Sarah stormed into Castle and passed Casey and Alex dealing with the two prisoners. Alex was confused by the look of rage in her eyes but Casey just waved her off and went back to doing what he was doing. She walked right passed Sam helping Carina out of her shirt. They both shared a look when they saw her. Morgan and Anna were in the hall outside of the range when she turned the corner. Anna took one look at Sarah and ducked into the kitchen leaving Morgan in the hall. "Hey Sarah. Good job out there right?" He asked. She just pushed him out of the way as she walked into the range. Morgan bounced off the hallway wall and almost lost his footing but Anna shot out of the kitchen and grabbed him. "What gives?" He asked rubbing his shoulder.
"She's lost to the rage. Give her time and she will get over it. Until then lets go see what the rest of the group has for us to do." She said taking his arm in hers as she walked him down the hall.
Sarah Walked over to the firing lane and drew her gun. She took a deep breath and aimed at the fresh ten inch target hanging up at about fifty foot down range. It was an easy shot to make, one she would have made without trying last week. She shot once. She missed. Setting her gun on the bench she rolled her shoulders and walked around the room for a few minutes deep in thought. When she thought she was ready she tried again. She missed. She sat in a chair and tried to calm her breathing down but the events of the last few days were catching up to her. She lost her agent skills. She lost her leadership confidence. Now she was sure she lost Chuck. She approach the lane again and tried to push all of her thoughts out of her head. She took aim and shot again. She missed. Gritting her teeth and glaring at the target down range she shot again. She missed. Enraged by the pristine white target she let out a primal yell and emptied the rest of her mag. She hit the target but none of it hit the center. She yelled out a long stream of obscenities and flung her empty gun at the target.
"Sarah, are you okay?" Asked a male voice devoid of confidence or motive. It was a voice she hadn't heard in a long while. In fact it had been so long she almost cried when she heard it. When she turned around she did start to cry. There standing by the door to the range was Chuck. He was dressed in his full Nerd Herder outfit, even down to his pocket protector and his Chuck Taylor's. His hair was messy and sticking up and his beard was gone. His confident stance went with the rest of his outfit. He was leaning on the wall with his shoulders slumped and a shy smile on his face. "Sarah, are you okay?" He asked with concern as he walked up to her and pulled her into a soft hug.
Sarah fell into his arms and basked in his presences. He was soft and warm and he always knew how to talk to her. She was the center of his world and her safety was his top concern. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. Resting her head on his chest she breathed in his clean soap and water smell and let her tears fall. "No Chuck, I'm not alright. I'm failing as an agent, I can't do anything right, and to top it all off this new guy, Carmichael, is up my ass trying to get me to do my job." She said softly.
"That's terrible Sarah! It's worse then when they first hired Emit, and he was always trying to get me fired." Chuck said rubbing her back awkwardly.
"What am I going to do Chuck? If I'm not good enough to be on the team they're going to kick me out of the CIA. Then who's going to look after you?" She said in a panic.
"They can't fire you! You're Sarah Walker! You're the best agent in the world. You're like James Bond! You've got super secret spy moves and you can kill a man a hundred different ways. You make the very worst bad guys in the world tell you everything they know with a wink and a smile. They can't do anything to you Sarah because no one in the world can replace you!" Chuck said with pure honesty, and an open heart. She knew he meant every work he was saying.
"Carmichael could replace me you know." She said sadly.
"No he can't! How can he replace you? Can he asses the situation like you can? Can he blend into the background and watch to room for subtle clues on how to play the situation? Can he own the room like you? Walk right up to a bad guy and flirt with him until he spills all of his dirty little secrets?" Chuck asked pulling away from her to look her in the eye as he spoke his words of truth. "Can he kick ass like you?" He added with a cute smirk.
Sarah smiled. "No I don't think he can do all of that Chuck, but right now, neither can I. I'm useless Chuck." She said sadly.
"You are far from useless! All we have to do is figure out what's bothering you and fix it. Then you can go back to being the best spy in the world." Chuck said excitedly.
"But I'm having so many problems Chuck. How are we going to fix them?" She asked with hope in her voice for the first time that night.
"Well, what's wrong with you? Lets make a list." Chuck said taking out a small notebook and a pen. "What are you having trouble with?" Chuck asked.
