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Out of Character

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Sarah was quite frankly ready to take Joey and kick the crap out of her… and if the truth of this ridiculous situation also came oozing out in the process, well that would be okay too. Given her current mood, it might actually have been some fun. But she never really got the chance. When she turned to where Josh was holding her, she could plainly see the tears steaming down her face.

"They weren't supposed to hit you," Joey said. "That was never part of the plan."

By now, Sarah had figured out pretty much what the plan was. But there was also no sense in tipping off Joey. So she played dumb. "Plan?" she asked. "What plan?"

Seeing his partner struggle for words, Josh stepped up. "They weren't really going to rape you, Sarah," he said, stepping forward and putting himself protectively between a clearly livid killing machine and his partner. It was perhaps unknowingly the bravest thing he had ever done. "Our assignment was just to scare you, to make Chuck believe you were about to be gang raped in front of him. They were going to get spooked and run off just before anything real happened."

Sarah wasn't about to give up that they had already pretty much already figured all of that out. It was a little reassuring to hear that they were going to stop short, but very, very little. "Assignment?" she asked. "What kind of assignment. From who? Why?"

"We're all agents," Josh said with a sigh. "We all graduated from the Academy six months ago. Our assignment came from an Agent Larkin. Why? I have no idea. You know how assignments work. They don't tell you why."

Joey finally composed herself. "He wasn't supposed to hit you once you were secured, Sarah," she said shakily. "Making sure that you weren't injured was a rule of engagement. They were just going to use whatever force it took to subdue you and make you believe the attack was real."

Sarah stepped as close to Joey as Josh would allow without physically pushing him out of the way. The tone in her voice left zero doubt as to her mood.

"Okay. Tell me something. Exactly where is Agent Larkin right now?"

x-x-x-x-x

Laura sat on the deck deep in thought. She was someplace in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico in international waters. Or maybe this was the Caribbean Sea. Or maybe even the Atlantic Ocean. The actual borders on those things were pretty much subject to interpretation. Bottom line is she wasn't really sure exactly where she was. With nothing but water surrounding you, it was hard to even know what direction you were looking at. When they were at sea they typically had breakfast on the forward deck. Breakfast was even an odd term. They were maybe eating homemade waffles topped with fresh strawberries and real whipped cream, but it was almost noon.

The truth was that she had never hated an assignment more than she currently hated this particular one. As much as she looked forward to ending this sadistic bastard, now she had an even better reason. She couldn't wait to get back to Burbank, maybe a little to find out from Sarah the juicy details of her honeymoon, of which she was sure there would be many that the new bride would take great pleasure in rubbing into her face, but also for… other reasons.

One thing was for sure. Whoever said that crime doesn't pay had never seen this yacht. It was beyond fabulous. Yacht wasn't even the right word. It was more like a mini cruse ship. There were ten men on board, Rock's most trusted bodyguards. That didn't count the captain or the chief. But the ship could have easily accommodated several times that. The only thing that was missing was an activities director.

Another thing was for damn sure. They didn't have any use for an activities director. Rock only had one particular activity in mind. Laura always thought that he was sex crazed before. Well, it was nothing like now. She wasn't sure where he had been for the past ten days, she thought maybe South America someplace. He wouldn't give her any details, other than that the trip was very successful and he had some new coke to try. But wherever he had been he clearly hadn't gotten laid much.

Laura really didn't mind the constant fucking all that much. At least it meant that she didn't have to make conversation with him. All she had to do was put her knees in the air and allow him to do all of the work. An occasional encouraging moan of 'fuck me harder' and he was good to go. And it did give her the opportunity to fondly remember the details of her last night in Vegas. He had been so cute. Even thinking about that last time in bed got her worked up. And seeing as she was lying there with her knees up in the air taking her pounding anyway, she might as well get some pleasure out of it, right?

Rock interrupted her thoughts with one of the few non sexual things that he ever said to her. "So Laura," he said as he put down his cup of coffee. "Who is this Casey?"

Laura fought to keep the guilty blush from her face. She knew that she had just fucked up big time. She had just allowed her personal feelings to lead her into making a rookie mistake. These drug running bastards all had an important characteristic in common. Their fuck toys were very personal property to them, a bragging right, almost a competition. They were crazy possessive of you. Oh, they didn't mind whoring you out when their needs made it convenient. Offering your blowjob services as a reward to one of his men for a job well done wasn't uncommon at all. But moaning another man's name when they were fucking you was probably the very worst thing that you could do short of blowing your cover. It was going to take some serious groveling to get out of this one.

