Hello. This chapter was a lot tougher to write than I thought it would be. There were certain elements I wanted to get right, especially since they have a huge bearing on the rest of the story. I also have to give serious props to Marc Vun Kannon, who gave me a number of ideas for some of the conversations that took place in the chapter.
I'm going to try to keep within the two-week schedule I've been keeping (I miss the days when I could crank these chapters out once a week), but the school year is starting, and I'm registered to substitute teach in several districts. It may not be the wisest job to take given my health scare last year, but better than unemployment, right?
I hope you enjoy the chapter. FYI, there are a couple of f-bombs in this, but I know you'll love at least one of them. Please let me know what you liked about it (even that one piece I cribbed from Chuck vs. the Pink Slip). And of course, NBC and Fake Empire Productions is still responsible for their material. Please leave reviews.
Thanks!
Versailles, France
May 18, 2016
2:00 PM CEST
The bad news was, to avoid the throngs of fans and paparazzi who wanted to find out if Chuck and Sarah were really spies, the two had to remain inside the chateau together for seven days.
The good news was, to avoid the throngs of fans and paparazzi who wanted to find out if Chuck and Sarah were really spies, the two had to remain inside the chateau together for seven days.
Thanks to a well-stocked hiding place and an insatiable desire for one another, the past week had been a whirlwind of romance for Chuck and Sarah. They took the occasional walk around the grounds, careful not to walk anywhere that might risk them to exposure. They prepared several meals in the extravagant kitchen…Sarah with her skills from spy training and Chuck with his Intersect. But a significant portion of that time was spent intimately, the two expressing their love for one another. It was a feeling Chuck thought was reserved for romance novels and love stories in those movies Ellie used to force him to watch because they had only one TV growing up and she controlled it. For Sarah, she had fallen in love for the second time in her life. But this one was so different than her time with Bryce. There were no barriers, no need to pretend with Chuck. Best of all, Chuck gave her this chance to live the life she truly dreamed of since she was a child. A life away from cons and ridicule and being used by the government as they saw fit.
Sarah walked down the hallway on the second floor and was greeted with the sounds of heavy breathing and grunting. She stopped in surprise and a smile drew itself across her face. She walked into a room several down from their bedroom, where someone had set up a small gym. She had used it a few times during the last week, but she was quite surprised to find Chuck in there working on some Nautilus equipment. She had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing at Chuck struggling with the bench press. At a weight she normally could do with ease.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm…using…the bench press," Chuck grunted as he struggled with the machine.
"OK, let me rephrase the question. WHY are you doing that?"
Chuck finally let go of the bench press, which landed with a hard clank. "I don't want to be one of those guys who gets a girlfriend and then takes everything for granted. I want to prove to you how much I love you and want to be with you."
"And the way you do that is to turn yourself into Arnold Schwarzenegger?"
"OK, not my proudest moment. But do you even get how attractive the people on your team are? You look up the word 'stunning' in the dictionary and you'll find Carina's picture. And whenever Jimmy goes somewhere, it's like…better than seeing Tom Cruise. And he'll never ruin your couch. Even Casey gets some very raunchy emails from the ladies. And you…I mean, to call you beautiful…beautiful doesn't even begin to describe you. The four of you set the bar pretty high, you know."
Sarah quietly growled and straddled Chuck. "This is starting to get annoying. Get this through your head right now. YOU…ARE…INCREDIBLY…HANDSOME. You are gorgeous, in fact. And best of all, as beautiful as you are on the outside, you're even more beautiful on the inside."
She leaned down and kissed him hard before pulling back and looking into those puppy-dog brown eyes. "I spent eight months having so much trouble saying no to you because of those pretty eyes and that brilliant smile. They always put me in a good mood. And how you wanted to help me and the team…I've never met anybody like you. But I am so grateful I have. So stop thinking you're not good-looking. Otherwise I'll start smacking your upside the head like I do with Jimmy."
Chuck shuddered at the thought. "Yes, ma'am," he replied reverently.
Sarah giggled and lay on top of Chuck to continue their makeout session. They were interrupted by Sarah's smartphone.
"Sorry," she said to Chuck as she pulled out her smartphone. "Hello? Is everything OK, Lana?"
Chuck sat up slightly. Lana had been helping Sarah and him stay out of sight. Typically, she didn't call unless it was important. And the look on Sarah's face indicated the news was not good.
Sarah hung up her phone and immediately got up, pulling Chuck up with her. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Lana just heard from the DGSE. Beckman put out the order to capture us."
"Oh, God," Chuck said, completely crestfallen.
"We need to get out of here before they arrive. They know about this safehouse. This would be one of the first places they'd search."
Both of them ran to the bedroom to gather their things.
W Hotel – Los Angeles, CA
May 18, 2016
7:00 AM PDT
Alex slowly stirred in the bed. It had been well over a dozen years since she felt this relaxed, this at peace. There was no doubt in her mind she made the right decision last night. The more she thought about it, the more she regretted her attitude towards the job over her long career. Her revenge-fueled hatred because of 9/11 made her one of the most successful and most dangerous agents in the CIA, but it came at a very high cost. The carefree, hellfire blonde that occupied her body in high school and college had disappeared…and almost forever. Sooner or later, her unyielding attitude towards assets and other agents would have gotten her or someone else killed. And that hot tomboy from Philadelphia who became the bane of a policeman father's existence with her devilish attitude would have ceased to exist. She felt fortunate Walker's team stuck to their guns and showed her how to be a truly effective spy and how to work together with others.
