Chuck, Sarah and Casey deliver a competent but unimpressive presentation on Carmichael Industries to an audience of potential clients. The requisite post-presentation glad-handing is broken up by what seems to be an all out assault on the auditorium: the lights go out and intruders storm the stage. It's the next presenter, Verbanski Corp, grandstanding their way into the room with a mock attack. They present their impressive qualifications to a newly receptive audience. Casey sneers. Gertrude Verbanski and he go back to the days of the cold war.
Casey barges into Castle, fuming about Verbanski's return. An ex-KGB operative,
Verbanski has defeated Casey before - and now she's back stealing clients. And
upstairs, the woes continue: Buy More looks like a ghost town. With customers scarce, Chuck's plan to have the store bankroll Carmichael Industries will come
to a crashing halt.
Strolling the empty aisles of the store, Morgan appeals to Chuck to get him more
involved in the spy operation. With the Intersect, he knows he can put Carmichael in the forefront of the spy game. But Chuck's firm: the Intersect must remain a secret weapon. Publicizing it could get Morgan killed. They're interrupted when Morgan zooms on a customer who seems to be a weapons dealer. Fearful the bad guy is reaching for a gun, Morgan zooms again and leaps to knock the bad guy out cold. Chuck's phone rings. It's good news: there's a client on his way who's interested in hiring the team. The bad news is Morgan just knocked him out.
Chuck, Sarah and John wake up Karl Sneijder, the unconscious man from the store, at Castle. He's involved in the dirty diamond industry; his exploitation of Africa led Morgan to zoom on him as a bad guy. After hearing the team's apologies, Karl explains that his brother, Wesley, was kidnapped by a buyer whom Sneijder wronged in the past. The kidnapper sent Karl a human finger as proof that he's got his brother. Chuck and the team are wary, but when Karl offers $200,000 up front and another $200,000 once Wesley's found, they agree to take him on as a client.
Sarah pulls Chuck aside. She's concerned that Morgan is having trouble adjusting
to his Intersect skills; she wants Chuck to be his handler. Chuck agrees and reluctantly goes to talk to Morgan about it. But Morgan's agreeable; he knows that it took Peter Parker "like over a week" to get a hold of his "spidey-sense." Chuck's pleased. Big Mike barges in with a game plan for returning the Buy More to its glorious, prosperous past: A '70s-inspired commercial with afros and boogie-downs. Chuck isn't buying it.
The team learns the location where the kidnapped brother is being held: a desert fortress perched on a cliff. Casey, dressed as a hunter, scouts the property to evaluate its security. Meanwhile, Sarah receives a call from Gertrude Verbanski. She wants Sarah to join her team. Sarah meets with her just long enough to deliver the message: no way.
While Chuck and Morgan are shopping in a convenience store, a gunman bursts in and accosts the cashier. Watching from a hidden aisle, Morgan zooms and jumps into action, wearing a Zorro-style eye shade. He tackles the robber, but before he can knock him out, the robber gets the drop on him. Just as he's about to shoot Morgan, Chuck intercepts the gun and saves the day. It's all great untilChuck and Morgan realize the cops are outside and Morgan's handprints are on the gun. They bail.
Extra! Extra! Morgan, aka the Bearded Bandit, makes the morning paper, but Sarah and Casey aren't happy about it. The Intersect must remain under wraps or
they're all in danger. They turn to the mission at hand. Casey and Sarah explain
that they know where Wesley's being kept, and if they're going to get him, they
have to make sure Morgan isn't messing up their plans. Chuck breaks the news to Morgan that he'll be staying in the van during Wesley's rescue.
Big Mike takes charge of producing a new commercial for Buy More. Despite a raft of would-be customers and spokespeople, no one is really clicking - until Captain Awesome arrives. Big Mike can tell Awesome's got the chiseled good looks that could turn the Buy More's fortunes around. Mike goes on to suffer a dizzy spell. As Awesome attends to him, Big Mike convinces him to do the Buy More commercial.
With Morgan safely in the van running surveillance, Casey, Chuck and Sarah examine their approach to the mountaintop home where Wesley Sneijder is being held. Their only way up is to climb an enormous rock wall. Sarah's up to the task and takes the lead; the others belay and climb their way up. But when they make their way inside the fortress, they discover Wesley Sneijder is anything but grateful. The truth is that he's been hiding from his brother Karl. He's the one who cut Wesley's finger off and is now trying to kill him for turning
state's witness against him. Chuck and team have been duped into capturing - not rescuing - Wesley.
As Chuck and Morgan sneak and then fight their way through the compound, Casey and Sarah hear about their rogue mission from Chuck and high tail it to help out. As they speed along, Casey confesses he was once romantically involved with Verbanski. "Have you ever had sex with someone who just tried to kill you?" he asks Sarah. "It's incredible."
