OK, the good news is I only took 3 1/2 months instead of 7 to publish my latest chapter. But I have to admit it took time getting everything aligned. I think I'm set now to bring this story home, and I'm going to try my best to make sure it's finished before the end of the summer.
While I certainly don't deserve it, I want to thank all of you for your patience. I'm still working, but my job ends with the school year, so I may have only delayed the inevitable for a year or so. And trying to keep healthy has been a challenge as you can imagine. But spring has finally arrived around here, so maybe I can get out more and get some exercise. God knows I could use it.
P.S. There's kind of an R-rated comment by Casey, but hopefully you'll agree with me that it was a very Casey thing to say. :-D And unless things change, I think we have two chapters to go after this. Obviously it would be insane to stop the story now, but I will certainly try to get the last two chapters out sooner. As always, NBC/Fake Empire...you know the drill. Please leave reviews!
Thanks!
Marine Corps Air Station El Toro – Irvine, CA
June 8, 2016
6:30 PM PDT
"The Five Elders?"
Sarah knelt so she was at eye level with Chuck and took his hands. "You know who the Ring's leadership is?"
Chuck nodded gently, still feeling the effects of his flash. "I saw their names, faces, even where they work." He began to shake. "My God, they're in high positions both here and in Europe. Weapons, finances, computers, they could control everything if they wanted!"
"Bring it back to first gear, Bartowski," Casey said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Let's take this slow. You just took the Intersect equivalent of a sledgehammer to the pills. Going off the rails won't help you or anybody else. Just tell us whatever you can. Anything will help."
"OK." His breathing was still labored, but he concentrated on what he learned from his flash. "I…saw…the head of the NSA, the President's advisor on technology, the CEO of a major brokerage firm on Wall Street, the assistant director at MI-6, and a professor of psychology at UCLA."
"That's quite a list," Carina said. "Chuck's right. They've got all the bases covered. Even recruiting new agents."
"And now that we know the list, delving into the Ring files we have just got a lot easier," Cole added.
Jimmy nodded in agreement. "Looks like I just got a big homework assignment from the teacher."
"Get right to work on it," Casey told him. "Sarah, take Chuck, Ellie, and Devon back to the hotel. The rest of us will formulate a plan once Slade gets the intel together."
Sarah shook her head. "I need to be here. This is too important."
Casey gently took her elbow and led her out of the van away from everyone. "Your job hasn't changed. You have to protect those three. Especially after what happened with them today."
"But..."
"And Chuck could really use you right now," he said in a much softer tone. We can handle things here, but Chuck needs his girlfriend."
Sarah exhaled. "You're right." She shook her head in frustration. "I keep doing that, don't I. I lose focus of what's important. First, I got obsessed with burying my feelings for Chuck, then I became obsessed with keeping him away from the government, and now…"
Casey put a hand up. "We're close to the finish line. We can all taste it. Don't worry. We'll cross it together."
"Thanks, John," she replied with a smile.
Ellie exited the van. "Am I interrupting anything?"
"Of course not," Sarah replied. "Is everything OK?"
"I wanted to stop by the hospital and check on our dad before we headed back to the hotel."
"I'll drive you and Devon over there," Casey replied. "Can you get Chuck back?" he asked Sarah.
"I won't let him out of my sight," Sarah answered.
She walked into the van. "Come on, you," she said to Chuck, gently pulling him to his feet. "Back to the hotel to relax."
"I feel much better, Sarah," Chuck replied, trying to act as if nothing happened…and not very well. "I really need…"
"…to get some rest," she finished for him with a don't-mess-with-me glare.
Chuck exhaled in begrudging agreement as Sarah led him out of the van and to one of the cars. Casey, Ellie, and Devon got in another car to head to the hospital. Jimmy reconfigured the computers to do simultaneous research while Carina, Cole, and Ilsa organized the supplies they just brought in.
Tangerine Hotel – Burbank, CA
June 8, 2016
8:15 PM PDT
"I swear, I am fine, Sarah."
"I will be the judge of that."
"It was a lot of information at once, that's all. That was a big piece of the puzzle we found tonight."
"And it almost killed you!"
Chuck shook his head gently as he lay on the bed. He couldn't deny Sarah was right. After all, he collapsed and had to be helped into that chair by Casey and Jimmy. He didn't want to admit the pain was getting worse, not when they were so close to the end. But if Sarah was that protective before, becoming his girlfriend had increased that geometrically.
