Don't own Chuck
Sarah was driving down to Alex's location replaying about everything that had been said back at the hotel in her head. Everyone was right about waiting but she also knew that Alex wasn't thinking with her head right now. Chuck always said listen to your heart because the head just got in the way. However, that was what Alex was doing and it was about to get her killed.
"I have to do this," said Sarah as she switched gears, thinking about how she was going to justify why she slipped out like she had to Chuck.
"I mean Chuck well… Alex was my trainee and her actions reflect poorly on her trainer, which if you recall was me. No, I don't need to remind him and that just sounds polemical. I understand if your mad and I'd be too if you'd done the same thing but… no I don't want to say that because that will give him something to tell me when he does and idiot thing like this. Why are you doing this," she said in the review.
"Life was simpler before. I just did my job and kicked butt. There were no complications but now they're everywhere. You know why," she said to the rear view. "You met a guy and now you can't imagine what life would be like without him.
"Casey would tell me that I've gone soft that and telling me about how he felt sick. Next time he does that I need to have a bottle of Pepto-Bismol handy. But I don't feel soft… as a matter of fact, I've never felt better in my whole life," she said to her reflect but as she was talking to herself driving her phone began to ring.
"Crap, it's Chuck," she said as she looked at caller I.D and reality set-in. "He's going to tell me to turn around. I could just not answer," she said to herself as the phone continued to ring.
"Double crap, I've got to do something," she said as the phone continued to ring. "Oh, hell's bells, what's wrong with you? You might as well get this over. What's wrong with you?"
"Chuck, before you say anything," she said as she answered the call putting it on speaker. "I'm not going to turn around and we both know why. This needs to be done so and I'm…"
"Hold on a moment, I'm not calling to tell you to turn around but to speed up. Alex has gotten herself into a firefight with a group of hostiles near the east wall. But she's got nowhere to go and they're closing in on her position. I've got a drone flying overhead and I'm sending you live feed now. We're on our way behind you but if someone doesn't get down there soon…"
"I get the picture and I can hear weapons fire. Have you been able to see if Roan or Casey are being held there?"
"No, but considering the number of ants that have run out of the hill something is there. We're right behind you and the Mohawk is almost at the inlet so just get to Alex and hunker down."
"Is this your way of telling me not to do anything stupid," said Sarah. She heard the pause on the other end. "Okay, I won't do anything else stupid if that's what the silence means."
"Look, we can talk about that when we meet. For right now, you need to be careful and take care of Alex, but above all be careful."
"Okay, I see the feed and I'm here so I need to go. I love you," she said then she hung up as she pulled in next to the wall. The gun shoots she heard were mainly rapid fire from automatic weapons which told her Alex was running low. She grabbed an M4A1 with night scope and M320 grenade launcher attached a suppressor then pocketed a few grenades. After that she was ready for war and scaled the wall much the same as Alex had. When she got on top she quickly surveyed the situation below her.
"Oh no you don't," said Sarah as she took two men out who were trying to circle behind Alex as she leaped from the wall landing in the foliage. She quickly got up and headed for Alex easily taking out everyone in her way from behind.
"This is like shooting fish in a barrel," she said to herself. Luiz's men were so concentrated on Alex that they failed to cover their rear which Sarah was more than happy to kick.
Sarah came in from behind breaking into Alex's knoll through the underbrush. Alex instinctively spun around pointing her Beretta Cougar at her.
"Geez, what are you doing? I could've shot you," said Alex. But instead of talking Sarah just lobbed two grenades into her attacker's position. Two loud explosions followed and men screaming.
"I think you're out of ammo," said Sarah as she tossed her a couple of clips. "Now follow me, if you want to live. We need to get to a position we can better defend."
"No wait, they're getting away," said Alex as she pointed to the pirate's boat that was backing down the inlet for the open ocean. "We've got to stop them. They've got the General onboard and probably Dad and Roan as well."
"We don't have the firepower to stop them," said Sarah as she dropped two more men who made the mistake of leaving themselves open. "Come on we need to move now. There's backup on the way and the General is back at the hotel wondering why the heck you're here."
