A/N: Thanks for continuing to read this. I'm still enjoying it and hope you are too. Obviously, thanks to those that left reviews last time. I'm a day late publishing this chapter, missing my weekly schedule. No excuse. Sorry.
Thanks to my beta, Captainrick944, as usual.
This chapter is loosely based on S1E8, "Chuck Versus the Truth."
Piranha vs The Intersect
Chapter 10: Drugged
Chuck was really trying to focus on the Buy More Assistant Manager role as much as possible, but it was hard for two significant reasons. One was the spy activities. Missions being sprung on them at a moment's notice or actions relating to them sometimes physically dragged him away. The other was that his stunning girlfriend was so close, just over the parking lot, and she dominated his thoughts most of the time.
However, when Big Mike arrived each morning, Chuck went into the big guy's office to see if there was anything specific he wanted that day. It was the day after the Sales Competition, so Chuck brought that up.
Big Mike reminded him, just like Sarah had, that he was still the manager of the store and although he left a lot of the day-to-day management to Chuck, he still was right to tell the teams what to do, especially when Chuck was absent.
Chuck couldn't argue with that and left feeling told off.
When he came out, Anna, who should have been at the Nerd Herd station, was missing. Jeff and Lester were there, but Chuck didn't trust them to man the station, or the phone for that matter.
While he was standing there, a woman walked up to him. Chuck briefly glanced at her and decided that he certainly couldn't trust Jeff or Lester with her. He offered to help her, stating that the person who should be there was busy elsewhere.
She waved her phone in the air. "I keep pressing the button and nothing's happening."
He recognized the phone type. "Is it fully charged?" He reached for the phone to take a look at it. "Because sometimes this-"
She snatched the phone away from his reaching hand. "My entire life is in this thing. Okay? I got names, places, dates, times, music, photos, recipes..."
He smiled at her. "Wow, uh, you-you cook, too?"
She glared at him. "What if I lose everything?"
She started pacing around in front of him. "You know, I can't start from scratch. I can't be the person that I was before this thing came along." She halted to take a breath, then said, "Okay, I'm freaking out!"
Chuck tried to calm her down. "Listen to me, uh..."
She stood still and looked at him and told him her name, "Lou."
He nodded. "Lou, this is what we do, you know? We can help you with this. Trust me."
She looked at him for a few moments and then relaxed. "Okay." She handed him her phone. "I know I'm totally spazzing out. I'm sorry. It's just... A little overwhelming to even consider..."
She was starting to spiral again. "No, no, no. Don't go there," Chuck quickly said. "Try to relax and find your happy place. Is there something that you think about that quiets the voices that are in your head?"
She closed her eyes and thought. "Turkey. Muenster cheese. Egg bread. Grilled."
When she reopened her eyes, he looked inquisitively at her. "Was that? Was that a sandwich?"
She smiled. "Yeah, they're my passion."
He smiled back. "Sounds pretty delicious."
She looked serious for a moment. "I own a deli in the mall and I often think about meats and cheeses."
"Ahh. I should come and try some," he replied.
She nodded. "You should."
He looked down at the phone in his hand. "Look, I promise you that if you come back tomorrow, your phone will be all fixed up and good to go. Okay?"
She looked hard at him. "Really?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
She finally looked relieved. "Thank you. So much." After quickly glancing at his name badge, she turned to walk away. "It's been nice talking with you, Chuck."
He nodded. "Yeah, you too, Lou." He suddenly felt embarrassed about the rhyme, but said nothing.
Morgan suddenly appeared at his side. "Mind cheater. Saw you," he sang.
Chuck looked at him flatly. "Saw me what?
Morgan just looked at him. "Dude, are you kidding me? Mind-cheating with the broken phone girl."
Chuck glared at him. "I did not!"
Morgan smirked. "You know, just because you didn't actually do anything with her doesn't mean you didn't want to. Think about that, Mind-cheater."
Chuck was starting to get pissed off. "Morgan! Nothing could tempt me away from her!"
"I don't think the deli girl got that message," Morgan replied.
"He's right, Chuck." Chuck turned on hearing the voice from behind him and saw Anna standing at the Nerd Herd station.
"I wouldn't have had to deal with her if you'd been here," Chuck growled at her.
Anna blushed. "Sorry, Boss."
He handed the phone to her. "I promised that this'll be fixed by tomorrow, so get started on it."