"It's…God, we're so close now," Chuck said as his head fell back on the pillow. "We've had every last block thrown in our way, but we've still made it this far."
"I know." Sarah took his hand and held it tightly. "What we've done has been incredible, especially what you've done. You're right. We are close now. But we must plan this carefully. We have to take down the Five Elders and we have to get into their facility with the two Intersects. And we still have to figure out how to stop Shaw. He isn't going anywhere."
Chuck exhaled in frustration. "The Ring had to have lied to him. That's the only explanation."
"Maybe there's something in all of that data Jimmy stole. Perhaps we can find the same video files they showed Shaw and see if they doctored them."
Chuck stared at the ceiling for a moment before a smile drew across his face. "I have the perfect person for the job."
"Who?"
"Morgan."
"Morgan?"
"The man is a genius when it comes to catching things like that. He knew Verbal Kint was Keyser Söze before the film was even halfway done. He figured out how they robbed the casino in Ocean's Eleven an hour before they did it. The Sixth Sense? He saw dead people. All of them, including Bruce."
"OK, I'll have Jimmy meet with Morgan tomorrow and they can set that up. In the meantime…"
Sarah climbed into the bed and lay on top of Chuck, kissing him passionately, her tongue teasing his. She slid her hands under his shirt and caressed his chest.
"I thought you wanted me to relax," Chuck said in a smooth voice.
"Relax, yes," Sarah purred, feasting on his neck as she removed his shirt. "And I have a few ideas on the subject."
"I knew there was a reason why you insisted on taking me back," Chuck said with a grin. He started to slide his hands under her shirt to pull it off when they were interrupted by a loud pounding on the door.
"Walker!"
West Side Medical Center – Los Angeles, CA
June 8, 2016
7:30 PM PDT
Ellie took a peek inside her father's hospital room. The nursing staff told her when she arrived that they had moved him from the ICU, and she felt a great weight lifted from her. Just two days ago, he was fighting for his life. But the amazing staff at West Side…to say nothing about the work Devon and she did at the Buy More…brought him back. Recovering was the only thing he had to do now.
Stephen was still hooked up to several IVs and needed an oxygen mask to breathe, but certainly he looked better than he did before. Ellie walked towards him and pulled a chair up next to his bed. She took his hand.
"Dad,' Ellie said softly. Stephen moved his head slowly but did not awaken. "It's…I can't tell you how glad I am you're still with us. I just wish I could talk to you, tell you how incredible Chuck has been, how Sarah and the others have kept us safe. You'd be so proud of us. We're so close now."
She squeezed his hand tightly. "I just wish I knew what to do with the Intersect program. I'm missing something. I know I am. There's something in the code that we have to figure out. I don't want to risk Chuck or Jimmy until I know we have it right, but I'm stuck. Both Chuck and I have gone over your research again and again, but I know there's something that we're not seeing."
Ellie sat in silence holding her father's hand. Then his breathing started to sound irregular. Ellie turned to him, and it looked like Stephen was trying to say something.
"Dad?" She got close to his face. "I'm here, Dad. I'm right here. What are you trying to say?"
Stephen took a long inhale. "Frost…frost…" he warbled.
"Frost, Dad?"
"Frost…queen," he struggled to say.
"Frost Queen? Wasn't that the book Mom used to read to Chuck?"
Stephen's head moved slightly. Ellie could have sworn he nodded.
"Frost…queen," he said again.
His head turned to the side and he didn't respond further. His breathing went back to the same steady pattern it was before. He fell unconscious again.
"Dad?" Ellie stared at him in confusion. She wiped a tear away. Her eyes then widened.
"Please come back to us. Love you," she said in a hurry, kissing her father on his forehead. She exited the room and went to Devon and Casey, who were waiting for her in the hallway.
"We have to talk to Chuck," she said breathlessly.
"Babe, he needs some rest," Devon said. "You saw what happened earlier."
"I know, I know. But I think I know the last piece we need for the two Intersects."
"What do you mean?" Casey asked.
"I'll explain on the way. Take us back to the hotel. By way of a bookstore," she said, practically sprinting out of the building. Devon and Casey did their best to keep up.
