Don't own Chuck
General Beckman came to slowly raising her head off a table in front of her. The table was hard and her head hurt even her eyes ached. Looking around she found herself sitting in a chair in a cold dark room and as her eyes grew accustomed to the low light she saw the walls covered with small boxes. All of the boxes were opened with their drawers thrown about and paper tossed everywhere now decaying into mulch adding to the musty smell and putrid odor. She tried to get up from her chair but sat back down her head was spinning too much and she felt nauseous.
"You're awake good. Here drink this," said Chuck as he handed her a bottle of water. "It'll help flush out your system. You need to drink a lot."
"Chuck you tranq'd me, why?" Chuck didn't answer he just switched on an emergency generator then lights came on.
Beckman could now see that she was sitting inside a bank safety deposit vault and a sudden feeling of cold dread in her stomach.
"What the…" she said as she touched her bare stomach with her hand and the bottom part of her blouse ripped open. Next to her chair in the debris of the room were two aluminum pie pans and duct tape.
"I'm sorry but you've got a tracker implanted subcutaneously and I had to block the signal. That was all I could come up with to block the signal until we got here. Now for our chat," said Chuck as he switched on a camera then he sat down in front of her placing his phone on the table between them. "Let the records show that the interrogation of subject Brigadier General Diane Beckman United States Air Force by Agent Charles Irving Bartowski started on," then Chuck gave the date and time.
"Interrogation? What's the meaning of this? Chuck explain what's going on? I demand to know I have rights."
"Rights? You of all people falling back on rights. General do you remember this. 'Major Casey, you understand the situation? We can't have another Intersect wandering around Los Angeles getting into trouble. Tomorrow night, eliminate Chuck Bartowski.' Did I have rights back then?"
"But that was different. I still don't know why I'm being interrogated, what are the charges? I assume Langley is on the other side of that camera?
"That would be a good assumption. I'm going ask you a question. How you answer it will determine how this ends. How does a good man decide when to kill?
"What! What does that have to do with anything?"
"Just answer the question. When you and Langston Graham gave Casey the kill order on me and he asked for another exit strategy what did you two say?"
"I don't remember it was a long time ago."
"Then let me refresh your memory. 'You have your orders, Major. Chuck Bartowski is to be eliminated. Chuck Bartowski has served his country with honor. Now he'll die with honor to protect it.' Now getting back to my question how does a good man decide when to kill?" said Chuck as he reached behind his back and laid the Chinese pistol on the table.
"This is what, my execution? I guess I never saw this coming a Chinese Norinco type 54 is that what you plan to use?"
"A Black Star and if look closer you'll see it's a M20 model no factory markings. The perfect killing weapon and in the right hands deadly as well as anonymous."
"If you're taping this and I assume someone in Langley is because if not why go to the trouble of setting up a camera and show the weapon you plan on using?"
"You'll understand when I explain a small detail. You see ballistics will match a round fired from this gun to a victim in Fushan killed by one of Madame Wong's men back in her Tong days."
"So if I'm found dead with a bullet from that gun the agency can blame Madame Wong. Ingenious Chuck, I never thought it possible but you surprised me. I don't know if I could've come up with anything like this."
"I was told once the agency was founded on lies and deceit. The full weight of the US government will rain down on your partner, Madame Wong," said Chuck as Beckman stared in shock. She couldn't believe what she had just heard, 'partner'.
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Back in a speeding Mercedes Sarah received a call, it was Chuck. She put it on speaker and they began to listen to Chuck's interrogation. There was silence in the vehicle as they listened and they all looked at each other when they heard the story of the gun. Casey almost took out a cow that ambled across the road in front of him sliding in the gravel around the beast but managing to keep it on the road.
"Casey you've got to drive faster," said Sarah without flinching at the near disaster. "I don't like the way this is progressing."
"Christ is that the way that thing in your head works? You can remember word for word what we wrote in our reports? How do you stay sane?"
"Yes, also everything that was every recorded or was put on file. We can recall it sometimes when we want or need to and for me most of the time when I don't. To answer your question about how we stay sane sometimes it's not easy."
"So Sarah you were to do what? Tap Beckman," asked Carina still trying to process the whole thing in her head and from the look on Cole's face he too was having a hard time wrapping his head around it.
"Carina, I told you only after interrogating her I was supposed to make a judgment call," said Sarah thinking that what she said sounded more like she was trying to justify it and Chuck.
"Judgment call," laughed Casey. "Is that what you call it? I call it 'hi lady, pull out my gun, bang she's dead then pizza'."
"Yes Agent Frankenstein and it was for that very reason you weren't tasked to do this. It was thought a different approach was needed," explained Roan.
"Roan give it a rest, you're not fooling anyone here. I've had to do those so called 'interrogations'. You know as well as I do the poor sob never gives you enough to satisfy all your doubts so they're dead men walking from the time they come through the door. You know it and most of the time they know it," said Carina.
