Hi there. It took a bit of time, but I got the latest chapter up. I'll be the first to admit not having the story traffic stats working was akin to a smoker being without a pack of cigarettes. You just need to know how you're doing with a story. Sadly, I was the same way when I tried more than my fair share of diet programs. If anybody knows how not to sweat the numbers, you're much smarter than me.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the story. I'll be writing a quick one-shot story this weekend to keep up my tradition of writing Chuck stories for the holidays. It'll be a bit racy, but all the appropriate warnings will be on it. In the meantime, please review this story and tell me what you think of it.

Enjoy!

Washington, D.C.
May 14, 2011
9:30 PM EDT

Dana Browning showed her ID to the security guard at the entrance to the parking lot of the DNI. She was dressed like any employee who would be upset at going into work on a Saturday night. After all, she was a trusted worker bee, wasn't she? She sold that to the government for the last four years.

Fortunately, she wouldn't have to worry about security cameras or motion sensors. She wasn't coming back to work on Monday. There were four security guards between the entrance and General Beckman's office, two in the Lobby and two on Beckman's floor, but they could easily be dispatched. Once she got the remaining files out of Beckman's safe, she would book a flight to Los Angeles. She didn't want to contact Mr. Diaz until she arrived there. He was waiting to infiltrate the CIA's underground base and find some information on either Chuck Bartowski or Jimmy Slade. She would be providing the rest. That $3 million payday…correction, now it was $6 million…wasn't far away.

She exited her car and looked around. She wished she had time to scope what to expect from the DNI on a Saturday night, but this was an unplanned trip. Alex Forrest visited her boss two days ago. Dana had to expect Forrest to show up in her department eventually. The woman was not stupid, and no theft is perfect, even one as well-executed as hers. But if Forrest suspected her, the topic was not broached with her boss. Unfortunately, the subject of what Dana stole was discussed. Forrest discussed a few programs and electronic documents that were locked in Beckman's office that were vital to the operation of the Cipher. Dana was not happy about it, as a second break-in would be extremely risky. However, she had few options. She arranged this vacation to be sufficiently away from the original theft to not raise suspicion. Canceling it now would raise questions. She had little choice.

She started to walk to the trunk of her car when her mobile phone beeped. The reception was sketchy. She walked a few feet in front of the car until the signal picked up. It was a text message from Mr. Diaz.

Do you have the materials?

She was a little annoyed to be getting a message now. But Mr. Diaz failed in capturing Jimmy Slade and was wounded in the process. Checking every little detail was understandable. She typed into her mobile phone.

Going into the DNI now. When will you attack their facility?

There was a pause. She stared at her phone, waiting for the answer. After a moment, a reply arrived.

Soon. One of them is unaccounted for. I must locate them first.

Dana nodded. It made sense. She wasn't certain which agent was missing; therefore playing this conservatively was sound strategy. Enough things had gone wrong already. She typed her response...

I'll talk to you in L.A.

She put her mobile phone away and went to the trunk of her car. She took out her Smith and Wesson and attached a silencer to it. She slipped it in her purse, since it wouldn't be needed for the security guards in the Lobby unless there was a problem. It was for the guards patrolling the wing where Beckman's office was.

She entered the building and signed in, muttering about having to come in on a Saturday night to obtain paperwork for some 'pencil pushing bastard' at an overseas embassy. She walked to the elevator. She took it to her floor and then took the stairs two floors further up to where General Beckman's office was. She peered out of the stairwell to find the first guard. She pulled out her gun and fired as the guard turned. Blood exploded from the guard's chest, and he fell to the ground. She walked down the hallway to Beckman's door. The second guard turned the corner and spotted her. He reached for his gun and radio simultaneously, but Dana fired again with the same results. The second guard collapsed.

Dana quickly picked the lock on Beckman's office and entered. She knew Beckman's safe required a fingerprint scan to open. Fortunately, Beckman always kept her Air Force Academy coffee mug on her desk. Dana scanned for a fingerprint and used a special plastic mixture to lift the print. She placed the hardening plastic piece on her index finger and pressed it to the scanning plate on the safe. It worked perfectly. The safe opened, and Dana quickly checked its contents. A folder and a box filled with flash drives had the same label on them: Project Goodwin II. Dana had to smile. This was a double-win. The CIA must have been preparing Jimmy Slade for an Intersect upgrade: Project Goodwin was the name of the first Intersect project in which he was involved. If Mr. Diaz could figure out a way to capture Chuck Bartowski and Jimmy Slade, The Ring could have two fully-upgraded Intersects at their disposal.

