A/N: Yes I am back life has caught up with me the last month and has made it difficult to do much of anything other then what is absolutely necessary.
In the last month we have lost two of our own, Jim and Nicole your will always be in our thoughts.
I don't own Chuck
Chapter 16
Busily going over all of the incidents of the flight, Chuck was attempting to determine if there was something that he had forgotten. He was uneasy about something, as if there was something that his subconscious knew and was trying to tell him.
He closed his eyes and tried to let his mind rest to try and obtain a new clarity on the situation. After some time another avenue for investigating possible locations came to him and he quickly wanted to put it into action.
He went back to the workspace were he had pulled apart the recovered remote, and analyzed the remote further.
He had remembered that the remote and the device were able to communicate through frequency hopping technology, but there was a type of control connection, if a remote had an issue it could handshake back to the device to setup a new frequency hopping order.
The devices, while looking like they randomly chose the frequency, actually agree on these frequencies when they handshake. Chuck was confident that they would be able to get the remote to instigate a handshake without causing a detonation.
Even though he was confident he decided it was to be only used as a last resort, he would need to setup sensors that listened for the handshake connection when it occurred to attempt to locate the device.
Chuck spoke to the captain and the air marshal and told them his plan; unfortunately it looked like this was the only option as they were still unable to identify the location, even with Chucks suggested locations.
Quickly creating the sensors and mapping out the locations, Chuck was working like a man possessed, when he had finished he had put more sensors then what would be needed, but knew they could only risk this once.
Chuck had prepared all the sensors and triggered the remote handshake. Within five minutes Chuck had calculated the area where the device was located and set off with the air marshal to investigate this area.
It was an area of the plane that cabin crew and passengers did not have access, so it was most likely the ground crew had inserted the device.
Once access to the location had been gained through several different access panels, Chuck was able to locate the device and had identified several tamper switches.
They were quickly running out of time, the two or more remaining trigger men would be getting very suspicious. Rather then completely disarm the bomb, Chuck decided the best course of action was to disable the remote detonation capability then attempt to take down the two men. Then come back to finish the bomb disarming in case a time, altitude or other trigger was also used.
Chuck quickly disconnected the remote circuits, and then he enabled his frequency hopping jammers and moved back into the cabin. He had discussed with the air marshal the best way of taking down the two men.
They decided that Chuck would incapacitate one of the men while in the cabin, while at the same time a stewardess would have the other man relocate for safety reasons to another seat. On the way to the other seat the air marshal would take him down.
Chuck quickly incapacitated his man with a pressure point rendering him unconscious; Chuck did this by pretending to stumble into him as he walked past his seat.
However the air marshal had more trouble with his target, the man getting the remote free and used it to trigger the device.
The man was joyous and was screaming "Allah Akbar".
Chuck got to the man and squeezed a pressure point, the man immediately slumped to the floor.
The air marshal just stared at Chuck for several seconds in disbelief.
"What did you just do?" he asked.
Chuck just shrugged.
"Pressure point, causes a loss of consciousness, but he will not be out too long, we need to get him and the other guy secured" said Chuck.
"Well I guess whatever you did with the jammers and bomb worked, because he used the remote and it is now reporting error" he said showing chuck the remote detonator.
Chuck just nodded while he pulled the man behind the curtain.
"I will secure this one, can you get the other man brought here by some of the stewards or stewardesses" said Chuck.
The air marshal only nodded while Chuck used some more cable ties on the man securing his arms legs and his mouth.
When he finished the other man had been dumped and Chuck secured him as well.
"Ok I am going back to work on the device" said Chuck.
"Ok, are you sure that is still required?" asked the air marshal.
"Yeah well if it was me, I would put an altitude sensor trigger that would detonate the device if it was not disabled before hand" said Chuck.
Heading back off to where they had found the device Chuck started work removing the explosive material from all the triggers.
After another thirty minutes Chuck had finally removed the explosive material.
Chuck met with the Captain and the air marshal.
"Ok, well we have done just about everything we can possibly do, the device we found has certainly been disarmed but I guess there is the possibility of other devices on the plane, but with all the redundancies I found on the device I think they probably would think they had all bases covered. But it would still be worthwhile having emergency services prepared on the runway as a precaution" said Chuck.
