A/N: Sorry for the delay, but I needed to get a few things done at my day job.
Thanks again to P.J. Murphy for his beta work and advice.
The team discovers that Chuck has been abducted and begin their investigation.
Nov. 26, 2010 - Black Friday – Early Afternoon - Casey's Bedroom
Casey grabbed at the nightstand looking for his phone, but it wasn't there. It continued to ring.
She rolled over and kicked Casey, "Answer that, for God's sake. I'm trying to sleep."
Casey gave one of his patented growls. "I'm trying to, Carina, but I can't find the damn phone." Casey tunneled his way under the covers. Carina's attitude did a complete 180.
"Oh, Johnny, boy! Naughty, naughty! Go for it!"
His voice was muffled, "mmsdf masdf jasdfh! UGH!" He flipped the covers off his head, "Walker! What do you want?"
"Sarah, you have your own toy," Carina shouted into the phone without an ounce of self-discipline. "Leave mine alone!" Carina followed the lascivious remark with an even more lascivious journey inside Casey's boxers with her hand.
"Shut up, Carina! I can't hear." Casey turned his attention back to Sarah, "Yeah, yeah, the whole night." He shook his head, "Why are you calling me? Chuck? He's with you! He's not? Crap!" He closed his eyes tightly, and cracked his neck, trying to eliminate the last cobwebs of sleep. "OK, I'll be right over." He ended the call and checked the time. It was already noon. Not good.
"Johnny, what happened?"
"The moron's gone AWOL."
"It's Black Friday. He probably just went shopping, like all the other civilians."
"He's a spy, but he's still an asset. Either Walker or I should have been with him or tracking him. And now he isn't answering his phone. Come on, get dressed. You can help out."
Carina groaned as she unrolled herself from the covers and got out of bed, dressed only in what she was born with. Casey took a long look and cursed out Chuck.
She jumped onto the bed and rolled over onto Casey, "I think my clothes are on your side of the bed." She pretended to look. "Nope." She looked down at him with a half smile and a glint in her eye. She felt the effect she was having. Any other time, Casey would not have minded a bit.
"Get up, she-devil! Walker is waiting for me, so get your ass in gear. You don't have to come, but you can't stay here."
Carina raised an eyebrow. "What? You don't trust me?"
"That'll be the day," he grunted. Casey didn't want to be the impetus for any new saying containing the words Fool me thrice…
Chuck and Sarah's Apartment
Casey gave the door a knock. Carina stood next to him, trying to get into her heels and using Casey's shoulder for support. "Stop moving, Johnny."
The door opened, a slightly flustered Sarah appeared with a perfunctory "morning" before retreating away from the door to let Casey and Carina in.
"And a good afternoon to you." Casey followed Sarah, leaving Carina balancing on one foot.
"Damnit!" She got her last shoe on and followed, hooking the door shut with her foot.
Sarah shoved a piece of paper under Casey's nose. "Chuck left early this morning, before I woke up to go Christmas shopping. I have no idea how he managed to get out of bed without me feeling it."
Casey stared at the paper while Carina looked over his shoulder. She laughed. "That's so cute!"
Casey and Sarah stared at her as if she's lost her mind. Carina? Cute?
"What does 'Eye heart sheep' mean?" Casey asked.
Sarah rolled her eyes, and Carina smirked. "He's a dense one, Walker! I LOVE YOU!"
"Oh." A confused look formed on Casey's face. "But that's a sheep."
"A female sheep is a ewe."
"Whatever." Casey was starting to miss the days when Chuck merely pined for Sarah. "Chuck's getting weirder every day."
Sarah snatched the note back. "Damn it, guys! It's what it says after that." She read it aloud. "'I'll be back around noon. Then we can do lunch at Picanha Grill & Bar'." She pulled out her phone and tried calling Chuck again. "I've tried calling him several times without an answer. The last time the phone picked up, but all I heard was what sounded like screeching tires. Now I only get voicemail."
The three entered the bedroom. Carina looked around, only having seen the room on surveillance footage. "He still has that TRON poster up?"
It was one thing having their privacy violated, but Sarah couldn't stand the mocking and shot Carina a dirty look. "Shut up, that was a present from his dad." She pointed to the computer monitor, a red dot blinking on a map. "That's Chuck's watch and it hasn't moved since I brought it up, just after I called you."
Casey exhaled slowly. Walker was right; Chuck wouldn't have been stupid enough to go completely off the grid. "Alright, I'll drive. The Vic is right out front."
