Eight months had passed. Hawk paced back and forth before the Joes
assembled in the meeting room.
"As you all know, one of our ambassadors to the Middle East was kidnapped last week. Intelligence reports indicate he is currently being held on a secret base located in the Florida Keys. In addition, Cobra is rebuilding a huge arsenal of missiles poised to strike multiple targets all across the U.S."
A tactical map of the island appeared on the projector screen behind Hawk.
"We handed Cobra a severe defeat at Cobra-La, but Cobra remains a threat. The majority of our forces will be mobilized immediately for an all-out assault that we hope will destroy Cobra for good.
"An aerial strike will take down their missile arsenal, while a ground force will pull out Ambassador Newman from below. The rest of the team will guard the base here. Any questions? All right, then. Move it out!"
"YO JOE!!!" Everyone in the room said in unison as they got up to go.
The fleet of Tomahawk choppers and Sky Strikers streaked toward the solitary island off the coast of Florida like a procession of avenging angels.
Scarlett sat next to Snake Eyes in a Tomahawk chopper, along with the rest of the ground combat team: Low Light, Mainframe, and Beach Head. Low Light was polishing his sniper scope rifle, while Mainframe was dozing off, his head shaking with the movements of the chopper. Beach Head sat there glaring at Mainframe. In the chopper to the right, Scarlett could see Falcon with the "Rawhide" gang: Jinx, Big Lob, Tunnel Rat, Chuckles, and Law and Order. The chopper to the left held Flint, Lady Jaye, Gung Ho, Alpine, and Bazooka. Hawk, piloting a Sky Striker, led the others in the aerial force.
The island was coming up fast on everyone's sights.
"Sky Strikers, pour it on!" Hawk shouted through the intercom as the Sky Strikers screamed ahead at full speed. Scarlett anxiously observed the action through a pair of binoculars.
There were several batteries of missiles scattered in various places throughout the small island. The island consisted of a single mountain- like edifice protected by the missile and gun batteries, and surrounded mostly by forest. The Sky Strikers launched the first salvo of missiles and explosions rocked the island. There was no sign of resistance.
Meanwhile, at 15,000 feet above the G.I. JOE base in North Carolina, the crew of a Cobra transport plane was getting ready for action.
"Only G.I. JOE stands in the way of our eventual triumph. We must destroy them," Serpentor announced to his army of Vipers. Behind him was a telescreen showing Dr. Mindbender, Zartan, Zandar, Zarana, and the Dreadnoks.
"Dr. Mindbender informs me that the Joes are falling right into our hands, as planned. G.I. JOE headquarters is ripe for annihilation! Vipers, prepare to parachute!"
Serpentor turned to the last of his elite: Destro, Baroness, Tomax, and Xamot.
"You will accompany me in the flight pods."
"COBRA!!!"
The five raised their fists together.
"Oh, man, I am getting one huge friggin' signal," Breaker shouted to the others manning the communications tower at G.I. JOE headquarters.
"What is it, man?" Roadblock went over to Breaker's station.
"Looks like a giant transport vessel, five miles away and closing. It's Cobra." Breaker said, finishing by blowing a giant bubble, which popped loudly.
Roadblock turned to the others crowded around Breaker's console.
"Sound the alert!"
* * *
Scarlett and the rest of the ground forces were on the move. They moved through the forest like wraiths and finally arrived at a sealed door to the mountain.
"Mainframe," Flint motioned quickly with a flick of his wrist.
"I'm on it," Mainframe said as he ran up to the front. He opened up the door controls and after deftly performing some strategic cutting and cross- wiring, the door slithered open. Low Light and Snake Eyes had the point. They aimed their guns in readiness from a kneeling position as the door opened. No one. The darkness was thick, punctured only intermittently by a few weak lights lining the steel covered hall.
"Man, I've got a bad feeling about this place," Alpine said with a shudder.
"Beach Head," Flint called. "You, Alpine, Bazooka, and Gung Ho guard this entrance. I don't want anyone following us in. You got that?"
Beach Head pulled up his M-16. "I got it."
With Low Light and Snake Eyes at point, Scarlett, Mainframe, Flint, Lady Jaye, Falcon, Tunnel Rat, Big Lob, Jinx, Chuckles, and Law and Order proceeded further inside. They reached a darkened circular room, where a man sat tied up and gagged in a chair. Order began barking wildly.
"Law, shut the damn dog up!" Flint hissed.
"Something's not right here, man. Order's freaked." Law said, trying to calm his dog.
Big Lob and Tunnel Rat moved to untie the ambassador and remove the gag.
