A/N: Back again like a bad penny. Hey, guys and gals. Thanks for sticking with me. This is the beginning of the twenty-ninth arc of the story, which I'm calling the Yama Twins Arc. It's based, sort of, on Chuck vs. The Best Friend (season 2, episode 14). It features the return of Mei-Ling Cho, a fan favorite.
A/N2: Oh, and you know what I'm going to say. About ownership of Chuck, that is.
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Metropolitan Detention Center, Los Angeles, California (Federal Custody)
Ben Lo Pan sat in his wheelchair surrounded by three other members of the White Dragon Triad and watched the wall mounted television. The honor and respect he was due from the other men was not diminished by his incarceration. He was still the Mountain Master.
There was a news program airing and the pretty vapid blonde woman was explicating the day's events. "The video of the incident at Castle Studios between Mr. Benjamin Mattock and Mr. Harry Weinberg has gone viral on social media. Notwithstanding what the video seems to show, Mr. Weinberg has taken the position that he is the victim. Although Mr. Mattock has thus far declined to comment, this afternoon Castle Studios issued a brief statement." The woman began to quote from the press release, "Castle Studios deplores the use of violence of any kind to resolve personal disputes. It is hoped that society can learn the appropriate lessons from this unfortunate incident. Castle Studios wishes all parties injured by the recent incidents a speedy recovery. Castle will make no further statements or comments regarding this matter."
The man next to Lo Pan said, in Mandarin, "I heard that fat slob got his balls cut off." The men laughed heartily at the man's misfortune.
Another man said, also in Mandarin, "They say he raped the other man's daughter."
"Then he deserved what he got," said another one. "Karma."
The program changed to a story about the upcoming Chinese-American summit between the outgoing President, George W. Bush, and the Chinese President Hu Jintao. Although uninterested in the details of the summit, Lo Pan nonetheless watched the screen with fascination.
It was the agents of those two men who had tricked him into his long confessional diatribe and, as a result, placed him here in this cursed cage. He was still disappointed with himself that he'd fallen into the egotistical trap of explaining himself to an enemy. He would not make that mistake again, having learned the painful lesson. Of course, his attorneys indicated that the overwhelmingly likely result of the upcoming trial would be his incarceration for the balance of his life. A pessimistic prediction.
What the authorities didn't comprehend was the freedom that granted him, as counter-intuitive as it might seem. Without fear of penalty, he could act as he might wish to, unimpeded by other concerns. Even if they managed to thwart some plans of his and once again tried him for them, they could not increase his sentence in any meaningful way, especially as he would welcome the death penalty.
Given the freedom he now enjoyed, he watched the video clips of the two leaders who had, indirectly, led to his downfall. The unfairness of it irritated him. That they should be free to roam the earth while he was confined wasn't just. An idea came to him. He decided that the summit in Washington, D.C. would be the ideal time to remedy that situation.
His communications with the outside world were closely monitored by the prison authorities. All except the conversations with his attorney, of course, which was protected by attorney client privilege. The man was a loyal member of the Triad and would pass on the message as necessary. The White Dragons would contact the Yama Twins. Although it was only on a few days' notice, and would therefore be quite expensive, Lo Pan intended to invite them to the summit.
The story on the news channel changed to a discussion of a woman in the Midwest of the United States who had found an image of Jesus Christ burned into her morning toast. Lo Pan stopped paying any attention whatsoever.
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Late afternoon the same day, Hotel San Mateo, Los Angeles, California
Ellie and Sarah sat on the outdoor terrace of the Hotel looking at the beach. The late-ish summer day was beautiful. Sunny and dry, with a pleasant breeze off the ocean. They were idly watching people swimming, cycling, jogging, or just sitting on the sand and soaking in the sun. There was one shirtless man rollerblading with what seemed to be a pet pig on a leash. It made Ellie happy that she was a California girl and Sarah happy that she'd found a home there.
Shorts and tee-shirts. Sandals. Big sunglasses. A floppy hat for Ellie and a Dodgers baseball cap for Sarah. Leaning back into their chairs, legs crossed, sandals flopping carelessly off their toes.
There were eight open bottles of wine in front of them, four white and four red. The whites were in an ice bucket, but the others were sitting out naked. The ladies were tasked with selecting one variety of each to serve at the wedding reception. The grooms had delegated the arduous task to them, and they fully intended to fulfill their responsibilities to the utmost.
"I like this one," said Ellie after a taste of one of the whites.
"Grapefruit," said Sarah, nodding and appreciating it. "Nice and crisp."
"Yeah."
"When are we checking out the cakes? Is that Thursday or Friday?" asked Sarah.
"Friday, I think," said Ellie. "And we have to spend some time on the guest list too. Lots of stuff going on. And the guest list is a big thing."