Casey's Vic
As they headed out, Casey activated the GPS and overlaid it with the software tracking Chuck. A red dot showed the location of the watch. A few minutes later, Casey turned down the same street where the van had stopped earlier.
"We're almost there," Sarah said as she tapped on the display. The car barely came to a stop before Sarah jumped out and ran to the packages lying in the street. Carina was right behind her. There was no sign of Chuck; just his watch. She scanned along the path the packages created and spotted his phone.
With an evidence bag on her hand, she scooped up the phone. The face was cracked, but it was still functioning. She headed back to Carina, who had started picking up the packages. Casey held the shopping bag open for her.
"Maybe we can get some useable prints off of these," he said hopefully.
Neither Carina nor Sarah said a word. Carina moved towards Sarah, who looked pale and was barely holding it together. Carina's hand came up to Sarah's shoulder, but she had already sunk to the ground.
This is all my fault was the only thing running through Sarah's head. Carina gently gripped Sarah's shoulder.
"Come on, sweetie, let's get back to Castle and start putting this case together." She knelt down next to Sarah and looked at Casey. He wasn't actually crying, but it's the closest she ever thought she'd see.
"Damn moron," quietly came out of his mouth in frustration and worry. However, it was a little too loud. Sarah was up and on top of him before Carina could even look back at her.
"I warned you!" Sarah's arms flailed at Casey and hit him everywhere.
He just blankly stared at her, still holding the shopping bag. He let her hit his arm, knowing it was out of frustration and panic. She eventually wore herself out and slumped against him. Casey put a gentle hand on her shoulder. For him, that was practically a rib-breaking bear hug.
"We'll find him," he said gently to Sarah, who was sobbing quietly. "I guarantee it." Sarah didn't move, and Casey let her continue.
Carina just stared. She couldn't believe she was seeing Sarah break down like this and Casey letting her do it without so much as a sarcastic grunt. What has that boy done to them?
Carina gave them their dignity and turned away. She gathered what was left on the ground, retrieved the bag, and carried everything to the Vic. She returned to Casey and Sarah. "Come on, guys, we have a lot of work to do." She nudged them towards the car.
Casey drove, with Sarah in the passenger seat and Carina in the back, to Castle. Carina leaned forward and put her hand on Sarah's shoulder. Sarah brought her hand up to Carina's and squeezed.
"Limb from goddamn limb," Casey muttered as he stuck his Bluetooth in his ear and activated it. "BECKMAN 911."
The phone chirped. "General." He listened. "Sorry, ma'am, but it is an emergency. They have Chuck." He exhaled in frustration. "We don't know. We're headed to Castle now." He nodded, "Of course, the entire team. Yes, thirty minutes should be good."
He disconnected with the general and hit the button to activate the hands-free again. "Alex". She answered. "Alex, listen, don't talk. Something has happened to Chuck. We think he may have been kidnapped." He listened momentarily. "Yes…no…but…listen, this may not be over. I want you to take Morgan with you and go to my place. Break out three handguns." He listened impatiently. "YES! Small and concealable; for you, Morgan and Devon. And hog-tie Ellie if you have to and get over to Castle." He waited for her reply, and the most minimal of smiles came across his lips. "I love you too, honey. Oh! And Alex, you're in charge. Got that?"
Casey disconnected and rubbed his upper arm where Sarah assaulted it earlier. "Damnit, Walker. My arm is killing me," he grumbled.
Casey's Apartment
"Morgan! Snap out of it. I need you to focus," Alex implored. She couldn't understand what happened. He was fine just a few seconds ago, when she told him what her father said.
"Chuck… Chuck…," he stammered. "If he isn't safe, then who is?" He brought himself back to reality. "Sorry, Alex. It's just hard to…I'm not a spy. I've had no training. I went on missions, sure. But it was all about Chuck. Even when we went looking for his Mom and rescued Sarah and your father. No, no, I take that back. Not we…HE. Chuck. It was all Chuck. With or without that computer flashy thing in his head. I always thought he would save everyone. He always does."
He dropped down on Casey's recliner. Alex wanted to feel sympathy for him. A big part of her wanted to hug him until he suffocated. But time was working against them.
"I know, Morgan. But now it's our turn to return the favor." She produced a Smith and Wesson 908 handgun and held it in front of him. "Take this and put it in your pocket."
Morgan stared at the gun hesitantly. He breathed in sharply.
