AN: HELLOOOO? Dont Shoot please!
Raises White Flag.
You wouldn't hit a a Bat with Glasses on Would you? 8-P
This Chapter has been having ISSUES when i first posted it i got a PM from a Reader saying that the last quarter of the Chapter was a huge run- on sentence so I went back to the Document that ESARDI sent me and Saw nothing wrong i tweaked it here and there and re posted then Esardi Emails me Ranting and Raving Saying Take the Damn thing down AGAIN NOW! so i said ok and took it down and tried to figure out what went Crazy with the Formatting. well for the last Quarter of the Chapter it was bunched up tighter than a slinky, so i manually took the original document and worked my way backwards through the text. for those of you that stated the issue with chucks new rank i made him a full bird Commander.
As for Sarah Flying in this Chapter i know she can fly anything from a paper plane to something just shy of the space shuttle. think about this She is standing right by her Future Mother in law Who abandoned her son -Chuck and she is just going to talk about all her Qualifications and Ratings right next to the "possible Enemy" Sarah is trust but verify stage right now, an another point is do you want Sarah in control of the plane while trying to play referee to Ellie and her mother. that would be like a referee to a UFC caged match at 25,000 feet.
I know the jokes are Corny but the AN: are there to tell whats going on so it was a Glitch with FF still dont know how or why but it happened sorry for the delay and the run around if you find any errors just deal with it and I'm Sorry in Advance.
Once Again Thank you to the Loyal Readers of this story.
Chapter 11
A Chopper Pilot Named Chuck
Dealing with Reality
Chuck had suffered many realities in his life, his parents leaving, getting kicked out of Stanford, being in a perpetual funk over his life in general and those five lost years in particular. There had been one constant in his life, Morgan Grimes. The little bearded man had been there for him through thick and thin. His life partner as Morgan often called him. Morgan had been slaughtered, on top of that his fiancé and her whole family killed as well. The worst part of all was that there was no time to mourn him, not now anyway; however, he never would be forgotten.
The absolute reality was that as horrible as that was, Chuck was also dealing with the death of two of his team members, and still among the missing were Ellie and Devon. Yes dealing with reality really sucked. He wanted to run to the nearest mountain top and scream, than do a night jump over Russia and kill anyone and everyone that had any association with Alexei Volkoff. No matter how much he wanted to break down, he could not, would not give that son of a bitch that satisfaction.
Chuck had a ton of responsibilities; he needed to be strong for his team, for his family, for the actions he would have to take next.
Of course it became easier with his mom and dad there. However, Chuck knew that without Sarah and Blue he simply would not have survived. All the fake bravado he was currently showing the team melted away as soon as he got home. Sarah would gently cradle Chuck when she knew things were overwhelming him. Chuck had never cried as much as he had during those first hectic hours after the attack. They were reeling, Volkoff knew it. Every time Chuck would get a message he would hold his breath.
They had just heard about the CIA director's death, Chuck had witnessed what had occurred at LA EX. Ellie was not taken but Devon surely was. Now it was all up to Orion to do his magic and find his daughter. Mary and Steven were both frantic and deeply concerned about their daughter. Were the hell was she? Ellie certainly had not gotten on the flight and definitely had not headed home. That could only mean she gotten on a different flight that was headed in the opposite direction from where she was supposed to have landed. The mere fact they had not received another lovely Christmas video from the demon named Volkoff spoke volumes that all of their plans had not gone as they expected.
Chuck looked up to see the Henderson brothers walk in and give Chuck a nod. Chuck turned on the video screen on, Steven and Sarah were together. On a bed was the Gobbler strapped with an IV in each arm. After Steven had finished setting everything up he walked outside the room. Chuck walked up to his dad hugged him tightly looked directly in his eyes, "Go find my sister dad."
Steven nodded sat down and hooked up to MAX from his server in Montana and began the face recognition search of everyone that was boarding on planes in LA EX on the 24th.
Chuck waved over to Sarah and Mary. "Mom if that piece of crap does not have a heart attack when he sees you, make sure you stay in the back ground. Make it look like you are directing the interrogation. Dad says that serum works much better if we get a reaction from him."
Chuck then turned to Sarah, "Baby you know how distasteful I find this right?"
"Yes Chuck I do."
"Well these are not normal times. Do not worry about how far you should go my love. These bastards hurt our family Sarah, our family! I don't care if you melt this son of a bitch brains. Get every morsel of information out of him." Chuck then gave her a searing kiss to emphasize that he was ok in whatever she had to do and walked away.
Back at the hanger
Blue had called Chuck and told him there was some very interesting footage he needed to see. Casey was still at the hospital after the attack and was scheduled to be released earlier that day. He still had not spoken to anyone concerning the attack on the base and the carnage that ensued.
Chuck got to the base and a bunch of his NSA team were waiting for him. Apparently they had seen the footage as well and were frankly beyond pissed. As Chuck walked in they all started to talk, Lieutenant White started the show, "We are going to be betrayed Chuck."
Diaz said, "If I had not seen the footage I would believe it!"
Thompson bit back. "When the fuck was he going to say something!" There was a chorus of agreement.
Chuck held out his hand, "Alright, alright, alright, calm down!"
Chuck looked at Blue, "I am assuming that there is some incriminating evidence in that video you want to show me?"
"Yep."
"Ok let us take a look."
After viewing the video Chuck stood silently for a moment, "Everyone I need to be alone with Blue right now, don't worry I will not keep you in the dark."
Chuck turned to Blue, "What do you think?"
"Personally, if it was anybody else, the Colonel would never betray us. However, this is a different animal. He left his fiancé and unborn daughter, abandon them for the greater good, HE OWES THEM."
Chuck chimed in, "Lately we have not been his favorite people."
"Agreed," Blue pulled out a printed copy of an e-mail. "Your dad hacked into his e-mail account we found this."
Chuck read it, "Shit!" It definitely was not looking good for Casey at that moment.
"Well at least he was recommending that you stay in charge."
"Not much of a recommendation if our Colonel than goes and gives the enemy our location and where they can hit us."
"Let's gather the men outside the hanger; I want to go to a place that I am sure no one will be listening in."
"Chuck your father gave us some very sophisticated sweepers. They were much better than the ones we had."
"Did you find anything?"
Blue reached into his pocket and pulled out three bugs. "Nice," said Chuck, "I have never seen this type before."
"That is why I let the guys vent when we were outside."