The ambassador suddenly pulled out two pistols with each hand and shot Big Lob and Tunnel Rat in the head. Before the other Joes had any time to react, the lights in the room suddenly came on, blinding everyone momentarily. Big Lob and Tunnel Rat lay on the floor, dead.
Flint's hand-held radio came to life. Hawk's voice could be heard.
"Flint," he said, "Abort. Do you copy? Those missiles are FAKES - they're nothing but a bunch of empty shells, do you hear me? We're being ambushed by Cobra RAVENS up here! Get back to the choppers right away. Abort!! Do you copy?"
There was a pause.
"I got a bogey on my tail," Hawk said, his voice frantic. "It—AAARRRRRGGHHH!!!!"
The radio went deathly silent.
"Hawk?" Flint said in disbelief. "Hawk, talk to me!"
"Ah, our heroes realize too late that they've walked into a trap," the ambassador said, and before the Joes' eyes, Newman's body became enveloped by a strange light, dissolving into the form of Zartan.
"The REAL Newman is lying at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean," Dr. Mindbender's voice called out. Several squads of heavily armed Cobra soldiers had the Joes surrounded from all sides, from an elevated platform. Zandar and Zarana stepped forward, guns raised.
"Now, drop your weapons, or you will all die." Dr. Mindbender said with a sinister smile.
Scarlett looked over uneasily at her teammates. Was this the end?
A bazooka blast suddenly came shooting out of the tunnel, destroying a chunk of the elevated platform where some of the Cobra troops were standing. Screaming, they fell off. Mindbender stood fast, as did the remaining troops.
"Yo Joe, move, move, MOVE!!!" Alpine shouted at Scarlett, Flint, and the others. He, Bazooka, Gung Ho, and Beach Head stood at the tunnel exit from which Flint's squad had emerged minutes before. Evidently, the four had followed them in.
Then everything went crazy.
The Cobra troops opened fire on the Joes, who were not yet at the entrance to the tunnel, which led outside. Mainframe was the first to withdraw from the circular arena-like space before a solid steel door came closing down, cutting off the Joes' escape.
The Joes were sitting ducks.
"Beach Head, get us the hell out of here!" Flint desperately shouted into his com.
Law and Order were both cut down in a merciless rain of bullets. As Scarlett and Flint fired at the enemy, Falcon got caught up in the rush of battle.
"DIE YOU COBRA BASTARDS!!!!!" Falcon rolled and dove across the floor, along with Snake Eyes, like a maniac, cutting down Cobra troops from both sides.
Low Light picked off Zandar with a fatal shot to the head, before a Cobra troop turned downed him with a shot to the stomach. Another Cobra soldier shot Chuckles, wounding him in the arm.
From the other end of the door, Beach Head motioned to Bazooka, who aimed his bazooka weapon and prepared to fire.
"Get back from the door, Bazooka's gonna blow the sucker open!!!" Beach Head screamed into his com.
Beach Head and the others ran a safe distance away from the door.
"Fire in the hole!" Bazooka shouted.
From Scarlett's side of the door, the door suddenly came bursting open in a ball of fire and shards of metal and shrapnel.
"Fall back, Joes, FALL BACK!!!" Flint shouted as he and Lady Jaye took up positions at both ends of the now defunct door and laid down a heavy rain of cover fire. Falcon, Jinx, and Chuckles made their escape from the trap. Scarlett ran the few yards between her and the downed Low Light. A pool of blood was forming under Low Light's body.
"Hang on, Low Light, I'm getting you out of here," Scarlett exclaimed to the delirious Low Light before she and Low Light were both hit and went down.
Snake Eyes saw Scarlett go down and he rushed to her side. Scarlett had been shot in the shoulder, while Low Light had been killed. A Cobra machine gunner was raking the floor with bullets. Without thinking, Snake Eyes dove onto Scarlett's body to protect her. He winced in pain as he felt two—no, three bullets hit him. He felt pain in his left shoulder, side, and leg.
Beneath Snake Eyes, Scarlett, in a slight daze, realized what Snake Eyes had just done. She would surely have died if he had not intervened and sacrificed his own body for her.
"Snake Eyes…" Scarlett said in amazement.
"Snake Eyes! Scarlett!" Flint cried.
Turning to Lady Jaye, Flint said, "We have to get them out!"
Flint and Lady Jaye ran from the entrance to the center of the room, while Beach Head and Falcon tried to cover them from the blown entrance. Under fire, Flint grabbed Snake Eyes, while Lady Jaye helped Scarlett to her feet.
"I can walk," Scarlett said.
"Then let's haul ass!" Lady Jaye shouted. She and Scarlett ran for the door while Flint helped a limping Snake Eyes, right behind them.
