A/N: So, um... hi? I guess I haven't been around for a while with this story (a year, give or take) but I did promise people that I'd end up finishing this, even if I've grown to dislike this story. I'm sort of excusing myself what with it being my first foray into creative writing, but every time I reread this story, I cringe my face off. And then to reread those author notes? It's like a perfect storm of cringy-ness. It's a miracle my facial expressions haven't changed into a perpetual grimace. But anyway, I feel that it would be sort of a dick move to abandon it, considering the PM's and requests I've gotten for me to finish this, and my repeated promises of doing just that..

So with that said, I've decided to hop back in the saddle and finish it. There aren't a whole lot of chapters left, but summoning the will to open this document is rather big, so don't expect frequent updates. Anyway, on to the chapter.

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Insert standard moan about season 5 and maybe season 3 in here if you so choose.

Previously on Intersect Project:

Chuck and Sarah are journalists, both had a secret crush on one another for a while, but both were too chicken to make a move on one another. Sarah sort of did, but Chuck was always too blind to see it. So anyway, Bryce enters the fray and turns out to be the evilest son of a bitch in the world—contrary to my point of view of him as a whole, which is interesting. They find out about the Intersect which is super-duper über overpowered, and Shaw dies a painful horrible death. They start traveling the world to speak to various people associated with the Intersect in the hopes of finding the technology and destroy it. Oh, and in the mean time, Chuck may have sort of proposed on the Eiffel Tower after only a couple of months of dating, and Sarah accepted said proposal. Very realistic, of course. Anyway, that's all you need to know to be up to date. Ready? Set? Go!

Chapter 16

Chuck stretched out languidly. They had quite the night, but Chuck had other plans for him and his fiancée today. First off, they'd visit the Louvre. It was a staple in France and Chuck was nothing if not the perfect tourist. After that, they'd visit Léon to get some more information on the Intersect. So far, they knew that it was probably stored in a place with a damn lot of space and the fact that it was probably somewhere in L.A. Maybe not the most detailed description ever, considering its size, so the hunt continued.

But first he had to wake up Sarah, which proved to be a gargantuan task on its own. It felt like a crime to wake up someone who looked so peaceful, so content with life. But Chuck wanted to soak up the city and what kind of husband-to-be would he be if he didn't involve Sarah in that? He whispered sweet nothings in her ear, until he saw her rouse and she grumbled a bit. "Too early," she muttered before turning around and trying to mold herself against him.

Chuck smiled and decided to bask in the feeling of bliss for a few more minutes. But before he could, a sharp knock reverberated throughout the room. "Bartowski, Walker, wake up and let's go. We've got places to be."

Sarah groaned and started sliding out of bed. Chuck instantly missed the comfortable heat and sighed. She shot a sly look at him over her shoulder, coupled with a smirk that could only be described as saucy. Chuck groaned to himself, and Sarah laughed before heading to the bathroom, leaving Chuck alone with his thoughts. She didn't give him very long though, as she was out in a jiff. He gaped at her and she shrugged. "It's not like women always take ages in the bathroom. But keep it our little secret. I don't want men to question it when we do take a little longer."

"My lips are sealed," he said, before darting out of bed and into the bathroom. When he too felt fresh, or at least without the musky scent that had still hung over them in the morning, he stepped out and together they made their way downstairs where Casey was sat in the foyer. He barely spared them a glance before he got up and made his way outside. The couple followed them, acting like two good subordinates should.

Casey hauled two cabs and directed them to the Louvre. The traffic in the inner city was killer and a slew of rapid spoken, angry sounding French was the result as the cabbie made his way through the roads of the city of light. If he wasn't cursing the unholy traffic that reminded Chuck a little too much of LA, he made small talk with the couple in his backseat. He pointed out various landmarks and Chuck was all too happy to sit and soak up the information like a sponge. Sarah was content to just sit back and listen to the sounds of her fiancé as he tried his hardest to become a walking encyclopedia on everything France. Slowly she succumbed to the pleasant combination of the cab driving over the cobblestones and the soft rumbling from Chuck and her eyes closed.

