Chuck vs. The Courtyard Bench
Well, here's what happened in the previous chapter: Chuck shared with Bentley how ended up being paranoid that Sarah was going to find the gun that Conway gave him. He hid it some many times that he forgot where the last place he put it. Chuck finally remembered where he hid it and it was in his P.A.N.T.S. Personal Artificats Never To See. Moving forward, it was a couple hours past midnight and Chuck heard a disturbance that caused to retrieve the gun from his P.A.N.T.S. What Chuck didn't realize was the disturbance was actually Sarah who decided to stay over at Chuck unbeknownst to him. Needless to say, Chuck almost shot Sarah but in typical Chuck fashion, the gun didn't fire because the safety was on. Once things settled, Sarah noticed the gun and that led to a heated discussion between the two. An ultimatum was given to Chuck by Sarah and the youngest Bartowski sibling made the wrong choice. That led Sarah to leave and call in for back up. The back up turned out to be Bryce who was being interviewed by Bentley. So, what happens in this chapter? Here are the who, what, where, when, why, how's? Who was Chuck quoting that showed that the door was open for Bryce to come back to Los Angeles? What did Bryce say in return that showed Chuck he was coming back? Where did Chuck and Bryce go to catch up? When did the Tommy Boy movie reference come into play when it comes to the Bryce's arrival? Why did Chuck lose himself during his time in Stanford? How did Hartley, Vivian, Justin, and Detective Lau react to what Bryce and Chuck were going to do? Read and find out! I hope you enjoyed the read and leave a comment to share your own thoughts on this particular chapters. As always, reviews are awesome.
Again, if you enjoyed reading my stories and left a comment, I truly appreciate it. Please continue to do so as it gives me the incentive to write more chapters.
I don't own Chuck.
When A Warrior Goes To Battle...
XXX
Westside Medical Center
Outside Courtyard
Present
XXX
"Mr. Larkin…"
"Please," Bryce lifted his right hand and interrupted Bentley. "Call me Bryce," he insisted. The former Stanford roommate of Chuck Bartowski flashed a charming smile towards the award-winning documentarian.
Bentley nodded in response. Afterwards, she took a deep breath before she resumed her interview with her guest.
"Bryce, you were called in as back up by Sarah. Why and for what reason did she need to call you in other than being his former roommate. A former roommate in which you were the cause of a major rift years ago that destroyed your friendship." she firmly noted, sharing the information with her viewing audience.
After Bentley mentioned the latter part of information, Bryce shook his head because what she shared was so unexpected that it caught him a bit off guard. Yet, it wasn't much of a huge surprise since being deemed a celebrity athlete and any dirty laundry that was considered a scoop ended up being aired out either on ESPN or TMZ. In any case, the Olympian responded by not only expressing an amused grin, but softly chuckled as well.
"Chuck finally found out the real truth. That's all that matters." Bryce stated. "Granted, it was because of my actions that resulted in our broken friendship. That was all in the past and now there's a clean slate between the both of us." he so eloquently added. In Bryce's mind, he took the high ground instead of lashing out at Bentley in her attempt at gotcha journalism.
The interview with Bryce instantly switched to close up of Chuck who was about to respond to what his former Stanford roommate shared.
Chuck nodded. "It was a bitter pill to swallow finding out the truth, that's for sure." There was a brief pause before he shook his head, which broke him out of his momentary reflection concerning that particular moment in time involving his ex. "But Bryce and I have managed to put the past behind us."
"So, you're friends again?"
"Friends?" questioned Chuck. He sat silently for a moment and thought about it for a moment before the nerd cracked a slight grin. A few seconds later, he spoke up again. "What did he say?"
Afterwards, the interview Bentley had with Chuck instantly switched back to Bryce. "may'Daq jaHDI' SuvwI' juppu'Daj lonbe'." he firmly uttered.
The interview with Bryce quickly switched back to Chuck who softly let out an amused chuckle once, which led to a confused and perplexed expression on Bentley's face. It was that same confused and perplexed expression that Chuck noticed and helped in giving a better understanding of what Bryce said. "Star Trek. Klingon language to be exact." the nerd noted.
