A/N: You...hey, you... Wake up...you own Chuck. Pay attention here.
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The whine of the tires on the highway filled the car and seemed to echo inside the large SUV. They were heading south out of Budapest on M5 towards the Serbian border. (Chuck idly wondered if it were called M5 or "the" M5). The highway was two lanes in either direction with no overhead lights and the headlights of Yuri's SUV and the few other cars on the road at this late hour cast the only illumination. Chuck felt comfortable in the safety of the quiet car. Selenica was still unconscious in the back of the car, wrapped in a tarp to keep him quiet should he unexpectedly awake. They intended to drive to Szeged, near the Serbian border, call some friends of Yuri's in the Security Intelligence Agency (the Serbian equivalent of the CIA) and have them collect Selenica on this side of the border. It was easier to let them deal with the problem of smuggling an unconscious man without a passport across an international border.
Sarah was napping, her head nestled against Chuck's shoulder.
Chuck himself was messing around with Selenica's locked cell phone. It was one of Apple's new smartphones and not so easy to crack. Using his multitool he had popped the back off and was using a flashlight in his teeth to study the circuitry. After a while he thought to himself, 'what if I try this?' He tried it and the cell phone came to life unlocked.
'Humm' he thought. He turned it over and looked at the screen with the usual icons. He hit the icon for emails and was rewarded with a listing of Selenica's emails. Unfortunately, they were in a language he didn't understand. The light from the phone woke Sarah.
"Oh, you got it open. My boyfriend is smart," she kissed his cheek.
"Yeah, but I can't read anything. Can you?" He showed her the face of the phone.
"It's Albanian. That's one of the languages I only have a passing knowledge of. Hey, Yuri, can you read Albanian? Chuck got Selenica's phone open."
"Yeah, I can," he said.
"Let's switch drivers, then. You can come back here and check out the phone. I'll drive," she said.
"I can drive if you want, Walker," said Casey.
"No need, Case. I'm on this side already," said Sarah.
"Ok," said Yuri, pulling to the side of the road. As they were switching, Yuri said to Chuck, in his deep growl, "I'm not putting my head on your shoulder, just so you know."
"Your loss," said Chuck with a shrug.
Yuri's laugh sounded a little like a heavy truck motor starting up. He sat next to Chuck and put on his reading glasses.
Sarah pulled the SUV back onto the road and they drove in silence for another ten minutes or so.
Yuri was getting agitated and finally grunted and said, "Ah, figovo. Figovo."
Casey said, "What's not good?"
Yuri replied, "He's planning a bomb plot. The bastard and some of his bastard friends are going to blow up something in Serbia next month. Not good."
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The United States Embassy is located on the Pest side of the river adjacent to a pleasant small park known as Szabadság tér, Liberty Square. In the wake of 9-11 security around the white, seven story building had been heightened and anti-vehicle bollards now ringed the approaches. Yuri's SUV stopped at the edge of the Square and Chuck and Sarah got out, Chuck carrying the briefcase. The car drove off.
As they walked through the small park to the Embassy gate, Chuck studied the building. He thought it looked very...European, somewhat ornate. It wasn't a style he'd readily find in the States.
They arrived at the gate and spoke to the US Marine private on guard duty, asking him to notify Mr. Tim Brown that they were there to meet him. Sarah had called Brown from the car, gotten him out of bed and arranged for him to meet them at the Embassy.
Brown came out a few moments later and walked them through security and around the attendant metal detectors. If he was put out in any way by Sarah's having roused him from bed and sending him to the office in the middle of the night, he hid it very well. He was enthusiastic and wide awake. He seemed to talk continuously, maybe as a result of nerves. The CIA section of the Embassy was smaller than it had been during the Cold War, as Brown had previously informed them. As he was leading them through the building, he explained that the square footage that had previously been dedicated to the spies was now housing economists and industrial experts.
Without too much delay, they arrived at the secure conference room from which they had arranged to contact Beckman and Graham. Brown stood near the back of the room as the video conference started.
"Good evening, Team. Please report," said Beckman.
"Chuck, he's your asset, why don't you take this," suggested Sarah.
