Chuck vs The Wayward Legionnaire
Chapter 12: It's a nice day for a White Wedding, it's a nice day to start again…
23rd December. 2009. Adare Manor, Limerick, Ireland.
Many people often wonder about those paradoxes that occasionally make the rounds in parties; one is "what happens when the unstoppable force meets the immovable object?" The assembled family, friends and Ghosts gathered watched in delighted surprise as Ellie Woodcomb finally answered that question, at least on human terms.
Chuck Bartowski's eyes widened, and he had just enough time to hand off his drink to a smiling Oisin before the flying figure of his sister arrived in his arms. He thought he had braced himself, but he shot backwards as the sobbing Ellie wrapped him in the hug to end all hugs! Luckily as he stumbled there was a large suite behind them, and they tumbled over it to the laughter and amusement of the surrounding onlookers. The women ahh'd in heartfelt appreciation…
Sean looked at his own sister and younger brother and remembered his thoughts from his house earlier that day. Question answered. And then some!
At some point Ellie's screaming and sobbing stopped, she pulled back enough to give her younger brother a resounding slap across the face before sobbing again and wrapping him even tighter in a new hug! Stunned, surprised and ecstatic himself, Chuck tried to get a handle on the situation, "Hey Sis...Whoa! …Hey...SLAP!...OUCH! What the hell Ellie…?" was all he managed to gasp before Devon and Morgan also arrived and smothered the two of them under more hugs!
Eventually, things calmed now, Ellie lovingly touched her brother's cheek as if to wipe away her earlier anger and his hurt. Devon helped his wife to her feet and Morgan; well Morgan was like a limpet attached to his friend's side. "You got BIG!" was all he could manage to utter.
Devon Woodcomb could only nod in agreement, wiping Ellie's tears of joy away he looked at his brother in law, Morgan was right and he had been right, for years he had thought beneath that brain of Chuck's lay a decent physique waiting to be unearthed, his wife had shown the Bartowski genetic traits weren't just in intelligence and looks by joining him in working out, but Chuck had always managed to cry off.
The man that stood in front of them now had put on at least twenty pounds of muscle, it wasn't a gym rats build but more the toned athlete/gymnast type. Functional with strength.
"Looking good Chuckster!" he said and meant it, Chuck smiled, "Thanks Awesome, turns out, training is good for you!" The other man laughed.
Ellie regained her voice, "Why did you go Chuck? Why? "Her voice faltered "We could have done something…" Chuck was unsure of where to begin, movement behind his family caught his eye.
Chuck saw Mike had joined them, "We gave them the bare bones Chuck…" the two men shook hands again for the first time since Van Nuys, "…what was going on, why we got them out…but nothing before us…" he indicated the Ghosts. Chuck nodded in understanding, "Good to see you again Mike", and then in a shocked tone," …is that Maria…?"
The young woman joined her partner, Oisin and Sean also walked over. "Hola Chuck, I see they did a better job on your hair than I did!" She joked, Chuck rubbed his hand over his head, "It's a one size fits all now Maria…", he pointed at Sean's head also, "… but you did fantastic work, everybody thought I was who I was supposed to be, thanks". He hugged her in thanks and welcome.
Oisin looked at Ellie's face, "perhaps it's best if you take some time to catch up Chuck, I'm sure there's a lot you have to tell…" A waiter had arrived with some glasses of red wine, Devon handed one to his wife and took another for himself, Morgan looked at the bar and asked for a Heineken like the one Sean pushed into Chuck's hand.
Devon looked at the beer, "oh yeah, developed a taste for this", he raised the bottle, "…either that or Kronenbourg 1664…" he made a sour face. Sean watching, snarked, "Speak for yourself Robie… ", and then looked slightly chagrined, "…Chuck, sorry it's Chuck now."
Ellie's eyes raised, "Robie...?" Chuck smiled and turned to his sister, he drew smartly to attention, "Legionnaire John Robie, six mois de service, Premiere compagnie, Section de Lieutenant Delon, A Vos orders mon Capitaine!", he delivered in perfect accented French.
Ellie, Devon, and Morgan's jaws dropped in shock! He grinned, there was a lot to discuss but not here, he looked around the room, there was bar staff and waiting staff milling about, not wanting to endanger anybody, he made a motion upwards with his eyes at Oisin, the older man mouthed good idea and nodded.
"Come on, we can talk better in my room…" He led the way. Soon they were all sitting comfortably in his chamber.
"Talk, little brother." Demanded Ellie, a still incredulous Morgan looked from Chuck to Ellie, "…little…?" Devon smothered a laugh as Ellie shot a murderous glare at the other two.
Chuck looked at them, happy beyond belief to have them back in his life again, but now reluctant to drag them down the rabbit hole his life had turned into…
They watched him procrastinate, it was Morgan that sealed it, he knew that look…" Red pill Chuck…" Chuck looked in appreciation at his best friend.
"You remember that email I got from Bryce Larkin on my Birthday two years ago…?"
For the next while Chuck spoke, telling them everything, Stanford, the near selection by the CIA for Omaha, the real reason for Bryce Larkin's betrayal, his downloading of the Intersect five years later, Sarah, Casey, Carina Miller, Beckman and Graham, Fulcrum, the hidden shadow war.
They felt the Earth shift precipitously beneath them as they tried to understand what Chuck's life had been transformed into…
Finally Chuck explained the reasons why he ran, the flashing on the two operations of BITTER HARVEST and CLEAN SWEEP and why in all good conscience he couldn't let Beckman or the Intelligence communities of the world do as they pleased, with all the secrets he had in his head and had learned about, the knowledge he had been forced to carry, to be responsible for more of the same was a bridge too far for the deeply conflicted young man.
When he got to his Piranha past, Ellie had been surprised and shocked. And finally, some things about herself and her brother's past made sense.
"How long Chuck?" she asked in a hushed tone, he looked quizzically at his sister, she met his eyes firmly, "How long were you hacking?"
