Don't own Chuck

Beckman went about getting everything set up and everyone where they were supposed to be. Tank pitched in getting a ready team together that would breach whatever need to be breached and to take no prisoners. Diane gave the order to take the gloves off and now she just need the location of their target which Morgan and Sarah were supposed to phone in.

"What's taking them so long to contact us," said Beckman as she looked over an aerial map of the area her Major had sent her.

"I don't know," said Tank. Diane looked up at him then turned back to the map in front of her. "Oh, you were talking to yourself. We're doing that now, are we?"

"Yes, I am and I'm about to string someone up if I don't hear from someone soon. Both teams should've checked in by now. This isn't a tourist vacation," she said as Tank gave her a look. "Well, it isn't anymore. I swear I'm never going to take another vacation as long as I live."

"You should contact Chuck and tell him if this lead he thinks he has hasn't panned out by now he should give it up and coordinate with the other agent Carmichael. I think that's one order he'd be able to follow."

"And what's that supposed to mean? You run your office and I'll run mine. And don't judge, you don't have to deal with all the covert and clandestine ops I have to handle. Yours are pretty much straight up without the devious detour of having to plot the elimination of some enemy by making it look like an accident."

"You know as well as I do there is always an element of subterfuge on the battlefield which has become more sophisticated and more complicated with all this new-fangled technology. But you have to admit Agent Carmichael… Chuck, does pretty much whatever he wants to do and you let him get away with it."

"And with good results. I need people able to think for themselves and not sit back on their hands waiting for me to make decisions for them. We don't have a battlefield to fight on. Our enemies are lurking in the shadows hiding out of sight and it's there we have to fight. I need people who can take the battle to these places."

"I'm just saying one of these days this is going to bite you and bite you hard. And I know no matter how much I warn you or why I'm even wasting my breath telling you this because you're going to do whatever you want anyway."

"I can agree to both those points because yes, I am. But more than that right now I want to know why no one is checking in." As they were talking a man in black came approached them cautiously.

"Excuse me ma'am, I'm sorry for bothering you and I'm not sure if this is has anything to do with anything…"

"Agent Kinkade, isn't it? Well, just spit it out man. The worst thing that can happen to you is I'll fire you," said the General. She could see the look of fear on the agent's face. "I was just joking. Now tell me what you have to say."

"Yes, of course you were… well, we just heard over the police band that there was a shooting reported in an alley near Agent C. Carmichael's location. The local policía are sending a patrol to investigate."

"You're right it might be nothing but we need to monitor it." But as they were speaking the General's phone began to ring. She looked at the caller ID before answering.

"Good someone's finally checking in," she said before answering. "Crap, I don't hear anything just muffled sounds. This is it. Agent, I want this call triangulated. Tank get your people ready this could be it."

"General… Ma'am," said Kinkade as he stammered. Beckman gave him a look of disapproval. "Right Ma'am to the point. We've intercepted another message over the police band about shooting at Agent C. Carmichael's location. They're dispatching three units and have ambulances standing by. What do you want us to do?"

"Crap, we don't have the manpower to go in two directions. If they're reporting the shootout now and sending in squad cars instead of SWAT then it's already gone down. No, Chuck will have to sort himself out but try to contact him. I want to know what's going on." Tank just stood there next to her smiling. "I don't want to hear a I told you so."

"You see this is what I was talking about. You know as well as I do the Hondurans tolerate our presence here and if this thing goes sideways we're up the proverbial polluted stream."

"And what do you expect me to do? Let these… these… people execute our people? What do you think that will do to out relations in this area? Orders stand… we monitor Chuck as best we can but we follow the other Carmichael and let her take us to their lair. Knowing Chuck, he'll make an appearance there. Now Tank, please get your team together for this extraction. It's payback time."

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Casey motioned for Roan to follow him back over to the other half of the stripping shed. Miguel had left taking most of his men with him and there were only two men left below who were supposed to clean up. Now seemed like a good time to hunker down and wait for it to get dark. But as they were crawling back to the other side of the loft Roan stepped on a loose board and it made a loud squeaking sound.

