A/N: Well, here this is, the sequel to 'Chuck vs. The New Girl'. You don't really need to read that to understand this, but there may a couple of details that seem confusing in the first chapter or two if you haven't, although nothing super important. Also, thanks to TheJusta for his beta work. That man is a time saver, mainly because I don't have to go over this thing four or five times. I enjoyed your reviews on the last story, and I know I will on this one. Standard disclaimer that I, in no way, shape, or form own Chuck. Lastly, this thing is rated T for language and eventual violence. Hope you all enjoy.

Chuck vs. The Grid

Chapter 1

July 19, 2010 Outside Las Vegas

Chuck was driving as fast as he could. His right leg was bleeding profusely. He had hastily applied his own tourniquet, but it did little to alleviate the pain it was causing him. Chuck looked in the plastic bag on the front seat. All he had was ibuprofen. He took a handful and started chewing on them.

He approached a seedy motel and decided to pull in. He had to get the bullet out of his leg. He limped up to the counter where a sleazy looking man in his forties was standing, eyeing Chuck suspiciously.

"I need a room for the night," Chuck said, slapping five hundred dollars on the counter. The man took his money and handed Chuck a room key. "Also, if you call the cops, I'll have to let them know about the dog fighting ring you got going on every Saturday." Chuck gave him a harsh look before leaving for his room. The man nervously watched Chuck leave the lobby, hoping he did not anger him in some way. Whether it be the wound in his leg, the look in his eyes or his overall demeanor, this stranger was someone who looked like he was not to be fucked with.

Chuck grabbed his backpack, duffle bags, and the plastic bag and went into his room. It had a single bed and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in about five years. Chuck threw his duffle bag and brought the backpack and plastic bag into the bathroom. He took the mirror off the wall, placed it against the toilet and sat on the edge of the bathtub. He pulled out a pair of scissors and made a series of long cuts originating from the bullet hole in his thigh. He ripped opened his pants and took a look at the damage.

It still hurt like all hell, but it wasn't as bad as he thought. The tourniquet had slowed down the blood loss, and it didn't look as if he had nicked an artery. He grabbed the bottle of vodka in the plastic bag and poured it over his wound. It stung like hell. He bit down hard and grabbed some towels off of the rack on wiped up most the blood. He looked at the wound's reflection in the mirror, and he was sure he could see the bullet. He grabbed a pair of pliers from his back pack and poured some alcohol over the tips. He chewed on a few more ibuprofen, took a swig of the vodka to calm his nerves, and went to work.

Five minutes later, the bullet had been removed and his wound was stitched up somewhat. He knew Ellie could do a much better job, but he was satisfied. He didn't bother cleaning up. He wasn't going to be there very long. He picked up the bullet and looked at it.

Chuck was grinning. "You som' bitch Casey. I owe you one now."

***

Dec. 23, 2008

The Buy More was packed with shoppers picking up last minute gifts. Everyone seemed happy, whether it be the kids who had no school or Big Mike enjoying the amount of money the store was making. However, Chuck Bartowski was not one of them. He sat at the Nerd Herd desk, jaw clenched and wearing a scowl. Something as simple as Christmas shopping seemed to set Chuck off. He was watching these people with a sense of jealousy. What he would give to be able to go Christmas shopping. But no, a normal activity like that was out of the question. He could go, sure, but there was always someone watching him, whether it was in person or on a remote feed. Chuck longed for some sense of freedom, and he knew it was one Christmas present the government wasn't going to get him.

His phone started vibrating on his desk. He looked down and saw Sarah's face smiling up at him. He picked up the phone and clicked 'ignore'. Chuck was now 'together' with Sarah Walker again. He decided that when they got back together he wasn't going to torture himself by trying to have a real relationship. She said she loved him, but he was never sure. After all, he knew nothing about her, except for her stellar career with the CIA. Lying was who she was and what she did. He knew she had to have some sense of control over him, and maybe declaring love for him was the way to accomplish that. The whole spy world just pissed him off. Lies, deception, pain, death. What kind of people would actually want to live like this? He certainly didn't, and he knew Sarah did. That's why he was now taking everything she said with a grain of salt.

