December 23, 1991: Greater Caucasus Mountains, former undisclosed Russian base in the Republic of Georgia: Temporary Personnel Quarters

A young woman with short, wavy auburn-brown hair sat perched on an old radiator, nestled in a bay window. There was no danger of burns as the radiator had long since been replaced by a more modern HVAC unit across the ro-om. The two competing technologies dueled from opposite corners, but the victor would never enjoy the spoils of its victory alone. Instead, the radiator remained, serving as a reminder of the base's history to the room's former occupant, who managed to keep the antique piece despite his General-Polkovnik's admonishments to the contrary. Now it served as a respite for the woman known around the base by her code name, Lady Jaye. The snow blowing in eddies around the courtyard beyond didn't offer the comfort for which she hoped. Long ago, in another life it seemed, she remembered being a child and watching the snow fall and cover the world with a white fleece blanket. She smiled softly to herself, recalling running into her dad's study, begging him to take her sledding before the industries of man turned the snow from pure cotton to blackened sludge. After some mock protests, he would give in to her pleadings, shrugging his shoulders at her mom who would often remind her escaping household of the bills to pay and homework assignments to complete. But, with a wink and a kiss, she and her father soon found themselves hurtling at top speeds down the local sledding hill. Even better was the hot chocolate waiting on the kitchen table when they trudged back in from the cold. She looked down at the steaming beverage in her hands. The powder version did no justice to the melted chocolate and steamed milk of her mom's creation. Taking a sip, she summoned her imagination, trying to recreate that taste. No good, it still tasted like instant hot chocolate from a packet.

Despite the melancholy inside she couldn't shake, she was still happy for the respite. The base had been on overdrive since arrival and she didn't think she could take much more of it. It had been eons since she'd experienced the wonders of a bed for more than a three hour stretch. Reaching up, she could feel the luggage gathering under her eyes. Thankfully, there was no mirror in her immediate vicinity. At this point, she knew she wasn't the fairest of them all.

The room's door suddenly opened, and her attention was drawn to a person who rightly could be described as the fairest of them all. A stunning ash blonde with Breck girl good looks, the woman had an apt code name from her previous life, Cover Girl. Lady Jaye tried to keep the envious nature of her stare to herself. She could only imagine how difficult it must be for Cover Girl to constantly prove herself each and every day, always having to overcome her looks to do her job. Lady Jaye was resigned to the fate that such a problem would never be hers. No one ever complained that she was too good looking for her work. Sighing to herself, she knew better than to go down that road. All things considered, she couldn't change genetics and she liked Cover Girl too much to ever let something as petty as looks get in the way.

Cover Girl entered the room bearing gifts, a brown paper bag and two plastic cups. Lady Jaye had an inkling, but she didn't want to get too excited. Cover Girl crossed the room, holding out the bag, "What are you doing all alone in here? I've been scouring the base for you. I thought you were going to join us for Ace's really bad movie break?"

"I was going to but I don't think I could have stomached Ace's choice." Jaye accepted Cover Girl's offering and, upon seeing it was hot caramel popcorn, exclaimed with joy, "Oh yes, Marvin read my mind." Then, taking a bite, "Mmmm, perfect."

Cover Girl took a handful of the popcorn and plopped down on Jaye's bed, "What, The Hills Have Eyes, didn't appeal to your finer sensibilities?"

"Not tonight I fear. I don't think I could take the all the blood, guts, and gore."

Cover Girl's eyes twinkled as she winked, "Nobody to curl up against and hold on to for dear life?"

Ouch, Lady Jaye winced in her mind. She knew Cover Girl didn't mean anything by the remark, but it stung somehow. Lady Jaye knew exactly to whom Cover Girl was referring, and things hadn't been going so well lately. Up until that point, Jaye had been in an undefined relationship with Flint, the team's pseudo third-in-command. Fraternization was normally frowned upon in the military, but General Hawk had decided to make an exception in their case. Not that his actions were so magnanimous; others in the unit shared in the same privilege. But still, there was something special about them, given Flint's superior status to her own rank. The other "official" Joe couples were on equal footing. Here, no such claim could be asserted. Recently though, Jaye had sensed trouble in her relationship with Flint. He was awkward around her, uneasy, as if he wanted to be anywhere but where she was. She searched her brain trying to find an explanation, but none came. She was afraid she was going to have to admit to herself that he just wasn't interested anymore, maybe, perhaps, had even found someone else. She dismissed the thought as too painful to entertain.

