I do not own Chuck

Part 9

Palermo, Sicily

Getting here had been involved, to say the least. In more ways than one. Sarah had been amazed that Chuck had even managed to track down Ryker, so astute was the man in covering his tracks, but he had, and that was the important thing.

It was interesting, Sarah mused, how she could switch between identities. Here she was thinking of herself as Sarah Walker, someone whom she hadn't thought of herself as for years. If all went well over the next day or so, Sarah Walker would cease to exist here and now and the rest of her life would be spent as Nicole Moulin, sister of Katrina, hopefully soon to be wife of Chuck, and maybe also, at some point down the road, mother. Being a mom was a dream that Sam had had when she was young, but that Jenny Burton had feared would never come true and that Sarah had been afraid to have until she'd met Chuck.

Sarah Walker had gone through so many iterations. Pre-Farm when she'd been a scared girl with a new mentor. Through the Farm when the ugly duckling had transformed into a swan. In the CATS when she could admit she'd been pretty arrogant. Then after the CATS as she slowly lost her humanity with assassination mission after assassination mission. And then re-discovering it again after Chuck saved her life, eventually leading to her transformation into Nicole, someone she never, in her wildest dreams, thought she could become.

Nicole was safely parked overseas just now. Nicole and Chuck had left Katrina with Marcel's family, heading to Barcelona, ostensibly for a trade show. While Nicole and Chuck had crossed into Spain leaving Nicole's car in a city centre car park, Monica Ricci and James Bright had flown from Barcelona to Rome and then Giulia Bianca and Pierre Nuovas had flown from Rome to Palermo a few hours later. Now they were in their hotel room while Chuck tracked Ryker's movements using CCTV and they tried to build a plan to ambush him, and Sarah sounded out some people she'd known of from her CIA days to try and obtain weapons.

Sarah had been amazed by Chuck's plan. Also, in parts, disturbed by it until Chuck had reassured her. In some of their downtime in Barcelona Chuck had made up Sarah's face with lipstick, dust and makeup to simulate long-time ill-treatment, bruising and wounds. He had then taken multiple pictures of her and superimposed them onto pictures of a woman suspended in chains, her abused body bearing evidence of long-term beatings and abuse.

Sarah had been revulsed by the photos until Chuck assured her that the victim of a human trafficking ring was now fully-recovered and living a normal life in Florida. When her head (wearing a blonde, short-cut wig reminiscent of her old hair colour) had been superimposed on the other woman, it had been impossible to tell them apart. Chuck had then emailed the pictures to Ryker over a period of a few days, asking if he was interested in a meet.

Chuck's idea was that Ryker pulled in his support group for the meet and that they took out the whole group at once. After that there would be no-one who cared what happened to Ryker. While Sarah admired the simplicity and thoroughness of the plan, she was less excited about the last part of it.

"It's the only way to get him into the open," Chuck had told her and she guessed he was right. "Besides, I'll have you looking out for me." That was undeniable, but there was still so much riding on this and him risking himself wasn't calculated to make her feel relaxed about the plan. Still, she'd thought about it a lot and it was a great plan. Reluctantly she'd agreed to it.

"I've got three," Sarah broadcast from her sniper's nest, on a hill a hundred yards from the meeting area. She'd arrived nine hours before the meet in order to get herself fully-camouflaged. Chuck had tried to find her position with drones and infra-red and had still come up dry, so they knew she was well-hidden.

"Four," she heard in her ear bud. "He left one to secure his exit. To the left of the trail and about fifty feet back." Chuck paused as Sarah searched for the man. Chuck was using drones to spy out the land. Even though Ryker had been told to come alone, they knew he'd try to double cross his contact. It was Standard Operating Procedure for the man.

The plan had gone like clockwork. Ryker had pulled in contacts from overseas which Chuck had identified as the remnants of his old network and, more importantly, he didn't appear to have told his Mafia contacts. They'd accounted for all the bodies and, if the plan worked out, this should end here today.

"Got him," Sarah agreed as she finally found the man. "Four for four."

