Chuck vs. The Proposal
To recap the previous chapter: Alex compares the relationship of Chuck and Sarah to that of the royal couple William and Kate. A comparison that would also include he and her father Casey by way of Travis comparing her to the anime character Rukia from the series Bleach. Why? The relationship between Rukia and her adoptive brother Byakuya who even though is described as a cold warrior, he truly cares for her "sister." Also, he described the way she appeared out of nowhere and scared him as if she reached in to grab his soul as a Seal Reaper would in the popular anime. Alex then finds herself standing in a room full of weapons after thinking the team wasn't well prepared when it comes to weaponry but she was wrong. As for Casey, he's been given the opportunity of peace and quiet as Dalton is passed out drunk. So, he takes the time provided to lock and load the weapons he intends to use in the impeding firefight. So what happens this chapter? Read and find out! Anyways, hope you enjoy the read and leave a comment to share your own thoughts on this particular chapters. As always, reviews are awesome.
Again, if you enjoyed reading my stories and left a comment I truly appreciate it. Please continue to do so as it gives me the incentive to write more chapters.
I don't own Chuck.
Find Your Center
XXX
For the past hour and half Casey intensely prepped for the imminent confrontation with his former teammates. After selecting his weapons, loading the clips, and placing them in the green duffle bag. Once that was done he gave himself enough time to do some prep time to carefully inspect the parachute he'd be using to jump out of the cargo plane. In his mind, there's nothing worse than dealing with any faulty equipment, especially when it comes to a parachute. Thinking about it further, a parachute that belongs to Dalton and has been sitting on the shelf for quite some time collecting dust.
Fortunately, after doing the proper checklist of the parachute for his own safety and well-being he takes a moment to mediate while sitting in the main cockpit chair. Granted, he would do it at home while pruning his bonsai tree but will make due with his current surroundings that's far less quiet and not to mention calming. In any case, while meditating he does some of his deep breathing in order to mentally and physically prepare for his impending final face off with a trio that he handpicked himself to be part of a team.
While sitting there finding the calm within himself before the imminent storm, he goes through his 6 Casey-esque steps in preparation for any potential faceoff. Of course, he's done this in the past regarding his reputation as an unfriendly, unrelenting, unquestioning about his orders cold school killer. Plus, it completely deviates from the way he was taught by his former sensei Ty Bennett who went rogue and personally took down himself. Although the circumstance at quite different, he admits to himself unlike back then that he is a man with absolute deep feelings.
It's those feelings in which he was able to harness all the anger and unleashed it on Ty. Unfortunately, the current situation is the total opposite as its more professional than personal in nature even though the trio have the man who is possibly going to end up being his future son-in-law. It's that particular thought that causes him to visibly cringe but it would soon fade as he closes eyes focusing on his revised steps of meditation.
Step 1: Find A Place. Sit and Embrace the Quiet - True, sitting in the not so quiet cockpit of a cargo plane is not the ideal place to find your center but I'm making do. Yet, I've been in situations before when it involved missions, especially during my military days as Alex Coburn under his former commander office Colonel James Keller. Amid the chaos, he'd do his best in embracing the calming, quiet place of my surroundings best I could instead of getting all wound up tightly even in between the momentary break of a firefight. Though it was difficult to do when I was younger, it would considered a considerably easy enough thing to do now as a grizzled, veteran agent with years of experience.
Step 2: Breathe deeply - If there's one thing I knows to do well is breathe deeply. Before ever meeting Chuck, my deep breathing and balance would be totally off due to the fact of the ongoing conflict going on inside me that has never really calmed down. It wasn't until Chuck blabbed on about how he cares and cares about me along with that he also loves me moments before I kicked Ty Bennett's ass. After hearing that, I wanted to rip the kid's head off right then and there. Truth be told it worked and even though I did thank him for helping me I didn't really say it eye to eye to his face or the fact I didn't give him a handshake. Not my style during those days. In my mind, it's a frightening thought to even comprehend that back then a nerd working at a Buy More would somehow end up teaching me to truly find his angry center. Fortunately for him, that center isn't filled with so much anger any more as he's able to deeply breathe in the future and gradually exhale for good parts of his past.
Step 3: Settle Yourself – Ty Bennet taught me not let the conflict within yourself to be the cause for one's unbalance. The unbalance of being all wound up tightly. Granted, I took that to heart but all changed after the pep talk Bartowski gave him. A pep talk in which I was able to settle himself by channeling the feelings of being betrayed, pushing people away, lashing out with hurtful words and not to mention punches. What my former numbnut of an asset helped him do was settle any fears whatsoever I had to be the type of man/soldier/agent who shouldn't be afraid to ask for help when he needs it. Unfortunately, what I'm doing now defeats the purpose but he can't focus on that right now he thinks to himself.
