Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 1
“Morgan,” Chuck warned and stopped in his tracks. He turned to face his friend. “I said no.” He folded his arms over his chest to show just how serious he was. Chuck couldn’t believe they had to go through this every time. Then again, this was Morgan, so he didn’t know why he was surprised.
“But, Chuck,” he whined, “Daddy needs his fix. What is Morgan night without fireworks?”
“A safe, fun evening of videogames and sizzling shrimp and no one losing a limb.” Morgan pouted, but Chuck stood his ground. “Besides, think of the poor dogs that get scared to death every time…” The rest of Chuck’s sentence was lost in a loud bang. Instinctively, both men spun towards the direction of the noise.
“What was that?” Morgan whispered wide-eyed. Before Chuck could respond, a tall figure dressed in oversized jeans and a striped hoody appeared out of an alley and sped past them. Bumping into Chuck, and without so much as an apology, he continued running. Chuck was about to yell at him, then spotted the gun he was trying to conceal under the too long sleeves and decided to forget it. Teaching a stranger some manners wasn’t worth dying over. Morgan must have seen the gun too. “Should we call the cops?”
“I think so.” Chuck watched the person disappear around the corner of a flower shop. Something about the way the man ran seemed familiar. He gave himself a mental shake. He was being paranoid. Maybe he should watch less spy movies with Awesome. Then he remembered the noise that startled them in the first place and looked back in the direction it had come from. It could have been a gunshot and if so, someone was probably on the receiving end of it.
Morgan had a point. They had to alert the police, but what if there was an innocent person lying in the alley bleeding to death? They could investigate themselves first, but there was always the possibility that the victim could be armed too and shoot at them, thinking it was the thugs who had returned. Chuck decided to play it safe. Pressing himself against the wall, he slowly made his way toward the alley. Morgan followed suit. When Chuck reached the opening, he signaled for Morgan to stay put. Crouching down, he peered around the building. He saw a blonde woman half-lying against a wall, her eyes closed. Morgan’s head popped up above his, peeking around the corner.
“Oh my gosh, he shot Vicky Vale.”
Ignoring Morgan’s comment, Chuck rushed to the woman. He gently touched the glistening moisture on her leather jacket and pulled his hand away. His fingers were covered in blood.
“Morgan, call 911!” he ordered while checking for a pulse. His thumb brushed against something under the jacket collar and he noticed a little dart sticking out of her neck. Though neither Ellie nor Awesome covered this when teaching him first aid, his gut told him to pull it out. The moment he did, the woman gasped and opened her eyes. Chuck let out a relieved sigh.
“Hey there,” he greeted softly. She was probably freaked out enough already and he didn’t want to alarm her any further. She just stared at him with a stoic expression. For a second, he got lost in her blue eyes, but then her hand went up to her shoulder and drew his attention back to her wound. “Wait.” He gently pushed her hand away and unzipped the jacket, revealing a bloodstain blossoming on her white blouse. Chuck closed his eyes momentarily and pushed down the wave of nausea that hit him. This was why Ellie was the doctor in the family. He couldn’t stand the sight of blood, not to mention needles, but right now this woman needed him to be strong.
He pulled off his shirt and bundled it up before pressing it against her shoulder. She let out a hiss. “Sorry.” He gave her an apologetic smile. “I’m just trying to stop the bleeding, okay?” She nodded slightly, clearly still under the influence of whatever was in that dart.
Morgan returned and knelt beside them. “The ambulance is on its way. Hi, Vicky,” he greeted the now conscious woman. She half-raised an eyebrow and Chuck slid him a sideways glance.
“Why don’t you go wait for it in the street, buddy? I’ve got this covered.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure thing.”
“Sorry about that,” Chuck apologized once Morgan was gone. He noticed her trying to shift a little. Her current position looked rather uncomfortable. He contemplated helping her to lie down, but the ground was filthy and if she had an exit wound it would probably get infected. The same went for the wall she was propped up against. “Okay, listen,” he started to explain as he moved to sit on the ground. “I’m not a perv or anything, but I’m going to try and make you more comfortable.” Again she just nodded. Chuck helped her to sit upright and maneuvered in behind her. With his back against the wall, he pulled her to his chest, all the while keeping pressure on the wound. His arm was now at an awkward angle and his muscles started to ache. He switched, bringing his other arm around her shoulder, careful not to touch her chest. She leaned her head slightly against his shoulder. “Better?” he asked once they were settled.
“Yes, thank you,” she spoke for the first time, still sounding somewhat dazed. Chuck checked his watch and wondered what was taking the EMTs so long. He didn’t know much about gunshot wounds inflicted outside the realm of a videogame, and even though he was fairly certain that being shot in the shoulder wasn’t life threatening, it still bled a lot, and given her labored breathing, it must be very painful. She leaned more heavily against him.
“What’s your name?” he asked in an attempt to distract her.
“Sa…Sarah.” Her voice sounded hoarse, probably another side effect from being drugged.
“It’s nice to meet you, Sarah. Despite the circumstances.” He couldn’t see her face in their current position, so he had no idea if his distraction was working. He was bursting to ask her what happened, but had a feeling that now was not the time. Instead, he said the first thing that popped into his head, “So what’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” Squeezing his eyes shut, he mentally facepalmed himself.
“Are you really trying to pick up a bleeding woman…?”
“Chuck,” he supplied, relieved that she sounded more amused than insulted.
“Named after your shoes?” she asked, tilting her head in the direction of his Chuck Taylors that were planted on either side of her knees.
“Funny, but no, my great grandfather actually.”
She turned her head to look at him. Up close, her eyes were so blue and clear he felt as though he could see all the way through to her soul. Her skin was pale and a few strands of hair that escaped her ponytail framed her face.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you too, Chuck.” The corners of her mouth lifted, but then her smile turned into a grimace.
Chuck was starting to get worried again. “How bad is it?” he asked, genuinely concerned.
“I’ve had worse.” Despite her trying to set him at ease, Chuck noticed Sarah biting her bottom lip. He ran his free hand up and down her arm comfortingly. Then he heard sirens in the distance.
