Third wave.
All segments will be simultaneous.
"You of all people should know who hard it is for anyone on TV to be anonymous." Xamot tells her in a matter of factly tone.
"Bu...that doesn't explain how." Lady-Jaye says back once she gets over the shock.
"Honestly, Tomax and i knew who you were for some time; the boyfriend of a cousin of one of our agent's used to be a Foley Artist on one of the shows that you were in." He replies.
After a few seconds of finger-counting, "What did you hit me with; and why isn't Scarlett here, what are you doing to her?!" She yells, and kicks the robot.
"First answer. The bullet had an anesthetic inside it, which impacted a red dye pack sewn into your jacket." He tells her and continues while she glances at the spot again. "Second. Nothing, because neither Scarlett, nor that other soldier, were taken."
Lady-Jaye pauses, checking his face on the screen for any sign of lying, not finding any, she makes another question. "If that's true, what do you want from me?" Her answer comes in the form of him switching to a recording of two people walking on a boat, a scene she remembers from a different angle. "Oh my god." She thinks to herself and gulps.
At the Pentagon, Gen. Abernathy's office.
"The Crimson Guardsmen?, Are you certain, Sharp?" He asks, hiding slight concern.
"Yes Gen, the other two who were with her confirmed it." Sharp answered.
"The question is why bother; Cobra still has the formula for that perfume from the report you showed me, don't they?" The CIA director asks.
"They do, and we're not sure. It's more likely that the goal is to get back at G.I. Joe for interfering." Col. Sharp replied, and the director nods in agreement.
"So what ar-" Gen. Abernathy asks, before a random worker comes in.
"Sir, there's a Col. Hawkins here for you."
"That's the airbase commander i also asked for; send him in, please."
At Joe H.Q., the three commanders leave the briefing room to find some others outside. "We heard yuh Mademoiselle got captured again." Gung-Ho says first.
"Hearin' about yer lady fair is the news givin' us all the blues." Roadblock adds.
"Rescue party is all ready and waiting, my man." Alpine finishes.
Flint and the other two smile at this before Duke speaks up. "In that case; all Joes to the assembly room."
Once inside, Duke, Flint, and Beachhead are on stage with Scarlett and Stalker. "This is what we know; at 1115 hours, Scarlett's car was ambushed here-" Duke says, pointing to a roadmap. "-According to the GPS. She and McCabe said that a dozen or so Crimson Guardsmen came out of a van hidden in a false section of the road; which would require prior knowledge."
At this, the audience looks around themselves, someone on base is a Cobra spy. "Who was the last person off base?"
"Ace, Grunt; the new one, and Flash were out on recon around da same time."
"What'd you say?!"/"You're barking up the wrong tree, Barbecue!"
"Easy, easy; jus' givin' a simple fact."
"I'll give you a bloody nose, y-"
"Atten-hut!" Beachhead yells. "Awl 4 of yuh; clam up, n' sit yer asses down!"
After they follow the directions, Duke turns to Stalker, who take the podium. "We've been coordinating with local authorities, who have reported the van Scarlett and McCabe saw heading into a car wash, but not exiting. We need volunteers to examine the site." He says, and everyone stands at the same time.
"Good to see, thank you, but we'll need to work on a smaller scale, so we'll draw straws." Flint says, which Beachhead raised an eyebrow at. "Whoever gets the six long ones will be the ones to go."
Once the picking is done, the team is: Wild Bill, Short-Fuze, Steeler, Thunder, Blowtorch, and Tripwire. "Alright, the six of you will go with a small group sent on Gen. Abernathy's orders." Duke tells them. "So load up and move out, Joes."
"Yo Joe!" The six say as they leave for the armory.
After watching the footage Cobra took of her and Flint's undercover work, she is then shown footage of some of her past roles; one commercial for jewelry, another for a shoe store, as an extra in a few shows and movies, before Xamot pops back up. "It took some doing, but finding the name behind the face was worth it."
Lady-Jaye folds her arms and turns away. "No comment." She says, then thinks to herself.
Flashback, 1979.
After walking off stage of a soap opera, Alison, who's hair was about as long as Scarlett's and in a ponytail, walks into the break room with some others and makes for the coffee pot. "I call first dibs, guys." She says while ignoring the half-hearted protests.
As she is pouring it, her attention is diverted by the radio. "-e can see now, the first group of people back from their captivity in Iran is exiting the plane, we'll try to get some statements from them...welcome back; can you give us some details of the conditions back there, please?"
"Al-All i have to say is that i pray for this to end soon."
"...And there you have it, both a vague and clear indication of what is occurr-." She hears before the cup starts to overflow. "Ah, hot!" She shouts.
"You uh, you want some ice for that, Ali?" Another girl asks her.
"No, i got it, Kate; thanks though." She replied as she places her hand under a faucet.
A couple minutes later, she heads into the directors office. "Need something, Burnett?" He asks, while looking at some folder.
"Yes; this will be sudden, but i want to switch jobs."
End flashback.
At the carwash, the Joes, and Abernathy's group are inside a modified semi a few yards away. "Ah still ain't comfortable havin' a top officeh so close to da action, let alone two of 'em." Wild Bill says to the Gen. and Col.
