Warning: Frequent coarse language.
Author's Note: Rewritten slightly.
Chapter Three
Disquiet Notions
~}*{~
'...and out of good still to find means of evil...'
Paradise Lost, Book I, 165
~}*{~
Somewhere in South America
"Montag!" Doors that slid into walls did not allow for dramatic entrances, but he gave it a fair go as he shoved it further into the frame and entered the laboratory like a storm. "You said it was the best! You said it was the best!"
Doctor Serafina Montag turned from the console before her, lowering the glasses on her nose as she stared at the man that railed at her, "I did."
His hand slammed down onto the metal table that separated them, "It failed to get the girl!"
"I am aware," she turned in her chair and pointed at a monitor that was showing readouts that she knew he couldn't hope to decipher. "I was aware the moment he ceased to function."
"And you said it was the best!"
Montag got to her feet and crossed to the table, arms folding over her chest, "Repeating yourself does not get a different answer. Calm down, please. This is not even a setback. Everything is going according to plan."
"But your best failed, Montag. It failed and we don't have the girl!" Serafina reached out and touched his cheek, but he jerked away, snarling, "Don't try and distract me from the fact that your pet was worthless."
"He has succeeded every time before now. He gave his life for his mission. Can you not at least show him some respect for him in death?"
"I don't care about the prior successes, Montag. It failed now and that is all that matters!"
"It did not fail."
"Well that didn't look like a roaring success to me!"
"Please," she stepped around the table and put her hand on his arm, scowling. "Please calm down. This is not good for your health, my dear. Look at Serafina." She cupped his face in her hands and made him turn and look at her, focusing his gaze onto her eyes. With a shake of her head she sent her glasses onto her chest, hanging from the fine silver chain that spanned between the arms. "When have I steered you wrong, my darling? When have I ever not put your interests first? Please believe me. Trust in me. I am still in control of the situation. This is not even a minor setback. I am still fully and completely in control."
"The Joes have the girl," he snarled.
"They will get nothing out of her. Nothing. I promise you." She lowered her hands and smiled at him, "And since when have I only ever played one angle? The Joes are a faction of men lead by men. Primitive, imperfect men. Nothing compared to you, or my creations and certainly nothing compared to me." She held up her hands when the man before her looked ready to strike her in rage, "I serve you, my dear, and your will. Please trust in me. Continue your activities as you will, and allow me to do as I will and I promise you that you will get everything you desire. And your destiny."
"I want it now, Serafina. I want my destiny now," he grasped her arms and jerked her close, shaking her.
"Not yet," she murmured, calm despite the way his hands clenched on her arms. "No yet. It isn't time. But I will give you everything else, I promise. And before the end, your destiny will be unveiled. I promise. Along with everything you want most."
"Power. I want power," he whispered. "I want the world! And I want the Joes dead. All of them."
"Yes. I will give you the Joes on a silver platter, like pigs with apples in their mouths. I promise you. When it is over, you will have your destiny in your hand, Doctor Mindbender's legacy placed in your grasp. I promise. Everything is going according to plan. Trust me."
~}*{~
Egypt
The Pit
"Does anyone else get the feeling that this girl wants to kill us?" Ripcord stared through the two way mirror before him at Corbin.
The young woman was sitting in her pyjamas, which consisted of pale blue tank top and pants done in a camouflage pattern of varying shades of blue and white. She was rubbing her left wrist where the flex cuffs had left a red line on her skin due to her twisting and ripping at them continually. There was a red line on her face where she had been gagged after screaming bloody murder the whole time in the van and they had briefly tied her feet when she had slammed her foot squarely into Ripcord's crotch when he had carried her to the waiting jet. She was currently held within one of the surprisingly few interview rooms that the Pit had, which was all of two.
For all if its military splendor, it seemed that the place was not meant to house prisoners.
Abruptly her eyes shifted from their death glare on the two way mirror to about three inches to the left, which had them resting on Ripcord's clavicle. He shivered and sidestepped, putting himself behind Snake Eyes.
"She is mighty displeased," said Heavy Duty.
