Don't own Chuck
Natasha drove full speed through the back road heading out of town hitting every pothole in her way without missing a one or so it felt for Chuck and Alex riding in the back. They had to hold on for dear life as they risked banging their heads on the roof bouncing around in their seats. But Natasha didn't seem to notice or care as she gave the Rover even more gas. Chuck started staring out the back window trying to see what he knew had to be behind them.
"Natasha, I don't know why I'm telling you this other then to repay you for the ride… I don't like owning anyone anything…"
"You think I'm crazy for running through the main gate? What happened to your courage has it petered out? Don't worry I'm not going to go through the main gate. I was thinking about coming in from one of the sides or the back of the compound."
"That's probably a better plan but that wasn't what I was going to tell you. Have you ever known the Center to back down from a mission? Especially when the target was one of their own?"
"What are you trying to tell me? You friends are still after me? I think I've given them a good run for their money and if they know what's good for themselves they'll stay clear of me."
"That's the other reason I'm warning you. I don't want to see anyone get hurt. Look, you might not be able to see them but if I'm right they could be right behind us now just out of sight."
"I think your overactive CIA brain is making you paranoid. There's no one behind me and if there were they'd have a broken axel by now."
"And you're willing to risk everything on… well you don't think there is anyone? I'm not saying trust me but I am. Look go past the next turn off then at the next clearing do a couple of doughnuts, kick up a lot of dust then we pull off the road and wait. If I'm right Anatoly and Stefan will blow by us then we double back and make the right turn."
"That's a good SDR. Did they teach you that at Langley," said Natasha as she glance up at Chuck in the review view. "Okay, if it makes you feel better. Pablito give me a heads up before we have to turn next so I can drive past."
"If I'm wrong then all we've done was waste a little time but if I'm right then we avoid anyone getting hurt."
"You are a strange man… mister CIA especially considering your file. The butcher of the Caucasians I read somewhere, I think? Someone like you shouldn't judge others".
"That wasn't me and if I could've I would've tried to stop it like what I'm doing right now. Natasha, I'm not judging you. Believe me I'm the last one to judge you. I've done some… well crazy things… things I'm not proud of to keep the people I care about safe. What happened with General Fry? Did he find out that Pablito was still alive or you couldn't take the risk that he wouldn't tell anyone?"
"He hinted to Marta that he had big news… something he'd found out. I couldn't take the risk so I called Rosenda through back channels and let her know where he'd be. I knew how much she hated him. It was easy but I don't regret it. He got what he been deserving for years I just regret not taking him out a long time ago."
"You had Rosenda kill who? Who is this General?" asked Pablito. "Never mind you can tell me later the turn off to go to Miguel's is coming up. If we go straight we head deeper into the jungle but there is a place to do what you suggested about five hundred yards after the turn off."
"Well, we'll find out very soon if you were right Mister CIA," said Natasha. The way she said Mister CIA was starting to get on Chuck's nerves but he knew he needed to keep a calm head if he was going to get through to her.
They drove past the turn off and proceeded as Chuck had advised. When they came to the clearing Natasha made a couple doughnuts kicking up a huge cloud of dust so thick she had trouble getting off the road. However, she did then they hid in underbrush getting out of sight and in the nick of time. Not long after that a white van came barrelling down the road behind them and blew right past as it continued on down the road.
"Now what do you have to say? Quickly let's get back to that turn off before they figure out that we're no longer in front of them and turn around."
"And just for the record, I didn't say this wasn't a good idea," said Natasha as she started the Defender back up pulling out from the underbrush driving back up on the road.
"You know going back to your first plan blowing through the main gate. It might not be that bad an idea after all," said Chuck. Natasha looked up in the rear view at him.
"I want to tell you that I think you're crazy and you're going to get us all killed but after that last stunt I'm willing to hear you out. So let's hear your… my big idea."
"Think about it, Miguel is going to be expecting his men back soon and we're in their vehicle so there's no reason for the gate guards to think we're not them until we're right on top of them…"
"I get it… yes, so we take them out before they can react then drive up to this plantation house Pablito told us about. After that we're in before they know we're there. Pablito gets his face time with his family before Miguel can head us off. But what do we do afterwards? Do we shoot our way out?"
