Hello. I imagine a lot of you are like me: both excited and depressed to see Chuck conclude its five-year run this week. There are very few shows people invest in so heavily. For myself, Friends , My Boys, and Star Trek: The Next Generation were the only other ones besides Chuck in which I invested so much time and effort. But each of those shows spoke to me in some way. In the case of Chuck, it was its combination of humor, drama, action, and romance (with a kick-ass soundtrack) that kept me interested all this time. Honestly, I don't know how well I managed to write the characters on the show in my fanfics, but I certainly hope I kept true to the spirit of the show.
By the way, the two schoolteachers mentioned in the chapter were actual schoolteachers I had, and both of them were really good. So thanks Mrs. Adams and Mr. Keane. A big thanks again to BDaddyDL for some of his help on this story. A special shout-out to Aliveria for a quote I used in the beginning of the chapter, although I'm not certain they had how I wrote it up in mind when they thought of it. Just taking some humorous license. :-D
Anyway, hope you enjoy and please leave reviews.
A204 Highway, London
March 19, 2033
1:30 PM GMT
"A spy?"
John sat in the passenger seat of Jimmy's car. He didn't know what the hell was going on. In the last twelve hours, the life he knew was turned completely upside-down. Anyone would shudder at the thought of their parents being kidnapped. But now he also found out his parents used to be secret agents, as were everyone his parents knew. It sounded crazier than even the craziest movies and TV shows he had ever seen. None of it felt real to him. What they were doing now was beyond comprehension. They were heading to MI-5 headquarters? He was just going to walk into one of the most famous spy agencies in the world…and become an agent?
"As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not a young kid anymore," Jimmy said. "None of us are. We need you, John."
'This is…this is crazy. My parents have been kidnapped, the kidnappers want me to get something to get them back, and you're taking me to British Intelligence? Is this how things usually go?"
Jimmy shrugged. "Pretty much. The world is threatened, we stop it, get some sleep, and do it all again tomorrow."
John was flabbergasted. "How…how have all of you done this for over twenty years?"
Jimmy was silent for a moment before a smile crossed his face. "Well, you know how James Bond slept with all of those different women?" John nodded. "It actually doesn't work that way. Agents think they can be cold-hearted, but those types burn out pretty quickly. Most spies don't sleep around. In fact, the CIA encourages agents to date each other. It certainly leaves less to explain to the Mrs., right? To be a good spy, it really helps if you have a reason for doing what you do. All of us do, even Casey."
"And Aunt Alex is your reason?"
"Now, certainly. But like I told you before, your parents helped me more than anybody did in my life. It's kind of hard not to do your best for someone who does that for you. It's like…you had teachers in school you really liked, right?"
"Mrs. Adams. She was my math teacher sophomore year. And Mr. Keane taught me physics last year. They were really good."
"It's the same for me. Your parents gave me a chance, and I didn't want to let them down."
"But how am I supposed to help? I don't know anything about being a spy. I can't defuse bombs or pilot jet fighters. Not real ones, anyway."
"Well, there's another thing the movies get wrong. Spies don't work on their own. They always have a team. And you'll have a team behind you as well. The best."
Jimmy took a look at John, who was still apprehensive. "Look, I know you didn't ask for this. I sure as hell didn't want this when I started out. I just wanted to be left alone in life and not be bothered. But things don't work out that way. When that happens you have two choices: turn and run away or make things right. And if you want your parents back, there's only one choice. "
"But what if I screw up? You saw what happened this morning. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm not even done with high school yet, and I don't want to get someone killed. What if I…"
"Hey," Jimmy cut him off. "You can't foresee all the consequences of your actions. But that's no excuse to do nothing."
John stared at him in shock. "Did you just quote Hal Jordan?"
Jimmy froze for a moment before rolling his eyes. "Aaah, hell. Is that where I got that? I knew I shouldn't have let your dad drag me to that film. Your old man's definition of a 'guy's night out' really needs some work."
John shook his head. "He made me sit through that movie, too."
