Cover Girl carefully sidestepped the piles of metallic debris lying on the
floor as she made her way down the darkened hallway. At the end of the
hallway was a door, and Cover Girl knocked.
Low-Light answered.
"Come in if you want," he said to her. "It should be pretty interesting. The interrogation is starting."
Cover Girl walked inside the small room. Within, Duke and Low-Light had their attention turned toward a window, which was a one-way reflecting mirror. The window looked into another room, the interrogation room, where Snake Eyes was alone with Scarlett. Scarlett turned her head toward the window of the other room but could only see her own reflection.
The voices of Snake Eyes and Scarlett came through to the other room, loud and clear.
"We've checked you out."
"What did you find?"
"There's no record of you in existence. There is no Shana O'Hara from Atlanta."
"That's right, there shouldn't be," Scarlett said, remembering the closely monitored phone call she had been allowed to make to her father's house, at her insistence.
* * *
"Hello?"
"Siobhan?"
"Who is this?" Scarlett's sister said warily.
"It's Shana."
"Who's Shana?"
For a long time, Scarlett had been in denial over the whole thing. She was unprepared to deal with the situation that the angel had handed to her. She existed in a world in which she had never been born, and it tortured her mind. Her own sister did not know her. Many Joes had been killed. And Snake Eyes could talk.
What are you doing to me, Clara?
Scarlett's mind called out to the angel, but no answer came.
"Hello?" Siobhan said impatiently, on the verge of hanging up.
"Wait!" Scarlett said. "I want to speak to Dad. Where's Patrick O'Hara?"
"Dad?" Siobhan burst out angrily, all patience gone. "Dad's been dead for ten years."
In that moment, as Scarlett absorbed the weight of those words, a series of images flooded into her mind. It was as if she was seeing memories through the eyes of her sister, and the memories felt like those of her own.
What is the meaning of this?
Then Scarlett understood. Clara was giving Scarlett a channel into Siobhan's own center of memory. In ten seconds, Scarlett rapidly processed a lifetime's worth of memories.
Siobhan and her brothers all looked to their father, who now stood before Katherine's gravestone. He was devastated. The love of his life was gone. He had nothing left now but his children, but somehow it was not enough. Something was missing. Something, or someone.
He died of a broken heart.
Years passed by, with each passing season bringing Patrick closer and closer to his own end. His will to live was leaving him. He progressively slept less and ate less. His energy and motivation was in an irreversible decline. Scarlett could see Siobhan trying to save her father, trying to bring him back with visits to his physician. He had major depressive disorder, the doctor said. Take these antidepressants, the doctor said. And Patrick obediently took the drugs. Or did he?
Unable to take anymore, Scarlett shut her eyes and hung up the phone.
* * *
"And you say you're a part of G.I. JOE?" Snake Eyes said.
"Yes. My codename is Scarlett. Counterintelligence."
"Yeah, and I'm Ghandi," Snake Eyes jeered.
"So tell me, miss mystery woman," Snake Eyes said, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
"That's a little hard to explain."
"Try me."
"You won't understand."
"I'll be the judge of that."
Scarlett thought how best to present her situation.
"Have you ever seen the movie, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE?"
"Sure," Snake Eyes said. "Comes on every Christmas. Who hasn't seen it?"
"You know how Jimmy Stewart gets shown what his town would be like without him?"
"Are you telling me you're Jimmy Stewart?"
"I come from a reality in which I'm a part of G.I. JOE. I'm being shown what G.I. JOE would be like if I'd never been born."
"Ah, I see now," Snake Eyes said with an ironic grin.
Suddenly, Snake Eyes leaned across the table and slapped Scarlett on the face.
"Don't you bullshit me!" Snake Eyes yelled furiously.
"The G.I. JOE I know isn't like this," Scarlett said, turning her head to indicate the surroundings. Her face stung from the slap delivered by Snake Eyes.
"Oh, tell me about the G.I. JOE you know," Snake Eyes said sarcastically.
"For one thing, Hawk and Stalker aren't supposed to be dead."
"You saw the body bags."
