Don't own Chuck
Shortly before Raul arrived two vans pulled up at the Marina two teams of five men each got out. Red set up position at the end of the Marina while blue hid out of sight at the beginning. The plan was once Raul walked down the pier he'd be trapped. Three men stood on the causeway above the Marina looking down supervising the operation. One of them was Alfredo.
"Alfredo, it's up to you now. As soon as Raul gets here you need to get him to give you the device. Failure isn't an option anymore. Am I clear?"
"I understand and this time he won't get away," said Alfredo as he looked over at the two men. "As you can see once I get him on the pier he's mine. There's nowhere for him to escape to."
"That's what you said about the parking garage roof top and we know how that went," said the one man. The other man nodded.
"That was completely different. We let Raul survey the drop site before we had the meeting. It won't happen again just wait and see. That my friends you can take to the bank."
"I don't think we have any other choice other than wait and see," said the one man as he looked down at the Marina from the causeway. "I hope for your sake it is different."
"It will be... just trust me and you'll see we'll get the device this time. I'm sure it will work I'd bet my life on it," said Alfredo.
"I think we've been clear that's already been implied when we told you failure would not be tolerated." As they were speaking Raul pulled up in a taxi and got out. "Here's your opportunity arriving now. Alfredo go and impress us."
"I'll have that data device one way or another," said Alfredo. He started to head down the causeway but one of the men stopped him as he turned.
"Better leave your earbud here. We wouldn't want to spook Raul. He's probably already thinking you're going to try something."
"Okay," said Alfred as he took it out. "But how am I supposed to stay in touch... I mean how will I know when you're going to move in. What if I need to get you word?"
"Oh I think you can come up with something. Be creative... isn't that what it takes to be a clown," said the one man as he took Alfredo's earbud. "Don't worry we've got your back."
"You need to hurry up and go. If you're going to get to the end of the pier before Raul. If he starts down and you come up on his back... well he might get nervous. All you need to remember is get the data device. You don't need to worry about anything else."
"Okay so I'm trusting you two," said Alfredo as he started down the steps from the causeway to the head of dock.
"Have we ever let you down," said the one man. Alfredo turned around and looked at them the turned back and continued on. He walked down then out to the end of the pier where Raul could see him. He turned smiled at Raul as he stood up on the embankment then he walked down to a boat docked near the end of the pier. There was an eerie silence as he walked down the pier. The only noise he could hear, other than his footsteps on the metal deck plate of the finger pier, was the sound of the waves as they broke against the sides of the boats that were tied off of each side. He stopped next to the gangway that led up to one of the boats he turned looked back at Raul to make sure he was following him. He smiled again as he went onboard then disappeared below deck.
Raul looked around there was nothing he liked about this place. There were too many dark spots where Alfredo could have men hidden but he'd come too far no to bail out now. He had to go down and see this through. He felt like the proverbial cat and he knew what curiosity got him, but he had no choice. This was what Alfredo was counting on, and he knew it, but it changed little. There was that feeling again of being out of control and being swept along by an invisible current.
"Okay Alfredo it's me or you," he said under his breath. He touched his pocket to feel the pistol then drew a deep breath. "One way or another, this ends tonight. Yes, one way or another," he mumbled to himself as he mustered up his courage and started walking down the pier.
"Target is on the move. Red team leader, the target is on the pier heading towards our asset. I repeat the target is on the pier. Standby to spring the trap once he's onboard the boat and below decks. I want both teams to move in and seal off the pier."
"Roger that cat's in the bag," answered Red Team leader. Blue answered back much the same. Now everyone was one the edge of their seats if they'd been sitting. This was the moment they'd been waiting for.
"Red… Blue teams," radioed on of the men on the causeway. "If push comes to shove the asset is expendable. Do you read?" The other man standing next to him nodded.
