Four Days Ago: Hotel, Burbank
"What's so special about this computer?" Casey asks from behind Bryce.
"It's going to help us with get through the encryption a lot faster than if we sent these of to Langley." Bryce responds as he connects Chuck's hard drive to the Roark computer.
"How fast?"
Bryce pauses a moment to do the math. "Hopefully a few days instead of a couple of weeks; if these are as secure as I think they are."
"Heh" Casey stands up, pulling on his gun holster. "Anything else on that computer?"
Oh sure, there is all kinds of fun things on this computer. "A few things. It will make contacting Orion easier."
"Some of us got to pull our weight. Headed out to relieve Walker." Casey grabs his keys and gun.
Bryce scowls and gives Casey the finger as he leaves.
Now:
Meadow Brooks Neighborhood
Casey rolls his shoulders as he takes a long sip from his soda. He sets the drink down in the cup holder.
He's been at this for days rotating with Walker. He exchanged the Crown Vic for a carpenter's van parked by the neighborhood clubhouse. It has a wonderful advantage of resting at the top of a small hill overlooking most of the roads.
Once this mission is over, he's going to put in for special assignment in the East. Something violent and action packed.
This whole mission was a series of grunt work followed by clean up work. It sucked.
Casey sits up. He grabs the binoculars.
A convertible moves slowly down the road. Casey has a small urge to duck as the silver car pulls into the clubhouse parking lot. The car drives past and parks close to the door.
The door opens and out comes Roberts. She's talking angrily on the phone.
Bingo.
She slams the door and strides around the side of the building.
Casey quickly pulls out his gun and hops out of the car. He quietly shuts the door.
He creeps along the sidewalk. A door closes somewhere ahead. Casey turns the corner. There's an brick service shed standing twenty feet from the main club house. A solitary red metal door marks the entrance.
Roberts is gone. He scans the area. As much as he'd like to pursue her into the building, the cavalry needs to be here.
Casey heads back to the car. He pulls out his cellphone to send a message to Larkin and Walker when everything goes dark.
Underground Fulcrum Base
Casey lists to the side as two Fulcrum Agents frog march him down the hallway. Roberts leads the small group. He's disoriented from a blow to the back of his head.
"That's not Orion." A voice calls from behind.
The group stops. Roberts turns around.
"We caught Major Casey snooping around." Jill responds.
"You mean he followed you." The voice belongs to a dark haired man with a deep facial scar. Really? What is it with this mook's scars? How clichéd can we get?
The man steps up to Roberts. More agents fill the hallway.
"He caught me off guard. He's alone."
The man stares at Casey for a long moment. He turns back to Jill.
"You see, that's the thing with these cockroaches. They're never alone. There will be federal agents swarming this place by tomorrow."
Robert's purses her lips.
"And Orion? I distinctly remember requesting his presence here yesterday."
Casey watches as Roberts tries to school her face carefully. A hand gently rubs the spot where Casey tagged her a month ago. Good. It still hurt.
"You showed our hand with his son's retrieval. Of course he can't be found," come's Robert's curt response.
"What good are you then? No Larkin. No Orion. And now you've brought an infestation."
Robert's feathers are ruffled. "I am Bartowksi's handler. You think he'll really help you without me?"
The man in black gives a proceed gesture with his hand. Two agents grab Roberts.
With this distraction, Casey carefully twists his wrist in the handcuffs to bring it closer to his other hand. Slowly he extends a finger to hit the panic button.
"Sadly, I don't think that's the case any more. Our boy's proven to be very obedient. Pavlov would be proud. Besides we can always get his sister if needed." The man turns to the guards holding Casey.
"Secure him. We'll deal with him later. Bring Bartowski to me. We need to run one final test." The man snaps his fingers and heads down the hallway.
Jill begins to struggle furiously like a cat in a bag for all the good it will do her. The agents maintain their hold on her as she's pulled away.
Casey's tugged the other direction. He's slightly unsteady on his feet.
The group stops in front of a door. It's unlocked. Casey is shoved into the single chair and handcuffed to each armrest.
The room is incredibly small with an arm rail that runs along all four walls. Casey gets a brief glance of a blindfolded man curled up in the corner attached to the rail, before the guards descend on the man, releasing him from the wall and hustling him out the room.
The door slams shut. Casey is alone. Time to get to work.
