Don't own Chuck
Sam and Margo were trapped in an elevator with a man Sam wasn't sure of. The way he talked with the bus boy and what she'd heard the bus boy say before made her doubt him even more. All the way up she kept an eye on him with a look that dared him to try something. The man in turn was apologetic for jumping on at the last minute and tried to explain but Sam wasn't buying it. If you know all the cons you'll never be a sucker.
"Sorry, but I forgot my wallet in my room. I need to run back up and get it so I can pay my bar tab," said the man as he looked them both over. Sam put on a mean face as she looked back at him but she ended up looking like an angry Chihuahua than a ferocious bulldog.
"You know you don't have to pay at the bar or in the restaurant if you're a guest in the casino," said Margo. "You can simply have to give them your room number and they'll put it on your room bill."
"Really? I hadn't thought about that but you're sure you can do that? I mean of course you are, but I don't want to get hit with any hidden expenses when we check out."
"No there are no hidden charges and it keeps you from carrying cash around. You can also use the chips you buy in the casino as money too."
"Boy, you are a fountain of information. That's good to know for future reference," said the man as he smiled at both of them. "You have a very cute daughter," he said. Sam crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out.
"Oh Sam stop it and behave. She's not my daughter. I'm just looking after her for some friends who are out of town at the moment. Don't let her looks deceive you she can be quite the handful."
"I think I can see that," said the man as he patted Sam on the head which just got her even more angry. "But kids will be kids."
"Who me? I think she's got me confused with my evil twin and believe me you don't want any part of her. Now she's one psycho..."
"That's enough Sam. Mister aren't you supposed to be getting off? We just passed the floors with the guest rooms on them. We're going up in the private part of the Casino now."
"We are? I was talking with you and I forgot to punch in my floor. I guess I'll just have to ride up then ride back down. Well that's what I get for being distracted with such pleasant conversation. So, I take it you're not guests?"
"No, I work here as the assistant manager and executive assistant to Jack Burton. He's the casino manager. My duties are mainly running the hotel and other miscellaneous operations."
"Wow, that's got to be really exciting… you know managing a casino," said the man. Sam rolled her eyes. She was getting fed up with the man's crap and worse it seemed Margo couldn't see through him. It was as if the man was sizing them up for something and Sam didn't like it one bit.
"Actually it's kind of boring," as Margo went on about her cover job. "There's not as much excitement as you might think running a casino. Just your usual humdrum existence which is perfectly fine by me."
"Really? Please don't burst my bubble. I thought it would be something like Casino Royale or something like… well I don't know," he said. Margo laughed.
"I'm so sorry I shouldn't laugh but no not hardly or we'd be tripping over bodies. I'm sorry to let you down but it's just a lot of paperwork and phone calls. Not much more than that." The bell rang and the doors opened. Sam pushed Margo out quickly.
"Come on we need to go. Sorry to say bye but this is our floor and not yours so goodbye, so long, Sayonara, arrivederci, hasta luegobut not if I luegoyou first."
"Wait one moment," said the man as he reached inside his jacket. Sam wasn't going to wait around and see what he was about to pull out so she kicked him as hard as she could in the shin. He dropped in pain inside the elevator. On the floor in the elevator a pen and notepad fell out but before Margo could do anything the doors closed and the elevator started back down.
"Sam that was extremely rude. For that and slipping out you're grounded. You're going to go into your bedroom and spend the rest of the day there. I don't want to see you out until dinner."
"But let me explain first..." said Sam but Margo wasn't having it and she wasn't going to put up with this anymore.
"There's nothing you can say that can justify what you just did. Enough with your shenanigans. Now come with me you can go straight to your room while I have a talk with Emma."
"Fine be that way but I just saved you," said Sam as she walked ahead of Margo walking past everyone and went into her bedroom slamming the door behind her. Sam jumped on her bed grabbed her tablet and began watch Masha and the Bear.
"See Masha never has this problem with bear and I'm surrounded by them. So I act out a little," she said to her stuffed rabbit. "What's wrong with that? I saved her and this is what I get… solitary confinement. Chuck says we do what we do because it's the right thing to do not for praise or glory. But it really bites sometimes. You can jump in anytime you want," she said to her bunny. "I see your not much of a conversationalist."
[Meanwhile in the elevator]
The man got up and rubbed his shin picking up the pen and notepad slipping them back in his inside pocket. They'd fallen out when he went for his weapon. He checked it in his shoulder holster making sure it was still in place and the safety was on. He rode down to his floor then got off looking up and down the hall before entering his room.
"Did you take care of that little kid? She's always into something around here and I didn't like the way she was looking at me," said the Bus Boy. "She came running out of the kitchen like a bat out of hell and when I asked the other staff they said she'd been hiding under a cart... my cart."
"Doesn't mean she knows anything and I rode the elevator up with her and that other female agent. She is a little obnoxious brat but she didn't say anything when she could've fingered you and I think she would've if she'd known anything."
"You haven't heard the news. Abu has recalled us to the Island," said the one man walking in from one of the adjoining rooms. "He said things had changed and we weren't needed here anymore. We need to pack up and leave as soon as we can."
