Don't own Chuck
Chuck went outside and hopped in the waiting vehicle that took him to the bungalow where Casey was staying. It was strategically located isolated so as to minimize collateral damage. Casey's bungalow had two others on each side but those were the only two and after those his nearest neighbors were in the city which was what everyone wanted.
"Hey John, we need to hurry up the boat is in Long Bay now. I've arranged for a small boat to take us out to the Annabel Lee before they pull in."
"Small boat out? Wait a minute, why do we need to take a boat out to meet them? If they're in the bay they should be pier side by the time we get there or if not shortly afterwards."
"Marley ran into a little trouble onboard as he was flushing out the mole the guy figured out his cover was blown so he jumped over board and commandeered a passing speed boat. The Coast Guard sent a zodiac after him and alerted the authorities on the island. I'm expecting something back from them soon."
"I wouldn't hold my breath on that I bet the perp knows these islands like the back of his hand. You sure you want to hang around me? I'm the one with the bull's eye painted on his back and as we go out to meet this boat we'll be sitting ducks."
"Thanks for painting that vivid picture for me but we need to get a move on it. I finally got a bird reposition so we can look down from above and I've got a couple of drones being shipped in from Carmichael industries."
"Don't dislocate your arm trying to pat yourself on the back. You know what they call that, don't you? A day late and a dollar short," said Casey as he filled his 'Go Cup' with coffee. "Okay, I'm ready now we can leave."
"You know they have coffee all over the island and onboard the boat. You don't need to bring your own with you," said Chuck as he followed John out the door.
"That might be true but people want to give me coffee in those little cups or fill it full of milk. No, this is coffee the way it was intended to be drunk… black no sugar."
"I can't believe you said that," said Chuck as they got into the SUV. But Casey just grunted and shrugged his shoulders. "Let me be clearer about what I meant… Americano drunk by the ugly American."
"Hey, watch the insults… it's still early. Everyone has a right to drink coffee the way he or she likes even if most of the world drinks theirs wrong. It's in the constitution right next to the right to bear arms."
"Caffeine and firearms what's wrong with that picture? John, with logic like that who could say you're wrong. You know you ought to think about running for president one of these days."
"No thank you, I like being the pointy end of the stick and now the pointy end wants to know what know about our runner? Were you able to dig anything up on him?"
"As soon as Marley called me I had him send me a photo and a fingerprint of our perp. They call him 'Spud' but his real name is Robert O'Brien or that's what he went by on the island. His real name was Patrick O'Shannessy a member of the IRA and wanted in the UK for a series of bombings. His story gets interesting when he skipped out of the UK when MI5 was closing in on him and he relocated to central America. That's when he assumed the name Robert O'Brien and became a freedom fighter in the People's Liberation Front."
"You have to wonder if anyone else onboard knew about his chequered past. It just seems that if you work that closely with someone you're bound to pick up something's off with the guy."
"Are you using yourself as an example?" said Chuck as they drove through town heading for the Marina and the piers. "I sent Morgan and Alex information on our guy along with a photo they can show around town. Who knows maybe we'll get lucky?"
"And maybe they'll get themselves killed," said John. He pulled out his phone as they drove on to the Marina. "Grimes this is me… don't ask who me it is or I'll reach through this phone and pull your head back through it. … Good, I thought that might give you a hint. If you get a visual on our perp I don't want you doing anything stupid like trying to take him in on your own. You call me and I'll work something out but I don't want you or Alex engaging the enemy. … I know Chuck contacted you but I don't think he would be stupid enough to tell you to John Wayne this. Just do what I told you. Casey out," he said as he hung up.
"Geez, thanks there Big Guy for the vote of confidence and for the record, no, I didn't tell him to try to take Spud in. Marley said that he was armed when he jumped overboard. 'Not that stupid'… really."
"Yeah, I should've left off the 'not that' and just gone with 'stupid'. Come on let's get in that boat and get out to the Annabel Lee."
