A/N: Sorry for the late update. It's been a hectic couple of days. This chapter is quite a bit longer than the previous one, so I hope you enjoy it. More A/N after the story.
Chapter 11
Casey felt the bullets tearing through his shoulder and hitting his chest area. He was thanking his lucky stars of thinking about bringing some blood packs to wear across his body armor, just in case something like this might happen. He crumpled, and started breathing at a slower pace, essentially lulling him into a state meditation. His heart started beating at a dangerously slow level, and he couldn't afford to keep this going for longer than five minutes, lest he be subject to brain damage.
All in all, he took five shots, three hitting the body armor, one in the shoulder and one in the ear. Had he not started crumpling after the first shot, that last shot would've probably been fatal. He heard the clicking of Claudia's heels approaching his head and felt two fingers on his neck. Casey willed his body to lower his heart rate even more.
Claudia felt Casey's pulse slowly fading, and nodded in agreement. She stood up and walked away from the scene, the clicking of her heels on the pavement the only sound that was being made. It was as if the world fell silent. She had taken a couple of steps when a sharp pain in her lower back caused her to halt her movement. A split second after that, she heard the sharp noise of a pistol being discharged. She was cursing herself. One did not become a top assassin by being complacent. And yet, she had figured that shock and blood loss would've finished him. She should've shot him through the head, and be done with it.
She collapsed to the pavement, with bystanders staring in shock at the scenery. She couldn't feel her legs anymore and her first thought was that the shot had shattered her spine. A strange sense of serenity fell over her and she accepted her fate. It was obvious that the target was a much better shot than one would expect from a civilian. So the upcoming questions would probably come from the target himself. She could crawl towards her pistol and try and finish the job but the heavy footsteps were already closing in on her. She heard the scraping of the pistol against the ground as it was picked up and stored on the target's person. She was roughly yanked up, and pulled into a fireman's carry, as the blood continued to leak through the small hole in her back. So this was the end to her illustrious career. Being carried to a hospital, probably paralyzed and never seeing the light of day again. How utterly clichéd.
Casey's shirt was soaked with a mixture of his own blood along with the contents of the blood packs. His shoulder was burning, and his ear hurt like hell. But at least he didn't die. There was always that. And he finally got some gunplay in. If anything, Casey was always considered a glass-half-full person. So maybe his aim was a little off, he was aiming for center mass after all. But he probably paralyzed her, which was still considered a win in his book.
As he hoisted her on his shoulders, he started thinking through options on who might've ordered the hit. Obviously, if Claudia was the assassin, she could've taken all three of them out on the airport. So why didn't she? Sure, there'd be a lot more witnesses but she was inconspicuous enough to be able to hide in the crowd. So it was probably someone who just wanted him. Of course, that didn't narrow it down. Throughout his years in the N.S.A., he had made enough enemies to realize that he was probably on a couple of hit lists. He mentally shrugged. First order of business was making sure that Miss Assassin over there would survive. So he quickened his pace to the hotel and hoped that he wouldn't find those two… basking in each other's glow.
Sarah fell off of Chuck, exhausted. After the first round, they suddenly had an insatiable hunger so they ordered just about the entire menu of room service. After what seemed like forever, both were sated with the food, but the snuggling inevitably led to round two. It was after the third round that the weed started to lose its effect. But that didn't stop their sex-drive. No, round 4 seemed to signify the end of that particular hunger.
The room was a mess. The dining cart was unceremoniously shoved to the side and the room literally was littered with clothing. The sheets were tossed to the side, and the couple was simply holding each other, every possible inch of skin in contact with the other. Suddenly, Chuck began laughing.
"What's up?" Sarah asked, panting.
"I always thought it was some silly movie thing, you know where two people would make love and you'd get the 'after' shot of the room and there would always be clothing in chandeliers and whatnot."
"So?" Sarah questioned.
Chuck pointed to the chandelier. "I guess my boxers made the same journey."
Sarah rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Has anyone ever told you, you watch too much movies?"
Chuck shrugged. "It may have come up once or twice. But that's what you love about me, right?"
Sarah nodded. "Among other things."
"Such as?" Chuck asked.
"Um, well… Your expertise in the bedroom is a massive gold star in my book."
"Is that so, Miss Walker?" Chuck teased. "Well, I'm glad to inform you that there's a special offer in store, just for you. So what do you say?"
Sarah's eyes went wide. "Again? Don't get me wrong, Chuck. It's been… wonderful. And even that sounds shallow. But as much as I'd love to go again, you must be exhausted by now."
Chuck shrugged. "It doesn't always have to be us together, you know. I wouldn't mind giving you some… you time."
He shimmied down, as Sarah raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean? And what are you going to… Oh." She finished, when her eyebrows went up, and she arched her hips to give Chuck a better angle. She locked her feet behind his head, and held him in place.
