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

I think I read in a review that someone thought that Orion and Chuck's plan is going a little too smoothly. Maybe we should do something about that, don't you think?

I understand that there isn't a review function on this site. But I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything.

The New Deal

x-x-x-x-x

Alexei was in a very bad mood. That was obvious to everyone. And there were few things in life more unpleasant to be around than Alexei Volkoff in a bad mood. The doctor had just left. He clearly had never been happier to leave a room in his entire life.

Fortunately, Alexei had what amounted to a full hospital in his compound. It was only one of the many perks of being one of the richest men in the world. It was a good investment. After all, he was in a very physically demanding business. Injuries among his team were fairly common. So with a single phone call Mary was very quickly carried out of the ring on a stretcher and put through the complete typical battery of tests, including x-rays and an MRI.

Once she was safely in bed, Mary finally relaxed enough to allow herself to get pretty groggy from the powerful drugs she had been given. The good news was that there wasn't anything seriously wrong physically. The broken nose looked bad. But the doctor assured them that it would heal fine on its own without leaving a trace. Her right knee where Walker had kicked it was about double the size of her left knee. But again, the doctor assured them that the MRI showed no damage and it would heal on its own. She would be spending a couple of days in bed. It would be sore to walk on for a couple of weeks. But she would eventually be good as new… or as evil as new, depending on your point of view.

Emotionally, however, was a totally different story. Simply speaking, Mary was a wreck. She made little effort to blink away the tears. "I'm so, so sorry," she said softly. "I let you down."

Alexei could never have been mistaken for a comforting personality. But even he had to admit that she was being a little melodramatic. "You didn't let me down," he said. "You did great. You had her on the ropes. She knew it as well as anybody. You could see the panic in her face. You were getting closer and closer to landing your right hand. If she hadn't gotten that lucky kick in, Agent Walker was in serious trouble. Another ten minutes and she wouldn't have been able to avoid it. One solid punch and she would be yours."

Mary wouldn't be consoled. "But I wanted so badly to give you a gift," she said.

Alexei gently sat down on the bed next to her. "I know," he said. "We'll get you another chance to face Sarah Walker in the ring. I promise. Maybe we'll even up the stakes a little next time. After all, we still completely control her."

"And she's now made this personal."

x-x-x-x-x

Laura grinned at Devon's still obvious discomfort over being left alone all afternoon with Sarah… and very possibly being forced into a mission undercover tonight as her newlywed husband. It was beyond cute. So she decided to have a little fun seeing how red she could get his face. "Just watch yourself tonight," she said in faux sternness as she leaned in to 'kiss' him goodbye. "She's known to be pretty wild… and we're supposed to be newlyweds. You haven't seen me jealous yet. Trust me. It's not pretty."

Sarah was forced to smile at Devon's look of pure panic. "Don't let her scare you," she said soothingly. "She is exaggerating a bit. I'm not that wild."

Chuck decided to join Laura's sport. "Excuse me?" he asked incredulously. "Not that wild? Tell him about the scene in the warehouse when we were waiting for Volkoff's men. And that was before you turned into a brunette. Now you're totally out of control." He turned to Devon. "Ask her about her performance last night for Volkoff's camera. I was going to ask you for a prescription for some vitamins just to hope to keep up with her."

Sarah grinned at her husband. "That's true," she admitted. "The vitamins are actually a good idea. I'm still not sure that you would have any hope of keeping up with me. You're doing okay so far, but we don't want to wear you out or anything. And Laura has been holding out on me. They say that blondes have more fun. Whoever they are, they don't know what the hell they're talking about. Brunettes have way more fun."

Bryce had heard about enough. "Don't worry Devon," he said with his voice dripping with sarcasm as he turned towards the door. "If she ever looks out of control to you, just ask her for something that you might enjoy. Trust me. Judging purely from my personal experience that will end the conversation real quick."

Chuck shot a quick glance at his wife. If he was worried that Bryce's not so subtle shot would cause hot headed Sarah to make an appearance, he needn't have. Her smile was relaxed. And the twinkle in her eye was unmistakable. "I guess that depends on who's doing the asking," she said.

Now it was General Beckman who had heard enough. "We're wasting time," she growled. "Agent Carter, we have a nuclear weapon on the loose. Play time is over."

As it turned out, it was a different hot head that Chuck should have worried about. Suddenly Laura had Beckman slammed against the wall. A very large knife, which seemingly came out of nowhere, was pressed rather menacingly against her throat. "Explain to me why I shouldn't immediately cut your fucking head right off your shoulders and watch it roll down the hall, General Beckman," she growled with a sarcastic emphasis on the title. "This is perfect. Everyone would just assume that it was Volkoff."