She quickly closed the safe and exited the building. As she left, she could hear the guards reacting over their radios to something that happened. She didn't bother looking back, as it was likely someone found the dead guards upstairs. The cameras might have picked up her image, but that was irrelevant now. She would be in Los Angeles before anything could be done about it.

The two guards were still lying on the ground on the top floor of the DNI. A female voice came over their radios.

"You're clear, gentlemen."

The two guards stood up and removed the gel packs from underneath their shirts. They were smiling. Even though this wasn't the highest-paying job in the world, knowing they helped in identifying the person who murdered three people in this building was its own reward.

"Did it work?" the guard asked the person who just came around the corner.

"Hook, line, and sinker," Alex Forrest replied with a smile. She held out two pairs of football tickets. "Nice work, guys. You earned these tonight."

Each of the guards thanked her as they took the tickets. "What exactly was this lady stealing?" one of them asked.

"Sorry, top secret information. But believe me, if I had to swallow my pride and purchase Redskins tickets with my own money, you can rest assured it was very important." Alex looked at her watch. "Thanks for your help, gentlemen. I have to go thank someone else who helped me tonight. Unfortunately, football tickets aren't enough for them."

Alex checked her mobile phone. Even though she knew she would be flying to Los Angeles, she verified the tracking device in one of the flash drives was working. As she exited the building, she found her other accomplice for the evening waiting outside. The two hugged.

"How did you know what to text that bitch?" Carina Miller asked Alex.

"It was a bit of luck, I admit. Jimmy mentioned Casey was missing, so I figured Diaz wouldn't try anything until he had all four of them accounted for."

"Do you know where they are?"

"Jimmy said something about Casey being in Prague looking for an old girlfriend. I think she works as an agent, too. But that's the last thing I heard. Jimmy told Sarah to stay in Burbank and keep an eye on Chuck."

Carina shook her head. "How much do you want to bet those two went to Prague to find him?"

Alex nodded her assent. "I would also guess whoever this girlfriend of Casey's is, she called because she was in danger. Somehow, I don't see Casey traveling halfway across the world just to get laid."

Carina gave her an impish grin. "Oh, don't underestimate him. There's something about Casey and Prague."

Alex smiled. "So you told me. Great work switching the guns on Browning. Thanks to you and the show the security people put on in there, I'll be able to follow her to L.A. and find the Ring facility."

"Later," Carina replied. "Remember? You owe me?"

Alex sighed. "I know, I know. You need a wingman at the club tonight. But I'm only running interference for you. Don't try to get me a guy."

"Oh, you're no fun. You can't let loose for one night?" Carina studied Alex for a moment. "Slade got in, didn't he? I should have guessed. He's hard to resist."

Alex smiled and nodded. "Even more so after what happened in Philadelphia two weeks ago."

"Mmmm, you sure I can't borrow him? Take him out for a spin one weekend? You can keep an eye on us if you want." Carina wore her traditional randy look. "Actually, I might like that."

Alex starting pulling Carina towards her car. "On the other hand, a club is starting to sound pretty good right now. Anything to get my mind off of Jimmy." Alex paused and looked at Carina. "And yours, too."

Alex and Carina headed out to celebrate a successful operation.

DGSE Offices, Paris
May 16, 2011
11:00 AM

Laurent Toupin exuded a confident smile while he looked at Casey and Ilsa as they were surrounded by ten men with guns. It took considerable effort, but this last remaining loose end was about to be tied into a neat bow.

"Pity this office will be such a mess, but shooting you here will eliminate any doubts I was the hero who took care of a traitor and a rogue American agent. And Mr. Baudin's problems are solved."

Casey looked down at Jimmy, who was still unconscious on the floor. He then looked at Ilsa, who had the same expression on her face as him. They were reunited, but their efforts were in vain.