"What does it mean?" questioned Bentley. A confused and perplexed expression on Bentley's face turned into confusion.
"It means," Chuck once again cleared the confusion for her. "When a warrior goes to battle, he does not abandon his friends."
The youngest Bartowski sibling took a moment and gathered his thoughts before he gave his own interpretation of Bryce expressed in Klingon. He recalled several days after getting engaged he visited Bryce before he was getting ready to get discharged from the hospital. The two of them. They got a chance to have a brief conversation between the two of them. It was mostly small talk about his surgically repaired right knee and how Hannah secretly enjoyed torturing Bryce during his time in physical therapy. However, just as he was about to leave, he had his manager Tommy turn his wheelchair around to face him. When Tommy did, Chuck remembered quoting that same Die Hard/John McClane line Bryce did to him about coming back to the coast, getting together again, and having a few laughs. Bryce responded back with a grin and threw back the following Die Hard/John McClane quote back to him: Yippee-ki-yay. For Chuck, it meant the door was not only left open for a return visit, but the both of them were, for the most part, on good terms.
"The friendship between the two of us wasn't completely abandoned. Although we're friends again we're still working to rebuild it to what it was before." Chuck elaborated further.
"So, who made the first move to reconnect?" wondered Bentley.
Chuck cracked a grin in response. "Bryce did," he answered. "In the only way he knew how of course."
XXX
Kessel Run Technologies
Tuesday Afternoon
A Week After Gun Incident at Casa Bartowski
Chuck was seated behind his desk in his office. His wheelchair was within reach if he needed immediate access to it. He was typing away at his computer and working on something business related when he took a momentary break. Afterwards, he leaned back in his chair and breathed out a seemingly exhausted sigh. Why? Ever since the fight he had with Sarah in which he kept the gun a secret from her. The same gun that he received from Conway no questions asked. It was the main reason that there wasn't any communication within the past week between the nerdy couple because Sarah was giving Chuck the silent treatment. In any case, he kept himself distracted by burying himself in work and because of that he had his office door closed, which was something that wasn't considered normal at Kessel Run Technologies. Why? He always had an open-door policy unless it was a business-related meeting with an important client.
Of course, Katherine and Morgan were concerned for Chuck, especially after they noticed the change in his overall demeanor. Instead of being his usual upbeat self, the nerdy business owner was considerably subdued. What was truly concerning was the fact that Chuck didn't want to open up and talk about what happened that led to both of them taking time for themselves according to what was told to them by the nerd himself. It was also reiterated and assured the both of them that they weren't broken up and not taking a Ross and Rachel type break. Although they took Chuck's word for it knowing the still engaged couple always worked it out between the two of them, they made sure to let him know they'll be there for their nerdy fearless leader in case he needed to talk. Speaking of the nerdy fearless leader, he was about to get back to work when he not only heard a knock on his office door, but a seemingly soft and somewhat girlish voice coming from the other side of it.
"Housekeeping." the voice uttered.
Chuck did his best in stifling a humorous smile. "No thank you. Busy with work, Morg."
There was a brief silence before there was another knock at the door. Afterwards, the soft and somewhat girlish voice was heard again from the other side of his office door.
"Housekeeping? You want towels?"
This time Chuck arched his right brow towards his office door. Although he found it humorous the first time, he felt Morgan reached his limit when he did it the second time around. At that point, the nerd spoke up.
"I'm not in the mood to re-enact the Tommy Boy hotel scene, Morg," stated Chuck. The tone of his voice expressed that he didn't want to really play along. "Just get back to work," he added, with a sense of firm encouragement.
What Chuck conveyed seemed to work because there wasn't a response. Just to be on the safe side he waited a few more moments because he felt satisfied that Morgan went back to work. After he didn't hear a peep, he decided to go back to work and hoped he wouldn't be interrupted again. Unfortunately, his hopes were dashed as he heard another knock on his office door just as he was about to type away on his keyboard computer.
Housekeeping. You want mint for pillow?"
