And here it is. You may find this hard to believe, but it actually took me three months to write this final chapter. Or maybe that's not a surprise, given that it's the longest chapter of any story I've ever written. But it all ends here, this crazy three-plus-year ride to make this story. Hard to believe I did this just to keep myself occupied after getting out of the hospital back in 2015. So much has happened since I started, and definitely not a lot of it was good. But everybody hung in there with me through chapter delays, explanations, and the different ways this story twisted.

More people to thank than I can possibly name here, but I do want to hit some of the big ones, like PhnxGrl, Marc Vun Kannon, Wilf21, East Coast Captain, baldcoder, sevenrez, atcDave, jinxed97 (who has been reading my stuff since forever), CraigBes007, Garnetflint, Chkgun93, Sir Chucky, uplink2, and a host of others I'm sure I forgot, so I apologize if I didn't list you.

The good news is, I finally have a job outside of education with actual healthcare and a decent (for me, anyway) salary. It's keeping me busy, but I may try for a new story at some point. There's a Chuck FanFiction Facebook page, and I'll likely do a survey on it to gauge what people might find interesting.

Anyway, thanks for taking the ride with me and enjoy the final chapter. And of course, still the property of NBC and Fake Empire Productions. Please leave reviews.

Take care!

W Hotel – Los Angeles, CA
June 11, 2016
2:10 PM PDT

Daniel Shaw checked the signal coming from the computer the Ring provided him. He smiled; the explosives detonated. He couldn't be sure who from Walker's team was in the facility, but someone had to be. He just hoped he took all of them out…with the exception of Walker herself. He had his own plans for ending her.

He stood and stretched, walking into the bathroom. He then caught his image in the mirror. He never noticed it before now, but his appearance was much older than it was only a week ago. Were his flashes causing that? He knew he was getting headaches, but he didn't equate those to coming from having the Intersect in him because he hadn't flashed on very much in the past few days.

Unless that isn't necessary to do damage, he gravelly thought.

He waved it off as he grabbed several aspirin and downed them with a glass of water from the sink. He had been taking more and more of those since this started, but the Intersect wouldn't be in his head much longer. The Ring would have Bartowski, he would have his revenge, and he could then live the rest of his life in peace.

Buy More – Burbank, CA
June 11, 2016
2:15 PM PDT

"Everything's OK, then?"

Morgan and Big Mike walked out to the floor to check on the store. Morgan had calmed down considerably after talking to Chuck. He was grateful they took care of things at UCLA while the rest of the team had also completed their assignments.

"Guess I shouldn't have panicked," Morgan replied. "You were right. They were trying to capture as much of the Ring leadership as they could at the same time."

"So, the bad guys' bosses are gone?"

"Just one left. They're not sure where he is. But Sarah thinks they might find him where they're housing their Intersect."

"How's everything out here, June?" Big Mike asked the person in charge of Cole's people at the store.

"Quiet out here," was her reply as she observed no customers in the store right then. "I heard the team was busy today?"

Morgan nodded. "And successful." He switched apps on the phone Jimmy gave him. "Just wish I knew about this app before. It gives the location of everyone on the team to everyone else. They got these after we set up here."

He started showing the blips on the phone. "Chuck told me how it worked. See, there's Cole and Carina in London, the dot moving away from New York must be Alex and Jimmy on a plane. And there's one over D.C., which I think is Casey and Ilsa."

"Wait, you're missing one," Big Mike said.

"What?"

He pointed to Los Angeles. "Where's the one for Chuck and Sarah?" He furrowed his brow in confusion. "Why would they turn off their phones after just talking to you?"

"That wouldn't matter; the app should still pick them up. Unless…"

Morgan's eyes widened in terror. "Let's go!" he shouted, pulling at Big Mike's arm.

"Where?"

"To find out what happened to them!"

"Fred, you're with me," June said to one of the other members of Cole's team. "Nick, Lydia, stay here and guard the back room, especially the two idiots. And call for more help!"

June and Fred steered Morgan and Big Mike towards their vehicles, and they high-tailed it south to Irvine.

Marine Corps Air Station El Toro – Irvine, CA
June 11, 2016
3:45 PM PDT

Earth and concrete were strewn everywhere. The two cars inside the base were destroyed, and the surveillance van had been obliterated. Small fires burned in a dozen locations.

"Ooooohhhhhh…."

Sarah slowly opened her eyes inside the fifteen-foot-deep trench just under the ramp to enter the facility. She blinked a few times to get her focus back when she noticed she was lying on top of someone. She checked carefully.

"Chuck?" she whispered, taking his face in her hands and gently shaking it. "Chuck?"

Chuck moaned quietly, and his head moved back and forth very slowly. After a moment, he opened his eyes and realized Sarah was looking at him. "Are you OK?" he barely eked out.

"Yes, thank God," she said in relief, giving him a kiss. "I am so, SO glad we let Casey pick our hideout location."

"Me, too. I might give him another kiss for that."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far."

"True." They then heard a groan. "Devon?"

"Yeah, Chuck," Devon muttered with zero force behind it. "I'm here. Babe…"

He was interrupted by a scream. He turned his head to find Ellie lying behind him in obvious pain.

"My leg!" she cried.

Devon sat up and took a look. "Oh, God," he said at seeing Ellie's broken leg.

"Oh, my God. We have to get her to a hospital right now," Chuck said in a panic.

Devon shook his head. "We don't even know if we can get her out of here. We need to realign the bone right here and then lift her out."

Devon started clearing some of the concrete that had fallen around them. Chuck and Sarah followed suit. He gently moved Ellie so she was sitting up with her legs lying flat and cleared away any dust that was near her.

"Chuck, hang on to her leg just below the knee," Devon directed as he moved down by Ellie's foot. "Sarah, hold her tightly."

Chuck got a good hold of her leg and sat on her other leg to anchor her down while Sarah wrapped her arms around Ellie, who hung on to her for support.

"So sorry about this, babe."

Devon yanked hard, and Ellie screamed out in pain. "You BETTER have gotten it!" she wailed in agony.

"I did, I did." Devon let a long sigh of relief out. "Let's improvise a splint so it doesn't get worse."

Chuck, Sarah, and Devon looked around. They found several metal pieces from one of the cars in the trench. Chuck and Sarah aligned them while Devon ripped off his shirt and belt and wrapped them around Ellie's leg to keep the splint in place.

"Now to get her out of here." Devon started to look around.

"Chuck! Sarah! Anybody!"

Everyone's eyes widened. "Morgan?!" Chuck exclaimed.

Sarah immediately went to the pile of rocks they cleared in the trench and climbed up. "Morgan!"

She reached up, and Big Mike pulled her to the surface. "What are you two doing here?" she asked with profound relief.

"The phone…that app you gave us…you disappeared…we traced…" Morgan was hyperventilating.

"OK, take it easy, take it easy," Sarah replied, gripping Morgan's shoulders to calm him.

"Sorry, Sarah, sorry," Morgan replied, still hyperventilating.

Big Mike looked down into the trench to see everyone else. "What the hell happened?" He pointed to Ellie. "Is she OK?"

"She broke her leg when we dove in here," Devon replied. "We're lucky to be alive."

"Understatement of the year!" Big Mike took a look around. "Who did all of this?"

Sarah shook her head. "We were wondering when Shaw would strike. Looks like we just got the answer."

"How did he know about this place? You didn't even tell us about it."

"I don't know. Maybe he followed us."

June and Fred ran up with a harness and two long cords of rope. June threw the harness down to Devon. "Put that on her."

Devon put the harness on Ellie as June lowered the rope. Sarah took the other rope and lowered it closer to Ellie's feet. "And put this under her legs," she said.

Devon attached the rope to Ellie's harness as June handed the other end to Big Mike. "You're the winch," she told him. "You pull hard, and we'll control it. Sarah, pull that other rope carefully so we can keep her legs stable."

"Ready," Devon called from inside the trench as Chuck finished tying the second rope to Ellie's legs.

"One…two…three…NOW."

Big Mike threw the rope over his shoulder and started plowing forward like an offensive lineman. June and Fred controlled the rope as Sarah and Morgan pulled carefully on the other rope. Ellie was raised out of the trench, and the four set her down carefully.

June and Fred went to find a board on which to carry her while Sarah, Morgan, and Big Mike lowered the ropes down. Devon grabbed the rope and climbed out. Chuck was just behind him. Devon immediately went over to Ellie while Sarah grabbed Chuck.

"So glad you're OK," she whispered, clearly overcome from what had happened.

"You too," Chuck replied, still shaking a bit.

They held each other for a moment before taking a look around. They then saw the decimated surveillance van. They felt as destroyed as it was.

"All of this, the last nine months, the missions, the danger…it was all for nothing," Chuck barely eked out as he began to shake even harder.

"I'm so sorry," Sarah whispered, gripping him tightly as she felt a few tears form. "I'm so sorry, Chuck."

"Wait, whoah!" Morgan said, coming up behind the two. "There's gotta be something we can do. Come on! We're this close!"

Chuck shook his head. "Even if my dad could rebuild the two Intersects, it would take too much time."

"With most of the Ring's leaders gone, we have to assume whoever is left will do whatever it takes to kill all of us quickly," Sarah added.

"Well, maybe that recording we got in D.C. will help," Morgan replied. "Or maybe there's something in all that other stuff."

Chuck and Sarah paused. "What other stuff?" she asked.

"When Jimmy brought the laptop to the Buy More last night, he also brought in a bunch of other things. He said they would be safer at the store while everybody was out of town."

Sarah's eyes widened. "Where's your phone, Morgan?" Morgan immediately pulled it out, and Sarah grabbed it, dialing a number. "Jimmy, where are you?"

"Somewhere over Indiana," Jimmy replied. "We'll land in about three hours and change. We were just about to call you. You fell off the grid. What's going on?"

"Did you take the Intersects to the Buy More last night?"

"Yeah, I figured nobody would be at El Toro for a few days, so I wanted to make sure they were being watched."

"Thank God! You are amazing!"

"What happened?" Alex chimed in.

"Daniel Shaw blew up the base. Everything was destroyed."

"Are all of you OK?"

"We managed to get into that trench with about a second to spare. Morgan and Mike found us. Unfortunately, Ellie broke her leg. We're taking her to the hospital now."

"So, Casey's choice of hideout saved your asses?" Jimmy rolled his eyes. "We're NEVER gonna hear the end of that one."

"That much is certain," Sarah said with a small laugh. "Contact everyone else and let them know what happened."

"Will do. The Ring wants war? It's time to go nuclear."

"Damn right we will."

"Keep everybody safe, kiddo."

"You got it."

