Don't own Chuck
Mary stood over the dead Russian for a moment then grabbed up some of the things that were in her box slipping them into her coverall. She had to be quick because the man had radioed in for a relief and he'd be there any moment. But that was her plan to drive a wedge between the two factions. With a climate of mistrust it would make it easier of her to operate undisturbed. Soon she heard the sound of boots on the deck plate which was her cue to move out.
"One down," she said to herself. "Now to get things really stirred up. She went topside then off while everyone was still at the truck organizing. The truck seemed out of commission with the driver still working on it with the hood up. But that didn't stop the same foreman that screamed at her from screaming at the other workers.
"Put your backs in it," he yelled as he hobbled around the truck. "We don't have all day. Get this truck unloaded and you," he said as he yelled at the driver. "Get this piece of crap working or you'll be huffing with the rest."
"I don't know what the problem is. We need a mechanic. Juan was our mechanic and no one's seen him all day I asked. Not since those Americans arrived. I was thinking..."
"You're not paid to think but drive and it doesn't look like you're doing that. Juan is probably some place asleep so you'd better get this thing going," said the man as Mary moved around behind him then acted like she slipped bumping into him. "Get off me and get to work. Oh, not you again get to work and stay away from me."
As they were pulling boxes off the Russians led by the Captain Lieutenant came up on them carrying weapons. The foreman hobbled around the truck and met them.
"One of your people killed one of my men and we want to know who it was?" said the Russian as the others pointed their weapons at them.
"I don't know what you're talking about," said the Foreman. "Tone it down comrade; I don't know anything about a dead Russian. We've got work to do."
"It'd be a good start," yelled one of the men from the truck. "You people got José killed wasn't that good enough for you."
"If one of you is dead then I'd like to shake the hand of the man who did it," yelled another. There was a series of shoves as accusations and threats flew back and forth. Someone called it in and soon Frank was driving up to try and to mediate again.
"What's going on here?" he yelled as both sides were about to go to war with the other. "I said what's going on!" He yelled then fired in the air.
"What's going on is my reactor officer is dead and we found this screwdriver stuck in his throat," said the Captain Lieutenant as he handed the weapon over to Frank. "This is one of theirs."
"What do you have to say," asked Frank but as the foreman shook his head and started to deny it. Before he could speak Mary went over to one of the Russians and whispered something in his ear.
"Wait Sir," yelled the Russian officer as Mary disappeared back into the crowd of workers. "Check the man's pockets. Have him empty them. I think you'll find something interesting that can clear this up."
"You heard the man," said Frank as he pointed his Beretta and motion him to start. "Empty them. Now!"
"I don't know what this is going to prove," said the Foreman as he started pulling everything out. "This whole thing is absurd we were hired to do a job and now this. Wait what's this? This isn't mine." He held up the lighter.
"No it's not, it's Vlad's. You killed Vlad for a lighter," said the Captain Lieutenant putting a round through the man's head.
"That was for me to do not you. You work for me," yelled Frank as everything seemed to be falling apart around him. "Everyone get to work or you'll all regret it. Move now!" Mary was smiling from the crowd. Her plan was working.
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On the balcony outside the Premier's party Chuck and Casey were standing. Chuck went out to see about Casey. He wanted to make sure he had made the time to called Kat. It wasn't fair of the Big Guy not to at least say hi now that the imminent threat to life was over. However, with them that wouldn't last long.
"Chuck, why are you out here? You should be inside with Sarah and the rest. I'll be in as soon as I finish this," said Casey as he held up his cigar then tapped it against the railing knocking the ashes off.
"I hope there's no one down below," said Chuck as he walked out. "I just wanted to see if you got around to calling Kathleen. I know she must've been worried about you."
"What part of mind you own business don't you understand?" said Casey as he took a puff and blew the smoke at Chuck.
"That's really cool hiding behind a smoke screen. I thought John Casey wasn't afraid of anything but now it seems you've gone chicken."