And looking at Jimmy's muscular form sleeping next to her, she was really feeling the good fortune. She certainly felt it quite a number of times last night.
It wasn't even about his looks…although it certainly didn't hurt he could rival guys like George Clooney and Bradley Cooper in that department. She kept a copy of that 2015 issue of People Magazine's Sexiest Men Alive that he was in. Damn that David Beckham winning, anyway. But there was a lot more to Jimmy than that. She had read the quarterly reports Agent Walker had filed on him as part of her duties as team lead. When Alex thought about it, she shouldn't have been surprised to see him drop everything to rescue her from capture. And it surprised her even less when he tracked her down and comforted her at her father's burial. That was the type of person he was.
What was he doing when I sent out that distress signal? she thought. He had mentioned it but never elaborated on it. It was starting to bother her. There was something under the surface he didn't want her to know.
Jimmy quietly moaned, and Alex turned her attention back to him. She slid on top of him and started planting kisses along his neck and chest. He stirred awake.
"Good morning," he said timidly.
"Good morning yourself," she purred, quite interested in picking up where they left off last night.
Jimmy looked up at her and brushed some of her hair back. He then shook his head and gave a little laugh.
"What?" Alex asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I still find it hard to believe you saw They Live. You're way too good-looking to be that nerdy."
Alex shrugged. "There's kind of a story behind that. I was sixteen and was at a party at this one guy's house. Typical teenage party with the music and the alcohol and so on. I was down in the basement, and They Live was playing on some cable channel. I had a thing for this senior, Gabe Wilton. We started making out on the couch and it escalated from there. I figured I had hit the jackpot having a guy that hot…and a senior to boot…for my first time."
"So, what happened?" Jimmy asked with piqued curiosity.
"It was…disappointing." Both of them grinned at that. "I think it might have been his first time, too. I just lay there half watching the movie and half hoping he'd get better, but he didn't. Thankfully I had two more years in high school and then four years of college, so I was never short of dates."
"So you're not actually nerdy?"
"I like some things. I watched a lot of Star Trek. Mostly Next Generation, but I thought the new movies were pretty good. I saw all the Star Wars films, but who hasn't. We had to read The Hobbit in high school. When I was a child, sometimes I'd sit with my father after he finished third shift and watch reruns of The Twilight Zone with him."
"What about Battlestar Galactica?"
"Nah, not so much. I'm more of an action-comedy person."
"That seems weird, given what we do for a living."
"Would you rather I get weepy over romantic films? I bawl my eyes out over Rose losing Jack on the Titanic?"
Jimmy nodded. "That's a good point. Besides, they've already proved there was enough room on the door for both of them."
Alex laughed and gave him a kiss. "OK, now you."
"Now me…what?" Jimmy asked in confusion.
"I told you about my first time; now it's your turn."
Jimmy shied away. "Do I have to?"
"Come on. There's no way it can be worse than losing it while watching a Rowdy Roddy Piper film. Unless it was, like, losing it while watching Sgt. Slaughter jumping off the top rope or smashing someone into the turnbuckles."
"Oh, you'd be surprised."
"Try me."
Jimmy exhaled slowly. "This…woman came up to my hotel room one night and…just started kissing me. I was shocked she was doing it. I mean, we had met a couple of times already. I gave her some advice and she decided to follow it. She said there was one thing that would make her happy in life and that was me, so…"
Alex froze. "No…"
Jimmy nodded weakly. "Yeah."
"No. No way," Alex insisted. "I'm calling bullshit. You're making this up."
"Why would a guy make up a story that makes him look like a total loser?"
"Your first time was last night with me?! ?!" she exclaimed in total shock.
"I'm surprised you couldn't tell by my reaction. I mean, I must have had a goofier look on my face than Amy did when Sheldon finally plowed her on The Big Bang Theory."
"I still don't believe it! You were way too good for this to be your first time. How have you never had sex before? I mean, you're one of the best agents in the CIA, one of the fans' favorites on the TV show, and you're major-league hot!"
"It's…it's nothing," Jimmy muttered quietly.
The shocked smile on Alex disappeared instantly. "That's the third time you've done that."
"What?"
"You clammed up when you were about to say something personal. You did it when you found me tied up, after my father's burial, and just now. What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Jimmy replied, shying away even more.
She gently caressed his face. "What is going on? What were you doing when I sent out that distress call?" Jimmy was still quiet. "Look, I know I don't have a right to demand anything of you, but what all of you did for me…especially you…I just need to know what's wrong."
"It's stupid."
"Please just tell me."
Jimmy looked away for a moment. His already quiet voice got even softer. "After Fulcrum was taken down, Beckman cancelled the show and broke up the team."
Alex paused to take that in, eventually shaking her head. "That was a stupid move. And she made that call completely on her own. There isn't a chance in hell I would have recommended that. Even if Walker really had compromised her status as an agent, there's no way you and Miller and Casey should have been broken up. It should have been obvious to Beckman the four of you work great together."
