Don't own Chuck
White's face turned pale when the progress bar ended and read one hundred percent completed but no files were decrypted. None could be found on the pen other that the encryption program itself. The pen was as clean as a whistle just its access had been encrypted which for Mr. White and the Circle made it less than useless. However, one question it did raise which was if the ledger wasn't on the pen then where was it? That meant the only person who might know was Jack Burton and Black was about to eliminate him.
"I hope you realize the position you're in," said Alpha as he retrieved White's phone tossing it back to him. "You need to call Mr. Black off. I don't know why I'm doing this but I'll see what I can do for you."
"I won't forget this," said White as he stared at the monitor as if by staring he could change something.
"Well, get dialing but I'm not promising anything," said Alpha as he disappeared up front behind the curtain. White knew he was in hot water up to his neck and sinking fast. His only hope was that Black screwed up when he made the copy but he seriously doubted that.
"Come on pick up," he said as the call went to voice mail. "Crap, this isn't the right time for you to go dark on me." He hit redial and got the same message he'd gotten before.
"No, I don't want to leave a message at the sound of the beep. Black, where the heck are you? It's me when you listen to this call me back. It's urgent," said White as he left a message. "Geez, how long before you check your mail?"
White looked at his watch then at the computer screen. He took a deep breath then dialed again but again it went to voice mail.
"Crap, crap, crap," he yelled as his anger flared and he threw his phone against the wall. It made a loud thud as it bounced off the bulkhead. He slumped forward with his head in his hands realizing he'd overplayed his hand and now he was going to have to pay the consequences. He sat back up and looked at Alpha as he walked back into the cabin.
"I take it your partner isn't picking up," said Alpha as he bent over and picked up the phone from the floor. "We should stop before this becomes a habit," he said as he handed it back to White. Alpha turned and waved to one of his men who brought over another bottle then poured them both a drink.
"Here I think you could really use this now," he said as he passed him a glass. "Your phone is a little worse for the wear but like Timex it took a licking but kept on ticking."
"Thanks, and yes, so far all my calls have gone to voice mail," White said then he realized he'd just back himself into a corner. "However, that could mean anything. The question is will the Circle be patient enough until I can contact Black to see what's going on?"
"Well, I just got off the phone with One's secretary and needless to say he wasn't very happy about this turn of events. However, I talked with him and convinced him that we might need to make a stop over to refuel before we can continue on to Moldova."
"It sounds like we're just putting off the inevitable. I should go back and throw myself on my sword. At least it would quick and painless."
"I don't think what they'd have in mind would be either. No, we're going to refuel in Tivat and that way we can grab Mr. Black so we can sort this all out."
"We could also grab Jack Burton and bring him with us that way I'd have something to show to the Circle," said Mr. White as the cog started turning in his head. "It won't be the same as having the ledger but it just might be enough to keep me from being skinned alive."
"Maybe or maybe not, but we won't know until we try," said Alpha as he tossed his shot down then filled his glass again while glancing down at his watch. "It's time. We can begin our course change, and no one will be the wiser."
"What does that mean," said Mr. White as he held out his glass. Alpha topped him off again laughing.
"Just a little something I cooked up to make sure no one is following us. I'll explain later but right now I need to get up to the cockpit and make sure we're heading on our new course. Here I'll leave you the bottle. Just sit back and enjoy the ride."
"Thanks," said Mr. White as he leaned over and took it from him. But his stomach was in knots so there was no enjoying this ride. He sat back and watched Alpha disappear up front then he looked out the window at the ocean below.
"At terminal velocity I'd have time to think before I go splat but that's only if I didn't freeze or pass out first. I think you've definitely overplayed this hand," he said to his reflection in the glass.
"I know you're going to tell me I should've listened to Mr. Black and been a little more prudent. But fortune smiles on the bold even if this seems more a setback," he said then he pulled out his phone and tried Black once more. And again it went to voice mail but this time he resisted the desire to throw his phone.
"Crap, I hope you're in the mud baths and not standing in Jack Burton's blood. I hate to say this but I almost hope the Major takes you out first," he said as he took a hit straight from the bottle.
"I can't even get drunk properly," he said as he pushed the bottle aside. "I've really done it this time."
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Sarah was on her way back to the Casino when she got the call from Margo telling her something was going down with Razhib and Molly. This made her the nearest so she was the first on scene. She parked her vehicle outside of the old quarter then ran to their location on foot. When she got there, she found them outside of what she later discovered was Miriam's house.
"What's going on and why are you two out here by yourselves," asked Sarah as she appeared behind them.
"Crap! You know you could give a person a heart attack sneaking up on them like that," said Molly. They drew back deeper into the shadows as Razhib explained to her what had happened.
"I don't have to tell you how irresponsible it was of you to follow that man. You both could've been hurt and Razhib, what were you thinking bringing Molly here with you?"
"But I had to be sure Miriam got home safely," said Razhib. He didn't have to see Sarah's face to see she was angry with him.
"Wait a minute don't blame him, I made him take me and besides nothing happened. But that man is still in there so how are we going to take him?"
"There's no 'we' in this," said Sarah as she waved at Margot who was arriving with a team. "You're going back to the Casino right now and I don't want to hear any arguments about it."
