I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point.

Maybe it's time for the story to get a little darker.

Bryce has been basically a slime ball for all of this story. But now Orion's plan hinges upon him stepping up and doing his part. Naturally Volkoff is going to make sure that Bryce has an incentive to be loyal to him by offering him something that he really wants. Remember the dream that I took so much crap for about 20 chapters ago? It wasn't gratuitous. Chuck and Sarah are going to have to face the very real possibility of putting her in a situation where that dream was foretelling.

Here's a little personal rant. I've come to hate anonymous reviews. The site used to allow the author the option to accept anonymous reviews or not. I went back and forth on that over the years. I get that many legitimate reviewers read stories in situations where they can't be logged in. I didn't want to deny those people the chance to comment.

Now if I could, I would prohibit anonymous reviews. They have become the vehicle for a cowardly troll to take a cheap shot. To be sure, not all anonymous reviews are cheap shots. The overwhelming majority aren't. But stupid, sarcastic, mindless, mean spirited, troll type reviews are always anonymous. And, yes, I understand that I can delete them. But that's not the point. To delete them I have to read them. And the cheap shot is delivered. I've never deleted a review. I want you to be able to see the cowardly, moronic crap that I sometimes get.

Let's be clear about what I'm objecting to. Reviews can be critical. I'm a big boy. I'm still an infant writer. I get there are legitimate areas where I can improve. I don't mind those areas being pointed out. I have taken lots of comments and find that I agree. I've even changed my approach over the years because of reviews. But there is always a way to make a constructive criticism respectfully. Signing the review gives me a chance to respond and for us to have an intelligent conversation about the issue. Heck, maybe I'll learn something.

But many of my reviews are not constructive. So to the anonymous sarcastic person who thinks I use the word 'totally' to much, I have a few questions. By the way, there are 2 l's in totally. At least one good thing came out of my using the word so much. I can spell it. And I already have a thesoris, thank you. One comes built into Word. I use it a lot. There is also a spell checker built in which I use even more. Except I already knew that it was spelled thesaurus. Talk about people who live in glass houses, lol.

So anyway, here are my questions.

After 59 chapters, that's what you're getting out of the story? I use the word totally too much? Really? If it bothers you so much, why on earth are you still reading this story? You should totally stop.

How many times using totally are too many? In the last chapter there were 4. Would 3 be okay? 2? Good news. There is only 1 totally in this chapter.

If I replaced the 4 'totally's with a synonym (thank you, thesaurus) like 'completely', would I then be using 'completely' too much? I'm a little confused here.

Are there any other words I should ration? Send me a list and I'll consider it in the future.

Okay, enough of this. Let's move on. Totally.

The Betrayal

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Bryce had to actually give himself a little pep talk before knocking on the door. Now that he was free from Frost's false memories, he inwardly seethed. Even that was too tame. He was honestly as angry as he ever had been in his life. Tricking CIA Agent Bryce Larkin into betraying his country and especially stealing a nuclear weapon was the very worse thing one could do. He would love nothing better than to pull out his gun and see Alexei Volkoff beg for his life as he slowly bled to death in his own bedroom. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to be possible… at least not today. He was undercover. He had a role to play. For Orion's plan to work, Bryce had to sell that he was still Alexei Volkoff's loyal friend under the control of Frost's false memories. But at least he was now free from the blinding headache, courtesy of his new governor wristwatch.

Bryce couldn't pretend to be enthusiastic about the plan. Oh, it might very well work. He didn't have any question about that. And twenty billion dollars was a lot of money. He had no question but that he would be rewarded well enough to retire and live a very comfortable life, whatever that looked like. It's just that anything that allowed Volkoff and that Frost bitch to live seemed like it was letting them off far too easy. Watching them slowly bleed to death seemed like a much better option. Besides, the mission wasn't sanctioned. In theory anyway, he was risking his career. In fact there was only one reason why he agreed.

