OK, I did manage to get this one out a bit sooner than the last one, but a lot of changes happened as I was writing it. I thought it would have been easier to write, as this chapter was planned from the beginning. But as I wrote, I noticed certain things didn't work and certain plot points couldn't be done because of the nature of this story. Chief among those was that Agent Alex Forrest couldn't have an ally in John Casey. In the actual episode, until Forrest disparaged Sarah, he agreed with her methods and had no problem with her harsh treatment of Chuck. But like everyone else, he knew how Chuck interacted with Sarah was the reason why they were so successful. For this story, I extended that to the entire team. I also moved up Ted Roark's appearance rather than use the unattached plot from "Chuck vs. the Broken Heart." Although I may have overdone the Chevy Chase stuff. Still, it's a damn fine chapter if I do say so my damn self. :-D
And I know some people may be upset, but someone had to come into the game for this chapter. If you've read my past stories, you probably know who it is already. I even went so far as to write an entire background for Alex Forrest (complete with a middle name, date of birth, hometown, and college). Although the specifics for this story are considerably different. And those differences play an important role as this story moves forward. However, in the next few chapters, the focus will return to Chuck and Sarah.
Anyway, long, annoying author's notes done. As always the parts from the show remain the property of NBC and Fake Empire Productions. Please leave reviews if you can. That'd be great...thanks. (little too Bill Lumbergh there? :-D )
Enjoy!
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
March 23, 2016
2:30 AM PDT
Chuck lay back in his bed studying the cards that were part of Busgang's research for the second night in a row. He didn't sleep much last night, and tonight wasn't any better. Despite Sarah's reassurances the night before, Chuck couldn't shake the possibility he may have been right when he said the CIA would never get the Intersect out of his head. Why would they? He spent the last six months proving it worked. And even he had to admit he was not the same person who received it that night on his birthday. But the Intersect had strained his relationship with Ellie, with Devon, and with Morgan. He couldn't tell them any of what he had done since receiving it. The lies and excuses he had to tell to keep them safe were getting to him quickly. And he couldn't stomach the thought of Sarah and her team constantly having to risk their lives to keep him safe. These were good people, and they deserved better.
Chuck…
Chuck swore he heard his computer beep, but he ignored it and continued to look at the cards.
Chuck…
The computer beeped even louder, but Chuck continued to ignore it. His phone then started to ring. He stared at it, positive he set it to vibrate.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Chuck," a computerized voice replied.
"Orion?" Chuck whispered in shock. "Why are you calling me?"
"Do you have the research from Dr. Busgang?"
"Wait," Chuck replied. "How do you know all of this? How did you know I'd be here? And how did you know Carina and Jimmy would rescue Cole and Dr. Busgang?"
"Because I helped them."
"You…helped them? How?"
"I hacked into the systems in the building where Dr. Busgang and Agent Barker were being held. Once your friends found them, I helped them to escape."
"Then…you know about…"
"Yes, I know about them. Just like I knew about Roan Montgomery, Agent X, and Project Goodwin."
"How?"
"Look at your computer."
Chuck looked over at the monitor on his computer, which displayed an unusual symbol that looked like a parallelogram with overdrawn lines. He immediately began to flash, seeing images of a breakfast meal, a large white room, old films of scientists, and schematics of the Intersect system.
Chuck stared at the monitor in shock. "How did you know that was in the Intersect?"
"I put it there," Orion answered. "A long time ago."
"You created the Intersect?" Chuck couldn't believe it. "Can you answer me this? Is it possible for the Intersect to be removed from my head?"
"Yes. But tell no one of this."
"Why not?"
"You will put your team in danger."
Chuck shivered. He had already told Sarah about Orion contacting her. What kind of trouble did he put her in? What kind of trouble did he put the team in?
"I will contact you soon," Orion said.
"Wait, I have more questions!"
Chuck got no reply.
O.C. Studios – Hollywood, CA
March 27, 2016
3:30 PM PDT
"This is getting heavy, McCall!" Duke growled.
"I'm working as fast as I can!" Lance exclaimed, hanging upside down in the elevator shaft attempting to open the bomb. "Fifty pounds of nuclear material packed in a steel case isn't exactly going to travel light!"
It was bad enough Boris Zukhov, the enemy the team had battled for six years, managed to sneak in a nuclear bomb that could level all of Manhattan. But then to hide it under one of the elevators of the Freedom Tower was the ultimate sign of abhorrence towards the team and the country. He wanted them dead once and for all, and he was willing to take out New York to do it.
"Burton, have you found him yet?" Duke said into his earpiece.
"Jill and I have him cornered on the 95th floor," Jen answered. "What's your status?"
Lance checked his watch. "I'm no closer to defusing this thing than I was ten minutes ago. This thing's got booby traps all over the place. You have to get that remote!"
Jen and Jill charged down the hallway, running into a group of Zukhov's men. Jen leaped into the air, landing a butterfly kick at the first one while Jill somersaulted forward to avoid being shot by a second one. She then leaped up to grab the man's hand, bent his wrist inward, and pulled the trigger to kill him. A third one went at Jen. Jill backed up to her, grabbed her from behind and pulled her into the air. Jen nailed that man in the chin with her boot and flew over Jill's head to take out the man behind both of them.
Zukhov looked on in amusement. "So glad to see the team hasn't lost a step," he said with a defiant snarl, waving the detonator. "But I planned for everything. If I drop this remote, if it moves more than a foot away from me, if you try to take it in any way, the bomb takes out New York. And even if somehow you still stop me, one wrongly-pulled wire on McCall's part will set it off, too."
He slapped a small charge of C-4 onto one of the windows and stepped away from it, hitting a button on another remote and shattering the window.
"And now it's time for me to go," Zukhov said with a smile as they heard the sound of helicopter blades outside. "My ride is here."
Jen advanced with her gun pointed at Zukhov. She looked ready to pull the trigger. She suddenly turned and emptied her clip at the helicopter, shooting the pilot. The helicopter began to spin out of control and fall towards the ground.
"So much for a quick exit, Boris," Jill said with her gun pointed at Zukhov.
