Don't own Chuck
Sarah was standing over the coffee machine gathering intel. It was second nature for her and once her targets began spewing out information she was there with both ears open to listen. Julie and Roberta talked about their team members, their places on the team and the accident that changed the team almost a year before. None of this had ever been told to them, not that any of it seemed important at the time but information gathering was the primary mission of a spy. And what was unimportant yesterday could be of vital importance tomorrow so she listened.
"What accident? No one ever mention anything about an accident. Was anyone hurt seriously," asked Sarah as she took Chuck's cup and handed it to Julie then she made him another.
"None of the others like to talk about it. It's almost taboo with them. But serious I would say so, the previous Project Head, a Doctor Parker was killed along with his assistant. Dr. Ryder took over than was placed in charge afterwards and Dr. Shepherd became his assistant. I don't know if you know it but he's Dr. Beech's friend so you can see how he got his job. I sometimes think they brought us on board to meet some sort of quota."
"Julie, you shouldn't complain so much or Dr. Ryder will get mad," said Roberta. "He gets like that with his little fits. He's a little passive aggressive at times, especially when he doesn't get his way. I think they sent us with you so they could be by themselves."
"What do you mean; you're all on the same team, aren't you?"
"Remember we were the new hires so it's like it's them and us. They keep their research to themselves and we get sent out for coffee. Since we don't know how to use the machine we have to get it from the wagon across the street all of which takes time."
"It's their way to get rid of us when they want to talk among themselves," said Roberta. "I think Dr. Beech forced Dr. Ryder to hire us to file the team's reports. They're all bad about not keeping lab journals then we have nothing to submit. That's part of what has gotten us behind in data collection and why we have to come here. The data would've been there if they had bothered to write it down."
"Sarah, I need you in the cockpit. I've got comms with tower control they're giving me landing instruction."
"Oh crap!" she said as she looked at her watch. Time had slipped by and she hadn't noticed it. "I need to run, but I'd like to hear more later," said Sarah as she grabbed Chuck's coffee then ran back to the cockpit.
"I'm sorry I had to call you," said Chuck as he took his cup from her. "But we've gotten landing permission and the quicker we get this over with the quicker we can be on our way."
"No I'm sorry, time slipped away while I was talking with the girls. I'm afraid it's cold, isn't it?" Sarah didn't have to ask she could tell by the face Chuck made. "I really am sorry."
"Don't worry about it there's something I need to tell you before we land."
"I've got something I need to share too."
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Casey led Alex out of the building and across the street. He took her out also to get her away from Ralph. There was not call for the way he went off on his daughter and only with great effort did he restrain him from introducing the man's face to his fist. The Doctor went ape when he found out she was in that lab and Casey couldn't figure out why. Ryder was closed mouthed about what had happened in the lab. From the chalked outlines it wasn't good but John also knew that wasn't their mission. However, if the Doctor didn't turn down his volume Casey would turn him off.
"Do you mind telling me what you were really doing in that lab?" said Casey as he handed her a steaming cup. They sat by themselves on a bench under a tree where they could watch the building from a distance. "If you're going to snoop around make sure you keep your flashlight pointed down. One of the men saw your light in the lab and reported it."
"I did? Sorry but I found out two people were killed inside and get this they were the former Project Head along with his assistant. Ryder's only been in charge for a little less than a year."
"So? That's not our job. We're not here to investigate an accident that happened almost a year ago. Alex, you do realize we're not the police and you can't go off rogue like that. Our mission is to get these eggheads in a basket and then send them to market."
"But doesn't that seem suspicious? Ryder gets made project head then the lab is sealed off so no one can go in and like Campus Security has the manpower or the right personnel to investigate a possible homicide."
"Hold it right there. No one ever mention the word homicide and as far as we know this was just an accident. Christ, these guys are playing with fire it only stands to reason sooner or later one of them is going to get burnt," said Casey but he saw that look on her face. It reminded him so much of Kat that he had to look away.
"I'm just saying it might be something worth looking into," said Alex wondering why Casey couldn't seem to understand what she was saying.
"Fine if you want to look into it from Castle that's okay. You can even file a report with Beckman. But before you submit anything and I underline anything I want to read it. These eggheads might look harmless but remember so does Chuck. Also stay out of that lab."
"Okay but you saw that white square in what used to be that man's right hand, what do you think it was?"
"I don't have a clue but what I'd like to know is what reduced them to ash. To incinerate an entire body like that we're talking extreme heat but I would've expected the rest of the lab to be in ash too but it wasn't. It was like the heat was concentrated on the victims. I wonder what could've done that. Gez, now you've got me speculating."
"I was told by a guy named Ross, he's one of the team members, that an electromagnetic discharge inside the lab killed both men."
"Can I get the translation into plain English or do I need to used Google Translate?" said Casey as Alex smiled. She loved his quips.
"Lightning, they reproduced lightning inside the lab."
"Well that's pretty asinine to reproduce lightning in an enclosed space. This wasn't a homicide it was an idiot-cide worthy of a Darwin award."
"You see that's why I think this needs to be looked into. You can't tell me that the man who was in charge of this project didn't know what would happen in that room and that square. You know if you look at that it's about the same size of the Smart chip."
