I was starting to worry that I wouldn't get this chapter in before the end of the year. But I figured I wanted to go out on a good note to end 2015. God knows, I could use it. A big thank you to everybody who reviewed this story so far, and I hope you continue to give it reviews.
I made a few changes to the canon in this, which I hope wasn't a big deal. It's hard to know what should stay as part of the story and what shouldn't be. Plus with the dynamic of this story, certain things HAD to change. You'll see as we go along. The parts that remained the same remain the property of NBC and Fake Empire Productions, yadda, yadda, yadda.
BTW, I had a few questions about Karl Gruber, who I introduced in the last chapter, with some people wondering if he was related to Rafe Gruber from Season 3 of the show. He isn't, but I get the feeling the Chuck writers and I got their inspiration for the person from the same source. After all, how can you hate a movie even "Honest Trailers" doesn't dare to rip?
I'm still not sure what episodes from the second season should remain in this story. "Chuck vs. the Cougars" will be next. As much as I wanted to include "Chuck vs. the Seduction," as John Larroquette was one of the best guest stars this show ever had, I couldn't make it work logically. But Cougars will be in there, and that will be one of the chapters that will have heavy Carina involvement (the others come later).
OK, writer's notes complete. Enjoy and please leave reviews. And I hope you have a wonderful 2016. (If I'm actually conscious on my birthday and St. Patrick's Day, 2016 will be an improvement.)
The Fox & Hounds Pub – Studio City, CA
December 17, 2015
7:45 PM PST
Carina looked at the three men, all of whom must have been working for the man who had captured Chuck. And if they sent three just to get to her, who knew how many they sent to get the others.
"Uh-uh," the man who found her in the bar said, pointing his gun at her legs. "Fulcrum warned us about your choice in footwear. It ain't happening a third time."
Carina shrugged and folded her hands in front of her. "You're right."
She shoved her hands into the sleeves of her coat and threw the two daggers hidden in them. They hit the two men flanking her, sending them to the ground. She quickly spun on her foot and sent a high kick to knock the gun from the third man. He went on the attack but she was too quick, sidestepping him and knocking him down a kick to the back of the head. He rolled on the ground and tried to get out his other gun. Carina dove at his first gun, spun, and shot the man at point-blank range. She then shot the other two men as they tried to get up.
"I wasn't wearing those shoes anyway," she said dismissively as she stood. Her mobile phone started beeping incessantly. She saw the emergency callout and her eyes widened. "Shit!"
She took off for her car and headed to Casey's apartment.
Hilton Hotel – Universal City, CA
December 17, 2015
7:45 PM PST
Jimmy looked at the group of men pointing their guns at him. Apparently, whoever went after Chuck wanted the Cipher back and the five of them dead. The gloves were definitely off.
"OK, well I do seem to be in a bit of a pickle," he said carefully and stepped back into the room. "Hey, do you guys remember that scene at the end of Die Hard? Bruce Willis shot Hans Gruber and that other guy from the lobby?"
The two men on the outside quickly went over to Jimmy. "You don't have a gun taped to your back," one of them said with a sneer.
Jimmy shrugged and smiled. "I know. That was just a ploy to get you close to me."
Jimmy reached out and grabbed each man by the back of their heads, slamming them into each other. Both of them dropped their guns as they fell unconscious. Jimmy grabbed the guns as he dropped to the floor, firing away to take out two more men. One of the two remaining mercs tried to charge him, but Jimmy kicked the coffee table up to nail him in the face. He rolled to his right just as the last man took aim at him. Jimmy pushed off with his hands and scissor-kicked the man in the face, taking him out.
He got up and looked at the six men on the ground. "Gonna need some more bad guys, I guess."
Outside his room, someone pounded hard on the door. Jimmy ran to the bedroom to put on some clothes and retrieve his weapons. He returned to the living room area just as the door burst open and a dozen more mercs entered. Right then, his emergency callout signal began to wail. One of the team was in serious trouble, but then he hadn't exactly spent the last ten minutes lounging by the pool, either.
"Sorry, guys. No time to talk."
He reached for his grappling hook and sprinted to the balcony. He threw the hook to anchor itself onto the railing and leaped over it as the men opened fire. He swung down four floors and crashed through the window of a room on the 7th floor, surprising a family who was clearly from out of town and on vacation.
"Wait!" the father said in shock. You're…"
"Never know who's gonna drop in around here, am I right?" Jimmy replied as he sprinted for the door to get out of the hotel.
Toluca Terrace Apartments – Burbank, CA
December 17, 2015
7:50 PM PST
Casey crawled along the floor of his apartment, completely blinded by the toxin dust and was starting to feel the world slip away.
"CASEY!"
Carina sprinted into his apartment with Jimmy on her heels. Carina rushed for Casey's emergency chemical wash spray while Jimmy flipped him onto his back.
