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

Justice comes in many forms.

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.

Justice

x-x-x-x-x

Joan and Carina were the first ones back to the ship after completing their assignments. Naturally, that meant that Joan was almost immediately in the mood to become naked. And while nobody could begrudge the newlyweds taking a half hour and getting reacquainted, the current tense circumstance meant that any torrid honeymoon sex would have to be put on hold for a while. But that certainly didn't mean that a fairly robust kiss wasn't in order – with Carina looking on approvingly.

"Well, hello to you too," Steven said teasingly as soon as he could pry his mouth free. He glanced over at Carina. "Thank you for keeping her safe," he said with as much smile as he could come up with under the circumstances. "Also for completing your mission. Oh, and for not turning her into a lesbian."

To his surprise, Carina didn't laugh. "Very funny," she said sarcastically.

Joan pulled back from her embrace and grinned at his confused look. "That's actually something of a funny story," she said, clearly enjoying Carina's discomfort. "One that I think you'll really enjoy. It was a by product of our mission. A crime of opportunity as it were. I'll tell you all about it when we're in a calmer time. Suffice it to say that I don't think that Carina will be playing 'mind fuck' anytime in the near future, at least not with me."

It was hard to make Carina Miller blush. That was understatement. It was damned near impossible. But that did the trick… in spades. "What's our status?" she asked, more to change the subject than anything.

Fortunately, Joan let her off the hook. She broke her embrace with her new husband and got serious. "Good point," she agreed.

"We've had some bad luck," Steven sighed. "The plant in Germany actually had a serious failure all on it's own that caused it to shut down before we could sabotage it."

"Okay," Joan said slowly and thoughtfully. "But that's good, isn't it? One less dangerous mission."

"It would have been good," Steven agreed. "But the timing was horrible. They had to contact Volkoff to get some operating capital. When Volkoff went to transfer the funds he…"

"He found a bunch of zeroes where his twenty billion dollars used to be," Joan finished his sentence for him. "Not good."

"He found a bunch of zeroes," Steven agreed sadly. "It didn't take him long at all to figure out what must have happened. As you can probably guess, he didn't take the news all that well."

"I don't get it," Carina said. "I would have loved to see his face. But he was going to find out, right? That's sort of the point."

"We hadn't planned on him finding out so quickly," Steven said sadly. "Don't underestimate him. We still have people in harm's way. And Alexei Volkoff remains incredibly powerful, at least for a while. His personal army won't go away until he misses a payroll. That isn't going to happen for another week. People still think he is one of the richest men in the world. His signature would get him almost any amount of credit on demand. And now he doesn't have much to lose. This is no longer about his dream of world domination. It's now about his very survival. He's incredibly dangerous."

Joan looked concerned. "So what is our status?" she asked. "Are we in danger?"

Steven reached around and rubbed his new wife's back soothingly. "Probably not us so much," he said. "I don't think they know where we are. But we also can't rule anything out. I've pulled the trigger on the other plants. They are all currently in the process of shutting down. Josh and Joey are in route from their assignment. As soon as they get here, I've asked the captain to be prepared to head the ship for Europe. That should be any minute now. We'll be much safer at sea. They would have no way to track us and we could see any threat coming for a hundred miles. And with Carina, Josh, Joey, and the fifty shoulder launched missiles that Casey somehow 'obtained' for us, it would take a substantial navy to get close to us. Volkoff never had a navy. It's an investment that never occurred to him. For a history buff, that seems like a major oversight. The wheels in his head are turning. So I'm currently far more worried about Chuck and Laura."

Joan's eyes asked the question. "They are on their way to try and capture the missing nuclear weapon," Steven continued. "Bryce and Beckman are with them."

In spite of the tense situation, Joan could only feel relief. "You found it?" she asked. "That's great news. It was the biggest hole in our plan."

