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There's a Part Six?
He contacted Orion as soon as Morgan was gone. “You have it?” he questioned.
“I haven't opened it yet,” he confirmed, and essentially translated it to 'I haven't downloaded it because I don't know who it will affect the one I have.'
“Can you send it to me unlocked?”
“Yeah.” Chuck sat down at the computer and bypassed the code Bryce placed to get to the Intersect file. He sent that to his father.
“All right. I'll see what's in this version and filter out what you have to add the other bits into an update. Shouldn't take too long, Charles.”
“I'll be up and waiting,” he said, ending the call and going back to his bed before plopping down.
The last four years were relatively unchanged from the original timeline. He had decided to keep him self in shape a little bit more, joining Devon on some of his runs in the morning, to the other mans happiness. He did stretches in his room when no one was home and the Morgan door locked. Through his father, he was able to get a tranq gun, for very last resorts. Unfortunately, they didn't include Jeffster playing at two a.m. in the morning.
He switched back to his chair when he heard his computer ping. 'This is the information you need to compliment your version and bring other files to current state.'
“Here we go again, Chuck,” he muttered before opening the file. He was glad he was in his chair, but the upload still knocked him out.
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Sarah was still gorgeous. Honestly, he could still look and remember all their times together. A part of his heart sill called out for Bryce and the part that wanted Sarah back was looking for friendship, not love like last time.
“Stop the presses, who is that? Vicky Vale,” Morgan 'sang' as Chuck was on the phone with Mr. Averly who couldn't turn on his computer. He sang the next part and let the phone drop when she walked up to the counter.
“I hope I'm not interrupting,” she said.
“No, no not at all. That's from Batman,” he told her.
“Because that makes it's better.”
Morgan tried, “Hi, I'm Morgan and this is Chuck.”
“Wow, I didn't think people still named their kids Chuck. Or, uh, Morgan, for that matter,” she snarked.
Oh how I have missed this. “My parents are sadists and carnival freaks found him in a dumpster.”
Morgan finished, “But they raised me as one of their own.”
Sarah passed him the phone and he rambled about it just like last time, more out of comfort than an attempt to flirt. It still ended up partially being flirty, falling back on old habits around her. The card was swiped before Morgan got his hands on it.
Part seven, not the same as episode seven
Chuck was actually pretty good at hiding the fact he was from the future from two trained spies. Forcibly stopping himself from expertly piloting the helicopter (the future Intersect brought up instructions) and kicking Zarnow when he had Sarah was a good idea since he was already suspicious in Caseys eyes. His first night with his new (old) neighbor had consisted of finding all the bugs and finding some way to block them without making it seem like he knew about them.
Somehow, he still ended up playing the girls part with La Ciudad. And he managed to keep his cool when they dragged him up to the hotel room to interrogate him, even knocking out two before the room was shot up.
Carina still ended up being a problem.
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If I hadn't gone out, Jeff or Lester would have been sent and she would have killed them. If I hadn't gone out, Jeff or Lester would have been sent and she would have killed them. Chuck repeated this after he headed back from the 'technical support' call Carina placed. He still let the information out earlier and almost winced after. When I said everything had to go the same as the first timeline, I meant the missions and meeting people at the right times, not the stupid stuff like whether Bryce and Sarah had gotten together this time.
The last time, he had been bothered that Sarah had been with him, when she had told him they were only partners. Now it was that Bryce had been with her. He is human, male along with it. I can't expect him to be celibate after experiencing one of the worst break-ups in history.
He still asked about it the next day. The answer wasn't 'It was complicated.'
“We had something purely for pleasure, to take the edge off, or for appearances,” she explained.
“You weren't together?” Like dating together?
“No, he didn't allow anyone in like that,” she told him, going back inside when Scooter came back out to yell at her. He never dated anyone. Even Sarah?
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Getting Laszlo to trust him was difficult. Unlike last time where he actually was just an asset, some of his training still kicked in and his body language was different than the tone he was trying to convey. He ended up needing to knock him out earlier than normal when he couldn't get him to agree to watching Goldfinger. He called Casey and told him about the situation, and then calmed down to wait.
Part Eight
It was the first death he prevented.
It started out the same, finding out that Flemming had been compromised and they needed to go and collect him and his information. Chuck still didn't want to go, the ache of Stanford spiking at every single mention. When he went back to the apartment, he didn't end up getting a football between his legs, actually catching it before throwing it back. He still declined the game invitation.
He went back through his college stuff, remembering what caused the flash in the first place and saving that. He picked up the photos he kept. Bryce and I were up all night studying for the Calculus exam that we realized it was the wrong day. The picture was of an exhausted Bryce, hair sticking up after falling asleep on his desk. He was in a Stanford t-shirt, pajama bottoms falling down. He kept all of the pictures, even the ones that Bryce had that he figured would be thrown away after he was expelled.
