As they watched the house across the street, Clutch and Cover Girl sat
quietly in their car. Clutch sat in the driver's seat. He was not much
for conversation, instead preferring to concentrate solely on the mission.
They were using surveillance equipment to monitor an exchange being made
between Cobra and a mysterious spy named Rouge.
The others were in position. Snake Eyes, Jinx, Stalker, and Rock 'N Roll hung back a short distance further down the block, so as not to be seen by the enemy. Cover Girl alternated between watching Clutch and the events taking place across the street. She was nervous. It had been years now since the day they had first met. Even the fight they had engaged in was starting to feel like a distant memory. Clutch remained as moody as ever, but he was less mean to Cover Girl now. He was respectful toward her, but he remained emotionally aloof. It seemed to Cover Girl that her "project" had turned out not to be a success.
In another time, another reality, things would have been much different. Clutch would have been openly in love with Cover Girl, and Cover Girl would have been on the verge of returning his feeling toward her. In another time, Cover Girl sat in the driver's seat, not Clutch, who now noted with suspicion the bright headlights headed slowly and deliberately toward them.
In another time, Clutch would have been caught off his guard, and the two Joes would have been trapped in a drive-by shooting.
In another time, Scarlett would have been a part of this world.
But there are a million factors affecting the outcome of an event, one of those million being the presence of Scarlett, and as the other car bore down on them, an alarm went off in Clutch's mind. This time, Clutch perceived his danger a few split seconds earlier.
"Out of the car," he hissed at Cover Girl, roughly shoving her toward the passenger door.
"What the hell," Cover Girl protested as she felt for the door handle.
"MOVE!" Clutch cried, pushing his teammate with greater urgency as the car neared them and automatic weapons were unleashed on their position.
Cover Girl tumbled out of the car just in time, with Clutch right on her heels. They both grunted as Clutch landed on top of her.
The other car came to a screeching halt, and the sound of doors opening and slamming shut was audible.
Four enemies fired assault rifles into the car previously occupied by Clutch and Cover Girl, and the two Joes huddled together behind the car, desperate to find cover. They both fumbled for their pistols.
The barrage of gunfire was followed by a period of silence. Clutch and Cover Girl heard footsteps approaching them from around the back of their perforated vehicle, and they both nodded at each other, exchanging a silent signal.
Without a moment's hesitation, both Joes stood up and fired two shots each, dropping two of the four gunmen. The other two retreated back to their car for cover, not more than fifteen yards away.
"I got one of those sons of bitches!" Clutch yelled.
"I got me one too," Cover Girl said.
"Let's get them!" Clutch cried, leading Cover Girl around the front of their car in an attempt to catch the remaining gunmen in a crossfire with the other Joes, who were no doubt on their way.
The front door of the house belonging to the man called Rouge opened, and two armed Crimson Guardsmen emerged, ready to fire at anything that moved.
Clutch turned his head, saw the danger, and realized his miscalculation.
"No!" he cried as the Crimson Guards opened fire immediately. Clutch and Cover Girl were caught in the open, and there was only one thing for Clutch to do. He instinctively turned toward Cover Girl, tackled her to the ground before she could react, and shielded her with his body.
Cover Girl felt Clutch's body shudder as multiple bullets tore into him. She couldn't move or see anything with Clutch lying right on top of her, pinning her to the ground. She did not see the Crimson Guards step out onto the street, ready to finish them off, nor did she see one of the Guardsmen get shot by Snake Eyes.
The other Guardsman turned and ran, along with Tomax, Xamot, and Rouge. Cover Girl heard the sound of a car roaring to life and speeding away unmolested. Elsewhere, the remaining two gunmen from the first car were fighting for their lives against Snake Eyes, Jinx, Stalker, and Rock 'N Roll. It was a fight the two enemy soldiers were destined to lose. Within a few minutes the firing had stopped.
Cover Girl gathered the strength to gently push Clutch off of her and roll him onto his back.
Clutch moaned in pain and Cover Girl leaned close over him, calling out his name over and over. Cover Girl laid a hand on Clutch's chest and gasped as she looked down. Clutch's shirt was soaked in blood. He was dying.
"Hey there," Clutch whispered weakly to Cover Girl.
"You saved my life," Cover Girl said to Clutch, tears forming in her eyes. "I don't know what to say."
There were a million things she wanted to tell him.
