The City of Masks
Okay, this chapter is going to be an intense one folks so buckle in for a wild ride. Do Chuck's suspicions turn out to be correct? Will they be able to locate Ford and Cassandra before they meet their untimely demise by the MacManus brothers? All these questions will be answered? Enjoy the read.
Again, if you enjoyed reading my stories and left a comment please leave a comment for this this one as well. Tell me what you think and I hope you enjoy the read.
I don't own Chuck but I do own the 3rd season on DVD.
In Nomine Patri Et Fili Spiritus Sancti.
XXX
The MacManus brothers herd the reunited couple back into the room closing the door behind them. Ford immediately places himself in front of Cassandra as the two siblings stand in front of them with their guns drawn directly at the couple. He forgets the cell phone he's holding in his right hand as he reaches up in order to show they are not considered a threat of any kind whatsoever.
Shaun immediately notices the phone in his hand causing him to step forward snatching it from his hand. He briefly shows it to him and throws it on the floor stomping on it several times with a purpose. To him, it gave him some satisfaction that he's able to let out some much needed aggression. When he's finally done, he sweeps what is left of the broken cell phone off to the side and then turns his attention back to Ford.
"Didn't expect to see us again did ya." proclaimed Colin expressing a clear smirk. "No way out as far as I can see."
It has been a long time coming since the two of them stood in front of the man they once considered as someone who at one time would never betray them because once you're in their inner circle of trust you're golden. Granted, only a select number of people were given the opportunity or better yet allowed in it and they were primarily family. If you can't trust your own family then who can you trust he thinks to himself.
To him, Ford became part of the family and they entrusted him to manage the money they earned from their business associates once the contracts were completed. It wasn't just a partnership that was established between the three of them but a friendship as well or so he thought. The wool was most definitely pulled over their eyes. His thoughts abruptly end concerning his former business associate as he hears him make a request they've heart so many times before.
"Don't shoot." Ford calmly pleaded keeping Cassandra behind him.
"We're not going shoot ya." responded Colin. "At least not yet anyway." he added.
For Cassandra, the sheer reality of the situation hits her like a ton of bricks. The adrenaline rush of pure happiness and contentment she felt just a few minutes ago quickly faded away. She now feels a combination of horrified shock and as much as she wants to scream at this very moment she doesn't want to run the risk of getting not only herself but the man she loves shot as well.
As she stands there behind him, she could feel every part of her body tense up. She can also feel her heart pounding within her chest to the point where it effects her breathing causing it become somewhat erratic but controllable. The uncertainty of her own mortality causes her to become even more afraid than she already is. She tries to keep her head down avoiding any kind of eye contact so not rile either of them up even more.
However, she musters up enough courage to mutter 4 words. "What do you want?" asked the frightened dark haired beauty.
"We want…" Shaun emphatically stated. "…what rightfully belongs to us. Give us back our money." demanded the youngest MacManus brother turning his attention from Cassandra to the man responsible for taking what was theirs.
"I don't have it."
"You're lying!" Shaun angrily shouted gripping the handle of his gun tighter.
"No…" responded Ford shaking his head. "…I'm not." he added. "Does it look like I'm carrying around an enormous amounts of cash of me?"
Ford's response causes Shaun to step forward about to hit him with the butt of his gun but he's suddenly stopped by his older brother. He immediately snaps his head turning his attention to him wondering why he did what he did. The impetuous young man is about to say something but his brother cuts him off before he does. "Calm down." he emphasized shaking his head signaling him to back up.
"What are you doing?" questioned Shaun in a loud whisper.
"What I've always been doing…" he quickly retorted loudly whispering back. " …watching your back." added Colin pointing at him.
An agitated expression appears on Shaun's face responding to what his brother said to him. "You know he's lying." he responded pointing his gun towards Ford. "He knows where the money is." added Shaun.
"I know." he answered back trying to calm his younger brother down. He pauses for a moment as he briefly glances back behind him. "He can't tell us where it is if he's unconscious now can he." he firmly stated staring back at his younger brother within as much intensity within his eyes.
