Chuck vs The Wayward Legionnaire
Book 2: Water.
Chapter 2: New home /Here kitty, kitty…
23rd April 2010. Dublin Ferry Port. 14.00hr GMT.
Roisin Murphy grinned, she waved as she saw the group disembarking from the ferry boat, as happy as she was when her brother and Chuck returned to Ireland, she was delighted to finally have some female company.
She ran forward to hug Ellie and Maria, peeking around their shoulders she extended greetings to Mike and Devon too.
"I'm so sorry about your Father, Roisin, I wish we could have been here." gushed Ellie. The other woman nodded, "Thanks Ellie, but I was happier that Chuck was here, no offense, he's been great for my brother." Ellie and Devon shared a look but followed her.
They had stepped into a small waiting area, there was a coffee kiosk and Roisin brought them a round of Espresso, there hadn't been a great deal of choice on the ferry.
Waiting for their coffee, Ellie turned to Roisin, "How do you mean. Chuck has been good for Sean?"
Roisin stopped, she searched the other woman's face, "Chuck didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what, Roisin? As far as I can see Sean is the one that's been good for my brother."
Roisin was torn, she'd assumed, and it was in error, "Ellie, Sean is the last of them…"
Confusion reigned on Ellie's face, "I'm sorry Roisin, I have no idea what you mean."
Roisin told her, by the end, she was finding it hard to hold together, Ellie and Maria's eyes were full of tears and there were shocked expressions on Devon and Mike's faces.
Ellie grasped Roisin's hands in support, "Roisin, I don't think Chuck knows…"
Roisin nodded, "I can see that now, please, don't tell him what you know…", she eyed them all, "…Sean… it would kill him if you offered sympathy, the Legion was how he decided to handle…things. If he hasn't told Chuck yet…"
Ellie looked her friend in the eyes, "he won't hear from us, we had kind of guessed part of it…" she looked at her husband, who nodded in return. Roisin nodded grateful. "Thanks Ellie."
She composed herself and stood, putting her paper cup in a bin, she motioned, "Come on, time to get you guys sorted out with rooms, you can stay at the house with me and Micheál, it'll be good to have some people about the place, good for us, I mean." She didn't have to elaborate.
The SUV Roisin had booked arrived, they put their luggage in, and headed for the Murphy residence.
…..
There wasn't any jetlag, but Devon decided to get a nap after they settled, Mike and Maria headed back to Dieter's, they needed to fine tune Janus, they hadn't monitored things as well as they should have while they attended Oisin's funeral, so they needed to account for situations like that in the future, Morgan had offered to help, so he was getting some training too.
Ellie wandered through the large family house, one day she thought, she was near the gym area when she heard the grunts of somebody putting in a workout, she popped open the sliding doors and stood agog as she watched Roisin power through some advanced patterns and various techniques.
Ellie was entranced, the other woman seemed to flow, her movements were, as far as she could see, flawless, as Roisin came to a stop, she found herself clapping in admiration.
Roisin turned and flashed a self-conscious smile, "Well, thank you Ellie. Just getting rid of some negative thoughts."
Ellie looked at the uniform Roisin was wearing, her eye fell on the belt, she was impressed as she counted four red stripes on the Black Belt. "Wow! You've been doing this a long time."
Roisin pointed out a trophy cabinet and they walked over, Ellie hadn't seen the gym at Christmas, she was amazed when she saw all the Cups and Medals, not all Roisin's too, she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a duplicate of the picture Carina Miller had seen in the Leisure Centre, her jaw dropped as she read the title.
"WORLD CHAMPION!", there was awe in her voice. Roisin looked abashed; she was putting a fresh scrunchie in her hair.
"Oh, you should see Sean's stuff, he should have done that, but then his studies got in the way, but we were always so competitive growing up, whatever he did, I just had to, and when you spar with my brother…he pushed me hard, well..." She indicated the trophy, "… that's mostly down to him…"
"You really had a great childhood, Roisin" marveled Ellie.
"We were lucky Ellie, Dad hit it big, Mom had a great job too, they let us do anything, the only caveat was we had to do well. They never pushed us, but if we messed up or lost, they just asked if we had really done our best…" She smiled at the memory, "…Mom was just happy to see us enjoying ourselves but Dad…well I guess after all he had done, we felt we couldn't let them down, besides Sean used to make my life hell!" She laughed.
"What about you and Chuck?"
"Oh…well our parents never really did much that I saw activity wise, but looking back…Mom would run a lot, I guess we took after Dad more, he was always in his study, I reckon that was more Chuck's thing back then, when we started to realise just how smart he was, Dad was the only one that could really challenge him…I think he helped myself and Devon more with our studies sometimes!"
Roisin saw the pride on Ellie's face, "well he didn't get that Ph.D. in Neurology, Ellie. That was all you".
Ellie indicated Roisin's rank again, "Is it hard?" Roisin looked thoughtful, "I think you'd do well Ellie, I have a couple of friends that I sometimes tutor, although Meadhbh might out do me."
"Meadhbh?"
Roisin nodded, "Friends, myself, her and Niamh were thick as thieves growing up, and that reminds me." She grinned evilly.
"What?" asked a curious Ellie. Roisin went to her bag and took out her mobile phone, "Let me show you…."
Five minutes later a still laughing Ellie was helped off the floor by an equally amused Roisin.
"Your friend is owed a drink on me!"
Roisin managed to gasp out, "I'll arrange a night out before you head off to Africa, there's a couple of weeks left before that, plenty of time".
Ellie looked at the video file again, she winced at the screams of pain from the two fighting women not to mention the vicious blows they landed on each other.
Ellie was in two minds at seeing Sarah Walker again. Roisin nodded in understanding, "Chuck hasn't checked once on Walker since he left the US, it's like he switched off, but Sean reckons he's really pining for her, Ellie, I wouldn't be upset over his tryst with Meadhbh…"
"I'm not, I was really letdown and furious with her when Chuck told us at Christmas about everything, and Morgan told us just how good an actor Walker can be, he was really convinced of her performance when Chuck broke off their 'relationship' to pursue something real with Lou…", Roisin looked puzzled, "… girl back home, never really took off, Chuck's spy life ruined it and his love for Walker…" She sighed.