"Now," a voice called out.

The lights in the office turned off. Casey didn't wait to figure out why. He turned and grabbed the arms of two of the men behind him, twisting their wrists hard, and forcing them to drop their guns. He landed a hook on one and flipped the other to the ground. Ilsa kicked backwards to knock a third man down. Sarah swung from the air vents to take out two of the men who were in front of Casey and Ilsa. Toupin ran for the elevators to escape as Sarah leaped and executed a perfect spinning kick at the sixth man. Two of the men got up, but Casey landed a brutal hook on one while Ilsa thrusted a palm strike at the other. Sarah gave a hard cross to the man on her right and landed a crescent kick on another. The last two men turned their guns on the three.

They were grabbed by Jimmy, who sent one down with a roundhouse kick and threw a ferocious haymaker at the other, taking him out.

Sarah, Casey, Ilsa, and Jimmy looked around quickly at the ten men on the ground. Jimmy was upset.

"Seriously? Nobody woke me up for this?"

Casey gave him a weird look. "You were unconscious. They beat the crap out of you."

Jimmy was disgusted. "Yeah, and thank you for reminding me. I can't believe I let these assholes capture me."

Casey was starting to understand how Jimmy could drive someone insane. "There were ten of them. You took six out by yourself."

"But there were ten."

Sarah was exasperated. "You took out six!"

"…which was four short of the required number," Jimmy replied, surprised they were unable to grasp the concept.

"You actually think you have to…"

"Walker, just…" Casey interrupted Sarah and tiredly gestured with his hand.

Sarah looked and nodded. "Yeah, that's much faster," she replied and smacked Jimmy upside the head.

"Hey! How many times? No using the ring hand!"

Sarah stopped for a moment to listen to what Chuck was saying in her earpiece.

"I agree," she replied to Chuck…and smacked Jimmy upside the head again.

"Ouch! Right hand only!"

"You deserved a second one for that," Sarah irritably replied as she gave earpieces to everybody. Jimmy snatched the last one out of her hand and placed it in his ear.

"You two are getting the UGLIEST punch bowl set for a wedding gift," Jimmy growled at Chuck.

"And I'll be paying for half of it, since neither of you seem to understand the concept of not getting your asses into danger," Casey seethed.

"Glad to see you really appreciate our loyalty, Casey," Chuck replied with considerable agitation.

"Chuck, can you override the elevators?" Sarah asked him to get the group back on track.

"Not soon enough," he replied. "The surveillance cameras show agents coming up every stairwell. They'll be there in less than a minute."

"Dammit," Casey replied. "We can't wait to find out if they're working for Toupin or not."

Ilsa's head darted around. "Hold on. They may still have them. This way." She quickly ran down the hall. Sarah, Casey, and Jimmy followed.

Ilsa reached a closet and tried punching in a code on a keypad next to the door. The door wouldn't respond.

"We need to get in here," she said in a rush.

"Let me try to override it," Jimmy replied. He went to work on the keypad.

"What's in here?" Sarah asked.

"They installed this as an emergency backup. It's a way to get top members of the SIS out of the building in case of attack, just like they have a plan to evacuate the president if an attempt is made on his life."

"Got it," Jimmy replied as he bypassed the lock. Ilsa pulled open the door. The closet contained a half-dozen long rifles with large pitons loaded in them. Each rifle had a harness attached to it.

Ilsa punched a series of buttons on a keypad inside the closet as Casey and Jimmy grabbed four rifles. Throughout the floor, every computer sparked and fizzled out. Ilsa pulled a rectangular box from the wall next to the keypad.

"This is a backup of everything on our computers and surveillance equipment. We might need it."

Casey and Jimmy ran along the windows with the rifles as Sarah covered them. Ilsa stopped them at a large plate glass window.

"Look away," she cautioned them and unlocked a panel along the wall. She flipped a switch, and the windows exploded outward. Sarah opened fire at the oncoming security as Casey pulled two chairs to the windows. Casey and Jimmy got on the chairs and leaned outside, aiming the rifles at a concrete ledge three floors above them. They fired the pitons, which embedded themselves into the concrete.