"Will you watch were you put your feet and don't blame the shoes," whispered Casey. "What kind of spy are you? You're going to get us caught if you don't stop making racket."

"Sorry, but I can't see a thing up here in this filth. This is more your environment then mine… mine is more silk and satin while yours is… well this."

"Why you…" Casey started to say but then they heard the men below them talking. They'd heard something.

"Give me a hand," said the one man as he removed the knife from Roberto. "Ewe yuck, poor guy really didn't deserve this. I'll cut his ropes and you go get the plastic tarp so we can move him without making a mess… or a worse mess." Then the man started cutting the bindings but the other man just stood there.

"Carlos, what are you waiting on? Go get that tarp before Roberto leaks all over everything and we have a bigger mess to clean up."

"Didn't you hear that? There was a noise from up above," said Carlos as he stood there looking up listening.

"I doubt if it was a band of angels coming for Roberto. From what I know about him it's more like they're coming from the other place."

"Don't joke like that," said Carlos as he got angry. "No, the noise came from the loft and I think one of us should go check it out."

"Look, we've got a job to do here we don't have time to waste going on wild goose chases. It was probably just a rat. You know this place is infested with them."

"Okay, you're probably right but what if I'm not and something happens later. What will Miguel and that Devil woman do to us? I don't know about you but I don't want to end up like Roberto here or worst. That woman is crazy."

"There's no denying that and Miguel has it bad for her. He'd better be careful or she'll be eating his heart with onions for dinner."

"And I have no desire for mine to be on that plater with his," said Carlos as he walked over to the ladder that led up to the loft.

"Be careful up there. I've heard they can be mean if they get scared so watch your step and watch your back too."

"Will you shut up! You're making me nervous with your jabber. If you're so concerned about me then why don't you come up with me?"

"No, I'll stay right here and take care of Roberto. You go right ahead but watch out for their little beady-eyes and those teeth and…"

"Enough, I get the picture already," said Carlos as he looked up from the bottom of the ladder. Some dust and dried tobacco leaf powder fell on his face. "Something is moving around up there," he said as he mustered up his courage."

"Don't worry, I'll cover you from here. Just hurry up this is a bigger mess than what I thought. I tell you that woman is a she-devil. You know maybe she's a witch and that's one of her kindred spirits up there. I heard she conjured up some pirate ghost but don't let that scare you. Why haven't you started up yet?"

"Black Bart," said Carlos as his partner looked at him puzzled. "The ghost's name she was supposed to have conjured up. His name was Black Bart but I don't believe in ghosts."

"Then why aren't you going up that ladder? Hurry up and stop wasting time so we can get the job at hand finished."

"I'm just… well I'm just testing the ladder. Yeah that's it… testing the ladder making sure it can hold my weight. Here goes nothing," he said as he started up.

[Meanwhile in the Loft]

"I'll take the guy coming up the ladder," said Roan as he picked up a piece of rotten wood. "John, you jump down and take out the other guy."

"Yeah and break my neck in the process. That piece of wood you've got is so rotten it's just going to piss the guy off. I've got another idea," said John as he moved a few old sacks to get behind them. He raised what seem to be decades of dirt and tobacco dust.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to give us black lung? There's not enough room anyway behind those to hide," said Roan as he covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve. Roan heard a squeaking noise as Casey brought out a big rat he'd grabbed by the back of the neck.

"Hello there little fellow," said John as he talked to the rat. "I've got someone I'd like you to meet. Say hello to Carlos for me," he said then he tossed the rat down the ladder.

"Madre de dios," screamed Carlos as he fell backwards off the ladder. He made a low thud when he hit raising a small cloud of dust.

"Get it off me… get it off," he yelled screaming, kicking and swatting as he laid on the ground raising even more dust. "Help me!" His partner pulled his piece and fired a round at the rat but hit Carlos in the hand instead.

"Augh! My hand, what are you doing? Are you trying to kill me?" said Carlos as he looked at his bloody hand and saw he was missing his middle and ring fingers. "Idiot, look what you did. You shot off two of my fingers."

