A/N: Using his hacking skills, Chuck found out that Bryce Larkin was in the CIA, not an accountant. As he read Bryce's records, he became fascinated by Bryce's ex-partner and contacted her. This all happened before Chuck received a certain email.

This doesn't follow canon timelines exactly, and Chuck and Sarah are not exactly the same, either.

Captainrick944 kindly beta'd this. Thanks, my friend.

Piranha vs The Intersect

Chapter 1: Contact

He knew his sister would be mad at him if she worked out what he was doing on his computer each evening. She thought he was playing World of Warcraft over the internet with Morgan, but in reality he was hacking.

He hadn't planned to do much, but he enjoyed the challenge of his previous incursions into the CIA's systems, so was poking around just for fun.

Then, he saw a name he certainly didn't expect. Bryce Larkin. It seemed that the guy who framed him for cheating and then stole his girlfriend, hadn't become an accountant, he became a spy, or rather, he already was one before leaving Stanford.

So now, each evening, Chuck dug back in to see what Bryce had been doing over the last five years. He had been on a number of solo assignments before linking up with a female operative with whom he worked for a while. Chuck didn't try to see the details of those assignments, just found the locations they visited. The last time they worked together was six months ago. Since then, Bryce had effectively dropped off the CIA radar. He hadn't been killed, just disappeared. His disappearance was recorded as Larkin going rogue, and not to be trusted.

This intrigued Chuck. How could someone disappear from the CIA? He decided to dig deeper and try to find out what he had been doing before going rogue.

What he found was disturbing. It seemed that Bryce had obtained some intel that he felt was more important than his partner's life. He abandoned her, and as a result, she was captured. Chuck had disliked Bryce before, but him deserting his partner, knowing she would be captured, increased that dislike.

Chuck recorded her name and would follow that to find out if she survived or not, but not until he had exhausted following leads on Bryce.

There wasn't anything that indicated where he might be, but the director he reported to was the one who had listed him as rogue. There were messages about a thing called the Intersect, but nothing definitively linked him to whatever that was.

Chuck dug into that name and was alarmed to find that it was the repository for all the secrets of the CIA and the NSA.

Who would be foolish enough to store everything in one place?

Bewildered about this, Chuck exited the CIA's systems for that night.

The next night, he was going to find out if Sarah Walker, Bryce's ex-partner, had survived.

Over the next three nights, Chuck found out everything he could about this woman. She had survived being captured by the drug cartel they had been investigating but managed to escape. The records showed that she killed ten men in that escape, something that Chuck found hard to believe, especially as she had apparently been tortured while captive. Her strength and obvious skill fascinated him, causing him to dig deeper and deeper to find out more about her.

She had been in the CIA for ten years now. Her records showed her age as 27 which would mean she was 17 when she was inducted.

Chuck sat back and contemplated that. She would still have been in high school. How was that legal and why didn't her parents fight it?

There were no details about her past life or her parents. It was almost as if she just appeared and joined the CIA. That didn't jell with what had happened to Bryce. Full records of his prior life existed.

Chuck started parsing through Sarah's personal records, but there was very little to see until he stumbled upon a photograph. She was stunning, even in what was obviously a mug shot. He was smitten.

Everything he found out about her made him want to know more. He discovered that she had spent time seconded to the Secret Service and had also spent time working with three other women from different organizations before the team was disbanded.

By the end of the third night of digging for Sarah Walker's records, he found that most of her assignments and missions were redacted. They were either scans of documents that had been largely blacked out, or digital ones with text replaced with 'X's. That meant that they were either highly secret for some national security reason or that her boss was trying to hide some dodgy dealings. The more he read, the more the latter seemed likely.

The files detailed some executions that she had carried out, as ordered. The first time he found one of those was an unpleasant discovery. He then discovered more. These missions were quick ones. That made him check the redacted ones and most of those were quick. That didn't mean all were assassinations, but probably a number were.

He had to stop looking at the assassination files part way through the second day. Overnight, he had nightmares of this beautiful woman chasing him, trying to kill him.

On the third night, he decided to focus on what she had done since her time with Bryce.

After rehabilitation following her capture, torture and escape, she had a couple of minor information gathering missions, and then was assigned to work with a handler, Kieran Ryker. Her first mission with Ryker had been in Budapest, where she was to retrieve a package from a mansion. The owners had been killed, she was expected to go in on her own, fight off the men that had killed the owners and retrieve the package. There was no reason recorded on why she was expected to do this alone.