She started thrashing on the bed, not able to withstand the amazing convulsions that were taking place in her body. She was close to coming, when the phone went. Chuck stopped his beautiful assault on her body. Sarah was not amused.
"Hey, it's not like I can pick up the phone from my current position and it'll be kind of awkward if you answer the phone if I'm… busy." Chuck said.
Sarah shrugged. "Don't really care. Continue what you're doing. I'll manage."
Chuck nodded his assent and went back to what he was doing, being accompanied by Sarah purring. She did manage to grab the phone before the line disconnected though.
"Hello?" She spoke, managing to keep the shiver at bay.
"Miss Walker, I'm sorry to interrupt. But there is a man here, whose name is John Casey, and he…"
"John Casey? Please hand him the phone." Sarah said, suddenly very alert. It was unlike Alex to call her directly, especially if he was only a few rooms over. A shudder that had nothing to do with Chuck took over her body. She willed Chuck to stop.
"Walker, get the moron down here. I need to go to the hospital."
"Casey, what happened?" Sarah said, fully panicking.
"It turns out that Claudia wasn't the sweet helping lady that we thought her to be. She tried to kill me just now. She triple tapped me in the chest, once in the shoulder and once in my ear. Sufficed to say, the body armor protected me, but I've got a few cracked ribs at the least."
Sarah's hand flew up to cover her mouth in shock. "And Claudia? What happened to her? Did she get away?" She managed to ask without sounding positively terrified.
"She will need surgery as well. Although it will probably be a medical miracle if she can ever walk again."
Sarah sighed in relief. At least Casey had gotten her. "Alright, we're on our way." She threw down the phone. "Sorry baby, we've got to get Casey to the hospital."
"What, Casey? But what about Claudia?" Chuck asked, relinquishing his position.
"It turns out that Claudia was an assassin. She targeted Casey. He's… mildly okay. Shot in the shoulder and the ear. I mean, I guess he's kind of like van Gogh now, although he cut off his entire ear, and I'm guessing it's just a tip for Casey… But anyway, losing track of what's important…" She started getting up and gathering her clothes, which involved stretching and bending. Chuck had an almost impossible task at hands, trying to avert his eyes long enough so he wouldn't maul her for round… he lost track truth be told. "…Claudia is probably paralyzed so we've got to… Chuck, are you still with me?" Chuck's eyes had glazed over.
"Huh, what, yeah, I'm totally with you. Casey shot, Claudia assassin. Paralysis, hospital, let's go." He rambled. Still, his eyes were transfixed on Sarah.
"Chuck this is serious." Sarah said, with only a small hint of a smile. She really couldn't do anything about it; there were more important things at hand. But she made a small note in her mind to make sure those glassy eyes would make a quick return.
Finally Chuck spurred into action and they scrambled in the elevator.
"So what happened?" Chuck asked to Sarah.
They were in the hospital. The conversation with the desk clerk at the hotel was rather awkward, as he wanted to know exactly what was going on. Luckily, Casey wove his N.S.A. badge around and that was that.
The ride to the hospital was a tad more relaxed. The EMT's explained that apart from Casey's ear, he wouldn't have any lasting damage. Claudia on the other hand, would probably be paralyzed. The damage to her spine was severe as the hollow point caused havoc in her body. Chuck was sure that he saw Casey grin at the news.
Inside the hospital, both Casey and Claudia were brought into surgery, as Chuck and Sarah were put in the most fun place in the world. The hospital's waiting room.
"From what I've gathered, Casey was taking a stroll as he didn't want to be reminded of our uhm… proclivities. He ran into Claudia who proceeded to tell him that she had a new job and that he was it. So I'm guessing that would make Claudia an assassin."
"Well, that's just fantastic. We've not even been here for a day and people are already gunning for us." Chuck sighed.
Sarah really didn't know what to say to that. It was true. Hopefully it was just bad luck. But seeing as how Claudia had basically admitted to being a gun for hire, it meant that someone was out for them. So she shrugged. "True. But it seems weird that Claudia didn't shoot us at the airport. I mean, sure, there were a lot of witnesses there and the security was rather heavy, but still. It seems like Casey was the main target."
Chuck pondered it for a moment. "Hmm, I guess you're right. So what do you think?"
"I don't know. I mean, I guess that working for the N.S.A. would over time net you a variety of bad guys that want your blood. It could also be Bryce…"
Chuck was waiting for Sarah to draw that conclusion. "Yeah, I thought it might be Bryce as well. After all, if Bryce was convinced that Casey was with the Ring he might think we're in danger."
Sarah chuckled. "I'm pretty sure that's the last thing that Bryce was thinking about. He seems to be quite… full of himself."
"Well, that's always been Bryce. I mean, yeah we were really good friends, but in the grand scheme of things, he'd always look out for himself."
