Hello, folks. This has been a 'be careful what you wish for' kind of two weeks. I've been working different jobs almost every day, and I'll be heading out of town next week as a favor to a friend of mine to help them with something. So if the chapter looks like my mind's a bit distracted, I do apologize. But I did manage to put quite a few Easter eggs in the chapter, even one for Big Mike. And a little pop culture referencing. Just remember when this is taking place. :-D

I have to admit it's quite a balancing act now with so many people now in on the big secret. It's almost like I've skipped forward to Season 4 and am trying to meld parts of three different seasons into this story (and even had a season one reference in this).

Hopefully I'll get the next chapter out on time but I can't make any guarantees. My time is about to go from crazy to completely insane. But I do hope you continue to enjoy the story and I hope you leave reviews. And I hope I don't have to say the NBC/Fake Empire material thing over and over, but you already know who created this wonderful universe. Now if only they'd give us a damn movie!

Enjoy!

Warner Brothers Studios – Burbank, CA
May 29, 2016
11:15 AM PDT

"My first guest you all know as the very talented star of Jen Burton: Spy Girl. It's always a good time when she's here, and she wanted to make up for missing her last appearance two months ago. Please welcome the beautiful Sarah Walker!"

The Ellen audience jumped to their feet and started screaming as Sarah came out onto the stage to DJ Tony playing Jet's Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is. She walked up the steps and gave Ellen DeGeneres a big hug, which Ellen held just a bit longer than her average hug. The two ladies sat down.

"Hi there," Ellen said.

"That's quite a welcome. Thank you," Sarah replied with a smile to DJ Tony and the audience.

"It is. Tony, what was that? Why did you pick that song?"

"Hey, a lady who kicks ass for a living needs a kick-ass intro song," Tony replied, which got the audience cheering again.

"I would certainly not argue that," Ellen replied. "I originally thought of a Carpenters song for her entrance. Which is why they won't let me sit in the production meetings anymore."

The audience laughed at that as Ellen turned to Sarah. "So how have you been? You have recovered from your illness from a couple of months ago?"

"Yes, I have," Sarah responded confidently, grateful Chuck reminded her she ditched her last Ellen appearance to assist in his rescue after Fulcrum took him prisoner while Alex Forrest ran the team. "Those spastic colons are not something you mess with."

A few members of the audience grimaced. "See? Right there!" Ellen exclaimed. "This is one of the most beautiful women in the world sitting next to me, and she's not allowed to have digestive problems like a normal person? I mean, a few bad tacos on my part and Portia's making me sleep on the couch!" That drew a laugh from the crowd. "But in fairness, the twelve tequila shots didn't help, either." Another laugh. "I'm just making that up. There were no tacos."

The crowd was roaring and very much into the interview. "So you've had a very interesting month," Ellen continued. "First you leave us with that big cliffhanger on the show of Lance McCall falling down the elevator shaft, and now you've been traipsing through Europe imitating your character in real life?"

Sarah laughed heartily. She never had to practice something more in her life. Thankfully Chuck and Morgan were good coaches. "Oh, come on. I can't really do all of those things they think I did. It was just coincidence I was in the same ballroom with Chuck when that incident occurred with the accountant. And they've already said that wasn't us in Paris; just someone who looked like us."

"Chuck…" Ellen tried out his name. "I think I like saying that better than Charles. He's more like a Chuck. Am I allowed to call him that?"

"If you're nice to him," Sarah replied with a grin.

"Shoot, then I'm out of luck with Chuck." That got the audience laughing again. "So things are going great with you."

"Yes, very much so. The last eight months have been some of the best I've ever had, both on the show and in real life."

"And you totally deserve it. You and your co-stars get along so well, they're like your family."

Sarah smiled at that. There was an understatement if she had ever heard one.

"They are. Carina's like a sister to me. Certainly we fight enough to be sisters." The crowd gave a laugh. "John's sort of the patriarch of the group. Of course, he's a bit older than the rest of us, and 'crazy uncle' just doesn't seem to fit him. Jimmy's the crazy uncle."

