Don't own Chuck

The sun rose over the Mediterranean and as it climbed in the sky people began their migration to the beach to worship the new day coming. At first light the initial wave of invading horde hit the sand but not before consuming coffee and pastries on the numerous boardwalk cafés. Important things were talked about like the results of the soccer matches the night before and how the referee needed glasses because the team was obviously offside. But all the hustle and bustle below didn't help the girls sleep in especially because it was hot and they slept with the windows open.

"Tell everyone to shut up and go back to bed," said Sam as she rolled over and put her pillow over her head. "What's going on outside anyway a parade?"

"No, there are people going to the beach," said Molly. She'd gotten up to close the windows and was looking outside. "They look like ants all marching off in lines. Some people are congregated around the cafés."

"Oh don't close the window then it will get stuffy in here," said Sam as she sat up in bed. "I would've liked to have slept in this morning."

"Me too but looks like that isn't going to happen... we're both wide awake. I hate to tell you but it also looks like we're the only ones awake."

"We can't have that and besides didn't Chuck promise us that we'd go back to the circus today? And it is today, am I right? The sun is up even if it just woke up."

"Oh I know that look you're going to do something that's going to get us both in trouble," said Molly. "As your aunt I have to tell you should rethink..."

But before she could finish Sam was out of bed and running. Her bare feet pattered as she slipped and slid on the marble floor all the way to Chuck and Sarah's bedroom. She tore open the doors then launched herself into their bed. She made a low puff as she landed but the joke was on her.

"Crap, they're not here," said Sam as she sat in the middle of the empty bed looking around. "They must've never come home last night. Where's Bunny's bed and where's Bunny?" For a second Sam was worried they'd left her.

"Keep it down Mom and Bunny are still asleep. I just peeked in on Mom and Bunny as well as her bed in there with her. Let's go back to our room and change. Then we can figure out what to do. We could watch television. You could watch 'Masha and Bear' in French."

"Bear doesn't talk and to hear Masha speak French... no she only makes sense in Russian. You watch her speak and her mouth keeps on moving after the voice has stopped. You could video chat with Razib like you do every night when you think I'm asleep. Oh Razib, how are you today? What did you do? What did you study? If that happens to me, I'll shoot myself."

"You know it's not polite to listen in on other people's conversations and besides Razib and I are friends if you have to know. I talk with him to find out what I'm missing so it will be easier for me to catch up. Just wait until you start school then you'll see what it's like and you'll want a friend like Razib to pass on your homework to you."

"As uncle Casey would say, 'yeah sister I hear you talking but I'm not buying it,' Sam said as she tried to imitate Casey's voice. They both laughed. "Let's change then go down to the bar for breakfast."

"I don't know if I want to go down to the bar with you now," said Molly as she went over and sat on her bed putting on a pouting face. "Not after the way you treated me."

"Okay, you're right I shouldn't have listened in on your conversation. But how could I not hear you? It's just you and me in this room at night."

"Next time I talk with Razib you go to the bathroom and stay there until I come to get you," said Molly as she looked over at Sam.

"Geez, can't you call him while I'm taking my bath? I'll go out in the common room or on the balcony if I have to but I promise I won't listen in on you."

"Okay it's a deal," said Molly. They got busy changing then after they finished Molly started to write Emma a note so she'd know where they'd gone to if she woke up before they got back.

"Will you hurry up? I've got a crêpe a la mode waiting for me and my stomach. Both of us are dying to make its acquaintance."

"Anyone ever tell you that you eat too much ice cream," said Molly as she wrote the note but stopped half-way.

"No one I've ever listened to and why have you stopped writing? You're not writing a novel come on it's just a note telling Emma where we'll be. But judging from the logs being cut she'll still be sound asleep by the time we get back."

"Don't be silly and don't think you don't make noise when you sleep," said Molly. Sam stood there and stared at her. "Don't give me that look. You do and if you want I can put on a voice recorder so you can hear yourself the next day."

"You're just trying to get even for what I said before. It's not true but nice try. Can you please hurry up? I'm hungry if you haven't figured out."

