Aah, new chapter. I had this one all written and just waiting for a few last little touch ups...and then I read through it again and decided I didn't like it. So I rewrote pretty much the whole thing. Still not sure about it, but there are a few parts that I really like.
Apart from that, I don't have much else to say...might be a bit longer before the next chapter's up, coz I've got nothing.
As always, thanks for the reviews, and thanks for reading!
"Almost…there, Matches," Dynamite wheezed. She knew he couldn't hear her. She was trying to convince herself. "Not…far."
It wasn't working.
The damn jungle just never ended. She'd lost track of how long she'd been walking - actually it was more like shuffling, now. Every step hurt. It was agony to even breathe.
It was light, though, at least. The sun was filtering through the branches again, the random spots of brightness that made it through were enough to allow her to see without the flashlight.
Well, 'see' was the wrong word. Her vision wasn't just blurry now - it kept fading in and out. Even knocking her busted fingers didn't help; it made it worse. She'd tried a little while back, and had woken to find herself flat on her face after blacking out completely.
She couldn't afford to let that happen again. Next time, she might not wake up at all.
A low rumble ahead made her look up, blinking through the cold sweat dripping down her face. Sounded like thunder.
Great. Just what she needed - a downpour. Dynamite stopped for a moment to check that Matches was covered by the tarp. At least, that was what she told herself. She was really checking to see if he was still breathing.
He was. Barely.
"Son of a gun, I don't believe it! Dynamite?"
Her head snapped up as she heard the man's voice. A convoy was rolling to a stop before her. Several guys in fatigues were jumping out of the jeep in front and hurrying toward her.
She tried to go for her assault rifle, but her fingers - bent at unnatural angles as they were, and even the unbroken ones were swollen, now - wouldn't let her get a good grip. She slid the tarp off her shoulders as quickly as she could and prepared to defend herself and Matches. She swayed; her knees gave way and she hit the dirt.
"Dynamite, it's okay. It's me, Archer. Hey, remember me?" The man was looking down at her with wide dark eyes. He looked familiar, but all she could think of was that he was stopping her from getting Matches home.
Another voice came from somewhere behind her. "Sir, Matches is alive, but barely. I don't think he's -"
Archer muttered a curse. "I don't care what you think; get him in the jeep and get him back to base ASAP. Dynamite rides with me in the truck. The rest of you move ahead; there were three other guys who went in, plus Goldilocks."
Dynamite rolled her eyes, trying to see what was happening. "Matches -"
"It's okay, Dynamite. He's in good hands -"
"Leave him alone!" She lashed out weakly.
Archer caught her wrist and forced it down. "He needs medical attention. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"Have to…get him home. Promised."
"We're gonna do better than that. We're gonna get you both home."
A second man knelt over her. "Hey there, Dynamite," he said cheerily, pushing gently on her shoulders as she struggled to get up. The slightest pressure had her pinned - she just didn't have the strength. She gave up. There was no point fighting it. She closed her eyes.
"Uh uh, none of that. You keep your eyes open til I say you can close 'em, hear?"
She heard, and opened her eyes again. The guy gently flipped her arm over to check out the stained bandage, then twitched her shirt up. He took in a hissing breath and glanced quickly at Archer and muttered something she couldn't hear.
"Alrighty. You stay with us, darlin', we're gonna move you onto a stretcher now."
"Matches -"
Archer put a hand on her forehead. "He's on route back to base right now. We're gonna do everything we can. You ready?"
Dynamite nodded. She didn't even have the energy to groan in pain as she was slid onto the stretcher and the straps were buckled over her chest and legs.
"What are their chances?" she heard Archer ask.
The second man answered. "It'll be touch and go, but I don't reckon she walked all that way just to give up now, Archer."
"And Matches?"
"Well…it didn't look good. Let's just see how things go."
Something stung the side of her face. Nomad's eyes snapped open. "Ouch!"
She had a killer headache and one eye was watering from the wake-up slap. She rolled her head - as she tilted back she felt a bruise twinge on the back of her neck. Where was she?
