G

G.I. Joe is the codename for America's daring, highly trained special mission force. It's purpose, to defend human freedom against Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined

To Rule the World

Part 2

The Coming Darkness

By Nick Maro

---------------------

Mike Peterson leaned over the magazine he was reading. He held back a yawn as he turned the page. A customer cleared her throat causing him to look up. He took the items she held and punched them into the cash register. She handed him the exact amount and he went back to reading the magazine. The woman stood in front of him a moment. "Asshole," was all she said.

"Bitch," Mike said casually without looking up. "How you been Sandy?"

"Not too bad," Sandy replied. "I'm in a hurry though. You working tomorrow?"

Mike shrugged as he read. "Probably. Unless I'm called upon to help take over the world."

Sandy let out a light laugh. "Well, in that case good luck." She headed toward the door and held it for a man in a trench coat. "I'll see you tomorrow, Mike."

Waving without looking, Mike replied in his bored tone. "If you're lucky." He closed the magazine and put it aside. He checked his watch and groaned when he realized he still had six hours left on his shift. Mike rubbed his eyes and leaned back. When he opened his eyes, the man in the trench coat was standing before him. "Can I help you, sir?"

The man stayed silent. Mike noticed that he wasn't carrying anything. He finally spoke slowly and softly. "The serpent uncoils to strike."

"It's about fucking time." Mike smiled wide for the first time in almost a year. He opened the cash register and safe and took out all of the money. He then opened the door to his office. His manager looked up at him. "I quit." Mike pulled a gun out of his jacket and shot his manager six times, emptying the gun. He grabbed a briefcase and went back to where the man was waiting. Mike saluted the man and yelled, "Cobra!"

The man returned the same salute and said calmly, "Cobra."

------------------------

The intercom beeped and the voice of Steve Herbert's secretary came through with a slight hint of static. "Sir, there's a woman here who wishes to see you. Shall I buzz her in?"

Steve kept writing the report that he was working on. "No. I'm busy right now. Tell her I'll see her in a half hour." He kept writing and started humming to himself. Steve looked up when he heard muffled shots of a gun. A tall, raven haired woman came through the door. Steve thought he recognized her. "Well, I guess I can fit you in. How can I help you?"

"The serpent uncoils to strike."

"Finally." Steve went to his closet and pulled out a briefcase and followed the woman out the door. On the way out, he saw his secretary dead in her chair. Steve pulled back a painting and set a timer for two minutes. "We have two minutes before the whole building goes up. Let's not waste time."

Steve and the woman ran down the emergency stairs and exited the building out a side door. They made it a half of a block when they heard the building start to explode. They both turned smiled. The woman and Steve saluted each other and yelled, "Cobra!"

---------------------

Inside the one level, ranch style home, Betsy Unger prepared dinner for her family. She pulled the ham out of the oven and set it on the counter to cool. She checked the potatoes and started to mash them. When everything was ready, she called her family to dinner. She sat down and they discussed the day's events.

Betsy turned her husband, Robert. "So honey, how are things in the office?"

"Nothing exciting as usual. My secretary's boyfriend left her. Like that was a surprise. I heard that the new guy isn't working out at all." Robert pointed to the ham with his fork. "This is good."

"I hate school," Betsy's step-son said quietly. "All the kids tease me about my braces."

"Just find a fault they have and tease them back, honey." Betsy was interrupted by the doorbell. She stood to get it, but Robert got up to answer it.

"Bets! It's for you," he said coming back to the table and sitting down.

Betsy stood and went to the door. A man in a business suit waited there. Before she could say anything, he spoke softly. "The serpent uncoils to strike." Betsy smiled and went back into the kitchen. She grabbed the carving knife she used to cut the ham and stood behind her husband. She grabbed him by the hair, jerked his head back quickly and slit his throat. Her step-son started screaming and ran from the room.

Following her step-son into the living room, Betsy quickly caught up to him. She grabbed his head with both hands and snapped his neck. She let the body fall to the ground. Betsy went upstairs and came down with a briefcase. She saluted the man. They made the familiar battle cry of Cobra. Betsy shut and locked the door behind her. "I never liked kids anyway." The two got into a car and drove off.

-------------------------

A crowd of about three hundred men and women waited below deck of an personal carrier ship. Some wore a blue uniform with a stylized cobra on the chest. While others wore a different uniform with the same stylized cobra on it. They were sectioned off into specialty groups talking amongst themselves. This was only a fraction of the army Cobra had gathered. They were all heading to a location none of them knew.

--------------------------

"Yeah, yeah. I hear ya," yelled a man in a faded, blue hooded sweatshirt. He walked up to the door and peeked through the spyhole. There was a woman in a pizza delivery uniform. "What do ya want?"

