A/N: Ok, so this is story idea I have had in my head for a bit. I was somewhat inspired by klipdoctor's 'Green Feet' series and Sarah vs a Navy War hero. Both of which I enjoyed and recommend. I plan this to be a multi chapter story and will complete it, just not sure when. I am still working on Betrayal updates, so not to worry.
A/N2: I have done my best to try and make this as authentic and accurate as I can. Most of that knowledge is coming from friends who served, television, movies, and books. Again, this is a fictional story, so I have taken some liberties, but for the military side of things, I have tried to be as accurate as possible.
A/N3: Shane Patton was a Navy Seal who died in Operation Red Wings, when the chinook helicopter he and his platoon were on was shot down when they were coming as a Quick Reaction Force to save 4 fellow Seals under fire. You can read more about that in the book 'Lone Survivor' or the movie by the same name. I highly recommend the book.
A/N4: Trying something different as I saw someone else in another story do this. So, I included the cast of characters, so thought I would include whom I would cast. Not sure if it helps or hurts. Let me know your thoughts.
No Beta, all errors are my own.
I don't own Chuck / Nor have any rights to characters portrayed
Cast of characters:
Lt Commander Eric Blackburn – Judd Lormand
Master Chief PO Jim Scarpetti – Christopher Meloni
Senior Chief PO Chuck Bartowski (1) – Zachary Levi
Chief PO Lincoln Cole (2) – Lance Gross
Petty Officer Shane Patton (3) – Justin Bruening
Petty Officer Spencer Steele (4) – Justin Melnick
Petty Officer Matt Cersosimo (5) – Max Thieriot
Petty Officer Brian Foster (6) – AJ Buckley
Petty Officer David Choi (7) – Ian Anthony Dale
Petty Officer Christie Thomas – Tracy Spiridakos
CIA Officer Zondra Rizzo – Mercedes Mason
CIA Officer Sarah Walker – Yvonne Strahovski
CIA Officer Bryce Larkin – Matt Bomer
DEA Agent Carina Miller – Mini Anden
CIA Director Langston Graham – Tony Todd
NSA Director General Diane Beckman – Bonita Friederacy
NSA Major John Casey – Adam Baldwin
NSA Captain Rick Noble – Isaiah Mustafa
NSA Captain Victoria Dunwoody – Stacy Keibler
FBI Special Agent Asa Shin – Gemma Chan
Ellie Bartowski/Woodcomb – Sarah Lancaster
Devon Woodcomb – Ryan McPartlin
Morgan Grimes – Josh Gomez
Abbreviations:
MC- Master Chief
LT – Lieutenant
PO- Petty Officer
Chapter 1
Echo Park – February 2002
Chuck found himself sitting in his sisters, and now his apartment (again). He couldn't believe all his hard work had been for nothing. He had been expelled from Stanford for supposedly cheating on a test he didn't cheat on, and for supposedly selling an answer key he had never seen before. Not only that, but his best friend and roommate was the one who turned him in. Bryce's last words to him before he left the frat house for the last time, "you did this to yourself," he said. What the fuck did that mean? He didn't do anything wrong, but Stanford wouldn't even give him a academic hearing. To top it off, Jill broke up with him and he heard from his frat brothers apparently, she was now fucking Bryce Larkin. As if that asshole hadn't done enough to ruin his life.
He couldn't stop thinking about the look on Ellie's face when he she picked him up at the train station. He sadness, disappointment in her expression, she tried to hide it from him, but Chuck knew his big sister too well. All the hard work, odd jobs, all she had sacrificed for him after their parents had left. All Chuck wanted to do was make his sister proud of him, and then this happened. 12 credits shy of a dual degree in computer science and electrical engineering. Now, after all that hard work, he was probably going to have to go back to the BuyMore, the types of jobs thought he would go after required a degree, one, at least for now he didn't have.
It had been a week since he came home, he had spoken to Big Mike, he had been sorry to hear what had happened, Big Mike had known Chuck for 6 years from him working at the BuyMore in the summers and knew the allegations couldn't be true. At the same time, he was all too happy for Chuck to come back to run the Nerd Herd for him. Chuck had been out at the Santa Monica pier by himself, Morgan was working, and Chuck hadn't started back yet. He was just sitting on one of the benches, more people watching than anything. The salt in the air was a refreshing smell. Behind him, he heard a couple of people having a conversation, they turned out to be off duty Navy, stationed at Seal Beach down the way in Orange County. Chuck couldn't help but listen, they were Nerds, just like him. Something one of them said had garnered Chuck to laugh, then he was caught, he had been eavesdropping on their conversation. Chuck introduced himself and they likewise. Sam Ponder and Brian were both Petty Officers, Second class stationed at Naval Station Seal Beach. Sam Ponder was from New York and Brian McLaughlin from Houston, Texas. Chuck ended up speaking and spending the rest of the day with the 2 petty officers. They had a lot in common and they explained why they joined, both straight out of high school. The Navy had been the right choice for them. Sam Ponder wanted to be a Navy Seal but didn't make it through Basic Underwater Demolition or BUDs, the sort of intro to SEAL training. At the end of the day, Chuck, Sam Ponder, and Brian had exchanged contact information, and all went their own way. When Chuck got back to Ellie's, he was having a crazy idea. After his discussion with Sam Ponder and Brian, he thought something like Naval Intelligence, or working in Naval Engineering could be a lot of fun. It wouldn't make him a software millionaire like he had once planned, but he would be able to help make a difference, be part of a team, and from what both Sam Ponder and Brian said, allowed for career growth. Even if Chuck didn't want to be career Navy, being a veteran could add good experience and look good to employer's post Navy career if he so chose. He had decided he was going to see the Navy recruiter's office down near the BuyMore, couldn't hurt to have a conversation and get a little more information. He knew Ellie would hate this idea, but Chuck was a grown man, at 22, he knew himself, if he didn't explore this, he might spiral down and waste 5 years of his life at the BuyMore. Plus, this would keep his mind busy, if he joined, he wouldn't have time to waste time thinking about Bryce Larkin or Jill Roberts. He would wait to see what the recruiter said before speaking with Ellie.
The next day Chuck had met with the Navy recruiter, a Lieutenant Harris, he seemed to be a good man and had a lot of good information, he had been in the Navy 17 years and loved it. Chuck told him he had been kicked out of college for something he didn't do. Lieutenant Harris said something that stuck with Chuck, 'the navy doesn't care where you came from or what you did. The navy cares about what you can do.' He told Chuck he could see the world and go as far as he wanted to go. He had to work hard, follow direction, and take orders. In truth, Lieutenant Harris was impressed with Chuck, he wanted to look into his background, but the Navy didn't get a lot of Stanford grads, or even almost grads. Chuck had spoken how he thought intelligence or engineering would be the best fit. Chuck had made the decision to sign up. As he had continued the discussion, Lieutenant Harris brought up SEAL training. Now Chuck didn't seem like the type to Harris, but as Chuck had told Chuck his story, parents leaving he and his sister, how they avoid CPS all those years and got a full scholarship to Stanford, Harris felt if what Chuck was saying was true, he and his sister might be 2 of the most remarkable people he had ever heard of. The Teams could use people like Chuck Bartowski, the resilience he spoke of, and the fact he didn't think it was all that special, impressed him even more. Chuck looked at Harris like he was crazy, SEAL training wasn't something Chuck Bartowski thought he could do. When Harris told him about a SEALs need to be resilient and think outside of the box, they seemed like things that Chuck had experience with. But he could never pass the training, could he? Chuck always liked to take on a challenge, but most of those were mental challenges, not physical. The more he thought about it, Chuck realized while of course there was a physical element to being a Navy SEAL, it was just as much mental, if not more. In Chuck's enlistment contract it included an invitation to Basic Underwater Demolition (BUDs), if he couldn't make it, he would move over to Naval Intelligence. What did he have to lose?
Chuck was slated to report in April for basic training. That meant he had about 6 weeks to work on getting in shape. He knew Devon would help him; he would put together an Awesome work out regiment. He would have to tell Big Mike he wasn't coming back, but hopefully could work part time before he had to report. Fortunately, Chuck had qualified for some sign on bonuses, so he didn't need to work full time till he reported. The hard part would be telling Ellie, she would be angry, but he needed to do this.