She glanced wildly around the dark room. Destro, the Baroness and the Sergeant Major were all peering down at her. Behind them, a door stood open, letting in a shaft of light. She could see the glow of the elevator button panel to the left if she leaned sideways a little.
"Urk. Who hit me?" Nomad tried to stand, but found her hands cuffed to the arms of the chair she was sitting on. Her ankles were bound to the chair legs. "What the hell is this?" She glared at the Sergeant Major. "Hey, you hit me!"
She tried not to panic. She hated not being able to move. Hated it. Not being able to move meant helplessness - and, more often than not, pain. "What's going on? How long was I out?" She failed to keep the tremor from her voice. Dammit.
"Just under an hour," the Baroness said coldly. "I think you know what this is about."
"If I already know, why would I ask?" Nomad snapped. Ah, that was better. See? Getting angry always helped.
Maybe Psyche Out had a point when he said she used anger as a defence mechanism. It was certainly what she was doing now…
The Baroness took a piece of paper from her pocket and unfolded it, then shoved it in Nomad's face. "Do you know this man?"
It was a black and white still, clearly taken from one of 'Robac and Co.'s outer surveillance cameras. It showed a man in cargo pants and a loose, untucked shirt that didn't hide his muscular build. He wore a floppy hat. "That's the guy who bumped into me this morning. Why? Who is he?"
"His name is Snake Eyes."
So it had been Snakes…she knew there'd been something familiar about him. It was the way he moved - she just hadn't recognised him without the intimidating black suit and mask.
She swore to herself. It should have been obvious. "Snake Eyes? One of the Joe ninjas?"
"So you do know him." The Baroness' voice was triumphant.
"Don't be stupid; I've read his file. Anyway, who else would've been able to slip a transmitter into my pocket without me noticing? Apart from the other ninja…Storm…Storm…the one who used to work for Cobra Commander."
"Storm Shadow?"
"That's it."
The Baroness glared at her. "How do we know you're not one of them?"
"A ninja?" Nomad scoffed. "Yeah, right."
Destro leaned forward, his metal face close to hers. "Don't test my patience."
Nomad sighed. "If I was a Joe, they wouldn't have to plant a transmitter on me, would they?" she asked patiently.
The Baroness stepped forward and hit her again. It wasn't a slap this time - Nomad's head snapped back with the force of the blow. "Your name is not Medusa."
"And I'm sure your name's not really Baroness. Of course my name's not Medusa! You didn't have to hit me for that."
"What is it?"
"Holly Cruiser." She used the first name she thought of – a blend of greenshirt Jeckle's first name and greenshirt Heckle's last.
Destro turned to the Baroness.
"Strange," the leather-clad woman mused. "I was under the impression it was Sherry...or, as you seem to prefer, Nomad."
Nomad thought her heart had stopped, and she was pretty sure her expression had slipped, just for a moment. "Yeah? Where'd you get that from?" She rattled the cuffs again. "My real name's Holly. Seriously. I put Sherry down on my paperwork for possible aliases."
"I haven't seen any paperwork," the Baroness said.
"Well, I did it. Just ask Buzzer, he saw me."
Destro heaved a sigh. "And that would explain why we haven't seen any," he said dryly.
The Baroness frowned at Destro. "Could we have been given the wrong information?"
Nomad's eyes flicked up. "Given the wrong information by who?"
"That's none of your concern," Destro said. "What about the codename, Nomad?"
Nomad shrugged, keeping her face carefully blank. "Not my style. I'd go for something a bit more flashy. Or dangerous." She looked up. Since regaining consciousness, her wrists hadn't stopped twisting in the cuffs. "Is this part of the trial mission? Because I think I've proved - uh, what's in that?"
While they'd been talking, the Sergeant Major had produced a small case from somewhere. Opening it, he revealed a small glass bottle and a rather large syringe packed in foam.
"Are you familiar with sodium pentathol?" the Baroness asked quietly.
"Uh…not personally, no." The drug had never been used on her, but she'd heard of it, of course. "What does it do?"