You were my "project." You were always so indifferent and cold toward me, but I tried to find your true self, Clutch. I wanted so much to know you, to learn what went on in that head of yours. I wanted a glimpse into your soul. I thought I had failed. But you saved my life. You gave your life so that I could live. Why, Clutch? Does this mean you cared about me, after all? Does this mean we could have been friends?
What might have been between us?
I will always wonder. Always.
"Thank you," Cover Girl said to Clutch, leaving her thoughts forever unspoken.
"Come closer," Clutch whispered weakly. "I have something I want to tell you."
Cover Girl looked into Clutch's sad eyes as she leaned in closer, so close their faces nearly touched, so close that their lips nearly caressed each other-
And then with a last effort, Clutch lifted his head off the ground. Their eyes closed, their lips met as they kissed, tentatively at first, and then passionately. Cover Girl put her hands on both sides of Clutch's face as she kissed him, losing herself in the moment, wishing that she could hold onto this moment and keep it alive in her heart, even as she felt Clutch slowly fade away. Cover Girl gently pulled back from the kiss and gently stroked Clutch's face. She paid no attention to the other Joes who stood behind her, keeping their distance, watching in stunned silence. Clutch's face was calm and composed, a picture of serenity and peace, at long last. Indifferent to the blood on Clutch's shirt, Cover Girl threw herself on top of his body as her own racked with sobs.
* * *
It felt like Clutch's death had happened so long ago, when in fact it had only been about a year. On leave, Cover Girl decided had decided to pay a visit to Flint and Lady Jaye, who were living together in Maryland.
"There's not a day that goes by when I don't think about it," Cover Girl said to Lady Jaye as they sat together with Flint in the living room, drinking wine.
"Honey," Lady Jaye said as she turned on her wheelchair and moved closer to Cover Girl, "I know how hard this is for you. You keep wondering what might have been. You think that if there was something I could have done, if I had made this decision or that decision or done things the least bit differently, my life might be completely different. But this is the life we chose. We knew we would be tested in ways we had never been challenged before. We knew the risk. We knew that something could happen to break our hearts. We don't always get the ending we hoped for. Instead, we only have what was handed to us. I guess some things just aren't meant to be."
Lady Jaye stopped and looked down at her abdomen, contemplating the child she was destined never to bear.
Flint frowned sadly as he watched his wife. He looked down at his watch.
"Dinner's almost ready. I better go check on the oven," he said as he got up and walked out of the room.
"He loves you so much," Cover Girl said.
"I know," Lady Jaye gave her friend a bittersweet smile. "Dashiell treats me like a queen. Still, even now, I sometimes see him with that lost look in his eyes, and I wonder if he still sees what happened to me. I think he has never forgiven himself for what happened to me. But I forgive him."
Cover Girl smiled.
"It's enough for the both of us," Lady Jaye said.
* * *
Scarlett and Cover Girl faced each other from across the small table in the G.I. JOE interrogation room. From the other side of the one-way reflecting mirror, Duke, Snake Eyes, and Low-Light observed the proceedings silently. They were back in the present again, the present time of the reality in which Scarlett did not exist.
Scarlett and Cover Girl looked into each other's eyes. They had been talking for a long time now, just the two of them.
"You loved him," Scarlett said to Cover Girl.
Cover Girl made no response.
"Has there been anyone else in your life since then?" Scarlett asked.
Even without Cover Girl telling her, Scarlett knew the answer was no. At least not yet. And what of Flint and Lady Jaye?
"You said Flint and Lady Jaye were married," Scarlett said. "How are they now?"
"They're fine, as fine as they could be in such circumstances," Cover Girl replied. "They have a child now."
"A child?" Scarlett said, confused.
"They adopted a little girl," Cover Girl said.
We don't always get the ending we hoped for. Instead, we only get what was handed down to us. I guess some things just aren't meant to be.
The words spoken by Lady Jaye, long ago, echoed in Scarlett's mind.
"All of this happened because of me," Scarlett whispered.
"Because you weren't here for the people who loved you most," a familiar voice said to Scarlett.
Scarlett looked up and saw Clara standing behind Cover Girl, looking at her. No one else could see Clara, of course. She was known only to Scarlett.
"I have one last thing to show you," Clara said to Scarlett.
The door to the interrogation room opened, and Snake Eyes walked into the room.
Cover Girl turned to Snake Eyes and nodded.
"Come on, Scarlett," Snake Eyes said, "Time for you to go home."
"Home?" Scarlett said numbly.
