Don't own Chuck

The men bagged up all the bodies then left them by the warehouse door. They couldn't very well move them in broad daylight so most of the men went back to the ship leaving only a couple to clean up and remove DNA traces. After that was done even they the two men discussed what to do. Sarah was getting anxious if they didn't leave soon she wouldn't have time to trade places but she couldn't make the men disappear because they'd be missed.

"Come on let's go we're done here and I want to get back to the boat..." said the one man. Sarah could see from below they both were leaning on mops.

"It's a ship not a boat," said the other man. "Technically a boat can be transported by a ship but not the other way around."

"Thank you Mr. Expert. Come on let's go back and close the warehouse doors. It's not like these guys are going to get up and walk away... at least not until the next zombie apocalypse."

"Why do you want to get back in such a hurry for? If we go back, they'll just find something else for us to do. I kind of like leaning on my mop right here... at least for the moment."

"No, I got cookie to grab us two banana splits before the ice cream parlor shut down. He's holding them for us in the galley right now."

"Did you tell him extra peanut sprinkles?" Sarah heard from under the Rover then there was a pause. "What are we doing waiting around here. No one needs to watch these body bags they aren't going anywhere." Sarah heard the door close then the warehouse got dark but just to be cautious she waited a few minutes.

"That's a rough way to get a pink slip," said Sarah to herself as she waited. "I would've gone out fighting and taken some of you smug buttholes with me." Then she decided to go for it and put her plan to get onboard the ship into action.

"Okay now's my chance," said Sarah as she let herself down then rolled out from under the SUV. The warehouse had such a strong smell of bleach that it was almost overpowering. She couldn't smell the sea even though they were right next to it.

"Okay now to catch my ride," she said as she went about her business. She went over to the bags and dragged one out then dumped him inside a barrel. Once in the drum she sealed it then climbed back in the body bag and zipped it up. Not long afterwards she heard the same men coming back.

"Okay let's get this over with we need to hurry. The trucks will be here anytime now and Abu wants us to help load the two containers so we can shove off as soon as we've got them stowed away."

"You know what would be faster if we attached weights to the bottom of the bags then dumped them off the pier. Think about it we wouldn't have to climb up and down the ladders or take them down to the freezer."

"You got some good points," said the one man as he paused like he was considering it. Sarah thought for a moment she'd have to shoot it out anyway. "But no I don't think so. Look what happened to these poor saps for failing to pick up someone at the airport."

"Really that's what got them killed? You're right. Forget what I said. From here on out we do exactly as we're told. They just missed picking up some at the airport, are you sure that was it?"

"That's what I heard now come on we'll load them in the back of the van drive them down to the pier. Then we can lay them on a pallet then use the crane to place them down in the hold. From there we can take them straight over into the freezer."

"I like the sound of that and so does my back but we need to hurry. If they get here with the trucks they'll take the crane and we won't be able to use it."

Sarah didn't much like the idea of the freezer but it was onboard this ship they kept talking about. She wished she'd been able to find out what ship they were talking about. Maybe she could flash and figure out something. But soon she'd be onboard the mystery vessel then she just had to find Chuck and they could go from there were ever there was about to go to.

Suddenly she felt herself being lifted up then unceremoniously tossed in the back of the van. At least she wasn't the first one thrown in so she had a relatively soft landing. She was starting to have second thoughts about her plan to get onboard.

"Come on we need to hurry up I just got word the trucks will be here soon so we need to get these bags onboard," said one man then she heard doors slammed then felt a short ride down the pier. She knew she was out of the warehouse when she started to smell fresh air again. The van came to a stop then she heard the back door open and she was being tossed about again.

"Okay they're all on the pallet. Take it away," she heard a man yell then she felt herself being lifted up and over. Now she really wished she knew what ship she was being loaded on. Suddenly a frightening thought hit her she had assumed that Chuck was going to be onboard this ship but what if he wasn't. She could easily be moving away instead of towards him.

"You can't think about that right now," she said to herself. "The cargo they were talking about has to be the missing missile. If that's onboard Chuck has to be nearby… he just has to be." Suddenly things got cold very cold and she knew she was in the freezer.

"Come on they need you guys topside to help with the two containers. The trucks just got here," she heard someone yell. Then she was dumped on a pile of something cold that had to be ice because it was hard and frozen.

"We need to pull them out of the bags, hang them then strip them before they freeze. Once we're done we'll be right there," said one of the men close to her.

"Geez," she thought they were hanging the men like sides of beef on meat hooks. "Well not this gal," she said to herself as she started to shiver. She pulled out her Smith & Wesson holding it down to her side and got ready to shoot her way out if she had to but her luck was still holding.

"Just leave them where they're at for now. Abu wants this cargo onboard right away so we can shove off. You can deal with this afterwards besides they're not going to be hanging around very long. Once we're out of sight of land they're going overboard so come on unless you want to join these guys."