"It's a truth serum," Destro explained, taking both the bottle and the needle. "It's very effective."
"Do all new Cobras have to go through this? Don't you trust me?"
"Do you trust anyone in Cobra?"
She gave a reluctant nod. "Okay, you've got me there. But seriously, a truth drug? Is that really necessary?"
Destro approached, the syringe now filled with liquid and looking very pointy. "If you've nothing to hide, then this shouldn't worry you," he said.
She pressed herself back against the chair. "I'm not worried, I just don't like needles all that much. Hey, are you qualified to -"
A loud alarm interrupted her.
"That's the intruder alarm," Destro explained, gazing down at Nomad. The syringe was inches from her neck. "Odd that somebody should sneak in at this time, isn't it?"
"Considering a Joe planted a transmitter on me not long ago? I don't think it is," Nomad retorted, hoping fervently that it was a whole team of Joes storming in to shoot as many Cobras as they could. "Let me outta these cuffs. If it's the one who ran into me, I want first shot at him."
"You're not going anywhere," the Baroness stated. "Sergeant Major, stay here and watch her. If anyone comes near, shoot her."
"Uh, what? Why shoot me? He should shoot them!" Nomad protested. She silently thanked god that Destro had been distracted. The syringe had gone back into the case.
Destro and the Baroness strode out the door and turned right. That was predictable - they'd take the stairs rather than risk being trapped in the elevator by the intruder. The Sergeant Major turned and trained his rifle on her.
"First you hit me from behind, now you're gonna shoot me while I'm tied to a chair," Nomad muttered contemptuously. "Real brave."
"Orders are orders."
"Yeah? Well, when I'm working for Cobra Commander, you'd better hope I never give you -"
The elevator pinged.
"What in -" The Sergeant Major spun around as they heard the doors slide open. Nomad tried to lean to the side to see what was happening outside the room, but straightened quickly as the chair began to tip sideways.
"Maybe you should go check it out," she suggested offhand, smiling sweetly at the Sergeant Major.
He threw her a nasty look, but cautiously crossed to the door.
What happened next threw Nomad completely. One moment, the Sergeant Major had been standing by the door. The next, something had scuttled across the roof - right above her - and dropped on him like a giant spider.
Make that a giant, white spider.
"Stormy?" Nomad's mouth hung open stupidly as the ninja glanced up, having rendered the Sergeant Major unconscious with a touch.
"Nice to see you again, Nomad. How've you been?"
"I - what - where -" All she could manage to do was stare.
Storm Shadow pulled the bottom half of his mask down and chuckled. "Where did I come from?" he prompted helpfully.
She nodded.
"I was in here all along."
"You…excuse me?" She looked up at him in disbelief. "And you were gonna let them jab me with sodium pentathol?"
The ninja rolled his eyes. "Of course I wasn't," he assured her. "I just wanted to see if you could talk your way out of it. You know, I think you almost had them fooled, but it's a good thing Snake Eyes got here and tripped the alarm when he did."
"Snakes is here, too?"
Hawk had sent two ninjas in to get her? Nomad wasn't quite sure whether to be flattered or annoyed.
"He was getting bored sitting around the Pit. Decided to come along for the exercise."
"Of course he did," she said dryly. "How'd you get in? How come they didn't see you? How did you crawl across the damn roof like that?"
She knew the answers: ninja, ninja and ninja. Still, a less…mystical…explanation might be nice.
Storm nudged the Sergeant Major aside with his foot. "We figured they might bring you here before shipping you off to who knows where. Or killing you, whichever they decided to do."
"Thanks for that," she growled.
"I snuck in and took out the Techno-Vipers manning the surveillance cameras early this morning. After he knocked you out and brought you here, the Sergeant Major went to get Destro and the Baroness. There's a conveniently placed air vent in the corner up there - I've been hiding in it since then."
"And the Spidey trick?"
"Ninja."
"Typical." Nomad rattled the handcuffs. "Get these things off me so we can get the hell outta here."
Storm Shadow grinned wickedly and unsheathed his sword.