"My dad is a genius, however, I need you to humor me gather all the guys and let us move to a location where I am sure no one will be listening."
One mile away from the hanger
Six SUV's parked about a mile away from the hanger. "Alright Chuck I think this is far enough away from the hanger." Said Blue
"Ok gentlemen, just so all of you realize these bugs," He held them out for all to see, "Were planted by Volkoff's people."
"They were meant to not only spy on Casey but to keep him from letting us know what was going on. I am convinced that they are going to keep tight control over him to make sure he complies. Assume we did not get all the bugs. Assume that they will keep visual and audio on Casey all the times. Blue you will be planting and activating these bugs in the hanger as soon as we get back. Act normally, we have to convince these dirt bags that we do not have a clue about their plans or that Casey has been compromised. For now"
"When we are ready, I plan to have Casey arrested at a time of our own choosing, make it look to the enemy that we are going to get the information out of him. I intend to draw the enemy in so that we can save his family and capture or kill this bunch. We are going to need each other more than ever. If we work together we will win. When we go back into that hanger I need you guys in character." Chuck took a deep breath, "Tomorrow we attend the funeral of two of our brothers that fell in this war. I do not intend to have any more funerals, I intend to give our enemies hell, we will make then rue the day they messed with us. We cannot fail, we will not fail, and this is not only for us but for our families and friends."
This bunch was mostly ex Marines so when Diaz yell, "Semper Fi." they all responded, "Semper Fidelis! Whoa!"
Base Commanders Office
Since it was deemed that the Hanger was no longer safe to hold meetings, the empty Base Commander's Office would be a temporary place to hold Video conferences with the General.
Chuck, Jim and Mike Henderson along with Blue were waiting for the General to Conference when the distinguish logo came on and then the General Appeared.
Chuck sighed in relief, he had heard that Diane Beckman had survived her attempted assassination, however; with everything that had happened, until he saw it with his own eyes he did not believe anything.
"Diane!" Chuck said excitedly then quickly corrected himself, "General, you do not know how happy I am to see you."
Diane Beckman actually smiled; they certainly had bonded and felt real affection with each other. "The same is true for me Chuck. You do not know how worried I was for you and your team."
"It was a very trying time, we had some irreplaceable casualties."
"Yes I know, I read the reports, what you did that night went far beyond the call of duty, you are truly amazing Commander Bartowski."
Chuck's eyes went wide, "Ma'am?"
"I just got off an emergency meeting with the joint Chiefs and the President along with McAdams and the head of the DNI. With Colonel Casey resigning and with the emergency we find ourselves in we are in agreement that you need to take over. Commander it should not come as a surprise; you have been running the show for a while now. We need you in command Chuck; this is coming directly from the President."
All the men in the room were congratulating Chuck.
"Thank you for having faith in me General, however, if I am to accept this promotion, I need a second in command I can trust, I need Blue promoted to Captain and Mike and Jim as Lieutenants ma'am. This is the only way ma'am I will feel comfortable leading this team.
"The President gave me direct orders to make you happy, I am sure we will be able to accommodate your request."
"Thank you ma'am."
"Anything else that you need for now?"
"I gather that with the death of the CIA director that you will be in charge of both agencies again?"
"You assume correctly Commander."
"Ma'am I am going to request three Gulf Streams from the CIA at our disposal ASAP."
"What is going on Commander?"
"I am sending you a video of the attack and the aftermath that occurred at the base. Let us debrief again in a couple of hours. Once you have reviewed it I will like you to hear me out concerning a plan that I have that would hopefully draw out the bad guys."
"Alright Commander let us meet back here in two hours, I am intrigued as to what this video is. We shall talk again in two hours and again congratulations on all your promotions."
As they left the meeting Blue joked, "Well Commander what are your orders sir?"
However, Chuck was not in a joking mode, "Captain Stevenson, place two guards on Colonel Casey's door, he is not getting out any time soon."
"Chuck are you going to place the Colonel under arrest?"
"Not yet Blue I need to talk to the General again, by that time she should be nice and pissed. Diane will go with any plan I have up to and including hanging poor Casey."
"Have you gone to see him?"
"No for this to work I have to appear to be a cold hearted bastard willing to take it out on Casey or any one I think betrayed us."
"What are you planning to do?"
However, before Chuck could reply Mike came over, "Sir."
"Cut it out Mike."
Mike smiled, "Your dad has been trying to get in touch with you." He then handed Chuck his cell phone.
"Yeah Dad?"
"Son we have found out where your sister went."
"Where dad?"
"Chicago."
"Did she call?"
"Not yet. Remember we told her to wait at least 48 hours before contacting us, so far she has followed what we taught her to the letter."
"If I know El dad she will be going crazy thinking about what is happening to Devon, you better believe that she is going to be calling us sooner than later."
"We need to have someone go to Chicago son."
"Agreed Dad, whoever we send has to be someone familiar."
Sarah and Mary soon joined Chuck, "How did it go?"
"Whatever those chemicals were that your dad set up worked wonderfully." Said Sarah.
"Well I want you to let us know everything. I am holding another briefing with the General. Mike and Jim were promoted to Lieutenants and Blue to Captain."
"That's great; Casey finally broke down and recommended the guys for promotion?"
"No the new Commanding Officer, Commander Carmichael did that. That same Commanding Officer is soon arresting Casey."
"Wait a minute!" Sarah fumed.
"Chuck what are you doing?" Chimed in Mary.
Chuck held out his hands, "Take it easy both of you and listen to me before you go crazy. First and foremost this promotion for me at least will be temporary. When Volkoff went crazy and decided to try to kill all of us the brass is now panicking. The President ordered this. As far as Casey goes, I want you to watch a video, of the attack on the base."
Chuck took a deep breath," Look I know what our plan is Sarah, I stick around for and 18 months until my tour of duty is over. Please do not question that, however; sweetheart we have a very large problem. We need to once and for all handle Volkoff, if we don't we are not going to have a future."
Chuck hugged his fiancé lovingly, "Don't worry baby I am not going to turn into Rambo."
Sarah started laughing, worst part Mary joined in. Chuck just shook his head, "You guys are not going to let what happened at the house go are you?"
"Oh baby," Sarah said, she had been laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes, "You are so far past Rambo." She started laughing again.
Chuck grumbled, "Smart ass."