"Really and how are we supposed to leave things here. We can't leave any loose ends behind so I'm going to need that C-4 by this evening."
"I don't know if I can do that on such short notice. The weapons I had time to get but something like this is going to be noticed."
"I need it by evening so we can check out. I don't care what it takes I need it and your job is to say yes sir I will. Anything else is unacceptable. You're not trying to tell me we don't need you anymore are you? Because that's what I'm hearing you say. If that's the case, then we'll have to retire you... permanently," said the man as he pulled his weapon. "Your service has been appreciated."
"Let's just calm down and step back a moment. Hold up… I said difficult I didn't say impossible. Let me make some phone calls and I'll get back to you."
"You'd better now go and make sure you're not seen," said the man as he waited for the bus boy to leave. Once he was gone he turned back to the rest of the men.
"Okay you guys can clear out. I'll stay here and take care of things. Our friend has just put off the inevitable but I need that explosive."
"You sure you don't want us to stay and help. One day won't make much of a difference and we don't like leaving you here alone."
"Don't worry I'm a big boy and I can handle myself.
[Meanwhile later in the Dungeon]
Margo stepped off the elevator and was greeted by Mike. He handed her an espresso then put out his other hand. She handed him handed him a twenty then took the espresso. He smiled as he smelt the twenty.
"You don't want to make it double or nothing. I like taking your money," said Mike. "You really don't expect her to stay in the suite."
"She will if she knows what's good for her. I can't run this substation and worry about her safety. She has to learn that obey. If I hadn't come along that guy in the elevator would've grabbed her. Did you follow him after he went back down in the elevator?"
"He went down to the fifth floor but all our cameras are out up there. They must have some sort of localized signal jammer. They must be awfully hungry though they keep ordering room service."
"Or they don't want to mingle with the other guests. It was close in the elevator. I was going for my weapon when I saw the man reach under his jacket but Sam took him out with a shin kick. One of these days she's going to get herself hurt."
"Was that why you came down so hard on her? She's only five. You need to give her a little slack so what if she's a little curious?"
"If she had any other parents I might agree but she needs to be careful. This is my station and I'm in charge of everything here which also means watching over her whether she likes it or not."
"I guess she puts a whole new meaning to the terrible fives. You sure you don't want to go double or nothing?"
"Remember I'm your boss."
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Chuck left the jail under armed escorted and was taken back to the lab to work with Ettore and on the way, he tried to strike up a conversation with his guards. At first they refused to listen to him but slowly Chuck continued to work on them all the way back until he finally got through to them and planted the seeds of doubt.
"I don't know if you guys saw what happened back there but your boss isn't well. I just held up my handkerchief and down he went. You know I'm right when I tell you there's something wrong with him."
"We're not dumb. We can see what you're trying to do with your fancy talk. Well it won't work because we are the faithful and loyal to the cause..."
"You might be, but is he? I'm telling you he's one card short of a full deck. When we go into the lab just look around on the floor and count the aspirin bottles lying about on the floor. It's his brain that's not functioning well. I think it all started with that black out..."
"He and Ettore were alone in their secret lab when that happened... and there was that fire inside right before the outage. They kicked everyone out and were probably doing something inside and the power went out while they were working with the equipment. It must've affected them someway. That's the only explanation."
"Will you shut up and will you stop being so gullible," said the other guard. "Abu's in charge and we're following him that's the way everyone wants it..."
"Yet I bet he hasn't checked in with his boss in a while. As we speak your people are being rounded up in Iran because of a mistake he made. You ever wonder if he's avoiding reporting in for fear of what he'll be told..."
"And what will that be? The mission is to finish the missile and launch it against our enemies and that's what he's doing..."
"That's what he told you the mission was but any of you ever heard the Old Man of the Mountain say that was what it is?"
"There's no reason we should because the chain of command doesn't work that way. We don't even know who the old man is nor have we ever heard his voice."
"That's a convenient way of keeping you all in line," said Chuck. "I guess it always keeps you people on your toes because you never know who you're talking to..."
"That's not true. People like Abu know who the Old Man in the Mountain is and they talk to him often when they report in..."
"And Abu has been reporting in regularly, hasn't he?" said Chuck. He noticed a hesitation followed by silence. "Oh my if he's not reporting in how do you know he's or you're still following the will of your leader? I'm sorry to point out that this puts you in a precarious situation. What if he's gone stark raving mad and is striking out on his own? How do you think your leader will feel about him and anyone that follows him?"
"We have to follow orders and our orders are to take you to the lab which we are doing," said the one guard.
'I'm not talking about escorting or not escorting me. I'm talking about the big picture here. And I'm afraid you've missed it. When the hammer falls on your Abu are you going to fall with him or be smart and bail beforehand."
"We can't abandon our station is here... for the... the devotees that is unheard of and is punishable by a horrible slow death."
"And what is the punishment for betrayal? Think long and hard on it. If I were you I'd at least find out if what he's doing is truly the will of the Old Man. You don't know someone you can call... some rafīk, comrade you can call and ask. You know someone you trust."
