Hello, again !

Alright guys, I really want to know your opinions about the first chapters. From all of you. What you liked, what you hated. That would come in handy in further chapters ^^[Just don't stop at the smut into the first chapter, please brace yourself, review it if you want to, but then go read the others chapters and review them. x)]

Alright, enjoy.

« … »

Chapter 4 : Two complications

Wayne had spotted the three men long before they could compliment Theodore Carlton about his performance. In fact, she had known why she wouldn't have to act after the convention ; shooting at the womanizer while he was presenting his brand new project was, indeed, very effective. But before the gunner could aim at Carlton, she had thrown a shuriken at him, hitting him in the eye. He would have cried his pain out if another shuriken hadn't been thrown, slicing his throat in half. Blood had spluttered, startling an old couple as the body staggered, then dropped at the feet of the elderly woman. She must have a mind to scream her horror, but other women voiced her choice as they screamed at the top of their lungs, startling everyone else.

Good fangirls, Wayne thought as she gracefully avoided people thrashing around to get a closer view at the dead body or get the hell out of here, too chicken to see that – not that she minded. As she moved like a ballerina, she had to push some persons to avoid getting shot at, because the two other terrorists were quite frantic now.

'' Who ! '' the second one shouted, pulling out a shotgun and pointing everywhere around him. His eyes were almost bugging out of their sockets. '' Who the fuck did that ?! A ninja ?! ''

They waited an answer but, as Wayne wasn't keen on giving them what they desired, they started firing at people. The screams intensified as everyone – without any exception – ran away as fast as their legs could. Those who were shot were brutally kicked in the guts by the two remaining terrorists, earning them grunts or whimpers of pain as they kept demanding where was the goddamn ninja that murdered their comrade.

The Chinese assassin put two fingers at her earpiece device.

'' Heavy, call ambulances then get there. Everyone ! '' she urged coldly.

« Copy that. Everyone, move your asses and get there with Lynx ! Quick ! »

She needed to act. And fast : security agents were coming out of everywhere, helping people to get out of the building before a complete mess could occur and, which was the most important thing for Wayne, protecting Theodore Carlton from getting injured. Or killed. Dead, he wouldn't be of any use. As she checked it out, she briefly saw the womanizer running away from the scene, escorted by four bodyguards to a gateway. Good, she will follow him to his shelter once she was finished here.

Wayne, though she was wearing Converse with high heels, ran towards the two remaining with lightning speed, leaped high in the air while drawing a wakizashi from her sleeve. She landed gracefully as if she was flying, before the two future victims who looked at her with sheer terror and suspicion at the same time. The Chinese assassin didn't waste any time and quickly slashed forward, choping the hands that were holding the shotgun with an expert swing, then slashed across the two legs. The man fell on the floor, bellowing in pain – mostly begging for death. Her face deadly cold and expressionless, Wayne straightened up and, fast like a snake, she put her fingers to many pressure points on the man's body – onto the neck, the arms and the legs. Cut in his roar of pain, he fell onto the floor, eyes wide of consternation as he couldn't move or talk.

She eventually came to a stop as she heard a click of warning just behind her. The Chinese beauty blinked, perfectly calm, and slowly turned around to face the other terrorist. His own expression screamed pure fear, fear of being killed. Holding the dangerous shotgun up to her head wasn't helping him to stop the trembling of his limbs and he was sure as hell that there was another ninja with her. His eyes and his ragged breath were throwing him on the edge of breaking down ; as he swiftly looked at her sword, then back at her. Wayne could hear his heart rapidly bumping against his chest as he was having a battle with his mind. Kill the ninja or not kill the ninja ? Had he killed any woman during his life as a terrorist ?

The wind whistled. A scream echoed. Blood spluttered as she skillfully jumped back.

Wayne stared at the shuriken planted in the man's neck, stunned by the sudden intervention. It was a stylized shuriken, very familiar. Goddamn very familiar since she had slept with the ninja who owned those shurikens. She whipped around, eyes searching for a tall silhouette in white hiding somewhere. She looked up just in time to see Storm Shadow flashing her a charming, disarming smile, elbows on the railing, before binding her a salute and leaving the place. Soon, the sirens of ambulances cars – and cops's ! - started to ring at her ears and she gritted her teeth. No time to wander around. The assassin picked up Storm Shadow's shuriken, put her wakizashi back in its sheath and stormed off to the gateway in which she had seen Carlton taking it to get away.

