Episode 3x11 – Part 4

A/N I know you've been waiting for this. Enjoy. I don't own Chuck.

I had no idea how much time had passed when I came to. My hands were tied above my head and feet barely touched the floor. Man, if I had a nickel...

I slowly opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. The usual – abandoned warehouse, four burly guys, big guns – everything straight out of the bad guy handbook. Across from me Shaw was suspended from his ankles with his hands tied behind his back. Judging by the colour of his face, all the blood rushed to his head. All the blood he had left, that is. There were several bleeding wounds in his thighs. Next to him lay a screw driver and a blow torch. You didn't have to experience a hot screwdriver driven into your tender flesh to know it was excruciating. I should feel sorry for him I suppose. Right now I had another concern.

I know I send out a distress signal and that went to two people. Shaw and Chuck. He should have landed by now and was probably on his way here. I pushed my fear down and tried to think rationally. Chuck is a spy. He will do the smart thing and bring back-up. He wouldn't just rush in here, would he? I hope not. He'll get us both killed. And we can't die. Not today.

I heard the stiletto's before I saw the woman enter. I paled. It wasn't possible.

"Welcome back, agent Walker." It was the first time I heard her voice. It sent chills down my spine. "We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Evelyn Shaw." A thousand things went through my mind...a street name in Paris...three bullets to the chest...Shaw's wife...my red test...I killed Shaw's wife...but she's not dead...

"I see you remember me. Imagine my surprise when we intercepted Daniel and ran into you."

"What do you want?" My throat was dry and I croaked the words out.

"Just Daniel, really. Like I said, capturing you was a bonus. But you know what, I'm feeling a little generous. The least I can do is let you know the truth before I kill you."

"What truth?" I can understand why she would want to kill me, but why torture her husband?

"Daniel tells it better." She motioned to one of the goons closest to Shaw. He pulled a wet canvas bag from the bucket next to him and tied it around Shaw's head. His body jerked awake. Then he started taking quick shallow breaths due to the lack of oxygen in the bag. "Enough," Evelyn ordered and the henchman cut a hole in the bag to allow Shaw to breathe again. After a few deep breaths Evelyn ordered him to talk. He put a canary to shame.

I was wrong about Shaw. He wasn't driven by revenge. It was ambition. Daniel Shaw worked for the ring from day one. He arranged my red test. He set me up to kill his wife. He used this 'history' to become the ring expert for the CIA. It allowed him access to all the intel the agency had and he used it to ensure the ring always stayed a step ahead. His position allowed him to work himself up through the ranks of the ring, hoping to take over as director one day. He sacrificed his wife to further his career. But a little bad luck was on his side. Evelyn was found in time and the doctors managed to pull her through. She recovered in a private clinic in Zurich and went off grid, waiting for the right time to strike.

And she chose today of all days. I was having a little bad luck myself. Where was Chuck?

Shaw's career hit a snag three years ago when Bryce sent the intersect to Chuck. The ring wanted to destroy it, but Bryce got there first. They didn't figure out Chuck was the intersect until his training in Prague after he uploaded 2.0. Shaw was going through the files of the agents in training to identify possible ring recruits when he came across Chuck's. His profile didn't match what the agency usually looked for and Shaw put the pieces together. Shaw realised that to get to the intersect he had to break up the team. His first real break came when Hannah arrived on the scene. Shaw took advantage of my vulnerability and made his move. I can't believe I fell for it. Casey was onto Shaw, so he called in a favour. Casey's former sensei led him to James Keller, who was willing to set him up to commit treason. It worked, sort of, and Casey was kicked out of the NSA. But Shaw knew I still had feelings for Chuck. He figured if I gave Chuck his red test, he would perform it and I would hate him for it. As it turned out, Shaw didn't know me as well as he thought he did.

Daniel Shaw played all of us. Me twice.

Shaw's account riled Evelyn up again. He took quite a beating from two of her henchmen. Once his body went limp, she ordered them to dump him. They didn't take him very far, as they were back a few minutes later.

