Don't own Chuck
Chuck looked at Abu puzzled. He wondered if Abu had figured out that he'd been dragging his feet on completing the hook up of the second stage with the warhead. Maybe he wanted to put a rush order on this now because his message got back to Langley and they saw that he was right. Maybe there was a B-2 heading their way right now carrying some bunker busters.
"So you want to talk to me. Well here I am," said Chuck as he faced Abu. "I can't say I'm surprised at what just happened. I could see this coming but I was kind of hoping for something different."
"What that Ettore would take me out? Well I don't think that was ever in the cards. But this might shock you. These are the coordinates I want the missile targeted at," said Abu as he handed Chuck a piece of paper. Chuck looked at them and flashed. He pretended to accidently drop the piece of paper then bent down to pick it up.
"So, where is this located at? And what did they do to piss you off so much?" asked Chuck. He knew good and well where they were at… a mountainous area in a no man's zone between Azerbaijan and Iran.
"You can just say I have my reasons and Ettore wouldn't understand. Actually, I'm protecting him from the fallout afterwards… get it fallout."
"Yes, I get it… funny ha, ha. So, Abu let me see if I've got this straight. You want me to finish the installation of the warhead and you want me to program the missile for these coordinates. Plus you want this done in half an hour. Is that what you're telling me?"
"Yes exactly and you need to hurry. It seems somehow our location got leaked out to the wrong people and this place is no longer safe."
"Okay, I'll help you but I have one demand," said Chuck. He could tell Abu was calculating in his head if he really needed him but Chuck had already done the math. "So what did your flash tell you? Other than give you a headache."
"Funny, but we don't have time to take this to the bargaining table and negotiate an agreement. Remember I still have your friends in my prison cells."
"True but if a bunker buster comes in through the ceiling it will be the same. So, you're the one out of time and besides I don't think my one demand is so unreasonable. I'll even start programming while I explain."
"Okay I'm listening," said Abu as Chuck went over to a programing console and accessed the on board navigational computer. Then began to write a string of commands while he talked with Abu. Then he paused for a moment.
"What's the matter you're not done yet," said Abu as he tried to watch Chuck write code but he was writing too fast. He was the fastest hacker he'd ever seen write code but looking at his watch he wondered if he was fast enough.
"Nothing I'm just catching my breath. I forgot how good I was at this. You know this would be a lot easier if I had a bottle of Rombauer," said Chuck. He caught Abu's perplexed look. "… a bottle of chardonnay. I call it my thinking juice. Sorry, what was I thinking you wouldn't know about that."
[Meanwhile outside the prison cells]
Anatoly dressed up like the guard. Sarah gave him the once over then picked up a hand full of dirt and rubbed her face. Then Anatoly escorted her to the cell block door where he banged on it telling whoever was inside to open in Bulgarian.
"Hey is anyone home? Or did you all go on a smoke break. What's going on here? I've got a prisoner to drop off."
"What's going on out there and why are you making all that noise," said the man on the inside. "Hey
Where's Achmed and why are you here and not on the ship?"
"I don't know where Achmed is and we found this woman snooping around the ship so I was told to bring her here. Abu wants to interrogate her later."
"I can see why," said the man on the other side of the door. "Has she been searched? Doesn't matter I'll have to check her for weapons before we put her in the cell. But where's Achmed? He knows he's not supposed to walk off."
"He probably ran off to the restroom or something," said Anatoly as they heard the tumbler roll in the lock as the key turned back the bolt.
"He knows better than that. If he needs to go anywhere he needs to knock on the door and tell me first," said the man as he opened the door.
The door creaked as it opened. Sarah and Anatoly noticed it was made of one piece about two-inch-thick hardened steel. They never would've been able to blow that open without killing everyone inside.
"Come on in and let's do that pat down," said the man as he laughed. But then he looked at Anatoly. "Hey, those clothes you've got on… they look like Achmed's."
"Let's get that pat down taken care of first," said Sarah as she pulled her Smith & Wesson cold cocking the guy. "Sorry if I got a little too handsy."
As Sarah took care of the guard next to the door Anatoly drew his Makarov and put one in the chest of the guard at the far end. The round pushed him back but he just smiled. His vest saved him but the round knocked him back against the cell bars. Casey reached out and there was a loud crack as the man went limp.
