A/N: I don't own chuck nor make any $ from it.
"Bring in the prisoner," Graham said as he waited in the interrogation room inside the fulcrum facility.
He had set this place up years ago as a private area that was away from the prying eyes of the government. Originally it had a legitimate purpose, but when his lust for power and the intersect took hold, he outfitted it to be his place of operations for fulcrum.
Millions of taxpayer dollars had been syphoned off from his operating budget, to build his own little bat cave, where he controlled and monitored all the activities of fulcrum. The door to the room opened, and a badly beaten body was pushed inside in a wheelchair. The arms were secured to the sides of the wheelchair, and the legs were broken. Dark bruises were visible on the face and arms, but the blue eyes still burned with hatred for the man across the table.
"I grow tired of this. Where is agent Walker," Graham said in a low voice.
Silence.
"I know that your legs are broken from our session yesterday," he said as he slowly got up and grabbed a baseball bat.
"Are you ready to talk now?"
Silence.
"Very well," he said as he brought the bat up and slammed it viciously down, striking one broken leg.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"
"Where is she Agent Miller," he demanded.
Carina was in so much pain that she couldn't even cry. Her body ached with every beat of her heart, but she wouldn't give in. She wouldn't give Graham the satisfaction.
"Fuck you," she spat.
Thwack!
"Where is she!"
"Fuck...'
Thwack!
"Ahhhh..ahhh you..fuck..,ahhhhh,"
Thwack!
"Tell me now," he screamed!
She held out for a few more hours, but eventually she broke. He legs were shattered and her body was pulverized, but she tried her best to keep her friend safe, until her mind and will just couldn't hold out any longer. She was hoping that Sarah would be gone from her location by then.
Once he had the information Graham burst out of the room.
"She is heading for an air strip near a farm outside of Manitoba. Get the teams assembled and on their way. They will be briefed on the way," Graham said to the waiting man outside.
"And what about her," the man asked.
"Kill her," he said as he left.
"Yes sir," the man said as Graham rushed by him.
Carina could see the hazy outline of a man approach, assuming that he was going to kill her, an she welcomed it. Her pain was so great that she just wanted it over, she wanted to die. The man took the wheel chair and moved her out of the room and down the hallway. He pushed her past a few non-descript rooms and into a small darkened engineering room at the end of the hall. She was barely aware of her surroundings and was just waiting for the end now, when the light was turned on, illuminating several dead guards.
"Sorry for the mess my dear. I had to find the right sized uniform," he said with a chuckle.
"Now listen to me very carefully," he said as he knelt down in front of her.
"You did a wonderful job, and I am only sorry that I could not get here in time to spare you some of this. I'm taking you out of here. I don't care if you cry on me, bleed on me, or pee on me; you will always be a lady in my eyes. Now give me a smile and we will get out of here," he winked.
Carina couldn't help it, despite the pain that she was in, he was so kind and sweet that she gave him a soft smile.
"Alright my dear. Hold on tight," he said as he picked her up.
Thirty minutes later Carina was being laid down in an ambulance, and became aware of some familiar voices around her.
"Jesus Christ! What did he do to her," Beckman said.
"That evil son of a bitch," Casey said as she felt the engine start.
"I have a location. I will be there to meet the team," she heard the voice of her savior say.
"Do you need any help?"
"No. I move faster alone," he said.
She heard the door close then saw the faces of a few paramedics along with John Casey above her.
"The guy infiltrates a fulcrum base and rescues the prisoner and nobody knows...amazing," Casey said.
"Well I told you he was good John," Beckman said.
"Whhhoo...whhhoo," Carina said.
"Carina! Can you hear me," Casey said as his face got larger.
"Y..yee..,"
"Don't talk. Just relax, you are ok now," Casey said as he put his hand on her forehead.
"Wwwhhh..wait...man was..who..was..man," Carina said fighting to stay awake.
"James Bond," Casey laughed.
