Don't own Chuck
Previous Chuck stories and order: 1 Chuck vs Charles, 2 Chuck vs the Love Boat, 3 Chuck vs The Rock, 4 Chuck vs Amtrak, 5 Chuck vs The Dictator, 6 Chuck vs The Name, 7 Chuck vs The Volcano, 8 Chuck vs The Ghost, 9 Chuck vs The Shooter, 10 Chuck vs The Package, 11 Chuck vs The Jade Dragon, 12 Chuck vs Jai-Alai, 13 Chuck vs The Greek
Chuck was over the mid-Atlantic when he received Sarah's frantic phone call. Although there was little he could do but he wasn't going to go down without a fight. There had to be something he could do, there just had to be. He checked his altitude and thought about coming in low flying under the radar but that would only get him halfway home. No he needed a diversion, a decoy and if possible one that would bite the Director where he needed to be bitten at. Chuck's mind raced through different ideas until he turned to Carina and smiled.
"Carina, do we have any other jets on the radar?"
"There are two ahead of us."
"Do we know who's on board them? Anyone famous or important, I guess that's kind of dumb I mean not everyone has their own jet so-"
"I get it Chuck and I understand," said Carina. She couldn't help but overhear Sarah's desperate call. "There's some Texas tycoon in the one at our two o'clock and a Congressman in the one at our ten. Get this he's on the house oversight commission for the CIA."
"Really, I need for you to take over after I get us under them."
"Won't they pick us up on their radar?"
"No, I just sent a hack through their Wi-Fi that will take our blip off their screen."
"I have a feeling I don't want to know what you're about to do."
"Probably not, but this will get me home at least. Let's call this operation Black Flag."
The two jets flew dangerously close with Chuck's shadowing under the congressman's until they hit the Atlantic coast then Chuck veered off and continued on west while the Congressman banked and headed for Ronald Regan International Airport, Washington DC. That is until it picked up a F-16 escort.
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General Beckman was at her desk as usual looking over last minute details. She felt a little sad that Operation Bartowski was finally coming to a close but the Director had handed down orders for Chuck's arrest on his return to the United States. She had argued against it but he wouldn't budge and nothing short of an act of God was going to change his mind. She had a copy of the arrest orders on her desk in a large folder marked 'terminate' in red. The Air Force had been tracking his jet since it crossed the mid-Atlantic. The only thing left was to arrange something, as in Supermax, he couldn't be placed in with the general prison population most of whom he had helped arrest. Then there was the question of the intersect which had been ignored in the Director's tirade. As she was about to put pen to paper her phone rang.
"Yes Director, what can I do for you? … Yes it's signed and the F-16s have been dispatched. He should be in custody soon at our site in West Virginia," she said as she looked at the termination folder on her desk she had purposely tried to forget. "Yes sir, I'll be right there." The General hung up her phone then walked out. "If anyone is looking for me I'll be with the Director."
"What do you want me to do with the escort to Langley?"
"Tell them to hold him on station there, God has spoken."
"What?"
"Colonel put everything on hold and have them tell Chuck he'll be going home. That's an order," she said smiling from ear to ear, at least the inside. She walked down to the elevator where she swiped her pass and the doors opened then again to go up to the top floors. She got off and walked down the hall of blame as it was called, a corridor where all the photographs of all the former directors hung. At the end she arrived at the director's office knocking she entered.
"Connie, he called me."
"I know Diane. He'll be right with you, please have a seat. Can I get you something? A cup of coffee or a Scotch."
"You tell me what mood he's in?"
"Hard to tell he's in with a special visitor the likes of which I never thought I'd see here." Just then the Director stuck his head out.
"Is General Beckman here? Oh hi Diane, can you please come in?"
"First name," said Connie, "must be good."
General Beckman followed the Director into his office and sitting across from his desk was a well-dressed man in his mid to late forties with salt and pepper hair. He got up as she entered the room and offered her his hand.
"Diane let me introduce you to Stefan Metrohken. He works for the SVR Directorate S and this is-"
"No, need for an introduction I know the General quite well. We've crossed swords before not openly but yes I know you or at least I've studied you for years."
"I'm sorry but I can't say the same. What brings you here," she asked as she looked back at the Director.
"Go ahead you can tell her what you told me."
"Well you paid a visit to my house and I'm here to return the favor."
"Agent Carmichael, Chuck."
"Yes, although I know him as Juri Sheshenko, quite a good dancer might I add as well as that partner of his, Sasha."
"Sasha?" said the Director looking over at the General.
"Agent Carina Miller, DEA. So I take it this is more than a social call?"
"Yes, Chuck helped us with a nasty situation; actually he helped both of us. It would have been too bad if one of those warheads had exploded in someplace like Norfolk, New York, San Diego or even Washington DC. I think we would be looking at each other through cross hairs instead of here if that had happened."
"You're probably right," said the General as she looked back at the Director. Those were the same words she had spoken not hours before in the middle of his temper tantrum.