"Pizza!" the woman yelled through the door. "I got a pizza order here for a Mister Carey. Are ya gonna open up or what?"

The man opened the door a crack and peeked out. "Ain't no Mista Carey here. Ya got the wrong apartment."

"Damn kids. Listen, can I come in and call my boss. I gotta tell him that we just had another crank call." The delivery woman adjusted the weight of the pizza to her other hand. "I'll give you the pizza if you do. Just gonna go to waste anyway. You can't pass up a free pizza."

"Well," the man drawled out slowly. "I suppose that would be okay." He opened the door and the woman handed him the pizza. She noticed he had set down a shot gun. Opening the box lid, the man took slice out and offered it to her. "Be impolite of me if I didn't offer you a slice." The pizza woman refused it. "The phone is this way." The man set the box down and led her into the kitchen.

"Hey who was at the door?" came a male's voice in another room.

"Pizza girl. I let her in so she could use the phone. She gave us the pizza as a payment. Tell the other guys there's pizza on the table." The man turned around to be punched in the face by the pizza girl. He was knocked out instantly.

Cover Girl took the hat and wig off and pulled her pistol out of the back of her pants. She bent over the man and check his pulse. He was breath just fine. She then carefully went into the next room. A second man with his back facing her started eating his pizza. "Freeze! G.I. Joe! Put the pizza down and turn around slowly, hands in the air."

The second man dropped the pizza and slowly brought his hands up. "Y'know Missy. You've just stumbled upon a heap o'trouble." He spun around and quickly pulled a gun. Cover Girl ran to the right as he fired. She fired a shot off and hit him in the arm. He fired again and shot Cover Girl in the stomach. She slumped over and fell to the ground.

As the second man was ready to shoot her in the head, through both the door and the windows the rest of the G.I. Joe field team came crashing through. Beach Head fired and shot the man in the hand holding the weapon. Flint and Scarlett started to search the rest of the house. Beach Head heard a brief struggle. Scarlett was followed closely by Flint. They were both dragging two other men behind them.

"Good work, everyone. Someone check on Cover Girl. I think she took a bullet." Beach Head handcuffed and pushed the second man out the front door.

"I'm alright," Cover Girl rasped. "Was wearing my vest." She coughed once and sat up. Doc was there to check her out. Cover Girl smiled at Scarlett. "Next time, you play the pizza girl."

--------------------------

The Joes gathered in the recreation room in the Pitt. Hawk gave them time off from training due to a successful mission. They had stopped another militia group from blowing up a national monument. It seemed this group of G.I. Joes worked very well together. He was glad to see that his choices were working.

Flint pulled a piece of cloth of his pocket and stared at it. It was a dark blue patch with a faded red symbol on it. He had stared at it the whole trip back. Flint secretly wished he could be fighting Cobra again, not the people of his country. This piece of cloth got his curiosity going. What was it doing in the old apartment anyway?

"Are you staring at the old piece of cloth again?" Lady Jaye asked sitting on the couch next to him. "What's on it anyway? You never did show me?" Flint quietly handed her the cloth. She lightly traced the pattern of the faded image. She looked up into his eyes. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Not sure." Flint said with a shrug. "It might be, it might not. I'm going to have Mainframe give it a run through his computer. Maybe something will turn up there." Flint stood and cracked his back. "Been sitting on my ass for far too long. I'm actually feeling the effects of the mission."

Lady Jaye hid her laughter behind her hand. "You sound like an old fart."

Flint scowled at her over his shoulder. "I'm going to bring that cloth to Mainframe. See you later tonight?" He took the cloth from Lady Jaye and stuffed it into his pocket again.

"Only if Scarlett agrees to take my shift tonight." She waved to Flint as he left the room. Lady Jaye picked up a magazine and went to the featured article on the mysterious building explosion in Boise, Idaho.

"I'm telling you, Jaye," Stalker said sitting next to her, "I'm surprised at how well Beach Head is doing. I thought for sure we'd all have killed him by now." He looked at the front cover and made a face. "Why are you reading news that's three weeks old?"

Lady Jaye threw the magazine on the table in front of her. "Our new leader cut all of our news magazine subscriptions. He said that they distracted us from our training. If researching the places we're supposed to go to is a distraction? Then what the hell does he expect us to do? Not to mention, he's pushing us awfully hard in training. I almost fell asleep today during the stakeout."

Stalker smiled and chuckled. "Face it. We had it easy when Duke was here. Personally, I love the fact we're training so hard again. Reminds me of my ranger days in the Army. Anyway, it's been a month since he's taken over. Be glad you have Scarlett and Hawk are here to make sure Beach Head doesn't push us too hard." Stalker waved his hand in the air. "Anyway, did you hear about the new Russian space station?"