And as the cops got in the building, they saw nothing but a bloody mess, many corpses everywhere due to the terrorists's madness. The real threat had been neutralized.

« ... »

Breaker's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. He took off his glasses, harshly rubbed his eyes, cleaned up his glasses and put them back on.

Huh ? Was screaming his mind as he saw the most unexpected person leaving the building to join his friend, who was dashing away to hunt down their target. Again, Breaker's eyes bulged at the very name he was reading. He had a mind to call his friends, mostly Snake Eyes, but he stayed quiet. Unusually quiet. Was the Morrocan hallucinating ? Was he really hallucinating due to the fact he ate a very bad sandwich coming from a Subway ? Or was it really the truth ?

Because he was seeing Storm Shadow running after Lynx Eyes !

« … »

According to her GPS incorporated in her smartphone, Carlton and his men had taken the Westside to Broadway. This was where Wayne was going now ! But unless she had super speed, she had no ride to get to Broadway. Gritting her teeth together, she slammed her foot hard down on the floor, infuriated. She had an astounding stamina, it was certified by everyone she had beaten when she had joined G.I. Joe, she was the number one female of the base because of her skills – and she actually could compete with her best friend Scarlett because of their looks. Hell, Ripcord and Duke even started a bet between the two women !

When she was about to whistle for a cab, a well-too-much-known white Porsche Carrera GT stopped at her level. Startled and not even amused, she watched as the window lowered down to reveal the smug face of Storm Shadow. His smirk was even more unnerving.

'' Need a ride, love ? '' he asked innocently.

'' No time to play your tricks, '' she said quickly while getting in. She pointed right before them. '' My target left to Broadway, this is where we are to head at. ''

She took a full breath under his mocking gaze.

'' And do not call me love. Ever again ! '' she murmured.

Storm Shadow chuckled, highly amused, then tapped the accelerator with his foot. As their exotic car dashed on the high roads of New York to Broadway straight away, Wayne turned to Storm Shadow so she could observe him. No, stare at him. Her head was actually spinning with a dozen, hundreds, thousands of questions : why was he still there at the exhibit ? Why didn't he get down to help her even if she wasn't in constant danger ? Why didn't he step up so she wouldn't have to face the goddamn of a shotgun and fear a bullet exploding her head ? Why did the damn ninja always have to stay on his own and play the spectator ? Why on Earth was he here to taunt her ? Why the heck did he have to be so mysterious about his moves and thoughts ? Why in tarnation didn't he want to share his thoughts ? Why the fuck did he choose her and not Snake Eyes ?

Yes.

Why ?

It would be goddamn good if he could open himself. To her. Even if Storm Shadow was a man of many dark secrets, he still would have to cooperate. Simple. It was simple as that : Wayne could help him and she will, unless he decided that it wasn't worth to trust her enough to confide. That mask he always put on, those expressions on his face that hid something dark and somewhat hurt lurking behind those eyes of him were definitely starting to irk her. She could wait, she was patient enough to let him trust her. A fucking good quality she had to spread so she could avoid snapping angrily at him – because anger wasn't an usual emotion seen in her. To put it together, she would have to observe him better, to analyze him better and to understand him better in hope to guide him through his path. Calculating this, Wayne sighed heavily as she looked away. It would take her months. Or years. Storm Shadow was just so complicated. He was another complication in her life, thrown at her that night in Venise. Maybe it would have been much more simple if she hadn't accepted to listen to him. Maybe it would have been easier if she hadn't gone to Venise to have her vacation. But if she had gone to another place in the world, it would also have been futile as he said. He would have found her though.

Her voice was a murmur when she realized.

'' Through all my years in my life, I have not been confronted to a situation like this one between you and me. Never. There was a time when I had always solved the problems with words. Words were the voice of reason, some intelligence that my uncle and my mother taught me with knowledge. It worked sometimes. Yes, sometimes. Now, words are not often the solution. Violence is, death is. With you, I do not know. You are so strange and mysterious that I do not know how to start with your condition and it is slowly starting to scratch my mind. If you see my as your ally, then enlight me. If you see me as your enemy, then disappear or try to end my life. If you see me as your friend, then help me. I know what I said, I know what I decided. But if you do not move for yourself, I will certainly have to help you to make up your mind. ''

She inhaled sharply, looking away from his face.

