Let us do something, while we have the chance.

Still don't own Chuck.

"You're a gift…"
Sarah

"You can count on me…"
Chuck

-Episode 4.24

Chapter —9 the Prisoner

Orion Central
June 20, 2011

The shadow shape of Orion was in front of the conference room and asked what questions they had.

Chuck knew there were several questions. He was not sure why these sessions were so short. He could understand the need to ensure no one intercepted the phone call and associated Hologram images. He began, "We met with Jeff's Mom, Kathy Barnes."

"Yes, I know," the Holo Orion answered.

Chuck thought for a second. The Volkoff computer would have processed the event and seen the introductions at Lompoc. It made sense that he would respond that way. "What did the cubes at Lompoc record after Kathy said, 'I am sure you'll like the show'?"

"This is what was transmitted," the Orion set aside and the picture of 'Tangled' started. It was the scene that they saw at the conference room. Sarah and Zondra nodded.

"Okay, wait. Did the cubes record anything of the interview after that point?" Chuck asked again. He was hoping that Orion would have seen the entire interview and then he would be able to ask a few more questions.

"The cubes are not turned on. You'll have to download the recorded information from the cubes themselves to see what is recorded in their memory. I'll send you the code to use," the Orion replied in a matter of fact fashion. "Anything else? We can't maintain this much longer without being spotted."

"Is the Formax and Knowledge is Powder organizations linked and who is the head person?" Chuck asked as his next question. He had assumed that from talking with Kathy that they were, but hoped for confirmation or something more from Orion.

"Yes, the Volkoff Intelligence section should be able to show crossing points. Or if you wish, we could construct an update to your program." Orion paused.

Chuck replied, "Fine." He thought about that. It would be good to have updates to the Intersect. That was something that General Beckman never really followed up on. He thought that there were times the Intersect did not have the most complete picture.

"Must go," Orion was gone in a blink.

As soon as he was gone the computers began to boot up again. Chuck looked around at everyone.

Sarah turned over to Chuck, "We need to find a better way of doing that. Would it be better back at Volkoff?"

Mary smiled, "Good idea. Some of those rooms are shielded better than any other."

Carina broke in, "But first we'll need to take care of Jane."

That statement was ended by a loud cry from the other room as little Clara was waking up.

Maison 23 Hotel
June 22, 2011

"Don't forget, she has seen all of us or reviewed our files. She'll know us. And so will, Major Dunwoody," Chuck reminded everyone. They were in a utility room. They had it fixed with monitors linked to the cubes in the halls and rooms.

"She is in her room. Looks like she is doing a sweep," Casey reported. He was seated in front of the displays.

"Her equipment should not pick up the cubes. See, she passed right over it," Zondra said pointing to the display screen.

"Okay, we have Julie Sark and Aaron Sakowitz headed to her room," Morgan added.

There was a knock at Jane's door and she opened it. Greetings were heard and Julie and Aaron entered the room. Julie started, "We've made contact with fifty-one people. All of them watched the video."

"Very good. Any problems?" Jane asked of the two.

"None," Julie responded.

"Then meet me down at the van in thirty minutes. Bring your gear. We have something to clean up." She saw them to the door and began to change into her tactical gear.

Casey spoke up, "She's coming after us. She said something close to the same thing before she left, that she'd have to come back and clean things up. At the time, it did not make any sense."

"Then let's take them here," Carina said as she checked the action on her Glock. Casey nodded at Carina. There was something that he did like about her.

"Actually, we are set up to do take them here. We have tranquilizer gas dispensers positioned in their rooms," Morgan smiled.

"What do you think?" Chuck looked over at Sarah. Chuck was happy. It was coming together, but he wanted to make sure Sarah was the one that started it.

"Do it. Turn it on now," Sarah stood up from her monitor station.

Morgan pushed the button for the tranquilizer gas. "It is being dispensed."

