Just managed to get this chapter in before I had to do some work tonight. Not much in the way of author's notes this time. But this chapter is a definite roller-coaster. And I also took a little piece from "Chuck vs. the Role Models" that I thought didn't work as well in the actual episode and made a joke I had thought of a few stories ago. But please remember, like the show, this story doesn't get a lot of visits from reality. :-D
Please review if you haven't had a chance. The one thing I always try to include is a lot of humor and meta-references, and I'm not sure how people are reacting to those. If things don't work for you, feel free to say so. I always explain my line of thinking.
NBC/Fake Empire...and so on.
Enjoy!
Lankaran, Azerbaijan
May 20, 2016
10:30 PM AZT
Konul Aslanov scanned the countryside around his villa with a pair of binoculars and considerable impatience. Waiting for Agent Casey's friends to attempt a rescue was the hard part. But they would; Victor Federov was certain of it. Capturing one American agent, even one with the talents of John Casey, wasn't a big deal. But to take out his friends on that TV show, were also not only actual spies themselves but the best team of agents the American government had, would provide some serious cache in his future endeavors in weapons sales. If he was successful in helping eliminate Agents Miller, Slade, and especially Agent Walker, the money he'd make could get him a mansion that made his current villa look like an outhouse.
Jimmy drove the SUV along the road on the hill overlooking the villa, slowing down just enough to let Chuck and Sarah out of the vehicle before driving off. Sarah would provide sniper support on the hill while running the show. She would also assist Chuck in setting up video surveillance so the rest of the team knew the best approach to the villa. Carina, Cole, and Amir were to infiltrate the villa and find Casey and Ilsa. Once they were freed, it was up to Jimmy to go in hard and get everybody out.
"We're in position one hundred yards west of the villa," Jimmy said. "Light them up for us."
Chuck took a pair of infrared goggles and looked out over the entire area, sweeping slowly back and forth. As the team had hoped, his Intersect kicked in with various geometric equations and angle measurements.
"Ready to program," Chuck said, kneeling down in front of his laptop.
"Are you OK?" Sarah asked him.
"Fine. Just a little headache. I guess I'm still a little new to all of this stress."
"Don't worry, you're doing great," she replied, giving him a little kiss.
Chuck programmed the computer as Sarah loaded the specialized rifle they used to plant the GPS tracker on Sayed. However, this time it would fire a series of darts, each of which contained a wireless HD camera that would link to Chuck's laptop. He finished the calculations and displayed the list to Sarah for location, distance, elevation, and windage. One by one, Sarah loaded a dart into the rifle, made the appropriate adjustments, and fired. Six darts later, they had the entire villa monitored for a 180-degree sweep.
"Six for six," Sarah told the team as she switched to her sniper rifle. "Four guards are patrolling the main entrance," she announced as she looked at Chuck's monitor. "Four more on the upper levels, two at each end."
"Chuck, do the heat sensors work?" Carina asked.
Chuck switched programs on the computer. "They work, but I'm not picking up anything more than the eight guards Sarah mentioned."
"They're not stupid," Cole replied. "They'll keep John and Ilsa as secure as they can and in an inaccessible location."
"Well, we picked the right SUV," Jimmy said. "There's only one road in and out. Bottleneck city. Glad this thing is built like a Sherman tank."
"I'll get in position to take out the guards. Stay here, Chuck," Sarah said. "Keep monitoring their movements. Everybody else, get ready to roll."
Carina, Cole, and Amir exited the vehicle with their weapons as Sarah ran fifty yards further up the hill to get herself in a perfect position to open fire at the guards. Chuck kept close watch on the surveillance cameras as the trio made their way the 100-yard distance to the villa. They pressed themselves up against the west wall.
"Chuck, where are the guards?" Carina whispered.
"Two of them are walking your way," he said. "Five yards…four…three…two…"
The two guards started to make the turn around the corner to the villa…and were met by a boot from Cole. One of them went down as Amir stepped up and smashed the other in the face with his weapon. The first one tried to get up, but Carina put him down for good with a hard punch.
"OK, you're clear to the next alcove," Chuck told them.
Carina, Cole, and Amir moved forward per Chuck's directions. They spotted the two remaining ground guards. Carina and Cole fired tranq darts, sending the two to the ground.
Sarah readied her sniper rifle, keeping a sharp eye out on the four guards on the balconies. One of them would be able to see Carina, Cole, and Amir attempt to go through the side entrance they found in the villa's blueprints. She took aim at that guard.
She then heard the click of a gun behind her. "It's good to see you again, Agent Walker," Victor Federov taunted, aiming a Glock 17 at Sarah. He pushed the barrel against the back of her head as he grabbed her sniper rifle and threw it far away.