"OK, I'll swing round and then make my approach," Chuck sent. She sent two clicks, not sure if she could control herself sufficiently to talk at that moment in time. The Ice Queen had been cold and methodical, but Sarah Walker was just about dead. Nicole Moulin was only just about holding it together. She felt she could until this was over, but this person was just not who she was any longer. Which was a triumph in itself, she guessed.

Chuck would cycle back to the road and then come in by car and should be in there within ten minutes. Sarah took a deep breath and tried to relax, attempting to control her rapidly-beating heart.

Ten minutes later Chuck's hire car picked its way up the unpaved road and parked in the parking area next to Ryker's car. Chuck got out and walked towards the meeting place like he hadn't a care in the world.

Sarah listened over Ryker's frequency, which Chuck had previously cracked, as each of his men called in to flag Chuck's approach and she then heard Ryker's quiet "Stand by," as Chuck walked over to the table sitting at the viewpoint and sat down across from her nemesis.

"Hello Ryker," Chuck said, "Good to meet in person." That was the code word and Sarah set about her business, bringing up Ryker's first henchman in her sights.

"Mr Black," Ryker acknowledged, sounding just as cool as ever. She breathed out slightly and then goosed the trigger, her sigh almost identical to the quiet sigh her silenced rifle made. The man's head exploded in her sights, and she started lining up the next shot.

"How did you know I was looking for Walker?" Ryker asked.

Chuck laughed. "You didn't exactly hide it!" he exclaimed.

"How did you come across her then?" Ryker asked.

"Ah well, a mutual acquaintance had a bone to pick with her," Chuck sounded almost evil as she switched her sights to another of Ryker's men. "He was able to acquire her from a friend."

"I heard she left the CIA," Ryker said suspiciously.

"Yes, she did," Chuck replied. "But she pissed a lot of people off, and she needed to pay."

Sarah breathed out again, and took the next shot with the same results.

"And did she pay?" Ryker sounded almost hungry, but certainly vicious.

"Oh yes she did," Chuck reassured Ryker, "For many weeks and many months. She paid and then she paid again." Sarah started to set up the next shot.

"Is she broken?" Ryker asked, sounding almost disappointed as Sarah tried to relax. She knew she hated Ryker for what he'd done but it was clear that he despised her as well.

"Physically?" Chuck replied, sounding offhand. "Yes, I would say she is." She was amazed at how villainous he sounded. His acting had really come on. She concentrated back on her shot as Chuck added, "But mentally?" he paused and Sarah took the shot, the man's head exploding into the tree behind him. "No, I don't think she is. She hates the situation she's in. She hates what's happened to her. But she's still trying to escape."

"Good," said Ryker viciously. "I want to break her."

"Well, you can," Chuck assured him. "When you give me the deposit. Do you have it?" he asked. Sarah lined up the last shot. This one was more difficult, he was half-concealed behind a tree.

"One of my men has it," Ryker replied. "I need proof that you've got the merchandise first."

"Fair," opined Chuck, pulling out his sat phone and showing it to Ryker when the man flinched, thinking it may be a weapon. He pressed a button. "Walker!" He barked. "Got someone who wants to talk to you. A new owner." He looked at Ryker. "Over to you."

"Hello Walker," Ryker almost purred into the handset.

Sarah's target leant forward. There. She took the shot, and he collapsed unmoving.

"Who are you?" her recorded voice sounded from the phone. The recordings had been tough. Chuck had had to coach her to get the right amount of pain, weakness and despair into her voice.

"Oh Walker," Ryker purred again and through her earpiece his voice was truly disturbing but not half as bad as his expression when she looked at him through her sight. "Don't you remember me? It's Ryker."

"Ryker? No!" Her voice rose in distress, and then off mic as it were she continued. "Please, kill me. Kill me now!"

"Oh don't you worry Walker," Ryker purred again, reaching out to stroke the handset. "Soon you'll truly be begging for death."