“I think your ride’s here.” His words were confirmed when Morgan arrived minutes later with two paramedics in tow. Handing Sarah over to them, Chuck watched as they set to work, only glancing away when the IV was inserted. Once she was on the stretcher and being wheeled away, Chuck handed his car keys to Morgan.
“Take the Herder and come fetch me in the morning. And if Big Mike asks, it never happened.”
Morgan shot him a questioning look. “Where are you going and how are you going to get there?”
“She can’t go to the hospital on her own. I’ll go with the ambulance, make sure she’s okay and get a ride back with Ellie. Her shift ends at ten.”
“Are you sure you wanna get involved, Chuck? There’s something really bad going on here. Pretty girls like that don’t get shot over nothing.” Chuck knew that too, but for some inexplicable reason he couldn’t bring himself to let her out of his sight just yet.
“I’m sure, Morgan.” Chuck started jogging to the ambulance. “See you in the morning, buddy,” he called over his shoulder before hopping into the back.
Sarah closed her eyes, grateful that the EMT was not the chatty type. The last thing she was in the mood for was answering questions. The pain medication had started to take effect and her shoulder wasn’t throbbing anymore. At least the tranquilizer dart wore off somewhere between an unintentionally cheesy pickup line and learning the name of the stranger who took it upon himself to rescue her. She wasn’t that badly hurt and backup was just a phone call away, but she couldn’t risk it while Chuck was around. That would blow her cover. And speaking of blowing covers, she was going to kill Bryce Larkin the minute she was released from the hospital. The ambulance doors slammed shut, derailing Sarah’s train of thought.
“Is she going to be okay?” she heard a familiar voice ask. Her eyes snapped open.
“Chuck?” she asked before the medic could respond, “What are you doing here?”
“Making sure you get to the hospital safely.” Sarah knew she should say something, but she was at a loss for words. So instead, she just stared into his eyes, touched by the concern she saw there.
The paramedic cleared his throat. “I’m done here, so if you want to…” He indicated to Chuck to trade places with him. Chuck seemed unsure of what to do, so with a small nod, Sarah let him know that it was okay. Once Chuck found his perch on the small bench next to her, Sarah noticed the questioning look from the paramedic. He must have found the situation really odd. Plus, she knew once she had been admitted to the hospital, the police would be informed. The hospital had an obligation to report all gunshot wounds that passed through their doors. She needed a cover story, and fast, and laying a little groundwork couldn’t hurt.
“Not that I’m not grateful you’re here, sweetie, but what about the car?” She took his hand and laced her fingers through his.
“Morgan’s taking care of it,” he answered without missing a beat, but Sarah could see the confusion in his eyes. Then it hit her that he was probably telling the truth. She briefly wondered if he possessed the ability to pull off a lie, but she had no choice. Time will tell. She gave him a small, apologetic smile.
“Sorry I didn’t wait for you where we agreed. I was just so anxious to see you…” she trailed off, hoping he would take her lead. Surprisingly, he did.
“It’s okay, no harm done.”
“Maybe not to you,” she smirked, interjecting before he had the chance to overdo it. Again, Chuck didn’t disappoint. He looked truly remorseful about what happened. She didn’t dwell on the fact that that too might not be a lie.
“So what happened?” the EMT asked as he closed his kit.
“I was mugged,” Sarah preempted when it looked like Chuck was about to answer. “Guy was an amateur though, a little trigger happy.”
The paramedic’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline. “You’re surprisingly calm for someone who’s just been through that.” The look Chuck gave her emphasized the point. Sarah berated herself. She should have acted more ‘damsel in distress’; not just right now, but earlier in the alley too.
“I’m a Marine,” she covered. “Did a tour in Iraq a couple of years ago.” She groaned inwardly. No respectable soldier would let herself get mugged. It might have been a lie, but she still had her pride. “He took me by surprise,” she added rather lamely.
Then Chuck stepped in to save her for the second time in less than an hour. “It’s okay, honey, I’m just glad you’re gonna be all right.” His thumb brushed over the back of her hand. The action sent a tingling sensation up her arm, but before she had time to decipher it, the ambulance came to a halt.
Chuck had no choice but to stick close to Sarah as she was being wheeled down the hospital corridor. His hand was still firmly gripped in hers. He wasn’t sure if it was part of the act she had put on in the ambulance or if she really needed him to be there. He was kind of rooting for the first option as the second included blood and needles and he’d already reached his quota of that for the day.
“What happened?” the attending physician asked the EMT as he joined them behind the curtain of one of the ER cubicles.
“She took a bullet to the shoulder, through and through. It missed the major arteries.”
The doctor nodded, made a note in the chart he was carrying and handed it off to the nurse on his left. “Thanks, I’ve got it from here.” Without a word, the EMT took off and Chuck felt relieved. The last thing he needed was for the guy to make a comment like, “Take better care of your girlfriend” or something. The grapevine at Westside Memorial was legendary and if word got to Ellie…
“Chuck, do you mind waiting outside?” the doctor asked as he moved closer to examine Sarah. She shot a look from the doctor to Chuck, her eyes asking the same question that had just popped into his head. It took Chuck a moment to realize that, as a colleague of Ellie and Devon, they had probably met at one of Ellie’s parties. Chuck had always tried to stay in the background at those, not really comfortable mixing with his sister’s friends. As a self-proclaimed nerd, he didn’t really have that much in common with medical professionals. The doctor, Dr. Wilson according to his nametag, misread Chuck’s hesitation. “I promise your girlfriend is in good hands.” He nodded to their entwined fingers and smiled.
“Uhm, she’s not…”
“It’s okay, sweetie,” Sarah interrupted, reluctantly letting go of his hand. “Let the doctor do his job and I’ll be right here waiting when he’s done.” She gave him a small wink and Chuck suddenly wished he had listened to Morgan. This girl was trouble.
