Don't own Chuck
A black Escalade pulled into San Gabriel National Forest driving up a fire trail among the Jeffery Pines and Douglas Firs. There was an early morning mist that hung low among the trees giving an almost spectral feeling. Deer leaped out from the underbrush crossing the path and then disappearing like ghosts.
"Watch out," yelled the man riding shotgun. "We don't want to have an accident all the way up here."
"Don't have a cow. I know what I'm doing. Yuan you're awfully quite back there. Cat got your tongue. You know Yei and I were friends."
"Hey, I keep telling you guys I don't know what happened to him."
"Save it pretty soon you'll be talking with him."
"That's assuming he's dead. Listen for all anyone knows he could be tying one on in Tijuana with some chick he met."
"If you knew Yei you'd know how stupid what you just said was. Here we go." The driver pulled over in a small clearing. "End of the line." The men all got out pulling Yuan behind them. One of the men got a shovel out of the back while another took off Yuan's handcuffs as a third man covered him with a Type 56.
"Here dig," ordered the driver as he threw Yuan the shovel.
"You want me to dig my own grave?"
"Well we could but that'd mean you get to be dead sooner and besides we'd prefer not to sweat in these suits." Yuan started to dig but made sure to take his time moving dirt around more than actually digging a hole.
"Watch him," said one of the men, "I'll be right back," as he handed the driver the rifle before searching for a place to take care of business. Relieving himself behind a tree a tree he heard someone come up.
"Come on can't a guy have a little privacy," but no one answered so he turned around in time to see the muzzle flash from a suppressed HP Browning and felt a thud in his forehead then nothing. He dropped to the ground.
"Did you hear that," said the one man to the driver.
"Hear what? Is this place spooking you? Man up we've got a job to finish here."
"No probably nothing just some wild animals. Hey Yuan hurry up we don't have all day," said the man not wanting his partner to realize he was getting scared, nervous and thinking it was time to go.
"Go check on Wan. He's had long enough to do whatever he had to do."
"I'm sure he'll be back soon I don't think it's necessary."
"I gave you an order, now go. The last thing we need is for him to get lost and have some Forest Ranger find him then bring him back here."
"Well this isn't exactly like where we were born, now is it?"
"But it could be the last place you see, now go." He said as he pointed the gun barrel at Yuan, "I'll watch him."
The man tried to remember the direction his friend had gone off in thinking that he probably walked a straight line from where they were or at least he hoped he had been that smart. The sun had broken and the mist was beginning to clear and out of the haze the man saw Wan's body below a tree.
"Hey," he started to yell only to be silenced by a single shot from the same HP Browning straight through the throat. He looked over and saw a dark figure with a pistol in hand as he collapsed on the ground.
"Okay, this is good enough," said the driver. "Looks like I'm going to have to cover your grave myself then find these two fools. Oh well, here's your e-ticket to hell." He raised his gun to shoot but as he did they heard a pop and a hole appeared in his shirt. The man looked down at it in amazement. "I think I've just been shoot," he said. Then there were two more holes that appeared after hearing the same noise then he fell face first into Yuan's hole.
"Are you here to kill me? If you are you could've waited a little longer and this guy would've taken care of it for you," said Yuan to a slender Oriental woman dressed in black and carrying a pistol, as she walked out from the underbrush.
"But I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much besides if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead like that guy the other day."
"You killed Yei! You know how much trouble you got me in over that? They think I killed him."
"Couldn't be helped he was taking pictures of you and your friends."
"Why did you save me? I'm White Lotus' asset not yours and up until now you never really acted like you liked me."
"Liking has nothing to do with it she sent me. Now, she really does like you. "
"Don't be crazy to her I'm just an asset," Yuan said as the Red Lotus helped him out of the hole."
"Maybe in the beginning but not anymore. I don't even know if she knows it yet."
"Whatever, I need to talk with Anna."
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CASEY PULLED UP OUTSIDE OF MORGAN'S
Walking inside was like walking into an ice box. There was chill that hung in the air and a silence that said more than any words could.
"Hey Morgan tell your beard we need to get a move on it."
"Coffee Casey," asked Anna.
"Sure thanks," he said then looked over at Alex's face as she shook her head and mouthed no.
"Here you go. I made it myself but no one here seemed to appreciate it," said Anna as she poured something that resembled motor oil.
"Thanks," he said then he pushed it aside. "Grimes you ready yet?"
"Coming, coming hold your horses," he said as he came out of the bathroom.
"Wait Sweetie," said Alex as she straightened his tie and kissed him on the cheek. Casey and Anna gave a grunt but before Morgan could comment Anna spoke up.
"Can I get a ride with you two to the Buy More? I've got some things to get."
"Yeah, but we're not going to the Buy More," said Casey.
"That's right we're going to the museum?"
"Why?"
"Right, why would we? You see I need to check up on the off-site install we did there. You know being a busy manger and everything. I've got to check up on my workers when I can."
"And Casey, what are you going to do there?"
