Don't own Chuck
It was late and Cole was tired after his transatlantic flight but he was really trying to make this work but he was having second thoughts as he walked up to the source of what sounded like a heated debate. As he walked up he could hear that the people doing most of the talking were Sarah and Carina. He took a deep breath then pressed on hoping Chuck would jump in to end the… well for a lack of better words – row.
"Carina, what you and Jack did was reckless to say the least. You yourself said you thought they had another end waiting for you."
"I said I thought they did but I never said I was sure. I don't understand what the problem is they didn't and we're here that's all that matters everything else is conjecture."
"Conjecture? Well let's talk about facts. You should've realized that they had a signal jammer on which meant we couldn't monitor you. You two were out of contact and we didn't know what was going on. If it hadn't been for Chuck's quick thinking you two would've been on your own without any way sort of back up."
"Yes, and about that Schnook," said Jack as he took the cufflinks off and handed them back to him. "I don't think I'll be needing you listening in on my business."
"You should be thanking him that he had the quick wit to give them to you instead of calling him schnook. Why do you think Bishop called the game off and sent you two packing?"
"I haven't got a clue," said Jack. "Maybe he could see the handwriting on the wall and knew that I was about to separate him from some of his beloved money. As it was I barely broke even after all the chips were counted."
"Carina, why do you think Bishop called it a night? Do you think he might've realized he'd been made? We need to know so we can figure out what to do about his surveillance."
"I think you two are making a lot out of nothing. The man was tired and wanted to call it a night so he could get some rest. Billy Bob probably organized the game thinking that he'd be in better shape when he landed. Both pressed on but in the end Bishop had to call it a night… case closed. Don't read more into it that we actually know."
"Why do you have to be this way always taking thinks like it's one big joke? You should try to be a little serious for once in your life."
"Life is too short to worry about the small stuff Mom. Married life has changed you and not for the better. You used to be like me… you used to be fun now look at you. You worry about everything. You should try to lighten up and relax."
"I worry about things that are important and excuse me if I worry about my family and friends. I'll tell you something else I worry about. I worry that you aren't going into this marriage with Cole with the right attitude. Could this be why it's taking you so long to come up with a wedding date?"
"It's not taking that long. It's taking what it needs to take. He's got things going as well as I do and as soon as we have a free moment then we'll do it. We don't need for anyone to push us…"
"Listen it's late and everyone is tired," said Chuck. He could see this was a train wreck about to happen and he need to stop it. "Why don't we call it a night and come back at this tomorrow after we've all rested up?"
"I'm sorry it took me so long to get over here," said Cole as he came in out of the dark. "I just got here after we bedded the old girl for the night… well not bedded but tucked in… oh she's in her room asleep."
"Don't worry it's been a long day and half the night for everyone," said Chuck. But it did not escape him that Cole had stood in the dark listening before he made his presence known. "How was the flight over?"
"Nothing to report just that it was long. Her Majesty had her glass of warm milk then went to bed but not before she asked me when she'd see you."
"Well that depends on Agent Worley. I take it you've met him when you arrived. I don't know if you heard but we had a bit of a run it."
"Yes, I met him and we had a nice chat about that. You are now invited to come over tomorrow and go over the security arrangements with me. I'll call back and confirm a time with you. Her majesty has events and places to be all day tomorrow so we need to do it when she's at the house."
"No problem just call over and I'll make arrangements to meet you. I'd like to stay here and chat some more but we need to get back up to the room."
"Sam and Bunny are sound asleep that's why we're down here so we wouldn't wake them," said Sarah as she showed him the baby monitor. "You need to come over again so we can introduce you to the newest member of the team."
"I'd love that so you went with Bunny as a name. You know that's going to be hard on her when she gets older."
"That's not her given name… well her middle name that is. If she wants to change and go by her first name when she gets older then that's all right but Sam really likes Bunny and in the family she will always be our Bunny."
"That room of yours over at the Morgan house does it have a single or double bed in it," asked Carina. "And I hope it's not too close to the Queen's."
"Well she is a heavy sleeper but no my room is not too close. She's on the fourth floor by herself with guards outside her door and at the top of each stairwell. Chuck, what's this about secret passages? It's not a castle with priest holes. Worley thinks you made the whole thing up."
"We can talk about that tomorrow but I'm going to need a floor plan of the house. Where's Jack at," said Chuck as he looked around.
"I think he went up to his room to go to sleep. Which is where we should go," said Sarah as she put her arm around him.
"If no one has any objections I'm going to take this one with me? I'll have her back in the morning," said Cole as he took Carina's hand then led her away disappearing in the dark.
"He can keep her for all I care," said Sarah. "Did you hear the way she tried to justify what she and Jack did? It's absolutely absurd the way she went on."
"But it's over now. Put it out of your mind or you won't be able to sleep tonight. Whatever happened tonight it's done."
"Do you think Carina's cover is blown? If her cover was blown and Bishop knew she was a spy then why didn't they just take them out there?"