"Atropine, Case!" Jimmy shouted.
Casey weakly pointed to his right. Jimmy looked quickly but only saw a framed picture of Ronald Reagan. Carina returned and sprayed Casey's face clean of the toxic dust while Jimmy grabbed the picture of Reagan and held it high into the air.
"No," Casey garbled as Jimmy smashed the picture to find a syringe hidden in the frame. Carina pinned Casey's arms down as Jimmy grabbed the atropine, dove at Casey, and plunged the needle hard into his chest. Casey started coughing and rasping as the toxic dust was dissipated throughout the apartment. Carina and Jimmy helped him to a sitting position.
Casey picked up the damaged picture of Reagan. "Idiot," he snarled at Jimmy.
"SERIOUSLY?!" Jimmy was beyond livid. "Are you actually telling me you'd rather be dead than for me to destroy a PICTURE of Reagan?!" Casey was silent. "WELL?!"
"I'm thinking!" Casey replied.
Toluca Garden Chinese Restaurant – Studio City, CA
December 17, 2015
8:20 PM PST
"Hello again, Chuck."
Chuck thought he was finally out. He was only 48 hours away from being done as a government asset, and his real date with Sarah was going as well as it could. But he should have known better.
"And you are?" Sarah asked the very large man.
"My name is Mr. Colt, and I need you to come with me."
"Now why would we do that, Mr. Colt?"
"Because I assume you find me imposing. Don't worry, be honest. I'm going for imposing."
"Mission accomplished," Chuck said in defeat.
"Well, I tell you what," Mr. Colt continued. "The people that hired me…give ME the heebie-jeebies."
"You know, when you put it in context like that, I…I…"
"Let's go," Mr. Colt said as two of his accomplices leveled automatic weapons at Chuck and Sarah. "We'll take care of the check."
Chuck looked over at Sarah, who glanced down at her plate. Chuck caught the message.
"Are you sure? You know, the moo goo gai pan is very expensive here. So we can probably go Dutch, or…how much do bad guys normally tip?"
With Mr. Colt's attention on Chuck, Sarah slipped her chopsticks into one hand, leaped up, and tried to plunge them into Mr. Colt's neck. But he was too fast, knocking her arm away and putting one hand on her throat as she tried to throw a punch.
"Sarah!" Chuck stood quickly to defend her.
"Move and she dies!" Mr. Colt shouted.
Chuck took a step back and placed his hands behind him. He pushed two buttons on the watch Jimmy gave him. The watch began to beep.
"What is that?" Mr. Colt demanded.
Chuck innocently held up the watch. "Just an early Christmas gift from one of her co-stars. Not as dressy as the Rolex."
"But still has a GPS tracker and homing device in it," Sarah said in defiance.
All of them looked around as they heard a car engine get louder and louder. Chuck looked out the window. "Is that a Crown Victoria?"
"MOVE!" Sarah screamed.
Everybody dove for cover as Casey's Crown Vic crashed through the window of the restaurant and ran over the two people with the automatic weapons.
"Hey, someone order drive-thru?" Casey asked as he got out of the car. Jimmy leaped out of the passenger seat and onto the hood of the car, opening fire at Mr. Colt's associates while Carina ran and grabbed Chuck and Sarah.
"Let's go!" she shouted, corralling them into the back seat.
Casey turned and was punched in the face by Mr. Colt. He fell back into the driver's seat. Mr. Colt tried to go at him but had to dive out of the way as Jimmy emptied both clips in his direction.
Casey shut the door, threw the car into reverse, and floored it out of the restaurant, knocking Jimmy off the hood in the process.
"Are you KIDDING?!" Jimmy shouted. Casey stopped the car. Jimmy leaped over the hood, giving Mr. Colt a swift kick to the face to knock him back again. He quickly got into the passenger side and the car took off into the night.
"Oh! Oh!" Chuck gasped heavily in the back seat as Casey winced in pain from the large ring on Mr. Colt's finger that ended up embedded into his face. "'Somebody order drive-thru'? Huh? Did you think that up as you were racing over trying to save us? 'Hey, maybe I'll say this after I crash into the restaurant'!"
"We have to find out who they work for," Sarah said quickly.
"Fulcrum," Carina replied. "The losers they sent after me dropped their name.
"Well, at least we still have the Cipher," Chuck said in relief.
Casey shook his head. "Yeah, about that…looks like you're still the Intersect, Chuck."
Chuck sat back in his seat. He was completely numb. "Sarah…" he began softly.
"We'll get it back, Chuck," Sarah replied, taking his hand to comfort him. "That I promise."