Sarah blew out a noisy breath and said, "Yeah. We've got a lot to do for sure. And I want to plan something for Chuck's birthday, too," said Sarah.
"I thought you were taking him out for dinner," said Ellie. "Little Dom's, right?"
"Yeah, that's right, but I figure we'll do something with the family too," said Sarah. "Just an at home celebration kind of thing. Have you guys come over, you know. And then I want to surprise him with another nice dinner out for our anniversary." Ellie gave Sarah a look and Sarah said, laughing, "Of our first date. When I fell in love with your brother and didn't even know it yet. I mean, it wasn't a real date...well, at least it didn't start out to be. My mission was to find out what happened with the information Bryce had emailed him. That lasted about halfway through the dinner." Sarah started to chuckle. "But by the end of the night..." Sarah grinned wickedly, looking out into the endless Pacific, "...by the end of the night, it was the single best one night stand I'd ever had."
"Ughh...TMI, this is my brother we're talking about here," said Ellie, but with a grin of her own. She threw a balled-up cocktail napkin at her friend.
"And then we found out about the Intersect and Langston changed my mission to stay and work with him and...and it was the greatest thing that ever happened to me." Sarah smiled happily and finished her glass of wine, reaching for the next bottle. "And it still is. Hey, you ready to try this one?"
"Yeah, I am. Give it here. But you touched upon a rough topic a second ago."
"Hummm?" asked Sarah, taking another sip.
"The guest list. What are we going to do about Larkin?" asked Ellie. "You guys are working with him again. He's back on your spy team and he's Chuck's friend."
Sarah gave out a long sigh. "Yeah. I know. I'll be honest, El. I've thought about it. I don't want him at my wedding," she said seriously. "He's just too much of an asshole."
"Here, here," said Ellie, clicking glasses with Sarah. "I don't want him there either."
"Ok. But that's going to be tough on Chuck. As you said, he's Chuck's friend."
"I know. I'll talk to him. Tell him we discussed it and don't want him there," said Ellie.
"No. No, you won't. I'll talk to him. It's a joint decision, but I'll explain it," said Sarah. "When it comes to explaining shit to Devon, that's on you. Talking to Chuck. That's on me."
"Ok. That's fair. But think about using me as the excuse. 'Jeez, Chuck, I'd love to, but Ellie won't let me.'" Both women dissolved into a fit of giggles, only slowed when one of them reached for and poured from the next bottle of wine.
After it had been poured, Sarah said, "Tempting, but I have to be man enough to take responsibility...Hey, you ever think about that? The English language? To be a responsible person is 'to be a man' about something? What the fuck? As if the lack of a penis makes us less able to take responsibility for our own shit?"
"I'm with you," said Ellie, pouring another glass of wine.
"And anyway, I think it will end up ok. He's Chuck," said Sarah. "He'll understand. We both know it."
"Yeah," said Ellie. "He's Chuck. I don't know how he does it, to be honest."
"Me either. But I'm the world's biggest beneficiary of it, so you won't find me complaining," said Sarah.
"How so?" asked Ellie.
"His forgiveness. His understanding. After everything I've done. He still forgives me and loves me. Hell, Ellie, I murdered an unarmed woman in cold blood who was begging for her life. Fucking begging. I murdered her right in front of Chuck and it didn't make a dent in his love for me. Most people..."
"When was that?" asked Ellie.
"The night you got engaged," said Sarah.
"The Fulcrum woman who learned that Chuck had the Intersect?"
"Yeah," said Sarah.
"So, you killed this woman to protect my brother?"
"Well...yeah..." said Sarah.
"Hummmpppffff," said Ellie with a serious look at Sarah, taking a big gulp of her wine. "Seems to me you deserve a medal, not any approbation."
"Thanks, El. I think Chuck sees it the same way," said Sarah. "But, you know, I do have my … own concerns..."
"Of course, you do, Sarah. Because you are a normal person. I don't care what you tell yourself when the lights are out and you are staring at the ceiling. You are a good, normal person. You aren't a psychopath who kills without consequence, nor are you a PTSD patient suffering after every mission. You are in the middle, like most people. You ever think about chatting in therapy about this stuff?"
"No...I talk to Chuck...that's all I need," said Sarah, shading her eyes against the setting sun.
"Good. That makes sense," said Ellie. "Hey, I like this one too."
"Yeah," said Sarah, pouring some more wine. "Let me know when you want to move on to the reds."
"Soon, I think," said Ellie. "Hey, the sunset is going to be spectacular."
The sky was beginning to turn a nice shade of rose as the sun sank to bathe itself in the endless ocean.
Out of the blue, Sarah said, "You want kids? With Devon, you want kids?"
"Absolutely. Two or three. Looking forward to it. We are going to go off birth control after the wedding. Not consciously trying, but not NOT trying, if you know what I mean," said Ellie. "How about you?"
