A/N: Posted 8/28/11
Many thanks to Patrick Murphy for his beta work. I'd be truly lost without it.
If you are expecting Charah fluff, you won't find it here. This is a substantially darker, spy story. You might enjoy my other story, Chuck vs The Three Day Tour.
Dec 10, 2010 - Late Night - LA / Krang's Townhouse
"How's that for an after school special?"
Sarah pulled her headgear off and stomped on Krang's hands, smashing them into the ground. Sarah moved behind him, took a running start and kicked the man in the small of the back. She then sent her booted heel down on the man's ear. "How about now? Cheesy enough for your tastes?"
Casey was stunned by the fury he saw on Sarah's face; she was going to stomp the man to death. Casey grabbed her by the arms and swung her up and away before she could deliver another kick to Krang's groin. "Walker, you promised to leave me something to play with. This is one toy you need to share."
Sarah shook Casey's arms off and walked a few steps away. She looked back towards Krang and saw an opening on Casey's flank and went for it. Casey grabbed her and held on. Sarah struggled to break free, but she wasn't getting away from someone twice as big as her putting the mother of all bear hugs on her.
"We need him alive, Sarah," Casey said dangerously before his posture loosened slightly. "For now. I promise, once we get what we need, I'll look the other way."
Thank God she isn't coming at me, he thought. Having been on the receiving end of Sarah's skills in combat a couple of times, it still stunned him to this day how much ferocious energy came out of that lithe blonde.
Casey heard Krang move behind him. "Stay down," Casey growled. "Or I'll let Walker finish what she started."
"You're right." She was breathing heavily. "We still need him. Thank you."
She relaxed and Casey loosened his grip. Sarah took several cable ties out of her pocket and stepped towards Krang. She rolled him over onto his stomach, stuck her knee into his back and tried to bring his arms around to his back. He didn't resist; he was just too big.
"Damn, you are one big, fat traitor, aren't you?"
"Hold him, there are some chains in the car," Casey offered. He looked down towards Sarah and gave a quiet chuckle. "He'll still be breathing when I get back?"
"Can't make any promises, so you'd better hurry."
Sarah put more weight into her knee on Krang's back and was rewarded with a heavy grunt.
2:00 AM - Castle
"John," Mortensen acknowledged into his phone and then listened, a smile slowly growing on his face. "You're in luck. We have a vacancy and the coffee will be on."
He hung up, walked over towards the armory, and closed and locked the door. He continued down the main hallway and re-checked everything. The holding cell and interrogation room were both ready. He walked back into the kitchen area and turned the coffee maker on. He pulled three mugs out and set them on the counter.
He made his way back to his central station and killed all the monitors in Castle, leaving just his monitor on. It was the only one he would need for now.
Ellie's minivan appeared on the monitor as it pulled into a spot near the rear entrance to Castle. Mortensen pulled out his firearm and verified it was ready. He took a final scan across Castle and was satisfied that everything was in order.
The airlock cycled at the top of the stairs with the chained and bloodied hulk of the DD appearing at the top landing. Sarah gave him a shove towards the stairs. Casey followed closely behind. Krang took a look around Castle as he walked down the stairs and was amazed at the amount of money spent putting the facility in place. He scowled.
"Keep moving," Sarah motioned down the hallway.
"Cell 4," Mortensen announced.
"Mortensen, would you mind calling up Beckman?" Sarah asked as she gave Krang another shove down the hallway towards the cell.
"On it."
The monitor in the debriefing room came on. Beckman's face showed a touch of sleepiness and irritation. "Colonel Casey, Mortensen, what is this about and why couldn't it wait until morning?"
The two men moved towards the table in front of the monitor. Casey was about to respond when Sarah entered the room and answered for him, "General, DD Krang has been arrested and placed into lockup."
That woke Beckman up instantly. "What? You arrested a CIA deputy director? Under whose authority and on what grounds?"
Sarah could feel resentment building towards Beckman, but held any outward display of her emotions in check. "He is responsible for Chuck's abduction. It appears that all this death and misery was part of a CIA operation gone bad."
"He has admitted that this was his operation," Casey added in defense of his partner. "Something about how dangerous the Intersect is."
