A/N: I know I have 75,024,752,309 fics going, but this one…it screamed at me until I started to put words to paper, and now….now it's got a life of it's own that I don't know how to stop. It's not WCMS plotted, but it's plotted. I give you Carmichael Advanced Tactical Solutions….AKA CATS Ch 1, FULCRUM rises
Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck
Chuck opened his eyes groggily, blinking, trying to get anything to come into focus. He tried to sit up, but his head was spinning, so he laid back down, seeing smoke and sparks shooting off electrical conduits. Bryce… Bennett had shot him. Chuck forced himself to sit up, and saw Bryce lying a few feet away from him. Chuck crawled over, and saw the blood pouring from Bryce's abdomen.
"Hang on, buddy," Chuck told him, quickly unbuttoning his shirt, and pushing it against the GSW. Bryce screamed as Chuck shoved it against him, watching the white shirt turn red, as well as his hands.
He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned, seeing Devon. His mouth was moving, but no words were coming out. "I got him," is what his mouth seemed to say. "The computers." Chuck blinked, something had happened to the computers. He had pushed a button to upload version 2.0 of his dad's intersect, and the screen had read Fulcrum Thanks You. And that's when it all went to hell.
The screen had gone… wobbly, for a lack of better word. Amy had pressed a button in her hand, and things started exploding, and Bennett… Bennett had shot Bryce. The first explosion had sent Stephen flying across the room. Amy hit Mary in the leg with a kick, and Chuck had heard the snap as Mary fell, screaming, then Chuck had been sent hurtling backwards as his terminal exploded.
"GET THE COMPUTERS!" Devon's mouth made those words, but he still couldn't hear. What was with that stupid ringing? Devon pushed Chuck aside and went to work on Bryce. Chuck knew his brother-in-law was a heart surgeon, so he was much more qualified to work on Bryce than Chuck was.
He saw the only remaining computer that hadn't been destroyed, the monitor blinking. He crawled over to it, and tried to log in. The message on the screen kept blinking, The Omen Virus was here, thank you for your purchase.
Chuck pushed himself to his feet, and made his way over to the servers. He pulled out his drive, plugged it in, and started using his wrist computer, which had miraculously survived the explosion. He checked the memory bank. It was empty. There was nothing on the server. The Intersect was gone. Chuck swallowed and glanced over, seeing his dad's body on the floor, Ellie working on him. Chuck's eyes went wide. "HE'S UNCONSCIOUS" Ellie mouthed, dramatically. He pointed to his ear and then to her. She shook her head. Great, she couldn't hear anything, either.
Amy and Bennett had done it, they had destroyed Carmichael Advanced Technical Solutions. He felt someone tug on his sleeve, and he turned, seeing Morgan. There were tears in his friend's eyes. He followed Morgan, and dropped to his knees, seeing Anna dead. Her eyes were wide open, shrapnel buried in her chest. Chuck looked up to the heavens. They had killed his friend, and hurt his family.
There was going to be hell to pay.
}o{
"You have a concussion," Ellie said, sitting down in the chair beside his bed. She looked up at him, and he could see the pain in her eyes. Their mother in surgery, their father unconscious. Bryce in surgery, no one knowing if he would make it. Anna was dead, and Morgan in shock.
"What about you?" Chuck asked.
"I'm okay," she replied, ignoring the flat look he sent her. "If I don't keep busy…" she trailed off and slumped forward in her chair. She closed her eyes, but they sprang open, as Chuck started to get out of the bed. "If you get out of that bed, I'll murder you."
"You can't, remember? First do no harm?" Chuck reminded her. He watched her face. "Orrrrr, maybe you will?" She made a scoot over sign with her hand, and he scooted over in his bed. She crawled in beside him, and they lay their heads against the side of the other's.
"What are we gonna do, Chuck?" Ellie asked him, pain in her voice. "I'm not supposed to want to kill anyone…"
"I really want to kill Bennett, but we both know I can't," Chuck added. "But, what we can do is get justice."
"You have no team left, Chuck," Ellie said, pulling back to look at him. He nodded. "What are you gonna do with no team?"