Tangerine Hotel – Burbank, CA
June 8, 2016
8:30 PM PDT
"Walker!"
Both Chuck and Sarah bolted upward in the bed and quickly put their clothes back on.
"Why does he always do that?" Chuck groaned in exasperation.
"I gave up trying to figure him out years ago," Sarah replied in equal annoyance. She went to the door and opened it. She was surprised to see Ellie and Devon there, too.
"What's going on?" she asked them.
"I think we can finish the Intersects," Ellie said quickly.
Sarah stepped aside to let the three in. "What do you mean?" Chuck asked as he tried to get up from the bed.
"Actually, stay there," Ellie said. "On the bed might be the best place for you to be. I talked to Dad."
"He's awake?"
"He was only able to say a couple of words. The doctors say he's still improving. But I think what he said could be the key."
Ellie turned to Sarah. "And I think it might be in Chuck's Intersect."
Sarah bristled at that. "No. You saw what happened earlier tonight. I can't put Chuck through that again."
"We don't know how much time we have," Casey replied. "By now Decker and the Ring must know that Forrest visited Beckman this morning. They could send everything they have at us at any time."
"Case is right, Sarah," Chuck said quietly. "It's a big risk, but I know I can handle it. I think we have to do this."
Sarah stood there in silence, but she was trembling inside. Casey may have been right they were running out of time, but she was still scared for what the Intersect was doing to Chuck. It was a bit ironic she spent so much time trying to push her feelings for Chuck down and not let it interfere with protecting him, and now that she was with him, she had to push those feelings down again to let him do his job.
"OK," she said softly.
Ellie sat on the bed next to Chuck as Devon and Casey went to either side of it, standing by just in case. She took the book she found out of the bag she was carrying and handed it to Chuck. "Start reading through this," she told him.
"The Frost Queen?"
Ellie nodded. "That's what Dad said in the hospital. There must be something in that book that will activate your Intersect and give us the answers we need to finish this."
Chuck took in a long breath and exhaled. "OK."
He started going through the pages, concentrating on both the text written and the accompanying pictures. He saw a photograph of the Ice Queen defeating the Prince of Fire, saving her people. Chuck began to flash, seeing a sunrise, lines of computer code, and a flowchart the collective brainpower of NASA couldn't decipher focused on a specific conditional loop.
He grabbed his head and screamed as the pain hit. "Chuck!" Sarah cried, grabbing him. Casey and Devon moved closer to help him.
"That's it!" Chuck gasped as the pain receded and his breathing slowed. "We've got it. That's the piece we were missing!"
"We can finish the Intersects?" Ellie asked hopefully.
Chuck nodded in excitement. "Come on! Back to El Toro before I forget everything!"
Chuck rushed to the door with Ellie right on his heels.
"Maybe I should take you there!" Devon said, running after them. "You really shouldn't flash and drive!"
The three left the hotel, leaving Sarah and Casey there completely dumbfounded. Casey turned to her and noticed her clothing was still a bit disheveled from her amorous activities earlier. He couldn't help but smirk.
"Did you just get cockblocked by a computer?"
Sarah turned and glared at him. She smacked him upside the head and stomped away.
"So glad I'm retiring from this," she muttered angrily as she went to the bathroom to straighten herself out.
Marine Corps Air Station El Toro – Irvine, CA
June 8, 2016
8:30 PM PDT
Jimmy sat back and stretched in his chair. He had been at it for almost three straight hours. Apparently, the only thing more exhausting than not finding the information you needed was finding way too much of it. Thanks to Chuck's flash, he was finding gigabytes of data on the Five Elders. The key would be to compile it together to discover their movements, their patterns. Most importantly, the team had to come up with a plan for their capture. They had to synchronize it to make sure all of the members were captured at once, either by taking them simultaneously or by getting them in the same location and capturing them that way. He was starting to wish he had gotten an assignment from one of his teachers instead. Those would have been child's play compared to this.
He jumped in surprise when he felt two hands massage his shoulders. He looked up to see Alex looking down at him with a smile.
"Hey gorgeous," Jimmy said, putting one of his hands over hers.
"Hey yourself," she replied, leaning down to give him a passionate kiss.
"Heard you had a good day at the office."
