A Chopper pilot called chuck

by batty02

Chuck the helo revised and expanded with the wonderful help of esardi Casey goes hunting Sarahs on the war path, Beckmans pissed off and chuck is a flyboy

9. Chapter 9

This chapter is a little bit of a game changer. It will be necessary
for Chuck, family and friends to become more proactive for what is to
come. We have enjoyed writing this story. I can safely say that without
Batty this story simply would not have existed. We hope that you are
enjoying reading this story as much as we have enjoyed writing it. We
promise to maintain a high standard throughout. Without further ado we
present chapter 9.

hello just wanted to wish a happy holidays now on with the tale this chapter is all ESARDI

Chapter 9 A Chopper Pilot Called Chuck

Phase 3

Sarah had been in their bed crying. She felt that her heart was being ripped apart. The worst part of all was that she did not know who to strike at or where the enemy was. For the first time in her life she had a helpless feeling of what to do and it was driving her crazy. The man that she planned to marry, the man that was going to be the father of her children had been taken from her. The problem was that she was having a hard time getting her act together; being this much in love had really clouded her judgment, so all she did for the rest of the night was to curl around one of Chuck's shirt hold the pillow that he had been lying on and cry herself to sleep.

After a very fitful sleep she finally woke up around three in the morning. 'Head in the game Sarah.' She kept thinking to herself. She decided to ask MAX for information. MAX had seen her cry and did not know how to react, therefore; his programming had decided it was best to give her some space until she was ready.

"MAX I need to know the probabilities of where someone would have taken Chuck if their intent was to kidnap him."

"Miss W…"

"Umm…MAX from now you will address me as Mrs. B."

"Yes ma'am, the probability of Mr. B. being taken by air is nearly zero at this time. I did a review all of the flights and can account for all of them. That does not mean that things may change today. However, running my probability programming, the likely hood of Mr. B being on the mainland is only 23.4 percent; there is a 70.6 percent chance he is on one of the ships or a submarine."

"That does not add to 100 percent MAX."

"Well…umm."

"What are you not telling me MAX?"

"Mrs. B. there is a 6 percent chance that…"

"Don't say it MAX that is not a possibility, are we clear!"

"Yes ma'am perfectly."

"Sorry MAX I did not mean to scream at you." Sarah bowed her head down totally dejected.

Then she said more to herself than anything else, "Who could I ask, who would have any information?"

"Agent Lynch is being questioned, however; Base Commander Dukes has still not been relieved from his post."

Sarah's head shot up and for the first time that night a small sinister smile crossed her face.

Former KGB installation in Moscow, Volkoff's Base

Volkoff was reading Agent Lynch's report and he could not believe it. Carmichael was the intersect Agent they had been looking for. 'My god I could test Hydra on him to see if it works.' Volkoff thought.

Hydra was Volkoff's version of the intersect. It was designed with the purpose of clearing up all of the glitches that intersect 2.0 had. Oh yes he was well aware of the problems of 2.0 and what had happen to its last recipient. However, the problem had been that no one had been compatible to test the darn thing on. The closest anyone had come to being compatible was 15%. That person had died a horrible and painful death before he got out of the white room.

Currently Carmichael was being held in the Contessa, It was Volkoff's personal freighter. The best part was that it did have a white room. The Contessa was Exxon Valdez size. It was 290 meters long and 52 meters wide. There were many compartments and gad five decks. The white room contained Hydra. Of course Volkoff just wanted to experiment on Carmichael. He was not stupid enough to upload it on him without immediately terminating Carmichael. A download with Hydra or intersect 3.0 would have a devastating effect on his organization. If Carmichael was compatible and would be able to download it successfully he would become unstoppable. He had already demonstrated a very high skill set in hand to hand combat, planning, and leadership no sense making all those skills ten times stronger.

He was also very curious whether Hydra's self-healing capabilities were a figment of their imagination or would actually work. The best part of Hydra unlike the other intersects was that once you learned a skill set it stays with you. It would not disappear in twenty minutes like 2.0 did. Yes any experiment with Carmichael would have to be handled carefully. The experiment could easily get out of hand. Volkoff kept debating whether to test him on the ship or wait until he arrived in Moscow. Either way he would have to tell that idiot Shaw to handle Carmichael with care, it was late on the ship and he really did not want to wake up his beloved Agent Frost. 'Let her get her beauty sleep and we will begin in the morning.'

The Contessa

The sound of whip striking skin could be heard down the nearby halls of the ship. With each strike Agent Frost AKA Mary Bartowski died a little more. That was her baby boy getting whipped. She had seen Shaw's smirk when he went in with Hugo Panzer. Panzer had volunteered to whip Agent Carmichael. He wanted a little payback for the beating Chuck had administered when they had attempted to take him. Shaw was still pissed off that Justin had been killed. He had been his right hand man for two years and had done many favors for Shaw.

When Shaw had entered the room with Panzer, he thought that Carmichael would shrink in fear. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Chuck was getting whipped by the cat o' nine tails, commonly shortened to the cat, is a type of multi-tailed whip that originated as an implement for severe physical punishment, notably in the Royal Navy and Army of the United Kingdom, and also as a judicial punishment in Britain and some other countries. The cat is made up of nine knotted thongs of cotton cord, about 2 1⁄2 feet or 76 cm long, designed to lacerate the skin and cause intense pain.

It traditionally has nine thongs as a result of the manner in which rope is plaited. Thinner rope is made from three strands of yarn plaited together, and thicker rope from three strands of thinner rope plaited together. To make a cat o' nine tails, a rope is unraveled into three small ropes, each of which is unraveled again.

Each strike caused more bleeding and it hurt like nothing that Chuck had ever experienced. He had taken 10 lashes and Shaw was smirking and chuckling.

"Not so brave now are you Carmichael?" Shaw sneered.

Chuck should have been withering in pain; instead he was angry, at these goons but mostly himself for letting his guard down.

Chuck looked at Shaw and smiled. That unnerved the hell out of Shaw who for whatever reason had an innate fear of Chuck ever since he had told him he was coming for him.

"When I escape Shaw the first thing I am going to do is find you, rip your balls off and stuff them down your throat." Chuck growled.

Shaw jumped back like he had been shot out of a cannon. "You…you will not get a chance."

"Looking forward to seeing you soon." Chuck mocked. As Shaw walked out of the room briskly he told Panzer as he grasped his shirt, "Double my guards!"

Chuck was hurting, 'Man did that hurt!' Who was he kidding, for all his bravado and the way he was tied up, the only way out was if someone helped him, and in this ship, he knew the chances for that were nil.

Time to pay the piper

When he woke up Captain Dukes felt refreshed, alive. He knew that he would be replaced today but he did not care. Volkoff and the new Ring Director had taken good care of him and he would soon be in a nice warm island sipping Mai Tai's with a lovely woman sitting on his lap. Best of all he would be doing that while thinking about the torture that stinking Lieutenant Commander was receiving.

Once again Bartowski or was it Carmichael was being hailed a hero. It just grated on him that this guy had been the cause of so many of their group's destruction. He smiled to himself as he knew what was being done to that jerk just about now. 'How do you like being the hero now?' He thought.

The House he lived in was off base quite and spacious. 'I am going to miss this place, the only regret I have is the fact that we could not deal with those NSA scum. Oh well we can't have everything.' As he leaned back in the room that had been converted into his private office.

Sarah Walker kicked in the door. "Knock, knock." She said sarcastically

Captain Duke could see behind her Colonel Casey, Sergeant Blue, the Henderson boys and a bevy of other NSA goons. He made a fatal mistake and not for the first time in his life he panicked. He opened his drawer and grabbed his gun, it never cleared the drawer as one of Sarah's knives whooshed through the air and imbedded firmly in his right shoulder. Dukes screamed like a little girl.

"You stabbed me you bitch!"

Sarah sauntered over; she smiled at him as a lion would when they had cornered their prey. "You really suck you know that?" Sarah chuckled as she had seen his failed attempt at grabbing his weapon.

"How dare you come into my office?"

Sarah was in no mood to be gentle or kind. She grabbed the imbedded knife and pulled it out which elicited another yell. "I am the one asking the questions here today." She said with a menacing voice. She then kicked him right into his chair.

"Let us started shall we? Where did they take the Lieutenant Commander?"

Duke started laughing; he just had no clue who he was dealing with. In one quick motion Sarah stabbed him right through his left hand.

Captain Dukes started screaming and Sarah once again pulled out the knife. Sarah then grabbed the stabbed hand and plunged the knife in a small space between the left pinky finger and ring finger. "Let me ask you the question again, where did they take Chuck Bartowski you traitorous pig!"

"Go To Hell!" Was Duke's defiant response.

"Wrong answer!" Growled Sarah who proceeded to cut the top of his left pinking finger as Duke howled in pain. She then did a quick maneuver and stabbed the space between his left middle finger and ring finger.

Captain Dukes looked at Sarah and just knew she intended to do the same thing to all his fingers if he did not talk. He tried one more stall tactic. "They will kill me!"

Sarah looked at him straight in the eyes. "If you do not tell me what I want to know, you will not have to worry about them, I WILL KILL YOU! I also want you to know that before you beg me to die, you will have a lot less body parts then you do now."

"But…"

Sarah angled the knife cutting the skin of the left ring finger; she glared at him, "Last chance."

"Okay, okay, no more cutting please!"

"Start talking," she had not removed the knife yet.

"They…they took him on a ship."

"What ship?"

"I…I don't know."

Sarah started to lean in a little harder on the knife cutting a little deeper.

"No, no…please it…it is a ship owned by Volkoff that is all I know."

Sarah leaned closer to Duke to ascertain if he was lying.

"Really please that is all I know, please no more cutting!"

She knew that a gutless piece of trash like Duke would not last long and was telling her what he knew.