He was silent, "So, a lot longer than college…" She paused in thought, "…maybe even when we were kids…?"
Chuck nodded, "yes Ellie, once Dad left, I knew we were in trouble, we were both aware of how much we had needed to step up after Mom went…", He paused, "…you did your best Ellie, but now and then you needed a small hand…just to smooth the way…I swear I never gave us anything we didn't earn." He'd seen the realisation in her eyes as they spoke and the wonderment. "…just the social workers…whenever they got too close, or wanted to separate us… I intervened…"
"How exactly did you do that…intervene…?" She asked in a shaky voice.
"I altered reports, moved difficult social workers to other districts…kept us together when the system wanted to tear us apart…", he looked down shamefaced.
Ellie's eyes burned red, she felt an enormous love for her brother, here she had thought she had shielded him from the harshness of their existence, and it turned out he'd been the one protecting them…he'd been twelve, twelve, she wanted to scream at the injustice of it all, karma had come due on her baby brother and she wasn't sure the scales had balanced out yet…
For the other two men watching the exchange between the brother and sister it was one more example of just how good they were, the bond they shared to come through all of that, not bitter or broken but with the moral fibre to consistently try and better themselves and the world around them. They were immutable. They were proud of them both.
Devon looked at the clock on the wall, it was late, already after midnight, the jet lag and wine and the double whammy of what they had learned and the joy of having Chuck back was wearing in, Ellie and Morgan's eyes had begun to droop, he stood, and his wife looked at him.
"Come on Babe, that's enough for tonight, time for rest, we'll make a clean start of it tomorrow and I want a good night's sleep for that." Ellie stood and took his hand, "You'll still be here in the morning, right Chuck?"
He smiled, "Of course, I am on leave…." She slapped his arm, "…not what I meant…"
"I promise, Morgs, you better hit the hay too…" The bearded one shook his head, he'd been yawning. "OK, Chuck. See you then."
They left his room, he sat in thought for a moment he gave Oisin a call and gave him the gist of what had happened, as usual the older man was a font of good advice.
"It's been a long travel for them, and an emotional one for you all, get some rest yourself, there's plenty of time for our plans later, right now you should reconnect, there's a lot you all missed in each other's lives and now, especially at Christmas, is the time to share that."
"You're right Oisin, it is Christmas Eve … today…." He realised that it was past midnight, how had that happened?
"We can run up the road to Limerick for any last-minute shopping you might want to do in the morning lad, I think this may very well turn out to be the best Christmas we've all had for a while!"
Chuck smiled at that, he'd enjoyed the Legion celebrations, but nothing beat a family one. He bid the other man goodnight and lay down on his bed… lights out….
Christmas Eve. 2009. Following morning…
Ellie sat alone in the huge dining room, she'd had a troubling night, jet lag, the whole getting to Ireland and then Chuck….
That had been the kicker, he had changed so much, there was a man there now, she realised there had been for a while, but this thing in his head and then the revelations that her carefully orchestrated life was anything but…CIA, NSA, Sarah Walker, John Casey, her home bugged? She felt dirty, the things her and Devon had been doing, filmed, recorded, she felt sick, betrayed, angry but mostly afraid.
Was this what her country had turned into? 1984 with a redhaired dwarf acting as Big Brother. Assassins posing as guardian angels?
She was interrupted in her thoughts by the Japanese man, Akio, one of the Ghosts, she almost giggled at that, but this was one of the people that had helped her brother and watched out for her and Devon.
"May I join you, Mrs Woodcomb?" She regarded him for a moment, there was an intensity about him she'd noticed from the night before. "Yes, please, it's just Ellie, and you're Akio…"
"Hai, I mean yes, and thank you…" He seemed a little nervous now, she wondered why.
"I take it Chuck explained everything….?" He reached down for a laptop he then placed on the table between them. "…about the Intersect…?" She nodded.
"I haven't had time to update him with what I have found for a while, he was busy training and then Roisin needed his help with Archangel…"
And there was the other thing…her brother was rich! He hadn't prepared her for that either, but when her and Devon and Morgan seen the bank statements they had been stunned!
There was a commotion outside the large dining room windows, and she smiled as Chuck and Sean and Devon ran by, again she was amazed at the change in her brother, gone was the stooped, hands in the pockets, eyes firmly on the ground, self-effacing man-boy, he was ram rod straight and sure in movement, his head moved on a swivel as he took in everything about him, it looked like Devon was the one having trouble keeping up for once!
She turned her attention back to Akio, he indicated the laptop, "Ellie, this is for you, this is everything we have on the Intersect, there is also a copy, we disabled the download feature, and contained it separately, I figured you would want to understand everything…"
Akio then explained to Ellie what they found out, from his first inkling of the technology to its disappearance, classified, before it ended up inside her brother's head, what they had taken during the Cyber-attack…
"…our problem is Ellie, that whoever created this was a genius of some measure, they had a better understanding of computers and anatomy across many disciplines, while I minored in Science, this is way beyond myself and the others, even Chuck is at a loss…so…"
"You need me." Ellie said, her eyes shone with excitement. "Just so." Replied Akio nodding. "This is our hope."
"Do you have his medical file; I need to see what the Intersect has done to his brain structure…"
"No…", came from behind her, she turned, there was Oisin and his daughter and younger son Mícheál smiling at her," …but we can easily arrange that today, if you want…"
"I do, but how, I mean it's Christmas right…?" she looked from face to face.
"Ellie", it was Roisin, "One of the best thing things about having wealth is the barriers it lifts. I'll make a call…" and she was gone with her brother.
Oisin sat down, Ellie wasn't blind, she saw the discomfort in the older man's face and the concern in Akio's for his friend as he stood to help push the chair in for his friend.
"Are you ok?" she asked, he smiled, "I can't remember a time when I haven't felt better, my dear."
He laughed as he looked out the window, Sean and Chuck had decided to have a little sparring practise and Devon's face was a treat to behold as he watched the fists and feet of the other two men as they traced intricate patterns around each other. Ellie was amazed too.
