Don't own Chuck
The next morning Roan and the General woke up to the sounds of men yelling along with the noise of the boats Diesel engine they used to maneuver the vessel in and out of port. They heard the skipper's voice as he barked out commands then they felt the boat slowly begin to move. The first movement was a gentle rolled starboard then back to port as she righted herself after that they pulled away from the pier.
"Let's go topside and watch as we pull out of port," said Beckman as she threw on her clothes. "We can have breakfast afterwards." Roan laid there smiling at her in his monogramed pajama. "What's the matter with you?"
"Nothing... nothing," he said smiling even more as he got dressed too. "I was just thinking it sounds like you've finally gotten into this vacation."
"Shut up and hurry up," she said as she tossed a pillow at him. She hadn't been able to let her hair down like this for... well for a very long time.
They came topside just as the ship was switching from motor to sails. What used to take a whole crew to do raising and lowering the sails was now controlled electronically by an electrical motor. With the push of a button the main sail went up. Spike and Spud went around the weather deck with a couple of other men to set the sails. Soon they caught a good breeze and the sails filled then she was racing across the water cutting through kicking up a good wake behind her.
"I'm glad to see you guys are up," said the Skipper as he waved them back to wheel house. "I'll have Spud get your breakfast together after we make it past Hassel Island. After that we're out of Long Bay and we can start East towards Saint John but then we'll dip towards Saint Kitts and Nevis. This was the deviation I talked to you about. We can make it back to Saint John on our return Northwards."
"You're the skipper and the man in charge so take us where every you want. Here the journey is more important than the destination," said Roan as he took a deep breath of sea air.
"I thought you might feel that way so sit back, relax and enjoy the sights. This is the closest you'll get to paradise and live to tell about it. Do you have any questions you'd like to ask while I'm navigating us out of here?"
"I've got one for you. Spud last night got kind of defensive when I mentioned the name 'Black Bart'. What's going on with that? He said that he's still pirating in these waters but he'd been dead for over three hundred years."
"I bet he also told you not to mention his name because it could conjure him up also?" said the Skipper as he laughed. "It's nothing but some old wives' tale and a vivid imagination combined with a lot of alcohol. You're right but did you know he was never captured. His crew that was captured said he was killed in action then his body was buried at sea per his request but you know how trustworthy the testimony of pirates can be."
"So, I take it some sort of legend built up around him and that's what everyone is afraid of," said Beckman. She could tell that Troy was keeping an eye on Spike and Spud making sure they were out of earshot. She could only think he didn't want them hearing what they were talking about.
"That's right. There's a story that goes he was cast down into hell but Charon refused to ferry him over to the other side so he was doomed to wander for eternity neither dead nor alive."
"And if you say his name he thinks he's being called so he comes back to take revenge on anyone who says it. He thinks they're mocking him, is that it?"
"Something like that. I know it sounds really crazy but the people down here believe it and they believe in him."
"Or like to blame him when things happen. So much so that when there's a real act of piracy they blame it one him. Spud told me something about Spike's boat being impounded after he testified that it was boarded and robbed by Black Bart." Diane noticed a little cringe in Troy's eye every time Roan mentioned Black Bart by name and how he avoided saying it.
"But you don't believe that do you Skipper," said Diane. "I mean a man like you surely you don't think this man has come back from the grave."
"Of course not," said Tory but his body language said the contrary. "Like I said before just a bunch of old men who like to hit the bottle a little bit too hard. But Spud is right don't mention this around Spike. His whole life was turned upside down over the incident you just described. I told him to tell the investigators what they wanted to hear. Tell them some men wearing dark masks and black hoods boarded your boat. If he'd told the investigator that then they wouldn't have impounded his boat."
"Because they think he had something to do with the robbery. You have to admit it's pretty hard to swallow. I would think the insurers of the boat would have something to say about it too."
"Everyone had something to say and no one believed him nor did they listen to him. However, one thing is certain and that is he was robbed. No one can deny that and no one has seen hide nor hair of the loot."