Second Briefing
By her clenched jaw Chuck could tell the General was highly upset at Casey for not saying anything. She was going to wait to see what Chuck had planned. General Beckman learned a long time ago that Chuck had the ability to turn a bleak situation into a win.
Sarah and Mary had reported what they found out during their interrogation of the Gobbler. Chuck flashed several times as they mentioned a particular name. He would then add their profile to the conversation; it turned out to be a who's who of assassins and villains.
"Once they covered that aspect of the meeting their attention turned back to Casey. General I have come up with a plan to rescue Casey's family; however, it is going to place Casey in danger."
"You are using him as bait aren't you Chuck?"
"I have to say ma'am that you know me quite well. Yes I am using him as bait; however, the way I am doing it, Casey must think this is real. That way Keller will think it is real as well. Volkoff is going to push hard to have us eliminated. He knows by now of the failure of his favorite pet. He will realize that all he has accomplished was only to stir the hornets' nest. He thinks he has Casey over a barrel, which Volkoff essentially does. John is the only person he would have leveraged over."
"What do you propose?"
"Let us make a big show of arresting the Colonel, placing him in solitary confinement. When Keller and gang show up, make sure the guards resist enough to convince them that we did not want him taken."
"Dad created the RX47. It is a low frequency transmitter that is undetectable no matter how many scans they run. However, we will be able to track the device; Casey will become a lo-jack if you will. Keller will most likely take Casey at or near where they are holding his family. Once we know the location we will strike. That will be one less enemy we will have to worry about."
"Excellent plan Commander you may proceed."
"Ma'am I also need one of those Gulfstream ASAP."
"What has happened?"
"We found out where my sister flew to."
"Commander just let us know where and I will have a detail pick her up."
"With all due respect General no thank you."
"May I ask why?"
"Come on General do I even need to say it. The CIA director dead, you were nearly killed. Do you think for a moment that it was just Volkoff's brilliance that got them so close? How many CIA agents do we have to kill for you to realize we can only trust just a very few. Ellie needs to be picked up by people that know her that she trusts. I was thinking of letting Sarah, Mom and a couple of our guys fly to Chicago and pick her up there."
"Has your sister made contact with you?"
"Not yet but I am confident she will. I would like to have the Gulfstream be ready to pick up our group in a couple of hours if possible ma'am."
"Alright Commander I will do as you wish. Anything else?"
"Hold on," Chuck then turned to his mom and Sarah, "Do either of you know how to fly a Gulfstream."
"No." They said in unison.
"Ma'am I will need the pictures of the Pilots so I can vet them."
"I will see to it right away."
"One more thing ma'am, any word on my brother in law?"
"Not yet but you can expect when we do it will not be pretty."
Chuck knew the General was right, and he once again felt tightness around his chest as he wondered what was happening to Devon.
Somewhere near San Diego
Devon had been hit by a very powerful tranquilizer. Devon had no idea how long he had been out. As he started to come to he realized that he was in the sitting position and there were restrains on him. He needed to go to the bathroom in the worst way and his head felt like it weighed more than a heavy bowling ball. They must have been watching Devon because as soon as he opened his eyes, Depak and a couple of his thugs were in the room.
"Glad that you are awake doctor." Depak stated sarcastically.
"Where...where am I?" Devon asked groggily.
The slap came out of left field, it was meant to get Devon's attention, it surely did. "I will ask the questions here." Growled Depak.
"Now Dr. Woodcomb, this is how the questioning is going to work, we ask you a question you answer truthfully, you won't get hurt. However, if you fail to respond, if you hesitate, if you lie. Well then I am afraid you are going to be very uncomfortable"
A huge agent stepped in front of Devon, Depak smirked, "Where did your wife go?"
Devon looked up and did not say anything, the large agent responded with a fist to the face. "Maybe you did not hear, what we were asking you doctor, where is your wife?" Depak asked once more.
Again no response and the same result. By the end of the first hour, Devon's handsome features had taken a significant turn for the worst. He had a cut lip a swollen left eye and jaw. The broken nose completed the horrible scene that had taken place. He finally told them that more than likely she had taken a flight in the opposite direction of where they were going but had no idea where. Devon would always feel guilty that he had talked at all, however, he never should have felt guilty. In the intelligence community everyone knew that no matter how tough you were, 'everybody talks.'
Pelican Bay in California
John Casey just knew that at any moment he was going to wake up from this horrible nightmare. One moment he had been recovering from his injuries he obtained in the battle from Volkoff's attack at the base and the next moment he is being arrested for treason! How the hell had that happened?
Ok so maybe he was faking his injuries a little, yeah it was more like hiding, he certainly did not want to betray the group, however, he did owe Kathleen and his daughter. Keller had him over a barrel and he knew it. He was just trying to figure something out so that he did not have to betray his friends, however, what he got instead was a very stoic Chuck coming into his room and basically growling at him to get up while men he had zip tied him like he was some common criminal.
Commander Bartowski it seems ordered his men to drag him in front of the hanger to conference with the General. Everything went in slow motion after that. General Beckman took particular pleasure showing the colonel the video of the hidden camera. He sure looked guilty, just the plain fact that he had not said anything spoke volumes to them what his intentions were. Chuck was no help at all, he suggested the supermax prison in Pelican Bay. Rambo on steroids, as Casey would always call Chuck from then on just was not satisfied with sticking him in prison. No the Son of a Bitch had him strip searched, and then when he was satisfied he smirked and gave Casey his clothes back.
Oh man how he wanted to take that smirk off his face. He would have too if he had not read the after action reports. What Chuck had done the previous night was nothing short of unbelievable. Yeah bad idea to take on one pissed off intersect, especially someone who had wiped out three Spetsnaz paratroopers teams like brushing your teeth.
Yes Casey could safely say that Chuck was one bad hombre, someone not to be mess with. However, that said why was Chuck acting like that? Why had he been so willing to parade him in front of his men and embarrass him like that? What could he do, Casey knew he could not defend himself, Keller was probably listening. Therefore, here he sat, he could not help his family, and he could do nothing but rot in this hell hole. He grabbed his face with both hands as John Casey for the first time in his life contemplated ending his life.
Little did he know he was being watched. "You think that Keller bought it?"
"You sounded and acted very convincing Chuck." Smiled Blue.
"God I feel horrible doing that to Casey, but this is the only way to rescue his family, I only hope he can forgive me."
"Don't worry Chuck; John will highly appreciate what you are doing for him."
