"Chuck vs the Aussie"
AN1: Thank you to everyone for the awesome response to the last chapter – hope you all enjoy this chapter and the remainder of the swimming action to come.
Huge thank you to Ripe who really helped me get the events down and kept me from going completely unrealistic and kindly pointed out a little detail error that I have fixed – all mistakes are my own (no beta's harmed), but a big shout out to Ripe – you are awesome!
Disclaimers – I don't own Chuck or the Olympics (additional disclaimers in AN2).
Italics will always denote character thoughts and once again keep an eye on the time shifts and dates. There is a long flashback at the beginning of this chapter to day one of the swimming (chapter 10) so be aware of that.
And thank you to everyone who has provided feedback – you have no idea how much I appreciate it! I always PM reviewers. I will never beg for reviews, but feedback is so useful and now more than ever are reviews appreciated - the time that is spent reviewing really lifts a writer's spirit. So to those who review thank you so much and to those who read thank you and I hope you continue to enjoy this story.
Chapter 11: Day 2 – Friendly Competition and Fallout
Jill's Hotel Room
London, United Kingdom
July 29, 2012
7:01 hrs BST
Jill watches the scene before her hesitantly as Bryce paces back and forth as he talks and curses to himself as he continues his angry musings in her plush London hotel room. She sits atop the large king sized bed on a white comforter as she plays mindlessly with the dark brown accent blanket at the foot of the bed. The room is long and rectangular and Bryce paces from the near the side of the bed to the small table near the window as he swears in his Irish brogue. Jill looks around the room at the light beige carpeting and the dark brown accent wall behind the bed and the similarly colored drapes that frame the large window that looks out upon the city. Bryce slams his fist violently on the table causing Jill's laptop to shake as she looks forward from the foot of the bed at the flat screen TV and wall unit to distract herself from Bryce's anger filled pacing. He continues his ministrations as he stops in front of the two orange-beige couches along the wall near the window as he grips the bridge of his nose as he looks unfocused at the three framed simple paintings on the wall. As Jill continues to watch his anger build and build, she sighs as she thinks of the previous day…
Flashback to the Previous Day…
Jill smiles as she talks with Bryce after the heats in her London Hotel room, "Alright Bryce you shouldn't have to worry about Chuck in either of the finals, so make sure you are loose and ready to win. Chuck was able to make it to the finals, but the poison will start taking its effect and he will fade."
Bryce smiles smugly, "Not'a problem my dear Jill. I will be ready and I shouldn't even need the help of the poison… t'will be fun to see that arse Chuck fall."
Jill's gets a contemplative look on her face, "Are you sure… I mean you only wanted to dose Chuck… but in the medley both Lochte and Phelps are really good and in the freestyle those Asian swimmers have a lot of skill…"
Bryce's face flashes briefly with anger before an arrogant smirk returns to his face, "I have nothing to fear from anyone! And Chuck… well I had you dose Chuck for more personal reasons."
As Bryce smiles widely as he thinks of Chuck's humiliations Jill finally decides to ask, "What is it about Chuck, I mean you've hated him ever since we were at Stanford. Did he do something to you?"
"Nah, not really. He's just a weak fella and someone to take advantage of. But he had the audacity to think he's better than me at Stanford and his 'holier than thou' routine and the love he gets really puts me in a foul mood."
Jill looks a little dumbfounded, "You're not jealous are you?"
Bryce's faces flashes with anger before he once again forces down his temper, "Not 't all. I just don't like that bloke and that is his misfortune," he says with a smirk once more on his face.
Jill holds down her mean spirited chuckle, not wanting to risk Bryce's violent temper, "Good then suffer he shall."
Bryce moves quickly toward her picking her up and laying a passionate kiss upon her, "I love when you get all mean! But I had 'a question for ya… the poison is untraceable, yes?"
Jill chuckles, "Bryce, we went through this! It is like the steroids I designed – impossible to trace and they shouldn't show up in the blood work. And even if they did it would make no difference as no one knows we were the ones behind it!"
"Ah Jill you are a genius!" Bryce exclaims happily once more.
"And don't you forget it lover boy!" Jill says with a confident smirk as Bryce once more pulls her into a kiss as they fall to the large king sized bed in Jill's hotel room.
After the 400m Individual Medley…
Jill sits in the stands in her white skirt and her green tank top as she holds a large Irish flag loosely in her hands causing it to pool in her lap as she looks down blankly at the main pool in the Aquatics Center. She sits with a pensive look as she adjusts her black rimmed glasses before brushing at her long, straight brunette hair as she tries to understand what had just taken place.
As she thinks, Well that was a poor showing by Bryce… sixth place is nothing to sneeze at, but he was suppose to compete… hum he's going to be angry…
As if on cue her cell phone breaks her from her thoughts as she grabs the phone and looks at the call display, which shows a local London number.
Jill answers the phone, "Hello?"
"The bloody hell Jill!" Bryce practically screams into the phone.
She winces as she pulls the phone from her ear, "Jesus Bryce! Calm down! I want to keep my hearing. How are you calling me?"
Jill hears a deep cleansing breath on the other end of the line before the still clearly enraged voice continues, "There is a courtesy phone back in the warm-up area, now what the hell is going on you said that concoction would work!"
"Bryce! Shut the hell up and don't mention anything back there – do you want to get us caught!"
Bryce grumbles, "No..."