"What? She's back where? How'd she get free?" said Alex but Sarah just waved for her to hurry up. Sarah was on the move and there was no time to wait. They retreated to a low wall that served as an embankment against erosion. Sarah fired two short bursts of automatic fire to keep any men thinking about following them at bay.
"But that still leaves Dad and Roan," she said as she watched the yacht disappear from sight. "Maybe if we make it to the boathouse we can find something we could use to follow them. I think I saw a Zodiac when I was inside."
"No, we stay put there are too many of them between us and the boathouse and besides you said you think you saw a Zodiac. This is not the time to be guessing," said Sarah as she pulled out the clip and housed a new one.
"But what if they slip out and disappear like Black Bart used to do? That was what he was famous for doing and what these people have been doing. Not that Black Bart is onboard or he has anything to do with anything. Oh, you know what I mean."
"Unfortunately, I do. Look, I've only got one more clip and we need to make what we have last or we'll end up using strong words and rocks." Alex just gave her a look. "What? Can't I try to be funny every now and then," said Sarah as a bullet came whizzing in between them.
"You know your coming down here by yourself was an idiot move," said Sarah as she returned fire. "Look, I understand why you did what you did but that doesn't mean that it wasn't reckless. John is a big boy and he can take care of himself."
"That doesn't mean anything and you know it. If it were your father you'd be here were I am right now trying to save him."
"And that's why I'm here right now. You're right I would've done the same thing but that doesn't mean it's not reckless. I've done a lot of… we let's call them ill thought out actions and I was lucky that I didn't get myself or anyone hurt. What you did could've gotten you hurt or worse but in the end that boat still would've still pulled out. However, the Coast Guard is waiting outside the inlet for our pirate boat so they won't be doing their disappearing act."
"You know you could've led in with that instead of letting me ramble on."
"And where would the fun have been in that? No, let's get in a little target practice before the boys show up and take all the fun away."
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On the other side of the world Stefan and Anatoly were having to explain to Igor how they let Natasha slip through their fingers. Igor was not the least bit pleased. He'd helped orchestrate her escape in the hopes they'd lead them somewhere so his neck was on the line here too. He was sure that it was Pablito he'd seen on the internet but they knew he'd been Natasha's lover.
"I want Malinovsky sent to me right away. I want him to explain to me what he told you about Pablito and this bar in Cuba."
"If you're thinking about prosecuting him for his knowledge in Natasha's misappropriation of government funds… well that was a long time ago and I don't know how many people want to dredge all that up."
"I know what people think and I don't give a rat's bottom about it. Anatoly, you don't have to remind me how long ago it was. I was there, remember and I also remember the way we threw money around back then. If they were socialists or claimed to be we gave them a fricken blank check. I can't say they didn't buy the bar to cover money being funnelled into Pablito's organization but I will find out. I want him turned over to the other team then you two head to the airport."
"Have we had any luck tracking her since she left here? She can't have disappeared off the face of the earth."
"You guys tell me. We know she's got clean passports and money. I don't know about you two geniuses but all that would points to her trying to skip out of country. However, her car is still near the park and we haven't spotted her on public transport. I've got people phoning the taxi companies about their fares but again nothing."
"Is the airport the place we should be looking for her at?" said Anatoly. He could almost see the steam rolling out of Igor's ears. "Let me explain, I mean it's not really within walking distance from here. Maybe we should just drive around for a little while and see if we can pick up her trail."
"What are you some sort of blood hound? Are you going to roll down the window and sniff? In the meantime, you're going to let her get further away? Remember I used to chase people like her all over the East so you guys need to go where I tell you to go. This acting on your own might work for Chuck but it doesn't fly here. For all we know she might have had a vehicle stashed somewhere and will show up any moment at the airport."
"Okay, we're on our way but why make a thermos of tea and take it with you," said Anatoly. This had bothered him when he discovered it and he'd been thinking about it since then.
"Excuse me," said Igor. "What does that have to do with anything? It's cold there and if she's on foot she wanted something to warm herself up. I think I would've done the same."
"You did do the same," said Stefan. "Remember the thermos in the glovebox in the car. If this is about me drinking it all… well it's hardly the time or place."