For Colin, it wasn't so much saving Ford from Shaun as it primarily about keeping Shaun from killing him before they get their money back. The eldest MacManus brother knows how volatile he can be and the second he lays his hands on someone it can be hard to get him off like a rabid pit-bull. He is personally seen him nearly beat someone to death for just bumping into him at bar causing him to spill his beer.
In his mind, anything can set him off but luckily he has been there to get him out of the situation before it completely got out of hand. True, he's hard headed and a pain in the ass he thinks to himself but he's blood and he loves him, which he will never say out loud to his face. Thankfully, Shaun reluctantly complies as Colin watches him back up with guns still trained on the couple.
When he returns his attention form his younger brother returns to Ford, he reaches up removing the mask covering his entire face tossing it to the side. He narrows his eyes directly at the man standing before him with both guns drawn telling him that its best to cooperate or end up suffering a very brutal alternative.
"You better tell us where the money is now…?" Colin emphatically stated. "…or else."
XXX
Monroe walks into a vacant room followed by Taggert with Chuck and Sarah right behind him. The room itself is filled with stacked chairs on either side. All 4 individuals simultaneously take their masks off knowing they really don't need it because they are currently not at the masked ball. Once a suitable spot is reached Monroe turns around leading the 3 behind him to stop and stand in front of him.
After removing his ear wig he signals the other 3 to do the same as well. Taggert wonders what is going causing him to respond. "What's this about sir?" inquired Taggert glancing at Chuck and Sarah who are situated to his left.
"Listen, I tried contacting you earlier to notify you about meeting with and discussing the matter in private."
"Oh yeah. I had my ear wig turned off."
A look of curiosity is expressed on Monroe face. "For what reason?"
"I had to use the bathroom and I didn't want anyone hearing me while I was in there." he replied.
"Say no more." quickly replied Chuck expressing a chuckle. "I was in the same situation myself so I know how you feel." he added giving him a quick nod.
"Is this why you wanted to talk to me sir?"
"Negative." he said shaking his head. "I think we may have a traitor in our midst." he stated. "I'm telling you this because I trust that you can keep this between the 4 of us."
A seemingly shocked expression appears on Taggert's face. "What?" replied Taggert. "Of course sir."
"According to Agent Carmichael he thinks the reason we haven't been able to capture Ford is because we have a mole within the team." said Monroe.
"Are you sure?" he replied turning his attention form Monroe to Chuck.
"I am 100% positive." nodded the tall, lanky man.
The attention Taggert has on Chuck is suddenly turned to Sarah. "Have you noticed anything suspicious activities or behavior going on with any of your teammates as of late?" interjects Sarah. "Anything out of the ordinary?" she added.
"I believe I have ma'am." replied Taggert. His attention from Sarah immediately turns to his boss. "I can't believe any of the guys would do something like this." he stated shaking his head in disbelief.
"I can't believe it either." the veteran police inspector retorts shaking his head in disbelief. "So what can you tell me about what you've seen."
"Yes sir." he replied. "Well…"
As he is speaking, Sarah keenly observe him. To the veteran C.I.A agent, she is well experienced in knowing whether someone is telling the truth or not. She was after all trained to spot tell tale signs that would know that an individual is lying through is teeth. The first thing she focuses on is Taggert's body language and the physical clues that reveal all. After close observation she notice the small beads of sweat forming on his forehead, which could have been caused by the mask he wore.
She also notices the way he is fidgeting while he standing there talking to Monroe. In her mind, it tells her he is nervous or quite possibly feeling anxious. As she continues to hear him share his observations concerning his own teammates she notices that he's providing comments and complaints that are considered quite negative leading her to believe that he's too cooperative with the information.
As he is speaking, she hears certain phrases that try to make him sound honest. To her, certain key phrases such as "to be honest" are injected into the conversation for the expressed purpose of consciously deceiving you. She has heard this countless times on past mission, especially when it comes to fishing for information for a mark that is hiding something.