"Um, earth to Jaye, come in Jaye." Cover Girl was holding something in front of her face. It was one of the plastic tumblers. It had a drinking lid on it so she couldn't discern its contents.

"What's this?"

"I don't know; we all want to know." Cover Girl held the other cup up, "I get one too, but Roadblock made me swear on the latest issue of Vogue that I wouldn't touch it until you did. He said it was a special treat for us."

"Special treat, hmmm," Lady Jaye took a sip and instantly found herself in heaven. "Courtney, take a sip, you have to."

Cover Girl, also took a sip of the beverage, and her smile lit up the room. "Oh, Marvin's outdone himself with this. Real hot chocolate. If I get this when you get in a funk, you need to get in a funk more often."

The words troubled Jaye, "Funk?"

Cover Girl retreated to the bed, embarrassed that she had expressed her opinion out loud. "Listen Jaye, I'm sorry, I, I didn't mean it like that."

"Well then, how did you mean it?"

"Well, it's just that, well, all I meant is, and Roadblock's noticed to, is that, well, the past couple of days you've been kind of silent and withdrawn. Usually you'd be all up in somebody's face by now, but no one has even seen you. You're either working or in here. Mostly working." Cover Girl paused, knowing she was in new territory. This wasn't a subject she and Jaye typically broached, "Is everything okay? Is there anything on your mind?"

Lady Jaye softened at her friend's concern. Courtney didn't mean any offense and, she had to admit, she had been avoiding most of the team, choosing to submerse herself in the mission. She didn't want to deal with the questions that would no doubt follow after a time, the inquires of Flint's whereabouts and the fact that she just didn't know. "Thanks Courtney, I guess I've been a wee bit of a crapehanger. I think my body's craving sunlight and, let's face it, that strange glowing orb in the sky my ancestors used to hide from isn't rearing its head around here anytime soon."

Cover Girl looked at her quizzically, she wasn't buying it. Lady Jaye hadn't been the only person to notice Flint's distance. Cover Girl had noticed it as well. She'd always been slightly envious of the two's relationship, wishing she could share a bond like that with someone. She'd had her attractions but those random flings didn't have the substance of the attachment between Flint and Jaye. There was something amiss though. In the couple's defense, the slightest infraction could be blown up to epic proportions among the motor pool's inhabitants. The close camaraderie of the team wasn't exactly conducive to one's sense of privacy. Taking all that into account however, what was missing was the slightest infraction being blown up into epic proportions. Flint and Lady Jaye were well known for their "public" disagreements, knock down verbal spars, and subsequent reconciliations, which usually occurred with some frequency. The entire time the team had been stationed in Georgia, not a peep from either party. That concerned Cover Girl, it just wasn't like them.

Lady Jaye sensed the opportunity to switch the topic during the lull, "Courtney, can I just say it isn't fair. How can you be in the motor pool all day and still look ravishingly beautiful?"

"Oh no, I recognize that tone of voice. You're trying to butter me up." Cover Girl went with it; Lady Jaye would open up when she was ready.

"Oh please, I think there's someone who would rather do that more."

Courtney raised her left eyebrow, "Please do tell."

Lady Jaye nonchalantly extended her arms into an easy stretch, "All I'm saying is, other people may find putting butter on you to be much more enjoyable than I would." She ended her sentence with a Cheshire Cat grin.

"You're up to something. I know you are." Courtney eyed Lady Jaye suspiciously. She knew she was being set up.

Lady Jaye continued, "There's nothing up my sleeve but dry skin."

"Tell me about it. How can you stand this awful artic room?"

"It's tough. I think I'm getting mummified just speaking with you. And, speaking of mummified. . ."

"Okay, here it comes, I knew it."

"Now Courtney, bear with me. It's like this," Jaye continued, ignoring Courtney's groans, "no, really, here's the situation. My body lotion?"

"The citrus shea butter? The stuff I gave you?"

"Yes, well, it broke in transit, glass everywhere, I tried to salvage what I could but . . ."

"Oh no you don't, I have barely enough for me."