"I think if his former employers were to see your brother now, they wouldn't find him as malleable as before…" Ellie shook her head. "Is it true that they wanted to kil…", she could hardly force herself to say the words.
Oisin and Akio shared a look, their anger hadn't left them since they seen those clips of John Casey and his bosses ordering Chuck's termination. He put a hand on her shoulder. "They'll never get that opportunity again Ellie, I swear it!" He vowed.
Through teary eyes she murmured her thanks. Both men looked slightly abashed. Roisin returned to the table, "There's a clinic up in Limerick Hospital, we just need an MRI techni…."
"I can do it!", Ellie announced, she hadn't meant it quite as forcefully but raised eyebrows aside, the two men weren't surprised.
The garden doors opened, and the three men walked in, "Boy! I'm starving!", said her brother, "…I could eat…"
"Nothing little brother, you're going to the hospital. STAT!"
Rather shellshocked he sat down heavily. "But Ellie, it's Christmas…" There was a glare that sent a shiver down his spine, even Devon and Sean, wide-eyed, backed off carefully.
"Get a shower! NOW!" He ran!
….
The University Hospital Limerick Radiology Department had been winding down, the Christmas season usually had the patient numbers dwindle as families wanted loved one's home, emergencies on the other hand meant that a small skeleton crew was on call, fortunately that helped when a visiting Neurologist with a Ph.D. came calling from America with her brother in tow, a few favours were called in.
Inside in the control booth, Ellie studied the images of her brother's brain, it was a mess, the damn thing had shoehorned its way in, she didn't know where to start, she was amazed Chuck was still upright and walking, the more she looked the angrier she got, those damn fools and their spy toys!
She made a mental note if she ever met Diane Beckman, she'd forsake her Hippocratic Oath and strange the little bitch to death!
Devon and Sean watched, Devon had some idea of what he was seeing but Sean Murphy surprised him, he quietly asked questions that had the Californian wondering what exactly they taught men in the French Foreign Legion. This was more than your standard Army Medic stuff. He began to wonder…
Ellie had popped open her laptop and was fast forwarding through the contents, there was so much though, she'd need time to understand the material, more than she currently had, the only bright spot that she could see was that keeping Chuck from flashing had seemed to allow his brain to heal some minor damage, she shuddered at the thoughts that he had had DAILY intelligence briefings.
Earlier, he had managed to 'flash' on a newspaper article, there had been some random information about Shining Path militants that shot down a Peruvian Air Force helicopter, what hadn't made the headlines was the two pilots had been CIA agents on a mission. It had been awesome to give the word it's correct usage for once. Her brother's brain had lit up like the Christmas tree in the hotel lobby!
Watching the Intersect in action had been educational and frightening, how her brother survived the experience that in part mimicked a seizure escaped her, but at least now she had a map of the process.
Her misgivings about Chuck in the Legion diminished, it wasn't a force that ran from conflict to conflict like her own military and the genius of Oisin's plan was laid bare, he was protected from the outside world, his new identity, and the skills, she'd been upset at those until she'd seen a cold-eyed Casey standing behind her brother with a silenced gun in his hand pointed at Chuck's head. She felt a lot happier now at Oisin's observation that morning.
She just wanted a normal life for Chuck, hell she'd wanted one for herself! She felt ashamed about what she had assumed during Chuck's absence, Devon had been thinking the same too.
He was sitting beside his brother-in-law showing him the pictures of their wedding, Chuck's eyes were wet with happy tears. He looked at his sister in her Bridal gown.
"You looked amazing Ellie," he said, feeling a deep sense of shame and hurt that he had missed the most important day of his sister's life.
Ellie saw the look on his face and quickly stopping what she was doing, walked to his side, she sat down beside them both, she took his head in her hands and turned his face so she could look in his eyes.
"I'm sorry Chuck, I…. we truly wanted you there, but after learning all this, I understand, in fact I'm happy you weren't…" Chuck looked surprised at that, "…I mean it would have been tainted by them and their lies." She looked sincerely at her brother; he looked back at a nodding Devon. "Me too, Chuck, me too". Chuck wiped his eyes.
Morgan who had been quiet up to now, piped up, "…you know it's a pity you didn't wait, Ellie, I mean, can you imagine getting married in Ireland! In a Castle!" His eyes were wide with wonder.
Chuck flinched at the word castle, Ellie rolled her eyes, "Morgan, that's the …." She stopped, across the room Roisin had turned wide eyed to smile at Ellie. "You know…"
"That's crazy… we couldn't…" The two women locked eyes, "Well I did say…" began Roisin, "…it lifts barriers…", finished Ellie as she turned to her husband.
"Would you…?" she asked, Devon Woodcomb was an intelligent man, but even he was at a loss as to what communication had passed between the two women. However, he was now a married man and caution seemed the wisest course of action, without a clue as to what he was agreeing to, he nodded, "…whatever you what Ellie…whatever you want."
Ellie stood and gave the group a broad smile, "I'm getting married…. AGAIN!" There was a shocked moment of silence in the room before the rest of them understood. There was a burst from applause and hearty congratulations.
Chuck stood up and embraced his sister, "I'm paying!", Ellie laughed, "Yes! Yes, you are!" and hugged him back with all her might as Devon and Morgan joined them laughing.
Roisin Murphy stood with a hand over her mouth, trying not to smile too much, Americans, they were mad, she reached for her mobile, looks like she had some more arrangements to make…
….
The next few days were a blur, there was a pause for Christmas Day, but after that, things went into overdrive, Roisin was right, money does indeed open doors. A wedding dress maker was quickly found and Ellie and Roisin with Meike and Maria had a lady's day out for the fitting, as it was a wedding vow renewal ceremony, any normal restrictions that might have impeded them were practically non-existent.
A local vicar near the Manor was happy to officiate once he understood that the nature of the event was purely ceremonial, Devon, Chuck and the men were dispatched to a local suit hire shop and traditional men's attire soon took Devon's fancy, "Top hats and tails!" he laughed.