"Yeah. I'm glad to hear that they got the funding for it." Lady Jaye got up and went to get a drink. "Want one?" Stalker nodded and she grabbed a second can. She sat down and handed it to him. "I don't see why Russia didn't just join up with the international station project. I mean, MIR lasted some fifteen years. But that crashed not too long ago. Can they afford another disaster?"

Wiping his mouth, Stalker set the can down and leaned back. "Give them some credit. Fifteen years is a massive achievement. We had SkyLab but that didn't last long as long as MIR. SkyLab's debris did hit parts of Western Australia. Thankfully those parts weren't that populated. I'm not saying that Russia is better, just that it's a good achievement is all."

"All personell report to the debriefing room. I repeat; all personell report to the debriefing room," Dial Tone yelled over the intercom. Stalker and Lady Jaye looked at each other, slumped their shoulders and sighed. They left the room together.

--------------------------

The light reflected off the silver mask Destro wore. He strode with purpose into the command center of the new Cobra Island. Cobra Commander was standing over his holographic table. Destro saw four dots appear on the holographic globe. "The holographic globe showing the locations for the new control cubes is working, Commander?"

Cobra Commander casually looked over his shoulder then back at the globe. "Yes. Is the assembly of the cubes completed? You said you'd a need a month and you're usually good to your word."

"Yes, they're being shipped as we speak. The locations you've chosen are very, ah, unique, Commander. I received word from my men at the first location. They've had no problem from the natives. I'm still amazed at the tribes who still live in the Mexican jungles." Destro stood at the other side of the holographic table.

"Excellent. What about the others? Have they arrived?"

"Yes, Commander. Although, I've been told that the second cube is almost in place as we speak in Nepal. The abandoned monastery's door had to be slightly widened. As a result, the structure is somewhat unstable. We need to reinforce the walls before we can install the cube. It should take no longer than a day. A very minor, but foreseen set back." Destro pressed a few buttons and the holographic globe spun on it axis. "The third cube is now being unloaded off of the ship to the island off the coast of Africa. Finally, we're having some trouble getting to the island for the fourth cube. The United States Navy is patrolling that region. But I hear we will be able to set up by the deadline."

Cobra Commander nodded and smiled behind his hood. "Excellent work, Destro. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to meet Tomax and Xamot on the mainland. We have a meeting with some men who are willing to see things from Cobra's point of view. At least they will when we're finished talking." The Commander let out a high pitched chuckled as he left the command center.

The Commander nodded as he walked past the Baroness. She nodded back and walked right up to Destro. She gave him a light kiss and turned toward the Holographic table. She pushed her glasses up a bit and studied the globe. "So this what the Commander has in mind, huh? Do you really think this will work again? The G.I. Joe team thwarted us the last time. What makes him think they won't try again?"

"My dear, when have you known Cobra Commander to ever have a doubt in a plan?" Destro took her hand lightly and tugged it. Together they walked out of the command center and into the hallway. They exited the small bunker and looked at the land across the water. They were on an island within an island. "But for the first time, I think the Commander has a back up plan."

A black clad form watched Destro and the Baroness from around a darkened corner. It slowly merged back with the shadows and ran along the wall of the base. It reached the otherside of the bunker and waited for a Viper to finish it's patrol.

The black form ran quickly to the water and dove under immediately. It was a short swim to the other coast. Emerging slowly from the water, the person ran into the woods. About twenty minutes later, it reached the other coast. It dug up a backpack that it had buried earlier. It pulled out a scuba tank, mask and fins. Once ready, the person dived under the water again and disappeared.

After an hour, the black clad form slowly emerged from the icy water. It drooped it's diving equipment as it got out. The spy took off running again. It finally stopped behind a tree. There was a Jeep waiting for someone. A man in a Russian uniform waited by leaning on the side door. The spy let out a bird call. The man returned the call. The black clad spy slowly walked up to the man, pulling off the black hood. Short blond hair tumbled out. The man smiled.

"The mission was successful as expected, Daina?" The man asked in a heavy Russian accent.

Daina smiled and pulled out a waterproof video camera and cassette recorder. "Without a hitch, Colonel Brekhov. We now have proof that Cobra is operational again and is within Russian territory." She poured herself a glass of coffee from the thermos that was on the hood of the car. "You didn't happen to see where a boat leaving the island went, did you?"

Brekhov shook his head. "No. But we must inform the general of what we have found." Together, Daina and Brekhov got into the Jeep and drove to the Russian base their commander in charge of the October Guard was awaiting their report.

