Five

Chuck woke up in a bed with his hands and legs tied to the bedposts. He was in a dark room. He looked around and realised he was alone. There was a door out of sight. He knew it because he heard it open and close and a figure came into the room. He couldn't see the face of the figure.

"Hello Chuck". A male voice. Very warm and rough. "I'm the Director. I personally oversaw your father's initiation as a informal contact for the agency. I'm the dividing line between civilians and people in our line of work. I dealt with your father and I was also under the impression that you and I had an understanding. Imagine my surprise when I heard you visited your godfather and threatened him. A lead in the case. "

Chuck chuckled. "What you don't like the way I do things?" he said. The man was silent for several seconds. "Maybe your father was wrong. You're everything he wasn't, brash, arrogant and immature. You don't think through your decisions and the impact it has on other people. Have you ever heard of the term linchpin?"

 "Top dog?" Chuck asked confused.

"No. I mean a linear reaction. One thing leading to another. The linchpin theory basically states that one action or one event can lead to a societal disaster. In your case I believe the same can be said. The collateral damage that would erupt from your methods is enough to cause chaos. What exactly do you want? Is it to avenge your father or to bring down the people behind it? Because they are not the same thing."

There was an unbearable silence for what seemed like a long period. Then the man spoke again.

"I'm taking you off this mission", he said. Chuck's eyes widened in fear. "No, wait you can't! I can help you", he said. He began to struggle frantically but the binds held him firmly in place. The man shook his head. "I'm sorry, Chuck. You're too unpredictable."

"Wait! What about my sister? What does this mean?"

Chuck knew the agency wouldn't just let him go. Not with how much he knew and how much more they suspected he knew(which he didn't). They knew there was a probability Chuck would pursue the case on his own and they couldn't afford to do that. They would do to him what they did to all burdens. They would kill him.

 

Amy woke up to find herself in a bunker. The last thing she remembered was being suffocated with chloroform by Sandy. It had been just after her and Chuck's big argument. Now she was missing him. Funny, she thought. I always used to hear stories of how the last thing relatives did before one of them passed was argue. I never thought my death would be...so cliché.

Amy knew she was going to die. There was only one reason why the CIA would think of kidnapping one of their valuable assets. When they were no longer assets. Chuck must have screwed up. That was the first reason that came into Amy's head. It wasn't abnormal. He screwed up a lot. Not because he wasn't good at it. He was good at getting what he wanted. The problem was collateral damage didn't seem to register with him.

That was one reason why Amy was suspicious of her brother's motives for taking the mission. Was it possible that his single-mindedness had extended to the extent that the death of a loved one was inconsequential if he got what he wanted? The thought scared Amy so much she shivered.

No . Even at his worst Chuck still loved those he loved. He did what he could for them oblivious to the consequences. It was as if he just turned a blind eye. "Everybody has their own way of grieving", he'd said.

She searched for another possibility. Chuck hadn't screwed up. Maybe he'd found the person after all. Amy's stomach felt weird. None of them had thought for a second of what would have happened after they found the culprit. The CIA never promised them or told them what would happen. They'd just assumed they would go back to living their normal lives. Unfortunately trusting normal people with intelligence was what got the agency into this mess. They wouldn't want one mistake to lead to ten more.

"So they never planned to let us go, huh?" Amy muttered into the darkness.

"I'm sorry, brother".

Amy heard footsteps before she saw them. Because of the darkness she could not tell from what direction he came and there were so many echoes it was impossible to determine by sound. Amy was sure it was a man because of his heavy-set structure and the manner in which he walked.

"What do you want?" she asked in a defiant tone.

Amy expected everything from silence to some diabolic answer. Well, almost everything. The one word response was something she never even dreamt of hearing nor would she have guessed it.

"You".

"I don't understand."

"I've come to get you out of here", the male voice said.

 

Amy must have been knocked out because she woke up to find herself in a plan surrounded by four people. She gave a start.

"Easy, easy", the blonde woman said. "We're friends of your father's. We rescued you from well, certain death", she said in a rather light-hearted tone. "My name is Sheila, The rest are Frank, Kate and Gary".

"I don't understand", Amy said dumbfounded.

"Your father found out something about the CIA. Something very bad. And they killed him because of it. And they were going to do the same thing to you and your brother", Gary said.

"What about Chuck? Is he alright? Will you get him too?"

"Relax. We're working on it as we speak. One of us is taking care of it".

Amy looked at them. "Who exactly are you people?"

Kate looked at the others then at Amy. "We're VASCO".

 

Reviews

[Nana]

Terrorist org vrs terrorist org, that's a new one. Did not see that coming.