Episode 3x09 - Part 2
A/N And we're still in italics... Glad you enjoyed the first part of this. Here's what happened next in my version of Chuck vs the beard (which still doesn't not belong to me).
NerdHerder
Chuck jumped into his modified NerdHerder and adjusted his earpiece. As soon as he turned out of the parking lot, he hit speed dial. Sarah's phone went straight to voice mail. He suppressed a frustrated groan.
"Sarah, it's me, Chuck. Sorry I had to aim a gun at you, but it was all I could think of, like on our first date, remember? The safety was on the whole time, I swear. But that's not important now. I need to know you're okay. Please call me the minute you get this. Everything is going to work out fine. I promise. Just let me know where you are. Please call me."
Orange Orange/Castle
Casey stepped around the crime scene, careful to avoid disturbing it too much, just in case. He punched in his code and the door to Castle opened. Inside Morgan was pacing nervously.
"Finally! I was scared those guys were going to wake up and I don't know any 'Chuck' moves...yet." Casey just grunted. "But this place is so cool, man. Can you imagine playing Call of Duty on this beauty?" Morgan leaned against the centre plasma screen, stroking it lovingly.
"Stop that!" Casey growled. He could imagine Beckman's reaction if she were to suddenly appear and get an eyeful of beard dandruff. Morgan jumped to attention. "Where's the ring agents?"
"In the back, where you keep the swords." Casey frowned. What swords? He didn't have time for this. "Just show me, moron."
"Lieutenant, that hurt. I'm still you ass man, don't forget." Morgan quickly ducked away when Casey stepped closer. "Okay, okay. In here you're the big bad spy. I get it. Follow me, Colonel." Morgan saluted and led Casey to the dojo where the ring agents were still out cold. Casey popped two tranquiliser darts in each, making sure they won't be going anywhere for at least the next twelve hours.
"Wow, talk about shooting a man when he's down." Morgan threw his hands up in surrender when Casey turned to him. "Just sayin'. Shouldn't we tie them up or something? You know, I did fail knot tying when I was a boy scout, but you could probably show me some...shutting up now," he quickly concluded when the barrel of the tranq gun was pressed between his eyes.
"I'll deal with them later. You're first." Morgan gulped.
"C...C...Casey, sorry about...the ass man...I..."
Casey waved the tranq pistol. "Shut up and move." They made their way back to the surveillance room. "Sit down." Morgan sank down on the nearest chair. "Hands behind your back."
"Is that really necessary? Don't you trust me, Lieut...Colonel?"
"No." Casey grabbed Morgan's arms and cuffed him. Next the tied his legs to the chair, ignoring his protests. "Don't worry, handcuffs' a cinch," he pressed down hard on Morgan thumb, "just break this little bone right here..."
"Are you crazy, man? I'm not gonna break my own bone!"
Casey grinned. "Didn't think so." He yanked the chair backwards. Morgan let out a girly scream. "Not this again," Casey mumbled to himself. He dragged Morgan into one of the detention cells. "Sit tight." Moments later Casey returned with a syringe. Morgan's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. One of the many things he and Chuck shared was their fear of needles.
"Wha...what's that for?"
Casey gave him an evil smile. "Truth serum. Makes you spill all the secrets you carry in that beard."
"C'mon Casey, be reasonable." Morgan's voice wavered. "It's me. All you have to do is ask, honest. All my secrets are yours, but please, no needles."
"That depends. What did you see?"
"Uhm...you're gonna have to be more specific. Otherwise we might be here a while and I'm really in the mood for some sizzling shrimp...and when I get hungry, I get kinda angry..." Morgan let out a squeal when Casey dragged the needle over the skin on his forearm. "Okay, okay, what did I see when?"
"When you and Chuck got out of Castle. What did you see?"
"Nothing much. There was some smoke and then Chuck shoved me right back in here with the bad guys. I swear. That's all I saw. Why? What happened?"
Casey narrowed his eyes. Morgan seemed to be telling the truth. He knew how loyal Morgan was to Chuck. That made Casey trust him a little. "I can tell you, but you know what would happen then."
"You'll have to kill me? That's so cliché, Colonel."
"I'll torture you first." Morgan gulped again.
"Got it. I don't wanna know."
Casey just grunted. He stepped out of the cell and punched in the code to lock it. It didn't work. Damn, seems like not all the functions of Castle had been restored. That meant reading the manual. He looked at Morgan, tied up in the chair. No time for that now. He had to take care of the ring agents and confirm his suspicions.
NerdHerder
Chuck was getting increasingly frustrated. He felt like he was hunting for a needle in a haystack. He checked the train station, her hotel, the beach, the pier. He was on his way to the airport now. He couldn't get a trace on her cell phone. She could be anywhere, but he wasn't ready to give up. He dialled Sarah's number again.