"John, I've got a strange feeling like we're being watch," said Chuck as they walked out on the pier. He stopped and looked around before getting into the boat.
"Hurry up and get onboard. You've got that feeling because there are people watching us. Remember you always listen to your gut and mine is telling me that our friends already know I'm here."
"How do you want play this then," said Chuck as he got comfortable onboard then they pulled away from the pier and started heading out to the Coast Guard cutter that had as sail boat under tow behind it.
"We need to be ready but they're going to have to make the first move. I know you're not going to like hearing this but then we'll play it from ear. I know how much you like your plans but there's no way to plan for something like this. It's just going to happen and you have to roll with the punches when it goes down."
"I hear what you're saying but I don't want anything like what happened in the church to happen again. It doesn't make me look very good losing goats."
Casey looked at him and grunted but Chuck could tell he was as worried about this as he was. Just as usual John was determined not to show it.
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On the pirate boat they had just pulled into their secret base on Saint John Island. Luiz was getting everything ready so he and his mother could fly back to Saint Thomas to grab Casey. He also had men spying on Casey from the pier and they were reporting back to him. He was interested in Spud's great escape.
"Okay, put feelers out… Sooner or later Spud will show up. It's imperative we make sure he's not grabbed by the authorities. I want you to do whatever you have to do but make sure that doesn't happen. … Yes, that means exactly what it sounds like. Do you have a problem with that? … Good, then carry out my orders," said Luiz then he hung up.
"What's going on," said Donna Rosenda as she came up behind her son. "It sounds like something didn't go as planned."
"If you had let me sink that boat nothing would be happening now. They discovered Spud but he managed to get away and is hiding somewhere on the island."
"We need to get him before they do. I need to talk to him and explain to him that we never intended to do him any harm…"
"I think that boat's done sailed with the pound of C-4 we left onboard and the two flares I used to start fires with."
"Nonsense… I can tell him they were diversions to give us time to escape which is what we did. No, I can make him see our point. We can extract him back to Honduras with us."
"With everyone looking for him, don't you think that would be a little risky," said Luiz. He wanted to ask her if there was another reason she wanted Spud found but dared not. However, that didn't stop him from wondering.
"Just do it. If we turn our backs on those who help us soon we'll be on our own. No, Spud needs to be brought in. I also want the man we took to come with us. I want Roan Montgomery to go with us to Saint Thomas."
"Why do you want that? You know it's dangerous. If anyone sees him they'll know where to come looking to get him back. I told you this before and you agreed. What's changed now?"
"I have questions to ask him… questions I need answered. He can't answer them if I'm over there and he's here. You'll make the arrangements and to make sure he goes along peacefully we'll tell him if he acts up then the woman will suffer."
"Do you think a man like that could care about one woman? I bet he's had more than he can remember. He'll run off the first minute he gets a chance."
"I disagree. I think he cares a lot about this one even if he'll never admit it but a woman can sense these sorts of things. It was the same between your father and myself. Two Corazon and an AK47… it was magic."
"I'm sure it was all the way up to when my father bought the farm," said Luiz. He caught his mother's look. "All right, you want to bring Roan along I can arrange that. We just have to take him to the airport in the trunk then load him on the chopper then put him in the trunk of the vehicle waiting for us and whisk him to the villa without being seen."
"See I knew you were a smart boy. Now wasn't that as easy as a piece of cake," said Rosenda. Luiz shook his head in disbelief that she hadn't understood his sarcasm.
"As easy as pie or just like cake you're getting your idioms confused again and this will be neither easy nor a breeze… which basically mean the same thing."
"You know I think sometimes you should've studied harder in that boarding school because sometimes your English is hard to comprehend."
"You think my English is hard to understand?"