Their new relationship wasn't going very well. Sarah was definitely the aggressor now. She was always calling for dates, wanting to spend time together, and have him sleep over. But he told her that he wanted to take things slow. The roles had been reversed. He laughed at the thought of it. Of course, he thought he was pursuing love, and now, he was sure she was pursuing control of him.

Chuck thought back to that night in the hotel room. She said she trusted him, and that she would do anything for him. He wanted to believe it, he desperately did. But ever since Natalie's death, all he could think was that his only road to freedom was by trusting his instincts. His instincts were saying trust no one. Sarah was fighting for the greater good, not him. When they were alone, Sarah prodded here and there, trying to figure out his thoughts, but he was quick to shoot down any questions about his plan.

Chuck and Sarah were spending a decent amount of time together, although it was usually in silence. They mostly just watched movies at his place. Chuck insisted that they be friends first before they began 'dating' again. That's what a normal person in his position would do, he reasoned. He just didn't think it would feel authentic if he went back to Sarah right away. He needed to mourn. After all, Natalie had only been dead for about two and half weeks. Sarah reluctantly agreed, but she was glad that she was at least getting to spend time with him.

His Intersect update happened about a week after Natalie's death. He arrived in Sarah's hotel room for what he thought was a movie or whatever they now did for their cover, but she was just holding a flash drive.

"It's the refresh for the Intersect. You have to watch it," she explained.

Chuck took the drive without speaking, went to her laptop and positioned himself for the update, as well as his fall once it was over. The floor was carpeted, but he didn't think that would be enough so he laid a pillow on the floor where he thought his head would hit. Sarah was watching him curiously, not understanding what he was doing. All he had to do was look at pictures, so what was with the elaborate set up? She was standing behind him against her door, waiting for him to start.

Chuck turned around. "You, ah, might wanna wait in the bathroom or something."

"It's okay," she smiled, "I have these." She pulled out a pair of dark sunglasses and put them on.

She watched as Chuck hit the play button and backed away from the computer. She watched as he stood there like a zombie, eyes on the screen. The whole process lasted about 90 seconds. She was totally unprepared for Chuck to fall straight backwards, and let out a cry as she thought he had died somehow. The flash drive that was in the computer was smoking, its contents destroyed.

Chuck remembered Sarah's worried face and watery eyes looking down at him as he regained consciousness. It was brief moments like that when he was sure that Sarah loved him, and that he nearly allowed himself to fall back into the status quo. He also thought about how absurd the idea of him being able to outrun the CIA and NSA was again. 'Can I really stay off the grid and conduct a search for the guy who created the Intersect, all on my own? A search for a guy I know absolutely nothing about, even whether or not he's alive?' Chuck asked himself these questions every day. He was sure the answer was no, but going to Casey or Sarah for help was out of the question. He had to do this himself, but he needed something that would jumpstart his search. Just a whisper about who created the Intersect and Chuck would be gone looking for him.

Back at the Nerd Herd desk, Chuck started going through all the information he had gathered on his whole situation, his plans, his options, like he always did when he was unsure of what to think about everything. He came to the same conclusion he did. Trust no one but yourself. Then his phone started vibrating again. He looked at it, and was surprised that it was Ellie. He decided to answer.

"Hello," Chuck said in a bored voice.

"Well, you certainly sound happy," Ellie teased, hearing the lack of enthusiasm in his greeting.

"Ellie, do you want something? I'm kinda busy at the moment." This was a lie.

"I was wondering if you were going to invite Sarah over for Christmas?"

Chuck sighed. "Umm, yeah, I was. I thought maybe that I'd try to ask her if she wanted to give us another try. She won't turn me down on Christmas, right?"

Ellie gave a squeal of excitement. "Don't worry. I know she will take you back. I've talked to her a little bit. She's anxious to get back together. She was just worried that you weren't ready, and she didn't want to push you away."

"Don't worry El. You'll get the Christmas present I know you're dying for. It's just been hard for me."

Ellie could hear the sadness in his voice. "I know Chuck. Well, I mean, I won't pretend to know how much pain you're in. Just know that I love you and that Sarah loves you, and we only want you to be happy."