She killed nearly a dozen men in the mansion before escaping. That was when the facts became confusing. It turned out the package was a baby girl. Agent Walker herself seemed to believe that Ryker wanted the baby to use for his own purposes. Sarah's official report was that "the package" was irretrievable, but Langston Graham and, it seemed, Ryker, believed she had the baby and had secreted it away.

Chuck was both surprised and pleased about this. He now was convinced that Sarah saved the child. He sat back and thought about that. She went against the rules, broke protocol and her mission requirements. She was, in his eyes, a hero.

She was back in Washington DC only recently and Graham hadn't decided what to do with her. Chuck hoped she wouldn't be reprimanded for saving the child's life.

Chuck's fascination with Sarah Walker continued to grow, fueling his desire to meet the amazing woman.

He set up alerts for any new information on either Bryce or Sarah and stopped his hacking for a few days, wondering how he could engineer a meeting. The big problem being that the CIA didn't operate in the US, just abroad.

He was mulling over this on his birthday, when his sister reminded him that she had set up a party for him. He hated these parties where she tried to get him hooked up with one of the nurses from her work. She had been pushing Chuck since his expulsion from Stanford, and the subsequent loss of his girlfriend, caused him to lose all interest in dating.

Well, tonight was going to be different. He was going to escape with Morgan and actually play computer games with him at his house.

They were just escaping through his bedroom window, when Ellie Bartowski caught them.

She lectured Chuck about how much effort she had put in for his party. The argument about who she was really doing this for raged between them. In the end, he agreed to stay but wouldn't engage any of the girls in conversation.

The party was the failure he predicted. The girls that tried to talk to him found him totally unresponsive, disengaging quickly. Ellie acknowledged that inviting them had been a mistake. One she wouldn't repeat. He felt that was a success.

He ended up back in his bedroom with Morgan. After playing for a while, they stopped and Morgan broached the subject of the party. "Same as every year?"

"Slightly better because El agreed not to set her expectations high," Chuck replied.

If he was honest with himself, it was no longer about Jill or his lack of confidence about talking to women. He had another woman on his mind. One he would probably never meet, and even if he did, would stand no chance with. Sarah Walker occupied his thoughts and dreams now. He wondered if that was him setting his sights so high that no one could ever match it, which justified not bothering with dating.

Of course, he could never tell his sister about this dream woman. He'd have to admit to how he found her. Or rather, found out about her. He'd never actually be able to find her.

He thought about that. Or could he?

"I'm heading home," Morgan told him. "Early start tomorrow."

After Morgan left, Chuck sat at his computer. He was going to track down Sarah Walker, wherever she was. It wouldn't enable him to meet her, but maybe he could contact her in some way?

His digging found her cell phone number and then by hacking the cellular carrier's network, discovered she was in Washington DC. It was thousands of miles away, but they were at least in the same country.

The alcohol he'd consumed gave him the confidence to send her a text message.

You don't know me, but we've both been hurt by and share a dislike for Bryce Larkin
I would love to talk to you, if you want to. Chuck

As he sent it, he thought how ridiculous this was, but was surprised when he quickly got a reply.

How did you find me?

He pondered that for a few moments. He decided to be honest.

Discovered BL was a spy
Tracked down details and found he had abandoned you
Just typical of that shit

The reply was quick again.

So, you are not a spy?

Well, that was easy to answer.

No. Just an IT nerd. I am fascinated by you, though.

Her response wasn't good.

You can't know me. I should report you as a hacker

He frantically typed,

Please don't. I just want to talk to you

That got no response. He worried that she was busy reporting him. Then, his phone rang.

"Hello?" he replied.

The most beautiful voice spoke. "Why are you contacting me?"

"Oh, thank you for calling. Just hearing your voice makes me happy," he replied.

"Are you some sort of creep?" she asked.

He realized she must be seeing him as one. "No, no. I just found your details fascinating and thought you must be fascinating yourself."

She huffed. "So, I have a cyber-stalker?"

This wasn't going well, but what had he expected? She was right, he was stalking her. "I'm sorry. I didn't think this through. I'll just say thank you for talking to me. It made my day. You have a beautiful voice. Matches how you look."

She said nothing and he wondered if she had just forgotten to hang up. "Sarah? No, sorry. I shouldn't presume to call you by your first name. Miss Walker?"

She chuckled. That was a nice sound too. "You track me down and then act charming?"

He smiled. "That's me. The charming cyber-stalker."

Her tinkling laugh warmed his heart. "I shouldn't, but I'm now intrigued by you, Cybe."

