Chapter 15
The weeks that followed the party flew by pretty fast for Chuck and Sarah. Nothing had turned up from the leads they had been following. Each day was spent primarily training and working out. As the weather began to warm up Sarah decided to include swimming in Chucks training. Not that Chuck minded that much Sarah looked sexy as heck in her racing suit. They had just finished their laps when the phone rang.
Chuck picked up the phone in the pavilion and answered it, "Hello?"
"Chuck, its Diane I have a small matter to discuss with you. When would be a good time?"
"Hey Diane, we just finished doing our laps so I think we can be ready inside the hour. Will you be in the office today or should I contact you at home?"
"At the office will be fine Chuck I'll wait for your call. Tell Sarah I said hi and I'll talk to you later."
"Talk to you soon." Chuck hung up the phone and turned to look at his wife. Sarah tossed him a towel and finished wrapping her hair in another. "We need to get dressed and call the General. Something came up and she needs to speak with us."
"I wonder why she called on the house phone instead of our cells?"
"It could be that fact we left our phones in the room when we got ready for our swim."
"Good thing we have phones all over this place isn't it?"
"I'm surprised you are taking the General not being able to get a hold of us on our cells so well."
"What's there to worry about? Every room has a phone in it and the conference room is only a few minutes away no matter where we are in the residence. We have the secure cells with us whenever we leave the house so what's to worry about? It's not like she tells us what the missions are over the phone anyway," concluded Sarah.
"That's true," said Chuck as they walked hand in hand towards the house. "I'm still getting used to the new you."
"The new me so you didn't like the old me," questioned Sarah.
"I fell in love with the old you, the new you doesn't let little things like what just happened bother you. I'm glad about that. You are enjoying life so much more now than you did before."
"Well I have you and a whole host of other people to thank for that." Sarah pulled Chuck towards her and planted a tender and loving kiss on his lips. He responded in kind and they soon found themselves in a very heated embrace. "I would love to continue with this but we do have a call to make. Then maybe after it's over we can continue it."
"You drive a hard bargain Mrs. Bartowski. Let's get this over with so we can move on to more important things," Chuck said while wiggling his eyebrows in a seductive manner.
A short while later they put through the call to the General. She answered a few seconds after the call was placed.
"Chuck and Sarah your team has been assigned a mission by the President. Somehow a CIA analyst pieced together some intel that suggests that a terrorist group is planning something in New Orleans. I have met this person and they are an idiot." Beckman shakes her head for added emphasis. "But they made enough noise that it made its way to the President. So guess where you two are headed?"
"Really General? I wanted to go there someday," stated Chuck.
"Well you're getting the chance to go now. There is an NSA facility in New Orleans where you will meet Agent Simpson. He will be your liaison there between the NSA and local law enforcement. Your point of contact with the police will be Captain Dennis LeFlure, of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's office, a former agent who has helped us a time or two. Gabriel and Sirella, plus a few of his people will be going along with you. If there are no questions I'll leave you two to get ready," Beckman ends the call.
"Well let's get to packing. It's going to be hot and humid down there so pack lots of light weight clothes," suggests Sarah.
"You go on and get started with the packing while I get a hold of Casey. I'll make sure the Bell is ready to take us to the airport. Then we'll use the jet to get us to New Orleans. Casey can make the ground transportation plans once we are in the air."
"I'll see you in a bit," Sarah gives Chuck a small peck on the lips as they go their separate ways.
They got to their hotel and checked in. Due to their late arrival they would not be able to set up a meeting with Agent Simpson and Captain LeFlure until the following day.
Chuck and Sarah got themselves ready for the meeting first thing the next day. Sarah chose a dark blue suit with light blue pinstripes and a white shirt. She finished off her ensemble with a pair of black Bocca loafers. Chuck selected a black suit with a white shirt with dark grey tie and dress shoes. They met Casey in the lobby of the hotel and headed to the FBI Building.
The NSA office was located in the FBI Building near the Superdome in New Orleans. The FBI building resembled most of the other government buildings they had seen before. The first floor of the building was made of a salmon color brick while the floors above it were constructed mostly of red bricks with the salmon color bricks between the floors. The front entry way housed a large double door and arch way. Inside the lobby was open with a circular reception desk centered in the middle of the room. The tiled floors were polished to a high gloss that was expected in most government buildings.
When they arrived at the reception desk Casey began speaking to the receptionist, "Ma'am I am Agent Casey of the NSA, we're here for a meeting with the NSA," at the same time showing his NSA ID badge while motioning to Chuck and Sarah to do the same.
"Let me just call up and let them know you are here. Their offices are located on the fourth floor; I can get one of our Agents to show you to the elevators." There was a slight wait while the receptionist called for an escort then called the NSA to inform them of Casey's arrival. An FBI agent walked up to the desk at almost the same time the receptionist finished with her call.
"Agent Casey the NSA is expecting you there will be an Agent Simpson will be waiting for you when you arrive. Agent Smith here will show you to the elevators"
"Thank you ma'am"
Agent Smith led them down the highly polished hallway to the elevator bank. Once they had loaded in the elevator Smith departed as the doors closed. When the elevator began its upward journey Chuck asked a question that had been on his mind since they entered the FBI building.
"Why don't our CIA and NSA badges get us access here? Shouldn't the fact that we have clearances be enough?"
"For the most part no they don't. You have heard Sarah and I say 'need to know' on many occasions and this is an example. We may have the clearances to see the information by we don't have the need to know it. So we are denied access to it. Say they asked us to help on a case they were working on then we would have the need to know and they would provide us with the information," Casey explained to Chuck.
"Thanks for the info Casey." The elevator slowed to a stop and the doors opened
Agent Simpson met them as they exited the elevator.
"Agent Carmichael and Casey" Agent Simpson said as he was shaking each of their hands. When he got to Sarah he let his eyes drift down towards her chest and lingered there as he extended his hand. He smiled warmly at Sarah and continued to hold her hand as he spoke, "This is Captain LeFlure of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's office. He will be working with us on this operation under your supervision of course."
