"The Girlfriend of the Whirling Dervish…"
Summary: Nearing her wedding day, Amy is reminded of a previous engagement…Follows the action of "Gran Mag", pre "The Wolowitz Enigma"…
Disclaimer: It's all Chuck's…But nothing for Joss Whedon on this one.
(Just a note…To learn more about Amy's rather bipolar, beautiful, and somewhat tragic sister and her Sheldon Cooper obsession, you'll want to read "Gran Mag" the first tale in this particular series. "Flowers for Sheldon" however is not a part .)
Part XXVI…
Female "conductor"/agent Jeannie had reached the club car, Bernadette attempting to quiz her as she passed by them…
"Hey?...Can you tell us what's going on with the…?"
"Everything's being taken care of ma'am, just sit tight a bit longer…" curtly…
"Why haven't we been evacuated?...Everyone else seems to be gone…"
"Guess they missed you…But it'll be fine…We're very busy now, miss…" she eyed Barbara…Who gave her a slight frown…
"Business up front at the engine, dear?..." she asked, calmly…
"We're considering detaching the engine and pulling the train back to Chicago…But you'll be informed shortly…Excuse me, ladies…"
"What?...Hey!..." Bernadette tried…
"That doesn't sound good…" she noted…
"No…But I'm sure it's what they feel is the safest thing to do…" Barbara considered…Calm tone…
"We'd better see if the fellas know about this…Do you want to go tell Martin and Stuart?..."
"I'm sure the young lady will run into them…Why don't we go back together?...Things may get a bit bumpy if they go ahead with this idea and you might have trouble getting back to the boys and dear Penny…Just let me use the ladies' room a moment?..."
"Sure…"
Always good to make sure the poison gas nebulizer is full, the dart and standard guns are loaded, and the taser fully charged…Barbara thought, pleasant beam to Bernadette as she rose…
"It's from the first computer Sheldon ever owned…" a relieved Amy once again seized an opportunity to flaunt her engagement ring…Sheldon somewhat grimly posted at her side…
"Lovely…And a very neat idea…" Faisal nodded…She retracting arm, pleased…
Penny now a bit antsy as to Leonard's whereabouts…
Under?...As in, under the train?...
Yet, the nice Prince…er King, right…King's guy looking out hadn't spotted him or calling got him to come over to the window or door…
"I gotta go out and see if Leonard's ok…Ok?...Hello!..." Penny, annoyed at the lack of response…
"What?..." Amy stared…Oh, right…Leonard out under the train or something…
"Please, miss…" Bashir, kindly… "It's not safe out there, let me…"
Penny waving him off… "I'll get him…But come on if you want, I may need some help…"
Sure…Faisal nodded to Bashir's questioning glance…I'm quite safe here…
"Be kinda fun to meet my twin…" wan smile to Amy… "You were right about him, we could be clones…"
"Oh…" Sheldon…Vague attempt at polite tone… "You discussed Leonard's similarity in appearance during your many conversations over the years?..."
"Sheldon…" Amy, a bit nervous… "I just mentioned once in one of my two or three…"
"Two…" Faisal smiled…
"Two, yes…Personal emails…"
"To clarify some questions about the grants, etc…And in response to my questions…" Faisal, quickly…Catching Amy's pleading and Sheldon's careful stare…
"Just came up in the course of chit-chat about research grants, eh?...Amazing that Leonard should be such a source of fascination…"
"Yes, given the odds against him looking so much like a Dhrarainian prince…" Amy noted, now a bit annoyed…
Hey, I nipped Hofstadter's natural passion in the bud, beloved…Right at the start…
Even if I did resort to whorish makeup in an attempt to stir you to Othelloian jealousy…A rather successful attempt, if I do say so myself…
"It's the Persian and probably some Mediterranean…And, between us, probably a little Jewish from the Roman and Macedonian Empire days…" Faisal noted…
"That's between us…State secret…" grin…
Drharain…
Personal top security estate of the First Deputy Prime Minister…Study of the DPM…
"Hamid?..." Gretchen, hurriedly waving off attendant/guard…
"Sweetheart?...You're home early?..." Hamid, in comfortable chair, looked up from a book…
Always nice once things are set in motion and alls done that can be done to sit back and enjoy a quiet moment…
"How are things at work?..."
"There's trouble…" she, urgently… "The plan's gone a bit off track…Faisal let the girl go…"
"What?..."
"Roger's planning to enforce an action…Hamid, he's planning to kill the girl's boyfriend and likely the others with him…"
"With the King there?..." Hamid frowned…
"I think he plans to have it done away from him…Force Dr. Fowler into the arrangement…"
"Well, that was basically the plan, dear…" Hamid, relaxing… "As for killing Cooper and company, it was always a good possibility…"
"Hamid…" she stared… "You said this would be bloodless…And would free this country from both terrorism and us…"
"Relatively bloodless, darling…It's already involved a degree of bloodletting you know…Given the sad fate of Number Six and his associates…Surely you of all people don't value American lives over others…?"
"They were terrorists…These are innocent people…"
"Who is innocent in this awful world, sweetheart…"
"Hamid…I love you…I went along with helping you try to keep this from our people so we could help Drharain be free, independent, and secure…I even pretended to fall for that fool son of Dad's old friend so Roger wouldn't suspect me of keeping you informed on him…But I can't let innocents be killed…"
"Dear…You work for the CIA…Hardly an organization that's avoided killing a few innocents over the years…" he sighed…
"But not with my help…And you know I hate what we do…It's just like my father and his evasions over the years...Always lying, deceiving…Betraying the people who loved and trusted him…I wanted to help you end that here…Not kill more innocent people…"
"Sometimes these things happen…It's a shame but…"
"'The ends justify the means'?" she eyed him…
"That'll do…Though I'd've said…'No omelet without a few broken eggs'…Sweetheart, I'm sorry if I'm disappointing you…But what could I do in any case?...My hands are tied, firmly…Roger and his men are in control…"
"I never pretended to believe you were a saint, Hamid…"
"And I've never pretended to be so, my darling…"
"But I did think you put Drharain above your own ambition…A little, anyway…How could slaughtering a half-dozen people…Wait…" her eyes narrowed…
"You wanted Roger in charge of this…You let him find out about your plans…"
"He would have…He's no fool, dear and has many sources, even among my people…Though I do believe you've managed to deceive him about us…And it's best to let him believe he knows all…"
"You wanted this on their hands, the CIA…Something to hold over them…"
"I didn't plan it…" he shook head… "If the operation could have gone peacefully, I'd've been happy…But if people are unfortunately in the way…And Roger and co are eager and willing to eliminate such obstacles…It can't hurt that they have a few skeletons…Literally…To haunt them over this…Restores the balance a little…After all, Gretchen…It is that rather hard-headed, forward-moving style so trademark of your people…Shoot first, question…Well…" thin smile…Throwing of hands…
"I've told Dad…And asked him to intervene…"
"I see…" sigh…"Well, perhaps that's for the best…But I wouldn't get your hopes up too high, dear…Your father does tend to bring them down…" smile, genuine now…
"You know this would normally be the point where the evil mastermind kills the one person he cares for, his ego exceeding what little heart he (or she, respectful nod) has…"
"Fortunately, odds are I'd kill you first…" she eyed him…
He nodded…Wry smile… "But this is the real world and I've no desire to lose the one thing I love even more than power…Gretchen, I'll do what I can if you insist…"
"I do…If you love me…"
"Obviously far too much…"