Beckman ignore Casey's assessment. "You cannot arrest a DD on your own authority. That order must come from your superiors." Beckman shook her head. "Now, get that man out of detention and I will decide what to do with you two later. In the meantime, consider yourselves under arrest. Mortensen, lock them up." The monitor went dark.
"The hell with that." Mortensen was pissed and let it show. "Come on. I have fresh coffee in the kitchen."
Casey and Sarah looked at each other, shrugged, and followed Mortensen into the kitchen.
Sarah shook her head and looked like she wanted to tear Beckman apart. "No, there is no way in hell I'm turning that piece of garbage loose."
"No, you're not." Sarah and Casey turned to Mortensen in surprise, who held up his hand. "Nor are you under arrest."
She smiled. "I kind of figured that."
"Sit down, both of you. Please." He gestured towards the table. He turned to the counter and looped a finger through the handles of all three cups with one hand and took the coffee pot in the other.
He continued as he put his load on the table. "I do not report to General Beckman. As a matter of fact, I'm not even with intelligence."
Sarah was visibly nervous. "Then who are you and to whom do you report?"
He went to the fridge and stuck his head in to grab the milk. "I'm with the Secret Service."
Casey looked at Sarah with a stunned expression. "Did he say 'Secret Service'?"
"I think so," Sarah replied, equally stunned.
"Yup," Mortensen replied with a smile. It was always satisfying to see how seriously people took him when they found out what he did, and to have two of the governments best agents do it was doubly-so. He nudged the door to the fridge closed with his foot and joined the other two at the table. With his free hand he took out his ID, opened it, and flopped it onto the table.
"And, I report to POTUS. Directly."
Casey accepted it and was impressed. But Sarah didn't understand. She turned the ID around and examined it in every possible way. "Why would the President have gotten involved?"
Mortensen retrieved his ID, closed it, and shoved it back into his jacket pocket. "That is a very long story. Some of it is not related to Team Bartowski, so it is not for your eyes or ears. But here's the short version of what you two can be read into. The President is quite aware this team saved the better part of this country's intelligence community in spite of itself."
He studied their faces. He realized he was stating the obvious to them. "It was also the President's intent that Chuck's promise to his sister be honored by his country as part of its thanks for a job well done. If he wanted it, Chuck was out, free and clear." He looked from one agent to the other. "And that offer was to be made to each of you as well, full benefits, retirement package, the works."
The color in Sarah's face was slowly getting redder and brighter. "That bitch tricked Chuck. And us."
"I'm afraid so." His lips were drawn in a grimace. "Sarah, John, there are many things in the mission briefs that dismayed me. And frankly, made me quite ashamed to be a part of IntComm."
Mortensen paused and took a sip of his coffee. "There were two glaring items for me. First of all, Chuck should never have been classified as an asset. Not in the way that term is used today. Even without the Intersect, he would have made a hell of an analyst. Instead, he was threatened with isolation in a bunker for his own safety and it was hoped that he would cooperate? That's insanity."
"Second, I was quite revolted by how he had to endure the constant scrutiny and the invasion of his privacy. He was to be protected, not placed under house arrest."
Casey felt a bit of sting at Mortensen's words, as he was primarily responsible for keeping Chuck under constant scrutiny. It didn't bother him when he first started, as he had to perform that task many times before. But this was a different situation, and Chuck was a much different person. He trusted Sarah and him, even going so far as considering them friends. That grated against Casey, especially now that he considered Chuck a friend. The internal conflicts played across his face.
Mortensen didn't miss Casey's sullen gaze. "John, you were under orders. Don't blame yourself. Besides, General Beckman played you two against each other. Actually, I'm surprised that the two of you haven't come to blows."
If you only knew the half of it, Casey thought to himself and shot a look at Sarah. He smirked when he realized she was thinking the same thing.
Mortensen poured himself another coffee and Sarah slid her cup over, which Mortensen dutifully refilled.
"I'll deal with Beckman later. We need to work on getting Chuck back." That garnered smiles from both Sarah and Casey. "In the meantime, we are going to let Krang's wounds soften him up." He paused as he added some milk to his coffee. "All things considered, I'm kinda surprised he's still alive. You two did quite a number on him."
