A/N: Review thanks to those that left them. I'm enjoying this version of season 3 without Shaw, and it seems that at least some of you do, too.
Beta thanks once again goes to Capt Lil.
This chapter loosely covers the events of "Chuck Versus the Mask."
Don't Walk Away
Chapter 8: Mask
Sarah was glad that Hannah had become a Nerd Herder two weeks ago. It made it so much simpler having someone other than Morgan covering for her boyfriend when he slipped out of the store. Hannah had told her that she found his 'dalliances in the Orange Orange', as she called them, were adorable and romantic. She didn't know that they were mostly visits to Castle and mission related.
She thought back to the day Hannah first went to the store.
xxx
When he heard about Hannah's experience from Chuck, Big Mike was desperate for her to join them.
She'd walked in an hour later, expecting an interview, but Big Mike wrapped his arms around her the moment Chuck led her into his office. "When can you start?" he demanded.
xxx
Hannah being employed at the store was inevitable, but Sarah still thought that first meeting with Big Mike was amusing.
She was taken on as a Nerd Herder and Chuck had to spend some time showing her the ropes, but fortunately she was a quick study. She was now doing most of the Nerd Herd site visits, unless they were Unix related, in which case Lester and Jeff attended. Meanwhile, Anna stayed at the desk taking calls and assigning jobs to the other three. It was perfect and freed up Chuck a lot, which had been key to the success of their mission with Manoosh recently.
This morning, Chuck, Sarah and Casey were being briefed by General Beckman on the next Ring mission for the team.
"According to Daniel Shaw's intel, the golden mask of Alexander the Great, along with other art pieces, is being used by the Ring to smuggle weapons and other high-tech contraband into the country from Damascus. The mask has arrived at the museum in Los Angeles for an exhibition. We need that mask retrieved. This is a task for one person, so Colonel Casey will do that." She looked at the other two members of the team. "I am just informing the two of you, to ensure you all know that the fight against the Ring has now started."
After the last mission, Sarah had doubts about anything from Daniel Shaw. She was going to question it, but Chuck got there first, "Do we trust his intel, General?"
Beckman looked at him. "You're right to question anything from him, Analyst Bartowski, but, yes, our other sources in Europe corroborate it."
Chuck nodded, "Thank you, General."
"Has it reached its destination yet, General?" Casey asked.
"Yes, Colonel. Apparently, they plan to install the latest security around it, later today. You should go immediately."
"Yes, General." Casey selected the tools to take, including a coiled zip line. Chuck raised an eyebrow, seeing that. Casey noticed and said, "Just in case." He set off.
Beckman was still on the call, so Sarah asked, "Do you need anything from us, General?"
"Just be ready when the Colonel returns, Agent Walker."
After the call ended, Sarah and Chuck discussed the whole concept of transporting illegal goods in this way. It was quite ingenious. Traveling exhibitions didn't have to go through normal screening. Security was tight due to the nature of the art, so it was quickly passed through an airport.
They had experienced the same sort of thing before. La Ciudad employed it. They reminisced about that mission. Not one of their happiest, but looking back, some parts were amusing. Chuck's tango dancing, for instance.
They looked at the plan of the museum, noting the vault, the area around and above it and the security office where the system was probably run from.
Chuck eventually said, "I better head back to the Buy More."
"Can I show you something before you go?" Sarah asked.
She led him to one of the supply closets. "It's in here."
She closed the door once they were in and pulled him into her embrace, kissing him hard.
When they needed air, he grinned. "It's only been a few hours since we left our bed, Sarah."
She looked up at him through her eyelashes and said in a sultry tone, "I've been wanting to do that since I found this camera free location. We'll do more here when you're next free."
His eyes spoke as clearly as his next words, "Hannah can wait."
She was suddenly lost in his lustful look. She knew she should send him back to the store for his supervisory duties, but her willpower was lost. Maybe she should have just told him about the storeroom, rather than shown him.
They didn't rush to spoil it, but slowly undressed each other. He was right, they had only been together in bed a few hours earlier, but this was their first time in Castle. It felt significant.
Making love in this ultra-secure location added an extra level of thrill to it. Sarah convinced herself that was the reason it felt more wonderful than their last time in bed.