Steven's smile was honestly relaxed for the first time. "Sarah found it," he said. "Our new daughter-in-law was able to deliver us a little frontier justice. She challenged Mary in the ring. Winner got the weapon. As it turns out, Agent Frost finally met her match. She is no longer undefeated. In fact, she'll be spending a few days in bed dealing with a dislocated knee, a crushed ego, and a pretty general overall ass kicking."

Carina was still in her mini daydream of finally being able to deploy some of those missiles that she had admired so much. "Way to go, Walker," she said vacantly. Then she caught herself. "Oh wait. It's way to go Bartowski now, isn't it?"

Joan's smile took a decidedly evil bent as she turned to face Carina. "You're not fooling me," she said. "You're thinking about blowing something up. It turns you on."

Carina's shoulders noticeably slumped as she paused for a long moment. "I said that I was sorry," she finally said sadly. "Okay, so I started it. I get that. You're having fun. But you've very plainly made your point. We're friends, right? Can we please stop with the mind fuck stuff?"

Joan looked at her for a long uncomfortable moment. "Okay," she finally said. "Yes, we're friends. You got me though my first real mission unscathed. So I'll stop. I hope you realize that you're getting off easy here. I trust that there will be no repeat of anything like the Casey prime rib incident."

"Yes, ma'am," Carina said in obvious relief. "Thank you, ma'am."

Joan turned back to her husband. "What is Chuck's current situation?" she asked.

Steven was dying to hear what happened on their mission that now had the seemingly unflappable Carina so intimidated. His brilliant wife must have really gotten into her head. But that story would have to wait until tonight. "Volkoff tipped them off," he said. "The men guarding the weapon know that they are coming. The problem is that Chuck doesn't know that. And we have no way to tell him."

"Oh my God," Joan said softly. "He and Laura are walking into a trap. How many men?"

"About fifty," Steven said. "That's a tall order even for two Intersects… especially when they are in a defensive position waiting for an attack. Major Casey and Ellie are in route. Sarah and Devon are right behind them. Hopefully someone can find Chuck before he attempts an assault."

As Steven was talking, Josh and Joey were holding hands as they boarded the ship. If anybody was surprised by the uncharacteristic show of intimacy from the newest couple, they didn't say anything. "Good," Steven said. "We're all here. I have to go and coordinate our attack. Carina, please brief our newcomers. Joan, please tell the Captain to depart immediately. Make sure that he knows that we need to get to France as soon as physically possible. It's not a time to try and save fuel." He then turned to face Carina. "Be prepared for an imminent attack… at least until we're clear of the harbor," he said. "Take charge of our defense."

Steven couldn't have possibly said anything better to turn Carina's mood around if he tried. Her face was clearly lit up like a Christmas tree with the pride that his faith in her had inspired. Not only that, Joan defeating her so decisively in their recent 'mind fuck' game had her totally in the mood for a fight. Anybody who would be so foolish as to try any attack would never know what hit them. They would get zero mercy. "Yes, sir," she said crisply. She turned to where Josh and Joey were standing. "Let's get some weapons ready to deploy," she said. "I'll brief you while we're doing that."

x-x-x-x-x

Poor Devon was hanging on for dear life. His eyes widened as Sarah passed a slower car, barely getting back into her proper lane in time to avoid a head on collision. "Sonofabitch," he finally muttered. "Could you be at least a little careful? How can we help Chuck with our car wrapped around another car? The way you're driving they would have to identify our bodies using dental records."

Normally Sarah would have found his obvious panic funny. Not now. Chuck was in serious danger. And that meant that any humor would have to wait. So she just tightened her grip on the wheel. Just then the secure phone rang. She quickly nodded for Devon to answer it.

"Well?" she asked pointedly as soon as the call ended.

"That was Steven," Devon said. "Casey and Ellie found Chuck. They are waiting for us to get there before planning what to do."

That instantly turned Sarah's mood around. She took a long moment to simply allow the relief to wash over her. "Good," she sighed.

