Don't own Chuck

While Casey was talking with Alex above little did he know what was going on just a few floors below them. In the morgue loading bay Luiz and Donna Rosenda pulled in and parked with their men. They took out the Morgue staff out as soon as they parked then stashing them in the freezers. After that they brought in another vehicle of personnel those who survived the schoolhouse fiasco.

"Mother, why don't you take our... your prisoner and go back to the villa. I'll stay here and coordinate our men here." What he was really saying was he wanted his mother gone so she wouldn't be foot when and if he had to tap Spud.

"I should stay and make sure you've got your back covered," said Donna Rosenda. She knew her son and knew why he wanted her gone but as she was talking Luiz's phone began to ring.

"I need to take this it's from our boat," said Luiz as he answered. "I told you not to call me unless it was an emergency. I'm in the middle of a situation here," he said as he looked at his mother. But his look changed suddenly and he turned away from her.

"Oh really, and when did this happen," he said. His tone indicated he was not happy. "… I see and how? … As far as I'm concerned you can feed them to the sharks. Okay let's down some damage control. If you can't find her then get out of there. Shove off and put as much distance as you can between you and the island..."

"What's going on," asked Donna Rosenda as she interrupted him. She could tell from the tone of his voice and the bits and pieces she heard that something had gone wrong. She thought she knew what it was. "You said her, does this mean that woman got away?"

"Yes, Mom, I'll explain later," said Luiz then he turned back to his phone. "I want you underway. Sail back here then dock inside the boathouse that way you'll be out of sight. I've got to go but I'll call you back as soon as I'm finished here," he said then he hung up and put away his phone.

"What happened? How'd they let that woman get away," said Donna Rosenda as she barraged him with questions.

"I'm not sure of the exact details but I'll explain to you what I was told later. Right now, you need to get home with our prisoner and get everything ready for us to evacuate. I don't think that woman can identify us but we need to be prepared for anything. Can you do that for me?"

"I don't need that woman to take my revenge for Pablito," she said as if she hadn't heard his request. "Just get me this John Casey and then we can sail back to Honduras where this all started. I've waited too long for this and I'm not going to let anyone screw it up now."

"Boss, sorry to interrupt but the other vehicle is pulling in now. From what we've been able to learn our guy is being held on the fifth floor and this is the sedative you asked for," said the man as he handed Luiz a syringe. "That should be enough to bring down a baby elephant or a Colonel."

"Good, let's put on some white coats and head up. We'll use the staff elevator to avoid the crowds. Mom, go and I'll catch up with you after this is done."

"Just keep in mind this is for Pablito… your father," she said as she turned and got back into the SUV then closed the door.

"If only I could be that certain," he said under his breath. "Take her back to the villa," Luiz yelled to the driver as he put on the white smock slipping the syringe in a pocket at the same time.

"Boss, you need to see this," said one of his men. "We found him while we were stashing the people we whacked down here."

"Him who? What is it you guys found? We need to get out of here as soon as we can. This place is crawling with Feds and we don't have time to screw around," said Luiz as he followed his man inside a room where they kept the bodies chilled. "Well, what is it?"

"Show him," said the man. Another man near the refrigerators opened a small door then pulled out the tray with a body on it. He pulled the sheet back so Luiz could see who it was.

"That's Spud? What's he doing down here? And if he's down here then who's upstairs?" said Luiz as a cold shill ran up his spine. "Hold on a minute are we sure the guy they're holding is one of ours and this isn't some sort of trap?"

Luiz flew out of the morgue and back to the other vehicle that had just pulled in. He grabbed the team leader and slammed him against the side of the SUV.

"What the crap is going on here?" said Luiz. "Are you trying to set us up? We just found Spud's body in the morgue so do you want to do some explaining? I swear if you've led me into a trap I'll feed you to the crabs."

"Hold up Boss... just hold up a moment," said the man as he held up his hands. "It's not that we had to leave in a hurry and now that we did a head count we're missing a man... we're missing Joe. He was holding hostages in the office. His comms went down then the firefight started... it has to be him.

"Well for your sake it had better be him. Okay, we're changing gear here," announced Luiz. "We don't have to worry about finding Spud anymore because we know where he is. Now we need to grab John Casey and if possible see if they have Joe. Does everyone got that or do I need to explain some more?"

"No, we got it boss," said one guy and the others nodded.

"Good, now let's take the elevator up and keep your eyes open and safeties off."

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Alex had already gone and Casey was still on the door. He looked at his watch and knew Mary would be pissed off with him but he really didn't care. Directors... Acting Directors all come and go and he'd been able to weather them all. But this was Chuck's Mom and put like that well he started having second thoughts. There really wasn't a need to get her even more pissed off then she was normally.

"I guess I could call down and get someone up here," he said to himself. "She had been tossed in the deep end with a life vest or better she just didn't see who her life preservers were," thought as he started to pull out his phone. Suddenly a doctor and an orderly came out of the room almost running him over with the gurney they were pushing and on it was their man.

"Hold on there a moment Doc. Where are you taking our guy?" said Casey as he planted himself in front of the gurney stopping it. "I don't know where you think you're going but this guy is our prisoner..."

