Let us do something, while we have the chance.
Still don't own Chuck.
"Sometimes it helps to know that you got something to lose."
--Agent Walker Episode 3.4
Chapter 10—the Attack Begins
Casa Bartowski
Chuck woke up feeling a little fuzzy. Before his eyes opened his nose was being tickled by something. He peaked out with one eye and saw the puffy gold in front of his nose and blocking the view of anything else below. He carefully brought his right hand to rub his nose and push the hair down a bit. After completing that mission, he strained to get another pillow under his head and shoulders. He was extremely happy with that he was successful and hadn't woken her. He remembered what this day was going to bring and could not help himself. He wanted to hold her and kiss her and not let her go.
Sarah smiled a peaceful bliss. She had what she wanted, a calm morning with Chuck, her love. She could hardly believe it. It felt so peaceful. There was no running to protect each other, no fears that one of their team members would get hurt. It was just Chuck and Sarah holding each other. She felt him shift and begin to hold her more and more tightly. Feeling his light kisses on her head she began to move her body closer and wrap her leg over him.
They looked into each other's eyes at the same time. Sarah began, "You know I love you and this. It is so peaceful this morning. Mum…" She began to squeeze back into Chuck.
"I know. And you know this would be the thing I want to do forever." The he smiled, "Well except for… the bandages, breathing tube and IV. Oh, I could do without the cast too."
Sarah looked up at him with a smile, "Well, how about this instead?" She moved up a little to kiss him and closed her eyes in a passionate kiss.
"Gently…mum…gently," Chuck began.
Sarah thought he meant the kiss. But her hand was pressing on the bad rib and the pain was increasing. His kiss became ridged and his jaw locked. He got out one more 'gently.'
Sarah looked up into his eyes which closed in pain, "Oh, Chuck." She realized she had been pushing on his chest. She quickly unwrapped herself and pulled back.
"It's okay. Honest, it's okay. Please come back, I don't want to start the day like this. Please?" Chuck pleaded. As she came back to him, she was careful not push on the wrong spot. He carefully cradled her, "Better. I want you to help me today." He saw her look at him like he had hurt her, "I didn't mean you need to help or don't help. I love you and know you will always support me. But this will be hard for both of us today. Just so you know, I am afraid that if I can't connect all the information and give you the necessary information that some of our…"
Sarah put two fingers over his lips, "Ah, I know. I'm afraid of what you will do or let happen."
He took her hand and kissed it, "Sarah, this is not one of the old Casey ploys for the greater good. It's Casey, Mary, Alice and all of our team." He held her tightly, "But you know that. Sorry I am just rambling. Please let me hold you for a while."
Sarah knew exactly what he meant. She was afraid too. She carefully wrapped her herself around him and held on.
In Casey's apartment, they were wrapped in each other's arms too. Casey was just starting to stretch. Mary was pulling back to him and put her chin on his chest, "Hey, big guy. Good morning."
Casey pulled her up to him and kissed her, "Good morning. So you know and there is never a question, yesterday was great. Thanks you for everything."
"Well, thank you, I have never felt so great before," after she realized what she said, her smile gave it away. But her recovery was still quick, "Standing in front of a piece of the Berlin Wall, made me feel like we were a part of history."
Looking at the clock, Casey mumbled, "I'll show you a part of…"
A little over an hour later Doc Adams and Dorothy met with Sarah in the bedroom. Chuck had showered and Dorothy had put new bandages on him. With Dorothy's help and Sarah holding his arm, he sat down on the bed. Sarah had explained to the Doc and Dorothy what was intended for today.
Doc Adams waited until Chuck sat down, "Physically, you are a little better than you were yesterday. But you will not be completely free of the Fluoride for a while yet. As your doctor I should officially protest. But as a member of your team, I don't want any of our people hurt or worse. So, we will monitor you all day. While you're doing this, I want you to try something. If the flash seems like it is getting too long, I want you to try and stop it or come out of it."
Chuck looked at him like he was crazy, "And how am I suppose to do that?"
