I have to admit having some trouble trying to get my New Year's story in. These things are a lot harder to type on an iPad, but I'm visiting the relatives in Chicago, and I didn't want to bring my laptop. I may consider doing that next time.
Anyway, I had some trouble coming up with a good idea. I wanted to try something a little bit different. I had heard of people who would fly from one time zone to another in order to ring in New Year's twice. I thought that would be an interesting idea for Team Carmichael to attempt. Of course, a mission (or three, in this case) would be involved. I also added a few characters to make it interesting. Plus, I needed someone who could be made fun of in the story.
Enjoy, please leave reviews, and have a wonderful 2012.
Sydney, Australia
December 31, 2011
11:30 PM EDT
"You know, this is kind of fun," Chuck mused.
"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.
"Well, I spent so much of my life in California and we're always one of the last places in the world to start New Year's. This year, we get to be one of the first ones. It's kind of cool."
"We're tied up in the middle of a warehouse surrounded by a dozen men, and that bitch will be back any minute to kill us. Don't you think that dampens the mood a little?"
Chuck hung his head. Given how quickly the new year was approaching, there was nothing he wanted more to do than kiss his beautiful new wife when the clock struck midnight. However, he didn't see there being much of a chance now.
It was supposed to be a simple mission. They flew down to Sydney to retrieve some incriminating files a former member of the Australian SIS managed to procure by piggybacking on computers at her former workplace to access databases belonging to both the CIA and British Intelligence. She had planned to sell those files to North Korea. Everything had worked according to plan. However, they underestimated the number of people the woman had working for her...by a wide margin.
"OK, you were right."
"Chuck, it was pure guesswork. I wasn't trying to win some sort of bet."
"But I was the one who insisted we could do this on our own. I thought it would be simple. We should have brought everybody like you said."
"Hindsight is always 20/20. We could have done it my way and gotten all of our friends in trouble, too."
"Maybe, but you're the expert. You've been doing this much longer than me. I should have listened you."
"Chuck, you're our leader. We trust you to make good decisions. And what you've done for our company has been nothing short of amazing. I couldn't be happier with how things have gone."
Chuck furrowed his brow in confusion. "Even now?"
Sarah nodded, although Chuck never saw it since they were sitting back-to-back. "Especially now."
Chuck exhaled. "Well, just in case I forget to say it later, Happy New Year, and I love you."
Sarah smiled. Somehow she knew Chuck would say that. "I love you, too."
"Are you two lovebirds finished?"
Both Chuck and Sarah turned their heads towards the voice. Sue Charlton walked towards them holding a gun casually by her side.
"You've cost me a lot of money," she said with a slowly-building anger.
"You should know that an entire team of agent is on its way to take all of you down," Chuck said, attempting some bravado.
"A couple of former spies for the CIA? Yes, I know all about you two. I have my sources, too, after all. And since you didn't exactly part ways amicably, I don't think I have to worry about anyone coming to your rescue."
Charlton walked over to Sarah and took out a knife. "Care to watch while I cut your little boyfriend into pieces? We'll see just how tough that famous Sarah Walker exterior really is. I wonder iif she would even shed a tear."
A loud explosion from above made everyone look up, and then they scattered as glass and concrete fell to the floor. Two figures dropped down from the sky on zip lines, opening fire with automatic weapons. Charlton's men ran out of the warehouse as one of the figures landed in front of Charlton and knocked her down with a roundhouse kick. The other figure took out a knife and cut the ropes on Chuck and Sarah. Two men charged at him, but the person spun on their heel to let one man go by, landing an elbow to the back of the man's head to take him out. Chuck pushed off of his chair to land a kick at the chin of the other man. Charlton tried to attack again, but Sarah landed a brutal hook to knock her down again. This time, Charlton did not get up.
"You two are going to have to learn to rely on others," Alex Forrest said as she took Charlton's gun away. "Casey is really pissed off at you two right now."
"We were trying to do this without risking everybody," Chuck protested. "But I should have listened to Sarah."
"Whoah, wait," Jimmy Slade replied as he put zip ties around the wrists of the two men Chuck and he took out. "Sarah wanted to bring the whole team, but you decided to lone wolf it?" Jimmy stared in shock. "Is this Bizarro Carmichael Industries we just rescued? Chuck was the one growing a pair? God, human sacrificies, dogs and cats living together..."
"Oh, lay off," Chuck grumbled in humiliation. "I was wrong. It wouldn't be the first time. By the way, where's Casey?"
Forrest pointed to the hole in the roof. "Who do you think got us here?"
Sarah looked up to see a helicopter making its way back to the warehouse. "I'm surprised he stayed up there. Hostage rescue situations are his favorite."
"Well, he signed for the helicopter and insisted on flying it," Jimmy replied. "Verbanski is up there with him."
"Plus, Casey really doesn't like to wear these harnesses," Alex added. "They're a little...tight."
Sarah was a bit confused. "I never noticed that."
Alex walked over to Jimmy and whispered something into his ear. He immediately doubled-over.