The crowd laughed again. "That I will agree with," Ellen said. "He's been on the show a few times. The reviews for Mr. Wrong were less scary." Another big laugh from the crowd. "But he will do anything to entertain the audience…including dressing up as Freddie Mercury and lip-syncing."

"Oh!" Sarah pretended to be upset…and did a good job of it considering she really was upset. "Please tell me those Australian ladies aren't backstage waiting to surprise me again. I felt like such an idiot last time."

Ellen laughed. "No, they're not here. I promise."

"Phew. I'm glad of that. They were so wonderful and so funny. I felt totally out of my element."

"But hopefully you won't feel too much like an idiot today, because we brought out…"

Ellen reached behind the couch and pulled out a tablet computer. "…Heads Up!"

The crowd cheered as the video wall behind Sarah and Ellen displayed the game. "We've added a new set of questions for the app which you can purchase on iTunes that are all about Jen Burton: Spy Girl and its cast. Are you up for giving it a try, Sarah?"

"I don't have a choice, do I," she replied with her well-practiced grin.

"Not even a little." Ellen smiled back. She tapped the tablet's screen and held it up to face Sarah. "Ready?"

Sarah exhaled deeply and nodded. The computer counted down. Three…two…one…

"OK, Duke Forrester used to be one of these…" Sarah started.

"Green Beret," Ellen answered and flipped the board down to get the next one.

"Jill Garrett pretended to be this guy's fiancé to get into his business dealings."

"Karl Stromberg?"

"Right." Ellen flipped the board. "Jen's first job in the government; they protect the President…"

"Secret Service."

"Jimmy went to school here. Big Ten, they wear purple, near Chicago…"

"Northwestern."

"OK, Jill and Jen had to pose as supermodels at this fashion show, we wore lingerie most of the episode…"

"Ahh, one of my favorites. Victoria's Secret."

"He played Lance's handler who taught him how to seduce a target…"

"Willian Shatner. And boy, does that explain a lot."

The crowd laughed, but Sarah kept going. "He used to play James Bond. He did a few episodes where he was the bad guy…"

"Roger Moore."

"Right. Supposedly, this actress stalked John Casey…"

"Me!" Ellen shouted excitedly.

The crowd went into hysterics. "She didn't, of course. She was Trinity in The Matrix, kicked a lot of ass…"

The buzzer sounded, so Ellen didn't get to answer the question. The crowd applauded.

"Seven right, not bad," Ellen said proudly as the computer displayed all of the correct answers. She handed the tablet to Sarah. "And now guess whose turn it is?"

Sarah started to turn beet red. "Come on! I don't know anything about the show!"

"What do you mean? It's named for you!"

The audience started cheering to encourage Sarah. She could only think that Chuck, who was backstage at that moment, was having himself a huge laugh.

"OK," Sarah said tiredly. She tapped the tablet screen and held it up for Ellen to see. The computer counted down. Three…two…one…

"The town where you grew up," Ellen began.

Sarah froze briefly. She couldn't remember where her public bio said she was raised. "Calabasas, California," she said, hoping she was right. Ellen's smile indicated she did.

Sarah flipped the board. "Carina started in theater work here before the show," Ellen continued.

"London."

"John Casey went to school here. It's in New Jersey."

"Rutgers."

"No, the other big school. Not Princeton. Catholic?"

Sarah's eyes widened. She accidentally gave Casey's real school instead of the one in his bio.

"Seton Hall," a voice behind Sarah said.

She quickly turned when the crowd cheered. Chuck was right behind her.

"Go! Go!" Chuck prodded, meaning Sarah should flip to the next question, which she did.

"Actor Carina dated for four months," Ellen continued.

"Brad Pitt?" Sarah asked nervously.

The crowd laughed. "No, the new Captain Kirk," Ellen corrected.

"Chris Pine," Chuck answered for her.