"Sarah, it's me again. Listen, whatever you do, don't run. We'll sort this out. And if we can't, we run together, okay? You and me, no looking back. Just don't run on your own. Don't disappear on me, Sarah. Please call me when you get this. Please."
Orange Orange
Casey stood, arms folded, staring down at Shaw's body. What was he missing here? Shaw tried to call in for the self-destruct when it wasn't necessary. Walker killed him to prevent it. He decided to tackle the 'easier' problem first.
Walker would do anything to protect Bartowski. No mystery why. But she wasn't stupid, even when she acted on emotion. Casey closed his eyes and replayed the events in his head. Walker pulled her gun on Shaw. Shaw reached over to take it from her, angling his body towards her. He put himself in the line of fire. Casey opened his eyes, sighing in relief. Walker wasn't going for a kill shot. Shaw stepped into that bullet. Only one problem – how does he prove it to Beckman?
Casey was the only witness and given some of the stunts he pulled over the past three years, his credibility with Beckman wasn't what it used to be. He questioned his orders when he was told to eliminate the asset. When he told Beckman there was nothing to worry about when she inquired about the nature of Chuck and Sarah's relationship, she didn't trust him. She sanctioned all his surveillance and send in a 49B. Casey was also pretty sure she didn't believe him when he covered for Walker on the treason charges after she took Chuck off grid to find his father. Beckman chose to look the other way because it would look bad for the agency to throw the agent in prison that was vital in taking down Fulcrum. If he went to Beckman with this, chances are she'd think he was only covering for his partner.
Casey sighed. After everything they've been through as a team, he couldn't let his partner lose everything over this. Neither of his partners. He could make it go away. Making the body disappear was easy enough. It might be a little harder to convince Beckman that Shaw went off grid, but agents did it all the time. The agency would launch a search, come up empty and draw their own conclusions. He just had to make sure he had all his bases covered. Shaw's annual trip to Paris was coming up. Bartowski could hack into some flight records and add Shaw's name to the passenger list. Faking the travel report submitted to the CIA would be child's play. Then, when Shaw didn't return, they'll call it in to Washington. It wasn't by the book, but his conscious was clean. Besides, he'd done worse. The only thing that worried him was Walker. What if this was the kill that drove her over the edge?
He'd known for a while now that she wasn't as hard ass as she led everyone to believe. He saw it the first night she stayed over at Bartowski's for the sake of the cover. She had nightmares. Not the wake up screaming kind. It was more of a silent torture. Out of nowhere, her body start shaking, followed by quiet tears. That was also the night Casey realised Chuck's feelings for Sarah ran deeper than mere infatuation with her looks. He pulled her close and whisper reassuring words in her ear until she calmed down and was sleeping peacefully again. Then he'd rolled back to his side of the bed. And he never mentioned it the next morning. It happened every time without fail.
Casey had always given them a hard time about their lady feelings, but deep down he was envious of what they had. It also frustrated him to no end that they couldn't seem to get their act together. Maybe something good could come out of all of this. Sarah needed Chuck if she wanted to continue being a kickass spy. He hoped she realised it sooner rather than later.
But first things first. Casey bent down and grabbed Shaw's legs, dragging him towards the freezer in the back of the store. It's easier to mop the floor than trying to get blood out of your favourite shirt. He stopped when he heard something hit the ground. Walking around the body, he noticed the phone that fell out of Shaw's pocket. Casey almost laughed as his original plan went out the window. He picked up the ring communicator. This bastard just made it way too easy...
NerdHerder
Chuck slammed his fist on the steering wheel, hitting the horn by accident. "Sorry!" he called to a pedestrian who gave him a dirty look. He sighed. Still no Sarah. He hit speed dial. He lost count of how many messages he left. They all said mainly the same. Where are you? Are you okay? Don't run.
"Sarah, do you remember when we went to your reunion? I told you no one would mess with you because I had your back. I still do. You're not alone in this. Semper fi. I realise I'm asking you to trust me more than you've ever trusted anyone, but I will not betray you, Sarah. Never. I love you too much."
Castle
Casey punched the last sequence into the computer. There was a slight hum before the monitors came to life. He pulled the surveillance footage of the Orange Orange from earlier that day. He needed to know what was on record. Or more accurately, what was not. Once he made a note of his findings, he turned the surveillance back to the normal feeds. As he got up, something on one of the monitors caught his attention. "Chuck me."
Commercial break...
A/N My first attempt at writing Morgan, it was fun. I know the whole Lieutenant thing between Casey and Morgan in the Buymore has happened yet, but I thought it might be funny. Forgive me if the Casey's plan seems a little flimsy – my experience with covering up murders is limited. There will be plenty Charah in the next chapter. Probably the last chapter for this episode, depending on how long it turns out. I'm trying to get this story done by later today. Once again, thank you so much for the continued support.