Chapter Seven
Guinea Pigs
Duke was exhausted; after all, he had been up since two in the morning discussing theories and strategies with General Hawk and Flint. But there was no force on Earth that could knock him out now. Too much was at stake and too many lives were on the line.
After taking a swig of Roadblock's special triple-strength gourmet coffee, Duke set his mug down and looked across the group of Joes collected into the Main Conference Room of the PIT. Flint, Lady Jaye, Psyche-Out, Falcon, Stalker, Breaker and Hawk all stood around sipping coffee and making small talk, waiting for Duke to start his debriefing.
They didn't have to wait long.
"Okay, Joes, let me have your attention." commanded the Joe Master Sergeant. The group of Joes stopped talking and looked to the head of the table. "I'm sure a lot of you are wondering why we called you here so early in the morning. There are two things you must know. One: Cobra has a nuke."
"What?" gasped Falcon.
Not missing a beat, Duke continued, "Number Two: we were ordered by Senator Bartell to assassinate Cobra Commander."
Looks of shock spread across the faces of the Joes. It was a lot to take in at once. The shock quickly turned to rage on Stalker's face, however. "Why wasn't I told about any of this?"
Hawk answered the question. "I'm sorry, Stalker, nobody is supposed to know about the nuke, and the assassination was very much a 'members-only' operation. Only Duke, Flint, Low-Light and myself knew about the mission until now." Lady Jaye bit her lip and looked the other way.
"Why did the government want Cobra Commander dead?" asked Psyche-Out.
Duke waved his hand. "I'm sorry, but we can't answer any questions right now. Rest assured we'll fill you in on everything soon enough. At this time I need to let you know that Low-Light never got a shot at the Commander; someone else did. Or more importantly, they want us to believe they did."
"I'm not following you." said Falcon.
Flint walked over to the main monitor and tapped Breaker on the shoulder. The Joe Communications Trooper blew a bubblegum bubble and typed on the control panel. The monitor displayed news footage of Cobra Commander's murder at the United Nations.
"Here it is," said Duke as he pointed to the screen with a laser pen pointer, "All nice and bloody fresh for our eyes. The Joes watched the Head Snake get shot again and again from different angles; neither enjoying nor condemning the fall of their arch-enemy. Breaker tapped a button on the control panel, and a video of the shooting reduced its speed to slow motion. "Watch here," ordered Duke, "Something hits the Commander, there's no denying that, but thanks to modern high-definition cameras, you can see more detail than ever before. Look at his chest."
Stalker was the first to comment, "He's wearing a vest."
"Exactly. You can see the edges around his chest and stomach."
"But that really doesn't matter, Duke," said Falcon, "There are a lot of sniper rifles out there that can penetrate Kevlar."
"True enough, but watch what happens when he's hit." Breaker slowed down the video to frame-by-frame, and handed Duke a remote that gave him control of the progress. "Blood splatters out of his chest, and if you look very closely…" Duke pressed a button and the screen zoomed in to Cobra Commander's right side. A silvery smudge was sticking out of the bullet's point of impact.
"What is that?" asked Lady Jaye.
"Enhance it, Breaker." ordered Duke. The image cleared up dramatically, revealing—
"A dart?" guessed Stalker.
Hawk nodded and walked up beside Duke. "That's what we're thinking. You can barely see it thanks to all the blood spraying around, but it looks like he was struck in the chest with a small dart, designed to pop a packet of blood lined into his vest."
"You'll notice here…" Duke advanced the video to when the Cobra Leader grabbed his chest. "That the Commander puts his hand on his chest. But look what happens when he falls over." The video progressed to the Commander's fall—his hand moved, and the dart was gone, with the Commander's hand clenched tight.
"So the big Snake took the dart out as he fell." said Falcon. "Nice."
"And to top it off," said Duke as he advanced the video to when the Crimson Guardsmen ran to the Commander's side, "This Siegie held Cobra Commander's hand for a moment. I really doubt it was because they were close friends. That has to be where the dart ended up."
