A/N: Last chapter, I said that I really hope I'm back in my grove after so much time off. *Life looks at me and laughs in my face* So, there is some semi-serious personal stuff going on, and this was something that was at beta. I said in my last fic I was in a hiatus, but I have found myself having to write to keep my spirits up. I am physically okay, everyone is physically okay, but…there's stuff, and it's not mine to share so I can't. That being said, I'm not on "hiatus" to be mean, writing isn't very high on my priority list, or at least it wasn't. This truly is my therapy right now, so if I'm hit and miss I apologize. I'm not trying to be cryptic but again, what's going on isn't mine to share but it is deeply affecting me. Hug your loved ones my friends. Cherish them. I'm gonna shut up now and let you enjoy (I hope) Ch 15 of our tale.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

There was a pounding on the door. "It's not been forty-eight hours yet," Sarah muttered, snuggling deeper into Chuck's chest.

"There is no way they could leave us alone for forty-eight hours," Chuck replied. "Good idea about the chair." Her head raised, a smirk on her face, and he felt his face go red. "I mean, using it as a door stop."

"You didn't like how I used the other chair?" Sarah asked, the smirk growing. Chuck grew redder.

"I did," Chuck replied. "I just…" She kissed him gently. "Sorry, it's just…"

"I get it," she replied. "Excuse me a moment." She shifted and turned toward the door. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!?"

"Bennett's talking!" Zondra yelled back.

"Of course he is," Sarah groused. "Of course he is." She threw back the covers and clambered out of bed. Turning, she saw Chuck with his eyes closed. "Up and at 'em, cowboy."

"I think you were the, uh, cowgirl, as it were," Chuck answered, his eyes still shut.

"You can open your eyes, Chuck," she told him.

"If I do, we might not leave this room," Chuck reminded her. Sarah snorted. "I'm just sayin'."

"No, you're right," she called out, as she headed into the bathroom. "Which means I should probably take this shower by myself."

"Probably," Chuck replied. He opened his eyes, thought for a second, and headed toward the bathroom.

"Chuck, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Saving water," he answered.

}o{

"Why the hell is he talking?" Casey grumbled as they walked into the observation room sometime later. Casey sniffed the air, and turned toward Sarah and Chuck. He eyed Chuck and then turned to Sarah. "Really?"

"What?" Chuck asked.

"You smell like her soap," Casey told him.

"Well, we've been talking and working on our cover-"

"I've moved into his room, Casey," Sarah told Casey, stopping Chuck from the death spiral he was rapidly approaching.

"Oh, solidifying the cover," Casey said, turning back around.

"Nothing to do with the cover," Sarah told Casey. She kept her eyes on Casey but felt Chuck's head whip around to her. Casey slowly turned around, studied her, grunted, and nodded. "We'll be professional," she assured him.

He grunted a laugh. "You haven't been yet… why start now?" He turned back to the observation room. "I don't get it," Casey muttered.

"I don't either," Chuck admitted. "I mean, you've read my file, you know who I am. I don't get why she cares about me, but she does, so I just have to accept it." Casey slowly turned to Chuck, his eyes wide. "I know, I'm just as stunned as anyone else about this."

"He's talking about why Bennett is talking," Sarah said gently, her hand on his arm.

"Ohhhh," Chuck said. "Maybe he's doing a version of the magnet. Get us to look one way, while they go do something else?" he offered. Casey blinked. "I said something stupid again?"

"No, that's actually… that's actually a valid observation," Casey admitted. "But what's the reason? Is there another target? Are they rescuing him? What?"

"Well, what's he talking about, or who is he talking about?" Chuck asked.

"Teddy Roark," Casey told him. "Which makes sense… Bennett is now a global arms dealer, and Teddy is pissed at your father for creating working products."

"So, what does this have to do with a rogue CIA agent that dogs us at every step?" Sarah asked. Casey turned to her, impressed. She shrugged. "I've been involved with cons my entire life, and I'm telling you; this feels like a con. This feels like someone trying to get us to look left, while they go right." Casey nodded. "Which brings us back to the question: How does this rogue CIA agent tie in?"

"We don't have the full picture yet," Casey muttered, looking at them, but his thoughts far away. He shook his head. "There's something… or somethings, we're missing."