"Come on Court, you know that's not true, you always have a spare of that magic stuff. I know you have a hook up."

"I have a hook up, but not in this god forsaken locale."

Lady Jaye swung her legs around the radiator and faced Courtney straight on, "Well, I was afraid it was going to come to this. I didn't want to, but desperate times call for desperate measures."

Courtney eyed her hesitantly, what bit of blackmail could Jaye whip up so quickly. Lady Jaye reached into her pocket and threw a scrap of paper her way. Courtney caught it midair, unfolded it, looked up at Jaye, down at the page and then up at Jaye again. The shock was visible on her face, "How did you?"

"I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

"Oh no, you can't use that line on me. Where did you get this?"

"Covert ops baby, what can't I get should be your question."

"No, seriously Jaye, how did you get this? I swear if you . . ."

Lady Jaye quickly cut in before any damage could be done, "Hold on Courtney, it's nothing like that I swear. I was in the command center picking up some discs when Dialtone was passing out messages. I intercepted it before Clutch had a chance to get his grubby paws on it." Relief washed over Cover Girl's face as Lady Jaye continued, "You can only imagine the rumors he would concoct. I'm not telling anyone."

"Promise?"

"Of course, you should know I don't care. I just want you to be careful."

"Careful? Why, it's not like we're in your situation."

Lady Jaye rubbed her eyes, this wasn't transpiring like she had planned. She had pictured some good nature ribbing, a few laughs, and some body lotion. It was easy to forget that the rest of the team was on edge just as much as she was. While they didn't have her particular personal problems, who was to say there wasn't something else going on in their lives. She looked down, instantly regretting the whole conversation. She should have just dropped it off in Cover Girl's room and left it at that. "Listen, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking." What to say beyond that?

Cover Girl's eyes softened, "I know Jaye, it's just that I'm stressed out and no one knows about Hector and me. Not that there's a Hector and me yet, but there could be. We could rival you guys yet as the greatest Joe story ever told. We'll never say we're sorry and all that crap."

"Good, that's good, I'm happy for you." She was happy for her friend, but the topic was making her wistful, longing for the past and what used to be.

"Hey, Jaye, I know it's not my business, but really, despite your attempts to deflect my questions, and knowing that there will be a nice bottle of citrus verbena on your nightstand, what's wrong? Really."

"It's nothing." Lady Jaye smiled, hiding the turmoil inside, "You know how it is. We've been so busy that I don't get to see him. He was in Germany and I didn't even know it. All the things I knew would happen, but don't have to like." Lady Jaye shrugged it off, "I appreciate it, but it's nothing a nice vacation wouldn't handle later."

Courtney studied her friend's troubled eyes, searching for a sign that this was part of the plot, another elaborate ruse. Sensing nothing, she knew it was time to back off. Jaye could be an intensely private person, hiding her true feelings from the others, putting up walls and keeping a stoic front. She let her know she was there, that's all she could hope to do. It was time to give Jaye some space. "Mmmm, vacation, now that's a nice word. I think I shall now doze off dreaming of a tropical island paradise." Cover Girl then reached into her pocket, pulling out a small crystal bottle with a tell-tale emerald green label.

Jaye squealed with delight as Cover Girl handed it over. "How did you know?"

"Seems like the people in covert ops aren't the only ones with good intel." Cover Girl winked. "I heard that Verbena is said to be an aphrodisiac in some parts of the world. Maybe we can compare notes."

"Courtney," Jaye paused, "um, thanks. Thanks for everything."

"Hey, what are friends for if not to lend out body lotion." The women embraced and Courtney disappeared into the dark corridor to make her way back to her own room. Lady Jaye closed the door behind her, engaging the lock. Her hand rested lightly on the latch as she stood there in contemplation. The words she hadn't said were there, suspended in the air. It was more than duties and time, it was actions without duty. She pressed her forehead against the door, trying to drive the doubts out, but they were persistent, ever present. Why was he avoiding her, why didn't he share things with her, what was in Germany, why didn't he tell her he was going? It was all these little actions adding up, building in her mind, spilling over to the thoughts, the fears, the words she whispered aloud, "I think it's over." They wounded her more than any bullet ever could. She knew she needed to walk away, call it a night. But, hope's pull was stronger. Damn. She turned the latch again, unlocking the door.