*Disclaimers: I do not own or profit from GI Joe. The names Angelus,
Angel, and Spike are being borrowed from "Buffy the Vampire
Slayer"/"Angel". Some references made here may remind you of "Charlie's
Angels" but that is not my intention. I do not own or profit from any of
these shows or the use of the names. Please don't sue. Please read and
review. Enjoy.
**Background: General Angelus "Angel" Richardson created a team that is of vigilante sorts. It's main reason for creation was to stop drug dealers but grew to include ending many various different crimes, like assassinations on world leaders, and to stop terrorists. A few years ago, Angel broke his original team into two teams - Alpha and Omega. Scarlett had left the team when she joined GI Joe prior to the split. Part of the team that Scarlett was on, stayed on Team Alpha, while the rest went to Team Omega. Beach Head (Rebel) was recruited when Angel split the team and was on Omega and never worked with Scarlett (Blaze).
The Blast and the Past - Chapter 7
Beach Head and Scarlett made their way through security at the airport. General Angelus "Angel" Richardson had their first-class boarding passes already purchased and waiting for them when they checked in. The two of them spoke little while in the airport and didn't resume their conversation of the team or mission until after the plane was in the air headed for their final destination.
Scarlett decided to break the ice this time. "So, what do they call you on the team?"
"Rebel."
Scarlett laughed. "That name certainly fits. Is it Rebel with a cause?"
"Go ahead and laugh. I always lived up to that name. It was far more fitting than the name 'Beach Head'. I have no idea how that name got attached to me." He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
"Well, I'm Blaze. I guess you can figure out how I got that name. I actually preferred sticking to Scarlett, but Angel wanted an unattached codename so I couldn't be tracked."
This time Beach Head could laugh. He couldn't imagine having to live up to the name Scarlett O'Hara, southern smart-mouthed woman from 'Gone With the Wind', or Blaze, southern smart-mouthed woman who had a blaze of red hair and could put any man in his place with just a look from those piercing blue eyes. "Wait a minute. It all makes sense now. You are whom the team fashioned the phrase 'just got blazed' from, aren't you? Oh man, now that is something to be proud of."
"Shut - Up - You!" She retorted with an annoyed look and rolled her eyes, waiting for him to cease his uncontrollable laughter. "Yes, Bear and Livewire decided that whenever I mouthed-off to them or anyone, that person 'just got blazed'. It is a stupid phrase, but boys will be boys. Ya'll deserve to get blazed every now and again." She said in her best southern drawl.
"For the longest time, I could not figure out what Gopher and Livewire were talking about when they told stories of 'getting blazed'. They filled me in by saying that when the team was a single unit, an intel operative named Blaze, ruled the roost. She had fiery red hair and a wicked tongue. I never linked you to being that person. Even after all that time at GI Joe, it never connected that you were the redheaded Blaze. That phrase never even crossed my mind until just now."
"You are lucky you never used it on base either. And for the record, I did not have a wicked tongue. I may have had a quick tongue and gave them a tongue lashing when they deserved it, but I never verbally abused them."
"I never meant to insinuate that."
Scarlett starred out the window a minute. "Beach, what went wrong on the team's last mission?"
"I don't know the whole story. Angel gave me the short version. Apparently, Livewire and Vox had all the intel work mapped out to perfection, and Dante and Hardtop had collaborated the weapons strategy. The two teams met at the assigned rendezvous point, and they proceeded together. Bear, Vee, Vox, Gopher and Dante set up their assault on top of the vantage point on the roof of the main building, and Livewire, Olive, Silver, Spike, Hardtop, and Hotshot kept to the ground. I don't know what went wrong, but all hell broke loose. Tamar must have bought himself a helicopter because this coal black chopper forced Bear and his team inside the building. Livewire, Spike and Hardtop went in the building from ground level for backup support. As the ground team was trying to make connections with the trapped roof team, the enemy chopper fired a couple of missiles into the building. Gopher was hurtled down three stories and broke his neck on impact. Vox had pushed Dante out of the way but was engulfed in a flaming circle of fire. His only escape was to run through it, causing his third-degree burns. Dante did what he could to put out the flaming Vox. The two of them stumbled down the remaining flights of stairs. Meanwhile, Tamar had unleashed several of his boys in the building by ground, and they fatally wounded Spike, and shot Livewire in the chest. Quick thinking by Hardtop saved Livewire. Bear and Vee were trying to get to Livewire and Hardtop when they were captured. Silver came back and helped Hardtop move Livewire out the building. Hotshot had pulled Gopher's body out of the building, and Olive had retrieved Spike's. I guess Hardtop kind of took control, and somehow they all made it to the vans and to the nearest hospital. Spike died on the way to the hospital, and Livewire went into cardiac arrest. The ER staff was able to resuscitate him and tend to his chest wound. Vox was placed in the burn unit. He was alert, in pain, and very worried about his sister and Bear."