Jimmy wasn't paying attention. "I told him Ryan Reynolds is overrated, the director is only good with Bond films, but does he listen? Nooooooo! OK, get it through your head, Chuck! Lying naked with Sandra Bullock does NOT make someone a good actor!"
"What are you talking about?"
Jimmy shook his head clear. "Never mind. Your dad and I just have different tastes in movies. Let's get you over to British Intelligence."
John sat in silence as they negotiated the busy midday traffic around London. Jimmy pulled his car to the guard station at the facility and showed the person on duty his ID. The guard immediately straightened to their full height.
"Mr. Murdock, this is an honor. They're waiting for you inside, sir," the guard said as if he just addressed the Prime Minister. "Sixth floor, room 6-2100, you can leave your car in the blue car park."
"Thank you," Jimmy replied as he drove his car to the designated parking lot. John looked at him in confusion but didn't say anything.
They walked inside the building. The occasional person would greet Jimmy with the name Mr. Murdock, and Jimmy would give a quick 'hello' in response. They walked into the elevators, and Jimmy hit the button for the sixth floor.
"Who is Mr. Murdock?" John asked.
Jimmy smiled. "It's…another one of those things you didn't know about. As far as the world is concerned, Jimmy Slade died in an auto accident 24 years ago. The intelligence community knows me as Roger Murdock."
John stared for a second before a huge grin came across his face. "Roger Murdock? As in, 'I've been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA' ?"
Jimmy's smile matched his. "I'm out there bustin' my buns every night…"
"Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes," they said together before breaking up in laughter.
"Hey, it could be worse. They could have made you Clarence Oveur," John told him.
"True. Although ironically, I have seen movies about gladiators."
They exited the elevator and walked down the hallway to room 6-2100. John couldn't believe what he saw in front of him.
"What is this place?" John asked in amazement.
Jimmy put a hand on his shoulder. "Johnny, have you ever…hung around a gymnasium?"
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
March 19, 2033
9:30 AM EDT
Alex Forrest-Slade gave a quick wave to her secretary and strode purposefully into her office. She retrieved her gComm unit from its charging cradle and put the one she took to London in its place. She hit a button on the gComm.
"Bob, please come upstairs to my office," she communicated to her technical consultant. Her secretary gave a gentle knock.
"Anything you need, ma'am?"
Alex smiled. "Coffee, definitely industrial strength. I'm running on fumes right now. Also, when Bob gets here, hold my calls and give us some privacy, please."
"Yes, ma'am," her secretary replied as she went to get Alex some coffee. She returned as Bob Hume entered Alex's office. Her secretary put the coffee down on her desk and closed the doors behind them.
"What's up?" Bob asked pleasantly.
Alex was never much for Bob's jovial nature, but he was one of the smartest technical people she knew and wasn't afraid to work all hours to solve whatever problem was thrown at him.
"I need a computer search done, and it has to be kept VERY quiet."
Bob furrowed his brow. "How quiet?"
"As in 'lives are on the line' quiet."
"Oh, OK," Bob replied with some trepidation.
"Sift through our flash traffic to see if any group has been moving personnel or purchasing hardware within the last few weeks. Use D.C., London, San Antonio, and Glendale, California as filters. See if you find any patterns."
"How soon do you need this? It's a tall order."
"We're already working against the clock, Bob."
Bob nodded. It wouldn't be the first time his boss told him that. "I'll get on it right away."
"Thank you."
Bob left Alex's office and returned to his office three floors down. He programmed his computers to do the search like his boss requested. As the computers sorted through the information, he sent a message on his iComm. Thankfully it wouldn't be traced in this building; he was in charge of things like that.
MI-5 Headquarters, London
March 19, 2033
2:00 PM GMT
John couldn't believe what was laid out in front of him. It looked like a training facility an Olympic athlete would use. What was even more surprising was seeing Carina and Samantha standing there dressed in workout attire.
"What are we doing here?" John asked.
"Since all we can do is wait for them to call back or for Casey or Alex to give us an update, we may as well make the time productive," Carina replied.
She pointed to a door to their right. "You can change in the locker room in there."
