Author's Notes:I based this story somewhat off of the Star Trek: Voyager episode, "Parturition". The love triangle in that episode and the jealousy got me thinking, and this was the resuilt. Hopefully, Flint isn't written too OOC.
Cloak and Dagger
After what seemed like a long slow month away, working on setting up the newest branch of GI Joe, newly named the Eco-Warriors, Flint arrived back at GI Joe Headquarters. Usually Lady Jaye was there to greet him whenever he came back from missions she didn't accompany him on, but this time she wasn't. A little disappointed, Flint took his bags with him to his quarters, got unpacked and changed back into his regular uniform.
As he was looking around for Lady Jaye, Flint came into the Mess Hall, and while picking up something to eat, he heard a familiar laugh. Turning around, Flint saw Lady Jaye sitting at one of the tables with Pathfinder, happily chatting and laughing. She had her back turned and hadn't noticed when Flint had walked in. Neither did Pathfinder. Well, Flint thought, his jealousy starting to rise, glad to see you're having fun without me. He stormed out of the Mess Hall in a huff, nearly bumping into Ambush. "Hey Flint, what's up?" He asked. But Flint just glared at him. "Okay then." Geez, what's your problem? Ambush thought. Then he saw Pathfinder hanging out with Lady Jaye, and put two and two together. Seeing that Flint hadn't left the Mess Hall and was just standing in the doorway staring in their direction, Ambush went to join them and out of the corner of his eye, that was when he saw Flint walk out altogether, still not saying a word, but looking like he wanted to.
"You and Lady Jaye seem to be enjoying each other's company." Ambush remarked as he and Pathfinder were walking back to the barracks. Pathfinder gave him a funny look.
"Yeah? So? What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.
"I don't know. Just, I thought she had you set up with that new chick recently."
"She did, and she's interesting, but I don't think she's my type. I like that other new girl, Paige Adams. Ambush, what's this really about?"
"Just, be careful when you're around Lady Jaye." Ambush said. Pathfinder laughed.
"All of a sudden, you're my conscience now?"
"I'm serious buddy."
"Look, Ambush, I'll admit I'm still kind of attracted to Lady Jaye. Who wouldn't be? But I'm over being in love with her if that's what you're worried about." Pathfinder said, chuckling slightly.
"What's so funny?" Ambush asked.
"You, just now. Before, you were practically saying it was okay to fantansize about being with her."
"I just think Flint might be getting the wrong idea."
"He probably is. Because he's way off the mark. Ambush, I know all about how he gets jealous whenever Lady Jaye hangs out with another guy. And you know what? It's his problem. He should know by now that she won't cheat on him. Besides, Lady Jaye and I are just friends, that's all." Then it occurred to him. "You haven't been telling Flint anything, have you?" Pathfinder jabbed a finger into Ambush's chest.
"What? No. He doesn't know about how," Ambush lowered his voice to a whisper, "how you tried to kiss her in the pool."
"He better not. That's the last thing Flint needs to hear about." But that wasn't all that happened between Pathfinder and Lady Jaye. Flint, or for that matter, Ambush, didn't even know about the time when Pathfinder and Lady Jaye had been physically intimate with each other. But that was because Lady Jaye had been drugged by Cobra, and it resulted in a dangerous chemical imbalance in her brain. It also made her see Pathfinder as a potential lover, so Stretcher thought that if the two them made love, it would stop the chemical imbalance from killing Lady Jaye. And it worked.
"Believe me man," Ambush said, "I would never mention that to anyone, let alone Flint. I know all about his jealous tendencies too. When I saw him in the Mess Hall earlier today, I noticed him looking at you and Lady Jaye hanging out together. He looked kinda pissed."
"Well he's got nothing to worry about. And I'm also very sure Lady Jaye has told him that too. Probably a thousand times." Pathfinder replied.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there when you got back to headquarters today." Lady Jaye said as Flint was getting undressed. They were in his quarters.
"Well, you were having too much fun joking around with Pathfinder and I didn't want to interrupt." The jealousy in Flint's voice showed.
