Don't own Chuck

The flight from Brussels to Mildenhall was short. Just up and down basically. Mary barely had time to finish her first cup of coffee as the General read the latest report that was waiting for her from Costa Gravas. It was early the sun was still a pale glow over the horizon but already the first rays were lighting the sky and painting it red. If they were sailors, this omen would've told them trouble was brewing.

"Well it looks like everything's back on track. It says here the rebel forces have been defeated and the capital is now in government hands. I'll need to make sure Alejandro doesn't do any back pedalling. Now is the time to move forward not backward."

"What about the conspirators any word on them and their leader? What was his name, Turrini? Were any of them taken?"

"You mean El Comandante," laughed the General. "It says that the supporters of the short lived revolt abandoned the capital shortly before government troops arrived which caused a panic at the airport."

"The rats were abandoning the ship," added Mary as she sipped her coffee. The General nodded her head and continued reading.

"According to this they all hastily boarded planes for safe havens going in different directions. Some went to Cuba and others to Venezuela. I guess there's no surprise there although there is something," said Beckman as she paused.

"What is it? Is there something wrong? The coup leader, this El Comandante, I assume he was one of the rats that ran. I thought you said he escaped to Africa? Angola if I remember correctly."

"What?... yes, that's what our people in Langley told me and where we're looking. But what if we're looking in the wrong place? I just read Chuck's request he asked our Bueno Aires office to secure a DNA sample of a man that was found adrift in the Atlantic just outside the straits of Magellan. It seems a fishing boat recovered a body and one of the sailors posted a photo on the internet…."

"I bet that was a pretty sight," said Mary as she finished her coffee just in time before the 'fasten seat belt' sign came on and the pilot announced their arrival in Mildenhall.

"They probably posted it to help identify the body but Chuck thinks that the man could be the Colonel, Turrini was seen leaving the country with on the Yak-40. But if it is him then we're looking in the wrong place for El Comandante. But it doesn't make much sense because the only place he could've escaped to is the Tierra del Fuego. Neither Argentina nor Chile will give him asylum even if there was some place to set down."

"Well there's always the Antarctic but if he did I hope he brought some serious cold weather gear. You're right it doesn't make sense unless…"

"Unless what? Come on you're as bad as your son. You start to say something then you stop why can't you just spit it out. I guess he had to get that from somewhere."

"I don't know what you're talking about. What I was going to say was that if someone wanted to get rid of him. Maybe Turrini over stepped himself in this coup attempt what better way to tidy uploose ends than by sending him off to the South Pole. The plane comes in hot so when it lands the heat generated under it melts the ice and it sinks. It wouldn't take long for the plane to cool then the water around the now submerged aircraft freezes again. The winds whip up the snow around wreckage and Turrini is gone out of sight until global warming or climate change causes the ice caps to melt. You could say someone told him to take a chill."

"That's good but that would mean the pilot had to be in on it and an organization or nation behind him… well I'm not convinced yet. We'll have to wait for the DNA test to come back first before I can take action. Right now the major sweat ex is finding that missing Russian sub. I can't ask the DoD to pull assets from the hunt on a hunch."

The air traffic over Mildenhall that early in the morning was practically nonexistent, so the Lear was granted immediate landing rights. They came in then were taken over to the hangar with the X-bird inside. The General and Mary deplaned from the Lear then boarded the Hypersonic.

"Good Morning General," said the Lieutenant Colonel greeting her with a cup of coffee in hand. "Agent I would've had a cup for you but I didn't know how you took it?" The Major who was the co-pilot stood behind and smiled at the Colonel falling all over the General.

"Thank you Greg, that's nice of you. We haven't seen each other since you left the Pentagon. You look like you've been doing well?"

"Thank you General. Well I'm back doing what I like the most, flying and speaking of flying if you two will have a seat. We should be in the air momentarily. We've gone through pre-flights and the on board computer is doing a self-diagnostic check. It should be about done so I'll call back before we begin to roll out."

