Don't own Chuck
Chuck sat in the back of the Lada looking out of the window as imagines of his childhood passed before his eyes. And in every important event that happened to him there was Morgan. If Morgan was in danger now it was in part his fault. If he hadn't brought him into this circle he'd be safe at home… wherever that home might be but he would be safe.
"Chuck, don't blame yourself," said Mary reading the look on his face. "This isn't your fault. Morgan made his decisions and if anyone is at fault it's Ettore."
"How can you say that? And I am at fault I brought him into the team. He was happy being an underachiever then I opened this world to him. Mom, Morgan has always been there for me. Morgan was there the first day you took off. He didn't say much. Because honestly what's a fifth grader supposed to say? But we sat there and split a cherry cheesecake and played Legend of Zelda all night long. And my dad, well that's - that's a whole other story. But Morgan was there for that too. Morgan is more than just my best friend. He's family Mom and not oh well he made his own decision."
"Chuck, I hear what you're saying," said Sarah as she turned around to look at him. "But you can't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. Let's just wait and see what we find when we get there. We're almost there and I'm sure Morgan's fine. He's been in other scraps and has managed to get out of them."
"He has, hasn't he… I mean I shouldn't count the little guy out so quickly," said Chuck as he tried to see this in a positive light. "I mean John, you did train him after all. What did Beckman call him… a diamond in the rough that you polished into a shiny stone."
"I hate to rain on your parade but he didn't pass any of my tests. However, on the positive side he does make a good bullet magnet… better than even you. However, you still are the poster child for friendly fire. Up until now none of Morgan's relative have shot him while you… well I think everyone in this vehicle has taken a crack at you at one time or another."
"John, do you know what not helping means," said Sarah. "Don't listen to Casey. I don't think he's ever had a real friend… with the exception of Verbanski perhaps."
"Ah yes," said John as he smiled. "Minsk 1995, I was being a patriot, and she was being whatever she was paid to be… Anyway, we had an altercation. I ended up with a Rosewell blade in my shoulder. Made a nasty scar right over one of my favorite scars. Well, Verbanski is good," said Casey with a glitter in his eyes.
"Yes, we've heard that story before," said Chuck as he shook his head. "And just a little advice I would caution against telling Kat that story with that look on your face. You might give her the wrong impression."
"What impression? What are you talking about? I'm not giving any impression," said John. "And I'll staple your tongue to your knee cap if you say anything to Kat."
"Chill out dude and watch the road," said Chuck. "We need this win to find Alex, Ellie and Devon. I have an idea I know what's going on I just hope I'm wrong… No, maybe it's Alex he's after. Some demented idea he concocted about being in love with her like Alexei and Mom."
"If he lay's one hand on her he and I are going to dance. I'll teach him the Mexican hat dance and he'll be the hat only I'll miss."
"Chuck, whether you want to admit to yourself or not. You're thinking he took Ellie because of his intersect and he wants her to fix him," said Sarah. Hearing her say it made it sound more plausible then when it was rattling around loose in his head.
"I think we all have a reason to have a go at Ettore but right now we need to concentrate on Morgan," said Chuck. "I'm sorry if I was short with you before Mom… it's just Morgan is my friend."
"Keep it in your pants Bartowski," said Casey as they pulled up behind a surveillance van. John was the first one out of the Lada and in the van.
"Colonel Casey here," he said as he flashed his ID. "Who's the lead agent and why are you people sitting out here. Where's Grimes the idiot at so I can chew on him for losing his partner?"
"I'm the Team leader and Agent Grimes is still inside. We were out maneuvered by Ettore and his men. They outnumbered us so Agent Grimes engaged the enemy giving me time to extract all our men safely…"
"You mean you left Morgan inside with Ettore and you didn't do anything," said Chuck. "Give me a vest I'm going in."
"No, Ettore left before the lights went out. The whole restaurant is dark inside. Before there was sounds of an altercation but now there's just an eerie silence. No one has come in or gone out since then. I've ordered a robot be brought here from downtown. We'll send it in before we breach to make sure there are no booby-traps that were left behind."