"Didn't anyone ever teach you two in the chest one in the head. They don't make vests with hoodies," said Casey as Stefan reached through the bars and got the keys off the guard. A few minutes later and they were all liberate.
"Papa," yelled Grigor as he ran in after everyone was freed. His father turned as soon as he heard his son's voice and the two hugged.
"Okay Grigor, you need to lead everyone out of here the same way you came in. However, the guards aren't going to let you go without a fight. Do you know where the armoury is?" The boy nodded. "Good take them there first get as many weapons and as much ammunition as you can carry then leave. Very soon this place will come under attack and you people need to get as far away from here as you can."
"Then we should go find Chuck and get him," said Casey as he picked up the guard's H&K MP5. Anatoly hugged Stefan and Imma. He pulled out two back up pieces and handed them each one.
"Hey what about me and my people," said Banai. "Who are we the poor cousins with holes in their clothes?"
"Here," said Sarah as she took off the guard a Beretta 9. "You can take this but the rest of your men should go with the villager and help them escape. We've got enough to handle this and afterwards we don't want to be tripping over each other as we try to make our escape."
"Lieutenant," said Casey. "that goes for your seal team too. You work with the Iranians and keep these people safe. They've suffered enough."
"Roger will do and good luck Colonel," said Marsh. "Okay boys it's time for a little payback. Grigor take us to that armoury so we can get some toys."
"Okay, guys you heard the lady," said Banai to his men. "Your job is to protect the villagers and see them to safety. I'll meet you on the other side."
"You sure you can trust these people… they're Americans and Russians. You know what I mean," said one of his men as he raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, I'm sure and I'm giving you the order so you're not taking orders from a woman. Now go if they say we don't have much time we don't have much time. And this my friend is wasting it. ma'a as-salaama."
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Mike and Margo were rounding everyone up from the suit and heading down to the Dungeon when they got a call from their men in the lobby. They informed them that Ali had checked out and was headed for the airport so Margo ordered them to go get him. They could grab him there then shove him on one of the companies charters to be whisk him off to a black site where they could get some answers.
"Okay, everyone we can relax for now and take a breather. It seems Ali has gone. I just got word from below that he checked out and left a little while ago," said Margo.
"I'll stay here with everyone until we get confirmation that Ali is in the air," said Mike. "Why don't you take Sam down to Jack's office where she and he can go over employee photos. That way we can find out the name of this busboy and bring him in."
"You do remember you work for me. But okay and Razhib can you come with me? I'd like a chance for us to talk alone. I need to apologize and I feel there are things you want to tell me."
"Yes there are but I don't know if you're going to want to hear what I have to say," said Razhib. But Sam gave him a face.
"Come on," Sam said as she took him by the hand. "We can milk this for some ice cream. Just play along and help me lay the guilt trip on thick. It's been my experience that adults mean well but they screw up a lot so you need to be understanding."
"Not everything can be solved with Rocky Road," said Razhib as he tried to pull away but she wouldn't let him.
"Maybe not, but if my mommy has taught me anything it's that it makes crap taste a lot better when it's being forced down your throat. Can Molly come with us too? Please or she's going to feel left out."
"You know you're a little stinker," said Emma. "And speaking of little stinkers I think I smell one." Bunny laughed as if she understood and caressed Emma's face.
"Okay Mike you can stay here with Emma and Bunny. Razhib and girls you're with me but I want you all within sight of an adult at all times."
"Sounds like a plan to me. Just one moment and let me get my medical bag. I never leave home without it," said Sam. She ran into her room and came out shortly afterwards.
They left the suite then walked down to the elevator. Razhib was silent all the way down which only made Margo more concerned. They pressed the button and waited. Finally, the elevator arrived, the doors opened, and they got on.
"Phew, who was on this elevator before us should check their cologne," said Molly. "What did they do bath in it."
"Really," said Sam. "Does it come by the gallon? What's that smell. It smells…"
"Like jasmine mixed with musk," mumbled Rashib as he remembered back to a lesson he had heard the Toy Maker give. He closed his eyes and he was there:
"You can use this to keep bomb dogs from detecting your explosives. You just have to is spray it all around where you plant the bomb and they won't pick up on the scent. This is my own creation…. Jasmine and musk."
