Casualty Reports.
Disclaimer: Skymaster23 has no connection to DC Comics, or Tolkien.
In the infirmary, Thunder wiggled a finger in his ear to make sure he heard right. "Not the Baroness, you say; what made you think that?"
Back at the hanger.
"Vhat are you saying; explain?" The Baroness asked, as she narrowed her gaze.
"First point is that the emblem is the wrong shade of red, normally 4% darker." Burnett answered, as she stepped around the debris.
"Also, the style of glasses is different. Not to mention your accent, the real Baroness has an eastern one, but you used an upper central one instead." She added, then looked down to Duke.
"The fact that there were four sidearms in that car, and finally, your driver brought us here without you telling him to. It's very easy, therefore, to imagine this was all pre-planned." She finished, and the Baroness released Col. Abernathy, removed her glasses and pulled off a mask, revealing red hair under it.
"You see; she's one of the most attentive people I have." The Col. told the red-head.
"As long as she's only my back-up, sir. Good work, Cpl. Burnett. I'm G.I. Joe operative: Scarlett." She said.
"Bleh. You been eating that again?" Burnett heard from her right, and saw Stalker as he and Gung-Ho got out of a crate.
"...Other than that, do you want to consider joining? That Sherlock act of your's could come in handy." Duke asked as he stood up.
"I still don't know, it's a lot to take in. Give me a week or two, I'll have your answer then." Burnett answered.
Back at the infirmary.
"Heh, that's some story, L.J., maybe i should tell mine, but I'm too hungry right now. Hey Doc?..." Thunder asked.
After she was discharged, she was advised to use crutches for a day, ordered new uniform pants from the quartermaster, and headed for her quarters. She saw Scarlett getting something out of the microwave. "Hey there, brow...How long you need those?" She asked, seeing the equipment.
"Doc said for about a day." Lady-Jaye replied.
"Stitches?" Scarlett asked again.
"Seven; will leave a scar there, but atleast it's only one more." Lady-Jaye replied.
"How many do you have?" Scarlett asked next. Lady-Jaye motioned to the bathroom, once both were inside, she propped herself on the counter and took off her jacket and shirt. Scarlett's eyes wandered over her new friends three old wounds. "That many, huh? Where from?" She asked.
"On my right shoulder, from Czechoslovakia, shot from behind on my first undercover job." Lady-Jaye told her, then pointed to a line on her left side. "Number two was from a machete in Tanzania, would have been my last if Forrest's SEALs weren't there with us."
"How long that put you out?" Scarlett asked, after nodding a little.
"A few months; got number three from Suriname." Lady-Jaye said next, pointing to one on her right upper arm.
"...There's two more, but I'd rather not show the last, too personal." She added, then lowered her pants to show another mark on her left thigh. "Dogfight over Korea."
Scarlett nodded again, then removed her shirt to show a sarashi, and a big mark on her left side, and two gunshot marks on her right side, Making Lady-Jaye look away. "From Georgia, the state, not the country. Stray rounds from a bar that i was in the parking lot of while still a civilian. The big one, I'll explain in a minute."
She turned around to show a gash on her back. "This one though, was from a knife fight in Iran during it's revolution."
"Hurt like hell?" Lady-Jaye asked.
"هناك، وعشرين آخرين." Scarlett answered. (There, and twenty others.)
Lowering her pants, she showed the rest of the big mark, ending above her knee. "This was my worst; motorcycle crash chasing Major Bludd in the Philippines, took a year and two months to recover from."
Once L.J. got over the sight, the two got redressed. "The real American hero business sure doesn't pick favorites, does it." She said.
"Nope, should see Peach's foot, or any of the G-shirt gals, or even Daina." Scarlett replied.
"Daina?"
"Oktober Guard; you might meet her someday Just watch yourself, she cheats." Scarlett explained.
"Other than that, how many others have died in this outfit?" Lady-Jaye asked.
"...73 G-shirts, and one Joe, name was Grand Slam, Thunder's predecessor. Was testing the Mauler prototype when it blew up from a fault in it's fuel distribution somewhere." Scarlett answered.
"That's too bad; were you two close?" She asked next.
"No more then the rest of us were. Did anyone mention that he was the one who started the whole "Yo Joe" thing?" Scarlett replied.
"Duke did after he showed me the roster after Col.A's test." Lady-Jaye said.
Following that, Scarlett turned her attention to her new room-mate's "anatomy". "I also have to ask, you're a "D" right?" She asked, then held a hand up. "Don't get me wrong, it's a more important matter in this occupation."
Lady-Jaye looked down to her chest, and nodded. "They are; and could reduce them, but that would bring down the "distraction" ratio."
"I guess. biggest i ever got was a "C" but slimmed down due to my family being fitness nuts, and got the bindings so "they" wouldn't interfere with my crossbow." Scarlett said.
"And Krieger?"
"She's same as you even though they get in the way of the pedals, but she insists on keeping them; operating room jitters, maybe, so she borrows these." Scarlett told her, pointing to her sarashi.
Afterwards, Lady-Jaye walked to Flint's office, and knocked. "Come in...Come in...Schnurr, if that's you aga-" He said as he stood up.
"It's me. Just give me a minute, Flint."/"I got it, Ma'am." He heard from Lady-Jaye, and G-shirt Willoughby.
"Thanks, i got it from here." She said.
Willoughby said nothing as he walked off.
"Duke says he's like that. Need anything?" Flint said.
"Just wanted to...Still haven't finished moving in?" Lady-Jaye said, before noticing some shelves with old sports trophies, photos, a model 50's car, a tin lunchbox with some medals in it, and 16 books.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"All this from the last person who was here must have been a real bookworm." She replied, then heard him snort.
"You should know...there hasn't been anyone before me." He told her, making her turn between him and the shelves four times, wide-eyed. He then pointed to some degrees on another wall.
"Wichita, Kansas. East high school poetry club?"
"Rhodes Scholarship for D.R. Faireborn?"
"A friggen Superman like you, and what's D.R. mean?" She asked, making him look at his upper arms.
"D for Dash, R is classified. That was before i got drafted...And what about you; a Hobbit reading comic books?" He replied.
"Hobbit?!...I don't, myself. A classmate from flight-school did." She said.
After glaring at each other, she glanced at one book. "I dream of silent verses where the rhyme..." She started.
"Glides noiseless as an oar. Richard Aldington, 1929. You too?" He asked.
"Not as into it as you seem to be. Bryn Mayer and Trinity College of Dublin." She answered.
"Now hear this; All Joe's to the motor pool for Operation: Long Arm, I repeat, all Joes to motor pool." The two heard over the loudspeaker.
"Showtime." Flint said, grinning.
Lady-Jaye however, only nodded absently while glancing down to her leg and gulped.
Chapter nine. Read and review.