"Devon and I saw her after he went…" She told Roisin, the Irishwoman shook her head, "…guess she really does love him… God, what a mess…"
Stepping over to a punch bag Ellie let fly as she screamed in frustration. It was a poor punch, Roisin walked over, "here…" she showed her a stance, "straighten your wrist…. thumb over fingers…give it a good lash!" Ellie did, she turned to Roisin, "would you mind showing me a few things?"
Roisin smiled, "Ellie, I'd be delighted to…."
…..
Devon Woodcomb awoke to find himself on his own in the bedroom, he slithered to the side of the bed and stood up, he rubbed his stomach, he could eat, he mused. Kitchen, how do I…. ahh. He remembered the way. He found Mike had returned and was enjoying a brew.
"Good Evening, Devon!"
"Hi Mike, everything sorted out?" Mike nodded, "Yeah, we got caught with our pants down, we covered Chuck so well in France and Europe, but we should have thought further about random events, Meike and Sven have been working on a portable device that disrupts video capture around any of us, a jammer, it'll distort the wearer, hopefully anyone with a mobile phone will just get a blurred outline. Janus can still handle anything else."
"Like Ellie and me?"
Mike nodded, "all of us are coded into Janus now, short of a live transmission, we're covered."
"What about the Intersect?" Mike looked at Devon, there was a very smart man beneath the frat boy persona, "good question, Beckman will probably not chance it. I hope. You're off to Africa soon, so unless they have business there…."
Devon smiled, "We're safe." He frowned though, "What's the matter?" asked Mike.
"It's just me being selfish, we left a lot of memories in Echo Park and a lot of personal stuff…" Mike was smiling.
"What?"
"You don't have to worry about that, Chuck bought that property on your behalf, if they try anything they'll have a nasty surprise..." Devon was taking a mouthful, the shock of that announcement made him spit take in surprise!
Mike dashed over to pound on Devon's back as he fought for breath. "He WHAT!?"
Ellie and Roisin entered the kitchen at that moment, Ellie concerned went straight to Devon, through his splutters he managed to tell her what Chuck had done.
She looked at a smiling Roisin, "Yeah, it was supposed to be a wedding present, he was going to let you know, but…." She made a small gesture, "…things happened."
Ellie felt herself tear up. "Well, it's not that we're ungrateful, but we can't hardly go back, and besides, Beckman and her cronies will be all over it, tearing it apart just like they did with our lives…"
Roisin and Mike shared a look. The other two frowned, "What…?"
"Let's just say, they had a surprise when they tried…." Roisin started laughing, Mike joined in. Ellie and Devon could only stare in puzzlement...
….
22nd April. Castle. Burbank. L.A. 10am.
John Casey sat in his office; a large coffee sat in front of him as he read the latest legal kick in the slats they'd received. As they had left the Bartowski residence, a small army of Feds had turned up, there was a minor confrontation until the General had phoned, it appeared a rather well known lawyer had phoned the AG and informed him that he was the legally appointed representative of the Bartowski siblings and that he was securing a barring order on the apartment unless the government could show some justification for the harassment his clients had been subjected to, illegal surveillance, wiretapping, etc. etc.
It had been one too many blows for the AG, they would have to concede the battlefield for now, he did allow Casey to retain his former apartment, however the Feds instructed the agents to remove every piece of surveillance equipment from the Bartowski apartment. Casey glowered but made it happen, they didn't need NSA/CIA property falling into lesser hands.
Worse was to follow, the Woodcomb's arrived, Devon's father had been incandescent with rage, he ordered an immediate change of locks, had the FBI agents not blocked his path he would have attacked them, as it was, he promised there would be serious consequences with the Governor.
Casey groaned, the nerd was thorough, retribution had been promised and delivered, he had correctly figured protecting Larkin to be their primary concern, the clever shit had used their own mania for secrecy against them. Their hands were tied.
He spun in his chair, dark thoughts swirled through his mind as well as a grudging admiration, they'd completely underestimated Bartowski…. again.
There was a knock on the door, what now he mused…
"Come in!", he growled. It was Larkin, Walker in tow, his curiosity was peaked, if she could stand to be next to pretty boy it must be good.
He had had Larkin checking over passenger manifests in the vain hope it might pop up something, it looked as if Larkin may have hit paydirt.
"Casey, I did as you asked, and I got a hit off the Intersect… it related to you… figured you'd like to know… sugar bear…" Larkin was struggling to hold a straight face as he spoke. Walker too, she was looking all over the place rather than meet his eyes…
He felt himself redden, and oddly a spark of warmth bloomed in his chest, he didn't show a thing though, instead he slowly climbed to his feet, letting the anger seep through…
"Something funny on your mind Larkin…...?" he spat.
The two realising that they may have stepped into a quagmire put their agent faces on. Larkin gulped, he had a list in his hand, Casey snapped it from him and started to read it, in a second, he saw the highlighted name, his eyelids flickered, yep…he knew that cover…her cover.
He turned to his system, he checked his latest emails, nope…. no advance notice, he looked at Larkin, "Did you notify Emerson or the General?"
"Err no, I just got the hit a few minutes ago… do you …"
"NO!" Larkin's mouth closed. Walker said nothing, she opened the office door, "Bryce, go do something useful." Her tone didn't leave much by way of conversation. Larkin, not being a total idiot, recognised his presence as superfluous to the situation.
"Alright, I'll check and see if we have anymore 'guests' arriving…"
"You go do that." The door shut behind him. Inside Sarah looked at her partner, "What do you think?"
Casey appreciated that, no innuendo, Miller would have been all sarcasm, Larkin had been itching to get a rise, well he'd shut that down fast. Now the adults were in the room he could rely on an honest opinion.
"I don't know Walker; awful lot of our trouble lately has been out of Europe…"
She nodded, "I had noticed, this is personal though, how do you want to play it? "
Casey looked thoughtful, "Let's see what she does first, that cover is old, she may as well have sent a marching band".