"What're you - no, no, no! Not like that!" Nomad cringed back into the chair as Storm swung the sword. There was a sharp jerk on both sets of cuffs.
She opened one eye and glanced at her wrists - the cuffs had been severed in two at a link in the middle of the chain. As she watched, Storm dragged the blade along the ropes around her ankles, slicing the bonds cleanly. Nomad stood up quickly and snatched the unconscious Sergeant Major's gun, searching his pockets for spare clips and coming up empty.
Storm Shadow cleared his throat.
"Alright, alright. Thank you for coming to rescue my unworthy life." She paused, realising that didn't sound very sincere, and turned to him. "Thanks, Storm. I appreciate it, really. And look, I know how you like to show off your ninja awesomeness any chance you get, but next time, just get the keys. Please." She held up said keys, which she'd just found in the Sergeant Major's pocket, then unlocked the cuff halves that still circled her wrists.
"Hopefully, there won't be a next time," Storm sniggered, then he got serious again. "We need to move. Somebody will think to come and check on you when they realise the alarm was just a distraction."
Nomad followed him to the door, then out into the hall when he'd made sure there were no Cobras waiting to ambush them. He pressed the call button for the elevator - the doors opened immediately. "All clear."
Nomad backed up as the emergency access hatch in the roof opened and a man in civilian clothing lowered himself down. He was tall, with blonde hair and a strangely impassive face half-shadowed by a floppy hat.
"Snake Eyes! I didn't even recognise you this morning!" Nomad exclaimed, reaching up to lift the brim of the hat. The sunglasses were gone. His eyes were blue and sharp - at least, one was. There was something a little weird going on with the left eye - kind of like his eyelid didn't fit on right, or something.
He nodded, and his hands immediately started to sign.
"Slow down, I can't -"
"There they are! Get 'em!"
Nomad just had time to glance behind her and see a group of Cobra troops running toward them before Storm bundled her into the elevator and mashed the buttons without looking. Snake Eyes shoved Nomad behind him and, as the doors closed, threw several small, shiny stars toward the Cobras. She had no doubt that there'd be at least three bodies piled in front of the doors now. At least moving them out of the way would slow the others down a little bit.
"Okay, what's the deal?" Nomad demanded, glaring at Snake Eyes. "Why'd you put that transmitter in my pocket?"
"This is the Cobra Consulate - official Cobra territory," Storm explained, keeping an eye on the elevator's display screen as he translated for the mute ninja. They were just passing the tenth floor. "Like Cobra Island, Joes aren't supposed to be here. The only reason one of us would be here is if we were being held here by Cobra. Hawk reasoned that if we put a transmitter on you, and it stopped transmitting, you'd most likely be in trouble -"
"Giving you a perfectly good reason to come after me," Nomad finished with a grin. "Hawk's sneaky."
*You don't know the half of it,* Snakes signed. She looked up at him, expecting a grin, but his face was still blank.
All of a sudden, the elevator juddered to a stop and the lights went out.
"Well, there goes that idea," Storm Shadow said lightly. Nomad frowned at him; he sounded almost pleased that their escape hadn't been easy.
Damn ninja.
Snake Eyes leaped and caught hold of the still open access hatch, pulling himself up easily. Storm laced his hands together; Nomad stepped into them and he launched her up. Snakes caught her wrists and lifted her through the hatch.
She glanced up. The elevator cables disappeared into the gloom overhead, still swaying. She hoped they wouldn't have to climb too far up - rope climbs weren't her favourite obstacle. That, and she was still wearing only her civilian clothes - shorts, a singlet and a jacket. Not the most practical of clothing. At least she still had the shoulder holster on. It now held the Sergeant Major's gun.
Storm Shadow hauled himself out of the elevator. "Time to put those rope-climbing skills Beachhead makes us practice to good use," he said cheerfully. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a nasty-looking, three-pronged claw that he fastened to his wrist.
Nomad looked at it warily. "What's that for?"
"Usually? Climbing up walls," he answered.
She glanced at Snake Eyes. He was now wearing one as well.