"Only if we succeed, only if we succeed."
Chicago
Ellie had quickly made her way to the Enterprise Rental when she arrived at the airport. She knew she needed cash in order to survive, she had two options, and she could use her credit cards where she could be easily tracked or go to the bank and make a large withdrawal. Ellie knew that her best chance of at least evading the bad guys was to go the bank, take out what was needed and then create a diversion.
She took the rental to the bank and withdrew fifteen thousand dollars. That gave her the cash she would need to survive. Now the diversion that she needed to buy her the time to call Chuck or her dad so they could rescue her. She went to the Marriott and rented a room with her credit card. Ellie knew the clock was ticking; this part of the plan was going quite well she knew she would only have a couple of hours so she had to move fast. Ellie bought a backpack from the gift shop, she quickly got to her room and showered as she did not know when that could happen again and ordered room service. The food arrived as she got out of the shower. She tipped the person bringing the food handsomely so he could remember her.
Ellie was forcing herself to eat even though she was not hungry, however, needing to keep up your strength was essential. She had always joked with Chuck and her dad as they had drilled this type of scenario into her for nearly two years. Ellie never in her wildest dreams ever thought of employing this tactic, however, even Devon had gotten into the act. She guessed that seeing more than one person disappeared when they had been helping people in those African countries had been more than enough for him to understand how real the possibilities were.
Her thoughts once again went to her husband as she nearly choked with the loud sob she made. 'Not now Ellie.' She chastised herself, 'Concentrate.' Ellie knew that the next part would be critical if she was going to survive. She got the backpack out and rifled through her belongings only taking the essentials and leaving the rest. It was cold as hell in Chicago but at least it was not snowing. Well at least not yet anyway. Packing what she needed Ellie quickly blew dry her hair got dressed and left her half eaten food right by the bed. Anyone who did not know any better would think she still was in the hotel.
The heavy coat covered her well; she placed the Celtek Highjack Face Mask that she had brought for the cold Alaskan nights over her face. It worked out perfectly, it was cold enough where that kind of clothing would be considered normal and along with her coat that contained a hoodie part and the face mask you could not tell who the person was. Ellie took the stairs in search of a phone store. She did not have to walk far. Ellie followed instructions perfectly, the store that she went in had cameras, however, she only dropped the face mask low enough to make facially recognition almost impossible and she bought two disposable phones with no contract plans. The pay as you went plan would be what she needed.
Ellie's next targets was a drug store. She bought a set of scissors and a blonde die. Oh god what would she look like with short blonde hair? She hoped that she would not have to go that route, however, that was an option that had to be available to her. Ellie's final stop was a convenient store where she bought a hot cup of coffee, an auto trader book and a Philips screwdriver. She starts thumbing through until she has at least 5 vehicles that she liked and started calling the private owners. No vehicle is worth more the five thousand. Once she finally had someone she could go see right away. Now for the last part of her plan, she snuck up in a grocery store parking lot kneels down pretending to be looking for something and unscrews the plates off a truck. Ellie was lucky as two minutes after she took the plate the owner showed up and drove away.
Ellie then called a cab that drove her to the seller of the vehicle she was going to purchase. She was able to negotiate a good deal for a 2000 Toyota RAV 4 for forty eight hundred dollars, the guys even installed the license plate. With title in hand Ellie made haste to get out of the area as soon as possible. All she had to do was find a motel that only took cash and she would make the much needed call to her father.
Base Commanders Office
Chuck was pacing back and forth like a caged animal, he had sent Blue and two of the NSA strike teams to Beale Air Force Base that was the closest Air Force base to Pelican Bay Prison. The trick was going to be for the guards to pretend to make the effort to stop Keller and his strike teams while not getting themselves killed.
The NSA logo came on the grim face of General Beckman came on the screen. "Ma'am."
"Commander, Steven. We have intercepted chatter, apparently you were correct and they have some listening device that we have not been able to detect."
"Everyone on that side of the prison has been advised how they should react?"
"Yes believe me it took the President himself to make that warden calm down he was not a happy camper."
"Understandable, no one wants the damage that will occur when Keller and gang show up."
"What about your end Commander?"
"Ma'am Captain Stevenson and his strike teams just landed at Beale Air Force Base. The Blackhawks were there like you promised General, thank you."
"Good Commander, I am happy that we can at least provide minimal support without screwing it up. Now what about you sister."
Steven answered, "I am quite proud of her general, she has done exactly what we told her to do."
"What is that Steven?"
"I have been tracking her; she has used her credit cards strategically."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because she withdrew a large amount of cash from her bank account."
Chuck joined in, "That is something we explained to my sister over and over for the last two years. If I know her she is nowhere near that Marriot Hotel where she supposedly rented a room for a couple of nights. As a matter of fact general you should send some agents to possibly intercept the ones Volkoff will surely send."
"What about Agent Walker and Agent Frost?"
"They are getting close to landing in Chicago."
"You are landing in O'Hare?"
"Yes ma'am Scott Air Force Base is 300 miles away. That is just too far. We need to pick her up right away once she calls."
"Understood."
"I will contact you General when I have anything further to update you General."
As soon as the General disconnected, Steven looked at Chuck, "It is up to your sister now."
Chicago O'Hare Airport
Ten miles from O'Hare Airport the pilots of Gulfstream 712 were receiving their final instructions. The Captain spoke, "Agents we land in ten minutes please buckle you seat belts."
Mary looked at Sarah, "Is someone picking us up?"
"Yes, there are two NSA agents that will be picking us up as soon as we land."
"Do we trust Agents that are not in our inner circle?"
Diaz chimed in, "I know these guys, we were in Iraq together."
Sarah arched her eye, "And that means what exactly?"
Jim chuckled, "It means that Chuck vetted them." They all laughed.
As soon as they got in the SUV's Diaz shook the hands of his old war buddies and introduced them. "Tony, Eric, this is the famous Agent Walker, Agent Frost and my immediate boss Lieutenant Henderson."
Tony was polite but Eric could not take his eyes off Sarah. All he said was. "Wow."
Sarah was getting a little irritated by the obvious ogling. However, Jim quickly came to her rescue. "Perhaps you are not aware who her fiancé is."
Eric gave Jim a questioning look. "Perhaps you have heard of him, Charles Carmichael?"
Eric visibly swallowed hard looked at Sarah and said, "Agent Walker I meant no disrespect, please let Agent Carmichael know I meant no disrespect." He turned around and did not look at her again.
