A/N Lots of good stories still being posted and expanded on the site, very good to see. This story has quite a way to go, too.

"Did you honestly think he would come alone?"

"I have to call Beckman."

"You've got CIA in my restaurant?"

"My mother just shot me."

The sleek black car sped through the streets of DC, to the third nearest parking garage. Her son's team–her son had a team!–had to have the plates and all from this car recorded, but the camera on this level wasn't working. They could switch here to a new vehicle and no one would know. She hadn't even fully stopped before saying, "Out."

"Yes, I am," said Wheelwright, flinging the door open. "The Americans know. You've ruined everything!" America would pay for his toxin, of course, but only to maintain the status quo. Other nations would pay a lot more to upset it. He walked away as fast as he could, but didn't make it far before his leg gave out on him and he fell to the ground. The tingling of the tranq dart spread rapidly, but not so fast he couldn't hear her walk up to him. He just couldn't stop her rolling him over. "What–?" –are you going to do?

She gripped his tie and pulled him up with effortless strength. "I'm going to teach you the real meaning of fear, Doctor."

Post-mission debrief, in a not-so-quiet Quiet Room.

"It was the right call, Agent Bartowski," said General Beckman. "Until we know the properties of this toxin more fully we can't take a chance."

Between the shooting of her husband and the betrayal by his mother, Sarah still looked ready to kill. That blue liquid may have been colored water. It may have done nothing more than leave a stain on the sidewalk. Or not. And she had to let her go…her duty got harder every day. "Yes, General."

Beckman continued, "On the upside, we now can be much more confident regarding Agent Frost's loyalties."

"Her loyalties?" said Chuck, amazement dripping that such a word could ever be applied to his mother. "She helped Volkoff's pet mad scientist escape with a nerve agent!"

Sarah smacked the table for emphasis. "And she shot her own son!"

"Take 'em off and untwist, Sarah," said Carina. "If she'd really wanted him dead she'd have popped him in the head."

"She couldn't have missed at that range," added Casey. "But she deliberately aimed for a spot she knew was protected."

Chuck flipped the ice-pack over and pressed it against his chest, grimacing. "Remind me to thank her."

Sarah's anger ebbed in the face of her husband's pain. She stood behind him and rubbed his shoulders. "Don't be bitter, Chuck. Of course you trusted your mother. In spite of all the lies and deceit, you still manage to genuinely trust people. It's what I love about you."

He looked up at her. "You don't love my dashing good looks?"

"That would be me," said Carina, raising a hand. "I'm the superficial one."

"I'm more interested in the computer in your brain, Mr. Bartowski," said Beckman, reining in the frivolity, once it served its purpose. "We need you back on line as soon as possible."

"Two fugitives and a dangerous weapon on the loose," said Casey, shaking his head. "Go team."

"Are you feeling up to it, Chuck?" asked Ellie.

Chuck threw the ice-pack on the table. "It's not like I have a choice, sis. We're behind the eight-ball here."

Ellie nodded, accepting her brother's word. "I'll get started on the upload, then. Manoosh has been data-mining, hopefully we'll have something good for you."

"Great, sis," said Chuck. "Let me know when you're ready."

"Kind'a pointless if she doesn't, don't you think?" said Casey as Ellie's inset screen winked out.

"They're called social graces, Casey," said Carina. "You should learn some. You might need them some day."

"When that time comes, Agent Miller, you shall teach him what little you know," scolded Beckman from on high. "Meanwhile…Colonel, Agent Bartowski, I suggest you review traffic cams and whatnot. Agent Miller, since you're still dressed for it, return to the scene and look for whatever clues may have been left behind. Dismissed."

"What was all that about, Frost?" asked Volkoff. When she was away he couldn't sleep, and given the number of time zones between them it's just as well he was up now."You said destroy. I could have had him shot at any time."

"If you want him you can have him, Alexei." Her voice sounded dismissive. "That little puppy wasn't Mr. Charles. I used to know his father. The CIA must be pretty desperate for agents to put him in the field."

She didn't usually waste bullets on drones like that. "You shot him anyway."

"Using the toxin on him wouldn't have had nearly the same effect, and besides, I was being kind."

He couldn't recall seeing a 'kind' side but he knew her 'unkind' side was pretty messy. "Kind?"
"Let him have a moment of glory before he trudges off to some hole in the wall."

Volkoff laughed. "He'll think of you fondly as he scratches his fleas." His joviality faded. "Speaking of fleas, what of the good Doctor?"

"I switched to plan B."

Her 'B' plans were…unkind. "He has my sympathies."

"Hey, Martin."

"Carina, hi! What are you, uh–" He wasn't so glad to see her that he let her shut the door, though. "What are you doing here?"

She shrugged. "Nothing the cleaner team hasn't already done."

"Oh," said Morgan, "That reminds me." He opened his lower desk drawer and pulled out a glass, inside a plastic bag. "I saved this from their table, it's the one she was drinking from."

"What for?"

"I thought you guys might want to dust it for prints, or check for poisons."

How cute. "We know who she was, Martin."

"Ah, but do you know who she was pretending to be?" He grinned triumphantly when her expression said no. "Huh? Huh?"

