,Let us do something, while we have the chance.
Still don't own Chuck.
"You're a gift…"
Sarah
"You can count on me…"
Chuck
-Episode 4.24
Chapter —12 the Takedown
Orion Central
1 July 2011
Chuck was watching Casey and Morgan sparring. Every time Morgan would get in close to Casey, Casey would slap him away. Chuck could tell the Intersect was active. Morgan was at least moving faster than he normally did, but Casey's height was a big advantage. He was going to cut in when Morgan dove at Casey feet first. It was like he was sliding into home plate. His feet caught Casey and toppled him. Casey was on the mat as Morgan scrabbled around to pin him.
"Morgan, that was great! Where did you come up with that?" Sarah asked.
"Actually, that's my only offensive move. I learned that at the playground when someone bigger than both Chuck and I started a fight. He had our ball at his feet. The only way I could get it was to dive at his feet. It tripped him. That's the second time I've used it and it worked," Morgan smiled.
"Just pray, you don't get into a fight with anyone soon," Casey smirked.
"Well, he shouldn't have to. The meetings with Wissen agents have been pretty easy. The only tough problem was last time keeping Nester tranquilized. She did seem to be a lot like Tyler Martin, waking up all the time. Unless we have problems tonight, we should be okay," Chuck pronounced.
"I am certainly looking for a sweep. I mean, look at us, we are good. Right?" Morgan looked back at Casey.
"Right," Casey almost moaned.
Chuck looked at Morgan, "Remember what I…"
Morgan took it up as Chuck left off, "I know, run. Don't stick around to fight."
Sarah and Casey looked at each other. They turned to Chuck, "And why didn't you?"
Chuck and Morgan looked back at them, "Twenty years of training."
Morgan continued shrugging his shoulders, "I never had a chance. Chuck had to do it all." He looked at them hopelessly, "I ran."
"Okay, so go over the code phrases," Chuck started.
Istanbul
6 July 2011
The set up for Morgan was a little different than the previous two meets with a Wissen agent. Morgan was to walk up to the bar. The Wissen agent was to ask a question and Morgan was to respond in an appropriate language. They just did not know which one. Ali had told them it was kind of a joke he had with Wissen. It made them send a new agent every time.
The team was in place at the hotel restaurant and bar. Chuck and a dark haired Sarah sat at a corner table. Carina and Zondra were at a table across the room. Casey was at the other end of the bar looking like he had a few too many. He was stacking the glasses he finished in front of him.
Morgan walked to the door of the bar. He looked around, taking in every person. Then he did it again. On his third time looking at everyone in the bar and restaurant, Casey's wrist got a little closer to his mouth, "Look, Moron, just walk to the bar and sit down!"
Morgan did not have to be told again. He quickly walked over to the bar and took a seat. There was a man in a dark suit on one side and an open seat on the other. When the bartender came over, Morgan asked for a Raki and water. In a while the man seated next to Morgan left. It was a little longer before another man came in the room and sat down beside Morgan.
The man also got a Raki and water. Turning to Morgan with the Raki in hand, he said, "Συγγνώμη, είμαι αργά. Η κίνηση ήταν κακή."
Morgan's eyes got big. He almost thought he wouldn't remember, then it came back and so did the language flash. He looked into his glass and said, "Κανένα πρόβλημα. Οι επιχειρήσεις θα είναι καλό."
The Wissen agent spoke quickly, "Okay, back to English. Speaking Greek here is not a healthy idea."
Morgan replied, "Fine. Now tell me the details."
The agent took a drink of the Raki and a swallow of ice water. He went on, "There will be a demonstration in Berlin on the ninth of July. We will pick you up at the Hotel Stratton lobby at noon. Payment will be expected when we show you the product."
In-turn Morgan took a big swig of the Raki. His eyes went wider than before, hearing Casey's growl in his earpiece, Morgan swallowed and got the water. Trying to calm himself, he looked back to the man, "I'll be there."
The agent turned and walked out of the bar. Morgan sat there and stared at the drinks. In a second he heard Casey, "Okay, you survived. Don't get cocky. Just leave the bar and head back to our rooms."