Walker snorted, "Ok Casey, softly, softly…"
Sarah got up and left the room, Casey shook his head, she had said no further contact after the Russians, what had changed? He sighed, he was excited about this, feelings, what was the world coming to…...?
….
Ilsa entered the Buy More, she pretended to pause by the entrance to read a notice, she was actively using the glass to watch the black minivan that screamed agency a chance to park and see if anyone she knew was inside.
She'd been followed from LAX; she'd made them as soon as she picked up her luggage from the carousel, of course to the casual observer, she hadn't noticed a thing, and she maintained the façade as she took a taxi to the French Consulate.
Once inside she announced herself to the Consul-General and asked for access to a secure communications station, she set things in motion and after signing for a car, she set off on her travels.
She made sure she had her 'gifts' with her. This was not a mission, well…. Not just a mission, but a chance to reacquaint herself with an old liaison. She smiled to herself, who said you couldn't mix business with pleasure…
Her shadows stayed with her, she made no attempt to avoid them, she wanted the attention. The next place she went to visit was the Buy More, she remembered how John had looked in the uniform, the green suited him well, she was just sorry that day she'd tried to ditch him for the cover, handing back that necklace had hurt her more than she'd thought possible.
She looked around, when she turned back again two men had appeared beside her, she didn't know why but she felt a little uneasy, the taller one had a mess of hair and his eyes didn't seem to be in focus, the other, Lester Patel, she read on his staff ID narrowed his eyes and slowly walked around her, she felt like livestock at an auction.
"Can I help you…miss?" It was probably meant to be friendly however it was delivered with so much false bonhomie that it surprised her! Was this what retail service was like in America?
"I was looking for an old friend, I don't see him…."
Lester and Jeff on their usual quest for beautiful but unobtainable women had noticed her as soon as she entered the door. Her tall, elegant bearing had the two practically salivating as their crossed the floor, her figure was dissected with absolutely no consideration for decorum. In short, they both did what they usually did, leched.
Her French accent sat well with the shorter man, he became smarmier, taking her arm and placing it in his as he guided her along a walkway, for a moment she considered dropping him on his ass, but while a fool is a fool, this one, she decided, might prove useful.
"Yes, I just arrived from France, and I thought I'd see my friend, John Casey…"
It was as if a bomb went off, both men slammed to a halt, the tall one took several steps back and Lester dropped her arm as if it had been radioactive. Their faces contorted angrily.
Mon Dieu, she thought, it was a short lived one as Patel screamed out "MIKE!"
Across the store a door shot open and a large, coloured man came rumbling across the floor towards them, "Dammit it to hell, Patel! Didn't I tell you and Jeff to leave the female customers alone!" He glared at both men, turned to her he began,
"I'm terribly sorry ma'am, I can only apolog…"
"She's looking for Casey…" It was like a switch was thrown, his face also turned furious, and he grabbed her arm and began dragging her to the exit!
"I thought Mr Finkelstein made his position clear…no more spooks in the store…" That shocked her so much she barely resisted as they made their way along the aisle. "… you can tell Col. Casey that he hasn't heard the last of this, now leave!"
He propelled her towards the exit, the staff had also lined up behind this Mike, customers too, some started to reach for mobile phones to record the altercation, quickly she spun on her heel and walked through the doors.
Outside she ruminated on what just happened, he had mentioned Casey by rank, and it appeared a promotion had occurred, she hadn't checked on him or Walker or Bartowski in France in case it raised a flag.
Well, it was conformation that something had definitely happened since her last visit here, she looked across the mall to see the Wienerlicious where Walker had worked had disappeared. That really left only one place she could legitimately go next. Echo Park. She remembered her audience; She slapped a puzzled look on her face and headed to her car.
Sliding behind the wheel she jumped as the cold metal of a silencer touched the nape of her neck, without even looking she greeted her captor.
"'Allo Agent Walker! Good to see you again…" there was a barely noticeable adjustment in the hand that held the gun to her head, she tried to turn but the silencer found a new place beside her cheek that halted her.
Injecting a little hurt in her voice Ilsa tried to be blase about the situation, "Tut, tut, Agent Walker and I brought you a gift too…all the way from Paris…"
Without turning around, she raised a small box from beneath the passenger seat and opened a flap, despite herself, Walker's nostrils twitched…
"Chocolate croissants….? Are you serious…?" she asked incredulously, the ice in her eyes thawing just a tad…
"Bien sûr, one hardly visits old acquaintances without a gift, non, it would be most uncivilized." She beamed at the other woman.
Sarah Walker was nonplussed, things felt a little hinkey, but she'd already checked for weapons and Trinchina was totally unarmed, other than the fact she could probably rip the heads off any five civilians without breaking a sweat. She decided to let Casey sort this out.
"Ok Ilsa, let's head over to Casey's, you remember the way?"
"Oui". They left.
….
They entered the complex together, but as they got to the courtyard, Sarah suddenly realized that Ilsa had started to walk towards Chuck's, caught flatfooted she heaved a sigh of relief when Bryce appeared with a drawn gun, halting the other woman in her tracks.
"This is getting a bit tiresome, Agent Walker, I only wanted to thank Analyst Bartowski with a small token of my gratitude for saving my life…" She reached down to her bag, Bryce braced himself.
"Let's just see what you there, Major Trinchina, if you please…" He waved his gun at her, Ilsa glared, but complied.
From her bag she took what looked like some …. magazines? It was hard to see as Sarah approached, Bryce took them and skimmed them, he hummed in approval.
"What are they, Larkin?" It was Casey, he had appeared in the doorway to his apartment, he had been watching on his surveillance equipment, planting Larkin in the shadows had been a good precaution, now he was curious himself. He headed to Larkin's side. He barely acknowledged Ilsa, a fact she noticed, but she held her tongue, better to listen.
Bryce looked at Casey, "Moebius books, Arzach, The Incal…Blueberry…" he saw the blank looks on Casey and Walker's face, "…. comics, first editions too …and signed by Giraud himself!" He looked at Ilsa then back at the others, "…valuable comics, rare and probably worth some money, considering he signed them, where'd you get these?"