At that point, Chuck breathed out an annoyed huff. In a matter of seconds, he reached over and pulled his wheelchair over to him. It wasn't long before he quickly rolled his way around his desk and over towards his office door because if Morgan went any further with the scene it would have resulted in a meeting with human resources in any other company. After reaching his office door, he opened it and fully expected to see Morgan standing there. He wasn't. He stared at the individual for a few seconds before he leaned back in his wheelchair and shook his head. A few seconds later, Morgan's head slowly popped into view from the outside hallway of the open doorway of Chuck's office.
"It was Bryce's idea," Morgan looked considerably hesitant as if he was a child thinking he did something wrong. "Are you mad? Am I in trouble?"
After Morgan asked that question, Chuck responded. "I'm not mad and no you're not in trouble.
Afterwards, Bryce spoke up. "bIghung'a'?"(Are you hungry?)
When Morgan heard what Bryce said, he stepped into full view in the open doorway of Chuck's office. "Klingon." he breathed out.
Chuck briefly looked at Morgan before he turned his attention back to Bryce. "ngoja'ngan?"(Who's paying?)
XXX
Westside Medical Center
Outside Courtyard
Present
"Bryce actually paid." Chuck stated, in amusement. He briefly glanced over at Bryce.
"You sound surprised." Bryce remarked, cracking an amused grin.
The two men and former Stanford roommates were now sitting side by side as Bentley continued with the interview. Speaking of the award-winning documentarian, she sat back for a brief moment and observed the interaction between Chuck and Bryce. To her, it was seemingly jovial and relaxed instead of awkwardly tense knowing full well the circumstances that resulted in a broken friendship. In her mind, they truly did set their differences aside, work things out, and were able to move on from the past. As much as she wanted to learn how they were able to build their friendship to what it was before, Bentley was far more interested in how Bryce was able to help Chuck quite literally get back on his feet.
XXX
Westside Medical Center
Outside Courtyard
Present
"If I may ask," Bentley firmly interjected. She interrupted the amusing banter between both men causing them to face her. Afterwards, her attention was directed towards Bryce. "In what way were you able to help get Chuck to be more focused on himself rather than focusing on his savior complex when it comes to Sarah's safety?" she inquired, expressing genuine curiosity. She momentarily averted her focus from Bryce to Chuck. "No offense." Bentley furthered added.
"None taken," Chuck retorted, briefly holding up both hands in front of him. He seemingly acknowledged Bentley's assessment about his savior complex.
Bryce chuckled softly in amusement after Chuck's response. A few seconds later, he leaned forward and answered Bentley's question. "If you're asking if I went with a gentle approach," He paused and briefly glanced over at Chuck. "I did not."
At that point, Bentley averted her attention from Bryce to Chuck who was shaking his head. "It wasn't right away though," he revealed, cracking an amused grin. "We needed a moment to catch up and have a few laughs." Bryce added, doing his best Bruce Willis/John McClane impression.
As much as his former roommate enjoyed the 80's pop culture movie reference, the woman who was sitting across and interviewing both men apparently didn't get it all or just not really a movie nerd. Bryce snapped out of his train of thought when he was suddenly made aware that Bentley was staring at him. How long? He didn't know. The amused grin he was expressing faded and after clearing his throat he quickly moved on.
"Anyways," Bryce uttered, clapping his hands together. "We went and ate at a very popular taco spot in Venice Beach that Chuck suggested." he shared, motioning over to the nerd sitting next to him. "I paid." The Olympian firmly noted, pointing to himself. "Once we filled our stomachs, we got to talking and…."
XXX
Tacos el Valiii
Taco Food Truck Village
Venice Beach
"That hit the spot," Bryce wiped his hands with a napkin. Afterwards, he tossed it down on the disposable tray in front of him.