Sarah hung up and returned the phone to Morgan as June and Fred found a section of the surveillance van's rear door and laid it next to Ellie. "We'll head back to the Buy More," Sarah said. "Devon, is there anything you need?"

"Just to get Ellie to the hospital quickly," he replied as Big Mike and he gently moved Ellie onto the door.

"Sarah…can I…um…" Chuck began.

Sarah looked back and forth between Ellie and him. "Of course, sweetie," giving him a gentle kiss.

Chuck went over to help Devon and Fred lift Ellie. June guided them to the SUV. Sarah, Morgan, and Big Mike went to the other car to return to the store.

Buy More – Burbank, CA
June 11, 2016
6:30 PM PDT

Sarah walked quickly through the store with Morgan and Big Mike right on her heels. She noticed a few new people keeping guard. She checked the time and figured June and Fred would be returning soon from the hospital.

The three walked back to Big Mike's office. "Everything OK here?" Big Mike asked.

"Yeah," Lester replied. "Where were all of you?"

"We had…a little hiccup," Sarah replied, figuring the last thing the team needed was to send Lester's paranoia over the fence. "Where is Jimmy's laptop?"

Morgan pointed to the table where Jimmy's laptop was. "Good, the file downloaded," Sarah said, seeing the 100% on the screen. "Let's see what we have."

Morgan clicked on the file.

"Pity you didn't purge every last Ring agent out of your ranks, General. How many agents did Walker and her team take out at that warehouse? Their blood is on your hands."

"Then you work for the Ring. Like I said, I should have discovered your treason sooner."

"You couldn't have caught me if you nuked the country. A very ambitious section chief in MI-6 saw my potential while I was stationed there years ago. And I shared his ideals for how we really should operate as an intelligence agency. Then it was just a matter of putting the right people in the right places."

"Gotcha," Sarah whispered with a smile.

"That's him? That's Decker?" Morgan asked, to which Sarah nodded. "Then he did take the shot."

Sarah turned to him. "What?"

"We figured it out!" Morgan was practically jumping for joy. "Someone took the shot from behind you that night. Someone who was either really tall or standing on a crate or a box or something! But you didn't kill that lady!"

"How did you discover it?" Sarah still couldn't believe it.

Morgan got a bit sheepish and looked in Jeff's direction. "Really?" Sarah wasn't nearly as relieved as she was a moment ago.

"Yeah, we can't believe it either," Big Mike said in sympathy. "But we can't prove Decker killed her, only that you didn't."

"Maybe there's something in those other files," Lester said.

"What other files?" Sarah asked.

"There are three encrypted files here we couldn't get into. Maybe Slade was going to hack them later, I don't know. But they're huge files. Could be more footage."

Sarah nodded. "As soon as Jimmy lands, I'll have him get to work on those. In the meantime, we have to get Decker's confession to the right person."

"But your boss is in jail and everyone still thinks you're the enemy," Big Mike said. "Who would take the video?"

Sarah typed an email message into Jimmy's laptop and attached the video. "There's one person who could make this work."

"Who?"

"Someone with…a little clout," Sarah replied as she sent the message. She turned back towards everyone. "Wait…what's going on?"

Everyone turned to Jeff, who was busy typing away at the computer containing the videos.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Morgan looked on in shock as Jeff continued typing away. "Don't ruin those files! We need them! Why are you…"

"Got it," Jeff said as he sat back in the chair. Everyone saw the directory with the encrypted files…that were no longer encrypted.

"How did you do that?"

Jeff held up a flash drive. "I saw one of the files and recognized the security. Already had the program to decrypt it."

"How did you recognize it?" Sarah demanded. "What files have you decrypted before?"

"Uh…do you really want Jeff to answer that?" Lester asked awkwardly.

A cold shiver went through Sarah. "Good point. OK, play the first one."

Jeff clicked on the first video. It showed a tall individual in all-black garb wearing a balaclava on their head reaching up to install something on a tree, presumably the camera showing them at that moment. The person turned and picked up some sort of customized weapon and what appeared to be a tripod.

"Pause it and zoom in on the gun," Sarah said. Jeff did as she asked. Her breath caught in her throat. "A Smith & Wesson 5906. That's what I carry."

"Zoom out a bit," Big Mike said. Jeff adjusted the image. "Is that a laser sight on top?" Sarah nodded. "This person is definitely trying to make it look like you took the shot."

"Wouldn't be the first time the agency has done that. Not even for me," she said quietly as Jeff restarted the video. They watched the individual walk out of the shot.

The video ended, and Jeff brought up the next video. It was a point-of-view look from the shooter. They could see the gun set up on the tripod and a view of the trees along the pathway in the park. The person attached a silencer to the weapon. The video continued in this fashion for several minutes until a woman walked up to one of the trees and kept out of sight. The shooter checked a monitor next to them, and everyone froze.

"That's…that's…you," Lester said at seeing Sarah's image on the monitor, his teeth chattering fast enough to annoy a woodpecker.

"I'm still alive, Lester," Sarah replied with a tinge of annoyance.

"Right, right. Sorry."

They continued to look at video. The shooter turned back towards where Sarah was as another person walked into their view a few moments later.

"That must be Evelyn," Morgan said, pointing to the figure twenty yards ahead of Sarah in the video, who also used one of the trees as cover. "Why were you in that park again?"

"They were orders from my former boss, Langston Graham," Sarah replied. "I was supposed to eliminate what he said was a mole inside the CIA. It was my first assignment."

"Graham told you to kill this mole?" Big Mike asked. "Pretty big assignment for your first one."

"That's what a Red Test is for. It separates those who can from those who can't. He sent me the dossier and…"

The video showed the shooter setting some sort of timer. They activated it, and the timer counted down from fifteen seconds. They then got behind the tripod and aimed the laser sight in the direction of Evelyn. Suddenly, a shot went off, and both Evelyn and Sarah reacted in the video. Evelyn turned around, and Sarah peeked out from behind her tree. She fired a shot. The shooter also fired. Evelyn fell to the ground. Sarah ran up to Evelyn, checking for a pulse, before she disappeared into the night.

The video ended, but everyone was stunned. "I…I didn't kill her?" Sarah whispered. "But I heard a shot fired."

"Run that last video now," Big Mike ordered.

Jeff opened the last video. The video was still from the point-of-view of the shooter. They reached up into the tree where Sarah was standing and removed some sort of object from it.

"Is that a speaker?" Lester asked.

"That's what you heard," Morgan concluded. "That's what the timer was for. It set off that speaker, making you think someone took a shot."

The shooter then walked over to where Evelyn lay dead. They studied the tree and found a bullet embedded in it. They removed it and placed it in a bag. They then reached in to pull out a phone, taking off their balaclava in the process.

"It's done," a male voice said. "There shouldn't be a problem. Walker's probably running to Graham to hand in her resignation as we speak. What about the husband?"

"Let's wait for the dust to settle first," was the muted response from the other end of the phone.

"Turn the volume up," Sarah quickly said. Jeff adjusted the volume.

"He's as dangerous as she is," the shooter said into the phone.

"That's for someone else to accomplish, Decker," was the reply. "You're lucky you were even given another chance after those two botched attempts in the prison. Consider tonight your penance."

The video turned off. "Jesus," Big Mike said hoarsely. "Decker did kill Evelyn."

Sarah turned to him. "He may have done more than that."

She went over to Jimmy's computer and brought up all pertinent data on Daniel and Evelyn Shaw. "These records. They entered the CIA four years before I did. They were as good as Bryce and I were when we were teamed. That must be why Fulcrum wanted them dead."

"Why is Daniel Shaw still alive, then?" Lester asked. "They said they'd kill him."

"His field record ended not long after her death. They didn't have to kill him; his grief ended his career."

"Wait. Why would they kill someone you were going to kill anyway? You said she was a mole."

"That's what was in the data Graham sent me. Unless…" Sarah paused.

"You mean Graham lied to you?" Morgan asked.

Sarah shook her head. "More likely, he was fed false intel. But that still doesn't answer Lester's question."

"Insurance," Big Mike said. "Decker thought you'd go running for the hills, but you didn't. You became this famous superspy. They needed a card they could play against you if you got too close. And…"

"…and we've been after them at every turn for the last nine months. So, they found Shaw and set him loose on us."

Sarah shook her head. It still boggled her mind how big this had become. Shaw had certainly gotten as close to ending them as anyone had, even shooting Chuck's father and blowing up their base. It was beyond ludicrous what she thought when all of this started, when she walked into the Buy More that afternoon. That would simply get the Intersect data back and that would be it. She never expected any of this.

But Casey was right. The last nine months were insane, but that didn't make them bad. And for all of the danger, for all of the emotion, and for all of the heartache, they got back so much more in return, especially her.

"What did that guy mean by two botched prison attempts?" Jeff inquired.

"I think that might have been about Jimmy." Sarah did more research. "He was imprisoned by the government for eleven years, and he told me people tried to kill him twice while on the inside. According to Graham's files, one attempt was in 2002, and the other was three months before my Red Test. Decker must have been responsible for those, too."

"Whoah," Morgan said. "Uh, you may not want to tell him that. Dude took out all those Ring agents by himself when they came for us here that one night. Imagine how he'd react if he found out about this."

"A wise move, Morgan." Sarah took a look at Morgan's smartphone. "OK, it looks like Jimmy and Alex are almost here, and Casey and Ilsa will be here in a couple of hours. Let's take everything over to the hotel. Once Chuck returns from the hospital, he can test the Intersects. Everybody is staying at the hotel tonight; it's far too dangerous to leave any of you alone now. Once Carina and Cole get back tomorrow, we get ourselves ready."

Morgan and Big Mike gathered the equipment as Sarah shut Jimmy's laptop, put it in its case, and slung it over her shoulder. "Let's go."

She walked out to the floor, followed by Morgan and Big Mike. Jeff and Lester followed them.

"We're staying at their hotel?" Jeff asked, to which Lester nodded. "Oooh, spank-per-view. Nice."

Lester looked to the sky in aggravation as the group walked out of the Buy More.

West Side Medical Center – Los Angeles, CA
June 11, 2016
8:15 PM PDT

Chuck followed the gurney into Ellie's hospital room. It had been a tense four hours as the doctors worked to make sure there were no complications with Devon setting her leg. They checked and re-checked and triple-checked, given they were treating one of their own. Of course, that didn't stop the staff in the ER from giving Ellie a little grief about doctors making the worst patients.

The orderlies gently slid Ellie into her bed, and a nurse checked to see everything was OK. Everyone on the floor was operating at full throttle; they had worked with Ellie many times and absolutely adored her. They would make damn sure she had everything she needed and then some.