"Yes, I did. But it wasn't supposed to happen that way. It wasn't like that because…"
…because I saved their lives…
Scarlett paused.
"Anything else you want to say?"
"You're not like this."
You're not this cruel…
"Me?" Snake Eyes narrowed his eyes. "You don't know me."
"I know all about you, Elias," Scarlett said softly.
Snake Eyes froze in shock. No one in G.I. JOE knew his real name except Stalker. For this woman to know such a thing was nearly impossible. Scarlett knew this. She knew that Snake Eyes would only reveal his name to someone that he trusted. Someone he felt a deep sense of intimacy with. Someone he loved.
"How do you know my name?"
"Where I come from," Scarlett said, "you and I are together."
"Together?"
"We were going to marry at one point," Scarlett said.
"What do you know," Snake Eyes said. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Although I admit you are kind of attractive."
Scarlett's face reddened a little. The thought crossed her mind: had Snake Eyes fallen in love with anyone in this world?
"Has there been anyone in your life, Snake Eyes?"
"What?" Snake Eyes said defensively.
"Someone special."
For a moment, Scarlett could detect the conflict of emotions on Snake Eyes' face. There was some painful memory. Something terrible had happened to him.
"No," Snake Eyes said, scowling bitterly, "Never."
Scarlett tried to see into Snake Eyes' mind, hoping to probe the truth of his words. She wanted to peer into his life the same way she had seen what her sister had experienced. She wanted Clara to show her Snake Eyes' life and the depth of his emotions. But Clara showed Scarlett nothing. Scarlett drew a complete blank. That part of Snake Eyes was closed off to her, unless she could verbally dig more deeply into Snake Eyes' psyche. That was not likely; such a thing would make her the interrogator rather than the interrogated.
"You said you knew about me," Snake Eyes said suspiciously. "So far you haven't told me anything except my name."
"You were in Vietnam with Stalker and Storm Shadow," Scarlett continued, determined to convince Snake Eyes.
Snake Eyes looked at Scarlett silently, his incredulity and suspicion growing by the second.
"When you were in Vietnam, you carried a photo of your twin sister Terry in your wallet. You believed that as long as the photo was safe, no harm could come to you. It was your talisman. But on the day you came home from the war, your sister and parents were killed in a car crash. You were alone. Finally, you decided to go to Japan and train with Storm Shadow. Storm Shadow's real name was Tommy. You and Tommy were sword brothers. But something terrible happened in Japan. The Hard Master was assassinated, and Storm Shadow was forced to leave the clan. You came back and spent years alone in a cabin in the high Sierras. Then Hawk and Stalker came and brought you back."
Snake Eyes trembled.
"How are you doing this?"
"You told me everything," Scarlett said. "I told you. You told me these things because you loved me. You shared your whole life with me. Nothing was hidden from me."
"Anything else you want to reveal to me about myself?"
"I don't know what happened to you after you joined G.I. JOE, because I wasn't there. But something was supposed to happen to you, something terrible."
"What's that?"
"There was a chopper crash," Scarlett said. "You were on a mission over the desert in the Middle East, and there was a terrible accident. You lost your face and your voice."
"Kiss my ass," Snake Eyes said, holding his hand to his unscathed visage, "I guess I got away with one, huh?"
"You were on a mission to rescue George Strawhacker," Scarlett said. "Did something happen on that mission?"
Snake Eyes looked at Scarlett evenly.
"Yes."
"What happened?"
Snake Eyes closed his eyes and said nothing. He was clearly remembering the events of that distant day.
But suddenly, Scarlett was given the power to see everything through Snake Eyes' own memories. The angel was showing her what had happened.
You want to know what happened that day, Clara's voice echoed in her mind. I'll show you what happened.
* * *
Four men sat in the chopper, watching the desert sands below as they flew overhead. Four men. Snake Eyes, Rock 'N Roll, Grunt, and Clutch. Clutch occupied the seat next to Snake Eyes, the same seat that Scarlett had sat in when she had been there that day.
Clutch? What's Clutch doing there?
So this is what would have happened if I hadn't been there. Clutch would have taken my place.