Chapter 2
“Charles Irving Bartowski!” Ellie kept her voice low, probably to not scare the patients, but unfortunately it didn’t have the same effect on Chuck. He jumped back, failed to suppress a yelp and spilled coffee all over his shirt in one smooth move. In an effort to save his dignity, and buy himself a little time, he grabbed a napkin from the table next to the vending machine and dabbed at his chest, only to realize that the coffee had seeped through the bloodstain already decorating his favorite Star Wars tee. It was beyond rescuing. Sighing in resignation, he tossed the napkin and paper cup in the trash and turned to face his sister.
“Present.” The lopsided grin that had started to spread across his face halted when he noticed her expression. Uh-oh.
Ellie’s eyes darted to the red stain and back to his face. “Are you hurt?”
Chuck gave her a confused look, trying to figure out how her mood could rapidly change like that, but decided to just be grateful and shake his head. “I’m fine, it’s not my blood.”
“Good,” she responded calmly and then grabbed his arm, yanking him into the nearest empty room. Chuck struggled to find his balance, and when he did, he straightened, towering over his sister, but she folded her arms and gave him ‘the Look’ and he crumpled a little. “Explain yourself.”
“I, um, well see…I…Ellie, it’s not what you think,” he managed to stammer out. She responded by cocking her head, waiting for him to continue. Chuck cleared his throat. “I…well…what have you heard?”
“What I know,” Ellie said pointedly, “is that you told me you were spending the evening with Morgan.”
“I was. I did.”
Ellie raised an eyebrow. “Since when is Morgan a five foot nine blonde?”
“Oh, that,” he let out a nervous chuckle.
“Yeah, that,” Ellie deadpanned and Chuck went quiet. He didn’t have the faintest idea where to start. “You could have told me you were seeing someone,” she accused softly. He opened his mouth to set the record straight, but wasn’t given the opportunity. “How did you meet and how did she end up in the ER?”
Again, Chuck was taken aback. How did those two questions even relate to each other? He grabbed the lifeline, though, and answered the easy one. “She was mugged.” Remembering the story Sarah had given the EMT, he quickly added, “She was early meeting me and this guy surprised her and, well, you know the rest.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized he had lied. He never lied. For the first time something in his head clicked and he wondered why Sarah had made up that story earlier. It was possible that she had actually been mugged, but why drag him into it?
Ellie shook him from his reverie with an expectant, “And?”
“And what?” he asked, still having trouble following the conversation.
“How did you meet?”
“The Buy More,” Chuck grabbed the first thing that came to mind. “I fixed her phone. It had this little screw loose in the back, it’s quite common actually, and it causes…” Realizing he was getting carried away, and apparently had the ability to lie with ease and for no reason at all, Chuck quickly changed the subject. “Is she going to be okay?”
“She’ll be fine. Dr. Wilson stitched her up and gave her something to relieve the pain, but he wants to keep her for observation. She’s in room 207, you can go see her in a little bit.”
“Oh, I don’t need to…” Chuck started, but snapped his mouth shut at Ellie’s stern expression. “Yeah, sure, I’ll go sit with her for a while.”
“With Sarah being your girlfriend and all.” The accusation in her voice had returned.
“She’s not my—we went on one date.” Berating himself for the fact that his brain-to-mouth-filter seemed to be on the blink, Chuck took a step toward the door. “I’m just gonna go,” he said and waved in the direction of the hall, “you know, check on Sarah.”
He was out of the room before Ellie could ask any more questions.
“You couldn’t say ‘I found her in an alley and saved her life’, or ‘I’m a hero’, no, you had to go with ‘Fixed her phone’, and ‘We’ve been on one date’,” he mumbled to himself as he made his way toward Sarah’s room.
“Chuck, my man!” Devon boomed behind him and for the second time in ten minutes, Chuck yelped. “Sorry, bro,” Devon laughed, “didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t.” Chuck continued his streak, wondering how many bad Karma points he had stacked up so far. The road to hell was indeed paved with good intentions.
Devon looked amused, but didn’t contradict him. “So,” he asked, “what is this I hear about a lady friend?” He dropped his voice. “An awesomely hot lady friend.” He brought up a fist. “Lock it out, bro.”
“Uh, no thanks,” Chuck replied, regretting it immediately when Devon gave him a celebratory pat on the back instead. He stumbled forward, but managed to stay on his feet.
“Always knew you had it in you, Chuckster.” Devon grinned before looking down at his watch. “Gotta go, triple bypass, but we’ll hang out later.”
Chuck gave him a halfhearted smile and turned in the opposite direction, rubbing his shoulder. He made a mental note to add ‘Start working out’ to that five year plan he had yet to get around to. If Ellie ever married Captain Awesome, his physical well-being might depend on it.
“Did you get it?”
Bryce studied the man in front of him for a moment, wondering again how he got the scar that ran from his forehead to his chin. Not that he actually cared. This was a dangerous business. “What if I told you I could get you something even better?”
“And what exactly is better than the database containing all the intelligence agencies’ secrets, Agent Larkin?”
“Something that can access those secrets in an instant. What’s the point of having them if you can’t utilize them properly?”
Tommy leaned forward, his elbows on his desk. “In case you haven’t noticed, we have an office building filled with computers. What makes yours so special?”
Bryce shook his head. “Not a computer. A human Intersect.”
Sarah hated hospitals. Lying around doing nothing was driving her out of her mind, and it had only been a couple of hours. She had called Director Graham the minute she had some privacy and had requested extraction, but he’d told her to sit tight and stay alert. She was now bait.
She couldn’t believe Bryce had betrayed her like this.
They had gone into deep cover a few months earlier and had infiltrated Fulcrum, a rogue government organization which had it sights set on taking over the CIA. For a start. Their mission had been to identify the double agents and relay the information back to Langley. They had taken down five cells when things started going awry. Fulcrum was suddenly one step ahead of them. If their intel was not intercepted, it was completely wrong. Graham was starting to lose his patience and she and Bryce were running out of excuses. Then Sarah did something she had never wanted to do again after the CAT squad incident—she swept her partner’s gear.