"How did you guys figure this all out?" asked Psyche-Out. "It's not exactly obvious."
Flint caught the question. "What bothered me the most, and I assume bothered Duke and Hawk, was how much blood shot out in so short a time. It just wasn't logical."
Hawk nodded. "Exactly. It looked too…artificial."
Duke stepped away from the monitors and looked even more serious. "But there's more. Stalker and I tried to find the hospital that the Commander went to, and had a lot of trouble."
"What?" Falcon looked shocked. "Wouldn't he have been taken straight to a hospital on FDR Drive?"
"That's what we expected." said Stalker. "But his ambulance never showed up at any of them. We looked at every hospital on the Drive and couldn't find him. We finally tried Roosevelt Hospital clear on the west side of Manhattan and found out that the ambulance went there. But Cobra Commander's body was never registered at the hospital. No one knows what happened to it."
"Are you serious?" gasped Lady Jaye. "Any ideas where he is?"
Duke nodded. "We got a notice from Extensive Enterprises just ten minutes after we found the ambulance that they took the body and no longer needed the city's services."
"That's ridiculous!" cried Falcon. "This stinks of a set-up."
"Exactly." said Hawk. The G.I. Joe General looked sternly at his team. "This situation is a bizarre one, but I feel we need to take care of it before it grows into something we can't control. Right now the world doesn't seem to know that the Head Snake may still be alive. That's good. But this is starting to stink like some scheme of the Commander's. That's god damn awful. I don't want too many people knowing about this. I brought each of you here for your special skills, skills I feel will help us find the Commander. And we better do it quick. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" cried out the team.
"Excellent. Now, let's find this dirty snake."
"Um, sir?" said Breaker, not taking his eyes off of the television monitor, "You better see this."
1.
Destro stepped up to the podium and flipped through his speech papers. It had been a long time since he had made a televised declaration to the world, and the anticipation was almost overwhelming. To think that Cobra Commander had done this just yesterday to the United Nations was mind-boggling. After all, Destro was far more qualified to be making historical statements, was he not?
The set-up was extravagant. Giant flaming snake's-head torches flanked a massive bronze statue of the Cobra logo. It was all in front of a golden-brick wall draped with silk curtains. One thing Cobra knew how to do was to lay-it-on-thick.
This statement was different, however. News media from around the world was actually invited to Cobra Island to broadcast Destro's speech so that it would be sure to reach every corner of the Earth. The cluster of reporters, microphones and video-cameras looked a bit like some high-tech jungle spilled across the floor in front of Destro's podium.
The Baroness walked over to Destro and whispered an empty bit of praise into the new Cobra Leader's ear. He tried to ignore it, but the sound of her voice was always too luscious to his ears. Still, looking at the speech written on the papers before him he felt almost nauseous. He had written a grand declaration to the world, but the other high-ranking agents of Cobra saw fit to "enhance" it, and so it no longer carried the true heart of James McCullen Destro.
As the Baroness walked away, Destro tapped the mic in front of him. "Is this thing on? Good."
2.
"Before we begin, let me introduce myself. I am Destro, Lord of the Castle Destro in the Highlands of Scotland, successful weapons manufacturer and most importantly, the new leader of the Cobra Organization.
"Does that make me a terrorist? Hardly. I am a man of honor. Cobra will reach levels of greatness never before achieved under my guidance. Cobra is no longer a name to be feared, but rather to be embraced in friendship.
"The assassination of Cobra Commander was a despicable act, but we want to tell whoever did it, whoever you are that murdered our great leader: we forgive you.
"Why would a former terrorist organization say such a thing? Because it is time to move on. It is time for us to grow. Cobra Commander's final order, that of transforming the Cobra military into a World Police Force, will continue under my rule. Perhaps in time, more of the larger, more distrusting countries can see that we mean them no harm and we can all be allies.