The floor wasn't the most comfortable, but she was sure they'd add items to improve that. This was not going to be a one-time event.
They had just dressed and exited the supply closet, when her phone rang. It was Casey. "Got a problem."
She put the call on speaker and asked, "What is it, Casey?"
"Security came on. Floor sensors. Had to come down on a zip line. Attachment slipped. Screw hit floor. Now I'm sealed in. Air sucking out."
"We're coming, Casey."
There was no reply.
They rushed out together and climbed into her Porsche.
When they got to the museum, they saw a Nerd Herder parked outside.
"Shit!" Chuck exclaimed. "Hannah's here. She can't know what I'm about to do. Can you distract her?"
Sarah had to remind him, "Casey's only got five minutes of air left. I need to be ready to get him out of there. What are you going to do?"
Chuck replied, "I need to get on the museum's server, reboot the system, and open the vault door before Casey expires."
"No. He can't be seen. I'll get in the crawl space above the vault to pull him up. Keep your earpiece in."
They rushed into the museum. The alarm was blaring away. They separated, Sarah heading for the way to the crawl space and Chuck to the security room.
As she found the place she needed to be, she listened for Chuck to work his magic.
She heard Hannah first. "Chuck, what're you doing here?"
"I thought you needed help."
A different voice said, "I'm the curator of Classical Art. I've never even touched one of these machines in my life. All I know is the museum went into full lockdown mode. It's designed to protect the collections from fire, but unless one of you fix it, there's no way to control the temperature or-or the humidity. Some of these pieces are extremely sensitive."
Casey's voice came through. "So am I, Chuck."
Sarah said, "Chuck, I'm in the crawl space above the vault. There's no way of getting the hatch open. It's four inches of solid steel."
Casey added, "You can't blow the hatch. You'd have to use C4. I'm too close."
Sarah told Chuck, "It's up to you and Hannah, Chuck. You've got to get this door open."
The curator was still talking. "Some of these artifacts are over three thousand years old. To have survived that long and then to be ruined by some stupid computer system-"
Chuck interrupted him, "You need to let Hannah and I work, sir. Can you switch off that alarm so that we can think?"
Hannah had gotten over Chuck's arrival. "Please. Then step aside. We are the professionals."
Chuck said, "Have you ever restarted a server from the backup database?"
Hannah huffed. "Don't insult me, Chuck."
After a brief pause, Chuck spoke again. "Run the context script off server one."
Hannah replied, "Validated. Next?"
Sarah heard Casey gasp out, "Dying."
"Come on, Chuck or I'll have to blow the hatch," Sarah said, urgently.
Chuck just continued talking to Hannah. "I need you to reboot on the count of three. One, two..."
Hannah must have done it early because he didn't get to three. After a couple of seconds, the hatch opened.
She pulled Casey up and helped him out of the hatch. "He's clear, Chuck."
Chuck said to Hannah. "Great teamwork."
The curator then said, "Splendid work, absolutely top notch. Really, I mean, I can't thank you enough."
Sarah agreed with him and smiled at Chuck's almost dismissive comment, "Any time."
"Oh, all right. Um, how about tomorrow night?" Sarah heard the curator say. That made Sarah pay attention.
Chuck said, "What?"
"Well, it's the unveiling of the Mask of Alexander. Everyone in the art world's going to be there, and I'd like you there also."
Chuck was clearly going to back out, not wanting Hannah involved, "I appreciate the invitation..."
The curator cut him off, "Oh, no, no. I'm not inviting you. I'm hiring you. I want you there to ensure that, well, there's no more, uh, what do you call them? Bugs."
Sarah was going to urge Chuck to accept to give them another chance to retrieve the mask, but didn't have to because he said, "Deal."
Of course, that was too good, and she heard Hannah say, "I'll be there, too."
"Oh, I want you both," the curator replied.
Sarah groaned. Hannah being there was going to complicate things..
Sarah was sitting in Castle the following morning, worrying about Hannah getting involved, when Chuck placed a coffee in front of her. "Double shot Americano. No cream, no sugar. The way you like it."
She smiled. He always helped lift her mood. "Thanks, Chuck."
