Don't own Chuck
Beckman got off the horn with Chuck then looked across her desk at her Major. She realized that part of the fault of what happened was hers but this was an incident that needed to be taken care of right then before it got out of hand. Sitting next to the Major was Roan who was nursing a cup of coffee with a face that said he wished it were something stronger.
"So can one of you two gentlemen explain to me how things got so out of hand at Alexandria that I had to send in a scrub team to clean your messes up?"
"Well it certainly wasn't my mess," said Roan as he sipped on his coffee looking over at the Major. Roan had left him to hang out and dry.
"I take full responsibility for my actions. When I was talking with Detective Derrick I realized he was never going to give me that report and the only way to get it was to take it so I did."
"Major while I do appreciate the initiative you are not a trained field agent. You are my aide. If I had wanted an agent as my aide I would've put Roan in your position. Do you understand?"
"Yes ma'am and it won't happen again," said the Major as he looked over to Roan for some help but got none in return. He was out on a limb he'd cut behind him.
"Diane, don't be too hard on the boy," said Roan. "He did get that copy of the report from the police crime lab. I could've probably gotten it without having to gas anyone but he did better than Colonel Shoot'em Up would've in that they're all still breathing when he left."
"Yes, I suppose you're right Roan. When put in proper perspective and you're right short of having the section of rope that was sampled this report is the next best thing. It says the rope was consistent with the type used by mountain climbers or trapeze artists. Any word yet from our IT people about being able to hack the data off that tablet you recovered."
"I'll check with them but the last time I called they were busy taking care of things in Alexandria. They promised me after they finished scrubbing CCTV footage they'd look at it and get back to me. But I guess it can't hurt to reinforce our need to have it as soon as possible. I'll give them a call now if you're done with me here."
"Yes we're done here. You can go check on the status…. Oh hold one second," said the General as she stopped him from leaving. "I don't want any of this to get to Burbank. Chuck will never understand why we're still toying around with the intersect. So this you need to keep under your hat and him being out on vacation at this time was a stroke of pure luck. However, if he gets wind of what's going on he'll insist on staying and helping work the mission."
"Diane, I don't want to contradict you but the fact that he's still going on vacation after you told him you had a situation you were handling tells me you've got nothing to worry about from him."
"Did we listen to the same conversation? Chuck volunteered to help out by looking over the case material and flashing on it. If he saw just a little of what we have, then he'd jump in with both feet. No for now Chuck cannot be brought into the loop. Major dismissed."
"Diane, I still think you're overreacting," said Roan as she sat his coffee cup on her desk then went to her bar and poured himself a drink. "Do you want one."
"By overreacting I've baled myself out of more than one scrap and I'll do it again if I have too. Now let's talk about how my Major got the idea to go visit the police station."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"That's not what a little bird told me."
[Back in Alexandria]
Detective Derrick and the other two detectives headed back out to the towers. Derrick explained his hunch on the way which seemed to be confirmed at least to him now that he seemed to have lost the last twenty-four hours of his memory as well as a folder from the crime lab and his tablet.
"So this is what you're going to tell the Captain when he asks you how you lost your tablet? That there is some sort of government conspiracy or cover up? Do I have to tell you what that sounds like?"
"If internal affairs gets wind of this you'll be sitting on a shrink's couch and tied to a desk until you get declared fit for duty. And that is only if your urine sample comes back clean. Can I say I've got some doubts about that."
"Yeah, I don't see that happening," said Frankie. "We saw you in that interrogation room and whatever it was you were on it didn't do you any good… I'm not judging I'm just saying don't let the pressures of this job get to you.
"Gee thanks guys I can always count on my friends to make me feel worse," said Derrick as he downed a half a bottle of aspirin without water for his headache. The truth was he was beginning to think the same thing and would've if it hadn't been for Colleen. She'd asked him how his meeting went with the Major went that was when he put two and two together and came up with a government cover up.
"We're here," he said as he pointed out the twin structures. "Just wait until you see. You heard Colleen she said I was with this Major I can't remember now…"
"Okay so you met agent Mulder we're here let's go look for agent Scully," said Frankie as they got out of the car and started walking over to the one tower behind Derrick.
"Now you guys are going to see something," he said as he led them inside. But he was not prepared to see what he found. The building was vacant not a person in sight but worse it looked abandoned like there hadn't been anyone in there for years.
"Maybe we ought to revisit the idea of a psych eval," said Frankie as he and his partner looked around but there was nothing to be found not even a foot print in the dust.
"Hey Detective you're back," said Mr. Smythe. "I saw you when you guys pulled up on our external cameras and thought I'd come over and ask… what the heck," he said as it hit. The building was empty. "Where'd everyone and everything go? We were just over here the other day and got run out."
"You were with Detective Derrick here and there were people here?" said Frankie. Now he was really wondering what was going on. He looked over at his partner and could tell he was wondering the same thing.
"Yeah these guys were dressed in black with earbuds and everything. They stopped us at the entrance and told us we were trespassing then not so politely we got tossed out to the curb. But then there was that other agent… the one that came outside and talked to us. What was his name?"