'Ha,' Chuck thought, 'my happiness is far from the top of Sarah's priorities.'

"I know. I love you sis. I'll see you later tonight."

"Bye." Ellie hung up.

Chuck took a deep breath and looked around. He spotted a man in a trench coat, a baseball cap, and sunglasses standing in between shelves looking at prepaid phones. Chuck figured the guy was a shoplifter, and being bored, went over to confront the man.

Chuck pretended to be a helping a customer, but he was really keeping an eye on the man. The man reached out to look at another phone when the ring on his hand caused Chuck to flash. He saw images of chemicals, brains, animal testing, an address for a warehouse, and the name Dick Johnson. The man looked up and saw Chuck looking at him. Chuck was wearing a weird expression on his face, and the man eyed him suspiciously, wondering if he really saw what he thought he did. 'No,' Johnson thought, 'impossible. He certainly wouldn't be here.'

"Need any help?" Chuck asked, trying to be a good worker.

"No, thank you," said Johnson. "I think I've found everything I was looking for." He smiled at Chuck, and Chuck gave him a quick one before leaving to find Casey.

Chuck found Casey standing over by the grills. Chuck just shook his head and allowed himself a small smile. Casey was a beast when it came to selling grills. Chuck had no idea why he worked so hard at the Buy More. Maybe it was because he took pride in his work, whatever his work was, or maybe it was because Casey was a natural salesman.

"Casey," said Chuck, "I need a word."

"I'm a little busy, Chuck. Can't you see I'm with a customer?" The 40 something housewife smiled at Casey, clearly more interested in getting Casey's number than a Beastmaster.

"I know, but it's urgent." Chuck raised his eyebrows, hoping Casey would understand.

Casey looked at Chuck, picked up on his message and excused himself from the woman.

"Well, spill it," Casey spat once they got into the break room.

"I flashed on this guy, Dick Johnson. I think it's a fake name. But regardless, I think he's developing some sort of neurotoxin. It's like nothing we have ever seen before. There was very little data on it, except for some testing videos on animals that I would rather forget. Here's the address." He handed Casey a piece of paper with address.

"Alright, let's go to Castle to figure out what Beckman wants us to do."

Casey opened the secret passage to Castle, and Chuck quickly followed him out of the Buy More.

***

After the briefing with Beckman, it was decided that Dick Johnson was a priority and needed to be dealt with quickly. Sarah and Casey would go to the address Chuck had provided and would attempt to apprehend him. They would do so cautiously, so as not to accidentally release the neurotoxin. There wasn't much intel on it, so they didn't know what it would do or how proliferate and virulent it was. Chuck was going as well, but he would stay in the van, hoping to flash on something that could tell them what they were up against.

"Alright," said Sarah, "No matter what happens Chuck, you stay in the van. If something goes bad, you drive away and report to Beckman." She always said this, but he never seemed to listen, as evidenced by his stupid heroics time after time.

"Got it," Chuck said, sounding bored, "Run from danger." He gave them a nod before closing the van door in their faces. He was tired of always being told to run. He thought he had proven that he could handle himself if the situation required it. Chuck got in the back of the van, put on his headset and started watching the monitors, Casey's cam showing him that he and Sarah were directly outside the warehouse.

***

Dick Johnson was in his makeshift laboratory, going over a few calculations on his computer. He was smiling as he looked at the results. He was finishing up his report on his new nerve agent. It stopped all cognitive functions in about 30 seconds after inhalation, and after three minutes, the subject was dead. It also left no biological traces, so no one would suspect foul play. The autopsies he had performed on his test subjects seemed to indicate that the cause of death was a heart attack, not from a toxin. He was practically giddy about all of this. He would be able to sell this toxin and its formula to the highest bidder, and once he had done that, he would live the rest of his life on some island away from everything.

Just as he was about to make a call announcing that he was finished, the alarms he had set up around the warehouse went off. He pulled up security feeds and saw two agents making their way towards his area.

"No," he muttered, "No. I was so close."

He couldn't understand how he was found. He hadn't left the warehouse in almost two weeks. He made a brief appearance at a Buy More today to buy a phone, and grab a bite to eat in the plaza.