Step 4: Release – It's in that next steps he let his body do all the talking as he begins cracking parts of his body starting with his neck. He closes does a slow counter-clockwise movement whereby taking the time to release any tension in his neck, as well as shoulders. Once that's over, he releases the grip from the cockpit throttle and proceeds wiggle/flex his fingers to the point where he opens and closes them. While doing this, his cracks his hands and this last for approximately 3 minutes or so. His upper torso leans forward to where he twist left then right several time and in doing so he cracks his back. This last at least 3 and half minutes inevitably ending with him twist his right, as well as left ankle in a circular motion until the cracks are no longer heard. Ultimately, by doing this it puts him a seemingly well relaxed and good mood to bust some heads.
Step 5: Free and Focused – The new relaxed mood he's experiencingbrings him into the next step in which he simply takes the next 30 seconds or so to just sit there. While doing so, he frees himself from the negative and focuses on the positive. The negative of what could possibly go wrong and when it comes to focusing on the positive the following two thoughts or in this particular case people come to mind. Jayne and Alex. The two most important people who he cares and loves with every fiber of his being. They are the reason he thinks to himself that has a new found focus on life after being in a way eternally chained up to being a nomad that's always focused on the greater good.
Step 6: Finish and Take it With You – It's at this point, he finishes his meditation like always with the following mental mantra. As I open my eyes, there is the reality of chaos and calm that I will experience. Take on the chaos head on but when it over leave it behind. I know that what awaits me on the horizon are the thing I hold most valuable. Hold on to it and take it with you back home.
Once the mental mantra is over, Casey fully opens his eyes and grips the cockpit throttle of the cargo plane again. He took the opportunity he had left before switching into NSA Agent mode in order to get himself in the right space mentally and physically. He knows he feels considerably better now after going through the meditation itself providing with the clarity and keen awareness too in hopefully making the right, careful decisions/strategies thinking that, he glances over his right shoulder at the unconscious body of a still passed out Dalton laying down off to the left side of the cargo plane. It's almost time to wake him up. When I do, there's no turning back now. It's all or nothing.
XXX
After the wondrous sight of the assortment of weapons in the section of the Bird Of Prey that Sarah accessed left her somewhat speechless, she finds herself enthralled with Chuck and Travis extremely focused. Focused not on anything mission related but on something that they're currently play…a video game. True, it may be viewed as completely unorthodox but according to Sarah it helps get them centered before the boots get on the ground, which is how she best describes it. As ridiculous as it sounds, it's not that surprising to her being that it totally fits the team's personality especially the two men presently challenging each other in Street Fighter on a portable classic console system.
While standing back near the hallway entrance of the plane, she watches as 2 men are seated at the conference table thoroughly transfixed and trash talking each other like guys do, she begins hearing a conversation between the two of them that very similar to conversations that Chuck and Morgan have.
"Brutal combo attack dude!"
"I know." responded Chuck. "I saved that special move as a surprise." he added briefly glancing at Tavis flashing a grin.
"Well, I see your special move combo attack…" Travis grinned back. "…with mine!" he stated pressing buttons with animated determination. He gnashes his teeth together expression a look of seriousness and fun.
Travis' combo attack as Guile completely decimates Chuck playing as M Bison. After hearing "You Win" on the screen and M Bison giving his signature victory pause, another conversation is exchange that Alex subsequently listens in on as she continues to stand behind them.
"I know when I'm bested. Awesome match my friend." the former nerd herd leader stated reaching out for a fist tap.
"You too. Gave me a run for my money. This game will always be a classic for the Sega Gensis."
"Indeed. I got your number next time." smirked Chuck pointing at him.
Travis points back at him in response. "You're on." There is a momentary pause in the conversation then the 4th member of a reunited Team Chuck brings something up to his nerdy compadre. "Hey, do you remember the movie version of the game? The one that starred Jean-Claude Van Damme."
"Yeah. It was okay. Not what I had hoped for when it comes to a video game turned live version action movie that gamers like ourselves enjoyed back in the day. Still enjoy actually." he answered shrugging his shoulders.
"I agree with you there. I had high expectations for that movie. Unfortunately, it left me completely disappointed." Travis revealed shaking his head. After being briefly silent, he continues on. "Anyways, here's a fun fact that you may not have known when it comes movie itself. Van Damme was coked out of his mind."
"I did know. Plus, he was getting it on with his co-star who portrayed Cammie…" replied Chuck. "…Australian singer/actress Kylie Minogue. He was married at the time. The whole movie was practically a mess from what I found out and read online. The studio actually had to hire a handler to keep Van Damme in line but was no help whatsoever." he shared shaking his headed in disbelief.
"There were so many problems to speak of one of them being that the Thailand government suspected a coup and shut down all roads to production for the movie. It made shooting in various location incredibly a not so awesome experience." Travis shared leaning back comfortably in his chair.
