Don't own Chuck
Chuck was alone in the Hot Zone with five patients to deal with. One of them being Ellie and another Dr. McCoy the lead physician on the CDC team to say he was up the preverbal polluted stream was an understatement. The other CDC physicians were stuck outside and couldn't come in because they thought the crisis was over so they sent their hazmat suits back to Atlanta. But a terrorist, because that's what Doctor Smyth was, released a VHF agent inside. Time was running out for the Ellie and the rest and Chuck knew it.
Ellie went into cardiac arrest so Chuck pulled over the crash cart as the other physicians looked with on through the glass frantically banging on it. He didn't need their help they would only slow him down and he didn't have the time.
"No, no,"said Chuck. He could see the doctors on the other side of the glass moving their lips and gesticulating but he couldn't hear a word of what they were saying. He just looked at the cart then flash.
"El hold on. Don't you dare leave me," he said. He charged the paddles then zapped her but nothing. He gave her a shot of epinephrinestraight into the heart driving the needle through the sternum then he zapped her again. This time he got a weak heart beat back that seemed to be growing stonger.
"Come on El let the serum work please," he said but he had no time to sit down. He had to go change out blood bags or risk the other patients crashing like Ellie.
He'd just finished hanging the last bag and started back over to Ellie when his phone rang. He didn't even look at who was calling. He just answered and put it on speaker.
"Chuck dude, what the heck is going on there! I just got off the phone with Sarah and she told me Ellie has been infected. It that true and if so how? Please don't tell me you had anything to do with it."
"I'm afraid it is true she's infected. Listen I'm doing everything I can for her. As a matter of fact I'm taking a blood sample now and sending it to the lab for a white blood cell count."
"I take it you did your magic act," said Devon. Chuck could hear the anger in Devon's voice and he had every right to be. "How did this happen and where are the guys from the CDC? This is their job not hers. Chuck, if it hadn't been for you she wouldn't have been there."
"I know… Believe me I know Devon. A doctor here went crazy and infected everyone in the hot zone which included Ellie. I'm sorry I don't even know why she was in here she was supposed to be waiting for Sarah outside when this happened but I looked up and saw her drop. I can't describe how that made me feel…."
"I can tell you how I feel Chuck. I feel pissed. How am I supposed to tell Clara that her mommy may not come home? You tell me."
"Don't tell her anything yet not until we have to. It will be better the way," said Chuck as he held up the blood sample pointed at a note attached to it then passed it through the decon chute. The Doctor received it in a sealed bag looked at the note then nodded back before running off.
"How did you explain what happened to Sam? I'm assuming she knows but if I had an idea what you did and how she took it maybe I could get an idea."
"She was on the floor when it happened and she saw El shortly afterwards. How she took it… Well for a five year old well but she made me promise to save Ellie because you and Clara would be sad."
"From the mouths of babes…. I don't know what you two did to deserve a kid like her but she's right. Chuck, you've got to save her…. Because bro I don't know what I'd do without her. She's my rock, my anchor I'll be lost without her."
"I'm doing the best I can I promise. When her labs come back I'll know her white blood cell count then in an hour I'm going to send another…"
"Okay so the first one establishes a baseline and you're monitoring what? There's no cure for VHF or is there?
"Devon, I need you to be awesome but there might be. Doctor McCoy was trying to come up with a cure based on the antibodies in my blood. He synthesized a serum and I gave it to her. Hopefully, I'll see her white blood cell count rise then drop off as it recognizes the pathogen then fights it off. I realize this is a long shoot…"
"You did the right thing Chuck. We've got to give her every possibility to kick this thing. I'm going to grab Clara and we'll catch the next flight out. I won't tell her anything before we land hopefully by then we'll know if this cure worked. Chuck… I wanted to say something but I forgot... just take care of her for me."
"I promise I will. I'm sorry but I don't have anyone to meet you at the airport. Casey, Morgan and Alex are on mission so it's just Sarah and me here."
"Don't worry I know my way around Bob Hope's insides. Did that just sound a little creepy?
"Yeah a little but I know what you meant. I'll keep you in the loop," said Chuck as he hung up. He looked out to see doctors suiting up in hazmat suits. He was finally getting some help so he grabbed his other cookie and started eating.
