- CHAPTER EIGHT: Gone Going

Offices of Pineapple Corp Inc. June 2007

The major stakeholders of the company were all sitting on one side of the conference table reviewing video of their prototype that all hope to make this company a go-er. The video wasn't good watching, it was showing obvious flaws in their design work and unless something major was done the project would be a write-off.

Pineapple Corp was trying to win Defence department contracts by suppling advanced drone technology for use on the battlefield. The Army had the idea that if you sent in drone into area of high risk for intelligence gathering then you wouldn't put soldiers' lives at risk. If these drones were armed then they could become an attack weapon.

The main fault in the drone design was the fact it wasn't stable enough in flight to be able to fire conventional weapons accurately. Incorporating a Glock 9mm within the drone but the percussion of the recoil made the drone up and swing all over the place. Depending on the skill of the operator, the drone could become unstable during firing and difficult to control, many drones were lost during trials.

Morgan came up with the idea of jet-propelled guided darts. His idea was that the dart would be ejected first from the drone then it would automatically fire and propel off towards the target. The dart would have a small explosive head that went off on impact. He later emphasised his idea by using the biro that he had been chewing all meeting. He moved their drone to one end of the table and using his biro as the dart positioned it within its structure. He then released the biro and it dropped to the table top. He then flicked the biro with his finger and the biro skidded across the table until it hit a vacant chair at the other end.

The rest of the crew watched then all in unison nodded their heads. Morgan was on to something, lasered guided darts with and explosive head. Getting the darts to fire without jeopardising the stability of the drone would be the biggest hurdle. The meeting would eventually break with all the stakeholders each being allocated specific tasks. Everyone gave Morgan a pat on the back as they all filed out of the meeting room.

Chuck was later chatting to Morgan about how he got the idea for jet propelled guide darts.

"Well Buddy, I remembered an old Chuck Norris movie called 'Delta Force'. In it he rode a motorbike that had missiles mounted on the handlebars. Now if Chuck Norris could launch missiles without falling off his bike…."

"We should be able to figure out how to do the same using drones." Chuck finished the sentence that Morgan started.

Bartowski Apartment, October 2007, Echo Park California

It was still early when he awoke, eyes bleary and his senses telling him already that he was in bed alone. He felt weak, almost nausea, as he made his way past the living room. He shuffled his way into the kitchenette and boiled the kettle. He lay down on the couch and waited for the kettle to boil.

Sarah came out of the bathroom carrying her beauty case. She collectively wheeled her luggage and dropped it by the front door, then she returned to the dining table. Here her briefcase and purse sat together, waiting for her final checks before she walked out the door. He wasn't needed to drive her to the airport, the company always sent a car for her. Just as well as he was feeling sick. He couldn't get off the couch when it was time to go, so Sarah had to bend to kiss him goodbye on the forehead.

The timing had been lousy for him, he had himself to blame after spending too much time in the drafty bowels of his rented warehouse tinkering with the drone prototypes. The pressure of trying to solve the armaments issues with the drones meant long hours away from his beautiful young wife. He was sure that he was neglecting her by spending so much time away from her. He was so focused of solving the problems of the darts caused him to neglect his wellbeing. He was so rundown working on the project that he was told by his sister doctor that he was risking pneumonia and that he should eat and sleep more.

When he wasn't at his warehouse then he was home on his computer designing new internals for his drone. History was repeating itself as he was becoming his father by being there but not really there at all. He didn't think what this was doing to his wife and privately he was relieved that she started spending more time with her sister in law than at home.

With Sarah away Morgan would take up the slack, Morgan was quickly developing a reputation of being a good cook. Morgan like all the other stakeholders had a vested interest in keeping Chuck healthy. Some serious engineering was required to create an assembly line of darts to unload one at a time and then to ignite and fly away. The Military had a deadline that was fast approaching and competition was fierce. Morgan knew it would be only a matter of time before Chuck solved the problem.

How much explosive charge to be placed in the head of the dart would be discussed at a later date.

Bartowski Apartment, November 2007, Echo Park California

It was still early when she arrived home from a red eye flight. Her eyes were bleary and all she wanted was to cuddle up to her husband who hopefully wasn't out of bed. She looked forward to climbing under the covers and pressing herself against his warm body.

Her wishful thinking dissolved the moment she opened the door and got a whiff of the smell of stale beer. It seemed that Chuck and the boys had a big night, Bryce, Morgan and Chuck had been up most of the night gaming and drinking beer. There was a pyramid of cans stacked on the coffee table and the men were lying where they passed out from all their drinking. Chuck was bent over the couch, Bryce in an armchair and Morgan was lying on the floor in foetal position next to the coffee table. This was the first time Sarah had found her husband drunk.