"You're awful quiet," Clutch said to Snake Eyes, nudging him with an elbow. "Is there something you know about this mission that you're not telling us?"
There was plenty that Clutch didn't know about this mission. The man they were rescuing was Terry's erstwhile fiance. The man Terry would have married if she hadn't been killed in that accident. Snake Eyes and Hawk both knew this, but they shared the information with no one. It was for Snake Eyes alone to ruminate and bitterly reflect upon.
Snake Eyes said nothing, only giving Clutch a silent stare. He did not really like Clutch, who was a shameless chauvinist and not very pleasant to be around.
"Sheesh," Clutch said.
"Ease off," Rock 'N Roll said from the other end of the chopper bay. "He's always like that on his missions. You know it."
"Yeah, and it never fails to freak me out," Clutch said.
"Hey guys, we're flying kind of low, aren't we?" Grunt said. "I wonder if the big honchos saw fit to outfit our choppers with sand filters for the air intakes."
At that moment, the chopper lurched violently as the engine stalled. Everyone was nearly thrown out of his seat. Snake Eyes looked over at the other chopper and saw they were having similar problems.
"Shit, I guess not!" Grunt said in dismay.
"What the hell is going on?" Clutch cried.
"We've got engine problems," the pilot yelled. "We're going down! You'll all have to ditch the chopper!"
The chopper was falling, spinning as it went down. Rock 'N Roll and Grunt managed to hurl themselves out to safety. Snake Eyes was at the door when he remembered Clutch. He turned and saw Clutch trapped by the opposite door. The door had slammed shut on his web gear. Clutch was a little dazed from having banged his head against the door as it slammed shut.
And then, for a moment, Snake Eyes hesitated. He wanted to go back and get Clutch out, but the other chopper was veering ever so near. What would happen if he went back and the other chopper, with its rotors still working, slammed into them? Snake Eyes was frozen in indecision. Was it worth it risking his neck for this asshole Clutch?
Snake Eyes shook his head. What was he thinking? Of course he was going to go back and get him. You never left your buddies behind. Did Tommy leave him behind when he had been shot in Vietnam? How could he even think of punking out on his fellow soldier when he was most needed?
"Hang on, I'll get you out of there," Snake Eyes yelled, starting back to Clutch's side of the chopper.
The chopper shook again as it made another rotation over the sand, Snake Eyes felt himself being thrown backward.
"No!" he cried as he realized he was being thrown out of the chopper.
Snake Eyes flipped himself in midair, attempting to land on his feet as he came crashing down onto the desert sand. Grunting, Snake Eyes shook his gear loose and looked up, just in time to see the two choppers collide in the air, not far from his position. A plume of flame shot out through the open door from which Snake Eyes had just been thrown.
Realization hit as Snake Eyes shielded his eyes from the brightness of the fire.
"I would have been burned," Snake Eyes murmured as he continued watching the choppers go down.
Snake Eyes could not shake the persistent, vague feeling that he somehow should have been on that chopper instead of safe on the ground. He was supposed to rescue his friend, but he had been thrown out by a freak chance. The thought came into the back of his mind that perhaps he had cheated death. He had cheated his own destiny. And with that thought, there came a sense of dread. Somewhere down the road, he would face the consequences. Although he had escaped fate today, fate had not forgotten him.
Inside the chopper, Clutch shook himself to a fully aroused state and realized that he was the only one left in the chopper. The other three Joes had managed to escape. He realized the chopper was going to crash, and he had mere seconds to cut himself free and get the hell out.
Clutch fumbled for his combat knife while he tugged helplessly against the caught web gear.
"Son of a bitch," Clutch muttered. "Of all the lousy rotten things…"
He feverishly sliced through the web gear straps in two swift and jagged strokes. Clutch, freed of his restraints, turned to look out the window on his side. He saw the other chopper's blades coming straight at him.
"Shit!" Clutch cried in alarm. He tried to throw himself to the deck and avoid the huge burst of flame and shattered glass as the other chopper's rotors hit a fuel tank.