"I don't blame her," said Duke, stroking the red line she left on his jaw before they could truss her. "These haven't been the best three days for her."
The door opened, permitting General Hawk into the room. Instantly Heavy Duty called for attention and Hawk waved it aside. "At ease. Breaker. What do we know?"
As one, everyone turned to the bronze-skinned Moroccan as he read from the tablet in his hand. "Corbin Alice McQuinn. Twenty-six years old. Date of birth, April 17th. Australian born but holds a dual citizenship for Australia and America. Did not complete final year of tertiary education. Mother… is an unemployed woman on government funding. Father is an architect. Parents never married. She is estranged from her mother and has been since she was eighteen, where she relocated from Echuca, where she was born, to Melbourne, Australia, where she worked as a..." Breaker cleared his throat, "waitress, bartender and exotic dancer."
Rip's brows winged up and he opened his mouth, but when he received dark looks from both Scarlett and Duke, his jaw snapped shut and he dipped his head.
Breaker scrolled through the information with a scowl. "Relocated to America when she was twenty two and opened her own store called Masquerade, where she sells alternate clothing. Designs her own clothes. And that's it." Breaker looked up from the tablet, waving his hand. "There is nothing significant about this girl whatsoever."
"Nothing at all?" prompted Hawk. "No reason why an international thief of military information and research would want to kidnap her?"
"Medical records say she has her tonsils and her appendix. She had a few visits for bumps and grazes in her childhood and was involved in an accident when she was fourteen that required a short stay in hospital. Apparently she fell out of a tree? Suffered a concussion and some broken bones and abrasions, but there's no lasting damage except for a reported weakness of her left wrist."
"She fell out of a tree?" Ripcord asked, voicing their incredulity. "That's it?"
"It doesn't seem to be the record of someone that's connected to the thefts of biochemical research," agreed Heavy Duty. "Sounds like every other kid out there."
"She went to the hospital after the incident yesterday. One of her ribs has a hair-line fracture. Contusions of her upper torso. Nothing significant."
"I say she'd argue otherwise." Ripcord's brows rose.
Duke stepped up to the window and stared at Corbin as she kicked at the table leg idly, slumping forward over the surface before her. "Well the thief was after her for some reason. It specifically targeted her, after all. The first Considering that, the hostage situation mightn't have been a matter of chance at all."
"I don't think so," countered Breaker. "When they took her as a hostage, they left her to die, essentially. She likely would have, if not for Snake Eyes. It's more likely that the situation brought her to their attention."
"Which made them go back for her," Scarlett nodded.
Heavy Duty glanced at Scarlett before looking through the window as well, "But what would they have wanted her for? What could she possibly have that would be of any interest to them?"
Snake Eyes also looked at Corbin, shoulders working silently. Had he inadvertently saved a terrorist? Had he inadvertently saved someone that was working for their enemy? Had he inadvertently brought her to their attention?
"Scarlett."
Snake Eyes glanced over his shoulder at Hawk, as did Scarlett.
"Yes, General?"
"Go in there and see if she knows anything."
"Yes, General."
~}*{~
Corbin stopped fiddling with her grandmother's ring when the door to her room opened. Instantly she spun towards it, ignoring the way her upper body screamed in protest.
"We're very sorry about this, Miss McQuinn," said the woman. "Is there anything I can get you?"
"A change of clothes and a cup of what the hell is going on would be good, thanks."
The woman looked at her silent as she sat down, then sighed and closed her eyes, "Miss McQuinn-"
"Don't," Corbin cut herself off before she screamed at the woman. Taking a moment to calm herself, she continued. "Don't try and be my friend, alright? You're not my friend. Just… tell me what the hell is going on."
"Actually, we were hoping you could help us with that, Miss McQuinn."
Corbin blinked, and then looked off to one side. "Oh that bodes well for me."
The woman leaned forward and laced her fingers together, her face and eyes filled with empathy and concern. "Miss McQuinn, I need to ask you a few questions, and we would appreciate it if you answered them as honestly a possible.
Corbin's eyes narrowed, wondering how much of the emotion on her perfect face was genuine.