Lying on her good side, eyes closed, she heard the doors swoosh open. Instinctively her hand wrapped around the throwing knife she hid under her pillow, but when she smelled the now familiar aftershave, she relaxed.
“You’re still here.” She gave Chuck a small smile as she turned on her back, careful not to jostle her shoulder too much. Part of her had hoped that she would not see him again, as she felt guilty for involving him, but mostly she was waiting for him to show, wanting to thank him for helping her. In her line of work it was rare to come across someone who was willing to go out of his way to help a stranger.
“How are you feeling?”
“Not too bad.” Sarah watched him closely. He had stuffed his hands in his pockets and rolled slightly forward on the balls of his feet. He seemed nervous. “Luckily it’s just a flesh wound, so I should be discharged in the next day or so.”
“You’ve had worse, I remember.” His eyes roamed across the room and she waited for him to tell her what was on his mind. There was a moment of silence, then he met her gaze again. “We have a problem.”
Sarah raised an eyebrow.
“Look, the staff here thinks you’re my girlfriend.”
Though she didn’t know Chuck very well, Sarah had always been able to read people. A skill she had learned from her father, not under the best of circumstances, but it came in handy. She could tell he was about to freak out.
“It’s no big deal, Chuck,” she tried to set him at ease. “We’re just two of many faces who pass through here, so it doesn’t really matter.”
“Actually, it does.” He cleared his throat. “My sister and her boyfriend are both doctors here.”
That was the last thing Sarah had expected. She felt a slight panic rise up, but managed to suppress it, if only for Chuck’s sake. Then she switched to agent mode.
“Do they know?” He nodded and a look crossed his face she couldn’t read. “What have you told them?”
“That we met at the Buy More where I work and that we went on a date. I’m sorry, I don’t even know why I said that. The thing is, I don’t make a habit of lying to Ellie, but when I got started, I just couldn’t seem to stop and now things are a little complicated, and I’m rambling. I tend to do that sometimes, sorry. I guess you’re going to have to dump me.” He stopped for a much needed breath.
Sarah’s mind was playing catch-up and she frowned. “Why do I need to dump you?”
“Because no one would believe that I would break up with a girl as beaut… Ellie would give me a really hard time if I dumped you after it seemed like I’d finally…” He turned red. “If anyone asks, you dumped me.”
Again, Sarah had trouble keeping up with him, so she changed tactics. “Chuck, do you have a girlfriend?”
“I…what? No. Not interested. I have my family and Morgan and that’s really all I need.”
Finally making sense of his babbling, Sarah could only add a barely audible, “I see.” She felt a stab of disappointment and regarded Chuck for a moment. Carina was right—all the cute, sweet guys out there already had boyfriends. That didn’t stop her from wanting to help him, though. Despite his protests about lying to his sister, he apparently kept a secret from her. A really big secret. She didn’t want to add to his burden.
“Chuck, may I make a suggestion?” She knew she should be focused on the assignment at hand, but surely she had time for a side mission. She owed Chuck that much.
“Yeah,” he responded tentatively.
“Have dinner with me?”
Her request took him by surprise. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I want to. Just dinner, to say thank you for tonight.”
“That’s very thoughtful, Sarah, but really, it’s not necessary. Anyone else would have done the same.”
Sarah shook her head. “Not many would. Come on, Chuck, say yes. You’ve already told your sister we’ve been on a date, so this way, you could validate it, sort of.” She didn’t add that having a beard could come in handy in his current situation. He already looked uncomfortable. Instead, she asked, “Would it be so bad?”
He thought for a moment and then gave her a lopsided grin. “I guess I could suffer through it,” he shrugged.
Pleased that she was able to convince him, Sarah returned the smile. “Me too.”
Chapter 3
“Where the hell have you been?”
Jill shot her partner a glare as she closed the motel room door behind her.
“Cleaning up your mess, Bryce, so drop the attitude.”
He took a quick step forward to catch the PDA hurled at him from across the room and snapped it out of the air with both hands. “Hey, be careful with that.” Turning it around to check for possible damage, he noticed a speck of blood on the screen. “What’s this?” he asked, holding it up for her to see.
She shrugged. “My finger slipped.”
“Damn it, Jill, I told you to tranq her. Is she dead?”
“No, Bryce, your precious little girlfriend was still breathing when I left. I just put her out of commission for a while.”
“Why, because you’re jealous?” His question was met with an eye roll.
“Don’t flatter yourself.” As far as she was concerned, Bryce could hook up with half the state. She’d already accomplished her mission. Bryce had been thoroughly seduced and turned. It had been ridiculously easy, given their history at Stanford. “I need a shower. Did you bring my bag?”
“It’s on your side of the bed. That disguise is hideous by the way. Flat-chested doesn’t suit you.”
Ignoring his remark, Jill pulled clean clothes and a towel from her bag while Bryce was trying to clean up the PDA with a spit slicked thumb. It wasn’t very effective, or hygienic, but she left him be and closed the bathroom door behind her. She looked at herself in the mirror. The day old stubble, puffed cheeks and larger nose had been effective earlier, but the glue had started to itch halfway between Burbank and Barstow. She carefully located the edge of the latex behind her ear and started to strip the mask off. Once done, she dropped it in the basin and reached for the hem of the oversized hoody, pulling it over her head. Next followed the restraints around her chest and she heaved a sigh of relief before she reached into the shower to turn on the tap and finally stepped under the hot spray.
When she emerged from the bathroom twenty minutes later, Bryce was already in bed, arms folded behind his head.
“You never told me why that PDA is so important and why I had to risk my neck to get it back,” Jill spoke as the lifted the covers and got in next to him.
“All you need to know is that it’s our ticket to a secure future in the organization. Maybe even a promotion.”
“Am I supposed to just take your word for that? Trust you?”
“You’re here, aren’t you?” Without waiting for a response, Bryce switched off the light on his side, fluffed his pillow and turned his back on her.