"Don't start this again."
"I don't trust him Alison." Flint said.
"Dash, it's not like Pathfinder is a double agent."
"You know what I mean."
"Yes, I do. And it's not what you think it is. Pathfinder is just a friend, nothing more." Lady Jaye told him.
"Alison, I've seen the way he looks at you. I know that look, because I used to look at you the exact same way."
"Dash, don't you think I know that? I'm not naive. Besides, I had Pathfinder set up with one of newer recruits." Flint sighed as they sat down on his bed.
"I still don't know-"
"Relax, will ya?" Lady Jaye said as she massaged his shoulders and kissed his cheek. "There's nothing to worry about." For a moment, Flint was beginning to believe her. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he still wasn't sure.
The next morning, Pathfinder and Ambush were in line in Mess Hall getting their breakfast, when Lady Jaye, who had already gotten hers and sat down, she spotted them in line and waved. Both of them smiled and waved back. "Damn." Pathfinder muttered, his smile faltering a little.
"What do you want to do?" Ambush asked.
"Very simple, we just won't sit with her."
"But that's rude."
"No, that's smart. We'll make it look like we had things to discuss that don't involve her." Pathfinder said as they picked up their trays. He scooped some of the scrambled eggs, hashbrowns and bacon onto the plate on his tray, while Ambush helped himself to the oatmeal and some slices of toast. Just as they took their seats, Flint came into the Mess Hall. As he was getting his breakfast, he saw that Pathfinder and Ambush were at the table in front of Lady Jaye, with Pathfinder sitting so that his back was to hers. You really think that's going to fool me? Flint thought, his jealous rage seething within him.
Ambush had barely eaten his oatmeal when Psyche-Out approached the table. "There you are Ambush. You're not going to hide from me."
"Come again?"
"The yearly Psychological assessments I conduct. Yours is today, right now in fact." Psyche-Out pointed at his watch.
"Now?"
"Yes, now. You're not going to avoid it."
"Who said I was?" Ambush asked innocently.
"Since you're the Concealment Specialist, I'm not going to take any chances in letting you forget, then have to go looking in every nook and cranny for you." Psyche-Out replied.
"He's got you there buddy." Pathfinder added.
"You're supposed to be on my side." Ambush groaned as he reluctantly got up from the table, grabbing his toast. "Have a nice breakfast." He said to Pathfinder before he left with Psyche-Out. Pathfinder simply continued to eat. Behind him, Lady Jaye got up and left. Now that they were both gone, Flint saw that it was the perfect opportunity. Noticing the shadow that was looming over him like an ominous cloud, Pathfinder looked up and saw Flint glaring at him.
"Uh, something I can do for you Flint?"
"Did you really think that your little ploy would fool me?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb with me, jungle boy." Flint growled, jamming his finger in Pathfinder's chest. "You and Lady Jaye, with your backs to each other, like strangers waiting for a bus. No, that's not going to work with me." Pathfinder put down his fork and shoved Flint's hand away.
"I just can't win." He sighed. "This is ridiculous. Flint, there is nothing going on between me and Lady Jaye." Flint leaned on the table, getting in Pathfinder's face.
"Liar." He spat, grabbing a handful of scrambled eggs off Pathfinder's plate and splattering them across his shirt and vest.
"What the hell?!" Pathfinder bounded out of his chair, indignant, took the bowl of oatmeal Ambush hadn't touched and threw it at Flint in retaliation. With oatmeal covering him, Flint leapt over the table and tackled Pathfinder to the floor. A crowd began to gather as they struggled, rolling around on the Mess Hall floor, bits of scrambled egg and oatmeal flying in all directions.
"I'll, kill you!" Flint snarled as Pathfinder strained to keep from getting punched.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Shipwreck chanted, trying to get the crowd to join him. Very few of them did. Just then, a hush fell over the crowd as General Hawk entered the Mess Hall.
"Atten-HUT!" He barked. Flint and Pathfinder quickly got up and stood at attention along with the rest of the crowd.