"Whatever," she grumbled, taking the glass just to get him to stop smirking. She leaned against the door jamb and grinned. "So tell me, did you let Casey see the photos yet?"

"Manoosh?"

Ellie stood to one side, let her assistant have the comm. "What's up, Chuck?"

"I just flashed on Classics of the Horror Film, More Classics of the Horror Film, Son of Classics of the Horror Film, and Classics of the Horror Film Part IV."

"Knew you'd like those."

"I haven't seen most of these movies. A little spoiler warning next time, is that too much to ask for?"

"Sorry, dude," said Manoosh, actually sounding a bit sorry. "But you know what they say. Mission first."

"Grumble, grumble."

"Complain, complain," said the other nerd, laughing. "Look at it this way. When you finally do see these movies, she'll be burying her face in your shoulder, not the other way around."

"Sarah doesn't do face-burying."

"She will when she sees Matango, Fungus of Terror. Some of those flicks are pretty cringe-worthy."

"Ah, at last I understand! They make the movie so bad that making out is an emergency measure to not see it."

"Exactly."

"That ever work for you?"

"No. Usually she just went home."

"You didn't follow her? Make sure she got there all right?"asked Chuck, with plenty of wink, wink, nudge, nudge in his voice.

"Nah, I watched the film. I mean, come on, it's a fungus of terror, for God's sake."

"Manoosh, I beg you, let my sister set you up."

Ellie took that as her cue to leave the room. Sarah and Casey had taken over Manoosh's former cave, now that he was allowed free rein of the lab, so she went where the sane voices were.

"–every bus station, subway, and traffic light camera within a mile of the restaurant, and we still don't–oh, hi, Ellie."

Multiple screens were flashing in front of both agents, but Ellie couldn't imagine that they were actually seeing anything in them. Probably some software looking at it, possibly Chuck was seeing it too. "No luck, huh?"

"This is just part one," said Casey. "Then we start pulling up the rocks, until we find out which one they're hiding under."

Ellie's phone rang. She backed out of the room to answer it. "Hello?"

"Babe, you gotta come home," said Devon, sounding panicked. "The Eagle has landed."

"The who has what?" asked Ellie. Who was the Eagle this time? Suddenly she thought she knew. "Devon, are you all right?" She lowered her voice. "My mother's not there, is she?"

He got awfully quiet, too. "Not your mother, El. Mine."

Oh God. Honey Woodcombe, early as usual. Went straight to the house and was probably already cleaning it. Still, at least she wasn't a fugitive aider and abettor. Ellie found the thought strangely comforting. "I'll be right there," she promised him. He sounded like he was freaking out a little. "Thanks for warning me."

"Just get home stat."

Honey couldn't have picked a worse time to get in, Chuck needed family around him right now, but that family was more than just her, still hard to believe after twenty years. She allowed herself a moment to listen to that family, that team, do what it did best. Ellie quickly said her goodbyes, grabbed her coat and flashed a reminder to Manoosh, to do the download in time. The more stressful the subject, the shorter the upload periods she would allow, and she couldn't think of a more stressful pursuit than this one.

One quick drive home later…

Target acquired. The woman in the black sports car smiled behind her binoculars.

Ellie turned in alarm as the speeding sports car suddenly veered toward her, but to her surprise it stopped right in front of her. "Get in," said Frost loudly, pointing a pistol at her.

"Mom?" Ellie couldn't believe she was seeing this. "Are you crazy? First you abandon us, and then you come back and shoot Chuck? Am I next?" She flattened her shirt against her bulging tummy. "This isn't a bulletproof vest, you know."

"Don't be silly, sweetheart, this is just for show." Frost tilted the gun to show Ellie the slot where the magazine should have been. "Your husband is watching."

And panicking. For once he'll be glad his mom is there. "Why should I get in, then?"

"No reason," said Frost, shrugging. "I can always come inside with you and have a long chat with your mother-in-law instead."

Ellie got in the car. In her picture window she could see both Devon and Honey as well, shocked and horrified, but neither of them stupid enough to attempt a rescue. She flashed a quick 'telephone' gesture as she opened the door. Even if Honey called the police, after the fiasco with Shaw last year they'd hand the case off to the right people.

The car sped off and Ellie fumbled for the seatbelt. "Don't forget to press your emergency signal," said her mother casually, putting the empty gun down. "You're being kidnapped, remember?" She waited until Ellie had pressed the stud firmly. "That's my girl."

"Mom…"

"So, how far along are you?"

Chuck was just beginning his prescribed rest period after the download when the alarm came in. Without his sister there to override him, he jumped out of bed and raced down the hall. "What?"

"It's Ellie," said Sarah. "She's activated her emergency beacon. We're tracking her now."

"I'll load up."

"No you won't," said Manoosh, standing behind him.

Chuck turned on the younger nerd. "What are you talking about? This is Ellie! I have to help save her! Load me up."

"Sorry, Chuck, I can't," said Manoosh. "You know as well as I do that the upload needs to be encoded first. Even if I start it now it'll be at least an hour to finish, but that's with a trimmed dataset, and I'd have to trim it first."