Jill sternly continues, "Good, now I know you're pissed, but this was not your strong event and you still fell behind the leaders so you need to do better in the freestyle and not cry over this race. And before you ask the 'concoction' as you call it simply weakens him and he is clearly very strong." Bryce tries to break in but Jill shushes him, "Shush, now it will really hit him now that he is tired from the IM race so there will be no way he can keep up this pace. So you need to keep up during the race and then you can overtake him. Understand?"
Bryce grumbles petulantly once more before answering, "Yes… are you sure this will work?"
Jill ponders for a second, "Yes it should work. Now go get your head back in the game!"
Before Bryce can respond the line goes dead. He hangs up the phone and moves back prepare for his next race thinking, Bitch better be right… at least I have that crazy red head all over me… Serena was it… ah not important. And I still need to get at that blonde bitch too!
Later…
Jill watches the 400m freestyle with rapt excitement as Bryce chases the leaders as her confidence is high that Chuck and the Chinese swimmer cannot possibly continue this pace. But as she continues to watch as they pass into the final 100 meters worry begins to form on her face. She begins to go over the formula in her head and analyzes Chuck's performance based on his physical profile and she begins to become rather unnerved. She thinks, I don't understand… even without the benzodiazepine derivative this shouldn't be possible. He must run out of energy and physically this makes no sense after his previous performance in the IM.
She watches in horror as Bryce falters when Chuck inexplicably increases his pace once more as the young American finishes strong winning his first Gold medal.
Jill's head immediately drops as she heads down to meet Bryce as the crowd cheers loudly as the new World Record is announced in the Aquatics Center.
When Jill finally meets up with Bryce after his cool down exercises she expects a rage filled explosion as she saw the deathly looks Bryce was shooting Chuck after the race. She is surprised when he walks angrily past her without a word as he leaves her dumbfounded. Once she recovers from the surprise she sighs before heading back to her hotel, deciding it was probably a good thing she didn't have to deal with Bryce tonight… but tomorrow was not going to be fun.
End flashback…
Bryce finally stops his pacing and balls his fists until his knuckles turn a stark white compared to his green track suit.
Finally he speaks, "What the hell Jill? What happened why didn't your chemical work?"
Jill sighs once more, "Bryce, I am not sure what happened. Honestly he never should have been able to do what he did even without the benzodiazepine affecting him… it doesn't make any sense…"
Bryce growls angrily as he resists the urge to smash his fist into the wall… or Jill's face as images of a happy Chuck kissing Sarah play in his mind further enraging him.
Jill sees this dangerous rage and puts her hands up, "But I am certain it will kick in today! He cannot keep this pace up and you will be able to salvage the rest of the events." She is not certain of anything anymore, but she knows that look in his eye and decides that it is better to postpone his rage and hope for the best.
Bryce takes a deep cleansing breath, "And if it doesn't work today?"
"Well, then I will dose him with something more powerful… he may be able to withstand the dose I gave him. So if he doesn't fail today then we can get him on day 3 and you will have the remaining five days of the swimming events to mop the floor with him… sound good?" Jill gives Bryce a hopeful smile as she awaits the volatile man's reaction.
Bryce huffs once more, "Fine, but I have to beat him!"
Jill breaths in to calm her nerves, "You will Bryce… you will."
Shaw's Room at the Athlete's Village
London, United Kingdom
July 29, 2012
7:02 hrs BST
Shaw stands proudly in his air conditioned flat in the heart of downtown London. He thinks too highly of himself to denigrate his reputation by staying with the 'trash' from around the world in those small apartments, unbefitting his status.
He coldly picks up his cell phone with an emotionless expression and dials a number before raising the phone to his ear.
"Hello?" Is the reply on the other end of the call.
Shaw's face darkens as he replies in a deathly tone, "Justin… you had a job to do and you seem to have failed. You told me that your attack was interrupted, but you struck him hard on the leg and that he would likely still be able to compete, but he would be severely limited. Did you lie to me?"
On the other end of the line Justin Sullivan begins to sweat as fear grips at him over his lie, "No boss! I didn't lie, honest! I wacked 'em good, but he's a strong bugger… him and that blonde bitch that hit me head."
Shaw looks blankly on, "No matter, you did not succeed so you best rectify this mistake and then make yourself scarce."
"Boss… the security on Bartowski is too much! I can't get at him!"
Shaw smiles crookedly, "That is not my problem, just get it done or you will have to answer to my employers."
Justin instantly turns pale, "Yes… I will try today and I will keep you apprised."
Shaw smiles cockily, "See that you do. And get it done!"
And with that Shaw hangs up on a rather rattled Justin who once again curses himself for getting into this mess.
Outside the Athletes Village Security Zone
London, United Kingdom
July 29, 2012
7:52 hrs BST
After a restful night's sleep both Chuck and Sarah made their way from their little apartments to the Athletes Village exit in order to travel to the Aquatics Center venue for their morning heats.
They were both delighted by the serendipity of running into each other… though rationally speaking having heats at the same time meant this was a rather likely coincidence, though no one could ever convince the two of this. Nevertheless, they walk together, hand in hand, towards their transportation to the Aquatics Center.
As they exit the Athletes Village they are not paying attention and they do not see Justin as he approaches. However, before the would be attacker has a chance to act he is unceremoniously knocked over and slightly trampled as photographers and fans begin to rush towards Chuck and Sarah. The security detail acts deftly in order to block the out of control mob to the best of their abilities.
