Scarlett awoke to Mainframe standing before the sofa, leaning over her and poking at her cheek.
"Wake up, sleeping beauty," Mainframe said with a cheerful smirk.
The sunlight was beginning to penetrate the closed curtains, filling the living from with a dull glow. Scarlett blinked several times before realizing that she had fallen asleep while in Snake Eyes' arms. Snake Eyes was asleep. One arm was drawn around her shoulder, and another hand rested on her forehead. Scarlett considered what a sight this must be to Mainframe. She did not think Mainframe had ever seen the two of them openly displaying affection toward one another.
Scarlett carefully extricated herself from Snake Eyes, not wanting to disturb him, but Snake Eyes was roused from his sleep. While Scarlett washed up in the bathroom, Mainframe and Snake Eyes stood together in the living room.
Mainframe gave a congenial smile at Snake Eyes, trying not to look surprised at the sight of Snake Eyes' face. Come to think of it, he had never seen Snake Eyes' true face before. He only knew the stories the other Joes told him. He knew the story of how Snake Eyes had lost his face and his voice to rescue Scarlett from certain death. Snake Eyes grew self-conscious in the presence of Mainframe and reached over to the coffee table for his mask.
Before Snake Eyes could put on the mask, Scarlett appeared and joined him and Mainframe in the living room.
"Ready?" Scarlett looked to Mainframe, who nodded. They each had semiautomatic handguns and their disguises.
"How do I look?" Scarlett modeled herself in front of Snake Eyes, slowly turning in a full circle and holding her hands outward.
She wore a black trench coat and a wig of long black hair. A beige scarf was wrapped around her neck, and a gray ski cap covered her head.
Snake Eyes and Mainframe looked at each other, turned to Scarlett, and flashed her a thumbs up.
"It's gotta be the hair," Mainframe said. Snake Eyes nodded in agreement.
Mainframe, meanwhile, was dressed in jeans and a thick blue winter jacket. He too wore a ski cap, as well as a pair of glasses and a fake mustache.
Scarlett walked toward Snake Eyes and reached out to put her hands on his shoulders. In front of Mainframe, Scarlett leaned into his arms and kissed Snake Eyes on the lips.
* * *
Scarlett and Mainframe looked out the window of the diner as they ate their breakfast. Outside, HISS tanks and STUN vehicles lined the street curbs. Two blocks away, the street was blocked off and Vipers stood guard. Pedestrians walked along the streets, but none passed the barrier except for Cobra personnel. Beyond the barrier lay the Rockefeller Center. Scarlett knew she needed a closer look.
"You love him," Mainframe said softly to Scarlett, interrupting her train of thought.
Scarlett smiled, looked down, and blushed like a schoolgirl. She raised her eyes and looked Mainframe in the eye.
"Don't you?" Mainframe said with a smile.
"Yes," Scarlett affirmed, "I do."
"I knew you loved him, I once heard you calling out his name in your sleep. I think you must have been dreaming of being with Snake Eyes. You said, `Snake Eyes!'"
Mainframe demonstrated by holding his hands upward as if in supplication.
"You said, `Snake Eyes, don't leave me.'"
"Is that so?" Scarlett said between sips of her coffee.
"What about you," Scarlett turned the tables on Mainframe, putting him on the spot, "isn't there anyone special in your life?"
"Me?" Mainframe was taken aback.
"Sure," Scarlett insinuated, leaning forward, "Come on, Mainframe, you know all about my love life. I don't know anything about yours. Don't tell me a good-looking guy like you hasn't had someone special in your life. Why, I bet if you weren't spending so much time around your computers, hacking into enemy networks in service of your country, the girls would be falling head over heels for you. Am I right here, or what? Hmmmm? Come on, you can share your secrets with me."
Mainframe opened his mouth as if to say something, but he instead shut up, frowned, and looked out the window toward the street barriers. As he watched the Cobra soldiers patrolling the streets among the citizens of New York, he could hear the voice with perfect clarity...
...What can I say? I guess I got a soft spot for you, Mainframe...