Bryce still wasn't sure he could pretend to be happy about Sarah with Chuck. Well that wasn't exactly true. He was sure that he wasn't happy that his 'friend' took away his girl behind his back. Okay, so maybe she wasn't ever exactly his girl. That still didn't give Chuck the right to move in. It violated the bro code. For one thing he was so not her type. For another, Agent Walker was supposed to be a professional. Fucking her asset to keep him controlled… okay that was one thing. It was part of the job. But falling in love and marrying him? Really, Sarah? If Bryce thought for an instant that he had a chance to take her back away from him, he certainly would.

But this was clearly more than a fling for Sarah. There was no longer any sense in denying that they had something special. She was a completely different person with him. Bryce barely recognized her. The core problem with that was the new hot blooded Mrs. Bartowski she had turned into was even sexier than the old stone cold Agent Walker ever was… and that was definitely saying something. If Bryce wanted her before, and he most definitely did, now it was ten times worse. Winning her back would have to be a long term goal.

Of course Bryce knew that his relationship with this new sexy 'Mrs. Bartowski' Sarah was currently hanging by a thread. She had made that very crystal clear in their last conversation. Right now she wasn't even speaking to him. Any hope of winning her back had to start with them being friends. It was plain that having any sort of relationship with her hinged on his making Chuck happy. And Chuck had also made his requirement to allow it to happen crystal clear. If this mission was a success, he would talk Sarah into at least listening to his apology with an open mind. That wasn't much. But it was a start. Using Chuck to steal his very wife away from him was risky. But then again Chuck always looked for the good in people. He had a blind spot that was easy to exploit.

Sarah was much more skeptical. Oh Bryce knew that he could be very charming when the need arose. It was his number one skill. But he also knew that charming the pants off Sarah Walker was a challenge under the best of circumstances. She was seemingly immune to the boyish smile that quickly got most women naked. Even when they were in an exclusive relationship his batting average was about .200. Clearly this was anything but the best of circumstances. No, this was a long term project. But at least he could earn another at-bat. And the first step in that plan meant charming Alexei Volkoff.

Fortunately, Alexei was making that part fairly easy. The second that he opened the door, he had Bryce in a warm bear hug. "Welcome home, my friend," he said. "Congratulations on yet another brilliant assignment."

Actually Bryce could almost stand being around Alexei. It was Frost that got the bile rising up his throat. Giving him a lesbian for a girlfriend. And on top of that giving him short endurance in bed. That was just wrong. It was a cheap shot. After all Bryce had a reputation with the ladies to think about. She was definitely going to pay for that one. Fortunately she was on the other side of the room sitting at the dresser brushing her hair and not paying much attention to their conversation. "It wasn't totally successful," Bryce said sadly. "I'm so sorry that I lost Jennifer."

That got Alexei chuckling for a long moment. "No big loss," he said as he slapped Bryce on the back affectionately. "She was a lousy girlfriend, am I right?"

The question was clearly rhetorical because he didn't give Bryce time to answer. "That actually brings us to your next assignment. I think you'll enjoy this one. I'm going to get a new girlfriend for you."

Alexei grabbed a picture off the nightstand and handed it to Bryce. "I think you'll agree that this one will be a major step up in the girlfriend department," he said with an evil grin. "Of course she's going to be a bit resistant at first. You'll have to use the Intersect to convince her to get with the program. She'll quickly learn that she has no choice but to do anything you ask. She is a badass field agent but she's no match for the Intersect. It won't take you long to prove to her that she's better off cooperating."

Bryce looked at the picture of Sarah for a long time. A couple of weeks ago, Alexei's offer would have been money from heaven that would have been eagerly accepted. And Bryce would be lying if he tried to say that it wasn't tempting even now. Forget about the long term plan to get her back. He could have her again right now, this time on his terms. All of the fun things that he had pleaded with her for only to be laughed at he could now demand. Maybe only for a few days… but having Sarah Walker hit her knees at your command, even if only for a few days, would be… wow. It sure as hell beat his current prospects.