"See that's what I mean. I said comprehend but you say understand like you didn't understand comprehend and you were checking to see if that was what I meant. It's all right, I'll try to keep things simple for you…"
"Never mind… okay you want Roan with us. I'll make it happen. You," yelled Luiz. "I want you to grab some and together go down and bring the guy we grabbed up to the car parked on the pier. Put a hood over his head then stuff him in the trunk then the two of you climb in the car. You're coming to the airport with us. Got that?"
The man nodded his head then tapped a friend on the shoulder. Luiz and Rosenda watched them disappear down below decks.
"Okay, so you got your way now let's go get in the car. Once your passenger is loaded we can head out. You realize once this is all said and done we will never be able to come back here again?"
"I know but I won't miss anything here. You'll find once you've lived in the jungle how little you actually need to be happy. I had that with your father and now it's time to make them pay for taking it away from me."
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A black Ford explorer pulled up outside of Lockhart Elementary school. It was early morning and the sun was already hot but there was a low breeze blowing in off the ocean that make it bearable. Sam looked around as she got out of the SUV. Sarah said something to her but she was too busy looking around.
"Wow, everything looks so bright and shiny," said Sam. She saw the other children going in carrying their backpacks. "I don't have any supplies… or books… or anything?"
"Don't worry about that now," said Sarah as she held Bunny then took Sam by the hand and they walked inside with Mary by their side.
"This way," said Mary smiling being the proud grandmother as they entered the building. "We have to check into with the offices before you go off to your classroom."
"May I help you," said a woman behind the counter as they walked in. "You must be the new check-in. The principal wants a word with you. Your daughter can wait out here with me while you talk with Dr. Dunham."
"Sam, you wait here. We'll be right back," said Sarah as Sam sat down on a chair outside the principal's door. While she was doing that the woman who had greeted them went inside and informed the principal they were here.
"Come inside," said the Principal. "Please call me Kathy. I need to talk to you about why you've chosen our school."
Everyone went inside leaving Sam sitting outside in chair that was just a little too tall for her. Her feet didn't touch the ground so she started swinging them back and forth. It wasn't long after that she started to get bored.
"Can I ask you what are you doing," said Sam as she watched the woman sort through papers then stable them.
"I've got to arrange all these papers then stable them for Ms. Martinez. We've got an experimental bilingual program where… but you don't need to know all this. My name is Roxanne but everyone calls me Roxy."
"My name is Sam and everyone calls me Sam. Can I help you put those papers together? I don't do well just sitting and I sometimes get in trouble when I'm bored."
"Well, we can't have that, now can we? Not on your first day here. I'll put the papers together and you can stable?"
"I can do that," said Sam as she smiled and jumped off the chair. Roxy handed her the stapler and she began to staple the papers Roxy handed her.
[Meanwhile inside]
"Please have a seat," said Kathy. "What a cute baby? Two little blonde angels you have. What's her name?"
"This one is Bunny and… well you met Sam outside. I know their names are a bit odd but they have special meaning for us," said Sarah. She suddenly felt like she needed to become defensive.
"Believe me when you've been doing this job as long as I have you hear them all. Bunny and Sam are almost normal around here. But that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm not so sure this school is the perfect match for your daughter. Seventy-five percent of our student body are of Afro-American descent and twenty-four percent are Hispanic which leaves one percent Caucasian."
"I don't understand what you're trying to say," said Sarah. "That doesn't matter to us. We want Sam to grow up like any other kid."
"Okay, but it's my understand that you're only going to be here for a short while then she's going to have to transfer. You've got to see how that's not conducive to good learning."
"I understand that… we understand that but our work brought us here and at the time we didn't have any other options…"
"Because she managed to get expelled from her school on the first day? I've got a report from a school in L.A. county with her name on it."
"Technically school hadn't begun. It was during orientation and she was defending friends of hers who were being bullied by older kids who had not right to be there. I'm not condoning her actions but merely explaining what happened. Believe me if you'd been the principal there the outcome might have been different."
"I don't know I take a dim view on physical violence. We try to teach our children to talk problems out or find mediation through an adult."
