Notes: First of all, thank you to all of the wonderful authors who write such wonderful stories. I hope you enjoy mine. I definitely loved all of the sweet, romantic and holiday ones that I read over Christmas. You'll never know how helpful and uplifting they all were. But . . . . . . it is now after the holidays, and I'm going to shake things up a bit. (I'm still a nice guy, really I am) My story has romance hidden in it, in that angsty, I'll-die-without-you, sort of way. What you are about to read does happen, in a roundabout way. The names, places, and circumstances are changed to protect the innocent.

I just briefly want to reiterate that this is rated R for a mature theme, some language, and is a full-fledged angst/tragedy GI Joe story.

Disclaimer: Devils Due, Sunbow, Marvel, and Hasbro own GI Joe.


Ambushed
Chapter 1 – The News
By: Pink Brain

Flint hung up his cell phone and looked around at his small team. Everyone was busy working on their assigned tasks and never noticed his guilt-ridden face. Walking over to his wife, he stood silently beside her.

Lady Jaye looked up from the piles of papers in front of her and saw her husband's worried eyes. Concern spread across her face as she quickly asked, "Dash, what's the matter?" She could tell something awful happened by his downcast eyes and solemn mood. When Flint didn't reply, she stood up, grabbed his hand, and led him to the temporary office tent that had been set up for this mission. "Honey, talk to me. What happened?"

"Shana just called. She is at the hospital. Cobra found them and damn near wiped them all out," Flint growled angrily, his voice catching before slamming his fist onto the makeshift card table desk.

Lady Jaye jumped at Flint's anger and then grabbed his arm, twisting to look into his face. "Dash, why is Shana at the hospital? What in the hell happened? Talk to me," she pleaded, seeing Flint's red and angry eyes.

"Bill and Hector are in comas, and" his voice trailed off as his eyes looked away from the green, horror-filled eyes of his wife.

"And?" Lady Jaye paused briefly, but when her husband did not immediately respond, she added fearfully, "What about the others?" The small team stationed in the Indies consisted of Scarlett, Shipwreck, Wild Bill, Steeler, Cover Girl, and Duke.

Flint shook his head. "Conrad is fine, but Courtney is in surgery with Doc and Lifeline, fighting for her life, and…and we lost Ralph," the Warrant Officer barely whispered. He looked at the tears forming in Lady Jaye's eyes and pulled her close to him, embracing her tightly.

"Oh my God," Lady Jaye murmured in shock as she buried her head against her husband's broad chest. "What happened?" She managed to ask, sniffing back her tears.

Swallowing hard, he recapped what he had been told. "Bludd showed up and blew up their fucking camp. Steeler and Cover Girl had the lead with their Mobat and Wolverine. Scarlett flanked them to the right in a Vamp, and Shipwreck took the left. Duke and Bill were in the air. The Mobat took a direct hit, trapping Steeler inside. Shipwreck worked to free him, but it exploded and knocked Shipwreck backwards into his Vamp. The explosion flung metal and shrapnel everywhere, but Cover Girl absorbed the majority of the blast. It damn near took off her head from what Duke witnessed. Right before Duke and Bill took out Bludd's Hiss, a Fang locked coordinates on Bill's Dragonfly. As Bill tried to parachute to safety, the Fang blasted bullet holes in the chute, and Bill freefell to the ground. He has multiple broken bones and a possible broken back. Scarlett sustained a broken arm but managed to call in the Medivac before her Vamp was destroyed. Duke had radioed for help, but by the time Ace and Hawk got there, it was too late. The camp was wasted. The reinforcements from Ace and Hawk were enough to cause Cobra to retreat but not before the snakes destroyed everything."

Lady Jaye pulled back and looked at Flint. She noticed he did not go into detail about how Steeler died, but she imagined he was blown apart by the explosion. Shuddering at the thought, she asked in a troubled voice, "How did they not know Cobra was coming? What happened to their equipment?"