He smiled, pressed a button on the remote, and dropped it. He then dove out the window. Jen and Jill went to the window to see Zukhov rip his jacket off to reveal a wingsuit. He glided across the Upper Bay and continued southwest towards New Jersey. The remote sparked and fizzled out.
"Uh, I'm assuming you weren't able to get the remote?" Lance said.
"Why?" Jill asked.
"Because this bomb just started a countdown! We have two minutes!"
"Let's go, Lance," Duke roared.
"Sure, no problem. We can get down 90 floors and twenty miles away in two minutes," he replied sarcastically.
Jen and Jill sprinted down the stairs to the 90th floor to find Duke struggling with the ropes to keep Lance in place. They both grabbed and held on.
"Hurry, Lance!" Jen exclaimed.
"Damn, I thought it would be more fun to take this slowly," he muttered in disgust as he finally got the bomb open.
"Sixty seconds," Duke called.
"Yeah, give me a countdown. That doesn't make it more stressful. Not at all."
Jen, Jill, and Duke struggled against the ropes as Lance hung upside-down, attempting to disconnect the detonator from the nuclear material.
"Almost have it…almost have it…got it!" he yelled as he pulled out the detonator. "Actually, I don't have it."
"WHAT?!" Jen, Jill, and Duke all exclaimed.
"The detonator is still counting down. There's ten seconds left! Pull the bomb out! Quick!"
"But…" Jen started.
"DO IT!"
Jen and Duke pulled hard on the ropes for the bomb, getting it up from the elevator, but Jill struggled with Lance's ropes.
"I'm slipping!" she exclaimed. "Lance, grab on to something!"
"I…where…" Lance looked around and found nothing. The detonator showed three seconds. Lance whipped it down the elevator shaft. The detonator exploded, shaking the entire shaft. The force made Jill fall and slide into the shaft. Jen and Duke got the bomb on the floor and dove for Jill, grabbing her legs before she fell down the elevator shaft. They tried to pull her up, but they were on shaky footing themselves and couldn't get any leverage.
"Lance!" Jen screamed.
Lance looked up at the three of them struggling to hang on. They were slipping into the elevator shaft. He shook his head sadly.
"Sorry, boss," Lance said softly. "I won't be in to work tomorrow."
He pulled a sharp knife from his belt, reached up, and cut the rope tied to his feet. He plummeted down the elevator shaft.
"Nooooo!" Jill and Jen cried. Duke looked on in complete shock as he held on to the two women.
"And…CUT! That's the season, everybody!" Director Patrick Norris said.
Everybody applauded as Jimmy was pulled back up on his harness. Sarah, Carina, and Casey congratulated each other on finishing the season.
"Nicely done, Jimmy," Sarah said as both Carina and she gave him a hug.
"Finally, they can get a decent actor in here instead of me," he quipped.
"AWWWWWW!"
A disappointed shout echoed throughout the studio, followed by side comments of 'dammit', 'that jerk', and 'I should have known better'."
Jimmy looked back and forth in shock. "What?"
"Yeah!" one voice shouted in triumph. "Pay up, suckers!"
"What's going on?" Both Sarah and Carina smacked Jimmy upside the head. "What the hell?!"
"We just lost a thousand dollars each thanks to you," Carina said with considerable ire. "I had you down for 'that should make the fans happy'."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"There was a pool going about the first thing you'd say after the final cut," Sarah explained, who was as upset as Carina was. "That writing assistant just won over $5,000 because he correctly guessed you would say 'they can get a decent actor in here instead of me'."
Jimmy was incredulous. "Everybody took a bet over what I'd say? And you two are pissed off at ME for losing?" He shook his head in frustration. "Now I really DO hope they kill off my character!"
"You're not the only one," Casey grumbled. "Cost me a grand, moron."
"Oh, I'd just LOVE to hear what you bet I'd say."
"I had 'I just saved New York and I'll still never get laid'."
"Uh, Lance isn't a virgin on the show."
"Who said I was talking about Lance?"
Jimmy rolled his eyes and turned on Sarah. "And what did you wager that earned me a smack upside the head?"
Sarah glared at him. "I thought you would just thank everybody and wish them a good summer."
"Wait. We have that dramatic conclusion with Lance possibly dying and you thought I WOULDN'T make a crack about myself? No, sorry! That's on you. I ain't taking the blame for that. You of all people should know me better."
Sarah growled in frustration at Jimmy when her smartphone beeped. She read the text message. "Beckman wants us at the hotel."
She went to find Chuck while the other three went for their cars.
Tangerine Hotel – Burbank, CA
March 30, 2016
6:00 PM PDT
The five headed down the hallway to the conference room. Jimmy was still doing a slow burn.
"And what did you think I was going to say?" Jimmy asked Chuck.
"I had 'the scriptwriters finally decided to be nice to us'," he said with a grin. "But I only had to put up $100 like everybody else. The crew agreed the highly-paid actors had to put up more money."
Jimmy huffed in annoyance. "You know what the worst part is? I'm taking shit about this and I wasn't even involved. How can I be blamed for the bet? I WAS the bet!"
They got to the door. "You do realize you have nobody but yourselves to blame," Jimmy griped. "You could have just told me about the bet and I would have happily rigged it your favor."
"We thought of that," Carina said before hooking a thumb at Casey. "But then he wanted in and threatened to rat on us, so we all agreed to play it straight-up."
"Whatever. But the next time Cole's in town, we're betting how long it'll take you to mount him. I've got ten minutes."
"You think I can't keep it under control? You can't be more generous than ten minutes?"
"He WAS being generous," Casey retorted.
Sarah opened the door to the conference room to find a tall blonde agent inside. Chuck stared at her and began to flash, seeing images of her in various outfits, dozens of passports, several commendation letters, and a paper target featuring holes all in the ten-point circles.
"I see all of you have met Agent Alex Forrest," Beckman called from the monitor.
"Who?" Chuck asked nervously. "What's going on?"
"I'm your 49-B," Forrest replied. The tension in the room suddenly reached maximum.
"49-B?" Chuck looked around at everyone. "What exactly is a 49-B?"
"Agent Walker? Mind fielding that one?" Beckman said.