Sarah was dozing in the copilot seat when she felt the plane decelerate, and it stirred her. They had been flying for a few hours, and based on flight time and air speed, she figured they were close to their target.
"Good you're up. We are about 20 miles out," Selma said.
"How did you sleep," she asked.
"Ok I guess," Sarah said even though she was never really out.
"Anything interesting happen," Sarah asked as she checked on a sleeping Chuck and Alberto.
"Nope. Alberto said he is doing well. Alberto just needed to close his eyes for a few minutes," Selma said.
"Of course," Sarah replied.
"We got a pretty good tailwind, so we should be about an hour early."
"Sounds good. Our next transport will be there in 4 hours based on the schedule," Sarah said.
"You really have this thought out well," Selma said.
"Not really. Just trying to stay ahead of them," she replied.
"The man who came at the hanger. You knew him, yes?" Selma said.
"Yes. He is someone from my past," Sarah said nervously.
Selma was quiet for a few minutes sensing Sarah's hesitation with the last answer.
"What's wrong," Selma asked her.
"Nothing," Sarah replied.
"Really Sarah? You are going to lie to me now."
"I'm not lying," Sarah said defensively.
"You shouldn't feel bad Mija," Selma said.
"What are you talking about ," Sarah asked.
"You feel bad about what you did, don't you?"
"No. I love Chuck! I didn't what I had to do," Sarah said.
"Of course you did. I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about your past," Selma said.
"It's just that sometimes I feel like..I feel like I'm not the kind of..never mind," Sarah said.
"What? Tell me," Selma said.
"I just think maybe I'm unsure of myself. I mean I thought I was, but I just killed a man and I didn't care. I just think sometimes I'm still that monster," she said.
"How can I be a wife or a mother! I'm a killer," Sarah said with tears.
"Nonsense Sarah! You are a good person," Selma said.
"No I'm not," she cried.
Selma let her cry for a few minutes then softly began to speak.
"My father once took me out for a hike outside of town, and we saw that there were two wolves fighting. One white wolf was defending her puppies from a grey wolf that was trying to eat them. He told me as we watched that the same kind of battle is going on in him, and in every person."
"What battle?"
"The white wolf represents love, sacrafice, compassion, and good. While the grey represented fear, greed, gluttony, and hate."
"What happened?"
"The white wolf eventually drove the grey one off, but he said that that might not always be the case when it comes to the battle for ones soul. Sometimes the grey wolf will win in someone's hart, that the evil will defeat the good."
"You are saying I'm evil," Sarah said sadly.
"Huh? What no!"
"You just said that sometimes the evil will win! The evil has won with me," Sarah cried.
"No Sarah just listen. The evil has not won with you, the good has," she said.
"I don't understand."
"You see Mija, the wolf that will win the battle inside of your soul, is the wolf that you feed."
"How," she asked.
"With love Sarah."
"How do I do that though? I don't want to screw up with him," she said.
"You are just afraid Sarah. You won't screw up with him. The two of you love each other too much for that to ever happen. You have a good heart Sarah. As much crap as they made you do, as much as they fed the grey wolf inside of you, you fed the white wolf. You have given your soul the strength it needs to win the battle."
"Because of Chuck," Sarah said.
"No! Because of you," Selma said.
"I don't know Selma, I never really knew what love was before Chuck," Sarah said.
"Oh please! You are as dense as Alberto," she said.
"The first time you met your Chuck, you knew there was something different about him. Correct?"
"Well yeah but..,"
"That's it Mija. That's love."
"Wait no..,"
"Did you feel that with anybody else," Selma asked.
"Well I've been attracted to other guys at first yes," Sarah said.
"It's not attraction. Attraction burns quick and then is gone, it is a primal urge or desire. Love is a spark inside of you that will either grow or die depending on how it's fed," she said.
"Yes but he caused the spark," Sarah replied.