"Does Angel know for sure that Bear and Vee are still alive?"
"No, but just like COBRA did when they captured us, they want to find out any information they can before they kill you."
Both of them knew all to well what COBRA would do to make a captive Joe talk. Scarlett had been a victim of their brainwashing machine more than once, and even resisted an electrical shock machine. Beach Head had been physically beaten by COBRA a few times. The one failsafe was that as soon as any team member was captured (a Joe or an Angel), all security codes were changed. The captured teammate only had to hold out until they thought enough time had passed to change the security codes. Scarlett could only imagine the internal torment that Bear and Vee had to endure. They knew that at least four of their teammates were injured, and the remaining team would be getting them medical attention. They would have to hold out on giving up any information much longer than normal.
Scarlett reached under her seat to retrieve her laptop. She might as well start pulling up links to see if she could find out any information regarding the whereabouts of her captured friends. She couldn't believe that Gopher was dead. She had learned so much about computers from him. Intel work used both computer and hands-on research. After she had gotten proficient at using the computer and internet to track down a lot of useful information, her field work activities quieted down to a few spy missions a week instead of daily. When Gopher had introduced her to intel work via the web, she was horrified at how much information was out there, if you knew where to look. Luckily, Gopher knew where to look, and he taught this knowledge to Scarlett.
Beach Head was watching Scarlett bring up the various websites. He knew little about the internet but had been around Gopher long enough to know that the computer could be your best friend or your worst enemy. As he watched Scarlett display screen after screen, he was amazed at her ability to bypass the password-protected sites. "How can you do all of that?"
Scarlett smiled at him and said, "Lots of long days and nights with Gopher. He was really a wealth of knowledge when it came to the internet." She paused, "When did this foiled mission take place?"
"According to Angel, the night before last."
Scarlett thought a moment and then a horrible memory popped into her mind. Her dream from last night/this morning that made her wake up drenched in sweat was about a building exploding and people dying. She looked at Beach Head; no words were necessary.
Beach realized that she just put two and two together. "You had that nightmare too, didn't you?"
She nodded.
"Well, now you know why I was on the obstacle course at 3:00 this morning, and I know why you were on your morning run so early. Interesting. How would we know this?"
All Scarlett said was, "E.S.P. Angel has the ability to send sensory messages to those people that he is close to." She shook her head in disbelief at everything that had transpired recently.
"Red, if you were in the US military, how did you ever get associated with Angel and his team? I mean, no offense here, but you don't seem like the kind of person to join a vigilante team like Angel's."
Oh man, her past. Where did she even begin? "I guess it was eight years ago. I was just finishing up my 4th year at the Air Force and was flying escort for Air Force One. I was contemplating the idea of flying with the Thunderbirds. One night, I had returned to base late after a long escort mission, and Colonel Sharp met me in my office. He told me that a good friend of his, General Richardson, was recruiting for an elite special missions team, and he needed a superb intelligence operative. He had naturally contacted Colonel Sharp because the Air Force had the best intel people in the military. Colonel Sharp had told him about me, and Angel wanted me on his team. Obviously, no questions asked, non-negotiable. Colonel Sharp told me that it would be a great experience, and I would learn many things. It would be dangerous, but I would be using my special training to its fullest potential. I really loved flying, but I had this growing love of the intelligence world - all the mystery and secretiveness that surrounded it. I had no choice really, so I shipped out and met up with Angel and his team."
"What about his threat about you 'repaying a favor'?"