"And…not usually?" she hazarded. Considering they had cables to climb, she figured there must be an alternate use. She'd probably regret asking.
"They're also good for gouging."
"Ah." Nomad thought it best to leave it at that.
Snake Eyes grabbed the cable and began to climb. Nomad went next, followed by Storm, who promised her playfully that he'd catch her when she fell. Not if. When. She was tempted to 'accidentally' slip and plant a foot in his face, but decided that she'd rather live.
They climbed up another five floors, until Snake Eyes nimbly swung himself over to a set of outer doors and - somehow - clung to the small ledge. Nomad tightened her legs around the cable and hung on with one hand, pointing the Sergeant Major's gun as the ninja pried the doors open.
He somersaulted through the doors as soon as they were wide enough for him to get through. Nomad didn't even have time to squeeze a shot off; the three Cobra troops waiting outside went down in less than three seconds. It was messy - the first had the tendons behind his knees ripped out by the claw, the second received a kick in the guts and then a knee to the nose (Nomad heard the crack even in the elevator shaft) and the third fell to the floor, clutching at his chest after Snake Eyes raked the claw across him.
The ninja crouched for a moment, waiting to see if any other troopers were coming. He wasn't even breathing hard.
Nomad, on the other hand, was tiring. She quickly tucked the gun into the holster and hung onto the cable with both hands.
Snake Eyes turned and beckoned to her. She reached out with one hand to grab his and stretched a leg out, and then she was on solid - thought slippery - ground again. She tried not to step in the blood as she covered the hallway.
"Time to go," Storm said once he'd swung out of the shaft. Nomad dumped the Sergeant Major's gun in favour of one of the troops' assault rifles, and she and the two ninjas ran for the stairs.
The stairwell was just around the corner. Just as they reached it, Storm Shadow pressed his back to the wall, flinging his arm across Nomad's chest and pushing her back as well. Snake Eyes tilted his head to one side, standing across from Storm.
"What -" she whispered.
Storm narrowed his eyes warningly at her, then jerked his head at the door and held up two fingers. Two troops were coming down the stairs. She didn't bother to ask how he knew.
Suddenly, Storm whirled around, his sword flashing. As the door handle turned, the sword pierced straight through the door, which swung open quickly under the weight of the Cobra troop now impaled on the blade. The second troop almost ran right into Storm Shadow's arms. The ninja tossed him aside easily, but he didn't stay down. Snake Eyes whacked him across the head and he dropped.
Stormy calmly retrieved his sword and wiped the blood on the troop's body before heading up the stairs, taking them three at a time.
"Up?" Nomad asked in disbelief. "If they block off all the lower levels, they'll be able to sweep up through all the floors, and then we're fucked."
Snakes just grabbed her arm and pulled her up the stairs after him.
"Alright, alright! But would an explanation of the plan be too much to ask for? You guys do have a plan, right? Do ninjas make plans?"
"Wild Bill's waiting for us on the roof," Storm Shadow said obligingly. "Or at least he will be in a few minutes." He knelt and slid the tip of his sword under the next door, angling it slightly to check the reflection. "Not that one." He moved on.
Somewhere further up the stairwell, another door opened. The three Joes stopped as they heard several pairs of feet rapidly descending toward them, accompanied by the sounds of weapons and hushed voices murmuring into headsets. They turned, only to hear the same thing from below.
Storm Shadow said something in Japanese - probably the same curse Nomad had just said in English. "This way," he whispered, retreating back to the door they'd just passed. He glanced warily upwards, tightening his grip on the sword. "There are Cobra troops out there," he said quietly.
Nomad peeked under the door. There were several pairs of Cobra-issue boots milling around outside. "I've got this," she said, brandishing the rifle.
Snake Eyes pulled the door open. Nomad burst through, opening fire on the unsuspecting troops. The white wall behind them was splattered with red. "Clear," she called softly, replenishing her ammo from the dead troops' pockets.
"Good idea," Storm said, jogging past. His feet made absolutely no sound.
"What?"