"John, get the General on the phone and let her know. And get this piece of human feces out of my sight."

"Sarah?"

"Blue let us get ready; there might be a ship we need to intercept."

"Where are you going?"

"I need to ask MAX a couple of questions and then hope the General can get the information needed."

The Contessa 4:00 A.M.

Chuck had been hanging there for almost 10 hours and he was getting tired, however, besides his back feeling like it was on fire, his shoulders were now completely numb, this torture thing really sucked. He kept analyzing his situation and it was hopeless.

"Damn it." He said under his breath. Just then he heard what sounded like two shots fired from a silencer and two loud thumps hitting the floor. He carefully looked at the door which was carefully being opened. He saw the gun and then two shots at the camera facing the door. A woman entered turned quickly and disabled the other two cameras facing the other walls.

Chuck kept looking at her back wondering who this person was. When she turned the color of his face completely turned white and his eyes grew wide. "Mm...Mom?"

Mary gave him a bright smile and gave her baby boy a kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry Charles I will have you out of here in no time."

Chuck was still stuck on a loop. "Mom?"

"Yes my baby boy, you got it right the first time." She cut the leather straps that were holding Chuck up to the ceiling pipe. When Chuck was able to get to finally get his arms down it was a tremendous relief.

"Oh man that hurts!"

"Mary quickly moved to message his shoulders and move his arms around to get some circulation."

"Oh thanks mom I feel like my shoulders no longer exist."

"Don't worry Chuck the circulation will come back soon." She unfortunately got too close to one of the lacerations on his back and Chuck hissed loudly.

"Sorry about that."

"It is okay."

"No it is not! Those bastards that did this to you will pay! Come on we have to move."

"Where are we going?" Chuck whispered as he leaned in heavily into Mary.

"The White room."

"Huh?"

"I will explain when we get there."

When they got there Chuck sat heavily on the chair.

"I remember you being a lot lighter Charles." Mary smirked.

"I was 9 mom!"

"Oh no you have changed a lot since your Buymore days."

"How?"

"I have been keeping tabs on you for a long time Charles."

"Why the hell did you not just drop by and say hi mom! Instead Ellie and I thought you had just abandoned us!" Replied Chuck angrily.

"Oh my sweet child I know I owe both of you an explanation. As a matter of fact both your dad and I owe you a big explanation." Mary said this as she took a tube out of antibiotic crème and started applying it liberally to Chucks back.

"Wait what?"

"Your father and I have been seeing each other all along."

"What!"

"Ssshh, not so loud."

Chuck was having an out of body experience. He could not believe what was happening.

"That dirty no go son of a…"

"He was just cranky I had not seen him in six months, that's all. He gets like that when we don't spend whole weekends in bed at least once a month."

"Ewe… mom too much information there please."

"When I see him again I will make it up to him." Mary smiled brightly

"Mom for the love of god please stop!" Chuck shook his head, 'Now he knew what Casey meant when he said he was going to shoot himself when Sarah teased him about their sexual exploits.'

When she finished applying the ointment she gently wrapped his back with a nice soft cotton wrap. "Better?" She said as she cupped his face and gave him a gentle kiss in the forehead.

"Much thanks."

Chuck finally looked around, "What is this place?"

"It is an intersect room."

"Holy crap let us get out of here!"

Chuck started to get up and Mary gently but firmly held him in place and shook her head no.

"Mom what are you doing?"

"Getting you ready for your download."

"You what?"

"Charles place your hands right there where the handles are."

"No hell no!"

"Charles all this does is test your compatibility to Hydra that is all. There will be no download yet."

"Ok mom what is going on?"

"About 20 years ago when the intersect project had been going on we were at a dead end. Your father the creator of the intersect was not getting anywhere. His team included two other brilliant scientists, Dr. Zarnoff and a young brilliant scientist by the name of Hartley Winterbottom. Unbeknown to us, Hartley had read the communiqué meant for your father that the project was being shut down. In a moment of desperation he decided to become the first test subject and downloaded the intersect into himself."

"Unlike 1.0 that had many upgrades this intersect was completely defective. It had an extreme effect on his brain. We were not aware of this change in personalities right away because Hartley had simply disappeared. We started hearing that someone by the name of Volkoff had violently taken over a small time arms dealer's territory. By the time we realized who this Volkoff really was he had consolidated several territories and moved into Russia."

"Your father felt horrible about what happened, I felt compel to go in and see what I could do to resolve this situation. At no time did we ever think that this mission would take so long. I had located Volkoff and gained his confidence, he was so gone he did not recognize me as Mary Bartowski; I was Agent Frost rogue Agent for the CIA."

"We had a meeting and the director at that time along with several top Officials made a decision to not eliminate him but try to manipulate him. I was already there so I was ordered to stay. The son of a bitch was always trying to get into my pants, but there was no way that I would allow that to happen. Steven was already beyond pissed that I was staying and anything like that would have ended our relationship."

Chuck let out a huge sigh of relief, the mere fact of his mother having to sleep with anyone for the greater good simply disgusted him. Personally he never understood the purpose of using sex, to him it was a lazy way of getting out of real spying. Many in the agencies and in fact Sarah and other female CIA Agents would have disagreed. Sarah knew his opinion and had been afraid to discuss certain missions with him because of it. She did not want Chuck to think less of her and was afraid to open that can of worms.

"Okay mom I want you to continue but first answer me this. I have heard that idiot call you his mistress several times. If you did not sleep with him why would he call you that?"

"Well my superiors being the wonderful people that they normally are ordered me to do just that to cement my cover. I refused and they were extremely angry with me. I talked to Steven about this situation and he came up with an invention that is used constantly today."

"What was that?"

"Twilight darts."

"Wait is that just not temporary?"

"The ones used by Agents out in the field today are. However, the ones that I have been using on Volkoff were a special batch made by Steven. The best part is that you tranq the poor fool and he does not have a clue what happened the previous night."

Chuck narrowed his eyes at his mother. "Mom how many times have you hit him with these darts?"

Mary was evasive, "Umm…a few."

"Mom!"

"Okay fine about 300 hundred."

"Jesus mom what kind of side effect is that stuff doing to this guy?"

"Charles I stop giving a rat's ass about ten years ago. He found out that Steven had children and he became obsessed with finding you and Ellie. We were desperately trying to protect you. That is why he had to leave and I had to stay. By that time Volkoff's organization had spread. Simply killing him was no longer an option." Just then the machine analyzer finished the compatibility phase for the download. "Damn Steven was right." Mary smiled.

"What?"

"Your compatibility to Hydra, it is 99.2 percent."

"Mom, I have a feeling that you are not telling me a lot of what is going on here."

"Five years ago we came to the realization that there was no way to change Volkoff's personality back to what he used to be. Therefore, Steven started working on Hydra and I started passing it on to Volkoff. I told him it was a new weapon being built by the CIA. The story was partially true, the CIA was building 1.0. He ate up the whole thing hook line and sinker."

"Why pass it on to him?"

"Because he had the resources. Steven was the one that was going to download Hydra, and then you came along and downloaded 1.0. It worked beautifully on you. Steven took out the old charts he had on you when you decided to download all that information when you were 9. He started getting Hydra to be compatible only with one person, of course Volkoff had no clue concerning any of it, he even thought that he might be compatible. That theory was quickly shot down."

"Okay mom that is all well and good, however, I feel like I have been manipulated all along."

"Look Charles your father has always had a secretive nature about him; however, you have been our only hope to end this nightmare. Once you have downloaded Hydra, it will give you the ability to manipulate it so that you can create a new intersect to help correct what happened 20 years ago and better yet give Beckman an intersect that anyone of her Agents can handle. It will be one that will be a learning tool that will teach her Agents languages or give them medical abilities NOT combat skills. That is not what the intersect was invented for in the first place. It will allow us to finally become a family and step away from the spy life."

"What happens to me mom; Bryce met a horrible death because of it I do not want to end in the same way."

"This intersect was designed just for you son, it will not hurt you in any way. Best part once we have finally crippled our enemies your father will remove it and destroy it."

"I still have reservations mom."

"It is the only way son; I want to go home in peace and no longer have to worry about my children. If you do not do this than everyone will continue to be in danger. I know you do not want that for Ellie, or Sarah. This is the chance we have been waiting for, do this for our family son we are counting on you."

"How do you know about Sarah?"

"Your father of course. He told me what he did and I really let him have it. That is why I have not seen him in six months."

Chuck was very conflicted; his father had been nothing but an enigma. His mother just showed up out of nowhere after 20 years of being gone. Now she was laying some pretty heavy baggage on him that was for sure. He had to trust his mom and dad right? Sure he liked to kick his dad's ass for not telling him the truth, however, if this was a way to finally get rid of all these bad guys…What the hell they were heavily outnumbered and it was just his mother and him. "Okay mother tell me what this intersect does."

She smiled and proceeded to tell him all the enhancements. He had to admit this was going to be pretty wild if it worked. "Mom won't I get caught while we are downloading the intersect."

"That is the best part; it will only take 30 minutes. Now the only side effect is that you will be very tired and need to sleep about 12 hours."

"Well that is a deal breaker."

"No it is not." She slides a panel in the white room that revealed a cot and what looked like plenty of food.

"Now let us upload Hydra. Then I will put you to sleep and you are not to come out until I come for you later on. It will get very crazy in here and I expect the alarms to be going off. Do not worry they will not find you and I will act all innocent and upset about what has occurred."

"Oh and Chuck, I know you are not crazy about killing people but just know that the people in this ship are some of the biggest scumbags in the world. They have killed thousands and intend of killing millions. They represent a danger to everything we hold dear."

"Yes mom I understand."

His mother turned on the machine and she slipped some special dark glasses on. "Are you ready?"

"Let her rip!"