"Thanks a whole lot Flint." Pathfinder muttered, glaring at him, expecting a full-blown lecture right then and there. But General Hawk simply looked at them. Everyone waited with baited breath, wondering what he was going to do.
"Just the two I needed to see." General Hawk finally said. "Flint, Pathfinder, my office. Now."
"Uh, right away sir?" Flint asked.
"If you could just give me a moment to clean up-"
"That's what just said." Pathfinder and Flint glared at each other before leaving the Mess Hall, with everyone still looking on.
The room was silent as they now stood in front of General Hawk's desk, still covered in the food that they had throw at each other earlier. Tension was in the air, and it was so thick that you could slice it with Snake-Eyes' sword. "Well," General Hawk finally spoke, sitting back his chair, "would anyone care to explain?"
"It, might be too long to go into right now, sir." Flint replied sheepishly. General Hawk raised an eyebrow.
"I see." He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "You know, normally I'd expect this sort of petty bickering from Leatherneck and Wet-Suit. In fact, it's pretty much a given with those two by now."
"Well sir, you see-"
"Pathfinder, did I say you could speak?" General Hawk snapped.
"No sir." Pathfinder gulped.
"As I was saying, this sort of behavior is a given with Leatherneck and Wet-Suit, but not you Pathfinder, even though I know you've had similar incidents with Ambush in the past. But I certainly wouldn't expect it from you Flint, ever."
"Uh no, certainly not, sir." Flint stammered.
"You're a commanding officer and you should know better."
"Yes sir."
"However, that is beside the point. I called the both of you here because I need two people for a small reconnaissance mission."
"Me?" Flint asked.
"With him?" Pathfinder added.
"Our intelligence satellites have picked up possible Cobra activity, and I need to have it verified."
"General, normally I'm not one to turn down a mission, but in this case, I may need to reconsider. Besides, I think my weed-whacker is due for some routine maintainance, and cleaning, and-"
"If that's the case Pathfinder, then you'll just have to cut through the jungle the way Recondo does." General Hawk told him.
"Yeah, about Recondo," Flint spoke up, "maybe he'd be the better choice for this mission-"
"Recondo is on vacation with his family, Flint. Pathfinder is just as good a point man and jungle fighter as he is."
"What about Muskrat?" Pathfinder suggested. "Or even Gung-Ho or Outback?"
"Muskrat is still laid up in sick-bay from the injuries he sustained on his last mission. Gung-Ho and Outback are on other assignments." General Hawk said. "Am I, sensing a personal problem here between you two, gentlemen?"
"Frankly, yes General." Flint replied. General Hawk's eyes narrowed as he gave them one of his I-am-the-General-you'll-do-as-I-say looks.
"Solve it!" He barked. "That's an order!"
"Yes sir"
"Very well sir."
"Dismissed!" Flint and Pathfinder quickly scrambled out of General Hawk's office before he had the chance to lose his temper. Give me a petty argument between Leatherneck and Wet-Suit any day, he groaned inwardly.
As Flint headed towards the elevator to the airfield, Lady Jaye caught up with him in the hallway. "Flint? Flint! Is it true?" She asked. "I'm hearing rumours all over headquarters. Did you and Pathfinder get in a fight?"
"They're not rumours Alison."
"So you were fighting with Pathfinder. What the hell for?!"
"Look, Alison, I've got another mission. So we'll talk about it when I get back, alright?" Flint replied.
"But-"
"When I get back." He repeated as the elevator doors closed. Lady Jaye grumbled under her breath as she stormed off.
Lifeline was in the Rec Room by himself watching TV when Lady Jaye burst in, surprising him. "Uh, good afternoon-"
"That's a matter of opinion!" She snapped, grabbing a can of Pepsi from the mini-fridge, slamming the door shut.
"What'd I do?" Lifeline asked, confused. Lady Jaye sighed as she flopped down on the couch beside him.
"Nothing Lifeline, I'm just, really frustrated right now."
"Are you and Flint having problems?"