"But I'm not here about that I want to give you a good will gesture, a sort of payback of sorts. I just gave your Director a file of activities that a group of our illegals did back in the early eighties that I think you'll find interesting. I hope that this will bring about a new wave of cooperation between our organizations. Truly the world is a safer place when we work together despite the political positions of our governments."
"Thank you Stefan for this information and if there is anything we can do in return."
"Well there is. You see I brought my family with me and I'd like to take them to the theatre tonight. I heard that Fiddler on the Roof was playing and I'm dying to hear Perchik again." The General stifled a laugh.
"I'll have my secretary get on it. I'm sure we can find you the best seats in the house just give her the name of the theater."
"Thank you then until next time," Stefan said as he got up and shook both their hands. "And one more thing you ought to know about your agent. We asked him to stay with us."
"You asked Chuck to defect!" said the Director.
"Yes, we offered him his own directorate, anything he wanted but be refused. He said he was no traitor and that he had a family to get back home to. You're lucky to have people like him working for you. I'd trade an army for just one like him. We even told him what was waiting for him when he came home but he still refused," said Stefan then left.
General Beckman opened the folder then began thumbing through the pages that the Russians had kindly translated into English. However, as she did she kept hearing Stefan's words in her head. There was something he said that caught her attention but she couldn't nail it down then she saw the word 'nuclear' and was distracted.
"Am I reading this correctly," she said, "there's a suitcase nuke buried in Los Angeles?"
"Yes and do you see whose house it's buried close to."
"But he's dead."
"Not when they planted it. Read on it explains a bit about the program. I guess they've wanted to remove it for years but haven't been able to."
"I heard about something similar that was found in Bern, Switzerland and when they tried to open it, it exploded some sort of Booby-trap, molniya if I remember right."
"Yeah lightning explosive inside, they used a water cannon and only out of pure luck no one was hurt."
"But it wasn't a nuke, if something like that happened with a nuke even if it didn't explode on its own it would turn into a dirty bomb and contaminate who knows what."
"That's right depending on the amount of radioactive material that was freed into the atmosphere and the wind direction. That's why I want Agent Bartowski on this."
"I assume you're talking about Chuck not his wife."
"No one else has defused a nuclear device with fruit juice but we need both along the rest of his team. See I do read your reports."
"So am I to assume everything from the previous orders is cancelled?"
"He can't search for nukes from a prison cell although I wish he could after that last stunt."
"So to be perfectly clear, he's not going to jail and he gets to collect two hundred dollars?"
"You're going to make me eat crow, aren't you?"
"Every feather, Director."
"Diane, you know you're the only one I take this crap from."
"Oh no," said the General as she looked at the Director as a sudden realization came to her. Something that Stefan had said on his way out that finally clicked. "Crap, Chuck knows he's going to be arrested."
"That's all been recalled," said the Director.
"No, you don't understand Chuck's not the type of person to just roll over. If he thinks we're going to arrest him he'll find a way to see his wife first and worse he doesn't think he has anything to lose. I need to get word to him ASAP."
"Do it! We need him on this mission. We can't afford for him to go underground like his father." Just then Connie, the Director's secretary called in.
"I'm sorry for interrupting but I've got an Agent Krantz on the phone who says he needs to talk to both of you and he says it's urgent."
"He was one of the agents we sent to West Virginia," said the General as she thought if it's urgent she didn't like it.
"Patch it through," said the Director, "and put it on speaker so we both can talk. Have you got any idea what's going on?"
"No, none I wish he had called me first so I could've given you a heads up and I don't know why he didn't."
"General, Director this is Agent Krantz, I need to report a situation."
"Is that the Director? Give me that phone I want to give him a piece of my mind," they heard from an irate voice screaming in the background.
"Who's with you? That voice is familiar," said the Director.
"One minute sir, I know you want to talk to my Bosses and I'll pass them just please be patient," said the agent. "I'm sorry Director but the Congressman is upset."
"Congressman! What Congressman? There wasn't supposed to be any Congressman?" said the General. Holy crap she thought, she remembered reading a message about a congressman returning for a treaty summit with Caribbean nations and not just any congressman.
"Give me that," they heard along with the sound of a scuffle. "Tom this is Mike. What the hell is going on? When does the Air Force interdict congressional planes and what is this site I'm at? I don't remember any facility like this being in your reports to my committee. I just got off my phone with the White house you'd better clear your books the three of us, you, the president and myself are going to have a long sit down to discuss your government employment. Christ, what'd have happened if my pilot hadn't known the guy in the F-16, would you've shot us down? And when does the Air Force fly unmarked jets. Crap don't answer that I don't want to know and especially over an unsecure line." Suddenly there was silence the call dropped.
"Connie," yelled the Director, "get me back in touch with that number. General, I need something done with that nuke so I can wave something up on Capitol Hill or there will be another photograph added to that line outside in the hall."
"I'm on it right now," said the General as she left and walked back down the same hallway she came in on glancing at the smiling faces hanging on the wall wondering if they'd been smiling when they all got canned. She couldn't help but whisper to herself, "well played Chuck," but she'd never tell him that.