Casa Bartowski

Sarah needed help. She had asked MAX but he had limited knowledge in this area. Sarah quickly became despondent, this might be more of a needle in the haystack then she realized.

She was grabbing her hair and pulling it back. 'Here we go again.' she thought. 'Damn it head in the game Sarah.' She logged into Chuck's computer and was about to open a browser when she saw an icon titled Sarah's Red Test. She took a deep breath, 'Why would Chuck have a video of my Red Test? The worst day of her life. He promised not to look at my past without my permission!' She was starting to get angry.

Then she realized something, if Chuck had decided to look at this video then it must have been for a reason. Chuck had always been dependable and honest. If he wanted to hide something he would not have placed it on his desktop.

With shaking hands she moved the mouse to the icon. She first closed her eyes trying to find any reason not to view this video. However, eventually curiosity got the better of her. She double clicked on it and held a pillow that she had tightly.

As expected the initial part of her video was a replay of that horrible night. However, what caught her eye was what Eve had gone for in her purse, she zoomed in on it. Sarah gasped, it was not a gun it was a cell phone. She started to cry, 'God I am a murderer!'

She was about to turn off the video when she saw someone approaching Eve. She zoomed on him and even grainy she knew who it was, 'Ryker.' She wondered why he was there until she saw Eve wake up. Sarah shot out of her chair totally surprised. What she saw next made her sick to her stomach.

'Setup, it all was a setup!' Knowing who was involved she had a sick feeling that woman was innocent. "That bastard!"

Sarah turned off the video and was about to head to the heavy bag to work out some frustration when she noticed the red light of the camera was on. It could only be..."Steven Bartowski I need to talk to you!"

The matrix green hated face appears on the TV. "Why should I talk to you?"

"You have a lot of nerve saying that to me. I saw that little distorted video you gave Chuck see! That was damn despicable Mr. Bartowski. I believe you owe me an apology!"

"I...umm well."

"IF YOU WANT TO ATTEND OUR WEDDING YOU BETTER APOLOGIZE NOW!"

"Wedding? When did this happen!"

Sarah showed him the ring, "Two weeks ago, however, I am desperate Mr. Bartowski, and they took him. Volkoff has kidnapped Chuck and we need to find him!"

"When did this happen?"

"A day ago. There is strong evidence that he is one of Volkoff's freighters."

"Why the hell hasn't Mar..."

"What?"

"Nothing, I have to call someone let me get back to you." Before, he disconnected, "Oh Agent Walker, I…I am sorry, that was an underhanded thing to do, and I apologize."

"It's Sarah, soon to be Bartowski, and as much as I liked your apology we still need to have a little talk."

"Sure Sarah, let us get our boy back first okay." 'Oh boy,' He thought. 'She reminds me a lot of Mary when she gets mad.'

Outside of the house a menacing set of eyes were watching. "Any word as to where these Ring idiots are?

"No sir, they are probably lost again."

Ryker lowered his binoculars and signed, he did not want to take on Walker with so few. However, he was looking forward to seeing her face again. 'Soon, very soon you are going to pay for all the heartache you have caused me.'

The Contessa 6:30 A.M.

Daniel Shaw was having another fitful dream, the third one that night now morning.

Daniel was in the middle of the cabin, he had just gotten his bell rung again by a Carmichael round house kick. He was on the floor bleeding.

"Get him!"

Three of his henchmen did their very best to no avail. Carmichael crushes them like nothing. Now he was smiling evilly at Shaw. "You remember what I said I would do to you when I escaped."

A sob escaped Shaw. "No please don't." He put out his hand pleading only to have his hand slapped away and getting hit very hard in the face.

Carmichael took out a very big and sharp knife and showed it to Shaw who was in near panic mode. He tried to escape but everything was in slow motion, he could not get out of the way of Carmichael. He kept struggling as Carmichael reached for him and started to remove his pants. He tried to kick him but Carmichael only laughed at his efforts. He finally had him pinned down grabbed his testicles and said, "This is going to hurt you more than it does me!"

No, No, no! He woke up screaming.

One of his guards came rushing in. "Sir...sir are you all right?"

Shaw was bathed in sweat; it took him a minute to realize it must have been a bad dream. "Yeah...yeah just a bad dream," He said as he brushed back his hair with his hand. He sat there catching his breath. 'I do not care what Volkoff says. Carmichael is too dangerous he must die!'

The guards were about to do a shift change when one of them notices that the door to the cabin of the guard controlling the video feed was open. He looks inside and is horrified at what he sees. "Check in the prisoner immediately!"

They hurry to the room where they were holding Chuck and stopped when they see the two guards dead in front of the door. The four of them pull their guns out and approach the room cautiously. Once inside they noticed that the bonds that were holding Carmichael were cut and he was gone.

"Oh my god he has escaped!"

Mary had not expected to get much sleep and the sounds of the alarms going off, reassured her that she was not going to get any in the near future.

When Mary stepped outside the corridor, it was total pandemonium. She could clearly hear Shaw who was closed to a panic attack.

"How could this have happened? Do you realize who is on the loose! Find him and kill him!"

"Sir Volkoff does not..."

"I don't care about Volkoff! I am in charge here! Kill him, do you hear me, kill him!"

Shaw's worst case scenario had finally happened. 'CARMICHAEL WAS ON THE LOOSE AND HIS TESTICLES...' 'Oh my god I am going to die.'

Mary came in acting all indignant. "What is the meaning of this?"

Everyone stood at attention for Agent Frost. "Ma'am Carmichael is on the loose." Said Hugo Panzer.

"Yes I could clearly hear what was said a moment ago, however, Mr. Shaw you do not make the decisions here is that understood." Shaw was just glaring at her.

"I will call Volkoff and let him know about our situation. We may have to slow the ship down and search this ship. Carmichael cannot escape!"

Shaw walked stiffly back to his cabin. "Arrrrh! I can't believe this!" He rocked back and forth in his cot grabbing both knees he was in a fetal position and inadvertently feeling his testicles.

Mary grabbed her phone smirking, 'Here goes academy award performance number one.' Volkoff picked up, "I was not expecting a call so early in the morning from you my darling Frost."

'God his voice almost makes me want to throw up on the phone.' He was on speaker phone. "Alexei darling I am sorry I have to report this but it seems that Carmichael has escaped."

"Nooo! How could this have happened?"

"I do not know darling but we have a dangerous situation."

"Find him I do not care the cost! Where is that sniveling idiot Shaw. He must be shitting in his pants right about now!"

Mary could not help herself, and started chuckling. The rest of them like Rafe Gruber, the other guards and even Hugo Panzer started laughing as well. Volkoff smiled as well, he always liked it when his men laughed at one of his jokes.

Volkoff then got serious. "I am depending on you Frost to clean this mess up. Carmichael may be the key to Hydra but if he becomes too much of a problem..."

"Don't worry Alexei I have everything under control."

"I can always depend on you my dear. Make sure the white room is guarded" With that he ended the call.

"Drag that sniveling idiot I mean Mr. Shaw out of his room, we have a lot to do." Agent Frost said sarcastically.

In the meantime Chuck was sleeping on his stomach in a half sleep half-conscious state. The pain on his back was severe but for some reason lessening by the hour.

Somewhere in North Dakota

"Come on Mary pick up!" Steven muttered to himself.

Of course Mary would never have taken the cell phone Steven had given her. Even though he had promised up and down that the phone was safe, she simply could not take a chance. Steven was brilliant but Volkoff's people were not shabby. No her plans were to signal the cavalry once she had turned Charles loose on the ship.

Steven was well aware of the freighters that were in the Volkoff arsenal, it was time to track them. If any of them were in the Bering Sea that would be where Charles was.

He had a long list of ships to go through. His desktop was special and a huge screen popped out showing a picture of the world. He started typing in the names and as he did a dot would appear where the certain ship was located at. It did not take long before the name of the Contessa came up. She was supposed to be in the Mediterranean but there she was in the Bering Straits headed for Moscow.

"Gotcha!"

"However, let us make sure shall we?"

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nevada. Two predator drones are given instructions by Steven Bartowski and are diverted from its current flight pattern to Elmendorf Air force base.

Casa Bartowski

The matrix green hated face appears once again on the TV. "Sarah."

Sarah had been pacing for the last hour and rushes to the TV. "Yes Mr. Bartowski."

"It appears we may have found our boy but we have to be sure."

"Where?"

"I have located a freighter owned by Volkoff that is off the Bering Sea. It is supposed to be in the Mediterranean. However, I have to make sure. I have…umm barrowed two predator drones that need to be refueled by Colonel Casey to make sure that I am right."

"That is wonderful news!"

"Make sure to tell him everything, especially the importance of refueling the drones. I know Diane will not be happy but let's face it that woman is never happy."

"I will do that right away."

"Oh if Diane gives you any trouble tell her I will make it up to her."

"Thank you Mr. Bartowski, you are the best."

"It's Steven, Sarah remember father in law in waiting."

"Thank you Steven."

Just as Steven disconnected the connection MAX came online.

"Intruder alert Mrs. B."

"Show me MAX."

The cameras span around to show Sarah three men, one that she knew quite well. "Well, well, well, if it isn't my old friend Ryker."

"Excuse me Mrs. B. I do not think those men look all that friendly."

"No they are not MAX I was being sarcastic."

"Oh, I have taken the liberty to call the Colonel who should be one line now."

"Hello Sarah?"

"John I have hostiles outside the house, get yourself and the boys moving here fast."

"On our way and Sarah, I know you, don't be like Chuck and wait for back-up!"

"Why what do you mean?"

"Grunt…damn it Sarah, just like Chuck."

"Mrs. B. your 1911's are ready and by the door."

"Thanks MAX."

Sarah grabbed her 45s and snuck out the back porch. She then climbed stealthily up a small latter to the roof.