Sarah felt something she had not felt in a while, embarrassment. It now bothered her that she was being checked out in such a lewd manner. It had been a normal thing not too long ago, in the time she had labeled BG, Before Gabriel. It was common place for her to entice men to look at her by the way she dressed. All that seemed like a lifetime ago. For her it was, she is now in the next phase of her life. Now she just felt degraded by the look she got from Agent Simpson. She turned to look at her husband who was not paying attention to visual assault she was receiving. She gave him a sharp elbow to his ribs to get his attention. Chuck just gave her a stupid look in return.
"We will talk about this later," she hissed in his ear.
"Talk about what Sarah?" he said as quietly as he could.
"You're so dense sometimes. How can you be so damn smart and stupid at the same time?"
Chuck reached out to take her hand but she pulled hers back as if she was burned and hissed at him again, that's all it took for chuck to realize he screwed up, what the hell did I do?
They headed down the hall to the conference room where they would receive the information that had been sent ahead by General Beckman. The tension that was now radiating between the couple could be felt by everyone present. After they took up their seats Agent Simpson started the briefing by pulling three pictures on the large HD screen mounted on the wall at the head of the table. The faces of three African American men were displayed.
"The man on the left is Jeff Johnson age thirty five, in the middle is his brother Tom age thirty two and the right is Tyrone Dupre age forty, a know associate of both men. They are all from the lower ninth ward."
"Jeff and Tom each served a six month term in Orleans Parish Prison for looting and simple battery during the aftermath of Katrina. Tyrone did a six year stint in Angola for armed robbery. They are minor players for the time being. They are associated with this man," the screen changed to show a man of Eastern European descent, "Vladimir Petroski age forty five from Slovakia. He is heavily invested Lukoil a Russian company."
Sarah and Casey looked over to Chuck with expectant eyes hoping he had flashed on Petroski. Chuck just shrugged his shoulders and gave them a little shake of his head indicating he did not flash.
"The first three men are his muscle. They double as his chauffer and body guards. From what we know they have no formal training mostly using their size to intimidate people."
"That's very good to know Agent Simpson but is that all you have for us. That little bit of information warranted us coming down here on such short notice?" Casey practically growled the last part. It took Chuck and Sarah by surprise; they hadn't heard a grunt or growl from Casey in over six months. "Tomorrow some more of our team will be here and our team lead for this mission will rip you a new asshole if you don't give us more information than this. We are done here." As soon as Casey finishes up his tirade he gets up and storms out of the room.
Sarah and Chuck hurry to follow Casey after his quick departure and Chuck begins to talk "What is his problem Sarah? He has.."
"Now's not the time Chuck, if you can't figure out what's wrong with him I'm not going to tell you." And she sped up her walk in an effort to find Casey.
The ride back to the hotel was spent in complete silence. Not the companionable silence their rides normally had, this ride was so thick with tension that Chuck swore he could cut it with a knife. When they arrived at the hotel Sarah exited the car as soon as it came to a complete stop. Chuck attempted to follow but was held back by Casey. Chuck was so shocked by Casey's action it took several seconds before he could speak, "What the hell is wrong with you Casey?"
"It's not me you Moron, it's you!"
"Me! What did I do?"
"It's what you didn't do. Simpson was practically stripping Sarah naked with his eyes earlier and you didn't do or say a damn thing."
"I didn't notice anything."
"And that's the problem Chuck, you should have." Casey paused for a few seconds; he took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Breathe in, hold it, slowly exhale, think calm thoughts. "Chuck you spend so much time around Sarah that probably didn't show much she has changed. Up until about six months ago it probably wouldn't have bothered Sarah either, but things are different now. I noticed it right away, that is your job not mine. Observe her like you would a mark. See what makes her tense up or makes her uneasy. She stiffened up a bit when Simpson stared at her. You need to pay attention and make this right."
"Shit I'm in trouble aren't I?"
"Just a little bit, you need to talk it out listen to what she has to say. When you were dating you knew she liked her burgers medium rare with red onions so get off your ass and do it again."
"Pickles Casey, not red onions" Chuck shakes Casey's hand almost runs to the door of the hotel.
Chuck gets to the room and for the first time in as long as he can remember he is at a loss for words. He slowly opens the door and peeks inside. The sight that greets him causes an intense pain in his chest. Sarah was sitting at the table staring out the window, and he can hear small sobs coming from her direction. He approaches cautiously and not getting to close begins to speak in a soft voice, "Sarah.." but before he could say anything else she cuts him off.
"Sorry for what Chuck?" she yelled never turning away from the window.
"For being an insensitive ass, for not seeing what you were going through when the jerk was staring at you." Sarah turned slightly towards Chuck and he could see that her eyes were red and puffy from crying.
With those words Sarah's hurt and anger had begun to fade. "I said it earlier today; you are the stupidest smart man I know. I was hurt today Chuck, not by Simpson leering at me, but by you not saying anything to him. You're my husband for cripes sake it's your job to notice things like that."
"I know sorry isn't good enough for what I failed to notice today. I know this will not be my best excuse but this is a new side of you I have never seen before. I'm used to the Sarah that never cared how men looked at her, not the one that is sitting in front of me now."
"So you would rather have the old ice bitch Sarah back. Is that what you want? It sure sounded like that to me!" Sarah's anger was beginning to surface again.
"No no not at all," Chuck takes a breath and begins to wander around the room. "I'm not doing this well am I?"
"No Chuck you're not."
