The morning dawned bright and clear. Taking it as a good sign, Lady Jaye hoped it meant luck was on their side. She had been up since before dawn, hardly sleeping at all. She tried to hide her fatigue with well applied makeup. Good thing it was one thing she was skilled at, being a former actress! She dressed carefully, picking out a professional looking Donna Karan suit. She closed her eyes and focused, assuming the role. She felt that's what her life was lately, one role after another. The fun girl, hanging out, drinking beers and shooting pool with the Dreadnoks. The socialite with her uncle and the Baroness. The soldier with Major Blood. Who knew how many other roles she played - she had lost track. Today she would play the role of a successful businesswoman, a CEO, who was marketing her company to a group of potential clients. Well, maybe "clients" wasn't the word to describe the GI Joe organization. She wasn't sure what they were anymore. Not the enemy. Their plan had taken care of that. Certainly not an ally, based on their past history. SHE certainly didn't feel she owed them anything. Whenever she had begun to doubt the story told to her about her beating/brainwashing by that group, she would somehow run across the photos of herself of how Cobra had found her. She shuddered as she thought of them. She did not recognize herself in those photos and wondered how she had even come through. Her "past life" flashes, as she had begun to call them, came frequently now, without warning. Since Mindbender wasn't around with his "treatments" for her then called "migranes" that were a result of the brainwashing (or so she was told), she felt more and more was coming out from her life as a Joe. Whoever she had been, she had this role to play now, despite whoever she had been before. In order for these people to survive, ones she had grown close enough to consider friends if not just respect professionally (she had no idea what to classify Zartan after last night, but she grouped him with friends for now…no time to analyze that part of her life!), she had to play this role, and play it well.

She sighed. Checking herself one last time in the mirror, she left her suite and rode the elevator to her office. Play the role, dress the role, be the role, she silently repeated to herself, a familiar mantra from her acting days.

Destro was waiting for her, pacing. She could tell he was nervous. So was she. This had to work!

"Are Cobra Commander and Mindbender secure?" she asked anxiously, causing Destro to jump. He had not heard his niece enter the room.

"Naturally," he replied, distracted. "Do you have the notes for the meeting? The files?"

She sighed again. "Of course. I'm ready to play the role."

He gave her a quizzical look. "Role? You do realize, my dear, that this is NOT a game!"

She mentally rolled her eyes. "Uncle, of course I realize that," she placated. "I only meant that I was ready to go in looking calm, cool, and collected. A professional. We need that for this to work, right?"

Destro appraised his niece. He approved of her choice of clothing and her smooth tone of voice. She was raised to not show her feathers ruffled. Let's just hope that training was still in her. He had seen it, but knew that what she faced today, she had not faced before. He was nervous. What if the accusations started flying? What if for some reason, his niece should regain her whole memory? Everything then would be destroyed in a second. Not to mention, what would it do to his beloved niece's mind? As much as he wanted to whisk her away to somewhere safe, he knew that she played the key role, that they needed her to win over the Joes.

"You go on ahead to the board room," she told him. "I'm sure our visitors will be early. In fact, the building has been under surveillance since they arrived. We have nothing to fear, as long as our prisoners do not escape."

"Major Blood is taking that responsibility personally. They are still drugged and should not offer us any resistance," replied Destro.

"Very good," Lady Jaye replied. She clenched and unclenched her hands nervously. Realizing what she was doing, she held them firmly at her sides. "You go on ahead. I just want to go over a few notes first."