"So what other triggers did you find?" asked the air marshal.
"I found both a timer set to detonate one hour from the expected arrival time, as well as an altitude sensor that looked like it was set to detonate if the plane went below 10000 feet after arming" said Chuck.
Both the captain and the air marshal knew that they owed their life and the life of everyone aboard the plane to Chuck.
"Is there anything else we can do for you" asked the captain.
Both the air marshal and captain looked expectantly at Chuck.
"I know this will not be easy, but I need you to not tell anyone about me, you can explain how you were able to disarm and whatever yourself, but to everyone other then the person I will introduce you to once we have landed, I was simply just a concerned passenger helping out with a spare pair of hands." said Chuck.
"But you saved everyone on this flight, people should know that, they owe their life to you." said the captain.
"The life of someone in my job is mostly thankless, I am sure you can appreciate that" he said looking at the air marshal.
"Is there anyone back home we can thank?" asked the captain.
"Um, no only two people outside of this plane knew I was on this flight, and that was only because I had to call them during the flight. I would like to keep it that way, the more people that know I am in Australia the more danger I and the people I care about will be in" said Chuck.
Chuck went back to sit down in his seat, Sharon was still giving him a dirty look.
"What you finished the box with all the stewardesses, don't think I didn't know what you have been doing all flight" Sharon said.
"Well I am sorry if you don't approve, but I believe I am still entitled to some privacy" said Chuck.
The stewardess Laura came over to Chuck's seat and went to whisper in his ear.
"Thank you so much, everyone on this flight owes you their life. Um also I am sorry how I made a pass at you earlier, I just couldn't help myself" she said with a shy smile.
Unknown to Chuck or the stewardess Sharon was intently listening in on the conversation. While she was acting disgusted, she wouldn't admit it but the comings and goings of Chuck and her imagination of what was happening was making her trip a little less boring.
For the rest of the trip Chuck noticed that Sharon was no longer feigning disgust at him but was almost revering him.
After the activities of the last several hours Chuck was exhausted and just wanted to catch up on some sleep before they landed in Canberra.
-#############-
Meanwhile Jenny was starting to get stressed; she knew that it would take some time for Chuck to get from the US to Australia, but what if something happened? What if he never left the US?
Was there anyway that she could find anything out?
'If only there was a way to contact that man that dropped that package off?' thought Jenny.
Remembering the package, maybe inside the package was a way to contact him, but she knew she shouldn't open the package; it could be something of national security importance. Chuck might also get really upset and maybe think he can't trust her. She was torn between worried that he was ok to being worried what he would think of her.
Deciding that she needed to do something to take her mind off things, she went out to an arts store and purchase some supplies to do some painting. It was always able to get her mind off things before, it was worth a shot.
Jenny went out for a walk and found herself in the middle of the Cronulla mall; she found a small arts supply shop and walked in.
When she left the store she had agreed to purchase a lot more then she had originally planned, including an easel and several blank canvasses.
Also calling into an electronics store she bought a cheap digital camera that she could connect to the TV for image viewing, Jenny decided that she would take several photos walking around the sights in Cronulla and come up with her favorite spots to start sketching and then to move on to paint.
She found that she could not carry all her purchases herself, so she decided to walk back to the house and bring the car they had hired the day they landed in Sydney.
After she had all of the items back at home she set out with the camera, on her search for worthy subjects to paint.
On her journey she sat down near what was known as Shelly Beach, she took her sketch pad and starting sketching some scenery that appealed to her.
In the Park behind the beach she saw two young children playing, a curly dark haired boy and a blonde haired girl. Before she knew it her mind was drifting to what it would be like to have children with Chuck and be here with them playing.
The thought brought a smile to her face and then quickly disappeared, when she remembered she didn't even know if Chuck was ok.
She had realized that she couldn't even imagine a future without Chuck in her life now, the question was no longer if she could have a life with him, it was could she even have one without him. She decided that she didn't want to know the answer to that question, put simply it was not even a consideration for her.
