Chuck Vs. the Sandworm

A CIA asset, Lazlo, had escaped from his home underground. While not as valuable as Chuck, or the girls, his designs were very important to the spies and assets who were using them, including Chuck.

That was weeks ago.

Now was the promotion week, of either Chuck, or Harry Tang for the position of assistant manager. Harry was doing everything he could think of to make Chuck look bad, from taunting, to spying. And Morgan, who wasn't in Big Mike's office to defend himself, was claimed to be the anchor around Chuck's neck if he didn't do his best work around the human resources man in charge of promotions.

In the meantime, Ellie was decorating for their annual Halloween party. Like most of the parties they hosted, there was going to be alcohol, so she made arrangements for the twins since neither she, nor Chuck had found a babysitter willing to stick around.

Casey caught Chuck just before the asset made it past the water fountain.

"Bartowski!"

"What?" Chuck asked. He approached Casey with caution. The man may have been assigned to protect him, but Casey always reminded Chuck that if his job wasn't to protect him, he'd kill him.

"You're going to be having a party tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah. Did Ellie invite you?"

"She did, but I turned her down. We can't all be the life of the party."

"Right then... Im, uh... I'm gonna see if Ellie wants help decorating." Chuck turned back to his apartment when Casey's voice stopped him. "And pack the girls up for their sleepover."

"Oh, no... they're not going on any sleepovers."

"Okay, babysitters, I get because you don't want people you haven't checked out going into my home. But why can't they sleep over at a friend's house? Shouldn't I be able to let them, since I am their father."

"Do I really need to spell it out for you?"

"Yeah, I think you do."

"Okay... I-N-T," Casey opened.

"Please don't spell Intersect." His hands covered his face. He knew where this was going.

"E-R-S. E-C-T... Or should I call B-E-C-K-M-A-N and pull the plug on this whole operation?"

"Alright. You've made your point. They won't go to their friend's house. But what will I tell everyone? I can't keep using the headache excuse."

"You'll come up with something. Just don't make it a medical issue or your sister will give them a checkup and know you're lying."

Chuck waved in acknowledgement as he went back toward his place. Coming up with a lie for himself was easier that it was for the twins when they felt fine. He opened the door to find Ellie tacking fake cobwebs to the ceiling.

He informed her that he was going to be late for the party because the promotional interview had been scheduled for that afternoon.

"We can just make it an assistant manager party, too, then," she said as if he already had the job.

"Sure, yeah, if you feel like jinxing it."

Ellie had the impression that Chuck was growing up. So, she decided to ask if he and Morgan would consider separate costumes.

Then Devon came out, showing off his Adam costume. It made for an awkward moment for Chuck.

~***~***~

Chuck found Morgan at the arcade center on the pier. He was tasked with finding his friend to calm a tense Big Mike since the man was late for a double shift.

Morgan let him know that the costume was picked up from the dry cleaners and that the salad dressing from the previous year had been washed out

"You ready to win another buy more costume contest?" Morgan ased as he placed the strap of a guitar controller over his shoulder.

"No. No, no, 'cause you're supposed to be at work, buddy."

"Dude, I got ten big ones riding on this quote-unquote videogame, so can I just have, uh..." he waved down his contestant. "This guy's been handing me my ass all week. Time to return the favor."

No one noticed Chuck staring at the man who battled against Morgan. Intersect files flashed before his eyes. As with most of his previous flashes, this one contained a wanted poster.

"Uh, Morgan."

"Yeah, buddy?"

"Morgan, this guy is dangerous."

This earned Chuck a look from the man he would soon know as Lazlo. Lazlo took the opportunity before vanishing and looked down to see the watch Sarah had given Chuck. It was a watch he'd designed.

"How did you find me? How did you find me?" Lazlo asked. He had reappeared behind the games console. His voice rose with every word.

Chuck was so nervous that he was glad he didn't bring the twins. They loved the arcade. But this would have to be one of their bedtime stories, much like the others had been.

"Who else knows I'm here? Who do you work for?"

Chuck denied everything by saying he didn't know what Lazlo was talking about, but that didn't stop the escapee.

"I know you're a spy! Your watch? I designed that watch for the CIA. Are there other agents waiting for me outside?" After no response, he asked again.

Are there other agents waiting for me outside?" When he still didn't get an answer, he ran away.

~***~***~

In a panic that wouldn't alarm Ellie, Chuck entered his home and asked if Sarah was there. She was waiting in his room.

