CHAPTER 32

Roan Montgomery was surprised to see Chuck Bartowski stride into the courtyard at Echo Park full of determination he thought impossible for the man. Sat in the bushes off to the side and nursing a cigarette he called out, "You know she's going to kill them."

Chuck turned on him, his brow furrowed. "Well I guess I'm just going to have to take my chances then." After a breath he crossed his arms saying, "It would be nice to have some help saving them."

"They knew what they were getting into," Roan said dismissively, rising from his chair and stepping around the flora. "That's the game we play. If you show up there will be three dead agents instead of just two."

"I'm not an agent," he said shaking his head. "But that's it? What happened to being the world's greatest spy?"

"That was a long time ago," he held up a hand as if tossing it behind him before stepping around Chuck. "Roan Montgomery is not the man you see before you." Turning back to Chuck he said, "My life may be boring and cowardly but I'm alive. That's more than most in my line of work can claim."

"They said you were a legend," Chuck said shaking his head, disappointment clear in his voice. "How can you just sit there and watch them die?"

Stepping toward him Roan answered, "Because I'm not in love with one of the agents."

"I'm not…" That was a lie he couldn't finish.

He'd known for a while, though he couldn't admit it. At first it was just fear of overstepping, then it was just something that he tried to ignore, something that he tried not to do, something he hated because it wouldn't fade even when she hated him, and had become something he just couldn't say because it might get her taken from him… but it was there. It was always there. Chuck Bartowski loved Sarah Walker. She didn't, couldn't, wouldn't feel the same for him and that was his own personal curse.

"I care about them," he said carefully, remembering the cameras in the courtyard, "I care about both of them…" He let out a breath and shrugged. "Besides, we heard what she said, okay? To her I'm just an asset."

"No, you're not," Roan said softly, shaking his head. "Trust me. The lady doth protest too much." He spared him a half smile before stepping forward and meeting his eyes. "But Charles, you have to ask yourself… is she worth dying for?"

When Roan stepped past him as if having made a point, Chuck stared ahead, declaring with unwavering certainty, "Yes."

"Poor boy," Roan said with a sigh as he came to a stop. Turning to Chuck he said loudly, "Lesson number one of being a spy! Never fall in love."

"Well then I'm glad I'm not a spy." Chuck walked toward Casey's apartment adding, "and you're not much of a legend."

Standing in front of Casey's door, Chuck took a breath before dashing forward and turning his shoulder into the door. Roan brought a hand to his face watching the tall man bounce off the door, stumbling back. However instead of embarrassment, frustration painted his features before Chuck charged forward and threw his foot into the handle. Wood splintered around the lock as the door flew open.

Chuck hurried in as an alarm started beeping, quickly finding the box on the wall and pulling the panel off, leaving the exposed innards. Roan had moved to the doorway, watching as Chuck scanned it briefly then twisted a pair of metal pins on the board and ripped off a wire, causing the beeping to stop.

Going to the computer, Chuck ignored the password prompt, bringing up a command window. Roan flicked his cigarette to the ground and stomped it out before stepping into the apartment. Barely a minute had passed before Chuck suddenly looked up toward the television as it came to life. At first it was black with 'CONNECTING…' across it, but then the screen filled with the empty and darkened office of Diane Beckman.

"How the hell…" He muttered quietly, turning to Chuck when he clicked his tongue, tapping a button which ended the forced connection and finally sinking into the chair.

Roan made his way to the computer, closing Casey's door as best he could. "What are you doing?" he asked over the incessant click of keys.

"Saving my team," Chuck said without breaking his narrowed gaze.

"From behind a computer?" Roan waited for a response but it didn't come. After a minute of clicks he asked, "What did you mean when you said legend?"

"It's what they said," Chuck said not breaking his pace. "You were great. Once."

Chuck suddenly stood up, tapping a button as the printer started and he walked over to the bookshelf across from the kitchen. Roan moved to the printer, seeing that it was printing out a map with a red dot and an address on the side. "Is that where they are?" asked Roan. "A motel?"

"She booked room two thirteen," he said as he started pulling books off the shelf, dropping them to the floor.

"What are you-" Roan's answer came when Chuck pulled a book which stopped with an audible click.

With a laugh Roan watched the shelves slide to the side, revealing a wall housing a dozen different firearms. Chuck grabbed a small bag, pulling a sub machine gun off the wall along with two pistols which he stuck in the bag. After a moment of searching he spotted the lone tranquilizer pistol and tucked it into his waistband.

"I see you're planning on dying in a blaze of glory," Roan said crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall.