"No Mija. You did. If you never had love to give in your soul then the spark would have never been alive to grow. A good heart has love in it, and a good soul will always protect that love."
"You are responsible for everyone in this plane being alive right now, and we all love you dearly," Selma said.
"Well I love all of you too," Sarah said weeping softly.
"Exactly! So enough of this doubt! You are going to be a fantastic wife and mother, so stop being afraid and let your heart be free."
"Thank you Selma. I can never thank you enough for all you have done for me," Sarah said as she gripped her hand.
"You never have to thank me Mija, in my eyes you will always be my daughter," Selma smiled back through her own tears as her hand momentarily slipped off the control causing the little plane to slightly shutter.
"Hey is everything ok up there," Alberto said as the movement stirred him from his sleep.
"Yes we are fine," Selma said.
"Ok..wait are you crying? you both are crying, what's wrong?"
"Nothing Alberto. We were just talking about Sarah wedding," Selma winked at her.
"Ah don't give her any ideas Sarah. The woman is obsessed when it comes to weddings," Alberto joked.
"I can tell," Sarah laughed.
"So you got a guy picked out," he joked.
"Maybe," she said shyly.
"Well I will have to scare the life out of him when he wakes up," he joked.
"Alberto," Selma scolded.
"Hey just making sure he is the right guy," he joked.
"He is the right guy," Sarah said.
When Graham realized what had happened he almost had a stroke. Not only had he now lost a prisoner, which he had illegally abducted and detained from another government agency, but also his security had been breached at the fulcrum base. He was now officially out of time, but Graham was a survivor. His CIA office had been sealed and there was now an official manhunt for him, but he was able to detach a team to go after Walker, before he left DC. He had a safe house in Europe that he had not used in 30 years, but he always kept it for a rainy day, and now it was pouring.
As he drove through the mountains near Mandach Switzerland, he turned down an old shepherd's rode that time had forgotten. At the end of the road was an old chalet, whose paint had long ago lost the battle to the rough Swiss winters, but had remained intact due to solid alpine wood construction. He pulled out his gun as he slowly cased the outside of the building, checking for any signs of threats. Finding none, he cautiously opened the door to a world sealed for over 30 years. Long cobwebs and mountains of dust, seemed to grow from light fixtures and furniture. He made his way over to the fireplace and popped open the ancient flue, to begin making a fire.
He didn't have many options at the moment, but he still had plenty of European contacts and favors, which should keep him safe until he could be strong enough again to strike back. Langston Graham would be back he thought to himself, and hell would come with him.
Selma came up on the airstrip, bordering a lake with some old abandoned fishing cabins, and gently touched down for a perfect landing. The next transport for their journey would be here soon, but they needed to hide the plane before a satellite could pass over. Sarah had gotten the times from Casey for the high def NSA satellites and orbit schedules, and used it to plan the trip. The satellite would pass over in 49 minutes, and their transport should arrive in a little over 3 hours, so they needed to hide the plane in the field and then stay in one of the cabins until the transport came.
As the plane came to a stop, Selma and Sarah covered the plane with a camouflage tarp material, which would obscure any satellite image, while Alberto slowly got Chick ready to move. Once they were finished, Sarah handed Selma a set of keys and went to help with Chuck.
"Which cabin," Selma asked.
"The first one on the right," Sarah replied as she gripped Chuck under the shoulders, while Alberto got his legs.
Up on the far ridge above the abandoned cabins snaked a form dressed entirely in black, through the heavy underbrush. The black form raised a rifle and surveyed below him.
"Leader this is 5, I have eyes on targets."
"Roger 5. Position?"
"500 meters southwest of your current position."
"Roger. 2 this is leader. Continue your course and hold at the edge of the field. Take a flanking position on the east side."
"Roger leader."
"3 and 4 you are with me. We will be the breach team."
"Roger leader," came a reply in unison.
