CHUCK VERSUS THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE,

NO GOOD, REALLY BAD DAY

Chapter 17

by Timewalker05

The End – Part II

Super 8 Motel, Gran Junction, Colorado

"He didn't," Chuck gasped. "He wouldn't."

Ellie smiled and took Chuck's hand. "If you mean, did Dad upload the Intersect into me, no, he didn't. At least, not all of it. Just a small part. Enough, he said, so that I could defend myself. I was a little freaked out at first, but…"

"No!" Chuck yelled. "He had no right! Do you have any idea what the Intersect is? What is does to you? Ellie, I can't control it. It's controlling me." He voice dropped to a harsh whisper. "Ellie, I… I've… done things. Bad things. Terrible things." He dropped his voice lower so that only Ellie could hear. "Ellie… I killed someone."

"Oh, Chuck," Ellie said, and pulled him into her arms.

"God, Ellie. I've done such terrible things. And now… And now you…"

"Shhhh," Ellie said. "It's all right, Chuck."

Ellie glanced over at Sarah, who sat down on the bed next to Chuck and took his hand, squeezing it gently. Chuck gripped it back so hard it hurt, but Sarah gritted her teeth and said nothing.

After a few moments, Chuck seemed to compose himself and pulled away, but he continued to hold Sarah's hand tightly.

"Dad told me that all he gave me was some kind of self-defense training," Ellie continued. "He showed me some pictures, and all of a sudden I could do kung-fu, or judo, or whatever it is. But I've been able to control it just fine. I just had this weird… flash… in my mind when those guys tried to hurt us. But nothing since then. I don't think it's changed me at all."

Chuck pulled away and slumped onto the bed. "Then it's me," he said. "It's not the Intersect. It's me. Here I thought it was the Intersect controlling me that made me… that was the reason I did those things. But maybe I really am a monster."

"Chuck!" Sarah cut in. "You're not a monster. You're the kindest, sweetest man I know."

"But…" Chuck whispered hoarsely. "La Cuidad. Tommy."

Devon looked over at Carina, his brows creased in confusion, but Carina merely shrugged.

Sarah grabbed Chuck's hand again and held it tighter. "Chuck, you're a good person. You've been under a lot of stress…"

"Charles Irving Bartowski!" Ellie said sternly. Startled, Chuck looked up at her. She was standing with her hands on her hips. "Don't you dare talk that way. I know you, Chuck. You're one of the best people I know."

"Yeah, bro," Devon cut in. "You're like…"

Ellie shot him a withering glance and Devon suddenly found the motel room's curtain very interesting.

Ellie turned back to Chuck. "Chuck, Dad told me that there's some kind of… problem… with the whole Intersect 2.0 thing. I… I couldn't really understand it. You'll have to get him to explain it to you. But he did say he could fix it."

Chuck glanced over at Sarah and she nodded reassuringly. She didn't know what Ellie was talking about, but Ellie seemed to be telling him what he needed to hear.

"Fix it how?" Chuck asked.

"He said he would contact you and explain everything," Ellie replied.

Chuck frowned. "How? Does he even know where we are?"

Ellie nodded. "I told him we were supposed to meet you if there was any kind of problem. But he told me not to tell him where, since the phone line was not secure. He said he had ways of finding out on his own."

Chuck nodded and almost smiled.

"Chuck," Ellie said. "Our Dad's not really just some Beautiful Mind, crazy engineer recluse, is he?"

Now Chuck did smile. "No. No, he's not. He's been protecting us, Ellie, all these years. Or at least, trying to."

"From what?" Ellie asked.

"From the Intersect," Chuck said, the smile quickly fading. Sarah squeezed his hand even harder.

Buy More, Burbank, California

Jeff Barnes was crouched on the roof of the Buy More, peeking out over top of the Buy More sign as he scanned the parking lot. A black van was parked just in front of Underpants, Etc. – the only vehicle in an otherwise deserted parking lot. Jeff picked up his walkie-talkie. "Nightcrawler to Papa Bear. Nightcrawler to Papa Bear. Over."

The rather annoyed voice of Big Mike cracked back through the speaker. "What's this Nightcrawler, crap? Just tell me what you see, Barnes."

Jeff keyed the mike. "But Nightcrawler is my code name," Jeff whined. "What if someone is listening in to our communications?"

"Then they're going to be as pissed off at you as I am," Big Mike replied. "Now what do you see?"

"There's a black van parked in front of Underpants, Etc. At least, I think it's black. In this light, it could be navy blue. I've always been a little night blind and…"

"What are they doing?" Big Mike asked, cutting him off.

"Just sitting there, Papa Bear."

"Can that Papa Bear shit," Big Mike replied. "And just keep an eye on them."

Big Mike put down the radio and turned to the group of Buy Morons huddled in the dark store. "I need a couple volunteers for recon. Lester. Grimes. Thanks for volunteering."

"But I… That is, we…" Morgan stammered.

"Go see what's up with that black van over in front of Underpants, Etc. It could be our bad guys," Big Mike ordered.

Morgan started to protest, but Anna grabbed his arm and pulled him in to give him a kiss. "Be careful, my big, brave Morgan."

The protest died on Morgan's lips and he grabbed Lester by the arm. "Come on, Lester. Let's go check out that van."

"But… But… But…" Lester stammered. Morgan ignored him and pulled him toward the back of the store.

Big Mike twirled the baseball bat he affectionately called his 'fiddle' and surveyed the assembly line of Green Shirts and Nerd Herders busily preparing his arsenal. "Let 'em come," he muttered. "We'll be ready for them. No one messes with my store."

In 'The Cage', Morgan opened his gym bag, pulled out the black shirt, black pants, and black ski-mask and shoved them in Lester's hands. "Put these on," he said.

"Listen," Lester said. "It's Friday and the sun has gone down and that officially makes it the Sabbath and I don't think I can be…"

Morgan gave him a look. "Lester, since when have you ever worried about the Sabbath?"

"Since Big Mike asked me to risk life and limb?" Lester said.

"Listen," Morgan said. "I have already faced death. And he looks a lot like Harry Tang."

Lester frowned and furrowed his brow.

"My point is," Morgan continued, "Anna and I faced death and we survived. I had no idea I could face something like that, but I can! I did! And now I feel alive." He clamped his hands on Lester's shoulders. "Come on, Lester. Don't you want to feel alive?"

"If you can do it," Lester said, "I can, too." He and Morgan pulled on their black outfits and pulled the ski-masks down over their faces.

