Two Years Earlier:
The bar looked like it had seen better days. Lady Jaye glanced at the man in the suit who was driving the unmarked vehicle.
Her eyebrows rose as she regarded the place. "This is where we'll find our new operative?" she asked speculatively. She glanced at the other two Joes riding in the back seat of the vehicle, who looked as confused as she did. The way the agent had talked, she had assumed they would be picking up the "new guy" at a military base or at the very least, a headquarters of some sort.
The agent, eyes hidden behind his sunglasses, merely nodded quietly, his mouth hardening into a straight line as he got out of the vehicle. He didn't wait for the others to follow, but merely strode to the door. The three Joes hustled to keep up.
The bar inside wasn't an improvement. It was dimly lit and although there were customers scattered here and there at tables as well as over at the bar, they were in shadow. It seemed the type of place you'd see in a movie – run down bar, criminals and lowlifes hiding out….Lady Jaye shook her head to dispel the images. She of all people knew that appearances could be, and often were, deceiving.
"We're in the middle of nowhere," mumbled Flint, taking in the place. Lady Jaye wasn't sure if he was addressing her or not, so she shrugged in response. Little had been told to them about their new operative, only that it was a CIA agent transferring to their unit, and the orders had come from above. The agent they were with wasn't exactly chummy, and had said little if anything on their long drive here.
Lady Jaye heard a snicker behind her and glanced over at Shipwreck. He was an odd choice to bring, but Hawk had made him part of the team. Unlike the three, Hawk apparently knew something of their new Joe, and he wasn't too happy about it judging from his tone of voice when he had told them of this latest "mission."
"Wait here," the CIA agent said – he had never introduced himself – and gestured towards an empty table near the door.
"Ah, well, while we're here, why don't we sample what this place has to offer?" Shipwreck suggested good-naturedly. "Get to know the locals." He watched Lady Jaye and Flint settle at the table and smiled to himself. Of course they wouldn't be too comfortable in a place like this, but as for him, he had lived in these types of places for a big chunk of his life.
Wandering over to the bar, he settled himself in a stool next to a grizzled looking guy and gave him a small salute.
"What's good?" he asked, as the man grunted back at him.
He followed the man's gaze and watched the CIA agent, still with his glasses on even in the dimly lit place, talk to the bartender.
"Besides her," Shipwreck added, admiring the view. She was about 5'8", dark hair, with a great body. She also seemed pretty angry, judging from her stance.
The old guy chuckled. "Better stick with the beer. Trust me, you can't handle her."
Shipwreck snorted. "Not too many women I can't handle."
He watched as the agent gestured towards Lady Jaye and Flint, and the four made their way to a door, possibly an office, towards the back of the bar. He admired the view of the woman walking away.
"This one, trust me fella, leave her alone. They say," he began, his voice lowering so that Shipwreck had to lean towards him, trying to ignore the odor coming from the man, "she's a paid assassin. Guys like that one, they're always coming in to offer her a job. Don't know why she stays around here. I hear that's good money."
Shipwreck shook his head. "Really?" he asked skeptically. "Aren't they supposed to be ninja types, hiding their faces and everything? She doesn't look like no assassin."
"You been watchin' too many movies, young fella. The only one she's loyal to is herself and maybe Pops," he added, gesturing towards a bald man whose face appeared at the door. "He owns the bar. She comes and goes as she pleases, but she always comes back to him."
Shipwreck observed Pop's face take on a worried expression as he took in the people at his door. After a moment, he stepped out and gestured at the two Joes and CIA dude. "Pops" caught the woman by the arm and leaned in to say something to her. She shook her head and Shipwreck wished he could see the expression on her face. Pop's face smoothed out as he let her go and made his way to the bar, the woman disappearing into the room with the others, shutting the door firmly behind them.