Hotel Across Town
Various street maps of Meadow Brook are spread out across one of the double beds in the room. By the small table, Bryce hacks away at the computer.
For the past several hours, Bryce has been compiling all the data they've collected.
A progress bar on the screen hovers around 97 percent. The bar hits 100 percent. Bryce carefully pulls a thumb drive from the computer. Out of the corner of his eye, he looks at Sarah. She's currently seated on the floor engrossed in cleaning her knives. He attaches it to a chain around his neck and tucks the drive under his shirt.
Bryce's computer starts beeping.
"What's that?" Sarah says as she stands up.
A map with a red dot pops up on screen.
"Casey. He's hit the panic button on his watch."
Bryce grabs his gun off the table.
"We need to go."
The Intersect Room
Ike shoves Chuck to the floor. His knees sting as they hit the ground. The cold familiar press of a muzzle caresses his neck. The blindfold is tugged roughly down his face to rest around his neck.
Chuck squints under the harsh lighting. A gasp draws his attention to the middle of the room. He tries to scramble to his feet when he sees Jill. The pressure along his neck increases as a hand clutches his shoulder.
In the middle of the room, Mike ties down a struggling Jill to the medical chair. Tommy forces Jill's head back against the headrest and secures it there with another strap.
"Leave her alone!" Chuck cries.
"Chuck." Jill can see Chuck out of the corner of her eye.
Mike pulls a strap particularly tight. Jill winces. Chuck starts to panic.
"Please don't hurt her!"
"Shut up." Ike says. The grip on his shoulder tightens.
Tommy steps back from Jill, standing between her and Chuck. "Our choices have consequences, Chuck. Jill broke an agreement and this is the outcome. Fulcrum always delivers on its promises."
The world seems to spin around Chuck. He doesn't understand what is going on. This is a sick merry-go-round he can't get off.
Chuck's vertigo increases as Mike and a man in scrubs attach a contraption to Jill's face that forces open her eyelids. The hell?
Tommy approaches Chuck. He slides out a pair of glasses and slides them on Chuck's face. "These stay on." He taps the glasses.
He slides his own pair on. "Any last words, sweetheart?"
"Chuck," Jill croaks. She can't see him. She licks her lips. "Chuck, it's a lie. Everything is a lie."
"Wha-?" Chuck starts.
"I'm sorry." She whispers.
"Fire it up." Tommy says. The scientists put on glasses as a projector screen descends from the ceiling.
The room darkens as a count down leader ticks down from ten. Chuck turns to the screen thoroughly confused. A movie? The leader hits one and the screen begins to pulse through hundreds of images. An epileptic's nightmare.
Jill screams. Chuck whips his head back towards the medical chair. Jill strains against the straps, trying to twist her head away from the screen. She continues to scream. Chuck makes a move towards her, but Tommy crouches down by Chuck and grabs his chin in a steely grip.
"Watch. Just watch." He whispers into Chuck's ear.
Chuck whimpers. The pictures continue unabated. Minutes pass and Jill's screams have turned into moans. What started as a few tears is now a river of blood pouring down her face.
Every time Chuck tries to turn his head away, Tommy's hand is there holding it in place. An immovable force. Chuck's knees ache from the hard floor. Tears of frustration threaten.
As time continues, blood has started to leak from Jill's ears and nose. Jill's making no sounds. Her mouth slowly opens and closes, silent.
Suddenly the screen goes dark. The lights kick on overhead. Tommy releases Chuck's head. He motions to the scientists.
Two move towards Jill and remove the contraption around her face. Her eyes droop closed. Blood's everywhere. Her clothes. Her face. Dripping over the sides of the chair.
Tommy stalks forwards. He stares impatiently at her face.
The scientists continue to loosen the straps securing her to the chair. Jill doesn't move.
"Weak." Tommy scoffs. "You know what to do." He says to the scientists.
Freed from the chair, the two drag Jill's limp form off, her head lolling.
Chuck twists out of Ike's grip and lurches towards Jill.
Tommy holds out his hands in supplication. Mike and Ike stand down. The two scientists release Jill. Her body hits the floor.
Chuck crashes to his knees. With shaky hands, he turns Jill towards him. Warm blood slicks his hands. He gently grasps her face.
"Open your eyes." He pleas.
Author's Note
Approaching the climax of part 1. Thanks for hanging in there with me.