As Sarah was about to respond, the doors burst open, and a doctor walked towards them in a surprisingly quick fashion. Chuck and Sarah stood up to greet him.
"Hello, my name is Jan Datema. I take it you are related to uh…" He checked his chart. "…John Casey?"
"Not related, but yeah we're with him." Chuck replied.
"Alright, well, Mr. Casey is doing fine. The bullet in his shoulder was successfully removed. The only lasting damage will be the tip of his ear that will be missing. For the rest he should be discharged in ten days or so."
"And Miss uh… Her first name is Claudia…"
"As far as I'm aware, she's still in surgery. But from what I've gathered they're looking at a possible paralysis from the waist down due to trauma to the spine. Her recovery time will be much longer than Mr. Casey."
Chuck nodded. "Thank you, doctor."
As the doctor walked away, Chuck turned to Sarah. "Should we report this to the General?"
Sarah nodded. "Yeah. We'll wait until Casey wakes up before we do so, though."
The hour they had to wait felt like an eternity. Chuck, bless him, wasn't making it much easier by seemingly having more energy than the energizer bunny. He kept tapping his foot to a beat only he could hear. The first 20 minutes, Sarah thought it was cute. After that, she would've given anything for him to stop. So they got up and went for a quick walk through the hospital. It wasn't like they had anything better to do with their time. As they walked past the cafeteria, Sarah's stomach started growling, which earned her an amused look from Chuck. After a quick snack, they headed outside to sit in the uncharacteristically warm weather for a while. Sarah had leaned her head against Chuck's shoulder, and was asleep within seconds.
She was softly shaken awake to quiet murmurings from Chuck. She really did enjoy waking up like that. When Chuck saw her stir, he softly kissed her head.
"Wake up, beautiful. It's time to find the Major."
Sarah's smile was blinding. "Hmm, I can appreciate waking up like this."
"Well, I'm glad to have found a way to wake you up without you feeling the need to break something of mine." Chuck teased.
"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.
"Let's just say you're not a morning person." He teased.
"Am too." Sarah said with a mock pout. Chuck did the only thing he knew how to do to get the pout to disappear. He kissed her. Immediately, Sarah melted into him. It still amazed him how someone like Sarah would ever go for someone like him. Of course, he wouldn't ever voice those thoughts aloud. His arm still hurt from the massive punch that he'd gotten from her after he told her for the third time.
They stood up, and walked back to the hospital. After checking with the receptionist, they walked into Casey's room.
"Morning, sunshine." Chuck greeted happily.
Casey grunted. "It's four in the afternoon, moron."
"Well, sorry for trying to lighten your day, big guy." Chuck said. Sarah softly giggled.
"I got to shoot someone, my day is going fantastic." Casey said. Chuck couldn't find any sort of sarcasm in that statement.
"But… you got shot." Sarah said.
Casey gave a one-armed shrug. "Hazards of the job. So, what have you two crazy kids been up to?"
"Well…" Chuck started.
"Shut it, moron. I really have no interest in knowing what you and Walker have been doing."
Chuck turned to Sarah. "You really can't have a normal conversation with him, can you?" Casey's grunt sounded like several death threats. So Chuck went back on topic. "So, uh… Should we inform the General of what happened here?"
"Wow, you're actually not as dumb as you look." Casey deadpanned.
"Eh, I'm going for nerdy. It's kind of a paradox to look dumb with the whole nerd-thing going on." Chuck replied
"I take it back, you're still a moron. Go to my room, get on the laptop and initiate a video conference with the General. Inform her of what happened. I'll make sure that we get to… interrogate Claudia."
The way that Casey talked about interrogating sent shivers down Chuck's spine. Sarah however, took charge. "Fine, you go rest up. It's not every day you get shot."
"Well…" Casey started.
Sarah's eyebrows rose. "Wait, really?"
"Oh God, the geek is rubbing off on you. No, of course not every day moron… ette?"
Sarah shrugged. "Whatever, we'll be right back. Anything we can pick you up?"
"A hot pocket and some scotch." Casey replied.
"… Right, they probably don't have hot pockets over here, sorry." Sarah said, looking faintly apologetic.
"Told you this country was crap. It's got nothing on America."
"I'm sure that the Dutch will be thrilled to hear your opinion, Casey." Chuck said.
Casey fixed him with a glare. "If you two would do your job, we'd be out of here before anyone could so much as blink. Instead, I've gotten shot. So move it, soldier."
Chuck knew better than to argue, so he turned and walked out of the hospital, Sarah hot on his heels.
"He got shot?" The General all but screamed.
Chuck winced. "Yes ma'am"
"And what were you two doing?" The General asked.
The blush on Chuck's cheeks told Sarah that he wasn't going to respond any time soon, so she stepped in. "Chuck and I were detained in our hotel room at the time. I think the Major knew we weren't going anywhere, so he stepped out for a quick stroll. That's when the assassin showed up."