"Problems? Yes. Between us? No. I just heard that he and Pathfinder got into a scrap with each other in the Mess Hall this morning at breakfast. Can you believe that?"
"Oh yeah. I heard about that too."
"Is there anyone who hasn't?"
"It's a small base Lady Jaye. But I just thought it was gossip at first." Lifeline said.
"Well it isn't, and now I am so embarrassed." Lady Jaye lamented. "I know it was over me, Lifeline. What is it with Flint? Can't I have friendships with other guys, guys who are respected colleagues without him getting all jealous and suspicious and making a complete ass of himself?"
"Well, to be fair, I think you should know that this isn't the first time Flint's jealousy has surfaced to the point where it was noticeable." Lifeline informed her.
"Don't tell me this has happened before." Lady Jaye gasped.
"Not to the point where it's resulted in him getting into a physical altercation. Do you remember that old friend of yours who helped us out with that new stealth jet project?"
"Oh my god. Ron Michaels?"
"Or that spy who was like a carbon-copy of James Bond?"
"I'm getting the picture Lifeline." Lady Jaye sighed. "But in those instances, I understand. I used to be more than friends with Ron, and as for that spy, well, I kinda egged Flint on, as I was sort of, enamored with him. However, Flint has nothing to worry about with Pathfinder. I only consider him a friend and a respected colleague. That's it." Lady Jaye would never admit to anyone, even Lifeline, about her intimate encounter with Pathfinder when she got drugged by Cobra. "I wish Flint would trust me. It will never move beyond that."
"I'm sure Flint trusts you Lady Jaye." Lifeline said. "Jealousy has nothing to do with not being able to trust you."
"Oh? Well what is it about then?"
"I don't know. Maybe Psyche-Out can explain it better. He's the expert when it comes to mind matters."
"I guess I could ask him." Lady Jaye replied as she got up. "Thanks for letting me vent anyway."
"Hey, what are friends for?" Lifeline said with a smile.
Above the clouds, a lone Conquest was flying over the Atlantic Ocean, still a couple hours away from reaching India. Inside, Flint was verbally making notes, and since he was an English Major, he used a lot of big words. In the back cockpit, Pathfinder was getting irritated. "You know, I realize you had the chance to attend college and all, so you really don't have to impress me with your, techno-babble." He said, interrupting Flint.
"I'm not trying to impress anyone," Flint replied, trying not to blow another gasket, "I'm entering these things into the flight record." Pathfinder rolled his eyes sarcastically. "Look can I make a suggestion?" Flint snapped.
"You can make any suggestion you want to. Hell, you can even make it an order, and I'd have to obey it."
"My suggestion, is that we put our personal feelings and opinions aside until this mission is over, okay?"
"Now hold on a damn minute. I know that General Hawk already ordered us to do that. So I left my personal feelings back at headquarters. I can't speak for you." Pathfinder said, getting indignant.
"Fine. Then let's get the job done!"
"You get us down in one piece and I'll take it from there!" Pathfinder snarled.
"Ambush? Where's Pathfinder?" Lady asked when she found him in the barracks.
"Well, I heard both he and Flint were called to General Hawk's office after getting into a fight in the Mess Hall at breakfast."
"Oh great, now General Hawk knows too." Lady Jaye groaned.
"Word travels fast." Ambush said. "But he didn't put them on report or anything. Instead they got sent on a recon mission."
"Both of them? Together? What was Hawk thinking?"
"I'm sure they'll be fine, Lady Jaye."
"Unless they kill each other." She quipped.
"General Hawk?" Lady Jaye knocked on his office door. "May I come in?"
"Of course." General Hawk replied. Lady Jaye went in, closing the door behind her.
"Sir, I understand that you sent Flint on a recon mission with Pathfinder."
"A small recon mission, yes. Our satellites may have picked up on some possible Cobra activity in India." General Hawk said.
"Please don't take this as improperly questioning the decision of a superior officer, but putting them together, especially after a recent altercation, I'm not sure that was a good idea."