At that moment, the chopper shook violently, and Clutch was thrown like a rag doll toward the forward end of the chopper. Something hard collided with Clutch's face as he tried to grab at something to brace himself for the final crash. In the confusion, Clutch couldn't tell what it was that hit him, but the pain was excruciating. He lost consciousness as the chopper went down.
"Clutch!" Rock 'N Roll cried as he, Grunt, and Snake Eyes made their way to the burning chopper. Snake Eyes, ignoring the danger, climbed into the crashed chopper and emerged moments later carrying Clutch over his shoulders.
Rock 'N Roll and Grunt both gasped in dismay. Clutch's face was covered in blood. There was an enormous laceration along the entire right side of Clutch's face, beginning at his forehead, sparing his eye, then continuing down to his jaw.
"Jesus H. Christ," Grunt said as the three Joes gathered around Clutch, who lay unconscious on the sand.
* * *
From within the observation room, Cover Girl put a hand over her mouth as she heard Scarlett's reference to the mission over the desert. She felt tears well up in her eyes.
Duke and Low-Light both looked at Cover Girl with concern.
"Are you sure you're okay being here listening to this?" Duke said. "We didn't know she would bring that up."
"I… I'm okay," Cover Girl said, wiping a tear from her eye. Low-Light patted her comfortingly on the shoulder.
"It's just that it's still hard for me to be reminded of him," Cover Girl said tearfully. "Seems like the smallest things can just set me off."
Duke, Low-Light, and Cover Girl watched Snake Eyes and Scarlett through the looking glass. Snake Eyes and Scarlett were staring at each other, neither of them speaking.
"What are we going to do with her?" Low-Light asked Duke.
"I don't know what to make of her," Duke said. "There really isn't anything we can do. She hasn't really done anything wrong. We have no concrete information on her. I imagine we'll eventually just end up letting her go. But I suspect she won't leave until she's ready. There's a reason why she's here, and I'd like to find out."
Cover Girl turned to Duke.
"Let me talk to her," she said.
* * *
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Since Snake Eyes does not have an official real name, I had to invent one. I was trying to avoid giving him a real name, but I felt it would give his scene with Scarlett more dramatic impact. I named him after the Willem Dafoe character in PLATOON.
Low-Light answered.
"Come in if you want," he said to her. "It should be pretty interesting. The interrogation is starting."
Cover Girl walked inside the small room. Within, Duke and Low-Light had their attention turned toward a window, which was a one-way reflecting mirror. The window looked into another room, the interrogation room, where Snake Eyes was alone with Scarlett. Scarlett turned her head toward the window of the other room but could only see her own reflection.
The voices of Snake Eyes and Scarlett came through to the other room, loud and clear.
"We've checked you out."
"What did you find?"
"There's no record of you in existence. There is no Shana O'Hara from Atlanta."
"That's right, there shouldn't be," Scarlett said, remembering the closely monitored phone call she had been allowed to make to her father's house, at her insistence.
* * *
"Hello?"
"Siobhan?"
"Who is this?" Scarlett's sister said warily.
"It's Shana."
"Who's Shana?"
For a long time, Scarlett had been in denial over the whole thing. She was unprepared to deal with the situation that the angel had handed to her. She existed in a world in which she had never been born, and it tortured her mind. Her own sister did not know her. Many Joes had been killed. And Snake Eyes could talk.
What are you doing to me, Clara?
Scarlett's mind called out to the angel, but no answer came.
"Hello?" Siobhan said impatiently, on the verge of hanging up.
"Wait!" Scarlett said. "I want to speak to Dad. Where's Patrick O'Hara?"
"Dad?" Siobhan burst out angrily, all patience gone. "Dad's been dead for ten years."
In that moment, as Scarlett absorbed the weight of those words, a series of images flooded into her mind. It was as if she was seeing memories through the eyes of her sister, and the memories felt like those of her own.
What is the meaning of this?
Then Scarlett understood. Clara was giving Scarlett a channel into Siobhan's own center of memory. In ten seconds, Scarlett rapidly processed a lifetime's worth of memories.
Siobhan and her brothers all looked to their father, who now stood before Katherine's gravestone. He was devastated. The love of his life was gone. He had nothing left now but his children, but somehow it was not enough. Something was missing. Something, or someone.