-#############-
Chuck had awakened as the plane was making its descent; he looked towards the couple next to him.
"Why are we flying into another airport before Sydney?" asked Sharon.
"Oh are we, I have no idea I have been asleep" responded Chuck.
"Don't play games with me, I know something happened on this flight and I know you somehow were involved. I heard that conversation with the stewardess and you had me thinking you were off joining the mile high club. So what is going on?" she asked.
"I really have no idea what you are talking about, but if what you are saying is true then it would probably be best to not talk about it" said Chuck.
The plane finally landed in Canberra when Chuck heard the captain's voice over the speaker.
"Ladies and gentlemen, sorry once again for this unscheduled stop, we will be off and on our way to Sydney shortly. If everyone could stay in their seats, thank you" he said.
Chuck saw a familiar face walking towards him down the aisle. He made it up to Chuck.
"Sir can you grab your belongings and come with me?" he asked.
"Oh, of course" said Chuck.
He and Chuck had made their way two steps down the aisle when they stopped after Chuck had mentioned something to him.
Chuck then continued down the aisle while the man went back to the couple and requested that they grab their belongings and also join him.
Sharon was looking worried but her husband just went along with it.
Chuck was able to make sure that the three men that were to trigger the device and the body of Serena was taken off the plane. They also removed the two terrorists that were upstairs.
Chuck and the elderly couple were sitting in a waiting room at the airport, when two Australian Federal Police Officers walked into the room followed by the man that removed them from the plane.
"G'day my name is Agent Smith, I work for a division of the Australian Federal Government, I am terribly sorry to have had to detain you, but as you may be aware an event occurred on the flight and we need to make sure that you understand the importance of maintaining secrecy" Agent Smith said.
"That is all well and good but how are we supposed to get to Sydney?" asked John, Sharon's husband.
"Was your journey ending in Sydney or were you connecting to another flight?" asked Agent Smith.
"We have accommodation booked in Sydney for the next week" replied John.
"I need to get to Sydney to see my wife" said Chuck.
"If we are unable to get you onto a commercial flight we will get the RAAF flight to take you onto Sydney. Because of the inconvenience we will also get a Government car with escort to make sure you make it to your destination. But the important thing is to know that none of you can speak about the events on the plane. For national security of Australia and the US, and the lives of many individuals involved, do I make myself clear?" asked Agent Smith.
"Yes" responded the three of them.
"So what did happen?" asked Sharon.
Both Chuck and the other man had discussed that the cover story had to have some basis in fact in case they did talk.
"We were transporting some members of Al Qaeda from the US to Australia for prosecution and it was discovered that several more Al Qaeda members were on the flight. We are unsure of their motives. But as I am sure you understand, we could not take the chance. Charlie here assisted the flight crew in detaining them" he said.
Sharon just looked at Chuck with a new appreciation.
"Oh I didn't do much" said Chuck.
"If more citizens were alert and responsible like you, well this war against terror could be over already." he said.
Chuck feigned embarrassment.
Sharon was patting him on the back, "well done Charlie" she said.
Agent Smith then disappeared and left John, Sharon and Chuck alone with the Australian Federal Police officers.
He and Chuck had also had a quick discussion about the need to make sure the three captured men where not allowed to talk to anyone and further flights would be arranged taking Chuck into China.
Several minutes later the man came back into the room.
"We will be taking the jet normally reserved for the Australian Prime Minister and I will accompany you on your journey to Sydney.
They made there way to the jet outside the terminal and walked up the stairs.
"I have organized a full VIP catering on the flight. Everything that the Prime Minister would get if on board" he said.
John and Sharon were sitting a significant distance apart from Chuck
"That girl of yours can certainly turn some heads Chuck" he said.
"Yeah well I don't know what she sees in me, so I don't think I should leave her alone too long. She could wake up and realize she deserves so much better then me" said Chuck.
-#############-
Jenny had arrived back at the house after her tour around the sights of Cronulla, she had a camera full of images that she could show on the TV and sketch from, as well as the sketch she had already done at Shelly Beach. Jenny usually painted landscapes and not people but she made an exception when she sketched the two children playing at the park.
Jenny began looking for her father when she heard a knock at the door.