"But you just said no one has come out… screw waiting, I'm going in. You can keep the vest," said Chuck. He wanted to tell the guy where he could shove it but he held his tongue as he leaped out of the back of the van. He pulled his Makarov he still had in his holster and walked for the front doors of Sizzling Shrimp.
"Hold up Chuck," said Sarah. "I'm coming with you. When we got married we got married for better or worse and that also goes for Morgan so I'm coming too."
"I love you," said Chuck as he turned and kissed her. There was some coughing behind them and a grunt from Casey.
"Yuck, I think I'm going to be sick and I haven't eaten Chinese yet. Just shut up with all the yapping and stop the lollygagging… led the way," said Casey. "I figure with you in front you'll make a good bullet magnet." Chuck smiled at them.
"Mom, you too," said Chuck. "Okay, let's go in and John please try not to shoot Morgan. Remember you said none of his relative have shot him yet. You don't need to be the first."
"Technically we're not related yet and if I take him out we never will be," said John with a smile as he drew him Sig.
"I know you're just joking… at least I hope you are," said Chuck. But as they got close to the front entrance the doors swung over and Morgan walked out. Everyone drew on him as he dusted himself off.
"Hey, everyone chill out. Didn't you get the word that Ettore has already left? See both legs," he said as he lifted up his pants legs. John walked up to him and kicked him in the shin.
"Ouch! What'd you do that for," said Morgan. "I told you I wasn't Ettore," he said righted himself and started hobbling.
"No John, you kicked the wrong leg," said Chuck as he kicked Morgan's other leg. "Okay, now we're sure it's you."
"Ouch! Stop that. It hurts," said Morgan as he hobbled over to the van. The Team leader jumped out and ran to him. "The room is safe to enter. The light switch is located on the electrical panel in the kitchen but everyone has been neutralized."
"You took out fifty men… fifty trained killers by yourself in hand to hand combat?" said the Team leader. He motioned for his men to go in and check things out.
"I told you, don't mess around with the Cobra," said Morgan as he reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out a pork bun. "Alas, it looks like it will be a while before I can dine on the ten-dollar buffet again."
"Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back," said Casey. "You still let Ettore get away so we don't know where he's holding Alex, Ellie or Devon. And until then I'm confiscating this," said John as he took the pork bun from Morgan. "We haven't been able to eat trying to get here to save your dumb butt."
"Go ahead but I had everything under control. Before I let Ettore leave he and I sat down to dine on some dim sum. I knew he wouldn't be able to resist so before I doused them with microbots I grabbed from Castle. We can track him and see where he leads us hopefully back to Alex and everyone else."
"They're all dead in there," said the Team leader as he walked back out scratching his head. "I take back everything I said about you. I don't think I've ever seen carnage like that before. There are bodies and body parts strung everywhere."
"What can I say I warned them but they didn't listen," said Morgan. "Come on we've got Alex and the rest to rescue," he said as he led everyone away.
"Oh, Agent Carmichael, I forgot to give Agent Grimes these," he said he handed Chuck five jade darts with white tassels. "Can give them back to him? He might want them."
"Thank you, I will and if you find any more you can give them to me. I'll see to it that they get back to their rightful owner," said Chuck as he looked around.
"Chuck, are you coming with us or are we going to have to leave you here," yelled Morgan. "Please try to keep up."
"I'm coming Cobra," said Chuck. He ran to catch up with everyone as they got into the Lada. "So, as we drive to wherever we're going Cobra. Maybe you can tell us how you managed to overcome all fifty of those guys?"
"Let's concentrate on finding Alex. Story telling can wait until we're done and sitting by the camp fire," said John as they pulled out.
"And we've found Ellie and Devon," added Mary.
"We're going to rescue everyone," said Chuck. He looked over at Sarah but she was already on the phone with Sam.