It was a harsh voice. This woman's voice was not gentle and sweet, like Scarlett's. It was hard edged, with sharp inflections. But it seemed to Mainframe that beneath the cold exterior of this voice was a glimmer of something else. It was a hidden ray of warmth.
The voice of Zarana.
"No," Mainframe stared out the window.
Scarlett's jocular attitude turned to one of empathy and caring.
"Never," Mainframe said sadly.
Scarlett touched Mainframe's hand.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring back any painful memories. Do you want to talk about it?"
Scarlett felt her heart ache as she watched a single tear well up in Mainframe's eye and trickle slowly down his cheek, all while his gaze remained fixed on the streets outside.
* * *
With as casual a manner as possible, Scarlett and Mainframe strolled together around the Rockefeller Center. The entire area around the Cobra base was blocked off to vehicular and pedestrian traffic. As Scarlett and Mainframe walked a circuitous route around the perimeter, they glanced past the barriers, hoping to catch a glimpse of the base. They were careful not to linger too long, for fear of arousing suspicion.
On Fifth Avenue, Scarlett and Mainframe crossed 47^th and 48^th Street for the second time. They both came to a pause a safe distance from the barricade. Scarlett took a seat on a bench while Mainframe loitered nearby, taking short looks at their objective.
"I see a lot of HISS tanks lining the streets," Mainframe said in a low voice as he pretended to be talking into a cell phone while Scarlett pretended to read the New York Daily News.
"There's a heavily guarded fortress across the street from the NBC building," Scarlett observed. The fortress was a concrete monstrosity, a plain, angular thing with no architectural aesthetics whatsoever.
"I don't think that was there before," Mainframe said. "Isn't that where they used to have the Christmas tree and the skating rink?"
"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "Do you think it could be what we've been looking for all these months?"
"Could be," Mainframe said. "It fits the description I've seen, after hacking into Cobra's network. There's something else."
"What?"
"Serpentor could be here as well. This could be the home base for Cobra's top leaders."
"Are you serious?" Scarlett said, surprised.
"Yeah. Wait, hold on a minute. What's this?"
Mainframe gazed across the barricade, where he could see part of the suspected Cobra fortress. From where he stood, he could see Zarana coming out, leading a small squad of Vipers.
"Zarana..." Mainframe said softly.
Scarlett heard, and she looked up to Mainframe, who looked lost and confused.
* * *
Dressed in civilian clothing, Mainframe sat across the table from a pretty woman in a black dress, with angular facial features and long brown hair.
"How have you been?" Mainframe asked the woman, who was Zarana in disguise.
"I've been all right. Nothing new at Cobra. Just the same ol' plots to take over the world. And you?"
"Oh me?" Mainframe said in the same tone of mock-seriousness. "Nothing new with me either. Just hanging around making the world safe for freedom. The usual."
The waiter arrived at their table and served their dinners.
"Mainframe," Zarana said softly, "We can't go on like this, sneaking around to see each other. They'd find out sooner or later. We'd both be in a world of shit."
"I know," Mainframe said.
"I mean, look at us. We make quite a couple, don't we? You're a Joe, and I'm Cobra. You're a guardian of freedom, and I'm a... a no good criminal."
"It doesn't have to be this way," Mainframe reasoned, "you can still turn your life around."
"I would... but I... I can't. If I left, Zartan would consider it as a betrayal. He would never forgive me. He's my brother, and I love him. I ain't never lived an honest life. All my life, I've been cheating and stealing. The only times I've ever been honest is when I'm with you."
Zarana put a hand on Mainframe's. Their fingers intertwined.
Mainframe felt his heart skip a beat. It was true. How could she, a hardened Cobra operative, be so tender and gentle toward him?
Zarana smiled affectionately at him.
"What can I say? I guess I got a soft spot for you, Mainframe."
* * *
Scarlett was getting worried now. Mainframe appeared frozen and entranced. If he didn't look away, he was sure to give them away.
"Mainframe," Scarlett whispered. Mainframe was lost in his memories.
