Don't own Chuck
Somewhere at 50,000 feet crossing the Rocky Mountains heading east heading towards Canada following the great arch. Next stop would be a short layover in Toronto to top off before continuing on for Europe and another refueling before arriving at their destination in Tivat, Montenegro.
"You know sooner or later you're going to have to answer him. I'm surprised he hasn't called out the cavalry yet and used Castle to triangulate your location."
"You mean our position and I know but he's also got Sam to take care of so he's probably trying to keep her happy after dropping the ball on picking her up."
"It wasn't just him who dropped the ball. You could've reminded him or have gone which considering the conversation you had with the General would've probably a better use of your time and not gotten everyone's feathers ruffled."
"What are you talking about? I simply asked what I needed to know and nothing more. You're reading more into it than there was."
"If that's the way you want to play this that's okay by me but it's not my interpretation of the facts that matters. You need to think what you're going to tell Chuck or is that the reason you haven't
pick up yet? You're stalling until you can come up with something to say."
"Check our heading and make sure we're still on course. It'll be a while before we have to check in with the next control tower so I think I'm going to go in the back and get some coffee. Do you want a cup?"
"Yeah and check the fridge too while you're at it. Let me know what kind of sandwiches they stocked it with. If there isn't anything good I brought a few MREs with me just in case but I'm laying claim to the Chicken à La King."
"Don't worry they're all yours I'll make do with what they stocked us with," said Sarah as Casey grunted. She went into the back both knowing she'd changed the conversation on purpose. The truth was John was right and she didn't know how she was going to explain this to Chuck.
"I don't know why I'm feeling like this," she said to the coffee machine as the coffee dripped out into the pot. "Chuck knows I have to do this. We talked about this... Jack is my father like it or not. He's gotten himself into trouble and it's my job to go bail him out as usual. Chuck will understand besides someone needs to look after Sam and Bunny. He can sit this one out and stay safe watching the girls. I do miss them and I could strangle Jack for doing this to me but I've got to keep my head clear and this isn't helping."
She was still watching the pot as the stream of coffee coming out had turned into a trickle when her phone started to ring again. She looked at the picture of Chuck smiling on the caller ID.
"I'm sorry, I just can't answer right now," she said as she let it go to voicemail. "I know you'd want to come along but it's better if you stay safe there and watch the girls."
"Hey, where's that coffee? It should be ready by now," yelled Casey from the cabin. "You didn't have to go to Colombia and buy coffee beans from Juan Valdez did you?"
"It just finished being made and you don't need to yell," she said as she walked back in the cabin with a 'to go' cup for John then ran down what was on the supply manifest that was stocked onboard for food.
"Looks like I'm going with the MRE for my fine dining experience," said John as Sarah shook her head. "What? Okay, don't get mad but new topic, does anyone know where Mary is? It seems she went dark after that incident south of the border."
"No one has proved she was involved in that; however, I know what it looked like but to answer your question, no we haven't heard from her since. Why are you bring her up? Do you know something that I don't?"
"No, nothing more than you do but the General did say 'we decided not to inform you' or something like that... my take was on that was 'we'. Who do you think this 'we' could be?"
"You think Mary is involved in this and what? But Beckman said that we didn't have anything to do with the Turk's untimely death."
"I don't know the use of the first-person plural either means the General now thinks she's the queen of her empire or there's something else going on here and I'm thinking the latter."
"You just might be right," said Sarah as she phone started to ring again. She did the same as before and let it go to her voicemail.
"Geez, answer it already. He's probably going up the wall right now. First Mamma B goes dark and now you. You're asking for trouble but the one good thing you've got going for you is with Eileen put away nothing is going to happen back home."
"Do you really think that or are you trying to make me feel better about this?" said Sarah as she took a sip of her coffee and made a face. "Yuck, it's cold."
"I'm not trying to make you feel better. Why in the Sam Hill would your think I'd do that? I'm just calling them like I see them," said John but before Sarah could answer an alarm when off on her watch and so did Casey's phone.
"It's Chuck's emergency distress signal. He's looking for help and we're too far away to do anything to help him."
"And he doesn't know that. He's just going to have to take care of the situation himself. I bet now you'd wished you'd answered some of his calls," said John as Sarah turned red with anger. However, she wasn't angry with John. She was angry with herself because he was right.
"He's not answering," said Sarah as she pressed autodial again and again but nothing. Her calls went straight to voicemail. "Crap, let me see if I can bring up something from the CCTV cameras in the courtyard and John, if you tell me you've got cameras hidden in the apartment we're going to have a problem."
"I bet you wish I did now, but you two whined so much I took them out. You might contact Langley and see about getting a bird overhead then do an IR scan but that would mean contacting Beckman. You know what that would mean you're going to have to tell her where we are and where we're going?"
"I can't talk to her until after Toronto. I guess the only thing I can do is sit here and be patient. Chuck can handle whatever's thrown at him, right? Sure, he can he's proven that."
"Now say it again like you really mean it and you're going to sit there patiently? Ha, that will be the day. You don't do anything patiently."
