Don't own Chuck
It seemed as if when the sunset the lights went out and darkness took over. Half-starved packs of dogs roamed the neighborhood as they drove down dusty streets illuminated by burning tires. Casey and Morgan rode out on their bike through the Ciudad and as they drove through the mega-slums Morgan looked around at the misery and poverty. He couldn't help but feel uncomfortable and worried if Casey really knew what he was doing.
"John up ahead," said Morgan as he patted Casey on the back but John already saw them. A group of armed men blocking the road with a make-shift barricade of two pickup trucks backed so their tailgates touched extorting tribute.
"I see them just keep it cool and play along," said John as he slowed down. One of the men stepped out in front as the others pointed their 47s at them from the other side of the trucks. "Hola," said Casey "que pasa?"
"Oh, what do we have here, an American?" said the man as his other friends laughed. "I think we've hit the mother lode tonight. How much money do you have on you Yank?"
"What are you talking about?" said Morgan as he got off the bike from behind Casey and puffed up. "Is this the way you treat my guests?"
"Oh Señor La Barba… ha… well we didn't see you. Normally you're with Señor Paolo and well we didn't... we didn't know," said the man as he waved behind him for his men to move the trucks out of the way.
"Paolo's at the farm and my car wouldn't start so this man is giving me a ride back home. When I get home I'm going to give my mechanic a cup of battery acid as a night cap. How many more of you boys are there out on the way home who are going to inconvenience me?"
"Don't worry Señor I'll radio ahead and make sure you get waved through. Please accept my most humble apologies again..."
"Give me your weapon," said Morgan cutting him off. Everyone including Casey looked at him. The man turned to his friends but no one was coming to his aid. "I said hand me your weapon I won't ask again. Now give it to me."
"Please Señor," said the man as he handed Morgan his AK47. "We didn't mean you any harm… I… we wouldn't have stopped you if…." Morgan drowned out his appeal as he opened fire on one of their old Chevy trucks. The men on it dove off as Morgan peppered it with lead.
"Apology accepted," said Morgan as he tossed the weapon to the ground. "Make sure you radio the rest or I'll be back and it won't be a truck I'll use for target practice," he said then he turned to Casey. "Come on my good man let's saddle up."
"Yes Mr. La Barba," said Casey as he smiled inside. They drove off into the dark and as soon as they were out of earshot.
"Did you see that I scared the crap out of them? What did you think of that John? Did I do good or what? I just kept thinking in my head let the force be with you and it worked."
"Don't get cocky back there Chewy," said John. "You did good that I'll admit but you backed that guy in the corner and he could've just as easily shot you. You always need to leave the guy a way out, remember that."
"Now we should have a clear path all the way out of the city. What are we going to do when we get to the compound?"
"Well for tonight we're going to make a pass around the outside wall looking for a weak spot in their security perimeter that we can exploit then we'll head back to the hotel and plan our incursion for tomorrow night."
"And what do we do with Chuck? He'll be waiting for us when we get back."
"I'll give him two reasons why he should stay out of this one being a right and the other a left," said Casey as he drove out into the countryside until they came to a metal gate.
"This is it," said Morgan as they slowed down approaching the front entrance. There was a sign that hung overhead that read 'La Vecchia Fattoria'.
"Well this is it hang on back there," said Casey as he drove off the road and started following the wall around looking for surveillance cameras and silent alarms. Finally they found a second entrance on the far side that was used to take livestock out of the barn to pasture.
"That's our way in Morgan. We need to be here tomorrow evening just before sunset they'll be bringing the cattle in so the gate will have to stay open then we'll slip in as a farm hand."
"You can slip in as a farm hand but I'll walk in as Ettore inspecting his herd. No one will stop me. It will be like with those thugs are the traffic stop."
"Don't get too cocky," said Casey as he paused. He didn't want to tell Morgan it was a good plan even though it was. "Okay let's go with that. The worst that can happen is you get shot which would be an added plus."
"Gee thanks John," said Morgan. "What do we do now?"