Jill lay in the dark, staring unfocusedly at the wall across from her. Her mind was racing. Of all the people in L.A., she still found it hard to believe that she had bumped into him. Though she hadn’t gotten a good look, she knew she could safely assume that there weren’t that many tall, curly-haired men hanging around with short, bearded companions. At least he wouldn’t have recognized her. Not that it mattered, that ship had sailed. Chuck would never forgive her for turning to Bryce instead of being there for him. The old Jill had wanted to apologize, but she was no longer that person. Fulcrum had changed her and there was no going back.
Bryce woke in the early hours of the morning. He remained unmoving, perking his ears. Once satisfied that Jill was still asleep, he slipped out of bed, grabbed his jacket from the chair and quietly closed the door behind him. A quick perimeter check confirmed that he was alone and he quickly made his way to a nearby tree. Crouching behind it, he pulled the PDA from his pocket, found the power switch in the dark and booted it up.
“Call it.”
“Time of death: ten twenty-six a.m.”
“I’m sorry, Charles, we tried everything we could.”
“How did this happen?” Jeff asked again.
“Charles was checking his email this morning and the computer went up in smoke. Literally. You should really pay closer attention, Jeffrey,” Lester took it upon himself to answer on Chuck’s behalf.
“So the hard drive is fried, huh? That blows.”
“Smoked, Jeffrey, it smoked…you know, never mind,” Lester said and turned to Chuck, “Don’t worry, buddy, I’m sure Big Mike can work out a payment plan for you on a new one.”
Chuck could do nothing but stare forlorn at what remained of the insides of his computer. Karma was collecting.
That was confirmed an hour later when Ellie hung up the phone on him.
Chuck had his orders. Fetch Sarah from the hospital and bring her something to wear. He was trying to come up with an excuse to ask Big Mike for a couple of hours off when his eyes fell on the empty offsite install forms lying next to his keyboard. Normally he wouldn’t even consider such a thing, but in all fairness, he had started his shift two hours early in an attempt to avoid Ellie, and all he got from Big Mike was “Don’t expect us to give you overtime,” so that was one problem solved.
The other posed a real dilemma.
Chuck only had one way to play it: buy Sarah clean clothes. The problem, though, was that he had no idea what size she wore. He had considered calling Ellie, but he was not her favorite person at the moment. Not just because she believed he had lied to her, but also because he could have saved her the trouble of arranging his birthday party and inviting real, live women for him. Chuck knew she was just lashing out; Ellie actually enjoyed those parties more than he did.
Getting in touch with Sarah would be tricky too. He couldn’t phone the hospital directly. As her boyfriend, he would be expected to have her mobile number. Which he didn’t. Chuck sank down on the couch, tapped his phone against his forehead, and tried to come up with a plan.
“Hey,” Anna stuck her head into the home theatre room, looking around, “you alone in here?”
“Yeah,” he answered a little too enthusiastically, realizing that he might have just found a little divine intervention. She frowned, but joined him anyway. “Hiding from Leering Lester?” Chuck asked when it became apparent that she wasn’t going to strike up conversation.
“Don’t you know it. It’s not even noon yet and I’m ready to stick his pocket protector where…”
“Okay, okay,” Chuck interjected. “Please don’t make me an accomplice to whatever you’re planning. I’m sure it won’t be pretty.” That elicited a snicker from Anna, giving Chuck the opening he was look for. “Hey, Anna, I was wondering if you could give me some advice?”
“Sure, Chuckles, what’s up?”
“Well, you see, there’s this girl and I want to buy her something, you know, nice, but it’s a surprise and I have no idea what size to get.” It all came out in one breath.
Anna regarded him for a moment and he couldn’t tell whether she believed him or not. Finally, she nodded slowly, prompting Chuck to continue.
“Um, she’s five foot nine.” He trusted his sister was right on that one. “About the same build as Ellie, but she’s got bigger…” His hands moved up to gesture, but when Anna’s eyes narrowed, he stopped himself and simply said, “Blue eyes.”
“Any chance she’s made of rubber?”
It took him a minute to catch on. “What? No! Why would you think that?”
“Because if you had a girlfriend, Chuck, we would know about it. You would tell Morgan and he would crack under the pressure and tell us. Jeff and Lester put you up to this.” Anna rose, shooting him a disgusted glare. “I expected better from you, Chuck.”
“Anna, no,” he called after her, “you’ve got it wrong! She’s real…” he trailed off when the door slammed shut.
“Women,” Jeff slurred behind him, startling Chuck. As his heart rate slowed down, he watched in amazement as the big man squirmed out from between the couch and the glass partition.
“Jeff, how did you even…” On second thought, Chuck decided, he didn’t want to know. Where and how Jeff Barnes took his naps, was his business.
“So, you want to go shopping for a lady? I can help. I have some pretty negligees in the back of my van that haven’t been worn that much.”
An unpleasant shiver ran down Chuck’s spine. “Uh, thank you, but I’m sure I’ll manage.” He slipped out the door before Jeff could offer any further assistance.
Fifteen minutes later, Chuck found himself in Underpants Etc., right in the middle of the women’s lingerie section. He’d picked a blue shirt that looked like it would fit Sarah and choosing socks had been easy. At the jeans rack he’d decided that Sarah would have to make do with what she had on the night before. Only one item had remained. He quickly scanned the merchandise, not wanting people to think that he was lingering. He never knew so many choices existed. Just as he thought his head was going to start spinning like in the cartoons, he spotted something that looked like a one size fits all deal and grabbed the nearest one, bundling it in his fist as his blush deepened. He considered stuffing it in his pocket and leaving a healthy tip at the checkout counter, but the store probably had cameras. If he got caught, he would never be able to show his face at the Plaza again, and finding a new job with a criminal record would be difficult, so with leaden feet, Chuck made his way to the cashier.
Sarah signed the last of the discharge papers and handed them to the nurse, Amy. “I’ll leave you to get dressed and then you can go. Is anyone picking you up?”
“That would be me.” Chuck appeared in the doorway, still dressed in his Nerd uniform, the gray tie slightly askew. Sarah schooled her features, hiding her surprise.
“I’ll leave you to it, then.” She nodded curtly and disappeared.