He loved the nickname she'd created and laughed at himself. "Actually, those are my initials. Charles Irving Bartowski, CIB, at your service."

"Well, Cybe, where are you?"

"In my bedroom," he replied.

She laughed again. It made him want to make her do that more. "I meant where geographically."

"Well, it was worth being an idiot to hear your laugh."

That obviously distracted her. "I don't normally laugh."

"Well, maybe you need to get to know a certain cyber-stalker who seems to be able to bring that beautiful sound out." The alcohol was definitely fueling his confidence.

Her tone warmed. "I can't if you don't tell me where you are."

That shocked him. "Los Angeles," he rushed out. "You'd come and see me?" he asked incredulously.

"Well, I'm on downtime at the moment, and bored out of my mind, so maybe."

"I'll book some leave. Show you the sights," he said.

She laughed again. "Trying to sweep me off my feet?"

At the back of his mind, a voice was saying 'She's out of your league.' However, the rush of talking to her was filling him with confidence. "If you lower your expectations, then maybe."

"Oh no you don't! My expectations are sky high, Mister."

"Mister, huh? What's happened to Cybe?" he joked.

That tinkling laugh again. "I can be at LAX before 1pm. Gonna come and pick me up?"

"Sounds like a dream," he replied. Then he thought about what she was suggesting. "Hold on. You're 3 hours ahead of me. It must be 2:37 there."

"It is."

He felt awful. "I'm so sorry. Did I wake you?"

She chuckled. "It's a bit late to worry about that."

"I didn't think. And… I have been drinking," he admitted.

"So, you won't be like this when sober?"

He could tell she was teasing him. "I needed the alcohol to have the confidence to call you."

"I am pretty scary," she said, and there was a hint of sadness there.

He realized she meant really scary, but focused his reply on the more pleasant interpretation. "I didn't think I would ever have the chance to meet you, Sarah. You are so out of my league."

"Thank you, Chuck. That's very sweet of you to say that, but I'm not sure you're right." Then her voice changed to teasing again. "Besides, this isn't a date, just you being my humorous tour guide. Right?"

"Sure," he replied. "It'll feel like a date to me, though," he couldn't help adding.

"Maybe," she replied. His heart soared.

"Oh, and welcome to the 'We hate Bryce Larkin' group."

"Why do you hate him?" she asked.

"He framed me and got me kicked out of Stanford, and then stole my girl."

"Sounds like good reasons to hate him," she replied. "Mine was a bit more complicated."

"I know he abandoned you and you were captured." He decided to ask the question. "Were you more than just partners?"

"I don't like talking about that time, Chuck."

"So, abandoned in more ways than one," he concluded. "He really is a shit."

"He was a good spy before…" she stopped herself.

"…going rogue," he finished for her.

She sighed. "We don't know for sure."

"Well, I hated him before and now even more so for what he did to you."

She was silent and then asked, "Why do you care?"

He wasn't sure how to answer that. "I don't like people suffering. Besides, what you did after that really made me want to contact you. Such a kind person."

Her voice was colder when she replied, "You know what I did?"

He realized he had said too much. Probably because this was an open call. "I do. Sorry."

"Well, that seals it for me. I need to understand what you have found in a face to face meeting."

"I didn't mean to upset you," he said.

"We'll talk about it when I get there," she replied. Then, her tone softened. "If that goes well, we can still enjoy our date. See you at LAX. You know what I look like."

"I'll send you my photo. Hope it doesn't put you off coming over."

She laughed again. "I'm not coming over for your looks."

They ended the call.

He looked through the photos Ellie had taken of him. They weren't brilliant, but that was the subject material. He selected the best, cropped it and sent it to Sarah.

Then, he recorded a day off. Being the leader of his team, he could do that.

He sat back and thought about what was going to happen. A beautiful woman was flying over to see him. Him.

He received a text message and looked at what Sarah had sent.

Not put off at all

He hadn't really expected her to be put off. He wasn't bad looking. Just nothing special.

He was distracted by two things on his computer. A Bryce alert and an email from him. The latter was a big surprise. He had heard nothing from him since Stanford. However, Chuck read the alert first.

It wasn't from the CIA but from the NSA. Bryce had been spotted breaking into a top secret lab in Washington. The word Intersect appeared again.

"Shit, Bryce. What the hell are you doing?" Chuck thought.

Another alert came through. Chuck would get to the email, but was now hooked on the events.

The second alert stopped Chuck from breathing.

"Larkin neutralized but he sent an email just before he died. We need to trace that and see who he sent the Intersect to."