He might even be able to blame it on Volkoff. After all, protecting their cover was key to the mission. If Chuck wasn't around he might even be able to convince her that the plan depended on her putting on a show or two with him to convince Volkoff that his plan was working. Walker might be a hard person to charm… but she was famous for doing anything required by the mission. That might be a little fun. But Bryce also knew that it wouldn't go well for him long term. If he used the mission to force Sarah into sex, that was the end of any hope for a relationship. And Chuck, who was also an Intersect, would come looking for him with definite hostile intent. Was it worth it? Then again, there was his duty to think about. This may not have been a sanctioned mission. But Volkoff was public enemy #1. Once the CIA powers thought it through, helping in taking Volkoff down would be good for his career. But he also knew that he didn't have to decide right now. "She's very pretty," was all he said. "Who is she?"

"She's very pretty," Alexei agreed. "Bryce, you deserve this. I actually think that you'll have a good time breaking her in."

"Her name is Sarah Walker."

x-x-x-x-x

Joan was rapidly getting annoyed. After breakfast it was generally agreed that the couples would retire to their respective quarters for a little 'rest and relaxation' time. And it Joan's mind, that translated into one thing. Of course it could be forgiven. All of the couples were clearly destined for a little mid-morning delight. Even Josh and Joey were conspicuously making moon eyes at each other. Joan wasn't sure what Carina was going to do without a partner, but that really wasn't her problem, was it?

Joan was honestly looking forward to the next few minutes too much to even think about Carina all that much. She could probably be forgiven for that. After all, she had only been married for a few days. In anything approaching a normal honeymoon she would be currently soaking up the sun on a beach someplace where they didn't speak such good English, she'd have a cool rum drink in one hand while the other roamed over some part of her new husband's anatomy, and a single whisper would get them back in their room for some hot honeymoon activities between the sheets.

Of course the current situation couldn't ever be mistaken for normal. Not even close. And Joan knew full well that she had no complaint coming. She went into this thing with her eyes wide open. But still.

"Are you ever going to take your face out of that fucking computer?"

Joan was as surprised as anyone that she actually said that out loud. Being jealous of a machine wasn't all that rational. And one glance at the devastated look on his face instantly made her feel about an inch tall. "I'm sorry," she quickly said. "Steven, I shouldn't have said that. I'm really sorry. This isn't your fault. It's just that this…"

"This is your honeymoon," Steven finished her statement. "Mrs. Bartowski, you have nothing to be sorry for. You're absolutely right. The situation sucks. I get that… for me too. And I'd like nothing better than to get my face out of the computer and put it someplace more in line with a honeymoon. But we're…"

Naturally he knew what he was doing when he called her Mrs. Bartowski. That never failed to get a thrill from her. So it was Joan who finished his statement. "We're in a critical time," she sighed. "I get that. Lives of people that we love are on the line. I'm sorry for being selfish."

"You are so not being selfish," Steven protested. "Not even a little bit. But right now, we have something of a crisis. We need to talk to Chuck and Sarah right away. Then depending on how that goes, the rest of the team."

Joan had already read enough over his shoulder to know generally what the current situation was. She didn't know Bryce very well at all, just that one day on her desk and in his hotel room. And he was clearly playing her anyway. So she had no idea what he was capable of. "I know," she said softly. "This could change everything."

"How about we make a deal?" Steven asked. "After we meet with the team, we'll resume our honeymoon. You can be in charge of my face for the rest of the day. I'll put it anyplace you want. Deal?"

Damn, her new husband was charming when he wanted to be. That decidedly improved Joan's mood. She tried to keep in the laugh at the look on his face as he made his suggestive offer… but she failed miserably. It came out pretty wet. "You so have a deal," she was finally able to choke out.

"I'll go get them."

x-x-x-x-x

As soon as Bryce left the room, Mary got up from the dresser and sat on the bed next to Alexei. "Are you sure about this?" she asked softly. "I don't know her at all. But if her reputation is only 1/3 true there is no way she'll ever willingly submit to him. She'll fight him to the death. And by using these tactics we're making a couple of serious lifelong enemies. One of them is an Intersect with almost limitless powers."