Jimmy and John quickly went into the locker room to change into suitable clothing to work out while Carina and Samantha warmed up with some stretching.
"Nice try, Carina," Jimmy said with a tinge of umbrage as John and he emerged from the locker room a few minutes later, both wearing t-shirts and long sweatpants.
"I told you they had clothes for you to change into," Carina replied innocently.
"Yeah, and compression shorts are SO practical for what we're about to do."
Carina shrugged. "Liam's a sweetheart, but he's an executive in a computer company. He works at a desk all day. Sometimes I just like to have something…to look at."
Jimmy was glaring at Carina, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught Samantha trying not to laugh. He was beside himself. "You told her?" he yelled at Carina.
Samantha tried to generate some guilt but failed. "She told me a few…stories," she said with a smirk on her face as lascivious as her mother ever bore while she tried not to stare too far south on Jimmy.
"Well, knock it off. I'm old enough to be your grandfather."
John nudged Jimmy. "Um, technically that's correct, but you're really stretching the math…"
"Not…helping," Jimmy hissed at him. He gestured to the large mat set up in the center of the room. "Can we get started, please?"
Samantha moved to the center of the mat, and Jimmy gestured for John to join her.
"OK, try to attack her," Jimmy said.
John looked at Jimmy in confusion before turning back to Samantha, who stood in the same ready position she had the whole time. He sent a half-hearted punch towards her. Samantha spun on her left foot and kicked high with her right to knock John's arm away. She then landed on her right foot and spun her left foot into the air, making contact with the side of John's head. He staggered to the side and fell down. He tried to get up, but Samantha flew at him, grabbing John's wrist and using her other hand to throw him across the mat. She then dove on top of the prone John, landing on his chest and sent a judo chop towards his neck, stopping it mere inches away.
Jimmy smiled slightly. 'Annnnd, there's lesson #1. Never, and I mean NEVER, underestimate your opponent."
Samantha bounced off of John and offered her hand to pull him up with a huge smile. He looked at her in shock before begrudgingly taking her hand and getting up.
"I told you I could beat the shit out of you," she said as her grin stretched from ear to ear.
"You wouldn't believe the number of people your mother beat up who underestimated her," Jimmy added. "She took out people twice my size."
John stared in disbelief. "You have to be kidding. My mom?"
Jimmy shrugged and stepped onto the mat. He motioned for Carina to step out onto the mat as John and Samantha stood to the side. The two faced each other. Jimmy attempted to throw a punch at Carina. She ducked down, and her hand shot upward to grab his wrist. She pirouetted on her front foot to land two consecutive elbows at Jimmy's chin. She planted her feet and put Jimmy into an arm bar, throwing him across her hip and onto the mat. She then landed on top of him, straddling his waist and pinning Jimmy's arms to the mat.
Jimmy turned to John while still lying on the mat. "See, John? I'm more than twice her weight and she used it against me. You just have to gain leverage on the opponent."
Jimmy turned to Carina. "Nice work," he said and tried to get up. Carina kept him pinned down. "You can let me up now, Carina."
Carina playfully ground against Jimmy and ran her tongue along her lips. "Really? Twenty years and you're still doing that?" he said in exasperation.
"Mother…" Samantha admonished.
Carina let Jimmy go and reluctantly got off of him. "A few more seconds and that would have beaten the compression shorts," she muttered to herself in disappointment.
Jimmy grabbed a pair of blocking pads from a shelf, came to the center of the mat, and motioned for John to join him. "I want you to practice a back spinning kick." He handed John a blocking pad. "The key is to plant your back foot and get yourself turned around fast while keeping focus on the target."
Jimmy motioned for John to hold up the blocking pad and brace himself. Jimmy got into a stance, spun, and nailed the blocking pad dead-on, forcing John to step back a bit.
"OK, you try it," Jimmy said as he took the pad from John and held it up. John set himself, spun, and connected with the pad so hard, Jimmy was knocked back on his ass.
Carina and Samantha were surprised. "He actually knocked you down, Jimmy?" Carina asked. "You're not just playing around?"
Jimmy got up, took a few steps to shake it off, and threw his hands up. "He's a Bartowski alright."