"Chuck, the only reason I don't throw you over this balcony is you might land on some poor sap who's in love. Love is for suckers, Sucker." Before Chuck could say anything Silvia barged out on the balcony yelling at him.
"How could you do that to me? You set me up. Now everyone in Hydra will think I was a CIA mole. Where am I supposed to go and what am I supposed to do?"
"That's not really our concern sister," said Casey as he puffed away. "Chuck, if you're not going to smoke yours would you mind giving it to me. These are excellent cigars rolled on the thighs of virgins or so says the Premier."
"Sure here you go," said Chuck as he passed his to John. Silvia became even more infuriated because they were ignoring her.
"If I'm dead I'm not much use to you," said Silvia as she looked back and forth at the two of them but it didn't seem as though she was getting through.
"Truthfully you haven't been much use to us at all so alive or dead is really the same," said Chuck. "Wouldn't you agree Big Guy?"
"I think that pretty much says it in a nutshell with maybe one exception. When they come for you we might be able to smoke out someone who actually knows something."
"Really? Know more than me? I hardly think so," she said as she started to tear up. Casey gave Chuck a look that told him not to give in but Chuck had a problem when it came to women and crying. "Well," she said as she dried her eyes. "The guy they sent to run our operation knew you Chuck or I should say he knew of Carmichael. When we were told our objectives we were told there was an agent. Frank asked if it was Chuck or Sarah Carmichael. But Marcus said all he knew was that she was supposed to be a she.
"You said Frank?" said Chuck as he and Casey looked at each other. Chuck described him and Silvia nodded yes.
"Oh Christmas will be here early if I get my hands on him," said Casey as he puffed away. "I have some very special plans for him."
"Chuck, Frank tried... well he did kill everyone at the command center. That's what we called the base we built in the cenote. I'm the only one who escaped and I only escaped because of Marcus. Marcus is Frank's aide. Well... he and I, we had a special relationship. He called me to tell me to get out. I thought he wanted us to runaway together so I went to talk to him then all hell broke out behind me. Frank must've planted explosives around the supports and when they blew the whole structure sank into the underground lake."
"So you and this Marcus guy huh? You know now that Hydra knows you're alive they're going to ask Frank how that's possible."
"Frank knows about us or at least he guessed. He won't hesitate to give Marcus up if he has to. "Chuck, you've got to help him," said Silvia as she began to cry.
"I'll do my best," said Chuck as he put his arm around her. Casey rolled his eyes and shook his head. "But to do that we need to know where to look. Where's the Hypersonic and what's 'the initiative'."
"I don't know I only know our part. We were connected to a host Satellite that controlled a constellation. We could alter the GPS readings for aircraft, ships anything. They would think they were in one location when in fact they were somewhere else."
"How's that possible? Radar wouldn't pick them up or couldn't they just look out the window and see where they were?"
"Not in the middle of the Atlantic," said Siliva. "There's a dead zone where pilots and ships use GPS. But that's only half the plan. A black box was smuggled on board the aircraft that connected to the onboard computer system which was activated via GPS and when it came on line all controls pass to the Commander Center via the same host satellite."
"Which means you took control of the Hypersonic, so where did you fly it to or who did you pass the controls over to?"
"I passed them off to someone south of us. I don't know where. I do know they took over about fifteen minutes after they passed us."
"Tell me about Turrini and his flight. What was he?" Casey looked surprised but now things made more sense.
"Yes we took control of his plane. He was an experiment of sorts to see if the thing actually worked and we did better than predicted. Frank received a promotion out of it and was put in charge of the next phase of operation. The rest of us were rewarded with a kill notice."
"So where did you send Turrini's plane, Patagonia or the Tierra de Fuego?" asked Chuck but Silvia shook her head.
"His flight controls were locked for the Antarctic, the South Pole."