Sarah hung her head. "Agent Forrest is here to assess my performance as this team's leader and during the evaluation period, she will act in that role. She calls the shots."
Both Carina and Jimmy were staring daggers at Forrest. Casey remained impassive, but he clenched his hands a little more tightly behind his back.
"Wait, stop!" Chuck said. "Sarah doesn't need to be evaluated. She's an excellent leader! How many times has she saved my life? I can't even count anymore!"
"Agent Walker has lost control of this team, and her relationship with you may be the primary cause of this," Forrest replied coldly. "She allowed herself to be taken hostage by Sasha Banacheck, and you had to perform a dangerous stunt to save her life when you shouldn't have even been there. She allowed you to be captured by Fulcrum by letting you volunteer to be the bait on that mission with Jill Roberts. She also allowed Agents Miller and Slade to go rogue on an unauthorized mission."
"They stopped Fulcrum from knowing who I was!" Chuck shouted in protest. "They rescued two people!"
"And finally, she promised to use government resources to track down your father. Appropriation of government resources for personal use is a serious breach of protocol. Agent Walker could be arrested."
Chuck's mouth dropped open in shock. He couldn't believe they had his bedroom bugged. "No," he said in no uncertain terms. "Absolutely not! I am not working with anyone but Sarah!"
"Fortunately you, like felons and small children, don't get a vote," Forrest replied with an icy gaze that could have sunk the Titanic.
"Moving on quickly," Beckman interrupted. "We have serious business to attend to. Our analysts have gotten some disturbing information regarding Roark Instruments. Your theory about Roark supplying Fulcrum may be correct. We have discovered large cash payouts to off-shore accounts that we know belong to Roark. All of them from numbered untraceable accounts."
"And you need us to find out what RI is doing for all that money?" Forrest asked.
"Precisely. Roark is hosting a party at his mansion in Malibu this weekend in anticipation of releasing his new RIOS operating system next week. Agent Slade, you'll go in there with Agent Forrest, whose cover story will be as a marketing director for the TV show. While the two of you float the idea of an advertising deal with Roark, Chuck, Agent Miller, and Major Casey will break into his network and attempt to find any information they can."
"What about Sarah?" Carina asked, attempting to keep the vitriol towards Beckman out of her voice…although not exactly succeeding.
"Agent Walker, you are to have no contact with the asset or any member of your team during this time. You'll spend your time on the talk show circuit promoting the end of the season for the show."
"But nobody has ever heard of Agent Forrest," Jimmy ground out. "If I went with Sarah, it's a different story. They couldn't open the doors fast enough for us. How do we get Forrest into the mansion?"
"We're going to leak to the press that you've been dating her for a few weeks. She goes in as your girlfriend."
Jimmy was already breathing fire, but Beckman's idea was a tank of gasoline thrown on it. "No. Hell no! Absolutely not! This whole situation is absolute bullshit! We've held off Fulcrum's all-out assault on us time and time again, and you're kicking Sarah off the team for it? Forget it! Find someone else to be your trained monkey! I'm not doing this!"
"Are you disobeying my orders, Agent Slade?"
"No, I'm telling you to take your orders and shove them up your…"
"Wait!" Sarah shouted. She grabbed Jimmy's arm. "General, let me talk to Jimmy alone for a moment."
Beckman looked ready to order Jimmy's execution, but she calmed down. "Very well."
Chuck, Casey, Carina, and Forrest watched Sarah and Jimmy leave the room.
"That's not how his psych profile described him," Forrest said quietly to herself, stunned by Jimmy's actions.
Sarah and Jimmy entered her room and Sarah shut the door behind them.
"Sorry, no," Jimmy began. "Do not ask me to calm down. You've done nothing wrong and Beckman pulls this shit on you? I'm not putting up with it!"
"Yes you will!" Sarah angrily retorted. "It doesn't matter why this happened. We still have to figure out what Roark is doing. If we can, we can stop Fulcrum and we can get the Intersect out of Chuck. I don't want you jeopardizing anything out of loyalty for me! Do this for him!"
Jimmy gave a hard stare to Sarah but his anger eventually ebbed. "This isn't right, Sarah," he said quietly. "You don't deserve this."
She sat pensively on the bed and was quiet for a few moments. "You may not think this is right. Maybe it isn't. But Forrest didn't lie. I did all of those things, including promising Chuck I'd help him find his father. She doesn't see Chuck the way I do, and neither does Beckman. To them, he's just an asset. And Beckman doesn't see our team the way I do. It's easy for Beckman to sit back behind that desk and act like she knows everything. But we've been in the trenches. We know how things really are. I have to be different. I learned that the hard way when Bryce left. I had to take that responsibility of being in charge. And once I truly accepted being the leader…and got you to stop constantly second-guessing yourself…then we became the team we needed to be.
"I need that team now more than ever. And you really have to step up and do this."
Jimmy looked at her for a long moment. He exhaled slowly. "OK, I'll do it." He put a cautionary finger in her face. "But you BETTER return or I will not be happy. And I was only pissed off in first gear in there."
Sarah laughed. "I promise. But can you do me one more favor?"
"Anything."
"I can use this time to search for Chuck's father, but I'm assuming my access will be restricted."
Jimmy nodded and smiled. "Say no more. I'll get something set up for you before tomorrow."
Sarah smiled and stood, hugging Jimmy tightly. "Thank you."
"Anything for the boss," Jimmy replied.
Jimmy walked back to the conference room. Nobody said a word, as the look on Jimmy's face indicated he was ready to cooperate.
"Let's get ready for this," Jimmy said. Forrest thought nothing of it, but Casey and Carina detected a little change in those words.
Tangerine Hotel – Burbank, CA
April 2, 2016
6:45 PM PDT
Jimmy walked down the hallway to the conference room and opened the door. He was greeted with a cacophony of screams and wolf whistles from Chuck and Carina.
"Hysterical," he huffed in frustration. He was wearing a custom-made black pinstriped suit from one of the best men's clothing stores in California with a royal blue patterned tie that matched his eye color. His hair looked like he just came from the most expensive stylist in Beverly Hills.
