OK, that took WAY longer than I wanted it to, but it took a lot of time to come up with the general direction for this chapter. As you'll see, it's almost completely off-canon, mainly just keeping the general frame of "Chuck vs the Lethal Weapon" while incorporating elements from other Chuck episodes that I hadn't used yet. Including some more Ellie involvement.
I'm still finding it hard to believe this story has more chapters and a higher word count than any story I've done, and I'm nowhere near finished. I really hope people are liking this story. Let me know what works or doesn't work for you in reviews. With all of the non-canon items I put in for this chapter, I don't really know how well it played out. If it didn't, then I should warn you the next chapter will definitely be off-canon, even though it is based on two of the episodes from the show. I don't want to give away which episodes, as that would spoil it. But I will certainly try to get it out faster because it'll prove to be a very interesting read. Not to mention, this chapter is peppered with hints as to what's next. BTW, a big shout-out to Marc Vun Kannon again for some suggestions for the story. Domo arigato. In a gadda da-vida.
WARNING: definite F-bombs in this chapter, including two with very specific Oedipal references. Just alerting you now. Of course, it'll take you all of three seconds to catch the reference. I couldn't resist. You know me and my meta-references. :-D
As always the parts from the show remain the property of NBC and Fake Empire Productions. And again, PLEASE review.
Thanks!
NSA Holding Facility – Union City, NJ
March 17, 2016
10:00 PM EDT
"Ellie?"
"Chuck, how are you? How's New York?"
"It's great. I wish I could see more of it, though. We're doing a lot of work here and I'm just buried right now."
Sarah made a face at Chuck as he talked to Ellie, and he grinned back. It didn't take much effort to reprogram one of the lines in the secured bunker to imitate the ESN of Chuck's smartphone to make Ellie think he was calling from that. Of course, the bunker was designed to jam any signal in or out, so this was the only way Chuck could contact his sister. Casey objected at first, but Sarah thought it would be best to make everyone think there weren't any problems. Besides, anybody who got remanded to a secured government facility and could still keep a smile on their face deserved a break.
"Hey, even you have to admit it beats trying to deal with irate customers or keeping Jeff and Lester from destroying the store."
"Good point, sis. I do forget I could still be doing that sometimes."
"How is…everything else…going?"
"What do you mean?" Chuck asked her.
"Well, I mean…you know…"
"I know what you meant. I was just trying to make you sweat."
"Ha ha. Very funny, Chuck," Ellie said with not a little annoyance.
"Actually, Sarah and I had a long talk last night. She said how sorry she was and thought it was silly for her to let the press dictate who she liked and who she could be seen with. And…well…"
"Oh my God!" If someone was listening in on the conversation, Chuck would have to apologize to them for having their hearing destroyed by Ellie. "I am so glad! You two are…you two should be together!"
"Sarah said as much. It's almost as if someone told her to just ignore everybody else and do what she wanted to do."
"Oh, I am so glad she did that."
"Ellie…she told me all about your conversation with her last week."
That stopped Ellie in her tracks. "Chuck…I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure…"
"It's fine. If you didn't give her that talk, I'm sure you would have given it to me."
"But seriously, Chuck, I'm really happy you two are back together."
"OK, but don't say anything. I don't want anything leaking out. They'll start filming us being together again and all will be right with the world."
Sarah looked down at the ground. She hoped Chuck was right and not just playing up the optimism for his sister. But they did not have a clue where Cole was right now, and she couldn't shake the fear Chuck might spend the rest of his life in a room like this.
"I won't, I promise. But only if you get back here soon."
"What's wrong?"
"Devon's parents are here."
"Really? The Very Awesomes are there?"
"Yes, and they're driving me up the wall! Two perfect parents who raised three perfect boys in a perfect house in Connecticut! They've planned the entire wedding already! They've registered us at the Buy More! I mean, who knew I needed a vacuum sealer? Apparently, I should be ready in case the Chief of Surgery comes over with her husband for salmon kabobs and…voila! Saturday's party turns into Sunday's picnic!"
"Oh, that bad, huh."
"Would you like to hear what Woody said about our new camcorder and the honeymoon?"
Chuck visibly shuddered. "Not even a little? And wait, wait…Woody?"
"Yes. Devon's parents are Honey and Woody. And they keep badgering me for details about you. They've seen you on TV with the cast and want to know everything. You better be careful: they may start planning your wedding, too!"
Both Chuck's and Sarah's eyes widened at that. "I'll...try to get back as soon as I can, sis."
Ellie exhaled. "I'm sorry, Chuck. I didn't mean to throw all of that at you. It's just hard to handle the Awesome family alone like this. Try to have some fun in New York. Love you."
"Love you too, sis. Bye." Chuck hung up the phone and he slumped onto the desk. "Please tell me I'm not lying, Sarah."
"I really hope not," she replied gently. "We're going to do everything we can to find Cole and bring him back."
Chuck nodded weakly. She moved her chair closer to him and took his hand. "I wish it had never come to this. The last thing I wanted is for you to be down here under lock and key. And I hope you're right that Cole is tough enough to not confess who you are. But you are too valuable to our country and right now we can't guarantee Fulcrum won't find out about you. Until we know for certain, this is what we have to do."
She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "But we'll do it together. I'll be here with you for as long as it takes. And we'll get you back to Ellie, back to your family."
Chuck raised his head and looked at Sarah. Again he could feel that same calm, that same confidence in her he felt on the beach that morning so many months ago. That calm and confidence that always made him feel safe, like she would always protect him and get him through this. Given the roller coaster ride the five of them had been on since the day they met, he had complete faith in Sarah to get him through this as well.
"Thanks," he replied, giving her hand a squeeze.