"I'm thinking about going back to the hotel and grabbing a beer," said John as he took a few photos of the gate. Afterwards he turned the bike around and started heading back. When he got to the front gate they heard it open so Casey backed down and waited. A Range Rover Discovery pulled out and drove ahead of them. John waited a bit letting the SUV get some distance before he followed it back to the city.
"John do you want to catch that to see if Ettore is inside?" said Morgan. But Casey shook his head as he let it get a good lead ahead of him.
"No let's stick to our plan. I don't think Ettore or Alex is onboard it doesn't make sense. It's probably a guest leaving the ranch. Either way I don't want Ettore to know we were here so for whoever's in the Range Rover this is a free pass this time."
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Sheila left the ranch and was being taken back to her office where she they'd picked her up. She sat in the back looking out the window but she wasn't looking at anything outside. She was thinking instead about her evening at ranch and what this person pretending to be Ettore told her. She wasn't sure if she believed him but she certainly was going to find out.
"What could be Ettore's reason for having a double," she said to herself as she turned it over in her head. "Well it would be convenient if someone wanted to assassinate him. There was a whole long line of people who had doubles for that very reason."
They continued on the same road they took to go to the ranch but in reverse. Sheila continued looking out the window still perplexed about everything that she had been told. Pulling in front of her office she got out and the vehicle departed but as soon as she got out she noticed there was a lot of activity and flurry for the late hour.
"What's going on here?" asked Sheila. There was more activity going on then she'd ever seen them do during the day. "Why is everyone still here?"
"Chief there you are," said one of her men. "We've been trying to reach you but you didn't have your phone on."
"No, I told Martin I was going dark this evening. Why? Where is he? Did he authorize all this? He knows I need to authorize overtime..."
"Ma'am it's Martin I don't know how to tell you this but he's dead. His body was found by the police in an alleyway behind the El Presidente Hotel. He's in the local morgue right now the police are calling it a mugging gone wrong..."
"What? No that's not possible I just talked with him this evening. A mugging no way I don't believe it. Wait his body was found behind what hotel?"
"El Presidente and according to the police he died from a single GSW to the chest," said the man. "No one knows why he was there. When he left he said he was going to run down a lead but that was all. Do you know what he was working on?"
"Ettore La Barba," she said then she realized why she'd been invited to the ranch. She was Ettore's alibi for the shooting. "I guess I should go break the news to his wife."
"What wife? He and his wife divorced when he first got here. She left and took the children back to Paris that's where she's from."
"Oh, I wonder why he told me he had a family. Well it doesn't really matter I guess. In the morning I want to go to the morgue then I want to make a visit to the El Presidente."
"We need to be careful because the police may not like us snooping around," said the man. She almost ripped the man's face off as she barked.
"I don't give a rat's furry posterior. Martin was one of ours and we're going to look into it whether they like it or not. If they do well then that's just too bad let them complain in triplicate. Tell everyone to go home there's nothing more they can do here tonight. I'll call this is to HQ and let them know what happened then we can follow it up with a report tomorrow."
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Chuck was walking up and down in their room when Zondra slipped back in. She started to say something but he held up his finger to be quiet. He looked at the tablet and saw hotel security was going room to room knocking on doors. He pointed to her room when there came a knock at their door. Ditching his tablet under a coat he waited until Zondra got into her bedroom before answering the knock.
"Hold on I'm coming. Do you people know what time it is? What is it," said Chuck as he opened the door in a robe. "What can I do for you?"
"Hola," said the man. "We're sorry but a client reported they heard something that sounded like a gunshot and our security cameras went down for a moment so we're investigating..."
"So you come to the door of Kolonel Juri Sheshenov with your ridiculous accusations. Would you like to hear a gunshot," said Chuck as he let his robe open so the man could see his Bratva tattoos. Chuck could tell the man knew what they were by the face he made. Chuck pulled his Makarov from his robe pocket.
"Hold on sir we're just doing our job," said the man as he started to move back away from the door. But then Zondra came out in a bathrobe with a towel around her head.
"Kolonel! Remember why we're here" she said, "Please put that thing away. This isn't Saint Petersburg…"
"You mean Leningrad," said Chuck as he put the pistol away. "You can talk to these idiots. I want a drink." As they were talking the man received a radio call. He touched his ear and spoke into the radio.