"No, but I haven't forgotten that but no, this hasn't anything to do with that. No, the question is how'd she think she was going to be able to take that into the airport let alone to her plane?"
"She wouldn't," said Igor as he was getting tired of talking. Airport security would make her get rid of it. She could also ditch it before she got to the airport or simply hand it over to security."
"But in her perfectly planned exit strategy that would've or could've given her away. We'd just have to set search parameters to look for someone carrying a thermos on the CCTV footage and if we add the clothes she took here then we'd have her."
"You're giving me a headache… I don't understand am I supposed to be calling the guys in surveillance to give them a head's up about this or not?"
"I don't know, I just don't think she went to the airport. It just doesn't make sense for someone like Natasha to make such an amateur mistake" said Anatoly. He could see the look on Igor's face through the tablet and it was now a happy face but he didn't see that he had any other choice. He had to speak up but he had no answer to where could she have gone. He just didn't think the airport was the right place to look.
"Well until we have a better lead you two need to beat feet and get to the airport. For right now that's the place to start and it's the fastest means for her to skip out of country. Now go and stop your blabbering. I'm tired of talking," said Igor then the line dropped.
"Come on and let's go. Did you have to piss him off like that? I don't want my next assignment to be in Siberia and I don't think your wife would like it there either."
"No, she wouldn't. She'd let me go on my own then stay here with our kids," said Anatoly as they headed out the door.
"It sounds like you've already talked this out with her? You know being your partner you should've talked this out with me."
"You might be my partner but you're not the mother of my children and besides you drank all my tea and ate my cake."
"You see right there that's what partners are for… see I did that for you own good. I was making sure you watched your weight and not over eat," said Stefan as they got into their Lada.
"Spah-see-boh," said Anatoly as he got in behind the wheel and started their vehicle. "I still don't like this. We're concentrating our efforts in the wrong place."
"You heard what Igor told us to do, so drive," said Stefan but as they sat there they heard one shot blast from the ship's horn then two barges passed each other on the Neva river next to them. Anatoly sat there and stared at them with the engine running.
"Okay, let's go. Anatoly, are you all right? Come on let's go before Igor really has a fit and I really don't want to bunk with you in Yakutsk. Things freeze there and fall off or so I've been told. Are you still with us?"
"Yes, I am and no we're not going to Yakutsk and we're not going to the airport either. I know where our little rabbit has run to so just sit back and hold on to something," said Anatoly as he put on their light and raced through the city.
"You know if you don't want that tea back and cake back I'd recommend you slow down on those turns," said Stefan as Anatoly slid on the slick pavement. "I've got a crazy thought why don't you let me in on where we're going?"
"I did tell you to hold on. Don't you see the thermos was the key to this all along? What's near here and within walking distance that you can take to leave the country and take a thermos onboard? Don't you see it's not about the fastest means of getting away but the safest? The place we've all overlooked," said Anatoly. He switched off the lights as they pulled up in front of the Morskoi Vokzal Sea Terminal.
"Hey you can't leave that vehicle parked there," yelled a policeman walking outside of the terminal. He and a couple of other officers in uniform descended on them as soon as they got out.
"Official business," yelled Anatoly as he and Stefan showed them their badges. "Have any of you seen this woman here this morning," he said as he showed them a photo of Natasha. She was wearing a tweed hat and a brown woolen men's jacket and she could've been carrying a red thermos.
"I saw a man looking like that but come to think of it he could've been a her. You see all kinds of things these days," said the officer as his friends laughed.
"Do you see me or my partner laughing?" said Stefan. "This is urgent and if you don't want to be walking a beat in Yakutsk you'd better speak up or you can explain why you did cooperate to our boss in Lubyanka."
"Like I said, I thought I saw someone like that," said the officer. The mention of Lubyanka put the fear of the old days in them. "She or he went inside up to the ticket window but that's all I saw."
"Okay take a good look at this," said Anatoly as he showed them the photo once again. "I want you all to go walking through the terminal, check the waiting areas and see if you can see her. My partner and I will go talk to the person in the ticket window. If you find her come look for us. You are not to engage her in any way. She's dangerous and you should use extreme caution. We don't want anyone getting hurt."