"Ok," said Chuck. Two months ago, he might have been stammering and hesitant, but today briefing the Director of the CIA and the Director of the NSA was not the big deal it would once have been. "Good evening, Directors. We obtained the sample from the asset and the transaction is complete. I have the sample here." He held up the briefcase containing the SP-117 that Graham had requested. "We intend to have it transferred to Washington in the next diplomatic pouch." Graham nodded. "While at the site for the transfer, the asset identified a war criminal wanted by the Hague, a man named Dren Selenica, an Kosovar Albanian. It would have been simple to alert the authorities about his presence, but, unfortunately, Agent Walker recognized the man Selenica was meeting with as a member of the IH with responsibility for the Balkans."
"Hugghh. Makes it tough to turn him in if he's an IH asset," said Graham.
"Yes, Sir. That's why we decided to apprehend Selenica and take him to Serbia. The Serbs would love to have him."
"They would, Agent Carmichael. Good thinking. But they'd probably kill him themselves rather than turning him over to the ICTY," said Graham.
"Yes, Sir, but we had a plan for that," said Chuck.
"And what was that, Agent Carmichael?" asked Beckman.
"We were going to ask Director Graham to publicly congratulate them on the apprehension," said Chuck.
Graham chuckled, "Yeah. That might do it. So, what happened?"
"We took Selenica and were on the way to the Serbian border when I managed to open his smart phone...one of the new Apple ones...and I..."
"Wait a second, Chuck," said Beckman. "Those Apple phones can't be hacked into. I've had a lab full of tech guys working on that. It can't be done."
"Ummm, no, General," said Chuck. "It can. I did it."
Sarah said, with a huge grin, "In the back of a moving car with a flashlight held in his teeth."
Beckman looked stunned. Graham started to laugh long and hard. Finally, he said, "Tell you what, Chuck, on your way back to Burbank you'll be stopping in DC to teach a class or two to a few roomfuls of computer PhD's in need of your wisdom."
Chuck looked a little embarrassed, and mumbled, "Well, it wasn't really a big deal. I mean...it wasn't easy or anything, but you know...I just sort of tried some stuff..." He was blushing a little and shuffling his feet. Sarah looked like someone had just given her a wonderful gift. Every single day he just amazes more and more. She couldn't wait to see Casey and describe the look on Beckman's face.
Graham laughed again and said, "Ok, you're modest about it. Fine. Whatever. You're still stopping here to teach these supposed hotshots about the not so big deal you pulled off that they couldn't. Anyway, back to the story. What was on his phone that made you call us?"
"The asset was the only one of us who could read Albanian, so we asked him to look at the messages, texts, like that. Selenica is part of a plot to bomb something in Serbia next month. We don't know the exact date or the target itself and we don't know all of the other conspirators."
Beckman said, "Can we trust the asset's translation?"
"I believe we can, but I'm going to have it checked when we have the time. Can't hurt to have another set of eyes on the raw intelligence," said Chuck.
Graham finished the thought, "And, given that Selenica's likely an IH asset, you don't trust the Hungarians to stop it."
"Exactly, Sir. With your permission we'd like to stay here an extra few days and see if we can disrupt the bomb plot without local assistance," said Chuck.
Beckman spoke, "Where's Selenica now?"
"He's still in the back of the asset's car. We are going to make it look like a mugging. Take his wallet and jewelry … and phone, of course. But we can't leave him in his front yard until he's just about to wake up. It's cold enough outside that he runs a real risk of hypothermia if we drop him too soon," said Chuck.
Beckman said, "Chuck, you have the man and a briefcase full of truth serum. Dose him and find out what he knows."
"No, General. We aren't using an untested, potentially unsafe drug on an unwilling subject," said Chuck firmly.
"Chuck..." she started to respond.
"Chuck is right, General," said Graham. "This isn't the 70's anymore. We don't do that shit now. And these aren't the right circumstances for enhanced interrogation techniques. The planned bombing is a month away."
"Thank you, Sir," said Chuck.
"Very well, Chuck. The last thing we need is a flareup of violence in that part of the world right about now. We have enough trouble elsewhere. Trouble there never seems to confine itself to their neighborhood..."
Sarah said, "Didn't Churchill say that the Balkans produce more history than they can consume?"
"Indeed, he did. You and your team see what you can do there. Please give my personal thanks to your asset. This is a little outside what he signed up for and he should know that his assistance is appreciated."
"Will do, Sir. He'll be happy to hear that."