"Aagh, knock that off, will you?" he grimaced through the pain. "It wasn't funny the first three times you did that!"
Sarah caught on immediately. "Oh, tight," she said as she covered her mouth to not laugh hysterically at Jimmy's misfortune.
Jimmy readied his automatic weapon. "Let's go."
Sarah walked up behind him and whispered something into his ear. "Enough already!" he growled as the pain hit once again.
The four peeked outside of the warehouse. The helicopter banked left and attempted a landing. Several of Charlton's men suddenly appeared from behind a stack of oil drums and opened fire.
"Case, fall back," Jimmy said over his earpiece.
"No shit, numbnuts!" Casey growled. "Clear those idiots out or you'll be wearing that harness permanently."
The helicopter pulled back out of firing range as Jimmy and Alex readied their weapons. They burst out of the warehouse and opened fire, drawing the attention of Charlton's men. Casey banked left as Verbanski readied herself to rappel down. Jimmy and Alex flanked the remaining members of Charlton's team as Verbanski dropped quickly to the ground, landing next to Chuck and Sarah. She handed rescue vests to Chuck and Sarah. They quickly put them on, hooking them to Verbanski's rope. Casey activated the winch from inside the helicopter, and the three were pulled upward. Verbanski opened fire with her pistol to take out one of Charlton's men as Alex and Jimmy finished off the others. Chuck, Sarah, and Verbanski unhooked themselves from the rescue lines as Casey sent them back down. Alex and Jimmy ran for the ropes and hooked themselves on. They were pulled up into the helicopter as Casey flew away.
Out the right side of the helicopter, they could see fireworks going off over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. In the distance, they could hear shouting and screaming.
Chuck, Sarah, Verbanski, Alex, and Jimmy looked out at the fireworks. A smile drew itself across Chuck's face as he gently turned Sarah's face towards his.
"Happy New Year," he said as he gave Sarah a gentle kiss. She caressed his cheek as she held onto him. Jimmy and Alex turned to each other to greet the New Year in the same way as Verbanski put a hand on Casey's shoulder and kissed him on his cheek. Casey gave a gentle grunt, which Verbanski took to be a New Year's greeting.
Pacific Ocean
January 1, 2012
10:30 AM EDT
The team sat back in their seats and relaxed. Following the success of their mission, they decided to spend a few days in Hawaii before heading back to Los Angeles. Chuck was excited, as he calculated they should cross the International Date Line in a few hours, thus giving him two chances to celebrate New Year's. Sarah's mind was going through the mission they just completed, filing what went right and what went wrong so they would know better for next time. She was a tiny bit weary of Chuck's enthusiasm, but she could hardly blame him. More often than not, she found it endearing.
Alex Forrest and Jimmy Slade returned to their seats just behind Chuck and Sarah, who gave both of them a look.
"What?" Jimmy asked. "Can't a couple get up once in a while just to walk around?"
"Dude, people were applauding you as you walked back here," Chuck replied with a smirk.
"Oh, we weren't that bad. I didn't hear any complaining."
"Not from them..." Alex said quietly, causing Jimmy to snap his head in her direction in shock. "Just kidding," she teased with a grin.
Up ahead, the flight attendant finished serving drinks. She moved towards Chuck and Sarah, but her face was obscured by her long hair.
"Well, Mr. Carmichael..."
Chuck and Sarah stared in shock at the flight attendant. Jimmy and Alex looked on in confusion.
"OK, I'm all for people doing whatever makes them feel good, but don't you think that's a bit too much eyeliner?" Jimmy asked. "It really makes you look cheap."
"I have been planning for this day for weeks," Jean-Claude said as he stared in barely-contained fury at Chuck and Sarah. "You took something that belonged to me. And now I want it back."
"Um, not to split hairs, but the vase broke," Chuck replied. "It fell on the ground. You saw it."
Jean-Claude gave a dismissive wave. "OK, I guess I can settle for the value of it. I think it was worth $6 million. but interest, penalties, my infinite patience...let's round it to an even $10 million."
He pulled the Airfone out from Sarah's seat. "Now get on the phone and call up your little accountants to make the transfer. And, once you're done, get on the line to Sky Mall. I could really use one of those personalized doormats."
"And why should we do that?" Sarah asked defiantly.
Jean-Claude smiled and pulled a remote detonator out from under his blouse. "I am sure you would rather give me the money then see all of these lovely people get blown sky high. Which is bit of an odd saying, since we're in the sky already. I guess they could be blown even higher up in the sky. But let's not quibble about it."
Behind Jean-Claude, Chuck spotted someone and carefully nodded.
"Champagne, sir?" a female voice asked.
"Lovely," Jean-Claude replied as he turned his head...and ran right into Gertrude Verbanski's fist. He was knocked back. Alex quickly grabbed Jean-Claude's wrist and twisted it, taking the detonator from him in the process. She handed it to Jimmy, who was able to permanently disable it.
Verbanski stared crossly at Casey. "I was waiting for you, John!"
"For what?" he asked in confusion. Everybody gave him a look. "Oh. Thought the turkey croissant was giving you a fit."