Sarah smiled at Chuck's simple way of fixing things. "For starters I can't hit a damned thing!" She said pointing at the target.
"Can't shoot straight." Chuck mumbled as he wrote in his notebook. "Anything else?" He asked looking up at her.
"I can't throw a knife, or shot an assault weapon, and I almost crashed my car a few times." She said thinking about the last four days she was having.
"Wow that is a lot. You know what you need? Some time away form it all. That's what helps me get over something that's bothering me. Why don't you take a nice hot shower and get change into some normal clothes and meet me out front when your ready. Take your time and relax, I'll take care of the rest." Chuck said smiling his soft half smile.
Sarah smiled back and hugged him. "That's a great idea Chuck." She said basking in his inner calm, and love.
"I'm happy you agreed to go. Now go get changed. Take your time, we are in no rush. It's only nine, the place I'm taking you doesn't close until midnight." Chuck said as he walked out the door. When he came into the conference room the rest of the team was waiting. Chuck's smile faded and he stood taller. "Okay I think I have an idea for getting her back to normal." Chuck said coming to stand by the front of the table. "First of all Sam, Kate, Rick, Jenifer, I want you guys to pack it in for the night and start prepping for you missions starting tomorrow. Anna, you get some sleep too. You have class tomorrow." Chuck said to much laughter from the people around the room and a death glare from Anna. "Be as mad as you want, but you better be in class tomorrow young lady." Chuck said smiling.
"I hate you, you do know that right?" She said coldly.
"You don't hate me. You know you love me. This is going to be good for you Anna. This is a chance to live like a normal girl for a week." Chuck said coming around to her and touching her shoulder.
"Fine, but I'm not going to like it, and this Scott better be nice to me or I'll kill him myself." She said slumping in her chair.
"I'm sure he will be the perfect gentleman. He's a computer nerd, sit next to him, flirt with him, and he'll be putty in your hands." Chuck said smiling.
"Yes, because it worked so well for Walker. We'll be attending another wedding in two years." Casey said smirking.
"I will follow orders Chuck. You can count on me." She said softly. "You on the other hand, if you don't shut up then I'll break your nose again." She said staring daggers at Casey.
"Morgan, I want you to hang out with Alex this week." Chuck said.
"Can do boss!" Morgan said saluting him.
"Alex, I need you to help him scout out his two targets for Anna while she's in school. Can you do that?" Chuck said.
"I can do that." She said smiling. She loved working with the team.
"Are you sure? Remember you have your own missions to prep for." Chuck said.
"I Have all of next week to work on that. My flight to Philly is on Thursday." She said.
"Good. I knew I could count on Casey's apprentice." Chuck said patting her on the back as he came around the table. "That leaves us with Carina, Melissa, Jenifer, and Casey. When are you guys leaving for your missions?" Chuck asked.
"I've been talking to a friend in the DEA field office in Austen and he has two teams of agents doing all most all of my work for me. I'm not leaving till Thursday as well." Carina said.
"Well then I want you to take a few days off and heal. You got shot today." Chuck said.
"I don't need time off. This is not the first time I've been shot you know?" she said rolling her eyes. "Besides it didn't even go through." She said.
"I don't care. New rule from now on! If you get shot you get time off to heal. We have more then enough people on this team to give us all time off if we need it. I don't want to see you back at the office. Go to the beach. Go out clubbing. Go find some very luck guy and have your way with him. Just don't do any work for the next few days." Chuck said smiling as he patted her on the shoulder. He bent down. "You're a part of a team now Kitty Cat. You don't need to do it all any more, you can have fun. But you will be in trouble if we have to bail you out of jail." Chuck said hugging her around the shoulders. "Any one else?" he asked standing up.
"I would like to head out tomorrow if you don't need me for anything Important. That way a can do all of the mission prep and Melissa can stay here to maintain her cover till the weekend." Jenifer said.
"That sounds good to me. Good thinking." Chuck said nodding.
"I can't do a damned thing until Walker gets her head out of her ass so I'm grounded until she's ready. The good news is I've talked to the General and she has a team of vetted agents doing the leg work for us. We just have to do the actual mission prep." Casey said.