"Very well. You three will interrogate the prisoner and report to me what you've found out."
"Excuse me, ma'am. Prisoner?" Sarah asked.
Beckman nodded. "Until a claim is made by the Dutch government, the assassin is in custody of the United States. If anyone asks, have Major Casey show his identification as an employee of the United States N.S.A."
"That was quite the mouthful." Chuck whispered to Sarah. She put her hand to her mouth to stop the giggle from escaping. It still came out halfway between a squeak and a giggle. Chuck thought it was adorable. The glare from Beckman on the other hand, was terrifying.
"I heard that Mr. Bartowski. Please inform Major Casey of his job. After that, you will interrogate the prisoner and continue your original mission." She jabbed a button beneath the camera, and the screen cut out.
Chuck groaned. "Well, you heard the General. Let's go."
Sarah nodded, and they went back to the hospital. As the doors opened, a cool breeze passed through, causing Sarah to shiver. Chuck used it as an excuse to start rubbing her arms. Sarah looked at him, and offered her gratitude. As they walked to Casey's room, Chuck couldn't help but wonder.
"What if it was actually Bryce who ordered the hit? Why would he do that?"
Sarah shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe he sees him as a threat of some kind."
Chuck pondered it, but while he did, another question bubbled to the surface. "So what happens when we find it?"
"Bryce wants you to upload it. Shaw wants you to destroy it. It's up to you really." Sarah said.
Chuck nodded. "But what do you want?"
Sarah sighed. "Well, I think that if you do end up, uploading it, you'll be nothing more than a plaything for the government. From what Shaw told us about it, you'll be considered the most important asset to the United States since… well, ever. And I love you too much to see you being used as a tool, and possibly discarded as one after your use. Plus, I wouldn't know if they would even allow a relationship between a civilian and a… tool." Sarah winced as she uttered that last word.
"Well, that sounds logical. But you still haven't told me what you think I should do."
"Do what feels right. I'll support you a hundred percent."
"I get that, Sarah!" He said, while raising his voice. "I'm not asking you what I think I should do; I'm asking you what YOU think I should do."
Sarah sighed. "I know… It's just… I want you, and if that means that you have to destroy it… Then I'd much rather you destroy it. Even if that makes me sound egotistical."
Chuck smiled. "Then I'll destroy it."
"Huh, what? Because that's what I want you to do?"
Chuck nodded. "Well, not exactly, but mostly, yeah. I mean, you're right, in the end it's up to me. But most of the decisions I make since, well… that wonderful night a week or so back, they've been for us, and not just for me. So I figured that what could arguably be the most important decision in my life should be made when I talked things over with you."
Sarah's heart was swelling so much; she was scared it might just break out of her chest. No one had ever bothered thinking about her. She had to convey her gratitude of it, somehow. So she went for the tried and true. "Chuck, I love you so much." It was a decent effort. She'd probably show him more, later that night.
"I love you too. And I'm sorry for raising my voice at you."
"Wait, you're actually sorry for that?" Sarah asked.
"Well… yeah. It was unnecessary."
Sarah really didn't know what to say. After all, she thought it was a normal response. She had been twisting around the issue after all. "…Oh… Well, apology accepted."
"Great!" Chuck exclaimed. He gave her a quick kiss. "Oh, we're here." They walked into the room, still locked to each other.
"Ugh, I'd much rather get shot again than having to see you two be so… sickening." Casey said.
"What is it with you and being so annoyed every time we show some form of affection?" Sarah asked.
"Huh? Oh, nothing." Casey said, before turning his head away.
"Whatever. Anyway, our new orders are to interrogate Claudia before continuing on with our original mission. So, I guess you're up, Casey." Sarah said.
The predatory gleam in Casey's eye told her that he was finally beginning to have some fun. She shuddered at that implication.
Claudia looked around her room. It was a beautiful day. She figured it would be a day where birds should be singing, couples should be out in the town on a terrace and children should be playing at the beach. They shouldn't be confined to a hospital bed, paralyzed from the waist down. When the surgeon came in to tell her, she barely blinked. She still couldn't make herself care too much. She had enough money and she didn't really value life that much. One did not become a professional assassin if one did. As it was, the bane of her existence was heading straight for her room.
"Morning, sunshine." Casey said, as he rolled into Claudia's room.
"Hey!" Chuck shouted, affronted. "I thought we weren't going to make smart-ass comments."
"You're not. I still am." Casey said, with a glare that dared Chuck to defy him. He wisely held his tongue.
"What are you doing here?" Claudia asked.
"I think you know why I'm here. What I can't figure out is why you're here." Casey replied.
"Well, it seems I've accidentally been shot in the spine."
Casey grunted/laughed. "So it seems. So who's your new employer?"
Claudia shrugged. "I wouldn't know."