"You're not kidding. I also read what made it even more difficult was that Van Damme got $8 mil as a fee and it completely screwed up the movie budget that at the time cost $35 mil. Of all the horrible decisions and mistakes made, the one bright spot was casting Raul Julia."
"Gomez Addams." the two men simultaneously. After saying it they snap their fingers paying homage to movie version patriarch of The Addams Family.
"Anyways…" stated Chuck getting back to what he was saying. "…Raul Julia was an absolute trooper shooting the movie. They had to shoot his action fight scenes with Van Damme first because he was battling stomach cancer. As much as he was criticized for doing the role that was considered beneath him being that he was a well-respected actor directed by high profile directors like Coppola, he mainly took the job because of his kids who wanted him to do it. They were fans of the game like we are." the lanky business owner shared.
"Never be another like him."
"True dat." Chuck retorted. He takes that moment to hit his chest and point up to the sky in honor of Raul Julia.
In that same instance, Travis takes a cue from his nerdy teammate and does the same. It's not long before there is silence shared between the two men as Alex continues to observe from a distance. It's not long before she finds out what happens next.
"One more game?" announced Chuck flashing a smirk towards his friend/teammate.
This leads Alex to roll her eyes to where she turns around and heads down the hallway. While doing so, she hears the voices of Chuck and Travis once again trash talking each other.
"You ready to lose?"
"Are you?"
XXX
For Alex, it certainly has been mentally and not to mention emotionally exhausting day so far for her. As she walks down same the corridor where the weapon room is located, she notices that the door is opened and then hears sounds coming from inside. Her curiosity gets the better of her and cautiously steps towards the opening of the room. She then peeks inside and after a few seconds hears the sound again. She doesn't know where's its coming from because from her point of view nobody is inside leading her to walk in and figure where that sound is coming from.
She weaves her way through the room full of weapons trying to locate the sound and where it's coming from but to no avail. The determined and head strong daughter of John Casey ends up standing in the middle of room with her hands on her hips. She shakes her head somewhat disappointed that she couldn't figure where exactly the sound is coming from. After taking a deep breath, she turns around to make her out of the room when all of a sudden she finds Sarah standing in front of her causing her to stumble back a bit due to being startled.
Fortunately, Sarah reaches for her and stops her before knocking over a box full of explosives sitting on top of a weapons case. A grateful Alex gives her an appreciate smile as she takes a moment to compose herself after her blonde and deadly friend appeared out of nowhere.
"You scared me."
"Sorry." faintly chuckled Sarah. "What's up? Is Chuck looking for me?"
Alex shakes her head. "He's playing one last game of Street Fighter with Travis."
"There's never "one last game" with those two." she grinned with amusement.
After sharing a bit of a laugh, Alex looks around and brings a question to the woman who was considered Langston Graham's wild card enforcer. "Did you happen to hear a sound in here? I heard it when I passing by but now it's gone."
Sarah's response is to simply smile. She motions with her head to follow her to the wall to the right, which she does. The blonde beauty stops in front of the wall next to a shelf full of weapons with a mirror located to the left. She then reaches to her left pressing a button that opens up a concealed door leading into another room much to Alex's surprise. Once she steps inside she sees a room that is set up with targets and several daggers laying on a table by the secret door. Alex puts it all together and nods.
"Target practice."
"Yup. This is how I get centered." she said picking up a dagger on the table. Afterwards, she flings it across the room into a target that has a few daggers embedded in it.
An awed and impressed expression washes over Alex's face after witnessing her highly trained, as well as deadly skill. True, she's seen Sarah in action to their escape from the underground Ring facility but to just watch her just now nonchalantly throwing a deadly weapons such as a dagger is frightening but at the same considered awesome she thinks to herself. After being rendered speechless for a moment, she speaks up.
"Has this room always been here?"
"It has." nodded Sarah.
"I take it Chuck, Travis and my father know as well."
"They do. Casey enjoys this room more than I do." she retorted. "When my dad gave them a tour of the plane a week before it was ready and showed them this room they nerded out. They wanted to make it a game room but Casey overruled them."
"You mean my dad threatened them."
Sarah quirks her right brow while softly grinning at her. Afterwards, Alex nods then looks around the room.
"Have you and Chuck ever..." A slow grin is expressed on Sarah's face. It was all the answered she need leading her to express a smile, as well as give off a faint chuckle. It's at that point she changes the subject. "Do you ever get scared going on missions? I know you've got a lot of experience and being afraid isn't part of the job description. You have to be fearless, brave, and make quick decisions or you'll end up dead. I wish I could be that right now." she shared with considerable trepidation on her part.