Sarah and Alberto laid Chuck down on the lower bunk bed, as Selma brought in their bags.
"Do we have anything to eat," Alberto said.
"Yeah I have some MREs in my bag. Help yourself," Sarah said.
"Thanks," he said as he opened he bag and found the food.
"What time are they coming to pick us up?"
"They should be here in a little over 3 hours," Sarah said.
"Anybody else want anything? I got beef stew, chicken and rice, some sort of Italian thing, and something that looks like eggs," Alberto said.
"I'll have the chicken and rice," Selma said.
"I'll have the beef stew," Sarah replied.
"Can I have the eggs," came a soft voice from the corner.
"Chuck! You're awake! Alberto," Sarah said as she ran to his side, followed by Alberto.
"Hey," he said softly as Sarah crashed on top of him.
"Sarah easy. He is still weak," Alberto said.
"Oh god Chuck I'm sorry," she said.
"No it's ok. I don't mind," he laughed.
Alberto pulled her off him, and when he saw his face he flashed.
"Chuck my name is..,"
"Dr. Alberto Lopez. Born in Argentina in 1963, captured by the Ruiz Cartel in 2004. Terminated in 2005 by Agent Sarah Walker," he said mechanically.
"What? How did you know..Sarah dis you tell him," Alberto asked.
"No Alberto, but I told you he is special," she said as she winked at Chuck.
"Don't worry Alberto, you can trust him," Sarah said.
"Ok," he said uneasily.
"Let me check you out. Could you ladies please excuse us for a few minutes," Alberto said.
"No I'm not going anywhere," Sarah said as she held his arm.
"Come Mija, let Alberto do his work and let's get you some food, then you can come back and stay with him," Selma said.
"No. I'm not..,"
"Sarah I will be ok. I promise. Go get something to eat," Chuck said as he squeeze her hand.
"Ok I will be right back," she said got up and approached his lips for a kiss.
"But Sarah my..,"
"I don't care about your breath Chuck, just shut up," she said and kissed him.
"I'll be right back," she said as she and Selma left.
"Ok Chuck let's have a look at you," Alberto said as he took out a penlight and began to examine him.
About ten minutes later Alberto came out of the room with an annoyed expression on his face.
"Is everything ok," Sarah said when she saw his face.
"Good God! Does the man ever shut up," he said in frustration.
"He talks a lot when he gets nervous," Sarah said with a smile.
"Well then he must be scared to death," he mumbled.
"Can I see him," she asked.
"Sure. Just remember..," was as at as he got before Sarah was in the room with Chuck.
"...that he is still weak, but he should be ok," Alberto finished his thought as he went in and close the door behind them.
"That girl is a ball of fire," Alberto said as he sat down next to Selma at the table.
"Yes but he can handle her," Selma said.
"Well he better, because he has her for life," Alberto said as he dug into his meal.
"Oh these are terrible," he said in frustration.
Sarah was cuddled up with Chuck on the bed, straining the weight capacity of the ancient timbers, and coiled around him like a python. This was the first time in a week that she had even been remotely able to relax, and as she held him tight, she could actually feel her body begin to relax.
"Thank you Sarah for saving my life again. I can never thank you enough for all you do for me," he said solemnly.
"You don't need to thank me Chuck, besides Alberto was the one who really did most of it anyway," she said.
"No he didn't. It was you Sarah that got me out of there and brought me here. You who had the plan to get those bags ready for us long before I ever saw any danger. And you who is with me right now, the person I love most in the world," he said as he kissed her lightly on the head.
"I love you too Chuck. I can't imagine my life without you," Sarah said slowly.
"You know I think maybe you were wrong about the lost cause thing, I think maybe I was the lost cause," he said.
"Really," she said.
"Yeah. Before I met you I had no direction, no goal, and really no life. Then you came in and gave me a purpose, but I don't mean the spy stuff," he said.
"Oh no..," she said softly.
