Utah Undisclosed Location

Roadblock pushed the folder across the table to Stalker. "Man, if I had known writing a detailed report was gonna be needed the moment we touched ground, I woulda suggested you let someone else lead the mission."

Stalker smiled and tapped his fingers on the closed folder. "So, what's in here? What's the real story?"

Roadblock tilted his head. "You not only have me type it out, but now you're not even gonna read it?"

"I want to hear it in your own words. There's a lot of buzz on the wires - interesting information coming our way from home base," Stalker said as he leaned forward. "I want you to tell me what you saw, what your team told you."

The larger man nodded. "You know we were headed into the woods to find Cobra. There was no sign of the snakes or their influence in the little town, which is a welcome thing - nobody needs another Springfield popping up."

Stalker nodded, motioned for Roadblock to continue.

"I'm sure Dial-Tone will give us all details on what went on, but we saw nothing even in the woods as we were waiting on Dial-Tone and Sneak Peek to get back. Next thing I know, they come runnin' out of the trees being followed by Ferrets. We had to evac fast and Cobra was right behind us, trying to blast us off the road. I expected them to be up there a few hours, but something spooked the snakes."

"I would say that a Night Raven crashing into the side of the mountain is enough to spook anyone."

Roadblock shook his head. "That's just it. Something else had to happen because the impact wasn't until we were almost back to the highway. We woulda been stuck in a massive lockdown if that had happened a few minutes earlier."

"Anything else?"

"Just the usual red tape when we got to the base. Our vehicles didn't have the proper ID so it took a few hours to get everything sorted out before we could get in the air and head back." Roadblock smiled, "Plane crashes into a mountain an hour west, bunch of guys show up in beat-up vehicles with tons of guns and ammo? I'd have been disappointed if they would've just waved us on through."

"Thank you - I always prefer to hear about it rather than read it." Stalker placed the folder on top of his stack of files and patted them, "Now, I'll get this all sent back to the PIT and we can get started on what step two will be. What time was Dial-Tone wanting to give his rundown?"

Roadblock rose to his feet. "He suggested 1700 right before mess - that way people can work it over in their heads and offer any suggestions afterward."

"Sounds good," Stalker said. "Put out the word. I'll see you there."

"So, that's what happened with me and Sneak Peek. A little more time would have been nice, but here's what we were able to find," Dial-Tone said has he motioned to Mainframe to pull up the data.

Green text filled the screen.

"As you can see, we were able to find some information, both new and old, but hopefully with a little more digging we can make sense out of some of it," Dial-Tone said. "Mainframe, pull up 'Schematics,' please."

Mainframe entered a string of commands and a list of schematics appeared on screen.

"Here we have full schematics on some of Cobra's armory. We're talking some that we've encountered like HISS tanks, Trubble Bubbles, and Rattlers, but we've also found some that are new to us or ones we've barely seen in action long enough to get a good read on." He motioned for Mainframe to bring up two schematics side by side. "We now have great technical breakdowns on the new HISS that Cobra is working on and a new aircraft they're calling the Condor. It looks like they've been busy developing new land and air weapons."

Stalker looked pleased. "This is all included in your report back to the PIT, correct?"

Dial-Tone nodded. "All of this and more. We've got Cobra rosters." The screen changed and a list of names, locations, and banking accounts populated. "Not just the ones we know about, but mercenaries, assassins, undercover agents - and how Cobra has been paying them."

"That is some serious funding!' Sneak Peek said in awe.

"And now we have definitive proof that Extensive Enterprises is officially tied to Cobra," Dial-Tone continued. "We may have finally found a way to slow down Cobra's claims at legitimacy."

"What about that one?" Roadblock asked, pointing to the pairing of 'Commander' and 'Mutations.'

"Those are part of the Doc Venom subdirectory."

"Sub Directory? Is that a new underwater Cobra ship?" Cross Country asked.

Dial-Tone shook his head with a grin. "Think of it as a collection. All these files belong to a user named Doc Venom."

Stalker had a confused look on his face. "Venom? He was supposed to be dead?"

"Cobras are sneaky creatures," Dial-Tone said. "This one has done a good job keeping his files encrypted from even his own people. We're working through the process, but it's slow. All we've been able to uncover so far is that it appears Cobra Commander is on his own two feet again."