'' Your choice, Tommy. ''

Your choice.

The silence that followed was one of the freakiest that she ever had to listen to. Wayne could hear her heart hurtingly bump against her chest, feel it going faster when she saw Storm Shadow slowly turn towards her. Fortunately for them, they didn't got into a stupid accident. Unfortunately for her, the red light stopped their car from going any further. So Wayne had a mind to get the hell out of the car and run away as fast as her high heels coud allow her. And she wasn't glad to see that she was right about Tommy's reaction ; grabbing her by the throat, he slammed her hard against the window of her side, knocking out the air in her lungs for a second and making her cough, then pressed a katana below her chin. It wasn't enough to make her bleed, but enough to make her stop breathing. Brown eyes met other brown ones.

Angry brown ones. Very angry.

'' Wayne, listen very carefully, '' he drawled slowly.

The tone of his voice was surprisingly soft. Too soft.

'' Mysteries lurk behind this mask you have been talking about, I admit it. Those mysteries are so thick that I cannot dispatch them alone. This is too much for one to handle. For now, I am trying to...contain those horrors behind this mask. If you want to remove it, then help me. Please, Wayne. I can barely breathe while carrying such a burden alive. ''

No one could do better than this. No one could sound more hurt than this. No one could feel haunted than this. No one could carry such worst burden than this. And Wayne knew it very well. In fact, she was even used to it.

This time, she was the one to pull him into a hard kiss. Tommy instantly responded back with a firm, bruising passion, withdrawing his katana from her throat and throwing his arms around her to pull her against his chest. He had a mind to get her out of her security belt, but he just kept kissing her to the point he wanted to take the stunning Chinese assassin right away, in his car. He even wanted to forget about her mission, make her love, again and again. That wasn't love between them, wasn't it ? This was just a fucking, breath-taking attraction.

And when he was just about to remove Wayne from her shirt, she stopped him, just as breathless and aroused as he was in the moment.

'' Please, '' she murmured, looking at him in the eyes.

She was just goddamn hot at this moment, all flushed and lips swollen – maybe bruised from his biting. Tommy swallowed quickly, stole her a kiss and went back driving. This time, he put all the Porsche Carrera got and went beyond the speed-limit. At this rate, they were going pretty fast ; Tommy and Wayne reached Broadway before she had the time to say « Oh God. ». An black SUV was parked rather carelessly, which didn't make any doubt about the owner of this car. But what brought the attention of the two assassins was the way it was left : the womanizer must be someone who liked stunning cars and parking them correctly, whitout leaving them in such a bad shape than this SUV. The large dents that they were seeing weren't for decoration. Certainly not.

There were more of those damn terrorists.

Adrenaline rushed in Wayne's veins the second she saw her nodachi in the back of Tommy's car. She took it, appreciating the cold touch of metal under her skin, and checked out Carlton's position on her GPS. According to her device, the man was near. Very near : thanks to the blood-curling screams that she could perceive, Tommy and Wayne would be able to follow them to the womanizer and get the microchips from him before he was skinned alive.

« Wayne ! »

She frowned as she ran into the hall of a building, led by the white ninja. '' This better be important, Breaker. You rarely call me by my actual name so, what is it ? ''

« We have a big problem. That's impossible, but my screens aren't lying : Storm Shadow is here and currently in the building you are in right now ! Wait for the others, they are in their way ! »

Shit.

She almost stumbled on a step and she froze, stunned by her own mistake and stupidity. Of course : Breaker and his damn technology able to track everyone on this Earth would have been keen on to detect Storm Shadow's presence around her as well. Wayne ignored Tommy's questioning look as she pulled out her second smartphone, let it drop onto the wooden floor and violently transperced it with her blade. She did the same with her earpiece that she smashed with her heel.

'' What are you doing ? '' Tommy hesitantly asked as he watched her. '' Do you think this is the time to destroy things ? ''

'' You have been discovered ! '' she exclaimed, instantly distressed. She grabbed his arm and held it tightly. Her eyes were wide of fear. '' They know you are still alive ! ''

His own eyes reflected her slight panic. Then he gritted his teeth.

'' Come with me, '' he immediately demanded as he dragged her with him.