Newark Liberty International Airport – Newark, NJ
March 18, 2016
1:00 AM EDT
Carina and Jimmy drove to the site of the car crash where Cole was captured. A flash of their FBI badges…which each member of the team carried to get into crime scenes and other locations easily…at the on-site officer in charge and they began to look over the car.
Carina reached down in the floorboards where the driver was and picked up a shell casing. "Glock 21's," she said. "Must be what they used to shoot the driver. Very popular with Fulcrum agents if the intel is correct."
Jimmy nodded in agreement and pointed to the back door on the driver's side. "All airbags deployed, and the agents cut the curtain on the left to pull Cole out. But to where?"
Carina shined her flashlight along the ground. "No sign of tire tracks. Nothing fresh, anyway."
Jimmy pulled out a pair of infrared binoculars and scanned the area. "There," he said, pointing into the fields behind the road. "They dragged him through the grass and put him in a car on that utility road."
Jimmy went to the computer to check satellite recon from the approximate time Cole was taken six hours earlier. "Dammit. They put him into a van of some sorts, but the cloud cover meant it was too dark before sunset. There's no way to determine where they went."
"We have to find him," Carina said, a small amount of fear creeping into her voice.
Jimmy exhaled in frustration. "We don't have any way of tracking him, Carina. They could have stuck him on a plane and had him almost anywhere by now."
"No, I can't accept that. Come on! You're the brains of our organization. Think of something!"
"I don't know what to tell you! I got lucky once dousing Chuck with that RFID dust but I can't…" Jimmy froze.
"What?" Carina demanded.
Jimmy quickly switched programs on his laptop. "Oh, tell me I got lucky again."
He quickly programmed the satellite recon program to pick up the RFID signal Chuck had on him. The laptop pinged and a marker began to flash on a map of the area. "I'm still picking up some of the RFID tags. It's weak, but it's there."
Carina pointed at the monitor. "Wait, that's not where Chuck is right now."
Jimmy shook his head and grinned. "No he's not. We can't track him with satellite while he's in the bunker."
Carina's eyes widened. "He shook hands with Cole! Some of the dust must have gotten on him!"
"Bingo!"
"Let's go!"
Carina and Jimmy left the crime scene in a hurry.
NSA Holding Facility – Union City, NJ
March 18, 2016
12:30 AM EDT
Chuck sat on the bed in his room. Despite Sarah's reassurances earlier, he couldn't sleep. At least the NSA was kind enough to give him some real estate, leaving the guards several feet down the hallways, and gave him a computer to use. He thought about the last few weeks, about Jill, about stopping Fulcrum, and about the hurt he put Sarah through just so he could complete the mission. He thought about his capture by Alexis White and how Cole and Carina tried to protect him. And that moment with Sarah before Beckman…
The computer in front of him beeped. The screen saver that had been displayed on the monitor went blank, and Chuck looked on in confusion.
The screen changed. I know who you are. I know your secret.
Chuck's eyes widened. If someone was playing a practical joke on him, it was in bad taste. Even Jeff and Lester would have thought it was in bad taste.
He looked up. "OK, whoever is doing this, very cute," Chuck said to whatever camera or microphone was spying on him.
I am not joking.
Chuck stared at the monitor. "You can hear me?" he whispered in fear.
You are the Intersect.
Chuck could feel himself shaking. This clearly wasn't a joke.
We have to meet.
"Why?"
Because I'm Orion.
"But how do we meet? I'm locked up!"
Not for long. Your team is trying to free Cole Barker right now and they will be successful. They will also find someone there who can lead you to me.
Chuck's mind was racing. Sarah and Casey were with him. How could the team…
Suddenly he nodded and smiled. "Carina went to rescue Cole because she likes him and must have taken Jimmy with her," Chuck concluded.
This computer is not secure. I will contact you once I know you are out of trouble. Tell no one of this.
"No, wait. Wait! I have so many questions…" The text on the screen disappeared and the screen saver returned.
Chuck fell back to his bed and stared at the monitor. He began to wish this really was a joke. Orion found him? And bypassed the government's best security to talk to him? And how in the hell did he know Carina and Jimmy were rescuing Cole right now? He wanted to believe this was Orion. If it was, perhaps he knew how to get the Intersect out. But why did Orion not want him to tell anybody? The CIA he could understand but not Sarah, not the team?
He put on a robe and went down the hallway. He hoped he was making the right decision. At the very least, Sarah deserved to know Carina and Jimmy were in great danger. At least he thought they were. Orion sounded a lot more confident about their success than he did.
Elizabeth, NJ
March 18, 2016
1:00 AM EDT
Carina and Jimmy pulled up along the road outside the building where Cole was being kept. They checked their weapons and tactical gear and snuck along the side of the building. Jimmy flipped through his tablet computer to get a schematic of the building.
"Lots of places he could be in there," he said.
"Can we get a peek inside?" Carina asked.
Jimmy reached into his backpack and took out a mini-drone, which was about one-eighth the size of some of the best drones on the market. "Way ahead of you." He linked his tablet to the mini-drone's camera. He accessed the appropriate program and threw the mini-drone into the window twenty feet above them. The mini-drone's soundproof propellers came to life and the unit glided surreptitiously through the building.
"Hopefully that little guy can pinpoint Cole's exact location," Carina said, watching the screen over Jimmy's shoulder.
"Here we go," Jimmy said a few moments later as he steered the mini-drone through the building. "The mini-drone is getting a ping near the northeast corner."
The two walked to that end of the building. Jimmy handed Carina the tablet while he used an electronic card device to access the door lock.
"Wait, put on the mini-drone's heat sensors," Carina said. Jimmy adjusted the program as she requested. "I count ten others near there. The two closest to Cole must be torturing him and the others are guarding the area."