The Manor staff were delighted with the impromptu party, one knew a local music band that had lost a New Year's gig, they could play a variety of music styles from Pop, Rock, Blues and Jazz and Morgan was delighted to be asked to D.J.
There was a quick meeting with the chef and kitchen staff and a menu was selected that pleased all. The floral and decorative arrangements were left to the Hotel manager and his staff, and they did not disappoint. In the confines of the manor, they produced an effect that was almost ethereal.
Maria was overjoyed to be asked to work her magic on the women's hair and make up and she was quick to borrow the services of the hotel Spa staff, they were quickly tutored in the American style of wedding preparation, so much so the manager told the young woman if she ever moved to Ireland, she had a job waiting for her!
Chuck and Ellie sat in her room as the wedding dress designer put the final touches on the dress, Chuck was wowed, it was a simple dress with a veil attached to Ellie's hair, form fitting with lace and satin, intricate Celtic symbols adorned the material, to his awed eyes, his sister looked like she had been woven into existence.
For Ellie the look on her brother's face was the missing piece that made this ceremony more precious than her original wedding, she felt complete. He stood beside her, offering his arm as he beamed down at her. Maria made a last-minute adjustment to the veil, and they stepped to the door.
The group made their way to the outside of the function room, the halls were full of flower arrangements and Ellie felt like she was walking through an enchanted forest to her destination, her husband's side. As she entered the room, her breath caught in her throat, it was early evening and the Manor was bathed outside by the outdoor lights, the sky had darkened early, but what caught her attention now was the flurries of snow that fell from the heavens.
The grounds outside had already been covered with a light carpeting of white, the effect was magical. Her husband stood with Sean, Morgan, and Roisin's boyfriend and on the bride's side, Meike, Maria and Roisin stood as maids of honour.
A pair of Uilleann pipes played a haunting tune as the procession of bride and brother made their way to a raised platform, in the few rows before that sat the Ghosts with members of the hotel staff and florists and dress maker, Ellie had insisted that they enjoy the ceremony too.
The vicar of the local church waited in his clerical suit, he smiled at the bride as she joined her husband. Chuck stepped to the side; he was doubling as ring bearer and best man. Flashes went off as the guests immortalised the moment for all.
The ceremony itself was quick, this time the heartfelt joy of the couple practically lit the room, this time the family was complete. It was with joy that Chuck handed the rings to his sister and awesome brother-in-law as they repeated their vows, and nobody clapped and cheered louder than he when the vicar urged the couple to complete the ceremony by kissing again. This time the bride hugged her brother with happy tears running down her face.
"Oh, thank you Chuck, thank you, this is like a dream, please don't wake me!" Her husband laughed as he also joined in the embrace, his found again brother-in-law crushed them both to him and it was Ellie's turn to gasp, "…can't breathe Chuck…can't…."
The ensembled group laughed before Chuck released his sister who performed her last duty of throwing the bouquet, which caused more hilarity as it was triumphantly snatched from the air by a victorious Maria who left a pouting Roisin and Meike in her wake.
There was an audible gulp from Mike Travers as she locked eyes with her boyfriend and laughter from Oisin as he heartedly slapped his friend's back and winked! Travers managed a weak smile but inwardly his world had been rocked, a lifetime of Maria…heaven…
The celebrations began and the staff moved off to begin the servings, the wedding party moved outside to get some more pictures as the snow fell, they were greeted with a truly magical backdrop of the property with its lighting, the results were stunning.
The soft flakes of snow shone in the lights surrounding the happy crowd, there was a confusion of people back and forth as everybody wanted a shot of the happy couple and themselves, Devon swooped a shrieking Ellie up in his arms and Chuck and Morgan joined them, broad smiles on their faces, for Ellie it finally was the wedding she had wanted.
Then they returned to the function room and the festivities truly began, the Manor staff outdid themselves and the food and service was amazing, they too were prompted to join in the fun. The happy couple were determined to ensure all shared their happiness.
There was no need for speeches this time around, but Devon and Chuck thanked the guests and staff for the warm welcome and help given to make the special day. For the staff there was sealed envelopes for them all, Chuck's gratitude was endless.
The group on hearing of Chuck and Sean's Legion Christmas decided they would also add their own twist to the celebrations, Paul and Dieter who shared a similar taste in Rock, joined the band on stage and gave their version of the classic Stairway to Heaven with Dieter showing some talent on electric guitar and Paul Radcliffe showed he could also hold a tune with a brave rendering of the vocals.
There was much cheering from the crowd, then Sean and his brother and sister played a selection of Irish Folk music classics with each of them playing a different instrument, Roisin had the Bodhran, Mícheál played the fiddle and Sean had a tin whistle, the crowd clapped in time to the tunes. Oisin beamed proudly and hugged them all when they left the stage.
Chuck appeared and spoke to the band leader, Ellie and Devon looked at Morgan who shrugged, clearly, he had no idea what his friend was about to do.
Chuck turned to microphone, "I'd like to do a number I came up with after college, a little thing I like to call, Stanford Blues…." Morgan's eyes opened wide, "Oh no…" Ellie looked around at the bearded one as he buried his face, "What?" she asked concernedly, they watched as Chuck prepared some things. A small screen had rolled down, and a stand with some lit candles was placed in front of the band. He looked at Ellie. "It's the woman song…". He looked at his friend, poor guy had had more false starts than an Olympic sprinter, he sighed, it could be worse, at least there was no cheese balls on hand!
A low drum riff started; a jazz beat with the bass strumming in concert, a trumpet softly entered the rhythm, Chuck sauntered to the microphone and in a surprisingly decent voice sang.
"WOMAN, WOE – MAN, WHOAAA MAN!"
The audience laughed as he mugged comically, the screen behind him lit up with a picture, there was an angry snort from Ellie, it was Jill Roberts! Chuck continued.