"Please let me finish before you say anything." Sarah gives him a small nod of her head and Chuck continues on. "When we first met I had to watch you flirt with men to do your job. I hated every minute of watching you do it. Then over time I got used to seeing you do it. I had a good friend point out to me that before we even dated I knew how you liked you burgers. It's time I got back to being that Chuck Bartowski again. I used to pay attention to every little thing about you. Somehow that got away from me over the past couple of months. But if you are willing to work with me I know I can get back to being that Chuck again." Chuck had worked his way over to Sarah and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Something happened to me that has never happened to me before. When that creep started undressing me with his eyes I felt violated. And I got mad because you weren't there for me. But I do understand what you are saying about how it was in the past. If you can accept the new me like you did the old me, I can help you get back to who you want to be."
"That sounds like a very good idea to me"
"I'm not completely ok right now but I am glad we had this talk. I love you Chuck."
"I love you to Sarah. What do you say we go somewhere nice to eat tonight? The new Sarah and the old Chuck just to relax and clear our heads before the mission really gets underway?"
"I think we could use a night out where we can both be ourselves. Do you have any ideas where we should go?"
"You always hear about the French Quarter and Bourbon Street. How about I call Captain LeFlure and ask him where we should go. He's a local guy so he should know all the good places to go and what to wear."
"I'm not all that hungry Chuck but I could really use a coffee. I need to freshen up and change into something more comfortable." She got up from the table and approached Chuck who raised his arms slightly inviting her in for a hug. She closed the gap and wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close letting his strong arms embrace her back. They stood there motionless for several minutes enjoying the feeling of comfort they got from each other. Sarah was the first to break the hug by pushing Chuck away and looking into his eyes. She could see the love he had for her looking back at her through his chocolate orbs. She stood on her toes and gave him a soft kiss on the lips before heading to the bathroom to get ready.
Chuck called LeFlure as soon as Sarah left the room and within minutes had several places to choose from. It wasn't long before Sarah returned to the room. She was dressed in white Capri's with a light blue tank top and matching slip on sandals. She carried a small hand bag as well.
"I called LeFlure and he recommended a couple places we should try. I'm not in the mood for anything heavy right now, so how does the Café du Monde sound for coffee and a light meal then afterwards we can relax to some music at the Preservation Hall?"
"You should go change so we can get there before it gets late. We have to meet Gabriel's team at the airport in the morning." Chuck grabbed a change of clothes and headed into the bathroom to clean up and change his clothes. He reappeared about ten minutes later wearing a pair of kaki Chinos with a dark blue Polo shirt that had been left un tucked and a pair of old Chucks.
Sarah immediately noticed his footwear and rolled hers eyes. It had been several months since his once favorite footwear had made an appearance. Chuck noticed the roll of her eyes right away and commented on it.
"It figures you'd notice my feet first," he said with a smile. "It's been ages since I've had a chance to wear them."
"Come on you big goof were burning daylight standing here." She put her arm his waist making sure to press on the small of his back.
"Yes it's there," Chuck said referring to the Glock 22 he carried when not on missions. He glanced over at his wife who patted her hand bag in response to the unasked question. It was a system they had worked out several months ago when Sarah finally agreed with Casey that Chuck should be armed at all times like they were. She thought back to the day that she made the agreement.
"Sarah we need to talk. It's about your husband."
"What did he do now Casey?"
"It's time Sarah."
"Time for what?" I know where this is headed
"Don't play coy with me. Your boy is a fully fledged Agent and has been for a while. He deserves to be treated like one."
"We do treat him like an agent."
"He needs to carry at all times just like us. I'm just going to say this once so listen good. I don't know how Chuck does it but despite everything he is pretty much the same nerd he always was. He doesn't need us hovering all over him like we did before. We've seen him in action several times now. I have trusted you to have my back for a long time, and now I'm ready to add Chuck to that list. Hell," Casey takes a long slow breath and holds it for a second before continuing, "when I overheard you tell him he could do anything he wanted, that he was that guy, I almost laughed. You were right he has done everything and he is that guy."
"I've been around a long time and seen a lot of agents; besides you there aren't many that are better than Chuck is. And given time I believe he will be better than both of us. It's time to treat him like it. It would kill him if something happened to you because he couldn't defend you. Don't let that happen, to either of you." And Casey turned and walked away.
They arrived at the Café du Monde in very little time. As they approached it they noticed the numerous tables set up outside the building nestled closely together under an awning. Just as LeFlure said, it was packed with customers.
"LeFlure told me several interesting facts about this place. It is best known for its café au lait and its French-style beignets. In keeping with the New Orleans style, the coffee is blended with chicory. He said it gives it a little added flavor. It's open year round unless a hurricane happens to pass close by."
"Wow I get a beignet and a history lesson and them same time. You sure know how to impress a woman Mr. Bartowski."
"Only the best for you Mrs. Bartowski. I'm going to try one of the fruit filled beignets and a plain coffee. What are you going to have Sarah?"
"I think I'll have the same as you. I'm still not feeling my best after the events of today but it's getting better."
The couple was soon seated at one of the outside tables enjoying their coffee and beignets. The atmosphere was between the two was less strained than it had been earlier in the day but some tension still remained. They decided the best course of action for them at this point would be to return to the room and have a nice long rational talk about the events of the day. By the end of the night Sarah and Chuck had worked out most of the issues from the day and formulated a plan on how to keep it from happening again.
"I know today was hard on you Sarah and I think I finally figured why I acted the way I did. I have spent the last several months training my ass off because I want you to be proud of me. As a spy I mean, in trying to be a great spy I lost track of what you really should be proud of me for. And that's for being a good husband. When all is said and done and we have moved on from the life of espionage and intrigue we will still have each other and that's the most important thing."
"And I'm sorry as well Chuck for letting today affect me the way it did. I'm still not used to handling all these new feelings and emotions that you have brought out. It will take a lot more than a couple months for me to push aside all those years of training and suppressing of my emotions. But I have no doubt that together we can make it work."
The day of hell as it would later be called was finally over and the couple retired for the night secure in the knowledge that each of them would put as much effort into their marriage as they did in being the best spies the government has.