"As far as I'm concerned, I owe Angel no repayments of any favors. I gave him two years of my life, and while I was on the team, we did a lot of damage control. Nevertheless, I suppose he thinks that once he brings you into his vigilante world, you owe him your life forever. Kind of like the devil owns your soul, except in this case, Angel owns your soul and life. Don't get me wrong. I admire the guy and don't regret working for him. He gave me anything I wanted or needed. He covered my tracks with the Air Force and US government, and he paid all of my medical bills and equipment expenses. I owe him a lot; I just don't feel like I'm indebted to him forever." Scarlett sighed and shook her head.
"I know what you mean," Beach Head said. "I was only with the team for a little over a year before I came to GI Joe. In that time, Angel gave me every kind of weapon imaginable. I had never seen so many different but deadly weapons. It was my job to know how to use each one and teach the rest of the team. I had to pick out which ones would be of the most valuable use on whichever mission we were going on. I learned a lot about the weapons used by the Ninjas. I'm sure you are familiar with them. I have to hand it to the Ninjas; they sure knew how to make the expression 'size doesn't matter' be true. I never would have thought a throwing star could be so handy or deadly."
Scarlett chuckled. "You ain't seen nothing yet. You should see my cloak I wear when I go on missions. It is laced with throwing knives and stars, caltrops, a few grenades that are the size of marbles, plus I can conceal my crossbow if I need to. I have a Manriki chain for the not so subtle strangulations that I administered occasionally and of course, my trusty lock pick set."
"I'm impressed. And you were only intel? It sounds like you were the weapons specialist." He joked.
"Hey now! I was very versatile. I took it upon myself to learn every function of the team. I was a one woman army."
"Figures! I knew that from the first day I met you. You stood on my obstacle course looking at it defiantly. I thought to myself that you were going to get your ass kicked, but you fooled me. I was impressed, but don't you ever tell anybody that." He warned.
She smiled at him but a dark shadow crossed her face. Who would she tell? Ace, Lady Jaye, Flint, Duke? Nah. She didn't think she would ever see her Joe friends again.
"I'm sorry I said that. This must be really tough on you. You are leaving your friends and family behind again. I never had a family so Angel's team was my family."
"Thanks. You don't know how hard it is. I just hope they understand; I hope Duke understands." A tear slid down her cheek, and she wiped it away. Changing the subject she asked, "How did Angel find you?"
"Well, I'm not sure if he was on a recruiting mission, or just happened to be at the Marine base where I was stationed as a Drill Sergeant. He was impressed with my weapons knowledge and leadership abilities that he made some inquiries, and before I knew it, I was being shipped out to join his team. Like you said, I had no choice. He wanted me on his team, no ifs, ands, or buts."
"And what about you, did he use the 'repayment of favors' threat with you?"
"Sort of. I think your analogy of how Angel rationalizes things is accurate. We both owe him our lives but not forever. However, I had always planned on returning to the team. I just seemed to fit in with the small team atmosphere, and contrary to popular belief, I don't like to be a hard ass all of the time. I made contact with Angel yesterday after the disbanding news, and I knew then about our friends' mishap. I wanted to depart then, but Angel told me that he had one more person to contact, and that I would be needed to see to it that this person be escorted here as quickly as possible."
"You are a softie in the inside then, aren't you?" Scarlett teased, which made Beach Head growl with disdain. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. She had learned more about him in the past few minutes than she had ever known about him while he was GI Joe. He was a loner on the Joe team and never got real close to anyone.
She turned her attention back to her computer and tried to concentrate on locating her captive friends, but somehow, her mind was not letting go of her emotional attachments to the Joe team. She closed the lid of her laptop and put it back in its case. Maybe later. She was tired. "I'm gonna catch a few winks."
Beach Head nodded. Even though he had no emotional ties to the Joes like she did, he felt like a traitor. The team was being disbanded and by this time next week, he would have been back with Angel's team, but somehow the urgency and the abruptness of which they left, didn't set easy with him. He hoped that Angel had sent the appropriate papers to Hawk. For his sake and Scarlett's. The last thing either one of them wanted was to be labeled deserters. He leafed through a magazine and wondered about the emotional state of mind that the remaining teammates from Alpha and Omega were going through. Soon the Calvary would be there, and he had no doubt that Scarlett and he would be able to bring the team back together.