"Crap! Jasmine and musk," said Razhib. His eyes grew big and he pushed the button for the emergency stop on the elevator panel.
"Razhib! What's the matter?" asked Margo a little startled. "I think we can wait until we get to the ground floor to have this talk?"
"No not that… this doesn't have to do with that," said Razhib as he examined the control panel. The screw heads were mared. "Sam in that bag you carry with you. Is there a Philip's head screwdriver in it?"
"Of course I do. Doesn't every doctor carry one," said Sam as she took it out and handed it to him. "But when you're done I want that back... it's a part of a set."
"What's going on and should you be removing that," said Margo but she saw how intently and gingerly he was handling in. He slid his hand under it carefully after he lifted it up enough to look behinds. He gently reached under and detached a red wire that was stuck to the back.
"Okay now we can see what we have," said Razhib as he removed the face. Everyone took a deep breath. Inside was stuffed with C-4 and a green light indicating it was armed. "We activated it when you pressed the button for the ground floor."
"We're between floors now," said Margo as she took her phone out to call Mike. "We can force the doors open then Mike can open the doors on the floor and I can get you kids to safety."
"If we'd gone down to the ground floor it would've exploded. That's the good news. If we start again it will explode," said Razhib. He suddenly realized Margo was about to force the doors open. "Stop! Are you crazy?"
"What? I'm about to get everyone out of this trap. We force open the doors and…" said Margo but Razhib cut her off.
"You're about to get everyone killed is what you're about to do. That's the way Ali operates. He gives you an obvious exit then when you take it you find it was a trap."
"Are you sure about that? Is there a way we can make sure," asked Margo as Mike came on the line. "Hold one Mike. … Yes we stopped the elevator on purpose. There's a bomb on board. … just hold. So Razhib how do we know?"
"Sam, do you have a telescopic mirror and flashlight in that bag?" Sam smiled and popped it open again pulling them out.
"I'm always prepared and you guys used to make fun of me for carrying this bag around. Now who's laughing suckers."
"Yes you're right," said Razhib as he pulled out the mirror and got it up in the doorjamb using the flashlight he checked up inside the works. He remembered back to his time with the Toy Maker and tuned everything out as he searched. "There you are. He's got sensors up in here that completed a circuit when the doors closed. If you break it now… well we don't want to do that."
"Mike, did you copy that? We can't force open the doors. But I'd like to know how he got that in there. He wasn't in the elevator that long… not long enough to dismantle everything and reassemble without anyone knowing."
"He's very good at what he does. This… this is practice… a lot of practice. You start by building model ships in bottles. That teaches you patience as well as it works on dexterity. I'm afraid our only hope is for me to disarm it."
"Can you?" asked Margo. She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer. "It's all right if you say you can't do it. I can get one of our bomb experts in here…"
"How? If he's wired the doors I'm sure he's put something on the roof. This he did for me to find. He's still taunting me the servant boy."
"Well don't just stand there and go boohoo woe is me. Get even with this butthole by disarming his bomb," said Sam. "Are you going to let him walk all over you for the rest of your live... which I might add could be pretty short if you do nothing."
"Sam's right Razhib doing nothing isn't an option. We have faith that you can do this. The only question is do you have faith in yourself?"
"Molly it's not just faith," said Razhib then he pause. "I can't believe I'm going to ask this question. But do you have a pair of scissors and a scalpel in there?" Sam smiled back at him like the cat who ate the canary.
"Please tell me you don't," said Margo but Sam was already handing them to Razhib. She just shook her head. "I hope you don't have a gun in there."
"No, of course not that would go against the Hippocratic oath to do no harm. I have the scalpel and scissors… well because I might need them. I borrowed them from Chicago memorial when we visited Aunt Ellie and Uncle Awesome. I just took them also because... well between colleagues you lend things."
"I'm searching that bag once this is done and sequestering all dangerous objects that a five-year-old has no business having."
"Anyone ever call you a buzz kill," said Sam. Margo had to hold her phone away from her ear as loudly as Mike was laughing.