He turned and walked away still feeling annoyed.
When he met up with Sarah for lunch, Chuck replayed the meeting with Lou.
Sarah sighed. "You can be very charming, Chuck. She may well have gotten the wrong idea, just like Morgan and Anna suggest."
"Sarah, I am not interested in any woman other than you. You know that, don't you?"
She leaned over the table and gave him a peck on the lips. "I know. You're mine and only mine."
He grinned. "You bet!"
"So, tonight we're going out on a double date with Ellie and Devon. Should be fun," she said, changing the subject.
"Yeah. At the Kyoto Sushi. Devon has offered to drive, so we can have a drink or two."
She looked at him through her eyelashes and innocently asked, "Planning to get me drunk and have your wicked way with me?"
He grinned. I don't have to get you drunk for that, now do I?"
She grinned back. "I think getting me drunk might actually spoil it."
"So, not too much alcohol and a night of passion to follow the sushi."
The smoldering look she gave him meant she didn't need to say a word in response.
That afternoon, Chuck watched Morgan and Anna sneak into the Audio Visual Theatre room and draw the blinds. He really didn't want them going in that room. There might be a call from Graham and Beckman that needed Casey, Chuck, and possibly Sarah, to occupy it. There was also its primary purpose, customers might actually need to be taken in there for a trial of the equipment. Besides, the two of them should actually be working while at work, damn it.
He dragged them out, giving them a lecture. Morgan's shoulders slumped and he walked off. Chuck looked at Anna. "The phone?"
"All fixed, boss. You can wow your new lady friend tomorrow."
"Oh no," he replied. "When she comes in, you give it to her and tell her that it was you that fixed it."
She gave him a strange look, but then nodded.
As Anna walked back to the Nerd Herd desk, Chuck wondered what that look was about.
That evening, he and Sarah went on the double date with Ellie and Devon. None of them had been to the Kyoto Sushi restaurant before and they were all impressed with the food and, because they were sitting around the chef's preparation station, the service was great too.
Chuck was gesticulating and placing an order. "Oh, and also, a crab hand-roll for the lady. Light wasabi, but like light-light." Sarah smiled her thanks at him.
Devon said, "Didn't realize how much you knew about sushi, Chuckster."
Chuck grinned. "And I know what Sarah likes!"
Ellie answered, "That's not in question, Little brother."
Sarah grinned. "You sure do. Thanks for the order, Sweetie."
Chuck looked lovingly at her. "You're welcome, Sweetie."
Devon grinned. "From what we hear every night, we know Sarah likes more than just sushi."
Sarah blushed. "Am I loud?"
Ellie snorted. "Just a touch."
Devon laughed. "More than a touch. I think the whole apartment block can hear your cries, Sarah."
Chuck looked at the other couple. "Look who's talking. After years of listening to your screams and hearing how much Devon rocks your world, Ellie, I think it's only fair for Sarah and I to have a turn."
Devon chuckled. "And another turn, and another turn. You sometimes go on all night long."
Sarah looked at Chuck. "Maybe we try to be a bit quieter tonight."
Chuck grinned at her. "Gonna bite your pillow?"
She smiled. "Maybe."
"Pull the bed away from the connecting wall, as well," Devon said. "Even if Sarah smothers her cries, you pounding away still gets through to us." Ellie nodded.
"Noted," Chuck said.
The conversation turned to less sex-oriented topics after that.
Ellie reached across her plate to reach for the edamame. Sarah noticed that she got a stain on the elbow of her sweater. "Oh, Ellie. Your sleeve."
Ellie looked and said, "Oh, shoot," as she tried to wipe it.
"Are you ever gonna retire that sweater, Ellie?" Chuck asked.
"Hope not," she replied. "It's my lucky sweater."
Devon chipped in, "More like my lucky sweater. She was wearing it the first time I met Ellie in an epidemiology class..."
Ellie's eyes started to glaze over and she grinned. "He told me that L. must've stolen the color from my eyes, as it really belonged to me."
Devon gave her a kiss as the other couple smiled at the scene. The truly happy couple.
As they walked out of the restaurant, Ellie pulled Devon to her and said, "Thank you for dinner." She kissed him.
Devon finally pulled away. "Well, you guys wait here, while I get the car. I found a space around the corner."