Casey cracked his knuckles. "Oh, are we going to play "pry-the-information-from-me"? I love that game."
"Uh, Casey. In case you haven't noticed, we're in a hospital… on foreign soil. I don't think they would look too kindly on your way of playing games."
Casey looked… insulted. "What do you think I am, moron? A moron? No, because as per my rules, there can be only one moron and that's you. The one moron to rule them all."
Chuck's mouth flew open. "Casey… did you just quote…?"
"If you mention it to anyone, I'll end you." Casey replied. Sarah looked amused. Even she knew what just happened, despite her painfully obvious lack of pop-culture knowledge.
Claudia looked at the discussion with an amused look on her face. "I hate to waste your time here, John. But you can't do much. I'm sorry."
Casey sighed. "I know. We'll just ship you to the States and let our professional interrogation team have a crack at you."
Claudia laughed. "Yeah. I think I'll hold out until the Netherlands wants me extradited. I'm sure it'll be fun though."
"Fine. Do me a professional courtesy then. As one assassin to another."
Claudia peered at Casey. "Okay, you get one question. I won't divulge any names so don't even bother with that."
Casey nodded. "Those are fair terms. My question is: Why me?"
"Because someone wanted you dead."
"Thanks for the news-flash. I got that when I was suddenly catching bullets. My question is, was there a specific reason?"
"Someone didn't want you to be a part of their team." Claudia said, waving in Chuck and Sarah's direction.
Sarah's mouth fell open. So it was in fact someone who wanted to break up the team. That put Bryce as the prime suspect, seeing as him and Beckman were the only two who were aware of the "team". And Beckman seemed genuinely shocked when she heard that Casey had gotten shot. But why would he do such a thing? It didn't make sense. Sarah was so focused on her train of thought; she only got pulled back in the conversation when she heard Claudia mention Chuck.
"Chuck, it's a shame we couldn't have met under different circumstances. I wouldn't have minded to give you a test drive myself."
"What… did you say…?" Sarah grunted. Chuck looked at Sarah and saw what could've only be described as a killing rage.
"Hey, look at that, it's time for us to go. See ya!" Chuck exclaimed, before dragging Sarah away.
"Let me go, Chuck! I'll kill her!" Sarah shouted.
"Sarah, baby. Don't you think that's a bit tactless, shouting that in a hospital?"
"I don't care! She's dead!" Sarah continued, still raging.
Chuck saw that Sarah was kicking up a major fuss, so he dragged her into a bathroom, closed the door and shoved her against it. He pressed his mouth against her in an attempt to shut her up. He felt Sarah trying to shout more obscenities, before giving in. After finally releasing his grasp on her, he leaned back. "Better?"
"Hmm… much, thank you." Sarah said, before she walked over to the mirror to redo her hair. They walked back to Claudia's room, to see Casey coming out to look for them. He rolled up to them.
"Listen up. You two are going to wear body armor from now on. It's obvious that people aren't too pleased with us snooping around so we'll have to take drastic measures. In my room is a plastic cache. I've got a few weapons stored in there. Take them for your own protection."
"But Casey, I don't want to have a gun." Chuck whined.
Casey rolled his eyes. "I've packed a few tranq guns, just in case. From the moment I laid eyes on you, I pegged you as the pansy. Guess I was right."
Sarah glared at him. "Can you please stop insulting him, Casey? It makes you look rather unprofessional."
Casey shrugged. "He keeps making it easy. But for what it's worth, sorry for messing with your boy-toy."
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Thanks, much better. Anyway, we're going to set up the meet. We'll come back here tomorrow, after we're done. Alright?"
"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow then."
Casey rolled back to his own room, leaving Chuck and Sarah to their own devices.
"Well, let's stock up on some weapons." Sarah said. Chuck swallowed hard.
The meet was set up in a smoky café. When Chuck and Sarah stepped in, all of the male patrons directed their stares/leers at Sarah. Chuck felt slightly anxious, but decided not to throw a fit. Sarah, bless her, felt him being uncomfortable, and stepped up to him circling her arm around his waist. Most of the stares died down, and Chuck let out a sigh of relief.
"Thanks, Sarah."
Sarah laughed. "Hang on, I'll even one-up you." She drew him in for a passionate kiss, which caused most stares to turn green with envy. There were still a few persistent stares though. They walked through the café, which despite the smoky '30's vibe it was so desperately trying to attain still had a homey feel to it, to a table near the back. They were supposed to meet with their contact in around eight minutes.
"What can I get you, sweetie?" Chuck asked.
"Sweetie?"
"Yeah, I thought I'd try it out. Do you like it?"
Sarah chuckled. "Sure. I'll have a beer, if you don't mind."
"Alright."
It took an inordinate amount of time for Chuck to get his order through. By the time he had gotten back, a man had seated himself at the table where Sarah was sitting. He had a glass of water in front of him. Chuck sat down next to Sarah. He noticed the man to be in his late forties with straight black hair which started to gray at his temples along with a pleasant expression on his face. He had a small pair of glasses perched on the ridge of his nose.
