ChuckParis8
A/N: Hey, lurkers, let me know what you think of this crap.
Chapter 9 – Revelations, 2nd Thoughts, the Jail Break, Chuck Takes a Stand
US Embassy
Paris, France
"Hi, Ellie, it's Chuck. I'm still in Paris and I've met someone very special and I don't think I'm coming back. Well, I guess you know I'm 'overdue' but she's everything you could hope for in a woman for me. I'll talk with you later and you can ask me 'why' then. I'm doing the right thing for me for a change. I love you, sis. Bye."
John Casey listened to the voicemail twice to be sure there weren't any more 'hidden meanings'. He couldn't imagine Beckman and Bartowski cooking up an idea so risky and not including his handlers as 'need to know'. On one hand he felt insulted but on the other, impressed and relieved.
Bartowski was alive. He hadn't killed him. He'd watched the 'shooting' file countless times wondering how Bartowski could have survived and he still couldn't figure it out.
He was just damned glad that he had survived. One less cross to bear.
"Beckman, secure."
"Casey, secure. I'm forwarding you an audio file of the initial contact with Bartowski. Using his sister's cell phone as a cut out and forwarding any of his calls to us will work until we can establish something better. A call from Bartowski will always be routed here to 'her voicemail'. General, I don't know if there are any other messages hidden in it. That's why I'm sending you the file. Advise if there is additional information."
Beckman grunted and hung up.
Chateau Almandine
15km Southwest of Paris
"Well, honey, I guess you've made up your mind about us, haven't you?"
Hannah had listened as he left a message to his sister and she was thrilled with his comments. She'd eavesdropped and felt no shame at all. When she quietly walked up behind him and put her arms around him he didn't flinch, if anything, he relaxed.
"Yeah, Hannah, I have. I want to be with you and see what life has in store for us. I'm scared I'll screw it up or the damned spy business will interfere but I'm in for the long haul, Hannah. We need to be very careful these next few months. The Combine will be looking for any sign of me since they haven't found a body."
"And you need to be careful on this mission. You still can't stand up straight without pain and I see your face after your damned runs – it's drawn in pain. Another week won't make any difference, honey. The Chateau will still be there. You've taken a week to get this far, another week, please, for me?"
"Even one day could make a difference to those inside with those butchers. No, it must be done and tonight is as good a night as any. Don't worry about me. Henri and Panzer have been 'assigned' to watch over me. I'll be OK and I'll be back before you know it."
He cursed Dubois for involving Hannah in this operation by allowing her to 'sit in' on the meeting. The planning and discussions had upset her when they talked about casualties, evacuating the prisoners and arranging for medical care. Depending on the degree of injury, four sites had been selected to receive the remaining prisoners. No one would be left behind.
The CIA 'Chateau'
1am
Chuck drove up to the closed gates of the Chateau and pressed the call box from the window of the Mercedes. He had to press it and press it for about 10 minutes before a groggy voice asked him 'what the hell do you want? The brewery is closed.'
"I'm Agent Bartowski, CIA, and I've brought back the guest who checked out early some two weeks ago. Panzer is your guest's name."
"I tell you the brewery is closed. Come back in the morning."
"Well, Goddamn it, I got one of your escapees here and my orders are to return him to you. You better damned well open this frikkin' gate or you can explain to the station chief why you wouldn't take him back since you assholes lost him in the first place!"
"Don't get so pissy, Mr. CIA Agent. Bring him up to the main entrance. He left without paying his bill. Do you have his companion as well?"
"Some of my fellow agents are 'questioning her' intensely. She'll probably be along in a day or two."
Chuck heard the evil laugh and resolved to find the man and kill him.
They heard the 'clack' of the electric lock disengaging and then the gates retracted behind the brick wall that surrounded the courtyard. They drove up through the courtyard and parked.
Chuck and Henri dragged a bagged and groggy Hugo Panzer up to the barred door of the 'Chateau'. Chuck beat on the door with the butt of his silenced 9mm until an Algerian man opened the door. He nudged Panzer to prepare for the assault. The remainder of the team were watching the side and rear entrances. There was only one vehicle parked beside the 2-story structure and they'd slashed its tires to prevent an escape.