There was a disturbance further up the sidewalk in the opposite direction. A man was staggering along, bumping into people, making them call out. He almost reached the three standing there, but collapsed onto the ground.
Ellie immediately sprang into action rushing over to him and trying to get him to talk. He was just about conscious, but looked like he would soon be in a coma. "Can you hear me? What is your name?" she asked, but got no response.
While Ellie was obviously focusing on the man's medical wellbeing, Sarah immediately went into spy mode. Could someone have done this to him? If so, would they be near? She started scanning the area. She spotted a man hanging back. Unlike other pedestrians who were looking on in worried fascination, this guy was watching Ellie and the man on the ground with no concern at all. In fact, he seemed to be recording the event. Sarah knew some people did that for ghoulish reasons, but her senses told her this was different.
She was going to mention it to Chuck, but the ambulance arrived and Ellie was talking loudly to the men as they loaded the man onto a trolley. "Shallow respiration, thready pulse." She grabbed the man's wallet from his trouser pocket and thrust it at her brother. "Chuck, check... Check for a medical ID."
Chuck was too focused on what his sister was doing and just held the wallet.
Sarah spotted the odd man edging closer and she really didn't like the look of him.
Chuck was so proud of Ellie and wanted everyone to know who she was. He shouted out, "That's my sister saving that man. That's E-" Sarah stamped her heel into Chuck's foot to shut him up. "Ouch," he cried and looked at Sarah in shock.
"Sorry, Sweetie," she said loudly. She leaned in and whispered, "Zip it. Bad guy."
Chuck was now holding his foot and he glared at Sarah, but did keep his mouth shut. Then, he remembered his sister's request and opened the wallet. He found the man's driving license. He immediately flashed on the name he saw and was shocked at the images that appeared in his head.
He managed to avoid saying anything and thrust the wallet and the driving license to his sister as she was now sitting in the ambulance beside the stretcher bearing the man. The doors shut and the ambulance pulled away before Chuck could get his senses straight again.
He grabbed his phone and called Ellie, but she had her phone switched off. He recorded a message quietly telling her those of Mason Whitney's details that he could. "Be careful, Ellie, he's not a good guy!"
When Devon arrived, Sarah explained what had happened and he drove them home before setting off for the hospital.
"Why the hell did you stamp on my foot, Sarah?" Chuck almost shouted.
She quickly told him, "Whitney was drugged and there was another man following him. I didn't want you shouting out Ellie's name and putting her in danger."
"Mason Whitney, the man on the ground, is in the Intersect. He works for the U.S. Department of Energy at Berkeley with a Q Security Clearance, whatever that means. He's on some top secret project that involves the CIA called Sanctuary. It has something to do with nuclear bombs."
"We better tell Casey and call this in," she replied.
"Let me find out more about Mason Whitney first," Chuck said, grabbing his laptop.
He spent the next twenty minutes in Piranha mode, then looked up as his girlfriend. She was looking at him with a smile on her face. "What?" he asked.
"I love watching you on computers. There's something really hot about your concentration and the speed you operate at."
He blushed, but grinned. "I can't believe that me being a super nerd turns you on."
She leaned close and breathed on him. "Makes me hot for you."
"Yeah, well I think that'll have to wait. All I could find out is that Mason is a programmer. Whatever that project is, he's involved in creating it and must know a lot about it."
Sarah sat back. "So, the other guy has his secrets and wants him dead?" she pondered. "Definitely need to call this in."
Chuck's eyes widened as he thought of something. "Shit! If Ellie's with Mason, and that guy goes after him, she could be in danger."
"Not at the hospital, Chuck. Too many other people about." She stood up to head over to Casey's.
"You go," he said. "I'm going to try to contact Ellie or Devon."
"Okay."
Chuck hadn't been able to get a hold of either of the doctors. He knew that they often had their phones off when at the hospital, but it was still stressing him out.
What if that guy turned up and just started shooting people, starting with Mason, then Ellie?
Sarah walked back in with him. "Casey agrees this needs to be discussed with Beckman and Graham. He called the General and I called the director. Neither were particularly happy at receiving calls at what must be 3am in DC. However, what we conveyed got them both worried. Neither knew about that project, but Graham is going to find out for our call in the morning." She looked at Chuck's state. "Not able to contact Ellie?"
"No! I know she often has her phone off at the hospital, but I'm really, really worried about her. I must have tried ringing over ten times."