"Jimmy sang this song on The Tonight Show while imitating Al Pacino."

"Umm…" Sarah didn't have a clue.

"Carly Rae Jepsen, Call Me Maybe," Chuck replied, which made the crowed laugh even harder.

"When did you premiere?"

Sarah's was ready to panic. She looked at Chuck. "September 24th, 2010," Chuck said quickly to beat the buzzer. The crowd applauded as Chuck sat next to Sarah. She gave him a grateful kiss.

"You did well, Sarah," Ellen said. "Had a little help there, but…"

"He's wonderful," she replied, caressing Chuck's face. "Still, why did I think Carina dated Brad Pitt, of all people?"

"True," Chuck replied. "I mean, Angelina's never going to leave that guy. You would have been better off saying Casey's name."

The crowd laughed at that one. "So, will everybody be back for a season seven?" Ellen asked.

Sarah gave a little smile. She knew the answer but she couldn't give it. Certainly announcing she was leaving the show would be devastating to the public. Even she had to acknowledge her popularity around the world. But this is what she wanted. After so many years as an agent, the majority of which were spent in the public eye, she just wanted to find a quiet corner of the world and live happily with Chuck. The only thing she'd really miss was being with her three co-workers and friends.

"We'll see," she simply replied.

"OK, why does everybody do that?" Ellen whined. "Can't I get one star to come on here and totally spoil their show? Here, it's easy. On tomorrow's show, I tell a few jokes and interview a couple of celebrities." The crowd laughed at that.

"I'll be sure to watch," Chuck replied. "Right after I see that episode of Three's Company where there's some kind of misunderstanding."

The crowd laughed again. "It is so great to see the two of you," Ellen said to wrap up the interview. "Do come back soon. Sarah Walker and Charles Carmichael, everybody."

The three of them rose as the crowd cheered. Chuck and Sarah exchanged hugs with Ellen.

Tangerine Hotel – Burbank, CA
May 29, 2016
1:00 PM PDT

The team had relocated to the Honeymoon Suite at the hotel in order to conduct business. It may have been practical, given it was the largest suite the hotel had, but the irony was not lost on anybody that the team had sprouted a few couples since all of this began. Certainly Chuck and Sarah falling in love seemed inevitable, but nobody expected Casey, Carina, and Jimmy to find significant others, too. And with the big secret out, their four-person team had now become an even baker's dozen. But nobody was feeling overconfident about that. Everyone knew reuniting the team was the easy part. The real work was about to begin.

"Any lip-syncing today?" Jimmy asked with a grin as Chuck and Sarah opened the door to the suite.

"Nope," Chuck replied. "But Ellen did make Sarah play 'Heads Up!' with the new Spy Girl question set."

Sarah shook her head. "And Chuck bailed me out on some of the questions."

"That's all?" Jimmy replied, not a little disappointed.

"Sorry, nothing more embarrassing than that."

Jimmy hit a few buttons on his smartphone. "Guess I just saved some room on my TiVo," he muttered in disappointment.

"We've got to get moving on this," Casey said sharply to get everyone back into focus. "We need to set up Mr. Bartowski somewhere he can work on a new Intersect and we have to get him the data."

"And I imagine work didn't take any time off while we were gone," Alex Forrest said. "I'm sure Beckman has a few missions for us to handle."

"This is actually an improvement," Carina said. "Usually with that bitch, we scratch her back and she stabs us in ours."

"Not this time," Stephen replied with ample determination. "She needs me to make this work, which means she damn well better give all of you everything that you want. I disappeared because I never wanted Chuck and Ellie involved in any of this. We complete this and we complete it right."

Ellie looked over her father's shoulder at what he was typing on his computer. "How does it work, Dad? I know the subject is shown an image filled with subliminal data, but what happens then? Does the Intersect imprint the information into the person's mind?"