"If we find them I can take you into town and the doctors at the hospital can put them back on. We just have to find… oh no."

"What's the matter?" said Carlos as he rolled over and saw the rat scurry off with one of his fingers in his mouth. "No, no," said Carlos as he started crying and cursing. "I hope you choke on it."

"Here, I've got your other one," said the man as he put it in Carlos' pocket. "Don't worry if worse comes to worst I can make you a wooden one then we can duct tape it on."

"Just shut up! I'd shot you right now but I need you to take me to the hospital so let's go to the hospital."

"I'd be kind of hard for you to hold a weapon without your fingers too."

"Oh, just shut up and let's go."

Soon other guards came running to see what was going on after hearing the gunshot. Casey and Roan used the confusion to slip first back over to the other half of the shed then on into the big house. It was relatively easy and once inside they hide themselves in the kitchen pantry.

"I don't understand," said Roan as he looked over bottles on the shelf. "They talked as if I had given them some sort of confession which I didn't. I'm talking about this Miguel and Donna Rosenda. Okay we have cooking sherry, Marsala and Madeira… hard to pick from."

"Don't you see Mister Smooth-Talker you've been played. Donna Rosenda let you blabber on and as you yapped she recorded you. Now they're just splicing together what you said and presto your confession is complete or most likely they've got you fingering me for the hit on Pablito the bandito. It he wasn't dead I'd kill him again for all the trouble he's brought me."

"I'll drink to that," said Roan as he turned up a bottle then he held the bottle out to Casey. "Do you want a hit?"

"No, we need to think of a way out of here without being seen and we need to keep our heads clear," said John as he climbed up to an air vent then started to take off the cover.

"That's what I'm doing," said Roan as he took another hit watching John look inside the duct.

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Luiz had his driver take Sarah and Morgan back with him to the planation house. They drove past the guard at the main gate who waved them through and then down the dusty gravel road to the house. Luiz was the first out of the vehicle so he could open the door for Sarah but Morgan piled out in front of her with his large ruck sack.

"Gee thanks Luiz," said Morgan. "But you've got to stop doing these things for me or people will begin to talk."

"Right," said Luiz not know what to make of Morgan. "Here let me help you," said Luiz as he offered Sarah his hand and helped her out.

"Thanks, this is quite a house you've got here," said Sarah as they looked up at the mansion standing out front.

"Yes, it reminds me of my uncle's house in the Hamptons," said Morgan. "We used to go there in the summer to get away."

"To get away from what," said Luiz. "I thought you said to be Canadian was to be well liked. You're not telling me that you want to get away from your own people?"

"Oh no, that's not what we're getting away from. What I mean was we wanted to get away from the bears… yes, the bears. Pesky things, they're just like squirrels always foraging for food. You can hand a squirrel a nut but you can't hand a squirrel to a bear."

"Interesting… bizarre but interesting," said Luiz. "Follow me inside and I'll introduce you to my mother then I'll show you to your rooms. You can get cleaned up then we'll have dinner. After that I can show you around the plantation."

"I didn't think you knew your way around here," said Morgan. "You said you were staying with a family friend…"

"That's correct," said a dark-haired man standing in the doorway. The man looked like Gomez Addams from the Addams Family. "You can call me Miguel and I'll be you host. Luiz, your mother is in the drawing room and she wishes to speak to you in private. I'll take your friends up and show them to their rooms."

"But I thought…" Luiz started to say but Miguel shook his head. "I see. Well… Okay, let me go get this straightened out with my mother then I'll be with you guys."

They entered the mansion together then Luiz went off to an adjacent room off the entrance while Miguel motioned for Sarah and Morgan to follow him up the staircase to the third floor.

"Your rooms are down here at the end of the hallway," said Miguel as he led them down the corridor. The house was filled with colonial furniture as well as paintings and prints on the walls. The recurring theme was plantation life with people working the fields cultivating tobacco.

"Some of this artwork on your walls is quite nice. Tell me Miguel how long has this plantation been in your family," asked Sarah as they approached the last two doors.

