Author's Note: It's a longer chapter than some of the others, but didn't want to break up the action! Hope you enjoy!
"This is the area where we think they might have gone down," Lifeline shouted over the rotors of the 'copter to Duke, who nodded, looking down. He pressed his comlink closer to his ear and asked, "See anything Deep Six?"
"That's a negative, Duke," replied Deep Six from his vehicle which was searching below the wreckage of the Rattlers they had spotted from the air. "There are sharks in this area, but nothing that would indicate that they've eaten recently," he said bluntly.
Duke flinched. "Thanks," he answered dryly. "Good to note."
Lifeline looked at Duke. "If he's not seeing any evidence of them, it could be that they were either picked up by Cobra or someone else."
Duke nodded. He looked at Dusty, who was pouring over a map of the area. "Where would the tide take them? Better yet, if they were picked up, where's the closest place they'd be?"
Dusty frowned. "There are a lot of small islands in the region. Chances are good that if they were picked up, they'd be taken to one of them. Does Lady Jaye speak Greek?" he asked Duke, looking up.
Duke chuckled. "What doesn't she speak? I'm pretty sure that's one of hers. We know she can blend into any situation. It's Gung Ho I'm worried about. He'll stick out like a sore thumb! It could be she has some contacts in this area," Duke said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "Hopefully she can reach them and be able to report home. Let's just hope they're not with Cobra."
Jaye had managed to find some clothes for herself and though it took awhile, she found something for Gung Ho. They needed to get on the next ferry off the island, but she wasn't sure what they were going to do for money. She frowned. She'd rather not rob anyone at knifepoint, but it seemed like the only alternative, until she spotted the bar. She smiled, and hustled back to Gung Ho to get him into his new clothes.
"You're going to do what?" Gung Ho asked, incredulous.
"Shh!" Jaye warned. "Look, it's really the only legal alternative to our cash flow problem. I'd rather not have you pimp me out," she joked, making Gung Ho nearly choke on the water she had brought him.
Helping him up and handing him his makeshift crutch, she led him back to the bar. After a brief conversation in Greek, the owner nodded and gestured towards the raised platform at the corner of the bar. Jaye winked at Gung Ho, who was seated at a table and walked to the platform. All talking ceased as eyes turned on her. Jaye had adjusted her blouse so that it showed a bit of cleavage and had cut a slit in her skirt. Gung Ho had to admit she looked pretty damn sexy and apparently wasn't the only one who thought that. However, once she began to sing, he was mesmerized. He had no idea she had a voice like that and even though the song was in Greek, he could feel the emotion in it. She had the whole place spellbound. Her next song was a little more upbeat and apparently a traditional favorite as she got the whole bar to join in singing with her.
At last, after several more songs, she stepped off the platform amid cheers and catcalls and walked to the bar. The owner gave her a big smile and said a few words in Greek which had Jaye laughing. She accepted the money he handed her, stuffed it in her pocket, and walked over to Gung Ho.
"Ready?" she said softly to him, helping him up. As the two left the bar, Jaye kept getting stopped by the men who had listened to her, but she merely smiled, said a few words, and moved on. A look from Gung Ho also had men moving to the side to let them through. He smirked down at them as they left.
Jaye pressed her finger to her lips as Gung Ho started to speak, shaking her head. She led him back down to the docks and they boarded the last ferry of the evening. They were surrounded by tourists who were speaking many different languages, and they were able to relax and speak once again in French.
"What the hell was that?" Gung Ho asked, his voice incredulous. "Why the hell are you with GI Joe when you can sing like that?"
Jaye laughed, patting the Cajun on the arm. "I'm a woman of many talents," she teased him. "It got us the money without having to commit any crimes," she shrugged, turning to look out at the water.
"I have a contact on the mainland, if we can get to him," she said softly to Gung Ho. "Once there, we can probably contact…home. I hope our other friend is doing okay," she said, thinking of Roadblock.
Gung Ho put an arm around Lady Jaye. "I'm sure he is, he's a tough guy. I think we distracted and shocked the hell enough out of them, the stupid twins probably were right on our tail, not thinking about what they left behind," he chuckled.
She looked up at the sky and wondered if the Joes were even now searching for them, not to mention Cobra. She was surprised that they had gotten this far without seeing so much as a glimpse of them. Why hadn't they come around and tried to capture them? Even if they were still thinking they were the sheik and his wife, or even if they knew they had been tricked, it was unusual for Cobra to let them drift in the water like that. In fact, after shooting them down, she was trying to remember if they were still looming over them. They were also lucky that they hadn't had sharks surrounding them, considering Gung Ho's leg.
She shared her thoughts with Gung Ho, who couldn't figure it out either. They stood there in silence for awhile.
"After you went down," Gung Ho confessed, "I let myself be dragged down with you, once I realized what the problem was. Maybe they thought we both had drowned or been shark bait."
Jaye shivered at the thought. She was sure there were worst fates than being eaten alive, attacked by sharks, but she couldn't bring any to mind at the moment.
"We were lucky," she murmured softly. She looked on the horizon as the mainland loomed ahead. Touching Gung Ho's arm, she nodded in that direction. "We're going to have to find a way to hide you again. I'm afraid my contact's a little jumpy and he doesn't take well to people he doesn't know. Kind of a shoot and ask questions later type of guy," she apologized. "He's good, but he doesn't trust easily."
"Will you be okay?" asked Gung Ho, concerned.
She smiled. "I'll be fine. You forget, this is my element," she joked. "I just hope he's there," she said softly to herself. It had been awhile and he had been one of her MI-6 contacts in her previous life, before GI Joe.
Once they disembarked the ferry, she led Gung Ho to a local tourist spot that she knew would be filled with Americans and other visitors. She gave him several Euros she had left and encouraged him to blend in as a tourist.
"If I'm not back in a couple of hours," she warned him, "you need to contact the American Embassy. Go to the local police station and make a scene. They'll make sure you're kicked out of the country," she said in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"Will you be all right?" he asked, concerned by her advice.
"Of course," she smiled, and squeezed his arm. "You take care of yourself and your leg," she said in way of a goodbye.
He watched her walk off before he turned his attention to an American tour group. Blend in, he shrugged, and went and hung out on the fringes of the group.