"Sarah's right. You to need to go," said Margot. "Raz, you and I will talk about this later but for now I need for you two to be safe and safe isn't here."
"I just want to stay long enough to make sure Miriam and her family are safe then I'll go back to the Casino."
"No, you two have done enough for one evening. I want you back home now," said Margot snapping at him. "I'm sorry. Look, I understand but I can't run this op worrying about you two so do me a favor and go. I promise Miriam and her family will be all right and tomorrow she won't even remember any of this bad experience."
"But..." said Razhib as he started to protest but he could see that neither Sarah nor Margot weren't going to change their minds.
"Look, if you don't go now you're just putting Miriam in more danger with that man and I don't think that's what you want, is it?"
"No, no it isn't," said Razhib as he hung his head. Molly put her arm around him then they walked off slowly disappearing into the dark alleyway.
"It wasn't just the right call," said Sarah as she checked her weapon. "It was the only call. Now let's grab this SOB and see if we can't get some answers."
Razhib had told them that Mr. Black was staying in the room Miriam's parents let out in the back. So, Margot deployed her team surrounding the house while they tried at the same time to hide in the shadows.
"Okay, everyone's in place," said Margot. Sarah nodded then the two of them went silently around the house and up the stairs to the door of the perp's room.
"Ready? You go high, I'll go low," said Margot. Sarah nodded back. "On the count of three," she whispered.
"Three," yelled Sarah then she kicked the door in tossing a flash grenade in front of her. "On the ground… hands where I can see them," she yelled as the grenade went off. They quickly took the flat but found no one was home.
"Do I need to specify what language I'm going to count in or did you just never bothered to learn?" Sarah was about to tell Margot what she thought when one of her men came to them.
"There's no sign of anyone being here and we found a back window open. It's an easy jump into a garden and from there you can disappear anywhere."
"It doesn't make any sense. There's no reason for our rabbit to have run and if he had we would've grabbed him," said Sarah. "You did have this place under lockdown so where is he?"
"What's going on in here," yelled a man with a thick accent. "What are you people doing in here? What have you done with my renter?"
"We haven't done anything with him," said Margot as Miriam's father pushed through to them. She could see the anger in his eyes when he saw her.
"It's you... you. What have you done to my door? Who's going to fix this? What are you and your people doing in my house? I want you out of here right now."
"Don't worry any damages I promise we'll fix everything, but we need to find the man who was here. Where did he go?"
"How am I supposed to know? Not that I would tell if I did. You people would put a bag over his head then take him to one of your dark sites to water board him or worse."
"Look, just calm down and relax. We don't do that anymore," said Margot as she tried to calm the man down.
"You may not but I wouldn't rule out anything right now. Personally the 'and worse option' works for me," said Sarah as Miriam and her mother came in.
"What part of not helping don't you understand," said Margot. But Sarah had about all she could take of this and was determined to get some answers.
"Okay, this is the deal. I won't lie to you and you don't lie to me. The man that was staying here is a criminal and responsible for the terrorist attack in Berlin. You know the one that's been in the news. We need to apprehend him before he tries something similar here."
"I still think you're lying," hissed Miriam's father. "What proof do you have of that other than he's a Muslim."
"A lot actually starting with Razhib recognized him from Morocco and then there's a blurry photo of him that was taken in Berlin. So, Miriam where is he at? We know he walked you home from the pub."
"Girl, you don't have to say a thing," said her father. "And as far as your boy recognizing him… well that boy should recognize his own kind."
"Oh, you don't know how much self-restraint I'm using right now not to knock you on your can," said Margot. "Miriam, Razhib followed you and that man back here to because he wanted to make sure you were safe."
"Yes, it's true we walked from the pub back here but… well it might be nothing be I thought it was strange when we we're talking because he said he was a reporter and wanted to write a story about Razhib... his life. But he didn't ask two words about Razhib. No, all he was interested in was knowing about the Casino and Jack."
"That's who we think he's trying to kill," said Sarah as she went over and pulled out the Dragunov (SVD-63) sniper rifle hidden in a bag. Miriam's mother gasped. "I don't think he was going to use this to go squirrel hunting," said Sarah as she looked at Miriam's father. "Miriam, did you talk about anything or anyone else?"
"Well yes," she said as she paused then looked down at the floor. "He seemed interested in Molly. Especially after he found out that she was possibly Jack's daughter."
"Geez, that's why he's not here," said Sarah. "He went out after Molly as soon as he returned to his room. He wants to grab her before she gets back to the Casino and we just sent her straight to him."
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Chuck sat at the table in the conference room in Castle studying the board he and Morgan had put together. They had placed push pins from Berlin to Istanbul with the photos of Abe and the Turk on both cities. Then under Abe's photo he hung a photo of Jim Henson along with the other people that had been eliminated at the Embassy. Then he had a photo of the mysterious Mr. Black and a blurry photo of Mr. White. He was still waiting on Beckman's people to a clean copy to him.
"I think this is as much as we got for right now," said Chuck as Morgan looked over his shoulder at the board. "But even with this I think we can start to see what we have to get done."