"So," Devon said hopefully. "Does this mean that you can maybe slow down a little?"

Unfortunately for Devon, now Sarah could see the humor in the current situation. In fact she was now fairly giddy. "Come on, Devon," she teased. "You want to be a spy. This is how spies drive. Being careful really isn't in the job description."

Devon slumped in relief as Sarah, in spite of her teasing, finally slowed the car to, more or less, fit in with normal traffic.

"Who ever said that I wanted to be a spy?"

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah mentally kicked herself. The first thing that she noticed when she entered the small hotel room was Laura with her arms firmly around Casey's neck. If the necking was any indication, and it probably was, she was clearly making up for the past few days. When Sarah glanced to her right, it was also clear that Devon and Ellie weren't all that far behind. So she walked up to Chuck with a sly grin. "I never thought that I would come in third place in any joyful reunion PDA contest," she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I think that maybe Agent Walker is creeping back a little too much for my liking. Maybe I should do something. Maybe make up in intensity where I failed in timeliness."

Chuck laughed. "Nice try," he said as soon as his lips were free. "We've only been separated for about three hours. I get that you're competitive. But maybe this is one time when you can just let Laura win."

"Wow," Sarah said with her eyes sparkling. "You really don't know me at all, do you?" She took a step back and held out her hand. "Allow me to introduce myself. Sarah Bartowski. Ex blonde. Nouveau sex addict."

Chuck laughed out loud. "We've already met," he said in a faux serious tone as he shook her offered hand. "Maybe you don't remember. I picked you up in a bar. Russian pillow talk? Wild sex? Any of this ringing a bell?"

Sarah's eyes narrowed in confusion. "That was you?" she asked in a teasing tone. "It couldn't be. That guy was a wild man in bed. He treated me as a total sex object, made me perform for his amusement, do things that simply defy description. I'm blushing just thinking about it. So if you're claiming to be him, I might just need you to prove that. Besides, you really think that you picked me up, don't you? You're so cute. The fact of the matter is that I picked you up."

Chuck's grin turned a little evil. "Может быть вы хотите освежить знания памяти," he said. "Я мог бы просто быть возможность разместить вас."

Sarah's return grin lit up the room. "Любое время, любое место, любой позиции," she said playfully. "Пожалуйста, позвольте мне доказать, что к вам."

Bryce had had enough. Fortunately he didn't understand Russian. But still. He looked around the room in disgust at the three happy couples. "Gee guys," he finally said with his voice dripping with sarcasm. "There are currently fifty men waiting to capture and/or kill us. Do you think that maybe we could postpone this orgy until we've actually secured the nuclear weapon?"

Chuck laughed at Bryce's clear discomfort. Normally, that would have been Casey's line. But Laura hadn't as of yet allowed him to come up for air. So if Bryce was going to take the role of Casey, he'd also have to take the obligatory shot.

"You mean the one that you stole and delivered to Alexei Volkoff?"

x-x-x-x-x

Carina quickly deployed Josh and Joey with their missiles in strategic defensive positions on either side of the ship. As soon as they were comfortably stationed she went to the stern. After all, from behind them was where any attack would most likely come. In fact, she was sitting on the same bench where she had watched Chuck and Sarah that fateful night which was really only a couple of weeks but now seemed like years ago. She had been sitting there for some time. The Chesapeake Bay had long ago faded from view and they were solidly into the Atlantic Ocean proper. All she could see in any direction was blue water. Finally, even Carina had to admit the sad truth. It was highly unlikely that she was going to get to blow up any bad guys today.

"It's really beautiful, isn't it?"

Carina was so intently on guard, watching for any sign of an attack, that she hadn't noticed Joan approach. She looked around for a moment. "What's beautiful?" she finally asked.

Joan smiled as she took the seat next to her. "What's beautiful?" she repeated incredulously. Really, Carina? Can you really not see the sun setting into the water? You seriously don't think that it's beautiful?"