O.C. Studios – Hollywood, CA
December 18, 2015
9:00 AM PST
Chuck walked down the main aisle at the studio in a fog. He thought he was so close. He was going to be done with car chases and kidnappings and being shot at. He thought he could go back to his old life…or whatever life he wanted if Sarah was correct about what he was capable of. And he would have gotten that one chance to be with her…no guns, no covers, no danger…and who knows what would have happened.
But the morning arrived and everything was the same. Except for the feeling he was never going to get rid of this Intersect.
He turned the corner and walked down the corridor where the dressing rooms were. He passed the four that were meant for makeup and costuming for weekly guest stars and extras and knocked on the door to Jimmy's dressing room. Casey and he were given the two smaller ones while Sarah and Carina had much larger ones. It made sense: the women had more outfits to wear and had been starring on the show the longest.
"Come in," Chuck heard Jimmy call from inside. Chuck opened the door and shut it behind him. Jimmy was on the lone couch in the room reading a script. The room looked exactly like every dressing room he ever saw in a movie or a TV show: a director's chair, a large mirror with bulbs completely surrounding the frame, and a small TV with a DVD player attached to it. Jimmy also had his laptop set up on a desk in the corner.
"Anything?" Chuck asked him.
Jimmy shook his head. "Sorry. They're going over every inch of that restaurant for fingerprints, hair follicles, DNA, the whole nine. Colt got away and none of the ones we were able to arrest will flip on him. I guess they figure he'll do worse to them than we can if they talk."
"Where does that leave me, then?"
"I don't know, Chuck. We have no leads right now. We'll try to find the Cipher. Just be patient with us."
"I'm out of patience!" Chuck walked up to Jimmy and looked down at him breathing fire. "This was supposed to be all over for me! I was supposed to be done being the Intersect and go back to a normal life! I was almost killed twice in two days! Don't tell me to be patient!"
"Chuck, I'm really sorry…" Jimmy began meekly.
"And stop saying you're sorry! Good Lord, you say 'sorry' more than Devon says 'awesome'! I don't want to hear how sorry you are. I want to see you get that Cipher back so I can get out of this! Do you have any idea what this has done to my life? Do you even get what having this thing is like?"
Jimmy finally looked up at him. "Yes. Actually, I do know what it's like. You've had an Intersect in your head for three months; I had one for almost twenty years! When I flashed, I didn't provide valuable information to the CIA. I had pain that made a migraine feel like a hangnail! And I didn't get to go around saving other people and keeping this country safe! They kept my fat ass into a six-by-eight cell for over a decade! The only reason I'm not still in there and got a job as a spy was they couldn't get people to stop trying to kill me or me trying to kill myself!"
Chuck stepped back in stunned silence. Jimmy threw the script on the couch and his head dropped into his hands. "That…that was uncalled for," he said softly. "You didn't deserve that. I am so sorry."
Chuck sat in the chair in front of the mirror. A tiny smile came to his face. "You still apologize too much."
Jimmy looked up slowly, and Chuck's tiny smile morphed into an ear-to-ear grin. Jimmy couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry," he replied in insolence, which made Chuck laugh as well.
"Boy, I bet your happy to spend your days having to guard me," Chuck said sarcastically.
"Far from it, Chuck. What you've done in helping us has been…and I don't just mean defusing bombs or helping us catch terrorists or Russian crime bosses. You helped Casey reunite with Ilsa, you put yourself out there in the public eye and play along to sell the cover, and you even saved a number of lives along the line, including your sister's and mine.
"Trust me when I say I'm not overstating this, Chuck, but you are undoubtedly the best asset we've ever had to protect. Although I will admit that is the very definition of a back-handed compliment."
"You've had some tough ones?"
"To say the least. Most of the time, they're high-maintenance prima donnas who need their ego stroked on a daily basis…if not an hourly one…or they act like they're doing you a favor rather than the other way around. Poor Case, I heard he had to guard some debutante who demanded he walk her ugly-assed Pekinese dog three times a day." Chuck's mouth dropped open in shock. "I know, right? The guy must have liberated thousands of civilians and toppled a half-dozen dictatorships and some little bitch made him walk her furry crap machine? It's crazy."
"Wow. Having the Intersect doesn't seem so bad now. I shouldn't have teed off on you like that."
Jimmy waved a dismissive hand. "You had every right to do it. We said you'd be done with this and we didn't deliver. That's on all of us. But we'll fix this. Promise. We'll do whatever it takes to get you back to the life you want. And given what we've seen you do so far, I hope Nerd Herder isn't it. You're better than that, Chuck. A lot better."
"This from the man who's been photographed with the Hollywood elite and still claims he's a total loser?"
They both laughed at that one. "Yeah, I do seem to be better at encouraging other people than I am at dealing with myself," Jimmy conceded.
"How did you actually get on this team?"