"Good. This can work. Okay, everyone but Casey and Melissa are done for the night. For those of you heading out tomorrow I'll see you in a week. For the rest of you I'll see you around the office." Chuck said as they cleared out. When only Melissa and Casey were left Chuck dropped the agent persona. This got two very different responses from the two. Casey glared at him, and Melissa looked sad to see Carmichael go.
"Why are you dressed like that for, and what's with the wimpy attitude?" Casey asked gruffly.
"I have to go back to being Chuck big guy. Sarah needs me right now and Carmichael will only make things worse. She needs us to reset the clock back to before the hostage situation at the Buy More. Tonight I need you two to do me a big favor. I need you to scout out the Mexican restaurant we had our first date in and I need you two to make sure no one is watching us tonight. I can't be on the look out for Fulcrum tonight. I have to be back to my old self again. In fact I'm not even carrying a gun tonight." Chuck said handing his Sig229 to Melissa. "This night has to be about showing her I still need her. I'm going to take a Herder. Drive her the that restaurant, take her walking on the beach, and then we are going back to her hotel room. This is going to be the perfect night for her, and need you two to run over watch for me." Chuck said feeling strange with out his gun in his back.
Melissa nodded and hugged Chuck. "We will watch your back Chuck, nothing is going to happen to you two. We'll make sure your night goes smooth." She said before she pulled Casey out the door. Chuck got the keys to Herder two and pulled the car around to the front of the Orange-orange.
A few minutes later Sarah came out dressed in tight jeans and a blue sweater. She smiled when she saw the Herder. "Are we really taking that?" She asked pointing to the white and red Yarus.
"Yes we are." Chuck said kissing her. "You look really nice. Is that the sweater?" Chuck asked opening her door for her.
"Yes it's your favorite, you always look happy when I wear it." She said smiling softly.
"It's because it matches your eyes and you wore it to a lot of cover dates. We always have a fun time when you ware it." Chuck said pulling out of the lot. When he hit the gas harder to catch up with the traffic nothing happened and the large SUV behind him had to hit the breaks hard not to run into him. "Opps. Sorry!" Chuck called out the window as the guy drove around him flipping them off. "I Forgot how slow these things are." Chuck mumbled. This set Sarah off. "What? "Chuck asked.
"Nothing." Sarah said as she reigned in the laughter. She slid over and leaned into his side. "Where are we going?" She asked.
"It's a surprise." Chuck said turning left.
"Really?" She asked.
"Yes really. I hope your hungry though." Chuck said slinging his arm around her.
"When I came out I was expecting to see everyone, but the place was empty. What happened to them?" She asked.
"I sent them all home. They need a break, we all do. Melissa, Sam, Carina and Anna are all staying at my place. The rest are off getting ready for their missions. Alex is hanging out with Morgan. That's a pairing I was not expecting but the guy is smitten and I'm not going to interfere with it even though it's totally throwing my plan of getting Morgan and Melissa together. Anna is getting ready for School." Chuck said laughing.
"I think it's funny you're sending a trained killer to school. Even if it's for a week." She said smirking.
"It's not so much the going to school, it's the having to spend time with Scott. I think every one of you agents needs someone to be with. I think it balances you." Chuck said hugging her closer.
"So you've been playing match maker?" She asked with a soft smile.
"Maybe." Chuck said.
"So you put Alex and Morgan together, and Anna and Scott are going to be hanging out for the cover. Rick and Vicky are staying in the same room. Who's next on the list, maybe I can help?" She asked.
"When this is done I think Jordan is going to be spending more time with Casey. I'm going to have a little talk with him. She needs to spend some time with a man who's not going to use her. I think they have a lot in common and as my future head of security Casey is going to be working very close to Jordan as my assistant. She knows the ins and outs of the company. I'm also going to find Carmichael a brother. I'm going to start looking for a candidate soon. I need someone that can handle the load. I can't run Roark Industries and come on missions too. I need someone that is smart as me and as powerful as Carmichael." Chuck said as they pulled into the restaurant parking lot.
"Chuck is this the same place you took me on our first date?" She asked.
"It is. I thought it would be nice for us to kind of relive that night." Chuck said.
"So I'm guessing we're having dinner here, and then a walk fallowed by some dancing at the little club you took me to. Is Casey going to chase us down and shoot at us as well?" She asked as they walked in.