"It does much more. The key is for the Intersect to control the synaptic pathways between short-term and long-term memory and also develop the trigger needed to access the information. You know how you'll hear an old song and it will remind you of a date you were on or you take in a particular scent and it reminds you of a vacation you may have taken somewhere? Your brain remembers everything that's inputted through your senses, but with most things, it won't register with you consciously. The Intersect was designed to control how you stored the information you saw and how you retrieved it. But it has to be tailor-made to your unique cranial network. And there's so much information, it can be very dangerous to the person."

"That's why Chuck can't handle the one he has?"

Stephen nodded. "Had I designed the new Intersect for Chuck, it may have worked. And had Beckman not changed the data architecture, it likely would have worked for Bryce."

"Bryce said the new Intersect was too powerful," Chuck said somberly, remembering Bryce's last words to him. "He told me to destroy it."

Stephen exhaled. "But you didn't. I understand why, of course. You used it to save everybody. But you can't keep this one in you much longer. We have to get it out."

"What about the one for Jimmy?" Ellie asked. "You said the first time you did it, you almost killed him."

"Graham forced the Intersect project through the first time around. I kept telling him more testing was needed, but he didn't care. He didn't even care what happened to Jimmy. "Let this thing kill him. We'd be doing him a favor." was what he said. And it almost did kill him. They suspended the project and did a massive cover-up."

Chuck and Ellie could see their father getting worked up again over what had transpired twenty-five years ago. "I wasn't exactly crying my eyes out when I found out he was killed by that Trojan Horse Fulcrum sent," Stephen said quietly. "This time it will be different. We do this right and on my timetable. No one else's. With the technology available now, I can design an Intersect Jimmy's mind can handle. And Beckman better not change a damn thing."

"Would it be OK if I stayed around and assisted you in your work?" Ellie said.

Stephen turned to her. "I thought you'd never ask," he replied with a smile, pulling her into a hug.

The computer beeped. General Beckman was ready. Sarah grabbed the remote and initiated a videoconference.

"Mr. Bartowski, I have sent word to my IT department to be ready for a meeting with you in the next few days," Beckman said. "I've kept your identity secret per your request. Only a few people will ever know who you are and they'll relay the tasks to their people."

"General, it's best to keep this project far away from prying eyes," Stephen replied. "We need a place where the Ring would never suspect we were building a new Intersect."

"We need a secured location," Casey said. "Some place where we can hide the energy consumption and bandwith. And also to be able to keep a close watch on the place."

"Or…" Morgan replied. "What about setting up in a place that already uses lots of electricity and bandwith? Kind of like, you know, hiding in plain sight? Saves time in building it, too."

"What are you thinking, Morgan?" Chuck asked.

Buy More – Burbank, CA
May 30, 2016
10:00 AM PDT

"This is a matter of national security. Ordinarily we would never attempt something like this, but you know what's at stake. You're a former Naval officer, so we're relying on your integrity and patriotism to protect our secret. The fate of our country lies in the balance."

"Well…uh…respectfully, Colonel Casey, I was only a cook." Big Mike was hesitant. "Did two tours on the USS Alabama."

"But you know the drill," Casey replied. "Imagine how bad they want the new Intersect if they were willing to kill all of you to get it. You saw what happened yourself. You even had to save Slade's life from that Ring agent."

"That I did." He grabbed his baseball bat and gave it a little kiss. "What do you need me to do?"

"We're putting you back in charge of the store, and Grimes will be your assistant manager. The two of you are to make sure everything operates as normal and nobody gets curious about the lab we're making in the back for Mr. Bartowski to do his work."

"OK, can do. But what if someone shows up like they did when they almost killed us? Is there a special number we can call?"

"Way ahead of you. We're giving you two agents to guard the store. Their job is to blend in and keep everyone in line. Especially those two morons at the Nerd Herd desk."

Casey rose from his chair and motioned for Big Mike to come with him. "Who are they?" Big Mike asked.

