Don't own Chuck
Casey hurled Chuck inside the BTR, he landed with a thud rolling across the floor as he sprawled out inside. He hadn't expected such a warm reception Casey was just showing how much he missed him. Shake it off he told himself as he fought off the momentary confusion there was no time. He grabbed Sarah's hands and kissed them then he turned back to his task he had to act and he had to act fast. Sarah caressed his face, straightened his glasses and kissed him gently that was when she realized he was on fire.
"Chuck, you're burning up, you shouldn't have come? What have you done to yourself? Please tell me you didn't give yourself malaria again?" That got Rick's head to turn causing him to swerved taking out a street vendors produce stand before he got the BTR back on the road.
"Eyes front Marine," barked Casey with a grunt.
"No it's not malaria," said Chuck. "Where's my cane, I need my cane. I need it now."
"Chuck, you want to get out for a stroll?" grunted Casey from the gun turret. Sarah was worried that Chuck's apparent fever hadn't made him delusional and that he wasn't making sense.
"Here it is. What's so important about it anyway?" asked Sarah as she put it in his hand. He popped the cap off the other end and pulled out a small electronic device.
"This is a SIM card cloner illegal in the US and most countries banned under the Communications Act 2003 section 125 brought to us courtesy of Jeff and Lester's failed attempt to clone Anna Wu's phone. Any way I used it to clone Ellyas' phone. Quick in my bag that is somewhere in it is a phone we can put the SIM in and listen in to all of Ellyas' phone calls. Plus we'll be able to down load his whole phone memory not just what's on the chip. If I'm right just about now he'll be calling his brother, Abrim, for help."
"Good job Chuck, what was in that syringe you stabbed Ellays with I hope it was something for his bad breath?" Chuck didn't have a chance to answer Casey, Sarah had the cloned phone up on speaker.
"Abrim this is your brother Ellyas I need your help man. Some crazy man has infected me with Ebola. I'm dying man. I need one of your hostages he has the cure or knows how to make it. I'm begging here. I'll give you whatever you want. We're family after all."
"Do you know his name?"
"Woodcomb, a Doctor Devon Woodcomb. Please I need your help."
"I'm sorry Ellyas but it looks like your luck has run out. There's nothing I can do for you."
"You can't do this to me I'm your brother. You-" There was a dial tone then the line went dead.
"Casey, how are you communicating with Beckman? You've got some sort of bug or what?"
"Chuck you didn't give yourself Ebola, did you?" asked Sarah seriously worried about Chuck's condition. He was pale and sweating. There was dried blood on his collar and she remembered seeing his bloody handkerchief.
"Chuck, you've done some crazy crap before but really Ebola. You know ninety percent of people who contract it die. Okay, yeah I've got an audio bug on me she's listening in right now."
"Chuck, tell them it's not fair to let them hang like this," yelled back Rick. Rick liked Sarah. He liked the way she took care of Chuck and the way she hung in there for him these last three months.
"Oh, Rick you're stealing my thunder," said Chuck as he laughed and coughed at the same time. Really you two think I would inject myself with Ebola? Read the number Ellyas dialled off the screen out loud. Diane you can use that to triangulate where Abrim is. He's your hostage taker. Everything else I'll explain when we're in the air. And no I don't have Ebola, I have Devil Dog blood in me."
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There was a silence in the command center, a pin drop would've sounded like a sequoia falling. General Beckman had ordered total silence and breathing was allowed but on a case by case basis. The General listened intently to the conversation in the BTR and to Chuck's intel about Ellyas and Abrim Abshir, the brother.
"Commander," said the General as she walked to a Naval Intelligence officer she had on her staff. "I want that phone call triangulated."
"Yes, ma'am thirty seconds. It was a Sat call so it'll be easy. Here it is. Here are the GPS coordinates. It's located in the warehouse district of Berbera, Somalia. General I'll bring it up on the big screen."
"Impress me, bring up satellite imagery of the location and then switch to an IR read of the location. I want to know every warm body there is in that place."
"Yes, ma'am. Here we go as you can see there are a number of warm bodies but I'm not seeing the hostages. Notice that the signals are all separated and moving around in a hostage situation you'd expect a large group stationary."
"Very good Commander I'm duly impressed. The Navy's taught you well.
"Major," she yelled, "I want to know everything we have on Abrim Abshir and have our SEAL team go into Mogadishu. Tell them to take Ellyas alive. Inform the team leader that we'll promise Ellyas a cure if he gives us all the information he has on his and the other pirate bands operating in his AOR."
"Roger that," said the Major.
"Oh and find Mary Bartowski, tell her she needs to get back in here ASAP. She'll want to be here and tell her Chuck is safe. No hold up on that I need a break I'll go and tell her. I've got my phone I want to know immediately if there are any changes," said the General as she left.
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Sarah held Chuck down and was covering him with kisses as he was trying to get up but she wouldn't let him. Casey was humming 'From the halls of Montezuma' as he rotated the gun turret around looking for a target, hoping for something to shoot anything would do.