"I hope not. Then again he was a bit, you know Casey-ish before he left. We might end up dodging bullets before the night's over." Chuck said sharing a smile with her over their menus.
After dinner. They drove down the street a few block to the beach and went walking along the shore holding hands. A strong breeze came off the ocean sending shiver down Sarah's back. Chuck pulled her tighter to his side "It's colder then I thought." She said hugging him.
Chuck unzipped his jacket and pulled her inside. "Better?" He asked.
"Much." She said breathing in his aftershave.
"Good. We just have to go a bit further up, then we can turn around and head back to the car." Chuck said leading them up the beach.
"What's up there?" She asked.
"It's a very important spot." Chuck said looking around at their surroundings. He stopped walking and looked around again before nodding. "This is it." Chuck said sitting down and pulling her into his lap.
"What is it?" She asked looking around.
"Think back to that night. We ate. We walked. We danced. We got chased. We disarmed a bomb. Then I freaked out and ran away. I came here. I sat for hours just thinking about my life and how things got turned upside down. You should know you were watching me the whole time. As the sun came up you took a seat behind me. I turned to you. There's no place I can run is there?" Chuck asked.
"Not from us." Sarah said smiling softly.
"My life is never going to be the same is it?" Chuck asked holding her hand and kissing her softly.
"No it wont." Sarah said smirking.
"If that's true then I'm going to need you to do something for me. I need you to trust me Sarah." Chuck said holding out her ring.
"I can do that." She said holding out her hand.
"Were do we go from here?" Chuck asked sliding the ring in place.
"For now, you go back to work, and we'll protect you." She said softly.
"I remember the talk like it was yesterday. I know those are not the words exactly but they're the words that stuck with me the most. I trust you Sarah. More then anyone else in this world of spies I trust you." Chuck said.
"I know. And I love you." She said kissing him. When they broke the kiss a few minutes later Chuck smiled. "That was the first time you said I love you first." Chuck said.
"No it's not. I told you that one time you were giving me a rub down and again over the phone when we were fighting remember?" She said.
"Right, and then we almost got divorced before we got a chance to be together." Chuck said laughing.
"It's not my fault." She said bumping shoulders with him.
"Then who's fault is it?" Chuck asked.
"Your's." She said.
"How is it my fault?" He asked smirking.
"You were acting like an asshole." She said.
"You might be right. Come to think about it." He said nodding.
"Now lets get up off the ground and I'll show you how I wanted that night to end." She said dragging him back towards the car.
"How was it supposed to end?" Chuck asked.
"With mind blowing sex. Now get your ass moving." She said almost dragging him behind her.
That night they made love three times. Each time was different. The first time was frantic and rushed. They barely mad it to the bed with their clothing off before they were franticly going at it. The second time was slower but still wild. It was that third time that made the night special. It was slow and soft and full of love. They kissed the whole time they made love and they ended together in an earth shattering climax that left them both a little emotional. They fell asleep in each others arms and that's the position they were in when the alarm clock on the table across the room started to ring. Chuck's head popped up and looked around. "What is that?" He asked still disoriented and half asleep.
"It's the God Damned alarm clock." Sarah said. She rolled over grabbed the knife out of the side of the bed and threw it into the clock without looking. When the sound died she sighed. "Thank God that's off, lets go back to sleep." She said trying to roll into his side but he wasn't there. "Chuck?" She asked looking up at him as he stood up.
"Sarah did you just see what you did?" He asked looking socked.
"See what? Chuck I'm still tired! I want you back in bed right now it's cold and you were warm." She whined.
"Sarah you just took out your alarm clock with a perfect knife throw without even looking." Chuck said looking stunned.
"What?" She asked in frustration as she sat up to see what he was talking about. That's when she saw the knife sticking out of the clock. "Chuck I just threw a knife." She said stunned.
"I know. I saw you do it." Chuck said still looking at the clock.
"CHUCK I THREW A KNIFE!" She shrieked excitedly as she hopped out of bed.
"I Know!" Chuck said hugging her tight and hopping up and down with her.
"I Did It!" She said excitedly.
"I Love You So Much Right Now!" Chuck said.
"I wonder if the rest of my skills are back?" She asked looking hopeful.
"There's only one way to find out." Chuck said grabbing his clothes. "We need to get back to Castle ASAP." Chuck said pulling on his boxers.
