Sigh Real Life has been getting in the way so it took a lot longer for this update than I intended. Between work, computer problems, obsessing over the last couple Chuck episodes, etc., writing has just been a little lower on the list. That and the fact that I am finding this story much harder to write than my previous stories. So sorry for the delay.

As ever, thank you to my editor, Poa, for her suggestions, corrections and above all encouragement. You're a wonder, Poa. You really are.

Enough with the author dreck. On with…

CHUCK VERSUS THE BUY MORE BOMBER

Chapter 14

Everything's Negotiable

Having fried the security camera in the stairwell, Sarah and Casey knew they didn't have much time to get to Chuck before all hell broke loose. Unfortunately, while they knew Chuck's location thanks to the GPS locator on his watch (which, thankfully, broadcast on a different frequency than Chuck's wire), they didn't know his current condition. If they went in guns blazing, then Chuck's cover was definitely blown if it hadn't been already.

They reached the door at the top of the stairwell and Sarah pulled out her scanner and hooked it into the security panel for the door. She and Casey both kept glancing up at the camera and then back down the stairwell as they waited for the mini-computer to crack the code for the door. There was a beep and the click of the door lock opening. Sarah opened the door and peeked out. Luck was with them. The door opened into a deserted hallway. Sarah tucked her pistol in the back of her Nerd Herder skirt and slipped out the door. With a grumble, Casey hid his gun in his waistband and followed her.

Sarah glanced at the scanner in her hand and quickly determined that Chuck was in the room at the end of the long hallway - the one with the massive polished mahogany doors. She jerked her head toward the door and Casey nodded once, then took up a position to watch the other end of the hall. Sarah moved quickly and quietly to the doors and pulled a long tube out of her scanner, which she slipped under the door. With the press of a button, she could now see and hear what went on inside the room.

She wormed the mini camera around to scan the room, first catching sight of Chuck's picture on the six large plasma screens on one wall. She then panned it slowly across the room, past the huge desk, until she caught sight of the chairs and couches arrayed around a coffee table. She stopped when she came to the unmistakable sight of Chuck's unruly curls. He was seated on a couch with his back to the door. Moses Finkelstein (etc.) sat in a chair facing the door. He was leaning close to Chuck while Amelia Banks, Mr. Finkelstein's personal assistant/bodyguard, was standing behind Mr. Finkelstein's chair, her hand resting lightly on the back of it.

Moses Finkelstein (etc.) was speaking softly and Sarah had to strain to hear his words. She leaned closer to the scanner. She could barely make out his next words.

Sarah gasped and Casey leaned in close to her. "What is it, torture?"

Sarah hit a button on her scanner and the last few seconds of video played back. Casey strained to hear the words. When he did, he shook his head. "Again," he said, listening carefully to make sure he understood Mr. Finkelstein's last comment.

He looked at Sarah with a questioning look and she nodded. They obviously both had heard the same thing: 'I've chosen you to be that man. I want you, Charles Bartowski, to be my apprentice.'

"What the hell has the geek gotten himself into this time?" Casey whispered.

Inside the office, Chuck Bartowski was wondering much the same thing. "Excuse me, sir?" he asked.

Moses patted his knee and sat back. "You heard me, Charles. I want you to be my apprentice. My heir apparent. I am going to train you to run my business empire."

Chuck was stunned. He was half expecting Ashton Kutcher to step out and tell him he'd been 'punked.' He looked at Moses. He was smiling benevolently and nodding slightly, as if he had just announced the cure for cancer.

Chuck's mind was whirling. Of all the things that he was even remotely expecting when he was summoned to Moses Finkelstein's office, he couldn't have imagined this in his wildest dreams. He opened and closed his mouth a couple times and then berated himself for no doubt looking like a fish out of water.

"But, why me, sir?" Chuck asked.

"Charles, I am surrounded by toadies. Men like that Everett character I sent over to your store. Men who are only interested in sales figures and corporate gamesmanship. I am surrounded by MBAs and accountants and," he shuddered slightly, "lawyers. I need someone with tactical sense. With strategic vision. Business is war!" He thumped a finger on the arm of his chair to emphasize each of the last three words.

"Sir, I don't think..." Chuck started to say.

But Moses wasn't listening. "I came to realize, when I started this business, that it was my work as a spy that made me such an effective businessman. Thinking on your feet, grace under pressure, reading your opponent's strengths and weaknesses, processing the overwhelming flow of data, ruthlessness... That's what makes a truly great businessman."

Chuck glanced up at Amelia to see if her employer's rant had fazed her at all. She was looking at the wall, her expression neutral, until she noticed Chuck looking at her. She gave him a slight nod and one corner of her mouth turned up ever-so-slightly.

Moses was continuing his monologue. "As I said, al Fayed made me realize my one great weakness, and when my people told me that it was you - one of my own Nerd Herders - on that tape, everything fell into place. I knew I had found the perfect candidate. The perfect apprentice."

"Sir," Chuck said, "I really don't think I'm your man."