"This whole thing ties back to the Intersect, doesn't it?" Chuck asked softly. Both Sarah and Casey turned toward him. "Dad and Teddy worked on it together. Teddy told Dad he was crazy, left, Dad made it work, and someone tries to kill our team. Dad's left unconscious, and the person who worked on it with him is the name being given up by Bennett."

"The only two people that know how an Intersect works, as well," Casey said.

"No, that's not true," Chuck told Casey. "Someone else knows how to build one, he just has no clue how to get it out of my head." Casey turned to him slowly, a look of frustration on his face. "Now what did I do?"

"This is information I could have used, Bartowski," Casey growled. "Who is it?"

"Manoosh Depak," Chuck told Casey. "Why?" Casey rushed from the room. "Did I mess up?" Chuck asked, turning to Sarah.

"Who else would have known?" Sarah asked.

"No one," Chuck told Sarah. "Only Dad, me, and Bryce knew about Manoosh." Chuck was silent for a moment. "Do we need to talk to Bryce?" Sarah nodded, and the two left the room.

}o{

They found Bryce in the cafeteria, about to eat a piece of cake. They each sat down, one on either side of him. "Is this where you tell me that Zondra has eyes for Morgan, and I should lay off?"

"That would require Morgan to notice," Chuck replied.

"Hey," Sarah snapped. "That's my friend."

"He's our friend; he's just not very aware, when it comes to himself," Bryce explained. "Everything else, yeah, he's got it. Himself? Not so much." He was silent for a moment. "Plus, he's still mourning Anna." Chuck nodded in silent agreement. Chuck took a deep breath, hating what he was about to have to do.

"I need to ask you something, Bryce, and please don't get upset," Chuck began. "Did you tell Bennett that Manoosh can build an Intersect?"

"I don't… I don't think so," Bryce told Chuck. Bryce was silent for a moment. "We were in the field a lot, so…" Bryce trailed off, shaking his head in frustration. "Damn it, I don't know? Is Manoosh okay?"

"We think so, we're just playing a hunch is ahhh…lll…" Chuck trailed off, seeing Casey come toward him. "Casey?"

"They got him," Casey said. "Beckman and your mom want to see us, ASAP." The three took off. Bryce threw down his fork, and wheeled himself out of the room after the others as quickly as he could.

}o{

"Why take Manoosh?" Mary asked the room. Everyone was in the facility's conference room, and Beckman had joined via video conferencing.

"Someone wants to make their own Intersect," Chuck blurted out. "It's the only thing that makes sense." Mary, Sarah, and Beckman all glared at Chuck. "Fine, be mad, but I trust everyone here. And if I get bit in the ass again by doing so, so be it. But we have to stop anyone else from getting hurt by this bunch."

"We are so gonna talk about this later," Sarah told him, sotto voce. Chuck tried not to gulp, but he did, to no one's surprise. To the group at large, she added, "He's right."

"He is," Carina agreed. "But Blondie, doesn't everyone here know?"

"They know he isthe Intersect, but not about Manoosh being able to build one," Sarah pointed out. Carina nodded.

"Well, all he did was point out to us how important it is to save this Manoosh character," Carina replied. She paused for a second, and a grin crossed her face. "Any chance you could turn down your glowing there, Chuckles? You're sort of blinding some of us over here." Chuck began to pink up in his cheeks.

"You can see Curls glowing over Blondie glowing?" Zondra asked Carina.

"I should be glowing, given how good it was," Sarah fired back. Carina and Zondra's jaws dropped in shock. She could feel Chuck staring at her, his own mouth agape. "Now, can we get back to someone being kidnapped instead of our personal lives."

"Well done, Sarah," Beckman murmured. "Here's what we know, team. Over twenty-four hours ago, Manoosh dropped off the grid. We can find no trace of him anywhere."

"Wait, Manoosh?" Chuck asked, in shock. "That man doesn't know how to turn off his cell phone!" Morgan started to say something. "It was hyperbole, Morgan."

"Oh," Morgan said, understanding.

"I don't mean to offend Aunt Diane," Chuck began.

"Just say it, Chuck," Beckman told him.

"Do your people even know how to look for Manoosh the way I do?" Chuck asked.