"One thing's for certain, he can learn things quickly. He's got Dad's brains and Mom's brawn," Carina said in agreement.
Jimmy picked up both blocking pads and held them head-high. "OK, John. I want you to alternate left and right. Make sure…"
John executed a perfect spinning kick into one of the pads, switched his stance, and repeated the kick with his other leg into the other pad.
"…like that," Jimmy finished. Carina and Samantha looked on in admiration.
"Are you sure your mom only taught you a few things?" Samantha asked in astonishment.
"Well, Dad made me watch all six Matrix movies," he replied demurely.
Jimmy shook his head. "Why did they reboot that franchise? Frickin' Jaden Smith. Half the talent of his old man and twice the ego."
"Tell me about it," a female voice called out in agreement. Everybody turned to see Casey and Verbanski join them in the gymnasium.
"How's it going in here?" Casey asked.
"Quite well," Carina replied. "John already got beat up by a girl but redeemed himself by knocking Jimmy on his ass a few times."
"Only once," Jimmy growled. "Actually, Case, you have good timing. You're the expert on this next part. This is lesson #2, John."
"What's that?" John asked as Casey walked out to the center of the mat where Jimmy was.
"The bad guys never fight fair…"
Jimmy was cut off by Casey sweeping his leg and tripping Jimmy onto the mat. Casey tried stomp on Jimmy's face with his boot, but Jimmy rolled out of the way. He went after Jimmy again, but Jimmy leaned back and kicked his legs up, landing them squarely on Casey's chest, and knocked Casey to the mat. Both men got up quickly. Casey stepped forward to throw a hook, which Jimmy avoided. Jimmy spun and tried to land a roundhouse kick on Casey, but Casey caught his leg mid-air. Jimmy pushed off with his other foot and brought it across Casey's face to knock him back.
Jimmy glanced over at John, Carina, and Samantha. "And oftentimes, they won't wait to fight you one-on-one."
Verbanski took that as her cue to attack, leaping into the air to land a vertical kick on Jimmy. Jimmy was knocked across the mat but hit the ground on a roll and got right back up. Verbanski tried to throw a punch, but Jimmy ducked down and grabbed her arm to use her own momentum against her and threw her away from him.
"In those situations," Jimmy started as Casey tried to land a kick in Jimmy's gut. He caught it and threw Casey's leg away, sending him off-balance. "Either incapacitate one quickly so they can't fight or back both into some sort of pinch point so they can only attack you one at a time."
Verbanski ran across the mat to attack Jimmy again. Jimmy dropped to the ground and grabbed Verbanski's leg as she went by, flipping her into the air and onto the mat. Casey tried to attack one more time, but Jimmy caught him from his prone position and tossed him over his shoulder onto the mat. Jimmy put his knee on Casey's chest and pinned his arm down with his leg.
"That's how you do it," he said with a smile. He then stuck his pinky finger in his mouth. "Wet Willie," he said mischievously as he stuck the pinky in Casey's ear.
"Get up!" Casey roared. Jimmy stood and Casey got up with a look that would have made most people wet their pants. But a hand on his arm and a smile from Verbanski calmed him.
Everybody turned when they heard the ringing gComm unit. They walked over to it, and John looked to everybody for what to do.
"Just act defeated and accept whatever they say," Casey told him.
John answered. "Hello?" he said weakly.
"Mr. Bartowski, I trust you are now ready to work with us?" Mr. Joshua's voice sounded as cold and detached as it had eight hours ago.
"Yes, just…please, please don't hurt my parents."
"I will call again exactly 24 hours from now. At that time, you are to show me video evidence you have the unit in your possession."
The line went silent. John took a look around to see what they would do next.
Casey exhaled. "Until we get some solid leads, we have to play along." He pointed to John and Samantha. "You two get packed. Slade, talk with the section chief, get us a jet."
"You got it," Jimmy replied and quickly exited the gym.