"So, what's your opinion about what happened? You must have an opinion and you said you didn't believe in this Black Bart legend," said Diane as she watched him cringe one more time.
"Look, I've known Spike for a long time and he's the one who gave me my start so if he tells me pirates boarded his boat and robbed everyone on board then I believe him. But Spike does like the bottle so the story about... well you know who... that part I have to take with a grain of salt. Who are you two? You sound like the cops that came down to the piers to talk to us. This isn't some sort of trick to get us to say something against Spike, is it?"
"No, we're not cops," said Diane as Spud walked up behind them to report in and caught the last part of the conversation.
"Who's a cop? Are you people here to investigate Spike? Is that's what this trip is about? You want to get us alone so you can interrogate us. I knew something was up last night."
"No, this has nothing to do with Spike or Black Bart. We're here on vacation and I just wanted to know more about him so I was asking questions." Spud's eyes got as big as saucers.
"I told you not to mention that name onboard. We never mention that name and you went ahead and did it after I told you not to."
"Just everyone calm down and take a deep breath. This is all a big mistake. No, we're not cops and no, we're not investigating Spike..."
"You're G-men or G-women," said Spud. "I saw you talking outside the hotel with that man in black. He was definitely a G-man."
"Okay, we're federal agents but we're here on vacation. Even federal agents go on vacation every now and then. But were not here for Spike..."
"Who's not here for me," said Spike as he walked up to the wheelhouse. I heard someone mention my name. Is someone here for me?"
"Geez, I'm starting to miss Langley," said Diane as a group of dolphins appeared off the portside of the Annabel Lee and started playing dancing in her wake. This was what they needed to distract everyone and get their vacation back on track again.
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Early the next morning Sarah woke up rolled over expecting to find Chuck next to her but instead she found he was gone. At first she reasoned he had gone back over Casey's to try to talk some sense into him but not only was that useless but it was just asking for trouble. She got up checked on Bunny then left with the intent of going over to Casey's but didn't get very far finding Chuck in the kitchen. The whole kitchen smelt like vanilla and butter and sugar.
"What are you up to? What's that smell? What are you doing... baking cookies," said Sarah as she lifted the cloth over a plate of sugar cookies.
"I thought Sam could use something nice to bring with her to school for her new friends," said Chuck as Sarah grab one and took a bite. "Hey those are for Sam."
"She won't miss one and these are too good to pass up. You know what would go well with this?" said Sarah.
"I think I'm ahead of you," said Chuck as he poured her a cup of fresh coffee. "Is this what you're talking about," she said as he passed it to her.
"You know it's like sometimes you can read my mind," said Sarah as she took it from him and smiled over the top of it. "So, these are all for her to do what with? She's not really going to school today. She's just getting to know some of her classmates and play. This meeting is really for us to explain school policy, meet her teachers and have a look around."
"I know but I thought she could share these with them while they played. You know a kind of ice breaker of shorts with the other kids. I remember the first days of school can be kind of rough."
"It sounds like you had a hard time at school. I can understand Morgan because... well we're talking about Morgan. But you? You've never really said anything."
"Well, it wasn't long after I started school my Mom took off then that left me with my crazy old dad and soon I was the crazy man's son. Then he took off and it was just Ellie and I. The only kid that treated me normal was..."
"Morgan... I get that and I understand but remember I grew up as the conman's daughter. Parents were reluctant to let their kids play with me because I had police, FBI and you name it at my front door."
"Including Langston Graham," said Chuck as he looked at her. She turned away and looked at the wall. "It's okay to miss him. In a way, we owe our being together to him even if he ordered Casey to kill me twice. I don't hold that against him."
"You do realize that as much as he put us together he almost permanently separated us. You see this is why you're a good guy Chuck. You can see past that. I don't know if I were you I could. But you're right, I owe him a lot. He kept me out of jail and he helped me with school then the Secret Service and the CIA."
"Who knows where you would've ended up if it hadn't been for him and it's for that I'm grateful to him," he said as he kissed her. "That and for not letting Casey finish the job he started to do."
