Don't own Chuck

Sarah didn't take the news well that the Russians were backing away letting Chuck operate on his own. She was worried that when he got hit that the blow did something to his intersect. That was the only excuse she could think why he'd go off on a mission and leave her behind. Although in the back of her mind she wondered if part of this wasn't her fault too. She'd told him she wanted to spend time with Sam and worried what their separation was doing to her. But that couldn't be the reason.

"Agent Carmichael, Sarah," said General Beckman looking at her sitting in the seat across from her holding Sam. Beckman had an idea what she was thinking and she had to head it off. "When we land it won't do you any good to call your Russian friends to yell at them."

"Friends huh, that's what I used to call them. It might not do any good but I'd feel better," said Sarah as she kissed Sam. "No you're right but I don't have to like what they've done."

"No you don't and I don't blame you but let's think this through for a moment. We're thirty thousand feet over the Rockies and no one can listen in so are you sure Chuck isn't Chuck? What I'm saying is to do what he's done so far doesn't sound like… well it sounds like Chuck knows exactly what he's doing… like he's Chuck."

"No, Chuck would never abandon me or Sam that is out of the question? He'd never do that no matter what. We've fought too hard to get here."

"I'm not saying he abandoned you I'm talking about making sure you're safe. He's going after the man who threatened you and your daughter. He knew the agency would never let him go after Izad or the others so he found a way. Like when Chuck's father went after Mary. The system wouldn't let him, it tried to stop him but he did it the same. Don't you see a little of Stephen in Chuck?"

"What? He threw himself off the balcony so he'd have an excuse to go after Izad?" said Sarah. Sam was asleep in her arms with her face buried in her shoulder. She felt her breath through her blouse but it made her feel warm something she needed now.

"No, I don't think that but when it happened he took advantage of the situation. Maybe he was so livid with rage at Izad after hearing him taunt him and he knew his threats were real he took action. I couldn't blame him and given the circumstance I'd probably have done the same."

"If you were still in charge none of this would've been necessary," said Sarah then she looked out of the window and began to tear up. "I'm to blame I told him to go to Montenegro. I wanted to be with Sam and he only agreed to please me."

"Will you stop trying to blame yourself for everything? The sun doesn't set because you do something wrong. Chuck went to Montenegro because those were your orders and if he went because of Sam it was because he wanted to be with her too. There are some things that we can control and there are some things we have no control over. The actions of a madman are one of them. So pull yourself together when we land there's work that needs to be done. I want to go back to Pasadena some of the questions Chuck wanted answered are there."

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Chuck ran around the shopping center buying a few things he'd need. His first purchase was a backpack to carry everything then he picked up two burner phones after that he went to a hardware store and bought duct tape, some wire, a pair of plyers, a flat screwdriver, survival knife, a fire starter kit, a few flares and a full face motorcycle helmet. He threw everything in the backpack along with a canteen of water. Putting his hand through the helmet and throwing the backpack over his shoulder he went outside to find a ride. He waited for a man to park his bike locking the handle bars then walk away. Once the man was gone Chuck slipped on the helmet grabbed the handle bars and with a strong yank broke the locking mechanism. He then jammed the screwdriver in the ignition and he was on his way to Peikarta street then to Orbeliani moedani.

Driving in Georgia was something as cars whizzed by honking their horns. It was close to noon now so he had to hurry up. He parked the bike out of sight near the baths then ran across the street through the square. Keeping his helmet on he only took it off when he got inside then he went straight to the receptionist.

"Excuse me," said Chuck as he handed the man an envelope with Kolonel Sheshenkov written on the outside. "A man will be coming by soon looking for me but I can't wait. Could you please give him this? I'll make it worth your while." Chuck gave the man the equivalent of a month's salary and to make sure he let him see his pistol just to make sure he'd stayed honest.

"Sure no problem," said the man behind the counter. The man was worried, but not enough to stop him from making easy money by simply handing over a package. "Do you know the man's name who will be coming by or what he looks like?"

"I'm sorry I've never met before but he'll be here around noon and ask for me. Just tell him what I told you that I couldn't make it then hand him this," said Chuck as he gave the man money. Then he went outside and waited on the bike. He had a good view of the moedani or square and he figured that the guy would come up from there. Chuck wasn't wrong.