Casey gave a 'don't look at me' grunt and Sarah blushed and looked at the ceiling.
Mortensen quirked his eyebrows at Sarah and let out a small chuckle. He turned back towards Casey and appeared to be studying him. "Chuck has something in the system that looks like a dictionary called caseygrunts."
Sarah snorted.
His demeanor changed to a more serious tone, "Just to be clear, I am not taking over for Beckman, long term, just until we can get Chuck back. Are there any problems with that?"
"No, sir," Sarah responded as Casey simply shook his head.
"And it's Chris, not Sir. Former USMC Gunnery Sergeant. I work for a living. I have little use for officers." He looked over at Casey and smiled. "No offense, John."
Casey grunted. "None taken."
"Would you mind going home and getting some rest? I'd like to take the night shift and have you relieve me in the morning. Oh, do you think you could talk to Ellie or Devon into coming in and monitoring Krang during the interrogation? After all, he is still a DD."
"I'll talk to them, Chris. We'll be here by 9." Sarah turned a bit sheepish and shrugged. "What can I say? Civilians."
Dec 11, 2010 – 4:00 AM - CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia
ping ping
"Bart, we have two hits; El Bucho and Lon Kirk."
"Cross-ref?"
Brenda read it off from the screen. "The first one; the restaurant has an announcement for a new mariachi guitarist. I wonder what happened to the last one."
Bart read the other item. "And the second is a story about the niece of Lon Kirk attending a …" There was a slight hesitation, then he finished reading with a slightly quizzical tone, "… debutante ball? Do they still have those?"
"I guess so. We lead a rather sheltered life, huh?"
Bart grunted and smiled. "We'll just store the items. Why did we get them so close together?"
"Local news uploads. It's a continuous process. We'll be getting additional updates from Advise and SIGINT as well."
ping-ping-ping-ping-ping-ping-ping-ping
"Whoa!"
"Relax, Bart. Just go through them and mark them as store or analysis." She looked at Bart, "This is raw data. I wouldn't even call it intel yet. And we can get thousands of hits like this every day."
"How do you sift through all that?"
"You don't. Most of it just sits in the logs. We've opened up the filters so we are going to get a lot of hits. You read it and decide." She saw him frown. "You start to get a feel for the stuff and learn to adjust the filters. That restaurant notice would normally not get seen."
"But we could miss things!"
"Look at it this way. If I read everything, I would miss the important stuff. Let's use the restaurant as an example. It was an announcement. Meaningless. But, if there was a name, my triggers would compare the name against known entities in the database. If the person was new, it would leave it in the log. If it was a known baddie, it would pop up."
Bart eyes widened. "Then if that new guy becomes someone to watch for, you then go back through the logs?"
Brenda smiled. "Exactly. Then, with a change to the triggers, I could replay the process against the logs and see what else shows up. If it was a current mission, say, just a month or so ago, I would open the alerts a bit. We can also adjust the volume of the pings to the relative worth of the alert. Then there is the color coding I have along the edge of the screen here. Based on the alert level the items will get sorted to the tabs, each tab with a different color. Don't forget, we going on a massive fishing expedition. It's like going to a party where everyone is talking, loudly. You can't hear everything, but you get a piece here and a piece there."
He shook his head in disbelief at both the massive amounts of data and Brenda's ability to manage it. "Wow. This is a lot more complicated than I thought."
"Hell, if it were easy, we could train old spies to do it," she deadpanned.
Bart stared at her. Brenda burst out laughing. "Sorry, I couldn't resist."
He smiled at her. "That's OK, make fun of an old man. Until I got out of the field, I never spoke with the analysts. There's a disconnect between collecting the intel, sifting through it and using it. Go ahead, you were giving me an education."
She gave him a smile and continued with her explanations, "Okay, so why do you think they call it chatter? If you sit back and listen, it has this… this hum to it. It almost like it's talking to you. One of these days I'll have to give you a walk through of the code and maybe a tour of the data center itself."
"One nerd per couple!" he exclaimed, slid his chair closer, and gave her a kiss.
Brenda grabbed him and kissed him back. Weird doing this in the office. She cocked an eye at him. "Mr. Bond, I know you know a lot more about computers than you let the others believe."