"So, assassin, your murder of our leader has accomplished nothing. It has merely increased our resolve. You have not weakened Cobra, you have strengthened us, gave us new hope and focus. Some shall say you are a hero. I say that you were a fool. For Cobra is still has more power than you can imagine, and cannot be wiped from the face of the Earth due to the loss of just one man.
"Thank you for your time, and Cobra!"
3.
Hawk leaned back in his chair and sighed. On the screen, Destro walked away from the podium and reporters began analyzing what had just been said. It was the third time Hawk watched the speech, this time from his office. Duke and Flint again sat with him around his desk, attempting to ascertain just what goes on in the minds of mad men.
Duke began twiddling his thumbs. "What do you suppose all that meant?"
"It means Cobra is trying to get the world to trust it."
"They've been playing that scheme for a while now. I say Destro wants more." said Flint.
"Yeah, he was getting serious." Hawk cursed, stood up and began pacing the Main Conference Room. "He's obviously establishing that Cobra is indestructible; trying to scare away any more competition."
"Do you think he's scared of something?" asked Duke."
"More likely someone."
Flint shrugged his shoulders. "So what do we do?"
Hawk stood up and looked at the world map on the wall. "Destro's fears are his own problem. Right now we have to deal with Cobra's rise in popularity. We need to call up our reserves and smother them out."
Duke walked over to the map. "Cobra has a nuke, and C.C. is still running around. Leave those problems to me and Flint."
Hawk took a swig of coffee. "Duke, old friend, if things work out the way I think they will, I'm afraid I'll have to leave everything up to you."
4.
Scarlett looked at her Big Mac and frowned. Fast junk food was not something she ate very often, but Shockwave insisted that they met at a McDonalds just a few blocks off of Interstate-70. The S.W.A.T.-Trooper and Hit & Run hadn't eaten for over twelve hours, and Scarlett could feel her stomach rumble a bit as well; but she had never gone to a McDonalds while on assignment before.
Still, it wasn't a bad idea; Cobra would never expect a group of Joes to meet up at a fast-food joint on Topeka's west side. Of course, the Joes stuck out like sore thumbs, especially Snake Eyes. That's why he decided to stay in the Desert Fox and wait for the others to finish eating. Scarlett would bring him a Quarter-Pounder with Cheese when they were ready to go.
"So you're sure you saw a Condor?" asked the Joe Counter-Intelligence Trooper as she tried to find the best spot to bite her hamburger.
"Absolutely." said Hit & Run as he scarfed down a handful of fries. They have a pretty distinct design to them."
Shockwave set down the day's issue of the Topeka Capital-Journal newspaper he was reading; it carried the headline "UFO Races Across I-35 Turnpike". "I didn't see it, but we, and these newspaper reporters talked to about a dozen other people who did. They all agreed that it was a large, white, crossbow-shaped plane that couldn't have been more than fifty yards above the ground and flying northeast."
Scarlett bit her burger and thought to herself for a minute. "It doesn't make sense." she said after swallowing. "There is no way that Cobra can land a Condor at that little airstrip. Those backwards-bombers are way too big and powerful."
Shockwave shrugged. "Well, it had to have landed somewhere around here. It couldn't have made it from Cobra Island without refueling."
Scarlett pushed away her Big Mac, took a sip of her soda and stood up. "Well, let's work with what we already have and get back to searching Orcba Field. There may be more clues there for us to find. And we have to interrogate the Night Creeper we left tied up."
The two male Joes shoved their burgers into their mouths and followed Scarlett out of the door.
Half of an hour later, the VAMP and Desert Fox turned in to Orcba Field and drove up to the central hangar.
"Does anything look different?" asked Hit & Run as he stepped out of the VAMP.
"Yep." replied Scarlett. She pointed to the front entrance. "The doors are open." Sure enough, the front left panel had been slid over almost two feet.
"Do we go in?" asked Shockwave.
Drawing and loading her crossbow, Scarlett sighed, "We don't have much of a choice."