"Where are you?... The penthouse? … Okay I'll be right there," said the man then he turned his attention back to them. "I'm sorry for disturbing you. Buenas noches."
Zondra smiled back then closed the door. As soon as the men were gone Chuck got out the tablet and watched the activity in the penthouse. The body was removed under the watchful eye of the Manager who seemed upset when he saw who it was. Cleaners came in and straighten the room up. In a few hours everything was back the way it was and if he hadn't seen it before he wouldn't have been able to tell a homicide had been committed there.
"What do you have to say for yourself," said Chuck. "You have to have something you want to say. He was one of us and you gunned down."
"Crap happens, Chuck get over it. I'm not saying I like it but that's that. I can't bring him back and I still believe he was going to shoot."
"Of course he was. You snuck up on him while he was searching for all he knew Ettore La Barba's room. You didn't think about identifying yourself?"
"Then I would've blown my cover…" said Zondra as she poured them both a drink. "Here you need this more than I do." .
"But he'd still be alive," said Chuck as he took it. "I don't know if your realize this or even if you really care but maintaining your cover isn't everything. You can recover from having it blown but when you pull that trigger there's no taking that back."
"What do you want me to say I'm sorry? Okay I'm sorry he's dead but I'm not sorry it was him and not me. Chuck you need to lighten up or you're not going to survive in this business."
Chuck was about to say something when Morgan and Casey returned. They saw them riding up in the elevator together. Chuck waited until they walked into the room then Chuck used his tablet to phone their room. Chuck watched and waited until Casey finally picked up.
"Sarah will you give it a break. You'd do better going to sleep and stop wasting your time bugging us," said John.
"This isn't Sarah and we're looking out for your own good you big lug. Meet me in the bar in five minutes I need to talk to you."
"You're wasting your and my time."
"John you need to be brought up to date. Leave Morgan in the room and come down to meet me. Take a big whiff smell the bleach. I'll be waiting. Sarah promised not to call Beckman I didn't."
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Paolo was sitting around with Ettore after Sheila left drinking Scotch. Paolo was explaining to Ettore reports he'd gotten from the city about Morgan being sighted with an American. He wondered if it was prudent to have so many balls in the air with the big meeting happening tomorrow.
"It will be okay don't worry I've got this all under control. Our new friend will go back confirm what I told her then when news of this other Ettore hits her she'll go arrest Morgan thinking he's me. With him arrested it will give my friends who are after me a chance to take me out like shooting fish in a barrel."
"But what if she jumps to soon or if your assassins move against Morgan too quickly. We need for him to stay alive at least until after this meeting tomorrow. Speaking of the meeting tomorrow there was a new player that's asked to be added to the list. I received his request and he checked out. I think you might even like him."
"He sounds interesting who is he?" asked Ettore as he took as sip from his glass. "What can he offer us?"
"His name is Juri Sheshenov a Colonel in the FSB, former KGB and has links to the Russian Bratva. He's looking for a big weapons buy to shore up a rebel faction in a banana republic. I think he's looking for a place to retire to with good weather. He's here with his assistant they're staying in the El Presidente."
"It would be nice to have another country that we can run to in case crap happens. Okay we can hear him out."
"Okay I'll send him an invitation for tomorrow. What are you going to do with your other girlfriend during the meeting?"
"She can stay in her room but to make sure slip her a tranq in her dinner that will keep her sleeping through the meal and the meeting. Now I want to know more about this Russian Colonel. What else can you tell me?"
"I was told he wasn't someone to screw around with for one so take it easy with him and don't piss him off like you've done to just about everyone else."
"What do you mean I'm a warm affectionate individual? Just ask anyone they'll tell you."
"You mean the people who don't want to kill you. Word off the street has it that there's a wet team coming after you with some pretty heavy hitters. This Russian guy could be a good asset to have if we get in a bind."
"We won't have to worry about that once we play our get out of jail free card then it will be smooth sailing. I need for you to find me a good plastic surgeon once they whack Morgan and no one is looking for me I'm going to need a new face."