Chuck had spoken to Big Mike and was surprised at how understanding and warm he was about everything, he told Chuck he was proud of him, and no man had said that to Chuck since before his dad left. He would have loved having Chuck there, but he understood, and thought was Chuck was doing was special. It just meant he would have to work a little more than he would have had Bartowski come back. The conversation with Ellie had gone about as Chuck expected. She was furious, what was he thinking, signing up for the Navy, while Ellie respected those who served, it wasn't for Chuck. Chuck thought back to the conversation.
"Ellie, it's something I need to do. It gives me a purpose. If I don't do this, what am I going to do, sit around here, encroaching on you and Devon, spiraling for the next 5 years. Now, I have signed on to the Navy for 5 years and when my enlistment comes up, I can decide what to do then." Chuck finished.
"NO, Chuck I respect the military, you know that. But joining the Navy? Are you insane? You're a nerd, not a soldier. We're in a war, what happens if they send you to Iraq of Afghanistan?" Ellie said exasperated.
"I'll go where they tell me to go El. Ellie, I love you, you have done so much, I want to make you proud. Since what happened at Stanford, I don't know what to do. I can't get a job I want; we both know if I go to the BuyMore I'll be there for a while. This will make me grow up, maybe if I had been a little more grown up, I would have seen what happened, coming." He said.
"Chuck, I don't want to lose you. Joining the military during a war, the chances of you being in danger. Please, don't do it. You're the only family I have left."
She was pulling out all the stops, pulling the only family left card was low, but she was desperate.
"Ellie, I have already signed the contract, I report in mid-April for basic training. Look, I don't know where they will send me or what I'll end up doing. I have applied to Naval Intelligence, engineering, and the Corpsman program. Who knows, I could end up like you and Devon saving lives. The only thing I can promise is I will do everything I can to come back. But El, this is something I have to do for me." Chuck said, trying to make his point. He had no intention of dying, but he knew it was always possible, especially if he made it through SEAL training. He wasn't going to tell her anything about the SEALs unless he made it through BUDs, which everyone including himself didn't think he would actually get through it.
John Wayne Airport – April 2002
Today was the day, Chuck had his duffle bag packed, ticket in hand. He had brought a laptop, some comics, iPod, but he was packed and ready to go. He had spent the last 6 weeks spending time with Ellie, Devon, and Morgan, trying to enjoy the time he had, as he didn't know what would happen once, he left. Devon had been great, very supportive of Chuck's decision, he told him he was proud of him, which meant a lot to Chuck. He had also put together a training program for him. It was a crash course in cardio and strength training, but even in the short time, Chuck had gotten into the best shape of his life. While that may not seem like much, Chuck was happy. He felt better prepared for basic training. The 3 people that meant the most to him were there to see him, Morgan, Devon, and Ellie. The goodbyes started.
"What am I going to do without Chuck? Things will never be same, will they?" Morgan said, emotion in his voice.
"Probably not buddy, but change is good. It's like when I went to Stanford, you'll do great Morgan, make me proud." Chuck said, showing the confidence in his friend no one else ever did.
"I won't let you down Chuck. Be safe." Morgan said as they had a tight hug.
Next was Devon, he really was Captain Awesome.
"Proud of you Chuck, I think what your doing is great, it's going to be awesome." Devon said.
Chuck laughed and pulled Devon into a hug, "Thanks Devon, for everything. Take care of Ellie, and if you could keep an eye on Morgan, I would appreciate it." Chuck said, getting a little more emotional.
"You got it bro. Be safe." Devon finished.
Finally, it was time to say goodbye to his sister, the women who took the responsibility of taking care of him when she was 12, she was so much more than just his sister, she was the most important person in his life.
"Well, El this is it. I love you.' Chuck said.
Ellie was very emotional, tears pooling in her eyes. She had done everything she cold to try to get Chuck to change his mind, but like her, once their mind was made up it was almost impossible to change them.
"I love you little brother, promise me you won't try and be a hero, come home safe." Ellie said, he voice racked with emotion.
"El, I promise I will do everything I can to come home. Besides, I'm not really the hero type." Chuck said, trying to add some levity to the emotional goodbye.
"I love you Chuck, be safe, don't be a hero, you don't have anything to prove." Ellie finished.
"I love you Ellie, thank you for everything. I will talk to you soon." Chuck finished with tears starting to pool in his eyes as well.
He picked up his bags and waved to his family and was off. Not knowing what would happen, but excited to see where things were going.
Naval Special Warfare Command (DEVGRU)– Dam Neck, Virginia - February 2010
Newly minted Senior Chief Petty Officer Charles Bartowski was walking through the Naval Special warfare command building to Black squadron, Bravo Teams sensitive compartmented information facility or SCIF conference room for short. Black Squadron specialized in intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, and assault. Of the different DEVGRU squadrons, Black squadron is the most well versed. Each squadron was made of up to 5 platoons, designated as Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo. Each platoon is mixed with officers and enlisted of up to 7-8 operators and differing number of support staff. Chuck wasn't sure what they were getting into, but Bravo was on call and being spun up, so something big was going on.
Chuck had been part of DEVGRU, or Seal Team 6 to the public since late 2004. To his own surprise, he made it through BUDs class 238. Of 162 men at the start of training, 24 made it through. While some were injured and would come back in another class, the rest rang the bell. Of all the things at the time Chuck had done, he was most proud that he didn't ring the bell. At times, he might have wished for death, but he had promised himself he would not give up. Something that he learned from Ellie. Of course, when Chuck called and invited Ellie, Devon, and Morgan to his BUDs graduation in Coronado, she about hit the roof. When Ellie found out her brother had graduated and was a Navy SEAL, she was beside herself. Eventually, once she calmed down, and she saw the other families, she was beaming with pride, only 15% of the class made it through, and Chuck was one of them. They were definitely going to talk about this at some point. What really impressed her as the change in him, not just the physical, he body looked more like Devon than she could have ever imagined, but the confidence. She might never admit it out loud, but maybe the Navy was a good move for him. From BUDs, Chuck moved onto sniper and corpsman training. In talking with his BUDs instructors, they told him the more he could do, more operations he would be on. Chuck while not technically the communications or tech guy, could do those without much training, but snipers and corpsman were always needed. Chuck had been taken under the wing of Master Chief Petty officer Matt Todd, a veteran of 16 years in the teams. He too was a corpsman and sniper. He liked Chuck, saw a lot of potential where others might not, he thought the kid could be special. His initial assignment was to Seal Team 3 in Coronado, California. After almost 18 months, he decided to try out for DEVGRU, Chuck had had the opportunity to work with DEVGRU on a few ops, where they needed someone who spoke Pash Tu, which Chuck had learned on Team 3s first deployment. He watched the DEVGRU guys work and saw they were as good as advertised. Because of his outstanding record, he was invited try out earlier than most SEALs, they usually went for more veteran operators. Chuck couldn't be sure, but he felt Matt Todd might have had something to do with that. Chuck went through Green team, which is the tryout and training for DEVGRU. At the end, the different platoons are put into a pool and 'draft' the operator they want. While everyone wanted to go first, Chuck was actually chosen 3rd to Black Squadron, Bravo Platoon. When Lieutenant Commander Blackburn and Master Chief Jeff Thomas asked Chuck why they should pick him, Chuck made it simple. "If you want the flashiest, biggest, fastest, or the strongest guy, that's not me. If you want someone who will always have your six, be a steady gun, someone who thinks outside of the box, and never gives up, I'm your guy." That, along with his scores, is what landed Chuck Bartowski on Bravo team. Over the years he had made his way up the chain of command. He had a Navy crosses for heroism, a purple heart, as well as multiple other citations. He had made Chief Petty Officer faster than anyone in the Teams. His latest promotion was in part a response for saving some aid workers and a CIA officer on a classified mission. He was currently the team lead for Bravo team, he had been in command of the platoon since Master Chief Jim Scarpetti had been out with a injuries sustained in combat. While he was able to work with the team from a planning standpoint, he was not cleared to be in the field, and there was question if he ever would be. The bosses, along to Lt Commander Blackburn decided to keep team cohesion, it would be best to elevate Bartowski, who had been the 2IC, and go with that. If and when MC Scarpetti could return to operating, it would be an easy transition, they knew Chuck would make sure of that. The other reason was, all of Naval Special Warfare command saw something in Bartowski, he was special, and they wanted to give him the chance to show them what he could do. He was a natural leader, even if he didn't seem to notice. Because of this, for the last 6 weeks Chuck had been and would remain to be Bravo 1.