"True, but I do have a reputation to protect," Bart responded with a smirk.
"Your secret is safe with me," she smiled.
He thought about something Chuck had once told him as a joke. 'Beware the nerd, they run the world.' They do. From banks to intelligence. Even everyday things like traffic signals. Today's spy doesn't need a gun; he needs a nerd. They would have been watching my back. My back. No bullet, no pain.
He snuck a look at Brenda and watched her.
7:00 AM - LAX
He'd made a reservation for a Softail Fat Boy in 'Vivid Black', which was only available to law enforcement. And he had to pull in a few favors to get it. He would have much preferred an old Indian, but it was certainly better than the crap they'd built in the '70s. Of course, Chuck would tease him about not riding some exotic European bike. Nothing wrong with those. In Europe. But, when in the States, there was something about riding a big, fat Hog across the desert. Yeah, a silly romantic notion. But then again, that was the whole point, wasn't it? His real motive for this particular bike was to induce Chuck to ride again. How could you resist it?
The shuttle buses to the hotels were all lined up and waiting across the street from the taxis. He slung his overnight across his shoulder, tilted his larger suitcase onto its wheels and crossed the street. He had a short to-do list; hotel check-in, take a cab to the bike rental place and then head over to Echo Park. He was very tempted to head to Castle, but that would've tripped too many alarms and he wanted to avoid that for as long as possible. He'd sent another email to Chuck's regular account that morning, but Chuck hadn't responded to that one either.
So, Chuck, where the hell are you? Cole thought to himself on the ride to the hotel. Two weeks and not a word. Granted, they didn't talk all the time, but he was the one that always went deep and there would be a response when he got back. His last mission in Hong Kong had gone well, although the Chinese would surely disagree. That thought brought a slight smirk to his face. On his way home, he requested two weeks off and didn't wait for approval.
8:00 AM - Echo Park
He knew the way to Echo Park from memory and arrived without much of a ride. There was plenty of time for that later. Cole pulled in to a spot and pushed the stand down. He killed the engine and pulled one leg up over the tank and laid it across the top of the bike.
He took his gloves off, pushed the visor up and pulled the helmet off his head. He dismounted the bike, stuffing the gloves into the helmet as he set off towards Chuck's apartment. Then he noticed the suits. No civilian would have, but he was no civilian.
Cole pulled out his sunglasses and put them on. It's a bleedin' armed camp. Something's wrong.
He walked through the archway and into the courtyard and approached the front door. He looked over his shoulder to the right; that would be Casey's place. He knew the suits had eyes on him and were making calls. He knocked on the door to Chuck's apartment. He saw a slight flicker behind the shades and heard Casey at his door. He turned to Casey and reached for his sunglasses. Casey already had a .45 trained on him and he felt a tug on his sleeve as he was dragged into the apartment.
He turned to the person who pulled him inside. "Sarah, love, what the hell is going on here?" He saw Casey behind him from the corner of his eye. "Casey, do you plan to shoot me?"
"Shut up."
Sarah gave Casey a scowl and then turned back to Cole. "What are you doing here?"
"I thought I'd drop in and say hello. What's with all the suits out there?" Cole took a long look at Sarah and then at Casey. Both looked like they have not been sleeping well and perhaps drinking too much.
Casey gave a grunt of disbelief. "More like sniffing around Walker's skirt."
Cole turned on Casey. "Now that's uncalled for, mate! I haven't heard from Chuck since before Thanksgiving…" Again, he had that niggling feeling. Something's definitely wrong.
Sarah's eyes widened at her partner as her mouth dropped open. When she recovered, she was sharp with him. "Casey! Knock it off!"
Casey scowled as Sarah turned back to Cole. "Wait, you talk to Chuck? Since when?"
"Oh, dear. I guess the lad never told you. He and I have had quite a few conversations over the past two years. Where to begin?"
He looked at Casey, who had at least put his weapon away and had folded his arms across his chest, but still did not look too happy. "Hold on, where is Chuck?"
"Sit." Sarah instructed.
Cole moved towards the couch, sat and settled in. He looked back towards Casey and Sarah. "What is it with you two? I swear; I'm here just to say hello." He noticed Casey's scowl had gotten deeper. "And to answer you, my friend, I am not here to sniff… you know, that was rather disrespectful towards Sarah, no?"