Chuck and Sarah look on dumbfounded and in shock at the flash bulbs and cheers… both oddly thinking it is far too early for this craziness. They stand a little shell-shocked and frozen as the Olympic security team comprised of police, military and private security personnel admirably holds back the paparazzi and the fans.
Justin, with only minor injuries decides to limp off and find another way at Chuck though he is about ready to disappear from London and take his chances with Shaw and his shady, mob-like bosses.
Meanwhile, Chuck and Sarah are broken from their shock by Casey who loudly yells, "Bartowski! Get your ass in gear and into the van before those vultures rip you and the skirt to pieces!"
Chuck stares dumbly at Casey for a moment before looking at the crowd and quickly realizing the danger they are potentially in. He grabs Sarah's hand and pulls her forward as they quickly jump into the van before it speeds off to the Aquatics Center.
Casey chuckles, "Ah not quite as good as an extract form a hot LZ, but that will do for a little action at this sissy sporting event."
Chuck looks dumbly at Casey as he sputters tying to formulate a response to that and the insanity that they had just experienced.
Luckily Sarah finds her voice, "Thank you Mr. Casey for the help… those people were crazy…"
Casey grunts with a touch of mirth, "No problem, I had to rescue the kid and we try to avoid friendly collateral damage… if Australia wasn't an ally I probably would have left you… oh and it's Colonel blonde."
Sarah gapes at Casey for a moment before Chuck calls out, "Hey! Be nice to her Casey. Besides, you are a Marine – leave no one behind!"
Casey grunts thoughtfully before responding as if said nothing wrong, "What?" While both Chuck and Sarah look on not knowing whether to be thankful for or insulted by the gruff Colonel.
Sarah shakes her head and chuckles, "Well thank you anyway."
Casey just smirks, "Just don't tire Bartowski out between the sheets – he's got races to win."
Both Chuck and Sarah turn bright red as the atmosphere in the van turns instantly awkward as they continue their journey to the Aquatics Center in absolute silence.
Chuck silently thinks to himself not daring to look at Sarah, Oh so awkward… so very awkward. Thank god I said leave no one behind and didn't say leave no 'man' behind – I don't even want to think about Casey's crude comments about lady parts and… oh god I'm thinking about it… damn this is awkward.
Casey chuckles internally, Now that is the way to avoid dealing with Bartowski's jabbering and lady feelings… ah peace and quiet!
Warm-up Zone/Area at the Aquatics Center (London Olympic Venue)
London, United Kingdom
July 29, 2012
10:00 hrs BST
Sarah was so thankful for the Colonel's intervention, though she was very unnerved by the jarring effect of predatory paparazzi and rabid fans. A nice chat with her Mom was her first order of business in order to finally calm herself as she prepares for her heats.
Once Sarah is sufficiently calm she made her way to the warm-up area to stretch and prepare for her heats. She sits comfortably on a wood bench in the warm-up zone as she plays her favorite classical concertos on her MP3 player as she loses herself in the timeless sounds of Beethoven, Bach and Mozart.
Sarah mentally prepares for her 100m backstroke heats and is aware that her heat is rapidly approaching as heats 1, 2 and 3 are completed on schedule. She hears the IOC coordinator call her heat and she begins her journey to the pool once more.
As she makes her way to the starting position she is surprised when a louder than normal cheer greets her. Slightly confused by the warmer than normal reception, she quickly makes her way to her lane and the starting blocks before quickly changing out of her yellow and green track suit.
As Sarah changes she thinks, So many cameras… oh god! And all the people cheering may be cool, but it is really a lot of pressure. And I bet they're only are cheering for me because of Chuck – he has that effect on everyone and it must bleed through to his friends… but it is fun to have the support. Now if I just didn't have to deal with the media… hum maybe Chuck can save me from that too…
She admonishes herself briefly as her mind begins to wander from her nervous monologue to the other heats. She knows two of the swimmers in heats 5 and 6 will be her real competition once they reach the finals, with the young American Missy Franklin being a Gold favorite in heat 6 and the always tough Russian Vivian Volkoff in heat 5.
Sarah clears her mind once more and her confidence rises once again as she gets herself in the proper mental state to compete. She takes a deep breath as she shakes out her arms before hearing the long whistle signaling her to jump into the pool with the other swimmers in order to take her starting position. Once in the pool, she reaches up to the silver bars on the front of the starting block as she positions her feet on the pool wall in a seated position. She hears over the speaker 'take you mark' and she pulls herself up by her hands with her feet still on the pool wall in a coiled/crouched position as her back faces the pool.
She takes one final deep, steadying breath before she hears the beep and she arches her back and launches herself backwards into the water. She enters the water facing up towards the ceiling and begins her powerful inverted dolphin kick until she surfaces and begins her perfectly timed backstroke. She loops her arms in perfect time as she reaches her arms one at a time over top and into the water in front of her as she kicks and drives herself forward. She breathes evenly as she concentrates on the roof, ensuring she remains straight in her lane. As she continues to kick hard and use her powerful arms to propel her she quickly reaches the end of the pool completing the first 50 meters as she athletically flips under the water and kicks of the wall, once again directly into a powerful underwater (inverted) dolphin kick. She falls back into her perfect timing as she kicks powerfully from her hips and as one arm leaves the water the other enters as she quickly makes her way back to the starting wall. She touches the wall first in heat 4 with an Olympic Record time of 58.23, easily qualifying her for the semifinal later that night.