Moses chuckled lightly and smiled broadly at him. "Yes, yes, Charles. I know this is overwhelming. To have the world handed to you on a silver platter. But you must realize that I do not make this decision lightly. I have been looking for a worthy successor ever since al Fayed was released. I didn't think I would ever find someone with your combined and... unique... skill set. Imagine: a Nerd Herd spy!"

"Well, I'm not really a spy," Chuck said carefully.

In the hallway outside, Casey tensed. The nerd was about to give away the store. He glanced over at a frowning Sarah. "We need to get him out of there, before he says something really stupid," Casey said.

Sarah shook her head. "Have a little faith, Casey. Chuck's not going to say anything to compromise the Intersect."

"This is Bartowski we're talking about," Casey snarled.

"Just wait a minute," Sarah admonished him.

"We don't have a minute," Casey warned her. "Security is going to be here any second."

"I thought we had stopped with these ridiculous denials," Moses said. He gestured vaguely in the direction of the plasma screens. "You are most certainly a spy."

"I'm an analyst, actually," Chuck said, looking down. "I'm just an analyst. I'm not trained to be a spy."

To his surprise, Moses laughed. Chuck looked up at him to see Moses smiling broadly. "But don't you see, that's perfect!" Moses said, slapping his knees. "I was an analyst, too, before I became a spy. Chuck, my boy, don't you see it? You're me!"

Chuck's jaw dropped (again) and he blinked a couple of times at Moses. "I'm... you?"

Moses stood and began to pace the room again, much more animated this time. "Why, I couldn't have asked for a better fit. You clearly are a spy, Charles, whether the CIA acknowledges that or not. Look at your actions. Are those the actions of an analyst?" He waived his hand broadly in a dismissive gesture. "Of course not! A little bit of training and you'd be one of the best."

There was a noise at the end of the hallway and Casey turned to see two security guards in muted green and yellow uniforms striding down the hall toward them. "Time's up, Walker," he said, reaching for his gun.

Sarah touched his arm with one hand while putting away the scanner with the other. "Wait, Casey. We can't exactly shoot our way out of here."

"Watch me," Casey said, but he didn't pull his gun. Instead he plastered on a broad smile and turned to the guards.

"What are you doing here?" the older of the two guards asked, his hand on his holster.

"This isn't the training room?" Sarah asked.

Chuck shook his head. "Mr. Finkelstein... Moses... Don't you think we should be concentrating on Abdul al Fayed? You know, the guy who's blowing up your stores?"

Moses waived his hand. "I have Mossad taking care of that. They are the best. And Ari Schwartz is one of their best. He will take care of it."

"Ari is in the hospital," Chuck said, leaning forward in his chair.

Moses stopped pacing and looked at Chuck. "Of course, of course. You are right. We need to take care of this nuisance. We..."

The door to the office opened and the two burly security guards came in, pushing Sarah and Casey in front of them. "Mr. Finkelstein. We found these two snooping around outside your office."

Chuck came to this feet, while Amelia reached inside her jacket and produced an enormous Desert Eagle handgun that had Chuck wondering just how she had hidden it there.

Moses, however, was nonplussed and smiled at Sarah and Casey. "It's all right," he said. "They may stay. It saves me from having to send for them."

Sarah looked from Chuck, to Amelia, to Moses and back to Chuck. "Chuck, are you all right?" she asked.

Chuck nodded, looking nervously at Amelia. Moses turned and looked at his assistant/bodyguard as well, and then motioned for her to lower her weapon. "Amelia, please. These are guests. I am sure that they mean us no harm."

He nodded to the security guards. "Wait outside." Once the guards were gone, he turned back to Chuck. "Please, Charles, aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

"No need," Sarah said. "We were just leaving. Come on, Chuck."

"Wait, wait," Moses said. "You're the woman from the store. The one Chuck here rescued." He turned to Chuck. "I must say, Charles, you have excellent taste in partners. Beauty," he nodded at Sarah, "and the beast," a nod to Casey, "as it were. It reminds me of my own team from so many years ago." He sighed almost wistfully.

He took a step forward and held out his hand. "I am Moses Finkelstein, Founder and CEO of Buy More." Sarah reluctantly took his hand. "This is Amelia Banks, my assistant. And, as you can see, a rather formidable bodyguard."

"A... pleasure," Amelia said in a tone that indicated she was merely being polite. She was eyeing Sarah and Casey cautiously. She turned to Moses. "Sir, I would feel more comfortable if they were not armed."

Moses was still holding Sarah's hand and she was beginning to grow rather uncomfortable. "Nonsense," he said. "We're all friends here. Fighting for truth, justice and the American way, eh?" He finally released Sarah's hand and she unconsciously rubbed it on her short Nerd Herder skirt. "Besides, any friend of Chuck's is a friend of ours, isn't that right?"

He turned to Casey and offered his hand to him as well. "I want to thank you for rescuing Ari Schwartz from the fire. That took some real intestinal fortitude. Of course, you did have Charles here to lead the way."

Casey barely suppressed a growl, but he shook Moses' hand firmly.

"John Casey, isn't it? Top salesman at the Burbank store. You certainly have a knack for moving the Beastmasters. I don't think there is another store that has sold as many as you have single-handedly. Of course, I assume that your working for me is only a cover."