"That's so not true," said Sarah as she kept on trying to get in touch with Chuck but she still couldn't reach him. Suddenly the CCTV images from the courtyard went blank.
"Now that is bad but before you call Beckman let me call a buddy I know downtown and see if he can send out a rapid response team. He can call it a training exercise."
"Do whatever it is you have to do just get it done," snapped Sarah. John was right patient just wasn't one of her fortes.
"Geez, don't go biting my head off. After all I'm not the one who ignored his phone calls," said John. Sarah gave him the look of death. "Okay, I'm making the call. Geez."
"Just make your phone call and keep your personal comments to yourself. You know Alex and Kat are with him so there's enough blame to go around. I didn't make you come with me that you decided all on your own." But as right as she was it gave her little comfort. She just wanted to hear Chuck's voice and find out what was going on.
"Hey Jake, this is John. I need a favor," said Casey.
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Mary pulled into a parking garage then walked the five minutes it took to reach Alexanderplatz. The Berlin TV tower loomed over them as they approached the square. The receiver had the tracker in front of them as they entered the square. Jim was in among the people moving about in the square. Both Mary and Roan had their eyes peeled looking for him hoping to see him before he saw them.
"Okay, he should be somewhere ahead of us let's separate and fan out. We need to get eyes on him quickly. The first one who sees him contacts the other but we don't move in until after he's passed the device off."
"I know the plan and after all this used to be where I called home for a long time. Have you thought about how we're going to take him down? If he makes a break for it we can't very well gun him down in plain view as much as you'd like to that won't fly too well."
"I've got it under control we'll tag then grab. I've got a heavy sedative in a tranq dart that will knock him out. Once he's down we just have to tell everyone he isn't feeling well then get him in a taxi. From there we take him to the hanger and you're wheels up before anyone knows what's going on. He'll wake up in Supermax wondering how he got there."
"That might even work but I hate to tell you we're not alone here," said Roan as he pointed out BND agents standing around the square. "It looks like someone invited them to this lovefest but I don't think they're looking for Jim. Don't look now but One's headed this way now and he's looking straight at you so I'm going to disappear in the wood work. See you on the flipside," said Roan and before she could say anything he was gone disappeared like he said.
"I see you've still got some of your old tricks," she said looking where Roan was standing as the German agent came up to her. "I don't suppose you're here to invite me out for a cup of coffee? Although right now I could do with something stronger."
"Nein," said the man a little taken aback but then he composed himself. "Heir Dettrick wishes to see you. Can you follow me this way, bitte," said the man in flawless English so she couldn't act like she hadn't understood.
"He needs to pull your people back or he's going to scare away my target," said Mary but the man just ignored her and took her to a command van parked inside the square disguised as a maintenance vehicle for the Berlin water company. The man knocked on the side of van and the door opened. He then waved for Mary to go first.
"You know Dettrick, we've got to stop meeting like this or people will begin to talk. Look I really don't have time to get into this but you need to pull your people back or you're going to scare away quarry."
"The man who killed the Turkish man in the forum last night or was that your handiwork? Two to the chest and one to the head sounds like a professional hit and before you try to deny it don't insult me. I know a taxi dropped you off near the forum and you did short work on a punk on the U-Bahn."
"Look Dettrick this isn't what it seems to be. I need for you to pull your people back before you cause things to go sideways. I'm telling you as a friend so you don't end up with egg on your face and a desk in whatever your equivalent is to Alaska. You have to believe me."
"Believe you? Lying is our profession. What it seems to me is you are trying to buy the ledger from someone who took it off the man they killed in the forum. That's why Jim Henson is walking around the square. Yes, we've already got him under surveillance. You are my distraction so he can buy the ledger from whoever's selling it."
"You've got this all wrong. I shouldn't tell you this but you're risking screwing up my op so I have to. Jim isn't buy... he's selling and what he has he thinks is the ledger but it isn't. It's a plant I put in the vault to sniff out our mole and it turned out to be him. He's going to pass the USB drive he took off Omer and don't tell me you don't already know his name. I'm interested in finding out who Jim's been working with and who caused or ordered the deaths of our people in the embassy. Now order your people to pull back or if you want you can help me make the collar afterwards."
"That's some story you're expecting me to believe. You want me to pull my men back and let you do what? How do I know Jim is going to sell? You could be lying to me... distracting me so he'll have time to make a run for it back to the safety of your embassy once he's got the ledger."
"I told you what's going on and you still don't believe me. I know it sounds crazy and I'd be skeptical too but because it's so crazy you should believe me. Here let me show you this," she said as she pulled out the receiver. "See this. This is picking up the tracking signal from a transmitter I placed inside the USB drive. If you look at the indicator it's pointing straight to Jim. Now order your people to stand down before you ruin everything."
[Suddenly Mary's worst fears became reality and everything went sideways in a hurry.]
"Sir, we've got a dark complexed man approaching the target dressed in black," said one of the agent sitting behind a monitor. "I think this it's about to go down."