"Look the other night, the way Sarah described it you either kept flashing or processing the information. If this was a dream, I would want you to think about waking up. But with what you are used to, I think it would be better of thinking that you could save and close the file. But whatever, inside that flash I want you to work on shutting it down," Doc Adams raised his eye brow.
"I'll try, but no promises. Did you ask my dad about that? He might be able to tell us if he thinks that is even possible." Chuck added.
"Good idea, we'll do that," Doc replied.
Chuck looked at Sarah and got her hand, "Well, I guess we ought to get started. The bed downstairs would be easier to use."
"Here, we can help you down the stairs," offered Dorothy. She took his other hand.
Sarah got the IV bag and they headed down the stairs. Helping him in bed and raising the back, Sarah hooked up the laptop. She used her cell phone to call Mary, "Morning. Did you have a good night? Oh, that would be fine. We are getting set up down here and about to turn on the TV monitor. Are you ready to go? Okay, well it will be on. Start when you are set. Okay."
Sarah went over to get the remote and turned on the TV and set it to the correct channel. A picture of the people in the conference room came on. Sarah knew they were early but wanted to get Chuck settled. All of the teams were settling in and taking their places. Mary went to the front of the conference room.
With a time line behind her Mary began, "Day 0 is the day we withdrew from the surveillance sites. In preparation yesterday, we consolidated all our reports and surveillance and input the data into the model. Today is our planning day. Day 3, tomorrow, is the date of the expected shipment to San Diego. We'll begin today with a summary of the withdrawals. Each of the Team Leads will provide that information."
Alice stood up next. She began her explanation by referring to the previous night where the Fulcrum agent brought two girls to his room. Chuck nodded and Sarah told her to continue. Alice then detailed their withdrawal from the hotel and the capture of the Fulcrum agent. Alice said, "I have the pictures of the people and their names. Do you want to see them now or wait?"
Chuck answered, "Thanks for asking. I think it would be better to wait. Please let me go through your summaries of the events and then the output of the model. Then we'll go back and look at their happy faces."
Alice continued, "Well, the other part of the status report is that the Fulcrum agent is being held by the FBI for kidnapping and human trafficking. Their lawyers are considering a charge of treason. The thugs were released on bail and later found in another part of the city. It is believed they were executed. Autopsy reports are expected tomorrow.
"The Columbian agent is now in our control. She was the problem that I needed help with yesterday. The two daughters of the diplomats are being held in an undisclosed location until their parents or legal guardian can take responsibility. We did have a problem there. I could not initially contact the agent in charge and had to send an email to confirm that the FBI would confirm their security and protection. While Director Robins agreed that we would protect the girls if the FBI could not, we still have a legal review under way. The only thing that appears to help us right now is that the girls are under age and the FBI will not let them go until the parents or guardians come," Alice saw the anger of the team members in the conference room. It was a shocking revelation that helped them understand the evil nature of the people that ran trafficking. Casey was standing in back of Mary with his hands on her shoulders. He could feel her trembling at this news.
Chuck's face hardened, he understood the problem but he was not going to let some young girls get captured by these evil people again. He held his hand up. He was uncomfortable that the parents could show up at anytime, "So, I want to make sure I have this right. If the parents show up, the girls are released and we have no way of ensuring their protection?"
Alice answered, "Yes sir, that's right."
Chuck flinched at the 'sir' but right now he need to fix the problem as best he could, "Please wait a minute. What time was your email?" Chuck was already looking through his emails and expected to find a copy of the email from Alice. "Got it, if you guys want to take a break, this will take a couple minutes. Wait, are the others girls secure?"
Alice quickly replied, "The US Marshals still have them waiting for disposition instructions from their lawyers. They are being considered for witness protection."
"Okay, please give me ten minutes," Chuck ended.
Chuck began typing out an email to the Honorable John H. Wabash, his boss. It was short. He asked for support in securing the protection of the diplomats' daughters and suggested that John could call at anytime to discuss. He turned the screen so Sarah could see it. Chuck said, "Please check this. And do you agree?"