General Beckman's image appeared on the large screen. "Team. It's unfortunate that Colonel Casey was unsuccessful. As stated, this artifact, and possibly others, being used to smuggle items through Customs has to be stopped." A series of photos appeared on the screen. "This was three months ago at the National Museum of Damascus. A team broke in, but didn't take anything."
The general continued, "We have to secure the mask before the Ring does. I understand our analyst has been asked to keep an eye on the servers." She looked at Chuck. "You'll be in the museum's control room in case we have any problems."
Looking at Casey and Sarah, she said, "Colonel Casey and Agent Walker, you'll pose as guests at the party. You have to break in and swap the mask with the reproduction, before the unveiling."
The reproduction had arrived earlier.
The general looked back at Chuck. "It is unfortunate that you will have a civilian with you."
Chuck replied, "We don't have a choice, General, she was hired by the curator directly. She will be there, whether we want her or not."
The general nodded. "That gives you the additional task of making sure she is unaware of what is happening."
Sarah suggested what she and Chuck had discussed overnight. "What if Casey stays with Hannah while Chuck and I go as the couple? He could keep an eye out for the Ring team easier, enabling us to go up in the crawlspace. Then, one of us will drop down to the mask and make the exchange."
"And what about the civilian in the control room?" the general asked.
Casey grunted. He knew what was coming. Chuck said, "Casey will be looking after her and the security."
The general considered this for a few moments, then said, "We'll adopt that plan, but Colonel, you need to make sure that the civilian stays ignorant of your activities."
Casey wasn't happy as Beckman ended the call.
Chuck obviously decided to needle the NSA agent. " If you'd taken the mask the first time, we wouldn't have to do this. We don't want you dropping anything this time. "
Casey looked like he might hit Chuck, but after a glance at Sarah whose fists were bunching, he just grumbled and walked off.
She turned to Chuck, who was obviously pleased with himself. "That was stupid, Chuck. You shouldn't get him mad at you. If I hadn't been here, your Intersect skills may not have stopped him flattening you."
He blushed, knowing she was right. She shook her head. He was maturing in so many other ways, but this was a reminder that he was still childish at times.
As she drove them to the event, Sarah asked something she'd only just thought about, "What did you tell the curator was the reason you weren't going to be with Hannah?"
"That my beautiful girlfriend was an avid Ancient Greek follower and that I would be attending with her."
She always appreciated his love.
"Do you think she'll be alright without Casey in with her, physically protecting her?" he asked.
"Casey will keep an eye on her from the van, like he will us."
On arrival at the museum, they walked in holding hands. "The vault opens at 8:00pm, Sarah. Doesn't give us much time to make the swap."
She glanced around the room where everyone was congregating. She nodded to one of the walls. "Over there, behind that door, is a staircase that leads up to the top of the vault. Keep an eye out on the security cameras up to your right and straight ahead."
Chuck started to do that but tensed and Sarah realized he'd flashed.
She tightened her grip on his hand. "What have you seen?"
He leaned close as if to kiss her neck and muttered, "The Ring agent who broke into the museum in Damascus, Vasillis, is here. Look over there."
She looked and spotted him with two other men. "Looks like he isn't alone, either. They're casing the place. They're here to grab the mask. We better move right now."
Chuck had disabled the security cameras before they entered the building, so they weren't worried that they'd be seen going there. That included Hannah in the control room.
Casey said, "Good job you disabled the security cameras. The Ring may have tapped into those."
Chuck opened the door and they both walked through.
Casey advised them, "The curator has just told Hannah she has five minutes until the grand unveiling to fix the systems."
"Thanks, Casey," Sarah replied. That gave them a time limit.
She and Chuck reached the space above the vault. "Okay, you're going to have to lower me into the vault by hand. Here." She handed him the bag of tools to set up for this. She took off her dress, leaving her in a black vest and shorts.
Chuck inevitably admired her while completing his tasks. "God, you look good in that!"
She grinned. "Thanks, Chuck." She pulled the gear she needed up and tightened the belt.
Once she'd clipped the zip line to her belt, Chuck lowered her down head first, with the replacement mask in hand.