"Thankfully, the mini-drone went to the Q School of gadgetry." He got the door unlocked and took the tablet computer. "Ready to take them out?"
Carina readied her guns. "Let's do this."
Jimmy punched a series of commands on the tablet. Inside, the mini-drone's propellers guided it close to the ground, sneaking up to the guards in front of the door to the room where Cole was being kept.
"In three…two…one…now!" Jimmy said. He hit a button on the tablet and the mini-drone accelerated fast into the air. A pair of tear gas canisters exploding in the faces of the guards. Carina and Jimmy charged in guns blazing, taking out four of the guards right away. Carina readied herself to fire at the lock to the door when four more guards came at them. Jimmy grabbed a handrail and kicked into the air, knocking two of them out. Carina threw a hard elbow at one, who staggered forward right into a roundhouse by Jimmy. Carina spun and landed a spinning kick at the last one, taking them out.
Carina turned back to the door and shielded her face, firing several shots at the lock. Jimmy wrenched the door open and Carina charged inside to see a bloodied and dazed Cole. One of the two interrogators inside reached for their weapon but Carina landed a vertical kick at that person. The other one managed to hit an alarm bell before Jimmy came at him and took him out with a brutal hook.
Carina went around and grabbed Cole's face tightly, shaking it back and forth. "Cole? Cole? Can you hear me?"
Cole's eyes fluttered for a few seconds as he tried to refocus himself. He finally locked eyes with her. "You look terrible," he said with a hint of a smile.
"You're a riot," Carina growled, giving him a hard kiss on the lips while Jimmy reached behind him and cut the handcuff chain.
A guard got to the door and aimed his gun at Carina. Cole jumped up, swung around Carina, pulled the gun out of her waistband, and drilled the man with a single shot.
Carina looked at the dead agent she never saw in surprise. "Hey, we're supposed be doing the rescuing," she said in mild irritation.
"And I get to miss out on all the fun?" Cole teased.
"We better get moving," Jimmy said. "We're going to have a crapload of Stormtroopers on us any second."
"Wait, we have a problem," Cole said quickly. "I overheard them talking. There's another prisoner here. A scientist of some sort."
Carina and Jimmy looked at each other. "Orion?" Carina asked.
"I'm not sure. They never said the man's name," Cole replied.
"Look out!" Jimmy yelled as a foursome of agents came charging in. Carina swung into the air off the back of Cole's chair to land a hard kick at the first agent as Jimmy sent a roundhouse into the face of another agent. One agent managed to grab Cole from behind, but he snapped his head back and nailed the man in the face. He spun and flipped him to the ground, giving him a kick to the head to finish him off. The last one charged at Carina and Cole only to be met by a clothesline by Jimmy.
Cole grabbed two of the weapons off of the guards. "Let's go."
Carina, Jimmy, and Cole walked out into the hallway with weapons at the ready. They had to duck down immediately as a half-dozen agents opened fire from down the hallway they used to get to Cole. They crawled into a set of doorways for cover as they returned fire.
"Can't get out that way," Carina said.
"Great, you cut us off from our only escape route," Cole seethed.
"Maybe you'd should get back in your cell, your Highness."
"Enough you two," Jimmy growled. "And quit copying my schtick! At least I can get the quotes right!"
His tablet computer began to beep incessantly. He fell back as Carina and Cole continued to return fire. A map appeared on his tablet with a pathway drawn to another location in the building one floor below.
"When you came in here, didn't you have a plan for getting out?" Cole asked heatedly.
"He's the brains, sweetheart!" Carina shot back, pointing at Jimmy.
Jimmy shook his head in frustration. "I'm gettin' too old for this shit," he muttered in a deep funk.
Another marker beeped on Jimmy's tablet, this time located right behind them. Jimmy looked back at the electronic panel on the wall. His eyes widened in surprise.
"Cover me!" he yelled and ran back to the panel, ripping it open and tearing several wires. "Whoever this guy is we're trying to rescue, he's one floor underneath us."
Carina looked back to see what Jimmy was doing. She then found a large vent near the floor and shot out the clips keeping the grill over it. She tossed the grill away.
"Now, Jimmy!" Carina yelled. Jimmy crossed the wires and activated the halon system inside the building. CO2 began to pour from the ceiling. Glass containment doors started to drop throughout the hallway.
Jimmy grabbed Cole and shoved him towards the open vent. "Into the garbage chute, flyboy!"
Cole dove into the vent, followed by Carina. Jimmy grabbed his tablet computer and went through the vent as well. The three came out of the vent and fell onto the floor on top of each other.
"Ugh, you go first next time, mate," Cole groaned from underneath Jimmy. "It's like having an anvil land on you."
"How did you know to do all of that?" Carina asked.
"I have no clue," Jimmy replied, holding up his tablet computer. "I keep getting data downloaded to this damn thing! It's like someone on the outside wants us to escape and take this prisoner with us!"
"This must be Orion they have," Cole said. "Or someone who can lead us to Orion."
They ran down the hall to the location Jimmy's tablet computer indicated.
NSA Holding Facility – Union City, NJ
March 18, 2016
1:00 AM EDT
Chuck knocked on Sarah's door. "What's wrong?" Sarah asked.
Chuck hesitated for a moment, looked up at the ceiling, and then back and forth at the guards who accompanied him down the hallways to Sarah's room.
"Give us a few minutes, please," Sarah told the guards as she took Chuck's hand and pulled him into her room.
Chuck pointed to the ceiling. "Is it OK…" he began to whisper.
Sarah nodded. "My room isn't monitored."