"I don't think so asshole," Sarah exclaimed, centring her sights over the nose of the man who had chased her across two continents. And then she took the shot and he ceased to be a problem.

Later that night they lay in bed at their hotel in Geneva. It had been a whirlwind. After she'd taken the shot she'd run down to hug Chuck, then they'd cleaned up the bodies and finally Chuck and she had burned them in their vehicle, with Sarah's weapons and Chuck's drones, using an old NSA incinerator, before tipping the remains in the lake. They had driven away to the airport and immediately flown to Rome before ditching those identities and flying to Zurich with separate identities. A train journey had followed to Geneva where they'd checked into this hotel under a third separate set of identities. She'd had three different hair colours and outfits today, as had Chuck.

It was late at night before they'd been able to hold each other in the shower, finally relaxing together in each other's arms, and then they'd gently made love in the bed. It had been a traumatic day for both of them and they hadn't made much conversation, just revelling in the feeling of being together.

Tomorrow they would fly back to Barcelona, wait for a day or so to make sure they were not pursued, and then if all was fine, return to Provence the following day. Nicole was missing her lovely Provencal home, her vivacious little adopted sister, her French friends and, more importantly, her new American boyfriend. She was looking forward to the rest of her life.

Epilogue

"Ellie, Kara!" Katrina was jumping up and down trying to attract their attention and Nicole couldn't help but smile. Even at twelve years old, Katrina was still more rambunctious than Chuck's and her eldest, Marcel, himself not exactly a quiet child. Marcel was the spitting image of Chuck, while their youngest, Elise, favoured her with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was a quiet little girl, very shy and unassuming. Until you got on her bad side, and then she'd pop like a balloon. The others had learnt not to get on her bad side too often!

Just now, as they waited at Marseille airport for the annual summer visit from their cousins, all of the kids were excited. Kara and Tony were annual playpals, in the Summer in France and at Christmas in Chicago, and Aunt Ellie and Uncle Devon were well-known to all of the kids.

"I think she heard you honey," Chuck smiled next to her, reaching down to settle Katrina. Ellie had indeed, as she waved before reaching back to slow Kara from pushing the luggage trolley too fast. Devon and Tony brought up the rear and they also waved.

Chuck had settled well into their little French way of life and for that she was pleased. His cyber security consultancy had been successful, although money wasn't really important given the nest egg they'd inherited from Ryker! Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in bearer bonds went a long way! Chuck hadn't courted business that much but word of mouth was a powerful tool and Chuck's preparedness to help anyone in need with IT issues had spread over the local grapevine within months of his arrival.

The locals were often distrustful of foreigners, but they'd adopted Chuck almost as one of their own, testament to her husband's sunny personality and clear competence. It helped that Marcel had recommended him to the Mayor of Bonnieux who had pressed Chuck into action to remake the town's website. The resulting redesign was the envy of the area and Chuck was suddenly in demand from businesses all over the region and, given the number of high net worth individuals that had second homes around their area, the news about the kind American who was a whizz with a computer was soon out. Chuck was dealing with IT questions almost immediately and once he got talking about his experience, it wasn't local businesses that were calling on his expertise but national ones. Chuck now had a good business going with a number of Swiss, French and Italian private banks where he attracted a high level of repeat clients.

Of course he only worked virtually, allowing him to be present at their farmhouse, helping with bringing the kids up and tending to the farm and vineyard. As Marcel aged and his kids had their own interests, he'd asked Nicole to take over his family's vines and trees and, with some of the improvements in productivity she'd made, they now had a successful business supplying fruit to specialty users and producing their own wine.

She and Chuck hadn't wasted time after being apart for so long. They'd gotten married within six months. Ellie had been a little concerned that they were moving too fast but she couldn't deny the couple's clear love for each other and she liked Nicole as well. And their confidence had been proven right in Ellie's eyes. Of course, Chuck's sister didn't know that they'd been together long before they'd "met".