"Ilsa, the other rifles," Casey commanded as Jimmy put on his harness. Ilsa reached for the rifles, but several security personnel fired at them with automatic weapons. Sarah and Ilsa ducked to the floor as Casey and Jimmy pressed themselves against the wall. Sarah returned fire until she was out of ammunition.

"Too late for those. We have to get out of here," Sarah said breathlessly as she crawled over to Casey and Jimmy. Casey finished strapping his harness on as Ilsa joined them. Casey and Jimmy stepped up on the window ledge and pulled Sarah and Ilsa up with them. Ilsa hung on to Casey and Sarah put her arms around Jimmy as they jumped out the window and released the winches. They plummeted eighteen floors toward the street. Casey and Jimmy hit the locks on the belaying clamps attached to their harnesses and arrested their descent two feet above the concrete. Sarah and Ilsa got down, and Casey and Jimmy unhooked their harnesses.

"OK, we just dropped eighteen floors, and flying makes me nervous," Jimmy said as he looked up at the window they leaped from. "Can anybody explain that?"

"Our best bet is to bring this information to the American Embassy," Casey said. "Hopefully we can convince them of Baudin's guilt."

"Chuck's in the basement. I'll get him," Sarah replied.

Casey and Ilsa ran off in one direction to get their car, and Sarah ran off in the other direction. Jimmy was left standing there. He looked back and forth, wondering what he missed, as several security personnel spotted him.

"What the hell? I've been fifth-wheeled to death!"

Sarah ran back and grabbed his arm. "Come on!"

They ran toward the main entrance of the DGSE. The bounded up the stairs as a security guard tried to block their path. Sarah pushed off of Jimmy's shoulder into the air to connect her heel with the security guard's face and landed again without missing a step. They found the stairwell to the basement.

Chuck exited the security room and ran down the hall to exit the building. He was quickly surrounded by a half-dozen agents as Sarah and Jimmy turned the corner and ran directly into the group. From the hallway behind them, six more agents joined them.

The three looked around as the agents closed in. Sarah turned to Chuck, whose eyes were closed as his Intersect located the program he needed.

"Ready, Chuck?" she asked.

He opened his eyes and smiled. "I was born ready."

Jimmy raised an eyebrow. "I was born in a hospital."

Chuck groaned as he pivoted and gave a roundhouse kick to the nearest agent. Sarah landed a hook on one agent and sent a back kick into another. Jimmy spun and gave a butterfly kick to one thug, landed, and delivered a left cross to another man. Chuck and Sarah turned to see four agents come at them. Jimmy grabbed each of their arms and pulled hard, whipping them through the air to connect shots at those four agents. Chuck and Sarah landed and let go of Jimmy in time for him to throw a wicked jab at the man in front of him. Sarah gave a right hook to one of the last two agents still standing as Chuck spun in the air and landed a flying kick at the other man. The dozen agents were on the ground and not moving.

Jimmy looked at them in disdain. "No wonder your soccer team choked in South Africa."

Chuck, Sarah, and Jimmy heard the sound of a gun clicking. They turned around to see Toupin standing there with a look of vehemence.

"It's over," Sarah said.

"For you, too," Toupin replied through gritted teeth as he squeezed the trigger.

A shot rang out, and Toupin fell into the wall, slumping down as blood came out. Ilsa was standing directly behind him. She looked at Toupin in disgust on the ground as she walked up to Chuck, Sarah, and Jimmy.

"Now it really is over," she quietly replied.

Chuck, Sarah, and Jimmy were relieved. "We can't begin to thank you for that," Chuck said, breathing heavily.

Ilsa smiled. "John has some very loyal friends. I can't begin to thank you for that."

Buy More
May 16, 2011
10:00 AM PDT

As Morgan opened the doors to let customers into the Buy More, Ellie and Devon walked up to him. Ellie bore a look of panic, but Devon appeared to want to be anywhere else but tailing his wife. He had been trying to keep her calm regarding Chuck's whereabouts, but between her worry and the stress of Ellie being four months pregnant, he was quickly losing the battle. Morgan helped him once, and Devon hoped Morgan had a few more lies stashed away to assist him.

"Morgan, have you heard from Chuck or Sarah at all?" Ellie asked him in a rush.