Living in the past done for the moment, he picked up his college ID and focused. The Intersect version his Dad cleaned up contained his college files. His future Intersect contained his current status, former CIA that was terminated along with Sarah and Casey after Decker. There was also a note on his ability to hold the Intersect in his head and his connections to Dad and Mom.
“Whoa.” I didn't realize I was still in that Intersect. I wonder why they kept me in there. He shook it off and headed over to Caseys apartment to ask the same question (even though he knew why he was in the first version and Casey couldn't answer the second one).
“What do you want, Bartowski?”
He held up his ID and quoted, “I just flashed on myself. Why am I in the Intersect?”
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Out of all the things to forget, the code phrases should not have been forgotten. The obvious (and most remembered because it did save his life) 'Are you going to the toga party?' didn't quite fit in with the response he needed.
“Professor Flemming, please stop. It's Chuck, Chuck Bartowski,” he said, hands held up to show he was unarmed. He saw Einerson preparing his crossbow and brought him down with him to keep him from being shot. While they were down, Flemming pushed a paper in his hands. The code. He pushed the man out of the way when a second bolt shot out, hitting the paper and ripping it from his hands. He had to stop himself from attacking the man when he came closer. I'm the lovable, dorky guy. Not the spy. Yet. He helped up Flemming instead and ran for a safe place, waiting for Casey and Sarah.
He didn't have to wait too long, the two running out when they heard the weapon firing. Casey ran after Einerson while Sarah walked over to them. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.”
“Professor Flemming, Agent Walker, CIA. Where's the information you told the Agency about?”
“The library. I know the place,” he implored.
“I'm sorry, but you're going to be taken in. You won't be able to get it.”
“We need someone with an active ID card,” Chuck mentioned.
“You still have yours?” she asked. He brought it out of his pocket, stuffed back there when he was thinking about it. “We can reactivate it and you can go inside and get it.”
“What about...”
“Casey will get him in custody.”
They quickly headed over to the library, avoiding party-goers and everything scattered across the lawn. Chuck had his card out and waited for Sarahs nod to try it. It worked, and he walked in quickly. He hurried up the stairs to get to the hiding place. “Gotcha,” he muttered, pulling out the disc.
Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough to not get caught by the librarian. And Einerson was still nearby, listening in for him. He had backup by this time. Shit. He ran with Sarah to the chemistry lab again. She wanted to send him off while she provided cover. Damn it, I have a tranq gun. I can help.
Oh, no wait, I can't. I'm not supposed to be spy Bartowski right now. Damn it again.
He heard a second gun and realized Casey had joined in after chasing Einerson. The both of them should be safe. They were last time when I got the recruits.
The recruits.
He had a few phone calls to make.
Part nine, and I'm nowhere close to finishing.
Chuck ran down to the computer lab and loaded the disc and started calling people. 'Are you coming to the Toga party?' was followed by quick information to several cell phones. He got the originals done and the girl that would come to save him before popping out the disc and moving.
The bolt came just after he moved out of the way, hitting the computer that he was at. His tranq gun was under his shirt and he wanted to just take it out and shoot the guy, but then he would have to explain it to Sarah and Casey and Beckman.
Time to just let the recruit do her job.
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He knew Sarah was there before she started speaking. “You didn't think we would let you keep that, did you?”
He looked over to her. “I need to know,” he whispered. I need to know if it was better or worse, and if it was worse, how worse? He didn't even get with you and that yells of something much worse.
“Okay.” She moved over to his other side so she could also watch while he started the video.
“Test subject 0326, Bartowski. This will be his first interview,” he dictated, before turning to his desk and picking up the receiver, “Send Chuck in.”
Then Bryce walked in.
Chuck saw the blank face, the tension in his right arm because his hand was a fist. “Bryce, this isn't a good time; I'm waiting for another student.” He got a closer look at his face and saw the tautness around his jaw. He also spotted the shine in his eyes and couldn't ignore the pain he was going through.
“Chuck Bartowski,” he confirmed, voice low and gravely, “He never got your message.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You put Chuck on the CIA recruitment track.”
“It's not up to me, Bryce, but they want him for the Omaha project.”
“That's a military operation. They'll turn Chuck into...”
“I'm required to send all of the top test results to the Agency.”
“I want him out of this.”
“Keywords in his essay correlate to ninety-eight percent of the subliminal images in the exam.”
“You don't know him. Chuck's a good person; he has too much heart for this kind of work. He's no operative. You can't put him out in the field; he won't survive!”
“I don't think you're being unbiased in your opinion, Bryce. Bartowski could become a great operative; he could be your partner.”
“He wouldn't be able to pass his red test.”
He's got that right. I wasn't able to pass it. Still can't kill anyone. “The Agency is not going to let go of a recruit this promising. The information he is able to retain.”
“You're not giving him a choice.”
“He's in, no matter what.”
Bryce looked down and wiped at his eyes, which Chuck wished he could do without having to pause the video. He brought his head back up and asked, “What if he cheated, on the exam? Copied all the answers. That would invalidate all of his answers, wouldn't it?”