"HER NAME WAS JILL. AND JUST LIKE A PILL, SHE MADE ME ILL!"
He picked up a candle, and spun, blowing it out, the audience started to clap along with the beat. The picture changed to Lou Palone. Morgan groaned.
"THEN THERE WAS LOU; SO SWEET, BUT SHE SMUGGLED MEAT, THAT WASN'T NEAT!"
He spun with another candle blowing it out and placing it behind the dais lectern. The picture changed again; this time it was Sarah Walker!
"THEN CAME THE SPY, SHE MADE ME HER GUY, BUT SHE SLEPT WITH BRYCE, THAT WASN'T NICE!"
"BETTY, JUDY, JOSIE AND THOSE PUSSYCATS, THEY MADE ME HORNY, SATURDAY MORNY, GIRLS OF CARTOO – INS, WON'T LEAVE ME IN RUINS, I WANT TO BE BETTY'S BARNEY!"
Despite the clear meaning of her brother's song Ellie had to smile, she really hoped for Chuck's sake that he would move on now. He was free, but inside herself after all she had seen from Sarah Walker that morning in their apartment, she wondered… Her name was called from the stage and made her look up again.
"HEY ELLIE! GET ME OFF THIS CRAZY THING…. CALLED LOVE…"
On stage Chuck spun again with the last candle in his hand, as he brought it to his lips, he looked again at Sarah Walker's face and stopped, behind him Ellie, Devon and Morgan tensed, but his hands lowered, and the candle disappeared from view. As the band played the jazz riff, he stop started a beat dance off the stage to the applause of the group as they laughed.
The band struck up a dance number and Devon took Ellie to the floor, she looked over at her brother as Morgan walked up to his friend and placed a brotherly hand on his shoulder, the two men met eyes, Morgan shrugged, and Chuck pulled his oldest friend into an embrace.
Ellie and Devon drew close to the stage when she let out a small gasp of surprise, Devon turned, about to say sorry, thinking he had inadvertently caught his wife's foot, but the apology died in his throat when he followed Ellie's gaze, there on the lectern out of sight of the rest of the floor, burned the light of the last candle…
…
Later the couple sat in bed, sated and happy, this time Devon had had the 'Full Ellie' the woman that she had been before Chuck's disappearance had returned, her lust for life and well other things had been almost overwhelming. Now her fingers lightly caressed his chest as he stroked her chestnut hair inhaling the aroma as they enjoyed the afterglow of their joining. He wasn't fooled though, the thing with Bartowski's he had discovered was you could practically hear them think and Ellie was no exception!
As if on cue she turned her head to face him, he waited. "Devon, I'm happy we found Chuck again, but I'm worried about leaving him, I know he's safe, but I'd feel better being near him…"
He looked at his wife, the thought had crossed his mind too, there had been something nagging at him as she spoke, he agreed with her on principle but they both had careers and before all the revelations about his brother-in-law, they had planned their lives. He already knew Ellie would consider staying, the joy of the past few days hung heavy with him too. But there were realities to face.
"I know babe, but if we up and move here we may as well send up a flare for the CIA and NSA that Chuck is here or nearby… we need a reason…."
He sat up suddenly. So suddenly Ellie nearly toppled off the bed, as he faced her. He grabbed her hands. "You remember when we were in college, we thought about taking a year off after qualifying, travelling and still practising…"
Ellie's eyes opened wide as the memory hit her, "Oh my God…. Doctors Without Borders!" She squealed with joy as she leapt into his embrace, "Oh Devon, that's perfect…we can apply here and see if they'll accept us, it won't be Ireland or France but at least we'll be within reach of Europe!".
"I think I'll ask Roisin in the morning if she can help." She turned to her husband again, "Now where were we…." She smiled lasciviously…
….
The following morning, she kept her promise, Roisin thought it was an excellent idea, "We do have some contacts with that group, let me check into it."
Across the room Morgan Grimes sat digesting the news, he was delighted for Ellie and Devon, but he wondered if this was the end of the line for Chuck and his friendship, he had no way of visiting Europe on a regular basis, the wages at Buy More weren't a lot to begin with…
Joining him from the gym, Chuck and Sean sat down, "Hiya Morgan", Sean greeted the other man, he had grown fond of the little guy, small in stature but he was a mile high in personality! They shared a lot of interests and he had to admit, Grimes had a way of getting under your skin, in a good way, but right now though, he could see that Morgan was upset. Morgan grunted a reply.
Chuck could see his friend's mood too, they'd been friends since 5th grade, sensing each other' s moods had become a two-way street. "Morgs?" He peered at his friend. Seeing Chuck's unease, he tried blowing it off, he didn't want to appear selfish. "It's nothing Chuck…just…"
"Just what?" asked a now curious Chuck. "Oh, I don't know, you're here and I'm so glad of that, but now it looks like Ellie and Devon can join you too, I'll be the only one left…" The word alone didn't need to be said. Chuck and Sean looked at each other, "I wish you could come with me Morgan, but honestly I don't know if you'd make it, it was very hard, one of the hardest things I ever done."
"I know", Morgan replied, "…besides with my mad work avoidance skills, I don't think the military life is what I'm cut out for, I just wish I had some skills that would let me stay here in Ireland, but I guess they have plenty of computer repairmen here anyway…"
He looked away. "…sometimes I wish we had of started that game of ours…" He stopped. Chuck Bartowski was smiling, he smiled back too, then he realised that was Chuck's big idea smile!
"What?" he nervously asked. Chuck didn't answer but looked around the room, there was Oisin with Paul, Dieter, and Sven at another table, "Come on Morgan, I have an idea!" They got up and walked over to the other table.
Oisin smiled as he saw them approaching, "I think I recognise that grin, Chuck, what's on your mind?"
"How would Anomaliz like to get into the Gaming Industry?" There was a splutter of surprise from the older man, "What do you have in mind?" Chuck looked at his best friend, "I would like to start a gaming company with Morgan, before the Intersect we had been working on a game, I was going to code it, then Intersect, spies…", he shrugged, "… but Morgan here, is one of the best natural game designers I ever met!"
