Rogue Spy – Chapter 12 Sneak Peek

Hey, guys!

It's been a little while since I've updated this story. Remember Chuck vs. the Rogue Spy? No? Well, to freshen up your memory, I'm previewing a brief excerpt from Chapter 12, before updating in a few days.

That's right, "The Buy More Campaign". I finally got to write the Morgan-centric chapter you all wanted! You're welcome.

Chapter 12: The Buy More Campaign

Chuck hung up the phone. It was just his luck; another computer emergency on Skip’s off day. He pondered asking Jeff and Lester to take care of it as he yawned, but convincing them would take him as much time and effort as doing it himself, only in a much more annoying way. Chuck sighed and swore when he toppled the pencil holder for the third time this afternoon as he moved around the Nerd Herd desk.

“Chuck!”

He looked up from the car keys he had just seized, and watched his sister draw close to the Nerd Herd desk with…Morgan? Chuck had barely seen either of them in the past few days; the hunt for Shaw, the team’s main focus, had kept them busy. They needed to catch him, before he tried something on Sarah again. “Ellie, hi!” he greeted. “What, uh, what are you doing here?”

“We need to talk,” Ellie said.

Chuck tensed immediately. At his sister’s words, his first reflex was to look around, in search of a possible escape. He spotted Captain Awesome by the DVDs. His brother-in-law gave Chuck a significant look. Uh-oh—he was in trouble. “The three of us?” he asked.

“Chuck,” Morgan said in a solemn tone, “this conversation is never an easy one to have.”

“And what conversation would that be, exactly?” Chuck said. As if he didn’t have enough to worry about already, Ellie and Morgan had apparently chosen that day for a family talk.

“We’ve known each other most of our lives,” Morgan said, which earned him a look from Ellie. Chuck could relate; he could feel his eyebrows rising with every word. “We, uh, we went through puberty together.”

“Hmm.”

“We went through the awkward stage after puberty, the awkward high school years, your awkward college years, and now, our current awkward Buy More years. Which is why this moment for me, for us,” Morgan said, using his finger to point alternatively at Ellie and him very fast. Chuck’s best friend was nervous. “Is so very...”

Chuck jiggled the keys in his hand. “Awkward?” he said.

Morgan nodded. “Yeah.”

“Morgan, what exactly is going on?”

“Something is,” Morgan said. He tapped his palm flat against the desk for emphasis. “Something is going on in your life.”

“Okay, look, I hear you—the both of you,” Chuck said. Maybe it was time to tell them. He’d been contemplating it ever since he and Sarah had talked about telling them the truth, but with everything that had happened with Shaw, he still hadn’t come to a decision. “But, but shouldn’t we, I don’t know, have dinner or something? ‘Cause a customer just called and—”

“You don’t have to lie, Chuck,” Ellie said.

“I’m not—”

“Listen,” she cut him off. “Uh, I get it, you know. I’m not the one that you share everything with anymore. I just...I just miss being that person. I just wanted to let you know that I’m a really good secret keeper. And—”

“And I’m your best friend!” Morgan said. Ellie’s eyes conveyed a bit of exasperation. “And more importantly,” he corrected, “Ellie is your sister.”

“Okay, um.” Chuck tossed his car keys back in a drawer. “Why don’t we go somewhere more private?” he said while getting around the Nerd Herd desk. He was walking to them, and looking around to see if anyone could overhear their conversation, when he flashed on a man in black entering the store—a Ring agent. Shaking off the flash, Chuck guided both Ellie and Morgan forward with a hand on their backs. “Let’s go to the break room,” he said. “Devon!” he called over his shoulders.

Chuck looked behind him. The Ring agent wasn’t alone; he had Ring buddies with him, along with guns—many, many guns.

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And that's all for today. Thanks for reading!