Chuck sat down pensively. "Sarah…I…I don't know if I should say anything. And if I do, I know I don't want the CIA to know. But I had to tell you because you deserved to know…know about…"
"What's going on, Chuck?"
Chuck took a deep breath. "I talked to Orion."
"What?" Sarah couldn't believe it. "How did you find Orion?"
"Actually, he found me. He hacked into the computer in my room. He knew who I was. Sarah…he knows I'm the Intersect."
"How?"
"I have no idea! He wants to meet with me! And he told me not to tell anyone."
"Not even me?"
"I…I guess. I don't know. But I thought I had to tell you. He also said Cole is about to be rescued, so he'll call me again once I'm out of here."
"How did he know…" Sarah figured it out and was suddenly breathing fire. "Carina went to rescue him. And I'll just bet Jimmy didn't stop her or she even talked him into helping her." She slammed her fist against the wall. "If those two make it out alive, I'm going to kill them!"
"Wait, wait, Sarah," Chuck said gently, putting a hand up to stop her. "Orion knew this, too, and he was confident they were going to be successful. I mean, if he can hack a computer in a secured government base, who's to say he couldn't help them find Cole?"
"Those two shouldn't have gone on a rescue mission," Sarah growled. "Carina's been walking around like a lovesick teenager ever since we met Cole! What the hell was she thinking?"
Chuck tried not to laugh but the grin on his face gave him away. "OK, fine," Sarah huffed. "Pot…kettle, I get it. But she is still putting herself in great danger. And Jimmy should have stopped her."
"And she would have hated him for the rest of her life if he did," Chuck said gently. "Maybe he figured you'll hate him less for helping her."
Sarah sat back and shook her head. Chuck was right. Given the risks she had taken for Chuck since they met and the reasons why, she had no right to crucify Carina for trying to rescue Cole. And there was little doubt Jimmy decided protecting Carina was a lesser evil than stopping her entirely. But the thought of two of her best friends risking their lives like this still filled her with fear. She hoped like hell Chuck's theory was right and Orion would be able to help them.
"There's nothing we can do for them," Sarah said quietly.
Chuck stared at her. "You…you can't…"
"If even Casey or I try to go after them, it'll tip off the entire agency and they'll know you were contacted. We'll be lucky if you get to stay with us as it is. But as far as the CIA is concerned, Carina and Jimmy just went rogue, even if it was for a good reason. Let's hope they succeed."
Chuck nodded, but he started to feel the same fear Sarah did.
Elizabeth, NJ
March 18, 2016
1:20 AM EDT
Carina, Jimmy, and Cole quickly ran down the hall to the source of the ping on Jimmy's tablet computer. They found a cell with an older gentleman sleeping in it.
"Watch the hallway," Jimmy said as he kneeled down to work on the lock. "It'll take me a moment to unlock…"
Suddenly the door opened. "…or it'll just open on its own. That works for me."
Cole pulled the door open and Carina went inside. She shook the man awake.
"Huh? What?" the man said as he stirred awake.
"We're going to get you out of here," Carina told him, gently pulling him up.
"Thank you. But you…aren't you…"
"Yes, I'll explain later…" Carina gestured for the man to give his name.
"Howard…Dr. Howard Busgang," the doctor said quickly. "Is this part of the show?"
"Later, Doctor."
The four began to move down the hall. Cole looked behind him and caught a glimpse of a Fulcrum agent raising their weapon.
"Get down!" he shouted, diving forward to tackle the three to the ground. He immediately rolled onto his back and opened fire, hitting the agent.
Everybody got back up. "Cole, get the Doc out of here. Come on, Jimmy," Carina said quickly as she reloaded.
"I got this," Cole countered as more agents made their way down the stairwells. "Protect the doctor, you two."
"Hey, we just busted our asses to rescue you and now you want to go back in!?"
"Someone has to take these wankers out!"
"Oh, shut up, both of you!" Jimmy yelled, shoving Carina, Cole, and Busgang towards the door. "Besides, doing the crazy shit is MY job!"
The three of them ran up the stairwell and made it upstairs. "Are you sure this isn't from the show?" Busgang asked in confusion. "The arguing certainly sounds like it."
Jimmy sprinted down the hallway, opening fire with a pair of Heckler & Koch automatic rifles. The four agents entering through the stairwell went down. Jimmy slid along the floor to get behind a doorway as more agents came in. He pulled out a flashbang and whipped it in the direction of the stairwell as more agents tried to get around their fallen comrades. He covered his eyes as the flashbang went off, blinding the agents in the stairwell. He ran back in the direction of the stairwell where Carina, Cole, and Busgang exited.
Carina and Cole peeked out of the exit, shielding Busgang, and moved carefully towards the car Carina and Jimmy drove to the building.
"Where the hell is Jimmy?" Carina said with considerable worry.
"We have to get Busgang out of here," Cole said quickly. "Once he's safe, we'll come back for Slade."
"No! I'm not leaving him behind! He took a big risk coming with me. I'm not just going to abandon him!"
"After you just got through insisting we get out of here? We can't let them find us. He's a tough guy; he can hold out for a few minutes."
"Hey, I'm the one doing the rescuing here, not you!"
"Well, it wouldn't be a bloody good rescue if we end up dead, would it!"
Carina and Cole didn't see the agent from around the corner throw a grenade in their direction.
"MOVE!" Jimmy screamed as he flew out of the building. Carina and Cole turned and saw the grenade lying near them. They dove, tackling Busgang to the ground as Jimmy ran at the grenade and punted it. The grenade went off, launching him through the air. He flew over the car and landed hard on a top of a concrete wall behind the car, falling off of it and twenty feet to the ground.
The three got up. "Jimmy!" Carina cried as she ran to him with Cole right on her heels. Jimmy struggled to get up.