"How is that even possible," Roadblock asked. "He was - he was changing into a giant snake!"

"If this is the same Dr. Venom that we knew," Stalker said, "I wouldn't put anything past him. He was genius, but Venom didn't care one bit about using his smarts to help people. Anything else?"

"Not until we can get these to where we can make sense of them. Like I said, I've sent them back to the PIT. Word going around is that Slip-Stream used to do a little computer hacking. Hopefully they can pull him back to base and get him on it." Dial-Tone motioned to Mainframe, "And with this guy working on it too, we should have answers sooner rather than later."

Stalker stood and looked out at his teammates. "For now, everyone stick to your regular duties. However, with that Night Raven crashing, we may be about to see a little more action than we bargained for - so stay ready to deploy."

Black Out watched as Firefly moved in closer to the observation point. Munitia waited back at the extraction point in case things went south fast. Through his scope, Black Out could see that no one was manning the tower currently. Were the Joes confident that no one would find them out here? He continued scanning and keyed his headset, "I was under the impression we'd be heading all the way back east – to their headquarters."

"So was I, but the tracking beacon Munitia attached to the transport they boarded in Washington landed here before returning back to its home," Firefly replied. "Looks like we've managed to find a new Joe base."

Munitia joined in on the conversation. "Wouldn't that also mean that we have no intel? No idea about capabilities or even the number of troops stationed?"

Firefly continued to follow the path before him. "That's what you're staying with the Mamba - we don't need anyone stumbling across us and putting an end to our work before it's even started."

Black Out interrupted, "Watch where you're going. I've just spotted a camera attached to the railing."

Firefly's steely voice came back, "Facing my approach?"

"Negative. On the east side, pointing down into the valley."

"Easy enough," Firefly replied. "Give me two minutes."

Black Out wondered how much noise the saboteur planned on making, but looking through his scope he was surprised as he watched Firefly slip his pack off and begin scaling the tower. He scanned quickly for any GI Joes, but all was still clear. As he locked back onto Firefly, he saw that he was at the camera and was rubbing his hands on the lens.

"Not to knock your plan, boss, but won't they notice a black screen back at their base?"

"Not gonna look that way," Firefly said as he climbed back down. "Look closer at the trees. Plenty of wind, birds. Just smeared a little petroleum jelly mixed with dirt. Maybe a bird hit the camera?" Firefly's feet touched the ground and he pulled his pack on. "Whatever they think, it probably won't raise enough suspicion to make them head out as soon as it's noticed. Come on - let's move closer. Munitia, contact us at the first site of the good guys."

Black Out trailed behind Firefly as they hiked down the mountain and paused every few minutes to survey the surroundings.

The sniper sat down against a tree. "Are you entering any buildings? It'll be hard to keep an eye on you if you do."

Both men scanned the area with their binoculars.

"Negative," Firefly replied. He pointed to the open motor pool. "That is the only building I may enter – I'll know for sure when I get closer. I'm planting a handful of charges and moving to a safe distance. Cobra Commander wants us to prove a point."

"And that would be?" Black Out asked.

"He doesn't like people walking away with his property," Firefly said as he lowered his binoculars and started moving again.

Bombstrike watched the monitors, struggling to stay awake. So far, the night was silent, but after Dial-Tone's report, that could change any day now.

"So, tell me a little about yourself," Cover Girl said as she walked in and pulled a chair over.

Bombstrike shrugged. "Not a lot to tell. Grew up in Rhode Island, played some sports, decided to enlist like my two brothers."

"Military family?"

"Yeah. We moved around from place to place, typical story."

Cover Girl nodded. "Where'd your brothers wind up stationed?"

"Well, one's stationed at Fort Wadsworth," she said and let the silence hand in the air for a moment.

"Wow, two Joe members from the same family?"

"Dad's pretty proud," Bombstrike said.

"Wait - you said two brothers. Are there three of you on the team?" Cover Girl asked, a low level of excitement in her voice.

Bombstrike shook her head. "No. Thomas didn't make the cut and when he found out I did, he went AWOL - completely left everything behind. No one in the family has heard from him in a few months."

Cover Girl took a sip of her coffee. "I'm sure he'll come around. Sorry for prying."