"Oh, I'm just tagging alone in case Morgan needs something. He's the boss."
"That's right I am," he said as he poked Casey in the chest hurting his finger, "and don't forget it." Casey growled.
"Is that right? I thought you two were going to the museum because you Colonel Casey NSA and you Morgan codename Cobra, were going to guard the Jade Dragon." You could've heard a pin drop.
"Who are you?" said Casey as he reached for his gun tucked under his jacket.
"Chill," Anna said as she flashed her credentials, "Taiwanese secret service, aka the White Lotus."
"The White what? Anna what's going on? Is this some sort of joke."
"No joke. I'll explain on our way to the museum."
"I'll call Chuck and Sarah," said Morgan.
"No! Don't we can handle this and we don't know the whole story yet. If there's need we can call them later."
"Don't think I'm not coming," said Alex, "as she grabbed her bag and they were out the door. Casey and Morgan in the front with Alex and Anna in the back, Morgan thought he heard the growling of cats coming from behind him.
"Okay, we're on the road now tell us what's going on. What's so important about this statute?"
"It's not the statue itself but what's inside or better what they think is inside. The Triad was originally formed by five shaolin priests that escaped execution when their temple was destroyed. They formed a secret society, the Triad. However, that was centuries ago and the modern mafia state has little to do with the noble goals of the founders. The five monks are called the five elders and their names have been a secret since the foundation. Inside the Jade dragon is supposed to be a scroll with those names. Tradition has it that whoever holds those names holds control over the rest."
"That's dumb why would the rest of the Triad follow someone just because they have names of five guys who lived centuries ago."
"Because of tradition, if you knew the five original elders you could trace their whole linage in the Triad. Since it's custom for a son to follow in his father's business so it would be with the Triad. Can you image all the thousands of people this would involve?"
"And many of them innocent," said Alex.
"You said what they thought was in it? The list isn't real."
"No it isn't. The original was lost in 1948 when the communist took over and we moved to Taiwan."
"We?" said Morgan.
"Yes, my family left with Chaing Kai-Shek. My great grandmother was the first White Lotus."
"And the Red Lotus," ask Morgan, "who is she?"
"She's Rebecca, my cousin. Not all of my family left and those who stayed had to prove their loyalty to the Party so we've been fighting ever since that is until recently."
"What's changed?" asked Alex now curious.
"The Triad," said Casey, "I see this is your chance to smoke out their leaders and to bring them down on both sides of the straits."
"Yes, and if my cousin and I can do this we will help establish a greater cooperation and understanding between our peoples. That is why this has to succeed."
"But why did you choose us and especially the Troll to help?
"I had to pick someone I trusted and well-"
"Someone you could use," said Casey, "spoken like a true spy."
"Sorry Morgan."
"How does Yuan fit in all this?" asked Alex. She could hardly believe everything Anna was saying but there was one thing she wanted payback her jaw still hurt.
"Well, we can ask him. He's standing right over there with that woman. I can only assume that's your cousin."
"Yeah but Casey you've got to play nice. She doesn't trust Americans and especially American spies."
"Good cause I don't trust commie spies either."
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ECHO PARK
Chuck received an agency car Casey had dropped off and promised to give General Beckman a full brief later on in the day. He then made sure that Sarah had everything she would need at the hospital packing enough water to cross the Sahara along with snacks and things that would feed an army.
"Sweetie we'll just be there for the morning."
"Better safe than sorry, that's my motto."
"Better light than with a back ache is mine. It we need anything we can get it there. There's a cafeteria and a Starbucks so both our needs can be met," she said as she started to unpack the backpack he was going to take. "What's this?" She asked as she held up one of his watches.
"It's one of my governors."
"I know but why are you taking it?"
"I forgot to charge mine so I thought I'd bring it along just in case."
"Chuck, you need to learn to lie better. What was our deal? No lies no secrets."
"Okay, I'm worried and I wanted to be prepared. Is that so wrong?"
"No but you should've told me."
"And you should've told me about your headaches."
"Your right I should've but I didn't want you to worry."
"How do I know when to worry and when not to worry if you don't talk to me? I love you and it's only natural that I worry about you when something is wrong."
"I love you."
"And so do I," Chuck said as he took the governor from her then kissed her. That was when Ellie. Devon and Clara walked in.
"Yuck," said Clara as she saw them kissing.
"PG-13 alert," said Devon.
"Oh, sorry," said Sarah as she pulled away.
"No, we're sorry we should've rang the doorbell but your door was open."
"My bad," said Chuck. "I was just getting a few things together." Ellie looked at all the stuff on the counter top.
"Little Brother the test is only going to be about an hour long."
"Sarah told me the same thing but I just want to be prepared."
"Dude there's prepared and then there's over kill," said Devon.
"Okay, whatever you know how traffic is if we don't get on the road we're going to be late," said Chuck as Sarah kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear.
"I don't want you to think we're ganging up on you."
"I love you," Chuck said as he kissed her back.