The policemen went off mumbling to each other wondering who this person was while Stefan and Anatoly went to the ticket window. Stefan wanted to call Igor but Anatoly wanted to wait until they had something solid.
"We can't call yet that man wasn't sure. He just thought he saw her and you heard the way the Director went off. If we tell him we deviated from where he told us to go and this doesn't pan out he'll have our... well you know what. And neither of us want to make snowmen."
"Us? Where did this 'us' come from? I wanted to go to the airport. You were the one who dragged me here against my will," said Stefan smiling. "Just kidding besides I need to stay with you who else is going to put up with me and make me tea?"
"If we were married I'd divorce you," said Anatoly as they approached the ticket window. There was already a long line of people waiting to buy tickets.
"Out of our way... coming through," they said as they cut straight up to the front until they reached to window. "We need to know if you saw this woman this morning," said Anatoly as people grumbled behind them.
"You need to get to the back of the line and wait your turn," said an elderly woman in the booth as she looked at them from behind the glass. There was even more grumbling behind them and a lot of head nodding.
"Listen, we don't need this," said Anatoly as he pressed his badge up against the glass. "You know what this is? This gives me the right to arrest anyone who gets in the way of our investigation. So let's start this again did or didn't you sell this woman a ticket and if so where did she go?"
"I must apologize. My friend here isn't in a pleasant mood today so before you say something that you'll regret. You should remember helping a traitor of the state makes you guilty too so tell us what we want to know and we'll be on our way and out of your hair."
"Okay yes, I sold her a ticket for the Princess Maria ferry for Helsinki but it pulled out a couple of hours ago. By now she'll be international water so you'll never be able to stop it."
"Not from here we won't," said Anatoly. He nodded to Stefan and they started walking back out of the ferry terminal.
"It's time to call Igor and let him know what we found out," said Stefan as he pulled out his phone.
"We can do that as we drive to the airport to catch a flight to Helsinki," said Anatoly as the walked up to their Lada but Stefan stopped him before he got in the driver's side.
"Hold up a moment you can call Igor. I think I want to drive now," he said handing Anatoly his phone.
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A little bit before the firefight began Luiz walked into the dining room to find his mother sitting at the head of the table waiting for him. She had a look on her face that told him he'd better be careful what he said. He was about to sit down when one of his men brought Roan in and his mother pointed out a place at the table.
"You realize he's our prisoner not our guest. Let me try to get this, first you're serving him drinks and now what's this? You're feeding him too. What's next?"
"Don't be crude and sit down. You know I don't like it when you hover behind me. I just want to hear more about Pabilto's end. Can't you let me have that? This could be the closure I've been looking for."
"Of course mother, if that's what this is then I'm for it," said Luiz. Then he turned to Roan. "If you hurt my mother, I'll hurt you and everyone you've ever cared for."
"There's no need to be dramatic. I promised to behave and you promised to make sure no harm comes to my friend."
"I'm just reminding you of what you have to lose. Our boat just pulled in so we'll be leaving right after diner," said Luiz as one of the house servants poured wine.
"Really and where are we off to? Is my traveling friend still on board and if she is may I see her? You see this isn't the vacation I promised her."
"I'd rather where we're going to be a surprise," said Luiz as he took a sip of wine. "I'm afraid I've stashed your friend somewhere for safe keeping. Don't worry she's safe."
"I don't want to be rude after your mother's gracious hospitality but you did point out that I wasn't a guest so I have to tell you that I find it hard to believe you. I do want to point out that I'm not calling you a liar just that believing you without seeing for myself is hard for me to do in this point in our relationship."
"Relationship? We don't have a relationship. This whatever this is that's going on now is something else… more like the cat playing with the mouse."
"And which one of us to see is the cat and who's the mouse?" said Roan as gunshots erupted outside and a man came running in and whispered into Luiz's ear.
"Looks like we're going to have to postpone our meal. Mother, we have to go. Mr. Montgomery you and your friend below will be coming with us."
"Maybe we could take a doggy bag with us?"