"What we do after that… well that's going to require a lot of trust on your part and I'm going to need a phone. I lost mine during our little misadventure in the Dead Parrot."
"You can use mine," said Pablito as he handed his phone to Chuck. They turned off onto the right road as Chuck dial.
"Put that call on voice I want to hear what you're up to because it's not that I don't trust you but I don't Mister CIA," said Natasha as looked up in the rear view.
"This is Agent Charles Carmichael," said Chuck as he ignored Natasha's provocation. He gave the voice that answered his verification code. "I need to talk to the General."
"You're going to have to be more specific. Which one," said a flat voice. "There are two at the moment and they're both here."
"Ours of course, who else… just but Beckman on the line," said Chuck. "You might want to cover your ears during this first part. She might be a little angry with me but she'll get over it."
"Why am I not surprised," said Natasha. "Whatever you need to say you need to say it quickly I can see a guard shack and guards in the distance."
"Agent Carmichael, where the heck have you been? I've been trying to get in touch with you. Who authorized you to go dark because I didn't? You know the protocol on checking in or have you forgotten…"
"Listen General we can do this dance another time. Right now, I'm with Alex, Natasha and Pablito and we're about to enter a plantation owned by a man named Miguel…" Chuck started to say then the line dropped. "Crap, I can't believe this I lost the signal."
"Miguel is the nervous kind. Knowing him he probably has some sort of cell phone signal jammer to keep from people reporting anything they might see going on inside the compound."
"Look out here goes nothing," said Natasha as she put her hair up under a ball cap she took off the previous driver as they approached the guard shack. "If this goes south remember this was your idea and if you get me killed I'm going to shoot you."
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Beckman had just received word about a firefight and then a sudden explosion at Chuck's last known location. She was trying to get a handle on the situation and if this had compromised their presence in Honduras. She was not happy as the reports came in and the when she did reach Chuck he'd hung up on her.
"I don't know whether to be happy that he's alive or upset that he's doing everything in his power to get us kicked out of country. I just might have to shoot him myself. Remind me I need to have a talk with him about what the word clandestine means."
"I told you that Chuck would burn you one of these days and now look what happened. You need to rein him in or cut your losses and let him go."
"Always with the friendly advice Tank? You know I can't do that and you also know why," said Beckman as she got control of her anger. "I'm sure there's a logical explanation for what's going on even if I can't see it."
"Ma'am, we've been able to pull video from CCTV cameras in the vicinity of the Dead Parrot. I think you're going to want to see this," said the one agent as he brought over a tablet.
"Show me what you've got and impress us Agent Stevens," said the General as she and Tank gathered round to watch the video. "Enlighten us what are we looking at?"
"Here see this," said Stevens pointing out a woman in the clip. "That's the woman the Russians are looking for, Natasha. See she hijacks a vehicle then rams it into the bar then when she drives out…"
"I see everyone is onboard which is what Chuck… Agent Carmichael reported before the line dropped and then the bar explodes. I hope there's more because we know all this already."
"Yes Ma'am, there is, but wait a few minutes. See that van following after them. We did some checking and the van happens to be rented by a dummy shell corporation that we know the SVR uses to make payments for their operatives."
"So, the Russians are after them… no, not all of them they're after Natasha. They probably have a kill order out on her. I know I would if an agent of mine like Natasha went rogue on me."
"Your Chuck… I'm sorry Agent Carmichael sure has the ability to get himself in the middle of cross hairs, doesn't he? If I were the Russians I'd run that Defender off the road as soon as they get out of town then cap everyone onboard."
"But they won't because Chuck is onboard," said Beckman but Tank gave her a sceptical look. "Agent Carmichael is a bridge between our two agencies and through him we've been able to get around governmental differences. No, Igor isn't about to throw that away… not unless he has to or is forced to."
"You said it unless he has to. I guess it boils down to just how badly do they want to tie this thing off with that woman. I'm guessing they want to end this before it blows up in their face and word gets over to the Kremlin. I know I would so I don't know just exactly how bullet proof Chuck is right now."