Ryker's men were not expecting Sarah to attack from the roof. She spotted them and kneeled down out of sight before they spotted her. Sarah jumped down and had the drop on them. "Freeze."

They turned quickly, however, unfortunately for them not fast enough. She fired four times hitting her mark every time. They were both dead before they hit the floor. Sarah turned to go after Ryker only to be backhanded by him. The force of his hit causing her to lose control of her weapon on her left hand. Ryker quickly followed with a spinning kick that sent her other weapon flying.

Sarah quickly recovered with a palm strike knocking Ryker back and giving her enough room to wheel kicked his gun out of his hand. Ryker was angry and he charged her. Sarah easily side step him, kicked him once to the knee and knocked him down with an uppercut.

Ryker got up and wiped the blood from his mouth. "Not bad." He sneered.

"You have not seen anything yet." She taunted.

Ryker reached behind him and pulled out a large knife. "I am going to enjoy hearing you scream in pain." He smiled evilly.

Sarah immediately reached down in her boot and pulled her own knife. "You have the screaming part right just the wrong person."

They circled each other taking occasional swings so that they could exploit any weaknesses. Ryker feigned left with his knife and flipped it over to his other hand and slashed at Sarah across her body. The action caused Sarah to step back as Ryker's blade ripped her leather jacket.

"Close." He smirked.

His advantage did not last long as Sarah moved forward, step on his right foot and crash her pointy boot on his instep. He winched in pain as Sarah slashed straight down ripping his jacket and drawing blood.

It was her turn to smirk. "Closer."

At that moment, two Chevy Suburban's were racing towards Casa Bartowski.

"We are only a minute out!" Blue spoke to the second Suburban via walkie-talkie. "Lock and load Mike!"

"Don't worry about us Blue; just take out anybody who is a threat to Sarah!" Everyone had their AR-15's, AR-10's and P-90's ready.

Casey grunted, "I hope we are on time." Blue nodded stoically.

Ryker lounged again only to be met by a punch to the face and a kick to the side of his left knee that really hurt. He heard tires squealing and looked at the dark Sedan coming. Finally the Ring Agents had arrived. He smiles at Sarah knowing he had won.

"I wonder who will scream more, Agent Carmichael while he is getting whipped or you as I skin you alive."

Just than two more Chevy Suburban's showed up and the first one cut off the Sedan and all hell breaks loose. Automatic gun fire was coming from the three vehicles.

"Looks like my Calvary just beat your Indians." Sarah said. She was beyond pissed. When Ryker made that statement she just knew he had been involved in Chuck's abduction. Smiling about him being tortured, well that was the last straw.

She quickly moved in, Ryker shot his left and forward in an attempted palm strike, Sarah easily blocked it and stabbed him in the upper left shoulder. "That was for being a traitorous pig."

Ryker was reeling in pain. He thrust his knife at her with his right hand. Sarah caught it twisted his wrist until she heard something pop, than she stabbed him on his right side. "That was for Molly!"

Ryker was now on one knee looking at Sarah with total hatred. "And...and this is for kidnapping and torturing CHUCK!" She stabbed him right through the heart.

The NSA guys rushed over to Sarah. Casey and Blue examining her. "Sarah...Sarah are you all right?"

Blue that had a first Aid kit said, "Let me see." By the look in his eyes it was not a request.

Casey looked around and saw the carnage around the house and the street. "Mike call for a clean-up crew."

Mike nodded and started speaking on the phone.

"Come-on Casey and Blue. We are going to the base!"

"What are about your injuries Sarah?"

"You can treat them on the way over to the base Blue."

Casey motioned over to Mike, "You guys stay here until the clean-up crew arrives."

"Fine Colonel but don't you dare leave us!"

"Would not think about it guys."

When they got in the vehicle Casey said, "You mind filling us in partner?"

Sarah hissed as Blue wiped her cut with alcohol. "Yeah, I have been in contact with Chuck's dad. He may have found the ship that Chuck is in. He is going to check but needs our help."

"What help?"

"Refueling two Predators he just barrowed from the military."

Casey groaned and Blue chuckled. "Our boy sure has an interesting family."

Sarah then interjected, "We also need to conference with the General."

Casey groaned again.

Blue said, "Hold still ninja spy girl, I thought Chuck was the only one scared of needles?"

"Hey what can I say Chuck has a way of rubbing on me." She smirked.

Casey and Blue looked at Sarah, who had a smile on her face at the obvious sexual innuendo and they both groaned.

The Contessa 5:00 P.M.

A groggy Chuck finally woke up. His back no longer hurt it tingled and itched. He looked around and saw the pot of gold. Sandwiches, chips, sodas, Twinkies, and oh my god is that CHEESE BALLS! 'Take your time mom I am hungry and bathroom, bathroom, bathroom, Ahh you thought of everything.' There was a porta-potty way in the back.

Shaw was really losing it, "How can this be! He has just disappeared into thin air; we have been looking for him for hours and nothing. This is not normal; no man should be able to do this!" Shaw said hysterically.

"Get a hold of yourself Shaw." Said Mary disdainfully.

"Sure it is not your balls he is going to rip off! The way he looked at me with those eyes. I tell you we must kill him now!"

Gruber and Panzer just looked at each other. However, Mary was not so gentle. "Someone give this idiot a sedative and get him out of my sight."

'Good,' Mary thought. Now she would not have to deal with a suspicious Shaw. She then headed to the White Room. 'Time to wake up Charles.'

There were two guards at the door when she entered. For all of Steven's reassurance, Mary had a little trepidation of what she would find.

She found Charles with a big smile on his face, covered with yellow dye on his face from the cheese balls. He had a big handful ready to pop in his mouth. "Hey mom!" he sounded happy.

"Charles, what are you doing?"

Chuck smacked his lips, "Those are really yummy, man I was hungry." He said this as he sucked on his fingers.

Mary rolled her eyes and gave him some wipes. "Here clean yourself up. How do you feel?"

Chuck cleaned himself quickly. "I feel great, could you do me a favor and remove these cotton wraps, my back really itches."

Mary took a look at Charles back after she had cut the cloth she had wrapped him in and was very surprised at what she saw. "Charles when I touch you let me know if this hurts."

"Mom I was whipped there yesterday of course it is going to hurt."

"Just humor your mother okay."

"Sure mom," He prepared himself for what he knew was coming. He felt her finger but no pain! She kept poking him and felt virtually nothing at all.

"Well?"

"I felt your finger but no pain."

"Amazing!"

"What?"

"Yesterday your back was a mess, when I applied the ointment I thought for sure it would take three weeks at least for the swelling to go down, and my god it is almost healed!"

"You are kidding."

"No I am not!"

"Hydra?"

"Yep. Let us do something else. Look at this terminal and tell me what you see."

Chuck looked at the terminal and immediately flashed. However, it was totally different than anything he had ever experienced. He was not frozen like he used to be in 1.0 nor did it take anytime at all. His flash was less than a second. What was also fascinating was that sometimes he would feel a slight headache with 1.0 when he flashed. With hydra he was actually euphoric.

"Well?"

"I know everything about this counsel."

"Good the first thing we need to download is a copy of Hydra because I intend to destroy this one."

"So? Mom Volkoff probably has another one some other place."

"You are right Charles, however; you see this. Mary showed him a USB drive. Your father made a virus that will destroy not only Hydra here but any files connected to Hydra anywhere it may be once the virus invades his network. All we will have to do is sit back and enjoy the show. Volkoff will go ballistic."

"One more thing Charles, this terminal will allow you to connect to his personal files in Russia. These files contain the names of every single Ring Agent in the United States including the current Director. Also, last but not least the other Hounds that Ted Rourke unleashed."

"You have something to back up the information?"

"Yes Charles, she tapped his head."

"Isn't that a lot of information?"

"It is a miniscule amount to what your brain can actually handle."

'Well she had been right so far, what was the harm in trusting his mother further.'

He looked at the screen and went through the information with the greatest of ease. There was simply no effort and absolutely no side effects. "Alright done."

"Wow less than five minutes that was amazing."

"Thanks I think."

"Do not worry my son; I would not let anything harm you."

"Thanks mom." She had said it with such conviction that he almost believed her, almost. He was still apprehensive about the whole thing. He also thought of what Sarah would think. How upset she would be when she found out he uploaded Hydra. Also, not to be forgotten there was Beckman, he could almost see her drooling right now.

'Crap can this get any more complicated.' He was snapped out of his thoughts when Mary tapped him on the shoulder and gave him the virus.

"Time to go to work." He nodded and proceeded to upload it.

The Virus completely destroyed all files pertaining to Hydra. The next time Volkoff tried to access these files here it would immediately connect to his servers and Hydra would no longer exist in any of Volkoff's servers. Best of all Mary knew exactly what to do in order for Volkoff to access those files.

"Alright son, I intend to call the guards that are standing outside and get them in here. Once that happens I want you to take care of them."

"Is everything a test to you mom?"

"It is better if we find out now with two guards, then out there facing twenty."

"Fine."

Mary went to the door, opened it and asked the guards to come in. "I believe I have found Agent Carmichael."

The guards reacted quickly, however; nothing could beat Charles quickness, agility and ability. He simply wiped the floor with them in less than three seconds.

"Wow, did you see that mom! One punch, one punch and he was completely out."

"Ssshh, not so loud. You did fine not let's tie these men up and go find some more for you to practice on."

Eielson Air Force Base

"Let me get this right Agent Walker, Orion thinks he knows what ship Chuck is in and wants us to refuel the two Predators so he can be sure?"

"That is right ma'am."

Mike rushes in, "The Predators just landed."

"Damn Steven and his hair brain ideas." Beckman mutters.

"Ma'am."

"Nothing."

"I do not know if this makes any difference General but he said he would make it up to you."