“Hey,” Chuck greeted, giving Sarah his signature Bartowski grin. “How’s the shoulder?”
“A little stiff, but not too bad. Ellie put you up to this, didn’t she?” Sarah asked when Chuck handed her the bag of clothes he’d been carrying.
“Would I lose hero points if I said yes? I did all the shopping myself, though.”
Despite his teasing, Sarah felt guilty about turning his life upside down. “Chuck, I’m so sorry. If I had any idea this would happen…I’ll fix it, I promise.”
“Hey, I’m long overdue for a little excitement.” Chuck stuffed his hands in his pockets, raising one shoulder. “Why don’t you get out of that hospital gown so I can spring you from this joint?”
“That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day,” she smiled at him and slid off the bed.
“I’ll wait outside.”
Sarah collected her clothes and boots from the small cupboard and laid them out on the bed before pulling the items from the bag Chuck had brought. She unclipped the sling, careful not to move her arm too much. Something slipped off the edge of the bed and she bent down to retrieve it, letting the garment fall open. Her mouth followed suit. She stared at the lacy black thong and then at the door. If she hadn’t known better…
Ignoring the slight flutter in her gut, she started to dress. It went a little slow, being one-armed, but she managed. She stuffed her and Chuck’s bloody shirts into the bag, quickly scanned the room for any forgotten items and then joined Chuck in the hallway. He took the bag from her and offered his arm.
“A hero and a gentleman?” Sarah quipped when they’d reached the car and he held her door open. Chuck shot her a shy smile before rounding the hood and getting in behind the wheel. Sarah gave him the address of the hotel she’d booked earlier.
They rode in silence for a while. Sarah used the time to familiarize herself with her surroundings, sending the occasional inconspicuous glance Chuck’s way. He wasn’t handsome in an obvious sort of way, or built like the men she usually crossed paths with, but there was something about him that drew her in. It was more than his kind eyes and genuine smile, or the unruly hair that curled over his ears, adding to his boyish charm. He seemed so innocent, so trusting. Something she’d lost a long time ago, even before that fateful night in Paris.
“Damn it,” she heard him mutter under his breath and turned to face him.
“What’s wrong?”
Chuck shot her a sheepish grin. “It’s nothing, really. I just remembered something.”
He didn’t elaborate, but she knew driving her around town was probably not on his list of things to do for the day, so she didn’t let it go. “Chuck, if there’s some place else you need to be, you can just drop me off here and I’ll catch a cab. I was going to get one from the hospital anyway.”
“No, it’s not that. I just forgot that Ellie arranged a party for tomorrow night and half the hospital is going to be there. You know, the people who think that we are a couple.”
“What’s the occasion?” she stalled. She’d worked enough covers to know where this was heading.
“It’s the annual ‘Find Chuck a girlfriend’ quest,” he said with a shrug. “But Morgan and I normally sneak away, risking the wrath of Ellie. You’d think she would have given up by now, but she’s a persistent one.”
At that, Sarah’s eyebrows rose. “Your sister throws you that type of party against your will?”
“What do you mean…oh, no, no, no, it’s not like that. Actually, well, it’s for my birthday. Ellie’s gift to me. I guess she doesn’t believe in just buying me a pair of socks or a comic book.” A blush started to creep up his neck. “I know she goes to a lot of trouble, and it’s not like I don’t appreciate it, but it’s not really my kind of thing.”
“Chuck,” Sarah started, not sure if she was doing the right thing, but when his expectant gaze met hers, she pushed through. “If you want me to accompany you, I could. Like you said, everyone thinks we’re a couple…”
“And they’d expect you to be there,” he pointed out.
“But I don’t want to ruin your birthday,” she quickly added.
“I have no idea what you just said.” His eyes were back on the road and he took a deep breath. “Sarah, do you want to come to my birthday party and pretend to be my girlfriend and scare away the potential suitors Ellie has picked out for me?”
Sarah bit back a chuckle. “How can I refuse?” She was rewarded with a huge grin as Chuck pulled up in front of her hotel.
Chuck waited by the elevators while she checked in and accompanied her up to her room. She slid the key card through the lock and the door sprung open.
“So this is me,” Sarah broke the silence that had suddenly turned awkward. “Do you want to come in or…?” She let the question hang.
“I have to get back to the Buy More.” He handed her the bag he’d insisted on carrying and Sarah stepped over the threshold. “But I have a favor to ask.” Before Sarah could reply, he fished a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and a pen from his pocket protector and handed them to her. “If you could please sign this and write that you were happy with your install.”
She studied the form and realized what it was about. With a small smile, she filled it out, refolded it, and slipped it into his shirt pocket. Her hand was about to run down his chest, but she caught herself and quickly withdrew. “Wouldn’t want you to get in trouble.”
“Thanks,” Chuck grinned. “Well, I better go.” He looked undecided for a moment, then held out his hand, and quickly switched when he realized he was aiming for her injured arm. The touch was brief. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Say, seven?”
“Mmmhmm.” Sarah nodded and with a small wave, Chuck turned and left.
Sarah shut the door and leaned her head against it. She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. She had an important call to make, but first she needed to figure out exactly what she had managed to get herself into.
Chapter 4
Sarah was starting to get frustrated. Her orders remained the same: stay put and remain vigilant. She could tell Graham was up to something, but he hadn’t seen it fit to clue her in on the plan, and she was too much of a professional to ask.
The alarm clock on the nightstand read almost noon. Her shoulder had started to throb again, but she was wary about taking the painkillers Chuck had insisted they pick up on the way to the hotel. She needed a clear head, so instead she tried to ignore the pain and called down for lunch.
Shortly after room service had arrived, a CIA courier showed up with the essentials the Agency reckoned she would need for her stay. Most of her belongings from the last mission she’d left behind at the Fulcrum compound. Sarah checked the small cache of weapons, ticked each item off on the inventory list and signed at the bottom. A second briefcase contained copies of her identification documents, three untraceable credit cards and a fairly substantial pile of hundred dollar bills. The suitcase held only the basics, barely enough to see her through a week, not to mention the lack of an evening dress.