"Do you have to do that all the time with this type of aircraft or is there something wrong that we need to know about?"

"No and no just a little prudence is all. Once we're in the air there isn't any place to pull over if we get a flat or need to add water."

"There are old pilots and there are bold pilots but there are not old bold pilots," said the General as she smiled at him.

"Exactly Diane… I mean General. Well I need to get back up to the cockpit," said Greg as he turned to find his co-pilot the Major standing there smiling. "What are you smiling at? Is that diagnostic check done yet?"

"What was that all about?" asked Mary as she watched Greg look back over his shoulder at the General. "Does Roan know about Greg?"

"Oh stop it; he's just a friend I helped out. We were talking one night over cosmos and he told me how much he missed flying. I knew the Hypersonic project needed test pilots so I hooked him up."

"Is that all you hooked him up with?" asked Mary as she smiled and laughed. "When all this was going down something tells me Roan was out of town on one of his missions."

"I don't remember, it was so long ago," said Diane as she sipped her coffee. It was the perfect blend in every sense.

"I'm sure you don't," said Mary as she went and got herself a cup then came and sat down across from the General. Mary had barely sat down when the 'fasten seat belt' sign came on then the co-pilot walked back to tell them they were getting ready to take off.

"The diagnostic test is done and everything checked out oaky. We've gotten our permission from Tower Control to take off and we'll start rolling straight out for take-off. One good thing about flying this plane is you don't get stuck in the queue for the runway. Please stay in your seats until we've taken off and gained altitude. The Colonel will take off the seat belt sign when it's safe to move around. Do you have any questions for me before I have to return to the cockpit?"

"How long before we reach Costa Gravas with this type of aircraft," asked Mary. She was having mixed feelings and the General could see it.

"We should be there in a few hours so just sit back and relax. I'd tell you the bar is open but on this flight we don't have one. There are snacks and things if you want. Well I need to run," said the Major as he disappeared up front.

"There's no reason to look like you're being dragged before a firing squad," said Diane. "By the time we get there everything will have come to a head and it's not like it could be avoided either."

"This won't be easy for Sarah. Chuck means well but he's a lot like his father trying to fix things. Sometimes things just can't be fixed no matter how much you try."

"You know you should start going out again. I don't think Chuck or Ellie would mind they both want you to be happy."

"Going out? Like on a date or on a mission? If it's on a mission unless the mark is in a geriatric ward I think that ship's done sailed. Unless you need an old cougar but even then I'm not so sure. If you're talking about dating… well there was only one man for me so that chapter's closed for me… Roan what's he up to these days? Is he going to put in a surprise appearance in Costa Gravas or are you going to ask the Lieutenant Colonel to hang around?"

"I suppose if I tell you to mind your own business you won't."

"How can I mind mine when I busy minding yours?"

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Sarah followed the instructions on the back box. This wasn't the first time she'd used one but to complicate matters the instructions were written in Spanish so she was following the pictures. After she got done she had to wait for the result. From the noise outside the door it sounded like a family reunion was going on. From the voices it seemed everyone was there, which made her feel like she was in the spotlight and had to perform. Finally something happened but what was it.

"Do you want me to come in and help you interpret the reading?" she heard Ellie yell through the door. "I'm a doctor so…"

"No… Absolutely not, everyone stay out," she snapped then she warned them all to back off. But the problem was she didn't have the foggiest idea what the result was. There was only one thing she could do.

"What the..," Chuck said as she opened the door and grabbed him yanking him inside then slamming the door shut again.

"This is half your fault so look at this thing and tell me how you read it. Here are the instructions written in every fricking language except English and no I couldn't flash to read them."

"Just calm down and relax. Take a deep breath, Sarah you're freaking out let me look at it," said Chuck as he took the wand and tried to make heads or tails. "I think there's a line but it's very faint. Love I know you don't want to but I'm afraid we're going to have to call in the experts."

"Okay, I guess if it's necessary that is if you think it's necessary but hold me first," she said. He put his arms around her and held her. "See I told you, you said there could only be a yes or no will I just created a maybe."