Laura forced the shy smile onto her face and grabbed his hand. "It's not what you're thinking," she said. "Casey was my puppy when I was growing up."

Rock was maybe a man of few words. He probably didn't even know all that many. But she could see the skeptical look on his face. "You're probably wondering why I would be thinking of my puppy while we're fucking," she said. It was a fair question. Laura found herself suddenly wondering the same thing. Maybe a little flattery would work. Guys like this usually ate that crap up. "The truth is that I was doing it for you. You had me so quickly on the edge and I was trying to make it last as long as possible. I wanted to make sure that I was there for you. So I was trying to get my mind off how great you were feeling and what you were doing by thinking about Casey." That part wasn't really a lie. She was thinking about Casey to get her mind off what Rock was doing to her. That was something that would sadly have to stop.

That tactic almost always worked with guys like this. But he still didn't look totally convinced. So it was on to groveling step two. "Please don't be mad at me," she said in a soft pouting voice. "You know how much I hate that. Yes, I was insensitive. I shouldn't have done it. I'm very sorry if I made you jealous. I'll do anything you want to make it up to you. Come below with me and I'll get on my knees and beg for your forgiveness." She was maybe teasing him but that was also dropping the big one. She hadn't delivered Rock her very best effort yet. It was something that she was saving for a rainy day. And even though there wasn't a single cloud in the sky, this certainly qualified. A sore jaw for a couple of hours as she brought him to the very edge and then backed off, only to repeat the process over and over was a small price to pay. When she finally allowed him the explosive release, it would surely make him forget why he was mad at her, and quite possibly his own name.

"What would be wrong with begging for my forgiveness right here?"

That surprised her more than a little. He had always taken her someplace private for sex. And they were maybe alone on the deck. But clearly people could see them if they wanted to. Indeed, he rather obviously pushed his chair away from the table and turned it so that anyone in the cabin who wanted would have a clear unobstructed view of every stroke of her apology. Given the show she was about to put on, a crowd of those pigs would almost assuredly want to witness it. Hopefully she was just being punished and this wasn't the start of a trend. Even more critical, hopefully she could make this such a wonderful experience for him that no further punishment would be deemed necessary. After all, she was the only female on the ship. This could get very, very bad if he was seriously displeased with her and wanted to make a point. There was no way to fight them. And the tiny bikini Rock insisted that she almost wear surely left no room to hide a weapon. No, this was a situation where she clearly had no choice but to smile, take her punishment, and make him forgive her… and they both knew it.

When she stood to begin her punishment, he stopped her. "If you were really sorry, you'd put on a show for me and the men first to get me in the mood," he said with a leer.

That got Laura a little worried. He really must be pissed. For one thing, he was always in the mood. It also confirmed that he had planned on something like this happening this morning and they surely had an audience. "Okay," she said as she stood and made a show out of slowly pulling on the strings of her top until it dropped to the deck. Then she as slowly as she could slid her bottom off and kicked it at him playfully. "Let me prove to you how sorry I am. If you want me to do this here, I said that I would do anything."

Rock has already lost his suit. The instant she hit her knees, he was, well, a rock. No surprise there, the man had an almost perpetual hard-on. So she bypassed the usual preparation activities in such a situation and made a big show of looking into his eyes submissively as she began, slowly at first. After a couple of playful strokes she began her penance in earnest. But his hands pressing firmly on the top of her head plainly said that she wasn't going to be in charge of this session. Laura made a mental note to be far more careful about where she fanaticized over Casey. One good thing, with her mouth full like this she couldn't very well make another stupid mistake like moaning his name. And there was also a ray of good news here. If Casey realized it or not…

He now owed her one.

x-x-x-x-x

Josh knew that it was up to him to take charge. So he gave Chuck the car keys and sent them back on their own. He had two reasons. First, he wanted to get Sarah and the fire in her eyes away from Joey. Who knew what she was capable of? She was still clearly livid. And in Joey's emotional state, she probably wasn't going to be able to effectively defend herself against another agent, much less against one with the reputation of Sarah Walker. And after watching Chuck blow through those six men like a hot knife through butter, he knew that he wouldn't be able to offer her any assistance.

