Chapter 10

The final week passed in a blur. Between training exercises and preparations for the final test, Scarlett barely had time for herself, much less to hook up with Jester again. Beach Head explained to everyone that the final would last three days in the woods. The greenshirts would have to survive harsh conditions on limited supplies while interacting as a team to cross certain checkpoints and accomplish various tasks that would test each recruit's physical, mental, and emotional toughness. Each greenshirt would carry only a portion of the items needed to complete the mission, so everyone had to watch out for each other. Beach Head, Scarlett, and Hawk would be watching from hidden locations and grading their performance. At 0700 on the first day of the final, each greenshirt's name was placed in a helmet, and Alvarez's name was pulled to lead the group. Beach Head handed her a packet of instructions and sent them into the woods.

The greenshirts arrived back at camp in the early afternoon of the third day, weary and exhausted, and were greeted by Beach Head, Scarlett, and Hawk. Everyone immediately snapped to attention, and each felt very uncomfortable to find out that the man who had been serving drinks for the last month and a half was a General. They expected him to say something, but since it was Beach Head's camp, he gave the speech. "At ease! I want to congratulate all of you on surviving this training course. As of now, your mission is complete, and you all passed with flying colors." He waited for those words to sink in before continuing, "each of you will receive a passing grade on your record and my staff and I will give each of you detailed comments evaluating your performance. You have all learned valuable lessons in teamwork, leadership, and perseverance. Be proud of what you've done here." He paused and then finished his instructions, "your bus to the airport leaves promptly at 0900 tomorrow morning and you will be required to collapse your tents and leave them as you found them on the day you arrived. Other than that, the remainder of the day is yours to do as you please. The mess hall will be open until 2100 hours, and the General will open the bar at 1600." The greenshirts exchanged excited looks. "Also the obstacle course will be available for use until dark, in case anyone wants to take a farewell run."
Davidson spoke up, "wait a second, was that a joke, Sergeant?" Muffled laughter erupted from the greenshirts, and Scarlett and Hawk chuckled at the outburst.

Beach Head just growled an annoyed, "ehh" before dismissing the recruits. For as tired as they were when they dragged themselves into camp, they celebrated like they hadn't expended an ounce of energy. Scarlett smiled as she watched them walk away, and her eyes followed the form of a relieved Corporal as he ambled toward his tent.

Scarlett sat in the living room of the farmhouse discussing which recruits would make good Joes. The greenshirts had left a few hours ago, and she was having trouble concentrating on the meeting. She didn't get a chance to spend any time with Jester last night, and was upset that the only goodbye they shared was a warm smile and a wave as he boarded the bus.

They had just finished discussing Richardson as a possibility when Beach Head looked at the next file, "Corporal Travis Brown." Then without even opening the folder he threw it down and said, "not an option."

Scarlett's attention was now fully on the meeting, "what! Not an option! How can you say that?"

"He's not an option," Beach Head curtly replied.

"What do you mean? He was the best one of the lot," she nearly shouted. "He was a great leader, the rest of the greenshirts loved him, he cared more about his teammates than himself, he was by far the toughest kid I've ever seen…"

"What makes you say that," Hawk interrupted her.

"I don't know about you, Sir, but anyone who does push ups for three solid hours in between running Beach Head's obstacle course twenty five times, and still walks home on his own, is pretty damn tough in my book!" Hawk looked at Beach Head, and he nodded his assent to the General. Hawk sat back in his chair and Scarlett continued her rant. "He also had the best martial arts ability I've ever seen in a greenshirt. When was the last time anyone laid a hand on Snake Eyes, Joe or otherwise, during a sparring drill?" Beach Head looked at the floor, and Hawk desperately searched his mind for an incident when Snake Eyes had gotten hit. He knew it must have happened sometime in the last ten years, but nothing came to him. "So tell me, Beach," she pressed, "how can someone like that not even be considered in this process? Even you grew to respect him, and you know how much you hated him in the beginning."

"He's not available anymore," Beach Head calmly explained. A confused expression crossed Scarlett's face and he answered, "his service is up at the end of this week and he chose not to reenlist. Apparently he didn't enjoy being in the Army very much."

Scarlett's mind went completely blank. She was so taken aback by this revelation that it felt as if she had just been punched in the stomach. After a few seconds she managed to squeak out an apology for her tirade and sank back in her chair. Beach Head moved on to the next file and it took all of her strength to pay attention. She felt…she wasn't really sure what she felt. If she had to choose one word it would be heartbroken.

Scarlett was in her office back at GI Joe headquarters, slogging her way through a mission report detailing her last adventure against Cobra. She sat back in her chair and rubbed her tired eyes. She, Hawk, and Beach Head had ultimately decided that none of the greenshirts from their last training exercise were ready to be bumped up to the most elite fighting force in the world, so another group of recruits were being chosen to participate in the next exercise. It had been more than two months since they had returned from the West Virginia farm, and she still had trouble getting him out of her mind. She opened her desk drawer and searched around until she found a small piece of paper hidden amongst the chaos of pens, pencils, and markers. A phone number was written beneath the words Jester, Tacoma, Washington. She had used her security clearance to research his file in the Army's archives over a week ago, but hadn't had the courage to call him. She wanted an explanation, and she wanted to know if she was occupying his thoughts the way he dominated hers. Mainly, she just needed some sort of closure. It was after midnight where she was and she talked herself out of calling because of the lateness. But her mind threw out the words 'time zone' and she realized that it was only nine o'clock there. She picked up the phone and dialed the area code, trying to think of what she would say to him. Before she could decide she had already dialed the first six digits. She hesitated, reminding herself that this was crazy, but her finger pushed the last button and the phone on the other end began to ring. "Please be home," she thought after two rings, and then just as quickly she started to panic and prayed that he wouldn't answer. Five rings, it was time to hang up. She slowly pulled the handset away from her ear.

"Hello," a muffled voice came through the phone. She quickly placed the phone back to her ear and tried to speak, but nothing happened. "Hello," the voice said again.

In a timid voice she spoke, "Travis Brown?"

"Yeah," he said in an annoyed tone.

I bet he learned that tone from Beach she thought, and smiled to herself. Her mind flooded with questions and she finally introduced herself to him. "This is Katrina from Discover Card and you've been pre approved for a no annual fee…"

"Not interested," he said just before the line went dead.

In a small apartment in Tacoma, the formal Corporal hung up the phone and once again headed for the door. He looked at the clock hanging in the hallway and hoped that he wouldn't be late meeting his friends. He hated being late. He reached for the door knob and stopped cold as a sense of familiarity tugged at his brain. "Wait a minute…" he began as something in his head clicked. "Scarlett?"

She replaced the handset in the cradle and rested her head in her hands. She jumped when the phone rang a second later, and she hesitated before answering.

"It's Duke," the voice spoke from the other end. "Can you come up to the control room?"

She composed herself and replied, "sure, Top. I'll be there in a few." She hung up and looked at the piece of paper with his number on it. Her mind thought back to the short, yet fulfilling time they had spent together. He had come to the camp to learn from her, but managed to teach her a thing or two about life. She folded up the scrap of paper, tore it into pieces, and tossed the remains into her trash can. "Maybe it wasn't meant to be," she thought to herself. She stood up and went to her office door where she paused and looked back to the trash, "but if I want to, I'll be able to find you, Jester." She smiled to herself mischievously as she turned off the light and headed for the control room to meet Duke.