"I didn't know what to do or where to go. I just couldn't face anybody knowing everything had fallen apart. I couldn't handle it. Then I just…I…"
Alex saw Jimmy's eyes welling up. She sat up in the bed and pulled Jimmy up with her. "What?" she insisted.
"When…when you called…I was about to…end my life."
Alex stared at him in silence. "I told you it was stupid," Jimmy whispered as he hung his head in shame.
She gently lifted his face and gazed into his eyes. "Most people might think that, but when I found out my fiancé was killed in the Pentagon on 9/11, I tried to do the same thing. And had my roommate at Quantico walked into our room ten seconds later, I wouldn't be talking to you right now. I've been there, too. To have everything you worked so hard to accomplish taken away in one moment. With no rhyme or reason to it, either."
"I only lost a damn TV show. You lost the love of your life. It doesn't even compare. I feel like an even bigger asshole now."
Alex wrapped her arms around Jimmy and pulled him to her. "Don't. Wanting to kill yourself when the life you know has been taken away isn't that far-fetched. People have ended their lives over far less than that. But this horrific self-image you have that Walker talks about in her reports? I just don't get it."
"It's…I…" Jimmy stammered, unable to hold Alex's gaze.
"The first time I met you, you were nothing like what I expected. You were full of piss and fire and took charge of that mission in Roark's mansion. I was amazed. But what you're doing now…both Walker and Miller have written that about you. Both of them think you're an outstanding agent, good enough to lead your own team. And you know what? I agree with them. But none of that means anything if you don't believe it."
Alex grabbed his face hard. "You said I should forget my past and find something that would make me happy. And you were right. But you have to do the same thing. I don't care how awful your life was before. Unless you plan to board the Enterprise and slingshot around the sun, you'll never see it again. You are not that person and you probably never were. What you are now is pretty goddamn incredible. And the world needs someone like you in it. God knows I need you, given how much you've done for me.
"So enough of this self-hating bullshit. I got sick of it after five seconds; how do you think your team feels having had to put up with it all this time? I never dated a loser before and I'm sure as hell not going to start now. Be that confident, daring person you were when we first met. I'm starting a new life and you're coming with me."
She grabbed the back of his head and kissed him with every bit of energy she had, pressing herself up against him. He began to respond with equal fire, running his fingers through her long hair as the two could jump-start a parking lot with the electricity they were generating.
Alex pulled back and saw the gentle smile on his face. "Besides, how can anybody hate themselves when the fans want him to be the next James Bond?" she asked.
Jimmy rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. Those articles are so lame. How many times have they put out lists like that?"
"All the time. But an American playing James Bond? And this time people aren't laughing it off."
"Well, I must admit, I'm quite flattered," Jimmy replied with a Scottish accent, attempting to imitate Sean Connery.
Alex gave him a look. "Yeah, you might have been right the first time. Those articles are so lame."
He made a face at her. "You're a riot," he grumbled. She grinned and tackled him back on the bed, kissing him hard.
Route Nationale 12 – Jouars-Pontchartrain, France
May 18, 2016
3:00 PM CEST
Sarah pushed the convertible to well over 90 MPH as she tried to get away from the four cars the DGSE sent to retrieve them. She knew this could happen, but either she had too little faith in the CIA's interrogation team or too much in the Ring agents that were captured to not talk. She wanted to run away with Chuck because she figured Beckman would react exactly as she did. If she had little interest in removing the old Intersect from Chuck, there was no way in hell she'd let him walk away now.
"We go any faster, Sarah, we'll run into Marty McFly and the Doc," Chuck shouted over the roar of the engine and the passing wind.
"Would you stop with the movie references?" Sarah hissed. "We've already established I haven't seen enough movies!"
"Sorry. Do we know where we can go?"
"I have no idea. Right now, we'll be lucky to get away. If we do, we could try to sneak on a flight somewhere and find Carina in London. Maybe Cole and she can hide us until we figure out what to do."
"Oh, God," Chuck muttered, sitting back in his seat and shutting his eyes in desperation. "I really didn't want it to come to this. I should have…"
"No! Do not even go there! After everything you did, you deserve to be done with the government. All of us wanted you to get your life back and I'm going to make sure it stays that way!"
Chuck turned back to her with a smile. "With one very important and very wonderful addition."
Sarah glanced over at him felt that warmth, that comfort she always got from his smile. That sense of…
"SARAH!" Chuck screamed.
Sarah turned her attention back to the road but not fast enough to avoid the spike strip the DGSE laid out for them. All four tires blew, and the car careened out of control. Sarah tried to steer it back straight but it was too late. The car skidded off the road and landed in a ditch at the foot of a large hill with a hotel resort at the top of it.
"Chuck!" Sarah cried, not seeing him moving. She unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed his face hard and looked him over to see if he was injured. "Chuck!"
Slowly he stirred awake, blinking his eyes a few times. He then shook his head clear. "Wow, it was like you and Bryce in that episode on the Autobahn."
Sarah gave him a kiss. "In all honesty, that was our stunt team. They won an Emmy for that," she confessed as she unbuckled Chuck's seatbelt.