"John, are you sure this is the best plan?" Verbanski asked. "I don't feel too good about putting Chuck and Sarah's son in the line of fire like this. Maybe Alex will…"
"Time is against us right now. And if whoever did this figures out we're still helping him, they may decide to just kill Chuck and Sarah and cut their losses. We get the IntComm, we can buy Alex some time to figure out who's behind this. Besides, this is the easy part. John and Samantha can do this."
"How can you be so sure?" John asked. "My dad's office must have some sick security."
"It has the best," Casey replied with a gaze of pride. "I designed it."
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
March 19, 2033
1:30 PM EDT
Alex Forrest-Slade walked at a brisk pace into her office with a sandwich she proffered from the café in the basement. Ordinarily she would eat at one of the local restaurants at lunchtime, particularly if Jimmy was in town. But she was hip-deep in her search to find who kidnapped Chuck and Sarah.
Her intercom buzzed. "Ma'am? Bob Hume is here to see you," her secretary said.
"Send him in," she replied.
The doors to her office opened, and Bob walked in. He placed his gComm on the worktable and activated the projection unit to display the information he found.
"There hasn't been much activity in the last few weeks. But we do have one possibility." Hume displayed an image on the screen. "Steven Barringer."
Alex nodded. "The Matchmaker. Whatever's going on, they went with one of the best-connected people in the underworld in this country."
"I show a transfer of $300,000 from him to a Colombian drug cartel that has been known to kidnap rich millionaire's kids to get the Colombian army off their backs. But $300,000 is a little high for a kidnapping. You could have someone kidnapped for cheaper."
"Down there, perhaps," Alex replied. "To pull one off in this country requires a little more incentive."
"I also show a transfer of $100,000 to a street gang based out of Dallas that specializes in weapons and explosives. Typically hitting rival gangs, deals gone bad, they even did a raid on an ATFE holding facility."
"Right, I remember that. The AD was on the take and the section chief was the one to take the fall for that. Poor bastard. I told the President this guy was innocent, but it would have been a political mess for him to back down. This gang could have been involved in San Antonio. Less than a five-hour drive from Dallas."
Alex stood. "Pass the information about the Dallas gang to Kristin Collier. Have her coordinate with the FBI and ATFE in San Antonio and see what they turn up. In the meantime, work on the kidnapping aspect. Work backwards through the past 5 days starting from here in D.C. All the way back to the 14th. Any vans paid with cash, weapons sales, the works."
"Who's been kidnapped? That might narrow the search down."
Alex shook her head. "I have to keep that quiet for now. Just do your best."
"No problem," Bob replied before exiting Alex's office and tracking down the deputy director.
Glendale, California
March 19, 2033
8:00 PM PDT
If there wasn't so much on the line, John Bartowski could have gotten used to this.
Taking off from a secured private airfield just outside of London, they made the trip to Los Angeles in just over twelve hours, making one quick stop to refuel in Newfoundland. The Gulfstream 200 was certainly luxurious, and he was finally able to get some sleep. He was still a bit sore from the workout he got today, but he was starting to relax a bit. He even managed to finish the sandwich Jimmy bought for him earlier in the day. He was nervous about breaking into his father's company, but Casey assured him he knew exactly how to get him inside and retrieve the IntComm.
John and Samantha rode in the back of the van Casey and Verbanski acquired from their office and headed to Carmichael Industries. He tried to concentrate on what they were about to do, but he couldn't help but sneak the occasional glance at Samantha, who looked much calmer than he did. He couldn't deny it: she was hot. And knowing everything she had done in her life already…to say nothing about what she was training to be…made her even more irresistible. He was upset with her at first for deceiving him, but that resentment had long since faded. She had a few personality quirks that clearly came from her mother, such as how forward she was, but he got the impression she wasn't quite the tease it sounded like her mother used to be, at least based on Jimmy's aggravated reactions to her. Samantha was, for lack of a better way to say it, a more refined version of her mother. Given how most of the girls in his high school acted, he had to admit he was in new territory.
Dammit, she caught me.
John was sneaking too many glances at Samantha. He figured she wouldn't be offended, given what happened in their hotel room earlier in the day, but amused by it would have been just as bad in John's eyes. John snuck a look back at Samantha. She was smiling. Not amused, to be certain. More like she was…glad?...John had been looking at her. He wasn't sure if he read her expression right, but at the very least, she didn't mind John checking her out.