"How someone so small can eat so much is a mystery and no I wasn't lying about you making noise," said Molly. Sam gave her another look. "Okay, the problem is the hotel has two possibilities for breakfast. There's the bar or we can eat off the buffet in the la Rotonde Brasserie."

"The la Rotonde Brasserie has those carousel horses that look at you while you eat. I'd prefer to eat my meal without having something staring at me. Besides what I want isn't on the buffet."

"Just wait until you get older all this ice cream and chocolate is going to come back to haunt you. You'll find yourself on the rocky road to perdition," said Molly as she finished the not. Sam gave her a look. "Never mind it's a Tom Hanks thing. Come on I'm done."

"Finally," said Sam as she rolled her eyes. Molly grabbed her by the hand then yanked her out the door. They both laughed as they made their way down the hall to the elevator.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The van pulled into the parking area of the hotel and the two men got out. The men from the car hadn't caught up to them yet and they weren't answering their phones. The only thing that Don Rodrigo and Luigi could think of was their plan had failed so they needed to get this pass off done in a hurry then retreat to some safe haven their friend would offer them. They were walking in when the driver received a phone call. He walked away to take it as they walked towards the sign that said bar with Marco and Giovanni in tow.

"We're here to meet our contact," said Don Rodrigo. "Please behave yourselves while we meet. The people we're dealing with spook easily and I'd prefer to avoid a blood bath of the innocent."

"You two behave yourselves and this is where we part company," said Luigi. "The men will take you over to a separate table. You two can have a nice breakfast then when we're done you can go or you can come with us. The choice will be yours."

"You're going to let us go after everything you've told us and everything we know. Who do you think we are fools? You might've fooled us once but you won't fool us again."

"What do you know? That we're involved with someone else who's a part of an international criminal organization. I think the cat is already out of the bag on that one," said Don Rodrigo as the driver came back.

"I'm sorry sirs but that was Joe. It seems the people in the car got past our men and only he along with another guy got away. He said he was taking the man with him to the hospital. It seems he was injured so I told him to go ahead and that we'd contact him with a rendezvous point where we'd pick them both up."

"Good work, now if you'll take these two to a private table so we can get on with the pass off," said Don Rodrigo. The driver with two other men pushed Giovanni and Marco along.

"Over there," said the driver as he directed them to a corner booth out of sight and by themselves. "Now be good boys and behave. If you do that everything will go well for you."

"Would you like to see the menu or do you know what you want," asked the waitress as they sat down. She laid menus on the table and took out her tablet.

"American coffee all around," said the driver. "And what would everyone else like to eat? I'd like a croissant."

"I'll have an English breakfast without the beans," said Giovanni. "Oh and bacon not sausage, the bacon extra crispy. Eggs I'd like over easy with a nice piece of cheddar on top."

"I'll have the same," said Marco. "Except I'd like the sausage and a glass of orange juice too. Freshly squeezed if you've got it."

"That's the only way we serve it," said the waitress as she tapped on her tablet. "And for you gentlemen, what would you like?"

"They'll have the same as me," said the driver. However, the faces of the two men said that wasn't what they wanted but it was what they had to take.

"Very good," said the waitress as she finished putting in their order. "I'll be right back with your coffee." She disappeared then reappeared with a pot of coffee. She poured everyone a cup then was gone again.

"So Mister driver," said Giovanni. "How long have you been working for my father? I haven't seen you around the circus so I assume he's kept you and your gang here someplace else for his nefarious activities."

"I don't work for your father or his. We work for the guy they're going to meet. He hired us and told us to work with them. But we definitely don't work for them… none of us do with the exception of that idiot clown…"

"You mean Alfredo," said Marco as he looked over at Giovanni wondering what their fathers had gotten themselves into.

"Yeah that's him. I heard in the van he got himself whacked. Is that true what I understood," said the driver as he took a sip of his coffee. Marco started to speak but the man signal for him to be quiet as the waitress came back and placed their orders on the table then left.