She nodded as she continued to massage his shoulders. "We got to Beckman, and now we know Decker is the mole." She paused for a moment and then smiled. "I have to give Mike and Morgan a lot of credit: for a couple of untrained civilians, they did a great job in there today."
"Mmmm, they're good guys. Big Mike is ex-Navy as I recall. And hell, Morgan thinks he's actually in the show right now playing a character. Probably a good idea to keep the 'bullets are real' talk around him to a minimum."
"True," Alex said, kissing Jimmy's neck and rubbing her cheek up against his. "What are you doing now?"
"Trying to get as much as I can on the Five Elders. Chuck flashed earlier on one of the documents we got from the bank. He figured out who they are, so I'm trying to get everything I can on them so we can take them out."
Jimmy glanced to his left to the back door of the van. "How's everybody doing outside?"
"They're good. Honestly, Carina, Cole, and Ilsa look a little bored. They get to watch the area while you do the work. I think they wish they were you right now."
"They wish they were me?" Jimmy shook his head. "I should recommend them for a psych evaluation."
Alex gave him a not-exactly-gentle smack upside the head. "Seriously?!" Jimmy barked.
"I told you I wasn't going to put up with any of your self-hating bullshit," she strongly retorted.
"OK, do you know the difference between self-hating and a one-liner?"
"Do I look like I care?"
Jimmy made a face at Alex, causing her to grin. She leaned down and started nibbling on his ear, teasing it with the tip of her tongue.
"Did you like the pictures I sent you today?" she whispered hotly into his ear, sliding a hand down his body. "I think you did."
"Ugh, you're killing me, Smalls!" Jimmy gently growled. "I gotta work on this."
"Sorry," she replied sheepishly. "You're right. But finish and get back to the hotel. The only way you're going to be up all night is if I'm naked and on top of you."
"Yeah, yeah, sure." He exhaled and took another long sip of coffee as he turned back to the computer.
"I'll go check on everybody outside."
Alex started to leave the van when Jimmy's smartphone began to beep. She could also hear everyone's smartphones beeping outside.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Someone's breached the Buy More," Jimmy replied, reaching for his guns and heading out of the van.
"Time to load up," Carina said as Cole, Ilsa, and she headed for one of the cars. Jimmy and Alex headed for the other car. Jimmy's phone then began to ring. He saw Sarah's picture on the caller ID.
"Sarah, did you get the alert from the Buy More?" he asked.
"Casey and I are headed there right now. But Chuck, Ellie, and Devon are headed your way to finish the Intersects. Chuck was able to flash on the final pieces of the programs. Stay out there and keep an eye on them."
"And leave you two alone to get mauled by the Ring? Forget it! Carina and I will be right there."
Jimmy hung up and handed Alex his keys. "Chuck, Ellie, and Devon are on their way here to finish the Intersects. They should be in Casey's car. Track them down with his GPS and make sure they get here. Then you, Ilsa, and Cole guard them. Carina, let's haul ass."
Carina and Jimmy ran for her Ferrari and took off for Burbank. Alex got into Jimmy's SUV and activated the GPS tracker to find Casey's car. She headed out of the bunker as well.
Buy More – Burbank, CA
June 8, 2016
9:00 PM PDT
"Chuck Bartowski is a spy?!"
Lester continued to stand there in total bewilderment while Jeff continued to enjoy the after-effects of being lit up by the shock gun. Lester knew something had been off for a long time. Chuck meets one of the hottest actresses in the world, starts dating her, leaves the Buy More, and had been all over the news ever since. The guy who got screwed nine ways to Sunday after college and worked shamefully in the Buy More all those years suddenly comes upon this incredible string of good luck? It all felt too good to be real. And now he knew the truth. Sarah Walker must have been a spy and recruited Chuck to work with her and her team!
But why?
There was nothing special about Chuck. People seemed to like him…a lot. While he didn't get the attraction, he couldn't deny the facts. But a guy like that landing a total babe like Sarah Walker and becoming James Bond? It was crazy. It defied logic.
At least it did before that computerized voice told him he was unauthorized, and Jeff got nailed by the Incredible Hulk of taser guns.
There couldn't be any other explanation. The Buy More gets evacuated twice and closed for weeks, none of which ever happened before this. The damage to the parking lot, the impossibly clean and organized store. Jimmy Slade and Tricia Helfer talking to Morgan and Big Mike all the time. The new guy working with the green shirts all the soccer moms were drooling over? And who was that new hottie working the Nerd Herd desk that who almost broke his wrist last week when he put his hand on her shoulder?