"No. I realized that my purpose in life Sarah is you. I don't want to do anything in my life besides be with you, and I never want to be without you," he said.
"Oh..so..sweat...me too," she said.
"This is not the right time or place, but I want to marry you Sarah. I want you to be my wife," he said.
Silence.
"Sarah?"
"Sarah?"
He felt her tighten her grip on her as she softly snored away. The exhaustion of the last few days had finally overcome her and took over.
"Oh fantastic. Perfect timing," he laughed.
"It's ok you get some sleep," he said as he kissed her and gave a yawn and closed his eyes, never noticing the happy smile on her face.
The team moved like wraiths through the darkened night, advancing on the cabin with slow deliberate steps.
"2 this is leader. What is your status?"
"Leader this is 2. I'm in position. I see faint lights on in cabin, but no visible movement."
"Roger. 5 this is leader. What is your status?"
Silence.
"5 this is leader report!"
Silence.
"Team this is leader all stop," he said as he put up his hand in a closed fist, and the team took cover positions in the nearby vegetation.
"2 can you see 5 from your position?"
"Leader this is 2. I don't have a visual. Nothing on the thermal scope."
"4 this is leader. Go back and check on 5, pick up 2 on your way."
"Leader this is 4 roger," he said and he was off.
"2 and 4 this is leader. Keep me updated. 3 keep up a cover position."
"Roger."
"Leader this is 2 we are advancing on the last position of 5."
"Roger. Use caution."
They waited in silent night for the an update, but after a few minutes nothing came.
"2 this is leader report!"
Silence.
"4 this is leader report!"
Silence.
Suddenly he heard a dull thud off to his left in the darkness.
"3 this is leader report!"
Silence
"Anyone report! Tack team report!"
"Who the hell is out there," he called with panic into the night.
"Me," came a voice as a knife plunged underneath his bulletproof vest, collapsing his lung and silently ending his life.
After dispatching Grahams hit team and sweeping the area for possible reinforcements, Hartley slowly and cautiously approached the cabin. He needed to make contact with Chuck and Sarah, but he also needed to be very cautious. He knew that Walker was a hair trigger and didn't want to get involved in any more unpleasant situations tonight.
He needed to get Chuck to flash on him before Walker interviewed, that way Chuck would know whom he was and Sarah would be easier to handle. He doubted that Chuck would remember, but he had met him on several occasions when he was younger. Steven would bring Hartley home to work on fixing the intersect, and over time he grew quite fond of the family, sharing family dinners, and even taught Chuck how to play chess. Steven was a good friend, and the only one who ever helped him, once the intersect began malfunctioning. When the government was ready to move on and forget about him, Steven never did.
Sarah and Chuck were at her favorite place in the world, they were walking on the beach at sunset. The early autumn air was still relatively warm and a few beach goers were still in the water, presumably truing to squeeze one more minute into the already evaporated summer.
"Have I ever told you that this is my favorite place in the world ," she said as she clutched his arm tightly.
"Maybe once or twice. You know you are a pretty easy date," he said to her smiling.
"Oh really? Why do you say that?"
"Because after all the exotic places you have been; who would have thought that the 46th street beach would have been the top choice."
"I can assume your escort has something to do with it," he joked.
"Maybe just a little," she laughed back.
"You know there were sometimes when I never thought we would get here," she said.
"Oh I always knew we would," he laughed back.
"Really Mr. Bartowski? And may I ask why?"
"Simple Mrs. Bartowski. Someone told me that fell in love with me on our first date," he replied.
"Oh really," she mocked.
"Yes."
"And how did you secure this information might I ask?"
"From a spy."
"A spy? Who?"
"I'll give you a little hint. 37 inches of blonde hair and insanity."
"I don't believe you? Will you ever listen to me"
"Nope."
"I told you to stop calling her that!"
"Well I can't help it that she takes after her momma now can I? But by the way she did you proud. It took two cookies to get it out of her."