"I just called Mainframe. He told me that Dial Tone is researching your question right now. He thinks the frequencies were jammed or somehow rerouted so that their equipment never picked up the small Cobra team. Al, Cobra specifically came with the intent to destroy that team. They didn't want any prisoners. If Ace, Hawk, and Duke had not run them off, they just may have wiped out all of our comrades," Flint explained. "Duke, Cross Country, and Snake Eyes are on their way here. Cross Country is going to replace Dusty, so that Duke can take him back to be with Cover Girl, and Snake Eyes is going to be some extra eyes."

"Oh Dash, this is awful. Ron is going to freak out. He and Court were supposed to get married next month," she said, placing a hand over her mouth.

"I know, honey. I need to get the guys in so that Conrad and Ron can leave right away. From what Shana said, Court is in bad shape and may not make it. She lost a lot of blood, has shrapnel buried throughout her body, and her brain was swelling rapidly." Flint stepped over to the radio and called the two sets of guys.

"Coyote 1, Coyote 2, copy," Flint announced over the frequency in a clear voice, unlike the cracking, emotion-filled voice from a minute ago.

Clutch grabbed the communicator and replied, "Coyote 2 here, Bone Daddy."

"Ditto man, this is Coyote 1, over," Footloose answered, shaking his head at Clutch and watching Dusty and Grunt return to the humvees.

"Guys, I need you both to come in ASAP, over," Flint ordered.

"You got it," Clutch answered, thankful to get a break.

"Okay," Footloose acknowledged, creasing his eyebrow at the odd request. They were not due to come in for several more hours.

"See you four soon, out," Flint said, ending the call.

Both men returned their transmitters to the cradle, accepting Flint's order. "Bone Daddy? Man, what was up with that?" Footloose hollered over to Clutch.

"It sure seems that way. We are out here scrapping around in the sand, getting all grimy and dirty. I would much rather be getting greasy and oily under this truck. My throat feels like sandpaper," Clutch complained, coughing as he inhaled some more sand particles that were floating in the air.

Dusty shook his head. "You have to commune with the desert, Lance. It's not so bad."

"Yeah, right," Clutch sarcastically retorted, driving away as he led the way back to camp after Grunt climbed in beside him.

Footloose and Dusty followed. "Don't you think it is rather odd to be called in now?" Dusty asked Footloose.

"Maybe, but my karma is telling me something is up," Footloose answered, glancing over at Dusty's bewildered expression. "The karma never lies. It is all dark and gloomy. Maybe we have some weather coming."

Dusty looked around at the few clouds and blue skies. "Nah, it all looks normal. The clouds are not moving so I doubt a sandstorm is approaching. I guess we will find out soon." He leaned back in his seat and propped his hands behind his head.

Meanwhile, after Flint made his call, he and Lady Jaye walked out of the tent and called the other guys together. "I just called the Coyotes back. Duke is on his way. ETA is less than an hour away."

Gung Ho looked up from his weapon. "Why is Duke coming? He surely isn't done with his assignment yet, is he?"

"Probably wants some of my cooking," Roadblock kidded, stirring the pot of stew that had been cooking all day.

Lady Jaye glanced at Flint and then walked back to her papers. She sniffed and rubbed her reddened eyes. Flint looked at Gung Ho, Roadblock, Stalker, and Lift Ticket. "I'll tell you all when the others get here," Flint quickly said, walking back into the tent so that he could try to figure out how to tell them the horrible news.

Gung Ho and Stalker went back to cleaning their weapons, and Lift Ticket checked out the two Tomahawks. Before long, the approaching humvees came into view. Parking the vehicles, the four dusty men climbed out and walked over to the others. "Now that smells good," Clutch exclaimed.

"Get your dirty ass away from the food," Roadblock reprimanded.

"Chill out, dude," Footloose grumbled, backing away from the angry chef and pulling Clutch with him.

From inside the tent, Flint put down his paperwork that he had been trying to work on when he heard the approaching vehicles. Stepping out, he saw his small team gathering around the big bowl of stew. He made eye contact with Lady Jaye and then cleared his throat. "Men, gather around."