Casey turned and glared at Chuck.

"Oh, don't blame Charles. He didn't tell me who you were. You missed the video presentation earlier. The security cameras in the North Hollywood store caught you and Charles rescuing Ari and this lovely young lady." He turned a little to look at Sarah. "I still don't know your name."

Sarah gave a mental shrug. If he knew who Chuck and Casey were, there was no point in trying to lie. "Sarah Walker," she said.

"Please, have a seat," Moses said, motioning to the chairs. "Can I get you anything? Water? Coffee? Amelia makes a wonderful cappuccino."

"As I said," Sarah replied. "We were just leaving."

Moses frowned and his voice grew colder. "No. Really. I am afraid I must insist. Charles and I were not through with our conversation."

Casey gave a little grunt and took a step toward Moses. There was a click as Amelia cocked the Desert Eagle and pointed it at Casey's head.

"Wait!" Chuck shouted. "Moses, please. Casey, Sarah, wait."

Everyone in the room turned to Chuck except Amelia, who kept the gun pointed at Casey's head.

"Listen. Like Moses... Mr. Finkelstein... said: we're all on the same team here.... more or less. We want to stop the bombings of the Buy Mores. So does he. We need to work together." He turned to Amelia. "And that doesn't include pointing cannons at each other."

Amelia glanced over at Moses and he gave a slight nod. She slowly lowered her weapon. Moses clapped his hands, startling everyone in the room. "You see!" he shouted. "Perfect! Note how well he defused that situation. I tell you Charles, you're a natural."

"Natural born loser," Casey muttered.

"I want to speak to your superior," Moses said to Sarah and Casey. "You can arrange that for me, of course." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a gold business card holder and took out two cards. "Here. This has my private number. You can have him call me." He turned to Chuck. "I suppose it is rather bad form to take you away from your team in the middle of an investigation. Clearly, they are unable to function effectively without you."

Chuck heard Casey draw in a breath and saw him tense up. "Indeed, I can't imagine leaving my team in the middle of an investigation," Chuck said quickly.

"Yes, yes," Moses said. "I'll speak to you about your new position later, my boy. I know you're overwhelmed with my generosity. Amelia, can you show them out?"

Amelia took a step forward and motioned toward the door. Sarah and Casey looked at Moses, then turned and started toward the door. As Chuck turned to go, Moses clapped a hand on his shoulder. "I'm looking forward to working with you, Charles. The perfect sponge to soak up my vast wisdom."

Chuck started to protest, but stopped and held out his hand. "I'll certainly think about your offer, sir."

"Nothing to think about," Moses said, using the hand on his shoulder to guide him toward the door. "I've made my decision. And I always get what I want. I'll be in touch." He guided Chuck out the door, gave his shoulder a fatherly pat, and then turned back toward his office.

Sarah and Casey paused to let Chuck catch up.

"Listen guys," Chuck said. "I..."

"Later, moron," Casey hissed. "I can't wait to explain this one to Beckman."

Amelia led them to the executive floor receptionist. The two security guards were hovering by the desk. "Please escort these two out of the building," Amelia said, indicating Sarah and Casey. She turned to Chuck. "Will you be needing Davis and the limo, or will you be riding with... these two."

"I, ah, think I can catch a ride with them," Chuck said.

Amelia offered her hand. "A pleasure, Mr. Bartowski. I am sure we will be seeing much more of each other. Perhaps next time we can compare notes on Ex Machina."

Chuck took her hand lightly by the fingers so as not to hurt his bandaged hands, glancing over at Sarah as he did. Her expression was unreadable. Amelia, noting his glance, turned to Sarah. "Nice outfit, by the way." Then she turned and strode back down the hall toward Moses Finkelstein (etc.)'s office.

Casey snorted. "Gotta love a woman who packs a Desert Eagle."

"He what?!" Beckman exploded from the video screen in the Castle.

"He offered me a job," Chuck said. "Well, I guess technically it's a promotion, since I already work for him. I mean, we didn't talk salary or title or anything. I don't know that 'heir apparent' is exactly a job title. You know, I think..."

"General, our covers have been compromised," Sarah cut in, stopping Chuck's ramble. "Finkelstein identified Casey and me as agents from the security video for the North Hollywood Buy More."

"And now he wants Chuck to run his corporation," Beckman said. "Why?"

"I think that's a little harsh," Chuck said. "I mean, I am a pretty good worker and..."

"Finkelstein's clearly unbalanced," Casey said, cutting off Chuck yet again. "Why else would he choose numbskull here as anything except janitor."

"That was rather hurtful, Casey. After all, I could end up as your boss."

"When hell freezes over."

"Don't worry. I wouldn't hold all those hurtful things against you when..."

"Ahem!" Beckman said loudly and Chuck stopped and looked up at the screen. "There is no way that we're going to allow the Intersect to be used to run an electronics chain."

"Well, technically, he did say that his business empire was more than just the Buy More. He said that was just the tip of the iceberg."

"Mr. Bartowski, I'm sending an extraction team. The mission has been compromised. I am putting you in lockdown here in Washington."