"And he's my patient," interrupted the Doctor. "We need to run him down to Radiology and get a CAT scan done on him. Depending on the results we might need to get an EEG after that. But we need to go now the tech won't wait all day for us."

"He will if we tell him to, I can be very persuasive if I want to be," said Casey as he cracked his knuckles. "People usually listen when I talk."

"That might be nice but we share the tech with another hospital on the other side of the island. He spends half a day here and half a day there and he's only here for another hour before he has to leave."

"You need to look at this from my point of view Doc. This guy could have people looking for him. We really need more people move him," said Casey but the Doctor and orderly already had him in the hallway.

"If we don't do this now we'll have to send him to the other side of the island in an ambulance," said the Doctor. "So, which do you want it to be? We do this here in this hospital or in another one after a hours ride in an ambulance on the open road?"

"We'll go down together but in the meantime I'm going to get some men to meet us at Radiology," said John as he pulled out his phone.

"That's fine by me," said the Doctor then he turned to his orderly. "Roberto, can you get the elevator door for us?"

"Sure Doc, no problem," said the orderly as he turned and pushed the button for the elevator. As they stood there waiting John called down to Marley.

"Marley this is John Casey, I'm going to need some men to meet me at Radiology. They're taking our perp down to have his head examined and I'm the only person up here right now. ... I know she's mad but she'll get over it. Just get me the warm bodies and I'll see her once I turn our perp over to your people," said John as the elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. John watched the orderly push the gurney inside then he noticed him pushing the button for the basement.

"Is Radiology in the basement? Isn't that where the morgue usually is?" said Casey as he hung up and put away his phone. He was thinking he should know after all he'd sent enough business their way. "You'd think they'd send a Christmas card," he mumbled.

"What'd you say," said Roberto as he looked over at the Doc who just shrugged his shoulders back. "I'm sorry I didn't hear you?"

"The button? Why'd you press the button for the basement? Radiology isn't down there, is it? It's normally on the first floor near the emergency room."

"Crap, you're right. I must've pressed it by mistake," said Roberto as he pressed the button for the first floor. "I guess in all the hurry and then seeing you I pressed the wrong button."

"Now we've got to go to the basement then come back up. No, big deal," said the Doc as he checked his watch. "What time does Martin take off for Saint Dominque's?"

"Not for a while still. We've got plenty of time and besides when he starts he can't stop until he's finished with the patient so we're looking good."

"This is no way to run a railroad," Casey mumbled under his breath followed by a few choice grunts. He didn't like this one bit and if this Tech Martin started talking about needing to leave he was ready to handcuff him to his chair until they were finished.

"You don't need your legs to operate a console," said Casey. They both looked at him. "Well you don't."

[In the Cafeteria]

Alex had already come back and told Mary that Casey would be down in a little while but at the moment he was busy. He'd relieved a guard who had been watching the perp's door so he was waiting for the man to return. Needless to say, Mary was not pleased with Casey's kind gesture.

"If he wants to watch doors I can fix it where that's what he'll be doing until Beckman gets back," said Mary as she took a sip of her coffee then made a face and pushed it away.

"You mean if she comes back," said Morgan. Everyone gave him the look of death. "What? I saw a thing on TV the other day. It was on crime stoppers and they said the first twenty-four hours were crucial in resolving kidnappings and we've gone past that already."

"That may be the case but let's not dwell on that," said Alex as she gave Morgan a nudge to be quiet. "Diane will be back and so will Roan. We still have a couple of aces up our sleeves..."

"I'm sure Sam has at least five," said Morgan as he took a sip of his grape soda. Alex elbowed him again to be quiet. "Ouch! What did I say? I'm sure she does."

"You do know there are only four aces in a deck," said Mary as she looked at both of them from across the table. She didn't know whether to be angry at Morgan for changing the topic or thanking him for giving everyone a distraction.

"I know that but I'm sure she's got one extra just in case. You know it's kind of funny the way she took that perp to the cleaners..."

"Funny is not a word I'd use. It was dangerous and inappropriate for someone her age," said Mary. "But that she inherited from her mother."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. As I recall Chuck and me... well we had our moments of glory," said Morgan as he laughed. Mary glared at him. "But nothing you don't know about... well while you were around that is... I mean, well I'm sure Chuck brought you up to speed. I mean... well you know what I mean."

"Be quiet," whispered Alex. She could tell from Mary's fixed stare that she was about to pounce because Morgan had hit a nerve but before she could say anything her phone rang.

"That's called saved by the bell," whispered Alex as she grabbed Morgan by the arm. "Let's go see if they've made a fresh pot. Anyone want another round?" Mary shook her head as she took the call.

"We were just talking about you. ... Your where?" she yelled. Everyone turned and looked. She took a deep breath then repeated. "Your where and with who? ... I know it's supposed to be whom. Charles, I don't need a grammar lesson right now. Are you trying to get me fired?" she said as she looked around the Cafeteria.