Chuck glanced back to Roan while shoving extra magazines and boxes of bullets into the bag. "I'm going to give her one chance to let them go. I'm going to try and lure her out while I do, but if she doesn't fall for it I'll pull the fire alarm. Whoever comes out is getting shot. If they still don't I'll flashbang the room," he said tossing a pair of cylindrical grenades in the bag. "If I can get in the room I'll get the real guns to Sarah and Casey so they can handle them. If the window isn't open I'll wait for morning and take them out then. If they order breakfast, or if anyone does, I'll knock him out and when they open the door for the food I'll shoot them and flashbang the room and tranq the rest while they're blind."

Chuck slung the bag over his shoulder, tapping a button which caused the shelves to slide back, hiding the gun wall as he slipped extra tranq magazines into his pockets and took two burner phones. "Whatever happens, I'm getting back Sarah and Casey."

Roan sighed, pushing off the wall and walking over to cut off Chuck's path, holding the printout toward him. "You're determined to risk you life for these people?"

"They do it for me," he said taking the map.

"Then perhaps we should revise your plan. Come up with something that doesn't get us killed."

"Us?" Chuck arched his brow.

Roan shrugged. "I say we reset the meet. Send her a phone and tell her to meet us at a new location. Somewhere we control."

"Nope," Chuck said shaking his head. "I'm going now, with or without you. My plan isn't changing. If you come you're just another set of hands, maybe a gun."

Roan sighed. "Fine. It's your funeral."

"And not yours?"

"Sasha and I have a history," Roan said with a smirk. "I'm sure she'll take me alive despite herself." And Diane will get me out, he thought.

At the Rozes Inn Sasha Banacheck watched as her guards finished setting the captured agents to the chairs in their room, their arms cuffed behind their backs. "Your Agent Carmichael was amusing. His whole act, it stunk of Roan. Was any of it him?" When Casey grunted into his gag, she nodded. "So what is he like then? He seemed a coward. Is he even an agent?"

Sarah started talking into her gag, so Banacheck nodded to her guard who pulled it from her mouth. With a disgusted groan she looked to Banacheck. "He's the best in the world."

"And I haven't heard of him?"

"The best agents stay dark," Sarah said with a haughty smile, "but I guess you wouldn't know that."

When Casey grunted Banacheck waved a hand and Sarah's gag was placed back in her mouth while Casey's was removed. "Do you agree?" asked Banacheck.

"I think you're gonna regret not taking him up to your room, showing him a good time and giving him the Cipher," said Casey.

"A good time?" She chuckled, stepped forward and brushing her index finger along his cheek. "Perhaps you would like to have a good time?"

Casey sneered. "No thanks. I've had my fill of KGB agents," he said thinking of a raven haired former KGB agent who'd taken his gun years earlier.

Banacheck's brow arched. "Is that so? Anyone I know?"

"Doubt you ran in the same circles. She wasn't a murdering piece of garbage," said Casey.

Banacheck waved a hand and Casey had his gag put back in. "You two bore me. Should we-"

A soft melody cut her off, making Banacheck roll her eyes and hold out her hand. A second later one of the guards handed over her phone, and Banacheck answered, "Yes?"

"Hey Sasha."

Shock painted her smirk. "Mr. Carmichael."

Casey and Sarah went wide eyed, glancing at each other, trying to listen in as Chuck spoke. "Hey. Are you near a computer or phone at all?"

"Why?" she asked, turning and pointing to a bag across the room. The guard rushed over, pulling the laptop from it and turning it on. "How did you even get this number, Mr. Carmichael?"

"It wasn't very hard. Now do you have a computer with you?"

Banacheck put the phone on speaker, setting it down as she typed her password. "I'm at a computer."

"Good. So let's start. Give me Agent Casey and Agent Walker. In exchange I'll give you four million seven hundred thirty four thousand eight hundred forty six dollars and eighty seven cents."

While both agents shared in the confusion of the others, Casey noticed Sarah seemed to catch on, her eyes widening as she sucked in a breath, staring at the phone. Banacheck had leaned against the table holding the laptop. "That is very specific."

"It's the money for your Swiss account," said Chuck, "minus the penny I left you." Casey's head snapped to the phone as anger replaced Banacheck's apathy. Hearing her start to type Chuck added, "Figured you might want to check it. I'll wait."

They heard a sharp clink and hiss, clearly Chuck opening a can of soda, follow by the glug of him drinking and giving a dramatic sigh. There was a sudden sloshing rumble before Chuck gave a distant sounding, "Shit!"

Casey's brow knit until he realized the noise was from an ice machine. The moron was there at the motel. Turning to Sarah he saw that she had realized the same. The problem was she wasn't the only one, Banacheck having turned to glare at the phone before going back to checking her account. After a moment she cursed in Russian and slammed her fist on the table seeing her secure, private account now hold one cent.

"That doesn't sound nice, so I'm guessing you're angry? Well I can return it all. Just let the agents leave."