Orion Central
July 7, 2011
Chuck was at the monitors. Each had a picture coming from the mini-cubes. Sarah, Zondra, Carina, Casey and Morgan had mini-cubes hidden on them. Sarah's was the larger cube on her necklace. Zondra had hers as a part of her purse. Carina had two constructed into the latches on her briefcase. Casey and Morgan also had them as a part of their brief cases. Chuck turned on the cubes. The scene changed to the deck of the Death Star and a squad of Storm Troopers surrounded them.
"Hey, totally cool!" Morgan called out.
"Don't get carried away," Casey said. "Remember we wanted to display the current surroundings and show a squad of Marines surrounding us."
"Yeah, I know. Still working that. It looks like it takes a few minutes to collect enough data on the environment. Okay, got it now. Switching over," Chuck relayed. The Storm Troopers vanished and the room looked like it was back to normal. "Okay, anyone see anything different?"
"Chuck, we can't tell if there is anything different. You just switched from the Death Star to the meeting room," Sarah responded. She was beginning to wonder if this would work.
"Wait, wait. It is not turned on. You are looking at the real room." He paused. "Okay, now. This is the new cube room."
Casey grunted, "Okay, that works."
"Good. And here's the Marines," Chuck said. The doors to the room in the front and the back burst open with three Marines holding their weapons on the room occupants. Four more Marines came in through the windows with their weapons in the same position. As soon as they were in position the Marines vanished. "Okay, so much for fun."
"Hey, enough fun. Show me a bed. I am still tired from that trip," Morgan ended.
Berlin
July 9, 2011
Sarah was first. She went to the lobby of the Stratton Hotel. Zondra was with her as her technical expert. They stood there for a while and finally spotted the same contact from their original meeting walking into the room.
"I am glad you could make it. No traffic problems this time." He pointed to the front door. "Your ride is out front. They will take you to our secure location."
Sarah and Zondra walked out to the curb. Chuck watched through the monitors. It looked okay. Two men got out of the black limo and helped Sarah and Zondra to their seats. In a second the limo was headed down the street.
Morgan was next. He walked into the lobby and was looking all around. Chuck called to his earpiece, "Calm down. They'll come to you."
Morgan went over to the center table in the lobby and started to wait. It wasn't long and his contact showed. About the same time Carina and Casey came into the lobby. Casey was Nester's second. Morgan's contact walked out with Morgan and got in a car parked in front of the hotel. They started down the road.
Carina and Casey quickly met the Wissen agent and followed him to a van beside the hotel. Chuck called over his head set, "All teams on the road. Nothing unusual."
The trip was almost an hour. Sarah's limo got to the gate first. The two guards open the massive iron gate and let the limo pass. It continued up a gravel road winding back and forth higher to a drawbridge. They waited a second and the bridge was lowered. The massive castle like building was back lit by the setting sun.
Kassandra smiled and asked a question for the first time during the trip, "So, just a little hideaway for the weekends?"
"No," the Wissen man looked at Zondra. "Certainly, you understand we must be a little discrete. The area we will be headed to is lined. Keeps down the signature."
Chuck listened to the conversation and nodded, "Got it. The signal to the cubes should still work. You'll know it doesn't if the cubes can't relay my voice to you." Chuck watched the scene as Sarah and Zondra got out of the limo. The shot from Sarah's necklace was the best. It showed the height of the walls and the front of the central hall. It was a massive castle built back in the Middle Ages. Shortly the car and then the van pulled into the castle.
Sarah turned to her escort, "Hey, what's the meaning of this?"
He smiled in response, "We wanted to make sure we got a fair price. Now follow me, please." He pointed to the central hall doors. The group followed Sarah and her escort. There were stairs in the side of the hall that were obviously new. They went down at least two floors and through a door into a rather large room. The walls were covered with an oak wood finish. The carpet was tan with the silver table in the middle becoming the focus of the room. The escorts showed the buyers to their seats around the table.