Suddenly reality hit. They must be coming right now! He probably set off some sort of alarm for that shock gun to roast Jeff like a Christmas goose. They had to run.
"Jeff, Jeff," he said, pulling him up from the ground. "We have to get out of here. Right now."
"What for?" Jeff slurred. "And why is the room spinning the other way?"
"Come on! They could be back to kill us any second!"
Lester pulled Jeff towards the door and threw it open. Lester froze at what he saw, accidentally letting go of Jeff, who fell back to the ground.
~/^\~
Sarah gunned her Porsche directly to the back of the Buy More. Casey and she immediately got out and pointed their guns towards the door. Carina's Ferrari then drove up. Jimmy and she got out of her car also with weapons at the ready.
"How did you get here so fast?" Sarah asked in surprise.
Jimmy tilted his head towards Carina. "Talk to the lady who went up the Santa Ana Freeway at 120 MPH and has a way with the police. Especially when they're single and hot."
"Get ready," Casey hissed. He reached for the handle as Sarah, Carina, and Jimmy prepared to charge in locked and loaded. The door suddenly opened, and Casey swiftly drew his Desert Eagle.
They saw Lester standing there, completely frozen, and then they watched Jeff fall to the ground. Lester looked like he wet his pants.
Jimmy rolled his eyes. "Aaah, hell."
Marine Corps Air Station El Toro – Irvine, CA
June 8, 2016
9:15 PM PDT
Chuck, Ellie, and Devon drove Casey's car down the ramp towards the van. Alex was right behind them in Jimmy's SUV, having found them going southbound from Burbank. The three immediately got out of the car. Chuck and Ellie ran into the van as Alex got out and followed them in. Devon went over to Cole and Ilsa.
"Alex said someone broke into the Buy More?" Devon asked.
Cole nodded. "That's where Carina and Jimmy went. I hope it was just the security system being wonky."
"But Chuck and Ellie have what they need to finish the Intersects?" Ilsa inquired.
Devon nodded. "Apparently there was something in Chuck's Intersect that did the trick. They just had to find it. Ellie figured it out when she visited her dad."
Cole shook his head and smiled. "You married into a family of brainiacs. And you're not exactly lacking in IQ points yourself."
"This is…all of this has been so crazy. I don't know how any of you can do this for a living."
"How did you become a top-of-the-range heart surgeon? You studied, and you had the talent. That's all any of us did to get into this business."
"And you two did great work today," Ilsa added. "You didn't know you'd be doing spy work when you woke up this morning. I would have been scared out of my mind if I walked into an operating room and had to do surgery for the first time."
"I was, actually," Devon replied. "It was a bypass, pretty simple for any good doctor. But I was shaking as I approached the patient. Then my supervising physician gave me a look and said if this didn't work out, I could always go back to my modeling career at Abercrombie & Fitch. Everybody in the room laughed. That relaxed me, and I made it through the procedure without a problem."
Both Cole and Ilsa smiled at that. "This will be over soon," Cole said. "You'll get back to your normal life, saving patients, becoming a dad…"
"OK…n-n-now I'm scared again…" Devon stuttered.
Alex came out of the van. "Chuck and Ellie are up and running on the computers. They'll need a few days to program and configure everything, but they're certain…"
She was interrupted by her mobile phone. "Jimmy, is everything OK over there?"
Alex listened for a few seconds and then stared at her smartphone in absolute incredulity.
"You're not going to believe this," she told everyone.
Buy More – Burbank, CA
June 8, 2016
9:20 PM PDT
Sarah, Casey, Carina, and Jimmy had Jeff and Lester surrounded as they sat at a table in the employee's break room. To Lester, it felt like an interrogation scene from a cop show. He didn't know what their plans were for Jeff and him, but he seriously doubted they would pat him on the back for discovering who they were.
"Let's discuss what we should do with you…" Casey started, dragging the barrel of his gun across the table.
"Case," Sarah said, putting a hand on his arm. "Let's not start any discussion with their deaths." Lester swallowed hard. "Over here," she said to the three, gesturing with her head to walk out of Lester's and Jeff's hearing.