Sarah shook her head, 'If anyone had told her a year ago that her nerd's name instilled such fear in season agents she never would have believed it."
Sarah was snapped out of her thoughts by her cell phone ringing; she smiled when she saw the picture of her beautiful man. "Yes Chuck."
"Sarah, Ellie just called, have you landed yet?"
"Yes Chuck we just got in the SUV."
"Ellie just called, well more like ranted for ten solid minutes, asked about Devon."
"What did you tell her?"
"What could I tell her? I know as much as she does."
"Where is she Chuck?"
"She is in Evanston Illinois; the motel is called the Margarita European Inn. The address is 1566 Oak Ave, apartment 101. I am texting you her phone number as you get near call her so that she knows she can expect you."
"Can I call her now; I would like to calm her."
"Well she has a disposable. I do not see the harm. Just one more thing, be on the lookout for any bad guys Sarah. You, mom and Ellie would be one hell of a trifecta, please be careful."
"I sure will honey, I cannot wait to be with you again."
"Sarah, honey just be aware that Ellie might not view mom all that favorably, as a matter of fact you might have to referee."
"I will sweetheart."
"As soon as you have her, call me and let me know. Always remember that I love you."
"Not more than I do Chuck."
"See you soon."
Hidden Base Northern California
Colonel Keller was holding his own briefing with about 40 of Depak's Agents; he showed a layout of Pelican Bay's prison layout.
"Gentlemen the attack on the Pelican Bay prison will precede as follows, Smith, you and your team and Rodriguez you and your team will drive up through the Lake Earl Drive and to the entrance on Tamarak Lane. Take out the guards at the entrance and then move in and engage the guards that will try to stop you when the fire fight begins."
"Searcy, your team and my team will land on this building here which is on the northeast corner of the property. We will breach the building through the roof."
"What will we be using sir." Said Searcy.
"C-4. The mini rail guns on top of your SUV's should keep any guard challenging you at bay."
"Once we have Colonel Casey secured I will radio you so you can get out of there before reinforcement arrives."
"Rules of engagement Colonel?"
Keller smirked "That is easy kill anyone trying to kill you."
Chicago Reunion
Finding Ellie had been surprisingly easy; the directions had been right on. Of course Sarah and Ellie had a long conversation on the they had picked her up that centered on Devon, Chuck and Dad, Devon, her mother and once more back to her missing husband.
Ellie had done very well evading the enemy. However, Depak really had no resources, the Ring turned out to be very little help either. They did not want to spend the time or effect looking for her. Quite frankly by the time they had scrambled enough men to do a decent search, Ellie, Sarah and Mary were taking off from O'Hare. No the danger did not turn out to be between Ellie and the Ring, it turned out to be between Ellie and her mother.
When Mary and Ellie first saw each other it could easily be described as how South Korea viewed North Korea after a sneak attack. Ellie simply did not want to deal with her, she was cold and callous. Mary did make an attempt to hug her daughter but that move simply was not going to fly. Sarah felt compel to jump in before blood was drawn. That reunion went very well. Ellie and Sarah had always gotten along well. The NSA boys did their part and made Ellie very welcomed, they were determine to show her that she had nothing to fear now that they were around.
The trip to the airport was uneventful; they had a little conference with Chuck and Steven joining in on the conversation. More than once Ellie asked if they knew anything about what had happened to Devon. Chuck answered truthfully that they did not know. Finally Ellie caught on and asked the question that none of them had wanted her to ask. "Chuck give me your honest opinion, no bullshit, no deflecting, what do you think they are doing to Devon right now?"
Chuck visibly gulped and thanked all that was holy that Ellie was not there to see him. He stayed quite for a moment too long and Ellie snapped at him, "Tell me the truth Chuck!"
Chuck took a deep breath; "They are probably asking him questions right now as we speak about where you are located. Depending how he answered, their response would most likely be to physically punish him until he talks."
Ellie gasped became teary eyed, "How bad?"
"If they need him for leverage not that bad, if they don't very bad."
Ellie was crying now, "How did it come to this? She said accusatory to the entire group. "How did this animal get a chance to hurt us like this?" She was almost screaming now.
Mary finally spoke, "That animal was the reason I had to stay away Ellie, it was the only way to keep you safe. I am so sorry, this is my entire fault." Mary said as she became teary eyed as well.
Unfortunately, this did not earned Mary any brownie point with her daughter. "I should have known it was you, we were fine without you for twenty years and as soon as you come back this happens. You should have stayed away and not come back, I might lose my husband because of you, was it not enough that you turned your back on your family for twenty years!"
Chuck was not going to allow Ellie to continue to bagger their mom when she was not at fault. "You stop acting like a child right now. Instead of pointing fingers we should be working together."
"Acting like a child? You have a lot of nerve, who had to raise your sorry ass? Was she around when you had to go through the hardship of life? I had to work two jobs to put food on our table, I had to be your mother to keep you in school and make something of yourself. So don't tell me to stop acting like a child, because I never had one!"
"Ok sis, no one and I mean this from the bottom of my heart; no one appreciates you more than I do. I completely understand where you are coming from. However, now is not the time for recriminations? Now we have to work together to make sure that we make it out alive. The next few hours will be critical. I need you to stay strong, but most of all have a little faith in us. Please do that for us El that is all I am asking."
"Good speech little brother, all I will say is that you better back up what you say with action not just words."
Chuck understood and did not blame his sister for the way she was acting, if it had been Sarah he would have acted the same way. "I always keep my word."
Pelican Bay Prison
"Echo one to Echo four what is your ETA."
"We are 2 minutes out Echo one."
"We will not repel down to the roof until you commence your attack."
"Copy Echo one."
The two SUVs made a sharp left turn into the Prison compound; the guards that tried to stop them at the gate were immediately mowed down. It was a slaughter as they never even had time to pull out their weapons. Soon the two SUV's were through the main gate and headed for the compound as the alarm started going off.
"Echo four to Echo one, we have breached the main entrance, you are free to commence the attack."
The Blackhawks came close to the roof top and Keller and his men started to repel down on top of the roof. Once the helicopters moved away two men set the C-4 and then they all moved a safe distance away. The explosion shook the building as Keller's men moved quickly into the building by the massive hole the blast had just created. Anyone that stood in the way was immediately dispatched. Keller and his men were efficient. The only time they slowed down was to look inside each cell, when they found Casey they told him to move to the wall and cover himself with the mattress.