Sarah took hold of his hand. "Come on, Chuck. As I said, I don't think he'd do anything at the hospital. She is gonna be fine," she reiterated.
"But you don't know!" he cried.
"Call the hospital switchboard and see if anything has happened," she suggested.
"Heh, you're right," he said, somewhat more calmly. He called and was told that everything was normal. Quieter than normal due to the time of day. Chuck sighed as he put down his phone.
However, Chuck still couldn't rest and just paced up and down in the living room until they both heard a key in the front door lock. Devon and Ellie walked in.
Chuck ran to his sister. "Ellie! Oh, my god, you're okay. You're fine." Then he realized how he must sound. "Of course, you're fine…. What happened?"
Ellie sighed. "We tried everything. Nothing worked. I think he was poisoned or had an allergic reaction or something."
Chuck and Sarah avoided looking at each other.
Ellie looked exhausted, so it was no surprise when she said, "I'm going to bed. Good night, guys."
Devon followed her, "Night, guys."
Chuck and Sarah both said, " Good night."
Chuck's shoulders slumped as he stood watching the others enter their bedroom. "When I watched that ambulance drive off with Ellie inside with that sweaty nuclear spy freak, I felt I had put Ellie's life in danger. This whole spy life is catching up on us."
Sarah took hold of his arms. "No, Chuck, that guy was sick with or without the Intersect in your head. And spy world or no, Ellie helped that guy because that is what she is trained to do."
He pondered that for a few seconds. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Come on, we should get to bed, too," she said.
When they finally got to bed, Chuck looked as exhausted as his sister had been. All the stress of worrying about Ellie had really gotten to him.
"Sorry, Sarah. I'm bushed and still freaked out. No lovemaking tonight."
She nodded. "I expected that. You need sleep." She tried to lighten his mood a bit. "Sleeping just wasn't how I thought we'd keep quiet, though."
He snorted. "Love you, Sarah."
"Love you too, Chuck."
The three of them stood in Casey's apartment for the usual briefing, but this meeting was more focused than normal.
Chuck would have liked Ellie to be there, but she was still asleep and in no shape to face the two on the screen.
Beckman spoke first, looking at Chuck, "You were correct in identifying Mason Whitney. The; subject had nuclear Intel."
Graham chipped in, "As Chuck identified, Whitney was a programmer for the top-secret project, code name: 'Sanctuary.' What he didn't find out was that when Whitney disappeared, so did the Sanctuary data stored on a computer chip."
That was a surprise to all three of them. Sarah reacted quickest. "Wait. So, whoever has the chip essentially has a skeleton key to access our nuclear facilities?"
Graham nodded. "Precisely, Sarah. In the wrong hands, this is potentially catastrophic."
Beckman stated, "The three of you need to go to the morgue. Search the body for the missing codes. Maybe there's a chance he still has them on him."
Graham looked at Chuck and added, "And get your sister to provide the toxicology report on what caused Whitney's death."
When the call ended, Chuck said, "I'll leave a note for Ellie to call me when she wakes up."
"I'll make the arrangements for us to go to the morgue," Casey said.
"Can't wait," Chuck responded.
Chuck had his usual conversation with Big Mike when he got to work, and mentioned that he'd need to go out to see his sister was alright after the night's events. Big Mike was shocked that such a thing could occur outside one of his favorite restaurants.
Chuck then went to check on the sales staff first and then planned on heading toward the Nerd Herd station to talk to them as well. He got into a long conversation with Morgan. His buddy seemed unsure of himself and prevaricated before finally admitting he wanted advice about his relationship with Anna.
"I really like her, Chuck, but I don't know if things are moving too fast."
Chuck looked at him. "Morgan, you were ready to sleep with Carina at the drop of a hat. Why'd you think Anna is any different?"
"Pfft," Morgan said, waving that comment off. "We've done that already, but it's different with Anna. Carina was going to be a one-night stand. Anna is my girlfriend."
"I think that's much better than a one-nighter, Morg," Chuck replied drily.
"Are you settled with Sarah?" Morgan asked.
"Hell, yes," Chuck replied. "I've not known her that long, but she's definitely the one for me."
Morgan looked over to the Nerd Herd station where Anna was standing. "Maybe Anna is it
for me, Chuck. I just don't know."