"I'd agree fully were i in your position, son; but as your team's backer, i deserve to know how you Joes do things." Gen. Abernathy tells him. "And besides, Lady-Jaye's predicament, just like the others she's been in, is partially my doing."
"Just be sure not to put too much weight on your shoulders, sirs." Thunder tells him, and mentions how Lady-Jaye once told him about the test she was put through.
"Did she now...Guess I'm acting more like a parent then a military official right now." The Gen. says, while rubbing the back of his head, then turns. "But enough about that...Commence operation."
Inside the carwash, Tripwire is passing his scanner back and forth. "You getting anything on that doodad?" Steeler asks him.
"There's definitely a hollow space un...doodad?" Tripwire asks indignantly.
"Knock it off; there has to be a trap door here somewhere." Short-Fuze tells them while leaning against a valve, which he slips on, causing a slight tremor.
"Or noat." Blowtorch says as the whole floor descends.
In Joe H.Q., Flint is in the monitor room watching Wild Bill inform Duke of the find when Gung-Ho turns his head. "Yoo gonna keep doin' dat, sir?" Flint only looks at him and raised a brow. "Yoo keep scrapin' it laik dat, yer gonna stert losin' skin." Gung-Ho explains, making him look at his right upper arm.
"Oh...right, thanks." Flint replied.
"Oh...right; mah ass!" Gung-Ho says, and points his thumb at himself. "Yoo ain't da only one doin' aneh worryin; dun't ferget, ah been chained up wit' her, so ah know exactleh wut Lady-Jaye's going through."
Back with Lady-Jaye, she has finished examining her "cell", which is more like a high-price hotel suite. "Do you find it to your liking?" Xamot asks her.
"It doesn't matter what it's made of; a cage is still a cage, one i will get out of." She replied while rubbing her fingers on a dish towel, still wondering if he's even remotely nearby.
"You keep telling yourself that." He tells her, while she notices she feels hungry.
"I can atleast be sure they won't have this poisoned; since I'm the only thing keeping them alive." She thinks to herself. Once she starts eating, however, she feels herself getting warmer. "Wha-what's happe-" She asks herself, then gulps as she realizes. "An aphrod...That sick bas-!" She tells herself as she falls to the floor and starts moaning and yelping as arousal, disgust at herself, and a mix of anger and fear all swirl about within her.
Through a camera in the room's corner, Xamot zooms in while she unwillingly fondles herself under her clothes. After a few moments, "I think that's enough." He tells himself, then picks up a phone. "We'll have do this over; let in the gas."
A while later, Lady-Jaye wakes up in a bed. "Where the hell am i?" After getting out of the bed, Lady-Jaye looks around. "Scarlett...Mallory?" She called out. "Just me then; super." She tells herself before sighing, then notices a camera in an upper corner behind some glass and walks up to it. "I'm not sure what you want, snake breath, but you sure as hell aren't gonna get it!" She shouts, then raises a middle finger to it. Following that, a door opens to show a robot with a TV screen built in. After Xamot explains the situation for what she is unaware is the second time, she balks. "And you think I'm just going to accept this?" She asks him.
With an unnerving grin, he changes the view of his face to a recording of her touching herself on the floor. "Wha...What the hell did you do to me, you sick son of a bitch?!" She yells, then takes a chair and throws it at the ceiling camera, only for it to bounce off the glass, which was probably bulletproof as well, not that she had a sidearm.
"If you don't want this to be sent to your headquarters, you will accompany me to a minor get-together in New York." Xamot tells her, while waving a VHS, mentally congratulating himself for recording it considering the "distraction", and for not having invested in Betamax like Destro did.
"...If all you wanted was a date..." Lady-Jaye says, wanting to gag. "You could have just asked." She finished. "Freak." She adds under her breath, imagining herself oh so slowly squeezing the life out of him. She is then directed to another door which is to a walk-in closet, and despite her anger, she is awestruck by all the outfits before she shakes her head. "No, don't fall for it Alison, they may look nice, but it's all from blood money." She tells herself, then keeps looking around and notes that not only are there top dollar dresses, but even some costumes she wore back when she was still an actress.
At the "carwash", the four Joes raise the lift back up and report the find. "Understood." Gen. Abernathy says to them, and turns to some regular army troops. "Capt. Lyndon, you and your squad will accompany the Joes in finding what's down there."
"Yes, sir." They all say.
"Dismissed."
Once down, they head over to a door, big enough for a vehicle. "Tripwire, any snakes on da otha side a' dat?" Wild Bill asks as the other Joe pressed his detector against it.
"Nope, it's all clear." Tripwire replied.
"Ok; Adams, take point." Capt. Lyndon orders, and watches as he opens it. "You see anything in there?"
Adams turns his AN/PVS-7 on, and nods after looking down. "Got some tire tracks turning-" He starts, and checks his compass. "-north-east, sir."
"Copy that." Capt. Lyndon said, and turns to Wild Bill. "After you?"
"We're all on da same side, so we'll jes' mosey on in togetha like, Capt. Lets get a move on." He replies. The two teams head in, and follow the tracks for a quarter mile before Short-Fuze notices movement.