'The Buy More,' he thought, 'That man who was looking at me funny. Maybe the rumors were true.'

He pulled up the security feed for around the compound and saw the van. A small smile found formed on his face.

'My toxin may be done, but I think the Intersect will sell just as well,' he thought.

Johnson grabbed a detonator that was sitting by his computer. He then armed all of the explosives he had placed around the warehouse. He didn't trust his buyers and thought they might come looking for him and his work, so he rigged the place to blow at any moment. He quickly left out the back and started making his way towards the black van on the other side of the building.

***

Casey entered the lab. He looked around at all the lab animals that were dead or in cages. The smell of the rotting animals made him gag. Sarah was breathing through her mouth at steady intervals, trying her best not the throw up.

Casey started looking around for a sign of Dick Johnson. He didn't appear to be there. Perhaps the best plan was to wait and ambush him. He started walking around, moving this way and that to allow Chuck to get a good look at everything. He was more focused on finding a good spot to set up that ambush, that he didn't see the explosives that were placed just two feet to his left. Luckily, Chuck was able see and flash on them.

"Casey! Sarah!" was frantically yelled into their ears. "He's wired the place to blow. Get out of there!"

***

Dick Johnson had ascertained that he had enough clearance from the warehouse and pressed the detonator. The explosion was larger and louder than he expected, causing him to lose his purposeful stride as he made his way to the van.

***

The explosion caused the screens to go black and Chuck to have to rip off the headset he was wearing. He thought he might have blown out his eardrums, but a quick inspection found that he wasn't oozing from his ears. They were just ringing very badly. He got a handgun out of the armory and stuck in the back of his pants, pulling his shirt over top of it. He didn't care about what Sarah said, he was going to find his team.

Once he opened the van door, however, he found himself face to face with a Colt .45. Dick Johnson was smiling.

"Would you please drive to this address?" he said as he handed Chuck a piece of paper. "I was looking forward to selling my newest creation, but I think you'll do just fine." Dick Johnson entered the van.

***

Amidst the rubble in the warehouse, two figures slowly started to stand up. Casey was taking shallow breaths. He was sure he had at least bruised ribs, hopefully not anything worse. There was a long gash on the side of his face, and he was covered in dust. Sarah got up and was a little woozy. She hit her head on the wall when the place exploded. She was banged up, but nothing life threatening. She also looked like someone hit in the face by one of those comically large powder applicators.

"You okay?" she asked Casey, looking over at him.

"Yeah," he groaned back. "A little beat up, but I've been worse."

They both made their way outside the damaged building and found that Chuck was gone. Sarah pulled out her GPS locator to see where he was.

"Looks like the idiot finally listened," said Casey, a little annoyed that he didn't have a ride.

"I don't think so," retorted Sarah. "He's out of range. I have no idea where he is."

They both took off running so that Sarah could find a car for them to 'borrow'.

***

Outside of the city limits, Dick Johnson had Chuck pull up to a farmhouse. It looked abandoned, like no one had lived there in years.

Chuck was certain Sarah and Casey were still alive. Just something in his gut knew they were. He realized he'd been doing this long enough to know he was right, and the thought scared him a little.

"Out," said Johnson, still smiling and pointing his gun at Chuck. He hadn't frisked Chuck or had him take off his watch.

'This guy is really incompetent at thug work,' thought Chuck. For the first time in his life, he was pretty sure this was a situation that he could handle. This guy was a scientist, not a spy, and Chuck knew it.

"Into the barn," said Johnson, pointing at it with his gun.

Chuck led them into the barn, which was devoid of anything farm related. There was straw and hay all over the floor, but the stalls were empty. Johnson found a chair at work bench and told Chuck to sit down. Chuck obliged.

"So, you are the one, huh?" said Johnson. He was still smiling.

"What?" asked Chuck, not quite sure what the man was talking about.

"Here, I'll let you prove it to me." He pulled off his glasses to show his eyes, and grimaced as he did so. The whites of his eyes were completely red, like the blood vessels had all exploded and never healed. His pupils were completely dilated and were unable to adjust to the new amount the light the sunglasses had blocked out.