Beckman takes a deep breath and shakes her head, "Oh you can bet he will make it up to me!"

"Well what are you waiting for? Refuel the Predators and Agent Walker you report back to me."

"Yes ma'am."

"Oh and Sarah, how are you holding up? Casey told me what happened at the house."

"I won't lie ma'am, I was caught by surprise that Ryker found me. However, when all is said and done I am very happy that he is no longer around to hurt anyone else."

"Well one thing for sure, when we broke Agent Lynch he stated that he was sent by Agent Decker. Agent Decker is a very close associate of Agent Ryker. Of course he has since disappeared and a sanction is out on him. Just the same watch your backs; Kodiak has become a very dangerous place."

"We will ma'am." Casey chimed in.

When the Predators had been refueled Sarah called Steven and put him on speaker phone for all to hear. "Hello Steven."

"Yes Sarah."

"The guys refueled the Predators they are ready to go."

"Good, am I on speaker phone?"

"Yes."

"All of Charles NSA buddies listening in?"

"Yes."

"Alright, this is what is going to happen, once I check the ship, I will try to contact Mary…I mean Agent Frost."

Everyone around was looking at each other as they had never heard of this person before.

"If you are wondering who she is, well Mary is my wife, Charles mother."

"Holy crap this was getting seriously complicated," Casey thought.

"If I can get verification, one of the predators will shoot their missile at the engine and disable it. I will report immediately to you what has happen and you guys can take action to rescue them both. I suggest you let the General know so that you can have assets available when necessary to take action if needed."

"Good luck!" Several of the guys shouted.

Sarah then said, "Steven I am counting on you to bring Chuck home."

"I know how much he means to all of us Sarah."

Casey immediately got up and went to call the General.

Plan of action

The General had been in contact with Rear Admiral McAdams who was very visibly upset about his Lieutenant Commander's abduction and possible torture.

"I understand Admiral that you are upset. Believe me when I tell you that we have faced this situation many times in the NSA and CIA. The allure of money and power is just too great; our worst enemies have turned out to be our ex-Agents."

"I agree with you about greed and power General; however, this is something new to me. I have in all my years in the service never faced a base commander who went out of his way to undermine his command like Captain Dukes has done. To actively participate in the abduction of such a fine officer as the Lieutenant Commander is just inconceivable to me."

"Our objective right now needs to be getting the Lieutenant Commander back."

"Agreed General, like I advised you before, the USCGC Munro and the Alex Haley are in the Bering Straits right now. There are two other cutters, The Mustang is near the Diomede Islands and the SPAR is close to the Chucchi Peninsula. The problem General is that they are close to Russian waters. We could easily create an international incident if we attempt a takedown of that ship or boat in Russian waters."

"I will advise the President Admiral...just a moment please while I take this call." After briefly speaking to Casey she clicked her panel so that Casey was now in a three way conference with the General and the Admiral.

"Colonel repeat what you just said to me?"

"Yes ma'am, according to Orion, there may be a CIA Agent on board that ship that will let us know if the Lieutenant Commander is on board. If he gets the signal one of the predators will fire a hellfire missile and disable the engine. He will then provide us with the coordinates so we can assault the ship."

"Good lord General, a CIA Agent? Predators? There is a lot more going on here than I am aware of."

General Beckman ignored the Admiral for a moment to relay some other vital information that Casey should be aware of. "Colonel if this is the ship you will be joined by Seal Team 4 and 6. They were having their hell week training in Alaska and I was able to secure their services. Each team has three Black Hawks supporting them. I cannot stress the importance of getting the Lieutenant Commander back in one piece."

"Yes ma'am."

With that Casey was disconnected. "Well General what is going on?" Asked the Admiral.

General Beckman took a deep breath. 'This is going to be a long day.' She thought.

The Contessa 11:00 P.M.

"Dammit Charles, no more prisoners!"

"But mom they were easy to take out."

"It takes time to tie them up and gag them! It is time we do not have. There are twelve of them in there already. Do what I told you to do and kill these bastards!"

"But mom?"

"No buts Charles. I know you do not like to kill, but these men are the worst people there are. They do not deserve to live. Now let's go we need to get the communication's room."

"Why."

"We need to make a call to your father."

Chuck raised an eye brow, "This should be interesting."

Just then they heard noises of men coming down the hall, Mary immediately pulled her Sig Sauer P-220. It was a second generation compact .45 caliber weapon. Chuck on the other hand blinked and loaded what he needed to do. He raised his hands and whispered to his mother "Go with it I am your prisoner."

Mary pretended she had captured him. The six men stopped in their tracts as Mary and Chuck got closer to their adversaries. They walked up to her slowly, only a couple of them pulling out their weapons as well.

"Let them know I have Captured Carmichael."

"You are done for it now you pig." Boasted one of the crew.

That must have been Chuck's queue as he immediately reacted with lightning speed he grabbed the crewman's gun and flipped him over in one motion. He then shot two more in the foot and wheel housed kicked the fourth into unconsciousness before he hit the floor. Mary was quickly taking care of the two to her right. She shot the first one who had his gun drawn leaving the other crewman wide eye as realization what was happening. He was not able to contemplate very long about Mary's treachery as she put two shots in his head. She then looked at Chuck and shook her head.

"What?" Chuck asked innocently.

"You know what." Mary bit back. She then shot the four crewmen in the head. "Now they are not a problem.

"Chuck cringed, you know mother I am not into the whole execution thing."

"I know Charles, however, the reason you are acting holier than thou is because you have not flashed on these men. They are not in your intersect. However, when you do get to flash on one of these pigs you will be singing a different tune."

Her prediction came quicker then she would have thought. "I knew there was a reason why you were able to avoid us so easily.

They turned and it was Rafe Gruber. He had a very smug look in his face. Chuck's intersect initiated and in a blink of an eye he knew everything about this man. His last official kill had been for the Ring. It was a teacher who was going to testify against one of the Ring thugs. He had killed her on the school bus from 100 yards away, and then out of spite he had shot the driver as well. There were 16 kids in that bus when it flipped over it burst into flames. Chuck was a natural caring man; however, he especially had a soft spot for women and kids. What Gruber had done deserve death and he knew exactly who his executioner would be today.

"Drop your weapon Gruber," he addressed Mary coldly.

Mary hesitated, "I will kill you were you stand if you try anything."

Chuck turned to Mary and smiled, "Mom why don't you sit this one out."

Gruber was stunned, "Mom…did he say mom, oh man they are not going to believe this." He shook his head as he chuckled.

Chuck looked at Gruber coldly, "You know what I am thinking."

"I don't give a shit what you are thinking." Gruber bit back.

"I am thinking of how much you are going to beg me not to kill you before I snap your filthy neck."

Chuck was ten feet from Gruber when he launched his attack. If Mary had not seen it with her eyes she never would have believed it. Gruber shot twice and Chuck dodged the bullets like he had been shooting at the floor, he kicked his gun from his hand before he was able to fire a third shot. He flipped him over once, twice, three times and had him in a compromising headlock before Gruber could take his next breath.

"Please don't kill me!"

"I am going to be as merciful to you as you were to those Children three weeks ago you son of a bitch." Chuck snapped his neck and Gruber slumped to the floor.

"You flashed on him didn't you?"

"Yes mom I did." Chuck said through gritted teeth.

"Now you realize what we are dealing with here. Let's go find the communications room."

Somewhere in North Dakota

Steven Bartowski was flying those two Predators like they were part of him. When you stopped to think about it, he had stolen so many of these Predators that they were second nature to him by now.

"Where the hell is that ship?" He mutters to himself. It is the early morning hours, just before dawn and he is sure of the coordinates. 'Maybe they drifted or slowed down.' If Mary had been successful the ship would have at least slowed.

"There you are!"

They were 9 kilometers from Fairway Rock passing right by the Diomede Islands.

"Let us take a look."

The Contessa 6:15 A.M.

The First Mate was the first one to notice the Predators. He immediately hit the battle stations alarm. Men started to rush up stairs which made Chuck and Mary dive into one of the cabins. Luckily there was only person there. He tried to defend himself but had no luck. Chuck clubbed him with a heavy metal object and by this time Mary just was not fooling around. She kneeled and cut the man's throat.

"You do realize we are having to do double the work." A frustrated Mary said.

"Sorry."

"No you are not."

"Why is the alarm going off?" Chuck said wanting to change the subject.

"Most likely your father. Come on we are close to the communications cabin".

Chuck and Mary stuck their heads out slowly. Chuck had armed himself with an AK-47 and some magazines that were in the last cabin they were in.

The crewmen were rushing to the two Oerlikon 20 mm cannon. There was one on the port side and the other aft. The Oerlikon cannon and its derivatives feature blowback operation: The bolt is not locked to the breech of the gun on the moment of fire, but moves freely to the rear while the propellant gases propel the projectile forward. Ammunition feed is typically by a 60-round drum magazine on the top of the gun. During sustained firing, the magazine must be frequently changed, reducing the effective rate of fire.

North Dakota

Steven had hit redialed on her phone without any luck. "Come on Mary pick up baby, pick up."

"Holy shit!" His first Predator drone had come too close and had met its end as five of the 20 mm cannon rounds hit one of the wings and sent it spinning wildly into the ocean.

Now more than ever he was convinced he had found the ship. Another look with the second predator confirmed what he suspected. The Contessa it said. He knew that no other ships would be firing on him unless they had something to hide. Now Steven's main worry was whether Mary and Chuck were still alive.

'Oh you are so going to pay.' He took direct aim at the aft of the ship and he aimed low and let go of two hell fire missiles. Each Hellfire weighs 106 pounds, including the 20 pound warhead, and has a range of 8,000 meters. The AGM-114R Romeo Hellfire II entered service in late 2012. It uses a semi-active laser homing guidance system and an integrated blast fragmentation sleeve warhead to engage targets that previously needed multiple Hellfire variants. With the precision of a fine surgeon each missile hit their target in the engine area cutting a hole big enough to drive a truck through. The ship shudders and slowed to a dead stop.