The team proceeded forward with Snake Eyes at the point. Once they reached the main entrance, the Commando looked in. Empty, save the normal equipment and the rug. Snake Eyes pushed the door a few inches further left, then stepped inside the vast chamber. The other Joes cautiously followed, but once inside, no one could see anything out of the ordinary. It didn't seem to be a trap of any kind.
"Does anything else look wrong?" asked Hit & Run.
"Nothing." Scarlett pointed to the rug. "The rug hasn't even moved an inch."
"I'm getting a bit freaked out."
"Shut up, H&R!" snapped Shockwave.
Snake Eyes walked over to the secret entrance and grabbed the handle. He gently lifted it, swung the door back and proceeded down the stairs. The Joes soon followed him.
At the base of the stairway, Snake Eyes stopped moving and hung his head low. "What's the matter, Snake Eyes?" asked Scarlett, but she received her answer just by looking over the Commando's shoulders.
The room was completely empty.
"Damn." cursed the Counter-Intelligence Trooper.
"They cleaned the whole place out?" gasped Hit & Run.
Snake Eyes looked up the stairway, and drew his sword. "What is it, Snake?" asked Shockwave.
"Shh!" hushed Scarlett. Aching painfully to hear a sound, the Joes felt fear as the beating pulse of a twin-rotor helicopter grew louder and louder.
"Oh my god, is that a Mamba?"
"Don't be stupid, Hit & Run." growled Shockwave. "They couldn't hide any Mambas around here."
"Well, braniac, they're hiding a Condor pretty damn well."
"Shh! It's gotta be a cargo chopper. One of their big blue ones you don't see very often."
"Whatever it is, it's bad news. Let's get out of here." ordered Scarlett. Snake Eyes pushed his way past everyone and steadily walked back up the stairs. But as soon as his head cleared the exit, he ducked from a spray of heavy-machinegun fire that tore up the hangar's rear wall.
"What the hell?" cried Hit & Run.
"S.A.W.-Viper, eighty to a hundred yards away." analyzed Shockwave.
"How can you tell?"
"It's easy. Just listen."
"Listen?" doubted Hit & Run, "There's a helicopter out there that's making it hard for me to hear myself think, and you can label and range a distant machinegunner through all that?"
"Of course."
"Alright you two, enough." said Scarlett. "We're pinned down in here. Look for another way out."
"You got it." they said in unison.
As Shockwave and Hit & Run searched the empty dark room, Scarlett turned back to Snake Eyes, who was tying together a handful of grenades with a loose piece of rope. "That better just be for a distraction, because you'll never get that cluster to fly far enough. We don't even know where the S.A.W.-Viper is."
Snake Eyes tapped his cracked visor.
"But you do, don't you? You're the only one of us who got a look up top." Scarlett grinned. "You should have played more baseball with Hardball and the guys, 'cause you don't have a great right arm." Snake Eyes frowned at her for a moment, then finished tying the grenades together.
The other two Joes walked back over and turned off their flashlights. "Sorry, Scarlett," said Shockwave, "This place is air tight. There isn't a single hole in the wall."
Scarlett nodded and listened as sounds of a loud, rumbling engine began to drown out the thundering helicopter beat. "Something else is moving out there. We need to get out, now!"
Snake Eyes gently pushed Scarlett back a couple feet, then pulled the pins out of the grenades. Taking a step back, Snake Eyes sprinted forward and hurled the grenade cluster out of the underground chamber, sending it flying out of the hangar's main doors. The Joe Commando grabbed his Uzi, cocked it and looked at the other Joes. They took the cue and grabbed their own weapons and set them.
Then the explosions started: a trio of hard, brief bangs that overpowered the sound of the cargo copter and mysterious rumble.
Snake Eyes leapt out of the hole and ran across the hangar. It was almost five seconds before Cobra machinegun-fire began chasing him through the building. Snake Eyes rolled across the floor and took a firing position on his stomach. His bursts of fire forced the S.A.W.-Viper to duck for cover.