"You have good taste, Agent …Larkin…" He nodded, "I found them on a recent case, I remembered your colleague…saying he was a collector…" she shrugged, "…the owner won't be needing them anytime soon, so I decided to give them a new home."
"That's ok, oui?" She looked at Casey.
"Hello Ilsa…why are you here?"
"Well, hello to you too, I had some unexpected time off due to …recent events… so I convinced my Director to let me have some leave and I decided to visit you and your friends…I didn't think it would be a problem?" She had to thread carefully now. She was glad to see John Casey again, but she was on a mission…
She looked around, "I don't see Analyst Bartowski….is he afraid… or watching through the window again?" she giggled mischievously and gave the apartment window a wave.
Walker's eyes tightened, Larkin frowned, Casey was his usual poker face.
Things dragged a little until Larkin handed her back the comics, she decided to test the waters.
"…so, if I have passed inspection…" She started to approach the Bartowski apartment again," …I'll just give these…. hey!"
John Casey had reached out and snared her arm, instantly grinding her to a halt, she glared at him.
"Bartowski isn't around." Gotcha!
She affected a nonchalant air, "Oh?" she popped her arm free, "…perhaps I can leave them with his sister…Ellie…right?"
This time Walker's shoulders dropped…telling…
Larkin stepped in front of the door again, face tense, she blinked. "…or perhaps not…"
"Bartowski is on assignment and his sister is working…"
She looked at Casey, "well another time then, it's not that important, I actually came to see you, John and frankly, this is not the reception I expected…"
Casey rolled his eyes, "we've been a little busy Ilsa, you may have heard…"
"Yes John…" she bristled, "you may have noticed we have been dealing with your mess… I just finished an assignment and was worried about you…is that a crime?"
Walker and Larkin looked away; Casey reddened slightly. "Come on, let's talk." He led the way back to his apartment, she entered, "Love what you have done with the place…it's brighter…"
Casey bit his cheek, Wilde and Diamond had requested a makeover, bright colours and prints were everywhere, comfy sofas and flower vases could be seen.
Casey stopped the other two from entering, "I'll entertain our guest, Walker, check her story, Larkin, keep checking for any more arrivals…".
"Roger that." Larkin turned to leave, Walker looked at Casey, her eyebrows raised, "entertain, huh?"
He shut the door.
As he turned, he felt two soft arms encircle his shoulders and his face was pulled down in to a deep, lingering kiss…
Ilsa broke away and smiled at him, "Col. Casey…." She teased, "…it seems I have a bit of catching up to do…"
"Yes, Major Trinchina, I am your superior…." He grinned, if this was a seduction, he didn't mind playing along, two could certainly play that game, he thought, besides all work and no play….
"…I have to admit, I'm a little hurt though…"
"…Oh?" smiled Ilsa as she looked for the bedroom. She dropped her bag on the counter and stood facing him. "How so?"
Casey let his face take on a disappointed look, "…Walker gets croissants, the geek gets comics, where's my …."
Ilsa had reached up to the two straps holding her dress in place. Hooking her thumbs under them she turned as she peeled them slowly off, her dress glided down her body, pooling at her feet as she kicked her heels off, she wore no underwear.
A fact Casey happily acknowledged as he drank her in, he loosened off his tie, murmuring under his breath, "…the things I do for my country…"
She squealed as he gathered her up in his arms, he kicked the bedroom door open…
…
Walker and Larkin drove in his Ferrari back to Castle, "Smells good…" he reached for the box, a sharp rap on his knuckles had him yelping, "…Heyyy! What gives….?"
Walker had recognised the box, she had often indulged herself at Storhers, the oldest patisserie in Paris. It stretched back to the 1700's, a pastry chef from Poland that King Louis XV had loved, had started the business, they truly were fit for a king, or in this case, Ice Queen, Larkin was lucky he wasn't drawing back a stump!
"Get your own, they're mine!", she growled as she held the box possessively. He glared as he entered the main area, ignoring him, she quickly walked to a monitor and initiated contact…
General Beckman's face filled the screen, "Report."
"It's who we thought it was, Major Trinchina, she made straight for the Buy More after the consulate, no drops…"
That meant nothing Beckman thought, she could have already accomplished that in the consulate, she made a mental note to ask for the known DGSE operatives to be monitored more closely.
"…after a hostile reception, I intercepted her and…."
"Hostile?" Walker nodded, "…it appears she didn't know about the recent goings on, the staff weren't kind to her…"
"I see, and then…?"
"I brought her to Col. Casey's, she tried to contact Chu…. the Bartowski's ….".
Beckman pursed her lips in annoyance. The order from the Bartowski's lawyer regarding their residence was in front of her, as well as the DNI's memo ordering them to backoff, the Governor was a major political ally to the Administration and the President needed his allies in his camp.
"I see, where is she now?"
"At Col. Casey's, I think they're… rebuilding connections between our respective agencies…" Walker kept a straight face.
"I'll verify that." The screen blanked.
…
DGSE HQ Paris France …... Director's Office
Dewavrin was receiving a briefing when his private line went off, he glanced at the screen, sighing, he stepped to a private compartment.
"Dewavrin. And what do I owe the honour of a call from the NSA, Diane ...".
"Hello Andre, why is Major Trinchina in L.A.? I'm unaware of any heads up regarding any missions…."
Andre smiled inwardly, Trinchina had made some progress, they'd prepared for this.
"As far as I'm aware the Major requested some leave, she wanted to see an old friend, had I known she meant Major Casey…."
"Col. Casey".
"Well, there you go, that's news to me, her whereabouts and the Colonel's promotion, please convey my congratulations to him. Is there anything else?"
On the far side of the line Diane Beckman weighed her thoughts, she was of no doubt something was going on, but she had no proof and Andre's genuine surprise at Casey had her wondering if she should push any harder. She eyed her desk again, maybe caution would be a better approach.
"No Andre, but in future, I would prefer a heads up…even for visits… Au revoir."