"Here you go, babe." He said. Sarah quietly thanked him. "And you are…?"
"Dr. Frans Meijers." The Doctor said, with a thick Dutch accent. "And who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"
"I'm Sarah Walker, and this is Chuck Bartowski. We're reporters for the Los Angeles Daily. We wanted to ask you some questions with regards to an investigation that's currently running."
Frans scoffed. "You came all the way from Los Angeles to here? Must've been an important investigation."
Chuck decided to butt in. "Sure, that is, if you'd consider the Intersect project important."
Frans almost spat out his drink. "How can you possibly know about that?"
Sarah shrugged. "You get your connections once you do this gig for a while." She took a sip of her beverage before continuing. "Besides, Daniel Shaw turned out to be an excellent source. So what can you tell us about it?"
"What did Daniel tell you about it?"
Sarah pulled out her legal pad. "Let's see… ah, here we are. A quick summary. It's designed to be uploaded in a person so that he or she can assimilate intelligence at a blistering pace, based on auditory or visual cues. Along with that, it can allow the user to become a master in any sort of skill-set ever imagined. All NATO countries have an Intersect computer. That's about all."
Frans shook his head. "Shaw didn't know everything either. Listen, the Intersect is much more powerful than you think. It not only gives you the ability to gain every skill set imaginable, it also does much more. It allows the wielder to read and counter an opponent. For all intents and purposes, the wielder could never be hit by anything if he could see his opponent. The wielder would literally become a one-man army. Of course, he'd still be killable, but even getting to the point where you could actually do such a thing would require more luck than wisdom."
The doctor took another sip of his water before continuing. "Orion, who created the Intersect, had to cut back on the Intersect's abilities. So he designed the system to work with an unlockable system. The higher the subliminal retention rate on a person, the more abilities the user would unlock. The full system would be unlocked for someone who had an image retention rate of 96% or higher. At that point, the wielder would have enough power to rival a weapon of mass destruction."
Chuck swallowed hard, but decided not to speak up. He saw Sarah's face tense the slightest bit when the last piece of information came up.
"So do you know where the Intersect is?" Sarah asked.
"I have no idea. The last I heard was that Orion decided that having the Intersect was more of a danger than it being destroyed. So he relocated the entire thing. His theory was that if it was ever truly needed, he would know where to find it. But until then, no one would have access to it."
"What do you know about Orion?" Chuck asked.
Frans sighed. "He's a brilliant man. He has his quirks, but he's brilliant nonetheless. But his story is a sad one. He had to leave his family behind to work for the government. It was a damn shame too, because he had children and his wife had already abandoned the family. He spoke about his kids every day."
Chuck found the story to hit particularly close to home. "Do you know what his name is?"
Frans shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't know. The only thing I can tell you is that he seemed to have an affinity with Los Angeles. Maybe that'll help you. I hope it does. Anyway, I have to leave. I hope you two find what you're looking for."
Frans stood up to leave, but just as he did, a man of around 26 walked up to the group. His blonde hair was gelled back, and he had a cap on his head. A small earring sat in his left ear. He walked up to Sarah. "Hey meissie!" He shouted.
Sarah looked around, annoyed. "Can I help you?"
"Oh, you're from America." The kid resumed in English. "How about you ditch these guys and I'll show you a good time yes? I know all the good spots in this city. I'll bet you like it."
Chuck shook his head, and stood up. "Hey man, I don't want to disappoint you, I know she's stunning. But she's already with me. So thanks for the attention, but if you wouldn't mind…" Chuck held out his hand to Sarah, who took it, and they tried to move past the kid.
"Ha, with you?" He scoffed. "What would someone like her do with a geek like you? I'll bet I can take you easily."
Chuck shrugged. "I'm sure you can. But that's not how this world works. So if you don't mind, I'd like to go somewhere with my girlfriend."
"Yeah, whatever…" The kid said, before taking a swing at Chuck.
Sarah's hand shot out, and deflected the blow. As the kid's arm was still busy completing its journey wide of Chuck's face, Sarah's fist shot up into his diaphragm, which caused the kid's air to shoot out of his lungs with a puff. He doubled over in pain, only to meet the raised knee of Sarah which hit him straight on the nose. His upper body flew back upwards, and the kid's hand shot up to cradle his broken nose.
Sarah grabbed his ear, and pulled him close. "Just for your information…" She hissed, "… I don't even have to do a comparison to know that this "geek" as you decided to call him is about ten times the man that you'll be. So I think it's in your best interest if you kindly let us pass or I'll make life rather uncomfortable for you. Got that?" The kid nodded once, and she released her grasp. "Let's go, Chuck." She said, holding out her hand.