"Yes, my brother, Raul took him out on the boat from what I understood from him. It was either Raul or him and Alfredo drew the short straw," said Marco as he looked over at Giovanni.

"Good, I should thank your brother that saved us the trouble of doing it," said the driver as he smiled at them. "He wasn't going to walk away from this those were our orders… from our boss. What's the matter? Why aren't you eating?"

"I guess we ordered too much," said Giovanni as he looked over at Marco who was just looking down at his plate. Suddenly the idea of eating didn't appeal to them anymore.

"Well then we can help you," said one of the other men. They reached over the table grabbed their plates swapping out food.

"Bon appetite," said the driver as Giovanni and Marco watched in horror as the two men devoured their food. Each wondered if their fathers hadn't bitten off more than they could chew. There was a heavy silence as they ate. No one was saying anything and the only noise that was being made was made by the men's forks against their plates.

"So I don't think we know your names," said Marco trying to make small talk. Everyone stopped eating and stared at him. "What did I say?"

"Why did you ask that? If we tell you that we'll have to kill you," said the driver. Marco and Giovanni looked at each other then the driver and his men started laughing. "You should see your faces. You both have such a look right now."

"Phew, funny… okay I admit you got me… so you were just joking around with us," said Marco as he heaved a big sigh of relief.

"No, but you should've seen your faces anyway."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chuck pushed the bike hard when he saw where the van was heading. Of all the hotels in Nice they had to choose his. But it was one of the better ones and on the beach so it did make sense and confirmed he needed to do some rethinking about his choices in the future. However, all that was academic now. He just had to get there as quickly as he could.

"You are such a big idiot Chuck," he told himself. "If you hadn't let your anger get the best of you, you would have Sarah and Casey as backup. You lowered yourself to Casey's level and now you're in this jam."

Chuck blew through the welcome to Nice sign and didn't stop until he arrived at the promenade des Anglais number 37. The valet did a double take when he pulled up and jumped off the bike. Chuck tossed him the keys as he walked by. The valet looked at them then at the bike like 'what am I supposed to do' but Chuck was too concerned to worry about looks as he kept on walking.

"Pardonnez-moi, excuse me, I'm staying here and I'm looking for some people who came in here a little while ago," said Chuck after he walked up to the front desk. Then he went on to describe Don Rodrigo and Papa Zorro as well as Giovanni and Marco.

"Oui Monsieur Carmichael, they came in and went into the bar," said the receptionist from behind the counter as he looked Chuck over. "But maybe you'd like to go up to your room and freshen up a bit before going into the bar."

"Normally I would but right now I don't have the time for niceties. Please tell me none of my party are in the bar with those men."

"I'm afraid your daughter and her cousin went inside," said the man as he looked at Chuck strange trying to figure out what was going on.

"Merde," said Chuck still thinking in French. "The other girl is her aunt not her cousin. Listen up Pierre," said Chuck reading the man's name off his nametag. "I don't want to scare you but I want you to get all your staff and everyone out of that room quickly and quietly."

"Sir, do I need to call the police?" said the man but he wasn't waiting for Chuck to answer. He'd already picked up the receiver.

"Here call this number and read them this code when someone picks up. You'll be talking to the Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure. Tell the person who answers Sugar Bear needs her help. Do you have that? Repeat what you're supposed to say."

"Sugar Bear needs her... your help. Yes but…"

"There are not buts here. I'm going inside and I don't want anyone coming in after me no matter what they hear." The man took a deep breath when Chuck pulled the weapon from under his belt popped out the empty clip and housed a fill one but he had way too few rounds for what he needed. The last thing he wanted was to get into a firefight with Sam and Molly in the room. He was greeted almost immediately when he walked in.

"Chuck over here. Come on over and have a seat with us. You've got to be tired after all that running around," yelled a voice from a dark corner. Chuck immediately flashed on it but he really didn't need to. There were only a few people who could've found out about the intersect and actively gone about trying to steal it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[Earlier that morning]

Sam and Molly took the elevator down to the lobby they were on a mission to get breakfast. Sam wanted warm crêpes with a scoop of Rocky Road on top. A little of the hair of the dog after their night before in the circus. Much to their surprise they saw Don Rodrigo with other men sitting in a booth. They didn't think anything about it and found a seat at a table.

