Disclaimer: I do not own Chuck and his associates. They belong to NBC, I think.
A/N: Wow. I've got to say, I wasn't expecting such an enthusiastic response. Anyways, here is the next chapter. We pick up a couple of years later at about the same time the show starts. I thinks it's 2007.
Chapter 2: Life is Good
"Maybe if we decrease the data load in each picture, that could make it easier for download and retention. The downsides would be that there will be a lot more useless junk in the files and it would take longer to take in everything. At least, those are the things I can think of off the top of my head."
Chuck rubbed his temple as he continued to problem solve. Him and Tom Varnes were trying to figure out ways to download the Intersect into a wider array of people without frying their brains. So far, progress was at a standstill.
"Hmm, maybe we should take a break," Tom said. "I could use a beer. And my head is killing me from all this thinking."
"Heh, you're starting to sound like your brother. Maybe we should take a break." Chuck grinned. He enjoyed ribbing Tom about his idiot brother. Tom refused to acknowledge that he even had one.
"Can you please stop saying I have a brother? Come on, let's go to Bennigan's. Actually, he might be there. Let's go somewhere else."
"Did you just say that you don't want to go to Bennigan's because Jeff is going to be there?"
Tom huffed in exasperation. "I told you, I don't have a brother."
"Sure thing Frahn-ken-steen."
XXXX
"So, do you have a girlfriend?" The pretty brunette that Ellie and Awesome were trying to set Chuck up with was giving him a really cute and innocent look. However, Chuck got the feeling that she was far from innocent.
"Well, I used to. We were dating for several years, but thought that we were too young to make such a commitment. So we decided to date other people to see who else is out there."
She grinned coquettishly. "So how is the search going so far?"
Chuck gave back his own suggestive grin. "The search is going very well. From all the people I've met so far at this party, I can definitely say that Ellie has good taste in friends."
"Why thank you! You've definitely got a way about you that I find very attractive, Chuck. So, how about we skip out early on the party and I can find a birthday gift to give you?"
Oh, this is too good. Do I take the gift, or face Ellie's wrath? "Ellie is going to kill me for sneaking away from my own birthday party, but she'll forgive me."
XXXX
It was very late at night, and Chuck was trying to stay awake behind the wheel as he drove home. He had a great time with the brunette, Cheryl, and wished that he could have spent the night. However, he had work the next day. That meant he had to get up and continue on the download problems they were having with the Intersect.
Chuck's cell phone ring jerked him to alertness. He saw that it was Ellie, and was hesitant to pick it up. He didn't want to get chewed out, but it would be even worse if he delayed.
"Hey, sis...Oh, I had a great time. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into celebrating my birthday...Your friend, Cheryl, wanted to show me something at her place...Yes, I mean sex...It was just some fun...If we ever follow up, I have her phone number...I actually have work tomorrow, so I have to go home now and get some sleep...Yeah...Listen, I'm home now, so I'm going to get some sleep. Thanks for the party, and I'll help you clean up tomorrow. Bye, Ellie."
The conversation had taken Chuck from the road all the way back to his apartment. He got ready for bed, but decided to check his e-mail before going to sleep.
"Hm, an e-mail from Bryce. How considerate of him. The terrible troll raises it's sword. Great, how does that go again?"
Chuck pondered his hero satchel for a couple of moments before coming to the answer. He typed in 'Attack with nasty knife.'
After entering his answer, images started to bombard his brain from the computer screen.
XXXX
An alarm clock's ringing woke Chuck up. Ugh, what happened? Ach, my head. How much did I have last night?
The nerd in question blearily sat up from his position on the floor and looked around. He was in his room on the floor. He looked over to his computer and-
"Oh no! What happened?"
Smoke was bellowing out of the computer with flashes of sparks. With a final crackle of electricity, the poor machine's face plate blew off and it fell apart. Chuck stared forlornly at the smoking, charred remains of his computer.
"Thanks a lot, Bryce. Not only you had to get me kicked out of Stanford, but you also had to destroy my computer."
From the looks of things, it was completely destroyed. With a defeated sigh, he picked up its remains and dumped it in the trash. On the bright side, he could get a newer and better computer from Roark for free. Working for secret independent agencies had its quirks.
XXXX
Chuck entered the Buymore with his gear in tow. His job in Fulcrum was as a lead programmer on the Intersect project. However, he also had to do a cover job with Roark Industries as a programmer and community liaison. That means that every once in a while he has to go to different electronic stores to classes on the new software and hardware that RI releases.
It was annoying to attend to the cover job, but Chuck realized that it may be good to do once in a while to help him refocus away from Intersect problems. And he was glad to visit Morgan at the Buymore he was at.
"Dude, where were you last night? You up and disappeared. Ellie was wondering what happened to you." Morgan had honed in on Chuck as soon as he stepped through the doors and made a beeline toward his friend.
"Oh, well, I met someone and one thing led to another," Chuck answered with a sheepish grin.
"Congratulations. Anyways, great party. Ellie really outdid herself. I tried to show my appreciation, but she just hustled me out of the courtyard."
As the two friends chatted, they made their way to the Nerd Herd kiosk where Chuck would give his presentation and answer questions from the audience. Chuck thought that was rather inconvenient because crowds might develop in the middle of the store and disrupt traffic. Oh, well.
XXXX
"No, it looks completely destroyed. Everything is burnt to a crisp and plain old broken. Bryce sure knows how to cover his tracks." She shifted her cell phone to her other ear as she examined the computer that the Intersect was sent to.