Graham chuckled mirthlessly, "Can't say it would be the same if he spotted a Serb with a warrant from the ICTY, but what the hell. Anyway, if you can't put a wrench in the works of the plot in a few days, I'll call my counterpart at the IH myself and lay it out for him. He'll probably be so embarrassed that one of his assets is planning shit like this from Hungarian soil he'll put a stop to it."
"Or just claim that Selenica fled to Austria before they could arrest him," said Sarah.
"Yeah, that could be," admitted Graham with a frown and a small nod. "Good luck." He looked up towards the back of the room. "Hey," he pointed at Brown. "You one of mine?"
Brown stepped forward. He was pretty nervous. The Carmichael team was quickly becoming the stuff of legend, but this was the Director himself. He'd never spoken to the Director himself. "Yes, Sir. Brown. Timothy Brown. I just graduated from the Farm in the summer, Sir."
"Great, Brown. Good to have you. From now on, you are to assist this team. Whatever they need, you take care of for them. Got it? We'll let the rest of your guys find COS Evans."
"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir. It's an honor, Sir. Thank you," he was puppy-dog eager and Graham had to hide a small smile.
"Terrific. Ok, team. Good luck. Let me know how you do," he said and cut the connection.
Brown said, "Agent Carmichael, Agent Walker, I'm very happy to be working with you and Agent Casey. I won't let you down. How can I help?"
Chuck put the briefcase down on the table and opened it. Inside were five small vials of clear liquid held stationary in a foam insert. He closed the case again and said, "Can you put this in the next diplomatic pouch for delivery to Langley? Attention Director Central Intelligence?"
"Sure, Agent Carmichael..."
"Brown, please call me Chuck. Ok?"
The younger man grinned. "Ok, Chuck."
Sarah said, "And when that's done, get us a safe house to work from."
"You can work from here," he said. "There's plenty of room."
"We have an asset on the team with us. We don't want him coming and going from the US Embassy," explained Sarah.
"Oh. Ok. Sure, I can get us a safe house," said Brown. Chuck noted the use of the word "us" with a small smile.
"Make sure it's got a good internet connection, please," said Chuck.
"Right, Chuck," said Brown.
"And a couple of more cars, please," said Sarah. "Now that there are … five of us on the team, we'll need some more mobility."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"How about you call me Sarah? Or Walker, if you'd like, but not Ma'am," she said. She was only a few years older than Brown.
"Ok. Sorry."
With a small smile she said, "It's ok. Don't worry." She knew that she had never been this young.
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Across the river, Casey and Yuri emptied Selenica's pockets and took his watch and jewelry, then manhandled him out of the back of the SUV and used the man's key to open the gate to his front yard. They put him down on the cold grass.
"He'll need an explanation for passing out," said Casey. "And a tranquilizer dart is not a good one."
Yuri bent down and punched Selenica in the back of the head.
"Yeah," said Casey, nodding. "That would work."
They watched until Selenica started to stir and then walked away, leaving the gate unlatched. As they walked back to their car, Yuri lit a cigarette and held his lighter out for Casey to light a cigar. Yuri clapped Casey on the back as they got to the black truck. Silently, they entered the SUV and drove away.
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A/N2: In 2016, the FBI really, really wanted to get into the smartphones of the San Bernadino terrorists to determine if the shooters had acted alone. They sued Apple to have the company open the locked phones. The ensuing litigation became a classic of "national security versus privacy." The government abandoned the lawsuit when they found a third-party contractor who could open the phones without the cooperation of Apple. To my knowledge, the identity of the contractor has never been disclosed. I have an Israeli friend, though, and he laughed at the news speculation about the contractor's identity at the time. He told me that everyone in Tel Aviv knew that it was the kid down the block who did the job for the FBI. I'm sure that's just a silly rumor repeated by my friend, but it stuck with me. I figure Chuck is at least as smart as that Israeli kid.
A/N3: Some years after this story is set, a life size statute of US President Ronald Reagan was erected in Liberty Square, Budapest, facing the US Embassy. I hope Casey made it back for the ceremony.
A/N4: Don't know if any of you read these stories on your phones through the FF app. I do sometimes. Lately, at the end of a chapter there will be a list of recommended stories. I checked and they made the same addition to the latest chapter of New Day. Just letting everyone know, those aren't my recommendations. I don't know whose they are, but they're not mine. They might be perfectly fine stories, but I have no idea.