Right then, Cole entered the store in khaki pants and a green Buy More polo shirt. Just behind him, Ilsa sauntered in wearing a white Oxford shirt that was definitely a size or two too small on her and a short black miniskirt. She also had on a gray Nerd Herd tie. Compared to how Ilsa was dressed, Anna used to look like a nun.

Big Mike looked in wide-eyed shock. "You didn't have anybody…like…you HAVE seen who works here. Haven't you, Colonel? I hope those two don't mind all the customers that will mob them!"

"Can't have Walker or Miller or Slade work undercover here."

Big Mike nodded. "Good point."

"Mike Tucker, this is Cole Barker and Ilsa Trinchina," Casey said, introducing the two. "The three of you and Grimes will work together to guard the Bartowskis and keep an eye on the store while he builds the two Intersects. Beckman will have her IT people in here tomorrow to set up what Mr. Bartowski needs. Meantime, the four of you get the other Buy More employees back and ready to open the store in two days."

"Not a problem, Case," Cole replied. He looked down at his outfit and grimaced. "Somehow, this still isn't the most ridiculous thing I've ever worn."

"Wish I could say that," Ilsa muttered in frustration.

"Works for me," Casey replied, eyeing Ilsa up and down, which certainly alleviated her depression.

Bel Air, CA
May 30, 2016
9:00 PM PDT

"OK, now I know why Casey is always grumpy. He has to sit out here while you four play dress-up?"

Alex was not having fun sitting in the surveillance van. She wasn't the expert on the surveillance systems, and she regretted asking Jimmy for lessons yesterday instead of Chuck. It wasn't that Jimmy wasn't a good teacher, it was just that Alex had a trouble concentrating on his instructions, courtesy of a few unplayed fantasies in her mind left over from her college days. A round or two of student-teacher roleplaying, and Jimmy couldn't even remember his own name. Not her most professional afternoon, but it was certainly a fun one.

"Hey, when we infiltrate a grade school auditorium full of soccer moms, he's our guy," Carina replied.

Alex rolled her eyes. There were no soccer moms anywhere near the mansion that Chuck and Sarah were entering. After Stephen assured everybody Chuck was safe for now if he could keep his flashes to a minimum, the four headed to the mansion of Victor Basta. He was heavily invested in Roark Industries but somehow managed to divest out before the government took over the company in the wake of Roark's murder. Although the idea was to keep the huge computer company propped up until a new Board of Directors could be installed, Beckman suspected that Basta was tipped off and tried to recoup investitures made by the Ring. Beckman hoped the team could find out how much Basta had on his computers and if he had a direct link to the Ring. What he knew could get the CIA back on track in taking them down.

"Actually, I'm OK with being out here," Jimmy replied. "Chuck and Sarah get to be mobbed by the crowd, and we get to sneak in upstairs and do actual spy stuff. I hate being in public."

"Oh, please," Sarah retorted over her earpiece, her BS detector reading maximum. "You always ham it up for the crowd. You are such an attention-seeker."

Jimmy shrugged. "That's just an act. I'm good at faking it."

"So am I," Alex quipped. Jimmy's eyes widened and he stared at Alex. "Just messing with you," she said with a grin, flicking the tip of her tongue at his lips.

"I take back what I said about being OK out here," Jimmy groaned.

"Where are you two?" Carina asked to get everybody back on task.

"Still meeting the guests," Chuck said quietly, turning away from the crowd. "It's just like we predicted: we're a hit."

"Have you found the mansion's network access point?" Jimmy asked.

"Looking for one."

Chuck and Sarah continued to walk around the party. Chuck finally found his target: a small port behind the entertainment center in one of the rooms just off the main hallway. Sarah kept an eye out while Chuck slipped underneath and installed the wireless router designed to intercept the mansion's network and transfer it to Jimmy outside.

"OK, linked in," Jimmy replied. He started to access the network. "Aaah, hell."

"What's wrong?" Sarah whispered.

"I was afraid they'd have this. Their wireless network is accessed through an external port outside the mansion with a two-megabyte encryption protocol and the rest of the house has wireless shielding. Sort of similar to a signal blocker for mobile phones."