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Back in Castle keeping Sam and Cara inside was like keeping wild animals in a cage. They walked back and forth, forth and back asking constantly when they were going to be able to leave. After the hundredth time of Kat telling them she didn't know they changed to question to when was someone going to let them know what was going on.
"You'd think by now someone would've called to let us know something. This is a load of crap we're kept in the dark like mushrooms just because we're kids."
"That's not true," said Kat. "And Sam you need to start watching your language. Little girls shouldn't talk like that. Some good manners would do you well."
"If I said it was a wagon full of excrement would it be better? It still draws flies as Casey says and after everything that's happened to us we have a right to know."
"I'm sure they will as soon when they have time to call," said Kat. She gave Sam a look then nodded over to Clara who was now sitting silently looking down at the table.
"Oh right, I'm sorry this has got to be rough on you. Look, I know the Auntie Beckman has contacted Mommy and Chuck by now. They'll be here soon and everything will be all right," said Sam as she put her hand on Clara's shoulder.
"Do you really think so," said Clara. "I wish I knew something… anything. This waiting around is driving me crazy."
"Don't worry it will always be all right until it's not. I heard Uncle Casey say that once," said Sam. "Do you want a fruit juice or something? Chuck keeps fruit juice in the fridge in case he has to deactivate any thermal nuclear devices or that's his excuse. I know it sounds pretty lame but that's what he says."
"Maybe just a bottle of water," said Clara as she tried to smile at Sam. But she was only partly successful.
"One water coming up," said Sam then she went to the fridge and brought her back a small bottle with a plastic cup. "You can use the cup if you want. Kat will like it if you do," whispered Sam. "It's supposed to be more ladylike. Personally, I like to drink from the bottle. That way I've got my germs in and on it so no one else will drink out of it…. No one I say except for Morgan and when he's around you can't leave anything laying unguarded you don't want drunk or eaten."
Clara smiled as she drank. Sam was happy she had been able to distract her cousin even if it was only for a few seconds. Because a few seconds later Kat's phone started to ring.
"It's Sarah," said Kat as she looked down at caller ID. "Sarah, how is everything going? … Yes, they're both here looking at me now wondering what's going on. Okay, I'll put you on speaker."
"Sam, Clara," said Sarah. "You both been very strong and I have to ask you to hang in there for a little longer. I can't tell you exactly what's going on other then we are working to find everyone and rescue them."
"Morgan was supposed to see the evil troll and fix his wagon," said Sam as she looked over at Clara who nodded back.
"I'm sorry but things didn't go the way they were planned," said Sarah. Sam just shook her head as she looked over at Clara and Kat.
"Why am I not surprised," said Sam as she continued to shake her head. "I should've known it was doomed from the beginning. Sorry, coz."
"Sam, I don't want to hear you say things like that. Morgan did the best he could and he had a backup plan we're working on now. I've got to run now but as soon as I get a break here or something happens I'll be with you guys. I'm afraid for now you need to stay where you are."
"Kat, this is me," said Casey as he grabbed the phone from Sarah. "Don't worry I'll get our daughter back and I'm going to dish out a little payback. Don't be afraid I've... we've got this," said John then he handed the phone back to Sarah.
[Meanwhile back in the Lada]
"Crap someone's burning grass nearby. I've got smoke in my eyes," he said as he wiped the mist out. "And I don't want to hear anything from the back. Not if you know what's good for you. We're getting near the port where does your tracker have Ettore?"
"It's strange but he's still straight in front of us moving away," said Morgan as he shook the tracker but got the same reading.
"Are you sure you know how to operate that thing? Geez Grimes, can some else look at it before I have to drive off the pier and into the bay?"
"You know when you say things like that it really hurts inside," said Morgan as he passed the tracker to Chuck who passed it to Sarah.
"I can make it hurt on the outside too. So where do I go? I'm running out of road to drive on," said John as a view of water came in sight in front of them.
"Morgan's right, that's where the tracker is pointing out in the bay," said Sarah as she held up the device. "It says straight ahead."