"You do know you're meeting Ted Roark and not proposing to him, right?" Casey said, taking the full-on swipe at Jimmy.
"Wow, Case. That sounded like a joke," Jimmy retorted. "Only…the complete opposite of that."
"Jimmy, you look better tonight than when you went after Sasha Banacheck," Carina said. "What gives?"
He threw his hands up. "I have to play the famous guy tonight. If I was with you or Sarah, I'd just walk in and get the hell out of the way while you two got mobbed. Now I have to be the center of attention. I'm not even remotely thrilled about it."
"You'll do fine," Chuck said. "You've done this a hundred times before."
"Yeah, with the team. Not with someone I've never worked with before. It's like starting from square one. Ask these two; they remember how much of a screw-up I was back then."
"What do you mean 'back then'?" Casey quipped.
"Yeah, funny," Jimmy replied, scratching his temple with his middle finger.
"There's nothing to worry about," Carina said. "You're our computer guy. Roark is a fan of the show, so he'll want to talk to you more than he would any of us. Then you and Forrest just need to be ready in case you have to get into rooms that we can't get to from the basement. Look for memos, stored code, whatever you can find."
"OK, I can do that."
Everybody turned when they heard the door open. Forrest entered the room in a cardinal Narciso Rodriguez silk chemise gown with spaghetti straps and a low-cut front that showed off ample cleavage. The skirt had a long slit up one side that could show as much leg as she desired. And unlike her ponytailed look from the other day, her hair was down and cascaded off of her shoulders and back.
Jimmy leaned over to Chuck. "OK, that's impressive," he said quietly.
Forrest looked at the four, although her eyes stayed on Jimmy the most. "The car is downstairs. Ready to go?" she asked him.
Jimmy looked at the others before turning back to Forrest. "Let's do this."
Jimmy walked to the door and opened it for Forrest to exit first. She gave him a glance before exiting with Jimmy right behind her.
"This…just got complicated," Carina said quietly to herself.
10880 Malibu Point – Malibu, CA
April 2, 2016
8:00 PM PDT
The limousine pulled up to the mansion of Ted Roark. A valet opened the door and Jimmy Slade stepped out first to a chorus of screams and picture-taking from the paparazzi and fans who had made the journey west from L.A. He reached in with his hand and Forrest took it, exiting the limousine and making sure the paparazzi saw plenty of leg. She pasted a huge smile on her face as she pulled Jimmy close to her.
"Jimmy, how long have you two been going out?"
"A few weeks. We kept it quiet while we were filming the last episodes of the season. We didn't want to rock the boat."
"Alex, are you also an actor?"
She laughed about as fake of a laugh as Jimmy had ever heard. "Oh, not even a little. I work with the marketing people on the show. But this is certainly a wonderful opportunity to talk with one of the biggest software giants in the world. Maybe even negotiate some advertising contracts."
"So is this trip business or pleasure?"
"I don't know," Jimmy replied. "Depends on how drunk we get."
The crowd laughed as Jimmy and Forrest entered the mansion.
~/^\~
"That was her laugh? She should be fired for that alone."
Carina wasn't in much of a good mood as Chuck, Casey, and she made their way to the ten-foot wall in the back of the mansion.
"Isn't there a better way in?" Chuck asked, the wall intimidating him already.
"Sure," Casey replied. "Just gotta come in from the ocean side and scale the cliff. Why do you think this is located on Malibu Point, numbnuts?"
"Do you give every asset you guard this much abuse?" Chuck said in exasperation.
"Yes," Carina replied with an angry gaze at Casey.
"It's easy," Casey said as he attached a winch to Chuck's belt. "Just keep your feet glued to the wall like you're walking up it and the winch will do the rest."
Carina attached her winch as Casey fired three pitons at the top of the wall. Each of them grabbed a rope trailing from them and inserted them into the winch. Carina went up first, easily ascending the wall. Chuck was next.
"OK, here I go," Chuck said nervously. He activated his winch but couldn't get his feet under himself and attached to the wall. The winch pulled him up over his body's protests, and Carina had to grab him before he fell over the other side.
"You guys make this look so easy on the show," Chuck droned in frustration as he got his footing on the wall and watched Casey quickly scale to the top. Casey unhooked his winch and jumped down from the wall. He then caught Carina as she jumped down. Chuck jumped off the wall…and landed on Casey and Carina.
"Next time, you deal with Forrest," Casey growled from underneath him.
The three got up and hid behind a tree, careful to not be caught by the sweeping CCTV cameras.
Carina turned on her earpiece. "Forrest, we're in position," she said.
"Give us ninety seconds," she replied. Jimmy and Forrest walked through the party, Jimmy shaking the hands of guests as they went by. They found an access point to Roark's home network behind an unused bar. Jimmy attached a small drive to it, overlaying a taped image onto the security monitors. He nodded to Forrest.
"Video is looped," she told Chuck, Casey, and Carina. "Proceed."
The three ran for the service entrance. Carina picked the lock, and they proceeded downstairs into the lower levels of the mansion.
"Casey, look," Chuck said, pointing to some network cabling along the support beams. "There might be a network interface down here."
Carina took out a heat scanner and began to sweep the area. "There," she said as she pointed to their right. "I'm picking up heat sources ten meters away. Most of them are too big to be human beings."
They slowly moved in that direction. "I hear fans," Casey said.
"Cooling fans for large servers," Chuck replied. "This must be it."
Casey and Carina kept watch while Chuck pulled out a wireless USB adapter designed to transfer data to the CIA substations in Oxnard. He crawled across the floor and behind one of the servers, attaching the adapter to a port in the back.
"Forrest, Slade," Casey said quietly over their earpieces. "We're into Roark's network, but it'll take time to download and analyze all of that information. We can't get to his office; the basement's sealed off from the rest of the house. You'll have to get there on your own."
"OK, you three head to the van, and we'll take care of that," Jimmy replied. He began to look around. He spotted Ted Roark making his way towards them. Roark stopped to shake hands with a world famous soccer player on the German national team who was on his way out.
"Auf Wiedersehen," the soccer player said as he shook Roark's hand.