"Get a new one," Chuck replied. "A better one. Amy and Bennett were traitors, and we got fooled. How, I don't know. Bryce… Bryce is one of my best friends, Ellie, and… I need someone out there, that I have no connection with. I need soldiers in the field. Maybe if Bryce and I hadn't been so close, we'd have seen this coming."
"Or maybe someone was playing a very long con game against you, Mr. Bartowski."
Chuck and Ellie turned toward the door. There stood General Beckman of the NSA. Behind her was a soldier, a very tall soldier, one that looked even taller than he was due to the contrast of his and Beckman's height.
"General," Chuck began.
"Oh, stow it, Chuck," Beckman said, coming around the bed to give Chuck a hug. "They hurt my family, and I'm here to help you." Ellie hopped off the bed and ran around it. Beckman released Chuck and gave Ellie a hug. "They're gonna be alright," she said, reassuringly, to Ellie.
"Anna's not," Chuck said softly. Beckman let go of Ellie, turned to Chuck, took his hand and squeezed it. "I don't know if Morgan ever will be, either."
"I am so sorry about the loss of your friend," Beckman began. "I checked on Mary and Stephen before I went to see Morgan. He's very quiet, which terrifies me."
"Me too," Ellie replied. Chuck looked at Ellie, and Beckman raised an eyebrow. "What? I mean he drives me nuts, but… he's Morgan."
Beckman smiled warmly at her, and nodded. She turned back to Chuck. "I would like you both to meet Colonel John Casey, of the NSA."
"Hey," Chuck said with a wave.
"Hi," Ellie said, with a head nod. Casey said nothing, he just gave a single nod.
"I see we're being non-verbal today, Colonel," Beckman chided. A grunting noise came from the big man. "As of today, Colonel Casey is joining your team."
"There is no more team, general," Chuck replied, lowering his head. She squeezed his hand, hard. "OUCH!" he yelled, pulling his hand away and rubbing it. "Fine, there is no more team, Aunt Becky."
"Better, but not enough," Beckman told him. "Chuck… I need to tell you and your sister something that no one else knows."
"We know you're not our real aunt," Chuck replied with the soberest look he could manage. Beckman's flat look made him swallow. "Right, this is one of those times you want me to be serious."
"The CIA, FBI, NSA, and other agencies are at war with rogue agents belonging to another organization," Beckman began.
"Fulcrum," Chuck said. Beckman and Ellie both looked at him. "The monitor said Fulcrum thanks you." Beckman gave a tight head nod. "What do they want with us?"
"Now, nothing," Beckman replied. "As far as we can tell. What they wanted was the Intersect, but your father encrypted the files where no one else could get to them. Our belief is Fulcrum destroyed yours since they couldn't steal it… but they didn't." Chuck's head snapped up. "We don't have the base, or the 2.0 your father was working on, but what we do have is the ability to update your intersect."
"You're the one Dad was talking about," Chuck muttered, shaking his head. "I should have known."
Beckman grinned at him. "I've assembled files on possible teammates." Chuck looked at her. "Yes, Chuck, you're going into the field. Your cover will be Charles Carmichael, playboy."
"Morgan would be so excited and yell Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne," Chuck told her.
Beckman grinned. "Well, I have three possibilities for you to add to this team, your 'Pamela Isley,' your 'Selina Kyle,' and your 'Vicki Vale.'"
"Who do I pick?" he asked, glancing through the files.
"All three," Beckman said with a shrug. "Although, I somewhat think the third might be the best at protecting you and letting the other two do their job." Chuck looked up at Beckman after reading Vicki's file. "She's kept herself alive her entire life. She senses things when they're off." Beckman shrugged. "If she had gone straight, she could have been a hell of an agent."
"Wait, what do you mean if she had gone straight?" Ellie asked. Beckman glanced at Chuck and then at Ellie. "Aunt Becky." The warning was deep in Ellie's tone.
"She's a con artist, but… why don't you let Chuck meet her, and then decide?" Beckman offered. "Ellie, she's not going to hurt your brother." She glanced back at Chuck. "Not physically anyway," she added under her breath. Ellie raised an eyebrow. Beckman grabbed the folder and showed it to Ellie.
"She's attractive," Ellie admitted.