"And what's to stop me from just saying they're gone but keeping them here?" Banacheck asked with a smirk, taking the phone off speaker and covering the mic briefly while whispering to her guard.

Sarah tried to yell when they saw the guard leave the room, but the gag was too thick. She watched as Banacheck put the phone back on speaker just as Chuck answered, "I'm psychic. Turns out MK Ultra worked. I'm able to see things over great distances."

Swiftly making his way downstairs the guard drew his gun and went left rather than take the stairs to the right, closer to the vending machine alley, so he could sneak up on it. He could hear Chuck's voice as he continued, "I can even read your thoughts. Right now you're thinking, 'Oh Gorbachev, why didn't I just give it all up for a night with Carmichael. That dashing man would have buttered my borscht better than anyone!' Something like that, right?"

"Not quite, Mr. Carmichael," said Banacheck.

"Oh, well I at least know you're missing a guard. I bet you sent him to the vending machines, didn't you?"

His brow furrowed, the guard rushed into the alley, following Chuck's voice to a dark space beside the ice machine. But instead of the tall man he found only two phones laying beside each other as Chuck's voice came through one and into the other. That was when he felt the needle stick into his neck and started to turn, but was already falling when he saw Chuck standing on the staircase with the tranq gun aimed at him. Though he fired two shots as he fell, his face hit the wall beside the ice machine, sliding down it until he hit the ground.

Banacheck's eyes widened as she looked the her remaining guard, who sneered as they heard a grunt followed by two silenced gunshots. Sarah yelled into her gag while Casey growled seeing Banacheck smirk.

"You might want to send help," Chuck said to the agents' relief. "Your friend found the phones I'm speaking through and broke his nose against a wall."

Banacheck's eyes widened, turning to the other guard while Sarah and Casey looked to one another with wary pride.

"Now how about this? I'm going to let you come out with the agents. If you don't, well I have to go in there then, don't I?"

Sarah heard the soft click of a lock being flicked, her eyes shifting toward the window behind them where she saw it slide open half an inch. In the hall outside Roan Montgomery ran from the window, making his way downstairs to the office, moving behind the counter to the back room where the older woman who had been at check in lay on a couch while Chuck sat at the computer across from her. Roan noticed that a blanket had been pulled over the woman since he left her knocked out.

"It's opened," Roan told him.

Chuck glanced back briefly then nodded, going back to his typing. "Did you have to take her top off?"

Roan chuckled. "The lady did that to herself. She was quite eager."

"Then put it back on before she wakes up."

Roan rolled his eyes, but went about doing so. He had just laid her back on the couch when Chuck exclaimed, "Okay, I'm in. Get going."

Banacheck had been speaking quietly with her guard, having him stand with his gun aimed at the door. "Mr. Carmichael. How about this? Bring me the Cipher and yourself, and I will let the agents go."

Unmuting his phone, Chuck saw his screen fill with an image of the motel room from the camera on Banacheck's laptop. "Well that is tempting, but I don't know. Does me going to you include a night with you?"

Banacheck grinned and rolled her eyes. "Is that what you'd like, Mr. Carmichael? One last night with me?"

"Well who doesn't like living dangerously. They do call you the Black Widow, right? At least I'd die before any of the diseases got to me."

Casey chuckled through his gag while Banacheck sneered.

"Here's what we'll do. I'm going to knock on your door. You're not going to shoot me, because I have the Cipher and you might damage it." He watched Banacheck turn toward the door and muted his phone, rapidly typing.

Sarah watched Banacheck turn to her guard just before the screen of her laptop went black. With a glance to Casey she saw he noticed as well, each watching the screen as text filled it.

FLASHBANG INCOMING FROM WINDOW.

SORRY ABOUT EARS.

CLOSE EYES.

Sarah and Casey looked to one another and she saw the window sliding open. A moment later Chuck's voice came through the phone.

"Actually, you know what? I'm coming through the window."

Banacheck and the guard turned just as the grenade hit the bed, both agents turning their heads and closing their eyes as the grenade blew, flooding the room with a burst of light and an ear piercing explosion.

Their ears rung, but Sarah and Casey blinked the blindness off faster than the former KGB agent and her guard. They saw them snap around at a sudden bang on the door, which caused the guard to spin and fire at the door, though six of the eight bullets hit the walls around it.

"I thought I said no shooting," Chuck said while running toward the stairs, glancing back at the exploded can of soda laying in the parking lot which he'd thrown on the door moments earlier and bounced back toward him.

"You idiot!" Banacheck yelled, but her guard ignored it, switching out his magazine as he rushed to the door and threw it open.