--------------------------

Flint sat at the table in the recreation room. He scratched the side of his nose as he read the report of their last mission. The rise of pseudo-militia groups was rising and he wanted to know why. He wished that he could've searched the house they raided more thoroughly. His gut said their was another blue cloth there.

Leaning back in the chair, Flint rubbed his eyes and shoved the report away from him. A pair of hands started rubbing his neck an shoulders. He opened his eyes and looked up at Lady Jaye. "Hey there. You have a great habit at showing up when I need a neck rub the most."

"Oh yeah? Then where are you when I need one?" Lady Jaye stopped and sat on his lap. She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips. She broke the kiss when someone behind her cleared his throat noisily. She looked over her shoulder at Mainframe. "And what do you want?"

"I finished that analysis of the piece of cloth Flint gave me." Mainframe handed the report and cloth to Flint. "The symbol was pretty faded, but of it was intact. You were right Flint, it's a Cobra symbol. But it's a couple of months old. I mean, Cobra did vanish about a year ago, but that doesn't mean they vanished right away. It's just a piece of cloth with a Cobra symbol."

Flint nodded. "Thanks, Mainframe. I appreciate you doing this for me. Now I have a bigger favor to ask. Can you get into the computers at the Pentagon that have all the information on Cobra? The ones that are linked to the satellites that are tracking known Cobra agents and allies."

Mainframe felt his face go pale. "You want me to hack into the Pentagon? Do you know what they'll do to me if I even attem—"

"Not hack. Get into. Big difference."

"I dunno, Flint. I'll try. I'm not promising results here." Mainframe turned and left the room.

"What is with you lately, Flint? Are you trying to show Hawk that you should be the field leader?" Lady Jaye got off his lap and picked up the report Mainframe had brought.

Stuffing the cloth in his pocket, Flint sighed. "No. Yes. I don't know. Maybe. I'm kind of annoyed that Beach Head got the promotion and I didn't. I do have to admit feeling slightly betrayed by Scarlett. She did choose Beach Head over me."

Lady Jaye raised an eyebrow at his last comment. She opened her mouth to say something, when Hawk's voice boomed over the intercom speakers. "All G.I. Joe field team members report to the debriefing room. All G.I. Joe field team members report to the debriefing room. This is not a call to a mission."

Flint and Lady Jaye groaned at the same time. Flint took the report from Lady Jaye and put it in his pocket. Together they walked to the debriefing room.

---------------------------

Colonel Brekhov relaxed in the office chair. He was thankful that he could finally take some time off. He laid in his bed and stared at the ceiling. He wondered how the General was doing in Moscow. It had been a week and still no word. All the better he thought to himself. Brekhov rolled to his side and looked at a picture of his family. Soon I'll be home to keep you warm, Natasha.

A loud boom jolted him to his feet. Brekhov ran to the window. He saw dozens of black tanks destroying the barracks. Men and women ran is random directions. Some stood their ground and fought. It was a pointless gesture. They were either shot and killed or crushed by the tank treads.

Brekhov ran to his desk and pulled out a copy of the video and audio tapes Daina had made. He opened the door and raced out into the ensuing chaos. He pulled out his pistol and shot any enemy that had gotten in his way. He knew who he had to give these tapes to. Brekhov ran to one of the remaining barracks and prayed they were okay.

-------------------------

Standing over the holographic table, Cobra Commander watched the electronic tanks move back and forth. One by one the red barracks disappeared from the globe. Within a half hour they were all gone. He turned to one of the Tele-Vipers. "What's our status report?"

The Tele-Viper listened to his earpiece for a moment then repeated what was said to the Commander. "Our assault team reports base destroyed. Awaiting body cou—" He was cutoff by an updated reported. "Sir, just received the body count. All dead except for one missing. Shall we pursue?"

"No. Let them go. This is going according to plan. I want all tanks and units out of there now." Cobra Commander started leaving the command center when he turned around for a second. "Patch any further reports to my private quarters and inform Zartan that we will be starting the new pyramid shortly." He left the command center and headed to his quarters. The Tele-Viper let out a long held breath in relief.

---------------------------

In the Alaskan snow-covered wasteland, the white form slowly moved across the snow and ice. Snow had built up on it's arms and legs. Small icicles hung from the mask at the nose and mouth. The person stumbled but regained it's footing and starting walking slowly again. It stopped and looked around. There was nothing but snow and ice for miles.

The figure started walking again and made it about ten feet before it fell on it's face. It tried getting up, only to fall back into the snow. The figure just laid there. Snow slowly started covering the body and covering it's foots prints.

TO BE CONTINUED IN "A WORLD WITH COBRA"

PART 3 OF TO RULE THE WORLD