'Who could that be?' thought Jenny.
She opened the door and there stood Chuck smiling at her.
Chuck was only just able to react in time to Jenny jumping into his arms and wrapping her legs around him. She kissed him and quickly took his tongue into her mouth and before they knew it she was attacking his tongue like her life depended on it.
They finally separated.
"Well that was a nice welcome" said Chuck.
"Hasn't finished, so is it Chuck Bartowski, or do I have Agent Carmichael?" asked Jenny.
"It's Chuck Bartwowski" said Chuck.
Jenny gave the biggest smile Chuck had ever seen and it warmed his heart.
"So what is the plan now Chuck?" asked Jenny.
"Well for the next little while I had planned to enjoy the company of a certain beautiful woman" said Chuck.
"So what's happening with work, have you quit for good?" asked Jenny.
"Well I have one more job to do for the agency and they have agreed to my terms for release" said Chuck.
"What terms?" asked Jenny.
"That I will live here in Australia working for the Australian Governments Counter Terrorism Control Center. In more of a training role" said Chuck.
"Ok, so what is this last job?" asked Jenny.
"I am sorry Jenny but I can't tell you that?" said Chuck.
"So why is it so important that you have to do it, why can't someone else?" asked Jenny.
"Just please trust me on this, I need to do this" said Chuck.
"Chuck I do not want to loose you, so after you have completed this mission what if there is another important one?" asked Jenny.
"No this is the last one" said Chuck.
"Well, what if they find Osama Bin Laden, are you saying that you wouldn't get involved?" asked Jenny.
"Jenny trust me and believe me when I say this, once I have completed this last mission, if someone calls up and says that they have found Osama Bin Laden I will not be interested" said Chuck.
"hmmmph" said Jenny.
This isn't the kind of reception he wanted, but he knew he had to get this out of the way.
"So now that you are here what are we supposed to do?" asked Jenny.
"As I said, I would like to spend time with the beautiful woman in front of me" said Chuck.
"When are you going to have to leave?" asked Jenny.
"I will get a call but it is likely to be at least a week" said Chuck looking hopefully.
"Does that mean I get you all to myself for a week?" asked Jenny.
"Well yes, but not sure what you wanted your dad to do?" asked Chuck.
"For all I care he can just watch TV for a week, all I care about is you" said Jenny looking hopefully.
"Ok well let's see what you have done with the place." Said Chuck smiling.
Jenny showed Chuck the furniture she had purchased, eventually the time came for her to show her the bedroom.
"Oh is this my bed or yours?" asked Chuck.
Jenny didn't know what to say and she looked down to the ground.
"I ah, um I guess ...sorry I will see if I can sort this out" she said as she started turning away to walk out of the room, when Chuck grabbed her around the waist and picked her up and threw her on the bed with him landing on top of her, with his lips only an inch away and was looking intently into her eyes.
"Jenny did you think we were going to share a bed?" asked Chuck.
Jenny wasn't talking she was just lost in his eyes.
"Because I wasn't sure, I was only hopeful that we would be" said Chuck still looking into her eyes while occasionally stealing glances at her moist lips.
"Um, do you mean you want to share the bed?" asked Jenny hopefully.
"The whole flight over here, I have nothing else on my mind" said Chuck.
"Um my father said that he would give us privacy if we wanted by staying in a hotel" said Jenny.
"Um I don't think that is necessary, I was thinking we may stay somewhere else" said Chuck.
"Um, ok…you don't like what I have done with the place?" asked Jenny concerned.
"Jenny, you have no reason to be self conscious, what you have done in such little time is amazing. But even before I had seen what you had done, I was thinking that maybe our first um well, I just want it to be special" said Chuck.
Jenny gave him a big smile.
"Chuck, it will be special because it will be you. I just don't want any reason to um not go through with it" said Jenny shyly.
"Ok, well my suggestion was for us to spend the evening on The Eleanor, it is a yacht I have moored in Gunammatta Bay and we will have dinner catered" said Chuck.
"How can you organize all of that in such a short period of time?" asked Jenny.
"Its good to have important people that owe you favors" said Chuck.