They went back to the Porsche. Before that, Wayne smashed her other smartphone onto the floor, got into the car and left with Tommy. The fear was still there ; it was lingering inside her body, inside her heart. It was a brand new emotion to her. Never once in her life as a proud soldier of G.I operative she had felt that worried.

Worried.

It was a foreign feeling she was experiencing right now. As Tommy drove faster than the usual speed-limit through New York, the Chinese assassin slowly started to have second thoughts about the recent events ; everything was coming way too fast. She didn't even have a moment to think about it because thinking was being a good reasoning left behind, replaced by the rush of the events. Now that she wasn't getting the microchips, there was another complication in the mission and it certainly wasn't for the best. Discovering that a dead had miraculously come back to life and was hanging out with the most uncorrupting soldier of G.I operative was indeed freaky : if General Hawk were to know about Storm Shadow, the fact that Breaker knew that the white ninja was alive was just a mere fact. Worse : Breaker had talked to her. He had talked to her, must have analyzed the tone of her voice with his computer to know if she was captured...or on her own with a supposidly dead enemy. Another complication.

If Breaker were to break the astounding news that Lynx Eyes was with Storm Shadow, the further events that will happen will, without any doubt, put her cherished life in constant danger. She will be tracked, hunted down like a fox. Chased by her own allies and friends, nonetheless. And Tommy. Oh, Tommy. Slowly, she raised her hands to her mouth, muffling her silent screams. Panic was starting to overwhelm her whole, solid body. She could feel the rythm of her heart getting faster. Faster and faster.

She was the one to get him into this situation.

'' God help us...'' she whispered weakly.

'' We are going to need it, '' Tommy muttered coldly, looking into his rearview mirror. '' The two idiots are on our trail.

'' What ? '' Wayne breathed in as she looked backwards. She inwardly cursed – yes, she cursed.

The white ninja was right : she could see Ripcord and Duke running behind their car, avoiding or jumping onto the other driving cars to catch up with them. Like in Paris before, they were spreading chaos behind their passage with their suits.

'' This is not good, '' the Chinese beauty drawled, swallowing her lump in her throat.

She heard a noise coming from Tommy and she turned towards him, a questioning look upon her gorgous features. His face was hard, his jaw thick and his features showed something she recognized instantly. Determination.

Before she could do anything, he pressed two fingers on a pressure point on her throat, too quick for her to evade him. Before she could release a cry of indignation, before she could defend herself, before she could black out, she heard her lover's determined voice.

« It is not my time. Not yet. I still have something to achieve here.

And you are to help me.

Believe in me. »

« … »

There was no time to waste : the quickier they got the hell out of that damn city, the sooner Tommy could get him and Wayne safe, in a private plane to another country where the Joe would have to dwell before finding them. Gritting his teeth, he realized a sharp turn on the right, then continued at 180 miles per hour without going slower, the two buffoons still trailing him. He had been right when he thought that if they were to discover that he was alive and « on his way to capture Lynx Eyes » and as the goddamn buffoons were currently trying to catch up with his Porsche, he will have to use his brains to get away. With her. Alive or not, captured or not, the last member of the Arashikage clan will not disappear without the woman inconscious besides him !

The car he had been lent by a « friend » was built by a hyperactive genius who had nothing else to do than booby-trap every car he made with his enterprise in case he had to avoid getting arrested, caught by over-speed on the roads – which was one of his hobbies. When Tommy entered his industries, the genius had been very pleased to see one his long lost friends, so pleased that the man had directly led the white ninja to present him his latest projects. Building weapons in a car was some brand new idea Tommy's friend had come with well before the events in Paris – he had been very shocked to see the state of the Eiffel Tower, which was the pride of France. Not to say amazed that someone really had the guts to half-destroy it. So this stunning Porsche Tommy was currently driving was, indeed, another weapon of his genius friend.

Tommy smirked lightly as he tapped something on the control screen.

Good afternoon M. Arashikage. What can I do for you ?

God blessed the man who invented this A.I. '' Do you see those two pests that are running behind us in those armors ? '' the white ninja jerked a thumb over his shoulder.

Affirmative. Shall I take care of them myself ?

'' Please, do so. '' Tommy sneered.