Sensing that all was clear for a moment, Scarlett raced up the stairs, followed quickly by her teammates. They took positions along the sides of the hangar doors while Snake Eyes stayed on his stomach in the middle of the hangar entranceway keeping the S.A.W,-Viper busy. After a few moments, the Viper abandoned his rifle and scrambled across the short grass towards the hangar with a large helicopter hovering above it.
"There he goes!" cried Hit & Run, "Let's get out of here!"
"No, Hit & Run, stop!" but Scarlett's cry was too late. As the Joe Light Infantryman ran for the abandoned S.A.W.-Viper's machinegun, a heavy explosion shattered the ground nearby, sending him tumbling across the grass.
Scarlett looked towards the sound of the rumbling engine, and sure to her suspicions, a H.I.S.S. tank was rolling down from outside the northernmost hangar with its cannons smoking. Dammit, Hit & Run, you really need to learn how to listen for enemy weapons.
"Scarlett! Permission to go rescue Hit & Run!" pleaded Shockwave.
"Denied! We don't have anything that can scratch that H.I.S.S.!" called back the Mission Leader. That lack of weapon-strength was even more painfully true now that Snake Eyes' grenades were gone. Scarlett looked back into the hangar and frowned. There were gas tanks, but they were too heavy and cumbersome to throw. When she looked back over to Snake Eyes she panicked—where is he!
Another burst of sound rattled the hangar as the H.I.S.S. sent a duo of shells through the thin aluminum walls of the structure. The shells exploded on the outside of the far wall.
"God damn! What is that ninja guy doing?" Shockwave stepped out of the doorway and pointed his own Uzi at the H.I.S.S., giving some cover-fire to Snake Eyes as the commando ran across the field to grab the S.A.W.-Viper's gun, turn it eighty-degrees right and open fire on the H.I.S.S. The tank's windshield began cracking and finally shattered. The H.I.S.S.-Driver inside jumped out of the cockpit and ran for the far hangar that the cargo 'copter was lowering cables into.
Snake-Eyes altered his aim and started pelting the front left tread. The heavy-machinegun's armor-piercing shells ripped through the steel and tore the tread apart. Using all of his strength, Snake-Eyes hefted the machinegun up and walked over by Hit & Run. The H.I.S.S.-Driver in the cannon turret jumped out of the tank and ran back for the distant hangar.
With grass and dust blowing through her red ponytail, Scarlett walked over to Snake Eyes and spoke loudly to him, "How much ammo do you have left? Snake Eyes lifted up a long belt. "Looks like they planned to keep us pinned down for a while."
Suddenly, sounds of smashing metal rang through the air. Shockwave ran over to the Joes and his cap blew off. "They just collapsed the end hangar! There's something inside that they've hooked the 'copter up to, and they took the building apart in order to get to it!"
The Joes watched the cargo helicopter rise slowly into the air, pulling a large crate out of the hangar's wreckage with long steel cables.
"There's our nuke!" cried Shockwave.
Snake Eyes ran towards the H.I.S.S. and set up the heavy machinegun on its left side. Scarlett ran over to him and took a belt-feeder position. The Joe Commando opened fire on the helicopter, taking great care not to hit the crate dangling below it. Flashes of bullet strikes spread across the chopper and smoke started to pour out of its left side. Cobra troops on the ground—mostly Air-Vipers and a couple of Techno-Vipers—turned towards the Joes and began firing back. Shockwave did his best to suppress their fire, but his Uzi did little good at such a distance.
Then he got an idea.
Dropping his sub-machinegun, Shockwave climbed up into the H.I.S.S.'s turret and spun it around towards the hangar. He had never operated a Cobra tank before, but the controls were ridiculously simple. He aimed for the Vipers on the ground and fired. The twin 90mm cannons launched a pair of shells that exploded beneath the helicopter, shaking the crate a bit, but also sending a lot of Vipers jumping for their lives.
Suddenly, the side of the H.I.S.S. tank blasted apart. Shockwave screamed in pain and leapt out of the turret with his feet on fire. Rolling on the ground quickly extinguished the flames. Scarlett looked across the airfield and went pale.
"Oh no!"