Both men were able to find a spot with a beautiful view of the beach in the distance. Although it was an exceptionally lively Tuesday at Venice Beach, the tremendous amount of traffic wasn't considered a distraction whatsoever as they enjoyed their meal. From time to time, a number of individuals recognized Bryce and wanted to either talk to him, get a picture, or both. In his mind, his stock as not only an Olympic athlete was rising, but endorsement deals involving commercials were being offered to him. That and Hollywood was calling as well. Of course, television and/or movie roles were being offered to him because he apparently exuded the qualities, as well as looks of a leading man. However, it all took a back seat when he received an unexpected call from one Sarah Walker. A call that involved Chuck Bartowski's overall mental state, which he most definitely answered.
"I know right," Chuck responded back. "Hector makes some awesome tacos. His chimichangas…" The youngest Bartowski sibling expressed his love for it by giving a chef's kiss. After taking a sip of his drink, there was a momentary shared silence between the two of them before the nerdy business owner asked a seemingly pertinent question. "What are you really doing here, Bryce?"
Instead of answering Chuck, he turned his head towards the beach. He took a moment and focused on the ocean waves crashing in the distance. A few seconds later, Bryce spoke up. "You haven't been keeping up with your physical therapy." Afterwards, he returned his attention to Chuck.
Chuck stared at Bryce before he responded. "Are you applying for Ms. K's job? Sorry, the job is filled." he added, shaking his head in disbelief. "Who called you?" questioned the nerd. "Hannah? Sarah?"
"Why does it matter?" Bryce retorted. A tinge of disappointment and anger expressed in the sound of his voice. "You either missed or canceled a number of physical therapy appointments."
"I had my reasons." Chuck replied, avoiding eye contact with Bryce.
Speaking of Bryce, he furrowed his eyebrows and intently stared at his former roommate. "It's because of that psycho stalker who stabbed you."
At that point, Chuck grabs his trash and places it in his lap. "I don't want to talk about it." he answered. Afterwards, he turned his wheelchair around and headed for a nearby trash can. Once he reached the trash can, he tossed the disposable tray in a seemingly frustrated way, which Bryce noticed.
In that instance, Bryce stood up and walked over to Chuck sitting in front of the trash can. After he approached the nerd, the Olympian stood behind him.
"She's gotten in your head." He reached and lightly tapped his own head. "It's why you've been so hell bent on wanting to protect Sarah at all cost. News flash dude," He briefly paused before he continued finishing the rest of what he was going to say. "She can take care of herself."
"I know that!" Chuck angrily snapped back, slamming the armrests of his wheelchair seemingly out of frustration.
His sudden outburst caused a bit of commotion from a small number of customers who were either seated enjoying their meal or waiting in line to order. Instead of making the situation even more awkward, he communicated in a nonverbal way to Bryce to take their conversation elsewhere. A few moments later, Bryce was pushing Chuck in his wheelchair as they casually moved along the right side of the Venice beach bike path as a number of people were enjoying a leisurely bike ride. Both men were walking silently until Chuck finally spoke up.
"Do you remember that scene from Rocky 3 where Apollo and Rocky were training on the beach?"
"The first time or the second?" questioned Bryce.
"The first time." Chuck replied.
Bryce gave a slight nod of recognition. Afterwards he moved on. "Apollo was trying to train Rock after losing not only the fight and championship to Clubber Lang, but his credibility as well." he further recalled. "Mr. T's character was an absolute menacing monster in that movie." he added, shaking his head.
Chuck was momentarily silent before he resumed speaking. "Rocky ended up doubting himself after the heated talk he had with Mickey before his fight with Lang. The loss hit harder, especially after Mickey died." he shared.
Bryce furrowed his eyebrows after he heard that. The Olympian took that moment and veered off the main bike path. It ended up placing both men in front of a bench. It wasn't long before Bryce took a seat on that beach and looked directly at his former roommate.
"Rock was also afraid," Bryce noted, recalling another part of the scene. "He opened up to Adrian about his fears of losing what's most important to him. In the beginning he did care and really had nothing to lose," His eyes slowly widened as if he came to a gradual realization. "You're afraid of losing Sarah."
"Yes," he quickly answered back. Afterwards, Chuck shook his head. "No." There was a seemingly long pause before Chuck continued. "I don't know." the youngest Bartowski sibling added, expressing uncertainty in his voice.