A little before noon a black Mercedes four wheel SUV pulled up with Russian license plates. There were four people inside one man walked rapidly in the bathhouse while the other three took up positions outside. It was obvious that this was a set up. Chuck smiled when he saw the man come back out with the package he'd left. Chuck then drove off to get ready for the next dance.

Shortly before inside the bathhouse….

"I'm here to meet a Kolonel Juri Sheshenkov can you tell me where I can find him? We have an appointment to meet at noon. He might not be here yet..."

"No he came and left but he told me to give the man who asked for him this," said the receptionist behind the counter as he handed him the package. "He apologized for not being able to wait but something urgent came up." The man took the package without saying a word then left. "You're welcome too," said the man behind the counter hoping he'd get another contribution but the man rudely grabbed the package then left.

"Come on we need to go," said the man as he motioned for the other three to get back in the car. "He wasn't there but he left this," said the man as he opened the package inside the car.

"What's in it," asked the driver as he started the car. He glanced back in the mirror and saw the man reading a message. "What does he say? If we go back empty handed the Czar won't be happy."

"We're not done yet," said the man as he read a note and took out a phone. "We need to go to the bridge of peace. I'm supposed to walk over to the middle then turn this phone on. Our man is suspicious after those idiots screwed up on the train."

"Let's hope he's not leading us on a wild goose chase. I don't want to have to go back and tell Nikolai we couldn't find this Kolonel." The man paused. "Tell me Nikolai really doesn't believe that crap they're saying about him being some sort of Czar incarnated."

"If I were you I'd make sure that doesn't get back home but as far as that's concerned I heard people talking about this Kolonel being some sort of incarnation of Rasputin."

"Who's that? Sounds like a shaving cream or something," said the driver as the man next to him laughed.

"Rasputin was the crazy monk that was blamed for undermining the last Czar. It was said in the end they tried to get rid of him so they poisoned, stabbed and shot him then threw him in the Volga. When he was fished out it was discovered he died from drowning. The man refused to die."

"So what are you saying about this Kolonel?"

"I'm not saying anything and we're almost here. Stop by the bridge and let me out. You stay here in the car," said the man to the driver. "You other two take up positions on this side of the bridge were you can watch me."

"Shouldn't one of us go to the other side so we can trap him in the middle? It seems the smarter play.

"I'm in charge of this mission and I don't want you on the other side. He might drive around both ends before walking across and if he sees men posted on both sides of the pedestrian bridge he might figure it's a trap then we will lose him. The man has already had one run in with us and we can't go home with nothing to show. No, we do this my way so let's get started." The other three men agreed that would be worse so they went along with the plan parking in the parking lot on the left side of the river.

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Igor was sitting looking at the clock on his wall with Stefan and Anatoly sitting in front of his desk. Anatoly had brought Chuck's bottle of Macallan thirty year old single malt up and they were drinking trying to pass the time. Stefan recounted the first time he met Chuck disguised as Juri and the girl he had with him. She wasn't Sarah but Chuck had her dance with him to the Kalinka.

"Yes that was at my dacha outside of city here. Everyone was there and the girl her name was I forget but she was an agent with him. That's when you arrested that Greek. Chuck bailed me out too when I was undercover. Five years I was away from my family trying to get that bratva kingpin. Chuck, in a few days, had the goods on him. He turned it all over to me and I got a promotion and an office here. I go home in the evening to see my wife and children," said Anatoly as he downed his glass then sat in his chair sullen.

"Okay, I hear you two he's done a lot for us but you two need to remember who you work for. Yes he's a friend I get it but as much as this is our life it's his too. He made the decision to go after Nikolai."

"Did he? Was it Chuck that made that decision or Juri? You heard them in Montenegro if his head injury caused him to switch personalities then was he in his right mind when he decided to come here. I can't go home and look at my family thinking I took him from his."

"What do you want to do then? Pull him from the field? He's in too deep now and if we try we risk getting him killed as well as our people. There's no choice anymore."

"When are those people going to call from Tbilisi. It's past the meeting time in the bathhouse and no one's called that could either be good or bad."

"Well those are the two options," said Igor as his phone rang. When it first started to ring, they all jumped. The moment of truth was here. Igor answered and immediately put it on speaker.