"We've come too far and we're too close to let Alfredo's safety stand between us and the prize," said the man as both teams acknowledge what they'd been ordered. "If you want to make an omelet you have to break a few eggs."
"Raul is on the pier near the boat. In a few moments this waiting will be over," said the one man. "All teams standby on my order I want you all to move in and be ready for anything. But until then stay out of sight and wait for my orders."
"What's Raul doing? He's standing on the gangway. Why isn't he going on board?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Casey and Sarah were left at the circus as Chuck rode off on the bike heading for the Marina. It wasn't just the bike owner who was hurling insults at him as they watched his taillight disappear in the darkness. They were looking around for transportation when Emma with the girls pulled back up in a taxi.
"What are you guys doing back here," said Sarah. "I thought we sent you guys off with stomach aches."
"They seemed to have made a quick recovery," said Emma as she got out. Sam and Molly had their faces plastered to the window in the back while Bunny was in a car seat sound asleep. "We were almost in Nice when we had to come back. Sam remembered she'd left her bag here and she insisted she had to come back for it."
"She did, did she? That was kind of hard since she didn't have one to begin with. Mom, I'm afraid you've been conned into coming back."
"Nice to meet you Emma," said Casey. "You take their taxi and get down to the Marina. I'll follow as soon as I liberate Roan. I don't want those other clowns getting froggy and deciding they don't need him anymore."
"I can't take the girls on mission. First of all, it's not safe and secondly, the General will have a fit when she finds out, because you know she will."
"Probably, but she's going to have one anyway. Remember this is my mission so technically you're not on it."
"Come on let's go," yelled Molly and Sam from the window. "We'll stay in the car." Sarah rolled her eyes and looked at John.
"Since when has that ever worked out? I know I'm going to regret this. Marina and on the double," said Sarah as she and Emma got back inside. "I need to be there like yesterday. There's two hundred euro in this if you blow through all the traffic lights."
"I don't know," said the driver as he pulled out. "I could lose my license and my livelihood. What will my son do in the university?"
"Here's four hundred euro," said Sarah as she laid four one hundred euro bills on the dashboard. "What do you say to that?"
"My lazy son can get a job and I can go on vacation," said the driver as he put the pedal down flying through back allies.
"So you forgot your bag," said Sarah as she looked back at Sam. "That was kind of hard to do. You listen about as well as that father of yours. I think we're going to have to have a family sit down when I get you both back in the hotel."
"Oh no I think you did it this time," whispered Molly to Sam. Sam shook her head and put her finger to her mouth trying to tell Molly to keep quiet but she was too late.
"Molly, I think you need to sit in on this meeting too. You're older than Sam and you should've known better. Just look at poor Bunny back there sound asleep. That's where you two should be right now."
"What's at the Marina? Is that where Chuck's at? Why did he go by himself without you?" asked Sam. She was hoping to defuse a bad situation.
"He went there because he's your father... and probably because I didn't listen to him or understood what he was feeling. This is partly my fault I should've realized this was about more than catching the cat. This was about Stephen."
"Why would Chuck want to catch a cat? He's allergic to cats. Now if he wanted to bring a bunny home and I don't mean the one asleep in the car with us that would be okay by me. I like bunnies."
"No, you want a baby goat. You could keep it in the garden and take it to the park. You could even teach it to head-butt Casey."
"Then I'd have to hear about someone's itchy trigger finger followed by a goat-a-cide or John would say something like that really got his goat."
"You two are just being silly but I love you all," said Sarah. Emma reached up and placed her hand on her shoulder.
"We're almost there," said the driver as he made a turn. In the distance they could hear gunfire. "Oh no I'm not going anywhere near there."
"Just pullover and let me off here. Then I want you to take the rest to Nice like you were supposed to before." The taxi driver started to protest until Sarah pulled her Smith and Wesson from her bag. She took off the safety then housed the first round in the chamber. At that point the driver was speechless he just pulled over.