"Ha! Take that!"

The Contessa 6:30 A.M.

Chuck and Mary had to hold on to the wall as the ship shuddered. That gave them the perfect opportunity to rush the Communications room. Mary did not waste time and shot the two crewmen in the head.

"Damn!"

"What? Mom are you ok?"

"I ran out of bullets!"

"Don't scare me like that." He walked over to the dead men and retrieved two Berretta 92's.

"These will have to do."

"Hmm…9mm not favorite."

Chuck was watching out for any enemies coming their way.

"Hurry up mom!"

Mary finally brought down the blackout grid, and dialed Steven.

Steven's phone started to vibrate, "Hello Mary?"

"Yes it's me honey."

"Babe, how is our boy, did he get the download?"

"Yes Steven he did and he is doing much better than we ever hoped for."

Chuck had been paying attention to his mother when a crewman showed up at their door. Chuck and the crewmen fired their guns Chuck was much quicker and shot the man twice in the chest.

"Mom, we have incoming!" Chuck dove to his right just outside the door and saw two more crewmen rushing to where they were. Chuck fire and hit each one in the legs, however; one of the of the crewmen dropped a silver looking cylinder.

Crap! Chuck dove back into the room and closed the door just in time and the flash bang exploded right next to where they were. 'Close one.' He thought then he heard.

"Finally, the end is near, honey and when we get together you owe me that weekend in bed."

"Can't wait."

"Oh my god, I am in the middle of a fire fight and you two are planning sexual exploits for the weekend!"

He shook his head as he opened the door just in time to catch another crewman about to throw another flash bag. This time Chuck shot him in the chest and the flash bang rolled right into the bad guys and exploded. Chuck could hear the loud groans coming from the corner. He ran up to them and shot the two Agents, they did not look like crewman. He did flash on one and man what a son of a…Chuck heard more footsteps. 'Just how many people are there in this ship?'

"Mom hurry up will you!" He picked up two flash bangs and went to the cabin again.

"Yes Steven the coordinates are 65.7833 North and 169.0167 West. Love you honey"

"Ok that is it, Goodbye dad. Let's go before we get killed." They got out of the cabin and rounded the corner when several men opened fire on them.

Chuck was breathing heavily, "You and I need to have a little talk mom."

"Oh come on we love each other."

He shook his head, "Seriously warped I tell you." He muttered to himself.

"What was that dear?" Mary smirked.

"Nothing mom."

Shaw was in and out of consciousness, he heard all the commotion outside but the sedative that he had been given was a strong one and he was having a hard time waking up. Hugo Panzer finally showed up with two other crewmen and started to slap Shaw awake.

"Shaw, Shaw…wake up will you. We have an emergency and need to get out of here!"

Panzer was getting frustrated, if it was not for the Captain he would leave his sorry ass here.

"Dammit what the hell did you give him?"

"It was strong that is all I know. Help me lift him up and let us get out of here. Look the water is already sipping through."

Eielson Air Force Base

"That is right ma'am those are the coordinate that Orion just gave us."

"Colonel has the Seal Teams arrive?"

"Yes ma'am about twenty minutes ago. They have been refueling and waiting for instructions."

"Colonel I cannot stress enough the importance of getting the Lieutenant Commander back."

"Yes ma'am we understand."

"I have a President hounding me every twenty minutes for updates. I want to give him good news before the end of the day is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am."

"I will pass this information to Admiral McAdams. Expect several Coast Guard Cutters to be in support as well."

"Thank you General."

Beckman closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she called McAdams. It was great to have Chuck around it really was, but damn it had been non-stop action for the last two years, "Who would have thought." She picked up the phone and made the call to McAdam's.

Every Blackhawk had auxiliary tanks because of the long distance they would have to travel. Sarah was extremely anxious, "When do we leave?"

"Right now!" Responded Casey

"Colonel Jones, here are the coordinates that we were given."

"That is a hell of a long way away; we will not be able to fly back."

"No we land on the Diomede Islands after the operation is over. I also received word that two to four Coast Guard Cutters we be in support. The Seal Teams and any prisoners will leave with them. The Contessa is a large Valdez type of freighter. I have done many of these operations before. Here hand these to your men." Casey gave him several pictures of Chuck. "This Lieutenant Commander must be rescued at all cost."

"Colonel Casey my men deserve to know more."

"I understand Colonel Jones; does the name Carmichael mean anything to you?"

"Yes...yes it does."

"Then you know who we are rescuing. One more thing, apparently he escaped his captors and is now engaging them on the ship, he is receiving help from a CIA Agent on the ship."

"Jesus you spooks are something else."

"Well it is a her, and she is his mother. I cannot tell you anymore because I simply do not know any more."

"Alright Colonel Casey your call. Let's go get Carmichael back."

All nine helicopters took off and were headed towards the coordinates given by Steven. These helicopters realistically had a top cruising speed of 140 mph. It would take them over four hours to get to the target. Sarah was fidgeting; four hours were a long time for her. She did the only thing she could think off, she called Steven and pumped him for every last detail of information that he could give her.

After about fifteen minutes she hung up with Steven. She was nervously biting her bottom lip.

"Sarah what did Orion say?"

"He...he told me that..." Sniff, she placed her hand on her mouth and involuntarily let out a small sob.

"Get a hold of yourself Sarah." Blue said as he gently rubbed her back.

Sarah finally got her composure back. She took a couple of deep breaths before she continued. "There are or were at least 120 men on board. They all are hardened despicable criminals and Agents. Steven told me that Chuck and his mother were fighting on the ship. Casey they are taking on all those men by themselves!" She said this as her voice became squeaky and higher pitched the longer she spoke and her eyes showed the tears that were ready to roll out of her eyes.

Casey looked at his old partner and realized that what he had in front of him was less of the wild card enforcer and more of the (wife). Yeah they were not married, but the way she fingered that ring told him that the wedding was just a formality. Sure when she got out of the helicopter she would turn into what she used to be for Chuck. However, it would also be because she was afraid of losing the only person that made her sane, the only person that really mattered to her. There was no question about it, when Sarah got off that helicopter nothing would stop her from finding the man she loved.

John Casey took a moment and reminisced about his past concerning Kathleen. He quickly shook his thoughts about her. 'I made my decision, now I have to live with it.'

"Sarah, you have seen what Chuck can do, how resilient he is. He escaped even while being tortured. There is no way he would allow anything to stop him from coming back to you. If you believe in Chuck then you will know that is true."

She weakly smiled and shook her head yes.

The Contessa 8:45 A.M.

"Charles what are you doing?" Chuck was busy looking in every drawer and desk.

"Looking for food."

"You are kidding right?"

"Hey I am hungry. We have not eaten in like forever." He looked inside the last drawer and signed.

"You found something?"

"Yeah." He said almost pouting. Here are two more 9mm magazines for you. Then he muttered, "I should have brought the cheese balls."

Daniel Shaw was finally awake. Hugo Panzer had splashed enough cold water on him. The best thing of all they had stumbled into the white room and found twelve of their men tied up. Panzer was surprised that Carmichael let them live. 'His mistake might cost him dearly,' He thought evilly. Shaw had made sure they were all well-armed and the search for Carmichael was on.

Captain Vittorio was holding his own meeting with the officer staff.

"Gerald what is the status of the ship's engines."

"The missiles hit right below the waterline. We are slowly taking in water."

"Are the pumps working?"

"Yes, but we are taking in more water than the pumps can handle."

First Mate Romanelli said, "We have water tight bulk heads here and here. He said of the first level. We are in no danger of sinking but we are virtually dead in the water."

Second Mate Santiago who had a heavy Spanish accent then spoke. "I do not like this Captain. They would not disable the ship if they did not intent to board it. You can expect that we will have company soon."

The Captain said, "Well then we only have two choices either we stay with the boat or abandon ship. However, we do not have enough life boats to accommodate everyone."

The almost sardonic laughter of Daniel Shaw could be heard by everyone at the entrance to the Captain's cabin.

"So you gentlemen intend to abandon this ship?" He voice was dripping with sarcasm. "I think I need to call Volkoff so he can let me know how many of you I need to shoot." He finished chuckling.

"M…Mr. Shaw pl…please understand we are dead in the water. Surely you can see that? If we stay here we are dead men."

The Third Mate stood up and challenged Shaw. "Why should you we listen to you? You are ju…"Boom the sound of Daniel's 45 reverberating around the cabin. The Third Mate had just been shot in the head. Spraying blood all over the Captain and First Mate.

"Now you listen to me, as I shall not repeat myself again." Shaw said this as he waved his 1911 around nonchalantly. "Our first priority is to find that fiend Carmichael and kill him. We have run into so many dead bodies that our forces are quickly dwindling. If the Coast Guard shows up, then those 20 mm will keep them at bay. I will call Volkoff and explain the situation to him. I am sure he will send reinforcements that will allow us to capture and kill the Carmichael. Now let us get organized and start searching for this bastard."

One of the crewmen came in breathing hard. "Of the port bow a Coast Guard Cutter."

The Captain moved quickly to see for himself. "Get the 20 mm Cannons ready." He turned to Shaw, Call Volkoff and let him know what is happening. We can keep one Coast Guard Cutter at bay but not many more."

Even Shaw understood that their position was untenable. He turned to Hugo Panzer, "Let's go and setup communications between Volkoff and us, we need backup."

When they arrived at the communications cabin they found the whole place a mess. There were sparks all over. Chuck had set off the two flash bangs which had caused a chain reaction and had ruined the equipment.