He then switched on his radio. "I have Agent Walker. Get the rest," he ordered.
"Everyone, CODE 7!" Sarah shouted, but Federov took his Glock and nailed her in the head, knocking her unconscious.
Throughout the area, the team began to scramble. Chuck quickly hit the reset keys on his laptop and typed in the wrong password in three times in a row. He took off as the laptop destroyed itself. Carina, Cole, and Amir began to run west, but two dozen of Ghazi's men were waiting for them. Jimmy gunned the engine and tore down the road, heading towards them. He kept his foot down on the accelerator as he reached out the window with an MP5K, spraying the area. Everybody dove for cover as Jimmy was able to drive up to the team.
"COME ON!" he shouted.
Amir tried to get up, but he was quickly grabbed by four soldiers and was knocked unconscious by the butt of a rifle. Carina got up and tried to pull Cole with her to the SUV. Jimmy opened the door just as the soldiers pounced on Carina and Cole.
Cole shoved Carina forward, away from the soldiers and into the SUV. "GO, JIMMY!" he screamed.
"NO!" Carina cried, but the soldiers had Cole captured. Jimmy had no choice but to floor it away from the villa.
Chuck ran down the hill and saw the SUV coming up the road ahead of him. Three of Ghazi's men got to him and pointed weapons at him. His Intersect kicked in, and he spun in the air, knocking all three guns out of their hands. He sent a hard kick at the chin of one man, knocking him unconscious. He then went at the man on his left, hooking his arm around the man and spinning through the air to land a kick at the third man. He landed and threw a roundhouse at the man who was on his left to take him out.
He ran down the hill, again wincing in pain, as the SUV got to him. "Jimmy!" he shouted.
Jimmy brought the SUV to a screeching halt, and Chuck jumped into the back. Several of Ghazi's men tried to give chase, opening up with automatic weapons, but the bullet-proof SUV just drove off into the night.
"Oh, God. Oh, my God," Chuck said, completely out of breath. "How did this happen?"
Jimmy shook his head. "They knew we'd make a play for Case and Ilsa. They outsmarted our asses."
"Cole…" Carina said in a shaky voice from the passenger seat.
"Well, if there was any doubt how the guy felt about you, I think he just laid them to rest," Jimmy said solemnly.
"We'll get him back," Chuck said, gripping Carina's shoulders. "We're getting all of them back."
Jimmy exhaled. "How we're getting them back is the big question."
Kuvanil, Azerbaijan
May 21, 2016
12:30 AM AZT
Ghazi and Sayed led the handcuffed and gagged Sarah, Cole, and Amir to a cell in the basement. Two of Ghazi's men opened the door and the three were pushed inside. Another figured walked up to the cell as it was relocked and stood in triumph.
"Agent Casey," Victor Federov began. "As you were probably wondering why you weren't already dead, now you have your answer. My new associates appreciate all of the data I have given them on you and your friends."
Federov turned to Ghazi as Casey did a slow burn. "You got what you wanted. Now I leave with Ilsa, Agent Casey, and my money."
"When the ENTIRE team is captured," Ghazi replied in no uncertain terms. "Not a minute before."
"That was not our deal. You wanted the Azure Wind stopped, and I stopped her."
"Then you walk on your own…and you lose your protection. After what you did, how badly do you think their friends want to kill you now? Are you certain you can handle them all by yourself?"
"He's right," Aslanov said, walking up to the group. "I'm already risking enough of my operation as it is. There's over twenty million euros in weaponry here just waiting to be sold, and the last thing I need is for you to be caught and tell MI-6 or the CIA where it is."
Ghazi looked at everyone in the cells. "You'll get your money…and your revenge," he told Federov. But AFTER we get the rest of Agent Walker's team."
Two sentries from the villa entered the basement. "Report," Ghazi ordered.
"The two got away," one man reported. "We can't find them or the one who was pretending to be Agent Walker's boyfriend. But three of our men swear he was able to overpower them. By himself."
"Ya Khara!" Ghazi swore at Federov. "I thought you said he was a nothing."
"He was," Federov replied in confusion. "His job was to provide the team intel. Nothing more."
"It would appear his job description has changed. It would be in our best interest to find out everything he knows as well."
Ghazi went over to the cell. "Not to worry," he told the team. "You'll be on TV again. Your execution on the streets of Tehran will be…what did they used to call it?...Must-See TV."
Ghazi and Federov walked away, leaving a pair of guards to watch over the team.