"Said she had a surprise for you," Devon said. He thought something physical was going to happen and was proud of Chuck.

Chuck disappeared into his room without asking how the twins were, or where they were.

~***~***~

Chuck made sure to close his door before going into a full-blown panic that was still at a decibel Ellie and Devon weren't going to hear.

"Who is this Lazlo character? He just ID'd me as an agent."

"Relax. We're looking into him. And you did the right thing," Sarah assured him.

"I... I didn't do anything. I just flashed on the guy."

"You followed protocol, and I'm going to check in with you first thing in the morning."

At Chuck's request, Sarah stayed for a little while longer to sell their cover relationship.

"Why were you waiting for me in my room, anyway?"

"Well, I wanted to surprise you. Uh, it's, uh, it's us at comic-con. What do you think?" She gave him a framed photo of them. He was dressed as Han Solo, and she as Princess Leia.

"It's... It's great. But we've never actually been to comic-con, have we? Wow, we... We actually look like a real couple." He couldn't help being envious of the photoshopped image that was now in his hands.

~***~***~

In the morning, Chuck had followed his usual routine of bringing the girls to school. The hope that he wouldn't get calls saying they didn't feel well was always present.

He still didn't know how he was going to get them out of going to their friend's house the following night as they hadn't had any flashes recently.

Casey was angry with him for not telling both agents about his run-in with Lazlo and for telling Lazlo who gave him the watch.

~***~***~

Chuck held an admiration for Lazlo as he was like Chuck's favorite Bond villain, Q. He also felt for the man because Lazlo's life could have been, and could still be, his fate if he didn't get the Intersect out of his head.

You should trust your handlers precisely as much as they trust rang in Chuck's head all day until he came. He took three rooms apart, thinking he didn't need to check Ellie's or the twins' rooms. Anything that could be used to hide surveillance equipment. It started with the living room where he found a bug under a lamp and in the landline. There were some hidden in the bathroom lights. His bedroom was saved for last. The picture frame had a bug inside of it.

He rushed out of the apartment and crossed the courtyard to Casey's. He knocked until Casey opened the door.

"What the hell are these?" he asked, stepping in uninvited.

"Seems you already know, Chuck."

"I can't believe you've been prying into my most intimate moments... You know what? I swear to God, if I find out you've been spying on my sister, and daughters, I will kill you, Casey."

"Intimate moments? Not really an issue thus far. At least, not in the sense of traditional two-person intimacy."

"He-he-he. Do you have any idea how violated I feel right now?"

"You feel violated? No, no, no, my ears feel violated. 'Cause they have to listen to you and that moron Morgan yammering on for four hours about what sandwich you're gonna take if you were stranded on a deserted island."

"What are you nuts? Nobody was talking about sandwiches for four hours."

To prove Casey's point, he played the audio.

"And since you brought your daughters up, we included them in our surveillance because they're Intersects, too." Casey lied. He had his suspicions, but the handlers still needed Chuck or the girls to confirm.

"Did they... did they tell anyone? Those were bedtime stories that I thought I was telling them in private since they're too young for field work. Did they tell anyone?"

"No...You just did."

"Well, I'll have you know, I stand by my mayonnaise theory. And you're still a giant douche for spying on us like that." Chuck was upset with himself for spilling the beans. Had he known about the surveillance, he never would have regaled the twins with those stories or talked about the Intersect with them.

"Well, if it's any comfort, Chuck, we planted those bugs to protect you. How did you find the surveillance, anyway?"

"Oh, a little birdie named Lazlo told me."

"What? You contacted Lazlo and didn't tell me?"

"I'm sorry, Casey. Did I violate your trust?"

~***~***~

Chuck returned to his apartment and checked on the girls. They were playing in their room like they had been when he found the bugs. He didn't think he would have hoped they were asleep until he went to his own room and saw Lazlo sitting in his office chair.

Lazlo asked if there was a place Chuck could hide him for the night. And there was one.

"Just let me tell my kids that I'm leaving."

"Are you kidding? Kids are the worst at keeping secrets!"

"Not mine. They have secrets that would land them in a bunker if my handlers found out. And they never said a word to them... Look, if you don't want them to know, I'll just say that I forgot to fix some hard drives that should have been done today."

Finally, there was something Lazlo agreed to should the twins have asked where Chuck was going and why he was leaving them alone.

With Casey right next door, he didn't feel he needed to call someone for them.