"Come with me," Snake Eyes said to Scarlett, holding out his hand to her as he prepared to escort her off the base.
"We're going to take a walk."
The others were in position. Snake Eyes, Jinx, Stalker, and Rock 'N Roll hung back a short distance further down the block, so as not to be seen by the enemy. Cover Girl alternated between watching Clutch and the events taking place across the street. She was nervous. It had been years now since the day they had first met. Even the fight they had engaged in was starting to feel like a distant memory. Clutch remained as moody as ever, but he was less mean to Cover Girl now. He was respectful toward her, but he remained emotionally aloof. It seemed to Cover Girl that her "project" had turned out not to be a success.
In another time, another reality, things would have been much different. Clutch would have been openly in love with Cover Girl, and Cover Girl would have been on the verge of returning his feeling toward her. In another time, Cover Girl sat in the driver's seat, not Clutch, who now noted with suspicion the bright headlights headed slowly and deliberately toward them.
In another time, Clutch would have been caught off his guard, and the two Joes would have been trapped in a drive-by shooting.
In another time, Scarlett would have been a part of this world.
But there are a million factors affecting the outcome of an event, one of those million being the presence of Scarlett, and as the other car bore down on them, an alarm went off in Clutch's mind. This time, Clutch perceived his danger a few split seconds earlier.
"Out of the car," he hissed at Cover Girl, roughly shoving her toward the passenger door.
"What the hell," Cover Girl protested as she felt for the door handle.
"MOVE!" Clutch cried, pushing his teammate with greater urgency as the car neared them and automatic weapons were unleashed on their position.
Cover Girl tumbled out of the car just in time, with Clutch right on her heels. They both grunted as Clutch landed on top of her.
The other car came to a screeching halt, and the sound of doors opening and slamming shut was audible.
Four enemies fired assault rifles into the car previously occupied by Clutch and Cover Girl, and the two Joes huddled together behind the car, desperate to find cover. They both fumbled for their pistols.
The barrage of gunfire was followed by a period of silence. Clutch and Cover Girl heard footsteps approaching them from around the back of their perforated vehicle, and they both nodded at each other, exchanging a silent signal.
Without a moment's hesitation, both Joes stood up and fired two shots each, dropping two of the four gunmen. The other two retreated back to their car for cover, not more than fifteen yards away.
"I got one of those sons of bitches!" Clutch yelled.
"I got me one too," Cover Girl said.
"Let's get them!" Clutch cried, leading Cover Girl around the front of their car in an attempt to catch the remaining gunmen in a crossfire with the other Joes, who were no doubt on their way.
The front door of the house belonging to the man called Rouge opened, and two armed Crimson Guardsmen emerged, ready to fire at anything that moved.
Clutch turned his head, saw the danger, and realized his miscalculation.
"No!" he cried as the Crimson Guards opened fire immediately. Clutch and Cover Girl were caught in the open, and there was only one thing for Clutch to do. He instinctively turned toward Cover Girl, tackled her to the ground before she could react, and shielded her with his body.
Cover Girl felt Clutch's body shudder as multiple bullets tore into him. She couldn't move or see anything with Clutch lying right on top of her, pinning her to the ground. She did not see the Crimson Guards step out onto the street, ready to finish them off, nor did she see one of the Guardsmen get shot by Snake Eyes.
The other Guardsman turned and ran, along with Tomax, Xamot, and Rouge. Cover Girl heard the sound of a car roaring to life and speeding away unmolested. Elsewhere, the remaining two gunmen from the first car were fighting for their lives against Snake Eyes, Jinx, Stalker, and Rock 'N Roll. It was a fight the two enemy soldiers were destined to lose. Within a few minutes the firing had stopped.
Cover Girl gathered the strength to gently push Clutch off of her and roll him onto his back.
Clutch moaned in pain and Cover Girl leaned close over him, calling out his name over and over. Cover Girl laid a hand on Clutch's chest and gasped as she looked down. Clutch's shirt was soaked in blood. He was dying.
"Hey there," Clutch whispered weakly to Cover Girl.
"You saved my life," Cover Girl said to Clutch, tears forming in her eyes. "I don't know what to say."
There were a million things she wanted to tell him.
You were my "project." You were always so indifferent and cold toward me, but I tried to find your true self, Clutch. I wanted so much to know you, to learn what went on in that head of yours. I wanted a glimpse into your soul. I thought I had failed. But you saved my life. You gave your life so that I could live. Why, Clutch? Does this mean you cared about me, after all? Does this mean we could have been friends?