Sarah smiles widely as she pulls herself out of the pool and shyly waves to the crowd as she heads off into the cool down pools. She finishes her cool down exercises and then she checks the other heats. As she expected, Missy Franklin won heat 6 with a time of 59.37, while Sarah's teammate Belinda Hocking finished in second and Aya Terakawa of Japan finished in third, all easily qualifying for the semis. Vivian Volkoff also easily qualified for the semis when she finished first in heat 5.
Warm-up Zone/Area at the Aquatics Center (London Olympic Venue)
London, United Kingdom
July 29, 2012
10:15 hrs BST
With the women's 100m backstroke heats complete it was now Chucks turn. It was another busy day for Chuck who had most of his events early in the swimming competition, while Sarah had the majority of her events towards the end of the swimming events in the early days of August.
Chuck sits in the warm-up zone after stretching and preparing physically in his white jacket with dark blue arms/shoulders and his dark blue pants. He listens to his music and bobs his head slightly ignoring the deathly glares from both Shaw and Bryce as they leave the warm-up area for their heats.
After a small wait Chuck is called by the IOC coordinator for heat 3 of the 200m freestyle and he makes his way to the pool, while the crowd erupts in a loud cheer as the cameras instantly follow him. He gives the crowd a nervous wave before making his way to the starting blocks and removing his track suit leaving him in his tight swim suit, swim cap and swim goggles, much to the satisfaction and delight of the single… and well the not so single ladies in the crowd.
He takes his place on the starting block and limbers up his arms a final time before dropping into his starting position. He takes a deep breath as his mind clears in preparation for the race.
He hears the beep and instantly hurls himself into the water and directly into a powerful dolphin kick. When he breaks the surface of the water he moves once more into a powerful front crawl as he claws his way through the water with seemingly effortless strokes. He kicks hard and uses his perfect form as he pulls himself through the water, quickly reaching the far end of the pool and making his turn. He kicks off the wall and makes his way back to the starting wall with calm strokes following his planned tempo for this qualifying race. He hits the starting wall and kicks off once more into a strong dolphin kick before returning to his front crawl on his way to completing the final 100 meters of the race. He reaches the far wall first and kicks off for a final time as he picks up his pace for the last 50 meters back to the starting wall. He ignores those around him and follows his plan to the letter and easily touches the wall in first with a time of 1:46:61, which certainly assures him a place in the semifinals that night.
Before Chuck could escape he was called on for a quick interview with an NBC reporter.
"So Chuck, you just qualified for the 200m freestyle and from what we hear and expect you will be in the finals for the 4x100m freestyle relay later today. How does it feel to get all these races in after such a huge day yesterday?"
Chuck smiles involuntarily, "Well yesterday was a really fun day and I am just trying to have a little fun and enjoy the experience. I never really expected this, but again it is fun… a little tiring, but I can't wait to race today and in the rest of the swimming events. It is exciting and I know it will end far too soon so I want to enjoy the ride."
The reporter nods, "Now, I won't bother you too much more, but I have to ask - what is your reaction to the headlines around the world today?"
Chuck looks at the reporter a little uncertainly, "Uh… what?"
The reporter chuckles, "You mean you have not seen the massive coverage and the front page of the newspaper?"
Chuck nervously smiles, "Well I have been busy at the Aquatics Center… and I kinda got chased this morning…" Chuck says nervously as he rambles on a little.
The reporter grabs a newspaper and shows Chuck the massive front page picture of Sarah and him in a passionate lip lock after her Gold medal win. The reporter continues, "You've gained a lot of notoriety form those viral pool pictures, but now you are on front page on every newspaper in the world. You and Sarah are the number one trending topic on twitter and social networking sites… you and Sarah are now potentially THE Story of this Olympics! How does it feel?"
Chuck just looks blankly, "Um… oh boy"
Later (11:56 am)…
Chuck completes his cool down exercises and tests and after suitable recovering from the jarring interview from hell; he checks the heat results and found that both Larkin and Shaw had qualified in heats 1 and 2 respectively. Also, his teammate Lochte along with Sun Yang qualified for the semis in heat 5 and Yannick Agnel of France qualified and posted an impressive time in heat 6.
Chuck did not have time to enjoy the qualification as he made his way back to the warm-up area with the other members of the USA's 4x100m freestyle relay team. The coaches had decided the previous day that Chuck, Nathan Adrian, Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte would be the team for the final. However, in order to rest these swimmers none were to compete in the relay heats.
As a result, the four star swimmers watched as the other members of the relay team swam hard in heat 2 and finished in second place behind the Aussie team. The Russian team - much to Colonel Casey's anger and chagrin finished in third qualifying for the final race, while Larkin's Irish team did not qualify for the final. This was not unexpected as Ireland is not known for its swim program and they really did not have the program necessary to compete with the other powerhouses of the sport. Though Bryce was once again enraged as he arrogantly believed he could single handedly lead the team to the final.
In heat 1 the French freestyle team proved they would be a difficult opponent as they easily won the heat with the South Africans and Italians also qualifying for the final. Shaw was once again enraged when the UK failed to qualify in heat 1, while Awesome took team Canada's unfortunate failure to qualify in stride.