From behind the cover of a fallen segment of metal platform, Zartan took careful aim with a rifle and blasted Flint in the back.
Horrified, Lady Jaye screamed Flint's name and ran out to him. Scarlett turned and grabbed a hold of Snake Eyes as he fell from Flint's grasp. Catching him, Scarlett guided Snake Eyes' arm around her shoulders and helped him into the tunnel. Lady Jaye did the same for a staggering Flint.
"Get going, we've got your rear covered!!!" Gung Ho said.
As Gung Ho and Beach Head fell back, an enemy grenade explosion took them both out.
"Gung Ho! Beach Head!" Scarlett called behind her.
"They're gone!" Lady Jaye shouted.
Moments after their escape from the mountain base, the Joes successfully evacuated the complex and got onto the Tomohawks. As the choppers lifted off, Cobra troops came out firing after them. The Stratovipers and Dreadnoks were in the air, harassing the Sky Strikers with the RAVENs and flight pods.
None of that seemed to matter to Lady Jaye as she held Flint in her arms. .
"Flint," Lady Jaye said, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Kiss my ass, man, I never thought I'd get hit," Flint said, blood trickling down his mouth. Everyone in the chopper knew that Flint only had a few moments left to live.
"No, don't try to speak. You'll be fine. You'll see," Lady Jaye said.
"I'm sorry," Flint said, his voice growing fainter.
"Don't leave me, Flint, please don't leave me," Lady Jaye pleaded as Flint died in her arms.
"I love you," Flint said with his last breath.
Scarlett could hardly bear to watch. Grimacing with pain at her own wounded shoulder, she looked at Snake Eyes, who sat beside her. He was in much worse condition than she was, although thankfully not in as bad shape as Flint had been. Falcon, Jinx, and Mainframe bowed their heads in sorrow.
"Hold on, Snake Eyes," Scarlett said, clasping his hand tightly.
* * *
Scarlett knew to expect disaster when she saw the smoking ruins of G.I. JOE headquarters. The Cobras had evidently come in, done their damage, and retreated to fight again another day. Everywhere, Scarlett could see charred Hovertanks and blown up aircraft. Bodies were strewn across the airfield. Windows were smashed, steel walls had been breached, and the stench of burning fuel filled the air.
"Good God," Lady Jaye whispered in horror. Scarlett was too stunned to speak.
They were all either dead or seriously wounded. Cover Girl was lying on her side, holding a bloodied M-16 in her hands. She had been shot in the stomach.
"Hold on, Cover Girl, we'll get you to a hospital," Lifeline tried to comfort her. The sounds of ambulances could be heard in the distance approaching.
Leatherneck, Sergeant Slaughter, and Sci Fi were slumped over their machine guns, dead. Shipwreck had been shot in the chest, but was still alive.
"Roadblock..." Hawk said. They ran to the command center. Road Block, Breaker, and Rock and Roll were there. They had all been killed.
In the hospital, Shipwreck told his story. Scarlett, Lady Jaye, Falcon, and Jinx stood listening...
* * *
..."Deploy the Hovertanks!" Roadblock ordered.
Cover Girl, riding the cannon seat, fired away at the oncoming Cobra foot soldiers and STUN vehicles, as Cross Country drove. Beside them, the Hovertank containing Quick Kick and Psyche Out exploded as a missile hit. Cross Country and Cover Girl barely had enough time to clear their Hovertank as another missile came bearing down on them. Nearby, the other Joes took cover behind makeshift barricades and tried to fend off the attackers with machine guns and rifles.
The enemy flight pods streamed past them, taking out some JOE soldiers as they did so. The STUNs overran the barricades.
"Their defenses are breached! DESTROY THEM!" Serpentor howled.
Roadblock and Breaker turned as the door to the command center burst open. Both of them opened fire, cutting down a handful of Vipers and the Crimson Twins.
Serpentor, Destro, and the Baroness took cover and returned fire, killing Breaker and Rock and Roll and wounding Roadblock with a hit to the stomach.
Grabbing Roadblock by the collar of his shirt, Serpentor raised him high into the air. Roadblock groaned in pain.
"We have broken you now. You Joes cannot resist the rising tide of Cobra that will sweep across the world. No matter how vigorously you oppose us, you will fail, because evil will always live in the hearts of men. Hatred and enmity last forever... That is our power. Don't you understand that by now, you feeble worm?"
Roadblock, trembling in Serpentor's vise-like grip, spat as hard as he could into Serpentor's face. Serpentor, enraged, pulled out his dagger and with one quick motion, cut Roadblock's throat.