The A.I replied nothing, but acted : Tommy couldn't see what was happening, but he could hear what was happening behind there. The sounds of electro-chocs were loud enough to make old people lose their hearing with just a hit, but they were strong enough to provoke havoc in their path ; the two damn-annoying-broke-ass-buffoons were hardly able to keep up with him. As Tommy made his way towards the airports via the highway, the sounds of bullets being fired stunned him and he ducked his head low to avoid debris of glass. He scowled darkly and grounded his teeth, slalomming between other cars. For some seconds, he sneaked glances towards Wayne to check if she was well and seeing that she was still sound asleep – and unharmed –, he kept on driving like a real madman.

Their suits must be made of an extremely resistant steel. I'm afraid I will have to use weapons well more adapted for this kind of resistance.

'' Do as you like, but get rid of them, '' Tommy snarled. '' We have to get out of that country. Alive ! ''

Yes, sir.

The white ninja successfully avoided a motorcycle whose owner made a sharp turn on the left, disoriented, and showed him his middle finger – though Tommy couldn't see him as he was already far away in his high-speeding Porsche. The A.I brought out brand new weapons from both sides and the ceiling of the car and their design made Tommy wonder about how high can his genius friend strike ; those weapons were so different than the ones created by MARS Industries and yet damn deadly. The magnetic canon their ancient base was equipped with had been a strong weapon.

So was the A.I in his car.

The first sound Tommy heard was an astonishing roar. Then the ground shook rather wildly, almost flipping him off if he wasn't so skilled to keep concentrating on the road. Then, nothing was heard behind him but the soothing sound of the engineer. Surprised, the white ninja peered over his shoulder just to see that the two idiots weren't following them anymore. His eyes widened.

It appears that M. Stark's newest weapon has proved its power against your hunters, M. Arashikage. Checking their current state, their suits are no longer able to boost their performances due to the strong shock of the electric wave. You are now free and safe to go to the airport.

This was very good news. But there was still another problem. '' Any sign of eventual back up, JARVIS ? ''

It took the A.I some seconds to respond.

No, sir. But even if they are to come, they wouldn't be able to catch up with your current speed. At this rate, you and Miss Yen will be in the plane before they enter the airport.

This time, Tommy Arashikage smiled. And it was genuine !

'' Arigato, JARVIS. Oh, and make sure to address Tony all my gratitude, '' he said slyly. '' He will feel very honored and proud to know that he helped me to get away. ''

Will do, M. Arashikage.

« … »

Heavy Duty scowled darkly. Darkly was even a faint word to describe his current mood.

'' What the fuck do you mean '' You lost them ! ? '' he shouted at Ripcord and Duke through their earpiece. '' Did you two stop at the drive thru to get some chicken at Mc Donald's ? ''

'' Even if it would have been good to stop by, we didn't, chief ! '' Ripcord retorted back.

'' Storm Shadow was driving a booby-trapped car and fired at us with weapons I've never seen, '' Duke said, coughing a little. '' We can't run anymore Heavy, the suits are ruined and dead. Sorry, guys...he got away with Lynx. ''

The tall Black-British man cursed loudly while Scarlett slammed her eyes shut and hung her head low. Breaker's expression was grim and gloomy and Snake Eyes...

Snake Eyes stood motionless, frozen in mid-shock. No one could see his expression but that pretty much matched everyone else's his brains had stopped functionning when he heard Duke saying that they failed to catch Storm Shadow. First problem : how the hell did he manage to survive his wounds ? And who had dared to go fishing him when his body had sunk into the ocean ? This was too much, he had to sit down. Feeling sick at those thoughts taunting him, the black clad ninja violently shook his head, gripping it with both of his hands. He released a breath he didn't even know he had been containing for a while. Only one though was running in his head, screaming like a litany.

Storm Shadow had Lynx Eyes. Storm Shadow had Lynx Eyes. Storm Shadow had Lynx Eyes.

How the hell could it be ?

How the hell could it be ?

How the hell could it be ?

How the hell could it be ?

How the hell could it be ?

How the hell could it be ?

The one million dollar question. No one could answer it. Not even him, the powerful ninja of the secret G.I Joe operative, Snake Eyes. He got stabbed in the back by a supposedly dead enemy who was, once, a brother he loved. And that brother took him someone that he considered much more than a friend.

'' Damn ! '' Heavy Duty cursed again, slamming his fist again the headboard. He took a full breath before speaking again. '' OK. Ripcord, Duke, don't you dare moving your asses, we're coming to get you. And then... ''

He didn't finish his sentence.

Then, they had to give their briefing.