The explosion had the desired effect. "Glad to see you again." Smirked Keller as they guided Casey to the hole that had been created on the roof. Once Keller and his men were back on the helicopter Keller informed his personal on the SUV's to leave the prison. It had been a successful extraction and Keller and his group had suffered no casualties.
Chuck and his father had been witness to the extraction via live feed. Chuck called Blue, "Ok Blue this is all yours now they are on the move."
"We are tracking them Chuck, the men are ready to get in the Blackhawks now."
"Be careful out there buddy, I cannot afford to lose you."
"Roger that."
Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park
Keller's hide out was only 20 miles away from the prison inside the state park. They had no idea what was going on inside this hide out and the Ring had made sure that Parks and Rec were well aware that this was a government agency project and typical of bureaucracy no one had bothered to check. They had quadrant off an area nearly half mile with what looked like five log cabins of various sizes and a helipad site for three helicopters to land. There were roving patrols and at least six SUV's.
As soon as the helicopter with Keller and Casey landed they escorted him to the largest of the log cabins. "Well Alex, since we are going to be working together I thought that I would treat you to a fun night with your family." Keller said to Casey sarcastically.
Casey was surprised that the log cabin was so big. "Your family is in the basement. We will have some food for you soon. Enjoy the rest of the evening." Keller said in his best fake smile.
Casey was very hesitant to go down stairs; he had not seen or heard from Kathleen since he faked his death nearly twenty years ago. Would she recognize him? He was soon going to find out.
An hour later two helicopters hovered over a clearing 2 miles from the target, two teams of the NSA's best repelled down and started the slow arduous track to rescue one John Casey and his family.
"Mike you and your team take point, we will be 200 hundred yards southeast of you, use your night vision goggles when we cut power to the facility, and remember eliminate the enemy with extreme prejudice."
"Fine but when we hit them we better move quickly, Keller might be inclined to end Casey's life if we do not get there on time."
They slowly moved through the woods, two miles took another hour and a half to cover. When they were about to get there the first thing Blue did was look for any heat signatures coming from on top of the trees. He hand signaled his men to stop. He also stopped Mike's progress with the emergency word to stop, "Pineapple." Was all he said. Mike stopped in his tracks and waited for someone from Blue's squad to show up. Thomas soon did. All he did was to point up. Looking at the top of the trees the heat signature gave the enemies position away clearly.
There were now four men with crossbows looking up and finding the enemy leisurely relaxing up the trees. There were only three sentries for four expert marksmen with Crossbows. All three sentries dropped from the trees simultaneously, they were dead before they hit the ground.
When they got to the compound each team took their time cutting through the fence, each having their crossbowmen come in first taking aim at any enemy patrols. As luck would have it there were only three groups of two men each. They waited patiently for one patrol to come directly at them while the men with the cross bows took aim at the two patrols of two in the outter area. Two knives whirled in the air and impaled themselves in the neck of the approaching sentries, while the other two dropped simultaneously when arrows impaled their heads. Moving quickly they entered in force one at a time into each log cabin. The silenced P-90's cutting the men down quickly and efficiently.
Three log cabins fell that way. Most of the men that Keller had were now dispatched in less than 15 minutes. However, no operation is ever perfect. The two teams were head to the fourth cabin when someone from inside the cabin opened the door cigarette in hand, he stared wide eyed at the approaching tactical teams and had enough time to turn and scream a warning at the people inside. He was immediately cut down. Mike's team immediately rushed log cabin number four and threw several flash bangs through the doors and windows. They had no chance as the flash bangs disoriented them and screams could be heard inside. It was a simply task to break through the door and shoot everyone before they had a chance to raise their weapons.
While this was going on Blue's team was rushing to the largest cabin. They were met with suppressing gunfire pinging loudly at the door. It did not matter though, not when you could toss several flash bangs through the window. Keller and his men had no chance against such a fast moving and over whelming force. They were trying to recuperate when Mike and his team hit them from the rear. Several more flash bangs were tossed at them from the rear door. They were only able to hold their ears and open their mouths from the pain, Keller and one of his last surviving men was trying to reach Casey and his family, there was no way they were giving up easily. 'If he had to die he would take Alex and his family with him.'
However, the pursuit from Blue and company was relentless one of his guys saw Keller and one other man head downstairs and tossed a flash bang directly into both men. The last remaining soldier with Keller did his best as he grabbed the flash bang and attempted to toss it back at the NSA group. He never made it the flash bang exploded in his hand killing him instantly. Casey had opened the door as Keller rolled down the last two flights of stairs.
Keller and Casey stared at each other for a moment and were at each other instantly. Keller took out a large knife and attempted to slash at Casey. John knocked the knife out of his hand and hit Keller with a right cross that sent him flying to the floor. However, when Keller got up his first reaction was to go after Alex Casey's daughter, he was about to reach her when Casey tackled him. He stood him up and began to strangle him. Keller tried in vain to stop Casey, however, he was too strong and too enraged to be denied. With one final violent twist Casey heard the satisfying pop of Keller's neck breaking.
When he turned around he saw the wide eyed looks of Kathleen and Alex staring right back at him. John swallowed thickly, he wanted to find a hole in the ground at that moment and never come out again. He was snapped out of his staring match with his family when Blue said, "Nice work Colonel, you are not over the hill after all."
"Not funny Blue!"
Chuckling Blue picked up the radio, "Red one to eagles nest over."
"Go ahead Red one." Chuck replied.
"Tally ho, the princess has been rescued!"
Chuck replied trying hard to contain his laughter, "How…"laughing, "How about the rest of the princesses' family?"
"All accounted for sir."
Now several of the men were laughing to. Casey stormed over to Blue and snatched the radio from his hand, "I really hate you moron."
Chuck kept laughing, "You are welcome John."
Mike looked at Casey for the first time, "If I did not know any better I swear that you are blushing Colonel."
"No Mike it is from someone's right hook." He said this as he looked at Kathleen who was glaring back at him.
Base Commanders Office
Chuck was finally smiling for the first time since he had heard and seen all the carnage that had personally affected him by Volkoff's revenge. His sister was coming home safe and sound and now his good friend John Casey had been rescued. 'Two down one to go.' Steven smiled at his son, he was certainly proud of him. "Great job son," he said as he hugged his son then shook his hand.