"No, no, your people are too close. They'll be seen you've got to get your men out of there. This is your last chance or..." before Mary could finish warning Dettrick again. The man in black stopped in his tracks and began surveying the square.
"Crap, he's see them," said Mary. Jim too seemed perplexed he stood there first he looked at the man in black then began looking around too.
"What's going on," said Dettrick. The suddenly as if someone had heard him they began watching their men drop like flies. There was a general panic from the people in the square as they started running away in every direction at the first sight of blood.
"You knew about this," snapped Dettrick as he watched helplessly from the van staring in the monitor with his hands in his hair. "How's this happening?"
"I tried to warn you but you wouldn't listen and how is this happening? Isn't it obvious? Our man has a partner who's covering the meeting and his escape. Don't try to lay this on my door step and say we're responsible for this because we're not. This would've been a simple bag and tag with a flight back to Langley followed by Supermax for Jim but you wouldn't listen."
"Look the target is down," said the man at the monitor. He pointed at the screen at the body of Jim lying on the ground. "He just dropped over."
"Looks our mystery man is kneeling over him and reaching into his pockets. Well looks like Jim won't be going to Supermax after all but he did finish what I needed."
"I want that man. Have everyone converge on him and bring him in. I want him dead or alive and dead is the preferred method," Dettrick said but Mary reached over and grabbed the mic from the agent before he could relay the order.
"You're just angry now and if you do that you're just going to get more of your people killed. You need to find where that shooter has his nest before you move in or he or she will do short work with the rest of your people."
"Okay, but I want your receiver. I want him and you're going to give me that device so I can grab him," said Dettrick as he nodded to his men in the van behind Mary.
"You don't want to do this. You know as well as I if I wanted I could take everyone out in this van then walk away."
"I'll have that device," growled Dettrick. One of his men grabbed Mary by the shoulder but she just stepped back and jabbed him with the tranq dart. He fell to the ground unconscious.
"I'm sorry but I need him free so we can track him," said Mary. She could see she was out numbered in the van so she pulled the receiver out and threw it on the floor then stomped on it. "This is personal for me too."
"What have you done? I should lock you up and throw away the key," growled Dettrick. Mary just stood there and looked at him.
"But you won't because I have diplomatic immunity and my General knows where I am. If anything happens to me you're going to have to do some serious explaining... or should I say more than what you're going to have to do now."
"Take her to the airport and put her on a plane," said Dettrick to two men who stood on each side of her. They didn't dare lay a hand on her after what she did to the other guy. "I'm sending you back to Langley. Your diplomatic credentials are revoked and I want you out of here."
"Fine by me Dettrick. There's an agency plane gassed up and ready to leave in the hanger. It was waiting to take Jim back but I can go just as well and don't expect me to pay you any compliments in my after-action report. Maybe you can take up fishing in your retirement. I hear there's some good fly fishing near here."
"Get her out of here," yelled Dettrick. But he knew she was right. This was a colossal mess of epic proportions and it was going to fall all back on him.
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A few hours before outside of Echo Park a black van with tinted windows slowed up then parked next to the curb. Inside was a wet team of mercs men dressed in black tactical gear waiting for the green light. The evening sun was setting and soon it would be dark then would be the time to make their move and to spring into action.
"Okay, everyone listen up this the address those dimwits at the Buy More gave us and as soon as it gets dark we go in grab the target then get out of here. There can be no screw ups on this mission Mr. White was clear about that and failure is not an option."
"What do we know about the other people in the apartment? Do we know what we're walking into and will they be any problems?"
"Nothing a short burst can't take care of. The husband is supposed to be some sort of tech who works for the Nerd Herd in the Buy More. He's probably just her cover... a real loser. However, as always, we leave no witnesses. The poor sap is going to get the surprise of his life as short as it might be when we tap him. Are there any other questions?"
"Do we have a floor plan for the apartment? It would make clearing the place that much easier if we didn't step into a broom closet or something like that."
"No, but that shouldn't matter. We've got the element of surprise so they won't have time to react. Now check your weapons and your gear one more time so when I yell go you'll be ready to jump. I want to be in and out of here in under five minutes after I give you the green light."
The team leader took out his phone then climbed in the driver's seat where he could get a goof view of what was going on across the street. He dialed a number then waited there was a click and he heard a voice he recognized.
"We're in place Mr. White and ready to go. We're just waiting now for the sun to sit hen use the cover of darkness. ... Don't worry we've got this and in a few hours we'll deliver the woman to you. ... Yes, I told them failure wasn't an option. ... Floating in the bay face down. They are well aware there will be consequences for any screw ups. ... Yes, sir I understand and I've told the men. We leave no witnessed when we're done. ... Yes, Sir if that's what you want I'll make it happen. We have Semtex with us so it won't be a problem," said the team leader. He talked a little longer with Mr. White then hung up.
"I need for one of you guys to make me a special present with our Semtex we can leave once we're done. It needs to have a remote detonator and strong enough to level the apartment."