Chuck sat down in a chair next to Ellie's bed but didn't say anything. He couldn't even bring himself to look at her, and he was shaking uncontrollably. Ellie made herself comfortable in the bed…as best as she could with a cast on her left leg…and looked over at Chuck.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

That didn't stop Chuck from shaking. Actually, it made it worse. "I…I didn't want this," he whispered, finally able to look up. He wiped a few tears from his eyes. "I never wanted any of this to happen to you. Everything…everything you've been through in the last year…you didn't deserve any of it. I brought these people after you, and now you were almost killed again because of me. This…" He dropped his head again.

Ellie adjusted the bed so she was sitting straight up. "Chuck, look at me." He didn't. "Chuck…please look at me."

He finally did, and a tiny smile came to Ellie's face. "Let me tell you what has happened to me in the last year. I helped save dozens of lives in the hospital. The man I love asked me to marry him. I became close friends with one of the most amazing people I have ever met, who also happened to fall in love with my little brother. And I got to meet such incredible people like her friends on the show. I even got to spend some quality time with one of the guys on my freebie list."

Chuck gave her an odd look, and Ellie grinned. "You know how families always say they'd do anything for each other? You did that. Literally. You refused to let me die when we were both poisoned. You chose my life…even Sarah's and John's lives…over your own. And to top it all off, you brought Dad back to us, and you gave me the wedding I've always dreamed of.

"THAT'S what happened to me in the last year, Chuck. And none of that even counts you saving the world every other day! So, I NEVER want to hear you say you're sorry for what's happened. I don't think anyone could be proud of someone more than I am of you."

She reached out with her hand. Chuck took it, and Ellie pulled him over to the bed. "Dad told me you have to fight for your family, whoever that may be. He was right. That's what you have to do now. You have to see this through to the end. For me, for Dad, for Devon, Morgan, Carina, John, Jimmy, for all of us. And especially for Sarah."

She gave his hand a squeeze. "You're a Bartowski. Go out there and be one."

Chuck looked at the ground momentarily before looking up again. A renewed sense of confidence began to permeate through him. "I will."

Ellie smiled and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a hug.

"Ellie?"

Chuck and Ellie turned when they heard the gentle knock on the door. Sarah pushed it open and immediately went over to her. "How are you? Is everything OK?"

"Now don't YOU start," Ellie sharply replied, noticing Sarah's downcast expression. "I want a smile on your face or I'll berate you ten times as badly as I did at the studio."

Sarah's downcast expression immediately shifted into a grin. "OK, OK! Anything but that."

"That's better." Ellie's smile matched Sarah's.

"Did I miss anything while I was here?" Chuck asked.

"Quite a bit," Sarah replied. "Decker admitted to working for the Ring on that video Morgan and Mike set up with Beckman, and he was also the one to kill Evelyn Shaw. Jeff and Lester were able to decrypt some secure files from the Ring data that proved it."

"Jeff and Lester actually contributed to this?" Chuck couldn't believe it.

"I know. We were all in shock. But that's why I came by. The Intersects are at the hotel, and Jimmy and Alex should be there by now. Can the two of you do the testing? The minute everyone else has returned, we're going to hit the Ring hard and fast."

"Sure thing."

"Ellie, is there anything you need?"

"Just for all of you to finish this," she replied. "I hate being a patient in my own hospital as it is. I don't want to find out it was all for nothing."

"That we will do."

Ellie gave Sarah a hug. "Wow. You hugged me, and my ribs are still intact," Sarah said.

"Must be the Vicodin," Ellie quipped.

"You may want to get someone to give you a hand with all of the bouquets of flowers outside."

"Who sent me flowers?"

"Half of L.A. County, apparently. Everyone here loves you. I'm not even sure you can get down the hallway right now. Not to mention the six-foot teddy bear sitting out there dressed in a tuxedo and adorned with spy gear."

"Three guesses as to who sent that," Ellie said with a laugh. "And Devon thought I was crazy switching Johnny Depp for Jimmy on my list."

She grabbed both Sarah's and Chuck's hands and gave them a squeeze. "I will get busy writing thank you cards, and you two bring this home for all of us."

"Get better, sis," Chuck said. Both of them gave Ellie a hug and departed as Devon entered the room with dinner snuck in from Ellie's favorite restaurant and a bouquet of his own.

Tangerine Hotel – Burbank, CA
June 12, 2016
1:00 PM PDT

Chuck and Jimmy worked until the late hours testing the two Intersects. They studied the files obtained regarding the Ring's Intersect room, but it was still a big risk to attempt hooking up their drives to the Ring's systems. They would need time in the room itself, and nobody really knew how much time they would have.

"No word from D.C. so far," Sarah said. "If they got the file on Decker, nobody has done anything with it."

"Which means we have to assume Decker can still order everyone in the Agency to come after us," Carina replied as she tried to stifle a yawn. Cole and she had woken up at 5 AM London time to return, which meant a twelve-hour flight…to say nothing about L.A. traffic…had them quite jetlagged at this point.

"Whoah. So, they could have, like, an entire platoon waiting for us?" Morgan asked with considerable trepidation. Luckily, Jeff and Lester were still in their room enjoying the hotel's amenities, so the level of panic wasn't as bad as it could have been.

"Possibly," Alex replied. "Plus, you'd have to get in, hook up each Intersect, run them, and destroy their facility once and for all. That's a lot of time to spend in there with the whole world breathing down on us."

"And I have to believe they'll expect us to mount some sort of sneak attack," Chuck added. "They wouldn't think we'd be stupid enough to take them head-on."

The group sat in silence for a long time.

"Or are we?"

Everyone turned to Jimmy. "What are you talking about?" Sarah asked.

"They're not expecting us to be that stupid, so that's exactly how we'll catch them off-guard."

"You want to straight-up attack the facility?" Big Mike asked.

He shrugged. "To a fashion."

Casey grunted in annoyance. "That's the worst plan I've ever heard from you, and that's saying a lot."

"All we need is some misdirection, a whole lot of firepower, and to just be the nastiest SOBs we can possibly be."

"Tell us more," Casey replied, suddenly more perky than a high school cheerleader.

"This will take all of us. I mean, ALL of us. Even Cole's people at the store." Jimmy turned to him. "Can they help out?"

"After two of them were killed by Shaw? Bet your arse they will," Cole replied.

"OK. Then we just need one more key element."

Jimmy looked in Morgan's direction. "What? I'm in on this, too?" he asked, not exactly brimming with confidence.

"Among…others," Jimmy eked out.

Sarah exhaled a frustrated sigh. "This is the part of the plan I won't like, isn't it," she groaned.

"That's…a pretty safe assumption."

Woodland Hills, CA
June 16, 2016
9:00 PM PDT

Sarah went over the checklist in her mind for the 100th time in the last twelve hours. Jimmy's plan required time and a lot of resources, but it was ready. Besides the money Jimmy managed to steal from the Ring, Casey always made sure the team had plenty of funds hidden away in accounts nobody but the four knew about. Given how much experience he had in being burned by the government, Sarah appreciated how prepared Casey always was and what he could procure for the team. For all of his annoying, obsessive worship of Ronald Reagan, Sarah had to admit the 40th President had a point when it came to "trust but verify."

She glanced over at Chuck, and a tiny smile came to her face, just like it always did whenever she saw his puppy-dog brown eyes and that giant smile. If he was nervous about what was going to happen in the next few hours, he was doing a good job of hiding it. Or perhaps the same thought was going through his mind that was going through hers right now: that this would be over soon, and they could be together away from this world of deceit, danger, and heartache. What they had to do to make it happen was extremely dangerous but, given what the team had accomplished over the last nine months, she felt confident they would succeed. Best of all, the people who worked for her over these last six years…her co-workers, her friends…would continue to make her proud as the best team of spies the government had.

"This is so cool. It's like we're real secret agents."

And Jeff's hazy declaration sent those warm thoughts away quickly, the reality of riding in the back of Jeff and Lester's van hitting Sarah hard.

"I will never forgive you for this," Sarah hissed at Jimmy.

"I told you misdirection was a big part of the plan," he replied in protest.

"Yeah, that's the very word I think of when it comes to your plan. This was a giant misdirection on our part."

"This will work. Casey and Morgan are waiting for our signal, and everybody else will be in place any minute."

Sarah quietly growled, but Chuck giving her hand a gentle squeeze was the calming influence she needed. The three of them had the most dangerous part of the plan to execute, but nobody thought getting into the Intersect room and running the two programs would be a piece of cake. The entire team needed to provide Chuck and Jimmy enough time to hook up each Intersect and run them so the old one was taken out of Chuck and the new one was uploaded into Jimmy.

Although the highly questionable blankets they were sitting on in the back…not to mention the revolting stench…made her think that perhaps the Ring wasn't all that bad.

"What's your status?" Casey called over their earpieces.

"We're five minutes out," Sarah replied.

"We're ready here."

She looked over at Chuck and Jimmy, both of whom nodded that they were ready. She nodded back with far more confidence than a moment ago.

"Start the party, Case."

"Acknowledged." Casey switched frequencies. "Miller, Barker…time to make your entrance."

~/^\~

A team of four Ring agents guarded the main entrance to the facility as another team of four patrolled the sidewalk area in front of the building. All of them carried automatic weapons and had been on high alert since they were told Daniel Shaw found and destroyed the location where Walker and her team were holed up. The Ring was proceeding under the assumption that enough of the team survived and were ready to attack. Scores of other agents were hidden in various locations, patrolling hallways, guarding key areas in the building, and even keeping watch from the roof. They knew whoever remained from Walker's team would come here. When they would was the key question.

An engine in the distance, which grew louder and louder, sounded like the answer.

The eight readied their weapons, only to run in terror as a large Humvee bulldozed the concrete barriers surrounding the building and crashed through the main entrance. They quickly got up and opened fire at the Humvee…just as another one came barreling in. However, this one was having trouble staying straight as it hit the building. More agents came out to assist.

"Dude, I told you not to give it so much throttle," Morgan said.

"I know what I'm doing, moron," Casey growled.

Morgan rolled his eyes as the two looked on from behind a building across the street. "Clearly."

He grabbed the remote control for the second Humvee from Casey. "I told you before, these require a light touch. Chuck and I played this stuff all the time as kids. He wired the Humvees so this would be easy. Concentrate on getting the angle right instead of trying to power over everything. Haven't you ever owned an X-Box? PlayStation? Nintendo? Come on! This move's a cinch in Call of Duty!"

"I kill people with my bare hands to unwind," Casey growled. "And suddenly I'm getting the urge to relax."