"Now let's do this," Lester said.

Morgan turned to start out the door, and Lester darted back toward the front of the Buy More. Morgan lunged and grabbed him. "This way," he said, turning Lester toward the door to the loading dock.

"Mother," Lester whined.

Super 8 Motel, Gran Junction, Colorado

There was a knock at the motel room door. Sarah and Carina flattened themselves on either side of the door while Chuck herded Ellie and Devon into the bathroom.

"It's Bruce Banner. Open up."

Sarah let out a breath and looked at Carina. Carina nodded. Sarah pulled the door open and jumped back while Carina covered the door.

Casey strode through and tossed a couple bags on the bed. "Your clothes," he said to Sarah.

"Aw, Johnny. No hello for me?"

Casey turned around and looked at Carina. "Chuck picked the right code name for you," Casey said. "You've got more lives than a cat."

"Good to see you, too, Johnny," Carina said, smiling.

"Where's Forrest?" Sarah asked.

"I've got her outside watching our six," Casey replied.

Sarah nodded.

Chuck, Ellie and Devon emerged from the bathroom. "Hello, John," Ellie said.

Casey turned and glared at Carina. "You shouldn't have brought them here. Now we're compromised."

"Relax, John," Ellie said. "I know."

"Know what?" Casey asked.

"Everything," Ellie replied.

Casey narrowed his eyes and glared at Carina. She shrugged. "Wasn't me. Some guy named Orion."

"So Orion's still watching our back," Casey said with a satisfied grunt.

"Hey, now that we're all here," Devon cut in. "Who's up for pizza?"

Buy More, Burbank, California

Morgan and Lester darted from shadow to shadow, edging closer to the black van in the parking lot.

Morgan pulled out a walkie-talkie. "Nightcrawler, this is Samwise. Nightcrawler, this is Samwise. Do you have eyes on us?"

"I thought you were Green Arrow?" Jeff voice sounded tinny through the walkie-talkie's tiny speaker.

"No, no," Morgan said. "That was only for Call of Duty. For this op, I'm Samwise."

"I think I liked Green Arrow better," Jeff replied.

"Never mind that, Jeff. Do you still see the van?"

"Roger that," Jeff replied. "They're still just sitting there."

"We're closing in," Morgan said. "If they make a move, holler."

"Wouldn't it be better to call you on the radio?" Jeff asked.

Lester grabbed the walkie-talkie. "That's what he meant, you moron!"

"Oh, hey Lester."

"Do not use my name over an open channel," Lester hissed. "I'm Wolverine."

Morgan grabbed the radio. "Jeff, just call on the radio if anyone gets out of the van."

"Roger that."

Morgan and Lester crept closer to the van, flattening themselves against the nearby buildings and peeking around the corners. Finally, they darted across the last few feet to the van, crouching just in back of the rear doors.

Morgan slowly raised himself to peer in the back windows. Though the van's windows were darkly tinted, the interior of the van was lit by a row of video screens, allowing him to just make out three people seated in the back.

"That is so cool," he whispered to Lester. "It's like Jeff's van on steroids."

"Can we go now?" Lester asked.

"Wait," Morgan said. "One more thing." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a potato.

Super 8 Motel, Gran Junction, Colorado

"We need a plan," Casey said, taking a large bite out of his Meat Lover's pizza.

"What did you have in mind?" Sarah asked, picking the olives off of a slice of Supreme.

"We need to take the fight to them," Carina said. "I'm tired of letting them have the initiative. We need to take charge."

"And how do we do that?" Casey asked. "We don't have a location."

Casey, Sarah and Carina were sitting on the bed closest to the door. Ellie and Devon reclined together on the far bed. Chuck paced between the two beds for a moment, before finally sitting down on the bed across from Sarah and Carina.

"Listen," Carina said. "We…"

"I'm going home," Chuck said softly.

All eyes turned to Chuck.

"What was that, Chuck?" Sarah asked.

"I'm going home," Chuck said. "I'm tired of running. Let them come for me. I don't care anymore. You all stay here. Watch Ellie and Devon. It's me they're after. You'll all be safer without me."

Sarah stood, walked around to Chuck's side of the bed and sat down next to him. "Chuck," she said. "Don't talk that way."

"You mean tell the truth?" Chuck asked. "I thought I lost you," he said, the pain of the memory fresh in his eyes. He looked around the room. "All of you. I can't go through that again. I need this to be over. One way or another."

Suddenly, the door to the room burst open and a man in a Fed Ex uniform stumbled through, his arm twisted up behind his back by Agent Forrest. "He was at the front desk, asking for Peter Parker's room," Forrest said.

"I've… I've got a delivery," the man stammered. "For a Mister Parker."

Chuck stood. "I'm Peter Parker."

"We've been compromised," Forrest said. "This man should be eliminated."

"You'll have to excuse our friend," Chuck said, stepping around the bed to hold out his hand to the delivery man. "She's a little…" he gave an exaggerated eye roll, "You know…." He glared at Forrest. "Alex, let him go."

"This is a mistake," Forrest said. But at a scowl from Chuck, she pushed the man forward and then stomped out the door.

The delivery man shoved a package in Chuck's hands, and then bolted out the door.

Chuck turned the package over, examining it. With a shrug, he grabbed the tab to tear it open.

"Wait!" Sarah cried. "Chuck, you don't just open a package like that."

"I'll get my gear," Casey said.

Ten minutes later, Casey had thoroughly scanned the package. "No explosive residue. No chemical signatures. No obvious booby traps."

Chuck grabbed the box. "Can I open it now?"

Casey shrugged. "Go ahead."

Chuck tore open the package and the box. A familiar looking laptop computer slid out. Chuck smiled. "Dad!"

"What is it?" Ellie asked.

"A laptop. From Dad… Orion."

Ellie shook her head. "I still can't quite wrap my head around the fact that my dad is some kind of super secret techno spy."

"And your brother, too," Devon cut in.

"It's almost easier to believe about Chuck," Ellie said, rubbing a hand over Chuck's arm.

Chuck opened up the computer and instantly recognized the initiation and recognition sequence. After scanning him to verify his identity, a figure appeared on the screen composed of seemingly randomly flashing numbers and letters.

"Hello, Charles," the figure said in its heavily modulated voice.

"Orion," Chuck said in reply.

Orion's image seemed to scan the room. "Charles, can we speak in private? You and Sarah?"