"At ease Lady Jaye, I understand your concern. But I trust that Flint can set aside his personal feelings towards Pathfinder and keep his focus on the mission. And, that also applies to Pathfinder."
However, when Flint and Pathfinder had just reached India, all of a sudden their Conquest rocked violently from side to side. "What the hell?!" Pathfinder shouted as they were thrashed about in the cockpit. "I don't recall the weather reports mentioning anything about turbulence!"
"I know! Neither do I! But this does not feel like ordinary turbulence!" Flint replied as Pathfinder looked out the window, and saw massive damage to one side of the aircraft.
"Holy hell! One of the wings and an engine has been blown off!
"What?!" Flint looked out the window. "How did that happen?!"
"How am I supposed to know?! Didn't anything show up on radar?!"
"There was nothing on radar!" Flint replied.
"Well that's just terrific!" Pathfinder threw up his hands in exasperation. "We better find a landing spot pronto!"
"That's what I'm trying to do!" Flint said. "Get on your controls and help me keep her stable!"
"I haven't been trained on Conquest, only Skyhawks!" Pathfinder replied.
"Then I guess it's up to me." Flint rolled his eyes sarcastically. He tried to maintain control of the Conquest, but it kept rocking from side to side. Not only that, they were losing altitude, fast. "I can't keep her steady Pathfinder. Bail out!" He commanded as he and Pathfinder activated their ejection systems. As they deployed their chutes, slowly descending down to earth, they could see the damage better that was done to the Conquest as it fell in fiery blaze.
"Damn it Flint!" Pathfinder shouted. "I said to get us down in one piece!"
"Well I'm sorry! I did the best could! Perhaps you'd like to pilot next time?!" Flint replied. "Look, we got no time for arguing. As soon as we land, I want to investigate the wreckage. General Hawk was right, I smell a Cobra plot."
"For once I agree with you." Pathfinder said as he and Flint activated their homing beacons on their belts.
After roughly two hours of cutting a trail through the dense jungle, Pathfinder and Flint found the area where their Conquest crashed. Parts of it were still smouldering as they looked it over. Luckily, the side that got blown off was visible, and Pathfinder saw something in the wreckage that looked very suspicious. "Tell me Flint, does that look very much like part of a missile to you?" He pointed it out to him.
"Yes, you're right." Flint agreed. He reached to grab it so he could get a better look, but recoiled in pain. Even through gloves, things were still too hot to touch. "Ow! Damn it!" He yelped. Flint shook his hand up and down, muttering and swearing under his breath as it hurt something awful. "It's still too hot to remove for closer inspection. But what I'd like to know is how the hell did we not detect a missile being fired at us in the first place?"
"Faulty radar?" Pathfinder suggested.
"The radar was functioning perfectly." Flint said. "And I saw nothing out the window. How about you?"
"Nada, zippo and zilch." Pathfinder replied.
"But that's impossible."
"Perhaps, it was invisible. Cloaked, even."
"What?" Flint couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the suggestion. "Pathfinder, have you been reading Sci-Fi's comic books?" Before Pathfinder could respond, there was a rustling sound in the surrounding bushes. He and Flint pulled out their rifles, just as they soon found themselves confronted by several people. They weren't military, and they weren't wearing Cobra uniforms. However, they were armed with guns themselves, and they all had their guns trained on Flint and Pathfinder.
"Put down your weapons! We have you surrounded, so don't try anything stupid!" One of them shouted.
"First, you have some explaining to do, reptile breath!" Flint yelled.
"Excuse me?!"
"You may not be wearing their uniforms, but I know Cobra scumbags when I see them!"
"American dog! I should kill you for that insult!"
"Who else would shoot down a GI Joe jet then?!" Flint asked.
"How dare you accuse us of being in league with Cobra!" The leader of the group sneered. "How do we know YOU'RE not Cobra agents?!"
"We aren't! We're with GI Joe!" Pathfinder replied.
"Right. Do you really expect us to believe that?" Another member of the group asked.
"If you'll allow me and my colleague to pull out our dog tags, you can check our identities on them. Cobra troops don't wear dog tags." Flint explained as he and Pathfinder slowly lifted their dog tags out from under their shirts as the group's leader hesitantly approached them and looked them over.