Casey stared coldly at Cole before turning to Sarah. "My apologies. I was being crass."
She moved towards the couch and sat down in the neighboring seat with her arms on the rests. Cole now noticed the redness in her eyes.
"Chuck was abducted two weeks ago. And there has been very little in the way of leads."
Cole exhaled harshly and rubbed his forehead. "Now I understand. I am sorry to have barged in like this and setting you on edge. I was trying to look in on Chuck and stay under the radar."
He reached out to Sarah's hand, but she pulled it away. He left his empty hand there, but sensed what she and Casey were most likely thinking. He smiled. "Sarah, love. Listen, I'm engaged to a lovely woman. Thanks in no small part to your Chuck's encouragement."
Sarah exhaled and let her guard down at hearing that. She took his hand. "Congratulations, Cole."
"Thank you," he smiled at Sarah and tightened his hand around hers, giving it a heartfelt shake. Cole turned his head towards Casey. "Come, my man, sit."
He looked back at Sarah. "I put in for two weeks, so I'm yours. If we need more time, I'll wrangle that with my bosses."
Hearing 'wrangle' in a half British / half Texan accent almost hurt Casey's ears.
"Right now, I think we have a few things to catch up on."
Standing, Sarah released Cole's hand, "Let's hold off on that. We have a suspect in interrogation back at Castle. We can get you signed in at the same time."
Casey was much calmer than he was moments ago. "But we need to talk to Ellie first."
The Courtyard
Casey was the first through the door as they were about to leave. "Walker, go back inside. I need to take care of something first."
Looking past her partner, she saw what he wanted to do, and put a hand on his shoulder. "He looks good. We'll wait." She turned around and shooed Cole back into the apartment.
Morgan sat alone at the fountain looking at Casey's front door. Casey approached from the side, hoping to not startle him. He felt for the bearded sidekick; he had changed so much since arriving.
He looks the same, just…older and sadder. No screwing around, John. You know what he's been through.
"Hey Morgan."
"John!" He leapt to his feet and hugged the man. Suddenly his eyes went wide. "I am so sorry. I said some horrible things to you and Sarah. I was scared and angry..."
Casey took a half step back, "Grimes, lady feelings!"
"Oh! Sorry!" Morgan let go of Casey and was immediately grabbed into a hug by Casey.
"Morgan! Who the hell are you kidding?" Casey actually had a broad smile on his face. Morgan's shock at seeing it was quickly replaced by another more-pressing issue.
"Can't. Breathe."
Casey released Morgan and rested a hand on his shoulder. "I was getting worried about you there, buddy."
"Whew! I'm not sure whose hugs are worse, yours or Ellie's." When he recovered, it hit him. Casey actually called him 'buddy'. He cocked an eye at Casey.
That appeared to be the needed cue for the rest of the family to join them in the Courtyard. Alex ran out in tears to the two, first hugging Morgan, then her father and then back again. Other than that, Cole was the one drawing the most attention.
Sarah broke away from the group and pulled Ellie to the side. "Ellie, we need to talk for a second."
Casey caught part of their conversation out of the corner of his eye. It didn't look good, as Ellie was shaking her head 'no' throughout the conversation.
Ellie put a hand to her mouth and stared at Sarah in utter incredulity. "You want me to watch you beat a man?"
"No, interrogate him."
"That's just semantics. How else can you interrogate him if you don't…" Ellie was frowning, but her resistance to what Sarah was telling her was ebbing. "You really do mean interrogate him. Not…not torture?"
Sarah gripped Ellie's shoulders. "Ellie, I could never ask you to participate in a torture. We would like to have a doctor present to ensure that he is in good health before and after we are finished with him."
Ellie sighed, "And what if he won't talk?"
"I'm not asking you to help with that."
"You're being evasive…"
They both cringed at the sound of a loud, sharp whistle.
Alex had stood up on the fountain wall giving everyone a view of the petite woman. "Sorry, but I needed to get everyone's attention. I'm hearing things being talked about that …" she paused and continued speaking in a quieter voice, "… that I know I shouldn't even know about, let alone all of Echo Park. Perhaps we should 'play a little chess' in a more private place?"