Beckman was far too helpless to argue. Her head was still spinning from being slammed into the wall. The question was clearly rhetorical anyway.

"You are no longer in charge of Agent Carter," Laura continued. "She no longer listens to a word that you say… for a very simple reason. She no longer exists. You ended her when, for your own stupid selfish reasons, you blew her cover and allowed for the very real possibility of her being gang raped to death."

"Laura," Chuck said softly. "I get what you're feeling. But we really need to get going."

Laura didn't relax her grip. If anything, she pressed the knife even farther into Beckman's skin. "Fine," she said. "I won't kill you right here. But understand something. We had a deal. I would follow your orders without question, put myself in ridiculously uncomfortable situations, and regularly risk my life without even fully understanding why. And I could do those things because I knew that my superiors had my back. They would do anything within their power to support and protect me. You violated that trust. It simply doesn't get any worse than that."

Laura finally relaxed her grip and stepped away from Beckman. "Here is the irony," she continued. "I don't report to Chuck Bartowski on any CIA org chart. He's not my superior in any way. In fact, technically I suppose, I'm senior to him. Yet, I'll gladly obey any order that he would ever issue me without question and with absolutely nothing off the table. Because I know with absolute certainty that he would never, ever violate that trust. He loves me and would risk his own life to look out for my well being. Trust me, the fact that I love him right back just as much is the only reason you're still currently breathing. Ex Agent Carter would have enjoyed using your lifeless head as a bowling ball. If you're going to remain in a leadership position, perhaps you should take a moment and consider the distinction between you two. So now you quite literally owe your life to him. After this is over maybe a sincere 'thank you' is in order. I'd also strongly suggest that you stay the fuck far, far out of my way for, well, forever."

"Aww," Chuck said, clearly trying to lighten the mood. "Laura Carter actually admitting that she loves someone. It almost qualifies as a miracle. Can Casey possibly be very far behind?"

Laura was still pissed… breathing fire pissed. And that was gross understatement. But watching Devon struggle with wanting to tell them what he knew, yet not wanting to betray her confidence was so cute. It actually got a smile. "Go ahead and tell them," she sighed. "I know that you're dying to."

Devon didn't get the opportunity to tell everyone the news, that Laura had already admitted that she loved Casey. Because now it was Sarah's turn to lighten the mood. "I'm not sure that I'm comfortable with you so plainly telling everyone how much you love my husband," she said. "There is still a line that it would be pretty foolish to cross. Devon has seen me jealous before. And he definitely knows how pretty it isn't."

Laura looked at her oldest and best friend. She knew that Sarah was mostly kidding… but definitely only mostly. She was standing right there when Sarah went nuts on Carina a few nights ago. And Devon had told her the complete story of his attempt to treat her. Teasing her too much about this would probably not be very smart. "Okay," she said with a smile. "Point well taken. I'll make you a new deal. You keep your hands off of my husband today… and I'll keep my hands off of yours. I think that works out best for everybody."

"Deal," Sarah quickly said with a teasing smile and a nod towards Devon. "Any objections?" She didn't wait for a response before turning back to Laura.

"But it actually might be better if you kept your everything off of him."

x-x-x-x-x

Alexei sat in his bedroom and watched her drug induced sound sleep. The simple truth was that he had never loved her more than he did at this moment. Oh, make no mistake. He certainly wasn't turning soft in any way. In fact the tasks he was going to demand of Frost to finally accept her apology would push the very outside of the envelope. After all, she enjoyed proving to him how far she was willing to go to keep his approval. It seemed like a win-win. He enjoyed it as well.

But today was different somehow. Over the years Frost had always made all of this seem so effortless. She was seemingly invincible. Alexei found himself forced to now admit something. It wasn't easy. It never had been easy. She was just so skilled that she made it look easy. He had taken her for granted.

Guilt wasn't an emotion that Alexei gave in to very often. In a very real way, he owed Sarah Walker some gratitude for pointing the facts out to him. Unfortunately for her, saying 'thank you' wasn't exactly Alexei Volkoff's style. In fact it was now the opposite. She had now become a symbol, a symbol of his failure. And it was one that he definitely planned on correcting.

This was now a quest. Frost needed a couple of weeks to heal. But make no mistake. He was going to make sure that Walker faced her in the ring again. And this time, he would ensure that she would be suitably handicapped. Watching her hit the canvas after tasting Frost's right hand would only be the beginning. Now it wasn't going to stop until she was totally broken and begging for mercy. It was a shame. Being broken might dramatically lessen her usefulness as a Volkoff agent. But it couldn't be helped. He owed it to his Frost to make sure she got what she needed. And if she needed revenge, then that's what she was going to get. And as long as Walker's usefulness had to be sacrificed anyway, why not have some fun and enjoy the breaking in process?