* * *
"Snake Eyes?"
Snake Eyes awoke to find Scarlett standing over him at his hospital bedside, smiling warmly. Her shoulder was bandaged and she looked healthy. She held out for him a bouquet of red carnations.
"Glad to see you're all right," Scarlett said, putting the flowers in a vase near his bed.
"I want to thank you," Scarlett said softly, "for saving my life."
"I was happy to do it," Snake Eyes said to her in sign language. "I would do it again."
"But why?" Scarlett said. "How can I possibly deserve this?"
Snake Eyes motioned to the little black composition notebook that lay next to the vase of flowers.
"What's this?" Scarlett said, picking it up and opening it.
"Read it," Snake Eyes signed, "I don't mind."
Flipping through the book, Scarlett noted Snake Eyes writing about a myriad of subjects. He wrote about his family, his wartime experiences, and his time in G.I. JOE. Most of all, he wrote about her. He even had drawn a pencil sketch of her somewhere.
"Cute drawing," Scarlett said with a smile, "wonder who that could be."
A half dozen loose sheets of paper fell out from between the pages of the notebook. Curious, Scarlett bent down to pick them up. What she saw made her heart stop.
They were letters addressed to her.
"Snake Eyes?" Scarlett said, stunned.
"I always imagined that someday you would read them," Snake Eyes said.
Trembling, Scarlett read through the letters one by one. It was an overwhelming expression of devotion and caring for her. The words leapt from the pages straight into her heart. She had never known anyone to feel so strongly toward her, and she was deeply touched.
"I have always loved you," Scarlett read out loud.
"Snake Eyes," Scarlett whispered, "I… I don't know what to say… all this time we were in G.I. JOE, all these years… you felt this way about me?"
Snake Eyes nodded, his penetrating gaze never leaving her eyes.
He loved her quietly and from afar. He never complained, never let envy consume him. His love was completely selfless.
"I never even knew," Scarlett said. She wasn't even sure if she loved him or not. She was almost afraid to love him, after what had happened between her and Duke.
Scarlett gently took one of Snake Eyes' hands in her own. Leaning over the bedside, Scarlett bent over and kissed him on the forehead. Snake Eyes closed his eyes serenely.
"Thank you," Scarlett said. "I'll visit you again soon."
* * *
Today was Scarlett's birthday, and she had never felt so alone. She sat quietly in her quarters, reading the card from her father and her brothers. She smiled.
Elsewhere on the desk lay the most unimaginable thing she had ever read. It was a brief message from the generals at the Pentagon in charge of G.I. JOE.
Cobra had won. G.I. JOE was broken. Their entire leadership was decimated. Hawk had been shot down in a Sky Striker, Flint had died in Lady Jaye's arms, Duke had retired from active duty, Sergeant Slaughter had fallen in the attack led by Serpentor, and Beach Head had been killed by a grenade.
Until we can recruit a new generation of G.I. JOE members and new leaders, she, Scarlett, would temporarily be in charge of G.I. JOE. Never in a million years did Scarlett imagine herself running this outfit. Lieutenant Falcon would be second in command.
Unbelievable.
"Some birthday present," Scarlett mumbled to herself as she heard a knock on the door.
It was Snake Eyes. His arm was in a sling and he had to use a crutch, but otherwise he was fine.
"Snake Eyes, what can I do for you?" Scarlett said.
"I brought this for you," Snake Eyes said, holding out a small wrapped box that fit in the palm of his hand.
"You remembered," Scarlett said happily. "I didn't know if anyone here would remember."
Accepting the present, Scarlett slowly opened it. It was a piece of jewelry.
"Snake Eyes, I can't accept this. It's too precious a gift for me," she protested.
Scarlett held in her hands a necklace. It consisted of a gold chain and a small symbolic carving, also made of gold. The carving was a circular object, representing the sun, Scarlett guessed. And a portion of the sun was blacked out.
"It wasn't too precious," Snake Eyes signed. "I mean, it wasn't cheap, but it's not like I went out and spent my life savings."
"Thank you," Scarlett said, smiling. "What does it mean?"
"It's the sun and the moon," Snake Eyes said. "The sun and the moon together."
Together.
"So what am I, the sun?" Scarlett said, laughing. "And you're the moon. Light and darkness. Yin and Yang."
Snake Eyes shrugged shyly.
Scarlett slowly put the necklace on. She stepped forward into his arms and embraced him.
"It's lovely," Scarlett said. "Thank you for remembering my birthday. Thank you for your gift. I will keep it with me always."
For a time, all of her troubles and the troubles of everyone in G.I. JOE were forgotten as the two friends stood together.
