"Target confirmed, overwatch in position?"
"Affirmative."
"Garçon?"
"Rodger Dodger."
"Shut up, Moron."
"Fine, I'm in position."
"Let the games begin."
Sarah watched from her vantage point as Ryker made his way to the Kafe Tapki and took a seat by the window. Very soon after, he was approached by a member of the wait staff, a tall young man with dark, curly, hair and an easy smile who greeted Ryker in the local dialect and handed him a menu.
"Dobryy den', how may I serve you?" The young man inquired, pad and paper at the ready.
"I'll have the stroganoff and a black coffee," Ryker spoke without looking at the server, even when he passed the menu to the younger man.
"We'll have that right out for you," The server gave a short nod before taking his leave to deliver the order to the service window. Just as the young man returned with Ryker's meal, Sarah made her way to the Kafe and took a seat across from Ryker who paused, gravy covered noodle halfway to his mouth.
"I bet you're just wondering what I'm doing here, aren't you?" She gave him a knowing smile, "You're wondering how I knew to find you here and are thinking back over the mission reports in my file and asking yourself if I just did to your meal what I did to those French assassins."
"What do you want?" Ryker demanded, setting the uneaten fork of noodles back on his plate.
"I want a great many things," Sarah continued on in a placid tone as she pulled out one of her knives and began playing with it, "Your head on a pike would be a nice start, but sadly the Geneva convention precludes such a thing anymore. Of course, that just means I am forced to be a bit more creative with your punishment for the crimes you have committed."
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Ryker was attempting aloof machismo, but was failing miserably. "If you don't mind, I would like to get back to my meal."
"Fine then, have it your way, we can start with the big ones," Sarah's eyes grew ice cold as she flicked her wrist. The knife that had previously been in her hand now quivered from where it stuck out from the back of his chair, the blade missing his skin by less than a millimeter but he was now stuck to his chair by the blade's trajectory through the layers of his suit jacket and dress shirt. "Murder, attempted murder, attempted abduction of a child…"
"I believe that was you," Ryker pointed out, reaching over to remove the blade which was now embedded in is chair and failing to get it to budge.
"Conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit fraud, larceny, attempted grand larceny…" Sarah continued, "Oh yes and treason. For any one of these I could easily arrest you and have you deported to the United States to stand trial as all of these crimes were done, unsanctioned, while you were still a field agent with the CIA. The murder, and definitely the treason, will earn you a one-way ticket on an express train to Hell. I'd shoot a bullet straight into your head right now if I could, but this is a rather nice place, and I'd rather it not suffer due to a specific member of their clientele."
"And if I refuse to come with you?" Ryker challenged.
"I'm afraid you have no choice." Sarah gave him knowing look as Chuck, in his server's uniform, approached. Sarah smirked slightly at the jolt Ryker gave upon seeing the tall man approach.
Gone was the friendly smile, amiable nature, and warm brown eyes, instead, it seemed the man had added to his already tall frame in the few minutes the conversation with Agent Walker had taken. The man now looked rather intimidating, standing at his full height, his arms crossed over his broad chest, eyes dark, and a determined look on his face.
Sarah did her best to not smile at how Chuck's protective nature came out when it was even suggested that someone was trying to take advantage of her, Molly, or any of their family for that matter. She knew he would do anything to protect them, and with all the training he'd undergone with the CIA and NSA as well as the individualized training she and Casey had put him through, he was fully capable of doing just that, with or without her assistance. She also knew that he would let her take the lead as to how to respond to threats. He was secure enough in his skillset now to hold his own, but not so ego-driven that he did not know when to defer to Casey's or her own expertise.
"You didn't honestly think I would come alone, did you?" She challenged her former handler as a red dot appeared on his upper left chest where it would do the most damage with one shot but also was clearly visible in the rogue agent's periphery. "Let me introduce my team, Agent Charles Carmichael," She gestured with a flick of her wrist to the tall man behind her, "The firefly from hell sitting on your chest is Major John Casey of the NSA, and I, of course, need no further introduction. Do you find the team imposing? It's okay, you can be honest, we're going for imposing."
Ryker stared at her for a moment before speaking, "You did all this for some brat who was born with a silver spoon in their mouth?"
"You had her parents murdered," Sarah pointed out, "And you were going to have her murdered too, and for what? An inheritance that cannot be touched until she is a young adult. I've done my research, no matter how her parents' lives came to an end, she still cannot access it until she is 18 and enrolled in college, or if she decides to not attend college, until she is 21. You got greedy and sloppy and now you are going with us."
"Like hell I am!" Ryker yelled, surging forward, the sleeve of his shirt and jacket tearing away from the blade that held them to the chair. He pushed the table into Sarah to slow her chase and took off, Chuck hot on his heels.