"Fahrvergnügen," Roark replied and made his way over to Jimmy. "Jimmy Slade! It's a pleasure to see you here. Big fan of the show."
"Thank you. It's good to be here, Ted," Jimmy replied, shaking his hand. "I've studied a lot of your work. I'm very excited about the new OS launching next week. Although I imagine all of my high-tech dialogue on the show gives you a laugh more than anything. Compared to you, I'm a complete idiot."
"Aw, come on. People don't say that about you as far as you know."
He looked at Forrest. "Ted Roark," he said to Forrest, extending his hand.
"Alex Forrest," Forrest replied, shaking Roark's hand. "I'm an account manager for the studio. I've heard a lot of exciting things about Roark Instruments. Do you have a moment?"
"Certainly. What can I do to you…for you?"
"We're doing some scouting for next season regarding product placement in episodes of the show and wondered if you had an interest in having your software and peripherals featured in episodes throughout the season."
"Now now, there's no need to talk about work on a Saturday night. This isn't Russia. Is this Russia? This isn't Russia, is it?"
"Nah," Jimmy replied.
"Didn't think so. But by all means, leave me your business card, LinkedIn profile, panties, whatever you want to give me, and we can talk after the launch."
Forrest handed Roark a business card. "Hope to hear from you soon," Forrest said. "You have a very lovely home."
He nodded and smiled. "Thank you very little," he replied as he moved on to greet some other guests.
"That was pleasant," Forrest said with an overdose of sarcasm.
"Forget it, let's just find his office," Jimmy replied as he pulled out his smartphone and scanned a floor plan of Roark's mansion. "Here we go. Down the hallway."
Forrest took a look. "Too many people would see us."
Jimmy scanned the crowd for a minute. "I have an idea." He held out his arm for Forrest to take. They started to walk down the hall. Jimmy put his lips at Forrest's ear.
"React like I just said something really dirty and it turned you on," Jimmy whispered.
Forrest's eyes widened in surprise, mainly following Jimmy's idea but partially in amazement he thought of that. Typically, he never improvised until there was actual danger. She gripped his arm harder and ran her fingers over his face.
"OK, now you do that," she whispered in his ear, and he gave her the same reaction. He pulled her closer to him as the two walked down the hallway acting like two horny teenagers. They got around the corner, away from all of the partygoers.
They peeked down the hall to see a guard between them and Roark's office.
"OK, how do we get past this guy?" Jimmy said quietly to himself. Forrest pulled out a tranq gun strapped to her thigh and fired, nailing the guard and sending him to the floor.
"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed.
"Standard protocol," Forrest replied dismissively.
"Uh, no. You're not going to start tranqing every last person in sight. We're lucky he didn't see us. What if someone catches you tranqing people? You'd blow all our covers! We're secret agents with very public identities!"
Jimmy went down to the guard and pulled him into Roark's office. "And I'm not going to spend half my night dragging bodies around because you insist on being the poster girl for the NRA."
"Enough," Forrest snarled. "Just get the intel and be done with it."
Jimmy shook his head in annoyance as he attached a USB adapter to Roark's computer to download the files on it. He then looked at some documents that were lying on Roark's desk.
"Oooh, jackpot," Jimmy whispered. He set his smartphone to scan and made a copy of a series of blueprints marked 'Black Rock'. "Chuck, are you getting this?"
"Am I ever," Chuck replied from the van. "This might be the proof we need that Roark is working with Fulcrum. But what is Black Rock?"
"No clue." The adapter beeped. "OK, we got what we need here." Jimmy turned to Forrest. "Let's go."
Jimmy grabbed the adapter and headed for the door. He held it open for Forrest, and she exited into the hallway. Jimmy followed her out, only to see a guard turn the corner from down the hallway. Forrest readied her tranq pistol.
"Don't," Jimmy whispered.
The guard turned to see them. Jimmy grabbed Forrest's face and kissed her hard, using his body to shield the tranq pistol from being seen by the guard. Forrest grabbed the back of Jimmy's neck to pull him closer to her as their kiss increased in intensity. The guard shook his head and walked back the other way.
It took a moment for Jimmy and Forrest to notice the guard was gone. They broke the kiss and stepped back slowly from each other.
"Sorry about that," Jimmy said sheepishly. "It's all I could think of to send him on his way." He turned to walk down the hallway.
"Sure, no problem," Forrest replied, her mind still in a haze.
In the van, Chuck, Casey, and Carina looked at each other in complete surprise, having witnessed the entire exchange on Jimmy's and Forrest's hidden cameras.
"Just when you thought this couldn't get more interesting," Carina said as she sat back in her chair, shaking her head in total disbelief.
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
April 6, 2016
3:45 PM PDT
Chuck spent the last several days going over all of data collected from Ted Roark's house. The blueprints Jimmy found were coded, and CIA analysts were working to decipher the plans. There was little question now that Ted Roark was involved with Fulcrum, but how much he knew was still to be determined. One thing was certain: given what Fulcrum had done previously to attempt to find the Intersect, they didn't put anything past what Roark was capable of. He was one of the most powerful men in the country, and some were worried that the new RIOS operating system being launched might be used to gather intel throughout the country.
He got home a little early today, since he had to establish for Ellie and Devon there was no work to be done with the season's filming concluded. He walked into his bedroom.
His bedroom had been ransacked, and his computer was gone.
He looked around in absolute shock. The government must have done this since the rest of the apartment was untouched. He didn't know what the hell was going on, but he had every intention of getting some answers right now.
He quickly reached under his nightstand and found the comic book. He breathed a sigh of relief. The cards that were with Dr. Busgang's research were still in it. He was so thankful he thought to do that after discovering his room had been bugged.
He exited the apartment and headed straight for the hotel.
Tangerine Hotel – Burbank, CA
April 6, 2016
5:00 PM PDT
Chuck practically ran down the hallway to the conference room. He took out his keycard and opened the door. He stopped in utter shock.
Casey, Carina, and Jimmy all stood there with looks of defeat. Forrest was fuming, but the biggest surprise was to see General Beckman standing there, looking even more upset than Forrest.
"What is going on?" Chuck demanded. "Who trashed my bedroom and took my computer?"