"Hey are you going to eat that by yourself or do you feel like sharing with your sister," said Ellie as she rolled over. "Where am I? What happened? The last thing I remembered was that… Oh my… Doctor Greg the butt hole. He did this, didn't he?"
"Just calm down and relax or I won't share my cookie. You're all right now," said Chuck as he stood over the top of her and took her temperature. It was falling rapidly. "Here if you think you can hold it down?" as he started to offer her the cookie.
"Maybe we should start with something lighter. I feel like I was run over by a truck," said Ellie as she turned and saw Dr. McCoy still unconscious. "Why is he still out and I'm conscious?"
"Don't get mad but I gave me the serum he was working on. You were crashing and it was the only way I could come up with to save you. I wasn't going to lose my sister besides I promised Sam."
"But that hasn't been tested yet. We don't know the side effects. How did you figure out the dosage? Chuck, do you know what that could do to me?"
"Not everything but I do know what would've happened if I hadn't. Besides you'll look good with a tail."
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Onboard ship things got complicated the First Mate came over to Morgan's table with a group of men from ship's security then escorted them out. The ETA guy Morgan had a run in with before was smiling and so were the Chinese as they watched them being taken out.
"Looks like we might be eating Italian tonight," said the Basque terrorist as he raised his glass for a toast. "Here's to a little spaghetti aglio, olio and Ettore. I think I'm going to call the dish 'La Barba'."
The First Mate took the team up to the bridge where they met the Captain who was waiting for them with Hamid.
"Maybe you can explain what's going on," said Morgan. "My food is getting cold and there is only one dish I prefer served cold. You want to know what it is?"
"Well Signore Ettore or whatever your name is maybe you can explain who this is," said the Captain as they brought in the real Ettore La Barba and Paolo from his sea cabin. This was the first time Morgan noticed it and judging from the look on Ettore he noticed it too. They looked like twins two drops of water. Morgan didn't know what to say. He looked to Casey for help but he had two men with guns stuck in his side covering him. However, just when he thought their cover was blown the real Ettore La Barba spoke up.
"Brother, it's okay you can tell them I think we're among friends here. This is Ettore La Barba my twin brother. Haven't you ever wondered how it appeared I was in two places at the same time? Meet my brother Ettore."
"Wait a minute," said Hamid. "You're both called Ettore La Barba what kind of parents gives their kids the same name? How did they tell you apart?"
"The beard naturally his is longer than mine. At home they called me shorty and him... uh well they called him a lot of names."
"Like troll," said Casey as he smiled and went along. "I see you made it Mr. Ettore the last we heard you were stuck in a prison in Rome."
"Yes I was but my friend Paolo 'sprung' me as you Americans say. We grabbed a plane and got here as fast as we could. Thanks for keeping my appointment for me but I can take it from here."
"I'm sorry but no one is going anywhere," said the Captain. "We had to send your boat back. We're expecting a little bad weather so you're going to have to berth together. My men will take your luggage to your stateroom but with family I'm sure you can come to some sort of agreement."
"I'm hungry can we go get something to eat around here," said Ettore. Just then the Consul appeared and was taken a little aback when he saw the two Ettores.
"Is everything all right here," said the Consul. "Can someone explain to me what's going on? Hamid I demand to know what's going on."
"It seems there are two Ettore La Barbas or better they are twins this is Shorty and the other one is Troll. However, I have my doubts... hum, the Troll has already proven himself with the Wei Long..."
"You whacked him? Well that saves me to trouble of paying him and pushes our books into the black. Thanks dear brother."
"As I was saying this one has already proven himself to be the ruthless arms dealer he claims to be but this new comer has yet to do anything."
"What do you mean 'ruthless arms dealer'? Who are these people on board and what have you gotten me involved in? Does Al-Ramadi know about this? Is he in on it? Captain I demand you take us back in port right now."
"Jaspar is finally doing honest work. He's feeding the fish. Shorty," said Hamid as he handed him a Glock. "You know what to do with this?" Ettore took the piece and put a round in the Consul's head. There was a metallic ping as the shell casing hit the deck plate followed by a thud.