It was a nice moment, one that he would always cherish. However, as sky high as he felt at that moment, his mood was about to turn for the worst. General Beckman came on line looking extremely somber.
"Commander."
"Ma'am."
"We have received information concerning your brother in law. Chuck, Manoosh Depak has given an ultimatum that unless you contact him within the hour, he will kill your brother in law. He sent us this video as proof of his intentions."
Chuck and Steven were horrified at what they were seeing. "Damn." Said Chuck under his breath.
A sneering Depak laughed as he had one of his goons' remove Devon's shoe and sock. He looked directly into the camera, "This little pinky went to market, however, he never made it home." He nodded to the man who had removed Devon's shoes.
The Agent held Devon's leg firmly on the floor, he raise his hand as he gripped the ball pein hammer and struck Devon with full force. Devon screamed, as his swollen face showed tremendous pain. Depak grabbed Devon by the hair and stated, "You have 50 minutes to call me or the next little pinky will meet the same fate."
"Well General let us find out what this dirt bag wants." He kept the General on the line while he called Manoosh and placed him on speaker phone.
"Glad to see you can follow instructions Agent Carmichael."
"Let's dispense with the pleasantries Depak, what do you want?"
"Isn't it obvious Agent Carmichael? I want you."
"Why would I do something as stupid as turning myself in?"
"Because you want to save your brother in law any more pain, here let him talk to you."
Devon was semi conscious, "No more," he whispered, "Please no more."
"Now how could you be so cruel to deny your brother in law?" Manoosh said mockingly.
"Depak, you better hope we do not have some one on one personal time, I promise you will not enjoy it."
"Promises, promises. Now I am sending you an address, you will be there alone and will be picked up by two of my men. You will be searched, I tell you that now because I do not want you to try something foolish that will not work. After we are sure there are no tricks you will join us at our base. I cannot wait to share war stories with you; it should be an interesting meeting."
"Yes it will be."
"So do you agree?"
"Yes I do."
"I am sending you the address now. I will see you in eight hours that is nonnegotiable, looking forward to seeing you soon."
Chuck mumbled, "Prick."
The General came back on line, "Chuck are sure about this."
"This is going to be our opportunity to finish this scumbag once and for all general."
"Yes Chuck however, to go into his base just by yourself it could be disastrous."
"I will have that same transmitter that worked so well on Casey. You will know where I am at all times."
"I am still not convinced that is enough." Said General Beckman.
Steven who had been quite said, "Chuck what about the 5 men you still have here?"
"Oh dad they will be coming with me. General please make sure we have transportation when we land."
"Where would that be?"
"Let us see where this address is. 963 9th Avenue. Let me Google this. Looks like a five story building nothing special about that."
"I still do not like this Chuck." Said a concerned General. "Commander, I am sorry but I need a guarantee, I cannot afford for the possibility of your men not being enough when the time comes. Too many times when we have been expecting one thing and something completely different happens."
"Ahh now I understand where you are coming from General you want to make sure that if I cannot get myself and Devon out, that no one can, is that right?"
The General slowly shakes her head yes. "What do you propose General?"
"Our labs have invented a type of beacon that can be carried in a pen. If you find yourself in a no win situation I want you to flick that pen on and in less than five minutes a B-1 bomber will take care of the rest."
Chuck was quite for a few moments, he took a deep breath, "Have the beacon and the vehicles for me and my team ready for when we land in San Diego International Airport. Oh and General I will make sure that Sarah understands this was my idea."
San Diego
As soon as Chuck landed he contacted Depak and told him he was on his way. Chuck would remember this flight as long as he lived. He first called was to Sarah and told her what was happening. Sarah had gone completely ballistic, she had begged him, pleaded with him, threatened him, but mostly cried for him. Chuck had asked her to go to the bathroom and take the laptop. Chuck then send Sarah the video of what was happening to Devon. "Chuck I understand baby but please don't do this alone." "Sarah I am taking the guys with me.
" Sarah could not help it, she let out a sob, "If you do something stupid I swear I will shoot you!"
Chuck had a brief flashback to when she said the same thing in the loading docks and on their first date. He chuckled as Chuck got misty eye, "I sense a pattern here my love." They both chuckled, then she got serious again, "Promise that you will come back to me." Chuck swallowed hard, he knew he should not do it, "I...I promise."
After he hung up with Sarah, Chuck got on the phone with Casey and Blue and explained the situation to them. He had purposely held back the call long enough where there was no way they would get there on time. He did not want to risk the entire team in case something happened. "Listen in case something happens to me; make sure that you guys take care of Sarah."
"Chuck why would you not want us there?"
"Because there is nothing you guys will be able to do in case things go pear shaped. The General made it abundantly clear that if I could not get out on my own then no one would."
"Damn you moron, you need to live in order for me to kick your ass for keeping me in the dark."
"Casey, I am so sorry about that, I hope you realize I never for one moment thought you were a traitor."
Casey got emotional when he spoke to Chuck next, "Listen my friend the object of any war is not to die for your country, it is for the other son of a bitch die for theirs."
"I hear you John; believe me I intend to follow those rules as well. I hope you guys understand that Devon is family, he is a good man and does not deserve what is being done to him; at the very least I have to try to rescue him. If..." Chuck's voice almost broke, "If something were to happen to me just remember that it was a pleasure to have served with you guys. I will never regret my experiences, the friendships; you guys mean everything to me."
Two SUV's were waiting for them. One of the SUVs had enough weapons to supply a small army. Chuck handed the tracker to Lieutenant White, "If things do not go right do not go crazy save yourselves, don't worry I will make sure no one gets out of there alive." "Sure Chuck anything you say." The men loaded up with tactical gear. Chuck got in the first SUV and his men got in the second. They had a tracker so they could hang back far enough to make the enemy think Chuck had come along. Once they were rolling, "White said to the guys next to them, I have no intentions of playing it safe." Masterson who was riding shot gun smiled and along with Calvin and Jefferson nodded. "Yep he is a real American Hero, and it does not work for me as well. Don't worry Lieutenant we are with you, we deserve to make fun of that tattoo in his butt for many years to come." They all started to laugh.
Once Chuck reached his destination he parked and started looking inside the building. He had not noticed the White Van that was parked across the street. Two men got out and began to wave at him to come over. Chuck crossed the street and looked at the men who were waiting for him and he immediately flashed. Agent Silverman was ex-CIA and Agent Niles ex-DEA. Chuck shook his head. "What is your problem?"