She quickly stood up and jumped out of the wrecked convertible, running around to Chuck's side and helping him out. "We have to go."
They ran down the road to the driveway that led up to the hotel. They ascended the hill as the cars that had pursued them got past the spike strip and approached the driveway. Chuck and Sarah made it into the hotel and immediately ran up the stairs.
"Oh…oh God," Chuck panted, completely out of breath. "I have to make a mental note. More exercise, less X-Box."
"We have to find a way out of here," Sarah quickly said.
"Agent Walker, Agent Bartowski, please stay where you are," one of the DGSE agents said as the others aimed their weapons at them. "We have been instructed to remand you back to Washington."
Both Chuck and Sarah put their hands up slowly. The agents began walking up the stairs to where Chuck and Sarah were. Chuck looked to his right to see a housekeeper watching in shock. She was hanging onto a heavy vacuum that was plugged in a half-flight down on the landing. He then began to flash, seeing the specs on the vacuum and various physics equations.
Chuck pushed Sarah to the side and grabbed the vacuum, whipping it down the stairs. The long cord got wrapped into the feet of the four agents, tripping all of them. They fell back to the landing as Chuck and Sarah took off again, finding a stairwell that led to the roof.
"We need to find a ladder down to the street or another door to go into," Sarah said quickly. "Those four will be here any second."
They found another door at the other end of the roof and tried to open it, but it was locked. "Dammit," Sarah cursed. "My gear is in the trunk of the car."
Chuck took a peek over the roof. "Wouldn't do us any good. There are a dozen agents surrounding the building."
He looked around quickly and saw a power line attached to the roof and leading down the hill on the opposite side from the road. He had another flash, seeing more physics equations.
He looked down at himself and immediately removed his belt. "What are you doing?" Sarah demanded.
"Zip line!" Chuck replied quickly, wrapping the belt around one of his wrists. "It'll work, I promise."
Sarah stared at the power line momentarily before nodding. "OK, I trust you."
The four DGSE agents burst onto the roof. Chuck threw his belt around the power line as Sarah climbed onto him. He jumped off the roof and the two slid down the power line as the four DGSE agents tried to get them. They made it all the way down the hill and caught the electrical tower to which the line was attached. They quickly descended and ran through the woods, disappearing from sight.
"I don't believe that worked!" Chuck said in amazement.
"It worked, but we're in real trouble now," Sarah replied. "We can't use Lana anymore, we have no means of transportation, and we have to assume every intelligence agency in Europe is looking for us."
Chuck nodded. "Let's hope we can find Carina."
"And hope she knows where Casey and Jimmy are."
The two walked to the nearest town to see if they could contact Carina. Chuck stayed a step behind Sarah as he winced in pain.
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
May 18, 2016
10:00 AM PDT
Jimmy walked through the courtyard and knocked on the door to Ellie's and Devon's apartment. He had made this decision on the way back to his hotel last night, but he wanted to wait until the intense stress of the incident in the Buy More had passed. Ellie was furious with him and rightly so. At this point, she deserved to know the truth. He vowed to himself he would answer every question she had and not try to come up with some moronic lie like he had in the past to keep Chuck's secret. Ellie, Devon, Morgan, and Big Mike were hip-deep in this. The Ring knew who they were and demonstrated no qualms about harming them. They deserved to know everything.
Ellie answered the door. "Doc, I…I just wanted to say how sorry I was about all of this," Jimmy said humbly. "Please believe me that we did everything we could to protect Chuck. All of us, Case, Carina, me…we wanted Chuck out of the spy life and we wanted him to be with Sarah. And we sure as hell never wanted any danger to befall any of you."
Ellie stared at him for a moment. She then shook her head and quietly chuckled to herself. "You stopped a half-dozen agents from killing Morgan, my husband, and me single-handedly, protected Chuck for the last eight months, and I all I could do was berate you over it. I'm pretty sure I'm the one who owes you an apology."
Jimmy gave her a shy smile as she stepped aside to let him in. Devon was at the kitchen table pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"Little cup o' joe for the superspy?" he said with a grin, waving the coffee pot.
"Thanks," Jimmy replied. Devon gestured for Jimmy to sit at the kitchen table, which he did. "To be fair, Big Mike got the last guy. But I wanted to come by and see if you were OK after what happened last night. And after all of that…I think I should be totally up-front with you. Answer any questions you might have."
Ellie sat down at the table. "This is…you're right. This was a lot to take last night. How…how did all of this start? When did it start involving Chuck?"
"We came to town around the time you knew about his date with Sarah. Sarah walked into the Buy More and asked him out on a date. That was a setup, of course, to find out what he knew and how he got the Intersect from Bryce. Apparently Bryce emailed it to him."
"But Bryce disappeared. They didn't even explain his departure from the show. One season he was there; the next it was you."
"According to what Bryce told us, this group called Fulcrum was trying to steal the Intersect and they were very close. Can you imagine the damage possible if some enemy group knew every secret in the government? Bryce stole the data before anybody else could. But he didn't know who to trust. Chuck was the only one he could count on. And as we found out, that was because he knew about Chuck way back at Stanford, what Chuck was capable of. He disappeared, and we thought he had been shot to death. But he was really working undercover to take down Fulcrum. That's why you suddenly saw me on the show without explanation. They put me on Sarah's team and we continued to go on missions while doing the show. We were a good team, but when Chuck started working with us, our success rate went through the roof."