"I'm sorry Sarah but Carina maybe a little blunt but she's right. In the end neither you nor your agency can take the chance, so it's assumed they're bent and the interrogation is just a formality that is most of the time," said Cole.
"Sarah be honest with yourself, you and I both know you wouldn't have let it last this long before capping the perp," said Carina.
"First of all don't call the General a perp and secondly that was the old me. Honestly, I can't do that anymore or at least I don't think I can. Don't you see that's what Chuck is trying to protect me from finding out."
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Beckman looked with horror and dismay at Chuck. She couldn't believe what he had just accused her of? Was that it? It couldn't be that an agency she had given so much to now thought that she was a traitor that she had somehow sold it out. How could they after everything she had gone through and sacrificed fighting Fulcrum, the Ring, Volkoff and now Hydra. She stared back at Chuck trying to find words but they didn't come. For once in her life she was speechless then she regained her composure as they continued.
"What? Are you insane, Wong my partner? I was kidnapped in Antwerp."
"Antwerp could've been staged. As acting director, you knew they'd send me so you couldn't make it obvious. Your friends cut the local video and our satellite feeds but you knew I'd tap into the Russian persona satellite system and download their weekly feeds."
"Staged? The idea is even ludicrous. I was drugged and captured."
"Your word there's no proof."
"What about Caster? Find him, he'll tell you what happened. He was in on it as soon as I stepped foot in his office he ran into his safe and closed it after him. You can start by looking there."
"I would if I could but since they haven't invented a phone to communicate with the dead that's going to be impossible. I guess we could hold a séance but I don't think that'll fly in the agency. "
"He's dead? Chuck, how can you joke at a time like this?"
"Would you prefer I cry with you because none of this is helping you build a case," said Chuck as he looked at his phone then leaned back in his chair with the pistol still in the middle of the table between them. Beckman looked down at it then at Chuck.
"I was chained in the castle and held prisoner. You saw that yourself there's your proof. How do you explain that if I were working with them then why was I chained?"
"Again staged and how do you explain Ševo killing Lau for you? If you're not working for Madame Wong then are you working for the Srpsko Bratstvo, The Serbian Brotherhood."
"Ševo is an old man; he felt sorry for me. What can I say we bonded over that Serbian liquor, raika. He even wanted me to meet some relative of his, his wife's brother's cousin I think."
"So he wanted to indoctrinate you into the brotherhood as one of their own," said Chuck as he got up and walked behind the General leaving the pistol on the table in front of her. "So General do you consider yourself a good person?"
"I think so."
"And yet you've killed people."
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Madame Wong was on her private jet leaving Montenegro air space flying into Serbia. Those who knew her could tell she looked worried. There were those on the board who would use this against her the same way she had done with Novokov. He still had friends on the board that swallowed his death as a bitter pill and now they'd seek retribution if she didn't get this situation under control soon.
"Madame Wong," interrupted one of her men as she was staring off out the window.
"Have we heard from our men in Zenda yet?"
"I just got off the phone with them. They went to the castle and found all of the Yugos tranq'd and tied up. The woman is missing and," paused the man.
"Come on spit it out I don't have all day. It's not like I'm going to throw you off this plane." The man looked at her in terror this was one scenario he hadn't thought about.
"Well its Mr. Lau," said the scared man.
"I hope he's got a good excuse for what happened. I'll have his hide for this."
"Mr. Lau's dead, shot. Our men said the room where they found him looked like there had been some sort of struggle and on the back side of the mountain they found pitons in the rock face along with climbing rope."
"So that's how they did it but how did they find her. Only a few people knew where she was, I kept it that way intentionally. I can't help but think that sneaky slimy Silijack had something to do with this. I know he's up to something but to openly challenge me well that takes more guts than he has. Why am I telling you this?"
"I don't know," said the man not knowing if he should try and smile or frown or what facial expression he should show.
"That was a rhetorical question. What about the tracking device we put in her? Have they been able to trace it?"
"The signal died in the middle of the town and from that square they said there were three or four possible ways she could have been taken and none of them are covered by cameras."
Whoever did this was good; he knew exactly what he was doing. Tell the guys to keep on looking she might be underground that would explain why they're not getting a signal and have our people in NATO keep a look out for any evac requests. What have they said about any early responders?"
"Well bad weather over Aviano has grounded anything coming out of there and the last news we got from them was that Naval Forces were out of position. They're all in the western Med participating in some sort of joint ops."
"Good go talk to the pilot get an ETA for Belgrade and make sure there's a car waiting for us when we land. We can meet the guys along the way. What's your name?"
"Sung, Madame Wong."
"I think you'll do fine as a replacement for Lau. I want you to stay close by me and make sure your phone is charged at all times."
"Thank you this is such a great honor," said Sung as he bowed. Normally he'd be happy to get such an important role in the organization but Madame Wong's assistants had a bad habit of coming up dead. This for him was almost certainly a death sentence so he decided to put his personal affairs in order.