"Uh, no El, sorry. But I mean, they're off together. I'm sure they're a little…you know…busy. Actually, I'm sure they're really, really busy."

"Dude, dial it down," Devon cautiously replied as he saw Ellie get a nasty shiver through her. "It's a brother-sister thing."

"I think she could have guessed, Awesome." Morgan gestured at Ellie's stomach. "I mean, you both have at least some experience with what you do on vacation."

Devon glared at him for making a bad situation worse. "Honey, I'm sure they're fine. Didn't you say you wanted to look at a new laptop?" Devon gently steered her towards the computer department and waved at Anna. "Here, let Anna take you to get a laptop."

"OK, Devon. You're right," Ellie replied as she tried to calm down. "I do need a new laptop."

"Anna!" Morgan called her from the Nerd Herd desk. Jeff and Lester weren't there yet, but Morgan expected them to show up at their usual time…thirty minutes late. "Sweetie, could you take Ellie to purchase a new laptop? And give her the really good discount."

"Which one?"

Morgan's eyes looked back and forth. He lowered his voice. "The really good discount. You know, the hot fudge discount?"

Anna had to cover for Morgan a few times without an explanation from him. And despite being married to Morgan, Anna hadn't completely warmed up to Morgan's childhood crush. Fortunately, Morgan worked out a barter system with her.

"With whipped cream this time," she replied as she pointed a wary finger at him. She took Ellie to the computer section as Morgan and Devon walked by the office.

"We have to find them, Morgan," Devon said in a building panic. "Ellie isn't going to tolerate calls that go straight to voicemail for much longer."

"Dude, I know. They must be on a mission. I've had to cover for Casey, too. I told Big Mike he was visiting his mother. But his phone goes into voicemail as well."

"What about that General lady? Did you ask her?"

"I was going to call, but what if she doesn't know where they are? Or what if they didn't tell her? I ask her, I might rat on my best friend and future Mrs. Best Friend. I tried calling What's-His-Face, but his phone goes into voicemail, too.

"Who's What's-His-Face?"

"The guy who worked here as a manager for two weeks. You met him. He's…wait, don't you know?"

"Know what?"

Morgan looked at Devon for a second. "Aww, epic man! I'm in on the big secret and you're not!"

Devon was getting irritated. "What are you talking about, Morgan?"

"That guy, Jimmy Slade. I think you ran into him in the hospital? Big, fat guy?"

"What? I thought he was dead."

"That's what the CIA wanted everybody to think, even Chuck and Sarah. But now, he's like a super spy type. Chuck was saying he's been all over the world in the last eight months doing really cool spy stuff. He's like Jason Bourne, you know? But…nicer."

It took Devon a moment to process everything Morgan said. "That is…I can't even think of a word to describe it."

Morgan glared at him. "Gee, it's a pity you can't come up with an adjective for someone who drops 200 pounds and becomes a secret agent."

"Hang on, was he the one we gave the birthday cake to at Chuck and Sarah's engagement party?" Morgan nodded in the affirmative. "Wow, he does look different. Ellie was joking with me that the Buy More finally got some decent eye candy."

Morgan was a bit offended. "Wait, so she doesn't consider me good-looking?" Morgan paused. "Oh, who am I kidding? Look how long it took me to get Anna."

"OK, we gotta figure out what to tell Ellie. If she doesn't see them soon, she may go bonkers and plan every detail of their wedding whether they like it or not."

Morgan looked toward the front doors. He recognized the short-haired brunette woman who was substituting for Sarah in the Orange Orange, although he hadn't introduced himself to her.

"Maybe she knows something," Morgan said as he pointed at Sarah's replacement. Devon saw the woman Morgan indicated, who was wearing the same Orange Orange uniform Sarah typically wore.

"Worth a shot, right?"

Morgan and Devon walked over to the woman. The woman assumed Morgan was coming to help her.

"Excuse me, hi. I was looking to buy an MP3 player. Do you have any on sale this week?"

Morgan motioned for her to come closer. He talked in a conspiratorial voice. "Look, I'm sorry. I know I should have been studying, but what is that code for?"

The woman gave him a weird look. "What are you talking about?"