"Au revoir, Diane." The line went dead, Dewavrin was suddenly more interested in Ilsa's activities than before, he had an assistant schedule a meeting as early as possible.
…
Reconnecting to Castle, Beckman was pleased to notice Walker was still waiting.
"Well Agent Walker, it appears all is in order…however…"
"You want me to keep tabs on the Major…"
"Close tabs, there's been a lot of funny business lately Agent Walker, I mean to be on top of things, understood?"
"Yes Ma'am, understood."
Beckman broke the connection.
…..
Ilsa stroked Casey's side as she lay across his chest, that had been fun, and instructive, so, it appeared Bartowski was no longer part of US Intelligence. Walker's face had spoken volumes, the degree to which they had acted to prevent contact with even his sister was telling.
She had busied herself with her pleasure after that, she wouldn't push, that would come back home when she made her report. Then, Chuck Bartowski would answer some questions.
Above her, Casey lay with open eyes, he had enjoyed himself too, but the agent in him was curious, there had been very little, small talk, mostly about themselves, she hadn't mentioned Chuck again which was a red flag, but for what?
Her mobile went off, she groaned and sat up, he admired the view as she opened her messages, there was a short curse in French, she leaned back against him again.
"It appears my holiday is over…" she deliberately let him see the screen, it was a burner.
CONTACTER LE BUREAU DU DIRECTOR
He did the translation, "Duty calls…"
"Oui, may I use your shower?" He waved her in the direction of the bathroom, she wrapped a sheet around herself, taking a moment to enjoy the view herself.
He watched her enter and as the water started, he grabbed her bag off the floor, he produced a scanner and swept it fast…nothing. Apart from the comics and a few cosmetics there was nothing. Nothing, not even a knife. He frowned, if she was pulling a fast one, this was new.
From the crack in the bathroom doorway Ilsa watched. She smiled and stepped under the hot water, poor Casey, he didn't know what to think, no doubt the Director had been contacted, he had played his part, now she needed to get home, but she could have some more fun first…
"Sugar bear…can you wash my back…."
There was a sound of quickening steps….
….
02nd May 2010. Marseille. Saint-Victor District. 15.
The four friends sat in a bar in the Saint-Victor quarter of Marseille, Erik gave a low whistle at the image on the screen, Chen also sat open-mouthed.
"You sure about this, Robie?" Philip asked. The other man nodded, "look, I'm thinking of ah…putting down roots in France… for after". They nodded too; they knew what after Robie was referring to.
Robie and Sean shared a look that wasn't missed by Erik or Philip. "What….?"
"Well, we were wondering if you guys wanted to join us…"
"That's a fucking castle Robie!" Said a stunned Erik as he regained his voice.
"Chateau…"
"BIG fucking castle Robie!" Erik repeated.
"I thought Legionnaires were forbidden to buy property until after the first 5 years if even then?", asked Chen.
Sean nodded, "Normally… I could …because of service accumulated, but we have a way around that…legal way…" he added.
Erik was still gobsmacked, "Is that a Foosball table?", they were looking through the estate agents' pictures.
"Yes, and a billiard table, outdoor pool, 7 bedrooms, 4 main rooms, a number of outhouses, which is the part that interests me…"
"How so Robie?", the big Dutchman had snapped out of his surprise, he was curious, there was a big six figure sum against the property, and he was keen to see how Robie and Sean were going to afford this, and the reason why, they had free accommodation at the barracks, not to mention he was hard pressed to see how the Legion would sign off on this.
"I have some things I want to work on, and frankly speaking, it's damn hard to under the eye of Delon and the Col., I need some space…"
Chen and Erik shared a look, "It's nothing bad, promise, but I wanted to include you both…"
Chen looked pleased, his new situation with Koh was developing nicely and he had toyed with the idea of an apartment, she had hers in Paris but the long trek across France meant a weekend pass would be a rushed affair and he didn't fancy that.
"What about the Legion? How do we get this by them?" he asked.
"We're not telling them. This is for us, we take leave, we have our own place, simple as. ", answered Sean.
"I'm in!" he said. "And I can pay my share…."
Robie waved him off, "…we'll cover all the bills…"
"No, you clown, I meant I can pay my share of the property… I have money…"
There was a throat clearing from Vanderlaan, "…I can also pay my share … of the property…"
There was a silence as Robie and Murphy digested that, "How…"
"Trust Fund…" said a sheepish Erik, "Savings….", came from an equally embarrassed Chen.
"Trust fund…. savings? That's gotta be some piggy bank you have there, Philip…just out of interest, how much do you both have…?
Erik took on a deeper shade of red "…. ten million…." Philip's eyebrows hit the top of his forehead, but he mumbled out, "Six million…."
Robie was pounding Sean on the back as a swig of Heineken going down the wrong way threatened to choke him.
"TEN…. SIX…. what the fuck are you both talking about….!" He demanded.
Erik sighed, "I told you I'm here because I didn't want to go into the …ah…family business… we're kind of…rich, my mother hit the roof when I ab …left… she managed to deny me access to my family accounts…but my grandparents had left a trust for me and luckily I had put that in Switzerland so …" he trailed off.
Philip shook his head, "I explained about things; My family were also quite wealthy…but what about you two? That's nearly a million Euro on the asking price…?"
Robie smiled, "We own a company…well… Sean's family own a company, I've a share in it…"
"Bullshit Robie, you're the one that wrote the code for the latest bestseller product and now the next… I just inherited my share…"
Robie shrugged, "I had help Sean, without your Dad, my ideas were just that… but…". An idea struck him.
"But what, Robie?" Philip asked,
"Well, that's why I need some space…." Sean said nothing, it wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't a lie either, "… to help more, we do have a new product we're about to release, how would you guys like to invest in the company and grow those nest eggs?"
"Really? You would do that for us?" asked Philip.
"Sure, and look it this way, Sean's sister is a financial whizz, she'll grow that for you, AND it's how I propose we circumvent the legal restrictions on owning property, the company will buy it, out of our shares…"
There were smiles all round as they saw the brilliance of Robie's plan, they had no risk, it consolidated everything, provided an extra income and a tangible asset!