Chuck looked around the room. Sarah gave him an approving nod, while Casey simply shrugged. Chuck took Sarah's hand. "Okay," Chuck said.

Chuck carried the laptop into the bathroom. Sarah followed him in and shut the door. They sat together on the edge of the bathtub and Chuck balanced the computer on his knees.

"Okay, Dad," Chuck said. "We're alone."

The screen flashed white and the serious face of Stephen Bartowski appeared. "Hello, Charles. Hello, Sarah. It's good to see you. I'm sorry I haven't been around, but the Ring has been closing in on me. I had hoped with Fulcrum gone we would get some peace, but I guess not."

Chuck's face clouded. "Ellie, Dad? Really?" His tone was sharp. "How could you do that? How could you intersect Ellie?"

Sarah laid a hand on his arm. "Chuck."

"No!" Chuck said, pulling his arm away, causing the laptop to teeter dangerously. "After all I've done to try and keep Ellie safe. To keep her away from the CIA, from Fulcrum, from… everything."

Stephen Bartowski shook his head sadly. "I had no choice, son. That Lizzie girl and an entire team of agents were closing in on her and Devon. There was nothing I could do." He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "It's my fault. I couldn't protect her. I tried to take out the teams with a Predator, but the Ring countered every one of my moves."

"But Dad! Do you have any idea what the Intersect has done to me? Of the things I've done?" Chuck's voice cracked and he blinked back the tears.

Sarah grabbed his arm again and this time he didn't pull away.

"Chuck, it's not your fault. Once I turned the Intersect 2.0 over to Bryce and his handlers, they… did things to it. They changed the coding. Tried to make not only super agents, but ruthless, soulless agents who would do their bidding. Chuck, you've fought that programming and you've succeeded, for the most part, in controlling it rather than allowing it to control you. As I understand it from what I've gleaned from the intelligence reports, the only times you've lost control is when you were under extreme stress. Especially those times where Sarah's life was in danger."

Chuck looked over at Sarah. A part of him knew that what his father said was true. It was only when Sarah was in danger… or when he thought Tommy had killed her… that the Intersect seemed to take over. He took a deep breath and blinked several times, then looked back at the screen.

"And I can fix it, Chuck," Stephen continued. "I can remove, or at least overwrite, that portion of the programming. I can give you, if not complete control, at least more control. Okay, Charles?"

Chuck looked at Sarah. She reached up and gently brushed an errant curl back behind his ear and smiled. Chuck licked his lips, swallowed and then gave her a slight nod. Then he turned back to his father. "Okay, Dad. I trust you."

"Good," Stephen said. "I can run a remote program on your laptop that will counter the programming, but you'll lose consciousness for a bit, like before when we removed the Intersect. You understand?"

Chuck nodded.

"Then you'll be out of it. You can take Ellie and Devon and hide until this is all over."

"Dad," Chuck protested. "It'll never be over. Not as long as the Ring exists. Not as long as I'm the Intersect."

"I'm working on that, Chuck," Stephen said. "I've managed to deal the Ring a serious blow, but there's been some… collateral damage. That's why I wanted to talk to you, Sarah."

Sarah released Chuck's arm and turned to the screen, her eyes narrowed and her lips set in a hard line. "Yes, sir?" she said.

"I managed to infiltrate the Ring's computer network. Or at least a portion of it. I received some information. Some very important information." He paused, and took a breath. "Sarah, I need you and Casey to rescue Jill."

At the mention of Jill's name, Chuck swallowed hard and he could no longer keep the tears from welling up in his eyes.

"Dad," he choked out. "Jill's dead. She… she and one of our team, Roan Montgomery… Tommy – that's one of those that the Ring broke out of the Threatmax facility – he and his team captured and killed them."

"No, son," Stephen said.

"I heard it!" Chuck practically yelled. "He killed them while I listened! I… I couldn't do anything. I couldn't stop him. At least… not then."

"Charles," Stephen cut in.

"They're dead! And all because of me."

"No, Charles," Stephen said. When Chuck didn't seem to respond, he said louder, "Charles, listen to me! They're not dead. The Ring wanted you broken. Wanted to use you… use the Intersect. In order to break you, they sent Tommy to kill everyone you knew. But Jill offered them a bargaining chip to keep them alive."

A look of intense pain flashed across Chuck's face. "So she betrayed me," he said softly, looking down at the floor.

"No," Stephen said. "She betrayed me. At least, she pretended to."

Chuck looked back up at his father. "I don't understand."

"You know Jill was working for me," Stephen said.

Chuck nodded. "Like Bryce."

Stephen nodded in turn. "Yes, like Bryce. But we had set up a protocol in case she was captured. She could bargain her way out by offering them one thing they couldn't resist… me."

"I don't understand." Sarah cut in.

"I gave Jill certain codes and protocols which could be used to gain access to my computer system. The Ring could hack their way in and gain access to all the information I have compiled over the years… as well as all my research into the Intersect." Stephen smiled. "But it was a red herring. The codes gave them access to one of my secure servers, all right. But it was one I had carefully designed as a trap. It had an incredibly elaborate encryption system which would require the computer power of the Ring's most power computer to break. And once they tied that computer into mine, I was able to upload a Trojan horse."

Sarah looked at Chuck. "A Trojan horse," he said. "It's a secret program that gives you a back door into their computer system. We deal with them all the time at the Buy More."

Stephen smiled and nodded. "Oh, Chuck, I wish I could show it to you. It was so cool…" He stopped and composed himself. "Anyway, that's how I was able to access the Ring's system. And when I did, I found out where they are holding Jill and Roan Montgomery."

"And you're sure they're still alive?" Chuck asked.

Stephen nodded. "They're alive, Chuck." His eyes flashed over to Sarah. "And I owe it to Jill to at least try and get her out. Or rather, to ask you to get her out. I'm too old to go storming the castle."

"We'll do it," Chuck said. "Where are they?"

"No, Chuck," Stephen said. "You're not a spy. This is something for Sarah and Casey and the rest of their team. You need to take Ellie...."

"No," Chuck said, forcefully. Then he took a breath and continued a little more softly. "Dad, I am a spy. Now."

"No, Chuck," Stephen said. "It's too dangerous. You don't know what the Ring is capable…"

"Oh, believe me, Dad," Chuck cut in. "I know exactly what they're capable of. That's why I have to do this. Now. Where are they?"