A new life had begun for them both.
"As you all know, one of our ambassadors to the Middle East was kidnapped last week. Intelligence reports indicate he is currently being held on a secret base located in the Florida Keys. In addition, Cobra is rebuilding a huge arsenal of missiles poised to strike multiple targets all across the U.S."
A tactical map of the island appeared on the projector screen behind Hawk.
"We handed Cobra a severe defeat at Cobra-La, but Cobra remains a threat. The majority of our forces will be mobilized immediately for an all-out assault that we hope will destroy Cobra for good.
"An aerial strike will take down their missile arsenal, while a ground force will pull out Ambassador Newman from below. The rest of the team will guard the base here. Any questions? All right, then. Move it out!"
"YO JOE!!!" Everyone in the room said in unison as they got up to go.
The fleet of Tomahawk choppers and Sky Strikers streaked toward the solitary island off the coast of Florida like a procession of avenging angels.
Scarlett sat next to Snake Eyes in a Tomahawk chopper, along with the rest of the ground combat team: Low Light, Mainframe, and Beach Head. Low Light was polishing his sniper scope rifle, while Mainframe was dozing off, his head shaking with the movements of the chopper. Beach Head sat there glaring at Mainframe. In the chopper to the right, Scarlett could see Falcon with the "Rawhide" gang: Jinx, Big Lob, Tunnel Rat, Chuckles, and Law and Order. The chopper to the left held Flint, Lady Jaye, Gung Ho, Alpine, and Bazooka. Hawk, piloting a Sky Striker, led the others in the aerial force.
The island was coming up fast on everyone's sights.
"Sky Strikers, pour it on!" Hawk shouted through the intercom as the Sky Strikers screamed ahead at full speed. Scarlett anxiously observed the action through a pair of binoculars.
There were several batteries of missiles scattered in various places throughout the small island. The island consisted of a single mountain- like edifice protected by the missile and gun batteries, and surrounded mostly by forest. The Sky Strikers launched the first salvo of missiles and explosions rocked the island. There was no sign of resistance.
Meanwhile, at 15,000 feet above the G.I. JOE base in North Carolina, the crew of a Cobra transport plane was getting ready for action.
"Only G.I. JOE stands in the way of our eventual triumph. We must destroy them," Serpentor announced to his army of Vipers. Behind him was a telescreen showing Dr. Mindbender, Zartan, Zandar, Zarana, and the Dreadnoks.
"Dr. Mindbender informs me that the Joes are falling right into our hands, as planned. G.I. JOE headquarters is ripe for annihilation! Vipers, prepare to parachute!"
Serpentor turned to the last of his elite: Destro, Baroness, Tomax, and Xamot.
"You will accompany me in the flight pods."
"COBRA!!!"
The five raised their fists together.
"Oh, man, I am getting one huge friggin' signal," Breaker shouted to the others manning the communications tower at G.I. JOE headquarters.
"What is it, man?" Roadblock went over to Breaker's station.
"Looks like a giant transport vessel, five miles away and closing. It's Cobra." Breaker said, finishing by blowing a giant bubble, which popped loudly.
Roadblock turned to the others crowded around Breaker's console.
"Sound the alert!"
* * *
Scarlett and the rest of the ground forces were on the move. They moved through the forest like wraiths and finally arrived at a sealed door to the mountain.
"Mainframe," Flint motioned quickly with a flick of his wrist.
"I'm on it," Mainframe said as he ran up to the front. He opened up the door controls and after deftly performing some strategic cutting and cross- wiring, the door slithered open. Low Light and Snake Eyes had the point. They aimed their guns in readiness from a kneeling position as the door opened. No one. The darkness was thick, punctured only intermittently by a few weak lights lining the steel covered hall.
"Man, I've got a bad feeling about this place," Alpine said with a shudder.
"Beach Head," Flint called. "You, Alpine, Bazooka, and Gung Ho guard this entrance. I don't want anyone following us in. You got that?"
Beach Head pulled up his M-16. "I got it."
With Low Light and Snake Eyes at point, Scarlett, Mainframe, Flint, Lady Jaye, Falcon, Tunnel Rat, Big Lob, Jinx, Chuckles, and Law and Order proceeded further inside. They reached a darkened circular room, where a man sat tied up and gagged in a chair. Order began barking wildly.
"Law, shut the damn dog up!" Flint hissed.
"Something's not right here, man. Order's freaked." Law said, trying to calm his dog.
Big Lob and Tunnel Rat moved to untie the ambassador and remove the gag.