Chuck looked over and saw that Lou had walked up to the desk and was talking to Anna who handed her the fixed phone. "I'd make your mind up quickly, Morg. I wouldn't piss Anna off if I were you."
"Good point," Morgan replied and wandered off.
Chuck headed over toward the two women. Anna spotted him and walked away from the station, leaving Lester in charge.
Chuck approached Lou and she turned to him. "Thank you so much for fixing my phone, Chuck."
He frowned. "Anna told you I did that?"
She grinned, "She said you got it fixed."
"Well, I did. I gave it to her to work on. I used to work as a Nerd Herd team lead and do things like that, but I got promoted. Anna's really good at fixing things."
Lou frowned now. "Huh. I got the impression you'd done it."
"Nah," he replied and looked at the phone in her hand. "Good as new-ish?"
She nodded, looking a bit distracted. "Seems so." She then smiled. "It really saved my ass." She lifted the bag in her other hand. "I brought you something for fixing it."
He shook his head and raised his eyebrows. "You didn't know whether it was fixed or not when you walked in."
"I trusted you," she replied. "It's the sandwich I mentioned yesterday. Turkey, Muenster cheese, and egg bread. I was going to call it the Chuck Bartowski."
He laughed. "Well, as it wasn't me that fixed your phone, you should call it the Anna Wu and leave it for her."
She frowned at that, then said, "You know, you should come by the shop sometime."
He smiled at her. "Yes, I'd love that."
He then spotted the gorgeous legs he loved so much walking toward him. He looked up at the Wienerlicious uniform that hugged her torso so deliciously. He grinned. "Sarah!"
His girlfriend had spotted Lou with him and as she got near said to her, "Hi. I'm Sarah."
"My gorgeous girlfriend," Chuck added.
Lou's mouth twitched down. "I'm Lou." She paused. "These guys fixed my phone."
Sarah smiled. "They're good at that. Nice to meet you, Lou."
Lou nodded. "Nice to meet you, too, Sarah." She turned to walk out the store and called back to Chuck, rather cooly, "Uh, you should refrigerate that."
Chuck nodded. "I'll give it to Anna and tell her."
Sarah looked him in the eyes. "She wants you, Chuck."
He wasn't sure he believed that, but replied, "Well, she's out of luck. I'm taken."
She stood on tip toes and kissed him. "You sure are." She then said, "Casey called. The morgue is ours."
"Great," he sarcastically replied.
The morgue on first glance wasn't as bad as Chuck had anticipated. "Okay, this is just a storage room. They just happen to store people here, people who are no longer breathing and who are refrigerated."
Casey just grunted.
Chuck looked down at the body that Casey had pulled out. "Good lord, the man is naked!"
Casey nodded. "Appears rigor mortis has set in, too."
Sarah smiled at his sense of humor as she examined the man's head. Chuck tried desperately not to look at what Casey had mentioned.
Casey stabbed a needle into the man and pulled out some dark red blood. Chuck dry heaved and Casey looked at him. "Wouldn't have needed this if your sister had provided the toxicology report." He turned to Sarah. "Find anything?"
Sarah shook her head. "Nothing yet. No codes." Then she spotted something behind the man's ear. "Hang on a second. What is this?" She peeled off a small skin colored plaster, the underside of which held a device. She looked at the other two and mouthed the word "Bug."
Casey had run the blood sample through a modified version of a mass spectrometer. He was looking at the results of the blood analysis. "The poison was a toxic derivative of pentothal." Chuck was going to ask about the effect, but Casey continued, "Initially, the subject becomes uncontrollably truthful. After it accumulates in the occipital lobe, the victim suffers from unconsciousness and eventually... Death."
Chuck looked at him incredulously. "You got all that from just analyzing the blood sample?"
Casey grunted. "From the results plus information that I already know, with some speculation."
"So, guesswork," Chuck said scornfully.
"Informed speculation," Casey corrected.
Sarah asked, "What would be the timeline on this thing?"
Casey frowned, and they all knew he had no real idea, just more speculation. "Can't say. It could be a couple hours. Could be minutes depending on the concentration."
"If the bad guy was following him, he couldn't have gotten the information he wanted from Mason," Chuck stated. "Or the microchip."
"He must still be searching for it," Sarah concluded. She and Chuck looked at each other. "Ellie!" they both said, and ran out of the morgue to get home.
"Come quickly, Casey," Sarah called back to her partner.