"Yuck, I think I'm going to be sick. You know we can always revisit that," said John standing in their living room. "You might want to change that lock on your door. Anyone could've just walked in here."
"Anyone with a little covert training and a set of lock picks," said Sarah. "Shouldn't you still be in bed dreaming of little Marines jumping over obstacles?"
"Very funny, but Chuck called me and told me to come over," said John as he walked over and grabbed a couple of cookies. "You should try using bran in these."
"No one eats bran and yes, I asked John to come over. The other thing I did this morning was I wrote and algorithm and sent it to the main frame to process. It dawned on me that we know Marta called the consulate and reported her conversation with General Fry..."
"And he or she called Moscow and got the General whacked in Saint Thomas. But there's no way to figure out who the guy was."
"Yes, voice recognition didn't pan out but I decided to track the outgoing calls from the consulate after her call in."
"What are you thinking? So what Chuck we'll find a lot of calls back to your buddies in Lubyanka square. That won't tell us much unless we can decipher the call and I don't think your friendly bears are going to tell us who ate the porridge."
"I don't either but what if the guy didn't call Moscow. Think about he didn't know how much time he had before the General would burn Marta and...
"The handler is responsible for his or her asset's well-being. You two are a case in point," said John. He reached for another cooker but Sarah swatted his hand. "Ouch! But that was in the past."
"Those are for Sam to take to school. But I see where you're going with this, the guy might not have called Moscow but tried to handle it on his own. He sounds like Mary."
"Something like that," said Chuck as he took a sip of coffee. "Calling Moscow and getting the SVR mobilized would've taken time... time he was sure he had."
"So what do you think this guy did? You don't think he hopped on a plane and flew down to Saint Thomas to whack French Fry? We would've noticed one of their guys at LAX but that doesn't mean he couldn't have crossed the border and flew out of Mexico," said John as he started to think how he would've done it.
"No, I don't think our guy did that. It would've taken too long and then he would've had to know the General had requested the services of an escort. I guess he could've gotten a gun on the island but this is too messy and he would've gotten caught. Remember we got that report back from our Agent down there that said no activity by any foreign intelligence agency had been detected on the island."
"You know I don't like this game of twenty questions. Can't you just tell us instead of having this guess who's the smartest in the room."
"Just calm down. Okay, this is what I think, he contacted someone he knew or had worked with in the past. A number of KGB agents were stationed in Cuba before and they were also all over Central America training rebel forces."
"You mean insurgents... I hate insurgents. The only good insurgent is potting soil... Bunch of commies who hid in the jungles down there. They killed a lot of our good men and now they're plant food... now they're doing a useful job."
"Okay John, thank you for that input. I never knew you had a green thumb."
"Not a green thumb just an itchy trigger finger. So Chuck, what is it your computer program is supposed to do for us? Will it tell us who this guy contacted?"
"I don't think it will give us a name but we'll see a spider web of activity and what we want to look for is a call that went out to Central America... probably Cuba before the General was killed then a call back just afterwards..."
"I get it to confirm the kill. There might even be pics sent as a proof of death. I keep the photos of the people I've whacked and sometimes are night I look through them as I have a beer to unwind. It's quite soothing and makes you think."
"What? Another one bites the dust by Queen comes to mind but I don't see you as much of a Queen fan John."
"What are you talking about? Of course, I like the old lady. She reminds me of my grandma and she's though but no, I always think of something like 'sucker'."
"I don't have to tell you what that sounds like. And they sent me to see Dr. Leo. Either it was some sort of joke or John, you're just too far gone and they thought it wasn't worth the effort."
"You want to know something funny. I had your picture in here a couple of times but I had to delete it when my orders were rescinded."
"And you think that's funny... did you hear that and he thinks it's funny," said Chuck as Sarah laughed. "What? You think it's funny too? I certainly don't."
"Don't listen to him. John's just yanking on your chain and you're falling for it. You don't take credit for the kill ahead of time because it'll jinx the mission."
"Jinx it you say. Oh, John, now I know you care about me. You jinx the hit on purpose so you wouldn't have to whack me. I could hug you right now," said Chuck as he opened his arms. "Come here and bring it in Big Guy."