Chuck placed his iPhone in the lock box outside of the SCIF and entered. The rest of the team was already in and waiting. Lieutenant Commander Blackburn was already at the head of the room with MC Scarpetti, their Naval Intelligence officer petty officer Christie Thomas, another dark-haired woman that Chuck recognized as CIA Officer Zondra Rizzo. A little over 5 months ago, Rizzo had been captured in Afghanistan, and Bravo had been tasked with her rescue. While Rizzo had taken some punishment, Bravo had been able to get to her before anything really bad had happened. Chuck, being the lead corpsman on the team had spent the most time with Rizzo after they rescued her, she flew back with them on the C-17 they used when spun up. He liked Zondra, she seemed like a someone he could be friends with. Maybe even date. Chuck had always been hesitant to date because he felt guilty of bringing someone into this life, he had seen from his friends who were married, it was tough on the spouses. Chuck was not a virgin, he had more than a few one nightstand, but people that weren't in the military or intelligence business, really couldn't understand. Chuck was brough out of his thought as Petty Officer Matt Cersosimo (Bravo 5) or Saus as they called him started the team in a round of applause.
"Sr Chief Bartowski on deck." He said sarcastically as he stood up clapping. The rest of the team got up, all clapping and poking fun at their team lead and friend. They all knew Chuck pushed back on the promotion, didn't feel he earned it or deserved it, but command and the team felt differently. Saus, was Chucks best friend in the teams, like Chuck he was trained Corpsman and Sniper. They worked well together and had met on Team 3, Saus joining up after Chuck. The rest of the team consisted of Chief Petty Officer Lincoln Cole (Bravo 2) who when Chuck became team lead took his previous role of 2!C, Petty Officer Shane Patton (Bravo 3), Petty Officer Spencer Steele (Bravo 4), Petty Officer Brian Foster (Bravo 6), and their DEVGRU rookie Petty Officer David Choi (Bravo 7).
Chuck grinned at the applause and good-natured ribbing.
"Stow it Saus." Then tuning to Lt Commander Blackburn and MC Scarpetti, "please continue sir, apologies for being late."
"You're not Chuck, have a seat," Blackburn said, as Chuck took his seat. "We have gotten intelligence that 2 CIA officers have been captured and are most likely being tortured in the jungles of Columbia. We have a small window to get in there and get them out before they are either killed or sold to North Korea or the Taliban. I'll turn it over to PO Thomas and her CIA colleague, you all should remember CIA Officer Rizzo, we gave her a ride a few months back." Blackburn finished.
Christie took over the briefing, "ok Bravo this is what we have on the compound and area we believe they are being held, it is a large private compound in Puerto Rey, Columbia. It's just north of Cartagena. It is deep in the jungle, so no easy in or out. We have ISR overhead, but because of the thickness of the jungle, it's hard to get an accurate read. We believe there are at least 15 to 20 hostiles, but cannot confirm, it could be more or less." Christie finished.
The team were looking the plasma with the map and pictures. MC Scarpetti was first to speak, "What do we think?" The question was to the group.
Chuck asked the first question, "how many roads are there to the compound?"
Christie answered, "One main road. Because of where in the jungle this is located, there is only the main road in. There is other sort of roads, you would need something with 4-wheel drive to get in and out. If you tried coming in the main road, they would know you were coming. You can be dropped outside, but its 15 klicks in.
Link was next, "are the 2 CIA the only hostages, or are we expecting more?"
Christie again took that, "the 2 agents are the only 2 were aware of, but there could be more."
Blackburn then spoke up, "if you find other hostages, you are to provide aide and get them out as well."
PO Steele was next to ask a question. "What is our entry?"
Chuck answered. "HALO drop, we can land here", he pointed to a slight clearing approximately 13 klicks north of the compound. "We move in, split the team into 2, and hit from the North and South sides. We neutralize the threat, then call for exfil."
As usually the team listened, Chuck was the one who usually came up with the original plans, and the team would then add to it.
Chuck continued, "if we run into issues, is that a river?" He asked, pointing at the plasma.
Christie checked, and confirmed it was a river, approximately 4-5 klicks from the compound,
Chuck came back to that, "if that's the case, we can have fast boats come in and move out that way. Depending on the number of hostages and injuries, that could slow us down a little, if they have vehicles, we can take those to get to the extraction point faster."
The team look around the room, and all seemed to be in agreement.
Saus, had the next question, "we seem to have everything we need, why is Officer Rizzo here, not that it's not nice to see her again, but not sure why she is here."
Zondra smirked, she and Saus had had a flirtatious back and forth which was funny, because Saus was married, but it made for a good camaraderie. "Good to see you to Matthew." The team laughed at the use of his full first name, no one called him Matthew. Zondra continued "I'm here to give you information on the CIA officers and to also read you in. "
Saus responded, 'read us in for what? You know, we are not an uber for the CIA." He said half joking, half serious.
"I am part of a joint CIA/NSA/DEA/FBI task force. We have a mix of agents from all these agencies on this team. We are tasked with taking on an internal threat. A terrorist group called Fulcrum, they call themselves a group of patriots trying to overthrow the government and destroy our current governmental structure. They have moles and traitors in every agency I just mentioned and most likely others that we don't know about. They have moles in the military and special operations as well. When you rescued me, that was from a Fulcrum cell. While they are a threat to the United States, they have cells all over the world. Since then, we have done extensive background on all of Bravo." She stopped and let the team absorb what she just said about extensive background on them. Being special operations, they knew that had happened, but it was still a little surprising to hear this taskforce had looked at them further. She continued, "Look, you guys are the best of special operations, and we need a direct-action element. So, for better or worse, part of your new tasking will be to help us destroy Fulcrum." Zondra finished.
The men of Bravo took in what Officer Rizzo had just told them.
PO Patton spoke next, "you're saying there are other SEALs, DEVGRU that are part of Fulcrum?"
"We don't know for sure, but we suspect. Bravo had the most stringent of background checks, we know you guys are clean and not associated with Fulcrum. You will get your Fulcrum operations from me or a member of our team. We currently have 8 agents assigned; you will meet them all at a later point. We receive our missions and information from CIA Director Graham and NSA General Beckman, they are co-leads of this operation. They report directly to the Director of National Intelligence who reports to the President. Let me be clear, Fulcrum is the greatest terrorist threat to this country faces." Officer Rizzo stated.
Lt Commander Blackburn took over. "Our tasking will remain as is, Bravo will not be deployed for rotations in Iraq or Afghanistan as we have, unless that is with the Fulcrum task force. We will still be based out of Naval Special Warfare command for now, we could be relocated to the Fulcrum task force base of operations, which is closer to DC, but that has not been decided. All that being said, when we are on call, we will spin up and we will deploy for non-Fulcrum operations. We will designate someone from this team to represent us during all Fulcrum task force meetings. That will be determined by myself, General Beckman, and Director Graham. Any questions?"
Chuck bringing it back to the mission at hand, "sir, Officer Rizzo, can you provide information on the 2 CIA officers that were captured?"
Zondra stepped up, "Yes, thank you Sr Chief. Our 2 CIA officers were posing as a married couple, they are part of the task force. They are both very experienced and very good. We're not sure if there cover was leaked, we could have a mole in one of our support staff. Or if they did something to compromise their cover. "Zondra pressed a button on her laptop and ID photos of the 2 CIA officer appeared.
Chuck looked, the first he saw was of a stunning blonde, no ID photo had ever looked so good. Wow, something about her eyes. He then glanced at the second, and his jaw almost hit the floor.
Zondra then spoke, "this is CIA officers Sarah Walker and Bryce Larkin."
The entire room was silent, then Saus almost yelled, "are you fucking kidding me?" All of Bravo and the Navy personnel in the room all turned to Chuck. They had all heard a version of the story, how Chuck's college roommate and best friend betrayed him and turned him in for cheating, getting him expelled and sleeping with his girlfriend. Anyone who knew Chuck knew he would never do that. It had actually been a topic of discussion between Lt Commander Blackburn and the brass. All thought Bartowski would make a fine officer and wanted to send him to OCS, but you can't attend without a college degree. As Bartowski was only 12 credit short of a degree, they had thought about trying to push him to finish online.