"You know what he's saying makes sense. You saw the way Abu dropped on the ground before and the way he's been acting. Something is wrong."
"If we do this we need to be careful because if word gets back to Abu we're checking up on him he won't like it. He won't think twice about getting rid of us and we'll be the next ones tossed down the garbage chute into the sea."
"Well, you boys do what you've got to do," said Chuck as they arrived at the lab. "But if I were you I'd do it quickly. Once I get the warhead on the missile that nut is going to launch it then it will be too late to do anything." Chuck just opened the door and walked inside leaving them outside pondering. His seeds of dissension were taking root if he could slow up the work a little he might just win over Abu's men and turn the table on him. But he doubted if Abu would give him that much time.
"There you are it's about time you showed up. I was beginning to wonder if you were going to come to work or not. I even thought Abu might have decided to get rid of you," said Ettore. "I see you've changed your mind. Abu can be very persuasive when he puts his mind to it."
"You mean at threatening someone to get what he wants. You both can and you see what it got you, stubby. So, let me look at those couplers and see what we can do? How's the headache? I see from the aspirin bottles that it must be fierce."
"Here are photos of the couplers on the warhead and here are the ones from the missile. They seem very similar to me," said Ettore ignoring Chuck's observation.
"Have you flashed on them? You can see for yourself that there are various types and we're going to have to bare the wiring to make sure they make proper connection or it may not deploy or even worse. You know SAC Command could send the missile an abort code once you've launched it and it would fall to the ground unexploded and game over."
"That's why after we get the warhead on you're going to reprogram it so it won't recognize their password and no game over until we say it."
"How do you know I can do that? Surely you or Abu could flash and write the new algorithm then upload the new program."
"We probably could but we don't want to over flash and since we have the Piranha we can let him take care of that. I bet you hadn't counted on us figuring out who you were. I have to admit I was a little taken aback to find out about your dark side."
"That was a long time ago when I was young and stupid. Now that I'm older I know better so that's my excuse what's yours?"
"I have no excuses or regrets. You know my story I told you in Columbia. We've done enough talking now it's time to get to work.
"Yes, it is. Look Ettore I'm going to need an oscillator and a voltage regulator so I can test the couplers. I'm going to need all that here so I can calibrate it before we take it up inside the missile."
"But what for? I didn't flash on anything like that," said Ettore. He was wondering if Chuck wasn't trying to pull a fast one over on him or just trying to slow down the process to buy time.
"Well if you want to try and flash again you'll see why? Or would you like to risk burning out the circuits in the missile or in the warhead. If we do that we could accidently cause it to explode or self-destruct. But if you want to take the risk it's up to you. I'll just go back to my cell and wait to see what the outcome will be."
"You can't," said Ettore as he got mad. "You're going to stay right here or Abu will eliminate your friends one by one..."
"Or you eliminate us all together in one bright light here. There's not a big difference is there. So, what do you want me to do?"
"Okay but I swear if you try anything and you'll regret it. I'm watching you so don't try to be sneaky because I'll see it. Remember what I've got up here."
"Sawdust? I'm quaking in my shoes. Just you can't see it," said Chuck as he smiled. "Abu told me he got all the brains and you got… well, he said it not me, leftovers."
That's not true. I know everything he does and then some. Just who does he think he is? I'm going to have to have a talk with him.
"Well since you'll never have the guts to say anything and we're waiting on that equipment how about a cup of coffee? I'm half asleep and could use the caffeine."
"Who says I don't have the guts? If you want coffee go get it yourself."
"That's some mean talk but is there anything behind it other than hot air."
"Hot air. You can talk to me like that. I'm… I'm… oh Chuck, you're good. You had me wound up there for a while. Now that you've had your fun. Let's get back to work.
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Back in Montenegro the Abu's wet team was abandoning the casino. Margo and Mike were up in the bar across from the lobby observing what was going on wondering what it meant. Just to make sure they were leaving town she put a tail on them that followed them to the airport where they bordered a charter plane for Varna.
"I don't understand," said Mike. "What does this mean? Why did they all check out except the one guy?"
"I don't know either but it can't be good. I need to get down below and report back to Langley. Something has had to have changed and they need to find out what it is."
"What do you want to do with the one guy they left behind?" said Mike as he pointed him out as he crossed the lobby. "He's your buddy from the elevator."
"For now keep him under observation and try to get those cameras up on the fifth floor. I want to know what he's up to at all times even when he goes to the bathroom. They're up to something I can feel it and I don't like it."
"Are you going to ease up on the kids now? If we're watching him he won't be able to do anything."
"No, not yet. I want Sam to learn a lesson and if I give in she'll push me even more the next time. I wish she were more like Razhib. He'd never do anything like this."
"Really," said Mike as he caught Razhib slipping in the front doors. He caught the boy's look and he shook his head. "Right like Razhib. Where's he at right now?"
"His watch has him up in the suite."
"Right… well don't you need to go down below and make that call," said Mike. "I'm going to stay up here a little longer and straighten somethings out."
"Okay I'll see you down in a few."
"Roger that."