Don't get scared. Get angry, whispered Jackie's voice in her head.
Easy enough.
"Do you know who the man was that attacked you the other day and took you hostage?"
Corbin said nothing, still staring at her.
"Miss McQuinn-"
"What…" said Corbin slowly, lifting a finger to point at her, "the shit… is going on?"
"Please answer the question, Miss McQuinn," said the woman with the same earnest entreaty.
"Not until you answer mine."
"Miss McQuinn-"
"First of all," Corbin held up her hand. "Call me Corbin. Ms McQuinn is my mother. Secondly … let's save one another time, alright? Whatever questions you ask me, I don't know. Whatever you think I might know, I don't. I know nothing. Which would be why I am asking you what the hell is going on. Because I would really like it if you'd share it with me."
"If you don't know anything, why did you run from us?"
"Why would I stick around?" Corbin asked, incredulous. "In two days my life has been turned upside down, dropped, kicked and put through a blender, and it seems to happen every time I see one of you guys! You guys are oh for two for good things happening when I see you. And, by the way, turned out to be a good idea since you snatched me off the frigging street!"
"We would not have taken you into custody if we had any other choice."
"Custody? I'm under arrest?" she gaped. "I haven't done anything wrong! You haven't even read me my rights."
"You aren't under arrest-"
"Alright. Then I would like to go home." Corbin rose to her feet and stared defiantly at the woman. "If I'm not under arrest, I can go home, right?"
The woman took a deep breath, "Please sit down, Miss… Corbin."
"No."
"M… Corbin, this will go much easier if you cooperate."
"Why the hell should I cooperate?" she asked, bracing her hands on the table. "You haven't told me anything! I don't know who you are, I don't know where I am and I don't know who's behind there." She pointed at the two way mirror. "For all I know, you could be the bad guys."
"We aren't the bad guys."
"The good guys don't kidnap people," Corbin said, pointing at the woman.
"We did not kidnap you."
"By definition, taking me against my will and holding me somewhere I don't want to be is defined as kidnapping, but if you really didn't kidnap me, then you'll be fine with me going home."
"Corbin, I'm not sure you understand just how dire the situation you are involved in really is."
"I am not involved in anything," said Corbin. "I have fucking idea what the hell is going on."
"You don't know who the man was that held you hostage?"
"No."
"You don't know who entered your apartment?"
"Considering it was the same guy, no."
"You have no idea why anyone would want to attack you?"
"Oh, there are plenty of reasons guys might have a grudge against me," Corbin shrugged. "What he wants with me? I have no fucking clue." With mounting frustration, Corbin held up her hands. "Look. Lets save one another a lot of time here, alright? I have no idea what is going on. That includes you guys. You haven't even told me why I'm here or what you think I might know or be guilty of. I know I haven't done anything wrong, believe me I know how to be a little careful with that kind of stuff."
When the woman opened her mouth, Corbin lifted her hands again and shook her head, "No. Don't insult either of our intelligences here, please. You obviously think I've done something, or am involved in something major, but I really, really don't know anything. But you won't believe me, and my answer won't change. So now we're at a stalemate, because I'm done 'cooperating' with you." Corbin folded her arms over her chest and crossed her legs under the table. "So unless you want to break out the bamboo slivers and blow torches, this conversation is over."
~}*{~
"We aren't going to get anything out of her," murmured Hawk, staring at her through the glass. "I don't think we would have even gotten her name out of her."
"If she's lying, she's very good at it," said Ripcord.
"Or she might actually know nothing," Duke murmured quietly.
Hawk shook his head. "We need to be sure."
Duke turned from the room. "Snake."
Snake Eyes glanced at him, then at Hawk. Once the general gave his silent permission, Snake followed Duke out.
"Why Snake?" protested Ripcord. "Why not me?"
~}*{~
Corbin's head turned sharply when the door opened again, permitting a man she didn't recognize and her masked 'rescuer' turned kidnapper.
"Oh, yay," murmured Corbin, slouching against the table. "The cavalry."