"I can't believe how excited I am right now Chuck." She said pulling her jeans on.
When they got out of the building Chuck tossed her the keys. "You drive. Let's see if you have that back too." Chuck said.
"If you're sure?" She asked looking at the key in her hand.
"Yeah, go for it." Chuck said getting in.
Casey was just getting to Castle when he heard tires screeching and the sound of an engine over revving. He smile and shook his head when he saw Herder number two come flying around the corner and dart into the parking lot. The car did two laps of the empty Buy More lot before flying towards the Orange-orange and skidding to a stop in one of the spaces out front. When Sarah popped out from behind the wheel Casey was shocked. "That was you Walker?" He asked.
"It was. I think I have my skills back. So far knife throwing and driving. I'm about to see if I have the rest. Want to join us?" She asked opening Castle.
"You're damned right I do." Casey said.
Sarah hung a fresh target up and sent it down range. She pulled her gun and fired once. Smirking she called the target back, and took a step back so Chuck and Casey could see it. The X in the ten ring was gone. Chuck picked her up and spun her around in a hug. "I'm so proud of you." He said really happy.
Casey sent the target back out. "Prove it's not a fluke." He said pointing at the target. Chuck set her down and she pulled her gun out and emptied the mag. She hit close to the center or dead center every time. "Good to have you back Agent Walker." Casey said holding out his hand.
"Good to be back." She said shaking his hand.
"Now that you have your shit together what are we doing next?" Casey asked.
"We have a mission tonight, but for now we're free." Chuck said.
"Lets get something to eat. I'm hungry." Sarah said.
"Breakfast it is then. Lets call the rest of the team and see who's around." Chuck said pulling out his iPnone.
As it turned out everyone was still around with most of them leaving some time today. Three G6 Jets were flying in to from around the country. The Jets were owned by the CIA through shell corporations. No one knew about these planes but the top few people in the CIA. They were the Black List transportation for high ranking agents, and they didn't exist as far as the FAA was concerned. The team would be taking them to the various cities they were assigned to. The team arrived in a half hour most of them with bags packed. They sat around the conference table and watched Chuck bring big platters of eggs, bacon, fruit, and French toast to the table. "I made a lot so everyone dig in." Chuck said carrying a tray of champagne flutes and two pitchers of mimosas.
"What's the occasion Chuck?" Melissa asked with a smirk.
"This is the last time the whole team will be all together for a whole week. We are all headed off on missions. Some of us are leaving today, some in a few days. I wanted us to all have a meal together before we all left. I know some of you have families." Chuck said looking to Melissa and Steven Snow. "Some of you don't." Chuck said looking to Anna and Carina. "I want you to know that we're your family too. As most of you have come to realize over the last two weeks working with us, we treat each other differently then most teams do. We look after each other. Care about each other. We disregard the fraternization rules obviously." Chuck said taking Sarah's hand and smirked at Richard and Victoria sitting next to each other. "And above all else, this team comes first. If things don't go as planed during the Sunday raids then fall back and either call for reinforcements, or if the target is in one of the warehouses call in a drone strike. None of the Fulcrum guys you're going after are top agents. I have all of those guys lined up to get there brains fried. The people you are rounding up are lower level guys or tactical guys. Non of them should put up much of a fight. I think I can also pull a few more Fulcrum people out of the field and bring them to L.A. where we have four agents that can deal with them. The whole point of this little speech is to tell you that no one is worth you getting hurt over. I want all of you back here by next week Wednesday for an after action meeting and to discus what happens next. I can tell you all right now that you are all going to be permanently assigned to this team and you will all be receiving new covers in Roark Industries with new salaries to match. We want you to be happy. If you want something? Let us know. Money will not be a problem. After next week we are going to have a budget of a fifth of Fulcrum's running costs. Alex, tell them how much that is." Chuck said smirking.
"You said a fifth?" She asked wide eyed and light headed.
"That's right. I'm talking about the best equipment, and five star service. We will have a fleet of Jets. A couple hundred cars to chose from. We are even going to retro fit the B1 Lancer we confiscate into an emergence transport, and cargo mover. If you need help a team of highly trained killers can get to you in a matter of hours anywhere in the world. If you have someone you think would be a good fit for the team tell us and we will get them assigned to us. No matter what country they work for." Chuck said looking to Anna.