Casey actually chuckled at his daughter's interruption and suggestion. "Agreed. Ellie, would you mind following me in your car? We can discuss all of this when we get there." He paused for a moment. "And it might be best if we used the back entrance."
Ellie thought about it for a second and looked at Devon. "Would you mind driving?"
"Morgan, Alex and Carina, you're with me," Casey beckoned with his hands as he turned to head to his car. He smiled to himself. Sarah can work on Ellie on the way.
He didn't realize Sarah and Ellie would talk the entire way to Castle.
The Room
Ellie! She had his sister and was going to kill her.
Sarah had bested him and he lay slumped against the wall. He tried to clear his head as he watched her drag Ellie away. He looked down and saw Sarah's gun lying under the chair and grabbed for it. It felt so incredibly heavy.
He pulled himself up onto the chair and then onto the small, round café table. His legs were wobbly, but he forced himself to stagger after Sarah and his sister. He found them, standing in the middle of the bridge, and she was using Ellie as a shield.
He had his gun out and trained at her forehead. A smaller target, but a kill shot.
His sister slumped, giving him a clear shot.
He had to save his sister. His finger slowly squeezed back on the trigger.
The pain was excruciating as his world went a bright white.
Castle – Debriefing Room
Sarah was thankful Morgan went with Casey, as she knew Ellie would want to discuss the whole thing. Ellie was so much like Chuck. Not that she had anything to hide, but she was hoping to treat Morgan with kid gloves as long as possible. Not that Sarah could blame her; he had been through hell.
Now her mind was racing as Ellie had insisted on doing the interrogation if the CIA wanted her cooperation. Devon was not pleased, but he broke quite easily under Ellie's pressure. However, he had a condition of his own: he was to provide the medical oversight. Should she allow a civilian to perform such an act? What would Chuck think?
Mortensen was waiting for them in Castle. Bless his heart, Sarah thought. She couldn't imagine how he was able to live down in a dungeon for two weeks…voluntarily, no less…and not get grumpy. He looked happy to see everyone together. He even managed to get a wonderful breakfast laid out in time for their arrival.
Casey, can we keep him? Sarah thought with an inward grin.
Sarah spoke with Mortensen for a moment. He nodded and set up a workstation, which Sarah showed to Ellie. "Ellie, everything you need can be brought up here."
"Thank you." Ellie settled herself into a chair and began reading about Deputy Director Krang. There was more info on the man than Sarah had sent her.
After staring at Ellie for a few moments, Casey started shaking his head, having second thoughts. "There has to be another way. Ellie is a civilian, for crying out loud."
Mortensen stepped in. "Not really a civilian, John. Both Ellie and Devon were read into this operation and they are on the payroll. They might not be field agents but they are members of the team."
"Wait, you like this idea?"
"I didn't say that, I was just reminding you that everyone here is…to some extent…on the team." He looked over at Cole, "Mr. Barker might cause a few raised eyebrows, but he does have an operational history with the team."
With some more than others, Casey thought with a distinct moue. He pushed that idea to the side. "Okay, let's give it a try. It sounds insane and it breaks all kinds of protocols, but it might work."
Casey turned to Ellie. "How do you want to do this?"
Ellie smiled, as she already had a plan in mind. "No one speaks directly to him except for me. I want Krang to think of me as his benefactor." She looked over at Mortensen. "Can I see him on a monitor?"
In her mind, Sarah cringed. But outwardly, she steeled herself. Mortensen brought the video surveillance from the cell up on the main monitor. The man was sitting in a chair bolted to the floor with heavy restraints holding him at his arms, legs and chest. He had been cleaned up, but he had suffered heavy bruising and swelling around the head, eyes and hands.
"Oh, my God!" Ellie gasped. "Who did this?"
"Sarah was defending herself," Casey quickly responded to give his partner support. "She gave him a choice and he chose not to go quietly."
Ellie eyed Sarah cautiously. "Remind me to never piss you off." And my brother wants to marry her? She shook it off, "Cole, Casey, I'd like to use you two as muscle. Do you mind?" She stopped. "Wait, this is for appearances only. I just want to rattle him. Please, promise me you won't do anything to that man."