"What? The improv story wasn't good enough?" Chuck shook his head and smiled. "Once they figured out I would stay alive longer if they trained me to be an agent, that's exactly what they did. No more prisons, no more safehouses. I worked for six years on my own until I was brought in to replace Bryce. Carina told me Sarah took his departure pretty hard. Graham figured I was so inexperienced with relationships that there was no way in hell Sarah would make the same mistake twice. And they were right."
"But she still went out on five dates with you."
"Yeah, but thankfully she found out right away I was too much of a wimp to date anybody, much less someone like her. And so my dating history still stands at five."
Chuck shook his head and exhaled. "You are exhausting to talk to…and DON'T try to apologize." Jimmy immediately clammed up. "You have so much more to offer someone than you think, and not just being a great spy."
Jimmy gave a slight chuckle. "I'm pretty sure I don't need to tell you how complicated things can be when it comes to relationships. I'm still trying to figure this whole spy game out after eight years. Thankfully, I have some good people making sure I don't screw up."
There was a pounding on the door. "Slade!" Casey's voice called out.
Jimmy pointed to the door. "Even him."
Chuck went to the door and opened it. "We're needed on the set," Casey said.
"Jesus, Case," Jimmy said, getting a good look at the imprint on Casey's cheek. "I thought you were going to see a doctor about that."
"It's fine. Just put a bandage on it and they'll write it into the script."
Chuck took a good look at Casey's face as well. He flashed, seeing images of Mr. Colt, the ring he had on whose imprint was now on Casey, and most importantly, a map of Mr. Colt's hideout.
"I know where they are…where he is," Chuck said quickly.
"What?" Jimmy asked.
"I flashed. I flashed on the scar on Casey's face. It's an emblem for their organization. They have a secret hideout downtown. Warehouse 17 on 103rd Street."
Casey immediately reached for Jimmy's communicator. "Walker, Miller, Code 16. We have a positive ID on Colt's location. Get your gear out; I'll call the NSA for backup." He put Jimmy's communicator back in its charger. "Let's go, Slade. Chuck, you stay here."
"Wait, let me come along," Chuck said quickly. "You've got to bring Charles Carmichael! You remember, debonair superspy who also happens to have the Intersect in his head? You know, me? I can help you guys!"
"Charles Carmichael isn't even your real name, Chuck," Casey growled. "You just made him up. You're not a spy."
"Jimmy, come on! I can do this!" Chuck pleaded.
"Five minutes ago, you were yelling at me for almost being killed twice in as many days and now you want to walk right into a dangerous situation?" Jimmy couldn't believe it. "We have a full tactical team here. We'll take out Colt and find the Cipher. Just stay here, OK?"
Casey and Jimmy left, heading for Casey's Crown Vic.
West 103rd Street – Los Angeles, CA
December 18, 2015
10:30 AM PST
The team exited the two large vans in full tactical gear. A half-dozen similarly-clad NSA operatives followed behind as they entered the warehouse. They found a freight elevator and walked inside. Everyone readied their weapons. Sarah stopped the elevator, and Casey and Jimmy threw the door open. All ten of them poured out into the warehouse area and checked every square inch.
"Chuck was wrong," Casey boiled through gritted teeth.
"Or he was right and we didn't move fast enough," Sarah replied.
Suddenly they heard a loud beeping sound. They turned to their right to see several bricks of C-4 along the support beams of the structure attached to a countdown timer.
"EVAC!" Casey screamed.
Everyone ran for the stairs except Jimmy, who sprinted for the detonator.
"Ten seconds!" he shouted. The team stopped, knowing ten seconds wasn't enough time to escape. Jimmy quickly pulled the wires on the timer and crossed two of them together. The timer was shorted out. He ripped the detonator away from the C-4 and threw it at the wall in anger.
"Goddamn amateurs," he spat as he returned to where Sarah, Casey, and Carina were.
"Chuck wasn't wrong," Carina said. "We've been had."
The four agents looked at each other, and the same horrifying thought went through their minds.
"Let's go!" Casey shouted to the team. Everyone immediately left the warehouse.
O.C. Studios – Hollywood, CA
December 18, 2015
10:30 AM PST
Chuck walked outside of the studio and stretched. With Sarah, Casey, Carina, and Jimmy gone, the next episode was delayed. That left him nothing to do until they returned. However, he couldn't calm himself down. He wanted the Intersect out of him and be done with the spy life so badly, it was starting to be mentally draining, beyond merely flashing on intel.
He needed a break. He decided to visit the Buy More to see how the search for the new Assistant Manager was going. Morgan told him Big Mike needed the position filled quickly. And leaving Morgan in charge of such an important project was probably not the safest thing in the world to do. Chuck would have had less risk joining the team to capture Mr. Colt.
He got in his car and started the engine. He then felt cold steel against the back of his neck and the audible click of a gun being cocked.