"Jesus, mate, your shoulder is separated," Cole said in shock.
Jimmy stared at him in complete derangement. He continued to stagger around holding his separated shoulder. He started to walk to the back of the car.
Carina's eyes widened. "Jimmy, no! Don't…"
"AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" Jimmy roared as he rammed his shoulder into the car's frame, popping his shoulder back into place. He continued to stagger around with a look that would make Charles Manson soil himself.
"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! I have HAD IT with these motherfuckin' relationships on this motherfuckin' team!"
Everybody practically sprinted to the car and got in, not even daring to say a word. Jimmy slid into the driver's seat.
"Everybody strap in!" Jimmy ordered as he reloaded his Heckler & Koch. "I'm about to open some fuckin' windows!"
He floored it towards the access road to leave. A set of four cars blocked the way. Jimmy sprayed the area with the automatic rifle without even slowing down. He crashed straight through the cars, and the four drove away.
NSA Holding Facility – Union City, NJ
March 18, 2016
1:45 AM EDT
Casey walked down the hallway to Sarah's room and knocked loudly on the door, thinking she was asleep. He was taken by surprise when she opened the door right away.
"What is it?" Sarah asked.
"Just got word from…" he looked behind Sarah to see Chuck in the room as well. "Did I miss something? Hopefully?"
"Tell me what's going on," Sarah replied in less-than-mild irritation.
"Just heard back from Miller and Slade. They retrieved Agent Barker. He insists he didn't give up any intel. They also found a Dr. Howard Busgang that Fulcrum was holding. He's an ex-DARPA scientist. Government's been looking for him for some time. They thought he went off the grid on his own, but clearly that's not what happened."
Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. "Where are they?"
"Back at the hotel. We're free to leave."
"OK, we'll be there in a few minutes."
Casey walked back to his room to gather his things. Sarah turned back to Chuck. She looked ready to say something but the smile on Chuck's face stopped her.
"You're not even going to let me be mad at them for five seconds?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Can you blame me? I only had to stay here for four hours thanks to them."
"You know, most team leads would recommend disciplinary action for those two."
"But you're not most team leads. And I can't tell you how glad I am of that."
Sarah looked down at the ground and a small smile came to her face. She may not have been like most team leads, but Chuck was unquestionably not like any asset she had ever met. And she never felt more fortunate about it.
Hilton Club Hotel – New York, NY
March 18, 2016
2:30 AM EDT
Carina knocked on the door to Cole's room. She had changed out of her tactical gear into something far more comfortable.
"Hello," Cole said, sporting several bandages applied to him by a medic that stopped by the hotel to check on Dr. Busgang, Jimmy, and him.
"I…just wanted to see how you were doing," Carina timidly started.
"I am well. At least better than a few hours ago. I certainly can't complain about the care your people provided. But no turndown service for the bed, sadly. Could you talk to someone about that?"
Carina smiled. She shifted nervously back and forth. "About earlier…the way I yelled at you…"
Cole put a finger to her lips to quiet her. He then took her face in his hands and gently pulled her to him. He gave her a gentle kiss, which she made less and less gentle as she wrapped her arms around him.
"Don't even think for one moment you did anything wrong tonight. I am so grateful you risked your life to find me." He kissed her again. "How did Sarah take it when she found out you went after me?"
Carina shook her head and smiled. "She was angry…for the briefest of moments. But we've been together longer than either of us will care to admit. What happened tonight…ten years ago, I wouldn't have even considered doing that. But things are different now, and Sarah is a big reason why they're different. All of them…Sarah, John, Jimmy…they've made me a different person. And so has Chuck."
Cole nodded. "I must concede a bit of jealousy. I've spent fifteen years working on my own. At best, I've had a short-term partner here and there, but none of them lasted. I've even had to bury a few of them. But the way the five of you operate…it is very impressive."
He gently caressed her cheek. "Just like you were tonight. And if you ask me, this version of Carina Miller sounds a lot better than the old one."
Carina ran her fingers through the back of Cole's hair, gripping him tightly as she drew him in for a passionate kiss. They stepped into Cole's room and closed the door, their lips never breaking contact.
~/^\~
Sarah knocked on the door to Jimmy's room. He opened it with a none-too-pleased expression on his face. He was bandaged even more than Cole was.
"You couldn't wait until morning to tear me a new one about tonight?" he grumbled in exasperation.
"You don't really think I would do that after you took a grenade to the face," Sarah said as she glared at him. "Carina told me what happened. You think I would be mad at you when you kept Carina safe, protected Chuck's identity, and almost got blown up to save everybody?"
"In all fairness, the grenade was at least ten feet away…"
Sarah smacked him upside the head. "OK, NOW I'm mad!"
"Ow," Jimmy muttered in pain, holding the back of his head. "I could have done without the smack upside the head."
"You deserved it for that. That's worse than those stupid cracks you always make about yourself! You can't even stop for two seconds and acknowledge what you did tonight was incredibly heroic?"
"Sarah, she was going to go after Cole one way or another. It wasn't about being heroic; I was trying to minimize the damage. Either I tie her to a chair and have her hate me forever or let her go on her own and get killed. Neither option sounded good, so I went with option three. Besides, you said it yourself: that's what we do. One of us gets in trouble, the others have their back. Carina's saved my ass before. Yours, too."
"Sarah nodded. "I know. And I have no right to get judgmental with her over this." She gave a little chuckle. "This wasn't anything like I expected this mission to be. Not even close. Everything has changed. Case reunites with his old lover; Carina is attracted to what is basically her male counterpart. I…meet Chuck…"
"…I get injured every time there's some relationship angst," Jimmy finished for her, which gave her a laugh. "I better not ask for some woman's phone number. I'm liable to get shot."