Stephen looked to Sarah, his eyes pleading with her to talk some sense into his son. Sarah looked to Chuck and, seeing the determination in his eyes, swallowed her own protest. 'Besides,' she thought. 'When had he ever stayed in the car?'

Sarah gave Stephen an almost imperceptible shake of her head. Chuck's father seemed to deflate slightly, but then nodded. "The Castle," he said. "They've taken over the Castle and are holding them there. With you and the rest of your team on the run, it's the last place anyone would think to look for them. And besides, if you went back to base, they would nab you in the process."

Chuck shook his head. "Damn," he muttered, under his breath. Then he looked at Sarah and smiled. "Well, at least we'll be fighting on our home turf."

Stephen shook his head. "I can't talk you out of this, can I?"

Chuck looked at Sarah and took her hand, and then he looked back at his father. "We're a team, Dad. A package deal."

"All right," Stephen sighed. His arm came into view with his wrist computer strapped to it. His fingers flew over the keyboard a moment. "I've uploaded all the necessary information into this laptop, and I've diverted an Air Force C-130 Hercules to your location to take you back to Los Angeles."

"Okay," Chuck said, impressed with his father's abilities yet again.

"Just leave Ellie out of this one, okay?" Stephen asked.

"Yeah, Dad."

"Oh, and Sarah?" Stephen said.

"Yes, sir?"

"Take care of Chuck."

Sarah smiled and ran her hand lightly down Chuck's arm. "He takes care of me," she said.

"You ready, son?" Stephen asked.

Chuck nodded.

"Just watch the screen. Sarah. Avert your eyes."

By now, the confusing jumble of images was almost familiar.

Buy More Parking Lot, Burbank, California

The thug called Scar rolled his thick neck from side to side to work out the kinks. Surveillance was the most boring part of intelligence work. Scar was more of a 'grab the opposition and torture them until they talked' kind of guy. But so long as Leader was in charge, he would have to play by Leader's restrictive rules. If only this 'Chuck' character would show up so they could have some real fun.

He yawned, and the one they called 'Rose', the red-headed ice-queen who Leader had left in charge of this particular stake-out, slapped him on the back of the head. "Are we keeping you awake?" she asked.

Scar blew out a slow breath. It was a certain career-ender to kill your immediate supervisor, no matter how much she deserved it. "You really think this Bartowski character is going to show up in the middle of the damned night?"

"According to Leader, this Buy More is the front for Bartowski's secret CIA station. Every bird returns to the nest eventually."

'Every bird returns to the nest eventually,' Scar mouthed sarcastically, but carefully so as not to allow Rose to see him. He'd been in the damned briefing, too, and didn't need her to remind him. Of course, the briefing had been something of a joke. This 'Ring' kept information too compartmentalized. Clearly there were other teams trying to track down this Bartowski character, but Leader claimed he didn't know who they were or where they were operating. Each team was acting on its own. If they weren't careful, they'd end up getting fragged by some other Ring team.

He looked up at a pair of headlights turning into the parking lot. "Hey, looks like our relief is here."

"About time," muttered the third person in the van, the one they called 'Deacon'.

"All right," Rose said. "As soon as they're in place, we can report back to the warehouse and catch some shut-eye."

Scar slid behind the wheel of the van and waited until the identical black van parked in a spot near the Orange Orange. When the new arrival flashed its lights twice, he turned the key. The engine whined, but failed to turn over. Scar frowned, pumped the gas, and tried again, with the same result.

"Shit," he muttered, loosening the stupid black tie that Leader had insisted they wear.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked.

"Stupid van won't start."

"Didn't you check it before we left the warehouse?" Rose asked.

"Of course I checked it," Scar spat.

"Call Leader," Rose said. "We can't draw attention to ourselves getting out and trying to fix it in the middle of the night."

C-130 Hercules, en route

Chuck grimaced at the loud droning in his ears and screwed his eyes more tightly shut, trying to make it go away.

"Chuck?" a woman's voice had to practically yell in his ear in order to be heard.

"Five more minutes," Chuck moaned. "Can you turn off that alarm? It's awfully loud."

"Come on, Chuck," the voice said. "Time to get up."

Chuck opened his eyes and was rewarded with the sight of a beautiful, blue-eyed blonde smiling down at him. His head was cradled in her lap and she was gently stroking his hair.

"Where are we?" Chuck asked. He tried to sit up, but felt light-headed and laid his head back in Sarah's soft lap.

"We're on a C-130 about to land at the Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro. Casey's at the controls and Forrest is in the right-hand seat. Casey's arranged with some of his Marine Corps contacts to get us transportation and we'll head straight to Castle."

The nausea was fading and Chuck tried again to sit up, this time with more success. Still, he leaned against Sarah. As much for the comfort of her presence as any real need for support. He looked around. Ellie and Devon were sitting in jump seats, talking to Carina.

"What are they doing here? You should have left them behind," Chuck said.

"I tried," Sarah said. "So did Casey and Carina and even Forrest. But you know how hard-headed your sister can be. She insisted on coming along to 'keep an eye on you.'"

"Fine, but we leave them behind when it comes time to attack Castle."

"Agreed," Sarah said. "Though it will take some convincing. Ellie seems to think she's Wonder Woman now."

"So we need to change her codename to Diana Prince and Devon's to Steve Trevor?"

Sarah smiled. It said something about how much time she had been spending with Chuck and Morgan that she recognized the reference. "Yes, maybe we should."

"So do we have a plan?" Chuck asked.

Sarah smiled. "At least the beginnings of one. Casey, of all people, insisted that we get your input before we got too far along into the planning. We can go over it on the drive to Burbank."

"Are you okay with this?" Chuck asked. "Saving Jill, I mean?"

Sarah nodded. "I'm doing this for you, and for your father. I still don't trust Jill, but if nothing else we owe it to Roan Montgomery to get him out."

Buy More, Burbank, California

A third black van pulled into the parking lot.

"Wow," Jeff muttered from his rooftop perch. "It's like a black van convention."

A bald-headed man in a black suit and skinny tie climbed out of the newly-arrived van. He stepped over to the van in front of Underpants, Etc. and tapped on the back. The doors opened and he climbed in.

"Papa Bear, this is Nightcrawler. We've got more company."

Big Mike keyed his radio. "I told you to can it with that Papa Bear crap! I ain't your daddy. Now what do you mean 'more company'?"

"Another van just pulled into the parking lot with more of those Men in Black guys inside. Say, do you think maybe they really are Men in Black and are here because we're the epicenter of a proposed alien invasion?"