Zondra had a somewhat surprised look on her face. "What are you talking about Saus?" she asked.
Saus then spoke, "Zondra, Bryce Larkin was Chucks college roommate, he accused him of cheating in a class and planted an answer key is his room. He got him kicked out his last semester at Stanford, then if that wasn't enough, slept with his girlfriend. Did I miss anything Chuck?" Saus asked.
"Nope, that about covers it, thanks Saus." Chuck ends, sarcastically.
Zondra was standing there stunned. She didn't really like Larkin, thought he was an arrogant, narcissistic asshole. She never knew what Sarah saw in him, sure he was pretty, but not much else. She was glad that somewhat recently Sarah had decided to end the relationship. She was sick of his bullshit, the lying, cheating on her, all in the excuse of he was doing it for the 'greater good'.
"Is this going to be a problem?" Zondra asked. She didn't envy Bryce, they may rescue him, but being in a plane full of some of the best trained special operators that hate you would not be pleasant.
It was Chuck who answered Zondra before Blackburn or MC Scarpetti could, "No Ma'am, Bravo will execute the mission and bring back your Officers." The rest of Bravo nodded all glancing at Chuck. Even though Master Chief Scarpetti was the 'boss', all of Bravo looked up to Chuck. He did a great job leading them while MC Scarpetti was working on his recovery, and he never asked of them something he wouldn't do himself.
"Ok, any questions? They have been out of contact for 4 days; we have to assume they have been tortured." Zondra finished.
Chuck spoke next, "we'll need complete medical files of just before they went undercover, it will help in treatment of them once recovered."
"You'll have them on the flight. Any other questions?" The CIA officer stated.
Link spoke back up, "Rules of engagement?"
Blackburn fielded this one, "deadly force is authorized." The team nodded.
"How come we get a hot CIA agent, and I am sure Chuck is going to make me treat the guy? Normally I would complain, but this time, I'll take one for the team. Besides Chuck might kill him after we save him." Saus finished.
"Says the married man with a beautiful little girl. If it makes you feel any better Saus, when he's all cleaned up, Bryce can be a very pretty man?" Chuck finished. The room barked out in laughter, as the team made their way back to the team room to pack their gear so the support teams could get them to the plane.
As Bravo was getting the last of their gear together for the operation, Saus came over to Chuck's cage to check on his friend. Chuck and Saus had originally met on Team 3, shortly before Chuck moved over to DEVGRU and Bravo. They were a lot alike and also very different. Aside from the height, Chuck stood at 6'3' while Saus was a solid 6 feet. Chuck had more of a swimmers body, while Saus was built like a power lifter, Chuck had his brown curls when his hair was long enough, while Saus was a dirty blonde. Saus was married to the love of his life, his childhood sweetheart Megan. They had a beautiful little girl, 2-year-old Abby. Chuck had been shocked and honored when they asked him to be her godfather. Chuck didn't really know what that meant, but he was going to be the best godfather he could. Because they were both snipers and corpsman, they had a lot of the same training courses and spent a lot of time together during those. Saus has become as close to Chuck as Morgan was, and in another life, Bryce Larkin before it all went to shit.
"Hey Senior, how you are doing with all this?" Saus asked.
"Will you cut it with the Senior crap. How long was I a CPO and you didn't call me Chief?" Chuck asked.
"I don't know, Senior sounds more regal, plus it shows your age, you are old you know." Saus said grinning.
"Yea, what is it, oh yea 4 months older than you, right." Chuck sniped back.
"Still older." Saus, retorted. "No, seriously, you, ok? Larkin has to be a blast from the past."
"Mixed bag don't get me wrong I hate the guy, I hope he gets mounted by a rabid dog and dies of gonorrhea. To find out he's a spy. Seriously, I mean of course he is." Chuck said, staring into nothing. "As much as I hate the guy and what he did to me, he is a US Citizen in trouble, it's our job to go get him and his partner. Kind of like the Fire Department. Besides if anyone gets to torture that asshole, it should be me."
"You know, there was that episode of Chicago Fire, where the firefighter left the guy who was threatening to kill his brother to die." Saus finished.
Chuck glared at Saus. "I'm just saying, it's been done."
"So, we are making decisions based on an NBC show? They don't keep the good shows on, remember that show, I can't remember the name of it, the guy at Best Buy, the hot spy. They needed the fans to keep saving it. If NBC doesn't know what good television is, not sure we can trust their judgement on this."
"Hey Saus," Chuck said.
"Yea," he answered.
"Thanks." Chuck said, then turned to finish stowing his gear and getting on his jungle BDUs. Typically, the team would fly over in civilian, or comfortable clothes, but since they would be HALO jumping from the plane, they were going dress in their combat BDUs before boarding.
Before leaving the team room, Chuck pulled out his phone to facetime with Ellie and the kids. Since he joined the Navy, Ellie and Devon had gotten married, bought a house and had 2 kids, Clara who was 3 and David who was almost a year. Chuck loved being an Uncle, he tried to be the best Uncle he could and spend as much time as he could with them between deployments. Ellie was very proud of her brother, but she hated his job. While she never knew specifics, between movies, tv, and google, she knew what Navy Seals did, especially DEVGRU Seals, it made her constantly worry. Devon thought it was awesome, and up until Clara was born, when Chuck had downtime, he would take Devon sky or scuba diving as guy time. They also went rock climbing, hiking, or paintballing. The paintball was something they cold do with Morgan as well. Before every op, Chuck would facetime with Ellie and the kids, and Devon if he was available. He had lost teammates on operations, so he wanted to be sure he talked to his family before deploying just in case it was his last. After a minute, Ellie picked up and he could see his sister. Ellie had figured out the facetime calls like this meant that Bravo had been spun up and her brother was going to do something very brave, but also very dangerous.
"Hey little brother, how are things in Dam Neck?" Ellie asked.
"Hey Sis, just wanted to check in, works busy, just getting ready to head into some trainings." Chuck said. That was the unspoken code that he was about to go on a mission.
"How are Clara, David and Awesome?"
"Everyone's good. Clara is doing great in day care, she likes drawing seal pictures for her Uncle Chuck. David is starting to walk up a storm and babbling incessantly. Life with 2 kids 3 and under." Ellie said, with a big smile on her face.
"True, but you love it. I love Clara's seal drawings; they are on my fridge when you send them. Maybe someday she will understand I am not that kind of SEAL." Chuck retorted.
"I do. Hey, remember Amber, the nurse at the holiday party when you were home last, brunette, pretty?"
"Sure El, she seemed nice, if I remember she was studying to be a Nurse Practitioner, what about her?"
"Well, she is at Westside now fulltime. I had lunch with her the other day, and she was asking about you." Ellie finished. Despite Chuck's insistence, every time he came to visit, Ellie was still trying to set him up with a friend of hers. Chuck had made it clear he didn't want Ellie doing that, but Ellie had a hard time listening.
"El, I am sure it was just asking how I was doing. You know my feelings on this El. Please stop, its not going to happen. Now, can I please see my niece and nephew, I have a flight to catch tonight, and I would like to see them before I have to leave."
Ellie took the hint.
"Clara, David, your Uncle Chuck is on the phone and wants to say hi." Ellie set the phone on the stand on the table so she could hold the kids and Chuck could see them. Clara came sprinting in, while David was bumping into things, but wasn't far behind.
"Unca Chuck, Unca Chuck." Clara squealed as she climbed up into her mother's lap. David caught up, and Ellie hoisted him up. With both looking at the phone, they both giggled happily seeing there uncle.
"Hi Clara, hi David. What are you guys doing? Are you helping mommy?" Chuck asked.
"Unca Chuck, I was teachin David how to play with blocks. He always knocks them down. He keeps making a mess." Clara finished.
"We boys are messy Clara, I'm sure your mom has had to teach me to clean up more than a few times. But that's your job as his big sister to make sure he knows." Chuck said with a smile on his face.
"I will Unca Chuck. Are you coming to David's birfday party?"
"I'm sorry sweetie, I don't think I can make it. Us Seals need to chase the dolphins and sharks." Chuck said. Clara had heard somebody talking to Chuck about being a Seal, so she thought he spent all his time in the ocean chasing dolphins and sharks away from the beach.