"But now Bryce is…" Devon started.
Jimmy nodded sadly. "After we got the original Intersect out of Chuck, a new one was created that Bryce was supposed to receive, but he was attacked by The Ring. He was shot and killed, and they got within an inch of killing all of us. But then…"
Jimmy shook his head, still unable to believe that night actually happened. "Then what?" Ellie prompted.
"He uploaded the new-and-improved Intersect. Chuck took out all of those Ring agents…by himself. He saved our lives. He was…he was absolutely amazing."
"I knew it," Devon beamed. "I knew he wasn't a total loser."
Ellie glared at him and Devon guiltily backed away. "But he took off with Sarah?" she asked.
Jimmy nodded. "Ever since the beginning, all of us knew Sarah had a thing for Chuck. We never saw her more relaxed, more happy than when he came into the picture. The problem was, you have to have a bit of a detachment from an asset if you want to protect them effectively. But I think we'd have to agree that's impossible with Chuck. He's that good of a person, easily the best asset we've ever had to guard. Not only that, he wanted to do everything to help us, and I don't just mean with missions. Thanks to Chuck, Casey reunited with his old girlfriend, Carina became more open and trusting, and obviously Sarah fell in love with the guy. She wanted to give him his life back, but you can imagine the government not wanting to give up someone with all of these amazing abilities that Chuck now has. She's trying to keep him safe and out of the spy business for good."
Ellie smiled momentarily at that thought before a not-so-wonderful thought went through her mind. "You said all of you were trying to keep us out of danger, too? Were we really in that much danger?"
"We tried our best. A lot of the things we did…the tailgating at Stanford, going to Sarah's high school reunion, Chuck finding Jill, our trip to New York…were missions where we tried to cover up what we were really doing. But the danger got pretty damn close. You remember that patient you had who was poisoned? He didn't pull through?" Ellie nodded. "He was a nuclear scientist for the government who had sensitive data. The man who killed him tried to go after you because the man slipped the data in your lab coat. You were poisoned in the same way, and then so were Chuck, Sarah, and Casey. Over Sarah's and Casey's protests, Chuck chose to save your life instead of his own."
"Oh, my God," Ellie breathed.
"He refused to let you die, even though every secret of the government would have died with him. He wouldn't even take the antidote before Sarah and Casey. It didn't even register how important he was. Saving you and Sarah and Casey was the only thing on his mind."
Devon smiled at that thought. Clearly he married into the right family. "So the whole thing about Jill and him breaking up with Sarah? That was fake, too?"
"All a setup. I have to give all the credit in the world to Chuck; it was his idea to arrange the breakup so he could get close to Jill and find out if her company was making a bioweapon. And then how he handled himself when Jill betrayed him and tried to deliver him to the enemy. He protected the CIA from a major data breach and saved our lives."
Jimmy thought about what he just said and gave a laugh. "Hell, I can't even tell you how many times he saved our lives, especially Sarah's. Honestly, part of me wishes he'd stay a spy. He's so good at it."
Ellie glared at him. "I know, I know. We'll get him out, I promise," Jimmy reassured her. "Sarah's never been so happy in her life. And what Chuck's done for Carina, for Case, for me…he deserves to have someone as awesome as Sarah."
"But how are you going to convince him to come back?" Devon asked. "I mean, if the government used him before, why wouldn't they do everything in their power to keep him now that he's even better?"
"One problem at a time," Jimmy replied. "First, we have to make sure you and Ellie and Morgan are protected. If Chuck thinks you're even remotely in danger, he'd give himself up in a heartbeat. I have to return to my hotel, but I'll return at 2PM and I'll tell Morgan to be here by then. You'll meet your protective detail. Not to worry; they screen candidates to match the personalities of the people they guard to make the relationship as easy as possible. Devon, you'll probably get someone who likes to parachute and climb mountains to watch you. Ellie, you'll likely get someone similar to Sarah or Carina, probably who took a few med courses in college so you two have something to talk about. Who they'll get for Morgan…I don't even want to picture it. But all of you will be safe. That I guarantee."
Ellie and Devon laughed at that. Jimmy rose from the table. "I'll see you over there in a few hours."
Ellie walked around and hugged him tightly. "Thank you for looking after Chuck."
"Glad to do it," Jimmy replied. He pulled back to see Devon giving him a weird look. "Uh, in my defense, she hugged me," Jimmy said nervously.
"I know," Devon sighed. "She got to hug one of her 'freebies'."
Jimmy's eyes widened and he looked back and forth between the two. "OK…awkward moment with a newlywed couple. Sadly, not the first time."
Devon grinned and hugged him, too. "Just messin' with ya, buddy. Thanks for watching out for us."
Jimmy exited the apartment.
~/^\~
Jimmy arrived back at his hotel and opened the door to his room, only to be greeted by a half-dozen agents with their guns drawn.
"Agent Slade? NSA, Western Branch," the team lead said. "We have orders to take you into custody and return you to Washington, D.C."
