Disclaimer: I am not Stephen Sommers (director of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) and so therefore I do not own his works. What I ADD into the story is mine (example: different characters, the plot, etc.) but the original themes, ideas, plots, characters, script, etc. are solely the works of this awesome, famous person, and his associates.
Chapter Four
When Sage expected to be picked up by a helicopter, she at least anticipated to hear it. But as Baroness fell silent, and Storm Shadow stepped away from Sage and forced her out of the kitchen, Sage could not see or hear any telltale signs of loud chopper blades whipping through the air, or a small whirlwind outside as the snow was stirred. She frowned, and walked toward Baroness, who reached into her pocket and produced a pair of plain metal cuffs. Sage stopped and raised a brow.
"Surely you can't be serious?" Her voice, as she had intended, was flat and cold, almost sardonic. Baroness ignored her, and advanced, opening the loops with a forceful twist and pull.
"Arms." she ordered, and Sage glanced up bewilderedly at Storm Shadow.
"You have a ninja on your side! Why do I need to put those on?"
"Simply a precaution," Baroness smirked, her voice teasing. Sage narrowed her eyes and thrust out her arms, glowering at the beautiful woman as she chained Sage's wrists together. "There, much better."
"Only because I can't hit you," Sage muttered darkly, glowering.
"Come on," Baroness spun and stalked toward the door. Sage followed closely behind, and Storm Shadow hesitated only to grab her bag and snowboard.
"Oh, what a gentleman!" she spat with a tone of anything but admiration. The ninja ignored her, and shoved the end of Sage's board into her back, propelling her out into the cold mountain air. Boots dropped down with a heavy thud beside her cold socked feet as she stood there, seeming to appear out of nowhere, and she slid them on, growing mildly impatient when she hand to lace them up with restricted hands. Sliding up the zip on her jacket, Storm Shadow rummaged through her bag to produce her gloves and neck warmer.
It's odd, Sage thought, a ninja, being courteous. She didn't quite understand why, and when she stared at him, he only gave her a cold, scathing look. Well, he's definitely not friendly yet. Maybe he just doesn't want me to freeze to death. Cobra would probably sack him...
He turned away then, and pulled a mask from his belt. It wasn't as much a mask as a full-headed disguise. It was white, like the rest of his clothes, and in the simple form of a balaclava with a dark, reflective, tinted visor over his eyes. He pulled on his gloves.
"Are you coming?" Baroness asked impatiently, breaking through Sage's train of thought. She turned and walked down the steps, lifting up her legs that bit extra to trek through the snow. Baroness set off down the right side of the cabin that led away from the mountain's base, and Sage sighed, but followed her glumly.
It was a few minutes of walking out in the open before Sage saw anything. At first, she wondered if they were the pale statues of snowmen, but then, as they turned and showed off their ranging hair colours and pale or brown faces, she noticed they were the troops from the night before. The sun's weak light glinted off their goggles, casting rainbows across the ground. She still couldn't see the sniper, but she could feel hidden eyes on her back. Maybe he had his gun trained on her, ready to strike if she tried anything.
She grimaced. There was no point in trying anything. She wasn't going to get anywhere, except her death bed, maybe.
And maybe that wasn't such a bad idea...
The sudden loud whoop, whoop of propellers thundered overhead, and Sage glanced up. True to Baroness's word, a large black shape blocked out part of the cloudy sky; a sharp rigid outline against the tedious grey. As it began to descend, Baroness walked back toward them, previously having moved off to converse with the white-clad Commander, who watched her rear as she moved. She met Sage's eyes, and glared.
Yep, the woman held grudges.
Sage looked away from her face which, if she weren't so brave and defiant, would have cowered at the stare. The chopper was almost to the ground when she observed it again, and it was kicking up momentous amounts of snow and ice. It flicked up into the goggles of the soldiers standing by, and some of them spun away, cursing. Sage lifted her hands to shield her own face from the attack, and glanced up when she caught movement.
The soldiers were piling into the helicopter, only a few remaining outside to gaze back at her expectantly. Obviously, this was a safety precaution, too.