When Chuck and Sarah burst into the apartment, Ellie looked up at them after taking a sip of her coffee. "What the hell, guys?"
"Ellie, have you had a visitor?" Chuck demanded.
Ellie frowned. "Only a weird police officer who asked strange questions about Mason Whitney."
Sarah sat by her. "Weird? In what way?"
"Well, he was shorter than most policemen I've seen. And he was asking if I'd taken anything from Mason. As if I would!"
Both knew that it was the man they'd seen.
"Did he say how he got your address?" Sarah asked. She had tried to avoid anything like this happening.
Ellie frowned. "I didn't ask. I gave it to the police at the hospital. He will have gotten it from them, won't he?"
"I guess," Sarah responded. She suspected he listened in when they took those details.
"Oh, and he had to take my photo. That was weird too. He had to move my hair back behind my left ear, saying it was just a protocol required for the framing. I've never heard of such a thing. The pen he gave me to sign the Affidavit was weird too."
Sarah quickly looked behind Ellie's ear and sure enough there was the same bug she had found on Whitney. She peeled it off.
"That is weird," Chuck stated in the silence. Sarah looked at him. He looked sick about what had happened, but obviously knew not to say anything with that bug in her hand.
Ellie looked at it in horror and was going to say something, but Sarah pressed a finger over her lips. She then grabbed a notepad and pen from the table and wrote,
Bug behind your ear.
Think you've been dosed with same poison as Mason. Probably sprayed from pen.
Need to get you to the hospital.
Chuck grabbed the keys for Ellie's car and they rushed out.
Sarah spotted Casey rushing in and signaled to him to look for the man.
Just as Chuck and Ellie reached her car, there was a screeching of tires. All four watched a car racing away. Chuck took a note of the license plate and told Casey and Sarah who were further away.
"I'll get a trace on that car," Casey said. The other three got into Ellie's car and headed for the hospital with Chuck driving.
On the way, Ellie started babbling, the poison taking effect. "I have known him since the day he was born obviously." She looked fondly at Chuck. "When people would ask him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he would always say the same Thing: 'big boy.' How cute is that?"
Sarah, sitting in the back, couldn't help chuckling.
Ellie continued, "And now he is a big boy." She looked at Sarah. "And I can tell that he is because he is with a big... big girl."
Sarah had to assume she meant her height, because her boobs weren't as big as Ellie's own.
Ellie looked back at her brother and ruffled his hair. "Chuck, you need a haircut. It's starting to make funny animal shapes."
Sarah grinned. She liked the description, but she also liked his hair that length.
Chuck had arrived at the hospital and they all got out of the car. Ellie was clearly now unsteady on her feet, so Chuck and Sarah guided her in.
When Casey walked into the hospital and found Sarah and Chuck, he said, "Car was reported stolen. No joy there."
Chuck looked through the window to the private room with his sister unconscious in bed and Devon sitting with her. He looked back at the other two. "We've got to save her."
Sarah had made some calls and visibly winced as she said, "Chuck, what he used on Ellie might not be exactly the same as on Mason Whitney. Our biochemists are looking for a compound that neutralizes the poison used on Ellie. They say something like a chelating agent, whatever that is. They basically want to create an antidote for Ellie."
Chuck looked at her and threw his hands up in the air. "There's no time! If it's the same poison as the dead guy, that means Ellie's only got a few hours left." The other two had nothing to say to that. "Look, this is easy. All we've got to do is find the codes, and we get the bad guy to trade us for the antidote."
Casey was going to challenge that idea, but Sarah said, "We have this bug that we found on Ellie." She held up the clear box she'd put it in.
Casey noted, "Soundproof box. Don't want the bad guy knowing we're onto him. We've got a team working on reversing the tracking signal."
Casey didn't see the look that passed between his partners or the nod Sarah gave Chuck. Chuck snatched the box from her, opened it and said into the bug, "Found the codes. Can't believe where Mason Whitney hid them. I'm going to keep them on the lady doctor until we can move them safely." He then closed up the box. Sarah took it back from him with a smile.
Casey looked at him almost approvingly. "Now the bad guy's going to come to us. Not bad, Bartowski…. This had better work."
Chuck was sitting with his sister in a new room, back in the mindset that he'd caused this problem and was rambling on about that and apologizing for the whole Intersect thing. She couldn't hear him of course, but it helped him.