"You know. What do you actually want but you can't say because the microphones would hear you?"

"I…don't know what you're talking about, and this is getting a bit awkward."

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm Morgan, and you're…"

"Cheryl."

"Cheryl, right. OK, so you realize I'm part of the team, right? You can tell me whatever you want. I know who you work for."

Cheryl was getting even more creeped out. "I work for the corporation that owns the Orange Orange."

"Well, of course. But I mean, you're taking over for Sarah right now, correct? So do you know where she and Chuck are?"

"OK, I really don't know what you're talking about, and I think I'll just find something at the Large Mart."

Cheryl immediately turned on her heel and left. Morgan and Devon stared at each other.

"Wow, this is what must happen to Jeff and Lester when they try to pick up women," Devon said, still taken aback by what happened.

"I know, man! I didn't say one inappropriate thing! Even by normal people's standards!"

"Maybe she really doesn't know anything," Devon theorized.

"How could she not know what's underneath…"

Morgan was interrupted by the playing of Star Wars' Imperial March on his mobile phone. His mouth dropped open in shock.

"What is it?" Devon asked.

Morgan held the screen up to Devon. "Dude, Castle has been breached! Chuck gave me this phone for emergencies. Someone is in Castle right now!"

Devon quickly looked out the window. "It can't be Cheryl. She's still walking over there."

Morgan was now in a full panic. "She's walking right into a trap!"

Devon quickly looked around as Jeff and Lester finally arrived at the store. He quickly grabbed them.

"Guys, I'll buy you a keg of beer. But keep my wife in this store. Don't let her leave and don't tell her where I went!" Devon sprinted out before they could give a response with Morgan right on his heels.

They quickly ran into the Orange Orange. Cheryl looked up in surprise from cleaning the counter.

"Do you guys want some frozen yogurt?" she asked warily.

"Someone is downstairs," Morgan said in a rush. "You have to get down there...or call someone...or order an air strike. Something!"

Cheryl was getting upset. "OK, I don't know what sort of game you two are playing, but I'm getting tired of it, so please leave."

"We're not playing a game, miss," Devon replied. "We know about the secret government facility underneath the yogurt shop."

"Seriously, I'm about to call the cops," Cheryl angrily replied as she pulled out her phone. Morgan leaped over the counter and ran behind the coolers.

"OK, if there's no government facility underneath this store, how do you explain this?" Morgan hit a button on one of the drawers, and the weapons Sarah stashed in the Orange Orange were revealed. Cheryl went from angry to scared in a heartbeat.

"I…I…they didn't tell me anybody else knew! They just told me to work here while the regular person was gone!"

Morgan and Devon were equally scared. "Wait, you're…you're not an agent?"

"No, I just type data into a computer all day long! They told me to just work here."

"We have to get downstairs. Devon, take a gun," Morgan said.

"I can't fire a gun. I'm a doctor! I'm not supposed to break my oath."

"Dammit. OK, Cheryl."

Cheryl looked a bit meek. "I was supposed to sign up for training, but they kept putting me on the waiting list."

"OK, OK. If all three of us go, maybe we can hold them until help arrives."

Morgan, Devon, and Cheryl slowly made their way to the freezer. The retinal scan accepted Morgan's identity, and the door slid open.

Mr. Diaz looked around Castle to find information on what he needed. He tried several of the computers, but all of them were locked out, and bypassing them would take time. He started looking for any paperwork that might have been left out, since he wasn't sure how much time he had. He located a small file cabinet near the back of Castle and quickly picked the lock. He started rifling through the papers to find any useful information.

Morgan, Devon, and Cheryl slowly descended the stairs, but they stopped halfway down.

Morgan was stammering his words even more than normal. "Uh, are we sure this is such a good idea? I mean, what if the guy has a gun or something? What do we have?"

"Hey," Devon replied, suddenly feeling a sense of bravado. "We're doing what we're supposed to do. Defending our turf.

"Awesome, you stopped being a spy. This isn't your turf now. You chose to not be on this turf. You are fully un-turfed."

"Guys," Cheryl hissed. "Can we have this discussion some other time? Like never?"