"And for those of us who don't speak nerd, Jimmy?" Alex brusquely asked.

"We have to get in there and get the information ourselves."

Just then, the door to the TV room started to open. Sarah quickly looked back and forth. She grabbed Chuck and threw him over her hip, sending him on his back. She quickly unzipped the back of her dress and jumped on him, kissing him hard. She started to work on his pants as a guard stepped in.

"What are you two doing in here?" the guard demanded.

Sarah looked up with a very don't-mess-with-me glare. "A month in Europe and a bear-skinned rug. Do the math," she growled.

She went back to making out with Chuck as if the guard wasn't there. Two seconds later, the very shocked guard wasn't there.

Sarah looked up and breathed a sigh of relief. She got up from Chuck and fixed her dress. She then reached down to pull Chuck to his feet. "Sorry," she demurred. "I had to think of something fast."

"Yeah, no…no problem," Chuck stammered, still in shock. He then looked down. "OK, that's going to be a problem."

Sarah turned and looked at what Chuck was looking at. She sported the biggest grin on her face. "I'll fix that later," she purred, licking his lips with the tip of her tongue.

In the van, Alex stared at the monitor. "Has…she had to do that before?" she asked cautiously.

Carina only gave a shrug. "But not with…" Alex pointed an unsteady finger at Jimmy, but Carina only shrugged again.

"No, she didn't," Jimmy growled in exasperation. He went to the back of the van to get the rappelling equipment.

"What are you doing?" Carina asked.

"How else are we going to get the information?" Jimmy asked, holding up his piton gun and grabbing a vest. "It's on the second floor."

Carina huffed and opened a garment bag hanging next to her. She pulled out a dress and a tuxedo. "Why must you always do things the stupid, crazy way?" she demanded, holding up the attire.

Five minutes later, Carina and Jimmy exited the van and walked up the driveway to the mansion. The guard watching the door and taking names was shocked.

"Miss Miller, Mr. Slade, we weren't expecting you to be here," the guard said in surprise.

"Well, we heard from our friends there was a really great party going on, and we were kind of hoping to join the fun," Carina said in a throaty voice, opening up her seduction playbook.

"W-w-well, I'm not really supposed to let anyone in…"

"Oh, we won't get in the way, baby. Promise." Carina slid her hand up and down the guard's arm. "We just heard Mr. Basta is a big fan of the show and we wanted to thank him personally."

"That's…that's nice of you, but…"

"We won't stay for long." Carina was well within the guard's personal space. "And afterwards, I was planning to go out with some of my Hollywood friends. They love to party. We'll be out all night, but we could certainly handle inviting a few more people to join us."

"Ummm…" the guard looked towards the main hall of the mansion. "Well, the party only has an hour or so left, so sure."

"Thanks, sweetie," Carina replied, gently stroking the guard's cheek with her finger as she took Jimmy's arm and entered the mansion.

"Good, halfway home," Jimmy replied over everyone's earpieces. "Chuck, Sarah, can you run interference for us?"

"We'll have to," Sarah replied. "You need everyone's attention drawn away from the stairs."

"The Loire Valley Shuffle, Sarah?" Carina asked.

Sarah looked around and nodded. "It's our best option."

"Hope you have fun on TMZ tomorrow," Jimmy replied with a grin.

"Why? What's going on?" Chuck asked nervously.

"Just follow my lead," Sarah replied.

She took Chuck's hand and led him into the crowd as Carina and Jimmy walked along the perimeter, quickly shaking hands with anybody who recognized them. Sarah got to the middle, snagged a flute of champagne from a passing server, and waved it wildly in the air.

"I love this man!" she yelled…and tripped. She held tightly onto Chuck's hand and spun into him to stop from falling, who got wise to her plan and caught her.