"The only thing I'm going to bring in is a combination right then left if you don't back up and put those paws down. Keep it in your pants Bartowski. How would you like to go to school today with a shiner? If you do just keep it up and I'll accommodate you."
"I love you too," said Chuck as he winked at John. Casey turned beet red. "Okay but turnaround is fair play and you started this."
"I don't hardly think so. This was all you so don't try to blame it on me. We can still go with the black eye on the first day of school."
"Guys... Guys, will you both just take a chill pill. You're both to blame. So how long before we get a read out on your algorithm?"
"I don't know there's a lot of data to sort through. Luckily for us, the NSA has been monitoring their lines since the consulate opened up so we've got the call. It's just we have to isolate the right one but it's a daunting task. However, it is a feasible one. John, I need you standing by for any printout."
"Why didn't you just have the main frame send it straight to you?" said Sarah. Then it hit her. "Because you don't want Mary to know about this. Oh, Chuck, you know she's going to find out sooner or later?"
"I know and it's not that... well, I just don't want her to know about it before I get the results and once I get the answer then I'll tell her but I just wanted to hedge my bets until I'm sure."
"Because if it doesn't work you don't want to have to tell Mommy that you screwed up," said Casey. Sarah put her arms around Chuck and hugged him. In the meantime, John used the distraction to grab another cookie.
"I told you..." said Sarah as she reached for a knife pulling it out of the butcher's block on the counter top.
"Last one and I'm out of here," said John as he retreated towards the door. "I'll keep you posted from Castle. Tell Sam good luck at school today and to remember what I ta... told her."
"What was that all about? Should we be worried," said Chuck. Sarah just shrugged her shoulders as she put the knife away.
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On the other side of the island a fifty-two-foot Viking boat pulled away from a private pier. She was heading out on an intercept course with the Annabel Lee. Donna Rosenda was sitting on the flying bridge watching the horizon as Luiz stood by her side. She'd been silent since they came onboard.
"You're sure about the information that old cabrón sold you? And don't you think you overpaid him a little? I thought I brought you up to be smarter."
"He knows what the price is for giving us bad information is. I don't know what you're complaining about. The way he said it, you and him were a thing back before papá so I'd think you wouldn't mind giving him a little cash so he can pay for his rum."
"Now I know he's an old cabrón. Is this the reason I have to find a new driver and the men were hosing down the van this morning? Oh, Luiz, once I met your father I knew then he was the man for me. Sure, I might have gone out with other men before your father but I haven't seen anyone since and you know that's true. I light a candle for him every morning and another in the evening."
"I know that's true I grew up with the altar you created for him. But... well... you see there was this other story I was told..."
"Yes, what is it? Go ahead and spit it out. You know I don't like this guessing game you like to play with me. If you've got something to say spit it out and stop hem and hawing around."
"Well, it's about Pablito... Dad... you see I was told he liked women... other women and a lot," said Luiz. He could see his mother's jaw stiffen.
"And that's why you shot the driver in the van. You did the right thing. Anyone who disrespects your father's memory will get the same. I'm proud of you for defending our family's honor. You did what your father would've done."
Luiz didn't see any reason to tell Donna Rosenda that it was actually their informant on the Annabel Lee who had told him. His mother was happy with what he'd done and that was all that mattered and it wasn't like the driver was going to contradict his story. Then it dawned on him that she had gotten angry but hadn't denied the story either. She hadn't told him that it was a lot of bull fabricated to bring discredit on his father's name.
"The lady doth protest too much but if that were the case then what does that say about him," he mumbled to him. "She thinks I took revenge on something there was no denying."
"Luiz, what are you mumbling? This is no time to be daydreaming. I'm beginning to wonder if our informant got his location right. That old fool could've been talking out of the bottom of a rum bottle and you paid him for it."
"It's still early," said Luiz as he picked up a pair of binoculars and started searching the horizon. "And there she is over there," pointed to Luiz at a dot on the horizon that was coming into full view.
"Good, tonight we take them."