The lead man, who seemed to epitomize the jarhead cliché, offered something to her. "Gum?"
"Ouh. Dubble Bubble?" she took a piece and sat back. "Why thank ye."
The woman rose to her feet and the man nodded at her, grasping her chair. As the black-clad man took up position to one side of the room, arms folded over his chest, the other spun her chair around and dropped in it backwards. "Name's Duke."
"Dispense with the pleasantries," Corbin said as she removed the gum from the wrapper, jerking her thumb at the window without looking up. "I'm going to assume you were on the other side of the glass the whole time, so we don't really need to go through the whole thing again, do we?" She broke the gum in half and popped one portion into her mouth. When Duke scowled at her, she explained, "When this bit runs out of flavour, I put the other one in."
"Huh," he tipped his chin up. "Nice."
"Yeah, I'm so talented, I know how to make gum flavour last twice as long," she said in a voice that should have been in an infomercial.
"Corbin," said Duke slowly. "Let's try this again, alright?"
With a sigh, she sat back and shrugged. "Alright. Who's he?" She jerked her chin at the black-clad man.
"He's called Snake Eyes. He doesn't speak. No. I don't know why."
Corbin narrowed her eyes, not expecting him to actually answer. "Snake Eyes?" When she looked at the ninja, he nodded his head in what she assumed was a greeting. How nice, politeness from kidnappers. Well, she could be polite, too. "How's the hand"
He flexed it, demonstrating that it was fine.
"Sorry for biting you. You might want to get a rabies shot." As he tilted his head, Corbin turned to the woman, "I didn't catch your name."
"Scarlett."
She turned back to Duke with wide eyes, drawing in a breath, "Riiiight." But she was much more cooperative now and she resettled herself in her seat, chewing on her gum quietly. Grammy Kaye always told her to chew with her mouth closed. Setting her jaw, she stared at him in silence, turning the change of events over slowly. Finally, she nodded, "Alright, Duke. Let's play ball."
"Corbin, you're suspected of somehow being associated with several incidents of international terrorism and the theft of military property."
Corbin froze. Well she hadn't expected that. "Come again?"
"If that is correct, and you're suspected of being an international terrorist, then your Constitutional Rights are suspended. It's why we took you. It's why we can't tell you anything. Because-"
"Whoa!" she flung her arms wide. "Whoa whoa whoa," she slashed her arms over her body with each cry. "You think I'm a terrorist? What the hell made you think that?"
"In recent months there has been a number of thefts of military-grade biochemical, biological and genetic research of both classified and above classified levels. There was a single culprit. Two days ago, he took you hostage."
"What… he… what?" she shook her head, sitting upright. "How does that make me a terrorist?"
"The same man came after you a second time with the intent to either kidnap you or kill you."
"Maybe he was trying to get rid of evidence!"
"We already know what he looks like, Corbin. There was no reason to associate with you further. But he came after you."
"So, what, you think I got his details or something? I'm sorry, I think I lost the napkin with his number on it when he threw me out of a building."
"The person that came after you, Corbin," Duke sat forward, staring at her, "was a highly efficient fighter, and has eluded us for months. Snake Eyes," he gestured over his shoulder, "was matched by him in hand to hand combat, and I have never seen that before. He was dangerous, and he was deadly and he came after you. When he failed, he killed himself. We need to know why he wanted you."
Corbin shook her head, feeling numb, "I… I have no idea." She looked at Snake Eyes, who was unmoving and silence, and Scarlett, who was staring at her with a perfectly blank face. Or a blankly perfect face. Corbin swung back to Duke as he began speaking again.
"He's been stealing military level research, Corbin, biological and biochemical research. If whoever he's working for used that information to create weapons, they could kill tens of thousands of people in a single hit. We need to know what they're doing."
"I don't know. I don't."
"Millions of people could die if we don't find out who he is working for and what they are doing."
"I don't know!"
"They came after you, Corbin. He was sent, specifically, to take you. There must be a reason for that, and we need to know it."