From a distance of fifty yards, Zarana turned toward them. At first glance, she paid them no mind, but something caught her eye, and she looked toward them a second time. As Zartan and the squad of Vipers stood nearby, Zarana alone gazed inquisitively toward the street barricades where, on the other side, Mainframe stood looking back.
For what seemed an eternity, Mainframe and Zarana stared at each other. Mainframe was admiring how beautiful Zarana was, and how little she had changed since they had last seen each other. Zarana apparently had not recognized Mainframe, but her curiosity had been piqued.
Scarlett slowly reached behind the bench and pinched Mainframe in the leg, jolting him from his daydream.
"Time to leave," Scarlett ordered, rising from her bench. "Turn around slowly and walk with me. Slowly. Make it look like we're just taking a stroll. Do you understand?"
"I got it," Mainframe said as he took one last look and turned around.
As the two of them headed away from the street barrier, Scarlett sensed that she was being watched.
"Zarana's coming this way."
"She is?"
"Just keep walking and don't turn around."
From the other side of the barrier, Zarana took a few steps toward the two mysterious strangers she had seen, one of whom had, it seemed to her, been staring at her very intensely. There was something familiar about this man, which she could not place.
"Sister, where are you going?" Zartan asked.
"You boys excuse me for a moment," Zarana pleaded, "I just want to check something out. I'll be right back."
Zarana continued on toward the street barrier.
"What the hell was that all about, anyway?" Scarlett hissed angrily to Mainframe. "You gave us away back there. It's a wonder we're not being shot at right now."
"How far away is she?"
"About forty yards. Just keep going. We'll lose her in the crowd in Times Square."
* * *
Mainframe pulled Zarana beneath the awning of the restaurant. The rain poured down hard, and the awning offered them shelter for the moment. Zarana looked into his eyes, and Mainframe caressed her cheek. A tear fell from Zarana's eyes, and Mainframe gently wiped her face clean.
"If we should meet on the opposite sides in a fight..." Zarana began.
"We have to do what we have to do."
"I don't want to hurt you, Mainframe. I want you to know that. I couldn't hurt you. It would break my heart."
"I couldn't hurt you, either."
Their faces we're so near, their noses nearly touched.
"I wish there could be another way," Zarana said, her voice breaking with emotion.
"One day, Zarana," Mainframe said tenderly, "we'll find a way."
"I love you," Zarana said. "I always will."
Mainframe leaned in closer and their lips met. The kiss was tentative at first. As they grew more comfortable with each other, their lips melded into one. Zarana put her arms around Mainframe and held him tightly, as their bodies melted into each other. For a sweet infinity, they became drunk on each other's presence. Their tongues explored each other's mouths as their lips crushed against each other, always striving to draw each other closer. Mainframe, floored by their mutual passion for each other, felt his knees weaken, and he knew that Zarana felt the same way. Never before had he known such all-consuming hunger for a woman as he hungered and thirsted for Zarana.
Their love was an impossible one. Perhaps it was the impossibility of their love that made Zarana all the more desirable for him. His desire to possess all of her, body and soul, was amplified a million-fold by the knowledge that he must deny himself of the joy of loving her.
Oblivious to the passing pedestrians and the noise of the street traffic, Mainframe and Zarana shared their last sweet moment together.
* * *
"Shit," Zarana mused as she walked down Broadway, trying to navigate through the crowd. She turned a full 360 degrees, looking for a sign of the mysterious man she had seen. Everywhere she looked, she saw nothing but passing cars and unfamiliar faces. Where could he have gone?
Scarlett smiled with satisfaction as she and Mainframe briskly walked through Times Square, turning a corner and increasing their distance from Zarana. Scarlett knew they had lost her. They were no longer in Zarana's line of sight, and Zarana had become a little disoriented by the crowd.
"Well, that was a close one," Scarlett said, slipping an arm around Mainframe's arm as they walked together through the maze of New York's streets.
Mainframe said nothing. He looked very sad. Scarlett could tell what he was thinking and feeling. She had not been aware of a relationship between Mainframe and Zarana, but she was certain now.
"You love her," Scarlett said, causing Mainframe to turn to her in surprise. He expected an angry reprimand, but instead he only saw compassion and warmth.