"Just keep an eye on them and let me know if they make any move toward the store," Big Mike said.

"Roger that," Jeff said, and settled in for a little more reconnaissance. In the meantime, he popped open his thermos filled with Irish Coffee and took a long drink.

Lou's Deli, Burbank, California

"Casey," Chuck said. "You're going to fix that door." He was looking at a broken lock on the service entrance to Lou's Delicatessen. "I told you you should have let Sarah pick it."

"If you don't shut it, Bartowski, the lock's not going to be the only thing broken."

Ellie shook her head and whispered to Sarah. "Are they always like this?"

"Pretty much," Sarah said. "Although there was that one time when Casey had this virus and Chuck had the antidote…"

"Sarah!" Chuck whirled and glared at Sarah. "We promised never to speak about that again."

"Virus?" Ellie asked. "Chuck, we really, really need to talk after this is over."

Chuck gave a weak smile. "With any luck, maybe I'll get shot," he muttered.

"What was that, Chuck?" Ellie asked.

"Nothing. Nothing," Chuck replied.

Casey pulled two tables together and laid out the blueprints for Castle. "Okay," he said.
"We have to assume that they have the Buy More and Orange Orange entrances covered," he said, pointing to the entrances on the plans. "And since they have Cole, we have to assume that they also know about the emergency entrance he came through."

"So, what, Casey? We use transporters and beam in?" Chuck asked.

"No, moron," Casey said. He glanced up and saw the disapproving look on Ellie's face. "Um, sorry," he said quickly. "There are access points they might not know about. Here," he pointed to a spot on the plans, "which we'll call ingress point Alpha, and here," pointing to another spot, which we'll call ingress point Beta."

"Ooh, Casey," Carina said. "I love it when you talk spy."

Casey ignored her and continued. "Ingress point Alpha is the main air return. Orion has said that he'll disable the Castle security protocols at exactly 0430, so we don't have to worry about the alarm. We will have to cut through the access vents here and here. Ingress point Beta is a construction tunnel that was abandoned after Castle went operational. It doesn't appear on any of the plans, so they shouldn't know that it's there."

"How do we know it's still accessible?" Forrest asked.

"I've been using it to store some of my personal supplies and weapons stores," Casey said.

"Personal supplies?" Sarah asked.

"He's been using it as his wine cellar," Chuck said.

Casey glared at him. "You knew? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because then you would have moved it and I would have had to buy wine whenever it was my turn to bring it to dinner," Chuck said.

"Bartowski!"

Ellie laid a hand on Casey's arm. "I'm sure Chuck will be happy to reimburse you after the mission's over, won't you Chuck?" Ellie said.

The grin faded from Chuck's face. "Yes, Casey," he said.

"All right. Forrest and I will go in through the construction tunnel and Sarah and Chuck will go in through the air return."

"Great," Chuck said. "Give us the dirty job."

"What about me?" Carina asked.

"You stay here and guard Ellie and Devon," Casey said.

"Uh-huh," Carina said, shaking her head. "I've done enough baby-sitting. I'm not missing out on the gun play."

"Fine," Casey said, rolling his eyes. "Forrest can watch them."

"No!" Ellie said emphatically. Everyone turned to look at her. "I don't trust her. She tranquilized Devon at his bachelor party!"

Forrest looked disgusted. "It was in the line of duty," she said.

"Besides," Ellie said. "Devon and I can take care of ourselves. You need everyone you can get storming the super-secret underground bunker thingy."

Casey looked at Sarah. She shrugged. "Casey and Forrest can take the construction tunnel. Carina, you can come with Chuck and me through the air return. As long as you," she looked pointedly at Ellie and Devon, "promise to stay here."

"Oh, definitely," Devon said. "I think I've had enough of this spy stuff."

Ellie nodded, but Sarah saw a hint of defiance in her eyes.

"What about these vans?" Carina asked, looking out the window of the deli. "They're obviously Ring agents on overwatch for the Castle."

"If we do this right," Sarah said, "we'll be in and out before they know that we were even here. Then we can send in a CIA tactical team to take them out."

"Right," Casey said. "We hit the entrances at exactly 0430. Any questions?"

"What about the people at the Buy More?" Chuck asked.

Casey shook his head. "Chuck, it's four o'clock in the morning. Who's going to be in the Buy More at this hour?"

Buy More, Burbank, California

Big Mike walked up and down the aisles, kicking the legs of sleeping Buy Morons. "Look alive, people. I know it's late, but these scuzzbuckets hit us on Thanksgiving Day before when they thought the store would be closed. They're casing the joint, so I'm betting they're going to hit us any minute now."

The Green Shirts and Nerd Herders moaned and groaned, and most simply rolled over and went back to sleep on whatever they had found to improvise as bedding.

Morgan and Anna were wrapped in each other's arms in a little nest made out of Beastmaster grill covers. "This is it, Anna. The big show. The time to separate the men from the boys. Time to put it all on the line. I may not come back alive, but I promise to come back carrying my shield or on it."

"You're so brave, Morgan," Anna gushed.

"Just let me go into battle with the taste of your sweetness upon my lips."

"Oh, Morgan!" Anna said, and kissed him deeply. Morgan pulled one of the grill covers over them to give them privacy.

Big Mike, surveying his 'team', sighed heavily. "Times like this, I miss Bartowski and Casey."

Buy More Plaza, Burbank, California

Sarah cinched the straps on Chuck's vest while he checked the loads on his tranq guns. "Are you sure you don't want a real gun, Chuck?" Sarah asked, hating herself for even asking the question.

"Never again, Sarah," Chuck said. "I don't want… Hopefully that person is gone for good." He twirled one of the tranq pistols and slipped it into its holster. "Besides, I'm pretty good with these."

"It's time," Carina called from where she had just finished putting micro-charges on the grate to the air return. A triangular rig was set up above the grate, and climbing ropes hung from the apex of the tripod.

Chuck pulled out his cell phone and tapped in a code, which immediately sent a message to Orion, letting them know they were ready. He waited thirty seconds and then nodded at Carina.

Carina smiled and pressed a button on a small black box. There was a small 'pfft' and a puff of smoke as the four micro-charges blew the bolts holding the grating on the air vent. That done, she clamped a hook on the center of the grating and flipped a switch at the top of the tripod. A small motor engaged and levered the grating off. With help from Chuck and Sarah, she lowered it to the ground next to the vent.