Sarah quickly read the email, "Yes, that's good." He hit send and Sarah gave him a kiss. He looked up at her and she replied, "What, we are on break."
Chuck smiled and reached over and kissed her back. Chuck kept smiling, "I know this is what you all wanted to hear, but I need to go to the restroom. Sorry." Chuck started to move out of the bed. Dorothy and Sarah began to help him. He got out of bed and with assistance made it to the restroom and back.
Sarah helped him get back in place, "Are you ready now?" She saw him nod. "Okay, I'll let them know." Sarah called Mary and said they were ready.
Kayle began his review, "We got out of our surveillance building just as the Fulcrum agents were coming over. We evacuated without any problem and do have footage of the Fulcrum agents as they shot out the camera. Oh, Master Chief Rusty McDonald from the Coast Guard in Portland said that we have their full support. Anytime we need anything to let them know. And," he smiled, "that Chief Scotts owes them one."
Chuck smiled, "Okay, we'll remember that. I'm glad we got you out of there in time."
Mary got up and began her review, "We were attacked twice as we left. Once with an attempted road block behind the warehouse we were staying at and another along our withdrawal route. The attackers were positioned on railroad cars that were beside the highway. Casey had Super Cobras in support that took out the opposition. Sergeant Fallon, one of our protection detail members, was wounded in the leg. He was released from the hospital this morning and will be on leave until he recovers, about three months. And a few of us were cut by flying glass.
"Finally, Kayle, Lea, and Major Garth developed some defensive options. They will go over those with Casey." Mary looked around the conference room, "Anything else?" Seeing that no one raised their hand she asked, "How do you want to work through the pictures?"
Chuck turned to Sarah and Doc Adams, "Would it be alright if Mary, Alice, and Casey came over and we went through the pictures? I don't think we need to tie everyone up. Is that alright?"
Doc Adams said, "Sure they have already been here. It's fine."
Sarah smiled at Chuck, "Mary did you hear that? Please come over with Casey and Alice and we will review the pictures here. Everyone else can add the new surveillance and begin to review the results of the model and start some initial planning."
While the others were getting over the apartment, Chuck and Sarah talked about how to do the pictures. They agreed at first he would do no more than two flashes and then take a rest. Doc Adams interjected that the flash should last no more than five minutes. If it went longer and the heart rate was elevated, he would inject an anesthetic strong enough to immediately put Chuck to sleep. He also said that if the rate started going over one hundred and thirty beats per minute he would use the injection.
Mary showed the first picture, "This is the Fulcrum agent…" She saw Chuck start to flash.
Sarah reached over to hold his hand.
Chuck began…the Fulcrum symbol, two murder charges, policeman's badge… Chuck said, "Joe Dalton, possible hit man for Fulcrum, had been an undercover cop when recruited. He could be the number two in Seattle right now. Nothing else of real significance." Chuck looked over at the meter, "Okay to look at another?"
Doc Adams nodded and Mary pulled up the next picture. It was Melina. There was a gasp from Sarah. Chuck flashed and continued. He started to hit the heart rate mark on flashing. Sarah started to put pressure on Chuck's hand. She could feel him squeeze back and came out of it.
Chuck looked over at Sarah, "You know her don't you? I'll let you deal with that part."
Sarah answered, "Her name then was Rosa Hernandez. She was the liaison for Bryce and I when we were down in Columbia on a mission. But I don't think that is related."
"I agree, but she is one of the good guys. She has been undercover so long that I am sure that she is likely having problems getting acknowledged," Chuck started talking quickly. "She had worked her way up in the Messer Schwarz organization. That or simply MS are the names used by the people we will be dealing with. They are far bigger than the Halverson crowd. MS is linked to Fulcrum and the Ring. How about we take a break while I type some questions for Melina? I would like them answered quickly. Also, I know she is secure, but I suggest moving her soon. Melina will be important enough for MS to pull all stops to find and eliminate her." Chuck began typing his questions.