When she woke up, they had arrived and Chuck was softly shaking her awake. She blinked a couple of times to get her bearing, before she took his proffered hand and got out. Casey had already fallen a couple of steps behind and vanished into the crowd of pedestrians that were milling over the sidewalks. Chuck and Sarah linked hands and stepped on the paved square as they made their way to the massive glass triangle that was situated in the middle of it. "This is so Da Vinci Code," Chuck breathed as they passed through the doors. They were on a staircase that lead to the lobby of the museum. Chuck looked downstairs and groaned. "Look at all those tourists," he said.

Sarah peeked down as well and stifled her own groan. The queue was almost impressive, if it weren't for the fact that they too had to stand in line before they could enter. "Well," she said, "you could see this as standing in line for a roller coaster or something. Besides, this is a 'must have done' if the guides are to be believed. So we'll suck it up."

Surprisingly, waiting in line wasn't as bad as Chuck had thought. They spent most of the time chatting about, well, anything really. From video games—which Sarah had taken a surprise interest in, or maybe she was faking it for his sake but either way she appeared interested—to culture and art, something which was definitely more in her wheelhouse. They also made a game out of trying to spot Casey, who was weaving in and out of tour groups, occasionally sitting down on a bench or standing in front of a painting and making appreciative grunts.

When the cashier asked them whether or not they'd like to go on a tour, Sarah shook her head. "We'll figure it out on our own," she said, and grabbed Chuck by the hand as she dragged him into the museum.

While the exhibits were impressive—and the Mona Lisa was dubbed to be 'much smaller in real life'—they did have a job to complete however. So after a fair amount of time was spent gawking at the masterpieces by the greatest artists that the world had ever known, and the lunches had been consumed in full, it was time to get on with life.

They hailed another taxi, with Casey in tow—who was doing quite a good job of staying inconspicuous, despite his hefty frame. Apparently they did in fact have a requirement of being sneaky to join the NSA. As they relayed the address for Léon, Chuck frowned. "What's the matter?" Sarah asked when she saw his expression.

"What do you think he can tell us?" Chuck asked. "I mean, so far, everyone's been pretty vague about everything that has to do with the Intersect. Are we even sure that it exists?"

"Well, Shaw died because of it, so the odds are decent that it's at least something that someone wants to keep a secret." Chuck nodded, but kept quiet. "So what is this really about?" she asked.

"I don't know. It's just, I have this gut feeling that there's way more behind this than just a supercomputer. Don't get me wrong, the entire idea of a computer that can upload data sounds preposterous in its own right, but if it was real... Something tells me that there's so much more behind this. Because as strange as it sounds, when they first told us about the Intersect, I didn't figure that they had watched too many sci-fi movies. I actually thought it was plausible. I mean, you must've thought they were bonkers, right?"

Sarah nodded. "Because it's ridiculous. But like I said, considering the fact that there are people willing to kill to keep it a secret..." She trailed off, leaving the rest of the sentence unspoken and Chuck nodded. By mutual assent, they agreed to let the topic rest for the time being and simply wait for the informer to give them the information.

When they arrived at the house, they were dropped off in a small residential area with two rows of houses. They were a dreary gray color, and the vibrant atmosphere that was so palpable in the center of the city was nowhere to be found.

"Looks like a freaking gulag," Casey said as he stepped next to them. "I would know."

"Thanks for that, big guy. Really helps with setting the mood," Chuck said. He shook his head and started walking to the house with the small number of 313 etched into a small sign next to the door. He knocked on it and stood back. When the door opened, whatever ideas Chuck had about what the mysterious man would look like, vanished. A pudgy middle-aged man with a sharp nose and a receding hairline opened the door. His clothes were ruffled, like he wasn't expecting company and the reading glasses that were perched on the tip of his nose were smudged. The flecks of gray in his brown hair served to make him look even older than he probably was, and the wrinkles didn't help either.