"Me first," she said, clipping her climbing harness to the rope she unfastened from the grate. She swung her legs over the edge of the shaft and jumped in. The motor on the tripod whined as the considerable slack in the rope caught and it strained to slow her rapid decent. Finally, it slowed and then stopped. The rope slackened and wiggled twice. Sarah hit the button on the tripod and the rope reeled back up.

"You next," Sarah said, hooking Chuck's climbing harness to the rope.

"A little slower than Carina, if you please," Chuck asked.

"Don't worry, Chuck. I've got you," Sarah said.

Chuck levered himself into the shaft and hung suspended over the dark hole. Sarah leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. "For luck," she said. Then she hit the button and Chuck was lowered into the dark shaft.

***

"I don't know why it won't start," Scar said to Leader. "It all checked out at the warehouse."

"Well, try it again," Leader said. "We're attracting attention having all these vehicles in the parking lot."

"Sir, look at this," Rose called from the back of the van.

"What now?" Leader asked.

"Sir," Rose said, pointing to a blurry image on her monitor. "There are people still in the Buy More."

"Must be the CIA station personnel," Leader said. "We've been made. Contact teams two and three. We've got no choice now but to take them down. At least if I can access the mainframe in the base, we might be able to use it to locate Bartowski." He reached into a locker in the van, pulled off his coat and tie and pulled out a black coverall and ski-mask. "Let's go."

***

"Nightcrawler to Papa Bear. Nightcrawler to Papa Bear. Emergency. Emergency. They're getting out of the vans!"

"Jeff, I though I told you to… What?" The import of Jeff's alarm suddenly registered on Big Mike's sleep and doughnut deprived brain. "Kumquat, people! Kumquat! They're coming! Take your positions!"

***

Carina blew the second grate with the same ease that she had the first, and then climbed out of the vent and into the giant air-blower. Orion's reboot of the facility had shut it down. She pulled out a small metal block and wedged it into the fan so it wouldn't start again, blocking their escape route. It never hurt to be careful.

She nodded over to Chuck, who slowly released the clamps which attached the access panel to the blower. And just like that, they were inside Castle.

"Good work," Sarah whispered. She keyed her mike. "Casey, we're in."

"Roger," Casey replied in her earwig. "We're in position as well. We'll create a diversion, you grab Roan and Jill."

"Good luck, Casey," Sarah replied.

After a short pause, there was a muffled 'boom' followed by the sharp 'crack', 'crack', 'crack' of gunfire.

"Casey's drawing them off," Sarah said. "Let's find Jill and Roan."

They hurried down the corridor toward the holding cells. From the opposite direction, smoke from Casey's smoke grenades began to fill the corridor. Suddenly, a figure darted out of the smoke.

'Phfft!' Sarah's silenced pistol cut down the would-be defender. Chuck suppressed a shudder and sprinted down the corridor. He came to the first cell and skidded to a halt.

"Cole?" he gasped.

Cole Barker was lying strapped to a gurney while a figure wearing a white lab coat leaned over him. At the commotion, the figure turned and Chuck's eyes went wide with surprise at the familiar face of Dr. Zarnow.

But the surprise on Chuck's face was nothing compared to the look of sheer horror on that of Dr. Zarnow. "You!" he gasped. "No. No, not again. He darted over to the door and punched in a code. A look of relief came over his face and he strode to the middle of the cell and smiled smugly through the glass at Chuck, Sarah and Carina.

"There," he said. "The door's locked from the inside and the glass is bullet-proof. I just have to wait until…"

He was cut off by the sound of the door opening. He glanced over in horror to see Chuck standing by the keypads.

"I have the override codes," Chuck said with a shrug. "I read the manual."

Sarah walked through the door. "Hello again, Doctor," she said. "Remember me?"

Zarnow backed into the corner of the cell, cringing away from the avenging angel. "Don't… Don't… I wasn't…"

Sarah looked over at Chuck and nodded. Chuck looked confused for a moment, but then pulled out one of his tranq pistols and fired it into Zarnow's neck. He slumped to the floor.

"Ah! Sarah! Agent Bartowski! Right on time," came a voice from the gurney. Chuck and Sarah both turned to face Cole.

"Good to see you, old chap," Cole said to Chuck. He craned his neck around to look at Sarah. "Hello, Sarah. I knew you wouldn't leave me to these fiends."

"Come on, Chuck," Sarah said, pulling Chuck's arm. "We have to find Roan and Jill."

"Wait!" Cole cried. "You're not leaving me, are you? You have to let me out!"

Sarah glared at him. "Why should we? You were trying to kidnap Chuck, or you wouldn't be in there."

"Orders, my dear," Cole said. "I was under explicit orders to save Chuck from the Ring."

"By kidnapping him and dropping him in a deep, dark hole somewhere. I think we should leave you for the Ring."

Chuck stepped over to the gurney and started to undo the straps. "Come on," he said gruffly to Cole. "We haven't got all day."

Cole stretched, rubbed his wrists, and sat up on the gurney. "I'm afraid I'm still rather weak," he said. "I may need to lean on you, Sarah."

"Oh, shut it, Cole," Carina said, coming around the corner. "Or I'll handcuff you to that gurney."

Cole paled even further and quickly stood and hurried out of the cell.

***

Leader had his teams assembled behind the disabled van. He looked them over, making sure each one was properly armed and equipped.

The back door to the van opened and Rose stuck her head out. "Sir. Call for you on this." She handed him a small, round communication device. Leader keyed in a code.

"Leader here."

"This is a Ring Emergency Broadcast. Ring operatives in the Burbank CIA facility under the Burbank Buy More are under attack. Render all necessary aid and assistance. Repeat. Ring operatives in Burbank are under attack. Render all necessary aid and assistance."

"Damn," Leader swore. "It would have been nice if they had told me we have been staking out a Ring facility this whole time." He turned to his team. "So much for finesse. Full frontal assault. We need to take that facility."

The eight members of his team nodded and checked their weapons, then started to dash across the parking lot.

***

"All right, people," Big Mike hollered. "To your positions!"

Buy Morons scrambled out of their makeshift beds and ran to their assigned places.

He yelled to the back of the store. "Lester! Lights!"

In the back of the store, Lester hit the breakers and every light in the store and the parking lot outside came on.

Leader's team relied on night-vision goggles as they charged across the open parking lot. When Lester turned on the lights, they faltered and instinctively threw up their hands as they were blinded by the sudden brilliance.

Big Mike smiled. "Catapults! Ready!" he called.