"Devon you could take some notes here on how to treat you wife."
"I agree I've been a little remiss with the PDA lately but in all fairness PDA is hard when you're trying to maintain PG-13."
Finally, Chuck, Sarah and Ellie got off heading towards Westside Hospital but in the packing, unpacking and repacking the governor got left on the kitchen counter.
Arriving at the hospital Ellie was greet by her old colleagues who naturally wanted to chat and get caught up but she put them all off until she got Sarah taken care of. Once they were in Neurology she took them to the lab and had the tech hook electrodes up to Sarah.
"Okay you know the drill just lean back and relax," Ellie said then turned to Chuck. "Do you want to wait outside?"
"I'd prefer to stay."
"If you interfere I'll have to ask you to leave."
"You can ask." Chuck had no intention of letting Sarah out of his sight. "Sorry I'm just a little tired I guess. El, can we step outside of a second," said Chuck as Sarah was still getting hooked up.
"Sure, I'll be right outside if you need me. Sarah you're in good hands," Ellie said to the tech then she joined Chuck in the hall.
"Okay what is it? I can see you're agitated this isn't the first time Sarah's had this type of exam."
"I think you need to know she's been having dreams."
"What kind of dreams?" Chuck went on to describe what Sarah had told him.
"What do you think?"
"I don't know Chuck. You're right they seem tied to the intersect somehow. Let's run this test and see what happens before we start jumping to conclusions." Chuck didn't care much for the answer but he didn't know what else to do so they went back inside. Ellie pulled over a monitor and placed it in front of Sarah then sat next to her.
"Okay you'll see a series of images just watch the screen and relax. Tell me when you're ready," said Ellie as Chuck position himself behind Sarah. Chuck wanted to watch the screen too because he knew as the human intersect he would flash on the images Sarah might flash on if her intersect was in fact coming to the surface.
"Okay start," Sarah said with trepidation and the images began to scroll faster and faster until they were almost a blur. Ellie had placed the same intersect frame throughout the video and scrolling through them so fast was a way to guarantee the subconscious would see it not the conscious.
"Augh," she said as she grabbed her head. Chuck saw it too that was the first one then another one came and another one. Sarah was in trouble and it seemed only Chuck could tell.
"Stop, stop," he yelled as she knocked over the monitor and held her head close to his chest shielding her from seeing anymore. "Can't you see she's hurting? Christ El, I trusted you."
"Lay her back," said Ellie as she shined a pin light in her eyes. "She's still flashing. We've got to get her to stop. Chuck I'm going to have to give her a sedative."
"And the baby?'
"It can't be helped."
"No, in my backpack," he said as he dumped the contents on the ground. It wasn't there. "Crap, I left it at home. Here take this," he almost ripped off his governor and put it on her. Sarah immediately stabilized and began to come back into herself.
"What happened," she asked as she lifted her arm. "Your governor."
"Augh," cried Chuck he felt a surge in his head as images flashed of people, places and things encoded images that caused him to flash uncontrollably. He grabbed the sides of her bed until his knuckles turned white and buried his face in the mattress.
"What is it," Sarah asked then she saw the white band on his wrist left by his watch. "Love, you gave me yours."
"I had to," he said trying to control the pain, "left other one at home."
"Let me give you yours back."
"No, I can put up with this. You can't." Already he was mastering it but he knew he could only hold out for a little while and he raised he face to look at her. "Ellie," yelled Chuck still looking at Sarah, "have Devon go to our apartment and get the watch I left. Love, describe the box to her. Augh," he felt another wave shoot through his head. "Have him bring the watch here."
"Ellie, please hurry," said Sarah as she caressed Chuck's head and kissed him. Ellie started to call.
"El wait go outside."
"What? Chuck I know you mad but-"
"No. no, I don't know if I can control this pain and I don't want Clara to hear me like this, please."
"Called Devon from outside, augh that was another good one."
"Ellie keep him on the line until he has the watch that way we'll know when he's on his way here. I'm here with Chuck. If we need to we can switch," said Sarah. Ellie was out a few minutes then back.
"Okay, Devon's on his way."
"Augh, I forgot how much this hurts. I'm sorry but I've got to lie down." Ellie helped him over to a stretcher as Sarah got up to sit beside him.
"Ellie, how long will it take Devon to get here?" Sarah was mad at herself for teasing Chuck about his bag. If she had let him bring what he wanted they would've had the extra governor but she didn't.
"About half an hour more or less."
"I don't want you to blame yourself," Chuck said, "I can tell what you're thinking. I should've checked the bag when we left to make sure I put everything back in it. Augh." The pain was getting worse.
"Sarah, I should give Chuck a sedative before he has any brain damage."
"Okay, give it to him."
"No, no please I want to be lucid."
"Love, let me give you a goodnight kiss and I'll give you another when we wake you." Sarah bent over him and kissed him as Ellie gave him an injection. No sooner than Chuck had passed out his phone began playing mariachi music. Sarah picked it up, Morgan.