Jimmy stared in shock. That bitch found out, he thought angrily. Beckman must have gotten the captured Ring agents to talk and admit Chuck saved the day in the Intersect room. The team had falsified their reports in order to get Chuck out of the spy business for good, but three weeks was the best they could do.
Four of the agents kept their guns trained on Jimmy as the other two moved him against the wall and searched him. They then put his hands behind his back and put on handcuffs.
"About time you showed up," a voice called out from the door.
Everyone turned to see Alex Forrest there. "I've been working on him, trying to figure out if he knew where the others were."
"We have orders to take him in, Agent Forrest," the team lead replied. "Agent Slade and the others falsified reports on their mission."
"I'll take care of that part. Keep up the search for his friends. They may still be here in L.A. I'll get Agent Slade back to D.C."
The team lead hesitated. "That's an order, Lieutenant," Forrest said in no uncertain terms. "I'll let you know if he tells me anything else."
The lead looked at Alex. He knew the nasty reputation of Agent Forrest, and he wasn't in much of a mood to challenge her. "Move out," he ordered his team.
The NSA team left. Jimmy turned to Alex in absolute horror. "I can't believe you'd do that. Not even you."
Alex was taken back. "Wait, you believed that?" She started to laugh. "Wow, maybe I should be on the show."
Jimmy's hatred did a complete 180. "You mean…"
"After what that bitch Beckman did, hauling your asses in is complete and total bullshit! Everything you did with Bartowski and she wants to hang you for it? Fuck her!"
Jimmy grew pensive. "You realize you just threw away your whole career, right? You're in this now. You're hip-deep in the shit like the rest of us."
"You were right about me already. I trust that you had good reason to do whatever it is that has Beckman pissed off. For once, I'm going to do what's right instead of blindly following the rules."
She walked up to him and gave him an ardent kiss. "It's the least I owe you."
"Thanks," Jimmy replied with his traditional shy smile. He then half-turned, expecting Alex to uncuff him.
"Oh, I just can't do that," she purred. "After the fun we had last night, how can I pass up an opportunity like this?"
She grabbed the back of his head and kissed him hard, her tongue eagerly teasing his. With her other hand, she removed his belt and began to remove his pants.
"Wait," Jimmy protested. "I'm not sure this is…"
Alex slipped her hand inside of his boxers, turning his protests into moans. "You were very good to me last night," she panted, walking him back to the bed. "Time to show you how good I can be."
She pushed him onto the bed and continued to kiss him hard.
Lankaran, Azerbaijan
May 18, 2016
4:00 PM AZT
Ilsa walked through the marketplace, seeing various stores selling food, clothing, and other items the average Azerbaijani would need on a daily basis. Unlike a lot of her other locales, it was easier for her to blend in as herself rather than covering herself with a niqab. A population of over 200,000 also meant supplies were easier to come across.
She intercepted the information a few days ago from the British Navy about the pending strike on Astara, only sixty kilometers from Lankaran just over the border in Iran. She found an Internet café and did some research. If there was a munitions depot, ISIS was hiding it well. Scanning photos of the mountainous area, she couldn't be certain where they might house their stronghold. But she knew she had two days to locate it and hack the Ministry of Defence's servers to insure the correct coordinates were available to launch a strike. The second part was easy; finding the coordinates for them was the real challenge.
As she purchased a few pieces of a local bread that was popular with Azerbaijanis and a bottle of water, she felt the presence of someone following her. She feared this from the day the DGSE sent her on this dangerous assignment: she would be a myth forever. Her success rate would have given her awards of the highest order in France…if anybody was allowed to know about them. But now she got the feeling someone was onto her.
She casually walked down the marketplace, careful not to give away any hints she was aware of her tail. She turned a corner and walked quickly down the sidewalk, slipping behind a building to remain out of sight. The person following her turned the corner and began to walk in the same direction. Ilsa readied herself. The person crossed behind the store, and Ilsa let loose with a spinning kick, knocking her follower to the ground. She was ready to go on the offensive, pulling out a very sharp knife from behind her back.
"Ilsa," the man grumbled in pain, trying to get his bearings.
The voice was quite familiar, and Ilsa stopped dead in her tracks. She immediately bent down and turned the person around.
"John?" she whispered in total shock and a considerable amount of joy. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him hard. "What the hell are you doing here?"
John slowly stood but continued to let Ilsa kiss him. "I came looking for you. You were about to travel to Astara."
Ilsa was even more shocked. "How do you know about that?" she asked in complete amazement.
"It was a setup," Casey quickly replied, looking around to make sure they weren't being followed. "We gave you a target to find so we could get you out of trouble."
"John, this is an assignment. Paris ordered me to go deep undercover to help take out ISIS."
"I know. I've been reading the memos ever since moving to D.C. But you're in danger. I was able to find you. How long do you think it'll take Victor Federov to find you?"
Ilsa was silent. "He escaped prison?"
Casey nodded. "It sounded like he had help, too. We have to get you out of the Middle East, Ilsa. You've made a lot of enemies, and you know Federov will be out for revenge."
Ilsa exhaled. She had made a tremendous difference since she last saw Casey five months ago, but he was right. With Victor on the loose, her cover being compromised was the least of her problems.
