She isn't in Michigan anymore. He feels like he should have know she wouldn't be.
"You Carmichael?" the desk clerk asks.
Chuck narrows his eyes. "Yes. Yes I'm Charles Carmichael."
"She left something for you."
It's an invitation. An ornate one, with thick black paper stock engraved with silver script.
"The pleasure of your company is requested at the annual Volkoff Industries masquerade gala..." Chuck reads, eyes narrowed. Is that where she's been this whole time? Undercover at Volkoff like his mother had been? Like he had been? And without Alexei there to spearhead the organization, how is it still running?
He flips the invitation and finds a little white post-it that says "be my date?" in Sarah's neat script.
It hits him then for the first time that Sarah has absolutely no idea what's happened to him. That she really has had no contact with anyone that would have told her about the Laudenol. It occurs to him that she probably only knows that he's looking for her and that if he's going through so much trouble it must be important.
The party is in London which is perfect because all of his formal wear is there at his flat.
He catches the next available flight, clutching the invitation in his hand the whole way. It's the closest he's come to speaking to her in a year and a half.
"But Charles you can't go," Leora says as she sifts through the walk-in closet in his flat, looking at the suits and waistcoats. "The people at Volkoff know exactly who you are. They'll kill you, and that's if you're lucky."
"It's a masquerade," Chuck says as he watches her from his seat on the bed. "I'll be wearing a mask. A good one. "
"Gonna need more than that," Eliot comments loudly from the kitchen. "You need a cover."
"A good one" Miranda says, poking her head into the bedroom. "Chuck are you certain you're ready to face all this. After everything that's happened?"
"What is this, a mission intervention?" Chuck asks, laughing a little.
"A bit yes" Miranda admits.
"We quite like you," Christopher points out, as he looks at the array of watches (Governors) in their case. "It'd be brilliant if you didn't die."
"You guys, I'll be fine."
"We know," Eliot grunts as he walks in with a plate filled with grilled cheese sandwiches. "We're gonna make sure of it."
Chuck's eyes widen. "What? No, no, no you are not coming with me. This is a date. I'm seeing Sarah again for the first time in over a year and a half. I don't need a chaperone and I really don't need four of them."
"Has it crossed your mind that this might be a trap?" Leora asks. "If Sarah is looking not to blow her cover within Volkoff, and they know who she is to you, they'll use that."
"She would have sent a warning," Chuck snapped defensively.
"You ever think she already did?" Eliot asks, taking a bite out of one of the sandwiches. "Throwin' you off, making you think she's in Paris?"
"Having her father lie to you," Miranda adds. "Lying to Bryce."
"Stroke of genius, that," Christopher mutters. "Making the bloody control freak think he knows what's going on, so he won't try and find out the truth."
"Yeah, I talked to him the other day," Chuck says, taking one of the sandwiches. "He's really pissed. He wants to come to the masquerade too, but I told him not to."
"You really think he's going to listen?" Leora scoffs as she walks out, carrying a black suit, along with a black and silver tie. "Please. That man is as stubborn as he is manipulative."
Chuck frowns as he chews. "What's with all the Bryce hate?"
"He is a bit of a git," Miranda says sympathetically. "And honestly, who gets possessed by a demon in our line of work?"
Chuck's ears turn red and he looks down. That would not only be Bryce, but himself that was possessed.
"Oh, darling, you're still new to this end of the business," Leora says soothingly. "Bryce is old hand, he should know better."
"You both got very lucky," Miranda tells him. "Demons have done far, far worse to others."
Chuck sighs and turns to look at his team. "I still don't know why I got possessed."
"To get to Sarah," Christopher says. "Her father is Bobby Singer, he's a very well-known demon hunter."
"But how did it even know to come after me?" Chuck asks.
Miranda looks worried at that. "That the real question, isn't it?"
Chuck has never been to such an elaborate party. Everyone in tuxes and elegant gowns with their masks firmly in place; a sea of anonymous party goers and servers. Classical music plays softly from a small corner stage, and the entire ballroom is lit with soft chandelier lighting.
It's a little too Eyes Wide Shut for him.
He is sporting a black mask with gold details. "it'll bring out your eyes," Leora had promised and he wears the ensemble she'd chosen for him the night before.
Leora and Miranda sport corresponding devil and angel masks that hide their eyes but not their wide, over-the-top smiles. They're posing as sisters, even though they look nothing alike, while Chuck, Eliot and Christopher pose as their security.
"How am I ever gonna find her in all this?" Chuck mutters, looking around again.
"Start at one location and work your way through the room," Eliot says under his breath. "Be organized about it."
"The bar is usually a jolly good place to start," Christopher suggests.
Miranda obviously picks up on their conversation and snaps a finger. "You three shoo! Fetch some refreshment for us!" Chuck does his best not to laugh as he follows the other two men. "She's really getting into this whole Heiress thing."
"Yeah, she does that," Eliot replies as they move towards the bar.
"It's not often she gets to go undercover," Christopher says. "Let her enjoy it."
Chuck keeps looking around, hoping to get lucky; to be able to pick Sarah out of the enormous crowd, but no dice.
When they get to the bar, there are two people tending, and not much action around it.
One, Chuck realizes instantly, is Bryce Larkin.
They lock eyes and it's weird, but it's the same as it ever was. They argue silently about what Bryce is doing here and why he didn't tell Chuck he was coming. Before Chuck can get a word out, Bryce gives a subtle nod and Chuck glances next to flashes on the other body behind the bar and shakes his head a little.
Vivian Volkoff.
He takes a deep breath and watches Bryce's eyes shift across the bar to where two women sit.
One is Sarah Walker, and Chuck feels his mouth go dry.
The other is-
The other is intensely repulsive. Inhuman; a rotting, maggot-covered face and eyes of deep inky black.
He automatically takes a step back and Eliot grabs his arm.
"What? What is it?"
"Howdy, Chuck," the creature next to Sarah says with a grin. "Remember me?"
He does. He knows that voice. That's the voice of the demon that possessed him. Meg.
Christopher sighs deeply. "Trap."
Two armed guards lead Miranda and Leora over forcefully and shove them in with Chuck, Eliot and Christopher.
"So nice of you all to come to my party," Vivian smiles. "And here I thought it would be terrible dull. But I see you got my invitation!"