In addition to the previous tell tale signs, he also picks up on all the pauses that he is clearly not aware of. It reveals to her that he has difficult trying to collect his thoughts. After being asked by Monroe to repeat something he said, she closely looked for inconsistencies which there were quite a few and when you're a smart spy you know how you have to maintain the consistency of each lie you tell over and over or you end compromising yourself.
What she ultimately focuses on is the man's eyes and which direction they are looking at. In the academy she learned from her instructors it's a person's eyes that give the individual away. If they fail in making eye contact then he's not truthful at all but he's making eye contact with Monroe. It's at that point, she focuses on where he's looking that reveal so much without even saying a single word.
She can personally attest that when it comes to her husband he always tells the truth because he is always looking to the right. However, when closely observing Taggert's eyes they are looking left telling her he's creating something totally made up and fabricated. She also notices that he has dilated pupils and not to mention that as she is hearing him speak his vocal pitch is rising.
After telling Monroe all he knows, Sarah has all the information needs to share concerning the validity of what Taggert told him. She glances at her husband standing to her right expressing a look of concerned disappointment within her eyes telling him that he was indeed right. Her attention turns from Chuck immediately to the Chief Inspector who responds to the man that has been on his team for 8 years.
"I thank you for being so cooperative." he said reaching over giving a quick pat on his left shoulder.
"You're welcome sir." replied Taggert with a grin. "I hope you catch the traitorous scum."
"We already have." stated Sarah staring directly at him.
Sarah's response causes Monroe to turn his attention to his blonde ally in order to confirm what he didn't want to confirm as truth about him. "Are you sure Agent Walker?"
She nods. "I'm a trained spy."
Taggert attempts to respond but doesn't get a chance to because out of nowhere he gets punched in the face by Monroe causing the man to fall to the ground. As he lays there on floor laid out on his back, he looks up at the ceiling with the right corner of his mouth bleeding. He then sees his boss' face staring down at him expressing a look absolute furiousness. "Where is Ford?"
XXX
"I don't know what you're talking about sir." said Taggert as he's slammed up against the wall by a clearly pissed off Monroe.
"It was you." angrily stated Monroe. "You are the reason I've been unable to capture Ford all along."
"Agent Walker is wrong."
As Monroe has his now former associate pinned up against the wall, Chuck stands there behind him next to his wife watching it play out. He knows that the Casey-esque type tactics being implemented are not going to work on him because he's just going to keep denying it. What is truly needed is the power of the information to have him openly confess that he in fact has been working with Ford.
"I beg to differ…" he said stepping forward causing Monroe and Taggert to turn their attention to him. "…my wife is never wrong about these things." added Chuck glancing back at her expressing a soft but albeit brief smile.
"Then prove it." he quickly retorted. "What proof do you have?"
"Well…" responded Chuck. "…how about you showing signs of not telling the truth on your face thanks to my wife's awesome spy skills.
"Not convinced."
"Okay." nodded Chuck. "I thought you might say that because I had my wife immediately contact a mutual friend of ours to work up a completely background check on you. Your phone records, bank statement, and everything in between." he added. "The whole nine."
"You did what?" he blurted out. "You can't do that."
"Yes we can…" replied Sarah. "…we're the government and we can pretty much do anything we please." As soon as she say that, Sarah's cell phone rings leading her to take out her cell phone and put it on speaker phone for everyone in the room to hear. "What do you got Casey?" she inquired.
"What I got Walker is a number of sizeable money deposit transfers to his account." responded the grizzled NSA Agent. "They essentially date all the way back to 2002 and each deposit were in cash."
"What about his phone records?" she asked not breaking eye contact with Taggert.
"I cross referenced all the calls he's received from several different phone numbers that kept constantly popping up to the locations that Monroe and his team were in when Ford did his Houdini act." he stated.
"What did you find out?" asked Chuck.