"Love you all Momma's got to go to work. I'll see you tomorrow when you wake up," said Sarah as she got out. She looked back as the driver drove backwards did a U-turn in the middle of the road then disappeared in the darkness. Then she heard more gunfire so she turned and ran towards it
"Oh Chuck, what have you gotten yourself into now?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Casey ran back towards the roped off area. He had a feeling that once Raul passed the device to Alfredo there would be no more need to hold Roan. Alfredo, or whoever was behind him, would tie off their loose ends and beat feet back to whatever dark corner they'd come from. But to go after the intersect? Something about this was churning in the back of his head. Who could know about it? Whoever they were they obviously did or they wouldn't have known to target it. This whole thing was raising more questions than it was answering.
"There it is," said Casey as he pulled out his Sig from his shoulder holster. "No more clowning around for this guy," he said to himself as he moved quietly behind the curtain.
"I don't want to shoot him," said the one guard as he tried to hand the other guard a Walther P38. "You shoot him."
"I don't want to shoot him either," said the other guard as he pushed the gun away. "I'm not the one with the gun."
"Well, can we take this back a step," said Roan from the cage. "Why do you have to shoot me? There's no one here. You could let me go and no one would be the wiser."
"No, then we'd both be dead. They're expecting to find a body when they come back. I know we could toss a coin and see."
"Okay that works for me," said the other guard. The one sat the gun down then took out an euro coin and tossed it. "Crap," he said. He lost. "What a minute everyone knows it's the best two out of three. We've still got two more tries first."
"Come on you're just trying to get out of it. Go ahead and do it they'll be back soon and we don't want to piss off anyone. You saw what Alfredo did to those other two for being drunk on watch."
"I know, I know," said the man as he reached for the weapon but instead grabbed a bottle of cheap whiskey. "Just one drink to steady my nerves."
"Give me a hit too then let's get on with it," said the other guard. He took the bottle from his friend and took a swallow. "Hey, I just noticed something," said the man as he turned to Roan. "You've been complaining all this time about wanting a drink and now that you're about to be whacked you're not asking for one last drink."
"Well, there's a very good reason for that. First of all, I might want a drink but not badly enough to drink that rotgut. Then lastly," he started to say as he walked out of his cage.
"Hey how'd both of you get out of your cage," said the one man as he started seeing double. "I don't feel so well."
"That would be the poison kicking in. I spiked the bottle with a neurotoxin earlier when I heard what you had in store for me. Sorry, I wish I had something better to offer you as a last drink but that's how things go. If you'd decided to let me go I would've warned you but, like you, my life is filled with cheap whiskey and bad decisions. However, if it's any consolation your passing will be painless." Both men dropped.
"If you're done screwing around Roan," said Casey as he came out in the open. "We need to get down to the pier. Raul is about to hand over a fake device in exchange for his father who isn't here."
"Isn't that what we wanted?" said Roan as he took the guard's P38. "I thought we wanted to put the fake device in circulation."
"Chuck is on his way down to the pier to save Raul. You know you could've left one of them for me to shoot. Come on we need to commandeer transportation. Sarah's on her way down there now as backup."
"Charles doesn't know what he's getting himself in the middle of," said Roan as they ran out of the circus. A police car was on the corner with flashing lights on. They'd been called about the stolen motorbike.
"You can explain to me more about what you mean after we check in with the General. Right now here's our ride. You say you've got the gift of gab prove it. Distract the cops for me while I get it started," said Casey.
"No problem, just listen and learn. Officers... officers I need your assistance," said Roan as he walked up to them.
"If it's not an emergency can you please wait a moment. We're taking a statement about a motorbike that was stolen here a few minutes ago... that is if there's nothing you have to add about the man who stole the bike?"
"Well yes I do I saw the whole thing and I think I've seen him somewhere before. I can describe him if you want?"
"Oui, oui s'il vous plaît, please," said the one officer as the other one took out a notepad and started taking Roan's description.