"I did," Forrest replied without a drop of remorse.
"What the hell gives you the right to invade my privacy?"
"The fact that you have no rights. You've been withholding information from us."
"What are you talking about?"
"You've been in contact with Orion," Beckman spat out.
"That is a complete…"
"Don't bother, Mr. Bartowski." Beckman looked as mad at him as the team was at her the other day. "We interviewed Agent Barker, and he told us that Agents Miller and Slade were given outside help in his rescue but didn't know who was responsible. We then analyzed the signals from Agent Slade's tablet computer. The encryption used to access it is ten generations ahead of the best software available. But this same encryption was used recently in Hong Kong, right before a Fulcrum team was blown to pieces. It was the same encryption we found accessing our servers in our New Jersey facility."
She then pointed to Chuck's computer, which was sitting in the room. "The same encryption that accessed your computer. And then we found you were in possession of Dr. Busgang's research."
"Looks like Walker has indeed lost control of this team," Forrest said, twisting the knife further.
"Sarah had nothing to do…"
"Do I look like I am interested you defending Agent Walker for the hundredth time?" Beckman said, growing more upset by the minute. "In case you haven't figured it out yet, we are in the midst of a secret war with Fulcrum. And I believe the outcome of this fight will rest squarely on your shoulders. And the way Agent Walker has operated this team is a detriment to victory."
Beckman turned to everyone. "I am placing Agent Forrest in charge of this team until further notice. You will infiltrate Roark Instruments and get as much intel as possible. And Chuck, you will not leave the field office. You will pour over every scrap of intel the team collects and do nothing else. Do I make myself clear?"
Chuck was too shocked to respond. He turned and left the room. Carina and Jimmy went after him. Beckman also exited.
Forrest exhaled quietly. "You must be glad to finally have someone who knows how to follow the rule book leading this team," she said to Casey.
Casey turned and glared at her. "Agent Forrest, I was defending this country when your biggest worry was if you made the freshman volleyball team. Don't try to tell me who makes a good leader and who doesn't."
Casey walked out of the room, leaving Forrest by herself.
Chuck walked to a stairwell instead of the elevators. He had no intention of letting Beckman say another word to him. He then heard the door open behind him to see Carina and Jimmy there.
"Guys, I had no idea they had my room bugged," he said, clearly in pain from what just happened. "I didn't want anything to happen to Sarah. I am so sorry."
"It's not your fault, Chuck," Carina replied. "Beckman has a pole so far up her ass, it tickles her brain. She doesn't trust her agents and yet demands it in return. The price for being a spy. It just sucks you got caught up in it."
"No, you know what? I am done with this. Let Beckman handle this herself. She is not going to rip this team up just because you take the occasional risk."
"Wait. Slow down, Chuck," Jimmy replied. "This is exactly what Sarah chewed my ass out for the other day. Beckman and Forrest are like the MJ and Pippen of bitchiness, but she wasn't wrong about us being at war with Fulcrum. I don't even want to imagine how far they've gotten their meat hooks into the government, and it has to be stopped.
"Look, we need you, man. You've done more in six months than half the agents in the government combined. And we need you if we're going to win this. We'll get the team back together somehow. Forrest's stay is going to be very, very short. Promise."
Chuck looked at the ground and exhaled slowly. He nodded. "OK, I'll do it."
"Appreciate it," Jimmy replied, giving Chuck a hug. "Go home and get some rest. We can take care of RI. Just get us those answers."
Chuck managed a tiny smile. Carina gave his cheek a gentle caress. "We'll get Sarah back."
Carina and Jimmy walked back into the hotel.
NSA Field Office, Western Region – Los Angeles, CA
April 9, 2016
4:00 PM PDT
Chuck sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. To say there was plenty of work to do was an understatement. He had been over document after document, looked through thousands of lines of code, and saw more network schematics than he had during all of his time at Stanford. There was no doubt now that Roark Instruments was working with Fulcrum; the question was what they were doing. He recalled some of the schematics he managed to hide from being confiscated by Forrest and he had his suspicions, but revealing those suspicions meant admitting he was still holding out on the government. The team was in enough trouble already, and Chuck couldn't even fathom how bad things were right now with Forrest leading them. He kept working towards having some solid evidence so he could present it to Beckman and Forrest without making things worse for Sarah and the team.
"What's your progress?" Forrest asked behind him.
Chuck jumped a little bit in his chair. He wasn't expecting Forrest to be there. "Nothing that we don't already know," he replied mechanically, trying to keep his considerable hatred for Forrest out of his voice. "These plans will take a lot of time to figure out, but there's more here than just the operating system he released."
Forrest wasn't fooled. "Let me be clear, Bartowski. Walker is gone. I'm your new handler, and I lead this team. There is nothing that will change that. And if you want to have someone to blame for this happening, try blaming yourself. You compromised the integrity of this team of agents."
Chuck bolted out of his chair and faced Forrest. "You know, Sarah never needed to resort to this sort of behavior to make things work. She did more to stop Fulcrum than you'll ever know. And don't think for one second anyone on this team has any respect for you. I sure as hell don't."
He shoved the chair back under the desk. "I'm done with this. I'll only work with Sarah."
Forrest got right in his face and was quickly losing her icy demeanor. "Then you can spend the rest of your life in a six-by-six cell and never see the light of day. And your sister and her fiancé will have to spend the rest of their lives in mourning because they'll think you were killed in an auto accident. Or maybe shot by a crook; something even more pointless. That is, when they're not fighting to keep the AMA from revoking their medical credentials. And to think what will happen to Morgan…"
"You wouldn't…"
"This is the way of your world now. Get used to it."
Forrest walked away, leaving Chuck speechless.
Tangerine Hotel – Burbank, CA
April 9, 2016
5:00 PM PDT
Forrest walked into the conference room. Casey, Carina, and Jimmy were sitting at the computers looking a bit worried.
"We haven't had any contact from Bartowski," Casey said. "We rang his phone, but it went into voicemail."
"That doesn't mean anything," Forrest replied dismissively.
"Chuck NEVER ignores a call from any of us," Carina retorted. "Even if he's talking to somebody else, he'll pick up."