"Now getting back to eating I'm still hungry and I get a little cranky when I'm hungry so I suggest we take this conversation down to the dining room," he said as he handed the pistol back to Hamid.
"By the way I'm allergic to seafood and nuts," said Paolo as they started off the bridge. Ettore put his arm around Morgan and smiled at Alex.
"Oh brother, this is Alex my fiancée. You haven't met her yet," said Morgan. "I've gotten engaged since the last time we saw each other."
"Well that is news... welcome to the family," said Ettore as she kissed her on both cheeks. "I see you've found someone our size and she doesn't have mother's beard." Alex laughed as she looked back and forth at them. The resemblance was remarkable and baffling. Casey hung back out of sight as Morgan and Ettore disappeared with Alex making their way down to the dining room.
[On the Way to Green Valley]
Morgan was leading Ettore back to the dining room with Alex bringing up the rear. She had her bag open and her hand on her Beretta cougar. One false move by Ettore and she'd end him with extreme prejudice the way he ended the Consul. They were almost there when Ettore pushed Morgan in a through deck passageway. Alex pulled her weapon and put it next to his head.
"You sneeze and I'll clean your sinuses for you," said Alex. "Do you mind telling us what your game is? You have until the count of three."
"You might get me but I'll get your boyfriend," said Ettore. Alex looked down to see he had a switch blade knife at Morgan's stomach. "What say we all just take the theatrics down a notch? Who do you guys work for? I think I know why you're here but I want to hear it."
"Can everyone take a deep breath and put away all the hardware. We're here for the auction tomorrow. The same as you," said Morgan.
"No Morgan," keep your mouth shut we don't know if we can trust him and after what he just did I don't think we can."
"What? Oh you're mad because I wasted that man? If I hadn't they would've wasted me and since I've known myself for quite a few years and I just met him. I went with my best friend me. So your name is Morgan that's good to know. I assume you work for the CIA or one of those other acronymic agencies that use abbreviations as their title."
"So why did you do it? Why didn't you rat us out when you had the chance. I don't believe it was out of your good nature."
"Brother, I'm starting to like your girlfriend more and more. I wish I'd met her first," said Ettore as he smiled at her. It was strange to have this guy with Morgan's face smiling back at her when she knew it wasn't him. It sent a cold chill up her spine.
"I'm… We're still waiting," said Alex as she gave him an angry look. "Oh and you can wipe that smile off your face or I can do it for you. Don't think I won't."
"Oh Kitty's got claws too. This just gets better and better," said Ettore. This time Morgan physical stepped in between them. "Okay I was just playing around or not if you're interested."
"Ettore," said Morgan, "we need to hurry along or someone will miss us in the restaurant and wonder where we are. These are not the type of people you want to come looking for you."
"You're right and that's why I covered for you to protect the person I hold dear, myself. If I called you out you would've pointed the finger back at me then we would've gone back and forth. In the end they would've fed us both to the fish to make sure they eliminated the right one so like it or not you and your team are linked to mine for better or worse. Now let's move along. By the way where is your other guy, the big guy with the chiseled jaw?"
"I don't know," said Morgan as he looked around for Casey. "Speaking of that where's your guy too? Paolo I think you called him."
"I don't know. Paolo sometimes goes off on his own, but he's very protective of me and we've been together for years. I guess after myself he's the one I care the most for but it's not what you're thinking."
"I'm not thinking anything other than I'm wondering where John could've gotten off to," said Morgan as they started back down aft.
[Back up on the Bridge]
"Captain we have a problem," said the First Mate as he pulled Hamid and the Captain into the back where the surveillance equipment was set up. Casey came out of the shadows stepped over the Consul making his way to the hatchway where he could hear what was going on but out of sight from the bridge watch. He looked up to see Paolo standing next to him. Paolo put his finger up to his lips then held out a mirror so they could see inside.
"Sir we've got a problem," said the First Mate. He showed the Major caught on CCTV as he slipped up to the bridge standing just outside before the Consul was eliminated.
"Did he see anything?" asked Hamid. He was trying to see if from the Major's position of he could see what took place on the bridge.
