Ch. 1 His Secret

Secret Mission

Ripcord looked at the Joe's resident ninja before leaning over to speak to his friend. "Hey Duke. Is it just me, or has Snakey over there been a bit more weird than usual?"

Duke glanced at the black ninja before shrugging. "How should I know? It's not like we're drinking buddies or nothing."

Ripcord laughed, as if the idea of Snake Eye doing anything remotely normal was hysterical. It was irritating. They were talking about me. Did they not know that I could hear them? Just because I don't speak doesn't mean I can't hear.

I sighed internally before leaving. I bumped into Scarlett in the hallway. Well, she bumped into me. She looked up in surprise. "Snake Eye!"

I smiled a bit behind my mask. Ever since we'd met, Scarlett had been like a sister to me. I remembered there had been once a time that Ripcord had thought me and her were romantically involved. I chuckled silently at the memory.

"How are you? You've seemed a little out of it recently."

I rolled my eyes. Why did everyone think that? Though I had been a little bored recently. After a fight like the one with COBRA, base life was hard to adjust to. I patted her shoulder reassuringly. She looked convinced. I smirked at her naivety.

She went to see Ripcord and I continued down the hallway toward General Hawk's office. He glanced up from his desk when he saw me. "Oh, Hello, Snake Eye. Did you need something?"

I hesitated. I realized I didn't plan anything to say, but now that I was here…

I signed my request. General Hawk looked surprised. "Really? This is highly unusual… but I suppose it'd be alright. I'll need specific dates for departure and return, alright?"

I nodded curtly as relief rushed through me. This might be easier than I thought.

*Three Days Later*

I could feel Ripcord's eyes on me for what seemed the millionth time. From my peripheral vision I could see his frown. "Guys, I'm telling you. Something is going on with him. He's even more sulky than usual."

Scarlett jumped to my defense. "Don't be so rude. He's just trying to get back in the swing of things like the rest of us."
I smiled sadly, and nearly reconsidered my decisions to not tell anybody about my departure. I shook my head. It would only cause trouble if they tried to follow me. I smirked. Especially if they followed me to where I'm headed.

The realization of what I was doing hit me full force. By tomorrow I'd be gone. Not permanently, I hoped, but one could never predict the future. I stood. There were still preparations to make for my trip tomorrow. As I was leaving I caught the end of Ripcord's sentence.

"… can't hear us, can he?"

I smiled. He wasn't nearly as smart as I'd hoped Scarlett's choice would be, but what the heart wants, the brain can't argue.

Which brought me to the reason I was leaving. I did hope I'd made the right decisions, but it was too late to stop. I might have needed to send a message ahead, but it was too risky. So I left silently, as I always did. I thought about why I was leaving. It seemed selfish and stupid, but unavoidable. A woman's face filled my head.

Aimée. The woman who had helped me escape the police. That should have sealed my faith in her, but then she'd lied to her government to protect me and tended to the worst of my injuries. I thought back to that encounter.