"Great speech Chuck." Melissa said bumping shoulders with him.
"You are the best yes man a guy could have." He said patting her on the back.
"You're the boss, we follow you so we have to keep you happy." She said smirking.
"That's where you're wrong. I'm more of an idea guy. I'll be the figure head, and I'll make sure the team has everything they need but these two are going to be the leaders." Chuck said pointing to Casey and Sarah. "Sarah will be the mission leader, and Casey will lead the tactical side. The three of us will run things." He said, and he got a lot of head nods from the rest of the group.
After breakfast the groups broke up to go their separate ways. Most of the team left for the airport. Morgan and Alex went to scout out the locations of his and Anna's mission. Casey went to the hotel hosting the party they were going to attend tonight. Sarah went back to the range to keep her skills up. As well as her confidence. Chuck was looking over files of the two arms dealers they were going to track at the party with Melissa.
Melissa flashed on a file. "Man that hurt." She said holding her head.
"It does at first, but it gets easier over time. After your fifth flash they come with almost no pain, and the skills flashes are always pain free as you know." Chuck said tossing her a bottle of Advil he carried with him at all times.
"Thanks for the heads up." She said taking two of the pills.
"What did you flash on anyways?" Chuck asked.
"This guy." She said tossing him the file.
Chuck picked it up and flashed. Marcus Slater, 42, native of London. Former SAS. Arms dealer and information broker. All around bad guy. "Wow it looks like you hit the jackpot. Put it down in the file and add anything that might help Sarah plan out tonight's mission." Chuck said sliding the laptop over to her.
"Right. This is fun Chuck. I've never been on this side of information gathering. This is asset work." She said typing.
"Yeah it's fun in the beginning but it gets to be boring after awhile." Chuck said.
"Well it beats having to whore yourself out to nasty men. I'd love to do this… Um Anna. I don't think that's going to work." She said turning to Anna as she walked into the room.
Anna changed into a short plaid skirt and white button down shirt. She added high heeled Marry Jane's and a small back pack. She pulled her long black hair into a ponytail and added bright red lipstick. "Um Anna, the idea was to get his attention, not to give the guy a heart attack." Chuck said catching himself running his eyes over her tight body.
"What? Is this not how girls dress to go to school?" She asked looking confused.
"No Anna. Not at all." Chuck said blinking the dirty thought out of his head.
"Well what am I supposed to wear? I have a class in two hours and I wanted to scout out the campus." She said dropping her backpack onto the table and pouting.
"I'll help you get ready. Come on." Melissa said standing up and taking Anna's hand. "Chuck, you keep working. We need to get that file ready for Sarah soon so she has time to look it over." She said marching the small Russian assassin out of the room.
Chuck spent the next fifteen minutes working on the files trying to finish compiling the information into one file. He flashed on another name. Greta Vongetton, 33, former German intelligence. Now Spy for hire. It looked like Carmichael was going to have some work tonight after all. He smirked. As he was typing this information down his iPhone rang. "Carmichael." He said.
"Chuck, we got a problem." Casey said.
"What's up?" He asked sitting up.
"Your pal Larkin is here in the hotel. He's checked in under the name Antony Stark. I think he's tracking someone staying at the hotel." Casey said.
"Shit! We need to get him out of there. If Fulcrum finds him it's going to fuck up my plans!" Chuck said.
"Well how do you want to do this?" Casey asked.
"Is he in his room?" Chuck asked thinking.
"No he's sitting in the hotel restraint eating lunch and standing out like a sore thumb. He's very easy to spot and he's flirting with the wait staff and drawing attention to himself." Casey said holding his left hand over his forehead as he watched.
"I'll be there in ten minutes to deal with him. If someone sees me with him I could always say I found him and killed him." Chuck said grabbing the black suit jacket off the coat rack and running up the stairs. Jumping into the Pontiac G6 parked out front he revved the engine and pulled off a perfect J-turn and punched it out of the parking lot doing sixty. As he shot onto the expressway darting in and out of traffic he called Melissa.
"Hey Chuck? Where did you go?" She asked.
"Brice Larkin is at the hotel. Casey called me to tell me. I'm on my way there to sneak him out the back and bring him to Castle. Can you finish the file for Sarah?" Chuck asked.