When Chuck looked at him, he felt his brain go through a flash. The images of the Intersect files, a death certificate, and a dossier with the code name Gryphon on it ran across his mind. Johnson was smiling his biggest smile yet as he watched Chuck flash.

"You," said Chuck, completely surprised. "You created the Intersect."

Johnson just grinned at Chuck as he put his sunglasses back on. "Well, I was just one of many to work on the Intersect." Suddenly his voice turned bitter. "But I was the only one lucky enough to have been used as a guinea pig to see whether a human could absorb its data. The test went horribly wrong, and I wound up in a coma for a week. We told them that it was not possible for one human to absorb the data, but they were intent on having agents download the data. They had us either killed or jailed if we spoke up, so I went off grid and decided to work for the dollar, not the science. I think one other was able to get out. I've heard rumors of them trying it on many other agents. Most died or simply lost their mind. I guess something about my brain structure allowed me to remain sane. But permanent damage was done to my eyes, as you saw."

Chuck was shocked, just shocked. He quickly lost all sense of his situation. This man may be the one who could help release from his curse. He had to find out more, but Johnson continued to talk.

"There have been rumors floating around that a human Intersect was currently running around stopping all sorts of unspeakable acts of evil. I must say I was skeptical at first. But meeting you, and knowing what you are, I must say I'm honored. You're truly one in a million. You need to be studied so we can see why you were able to survive and have your 'flashes'."

Johnson's tone had totally changed from that of mad scientist creating a weapon to sell for money to a scientist ready to make the breakthrough of his career and win a Nobel Prize. Chuck figured he could use this to his advantage.

"I'd love to know what is happening to me. Could you show me, or would the other man who escaped be able to help more?"

"Ah, yes, Orion." Chuck went through a small flash. A dossier on Orion and the Intersect appeared, but that was it. No name, no address, no pictures. Just a files saying he worked on the Intersect.

"Orion?" asked Chuck. "Like Orion's belt?"

Johnson laughed. "He was the one who was responsible for the encoding process and how it affects the brain."

"So he'd know how to remove Intersect files? I mean, if data was corrupted or inaccurate?" Chuck tried not to seem too anxious, but he was dying to know.

"Yes, I believe he would. He was a brilliant man. No one knows what became of him. He faked his death and has been off the grid ever since." Johnson was pacing back and forth. Chuck could see he was nervous. "I'd love to study you. I would. But I am tired of that life. I just want money and a beach to sit on. So I'm afraid I'm going to have to sell you. It won't be pleasant for you, I know, but I'm in this for myself."

During his whole speech, Chuck was moving slowly forward as he wanted to grab his gun without being noticed. He was leaning forward in his chair and finally was able to get his hand around the handle of the gun. Sounds of a car screeching to a halt outside could be heard. Johnson made his way over to the window to see who it was but was cut down by three bullets to the back.

Chuck was standing up by his chair when Casey and Sarah entered, both carrying assault rifles. They quickly took in the sight of Chuck standing in front of the chair, arms outstretched holding a gun, and the body lying dead on the floor. Sarah looked like she was ready to cry, while Casey was a little impressed.

"Bartowski, where'd you get that gun?" he asked.

"I took it from the van. When the bomb went off, I grabbed it and went to find you guys. But he," Chuck pointed to Johnson, "found me first. He drove me here. He's no spy, just a scientist. He was nervous and bumbling. He didn't frisk me or anything. Then when you guys came up, he went to the window, and I made my move. Here." He handed Casey the gun.

Sarah was surprised by how unemotional Chuck was about the whole situation. It scared her. What was happening to Chuck?

***

"Well, while we'd have preferred to take Mr. Johnson alive to see who he was selling his neurotoxin to, at least his research was destroyed. Now, is there anything else?" General Beckman was looking at the team located in Castle. Casey and Sarah looked at Chuck, since he was responsible for pretty much the entire success of the mission.

Chuck contemplated telling her about Gryphon and Orion, but decided to not broach the subject. This was the information he needed to get the Intersect out of his head, and he didn't believe that Beckman was going to give it to him. So Chuck just shook his head.

"In that case, Major Casey has a gift for you Mr. Bartowski."

Chuck looked at Casey in surprise and even Sarah was somewhat curious.