"Sarah," said Chuck, "for all you know I could have Small Pox, or the Plague or some other nasty disease. I just told you I didn't have Ebola."
"I don't care I love you and I've been wanting to do this since I got on that C-130. So now you're mine, remember I am a trained assassin and you're going to give up the goods buster."
"Yuck, I think I'm going to get sick, but Chuck, you mind elaborating on what you meant when you said you had Devil Dog blood in you?"
"That would be mine," said Rick.
"Yeah, you see I had to make Ellyas think I had Ebola and that I was infecting him. I had Rick draw a syringe of his blood then I had him draw a syringe of mine. Then I had him give me his. You know how I feel about needles."
"So what you have is a reaction because your bloods aren't compatible. You know that's not safe?"
"Beautiful and smart," said Chuck as he kissed her then he continued, "and I can tell you that it makes you feel like crap. But that was only half the trick. I took a handkerchief and put some blood on it then I inject some into two small empty gel capsules I hid in the handkerchief. When I wiped my nose, I shove one up. I know it sounds disgusting and it is. Afterwards I popped it causing blood to trickle out and then I did the same thing with my ear. This combined with my sweating and shaking well it worked on Ellyas."
"I like it," said Casey. "Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks. That didn't come out right"
"I wouldn't go howling yet we're still not out of the woods. Ellyas is going to find out soon we haven't left and I don't think he's going to be too happy with me. He still thinks I gave him Ebola."
"What about the syringe you stuck Ellyas with that was your blood?"
"Yes, we're not compatible either, right about now he should be experiencing cramps and body aches along with sweating. His body will attack my red blood cells and will be fighting them off thinking it has an infection. He's going to think he's about to die. So Diane," said Chuck, "if you're listening Ellyas will probably swim out to you if you tell him you've got a cure and blab everything he knows. Now Love, where were we," he said as he reached out she guided his hands to her face and he caressed it.
"Are you mad at me for not telling you about Devon? I can understand if you are and I deserve anything you have to say. I'm sorry and I know I keep saying that and it's not right. There's something wrong with me." She looked down and her eyes started to well up. He could feel her pain. "I have no excuse for what I have none. You must think me a hypocrite and if you did you'd be right."
Chuck had planned to make them all suffer and not tell them that he could see again. His plan was to keep it a secret for as long as he could so he could watch them without them realizing he could. This was his plan at least until he saw the suffering in Sarah's face and he felt her trembling hands in his everything changed. His heart went out to hers. He couldn't. He wouldn't. He would never cause her pain. He never wanted to see her suffer ever again.
"Yes, you were wrong and you seem to keep doing it but there's nothing wrong with you love. Maybe there is because you love me. That's what's wrong with you and you know what I love you too." He brushed back her matted hair from her eyes and removed his glass. He caught her stare with his and he looked into her very soul. She let out a gasp as she realized he was looking back at her.
"Oh my God! How? When? I don't care," she said as she buried her head into his shoulder and began crying.
"Okay, you made up we're at the airport can we get a move on it or do you want to hang around a little bit more on Ellyas' wall. Personally, I've had enough being the fly on the wall."
"Casey," said Sarah but Chuck stopped her.
"Not yet, I don't want Beckman to know," said Chuck as he kissed her. "John you know I've missed your sarcastic wit. I think when this whole G-man thing is over you could work the strip in Las Vegas between Wayne Newton and Maria and Donny."
"Yeah put a sock in it some of us have got real work to do."
They pulled in next to the plane where the Hammet was still handcuffed to the wheel. He was a little parched but doing well everything considered. They all climbed out of the BTR and Casey went walking up to Hammet laughing.
"What do we have here? A desert rat."
"Stop! He needs to turn off the motion detector," screamed the Wzhiznam as he tried to point at Chuck.
"Motion detectors? What these? Chuck these where Alex's she asked me to pick some up so she could teach the Troll how to play tennis. Zip it Chuck, don't even say it," Casey said as he thought about what he had just said. "Blind or not I don't want to hear any ball jokes, especially about mine." Casey could hear Chuck laughing inside the plane. "I hear you Bartowski."
"They're tennis balls! If they're tennis balls what's this bomb he shove in my pants?"
"Looks to me like a modified flashlight what kind of Colonel are you anyway? Air Force or something?"
"Casey you didn't just say that did he," Chuck asked Sarah she laughed and nodded.
"John, remember the bug," said Sarah as she popped her head out from the hatch.
"Oh, oh, right," said Casey as he realized what he had said and who was listening then he smiled and added, "Rick, you can uncuff him or just leave him." Hammet grew even more nervous.
"No we'd better uncuff him we don't want the guts and blood in the hydraulics," said Rick. He took care of the Colonel, darting him then dropping him in the BTR for a long nap. Then they boarded the jet and were in the air banking left and heading back along the coast before cutting across the Somali peninsula. They weren't long in the air before Casey was yelling.