"Are you two supposed to be here without your parents," asked a waitress as she walked over. "Or are they coming down momentarily?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," said Sam. Luckily for her the waitress didn't understand English that well. Molly elbowed her. "Oh right, I'm sorry soon… they'll be down soon but we're not going to wait so can we go ahead and order," said Sam then she gave the waitress their room number. "I'd like a couple of crêpes avec glacée Rocky Road and an orange juice."

"Very good Mademoiselle and what about you," said the waitress as she tapped in the order on her tablet then turned to Molly.

"I'll have the same thing," said Molly as she giggled a little. Sam and the waitress gave her a look. "It's nothing I was just thinking you know ice cream in over ten different languages but you can't write in English yet."

"I know how am I ever going to be a doctor at this rate," said Sam as she patted the bag she'd brought with her. "I need to put together a five-year plan. How does this sound? I go to first grade next year learn to write then go to medical school and become a doctor."

"Somehow I don't think it's quite that easy," said Molly. She noticed Sam staring at the entrance to the bar. "What is it? You look like you've seen a ghost," she said as she turned and looked. "Is that who I think it is?"

"It can't be he's not here… at least I don't think he is. No, we've got to be mistake," said Sam. "Look he's walking with a cane." Just then the waitress came back with their breakfast.

"Let's forget about him and concentrate on what we've got in front of us," said Molly as she dug into her crêpes a la mode. Sam started eating hers but she kept an eye on the man who walked in. She got even more curious when he went over and sat down with Don Rodrigo.

"What do you think he's doing over there with Don Rodrigo and that other old guy," said Sam as she ate watching them.

"I don't know and I don't care. Neither should you or you're going to get us into some big trouble if you don't stop staring. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. We should finish eating then go back up to our room. Emma will be awake soon and wonder where we are then she'll get worried."

"I seriously doubt if she's woken up by now. That is judging by the sounds she was making when we left. Even if she does wake up you left the note for her so she'll know exactly where we are. Go ahead and admit it you're a Fraidy cat."

"I am not," said Molly indignantly. "I'm here with you… besides I'm older and you need to listen to me."

"Says who?" said Sam. Molly gave her a look which made her giggle. "Okay, I can see you're getting upset I'll stop. I don't care if you're a Fraidy cat. You're still all right in my book."

"I'm not a Fraidy cat and stop calling me that. I'm just prudent and being older I'm responsible for you whether you like that or not."

"My hero has come to save the day," said Sam as she batted her eyes and put her hands together as if she were praying then smiled at Molly.

"You know I really hate you when you do crap like that."

"What? You don't find me adorable?" said Sam as she repeated what she'd done before.

"You don't want me to answer that. Now finish your breakfast so we can get out of here. Hey, have you seen the waitress that was serving us. It seems like all the staff has disappeared."

"They're probably in the back smoking. Wait a minute isn't that Chuck who just came in? It is and he's going over to that table too. Now wild horses couldn't drag me out of here… nope we're staying put."

"Okay for a little while longer I'm curious too. But then we go back to the room before we get into trouble. He doesn't look too happy does he?"

"I've only seen him like that when… oh crap we need to go right now," said Sam as she jumped up and grabbed Molly by the hand. They hurried towards the door but found there was a man standing there blocking the exit.

"Mister we really need to get by. My mother's going to wake up soon and find us missing… we're not supposed to be here so can you please step aside?"

"Too bad half-pint you two need to go park it at a table. No one is leaving right now those are my orders. If your mother comes looking for you she can join you but no one is getting out."

"Okay we're going to go park it but if my mother gets pissed you won't like it. She's got a little bit of a temper so don't say I didn't warn you." Sam and Molly turned around to find another man standing behind them.

"I was told to escort you two over to a table and keep an eye on you. Don't cause me no problems and things will be fine for you."

Sam looked at Molly and smiled. She could tell Sam was up to something and that she probably wasn't going to like it.