"Walker, I still have eyes on," Casey reminded her, "What's your call?"
"Track but do not fire unless I give the go-ahead." Sarah replied into her comlink, not bothering to disguise the action on the deserted street.
"Rodger, tracking," Casey confirmed only to grunt, "I lost visual!"
Before Sarah could check in with Chuck the sound of a retort a cry of pain came from Ryker.
"Wasn't me, Walker," Casey reported.
"I lost sight of him when he…" They heard Chuck's voice cut out a moment, "Oh my God! Sarah, Casey, I need assistance over here! The target was hit, and is losing a lot of blood, I'm doing what I can to staunch the flow, but it doesn't look good."
"We'll be right there," Sarah responded, "Can you activate the transponder in your watch?"
"Already done," Chuck reported back.
Sarah activated the tracker on Chuck's watch and checked that his burner phone was in the same location before carefully making her way down the block to where Ryker was hit. She had just rounded the corner to find her boyfriend, gloves and jacket sleeves saturated in blood as he used his scarf to try to stop the bleeding, when another voice came over the line, "No need to rush, Mama Bear, target has been eliminated."
"Mom?" Chuck gasped into the com at the same time that Sarah and Casey asked "Frost?"
"I just couldn't let him go and run the risk of him going after any of my children and grandbabies." Mary shrugged from her sniper's nest in a nearby apartment building. "I already took care of the few remaining members of his crew, they wound up working for Volkoff, were sent on a mission to Ukraine and 'disappeared.'"
"Why do I get the feeling you disappeared them?" Chuck grumbled.
"Perhaps because I did," Mary's tone was light, "I know Ryker being dead means he can't be charged for his crimes, but this way prevents him from ever coming after our family again."
"You really shouldn't have done that," Chuck chided, "That was Sarah's call to make. We appreciate the assist regardless. I knew the moment he ran that Casey would have to put him down."
"Rodger that, Babbi out!" Came Mary's terse reply before her voice disappeared from coms.
Chuck checked Ryker's pulse again and felt nothing. He continued to put pressure on Ryker's wounds while Sarah worked frantically to get an ambulance to their location as she gave the man CPR.
"Damn it! Where's that ambulance?" She demanded.
"Sarah," Chuck's soft voice caught her attention, "He's gone, probably before either of us got here."
"Your mom jumped the gun," Sarah sighed.
"Is it still considered jumping the gun when you're the one holding it?" Chuck inquired only to be met with a flat look from his girlfriend, "Right, not the time for such an observation."
"There's never a time to bring up that observation," Sarah responded pointedly. "We need to call in the cleaners."
"Already done," Casey informed them, rounding the corner to the roadway where Ryker had fallen and taken his final breaths. "The paramedic unit who is responding is one of ours." He noticed the ambulance and a couple dark SUV's pull up, "Why don't you have someone take you back to the hotel to clean up? I've got this from here."
"Alright," Sarah nodded, exhaustion clear in her voice.
"Thanks, Big Guy," Chuck gave Casey a smile and nearly clapped him on the back only to pause when he realized the action was not a good idea for a plethora of reasons, the primary ones being that his hands were covered in blood that was not his own and that anyone who dare touch Casey should be prepared to pull back a bloody stump, and there was already too much blood spilt that afternoon.
An agent greeted them and offered them clean gloves and coats along with trash bags into which they could put their soiled items. Once they had changed their outerwear, they climbed into the back of the SUV to be driven back to their hotel. Sarah nearly falling asleep, her head on Chuck's shoulder as exhaustion and relief washed over her. She was safe, Molly was safe… they could now move on with their lives. She closed her eyes to rest for just a moment only to feel the sensation of Chuck shaking her while whispering in her ear that they had arrived at the hotel.
They took turns under the warm spray of the shower and settled into bed, wrapped up in each other's arms.
"So, where do we go from here?" Chuck asked, "Ryker is no longer an issue, Molly is safe…"
"I know we could bring her home now," Sarah sighed, snuggled up against Chuck's chest, "But as much as I would love to do that, I am standing by my decision to wait until the Volkoff situation is over and done with. I don't want her being used as a bargaining chip."
"Okay," Chuck kissed her head, "She's your daughter, it's your decision."
"No," Sarah sat up enough to look him in his beautiful hazel eyes, "It's our decision. You are going to be her father, after all… that is if you want to be." She ended with a shy smile and a slight blush.
The smile on Chuck's face could have lit all of the LA Metro area, "Oh, I want," He nodded eagerly, "But only if her mother is part of the deal."
"I think that can be arranged," Sarah gave him a playful smile and a peck on the lips.
"Is that all I merit, a quick peck on the lips?" Chuck teased.
"Did you have something better in mind?" She purred in his ear and was met with a boyish smile and a nod from her boyfriend, "Why don't you show me?"