XXX
Westside Medical Center
Outside Courtyard
Present
"The truth is…" Chuck leaned forward with a serious and somber look expressed on his face. "I did know, and it wasn't really about losing Sarah," he revealed.
"What was it about then?" questioned Bentley.
After Bentley asked that question, Bryce listened intently as he was about to answer the award-winning documentarian's question.
"Losing myself." answered Chuck.
XXX
Westside Medical Center
Outside Courtyard
Present
"What do you mean by that, Chuck?" Bentley asked. "How were you losing yourself and in what way?" she added, delving deeper with her line of questioning.
Chuck was about to answer, when Bryce suddenly spoke up. "Chuck lost himself before."
A confused and bewildered look was expressed on Chuck's face. "When?"
"Back in college," Bryce sat next to him and saw that it wasn't ringing a bell for his former roommate. He pressed forward by expressing one word. "Zork." He tilted his head down a bit and raised both eyebrows. "Updating that game became an obsession for you. That's all you focused on during our sophomore year at Stanford." Bryce noted.
"Oh yeah." Chuck breathed out.
"We…" Bryce stopped himself and decided against bringing up the one who shall not be named. After briefly clearing his throat, he continued speaking. "I practically had to force you to have some fun because you were losing yourself in trying to make the game perfect.
There was a bit of momentary silence before Chuck responded. "Dart gun competition in the Stanford Library."
In response, Bryce grinned. "I always won by the way." The grin he expressed turned into a charming smirk.
"You cheated though." Chuck retorted, pointing at Bryce. "I remember that time you loaded a dart that you hid in one of the bookshelves."
"I didn't cheat," insisted Bryce. "I was smart and strategic," he firmly emphasized. He continued expressing his charming smirk until he shook his head. "Anyways, you focused 110% on the game and even pulled allnighters." Bryce shared, recalling those particular moments. "There were times where you either didn't eat or sleep. Yet, you somehow managed to not be late for or miss any classes."
"Red Bull," uttered Chuck. "Lots and lots of Red Bull," he thoroughly recalled.
"Excuse me gentlemen," Bentley firmly called out. A mixture of annoyance and frustration were expressed in the sound of her voice, which abruptly interrupted the conversation between the two men. Speaking of Chuck and Bryce, they turned their attention back to the award-winning documentarian. "As much as we would like to enjoy hearing more about your days in Stanford," Her focus averted from both men to the man seated next to Bryce. "I'd like to circle back and focus more on what you mentioned about losing yourself? Please elaborate further on that Chuck." she intently requested, steering the conversation back on track.
Chuck sat in his seat for a moment and gave it some serious thought. A few seconds later, he spoke up.
"I did have a savior complex when it came to Sarah's safety," Chuck paused and took a deep breath before he resumed speaking. "I lost myself and was spiraling for the simple reason of wanting to get back something that was taken from me." the youngest Bartowski sibling shared. "What Pit…" The nerd stopped himself and said the real name of the woman who nearly took his life. "What Lizzie took from me."
"What did she take from you?" inquired Bentley.
"She took away the one thing that I felt bonded me with the Bartowski Brigade." Chuck retorted. He shook his head for a few seconds before he pressed on further. "Feeling safe," he revealed.
"It only takes one person to ruin it for everybody." chimed in Bryce, shaking his head.
What Bryce said certainly made an impact on Chuck as he sat there for a few seconds letting those words sink in. It wasn't long before he spoke up again.
"At the time I didn't feel safe, and it unfortunately changed the relationship that was shared. A line was certainly crossed." the nerd further added. "As much as I had overwhelming love and support behind me, I felt paranoid and experienced a couple of anxiety attacks thinking about being in or in front of a large crowd."
At that point, Bryce leaned forward and briefly looked at Bentley before he turned his full attention to Chuck. "Despite that, you were able to battle back as the nerdy warrior you are."
In response, Chuck acknowledged Bryce with an appreciative nod. "I wasn't alone in the battle," Chuck pointed out, looking at Bryce.