Morgan swelled with pride at his friend's description of him "Well Chewie is only as good as Han when they work as a team…" he gushed.
There was laughter from the other men at that. Chuck looked thoughtful, "Dieter, you have experience in coding games and some of what you did on the Janus graphic interfaces tells me you'd be brilliant and far better at finishing off what I started".
The German looked surprised and pleased, it had been his first love before the lure of the Darknet, he'd done a few projects on the side, and to be honest, he admitted to himself, he hadn't been enjoying the drudge of office work helping Paul with Archangel, this seemed like a more rewarding enterprise. "I am interested, please continue…" he responded, his curiosity piqued.
"Well, I'll fund the enterprise from my share of Archangel, maybe Roisin can watch the books, organise some office space, and extra help…." Oisin jumped in, "That's no problem, Chuck, we just have to find a way to get Morgan legally…" he paused to consider a moment, the others could see his mind churning. He smiled…
"Morgan, I'm afraid you're going to have to go to school…!" Morgan had been following the conversation excitedly up to this, but at Oisin's words he faltered, "what…. college, but how, why?"
They all listened as Oisin explained, "Visa, Morgan, we can get you in, and then hide you in plain sight. As a matter of fact, this works well, with a new Games company, Anomaliz has just diversified again!" He beamed at the others. "We can obscure the funding, Morgan will be gainfully sponsored, he can get a degree, did you know there's an excellent college not far from here that has alumni that worked on Call of Duty?"
Morgan couldn't believe his ears! "that's one of our favourite games!" he enthused. Sean had joined the group, "Hey, he can have my house while I'm away. Just don't burn the place down!", he stone faced at Morgan. "Thanks Sean." Said a surprised Morgan.
Chuck looked around his friends, they had done it again, in the space of a few minutes they had brainstormed a solution for his best friend, he could have his friends and family surrounding him again!
At the beginning of all this he had wondered if he could make it, now he wondered if there was anything they couldn't take on as a group and succeed at. He felt blessed, the only part of him that felt bad was his heart, his dreams were still filled with feelings and images of her…. he wondered what she was doing now, probably in Jakarta quelling a revolution with a fork he mused…
29th December 2009. Downtown L.A. 02.00
Anybody with a pulse, man, or woman, had their eyes glued to the dancefloor of the nightclub as the two women swayed sensuously to the techno beat of the blaring music. The redhead wore a tight black number that was backless and plunged so low that there was intense speculation on whether she had underwear on of any description, the rest of the dress was moulded to her upper body fully enhancing the assets on display.
That was nothing though, compared to the blonde in the red dress that was slit on both sides of her body, it was a testament to the skill of the designers that it was still in one piece considering the body contortions that assaulted the seams as the wearer put herself through a routine that had the sweat pouring off her as her hair swung across her face, she was oblivious to the stares, her mind only on her dancing as she tried to forget a smiling brown eyed man she missed like life itself.
The music changed and the redhead recognised that even women of their calibre needed refreshment, it had been her idea…again, to get Walker out of herself, Fulcrum had been quiet lately, that was always bad news for Sarah, she was like a shark, constantly needing motion, to stop was to die, or in this case wallow in self-pity over the nerd.
Carina tried desperately to get her friend to move on, but Sarah had floundered on the reefs of heartache, the only thing saving her was her mission capability, action brought focus and clarity, no one could touch the Ice-Queen there. She grabbed a protesting Walker by the upper arm and dragged her to a small bar table festooned with unfinished drinks.
They slammed down a couple of shots, Walker wasn't talkative tonight, the music was all that was keeping her going, Carina groaned at the already forgone conclusion to the night, a silent taxi ride back to Maison23 and then throwing the semi-conscious Walker on her bed, trying to ignore the sobbing that would come later. No fun for either.
The music started again, Sarah was already swaying to the rhythm, spinning on her 3-inch heels she made a beeline for the dancefloor, Carina watched her for a moment and then downed another shot, she made her way over plastering a fake smile on her face, the glamourous life of spies…
30th December 2009. Outside la Grave, Southern France. Late…
"Jesus Fucking Christ!", screamed the somewhat drunken Pete Mitchell as he slipped on yet another patch of ice, he had gingerly made his way along the road to Les Deux Alpes resort, but not for the last time did he curse the name of Susie Wilkins and the heartache she had visited upon him.
He flipped himself over, standing up his backpack caused him to momentarily waver before his balance corrected itself. He grabbed at the roadside barrier and leaned up against it as he took stock of his situation, his godforsaken life and his torment. Susie Wilkins…fucking tart…he should have known better. But with his former best friend, Keith May? What a cunt, he thought.
Well, he had settled that account, he smiled grimly, his knuckles still ached, but not as much as May's face he reckoned, no, not nearly as much. He sobbed. It meant nothing now; she could have him. He spat.
All those plans though, all their dreams, she'd promised she'd wait!
He, like a fool, had believed her, good boy Pete, why don't you qualify yourself as a fitter, get a poxy job on a North Sea rig scrimping and saving for the deposit on not just a ring mind you, oh no, but also a poxy house, their dream house. He'd killed himself for her, finally arranging everything, it was supposed to be the best Christmas ever.
He'd booked his passage home, hit the jewellers and then the bank, filled in the paperwork, got the damn approval, it was going to be the life they had dreamed of. He had snuck back into town, that shithole, Blackpool. It was going to be the biggest surprise ever, even better than the trip to Paris!
Well, it was a surprise, the sight of his fiancé and best friend going at it like a pair of crazed …. He laughed sourly as that old tune from The Bloodhound Gang ran through his head, "you and me Baby ain't nothing but mammals…"
Standing there in the doorway of their bedroom, his mouth open in shock and then the anger hit, and he swarmed all over Keith, punching and shouting until Susie's screams finally shook him from his rage, Keith had moaned from the floor, his face a bloody mask.