But even more important was his team. Several of them needed some serious medical attention. And with only the three men totally uninjured, they would clearly need some help. A couple would be relatively okay once they fully regained consciousness. In fact the groaning indicated that several were about to do that. The man with the broken arm and ribs would hopefully be able to walk on his own once his arm was splinted. But the two men that Chuck had kicked no longer had functioning knee joints. They would need to be carried. Fortunately they had a couple of makeshift stretchers standing by for precisely this contingency. But getting them down this mountain would require four people per stretcher. It was far too steep for anything less.

Currently however, Josh's top concern was his partner. Joey was as shaken as he had ever seen her. As soon as Chuck and Sarah were out of earshot, he turned to her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Joey took a deep breath and composed herself. "I think so," she said. "We were just following orders, right?"

Josh was honestly concerned for her. "Of course," he said. "You know, Joey, we're going to be asked to do things that are a lot worse than this, right?"

"I know," Joey sighed. "And I'll be there when it matters. But it's different when it's one of your own. She's a legend. She didn't deserve this."

"I know," Josh said with the beginnings of a smile. "She was pretty pissed, wasn't she?"

Joey did a double take. "Wouldn't you be?" she asked.

"There is one good thing about this," he said as he broke the embrace. "You finally admitted that you love me. I have to tell you, I don't see it working between us, Joey. We'd always be fighting over the same men."

That broke most of the tension and got them both laughing. Joey's came out pretty wet. She fully recognized that he was trying to get her mind off of the situation. It was one of the sweetest things she had ever witnessed. "Here's the irony," she said, matching his teasing tone. "Right now I'm pretty sure that I don't even like you all that much. And like you could ever take a man away from me."

"Dream on."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck and Sarah were finally back in their hotel room. As it turned out, the walk down the mountain wasn't nearly as hard as the walk up. So they were quickly at the car. Clearly they had tons to talk about. But by unspoken agreement, they drove back in silence, waiting until they were alone and comfortable.

Sarah had tons of things to worry about. But currently highest on the list was what 2.0 was going to do to Chuck. Physically he seemed fine. Sure, he was still more than a little pissed. But Chuck wasn't one to stay angry for very long. She knew it would quickly fade away, maybe too quickly. In fact if anything he was clearly still feeling the rush and was basically even a little giddy.

No, maybe she didn't have to worry so much about him physically. But that still left psychologically. Chuck was now plainly the most powerful man in the world. That was bound to affect him. She had seen it a hundred times in training. Once people were taught how to fight they felt powerful, especially the men. And when men were given that much power that quickly, it invariably changed them. It made them arrogant. It made them demanding. It made them want to explore the edges of what their new power would get them. The problem was that she couldn't think of any way to talk to him about this except the obvious. "Can we talk?" she finally asked.

"Of course we can talk," Chuck said. "How is your jaw? Should I get you some medicine? Some ice maybe?"

Sarah smiled as she recognized his protective streak kick in. That was very hopeful. "I'm fine," she insisted. "I've certainly been hit a lot harder than that. Besides, you paid him back. He'll be in a cast for a few months. I'm surprised that you didn't kill him."

"I wanted to."

Sarah tried hard to hide it, but that had her very concerned. Chuck wasn't a killer. He didn't even think like that. "Why didn't you?" she asked cautiously.

"Because I know that you wouldn't want me to," he said. "Besides, come on, Sarah. I'm not a killer. We both know that. I can't imagine intentionally taking someone's life."

Sarah's concern vanished like a puff of smoke on a windy day. "I know," she said suddenly relieved.

"Although I may make an exception for Bryce Larkin."

Sarah knew that he was teasing. She did. But she couldn't help the sigh.

Chuck smiled. "So," he said. "When are you going to tell me what you're so worried about? You're afraid that the Intersect is going to turn me into a macho, sex crazed killer? I thought that you wanted me to be more aggressive."