"That's right I almost forgot about him," said Derrick. "I'm having a little problem remembering the last twenty-four hours. Things are a little bit of a fog in my head…"
"You too? Bob, you remember him our IT guy, well we both woke up on the roof and couldn't remember how we got there. The last twenty-fours are gone and I've got a headache that just won't stop…"
"What's going on here," said a woman who came in carrying a clipboard and escorting a group of oriental men. "If you're interested in renting this building you need to make an appointment at my office. You can't just show up and look around on your own."
"What do you mean rent?" said Derrick. He showed her his badge. "What happened to the previous tenants? We'd like to question them."
"That was five years around when the economy started to go south. They went bankrupted during the financial crisis hit so their CEO took a swan dive off the roof and landed in the bushes just out front to the left. Since then this building has remained vacant. These gentlemen are the first to show any interest in renting it."
"That's impossible," said Smythe as he looked at the Detective. "Tell her we saw men in here just the other day."
"Well if you did they were trespassing on private property and I wish you would've arrested them or they rented the building," she said. "I really don't care which."
"Aren't you afraid lady that you're about to scare away your renters," asked Frankie looking over the woman's group. But they were just standing around looking and taking pictures.
"No they don't speak a word of English so I'll make up something to tell them in Chinese. Like I said I don't know who you saw but the building at least on paper was supposed to be empty."
"Thanks ma'am," said Frankie then he turned back to Derrick and Smythe. "I think you two have been conned. How many men did you see in total?
"Well let's see there was a man on a walk through metal detector and then maybe three more. One was called Mark. I think he was the senior agent and a bit of a butt if you ask me."
"Did you see any badges or credentials to support the fact they were agents or did they just tell you they were and because they were dressed in black with earbuds you accepted it?"
"Well come to think of it they never said they were. It was that Paul guy who came running out after we got kicked out who said they were or did he?"
"Don't you see what happened," said Frankie as he laughed looking over at his partner who was laughing too. "You guys were played like a piano that Paul guy who just conveniently came out after you got tossed out. It's what we do all the time with good cop bad cop and you guys swallowed it hook line and sinker."
"Really and how do you explain the fact that the lab report I can't find now has gone missing off the server and the evidence I gathered has gone missing from the evidence locker."
"It's just coincidence is all. You know how much stuff that we've turned into the evidence locker goes missing then they find it afterwards… and usually too long later. Your evidence might not even be lost just misfiled. Something gets taken out of one bag and put into another. I've seen it happen and I know you have too."
"Okay I'll give you that but what about the missing report from the crime lab that went missing off the server? How do you explain that and don't tell me it was just coincidence? There are just too many coincidences."
"Oh you don't get me started on the Chief's new initiative to get us into the twenty-first century. Those tablets and the network are just an open invitation for crap like this to happen. I think this is just the beginning. All you need to do is give the file the wrong name and boom it's somewhere on the server."
"There are programs that help you find files like that when they're mislabeled," said a heavy set man walking in carrying a tablet. "I may have another idea about what was going on here."
"This is Bob the IT guy from next door," said Derrick. This are Detectives Franco and Roscoe they are with me. Please continue you said you had an idea about what was going on. I could use some good news now." Bob looked over at his boss Mr. Smythe. "Don't look at him he isn't going to help you. Now tell us what was going on here."
"I re-checked our system and I don't see how I missed it but I found a virus that created a virtual back door that allowed these people access to our clients' personal information. It doesn't seem like they downloaded anything but they could've. I guess I… we discovered it in time before we lost anything."
"Well that makes me feel better," said Smythe. "I guess we can put this all behind us now and move forward. We need some new protocols Bob to deal with this should something like this happen again. I'd like to stay and chat with you boys but I've got work to get done. One thing I have to do is call our parent company and advised them about this latest detail," said Smythe as he and Bob turned and left.
"There goes your conspiracy theory out the window," said Frankie. "Now if you don't mind we've got a prisoner to interrogate. Let's head back and as an oh by the way, Steve don't mention any of this to the Captain. If you do… Buddy that psyche eval will become a reality. Just tell the Captain you left your tablet on your desk then some perp walked by and grabbed it."
"But that's not what happened, I don't know if I can that. You don't expect me to lie or file a false police report, do you?"
"You can do whatever you want to do but one path will lead you to a lower paygrade and limited duty or just sent home and you can forget about your pension. While the other you get a little embarrassed but you still have your job and career."
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The Circus people found that booking individual tickets and flights was more expensive than just chartering a plane and flying everyone together as a group. Their flight left Dulles in the evening so they were on their way to begin their European tour. Marco and Raul were beat from all the heavy lifting and working out. High wire artists had to stay fix and limber. A pound too much or a muscle cramp on the wire and a budding career could be over in a hurry. Rita got up and started for the galley but in the dimmed lighting she saw Giovanni standing talking with someone. She was so concentrated on Giovanni she didn't see Alfredo sneaking up behind her.
"Where are you going my little canary," she heard from behind her. She didn't have to turn around to know who it was.