"Can I 'elp you?" the man asked, his French accent thick in his voice. Well, at least he had correctly pegged them to be foreigners.

Chuck frowned. "You don't look anything like the Professional," he said.

"That's because it's a cover name," Casey said and he slapped the back of Chuck's head for good measure. "Have you learned nothing?" Sarah shot him a glare that promised death and decay the likes of which the world had never seen before and Casey did back off, but not before he grunted. It sounded vaguely like, 'it's not my fault your boy-toy is an idiot,' but she couldn't be sure. Chuck was the Casey-to-English translator and he seemed more preoccupied with rubbing the sore spot on his head. "We're here for the Intersect."

The man's dull blue eyes sparkled with the mention of the supercomputer. "Ah yez, zhe Intersect. Oui, come in, come in. Right zhis way."

As they entered the house, they were shocked—but not really—to find that the boring trend that was so prevalent in the streets was continued in the house. Flower wallpaper that had stained with time decorated the walls and aside from the massive flat screen that stood in the living room, there were barely any decorations worth mentioning. A few pictures, showing a younger Léon with what could be either his children or his grand-children, adorned the mantel of the fireplace that seemed wholly out of place in the man's home. He beckoned them towards the sofa and went to get refreshments, which Casey promptly denied needing. That was the man his style. Straight down to business.

"You want to know about zhe Intersect zhen. Well, where to begin?"

"Really? Just like that?" Sarah asked. "Most other people went into a state of paranoia whenever we mentioned the word Intersect."

"Yes, but zhey did not see this coming. From the moment zhat zhe computer was created, I knew zhat sooner or lateur, someone would come asking for questions. Why fight zhe inevitable?"

"Okay, well... that's different, I guess. Kinda cool that you—Just tell him already, Bartowski," Casey interrupted.

"Short version is that we know the governments all pretty much waged a third World War to get the only Intersect. And that's when England started assassinating Intersect candidates. We know the Intersect itself is big and probably in L.A. That's what we have so far."

Léon nodded. "All true. But it's not so much England zhat started zhe first attack. True, zhey actually carried out zhe attack, but zhey were definitely not zhe only ones that wanted to do this. Italy actually had zhe idea first. Spies took zhese ideas to zhe prime minister and to beat everyone to zhe punch, as you would say, zhey started taking out the candidates."

"So what now?" Chuck asked, as Sarah was once again writing the new information down. If this story broke, the consequences would be ridiculous. It seemed that a third World War was looming in the distance, unless they could destroy the Intersect technology as a whole. Such power was too great for humans to possess.

"Well, now everyone associated with zhe Intersect has gone into hiding for fear of death. And that's all I can tell you. I do not know where zhe Intersect is, or even who made the original technology. I'm sorry that I can't tell you much more."

Sarah closed her notes, thanked the man for his time and went outside. Chuck too thanked him and followed his fiancé. Casey grunted at the man in a less-than-threatening manner, which could've been seen as cordial. When they were standing on the curb, Sarah sighed. "Well, that taught us a whole lot of nothing."

"Well, at least there's still one more location left. China. Finally, I get to experience sizzling shrimps straight from the source." Chuck clapped his hands together in glee. "I wish Morgan was here."

"Yeah, well, it's a good thing he isn't. I would've probably choked him to death by now," Casey said.

"And what happens if whoever is in China can't tell us anything either? And how are we going to find them in the first place? Shaw said that he didn't have much luck. We're flying completely blind."

"Then we go home and pretend nothing ever happened," Casey said. "And have some faith in the general. She didn't get to where she was by doing nothing."

Apparently the need for secrecy was over considering the fact that Casey joined the two of them in a taxi to take them back to the hotel. Once they had reached it, they all reconvened in Casey's room. The laptop—with cool NSA wallpaper because apparently the G-Man suits that Casey was so fond off didn't scream 'spy' loud enough—was already opened up on the dresser. Casey tapped in the keys and when the connection was established, the General was in the exact spot they had left her, looking as prim and proper as always.