The eight men stopped talking and walked over to where Flint was standing. Lady Jaye got up and circled around behind Dusty and Grunt. There were several times that she did not envy her husband's command position, and this was one of them.

Flint took a deep breath before saying, "Duke is on his way here with Snake Eyes and Cross Country." He saw the looks that the guys gave each other and a few hushed voices. "His team," he continued, "was ambushed last night by Cobra."

"Was anyone hurt?" Gung Ho asked. The Cajun knew that something bad happened by Flint's actions the past thirty minutes.

"There were casualties," Flint confirmed. His eyes briefly landed on Dusty before he looked away and continued. "Shana has a broken arm, Hector is in a coma with head trauma, and Bill is also in a coma with several broken bones and a possible spinal cord injury. Courtney is in surgery with severe blood loss, head trauma, internal and external injuries, and," he shook his head, paused, then continued, "and I'm sorry to inform everyone but Ralph didn't make it." As he finished, he looked at each stunned face before resting his eyes on the young desert trooper. "Ron, I'm sorry. The last I heard she was still in surgery. I don't know anything else."

The team looked around in shock; one of their own was dead, and three others were seriously injured. Grunt placed a supportive hand on Dusty's shoulder as Lady Jaye walked up beside him. "Ron?" She nudged the trooper.

Dusty stood stock-still listening to Flint list the casualties and wounded, feeling his blood drain from his face as each teammate's injury got worse. His heart seemed to stop when Flint mentioned Cover Girl's name. He didn't hear anything that Flint said after "surgery". He was frozen and oblivious to those around him. Finally, the hand on his shoulder and the tug on his arm brought him back to reality. "What?" His voice managed to question with a very audible crackle in his throat.

Lady Jaye soothingly spoke, "Courtney is in surgery with multiple injuries." She knew what he wanted to hear. She remembered the times that Flint and his team had been either captured or ambushed, and as selfish as it seemed at the moment of being informed of the situation, she only had wanted to know her husband's fate.

"How bad?" He asked.

She shook her head sadly. "She lost a lot of blood, has internal and external bleeding, and sustained some severe head trauma. I'm sorry, Ron. Duke is coming to take you to see her."

Clutch walked up and squeezed Dusty's shoulder. "She'll be fine. Court's a strong woman."

Flint was explaining what he knew to the others as Clutch, Grunt, and Lady Jaye tried to console Dusty. Dusty looked over at Clutch as he overheard Flint. "Ralph died?"

Clutch nodded before he turned away. The grease monkey walked over to the other side of a humvee and slid down to sit on the sandy ground.

Dusty looked back at Grunt. "I'm sorry, Rob. I know Ralph was your friend."

Grunt nodded his head. "Thank you. He will be missed. Give Courtney a hug for me when you see her. Lance is right. She'll be fine. She has to be fine," the infantry trooper repeated before shrugging and walking away to be by himself.

"Come on, Ron," Lady Jaye softly said, gently leading him towards his tent. "Rob and Lance are right. Courtney will be fine. Doc and Lifeline are with her. She is in good hands," she reassured the desert trooper, hoping that she sounded confident and that her voice didn't reveal the sadness that she felt by the loss of Steeler and all the injured.

Dusty walked slowly with Lady Jaye as she led him towards his tent. Footloose was inside, packing Dusty's bag. Lady Jaye nodded her thanks to Footloose and then retreated towards Flint and the others.

"Thanks, Andy," Dusty mumbled, sitting down on his rolled up sleeping bag almost in a daze.

"I'm sorry, man. I really am. Give her a kiss for me," Footloose said and then turned and walked out of the tent, leaving Dusty to his own sorrow.

A short time later, the sound of two Sky Strikers filled the sky. Within moments, they landed, and the three Joes climbed out. Flint walked over to meet them and listened as Duke filled him in on the updates regarding the team. Cross Country and Snake Eyes grabbed their packs and headed for the tents to stow their gear. Both men looked around at the silent camp. Cross Country temporarily placed his bag in the tent that Snake Eyes would be sharing with Stalker since his tent would be with Footloose, but Dusty was still in there.