"This is Vladimir Antipov again I have news but you're not going to like it," said the man they looked at each other and thought the worse. "We missed everyone. The Kolonel came early we think he was on a motorbike that was picked up on CCTV feed that turned out to be stolen. According to a worker a man matching the Kolonel's description came in to the bathhouse and dropped an envelope off with instructions that it was to be given to a man who came asking for him. The man came picked up the package and left. We missed them all because we were looking for the Kolonel and anyone that was with him."

"I'm not pleased," said the Director. "You let them give you the slip. Do we have any idea what was in the package?"

"The man at the bathhouse said it felt like there was a phone in it but other than that nothing else. He did say the man who came in had a strong Chechen accent."

"I bet he did. Listen I want every man you've got on the street and I want every rock and stone turned over. Have someone monitor the police bands and ambulance calls. I want some results and I want them now. Do I make myself clear?"

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Three men got out of the Mercedes and proceeded to the bridge of peace. A pedestrian crossing over the Kura river that flowed through Tbilisi. It was now late afternoon and the LED lights were already coming on. Evening came quickly here and the thousands of lights on the "Always Ultra' as it's known because of its shape started flashing. As the man walked the bridge to the middle with each foot step lights for that section of deck plating came on as if the light was following him. The light show on the bridge was spectacular but also blinding.

"Crap," radioed the man from the middle of the bridge. "I can't see either end with all these lights. I don't like this."

"You were the one who reminded us we couldn't go home with nothing. Turn on the phone and wait like you were told. We've got you covered from here."

Meanwhile back at the Mercedes the driver was sitting there watching his two friends at the end of the bridge when a kid came up begging for money.

"Come on mister just some change. I haven't eaten all week and I'm hungry just a few bucks and I'll go away."

"Buzz off you little…" but the guy never finished when the kid egged the windshield. "Hey come back here!" yelled the man as he tried to get out of the Mercedes with his pistol drawn. "I'll kill you you little…" He didn't see Chuck coming up from behind then it was lights out. Juri took the man's jacket and pistol tossing them both in the front seat then dragged the man behind the car. There using the duct tape he secured his hands and feet then tossed him in the trunk. Chuck put the man's jacket on then flashed the head lights waving for the men at the end of the bridge to come back.

"What does he want? Why don't you use your radio?" said the man as he pointed at his watch but the lights continued to flash.

"His radio is probably broken. You stay here and keep an eye out I'll go and see what the problem is. If that idiot keeps up he's going to scare away our man," said the one as he ran back to the car.

"What's the problem?" yelled the man crossing the parking lot but got no answer. He was still too far away then he saw their driver raise the trunk and moved behind where he couldn't see him.

"Crap, I hope we don't have a flat that's all we need. Don't think I'm going to change… What the…," said the man as he saw the driver all taped up and gagged lying in the trunk unconscious. He reached for his weapon as he turned round just as Chuck cold cocked him his pistol. Chuck hit him so hard he lifted him off his feet then he fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes out cold.

Chuck repeated the same operation. He stripped the guy of his jacket and weapon then dragged him off behind another car. Now he had to work quickly popping the hood he looked over at the man standing by the bridge and waved.

"Crap car problems that's all we need," he radioed seeing the hood raised but then he saw it down and a man who looked like the driver gave him an okay sign. "Good at least this seemed to work out."

"I think this Kolonel isn't showing," radioed the man from the bridge but just then the phone rang. "He's calling. What am I supposed to do? Don't answer that I know I'm answering it's on speaker," said the man as he took a deep breath to try and relax. "Kolonel, I'm here but I don't see you. I was told you needed a guide. I hope nothing is wrong."

"You were also told to come alone. I see you've brought friends. You might like to know I've got you in my crosshairs and wondering if I should take the shot or not. What do you think? Are you worth the price of a bullet?"

"Run it's a trap. He's watching us with a sniper rifle let's get out of here," yelled the man as the two of them ran back to the car as fast as they could. If they hadn't been in so much of a hurry they might have noticed the wires hanging loose from under the Mercedes or the snow packed on the door handles. But they didn't.

"Let's go, start the car. It's a trap," yelled one of them. The car started just before they grabbed the doors and suddenly they received a shock that knocked them to the ground. Chuck ran wires from the coil to the doors taking electricity straight from the alternator. When the car was running he had juice flowing to the door panels and the water in the snow aided the current flow. There wasn't enough to kill them but it was enough to stun them. Chuck pistol whipped both to finish them off. He taped up the guide and tossed him in the back seat. Then he stripped the other guy of his jacket and weapon pouring vodka on him and the other unconscious assailant before driving off. He turned the windshield wipers and did his best to clean the egg off glass as he left the city.