Panzer look at Shaw, "Ruined."

Shaw started to breath heavily; he grabbed the mike and started to smash it on the desk. "No, no. no!"

He yelled at the top of his lungs, "I hate you Carmichael!" He then turned to his men, "Get another twenty five men and do a systematic search for that little prick. Find him do you hear me! Find him and kill him!" To emphasize his request he added. "Whoever brings me his body will receive from me one million dollars, now go!"

Chuck and Mary had left a walkie-talkie in the on position and had heard everything. As a matter of fact everyone on the boat had. Chuck turned to his mother. "You know what mom, I think I upset Shaw." He smiled at his mother as he made that sarcastic remark.

"Well Charles what do you say we really piss him off."

Chuckling he replied, "Have I ever denied you anything?"

Mary bit back, "You really don't want me to answer that do you?"

"Fine!" He huffed, "Party pooper." He said under his breath.

That is how for the three hours they played a very dangerous of cat and mouse game. Although the way Chuck and Mary were playing it you really did not know who was the hunter and who was the hunted. Chuck decided to really irate Shaw by leaving him messages on the walls. It was either thanks for the magazines or the flash bangs or you guys fight like little girls. It was having the desired effect on Shaw while his men were becoming more and more cautious. Two groups of four men had run into small flash bang traps that lead to Mary quickly disposing of them while they were disoriented.

"Jesus mom what is your body count anyway."

"If I were you I would keep my mouth shut!" She said this with more venom than usual.

Confused Chuck asked, "What did I do?"

"You do not recognize the four fools we made short work of?"

Chuck took a look, "Oh!"

"Oh is right! Next time you will listen to me or so help me I will take you over my knee and make you hurt every time you sit down for a week!"

Chuck started laughing until he saw the glare from his mother. "Alright, fine geez," 'Touchy, very touchy and no sense of humor to boot. Hmm…reminds me of someone.'

150 miles from the Diomede Islands

"Yes General thank you."

"What was that all about Casey?"

"Coast Guard Cutter Mustang has made contact with the Contessa. They were being fired upon by two 20mm Cannons. They have been told not to engage until the other Cutters arrive. Of Course we will engage them first."

"Can't this thing fly any faster?"

"Easy Walker, we will get there in a little over an hour. Just relax and get ready for action."

"Easy for you to say John!"

"We all care about Chuck, Sarah. You are not the only one anxious to get there."

"I know Blue I am sorry for acting this way, but god I feel so helpless right now."

"Blue let Colonel Jones know about those 20 mm Cannons."

Mike spoke for the first time in a while, "Well we know what the first targets will be." He tried to lighten the mood but failed miserably.

Casey leaned over to Sarah and looked at her straight in the eyes, "I know exactly how you are feeling; believe me I feel the same way."

The Contessa 10:15 A.M.

"Mom we have to get out of this corridor and work our way to the top. If Shaw and friends have half a brain they would attack from both sides at once and we would be in real trouble."

"Ok we are two decks below the top deck."

She than turns to Charles, who is busy doing something on the ladder. "What are you doing Charles?"

"Leaving Shaw and the rest of his goons a little present just to slow them down a bit." He taped two of his last four flash bangs on either side of the ladder. He then tied a string to one end of the pin pulled it hard enough to the other side where the other flash bang was. He looked at his handy work and smiled, "Nice job if I say so myself."

"Charles they will easily see this."

"Have a little faith mom."

He took his mother's Berretta and quickly shot out all the lights. "Nice shooting."

"Yeah well I have been a decent shot for a while but this damn intersect enhances my ability ten fold. Now I simply don't miss."

Smack! Right in the back of the head.

"Ow mom what the hell was that for?"

"For lying to me when you shot those two crewmen in the legs!" She glared at him in frustration. Knowing he had been caught Chuck decided to change the subject.

"Ok mom let us get out of here before they arrive." Mary knew he was deflecting but he did have a point.

Shaw and his men were being extra careful now when Hugo Panzer came rushing in, "I found Gruber, his neck has been broken."

"Great, just great!" Daniel passed his hand through his hair. "God I want to kill Carmichael so badly."

Captain Vittorio came over the walkie-talkie. "Shaw get up here now!"

"What do you want captain?" Shaw sounded irritated.

"Two more Cutters just showed up. Get to where my cabin is, two doors over is a cabin marked AB. It is an armory. Get in there and try to get all your men armed with as many shoulder rockets as possible, now move!"

"What about Carmichael?"

"Leave him for later Shaw we have an emergency up here!"

"Fine we will be right up!" Shaw looked at Panzer, "Dammit to hell can this day get any worse?"

Panzer smiled, "Don't worry we will get him."

As they rounded the corner they noticed all the lights were out. "This could be a trap be careful."

One of the crewmen named Rivas asked, "What do we do now?"

Shaw thought for a moment. "Ok groups of ten move as fast as you can up the ladder we will cover you from here."

"I still think it was a bad idea having all these men with us." Said Panzer.

"I don't want to hear it!"

Rivas and 9 other crewmen were moving up the ladder. He was looking up instead of taking a peak down. The crewman behind him saw it too late. "Rivas!" was all he was able to get out before the flash bangs exploded. The crewmen felt like the world was spinning out of control. They grabbed their ears bringing them down to their knees and yelling out in pain. Shaw and several other men opened up with their machine guns firing down the hall; of course no one was there.

"Evil son of a bitch!"

The Captain came on again, "Shaw what is taking you so long!"

"I WILL BE RIGHT THERE!" 'This Captain is really getting on my nerves!'

"Panzer stay with the men that are disoriented. Meet me on the top deck when they recover." With a nod Shaw and thirty five men moved quickly up the remaining ladder while keeping a sharp eye out for Carmichael.

Chuck and his mom had moved all the way down the hall past the final latter, When the entered the room they hit gold. "An armory?" Chuck said in shock.

"Every deck has one Charles."

"Ha ha, told you it would work." Chuck said as he was pointing to where they heard the flash bangs.

"Don't get cocky Charles."

"You do wonders for my ego mom."

"I just want you grounded and focused. You start thinking you are Superman and you will get dead quick, intersect or no."

Chuck knew better than anybody how true that statement was. "Alright an AR-10! Man I love these!"

"Well there are plenty of empty magazines there and the 308 bullets must be some where in the metal cases."

Chuck kept admiring the weapon. "This baby has a lot of stopping power."

"Oh I see you found your 45 caliber bullets. Mary was busy reloading her Sig Sauer P-220. "Damn mom I thought you got rid of that weapon when you ran out of bullets."

"I love this gun it has been with me for five years."

"Found them!"

"I will help you load. How many mags do you want?"

"Six."

"Well ok let us hurry up; we have to get top side."

Chuck started to open the door when he heard voices. He immediately stopped what he was doing. The crewmen who were finally recovered enough to go up to the top deck had not been paying attention but Hugo Panzer had noticed the door movement. He guided them upstairs and stopped.

"Aren't you coming?"

"Err...you go I will catch up to you soon."

When Chuck stopped hearing the voices, he signaled his mother to start moving. He went first followed by his mom who was making sure no one was following them from behind.

Chuck turned his head to say something to his mom when Panzer's flying foot caught him flush in the chest and sent him reeling into his mom. Mary was knocked back hitting the floor with a thud. Mary has stopped his backward momentum and Chuck recovered quickly. Using the intersect he grabbed the guard rail spun through at the air a smashed both his feet on Panzer's left side, causing him to go over the rail and land badly. All the wind was knocked out of him.

Chuck moved quickly to see how his mother was. "Mom, mom are you all right?"

Mary groaned, "Yeah...I...I am fine."

Chuck looked at Panzer and he immediately flashed on him. Hugo Panzer AKA 'The brutalizer' had gotten the nickname because he loved to get the information out of women by raping and torturing them. The intersect started to scroll down the names when he stopped it on one he knew, "Carina." He said it to himself more than anything else. The intersect started to show him a video of the event and he willed it to stop immediately. Obviously someone had filmed the scene although he had no idea why.

He was snapped out of his musings by Hugo's laughter. "So you know Carina Miller?" He smiled evilly. "She was quite delectable if you know what I mean." Licking his lips. He than pull a garter belt from his pocket smelled it and said, "Souvenir."

Chuck looked at this animal coldly, "You know, you should not taunt someone who is about to cut your heart out."

"Charles?"

"Go mom I have got this, I will join you upstairs soon."

"You traitorous bitch! Volkoff is going to skin you alive!" Growled Panzer.

Mary smiled at Panzer as she was going up stairs, "And who is going to tell him you? You will not be around very long to matter."

Chuck chuckled and said, "Ready for our first date?"

Panzer pulled out a large knife and smiled, "Let's see what you got."

Chuck flashed on several martial arts form, some he already knew others he frankly never practiced and attacked. Panzer tried to meet the attack but was caught completely by surprise by Chuck's speed and devastating force. He side kicked, wheel kicked, back kicked and finally straight kicked Panzer into oblivion. Panzer hit the side of the rail so hard he cracked his ribs. Gasping for air he made a futile attempt to take a swing at Chuck, who was not in a merciful mood. He caught hand easily and straightens out his arm; he took his left hand and swung it violently upwards at the elbow. Being caught in this position his elbow had no where to go and the loud pop indicated the dislocation of said elbow. Panzer screamed in pain as Chuck shut him up with a straight right to the nose that shatter the bone.

Chuck would normally never do this but the horrors this man had committed deserve this kind of treatment. He slowly walked over to where Panzer had dropped his knife and picked it up. Panzer was having a hard time breathing and coughing out blood. "I believe you have some clothing that belongs to a friend of mine." He then showed him his knife. "Unlike you I always return property that I barrow." He drove the knife into Panzer heart.

He took the garter belt from his pocket. "Give my regards to Satan you rapist pig!" He picked up his AR and raced upstairs to find his mother.