"I know," Alexei said, as the evil grin dissolved into a more serious look. "Let's get this on the table. I understand that he's your son. I get that this may be a little hard for you. It just can't be helped. We're committed to this fight. We have to win. And in order to win we need them. You're absolutely right. At first anyway they are going to be mortal enemies who will betray us the very second that they think they can. We're just going to have to be careful to always be in position to control them. Let's look at this logically for a moment. Agent Walker may be a badass, but she won't be able to fight Bryce with an Intersect. She knows that better than anyone. Even if she tries she'll quickly find out that she is helpless. If her reputation is 1/3 true then she'd rather make a deal with us and go on some distasteful missions than be forced to constantly fuck someone who isn't her husband. If she isn't right away, a few nights of fighting and constantly losing her honor means she'll be much more agreeable to make a deal with me."

Mary already knew but she asked anyway. "What sort of deal?"

"One that she'll snap up," Alexei said. "I'll keep Bryce Larkin out of her hair and Agent Walker convinces her Intersect husband to get on board. They will be allowed to live as a semi normal couple. Naturally they will become Volkoff Industries top field agents. As long as they complete their assignments acceptably, we won't make up some flash cards that make her husband not remember ever meeting her. From what we've been told, that would be quite a hot button for the lovely Agent Walker."

"I think that's more than fair."

x-x-x-x-x

"Where is Bryce?"

The question just popped out of Sarah's mouth out of nowhere. And immediately she felt the guilt hit her. It had been such a wonderful morning. She knew that Chuck was fairly sensitive to the subject. The very last thing she wanted was to give him the impression that she was concerned for Bryce Larkin as a person. For one thing, she wasn't. That wasn't it at all. She just didn't know how to explain it. So she stood there for a long moment searching for the right words.

Fortunately Chuck popped her apparently silly concern like a soap bubble. "Ah," he said with his classic grin. "Still constantly thinking about Bryce, I see? I would have hoped that you'd have other things on your mind this morning. Isn't that why you dragged me in here? Now the truth comes out."

Sarah was grateful that he was so clearly teasing her. It would be a shame to ruin such a wonderful feeling. After an admittedly rocky start, this had easily been the best morning of her life. First there was the amazing gesture that the family had given her. The nursery was simply perfect. Even better was the thought behind it. Every single member of her extended family made extra sure to make her aware just how much they loved her. Sarah had never been hugged so much in her life. And okay, so Steven and especially Casey were late… and they weren't exactly huggers, neither was Sarah normally. A month ago she would have done whatever it took to avoid such open displays of affection… from anybody. But that was out the window today. The very fact that they tried said more to her than anything that had happened today. The rest of the family, especially Laura when they finally showed up, more than made up for Casey's rather tepid effort. In fact Laura was more of a mess than Sarah was. She clung to her sobbing for a long time. So much so that Sarah made a mental note to get her alone soon and talk.

But the best part of the morning was the breakfast. It was exactly what Sarah had always dreamed about her whole life… a loving family meal… one where the teasing kept everyone giggling, and even the silence wasn't awkward. Okay, sure, so most of the people around that table weren't technically family. It didn't matter a single bit. In fact you would be hard pressed to tell which ones were related and which ones weren't. It was irrelevant. This was now Sarah Bartowski's family… and it always would be.

So Sarah threw her arms around Chuck's neck. "I'm such a horrible wife," she sighed. "Somehow I always manage to say exactly the wrong, stupidly insensitive thing to you. Why do I keep doing that?"

Chuck was still in teasing mode. "Damn," he said in faux disgust. "I really hoped you would know." Then he pulled back to kiss her affectionately. "Maybe because you like making it up to me so much?"