Snake Eyes turned to see what, or rather who, had frightened Scarlett: Metal-Head jumped off the back of a pick-up truck with two of his missile launchers smoking. He quickly opened fire on the Joes with a pistol and started running at them.
"Snake Eyes, swing that gun around and take out Metal-Head, now!"
Following orders, the Joe Commando hefted up the large weapon and attempted to get a shot at Destro's Anti-Tank Specialist. But Metal-Head was already set to shoot. "Range: twenty-seven meters. Elevation: 1 meter. Bang! Bang!" Two missiles from his right leg's launcher fired out and streaked across Orcba Field. Snake Eyes abandoned the S.A.W.-Viper heavy-machinegun and rolled to his right. Behind him, the missiles smashed into the burning H.I.S.S., causing it to explode again.
Chunks of hot black metal rained down onto the Joes on the field as they covered their heads. "We can't keep taking hits like these." said Scarlett.
Shockwave limped across the grass and picked up his Uzi. I'll try to stop him."
"Don't be stupid!" cried Scarlett. "He's packing better armor than that H.I.S.S.!"
"Don't you think I know that? I'm going to distract him so that Snake can grab that Viper gun again. I won't last long, so get moving!" With that, Shockwave ran towards the Anti-Tank Specialist yelling out curses and firing well-aimed bursts from his sub-machinegun. Metal-Head shook, but did not fall. Snake Eyes scrambled back over to the heavy-machinegun and aimed it at Metal-Head, but the walking missile-launcher saw what was happening and reacted.
Screaming "Bang", Metal-Head launched a poorly-aimed rocket towards Snake Eyes. It flew over the Joe's head and exploded twenty feet behind him. It may have missed, but it kept the commando from shooting long enough for the driver of the pick-up truck to finish setting up a weapon of his own.
Scarlett was the first to notice that the driver was Scrap-Iron, setting his missile-launcher down on the field. Adjusting his goggles, the Anti-Armor Specialist raised the wired remote control to his missile launcher, looked at the Joes, and grinned.
"Snake Eyes! Watch out! Scrap-Iron is set to fire!" warned the Joe Counter-Intelligence Trooper, but it was to no avail. The Joe commando was running across the field dodging Metal-Head's pistol shots. The Anti-Tank Specialist had grabbed Shockwave and was now using him as a human shield. Snake Eyes drew his katana and leapt through the arm, swinging his sword down at Metal-Head's right side.
As Snake Eyes passed Metal-Head, the Iron-Grenadier's right-thigh-missile-launcher dropped to the ground. Enraged, Metal-Head threw Shockwave away from himself and turned to face the Joe Commando.
"You busted my launcher! No one busts my launcher!" He then took a stance and aimed his last missile, the lower rocket in his left-leg-launcher. "Range: seven meters. Elevation: One meter." Snake Eyes stepped to his left, then took a defensive stance and raised his sword. Metal-Head smiled, and nearly laughed. "Bang!"
His last missile fired out and raced the short distance towards the Joe Commando. But Snake Eyes simply leaned to his left, evading the rocket as it blasted through the air…and straight into the black Chevy pick-up truck that Metal-Head and Scrap-Iron had arrived in. Hit by the concussive force of the explosion, Scrap-Iron fell face-first onto the ground.
Metal-Head cursed out loud as he watched the truck burn. Realizing he didn't know where Snake Eyes was anymore, he searched around, only to jump up as he heard a loud thud on his left side. Looking down, he saw that his left leg's missile-launcher had been cut off. Turning around, the last thing he saw was a black-gloved fist smash into his face.
Scrap-Iron wiped the dirt from his goggles and stood back up. As he put the goggles back on, he watched Metal-Head crash to the ground. Knowing he didn't have much time, he turned his rocket launcher towards Snake Eyes and adjusted the controls on his remote. Suddenly, an arrow flew into the launcher right where the remote's cable connects to it, severing the wire. Looking to his left, Scrap-Iron saw Scarlett re-load her crossbow.