Sarah grinned. "You may be right. But you better watch it. Sooner or later, someone is going to figure out how good of a person you are and be willing to put up with all of those annoying quirks you have. They'll get you whether you want them to or not."
She hugged Jimmy tightly. "Thank you for protecting Carina," she said quietly into his ear. "And thank you for protecting Chuck."
"No problem, kiddo."
Sarah went to the door and exited Jimmy's room, heading back to her hotel room.
Hilton Club Hotel – New York, NY
March 18, 2016
9:00 AM EDT
Chuck and Sarah walked into the small conference room on the first floor of the hotel. It was buried in the back of the hotel and took a considerable walk to get to it, but that insured few-to-no people would bother them. An agent stood outside the doors to make sure that happened.
"Chuck confirmed that Dr. Busgang is Perseus, who was part of the original design team for the Intersect," Sarah said to begin the meeting. "Apparently a Fulcrum agent made contact with him a week ago and started asking questions that made the doctor suspicious. When he tried to stall the agent, they kidnapped him. He told us Fulcrum was trying to put him to work building an Intersect for them."
"I assume he didn't get very far?" Carina asked.
Chuck shook his head. "The place where you rescued him had a lot of technology to do the job, but they only kidnapped him a few days ago. Getting Cole back was a double-win for you," he said with a smile.
"They're moving Dr. Busgang to a secured location as we speak," Sarah continued. "He hid his research in the archives at the New York Public Library. We have to find it quickly so Fulcrum doesn't get their hands on it."
"Tomorrow night should work." Casey said. "There's a black tie charity event going on. Barker and I can sneak into the archives to locate the data while the four of you keep everyone distracted upstairs."
Jimmy nodded. "Good idea. We've been in the spotlight all week. If they see Chuck and Sarah reunited, it'll be the highlight of the evening."
"But doesn't he know about Orion?" Cole asked.
"Yes, but he doesn't know Chuck's been contacted by Orion," Sarah replied. "In fact, only the six of us know that. And we didn't tell Busgang Chuck is an Intersect. That's the best thing we can do right now."
"Does the CIA know anything?" Carina asked.
"After you returned with Cole last night, they raided the building where he was kept and discovered a massive inventory of computers, servers, and networking equipment, all from Roark Instruments," Chuck said. "Incredibly advanced. Think next-NEXT generation. It was like a nerd's dream come true."
"The CIA thinks Ted Roark is in bed with Fulcrum?" Jimmy asked.
"When we get back to L.A., that will be what we have to find out," Sarah answered. "But for now, let's concentrate on the Library."
New York Public Library – Mid-Manhattan Branch
March 19, 2016
8:00 PM EDT
Not for the first time, not even for the hundredth time, Chuck understood why someone may not want to dream about being famous in Hollywood.
He watched from the limousine as it waited in line to let its passengers out. He saw famous stars, famous athletes, he saw political figures, and he saw some of the giants in the corporate world exit their vehicles and walk up the stairs into the library. Then it was time for Carina, Jimmy, Sarah, and him to step out of their vehicle.
When Sarah exited the vehicle in a stunning silver gown and reached in to pull Chuck out, the crowd couldn't have roared more if they were in Times Square and it just struck midnight on New Year's Eve. This is what the crowd came to see: the resurgence of 'Charah'. Chuck was on the brink of hyperventilation at the reaction from the huge crowd, but Sarah gave his hand a gentle squeeze to calm him. He remembered to smile broadly as Sarah told him earlier and make it look like he was overjoyed they were reunited. He wasn't sure if he could pull it off, but Sarah, Carina, and Jimmy all reminded him the more he could sell it, the easier he'd make Casey's and Cole's job down in the archives tonight.
They ascended the stairs to screaming and cheering, a significant number of women saying how hot Chuck looked in his tuxedo, which didn't exactly cure him of his nervousness. Carina had a big smile on her face as she walked up the stairs on Jimmy's arm wearing a sultry red dress sure to get the crowd talking. Chuck suspected her smile tonight was authentic instead of the ones she typically put on for the paparazzi. Less than two days ago, she was in the fight of her life trying to bring Cole back. Chuck couldn't help but smile at all of the makeup they had to put on Jimmy to minimize the fact a grenade threw him through the air, something Casey insisted on giving him grief about all afternoon. But if Carina had any disappointment about not being able to attend this party with Cole, hanging onto the guy that saved their lives was certainly a decent consolation prize.
The four entered the event and started to interact with the crowd.
~/^\~
Casey and Cole bypassed the alarm for the maintenance entrance to the library and immediately went downstairs.
"Radio check," Casey said in to his comms.
"Loud and clear, Rimmer," Jimmy replied. "And is Lister with you?"
"Check, Jimmy," Cole replied.
"Anyway, all's quiet upstairs," Jimmy said. "That is, apart from the crowds swarming Chuck and Sarah. We better make this fast or we'll never get out of here tonight."
"Got it," Casey said. Cole and he began to walk through the stacks of old, uncategorized books that lay throughout the basement. They had a general area where the data would be found, but it would still take effort.
"So you're usually in the van while they get to play dress-up?" Cole asked Casey.
"I don't mind it," Casey said. "I hate crowds."
"But you still appear on the TV show?"
"That's just a cover. It's not really my style, but they figured put me in the show rather than some civilian who we'd also have to keep the secret from."
Casey shook his head and gave a little grunt of amusement. "Don't tell the others, but every now and again doing the show is fun. Not when I have to do actual acting like that one where the whole episode was about Duke, but throwing out those insults at Jill Garrett and Lance McCall can make the day go faster."