What might have been between us?
I will always wonder. Always.
"Thank you," Cover Girl said to Clutch, leaving her thoughts forever unspoken.
"Come closer," Clutch whispered weakly. "I have something I want to tell you."
Cover Girl looked into Clutch's sad eyes as she leaned in closer, so close their faces nearly touched, so close that their lips nearly caressed each other-
And then with a last effort, Clutch lifted his head off the ground. Their eyes closed, their lips met as they kissed, tentatively at first, and then passionately. Cover Girl put her hands on both sides of Clutch's face as she kissed him, losing herself in the moment, wishing that she could hold onto this moment and keep it alive in her heart, even as she felt Clutch slowly fade away. Cover Girl gently pulled back from the kiss and gently stroked Clutch's face. She paid no attention to the other Joes who stood behind her, keeping their distance, watching in stunned silence. Clutch's face was calm and composed, a picture of serenity and peace, at long last. Indifferent to the blood on Clutch's shirt, Cover Girl threw herself on top of his body as her own racked with sobs.
* * *
It felt like Clutch's death had happened so long ago, when in fact it had only been about a year. On leave, Cover Girl decided had decided to pay a visit to Flint and Lady Jaye, who were living together in Maryland.
"There's not a day that goes by when I don't think about it," Cover Girl said to Lady Jaye as they sat together with Flint in the living room, drinking wine.
"Honey," Lady Jaye said as she turned on her wheelchair and moved closer to Cover Girl, "I know how hard this is for you. You keep wondering what might have been. You think that if there was something I could have done, if I had made this decision or that decision or done things the least bit differently, my life might be completely different. But this is the life we chose. We knew we would be tested in ways we had never been challenged before. We knew the risk. We knew that something could happen to break our hearts. We don't always get the ending we hoped for. Instead, we only have what was handed to us. I guess some things just aren't meant to be."
Lady Jaye stopped and looked down at her abdomen, contemplating the child she was destined never to bear.
Flint frowned sadly as he watched his wife. He looked down at his watch.
"Dinner's almost ready. I better go check on the oven," he said as he got up and walked out of the room.
"He loves you so much," Cover Girl said.
"I know," Lady Jaye gave her friend a bittersweet smile. "Dashiell treats me like a queen. Still, even now, I sometimes see him with that lost look in his eyes, and I wonder if he still sees what happened to me. I think he has never forgiven himself for what happened to me. But I forgive him."
Cover Girl smiled.
"It's enough for the both of us," Lady Jaye said.
* * *
Scarlett and Cover Girl faced each other from across the small table in the G.I. JOE interrogation room. From the other side of the one-way reflecting mirror, Duke, Snake Eyes, and Low-Light observed the proceedings silently. They were back in the present again, the present time of the reality in which Scarlett did not exist.
Scarlett and Cover Girl looked into each other's eyes. They had been talking for a long time now, just the two of them.
"You loved him," Scarlett said to Cover Girl.
Cover Girl made no response.
"Has there been anyone else in your life since then?" Scarlett asked.
Even without Cover Girl telling her, Scarlett knew the answer was no. At least not yet. And what of Flint and Lady Jaye?
"You said Flint and Lady Jaye were married," Scarlett said. "How are they now?"
"They're fine, as fine as they could be in such circumstances," Cover Girl replied. "They have a child now."
"A child?" Scarlett said, confused.
"They adopted a little girl," Cover Girl said.
We don't always get the ending we hoped for. Instead, we only get what was handed down to us. I guess some things just aren't meant to be.
The words spoken by Lady Jaye, long ago, echoed in Scarlett's mind.
"All of this happened because of me," Scarlett whispered.
"Because you weren't here for the people who loved you most," a familiar voice said to Scarlett.
Scarlett looked up and saw Clara standing behind Cover Girl, looking at her. No one else could see Clara, of course. She was known only to Scarlett.
"I have one last thing to show you," Clara said to Scarlett.
The door to the interrogation room opened, and Snake Eyes walked into the room.
Cover Girl turned to Snake Eyes and nodded.
"Come on, Scarlett," Snake Eyes said, "Time for you to go home."
"Home?" Scarlett said numbly.
"Come with me," Snake Eyes said to Scarlett, holding out his hand to her as he prepared to escort her off the base.
"We're going to take a walk."