Sarah couldn't keep the smile from her face at how well he knew her. "I'll admit that I'm more than a little frustrated," she said. "I'm stuck. If I admit how proud I was of you today, it'll get you thinking that I haven't always been so proud of you that I could cry. If I defend Bryce and tell you that he was just following his orders and that I've done much worse things, it'll get you thinking that somehow I still have feelings for him and get you all jealous again. If I tell you the plain truth, that thinking about you beating down those six trained agents in my defense today is unquestionably the sexiest thing I've ever experienced and that my new biggest fantasy is for my husband with his new Intersect 2.0 superpowers to ravage me until I'm begging him to fuck me into submission, you'll interpret that as I was unhappy with you or unfulfilled by our sex life before somehow. I can't win. I honestly wouldn't mind a little of the sex crazed thing, hopefully without the macho. Chuck, I don't want you to change, not really. I love what I have."

That got a pretty good grin. "Let's take your frustration points one at a time," he said. "You've never, not once, given me any indication that you're not proud of me. I've always appreciated it. And I've always been so proud of you. I love how you get all badass in protecting me. I'm still more than willing to let you take the lead in the ass kicking department. But I'm also happy that now I can get badass and protect you a little. Is that wrong?"

"It's not wrong," Sarah said. "Of course it's not wrong. I'm not saying that. It's sweet. But I also understand how big of a temptation it is to solve all of your problems by fighting, especially when you're facing stupidity and you know for certain that you can win. I struggle with that sometimes too. I'm just saying that the Chuck Bartowski that I know and love can solve just as many problems with his brain as with his fists. I'd hate to lose that. Using the Intersect to kick the ass of every man who glanced at my ass the wrong way in a bar would be fun at first. Trust me. I've been there. But it would get really old really fast, for both of us."

"Duly noted," Chuck said. "I don't think you have to worry too much about me turning all macho. If anyone ever does more than look, I reserve the right to kick their ass. And I'll admit that it feels good to be able to say that. But I'll make a conscious effort to not overdo it. Is that fair?"

Sarah nodded. "That's fair," she said. "Thank you."

"Good," Chuck said. "I also don't think that you have to worry about me being jealous of Bryce. Okay, yes, I once was pretty childishly jealous. I'll freely admit that. I think I'm over that now. I get that you feel sorry for him, so do I a little. He'll never know what it feels like to be loved. And the really sad part is that he doesn't even know what he's missing. I also get that you think you were like him once. But there's a key difference. Look at Casey. Who is more hard core than he is? Yet when it comes between following orders and our friendship, I have no question what he'll choose. Just like I never had any question about you."

"That's where you are wrong," she said. "I know that you love Casey. The fact of the matter is that he loves you too in his own stunted way. But choosing you over orders is a very recent development, for both of us. Casey and I were both exactly like Bryce… Listen to me here Chuck. We were exactly like him. I know that you don't want to believe that, but we both would have once followed any order almost no matter how horrible, me actually more than him. And the only reason that's no longer true is that we both fell under the evil spell of this curly haired nerd who totally changed us. I'm no longer that heartless spy who broke your heart by telling you I was in love with someone else, all to follow a stupid order. I'm never going to be her again. You saved me then just as surely as you did this afternoon. I was every bit as proud of you and as grateful then as I am now."

"So," Chuck said as his grin faded. "I'm a little confused. We're not going to kill Bryce? Who are we going to kill?"

"I'm not sure if we're going to kill Bryce or not," Sarah said with her eyes flashing. "I haven't totally ruled it out. Probably not. We're going after the root cause."

Chuck's eyes widened in surprise. "You can't be serious."

"Do I look serious?" she asked rhetorically. "It's time to have a serious talk with Diane Beckman."

"What are we going to say to her?"

"Chuck," Sarah said softly. "I'm going to ask you for a big favor. Probably the biggest favor I've ever asked of you. Can I please go by myself to talk to Bryce and Beckman without it driving you crazy?"

Chuck paused for a long moment. "Tell me why," he finally said.

"I was afraid that you might take that the wrong way," Sarah said sadly. "I'm sorry if I'm putting doubts in your head. That's the very last thing… Look, it's not anything like that at all. It's not anything about me not trusting you. It's just that this is going to be a very tense discussion. They'll be much more honest about what they really want if they think they're talking to Agent Walker. And I simply can't be Agent Walker with you standing beside me. It just wouldn't work."

"Okay," Chuck said, desperate for something to change the subject for both of their sakes. "I do want to point out that Josh and Joey confessed to us. That had to cost them something, right? I hope they're going to be okay. So maybe there is some hope for them yet."