Costons Lane – Greenford, UK
May 21, 2016
2:00 AM BST
Ellie stared out the window of the house into the night taking another sip from her cup of coffee. There wasn't much to see because of the lack of street lights, and the darkness certainly matched her mood. She had a few worrisome nights when Devon would go off to do his mountain climbing or ski in the Rockies. But this was far worse. Not only did she find out Chuck had been working with a team of secret agents for eight months, he had been put in harm's way several times already. And this time, he volunteered to go right into it. She had faith that Sarah and the others were the best, but she couldn't imagine any task like this being nothing but fraught with danger.
"Can't sleep, either?"
Ellie turned to see Alex standing behind her. She went to the coffee maker to pour herself a cup.
"No," Ellie sighed. "Not knowing is the worst part of all this. Not knowing Chuck became a government asset, not knowing if everybody will be coming back, not knowing what will happen next…"
"And not being able to do anything about it," Alex finished for her, to which Ellie nodded. "As a doctor, I imagine the desire to make things better is ingrained into you. I know that's how I feel right now."
Ellie looked at her for a long moment. "I…I found out a few things about you from Jimmy. I'm so sorry to hear about your father. Had I known all of what you've been through, I never would have…"
Alex put a hand up. "That still doesn't excuse what I did. That's why I never said anything: I didn't want to seem like I was trying to score sympathy points with you. I have to make up for what I did in the past. And the more I think about it, the more stupid I was to have acted that way."
"But what happened to you…I mean, I don't know if I'd ever recover from losing Devon like how you lost your fiancé."
Alex was silent. "He must have been quite a wonderful person," Ellie said tenderly.
"He was," Alex replied in a subdued voice. "His name was John O'Shea. Handsome as hell; sort of a lankier version of your husband but his hair was a bit more reddish. He grew up in Boston and moved to Raleigh as a teenager with his parents. One of the nicest people in the world. He was always buying me little gifts. I loved curling up with him in front of the fireplace on a cold night."
"Where did you meet him?"
"I was in training at Quantico. One Friday, my classmates and I went out to get hammered after a very tough exam by this SOB instructor we had. John apparently had a meeting with him earlier in the day and thought he was the reason we had a bad day. He bought us a couple of rounds, and my roommate at Quantico, Tamara, kept goading me into giving him my number. Eventually I caved. And it was the best decision I ever made."
"Sounds like you had a different life back then."
"I did. I worked hard and partied hard from freshman year in high school onward. Drove my poor parents nuts with all of the late nights and fighting with my brother."
"Where did he propose?"
"Right in the middle of Times Square on New Year's Eve." Alex shook her head and gave a little laugh. "I know. Total cliché, right? But he liked to romance me old-school, and I couldn't resist. We were going to get married in March of 2002. But then…"
Alex's breathing began to labor and Ellie put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Alex paused to wipe a few tears away. "Maybe I was fooling myself. Some stupid-assed 22-year-old who thought she had life figured out."
She then looked at Ellie. "Christ, what's wrong with me?" Alex muttered as she looked at the floor, even more upset with herself. "You basically had to raise Chuck since you were fifteen. I lost my youth; you never even got to enjoy yours."
"But we both turned out with so much more than when we started," Ellie replied confidently. "I always wanted to be a doctor and find some wonderful person who loved me, and that happened. I wanted Chuck to find someone special, and I think it's safe to say he couldn't do much better than he did."
Ellie turned Alex towards her. "You were given a second chance. What are you going to do with it?"
Alex looked up at Ellie. A small smile came across her face, the thought of Jimmy crossing her mind. "Make it count."
The two women rose and Ellie gave Alex a hug.
Lankaran, Azerbaijan
May 21, 2016
12:30 AM AZT
Chuck, Carina, and Jimmy returned to the hill where they observed the villa. All three of them were worried sick for their friends, but they knew time was of the essence and they needed information on where everyone was taken.
"The guards are gone," Carina observed. Her voice was considerably subdued. No doubt she was having a hard time dealing with Cole's capture. And judging by the look on Chuck's face, Sarah being taken was weighing heavily on him, too.
"They must have moved them elsewhere," Jimmy concluded. "And that's the $64,000 question, isn't it."
"How are we supposed to find them?" Chuck asked.
"We have to hope there's some information on Aslanov's operations in there…or maybe something you can flash on."
Jimmy drove the SUV towards the villa but found a spot that allowed for an easier escape just in case there were still people there. Chuck, Carina, and Jimmy exited the SUV. Jimmy opened up the back and took out their zipline gear. Carina readied the plates and straps for all three as Jimmy hammered one end of the zipline into a nearby tree. He loaded the other end into his piton gun and fired, anchoring it to the roof of the villa. Carina got up on the zipline first and glided the seventy-five yards to the roof. Chuck went next, and Jimmy brought up the rear.