"What I found out Bartowski was the all the calls were from pre-paid phones and guess what."
"What?" responded Monroe.
"In the last few days he's received calls from a pre-paid phone recently purchased in Venice.
"How about tonight." wondered Sarah. "Any calls?" she added.
"He received one phone call just 30 minutes ago."
"Do you have the audio for me partner?"
"Of course I do."
A look of utter shock is seen in Taggert's eyes by Chuck, Sarah, and Monroe as he hears the following audio being played over the phone:
"Taggert its Ford."
"Where are you?"
"I'm around."
"What do you need?"
"I need to gain entrance to the Palazzo Pisani Moretta without getting spotted."
"That shouldn't be a problem."
"Excellent."
"Meet me in the alley and make sure you're wearing a mask so you can blend in with the rest of the crowd."
"You will be handsomely paid for your efforts like always. Make sure…"
"Make sure I have a boat waiting for your escape. I know."
"I'll call you when I have what I came for."
"That's it Walker." grunted Casey.
"Thanks Casey." responded Sarah. "I owe you one." she added.
"You owe me two actually." responded the NSA agent. "Try not to get yourselves killed will ya."
Sarah hangs up gripping the phone in right hands as she stares at Taggert. "Where is Ford?"
A brief moment of silence is given by Taggert as he is still pressed up against wall. He shakes his head as the look of shock on his face is suddenly replaced by the angered expression. He then responds to the blonde agent. "I'm not saying nothing."
His response causes Monroe to grab Taggert and throw him down to the floor. "I think you should because I'm not responsible for the pain she might inflict on you." he said. "I'm just giving you a fair warning dude."
In that moment, Monroe begins kicking him repeatedly in the ribs causing Chuck to immediately intervene pulling the Chief Inspector off of the injured man and Ford informant. While he tries to calm him down Sarah approaches the disgraced former associate of Monroe and repeats her previous question. "I repeat where is Ford?"
"Bite me bitch."
Chuck immediately winces. Big mistake Chuck thinks to himself after hearing him say that to his wife. As much as he wants to kick his head off right now, he knows that Sarah can take care of herself. He remembers during a mission that someone called her a bitch and it didn't end well with him. The one thing he knows that if you call her a bitch you had better be prepared to suffer the consequences.
It's at that point, Sarah approaches with a chair and stands hovering over the beaten man. She reaches down retrieving one of her throwing knives and then peers down at Taggert. "Did you know that part of my job as a spy is to interrogate people by any means necessary in order to get the information needed. I'm very damn good at it too." she stated admiring the throwing knife in her right hand. "It's been a while since I've done it but you never forget how." added the veteran agent with a grin on her lips.
"Agent Walker what are you doing?"
"Getting answers my way." she replied back. "Inspector…" Sarah says peering up the two men in front of her. "…pick him up, tie him to a chair making sure he can't move at all, and pull his pants down."
"Agent Walker…" Monroe said. "…I don't think…"
He is isn't given the opportunity to even finish his sentence before a throwing knife whizzes past him and is deeply embedded in the wall behind him. He glances back at the knife and then turns his attention back at Sarah. When he does, he hears Chuck respond to what just happened as he feels a hand on his left shoulder.
"That was just a warning and trust me she never misses." he stated pulling the knife out of the wall.
"Seriously?" Monroe said glancing back at the throwing knife embedded on the wall. "General Beckman said you two have an unorthodox way of doing things."
"She's a very determined woman…" he replied as the two men return their attention to the blonde woman in front of them. "…and its one of the things I love about her."
The whole time this is happening Taggert is on the floor favoring his ribs expressing absolute disbelief at what is being proposed. All the years he has known his boss he would let him be allowed to be interrogated in such a brutal way because he is after all an ethical man. A man he knows would never turn a blind eye in order to get him to spill his guts.
"Well." stated Sarah narrowing her eyes at Monroe.