The next day was clear and sunny outside as well as inside the room. The talk and subsequent good night sleep worked wonders for Sarah's attitude. So much so she woke Chuck up in a very intimate way then joining him in the shower for round two. After finishing up in the shower and getting dressed more comfortably than the day before. Chuck was wearing a pair of relaxed fit jeans and a black tee-shirt and sneakers. With eight months of intense training under his belt Chuck was now filling out his clothes like never before. The tee-shirt was tight against his chest, almost like it had been painted on. The sleeves of the shirt were tight around his upper arms. Each time he moved his arms the muscles could be seen getting taut and relaxing. Sarah was dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a dark blue tank top she finished off her look with a pair of walking shoes. Similar to Chucks retiring of his chucks, Sarah for the most part retired her heels in favor of more sensible styles of footwear.
They headed to Louis Armstrong Airport to pick up Gabriel and Sirella. It had been decided that the rest of Gabriel's team would be supplying its own transportation to the FBI building. Sirella the voice of reason made the suggestion that the team break up and stay at different hotels around the area. Her rational was simple, with six smoking hot women staying in the same hotel and hanging out together in the bar each night the men would be flocking to the hotel in an effort score a hot date for the evening. Gabriel's team consisted of himself, Sirella, Carina, Samantha, Liz and Cam.
The sight that greeted anyone outside the FBI building would have them talking about it for years to come. Two men walking with an air of superiority about them their muscles rippling with each step they took. The women with them were exceedingly beautiful. They were led by a tall brunette whose long brown hair extended well below her backside. Beside her walked a striking blonde who stood about an inch shorter. The blonde's hair fell to just below her shoulders. Behind them was a pair of red heads who could be best described as exotic walking in lockstep with each other. One of the women was almost six inches taller than the other and their fiery red hair fell to the middle of their backs. The last two women in the group were both blondes with hair that reached the small of their backs. All six of the women were dressed similarly to each other in one style jean or another and tank tops.
The arrival at the FBI building went much smoother than it had before. They were met at the reception desk and led directly to the NSA offices. The team was taken to a medium sized conference room and asked to be seated while they waited for Simpson to arrive. The room was sparsely decorated with just a few pictures mounted on the wall. On the wall at the foot of the table was a fifty inch HD TV that was used for displaying information during a briefing. To either side of the TV were the flags of the United States and the NSA. The maple conference table that took up the better part of the room was a fifteen feet long and three feet wide. On each side of the table were five high back leather chairs. An eleventh larger leather chair was at the head of the table.
Casey was already seated on the far side of the table having arrived while Chuck and Sarah were picking up the other members of the team. Sarah and Chuck sat next to Casey and were joined by Carina and Sam. On the other side of the table Gabriel sat at the seat next to the head chair where he was joined by Sirella, Cam and Liz. Simpson entered shortly after the others had been seated. His eyes almost popped out of his head. He had never seen a group of more beautiful women in his life. His thoughts immediately went to which one he could get into bed the fastest.
"We can just dispense with the formalities for the remainder of your time here but if any of you ladies would like a tour of the city later tonight I would be glad to accompany you." He was just about to continue on when Chuck spoke up.
"Agent Simpson I think your invitation to these ladies is unprofessional in this setting. If you can't control yourself I will be forced to inform your supervisor of your unprofessional behavior."
"My apologies ladies," Simpson began with tinge of anger in his voice "through tireless work over night by myself and my analysts we managed to come up with a new player in the game." He clicked the remote and the TV turned on and some grainy black and white pictures came up.
"This man is Timothy Webber an associate of Petroski. He is also heavily invested in Lukoil and some other foreign oil companies." While he was speaking eight sets of eyes were focused on Chuck. He gave a small nod of his head signaling that he had flashed on Webber. "He has been trying to acquire more drilling rights for Lukoil in the gulf. So far he has been unable to get any approved. He has close to a billion dollars in investors' funds tied up in the project. The one thing that has my people stymied is the fact that he has quite a few friends that are beneath his social standing." He pressed the remote again and the screen changed and the faces of three men were displayed.
"These men were seen with Webber two nights ago leaving Brenda's gentlemen's club with a couple of the dancers. They were also seen with Petroski on several occasions leaving the same club. What we can't figure out is what the connection is between these three men and our two suspects."
"Simpson if we can have all the information your team has gathered I can have my people run it through our data bases and see what we can come up with," Gabriel offered while looking at Chuck who returned his look with a nod.
"I'm sorry agent.." Simpson paused waited for Gabriel to state his name.
"Thanatos, agent Simpson" was the icy reply he received. The three members of team Bartowski registered shock while Sirella just nodded her head in approval. Gabriel was making a tactical move by informing the lesser agent of his true code name. To the rest of the world Thanatos was dead and gone and the fact was widely known in the intelligence communities. There were two possible scenarios about to occur, the first one would prove that Simpson was a valuable asset, the second would cement the fact that he was just another agent out to make a name for himself.
"Agent Thanatos I appreciate the offer but I have come up with plan that may take longer but in the end will provide us with first hand information. We already know that both Petroski and Webber frequent Brenda's so we send in a few female agents posing as erotic dancers. We have a room full of gorgeous female agents we can choose from for this assignment. The agents we send will pay special attention to Petroski and Webber along with their accomplices. They will then use whatever means necessary to get the information we need. They can relay the information to us via secure email."
Chuck started to rise out of his chair in defense of his wife and the other women at the table. Before he could get his butt out of the chair, Gabriel had already left his and had Simpson pinned to the wall. His movement was quick and fluid similar to a jungle cat as it leaps on its prey. Gabriel's hand was holding a fistful of Simpson's jacket pulling it tight around his chest and he was growling a low deep growl that put a chill in the air. He lifted Simpson off the ground until feet hung uselessly below. Simpson's first instinct was to break the hold and when he tried Gabriel crushed him against the wall forcing most of the air out of his lungs. Simpson's hands flew to Gabriel's wrist in an attempt to ease the pressure on his chest.