*To Be Continued
**Background: General Angelus "Angel" Richardson created a team that is of vigilante sorts. It's main reason for creation was to stop drug dealers but grew to include ending many various different crimes, like assassinations on world leaders, and to stop terrorists. A few years ago, Angel broke his original team into two teams - Alpha and Omega. Scarlett had left the team when she joined GI Joe prior to the split. Part of the team that Scarlett was on, stayed on Team Alpha, while the rest went to Team Omega. Beach Head (Rebel) was recruited when Angel split the team and was on Omega and never worked with Scarlett (Blaze).
The Blast and the Past - Chapter 7
Beach Head and Scarlett made their way through security at the airport. General Angelus "Angel" Richardson had their first-class boarding passes already purchased and waiting for them when they checked in. The two of them spoke little while in the airport and didn't resume their conversation of the team or mission until after the plane was in the air headed for their final destination.
Scarlett decided to break the ice this time. "So, what do they call you on the team?"
"Rebel."
Scarlett laughed. "That name certainly fits. Is it Rebel with a cause?"
"Go ahead and laugh. I always lived up to that name. It was far more fitting than the name 'Beach Head'. I have no idea how that name got attached to me." He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
"Well, I'm Blaze. I guess you can figure out how I got that name. I actually preferred sticking to Scarlett, but Angel wanted an unattached codename so I couldn't be tracked."
This time Beach Head could laugh. He couldn't imagine having to live up to the name Scarlett O'Hara, southern smart-mouthed woman from 'Gone With the Wind', or Blaze, southern smart-mouthed woman who had a blaze of red hair and could put any man in his place with just a look from those piercing blue eyes. "Wait a minute. It all makes sense now. You are whom the team fashioned the phrase 'just got blazed' from, aren't you? Oh man, now that is something to be proud of."
"Shut - Up - You!" She retorted with an annoyed look and rolled her eyes, waiting for him to cease his uncontrollable laughter. "Yes, Bear and Livewire decided that whenever I mouthed-off to them or anyone, that person 'just got blazed'. It is a stupid phrase, but boys will be boys. Ya'll deserve to get blazed every now and again." She said in her best southern drawl.
"For the longest time, I could not figure out what Gopher and Livewire were talking about when they told stories of 'getting blazed'. They filled me in by saying that when the team was a single unit, an intel operative named Blaze, ruled the roost. She had fiery red hair and a wicked tongue. I never linked you to being that person. Even after all that time at GI Joe, it never connected that you were the redheaded Blaze. That phrase never even crossed my mind until just now."
"You are lucky you never used it on base either. And for the record, I did not have a wicked tongue. I may have had a quick tongue and gave them a tongue lashing when they deserved it, but I never verbally abused them."
"I never meant to insinuate that."
Scarlett starred out the window a minute. "Beach, what went wrong on the team's last mission?"
"I don't know the whole story. Angel gave me the short version. Apparently, Livewire and Vox had all the intel work mapped out to perfection, and Dante and Hardtop had collaborated the weapons strategy. The two teams met at the assigned rendezvous point, and they proceeded together. Bear, Vee, Vox, Gopher and Dante set up their assault on top of the vantage point on the roof of the main building, and Livewire, Olive, Silver, Spike, Hardtop, and Hotshot kept to the ground. I don't know what went wrong, but all hell broke loose. Tamar must have bought himself a helicopter because this coal black chopper forced Bear and his team inside the building. Livewire, Spike and Hardtop went in the building from ground level for backup support. As the ground team was trying to make connections with the trapped roof team, the enemy chopper fired a couple of missiles into the building. Gopher was hurtled down three stories and broke his neck on impact. Vox had pushed Dante out of the way but was engulfed in a flaming circle of fire. His only escape was to run through it, causing his third-degree burns. Dante did what he could to put out the flaming Vox. The two of them stumbled down the remaining flights of stairs. Meanwhile, Tamar had unleashed several of his boys in the building by ground, and they fatally wounded Spike, and shot Livewire in the chest. Quick thinking by Hardtop saved Livewire. Bear and Vee were trying to get to Livewire and Hardtop when they were captured. Silver came back and helped Hardtop move Livewire out the building. Hotshot had pulled Gopher's body out of the building, and Olive had retrieved Spike's. I guess Hardtop kind of took control, and somehow they all made it to the vans and to the nearest hospital. Spike died on the way to the hospital, and Livewire went into cardiac arrest. The ER staff was able to resuscitate him and tend to his chest wound. Vox was placed in the burn unit. He was alert, in pain, and very worried about his sister and Bear."