"I don't know!" Corbin screamed, slamming her palms onto the table. In the ensuing silence, only her breathing was heard and she dropped her head to stare at the table, breathing harshly. "I don't… I don't know anything. I don't." She looked up at Duke, then over at Snake Eyes. "I don't know anything." She returned her eyes to Duke, settling back and hating the fact that she was shaking, "I don't even know who you are. You could… you could be working with him for all I know…"
Duke glanced at the window, then said quietly, "We're part of an international military group designed to keep world order, and that's all I can tell you. We wouldn't have taken you against your will if we had any other options, believe me. But the fact is we don't. If you know anything about what happened in the last few days, anything at all, tell us. Please."
"I don't know anything. I don't. Believe me, if I knew, I'd tell you. I really would. I'm not saying this for stubbornness. I don't gain anything by telling you nothing. I really, really don't know."
"You swear it?" asked the scarred man. "You really don't know anything."
"On my grandmother's grave," she said quickly, putting her hand over her heart, blinking rapidly. "I swear to God. I'm not a nice person, I'll be the first to admit it, but I would… I'd never be involved in anything like that. I swear to fucking God and the Devil."
"You don't know why they want you?"
"I'm a dressmaker," she said. "I sew clothes for a fucking living. I don't… I don't…" She shook her head sharply, looking around as if she could find the answers written on the walls. "I don't even sell normal clothes. You can look at all of my commissions for the last four years! You can examine my bank records! Anything. I'm not a terrorist! I'm not… I don't know… They shouldn't want me. I swear to God I don't know why they want me."
"If you did, would you tell us?"
"Yes. Yes. I would." She shook her head, "But I swear to you I don't know anything, Duke."
"I believe you." Corbin sighed with relief and sagged in her seat as Duke turned to speak to the mirror. "I believe her."
There was the sound of an intercom being activated and a tired male voice rang through the room, "So do I."
Duke rose to his feet and stared at Corbin, who was watching him with renewed terror, "I'm sorry." He crossed to the door and opened it, jerking his head. Scarlett hesitated, but Snake Eyes nudged her elbow, and she filed out in front of him. Snake Eyes gave the barest, almost unseen hesitations at the door, before following behind the others.
The door clicked shut behind them all, locking Corbin in with the imagined echoes of Duke's words. Slowly she put her hands over her mouth, realizing how badly she was shaking. It had to be a joke. It had to be some sort of huge set up, a candid camera thing to broadcast her reaction to America. Shit like this just didn't happen to her.
Corbin rested her head in her hands and fisted her fingers in her hair, staring at the table between her elbows.
"This can't be real…"
~}*{~
"That was quite a risk, Duke," murmured Hawk.
"Sorry, sir," Duke lifted his chin like the dutiful soldier he was. "But I figured that if she was involved with the terrorists, then I wouldn't be telling her anything she didn't already know."
"And now she's a civilian that knows more than she should."
"With all due respect, sir… I felt like she had a right to know what was going on. Her life has been rather wrecked. She's a civilian, sure, but she's gone through more than any civilian would."
Hawk was still doubtful, one eye narrowing slightly as he stared at Duke askance.
"Are you going to toss me for telling, sir?"
"I'm thinking about it. That was a serious breach of security, Duke."
"I'm sorry, sir."
"No you're not." Slowly Hawk turned to the interview room, where Corbin was slumped with defeat over the table, her black hair hiding her face.
"Snake… the General's right. It wasn't your fault." When Snake Eyes didn't respond, Scarlett sighed, "What could you have done, Snake? Not saved her? Went after the thief? She'd be dead. But right now she's alive, and we can protect her, and that's all thanks to you."
Snake Eyes slowly lifted his hands and signed.
Her life is over.
"Not necessarily," countered Scarlett. "If we can… find out who these people are, what they want… if we stop them, she can go back to a totally normal life."
"I want to go home!"
Everyone turned to the glass, stunned, at the hoarse shout that emerged from Corbin. She was sitting in her seat, slumped down in defeat, her dull eyes fixed on the window opposite her. "I want to go home. Please. I want to go home."
"She can't go home," Heavy Duty turned to the others. "She'll be a sitting duck."