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Frank was livid after the day's events he called both Richard and Blake telling them he wanted to see them in his office as soon as he pulled up. Marcus drove him back to the hangar. They had carved space out for themselves there. Pulling up they both saw the work to strip the Hypersonic was behind schedule and for Frank this delay along with the near riots, was intolerable.
"Marcus, I want you to sit in on this meeting. You know me by now so I want your opinion on how I should deal with this situation."
"Well if you don't mind me saying what you did with Dr. Martin seemed to work. You had her brief you twice a day maybe you ought to do something similar to hold them accountable."
"With her I had more time and I had something to work with. These two I don't know how they got where they are. I think we might need some corporate restructuring," said Frank. There was a knock at his door then Richard and Blake walked in.
"You called us boss. We're sorry but we were working in the control tower then with security making sure our perimeter was secure. What can we do for you?"
"First of all security should take care of security that's what they're getting paid for. There's no need for you to ride around and inspect the perimeter. Security should do that and if they find something they should report it to us and we take action. Did you find anything that needs to be looked at?"
"No... No nothing but we didn't know that for sure until we made our rounds with them. Now we can say without a doubt everything is all right."
"Everything is far from being all right. Which one of you is in charge of this hangar along with the dismantling operation and who's in charge of loading the submarine?"
"That would be both of us we divide the work equally and take turns. One time I'm on the boat and Blake is here then another time we switch."
"And today you both were playing with security and neither of you were covering either location when riots almost broke out. If I hadn't been called the Russians and the Argentinian workers would've gone at it."
"Maybe it would've been better," said Blake. "They're both hot headed and if they pound on each other a bit then they'll get it out of their system."
"What? No, I don't have time for this," said Frank as he went to their completion chart pointing at it. "Look that plane out front was supposed to have been stripped down by now and we're barely halfway finished.
"It couldn't be helped but things will swing around now. We'll talk to the foremen and get everything back on track you'll see. We just need a little time."
"Time... yes elusive time, people often say if only I had a little more time. Some just say if only," said Frank as he walked around behind them. "If only but gentlemen I'm sorry to say time is something I can't give you because your time is over." Frank pulled his Beretta and shot both in the back of the head. Marcus jumped when Frank pulled his pistol.
"Now what? I thought you wanted my opinion first?" said Marcus as he checked both bodies they were as they appeared dead.
"I heard what you said and I took your recommendation I held them accountable. As for the 'now what' you asked about, now you're in charge of the operation. I want a status update every three hours. Go get some of your men and clean this mess up."
"Yes Frank, I'll get right on it," said Marcus wondering if Frank wasn't letting his position and power go to his head as he left the room to look for someone. While Marcus was gone Frank received a message to login. He sat at his desk then typed in his username and password. The screen flickered and he was facing the man that had become his benefactor.
"I see you got my message. We need to talk. How are things coming down there," asked the man. Frank could tell he wasn't interested in his health.
"Good, we're a little behind schedule but I've put my assistant in charge. The two men who used to be here have been relieved for cause. I hope that's not a problem but they were ineffective."
"The post is yours to run how you see fit. I want you to watch something then I'd like you to make a comment," said the man. He ran a video clip of Silvia with the Premier at the party in Costa Gravas then he heard what the Premier said about her.
"I don't know what to say," said Frank. "The last time I saw her she was drinking champagne in the Command and Control center before it exploded. She should be dead."
"She should be but obviously she's not. I don't know if you know enough Spanish to understand what the Premier said but he called her his spy," said the man as he held up a piece of paper and read notes. "One of the people instrumental in helping me foil the coup attempt. He also says the person who at grave risk infiltrated the dastardly operation that almost robbed us of our liberties. Gez, did we have a traitor in our midst and didn't know it?"
"I can't answer that Johannsson was the one who brought her in on this project. I already found her here... well there when I arrived. We should move that host satellite as soon as possible."