"I'll get on it," said Paolo as he refilled both their glasses. "But what are you going to do with your house guest? Do you plan on keeping her with us?"
"I think by then I'll get tired of her and... well she will have served her purpose," said Ettore as Paolo handed him back his glass.
"But she'll know your secret so we can't just let her walk away. I suppose you want me to clean up after you like usual."
"You are such a good friend. Let me finish this then I need to go back to the room. My poor Alex will be worried sick about her Morgan," he said as he laughed. "If only she knew."
"Yes indeed," said Paolo as he raised his glass. "Yes if only she knew I think she'd break your neck like a twig then stomp on you." They both laughed.
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Casey told Morgan he was going down to the restaurant to order something and have it sent up to the room and that considering everyone knew his face he should keep in under wraps until they needed it again. John took the elevator down to the bar to meet Chuck. He intentionally lied to Morgan because he didn't want Chuck to get inside his head and convince him that they should give up their plan for his. The elevator doors opened and Casey got off walking straight over to the bar where he found Chuck sitting in a dark corner without costume.
"What gives I thought you'd be dressed up like that a Russian," said John as he sat down opposite him in the booth.
"Bring us both two fingers of your best Scotch," said Chuck. "I am undercover as me. If anyone sees me with you they won't associate Juri with you or Morgan. How is he? Boy he played you well."
"Grimes is fine up in the room and no one played me except for what you're trying to do right now. I'm here because you had something you wanted to tell me so tell or I get up and leave."
"John is this any way to be? I care for Alex too so does Sarah then you go acting like this. Morgan played you because he came to you when he spotted Ettores' plane and not to us like he was supposed to because he knew you'd fly off half-cocked like you're doing."
"If this is it I'm out of here," said Casey as he started to get up.
"Okay, okay sit back down," said Chuck as the cocktail waitress came over and served them their Scotch. Chuck paid for the round and dropped her a healthy tip for her to get lost.
"Listen there was an incident in your room this evening. I'm here with Zondra," said Chuck as he took as sip. Casey smiled and grunted.
"I bet that's load of fun. You know what her reputation was in the CAT squad," said John as he threw his back then waved for the waitress to bring him another. "Oh by the way you can catch this one too."
"Sure John and yes I know what Zondra's reputation was and she continues to live up to it. Well I sent her up to make initial contact with you two and when she got to your penthouse we found your door ajar..."
"We? I thought you said you sent her," said John as the waitress came over so they had to stop talking. They waited for her to take John's empty glass and hand him his new one. Like before Chuck paid and gave her another tip.
"If I keep this up I'm going to pay her kids' college tuition. Anyway, I followed Zondra through CCTV except the cameras were down in your rooms...
"That's because they think Morgan is Ettore and it's probably a security precaution but go ahead," said John as he started nursing his second drink.
"Well Zondra found a man going through your things inside. She hid but the man heard her and pulled his weapon..."
"Bad move on his part. I'm guessing that's why the room smelt like bleach," said Casey as Chuck nodded. "I guess Ettore has a cleaning service too. I have to say Grimes didn't notice a thing and if you hadn't told me I probably wouldn't have either."
"That's not all I got the cameras on right after the shooting and I flashed on the guy. John he was a senior Interpol agent, Martin LaBlanc."
"Crap... well this might not be that bad. This builds Morgan's credibility as being Ettore. We're making our incursion tomorrow evening if everything goes right." As they were talking Chuck received a text message,
"This is Ettore I'm invited to his ranch tomorrow evening for a dinner and chat." They were about to discuss the plan more in detail when Chuck noticed five men who came walking in. "Oh boy," he said as he flashed. He saw bodies and mayhem.
"What is it," asked Casey as he looked around and saw the men. He recognized their tattoos as being Special Forces and French Foreign Legion.
"Is that a wet team after Morgan?"
"Well they're not here to give him a sponge bath."
"Bartowski leave the quips to me," said Casey as they both ran over to catch the elevator with the five mercenaries.
"Hold that door," said Chuck as he put his foot in it. He and Casey climbed in.
"Going up what floor?" asked one of the men.
"Oh the buttons already been pushed. Thanks."