"Well this is all interesting but we have a mission to complete and our eighteen wheeler is here," said Casey as the truck pulled down the street. "The sooner we get this crap on board the sooner we can get back to Burbank. I didn't think I'd ever say this but I miss the Buy More."
"Oh you miss Morgan," said Alex as Casey rolled his eyes.
"Like a dog misses his fleas. No I need to get out of here. Some fool started spreading the word around here that I was some kind of teddy bear. There's only one person who's allowed to call me that. Can you believe an idiot even came up to me and asked for a hug?" Alex was smiling when Casey's phone rang. "It's the General."
"You'd better take that," said Alex. She started to get up put Casey reached over and took her hand. He signaled her to sit back down and wait.
"Yes General, we're loading up now. …. I know we were supposed to be loaded by now but these eggheads were slow but I've gotten them on track now. … No ma'am no ones in the hospital and yes they'll all be able to fly tomorrow even if I have to pitch them on. … When did that happen? … Do we have any idea where he could've taken our guy? … I'd have birds in the air over the border. Soon or later he'll have to cross then we follow him home. Afterwards we send the Avon Lady to knock on his door. … Roger that Casey out."
"What was that all about?" asked Alex as Casey hung up and put his phone away. "Did something happen?"
"Come on I'll brief you as we go over and get these eggheads cartooned up," said Casey as he led her back over to the truck. "That was the general saying she just talked with Chuck and they're okay. She also said that one of our guys got grabbed by Carlos outside of the black site downtown. When we get back we need to make a run to Castle to help in the search. She's got birds up along the border. If we can catch him as he crosses we'll be able to locate his stronghold."
"Then we should have a Tac team on standby and have them ready to roll in a moment's notice. Maybe have a couple of birds prep'd too for a quick take off."
"I like the way you think. Yes and the General wants to send a message to all the other Cartels that they don't mess around with us so this isn't going to be pretty. Think you can handle this or do you want to wait with Morgan?"
"No I'm the one that wanted this so I need to see it through but what does she mean by 'send a message'?"
"Carlos gets a black bag over his head and a one way ticket to Gitmo. Everyone else gets an E-ticket to hell. The General is the judge and jury which leaves us the last job. Are you still sure you want to come along? You don't have to answer yet we still don't have any idea where Carlos is."
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Casey and Alex helped supervise the on loading of the truck as the final crates were brought to the staging area. Some of the team stayed to watch over the loading of the truck while others left to go home to finish packing personal belongings. Everyone was reminded that they need to be back the following day early in the a.m. to catch the bus that would take them to Travis.
"Hear that Ross. You don't have to worry about taking that piece of garbage car all the way to San Francisco and have it break down on you half-way there?"
"Funny Holter, very funny but whose car do you borrow when you need a ride? And didn't you borrow it the other day and when you brought it back the suspension went out but did I complain? I don't hear any laughing now so let's chill out on the ride." Everyone that was left just turned and walked away leaving Ross by himself next to the last few crates.
Later inside the darkened building two people skulked about hanging in the shadows. Meeting outside the secured lab silently one pulled out a key then they both ducked inside locking the door after them.
"What was that girl doing in here and why was the door open," asking the one dark figure as he checking the door to make sure it was locked.
"The door wasn't open it was locked. She must've picked the lock that's the only explanation. But why did she come in here? How did she know anything about this lab? Someone must've opened their big mouth."
"I heard Ross running his mouth about the lab and the accident. He's become a liability we need to shut him up before he ruins everything for us. We're too close to run risks."
"He doesn't know anything but I agree we just can't do anything right now. We'll deal with him when we get to Africa. You know there are a lot of things that can kill you over there. The question is what do we do with the girl?"
"Well does she really matter but if we're going to do something we only have tonight. That is unless you've got some way to be in two places at once."
"She really doesn't matter once we're on the plane we're halfway home. If we do anything to her after they know she's been in here it will just attract unwarranted attention to us. What can she really do? Even if she did find out something it would be too late," said the man as he looked at the two chalked out figures. "That just shows you, you can get away with murder."
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General Beckman had just gotten off the phone with Casey and sent her aide to the situation room. She wanted a full manhunt for this Carlos. She was even thinking about using a Predator drone if and when they track down him down especially if it looked like the recovery of their man wasn't possible. A bunker buster would send a message that you might run but you can't hide. She was running through her head how she could get away with it when Connie knocked at her door.
"I'm sorry to interrupt General but General Thomas is here to see you. He says he'll only need a few minutes of your time."
"Send Tank in I need to see a friendly face today," said Beckman as she got up and met him at the door. "Come in and pull up a chair. How about a drink? I've got your favorite."
"What alcohol?" he said as they both laughed. "How long has it been? Whatever it's been, it's been too long. You and Roan should get away some time and visit. Helen would like you guys to drop in. She's always looking for a reason to try out something new."
"We'll have to do that sometime soon. I'll have to check with Roan. But I don't think you've come here to reminisce about old times so what do I owe this sudden visit."