As Chuck made his way through the Athletes area of the Aquatics Center he saw a slightly forlorn Awesome and quickly made his way over to talk with his Canadian friend.
"Hey Devon!"
Devon looks up and smiles instantly, "Hey bro! Congrats on the 4x100 – I hear you're in the final. That is awesome!"
Chuck smiles kindly, "Thanks buddy, sorry you guys fell just short, you should be really proud – I saw the race and you did great out there."
Devon nods appreciatively knowing Chuck is incapable of lying about his sport, "Thanks Chuck, now do me a favor and kick some butt in the final for us North Americans!"
Chuck laughs, "Will do… and we are willing to adopt you if you ever decide you want to add the blue to you red and white colors," Chuck adds wryly.
Devon booms out a laugh, "Ha! Nice try Chuckster, my folks would kill me if I defected to Team USA – so not awesome! But good try. Hey, I have to run and meet Ellie for some lunch… hum you should see if Sarah wants to come and we can all have a nice relaxing lunch and rest for the events this evening, what do you say?"
Chuck smiles, "Let me give her a quick call and see… as long as you and Ellie don't mind that is?"
"Of course not bro, give her a call."
Chuck quickly calls Sarah on his cell phone and relays Devon's offer of lunch with Awesome and the Bartowski's. She's very excited to have lunch with them and quickly agrees much to Chuck's elation. Chuck relays the lunch place near the Olympic Park to Sarah and hangs up before heading off with Devon to meet Sarah and Ellie a short distance away at the Hackney Pearl café for lunch.
Hackney Pearl Café
London, United Kingdom
July 29, 2012
12:11 hrs BST
Ellie had arrived at the little café first and had quickly gotten a table inside. Chuck and Devon arrived at the café at the same time as Sarah arrived.
Upon seeing one another Chuck and Sarah smile widely and excitedly before hugging one another as Sarah says a quick 'hello' to her new Canadian friend, Devon.
The trio look at the beige brick building and its large glass storefront that is bordered by black painted wood with the words 'Hackney Pearl Café and Bar' written in white lettering overtop the two doorways. There are four outside tables surrounded by chairs that are occupied by throngs of patrons, which completes the café's facade. They quickly see Ellie who waves at them excitedly from her table inside by front of the window.
Chuck, Sarah and Devon quickly make their way into the simple café and take their seats with Ellie after the necessary hugs were dispensed with.
Chuck looks around the room of the busy café and sees the simple exposed kitchen area behind a small counter at the entrance of the café. The floor is green linoleum, while the walls are white painted brick. There is a prep area and cash register next to the kitchen with twelve wood boxes mounted in an artistic pattern on the wall on either side of the menu board behind the counter.
There are simple white tables and chairs around the room as well as simple bookshelves that added to the quaint ambiance of this little English café.
Once seated at the table the group begins talking amicably not noticing the silence in the café that greeted Chuck and Sarah's entry, nor the growing crowd and attention they are getting from outside of the café.
Ellie congratulates Sarah and Chuck on advancing, while comforting her now rather serious boyfriend on his team falling short of qualifying for the relay final. Despite the short time knowing one another, Ellie and Devon had developed a rather strong connection.
After talking for a bit about how their day had gone, Ellie was about to recommend they order when she happens to look out the window and sees the not entirely small crowd staring and taking pictures of the swimmers. Ellie then notices the whispering and the staring looks of those inside the café.
"Uh… guys… are you seeing this?" Ellie asks in with a perplexed look on her face and a little worry in her voice.
Devon looks around and raises an eyebrow before articulately adding, "Whoa…"
Chuck and Sarah both drop their heads to the table and groan, "Not again."
Ellie looks at them curiously, "Again?"
Chuck sighs, "We were kind of chased from the Athletes Village by a mob…"
Sarah then adds, "Chuck's coach kinda saved us… this is going to get bad isn't it?"
Ellie went into overprotective sister mode, "No this is going to be fine – no lunch for you two. I will call a cab and when it gets here you two can run out to it and head back to the Athlete's Village. Chuck I put a ton of food in your fridge, so you and Sarah can hang out there away from prying eyes. Sorry, when I saw the newspapers today I should have known better than to ask you out to lunch." Ellie quickly makes the call before smiling weakly, yet supportively at the nervous Aussie before her.
Sarah smiles at the older women fondly, "This isn't your fault Ellie… it is just a screwed up… and honestly stressful situation."
After moving away from the window in order to in part avoid the scrutiny the two couples chat briefly as Ellie and Devon support the now very famous couple. Thankfully the crowd outside did not attempt to rush into the small café, nor did the excitement in the crowd lead to a dangerous mob. However, Chuck and Sarah became very busy in the café posing for pictures and signing autographs until thankfully the cab arrived.
The two said quick goodbyes to Ellie and Awesome before running past the crowd and photog's to the cab before speeding off to the Athletes Village.
As the cab nears the front gates of the Athletes Village the cab driver pipes up, "Oi! I thought I recognized you two, you're them swimmers from the paper!"
All Sarah and Chuck can do is groan before forcing a smile as they thankfully escape back to the relative safety of the Village.
Chuck's Apartment at the Athletes Village
London, United Kingdom
July 29, 2012
12:48 hrs BST
Chuck opens the door to his apartment and ushers an increasingly flustered and upset Sarah Walker into his little Olympic home. Sarah is in a bit of a daze as she walks over to the couch and flops down with a heavy sign and a blank look.