Clara squealed with laughter; she loved the thought of that. "I miss you Unca Chuck, can you come see me soon."
Clara had really taken to Chuck when she was born, and the 2 had a close relationship. It hurt him somedays that he was based in Virginia and his family was still in Burbank. He thought when he left the teams, he would head back and start his post military life in the LA area, in part to be close to his family.
"I miss you too sweetie. I will be out to see you and David as soon as I can. Is it ok if I visit you mom and dad to?" Chuck asked.
"Otay." Clara answered.
Ellie spoke up, "remember sweetie, like your David's big sister, I am Uncle Chucks big sister. It our job as big sisters to keep an eye them and teach them the right way to do things."
Clara took that in and nodded. David, who had fallen asleep in Ellie's arms was quietly snoring.
"Love you to David," Chuck said grinning. "Ok, I need to get going, got a plane to catch. I love you guys. Clara, be a good girl for your mom and dad."
"I will Unca Chuck. I LOVE you." Clara said blowing him a huge kiss.
"We love you, Chuck. Please be careful." Ellie said, with emotion in her voice.
"I will El, love you." Chuck said, then ended the facetime.
Naval Special Warfare Command airfield:
The team was loading onto the C-17, the support staff had loaded their gear already and bags already along with any of the support equipment needed. Along with Bravo team, also on the flight were Lt Commander Blackburn, MC Scarpetti, PO Christie Thomas, CIA Officer Zondra Rizzo, other support personnel, along with a doctor, nurse, and the flight crew. Assuming they had to make a hot extract from Columbia they wanted to make sure both CIA officers had proper medical care if it required more than the Chuck or Saus could provide.
The C-17 took off heading South from Virginia Beach to Columbia. The team were spread out around the plane getting rest or whatever pre-mission rituals they did. Chuck was sitting against the bulkhead, earlier the team reviewed the plan and contingencies, then both he and Saus went through the medical files of Sarah Walker and Bryce Larkin backwards and forwards. Chuck was taking another look at the files from his seat, as well as the notes from their failed mission. Seeing to see if he could figure out what went wrong. Knowing Bryce, he could easily imagine he took and unnecessary risk that could have given them away, with the information Zondra had given them in the SCIF, this Fulcrum was a threat, Chuck was glad Bravo was tasked to help take care of it. He was looking at the file picture of Sarah Walker, it was a different shot than the one on her ID that they had been shown earlier. Reading the information, she was no doubt beautiful, tall, in great shape. He was reading through her injury history and treatment. It was obvious she was an active agent. She and Bryce were undercover as a married couple, he wondered if they were a real couple. Knowing Bryce and seeing her, no doubt he would lay all his slimy charm on her. He wondered if it worked. He snapped back when he realized someone had sat down next to him.
"So, Sr Chief, someone got a promotion since the last time I saw you?" Zondra said, in a teasing tone.
"Hey Z, well when you save so many CIA agents gone astray, they have to do something to make it worth the while." Chuck said, in an equally teasing tone.
"Touché." Zondra answered. "How have you been Chuck? I thought you were going to call?"
"I could say I got busy, which I was. But, honestly Z, I like you., our jobs. Now it looks like we're going to be working together. Hopefully, I won't be too much of a distraction for you." Chuck said, winking.
Zondra barked a laugh, not because it might be untrue, but despite Chuck coming off as shy and innocent at times, he could tease with the best of them.
"I'm sorry I didn't call," Chuck said, "but last time I checked, phone's work both ways."
"True. I could say I got busy; this Fulcrum threat is real. But I'm sorry to."
"What can you tell me about the team tracking them, the one you apparently drafted Bravo into." Chuck asked.
"It's a good team, like anything we have a mix, some good, some less than good. It's a combination as I mentioned, NSA, CIA, DEA, FBI, and with the addition of Bravo, military special operations."
"What about DIA, Homeland?" Chuck asked.
"They wanted to keep the team smallish. Originally it was CIA and NSA, then when they realized how much Fulcrum was engrained in the different agencies. It was determined we needed to expand. When we realized the military was also included, that's when they rechecked all of Bravo. In reality, we may only have a couple of your team involved in day to day, that's to be decided. But when we need to hit a target, that's when we will bring you guys in. We needed a strike force so to speak, as I said you guys were vetted after the operation to get me, but when we determined we would need Spec Ops, they rechecked and did the deepest dive possible. You guys came back clean, so that's how it was decided. Plus compared to other DEVGRU and even other Spec Ops, you guys are better suited for the intelligence side." Zondra finished.
"So, your telling me you used this Fulcrum as an excuse to get close to me." Chuck said grinning.
"You wish." Zondra retorted, grinning as well.
They didn't know each other all that well, but they had had a connection since Bravo had saved her. She liked all the guys, and while she liked Chuck, if she was honest, he felt more like a best friend than a romantic partner.
Zondra glanced at the file in Chuck's lap, noticed he had been studying Sarah's file, especially her picture. Sarah was Zondra's best friend. She had her agent mask on, but she was terrified her friend might be dead or worse. That was part of the reason she wanted to be on this op, she wanted to make sure her friend got back. She would be there for whatever she needed, as Sarah had been for her when she was captured and tortured.
"Beautiful, isn't she?" Zondra said nodding toward the picture in the file.
"Huh?"
"Sarah, I can't help but notice you making eyes at her picture." Zondra said in her teasing tone.
"I was, aah, reviewing her medical file. Larkin's too. "Chuck said, trying to recover from being caught.
"Suurre." Zondra responded. "Don't get me wrong, Larkin can be pretty too, but I don't think he is quite your type. Besides, seems you 2 have an unfortunate history."
"Ok, busted. She is beautiful. Her eyes are just, and that's from a picture. Does the CIA get their spies from the Victoria Secret fashion show or something, I mean her, you, hell even Larkin as you said is pretty. I imagine the rest of your taskforce is very attractive." Chuck said, glancing back at the file.
"She is, and no we don't get our spies from Victoria Secret, more like Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition," she said sticking her tongue out at Chuck. Zondra then got quiet and more serious, "Chuck, she's my best friend. After you guys saved me, she was there, she stayed with me, helped me through it. We've known each other for 7 years, we worked together before. I love her like a sister. We need to get her back."
"We will. I promise I will get you your friend back." Chuck said with confidence.
"As much as I hate to say it, you do need to bring Larkin back too." She said with playfulness in her voice.
"Yea, yea, yea."
"What happened between you and Larkin? I heard what Saus said in the briefing room, is it true?" Zondra asked, genuinely curious.
"Every word. He was my roommate and best friend. We shared a room in the frat house, I was in my last semester at Stanford, I was double majoring in Computer Science and double E. Then all of sudden, I am accused of cheating and selling an answer key. For some reason, I wasn't afforded due process, no review, no appeal, basically pack your shit and get out. The last thing he said to me before I left the frat house was, 'I did this to myself'. What the fuck does that mean? "Chuck paused, replaying the moment in his head. "I went back about a week later. My girlfriend hadn't returned any of my calls or texts. I come to find out she was sleeping with Larkin. I mean really."
"That's awful. I am so sorry Chuck."
"Yea, my life changed completely. I had thought I would be working for a software company, another rich dot com millionaire. Of course, the kind of job I wanted I needed a degree. So that was out. It was looking like I was going to be a Nerd Herd Supervisor at the BuyMore, where I worked in high school and college."
"How the hell did you end up a SEAL? Seems you a long way from the BuyMore." Zondra asked.
"Before I started back at the BuyMore, I went to the Santa Monica pier, I had nothing else to do, I was living with my sister and her boyfriend. I ended up talking with 2 petty officers who were working out of Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach. Sam and Brian. I overheard them talking and turned out, we had a lot in common. They were Nerds like me. They told me about the Navy and why they joined, the opportunities, all that. Next day, I went and met with a Navy recruiter and signed up." Chuck finished, remembering the day like it was yesterday.
"Ok, I get that. But how did a self-professed Nerd, become a bad ass Navy SEAL."