Vanderlaan offered his hand, "I'm in too!" They all shook.
"Right then, I'll just let Roisin know…"
"Now?" asked Philip.
"Yep" Sean said, "Delon has us off on training with the French Naval Diving School at Saint-Mandrier from tomorrow, so if we want to take a peek at the property, it's in Rodez, we can do it today, it's a bit out of the way, but we need to get going soon!"
Robie initiated an internet call, Roisin was quick to respond, "is everything ok Ch..Robie?" She had quickly caught on that he wasn't alone.
"Fine, Roisin, I have an answer on that thing I asked you to look into… and some additional investors for the company, can you sort them out from my end?"
Roisin Murphy was a little surprised, but if she'd learned one thing about Chuck Bartowski, he was a diligent planner and miles ahead of everyone else.
"Sure, what do you need?"
They spent about twenty minutes discussing the property and then how to set up Erik and Philip, she got copies of their military IDs and then it was a simple matter of getting them access to funds while she set up new banking details.
The two men were highly impressed with her skills, Chen in particular, his family business had taught him a lot about the normal business world, his family had interacted on behalf of many big corporate clients that also wanted less moral tasks performed on their behalf such as industrial espionage, there had been many legal contracts required by both sides to indemnify them from each other.
He appreciated her efforts, he knew that Sean and Robie had explained his situation, he assured her that the money was not dirty and held in escrow for him by a trusted family attorney. He quickly filled her in on the conditions she would need to satisfy to gain access to the account.
Erik's was even quicker; he accessed his account and initiated a transfer of the funds to the Anomaliz bank account in Dublin. They were set. Sean and the others headed into a bar leaving Robie and Roisin alone.
"Have you spoken with Ellie; she's been anxious to talk to you since Akio filled her in."
Chuck frowned, "No, I'll get us some leave organised after this training course. How are they?" He was worried, he knew they had given up a lot more than he had officially, their careers, any chance of getting home to see Devon's family. Europe wasn't home but home wasn't home anymore either.
"They're fine Chuck, your sister and Devon are a lot more resilient than you think, besides the final paperwork has come in from Doctors without Frontiers, so they're busy preparing for that. Morgan and Dieter are nearly ready for that software engine to power the game…."
He sat up straight at that news. "Any…"
"No, Chuck, whatever the game is, they won't tell anyone!" He was surprised by that, she caught it, "If it's any consolation, I can tell you Morgan is enjoying himself wayyyy too much for my liking!"
Chuck had a bad feeling about that, the last meeting he'd shared with Roisin, she'd told him about Ellie's message for Beckman. He had groaned but he knew his sister, her sweetness was contrasted by her temper and that was legendary when she felt crossed! Morgan was not that dissimilar in outlook, many a Jeffster prank had had the bearded one formulating elaborate revenge upon the duo, he had a feeling Ellie wasn't the only one that would take a shot at his one-time tormentor. His only fear was how far Morgan would take it; he had a nasty habit of dragging those with him into a crusade!
Yeah, some leave after the next training session was probably a good idea.
"How's AUGUR looking?" That was the next one, he did need a decent lab, he could work on things for the Ghosts and Anomaliz uninterrupted, and he also needed a place where he could work out what was going on with him, the Legion was just too busy with too many eyes, with a place in France, Sven and Meike or anyone else could come and help him deal with the changes in the Intersect.
The flashes that weren't flashes seemed to be easing off, the information downloads were still huge though, the others had come up with a form of ESD device that helped him mask his … discharges… but that was still disturbing to him. The only good thing was the lack of killer headaches.
The physical changes though… Sean had been puzzled, he had taken measurement after measurement, the weight gain, his acquired …enhancements… they needed somewhere he could really unleash himself. The outhouses looked ideal, they could sink some money into equipping those, he grinned, his castle.
Roisin had been talking, oddly even though he knew he had drifted, he found a part of him had been attentive, that was new.
"…. beta test results have been perfect, Mateo reckons you just need to recheck a few things and we're a go for June…."
There was a movement behind her. "Chuck!" he stiffened; it was Ellie!
"Hi sis! How's…."
"Don't you dare Hi sis me, Little brother! What the hell has been going on with you and the Intersect?" Chuck's face went white on the screen.
Roisin decided discretion was the better part of valour… She stood, Ellie plopped into her seat, "Chuck, I'll get working on the other stuff, you and Ellie should… catch up…" Her voice dropped as she crossed the room to the exit, the door slammed as she exited the room, fast!
Outside she leaned against a wall, already she could hear Ellie's voice rising to a shrill squeal of rage…Jesus… she's mad…. Roisin made a mental note NOT to get on Ellie's bad side….
…..
05th May 2010. The Borealis, 300 miles off French Coast. 03.30. CET.
The sleek 45m long superyacht cut through the water, its powerful diesel engines thrummed in the night air, it was a magnificent craft, three levels of luxurious living space interlinked with some staterooms, some of which even functioned as offices.
It was a home on the seas for a seasoned traveller that had no need to be tied to the land, for the owner, Sakis Balatos, it suited his kind of business, as well as offered a means of quickly departing should those tiresome forces of Law and Order come knocking on his door.
International waters were the ideal place for moving all kinds of cargo, sealing deals or in some cases, disposing of a troublesome competitor, yes, Sakis was proud of his floating palace, and he liked to make sure it was appointed well, his taste in all things was opulent. That also extended to the kind of women he liked to entertain. The more exotic, the better.
Creeping along the outer deck Carina Miller was in no mood for appreciation, this mission had dragged on far longer than she would have liked, she took a quick look at her suit timer again, 40:28 was read back to her in the red numerals than vanished as she ran her palm over them.
She had more than enough time before Balatos recovered from the Twilight dart she'd hit him with, it had been some time since she had to wait as long to get a pig like him into her snares.
The past month had been frustrating, she'd been expecting the usual DEA stuff from Sakis, but his behaviour had been completely out of synch with his past movements, she guessed this was why Seagram had wanted her back on the case.