Morgan huffed in frustration and handed the remote control back to Casey. "Fine, do it your way."

"Get going," Casey ordered. "Find the morons and be ready with the stuff for the third part of the plan."

"Thought Ilsa would have softened you up by now," Morgan muttered in disgust as he took off.

~/^\~

"Roger that, Case."

Carina checked her parachute again and walked forward in the plane to the cockpit area. "Captain, what's our time?"

"Two minutes to the drop point," the captain replied.

"Thanks."

Carina turned back and took a look around as Cole and the rest of the agents readied themselves for the jump, checking their weapons and gear. Cole had the same steel-eyed look on his face that he bore when they escaped Fulcrum following his rescue and when they got into that car chase against the Ring at the television studio. It was a look that turned Carina on to no end, danger be damned. Even better, he could turn from dead cold and vicious to smooth and seductive on a dime.

And how many times did Sarah, Jimmy, and even Casey say the same thing about me? she thought.

She shook her head and smiled. She never gave much thought to the concept of settling down with someone. Actually, she gave it no thought at all. But somewhere between flashing her long legs at him in that Manhattan bar and taking him in his hotel room after the shootout on the roof with Fulcrum, something clicked inside of her. She didn't know what it was, but she knew that night had changed her like no other since she joined Sarah and Bryce on the show. There wasn't a big house and a bunch of kids in her future; that life still sounded far too boring for her tastes. But certainly, a life with just one person held promise now, particularly given how hot and how sexy that one person was.

"One minute!" the captain shouted.

"Everyone good to go?" Cole called out.

"Good to go!" everyone replied, giving a thumbs up.

Cole turned to Carina. "A quick question: who are the Flying Elvises?"

Carina gave him a weird look. "What?"

"That's what Chuck called us before we left, and Jimmy and Morgan thought it was hysterical."

Carina exhaled in annoyance. "Ignore it. I've given up on all of them."

"Then I shouldn't bother asking about the Utah Chapter?"

Carina growled quietly and Cole gave her a smile as a buzzer sounded and the jump light changed from red to green. "Alex! Ilsa! Roll out the welcome mat!" he yelled over his radio as everyone went down the cargo ramp and jumped out of the plane.

~/^\~

"Uh, just so you know. I've never done anything like this before."

"I thought you served in the Navy."

"I was a cook, not a gunner."

Alex furrowed her brow. "But you went through Naval training, right? Didn't you attend boot camp at Great Lakes?"

Big Mike was more than happy to help the team with the plan…until he found out what his job was. "Yeah, but that was over thirty years ago. The only thing I remember from boot camp was taking the train down to Chicago with everybody on weekend liberty and getting wasted in the bars."

"There's nothing to this," Ilsa answered as she activated the computer controlling the three M-134 minguns mounted on the roof across from the Ring's headquarters while Alex unlocked the safeties on the guns. "John and Jimmy snuck these up late last night. When the Humvees hit, just use the joysticks and shoot anything that moves. And make sure you cease fire when Cole tells you. They'll be parachuting in right then."

"OK, got it."

Alex turned to Devon. "And make absolutely sure you don't fire your piton gun until we tell you to."

"Understood," Devon said, although he sounded as far from his normal, confident self as he could be.

"You'll do fine. You've done stuff more dangerous than this before."

"True, I've done a lot of ziplining. But bullets weren't usually involved."

"That's our job," Ilsa replied. "Alex and I will draw their attention away so you can get across. Just plant that little charge on the network interface once you're there. After it kills their sensors, you can scale down and that will let Sarah, Chuck, and Jimmy inside to use the Intersects."

The four heard the roar of the engine coming from one of the Humvees. "Get ready, Mike," Alex said as Ilsa and she readied their piton rifles and harnesses. The first Humvee broke through the concrete barriers and bulldozed the entrance.

"Fire!" Alex ordered as the second Humvee attacked. Big Mike flipped the switches and opened fire, concentrating all three miniguns at the doorway. Several agents began to shoot blindly from the rooftop, causing Devon, Alex, and Ilsa to duck. Mike re-targeted one of the minguns in the rooftop's direction and sprayed the area with bullets. The agents up there scattered.

"Good, that helped," Ilsa said.

"Cease fire!" Cole called out over his radio a moment later. Big Mike deactivated the guns as Carina, Cole, and his team parachuted down, opening up with automatic weapons and grenades. The group of twenty landed and took positions around the building as they continued their assault. More Ring agents came out to try and defend the building.

"You ready?" Ilsa asked Alex, who nodded in the affirmative. Both walked to the far corner of the roof and aimed their piton rifles as Devon walked to the opposite corner and got ready.

"In three...two...one...now," Alex said. Ilsa and she fired their rifles, shooting a pair of high-tensile steel wires across the street, the pitons embedding into the concrete. They hooked up to the lines and streaked above the road, joining the assault on the Ring's entrance.

"Go, Devon!" Alex shouted over the din. Alex and Ilsa landed on the roof and continued their assault.

Devon aimed and fired his piton gun. He hooked himself onto the line, checked to make sure the pack he was wearing was secure, and took a deep breath.

"God, I hope Ellie never hears about this," he said to himself as he jumped off of the roof and slid across the street. Alex and Ilsa were right: either the Ring didn't see him or were choosing to ignore him. He landed on the roof and went to the back corner of it. He took a small crowbar out of the pack and pried the lock off of the junction box. He pulled out the small charge and remote to set it off.

The door to the roof burst open, and four Ring agents leveled their guns at Alex and Ilsa. Devon hid behind the junction box with the Ring agents' backs to him.

"Drop your weapons," one of Ring agents ordered.

Alex and Ilsa put their weapons down and raised their hands. The agents retrieved them. Devon looked on in a panic until a big light bulb went off. He looked at the charge in his hand. He stood up behind the junction box out of sight of the agents where Alex and Ilsa could see him. He waved the charge at them, and they gave a little nod.

Devon whipped the charge towards the Ring agents in front of him and hit a button on the detonator. The charge went off, taking the four Ring agents by surprise. Alex took advantage of the distraction and gave a spinning kick to take down one agent while Ilsa kicked out the knees of another agent, giving them a boot to the head as they fell. She threw an elbow at another agent trying to get at her, sending him back into Alex, who knocked him out with her baton. Ilsa took out the last agent with a vicious roundhouse.

"Sorry about that," Devon said meekly, coming up to the women. "I know you told me repatedly not to get involved, but..."

"Ellie is one lucky lady," Alex said in relief, and Ilsa nodded in agreement. "You were awesome."

Her face then contorted into disgust. "Oh, God. Now I'M calling you that."

"But what about..." Devon pointed to the junction box.

Ilsa pulled a knife from her belt. "Care to perform a little surgery, Doctor?"

Devon grinned and went to the junction box, cutting the network wires inside. "Probably should have just done this in the first place. You didn't really need me." Devon then paused. "Uh, let's pretend that's not true."

"Sarah, network and security connections are down," Alex said into her radio. "The three of you are clear to enter."

"Great work," Sarah replied. "Mike, stay out of sight for the moment. We don't want the Ring coming after you. Devon and Morgan, meet up with Jeff and Lester. Then all of you prepare for part three."

Devon went to the edge of the roof and fired a piton into the concrete, throwing the rope attached to it over the side.

"OK, get going. We'll handle it from here," Alex told him. "I'm not explaining anything to Ellie if something bad happens to you."

Devon nodded vigorously as he stood on the edge of the roof. "Not a problem. I've had enough excitement for one week."

"And yet you're about to rappel down an enemy stronghold?" Ilsa asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, this is the easiest part of the whole thing."

"That's true."

"See you when it's over." Devon put on his gloves, leaped off the roof, and rappelled down to the ground. Alex and Ilsa readied their weapons and shot pitons into the roof at the opposite side from Devon. They rappelled down to the ground and joined the assault on the Ring.

~/^\~

Jeff drove the van along the road parallel to the building and on the opposite side from the entrance. He pulled near a corner of the building, shielded by a group of tall bushes. Sarah exited the back of the van with her gun drawn. She motioned inside, and Chuck and Jimmy exited. Jimmy reached in and grabbed the very large backpack containing more weapons and the two Intersects. Chuck helped him put it on as Sarah quietly closed the doors. Jeff and Lester took off.

The three ran through the bushes and pressed themselves against the building, moving slowly towards an emergency exit. Jimmy kept watch with both guns drawn as Sarah got the door unlocked. The three went inside and Chuck took a look at the building's schematics on a tablet computer, pointing in the direction of the Intersect. They made it to the stairwell that would lead to the basement level and descended.

Hugo Zorin ran down the hallway, heading towards the main entrance. He was stopped by Clyde Decker, who had a dozen agents following him.

"Walker's team is out for some serious revenge," Zorin said in a panic. "I don't know how much longer we can hold this place."

"They're not out for revenge," Decker replied. "Walker's way too smart for that. Shaw must have screwed up again."

"They're still alive?"

Decker froze. "It's more than that." He looked behind him at the agents. "Take these men down to the Intersect room. I'll just bet they're making a play for it."

"What about the assault outside?"

Decker took out a smartphone. "I'll take care of that. Or should I say, the United States government will."

Decker dialed a number as Zorin and the agents ran towards the back of the building.

Chuck, Sarah, and Jimmy made it to the Intersect room. Sarah managed to get the door open, and the three went inside.

"We have to hurry," Sarah said as Chuck helped Jimmy get his backpack off. Jimmy opened up the pack and pulled out the cube to remove Chuck's Intersect.

"OK, give us a minute to hook this up," Jimmy said.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Chuck asked.

"Getting...the Intersect out of you?" Jimmy was confused. "I'm pretty sure that was the plan."

Chuck shook his head. "You have to go first."

"Chuck, we don't have time for you to play hero. This thing is killing you!"

"And everybody is under attack outside! They need you out there!"

Jimmy turned to Sarah. "Sarah..."

"He's right," she said quietly, although it was obvious the choice was hurting her. "The team is in danger right now. They need you and the new Intersect."

Jimmy exhaled in frustration. He wanted the Intersect out of Chuck as much as anyone, but he'd also never forgive himself if anything happened to Casey, Carina, or anyone else on the team. Especially Alex.

"You BETTER stay alive," Jimmy growled, pointing a finger at Chuck. "Or I'll engrave 'I told you so' on your tombstone."

Chuck made a face at him as Jimmy grabbed the backpack and took out the cube meant for him. Sarah guarded the lone door to the room as Chuck and Jimmy pulled out a series of cables and tools to link the cube to the computer sitting in the middle of the room.