Chuck shot the man in the forehead and then Panzer slipped the false cuffs from his wrists and pulled the bag from his head and took the 9mm offered by Henri and grinned at Chuck.
"Guests, indeed, Bartowski. Good shot. He's the bastard that was going to rape our colleague and then question her."
They ran down the hallway to an open area that was used as the sleeping quarters for the prison interrogators. One Algerian was putting on his pants and Henri shot him while Panzer shot the still-sleeping remaining interrogator.
"Let's free our comrades. Bartowski, follow Henri and I; there may be other guards we don't know about and Miss Hannah would kill us if anything happened to her boytoy." He laughed to show it was a good natured jibe and Chuck just shook his head. The Casey of the Ring.
They ran down two levels. Chuck detailed other members of the assault squad to search the floors and prepare the explosives. The rear doors were open and 'ambulances' backed up to the loading docks to transport the prisoners to safety and medical treatment.
3rd Level
The lighting was fluorescent and the halls between the cells were well-lit. The 'cells' were small enclosures made of plywood with doors barred with 2X4 planks. The assault team began opening doors and carrying out prisoners.
"Wait. We're taking only our own. There are some here who may actually belong in a place like this. We take only our own." Chuck had to shout to be heard.
"What? We can make recruits of them. Shock troops. We take them all." Panzer was adamant.
"You'd fight along side terrorists who blow up schools and markets for politics?"
Panzer had the good sense to back off. Chuck's face said it all. Panzer remembered the casual way he'd taken care of him on the plane.
"Fine. We do it your way." He would talk to the Director about this and get agreement in advance on any future operations. This Bartowski was too damned straight-laced for his tastes.
Carriage House
Chateau Almandine
5am
Chuck eased into the foyer and kicked off his shoes. The operation was a success, the building was destroyed and there were no friendly casualties. The prisoners were in 'friendly' medical facilities. Perfect. He felt like a traitor and wanted nothing more than to wipe out the past 4 hours from his memory.
The Director had wanted a full debriefing and then he asked Chuck to 'wait outside and have a drink; this will only take a moment'. He pulled his silenced 9mm and placed it beside him on the table and fixed his coffee. He figured Panzer would bitch about leaving 'recruits' but he didn't care. Such animals belonged in prison somewhere and probably deserved the death they got.
He could hear raised voices but couldn't understand what was being said. It didn't matter. He'd done his job. The rest was up to the Director and his 'handlers' to decide if it was done properly or not. Except for the minor disagreement about leaving prisoners behind, it was a picture perfect mission. Casey would have been proud of him.
'Casey would shoot you where you sit, traitor!' His subconscious was not in agreement with his actions. Tough shit. He had a larger mission to accomplish.
The door opened and Henri motioned Chuck in. He deliberately left his pistol on the tabletop for Henri to see. Carrying his coffee cup he entered and then sat at a gesture from Dubois.
"Agent Bartowski, excellent work. One thing though, in the future, don't be so blood thirsty. The men you left behind and subsequently buried under the brewery rubble might have been useful in forming alliances."
"If you would form alliances with people, and I use the term generously, Director, with people who bomb schools, churches, synagogues, hospitals and marketplaces for political power, count me out of your program. There is no place on this planet for such vermin."
He waited. He wasn't sure if what he did was correct in this situation, but it was the right thing to do.
The Director sighed, steepled his fingers and placed his chin on the tips. Finally he sat up straight and nodded to Chuck and then stood and offered his hand.
"Welcome to the Ring, Leader Bartowski. I expect nothing but excellence from our leaders. See to it that you don't disappointment. That is all."
He glanced at Panzer but the man's face was a stony mask, totally unreadable. 'I make friends wherever I go, it seems'.