He died of a broken heart.
Years passed by, with each passing season bringing Patrick closer and closer to his own end. His will to live was leaving him. He progressively slept less and ate less. His energy and motivation was in an irreversible decline. Scarlett could see Siobhan trying to save her father, trying to bring him back with visits to his physician. He had major depressive disorder, the doctor said. Take these antidepressants, the doctor said. And Patrick obediently took the drugs. Or did he?
Unable to take anymore, Scarlett shut her eyes and hung up the phone.
* * *
"And you say you're a part of G.I. JOE?" Snake Eyes said.
"Yes. My codename is Scarlett. Counterintelligence."
"Yeah, and I'm Ghandi," Snake Eyes jeered.
"So tell me, miss mystery woman," Snake Eyes said, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
"That's a little hard to explain."
"Try me."
"You won't understand."
"I'll be the judge of that."
Scarlett thought how best to present her situation.
"Have you ever seen the movie, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE?"
"Sure," Snake Eyes said. "Comes on every Christmas. Who hasn't seen it?"
"You know how Jimmy Stewart gets shown what his town would be like without him?"
"Are you telling me you're Jimmy Stewart?"
"I come from a reality in which I'm a part of G.I. JOE. I'm being shown what G.I. JOE would be like if I'd never been born."
"Ah, I see now," Snake Eyes said with an ironic grin.
Suddenly, Snake Eyes leaned across the table and slapped Scarlett on the face.
"Don't you bullshit me!" Snake Eyes yelled furiously.
"The G.I. JOE I know isn't like this," Scarlett said, turning her head to indicate the surroundings. Her face stung from the slap delivered by Snake Eyes.
"Oh, tell me about the G.I. JOE you know," Snake Eyes said sarcastically.
"For one thing, Hawk and Stalker aren't supposed to be dead."
"You saw the body bags."
"Yes, I did. But it wasn't supposed to happen that way. It wasn't like that because…"
…because I saved their lives…
Scarlett paused.
"Anything else you want to say?"
"You're not like this."
You're not this cruel…
"Me?" Snake Eyes narrowed his eyes. "You don't know me."
"I know all about you, Elias," Scarlett said softly.
Snake Eyes froze in shock. No one in G.I. JOE knew his real name except Stalker. For this woman to know such a thing was nearly impossible. Scarlett knew this. She knew that Snake Eyes would only reveal his name to someone that he trusted. Someone he felt a deep sense of intimacy with. Someone he loved.
"How do you know my name?"
"Where I come from," Scarlett said, "you and I are together."
"Together?"
"We were going to marry at one point," Scarlett said.
"What do you know," Snake Eyes said. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Although I admit you are kind of attractive."
Scarlett's face reddened a little. The thought crossed her mind: had Snake Eyes fallen in love with anyone in this world?
"Has there been anyone in your life, Snake Eyes?"
"What?" Snake Eyes said defensively.
"Someone special."
For a moment, Scarlett could detect the conflict of emotions on Snake Eyes' face. There was some painful memory. Something terrible had happened to him.
"No," Snake Eyes said, scowling bitterly, "Never."
Scarlett tried to see into Snake Eyes' mind, hoping to probe the truth of his words. She wanted to peer into his life the same way she had seen what her sister had experienced. She wanted Clara to show her Snake Eyes' life and the depth of his emotions. But Clara showed Scarlett nothing. Scarlett drew a complete blank. That part of Snake Eyes was closed off to her, unless she could verbally dig more deeply into Snake Eyes' psyche. That was not likely; such a thing would make her the interrogator rather than the interrogated.
"You said you knew about me," Snake Eyes said suspiciously. "So far you haven't told me anything except my name."
"You were in Vietnam with Stalker and Storm Shadow," Scarlett continued, determined to convince Snake Eyes.
Snake Eyes looked at Scarlett silently, his incredulity and suspicion growing by the second.