"We do? Are we looking at the same board? I'm glad you do be cause to me it looks like a waste of perfectly good afternoon and if you see a pattern in that mess then I'd like to know what it is?"
"Let me enlighten you then. Well, just because you can't see a pattern doesn't mean one doesn't exist. The Turk took out Abe then sent his men after Jack. You can see those lines, but his men got taken so the Turk had to go which brought Mr. White and Black into play."
"Salt and Pepper right. So White came after Sarah but she wasn't here, and you took out his group. But wait a minute if White was after Sarah then who put the note on your herder and why did that Carmine lookalike come after you in the store? That couldn't have been White's work or could it? I'm feeling a headache coming on and I'm getting confused."
"No, you're not getting confused because you're right it doesn't make sense. Why would White do that? It doesn't make sense and you then there was that fake movie production company that rented that office building. If you want to know what I think. I think there's a mysterious person who's moving behind the scenes making fun of us all."
"Sounds rather sinister and who's this person? You don't have them up on the board or do you want me to add him now but how does he fit in with everyone else on the chart?"
"I'm not sure yet but we know he or she was here because they had to be here to meet Eileen in order to set her up. The real question is what was the goal of this maneuver? What did they hope to obtain by it? No one does nothing without a reason so what's theirs?"
"Well you've lost me again with that one. They wanted you out of the way I guess because why else would they have send Eileen here with a gun looking for you in particular to gun down?"
"Maybe or maybe not… but more than wanting to get rid of me they might've wanted Sarah react the way she did and to run off to Montenegro to look out for Jack. This is true especially if we assume for a second that Jack is telling the truth then what does that say?"
"It says that's one big assumption considering Jack and the truth don't live in the same zip code let alone in the same room," said Morgan. Chuck gave him a look. "Okay, then what does it say?"
"Don't you see? Whoever this person is they have beef with both Jack and Sarah. That means this goes back to Jack's… well less than legal days. I'm going to need Jack's unredacted file so I'm going to need to take this to Beckman and have a talk with her."
"Why? Can't you just think about Jack and then presto flash? Isn't that the way it works? When I was zooming that's all I need to do just think then zoom," said Morgan as he gesticulated with his hands almost knocking over Chuck's coffee cup and his grape soda can.
"Let's zoom a little less, okay little buddy. And you're right normally, yes that would be all I'd need to do. However, in Jack's case the powers to be thought it better to leave parts of Jack's file out of the intersect."
"Well, if Beckman says no you could just ask Sarah," said Morgan as he picked up his grape soda and took a sip then made a face. "Yuck, it's gotten warm."
"There's ice in the freezer as well as glasses but try not to make a mess or Casey's going to get mad and I don't think you want that."
"No, I don't but you haven't answered my question. Why don't you just ask Sarah. I don't see the big deal."
"Yes, I could ask Sarah, but I don't know how much she wants me to know about her past… especially the part that involves Jack. But after I get done with the General, I'm going to have to call and old Serbian. He and I are going to have to have a heart to heart and I'm not sure he's going to like what I have to ask."
"Chuck, look at this," said Morgan as he pointed to the monitor that was tracking the DC 9. "Look the plane you're tracking has just amended its flight plan. Now it's going to Tivat in Montenegro and the plane it swapped call signs out with has called in a mayday."
"Crap, it's happened. They've discovered the pen drive they have is a fake. I need to get this done in a hurry if it's going to be of any use."
"Just tell me what you want me to do? The Cobra is ready to go into action. I could fly over to Montenegro and head that group off."
"Right Morgan, you're going to fly over with the way you feel about flying. I appreciate the offer but for now can you get in touch with Alex and Kate. I'm going to need them here right away then after that you can cross your fingers and maybe say a little prayer."
"Whatever you need Chuck. What are best friends for?"
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Twelve was busy making sure the rest of the Circle was settled in. The town had only one hotel and they took it over kicking out the rest of the guests. There were numerous complaints from the other members that it wasn't to their liking. However, One had been able to maintain discipline and keep everyone in line. However, Twelve could see this was a powder keg ready to blow at any moment.
"Sir, You have to see that White's time is up," said Twelve. "The rest of the Circle is getting anxious and are tired of waiting for him to show up. I'm beginning to wonder if he actually has what he says he has or if he's just playing us along."
"My Secretary has been in touch with him and he assures me that White says he's got the ledger on a data drive with him. Tell everyone we need to rough it for just a little bit longer."
"Yes Sir, I will but maybe it would sound better if it came from you," said Twelve. He didn't know why but One's secretary had put his neck out and he was going to see that he got it cut off.
"Of course, I'll tell everyone when we meet tomorrow morning. So, if there's nothing else I need to find my secretary. I swear I'm going to hang a bell around his neck one of these days."
"Well there is something and I don't know if this has anything to do with what's going on or not. However, I was contacted by a person we know in Serbia and he said that there's a man who'd like to speak with you."
"A man? What man? I don't meet people like this and you know it. You need to send this through my secretary," said One then he paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "Well I guess there's nothing normal about what's going on right now. So, tell me will our Serbian friend vouch for this man and tell me know more about him other than he's a man?"