"We need to find an alternative," Sarah said quietly. "Eliminating them should be the last option. Too many people know about this already. And I don't think any of them would approve of killing those two."
"Maybe we can convince those two this is something we're doing for the show," Carina said.
"I think we lost that option when we busted in like The Magnificent Seven," Jimmy replied. "Plus, how do we explain Jeff getting lit by that shock gun?"
Sarah stared ahead in silence for a moment. She then nodded. "We're going to tell them."
"Are you nuts, Walker?" Casey quietly hissed.
"We can't convince them we're not spies, but we can control how much they know. We tell them only enough to confirm what they already saw. They know I'm with Chuck and they know we're doing something important. We keep ourselves to just that. Nothing more."
"And what's to stop them from telling every last person in the world?"
"Easy. I'll be the carrot, and you be a very, very scary stick. Have your gun out and make that one face you make that makes people run away from you."
"Despite what I've been doing for the last four years, Walker, I just can't put on a nasty face on demand."
Carina smiled. "Case, you know that picture I took of you tied up in that Prague hotel when you were wearing those boxers with the little polka-dots? I forwarded that to Ilsa."
Casey suddenly looked ready to kill every single person in the room with his bare hands…if not the entire zip code. "That's the look," Sarah said with a grin.
She turned back and sat down in front of Jeff and Lester. "I want you two to understand how delicate of a situation we're in. Yes, all of us work for the government. And yes, Chuck works for us. He's helping us with a top-secret project. Something very important to the country, and there are people out there who would use it for their own evil purposes. That's why Mike's office has all of this security, including those electro-shock guns you discovered. So, in order to keep you safe, we really need you to not talk about what you saw or heard tonight. Let me be clear about that. You cannot tell anyone. Not your families, not your friends, and especially not your co-workers. Knowing anything instantly puts people's lives in danger."
She looked to her right at Casey. "John has other ideas on how to deal with you, but I would rather avoid those if I can. And believe me, so would you."
Sarah turned back to them and looked at Jeff and Lester in silence, both of whom continued to stare at Casey in pure terror. Sarah leaned forward. "And…given how close Chuck and I have become, what John wants to do to you would pale in comparison to what I would do if anything bad happened to Chuck or his family."
Her tone towards them could have started a new ice age. She raised an eyebrow. "Do you understand?"
Both Jeff and Lester nodded vigorously. "Good," Sarah replied. "I'm glad we came to an understanding."
Lester timidly raised a hand. "Could we ask a favor?"
Casey looked ready to attack, but both Carina and Jimmy held him at bay. "What is it?" Sarah asked.
Lester looked like he just drank the country's entire supply of Red Bull. "Can we…can we…get in on this?"
That stopped the team in its tracks. "What are you talking about?" Carina asked.
"Look, Morgan and Big Mike must be helping you, right? How could you put all of this in here without them knowing it? And the new sales guy all those soccer moms are drooling over? And that smoking hot girl you put in the Nerd Herd!"
Casey began to growl. "Uh…put it back in your pants, Lester," Jimmy said. "She has a boyfriend who's about an inch away from disemboweling you."
"It's just…we've never seen or done anything this cool before. This is…this is so amazing! We just want to be a part of it!"
"Yeah, let us serve our country," Jeff slurred as he began to slide off his chair.
"You can witness what a Desert Eagle can do up close and personal," Casey growled as he started to raise his gun.
"John!" Sarah interrupted, putting a hand on his arm to stop him. "Actually, I think we can use you for something. Something very important that has to be done. Morgan will tell you all about it. For right now, show up for work like you always do and don't change your behavior. And most of all, you stay quiet about all of this."
"Understood?" Casey hissed, pulling back the slide on his Desert Eagle, which resulted in desperate nods by the two morons.
"Casey, you and Carina make sure they get home," Sarah said. "Jimmy, we'll head back and get what Morgan needs."
Sarah stood and gestured for Jeff and Lester to exit the breakroom. Casey and Carina followed right behind them as they climbed into Jeff's van. Only Lester was shaking so badly, he couldn't even get the keys in the ignition. Casey rolled his eyes in frustration, and Carina tried her best not to grin…and failed.
"If you think I'm letting you drive my Ferrari, big guy…" she said playfully.