On the roof of the store, a dozen Green Shirts were each holding one side of a double-D sized bra. Between each pair, a Nerd Herder loaded a balloon filled with paint in each cup of the bra.

"Catapults! Fire!" Big Mike called.

A dozen paint balloons arced over the Buy More sign and began to pelt Leader's minions.

"Try and rob my store, will you?" Big Mike yelled as Leader's team was suddenly covered in green paint.

"Paintballers! Fire!"

A dozen of the stores best Duck Hunt players darted out of the front of the store, knelt down, and started pelting the reeling attackers with paint balls, splotching their clothes and raising welts wherever the little yellow balls connected.

"Catapults! Fire at will!"

More paint balloons arced over the roof, splattering all around Leader's team.

Scar was the first to break. "The hell with this!" he yelled. Then he turned and ran.

***

Chuck ducked his head around the corner. Two Ring agents were crouched behind a makeshift barricade, facing toward the sound of Casey and Forrest's diversion.

Chuck leveled both tranquilizer guns and shouting, "Ahhhhh!" fired a half-dozen darts into each of the agents. They started to stand and turn, but their eyes suddenly rolled up in the back of their heads and they slumped to the ground.

Sarah stepped up beside Chuck and kissed him on the cheek. "You know, Chuck," she said. "It's more of a surprise if you don't yell."

Chuck smiled sheepishly. "Sorry," he said. "Reflex."

Sarah gave him a grin and then pointed. "The last cell is around here."

They turned the corner and stopped in front of the cell. Roan and Jill were together in the cell, huddled in the corner. Roan had his arms wrapped protectively around Jill.

Hearing footsteps, Roan looked up defiantly, only to have his expression turn to shock and then delight. "Charles!" he cried. "I should have known that you would be here to rescue us."

Jill looked up expectantly upon hearing Chuck's name, but her expression darkened when she saw Sarah standing beside him.

Chuck hurried to the cell door and entered the code to unlock the door. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing.

"Stand back," Carina said. She reached in her bag and pulled out one of her micro-charges. She put it on the door. With the quick press of the detonator, the lock popped off the door and the door swung open.

"Let's get out of here," Chuck said.

"Over there!" Cole shouted.

A half-dozen figures began to emerge from the smoke-filled corridor.

***

Three more of Leader's team followed Scar's example and ran.

Sensing victory, Big Mike yelled, "Let's get them!" The Buy Morons dropped their paintball guns and, led by Big Mike, charged at the staggering green and yellow painted attackers. The Buy Morons on the roof dropped their double-D catapults and, running around to the side of the roof where a giant blow-up slide waited, slid down to the ground to join the attack.

Leader's agents might have been blinded, staggered and bruised. Most had dropped their weapons or couldn't see to use them because of the paint in their eyes. They fell under the sheer momentum of the charging, over-weight, and out of shape Buy Morons. Several found themselves face down against the blacktop with Jeff or Fernando or one of the other large Buy Morons sitting on them.'

Finally, there was one Ring agent left. Leader. He pulled out a gun and held it to the head of the nearest Buy Moron – one Morgan Grimes.

"Stop!" Leader yelled. "Stop or I blow his brains out."

Everyone froze.

For a moment, there was no sound except the drip, drip, drip of paint falling from the Ring agents.

And then, from the far side of the green and yellow tableau, came a loud cry. "Get your hands off of him, you green and yellow bastard!" With a triple flip and a flying kick, Anna Woo's small feet connected with the side of Leader's head. He crumpled like an empty beer can in Mike Strahan's fist.

Morgan staggered backwards, stunned, and then smiled at Anna. "My hero!" he cried, pulling Anna into a bear hug.

Big Mike stood with his hands on his hips. "Lester. Get some zip ties and truss these losers up. Jeff. Get some water so we can wash this paint off."

"But, boss?" Jeff said. "Water won't work on oil-based paint."

"Barnes!" Big Mike yelled.

***

In Lou's Deli, Ellie stood with her head buried in Devon's chest. When she saw the Buy Morons charge their attackers, her first instinct had been to run. But there was a little tickling in the back of her mind that grew more and more insistent as the fists started flying. Suddenly, there was something like a flash in her mind – the second time she had experienced that particular phenomenon. Images of kicks, punches, throws, and tumbles flooded her mind and some how she knew – she just knew – that she could take out those thugs.

She had started for the door when Devon grabbed her. "Whoa, El, where do you think you're going?"

"They need my help," Ellie said. She looked down at Devon's hands grasping her arms and suddenly could recite twelve different ways to break his hold and disable him in the process.

"It's not your fight," Devon said.

"But they…" Ellie started.

Devon pulled her close. "I promised Chuck, hon. I promised him I would keep you here."

"But the fight…" Ellie said, her voice muffled by his broad chest.

"Ellie," Devon said. "You're a doctor. This isn't you. You don't hurt people. You heal them. It's not your fight."

Ellie wanted to argue. Wanted to pull away and charge into the melee. But she knew Devon was right. She buried her face in his chest. "Tell me when it's over."

Now Devon gently released her. "See?" he said. "It's over. Anna clocked that big, bald dude. Now let's go see if anyone's hurt."

***

Chuck, Sarah and Carina all turned to face the figures emerging from the fog…

Only to discover that the front four had their hands on top of their heads. Casey and Forrest were behind them, prodding them along.

"We miss any fun?" Casey asked.

Chuck, Sarah and Carina let out their collective breaths.

"I'll lock this lot up," Forrest said, and then took the Ring agents back to lock them in the cell with Dr. Zarnow.

Once she had gone, Chuck looked around. "So that's it? We've won?" he asked.

"I'm afraid not, Charles," came a smooth voice from behind him.

They all turned to see Roan Montgomery holding a gun pointed at the center of Chuck's chest.

"I'm sorry, Charles. Now lower your weapons, all of you."

Chuck took a step forward. "No," he said.

Roan's gun wavered, ever so slightly. "My boy, I don't want to do it, but I will shoot you." He looked Chuck in the eye, blinked twice, and then turned the gun to face Sarah. "Or worse, from your standpoint, I will shoot Agent Walker."

Chuck took another step, placing himself between Sarah and the gun.

"No," he said again. "I don't think you will, Roan."

"Please, Charles. Don't make me do this."

Chuck took another step forward.

"Chuck!" Sarah pleaded.

Chuck took another step forward, until the gun was pressed against the middle of his chest. "Why, Roan?"