"Drive," the person hiding in the back seat said in a menacing voice.
~/^\~
The team returned to the studio. Sarah, Carina, and Jimmy ran inside to find Chuck while Casey searched the perimeter.
"Where's Chuck Bartowski?" Sarah asked one of the stagehands in a rush.
"He took off," the stagehand replied. "Nobody knows where."
"Walker, Chuck's car is gone," Casey announced over their earpieces.
"Is he at the Buy More?" Sarah asked Jimmy, who was already attempting to track the GPS signal in Chuck's car with his smartphone.
"No, his car is by a warehouse on East 7th Street."
"That was their plan all along," Carina concluded. "Get rid of all of us."
"Let's go," Sarah commanded. The three ran out of the studio to join Casey, sending a message to the strike team about Chuck's location.
East 7th Street – Los Angeles, CA
December 18, 2015
10:45 AM PST
Chuck was dragged by two very imposing people to stand in front of an even more imposing person.
"Hello, Chuck," Mr. Colt said. "Glad you could make it."
"Yeah, I really didn't have much else to do today…or much of a say in the matter," he squeaked out as Colt's accomplices took his mobile phone and watch.
"Here's the problem, Chuck. You saw my face and heard my voice. You and those actors. Who apparently aren't just spies on TV. It's a pretty cool setup, actually. But you know what that means, right?"
"That's not a problem. That's not a problem at all. I forget things all the time. Ask my sister, I forgot her birthday. I'll forget my Social Security number. Anything, just ask me, and I'll forget it."
Chuck watched Mr. Colt take off his long leather coat and begin to stretch. "What exactly are you doing?"
"I'm stretching, getting limber," Mr. Colt replied.
"Why are you doing that?"
"So I won't pull a muscle when I break your neck. Maybe you should get limber, too."
Chuck's face went ashen. He turned and slowly headed towards the window.
"Where are you going?" Mr. Colt asked. "There's nobody here to help you. Oh, your friends? That's right. They're already dead. Our hideout was wired with C-4 set to go off on their arrival. See, they walked into a trap. Just like you, Chuck. If that is your real name."
He couldn't believe it. There was no way in hell he'd ever believe Sarah and the team were dead. They had way too much talent to fall victim to a trap like that.
Suddenly, the last thing Colt said made a big light bulb go off in his head.
Chuck turned around brimming with confidence. "My name is Charles Carmichael. I'm a CIA agent and this is MY trap."
Mr. Colt looked quite amused but Chuck was undeterred. "I don't think you gentlemen realize the gravity of the predicament that you're in. My car has a GPS tracker on it and it's parked right outside the building. Your compound is currently surrounded by 23 infantry troopers, 16 snipers, seven heavy gunners, four demolitions experts, and enough ammunition to orbit Arnold Schwarzenegger. You're outmatched and you're outgunned. Those peashooters you're holding might as well be sharp sticks and strong language."
Mr. Colt kept an eye on Chuck while his associates looked out the window. "Nothing there, boss," one of them said. "Looks clear."
Mr. Colt laughed heartily. "Good try, Chuck."
"Of course you don't see anyone!" Chuck countered. "Who do you think we are, the FBI? The only thing you're gonna see is a muzzle flash followed by an e-ticket straight to hell. So why don't you make the smart choice and hand over the Cipher?"
Mr. Colt wasn't convinced. He craned his neck to get the cricks out and went for Chuck.
"Wait, wait wait wait wait," Chuck said. "Want proof? Hand me my phone."
Mr. Colt shrugged, figuring all of the guns trained on Chuck would make calling for help useless. He handed Chuck his mobile phone.
Chuck dialed a number and put it on speaker for everyone to hear.
"Hey, Chuck," Morgan said over the din of Lester and Jeff fighting it out for the Assistant Manager position.
"Morgan, I'd like you to tell me the exact specs for the team surrounding the compound."
"The whole shebang?"
"The whole shebang."
"Yes, sir. We have 23 infantry troopers, 16 snipers, seven heavy gunners, four demolitions experts. I should tell you, though, I got a little impatient and took out one of the sentries. Don't worry, it was a head shot; he couldn't warn his buddies. You should have seen it, man! It was awesome! His head exploded like a watermelon!"
Mr. Colt's entire team ran for the window. "They must have gotten Fritz," one of them said.
"I thought he was in the can?" another one said.
Mr. Colt was no longer amused. "He's either lying or he's crazy." Mr. Colt went to the window to check for himself. "Check everywhere! Don't let anything get past you!"
He turned back…and Chuck was gone with the Cipher, his watch, and his smartphone. Mr. Colt ran after him in a furious rage.
~/^\~
The team pulled up to the warehouse and exited the vans quickly. Sarah looked up at the building.