Sirella had seen the look her husband had on his face one time before. It was when Gabriel had fought Kahless the Unforgettable on Unimatrix zero one. She knew that in this very moment Gabriel had all his Borg systems working at their maximum levels. Extra nanoprobes were being released into his system to stimulate his adrenal system forcing as much adrenalin as possible into his blood. Others were being released to help carry oxygen to the parts of his body that would require it. More nanoprobes would be waiting to repair any damage done to his body. In his effort to become as much of a Klingon as possible he had his cortical node programmed to respond the same stimuli that full Klingons did. The one thing that could bring a Klingon out of battle lust was the scent or sound of their mate.
Sirella did the only thing she could think of to bring her husband back, she growled a low throaty sensual growl she had used many times to lure her mate to bed.
Gabriel's hearing picked up on the growl and his mind began to clear slightly. He turned toward the growl and looked into the face of his. Sirella was now standing up walking towards him slowly, much the same way a vet approaches a wounded animal, and she began to speak in a language that team Bartowski had heard just once before at the party where they first met. She kept the growl in her tone she spoke softly, "Gabriel, son of William, protector and warrior of the Empire, mate to Sirella hear my voice and let it guide you back from the battle lust."
Gabriel's eyes closed for a brief second and he began to relax. He began the process of slowing down his Borg systems to the point where he could function normally again. After several long seconds that seemed to last for hours he spoke in a very deliberate manner never letting up on the pressure on Simpson.
"Get General Beckman on the comm. Link now." He turned to face Simpson who by now had started to turn a nice shade of blue, "you made two huge mistakes here today the first one was trying to fool me into thinking you are someone you are not. Agent Thanatos has been dead for a long time, all good operatives know that. The second was telling me you thought my wife, along with these other women are of no better use to us other than to pose as strippers." This last statement caused Simpson to struggle even more to get away. He had seen the cold and unfeeling look in the agent's eyes as he was being choked; now he knew why. Gabriel took several deep breaths and released them slowly before he continued.
"You have severely underestimated the women at this table Simpson. The group you have assembled before you are the best any agency has to offer. If you took as much time to research the names of the agents that were coming to assist you as you did in trying to get a date you would have learned several things. The first being the Carmichaels are the best agents in the CIA. Second the Carmichaels are married, Sirella is my wife, Carina and Sam are in a monogamous relationship and Liz and Cam are also married. You have insulted my wife and my friends; I normally don't stand for that and respond in my own way. For the time being I will grant you a free pass and let the General decide what to do with you."
While Gabriel was busy choking out Simpson the rest of the people in the room were franticly trying to get the General on the phone or the teleconference equipment in the room. Gabriel began to ease off Simpson a bit allowing some of the blue color to fade from Simpson's face. It took a minute but the General was finally contacted and appeared on the screen. What she saw as the connection opened was one of her field agents pinned to the wall by Gabriel.
"Gabriel release agent Simpson at once!" snapped General Beckman. Gabriel loosened his grip on Simpson as he lowered him so his feet were once again touching the floor. He did not fully release his grip on the man's jacket.
"General I apologize for my calling you on such short notice. I have a situation that needs to be rectified before this mission can begin. Simpson believes that the women in this room are his to use as he sees fit."
"What did the agent suggest that incited this situation?"
"He suggested I use my wife along with the other female agents as strippers and possibly more to gather information on our suspects. His exact words were by any means necessary. You know my position on how the female members of my team are not to be used. He also believes that Thanatos is alive, any agent worth his salt knows that he is dead."
General Beckman shook her head and spoke, "Gabriel could you please release the agent so we can discuss this matter without him having to fear for his life." Gabriel reluctantly released Simpson from his grasp but did remain well within is personal space. Agent Simpson, "There is a reason I sent you a read a head briefing. It clearly stated what is and is not acceptable to the team that is going to be helping you out. Did you neglect to read the information packet either out of stupidity or because you feel you are above following a simple directive?"
"Ma'am even if these women are the best their agencies have, I fail to see why these women are above using all the weapons at their disposal. Seduction is still taught at the farm is it not?" he responded while he tried to put some space between himself and Gabriel.
"General I will not allow my team to work with an agent that does not care enough to follow procedure and shows the amount of disrespect he showed you by not following orders. The bottom line General is I do not think Agent Simpson has the qualities to operate effectively with us. In addition to his complete lack of discipline he tried to get a date from the women in the room."
"Is this true Agent Simpson?" asked the General.
"Ma'am I just made a friendly offer to the women present that if they wanted I would be glad to show them around. I meant no disrespect to any of them."
"Agent Simpson has been working long and hard for a while now. I think he may be getting close to burning out. I think he needs a less strenuous position where he call cool off for a time. General I believe it is in Simpson's best interest to be reassigned somewhere else on a temporary basis so he can re-evaluate his career options. Take him out of the field for a short while and put him on a protective detail. I have read some reports that show there is a royal family that is in need of some protection from some enemies that seek to over throw their reign," Gabriel concluded his comments with a wink.
Visions of new and better assignments began dancing in Simpsons mind. Maybe they have a hot daughter I can provide close personal protection for.
Ok where did I put that list of code phrases he gave me a while back? "Let me take a look real quick and see if anything fitting an agent of his stature is available," she began looking on her desk to find the sheet Gabe had given her at a prior meeting. Ah here it is, now let me see cool got it now royal family. You are so bad. But hey better Simpson is pissed off than Gabe. "I'm sure the Emperor would love to have an agent of Simpsons caliper watching over his family. Agent Simpson would you approve of the transfer to guard the family?"
Chuck was livid how can they be talking about giving this jerk a choice assignment?
Sarah was also fuming until she looked over at Sirella and saw a small smile on her lips. if she is smiling then Gabe must have something in store for this ass.
"Yes Ma'am I would love to be on the protection detail for the Royal family. How long do I have before I report for my new assignment?"