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Casey pulled up outside an old burnt bank in the middle of town no far from the city square. They noticed all the activity around them lots of new SUVs all makes, models and colors driving around. There were also men on foot some oriental dressed in black all carrying ear pieces and firearms. The word had to be out that Beckman had escaped and Wong wanted her back. They parked for a bit their old beat up Mercedes they borrow from the Serbs helped them blend in with the locals and from their vantage point they could observe their enemy chasing their tail.
"John we can't sit here forever I need to get to Chuck."
"Sarah, you won't do him any good if you get caught or you lead Wong's men to him. I think they're starting to move off anyway. I think I see them picking up their men and heading out. Just a little while longer and we can go."
"They probably are searching quadrants just finishing this one then moving on to the next. I know that's what I'd do," said Cole.
"Cole's right, hey they're leaving I can see them go," said Carina as they watched a string of new SUVs form a caravan and move out.
"Over there that's our BMW, it's the only one that doesn't have a driver in it. Remember Harry Lime and the GLG-4000," said Casey pointing at the burnt out Bank of Belgrade.
"How could I ever forget my 49B and Agent Forrest, she was some tool."
"But she was right when she said you had feeling for Chuck."
"You're right but just then I thought she was, well we know what I thought. John, you're a genius let's go."
"Hold up before anyone goes anywhere the director just sent me a message telling me that Charles should be allowed to finish his interrogation and under no circumstances should we or anyone else interfere," said Roan.
"Is she listening to what we are? Remember what I told you about that button you could push, well push it twice then add Casey's comment to mine."
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The air in the vault was getting stuffy and thick as Chuck continued to hammer away with questions at the General some pertinent and some personal. The General thought at first he was trying to bait her into saying something that she didn't want to say but she realized this was something else.
"Well, if I were working with these people and I'm not saying I was why would I have called a torturer to interrogate me? Why would we need Ivan the terrible?"
"I never said I have all the answers but a reasonable explanation is window dressing. Whoever said he was going to torture you, he could've been a cover to give you plausible deniability when you were released. Ivan just happened to be on the wrong helicopter at the wrong time."
"He's dead?"
"Casey shot him down over Serbian airspace outside of Belgrade in the countryside. We can confirm the kill."
"Now that's a big win. Well Chuck I think it's all going to come down to your gut. You know I never took this job for its pension plan so I guess it's all up to you."
"Is that how you want to play this? Leave it up to me?"
"Is there another choice?
"No not really, I asked you about how does a good man decide when to kill? You want to know what I think? I think that if someone means to do me or my family harm then I will do whatever I can to stop them. General have you ever loved anyone? I mean really loved them I don't know if you ever have.
"I think so, why Chuck?"
"If you have to ask then you haven't but for the sake of argument say you have. You love this person with all your soul then one day you look at them and find a stranger looking back at you. Do you have any idea what that can do to you?" said Chuck as he got up close to the General talking directly into her ear.
"You're talking about Sarah. You weren't supposed to be conducting this interrogation were you? They wanted Sarah to be the one. They wanted her to have that gun in her hand."
"I'm here now and I'm the one you have to deal with. I should warn you that we're running out of time. Casey probably called Fort Meade and got our position or close to it. The choice of this bank wasn't in the original plan, but it was the best I could do on short notice so this will have to come to a conclusion soon."
"Who wanted Sarah to interrogate me?" asked the General ignoring what he said. "It takes two for the kill order. Roan knew where I was and I was to meet him so he is one and the other one," the General paused. "My God it was Mary, your mother."
"I will do whatever it takes to protect my family General. This they should have known and something you need to know. I can't lose her again. I won't. I never want to see that look in her face ever again." Chuck drew close again to the General and whispered in her ear as they both looked down at the pistol.
"Casey I can't hear what Chuck's saying. We need to hurry up," said Sarah as the team ran through the old building making their way down below to the vault area.
"Crap it's closed. I've got some C-4 in the BMW we can blast it open."
"No you risk killing them both."
"Let me try," said Sarah as she put her ear to the vault door and began working the lock.
"No Chuck, I won't," said the General looking back at him, "I'm sorry but I can't. It's not who I am."
"If that's the way you feel then that leaves me with only one last thing to do," said Chuck as he took out a knife. He pushed the General across the table knocking his phone on the floor and accidently turning it off.
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Madame Wong's plane arrived in Belgrade where it was met by a Black Rover. She transferred into it with Sung and they sped off to meet up with the rest of her men.
"I want a guard posted here at the airport and I want all the other airfields covered. I want every train and bus leaving the country searched."
"Madame Wong we aren't the CIA and we don't have the resources to lock down an entire country," said Sung already thinking his promotion would be short lived like himself.
"I don't care bring in more men. Get all the people we left behind in Antwerp here now. If I look on a corner I want to see one of our men."
"Yes Ma'am."
"Sung if anybody balks or comes up short you have my full authority to take whatever action is necessary to get what I want done." Suddenly Sung was seeing some perks in being Madame Wong's assistant.