"His car," Carina said, pointing at Chuck's car fifty yards away. "He must be in there."
"Casey, take the sixth floor," Sarah commanded. "Carina, fourth and fifth. Jimmy, search first through third. I'll go up to the roof. Everyone else, create a perimeter and detain anybody you find. And call for more backup!"
The four agents sprinted into the building and ran up the stairwells to each of the respective floors to conduct a search.
Casey reached the sixth floor and opened fire on the two men just inside the open floor. Both of them took hits and fell. Casey looked around but found nobody else. "Sixth floor clear," Casey said on his radio.
Carina walked around the fifth floor, which had a similar layout to the fourth floor, where she had found nobody. One of Colt's associates jumped her from behind, knocking her to the ground. He tried to lunge at her but she rolled out of the way and tangled his legs with hers. He fell forward and she jumped on top of him, ending him with a knife in his side. "Fourth and fifth clear," Carina announced.
Jimmy ran up to the third floor after coming up empty on the first and second floors. He walked along the windows when someone opened fire with an automatic weapon, forcing him to dive out of the way. He pulled his own gun out and fired back, nailing the man in the chest. He stood up slowly…only to be tackled by a second man through the window and onto a fire escape. The man had a strong choke hold on him and tried to reach for his knife. That gave Jimmy a window to bring his knees up hard and knock the man off-balance. He got his feet under the man and kicked hard, sending the man over the fire escape railing and down to the concrete below.
Chuck ran along the warehouse, knocking over garbage cans and shelves to block Mr. Colt's path. He hit the buttons on the emergency callout on his watch, praying the team was actually alive and on their way. He looked out the window to see if anybody was coming but saw no one. He turned back…only to see Mr. Colt right in front of him.
"Don't move!" Chuck said, which had no shot of working on Mr. Colt now. "Please don't move?"
Mr. Colt shoved Chuck so hard, he flew backwards through the window and fell onto the asphalt of the roof. Mr. Colt grabbed him by his legs and went to the edge of the roof, holding him upside down.
"Hand it over!" Mr. Colt demanded.
"What are you going to do if I give it to you?" Chuck said in a panic.
"To be honest, I'm gonna drop you."
"See, th-this is what I'm talking about! We gotta work on your negotiating skills! How about this? How about you pull me back up and we discuss this like two rational adults?"
"You know what?" Mr. Colt began.
"FREEZE!" Sarah yelled from behind Mr. Colt with her gun drawn.
"It ain't worth it."
Mr. Colt let Chuck go.
"NOOOOOOO!" Sarah cried.
~/^\~
Jimmy looked up from the fire escape when he heard Sarah scream. His eyes widened in shock at Chuck falling from the roof. He got up on the fire escape railing and leaped across to the other fire escape, grabbing Chuck's arm with one hand and the fire escape railing with the other. Chuck was turned over and swung onto the second floor fire escape.
"Aaaah!" Chuck said, the wind completely knocked out of him.
"Son of a BITCH!" Jimmy yelled in pain as his little stunt separated his right shoulder again. "This is NEVER going to heal!"
"You…" Chuck stammered as he looked up at Jimmy. "You just…"
"Get out of here, Chuck! Go! Now!"
"But what about…"
"GO!" Jimmy screamed through the pain.
~/^\~
Mr. Colt turned towards Sarah, who was still in shock over seeing Chuck dropped from the roof. "Your boyfriend's dead now, baby. What are you gonna do?"
He swatted at Sarah's gun, easily knocking it away. He then tried to throw a punch but Sarah shook off her shock in time to sidestep him and land a back kick at his head. Colt stumbled forward but quickly got his bearings. He threw two more punches at Sarah, both of which she blocked. She tried to send a spinning back kick at him, but he caught her foot and wouldn't let go. Sarah pushed off of her other foot and gave him a shot to the head with it. Colt tried to grab her but she boxed his ears to send him back. She tried to throw a punch but Colt deflected it and grabbed her throat, lifting her high into the air. She started to lose her breath but managed to get her leg up and around Colt's arm and neck and tried to break both, forcing him to drop her. He fell to the ground and she doubled-over coughing profusely, trying to breathe again. He lashed out and tripped her to the ground. Both got up, and Sarah tried to throw two more punches. Colt blocked both and got her into a vicious bear hug. Sarah could feel her back crack as Colt tried to cut off her circulation. Sarah went limp and passed out. Colt dropped her and took a look, but Sarah was playing possum. She kicked at his knees, tripped him, and then gave him a kick to the head. Both of them rolled away from each other, trying to recover from the damage that was done.
"Enough with the foreplay!"
Sarah got to her knees weakly to see Casey and Carina on the roof with their weapons trained on Mr. Colt.
"Step away from the blonde," Casey ordered.