"Will you people hold down the noise I've got to study this and your chatting in the background isn't helping. Okay this is it. I've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is I can disarm the bomb but the bad news is I have to cut the power to the brakes to do it which means the elevator will go into a free fall until I can restore power."
"So free falling would be thirty-two feet per second per second and the distance from where we are now to the end of the line would be..."
"Yes, I've done the math and there isn't much time I know. Remember where your mathematics comes from..."
"If only you applied this to your homework," said Molly as she smiled at him. "Maybe your grades would improve."
"Funny but not helping. I can do it... disarm the bomb but there won't be a lot of time to stop this from hitting the bottom."
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Things back in Langley were hopping. The General was down in the situation room with Roan, her aide and General Thomas. Because it was a military operation General Thomas took charge. The Chief of Naval Operation passed the gauntlet over to the Chairman of the JCS. Now they were just waiting for the Mason to arrive on station to begin the attack.
"I would've liked to have used something out of the 39th from Incirlik but the Turks won't give us permission to fly through their air space and we ruled out using anything Bulgaria itself. Because that would put base commanders in a delicate situation. Italy was out of the question because we'd have to tell them why and after the Sigonella incident... well we didn't want to open up any old wounds."
"Sir, the Mason reported they're ten minutes away from being within striking range. They're requesting permission to go hot."
"Permission granted and God's speed with them," said General Thomas. "Can we get sat imagery of the island?"
"You heard the General," said Beckman. "Bring it up on the big screen and zoom in on the target area. Bring it in as close as you can. I want to be able to count the hairs on the head of their guards."
"Look at that? What's happening down there? It looks like people are running out of the underground complex."
"This is what we were afraid would happen," said Roan as they watched people running in every direction. "They've gotten word we're about to launch our attack and trying to escape. General, you need to order that attack now before it's too late."
"Hold up a moment the Mason isn't on station yet and we're trying to destroy their hardware not take civilian lives. Let's let a few of the poor bastards escape before we hit them with the kitchen sink."
"I hear where you're coming from and normally I'd agree with your" said Diane. "But we can't let sentiment get in the way when we're talking about the thousands of lives at risk if they launch that missile."
"Well the last I check I was in charge of the military part of this operation. I thank you for your advice but I'm the one who has to make the call."
"Sir the Mason is in range to launch Tomahawks then they'd like to move in to begin shore bombardment."
"Tell them to standby for my orders," said Tank. Then suddenly the silo doors opened and the Iranian missile took flight. "Crap! Fire!... Fire!"
"At what now," asked the General. "The cow's out of the barn. You waited too long. I told you not to get sentimental and now it's bitten you in the butt."
"Sir, the Mason reported two tomahawks away and closing in to begin shore bombardment. They report the missile has been launched."
"Tell them to stand down and save their ammunition for World War three," said Tank. Everyone turned around and looked at him. "Just tell them to stand down."
"The first Tomahawk is nearing the target area. Ten seconds to impact," said the Major as he started a countdown.
"Switch over to the view from the nose cone on the missile," said the General as they watched the missile hone in on the target as it flew just above the surface of the water then up and back down. There was a blinding flash of light then nothing.
"Give me back sat view so we can see the damage," said the Major. Both Generals nodded but as they were switching over there was another flash of light followed by a fire.
"Major, we need to track that missile. Contact SAC and see if they can activate autodestruct and have the missile destroy itself over the Black Sea."
"What do you think the chances of Chuck or anyone of his team getting out of that mess alive are?" said Roan. "I know this was necessary but... well I've grown to like Charles and Sarah... even Colonel shoot 'em up."
"I don't know but like you said this was necessary. And right now we have other things to worry about like averting World War three. Any word yet from SAC?"
"I've got them on the horn now," said the Major. "I'm putting them through for you on the horn," said the Major and shortly they heard a voice on the other end.
"I'm sorry General but before I can initiate an auto destruct command I need to verify your authorization code. Please give me your code now."
"Here you go but you need to hurry," said the General as she gave the man her access code. "If you don't hurry you're about to become very busy."
"Yes Ma'am authorization granted initiating self-destruct. Oh no… something is wrong the warhead it isn't accepting the command. Let me try again... crap it's not working. I'm sorry but the warhead isn't under our control."
"No it's under Abu's. Chuck, what have you done."