He walked into their bedroom and undressed, grabbed clean underwear and ran a bath. He ached where the CIA had given him a gift. He leaned back in the old tub and let the hot water relax tense muscles and was almost asleep when Hannah slid into the hot water, her back to him but careful not to put any weight on the right side of his chest.
"Why didn't you wake me, honey? I was worried and I kept falling asleep and then waking up after dreaming horrible fates for you."
"You shouldn't worry. You'll get wrinkles and I'll need to find me another wench to cavort with."
"Bastard! If you weren't hurt and I didn't love you so much, I'd make you pay for that comment."
He leaned up to kiss her but failed to stifle a groan. "Sorry. Help me out and then I'll answer all your questions."
She dried him off and helped him put on his boxers and t-shirt and then helped him into bed. He wasn't a cripple but she liked feeling needed and he didn't mind. She brought him his pills and made a mental note to ask the doctor about refills. He'd been taking far too many of them while he did his runs and the other activities associated with mission preparation. He was scared of failing and what it would mean to them.
"Casey, secure." Casey was staying at the embassy guest quarters until things settled down. He didn't mind Paris but he hated the fact that it was full of Frenchmen.
"Beckman, secure. The 'Chateau' facility outside of Paris was raided last night, prisoners were freed but several, the majority, were left to die in the explosions that demolished the building. Live feeds from the security cameras have some interesting images. I'll send you the file. He should be contacting me within the next 48 hours unless something has gone wrong and he hasn't been sufficiently convincing, in which case we'll probably never hear from him. Review the files, Colonel, and call me back with any comments."
"Once he contacts me, I'll hand him off to you. Buy a burn cell phone, email me the telephone number and stand by, Colonel Casey. Beckman out."
Karlplatz
Stockholm, Sweden
Carina Hansen and Sarah Walker were walking across the main thoroughfare in Stockholm. Carina was on leave and so she called Sarah, thinking she was still in Burbank.
When she was told about Chuck and her current assignment, she flew to be with her friend. She couldn't understand Sarah's feelings at all. She should have requested reassignment a long time ago and hoped to 'find' Chuck later in life when things would be less complicated.
"Carina, I'm going to kill Daniel Shaw. He had Chuck murdered. Casey was just following orders. I failed to protect my asset. It's the first time I've failed, Carina. He's dead because I didn't protect him. He was in Paris because I lost focus on what was important and now he's dead. Shaw killed him so I'm going to kill him."
"Sarah, listen to yourself. That's foolish talk. He did what he thought was right. You even said you thought he was turning to the Ring. How can you blame Shaw for doing what he should have done?"
"Because there's more to Shaw than meets the eye. I don't believe this 'Ring Vendetta' crap for one minute any more. Both Casey and I think he's into something and getting rid of Chuck was part of this plan of his. I think his 'support' for Chuck was all crap and his interest in me was just to make Chuck even more emotionally confused and isolated. It worked, too."
"Bullshit. I'm your friend, Sarah, but you're just looking for someone else to blame. You rejected him. You tore him apart every time you got the opportunity. I saw it. You were being cruel for no reason at all, none! Now you're blaming Shaw for Chuck's death when he wouldn't even have been here if you hadn't been such a bitch to him."
"That's not true. I was going to give up everything I loved for him but he just had to be the hero and download 2.0; I don't care what you say, Carina. I had nothing at all to do with this. I'm as much a victim as Chuck was. Shaw manipulated us, me, and this was the result."
"What about the video file I gave you. Surely you can't ignore your own eyes and ears? How could you continue to hurt him after seeing the file and hearing what he said? Hell, I would have been on my knees begging his forgiveness if I'd been you. You threw away a wonderful and decent man for your damned pride!"
"I don't want to talk about it anymore. It's over. He's dead. Shaw will be soon, too. Now, let's find a club and let our hair down. I need to let go and Stockholm is the perfect place to do it. Please, no more about Chuck. He's dead, we're alive, and all the talk of blame is not going to bring him back."
Carina said nothing about the one isolated tear that threatened to ruin Sarah's makeup. The Cardinal Rule was there for a reason.