Sarah paused, as if she was thinking hard about her answer. She finished a glass of wine and said, "Yeah. We do. I do. We talked about it when we were taking care of the Molly situation. I do want them. I'm just not sure I want them as fast as he does. Or you do, for that matter. He'd be ready to try right away. I'd want to wait a bit. I mean...I'm not against it or anything...it's just that..."
"Don't tell me," said Ellie. "You want some time alone first."
"Damn, girl. How did you do that?" asked Sarah, truly surprised at her friend's understanding.
"It's not too hard to put myself into your shoes. You are feeling what I would be feeling if the situation was different. You guys are just together a year. You've not had nearly as long as Dev and I have had to … I don't know...solidify ourselves. You want to do that before adding another person to the family mix."
"Exactly. Chuck isn't as hesitant as I am, but you totally nailed my concern. And...I don't know that I'll make a good mom. That worries me too, to be honest," said Sarah.
"Of course, it does. Welcome to the club. But think about it for a moment, Sar. Who thinks they are going to be a good parent when the kid arrives? Only deluded egotists. Everyone else...everyone...the kid is born and they say 'Holy shit, what do I do now?' My parents. Your parents. Everyone."
"That sounds right, when I think of it," said Sarah, after a few moments thought and some more wine.
"Exactly. And, just to bring this into totally fucked up territory, all you and I have to do is do better than our own parents and we'll be ahead in the game."
Sarah nodded. "Wise words indeed. But my mom was ok. She didn't fuck up. Hey, did I tell you that she found a house?"
"No. Where?" asked Ellie.
"Sunset Canyon. Still in Burbank, so it's only a few minutes away. Big old Mission-style thing. I haven't seen it yet, but it looks pretty from the pictures. And it's got a big pool in the backyard, so Molly will love it."
"Fantastic. Using the proceeds from the sale of the house in Pennsylvania?"
"Nope. That deal didn't close yet. Andy's money came through. She's flush," said Sarah.
"She have any idea of what she's going to do with all that money?" asked Ellie.
"She's been talking about making donations to the Carmichael Foundation. But that just moves the problem aside. If the Foundation has a bunch of money, then we have to decide what to do with it. Those aren't easy decisions," said Sarah.
"No, but they are great problems to have," said Ellie. "I think I'm ready to try the reds. You?"
Sarah drained the wine in her glass and said, "Yeah. Let's do it."
"Too bad Chuck and Devon are missing this," said Ellie with a grin.
"More wine for us," said Sarah laughing, pouring the first of the reds. After a taste she said, "Oh, this is good."
"What's Chuck up to anyway?" asked Ellie. "You said he loved the scuba lessons."
"Totally. He's comfortable in the water. And you know him. He devoured all the science and gear aspects. A dive computer, for God's sake. How cool is that? We did the classroom and the pool stuff and have to schedule an open water check-out to get the Open Water Certification – the C-card."
"You were already certified, right?"
"Yeah, but I did it again to keep him company. And it can't hurt anyway," said Sarah with a shrug. "Refresher."
"And work for him? How's that?"
"He's chewing on the Orion problem. A lot He knows the man is still out there and he's determined as fuck to find him. I don't know what his plan is yet, but he's working on one. Gonna be really, really subtle." Sarah said the last bit in an almost whisper, with a grin.
"A trap?" asked Ellie.
"I'm sure. We have something that others who've been looking for him for years don't have. We have bait," said Sarah.
"Chuck?"
"No, the Intersect program," said Sarah.
"We're still working on it offline, as Chuck directed. And still sending around pissed off emails in case Orion is reading those," said Ellie.
"Yeah. I think that's what Chuck is counting on. We'll see, I guess."
Ellie gave a frustrated sigh and said, "Been a long time. I'd really love to get through to this guy. The whole faking his death thing is frustrating as shit. I think maybe I'm going to pester Langston a bit. Maybe get him to assign somebody to start from scratch or something. I have a feeling that my Intersect removal tech is so damn close...but just not there yet."
"Great idea. Get some eager young agent to look at the oldest leads or something," said Sarah.
"I'll drink to that," said Ellie, finishing her glass of wine and pouring another.
Some hours later, the sun was down and night had fallen when Chuck arrived at the hotel to pick up his giggling sister and his equally giggling fiancé, who were both pleasantly hammered after innumerable glasses of wine.
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A/N3: There was no such Presidential summit in the fall of 2008. In fact, the worst economic crisis in several generations was coming to a climax at exactly this time. POTUS was quite focused on other things.
A/N4: A good friend mentioned lately that I keep characterizing Sarah and Ellie as best friends, but I never seem to show them hanging out and doing best friend things together. That was the inspiration for this conversation. Just two of my favorite ladies, getting delightfully drunk and keeping each other company. What does everyone think?