Monroe reluctantly complies with her wishes helping Chuck grab Taggert off the floor sitting him in the chair. After finding something in the room to bound his hands and feet to the chair Chuck pull down his pants and once they're down around his ankles he steps aside handing the throwing knife back to his wife. The two men watch as they Sarah step forward and then bend down targeting one particular area of the body.
"You can't do this." blurted out Taggert. "You're crazy. She's crazy." he added quickly turning his towards Chuck.
In that instance, Chuck merely looks at the man shrugging his shoulder knowing he could possibly end up like John Wayne Bobbitt when his wife is done with him. "Let's give her some privacy Inspector." added Chuck patting him on the shoulder.
As the two men head towards the door, Chuck glances back at his wife. "Have fun honey."
"I will babe."
Chuck and Monroe make their way to the door. As they do, the two men Taggert trying to stop her and at the same call out to them in order to get out of the situation he's been placed in. When they finally reach the door, Chuck has one foot out the door when he suddenly hears him cooperate causing he and the Chief Inspector to turn around. "Okay…okay! I'll tell you where he is." he quickly shouted out.
"Now we're talking." responded Chuck expressing a smile. The police inspector shakes his head in utter disbelief at what just transpired. He quickly get his head back in the game quickly following Chuck in order find out the exact whereabouts of Ford.
XXX
"Or else what?" questioned Ford.
Colin's responds by grabbing Ford pulling him forward leaving a frightened Cassandra standing there by herself. She attempts to pull him back but her efforts are thwarted by Shaun motioning her back. "Since, you know where our money is I can't do anything to you…" he stated. "…but I can to her." added the eldest MacManus brother turning his attention to Cassandra.
He signals his brother who quickly reaches over grabbing Cassandra by the hair and forcing to get on her knees at gunpoint. As this is happening, a clearly teary eyed woman is trembling with fear pleading for any kind of help from the man she loves. "Sterling do something!"
"Stop this!" pleaded Ford.
Ford's attempts at trying to get through to his former associate falls on deaf ears. "You are responsible for death." he says turning his attention to his brother. "Do it."
"No!" Ford quickly responded. "I told you I don't have it!"
His attention on Ford immediately turns to his lady love who is shedding tears as Shaun stands behind with his guns pointed at the back of her head. In that moment, tears stream down her cheek as she hears the man behind begin to recite the following words:
Now you will receive us.
We do not ask for your poor, or your hungry. We do not want your tired and sick.
It is your corrupt we claim. It is your evil that will be sought by us.
With every breath we shall hunt them down.
Each day, we will spill their blood till it rains down from the skies.
Do not kill, do not rape, do not steal, these are principles which every man of every faith can embrace.
These are not polite suggestions, these are codes of behavior and those of you that ignore them will pay the dearest cost.
There are varying degrees of evil, we urge you lesser forms of filth not to push the bounds and cross over, into true corruption,
into our domain. For if you do, one day you will look behind you and you will see we three. And on that day, you will reap it.
And we will send you to whatever god you wish.
And shepherds we shall be, for Thee, my Lord, for Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand.
That our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command. So we shall flow a river forth to Thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be.
In nomine Patri Et Fili Spiritus Sancti.
When Shaun finishes he is about to pull the trigger when he is suddenly told to stop by his brother causing him to respond. "What for?"
Shaun doesn't get a reason as his brother turns his attention back to Ford. "Last chance." he emphatically states. "Tell us or she dies." added Colin.
As Ford is left with a decision to make, Chuck and Sarah step out of the elevator with Monroe right behind them. They are on the 5th floor of the Palazzo Pisani Moretta and immediately head to the room where Taggert graciously told them. When they finally arrive they creep towards the door hearing muffled commotion going on behind the door telling them its time to act and act now.
All three individuals have their weapons drawn as Monroe signals a countdown. After reaching 1, he steps forward and then immediately turns around lifting his right foot in the and with as much force he can muster kicks the door in. Chuck, Sarah, and Monroe with reckless abandon rushing into the room knowing they are in for one chaotic situation.
XXX