"He's right," Bryce agreed. "Manoosh could leave digital breadcrumbs out there, somewhere, and no one but Chuck would even know what they are."

"He has a point, Diane," Mary agreed. "But this is a bad time to take Chuck off of the team."

"Who said anything about me leaving the team?" Chuck asked. He walked over to a computer terminal and began to type. "I can set up a search, and Bryce can monitor it. Besides, it could take days, scrubbing the internet. And just because there's not a sign of him today, doesn't mean there won't be tomorrow."

"How would that be possible?" Beckman asked.

Chuck paused and looked over at Sarah. "How sure are you?" Chuck asked.

"How sure about what?"

"That this is all being done to make us look somewhere else?"

Sarah seemed conflicted. "I can't exactly put it into percentages or anything like that, Chuck," she admitted.

"But why do you think what you think?"

"My gut tells me," she told him. He nodded and went back to typing. "Wait, that's all you need?"

"Sarah," Mary cut in. "Don't you get it? We brought all of you in because you have your own strengths that you bring to this team. And if we ignore those strengths… well…"

"We're morons," Casey finished for her. Mary gave him a look and he shrugged. It looked like he might have been a little sorry… but it was probably gas. "Walker, you know cons." He watched her sigh. "That's not a shot, kid, it's the truth."

"Casey is right," Chuck agreed, standing from the computer he was working on. "If you think they have us looking one way for them to go another, then we follow the lead. The problem is, until we find a clue leading us to where he is, we have no choice but to follow up on Ted Roark."

"Fine," Bryce agreed. "But how do we investigate Ted Roark? It's not like he's going to let us in the building. It's not like we can just hack his systems."

Sarah glanced at Chuck. "I could, but I think that's a last-resort plan," Chuck admitted. "Teddy Roark is the end-all-be-all. There is a rogue CIA agent out there, and we still don't know where he fits into the plan."

"Here's what I don't understand: Why would a rogue CIA agent want your father dead?" Sarah asked. Everyone turned to her. "I mean, there was no attempt to kidnap him, yet there was more than an attempt with Manoosh… They kidnapped him. If you want the Intersect gone, you don't kidnap someone, you kill them."

"She's right," Zondra agreed. She pushed off the table where she had been sitting. "This whole time… something has always felt off about this whole thing."

"You're saying everything that went wrong with the original team wasn't the first giveaway," Carina snarked, grinning like she was proud of herself.

"Where's Amy in all of this?" Zondra asked. "She's the one person we've not heard a peep out of in all of this." Chuck nodded, got up, and walked over to a white board. "What are you thinking?"

"Bennett isn't your normal bad guy," Chuck began. "He has this weird code of honor that I'm not sure even Casey understands." Casey grunted in agreement. "But kidnapping really isn't his thing. Well, except for you, and that was personal."

"Keep going, you're on to something," Casey said. "It's almost like…"

"Two different groups?" Chuck offered. Casey nodded. "One bent on destroying this team, and the other on getting the Intersect."

"Correct," Casey said. "Bennet, Roark… they want revenge." He walked over to Chuck, who had been writing on the white board. "So the question is, someone wants an Intersect. Who?"

"Our mysterious rogue CIA agent?" Chuck asked.

"This feels personal, not just revenge," Sarah added, joining the two at the white board. "This is someone who has something against the former team, if not team members themselves."

Chuck wrote Fulcrum at the top of the board, and ran a line down the middle. "Do you know what a fulcrum is?" Chuck asked, turning back to everyone, looking proud of himself as he popped the cap back on the marker. "It is the point on which a lever rests or is supported, and on which it pivots."

"So there are two sides," Casey said with a nod. Chuck grinned.

"It is also a thing that plays a central or essential role in an activity, event, or situation."

"So, the fulcrum to this whole thing was the attack on the team," Mary said, starting to see where Chuck was going.

"Not to question your judgement or anything," Bryce cut in. "But you're using a lot of cute word-play to guide your evidence."

"Good point, Bryce," Chuck said, pointing the marker at him. Mary glanced at Sarah, and gave her a wink. They had both noticed how he had seemed to take control of the room. How it was, in fact, becoming Chuck Bartowski's team. Mary watched her son have confidence she hadn't seen in some time.

