ChuckParis2a
A/N: A short one but one of you is having fits about the 'fit' and so here's something to help the powerless ones hang on until Tuesday. The weather here is cold and nasty.
Chapter 3 – The Eiffel Tower vs The Tales and Tails
Hannah was determined that Chuck should see every aspect of Parisian life but especially the nightlife. After a late lunch, she told him to dress 'business casual' and then they'd hit the Eiffel Tower and grab a snack and then she'd drag him down into what the local young people called 'the underground'.
"That's fine but I need to buy something first, Hannah. I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier."
"And that would be what, Mr. Bartowski?" She couldn't imagine anything he'd need more than clothes, money and her.
"A camera. No one will believe that I met a beautiful woman in Paris. The camera will prove it, sweetie."
She sighed. He seemed so…tentative about them. She knew he was the one foretold and by God she would make him see it. She'd drag him to bed and screw the idea into his mind. Blushing. She was sure she was blushing. The nuns would be shocked and so ashamed of her if they knew her thoughts.
They made their way through the streets to the Eiffel Tower where Chuck filled a flash drive with pictures of the city in a 360-degree series. Then he started on pictures of her and of them. She asked a German tourist to take their picture and when he had started returning the camera she interrupted him for 'one more'.
She put her arms around his neck and dragged him down for a passionate kiss. The difference in her 5'4" and his more then 6 feet made for an interesting meld of their bodies. She could hear the digital camera do its 'click-whir' several times and blessed the man for his romantic inclinations. She'd copy the pictures to her hard drive and then paint the best of them for herself.
Sarah and Casey waited in a park across from the Tower and drank coffee. Her leg was bouncing nervously and she was becoming very impatient with this whole mission.
She had no problems protecting the asset but had huge problems with his current behavior. When had he become so smooth with the ladies? More and more she was convinced she was a prostitute who had latched on to him in the airport.
"Walker, calm down. Enjoy this while it lasts. It's only a matter of time until the moron screws up with her and we can go home. And quit hoping she's a prostitute. That's not Chuck's style. Her background check is being compiled and we'll know everything there is to know about this Hannah woman by tomorrow. Until then, just let him enjoy himself. He's had it rough these past 2 years. Let him enjoy himself."
Sarah didn't reply. She was angry with her partner for his attitude, at Shaw for his vacillating indifference toward her, and most of all she was angry with Bartowski for making her feel jealous. She was not jealous. She couldn't be. She'd purged the moron from her being. She had moved on. He couldn't hurt her any longer. Could he?
Surveillance Vehicle – Shaw's sleeper cell
"Those two are headed for trouble. You mark my words. Even from here you can see the friction between them. Who ever made that partnership decision is an idiot. The woman is on the edge of doing something rash while the man is totally relaxed and blends in with the background. One would think the Agencies would do a better job of matching partners."
"They are not our problem. Our problem is the young man and his lady. Keep focus. In these crowds they could disappear in a moment."
Ring Agent #3
'The Director has a daughter? Interesting and perhaps worth some money if the word is placed in the right ears. Who knew he had a daughter?'
Ring Agent #2
The German 'tourist' returned the camera to the couple and chuckled to himself. 'One more, indeed. This young man is trying to be a gentleman in the face of such a determined onslaught from one so young, beautiful and obviously in love. The Director will be pleased that he is trying to be proper in spite of such delicious temptations. Ah, to be young again.'
Ring Agent #1
'Henri was right. There is more to this man than meets the eye. His eyes are constantly roaming, cataloging and examining those around him. He has an unusually high level of situational awareness for someone 'not in the business'.
He knows the exact moment the man tags him as someone he needs to watch. There was a very slight blinking of the eyes and then he glances away but moves his young lady out of the direct line of fire. It was a gallant thing to do in this business where the welfare of innocents is secondary to the mission.
Chuck flashes on the German tourist. His name is Gunter Muntz and he was once an East German intelligence operative but was furloughed when the country reunited. These have been no entries in his file since 2002. Unconsciously, he moves himself between the German and Hannah while nodding his thanks. The man is a current Ring Operative.