"Sweetie…sweetie," Chuck replied, nervously looking around. "I love you, too. Maybe it's time…"

"This man is so wonderful!" Sarah shouted to the crowd, although slurred might have been a more accurate description as she continued her drunken display. "He is the sweetest…nicest…guy!"

Several guards started to head towards them, including the one guarding the stairwell. Carina and Jimmy quickly ascended.

Sarah wrapped her arms around Chuck and pulled herself up on him. "Want to see what I did to him in Lisbon?"

"OK, sweetie!" Chuck gently pulled her off of him before the guards got to them. "Time to get you home."

He held onto Sarah and guided her to the main entrance as security walked behind them to make sure they actually left.

Upstairs, Carina kept watch while Jimmy attached a device to Basta's computer to download its files.

"How are you two doing?" Sarah asked as Chuck and she made their way back to the van.

"Just about done," Jimmy replied. "I see some network connections to offsite servers on Basta's computer. I might be able to get around the encryption if I have enough time.

The door suddenly opened. "Halt!" a guard shouted.

Carina whipped out her tranq gun and fired. The guard fell to the floor.

"You don't now," Carina replied. "I used the twilight dart on him so he won't remember us being here."

Jimmy nodded. "But he'll be awake in five minutes. Thank God this computer had one of those new solid state drives. Hackers thought it was Christmas morning when those hit the market."

Carina and Jimmy heard the beep from Jimmy's portable drive indicating it was done. He put it in his pocket and the two went to the door. Four more guards were heading up the stairs and would see the unconscious guard. They quickly went to the balcony.

"You still brought that?" Carina asked as Jimmy loaded his piton gun.

"When does anything we do go according to plan?" Jimmy replied with a tired sigh as he fired at a ledge just above them. Carina held onto him as he jumped off the balcony and dropped to the ground on his attached harness.

"We're on our way," he said to Chuck, Sarah, and Alex. "And Carina, you can get off of me anytime now."

"You're still no fun," she pouted as she got down from straddling Jimmy.

"So, you and Jimmy never had to do anything compromising on a mission," Alex said to Sarah.

"Nope. Never," Sarah replied.

Alex paused. "I probably should have asked the same question about him and Carina."

Sarah scrunched in her chair. "Maybe."

"Nothing ever happened with Carina and me, either," Jimmy growled, clearly pissed off at this point. "Christ, can I go back to being a pathetic loser now?"

Sarah got on the phone to Beckman to inform her of their success.

Buy More – Burbank, CA
June 1, 2016
10:00 AM PDT

Cole and Ilsa took their spots on the sales floor as Big Mike and Morgan opened the doors. The Buy More decided to have a Grand Re-Opening sale following the store being closed for two weeks. They explained to the employees and the press that the store had to be closed in order to replace the gas lines under the store and that Emmett decided to transfer to the Buy More in Anchorage to "get away from it all."

"You OK?" Morgan asked Cole.

Cole swallowed hard. "Never thought I'd be undercover selling washing machines and big-screen tellys."

"Relax. Now you're in my area of expertise." Cole gave him a look. "Would you rather be Ilsa right now?"

Cole glanced over to see Ilsa trying to deal with a long line of customers, mostly high-school boys who never saw someone like her at the Nerd Herd desk. Not to mention, Jeff and Lester were being their typical useless over there.

"Quite," Cole replied, conceding the point.

Morgan turned to see a number of women heading in Cole's direction and ignoring the other salespeople.

"Time to turn on the charm," Morgan said to him. "I'll check on the rest of the store."

The women gathered around Cole in a semi-circle staring dreamily at him.

"Can I interest anyone in a new refrigerator?" he said timidly.

~/^\~

Stephen typed away at his computer as Ellie kept watch over his shoulder. Stephen had to give the government credit: he didn't think they could get his lab set up so quickly. But he had everything he needed in what used to be Big Mike's office. It was the one room that was sealed off from the rest of the store, no doubt why Big Mike liked it for so long. As Morgan correctly predicted, they were able to add a few servers in the room and had little trouble accessing the city's power grid to provide the necessary electricity or setting up the required network bandwith.