Joan's smile was pretty infectious. Carina really couldn't help but return one of her own. "Yes," she admitted. "I suppose that it is beautiful. I guess that I just don't notice stuff like that… especially when I have a job to do."

"I know," Joan sighed. "Your job is your life. I think that's maybe the saddest thing I've ever heard. I know exactly what it's like. Because that was me six weeks ago."

Carina's smile turned into a skeptical grin. "Shouldn't you be in your cabin?" she asked sarcastically. "On your back? It's been three days. We wouldn't want him to damage himself. After all, if he explodes or anything you'll have to clean up the mess."

That got them both laughing. "Eww," Joan finally said. "He's pretty busy right now. But don't worry your pretty little head on Steven's account. At the first opportunity I'm going to make sure that there are multiple explosions. I'll gladly clean up the mess." Then she got a lot more serious. "But right now I think that I'd rather have a chat with my best friend."

It took Carina a long moment for it to sink in what Joan had just said. And she also got more serious. "Are you still playing 'mind fuck?' I said that I was sorry, didn't I? If you're serious, you should know that I have no idea how to be a best friend. I'm not a very good candidate."

That actually got Joan laughing again. "No kidding," she said sarcastically. "Especially for me. We couldn't possibly be more opposite if we tried."

"What about Ellie?" Carina asked. "Wouldn't she be better best friend material?"

"Maybe," Joan said with her tongue firmly in her cheek. "We get along great. But she's my step-daughter. I should probably keep some distance. I might have to ground her someday."

"There's always Sarah."

"Are you kidding?" Joan asked. "Sarah scares the crap out of me. If you had only heard half the stories that I've heard over the years…"

"Hey," Carina said, trying to keep from laughing. "I was standing right there when most of those stories were happening. When Sarah is on a mission she's a totally out of control maniac. You're right to be afraid. Although I think that Chuck has mellowed her quite a bit. Have you considered Laura? She's a couple of notches less intense. She might work."

Joan shook her head. "I like Laura," she said. "She's very funny. But her face is almost always buried someplace in Casey's… umm… anatomy. No offense. I fully understand that this attitude might quite possibly make me something of a hypocrite. I mean, I'm happy for them and all. But it's kinda sickening."

"That's true," Carina was forced to agree. "It's very sickening. And yes, you're a total hypocrite. How about Joey?"

Joan paused a bit to consider the point. "Joey's nice," she said in faux seriousness. "Maybe someday… after she goes through puberty."

That got them both laughing helplessly. They were forced to lean on each other to keep from falling off the bench. But after a long moment, Joan finally got more serious again. "So that just leaves you," she said. "Why are you fighting this so hard? Why are you so afraid of being loved? It has already happened. It's not so bad. Admit it."

Carina paused for a long moment. There was really nothing to say. Any denial would be pointless… and they both knew it. "Okay," she finally sighed. "So I admit it. Are you happy now? What's your point?"

"I'm worried about you."

"See," Carina quickly snapped in frustration. "Now you're sounding just like Chuck. Why is everybody always trying to change me? Joan, I may not be the expert here. But if you want to be my best friend, shouldn't it be because of me… not the person you'd like me to become?"

"I'm not trying to change you at all," Joan protested. "You're just wrong about that. But I am worried about you. You've already changed. I watched it happen. And the new you is pretty incompatible with the old you. You either deal with it… or watch it destroy you. I don't want that to happen."

Carina shook her head. "How have I changed?" she asked skeptically.

Joan didn't back down an inch. "For one thing, you just admitted that you have a best friend," she said with a grin. "Does that sound at all like the stone cold super spy you know?"

Joan slid over to Carina and snuggled into her. "Face it," she said. "All of our lives are about to change pretty dramatically. Your days of being the lone wolf are over. And it feels good to know that there are people who love you unconditionally. To have a family to belong to. To know that you're worthy of being loved. It's new for me too. It feels damn good. Let's be honest. How good it feels even scares you a little. I think that I'd like to hear you admit that."