"As you wish," Chuck flipped them over until Sarah was resting beneath him as he pressed soft kisses on her lips, along her jaw and down her neck, his arms encircling her in his warm embrace.
Soon, Chuck's ministrations grew more passionate as his hands began to move along Sarah's sides until they worked their way up under her sleep shirt which was soon pulled up and over her head and discarded randomly. His kisses began to slowly move south, tasting one breast and then the other in a concentrated effort to capture their unique flavor before continuing down her stomach to the waistline of her pajama pants.
"Uh-uh," Sarah shook her head, pulling him up level with her once more as she removed his shirt, letting her fingers tangle in the hair that covered his chest, "Now we're even."
"You want a level playing field, huh?" Chuck laughed lightly before levering himself up and sliding off the bed, enjoying the slight moan of frustration that his girlfriend let slip from her lips. He quickly dropped his sleep pants and removed hers before climbing back into the bed and pulling the covers up over them, "Now that everything is equal, may I continue?"
"Please do," She smiled at him as he slid lower beneath the covers and her eyes closed at his ministrations. The things the man could do with just his mouth and hands were awe inspiring, and that was just the warmup. Just when she thought she was about to shake apart from pleasure, he joined with her as they made love long into the night.
Since they were already traveling with their pilots, the travel arrangements to return to Burbank were easy to secure, they just had to make arrangements at the airports where they would need to stop for fuel and rest, and set up lodging for their overnight stay in London. A little more than two days after Ryker had been eliminated, their plane had landed and was taxiing to the private terminal at the Burbank Airport.
It had been a long travel day and all any one of them wanted to do was get some sleep. They all went their separate ways to enjoy the first of, hopefully, many nights to follow in their own beds. Chuck and Sarah, especially, wanted to make sure they got sufficient rest. They had plans to travel up to Elk Grove, just outside of Sacramento, the next day. They were both excited and nervous as to the impact this trip would have on their lives, in the present and the future.
It had been at the same time the easiest and hardest decision they'd had to make thus far as a couple. They'd spent hours on the plan ride from London to Philadelphia discussing it and had eventually agreed it was a step in the right direction.
They would be meeting their daughter, Chuck for the first time, and Sarah for the first time since she'd dropped the girl off with her mother several months before. In some ways the threat of Volkoff helped, since they couldn't bring Molly home yet, but with Ryker no longer an issue, they were free to visit the girl when they could. In the long run, it would hopefully be helpful in reducing any potential stress or trauma on Molly when the time came to officially transition her from her grandmother's home to living with her parents.
Arriving at their condo, they showered and got into their pajamas. Sarah unpacked the suitcases and Chuck gathered their clothes to toss them in the washing machine. As soon as the laundry had been transferred to the dryer and the machine started, he joined Sarah in bed.
"I am so tired, but I don't know if I'll be able to sleep," Sarah murmured, snuggling into Chuck's arms.
"Anxious?" Chuck hummed, pulling her closer.
"Yeah, what if she hates me?" Sarah asked.
"She won't hate you," Chuck assured her, "It may take a little while for her to be fully comfortable with you, with us, but you are amazing. She's very lucky to have you as a mom. When she's older, and able to understand everything that had to happen so that she could be home with us, I have no doubt she'll know how truly cherished she is."
Sarah lay on his chest, letting his words sink in as she enjoyed the rumble of his voice as he spoke, vibrating against her cheek and ear. "How do you always know the right thing to say to put me at ease?"
"Unadulterated luck," Chuck shrugged, "I speak from the heart, our brains mess things up more often than not."
"I'm still nervous about seeing her again," Sarah sighed.
"Me too," Chuck agreed, pressing a soft kiss to her heard, "But any sane, rational, person would be when starting that journey to grow their family by adding a child."
"It kinda feels like we're doing this inside out and backwards," She murmured.
"A quick trip to Vegas could easily rectify that," Chuck offered, "It's not ideal, but it would get the job done."
"Are you proposing?" Sarah teased.
"No, that would require a DeLorean, a white steed, and a Maserati," Chuck shook his head, "I may need to update that plan from the one I drew up when I was twelve, though. Either way, you'll definitely know when I propose to you. That being said, I'm kind of nervous about when that time comes."
"You shouldn't be," Sarah shifted to look into his eyes, "I have it on good authority the response would be a positive one."
"Good to know," He gave her an abbreviated version of his knee melting, toe curling, smile, "Now try to get some sleep, we have a long trip ahead of us in the morning."
"Okay," Sarah agreed, laying back down, "But I may need you to hold me so that I can sleep."
"As you wish," His low voice sent shivers of warmth over her body as he wrapped his arms around her once more, giving her a moment to find a comfortable position before they drifted off to sleep.