"Wow, thank you Chuck" said Jenny.
"Thank you for what, wanting to spend a nice romantic evening with a beautiful woman. No it should be me thanking you, well if you agree that is" said Chuck.
"Of course I agree Chuck, nothing could sound better" said Jenny.
"Ok, well how about we have a lay down and rest so I can be nice and rested for tonight, I didn't get as much sleep as I wanted to on the flight" said Chuck.
Jenny was playing with Chuck hair while lying beside him.
"So it was a bit of a rough flight" asked Jenny.
"An eventful flight, but nothing that couldn't be handled." said Chuck.
Jenny's body stiffened.
"Chuck what do you mean what happened, please tell me? I really want this to work between us, I need it to work, but we need to be more honest with each other" said Jenny.
"Wow miss Burton are you falling for me?" asked Chuck with a smile.
Jenny was annoyed and hit him on the arm.
"Of course I am you big nerd now stop changing the subject" said Jenny.
The thought of Jenny falling for him gave a warm glow over his whole body.
"Ok, well the last remaining Contractor that Ajala had hired to take care of me, was on the flight. With some friends that were interested in making sure she finished the job" said Chuck.
Chuck could see the reaction on Jenny's face, she was scared and almost looked like she was retreating.
"Jenny, its ok. They were taken care of and I am ok and we were able to contain the information as to where I was. So in the end it was a good result" said Chuck.
"Chuck, but this was all because of me and my father, something could have happened to you. I am not sure I could ever have lived with myself if that happened let alone living without you" said Jenny she then buried her head in his shoulder.
Chuck just held onto her tight, and then he raised her head so he could look into her eyes
"Jenny nothing is going to happen to me, not when I have you to come back to. A future with you is all I could ever want in life and I will do whatever I have to do so we have that chance" said Chuck.
"Chuck for us to have that chance you only need to be here with me, everything else will just happen, it is meant to be" said Jenny.
They slowly dozed of in each others arms, and each with their own dream in the heart and head, little did they know the dreams they each had were almost identical to the others.
-#############-
Meanwhile somewhere in the mountains in Pakistan, Osama Bin Laden was speaking to one of his closest men.
"What do you mean Carmichael has escaped, I thought we agreed to take precautions to make sure he wouldn't trouble us again" said Osama.
"Yes, but it appears that he was able to defeat our plans and is now in China, it is believed that he maybe coming this way" he said.
"Why is he coming here?" asked Osama.
"We do not know" he said.
"What of the American devil that wanted him dead?" asked Osama.
"We believe that Carmichael has killed him" he said.
A momentary flash of glee then quickly replaced by concentration was on Osama's face.
"Do we have any information from our men in the Agency?" asked Osama.
"No we have not been able to contact them the last few days" he said
Osama did not look a happy man, he had been hiding in his current location for some time and there was no reason to think it had been compromised. The only people that knew his location was his direct family and this man that he trusted with his life.
"I will not let the American devils drive me from my home, our people have constantly been driven from what is rightfully theirs and I will not run in fear" said Osama.
He had heard this speech before and knew that should they get any news that Carmichael had somehow found his location he would be gone within the hour.
"But it would be wise to prepare if the decision is not mine to make, 'eraadat Allah'" said Osama.
Osama appeared deep in thought, then after a several second pause.
"Please get my wife Najwa" said Osama.
Shortly after, Najwa had entered Osama's room .
"Najwa please comfort me I have had some distressing news" said Osama.
She didn't know what the news was, she had very little knowledge of what had happened in the outside world and in fact she remembers very little of her life before she became Najwa.
"I am sorry Osama that we all must battle the evils of the world to survive" said Najwa.
"Yes but here with you, I can forget about such things" said Osama.
-#############-
Waking up from his sleep, Chuck with Jenny still in his arms, realized it was time to get ready for the evening he had planned.
"Jenny, wake up we need to get ready for tonight" said Chuck.
Jenny opened her eyes and looked into Chucks.
"Ok, but I am rather enjoying just lying here with you" said Jenny.
"Yeah, me too" said Chuck.