"Does it matter if he could see or not. The man isn't deaf and he heard everything that went on," said the First Mate. "I think the General and her Aide need to be dealt with before they can word out."
"I'm not so sure they care about the Consul," said Hamid as he studied the General in the dining room. "They're here for the auction tomorrow so they could give a rat's behind about the Consul."
"We have a signal jammer onboard so we can keep them from contacting anyone back ashore. But do we want to take the risk when we could detain them. We could lock them in one of the storage cages we have below decks so they won't interfere with our business. Then we can get rid of them after the auction but if things go sideways they'd make good hostages."
"That sounds good to me. Our guests might get nervous if they suddenly lose communications," said Hamid. "This is not a group you want alarmed."
"I'll organize something with my men after diner," said the First Mate. The Captain gave him the go ahead.
"We don't need another scene during dinner. Once we have them there'll be plenty of time to get rid of them before we pull in," said the Captain. Then they heard a noise that sounded like it came from outside the hatch.
"Did you guys hear that?" said Hamid. "It sounded like footsteps." They looked back on the bridge but there was just the bridge watch. Checking the video surveillance there was nothing.
"It was just our imagination. It happens sometimes when you're out to sea."
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Chuck worked with the other doctors to synthesize enough of the serum for the rest of those infected. As he was working he kept an eye on Ellie. It was almost a fulltime job trying to keep her in bed. She wanted to help and lying on her back wasn't doing it for her.
"If you want something to do El start by calling Devon," said Chuck as he handed her his phone. "I talked to him and he said he was grabbing Clara and they were going to be here on the next flight."
"Crap why did you do that? He's going to worry and I'm fine," said Ellie as she tied to call him but his phone was off.
"I don't know. Maybe because I wasn't sure you were going to make it or the fact I had to jump start you twice. He deserved to know. Oh plus he blames me for you getting infected."
[Back in Chicago]
Devon went to the administrator and told her he was leaving. When she asked him why he told her that things had gone sideways in L.A. but that was all he could tell her right then. She immediately cleared his schedule and sent him on his way. Next came the part that was the most delicate. Devon drove to Clara's school where he told the principal that a family emergency had come up and she'd be gone for a few days. Then he loaded her in a taxi and they headed for O'Hare airport.
"What's going on," asked Clara. "Mom told me that only she was going and that I had school I couldn't afford to miss."
"Well things have changed and we talked about it and decided that Sam really needs the company. She's there by herself all alone. Chuck is in the hospital so Sarah needs to stay with him which means there's no anyone to watch Sam."
"What about Morgan or Alex? Worse comes to worst there's Casey. Now that's something I'd like to see," said Clara as she laughed. She'd expected her father to laugh too but he didn't.
"What's the matter? You've got such a face and the Principal had a look too when she came and got me out of class. Is everything all right?"
"We're all just concerned about things in L.A. Well, John has babysat Sam before and they both survived. However, I think John got the short end of the deal. Sam can be a real handful."
"You sure there's nothing else bothering you?" asked Clara. She couldn't pin it down but it was a gut feeling she had that her father wasn't telling her the whole truth.
"We're here," said the Cab driver looking back at the two of them in the rearview. "Which airline company are you flying out on?"
"Just pull up in front of the terminal I need to check inside and get us on the first flight out," said Devon as he looked at his watch. He'd expected something from Chuck to tell him about Ellie's white blood cell count but nothing yet. His stomach was in knots by the time they got up to the counter.
"I need two seats for the first flight you've got to L.A.," said Devon as he laid his credit card on the counter.
"I've got two seats on a flight leaving in an hour but the seats are in first class. I don't know if you..." said the attendant but Devon cut him off.
"I'll take them. The names are Devon and Clara Woodcomb and here's my credit card and driver's license."
"Very good, can you please place your check-on luggage on the scale?" said the attendant as he took Devon's credit card and looked at his driver's license.
"I... we don't have any. We're traveling light you see and we've got things already there so there's no need for us to bring luggage," said Devon. The more he talked the more he felt like he was digging himself a hole.
"I don't need to know all that but I can tell you that it will send up flags with TSA. Just follow the line over there go through security and you'll be leaving from terminal 2 gate F-12 have a good flight," said the attendant.