"Sure Chuck." She said.
"Good, and don't tell Sarah what's happening. I don't want this to throw her off her game. I should be back in a half hour." Chuck said.
"I'll handle it Chuck." She said hanging up.
Chuck darted into the parking lot and pulled into a space across from the back door to the hotel. He pulled his jacket on. Pulled the silencer out of the trunk and added it to his gun and hid it in his back. He met Casey in the hotel lobby. "Where is he?" Chuck asked subtly looking around.
"Still having lunch." Casey said nodding at the dining room.
Chuck glanced over and rolled his eyes. Brice was sitting in the middle of the room and chatting up a blond waitress. He was in a real quandary as to what he should do here. If he sat down across from him and told him they had to go Brice would make a scene. It was too early in the day to pull the same drunk guy walk out he did with Victor Sidorov. His only option was to get to him in his room. "What room is he staying in?" Chuck asked coldly.
"Room 625. Poolside view of course." Casey gruffly.
"Right. When he goes up call me on my cell. Then get a room service cart and come up to the room." Chuck said.
"What are you going to do?" Casey asked.
"He's coming out of that room hidden under that cart like the bomb we defused that first night we worked together. Weather he's conscious or not will be up to him, but I'm in no mode for his bullshit right now. I'll put a fucking bullet in his ass if I have to, then I can take his body to Roark and score some more points with him." Chuck said coldly.
Casey looked at him oddly for a second before he nodded. "I understand. I'll buzz you when he leaves." Casey said.
Chuck turned away and walked to the elevator across the lobby blending with the crowed as he went. "That kid scares me sometimes." Casey said shaking his head. Before going back to watching Larkin.
Chuck got off the elevator and turned left, walking with the confidence of a guest staying at the hotel. When he walked by the maid pushing a cart full of towels down the hall he brushed by her and took her key card. He turned to room 625, swiped the card, opened the door, flipped the metal door slide out of the door and let it close without locking. He walked back down the hall and dropped the key card on the floor. "Excuse me miss?" He called out to the maid who was looking for her card on her cart. "I think you dropped this." He said picking up the card when she looked at him. "Here you go." He said smiling as he handed the card over.
"Thank you so much! I thought I left it in the last room I was in." She said.
"Your welcome. Have a nice day." Chuck said with his charming smile turned way up. When he turned back to the room he let the smile fall off his face. He walked into the room and closed the door.
A half hour later Brice dropped a hundred dollar bill on the table as he stood up and drained the last of his wine. He loved staying at the Belmont hotel. They had the best food, and the hottest looking staff he thought as he locked eyes with his blond waitress and winked. Walking across the lobby he missed Casey sitting in a chair by the elevator. He smile at a red head that got on the elevator with him and almost forgot to hit the button for his floor. He was smiling and whistling a little tune as he opened his door but stopped when he saw a man in a black suit sitting in a chair covered by the shadow of the curtain pointing a gun at him. "Come in and shut the door Mr. Larkin." Chuck said in his no nonsense voice. Brice took two steps into the room and made a very obvious pull for his gun. Chuck shot him three times in the chest dropping him to the floor as Casey walked up with the cart.
"You just shot him? I could have done that my self." He said kicking Brice's gun away and closing the door.
"He's wearing a vest. He's always wearing a vest, big pussy." Chuck said sticking a .4 milligram dart into his arm. "And my anger got the better of me. Now lets get him under the cart and get the fuck out of here before we get seen." Chuck said grabbing Brice by the collar of his suit and picking him up.
They took him down the back elevator, through the back door, and tossed him into the G6's trunk. Chuck drove him back to Castle and had Melissa help him drag Brice into an interrogation room, and cuffed him to the table. That's when Sarah walled by and looked in. "What the hell are you two doing?" She asked.
Chuck ushered her out of the room. "He was hanging around the hotel eating lunch in the middle of the dining room and hitting on the wait staff. Basically he was making a scene, and drawing attention to himself. He has no reason to be in the US let alone L.A. where Fulcrum is actively looking for him. He's either trying to get caught, or he's bumbling his way through a mission. Ether way he's a danger to himself and this team and I will personally kill him before I let him get someone on this team hurt by his stupidity." Chuck said coldly.