The van pulled up to the loading docks of Carmichael Industries. According to the inventory log, the last truck left ninety minutes ago, so the docks were empty for the night. Casey parked the van and moved to the back with Verbanski.
"Here you go," Casey told them as he handed John a small box of supplies. John looked inside. "Start with the contacts," Casey told him
John found the contact lens case in his kit and carefully took out the left contact lens. Verbanski wetted it with saline solution, and John carefully put it in his eye.
"Are these to beat the retinal scanners?" John asked as he put the right contact lens in.
"Correct," Casey replied. That'll take care of the vault. The keycards will get you in the other doors and I'll give you any other directions you might need over your earpieces."
John put the keycards in his pocket as he blinked several times until the contacts felt comfortable. Verbanski handed him something.
"Whoah, wait!" John stared at the gun in his hand. "I don't want…I can't kill…"
"It's a tranq gun," Verbanski replied. "Ten shots in the magazine, and here's a spare clip just in case. You shouldn't encounter any security, but these just knock them out for two hours. They don't cause any other harm."
John nodded in consent. He had that nervous/excited feel he hadn't felt since he took his driver's test two years ago. Granted, there was so much more at stake right now. Barely a day ago, he thought his parents owned a computer company. Now he was about to break into that company to save their lives.
"Are you sure you're up for this?" Samantha asked him gently.
John took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I don't know. I hope so, but what choice do I have? I have to do this to get my parents back."
"Put that out of your mind," Casey replied. "Just focus on the things you can do and not worry about what happens later on. OK? We're right here."
"OK. OK, thanks."
John and Samantha donned their masks. Samantha exited the back door of the van and John followed closely behind. They walked to the door at the end of the docks. John took out one of the keycards and swiped it to open the door. They proceeded inside. The dock area was dimly lit at best, the employees having gone home already. John checked the schematic on the small screen device Casey gave them, and they proceeded across the warehouse floor to the main offices.
Samantha peeked around the corner by the elevators to see if any guards were nearby. Seeing none, she gently pulled John with her to the nearest elevator. John's eyes took extra time to adjust to the light because of the contacts he was wearing. He pressed the button, and they entered the elevator. He pressed the button for the 15th floor, and the security system displayed a message on the monitor asking for a retinal scan. He placed his face in front of the scanning plate and waited for the security system to scan his eyes. The system beeped a positive response, and the elevator began to ascend.
If John was trying his best not to sneak peeks at Samantha before, the skintight leather catsuit she was wearing was making that quite impossible now.
"Why are you wearing that?" John asked.
Samantha turned to him and raised a devilish eyebrow. "You'll find out in a few minutes."
The elevator slowed its ascent as it neared the 15th floor. "Are you ready?" Samantha asked. She waited for a response. "Are you ready, John, or do you want to stare at my ass a little longer?"
That woke John up. "Sorry. Yes, I'm ready. I...shouldn't have been..."
Samantha grinned. "...staring at my ass?" She gestured to her outfit, not minding a bit John was having trouble keeping his eyes on her face. "This getup doesn't exactly out me as a virgin."
The elevator opened on the 15th floor. Samantha peeked out again to see if any guards were nearby. The coast was clear. They made their way down the hallway and turned the corner to the vault. John took his keycard out again and swiped it in the lock. The computer demanded another retinal scan, which he gave it. The computer accepted his identity and the door opened. John started to walk inside.
"Wait!" Samantha hissed as her arm shot out to stop John from entering.
"What's wrong?" John asked.
Samantha took a device from her hip and rolled it into the room. The device opened and began to emit smoke, revealing the reason why Samantha stopped him.
"A laser grid?" John whispered in desperation. "Can we turn it off?"
Samantha shook her head. "It requires retinal scans from at least two executives in the company. Maybe two other people besides your parents can open it. There is an override switch in the junction box at the other end."
"But how do we get to it?"