"I left him at the office an hour ago. He probably went home." She grabbed the tablet computer Jimmy was holding and punched in the GPS number for Chuck's watch. "There. He's in the courtyard," she said, indicating the beep on the map of Echo Park.
"OK, first of all, leader or not, don't snatch my tablet out of my hands," Jimmy spat at her. "That's like touching a car radio when you're not driving."
Jimmy quickly punched up the surveillance cameras for the courtyard. "And secondly…" he said, showing the image to everybody.
"He's not there," Forrest said in surprise. "But…"
Jimmy zoomed in the image. "His watch is there. Someone threw it in the fountain."
Just then, Casey's phone began to ring. The Caller ID did not give the number.
"Trace this," Casey ordered, and Jimmy entered the appropriate commands into the computer. He then handed Casey a USB cable attached to it, which Casey linked to his phone.
"Hello?"
"Case, I'm sorry," Chuck said. I was walking from my car and they grabbed me. They want Dr. Busgang's notes. This big, scary guy wants them. In two hours. 17492 Camino De Yastasto in Pacific Palisades."
"Chuck…" Casey said, but the phone cut off. He looked at Jimmy, who shook his head.
"Nicely done." Carina turned on Forrest, her last visages of self-control gone. "You've led this team for three days and already got Chuck kidnapped."
"I will not be questioned…" Forrest growled.
"HEY!" Jimmy yelled. "Focus, people! We have to get Chuck back right now."
"We are not giving them the notes," Forrest replied, only slightly more calm than a moment ago. "If we can't get him back, we have to eliminate him. Bartowski is expendable."
"Not to us," Casey replied.
Forrest went to the weapons cabinet and took out a pair of Glock G17's and a sniper rifle. "Let's go," she ordered.
The four left the hotel. Carina made a phone call out of sight of Forrest.
17492 Camino De Yastasto - Pacific Palisades, CA
April 9, 2016
7:00 PM PDT
Chuck was moved to a room in the middle of the building. Had this been any other situation, he wouldn't have been that nervous, as he had grown accustomed to Sarah and the team pulling him out of a dangerous situation. The dune buggy and ATVs they used to rescue him on the beach in Monterey was definitely his favorite, although Jimmy's leap to catch him after being dropped by Mr. Colt and Casey and Carina shooting it out to protect him at Stanford were certainly impressive as well. But this situation was not like those. Sarah wasn't here. And even though he still trusted Casey, Carina, and Jimmy, he didn't trust Forrest to think of his well-being. He figured there was no way she'd give up Busgang's notes. But he didn't know what they would do to rescue him. If Forrest would even let them attempt it.
Vincent, the very tall, scary looking guy who stood next to him when he made the phone call two hours ago entered the room.
"One way or another tonight, we're going to get what we need," he said to Chuck. "Fulcrum still needs to know about you. And if we get our hands on the Intersect data Dr. Busgang possessed, that will be even better."
Suddenly that six-by-six cell Forrest threatened him with earlier today didn't sound so bad.
~/^\~
Casey and Carina walked into the building and were met by a pair of agents who proceeded to search them for weapons. They then escorted them to the room where Chuck was being held and stood across from Chuck and the man who kidnapped him.
Jimmy and Forrest crawled through the duct work above the room, having worked their way in from the rooftop. They stopped and carefully lifted a ceiling tile to see into the room.
"Do you have the research?" Vincent asked Casey and Carina.
"Let Bartowski walk over here first," Casey replied.
Vincent put a gun to Chuck's head and the two agents who escorted Casey and Carina in aimed their weapons as well. "That's now this works."
Casey and Carina looked at each other. Casey took the large folder he was holding and tossed it on the ground towards them.
"Pick it up," Vincent ordered Chuck.
Chuck picked up the folder, and Vincent kept Chuck close to him.
"Thank you for your cooperation," he said to Casey and Carina. "But Fulcrum still needs to know about this man, so I'll be taking him with me." He pointed behind Casey and Carina at the two agents, who still had their guns trained on Casey and Carina.
Jimmy and Forrest watched the entire exchange and heard what Vincent said over Casey's and Carina's earpieces. Forrest readied her sniper rifle.
"What are you doing?" Jimmy demanded.
"They can't be allowed to take Bartowski," Forrest replied. She aimed the rifle.
"You're going to try to shoot that ugly tree trunk from this far away? What if you hit Chuck?"
"I'm aiming for Bartowski. Make this clean and painless."
"Like hell!" Jimmy snatched the rifle out of her hands. Forrest was shocked. "This is why we work so well with Sarah. We always have a way out!"
Jimmy looked into the room and aimed the sniper rifle. "Case, Carina, get ready to kick some ass," he whispered over their earpieces.
He aimed at a pipe for the sprinkler system just above Chuck and Vincent and fired a shot. The bullet knocked off the sprinkler head, sending a torrent of water crashing down on Chuck and Vincent. The surprise was all Casey and Carina needed. Chuck dove out of the way as Casey turned and grabbed the wrist of the man behind him, taking his gun away and pistol-whipping him with it. Carina sent a spinning kick at the man behind her to knock his gun away and then sent a wicked hook at him. Casey spun and fired at Vincent, but he ran out the opposite door.
"Chuck, let's go!" Carina yelled as the three ran out of the room in the opposite direction. Jimmy and Forrest opened the ceiling tiles and dropped into the room. They ran in the same direction as the others.
In the hallway, Chuck, Casey and Carina encountered four more agents. Chuck ran away from the agents as Casey and Carina opened fire with their confiscated guns, taking all of them out. Chuck rounded the corner and ran right into another agent. The agent leveled his gun at Chuck.
A shot was fired, and the man fell to the ground.
Chuck turned to see who fired. "Sarah?" He couldn't believe she was here. "How did you know?"
"Carina called," Sarah replied with a smile. "Thank God, too. It got me out of another appearance on Ellen."
Jimmy and Forrest came around the corner and found both of them there.
"Apparently you've forgotten you're not part of this team anymore," Forrest said acidly.
"Then I guess there's nothing stopping me from kicking your ass," Sarah retorted with equal hatred.