"Don't you people have jobs to do?" she said as she turned back to her phone. "I know I said take him out and keep him busy but that didn't mean to take him on a cruise. ... Okay, of course, I'll look in on my grandchildren but Sarah should've stayed behind to watch them. ... what do you mean what would I have done? That's got nothing to do with this. The point is... crap, see you made me forget what I was going to say." Said Mary as she took another deep breath.

"Okay, go do what you've got to do and we'll do the same here. Keep me informed about everything that goes on out there. You're breaking up. I can't hear you... be careful and that goes for Sarah too," she said as the line went dead.

"I know you said you didn't want any, but I got you one anyway. This is the last slice of Cherry Cheesecake and I thought you might want it," said Morgan as she put it down in front of her.

"Thanks, I do appreciate it. Chuck and Sarah are on their way to the Mohawk to help look for that pirate ship and they've dragged General Thomas with them. Chuck thinks he can keep the General distracted and out from underfoot by keeping him at sea."

"You don't sound too convinced," said Alex. She was skeptical about getting Mary both after she said she didn't want anything. However, as she ate the cheesecake Mary became... well more human. Morgan had said it had done wonders for Chuck and now it was doing the same with Mary.

"And what are they going to tell the General when he asks what did the pirates take after boarding the Annabel Lee?"

"The General might not ask... I mean they're pirates after all. What I'm saying is, don't we have every right to track them down and bring them to justice?"

"That's more the Coast Guard and Navy's wheelhouse. It's a hard stretch to justify why we're involved... if they'd been smugglers then we could've put a spin on the story and say they were bringing a dirty bomb or a WMD into the country. Besides General Thomas is no fool he's going to figure out sooner or later that Beckman was onboard that boat and when he does he's not going to be too happy that we played him."

"I don't think we should look at it as if we played him. We did what we had to do," said Alex. "I would think someone like he General who used to work in Spec Ops would understand that."

"That was a lifetime ago and before he took up residence in DC," said Mary as Marley's phone began to ring. She eyed him as soon as he answered it.

"This is the Colonel now," said Marley as he looked at caller ID. "Maybe he's calling to let you know he's on his way right down."

"If he were he'd be calling me not you," said Mary. Whatever state she was in it vanished after John's phone call to Marley.

"They're taking our man to Radiology you say. But I don't have anyone down there. ... Okay, I'll get some people there right away. The Acting Director really wants to meet you like right now man. ... I'd say that's an understatement," said Marley as he looked over at Mary. "Okay, I'll get men there right now. Is there any way you can have them slow up so we can get there before they do?"

"He'd better not be concocting all this to avoid seeing me," said Mary as she put her hand out for Marley's phone. "Let me talk to him."

"I'm sorry Ma'am but he hung up. It sounded like they were in a hurry. I'm going to Radiology," said Marley still standing there with his phone in his hand. "I guess they want to run some scans on our perp. I just wished they'd let me know before they had him in the elevator."

"Well, if the mountain won't come to Muhammad then Muhammad must go to the mountain," she said as she got up.

"What does that mean?" said Morgan. "This whole island is one mountain top so you're already there."

"If Charles were here I'm sure he'd give us a history lesson and tell us that Sir Francis Bacon coined the phrase 1600's and no, before any one askes I never met him. But what it means is we're going to Radiology. Let's move out now."

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Roan came to bouncing around in the back of an Explorer. He felt the vehicle come to a stop sudden stop then it waited before driving on. From that he figured they were pulling into one of his capturers' hideouts. He fought to get the fog out of his head from the drugs so he could try to remember back to what caused all this. But the story of Pablito, the bandit slash freedom fighter, didn't bring much to mind.

"Get him out of the back and bring him into the villa," he heard a woman say. "Donna Rosenda," he said to himself. Then it came to him. "Yes, Donna Rosenda that guy mentioned that name before he got his head shot off. Yes, I remember it now. How could I forget him? His blood and brain matter ruined one of my best dinner jackets."

Suddenly the doors opened up and he felt hands grabbing him and pulling him out. He decided to play possum and pretended to be still out so he let them drag him inside with the hood still over his head. He tried to take in as much as he could from sounds to smells in case he escaped and had to relocate this place. However, there was nothing that really identified where he was.

"Drop him in the chair over there and then take his hood off. I want to look at him in the eyes," she said. Roan could hear the clinking of ice being dropped in a glass as the hood came off.

"If you're making drinks I'll take a dry Martini go easy on the vermouth and three olives if possible... I could get by with one but let's not be chintzy with them."

"I'm glad to see you're awake but tell me why should I make you a drink," she said as she poured herself a rum over ice and fresh mint. "I think you've gotten the wrong idea why you're here."

"Believe me I know exactly why I'm here but at the moment I'm your guest and being your guest you should make me that drink. You can do something else if that's too difficult for you."

"I think you're confused. You're my prisoner and one I'm going to execute very soon," she said as she smiled at him over the top of her glass.

"You say tomato and I say tomato. You say prisoner and I say guest. It's just semantics and in the end it's the same thing, isn't it? I'm here because you want me to be here. So, what say about that drink now? I can take a rum instead and anything else you might be offering."

"I don't think you can take what I have to offer."

"Then try me and let's see."