The Rescue

"There they are." Said Lieutenant White who was piloting Chuck's helicopter.

They all could see the Contessa just ahead. Sarah immediately sat down again closed her eyes and said a little prayer. She never used to do that before, but since she had been with Chuck it seemed to be happening a lot. She checked her weapons one more time and steeled her mind for what was to come. Her emotions were off the charts. She had no idea if Chuck was dead or alive, however, she was determined to find him and deal with the ramifications later.

"Red Leader to Green Leader, you are not to land your men until we have handled those 20 mm Cannons."

"Copy Red Leader."

"Red Leader to Red 2 and 3, I will engage the 20 mm on the Port side Red 3 take out the 20 mm on the aft side of the ship. Red 2 cover us until our men repel, then I will cover you." Red 2 and 3 acknowledged the order.

"Red leader to Green leader as soon as our men are in place I will notify you. We will cover your deployment. Watch out for shoulder and stinger missiles.

"Copy Red leader."

White yelled back, "Two minutes to contact, lock and load Hinkle."

"Roger that," As Hinkle slid the door open and got the twin 50 calibers ready.

The Contessa

Captain Vittorio first heard then saw the approaching Blackhawks and he was clearly panicked when he spoke to Shaw, "Oh my god Shaw, Shaw from the port side incoming, incoming!"

"Get those shoulder missiles ready and get the men on the top deck now!" Yell back Shaw.

Crewmen were rushing all over the place; Shaw stopped one of them, "Have you seen Panzer?" The crewman shook his head no. 'Where the hell is he, I need him.'

Chuck was searching for his mother but instead was spotted by 3 crewmen. "Carmichael!" One of them shouted as Chuck opened fire on the three sending one over the rail into the ocean and injuring another.

Four more men responded but instead of engaging they called for backup. Everyone including Shaw were aware that Carmichael was on the top deck. However, any thoughts of concentrating their efforts against Chuck flew out the windows when the first Black Hawk obliterated the 20 mm cannon position the port side. Red 2 was running cover and spraying the top deck with hot 50 caliber lead. There was panic and chaos everywhere and the battle just started.

Red 3 circled and caught the men manning the 20 mm cannon on the aft side completely by surprised; they definitely were not expecting so many Blackhawks and were debating whether or not just to abandon ship. The subject became a moot point as Diaz let them have it with two long volleys of 50 caliber bullets. The men that had been there simply were no longer around.

Casey, Sarah and Blue along with the rest of the first team had repelled down and were soon joined by elements of Seal team 6 and NSA team 2. These men and Sarah were in frenzy. Volkoff's men were not prepared to take on a force like this.

The Seal team did notice that from the very top deck shoulder missiles were being fired at the Blackhawks and one connected and hit the rotor of Green 6.

"Mayday, mayday, I am losing control! Will attempt to land on the water mayday." The rear stabilizer snapped and the Blackhawk spun wildly, hit the side of the ship and flipped over into the water.

All Coast Guard Cutters were rushing in. There were people in the water that needed to be rescued. The Cutters no longer had to worry about the 20 mm cannons and it appeared that the attacking forces had the situation well in hand.

Up on the top deck several crewmen and the second mate were attempting to dodge bullets and then engage the Blackhawks with more shoulder missiles when Mary popped out of nowhere and shot three crewmen in secession. That sent the remaining group scouring and diving back into the cabin.

Sarah was moving with lightning speed not caring about the yells of her group to be careful, anyone who crosses her path was immediately taken care of. She yelled for Chuck, hoping and praying he would answer her call. The Seal Team six guys were right behind Sarah, they were impressed with her speed and agility and the view from behind was definitely an added bonus.

There was a loud commotion that got Sarah's and the Seal Team's attention. Someone was holding a gun to a woman's head, and a shirtless man with some scaring on his back was desperately trying to save her. He was surrounded by 4 men with knives but the advantage was clearly with the shirtless man who was dealing a great deal of punishment to the four men trying to stop him.

Chuck yelled did a complete 180 in the air and sent two of his would be attackers sprawling to floor unconscious. He then stood up and was walking straight towards Shaw who even though he had the gun pointed at the woman was shaking like a rabbit about to be devoured by a lion. Something was different, yes Chuck was confident but this was ridiculous. Chuck ignored the last two attackers like they were not even there. The only time he noticed them was when the one in the left on his left side attempted a thrust of his knife to Chuck's abdomen, Chuck was lightning fast caught the man's wrist, twisted it violently and hit him with a Round House kick that was devastating as he lay motionless on the floor. Chuck then glared at the fourth attacker who simply dropped his knife and ran.

He was now paying full attention to Shaw, "I swear if you come any closer I will shoot her, I MEAN IT!" He said almost pleading.

Chuck smiled evilly; he had the dirt bag where he wanted him. 'I might just cut off his balls on general principles,' Chuck thought.

Shaw's hands were shaking and he was sweating even though it was pretty cold. Chuck looked at his mother who gave him a slight nod indicating where she intended to move. Chuck smiled as he prepared to attack. Mary slammed her boot into Shaw's instep and then thrust her left elbow into Shaw's jaw. He was clearly opened to have Chuck finish him off when he heard a shot from behind. He whirled around and the first thing that he saw was the most beautiful sight in the world. Looking at her half naked husband to be, the first thought of the soon to be Sarah Lisa Bartowski was just how hot he was. She moved towards him like there was no one else in the room. Chuck blinked and grimaced just for a moment as he flash on her. It was her mission to Columbia. Then he shook it off and opened his arms to Sarah and gave her that smile that only belonged to her. She dove at him and Chuck caught her effortlessly.

She kissed him passionately and when they broke apart he smirked and said, "You are late." Sarah laughed heartedly and kissed him even harder.

"Bravo six to bravo four."

"Go ahead Bravo six"

"Found our target alive and doing rather well."

The Seal Team Six members then looked at Shaw. "We have an enemy combatant down that looks to be in pretty bad shape."

"What is wrong with him?"

"It looks like a severe injury to his groin."

"Roger that we will send in a medic right away."

Chuck looked at Sarah and narrowed his eyes. "Hey it is not my fault; your mother was in the way."

Somehow he did not believe her for a second, especially after she smiled mischievously.

All the medics were quite busy; this included the ones from the four Coast Guard Cutters. There were dead and injured enemy combatants everywhere.

The one that looked at Shaw shook his head no. He then stuck him with some morphine. Shaw had been in the fetal position and in so much pain all he could do was grab his partially missing testicles and detached penis. Sarah had shot him with a 45 soft point/hollow point bullet. That ammo was designed to cause the maximum type of damage. Shaw was bleeding out and when the medic went to attach a plasma bag, Mary grabbed his hand and said, "Let him die."

Chuck looked at his mother who quietly responded, "It's better to let him die."

Chuck understood better than anyone, He had flashed on Shaw and even though he knew why he turned out this way and was sympathetic, the horrors and atrocities he had committed were unforgivable. Chuck was realizing that the bad guys he was flashing on were so vicious they it was becoming easier for him to understand why they needed to die.

In the mean time the Seal Teams were busy conducting a sweep of the bottom decks and were surprised to find twenty eight dead bodies. They had a suspicion that it was all Carmichael, but in reality it had been mostly Mary.

Chuck officially introduced Mary and Sarah, who hugged each other warmly even though they eyed each other somewhat warily. They did not mean anything by it; it was just years of being a spy. However, all the warm fuzzy feelings ended rather abruptly when Chuck saw Casey and flashed. He blurted out "Alex Coburn."

Casey wide eye in shock looks at Chuck, "What did you say?"

Now they are making the short flight to the Diomede Islands, in awkward silence. Casey had taken Sarah a side and whispered in her ear. The shock and horror in her eyes said it all. For her the worst possible news other than Chuck's death had been delivered. Oh she had given one of her best academy performances when Colonel North had kidded Chuck about joining the Seal team and Sarah wrapping her arms about him and saying that this super hero was already taken.

Maybe it was the little extra dig of her nails into his skin, however, he could tell by that one gesture the she was pissed, hurt, betrayed, and scared.

Chuck knew that he would have to withhold any conversation and explanation until they were alone. Funny, at this moment he felt all alone. He kept looking between the two people that he trusted the most, the one person he loved the most and at this very moment felt the farthest from.

Chuck had time the lean and whispered to his mother, "They know, I am going to need you."

Mary nodded and had squeezed his arm. At that moment he had felt a tremendous loved for the woman who had saved him, had disappeared from his life for the past twenty years; had read the Frost Queen to him every night before he had gone to bed.

He hugged his mother like his life depended on it. "I love you mom." It said it all; he kissed her on her forehead and smiled widely at her. Chuck Bartowski's life had always felt like a roller coaster ride. At this moment that description never felt more apt then it did now. His mom and apparently his dad were back; they loved and protected him like he always thought they should. One of his very best friends no more like the brother he never had was patting him on the back and even though he could sense something was wrong, he was solidly behind him and knew he would be there for him no matter what.

Then there was Sarah who kept looking down or to the side and occasionally at him and he saw the pain, the hurt, the agony in her moist eyes. Finally his very good friend and mentor John Casey, who had been there for him when he needed him most, the scowl on his face spoke volumes. Two words had driven a stake through their relationship like Casey had when he left Kathleen. Chuck was surprised to find out Casey had a daughter named Alex. How ironic to be in this situation.

The people assigned to protect the intersect now despised him for having it. Yes he knew that he needed to explain to them and try to make them understand the need, the reasoning, and the truth about this new thing in his head. The future was somewhat murky, he was still very apprehensive about what the future held for him and his family and friends. However, one thing he knew after having long discussions with his mother concerning Volkoff that was absolutely true above anything else, it was not over, not by a long shot.