Sage, rolling her eyes, stepped forward and ducked her head down to avoid the blades from chopping her hair off. Baroness crawled inside before her and didn't even turn to offer a hand.
How rude. She thought uninterestedly, gripping the long metal handle running down the side of the doorframe. She hauled herself up, swinging her legs over the edge, and fetched up on her hands and knees. It was pretty skilful for somebody who was handcuffed.
As presumed by his skilled occupation, Storm Shadow leapt up elegantly into the aircraft, silent as a mouse, and deposited her bag and board in a corner before turning toward her. He cocked a finger, signalling her to follow him as the remaining soldier made their mosey way inside the craft. Pulling a face at his turned back, Sage stood and glanced around. The chopper was big, with plain metal seats lining both walls to sit up to fourteen people—most of them were taken by the soldiers, and Baroness, who was at the front. The walls themselves were metal, but painted black, and a large black mortar gun sat just inside the door, opposite to the one she'd entered from. Beneath it were tracks like a railway, possibly used to push the gun forward to hang out the door and fire safely, or to pull it back in to allow the door to close for safety.
At the front, naturally, were the backs of the pilot seats. Through the gap between them, Sage glanced the copious amount of controls, flashing lights, metres and scales that she never hoped to understand. A black-helmeted head shifted slightly and turned around to look back. The visor was down, and the microphone was positioned just in front of the lips, but Sage saw the thin, almost bony face. It was strong-planed, mostly masculine, and as she stared, he gave black-gloved thumbs up, the rest of his dark attire just as plain. He moved back around as someone called out something, and flicked at switches. The door was still open, which explained why she didn't understand a thing the soldier had said, because it was so loud.
As she gazed out, a black form slid smoothly up inside, turning to slam the door close. He picked up the lean black gun beside him and turned around.
"Where the hell did he come from?" Sage asked, watching as the sniper settled himself into a seat opposite. He busied himself in fiddling with his rifle, and then looked up to meet her eyes. It was the first time she'd held his gaze, and she saw the acidic, ruthless monster behind them. Her lips curled, and she looked away.
Finding herself still standing, Sage advanced toward a vacant seat, and then tensed as she was spun around. Storm Shadow gripped the chain linking her wrists, and dragged her toward the back. She dug her heels in and yanked. He stopped and turned to her, his masked face invisible.
"Do you really want to do this right now?" He asked, giving her a look she couldn't see through his visor.
"Yes," she said insolently, lifting her chin. "Yes, I do."
A small smile cracked his lips, she could see them slightly beneath the white fabric, and he turned again. She'd expected him to simply take a step forward, but instead he wrenched on her shackles, hard. She grunted, stumbling ahead, and almost tripped from the sheer power of his tug. Before giving her time to balance and pull back, he strode briskly across the metal floor of the helicopter, dragging her along, and halted before the wall. She recovered her poise quickly and kicked out in a fit of anger. He dropped her arms and grabbed her ankle, pulling her, hopping and fuming, toward him. She narrowed her eyes as she steadied herself against his solid build, and his gaze ridiculed her silently. Just the way he stared down at her, so collected, calm, and disapproving, made her feel small and naive.
Sniffing, she raised her jaw and challenged him silently.
"Do not try hurting me, Sage." He said coolly, twisting her leg slightly. She stiffened, but showed no sign pain. "I will use your moves against you."
"You cheat." She spat lowly, slitting her lashes. He raised a brow.
"I cheat?"
"The bad guys always do." She smirked, and he smiled slowly. It was a dark, threatening smile, which slightly twisted his face and casted shadows across his hidden eyes.
"Then if I am the bad guy," he began, releasing her. "I can do whatever I want." With that, he turned and sat down. The only available seat was beside him, in the corner. Sage could see by a swift glance around.
There was the seat beside the pilot, but Storm Shadow wouldn't let her sit there. He probably thought she'd sabotage the buttons and hijack the plane, sending them all plummeting helplessly toward the ground to meet their swift and fatal deaths.
And wouldn't that suck...