"Merry Christmas Chuck." Beckman's screen went black.

"Here," said Casey, handing Chuck an envelope. "It's a paycheck. Don't expect them all to be like this. You're being paid on a mission by mission basis. This one takes into account a lot of your previous work." He gave Chuck a pat on the shoulder before heading up the stairs and out of Castle.

Chuck opened the envelope and peaked inside. "Whoa!" exclaimed Chuck. This, on top of what he had in his savings account, would be enough for him survive off grid for awhile as he searched for Orion. Chuck couldn't believe his luck. He got the two most important pieces he needed in order to make his break. It was almost as if fate wanted him to get the Intersect out of his head. He's grin was huge and genuine.

"That good, huh?"

Chuck looked up and saw Sarah looking at him, smiling. He totally forgot she was there, being lost in his thoughts of freedom. Then another thought hit him. They were supposed to get back together on Christmas, which was a little over a day away. There was no way he could make a break for it once they were back together. Between work, the cover dates, the missions, he'd hardly ever be alone. He was going to have to make his move tomorrow.

"What? Oh, yeah, I mean, yeah, it's good. Now I can afford to get you something for Christmas." He was grinning at her as he stored the check safely into his pocket.

"Chuck, you don't have to get me anything," Sarah protested.

"Well, it'd look pretty bad if I get my new girlfriend nothing when she comes over on Christmas, so yeah, I'm gonna have to." He reached out to take her hand.

"Are you sure you're ready to get back together?" Sarah asked, not wanting to sound too hopeful but was internally happy that they would be back together.

"Yeah, I am. I mean, it's been tough." She squeezed his hand to let him know she was there for him. He smiled. "But I'm ready."

Sarah was smiling, but then her smile broke. "What am I going to get you?" She was never good at getting gifts for people mainly because she never had anyone she cared that much about to buy them anything.

"Oh, I can think of a few things," Chuck joked while giving her the eyebrow dance.

"Hmmm," Sarah smirked, "I'm not sure I'm feeling that generous."

They both started laughing and made their way to her Porsche. Sarah had been nervous about Chuck's lack of response after killing Dick Johnson, but she was happy he was still the same funny and lively Chuck. He said he was trying to be Chuck, but that sometimes Carmichael would take over. 'On missions, he must be in Carmichael mode all the time, and when not on missions, he's Chuck,' she thought.

Sarah's Porsche pulled in next to Ellie's car. Chuck was looking at her, but she couldn't get a read on his thoughts.

"Well, I guess this my stop."

"Yeah." Sarah replied lamely. An awkward silence filled the car. Sarah finally spoke up. "Hey, you wanna do something tomorrow after work?"

"Umm," Chuck said, his brows furrowed in thought. "You know what, I can't. I'm working a double, then I gotta go to the bank and the mall, and then I'm the Nerd Herd on call guy tomorrow night."

"But it is Christmas Eve tomorrow," Sarah retorted indignantly. She wanted to see him tomorrow and every day after that.

"Yeah, which means parent's trying to assemble electronics are going to be calling wanting to make sure everything is in perfect working order. It was a draw and I got the short stick this year."

Sarah made a pouty face, and Chuck just smiled. He leaned in, but hesitated for a moment. This was going to be there last kiss for a long time, maybe ever. His lips finally met hers. It started out slow, but pretty soon, he had his hand on her neck pulling her closer and she had her hands in his hair, not ever wanting to let go. Before it became a full blown make out session, Chuck pulled away. He looked at Sarah, who was red faced and had a hungry gleam in her eye. He smiled at her again and then stepped out of the car.

He bent to look in her window. "Good-bye Sarah."

She was just smiling at him, not really picking up the significance he was carrying in his voice. She was lost in his eyes, and within that last kiss. He turned to leave, but quickly turned back around.

"Oh, yeah. Be sure to act surprised on Christmas when I ask if you want to get back together. You're not supposed to know."

"Don't worry. I'll be surprised." She watched happily as he strode towards his apartment. She was finally getting back together with Chuck. Maybe she would actually enjoy Christmas for once.

'Yep, Sarah,' he thought sadly, making his way to the apartment, 'Surprised is definitely one thing you will be.'