"OK, ready as we'll ever be," Jimmy said after a few minutes. He reached into the backpack and pulled out two pairs of sunglasses, handing them to Chuck and Sarah.

"Good luck," Chuck said, giving him a hug.

"Bring it home for us," Sarah told him, giving him a kiss.

They put the sunglasses on and backed away from the computer. Jimmy looked around the room and took a deep breath. He couldn't deny it: he was nervous.

"Of all the crazy, stupid things I've ever done in my life...this is, by far, the most recent."

He studied the display on the computer and typed in the correct commands. The lights in the room turned off. Chuck and Sarah held each other as the walls became filled with thousands of images. Jimmy was frozen, his eyes darting back and forth as he saw all of the pictures, which flickered by at blinding speed.

The images stopped, and the lights came on. Jimmy collapsed to the ground. Chuck and Sarah immediately ran over to him and rolled him onto his back.

"Jimmy, wake up," Chuck said in desperation as he shook him. "Come on!"

"Pulse is still there," Sarah said. She got close to his face. "His breathing is normal."

"Stop right there."

They turned to see Zorin and the other agents inside the room. Zorin pointed a gun at them.

"Back away from him," Zorin commanded. Chuck and Sarah stood with their hands raised. Two of Zorin's men got a hold of Jimmy and started dragging him towards the door.

"I guess Decker was right," Zorin continued. "That show outside was just a diversion. But all for nothing. Not to worry. He'll deal with your friends."

He took a look at Jimmy. "And now the Ring has an Intersect."

Zorin walked towards where the group of agents were and then turned back with his gun aimed at Chuck and Sarah. "Pity I'll have to cancel the show. My kids really like it."

The other agents looked on in approval, not noticing Jimmy slowly opening his eyes. He carefully looked back and forth at the agents and then saw Chuck and Sarah.

He began to flash. Scores of instructions regarding kung-fu, karate, jujitsu, boxing, street combat, and military tactics flooded his mind. His entire body felt like it had been hooked up to a car battery.

Jimmy grabbed the arms of the two men holding him and leaped into the air, backflipping and landing on two others while slamming the two he grabbed to the ground. He immediately sent a spinning kick that knocked two more down. Zorin tried to turn around and aim his weapon, but Jimmy slid, flipped back on his hands, and kicked up hard to knock Zorin's gun away. He twisted in the air 180 degrees, planted his hands on the ground again, and mule-kicked two others in the face to send them down, then jumping upright and leaping into the air to kick out the two agents in front of him. One agent tried to draw their gun, but Jimmy twirled, twisted the man's wrist, and took it from him. He then pistol-whipped the man, sending him to the ground. The last of the agents tried to come at him from behind, but he setpped to his right and spun, nailing him in the back of the head with the gun as he passed by. Zorin knocked the gun away and tried to throw several punches, but Jimmy blocked every single one of him. He spun in the air and landed both feet in the middle of Zorin's chest, sending him flying across the room and crashing into the wall on the opposite side.

He landed and looked at his hands in utter shock as he tried to catch his breath. Eventually, he looked up at Chuck and Sarah.

"Whoah."

Chuck shook off the shock and was beside himself. "Whoah?! You just took out thirteen people with the Intersect and all you can say is 'whoah'?! ?!"

"You already took the good Keanu line!" Jimmy yelled in protest. "What the hell was I supposed to say? I...AM...AN...FBI...AGENT?! ?!"

Sarah looked to the sky in aggravation. "Why the hell did I ever become a spy?"

Jimmy stalked over to the backpack to retrieve the cube to remove Chuck's Intersect. He glanced towards the door to the room.

"GET DOWN!" he screamed, diving for Chuck and Sarah. Shots rang out, barely missing them. Jimmy dropped the cube, lunged for the gun he took off the Ring agent, and fired indiscriminately towards the door.

"What the…" Chuck and Sarah looked up and around.

"Shaw!" Sarah cried, pointing towards the door.

Jimmy bolted upward and sprinted for the door, firing away until he was out of ammunition. He went to the backpack to get his guns and extra clips as Shaw took off towards the front of the building. Jimmy gave chase.

Shaw ran down the hall and tried to fire his last shots but missed. He found a door to one of the stairwells and ascended.

"Oh, God!"

In the Intersect room, Sarah stared in shock. Chuck turned and saw what she saw.

The Intersect was in pieces.

"We can't get the Intersect out of you now," Sarah breathed, feeling her chest constrict at what that meant.

Chuck studied the Intersect carefully. He then looked at the Intersect they used for Jimmy, which was still attached to the computer. "Maybe we can."

He held up the cube. "The cube itself is undamaged. Maybe I can switch it with the cube inside the other container."

"How long will that take?"

Chuck retrieved the tools and went over to the computer. He shook his head. "With Shaw on the loose? Too long." He shrugged. "But it's our only shot. Can you help me with it?"

"Of course."

The two began to unhook Jimmy's Intersect from the computer.

~/^\~

Morgan peeked out from behind the building. He kept looking for Jeff and Lester's van.

"Morgan!"

Morgan looked back and forth, unable to determine where the voice was coming from. Suddenly, Devon landed in front of him.

"Dude, don't scare me like that!" Morgan clutched his chest. "I've already had, like, five heart attacks since this thing started!"

"Sorry," Devon replied. "Where are Jeff and Lester?"

"They better be here soon. We have to set up the equipment, and you have to get upstairs and help Big Mike."

"What equipment?"

Both of them turned to see a Ring agent in front of them with their gun pointed. "I repeat...WHAT equipment?" the agent demanded.

Morgan and Devon stood there in fear. "What should we do?" Devon whispered.

Morgan's eyes widened as he looked behind the agent. "You see that episode of the show in Prague?"

"Yeah?"

"Do that."

"Do…that?" Devon figured it out. "Oh…that."

Both Morgan and Devon fell to the ground. The Ring agent stood there in total disbelief.

"Suit yourselves," the agent said, bending over to aim the weapon at the prone Devon.

Someone jumped on the agent's back and put a handkerchief over his face. The agent flailed about trying to shake them off but was unable to do so. Devon bounced up and grabbed the man's wrist, taking the gun away. Morgan stuck his leg out, tripping the agent. After a few seconds, the agent stopped moving.

"Don't have to have blonde hair and a killer body to be a spy," Jeff said in triumph as he got off of the agent.

"You…you have blonde hair, Jeff," Lester replied as he came up. "What there is of it."

Jeff paused. "Oh, right."

"What the hell was in that handkerchief?" Devon demanded.

"Some…bottle I found at the hospital one time. Totally cool, though. It's that stuff everybody's on these days to lose weight. Key...master, Key Largo, Kay Jewelers..."

"Keto?" Devon took a look at the unconscious agent. "That's ketosis. You gave the guy ketamine! That's one of the strongest sedatives hospitals use!"

Jeff shrugged. "Nothin' wrong with it. Helps me to…get right." He took the handkerchief, held it to his face, and inhaled deeply.

"Ahh, just like that," he said…and passed out. Morgan, Devon, and Lester executed a perfect triple-facepalm.

"Yeah, you're a regular 007, Jeffrey," Lester said tiredly at the unconscious Jeff.

Morgan and he pulled Jeff to the van as Devon took a few items out and ran to find Big Mike.

~/^\~

Jimmy ran down the hall in pursuit of Shaw. He made it to the stairwell he saw Shaw go through and ascended quickly. He opened the door to the sixth floor…and was pistol-whipped by Shaw. He fell back, dropping his guns, and he tried to shake the cobwebs loose as Shaw reloaded his gun.

"You're like a bunch of goddamn cockroaches," Shaw hissed. "But I'm going to end this once and for all. Starting with you."

Shaw aimed the gun. Jimmy flashed and leapt into the air, spinning and knocking the gun out of Shaw's hands. He landed, and Shaw stood there speechless.

"This is the point where you say, "you have learned much, young one"," Jimmy teased. "Preferably sounding like James Earl Jones."

Shaw began to have a flash of his own. He felt his head shake violently, but he got it under control. "You know something, Slade? Your one-liners suck."

Shaw went on the attack, sending a punch at Jimmy and knocking him to the ground. Jimmy's Intersect kicked in, and he flipped back to his feet, returning the punch. Shaw was unfazed, landing three consecutive hooks at Jimmy, but none of them sent him back to the ground. He tried a butterfly kick, but Jimmy spun in the other direction and sent a kick of his own, sending Shaw five feet through the air, hitting the floor hard.

"So do your masters," Jimmy hissed.

Shaw pulled himself up slowly and stood there, regarding Jimmy for a moment. "I guess the Ring's plans have changed. They won't want Bartowski now; they'll want you. The new Intersect." A vile grin came across Shaw as he walked forward. "Even better. Now Walker can watch me take the love of her life away. Just like she took mine."

"Oh, for chrissakes! Decker killed your…"

Jimmy's hard retort fell on deaf ears as Shaw concentrated hard, and his Intersect flooded his mind again. The pain he felt before got substantially worse, and he staggered about before righting himself. He went after Jimmy again, this time with considerably more furor as he jumped and tried to nail Jimmy in the chest with his boot. Jimmy grabbed his foot and threw him hard to the ground. Shaw bounced back up and tried to send a spinning kick to Jimmy's head, but he dropped down and kicked up hard just as Shaw went over him. Shaw went flying through the air and landed hard into the wall before falling to the ground.

"Decker killed your wife, you gullible piece of shit!" Jimmy yelled. "We found the videos that prove it!"

"And I'm just supposed to take your word for it." Shaw shook his head as his look became more and more deranged. "Not likely."

He launched himself at Jimmy, taking him by surprise and knocking him down. He got on top of Jimmy and landed punch after punch. Jimmy was starting to become dazed when his Intersect kicked in, various wrestling moves flooding his mind.

As Shaw tried to throw another punch, Jimmy crossed his arms and pushed up hard, countering Shaw's momentum and forcing him straight up. Jimmy grabbed him and head-butted him, dazing Shaw. He then kicked his legs up and got Shaw's neck into a figure-four leg lock. He twisted his entire body and flipped Shaw to the ground, slamming his head on the floor in the process.

Jimmy got up and look at Shaw in complete contempt. "Intersect?" a dizzied Shaw spat.

Jimmy kicked him in the head, knocking him out. "Mel Gibson, Lethal Weapon."

"Slade!" Casey called out over Jimmy's earpiece. "Where the hell are you?"

"Trying to keep Shaw at bay. The guy's completely off the reservation! What's going on?"

"We're running out of ammo and Decker's probably called for backup. We can't get the last of these Ring pricks. Get your ass down here now!"

Jimmy looked around. He started to move towards the stairwell when he saw a window in one of the offices that faced the entrance. He saw the American flag just outside of the window and began to flash.