"Alright." He said, still not sure whether to believe them or not, but he motioned to his group to lower their weapons. "Come with us." They escorted Flint and Pathfinder through the jungle.
"Where are we going?" Pathfinder asked. None of them answered him.
"Aren't any of you going to give him an answer?" Flint added.
"You will find out when we get there." The group's leader replied coldly. Little did they all know, that they were being watched. Cobra was hanging around, and three Vipers had spotted them.
"I do apologize for the welcoming committee. "A man in a lab coat said as Flint and Pathfinder were taken into a building hidden deep within the jungle.
"Some welcome." Flint remarked.
"Yeah really, what was with the gun show?" Pathfinder added.
"When you're working on developing technology that you don't want falling into the wrong hands, sometimes you get a little paranoid." As he turned to face them, Flint knew immediately who he was.
"Dr. Mulaney?"
"Yes, and welcome to my new research facility."
"You, know this guy Flint?" Pathfinder asked.
"He used to be a Cobra scientist, until his defection several years ago. Since then, Dr. Mulaney created a formula to turn water into a volatile explosive, then came up with a way for a jet engine to convert the nitrogen in the air into a fuel source." Flint explained to him.
"Both ideas I've had to put the brakes on since in both instances, Cobra has tried to steal my work, and recapture me in the process." Dr. Mulaney said. "So when the sensors in the lab picked up on a low flying aircraft a few kilometers away, naturally I thought Cobra was snooping around again. I have this building armed to the teeth, and that's why I sent my team out to investigate."
"Well, as I had explained to them earlier, GI Joes wear dog tags, Cobras do not." Flint replied. "In fact, we thought this was a Cobra operation. It was our recon satellites that picked up on the activity going on here, probably when this place was being constructed or armed. That's why General Hawk sent Pathfinder and me to investigate."
"I can assure you Flint, this is no Cobra operation. That's one piece of good news you can take back to General Hawk, and be sure to tell him I said hello. And when I had everything my team and I have been working on perfected, all of this would've been revealed to GI Joe firsthand."
"What, exactly are you working on now?" Pathfinder asked.
"My team and I have been developing technology that can occlude objects from the normal space-time continuum detected by the naked eye." Dr. Mulaney replied.
"Come again?" His words flew right over Pathfinder's head.
"Cloaking technology." Now it was making sense.
"Our Conquest was hit by a surface to air missile but our radar systems didn't detect it. Was that missile cloaked?" Flint asked.
"That was one of our missiles, yes. We were testing one of our devices."
"Then I'd call that a successful test" Pathfinder commented.
"And if we couldn't detect it, Cobra won't either." Flint added.
"This is one of our smaller prototypes. Of course, the bigger the object, the bigger the cloaking device will have to be in order to hide it from view." Dr. Mulaney took Flint and Pathfinder over to a demonstration table, and took out an apple. "Now, watch as I place the device on top of the apple and activate it using this controller." He pressed a button on the control he held in his hand, and in just seconds, the apple disappeared from view.
"Incredible." Flint's eyes widened as he reached out to touch the apple. He could still feel it, even though he couldn't see it.
"So, are you working on building bigger gizmos to hide something as big as say, an aircraft carrier?" Pathfinder asked.
"This technology is still in its infancy." Dr. Mulaney said. "We're months, probably years away from a project that big. Most our prototypes can only make objects as big as missiles invisible."
"What about clothes? Or even, a person?" Flint asked. "The applications of this technology are almost, endless."
"We've never tested any of our devices on a person, and it's definitely years away from being adapted to clothing."
"Flint, if we had these built into our vehicles and aircraft, this could give GI Joe and edge over Cobra." Pathfinder told him.
"Now you see why my team and I are so protective, almost paranoid about keeping this location a secret. Having this technology fall into Cobra's hands could really be disastrous." Dr. Mulaney said.
"Have you thought about using one of your devices to cloak this building?" Flint asked.