Alice said, "Chuck, could you send those over to Tom and Vera? I'll have them get the ball rolling and get her moved."
"Okay, almost done," Chuck still had his head down typing away.
Alice called Tom and Vera and explained what they need to do. Casey called Major Garth and let him know to call up extra details and add them to the protection of Melina.
Chuck looked up at Alice, "Okay, you all got copies. I sent the questions to Tom and Vera. If I am asleep when we get the answers, please add them directly to the model database. I sent directions to Dad on how to handle it.
"Doc, how am I doing? Okay to start again?" Chuck asked.
"Your last flash peaked as though you were out on a fast jog. It was at over to ninety beats per minute. If you thought you were able to end the flash, keep working on it. But yes, you're ready to try another," the Doc acknowledged.
Mary put up the next picture. It was one of the diplomats' daughters. Chuck began flashing. Sarah was watching him. His heart rate began climbing almost immediately. Within the first minute he had already hit the ninety beats per minute.
Doc Adams watched the next minute and started to shake his head, "Another minute and we have to have him stop."
Sarah began to alternately squeeze his hand and rub it. She continued for a while until the very end. The Chuck squeezed back. It was still another ten seconds before the flash stopped.
Chuck began, "Olga Zenkas, Argentina, daughter of the prior deputy Ambassador to Columbia, was originally captured by a fringe group of the Hermosa. They were trading illegal drugs and attempting to overthrow local governments. They capture her and two other girls. One was Donna Castillo from Paraguay. She was released but died from an unknown disease shortly after her release. The other was Katherine Knocks from South Africa. Negotiations for the release of the girls failed after the fringe group was attacked. They were sold to MS. From that point on I have records of them three more times. Each with little or no… Well let's say that I am still not sure why that's in the Intersect. A written description would have worked for me…Sorry," Chuck looked at Sarah. "Anyway at least one of those pictures is with a leader in MS known as Zappa Hellandas. I tried to follow that name, but was not getting much and could feel you squeezing my hand. So, that works."
Sarah looked a little surprised, "I was rubbing it too."
Chuck's small smile went away, "Well, maybe not that much."
Doc Adams said, "Let's take a break. I want a little more time in between."
Sarah agreed, "Fine let's take thirty minutes. Chuck, can you just lay back for a while?"
"Sure," Chuck pressed back from the laptop and laid back into the pillow.
Casey, Mary and Alice left the apartment and went to the conference room to check on progress of the teams. Alice found that Tom and Vera were almost to Melina's and Casey sent her a note that the extra protection was on the way. Mary checked on the progress of LT and the Chief in their plans for the shipment. They were making plans on three levels: an operation like the previous with Coast Guard support, a more intense operation with additional forces on the shore, and the possibility of a counterstrike after the initial operation.
At the end of the thirty minutes Chuck was ready to go, "So let's go ahead and try the other daughter." Mary put up the next picture. Chuck flashed. Sarah stayed beside him watching every twitch. His heart rate hit the ninety beats per minute. Sarah was squeezing both hands trying to get him to stop. Sarah began calling out for him for him to stop. His heart rate climbed to one hundred ten and seemed to be going up. Sarah was now squeezing harder and harder.
Chuck finally blinked wide, "Ouch, wow that hurts." He began rubbing his hand.
"I am so sorry," Sarah was very upset. She did not know that she was hurting him that much.
"I wish I could say that I felt you squeezing my hand, but I only felt the last two times," Chuck said as he began to hold Sarah's hand. "So that was Katherine Knocks from South Africa. She is multi-lingual. She had been used, to put it politely, in Africa for three of the last four months. She would be considered a very high value target. She was a bargaining chip in many of their deals. She should know the names of many MS leaders. Currently, she is one of Zappa Hellandas' tools in negotiations. She will need increased protection."
It sounded like the phones throughout the apartment were ringing. The TV came on and Steven could be heard, "Chuck and Sarah, we have reports coming in from Tom, Vera and their protection detail. They are under fire."
A/N Hope you enjoyed. Action starts again. Please review.