"Ah, you know you have to put those guns down," Mr. Colt said as he stood up, breathing heavily. "Because you're surrounded."
Casey and Carina looked around as a half-dozen of Mr. Colt's accomplices moved in. "Meet the rest of my men."
Mr. Colt laughed maniacally…until Chuck burst onto the roof, followed by the entire NSA team, including two dozen more backup agents.
"Excuse me," Chuck announced. "Excuse me, hi. Sorry to interrupt…whatever's going on here. But Mr. Colt, I just wanted you to meet my team."
Chuck bore the same look of confidence he had earlier when he tried to con Mr. Colt and his men. "Tell me something: do you find them imposing? Go ahead, you can be honest. I was going for imposing."
"Chuck?" Sarah whispered breathlessly, partly from her fight but mostly from shock that Chuck was still alive.
"Carmichael, actually. Agent Carmichael." Chuck turned back to Colt's men. "Maybe you can go ahead and put your weapons down." Colt's men didn't budge. "I said put your weapons down!"
They finally relented. "There you go. And then…and then the hands up to imply your hands are empty."
Casey grabbed Mr. Colt's arms and handcuffed him. "Your boss, Carmichael. He's good," he told Sarah, which earned him a look of disgust from Casey. The NSA team led Colt and his associates to the street.
Sarah turned to Chuck. "Don't worry, I'm fine. And I got the Cipher," he said.
"What, what happened?" Sarah was still in shock.
"You said it yourself; you have the best team of agents in the country," he replied with a smile. "All of you really do know how to protect people."
Sarah shook off the intense stress of the last few minutes and started to look around. "Wait, where's Jimmy?"
Chuck's eyes suddenly widened. "Um…"
Chuck walked slowly over to the edge of the roof and took a peek. Sarah, Casey, and Carina looked as well.
"I'm fine! It's all good!" Jimmy said, still hanging onto the fire escape with one hand.
"How…did that happen?" Sarah asked.
"I'm…still not sure myself," Chuck replied carefully.
~/^\~
Casey boxed the Cipher and handed it to the NSA team leader. "And be careful with that," he ordered as the agent put it in a strongbox and took it to a waiting jet at LAX. After filing a report with Graham and Beckman, they decided not to take any more chances. The new Intersect was going online tonight as soon as the plane delivered the Cipher.
Chuck shook his head. "You were right, Case. I'm not much of a spy, am I."
Casey shrugged. "You duped Colt into letting you steal back the Cipher and delayed them long enough for reinforcements to arrive. You were outnumbered and outgunned but you survived. You may not be a spy but you're certainly no coward."
"Or an idiot," he replied hopefully.
"The jury's still out on that," Casey muttered to Chuck's chagrin.
"Speaking of idiots," Sarah interjected. "We better get Jimmy to the hospital quickly. I don't want him to…"
"AAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!" a scream was heard from around the corner.
"Never mind," Sarah said, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
"Sarah, can I talk to you for a second?" Chuck asked.
"Sure."
The two walked away from everyone else. "What is it, Chuck?" she asked.
"Look, I know the last two days have been completely crazy. Losing the Cipher, getting it back, losing it again, getting dropped off of a roof…"
"The recap really isn't necessary, Chuck."
"I mean…let me get to the point I wanted to make. I really want to try to have that date again. I mean, you had fun with it, right? At least before I started flashing on a lot of bad guys." Sarah looked down and smiled. "But why not? We're back where we were before. The new Intersect will be coming online, you and the others will get sent somewhere else on the planet, and most of all, you deserve a night of fun."
Sarah stared at him for a moment before a smile drew itself across her face. That very smile that Chuck always wanted to see.
"Tomorrow night?" Sarah asked.
"You're on, Agent Walker," Chuck replied with that boyish charm Sarah found irresistible.
Unknown Location – Los Angeles, CA
December 18, 2015
4:30 PM PST
Agent Gruber received the text to contact Director Graham. He had spent the last few days scouting possible locations where Chuck could be eliminated. The studio would have been tough, and there was no pattern he could follow where he could take Chuck down at the Buy More. But he had assignments this difficult before and he always accomplished them.
"Agent Gruber, you have the green light," Graham told him.
"The new Intersect is ready?" Gruber asked.
"They just landed with the last piece, so this has to be done tonight. I want it quick and painless. Chuck served his country with honor and he deserves to die that way as well. Avoid killing anyone else, especially his family, if you can."
Gruber disconnected from the call and went to his kit. He had several liquid toxins that would do the job and leave no trace of their presence. He picked two bottles. One would render Chuck unconscious; the other would kill him painlessly, like Graham ordered. It was the gentlest method he had in his kit.
He checked the time. In order to avoid killing his sister or her fiancé, he decided to wait until all of them were asleep. By the morning, Chuck Bartowski would be dead of a heart attack.