The ambassador suddenly pulled out two pistols with each hand and shot Big Lob and Tunnel Rat in the head. Before the other Joes had any time to react, the lights in the room suddenly came on, blinding everyone momentarily. Big Lob and Tunnel Rat lay on the floor, dead.
Flint's hand-held radio came to life. Hawk's voice could be heard.
"Flint," he said, "Abort. Do you copy? Those missiles are FAKES - they're nothing but a bunch of empty shells, do you hear me? We're being ambushed by Cobra RAVENS up here! Get back to the choppers right away. Abort!! Do you copy?"
There was a pause.
"I got a bogey on my tail," Hawk said, his voice frantic. "It—AAARRRRRGGHHH!!!!"
The radio went deathly silent.
"Hawk?" Flint said in disbelief. "Hawk, talk to me!"
"Ah, our heroes realize too late that they've walked into a trap," the ambassador said, and before the Joes' eyes, Newman's body became enveloped by a strange light, dissolving into the form of Zartan.
"The REAL Newman is lying at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean," Dr. Mindbender's voice called out. Several squads of heavily armed Cobra soldiers had the Joes surrounded from all sides, from an elevated platform. Zandar and Zarana stepped forward, guns raised.
"Now, drop your weapons, or you will all die." Dr. Mindbender said with a sinister smile.
Scarlett looked over uneasily at her teammates. Was this the end?
A bazooka blast suddenly came shooting out of the tunnel, destroying a chunk of the elevated platform where some of the Cobra troops were standing. Screaming, they fell off. Mindbender stood fast, as did the remaining troops.
"Yo Joe, move, move, MOVE!!!" Alpine shouted at Scarlett, Flint, and the others. He, Bazooka, Gung Ho, and Beach Head stood at the tunnel exit from which Flint's squad had emerged minutes before. Evidently, the four had followed them in.
Then everything went crazy.
The Cobra troops opened fire on the Joes, who were not yet at the entrance to the tunnel, which led outside. Mainframe was the first to withdraw from the circular arena-like space before a solid steel door came closing down, cutting off the Joes' escape.
The Joes were sitting ducks.
"Beach Head, get us the hell out of here!" Flint desperately shouted into his com.
Law and Order were both cut down in a merciless rain of bullets. As Scarlett and Flint fired at the enemy, Falcon got caught up in the rush of battle.
"DIE YOU COBRA BASTARDS!!!!!" Falcon rolled and dove across the floor, along with Snake Eyes, like a maniac, cutting down Cobra troops from both sides.
Low Light picked off Zandar with a fatal shot to the head, before a Cobra troop turned downed him with a shot to the stomach. Another Cobra soldier shot Chuckles, wounding him in the arm.
From the other end of the door, Beach Head motioned to Bazooka, who aimed his bazooka weapon and prepared to fire.
"Get back from the door, Bazooka's gonna blow the sucker open!!!" Beach Head screamed into his com.
Beach Head and the others ran a safe distance away from the door.
"Fire in the hole!" Bazooka shouted.
From Scarlett's side of the door, the door suddenly came bursting open in a ball of fire and shards of metal and shrapnel.
"Fall back, Joes, FALL BACK!!!" Flint shouted as he and Lady Jaye took up positions at both ends of the now defunct door and laid down a heavy rain of cover fire. Falcon, Jinx, and Chuckles made their escape from the trap. Scarlett ran the few yards between her and the downed Low Light. A pool of blood was forming under Low Light's body.
"Hang on, Low Light, I'm getting you out of here," Scarlett exclaimed to the delirious Low Light before she and Low Light were both hit and went down.
Snake Eyes saw Scarlett go down and he rushed to her side. Scarlett had been shot in the shoulder, while Low Light had been killed. A Cobra machine gunner was raking the floor with bullets. Without thinking, Snake Eyes dove onto Scarlett's body to protect her. He winced in pain as he felt two—no, three bullets hit him. He felt pain in his left shoulder, side, and leg.
Beneath Snake Eyes, Scarlett, in a slight daze, realized what Snake Eyes had just done. She would surely have died if he had not intervened and sacrificed his own body for her.
"Snake Eyes…" Scarlett said in amazement.
"Snake Eyes! Scarlett!" Flint cried.
Turning to Lady Jaye, Flint said, "We have to get them out!"
Flint and Lady Jaye ran from the entrance to the center of the room, while Beach Head and Falcon tried to cover them from the blown entrance. Under fire, Flint grabbed Snake Eyes, while Lady Jaye helped Scarlett to her feet.
"I can walk," Scarlett said.
"Then let's haul ass!" Lady Jaye shouted. She and Scarlett ran for the door while Flint helped a limping Snake Eyes, right behind them.