They were watching the monitors and saw that the three had fallen to the floor. Casey turned and pointed to the clothes dampers in the room they were using. "I'll get Jane. Chuck, go get Aaron. Zondra and Carina, please get Julie. We'll meet back here and then take them to our van."

Sarah and Morgan watched as they collected the Formax agents. There were no difficulties. Everyone made it back to the monitor room at about the same time. They took the staff elevator and headed out the back door to their van.

When they got down to the van Casey looked over at Chuck and Sarah, "You guys head over to the Center. We'll meet you there. This seems too easy. Better round up everyone."

Chuck nodded, "Call Mom and tell her to meet us there and bring Clara. Morgan, get Alex and tell her to meet us down at Orion Center. We'll get Devon and Ellie."

Sarah got at the wheel of her Lotus. As soon as Chuck was in the car, they were headed to the parking lot exit. They rocketed down the streets and were at the entrance to the Orion Center behind the Buy More in a short time.

Orion Central
June 22, 2011

Chuck got to the security system at the entrance and opened the door for Sarah. Sarah was on the phone with Alex, "We are coming in. Any alarms?"

"No alarms. Looks fine," Alex reported. She was watching all the cameras and nothing was changing other than the camera showing Chuck and Sarah coming in the back way.

"Okay, we'll be at the conference room in a second," Sarah ended. "We're clear," she nodded at Chuck.

They proceeded to the conference room and met Alex there. Everything was okay. They looked at the monitors and saw Casey pulling up to the back entrance in the van. Casey and Morgan got the clothes hampers out of the van and Carina and Zondra started wheeling two of them to the door. Chuck and Sarah helped as they wheeled them into the holding rooms. There were enough rooms to put one of them to a room. For Jane, Casey was taking no chances and had locked in a chair.

"How do we want to handle their interrogations?" Chuck looked at Sarah.

"Well, when Ellie and Devon get here, they can help monitor what we are using. But it is the same as what we used in the agency. And it does not cause any harm to them." Sarah paused, "You know maybe we can use the cubes to our advantage. We could Start with General Beckman and then if necessary have a variety of interviewers."

"Yeah, good idea," Chuck replied.

Mary came down the stairs with Clara. She went to Alex who was still monitoring the screens. "What's happening?"

Alex looked up, "They just took the three from the hotel to the holding rooms. I am waiting to see if there is any unusual activity."

Chuck came into the room, "Jane was getting ready to do a clean up. Casey thought she meant us. So, we are getting ready. It is possible that Major Dunwoody is in the area. She could be leading another group."

"You should contact the Intelligence Section and see if they can track her down. That would be better than staying hold up here," Mary looked at Chuck to see if he would agree.

"Okay." Chuck turned to Alex, "Any word on Ellie and Devon?"

"They are just driving up." Alex pointed to the monitor of the parking lot.

"Okay, I'll get them and explain what we are doing." He saw Sarah come back in the room. "Say, Mom thought we could have the Volkoff Intelligence Section track down Major Dunwoody. Could you ask them? I'll go get Ellie and Devon. They have just pulled up."

It took a few minutes to get everyone into the conference room and up-to-date on the situation. Casey had checked on the prisoners and made sure they were secure and locked into the chairs in the holding room. They were ready to begin the interrogations.

"They are rolling into the parking lots." Alex pointed to three vans coming into the Buy More parking lot and another three coming into the back parking lot.

"Morgan, call up stairs and tell them we have a pineapple situation. Let's clear out the store before they get in place." Chuck looked over at Casey. They hadn't changed anything at Buy More. Casey nodded that even Jeff and Lester would remember.

"We are all set. We should be able to monitor them all the way in." Casey sat down next to Alex.

They watched as the two teams formed up. The team from the back parking went to the door. One of them made quick work of the lock and security system.

Morgan said, "See, I told you that was too easy. We needed to get the…"

There was a loud, "Later Morgan."