They both nodded.
"Good." She stood and approached the monitor. "I'd like you to enter the room first. Do not look at him; do not show any signs of aggression. Just take these two corners and stand at ease." Casey and Cole noted the two corners of the room where Ellie wanted them to stand. "After a minute or so, I'll enter and address him." She watched Krang on the monitor for a moment. "How should I address him?"
"Deputy Director Krang," Sarah replied, followed by a hard swallow as she looked at Krang on the monitor. Wow, I really did lose it.
Ellie continued without giving an acknowledgement. "Then, Devon, I'd like you to come in. You'll know when."
"Gotcha, babe."
Casey turned to Devon. "Are you okay with this?"
"No, I'm not. But, frankly, I trust her to treat him better than…" he flinched before uttering something he shouldn't. Sarah. "We all want to get Chuck back, right? Ellie has the psych background."
Ellie turned to Devon. "Check him, but again, no speaking other than medically necessary."
Devon nodded.
She spoke to Alex next. "Alex, there are two cold water bottles in my bag, would you fetch them out, please?" Without waiting, she grabbed a chair and rolled it towards the detention area. "Gentlemen?" she called back to them.
Devon was right by her side; Casey and Cole had to double-time it to catch up.
Ellie gestured for Casey to enter the cell. "Remember, you two are for show only."
Casey nodded and slid his card into the key slot and opened the cell door. Cole followed him in and they each took a corner. Krang looked up at the open door.
Alex was at Ellie's side with the water. Ellie smiled. "Thank you, Alex. Please stay with the others."
Ellie entered with a slightly exaggerated show of distress from her pregnancy. "Good morning, Deputy Director Krang."
"Dr. Bahtowshi." His mouth was swollen, and the words did not come out quite right.
She did not display her surprise at the recognition. "First, I'd like to express my apologies for your rough treatment at the hands of my teammates."
"Thanksh," he sarcastically replied.
"Thirsty?"
"Yesh."
Ellie placed one sport bottle on her chair and opened the other, popping the cap off and pushing the nipple up. She moved closer to the man. "I caution you, drink slowly. It may sting a bit." She moved towards his side and placed the nipple near his lips.
He grimaced but continued to drink.
"I thought so. We should have a look at those injuries." She continued to hold the bottle for Krang as Devon entered.
"Any blurry vision?" she asked Krang. "Ringing in the ears?"
"No."
"Good. The doctor is going to check your injuries. Then we'll talk."
Devon examined the man's face and took a small flashlight out and flicked it his eyes. "Please follow my finger," he ordered as he shined the light in Krang's eyes. "No apparent concussion. The retina in his left eye appears torn." He opened the man's shirt and felt the ribs. Krang winced at the contact.
He took out a stethoscope and placed it on the man's chest. "Can you cough for me?" Krang complied. "Two broken ribs and quite a bit of bruising. I'd like to give a more thorough exam when you're done, Doctor."
"Thank you, Doctor. Hopefully, the Director will cooperate and we'll be done soon. I'll call for you later, then."
Devon nodded, gathered his things, and left the room.
Krang strained his head to each side, giving a wary glance to Cole and to Casey.
Ellie walked over to Cole and absently fidgeted with his collar while speaking to Krang. "Do you have any children, Director?"
"You shoohd have all dat in my file."
"Yes, but I am trying to talk to you, not get briefed for a mission. Do you have any children?"
Krang again looked at Cole and grunted.
"Are these two making you nervous?"
"No."
"Then why won't you answer my question?"
"Yes," he mumbled.
"Yes…you are nervous, or yes…you have children?" Badger him. Keep him off balance.
"I haf a daughter." His throat was dry and his lips were cracking. He leaned his head down and tried to clear his throat.
Ellie brought the water bottle back to his lips and held it as he drank. "Was that so hard?" She smiled at him and brushed her belly with her hand. "As you can see, I am expecting a child myself. Aren't kids wonderful?"
Krang looked at Ellie but made no response.
"How old is your daughter, Mr. Krang?"
"Twelve," he huffed. Ellie had him agitated. "What's the point of all this?"