"I'm here more to give you a heads up. I saw that Blue Lightning Initiative request when it passed through the DoD then when I asked about it I was told you had people on their team so I ran down to see you."
"They're more babysitters than actually a part of the team. You might know him a Dr. Beech out of Pasadena, the Director of Special Projects for NSA and NASA he asked if I'd provide childcare."
"Did he mention also that the initiative started out as a DoD project and Blue Lighting was originally conceived as a next generation weapons system."
"No, I'm afraid he conveniently forgot to tell me that. What else did he forget to inform me," asked the General. She was beginning to get upset. If there was one thing that ticked her off was being played the fool and if this was what Beech had done there would be hell to pay with interest.
"Here's a folder that will explain the project better," said Tank as he dropped a red folder with Top Secret written across the cover on her desk as he picked up his glass. "You can read it in the file but what got the project shelved was the death of the Project Head, a Dr. Parker. Both he and his assistant were killed in an accident. DoD deemed the weapon to be too problematic."
"What do you mean by problematic," asked Beckman as she opened the folder and began skimming, flipping through pages.
"The damn thing killed Parker and his assistant. It was like when the Germans introduced mustard gas in the First World War. It did a bang up good job for them as long as they stayed up wind but the moment the wind changed direction it killed them too. We were concerned that if we deployed it that it would kill as many of ours as theirs and that's what got it canned."
"I see that's when it was reclassified for domestic use," said the Beckman as she flipped a page. "It wouldn't be the first invention that was created for the military that ended up on the civilian market."
"No, it wouldn't and if the thing works more power to them. I'll be the first person to tip my hat to them but I thought you ought to know the whole story before you risk your people and career on it."
"I appreciate this Thomas. It's nice to know I've got someone looking out for my six," said the General as she got up and walked around her desk. Tank got up and shook her hand. "Say hi to Helen and I promise as soon as I can lasso Roan we'll try and drop by." The General left and Beckman went back to studying the folder.
"Chuck, why didn't you flash on this?" she said to herself but then she answered her own question. 'Well, if it didn't work the first time around there was no reason to put it in the intersect.'
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When Chuck and Sarah landed they were directed to taxi over to the apron to park. After shutting down they gathered the briefcase full of documents that they had brought with them, and deplaned. Sarah walked with Chuck down to the bottom of the ladder there they were met by customs officials and men sent from the Embassy to assist. Chuck invited everyone onboard where they filled out all the forms as Sarah did an external check of the plane then oversaw the refueling. After the paperwork was done and they receive all the permissions Chuck gave the senior customs officer a bottle of Scotch and cigars to all his assistants. Everyone deplaned happy and content.
"Welcome to Zamibia," said the government official as he shook Chuck's hand. "I hope you have a pleasant stay in our country."
"Thanks," said Chuck as he saw Zamibians off. "I'm sure we'll have a wonderful time. I'm looking forward to our safari in Whsumpu National park."
"Just be careful to the leopards. They like to hunt at night and remember to check your shoes before you put them on. Scorpions like to crawl in them."
"Thanks, I'll remember that," said Chuck as the customs people got back in their Ranger Rover and left.
"How'd it go," asked Sarah as Chuck waved goodbye. "Looks like you got all the paperwork ready. The plane is refueled so we can take off."
"Agents Carmichael," said one of the men from the Embassy. "Now that we've gotten rid of the Zamibians here's a folder General Beckman wanted to make sure you received. When you arrive up north, the agency has contracted with a civilian security firm to assist with protection. Their boss will meet you when you arrive on the tarmac. If that's all have a safe flight."
"Thanks," said Chuck as he took the folder then the Embassy people left. Within a few minutes they were back in the air heading for Yubala the last leg on their journey. Chuck opened the folder and began skimming through it as Sarah flew the Lear.
"Anything worth reading," asked Sarah as she could see Chuck studying he pages. "Is there something wrong?"
"I don't know. Remember what you told about that lab accident. The one the women mentioned that killed the former Project Head?" Sarah glanced over at him and nodded. "Well would it surprise you to know that this Blue Lightning Initiative started out as a DoD weapons program. It says here it was supposed to be the 'shock' before the 'awe'."
"Who came up with that?"
"I don't know, it doesn't say but it's probably someone who makes more dollars than sense. But the whole project almost got derailed because of the accident. It says here the DoD pulled the plug because the system was considered unstable. But instead of dying a natural death it was reclassified and moved over to the civilian side. What does that mean? I guess you could always ask your girlfriends."
"I haven't got a clue and they're not my girlfriends," said Sarah as she looked over at Chuck. He smiled back at her. "Okay they're not as bad as I thought but that's not like calling them my girlfriends."
"I guess we'll have to set two more places for Thanksgiving," said Chuck as Sarah pretended to get angry.
"Oh you're impossible sometimes," she said as she waded up a piece of paper and threw it at him. "Where are our passengers at anyway?"
"They were quiet when we had the customs and Embassy people onboard. I kept them up forward so the ladies had the back of the cabin to themselves. You don't think they're asleep?"
"I bet they are. You can go get us a cup of coffee and see."
"What if we left them?"
"We can only hope."