It was my turn and still no Chuck. I hoped he was okay. I took a deep breath trying to calm myself down. You're not supposed to let the enemy see you cry. It didn't help. Today was going to be the start of our future. I can't believe it's going to end before...

"Hi, honey." Chuck strolled through the doors like he owned the place. He was still dressed in his suit. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. He didn't bring any back-up that I could see and he gave away the nature of our relationship. Evelyn will use that against us. But it was so good to see him and as the damage was already done, I couldn't help myself.

"Hi, sweetheart. How was Washington?" Maybe I could buy us a little time for...well something.

"It was great. You will never guess what happened." Chuck winked at me and I got it. He had a plan.

"Actually I already know." I winked right back.

"Will you two stop that?" Evelyn looked from Chuck to me and back to him, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Sorry," Chuck shrugged, "I was just greeting my girlfriend." I liked the sound of that, despite the circumstances. "Charles Carmichael." He actually held a hand out to her. Evelyn ignored it and aimed her gun at him. As did her four brutes. My heart stopped. Chuck went quiet. He flashed. Flashing was good, but the gunmen were too far apart to take on in hand to hand combat without getting shot. And even if he tried shooting, Evelyn and two others was standing in front of him and two behind.

I was still trying to figure out how Chuck could take them out without getting hurt or worse, when he raised his hands and apparently decided to reason with her. "Look lady, this is how I see it. There are five you, four with really, really big guns and only two of us. Not to mention that Sarah is a little tied up at the moment. We are clearly outnumbered."

"What's your point?"

"I don't have a point per se, it's more of a request."

Evelyn's eyes narrowed. "What kind of request?"

"May I kiss Sarah before you go ahead and...uhm...do your business?" That was his plan? Why didn't he bring back-up? Some stealth bombers. Maybe even a tank.

"You're kidding right?"

"No." Chuck sighed. "Look lady..."

"Evelyn." I couldn't tell if she was annoyed or amused.

"Evelyn, the thing is...Sarah and I...it took us three years to figure things out, as a matter of fact, we only managed to do so last night...and now you're probably gonna kill us...which really isn't fair...I mean...even Romeo and Juliet got a better deal..." Chuck was babbling, but he managed to convince her. She decided Chuck wasn't a threat. Right now I was having some of the same thoughts myself.

Evelyn waived the gun between us. "Okay, but don't try anything. We're watching. You have three minutes, then it's back to business."

"PDA," Chuck mumbled, but I caught it. Well he did ask for it. He turned to me and I tried to read him. What's the plan?

Chuck didn't hesitate. With his hands on my hips he bent down and kissed me. It was a mere brush of lips. His hands ran down my sides and he grabbed my thighs, pulling me up against him. I wrapped my legs around his waist, almost sighing in relief as the pressure was taken of my arms. Instead I kissed him back harder and he responded in kind. He pushed my thighs tighter against his waist and I felt it. Two guns, the handle of the one on his left side pointed towards me. I gave him a quick squeeze, letting him know I got it. Then his right hand travelled back up my body and arm, circling my wrist. He pulled his head back slightly, breaking contact with my mouth. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the gunmen getting a little flustered. They weren't the only ones, but I tried really hard to concentrate. I felt the grip of the handcuffs loosen. It was a little disturbing that he could pick the lock while kissing me, but I must admit, I was impressed. Chuck gave me another quick kiss before resting his forehead against mine. I gave him a small nod. Let's do this.

Pulling my wrists out of the cuffs, I grabbed Chuck's shoulder with my left hand and the gun with my right. I leaned back a little to ensure that we kept our balance. Chuck's hand against my back kept me steady. I was relieved to feel that he was wearing a vest. He splayed his fingers to try and cover as much of my back as possible. I know what he was doing. He was trying to protect me and even though it wouldn't do much good against a bullet, the gesture was very sweet. It was very Chuck.

Taking aim, I took out two agents. Chuck drew his tranq pistol at the same time, taking down the two he was facing. They were still recovering from the little show we just put on and their reaction time was slow. I trained my gun on Evelyn Shaw.

And froze.