C'mon, Morgan. It's time for you to help your best friend. You owe him that, he thought to himself. He stood and took the gun, looking to see the safety was on and never putting his finger on the trigger, just like Casey taught him again and again. "Clips," he said with a greater confidence as he held out his hand.
Devon knocked quietly on the door. "Alex?"
She quickly went to the door, grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him inside. She held out another 908 for Devon. Devon was not thrilled by what Alex told him over the phone a few minutes ago. He already felt a sense of cold dread go through him, and seeing the proffered gun made it so much worse. The oath he took as part of his medical training picked a bad time to echo in his mind. Put simply, he was as far from awesome as he could be.
He slowly reached for it. Casey kept reminding me that training he gave us was for a day that might come, he thought. I guess this is that day.
Alex looked back and forth between the two. She derived a small amount of strength from seeing them slowly come to grips with the realization their family, their friend, was missing without a trace. It was what she needed to see, because she could have used some of that fortitude herself right now.
"Guys, none of us have training. But look at what you did. You took that gun, checked it, put in a clip, chambered a round, and your trigger finger is resting on the outside. Just with muscle memory. My father has been training us for a day like this. And you did exactly what he taught you."
Morgan moved closer to Devon. "Man, I have to confess something to you, dude. Do you know what I do when I get scared like this?"
Devon looked at him, a little afraid of what weirdness might come out of the little guy's mouth. "Err…what?"
He smiled, "WWAD!" Then in response to Devon's puzzled face, "What Would Awesome Do?"
Devon smiled then laughed. "Thanks, bro. OK, now the hard part. Getting Ellie."
Morgan took Alex's arm and pulled her a little closer, giving her a kiss, "Thanks, Alex. Your father tried to make Devon and me ready to defend the home. But they always stopped danger from happening. I guess we never expected danger would come to us."
Devon and Ellie's Apartment
"Ellie? You up?" Devon called out as he enters the apartment.
"If I wasn't, I am now." Ellie was sitting on the couch watching the news about poor sales this retail season.
"Ah, sorry babe."
It was agreed Morgan and Alex would stay outside and wait. Morgan stood by the door as Alex did a quick recon around the apartment complex.
"Ellie. We need to talk. Can you kill the TV?"
She turned off the TV. "Sure. What's the matter Devon?"
He came over to the couch and sat down next her. "Ellie, I… we, have a problem. And I need you to stay calm."
"Don't tell me, they were sold out of the Japanese languages discs?" Ellie tried to hide a small smirk.
"What? Oh, no, no." He couldn't think of any other way to say it. "Ellie. They took Chuck this morning."
Ellie blinked and then started laughing, "OK, what is my little brother up to?"
"This is not a joke. Someone, for some unknown reason, has taken Chuck. And Casey thinks it might be best if we all head over to Castle. Now. Whatever is happening might not be over."
Ellie didn't move. Devon became worried. "Ellie. We have to move now! Morgan and Alex are outside. For lack of a better word, they're standing guard."
"You're not kidding. Are you?"
Devon knew his window of opportunity was small. Ellie was still trying to get over the 'joke'. In a few moments, she would put her foot down and refuse to move until she knew everything. Of course, she'd do a lot of crying in between.
"OK babe, please forgive me." He grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the house. "Lock the door, Morgan. Where is Alex?"
"Aye, aye, captain!" Morgan complied and fell in behind Devon and Ellie.
Devon's window of opportunity was gone. Ellie was frantic. "Devon, let go of me! What the hell are you doing? Stop!"
Alex heard the commotion and came running. As she rounded the corner, she almost fell headlong into Devon. "What happened?" She saw Ellie practically out of control. "Oh!"
Devon ran towards his minivan with Ellie in tow. Alex and Morgan trailed right behind.
Devon tossed his car keys to Alex. "You drive!"
Buy More Parking Lot
As the Vic slid into a parking space, Casey noticed Alex, Morgan, Devon, and Ellie heading towards the front door. Ellie looked like she was trying to get away from Devon.
"Oh, great! Everyone's here at the same time. Why don't we put up a big sign: 'Spy Meeting, This Way'!" At least Sarah didn't hear him…or at least pretended not to…as she had already gotten a few yards away from the Vic.
"Walker, the back entrance." That got through as she changed course.
He turned towards Carina, who was busy digging Chuck's stuff out of the back seat, and waited for her to catch up.
He took the two bags from her. "Thanks for helping. It appears the mor… that Chuck…" He went silent with a slight slump.