"Take cover!" He shouts as they start getting shot at.
"Return fire!" Lyndon orders as he pulls a grenade pin and throws it.
"Keep your heads down!"/"Yo Joe!"/"Two more on the right!"/"I got one o-!"/"Matthews is hit, I'm dragging him back!"/"Covery fire!"/"Reload!"
When the shooting stops, the Joes and Lyndon's squad check what's what. "Short-Fuze, ya done got a mark on yer side." Wild Bill says, pointing to his left.
"You and Cpl. Fisher, take Matthews back up top." Lyndon orders. After counting 8 Crimson Guardsmen; six men, two women, the group continues on and finds a fork in the road...Four tunnels, all collapsed.
"Damn varmints, dat firefight was jes' fer hiding da noise." Wild Bill says aloud and throws his hat down.
At Joe H.Q., Duke is being informed of the ruse. "I see...Well, we'll have to try another approach; thanks anyway, sirs. Duke out." He says and salutes before Gen. Abernathy shuts the feed off. "Breaker, call everyone to the briefing room, and call for Dr. Rich."
"Ok, Duke."
On the way to the room, Duke speaks with the psychologist. "Stalker and Scarlett haven't had much luck finding the mole, or if there even is one."
"...And?" Dr. Rich says, not sure what he's getting at.
"I want you to try hypnosis on everyone who Lady-Jaye has spoken with just before she and the other two left." Duke explained.
"But sir, that could be the whole base." The Dr. tells him, and flinches as he grabs his arm.
"I don't care if you have to do it to everyone in the whole damn state; get going, that's an order."
In the briefing room.
"Joes, I'm afraid Wild Bill's team hit a dead end." Duke tells them, mouthing an apology to Flint, who nods. "Which means we will need to try again; I made a request to an old friend, one who mentioned noticing some Cobra activity in Sacramento at this location."
"Old friend?" Deep Six asks while looking at Ace, who shrugs.
"Who does he mean?" Clutch asks them.
"That would be Sparks, who for those who are unaware, resigned about a year ago." Duke explains, to the delight of everyone but Clutch and Grunt, who didn't know him. "Just like last time, we will draw straws."
Once the picking is done, the winners are: Airtight, Roadblock, Snake-Eyes, Flash, Bazooka, and Cover-Girl.
When the second team arrives at the site in what looks like a moving van, they see it looks like an ordinary house. "At the safe house, Duke, it's quiet as a mouse." Roadblock says into a mini-radio on his overall's collar.
"For now, atleast." Flash mumbles from in the back.
"Can it, Flash, just focus on "fixing" their security camera." Duke tells him.
"Consider it done." Flash says, and hacks into their system.
"How's this going to work exactly?" Cover-Girl asks as she and Snake-Eyes lean over his shoulder.
"First, stop that; second, I'm setting the footage on a two second loop so they won't notice Airtight." He tells them.
"Gonna do somethin'? Bazooka asks the chemist.
"Sure, i got just the thing." He says, as he holds a wooden cutout.
That ought to work. Snake-Eyes says through his notepad.
"It better; cost me six packs of Big Red, and a promise not to product test on the M.P.'s for a year to let me get my hands on Duke's paint." Airtight tells them on his way out. He sets it up and tosses a pebble at the door.
"Fricken kids, i told you not t...What the shit?" A man asks as he sees a caricature of Cobra Commander holding a sign saying "I'm with sssstupid", with an arrow pointing at a mirror. "You there...Who's the asshole left this here?!" He yells to the moving van.
"That's our cue to make 'em black and blue." Roadblock says, then gets out.
"Yo Joe!"
Inside the house, a Tele-Viper is watching them rush in, his visor reading: Aw, crap-o-rama! He signals another farther away, who rushes for Cobra Commander, who is in a meeting.
"What iss the statuss of the raygun your people are working on, Desstro?" He asks.
"At 82%, My dear Cobra Commander. We can expect it by the end of the year." He replies.
"Excellent." Cobra Commander says as he looks to Dr. Mindbender. "And what of your efforts to improve our Eel's?"
"Getting closer, Commander; Subject 11 managed to survive nine days."
The Commander is about to reply when the Tele-Viper enters. "Sir, safe-house 64 is under attack."
"What?!, Dammit!" He yells. "Activate the remote self-des-" He continues before a screen come on with the Joes.
"Looks like we got yo attention, so hand over our companion." Roadblock tells them.
"What are you talking about, you overgrown gorilla?; We don't have any of you prisoner." Cobra Commander says before looking over his shoulder two seconds later. "Do we?"
"That's bullshit!" Cover-Girl says outloud, shoving Roadblock and Snake-Eyes aside. "Tell us where the Crims took Lady-Jaye before i come over there and beat it out of you."
"That's preposterous. I gave them no such order!" Cobra Commander says back before turning around. "...Or has somebody decided to act preemptively...To~max?"
"Your accusation is baseless, Commander; however, this would explain why Xamot's chosen to go silent for that excursion he mentioned." The remaining twin says while holding his hands up.
Chapter three. Read and review.