Don't own Chuck
Stefan bumped into Anatoly outside of the Director's office. He smiled at him as he watched him walking down the hallway. Anatoly looked back and wondered what Stefan had gotten them into this time. Stefan had the bad habit of getting them in trouble with the director not the least was their last trip to Central America. However, in the end Chuck bailed them out and the Director received praise from the Kremlin on an operation so all was well that ended well.
"What have you done this time," asked Anatoly. "Don't tell me you pissed off the Director again. You know one of these days you're going to get us sent to Siberia."
"You know we could be shot and wouldn't that be worse?" said Stefan as he hugged Anatoly. "And no, I haven't done anything... at least nothing I'm aware of."
"That you are aware of... I seem to remember getting in trouble for a lot that you were unaware of and yes, a firing squad would be better. I wouldn't have to listen to my wife complaining. Well, let's get this over with," said Anatoly as he knocked on the door then they walked inside.
When they walked in they saw Igor's secretary sitting behind a computer screen typing away on a keyboard. He barely looked up to acknowledge their presence.
"The Director will see you now. Just walk in and he's been waiting," said the man. Anatoly looked at his watch then at Stefan who shook his head then shrugged his shoulders.
"It's about time you two decided to show up," said Igor greeting them as the walked in. He pointed at two chairs across from his desk and they sat down.
"I'm sorry but I just got the word you wanted to see me," said Anatoly as he looked over at Stefan who made a face back.
"That's because I just did. Have either of you been in contact with Agent Carmichael?" This time Stefan looked over at Anatoly. "Come on have you been talking with Chuck? It's an easy answer, yes or no."
"No, I haven't," said Stefan as Anatoly shook his head. "Why? Is there something we should know? Do we need to go somewhere?"
"No, that's exactly what I don't want you to do. Look, I've done some checking and the people that are involved in what he is doing are some important people here... Siloviki who are in the inner circle of the Kremlin and what they are doing abroad in Chișinău may be construed as... well less than honest. However, here they've got their hands clean so I don't want us getting involved in this mess. Do I make myself crystal clear?"
"Absolutely," said Stefan as he popped up. "You can count on us. We understand clearly what you want us to do."
"Good, so you both can go," said Igor as he waved for them to leave. Stefan and Anatoly both marched out of the Directors off and straight into the hallway outside.
"You should call your wife and tell her you won't be home for a few days before we head to the airport. I've got my passport on me. Do you have yours handy or do you need to get it?"
"What? Didn't you just hear a word Trotski said? We're to stay put and not to got to Moldova for any reason whatsoever?"
"That what he told us so if any of these Grey Cardinals were listening in that's what they'd hear but didn't you see what he was telling us with his eyes? The eyes were telling us we need to go help Chuck out. You really need to work on your Director skills."
"What? Director skills? Are you sure that was what he was trying to tell us? Because that's not what came out from his mouth. And what's the difference between him telling us this in his office and us talking about it out here in the hallway? Someone could still overhear us."
"You're absolutely right so not another word until we're on the plane to... to Yakutsk. Yes, we need to catch a flight for Yakutsk," said Stefan as he gave Anatoly a wink.
"I just hope you're not getting us sent there for real and if we do end up there then you're going to tell my wife."
"Oh come on and you need to try to pay more attention to the eyes. Remember what they say the eyes are the windows to the soul."
"And a bullet between them makes you dead."
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Sarah was on her way back down to the dungeon after checking in on Jack who was still at work in his office. She told him to go to bed and that he could pick up tomorrow which strange as it was he agreed. Then he shared a night cap with her after throwing everything in the safe.
"You should follow your own advice and call it a night. You've got to be more tired than I am," said Jack as he finished off his glass.
"Yes, I think I'm going to call it a night too but before I can there are a couple of things I need to do down below and I want to call home. After I get all that done then I can turn in."
"Well tell the squirt hi from me and I want a full report on how school is going," said Jack as he double checked the safe to make sure it was locked.
"Why? You were never interest in what I did in school," said Sarah as she downed the rest of her glass then set it on a coaster on Jack's desk.
"Is that the way you remember it? Because it's just not true. I way remember it I even heled you with your math homework."
"I remember you used to help me with my math by using three decks of cards then asking me what the probability was of going busted or which card was next in the deck."
"Cards are just like an abacus but more practical and financially rewarding. Didn't we cleaned up in Atlantic city and the rooms we stayed in... they were always the best."
"Yeah, everything was good until it wasn't. I remember they accused us of card counting and you got tossed out on your ear. I was the youngest person to be declared persona non grata in the casino."
"The way I remember it was I had to leave because it was against the law to bring a minor into a casino. None of that other stuff ever stuck or have you forgotten and they took your photo because you were cute. But that's what you think of your old man? Some two-bit thief? Darling, a thief has to run out of town as fast as he can, but a good con man..."
"But a good con man can leave whenever he wants. I remember, Dad. Goodnight Dad, George and Carl will come up with you and stay in the living area until I come up..."
"That's really not necessary. They probably want to go to the gym or lift some weights somewhere. They don't have to worry about me."