"It's an idea that had occurred to us. And we are in the process of creating one big enough. The real test will be of course, if Cobra does happen to snoop around here, will they notice if there's even a building here."
"Report, Viper Team Delta leader." Cobra Commander hissed. Inside an abandoned warehouse, several Cobra Vipers had set up a temporary command center. Now they were reporting to Cobra Commander about seeing Flint and Pathfinder in the jungle earlier.
"Two GI Joes were spotted in the jungle, along with a downed GI Joe aircraft."
"What?! This is unacceptable! Do they know about our search for Dr. Mulaney?!"
"I do not believe so Commander. It seems their aircraft was brought down by third party. They were also confronted by people, possibly from this alleged third party. That much we got before they were taken away."
"Well what are you doing wasting time telling me all this you fools?! Go back and get those Joes! For all we know, they could be looking for Dr. Mulany too! And if they find him first, it will be too late!" Cobra Commander fumed.
"Yes Commander, right away."
Flint and Pathfinder were walking back through the jungle, when the Vipers who had seen them earlier and reported their presence to Cobra Commander went in for an attack. "Looks like our recon satellites were right about snake activity." Flint remarked sarcastically.
"And you are gonna tell us what GI Joe is doing here." The Viper teams' leader demanded.
"Fat chance snake-face!" Pathfinder retorted. But before the Vipers could strike, gunfire erupted all around them.
"Yo Joe!" Someone shouted. It was Gung-Ho. A team of GI Joes responded to the homing beacons that Flint and Pathfinder had activated earlier. With him were Ambush, Salvo, Duke and Beachhead. However, even with the seven of them now, the Joes were still outnumbered. Ambush, Duke, Salvo, Beachhead, Gung-Ho and Flint each had a Viper to contend with, but Pathfinder was surrounded by three more Vipers. And even with all his fighting skills, three were still a lot for one man to fight. One of them managed to whallop Pathfinder on the back of his head with the butt of his rifle, and while he was temporarily dazed, that gave the other two Vipers a chance to grab Pathfinder and wring his arms around behind his back. One of them held a knife to his throat.
"Give it up Joes!" The Viper growled. "Back off, or the next shower you take will be with your buddy's blood!"
"No way!" Ambush snarled and tried to lunge at them, but Duke and Flint held him back. "Let him go!"
"Since you won't tell us why GI Joe is sniffing around, we'll have to get the details by other means." The lead Viper sneered. "We're taking your friend as our prisoner!"
"NO!" Ambush wriggled out of Duke and Flint's grasp and charged at the Vipers, stopping when they all aimed their rifles at him, and once again held the knife against Pathfinder's throat, threatening to kill him.
"Ambush don't worry about me, I'll be alright." Pathfinder tried to reassure him as the Vipers lead him away, not taking their eyes or their weapons off Ambush and the rest of the Joes for even a second. Pathfinder tried not to sound afraid, but that didn't stop Ambush from noticing the terror in his eyes. He tried to follow them, but Duke grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"Do you have a death wish soldier?"
"We can't just leave Pathfinder with those creeps!" Ambush protested.
"But we also can't just go charging off all half-cocked either. That would do us and Pathfinder little good." Flint said. "We'll go back for him, but we must do so with clear heads."
"Clear heads my ass Flint! What if they kill him before then?! Huh?! What then?!" Ambush yelled. "You may not feel the same, but Pathfinder is my best friend! I will not let anything happen to him!"
"That's enough Private!" Flint snapped.
"Or what?! I swear to god Flint, if anything happens to Pathfinder, I will never forgive you!"
"Soldier you are dangerously close to insubordination!" Duke barked at him.
"Ambush, give it a rest man." Gung-Ho said. "Pathfinder's my buddy too. Duke and Flint are right. We gotta approach this with our head's clear. We'll go back for him, I guarantee that."
"I, just hope it's not too late." Ambush replied.
To Be Continued...
End Notes:The next part where Pathfinder is "interrogated", will be published under the 'M' rating section. Look for it there soon.