"Come one let's ask Ellie and Devon," said Chuck as took her hand and they went out. Everyone was standing there waiting when they came out. Chuck walked out ahead of her to keep her from being mobbed.

"Ellie, Devon we need a second and a third opinion," said Chuck as he handed Ellie the wand. "I think there's a line but it's very faint."

"Let me see," said Ellie as she looked at it then passed it to Devon for him to look at it. Sarah held on to Chuck's other hand in a vice. His fingers started turning blue and he was beginning to lose feeling but he let her squeeze.

"I'm sorry but I can't tell. Devon what's your opinion?" asked Ellie as he turned it around and tried to look at it under different lighting.

"Babe, I'm sorry I can't tell either. Sarah this really isn't anything to worry about. It just means you should wait a couple of days then repeat the test."

"I agree with Devon. You know how these pregnancy tests work they detect human chorionic gonadotropin or hCG because it's an early marker of pregnancy. How much hCG there is will depend on how long you've been pregnant. The more days that have passed since sperm has fertilized the egg, the higher the hCG levels will be and the stronger the line on the test. So, a very faint line nearly always means you're just a few days pregnant."

"But couldn't it mean that I'm not pregnant," said Sarah. She realized she was crushing Chuck's hand and let go. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," said Chuck as he began to work it out. "But El what about what Sarah just asked couldn't it be a false positive?"

"I don't think so it's very unlikely but I guess it's possible. You really need to talk to Gwen about this; this is her field of expertise. 'False positives' generally only happen if you've done the test wrong. Let me see the box I didn't check to see if it was expired," said Ellie. Sarah looked at the expiration stamp.

"No it's still good. See," said Sarah as she handed the box to Ellie who nodded her head after she read it.

"Maybe we read the results to long after the wait time but you said it was this way all along?" Chuck and Sarah both nodded. "You aren't taking any medications that could cause a positive like Promethazine, a drug used to treat allergies, motion sickness, and vomiting or an anti-anxiety medication include benzodiazepines, are you?"

"No nothing like that my only concern was if I had done the test properly seeing as none of the instructions were in English. But I've used them before so it's not like there's a lot you need to know to use one."

"Does this mean I'm not going to have a sister," asked Sam. She and Clara had stood quietly behind the adults listening to everything that was going on but not understanding much of anything. So finally enough was enough and she wanted to know.

"Oh Sweetie, I'm sorry I didn't see you standing there," said Sarah as she gave Chuck a look like he should've warned her. "I'm sorry but I don't know yet we're just going to have to wait. Now let's get you girls cleaned up and then we can find something to eat."

"That can all be done in the Embassy," said Casey. "With the capital in the Premier's hands again they want us in the compound. They've already sent a vehicle for us it should be here soon."

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As the Hypersonic rolled out of the hangar and on to the runway it prepared for takeoff. But just outside the fence in a dark corner a black Rover was parked. The driver sat in a car with binoculars watching the airfield until finally he saw what he was waiting to see. The Hypersonic took to the air and it was like nothing he'd seen before. It seemed half airplane and half spaceship. It rose quickly then banked disappearing out of sight. The man reached up and hit autodial as he continued to watch there was a click on the other side then silence.

"I just saw it take off and it's now in transit," said the man as he put away his binoculars then started the car. "Time to start 'the initiative'." The line dropped and a steady dial tone could be heard.

Hidden away in the cenote...

Frank paced back and forth in the Command and Control center watching as everyone was in their places waiting for the order to begin. Dr. Martin had already prepared the generator bringing it on line so throughout the complex no matter where you were you could head this low mechanical hum.

"You know you're going to wear out the floor plating like that," said Silvia as she gave a small laugh but Frank didn't laugh back. He was thinking about what he was going to have to do soon. "You're in a foul mood."

"It's just nerves is all, hey I need to talk to you," said Frank pulling her over to the side. "I need to tell you that it seems our people are giving me another assignment, a sort of follow up on this one."