Cole laughed. "I imagine so."
"Still, I can't complain…much. I was Special Forces for almost two decades before I was put on Sarah's team. She's a good leader, best damn partner I've ever had. She keeps Miller and Slade in line somehow. If I led the team, I probably would have shot them by now."
"I was going to ask about that. You've been with the government the longest and Sarah leads the team?"
Casey nodded. "She's good at dealing with people. Carina used to break the rules all the time, but Sarah and she had been friends from way back, so Sarah's the one person who could keep Carina in line. As for Slade, what a goddamn mess he was when they put him on the team. The complete opposite of Lance McCall. But Sarah brought him along, too. We raided a village controlled by al Qaeda by ourselves to free a few hundred civilians. He's annoying as hell but he's the one you want with you in a firefight."
"As I've discovered. And Chuck?"
Casey went through a couple of stacks of books looking for the intel. "He is worse than Slade in the annoying department. That ridiculous optimism, that obsessiveness with being everyone's friend. But we've never guarded a better asset. Kid's got guts, let me tell you. Smart as hell. And what he's done for everyone…even I get what Walker sees in the nerd."
"Wait a moment," Cole said. He found a book that appeared to have less dust on it than the rest of the ones on the shelf. He switched on his earpiece. "Chuck, take out your smartphone and have a look at this."
Chuck moved away from the crowd and turned on his smartphone. He saw the picture of the pages Cole was scanning for him. He began to flash, seeing images of the Lincoln Memorial, past presidents, and a file folder. And he clearly saw the name "Orion."
"That's…that's the file, Cole," Chuck said quickly. "Let me…"
Casey and Cole heard nothing but static in their earpieces. Sarah turned quickly to see a man behind Chuck. She started to approach him when another man came up behind her and put a gun in her back.
"Let's move," the man said, pushing her next to Chuck. "Find Miller and Slade," the man ordered a half-dozen agents behind him. Chuck turned to flash and see a file on the man who found him, revealing him to be a Fulcrum agent inside the government, Arthur Duncan. Duncan and his partner led Chuck and Sarah downstairs. They walked through the stacks.
"Major Casey! Agent Barker!" Duncan called out. "Thank you for your assistance in helping us find Perseus' files."
Six more agents came downstairs as Chuck and Sarah were stopped across from Casey and Cole.
"It's you," Cole said. "You were in charge of grabbing him and torturing me."
"Shame I didn't have more time," Duncan replied. "We had people in D.C. who tried to get Dr. Busgang back. However, his bodyguards wouldn't go down without a fight. Nor did he. So without Busgang, we had to wait until you found his files. I must give you credit; Fulcrum didn't think you'd only need a day."
Duncan cocked his gun and put it to Sarah's temple. "Now I'm sure, Agent Barker, you don't want me to shoot this lady, so I recommend handing over the intel."
"Why should I hand the intel over to you when you're going to kill her anyway?" Cole asked.
"Because Fulcrum won't stop with her. Then it will be Major Casey, then Agents Miller and Slade…if they're not dead already…and then we'll torture and kill Chuck. And then you'll be last. And the worst part for you? We'll still get the intel."
Chuck looked back and forth in fear at the agents surrounding the four. Casey looked ready to kill.
The lights went off throughout the archives. Sarah pushed Chuck to the ground as Cole spun and grabbed Duncan's gun, pistol-whipping him unconscious. Casey leaped forward and grabbed the two agents who were behind Chuck and Sarah, ramming their heads together. Sarah leaped up as the lights came back on, delivering a spinning kick at another agent. Cole pushed himself off of the shelves to scissor kick two more agents down as Sarah grabbed a large book and smashed it across the face of another agent. Behind Sarah, the last agent took aim.
He was knocked out by an encyclopedia delivered to the back of his head by Chuck.
Chuck looked at the volume in his hand. "K…for kicked your ass!" he shouted in triumph.
Casey rolled his eyes "Shut up," he said in disgust as he disabled the jamming device Agent Duncan had on his person. "Miller, Slade, report," he said quickly.
"Uh, we're a little busy right now," Jimmy replied. "We have people trying to kill us."
"We got this," Casey replied. "Sarah, get Chuck and the intel to the limo."
Chuck grabbed the intel and ran for the back exit with Sarah. Casey and Cole went to locate Carina and Jimmy.
~/^\~
Carina and Jimmy ran down the back hallway of the library with six agents in hot pursuit.
"Can I have ONE NIGHT of peace in this town?" Jimmy growled as they rounded a corner.
Carina stopped them at the corner and put a finger to her lips to quiet Jimmy. They heard the footsteps of the agents ready to round the corner. They got in position. The first agent turned the corner and ran right into a kick by Jimmy. Carina tripped the second agent and landed an axe kick at him as he went down. She ran at Jimmy and grabbed his shoulders, pushing herself into the air to flip her heel up into the chin of a third man as Casey and Cole found them. One agent tried to land a spinning kick on Cole, who caught his leg and stomped on his other knee, making the man buckle to the ground. Casey landed a hard jab on one agent and followed it up with a roundhouse. The last one tried to go at Cole but Jimmy nailed him with a nasty Superman punch.
"Ah, glad to even things up a bit in the rescuing department," Cole said, his voice having a bit of a teasing lilt.
Carina gave Cole an annoyed glance, which quickly morphed into something a bit less chaste when Cole's look started to get even more playful. Jimmy looked between Carina and Cole and shook his head.
"If someone ever asks me out on a date, just shoot me dead," he groaned, exhaling tiredly.
"I got dibs," Casey said with a smirk.