As soon as everyone got into the room the lights dimmed a bit. The scene at the front of the room came on. There was a Minuteman Statue on the desk. The slogan underneath was Knowledge is Powder. It was like the camera was in back of the desk and you could see the shoulder, arm and hand of the person sitting at the desk. He cleared his throat and began, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. In a minute, Andrei will be bringing in the sample. You'll have ten minutes each to complete whatever analysis you wish to complete. Then we will open the floor to bids." The screen went blank. Andrei opened the door from another side of the room and wheeled a cart into the room.
Zondra got up first and took her bag over to the cart. Her first probe showed her what they were after. It was weapons grade plutonium. She nodded to Sarah. Sarah confirmed, "We got what we want?"
Zondra replied, "Yes."
It was enough for Chuck to hear that the article was real. But he was having a problem with something that wasn't real. He replayed the video with the man in the screen. Chuck moved closer to his screen. It was apparent. The hand looked like the filtered image of a TV picture captured by a digital video camera. It had alternating dark lines and lines with the picture.
Sarah wondered why Chuck hadn't responded. She looked at Zondra, "Any problems?"
Chuck knew that this might create a problem but he thought it was important. He configured his systems to get Orion. The image appeared, "What is it, Chuck?"
"Analyze the picture of the man at the desk." Chuck pushed the file to the Volkoff main frame.
"This is confirmation. That is the lead of the KIP organization. We have his current position. I need you to keep his focus on the mission you are conducting." Orion said and was gone.
Chuck got online with the others, "Okay, Orion has a lock on their leader. We must keep him engaged in the bidding. Stay alert."
Everyone in the conference room continued to concentrate on their current tasks. Zondra nodded to Morgan. He came over and started looking at the sample. He took his backpack and got out his measuring equipment. He put in the probe as shown in the mission workup. He was able to get the readings and thoughtfully stroked his beard, even though he had no idea of what they meant.
Casey was next. He went through the same procedure and nodded to Carina.
A few minutes later, the screen came on. "Now, that you have had a chance to review the product, Andrei will begin the bidding. And as a little motivation, the top bid will become the selling price. No other offer will be accepted. And if you and your organization cannot meet the bid…well, we will no longer need your services."
Sarah spoke up first, "Sorry, but I had not yet heard what we are bidding on. The sample is of good quality. But you have not spelled out the qualities available and the time frames for deliveries."
The man in the screen offered, "We believe your sponsors are not capable of producing much more than a dirty bomb. We will provide the specs, in that case. The per bomb unit would contain twenty-five one gram pellets. We will provide enough product for your sponsors to assemble one unit every six months. Andrei?"
Casey whispered to Carina. She asked, "So how we will get delivery? Do we pick it up from you or will you meet us at specified locations?"
"We do like our security. You will pick it up from us at the locations and times we specify. Enough. Andrei begin."
Andrei began, "Bidding will start at ten million US. Do I have a starter?"
Sarah nodded. Andrei continued, "Ten million, do I have eleven? Do I have eleven?"
Morgan put his hand up. Andrei said, "Eleven million, do I have twelve?"
Morgan put his hand up again, "Whoa wait. I am not sure why do we need to bid against each other? We could just settle at eleven and all pay."
"Yes, well there is one small problem. We only have enough for two parties. So if you don't bid high enough, it will be a random draw. Do you feel lucky today?" They could almost see the shadow smile.
Unknown Location
July 9, 2011
There was a statue of an eagle on the desk. The plaque said, 'Peace is not the absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.'
The voice over the phone said, "Team one in position. Team two five minutes out."
The static sounding reply, "Standby."
A/N Please leave a review.
Okay hope this works in FanFic…, from on-line 'stars21' translator:
Συγγνώμη, είμαι αργά. Η κίνηση ήταν κακή = Sorry, I'm late. Traffic was bad
Κανένα πρόβλημα. Οι επιχειρήσεις θα είναι καλό. = No problem. Business will be good.
With possible trips and work coming up, I'll be switching this to a posting on Monday. Should be able to keep up that way.