The happily married mother and wife lets Alex's question sink in as she watches Alex meander over to the table where the remaining daggers lay on the table. She observes her light touching each one then picks one up to where she notices her reacting in feeling not only the weight, but the texture of it as well. To her, the way she's holding it tells her that she's got some weapons handling and maybe even training herself since she's working in a government agency type setting. Her thoughts concerning her capabilities as a potential agent are set aside as she gives her response to her question.
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared regardless of how experienced government agent I was. If you don't embrace that fear you won't be able to be truly effective. You'd be deemed a liability in the field. I learned from experience and got beat up, as well as pushed to go beyond what I thought what I wasn't capable of achieving." she shared with the young woman. She pauses for a moment then continues on. "The fearlessness, bravery, and making quick decision is now what I go through now as a mom and a wife. I am scared shitless every moment of the day when it comes to my child and my husband because I want to protect them from everything and not second guess myself. Yet, I do but despite that they will always be the center of my world. I would fight for and die for them. Chuck would do the same." Sarah begins getting emotional thinking about her family. She restrains herself from crying and composes herself enough to continue on. "I know I won't always have the right answers and make the right choices as a parent. Its still a work in progress for me. Plus, what the world is like today I so want to wrap A.J. in a protective bubble. Yet, I know he can't be protected like that and will have to experience being fearless, brave, and making those quick decisions on his own. He'll get hurt in ever sense of the word. It's a given. What I hope for him is that he is able to rise above the hurt and learn from it as he grows up."
A smile grows on Alex's lips upon hearing what Sarah just shared while continuing to hold a dagger in her hand. She begins tapping the flat end of the dagger in the palm of her hand. "He will..." she firmly nodded. "...because he has some awesome role models to look up to." she added with encouraging reassurance.
Sarah takes a deep breath then gives an appreciative smile back towards her long time partner's daughter. After reaching to wipe way some tears that escaped from her eyes, her attention on Alex is then averted to the dagger currently being held in her right hand. "Imagine that target down there are all your worries, fears, and decision you're making about this mission. Will you second guess yourself and retreat because of fear or face it head on with fearless bravery knowing you're not always going to hit your target? What are you going to do?"
The question that Sarah poses to Alex leads the both of them momentary lock eyes with each other. They would break eye contact a few seconds later as she turns her attention to the target at the far end of the room. She glances down at the dagger in her hand and begins nodding to the point where she takes a deep breathe. It's not long before she does a slowly counter clock wise turn, rears back with her right hand, and sling the blade across the room. The dagger itself is embedded in the target amongst the other daggers previously thrown by Sarah.
XXX
"ETA 20 minutes till we hit the ground. We're flying flow to avoid radar detection."
"Roger that." responded Packard into his headset to the copter pilot. His attention is then turned to 3 men around him. "Time to get our heads in the game boys. Stay focused." he stated flashing his charming smile.
"Always am Pac." T.I. growled. He reaches up placing 1 hand on the top and other on the bottom of his head. He gets a firm grip and cracks his neck making circular motions making even more cracking noises. Afterwards he cracks his hands and then takes a deep breath as he flexes his seemingly massive shoulders to where he ends with grabbing his right wrist then left to crack them as well. This all happens in less than a minute and then adjusts the way he's seated in more comfortable but ready position.
"You know me..." Mackintosh answered expressing a demented, somewhat creepy smile. "...I enjoy game time." he added sparking up his taser.
Morgan raises both eyebrows but not significantly that it throws him off. Of course, to him, it all in the name of the challenge that he wasn't to see through to the very end. In his mind, to win is all that he's focused on and being to find a way to stay as calm as possible knowing how overly excited he can become when its potentially nearing the end of it. His thoughts concerning his hopeful victory in order to gloat in Casey's face is broken by the sound of Packard voice in his headset.
"So, you've had time to mull over the offer. You're choice take it or leave it. Personally..." he said with a relaxing shrug of his shoulders. "...I'd take it. It's a sweet deal."
Those 4 last words are considered enticing to his ears but in the whole scheme of things its merely a ploy to go off the right path to ultimately winning the challenge. So he gives him an answer that doesn't necessarily say he will or won't accept the deal. "I'll let you know once I see the part of the retirement you 3 have been talking about."
Packard's charming smile grows even wider after hearing that. "You want in?" he inquired glancing at his 2 cohorts who express smiles of their own.
"Not saying that. Just keeping my options open." he retorted back shrugging his shoulder.
"Smart man." responded Packard pointing at the small bearded man sitting next to him.
Packard's attention is then turned towards his 2 cohorts once again taking out paper with X markings on it and goes over strategy once they arrive. As they do, Morgan sits back and looks out the copter window but not before making a mental note of the paper in question.
Afterwards, he gazes out the window once again knowing he believes he playing out the challenge with the best of his ability and quite possibly outsmarting everybody in the process.
XXX
NOTE: HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER. STAY TUNED FOR MORE AS ITS GETTING CLOSE TO THE END! PLEASE REVIEW AND SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS!