"We can't just keep her here, can we?" Scarlett glanced at Heavy Duty, before whirling towards Hawk. "Can we?"
The general sighed, "I could try and get it through as protective custody. But she is our only lead."
"We can watch her," offered Breaker. "I can put surveillance on the neighbourhood. In her home."
"Yeah, because from what she's shown, she'll be really open to that," Ripcord's brows rose.
"It's not about what she's open to," said Heavy. "This is a little bit more important than what she wants. We need to find those thieves and she's our only means to getting him. If they come after her again, we can be ready. Right now, she's all we have."
Silence reigned, before Hawk sighed again. Then he turned and walked from the room. Team Alpha glanced at one another, before filing after him, stepping into the interview room in his wake.
Corbin was on her feet, staring at Hawk and wiping her face and nose with the back of one arm, "I want to go home. I've done nothing wrong. I'm an American citizen. I have… I have Constitutional Rights or something…"
"With all due respect, if you're suspected of terrorism, your constitutional rights are somewhat suspended."
"I'm not a terrorist!" she shouted. With a groan she slumped over the table, "Which is like the motto of terrorists, right?"
"We're willing to let you go, Miss McQuinn."
Her head snapped up and she fixed them with such a look of hope that made more than a few of them feel like absolute heels.
"On a few conditions."
"Okay," she said quickly. Before they could wonder at how fast she agreed, she made a 'come here' gesture with her hand. "Let's hear them."
"You and your home will be under full surveillance at all times. We expect that if they've tried for you once, they'll try for you again. It's for your own safety."
She hesitated, clearly weighing up her options.
"No cameras inside my home," she said.
"Alright."
"And don't think you can put them in without telling me," she pointed at them. "I can make myself look really ugly. It'll be naked time and nose picking galore, I swear it."
Hawk got an expression of wry amusement. "Alright."
"And how do you mean I'll be watched?"
"We'll be keeping an eye on you." That was all he was going to say on it, it seemed.
Corbin sat back in her seat, scowling. "But I get to go home, right?"
"Yes. You get to go home."
"It's a deal."
~}*{~
The military might stock uniforms, but they didn't stock bras, and when a well-endowed woman was not wearing a bra, everyone knew.
Perky breasts were either unnatural or freaks of nature, and though Corbin could be freaky, her breasts were of the garden variety D cup size. So as she sat on the super secret jet/plane that was taking her home, she had her arms folded self-consciously over the green singlet top she wore. Though tight, the support was nil.
She was sitting comfortably between the stony silence and broad shoulders of Snake Eyes and a dark-skinned man they called 'Heavy Duty'. When she had first been introduced to the cockney-speaking man, Corbin – not very tall herself – had been suitably cowed. After a while, though, she was just left trying to recall which ear was the 'gay' ear to get pierced. Not that it mattered and not that it counted beyond a high school level, but it was bothering her.
So was Snake Eyes, actually.
The man had his katana resting between his knees, the end of the sheath braced on the floor between his feet. He was sitting perfectly, rigidly, in-control-of-everything straight, his head up, and he acted like he was the only person on the jet. At least everyone else acknowledged she existed. Duke spoke to her. Scarlett tried to comfort her. Heavy Duty stared at her. The African American named Ripcord had tried flirting with her, but Corbin reminded him that she had canned him in the crotch once and would happily do so again. The small man known as 'Breaker' had fastidiously avoided her, for the most part.
Snake Eyes was entirely indifferent.
Which meant that Corbin was interested in him.
Goddamnit.
"Look," she tilted her head towards him. "I know I was a bit of a bitch back there."
Ripcord let out a "Hn!" of amusement that made her slant him the stink eye, before turning her head towards Snake again.
"But you did save my life the other day. And earlier. And… I did get a bit knocked around, but it wasn't your fault and I'll take internal haemorrhaging and bruising over being a 2D red smear on the pavement any day. So… thanks. I guess."
His masked face nodded once, acknowledging her words.