Chuck walked up to her, and encircled his arm around her waist. As they walked up, his eyes were still wide as saucers. "Sarah…"
"Please, don't be mad at me, Chuck. I couldn't let him hit you, and he was being an asshole. I'm sorry you had to see that from me, but I just couldn't…"
"Sarah… that was awesome!" Chuck cried out.
Sarah looked at him, her face a mixture of confusion and amusement.
"I'm actually the one that should be sorry. When Bryce told me about you, I had my doubts. I mean, look at you, you're like a super model and suddenly you're also this awesome martial artist… Yeah right. But then you did that, and I think my mind just exploded. They should've used you instead of Carrie-Anne Moss… I bet you'd look rocking in leather." Chuck finished in a near whisper. Sarah had heard him regardless.
"Carrie-Anne Moss?" She asked.
"You know? Trinity? The Matrix? Amazing first movie, worse second and terrible third? Anything?" Sarah shook her head. "Alright, well never let it be said that I'm easily deterred. We'll just add that to the already growing list of things I've got to introduce you to. Obviously, you know Star Wars since you called Morgan out on it, and… What's up Sarah?"
She was staring at him, with an open mouth. "How do you even remember that? That was like, half a year ago."
Chuck shrugged. "You made quite an impression on me that day. It would be unsportsmanlike to not remember that."
Sarah fondly remembered that day. It was the day of her first Chuck-Smile®. Yeah, she registered it. "Well, even though it's not necessary at all, I forgive you."
Chuck nodded. "Well, in that spirit, I'll forgive you too. Plus, I love you."
"I love you too, Chuck… You know, I always figured that it would become monotone, saying I love you to someone. And yet, every time I say it to you, I feel just as giddy as the first time I said it."
Chuck nodded. "I know what you mean. I guess I should be thankful that Jill cheated on me. I can't imagine being married to her, I'd much rather be married to you." Chuck's eyebrows flew up, and he silently cursed himself. He couldn't believe he let that one slip out. He casted a sideways glance to Sarah, but she still had a relaxed smile on her face.
Sarah had heard the slip, and truth be told she felt… excited. It was odd; she always figured marriage talk would terrify her. But the more she thought about it, the more she actually felt herself wanting it. And when she did allow herself to think about it, the only man she could picture next to her on the altar was Chuck. Still, she wouldn't fret about it too much. He would propose when he would. All she could do was not go into a panic every time he brought it up, and hopefully he would catch on that she wasn't at all opposed to the idea… But then again, catching on had never been Chuck's strong point. But the silence had gone on long enough. "Well, I guess I should be thankful too. After all, it would be pretty awkward if I had to lure you away from her." She added with a wink. "Now let's go back to Casey."
Frans Meijers picked up his cell phone. As he dialed the number that was given to him in case of emergencies, he pondered about the odds of it all. Who knew Orion's son would come looking for the Intersect.
"Orion… Stephen. It's me… Yeah, some reporters came by today, and asked about the Intersect… Sarah Walker… Well, that's where it gets interesting… Chuck Bartowski… Ringing any bells? …Yeah that's what I thought… It seems that Chuck is in a committed relationship… Well, she's certainly attractive, but who cares Orion. Your son is looking for the Intersect… No, I was deliberately vague, but they spoke to Shaw… Well, that's a problem because Shaw actually found the thing…
…I don't know what they're going to do… I think they're leaving the country… No, they don't know a thing about you, except that you like Los Angeles… Well, the city is huge; I don't think they'll ever find you… Alright, if something happens, I'll let you know… Meijers out.
Bryce was livid. Major Coburn's involvement with Chuck and Sarah had set off the alarm bells within Fulcrum. They were afraid the N.S.A. was inching closer to finding the Intersect, and they had dispatched one of their finest enforces, Vincent, to deal with the three. Still, Bryce was always one step ahead; and now wasn't an exception. He opened his laptop and went for a video conference.
"Mr. Larkin. To what do we owe the pleasure?" One of the Ring Elders asked.
"Elders, I have disturbing news. My contact in the C.I.A. has just informed me of the fact that one of Fulcrum's top enforcers has decided to jump ship back to the C.I.A. and is spilling secrets on the Ring and Fulcrum. They've decided to send him to Rome to get the drop on a group of newly recruited Ring agents, and bring them in for questioning. I've personally helped recruit these agents, and under no circumstances are they to be captured. We have to eliminate the threat."
The Ring Elders looked at their monitors. "Just a minute, Mr. Larkin. We will discuss your intel."
The video chat disconnected, and Bryce stifled a chuckle. He truly was one of the world's best manipulators. It took five minutes, but finally Bryce was back in the video chat.
"Mr. Larkin, we've discussed our options and we agree to your assessment. Vincent has to be eliminated. We will dispatch a team to Rome, immediately. The Ring thanks you for your continued support."