Moments later he flashes again on another older man. This man is dangerous. He was recruited by the Ring from MI6 and was an operative with a string of successful disruptions and assassinations. Cecil Smythe-Davis disappeared in Cyprus in 2004 and is listed by MI6 as 'presumed dead'. His left sleeve is empty and he limps, an easy tail to mark so why is he following us? Unconscious of doing it, he steps between the one-armed man and Hannah. His posture radiates danger and the Ring operative winks and leaves.
"Chuck, let's go get something to eat and take it over to the park and sit for a while and plan our remaining day. I'd like to take in the underground. See the older side of Paris. OK, honey?"
"Lead on, trusty guide. Just don't forget I'm new to all this and you're the native." There wasn't anything he wouldn't do to make her happy. She was a marvelous companion for a vacation and he kept his 'other thoughts' in background. Slowly but surely, without really realizing it, he was becoming 'compromised' and his actions in the next few days would show it.
"Casey, this is ridiculous. I'm a trained agent not a damned baby sitter. Why are we being used to follow Chuck around when the local CIA is better equipped and more familiar with the people and the city?"
"Wasn't so long ago you had a problem with Chuck going to the bathroom without you and now you're bitching about watching him while he's on vacation in a foreign city with a unknown civilian. Since you're no longer 'compromised' it must be that you're bored with this assignment and no longer feel the need to protect him. Maybe, Walker, it's time to request reassignment. You're losing your edge insofar as commitment to the mission is concerned."
"I'm bored. Paris is beautiful but boring when I'm not with someone I can let loose with. Certainly not you, Colonel Casey. As for requesting reassignment, I'll discuss that if nothing happens on the 'Daniel front'. Why walk away from opportunity?"
Casey kept his mouth shut. If he said what he was thinking, what anyone with two brain cells would be thinking if they knew the situation… Walker was wallowing in sour grapes and adopting an attitude of 'who cares, I didn't really want him'.
"In the mean time, Agent, just do your damned job. And keep Shaw out of the partnership. His only positive traits that I can see are a hatred of the Ring and his support for Chuck."
She sniffed, dismissing everything he said. She had her priorities straight.
Hannah selected the lunch, a light wine and Chuck bought it and some glasses and they walked over to the park. Casey saw them coming out of the corner of his eye and cursed his lack of attention. Dealing with Walker was proving to be a distraction they couldn't afford.
"Let's move, Walker. Here come Chuck and his lady friend. Don't want him to make us and then feel obligated to make contact. That's not why we're here."
"Let's head over to that bistro and eat something light. No telling when we'll get the chance. He's been all over the map today, following her like a dog in heat."
"Walker, keep the comments like that to yourself. They are unprofessional and you're letting your feelings shine through the agent shroud you've wrapped yourself in. We'll grab something for our driver, too. He's been very patient with us." 'Mostly with you, you sanctimonious witch. You've criticized everything and everyone on this project.'
Chuck scanned the park, looking for anything or anyone out of the ordinary. He could almost feel the eyes on them. He'd left his pistol in his tool case and now wished he'd brought it along although how he would carry it was a mystery.
'I don't think there's a place above the waist that she hasn't held, rubbed or fondled. Not that I mind but it will make weapons concealment a challenge.'
He easily spotted the one-armed man and wondered if he was so open and blatant because he was the bait, something to distract him from the real enemy.
"So, Chuck, what did you think of the Eiffel Tower? Live up to it's rep?"
"Oh, yeah. It was great. The view of the city was fantastic! You being with me made it special. Thank you."
"Flatterer."
"It's the truth so it's not flattery."
"Quit trying so hard, Chuck." She was laughing. "I'm ready to sleep with you whenever you're ready but quit trying so hard to avoid what you have to be feeling."
He stammered, looking like a deer caught in the spotlights of a poacher's truck. Shit. How did it get this far?
"Hannah, we just met and I know you feel…"
"Stop it. I was just teasing you. But I didn't lie to you. I'm yours whenever you want me, sweetheart. I was just teasing you. You look so…innocent with that wide-eyed look on your face. The 'oh, crap' look that I love. It's so…you."
They continued joking but Chuck avoided any opportunities for her to pounce on 'us' again. She was delightful and any other time he'd have been trying his damnedest to get her between the sheets but this was not the time although Paris was certainly the place for it.
'Why are there so many people following us? Have I been made? Been careless? Is…Is Hannah an unknown part of the Ring? Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.'