She thinks bleakly, Life is going to be like this forever… like something out of a bad horror movie as mobs attack us and never let us live… oh god…
Chuck immediately sees her mood and rushes to the kitchenette to grab two bottles of water. He quickly moves back to the couch and places a gentle hand on her shoulder as he sits down next to her.
He smiles supportively, "Here drink this and Sarah…" She looks up at him with turmoil in her big swirling blue eyes and he smiles and continues, "Don't freak out."
Sarah lets out a mighty sigh before taking a long drink of her water, "Thanks Chuck."
He grins at her, "That's what I'm here for… now you will have you work cut out for you when I go nuts from all this media madness… you should have seen the interview I did when they blindsided me with the newspaper picture – it was bad," he says finishing with a self deprecating chuckle.
Sarah laughs at that, "Well you're still funny in the face of all this madness…"
She takes another breath, "It's just… I just want to swim and now there is even more stress and I didn't think that was even possible… and I am kind of… angry that we aren't just left alone."
Chuck smiles before a brilliant idea hits him, "I have an idea," he says before jumping up and moving to a small black suitcase bag next to the TV.
He grins widely at her as he pulls out a white rectangular electronic device that Sarah knows she should recognize, but for the life of her can't recall what it is.
He grins, "So we have a little anger and frustration at the media? Well I have a nerdy solution. I was going to save this for another time, but 'with great power comes great responsibility'!"
She looks at him blankly as he continues, "It's… it's from Spiderman… no… nothing?"
Sarah can help her chuckle, "Because that makes it better?"
Chuck grins at their banter, "You know what - not important."
Sarah laughs, "Now, I know this will definitely destroy my non-existent nerd cred, but what's that?" she says pointing to the white box.
Chuck grabs at his heart theatrically, "Miss Walker you wound my nerd heart! That is an Xbox360, Morgan brought it so I could rest between events and be entertained." Seeing her blank look he explains further, "It is a video game player and I have just the game for our mood."
Sarah smiles as he deftly hooks up the machine and the TV screen flashes with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2."
He grins widely as he tosses her a white controller, "So Lieutenant Walker… you ready to frag some noobs?"
Sarah looks at him a little perplexed, "I don't know what that means… but if I get to blast some virtual terrorists to get out the anger then I'm game!"
As they start to play Chuck cannot help but chuckle at the intense concentration on Sarah's beautiful face as she lays waste to the battle field. After she sneaks up on a rather seasoned player and knifes him… again, Chuck has a very clear realization. Thinking back over all his interactions with Sarah so far from her athleticism in the pool, her martial arts skills, her intelligence and now her seeming virtual mayhem (and knife) skills it became clear – Sarah Walker was not someone to trifle with.
Chuck smiles a little nervously, "Wow… you sure picked this game up fast… you're dangerous…"
Sarah giggles, "This is so much fun Chuck! This was a great idea."
Chuck smiles back as both are calm and lost in the game, forgetting the troubles of the world if only for a few hours together until it's time to head back to the pool and face the multi-headed Hydra beast that is the media.
Aquatics Center (London Olympic Venue)
London, United Kingdom
July 29, 2012
19:25 hrs BST
After a rather calming and therapeutic afternoon of blasting virtual characters both Chuck and Sarah were refreshed as they made their way back to the Aquatics Center in order to once again prepare for their events. For the time being they were able to put the media behind them as they prepare once more for their evening events.
In the locker room Sarah sees Carina who is looking a little nervous as she gets ready for her final race in the 100m butterfly.
"Hey Carina! How's it going?"
Carina smiles and tries to look confident and hide her nerves, "Sarah, I'm doing good. Just a little race and then I'm done for the day."
Sarah smirks instantly seeing through her friends façade as she supportively says, "Don't worry Carina you're going to do great – I mean look how far you've come in not even your strongest event! At worst you are top eight in the entire world so just enjoy the race. And besides, as long as you beat that witch Amy then you will be a hero in my eyes."
Carina smiles as she takes a deep breath, "Thanks Sarah… I needed that."
The friends hug before Carina begins to make her way to the warm-up area before stopping, "Oh and I met with that Larkin jerk this afternoon, he is up to something and I am meeting him tonight and I will find out what's going on. It's important now that you and Chuck are all famous!" Carina gives Sarah a teasing grin before bouncing out of the locker room leaving a chuckling Sarah Walker in her wake.
While preparing in the warm-up area Chuck sees Carina heading off to the pool and he calls out to her, "Go get 'em Carina!'
Carina smiles back at Chuck thankfully before giving him a small wave and heading off to the pool.
Chuck and Sarah watch Carina's race as she rushes towards the finish line trailing the American Dana Vollmer, who finishes first setting a new World Record, while the Chinese swimmer finishes in second. Carina touches the wall just behind the Aussie Alicia Couttes missing out on the Bronze by a mere hair. She did however beat her traitorous ex-friend Amy, which was a small consolation. But as Carina grasps the wall still in the water she is a little crushed at how close she came to a medal. She then remembers Sarah's pep talk and her confidence repairs itself as she becomes driven to succeed in her medley events.
Chuck has little time to dwell on Carina's race as he is next up in heat 1 of the semifinal for the 200m freestyle race.