"Oh, not for very long," said Miguel as he opened a door. "I took this over after the last owner vanished during our civil unrest. Tragic really, one day you live in a big house like this then the next you don't."

"I'm sure it was," said Sarah as she thought of Orwell… The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which. "Yes, I'm sure it was."

"These are your rooms. The second room is connected through that adjoining door so get yourself comfortable. There's a fruit basket on the bureau and the mini bars in both rooms are completely stocked for your pleasure."

"Miguel, it sounds like you expect us to stay here for duration. Luiz said he was going to show us around the plantation."

"That's not safe at the moment. We've been invaded by a family of wild pigs and they can be quite vicious. So, I'm afraid for right now that's not possible," said Miguel as he made his way to the door while Morgan and Sarah looked out the window.

"Well, then maybe we can get someone to give us a tour of the house. I'd like to look at some more of that artwork you have hanging on the walls.

"I'm sorry but that's not possible right now. We're very busy at the moment and besides Donna Rosenda doesn't like people wandering around the house so I'm afraid I'm going to have to lock your door," said Miguel and before they could protest he was out it. They heard the sound of a key in the lock turning.

"Well, isn't this a fine mess," said Morgan as he tried the door to make sure it was locked and it was. Then he went over to the window and found it was sealed. "This isn't budging. I'll check the others but I'm will to be they're the same so we're stuck in here for the time being. So, you went to school with Luiz."

"Along with thousands of other students too so don't get any ideas," said Sarah as she fiddled with her phone. "Crap, there's not reception in here either."

"Wait a minute," said Morgan as he grabbed up a banana from the fruit basket. "You don't think they know who we are and that's the reason they've locked us up like this?"

"I don't know but I don't think so. If they had then they would've searched us for weapons and would've taken our phones."

"But they don't work in here so why would they bother," said Morgan as he began to eat the banana. "However, you're right they would've patted us down and Luiz would've jumped at that opportunity."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I told him I'm married and unless he's blind he can see my wedding ring."

"Men like Luiz go on proximity. You told him Chuck was back home and as far as he knows that's the States which means he's nearer to you. But don't worry, if he ties any funny business he'll answer to me. I can act dangerous."

"Morgan, no offence, but I don't have to act and besides I have two friends with me… Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson. When they speak people listen."

[Meanwhile down in the sitting room]

"Mother, what's going on? Why do you need to see me? I wanted to take our guests up to their rooms but Miguel said you want to see me."

"That's right but these people are your guests not mine. However, they can come in handy for us since you lost the Colonel…"

"I don't like the sound of this. What do you have in mind for them?" said Luiz. He remembered what had happened before to someone he'd cared about.

"I want you to take a message to the Americans at their secret compound and leave it at their doorstep. I'm going to tell them we have hostages and if they want them back alive they'll turn over the Colonel to us."

"What? No, you can't do that. You're not going to do to them what you did to Juanita. You shot her down just because I liked her."

"How dare you talk to me with that tone of voice. I've given you everything and now this. Is this the way you repay me… the way you repay your father's memory? You little ungrateful…"

"You can rant all you like but this time the answer is no. Okay, I'll deliver your message but you don't touch a hair on the girl's head. If you have to execute someone you can execute the Canadian."

"But to be Canadian is to be well liked… everyone knows that. Okay, we execute the Canadian first but the Americans need to know we mean business," said Donna Rosenda as Miguel walked in on them.

"This is a family discussion," said Luiz. "If you don't mind you can wait outside and we'll call you in when we're done."

"Miguel can stay. We've said everything that needs to be said. Here is the message you need to take into town," said Donna Rosenda as she picked up an envelope from a table and handed it to him. Luiz looked at Miguel as he took the letter.

"Don't worry, your friends are settling into their rooms and I'll look after them while you're gone," said Miguel as he walked over and stood behind Donna Rosenda. Luiz started to say something but they heard rattling that seemed to come from the walls.

"Don't be scared Luiz, that's just the sound of rats scurrying about in the walls. These old houses are filled with them."

"And some of them walk around on two legs," mumbled Luiz as he turned and left.