Said Silverman. Just once I would like you bad guys to be someone other than ex-agents. They were stunned that Chuck would know who they were. Niles was the first one to recover, "Don't worry we do it for the money." They then patted down Chuck and Silverman passed a wand type object up and down Chuck's body. "He is clean." Silverman announced.
Two blocks away
Lieutenant White was closing in on Chuck's position when a black van cut the off in front and another in back. Out jumped several men who started shooting at the SUV for both sides. You would think in a situation like this that the NSA boys would be hard pressed to survive. However, the ones that found themselves in a heap of trouble were the attacking enemy agents. The SUV was heavily fortified and could withstand any assault short of a tank. Therefore, while they were connecting with every single shot none of them were penetrating. Once there was a lull in the shooting while the enemy reloaded, Calvin open the back door and rolled a grenade under the van behind them and shut the door quickly. The explosion killed about every Agent behind them as glass, twisted metal and body parts were strewed all over the place. The enemy Agents in front of them was quickly on their heels, which suited the NSA group just fine. Masterson and Jefferson jumped out of the SUV simultaneously and launched their grenades from their modified M203 machine guns. The van and the Agents soon became the latest version of Swiss cheese as the van exploded with the same deadly result.
Back in the Parking lot
Both Niles and Silverman smirked. "I guess the Calvary will not be making an appearance today." They said this as they cuffed Chuck and threw him in the van roughly. Niles commented, "I think someone overestimated Carmichael here, what do you think Silverman?" "He is certainly not much." Laughed Silverman.
Britannia Industrial Park
They drove for ten minutes to 2321 Siempre Viva Court; it was a new Warehouse with 2 docks and from the flash 54 thousand square feet. During the ride over Chuck had been left alone, they did not think he was much of a threat. It worked out perfectly for him, he had rigged his belt in a way that all he needed to do was push up on it and a lock pick popped up. Chuck had the hand cuffs off at least five minutes before they arrived at the warehouse. Niles and Silverman opened the back of the van and immediately found themselves gasping for breath, both being powerfully kicked in the stomach. "Frankly I am really surprised that you did not follow protocol and phone your superiors as soon as you captured me." Chuck scolded the men. "Now I am going to have to report you," He smirked. He grabbed both by the back of their necks and smash their heads together violently and effectively ending their day. "Oh before I forget thank you for the ride."
Chuck looked around and went to the back of the warehouse. It was quite and serene with the wind gently blowing. There seemed to be no way in, however, there was a combination pad which he took a look at and immediately flashed, he punched the combination and the back door quietly lifted. He looked up just in time to see his guys driving up.
"I was wondering what had happened to you guys. I usually would have been worried to death but then I remember you were driving a tank and knew those explosions were the other guys dying."
"Nothing like the M203," Said Jefferson.
"Ok look alive and be careful, you know how quite places usually turn into anything but."
Chuck turned to Thomas, "Tie up those two idiots that were nice enough to bring us here and stay in the SUV just in case we have to make a quick getaway."
"Ah come on Commander I wanted to shoot something."
"If thing do not turn out right you may have to come in and save us." Chuck and the rest of the group were looking around the empty warehouse.
The only thing around seemed to be a coke machine on one of the walls. "Isn't it odd that there would be a coke machine when no one seems to be around?" Said White.
Chuck walked up to the machine inspected it and suddenly flashed. He pressed a sequential set of buttons like someone would when they cannot get the drink they wanted and were not going to get the money back either. There was a pop and all of the sudden the floor started moving down. "Hang on." Chuck shouted as the floor started moving faster and faster.
"Chuck let us throw a flash bang down just to make sure we do not have unwanted company waiting for us." Chuck nodded affirmatively and White sent a flash bang just a few seconds before it stopped. The explosion was muffled however, the screams were very distinctive. When they stopped they saw several men withering in pain.
Calvin took the tranq gun out and shot the men. "Well no mystery whether they know we are coming or not." "You tranqed them?" Inquired Masterson. "
Calvin just shrugged, "We may need prisoners." They moved in standard two by two cover with Chuck in the lead. Toward the end of the hall two men appeared. They were dressed all in black.
They pointed to Chuck, "We want you!"
"Ok." Was all Chuck said.
Just before they engaged, both slipped their glasses on. They shook like they were flashing and then took martial arts stands and charged Chuck.
"I got this," Chuck said to his men before engaging his attackers. All three were like a blur throwing punches and kicks and flying through the air with the greatest of ease. Chuck was surprised at the speed and agility of these two. Finally after about two minutes, it seemed more like hours; Chuck really concentrated and connected with a spinning kick on one of the assailants sending him and his glasses in different directions. After that one right cross and his lights were out. Now that he was alone, the other agent was much more hesitant to attack. "Not so tough without your backup are you."
His attacker was swallowing hard conflicted in what to do next. He moved to the door to get away, however, Chuck was having none of it, two quick moves had his attacker on his knees and a quick snap kick later had him counting sheep.
"Way to go Neo!" Said Masterson.
Chuck just shook his head and grabbed the door handle. His men quickly zip tied their unconscious prey. Chuck held out his hand and whispered, "Get ready we don't know what is on the other side." He opened the door slowly, at the other end he could see Devon tied up in a chair, he was unconscious. Chuck ran to his brother in law as fast as he could. His other men approached slowly.
All of a sudden a wall closed quickly and his men were cut off from Chuck.
Chuck looked up and saw Manoosh Depak smiling widely and clapping in victory. "Well, well, well. Agent Carmichael you certainly do not disappoint."
Chuck just glared at Manoosh and then 15 men appeared behind him. "It was impressive what you did against two of my better agents. I realize we are not testing you properly, I think it is only fair that we try that again. If you will Agent." Depak smirked as his agents all place the sun glasses on their faces. Chuck looked down took a deep breath and flashed on several forms of martial arts as well. He knew if he was going to hang with these guys he was going to have to get creative. Then he looked around and saw that there were thirty five men with AK-47s pointing their guns at him from the second floor
. 'Nope this was not a fair fight, more like suicide,' He quickly texted his men, "Get out!" As he was standing he click on the pen to activate the beacon, he had five minutes to stall this bunch before all hell broke loose. He looked at Devon, thought about his family, friends and the love of his life and hoped she could forgive him at some point.
Chuck stood and smiled, "Show time!" he whispered and charged.