"Whoah, bad time for this," Jimmy said, gently turning Sarah back towards the other direction. "Let's save it for later."
Sarah took Chuck and walked back down the hallway as Casey and Carina walked in their direction. Jimmy turned around…and found Vincent holding Forrest hostage. Everybody looked on in shock.
"Give me the research," Vincent said in barely-contained fury. "Or she's dead."
"Go ahead, she hates us anyway," Jimmy said nonchalantly.
"I seriously doubt you're that cold," Vincent replied with an amused look.
Jimmy shrugged and looked a bit sheepish. "Maybe. But It's all I could think of to send you on your way."
Forrest's eyes widened as she stared at Jimmy. He raised an eyebrow.
Forrest turned towards Vincent and kissed him. He stepped back in shock, giving Forrest the chance to move away. Jimmy quick-drew his Glock and drilled Vincent with a single shot.
He safetied his gun and turned back to everybody. They began to walk away from Forrest.
Casey then turned around. "That's why Walker is a good leader," he said to Forrest.
Forrest stood there in silence.
Tangerine Hotel – Burbank, CA
April 9, 2016
10:00 PM PDT
"Agent Walker, you were under strict orders to have no contact with your team or the asset," Beckman said, not in a good mood as she talked to the team over videoconference.
"General," Chuck replied. "You admitted that we're at war with Fulcrum and that I could be the difference in defeating them. If that's really the case, wouldn't you want the best people you have protecting me? I was rescued today because these people ARE your best people. Fulcrum had us dead to rights and still failed. And I think the way the team works with each other…and the way they work with me…I honestly believe they are your best chance to defeat Fulcrum. I think it's because of how close we are that we are so successful. And it all starts with Sarah. We're close because we care about each other. You may not think it's right, but it has been successful."
Beckman was silent for a moment. "Agent Forrest, your assessment?"
Forrest looked at the team. "Agent Walker and her team break every protocol and rule we have regarding the handling of assets. But it is clear their method works. Trust is crucial to their success, and this team trusts each other more than I've ever seen from any other agent."
She paused and looked at Jimmy. "In fact, I'm still alive because of it."
Beckman nodded. "Given how we arrived at this point, I considered your relationship to the team to be a liability. But in reality, it can be considered an asset to the…asset. You may resume your post, Agent Walker. We hope not to see you too soon, Agent Forrest."
The screen went blank. Agent Forrest grabbed her travel bag and walked towards the door.
"Good luck to all of you," she said, the coldness in her voice considerably thawed. She opened the door and stepped out, taking one last look at Jimmy in the process. The door closed, and she stood there for a moment.
A tiny smile graced her lips.
Tangerine Hotel – Burbank, CA
April 10, 2016
5:00 PM PDT
Sarah went to her door when she heard the knock.
"Hey there," she said to Carina when she saw who it was.
Carina waved a bottle of Jack Daniels. "A little celebratory shot?" she asked with a grin. "A 'welcome home' party?"
Sarah laughed and hugged her. "Absolutely. I could use one. I hate doing talk shows. Next season, you're doing them."
"Yeah, that'll be the day. Besides, they're still talking about that 'Carpool Karaoke' thing you did. That was the first time they did that on The Late, Late Show without an actual musical artist. But then the spy theme was pretty funny."
Sarah grabbed a pair of shotglasses and held them out. Carina poured some whiskey in each and put the bottle down.
"Oh, that was so lame," Sarah said, shaking her head in embarrassment. "Thank God Daniel Craig and Jennifer Garner can actually sing."
"Bullshit. We saw it on YouTube. It was a riot. James Bond, Sydney Bristow, and Jen Burton singing in the same car? You did great."
She took one of the shots and held it in the air. "Here's to things getting back to normal," Sarah said, clinking glasses with Carina. Both of them downed the shot.
"Hopefully," Carina replied cautiously.
"What do you mean? Forrest is gone, we rescued Chuck…"
"Actually, the problem is with Jimmy."
"What? After what I told him…"
"No, no. That's not it. You know how we keep wanting him to step up more in the field and lead a little bit? Well...he did. I mean he really took charge."
"Really?"
"I was shocked to see it, but he didn't put up with any of Forrest's crap. And then…" Carina paused, still unable to believe what happened.
"What?" Sarah prodded.
"I…think…Forrest might have had a thing for Jimmy. I suspected something before we headed to Roark's, but then to stop Forrest from tranqing a guard and blowing our covers, he kissed her. I mean REALLY kissed her."
Sarah's mouth dropped open in surprise. "No way!"
"I'm telling you, there is no way in hell any of us would have expected Jimmy to do that. And even crazier, I think Forrest really liked it."
Sarah shook her head in disbelief. "How about that for an irony. I kept telling Jimmy someone would find him and it turned out to be the person that almost broke up the team."
"I'm sure he won't think any more of it. I mean, we won't see Forrest again. I don't think we have to…"
Sarah heard a beeping sound behind her. It was the laptop Jimmy configured for her to search for Chuck's father. She looked at the screen.
"I found him," Sarah said. She quickly forwarded the address to her smartphone. "I have to go. I have to tell Chuck."
Unknown Location
April 10, 2016
8:00 PM PDT
Chuck and Sarah pulled up to a trailer miles from any sort of civilization. Chuck was nervous, to say the least. This would be the first time in over a decade he would see his father.
"Wow," he said as they got out of the car and looked at the Airstream trailer. "Guess you had to break a few rules, huh."
She smiled. "Go on. Knock."
Chuck stared at the trailer. "I couldn't find him. The man didn't want to be found. I mean…you had to illegally access the government's master database to…"
"Chuck," she replied. "It will be good to see him."
He stared at her for a moment and then nodded. They walked up to the trailer, and Chuck knocked on the door. He didn't get a response. Sarah could see his entire body slump as he looked at the ground in disappointment. She gently caressed his cheek.
"I'm sorry," she said gently.
Chuck turned to look at her and gave her a tiny smile, which gave her a smile as well. He started to move towards her, and her hand held the back of his neck.
The door opened. Both of them turned to the person inside.
"Dad?"