Samantha smiled as she handed John the equipment she was carrying and removed her mask. "That's why I'm here. Casey and Gertrude had me study the pattern on the flight over."
John took off his mask and stepped back as Samantha concentrated on the pattern of the first set of lasers. She two steps forward and did a backflip over the first set of lasers, immediately ducking down into the splits to avoid being detected by a sweeping laser in the second group. She leaned forward until she was on her stomach, bringing her legs together to move slowly along the floor under the second set of lasers. John couldn't help but admire the view as Samantha slinked her body upward until she was on her knees. She carefully raised herself up on her hands, pausing momentarily for a sweeping beam to pass, and bent her body over the next pair of laser beams, ending in a standing position. She got to the final set, waited for the right moment, and ran at the lasers, diving between two of them as they completed their sweep pattern. She landed on the floor and did a perfect somersault to get to her feet.
She turned to look at John, who quietly applauded as he stood in wide-eyed amazement. She gave him a wink and opened the junction box to disable the laser grid. The beams turned off, and John walked to the back of the vault where Samantha was.
"I'll bet you're regretting being so chivalrous this morning," she teased.
"Hey, I pride myself on being a gentleman. I see how the other guys in my school act, and they never end up with anybody. At least not anybody you'd want to date."
"That's a good point," she replied.
"Are you two done flirting?" Casey quietly growled over their earpieces. "It should be in Box 14. Get a move-on. Take everything with you."
John stepped over to Box 14 and opened it. The IntComm was inside, along with a manual and a few other items. He grabbed everything and placed it in his bag.
"Let's go," he said. John and Samantha walked to the vault door. They gathered the equipment they left at the door.
"Halt!"
John turned in shock at the voice. Two security guards were in front of them. The guard reached for his radio. "We have…"
The guard didn't say anything else as Samantha pulled the tranq gun John had on the back of his belt and fired at the two guards. Both of them fell to the ground from the effects of the darts. John and Samantha quickly put on their masks and ran for the elevators. This time, the elevators wouldn't respond.
"Stairwell," John said quickly. They took off down the hallway to the stairwell. John used his access card to open the door. They made it down one floor before they heard the sound of security guards charging up the stairs. They reversed direction and climbed up to the roof.
"Casey, we're on the roof," Samantha said. "Is there a way off?"
"There's a ladder near the northeast corner, opposite side of the building from the van. We'll drive around."
"Never mind," John said as he turned in that direction. "The guards have us cut off."
"What do we do?" Samantha asked.
John froze momentarily. He then smiled and grabbed her hand. "This way. Uncle Case, we'll be there in a moment."
John and Samantha reached the edge of the roof. He took off his backpack.
"I'm so glad Uncle Jimmy packed this for me," he said as he took out a climbing rope, gloves, and a harness. He quickly slipped on the harness and attached it to the rope. He then tied the rope to a water pipe running along the edge of the roof.
"Have you ever done this before?" Samantha asked.
"All those programs Uncle Casey made me watch on the Military Channel finally pay off," he said with a smile as he put on the gloves and got himself into position. Samantha jumped on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. John jumped from the building and rappelled down the side, stopping every ten feet to push off and fall again. They landed, and John unhooked the harness from the rope. The van pulled up and Verbanski slid open the side door. John and Samantha leaped inside, and the van sped away into the night.
"Nerd-free offspring," Casey said quietly. "Thank God for that."
"Wait," John said with considerable worry. "They know they had a break-in. Those two guards might be able to identify us."
"That's fine," Verbanski replied. "Whoever kidnapped your parents will think you actually stole the IntComm. If we got away without tipping off anybody, they kidnappers might assume we're still helping you."
"So now what?"
Casey checked his watch. "They'll call in just under eight hours. We'll send them the evidence they want and see what they want to do next. In the meantime, Forrest, Slade, and Sam's mother are setting up the next part."
"What is that?"
"Pay a little visit to Steven Barringer. Forrest has intel that he was running the show for whoever has your parents, John. We're heading to New York."
John sat quietly in the back in the van. Before now, he never thought he led that eventful of a life. He certainly couldn't say that anymore.