"You sound like my husband. Those were his exact words and believe me we have talked with Sam about what happened. It won't happen again," said Sarah as she looked over at Mary texting away on her phone. Mary looked up.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm the grandmother and my job is to spoil my granddaughter. Right now, I… we really need to go. I've just arranged for some federal funding to be earmarked for your school."
"What did you say you do for a living?" said Kathy as she looked down at the folder in front of her. "It says you are Federal employees?"
"We work under the umbrella of Homeland Security," said Sarah. "It's really boring and we don't have time to get into all that now. So, can I leave my daughter with you? She needs to stay today."
"I don't know I really need to talk to your husband too," said Kathy as she walked them to the door. But when they opened it they found Sam with the phone receiver near her head talking with Roxy and on the phone at the same time.
"Marie's grandmother says they can't come and pick up Marie until late because her mother is in the hospital delivering a baby," said Sam. Then she turned and spoke Spanish in the receiver. "Marie's mother is having a baby… she's not the doctor delivering the baby. But I can stay with Marie and you to keep her company if you want?"
"What's going on here? Where's Jesus?" said Kathy. "Jesus is our interpreter who's supposed to be in the office answering phones."
"He had to run a quick errand which turned out to be longer than expected. Ms Martinez helped as long as she could then she had to run to teach her class. That was when Sam volunteered to help. Ms. Martinez wanted to know if your family was bilingual?"
"We are a bite of a polyglot actually. But Sam has always had a knack for languages, she also speaks Russian as well as French."
"I know ice cream in at least ten different languages including Swahili and Hausa," said Sam as everyone laughed.
"I think we need to keep your daughter with us," said the Principal.
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[Not very far away]
Spud made the husband drive his speed boat up near the beach where he shoved the wife away from him then jumped off in the water. Standing waist deep he pointed his weapon back up at them in the boat. Spud didn't have to say a word. The man immediately yelled for his wife to get down and stay down as he backed his engines pulling away from Spud.
"I want you to disappear," yelled Spud as he pointed his Tokarev at them. The man didn't have to be told twice. He kicked up a wake trying to get away as fast as he could.
"You need to find someplace to hide until dark," said Spud to himself. "Crap… everything is going to crap. I knew this was going to happen one of these days. I just knew it. Okay calm down and think."
He slipped the pistol into his belt hiding it under his shirt. Next think he needed to do was to get off the beach. Being out in the open was a quick way to get caught and he knew it.
"Get your bearings first," he told himself as he took deep breaths. "The last thing you need to do is look scared even if you are. People will see you and someone will notice you then that will be all there is."
He ran up off the beach then he slowed his pace as walked down the road heading for the villa but he stopped before going very far.
"What are you doing? If you go in the villa you might not come out again standing up. Luiz did plant that bomb and start those fires knowing you were onboard. No, you need to think first about what to do. You need to be smart for once," he said to himself. He walked into a bar and ordered a straight rum.
"Spud, what are you doing here?" said a man at the end. "I thought you were out on the Annabel Lee? Or are they back already? I heard you guys had some problems."
"I don't know what you're talking about? Troy brought Spike onboard so I decided to sit this one out," he said as he downed his rum then waved for another one. "There just wasn't enough room for the two of us onboard."
"I hear you and I don't blame you. I understand why Tory did it but if it makes you feel any better a buddy of mine said they got visited by you know who while they were out."
"Really, and who's your buddy? You know a lot of people around here shoot their mouths off and don't know what they're talking about."
"No, he got it on good authority from a friend of his down at the Coast Guard station," said the man. But just as they were talking Morgan and Alex walked in. Spud noticed them right away and he didn't need to be told he'd outstayed his welcome. He downed his rum then eased his way towards the sign that said restroom but instead he went the backdoor. Once outside he looked around and saw a panel van parked in the street with Lockhart Elementary painted on the side.
"Bingo, the perfect hideout until dark."