They quickly found an air vent on the roof and took off the cover. They dropped into a closet on the top floor of the villa, landing in what looked like Aslanov's master bedroom.
"This guy lives pretty well," Chuck observed, taking note of the expensive clothing and other personal items.
"Selling weapons to terrorists is a lucrative business," Carina replied darkly.
They then heard a low growl. They turned to stare at Jimmy.
"That wasn't me," he said in annoyance. "Why do I always get blamed for that?"
They looked through the slats of the closet door and their eyes widened in shock.
An Asiatic lion walked into the bedroom.
"Holy crap," Jimmy whispered. "I didn't know Siegfried and Roy retired out here."
Chuck shuddered. "I haven't seen anything that scary since Casey was a guest on Celebrity Name Game. How the hell are we supposed to get out of here?"
Carina quickly rummaged through the drawers and shelves. "Here, tranquilizer darts. But where's the gun?"
Chuck saw a collar around the lion and began to have a flash, seeing images of mountains, desert sunsets, and a bio on Aslanov…contained in a flash drive.
"Guys, there's a flash drive on the lion's neck," Chuck whispered.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding," Carina growled.
"What?"
Carina held up the tranq gun…which was broken. She threw it back on the shelf in disgust and pulled out her Sig.
"No, we are not shooting a lion!" Chuck exclaimed.
"Chuck, there's no time! We have to get everyone back!"
"Then…why can't we just throw the tranq dart at the lion?"
"Think, Chuck! It has to go in at a high velocity to penetrate the lion. Unless you just want to walk right up to it and stab it!"
"We can't kill a lion. They're an endangered species!"
"Everybody is an endangered species right now!"
"Oh, for chrissake!" Jimmy growled.
Jimmy grabbed one of the tranq darts and went to the door. The lion turned to the side, and Jimmy leaped out of the closet. He ran at the lion, dove over it to the floor, and pulled it down with him. He scissor-locked his legs, trapping most of the lion's body between them. He then held the lion's head down to the carpet with his forearm as he stabbed her with the tranq dart.
He then started scratching the lion gently along her face. "Awww, who's a good girl?" he said in a soothing voice to the lion. "Does nobody feed you around here? I'll get you a nice antelope or a zebra for breakfast. Would you like that? You're such a pretty cat. You take a rest, sweetie."
The lion's eyes glazed over and she fell asleep. Jimmy extracted himself from under her and stood, reaching down to gently unhook the collar from around the lion, petting her one last time. Chuck and Carina walked slowly out of the closet absolutely stunned.
Jimmy turned to them. "What?" he asked, dumbfounded at the looks on their faces.
"You…you just…you just tackled a lion," Chuck stammered.
"We didn't have a tranq gun," Jimmy replied with a shrug.
"But you just tackled a lion!"
Jimmy threw his hands up. "We didn't have a tranq gun."
Carina shook her head clear. "I think what Chuck's trying to say…he means…YOU JUST TACKLED A LION!"
"We didn't have a TRANQ GUN!" Jimmy yelled. "Why is this so hard to figure out?"
Chuck and Carina turned to each other completely flummoxed. "Should we…" Chuck began.
"I don't have a better idea," Carina replied.
Both of them stepped forward and smacked Jimmy upside the head.
"Hey, only Sarah gets to do that!" Jimmy growled.
"Oh, and she will when she finds out what you just did," Carina retorted.
He slapped the collar into Chuck's hand. "Let's just get the goddamn intel," he replied in aggravation. "Christ, I was just doing my job here."
"YOU TACKLED A LION!" both Chuck and Carina screamed at him.
"Seriously, are you two going to keep bitching at me or are we gonna rescue everyone?" Jimmy snapped.
Chuck shook his head in total disbelief as they walked out of the bedroom into what looked like Aslanov's office. Chuck tried to boot the computer up.
"We need a password," Chuck said in frustration. He looked at the screen and his Intersect kicked in, seeing images of lions in a zoo, pastures, and a translation of Aslanov's name into English.
"HeartOfALion," he said, gritting his teeth as he typed in the correct password. "That's what Aslanov's name means in Azerbaijani."
"Are you OK?" Carina asked him.
"Fine," Chuck quickly replied. He inserted the flash drive, and the three studied the information.
"There are a lot of places they could be," Carina noted. "Aslanov owns a number of facilities all over the region."
"Shame we can't call for satellite recon," Jimmy replied. "We'd find them in seconds."