The courier explained that the CIA had rented the hotel room for an undefined period of time, and if there was anything else she needed, she had to charge it. Further instructions from Washington would follow in due course.
The courier was about to leave when Sarah cleared her throat. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
A sheepish smile crossed his face, but it quickly dropped at her stern expression. He reached into his pocket and retrieved a set of keys. “It’s a rental,” he explained after handing them over. “Your car will be shipped here and stored until you are able to drive a stick again.” Without waiting for a response, he turned and disappeared out the door.
Sarah opted for a shower and fresh change of clothes. She was starting to get cabin fever and as she was still awaiting orders, she had some time to kill. Plus, she needed to find something appropriate to wear for Chuck’s party. Making sure her Smith and Wesson was loaded, she tucked it into the holster concealed by her jacket. A smaller caliber went into her ankle holster. Her trusted throwing knives went into her left boot. A shopping trip was probably not the best idea, but as long as she stuck to crowded areas, she figured no one would try to ambush her again.
“Earth to Chuck.” Morgan snapped his fingers in front of Chuck’s face, pulling Chuck from his daydream. “Dude, where were you?”
Chuck’s first thought was that someone had found out about the bogus install and he stammered. “I was…uh…she had trouble with…ahem…”
“Man, you’re out of it,” Morgan cut him off. “I meant just now, buddy.” He pointed over his shoulder to a customer deep in discussion with Skip. “That guy was standing right in front of you and he tried asking you something like three times and you just stared through him. I had to call in reinforcements.” He didn’t give Chuck an opportunity to reply. “It’s that girl from last night, isn’t it? She cast some sort of spell on you, didn’t she?”
“She asked me on a date,” Chuck sighed happily.
Morgan slapped his palms down on the Nerd Herd desk and leaned forward on his arms, staring Chuck square in the eye. “Are you insane?”
Chuck blinked in surprise and snapped his head back. “Why? Morgan, did you not see her? And she wants to go out with me, Chuck Bartowski. Professional nerd who still lives with his sister and hasn’t been on a date since…” His face fell. He hadn’t really thought it through much, too in a daze over her interest, but after hearing the words spoken out loud, Chuck realized that things like this, if it ever happened in real life, didn’t happen to him. He could understand that she wanted to thank him, but he had trouble figuring out why she had insisted after he had turned her down. Maybe Morgan was on the right track. “I think she’s the crazy one.”
Morgan waved him off. “That is beside the point. If being nuttier than a Snickers bar was her only flaw, I’d say go for it.”
“Hey,” Chuck protested, “I thought you were supposed to be on my side.”
“I am on your side. That is why it’s my duty as your best friend to remind you of the gunshot and the hooded baddie that nearly knocked you down.”
“She was mugged, Morgan, it could happen to anyone.” Of course, Chuck still had no idea whether that was true or not, but apparently it was the story they were sticking with.
Morgan shook his head and straightened. He held up his thumb. “One, she was all by herself in a less than savory part of town.” He added his forefinger. “Two, I did not see a purse on the gunman.” He raised his middle finger. “And three…” Morgan’s nose crinkled and he scratched his beard.
“What’s three?” Chuck asked after a few beats of silence.
“I don’t have a three.” Morgan dropped his three finger salute. “All I’m saying is she’s a drug dealer who got shot by one of her clients and now she has merchandise to unload before her boss breaks her knees and what better way to do it than to seduce a naive, unsuspecting guy into buying it from her? She’ll probably give you the first hit for free just to get you hooked. I have seen this happen.”
Chuck couldn’t respond. He was too busy trying to shut his jaw.
“Or she’s involved in black market organ trading.”
Chuck recovered his ability of speech. “You are being totally ridiculous.”
“Fine,” Morgan shrugged nonchalant, “But don’t call me if you wake up tomorrow morning in a bathtub, cuffed to the tap, with your kidney cut out.”
“I am willing to give up a kidney for a date with her, and I don’t really need my spleen,” Chuck retorted, leaving Morgan speechless this time. Clearly the bearded one had been watching way too much TV. Instead of pointing that out, Chuck leaned across the desk and dropped his voice. “Listen, Morgan, wild theories aside, I need a favor.”
Morgan eyed him suspiciously. “I don’t have any organs to spare, just so you know. I kept my appendix in a jar, but it got lost the last time we moved.”
“That was a blessing in disguise, Morgan. If you hadn’t had it in the first place, you never would have gotten that nickname. But back to the favor.”
It took some convincing, and a promise that Han Solo and Chewy could spent an extra two weeks in Morgan’s room, for Chuck to finally get Morgan to agree to go along with the lies he had told Ellie. Though Morgan had not been invited to Chuck’s birthday party, it was a given that he would crash, like he did every year, and Chuck needed to cover his bases.
“Just for the record, Chuck, this proves my point. Today she has you lying to Ellie, tomorrow…”
“She is going to kidnap him and demand a really large ransom,” a female voice cut him off.
Sarah couldn’t help herself. She had walked up to the duo, but with their heads together, having a hushed debate over the custody of what she assumed must be their pets, they hadn’t spotted her. When they had finally struck an agreement, she moved closer to make her presence known, only to overhear Morgan’s comment. It wasn’t difficult to figure out that he was talking about her.
“Thank you,” Morgan replied sincerely, his attention still on Chuck. “See, even she agrees with me.”
Chuck was momentarily stunned when he saw her, but then stood from his desk chair and smiled. “Hi, Sarah.”
“Who’s Sarah?” Morgan asked and turned. His eyes met her chest and he stared three seconds too long before tilting his head back, causing her to quirk an eyebrow. She was used to all types of men staring at her, but that was new. A flash of recognition crossed Morgan’s face and his eyes widened slowly. Then his hands searched for the desk behind him and he scrambled backwards onto it and nearly fell off the other side, but somehow managed to land on his feet.
“It’s nice to see you again, Morgan.” Sarah stifled a laugh. He was looking at her as if she was a time bomb.