Bryce responded by expressing a slight grin. It was a grin that described how appreciative he was in being given a second chance in regard to their friendship. Granted, it was a woman in Chuck's past that caused them to part ways never to see each other again. Fortunately, it was a woman who brought the two of them together and helped open the lines of communications that resulted in finally getting closure not just for Chuck, but for him as well. It was that particular thought that left Bryce with a sense of calm and peace. A few seconds later, the Olympian turned his attention from Chuck to Bentley.
"Sarah knew she needed someone, and my arrival ended up being totally unexpected. I was someone who Chuck never saw coming. Of course, I was given the cliff notes version of what was going on beforehand. Anyways, after catching up with my former roomy here," Bryce playfully reached over and hit Chuck's left knee with the back of his right hand. "And noticing a few things, I knew what I had to do to get back what he had lost. It was also completely unorthodox and incredibly risky that I had to get some advice first to get past all the red tape."
Bentley expressed a curious look on her face after she heard the latter part of Bryce said. "What type of advice and from who?" she wondered.
The interview with the former Stanford roommates suddenly switched. It switched to a close up of the person's face who Bryce needed advice from because it was considered completely unorthodox and incredibly risky.
"Did I think it was a bad idea?" questioned Justin Sullivan. "Yes, I did. Did I also think requesting being in the same area was absolutely stupid. No doubt about it." he further shared, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Yet, it would have completely blown up in a negative way legally," uttered Bentley. "Why did you go through with it, especially when it involved your client's own safety?"
Sullivan sat there in her seat and continued shaking her head. "To this day, I have no idea."
XXX
***
Westside Medical Center
Outside Courtyard
Present
"When I initially got the call, I thought it was a joke." stated Sullivan. "When Bryce and Chuck showed up at my office to talk to me in person, that's when I knew it wasn't a laughing matter," he further added.
"I was the same way when I learned of the situation."
Bentley turned her attention to the other individual who was also being interviewed. The individual in question was the lead investigator on Chuck's case Detective Lau.
The award-winning documentarian was momentarily silent before she spoke up. "I'm sure Hartley and Vivian Winterbottom weren't too thrilled about it either."
Speaking of father and daughter, they were interviewed once again by Bentley and gave their responses.
"I was absolutely gob smacked," uttered Hartley, sounding disappointed.
"So was I father," Vivian added, briefly glancing at Hartley. Afterwards, her attention turned towards Bentley. "Especially after hearing that it was Bryce's idea to begin with." she shared. The sound of disappointment and disbelief in her voice. "Utterly baffled that he showed up on Sarah's behalf no less."
"Indeed," nodded Hartley, acknowledging the latter part of his daughter conveyed. "I understand now that drastic measures were taken. I," He stopped and corrected himself. "We could tell there was a battle of fisticuffs waged within himself that he didn't want anyone to be a part of. It was his burden to bear."
"That's Chuck for you," Vivian chimed in, expressing a soft smile. "Setting aside his own issue and fighting to help fight the ones you're going through rather than fighting his own. His intentions are truly genuinely noble but are considerably misguided that you just give his head a good wallop." she added. A definite tone of disappointment and honesty were expressed in the sound of her voice.
Bentley didn't waste any time in asking a follow up question. "Did the both of you share your concerns and intervene with Chuck's own best interest in mind?"
Hartley and Vivian let Bentley's question settle for a moment. It wasn't long before Hartley spoke up. "I was inclined to do so," He took a small pause before he resumed speaking. "But Charles wasn't able to get any sort of proper closure causing him to be all out of sorts." Hartley postulated.
"As painful as it was, my father and I decided not to step in. Of course, it was against our better judgment." Vivian somberly shared. "However, we trusted, and assurances were made by Detective Lau and Justin that the safety protocols were set and enforced before they arrived."
It wasn't long before the interview with Hartley and Vivian, switched back to the interview being conducted with Detective Lau and Justin Sullivan.
"We didn't want to take any chances and end up jeopardizing Mr. Bartowski's life." Justin shared.
