Scarlett could feel her body being shaken gently. She could hear a voice, but it was muddled. Her mind felt woozy. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Duke kneeling over her looking concerned. In a flash she remembered the Cobra attack and the car accident. She began to sit herself up.
"Scarlett, you ok?" Duke asked worried.
"Ugh, I feel like I was used as a bowling ball." she complained clutching her head. She took a good look at her surroundings to find she and Duke were captive in a Cobra jail cell. Instead of metal bars, high voltage energy beams kept the two team members enclosed. Scarlett guessed you could fry a tanker with the amount of energy pulsating in them.
"It could have been a lot worse." Duke commented. He was amazed that both he and Scarlett not only survived the crash, but with no major injuries to boot.
"What happened?" Scarlett asked wondering how they got to this place.
"I blacked out when we hit the tree too. I'm guessing Cobra captured us and brought us here while we were unconscious. I woke up just a few minutes before you." Duke replied as he scanned the cell for anything they could use to escape. They heard a set of doors hiss open and they turned around to find Cobra Commander and Zartan walking towards them.
"Ah, Scarlett, Duke, you're finally awake. Now I can formally welcome you to my Kingdom of Terror." Cobra Commander greeted them.
"You won't get away with this, Snake Breath! Our team is going to get suspicious when we don't arrive back to base!" Duke exclaimed.
"That's where you're wrong, Duke. I had Zartan impersonate Colonel Sharp and inform your teammates that you and Scarlett are on an assignment…indefinitely." Cobra Commander and Zartan laughed at his skillful plan.
"Can't come up with something new, Zartan? Have to resort to your old tricks?" Scarlett challenged coldly. Zartan lowered the energy field long enough to grab Scarlett and turn it back on again. He dragged her across the room and pinned her to the wall smiling as she struggled.
"Commander, can I have some time alone with this tigress? I like them feisty." Zartan asked thoroughly enjoying the site before him. His expression showed everyone what his intentions were with the red head.
"You keep your hands off of her!" Duke growled.
Zartan laughed, "And just what do you think you can do to me when I'm out here and you're in there." He ran a finger down the side of Scarlett's cheek. She pulled her head as far away from it as possible. "I've been alone for a long time, love. I bet you'll make for excellent company." Scarlett replied by spitting in his face. "You ignorant, ungrateful slut!" Zartan shouted as he slapped her brutally across the face.
"Zartan, there will be time for you to deal with her later. Right now we have more pressing matters." Cobra Commander reminded him. Zartan nodded and grabbed her long locks, dragging her back to the cell. He lowered the force field and threw her in, letting the ground break her fall. Duke tried to escape when the energy was low, but Zartan turned it back on full strength quickly, spoiling Duke's attempt.
"Enjoy the time you have together. It won't be long." Cobra Commander laughed with Zartan as they left the room.
"Scarlett, are you hurt?" Duke asked kneeling beside her.
"Only my dignity." Scarlett answered getting up slowly.
"I won't let Zartan near you." Duke shook his head knowing the next time Zartan wanted her company, he'd force her to comply.
"Zartan's not going to get anywhere with me. I'll bite off his you-know-what if I have to." Scarlett spat mercilessly.
"Did you have enough time to brace yourself before the crash?" Duke asked using code language for wanting to know if Scarlett sent a message to headquarters. He was sure the Cobra leaders were listening in on them.
"Yes. There wasn't much time, but it was enough." Scarlett answered catching on to the trickery. Duke began to pace around looking up.
"What are you doing?" Scarlett asked watching him.
"Looking for a way out. There's got to be some way to get around this force field. I'd like to get out before Christmas." Duke mused.
"Christmas…" Scarlett spoke collapsing into a seated position, "…my family is expecting me to be home." Momentarily she got lost in the thoughts of holiday memories of the past.
"I know; which is why I am trying to find a way out of here." Duke replied still scanning for anything that might lead to an escape.
"What about your family? Are you going home?" Scarlett asked feeling dejected about their situation. Duke took a seat next to her after coming to terms that as of this minute they were stuck in the cell.
"No," Duke answered. This shocked Scarlett and she turned her head to face him as if to ask why, "The holidays are always a high alert time for us and both of our hometowns are too far away from base, not like the party where we were just a few hours away. Colonel Sharp demanded only one of us go home, in case something major happens."
"So you gave up your visit for me?" Scarlett asked quietly.
"I know how important spending the holidays with your family is to you." Duke answered, "How's that for a bastard?"
"Duke…" Scarlett trailed off not knowing how to respond.
"Forget it. I don't want to talk about it." Duke dismissed anything she had to say. He got up and moved to the other side of the cell. They sat silent for awhile, the hum of the energy field making the only sound.