"When you were in Vietnam, you carried a photo of your twin sister Terry in your wallet. You believed that as long as the photo was safe, no harm could come to you. It was your talisman. But on the day you came home from the war, your sister and parents were killed in a car crash. You were alone. Finally, you decided to go to Japan and train with Storm Shadow. Storm Shadow's real name was Tommy. You and Tommy were sword brothers. But something terrible happened in Japan. The Hard Master was assassinated, and Storm Shadow was forced to leave the clan. You came back and spent years alone in a cabin in the high Sierras. Then Hawk and Stalker came and brought you back."
Snake Eyes trembled.
"How are you doing this?"
"You told me everything," Scarlett said. "I told you. You told me these things because you loved me. You shared your whole life with me. Nothing was hidden from me."
"Anything else you want to reveal to me about myself?"
"I don't know what happened to you after you joined G.I. JOE, because I wasn't there. But something was supposed to happen to you, something terrible."
"What's that?"
"There was a chopper crash," Scarlett said. "You were on a mission over the desert in the Middle East, and there was a terrible accident. You lost your face and your voice."
"Kiss my ass," Snake Eyes said, holding his hand to his unscathed visage, "I guess I got away with one, huh?"
"You were on a mission to rescue George Strawhacker," Scarlett said. "Did something happen on that mission?"
Snake Eyes looked at Scarlett evenly.
"Yes."
"What happened?"
Snake Eyes closed his eyes and said nothing. He was clearly remembering the events of that distant day.
But suddenly, Scarlett was given the power to see everything through Snake Eyes' own memories. The angel was showing her what had happened.
You want to know what happened that day, Clara's voice echoed in her mind. I'll show you what happened.
* * *
Four men sat in the chopper, watching the desert sands below as they flew overhead. Four men. Snake Eyes, Rock 'N Roll, Grunt, and Clutch. Clutch occupied the seat next to Snake Eyes, the same seat that Scarlett had sat in when she had been there that day.
Clutch? What's Clutch doing there?
So this is what would have happened if I hadn't been there. Clutch would have taken my place.
"You're awful quiet," Clutch said to Snake Eyes, nudging him with an elbow. "Is there something you know about this mission that you're not telling us?"
There was plenty that Clutch didn't know about this mission. The man they were rescuing was Terry's erstwhile fiance. The man Terry would have married if she hadn't been killed in that accident. Snake Eyes and Hawk both knew this, but they shared the information with no one. It was for Snake Eyes alone to ruminate and bitterly reflect upon.
Snake Eyes said nothing, only giving Clutch a silent stare. He did not really like Clutch, who was a shameless chauvinist and not very pleasant to be around.
"Sheesh," Clutch said.
"Ease off," Rock 'N Roll said from the other end of the chopper bay. "He's always like that on his missions. You know it."
"Yeah, and it never fails to freak me out," Clutch said.
"Hey guys, we're flying kind of low, aren't we?" Grunt said. "I wonder if the big honchos saw fit to outfit our choppers with sand filters for the air intakes."
At that moment, the chopper lurched violently as the engine stalled. Everyone was nearly thrown out of his seat. Snake Eyes looked over at the other chopper and saw they were having similar problems.
"Shit, I guess not!" Grunt said in dismay.
"What the hell is going on?" Clutch cried.
"We've got engine problems," the pilot yelled. "We're going down! You'll all have to ditch the chopper!"
The chopper was falling, spinning as it went down. Rock 'N Roll and Grunt managed to hurl themselves out to safety. Snake Eyes was at the door when he remembered Clutch. He turned and saw Clutch trapped by the opposite door. The door had slammed shut on his web gear. Clutch was a little dazed from having banged his head against the door as it slammed shut.
And then, for a moment, Snake Eyes hesitated. He wanted to go back and get Clutch out, but the other chopper was veering ever so near. What would happen if he went back and the other chopper, with its rotors still working, slammed into them? Snake Eyes was frozen in indecision. Was it worth it risking his neck for this asshole Clutch?
Snake Eyes shook his head. What was he thinking? Of course he was going to go back and get him. You never left your buddies behind. Did Tommy leave him behind when he had been shot in Vietnam? How could he even think of punking out on his fellow soldier when he was most needed?