"I'm setting up the outlines for the program," Stephen explained. "This is the basic algorithm for the Intersect program. Once I have this set up, I'll need two things."

"The Intersect data Beckman wants to install and a workup on Jimmy's brain."

Stephen nodded. "Can you handle the second part?"

"We have a neuroimaging center at the hospital. The techs and staff who run it are amazing, but how do we justify scanning a seemingly healthy person?"

Stephen paused. "Tell them the insurance company requires it. Tell them the show wants Jimmy to do a few more dangerous stunts next season but they won't insure him unless he has all of these tests to make sure he can handle it."

"That might work," Ellie replied. "I'll get on it. Devon can give me a hand. He knows one of the doctors on that floor."

"Good. Now all we need is for Beckman to hand us the Intersect data."

"When will it get here?"

"Hopefully by later today or tomorrow."

Ellie sat back in her chair and stared out into space for a moment. "Two weeks ago, everything was so different. I got married, I thought Chuck had found the girl of his dreams…and I pestered the hell out of the two of them to stay together." She laughed gently at that. "But now, all of us…we're in the middle of this big fight…and…nobody is who they said they were…"

"I know," Stephen replied gently. "I am responsible for this. I thought…I thought I was protecting you and Chuck by staying away. But I was wrong. Family is everything, however you define your family. And if you want to protect the people you love, you don't run away. You fight for them. You do whatever it takes to make things right. I'm just grateful you didn't have to learn that lesson the hard way like I did. You fight for what's right. You protect your family. So does Chuck, Sarah, all of these people do."

Stephen looked down at the ground. "I owe it to everybody to make this work. Especially you and Chuck. You two are the best things to ever happen to me."

"Thanks, Dad," Ellie replied, giving him a hug.

Office of the Director of National Intelligence – McLean, VA
June 1, 2016
9:30 PM EDT

A figure went down the elevator to the basement. Before exiting, they hit a button on their smartphone to disable the security cameras. They walked down to the IT office where they knew a lot of work was being done.

"What's your progress?" the person asked the IT technician.

"We got the data that General Beckman requested a couple of days ago." The tech held up a portable drive. "We're ready to transfer it."

"Excellent," was the reply from Clyde Decker. He then took out a silenced revolver and shot the technician. He took the drive out of the dead technician's hand and placed it in his coat pocket. He walked back to the elevator and took it down to the parking garage. He had no idea what Beckman's reasoning was to gather this data, but it likely had to do with the Intersect.

He got to his car and attached the drive to a scanning device. He was quite surprised. The drive could hold almost ten terabytes of information and it was almost completely full. He started the engine and drove towards the exit, happy to deliver to the Ring what appeared to be the data for the Intersect.

Venice, Italy
June 2, 2016
1:00 PM CEST

The man walked along one of the canals in a haze. He knew he had to get outside every now and again for his own sanity, but even the beauty of Venice couldn't soothe the rage he felt inside. The same rage he had felt for years.

As he turned the corner around one of the buildings, someone knocked him out from behind. They tied his wrists behind his back and put a bag over his head. Two strong sets of hands carried him to a nearby car and drove for an hour, making plenty of twists and turns just in case the man gained consciousness.

They pulled into a church and led him to the back of the sacristy. Behind a statue of the Virgin Mary, they pulled open a secret door and led him down the steps, depositing him in the middle of a room and removing the bag and ropes on his wrists.

"Mr. Shaw," a voice called out from the darkness. They got no response. "Mr. Shaw," the voice said more forcefully.

Daniel Shaw stirred awake. He then stood up, unable to see anything outside of the center of the room where he stood. "Who are you?"

"We are here to provide you some answers."

"What do you mean?"

"We know who killed your wife, Evelyn."

"What do you mean?"

He got silence in return, but an image showed on a screen he didn't know was there.

"It can't be," he whispered in shock.

This had to be a joke. The image was of actress Sarah Walker.