He ran back, retrieved his guns, and went into the office. He opened fire on the window, shattering as much of it as he could. He kicked the glass out and stepped back as far as he could, reloading his guns in the process.

He shook his head. "God bless frickin' America."

He sprinted for the window and leaped towards the flag, grabbing it and pulling it down with him. He swung to wrap the flag around the pole, slowing his descent enough to land in front of the Ring entrance and taking the fifteen Ring agents remaining by surprise.

"Don't try that at home, kids!" Jimmy announced.

Four Ring agents immediately aimed their guns at Jimmy, but his Intersect kicked in. He did a high backflip just as the four opened fire, and they took each other out. He landed and immediately threw an elbow at the closest Ring agent, turning and kicking up hard to take out another agent. He swung around a third agent, pushing off of him to take out two more behind the man with a scissor kick before putting him down with an uppercut. Two more tried to attack, but Jimmy dropped fast to the ground, and the two agents flew over him. He jumped back up to deliver a sharp hook to one of them and swept the other one with his leg, kicking him in the head after he hit the ground. The two furthest away aimed their weapons, but Casey and Carina opened fire, taking them out.

Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief as he took a look around at seventy or eighty other agents the team stopped. "Wow. MY ass hurts from all of the butt-kicking you guys did."

He switched frequencies on his radio. "Chuck, Sarah, are you two OK?"

"For now," Sarah replied. "We're almost done fixing Chuck's Intersect."

"Shaw's still in the building. He might be coming for you, so watch your asses."

He turned to Casey and Carina. "I'll stay here with everybody else and hold off Decker. Protect those two so we can have our happy ending."

"You sure?" Carina asked.

"Still got that last card to play," he said with a shrug and a smile.

Casey and Carina checked their weapons and entered the building, heading for the basement.

Jimmy turned when he heard the sounds of a convoy of trucks. Two hundred soldiers deployed around the entrance, aiming their weapons at Jimmy, Cole, Ilsa, Alex, and Cole's team.

"Agent Slade," a voice called out from the side of the building.

The team turned to see Clyde Decker walking up to them. Or more accurately, strutting up to them.

"You and your team are finished," he said, his look the height of smugness.

~/^\~

"Just a couple of wires to connect..."

Chuck worked as fast as he could to finished hooking up the Intersect cube to the computer.

"Chuck, Sarah, are you two OK?"

"For now," Sarah replied to Jimmy over her earpiece. "We're almost done fixing Chuck's Intersect."

"Shaw's still in the building. He might be coming for you, so watch your asses."

"Will do." She turned to Chuck. "You better hurry. Shaw could be here any second."

Chuck fixed the final connection, stood, and nodded. "Ready to go."

Sarah rebooted the system. After a moment, the program came to life.

"There it is," Sarah replied.

Chuck started typing on the keyboard and brought up the correct file to activate the Intersect. He let out a long exhale. "We're finally here."

"Finally," she said in relief, grabbing his face and giving him a kiss. "I'll keep an eye out for Shaw."

She grabbed her sunglasses and turned towards the door. The door burst open, and Shaw aimed his gun.

"CHUCK!" she screamed, diving for him and tackling him to the floor.

Shaw entered the room and cackled. "You honestly thought I'd kill you that fast?"

He started moving slowly towards them. "No. I'm going to enjoy this to the fullest."

"Daniel, this isn't you," Chuck said calmly, moving in front of Sarah as he stood. "I read your files. You were one of the best spies out there. So was Evelyn."

"She WAS one of the best spies out there," Shaw shot back. "Until Walker took her away from me."

"But she didn't. The Ring set that up. Clyde Decker shot your wife, not Sarah."

"Yeah, that's what Slade said, too. Glad to see all of you got your lies straight."

"We can prove it!" Chuck pointed to the backpack. "We have the video with us!"

Chuck stepped towards the backpack, but Shaw opened fire, just missing Chuck.

"Stay where you are," Shaw hissed. "You think I'd be dumb enough to let you get a weapon?"

"I'm telling the truth. Daniel, you're not capable of murdering an innocent person. I know what you've been through. The hurt you've felt."

Shaw shook his head and laughed again, clearly losing more of his sanity. "You don't know a damn thing about me. You can't know what I've been through in the last fifteen years. To have everything you've ever had in your life taken away from you so quickly, so violently. And then for the person who took away everything you loved to be worshipped like she was a goddess."

"Shaw, please!" Sarah pleaded. "Leave Chuck out of this! He has nothing to do with any of this! He's just an innocent person."

Shaw slowly looked towards her. "Oh, he has everything to do with this. I'm going to make sure he feels every last bit of pain that I've felt for the last..."

Chuck launched himself at Shaw, grabbing his wrist and tackling him to the ground. The gun fell out of Shaw's hand and landed on the other end of the room. Shaw quickly threw Chuck off of him and got up just as Sarah tried to race past him to grab his weapon. Shaw managed to grab her and throw her. Sarah landed on the floor. Shaw went up to her and stomped his boot hard on her knee, causing her to scream out in pain.

"Stay there," he commanded.

Sarah grabbed her knee in extreme pain, unable to move, as Chuck got up and tackled Shaw away from Sarah. Both got up and faced each other. Chuck had a flash, which caused him to double-over in pain. Shaw concentrated and had a flash of his own with similar results. He righted himself from the pain and launched himself at Chuck, who took three steps and slid under Shaw's attack, bouncing back up quickly to block two punches Shaw threw. He sent a kick at Shaw's head to knock him back, then stepping forward to send a kick to the middle of Shaw's chest. Shaw hit the floor but got right back up. He faked a roundhouse and doubled-back to connect his elbow with Chuck's face. He then followed it with two quick crosses and an uppercut, dazing Chuck. He leapt into the air and sent Chuck to the ground with a spinning kick. Chuck tried to get up and shake the cobwebs loose, but Shaw was right on top of him, wrapping his arm around Chuck's neck.

"Looks like my Intersect works better than yours," Shaw taunted as Chuck struggled to breathe. He had another flash, which hurt his mind even more. The pain receded, and Chuck planted his feet. He snapped his head back, nailing Shaw in the face. Shaw loosened his grip enough for Chuck to push himself up hard and move towards the wall, stepping off of it and rotating around, breaking loose of Shaw's grasp. Shaw sent several punches at Chuck, all of which Chuck blocked. Chuck tried to send one of his own, but Shaw ducked sideways, turned, and brought his knee up into Chuck's stomach hard. Chuck doubled-over, and Shaw sent a spinning kick at Chuck's head to knock him down.

Sarah looked up, gritting her teeth through the pain of her damaged knee, and looked towards where the gun was. She then saw the Intersect computer in the opposite direction.

She started to crawl across the floor.

~/^\~

Three dozen soldiers removed the weapons Cole, Ilsa, Alex, and Cole's team possessed and moved them into a group, keeping automatic weapons trained on them, while the rest of the troops created a perimeter. Clyde Decker aimed a pistol at Jimmy's head.

"I'm afraid you're a little too late, Slade," Decker said with an overabundance of self-assurance. "Looks like I'll be the big hero tomorrow, apprehending the government's most dangerous fugitives. I'd say you should get a good lawyer, but we all know this is going to end a different way."

"For once, I agree with you," Jimmy replied.

"You do?"

"This WILL end a different way." Jimmy looked at all of the troops. "Get your popcorn ready," he told them.

"What are you playing at?" Decker demanded.

Jimmy got right in Decker's face. "I've got three words for you: Roll it, Morgan."

Several gunshots went off from the area of the roof across the building. A large, white screen unfurled and was held against the building by Devon and Big Mike. A van drove casually down the road, stopping just in front of the screen. A side door opened, revealing a very large speaker. A video was projected onto the screen from the van.

"Lucky for me, I have all the evidence I need to keep you in jail for as long as necessary."

"All of the fake evidence, you mean."

"Pity you didn't purge every last Ring agent out of your ranks, General. How many agents did Walker and her team take out at that warehouse? Their blood is on your hands."

"Then you work for the Ring. Like I said, I should have discovered your treason sooner."

"You couldn't have caught me if you nuked the country. A very ambitious section chief in MI-6 saw my potential while I was stationed there years ago. And I shared his ideals for how we really should operate as an intelligence agency. Then it was just a matter of putting the right people in the right places."

Decker's face blanched completely as all of the soldiers lowered their weapons. A trio of cars pulled up, followed by several police units. General Beckman stepped out of the lead car and walked up the stairs with two assistants and several officers.

"Let them go," she ordered the soldiers holding the team. She walked up to Decker. "Clyde Decker, you're under arrest for misappropriation of government funds, one count of murder in the death of Evelyn Shaw, and treason."

"I'm not going anywhere. You're a criminal," Decker spat, trying to be defiant.

The officers pointed their guns at Decker. "Technically I was...until the President saw the videotape of you confessing to the Ring," Beckman retorted.

"Didn't Sarah send that five days ago? It took him that long to see it?" Jimmy asked. Beckman could only shrug, and Jimmy shook his head in disgust and walked away. "Government inertia is alive and well."

"Secure the building," Beckman ordered the soldiers. They deployed inside to get the last members of the Ring.

"This isn't over," Decker growled at Jimmy. "You think you've defeated the Ring, but you could not be more wrong. I'll be out of jail before you know it, and I'll make it my mission in life to make sure you're dead. Just like I did while you were in prison."

Jimmy turned and walked back towards Decker. "I've only got one thing to say to you."

"What's that?"

Jimmy pulled his guns out. "Dance, bitch."

He shot repeatedly towards Decker's feet, making him jump and scream as if he was trying to walk on the sun. With his last two bullets, he shot Decker in both of his knees, who collapsed to the ground and howled in pathetic agony.

Jimmy turned towards Beckman. "Sorry, General," he said meekly. "Not my most professional moment, but I don't take well to someone trying to murder me."

Beckman looked at him for a moment. "You should have shot him in the balls."

~/^\~

Shaw walked towards Chuck, who wasn't moving on the floor. He landed another kick to his head, and Chuck could barely stay awake, barely able to keep his eyes open. Shaw grabbed him and pulled him up.

"I'm just getting started, Chuck," he hissed. "And your girlfriend will have to sit there and watch me give you a slow, painful death. But be happy: what I do to you will be nothing compared to what I do to her."

The dazed Chuck looked into Shaw's eyes and saw the utter contempt and hatred. He began to flash again. This flash lasted a lot longer than any flash he had before. And this time, there was no pain that followed.

Chuck's eyes opened wider in surprise. He then smiled. "Ellie was right all along. Sometimes I just need a good kick in the head."