"But Chuck you can't make snap judgments like that. He could have been tracking someone to that hotel. You could have blown his mission. If you're going to be an agent that you have to respect other agents work." Sarah said shaking her head.
"If he's tracking a target then he should have checked in with us and Beckman. He knows this is our jurisdiction. We could have set up a watch detail, ran his op. and handed anything we got over to him. He is being actively hunted by a rouge intelligence group with information gathering and highly skilled operatives everywhere. He should have stayed clear of the US like we told him. He knew we were running an op with undercover agents in Fulcrum. Instead he risked our lives by showing his face in an L.A. hotel where he checked in under the name Tony Stark because that's not the most recognizable comic book names in the world right now. He made no attempt to hide his identity. He's acting like a real asshole. He thinks he's James fucking Bond and I'm about to break him of that notion. I just called Anna. She'll be here in two hours. I want to know everything he knows. I want to know why he's here. And I want to see if he's willing to sell us out to Fulcrum. You still think you trust him? Then lets see how he holds up under questioning." Chuck ranted as he walked down the hall towards the conference room.
"Chuck you can't have him tortured!" Sarah called after him.
"Who said anything about torture? I'm going to have her straight up question him. He's a huge pussy, he'll fold without even the mention of torture." Chuck said taking a seat at the table.
"You really think so little of him?" She asked.
"I think it's sad you still think so highly of him. He's a joke. A pretty face, tough guy attitude, and a bullet proof vest. I'm more agent then him and I'm two weeks on the job. I'd put Melissa against him before the download." Chuck said.
"This is ridicules. We have a mission tonight! We don't have time to play out your little revenge fantasy." Sarah said in a huff.
"How hard in this going to be? You flash your tits and a smile at one of the two men, Melissa does the same with the other and I give this German chick the treatment I give to every woman. We play them for a bit, see why they're at the party, and arrest them at the end of the night. If you think you need more time to prepare for that then I can bench you and send Carina." Chuck said pissed off at her defense of Brice.
"I can do my damn job. I just think it's petty to use team resources to exact revenge on the guy that took your girlfriend." She said getting in his face.
"If I was being petty I would have shot him in the face and took his body to Roark to forward my mission. Instead I pulled your boyfriend out of the fire. Are you going to stand there and tell me that having him questioned by someone he doesn't know to get anything we can out of him is the petty thing to do? If you don't think this is a priority then call Beckman and see what she has to say. But you're not going to do that because you know I'm right. You know this is the right thing to do. You also know that in about two hours and ten minutes from now when he tries to sell us out to save his own skin you're going to feel very sorry for even questioning me. So why don't you go back to whatever you were doing before I came in and we can skip the fight we are about to have over Brice Fucking Larkin!" Chuck finished with a yell. He took a deep calming breath and looked at her shocked face. "Look I'm sorry for raising my voice, but you know I'm right." Chuck said softly.
Sarah looked like she was going to argue but then she thought about what he said. Why was she fighting over something she knew was right. Was it Brice? Was she sticking up for him out of her feeling for him? Was she just getting her hackles up because Chuck went back to being Carmichael? Why was she always fighting with Chuck? It seamed like ever since this mission started all they did was fight and have make up sex. Was it always going to be like this? She dropped her head and shook it. "When Anna gets here call me. I want to watch the interrogation." She said walking off.
Chuck just nodded. He knew what she was going through. He felt the same way when they were questioning Jill. He felt a little out of it. Like he didn't know how to feel. On one hand he loved her. At one point in his life he thought he was going to spend the rest of his life with her, but on the other hand he was in love with Sarah, and he would do anything for her. It was the same for Sarah and Brice. She loved him once. Then she lost him and for a long time he could tell she wasn't over him. In fact he was sure she was going to leave with him, but she didn't and that gave Chuck hope. For the first time he thought he had a chance to get her to love him as much as he loved her. Now she was standing in the hall watching the man she loved cuffing the man she used to love. It was a strange bag of emotions she was living with right now and there was nothing Chuck could do or say to help her through this situation. He need the information from Brice and he was sure this was the only way he was going to get it all. He was also sure that Brice was a traitorous scum bag, and would turn on them the second he could. This would prove it and hopefully he could get him assigned to Greenland with the tape of the interrogation.