Update and Outtake

I thought I would post here and let you know that there won't be a new chapter of "Chuck vs. Sound of Music II" today.  I only finished the first draft yesterday and there's still a lot of work that must be done before it will be ready to post next week.  Thank you for understanding.

But fear not! I'm posting a outtake from my files.  Here is my alternate, unused beginning to chapter 1 of SOM2.  I was mostly just noodling around, trying to get my SOM voice back since it had been several months since I'd finished the first story.  Read it after the break.

She ducked instinctively as a bullet whizzed by above her head and hit a ceramic flowerpot sitting on the shelf.  It exploded like a bomb had been tucked down amongst the marigolds and daisies, sending shards of pot and clumps of potting soil raining down on her. Sarah Walker Bartowski crouched behind a metal rolling serving cart, Smith & Wesson drawn and ready to fire.  Although the cart was fairly sturdy and she was hiding mostly behind the metal drawers at the bottom, the stainless steel wouldn’t stop a round from piercing through and hitting her.  The door into the café proper was a few feet away to her right, standing open as if inviting her in.  Another bullet zinged by and embedded itself in the wall two feet to her left.  She had to move or get shot for sure.  She took a deep breath and then sprinted off, squeezing off several rounds toward the source of the enemy’s gunfire.  As far as she could tell, there was only one shooter.

She dove through the door as more bullets flew at her.  She hit the floor, hard, and rolled until she was safely behind a wall, knocking over a couple of chairs.  Sitting on her heels, she leaned her back against the wall and took another deep breath.   She popped the magazine out of her pistol, checked it and slammed it back into the grip.  It held six rounds.  Her backup pistol was also strapped around her calf, so all in all, it could have been a lot worse.

“Carina,” she called into her comm.  “I’m pinned down inside the café!  I could use a little help.  You got eyes on our shooter?”

“Yup,” Carina Miller, DEA agent and Sarah’s friend replied.  “He’s hunkered down behind the Smart car at your twelve o-clock.”  She paused and then added.  “Too bad I might have to shoot him.  He’s kinda cute.”

Sarah rolled her eyes.  “Carina, just don’t kill him if you can help it. It’d be nice to find out who he’s working for.”  Sarah peeked around the wall and spotted her redheaded friend creeping along toward the shooter.  A bullet lodged in the doorframe as she pulled her head back.

“It’s just the one guy, right?” Sarah asked.

There was a pause and then Carina said, “There’s only the one.”

“Copy.  I’m gonna hold my fire.  I don’t want to shoot you by accident.”

“Gee, thanks, Walker.  That’d be nice,” Carina said dryly.

The phone in Sarah’s overcoat pocket buzzed.  She looked to see who was texting her although she had a pretty good idea who it was.  One glance at the screen told her who was trying to contact her.  Her heart, already pounding against her ribcage from the shoot out she was in, skipped a beat.  The screen held a favorite picture of Chuck, her husband of five months, and her.  Their eldest niece, Lizzie, had taken it the day of the big snowstorm just after she and Chuck had gotten married.  They were both decked out in knit stocking caps: his a grey one and hers a grey, red and black Sherpa hat, complete with tassel and earflaps.  Chuck had wrapped his arms around her from behind and they were both grinning from ear to ear. Of course, ten seconds after the picture had been taken, Fred, their fourteen-year-old nephew, and Curtis, their eleven-year-old, pelted them both with snowballs.  An all-out snowball fight ensued.  She couldn’t help but smile at the memory despite the bullets coming at her.

“I would love to text you back, sweetie,” she said quietly to herself, “but I’m kinda busy.”

“Aww, Walker,” Carina teased.  “You miss your boy-toy.”

“He’s not my boy-toy, he’s my husband, thank you very much,” she replied.