"Chuck, General Beck wants to talk to you in the Cockpit." Rick got up from the co-pilot's seat and let Chuck sit down. He put on the headset and had just begun talking to the General when the radar warning receiver the RWR lit up along with an audible high pitched continuous trill. Chuck flashed. He reached up and switched to unsecure, broadcasting one word, 'magnum.' Then he lifted the red cap on a toggle switch and flipped it firing chaff. The warning light almost immediately went out. Chuck looked over to find Casey staring at him.
"How long," Casey asked with a tone that told Chuck the cat was out of the bag.
"Since we left Chicago."
"Does Sarah-"
"I just found out in the transport," she said as she laid her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "Shush." Chuck reached up and switched back to secure to continue his conversation with the General.
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Walking out into the hall the lights hurt the General's eyes and she had to blink then waited for things to come into focus. This was the first time since the crisis began that she had left the center. Trust no one was the motto she lived by and there were times she didn't even trust herself. Where was Roan at times like these? He always knew what to say and what to do. Roan was such a bastard but he was her bastard. She sighed, thinking of him but that was neither here nor now. Head in the game, she told herself and went off to find Mary.
The General walk down the hall, the hotel was doing a good job of keeping journalists out and the whole story under wraps. This was not good for business and the people that ran the tourist village knew that. Everything outside the hotel ran as if nothing had happened just another day in paradise or that's how they wanted it to be perceived. The General rode the elevator up to Ellie's room. There she knocked then Ellie opened the door to greet her.
"General come in, is there word on Sarah or Devon?"
"Actually, I was looking for your mother. Have you seen her?"
"No, I thought she was down with you. Is there something wrong?" asked Ellie as she braced herself for the worse.
"No, no she stepped out and I need to ask her something. I guess I should've sent someone but I thought I'd get some fresh air. Someone mentioned that the air was getting stale inside."
"Well, I haven't seen her but I want to take this opportunity to say thanks for helping us out. I realize that you probably don't get a lot of thanks so I wanted to." The irony didn't escape the General if Ellie knew everything would she be thanking or punching her.
"I need to get back down below. If you see your mother tell her I need to talk with her." As Beckman was leaving Clara came out of her bedroom and ran up to hug her.
"Please bring my daddy home," she said. Beckman knelt down and lifted Clara's head so she could talk to her eye to eye.
"Listen, Clara I'll do whatever it takes to bring your daddy home. I've got a room full of daddies and mommies working on that."
"And Uncle Casey?"
"And Uncle Casey along with your Aunt Sarah and Uncle Chuck."
"Chuck!" said Ellie, "how's that possible?"
"Yes Chuck and to answer your question I have no idea but your brother is pretty awesome. I'm sorry," said the General then she left. Outside the door she pulled out a handkerchief from her uniform pocket and dried her eyes. She looked at it now that was something she thought she'd never see, tears.
Beckman got back in the elevator and rode it down to the lobby then walked into the bar. There she found Mary sitting in a booth nursing a Bloody Mary.
"Do you mind if I join you?"
"I'd say it's a free country but I don't know which way the wind is blowing around here. A Bloody Mary what an appropriate drink, don't you think?"
"I never really gave it any consideration," said the General. "I'll have the same," she told the barmaid. It wasn't long before they both were nursing their drinks.
"A Bloody Mary is good for women of our how should I say vintage. The tomato juice is an excellent antioxidant and makes us look younger. The tabasco could be looked at as an antibacterial agent. "
"I guess the celery stick covers our fiber and vegetable intake, too. What about the vodka?"
"That just makes crap go down better."
"Mary I need you back in the center Chuck is out and he's okay. He's given us a lead on the real ring leader and he helped us arrest and turn Ellyas Abshir. Did you hear me? He's fine."
"This time," she said as she took a drink.
"Mary being a spy isn't just about what Chuck does, it's what he is. I might have forgotten that but I think all of you did too. Now come on we've cried enough in our drinks, head in the mission and let's get this done so we can bring our people home." Just then her Major came into the bar and walked up to the General and Mary. He had a frown on his face showing his disapproval of their beverage of choice.
"When you've been around the block as many times as I have Major you can disapprove but for now what do you have for me?"
"This is the information we have on Abrim," said the Major as he laid the folder in front of her. "It seems they've divided Somalia in small areas of responsibility, AORs, no doubt Ellyas learned how to do this from his time at West Point."
"That's all we need American trained pirates," said the General as she flipped through the pages.
"Does Abrim own any boats large enough to be used as a mother ship for those zodiacs," asked Mary.
"Good question, well Major, does he?"
"Yes, he has a number of them but the problem is none of them were far enough up in the Red Sea to make it possible for the Zodiacs to reach. One the Scheherazade was in the Red Sea but from the satellite feeds we have she was too far south at the time of the abduction."
"Come on Mary we need to get back to the Command center. Here take this and flip to the last page," said the General as she hand Mary the folder on Abrim. Mary opened it up and on the last page was a list of illegal activates Abrim had been linked to.
"What's this? Slave trade. What are you thinking Diane?"
"It would explain why we haven't received a ransom request yet.