Lift Ticket was cleaning the windows of the Tomahawks for the third or fourth time; he was lost in his thoughts and prayed for the injured and especially his cowboy friend and teammate. Footloose shuffled through some papers and logged the findings of today's work, but his mind kept traveling back to his friends and how badly the news was affecting everyone. He cursed his karma, wishing that for once it had been wrong. Roadblock continued to prepared dinner, but the smell had lost its appeal as had everyone's appetite. Gung Ho and Stalker worked quietly and finished the last of the reloading and cleaning of the weapons. Lady Jaye tried to concentrate on her reports, but her mind kept drifting to the recent ambush and the crisis of her friends.

"Where's Ron?" Duke asked Flint and looked around, noticing some of the other men missing. "And Clutch and Grunt?"

"Ron's in his tent. Al said he was in a daze. Clutch and Grunt are shocked at the loss of Ralph and the injuries to their friends. They disappeared into their tent," Flint informed. "Everyone is pretty upset about the whole thing but determined that this will not happen to us. Vic can't get those windows streak-free, and those weapons have been disassembled and reassembled countless times."

Duke listened and looked over the troops, shaking his head. Everyone was dealing with the loss and destruction of their teammates in their own way. "Yeah, we are in shock too. Hawk can't wait to get his hands on Bludd and Cobra," Duke said, recalling the General's vow as Bludd retreated with his band of snakes, virtually unscathed from the ambush. Running a frustrated hand through his hair, he continued, "Shana is blaming herself for not being able to take out the Cobra ground troops. She wouldn't leave the hospital until she got a chance to talk to Doc and Lifeline about all the injured. Jinx and Vince are waiting with her."

"Give Shana my love and a hug from me," Lady Jaye interrupted as she walked up to the two men.

"I will, Al. Which tent is Ron's?"

"That one," Flint pointed to the end tent.

"Okay, thanks Dash," Duke nodded, gave Flint's shoulder a pat, and then approached the tent. He tapped lightly on the flaps before opening the entrance. "Ron, you in here?"

Dusty looked up at the sound of Duke's voice. "Yeah, Top," he flatly answered. Watching the man enter and searching the First Sergeant's face, he asked, "So? Any update?"

Duke took a seat on one of the folding chairs and looked at Dusty. As much as he hated to do this, he knew the young trooper was wise beyond his years so he leveled with him. "She is out of surgery. She had a blood transfusion, and all the shrapnel has been removed. Some pieces were embedded in her lungs and nicked some other internal organs, causing internal bleeding. He and Lifeline are also impatiently waiting for the swelling to go down surrounding her brain."

"Please, give it to me straight, Conrad. Will she live?" Dusty begged.

"It's touch and go, Ron. I'm sorry. I wish I had better news for you," Conrad said, shaking his head and placing a hand on Dusty's arm. "We need to go. I want you to be able to see her before…if…" He snapped his mouth shut, angry with himself for thinking his thoughts.

"I understand," Dusty said. "How are the others?"

"Hector woke up, but Bill is still comatose," Duke answered as he stood and picked up Dusty's pack.

Dusty nodded and moved to pick up his sleeping bag. He walked out of the tent into the bright sun and hid his burning eyes. For the first time in his life, he hated the desert. His red eyes from the tears he cried watered from the hot, blustery sun. He started towards the jet in a trance. Everyone gave him and Duke instructions of, "Give Courtney a kiss from me, " "Give Hector a kick in the pants for me," "Give Bill a big howdy for me," and most importantly "Keep us informed." These phrases echoed as the two men climbed into the Sky Striker and took off.


Thank you for reading my first chapter. Did you laugh? (I hope not) Did you cry? Did you like it? Did you abhor it? Will she live or will she die? I guess you'll have to check back for chapter 2. I am sorry about killing Steeler; I really like the dude. But since some of this is real and I lived the horror, I had to substitute a Joe(s) for the real life victim(s).