That got Sarah giggling. "I do enjoy that part," she admitted. "Too bad for you that Sarah Bartowski was already fully planning this morning on dragging you over to that bed, slowly ripping your clothes off, then mine, and performing various assorted sex acts until you're begging me for mercy. That is to thank you for the nursery. Making up for my insensitivity this morning will have to go on my tab."

"Wow," Chuck said. "The way you say it, it actually sounds a little scary. Should I be afraid?"

"You should be very afraid," Sarah said, still fighting the giggles. "I wish that I could think of something other than sex to show you how I feel. It seems a little self serving that I enjoy it more than you do. But I can't. Just so that we fully understand each other, I'm in a… well, a special mood. This won't be us making love… not really. In fact I don't think that I've ever felt like this before. I always knew that you were an amazing man. I always knew that I loved you. I've always been so grateful to have you. But here's the deal, Chuck. You came through for me today in a fundamental way, one that exceeded my wildest hopes. Nobody in my whole life has ever come close to that. So for the next… well, who really knows how long, your ass is mine. Let's get this on the table. This is all about an incredibly grateful wife putting on a show for her husband to make sure he knows with zero ambiguity how she really feels about him. And, guess what? Since sex is all I have, I'm going to embrace it. In fact I'm going to use it to its fullest possible extent. Today is all about you. I expect to hear absolutely no complaint from your lips saying that I don't have to do this. I expect your full cooperation at whatever kinky fantasy thing that I come up with this morning, for you to put aside any discomfort or guilt you might normally have, and sit back and enjoy yourself. This is going to be unlike anything we've ever experienced before. After we're done, it's very possible that you won't be able to move all that well for the rest of the day. Forgetting your own name is also an outside possibility. If I look at all like I'm having a good time, well it's because I am. No guilt. Agreed?"

Chuck looked into her eyes. It was clear that she wasn't really kidding. "Yes, ma'am," he said. "Do me one favor?"

Sarah was surprised by the serious tone. So she just nodded for him to continue.

Chuck made sure to put a smile on his face to let her know that he wasn't upset. But he also made sure that she knew he wasn't kidding. "Please stop apologizing for using sex," he said with a sigh. "It makes me sound unbelievably ungrateful. I'm head over heels in love with you. Besides the simple fact that you're the most beautiful woman in the whole world. You just are. And I get that I usually wait for you to make the first move in the bedroom. I know that bothers you sometimes. But don't misinterpret that. I burn for you… 24 x 7. So if you want to prove how wild you can get, I'm eagerly looking forward to it. I appreciate the gesture. As long as we agree that this is not something I'm expecting."

Sarah took a step back to fumble with his belt. "That was very sweet," she said. "I'll admit that your hanging back used to bother me a little… but not anymore. Now I realize that you simply trust me to take care of you. Consider the assignment accepted… for the rest of our lives. But first I want to correct the record. I no longer give a flying fuck about Bryce Larkin as a person. He dug that hole all by himself. He has a long road ahead if he ever wants to fix it. I'm not even sure that he can. And yes, I understand that you already know all of that. But given your sensitivity to the idea, I think it's important that I keep reminding you. That isn't what I was asking at all. I just wanted to know if Agent Larkin was on board with our mission."

Chuck instantly got a lot more serious. "He's on board," he said. "I talked to him for a long time last night while you were sleeping. He genuinely wants to make up with us, well you especially. He knows that has to start with me, so he was very contrite. He also knows that he's been acting like a douche bag. He was fairly grateful that we rescued him. Besides, taking down Alexei Volkoff is consistent with Agent Larkin's sworn duty. He gets that. In fact he's currently on his way back to Russia. He's probably getting there right about now."

"Good," Sarah said as she began pushing Chuck not so gently towards the bed. "Russia is actually a good place for him."

Unfortunately, Sarah was only about half way to her initial goal of getting Chuck naked when she was interrupted by a knock at the door.

The blush was plainly evident on Joan's face as she cautiously poked her head into the now open door. "I'm so sorry to interrupt you," she said. "But Steven needs to see you both right away."

"I'm afraid that we have a crisis."

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