"I'll give you a couple days to get you things in order. I will send you a packing list of items that you will be required to have during your stay. I strongly suggest that you read it and follow it this time. Pass on any information you have on this case to your 2IC" finished the General.
"Yes Ma'am I will. Can I ask how many agents I will have assigned to me?"
"It will be just you Agent Simpson. I caution you to keep a close eye on the couple's child. He has a tendency to wander away from his parents while looking for food."
"Looking for food General I don't understand? Why doesn't he eat with his parents?"
"I'm sorry Agent Simpson it seems I forgot to read you the rest of the dossier. You will be tasked with protecting a family of Emperor Penguins in their natural environment. You're dismissed Agent Simpson, oh and keep warm," Beckman said with a chuckle. "Well played Gabriel well played."
Gabriel wasted no time in tossing Simpson into the hallway and slamming the door. "Now that the trash has been taken out maybe we can get down to business. The information Simpson provided sheds very little light as to why we are needed here."
"Gabriel if I may interject something here," Chuck began. "I flashed on Webber. Nothing major just that he is former Navy and spent time in the Balkans. Two of Webbers associates are former Marine demolition experts. I didn't flash on them as Fulcrum but they may have some friends that are. I would suggest having the analysts here look into anybody they know. General the one thing that has me concerned with all this is the connection to the oil industry."
"Why is that Chuck?"
"I'm not sure yet, both Petroski and Webber have major investments in Lukoil. What would happen to the economy if the oil flow from the gulf was somehow interrupted or stopped all together? Other companies would have to fill in for the losses, what better way to increase your investments than to have your competition lose its production capabilities?"
"Are you saying that a major oil company is linked to Fulcrum?"
"Not at all General. What I am suggesting is maybe these two men are looking to substantially increase their wealth. They throw a couple million or more at some Fulcrum agents with a promise of more if they work with them. Fulcrum needs cash, they want cash. If a major disruption of oil happened because of a terrorist attack the members of Fulcrum that are inside the government can scream loudly that the NSA/CIA were lacking in their efforts to keep the country safe. It's a winning situation for both parties and a losing one for us."
"That's some theory you have Chuck," replied the General.
"Ma'am I learned a while ago to trust Chuck when he has these ideas. What we always forget is that before the intersect Chuck was smart. He still is except he has access to the intersect. I say we give his idea some credence." Casey added to the discussion.
"It's a better theory than the idiot agent had, which by the way wasn't much," added Sarah.
There was a knock at the conference room door that was answered by Liz. Standing there was a middle aged man wearing the typical NSA wardrobe, dark suit and tie with a white shirt.
"I'm Agent Roberts and I will be taking over for Agent Simpson. I will bring all the information we have to you as soon as it its ready. Simpson has a piss poor way of organizing his files so it will take us a day or so to get them straightened out."
"That will be fine Roberts. My team will start its investigation this afternoon. Give me a call when you have the information ready for us. You can go now Roberts." And he was shown the door.
"Now that the excitement is over let's get started," Gabriel began "I think Chuck's theory is a sound one. We just need to put all the pieces together. Casey I need you to stay here and work with NSA personnel on researching Webber and his people. Sirella you and the girls take the rest of the day off and relax. Chuck and I will be going to Brenda's to see if our friends show up. We are going to be regulars until we make contact with Webber or Petroski. Chuck and I will attempt to form a friendship with the former Marines. I will see if I can convince them they can use my skills to their benefit."
"WAIT A MINUTE" shouted Sarah, "you want to take Chuck to a strip club, while your wife and I go and relax? That is so not going to happen Gabriel."
Sirella was sitting there chuckling quietly to herself. She was about to say something but Carina beat her to it. "You mean to tell me that you don't want Chuck exposed to women taking their clothes off?" as she was talking Cameron jumped up on the table and began doing a highly sexual dance. "Does the thought of hot, sexy naked women gyrating in front of your man get you all pissed off?" the more descriptive Carina got the sexier Cameron's dance became. Soon the other women in the room were begging Cameron to take her clothes off in very descriptive terms.
Suddenly Liz stood up and threw money on the table and began speaking in a loud voice, "That's it baby shake that ass! That's it honey shake it for me baby! Whoo hooo mamma you're so hot I just wanna melt into you!"
"You see Sarah the female form is much better to look and touch than a man is." Carina said while pointing to Cameron on the table.
Sam not to be out done joined in, "Whoa baby share the wealth! Bring some of the sugar my way!"
Cameron began to lift her top off but was stopped by Sirella's soft yet stern voice, "Carina leave Sarah alone for goodness sakes. You know she plays for the other team. Cameron get off the table now and you Liz, quit encouraging your wife like that. You almost gave Chuck a heart attack."
Sarah turned her head to look in Chucks direction and sure enough he looked he was about to fall off his chair. Casey and Gabriel were just sitting there calmly watching the show.
Carina was now laughing hysterically at what had just happened. She was trying to speak but it was coming out in broken words, "Sarah.. Oh man that.. funny… the look on you…face when Cam started dancing…and Chuck was looking…man too funny!"
"Okay I get it Carina have fun with the straight girl."
"Is that an offer because if it is we wouldn't mind if you came back to our place when we get done here!" Sam added in.
"If you don't want to join them we have a hot tub in our room!" stated Cameron.
By now all the women in the room except Sarah were laughing. Sarah was just shaking her head at her friend's actions. Leave it to a group of crazy ass women to show me how stupid I was acting."Ok ladies you made your point. It was unprofessional of me to freak out about Chuck going to a strip club."
"That was our point Sarah. You have come such a long way in getting your humanity back after all you have been through in the past but you have got to be more trusting of Chuck," informed Carina.
"Chuck is not going to leave you no matter what happens. He has seen everything about you when he flashed on your file all those months ago. You need to trust his feelings about you like you do about his ability to do his job," added Liz. As this conversation was taking place Gabriel motioned for Chuck and Casey to follow him as he left the room. When the door closed Gabriel began to speak.