"Hang on, I'll get you out of there," Snake Eyes yelled, starting back to Clutch's side of the chopper.
The chopper shook again as it made another rotation over the sand, Snake Eyes felt himself being thrown backward.
"No!" he cried as he realized he was being thrown out of the chopper.
Snake Eyes flipped himself in midair, attempting to land on his feet as he came crashing down onto the desert sand. Grunting, Snake Eyes shook his gear loose and looked up, just in time to see the two choppers collide in the air, not far from his position. A plume of flame shot out through the open door from which Snake Eyes had just been thrown.
Realization hit as Snake Eyes shielded his eyes from the brightness of the fire.
"I would have been burned," Snake Eyes murmured as he continued watching the choppers go down.
Snake Eyes could not shake the persistent, vague feeling that he somehow should have been on that chopper instead of safe on the ground. He was supposed to rescue his friend, but he had been thrown out by a freak chance. The thought came into the back of his mind that perhaps he had cheated death. He had cheated his own destiny. And with that thought, there came a sense of dread. Somewhere down the road, he would face the consequences. Although he had escaped fate today, fate had not forgotten him.
Inside the chopper, Clutch shook himself to a fully aroused state and realized that he was the only one left in the chopper. The other three Joes had managed to escape. He realized the chopper was going to crash, and he had mere seconds to cut himself free and get the hell out.
Clutch fumbled for his combat knife while he tugged helplessly against the caught web gear.
"Son of a bitch," Clutch muttered. "Of all the lousy rotten things…"
He feverishly sliced through the web gear straps in two swift and jagged strokes. Clutch, freed of his restraints, turned to look out the window on his side. He saw the other chopper's blades coming straight at him.
"Shit!" Clutch cried in alarm. He tried to throw himself to the deck and avoid the huge burst of flame and shattered glass as the other chopper's rotors hit a fuel tank.
At that moment, the chopper shook violently, and Clutch was thrown like a rag doll toward the forward end of the chopper. Something hard collided with Clutch's face as he tried to grab at something to brace himself for the final crash. In the confusion, Clutch couldn't tell what it was that hit him, but the pain was excruciating. He lost consciousness as the chopper went down.
"Clutch!" Rock 'N Roll cried as he, Grunt, and Snake Eyes made their way to the burning chopper. Snake Eyes, ignoring the danger, climbed into the crashed chopper and emerged moments later carrying Clutch over his shoulders.
Rock 'N Roll and Grunt both gasped in dismay. Clutch's face was covered in blood. There was an enormous laceration along the entire right side of Clutch's face, beginning at his forehead, sparing his eye, then continuing down to his jaw.
"Jesus H. Christ," Grunt said as the three Joes gathered around Clutch, who lay unconscious on the sand.
* * *
From within the observation room, Cover Girl put a hand over her mouth as she heard Scarlett's reference to the mission over the desert. She felt tears well up in her eyes.
Duke and Low-Light both looked at Cover Girl with concern.
"Are you sure you're okay being here listening to this?" Duke said. "We didn't know she would bring that up."
"I… I'm okay," Cover Girl said, wiping a tear from her eye. Low-Light patted her comfortingly on the shoulder.
"It's just that it's still hard for me to be reminded of him," Cover Girl said tearfully. "Seems like the smallest things can just set me off."
Duke, Low-Light, and Cover Girl watched Snake Eyes and Scarlett through the looking glass. Snake Eyes and Scarlett were staring at each other, neither of them speaking.
"What are we going to do with her?" Low-Light asked Duke.
"I don't know what to make of her," Duke said. "There really isn't anything we can do. She hasn't really done anything wrong. We have no concrete information on her. I imagine we'll eventually just end up letting her go. But I suspect she won't leave until she's ready. There's a reason why she's here, and I'd like to find out."
Cover Girl turned to Duke.
"Let me talk to her," she said.
* * *
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Since Snake Eyes does not have an official real name, I had to invent one. I was trying to avoid giving him a real name, but I felt it would give his scene with Scarlett more dramatic impact. I named him after the Willem Dafoe character in PLATOON.