Carina gave a sympathetic gaze and put her arms around Casey from behind. "Taller, John. Sarah is going to need a lot of help."
She gave him a kiss on the cheek and nudged him along to catch up with Sarah. Casey paused briefly and turned to Carina.
"Agent Miller, I'd like for you to stick around as part of the team for the duration. I could use a clearer head with experience right now. Can you get that authorized?"
Carina raised an eyebrow. "Agent Miller? Hmm… Very well, Colonel Casey. I'll talk to my director."
"But we really need you to stay on script with this one. No freelancing. Got it?"
She hesitated and then nodded her agreement. "You're right; I can have my fun later." She got close to his ear. "And I'll want my fun. You owe me that. If you're nice, I'll even leave the handcuffs at home. Or better yet, let you use them on me."
Casey quietly sighed. A few steps later, some rustling from Chuck's bag got his attention. Carina pulled something out of it.
"Johnny, take a look at this." She held out a box from Chuck's bag. It was from Zale's.
"Dammit. Carina, hide that thing."
A Dark Room
Chuck awoke to darkness. He whispered, hoarsely. "Sarah."
Slowly he rolled to his side, feeling for her. She wasn't there.
Castle
Carina snapped the cuffs of the latex gloves she wore and began to sort through Chuck's stuff laid out on a corner of the table in the debriefing room. She looked up as Morgan entered and smiled brightly. Having Morgan tell her off was quite the turn-on that night. And what a night that was, she thought.
She toned it down as Alex and the others entered. Bad girl, Carina. Play nice…for now.
Casey locked the weapons cage and joined the others in the debriefing room. An agent followed his every step with military precision, listening and nodding in agreement at anything Casey said.
"Very well, Mr. Mortensen. Please secure Castle and put us in lockdown."
"Yes, sir." Mortensen's picked up a nearby phone and activated Castle's PA system. "All personnel not part of the Intersect team; you are dismissed from the debriefing room. As of this moment, there will be no communications in or out of Castle for the next few days. You will check in with me and arrangements will be made to secure your covers while in lockdown. Sleep accommodations will be made shortly."
The Castle staff shut down their stations and walked out. Neither a word was spoken nor a complaint heard. Rumors had already circulated.
"Thank you Mr. Mortensen. Is anyone not accounted for?"
"Agent Roberts took a few days off and was to return today. I did see him earlier this morning, but he seems to be out at the moment."
"Find him. You can work at that station right there." Casey pointed to a station outside of the debriefing room but still in clear sight.
"Yes, sir." Mortensen walked out and began his search for Roberts.
"John, what the hell is going on?" Ellie was fuming. "My husband tells me Chuck was 'taken' and then he drags me down here."
"Ellie, we don't know what is happening," Sarah replied as she approached Ellie. "This may be related to your Mom. Or someone just out to get Chuck." She looked at Casey. "We just don't have any clear answers yet and until we do, we thought it best to lock everything down."
"Babe, I am sorry, it's just that sometimes…you want to talk about ever…" Devon tried to offer an explanation, but Ellie turned on him.
"And you! Don't even try to explain this away! You forcefully throw me into a car and drag me into this bunker? I want answers! I need to know what is going on! Who took Chuck?"
Devon turned to Sarah, "She's mad..."
"Damn right I'm mad! What did you expect?" Ellie's patience was gone, and she turned on Morgan next. "And where the hell were you when this happened? He's your best friend. You do Black Friday shopping with him every year! What were you doing that was so important?"
Morgan stepped back and bumped into Alex. "I…I have responsibilities now. The Buy More…"
Ellie closed the distance between Morgan and her. She was ready to tear his head off. "'The Buy More'. God I hate that place! That's where all this cloak and dagger stuff started! I was so happy when it burned to the ground. And then…"
Sarah tried to step between Ellie and Morgan. "Ellie…"
She turned to Sarah with dark and narrowed eyes. "Oh, I haven't even started with you yet!" Ellie was turning a bright crimson. "I trusted you. That's why I agreed to work medical. That was the only reason I agreed to let him go back on his promise. You came to me, sister to sister! He HAD to find our Mom, but she turned out to be this big evil spy and Chuck has to go and save the world. Again! Our father is dead because of this! Chuck almost lost his life trying to be a spy!"
She breathed heavily and her eyes began welling up, "Is there anyone we know who isn't tainted by this spy crap? My own husband carries a gun now." In an aside to Devon, "yeah, I saw that thing!"