"Where to start? Let's see he had dark hair... I think black but with a receding hairline. Oh yes he wore glasses metal framed," said Roan as he kept the officers with their backs to their car. He continued his description as he watched Casey jump inside the driver's seat then went about hotwired it.
"Wait a minute," said the policemen. "Stop writing. Don't you know who he's describing?" The man shook his head. "François Hollande, our president..."
"That's him... that's the man I saw steal the motorbike and drive off. I knew I'd seen him somewhere before. Yes, on television of course that's where."
"Very funny mister," said the one officer not the least bit amused. "You know wasting police time is an offense in itself. Would you like a ride down to the station with us?"
"No but you might have to catch a ride," said Roan as Casey spun the patrol car over and threw open the passenger door.
"Get in Roan we need to go. Thanks for the ride officers. I'll try to get it back to you in one piece," said Casey as Roan jumped in then they sped away. The officers yelled at them but before they could upholster their weapons Casey was gone in the night.
"Now you know what I feel like," said the man whose motorcycle Chuck had taken. "But at least mine wasn't taken by happy the clown."
[A few miles away]
"You know you could've kicked those shoes off. It's got to be hard working the gas and clutch pedals with them on."
"Not really, you get used to them," said John but as he was driving his phone started to ring. "Can you get that it's in my jacket pocket. It has to be the General checking up on you."
"Sure, but it could be Sarah too" said Roan as he reached in and pulled out a rubber chicken. He looked at Casey.
"No comments! You're looking for my phone remember."
"Yeah I got it. It's Diane," said Roan as he looked at the caller ID. He pulled it out and answered it putting it on speaker as Casey drove like a maniac through the streets of Monaco.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Raul walked down the pier he listened carefully but only heard the sound of his own feet on the deck plates and the lapping noise of the waves as they rolled into the harbor. He made his way down slowly to the boat he'd seen Alfredo board. There was no reason to rush this. He recalled Rita's warning for him to be cautious and that was what he was doing. He made one more look around before going up the gangway to the boat.
"Down here," yelled Alfredo from below. "Come down here and we can get this business over with once and for all."
"My feelings exactly," said Raul as he put his hand in his pocket then made his way below deck. There greeting him was Alfredo with a semi-automatic in his hand. "What's the meaning of this? Where's Papa?"
"You don't get to give orders here. I'm in charge here. Now hand over the data device or I'll start shooting, and I'm not joking."
"A lot of good that will do you. You don't think I'm dumb enough to bring it with me, do you? You shoot me and you won't get anything."
"Who says I have to kill you? A few rounds in the knee caps and your days with the circus will be all over. The next time you visit the big top you'll have to pay for admission. Now let's see what you've got in your pocket? Something tells me you're not as smart as you let on to be," said Alfredo. Raul looked back at the ladder
"I wouldn't try that if I were you. Before you think about running I will shoot you in the back. But even if you get lucky and get out of here, I've got this boat surrounded. You're not going to do here what you did on the parking garage unless you've learned how to walk on water."
"Who knows I just might have," said Raul as he smiled at Alfredo. "You don't have Papa do you? What Casey said is true. You never had him."
"Well that's not completely true but it doesn't matter now. Hand over the device…Now! I won't ask again. I want it in my hand by the time I count to three. One...," said Alfredo as he broke out in a sweat. What was he going to do if Raul really didn't have the device, he thought to himself. He'd dug himself a hole he couldn't climb out of.
"What's the matter have you forgotten what comes after one?" said Raul as he stared down Alfredo without blinking. "If you want I can help you…two," he said.
Chuck pulled up on the street looking down on the Marina. He didn't need to figure out which pier Raul was on he saw men in tactical gear moving in on a boat. He gunned the throttle but before he could pop the clutch he heard the sound of one gunshot and saw the muzzle flash through the portal.
"Crap, I hope I'm not too late," he said as he went into action.