Chuck didn't open the email and called Sarah Walker.

"Wow! Can't wait to talk to me?" she answered.

"Sarah, Bryce is dead. Killed by the NSA when he broke into a lab containing something called the Intersect. They know he emailed it to someone and I think that is me. I received an email from him before my alerts came through."

Sarah's tone suddenly transformed as she spoke clinically, authoritatively. "Have you opened the email and checked it?"

"No. I'm too scared to do that," he confessed. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I'm not from your spy world."

"No, Chuck. That's good. Don't open it. I'll get in touch with my boss." She paused, then added. "Looks like the date is off, but I may still be seeing you." She ended the call without saying any more.

He waited and waited, anxious for her to call back.

Then, she did. "Chuck, I will still be coming over. This is deemed too sensitive to send by email."

He hated himself for saying it, but, "I could store the email to a file server and just give you access to it."

"Don't you want to see me anymore?" she teased.

"You can't imagine how much I want that." Then he realized how that sounded. "Sorry. Creepy."

"No. You know how to make a girl feel special."

He snorted. "You wouldn't think so."

She became professional again. "Save the email and text me the address. I'll still come over, in case the NSA tracks you."

"Oh, shit! Are they going to shoot me for receiving the email?"

"My boss will try to get hold of their general to prevent that, but I want to make sure you're safe."

"So, the date's back on, but with you protecting me?"

She chuckled. "Something like that."

"I'm torn between being frightened and excited," he said.

"Well, I can be pretty frightening," she replied. He thought there was humor in her tone.

"I'm excited about meeting the person I've been cyber-stalking."

She laughed. "See you later, Cybe."

Chuck copied the email and sent a text to Sarah with the address. Her reply came quickly,

Thanks. I'll pass the details on

Chuck decided he better get some sleep. It was going to be a busy day. He needed to decide where to take Sarah while she was in LA. He hadn't asked how long she would be staying or where. He would have to find that out later.

Sleep was not quick. The excitement, some good, some bad, had his head buzzing. However, he eventually did drop off to sleep.

Sarah was called to Director Graham's office before she left. He knew the flight she was going to catch and was going to hold the flight for her. She arrived at 7am, as directed, pulling her suitcase behind her. His assistant wasn't there but he left his door open. She closed it after entering.

"I've had analysts working on this since you called." He pushed a file across to her. "This Bartowski was indeed expelled from Stanford for cheating on a test. Larkin was the one who found the test papers under his bed and reported it. Prior to that they had been friends. The test was actually a CIA test for suitability for the Omaha project."

She knew that name. "The one I was invited to join?"

He nodded and chuckled. "Which you declined."

"I didn't want to be experimented on," she stated.

"It seems that Bartowski's results were suspicious because they were near perfect." He looked at her. "The next highest was Larkin's and he was enrolled."

She gasped. "You think he framed Bartowski to achieve that?"

"I do," Graham replied. "The project was canceled but used to further another. The Intersect project."

Sarah knew about the Intersect, but not its link to the Omaha project. "The Intersect is a database of information, isn't it?"

"It is, but, thanks to Omaha, also the means to download the database into a human brain for offline use."

That was news to Sarah, but she quickly asked, "You think Bryce sent it to the best candidate? Why?"

"We'll never know why, but that seems to be what happened."

"He hates Bryce for what he did."

"I'm not surprised." Graham paused. "We wanted to create a super-agent with this, but the three agents we tried the download on couldn't cope. We think Bartowski will be able to not only cope but also use it, though. I want you to persuade him to do that."

She had a sinking feeling about this. "Persuade or force?"

"Persuade," he replied. "It was forced on one of the agents. I believe there is a phrase from Star Trek, 'Resistance is futile.' Well, here resistance is deadly. His brain fried."

"And what if he refuses?" she enquired.

He sat back and looked at her. "From what you've told me, he is already infatuated with you. I don't think he'll resist your charms."

She shivered at what he was suggesting.

"Can we make it worth his while?" she asked.

"We'll make him an analyst and he'll work with you."

"What, permanently?" She had used many analysts, but this was very different.

"That is what I am thinking," he replied, and looked at his watch. "You need to go. I want you to get there before the NSA does. You have the advantage of knowing him, but don't get complacent. There's transport awaiting downstairs."

Dismissed, she left and soon was boarding the flight to LAX.

A/N: So, a variant on the start of their time together. I mentioned at the start that Chuck and Sarah are not exactly the same as in canon. Some of the others are, too, such as Langston Graham.

Please drop me a review and let me know what you think of this new story.