"We're not going to get out of here unless we work together." Scarlett broke the silence. Duke nodded. "How long do you think we've been here?"
"Maybe a few hours? Cobra Commander made it sound like we were out for awhile'" Duke predicted.
"Our guys should be on the move by now." Scarlett rubbed her chin with her hand.
Duke nodded in agreement and added, "Hopefully they saw right through the phony Colonel."
At that moment the doors hissed open once again revealing Cobra Commander, this time with a bunch of guards. He approached the cell with the guards.
"This time Duke will be the one to come out and play," the commander hissed, releasing the force field. The guards pulled Duke out and the force field went back up. Duke struggled against his enemy, but there were just too many for him to take on. Scarlett watched as Cobra Commander walked in front of Duke holding a syringe in his hand.
"In this syringe is a toxin that will slowly and painfully shut down your organs. In a few hours, you'll be dead. This toxin courses through your veins like a high speed train." Cobra Commander informed Duke.
"No!" Scarlett cried desperately from the cell.
"And you," Cobra Commander turned his attention to Scarlett, "can bare witness to his demise…unless of course, you tell me the location of the Joe's communication relay," he paused waiting for a response from the female Joe. When Scarlett made no attempt to speak, Cobra Commander continued, "And if you can't, then not only will you bare witness to his suffering, you'll be the cause of it!"
"You monster!" Scarlett insulted him.
"Tell me something I don't already know," Cobra Commander sighed getting antsy to put his plan into action.
"Only a coward would poison an enemy instead of fighting it out like a man!" Scarlett spat out with hate.
"You're wasting your breath with insults; instead you should be telling me where that communication relay is." Cobra Commander responded. Scarlett narrowed her eyes at her enemy but stayed quiet. "I'm growing tired of your silence, Scarlett. Speak now or it will be too late." He placed the needle close to Duke's arm. Duke watched Scarlett wrestle with the options that lay before her. Her blood raced through their veins. She opened and closed her mouth several times.
"Scarlett! Don't you dare!" Duke barked.
"But, Duke," she protested swallowing a lump that was forming in her throat.
"You know he's lying. You tell him anything and he's going to poison me anyway." Duke reasoned.
"Scarlett, you can save his life. All you need to do is tell me about the communication relay." Cobra Commander said making it all sound so simple.
"Don't tell him a thing. That's an order!" Duke barked pulling rank.
"But," she started again trying not to let her emotions get to her.
"I SAID THAT'S AN ORDER!" Duke screamed to make his point clear.
"It's in New Mexico, near Carlsbad!" Scarlett blurted out, "I'm sorry, Duke"
"Thank you for that vital piece of information, my dear. Unfortunately, I feel you made me wait too long for it." Cobra Commander turned sour on his deal and plunged the needle into Duke's arm.
Scarlett felt all the color drain out of her face as she watched Duke writhe from the injection. An paralyzing chill fell over her body .
"You'll pay for this, Fang Features. When my team comes, and they will, they'll take revenge on you so hard you're going to wish you were dead like me." Duke promised.
"Duke… always trying to be a hero." Cobra Commander laughed, "Now that I know where your communication relay is, Cobra is unstoppable!" He pulled the syringe out when it was empty and had the guards toss Duke back into the cell. "Guards, scramble the rattlers. Tell them to head for Carlsbad, New Mexico." Cobra Commander ordered. The guards nodded and sped off on their mission. Cobra Commander began to follow behind them.
"Where are you going?" Scarlett demanded.
"You didn't think I was going to stay here when I could be destroying the communication relay, did you? I want to see the reaction when Cobra attacks." Cobra Commander replied. He punched in a code and the doors hissed opened letting him exit.
"Duke…" Scarlett focused her attention on the blond haired soldier who was having trouble getting up on his knees.
"That was some quick thinking, Scarlett. With most of their troops gone it should be a cinch for our guys to overtake the base. I just hope they get here before Cobra finds out your information was false." Duke commended her. He winced when a shooting pain overcame him.
"What's wrong?" Scarlett asked worriedly.
"I don't know. I just, ah!" Duke cried out with pain again. He slowly sat down on the ground, Scarlett following. She put her hand on his forehead.
"You're burning up." Scarlett choked on a sob.
"The toxin; it's starting to set in." Duke grunted through pain.
"Duke, what can I do? How can I help you?" Scarlett asked, trying hard to keep her tears from spilling over.
"So cold…" Duke answered softly. Scarlett instinctively wrapped her arms around him and held him close. She could feel him shiver in her arms. They sat like that for a long while. Duke began to complain about feeling hot and Scarlett let go of him.
"We've got to get out of here!" Scarlett leapt to her feet and paced about looking for an escape.