Chuck had to admit being with Jenny made him a better person, he felt that he could regain that humanity and be a good person again, he didn't know what it was about her, but it just seemed right. She seemed like she was a perfect fit for him, the other side of the same coin.
"Jenny, I normally do not think too much about such things as I believe we control out own lives and destiny but do you believe in fate?" asked Chuck.
Jenny just looked into his eyes.
"Chuck, there is only one thing that I am sure of, and that is that we are meant to be together. I don't know if that is fate or whether we are soul mates, but when I am with you for the first time in my life I feel like I belong somewhere. I know it sounds corny but being with you is like coming home, but not realizing you had a home until you got there" said Jenny.
Jenny could see a lone tear make its way down Chuck's cheek.
"Chuck did I say something wrong did I go too far, I am sorry I don't want to rush you. Please don't freak out and leave me" said Jenny panicking.
"Ssssshhhh, Jenny you said nothing wrong it was beautiful….." said Chuck and he was looking away from her face like he was deep in thought.
"Jenny I love you, I have had dreams of us being together and….and having a family" said Chuck with the last word looking her in the eye.
A big smile graced Jenny's face.
"Chuck I love you too, and I have also had those dreams" said Jenny shyly.
"Let's get ready so we can begin our evening" said Chuck as they both got off the bed
"I couldn't talk you into having a shower with me, could I" asked Jenny shyly.
"Well um, I don't think I could just have shower and I think we need to get ready, besides I need all my strength and endurance for tonight" said Chuck with those bedroom eyes.
-#############-
"Director we have information on the whereabouts of one of Osama Bin Ladens trusted advisers" Morgan said.
"What information?" asked the Director.
"The phone that was used to organize some of the activities and arrangements for Serena to assassinate Agent Carmichael appears to have been made from a mobile phone. The phone appears to be only switched on when a call is to be made. We have determined the call came from this area in Pakistan" said Morgan.
"We have also found that phone also called the same number from the same location the day before" said Morgan.
"Do you think this man could lead us to Osama Bin Laden?" asked the Director.
"Well we do not believe the man is still at the location, but we are proposing that a team be put their as surveillance to see if he returns. If so we can follow him to where he is staying" said Morgan.
"Very good Grimes, you and Miller should get on board the next army transport to Afghanistan and make your way into Pakistan" said the Director.
"Um Director shouldn't we send someone more experienced?" asked Morgan.
"Grimes what is wrong with Agent Miller?" asked the Director.
"Oh no sir nothing at all, I was referring about me" said Morgan.
"Grimes you have impressed me of late and I need someone on the ground that can carry out a trace on a call if another is made. Also I would have thought you would have loved to get another chance with Agent Miller.
Morgan just coughed, " What do you mean sir?" asked Morgan.
"Morgan I am not stupid, I know that you have a thing for Carina, and Chuck did nothing to discredit that when I asked him" said the Director.
"What Chuck told you?" asked Morgan incredulously.
"Of course not Morgan, he is too loyal and too good a spy. But I just got you to admit it, just be careful she is a bit of a man eater son" said the Director.
"Director, can you let me inform Agent Miller of our mission" asked Morgan.
"Of course, but let her know that she can come speak to me for any clarifications" said the Director.
Morgan headed out of the Directors office to find Carina.
He found her in the gym working on the bag.
Morgan went up and held the bag for her.
"What are you doing Grimes? asked Carina.
"Just helping you out?" said Morgan.
"Why?" asked Carina.
"Well we have another mission" said Morgan.
"What's this 'we' business?" asked Carina.
"I guess the Director thinks we work well together" said Morgan.
"What are the details?" asked Carina defeated.
"Enter Pakistan through Afghanistan via the next army transport. Surveillance on a target" said Morgan.
"Ok, you find out the time of the transport. I will have a shower and go home to grab a bag" said Carina.
"Oh, the Director said if you needed anything clarified you can talk to him directly" said Morgan
"Oh don't worry I will" said Carina winking.
Morgan went off back to his office to check up on the transport times and then he would need to pack some items for the mission.
Morgan found himself wondering how Chuck was going and if he would ever see him again.
A/N: Next Chapter things start getting hot and steamy 'down under'.