"I can't let your friends die of exposure," said Chuck as he looked in the mirror to check on his guest. He was still out cold then Chuck called 112 the Georgian equivalent to 911.

"Please state you emergency," said a woman in Georgian.

"I was just in the parking lot on the left side of the Bridge of Peace and there were two guys wandering around drunk or stoned or both. I think they've passed out now or something but they were really belligerent. They smelt like cheap vodka… anyway if they've passed out they won't last long in this cold."

"Thank you, we'll send a patrol car and have a look. gmahd-lohbt dah-khmah-reh-bees-tvees [Thank you for your help]"

"ah-rah-prees, [You're welcome]" said Chuck then he hung up tossing the phone out the window. "I still need a guide," said Chuck as the man in the back started groaning. "Just sit back and relax we'll have a chance to get to know each other soon."

"My boss is going to kill you when he finds out," said the man in the back before he slumped back over.

"I think he just did twice actually," said Chuck as he wondered if he hadn't hit him too hard. "But we'll have time to talk out any misunderstanding."

Chuck drove north towards Mtskheta then went past traveling on towards the Zhinvali reservoir. Once he got there he looked for a spot where he could have a quiet uninterrupted conversation with his guide.

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Deep in the greater Caucasus outside the tunnel leading to the production facility blizzard weather raged. Inside Izad wanted to make a private call away from prying ears so he sent the doctors down on the line. It was about time to ship the first run so it was a good excuse to get rid of them for a while and Czar Nikolai was off somewhere. Nikolai had been preoccupied with taking care of this pesky FSB Kolonel who showed up from nowhere but the Czar felt he had the situation in hand and would have him taken care of soon. Now Izad just wanted the Carmichaels and he had the carrot on the stick to get that done after the fiasco in Montenegro with Paul.

"Listen I know this isn't our arranged time but I needed to report to you that although we're running behind schedule the first shipment will be loaded for transport to our people the day after tomorrow."

"You're lucky I'm here to take your call. My meeting in with the White house got cancelled. It's about time you ship some product I was beginning to worry. We can finally see some cash flow and I've got some serious overhead to deal with. I need to let you know Agent Carmichael's back home."

"Good I was going to ask about them. Will that make it a problem for you to eliminate them like I ordered? Your man Paul was a little bit of a let-down," said Izad. He heard the pause on the other end of the line. "I need them taken care of. He told my people I betrayed them…"

"So? It's true. You didn't think you were going to keep that from them forever. Oh hi guys I know you think I'm dead well surprise I'm not."

"Funny, very funny you ought to be on America's funniest home videos or maybe they can run a new reality show with you on Sunday mornings and call it 'betray the nation.' You know my family has disowned me, I want them dead every last one of them and I want Chuck to suffer the most."

"That might be a problem you know that Kolonel I warned you about well he's actually Chuck. He's there with you when we said Agent Carmichael's home we were talking about his wife, Sarah. She came home with their daughter."

"That might not be so bad after all. Juri Sheshenkov is being taken care of for us by Nikolai as we speak so I'm killing two birds with one stone. You're going to have to take care of the wife and kid back there. I want them dead and no excuses or no product."

"Listen it's not that easy I don't have the resources," said the mysterious person on the other side of the screen.

"Well you're going to have to get your hands dirty this time. I've got my own problems starting with getting this load crated up and shipped out. I can't produce any more until I've got the silicon off the ships in Poti and that won't happen until I've finished this first run and take it to the port. The locals won't send a truck filled only one way. But this is my problem you take care of the Carmichael on your end. I'll handle everything here you just make sure Sarah Carmichael dies and her kid too." The screen went blank.

"I need Richie," yelled the mystery person to a secretary. "Patch him through to my office then you take a long lunch." The phone on the desk rang as the person picked it up.

"Mr. Riccardo's on the line I'll be back in a couple of hours. Can I bring you anything back for lunch while I'm gone?"

"If you go by Subway bring me a six inch roast beef on hearty Italian works and extra jalapeno and guacamole if they have it. I'll catch you when you get back." Catch you when you get back meant the secretary would never see her money again but it was the price of keeping her job.