NSA Laboratory – Washington, D.C.
December 19, 2015
1:30 AM EST
Graham watched as the technicians slid the Cipher into the new Intersect computer. It was time. Operation Bartowski was finally going to end, and real agents would be given the Intersect. After months of planning and testing, they were ready to go.
The technicians booted the system and left. A group of six agents walked into the Intersect room and stood behind Graham. He typed a series of passwords into the computer. He then put on a pair of protective glasses while the six agents took theirs off.
He activated the Intersect. The lights in the room turned off and the Intersect activated.
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
December 18, 2015
10:00 PM PST
Chuck, Ellie, and Devon sat around the living room discussing Chuck's date with Sarah the following night. Ellie was a bit shocked Chuck wanted to cook dinner for Sarah, given his skills in the kitchen…or horrendous lack thereof. But he wouldn't be dissuaded and Ellie had to admire that. She just wished Devon would cook more meals for her.
"Are you sure you can handle it?" she asked Chuck. "You have many skills, Chuck, but the kitchen is not one of them."
"Oooh, but that's why they call it Hamburger Helper. Hello? It does most of the heavy lifting for me. I want to make that chicken with balsamic glaze. The one thing Dad taught me how to make?"
"But Dad couldn't cook, either."
"And on that note, I'm going to get some rest. Gotta make tomorrow perfect."
Ellie nodded and all three started walking towards their respective bedrooms.
"Hey, I also had an idea for what I want to do. I was thinking Eurorail through Europe, backpacking, that kind of thing?"
"That sounds…" Ellie began.
"Awesome!" Devon finished. "Remind me to tell you about Amsterdam, my man!" He started to laugh until he saw the look on Ellie's face. "Lovely city, lot of canals."
"Good night, Chuck. Love you."
"Love you too, sis," Chuck replied as he walked to his bedroom.
Karl Gruber walked through the courtyard. It was quiet, as he expected. He had a small window of 90 minutes to carry out his assignment. If he was too early, he would have caught Chuck and his family still awake or just having gone to sleep. Leave it too late, and he might have been spotted by someone coming home late from a Christmas party or one of the bars in the area. He had to act fact. Fortunately, the two toxins should do the trick in a short amount of time and give Graham what he ordered for Chuck: a painless death.
He was surprised to find the window to Chuck's room open. Didn't Walker's team tell him how to protect himself? He shook his head in disbelief as he climbed through the window and approached the bed. Killing civilians, especially innocent ones, was not high on his list of favorite activities, but he wasn't paid to be a boy scout. He readied the toxin to render Chuck unconscious.
He heard the faint whoosh of a silenced gun. It was the last thing he'd ever hear as he fell to the floor.
A figure stepped into the room and turned over the body. They recognized the person they just shot and quietly cursed. They put away their gun and took out a tranq pistol. Chuck was shot in his arm, which was out over the covers on his bed. The figure quickly went to Ellie and Devon's bedroom and shot tranquilizer darts at each of them.
They pulled out their phone and dialed a number. "I need you over at Chuck's right now. Bring the big kit. And whatever you do, tell NO ONE. Sarah would go nuclear if she found out the government ordered a hit on Chuck."
The person hung up and started the process of cleaning up and making plans to dispose of the body.
NSA Laboratory – Washington, D.C.
December 19, 2015
2:00 AM EST
The room filled with thousands of images. The six agents stared at them while Graham looked around and checked the progress on the monitor.
The power cables and leads began to spark and glow red. The image on the monitor faded out and was replaced with a message: Fulcrum Thanks You.
Graham looked up in disbelief as the computer overloaded, sending a power surge through the entire room. The Intersect exploded, killing Graham and the six agents.
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
December 19, 2015
8:00 AM PST
Chuck walked to the door when he heard the incessant knocking. He was shocked to see Sarah there.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"We have to call off our date tonight. The Intersect was destroyed."
Chuck froze. "But…the Cipher…"
"It was a Trojan Horse. It was a sabotage device. The moment it came online, it exploded. Fulcrum must have the real Cipher and switched it on us."
The reality sunk down hard on Chuck. "But that means…"
"You're still the only Intersect. I'm sorry."
Sarah wasn't sure how much pain Chuck felt about this turn of events, but if he felt even half as bad as she did, he was in bad shape. The theft, the recovery, almost being killed twice, the shock at seeing Chuck be dropped from the roof, all of it had overwhelmed her. And in the end, it was all for nothing.
Chuck eventually looked up. There was even a tiny smile on his face. "I guess I get to keep hanging out with all of you. And I can't say that's a bad thing."
Sarah looked up at him and gave a little laugh. He always knew the right thing to say when he needed to. She put her arms around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"I know it's not a bad thing for me," she said softly, her hold on him increasing.