"Ma'am you need to see this. We tracked the Defender from overhead after it left the city and headed into the jungle. Things got a little spotty because of the grown but they came out in this clearing then they did something strange… see there."
"They're doing doughnuts but why? Oh, I see. Smart Chuck, very smart," said Beckman as they saw the vehicle drive out of the dust cloud they'd made then hid in the underbrush next to the road.
"I don't get it," said Tank. "What are they trying to accomplish like that? They're sitting ducks or don't they realize that? They aren't thinking about taking the Russians out before they get them? But they'd have to know they're being followed… No, I don't understand."
"Watch out or your brain might explode. It's bird hunting or can't you see it. Quail, pheasant and the like hunker down when prey comes by and use their natural camouflage to hideout until danger passes by. However, if a prey comes up on them then they take flight, but most of the time they can wait it out and their predator walks right past them. Wait and see," said Diane as they saw the van from before race right past them continuing on down the road.
"Now watch what they do," she said as Chuck's Defender pulled right back out heading in the opposite direction. It's a good SDR, surveillance detection route. You assume that you're being followed even if you can't see anyone or anything. My dear Tank that's what a good spy does and how they stay alive."
"I'll give it to him that was pretty slick but we don't know who came up with the idea. For all you know it could've been that Russian woman."
"Possible but no likely. Okay Stevens now go and impress me some more. I want to know where Chuck went and where he's at now. Isn't this near that plantation house where the other Carmichael disappeared? I want to know who this Miguel is and how he fits into the big picture and I want all that right now."
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Casey made his way inside the walls, down through the air vents until he was on the other side of the wall in the sitting room. From there he could hear Miguel on the other side of the wall talking to his henchmen and from what he could hear Miguel wasn't happy. It became clear to him that Miguel was making his move on Donna Rosenda and Luiz was getting in the way.
"Okay we can talk now. Donna Rosenda has gone to lie down until dinner. What's going on with the teams we sent into town? They should've been back by now. Pablito has to go because I can't ask her to marry me if her late husband is still alive."
"But El Jefe who would know? He's been missing for almost thirty years why would he choose to show up now? That's more than a day late…"
"Yeah you might be right but he's liable to make an appearance one of these days and if she finds out I knew he was still alive… well that would ruin everything for us. No, I can't take that risk. No, Pablito needs to go away forever and not just him. Luiz needs to go with him. A new alpha male lion when he takes over the pride always eliminates all his future rivals."
"Just say the word El Jefe and we'll make it happen. How do you want to do this? We could take him on a one-way trip into the jungle then cap him and bury him in a shallow grave… or just let the wild pigs eat him or whatever else is there that's hungry."
"No, it's got to look like an accident… or even better if we can lay the blame on the Americans. Donna Rosenda won't move on if she's still thinking about Pablito and Luiz. She needs closure for me to make my move and that won't happen with Luiz around. Let alone if Pablito shows up on our doorstep."
"Boss… El Jefe, I would try to call the guys but that mobile signal jammer is running so we can't call out and they can't call in. We could grab another vehicle and go check on them if you want?"
"No, we've only got the one left after we sent two into town and the other one got busted up in the accident. I don't like it but we've got no choice as far as I can see. We're going to have to wait for the teams to report back."
"There is another option, we could shut the jammer down for a few minutes and call them then after we talk with them we could power it back up."
"As much as I'd like to that I don't think so. Not with our house guests locked in a room upstairs. I don't know there's something about their story which doesn't convince me. Luiz just so happens to run into someone he went to school with in the middle of nowhere. I don't believe in coincidences and especially not where Luiz is concerned."
"Boss, you don't have to worry about him. He hasn't got a clue about what's going on and he won't until he walks into a bullet," said the one man as the other one nodded.
"Don't underestimate Luiz and don't get in your heads to take him out on your own. If you do you'll be making a big mistake and piss me off too which is something you don't want to happen."
"Come on Boss, he doesn't seem to quick on the uptake being mama's boy like he is," said the one man and the other nodded in agreement.
"Keep in mind he was the one who ran that pirate scheme back on Saint Thomas. He had Black Bart appearing all over the place until everyone was sure Black Bart had come back from the dead. No, we need to be careful."