Devon walked in. "Went back home to get Ellie's sweater." He handed it to Chuck.
Chuck looked at it. "Her lucky sweater. She needs some luck right now."
"That's what I thought," Devon replied. Chuck looked at him, the man was almost in tears. It was a reminder of just how much Devon loved his sister that the tough guy was like this.
As Devon walked out, Chuck placed the sweater over his sister and spotted something in her pocket. When he pulled out a chain he found a round white shape at the bottom with the microchip embedded in it. He had to get this to Sarah and Casey and rushed toward Ellie's old room.
Sarah was in the bed that was designated for Dr. Bartowski. She was wearing a brown wig.
She heard someone creep in and walk up behind her. When she felt the covers lifted off of her, she twirled around and grabbed the man's hand, twisting it behind his back.
Casey rushed in pointing a gun at the man who just smirked and managed to hit Sarah to free himself and then leap across and kick the gun out of Casey's hand. When he landed and stood up, Sarah had her gun pointing at him and Casey grabbed his other one. Both agents were shocked with how easily he had overcome them and gotten over there.
The man said, "Okay. I've got what you want." He lifted up a small vial containing a green liquid. "The antidote to save your doctor friend. Give it to her and she might live. Just trade me for the codes." He then raised a larger vial with a red liquid. "Or... I can poison all of you and force you to tell me where you've hidden my codes. And then you'll die, too, just like the doctor. Your choice."
Chuck had arrived shortly before the man started his speech. As the door was wide open, Chuck saw and flashed on the man's profile, which stopped Chuck for a few moments. Reardon Payne. An Olympic gymnast until he blew out his knee and was forced to retire. He became an information broker on the black market. His Modus Operandi was poisoning people and then promised the antidote in exchange for information.
Chuck shook his head and listened to all that Payne said. He then very quickly reached in and snatched the smaller vial and ran out, heading back to Ellie.
Payne realized he'd lost his bargaining card and would soon be shot, so he threw down the larger vial between Casey and Sarah. As the vial shattered on impact with the floor, the gas enveloped Sarah and Casey, who stood and choked on it for a couple of seconds before springing into action. This gave Reardon Payne the opportunity to dash out of the room, and run down the corridor, thinking he was following Chuck but actually running in the wrong direction.
The two agents pursued Payne. He ran fast, so they were having trouble catching up with him, in spite of him bumping into people, which slowed him down. Neither could use their guns in here, so Casey swiped a crutch from a patient and was going to throw that at Payne, but an orderly pushed a patient's bed out of a side room and as the patient was sat up, they got in the way. Payne escaped. Casey followed him out, but the man had just vanished.
Disappointed and definitely drugged, Sarah and Casey walked back to Ellie's new room to see her recovering with Chuck fussing over her. When he spotted them outside, he hurried out. "The antidote worked," he excitedly told them. Then, he noticed they both looked worse for wear. "Do you have Payne in custody?"
"Payne?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah," Chuck replied. "Reardon Payne. Used to be an Olympic athlete until he injured his knee and had to retire. Now he's a poisoner who gets done what others can't, acquiring and selling hard-to-find items, like these nuclear codes."
"His Olympic past explains his agility and how he escaped," Sarah commented.
"Yeah, after poisoning us," Casey said.
That shocked Chuck. "WHAT!? We have to catch him!" He started running for the entrance and the others had to follow. Just before they got to the exit, Chuck noticed something on the floor, something he'd seen Payne drop in his pocket when he grabbed the vials in the room with the two agents. Chuck bent down, picked it up, and took a close look.
He smiled at the two agents. "This thing's going to lead us right to him!"
They dashed out of the hospital and into Casey's car. "Are you ok to drive, Casey?" Chuck asked.
The NSA agent just grunted. "Tell me where to go, Bartowski."
The two agents were being more open and honest with each other, both as Casey drove and when they arrived at the location. Chuck found it quite refreshing. Neither were showing any sign of slowing down or shakiness, which was a relief.
Sarah let them into the entrance to the apartments, because she was so much better at picking locks, something that even Casey acknowledged.
As they waited for the elevator, even though not drugged, Chuck couldn't resist teasing the two agents. He looked at Sarah, "God, you're so gorgeous!" he said. That made her look at him with sparkling eyes. He then turned to Casey and without smirking managed to say, "Casey, your jaw was chiseled by Michelangelo himself."