She was not impressed. She decided to put her things away first before dealing with the drunks in the dining room. Sarah re-entered the room and went over to her husband, she leaned in and softly spoke into his ear "Chuck. Chuck." Chuck didn't stir, but someone else did. Bryce woke to see Sarah looking less than impressed about the situation.

"Oh you're home."

Bryce struggled to clear his head enough to be able to function in a conversation, but Chuck was too far out of it.

"What the hell have I come home too? Does this happen every time I go away."

"Yeah, pretty much. Although this was a big night." Bryce managed to say but every word was painful.

"Big night?"

"Yeah we were celebrating. Pineapple Corp has won its first military contract."

"And this is how you celebrate, by destroying a few million brain cells."

"Yeah, more or less."

Bryce looked a little sheepish after Sarah's caustic tongue, but he lent back in his chair and smirked at her, that only served to raise Sarah's blood pressure even higher. This was not what she wanted, she was physically tired and her mood was getting worst. She wanted to snuggle up to her husband but he wasn't where he should have been. She needed her husband to be in bed and she needed it now.

"C'mon make yourself useful and help me get my husband into our bed."

Bryce got out of his chair and stood up, surprisingly he was fairly stable, He moved over to Chuck and he grabbed him by the arm and then lifted him into a fireman carry position and then proceeded to the bedroom. Bryce was so strong, he had been an athlete and had competed at college level. Sarah made sure that Chuck didn't bang his head when Bryce changed direction. Into the bedroom, Bryce lowered the sleeping Chuck onto the bed before pushing him gently over so his head hit his pillow. Sarah removed Chuck's slippers and pulled the comforter up over him. They both left him there as they return to the living room, Sarah stopping on the way to grab some blankets and pillows. She laid a blanket over Morgan then gently lifted his head so she could slip a pillow under it. The couch was now free so Bryce grabbed a blanket and pillow and made himself comfortable.

Now that the visitors were dealt with Sarah retired to the bedroom and stripped off and climbed under the comforter and snuggled into her now warming husbands back.

Domestic Assignment, December 2007, LAX, Arrivals Terminal, California

Looking in anticipation, Chuck's natural height meant that he could see over the crowds as he waited at the Arrivals gate looking for the most important person in his life.

This was the 10:35am flight; he was in the right airport, at the right gate, he was getting anxious as maybe he couldn't recognize her, it had been a long twelve months. Maybe she had been sitting at the back of the plane.

The flowers in his hand were already showing signs of distress, wilting with the humidity of the hordes of bodies around him, the paper the flowers were wrapped in started fraying from the his sweaty palms. He sighed, debating whether to just drop them or not.

"Chuck!"

A touch on his shoulder turned him around, as his eyes widened in delight, drinking in the beautiful form of one Sarah Bartowski.

"Sarah!" He exclaimed happily, catching her around the waist and embracing her tightly, "I've missed you so much!"

She kissed his cheeks and his lips again and again as they stood in the midst of all the bustle like young couples were wont to do.

His wife laughed throatily as she smoothed her hand over his hair, looking at him affectionately before threading her hand securely through his.

"I have too, Chuck."

Chuck grinned at her uncontrollably, his heart practically floating as he noticed the light glint in her eyes, excitement still present in her face

Sarah was overjoyed as she walked by his side, swinging a small travel bag with her other hand. "I managed to get some new contracts for Kreative Graphics, and the boss is so happy he's going to give me a pay raise. We can finally get a bigger apartment!"

"We've got a long time to look," he said. "Bryce and I have earned some extra cash too, so we're well on our way."

Suddenly the smile dimmed a little as she turned to face him, "Chuck…"

He looked at her with wary eyes, unsure of her tone.

"I'm only staying for a few weeks…" she said slowly, unable to meet his eyes. "I'm being sent on another assignment to Georgia."

He let go of her hand, staring at her unbelievingly. "You just got back!" He tried to say evenly, "And you're telling me that you're going to be leaving again?" His voice raised a few notches at the end of his sentence.

Sarah looked around as people started giving them concerned stares; she was hurrying him along which was pointless as she didn't know were he had parked the car. She stopped being so impatient as she had to let Chuck lead her to where the car was parked. As she released her initial anger she noticed the flowers that Chuck was still holding.

"Are those for me?" She asked meekly in a quiet voice, touching his arm.

He turned to look down at her, handing them over without a word. Without apologizing for the state of the wilted leaves.

She did what any woman would do, she raised the flowers to her face and breathed in the fragrance. The smell changing to lighten her mood.

With his arms crossed, he simply led her off to where the car was parked. The usually waffling husband was too disappointed to talk about this new development.

Unspeakable resentment at the demands of Sarah's job, and her willingness to let it rule their life fester in his churning heart. . He had let her indulge her aspirations long enough, she seemed to be taking his submission for granted more and more, expecting for him to be at home waiting while she left for longer and longer periods of time.