"Sarah is just coming out of her emotional shell. I know she has been more open with her feelings than she ever was before, but she is now at the point of doubting them. We went through the same thing with Carina when she started seeing Sam. That's why I want her to relax today with the girls and you to spend time with me. You guys have not been apart much in the last six months. You need to spend some time apart and this mission will allow that," explained Gabriel.
"I'm going to check up with the analysts and see where they are at. I'm going to have them start pulling the phone records of the two suspects and their cohorts," Casey informed his team mates and departed to find the people he needed to.
"So what are we going to do once we get to the club? Just so you know I don't usually hang out in places like that," Chuck felt the need to tell Gabriel.
"We already knew that little tid bit Chuck. The first thing you need to do is act naturally. We're just going to go in and have some drinks and relax. If our friends show up just follow my lead. Now here's a tip on what to do inside the club. Look into the dancer's eyes not at her body no matter how hard she tries to get you to look at her. Tip the dancers well and stay away from the top shelf drinks. You're used to being in the upper crust of society and acting like them. For this mission you will need to be your old self but with the confidence you have now."
"I understand everything except the looking in the dancer's eyes part."
"If you look in the dancers eyes she tries harder to get you to look at her. It's like this, when you look at the dancer's body as she gyrates on stage she controls the game. The hotter she gets you the more money you toss her way to get her to come back. When you ignore her body and stare into her eyes she will work harder to get your attention. You control the game not her. Plus you won't get all hot and bothered and rip Sarah's clothes off when you get home."
"Who said I won't want Chuck to rip my clothes off when he gets back?" Sarah asked as she stood with her hands on her hips leaning against the door frame. "You two better get going and get some good seats. We're going to check out the French quarter while you guys check out the babes."
"You sure you are alright with me doing this?"
"The girls got me straightened out Chuck, besides it's for the mission. I was worried about some stupid things but after the girls and I had our little chat I feel much better than I did before. I have faith in you, now go and have fun. When you guys have had enough fun pick me up at Carina's hotel. We're going to head there after we get done. Sirella says she has some wine with her she wants me to try."
"Some words of advice on the wine Sarah, only drink a little of it at first until you get used to it," Gabriel said with a shake of his head. Sirella giving Blood Wine to Sarah, I hope you plan to keep an eye on her.
"Well we better head out Chuck. Ladies we will see you later."
The two couples said their goodbyes and headed their separate ways.
Chuck took a look around Brenda's taking in the sights and sounds. Rhythmic dance music was being pumped through the massive sound system and the lights aimed at the stages pulsed along with the beat of the music. There were was a large stage lining the back wall that had a catwalk that extended into the middle of the large room and had chairs on both sides. At either end of the catwalk was a pole that reached from the floor to the ceiling. Both poles were currently being used by a pair of dancers. To the left and right of the catwalk there was a circular stage that was being used by dancers as well. Tables filled in the rest of the floor area of the club. There was a small area that contained semi private booths that were more ornate than the plain tables. Chuck reasoned these were for the big spenders.
So far the Gabriel's plan was working to perfection. The girls were paying them more attention than the other patrons, and Chuck was not as uncomfortable as he would have been if he spent his time looking the dancers up and down. Chuck felt a nudge in his ribs and turned to see his partner motioning to the booths with his head. Webber had just taken his seat flanked on either side by his two henchmen.
The plan Gabriel put into effect worked a little too well. With all the attention being paid to Chuck, several large men were being left out of all the fun. Three men approached Chuck and Gabriel and began speaking.
"Dude" big guy number one began "what are doing taking up all the girls' time. We paid the same as you did to get in here."
"Gentlemen please relax we have no intention to hog all the girls time. We can't help it that these beautiful women would rather dance for a couple of good looking guys instead of you," Gabriel chuckled. Chuck just stared at him like he had lobsters growing out of his ears.
"Listen pretty boy" started thug number two "why don't you two just head on out before we rearrange you face?"
"No need to get violent buddy," Chuck began to rise from his seat to leave "well just go to another table away from the stage. Maybe then you'll have a chance at having them dance for you." He felt a hand on his arm and saw Gabriel shaking his head.
"You must be stupid kid, we want you to leave. This is our club and you're not welcome here."
"We have no intention of leaving. Which one of you ladies is Brenda?" asked Gabe.
"Fuck you prick" big guy number said and threw a punch at Gabriel. Being sober and much quicker than the goon Gabriel easily grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it in such a way the man's arm ended up behind his back. Gabriel then forced the man's face into the table.
Goon number two threw a punch at Chuck who easily dodged it by slipping to his right. He followed Gabriel's example by subduing his opponent. The third goon watched his friends get man handled and decided to leave while the getting was good. It was only seconds after the first punch was thrown that the bouncers in the club had surrounded the table. Gabriel held up his hand that was not restraining the first goon and Chuck did the same.
Gabriel addressed the bouncers, "My friend and I apologize for the disturbance gentlemen. We just wanted to come in and see the sights but these men had other ideas."
"Not a problem Sir but I am afraid I will still have to ask you to leave for the evening," said one of the bouncers.
"We were just getting ready to leave anyway," stated Chuck. The two goons were escorted to the back of the club where they would be held until the police arrived to take them away. Gabriel led them out intentionally passing the booth Webber was sitting in. As they passed Webber, a hand reached out and grabbed Gabriel's arm.
"Excuse me but I would like to speak to you about a possible need for your services. They way you put those two down leads me to believe I could use you in my employment. Here is my card; give me a call if you would be interested.
Gabriel looks at the card and turns to Chuck and says, "This looks like our lucky day buddy. We came in here unemployed and now we have a job offer. Mr. Webber, I need to discuss this further with my friend here but you will most likely be hearing from us soon."
"I look forward to hearing from you Mr.?"
"I'm sorry Mr. Webber I'm Bill and this is my long time friend Joe," answered Gabriel. The business with Webber concluded they exited the club. They had only gone about ten feet when a voice called out to them."