Casey growled and replied, "You're not drugged, Moron, and it's not funny that we are."
Chuck then felt embarrassed. "Sorry," he said as they walked into the elevator.
Sarah grabbed his hand and made him look at her. "Don't ever apologize for complimenting me, though, my gorgeous boyfriend. I'll have to show you how much I appreciate it when we get home."
Casey groaned.
When they got to Payne's apartment, Sarah knocked on the door.
"Who's there?" they heard Payne call out.
Casey shot the door and kicked it open. They rushed in and saw Payne walking down the stairs.
Sarah pointed her gun at Payne and shouted, "Freeze!" He stopped walking and put up his hands. She added, "My partner would rather shoot you in the face than let you get away."
Casey looked at her. "You called me your partner?"
She nodded and shrugged. She looked back at Payne. "Where's the antidote?"
He started down the stairs again. "Actually, I was just about to enjoy a little antidote myself. What kind of host would I be if I didn't offer you some as well?"
"You won't have breathed in any of the gas, so that's a lie," Casey said. He cocked the gun and closely monitored Payne's progress as he reached a table containing a number of small vials filled with orange liquid. Casey said, "Careful. I haven't killed anyone in a while. Getting a little hungry."
Payne carried three of the vials and handed one to each agent, holding onto one himself.
Sarah was about to open and knock it back, but Chuck stopped her. "No. Wait! Don't drink that!" She looked at him curiously, and he continued, "The antidote liquid was green, not orange."
Casey realized Chuck was right, "Good one, Chuck."
Payne nodded, smiled and then easily smacked Casey's gun out of his hand due to the NSA agent's reflexes still being slowed by the poison. Payne then flipped himself over several times, heading for the exit. When he landed the final time, Sarah didn't hesitate and shot him in his right knee. He cried out and fell to the floor.
Casey looked at her. "Very unsportsmanlike…. I like it."
When they had him strapped down in a chair, unable to escape, Payne finally had to tell them, "The antidote is in the cabinet, bottom right shelf. Key is in my pocket."
Sarah went and retrieved the vials with the green liquid. She handed one to Casey.
Just before they were going to take it, Chuck asked Casey. "Tell me the truth. Is Beckman still planning to put me in a bunker or kill me?"
Casey looked at him. His jaw twitched and he just said, "Maybe."
Chuck frowned in frustration. "Well, which is it?"
"She's not told me," Casey replied and shrugged and then quickly drank the green liquid.
Sarah was watching her partner. She hadn't thought about what Chuck asked for a while, but now she did. She decided that she and Chuck should talk to the director about this.
Chuck turned to her and smiled. "I know you love me. I find it almost unbelievable a lot of the time, but I know it, so I don't need to ask."
She frowned. "I'm glad you haven't. That would feel like you don't believe me, which would hurt."
He nodded and smiled. Sarah then knocked back the antidote herself.
Chuck breathed a sigh of relief. Both agents were now free of the effects of the drug.
Once they were back at the apartment, and away from Casey, Sarah said, "Casey might know the answer to your question."
"But he was under the truth drug," Chuck pointed out.
She looked at him. "All agents are trained to withstand pentothal. It isn't all that easy, but it is possible. I noticed his face twitch before he answered you, which may be an indication he lied."
"Which? Bunker or death?" Chuck nervously asked.
"I don't know," she honestly replied. "We should talk to Graham. See what he can find out." He nodded, looking downcast. She didn't want him to stay that way, so she said, in a sultry voice, "In the meantime, I believe I promised to show my appreciation for your words earlier." She started to pull up her sweater and t-shirt. That brightened his mood, but not as much as what followed.
The following morning, Graham wasn't available to talk, either privately with Sarah and Chuck, or in the briefing.
Beckman stared at the three of them. "We received the codes and now our weapon sites are more secure than ever. Congratulations on a job well done."
Chuck just looked at General Beckman and wondered exactly what was going on in her head. They would have to ask Graham when they next spoke to him.
A/N: Obviously this chapter was quite different to the episode. No Harry Tang, so those scenes didn't occur here. Chuck didn't ask Sarah about their cover relationship because here it is not just a cover. And finally, Chuck did not break up with the love of his life for the deli girl.
Was it still enjoyable? Drop me a review to let me know.