Sarah sifted through the wreckage in the garbage can a little bit more before giving up on finding anything of worth. She rifled through some of Chuck's stuff to get some insight into his character. Her search revealed a desk calendar with Chuck's schedule. That day's activities caught her interest.
"I'm not sure how much this guy knows, but I think I know where to find him. I'm going to find out what his involvement with Bryce is." She ended the call with Graham and took one last look around to see if she missed anything.
Sarah then left the building to catch some sort of computer class. She was already in a bad mood as she tore out of the parking lot and onto the freeway. First, she finds out that Bryce had gone rogue and destroyed an important piece of government property. Then she was under investigation to see if she was a traitor as well. To say that she was having a bad day would be an understatement.
This Chuck better be one of the good guys. Or there's going to be hell to pay.
XXXX
"So if there are no more questions, I'll let you all go back to your shopping experience. I'll be here until 11:00, so if there is anything else you want to discuss in private, you are free to ask."
As the crowd dispersed, Morgan went up to Chuck. "Is there any news on the Roark 7? That's got to be the one that will take the lead in laptop speed and performance ahead of Microsoft and Apple."
"Morgan, that's not going to be out until maybe next year. We're still developing and testing it, so it's too soon to say how it's going to be done."
"Are you working on it?"
A mysterious grin made its way to Chuck's face. If only you knew. "Well, I am working on a highly advanced computer that is hopefully going to have an effect on the world. But for the Roark 7 itself, I'm mostly working on some software stuff. However, I can't say much else about my work. Sorry buddy, I have to stay vague. Or else some corporate spy might find out what we're doing."
"Alright, you don't have to be all cloak and dagger about it. Whoa, it's Vicki Vale."
"Vicki Vale, Vicki Vale, Vickity Vickity Vicki Vale-" Chuck was too busy gathering his stuff up to see the beautiful blonde in front of him. Then he saw her. "Uh, hi."
"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything." Sarah gave Chuck a smile that sent his heart pounding.
"Ah, no. That was from Batman."
"And that's supposed to make it better?"
"Um, hi. I'm Morgan," he said cutting in. "And my tall friend here is Chuck."
"Wow, I didn't know people still named their kids Chuck and Morgan."
"And you are-" Chuck cut back in.
"Sarah."
"Well, Sarah," Chuck started, "was there anything you wanted to know about the software upgrades for the R6 Alpha?"
"Yeah, but I don't have a lot of time right now. Is it alright if we discuss it over dinner tonight? That is, if you're free."
"Yes, he is! He's totally free!" Morgan yelled from across the room.
Chuck turned back to her. "Apparently, I'm totally free."
XXXX
He was scared. Now that the adrenaline from disarming a bomb was starting to fade, he was beginning to realize the extent of his situation. The two agents arguing in front of him were doing nothing to allay his fears.
Alright Chuck. Everything will be fine. Just don't panic. Stay cool. Don't give them any hint that you're part of a secret organization that is trying to influence the United States government with extreme prejudice. Oh boy. This is bad. I'm going to jail. They're going to find out. No, they'll not. Just act self indignant. Maybe that will work.
"Excuse me." Sarah and Casey were jolted out of their exchange and looked to Chuck. "There is a lot going on and it's going to take some time for me to adjust. But right now, I'm going home. You need me."
He brushed passed them and found his car. It wasn't in the best of shape after Sarah's road warrior stunts, but it was good enough to get him home. The music was turned up to drown out Chuck's worries about the CIA and NSA keeping a watch on him.
When he got back home, he flopped down on his bed and tried to get to sleep. Too bad he didn't get much.
XXXX
The next morning, Chuck raced to work. Raced safely within the speed limit, of course. It wouldn't do for him to get local law enforcement on his tale as well. He had enough trouble with the two agencies horning in on his life.
He made it to Roark Industries and proceeded to run through the lobby and to the elevator. He pressed the button and waited for it to come down. Chuck's jitteriness, however, made it hard for him to wait for the elevator that he just now noticed was extremely slow. So he bolted up the stairs for about six stories before he got tired and waited again for the elevator. Why does Ted have to have his office on the top floor? Why can't he have it on the ground floor. It might not be 'executive' enough, but he would be more accessible. Unless he doesn't want to be accessible. HOLY CRAP, THE GOVERNMENT IS AFTER ME!
Chuck's panicky inner monologue was disrupted by the his arrival to Ted's floor and he ran out and barged right into Ted Roark's office. Mindy, his secretary, was squawking after him with indignity for failing to observe proper CEO visitation procedure. Chuck cut her off by closing the door.
"I have an Intersect in my head!" Chuck began without preamble.
Ted looked at him in confusion. "I know."
"No, I mean, I have a new Intersect in my head."
"Did you make another one? I thought we were working on the micro updates so that everyone can download an Intersect?"
Chuck took a deep breath and tried to order his thoughts. "No. What I mean to say is that an old college buddy of mine, who happened to be a CIA agent, sent me the government Intersect. I now have the Intersect the CIA and NSA was working on, but also our own Intersect. And now, I have two federal agents keeping watch on me. I think they're going to develop me as an asset. Ted, I'm freaking out." He ended his monologue in a frenzied rush.
A look or alarm and concern flashed over Ted's face before he said, "Well, shit."
XXXX
A/N: Basically, the date and mission that happened in the pilot took place in here as well. However, Chuck is trying to keep secret the fact that he is Fulcrum away from his new handlers. I'm going to figure out how to get a beta so that I can work out some ideas and improve my writing. Thanks for reading.