A/N: I have to address the rumors that I own Chuck. Well, it's complicated. (How's that for a non-answer?) Naw, it's not really that complicated. I was just kidding. Rumors to the contrary, I don't own or even lease Chuck. It would be kind of cool if I did though, wouldn't it?
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"It's none of our business," said Beckman.
"I don't understand. Why not, General?" asked Chuck.
"The Chinese have not made it an intelligence matter. It's in the hands of the LAPD and that's where it will stay," she said.
"So, what do we do with Cho?" asked Casey.
"Confiscate her weapons and turn her loose," said Graham. "It's a bad time for us to hold her in trade for one of ours and, other than illegally possessing the weapons, she didn't commit any crime for us to turn her over to law enforcement. It's her lucky day."
"Her lucky day? Maybe not so much, Director. Her brother is under a death sentence unless her country deals with Lo Pan and the White Dragon Triad...unless they give up the Triad captain they are holding in Hong Kong," said Chuck with obvious displeasure.
"China will not deal with hostage takers, any more than we would. And they will not mount a rescue effort on our soil. Cho's gone rogue. She should be gratified that we don't just turn her over to her own people. She'll be facing a serious reprimand from her bosses when she gets back to Beijing, at a minimum," said Beckman.
"But she's just trying to save her brother. How can she get in trouble for that? And we can help her. We stopped her from her rescue attempt. Don't we owe it to her to help her rescue her brother?" asked Chuck.
"It's not that simple, Chuck," said Graham. "The fact that we all sympathize with her doesn't give us the power to act officially. This world of ours is much more complicated than that. I'm sorry, I know this is difficult for you to accept, but our decision is final. No official action on this matter."
"Goodnight, Team," said Beckman and cut the connection.
"Well, that's it then," said Casey. He moved towards his back bedroom, where Mei-Ling Cho was restrained and, unbeknownst to her, waiting on the decision of their honchos in Washington.
"Hold on a second, Case," said Chuck. "Let's talk about this."
"There's nothing to talk about, Moron. You heard them the same as I did. None of our business. We cut her loose and that's that."
"Case, we screwed up her rescue attempt," said Chuck. "We owe her our help."
"Our help to do what? Mount an unauthorized rescue attempt against Lo Pan and his whole freaking Triad? Bartowski, it doesn't work that way. We aren't vigilantes who can run around saving the world. This isn't one of your comic books, kid."
"I know that," said Chuck.
"And anyway, Chuck, our bosses have told us to drop it." said Sarah.
"No, they didn't, Sarah. They said it wasn't any of our business. They never told us to drop it. They told us there was nothing to be done officially. Officially." Chuck used air quotes to highlight the word. "I listened closely. Graham said we can't act officially. He said it twice. Well, I'm not suggesting we act officially. They didn't forbid us from helping her. They told us that the CIA and NSA were not going to officially help her. Ok, I hear that. I disagree, but ok. What about us, though? Not the organizations, not the Federal government, just us? Sarah Walker, John Casey and Chuck Bartowski. Why don't we help her? Unofficially. Not to toot our own horn, guys, but we are pretty damn good when we get started."
"You're splitting hairs, Chuck," said Sarah. "In the spy world you have to realize we can't save everybody."
"Sarah, I've been hearing that kind of thing my whole life. Can't save everybody. You know what that is? It's bunk. It's a cop out to stop you from saving anybody. It's just the same kind of thing that they say when a problem is too big for one person to fix, so nobody does anything and the problem just festers or grows. As individuals, we can and should try to fix big, intractable problems. And we can and should try to help Cho save her brother. We aren't trying to save everybody. Just him."
"Look, kid, she's a Chicom...an enemy agent. If she were to defect or something. we could consider..."
"That's a great idea, Casey. If she agrees to defect, we could help her," said Sarah.
Chuck said, with alarm, "Guys, no way. No way we do that. You would make her choose between her country or her brother? No way. That's a vicious choice to give someone. I don't want to do it. I want to help her, but not that way."
"Chuck, she's a rogue spy as it is. She might not have a country to go home to after she saves her brother," said Sarah.
"Maybe. I don't know. But, that would be up to her at the time. It's tomorrow's problem. We shouldn't force that kind of decision on her today," said Chuck. "What I do know, for absolute sure, is that she's right. Right now, what she's doing is right. She's doing everything she can to save her brother's life. Her government won't. I don't know if either of you have siblings...and I'm not asking...but you both know that if it were Ellie in trouble, you know I would do everything in my power to help her. Everything ...and to hell with the consequences. That's just what she's doing. And we should help her...unofficially, of course. We have the power to do something good, to help some people who could really use our help. What reasons are we going to give ourselves for not helping? If not for us, she might have saved her brother tonight. How would we feel if her brother was murdered by Lo Pan and we could have done something to stop it, but choose not to? I, for one, would feel really fucking terrible."