"Snake Eyes says there's a fire escape on the other side of the building." He turned the next corner. Immediately, a rain of bullets bit into the walls and he jumped back.
Nomad took a quick look, then leaned back against the wall in dismay, wincing as chunks of plaster blew off the wall. The entire room beyond was filled with Cobras, all heavily armed. "Yeah? And we're gonna get there…how?"
"Well," Storm Shadow said, checking the Cobra gun he'd just picked up. "I do have an idea."
"I'm not gonna like it, am I?"
"Probably not. But you don't want to live forever, do you?"
She shook her head as she stuffed a full clip into her own gun. "No," she said, "but I was kind of hoping to make it to my next birthday. Where's Snake Eyes?"
"Taking care of the troops in the stairwell. When's your birthday?"
"Couple of months." She gave a shrug. "Let's get this over with."
"Alright. Give me five seconds."
"Storm, wait!"
The ninja had already lunged around the corner, gun blazing, throwing something with his other hand. Swearing loudly, Nomad counted to five, then followed - only to find the room now filled with smoke. The damn ninja actually had smoke pellets. She didn't shoot, worried she'd hit Storm, but then he materialised beside her, sword drawn and already bloody. She gladly opened fire on the shadowy figures of the Cobra troops, holding the rifle in one hand as Stormy grabbed her elbow and guided her toward the window at the far end. Nomad couldn't believe what they were doing - running straight through the middle of a room full of armed enemies.
She used the butt of the rifle to smash the window. Storm literally threw her out, then disappeared back into the haze. Nomad was left to nervously look up and down the fire escape through stinging eyes, coughing. Storm Shadow had said Wild Bill would be waiting on the roof - but she wasn't going to leave him and Snake Eyes behind.
More smoke billowed out the window, and then two figures leaped out. She stepped aside just in time to avoid getting bowled over.
"Let's go," Storm said, ushering her up the rattling stairs.
She was puffing by the time they reached the roof, and her knees felt a little wobbly. Storm deposited her behind the storage shed before scouting around. Snakes came to stand beside her.
"I thought Wild Bill was -"
Nomad gave a jolt as Snakes glanced down at her. The floppy hat was gone, and now that it wasn't shadowing his face - and now that they were in broad daylight, not being chased just yet by the enemy - she could see him clearly.
Whatever had gone down in the stairwell, and in the smoke-filled room, he hadn't come out unscathed. His left eye - the one that had looked a little weird before - was wide, the eyelid torn right off. A flap of ragged skin dangled against his cheek. She leaped to her feet and reached out to him. "God, Snakes, you're -"
Wait a minute. There should be blood. There should be lots of blood.
Why wasn't there any blood?
He realised what she was staring at and raised a hand quickly to his face, feeling the damage. Grabbing the torn skin, he began to pull it away.
"What the - no, don't -" Nomad stared in horror as he ripped his face off, looked down at it for a moment, then tossed it to her. She cried out in disgust, jumping away. The skin landed with a soft plop on the concrete. "Oh my God!"
It was only when she heard Snake Eyes' huffing laughter that she realised she'd been had. She frowned, hesitantly poked the rubbery blob, then picked it up. She held it up in front of her as if she was holding out a new shirt and studied it.
"It's a mask. You…you ass!" She threw the mask back at him, laughing more out of relief than anything. "Goddammit, you scared the hell outta -" She broke off as her eyes lifted to his face. "Oh, Snakes..."
Scars ran down the side of his face, puckering the skin. His left eye was wide and staring, surrounded by skin that had obviously been burned at some stage.
They really weren't that bad - the scars. Sure, they weren't pretty. And the eye was a little creepy, she had to admit, but apart from that…
The way he'd sprung it on her was probably the most shocking thing. She'd honestly thought he was pulling his own skin off.
"Is this what you looked like?" she asked, pointing to the mask questioningly. "I mean…you know." She stopped. "I mean, I don't - know what? Forget I asked."