Carina didn't answer. She just wrapped her free arm around Joan and allowed her to snuggle.

Joan finally let her off the hook. "Maybe later," she said with a knowing smile. "It might be a good time to tell Josh and Joey that they can relax and retire to their cabin. I think in this case, it may be Joey who is on the verge of exploding. This may sound a little cruel, but that might actually be a little fun."

That got a smile. Carina was actually grateful to change the subject. "Maybe," she said. "I told you the story of Chuck's plot that left me cuffed naked to my bed that time. Well, I do owe Joey some measure of payback for her role. Watching her explode in sexual frustration doesn't seem like quite enough. Perhaps some flirting with Josh would be in order."

Joan's smile turned into a toothy grin. "Not a good idea," she said. "For one thing, it wouldn't work. Josh wouldn't be at all interested… and he wouldn't see the humor. He may actually be more dedicated to her than Sarah is to Chuck… and that's saying something. But more importantly, even if she ever could, Joey would most definitely no longer see the humor of another woman showing any interest in Josh, even as a prank. I think that particular can of worms should remain unopened. Josh would pretty quickly forgive you. Joey? You think that Sarah kicked your ass, Joey would be deadly serious."

Carina was forced to agree. "I guess," she sighed. "She's pretty seriously jealous of him."

Joan's grin didn't fade. "Wouldn't you be?" she asked. "Have you seen him? I actually think that he's the best looking dude I've ever seen. He's even better looking than Bryce."

"He's way better looking than Bryce," Carina agreed. "Actually even Devon is better looking than Bryce. And you can talk to one of them for five minutes without feeling his fingers entering your panties."

That got them both laughing helplessly again. "Eww," Joan finally said as soon as she could stop laughing. Her grin turned a little sinister. "I think you're taking the narrow view here. There is a much better way to get payback on Joey. One that she might actually eventually see the humor of."

"Hey," Joan laughed at the look of surprise. "Since when can't I help you get a little well deserved justice? That's what best friends do, right?"

"Listen to my plan."

x-x-x-x-x

General Beckman was, well, she was pretty justifiably antsy. Here she was sitting in a hotel room doing nothing while they had lost control of a nuclear weapon. That in itself was beyond horrible. New York was in grave danger of becoming a leveled, radioactive wasteland. And even if this did have a happy ending, there would be some massive explaining to do.

Not only that, the weapon in question was one of theirs. If it was used, there was no one to even hold accountable. Well, that wasn't exactly true. It was her agency that had created the unstoppable superman that stole it. If the unthinkable happened, there was simply no way to avoid a thorough investigation. The results would be obvious. It would be impossible for anyone involved in the Intersect Project to survive with their career. And her head would be the very first on the chopping block. The only hope was to recapture the weapon quickly, and make sure that the proper controls were put in place to insure nothing like this ever happened again.

But how to best do that? Time was running out. Clearly her best option was Team Bartowski, like it always had been. The main problem was that they hated her guts. That was understatement. Just a few hours ago she had looked into Agent Carter's eyes. What she saw there was plain. She hadn't been making an idle threat. She was totally prepared to cut off her head. Larkin maybe was still a little loyal. But the others would fuck her over at the first chance they got. Even the pure hard core military Major Casey, his eyes were burning holes right through her. In retrospect, it was hard to fault any of them for that. What she had done was not only tactically stupid, it was morally wrong. Even if she had valid reasons, Carter was right. They weren't good enough. She had violated the trust any soldier expected from their commander. Any attempt at apology would be ridiculed. Carter wouldn't even look in her general direction. Chuck and Sarah had left the room a few minutes ago. She made up her mind to try and plead with them.

General Beckman never got that chance. Just then Chuck re-entered the room. He walked directly to where she was sitting. "Please come with me," he said.

"We have to talk."

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