“Yeah, you too,” he responded nervously. “Look, I would love to stay and chat, but—what’s that, sir? Xerox machine? I am on it!”
They both watched Morgan disappear from sight.
“Sorry about that,” Chuck apologized. “One of these days he’ll stick around long enough for a proper introduction.”
“He seems like an interesting character.”
“That’s one way to look at it. So, what brings you by?” He produced a small screwdriver from his back pocket and waved it in her direction. “Phone trouble for real?”
“Actually, sort of.” Sarah pulled a business card from her purse and slid it towards Chuck. “You forgot to ask for this.”
With a slight frown, he took it from her and studied it for a moment before catching her gaze. Embarrassment colored his cheeks. “Your phone number, of course. That would make it easier to arrange the ransom drop.”
Sarah grinned. “Or you could use it to let me know the time and place for the party.” She decided to not mention the dinner yet. She felt awkward enough having to be so forward. If he was a mark, she would simply rely on her training, but with Chuck it was different. This was a personal favor of sorts, and one she had offered without being asked. She had no agenda and that made her uncomfortable. All she knew was that she had gotten him into a difficult situation with his family and she didn’t want to just abandon him, though she was still racking her brain for the reason.
“Aha. Party first, abduction later. Good plan.” Chuck reached for his phone and programmed her information into it. “So you got a new phone already?” he asked, with a quick glance in her direction. “I mean, assuming yours was stolen last night, which is very efficient, getting the new phone, I mean, not the guy who mugged you, but maybe you had one of those older models and he wasn’t interested—“
“I got a new phone,” Sarah confirmed, cutting off his babbling. “My employer arranged it. He needs to stay in touch,” she explained to avoid a round of questions.
Once done, he slipped the phone into his pants pocket, patting it to make sure it was safely tucked away. “Okay, this is your last chance to back out.”
“Why would I do that?”
“To save yourself an evening of interrogation and torture. Ellie can get a little intense.”
His word choice threw her for a moment before she realized it was only a figure of speech. She raised her injured shoulder a fraction. “I survived a bullet, so I’m pretty sure I can handle your sister.”
“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“I’ll consider myself warned.” Sarah chewed her bottom lip, wondering briefly if she shouldn’t have taken the out Chuck had offered. L.A. was a big city and she was a spy, she could easily avoid him. Then again, she had nothing else to do but wait for orders and she wasn’t a particularly patient person. A temporary distraction could be exactly what she needed.
Major John Casey debated the merits of leaving the room and re-entering, but it was doubtful that that would get his superior or her visitor’s attention. He started to clear his throat and then stopped when the little voice in the back of his mind, that usually sounded like his mother’s, reminded him that it would be rude to interrupt. Momentarily forgetting that he was no longer a six-year-old, he just stood there, inevitably eavesdropping on the conversation, if it could be called that. The tones were civil, but the tension in the room palpable. The CIA and NSA might have been told to play nice, but decades of rivalry didn’t disappear overnight.
“Bryce Larkin was CIA, Graham, he was one of yours.”
“And it was the NSA’s job to secure the facility. Your team failed.”
“Your agent turned. Heaven only knows how many of them have.”
“How can you be so sure none of yours have?”
Casey had had enough. Manners be damned. He had little tolerance for the CIA. They were a bunch of pretty boys and cute skirts who had never fought on the front lines to protect their country. A couple of defused bombs and captured terrorists did not a free world make.
“General, Director, with all due respect—”
Graham ignored whatever Casey was about to say. “If this gets out—”
“It won’t,” Beckman interrupted. “Major Casey will head up the task force to track down and retrieve the copy Agent Larkin stole and destroy it.”
At that, Casey hid his smirk. Bryce Larkin might have given him the slip, but that just gave him all the more reason to put a bullet in his brain. It has been a while since Casey had added a gold star to his book and his trigger finger was starting to twitch.
“That will not be possible. It’s been uploaded.” Graham paused, evidently enjoying the shocked expressions on Beckman and Casey’s faces. “Lucky for us, it was friend, not foe.”
“But it wasn’t ready. Washington disapproved.” Beckman found her voice first.
“The upload was voluntary. Washington can’t point fingers. This is the opportunity we’ve been waiting for.”
Casey had been in the business long enough to spot the lie, even from a trained professional, but said nothing. It wasn’t his place.
Beckman leaned forward, pinning Graham with a stare over her glasses. “What are you suggesting?”
“You know what I’m getting at. This is our chance to find out what a human Intersect can do in the field. Testing it live, so to speak.”
“Okay, Graham, I’ll bite.” Beckman sat back in her chair, her gaze never wavering. “What exactly do you have in mind?”
“The test subject is currently in Los Angeles. We set up a base there and send in Major Casey, like you proposed.” Graham nodded in his direction. “He will team up with Agent Walker. They can run the op and report back to Langley.”
Beckman’s eyes narrowed. “Larkin’s partner?”
“Former partner. She had nothing to do with his indiscretions.” Graham dropped the folder he’d been holding onto Beckman’s desk. “It’s all in there. She’s currently on medical leave, but I was assured she’d be ready for active duty in a few weeks. In the meantime, she is a valuable source of intel.”
Beckman opened the file and scanned its contents, her face blank. Once done, she handed it to Casey. His eyes ran over the front page. Then he looked past Graham at Beckman. “Why L.A.? Why not bring it back to D.C.? Surely with the resources here we’d be better equipped to do the testing.”
“We don’t know who we can trust at headquarters,” Graham responded. “With the Intersect in L.A., Fulcrum will be forced to send a team after it. They come to us.”
Casey nodded. That would be easier than trying to sift through everyone the Agencies had ever recruited. “I guess I’m going to L.A., which is perfect. I’m feeling a little pasty.”
“Well, then, that’s settled.” Graham stood, offered a courtesy parting comment and left.
Casey waited for Graham to depart before turning to his superior. “What are my orders, General?”
“For now, we’ll follow Graham’s plan, but Major, if there is any indication that the Intersect is dangerous or at risk of falling into enemy hands, your orders are to destroy it.”