The team from the back continued through the corridor. They were thirty yards in when two men in tactical outfits carrying SCAR M17s turned into the corridor. The team opened fire on the two.

A series of doors appeared to be closing between the two forces. One door pushed across the corridor from the right side and the next came from the left. A door came down from the top of the ceiling and one went up from the floor. The same thing happened from behind the team. The area between the doors began to fill with a tranquilizer gas. The team from the back collapsed to the floor.

The team from Buy More came down the trap door in the home theater room. They were working down the corridor when the doors sealed on them and the gas was dispensed.

Morgan and Alex went up to the Buy More. They dealt with the Fire Fighters that responded to the alarm. Chuck, Casey and Devon transported the two teams into the holding cells. They did find the Major and she was put in a separate room. The process took an hour but all were accounted for, striped of their weapons and tactical gear.

Ellie and Devon reviewed the tranquilizer and the truth serum that was to be used. They agreed that it should work and gave the truth serum to Jane and the Major. Julie and Aaron would get the same treatment if the results from first were not satisfactory. Then they went to the others and made sure they had enough tranquilizers to keep them asleep for quite a while.

Jane was the first to wake up. She woke in the chair of the holding room. The chair was fastened to the floor. It had metal restraints on her wrists and ankles. Her tactical uniform was gone and had been replaced by hospital scrubs. She watched as the door opened and General Beckman entered.

"Jane, I won't waste your time or mine. Whom are you working for?"

"Formax," was Jane's response.

"What is the name of the person whom you work for?"

"Anthony J. Delano."

"What were your missions today?"

"Check on recruitment and eliminate the Intersect."

Diane went on, "Tell me. Who has the Intersect?"

"Major Dunwoody and Morgan Grimes."

"Which Intersect were you to eliminate?"

"Grimes."

"Is Anthony Delano the head of Formax?"

"Yes."

Diane continued, "Are there any others with Anthony?"

"No."

"Are there any other leaders, like you in Formax?"

"Yes."

"What are their names?"

"Lynn A. Roberts and Robert L. Andreas."

"Do you know where they are now?"

"Lynn was headed to Paris and Robert is in Rome."

In the control room Chuck looked at Sarah, "Anything else?"

Mary said, "Might as well ask who Anthony works for."

Back in the holding room, Diane asked, "Who does Anthony work for?"

"Don't know. But he said it's someone who believes Knowledge is Powder."

Chuck smiled, "Okay now we know our target."

"Well, this should certainly be enough for Beckman," Casey agreed.

"We'll cross check their answers against a regular lie-detector and then see if they all say the same thing. We'll also give the tape of the lie detector to the General. That should wrap this part up," Sarah smiled.

Chuck nodded in agreement. They met in the conference room with everyone and explained. After calling General Beckman, they set up arrangements for the prisoners. They were to be picked up at the parking lot in back of the Buy More.

Casa Bartowski
June 22, 2011

"To a successful mission," Chuck held up his glass to Sarah. He was happy. No one got hurt and they got several answers.

"Yes, and it worked. The General said she would pay us," Sarah held up her glass and tipped it into Chuck's. After a sip, "Morgan was right. Those cubes do change everything."

"Amazing, isn't it. But some things don't change." Chuck held his glass up again.

"Yes, to us forever." Sarah raised her glass and tipped it to his.

Chuck took a bite of the lasagna. "This is really good."

"Yeah, I've been talking with Ellie and she gave me some tips. Depending on how much time we have, we can try a few more meals that she showed me," Sarah smiled.

"Wow, that's great." Chuck had another bite.

"So, not much on tonight," she saw him nod. "Good, an early night," she was beaming.

Unknown Location
June 20, 2011

The statue of an eagle overlooked the desk. The plaque said, 'Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.'

The voice over the phone said, "A third of Formax was taken down"

The static sounding reply, "Copy."

A/N Please leave a review. Thanks for all the ideas in the reviews. Please keep them coming.