She hadn't seen him in years, the last time had been a mission with Walker, they'd hooked up with him to get at his main suppliers in Turkey, that ended with both of them having a knife fight with some henchmen in an alleyway in Ankara, as they blew his suppliers warehouses, a few stitches for them both but they got out alive and another mission was closed.
It had ruined Balatos's rep in Turkish circles but lately it seemed he had moved into more lucrative dealings, he had been high on the DEA watchlist, so they had been tapped first to see what new markets he was currently exploring, his new yacht had been a major indication that things were moving exceptionally well in his world.
It had taken her a couple of weeks of trawling the usual haunts before she initiated a hook up, after that it was easy, she easily beat off the competition from the usual bimbos that hung out with his type, after a few heavy make out sessions, that allowed her to case his apartment, she finagled her way on board.
She had endured the usual daily pawing at first, That eventually eased off and she spent most of her days on the decks perfecting her tan, at night it was a careful exploration of his floating palace. The security had been well above par, that had been her first indicator that she was finally on the right track.
He did nothing on land but enjoy himself, the sea however, was for business, there was plenty of alone time which allowed her to gain insight into his habits, the past few days had seen Sakis full of tension, he had spent a lot of time beneath the decks in his study, it was a no-go area. Heavily guarded during the day, she was too canny to try and force an entry, no. it would have to be stealth.
Luckily today had seen a shift in his mood, he surprised her by joining her on the lower deck for lunch, she had given him one of her sensual massages, the tension of the past week had been missing from his shoulders, so whatever business he had been conducting had been concluded, his mind now free, his body had responded readily to her caresses.
Then it was child's play, she got him to the bed and it was quickly lights out, the new Twilight darts were a vast improvement, she'd make it back in time to jerk him off and then play the part of the satisfied lover, he'd feel like a god, even his muscles would feel tired from his exertions, a quick shower for her and she'd be as good as new.
First though, the mission.
The infra-red sensors around the door hadn't been extended to the cabin windows, she smiled as she pulled out her tools, ten minutes later she sat at his desk. From another compartment she pulled a device that would override his laptop security and download a copy of anything important, it had been programmed to look for particular words or phrases.
With an almost inaudible bleep it began its work, tied into her mission timer it gave her a separate time of six minutes, she made herself comfortable but alert.
With any luck this would be the motherload and she would disappear into the crowds tomorrow night when they docked at St. Tropez, a quick rendezvous with her local agency contacts and she could find herself a hardbody to wipe away the past fortnight, she licked her lips at the thought of that.
She smiled as she wondered if she could reach out to the two Irish women, they had seemed full of promise recently, Walker could be such a bore, and she missed the days of the CATS, then they really knew how to let off steam, the competition had been fun, stealing each other's planned lovers for the night, then dumping them and seducing others. Fun times.
She felt her mind slipping back to that day in Dublin a few weeks ago….
…
"Oh, for fuck's sake Meadhbh, no fish hooking!" Niamh Kavanagh paused in her conversation with a wide-eyed Carina, a grunting Walker hadn't taken it lying down, she had a handful of hair and was pulling on it like a tug of war team with victory in sight, it paused Byrne as she realised Sarah could easily hyper extend her neck, undeterred, she loosened her grip, Walker's grunt of victory was cut short by the suplex that slammed her face first into the mats.
Miller winced, that was gonna smart in the morning. She had to give it to the Irish woman, there weren't many that could manhandle an angry Walker, she gasped as Walker raked her nails across Byrne's exposed upper cleavage, Meadhbh yelped in pain.
"…bitch…" rasped Walker as she regained her feet. Despite the blooming redness on the right side of her face she looked delighted with her efforts, hissing, she moved in again to a palm heel to the sternum she never saw coming, she managed to ride that as she snapped out a one two jab cross combo that rocked Meadhbh back.
Niamh sighed and turned to Carina again, "Do you think there's much more in it?" Carina shrugged, "Walker's pretty pissed, Byrne really rubbed it in with the great sex stuff…"
"I can't believe she never sealed the deal with Robie…sorry Bartowski…I mean look at her…" She grimaced as the sounds of heavy blows on flesh could be heard. "…well maybe not right now…" She smiled wryly. Carina stifled a giggle. "I know, I told her to bang the guy and get it over with. She has a career...but no… it's love…" she sighed.
"Yeah well, I wouldn't worry about him and Meadhbh, that was a one-time deal, here, let me show you something, a friend of ours caught the whole thing on mobile."
"You mean, Meadhbh doesn't want him?"
"Oh, she'd have another shot if it presented itself, she was fairly impressed with his … skills… and believe me, that's no mean feat! She's pretty hard to satisfy and any guy that hasn't measured up hasn't made it to morning before she'd thrown him out!"
Carina laughed, yep, many a wannabe stud hadn't hit the mark with her either, she was out the door and on to the next before they knew she'd left the room.
Niamh found and opened her phone, "Here…"
Carina bent over the phone and watched as Chuck danced before Meadhbh spotted him and made her move, she found herself envious as Meadhbh ground against Chuck, she was astonished at his build though. The tall gangly boy man had been replaced by a demigod, she liked his new hairstyle too, the other had shrieked NERD in capitals. His normal spazzy gestures were gone, he moved comfortably against Meadhbh and from her face, his hands were applying the right pressure in the right places at the right time!
"Here's the part…" The video had followed the two as they left the floor, Niamh had stepped into their path, she watched Bartowski's expression of shock at Niamh's sudden appearance, she could see Byrne had noticed, he shook it off and smiled, it was a smile of desire that even Miller could appreciate, her breath caught in her throat and she suddenly felt a few degrees warmer, she tugged at her blouse…
"So, Miller, Meadhbh may have scored, but I reckon yer man was thinking of someone else for a few seconds there…. oh, for the love of Jesus! Walker! No biting!"
There was a bloodcurdling scream… Niamh jumped down to separate the two, Carina grabbed her mobile and quickly sent herself a copy.
"Right!" screamed Niamh, "That's enough! Match over! Get yourselves cleaned up before I kick both your arses!"