The semifinal goes smoothly as Chuck follows his negative split and pacing to the letter and finishes just ahead of his teammate Lochte with a time of 1:46:10 guaranteeing him a spot in the finals. Shaw also qualified for the final in heat 1 along with the Russian Alexi Volkoff (Junior), the brother of one of Sarah's main competitors Vivian Volkoff. It was a Russian family affair as their father is their coach and a Russian oil magnate, though his massive wealth was of little concern to the swimmers... it's not like they were spies.
Meanwhile, in heat 2 Sun Yang of China finished first, with the Frenchman Yannick Agnel in second and Larkin and Taehwan Park finishing third and forth as they qualified for the finals.
Later (20:49 pm)…
After happily watching Carina's race and then Chuck's race it was now Sarah's turn to return to the water for the semifinal of the women's 100m backstroke. Sarah once again took her position in the pool in heat 1 of her race. With her arms holding her out of the water and feet pressed hard into the starting wall she took a deep breath before hearing the starting beep and launching herself backwards into the pool.
After her powerful inverted dolphin kick she once again fell into her flawless technical routine as her arms worked in perfect time as she kicked hard from her hips as she glides on her back toward the end of the pool. She takes an early lead over the Chinese swimmer Jing Jhao, the Russian Vivian Volkoff and her fellow teammate Belinda Hocking. Sarah hits the wall first and kicks off into her well honed inverted dolphin kick as she powerfully drives herself back to the starting wall using a perfect backstroke as she eats up the final 50 meters of the race. Jhao and Volkoff both threaten to overtake her, but she does not panic as she calmly follows her technique and touches the wall in first place with a solid time of 58.35 securing her spot in the final.
Sarah quickly heads off to cool down and receives a loud cheer as she exits the pool as the times are announced in the Aquatics Center. She nervously waves to the crowd before heading back to prepare her body for the next day of swimming. While doing her cool down exercises the young American Missy Franklin put on a clinic in her heat easily qualifying and setting up an epic showdown tomorrow in the final between the young American and the young Aussie.
11 minutes later…
Chuck once again finds himself in the warm-up area, but this time he is with his relay teammates as they mentally prepare for the final of the men's 4x100m freestyle relay. Lochte is chilling on a bench chatting with Nathan Adrian, while Phelps sits in the corner listening to music. Chuck can't help but feel the excitement of competing with these world class swimmers.
The IOC coordinator calls to the relay teams and Chuck and Team USA prepare to make their entrance. They stand in order behind the other, rather nervous looking teams in the marshalling area at the entrance to the pool as they await their turn to head out to their starting position.
The South African team enters the pool area first in their all white track suits as they move to lane 1. They are then followed by the Germans who stop by the screen and give a big wave. Three of the Germans are in their white jackets and black pants, while their final teammate wears a red polo and black pants as they make their way to lane 2. Next the Russians enter next in their red almost paisley looking jackets and bright white pants as they move to lane 3. Next up is the Aussies in their yellow and green track suits and white swim caps as they make their way to lane 4 because they had the best time in the heats. Finally, Chuck and the American boys make their entrance to the loud sheers of the boisterous crowd. Chuck and Nathan Adrian wear the same white and blue track suit, while Phelps wears a more robe like version and Lochte wears a simple white Team USA t-shirt. Following Team USA is France in their white track suits in lane 6, the Belgians in lane 7 in their red and yellow t-shirts and finally the Italians in lane 8 wearing black track suits.
Chuck removes his outerwear and takes his position behind Adrian and Phelps, while Lochte prepares for the final leg of the race.
Nathan Adrian sets up on the blocks and takes his position before the beep sounds and he and the other competitors leap into the water. The Americans take and early lead followed by the South Africans then the Australians then the Russians and then the French. Adrian reaches the end of the pool and makes his way back to the starting wall to finish his 100 meters in first as the French swimmer makes a big move going from sixth place to third place. Adrian touches the wall in first after a perfect 100 meter front crawl and Phelps immediately jumps overtop into the water and dolphin kicks hard before surfacing into a hard front crawl. As Phelps makes the turn and heads back to the starting wall he holds the lead and is followed by the Aussies and then the French and then the Russians.
Chuck stands ready on the blocks and sees the moment Phelps touches the wall releasing Chuck as he leaps into the warm water.
Sarah watches eagerly from her place in the cool down area as she cheers excitedly for Chuck and not her fellow Aussie teammates. She does not notice a disgusted Amy who approaches her.
Amy sneers, "Well ain't that nice Walker cheering for the enemy over your own countrymen."
Sarah is slightly embarrassed, but then ignores Amy as she watches Chuck leap into the water, "You talking about traitors is rich Amy… and besides these are a friendly Games – you know sportsmanship and all that? And Chuck is… special."
Amy huffs and walks away after Sarah's comments hit their mark and Sarah is once again able to watch Chuck fly through the water.
Chuck dolphin kicks hard when he enters the water and then moves into his technically perfect and powerful front crawl as he holds the American lead as the French move into second and the Aussies begin to fall as they trail in third place just ahead of the Russians. Chuck kicks off the far wall and begins his fast paced swim back to the starting wall. He swims perfectly as he hits the wall first and Lochte leaps into the pool for the final leg of the race. The French touch next and Agnel leaps into the water and begins to make up ground on the Americans. As Lochte makes his way from the far wall in the final 50 meters the French swimmer has eaten up the lead and now threatens to overtake the lead. Lochte pushes hard, but the French swimmer has a little more as he passes Lochte and just touches the wall first winning the Gold for France as the Americans who led from the start finish with the Silver, while the Russians pass the Aussies to take the Bronze. The French swimmers scream loudly and cheer widely as their teammate Agnel's amazing performance stole the Gold from the Americans.