They saw images of several locations owned by Aslanov. Chuck stopped at a building in Kuvanil. "What about that one?"
Jimmy studied it. "It wouldn't take much to haul five hostages there. It's only fifteen miles away. Well-fortified concrete, and if he has weapons stored there, they can defend it easily. If I were them, I'd probably choose that locale to hide everybody."
"If they don't try to kill them first."
Jimmy shook his head. "If that's what they wanted, they would have killed Case and Ilsa already. They set a trap for us, so they want us. All of us. And given you managed to get away from them, you probably piqued their curiosity, too."
Chuck leaned back in the chair. "We can't do this alone. We're going to need an army to beat them."
Carina stared forward for a moment. A tiny smile graced her lips.
"Leave that to me," she said, suddenly brimming with confidence.
Kuvanil, Azerbaijan
May 21, 2016
4:00 AM AZT
Sarah, Casey, Ilsa, Cole, and Amir sat in the jail cell in the basement of the building. They hadn't said much to each other since they were moved here, unsure if the cell was being monitored from the outside. If it was, Aslanov and Ghazi were very good at keeping it hidden. Two guards patrolled outside of the cell.
Ilsa sat down on the bench next to Casey. "I really wish it hadn't come to this," she said quietly, careful to avoid making any movements that would attract the attention of the guards.
"We're not dead yet," Casey replied with self-assurance.
"Wish I could be that optimistic," Cole whispered sitting on the opposite side from Casey. "We got our arses handed to us at the villa. This place is much more secure and we have less than half the team on the outside."
"We're getting out of here," Casey promised. "Miller and Slade are two of the best. And Bartowski…Jesus, that kid does not know how to give up."
"Finally warming up to him?" Sarah asked with a smile.
"Not in the same way you have," Casey retorted with considerable snark.
Amir walked over to them. "If they're coming, we have to be ready," he whispered. "We have to look for any opportunity to take advantage, no matter how small."
"HEY!" one of the guards shouted, pointing his gun at the group. "Back to where you were."
Everybody glared at him for a moment before slowly returning to their original spots. Casey thought for a moment. He then glanced at Sarah, catching her attention. He then looked back and forth between Ilsa and her, curling up his hand into a fist. Sarah caught it and nodded. Ilsa looked at the two and also nodded. Casey nodded towards the guards and carefully put his hand out, telling Sarah and Ilsa to wait for the proper moment.
~/^\~
Chuck, Carina, and Jimmy drove their SUV to a warehouse one hundred yards away from Aslanov's hideout. Carina and Jimmy checked their weapons as Chuck readied his mobile phone.
"What was our deal, Chuck?" Carina asked in a rather brusque fashion.
"Wait out here, I know," he replied in disappointment. "Not doing anything to help is the hard part."
"You're the one who has to drive our asses out of here," Jimmy said. "If that ain't helping us, I don't know what is."
"Just bring everyone out safely," he said quietly.
"Count on it," Carina said.
"Promise, man," Jimmy added, giving him a hug. "Set the clock for two minutes."
Chuck hit the timer function on his smartphone. "Go."
Carina and Jimmy exited the vehicle and headed towards Aslanov's bunker. They kept a sharp eye out for surveillance cameras and motion sensors, as they expected the group to be ready for them. Jimmy pulled out his tablet computer and brought up the schematics of the building. They got into position.
The two minutes expired, and Chuck punched the text into his phone. He put it away and waited nervously, keeping an iron grip on the steering wheel. One way or another, this was going to be over in the next ten minutes.
~/^\~
Carina and Jimmy readied their weapons, keeping an eye on the dozen ISIS soldiers patrolling the grounds. They then heard a faint whooshing sound in the background. The ISIS soldiers also began to look around, wondering what sound they were hearing. By the time they saw the pair of Viper AH-1Z helicopters rising over the hill, they were under attack by an agent firing away with an M134 minigun. Those soldiers began to take hits as a dozen MI-6 agents began to rappel down from the two helicopters, clad in body armor and brandishing automatic weapons.
Carina and Jimmy switched on their communications gear. "Create a perimeter!" Carina shouted as they charged towards the building. They shot two more soldiers on the way as the assault team took care of the remaining men. Jimmy broke down the door to the main entrance, and the two ran inside.
~/^\~
Two more guards joined the two that were already watching the team. Casey noticed the look of worry on their faces and then looked back and forth between Sarah and Ilsa, giving a quick nod. They nodded back.
"This is your fault!" Sarah yelled, getting into Ilsa's face. "You got us captured because you had to play John Wayne!"
Ilsa rose. "Don't even start with me! It's not my fault you did such a half-assed job of rescuing John! I could have gotten us out if you weren't so damn incompetent!"