“Yes...”
Bryce nodded, getting a bit more steady in his plan. “Good. Now you're going to help me, Professor.” The video ended as Flemming shut the webcam off.
Chuck bowed his head and started wiping at the tears that had started welling up. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Fine, I'm fine,” he responded, cracking voice giving him away. He ejected the disc and handed it to her. He cleared his throat before asking, “Sarah?” He waited for her to turn. “If Bryce had a good reason for getting me kicked out of Stanford, maybe he had a good reason for stealing the Intersect.”
“Who knows, Chuck? Maybe he did, but we can't ask him that now, can we?” she told him, before walking out.
You're right. We can't ask now, but maybe later. Hopefully later. Hopefully that part didn't screw up and I'll be able to see him again in a few weeks.
Chuck picked up his phone and started dialing a number. If anyone could tell him it would have been wrong to change the timeline so majorly that he would have been recruited in college, it was his Dad.
Part ten
Chuck and Sarah weren't fake-dating.
One night, he went over with her favorite pizza and told her he was still in love with someone that he knew years ago. She figure it was Bryce pretty quickly, but said nothing. So they had to reinvent her cover from potential girlfriend to something else. He came up with the idea of a new friend, one that was trying to set him up with people she knew. It would hopefully be enough to explain why she was always dragging him off; she was introducing him to new people that she hoped he would date.
Ellie brought it, and didn't question it as much as he thought when he invited her to Bartowski game nights. Besides, it was either that or Casey, and that was seriously going into weird places, even if they became friends later on. They weren't friends now.
So, when it came to Lou, he had to explain it to Sarah. She accepted, but said they would need to run her and make sure she wasn't related to anything dangerous. He just started laughing and thankfully, it was on the inside, otherwise he would have lost it if Sarah had caught him.
When they came upon the 'bomb,' it took a lot of willpower not to find a way to open it. I'm just a few feet from him again and I don't want to ruin anything, but come on!
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Sarah walked into the store, looking kinda worried and freaked. He walked over, glad to be away from Morgan and Anna. “Hey, what's wrong?” he muttered.
“We need to go somewhere,” she said, motioning toward her car.
“Yeah, yeah, okay. Anna, I need to leave, computer call out,” he lied, making up something. He grabbed the normal bag for call outs and headed out the door to Sarahs car.
“So, what's going on? Casey wasn't at the store; he called in.”
“It's Bryce, Chuck. He's alive.”
He's alive. Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou. “How?”
“We don't know. He only asked to speak to you.” The rest of the ride past in silence as they headed to the CIA substation.
Casey was waiting by the observance window. “Any change?” she inquired.
“He hasn't said anything else.”
“Okay, Chuck, you're just going to go in there and talk to him. If you think he's about to try anything, get back and we'll come in,” Sarah told him. He nodded and went to the door.
Casey stood behind him and said, “Remember, he's a rogue CIA-trained assassin. Be careful.”
The door slid open and he walked in. He took a couple of more steps forward and stopped. “Who are you?” Bryce asked, keeping his head down.
“Hey, Bryce, buddy, it's me, Chuck,” he quoted, trying to remember the rest of the conversation. And Klingon.
Bryce brought his head up, looking at him and evaluating. “I don't believe you,” he stated, moving to look at the mirror, “What did you do with the real Chuck?”
Real Chuck? Real Chuck! I'll show you the real Chuck. If Casey and Sarah weren't watching and there weren't cameras because I doubt the CIA and NSA would like a video of what I would plan. Maybe tomorrow night. Mentally shaking himself out of those thoughts, he said, “Well, unless we're in the Twilight Zone right now, and there really is another Chuck and I'm his clone, then the answer to your question is yes, I am Chuck.”
“Prove it.” He rattled off a saying in Klingon. Chuck replied in kind, still ever rusty like last time. “Klingon's a bit rusty, Chuck.”
“Yeah, I've been busy, ever since your email.”
“You opened it, didn't you?”
“Yeah.”
“Your computer?”
“Destroyed.”
“So you're the only one?”
Not really, since I think Dad saved a copy but that's not really important. Well it is but I'm not going to tell Casey and Sarah that my father is Orion. “Yeah. Bryce, why did you steal and destroy the Intersect?”
“It's complicated.”
Trust me, buddy, I know. But they don't and we really need to tell them. “Okay, who saved you?”
“They did.”
“They saved you. Did they?” he mocked, “Can you be any more cryptic? Cannot give a name, a place, a something?”
Then, he's motioning him closer, like he's going to tell him in his ear.
I forgot about this part. The right hand snapped the out of the restraints and grabbed the needle before placing it next to his neck. “Untie me, Chuck,” he ordered. Quickly, he undid the restraints and was forced into a shield position when Sarah and Casey came in. “Sarah, what are you doing here?” he asked. Then, he noticed Casey.
“Hello, Casey. Care to try again?”
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