Sarah lets out a cheer for Chuck's medal win and coach Forrest scowls, "Walker you know we came in forth right?"
Sarah blushes, "Ah… yes… it was a solid performance though… nothing to be ashamed of," she says trying to cover though deep down she really doesn't care what anyone thinks.
She thinks, Chuck is doing so well and I am so happy for him. It is amazing how he can just slough off the media madness and calm me down and then do everything in his power to win a race… yep he's amazing… and I don't even remotely deserve him. Urg! Stop that he is perfect so no screwing this up with self doubt Walker! OK if I keep telling myself that maybe I will start to believe it.
As Sarah battles her fears she remains happy for Chuck and his impressive accomplishments as he completes an interview with his teammates on the TV.
Aquatics Center NBC TV Feed (London Olympic Venue)
London, United Kingdom
July 29, 2012
21:21 hrs BST
"Welcome back to the Aquatics Center! We just showed the medal ceremony for the women's 400m freestyle and now we come to the final medal ceremony of the day for the men's 4x100m freestyle relay," the male announcer says.
The female announcer breaks in, "It was an amazing race – the American's swam a great race, but Lochte fell off just a little at the end and Agnel made a great push and won the Gold for his team."
"Too right, tough for Lochte and the Americans, but Phelps gets another medal and the first time Olympian, Charles 'Chuck' Bartowski adds a third medal in as many events as he truly breaks out and demonstrates his star power here in London."
The female announcer adds, "He looks to be a very special talent and we will see if by the end of these Games whether we are calling him the next Michael Phelps."
"We can hear the large cheer from this large crowd as the relay teams are guided toward the podium by those lovely ladies in the purple and yellow dresses. The three teams take their places and the Russian receive their Bronze medals first, followed by the American getting the Silver. And finally, with big smiles on their faces of the four French swimmers receive their Gold medals and take their place atop the podium."
"Really great to see the happy faces as the French national anthem plays and many, many pictures are taken of these top athletes and champion Olympians," the female announcer says.
"As the athletes make their way to the media areas we will say goodnight to all the fans out there. It has been a tremendous day and there is a lot more to come as Sarah Walker and Chuck Bartowski go for Gold tomorrow. So from all of us here at the Aquatics Center have a good night." The male commentator says as the feed ends for the day.
Athletes Village
London, United Kingdom
July 29, 2012
22:05 hrs BST
Carina walks carefully down to the main square in the Athletes Village after leaving her room and saying a quick goodnight to Sarah.
Carina smiles as she thinks of her talk with Sarah and Zondra and how sickly sweet Chuck and Sarah were becoming as a couple. Yet try as she might she could not be sickened by the clearly in love Sarah Walker, even though Carina was almost certain Sarah herself did not even know it for sure (that she was in love) yet. Carina's surprised that she's been able to put up with this fluffy love stuff - it's something she didn't know was possible, yet she could only be happy for her friend… scratch that - friends.
And that's what brings her outside this evening for another 'fun' installment of seducing that creep Bryce Larkin.
As she approaches the meeting area she sees Bryce with a brunette woman with dark rimmed glasses. Rather than approach Bryce and Jill, Carina silently moves toward a tree out of view of the two.
Carina thinks to herself, hum… this must be the girlfriend. Wow, what a classy guy meeting another woman right after his girlfriend. If Sarah ever dated this douche I would have to beat her silly and then gut this bastard.
Carina takes a deep, but silent breath to calm her anger and nerves without giving away her position.
She could not hear everything, but after a few louder shouts by Bryce and the woman (Jill) she heard enough to become very, very worried. She decides to text Bryce, telling him she can't make the meeting as she rushes back to her room. She makes her way to her bed and sits with a worried expression, "Why were they talking about poison… and Chuck. I better tell Chuck's team and the police… I hope I'm not too late…"
Meanwhile, as Chuck and Sarah fall into a comfortable sleep in their own apartments content for the moment, Carina falls into a worried and fitful sleep as she awaits tomorrow and the potentially huge revelation that Chuck is in danger.
AN2: So there is day 2 of the swimming events – we saw big moves in the Bryce/Jill situation, which will come to a head very soon. More action is coming in chapter 12, which is the half way point in the story with more competition and a new twist to the media drama (Yes, I am in fact teasing you with this little tidbit!).
Hopefully I have found a nice balance between the swimming, the Charah and the other plot elements – I have a ton of content for between the races in the coming chapters, I just hope the swimming doesn't become stale – let me know what you think as we continue this middle action arc. And again, thank you all so much for reading and the awesome feedback! Oh! And the 4x100m freestyle relay – that was basically the pure play-by-play of the action (who led when) – which I had to add as it occurred because it was a great race – sad the US lost, but fun all the same.
Disclaimer 2 – Don't own anything related to NBC, nor the Hackney Café, nor do I own Activison/Call of Duty or Microsoft… but I do own a copy of the games and an Xbox – which is awesome! But sadly (for me) no money is being made here.