She heard people moving around then the freezer door close. She waited a few minutes then decided it was time for her to move before she ended up on a meat hook.

"Geez is it cold in here," said Sarah as she climbed out of the body bag to find a macabre sight. She was in some sort of meat locker on board with sides of beef and men hanging around. Underneath her body bag were boxes of cuts of meat. The frost on the outside of the boxes made it impossible to tell what kind of cut was inside so out of curiosity she wiped the ice buildup off.

"Oh my…" she said as she read 'Contessa'. She realized she was back onboard the Contessa and she had a plan.

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Chuck didn't like it much that he was escorted to a cabin on the Contessa and locked away. He felt like he was being side lined and he couldn't understand why. What did Ettore have to do with this? He just couldn't figure out. Abu basically told him that he was the one who stole the warhead and the Iranian missile but how did Ettore fit into this picture with the intersect. He felt like he was overlooking something and this something as obvious as the nose on his face but he just couldn't come up with it.

"Okay you're not doing anyone any good here," said Chuck. "You need to get in gear and start doing spying. But first things first and to begin with you need to get out of here."

He went to the door and tried to turn the knob but the door was locked. From under his jacket collar Chuck pulled out a lock pick and in a few minutes the door was open. He cracked the door just a little bit so he could peek out in the passageway. The coast seemed clear so he stepped out and made his way down to the ladder then he went up. Chuck remembered the Contessa's layout as he headed for her bridge.

"Yes, up this way," said Chuck. Suddenly he heard voices coming towards him so he stopped and laid up against the bulkhead hoping they'd pass him by.

"Mr. Abu will be back soon from his meeting and I want that cargo already stored away by then or there will be hell to pay. He said he wanted us ready to leave port by the time he gets here and if we're not you can explain the 'why' to him."

"I understand that and I've got every man that I could get my hands on to help bring those containers onboard but they can't hand carry them now can they. He should understand that and why does he want to get underway so fast for anyway? You don't think this has anything to do with what happened to that wet team."

"I don't know and if I were you I'd keep certain speculation to myself. Take it from me he's not in a very understanding mood and as for why. Well okay, I don't know all I heard was something didn't go right at the airport. Someone was supposed to come in that didn't come in or something like that. Anyway he's on the warpath so I wouldn't piss him off if I were you or piss him off any more than he already is."

"I'm not trying to piss anyone off I'm just trying to explain the physics involved in moving two freight container their size and weight onboard this vessel safely so no one gets hurt and nothing happens to the cargo inside the containers."

"If I were you I'd lose the attitude and don't be cute. That would be a quick way to get float tested once we're out to sea. Believe me the last thing he wants to hear is excuses. The last person who tried to give him excuses ended up in a body bag down in our meat locker."

"Okay but all I'm hearing out of you is what I shouldn't tell him so according to you what am I supposed to tell him?" Chuck could tell from the men's voice that both were getting fed up the other.

"How about everything is onboard and we're ready to pull out whenever you want sir. You'd better get the lead out and go back down below. Crack the whip, do whatever you have to do just get those containers onboard because that's all he's interested in now. My friend all he's interested in right now are results."

"Some help you are if that's the best advice you can give," said the other man. Chuck heard him started to walk away but his footsteps started getting louder.

"Crap, he's coming my way," said Chuck. He quickly ran back down ladder but as he did he heard someone coming back up. Voices were getting closer and he had to move or risk getting caught so he had no choice but retreat back to his cabin.

"Move it Chuck," he said to himself as the voices seemed to be following him. He got back inside just when he heard them on his deck. He started to sit down when he remembered he needed to lock the door or they'd know he'd been out so he did the next best thing he held the knob. He felt someone try to open it with a key then turn the knob but for this to work he had to hold onto it and not let it turn.

"There must be something wrong with this key," he heard from the other side. "Let me get another one and try it again. It won't take long."

"Here's my master key use it," said Abu. Chuck recognized his voice from the other side. He must've come back early thought Chuck which wasn't good for the other man. Chuck let go of the knob then leaped on the bed just as the door opened.

"Oh here you are? What time is it," said Chuck as he looked at his watch and pretended to yawn like he'd just woken up. "I guess I must've dozed off for a few minute… Geez just look at the time. You know a good host doesn't leave his guest locked up in a room for this long."

"I'm sorry but I had things to see to. If you want, we can go topside for a walk. You can get some fresh air and you might be interested in seeing what's just been stowed away." The loading crew must've moved the containers while their boss was up off the bridge complaining, thought Chuck. "So do you want to come and have a look?"

"What? Sorry what did you say… on come with you, right. Well it can't be Christmas in July because it's not July but okay I'm game. Just lead the way I'm afraid on a ship this big I might get lost and we wouldn't want that. What is it you want me to see?"

"No we wouldn't and I don't want to tell you or I'll spoil the surprise. Just follow me," said Abu. Then he walked to the door and two of his men pointed weapons at Chuck motioning him to follow.