Casey growled louder than a football team forced to do their 100th wind sprint and opened the van door, shoving Lester into the back and starting the engine. Jeff, not surprisingly, was out cold in the passenger's seat.
Casey drove off with Carina right behind him. Sarah and Jimmy got into her Porsche and headed back to El Toro.
One hundred yards away, through a window on the top floor of Underpants, Inc., someone watched the Buy More parking lot with a pair of infrared binoculars. He smiled. The Ring kept telling him the Buy More was irrelevant now, but they were wrong. He was certainly glad he didn't listen to them. He quickly left the store and got into his car.
Daniel Shaw followed the Porsche. He hoped Walker and Slade were heading to their new hideout.
CIA Headquarters – Langley, VA
June 9, 2016
7:45 AM EDT
Clyde Decker walked into the detention area and flashed his credentials to the two guards monitoring the cells, motioning for them to go take a break. They left, and he punched the appropriate commands into the computer to cut the video and audio devices so he could talk without anyone monitoring him.
He walked over to General Beckman's cell. She was sound asleep on her cot and facing away from him. It would have been so easy to kill her right then, but the Ring wouldn't gain anything by that. To eliminate Sarah Walker and her team, they needed a scapegoat, and Beckman fit the bill to a T.
"Good morning," Decker said in a projected voice.
Beckman stirred in the bed but did not turn around. "You don't put on that good of an act, General," Decker replied with a smirk. "I would guess you've been awake for hours, so spare both of us the insult."
Beckman sat up in the bed. She then turned to Decker. "I guess my biggest mistake was not suspecting you sooner."
"I do not know…"
"Cut the bullshit," she barked. "You're one of the only people who could have arranged all of this. And if anyone truly had legitimate cause to prosecute me, they wouldn't be visiting me by themselves at this hour."
Decker shrugged. "A good point. Lucky for me, I have all the evidence I need to keep you in jail for as long as necessary."
"All of the fake evidence, you mean."
"Pity you didn't purge every last Ring agent out of your ranks, General. How many agents did Walker and her team take out at that warehouse? Their blood is on your hands."
"Then you work for the Ring," Beckman concluded. "Like I said, I should have discovered your treason sooner."
"You couldn't have caught me if you nuked the country," Decker taunted with a laugh. "A very ambitious section chief in MI-6 saw my potential while I was stationed there years ago. And I shared his ideals for how we really should operate as an intelligence agency. Then it was just a matter of putting the right people in the right places."
"Pity all of it is about to crash down on your head," Beckman sneered.
Decker stared at her for a moment. He then smiled. "Oh, you mean your white knight? Agent Walker? She'll be dead very soon. As will her team…all of them. And the Ring will have their Intersect. Good luck stopping us then."
He started to walk away but turned around. "And I'm sure the Ring will be happy to let me arrange a little 'accident' for you once we've accomplished our mission. Enjoy your last days on Earth."
Beckman watched him walk away then turned back in the bed. She reached under her mattress, careful not to make any sudden moves, and pulled the recording drive out. She verified it recorded the entire conversation with Decker.
She slipped it back under the mattress and kept her back turned to the cell door, carefully removing the contact lenses and microphone. It was up to Walker and the others now. She hoped they could pull off yet another miracle.
Buy More – Burbank, CA
June 10, 2016
9:45 AM PDT
Jimmy walked into the Buy More with his laptop, a portable drive, and an extra-large coffee. Cole and Ilsa remained out at El Toro to keep an eye on Chuck and Ellie, who were trying to complete the programming for the new Intersect. Hopefully the store wouldn't be too crowded today. He had spent the last day gathering the research on the Five Elders, completing that late last night. Sarah, Casey, Carina, and he would go over it once he returned to the hotel.
"Dude, you always come in here like you didn't get any sleep," Morgan said as he walked up to Jimmy. "What's going on?"
"I was…working all night," Jimmy tiredly replied. He wasn't in much of a mood to say what he was doing all last night. Or, more accurately, who he was doing all last night. "I'm afraid I have a little surprise for you."
"What do you mean?"
"Jeff and Lester tried to break into the office the other night and Jeff ended up on the business end of one of the shock guns."
"Jeff was electrocuted? How could you tell?"
Jimmy shrugged. "Good point. Unfortunately, we didn't know who it was, so we came in suited and booted, afraid it was the Ring."