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Sarah, Casey and Mary had the blueprints for Supermax laid out on the kitchen table going over its weakness and places it would be easy to break into. Emma and Molly were over at Ellies' packing. They couldn't stay there if everyone was going on the lam. Casey sent Alex and Morgan away back to the Buy More where they'd be safe and away from any danger of incrimination when things went sideways which was more a certainty than a possibility.
"I'd like to make one stop on the way in," said Casey.
"What for? We need to get in and get out as quick as possible. As soon as we blow the perimeter everything is going to get crazy fast so I don't think there's much time to go sightseeing," said Mary.
"It won't take long. I just want to stop off at Shaw's cell and dot his eye or better in between with my Sig then I'll be ready to roll."
"As much as I'd like to do that too," said Sarah. "We don't have time. But nothing would stop us from tossing a grenade in, pineapple."
"Very un-sportsman like. I like it," said Casey.
"I don't want to sound like a negative Nancy but you're all probably going to get killed and Chuck's still going to be in prison."
"What's your suggestion then we knock on the front door and ask pretty please," said Casey.
"No, let me talk to my people back at MI6 and see if I can get my government to ask for Chuck's release. You may have to relocate operations to England but Newcastle is lovely this time of year."
"That does sound safer and it helps keep my family together," said Sarah, "and if they don't we still have the information on Decker and Winterbottom. Hartley is a British citizen."
"I know him, he was a top MI6 Engineer that dropped off the grid no one knew what happened to him. Kind of like our Jimmy Hoffa."
"It's a long story," said Casey, " and one that, if told, would get us a bullet in the back of the head and a dirt nap afterwards."
The doorbell rang and Cole was the closest so he answered.
"I'm just saying I think if one government asked another a blood bath could be avoided," he said as he opened the door.
"Pizza deliver," said the man standing in front of the door with a ball cap pulled down over his eyes and a huge moustache that almost covered his lower face. Beside him stood a girl with black hair flowing from under her ball cap, it too was pulled down over her eyes but with her extra tight shirt and cut off blue jean shorts her face wasn't what anyone was looking at.
"Hey Sarah, the pizza you ordered is here," yelled Cole back as the three stepped inside the apartment.
"I didn't order any pizza," Sarah said as the girl next to the pizza deliveryman kicked the door closed. Chaos erupted as Casey and Sarah drew weapons. Cole dove into the living room to get out of the line of fire.
"Hey, who doesn't like a nice vegetarian with no olives," said Chuck as he took off his cap and removed his moustache.
"I don't have a moustache to take off and I kind of like the cap. Cole, what do you think? You know I always wanted you at my feet," Carina said as she walked over to him in the living room
"Come here," Cole said as he got up and kissed her.
Sarah flew across the room into Chuck's arms almost knocking him over as she grabbed hold of him and kissed him.
"Give me that before you drop it," said Casey as he took the pizza from Chuck.
"Okay enough with the face sucking; you two mind explaining how you got here and Chuck, why you're not in Supermax?"
"Yes, I'd like to know that too," said General Beckman as she came on the monitor in the living room. "It seems your communications link has been down and my techs had to work most of the morning to get it back up. As for you Agent Bartowski, Chuck-"
"Oh, I'm still an agent?"
"Chuck let the General speak," said Casey.
"It's alright Colonel I can understand some rancor after our little misunderstanding."
"I don't think there was any misunderstanding."
"Well as the interim, acting, pro temp, director I can say all that is behind us now. I would have communicated it with you earlier but you were maintaining radio silence."
"Purely for operational necessity," said Carina.
"I'm sure. Can you also explain how a certain Congressman's aircraft had your plane's transponder signal while you had none?"
"Crazy coincidence, right co-pilot?"
"Yes, just a crazy coincidence but I think I reported after we left the Azores that our transponder was acting up. I guess the control tower didn't hear us."
"I guess but Chuck I'd like a 'how to' written up for me. I need to give a brief at the Air Force academy but leave out all names."
"I can write you up something, hypothetically that is."
"Now I need to brief you on your get out of jail free card."
"Not so fast General, I think the CIA needs to start pulling their weight around here."
"Explain, so we can get back to the mission."
"Well General that last mission was kind of expensive for Carmichael Industries."
"You mean the off the book, I didn't know anything about and the ex-director got relieved over one? Is that the mission you're talking about?"
"It just sounds bad said like that. Well, what I'm trying to say is easy really. We, Agent Miller and myself confiscated Stavros Demetrios' Lear Jet and so for compensation I was wondering if the government couldn't see its way to giving it to Carmichael Industries as compensation for services rendered."
"The services that led to the man in this office being fired, am I correct?"
"Again, said like that makes it sound so bad but yes."
"Oh hell, it isn't going to cost me anything so okay it's yours."
"Good, I'm already having it repainted." Carina smiled and nodded her head.
"Okay boys and girls can we get back to the mission? There's a lost nuke in Los Angeles. I'm sorry Agent Barker but I got called by your people and they want you and Agent Miller in London by tomorrow. The full briefing I'll give you in Castle in an hour and for Christ's sake get rid of those blueprints. Beckman out."