The two combatants lay flat on their backs wheezing and glaring at each other, grumbling they hauled themselves to their feet and headed in the direction of the showers. "…asshole…. skank…. oh, you did not call me a …."
"Get to the Goddamned showers!"
There was a sullen silence as they limped off the floor. Niamh sighed and looked at the bodily debris that lay on the floor, blood, hair, torn uniform pieces…
She made her way back to Carina and sat down heavily. "You were a great help…."
"Kavanagh, if there's one thing I've learned over the years with Walker, is stay out of her way when her blood is up!" She waved her hands in surrender.
The two women eyed each other and then burst out laughing. "I know you copied that video, did you video that fight?"
"Ohhhh yeahh!" grinned Miller. "This is gonna be better than Casey's underwear in Prague…" Niamh looked at her with a blank look. "…private joke, want a copy?" Niamh grinned too. "Of course, I do!" Carina worked for a few seconds, there was a ping from Niamh's phone.
"Thank you."
"De Nada."
"Say Carina…your boy Bartowski, what's he into…?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, what is he, because he looks like he's been through the wars…rogue agent, soldier?"
Carina stopped and turned and face the other woman, "No, what gave you that idea?"
"Well, it was recent from what I saw, he's been shot, stabbed and it looks like someone tried to gut him… so, agent…?"
Carina felt her jaw drop as Niamh listed off Bartowski's injuries, her mind was racing, what the hell was Bartowski up to? Holy Crap! SHOT! … AND STABBED?
Niamh saw her face, "So, news to you, huh?" Miller shook herself out of it and nodded, "Look say nothing to Walker, ok? She's a mess already…" She indicated the floor. Kavanagh looked at her. "So, what is he?"
"Niamh, this is one time when you don't need to know…" she emphasised that part, Kavanagh's eyebrows shot up.
"Sorry, but it really is like that, no offense, I like you guys! But trust me, you'll have a better life not knowing, ok?"
"Ok, Carina, I'll let it go, but I want to hear the end of the story at some point…" Miller laughed, "Don't we all, Niamh, don't we all…"
Looking over her shoulder she saw Walker approaching, "You better get ice on that" she pointed to the swelling cheek. Meadhbh walked out of the showers and headed for the counter, she pulled a sports drink from a fridge, she didn't offer Sarah one.
"Come on Walker…" Niamh said, "…I'll get one of the lads to sort you out, we're locking up…"
Sarah threw a final glare at Meadhbh as she limped after them.
…..
Carina smiled as the small device chirped at her, it had found something interesting, she watched as the system booted up. A series of emails opened in separate windows, she began to read,
Russian SLBM codes a match…. Final payment confirmed… launch system plans confirmed… yield of each warhead approx. 200 kt each…
She felt her blood run cold… this was no drug run; Sakis was dealing in advanced weaponry! Holy Shit! She was out of her league here, this was Walker and Casey's wheelhouse, she quickly closed everything down, more than ever she had to finish the mission now! Nuclear warheads on the loose, the world had suddenly become a more dangerous place!
She retraced her steps, she froze as she caught a whiff of marijuana in the air, she carefully looked about, must be a sentry, she blended like a shadow into the darkness, minutes passed, finally satisfied the coast was clear she made her way back to the main stateroom.
….
Outside, lying on his back in a lifeboat, Mario Bugatti seaman, let out the breath he'd nearly choked on, coughing he looked out under the flap he'd hidden under as he indulged his nightly habit, Sakis was an ok boss, but he never partook of any of his wares and it was strictly forbidden on his yacht, he wanted to give the authorities nothing to hang on to if he was boarded, Mario had taken his chances though.
Tonight, it had paid off in a way he had not foreseen.
Relaxing earlier, he'd heard a noise, he'd nearly choked on his spliff as he watched the black clad figure slip through the night, he had watched as they entered the boss's office, he had jumped down and ran to Sakis's cabin, knocking on the door he had heard no answer, so he entered, Balatos hadn't even stirred as he called his name, he had instantly recognised the stupor of a drug induced state.
He thought furiously, he grabbed his mobile and began filming. Another idea hit him, he raced back to the lifeboat, he'd just made it when he heard a small noise again, peeking out under the cover he saw the figure again, as he watched they stiffened and began scanning the area, he had been videoing, but he quickly dropped to the floor and held his breath. He heard them move off after a few moments, he popped the cover and raised his mobile just in time to see then enter Sakis's cabin, he gasped as he saw a flash of red! The woman!
She must be a spy! It was a long night for Bugatti, he found himself in the galley downing mugs of coffee until finally Sakis emerged from his stateroom with a satisfied grin, he stretched in the rays of the morning sun as he made his way to his office, he stopped. Outside stood a nervous looking Bugatti.
"Ok, Bugatti, what did you mess up now… hey!"
Mario had grabbed his boss by the arm and all but dragged him inside the room, throwing a nervous glance at Balatos's cabin he closed the door.
Sakis Balatos prided himself on his social graces so it no surprise that his anger quickly spiked, he raised his fist to slap some manners into his soon to be ex-employee when Bugatti redeemed himself instantly.
"Boss, you gotta look at this…" Sakis did. His face betrayed his shock, he felt sick when he saw his trance like state, he quickly found his anger again when he also saw the flash of red hair as the figure entered his cabin.
He walked slowly to his desk, it was only a minute thing, had he not seen the video he would have missed this, his mouse mat was just a tad out of place, nobody but him would have seen it. He drummed his fingers on his desk as he sat in thought. This would require finesse…
"Say nothing, Mario, when she leaves the cabin let me know."
Bugatti nodded, "Si boss." Sakis waved him out.
He opened a drawer, from a hidden compartment he took out a small number of tablets, sometimes, some of his female guestsneeded a little encouragement to loosen up…
He called his chef, "Nico, can you bring Ms Conti's morning meal here and inform her I would like to breakfast here with her please…. thank you…" he hung up.
He walked to the window, there was no point in trying to contact Mr. Lasky now, they were probably submerged, no, this would require a face to face, he smiled, Lord Autokhython would reward him handsomely for this….
"