"Don't you?" Scarlett smiled.
"Wake up, sleeping beauty," Mainframe said with a cheerful smirk.
The sunlight was beginning to penetrate the closed curtains, filling the living from with a dull glow. Scarlett blinked several times before realizing that she had fallen asleep while in Snake Eyes' arms. Snake Eyes was asleep. One arm was drawn around her shoulder, and another hand rested on her forehead. Scarlett considered what a sight this must be to Mainframe. She did not think Mainframe had ever seen the two of them openly displaying affection toward one another.
Scarlett carefully extricated herself from Snake Eyes, not wanting to disturb him, but Snake Eyes was roused from his sleep. While Scarlett washed up in the bathroom, Mainframe and Snake Eyes stood together in the living room.
Mainframe gave a congenial smile at Snake Eyes, trying not to look surprised at the sight of Snake Eyes' face. Come to think of it, he had never seen Snake Eyes' true face before. He only knew the stories the other Joes told him. He knew the story of how Snake Eyes had lost his face and his voice to rescue Scarlett from certain death. Snake Eyes grew self-conscious in the presence of Mainframe and reached over to the coffee table for his mask.
Before Snake Eyes could put on the mask, Scarlett appeared and joined him and Mainframe in the living room.
"Ready?" Scarlett looked to Mainframe, who nodded. They each had semiautomatic handguns and their disguises.
"How do I look?" Scarlett modeled herself in front of Snake Eyes, slowly turning in a full circle and holding her hands outward.
She wore a black trench coat and a wig of long black hair. A beige scarf was wrapped around her neck, and a gray ski cap covered her head.
Snake Eyes and Mainframe looked at each other, turned to Scarlett, and flashed her a thumbs up.
"It's gotta be the hair," Mainframe said. Snake Eyes nodded in agreement.
Mainframe, meanwhile, was dressed in jeans and a thick blue winter jacket. He too wore a ski cap, as well as a pair of glasses and a fake mustache.
Scarlett walked toward Snake Eyes and reached out to put her hands on his shoulders. In front of Mainframe, Scarlett leaned into his arms and kissed Snake Eyes on the lips.
* * *
Scarlett and Mainframe looked out the window of the diner as they ate their breakfast. Outside, HISS tanks and STUN vehicles lined the street curbs. Two blocks away, the street was blocked off and Vipers stood guard. Pedestrians walked along the streets, but none passed the barrier except for Cobra personnel. Beyond the barrier lay the Rockefeller Center. Scarlett knew she needed a closer look.
"You love him," Mainframe said softly to Scarlett, interrupting her train of thought.
Scarlett smiled, looked down, and blushed like a schoolgirl. She raised her eyes and looked Mainframe in the eye.
"Don't you?" Mainframe said with a smile.
"Yes," Scarlett affirmed, "I do."
"I knew you loved him, I once heard you calling out his name in your sleep. I think you must have been dreaming of being with Snake Eyes. You said, `Snake Eyes!'"
Mainframe demonstrated by holding his hands upward as if in supplication.
"You said, `Snake Eyes, don't leave me.'"
"Is that so?" Scarlett said between sips of her coffee.
"What about you," Scarlett turned the tables on Mainframe, putting him on the spot, "isn't there anyone special in your life?"
"Me?" Mainframe was taken aback.
"Sure," Scarlett insinuated, leaning forward, "Come on, Mainframe, you know all about my love life. I don't know anything about yours. Don't tell me a good-looking guy like you hasn't had someone special in your life. Why, I bet if you weren't spending so much time around your computers, hacking into enemy networks in service of your country, the girls would be falling head over heels for you. Am I right here, or what? Hmmmm? Come on, you can share your secrets with me."
Mainframe opened his mouth as if to say something, but he instead shut up, frowned, and looked out the window toward the street barriers. As he watched the Cobra soldiers patrolling the streets among the citizens of New York, he could hear the voice with perfect clarity...
...What can I say? I guess I got a soft spot for you, Mainframe...