That hypothetical shook Sarah and Casey. They both looked away from Chuck and from each other. Eventually, Sarah caught Casey's eye and held his gaze for long moments. Finally, she said, "It couldn't hurt just to see what the Feds have on Lo Pan and the White Dragon Triad in the various databases. Just to look at the files. So long as it's unclassified, we could give her a download before we cut her loose. Help her on her way with some info."
"Yeah...I guess...and I was told to confiscate her weapons, so I have to do that. I wasn't told that I couldn't give her some new weapons to replace them, though. Untraceable ones. That might help her a bit," said Casey. He shook his head with a small smile and remembered that Chuck was the guy who convinced La Ciudad not to kill him. Man, he thought, I'm totally out of my league when Chuck starts talking.
With a huge smile, Chuck said, "Yes. This is great. I knew I could convince you guys. Awesome..."
"Can it, Bartowski. This is just to stop you from bitching and moaning all night. You'll keep Walker awake and she'll be grouchy over breakfast tomorrow. And I hate a grouchy Walker."
"Thanks, guys. We're doing the right thing here," said Chuck.
Casey grunted and walked over to the bedroom and opened the door. The restraints were sitting loose on the bed and the window was open, letting in a slight breeze. There was no sign of Mei-Ling Cho.
From the floor next to the door she said, "Thank you for what help you have agreed to provide me and my brother, Mr. Casey."
He looked down. She was sitting cross legged with her back to the wall by the door. She would have heard the entire conversation and had obviously waited for the result before deciding whether or not to go out the window and escape. Casey was relieved that they hadn't mentioned the Intersect.
"No mister. Just Casey." He stuck out his hand to help her up from the floor. She took his hand and rose easily and lightly to her feet.
"Sorry about the kick, just Casey."
He rubbed his jaw and said, with a small smile and a nod of appreciation, "It was a good kick." He led her back to the others. "Mei-Ling Cho, this is Sarah Walker and Chuck Bartowski."
She shook hands with each of them and said, "Thank you for agreeing to help me. I understand the risk you are all running."
"Happy to help, Ms. Cho," said Chuck.
"Please call me Mei-Ling."
"And you can call me Chuck. You want an icepack for your head? Maybe some painkillers?"
"Yes, please," she said.
As Chuck was moving to get them for her, he said, "Can I get you a cup of coffee too? Tea? I think we're going to be chatting a while. Although Casey is your host, I can make myself useful in the kitchen."
"Coffee, please. I have a peculiar taste for American coffee."
"Good choice. Casey has excellent coffee," said Chuck. He brought out painkillers, a glass of water and an icepack, then moved back into the kitchen to prepare a pot of coffee.
"Ok, Mei-Ling," said Sarah. "What can you tell us about your brother's kidnapping?"
"My brother is Lee Cho. He is my younger brother and our parents are dead, so Lee and I are very close. He is unmarried and we are the only immediate family each of us has. He's a diplomat and, currently, working with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. I don't know what his specific investigation is, though. What I do know is that moments before he was taken he called me and said 'White Dragon and Ben Lo Pan'. So, I can only conclude that whatever investigation he was running involved the Triad here in Los Angeles."
"We don't know anything about an investigation. The Triad has told your government that they are holding him to trade for a Triad captain held by them," said Sarah.
"That's nonsense. The Triad would never suggest some kind of trade like that. They would know we would never agree. And even if we did agree, once the trade was accomplished, Beijing would merely send me or someone like me to kill the Red Pole we had released. They would not permit that sort of thing to be successful. No, that's just a smoke screen. They took Lee for some other reason, no doubt having to do with whatever he's investigating."
"What's a Red Pole?" asked Chuck.
"Oh, sorry. A Red Pole is what the Triads call their enforcer captains. They also get the numerical designation of 426. Lo Pan, as the leader, the Mountain Master of this Triad, would have the designation of 489. A common soldier would be 491. Numerology is an important element for them."
"I'm sorry, Mei-Ling. Could we back up a second? What's a Triad? I mean, I know it's organized crime, but beyond that, I have no idea," said Chuck.
"The Triads got their start as secret fraternal order focused on politics, but were driven underground originally by the Qing Dynasty hundreds of years ago and more recently by the British in Hong Kong. The society fragmented and an element turned to crime. There are now dozens of Triads around the world participating in all manner of organized crime transnationally. Anywhere with a significant Chinese population will probably have a Triad presence. They are involved in everything from extortion, to human trafficking, drug dealing, counterfeiting, and fraud. You name it, they are likely to be involved in it."