"Don't tell me how to do my job!"
"Then try doing it, you bitch!" Ilsa yelled, shoving Sarah hard into the bench. She got up and lunged at Ilsa, the two falling over the other bench and struggling with each other. Casey, Cole, and Amir tried to separate them to no avail. The four guards looked on in confusion.
One of them readied his weapon. "We can't," another one said. "We lose all our money if they're dead."
The other two soldiers went to the door, one of them unlocking it and the other readying their weapon. The one ran in, and Amir suddenly turned, elbowing the man in the face. He dropped his gun as he fell, which Cole grabbed. He opened fire, taking out another soldier. One tried to aim his weapon through the bars, but Casey reached out and grabbed the man's arm, pulling the man hard and sending his head crashing into the bars, knocking him out cold. He grabbed the gun and fired at the last guard, who went down.
Sarah got up quickly and pulled Ilsa up with her. "If the show ever does come back, I think you just earned yourself a guest appearance," she told Ilsa, who smiled at the compliment.
The five gathered the soliders' weapons and quickly exited the basement.
~/^\~
Carina and Jimmy rushed down the hallway. They stopped at a large room full of armaments. Jimmy reached into his backpack and pulled out three large bricks of C-4. He switched on the detonators and threw them into the room. They continued down the hallway and turned the corner…running into a half-dozen ISIS soldiers, who went on the attack. Carina spun and landed a hard kick at the closest one while Jimmy swung his backpack to knock out two others. He ducked down as Carina rolled over him to land a kick at a fourth man. He got up just in time to throw a nasty haymaker at the fifth one. The last one looked back and forth and then simply put his hands up. Carina and Jimmy walked calmly past him, Jimmy elbowing him in the jaw to knock him out as they went by.
~/^\~
Sarah, Casey, Ilsa, Cole, and Amir made their way up the stairs, looking for the exit. They turned to hear the click of a gun. They turned to see Ghazi and Sayed behind them.
"You are not going anywhere," Ghazi hissed. "Do you think I plan to let go of my big payday?"
Casey slowly put his hands up. Sarah began to do the same. She then reached for the two knives behind Casey's back they confiscated from the soldiers and threw them, hitting both Ghazi and Sayed. They grasped their chests and collapsed to the ground.
"The check just bounced," Casey spat at Ghazi's body.
Carina and Jimmy came running from the other direction. "Everybody OK?" Carina asked.
"Yeah, we're good," Sarah replied.
"Let's blow this popsicle stand. All teams, fall back as planned," Jimmy ordered over his communications gear as everybody exited the facility. He looked around to make sure the coast was clear. "Chuck, time to pick up the kids from school."
"He came with you?" Sarah was suddenly breathing fire.
"Yell at him, not us."
"Don't worry," Carina said. "You'll have plenty of time to yell at Jimmy when you hear about the lion."
"The WHAT?!"
"Nice effort," a voice behind the group said. "But all for nothing."
Everybody turned to see Aslanov and the last of the ISIS soldiers with weapons aimed in their direction.
"If you don't mind, we're going to leave now," Cole said in total derision.
"No you are not. I can still make quite a bit of money off of your capture. And between the reward for turning all of you over to ISIS and everything I possess here, I'll become a very rich man."
Jimmy raised an eyebrow. He then reached into his pocket and pressed a button on a remote detonator. Explosions rocked the area, taking Aslanov and his soldiers by surprise. The seven agents easily overpowered them, knocking them to the ground.
"Now it's a tax write-off," Jimmy replied, aiming his guns at the prone Aslanov.
"Bring up a team to take these people into custody," Carina said over her earpiece to the MI-6 agents. She then turned to Cole. "So, are my rescue skills improving?"
"A little," Cole replied with a smile. "Are these the same agents…"
Carina nodded. "The same ones we staked out to find Ilsa. I figured since they were here to work anyway, why not make them earn their pay."
"That they did. That was some brilliant…"
"LOOK OUT!"
Amir dove at the group and shoved them hard as Victor Federov opened up on them with an automatic weapon. Ilsa stumbled a few steps before getting her bearings. She whipped out her gun and emptied her clip into Federov, who was riddled with bullets and fell to the ground.
"Enfoiré," she hissed.
Cole and Carina turned. "Oh, my God!" Carina cried in complete horror at seeing Amir on the ground with several gunshot wounds.
Casey picked Amir up as Jimmy led them to one of the choppers. "Chuck, get here now!" he shouted.