"Alfredo, what do you want? I'm not your little anything I just want Papa back safe and sound. If you've hurt him in anyway I'll make you pay and you can take that to the bank."
"You got lucky the other day but it won't happen again," he said. She could feel his hot putrid breath on her neck. "Someone needs to teach you some manners."
"And who's going to do that you? I think someone needs to teach you some. Kidnapping isn't exactly something nice people do and do me a favor brush your teeth."
"And stealing from people? What does that say about your family?" said Alfredo as put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't walk away form me."
"If you want to keep that hand you'd better take it off," said Rita. She stepped backwards stepping on his instep then she grinded his foot.
"Augh! Why you…" said Alfredo but she broke his grip just enough for her to get away from him. She headed on down to the galley. Glancing back, she saw him standing there.
"Giovanni, oh I'm sorry I didn't know you were with someone," said Rita as she looked back down the aisle to see Alfredo limping back to his seat.
"Rita, I don't know if you've ever met my father. Let me introduce you this is my father, Don Rodrigo. He's the owner of this circus."
"Nice to meet you," said Rita as she put her hand out but Giovanni's father grabbed her and kissed on both cheeks. "Wow, how so very Italian" she said as she looked over at Giovanni, who just shrugged his shoulders.
"This is the way we greet people in Italy," said Don Rodrigo as he smiled at her. "I hope you don't think I was too forward."
"That might be true but we've been in this country now for three generations," said Giovanni as he looked over at Rita and shook his head. He turned to Rita. "You have to excuse my father but he keeps talking about the old country which technically is Sommerset, New Jersey."
"Where one comes from has more to do with than just a town where one is born in. Our family came from Italy where they worked in a famous circus. Like your family we've always been in this game fot as long as anyone can remember. The truth is we wouldn't know what else to do," said Don Rodrigo as he looked at Giovanni.
"Come on dad don't bore Rita. I'm sure she doesn't want to hear about our whole family history and how we were oppressed by the black shirts. Then we came to this country to start doing the same thing we did back there because that's all we could do."
"You make it sound like there was something wrong with that. When you're good at something you keep on doing it. Our people were born for this type of work and that's what we do. If you think about it, we're like race horses. Race horses aren't born to plough fields. No they're born to run and if you use a race horse to plough a field it won't survive long. We're born for this type of life and we can't be happy anywhere else."
"How do you know if none of us has ever tried," said Giovanni. He could tell from his father's look he was getting angry so for Rita's sake he changed topic. "Dad, when we arrive Rita and I will handle the paperwork to get our things through customs and arrange for all our permits. You can rest up we've got this."
"Good, and thank you Rita for helping my son. He sometimes gets lost but his heart is usually in the right place… with his own kind." Don Rodrigo didn't explain himself nor did he let Giovanni say anything he just turned and left heading back to his seat.
'I'm sorry if I got in the middle of a family discussion. Are you all right? You look like you could eat nails right now."
"I'm just a little angry with my father, no more than normal. He refuses to see things from my perspective. I realize we've spent a life time doing this kind of work but Internet and the economic crisis hasn't helped with our overhead. What's even worse is Dad refuses to see it. He thinks he can get enough people in to cover our expenses but it's not happening and it has happened for a long time."
"Your father is like mine wrapped up in tradition and remembers thing selectively. Picking only the good memories to remember and forgetting how difficult it was to put food on the table as well as clothes on the backs of his children."
"I knew you understood me. I needed someone to talk to… I just did. I wish he'd tell me where he thinks he's going to get the money to keep us afloat. I've put feelers out to the family run circuses and none of them are doing too well."
"Is that the reason you told everyone to work up a new act? To try to attract more people to our shows," said Rita. She could see how upset he was but she didn't know what to do for him.
"Yeah we need to come up with some sort of hook to make us different from the others or Dad will have to face the music and with his health issues I don't know if his heart can take it."
"Giovanni, you're a good son. Never forget that even when he's yelling at you. You do the best you can do and that's all that you can do."
"I appreciate the advice. I really do but sometimes I think we need a miracle and I just don't see it happening," said Giovanni as he stepped close to her but she instinctively stepped back.
"This is you captain speaking," said a voice over the jet's intercom. "We are about a half hour out from the Orleans International airport. I've just put the fasten seat belt sign on so if you would all kindly have a seat we'll be landing shortly and on behalf of you flight crew we thank you for flying with us."
"Let me walk you back to your seat," said Giovanni. Rita was about to tell him he didn't need to bother then she saw Alfredo looking at them.
"Okay but don't expect a kiss outside the door," she said as she laughed. They walked back down the aisle together past Alfredo who was still working his foot. She smiled as they walked by.
"Well here we are I delivered you to your front door safe and sound. We can talk about how we're going to proceed over dinner tonight… I mean we're all booked for the same hotel tonight and we can talk over dinner there… in the hotel. Not like it's a date or anything," said Giovanni as he glanced down at her brothers.
"We don't have to put a label on it," she said as she sat down. Giovanni walked away glancing over his shoulder at her. She smiled back. He almost ran square into a flight attendant that was coming in the opposite direction.
"I don't want to hear a word from either of you," said Rita.