"Well congratulations, I guess one of us got something out of this," she said. At first Frank was worried if she had figured out what was going on but then he figured out she was jealous.

"Yes... I mean no... Oh so guess who's going to be in charge here when I leave?" he said as he looked her in the eyes. "I bet you can guess if your try hard."

"Who me? They want to put me in charge of this operation? You're serious right? This isn't some sort of joke, is it? Because if it is..."

"Do I look like I'm joking? I've even had a couple cases of champagne delivered in the canteen for everyone afterwards. You can get your people together and let them know you're in charge. I think you ought to make a little speech of some kind thanking everyone for making this possible for you. You know like a pep rally. You can even tell everyone thank God we got rid of that SOB Frank and Marcus."

"Marcus will be going with you?" said Silva trying to play it off. "Where is your new assignment anyway? You know if I find something you left and need to forward it to you. I bet it's some place nice not like this armpit."

"I didn't bring anything so I'm not leaving anything. I'm sorry if I'm going to have to take Marcus with me but it's in his own best interest. I thought you said you two weren't an item?"

"We're not it's just... well I guess I'm sort of used to having him around is all. You know he's like always there."

"So is a dog but they leave fur on the furniture, track up the house and carry fleas," said Frank as Silvia laughed. Just then Marcus came up carrying Frank his phone.

"You just received a text message," said Marcus as he looked back and forth at the two of them feeling he'd interrupted something. "I read it and it only says 'begin'.

"Well Dr. Martin, have your people being the initiative," said Frank as he turned to Marcus. "You need to pack your stuff up and mine. Then have it taken to a vehicle up above we're leaving for the airport as soon as this part of the initiative is completed. I've been put in charge of the next phase."

"Next phase? I thought this was an ongoing project and that after this one there would be another but you sound like they're going to shut this down." Silvia was too busy giving orders to pay any attention to what Frank and Marcus were saying.

"No the project isn't going to be shut down," said Frank as he tried to get Marcus to hold down the questioning. He grabbed him by the arm then pulled him out in the hall where they couldn't be heard.

"Okay we're not being shut down," said Marcus as he looked down at Frank holding onto his arm. "But this facility is. With Turrini out there's no governmental protection. That's it isn't it? They've decided this facility is a liability."

"I'm letting your girlfriend have her fifteen minutes of glory before everyone gets their pink slips. At least she'll have this satisfaction before everyone gets sent home. We'll be gone when it all blows up they'll blame me which is okay by me," said Frank. Marcus didn't understand that when Frank said 'blow up' he meant it literally.

"That's nice of you Frank so where are we going? Maybe after you get settled into your new job we can find something for Silvia… I mean Dr. Martin?"

"Who knows? Maybe something but for now we need to get ready. We're off to the Falklands and I hope you don't get seasick because we're boarding a sub. Now go get our things together and wait for me. I'll be right with you after I make sure everything goes well here."

Frank went back inside while Marcus went to Frank's office. There he began boxing things ups as he watched the operation unfolded on the big screen. On the monitor was a map of the Atlantic with two dotted lines one was the supposed path of the Hypersonic and the other was their actual one. Once they were out far enough where they were only communicating via radio the constellation was brought on line slowly nudging their GPS coordinates a little at a time until they were off course and didn't realize it.

"Good job Silvia," said Marcus to himself as he watched the project unfold and all the various pieces fell into place as had been planned. He stood and waited holding his breath as the plane came up to Costa Gravas where it was supposed to land. He let out a sigh of relief when the dotted line of where they were actually at passed the country and continued their downward trajectory.

"Okay I need to hurry up here," he said as he grabbed things and tossed them in but in doing so he dropped a letter opener under the desk so he had to bend down and crawl under to retrieve it.

"What the…" said Marcus. Underneath Frank's desk he found a pound of C-4 with a remote detonator. His mind was racing about what to do and as he was coming out from under Frank walked in.

"Frank, we've got a problem someone is trying to blow up the base."

"I know that would be me."