"It looks like I don't have any choice," said Chuck. "Boys be careful with those someone could get hurt namely me. Oh please keep your fingers off the triggers and safeties on. I'd hate to be accidently shot… If I had my druthers I would much prefer that it be on purpose. So where to now," he said as he followed Abu. Chuck realized they were heading down to the cargo holds. He couldn't believe his eyes when they passed by the old command room. At a glance everything seemed to still be there computers and all.

"Please keep up with me or you'll get left behind and risk getting lost too," said Abu as he slowed down for Chuck. "A little more patience we're almost there."

"Where does that hallway lead to," said Chuck as he pointed to the room Alexei had his mainframe in that he used to keep all his dirty secrets to all his illegal operations.

"Oh there's a computer back there... a mainframe of some type. I'd like to use it but the pesky thing doesn't want to cooperate and I haven't had time to get anyone in here to look at it."

"I don't know why I'm telling you this but you know I'm kind of handy with computers and if you want I could take a look at it for you. Maybe I could fix it for you."

"Yes why are you?" said Abu as he looked at Chuck. "Is this some sort of trick so you can signal someone somewhere telling them you're here? You can't think I'm that stupid."

"First of all I said I'd look at it that doesn't mean I can fix it and secondly if you've got a closed network how am I going to call to for help? I was simply offering you my assistance as is required of me. But I guess the question I have to ask you now is do I need to ask someone for help? If so, then I must remind you of the Taarof..."

"Was that the reason you offered to look at it for me? You're going to hit me with the laws of hospitality? Why would you think that I would care and how sure are you that they apply to you?"

"Oh I think you already know they do. Are you going to deny you invited me to come with you here to your home and by doing so you extended me your hospitality? Can you say I have been nothing by a gracious guest? And yes I did offer to look at your computer problem. I hate to tell you for fear of offending you but your law is clear on such things."

"Oh you are good... you're very good. I should've listened to Ettore when he warned me about you. I guess I am obligated to take care of you. Just don't push your luck too much accidents can still happen and some of them are real accidents I'm sure."

"I'll try to remember that," said Chuck as they made their way down to the hold. Inside the deck hands were finishing securing the containers they'd just brought onboard for sea. "Are these what you wanted me to see? Two large metal boxes? It's a little bit of a snoozer if you ask me. Well they are bigger than a bread box."

"Just give me a moment let's see what you think when we open them up," said Abu as he waved for two men to open the containers for him. Inside Chuck saw the Iranian missile disassembled in pieces. He had to grab the railing to steady himself as he flashed. He saw the component pieces and immediately knew what went where and how to reassemble it.

"Do you feel okay? You look a little unsteady on your feet," said Abu. He looked over Chuck being more than a little preoccupied wondering if there wasn't something wrong with Chuck's health.

"No… no I'm fine. It just takes me a little time to get my sea legs is all. Give me a few minutes and I'll be okay," said Chuck as he tried to play off the flash but now he was really concerned about Abu's intentions. The missile was worse than he had originally be led to believe.

"But we're still tied up next to the pier?" said Abu still not completely convinced. "I'll make sure you get some Dramamine as soon as we pull out. It will help you fight off your sea sickness. You're sure you feel all right? I can arrange for a doctor to see you when we get to our destination."

"Yes I'm certain but where would that be exactly," said Chuck as a man came up to Adu reporting that the cargo was secured and they were ready to shove off.

"You'll see soon enough," said Abu then he turned back to the man. "Good tell the captain I want us to get out of here right now and to set course for the island at full speed. It's time we get this over with before anything can interfere," he said as he looked at Chuck.

"Excuse me, but is that Abram the man Banai's looking for. I thought he was on one of the trucks that brought this missile here?"

"He was but I sent him on a mission of a sort. You'll get to meet him later on right now he's got something to do for me. After he's done he'll be joining us so you'll get your chance to meet him then."

"Well is it a mission or isn't it? You were talking about a sort of mission now you're calling it what a favor so I have to ask what is it or isn't it?"

"Why are we arguing over something so nitpicky? Come with me I don't know about you but I'm hungry? Let's go have supper together and yes I realize that by breaking bread together I've sealed our Tarrof."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," said Chuck. "But I am getting a little hungry. Maybe a short stack would be nice."

"Pancakes? What do you think this is Denny's or IHOP? Come on I think we can do better than that," said Abu as he took Chuck out of the hold. "Let's go to the galley and see what we can find?"

"Personally if I can't get pancakes I'd like to go to that old fashion Ice Cream Parlor you talked about before. A few scoops of Rocky Road would be nice right about now."

"We can have that for dessert," said Abu as he and Chuck went in the galley. "Have you ever tried Kuku? If you like pancakes and eggs. It's a nice in between."

"Do you have zereshk, barberries?" asked Chuck. Abu looked at him with a perplexed stare. "What don't they go in a Kuku?"

"I was just amazed you knew about barberries. Don't tell me you're a chef too?"

"No, I just like to eat."