"Oh she has got you wrapped around her little finger," Sarah said.
"Well like mother like daughter I guess," Chuck replied.
"Such an easy mark," Sarah laughed.
"Was I really that easy, he asked.
"Do you honestly want me to answer that," she laughed.
"Well I'll tell you one thing Mrs. Bartowski."
"What's that?"
"There is no way Maradona was better then Messi!"
"Huh?"
Suddenly Sarah began to hear far away voices and a rumbling in her ear.
"Chuck?"
He slowly went out of focus and was replaced by a white light, so intense she needed to shut her eyes. When she opened them she saw that she was in her other favorite place, as she had obviously fallen asleep with her head on Chuck's chest. She laid still listening to her surroundings, and to her surprise heard a very animated conversation going on between Alberto and Chuck. The ringing in her ears was Chuck's voice reverberating in his chest. She wanted to stop him from getting too animated and tell him to rest more, but the comforting feeling she had of having him back gave her an excuse to listen a bit more.
"You Americans have no real appreciation for the game! Messi couldn't do half of what Maradona could," Alberto bellowed.
"I just don't think he was as skilled as Messi," Chuck replied.
"Not as skilled? Have you ever seen the goal of the century! He went through an entire team for God's sake," Alberto cried in exasperation.
"Will you quiet down," Selma said as she walked into the room.
"I'm just..,"
"Alberto! Sarah is still sleeping," she said with anger.
"No it's ok I'm awake. And no Selma their discussion didn't wake me," Sarah said trying to get Alberto off the hook.
"See," Alberto said motioning to Sarah, as Selma looked at him with fire in her eyes.
"Out! Out! Now! Give them some privacy," Selma said.
"I was just in here to check on him," He protested.
"And how is he doing?"
"Well he is doing ok but...,"
"Then why are you still here," Selma demanded.
"But I..,"
"Now Alberto!"
"Fine...yeah he is fine except for the brane damage if he thinks Messi is better then Maradona," he mumbled under his breath.
"I heard that," she snapped!
"Of course you hear everything," he huffed.
"I'm sorry Selma I didn't mean to get Alberto into trouble," Chuck said.
"Oh nonsense! He has been in trouble for 20 years!"
"I guess it's not smart to argue with an Argentinian about Maradona, a sore subject for him I guess."
"Oh you don't know how right you are."
"What do you mean?"
"Well I'm originally from Brazil, and I follow them. He was working all the time when the children were babies, so when I would watch football, we would watch Brazil. He has never been able to get over the fact that all of his children think Pele was better then Maradona. He blames me for it," she laughed.
"No really? Wow that is rough," Chuck replied laughing as well.
"Yes. Pele was better then both of them anyway. Now you two get a bit more rest and I will bring some food to you in a bit. We have a long journey today," she said.
"Thank you Selma," they both said in unison as she left.
"So a long journey huh," Chuck said as he looked over at Sarah.
"Uh huh. Pretty much," she yawned as she put her head back on his chest.
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere away from here," she replied.
"You're not going to tell me?"
"Nope. How are you feeling," she asked.
"Good tactics Agent Walker," Hartley said as he entered the room.
"Chuck! Down," Sarah screamed as she launched herself at Hartley.
With almost super human speed, Hartley sidestepped her lunge, and quickly put her in a hold that completely immobilized her, and started down Alberto and Selma with a menacing glare as they burst into the room.
"Chuck run," Sarah screamed in a panic as she realized that she could do nothing against her attacker.
"Calm down Agent Walker. I am here to help. I mean no harm to any of you,"
"Chuck," Sarah yelled as she saw him like wide eyed at the man behind her.
"Sarah I know him! You used to come to my house! We played chess," he said while still shocked.
"Ah you remember Charles," Hartley smiled.
"Chuck! What's going on? Who are you," she screamed.
"Oh my god! Sarah that's Gemini!"