"Does Angel know for sure that Bear and Vee are still alive?"
"No, but just like COBRA did when they captured us, they want to find out any information they can before they kill you."
Both of them knew all to well what COBRA would do to make a captive Joe talk. Scarlett had been a victim of their brainwashing machine more than once, and even resisted an electrical shock machine. Beach Head had been physically beaten by COBRA a few times. The one failsafe was that as soon as any team member was captured (a Joe or an Angel), all security codes were changed. The captured teammate only had to hold out until they thought enough time had passed to change the security codes. Scarlett could only imagine the internal torment that Bear and Vee had to endure. They knew that at least four of their teammates were injured, and the remaining team would be getting them medical attention. They would have to hold out on giving up any information much longer than normal.
Scarlett reached under her seat to retrieve her laptop. She might as well start pulling up links to see if she could find out any information regarding the whereabouts of her captured friends. She couldn't believe that Gopher was dead. She had learned so much about computers from him. Intel work used both computer and hands-on research. After she had gotten proficient at using the computer and internet to track down a lot of useful information, her field work activities quieted down to a few spy missions a week instead of daily. When Gopher had introduced her to intel work via the web, she was horrified at how much information was out there, if you knew where to look. Luckily, Gopher knew where to look, and he taught this knowledge to Scarlett.
Beach Head was watching Scarlett bring up the various websites. He knew little about the internet but had been around Gopher long enough to know that the computer could be your best friend or your worst enemy. As he watched Scarlett display screen after screen, he was amazed at her ability to bypass the password-protected sites. "How can you do all of that?"
Scarlett smiled at him and said, "Lots of long days and nights with Gopher. He was really a wealth of knowledge when it came to the internet." She paused, "When did this foiled mission take place?"
"According to Angel, the night before last."
Scarlett thought a moment and then a horrible memory popped into her mind. Her dream from last night/this morning that made her wake up drenched in sweat was about a building exploding and people dying. She looked at Beach Head; no words were necessary.
Beach realized that she just put two and two together. "You had that nightmare too, didn't you?"
She nodded.
"Well, now you know why I was on the obstacle course at 3:00 this morning, and I know why you were on your morning run so early. Interesting. How would we know this?"
All Scarlett said was, "E.S.P. Angel has the ability to send sensory messages to those people that he is close to." She shook her head in disbelief at everything that had transpired recently.
"Red, if you were in the US military, how did you ever get associated with Angel and his team? I mean, no offense here, but you don't seem like the kind of person to join a vigilante team like Angel's."
Oh man, her past. Where did she even begin? "I guess it was eight years ago. I was just finishing up my 4th year at the Air Force and was flying escort for Air Force One. I was contemplating the idea of flying with the Thunderbirds. One night, I had returned to base late after a long escort mission, and Colonel Sharp met me in my office. He told me that a good friend of his, General Richardson, was recruiting for an elite special missions team, and he needed a superb intelligence operative. He had naturally contacted Colonel Sharp because the Air Force had the best intel people in the military. Colonel Sharp had told him about me, and Angel wanted me on his team. Obviously, no questions asked, non-negotiable. Colonel Sharp told me that it would be a great experience, and I would learn many things. It would be dangerous, but I would be using my special training to its fullest potential. I really loved flying, but I had this growing love of the intelligence world - all the mystery and secretiveness that surrounded it. I had no choice really, so I shipped out and met up with Angel and his team."
"What about his threat about you 'repaying a favor'?"