Chuck shot his arms up between Shaw's, pushed them out wide, and head-butted Shaw, knocking him back. He went after Shaw with a roundhouse, followed by another. Shaw spun in the air and nailed Chuck in the chest, sending him backwards. Shaw flashed once again, the pain becoming even more unbearable. Chuck tried to attack, but Shaw was able to get an arm up to block Chuck's punch. Chuck tried two more, but Shaw seemed to be blocking the shots faster each time. He then threw a punch of his own, nailing Chuck in the face. He tried two more, which Chuck blocked. The two continued to throw punches and kicks, but neither could get the upper hand until Shaw sent a kick that knocked Chuck back.

Sarah had reached the Intersect computer.

"CHUCK!" Sarah screamed.

She typed the execute command into the computer and shut her eyes. The Intersect activated. Thousands of images filled the walls, and both Chuck and Shaw were frozen in place, unable to look away as they saw every image.

The images stopped, and both of them collapsed to the ground. Sarah pulled herself up on the Intersect computer and limped over to where Chuck was. She sat down and tried to turn him over.

"Chuck!" She grabbed his face and wiped some of the blood and sweat away. "Chuck, please wake up!" She cradled him in her arms as she couldn't stop the tears from falling.

After a moment, Chuck's head moved back and forth slowly. Sarah felt him coming around and stared into his face again. His eyes opened slowly, and he blinked a few times to get himself back into focus.

"Hey," he said softly. "Are you OK?"

Sarah gave a gentle growl. "Quit taking over my job, you."

"Well, technically, you just retired, so I'm not."

A smile came to Chuck's face that quickly expanded to a grin. Sarah couldn't help but grin herself and kissed him passionately. "How do you feel?" she asked him.

"Still…a little foggy. But I…it feels just like when we got it out the first time. I feel lighter."

Chuck got up slowly and helped Sarah to her feet.

"What have you done?"

Both of them turned to see Shaw get up. "What have you done?" he demanded.

"The Intersect is out of you," Sarah replied.

Shaw stared in shock for a moment before his look returned to what it was before. "You think that changes anything? You think that makes you innocent?"

"She didn't kill Evelyn!" Chuck reached down into the backpack and pulled out his tablet computer. "Clyde Decker killed your wife!"

Chuck found the video and ran it. Shaw saw his wife lying dead in the park in Prague.

"It's done. There shouldn't be a problem. Walker's probably running to Graham to hand in her resignation as we speak. What about the husband?"

"Let's wait for the dust to settle first."

"He's as dangerous as she is."

"That's for someone else to accomplish, Decker. You're lucky you were even given another chance after those two botched attempts in the prison. Consider tonight your penance."

Shaw stepped back in complete shock. "No, this is wrong. This CAN'T be right."

"It's the truth," Sarah said. "And there's no point going after Decker. He's in custody by now."

"NOOOOOO!"

Shaw's last remaining strands of sanity were gone. He tried to attack, but Chuck grabbed Sarah and spun the two out of the way. He tried to come at them again, but Sarah pushed off of Chuck's shoulders and landed a boot to Shaw's head with her good foot that sent him back to the floor.

He landed right by his gun.

He grabbed it and got to his feet, aiming the gun at Chuck and Sarah. "This is how it will all end!" he roared. "Right here, right now!" He began to squeeze the trigger.

A series of shots rang out. Shaw was riddled with bullets and fell to the ground dead.

"Took the words right out of my mouth, asshole."

Casey and Carina walked in with their weapons trained on Shaw. Carina ran over to Sarah and hugged her best friend tightly. Casey put Sarah's arm around him to help her walk out of the Intersect room as troops came in to secure the area.

Woodland Hills, CA
June 17, 2016
12:15 AM PDT

Devon, Morgan, Big Mike, Jeff, and Lester made their way up the stairs to the entrance where everybody else was.

"Beautiful work, guys," Jimmy told them. "We couldn't have done this without you."

"So, we're really spies now," Jeff slurred, still shaking off the Ketamine.

"Let's…leave that discussion for another day."

"You're…just humoring them, right?" Alex said quietly to Jimmy.

"Obviously," he whispered back. "Just…Comic Con may never invite us back again."

"Why?"

Chuck, Sarah, Casey, and Carina emerged from the building. Cole and Ilsa went to Carina and Casey as two EMTs brought a stretcher out for Sarah. She lay down on it, much to everyone's surprise.

"OK, wasn't expecting that," Casey said. "Figured the last thing you would do is go to the hospital."

"Well, I already tried rubbing dirt on my knee, but that didn't actually help," she replied with a grin and turned to Jimmy. "Once again, your advice sucks."

"So, where are you lovebirds off to?" Cole asked. "Kick back on some romantic Caribbean island?"

"Where you'll be sitting on a beach, earning twenty percent," Jimmy quipped while imitating Hans Gruber from Die Hard.

"Better bring plenty of Viagra and Gatorade, Chuckie," Carina said with a wink.

Sarah laughed. "I think we have a few things to take care of first before we go."

She paused and took a look at everybody gathered around her. "I guess I really am going to miss this," she said. "Leaving the spy business is what I want, but I just think how lucky I've been to have had all of you there to help me and be the best friends anyone could have."

"OK, stop," Morgan said. "If I want to cry, I'll look at that gaming laptop in the store I'll never be able to afford."

"Hey, you have a little pull with the government now, buddy," Chuck said. "We all do, in fact."

"And all of you deserve it," Sarah added. "I'm just so happy you want to continue the work we started."

"Yeah, but we don't know anybody else who can lead this team as well as you, Sarah," Jimmy said.

Chuck and Sarah looked at each other and smiled before turning back to Jimmy.

"Yes you do."

Jimmy looked at the ground for a moment before looking up again and giving them a shy smile. Alex put her arms around him and gave him a kiss.

Jimmy's smartphone then vibrated. He took a look before rolling his eyes in frustration. "Aaah, hell."

"What?" Alex asked.

"I've got a dozen voicemails on this from LL Cool J. Apparently, they're filming the season premiere of Lip Sync Battle in a few weeks, and he won't stop until I agree to be on it." He shook his head. "I should just go on and take my lumps."

Sarah paused before a big grin came to her face.

Ballroom 20, San Diego Convention Center – San Diego, CA
July 23, 2016
10:55 AM PDT

"Nancy O'Dell, reporting to you from outside of Ballroom 20 at the San Diego Convention Center for Entertainment Tonight, where Comic Con is in its third day. In just a few minutes, the cast from Jen Burton: Spy Girl will be taking the stage, and at no point in the show's history have we had SO many questions to which we don't know the answer. Has Sarah Walker's whirlwind romance with Charles Carmichael make her rethink a seventh season? Was Lance McCall really killed in that elevator shaft at the end of last season? And my personal favorite: will we get more John Casey?

All of these questions are still up in the air. For that matter, even a continuation of the show is still in question, given the producers have been very tight-lipped about premiere dates and any sort of information regarding another season. We will get the answers and bring them to you, right here on ET."

The ballroom was packed to the rafters. This was the biggest ticket in the TV category for Comic Con this year. Marvel and DC were dominating the headlines, but the sizable fanbase of the show wanted answers. They wanted to know what to look forward to for next season…or if there even was going to be a next season.

The lights dimmed except for two spotlights showing the middle of the dais. The audience was feeling the buzz.

ARRRRRREEEE YOU GONNA TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT!
AAAAAH, DOWN BESIDE THAT RED FIRELIGHT
ARRRRREEEE YOU GONNA LET IT ALL HANG OUT?
FAT BOTTOMED GIRLS, YOU MAKE THE ROCKIN' WORLD GO ROUND!

Jeff came out with a tricked-out keytar so large, carrying a baby grand piano would have been easier. Lester strutted out behind him wearing his Buy More shirt open and his work tie as a headband as he got into the song by Queen. The audience didn't know what to make of it as Lester continued to belt out the song.

I was just a skinny lad, never knew no good from bad,
but I knew life before I left my nursery.
Left alone with big fat Fanny,
she was such a naughty nanny.
Heap big woman, you made a bad boy out of me!

The crowd started getting into it and burst out singing at the chorus.

Are you gonna take me home tonight?
Ahh, down beside that red firelight
Are you gonna let it all hang out?
Fat bottomed girls, you make the rockin' world go round!

Jeff and Lester finished the song and left the dais to cheers. Backstage, they met with the cast.

"Thank you!" Lester was practically in tears. "They like us, they really like us!"

"Easy, Sally," Casey ground out. "You still have the second song to do."

Jeff and Lester quickly took their places

Outside, the lights dimmed again, and the video wall behind the dais turned from the Comic Con logo to a live broadcast.

"Hello, Comic Con!"

Everyone cheered at seeing Sarah on the screen.

"I know you've been hearing rumors and stories all through the summer. Sometimes something happens that changes your entire world. In my case, it was someone."

She reached off-camera with her hand and pulled Chuck into the frame. "If you ever wanted to know what true love was all about, well, here it is. Right here. I feel so blessed to have met this wonderful man, and I want to spend as much time as I can with him. And as much I've loved doing the show and meeting all of the wonderful fans out there such as yourselves, it's time to let someone else have a turn."

"But that's the good news," Chuck told the audience. "The show WILL continue and it will still be the best show on TV, thanks to the people you're about to meet. Including several new cast members!" Chuck looked to his left. "Hit it, Jeffster!"

Jeff started playing Fat Bottomed Girls again at a lower volume.

"Let's start with our bad guy for the new season," Sarah said. "Playing the suave but rancorous Jonathan Merton, please welcome Cole Barker!"

Cole walked out to the dais, waving to the crowd, who gave enthusiastic applause.

"And his femme fatale partner, Jasmin Sinclair," Chuck continued. "Please say hello to Ilsa Trinchina!"

Ilsa walked out to applause as well and stood behind the large table next to Cole.

"Next, we have the team's new boss: General Al Powell," Chuck said. "Give it up for the big man, Mike Tucker!"

Big Mike walked out there and threw his fist in the air like Arsenio Hall, pumping the crowd up further.

"This season, he becomes a full-time cast member," Sarah said. "He plays the gruff but lovable Duke Forrester, please welcome back the completely lovable John Casey!"

Casey walked out quietly to the applause...until a rather large throng of women started screaming and sent a few pairs of panties in his direction. He couldn't help but smile.

Chuck was next. "Joining the team as Agent Cassandra "Cassie" Vaughn, please welcome the hottest bad-ass you'll ever meet...Alex Forrest!"

Alex walked out to the stage and stood next to Casey. "Did I hear some of them say 'Holy Frak'?" she quietly asked him.