"It's fine," Bombstrike replied. "It feels good to be talking to someone around here. Everyone's been nice enough, but I still get a lot of that 'new recruit' vibe that keeps people at bay."

"That'll pass pretty soon," Cover Girls said. "You'll see that we're really just one big family around here."

Bombstrike smiled and turned back to the monitor to watch for anything out of the ordinary.

"Coast is clear so far," Black Out said over the mic. "Where are you placing the charges?"

"We've only got so many," Firefly said as he moved into the darkened motor pool. The only lighting was a small desk lamp in the far corner. "I'll be placing two on the walls on near the repair equipment - bring the roof down to damage as many as possible."

"Not the vehicles themselves," Munitia asked - she had been listening in, but obviously wanted input in the operation.

"They're parked too far apart and many of them don't look to be fully functional yet. Burying them all in rubble makes for a longer repair time."

Black Out watched as Firefly pulled a larger charge from his pack. "Slapping that one on the barracks next door?"

Firefly crouched down and scanned the area before moving behind the infirmary. "This one's for the generator."

"You're not putting one on the barracks?" Munitia asked with confusion in her voice.

The man in gray camouflage answered quickly. "We're being paid to make mayhem, not bodies. Remember the number one rule - don't do anything more than what they're paying you for. That's how 'favors' start."

Bombstrike continued to flip back and forth through the camera feeds as she failed at holding in a long yawn. "Not used to this night watch business yet - is there any more of that coffee?" she asked Cover Girl who was at the other monitors doing the same.

She looked closer at one of the shots before replying. "Yeah, we've got hot coffee going 24/7 around here - but come look at this first. What's with the camera?"

Bombstrike leaned closer to the screen. "Looks like there's dirt on it."

"No, can't be dirt - Alpine positioned all of them well off the ground."

"So, what's the protocol?"

Cover Girl thought for a moment. "Seeing as how we're still understaffed, Stalker will probably have Alpine go check it out first thing in the morning."

"Should we let him know now?"

"It's 0300 - let everyone get a couple more hours of sleep," Cover Girl replied.

"Alright," Bombstrike said. "Time for that coffee-"

She was interrupted by loud explosions that rocked the entire facility.

Firefly marveled at his handiwork as explosions chained one after the other. Once the wall of the motor pool was taken out, it was mere seconds before the munitions and gasoline combined to make a dazzling fireball. He moved his binoculars over to the barracks, but no one emerged. "Are you sure this is the right place? It seemed too dark - even before taking out the generator."

"This is where my tracker started to double back. I doubt the government would let them store all of their equipment here and shuttle off to hotels at night," Munitia said over the comms. "They may have to put them up in a hotel for now, though," she added with a sadistic laugh.

"Then where in the hell are they?" Firefly said as spotlights began to spring back to life and a siren started to sound.

Black Out lowered his rifle and switched the view on his goggles to night vision. He increased the magnification and noticed movement away from the barracks. He triggered his mic, "Firefly - movement to the south."

Firefly shifted his focus and saw a figure crawling on the ground - no, coming out of an escape hatch in the ground. "Looks like there's more here than we were led to believe. Retreat for now - we've done what was requested this time."

Firefly moved to Black Out's location, "Let's go," he said as he placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

"I'll cover you," Black Out replied.

"No," Firefly replied. "There are already too many things we don't know about this place."

Black Out slung his rifle over his back and started to the evac point.

"Munitia," Firefly said, "Get the Mamba ready for takeoff."

Bombstrike was first out of the hatch, followed closely by Cover Girl.

"What happened up here?" Bombstrike asked as she looked back and saw Lowlight scrambling out behind them. She watched as he pulled his sniper rifle up with him and ran to the corner of the barracks for cover. He shouldered his weapons and immediately began searching in the distance.

"Clear for now," he grunted.

"Come on!" Cover Girl shouted and motioned for Bombstrike to follow her. Cover Girl pushed open one of the side windows of the empty barracks and climbed inside.

"What's in here," Bombstrike asked quickly.

Cover Girl was already throwing the tops off multiple crates. "Fire extinguishers - somewhere. Give me a hand."

Bombstrike started following the other woman's lead and after a moment Cover Girl shouted over to her.

"Found them! Grab one and follow me!" she said as she ran out the door and toward the motor pool. "We've gotta salvage what we can."