"Report," she said, her voice hovering between annoyance and plain boredom. Chuck could sympathize. If he had to sit in the same spot in an office for nine hours a day, he'd be cranky too.

"We barely got anything useful. All we learned was that the clusterf... the problem keeps getting bigger. Apparently every country, when the chips are down, turns into a power-hungry version of itself. The United Kingdom was the fastest on the trigger, but more countries contemplated just taking out the Intersect candidates of other nations," Sarah said.

"As we expected. Very well Miss Walker, Mr. Bartowski. Despite the dire circumstances, a job well done. Now, as for the last resort in the People's Republic of China. We have put out feelers and finally got a hit on Xiao-Ling. Her name popped up in a weapons transaction in Hong Kong. Our agents over there established contact with a few of the inhabitants there. Apparently, she frequents the same bar every night, so we should have at least a reliable point to start from with regards to locating her. Major, your objective hasn't changed. Protect them. Miss Walker, Mr. Bartowski, Major, good luck. The screen blanked out.

Bryce sighed. Trying to capture them in France was impossible. He looked over the reports again. It was a damn shame that they knew Bryce was rogue. Any and all Intel that he could've gleaned from the bug was crushed when they got the damn Major to interfere. Oh well. Visual surveillance still did the job. And while trying to nab someone in the packed streets of Paris was damn near impossible, the odds of nabbing someone in one of the alleys of Hong Kong was that much simpler. And if they got out of Hong Kong, it would be desolate. Roads would be empty for miles. Yes. He would make his move in China and he would end the nuisance of Bartowski and—he almost gagged—soon to be Bartowski once and for all.

"You there," he said to a random agent that happened to walk past the dark room in which he had holed himself.

"Yes sir?"

"I just made a devious plan that will end up taking care of my foes. Does that call for an evil laugh?"

"Yes sir. It does."

"Thank you. You are excused Agent... whatever your name is."

The man shrugged and kept walking as Bryce threw his head back and let out the vilest laugh that he could.

"So was it everything that you wanted it to be?" Sarah asked Chuck as they stood in the queue for the check-in desk at Charles de Gaulle. "Paris, that is?"

He glanced sideways at her, then let his gaze drop to the ring that was on her finger. He nodded. "Yeah."

"I mean the actual city. Not the things that we've been doing," she said, trying to sound stern, but allowing the smile to peek through.

"Sarah, it was wonderful. It really was. But the thing that made it skyrocket to one of the best experiences in my life was the fact that I got to share it with you. Forgetting about all of the homicidal maniacs for a while was amazing and you definitely helped with that. So thank you."

"You're welcome," she said, before standing up on her tiptoes and pressing her lips to his and throwing her arms around his neck. He bent forward in an effort to make it easier on her, but just as they had found their stride, something pushed Chuck out of balance. He stumbled to his right and his side hit the check in desk. When he turned back, he saw Sarah glowering at Casey, who was glowering at him.

"Am I supposed to glower at Sarah now?" he asked, but was ignored by everyone.

"Go check in, moron," Casey said. "And stop trying to get the world record of evoking simultaneous vomiting."

Chuck shook his head and turned around where the woman behind the desk was giving him a weird smile, part 'd'awww' and part 'get a room, please'. "Hi," he said and he hoped that the light wouldn't accentuate the blush that he was sure was on his cheeks. "We'd like to check in please."

A/N 2: So that's a wrap on the sixteenth chapter. I'm working on 78 Times as well, so if you're interested in that, rest assured that it'll come eventually. I'm also working on the sequel of Only Through the Pain and I'm trying to get my confidant/friend/awesome person ShinyJayne20 to actually commit back to Born Under a Bad Sign. So far, my efforts have proven futile. But I did already finish my part for the first chapter of that, and I'll be honest, it was the most fun I've ever had writing a chapter. So if it turns out that BUABS will never again see the light of day, I'll at least throw that part up, and maybe I'll take up the project myself ;)