Outtake #3 - From "Tap-Dancing Through a Mine Field"

"I highly doubt that you're a drag, Chuck." Ellie turned away to close up the dumpsite.

“Really? Ask Sarah about the time I hit her with a tranq dart sometime, then.”

Ellie whirled, her eyes widening. “Why on earth would you ever have a tranquilizer gun?”

“Uh…training.” What made the lie worse was the fact that he had a tranq gun stuffed in his waistband that very moment. But he held up both hands, which did absolutely nothing to mollify his sister. “I’m just an analyst, but Washington wants us to keep up to date with, uh, basic self-defense, and Sarah was teaching me about how to use a tranquilizer gun, just in case, and I accidentally shot her. But I bought her flowers after!”

“Flowers?” Ellie frowned.

“Well, yeah, I wasn’t sure exactly what to get a girl after you knock her out with a tranq dart. I mean, I know I’ve had some dating disasters in my past, but even that’s a bit beyond the reach of ‘Duck, It’s Bartowski!’ So I figured flowers were safe.”

“Uh-huh.”


This was cut in the final draft because even though it's funny, it was a little bit off topic, also it's stepping just a little too close to one of those mines that the chapter title references.

Hope you enjoyed!

- Frea