Morgan shook his head, annoyed that he was arguing with Devon. Suddenly he smiled. "Wait a minute. Maybe this phone is like a remote for Castle. Maybe it has an alarm or a self-defense program."

Morgan started hitting some of the buttons on the phone. Devon looked at what he was doing and grew impatient.

"Give me the phone," Devon said as he snatched it from Morgan. He tried a few new buttons. Suddenly loud sirens went off in the building. Devon tried to hit some buttons to turn it off.

A door directly behind Mr. Diaz flew open, sending him stumbling forward. He tried to regain his balance, but another door knocked him sideways. He fell to the ground.

Morgan angrily grabbed the phone from Devon and tried to hit another button. Mr. Diaz leaped out of the way as two snub-nosed machine guns popped out of the wall and opened fire at him. Morgan, Devon, and Cheryl were surprised by the sound of gunfire and ran the rest of the way down the stairs. Morgan stumbled on the last step and accidentally hit another button on the phone. A tear gas canister was released just as Mr. Diaz ran through it. He slipped forward as he was blinded by the gas. He coughed profusely before wiping his eyes clear.

Morgan, Devon, and Cheryl were ten feet in front of him.

Mr. Diaz's anger was completely out of control. He charged at the three, screaming all the way. Morgan and Devon turned and cowered down. Cheryl pivoted, spun around, and landed a kick at Mr. Diaz's face. He stumbled backwards into an open holding cell. Cheryl immediately ran to the cell and punched a few buttons. The door slid shut, trapping Mr. Diaz inside.

Morgan and Devon slowly stood up and stared at Cheryl.

Morgan was flabbergasted. "I..it's…does EVERY chick we meet know how to kick ass?"

"I thought you only did data entry," Devon said to Cheryl.

"That's my job," Cheryl replied.

"Then…how…"

Cheryl shrugged. "I used to bartend in Brooklyn."

Devon was impressed. "Must not have served too many Cosmos at that bar, huh."

"Who is this guy?" Morgan asked. "And how do we let the CIA know?"

A half-dozen CIA agents ran down the stairs and surrounded them with their guns drawn.

"OK, never mind," Morgan said as he stared at the agents. His other phone rang, and he answered it. "Uh, Devon? Jeff wants to know if you can you pick up some other stuff at the liquor store."

American Consulate, Paris
May 16, 2011
5:00 PM

Chuck, Sarah, Casey, Ilsa, and Jimmy spent the last four hours with several high-level officials in the American Consulate, relaying their stories of what had happened over the last several weeks. So far, the officials in the embassy simply recorded what they said and did not press for any further details.

They were gathered in a room together for the first time since they arrived. All five were considerably subdued. There were countless ways this could be settled and very few of those involved complete forgiveness on the part of any government. None of them were thinking that would happen. They would consider themselves fortunate if they got out of this without a bullet going through the backs of their heads.

Ilsa looked at the four of them and gave a smile. "No matter what happens, thank you for doing this. I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for all of you."

Casey took her hand and held it. "I knew I had to come and find you. I couldn't leave you out there alone." He looked at Chuck, Sarah, and Jimmy. "I'm just glad I had three of the best people I ever worked with helping me."

The door to the room opened, and the American ambassador to France entered the room with another man they didn't recognize, except for Ilsa.

"Agent Trinchina, thank you for your patience," the man said before introducing himself to Chuck, Sarah, Casey, and Jimmy. "I am Robert Vigier, President Sarkozy's Chief of Staff. I must apologize for keeping you waiting. The last several weeks have been troubling for our administration, to say the least. But we wish to talk to you about what has happened. President Sarkozy would have been here to thank you personally, but he is in Venice at the G20 Summit.

"We have asked British Intelligence to conduct an investigation since they were not involved in any way in this conspiracy and will provide an impartial investigation. Quite honestly, we do not know who to trust at this point."

"I think the people who sit in front of you can be trusted," Chuck said with a bit of ire in his voice.

"Bartowski!" Casey hissed. Chief Vigier held up his hand.

"It is OK, Colonel Casey. Agent Bartowski's anger is completely understandable. The five of you risked your lives only to have a traitor turn the government against you."

Ilsa sat back in her chair and exhaled in relief.