Alexei's daydream was interrupted by his phone ringing. He knew that this had to be important. He had left explicit instructions to not be disturbed. They had probably drawn straws on who the unlucky one was who would have to make the call. So he walked over to the desk and snatched up the phone.

"This had better fucking be good."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah looked at Devon. Okay, yes, Agent Walker almost always enjoyed it when people were afraid of her. But she was no longer Agent Walker. And this was Devon. He was part of her family. Maybe not yet technically, but that didn't matter a single bit. And this awkwardness between them simply had to be dealt with.

Chuck and the gang had just left. Sarah was still a little flushed at the intensity of their goodbye kiss. Chuck was usually uncomfortable showing that much passion in front of other people. But today, he allowed their tongues to dance for a long moment while Laura looked on approvingly. It probably was mostly for Bryce's benefit. And it was admittedly very funny watching him turn away in disgust. Whatever the reason, it had Sarah quickly trying to think of an excuse to blow off this assignment, invite everyone to take a long walk to enjoy the German scenery, and drag her husband to the bed for a wild time of him enjoying her scenery. But that wasn't going to be possible. Hopefully he would get back in time so that Laura could go with Devon tonight as planned. The time they could have in this room waiting for them…

Sarah knew that she had to quickly shake herself out of that particular daydream. And what better way to do that than to concentrate on the immediate task at hand? So she turned to where he was still standing awkwardly and put on her softest smile. "So, Devon," she said. "Let's talk."

Sarah laughed out loud at the look of pure panic on his face. "I'm sorry that I've given you the wrong impression," she said. "You don't have to be afraid of me."

Devon looked unconvinced. "Okay," he said. "If you say so."

That got Sarah laughing even harder. "I'm so sorry," she said. "Yes, I intentionally tried to scare you and Joan in that car. I'll freely admit that. It was my style. I figured that we were going into a dangerous situation and you would follow my orders better if you were a little afraid of me."

"If that was your intention," Devon said with just the beginning of a smile. "You certainly succeeded."

That finally got them both laughing. "I know," she said. "It's something that I'm very, very good at." Then she got a little more serious. "But I didn't think things through," she said. "My priorities were messed up. You're going to be my partner on a mission for maybe a week. You're going to be my brother-in-law for the rest of my life. So I'd like to set the record straight. There is zero reason for you to be afraid of me. I would never hurt you. In fact if anyone ever tried to hurt you or Ellie, I'd tear them apart, using my bare hands if I had to."

"Now that I believe."

That got them both laughing even harder. "Good," Sarah said. "Now let's not misunderstand each other. If we ever get into a tense situation, I expect you to follow my directions without question. If that happens, I'm not going to take the time to say 'please'. I may look angry. But I'll just be trying to keep you safe."

Now Devon's smile was finally relaxed and genuine. "Trust me," he said. "You're the professional. I'll quickly follow your orders. But let's also understand something. When we're talking about medical things, I'm not going to take the time to say 'please' either. I also expect you to follow my directions without question. Hopefully I won't look angry. But if I do it will only be to keep you safe."

Sarah paused for a long moment. "Agreed," she finally said. "You're the professional. I'm very, very sorry that I snapped at you the other night. You were only trying to help me. I was a total bitch to you. I get that. This is not an excuse. But I was messed up. I'm sorry."

Devon's smile stayed relaxed. "Bitch is a bit strong," he said. "Don't you think? You don't have to be sorry. I understand the issue."

"Thanks," was all Sarah said.

It was enough. Because Devon's face turned into a grin. "Okay," he said. "So we agree. Now I think we agreed that it is time for my patient to lie down and take a nap."

Honestly, currently the last thing on Sarah's mind was taking a nap. Naps actually weren't high on her list at any time. But it would be unsporting to refuse. And he did have a point. If she expected him to obey her in her area of expertise, and she most definitely did, then it only seemed fair that she be just as willing to obey him in his. "Okay," she said with a sigh. "Are you going to join me?" The question was clearly rhetorical. There was only a single bed. And no matter how much they had just cleared the air, sharing a bed for a nap would probably always be outside the bounds of their relationship.

But a nap wouldn't be in the cards, at least not for a long time. Sarah knew instantly when the secure phone rang that something was horribly wrong. Laura had left the phone so that Sarah could contact Orion to report the successful completion of her assignment. But Orion knew that they were under cover. There was no way he would call unless there was some crisis.

Indeed, the conversation was very brief. "Let's go, Devon," Sarah said as soon as she ended the call.

To his credit, Devon didn't ask any question until they were in the car. He didn't have to, Sarah turned to him.

"Volkoff knows what we've done," she said tensely. "He's alerted the people guarding the nuke. Chuck and his team are walking into a trap."

"We have to save them."

x-x-x-x-x