"Ok, might Lee's UN counterparts know what he's investigating?" asked Sarah.
"Who cares?" said Casey. At the look he received from the others, he continued, "With respect, guys, does it really matter? Whether it's drugs or guns or whatever, the point is to get him out of Lo Pan's hands asap. His investigation is a distraction for us at the moment. He can pick it up again once he's free."
"Casey's right," said Sarah. "Our priority is to get him out of Lo Pan's hands. What do we know about Lo Pan?"
"I know he's the leader of the local Triad, the White Dragon Triad. Beyond that, I don't know much. I'm sure Beijing has a file, but I can't access it now. As you said before, I'm running a rogue op here."
Chuck brought a pot of coffee, four cups, milk and sugar to the table on a tray and said, "Well, give me a little time. I'll see what we have on our system." Taking a cup of coffee for himself, he moved over to Casey's computer and got started.
Sarah asked Mei-Ling, "What was your plan tonight? The plan we interrupted."
"I was going to kidnap Lo Pan and trade him for my brother. One of the Red Poles would certainly have traded for the Mountain Master. It would have been dishonorable for them to do otherwise."
"That might have worked. After we stopped you, we saw someone being put into the trunk of the limo. It was probably your brother."
"Do we know where the limo went?"
"No. We brought you here. The limo went on its way," said Casey.
"Traffic cams," said Chuck from Casey's computer. "Just give me a minute here." A few moments later, Chuck was tapping his fingers impatiently on the side of the desk. "Case, I have to get you a faster computer. This thing is ridiculous. I'm embarrassed for you. We sell much better than this at the Buy More."
"Government issue, Moron," said Casey.
"Ignore them. They actually love each other," said Sarah to Mei-Ling.
"That's the problem. The government awards contracts to the lowest bidder...wait...wait, for it...yup, I think the limo went straight to Lo Pan's house...well, compound...estate...Holy shit, this place is huge...any house in Beverly Hills that you can't see from the road..."
"You only think? You don't know where they went?" asked Casey.
"Well, I guess he could have gone to a neighbor's house. I last have it is on the cam for the street leading up to the house and it doesn't show up on the one after the house. Pretty good guess, I think."
"Makes sense," said Casey.
"Can you tell if they've moved Lee since then?" asked Sarah.
"They didn't take the limo past those cams again, that much I can say. Could they have switched him to a different car and taken him out that way? Yeah, I guess they could have."
"Doesn't make much sense to do that, though," said Casey.
"Nope, it doesn't," said Sarah.
"Well, if he's still there, I'll go get him. I know you can't give me back my weapons, Casey, but can you lend me a couple of pistols?"
"Mei-Ling, I know you want to go get him right away, but please slow down just a bit. Let's let Chuck do his thing. He's a bit of a wizard with a keyboard. Maybe he can get you some more useful information," said Sarah.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Sarah, but, this is gonna take a while," said Chuck.
Sarah said, "Ok. Mei-Ling you should collect the bike you were riding tonight. And you probably have gear stashed someplace. Why don't I drive you to get your stuff? We can let Chuck work. Maybe he'll have something for us when we get back."
Mei-Ling agreed. The women left Chuck to work and Casey to watch Chuck work.
Two hours later, they were back. On the screen of Casey's TV, converted into a computer monitor by Chuck, was a floorplan of Lo Pan's estate.
"Ok, guys, what do we have?" asked Sarah.
Chuck began, "The FBI and the Justice Department, not to mention the LAPD, all suspect Lo Pan of involvement with the Triad, but have never had enough evidence to indict. He's got no arrest record at all. Not even a speeding ticket. For all they can prove, he's just a successful local business man with extensive assets and holdings in Chinatown, including the Bamboo Dragon restaurant. In addition to his estate, he has a compound on Catalina, a 50 foot yacht, a private jet, a home outside of Taipei, and an apartment in Hong Kong. Emigrated here from Taiwan with his family in the fifties. He's about 70 years old, with no family to speak of any more. Lost the use of his legs when the doctors removed a tumor from the base of his spine about fifteen years ago. Other than that, he appears to be in ok health. Doesn't seem to socialize except for business. Donates to local charities, especially Chinatown based, and to local politicians. The estate is where we should focus at the moment."
Using a laser pointer, Casey highlighted a particular room on the screen. "Your brother is most likely being held here. Near the center of the mansion."
"Why that room, Casey?" asked Mei-Ling.