Chief Vigier nodded. "Yes, Agent Trinchina. We know about Laurent Toupin, and we know about Minister Baudin. I just wish we had found out about his traitorous acts sooner. Your lives were put at risk when they should never have been.

"There had been suspicions that someone in Sarkozy's cabinet was authorizing the sale of top secret NATO, British, and American information to an unfriendly government. However, Baudin discovered you knew about it before we knew about him. He knew Dr. Gauthier was beyond reproach, so he bought off Toupin. Please be assured President Sarkozy had every intention of taking care of Baudin, but he was proceeding carefully to keep the government intact. He simply wanted you to walk away from it and let the situation be handled internally. Unfortunately, Baudin didn't have to do such a thing because he had Toupin doing all of his dirty work. Baudin ordered Toupin to eliminate anyone who knew about it. He went after you, Agent Trinchina, and then he expanded his net to include all of you."

"What will happen now?" Ilsa asked.

"President Sarkozy contacted the British PM and asked him to task British Intelligence to make a full investigation into the DGSE. We are uncertain who may have been turned by Toupin or if they're still loyal to the government. Sadly I fear an extensive shakeup in the DGSE. As for Baudin, M-I:6 has dispatched a team of agents to deal with him."

"What will happen to us?" Sarah asked.

"For now, Agent Walker, it is important to keep the five of you protected until British Intelligence can give us a preliminary report on their findings. I imagine at this point they will confirm what we already know. But without the ability to keep a tight leash on who may have been involved, your lives are still in danger. You'll be escorted to a safehouse just outside of Paris. Actually, it's more of a mansion. President Sarkozy and his staff will be consulted as to what should be done with all of you."

Chuck and Sarah looked at each other. Barely a year after they were previously in Paris, and they would get to spend a few days together in a beautiful setting. They've had worse days.

The American ambassador spoke up. "If you'll step outside, we have people who will escort you to a couple of waiting cars to take you to the mansion. Just relax for the next few days and kick back."

Chuck smiled at the ambassador's thick Boston accent, thinking how weird it sounded in the middle of Paris. The five walked out of the room and headed for the embassy cars.

Los Angeles International Airport
May 16, 2011
2:00 PM PDT

Dana Browning walked through the terminal at LAX, holding the briefcase that contained the remaining elements of the Cipher. She wasn't sure how long it would take for Mr. Diaz to contact her, but he had planned to get whatever information he could out of the CIA facility here. According to his text from two nights ago, he had one agent unaccounted for. Dana figured that would take a bit of time to meet, depending on how long it took to find the missing agent. She was not normally a patient woman, but there was little to be done until Mr. Diaz contacted her again. For the moment, she would simply pick up her rental car, brave the nightmarish Los Angeles traffic, and lay low at her hotel. She could relax when she was done. She figured watching $6 million accumulate interest was quite the stress-reliever.

One hundred feet behind her, Alex Forrest kept a close eye on Dana Browning. The tracking device implanted in the information Dana stole was working perfectly. The only disadvantage Alex had was not knowing Dana's itinerary. Would she meet with Mr. Diaz right away? Would she go directly to the Ring's facility? Could she hop on another plane and head to another town? There were too many questions to be answered. But Alex had every intention of getting those answers.

There was one thing, however, Alex knew for certain. She was glad to be back in the field. She never felt as right as she did at this very moment.

Los Angeles, California
May 16, 2011
3:00 PM PDT

Mr. Diaz was still wondering what the hell happened as he was driven to the main CIA office in Los Angeles. How did those damn civilians capture him? He didn't recognize the woman, but The Ring had a workup on the blonde-haired gentlemen and the short, bearded Buy More worker. They knew the people in Castle. They were people he considered kidnapping, but that strategy had already been tried with each, only to end in disaster. His entire strategy had been to work around the system rather than attack it directly. So far, the only person who provided any reasonable information was Jill Roberts, and that data was sketchy at best.

He would have to find a way to contact Dana Browning. She was likely in Los Angeles by now. He needed her because he may have figured out a way to get to Bartowski and possibly Slade as well. It was the only information of any significant value in the file cabinet inside of Castle.

Once she broke him free of his captors, he would pay a little visit to Stephen Bartowski.