forged items for things he hadn't done. Then there was the pictures of his mother and sister. They assured him that should he try to back out, that both would be killed slowly and the most horrible way. So he had done what they asked.

"Hold your horses, I'm coming." he said. A moment later he reached the door and opened it. "It's about time you got here."

"Really Officer Mendez? Do I need to remind you who is in charge here?" Sydney said with a smirk as she stepped through the door. "Perhaps we need to remind you what will happen to your mother and sister?" Carlos' shoulders slumped in defeat; he knew she was right. Instead of lashing out like he wanted, he turned and walked over towards his couch.

"You win." he said. "What is it that you need me to do -" His sentence was cut off as he felt a small prick in the back of his neck. He spun around to see her holding a small needle. He opened his mouth to say something when darkness crashed in around him.

White Orchid Cove

Fifty Miles from Juan Gonzalez, Puerto Rico

1700 hours

Yusef looked at his watch again, frustrated. His contact had promised that a speed boat would be here an hour ago to extract his team. The whole operation was turning into a disaster. First the initial safe house had been compromised, then Aashif had gotten himself injured and captured. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't hear the silenced shot that killed him. Moments later, the rest of his cell was laying on the ground next to him.

Hidden in the jungle several yards away, a man dressed in black smirked to himself as he lowered his rifle. It had been almost too easy. The cell hadn't even bothered to do an adequate job of securing the area. It was a good thing his employer hadn't really wanted to extract them. Standing up, he broke down his sniper rifle and placed it into his backpack. He then walked towards the bodies on the ground. After spending several minutes removing any items his employer didn't want found, and planting others he did want found, he moved off into the jungle, careful to erase his presence as he went. Once safely in the jungle, he pulled out a secure sat phone and dialed a number.

"This is Decker." he said. "It's done."

Casa Bartowski

Echo Park

Saturday, July 16 2006

1830 hours

"So Chuck what are your and Sarah's plans since your project finished early" Ellie asked. She, Devon, Chuck, Sarah, Alex and Morgan were seated around the the Bartowski kitchen table, having just finished dinner. To Chuck's surprise, when Ellie had heard that Morgan and Alex were back together, she had insisted that Chuck invite them to dinner. It had come as a slight shock to Chuck to find out that Morgan had grown on Ellie and Devon over the last few years. Ellie had always tolerated Morgan but now seem to consider him a friend as well as Chuck's friend.

"Well, we talked to our Commanding Officer (C.O.) earlier and were able to get a couple days leave." Chuck said. "So we were going to stick around until Tuesday." Ellie let out of squeal of happiness.

"I'm so glad!" she exclaimed. "Devon and I have the next three days off too! That means I can actually see my baby brother!" Chuck and Sarah exchanged grins; they have predicted this response.

"Actually, Chuckster, that's more awesome than you know." Devon said, looking at Ellie. She smiled and nodded, obviously answering an unasked question. "We've been kicking around an idea but we weren't sure if or when we could do it. You know how important you are to your sister and you're like a brother to me so we didn't want to do it if you couldn't be there-"

"Oh for God's sake, Devon. What he's taking forever to say is that we decided we're done trying to plan this stupid wedding. It's too much work. So we were thinking of going off to Vegas for a quick ceremony. But we wanted you to be there. Now that we know you'll be here for the next few days, we'd like to drive out there tomorrow." Ellie said, interrupting him. "You and Alex are invited as well, Morgan, if you're free."

Chuck and Sarah exchanged looks that functioned as a silent conversation.

What do you think? Chuck seemed to ask with his.

Sure. We'll have to check in with Harper, but I don't think he'll have an issue. Sarah's look responded. Nodding, Chuck turned to his sister.

"We'd be honored, sis." Chuck said, grinning. "But that's a long drive to go back and forth in a day. Don't you and Devon have work on Monday?"

"We do," Devon answered, "but a couple of our co-workers owe us a favor. It wouldn't be an issue to switch shifts."

"I'm pretty sure I can get Big Mike to give me a day or two off." Morgan said. "How about you babe?"

"I already have tomorrow off." Alex said. "I can probably get Monday off too."

"Vegas here we come!" Devon said excitedly.