"I don't know but we need to keep an eye on Bishop's men on the farm."
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As soon as Nigel got back to the farm he called the Major and Natasha together with Billy Bob to go over their situation. It was late and everyone was tired but this couldn't wait until the morning. If Carina had gotten close to Billy Bob, he was wondering if their current location was secure and if it wasn't… well he needed to talk out their options.
"I don't know where she came from I swear. I was contacted by Jack for two invitations for the Gala. He told me they were for his daughter and her husband. Truthfully, I thought the woman you met at the motel didn't look like the photos he showed me but she was little back then and you know people change as they get older."
"What does all this mean," asked Natasha as she and the Major were brought up to speed. "How did she know we were involved with Billy Bob?"
"I have no idea. But Barker and his Chief are no idiots," said Nigel as he poured himself a drink. "The Home Secretary let it slip to me that Barker was involved with an American. He even showed me a photo of her. I didn't recognize her at first then it hit me as we were playing. I almost choked to death on some very cheap Bourbon when I realized it was her sitting across the table from me."
"We should move out of here to someplace safer," said the Major. "If our location has been compromised we can expect a visit very soon from the authorities."
"I don't think so if anything, they are probably watching us either by one of their spy satellites or with a low flying drone."
"The drone we can take care of with a signal jammer like the one you used tonight. We can create a dead zone over us but that could have the opposite effect of attracting attention. The satellite is going to me more difficult but not impossible. We can use the cloak of invisibility…"
"This isn't the time to joke around Major," said Nigel as he looked over the map of the area. "We need to move our people tonight or at least a portion of them to another location."
"I'm not joking. We use thermal blankets that block IR scanning from above and under the cover of night we move some of our men and vehicles out. We need to occupy this area here," pointed the Major.
"But that's next to where the Secret Service and the MI6 men have set up their base station. If we move over there we'll have to drive across them before we can reach our target? I don't think we have enough men to do that let alone you dividing our force and attacking with only half of our men."
"Actually, it will be less than half because we'll have men working the Gala as serving staff. But if they know we're here they will deploy their men on the other side of the house which will leave their underbelly open wide."
"We know they know but they don't know we know…" mumbled Nigel as the Major nodded. Natasha and Billy Bob stood off to the side both still perplexed. Billy Bob because everything hinged on him getting control of that piece of real estate and Natasha because she wasn't sure about the viability in dividing forces. But as they were talking Nigel received a phone call.
"Excuse me, I have to take this," Nigel said as he looked at the number then answered. "I wasn't expecting a call from you this evening. … Are you sure? … I appreciate the intel. Yes, we're taking counter measures as you speak. … Yes we already had an idea that was the case. Thanks," said Nigel as he hung up and put away his phone.
"Is there another problem," asked Natasha. She could tell by his look that something was either wrong or he was upset. Nigel picked up his glass and took a sip before answering.
"Major, you need to check our vehicles. I was just warned that one of the SUVs has a tracking device attached to it which means our location here has been compromised."
"Then we need to go with this cloak of invisibility," said Natasha as she took Nigel's glass then took a sip from it.
"Can we come up with another name for it? I have no desire to occupy Hogwarts or to go to war against Harry Potter," said Nigel as he took his glass back to take a sip.
"But you would've make a good Slytherin," said Natasha as she kissed him and as she did she took his glass from him again to take another sip.
"Mr. Billy Bob you need to make a few phone calls I think," said Nigel with Natasha hanging on his shoulder. "Major…"
"I know I want to search the vehicles then get the cloak…" he started to say then saw Nigel's look. "Well I'll get our men on the move."
"Don't take everyone because I'm still going to have to make the teleconference from here. Everything is already hard wired and I don't want to break the gear down then try to reassemble it in time for tomorrow when we need it. I'm going to leave the rest up to the both of you. My wife and I are going to call it a night and retire for what's left of the evening," said Nigel then he led Natasha away.
"Well it's just me and you, Major," said Billy Bob. "I wish he would've let me take care of Jack once and for all. I've never met someone as lucky as he is."
"If you had then that would've pissed off the other side. You don't want to tip your hand before you're ready to pounce. Then when you do you want the strike so hard that the other side won't be able strike back. If you don't you start a war of attrition and there are more of them than there are of us."
"Okay I see that," said Billy Bob as he heaved a sigh still wishing he'd been able to whack Jack. "So what do you need from me?"
"I need you to make sure we can occupy that land with little or no resistance and without any word getting out that we're there. Can you do that?"
"Let me see," said Billy Bob as he studied the map. "I think I can let me call my associate and we can get the ball rolling so to speak."
"No 'so to speak' and no 'thinking' you do it plain and simply. Anything else is a waste of our time and believe me when I tell you that you've only seen the good side of Sir Bishop. You don't want to get on his bad side."
"Of course I'll make it happen… I didn't mean… I was just saying… you know just talking. Yes, that's what it was just talk. What people say when they are thinking but thinking as in thinking not thinking when they're thinking."