The group ran towards the chopper as the last of the MI-6 agents boarded it. The agents looked in shock at one of their own being carried to them. They made space as Casey gently laid Amir in the chopper. Carina and Cole jumped in the chopper as Chuck pulled up in the SUV. The rest of the team got in the SUV as the chopper took off for the closest warship just off of the coast in the Caspian Sea.
"Amir!" Cole yelled, holding his hand. "Stay with us, mate! We're getting you help. Stay awake!"
Amir pointed at his neck. A shaky finger grabbed the chain he was wearing. "Trevor…for Trevor," he warbled. "Tell him…"
"No, stay with us!" Carina cried.
"Tell…him…"
Amir's hand dropped. His eyes stared ahead and his breathing ceased.
Carina covered her mouth as tears welled in her eyes. Cole pulled her into his embrace as he felt a few tears coming as well. One of the MI-6 agents gently closed Amir's eyes and removed the chain around his neck, handing it and the key on it to Cole. The helicopter continued out to the Caspian Sea with everyone sitting in silence, a few saying prayers for Amir.
Mayfair – London, UK
May 24, 2016
7:00 PM BST
Cole knocked gently on the door to Trevor's apartment while Carina and Grace stood quietly behind him. He was about to commit a major breach of protocol but he didn't give a damn. Trevor lost his boyfriend, the love of his life, and he was still alive because of Amir stepping in front of those bullets. To hell with the rules of British Intelligence; if Trevor wanted to know the truth, he was going to find out what kind of hero Amir was.
The door opened. Trevor answered it with an extremely haggard appearance. It was obvious he had shed a lot of tears over the last several days. Informing a family member or a loved one of an agent's death was something the government was very efficient at. However, they were always told a lie; either they were in a traffic accident or were killed in a robbery. Cole couldn't handle Trevor wanting to know the truth and being fed a great lie.
"Cole," Trevor said in a shaky voice.
Cole pulled him in and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry, Trev. I'm so sorry."
"Thank you," Trevor whispered. He then looked at Carina and Grace, both of whom were trying not to be overcome themselves. "Still dating Carina, I see."
Cole nodded and then turned to Grace. "And this is Grace Hawkinson."
"I'm so sorry, Trevor," Grace said, shaking his hand.
"Why are all of you here?" Trevor asked as he gestured weakly for them to enter the apartment.
Cole breathed in and out slowly to steady himself. "I wanted to tell you a few things about Amir. But I completely understand if you don't want to hear them."
"No, no. What is going on? Please tell me."
"Amir…wasn't killed in an auto accident in Tangier. He also wasn't a history professor at Oxford. He worked for MI-6. As do I and as does Grace. And Carina is an actual spy; not just an actress playing one."
"What?" Trevor was barely able to breathe at hearing this.
"All of us were on a mission," Carina continued. "On the TV show, all four of us are real spies. Sarah, John, Jimmy, and I are an actual team of agents for the CIA. John was kidnapped, and Amir helped us to find him and get him out."
"He gave up his life to save all of us," Cole said, gripping the armrests of his chair as he did so. "Amir was one of the best spies I ever met and he was an even better friend."
Trevor stared in wide-eyed shock. "Why…why didn't anyone tell me?"
"They only reveal that information if an agent is killed and only to their spouse or their parents if they're still alive. Once you two had gotten married, you would have found out. But I wanted to give you the chance to know how brave he was. What he did for us."
"Trevor wanted you to have this," Grace said, handing Trevor a small lockbox along with the key that was around his neck when he died.
Trevor put the box in his lap and unlocked it. He looked inside and gave a little smile.
"He kept the photos," Trevor said. Carina, Cole, and Grace moved around to have a look.
"That's us at Disney World," Trevor narrated, showing everyone the first picture. He flipped to the next. "Oh, that was a riot. We got that picture in Las Vegas with those Elvis impersonators."
"You two posed as Elvis better than the impersonators did," Carina said, gently rubbing Trevor's back.
"And there," Trevor said as he pulled out a picture of Amir and him in front of the Eiffel Tower. "That's where I was thinking of proposing to him, where we had our first vacation together. I just didn't know when I'd be able to pull it off. You think you have all the time in the world and then…"
Trevor dropped the picture and started to shake. The three pulled him into a tight embrace.
Costons Lane – Greenford, UK
May 24, 2016
10:00 PM BST
"To Amir."
Cole raised his glass among the group and everyone followed suit. The last several days had been incredibly difficult for everybody, but they hit Carina and Cole the hardest. Cole had been friends with Amir for several years, and neither of them would have hesitated to take a bullet for the other. But to have that actually happen was difficult to accept. Had it not been for Carina being by his side since they returned from the Caspian Sea, he figured he would have been completely worthless as a spy now.