Verbanski shook her head in frustration. "Are you sure he's worth it, Walker?" Sarah shrugged and gave her a cautious smile. "You're a regular Dr. Ruth," Verbanski quietly spat out.
Jimmy went into his attache case and took out his satellite phone. He punched in his security code and made a call to Beckman.
"General? We have a customer for the Honolulu office and...well, sure. I think Alex knows him...but we're sort of on...no, I don't doubt they could use the money, but...OK, I"ll tell them."
He hung up the phone. Chuck, Sarah, and Casey looked him. "What's going on?" Sarah asked.
"Uh...Beckman can take Jean-Claude off of our hands when we land."
"But..." Chuck prompted.
Jimmy hemmed and hawed for a moment. "How, uh...badly do you need to take a vacation right now?"
Honolulu, Hawaii
December 31, 2011
11:20 PM HAST
Chuck, Casey, Jimmy, and Verbanski made their way through the lush of greenery surrounding the secluded house.
"Are you sure he lives here?" Chuck asked Jimmy.
Jimmy nodded. "According to Alex, Dan McGarrett retired to Hawaii a few years back. Supposedly he was killed surfing, but she never really believed that. She investigated back in 2007 and sent some images back, but she thinks McGarrett had someone in the CIA erase the files."
"NSA's been trying to get this bastard for years," Casey said with a low growl. "He was a matchmaker; pairing up susceptible agents with anybody who would pay the finder's fee to him."
"So what's the plan?" Verbanski asked.
"Sarah and Alex create a diversion, the rest of us go in and grab him," Chuck replied.
"Exactly what kind of diversion?" Casey asked suspiciously.
He didn't have to wait long to find out. There was a knock on McGarrett's door, and he walked to the door, checking the peephole to see who it was. The two guards in the room with McGarrett kept their hands close to their sidearms.
"Mr. Thomas?" Sarah asked.
"You're the entertainment I requested from the manager?"
"We certainly are," Alex replied, batting her eyelashes at him.
McGarrett opened the door to let them in. Both Sarah and Alex were adorned in grass skirts, coconut bras, and each wore several flower leis, plus flower wreaths on their heads.
Casey rolled his eyes. "Bartowski, you take the left. Slade, you take the right. Gertrude, you go in there guns blazing."
"What are you going to do?" Chuck asked.
"Put on a pair of water skis and see if there are any sharks that need jumping," Casey spat out.
"OK, the plan is a little cliched, but it'll work," Jimmy replied. "Sarah and Alex will keep their attention off of us. We can climb up to the patio and pick the lock on the glass doors."
"And this wasn't some excuse to see your horny Barbie doll wearing that ridiculous getup?"
"Of course not," Jimmy angrily replied. He turned away from Casey. "Entirely," he muttered under his breath.
Alex started the music inside the house. McGarrett and two of his guards inside the house were transfixed on the dance Sarah and Alex performed. Chuck and Jimmy moved slowly towards one end of the patio while Casey and Verbanski went to the other side. Jimmy climbed up the side quickly and kept a low profile as he made it to the patio door. He started picking the lock, only to have a gun put to his temple. He turned slowly to see one of McGarrett's guards pulling out his radio.
Suddenly, the man collapsed to the ground. Jimmy's head snapped around to see Chuck directly behind him with his tranq gun aimed. He pulled the unconscious body away from the window as Verbanski and Casey made it the other side. Casey was jumped from behind by another guard, who tried to put a stranglehold on him. Casey snapped his head back, knocking the man off of him. Verbanski finished him off with a hard jab.
Jimmy went back to the patio door as Chuck and Casey got into position. Jimmy threw the door open, and Chuck and Casey burst into the room. They aimed their tranq guns at the two guards, both of whom collapsed to the ground. McGarrett turned in surprise at Chuck and Casey. He turned back in time to receive a roundhouse kick from Sarah. He was knocked to the couch. Alex produced a pair of zip ties from her skirt and bound his wrists together.
Everybody took a look around and made sure the place was secure. Chuck looked at his watch and began to laugh.
"What is it?" Sarah asked.
Chuck smiled and held up his watch. "Five...four...three...two...one..."
Jimmy spotted a party favor on the table. He grabbed the noisemaker and blew into it. "Happy New Year," he said with all of the enthusiasm of someone getting a root canal.
Sarah laughed and wrapped her arms around Chuck, giving him a kiss. "Happy New Year, sweetie."
Alex grabbed Jimmy and gave him a kiss. "You are going to enjoy yourself over the next few days even if it kills you."
Jimmy exhaled and smiled. "Yes, sir."
Both couples turned when they heard the unusual noises. Casey and Verbanski were making out like teenagers, completely oblivious to their surroundings.
Chuck and Sarah stared in surprise. "So glad to see he's adjusted to civilian life," Chuck quipped.
Sarah took his hand. "Come on. We'll just find them in a few days and...probably throw a bucket of water on them."
Chuck, Sarah, Alex, and Jimmy left the house, leaving Casey and Verbanski to continue their makeout session.