She nodded. "Let's head back. Hopefully the DGSE can use me elsewhere."
Casey pulled out his gun and started to lead Ilsa to the other end of the marketplace where his vehicle was. They came around a corner…and ran directly into a dozen jihadists, who had staked themselves around the marketplace waiting to find Ilsa.
They confiscated Casey's gun and Ilsa's knife. One of them took Casey's car keys and went to confiscate all of the weapons and gear the FIS and VSSE provided while two others handcuffed Casey and Ilsa.
"Knowing you, John Casey, I think my associates will believe it's Christmas when they search your car. Thank you for the wonderful presents."
Casey and Ilsa turned towards the voice. Victor Federov was there.
"Right where I told you she'd be," Federov told the ISIS soldiers. "And an extra-added bonus…an American spy."
Echo Park – Los Angeles, CA
May 18, 2016
2:00 PM PDT
Jimmy knocked on the door to Ellie's and Devon's apartments for the second time that day. The NSA detail would be there any minute, and he had to not be visible when they arrived. Alex bought him some time, but he feared it wouldn't be enough. However, there was no way in hell he was going to leave Ellie, Devon, and Morgan unprotected. Thankfully, Big Mike's escort was ex-Army and a former Los Angeles beat cop who also liked to fish, so the taxpayer-bought fishing trip he was heading towards now would keep him out of sight.
"Is Morgan here?" Jimmy asked when Devon answered the door.
"He arrived five minutes ago," Devon replied. "Did you bring our babysitters with you?"
"They'll be here any minute."
"Jimmy, hey!" Morgan called from inside the apartment as Jimmy entered. "This is so cool, man! If they ever bring the show back, you should have them, like, make this into a script. You know, but change our names and all that."
He chuckled. "Actually, we do that sometimes."
"Whoah, really? Which ones? What about that time in Moscow where Lance and Jill Garrett zip-lined into the Kremlin?"
"That didn't actually happen."
"Duke killing his former commander?"
"Nope."
"Oh, I know. That one where you were trying to get Jen Burton to go on vacation and you jumped off that roof to escape the bad guys?"
"Actually, that one really did happen. But Bryce jumped off of the roof, not me."
"Oooh, how about that season finale with you disabling the bomb in the Freedom Tower and you fell down the elevator shaft."
"Yup."
"Really?!"
"Of course not! If I fell down an elevator shaft 90 floors, would I be talking to you right now?"
"Yeah. Sorry, dude. It's just, do you even know how cool you and everybody look doing that show? And then to find out you're really like that! It's so epic!"
"Believe me, Morgan. I'm not really that cool in real life. I just do my job and hope I did it correctly. To be honest, we've never encountered anything like the last eight months in our lives. We tried to survive as best as we could."
"Clearly you were successful," Ellie said, walking into the living room area.
Jimmy nodded softly. "We couldn't have done it without Chuck. And Chuck couldn't have done it without all of you. It's pretty obvious why Chuck is the way he is."
Ellie smiled at that. "We'd do anything for each other."
There was a knock at the door. "Go ahead and answer it," Jimmy said quickly. "I can't be seen by the NSA. I'll explain later."
Jimmy quickly ducked down the hallway. Devon opened the door.
"Dr. Woodcomb, I'm Agent Kieran Grove, NSA. We're here to take you to orientation for your protective detail. Are the other Dr. Woodcomb and Mr. Grimes ready to go?"
Devon looked back at Ellie and Morgan. "We're ready."
"This way, please."
Agent Grove started to walk through the courtyard, followed by Ellie, Devon, and Morgan, who glanced around. His eyes then widened. His head started darting back and forth.
"Hey, Bill!" Morgan shouted in the opposite direction from the way they were walking. "Bill Clay! Is that you? How long has it been, Bill Clay?"
Ellie and Devon turned around. "Morgan, who are you yelling at?" Ellie asked seeing no one. "Who is Bill Clay?"
In Chuck's bedroom, Jimmy heard Morgan shouting. Bill Clay? he thought. Suddenly his mouth dropped open in shock. He leaped out of the window and ran to the courtyard. He came up behind Agent Grove and put a gun to his neck.
"Don't move," he hissed. He quickly pulled Grove's weapon from its holster.
"What the hell is going on?!" Ellie yelled in total shock.
Jimmy fished Grove's wallet out of his pocket, tossing it to Devon. "Check the driver's license," he told him.
Devon looked and his expression turned more furious then when Morgan sabotaged his first wedding ceremony. "His real name is Arthur Knox."
"Hans Gruber did the same thing in Die Hard. Nice work tipping me off, Morgan."
"Yeah, you should really get to know your neighbors better, dude," Morgan said to Ellie and Devon in a panic. "He got the name off the mailboxes."
Jimmy looked to his right. Knox's partner aimed his gun. "GET DOWN!"
He pushed Knox away and dove for Ellie, Devon, and Morgan, the shot missing them by inches. Knox got up and tried to land a punch at Jimmy, who went after him with a spinning kick, knocking him back. He pulled out his guns and fired at the other agent, who ducked out of the way.
Jimmy quickly pulled up Ellie, Devon, and Morgan, handing him his car keys. "Get out of here, now!"