"Ha, I don't know how bad ass I am. The recruiter talked to me about what I wanted to do. I told him probably something like Engineering or Intelligence sounds like good fits. He started talking about SEAL training. I think he had a quota to get people into BUDs. He talked about how it was more mental that physical. He sort of tricked me into it. To be honest, I never thought I would get through. Then once I got there, it IS PHYSICAL, but he was right about the mental part. I just pushed through." Chuck said, remembering the time. "Growing up was tough, both my parents abandoned my sister and me. Mom left when I was 9 and El was 12, Dad was never really with us mentally, but then he took off when I was 12 and she was 15. We had to fight and claw for everything. Hiding and avoiding CPS was easier said than done. My sister raised me, and when I was kicked out, I felt like I let her down. If I didn't join the Navy, knowing me, I would have ended up at the BuyMore for 5-10 years, just feeling sorry for myself. The Navy didn't give me time for that. Joining the SEALs, I wanted to see if I could. Turned out, I can." Chuck finished.
He then continued, "you know the funny thing, I hate Bryce Larkin, I really do. But at the same time, sometimes I think I need to thank him. I would have never joined the Navy if I had graduated Stanford. The friendships and extended family I now have. I can honestly say I love what I do. I like working part of a team. The jumping out of airplanes, blowing things up, shooting, all the cool toys we get to play with. I love this stuff. Its corny, but I feel like it brought out the best in me."
Zondra was listening with rapped attention. To listen to Chuck, even though he in some ways was left with little choices, after seeing him in action, she can't help but be glad Chuck is where he is, doing what he's doing.
"Well, look at the other bonus Chuck. If you had graduated, you never would have met ME. And that right there is priceless." Zondra said looking through her eyelashes.
"Obviously, it all worked out for the best." Chuck said, meaning it.
"Chuck, there is something I have to ask you that's kind of personal." She asked.
"Shoot."
"When we were doing background on Bravo, a couple of things popped on you," Zondra started, before she could finish Chuck chimed in, he knew what was coming.
"You mean, why does a door kicker like me have $11 million or so dollars in the bank and invested?" Chuck asked, smirking.
"Ah, YEAH. That sort of jumped off the page. Our team of analysts obviously found out what it was because you were cleared, but they never told me. I figured your parents were rich, but after what you just told me, that wasn't it." Zondra asked, a little flustered.
"Have you ever played the game, 38th Parallel or Call to Arms?"
"Are those video games? Do I look like I play a lot of video games?"
"So, growing up my best friend, Morgan, we have been best friends since we were 6. Anyway, I told you I was a Nerd. After I joined the Navy, Morgan was still at the BuyMore, we would online game at night, and we would talk about what we would do differently. So, in part to help motivate Morgan, we talked about creating our own game. I would code and program it and he would do the research and test it. I had told Morgan we had to be accurate if he were going to do something like this, It was Morgan's idea to do the 38th Parallel, probably because I was in the military, it turned out that when he pitched it to a game company, they loved it. They bought the game from us, 6 million to for it. We split it evenly, but Morgan had sort of found his calling. We formed a company, Merlin Games. The next game we did was Call to Arms, sort of a Call of Duty but with Zombies. We had hired a couple of guys we know to do more of the programming, and Morgan still heads testing. I review stuff when I can. Anyway, Call to Arms we got 10 million up front and the royalties. Hence why I have the bank account I do. We have 2 more games in the works and the company had grown, we have 30 employees not counting Morgan and I."
"Seriously, Chuck?" That's amazing. Zondra said, stunned. "Is that what your going to do after you leave the military? Not a bad backup plan."
"I don't know, I might work at it part time. I have a lot of ideas and things I want to do in life. But I'm a not sure. I'll want to spend some time with my family. I mentioned my sister, I also have a 3-year-old niece and 1 year old nephew. Its nice to not have to worry about it." He stopped then continue. "But that's a ways off, I like being a frogman." He finished.
They were silent for a bit. Just sitting quietly thinking. Finally, Chuck broke the comfortable silence.
"What kind of spy is Larkin?" he asked, honestly curious.
"As much as I hate to say this, he's good. He's arrogant, narcissistic, and cocky, which to some extent, you need to be to be a good spy. He thinks he's the American version of James Bond." Zondra said.
"He was all about himself when I knew him, I would think he would be a shitty spy." Chuck said.
"It's the difference between what you do, and we do. Our titles are CIA Officers, but really, Bryce, Sarah, me, we're what knowns as NOC or Non-Official Cover operatives. We get caught, we're on our own. Why we are also known as Agents, where Official Cover operatives are known as Officers. Semantics maybe, but that's how it goes. Where you guys are trained to work as a team, we are trained to work on our own, or with a partner at most. This task force and team, working together, that's new for all of us." Zondra finished.
"Yea, don't think I could work like that, I like being part of a team, knowing people have your back."
"It can be a very lonely life. Being on this team, I have to admit, it is nice. Plus, I get to work with my 2 best friends, Sarah, and my friend Carina, she is the DEA rep on the team. You'll meet her. She's a handful." Zondra finished.
"What's she like, Sarah?"
"Do I sense a bit of a crush Sr Chief?" she teased.
"I was just wondering what she's like?" Chuck stated.
"She is the best, maybe the only person in my life I can truly count on. She's always been there when I have needed her, sometimes even when I may not have wanted her. She's private, I've known her for years, but really don't know much about her past. She's a great agent. That, in part is why she was teamed with Bryce. They made a great spy team." Zondra finished.
Chuck looked back at the folder, not saying a word. Before he could ask a question, Zondra answered the unasked question.
"She and Larkin were together for a while, there not anymore. I honestly don't know how she could stand him; she finally came to her senses." Zondra paused, then continued, "you'd like her, pretty sure she would like you."
Before Chuck could respond, one of the flight crew announced they would be ready for HALO jump in 30 minutes. Chuck hadn't realized quite how long he and Zondra had been talking.
"Well, I guess that's my que. Time to start o gear up, wouldn't want to forget my chute of oxygen tank. Gun might help too." He said teasing. Then turning back to Zondra, "We'll get your friend back, I look forward to meeting her." Then headed over to the bags with their gear and started to open and unpack his.
Zondra sat their watching as Chuck and the rest of Bravo, started taking their gear and weapons out. Some of them may look rough and tumble, but these guys were the best, she knew firsthand, if they couldn't get Sarah out, no one could. She, thought about Chuck and the way he looked at Sarah's picture and asked about her. Thinking to herself, 'blondie, we might have found you a keeper.'
Bravo was going through there final checks. Each team member carried mission critical gear, as well as their own parachute and weapons. Most of the guys carried suppressed M4s and handguns. The Handguns differed, but the sig p-229 seemed to be the most popular, some teammates carried Glocks, it was personal preference. Because Chuck and Saus were also snipers, instead of the M4, they both carried suppressed HK416, these could be used both for sniper shooting as well as close quarters combat. Chuck carried a sig p-229 on his hip, as well a tactical knife and some throwing knives. During some downtime in Iraq on a deployment early in his career, Chuck had taught himself how to throw knives with some help from a Mossad agent and YouTube. He actually was pretty good, but they were always thought of as a last resort. Chuck and Saus, also had med bags with gear to treat the injured. The team had their chutes on and checked, their o2 masks and air flowing, as well as their combat helmets with night vision attached. As they were jumping at just after 1 am EST, the night vision would be needed for the hike in and taken down the compound. The tailgate of the C-17 began to open, as all the remaining passengers in the plane donned their own o2 mask. Once the tailgate was down, the countdown began, once the jump light changed from red to green, indicating they were in their jump window, 1 by 1 the SEALs made their way to the edge and jumped into the night sky. Zondra was watching amazed, she had jumped out of a plane before, but never a HALO jump in the blackest of night. As the last SEAL disappeared into the night, the tailgate began to rise as the plane adjusted course to Tolemadia Air Base in Columbia, where they would stand bye and coordinate the strike from. It would take roughly 45 minutes to get to Tolemadia, and the operation was planned to go down in 2 hours. The support team in the plane would need to be ready when Bravo was ready to commence the strike.
Puerto Rey, Columbia -7 klicks Northeast of Fulcrum Compound – February 2010
Bravo had executed there HALO drop and had just finished burying their parachutes and o2 tanks. They marked the location with GPS so that a support team could recover at a late date. The team confirmed on the plan going forward and Chuck needed to check in and let the command team know they landed and were proceeding with the plan. Chuck keyed his mike.
"Havoc this is Bravo 1." Havoc being the call sign for mission command.