"They don't, I do and as long as I do you're going to have your security detail even if I have to pay for one out of pocket," said Sarah as they both walked out of his office then through the casino with George and Carl following behind them. When they walked out of the casino and started to walk across the hotel lobby Sarah noticed a man in white checking in at the reception desk.
"What is it?" said Jack as Sarah stopped in her tracks and looked the man over. "You know it's not polite to stare, especially if the man is about the whitest man I've ever seen. He'd make George Wallace happy and embarrass rice."
"Dad! Stop and go on up to the suite. I'll be up in a moment there's something I need to take care of here." said Sarah then she turned to George and Carl. "Don't let Jack offer you a nightcap or you just might be out for the night."
"Darling is that anyway to talk about your old man. Come on up guys, maybe I could interest you two in a friendly game of poker. I'll even let you name the game," said Jack as they stepped on the elevator.
"Goodnight Jack and please try to behave for once in your life."
"Now where's the fun in that, 'when I'm good, I'm very good, but when I'm bad, I'm better,'" he said as the doors closed. Sarah looked back over at the man at the reception desk then made a beeline over to him.
"Thank you, Mr. Bianchi," she heard the man behind the reception desk say. "Here's your passport and this is your room keycard. If you can wait one minute I'll get a bellhop to show you to your room."
"Don't bother with that I'll show Mr. Bianchi, is it?" Sarah said, "up to his room." The man nodded as Sarah reached over and grabbed his keycard as well as his passport giving it a quick glance. "Coming from France I see. How is Paris this time of year?"
"The same as always," said White as he took his passport from her. "I travel a lot and I was in Paris just for a few days. I have a lot of stamps in my passport but I never really get the chance to see the places I visit."
"I know the feeling," said Sarah as she led White over to the elevators. "My life is like that but I'm making an effort now to take time out to admire the view. Not to sound like a fortune cookie but life is a journey and if you don't make the time to look out the window then when the journey is over you've never really seen anything."
"Said like that it makes the whole thing sound so sad," said White as the elevator doors opened and they stepped inside.
"Especially if you make the wrong decisions and that journey ends abruptly," said Sarah as she pressed the button for White's floor. "Like what happened to a man this evening out in town. I suppose you've heard about it."
"No, I just arrived actually but excuse me, do we know each other? I'm sure hope that if I'd ever met someone like you I'd remember them, but I can't place you anywhere."
"No, I don't think we have. However, I was surprised when I glanced at your passport Mr. Bianchi that there wasn't a stamp in it from Bob Hope international or LAX. I believe you left from there a few days ago."
"Los Angeles? Well the reason I don't have any stamp in it from there is because I've never been there yet. I guess I could always go but all that sun and beaches... well as you can see from my skin pigment or the lack there of so it's not my sort of place."
"Really, then it's my bust. I must have you confused with someone else who looks like you. The person I'm talking about sent a group of men to my house in Echo Park not realizing I was here. My husband had a nice chat with them then dispatched them to another location where they could..."
"Rest in peace," said Bianchi as he looked over Sarah and realized he was standing in the elevator with the woman he was supposed to have taken in L.A. "So, tell me what's your job here in the casino? You aren't one of those exotic dancers, are you? You know the ones who dance with ostrich feathers. Not that there's anything wrong with being an exotic dancer. It's just I've never met one before."
"No, I'm not nor have I ever been well not in public. Actually, my husband and I own this place. I'm here making sure everything is being run properly. There was a problem with the trash but I made sure they... it got tossed out"
"A co-owner then I am privileged. This is a first for me because I've never met an owner of an establishment like let alone have her show me to my room or could it be that you short on personnel?"
"No, we have adequate manpower to meet any needs that might come through the front doors. We run this place like a family run business and I like from time to time to meet our guests and get to know them," said Sarah as the bell rang in the elevator and announced the floor.
"So, is that what this was? You're getting to know me," said White as he backed up off the elevator making sure not to give her his back.
"Something like that Mr. White... I mean Bianchi. You're down the hall on the right. I hope you have a quiet, relaxing stay with us. You know I just noticed something strange you don't have any bags. Did they or you get lost on the way?"
"You could say that," said White as he started to turn but stopped. "It was nice meeting you Mrs.? I'm sorry I didn't catch you last name."
"Because I didn't give it to you," said Sarah as the doors closed. She felt like she needed a shower after being in the elevator so close to White. She took a deep breath then put her hand on the mirror above the number pad. An extra floor number appeared below the pad.
"Let's see what else you're hiding Mr. White," she said as she pressed it to go down into the dungeon then glanced at her watch. "What time is it? Okay, I should have enough time to run White through the deep data base then while it's processing call home.
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Chuck prepared himself for his landing in Chișinău he'd been in character for a while sitting in his seat looking in a mirror he'd placed opposite him. Sheshenkov was like a second skin for him that his slid into with ease. Maybe too easy for comfort but none the less he was back and he needed every bite of the old Russian's wit to pull this off.
"You're back my friend," he said in Russian looking at his reflection. "I'm going to need you on this mission. Sarah would be so pissed if she knew you were here and where we're going. Please don't make me regret bringing you along."