"They all are," Beckman agreed. "That's why they're perfect." Ellie looked up at her. "How many times has your own beauty been a cover, for someone in your field thinking you aren't as good at your job as you are?"
Ellie pressed her lips together, and nodded. "Okay. So why these three?"
"Pam, great tactician, excellent hand to hand skills." She glanced over to Casey, who Ellie and Chuck would both swear, reddened. "And she's always being overlooked because of her looks."
"Very limber," Casey added. Chuck's eyes went wide.
"Selina," Beckman continued, ignoring Casey. "A chip on her shoulder the size of Gibraltar. Hell of a markswoman, and tough as nails."
"Anything to add to that?" Chuck asked Casey. Casey glared at Chuck.
"Vicki," Beckman continued, holding back a grin. "For the past three years, at least, protecting her dad in every con gone wrong. Excellent instincts, knife skills that are unheard of, and a quick learner."
"How do we trust her?" Ellie asked.
"We don't," Chuck replied. "We promise her the one thing she wants." He showed Ellie a section of Vicki's files.
"I hate this," Ellie replied, after reading it. "I hate having to do things this way."
"I do to," Chuck agreed. "That's why we won't do it that way." Beckman looked at him. "Aunt Becky, I'm not going to barter with her for her father's freedom. If she wants to join us, fine. We'll give her a new name, and she is welcome to work with us. She has a definite skill set we can use, but I will not do this."
"I told you," Beckman said to Casey, a smile on her face. Casey grunted disgustedly and shook his head.
"Moron," he muttered.
"Maybe, but what if someone held your freedom over your head… how on-board would you be?" Casey didn't say anything, but there was something on Casey's face… was it respect? Nah… probably gas.
"So, will you do this?" Beckman asked. "Will you get justice for your friends, your family, and stop this group?"
"I do it my way?" Chuck asked. Casey groaned, making Chuck smile.
"It's the only way I would expect you to do it, Chuck," Beckman admitted.
"I don't know what we're gonna do about a base," Chuck said, lost in thought.
"Leave that to me," Beckman told him. "How about I take you there tomorrow and you meet Miss Vale, then?"
"And you let her, and her father, go?" Chuck asked. Beckman nodded. "Okay, Ellie and Awesome are still on the team."
"I insist," Beckman replied. "Now, I'm going to go see what, if anything, is left of the house."
"I have no idea," Chuck admitted. "It was bad."
"We'll take care of it all," Beckman said, squeezing his hand, and giving him a hug. She gave Ellie a hug, and headed for the door.
"General?" Casey asked.
"Stay here, Colonel. They need you now," Beckman told him. "I'll see you two in the morning." And with that, she was gone. Casey stepped outside, and stood guard.
"You're really gonna do this?" Ellie asked.
"Don't I have to?" Chuck countered.
"Oh, you do, I just never thought you would."
"Me either, sis," Chuck said glancing at the folder. "Me either."
}o{
Chuck made his way down the steps of Castle the next morning, very gingerly. "Hi," he said to the stunning blond woman sitting at the table. "Sorry I'm going so slow, I'm a little stiff from being uncomfortably close to an exploding bomb." The blond woman turned to look at Chuck coming down the steps. "I think you know the bomber, she was a CIA agent known as Amy." He saw her lips tighten. "Did anyone offer you anything to drink?" He looked up at the two men with Beckman. "Did anyone offer you, or General Beckman, a drink?"
Beckman, who was sitting at the head of the table twisted her lips so as not to smile. The agents in the room looked a little uncomfortable.
"I'm not buying your folksy antics," the blond lady said softly. Chuck pressed his lips together, blew out his cheeks and nodded slowly. He sat down across from her. "I'm not."
"Okay," he replied shrugging. "Chuck Bartowski," he said, extending his hand. She stared at it and he pulled it away. "What should I call you?" She was silent. "How about Agnes?" She looked at him like he was crazy. "I know, how about Ethel… no, you don't look like an Ethel."
"If I give you a name will you move on with this, so I can go back to my cell?" the blond asked.
Chuck shook his head. "No." She closed her eyes trying to hold in her temper. "You and your father are both free to go." She opened them and looked at him, and then to Beckman. "Go ahead, ask her."