"I am trying to understand what motivates you. At the age of twelve, I had to take over the raising of my brother. I am as much his mother as his sister. Do you think your daughter could do that?"
"Should I be impressed?"
"I am not trying to impress you. I am telling you what motivates me." Ellie walked away from Krang, turned her chair to face Krang, and sat down. She looked straight into Krang's eyes. "Are you a monster? A traitor? Or misguided?"
"Ah, the point," he was trying to smile.
"Yes, the point! You took my little brother. I just want to know where he is." God, I want to kill him.
Ellie had to settle herself. Calm, Ellie. Calm.
"The Intersect is a very dangerous asset to have running loose."
"But, that asset is my little brother. I'm sure you would like to see your little girl again, wouldn't you?"
"Are you threatening my daughter?"
"Of course not. I could never hurt an innocent child."
He heard Casey shift behind him. "Then who? Me?"
"No, I am not making threats at all. I want us to end this now before someone regrets a bad decision."
Okay, time to get rid of the boys. Ellie's tone softened. "Would you be more comfortable if I asked these men to leave?"
Krang hung his head but did not respond.
"Very well. I don't blame you, actually. I've known Casey for four years, and he still scares me." She looked up at Casey and Cole. "Would you two excuse us for a bit? I'd like to talk one parent to another."
"Are you sure, Ellie?" Cole looked at Casey. Why not, he mouthed.
"Yeah, could you? I'll be fine."
Cole and Casey headed towards the door. Ellie stopped before he exited. "Would you be a dear and get me another bottle? This one is empty, and I'm getting a little dry myself."
"Sure."
She followed them to the door and waited for a moment after they left. She punched her code into the cell keypad, allowing her to change the security code to the cell. She closed the door and locked it.
She turned back towards the Director and exhaled. "See, we're all alone now. Feeling better?"
Krang looked far more contemptuous towards Ellie than he did before Casey and Cole left. "You do realize your friends will be in a lot of trouble when our bosses find out they've arrested a deputy director without proper procedure."
Ellie took her seat. "Proper procedure?" she said innocently.
"I am a deputy director of the CIA. I can't simply be picked up off the street without approval. And you don't have that."
"Was it proper procedure to abduct my brother?"
"He is only an asset."
"Do you know how many people have died because of what you've done?" She stood up again with the second bottle in her hand. She opened it and moved closer to Krang. "Where is my brother?"
"I don't know."
Ellie couldn't hold back the surprise she felt with that information. "What? I thought you were in charge of the operation?"
"The lead on the project went rogue."
"Who is this rogue agent and where was Chuck being held?"
Krang wouldn't respond.
Ellie tossed the bottle onto her seat and moved behind Krang. She pulled out the Smith & Wesson 5906 pistol she had stashed in her back pocket.
"What are you doing?" Casey's voice came over the intercom.
Ellie heard banging on the glass and looked up. "Don't do this, Ellie!" Sarah screamed.
Ellie turned back to Krang. Ellie looked like she was losing her mind; something Krang wasn't expecting. "I told my husband not to leave this thing lying around. I told him someone could get hurt."
There was more banging on the glass as Devon and Cole joined Sarah. "Ellie, please unlock the door," Devon pleaded.
"You're not going to use that thing," Krang said derisively. "Your family has an aversion to guns. Besides, I don't think you would risk going to prison and never seeing your unborn child."
Ellie got in Krang's face. "I'm pregnant, full of hormones and you kidnapped my brother!" Her calm demeanor was completely gone as she shoved the gun under Krang's chin. "Do you know what happens when you stand between a mother and her cub? It gets ugly!"
The Deputy Director stared at Ellie. He tried to regain some composure, but seeing the more emotionally-stable of the Bartowski clan like this was quickly shaking his foundation.
Ellie grabbed the top of the man's head and pulled it back. She leaned over, her cheek against his, and faced the doorway. "See them?" she hissed and pointed at her family in the window with the gun in her other hand. The guttural tones emanating from the elder Bartowski were striking fear in Krang. "They think I'm capable. Maybe they know something you don't!"
She shoved his head forward. She wiped his sweat from her hand on his shirt in disgust.
"ELLIE! STOP! PLEASE!"
Ellie heard a new voice over the intercom. A woman's voice.