"You have a call Sir," said a man dressed in black. The man looked around he could've sworn he'd heard Chuck talking with someone but that was silly because he was the only one they picked up in Berlin.
"Is there someone on the phone for me," said Chuck. They man looked embarrassed as he handed Chuck a sat phone. "The pilot says we'll be touching down in an hour."
"Spah-see-boh," said Chuck. The man looked at him. "I mean thanks," he said correcting himself then he took the phone.
"Chuck," he heard from the other end in a thick Russian accent. "I thought I owed you a call and an explanation."
"Director," said Chuck as he switched back into Russian. "You don't owe me anything I knew when I asked you that it was a long shot so don't worry about it. I'll go in by myself."
"Well, it's the toadeating Siloviki... the grey cardinals. They're everywhere and they hear all and they report it back too. The Novorossiya is a lot like the old Russia," said Igor as he slipped back and forth between English and Russian. "Personally, I think they are all Pookhalmi. You know what I mean?"
"Yes, I think you've said it before 'toadeaters' but I understand what you're saying. Truthfully, all I really need is for you to keep my personnel file open."
"You mean the Kolonel's file," said Igor. There was a pause on the line. "Of course, I will. If we're being honest I never really closed it. You know if you get tired of working for your General, Sheshenkov could come work here and get a promotion. The next step would be general."
"Thank you but no thank you. I'm happy with the life I've made here. You should come and visit some time. I'll bet you've got nieces and nephews who'd love to visit Disneyland. I could arrange for them to meet Mickey Mouse."
"Why would I want to go there and introduce them to that capitalist mouse when I can walk over to Detsky Mir across the square," said the Director as they both laughed.
"As nice as it is I don't think it's the same thing. But who knows maybe one day they'll open a Disney world in Moscow next to the Trump hotel."
"Who knows but I did do you a favor. I learned that a wet team was headed for Tivat and I also found out that your wife is in Kotor with her father. After our last discussion it wasn't difficult to figure out what the team was after so I made a phone call to an old friend of mine in the secret service there. The team is going to get a little surprise when they touch down and have to go through customs."
"It looks as if I owe you a special thanks then Director," said Chuck as the man in black came back to tell him that they were getting close to landing. "I'm going to have to let you go now we're about to land. Wish me well."
"You can thank me with another case of scotch. My supply is running low. Ni puha, nip era… good hunting and watch your back. These toadeaters are not to be trusted."
"Spah-see-boh… thanks for the favor. You can consider that case of scotch in the mail. I'll be tlking with you face to face next week in Kotor at the poker tournament."
"If God is willing. Be safe and be strong," said Igor as he hung up. He cursed the Siloki for making him do this. He wished there was a way.
Chuck hung up then handed the man back his sat phone then he quickly fired off a quick e-mail to Morgan telling him to contact Hannah in Paris.
Tell Hannah to send a case of 18-year old Macallan to Igor Trotski, FSB Building, Lubyanka Square, Moscow, Russia. She can use our discretionary fund to pay for it, he wrote then pressed send.
"Well here goes nothing," he said to his reflection as he felt the plane start its descent.
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Sarah tried calling Chuck for hours but he wasn't picking up. Every time she called she got the same recorded message saying, 'the person you're trying to call is unavailable at the moment or has his phone switched off. Please try back later.' The way she calculated with the time difference he should be getting Sam up and getting her ready for school.
"Why aren't you picking up? Why is you phone off? Did you switch it off before you went to bed and forgot to set the alarm? Sam's going to be late for school," she said as she looked at her watch letting her intersect do the math for her. "I know, I can call Morgan. He can run over and wake Chuck up."
"Here's that read out you wanted on Bianchi aka Mr. White," said Mike as he temporarily side tracked her. "It looks like he's ex-Stasi then free-lanced over Eastern Europe after the wall came down. He's been very busy over the years and has been linked to over a hundred different jobs across Europe. And there's this," said Mike as he opened the dossier. That guy who got gutted," said Mike. Sarah gave him a look over the top of the pages. "I meant the man who was terminated last night was his partner in crime. They operated as a two-man tag team.
"How very original. There code names sound like something from a cheap dime store spy novel but their work that's... well they were professional," said Sarah as she thumbed through the dossier she'd taken from Mike.
"If they're so professional then why is Bianchi or White's partner in the morgue? It sounds to me like they let their guard down and got sloppy by splitting up."
"No, I don't think they got sloppy. I think they got overly ambitious and that's what got Black killed and why White's here. As it's been said a man has to know his limitations."
"Okay Dirty Harry, I'll take your word for it," said Mike as he gave her a raised eyebrow.
"But that being said a woman knows none. I need to make a quick phone call then let's call it a night. I don't trust my father with George and Carl in the same room together. It was different when they were outside the door."
"Why? They're both good agents. I screened their records personally before they arrived and I'm sure they'll keep him safe."
"Jack was talking about them having a friendly came of poker and I know how that will go. There's nothing friendly about the way Jack plays poker."
"Then I'd hurry up on that call or we won't have to worry about assassins killing Jack. His own bodyguard might do it for them."