From behind the cover of a fallen segment of metal platform, Zartan took careful aim with a rifle and blasted Flint in the back.
Horrified, Lady Jaye screamed Flint's name and ran out to him. Scarlett turned and grabbed a hold of Snake Eyes as he fell from Flint's grasp. Catching him, Scarlett guided Snake Eyes' arm around her shoulders and helped him into the tunnel. Lady Jaye did the same for a staggering Flint.
"Get going, we've got your rear covered!!!" Gung Ho said.
As Gung Ho and Beach Head fell back, an enemy grenade explosion took them both out.
"Gung Ho! Beach Head!" Scarlett called behind her.
"They're gone!" Lady Jaye shouted.
Moments after their escape from the mountain base, the Joes successfully evacuated the complex and got onto the Tomohawks. As the choppers lifted off, Cobra troops came out firing after them. The Stratovipers and Dreadnoks were in the air, harassing the Sky Strikers with the RAVENs and flight pods.
None of that seemed to matter to Lady Jaye as she held Flint in her arms. .
"Flint," Lady Jaye said, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Kiss my ass, man, I never thought I'd get hit," Flint said, blood trickling down his mouth. Everyone in the chopper knew that Flint only had a few moments left to live.
"No, don't try to speak. You'll be fine. You'll see," Lady Jaye said.
"I'm sorry," Flint said, his voice growing fainter.
"Don't leave me, Flint, please don't leave me," Lady Jaye pleaded as Flint died in her arms.
"I love you," Flint said with his last breath.
Scarlett could hardly bear to watch. Grimacing with pain at her own wounded shoulder, she looked at Snake Eyes, who sat beside her. He was in much worse condition than she was, although thankfully not in as bad shape as Flint had been. Falcon, Jinx, and Mainframe bowed their heads in sorrow.
"Hold on, Snake Eyes," Scarlett said, clasping his hand tightly.
* * *
Scarlett knew to expect disaster when she saw the smoking ruins of G.I. JOE headquarters. The Cobras had evidently come in, done their damage, and retreated to fight again another day. Everywhere, Scarlett could see charred Hovertanks and blown up aircraft. Bodies were strewn across the airfield. Windows were smashed, steel walls had been breached, and the stench of burning fuel filled the air.
"Good God," Lady Jaye whispered in horror. Scarlett was too stunned to speak.
They were all either dead or seriously wounded. Cover Girl was lying on her side, holding a bloodied M-16 in her hands. She had been shot in the stomach.
"Hold on, Cover Girl, we'll get you to a hospital," Lifeline tried to comfort her. The sounds of ambulances could be heard in the distance approaching.
Leatherneck, Sergeant Slaughter, and Sci Fi were slumped over their machine guns, dead. Shipwreck had been shot in the chest, but was still alive.
"Roadblock..." Hawk said. They ran to the command center. Road Block, Breaker, and Rock and Roll were there. They had all been killed.
In the hospital, Shipwreck told his story. Scarlett, Lady Jaye, Falcon, and Jinx stood listening...
* * *
..."Deploy the Hovertanks!" Roadblock ordered.
Cover Girl, riding the cannon seat, fired away at the oncoming Cobra foot soldiers and STUN vehicles, as Cross Country drove. Beside them, the Hovertank containing Quick Kick and Psyche Out exploded as a missile hit. Cross Country and Cover Girl barely had enough time to clear their Hovertank as another missile came bearing down on them. Nearby, the other Joes took cover behind makeshift barricades and tried to fend off the attackers with machine guns and rifles.
The enemy flight pods streamed past them, taking out some JOE soldiers as they did so. The STUNs overran the barricades.
"Their defenses are breached! DESTROY THEM!" Serpentor howled.
Roadblock and Breaker turned as the door to the command center burst open. Both of them opened fire, cutting down a handful of Vipers and the Crimson Twins.
Serpentor, Destro, and the Baroness took cover and returned fire, killing Breaker and Rock and Roll and wounding Roadblock with a hit to the stomach.
Grabbing Roadblock by the collar of his shirt, Serpentor raised him high into the air. Roadblock groaned in pain.
"We have broken you now. You Joes cannot resist the rising tide of Cobra that will sweep across the world. No matter how vigorously you oppose us, you will fail, because evil will always live in the hearts of men. Hatred and enmity last forever... That is our power. Don't you understand that by now, you feeble worm?"
Roadblock, trembling in Serpentor's vise-like grip, spat as hard as he could into Serpentor's face. Serpentor, enraged, pulled out his dagger and with one quick motion, cut Roadblock's throat.
* * *
"Snake Eyes?"