"Bravo 1 this Havoc, good copy." Lt Commander Blackburn answered.
"Havoc, we are Michigan." Chuck finished. For each operation the team came up with code words to represent where they were and at what stage in the mission. This was done in case someone was able to intercept their transmissions so anybody listening would not know what was going on. It was determined that for this operation, they would use College's with major college football teams. Michigan meant that the team had landed and were proceeding to the compound. There would be 2 more check ins for Bravo in their hike to the compound, so the base could chart their progress.
"Copy that Bravo 1, Havoc out." Blackburn ended the first comms. He turned to Zondra, 'their on there way. They'll get you friend back." He said with confidence. Zondra just nodded, a ball of nerves.
"Ok, Shane, lead us out," Chuck said as PO Patton flipped down his night vision and led the team out through the jungles.
Bravo team had made if about halfway to the compound and so far, no issues. They were still about 3 kilometers from the compound and due for their next check in. Again, Chuck keyed his mike.
"Havoc, this is Bravo 1, passing USC, again passing USC."
"Bravo 1, this is Havoc, confirmed passing USC." Blackburn acknowledges. The next check in would mean that they had made it to the target. Lt Commander Blackburn turned to PO Thomas and Zondra, both were working with some of the support staff trying to get as much information for Bravo before they arrived. They were checking ISR feeds from the drone above. Because of the thickness of the Columbian jungle, it was tough to get reads on the heat signatures. Luckily the compound had a lot of jungle stripped away, because of the late hour it appeared most of the occupants were asleep, but they did have roving patrols outside, approximately 4-5 men. There appeared to be 10-13 enemy sleeping, they believed they had pinpointed the hostages, but could not be clear on what level of the compound they were on. They were fairly certain it was 2 story but were not sure on a basement. They needed to have all this information ready for the next time Bravo checked in.
Bravo continued their trek through the jungle, not much being said from the team members, all men going through their responsibilities. PO Patton stopped the team by holding up his right fist. The entire team followed suit and stopped. Chuck came up along side Patton to find out what is going on.
"Shane, what do you have?" Chuck asked.
"Tripwire, and if you look over at your 4'oclock, looks like infrared camera. I don't think they know we're here yet. What do you think boss?" He asked Chuck.
"Lets burn it out, what do you say. Bravo 6, on me." Chuck clicked the mike to call up PO Foster, he carried the IR illumination light.
"What's up boss?" As PO Foster came up to the front.
Chuck pointed to the infrared camera, "light it up and in burn it out. Shane, will take care of the tripwire."
"Roger that." Both men acknowledged as they went about their tasks.
At the airfield, Zondra had been watching the clock, both she and Blackburn realized it seemed to be taking Bravo longer to check in, they expected them to have checked in almost 20 minutes ago.
"Where are they?" Zondra asked, a little frustrated.
"If there running late, it means they ran into something. They'll get there."
A few minutes later they got there answer.
"Havoc, this is Bravo 1, pass Texas." Chuck's voice came over the radio.
"Copy Bravo 1, pass Texas." Blackburn answered back. There was a somewhat relived look on Zondra's face that Bravo had finally arrived and her friend might soon be safe. MC Scarpetti provided the team with the updates on numbers in what they were looking at.
"Copy Havoc, we are Charlie Mike." Chuck responded, meaning the team was continuing with the mission. One concern was the delay, they had run into a few more infrareds and tripwires, they were 40 minutes behind where they wanted to be from a time standpoint. Chuck gathered Bravo around him to deploy his men.
"Ok boys, Choi and Patton will stay with me. Link you take the rest of the team and make your way to the southside of the compound. On my mark, we'll take out the sentries and make entry. Any questions?" Chuck finished. "Ok, let me know when your in position."
The team split up as ordered and got into position. When everyone had confirmed they were in position and lined up there shots, Chuck gave the order.
"Execute, Execute, Execute.' He said as the entire team took out there targets, the only sound was the pop, pop, pop from the suppressed weapons. As the Fulcrum guards dropped to the ground, Bravo made entry into the building, one team from the front and one from the back. Clearing the rooms, everything seemed to go to shit, when one of the Fulcrum agents came out of the bathroom, he started to scream as 3 more suppressed shots entered his chest leaving him dead in a heap. The problem was the remaining Fulcrum agents were now scrambling. Once the Fulcrum agent alerted his fellow agents, Chuck ordered Patton to blow the charge they placed on the generator supplying power to the compound, this would allow Bravo the advantage with their night vision. With that advantage and superior training, Bravo was able to beat back the Fulcrum agents, Chuck and PO Choi kicked in a door to find a Fulcrum agent holding a female, dangled from ceiling in front of him, using her as a human shield.
"Let me go or I'll kill her." He screamed.
"You kill her, we kill you." Chuck shouted back. "The only way your getting out of here alive is by dropping the weapon and raising your hands."
"Fuck You.' The Fulcrum agent yelled back. The female was conscious, but she had obviously been tortured and beaten repeatedly, Chuck noticed the eyes, it was Agent Sarah Walker in panties and a bra, covered in bruises and dried blood.
"1, I don't have a shot." PO Choi yelled to Chuck.
"Last chance buddy, live or die." Chuck yelled.
The Fulcrum agent was thinking, Sarah whether on purpose or not, dropped her head just enough to give Chuck an angle, he didn't hesitate and fired his suppressed HK416 hitting the Fulcrum agent just above is right eyebrow. His gun clanged hitting the ground and the body tumbled back.
PO Choi advanced and kicked the gun away from the dead Fulcrum agent. Sarah Walker hung wide eyed looking at the tall special operator that took the shot. Her mouth was gagged. PO Choi started to release Sarah from hanging from the ceiling, as Chuck came over and assisted him getting her down slowly. As they sat her on the ground, Chuck keyed his mike.
"Havoc, this is Bravo 1. Second floor secure, I pass Harvard, I repeat, pass Harvard." Harvard had been the code word to represent Agent Sarah Walker, as she was a Harvard Alum.
The radio crackled, "Bravo 1, this is Bravo 2, First floor secure, I pass Stanford, repeat, past Stanford."
Chuck responded, "Copy Bravo 2. Set security and proceed with intel gathering."
"Copy Bravo 1." Link acknowledged.
"Havoc, this is Bravo 1, we are Omaha, again, we are Omaha." Omaha had been decided to be used when they had both hostages and commencing intel gathering.
Zondra had tears pooling in her eyes, her friend and teammates were in safe hands. They weren't out of harms way yet, but knowing Bravo had them, she felt better than she had since Sarah and Bryce were taken.
Chuck put on blue medical gloves, so he could begin to examine Sarah. "Agent Walker, US Navy, we're here to give you a ride home, can I examine you?" Chuck asked.
Sarah was weak, she didn't look to be in great shape, but she was alive. She responded, "Code phrase?" she asked weakly. Code phrases were set up so the Agents could confirm this was real and not some type of head fake by the enemy.
"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go." Chuck finished. It was the first time since doing this, that someone had used a Dr. Seuss quote. As a godfather and Uncle, he appreciated it. Plus, if he was honest, he loved Dr. Seuss anyway.
For the first time since this started Sarah smiled, knowing this was real, she nodded, and Chuck began his examination. She was dehydrated, broken ribs, possible broken wrist. He could tell they had used a car battery, as she had some tremors. A lot of cuts and bruises. Chuck popped and IV to get fluids started.
"Agent Walker, you're severely dehydrated, so I am going to start and IV with fluids. Once we're on our way, I can give you something for the pain, but not till then, ok?" He asked. He wanted her to understand and be comfortable with what was happening. She nodded.
"What's your name she asked?" Again weakly.
"Sr Chief Petty Officer Charles Bartowski ma'am, but my friends call me Chuck."
She looked at him, she liked his eyes, very warm and inviting. "Thank you, Chuck," she said, smiling.
PO Choi came back into the room; Chuck had asked him to see if he could find her something to wear. He came back with a pair of shorts and a button up men's shirt. "I figured this would be easier to get on and off." He said.
"Great, thanks David." Chuck said. Chuck was finishing getting Sarah prepped to move when his headphones crackled.
"Bravo 1, this is Havoc, copy."
"Havoc, this is Bravo 1, hard copy." Chuck responded.