Chuck sensed my hesitation and spun us around. I heard her body hit the cement. I turned my head and saw two tranq darts sticking out of her neck. I loosened my grip around Chuck's waist and he gently lowered me to the ground. When I tried to look back at Evelyn again, Chuck placed his hand on the side of my face and prevented me. Our eyes locked and he simply said, "she's your Perry."

My eyes widened. "You flashed on my red test?"

"Yeah. Are you okay?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my head against his shoulder. "I am now. Thank you for saving me."

"Anytime," he replied and pulled me closer. I was back where I belonged.

Meanwhile, outside the warehouse:

Daniel Shaw opened his eyes slowly. His body felt like it had been ripped apart. Both his legs were broken, as was his right shoulder. His kneecaps were pulverised. His thighs were on fire. One of his ribs stuck through the skin on his right side. He tested his left arm. It seemed to be somewhat intact. Raising it, he grabbed onto the edge of the dumpster, pulling himself painfully over. He landed face first in the dirt, crying in pain as he aggravated his broken nose and ribs. He took a few breaths and started pulling himself along the gravel with his good arm. After what seemed like an agonising eternity, he reached the road. He stopped to take a laboured breath. Then he saw the headlights of an approaching van. Thank heavens, he thought, help.

John Casey was beyond annoyed. Chuck went after Sarah and Shaw himself. Morgan, aka agent of the CIA and assistant to one Charles Irving Bartowski, did the right thing for once and told him what Chuck was planning. Seeing as Casey was a civilian, he no longer had access to Colonel Saunders and his team and had to put together a rather unusual ensemble to try and rescue his former partners. Or at least two of them. Looking at the men around him, he didn't know if he should kill them or just jump out of the moving van. Jeff and Lester were rehearsing 'Beautiful noise' in the front seats and ruining Neil for him. Morgan hasn't stop talking once since they left the Buymore.

"...I totally get Chuck's theory on mayonnaise and tropical climates, but what sandwich is complete without mayo...and you've got to have pickles...it just adds that extra...tang...especially with mustard...and you can't have mustard without roast beef...or ham...ham could work...but then the pickles would probably taste funny...so no pickles, but then the mayo would mix with the mustard...and you should have cheese...yeah, cheese would be great...if you're not having the mustard...which means you should probably reconsider the roast beef altogether..." Morgan stopped abruptly when they hit something in the road. "What was that?"

"Probably an animal," Casey deadpanned, thankful for the reprieve.

"Lester, stop!" Morgan yelled. Lester slammed on the brakes, nearly causing Jeff to fly through the front window.

"Why?" he asked confused.

"You just hit an animal, dude. We need to go back and make sure it's okay." Morgan thought it would be obvious. Casey just grunted. They had more pressing matters than performing CPR on a half-dead dear.

"Lester, hit reverse," he ordered. He did as he was told and backed over the bump in the road.

"Casey!" Morgan was distressed. "Why did you make him do that?"

"To put it out of its misery, moron."

"But Casey," Morgan whined, "we can't be sure that it's dead dead. It could still be suffering. That's just cruel."

Casey rolled his eyes. "Three more times Lester." Lester complied, putting the van in first, running over the obstruction again. Then in reverse and again in first.

"There," Casey grunted, "it feels pretty flat now." He pointed to the warehouse on his left. "Park there."

They were about to disembark the van when Morgan pointed towards the front of the building. "Would you look at that." Chuck and Sarah strolled out of the warehouse towards them. They were practically wrapped around each other.

"Yeah," Jeff drawled half-dreamily, half-drunk, "Chuck got his Sarah back."

Casey just grunted in feigned disgust.

A/N Okay, so the action scene would probably would not have worked, but wouldn't it be awesome if it did? Anyway, Shaw is dead, send me your cheers please. It is a little disturbing that I am familiar with some torture procedures...and the fact that I find it easy to write Morgan. That's a ham and cheese sandwich by the way, if you don't mind the mayo...

Now, who's up for a chapter of nothing but the mother of Charah fluff? It will be the last one for this episode and the fic. Thank you for reading.