Their son Marcel followed quite shortly after the wedding, which led to some raised eyebrows from Ellie, but Nicole and Chuck couldn't be more delighted. Their local friends and contacts were also delighted for the new couple and the baby had been adopted by his namesake's family and the local community, as had Elise, who followed the next year. The locals approved of the fact that the family was French-speaking, even though they also spoke English, and Chuck's insistence on speaking the language had also gone down well with the local community.

"How was the flight?" she asked in English as the elder Woodcombs arrived in front of her and she reached over to kiss them both. They were now used to the three-kiss Provencal greeting so there was no embarrassment as there had been the first time she'd greeted them that way. She had also let her accent improve over the months and years so now she spoke almost unaccented. She and Chuck had had to suppress a grin when Ellie had complimented her on her less-noticeable accent a few years into their relationship.

"Could have been worse," Ellie replied. "Luckily they slept on the way over to London, which meant we could too. This flight wasn't too great but I'm looking forward to catching up on some sleep round the pool."

She grinned at the long-suffering doctor. "Well let's get started on that now," she said, as Chuck grabbed Ellie's trolley and the group of Bartowskis and Woodcombs headed towards the exit.

"What do you think?" Nicole asked Ellie as the neurologist relaxed by the pool with a glass of wine. The boys were off with the kids checking out the butterfly garden that Chuck and Nicole had built five years ago and which was now coming into its own, leaving the girls together to relax. Nicole enjoyed these times on her own with Ellie. The two had a close relationship and often hung out together during these trips or trips to the Woodcombs' home in Chicago. Ellie had become her closest female friend despite the wide ocean separating them – she was always on the end of the phone or video call if Nicole needed advice or a kind ear, and vice versa.

"It's a little fruitier than last year," Ellie opined, studying Chateau DeuxAmis' latest rosé. "But I like it. The acidity is perfectly-balanced, and it's great."

Nicole grinned and poured her friend another glass from a different bottle. "What about this one?" she asked.

Ellie took a sip and then sat up and faced Nicole. "Wooow! That is amaaaazing!" she exclaimed. "Tell me how much that is! I want to buy a case."

Nicole couldn't help the smile that threatened to break her face in half. "Needless to say that's the premium," she told her sister-in-law, "But you seem to be in agreement with the Orange Wine Festival which gave us a gold medal. That one's very much in demand but I think I can probably find a case for my favourite sister-in-law!"

Ellie raised her eyebrows. "Your only sister-in-law, you mean."

Nicole grinned. "That too." She paused, "So I guess we'll stick with that one then." She topped up both their glasses and then sat down on the sun lounger next to Ellie. "So, how's tricks?" she asked.

"Not bad," Ellie said. "I managed to snag a government research contract and that's taking up an increasing amount of my time."

"Oh?" Nicole queried.

"Yeah," Ellie continued. "It's focused on subliminal imaging. The idea is to educate people at a much faster rate using a succession of images that go directly into their subconscious."

"Sounds like one of Chuck's comics," Nicole suggested.

"It's bullshit really," Ellie agreed, "But if the government wants to pay, I'm happy to investigate it."

"I'll drink to that," Nicole said. And so they did.

Fin

And that's it! Thanks for reading folks and a special thanks to all those who've taken time out to review. It really does mean a lot to me. Please drop me a review to tell me what you thought.

A/N A number of reviewers commented on the last chapter about Emma's anger being different from canon, but in my thoughts, it's Sarah's reaction to her mother that's different in this story, not Emma's reaction to Sarah. I can't honestly believe that Emma wasn't pissed with Sarah in canon either. I mean Sarah rolls up and goes - "Hi Mom, we haven't seen each other for nigh on 20 years but can you please bring up this baby for me? And, oh by the way, I won't be in your life either because it's too dangerous!" Come on, I bet Emma was plenty pissed! But in canon, Sarah didn't have anywhere else to go. She wasn't going to bring up the baby by herself so she just had to take that anger. But in this story, Sarah does have somewhere else to go and she and Chuck already discussed it. So it's Sarah (not Emma) whose reaction is different because Chuck's already in her life and has softened her. Anyway, that's just my take. Thanks again for reviewing.