"Oh, hey! A reaction!" she pointed at him, smiling. "Now if we can do the other thing your head can do. Which is to shake back and forth for a 'no'. Then we'll have made progress from no words to two. Which, I must say, is more than what most men are capable of, anyway." She shrugged. "Some have barely progressed past the point and grunt stage."
His head turned towards her and she shrank back slightly when all he did was stare. His visor might not have been directed straight at her, but she could feel his eyes.
"Uh… sorry?"
Snake Eyes looked straight ahead once more, freeing her and allowing her to pick up the scattered bits of her dignity.
"I'm told I talk enough for five people, so having a conversation with someone that can't actually speak would probably even things out slightly."
"Doesn't."
She blinked, startled, and looked at Heavy Duty, "What?"
"Doesn't," he said again. "He doesn't speak. Not can't."
"So he can speak?" she asked, pointing at Snake. She turned to him. "You can speak?"
"But he doesn't."
"Does he make noise?" She looked from Snake to Heavy Duty and back. "So can you do the point and grunt? Let's try." She furrowed her brow and nodded her head, and pointed at the opposite wall, "Hungh!"
Snake Eyes didn't react.
"It's like talking to those royal guards standing outside Buckingham Palace," she muttered sourly. "If we pull enough faces, maybe he'll laugh."
"I wouldn't count on it," said Duke from across the jet.
"I thought you were asleep."
"I was."
"Snake Eyes is the most proficient and skilled ninja known," said Scarlett with more than a little pride from where she was reading at the back of the jet. "It'll be harder to make him laugh than it would anyone else on the planet."
"I dunno," muttered Corbin sourly. "You don't seem to have the biggest sense of humour." When neither Snake Eyes nor Heavy Duty reacted to her joke, she exhaled and sagged down in her seat. "This is going to be the longest plane ride ever…"
~}*{~
New York
Corbin sat on her couch, hugging a teddy bear to her chest as she watched Breaker test the equipment he had installed in her door. Her lids drooped sleepily and she wanted to pass out on Higgins' head, but she didn't dare take her eyes off of them for a moment.
"Security system is up. Mainframe computer is synched. Phone is prepped for 911. No cameras or microphones." He pointed at her as he walked past, her sharp blue eyes following him. "Damage is repaired. We've put cameras on the street, just for added security. The nearby roofs have their own surveillance systems. Alright." He lowered the high tech pad in his hand and looked at her, flipping up the technological monocle he wore. "Everything is good to go."
"Good," she said sharply. "Now you go."
Breaker skittered off like a chastened puppy and Duke folded his arms over his chest, staring at Corbin from near her door, "You're in danger here, Corbin. If you'd just let us give you a bodyguard…"
"No," she shook her head. "No. Just no. So many levels of no. One, this is a one bedroom apartment and either he's crashing on the couch or in my room and that is just not happening. Two, that is so the beginnings of so many trashy romance books out there that I can see the bare-chested cover boy in his way too tight jeans leaning over me as we speak. Three? You saw me woken up in the middle of the night, adrenaline charged and terrified. He'll see me in the morning. A week of that and he'll be filing for counselling and quitting on the spot. No. No. Just no."
"You could have stayed with us."
"More no," she pointed at him. "I am not staying on some military base with you guys. I'm sure you're nice and all that, but I want my bed, and my pillows, and my walls, and my goddamn caffeinated coffee and my fridge stuffed full of chocolate and cheesecake and no MRE's. Yes. I know what an MRE is."
Snake Eyes stepped out of the bedroom and flashed a thumbs up.
"Oh, good, my apartment passes ninja inspection approval," she snarked at him. When he stared at her, she dipped her head and scowled. "I'm sorry! I'm tired. Go away so I can get more sleep."
Corbin watched Snake Eyes leave, or rather she watched his ass leave, then her eyes shifted to Duke and she jerked her head pointedly at the door.
"Remember," he said quietly. "Everything you know is beyond confidential. You can't tell anyone anything. It's a matter of national and international security."
"Believe me," she murmured. "As far as I'm concerned, Duke? None of this ever happened. I'm not going to tell anyone."