"There... that's why it's pointing out in to the bay," said Chuck. He pointed to a yacht leaving the port heading out into the ocean. "Ettore is onboard and he's getting away."
"Not if I can help it. Let me see your phone," said John as he came to an abrupt stop. He dialed a number. "Yes, can I speak to Admiral McHale… and no wisecracks from the back. No Lieutenant, I wasn't talking to you. Tell him that Colonel Casey's on the line and I need to call in a favor."
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Alex and Woodcombs got settled into their new accommodations as best they could. Soon they began to feel as if the room was moving. There were slow rolls from side to side. They wondered if they weren't in some sort of container and it was being loaded on a truck or something. Alex started pounding on the door until a couple of guards came to tell her to hold down the noise.
"Can the noise," said the Guard as he stood in the doorway with the other guard covering him from the outside.
"We're thirsty in here, how about some water? We could also do with some food. You people grabbed us before we got a chance to eat."
"Here's a bottle of water," he said as he tossed in a half-drunk bottle. "You're going to have to make that last until this evening. You'll get fed tonight until then you're going to have to wait."
"Let Ettore know I want to talk with him," said Alex. 'If he wants Doctor Woodcomb to fix him she'll need better conditions or she won't be able to concentrate on her work."
"I'll tell him you want to talk to him when he gets back. You can tell him the rest but I'd be careful how I tell him anything. He has a habit of flying off the handle when people tell him things he doesn't want to hear," said the man with that he left and door was closed and locked again.
"Alex, maybe it's best you don't say anything to Ettore… at least not for right now. What the guard said about his erratic behavior is a marker. The intersect Ettore has needs to be removed. I'm not sure it can be fixed nor do I know if I want to. Something that powerful in his hands… or head is not the reason my father invented it."
"I agree but we also have to look around us. This is our reality right now but I was thinking when the guards come back if I can get the one inside then I might be able to get past the other one and try to find us help."
"Alex, don't think that just because he liked you once doesn't mean he still does and if he catches you that will save you. Remember what happened to Morgan. He broke up with you…"
"By text message, I remember. But whether he likes me or not doesn't matter we need to get word out where we are. I'm sure the team is looking for us just they don't know where to look."
"Guys, babe, look at this," said Devon. He laid the bottle of water on the floor and watched the air bubble in it move slowly side to side as if the whole room was rolling from side to side. "Alex, you run out that door you might not have any place to run to."
"What are you talking about? We need to let someone know where we are so we can get rescued. What are you doing on the floor looking at that bottle anyway?"
"I'm watching the ship we're on roll side to side. That's the only explanation for the way the bubble is moving back and forth. The bottle is acting as a level and when the ship rolls side to side the center shifts so does the bubble."
"Wow, so we're on board a ship. There's no telling how far from land we are by now," said Ellie. "I think you need to hold off on your plan."
"Yeah or you're going to have be really good at the back stroke to make it back to California. Besides I'm sure by now Chuck is looking for us. We just need to hold out."
"You know the guard said he'd pass my message on to Ettore when he sees him but if we're underway then he's not onboard. So, where is he and why didn't he get underway with us?"
"I think you're reading too much into what he said. He probably just said that to make you happy and get you to keep quiet. I bet he has no intention of telling Ettore anything."
"You might be right but what if you're wrong. I wish I knew where this boat heading."
"I think we'd all like to know that but for now we have to play it cool and stay calm waiting for our time like you said."
"Ellie's right but I wonder if I can get them to make me a power shake for breakfast." Ellie gave him a look. "What babe? My colon will be wondering what's up and the last thing you want is an angry colon."
"The last thing we need in a confined space is a happy colon. See that bucket with a lid on it in the corner," said Alex as she pointed at it.
"Yeah, I see the extra chair," said Ellie. "I have to admit it goes well with the Spartan décor in here. I think the style is called early American rust."
"No, that's the toilet," said Alex.