"I concur and I'm having it done as we speak but I wouldn't worry too much about Dr. Martin. I've activated a mole we still have in Costa Gravas and I've given him the mission to silence Dr. Martin forever."
"Good, I still don't understand how she escaped. I mean I literally saw her at the party a few minutes before I pressed the detonator," said Frank. There was a knock at his door then Marcus came in.
"I've got the men outside to clean up in here," said Marcus. He noticed Frank was on the monitor which meant someone from the council had contacted him.
"You might find this interesting," said Frank. "Silvia is still alive. Our people just picked up a video clip of her with the Premier of Costa Gravas. He says she was a spy for him with us."
"That's absurd Silvia was loyal to us. She put out a hundred and ten percent making sure the satellites were ready and painstakingly assembled the constellation."
"That might be true," said a voice from the monitor. Marcus hadn't known Frank was still talking on the computer. If he had he wouldn't have stuck his neck out. Now came the axe to chop it off. "How do explain her still being alive?"
"Well if I had to guess I'd say there was a hidden tunnel but I don't think it was so hidden. There were access shafts built when they built the base. They were supposed to have been sealed off, but I say supposed to because I know of at least two that were left unsealed. Silvia wanted them left open in case we had to escape."
"In case we or more likely she had to escape," said Frank. "Well there's your answer. Since I have you on the line when can I expect that interrogator?"
"The Tooth Fairy you mean. The fairy should be there late tomorrow or early the day after. I expect the sub will be able to pull out then. Frank I don't have to remind you no excuses." The monitor went blank.
"I think you just did."
"The Tooth Fairy?" said Marcus. "What kind of name is that?"
"So your girlfriend's still alive Marcus. Sure a secret tunnel, I'm sure that's what happened," said Frank as he looked at him. "I'm sure."
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General Beckman looked over at the Colonel then nodded for him to follow her. The two walked to the back of the building where they could be alone and talk while the Russians huddled around the stove to stay warm. They had a pan of water boiling constantly with potatoes and cabbage. The General taught them how to place a few potatoes in with the coals to cook. They were hot when they came out and cooled down rapidly but if they put them in their pockets they had something to eat and something to keep them warm too.
"Do you think agent Bartowski got out?" asked the Colonel. "I was hoping we'd hear something from her by now."
"They've got guards posted around this building so she might not be able to get to us. But we mustn't lose hope someone will come for us."
"General, I don't want to bust your bubble but we're thousands of miles off our course. If your agent can't contact someone then no one's going to come for us."
"Someone will come and I can tell you who it will be. Chuck will come, of that I have no doubt the only question is will he make it here before it's too late."
"Too late for what?" said Captain Primack, the Russian submarine Captain. He saw them talking in the back so he walked up on them to see if he could hear what they were saying. "What are you talking about? Too late for what?"
"Captain, they aren't going to keep us around forever. The question you should be asking yourself is what are they going to do with us once they're done? I can see one possibility and that would be bodies and debris adrift in the ocean to make people think your submarine sank. They wait on the bottom somewhere for the heat to blow over then go to a safe port somewhere in Africa or South America."
"Well if they do that they better have steam from the shore or keep the reactors hot. My boat can't go cold iron."
"What do you mean?" asked the Colonel but the General understood.
"He's saying it has a lead-bismuth cooled fast reactor with a liquid core. If the core gets cold it solidifies and becomes a useless piece of solid metal."
"I wonder if Agent Bartowski knows that," said the Colonel. He spoke without thinking and the General gave him a look.
"Agent Bartowski? What haven't you two told me," said the Captain as he lowered his voice. "I think we're all in the same boat here. Isn't that what you told me?"
Suddenly the ground under them shook and the light fixtures swayed back and forth. It felt like there was an earthquake. The General smiled at the two of them
"Mary is safe and at work. You asked who Agent Bartowski is well she's one of our best agents, a friend of mine and she's working to free us."
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