~}*{~
"You know when they tell you not to tell someone, you generally shouldn't. Especially when you promised not to. They probably have your phone bugged and are listening in right now. That puts me in danger, I hope you know. I don't appreciate that."
"Oh shut the hell up. You'd want to know anyway. Besides, you never spread gossip, so I can safely trust you with my secret," Corbin hugged her bear tighter and stared at her windows, which were all firmly locked, repaired with bullet – and person, she supposed – proof glass and had the curtains drawn resolutely across them. "Anyway, what can they do to you?"
"You ever watch V for Vendetta? Aeon Flux? Black bagging is the way of the future, girl."
"This is America, not fascist Great Britain or a false utopia. It's far from utopia, even a false one."
"They can make me disappear."
"Houdini couldn't make you disappear. You're far too scary for that. If World War III came about, all we'd have to do is clone you and drop you into enemy territory."
"I'm pretty sure cruel and unusual torment is a war crime."
"It will be when it's over."
There was a pause as the two of them tried to come up with something light-hearted to say.
"What kind of a name is Snake Eyes, anyway?"
"Don't ninjas usually have cool pseudonyms?"
"Yeah… but it's something like Shadow Step or Walks On Water or The Emerald Dragon, or some shit. The Cat. Not Snake Eyes. Snake Eyes is a shit roll, anyway. And the movie was pretty balls, too."
"Hey, hey. Nothing with Nicholas Cage in it is balls. Nicholas Cage gives it balls."
"Ghost Rider."
Corbin swore, "Yeah okay. That was pretty balls. But he was a real ninja. One of the best in the world, or so I was told."
"Or so you were told. Like they're going to tell you, 'Yeah, he's a ninja. He's not that great, but he's on our team which makes him totally kick ass'. Of course he's the best. Otherwise he wouldn't be on the super secret spy team. Why is the world's best ninja on the super secret spy team, anyway?"
"I guess the pay is good?"
"You should come over, anyway. You can sleep at my place for a while. At least until you know this stuff might have blown over."
Corbin was too used to Jackie's habit of pulling hairpin turns in conversation topics to be thrown by them anymore. She just gave a derisive laugh and shook her head. "Blow over. Yeah. No. In case something does happen, I don't want you to be in any danger."
"Now you care. They can trace my address from this phone call, moron. If I was going to be in danger, I already am. Thanks for that, by the way."
"I didn't mean the jarheads."
"Neither do I."
"They made sure my phone wasn't tapped."
"Oh, yeah, cause they're so truthful and reliable."
"I need to rely on something, Jackie." She got to her feet and paced across her living room. "I need some fucking stability in my life right now. I need to just believe that the American military has promised to keep me safe, and they're going to keep that promise."
"If you're so scared why didn't you stay with them?"
"You know why, dammit," Corbin spun around angrily, staring at her empty apartment and the numerous items of clothing she had abandoned halfway through making. She could barely eat let alone make clothes. "It's the same reason you would want to come home."
"True. Rather die on my feet than live on my knees. Rather be free, briefly, than survive in captivity. A gilded cage is still a cage. Blah blah blah, I could go on."
"I know you could. I don't care. Go on if you want."
"You think those kidnappers are going to come after you again?" asked Jackie quietly.
"Logically speaking, they didn't succeed the first time, and nothing seems to have changed…" Corbin shook her head as she trailed off, letting the silence speak for itself.
"Buy a dog. A big one. With big teeth." There was a pause on the other end of the phone. "I'm scared for you, Corbin."
"I'm scared for me, too, Jackie…" Corbin sat back down on her couch and curled into a ball around her teddy bear. Her hand came out and scooped up the knife on the coffee table, holding it against her chest. "I'm scared for me, too."
~}*{~
Outside of Corbin McQuinn's apartment, a figure crouched down in the exact spot that her kidnapper had crouched. Gloved fingers traced over the edge of the roof, before curling around the concrete moulding.
The figure watched the lights turn off in the apartment, darkening around the edge of the blocker curtains. Corbin had gone to bed.
Snake Eyes settled in for the night.
~}*{~
Thanks for reading! If you have the time, please leave a review.
Anne