"Yo dick heads."
The pair turned to see who was calling them and multiple shots rang out. One struck Chuck in the left shoulder and another hit Gabriel in the right thigh.
"That's for fucking with my friends," the third goon from the club said pointing the gun at the injured pair.
Despite the burning pain in his shoulder Chuck glance instinctually at his partner. Gabriel was on his side clutching his leg with one arm and reaching behind his back with the other. Chuck knew that Gabriel would have trouble getting his weapon out in his current position so he drew his own from the small of his back and fired a shot that hit the goon almost in the center of his chest. The thug dropped instantly to the ground letting his weapon fall to the ground.
"DAMN this hurts! Son of a bitch this hurts, damn," Chuck was screaming through gritted teeth attempting to press on his wound.
"You get used to it," Gabriel grunted out.
"How the fuck do you get used to getting shot? You have got to be out of your mind."
"My being out of my mind is the least of our problems. If my guess is right the police will be here in a couple of minutes. Webber may be watching so be careful when you flash your badge." Gabriel's voice is filled with pain. As soon as the threat was over he sent a command to his nanoprobes to stop healing his wound. It would be hard to explain how a gunshot wound healed in a matter of minutes.
"This really hurts. Damn it to hell this hurts," grunted Chuck. They were approached by some of the bouncers from the bar carrying a bunch of clean rags. They immediately began putting pressure on both men's wounds in an attempt to stop the bleeding. "We called the police as soon as we heard the gunshots they should be here shortly along with the paramedics."
"Good I hope they have good drugs." groaned Chuck from his back.
Just then they were approached by a few police officers and the paramedics. While several other officers pushed the crowd back the paramedics took over from the bouncers. One of the officers that was not pushing back the crowd started bagging their weapons as evidence and the remaining one started explaining what was going to happen.
"We need to speak to you after we get you patched up in the hospital. We will hold up on charging you until we have all the details of the shooting."
Chuck was now sitting up while being attended to motioned for the officer to come closer so he could whisper to him, "Contact Captain Dennis LeFlure, of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's office, he will be able to vouch for us. But please do it discretely."
"As soon as I get back in the car I'll see if I can contact him. For now you two guys just relax and let the paramedics take care of you."
It was just a few minutes before they were loaded up in the ambulance and on their way to the hospital. While they were being treated the officer that spoke to them paid them a visit. He informed the two agents he had contacted the Captain and they had been cleared and would be free to go as soon as they were released. It was several hours later when they were discharge from the hospital. They were offered a ride back to the hotel after being told by the hospital staff they could not drive while under the influence of the drugs they were given for the pain. They would need to return to the club at a later time to get their car.
"Well Chuck are you ready for this?" asked Gabriel.
"Hell no, Sarah is going to be pissed off at me, and you as well. I should have called her from the hospital," said Chuck while shaking his head.
"We can hope they are loaded when we get to the Carina's room. Sarah did say she was going to try Sirella's special wine."
"Sarah doesn't like to drink that much so she may have a glass but that's all."
"Well we may have a problem then. Are you ready to face the music my man?"
"No time like the present I suppose." Chuck knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. It was several seconds before Carina opened the door and took in the sight in front of her. Chuck was standing there with his left arm in a sling wearing a hospital scrub top. Gabriel was not looking much better leaning on a pair of crutches wearing hospital scrub pants.
"What the heck happened to you two?"
"It's a funny story actually…" began Chuck only to be cut off by Carina.
"Don't tell it to me, Chucky tell it to them," and she turned and pointed to Sirella and Sarah who were sitting on the couch. Both women had fire in their eyes as the two men approached. Sarah's anger quickly turned to concern and panic when she got a good look at Chuck's condition.
"Chuck what happened to you and are you alright?" as she flew off the couch and over to where Chuck was standing. Sirella was right behind Sarah but did not share the same emotions.
"Gabriel can't you ever go out and enjoy a good time without getting hurt?" as she embraced him in a hug. "What happened this time?"
"You're not worried about his being hurt?" asked Sarah while running her hands over Chuck in an attempt to check the extent of his injuries.
"No I'm not. I should have figured that sending the two trouble magnets out together would lead to something like this. You're Chuck and my Gabe could attract trouble in a convent. So boys care to tell us what happened?" Sirella helped Gabe to the couch while Sarah led Chuck to the love seat.
"If you leave out getting shot everything went according to plan."
Gabriel was immediately cut off by Sarah who yelled, "You got shot! And you didn't think to call your wife? Chuck, what were you thinking?"
"Relax Sarah it was a through and through near his shoulder. Except for the pain he will be fine in a few days."
"Yeah but I have a good reason," Chuck answered sheepishly.
"Like I was saying," Gabriel continued stopping Chuck's explanation "we were at the club and made contact with Webber. He offered us jobs and gave us his card. We were involved in a slight altercation in the club. A couple drunks got mad that we were drawing to much attention from the dancers. They attempted to coerce us into leaving so we subdued them and left. One of the guy's friends was waiting for us outside and took some pot shots at use. Chuck got hit in the shoulder and I took one in the thigh."
"Sarah it's been a long day for all of us. I think that we should all get some sleep and meet at our hotel in the morning. I'll call Doc and have him here by morning so he can fix Chuck up. Our two men have had a tough night and can use the rest," suggested Sirella.
Sarah's ire began to subside as the story unfolded and began to turn into concern for Chucks well being. "What do you mean fix Chuck up? He's already been to the hospital and gotten treatment."
"Sarah you guys already know we're from the future, don't you think medicine has keep up with the rest of the technology we have shown you?"
"Call us in the morning after the Doc arrives and we can set up a time to meet, Chucks not looking very good right now," said a relieved Sarah.
"Of course I'm not looking to good I just got shot!" was Chuck's reply, "Sorry honey I didn't mean to snap at you."
"Come on Chuck let's get you back to the hotel and in bed." And with that the couple left.
END PART 1