She turned back to Sarah, "It's like a disease. Oh, aren't we all one big, happy spy family!" Ellie rubbed her eyes. Any traces of tears were gone and just her fury remained. She moved in on Sarah, her face only inches away, and spoke slowly and forcefully.
"You were supposed to keep him safe! You were supposed to protect him!"
Protect him. The voice of Chuck's mother echoed through her mind. Sarah's eyes said it all. I've failed.
"That'll be quite enough, Ellie." Beckman's voice boomed throughout Castle and made everyone freeze, including Ellie. It was like watching schoolchildren in a playground who were caught doing something they shouldn't have. All attention was focused on the general.
"Colonel Casey, is the entire team present?"
"Yes, ma'am. Plus one."
"Plus one?"
"Carina Miller. She was on hand when Chuck was taken. Because of her history with the team, she was asked to assist in re-acquiring the asset."
Beckman frowned, "One moment, Colonel." Beckman leaned to her left and spoke with someone off-camera. "I see. Thank the Director for me." She scowled as she returned to the team. "Now could someone explain to me how Carina Miller just happened to be on hand and why the DEA Director just informed me she has been reassigned to the team for as long as the agency needs her?"
Casey is rubbed his temples with a barely audible groan.
"Colonel!" Beckman understandably had no patience at a time like this.
"Ma'am, if I may be permitted to explain?" Carina interrupted Beckman's dressing down of Casey, much to his relief. Beckman looked around the room, sensing they were all in a state of shock over Chuck's abduction. Beckman's voice softened.
"Very well. However, I still expect written reports from every member of the team."
"General, I will see to it, and I will provide mine to you as well." She paused, her demeanor not the usual Carina. Sarah had never seen her friend act so professionally. "Agent Walker and I have been friends for years. Agent Casey and I…," she looked over to Casey with a knowing glance. She'll find out anyway. Casey nodded in begrudging agreement.
"Casey and I have been in a …" Carina searched for the right word. "…'friendly' relationship since Prague."
Alex looked wide-eyed at her father and then Carina.
Carina continued. "Ellie invited me to Thanksgiving dinner, which I gladly accepted. I just needed some downtime."
That wasn't so bad, she thought. Now the tough part. "It appears Agent Carmichael was able to circumvent all of the security precautions the team had in place, ostensibly, to go Christmas shopping, leaving before dawn to beat the crowds. This was not difficult for him to do, considering he had a hand in the development of those protocols. Walker notified Casey as soon as she realized that there was a problem."
Both Casey and Sarah watched Carina briefing Beckman with the professionalism Beckman seemed to appreciate. They were impressed Carina was able to deliver the report and still managed to leave out the embarrassing and irrelevant parts of the story. She had their backs and was behaving by the book. Casey gave a slight smile.
Carina finished her report. "And that takes us to the present. We were about to extract whatever forensics possible from the packages, mobile phone, and tracker watch recovered from the abduction site."
Beckman looked very tired, but she was sympathetic of the feelings of Walker and Casey. After all, she had fond feelings for Chuck as well. "Agent Miller, thank you for the update. Well done. Proceed with the forensics and get me everyone's reports. On my end, I will have my team go back through the chatter logs of the last few weeks."
Beckman then addressed Sarah and Casey, "Agent Walk… Sarah, John, as of now, your team is on hiatus. No new missions or work. Just find Chuck. You have priority access to any resources you need. Since Carina is DEA that will give you carte blanche for operating domestically without violating any governmental protocols or regulations."
"Thank you, General," Sarah responded.
The monitor went dark. Sarah turned to her friend with a smile of relief and gratitude.
"And thank you, Carina."
Late Afternoon - A Dark Room
"What have I done?" He struggled to free himself from the restraints, but he couldn't. He just heard the rattle of metal on metal. He felt the heat in his arms as something was injected. He was swallowed by the darkness.
As he slept, a man entered. He checked on the prone body and decided he was out. He signaled to another man who quickly entered. A light came on, revealing a single chair. The two men lifted Chuck and roughly deposited him in the chair.
"Easy, gentlemen. Don't hurt him." With a scowl, Hannah watched the two men. She approached the man in the chair with a slight trepidation. She played with the curls of his hair fondly. She dismissed the men with a wave and waited for them to leave.
"You really are a bastard. What did I ever do to you?" She moved in closely and studied his face. Then she put her forehead on his and her voice was a whisper.
"The lies, those miserable lies. And all over that woman! Well, I am going to hurt her. And then I am going to hurt her again. And it's all your fault!"