Of all the places Chuck could have brought Lazlo, he brought him to the Buy More. Lazlo made himself comfortable in the home theater room by first having gone through the aisles and selecting every Bond film he could get his hands on. And snacks... lots of snacks.

"You were right about the bugs, by the way," Chuck said after Lazlo broke his watch to destroy the GPS transmitter. "God knows what they put in my car."

I've got a pretty good idea. I broke into it earlier, disabled the GPS system."

"How did you... You designed my car."

Lazlo was proud of himself as no one in the entire world knew where they were.

~***~***~

"Chuck," Ellie said as she walked through the door. She thought he was home since it was after the girls' bedtime, and he was almost always the one to put them to bed.

To her surprise, the twins were still wide awake with no sign of Chuck.

"Why are you alone? Where's your dad?"

"Aunt Ellie, play pirates with us," Maya said as she took Ellie's hand in her and pulled the woman into their room.

"I think it's time for bed, girls. Why don't we play pirates tomorrow when you get your costumes on for your friend's party?"

"Daddy said we can't go," Kelley moped.

"Did he give a reason?"

"He said we missed too many school days because of our headaches," Maya continued.

Kelley told Ellie what she remembered Chuck saying before he left. And who was with him.

"You two get ready for bed. I'm going to be having some words with your father the second he walks through that door," Ellie said through gritted teeth.

~***~***~

As promised, Ellie did have those words with her brother. They started with...

"They are seven, Chuck... seven. They shouldn't be left unsupervised... And telling them can't go to their friend's house tomorrow because they missed too many school days? It's not their fault they got headaches, or fevers, or upset stomachs."

"I know, Sis. I know..."

"Really? Chuck, you are one of the most responsible parents I've ever met... What's going on that you forgot about them?"

"Ellie, I would love to change my decision. But no matter how ridiculous it seems to you; I have to follow through." It was the only way he could think to answer her question about Halloween night but leaving the twins home alone... he was having a harder time answering that one. And it's complicated was not going to suffice. "Leaving them home alone won't happen again. I promise... Did they want a bedtime story?"

"Actually, they wanted to play pirates. I think your kids are even more adventurous than you."

"You're probably right," he lied. It didn't feel right that this lying business was getting easier for him. "I should probably get ready for that interview... and I really am sorry about last night."

~***~***~

Sarah came while Chuck finished the knot in his tie. He took the compliment she gave and added his own grain of salt.

"I feel like crap. I screwed up. I severely pooched the Lazlo situation last night."

"Yeah, well... Today, you have a job interview."

"Do you think I care about making lower management at a buy more? Are you kidding me? I aided and abetted the escape of the next Ted Kaczynski, Sarah. I just... I can't believe that I was so wrong about that guy." He sat at the foot of his bed and Sarah took the office chair. "No wonder you bugged my room. I'm an absolute idiot."

"You know, just because you trust people, it doesn't make you an idiot."

"Yeah, well, I should've trusted you guys a little more. I'm sorry..." He didn't even bother asking if she knew about the twins. "What's going to happen to them?"

"We'll talk about that after the mission, okay."

Chuck nodded. There was no point in trying to get a real answer out her yet.

"Casey got a signal on your car, and somehow the GPS got turned back on and Lazlo was heading East. So, I'll call you from the road. And don't worry, we're going to bring him in, Chuck. Good luck today."

And she left.

~***~***~

Lazlo was caught under the pier where his handler had found him as a child. He had armed Chuck's Nerd Herder, which was a bomb. The pier's Halloween party was saved to no one's knowledge but those involved in the mission.

Chuck didn't get the assistant manager position because he failed to show up for the interview in his effort to stop the terrorist act of someone he thought was a friend.

Every time a mission came up and his life was in the crosshairs, Chuck always said he wasn't going to tell the twins everything. But coming up with a bedtime version of this was going to have to wait until the next day. Casey had taken the twins, an unusual offer on his part, so that they could sleep through the party. And Chuck couldn't argue since he wasn't allowed to hire a babysitter or let the girls stay with friends.

~***~***~

"Can his daughters be trusted?" Graham asked over the video conference.

"They've had the Intersect from the beginning of the mission, Sir," Casey answered. "We only became aware that they might be through our surveillance. Bartowski was the one to confirm it."

"Very well. If the asset's children haven't told anyone after all this time, we don't see any reason for a double, or even a triple extraction," Beckman said. "Enjoy the rest of your evening Major."

The screen went dark. The call had ended, and the three Intersects were staying put... for now.