"Get away from the launcher, now!" ordered the Joe.
Scrap-Iron grinned and kicked it around, aiming for Scarlett. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out a wireless remote and turned it on. Scarlett fired another arrow, nailing the Iron Grenadier in the collar-bone. Scrap-Iron cried out in pain and dropped the remote. Scarlett then ran over to him and picked up the remote. "Nice try."
Shockwave ran over to Scarlett and pointed back towards the hangars. "Looks like the chopper is almost to the Kansas River, and there's no way we can catch it!"
Scarlett looked at the remote in her hand. "Maybe we don't need to."
Scratching his head, Shockwave looked at the launcher. "Do you really think we can use this?"
Scarlett spun it around and aimed it towards the 'copter. "We don't have much of a choice." Watching the targeting controls on the remote, Scarlett waited until the helicopter was in the crosshairs, then pressed the "Fire-1" button. The left missile blasted out of the launcher, arcing across the sky until it smoked past the helicopter.
"Damn!" cursed Scarlett. "I thought Scrap-Iron's missiles never missed!" Scrap-Iron began laughing, but quickly stopped and grabbed his shoulder.
Shockwave looked at the remote. "Maybe try this button." He pointed to a red button titled "Nunquam Requiro".
Scarlett looked at him in confusion. "Is that Latin? What the heck does that mean?"
Shockwave smiled. "It means 'Never Miss'."
Scarlett punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Where did you learn to speak Latin?"
"I'm a choir singer. I taught myself Latin to help me learn more music."
"I'm impressed. Okay, here we go." Scarlett pressed the button, and a couple red lights on the launcher turned green. Once the helicopter was in the sights again, she pressed "Fire-2". This time, the missile launched and raced directly for the 'copter with a vengeance. It blew out the side of the aircraft, dropping it from the sky like a rock.
"Okay Joes," said Scarlett to Snake Eyes and Shockwave, "We need to get over to that helicopter wreckage, fast. Let' move it!"
The sound of a jeep engine caught the Joes off guard, and they turned around to see the Desert Fox pull up with Hit & Run at the wheel.
"H&R, what are you doing? You're a mess!" said Shockwave.
Nodding, Hit & Run replied, "I know, but I can still drive. Hop on, guys. I'll get you down to that helicopter."
Knowing that they didn't have much of a choice, the Joes climbed on board the Desert Fox, and Snake Eyes loosely mounted the S.A.W.-Viper heavy-machinegun onto the jeep's empty gun turret—it didn't quite fit, but it worked well enough. Hit & Run revved the engine and the Joes drove north towards the flames spreading across the shore of the Kansas River.
The Fox screeched to a halt by the wreckage and the Joes jumped out, eager to examine the cracked-but-unbroken cargo crate, when a new, dark rumble filled the sky.
"Look!" cried Shockwave as he pointed up into the air. The Joes gasped with fear as the gray silhouette of a Cobra Condor descended over the airfield. The large bomber opened its bomb-bay doors and began spilling a shower of destruction across the row of hangars.
"Move! Move! Move!" cried out Scarlett as she sprinted for the river. The other Joes did the same, with Snake Eyes and Shockwave carrying Hit & Run away from the airfield.
As the Joes watched from water, the Condor incinerated the last standing hangar with a massive explosion. Pulling up, the long, narrow bomber took off into the distance, passing high over the helicopter's wreckage.
Snake Eyes was the first to step back out of the water and reach the now-shattered debris of the wooden crate. He picked up a chunk of wood and threw it aside. Shockwave walked up and looked at what Snake Eyes had just revealed.
"What the hell?" cursed the S.W.A.T. Trooper.
Snake Eyes reached down and picked up a Cessna plane's landing gear.
"Plane parts?" asked Hit & Run as he limped up to the wreckage. He watched Scarlett grab a propeller out of the smoking wreckage.
"Plane parts." growled Scarlett. She looked back to the flaming wreckage of Orcba Field. "There's no nuke here. We got duped."