He'd dropped May like yesterday's newspaper and split out the flat door, he remembered nothing until he hit the ferry port, Hull and then he somehow booked passage to Rotterdam, His mobile had rung and rung, he watched as it sank beneath the waves after he dropped it off the side of the boat.
After that, once he landed, he skipped public transport and hitched his way down through Holland into France, he had the cash from his last paycheck, he managed to grab another two thousand Euro from the bank account, worst came to worst, he'd pawn that slag's diamond ring that he'd spent a fortune on, serve her right, he laughed bitterly at the night sky.
He leaned against the barrier, it was a cold night, the sky was cloudless and the air clear, each breath was a firebrand in his lungs, but it was a good pain. He never noticed the limousine that had been following him for the past few kilometres as he had left La Grave.
The driver hulked behind the wheel of the vehicle, not because it was especially small, more because his giant physique would have made any car seem a tight squeeze, anybody looking in would have been surprised not only by that, but also at his face, hidden as it was behind the filtration mask, it still didn't disguise the red eyes and the white skin and hair that marked him as an albino.
A trail of cigarette smoke wound its way from the back of the limo, in the back, the silvery eyes of the occupant watched the progress of the young British man as he stumbled along the road. Her voice was low and pleasant, "Janos, slowly now, I'm very hungry tonight…"
The chauffer nodded, he had never failed his Contessa, he lived only for her, to obey her, in service of her needs. He slowed the sleek Maserati Quattroporte down, its powerful engine purred as he followed the young man down the road.
Up ahead Pete reeled around a corner and found himself staring out across the valley at Les Deux Alpes, he felt a bit better, he'd considered staying at the small town earlier, but something about the place had given him the willies. The local bars had been full of old people, they had looked up sullenly at him as he entered, he almost felt like he entered the set of that old classic, American Werewolf in London, only thing was, he was English, and this was France. Still if he'd have seen a pentangle on the wall, he'd have pissed off, sharpish.
The creepy Hostel guy had annoyed the hell out of him too, he kept pushing him to stay the night, he didn't give a flying one about the cheap rates, when that guy entered the room, everyone dropped their eyes, that and the bad vibe convinced Mitchell it was time to blow town. He pushed past the guy and started walking, had he looked back he might have seen the cold calculating look pass over the man's face as he took out his mobile and rang a number, the call was short and when he hung up, there was an evil sneer across his face. When he left the bar, an old woman spat on the ground where he'd stood and quickly crossing herself, prayed for the young foreigner.
Pete noticed a factory ahead at the foot of one of the mountains, that must be the Cassini plant, he thought, he'd seen some picture on the wall of the town hall, some French-Italian company, it was cosmetics or something, what did he care?
There was a noise behind him, and he turned to see a large limousine idling beside him, the back door opened, and a woman's voice called to him, "Would you like a lift to the resort?" It dripped honey, given Pete's state of mind about women in general at the moment, he considered telling the speaker to mind their own, he started to, but then a whiff of something assailed his nostrils…
The tall albino Janos got out and walked around the car, he looked at the now swaying Pete Mitchell, he put his hand on the young man's shoulder and gently guided him into the back of the Maserati, seating him beside the sole occupant.
She was nothing short of spectacular, white, blonde hair cut in a short elfin style framed a gorgeous face, her skin was flawless, her eyes were silver, grey pools and in the weak interior lights they almost glittered, her nose, her high cheek bones and full generous lips framed a perfect set of smiling teeth, she could have graced the cover of any famous fashion magazine.
The Gods had been kind to her, her figure was the classic hourglass, full, with just the right number of curves that would have put Monica Bellucci to shame.
Unfortunately, Pete was in no condition to appreciate the spectacle, he was now a passenger of his body, his mind was blank, and he swayed like a reed in a low wind.
His eyes were vacant, his open mouth moaned softly, the woman leaned forward and touched his face, he was handsome, that was good… and young.
She would enjoy this one.
Janos got back in the car and started to drive, they entered the road to the factory ahead, about five hundred metres before the gates there was a slip road, the car moved smoothly onto it. It wound its way in a S shape behind the factory, below in the valley there was a small artificial run off for the melting ice that came from the two mountains, a flood measure, above, the road was a service one that ran to a large yard for the factory waste storage area. Eventually the two merged.
The large car proceeded through the yard until it came to the stone face as it did so, a hidden wall quickly retracted and the limousine entered, it had barely clearly the entrance when it closed swifty behind them.
They had entered a small parking area inside the mountain itself. An enormous area of stone had been cleared to house massive gas storage tanks, there was eight, each had the capacity of one million litres, as they parked a contingent of engineers and scientists were in the process of loading one with the latest batch of the 'product'.
They exited the car and proceeded to a lift, it was glass sided, had Pete been in his mind he would have admired the facility, it rose and above the smaller parking area was another one that was massive in comparison, works vehicles and what looked like a series of armoured cars with smaller military SUVs adorned the area. Men in yellow jumpsuits armed with sidearms and assault rifles patrolled the area. All wore face masks like the Albino. Another floor showed a canteen and garrison type dormitory and another a laboratory. They rose higher.
In a control booth outside in the main factory they had passed, Fulcrum Strike Force leader Jorg Goudier watched the CCTV screens and shuddered as he recognised the glassy eyed stare of the young man that accompanied the Contessa Aurora Pacelli and her pet dog, Janos. He snarled and cut the feed. He called his second in command over.
Gustav Stahler knew that look on his CO's face, "Relax, all essential personal are accounted for, the guard detail is in place, they know the drill, Sir. Nobody on the fourth floor until the morning detail relieves them."
Goudier nodded, he looked at the reports, six full tanks, seventh in progress, another month and he and his men could leave this hellhole, when he signed up, he'd had no idea of the sociopath in charge, she made that other pyscho Ted Roark seem like a normal human being.
There wasn't enough money in the job for working with people like that, but Leader had promised him a new command, they just had to complete the mission.