"Oh, man. They know now?"
"Yeah, but I think we got them under control. That is, if you can keep them under control."
"How am I supposed to keep them under control?"
Jimmy waved the portable drive. "All three of you will look will go through the video files we stole from the Ring. Pour over every last second of the shooting in Prague. We need the evidence Sarah didn't fire that shot."
Jeff and Lester came running up to Jimmy and Morgan. "We're ready, we're ready," Lester squeaked as if he was about to finally lose his virginity.
"OK, relax," Jimmy replied. "What did we say about acting normally?"
"You're right, you're right," Lester agreed, still not calm by a longshot.
The four walked back to Big Mike's office, and Jimmy entered the code to open the door. He then disabled the interior security so it wouldn't activate on sensing Jeff and Lester's presence. Morgan pulled up chairs in front of a computer with a large monitor while Jimmy attached the portable drive to it.
"OK. Here's what we need," Jimmy said to Jeff and Lester. "There are several hours of video files on this drive. Long clips, short clips, you name it. We're looking for scenes from Prague. There is a woman named Evelyn who gets shot. It looks like Sarah shot her, but we think the video was doctored to make it look that way. We have to find the proof. Can you do it?"
"Oh," Lester replied with a little disappointment. "I thought we were going to do something really cool, like sneak into the bad guy's place or seduce some really hot chick."
"Yeah, when can we wear a tux and drive a really cool car?" Jeff droned in agreement.
Jimmy was developing a severe case of facepalm. "First of all…stop watching Bond movies. That's now how things work. More importantly, lives are on the line here. If we can't find that evidence, all of us could end up dead. Maybe even you two as well."
That woke the morons up. "Believe me, guys, this is very important. Morgan's supposed to be a wiz at this and guessing by your social lives…or lack thereof…you could probably dissect a few frames of video, too."
"Come on, guys," Morgan said. "We need this."
Lester and Jeff looked at each other. "OK, we'll help."
"Thanks," Jimmy replied. "Big Mike can handle things outside. I have to get back…"
"Could we ask one more favor?" Lester quickly said.
Jimmy glared at him. "Are you sure you don't want to see what Casey can do with his Desert Eagle?"
"This has nothing to do with spying, promise! It has to do with the show."
"What is it?"
Marine Corps Air Station El Toro – Irvine, CA
June 10, 2016
10:00 AM PDT
Chuck got up and stretched. He needed to take a break after being at this almost non-stop since returning to El Toro the other night over Sarah's strenuous objections. But Ellie had completed all of her work, and he just needed time this morning to finish the programming. Once they tested it and configured it to work with the Ring's Intersect room, they'd be home free. Jimmy would have the new Intersect, and Sarah and he would be done with the spy life for good.
He walked out of the van trying to get the circulation back to all of his limbs. "How are you doing?" Sarah asked him.
"Just about there," he replied with a smile. "A few more things to program, then you can take me back to the hotel."
"Good." She put her arms around him. "Once you're done, we'll go over the plan for capturing the Five Elders at the hotel. After that, we have to be ready to attach the Intersect cubes to their system and get it out of you."
"And then we're home free." He held her tightly. "It's crazy. Nine months, and I still can't believe everything that's happened." He gently stroked her face and looked deeply into her eyes. "But you brought me through it. It's…you've meant more to me than I ever could have dreamed. You're…you're so…"
Sarah kissed him hard, grabbing the back of his head as she felt a kiss that melted her soul."
"I love you, too," she whispered, keeping a tight grip on him. "And what you've meant to me is beyond description."
They held each other for a few moments before Chuck reluctantly broke away to return to the computer. Sarah checked with Cole and Ilsa.
~/^\~
Daniel Shaw kept watch on the old Marine base from a neighborhood just to the northeast. He followed Walker and Slade the other night south from Burbank. Once they exited I-5 to get on the Costa Mesa Freeway, he knew where they were headed. Of course, John Casey would think of a place like this to hide out. It made perfect sense. Shaw had the team right where he wanted them.
As he studied the blueprints of the old base, he figured they were somewhere underground. He studied the environmental systems for the base. He had enough C-4 to level the entire area. The key would be placing it in the right spot. And when the entire team was there, including all the new people who had joined them.
He'd then deliver Bartowski to the Ring and kill Walker.