The three took off out the back of the apartment complex as Knox sent a kick at Jimmy's face, knocking him back. He dropped his guns as he fell into the wall. Knox quickly kicked the guns away as he threw a pair of roundhouses at Jimmy, who was becoming more dazed. Knox's partner ran up and sent a hard shot to Jimmy's sternum, making him double-over and lose his breath. They continued to pound on him, finally getting him under control. They dragged him towards the street.
Ellie, Devon, and Morgan got to Jimmy's car and got inside.
"Oh, God," Ellie said in a rush. "Where's Jimmy?"
"I don't know," Morgan said. "But we have to help him."
"How?" Devon demanded.
"I don't know. Maybe there's a weapon in the car, or…"
Morgan opened the glove box, and a panel with a series of buttons slid downward into view.
"Whoah," Devon replied. "What do those do?"
Morgan quickly searched the rest of the glove box and the front of the car. "I don't know. There's no instruction manual, no little cards that say what they are."
"They have Jimmy!" Ellie cried, pointing out the back window.
Devon and Morgan turned to see the two agents dragging Jimmy to their car, who was trying to break free.
"We have to do something!" Ellie was in a full panic.
"Like what?" Morgan said in equal panic. "They have guns, and what do we have?"
"Try one of those buttons," Devon said
"Which one?"
"Pick one!"
Morgan hit one of the buttons, and flames shot out of the grill.
"Try another one!" Devon shouted.
Morgan hit another button on the panel. Outside, Jimmy saw the tail lights of the car drop down.
"Fuck!" he screamed and dropped to the ground. A pair of machine guns protruded out and opened fire, hitting the two agents and decimating their car.
Ellie, Devon, and Morgan were catatonic, to put it mildly. "Shut it…shut it…" Ellie stammered, not even believing that just happened.
Morgan put a shaky finger on the button he pressed. The guns stopped firing, and Jimmy slowly stood, staggering to the driver's seat of the car. He opened the door with Morgan's help and slumped into the driver's seat.
"You…you really have a car like this?" Morgan asked anxiously.
"It's Casey's," Jimmy replied tiredly. "He works on it on weekends." He shook his head. "Why can't he just get laid like everyone else?"
"What do we do now?" Devon asked. "How did they even know about the protective detail?"
"Fulcrum had agents inside the government; the Ring must have even more...and higher up." He started the car and drove from the apartment complex. "We have to find a safe place for you three. Off the grid, some place only the team and I ever knew about."
"No," Ellie replied, finally getting her bearings. "We've been attacked twice in the last twenty-four hours, and now we can't even trust our own government to protect us? You know where the safest place in the world is? It's right next to you! We are not leaving your side!"
Jimmy quietly groaned. He was barely keeping himself together as it was from all of these attacks, but this situation was getting worse by the minute. And worst of all, Ellie was right. Nobody in the government could be trusted right now. He only had four people he could trust, and he didn't know where they were.
But now he had a fifth. And he knew exactly where she was. He headed for his hotel.
He walked into his room with Ellie, Devon, and Morgan following close behind. Alex was waiting for him.
"What's going on?" Alex asked, alarmed by the look on Jimmy's face and seeing Chuck's family with him.
"Ellie, Devon, Morgan, this is Alex Forrest," Jimmy explained. "She's a CIA agent. And until I find the others, she's the only one in the government I can trust."
"How do you know?" Ellie asked.
"Because she stopped the government from putting me under arrest earlier today. That's why I ducked out when that NSA agent showed up. We falsified the reports what happened the night of your reception so we could get Chuck out of the government, but they apparently found out. As far as the government is concerned. I'm a rogue agent. All of us are, including Alex. She is going to keep an eye on you and you are to listen to every last thing she says. She'll keep you safe."
Jimmy pulled out his smartphone and called Carina. He knew she was in London, and he hoped the word hadn't gotten there yet that the team was to be arrested.
"Where the hell have you been?!" Carina demanded when she answered the phone.
"It's a long story," Jimmy said in aggravation of a third person chewing him out in the last eight hours alone. "Beckman put out an order to capture us. Have you heard from the others?"
"Not so far. But that's only the half of it, Jimmy. Ilsa Trinchina is in trouble somewhere in the Middle East, and Cole and I think Casey might have gone to retrieve her."
"What about Chuck and Sarah?"
"Nothing in the last few days. But Sky News had spotted them in Stockholm and then Paris. Apparently they're not done with the spy business just yet."
Jimmy hung his head. He had another ass-chewing coming from Ellie on that one. "OK, we're coming to London."
"We? What do you mean we?"
"The Ring attacked out here in L.A. They took two shots at Ellie, Devon, and Morgan. They attacked at the Buy More and then again at their apartment. I was almost arrested, but Alex Forrest got me out of it."
"Why is Alex Forrest with you?" Carina asked in confusion.
"That's…an even longer story. But we're all we've got right now. We'll be in London within the next eighteen hours."
Jimmy paused and looked at Ellie, Devon, Morgan, and Alex. Any last visages of self-doubt and self-hatred he had were completely gone. Determination had taken over.
"We're putting the band back together."
Devon grinned. "Awesome."