"Save your breath and just get it done. I've got vehicles to inspect," said the Major. Then he left the farmhouse.
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Cole drove Carina back to the Morgan house. It was late and he was tired but Carina spent the whole drive over talking about how she thought Sarah was exaggerating. By the time they reached the front gate he had a headache going. At the front gate they had showed the guards their IDs before they were waved through.
"Hold one," said Cole as he dropped the vehicle in neutral then jumped out with the engine running. Carina looked in the rear view as Cole walked back to the guards. She could see their puzzled expressions wondering what he was doing.
"Hey, you two why did you let me through without searching my vehicle? You know how many members of the Royal family have been taken out by IRA bombs? And you just wave every vehicle through without checking them."
"Agent Worley told us that we just had to identify the occupants of the vehicles and if they were on the access list let them through."
"And their vehicle? You don't know if they stopped off somewhere along the way and grabbed a burger or a subway… made a meal out of it and while they were inside some nefarious individual slipped a couple of kilos of Semtex underneath with a timer or remote detonator then when they drive inside here that sub they made into a meal becomes their last meal."
"I'm sorry but those are our orders," said the one guard as he looked at the other for some support but he wasn't getting involved and threw his friend under the bus.
"That's all you can say 'those were my orders'. If you want to stay on this detail, then I suggest you call your section leader or wake up Worley and tell him Chief Cole wants every vehicle that cross those gates searched. You can also tell him I expect to find a bomb dog on the gate tomorrow. Do you understand me?" Both men nodded. "No, I want to hear you say yes sir so say it."
"Yes sir," they both said. Cole turned around and got back in his Discovery looking in the rear view to see one of the men with his phone out as he proceeded on to the house.
"You know they probably have some choice words they're calling you right now," said Carina. As they drove up to the front of the house.
"I really don't care what they think. I only care what they do," said Cole as he switched off the engine. "At least I have Jonesy," he said as he pointed to a man waiting outside with what looked like a glass of milk in his hand.
"Boss, good to have you back," said Jonesy as he held the door open for Carina. "I was about to turn in but I want to wait for you first. You must be Carina," he said as he offered her his hand helping her out of the Discovery.
"Jonesy, Carina; Carina Jonesy. He's my right-hand man on this misadventure. I just lit a fire under the gate guards. I want every vehicle checked and I want a bomb dog out there tomorrow. If you get any static those are my orders."
"I don't know if you want to hear this but Chuck made the same observation when he came over. Rusty told me they dropped a vehicle off for your mate Chuck and he drove him back…"
"Yes, he mentioned about Chuck and Casey being run off which Worley denied. I remember from our drive here from the airport. Whatever Worley's problem is he'll get over it and in hurry if I have anything to do with it. Jonsey… Bishop is here… he's definitely here and up to no good. I can feel it so we need to be prepared. Is that milk you're drinking?"
"Yes, and before anyone says anything about it if it's good enough for her Majesty, it's good enough for me. You should try a glass of warm milk before bed. It does wonders for your sleep," he said as he lifted his glass then took a drink giving himself a white mustache.
"I'll take your word for it," said Cole as he laughed then he motioned for Jonesy to wipe his mouth. "I'm calling it a night. You know where to get me incase anything comes up." And with that he left with Carina taking her up to his room. Once inside he walked straight over to the bed kicked off his shoes then dropped back on it.
"If you stay there you're going to fall asleep," said Carina. "Come with me. I still want to talk about what happened this evening."
"No, you go ahead. I can hear you from here," said Cole as he got comfortable on the bed. "But you know Sarah wasn't completely wrong. You did go off without backup and you did throw yourself in her place."
"In her place… that was Jack's idea not mine. It just happened but you're supposed to take my side not join the other side."
"Sorry, but Jack is her father," said Cole as he yawned. "I shouldn't have jumped into the middle of something without hearing everything. Maybe you need to explain to me better what happened."
"No, you shouldn't. Okay let me explain to you again but try to keep up with me," said Carina. "Cole, are you still awake out there?"
"Yes, I'm still here," he said as he yawned even more. "Fire away… oh that was just figuratively," he said as he laughed.
"Funny but I'm still burning at the way Sarah's acting over this... exaggerated if you ask me. You know getting married has really changed her and not for the better. She gets too anxious and she worries over everything… we didn't used to be like that. If we had we'd never have gotten anything done not with the crazy things we did."
"Yes, you keep telling me about that but people change," said Cole as his eyes grew heavy. He just need to close them for a little while… Just a few minutes is all.
"Every time I say something or make a point she or someone throws Pakistan up in my face," said Carina from the bathroom as she continued to talk as she got ready for bed.
"That was a life time ago and so what if she came to my rescue that's what partners do and I was on her team back then right? Cole, don't you agree with me? Cole? Cole, why aren't you answering? Cole?" She stuck her head out to find him snoring lying on the bed with his clothes still on.
"Oh Cole, maybe you should've had a glass of milk."