"Well, then, what are you waiting for?" said Casey.

Manoosh ran off, and Sarah turned to her husband. "We're going after her. You may not have the Intersect but we still need you to run the op, so get running."

Chuck grinned. "Yes, ma'am."

"What do you mean, Chuck really is Mr. Charles?" She could ignore the fact that Mr. Charles had to be someone's son, until that someone was her. "My son in danger? A spy? I won't have it."

"You don't have a vote." Not that Ellie didn't agree. "You left us. You chose being a spy over being a mother. I am the only parent Chuck has, and I will have it. In fact I insist on it."

Frost smiled. "You sound like me."

"Mom, don't take this the wrong way, because I really hope it hurts a lot, but everything I know about being a mother I learned from remembering you and not doing a single damn thing that you did."

It hurt. A lot. The car came to a screeching halt. "Out."

Ellie looked around, completely unaware of where she was. Shipping containers everywhere. "You're abandoning me again?" Here?

Frost opened her door. "Out."

Ellie followed. "Where are we?"

"Come with me," said her mother, walking in among the crates where the car couldn't go."It's too late for a teddy bear or a new dress, but how about a Mother's Day present instead?"

"Him and his lab?" said Chuck, a little shaky with relief. This op hadn't needed so much running that he didn't worry himself sick anyway.

Across the lab, Manoosh went 'Yes!', grinning broadly. That was his Boss.

"Yeah," said Chuck. "We'll be here. Take your time, do it right." He clicked off and immediately entered Devon's number. No way he'd let him suffer a minute longer than he had to. Passing the story along to someone else–he was positively giddy!

The perfect mood. "Project?" asked Manoosh.

The perfect idea. "Project!"

"Chuck," called Manoosh over the intercom. "Shut it down, they're here."

Chuck didn't shut it down, he didn't have the time to save it all, so he did the next best thing. He hit the door control, since the screens had to be clear before it would open. He walked out right in front of Ellie.

"There you are, little brother," she said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not the one who got kidnapped, sis."

"Exactly," she said. "You don't have nearly as much experience worrying about me as I do worrying about you. What were you doing in the Intersect room?"

Fortunately Chuck already had an answer ready. "Do you realize that even with all the resources the government has at its disposal, there is only one video about Matango the Fungus of Terror to be found anywhere?"

Ellie rolled her eyes. That's my brother. "Well, fortunately you can shelve that research, Mom gave us Wheelwright and his toxin. General Beckman wants me to do the initial review while she puts together a proper team."

"Wait, she shoots me and then hands her asset over to you? Since when did Mom start playing favorites like that?"

"Since she found out you were Mr. Charles and had to make it look good for her boss, Volkoff." She made room as Casey walked by, carrying a large box.

"Wait, you brought him here?"

"Yeah, I know," said Ellie. "We're not equipped to hold anyone securely but she wanted to keep this whole thing contained, until she finds out if this toxin really could do what Mom said."

"…probably smart."

"Don't worry, Chuck. I've got a haz-mat suit, and my office seals, although keeping the poison gas in wasn't the original idea. Sarah and Casey have the real problem. Apparently this Wheelwright guy put together at least one delivery vehicle, and they have to disarm it."

"Hello again, Doctor."

Wheelwright looked up at his new captor, as the old one went to join her partner disassembling the device. "So that conniving bitch was plotting with you all along?"

"You might want to watch how you talk about my mother, Doctor."

Wheelwright sneered in disgust. Both men looked over at the sound of a vacuum seal hissing open.

"Okay," said Sarah. "Let's get that detonator." Suddenly a panel popped out, with a timer. "Casey!"

The big man grunted. "Another booby-trap? Chuck, get him over here." As Chuck walked the prisoner to the bench Casey fetched the gas masks. "Well, we've got three masks and four of us. If that booby-trap goes off, Doctor, guess who gets exposed."

"Well played," snarled Wheelwright. He pressed his thumb to the panel and the timer stopped. "There you go, perfectly safe."

Casey dumped the masks on the table. "Put him back." Suddenly the timer beeped and he looked down, to see it counting down at great speed. No time for masks. "Chuck, get her out of here!"

Chuck grabbed Sarah as Sarah grabbed Chuck and they both pushed each other out the door. Wheelwright watched them go calmly, then turned back to see his device go off–

Inside a clear acrylic box, as Casey held the door shut. The box filled with colored gas, but none was leaking out. "Clever, Doctor," he said, "But not–"

Wheelwright sprayed him in the face with what looked like a rescue inhaler, then stood back and watched as Casey started to tremble. "Your hands are shaking. That's how it begins…"

Chuck and Sarah came back into the room, when the alarms failed to go off.

Casey lashed out, smacking Wheelwright's hand and sending the fake inhaler flying towards Sarah. As she caught it, Wheelwright stepped around his victim, tugging gently on the unlocked door of the containment box. It popped open, spewing bluish vapors everywhere.

Now the alarms went off.

Wheelwright just watched as his toxin surrounded them all. "Oops."

A/N2 Oh dear. All of them? Whatever will they do?