"Careful to what," said Luiz as he walked in on them. "Donna Rosenda has a letter she wants me to run into town. I heard you mention Black Bart. You know it's back luck to mention his name, don't you?"
"Well, I've got a Black Star right here," said Miguel as he patted his holster. "If he chooses to come around and bother me I'll introduce him to it. José take Luiz to the Defender you can drive him into town that is if you have the letter you need to deliver?"
"Mom is finishing it up now. I'll go up and get it then I can meet José outside by the Defender. Is that okay?"
"Sure, it's fine by me I don't see any problem," said Miguel. They watched and waited for Luiz to leave not speaking until they heard him going up the stairs.
"I wonder how long he was standing outside this room," said the one man. "Do you think he could've overheard us?"
"I don't think so but we need to be careful and keep an eye on him. Or better José when you come back you're going to run into that American Colonel who's going to take Luiz out."
"Seems appropriate doesn't it," said José. Miguel and the other man gave him a puzzled looked. "He's keeping the tradition going in the family being killed by this Colonel." Miguel laughed.
"Go outside and wait for Luiz," he said smiling. "You know I should've pointed out to Luiz that he mentioned the pirate's name too."
"Boss that takes care of Luiz but now what do we do with those tourists upstairs? Are we still going to hold them?"
"When you come back and tell us that the Colonel took out Luiz I'm going to execute them. Then we can move on to phase two and plan a wedding," said Miguel as he looked at his watch. "That is once those idiots get back from town and tell me Pablito has been taken care of. What's taking them so long? I hope they haven't screw it up."
Casey heard enough and made a retreat heading back up to Sarah and Morgan's room to report what he'd overheard.
"Geez, did you hear that," said José as he started to leave. "El Jefe, I think I ought to get some traps or poison for rats when I'm in town that sounded like a big one."
"I've got another idea bring in the dogs and let them run in the crawl spaces. That should scare them out and give us a little entertainment."
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Sam helped Mary lay the table. Kate came earlier with a roast so they all sat down and had dinner together. Sam told them about her day at school and how she'd been seated next to Maria, the little girl she'd met before. She also told them that Tommy the little boy she knew was seated behind them.
"Nancy, our teacher is really nice," said Sam as she ate. "She asked me to help Maria when she doesn't understand. I like that..."
"It's nice to help others," said Mary. "But I don't want you to get behind on your own work because you're helping this other kid."
"Oh, I won't we're doing math today... you now basic math, adding and subtracting single digits. I could do that when I was Bunny's age. I can't believe it's so difficult for them. Do you think something could be wrong with them... you know mentally?"
"No, I don't think so," said Mary as she and Kate tried not to laugh. "Well, it won't hurt you to do a review and don't get smart with your teacher just because you think something is too easy. Mark my word before you know it won't be anymore and the rest of the class will be wondering if you've got something wrong. You need to pay attention and do as you're told."
"I am," said Sam then she got quiet. Mary looked over at Kate and wondered if she hadn't been to hard on Sam. It was after all her first day back in school.
"Mary's just trying to look out for you," said Kate trying to break the awkward silence. "That's our job to look out for our kids."
"What," said Sam as she looked up. "Oh no, that's not it. I was just thinking... I saw something odd today but it might be nothing. However, thinking about it now I'm not sure."
"What'd you see?" said Mary. "Maybe if you tell us we can tell you if it's nothing but we can't unless you talk."
"Well... like I said it's probably nothing but I saw this black car in the parking lot when you came to pick me up. I thought it was just parents who'd come to pick up their kids but now that I think about it the car had four men inside. The part that's strange is they seemed to be looking for someone. I remember hearing one man ask about Buddy but he'd already gone by then so they left."
"Are you sure about that... the one asked about Buddy?" said Mary. "After we get done eating I'll pull up the CCTV feed from the school parking lot and get the license plate number off the car then run it."
"You don't have to I remember it," said Sam as Mary and Kate looked at her. "What? I told you I'm good with numbers. Now if only I could read I could be in the university instead of the first grade."
"Well, after dinner you can give to me and I'll run it," said Mary. Kate looked at Mary but she just shrugged her shoulders.