Bryce nodded, and the video feed closed itself again. It was time to go back to his daydream. Now where was he? Oh yeah, he had just taken off Sarah's blouse…
Casey was lying in his hospital bed. Truth be told he was about done with the hospital anyway. He felt physically fine. But the hospital put him under strict orders, and Beckman agreed with them. So he was pretty much stuck. Just then, a cute brunette walked in. "Good morning, Mr. Casey. It's time for your medicine."
Casey's instincts started working in overdrive. That was a picture perfect American accent. Something was definitely wrong. And he would've had capsules, not a syringe for his medicine. "Excuse me, nurse. I'm feeling a bit under the weather. Would you mind getting the Doctor?"
"Don't worry, you'll feel fine after the shot." She leaned over, to administer the shot. Casey's giant fist flew out from under the covers, hitting her straight in her trachea. She stumbled back, and Casey jumped out of bed. He ran at her full speed, and managed to tackle her in a way that would make most teams in the NFL sign him in an instant. The nurse flew back, and she dropped the needle. Casey dove over, and grabbed it. He hoisted the nurse up, and jammed the needle into her neck.
"Now, before I press this plunger, I want to know. Who tried to kill me now? The Ring? Fulcrum? Or was it that rat bastard Larkin?"
The nurse shrugged. "Neither. Our organization hasn't been in the limelight yet. But we're much stronger than those two petty organizations combined. Our time will come."
Casey nodded, and pressed the plunger. He covered the brunette's mouth as she screamed in agony. He figured he injected her with ammonia. As the screams died down, he laid her on his bed. He looked at her I.D. Hannah Watkins.
"Well Hannah, it looks like you're all… burnt out." Casey chuckled. He was getting pretty good at those one-liners.
Still, there was no time to gloat over his amazing ability to one-line with the best of them. He had to get out of here. And this proved to be an excellent opportunity to get out of the country. As he quickly put on some clothes, he started power-walking to the exit. He had just made it out of his room, when Chuck and Sarah came up.
"Whoa, Casey, discharged already?" Chuck asked.
"No time, we've got to go, right now." Casey grunted. He turned them both around, and headed for the exit.
"What's going on, Casey?" Sarah asked. She had never seen him this tense.
"There was another attempt on my life. We've got to get out of this country. I'm guessing you've got all the information you could get from that Doctor?"
Chuck nodded. "It turns out the thing is even more dangerous than we thought. But we'll tell you later."
"So where too, next?"
"Rome. We already know where the contact lives, so it'll be easier to find than Paris." Sarah said.
Chuck chuckled, and leaned over to Sarah. "You do know that this means it's your turn to do date night, right?" He waggled his eyebrows, which caused Sarah to laugh again.
"I'm well aware of that, Chuck. Thank you." She gave him a playful punch on his shoulder.
"Just checking." He said.
Once they got to the hotel, Casey informed the General who agreed to his assessment. They were to fly to Italy on the first flight that they could. The N.S.A. was going to foot the bill, and under no circumstances were they to tell Larkin about this. As far as the General was aware, he was now considered suspicious. She agreed to have equipment ready for them once they arrived.
Chuck called Ellie to update her about what happened. He wisely left out the assassination attempts and the fact that he and Sarah had been under the influence of narcotics. When he told her about Rome, she squealed which caused Chuck to have to remove the phone from his ears, lest he wanted to become deaf in an ear. She continued to tell them how romantic she said Italy was, and Chuck agreed that he was really looking forward to it. The glint in Sarah's eye told him that she too was looking forward to a few days in Italy.
When they got to the airport, no one noticed the man with the short spiky blond hair and a phone this ear. "Black Coat… I've got visual on them… They're going to Italy… Will do." He shut down his phone, and grabbed his passport, ready to go through Customs. Italy was his destination.
A/N2: So, that was Chapter 11, and the end of the Netherlands arc. Trust me when I say that the first half of this chapter was a bitch and a half to write. I think I spent nearly 24 hours writing simply the first 2000/3000 words. After that though, it went much smoother and the other 4000+ words were out in 5 hours flat. I've taken some things from BillatWork's work, such as how overpowered the wielder of the Intersect would be, as well as Hannah's last name. In my opinion, it fits the most. He's not aware that I did this, and I hope he doesn't mind. And if he does, I hope that giving him a shoutout for it will be good enough.
I'm going to not be able to write for at least two weeks. First up, I'm going on vacation for a week to sunny Tunesia. After that I've got a LAN tournament in the Czech Republic that I'm attending. After that though, I'll be able to spend a significant amount of time on writing again. So expect a 2 week hiatus at most. I will of course keep reading fics (and reviewing) I just won't have the time to write. But as I said, 2 week hiatus and maybe (probably) sooner! Please do leave a review. It let's me know that you appreciate the work that I've put in this fic, and it motivates me to keep writing. Until next time.