The voice of MC Scarpetti was serious, "Bravo 1, we are tracking 3 vehicles approaching your position on the main service road, ETA is 9 mikes."
Shit. The Fulcrum agents somehow were able to call for back up.
"Copy Havoc, any idea what we are looking at?"
"Unknown Bravo 1, recommend exfil to option 2."
"Copy that Havoc, exfil to option 2, get those boats there, Bravo 1 out." Option 2 was the fast boats at the river. It meant they needed to get there passengers ready and moving.
"Bravo 5, prep Stanford and move, Bravo 2 see about one of the trucks in the driveway. All Bravo elements, we are exfil option 2. Good copy." All of Bravo came back letting him know they understood. Chuck turned back to his patient.
"Agent Walker, can you walk?" he asked.
"Sarah." She said.
"What?" Chuck asked.
"Please call me Sarah." She repeated. "I can walk but need help." She finished.
"Ok Sarah, we got to get moving, this may hurt a little, but hopefully I can make it up to you later."
"She smiled."
Bravo had gathered with their cargo and intel. Link had commandeered a 1987 Chevy pick up with extra cab. It was as they were loading Agents Walker and Larkin into the back when Bryce looked at the team leader. He thought his eyes were playing tricks, he said, "Chuck? Bartowski?" It couldn't be, he must be dreaming, what the hell would Chuck Bartowski doing her. Saus couldn't help it, "he's here saving your ass agent asshat." Bryce looked at the SEAL with a confused look. With everyone loaded, Link got in to drive, and the team got in the front, back, and truck bed and took off. The road they were driving down wasn't much of a road, so there was a lot of bouncing back and forth, the truck was exceptionally uncomfortable for Chuck, Saus, and Choi, as they were bouncing all over the place. In the early morning dusk hours, the truck was moving slow. They weren't far from the river meet when an RPG hit to the right of the slow-moving truck. Choi was the first to yell, "Contact right." Chuck, Saus, and Choi opened up with there rifles, Pop, Pop, Pop, was heard from there suppressed weapons, while Link hit the gas, as the bumpy ride got worse. Gun fire was flowing back and forth. Link got on his mike.
"Havoc, this is Bravo 2, we have troops in contact, enemy QRF coming in heavy, heavy weapons and RPGs, we need those fast boats now."
The feeling in C-17 got serious.
Lt Commander Blackburn turned to PO Thomas, "where are those fast boats?" PO Thomas was working another radio channel with the fast boats, she yells back to Blackburn, "6 mikes out."
"All Bravo elements, fast boats are 6 mikes out." Blackburn announced so all the team was aware.
While the firefight continued, Chuck's headset crackled.
"Bravo 1, this Whiplash. You have 2 fast movers 4 mikes out, what's your status?" the boat commander asked over the radio.
"Whiplash, whiplash this is Bravo 1, primary extract is blown, proceeding to secondary extra. I have 9 packs, 7 sierras, and 2 packages. Both packages have multiple wounds. This will be a hot extract." Chuck finished.
"Copy that Bravo 1." The boat commander acknowledged
Chuck keyed his mike, "2, this is 1, splash it." Meaning put the truck in the river.
A minute later Link yelled out the window, "WATER, water," as the chevy got a little bit of air before crashing into the water. The SEALs, started to move away from the truck while Chuck grabbed Agent Walker and PO Patton grabbed Larkin, all swimming towards the middle of the river.
As the Fulcrum vehicles were pulling up to the edge of the river, getting ready to open up on Bravo and their packages. 2 Riverine Navy boats operated by members of Special Boat Team 22 came flying in, each boat had five, 50 caliber machine guns set up. They immediately opened up on the Fulcrum team and vehicles, killing most and sending the rest scrambling for cover. Bravo and their packages swam to the 2 boats and loaded up. In no time they were flying down the river on their way to meet up with the Chinooks that would take the boats, boat crew, and team to Tolemadia Air Base.
Once everyone was situated in the Chinooks, Chuck brought Sarah a dry towel, she was shaking, not sure if it was from the cold or the adrenaline leaving her body. Larkin and the other half of the team were in the other chinook.
"You, ok?" Chuck asked, putting the dry towel around her.
"Hurts." She said.
"Yea, that car ride and swim wasn't what we hoped for, here. Going to give you some morphine for the pain" As chuck went to the IV port he had set up in her arm before they moved from the compound.
"This should help take the edge off." He said.
He saw an immediate reaction from Sarah, the shaking lessened dramatically, and her breathing became more even.
"You know," She said, "I've never had a first date where I got shot at and went swimming, all before sunrise." Sarah said flirtatiously.
Chuck barked a laugh, "I guess I'm really going to have to come up with something to top that."
Sarah smiled, Chuck sat down next to her, and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, Chuck." She said as she started nodding off.
"You're welcome." Chuck said, although she already seemed to be asleep.
Tolemadia Air Base – February 2010
The team and passengers arrived at the airbase. Both Agent Larkin and Walker were receiving treatment from the Navy doctor and nurse the team brought with them, while Bravo was getting showered and cleaned up. They had passed over all the intel they grabbed before they had to exfil. Part of that intel was photographs of the dead Fulcrum agents. Chuck recognized 2 as Army Rangers he had worked with in Afghanistan years before. The fact that Fulcrum had invaded military special operations was troubling, and while he hoped no SEALs were involved, the truth was he knew some were. The team was showered and changed and making their way back to the plane, like the rest of his teammates, after their unexpected swim, Chuck had changed into jeans, a tee shirt, zip up hoodie and his Chucks. Both Agents Larkin and Walker were brought on in gurneys and secured. They would be given morphine and a sleep aide so they could sleep on the flight back. Both were in rough shape, Sarah worse than Bryce. She had suffered a couple of broken fingers, several broken ribs, her left shoulder had been dislocated but at some point, reset. She had many deep bruises and cuts all over her body. They had also shocked her with a car battery. She would heal, it would take time. Larkin's injuries included a broken hand and forearm. Broken ribs, concussion, and many bruises and cuts. Zondra had stayed by Sarah's side since she was taken off the Chinook. She would be there for her friend like she had been for her.
With the patients loaded, the gear packed and stowed, and the team back on the plane, the C-17 took off, headed back to Virginia. As customary post mission there were coolers of beer, and some of the team and support personnel were indulging. Each member of Bravo went through their debrief, while the details were fresh. Zondra sat in on those because this was a Fulcrum operation. While all teammates had to explain their actions, Chuck had to do the same and explain his orders and thinking. Both Lt Commander Blackburn and MC Scarpetti found his decisions appropriate and judgement sound. Chuck was the last to debrief and went to his side of the plane to stretch out. Now that the adrenalin had stopped coursing, like most post missions, he was tired. He had found his usual corner, grabbed his backpack and pulled out a graphic novel to read until he fell asleep. Chuck was actually engrossed in the story when he felt someone sit down next to him. When he pulled the book down, he saw Zondra Rizzo sitting next to him offering him a cold beer from the cooler, he gladly accepted, and she and he clinked bottles. Zondra took a breath and smiled, "thank you Chuck."
Chuck, a little surprised, 'for what?"
"You kept your promise. Most men in my life don't." She said.
"I did my job Zondra, it was a team effort." He said.
"Yea, but you were in charge of the team, and you're the one who promised to bring my friend back, and you did." She finished.
"You're welcome." He responded. "She's one tough women. Only someone with all her injuries in the middle of a gun fight would start flirting with me."
"She what?" Zondra asked surprised.
"I think, she was flirting, of course I am terrible at this, so it was probably my imagination, never mind." Chuck said, trying not to trip over his own words.
"No, I'm not saying she wasn't, I was not there. She's just usual more reserved around guys."
"It was probably my imagination, forget I said anything. How's she doing, by the way?" Chuck asked.
"Like you don't know." Zondra said teasing. "I saw you talking to the nurse and doctor about her 'condition.'"
"Just making sure we didn't make anything worse."
"She's banged up and then some, but she'll be ok. She was there for me, so I'll be there for her. Plus, if we need any help, I know a certain Navy SEAL Corpsman I could call for help." Zondra said in that same teasing tone.
Chuck didn't miss a beat, "I'm sure Saus would be there in a heartbeat, as long as his wife lets him."
Zondra barked out a laugh, as Chuck had a devilish smirk on his face.