"So we use this as a guide, but we have to find evidence to support it," Chuck continued. "But, those of us that know Teddy…" he said, trailing off. "He sometimes enjoys how smart he thinks he is, and this kind of word play… well… it's right up his alley."

"It is," Morgan agreed. "But Chuckster, that still doesn't explain the inconsistencies."

"You mean trying to destroy Carmichael Advanced Tactical Solutions, but kidnapping Manoosh?" Chuck asked Morgan. "Simple: Ted is Doctor Doom."

"What the hell does that mean?" Carina asked Zondra.

"I don't speak nerdish, how do I know?" Zondra asked Carina.

"You want to suck one's face," Carina pointed out. Zondra glared at her.

"But Doom wants ultimate power," Morgan argued.

"True… But he wants to kill Reed Richards, or hurt him, and more importantly, embarrass him, more than kill him," Chuck reminded Morgan.

"So who is the rogue CIA agent?" Morgan asked, his eyes wide with fear.

"Red Skull," Chuck answered ominously. Morgan gulped, and Zondra couldn't help herself; she pulled Morgan into her arms.

"I got you," Zondra told him. Chuck glanced over at Bryce, who shook his head, a wry smile on his face. "I won't let the red head hurt you."

"Does that include me?" Carina asked.

"You don't get it," Morgan told Zondra. "His skull… it's literally red, and he'll do anything for power… anything. He's always after the…" Morgan's eyes went wide as he turned to Chuck. "The cosmic cube," Morgan said in a hushed, reverent tone. "Oh my God, the Intersect is the cosmic cube! Chuck… YOU HAVE THE COSMIC CUBE!"

"Morgan!" Mary snapped, making Morgan jump and salute. "Calm down. You've made your point, son, but the question continues: Who actually is our rogue CIA agent?"

"No idea," Chuck admitted. "But it doesn't matter. We take him down, we take Roark down, and whoever else is in their Secret Society of Super-Villains."

"You've just mixed DC and Marvel," Morgan pointed out.

"Because this is the ultimate cross-over," Chuck said to him. "Morgan, why do bad guy team-ups never work?"

"Because they're bad guys, and turn on each other," Morgan replied, sounding as if Chuck had just asked him the stupidest question in the world.

"But they haven't," Chuck reminded him.

"Yet," Morgan countered, making Chuck grin. "Oh, you sly dog, you."

"What?" Casey said.

"Chuck doesn't have to hack anyone," Morgan pointed out. "He just has to make one of them think that one of them has turned on the rest of the group."

"It can't be that easy," Casey said. "It can't."

"You ever met Teddy Roark?" Chuck asked Casey. Casey shook his head. "Mom?"

"Biggest horse's ass the world has ever seen, and that's an insult to horses' asses," Mary said. "He is arrogant, and paranoid. All we need is to plant a seed of doubt, and he will reach out to someone."

"And that's what we need," Chuck told Casey. "Bennett was supposed to give up Roark, because Roark believes he is invincible. And he is, as long as the wrong person doesn't turn on him. Which tells me there's another mastermind behind this."

"You're talking about the rogue CIA agent?" Casey asked. Chuck shook his head.

"No, someone else wants to hurt my dad, and that's what I'm trying to figure out. Who wants him hurt or humiliated worse than Roark?" Chuck caught the look on his mother's face.

"There are multiple someones," Mary said softly. "Perhaps you and I need to talk."

"Okay, everyone, meeting over. Mary and Chuck will game-plan, and then we'll get back together when we have one," Beckman said. Everyone started to file out of the room. "Mary, tell him," Beckman stressed. The screen flicked off. Mary turned to Chuck.

"I guess you might want to sit down."

A/N: I have a plan. I have a big plan. I even have notes. I even have some of the next chapter done. Wanna see?

"So, I'm going to give you broad strokes on this. There are two men that fit the bill, however, they are both dead."

"Great, Morgan's going to be both excited and scared that we are dealing with zombies," Chuck muttered. Sarah and Mary both chuckled.

"The first is a man named Arnold Vosloo," Mary began.

Both super-heroes, zombies, and comic cross overs, good grief. Seriously, stay well, take care of yourself, and I hope to see you soon. I have no idea when that will be if I'm honest though. Love you guys.