"We've already looked for an escape. We just have to wait." Duke tried to calm her down.
"I can't just wait! I don't want you to die!" Scarlett screamed dropping to her knees, finally letting the tears stream down her cheeks. Her shoulders jerked at the intensity of her sobs.
"I'm dying the most honorable way possible, from serving my country. Please, don't cry." Duke coughed and gasped for air. Besides her sobs, they both stayed quiet for a long time.
Duke stroked her cheek, wiping her tears away, "Scarlett...there's so much we should have said……." His voice raspier with every word as the toxin raced through his system
"Sshh! Save your strength…" Scarlett hushed him.
"…let our fears and tempers get the best of us….stupid…" Duke struggled.
"Conrad, stop. We'll talk about anything you want after you're well! Please, just save your strength." Scarlett tried to quiet him again.
"Where the hell are our guys? They have to get here soon to get you out of here before Cobra gets wise of our misinformation." Duke wondered, his voice weakening more each moment. His legs had already become paralyzed from the drug.
"Forget about me, we need to get you to Lifeline or Doc." Scarlett replied straining her ears to hear any sound to indicate their team had infiltrated the base.
"I could never forget about you…" Duke trailed off swallowing hard.
"Oh, Duke…" Scarlett whispered clutching his hand in her own. His pulse was weakening every minute that went by.
"I need to tell you something." Duke said, struggling to keep his eyelids open and focused on the woman kneeling next to him. He turned his head to face her.
"As much as I tried to convince myself that I hated you, I loved you." Duke replied letting his head rest against her thigh. "All those spiteful words and actions….if I could take them all back…" Duke weaved in and out of consciousness.
"Conrad..." she sobbed at his confession.
"Forgive me…" he whispered as a single tear slid down his cheek. She leaned down and kissed him on the lips, hearing her own emotions mirrored in his words. He felt her tears rub against his face. Their souls melded together, finding the peace that had been missing for so long. She refused to let their lips part, as if this kiss were the only thing keeping Duke alive.
Duke coughed, tilting his head back and gasping desperately needed air. As Duke took shallow breaths, she stroked his hair trying to make him comfortable for his remaining time with her.
"Don't leave me" she begged in a whisper. She felt Duke's grip on her hand relax a bit. She shook his shoulder to keep him conscious. Suddenly she heard noises and knew it was her team. They were saved!
"Duke, they're here! We're saved!" she shook him to make him more alert. She looked down and he was totally unresponsive. She quickly checked for vital signs and was relived that he was breathing, yet it was shallow and he had a pulse, though weak.
The voices grew louder and Scarlett shouted out, hoping the team could hear her. There was an explosion and the doors blew open. Diva, Roadblock, and Beach Head entered the room with their weapons drawn.
"Scarlett!" Diva called seeing her in the cell.
"Duke's been poisoned! He's going to die! He needs Doc or Lifeline ASAP!" she cried. Beach Head blasted the control panel and the energy beams fizzled out. Gung Ho ran over to the two prisoners and hoisted Duke over his shoulder.
"Are you alright?" Diva asked.
Scarlett nodded, "Please, let's just get Duke out of here."
"We didn't have to put up a fight. There were hardly any Cobras in sight." Roadblock informed them as they made their way quickly through the corridors.
"That's because I sent them on a wild goose chase to New Mexico." Scarlett replied hurrying besides the others. As they neared the entrance they all broke into a run, sprinting towards the awaiting Tomahawk. They boarded and lifted off without having any Cobras try to fight them.
Roadblock laid Duke down in the back. Scarlett kneeled down beside him, much like she had been in the cell block. Lifeline, who had been waiting in the Tomahawk went to work, hooking Duke up on machines to check his vitals.
"I radioed ahead to base and Doc is going to meet us at the tarmac. We have about an hour ride." Life Ticket called from the pilot seat.
"I don't know if he is going to last that long." Scarlett replied as more tears released themselves.
"His vitals are really low, but Duke is a fighter." Lifeline said as he continued to write down readings.
"What can I do for him?" Scarlett asked.
"Talk to him. Let him know you're here." Lifeline suggested.
"Duke, I'm here. We're on a tomahawk heading back to base. Just hang on, please." Scarlett whispered. She prayed that Duke would open his eyes. When nothing happened, she just continued to chatter away, "You know, going into a coma just to get a date with me worked once, but twice is pushing it" she tried to joke. She looked down for him to wake up with some sarcastic remark, but he remained still.
"Scarlett, do you know what he was poisoned with?" Lifeline asked.
"No, all Cobra Commander said is it would slowly shut down all of his organs and in a matter of hours he'd be dead." Scarlett sighed. She spent the rest of the ride holding Duke's hand and whispering words of encouragement for him to wake up.