Roan gave what was intended to be a nonchalant shrug, but it came off as more of a twitch. "The Ring has… certain information. Information which cannot become public without… consequences to me and… others."

"What information?" Casey demanded.

"Ah, ah," Roan said. "That would be telling."

Chuck turned to give Casey a 'stay out of this' look and then turned back to Roan. "We can help," Chuck said.

Roan shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid not, Charles."

Sarah stepped up beside Chuck. "Why now, Roan?" she asked. "Why expose yourself as the mole now? Why not wait until you had Chuck alone?"

Roan shrugged. "A tactical error on my part."

"You want it to be over," Chuck said. "They're forcing you, and you don't like to be used."

Roan's indifferent persona slipped slightly and Chuck could see the anguish underneath. "No. No, my boy. I don't. But I have no choice."

"Roan," Chuck said. "There's always a choice. I can help you… We can help you. The Ring doesn't have to know."

"They always know," Roan whispered.

"Roan," Sarah said. "Orion hacked their computer system. The Ring is in disarray. You don't have to do this."

Roan's brow furrowed and his gun wavered again. "Hacked their system?"

"That's right," Chuck said, nodding furiously. "He wiped their entire system. Whatever information they had on you, it's probably gone."

Roan's gun dropped ever-so-slightly. "I… I can't take that chance."

"So you'd rather be a slave to them forever?" Sarah asked. "You know they'll never let you go."

Finally Jill spoke up. "No," she said. "They won't. But you can get free." She looked at Chuck, the pain evident in her eyes. "And if anyone can help you, it's Chuck."

Roan lowered the gun and handed it, butt first, to Chuck. "Agent Bartowski, I am your prisoner."

Chuck shook his head at Roan, but did accept the gun. "No," he said. "You're part of Zodiac. I won't have you remembered as a traitor."

Roan's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, Diane," he muttered, so softly that only Chuck heard. Then he shook himself and straightened, as if donning the persona of the old Roan, the dashing spy. Roan looked around at the other agents. "My apologies to you all." Then he looked Chuck right in the eye. "I've always wanted to play the double agent."

***

EPILOGUE

The Castle, Burbank, California

Team Zodiac stood together in the slightly-worse-for-wear Castle, facing an almost-smiling Diane Beckman on the large monitor.

"An incredible job," she said. "You've dealt the Ring a major set-back. We estimate it will take them months to recover. And thanks to Orion, much of the information on the Intersect and Operation Zodiac was purged from their computer records, so Team Bartowski will have a little bit of breathing room."

She looked past them. "Which is good, because it will take that long to repair all the damage you managed to cause in the process."

"So we can take a vacation?" Chuck asked.

General Beckman frowned. "Agent Bartowski. Even with this setback to the Ring, there are still other threats that…"

"Diane," Roan said, stepping forward. "These agents deserve a break. Give it to them."

Beckman sighed. "All right," she said. "Two weeks."

"Four," Roan said.

"Four weeks," Beckman amended. "It will be a vacation for me not to have to deal with all of you." With that, the screen went black.

Chuck turned to Roan and smiled broadly. "Thank you, Roan."

"It was the least I could do, Charles. And I'm sorry."

"Hey," Chuck said. "No harm, no foul. It will come out alright in the end."

"You are a rare find, Chuck," Roan said.

"Amen to that," Sarah said, sidling up beside Chuck and slipping her arm in his.

Across the room, Cole leaned heavily on a chair as he talked to Carina. "You know, it's going to take me some time to convalesce. Your government has arranged for a G-4 to fly me back to London."

"And suggested you be on it as soon as possible," Carina said.

"The thing is," Cole said. "It has more than enough fuel to reach, say, Fiji. You could be my nurse."

Carina smiled and ran a hand playfully down his arm. "So what are you suggesting?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Cole asked.

"The private terminal at LAX? Say, two hours?" Carina said.

Cole smiled. "Until then."

Private Terminal - Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California

Cole leaned back in the seat on the plane and sipped his martini. Perhaps the trip wasn't such a bust after all. The Intersect was safe – for now – and even though he hadn't acquired it for Her Majesty's Government, one never knew when the opportunity might present itself in the future. Even better, he was about to take off for Fiji with a stunning red-headed DEA agent.

The cabin door opened and Cole struggled to his feet, carefully putting on his best smile…

Which quickly faded when Chuck stepped into the cabin, backpack in hand.

"Wow!" Chuck said. "This is the way to travel."

Sarah followed him in. "Nothing but the best for the CIA's best agent," she said, kissing him on the cheek.

"Wow! Awesome way to travel," said the tall, well-muscled blonde who was next through the door. "Honey, look at this plane, will you?"

Ellie looked around. "I suppose it will have to do," she laughed.

Cole's mouth opened and closed several times.

"Hello, Barker," said the last man to get on the plane. He walked up and slapped an envelope in Cole's hand. "Here you go. A one-way ticket to London. Coach. I'm here to make sure you make your flight."

"But… But…" Cole stammered.

Casey put a hand in the middle of Cole's back and shoved. Cole staggered toward the door.

"Can we bring you back anything from Fiji, John?" Ellie called.

Casey just grunted.

"That means 'no'," Chuck supplied.

Casey stepped out and closed the cabin door behind him.

"Hey look!" Chuck exclaimed from the back of the cabin. "Champagne!"

As he poured four glasses, Ellie turned to Sarah. "It's too bad John couldn't come along."

Sarah laughed. "Casey said it was a vacation just to be away from your brother for a month."

Chuck and Devon came forward and each handed their respective lady a glass. "To Fiji!" Chuck said.

They all clinked glasses, took a sip, and then Ellie snuggled up against Devon and Sarah snuggled up against Chuck and they strapped themselves in for takeoff.

***

Fade to black… aaaaaand – Commercial!

Author's Note by Timewalker05: Wow! What a ride! Thanks you, first of all, to Poa and MySoapBox for reviewing, editing, proofreading, and critiquing this chapter – which turned out to be one of the most difficult things I have ever written.

Thank you, also, to all of the authors of the Authors Intersect. Woo Hoo! Y'all Rock! It is truly humbling to follow the brilliant writing of authors of this caliber (and quite the challenge to try and tie up as many of their plot threads as possible.)

And a very, very, special thank you to the driving force behind the Authors Intersect – MySoapBox. I don't think either of us realized what a challenge this would be when we talked about doing a multi-writer project. And it truly was MSB who really kept the project on track. THANK YOU MSB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!