They both heard Casey. "Vasillis sent his men to the vault. They must have the code. You've got company. Bartowski, you copy? Incoming."
Chuck replied, "We're being as quick as we can."
Sarah had reached the mask and done the swap, when she heard Chuck say, "Hi, there." Sarah guessed a Ring agent must be up there, and heard some fighting start, so he must've secured the line.
She quickly turned, gripped the mask in one hand and used the other and her legs to climb up the rope.
When she reached the top, she took a quick look. Two Ring agents were lying unconscious.
Chuck reached for her hand, but she shook her head. She passed him the mask and climbed out herself.
Casey said, "Bartowski, I thought you took care of the vault, but your Buy More girl must be using your laptop. I'll deal with it remotely."
Chuck called out. "Don't! We have the mask. We're clear."
"Ok. Closing the hatch," Casey replied.
Sarah wrapped her arms around Chuck. "Well done, Chuck." She kissed him hard.
Casey grumbled, "I don't need to hear this!"
Casey had spotted Vasillis as he exited the museum and had tranq'd him. The other men were taken by the NSA agents that arrived shortly after.
Chuck and Sarah got back to watch the opening of the vault and oohed and ahhed as much as anyone else.
Hannah joined them after the vault was closed again. She hadn't had any trouble and was completely unaware of what had happened. "Nice to get paid to do so little," she commented.
Chuck smiled. "Make the most of it."
The following morning, Casey was 'working' on Vasillis in one of the interview rooms in Castle.
Chuck had gone to the Buy More, not wanting to witness the interrogation.
They had all been examining the mask. But couldn't work out how to open it, so needed the information from Vasillis.
Casey walked out of the interview room. "He won't talk."
Sarah had an idea. She grabbed the mask, told Casey to bring a hammer, and carried it into the room he'd left.
Vasillis was secured to the table. He didn't look good. Sarah sat opposite him. Casey walked in and handed her a hammer. "What if I smash the mask to get at what's inside."
Vasillis scoffed. "You wouldn't."
That told her it was the best way forward. She suspected the base was the most likely location. She raised the hammer. "Nooo!" cried Vasillis.
She hit the side of the base near the bottom.
A canister rolled out.
"Oh god! You've killed us!" Vasillis cried.
Sarah and Casey looked at him confused, until gas started seeping out of the canister.
"Shit!" Casey cried and used his phone to seal off the room.
Vasillis was now wailing. Sarah grabbed his shoulder and shook him. "What is the gas?"
"Cyclosarin. It's a poison."
She shook him again. "You must've brought a counteragent, right? Where is it?"
"It's in a vase."
She remembered there were hundreds of them. "Which one?"
The man looked at her. "How am I supposed to know? I wasn't going to steal that."
She rang Chuck and gave him the news.
She could hear him running. He must be going to a car. He said, "Cyclosarin is a designer weapon developed for battlefield use, but the counteragent can be taken up to thirty minutes after exposure. I'll find it. One of the vases must be different from the others."
She doubted he'd get it back to them quickly enough, but didn't say that. The museum was ten minutes away and then he had to search.
Amazingly, Chuck made it back in time. Casey released the seal on the door and Chuck handed in a tube with the antidote. Casey made her take it first, then himself and finally Vasillis.
The gas was no longer present, so Chuck didn't need any.
They left Vasillis in there and walked through to make a call to the general.
Once they had explained what had happened, General Beckman said, "Nice work, team. You secured a rogue chemical weapon, as well as stopping the Ring from getting it." She made no comment about Sarah's handling of the mask.
She did, however, look at Chuck. "And you saved the day. Becoming a habit."
As the call ended, Casey acknowledged what Chuck had done, "Yes, Bartowski, you did good."
Chuck grinned, "Aww, don't gush, Casey."
Sarah grabbed her boyfriend's arm and pulled him away from the NSA agent. "We're leaving you with Vasillis, Casey. I have to thank Chuck."
Casey groaned, knowing what she meant, huffed and walked away.
She turned to Chuck. "We're not using the closet this time. There's a bed waiting for us at home."
"So there is," he replied with a smile, and pulled her toward the stairs.
A/N: Any chance of a review?