In his hurry to charge toward the enemy, he didn't realize they'd placed a cart in front of the door, which he tripped over, slamming it against the railing which he tripped over and slide across. With a yell he dropped his gun, grabbing the railing as he fell over it. As he groaned and started to pull himself off, a dart bounced off the cart before two others hit his back.

"Oh, no," the guard slurred, feeling his arms go numb as his fingers slipped from the rail and he fell from the second floor, his right knee popping from the socket as he hit the ground asleep.

Banacheck rushed to Sarah's side, pulling her to her feet by her hair while pressing her gun to the agent's head, holding her in front of her. A second later Roan Montgomery called out, "Sasha dear, why don't you give it up?"

"Roan?" Banacheck scoffed, briefly aiming her gun at Casey when he started to stand seeing her drag Sarah toward the door. Once he sank back into the chair he watched her leave the room, pressing the gun to Sarah's jaw before they stepped onto the walkway where Roan held a gun on her.

"Sasha, darling, this won't end well for you."

"Where is Carmichael?" she asked, glancing behind her. Roan was blocking the nearest staircase, but the other behind them was clear.

"You really think he was ever here?" Roan asked with a smirk. "That boy's an analyst. Not an agent."

Casey was on his feet, growling into his gag as he started to press against his thumb until he heard someone climb through the window and turned to find Chuck smiling at him. "Hey, Big Guy." Holding up the bag he brought he said, "Brought some toys for you."

Casey smirked as Chuck reached over, pulling the cloth from his mouth. "How'd you get them?"

"I may have broken into your house," Chuck said sheepishly.

Groaning, Casey figured he'd deal with that later. "That mean the bag is from mine too?" When he nodded, Casey sighed. "Good. Inside pocket has a lockpick set. Give it to me."

Chuck did as asked, handing them to Casey while asking, "Sarah?"

"Banacheck took her."

"Alright," Chuck said leaving Casey with the bag as he climbed back out the window, calling back, "Go around the front!"

Popping the lock on the cuffs, Casey left it dangling from his left wrist and went to the bag, yanking it open and smirking as he pulled the machine gun from the bag. But then he looked inside and rolled his eyes at all the bullets and magazines, not one for any of the guns he brought. Tucking both pistols into his waistband, Casey zipped the bag and slung it over his shoulders, pressing the butt of the machine gun to his shoulder as he left the room.

There he saw Roan slowly walking forward while Banacheck backed toward the stairs. Upon seeing Casey armed she sneered, turning back to Roan. "You lied Roan."

"It's one of my gifts, my dear," he offered with a shrug. "It's what we do."

"So I imagine Carmichael is waiting for me at the bottom of these stairs?" She said coming to a stop at the top of them. "Perhaps I should send the agent down to check it first?"

Banacheck held her arm out, pressing the gun to Sarah's back. She glanced at Casey, questioning where Chuck was, but he just kept his narrowed eyes on Banacheck. Instead her answer came when she heard Chuck say, "Why don't we check?"

All four of them turned to the roof just in time to see Chuck leap off it, throwing his arms out in a full crossbody press straight at Sasha Banacheck. While she started to turn her gun on him, Chuck impacted before she could get off a shot. The pair grunted when she fell back and both hit the stairs, rolling as they tumbled down them, Banacheck's gun flying out of her hand.

"CHUCK!" Sarah yelled watching them hit the ground with a pair of thuds.

Banacheck groaned, but pulled a knife from her dress as she clambered to her feet only to stumble and fall face first into the cement after three tranq darts hit her torso.

Letting out a breath, Chuck let his head fall back. It was ringing worse than when he'd punched himself, but he was pretty sure that was more from the sudden landing than the descent. Thankfully he didn't feel any blood of broken bones, just a bit dizzy from all the spinning, which was amplified by the head bump.

Casey had to practically fight Sarah to pick one of her cuffs, but the moment she was free she pushed him away and took off down the stairs, sliding to her knees beside him. "Chuck," she said holding his face, "are you okay?"

He went to nod, but it only made his dizziness worse, making him groan as he said, "I'm fine." Turning his eyes on her he smiled asking, "How are you?"

Sarah smirked telling him, "I'm fine."

From the top of the stairs Roan tucked his gun away with a grin. "Now that's what I call a spy."

AN:

For those wondering, the cart would've been put there by Roan after first guard left. It was definitely fun figuring out how Chuck could outwit them and take them out. It felt like I was drawing on some Metal Gear Solid tactics, but I think they fit Chuck since he can't just dive through the window with a gun in each hand and take them out himself. It also felt a bit Home Alone at times, which I think is oddly also fitting.

I always found it amusing how despite Sarah's protest during the episode her big swoon moments are when Chuck takes charge and kisses her, and when he rescues her at the end, as if to say maybe Roan isn't really wrong about her. She's definitely more than that, but they still kind of work.