If Chuck realized it or not, he couldn't have possibly said anything better to calm Sarah's fears. That was her guy at his amazing best. He liked people, looked for the best in them. Spending any time worrying that he might become cold and arrogant was… well, silly. And he was right. Blowing their cover was a major mission screw up, one that could very well get them killed someday. She found herself suddenly concerned. She could have easily written it off as the protective concern of a veteran agent for a rookie. But she immediately knew that wasn't it. "I hope they're going to be okay too," she said.

"Maybe you could go talk to her," he suggested gently. "She looked pretty shaken. Maybe she would be grateful to hear some advice from the best field agent in the world."

That got an even broader smile. He knew her so well. She wasn't sure if she was ready to forgive Joey. She wasn't even sure if she ever would. But she had changed. He had changed her. And it was definitely for the better. She was actually beginning to like herself. "You're rubbing off on me," she said. "Please don't make me talk to her until I've had a chance to cool down. That might not go so well. Now let's get back to business. This is still only the second day of my honeymoon. It's also my genie day. When I get back, I expect you to rub off on me in a more literal sense."

The blush quickly hit Chuck's face. "Sarah," he said. "Do you really want to use the Intersect… for sex?"

That got a grin. "Uh huh," she said. "That stupid Intersect has been a pain in our collective ass. As long as we're stuck with it, we might as well get some enjoyment out of it, right? When I get back, I want you to show me what it can do. I believe that you know the specifics of what I expect."

"Ravage? Really, Sarah? That's what you want?"

That got an even bigger grin. "Uh huh," she said.

x-x-x-x-x

Bryce Larkin sat impatiently in his hotel room waiting for a mission report. They were supposed to be back here over an hour ago. So when the knock finally came at the door he opened it with jerk. "Where have you been?" he asked. "Do you…"

Bryce's rant was stopped in mid sentence as Sarah's right hand, tape wrapped firmly around her fist in clear anticipation of this punch, came crashing into his jaw. He was clearly surprised by the punch and just as clearly dazed. He quickly fell in a heap. But he was also a trained agent. He knew better than to try and get up. So he stayed down and instinctively tried to roll out of her reach.

Unfortunately, he had several major facts working against him. Sarah was just as trained at hand to hand combat skills as he was. In fact, she was more talented and certainly more experienced. She also had something of a reputation for not allowing an adversary time to recover once she had an advantage. Her rage and the adrenalin boost that came along for the ride gave her a decided advantage. And last but certainly not least, his staying on the floor brought him fully within easy range of Sarah's favorite weapon. Her savage kick to his abdomen took the wind, and any thought of further fight out of him.

Sarah allowed him to lie there panting for breath in his fetal position for a while. "Sarah," he moaned. "Why did you do that?"

That earned him another savage kick. "Only my friends and partners get to call me Sarah," she said. "You're no longer either. If you must, you may address me as Mrs. Bartowski. Why? You would really ask me why? Come on, Agent Larkin. Even you aren't that stupid."

Bryce finally recovered enough to speak. "I was following orders, Sar… um, Mrs. Bartowski," he moaned. "Certainly you can understand that. How did you find out?"

"Your Intersect contained a data update," Sarah growled. "Not anticipating that he would flash on them as soon as he uploaded it was one of those 'inattention to details' moments that you're oh so famous for in mission planning. So Agent Larkin, care to tell me why I was just stripped naked, forcibly felt up in front of my husband, and very nearly gang raped by nine rookie CIA Agents under your command this afternoon?"

Bryce mentally kicked himself. She was right. He didn't anticipate Chuck would upload it so soon. Not planning for the possibility that he would flash on the agents was a major fuck up. But at least that meant that Chuck had uploaded it. That's all that really mattered. So he didn't answer her question, not really. "I was following orders," he insisted with a moan. "Are you okay?"

"Don't pretend that you give a fuck about my well being," Sarah growled as she unleashed another kick, this one perhaps not quite as vicious. "It's beyond insulting. Understand something. You and I are officially through… on any level. You can now scratch one more person off the list of people who cares if you live or die. If this new Intersect hurts my husband in any way, I'll hunt you down and spend a week making your death as slow and hellish as I possibly can. I do understand about orders. That's the only reason that you're still breathing. There is one thing and one thing only that I want from you." Sarah pointed to his new laptop sitting on the desk.

"Get your commanding officer on the fucking line."

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