"Sit down, Sage." He said, gazing at her. She stuck her tongue out childishly.
"I don't want to sit next to you."
"You have been."
"And it's been the worst time of my life." She noticed the katanas on his back as he shifted, and the stars and daggers on his waist.
How could it be comfortable carrying those long heavy swords around all day?
She shook her head, jumping back as he reached out. She was almost fast enough. Almost.
As his hand closed once again over her cuffs, he gave her a questioning look. She could feel it. She froze, wondering.
She could either sit down voluntarily, or be dragged. She'd like to make it harder for him, but she doubted anything was hard—
Except maybe the part where he stopped being an asshole.
Yeah...He was defiantly an asshole.
And he seemed to be impatient, because without warning he pulled her down and forced her into the seat. She cast him a distasteful look, staring away vehemently.
This was going to be a long ride.
Settling back into the seat, Sage closed her eyes, ignoring the ninja and the soldiers and Baroness. She dozed off lightly, slumping against the walls.
Damn dreams. Sage woke with a start and glanced around wildly. The constant hum of the helicopter blades soothed her scorched nerves, and as she realised she was still seated against the wall, she felt a hand brush her cheek and somebody ask if she was ok. Turning to the side instinctively, she lashed out and landed a powerful blow to the side of the man's jaw. He flew back, knocking against the soldier next to him in the seat, and tumbled to the floor. He groaned, rubbing his face, and looked back at her in shock. Sage tensed, eyes wide, her mind still foggy from sleep.
Slowly, as she woke further, the familiar tingle of sore knuckles made her look down. They weren't inflamed, just tender.
She blinked, and Storm Shadow stood before her, shielding the injured man from view. He hadn't drawn a weapon, but he was giving her a critical look. Or so she guessed. Feeling the need to defend herself, she crossed her arms and retaliated.
"The man touched me! He should know better than to touch a sleeping person. An assassin, at that."
"Then maybe you should not sleep," he said softly, so softly it stunned Sage, and she fell voiceless. "Baroness," he called shortly, and the woman wandered over. She looked down to the man on the ground, then to Sage, and sighed.
"Come on." She muttered, bending down to drag the soldier back to his feet. She sat him down, looking at the side of his face. "Are you alright?"
"Maybe if you could kiss it..." The man suggested, and she pulled away, appalled.
"Obviously alright enough to flirt." she gave him a harsh glare and stalked away.
"Ooh, that burns Baroness. It burns."
"You'll live." Sage heard her cold voice call, and chuckled. The man turned toward her.
"What are you laughing at?" Her laughter stopped abruptly, and she gave him a dark look.
"Obviously the fact that I kicked your ass while half asleep and nobody really cares." He narrowed his eyes, and she flashed him a charming smile, looking away.
He seemed affected by that small act.
"Maybe you could kiss it better?" She turned and regarded him silently. He was handsome and young, with fair hair and brown skin. He reminded her of a surfer, and she presumed he'd be fairly toned on muscle seeing that he was military.
She opened her mouth to say something, before Storm Shadow interrupted brusquely by sitting down between them. Together, the pair glanced up at him angrily, and he gave them both a raw, challenging look. They could feel it.
The man shifted back quickly. Clearly there was something Sage wasn't understanding between this ninja's skill and his authority over others. Sure, he was good at what he did, probably the best, but he wasn't that scary.
And yeah, he'd beat her in hand-to-hand no doubt. He was trained that way. But she was sure there was something she could beat him in.
She just wasn't sure what that was yet. And she hated it.
Because never before had she met such an experienced opponent. He was fast, he was strong, and he was deadly. Of course, so was she, but he was in a whole different league.
A league she'd never heard of before a few days ago. Hell, for all she knew a few days ago, ninjas never existed. They were the things of her nightmares. Yeah, people believed in them, but she didn't feel she needed to. She knew that if such a union of ancient warriors came into play in her life, she'd be overpowered.
And for once in her life, she was helpless to a single nasty thought.
He could kill me easier than I could kill him.
Well, that sucked...
Author's Note: Thanks for reading, reviews are greatly appreciated! xx