"Is he for real?"
Beckman smiled and looked at Chuck and then over to the blond woman. "Oh yes, he's for real. See, I tried to get him to get you to help him by leveraging you and your father's freedom. He said no. You are free."
"I could get up, and walk out that door?" the blond asked.
"Would you at least tell me your new name before you go?" Chuck asked.
She turned back to him, studying him. "Sarah," she said softly. "I've always felt like a Sarah."
"Pleasure to meet you, Sarah," Chuck replied, nodding. "It fits you."
"It does," she agreed. Chuck was holding her gaze and it was all she could do not to shiver. "But, I must also say goodbye to you, so," and with that she stood.
"Thank you for your time," Chuck said to her, and turned to Beckman. "Anyone else you think might be able to help us take down Amy?"
"Amy?" Sarah asked. Chuck turned to her. "Who are you? Why would you take down a CIA agent?"
"She's not CIA any longer," Chuck replied with a shrug. "Doug… I'm sorry, it is Doug, right?"
"Yes, sir," Doug replied.
"Would you help Miss…" Chuck turned to her. "It is Miss, yes?" Sarah nodded. "And what about your last name, so we can have Doug get your identity going."
"Walker," she blurted out. "I sort of always liked Star Wars as a kid, when Dad and I were on the road. I wanted to be a Skywalker."
"Cool," Chuck said softly, a grin growing on his face. He shook his head. "I'd love to talk to you, but I'm REALLY in a bind and need someone to help me find Amy and take her down." Chuck turned away from Sarah.
"What do you need?" Sarah asked.
"Someone that can watch his back and keep him protected, the way you did your father," Beckman replied.
"But I got caught," Sarah retorted.
"But you didn't have what he has at his disposal," Beckman countered. Sarah straightened, looked at Beckman, and then at Chuck.
"Can I show you something? It's a little graphic, but I really need you to see it," Chuck implored her. Sarah nodded. He opened a folder, turned it, and pushed it toward Sarah. "That was Anna, my friend. My best friend, Morgan, he's got this crazy beard…" Chuck cleared his throat. "Anyway, he was in love with her. She knew it, didn't feel the same, but she was good to him, you know?" Sarah looked up from the picture of Anna and into the brown orbs of Chuck's eyes.
It was at that moment she felt like she was being transported to his soul. There was pain there, pain that didn't belong in this kind man, this good man. "Who else?" she asked softly.
"My friend, Bryce, was shot. My dad is in a coma, and my mom's leg is broken," Chuck said softly. "We were turned on by two of our teammates. They belong to this group known as Fulcrum." Beckman cleared her throat as a warning, but Chuck threw up his hand. Beckman pressed her lips together, but remained silent. "I need to catch them, to take them apart. I'm assembling a team, and I could really use your help."
"I'm a con artist," Sarah began.
"You're the daughter of a con artist, that has been trying to protect her dad who has cancer," Chuck countered. "You were trying to get money to treat him." Sarah looked away. "Whatever you decide here today, that is taken care of. He will get the best treatment money can buy, and that the government has access to." Sarah's head shot up. "You can walk right now, and he will be taken care of. I promise."
"I've been promised a lot of things by a lot of people," she retorted, venom in her voice.
"That may be, but never by me," Chuck replied. She held his gaze. "Most of those charges, you were framed, or she made up. Your and your father's records are expunged, and you both have new identities."
"Thank you," Sarah replied. "But… my family… he's all I have."
"I get it," Chuck replied nodding. He stood and held out his hand. Sarah reached across and shook it, and both thought sparks would fly from their touch. "It truly was a pleasure to meet you, Sarah Walker. I hope everyone has someone in their life, the way your dad does you." She gave him a grateful smile, as he turned to the agents. "Doug?"
Doug nodded, and came over to Sarah. He led her out as Chuck watched her go.
"Now what?" Beckman asked.
"Now I try and get the other two," Chuck replied with a shrug. He felt Beckman's stare on him. "Don't say anything, Aunt Becky. I did what I had to do."
"You always do, Chuck," Beckman replied.
A/N: Do we like?