"Interior. No windows. One door. But bigger than a closet. If you're right and the real reason for the snatch is his investigation, and they'll want to question him, you'll need more than just him in the room," Casey answered. Mei-Ling nodded her understanding, but looked pained at the mention of someone questioning her brother. Such questioning was unlikely to be polite.
Casey, Sarah and Mei-Ling spent some time studying the plan of the estate.
Casey said, "Getting in and getting to him is one thing. Getting out again is going to be the real trick. Lo Pan has a private army of security guards. When those alarms go, they are going to be on you like white on..."
"Thank you, Casey," Sarah interrupted. Chuck swallowed a laugh.
Mei-Ling asked, "Do we know where the guards might be stationed?"
"No, but if we go in overnight, the entire force will not be on duty. Lo Pan doesn't know you're coming for your brother, so he probably won't have his men on red alert. I mean, unless he's a commie, see, then red alert means..."
"Casey, knock it off," said Sarah, as Mei-Ling grimaced.
"Just sayin'," said Casey with a small smirk.
"The good news is the security cameras are TKX-50's. Pretty outdated and configured for remote access," said Chuck.
"Can you access them?" asked Sarah.
"Not from the street. If someone can install a relay to the system, I can hack it from my laptop."
While the ladies were gone, Casey and Chuck had discussed the use of the BB-88 device, which had proven useful in controlling Alahi's cameras, but, as tonight's mission was entirely unofficial, they didn't have access to that equipment.
"Can you do a fake out on the cameras, like we did before?" asked Sarah, referring to a time delay on the images, allowing a looped image to be fed into the security system whenever an image of Mei-Ling would otherwise show up.
"No. I'd need a bank of monitors for that. I can't do that from just my laptop. I could feed in false images, though, and tell Mei-Ling what's around the next corner. It's not the best, but it's pretty damn good. Also, there's a central HVAC system..."
"What's HVAC?" asked Mei-Ling.
"Heat, ventilation and air-conditioning. Means there's one intake vent."
"Oh," said Sarah. "So, we can..."
"Exactly," said Casey.
"Ok. Thank you, my new friends. If you give me the electrical gadget to install for the cameras, I can do that on my way in. Then I can collect my brother and get out again."
"No. Even if you don't alert the guards and make it to him silently, your plan still sucks. There's a contingency you haven't covered," said Casey.
"What contingency?" asked Mei-Ling.
"What if he can't walk? We are working off the assumption that he's being questioned. We all know what that might be like. What if he can't walk? How do you deal with that?"
"He's my brother, Casey. I will carry him."
"And beat up ten guards while doing so? No, you won't. That's a dumb plan. That's why I'm going in with you. Unofficially, of course. If he can't walk, I can carry him."
"Casey, I don't want you to get in trouble. You have all given me enough support as it is."
"Well, too bad. I'm going with you."
"Casey," said Sarah, "That's a questionable decision. Mei-Ling is right. You can get in a lot of trouble."
"So? It's only questionable if I get caught. And anyway, I make dumb decisions all the time. It's one of my most charming characteristics."
Sarah sighed. "Alright then. Me too. I'm going in too," said Sarah. "I'm not about to let you be the only stupid one around here and I'm not going to let you carry this one off by yourself. You are my partner. If we are doing this, let's do it. The three of us will stand a much better chance than only one or two of us would."
"Thank you," said Mei-Ling with sincerity.
"I'll need about a half hour to assemble the relay for the cameras. It's about 2:30 in the morning now. When do you want to leave for Lo Pan's estate?" asked Chuck.
"Let's hit it around 4, so we'll leave here when you finish the relay," said Sarah.
"Ok," said Chuck. He got himself another cup of coffee and turned to an equipment chest in the corner of Casey's living room for the electrical odds and ends he needed.
Casey said, "Mei-Ling, you get to go home after you save your brother, but we have to stay here. If we go in with guns blazing on an unofficial mission, we're gonna be in some hot water afterwards. We ought to outfit ourselves with some non-lethal equipment, in case things get dicey we can handle it without leaving a trail of bodies in our wake."
"Makes sense, thanks."
"Don't mention it," said Casey. "No... seriously, don't mention it to anyone."
She smiled and said, "I understand."
Sarah asked, "Trank pistols?"
"Naw," said Casey, "I have the pistols, but I'm out of the darts and we can't go replenish them for this one."
"Ok," said Sarah with a small smile. "I'm sure we can make do with some miscellaneous stuff you have lying around."
A little more than a half hour later, fully equipped (or as fully equipped as they could be), they left to drive to Beverly Hills in the Crown Vic.
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A/N2: Thanks for following along, my friends. As usual, reviews and PM's are most welcome. Maybe some of you shy types out there who haven't reviewed before can drop me a line. I'd love to hear from you.