It was a harsh voice. This woman's voice was not gentle and sweet, like Scarlett's. It was hard edged, with sharp inflections. But it seemed to Mainframe that beneath the cold exterior of this voice was a glimmer of something else. It was a hidden ray of warmth.
The voice of Zarana.
"No," Mainframe stared out the window.
Scarlett's jocular attitude turned to one of empathy and caring.
"Never," Mainframe said sadly.
Scarlett touched Mainframe's hand.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring back any painful memories. Do you want to talk about it?"
Scarlett felt her heart ache as she watched a single tear well up in Mainframe's eye and trickle slowly down his cheek, all while his gaze remained fixed on the streets outside.
* * *
With as casual a manner as possible, Scarlett and Mainframe strolled together around the Rockefeller Center. The entire area around the Cobra base was blocked off to vehicular and pedestrian traffic. As Scarlett and Mainframe walked a circuitous route around the perimeter, they glanced past the barriers, hoping to catch a glimpse of the base. They were careful not to linger too long, for fear of arousing suspicion.
On Fifth Avenue, Scarlett and Mainframe crossed 47^th and 48^th Street for the second time. They both came to a pause a safe distance from the barricade. Scarlett took a seat on a bench while Mainframe loitered nearby, taking short looks at their objective.
"I see a lot of HISS tanks lining the streets," Mainframe said in a low voice as he pretended to be talking into a cell phone while Scarlett pretended to read the New York Daily News.
"There's a heavily guarded fortress across the street from the NBC building," Scarlett observed. The fortress was a concrete monstrosity, a plain, angular thing with no architectural aesthetics whatsoever.
"I don't think that was there before," Mainframe said. "Isn't that where they used to have the Christmas tree and the skating rink?"
"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "Do you think it could be what we've been looking for all these months?"
"Could be," Mainframe said. "It fits the description I've seen, after hacking into Cobra's network. There's something else."
"What?"
"Serpentor could be here as well. This could be the home base for Cobra's top leaders."
"Are you serious?" Scarlett said, surprised.
"Yeah. Wait, hold on a minute. What's this?"
Mainframe gazed across the barricade, where he could see part of the suspected Cobra fortress. From where he stood, he could see Zarana coming out, leading a small squad of Vipers.
"Zarana..." Mainframe said softly.
Scarlett heard, and she looked up to Mainframe, who looked lost and confused.
* * *
Dressed in civilian clothing, Mainframe sat across the table from a pretty woman in a black dress, with angular facial features and long brown hair.
"How have you been?" Mainframe asked the woman, who was Zarana in disguise.
"I've been all right. Nothing new at Cobra. Just the same ol' plots to take over the world. And you?"
"Oh me?" Mainframe said in the same tone of mock-seriousness. "Nothing new with me either. Just hanging around making the world safe for freedom. The usual."
The waiter arrived at their table and served their dinners.
"Mainframe," Zarana said softly, "We can't go on like this, sneaking around to see each other. They'd find out sooner or later. We'd both be in a world of shit."
"I know," Mainframe said.
"I mean, look at us. We make quite a couple, don't we? You're a Joe, and I'm Cobra. You're a guardian of freedom, and I'm a... a no good criminal."
"It doesn't have to be this way," Mainframe reasoned, "you can still turn your life around."
"I would... but I... I can't. If I left, Zartan would consider it as a betrayal. He would never forgive me. He's my brother, and I love him. I ain't never lived an honest life. All my life, I've been cheating and stealing. The only times I've ever been honest is when I'm with you."
Zarana put a hand on Mainframe's. Their fingers intertwined.
Mainframe felt his heart skip a beat. It was true. How could she, a hardened Cobra operative, be so tender and gentle toward him?
Zarana smiled affectionately at him.
"What can I say? I guess I got a soft spot for you, Mainframe."
* * *
Scarlett was getting worried now. Mainframe appeared frozen and entranced. If he didn't look away, he was sure to give them away.
"Mainframe," Scarlett whispered. Mainframe was lost in his memories.
From a distance of fifty yards, Zarana turned toward them. At first glance, she paid them no mind, but something caught her eye, and she looked toward them a second time. As Zartan and the squad of Vipers stood nearby, Zarana alone gazed inquisitively toward the street barricades where, on the other side, Mainframe stood looking back.