He held his hands up to silence her, his shoulders shaking with laughter again. *Relax. Yes, that's what I used to look like.*
"It's none of my business. I know what -"
*It's okay,* he insisted. *I've lived with these longer than you've been enlisted. I think I'm used to it by now.*
She looked up at him. "Well, I don't have a problem with scars," she said truthfully, then frowned at him. "You know, that wasn't funny."
*Actually, it was,* he replied, smiling slightly. *You should have seen your face. I should have had a camera.*
"Smartass."
They turned as they heard the loud, rhythmic whup of helicopter rotors. Storm rejoined them.
"No need to wait for an invitation!" The voice was almost drowned out by the chopper, but it was familiar. Duke stood in the open bay of the Tomahawk as it ascended into view and hovered a few feet away from the building. The top sergeant waved his arm. "Move it!"
Behind them, the rooftop door burst open and Cobra troops spilled through it. Snake Eyes shoved Nomad forward, then both he and Storm Shadow spun and ran straight for them. Nomad went to follow, but Duke called her back. "Nomad! Get your ass here now!"
"But -"
"They can look after themselves!" Duke pointed a finger to the helicopter floor. "Get in this chopper right now, soldier! That's an order!"
Well, that settled it. Nomad bolted for the side of the building and leaped off the edge, flying over almost two metres of empty space - with a long drop beneath her - into the Tomahawk. She landed awkwardly and rolled to a stop against the wall. "Couldn't have parked a bit closer, could you?"
Duke glanced over his shoulder at her. "Get up front and man the chin turret. Give Storm and Snakes some backup," he barked.
"Yes, sir."
"Just think of it as one o' them arcade shootin' games," Wild Bill said helpfully.
Nomad slid into the seat and swung the gun around, giving the trigger a short squeeze to find her range. A spray of bullets chipped the concrete roof well short of the troops. She adjusted the gun and fired again, this time sending rounds over the troops' heads. Most of them ducked or hit the ground.
"That's done it, Nomad!" Wild Bill whooped. "Yeehaw!"
She let go, watching as Storm and Snakes hurled themselves off the roof and into the Tomahawk.
"Take off, Bill!" Duke yelled.
The chopper veered away. Nomad took the liberty of returning fire on the troops who were now shooting at them.
She leaned back and closed her eyes for a moment once they were out of range.
"Hey, wanna ride shotgun for a bit?" the cowboy asked her.
"Yeah!" She flopped down beside him, eagerly looking out the window. It was only rarely that she got to sit in the cockpit - she was usually in back, waiting to 'chute or rappel out.
She glanced sideways at him as he laughed. "What?"
"Nothin'. How'd you get the shiner?"
"Huh?" She raised a hand to her eye and winced as she felt the bruise. "Oh, that. The Baroness hit me."
"Put some ice on it," Duke said, leaning over and slapping an ice pack into her hand.
"Thanks." She turned in her seat to glance back at him and the two ninjas. The ice pack felt like heaven on her face - the killer headache she'd felt after the Sergeant Major knocked her out was back - and, just like the Brood Mother in the Ridley movie sequel, it was bigger and meaner. "Everyone else okay?"
Snake Eyes gave her a thumbs up. Storm looked at her and smirked.
She took that as a 'yes', but decided to try and wipe the look off his face anyway. "So, Stormy. I got to read your file. You used to work for Cobra Commander himself, huh?"
It didn't have the effect she was looking for. "Yeah," he answered nonchalantly as he started to clean his sword. "Are you going to have a problem with that?"
She sighed in resignation. No matter how hard she tried, she'd never get one up on him. "No," she said. "Chuckles said you had your reasons. That's good enough for me." She paused, then grinned. "Believe it or not, I'm not stupid enough to pick a fight with either of you."
Snakes signed something rapidly. Storm Shadow shook his head and sniggered.
"Hey, I'm not," she insisted, not understanding what Snakes had said, but figuring it was probably to do with her intelligence, or lack thereof.
Nomad flapped her free hand in exasperation and turned to Wild Bill. "I'll never understand ninjas."
The pilot reached up and slid his mirrored down his nose, peering at her over the top of them. "Don't worry, darlin', you ain't the only one."