"And I'm hearing the number 6 all of a sudden," Casey replied in confusion.

Chuck continued. "You know her, you love her, you've spent five seasons dreaming about her. Back as Jill Garrett, give it up for Carina Miller!"

The cheering went to maximum as Carina came on the stage. Along with a highly-inappropriate amount of wolf whistles.

"And finally," Sarah concluded. "Playing the super-hot, super sexy, and super FUNNY Lance McCall...Jimmy Slade!"

Jimmy came out with a big grin on his face and waved to the crowd, which was practically on the brink of a riot at seeing the entire team up on the dais.

"To the greatest fans a TV show could have..." Sarah started.
"...We bring you at least two more seasons of..." Chuck continued.
"...SPY TEAM ONE!" they both concluded.

The show's theme music played, and Chuck and Sarah's image was replaced with a silver-barreled gun that fired at the audience before turning to show a stylized '1' on the handle. The shot then zoomed out to show the entire cast and the new logo for the show. It also showed the season's new tagline: Saving The World. It's What We Do.

The crowd continued to cheer as the cast took their seats on the dais.

"Thanks, everybody," Jimmy said as the applause died down. "First, spoiler alert! I might survive falling down the elevator shaft," he quipped. "Either that, or we're playing a really cruel joke on you right now." The crowd went into hysterics.

Off-stage, a group of people from the show joined Ellie, Devon, Morgan, Jeff, and Lester. They were also joined by Grace Hawkinson, who was beyond excited about being given a two-week vacation to the West Coast and being put up in luxury accommodations thanks to Sarah calling in some of the favors Beckman owed the team now.

"Oh, you're Chuck's friend, Morgan, right?" a young but very attractive woman said, coming up behind him.

"Why…yes. Yes I am," Morgan replied, a bit in shock someone this attractive was talking with him. "Are you on the show?"

She nodded. "I'm a writing assistant. I put in time between my classes at USC. I have a bit of a…connection…to the show."

"Hey, you know what? Me, too. I got a full-time job as a personal assistant to Case, Cole, Ilsa, and Carina."

"So, they tell you what to do and you have to go do it?" she said with a bit of snark.

"Oh ho, and remind me again what a writing ASSISTANT does?" Morgan shot back with a playful lilt.

"Fine, standoff." Both of them laughed at that. Morgan could definitely get on-board with seeing that smile every day.

"Sorry, I didn't get your name," Morgan said.

"It's Alex," she replied, shaking his hand. "Alex McHugh."

"So, you said you had a connection to the show?"

"I do. But…it's probably best I don't tell you right now." She held up some tickets. "Especially since I was going to ask you to join me for the Family Guy panel at 1PM."

Morgan's eyes lit up. "I accept," he replied, giving a little bow.

~/^\~

Chuck and Sarah left the small studio in one of the private rooms where they did their introductions for the show and walked to a meal table set up for VIP guests to which the public didn't have access. Sarah was still walking a bit slowly from her injury just over a month ago, but at least she didn't need the cane anymore.

She looked over at Chuck. "Don't tell me you're STILL mad about that."

"You could have at least told me up front that you planned to do that," he grumbled.

"Come on. I was just trying to help Jimmy."

"Did you have to help him THAT much?"

"Chuck, I've done things far, far worse than that in my career."

"I know, but that was to save the world, not piss off Carina."

"Yeah, she's still mad at me about it," she replied with a laugh.

"It's just…wouldn't you be jealous if you were in my place?"

Sarah could only shrug in semi-agreement.

Warner Brothers Studios – Burbank, CA
July 20, 2016
6:30 PM PDT

Friends say it's fine
Friends say it's good
Everybody says it's just like rock n roll

Well it's plain to see
You were meant for me
Yeah, I'm your toy
Your 20th century boy...

"And here he is, the man the ladies love…because it's right there in his name…LL COOL J!"

LL Cool J came out on the stage to three hundred screaming fans.

"Yeah! Lemme hear you say, 'Yeah!'," he shouted…and got it back in return. "Now let me hear you SCREAM!"

The crowd was definitely up for this particular episode of LSB.

"Welcome to Season Four of Lip Sync Battle, and we got an episode so explosive, so incredible, thirty minutes could NOT contain it! But before we unwrap this hour-long package and bring on the crazy, let me say hello to the delightful, delectable, delicious, and definitely a woman with a license to thrill…our colorful commentator…Chrissy TEIGEN!"

Chrissy strutted out in her typical dead-sexy fashion, taking in the noise and applause from the audience. She took her place behind the table.

"Oh, I'm telling you, LL…I can't even contain myself right now!" Chrissy exclaimed. "We are heading into what has to be the most EPIC battle we have EVER had on LSB."

"You know it, girl. Folks, we got two stars who are DEADLY hot and DEADLY talented. Two of the coolest spies on TV. You ready, Chrissy?"

"I am so ready. I am ready to live and let die! These are the spies I love!"

"Let's bring them out. Tonight, it's a not-so-secret battle of the secret agents from Spy Team One. First, she plays the sultry, the sexy, the oh-so-nasty Jill Garrett. Make some noise for CARINA MILLER!"

Carina came out on stage to thunderous applause and screaming, setting the crowd on fire with a tight blouse, a micro miniskirt, and seven-inch stilettos. She walked around and shook hands along the stage as LL Cool J continued.

"And taking on Carina, he is the total package. He's strappin', he's stylin', and he is the hottest funniest, craziest guy ever to wield a Walther PPK. Let's make it loud for JIMMY SLADE!"

Jimmy ran out on stage with a big grin, also getting thunderous applause. He leaped off the stage and started shaking hands with the second, third, and fourth rows, gently pulling off several ladies who tried to jump him. He made his way back to the stage and stood on the opposite side of LL Cool J from Carina, who was giving him a two-mile death stare.

Ballroom 20, San Diego Convention Center – San Diego, CA
July 23, 2016
11:10 AM PDT

"Chuck, you're being ridiculous. Besides, it worked. He won. Actually, he probably could have won it off of his first song."

Chuck and Sarah managed to slip through a side door into Ballroom 20 and hid behind some promotional posters so the crowd wouldn't see them.

"True. I did not expect him to pick Bust A Move to lip sync for his first one," Chuck replied. "LL Cool J really gushed over that one. It's the other one I had a problem with."

"Oh, come on. Old Time Rock 'N' Roll is a classic."

"I agree. I just didn't expect Jimmy to go into full Tom Cruise mode."

"He grew up, like, three miles from where Risky Business was filmed. Why wouldn't he do that?"

"I saw the movie. I don't remember Tom Cruise ripping his dress shirt off and dancing around wearing only socks and tighty whiteys."

"The crowd loved it."

"No, they loved when you came out on stage dressed as Rebecca DeMornay and danced with him."

"I was trying to hype up his performance. And it worked, too."

"You re-enacted the sex scene on the 'L' from the movie. As did all the other dancers!"

"I told you already! I had a second pair of panties on underneath the ones he took off."

The two walked out of the ballroom. "Come on, Chuck. Jimmy and I have been friends for three years. We're practically brother and sister now."

"Fine. It's just…I'm hearing a little too much banjo music in my head right now. I'm afraid someone will come up and tell me to squeal like a pig."

"Oh, stop it," she playfully admonished, giving him a slap on the arm.

She looked back towards the ballroom and smiled. "I am going to miss this. Especially all of them."

Chuck took her hand in his. "Yeah, but they're going to do great. Jimmy will do a great job leading them."

"It took three years, but he turned into such a great spy. And a better person."

"All thanks to you," Chuck replied, giving her a kiss.

The two walked down an empty hallway that wasn't accessible by the public. "By the way, did you hear about some of the demands Beckman had to fulfill?" Chuck asked.

She nodded and laughed. "Casey's list was insane. His own trailer, a piece of the syndication profits, a guarantee to direct four episodes in the next two seasons."

"And here I thought the stuff Carina demanded was crazy. Case directing an episode? Being hung upside-down by Mr. Colt was less scary. What did everyone else want?"

"Morgan got a job on the show as a personal assistant to Casey, Carina, Cole, and Ilsa. And he got that laptop he wanted. Thank God Jeff and Lester didn't want anything else; playing at Comic Con was good enough. Casey and Ilsa had a pretty big argument about the sort of place the government would buy for them. She wanted a condo in Manhattan, and Case wanted a ranch in Colorado. And I think Alex set up her two nieces with college scholarships."

"What about Jimmy?"

"He asked for only one thing. He didn't want anything else, not even his own assistant."

"What's that?"

"The name of the show. They were originally going to change it to Lance McCall: Spy Man, but he insisted they call it something that reflected the whole team."

Chuck nodded and smiled. "That's a very Jimmy thing to do."

"Sarah?"

Both turned towards the voice. Sarah didn't recognize the person, but Chuck was beyond flabbergasted.

"Kevin Feige?" he breathed.

"Nice to meet you, Chuck," Feige replied, shaking his hand before turning back to Sarah. "We've been looking all over for you. We tried to set up meetings with you, but your production company kept giving us the runaround. Actually, we wanted you for the Captain Marvel movie, but we figured you were too dedicated to the TV show to have time. How you and your co-stars are…you guys are like a family. We never thought you'd leave that, but I guess it's like you said up there: sometimes someone changes your whole world. And now that you're retired from the show, we're hoping there's a role for you at Marvel."

"Uh…" Sarah was not prepared for this. She was always an agent first and an actress second…if even then.

"That…that would be wonderful, Mr. Feige," Chuck answered for her. He pulled her close to him. "But this wonderful lady needs some time off."

"Not a problem." Feige handed her a business card. "Call us when you're ready. Everyone would love to meet you. But don't wait too long. We have a few roles with your name on them."

"Take care," Sarah replied, still completely in shock as she shook Feige's hand. Chuck shook hands with him as well, and the two headed towards the exit.

"How about that," Chuck said with a huge grin. "You may not be as retired as you think."

"Chuck, I don't even want to think about that. I just want to find a quiet place somewhere and spend some quality time alone with you."

He turned to her with that smile that always got her on so many levels. "Me, too," he replied, taking her face gently in his hands and kissing her. Her hands grabbed the back of his head as the kiss became more and more amorous.

They continued to walk towards the exit.

"Maybe they should make a movie about us. Or a TV show," Chuck said.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.

"You know, a show about an ordinary guy who becomes the government's most important asset and has this beautiful woman who works with him, and they have adventures with all of their crazy friends and family."

Sarah shook her head. "Come on, Chuck. Who would watch a show like that?"

He exhaled slowly. "Yeah, you're right."

The two left the convention center.