He thought of the young man again, he shuddered again despite the warmth of the room, the Serpent had her coils around a new victim, he was thankful it was nobody he knew.
…..
If there was any consolation for Pete Mitchell, when he awoke, he floundered as if in a delirium, his body temperature soared and sweat flowed freely from his pores, his eyes opened to madness.
He felt like he was floating or falling, he couldn't tell which, his arms and legs seemed encumbered, it was like being wrapped in gossamer webbing, he thrashed about but he could get no purchase, his nostrils filled with that scent again and he greyed out for a moment, when he opened his eyes again there was a vision of loveliness below him.
He swooned; no woman had ever looked like that. Her hair was silver like her eyes which shone, glittering in the clouds that wrapped around her luscious body, she raised her arms and the voice of an angel asked, "Do you love me?" He hesitated for a moment, an image of Susie flashed through his mind, but that seemed unworthy, he saw a look of consternation cross the angel's face and he felt ashamed. "Do you love me?" she asked again. This time more insistently.
He tried to think but his mind was a ball of fluff like the clouds he felt himself suspended in, her hands reached up and touched his body and he burned in lust at her touch, his blood boiled, and his erection stood out huge before him. He moaned in pleasure. "Do you love me?"
Again and again, the voice asked, for what seemed like an eternity, writhing in the grips of whatever force was holding his body up, Pete Mitchell's mind finally broke, she loved him, she was an angel, how dare he deny her what she asked for, what she deserved, his complete and utter devotion, he screamed his passion to her, "YES! YES! I LOVE YOU AND ONLY Y—"
He never saw the hand that drew the razor-sharp stiletto blade across his throat, choking on his own blood, he thrashed against the satin wrappings in the girdle that suspended him high above the bed that the woman had lain in, she was now convulsed herself in ecstasy as the hot wet blood sprayed down from the severed arteries of Pete Mitchell.
She revelled in the sensation as she drew his life force into her…. SNNAPPPP!
It filled every molecule of her being and she never felt so alive in her life as she screamed out her pleasure.
All too soon the torrent stopped, throwing aside the sheets of her bed she padded across the floor to an ensuite bathroom that shared her living quarters, the opaque glass cube did little to hide her figure as she carefully washed herself clean, she drew on a silk dressing gown and stepped to a console desk, from a drawer she took a cigarette and lighting it called up the camera recording of the room for the past ten minutes.
As she studied Pete Michell's face during the final few moments of his life, the door to her chamber opened and Janos entered, he surveyed the scene, his mistresses bed lay on a raised semi-circle against the stone of the chamber wall, approaching the wall he touched a hidden switch and a door opened, you'd have needed a microscope to find the seam in the rock and the large stone door slid open easily on hinges that were a marvel of modern engineering.
There was a smaller room behind the opening, he opened a closet and took cleaning materials out, he walked back through the doorway, taking a mop he meticulously cleaned every trace of blood the Contessa had left on her trek to the shower.
Satisfied, he placed the mop and bucket on the raised dais, he walked to the console and pressed a button, there was a hum of electric motors and as he watched the whole bed rotated into the back area and a new clean bed appeared, he walked over and turned down the sheets.
The Contessa tore her eyes from her screens and smiled at him, "Thank you Janos, I think I'll do some work tonight while I feel so…. energised…." She walked to the end of her chamber to a stainless-steel door marked LABORATORIO and putting on a lab coat and some slip-on shoes entered.
Janos walked back into the small room, he cut the remains of Pete Mitchell down and lifted the body onto a mortician style examination trolley, his eyes betrayed no emotion, he walked back to the bed and quickly stripped the blood drenched sheets and mattress.
When he had done that, he carefully cleaned any remaining blood from the bedframe, he walked around checking the surfaces, before long he grunted with satisfaction.
He opened a hidden closet in the wall, from there her drew another mattress and placed that on the bedframe, from another he took fresh bedding and in less than twenty minutes he had a replica of the bed on the far side of the wall.
He turned his attention to Pete Mitchell again. He pushed the trolley across the floor to an area where plastic curtains hung in a rectangle over a large drain, on the wall there was a set of power tools, saws, and large knives, he set to work.
He removed his facemask, in here with its own recycling air he was safe, his face was proportionate to his body but unlike his employer, his was a mish mash of facial features, where the Contessa was a perfect example of divine sculpture, his was a circus clowns' exaggeration, where the sculptor had practised with abandon, no finesse applied.
He took the remains to a special unit in the wall, he popped open the two doors and pushed the sodden bedding, cleaning materials and the remains of Pete inside and closed them, he checked to make sure the seal was tight and then he walked to a control panel.
He pressed a large red button and then he heard the whoosh of flames as the incinerator did its work.
He walked over to another wall, hitting a spot, a panel retracted, and he entered a small elevator that brought him back to the parking area, he walked over to the Maserati and carefully checked for any trace of Mitchell before he removed Pete's backpack. There was a small maintenance section off the floor he used for keeping the Contessa's car in order, he entered and opening a cabinet placed the backpack inside, he'd dispose of that later.
He returned to the elevator and arrived back to check on the incinerator, there was silence.
He engaged the air pumps and as soon as the temperature gauge dropped, he hit the cleaning program.
Outside, at the base of the mountain there was an outlet pipe that joined the runoff water culvert, there, the last greasy remnants of Pete Mitchell fell, to be washed down the valley.
Back inside the Contessa's chamber she had returned, pressing a button on her console, she watched as hydraulic motors pushed the large rockface away from her hidden windows, exposing a large balcony which was now hidden behind them, she opened her windows and stepped out into the cool morning air.
She knew she was totally safe from sight, the only way to see her right now was if somebody had a satellite positioned over the mountain and well, her Fulcrum friends would inform her of that.
There was a Golden eagle slowly circling above her and as she watched, it swooped down on something, there was a blur of talons and then the triumphant squawk as the bird flapped its wings taking away its prey to its feeding grounds, she smiled, she knew exactly how that felt.
"