The veteran detective nodded in agreement. "Every precaution was taken to ensure Lizze's chances of not being able to attack him again." she added, reflecting back on that moment.
"How and in what way?" wondered Bentley.
At that point, the interview suddenly switched from Detective Lau and Justin Sullivan to Chuck and Bryce.
"We didn't know what we were in for until we arrived at the detention center a few days later. The both of us looked at each other and immediately had the same thought." Bryce shared.
Bentley arched her right brow after Bryce said that. "And what was that?"
Chuck flashed his toothy smile. When he did, he leaned forward. "Have you ever seen the movie Silence of the Lambs?" he sincerely asked, with genuine curiosity.
XXX
Metropolitan Detention Center
Maximum Security Wing: Single Occupant Cell
Los Angeles, CA
"Are you ready?" wondered Bryce. The Olympian turned his head to the right and looked with concern down the main corridor that led to Lizzie's cell.
Chuck shook his head in response as he looked with a mixture of emotions down that same corridor. "Not really," He let out a soft sigh. "But I need to do this." There was a brief moment of silence shared between the two of them before he spoke up again. "Do you know what this reminds me of?"
Both men looked at each other before Bryce turned his attention back down the corridor.
"Silence of the Lambs." responded Bryce.
"More importantly," confirmed Chuck, acknowledging the movie. "The scene like when Clarice walked down to meet with Hannibal Lecter."
Bryce nodded. "At least it's just her down there instead of other inmates in the cells." He did the best he could in trying to calm Chuck's nerves.
At that point, Chuck's attorney made his presence known to Chuck. "As much as I highly disagree with this decision, I'm here as moral support." His attention then turned to the lead investigator in Chuck's case against Lizzie. "Detective Lau?"
"I'm here in case anything goes sideways." she firmly stated.
"Which is why I'm here."
All 4 individuals turned their attention to the source of the voice. It was Lizzie's attorney Mohammed Zamir. "To see that no harm comes to my client."
Instead of responding to what Zamir said, Chuck and Bryce just rolled his eyes at the mere absurdity, as well as the audacity of what they just heard. In any case, Chuck turned and faced his wheelchair down the corridor. A few seconds later, Bryce placed both hands on the handles of his wheelchair. He was about to push him forward when Chuck lifted his right hand.
"I want to do this myself."
In response, Bryce leaned to his right a bit. "Are you sure?"
Chuck simply nodded. Both men stared at each other before Bryce acknowledged his former with a nod of his own. Afterwards, he turned to Detective Lau and Justin knowing they had his back as well. All three of them exchanged nods. Once he did, he sat there for a moment and took another deep breath. It wasn't long before he started moving himself forward in his wheelchair towards Lizzie's cell. In that moment, he felt his pulse racing and actually heard his own heart beating. As much as he prepared himself for an anxiety attack to be triggered by this moment, but thankfully it didn't happen. If it did, it was considered bad timing, he thought to himself. Of course, it felt like it was taking forever to get to the woman who not only attacked him and nearly took his life, but almost paralyzed him as well. However, all that he was thinking or feeling at the moment quickly subsided when he finally found himself face to face with Lizzie who was behind some type of protective plexiglass. Holes were provided to help in being able to communicate between the two of them. In Chuck's mind, it was somewhat similar to the one in the movie Silence of the Lambs. He quickly snapped himself out of his movie mindset that starred Sir Anthony Hopkins and Jodi Foster. Afterwards, he made sure to do his best and looked her in the eyes without breaking eye contact. When he did, he uttered the following two words that fit the moment:
"Hello Lizzie."
XXX
NOTE: IT TOOK ME A WHILE TO FIND THE RIGHT KLINGON PHRASE OR QUOTE. I THINK IT FITS PERFECTLY IN THIS CHAPTER. HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT AND LIKE ALWAYS LEAVE A REVIEW. IT'S CONSIDERED AN INCENTIVE FOR ANY FANFIC WRITER TO KEEP ON WRITIING! ALL WRITING MISTAKES/ERRORS ARE MY OWN.