For what seemed an eternity, Mainframe and Zarana stared at each other. Mainframe was admiring how beautiful Zarana was, and how little she had changed since they had last seen each other. Zarana apparently had not recognized Mainframe, but her curiosity had been piqued.
Scarlett slowly reached behind the bench and pinched Mainframe in the leg, jolting him from his daydream.
"Time to leave," Scarlett ordered, rising from her bench. "Turn around slowly and walk with me. Slowly. Make it look like we're just taking a stroll. Do you understand?"
"I got it," Mainframe said as he took one last look and turned around.
As the two of them headed away from the street barrier, Scarlett sensed that she was being watched.
"Zarana's coming this way."
"She is?"
"Just keep walking and don't turn around."
From the other side of the barrier, Zarana took a few steps toward the two mysterious strangers she had seen, one of whom had, it seemed to her, been staring at her very intensely. There was something familiar about this man, which she could not place.
"Sister, where are you going?" Zartan asked.
"You boys excuse me for a moment," Zarana pleaded, "I just want to check something out. I'll be right back."
Zarana continued on toward the street barrier.
"What the hell was that all about, anyway?" Scarlett hissed angrily to Mainframe. "You gave us away back there. It's a wonder we're not being shot at right now."
"How far away is she?"
"About forty yards. Just keep going. We'll lose her in the crowd in Times Square."
* * *
Mainframe pulled Zarana beneath the awning of the restaurant. The rain poured down hard, and the awning offered them shelter for the moment. Zarana looked into his eyes, and Mainframe caressed her cheek. A tear fell from Zarana's eyes, and Mainframe gently wiped her face clean.
"If we should meet on the opposite sides in a fight..." Zarana began.
"We have to do what we have to do."
"I don't want to hurt you, Mainframe. I want you to know that. I couldn't hurt you. It would break my heart."
"I couldn't hurt you, either."
Their faces we're so near, their noses nearly touched.
"I wish there could be another way," Zarana said, her voice breaking with emotion.
"One day, Zarana," Mainframe said tenderly, "we'll find a way."
"I love you," Zarana said. "I always will."
Mainframe leaned in closer and their lips met. The kiss was tentative at first. As they grew more comfortable with each other, their lips melded into one. Zarana put her arms around Mainframe and held him tightly, as their bodies melted into each other. For a sweet infinity, they became drunk on each other's presence. Their tongues explored each other's mouths as their lips crushed against each other, always striving to draw each other closer. Mainframe, floored by their mutual passion for each other, felt his knees weaken, and he knew that Zarana felt the same way. Never before had he known such all-consuming hunger for a woman as he hungered and thirsted for Zarana.
Their love was an impossible one. Perhaps it was the impossibility of their love that made Zarana all the more desirable for him. His desire to possess all of her, body and soul, was amplified a million-fold by the knowledge that he must deny himself of the joy of loving her.
Oblivious to the passing pedestrians and the noise of the street traffic, Mainframe and Zarana shared their last sweet moment together.
* * *
"Shit," Zarana mused as she walked down Broadway, trying to navigate through the crowd. She turned a full 360 degrees, looking for a sign of the mysterious man she had seen. Everywhere she looked, she saw nothing but passing cars and unfamiliar faces. Where could he have gone?
Scarlett smiled with satisfaction as she and Mainframe briskly walked through Times Square, turning a corner and increasing their distance from Zarana. Scarlett knew they had lost her. They were no longer in Zarana's line of sight, and Zarana had become a little disoriented by the crowd.
"Well, that was a close one," Scarlett said, slipping an arm around Mainframe's arm as they walked together through the maze of New York's streets.
Mainframe said nothing. He looked very sad. Scarlett could tell what he was thinking and feeling. She had not been aware of a relationship between Mainframe and Zarana, but she was certain now.
"You love her," Scarlett said, causing Mainframe to turn to her in surprise. He expected an angry reprimand, but instead he only saw compassion and warmth.
"Don't you?" Scarlett smiled.