John F. Kennedy International Airport – New York, NY
March 20, 2016
12:00 PM EDT
Carina escorted Cole to the security checkpoint. Thanks to the work Cole did in protecting Chuck and keeping Perseus' intel from falling into the hands of Fulcrum, the CIA was flying him back on a G550 with enough liquor for three, even though he was the only one flying.
"Sarah wanted to tell you again how much she appreciated what you did for us," Carina said.
"My pleasure," Cole replied. "She leads a good group of people."
Carina smiled. "That she does."
Cole put down his traveling bag and slid his arms around Carina. "British Intelligence gave me a couple of weeks off to recover. They feel I need round-the-clock care. What do you think? It'll give us some time together."
"Mmmm, tempting," Carina purred before giving Cole a long, passionate kiss. "But all of us really want to find Orion so we can find out more about the Intersect. Especially if we can get it out of Chuck. And given all we've been through, we're so close now."
Cole nodded. "Of course. Chuck's a good guy. I respect your loyalty to him."
"I need to be here for my friends." She gave him another kiss. "But don't think you'll stray too far from me. I'll find you before too long."
"Until then," Cole said. He gave her one last kiss before he went through the security checkpoint. Carina wistfully watched him walk away.
But she knew she'd find him again.
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
March 21, 2016
8:00 PM PDT
Chuck collapsed onto the couch in the apartment. A day off was something he could have used, but the show fell behind on filming thanks to everything that had happened in New York and they had to go right back to work today.
Ellie entered the apartment looking as tired as Chuck did. She probably spent the weekend in as much peril with Devon's parents as he did.
"Everything OK, sis?" Chuck asked.
Ellie nodded. "Devon's parents took a lot out of me this weekend, and then I had a long shift at work today." She gently moved Chuck's legs off the couch so she could claim some real estate on it.
"I'm really sorry about not being here to help you with the Very Awesomes," Chuck said dejectedly. "I know that was an important thing for you. And everything with Sarah these past few weeks, it's…"
"You know, I've never been one of those girls that dreamed about what their wedding day would be like. What I'd wear, or even the person I'd marry. It was all kind of…hazy. And then I spent this whole weekend in wedding overload and I realized the one thing that I ever wanted above anything else was for Dad to walk me down the aisle."
Chuck sat up and put an arm around her. "Hey…hey, Ellie…"
"I know it's not going to happen," she said softly, a few tears coming to her eyes. "It's just…it's just really hard to let go of that."
Chuck pulled her tightly to him, and she put her hand on her shoulder over his. "You know what? Dad's going to walk you down the aisle."
Ellie shook her head. "You can't say that, Chuck. I know you want that for me, but we haven't heard from him in a really long time."
"Yeah. Well, I'm going to find him. I'm a smart guy. I can do that. And when he hears about the wedding, he'll be here for you."
Ellie turned to face him. "Come on. You really think he's going to make it?"
Chuck nodded. "I guarantee it," he said confidently.
"Thank you," Ellie replied, putting her arms around Chuck and hugging him tightly.
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
March 21, 2016
9:30 PM PDT
Chuck lay on his bed staring at the book containing Busgang's intel. He hadn't tried to look at it since returning to Los Angeles, but the temptation wouldn't go away. He grabbed the book and opened it up, leafing through the pages. Most of the pages contained computer code it would take months to figure out. He flipped to another page and several index cards fell out. These cards contained schematics to an Intersect computer. Chuck looked at them in shock.
He dropped them in surprise when he heard the knock on his window. "Sarah?" he said when he saw who was there.
Sarah entered his bedroom. "Is everything OK?"
Chuck exhaled. "I don't know. I've been thinking a lot about what we've gone through. I mean, I wish I knew if I could get this out of me. If the government even wants the Intersect out of me."
"Why wouldn't they?" she asked in surprise.
"What if…what if they can't build another Intersect? I mean, it's been over six months now. This thing…it's…I have to get back to my life, Sarah. I can't keep staring Ellie in the face and lie to her. I can't do that to Morgan, to anybody. I mean, are they even trying to rebuild the Intersect? What motivation do they have to do it when they can just keep sending me out into danger?"
Sarah sat next to him and took his hands. "You're right. Maybe Beckman can't be trusted. But I do know you can trust us. Case, Carina, Jimmy…they want the Intersect out of you. You deserve that. And I won't stop until it is. What you've meant for me is…you've made such a big difference."
Sarah looked right into his eyes. "Can you trust me?"
Chuck looked down at the ground. "Yes. Yes, I trust you."
"You WILL get the Intersect removed. Please believe that."
"It's something more…it's…I've been so distant from Ellie and she's going to get married soon."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"You don't have to…"
"Hey, this is the least we owe you," Sarah replied sharply. "I'll get the government to bankroll the whole ceremony if I have to."
Chuck laughed. "No, nothing that big. Although I may hold you to that." That gave Sarah a laugh as well. "I promised Ellie I would track down our father. He…he left when we were still kids. One night, he promised to make us pancakes for dinner." Sarah's eyebrows arched. "He wasn't much of a cook. But he went away and never returned. And our mother had left a few years before. It was up to Ellie and me to survive.
"Ellie…Ellie always wanted Dad to walk her down the aisle at her wedding and I promised I'd try to find him. He sent a card once with a phone number on it, but it's probably been disconnected for a long time."
Sarah nodded. "I'll see what I can do. I mean, after all you've done for the government, I think it owes you a few favors."
Chuck looked up and smiled. "Thanks, Sarah."
Sarah went to the 'Morgan entrance' and left the apartment.
~/^\~
In a CIA substation in Oxnard, an analyst took note of a conversation they picked up on one of the surveillance bugs being used in Los Angeles. She completed a report and called her supervisor. She had the feeling General Beckman would need to know about this right away.