"As far as I'm concerned, I owe Angel no repayments of any favors. I gave him two years of my life, and while I was on the team, we did a lot of damage control. Nevertheless, I suppose he thinks that once he brings you into his vigilante world, you owe him your life forever. Kind of like the devil owns your soul, except in this case, Angel owns your soul and life. Don't get me wrong. I admire the guy and don't regret working for him. He gave me anything I wanted or needed. He covered my tracks with the Air Force and US government, and he paid all of my medical bills and equipment expenses. I owe him a lot; I just don't feel like I'm indebted to him forever." Scarlett sighed and shook her head.
"I know what you mean," Beach Head said. "I was only with the team for a little over a year before I came to GI Joe. In that time, Angel gave me every kind of weapon imaginable. I had never seen so many different but deadly weapons. It was my job to know how to use each one and teach the rest of the team. I had to pick out which ones would be of the most valuable use on whichever mission we were going on. I learned a lot about the weapons used by the Ninjas. I'm sure you are familiar with them. I have to hand it to the Ninjas; they sure knew how to make the expression 'size doesn't matter' be true. I never would have thought a throwing star could be so handy or deadly."
Scarlett chuckled. "You ain't seen nothing yet. You should see my cloak I wear when I go on missions. It is laced with throwing knives and stars, caltrops, a few grenades that are the size of marbles, plus I can conceal my crossbow if I need to. I have a Manriki chain for the not so subtle strangulations that I administered occasionally and of course, my trusty lock pick set."
"I'm impressed. And you were only intel? It sounds like you were the weapons specialist." He joked.
"Hey now! I was very versatile. I took it upon myself to learn every function of the team. I was a one woman army."
"Figures! I knew that from the first day I met you. You stood on my obstacle course looking at it defiantly. I thought to myself that you were going to get your ass kicked, but you fooled me. I was impressed, but don't you ever tell anybody that." He warned.
She smiled at him but a dark shadow crossed her face. Who would she tell? Ace, Lady Jaye, Flint, Duke? Nah. She didn't think she would ever see her Joe friends again.
"I'm sorry I said that. This must be really tough on you. You are leaving your friends and family behind again. I never had a family so Angel's team was my family."
"Thanks. You don't know how hard it is. I just hope they understand; I hope Duke understands." A tear slid down her cheek, and she wiped it away. Changing the subject she asked, "How did Angel find you?"
"Well, I'm not sure if he was on a recruiting mission, or just happened to be at the Marine base where I was stationed as a Drill Sergeant. He was impressed with my weapons knowledge and leadership abilities that he made some inquiries, and before I knew it, I was being shipped out to join his team. Like you said, I had no choice. He wanted me on his team, no ifs, ands, or buts."
"And what about you, did he use the 'repayment of favors' threat with you?"
"Sort of. I think your analogy of how Angel rationalizes things is accurate. We both owe him our lives but not forever. However, I had always planned on returning to the team. I just seemed to fit in with the small team atmosphere, and contrary to popular belief, I don't like to be a hard ass all of the time. I made contact with Angel yesterday after the disbanding news, and I knew then about our friends' mishap. I wanted to depart then, but Angel told me that he had one more person to contact, and that I would be needed to see to it that this person be escorted here as quickly as possible."
"You are a softie in the inside then, aren't you?" Scarlett teased, which made Beach Head growl with disdain. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. She had learned more about him in the past few minutes than she had ever known about him while he was GI Joe. He was a loner on the Joe team and never got real close to anyone.
She turned her attention back to her computer and tried to concentrate on locating her captive friends, but somehow, her mind was not letting go of her emotional attachments to the Joe team. She closed the lid of her laptop and put it back in its case. Maybe later. She was tired. "I'm gonna catch a few winks."
Beach Head nodded. Even though he had no emotional ties to the Joes like she did, he felt like a traitor. The team was being disbanded and by this time next week, he would have been back with Angel's team, but somehow the urgency and the abruptness of which they left, didn't set easy with him. He hoped that Angel had sent the appropriate papers to Hawk. For his sake and Scarlett's. The last thing either one of them wanted was to be labeled deserters. He leafed through a magazine and wondered about the emotional state of mind that the remaining teammates from Alpha and Omega were going through. Soon the Calvary would be there, and he had no doubt that Scarlett and he would be able to bring the team back together.
*To Be Continued