"Chuck was right," Morgan said quietly. "This is…it takes a special type of person to do what all of you do. I feel like absolute hell, and I didn't even leave this house."
"Sometimes I think Graham had the right idea," Alex said with a sigh. "Being a spy on your own takes something away from you. I think he knew that. It's amazing how wrong TV shows and movies have this business, even Spy Girl."
"But Spy Girl got one thing right," Ilsa said. "The way your characters watch out for each other, help each other…you're the best team in America for a reason. I'd be dead right now if not for all of you."
"Tell me taking those bad guys down was enough to get that General off your backs," Devon almost pleaded.
"Any other day, sure," Alex replied. "But to have someone with Chuck's abilities in their stable? They won't give that up. Forget the Ring: the CIA would kill all of us to keep Chuck working for them."
"No, this is over!" Ellie angrily retorted. "I don't give a damn if Chuck is Superman to them. He is NOT going back!"
"I agree," Sarah replied with equal conviction.
"Forrest is right, Sarah," Casey replied. "None of us want Chuck in the government, but there's no way in hell Beckman will back off."
"I don't give a damn! We put our lives on the line over and over again for her and to get Chuck out of this. He's staying out!"
"Then we spend the rest of our lives with a target on our backs."
"Case is right," Carina said. "We all want this to happen but there's no way to do it."
"I can't do that to them, Sarah," Chuck murmured. "After everything all of you did for me, I just can't stand to see any of you getting hurt."
"No!" Sarah was beginning to get upset with everyone. "Ellie is right. This is over. I'm not putting Chuck or his family through one more minute of this!"
"Wait…"
Everybody turned in Jimmy's direction. "We're looking at this the wrong way," he said quietly. "Beckman doesn't want Chuck; she wants an Intersect. She needs someone who can handle being the computer. So we give her one."
"We had someone. But Bryce is dead," Sarah replied. "We don't know anybody else who could be the Intersect."
Jimmy looked at her for a moment. "Yes you do."
Sarah stared back and her mouth eventually dropped open in shock. "No, absolutely not! Chuck went through enough hell as the Intersect already. There's no way I'll let you go through it twice!"
"I have news for you, Sarah. You don't get to make this decision. You heard Case. You try to keep Chuck away and we spent the rest of our lives looking behind us and praying we don't take two to the back of the head! Either we do this or you risk our lives in protecting Chuck."
"Sarah," Chuck said gently. "Let me talk to you and Jimmy alone for a moment."
The three walked into one of the bedrooms away from the group. "I think Jimmy's right," Chuck said. "I think this might be the best solution."
"What?" Sarah was incensed.
"There's something I didn't want to tell you before because I didn't want you to worry. But the last few times I flashed, I started to feel pain."
Sarah looked mad enough to attack Chuck right there. "Why didn't you tell me? That was stupid. You NEVER keep something like that from me!"
"I wasn't sure at first. But I felt a little bit of pain when we ziplined from the hotel. Then I felt it again getting away when you were captured and then when we found the intel on Aslanov's location."
"Then I'm not letting Jimmy upload an Intersect! The same thing will happen to him!"
"Maybe not," Jimmy said.
"What do you mean?"
"The Intersect Chuck has was meant for Bryce, not him. What if that's the reason for the headaches? Maybe Chuck's father could create an Intersect specifically designed for me and we do whatever it takes to either get it into me or destroy it if that can't be done."
"Do you know what you're giving up?" Sarah asked him in a much quieter voice. "The risk you're taking?"
Jimmy shied away momentarily. "Sarah, you need to be out of the spy business and be with Chuck. All of us want that. But I need this team. When the four of us were broken up, it hit me…hard. I thought it was all over and I was ready to..." he shook his head clear. "But now I know it's not over. This is how we make things right. This is how we give everybody a happy ending. You get to ride off into the sunset with Chuck, and your team continues to save the world."
Sarah looked at the ground, completely humbled by this. In her determination…her near-obsession…with keeping Chuck out of the spy world, it never occurred to do what she had been doing for years: trust her friends. And now they were willing to do all of this for her. She considered herself a very lucky person, indeed.
She grabbed Jimmy and hugged him tightly, and Chuck hugged both of them. "Thank you," she said quietly.
The three returned to the group. "Let's do this," Sarah said with complete confidence. "We give Beckman her Intersect and she puts the team back together. There will be a season 7."
Everybody nodded in approval and renewed energy. "But what about, you know, those scary guys that almost kidnapped us?" Morgan asked.
Jimmy looked at everybody one-by-one.
"We take the bastards out."