Snake Eyes awoke to find Scarlett standing over him at his hospital bedside, smiling warmly. Her shoulder was bandaged and she looked healthy. She held out for him a bouquet of red carnations.
"Glad to see you're all right," Scarlett said, putting the flowers in a vase near his bed.
"I want to thank you," Scarlett said softly, "for saving my life."
"I was happy to do it," Snake Eyes said to her in sign language. "I would do it again."
"But why?" Scarlett said. "How can I possibly deserve this?"
Snake Eyes motioned to the little black composition notebook that lay next to the vase of flowers.
"What's this?" Scarlett said, picking it up and opening it.
"Read it," Snake Eyes signed, "I don't mind."
Flipping through the book, Scarlett noted Snake Eyes writing about a myriad of subjects. He wrote about his family, his wartime experiences, and his time in G.I. JOE. Most of all, he wrote about her. He even had drawn a pencil sketch of her somewhere.
"Cute drawing," Scarlett said with a smile, "wonder who that could be."
A half dozen loose sheets of paper fell out from between the pages of the notebook. Curious, Scarlett bent down to pick them up. What she saw made her heart stop.
They were letters addressed to her.
"Snake Eyes?" Scarlett said, stunned.
"I always imagined that someday you would read them," Snake Eyes said.
Trembling, Scarlett read through the letters one by one. It was an overwhelming expression of devotion and caring for her. The words leapt from the pages straight into her heart. She had never known anyone to feel so strongly toward her, and she was deeply touched.
"I have always loved you," Scarlett read out loud.
"Snake Eyes," Scarlett whispered, "I… I don't know what to say… all this time we were in G.I. JOE, all these years… you felt this way about me?"
Snake Eyes nodded, his penetrating gaze never leaving her eyes.
He loved her quietly and from afar. He never complained, never let envy consume him. His love was completely selfless.
"I never even knew," Scarlett said. She wasn't even sure if she loved him or not. She was almost afraid to love him, after what had happened between her and Duke.
Scarlett gently took one of Snake Eyes' hands in her own. Leaning over the bedside, Scarlett bent over and kissed him on the forehead. Snake Eyes closed his eyes serenely.
"Thank you," Scarlett said. "I'll visit you again soon."
* * *
Today was Scarlett's birthday, and she had never felt so alone. She sat quietly in her quarters, reading the card from her father and her brothers. She smiled.
Elsewhere on the desk lay the most unimaginable thing she had ever read. It was a brief message from the generals at the Pentagon in charge of G.I. JOE.
Cobra had won. G.I. JOE was broken. Their entire leadership was decimated. Hawk had been shot down in a Sky Striker, Flint had died in Lady Jaye's arms, Duke had retired from active duty, Sergeant Slaughter had fallen in the attack led by Serpentor, and Beach Head had been killed by a grenade.
Until we can recruit a new generation of G.I. JOE members and new leaders, she, Scarlett, would temporarily be in charge of G.I. JOE. Never in a million years did Scarlett imagine herself running this outfit. Lieutenant Falcon would be second in command.
Unbelievable.
"Some birthday present," Scarlett mumbled to herself as she heard a knock on the door.
It was Snake Eyes. His arm was in a sling and he had to use a crutch, but otherwise he was fine.
"Snake Eyes, what can I do for you?" Scarlett said.
"I brought this for you," Snake Eyes said, holding out a small wrapped box that fit in the palm of his hand.
"You remembered," Scarlett said happily. "I didn't know if anyone here would remember."
Accepting the present, Scarlett slowly opened it. It was a piece of jewelry.
"Snake Eyes, I can't accept this. It's too precious a gift for me," she protested.
Scarlett held in her hands a necklace. It consisted of a gold chain and a small symbolic carving, also made of gold. The carving was a circular object, representing the sun, Scarlett guessed. And a portion of the sun was blacked out.
"It wasn't too precious," Snake Eyes signed. "I mean, it wasn't cheap, but it's not like I went out and spent my life savings."
"Thank you," Scarlett said, smiling. "What does it mean?"
"It's the sun and the moon," Snake Eyes said. "The sun and the moon together."
Together.
"So what am I, the sun?" Scarlett said, laughing. "And you're the moon. Light and darkness. Yin and Yang."
Snake Eyes shrugged shyly.
Scarlett slowly put the necklace on. She stepped forward into his arms and embraced him.
"It's lovely," Scarlett said. "Thank you for remembering my birthday. Thank you for your gift. I will keep it with me always."
For a time, all of her troubles and the troubles of everyone in G.I. JOE were forgotten as the two friends stood together.
A new life had begun for them both.