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Chapter 5 - The Ride
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As Dusty ran back towards the house, Cover Girl met him on the sidewalk. She had said her 'goodbyes' and 'thank yous' to Mrs. Vasquez and Carla for the warm welcome. She smiled at Dusty, giving him a hug and saying, "Your mom and Mrs. Vasquez are sweet. Be sure to tell them how much we all appreciated the meal and hospitality."
"I will, Court. You are welcome to stay, you know," Dusty informed her with a playful wink.
Smiling, she begrudgingly replied, "I don't think it would be proper right now, but maybe tomorrow night after the show. You need some time to visit with your family, and I am not going to take this special time away from you."
"How did I ever get so lucky?" Dusty questioned as he gave her a quick kiss before she could answer. "Listen, you behave and don't get into any trouble without me," he warned, placing the jeep's keys in her hand.
"Me? Trouble? Never! What fun would it be getting into trouble without you?" She teased.
"Hurry up, Court," Clutch called from the waiting jeeps.
Duke and Gung-Ho had already started their jeeps and were waiting for Cover Girl. Laughing, Cover Girl remarked, "I guess I get to lead us back to town."
Chuckling, Dusty beamed, "That's my girl. I'll see you tomorrow if not sooner."
Cover Girl caught a mischievous gleam in his eyes and grinned. "Okay, but only if you promise." As Dusty made a gesture of crossing his heart, she turned serious, quickly adding, "Spend time with your mom and Mrs. Vasquez. I know they are important to you, and you do not get to see them often."
Dusty nodded before Sandstorm made his reappearance and head butted Dusty into Cover Girl. Dusty quickly steadied both himself and Cover Girl as they both laughed at the surprised invasion. Cover Girl leaned down and patted the coyote's head. "Good boy," she praised. "I wouldn't have forgotten to say goodbye to you. You are quite the little matchmaker, aren't you?" She teased Sandstorm, who was now sitting at her feet with his tail beating against Dusty's legs.
Straightening back up, she grinned devilishly at Dusty as he shook his head at her statement. "I should have known," he sighed before Cover Girl leaned in and kissed him.
"Bye Ron. I'd better go before they come and drag me to the jeep." Dusty gave her a quick hug before she ran over to the waiting convoy. Sandstorm attempted to follow, but Dusty held him back. Instead, the coyote howled his goodbye.
"About time, Courtney. We could have been there already, but no one remembered how we got out here," Shipwrecked exclaimed. "I thought Dusty lived in Vegas not a half hour from it."
"Man, this is still Vegas, and she was just saying later. Chill out," Footloose remarked.
"I think that crazy coyote misses you, Courtney," Lifeline stated, watching Dusty order Sandstorm to go lie down.
Ignoring all of the comments made by the three riding in her jeep, Cover Girl started the engine and backed out of the driveway, waving goodbye to Dusty. "By the way, did you say goodbye to Dr. Ramirez, Ed?" She asked, driving out of the housing addition.
"Yes, I thanked her for …" Lifeline looked at her reflection in the rearview mirror, catching the look in her eyes. "Hey! What is it to all of you anyway? Jeez." Lifeline sat back in his seat, crossing his arms across his chest.
Shipwreck poked him with his elbow. "The doctor was pretty hot."
Snickering, Cover Girl glanced back to make sure the other two jeeps were behind her before she took off down the highway towards the city.
A thunderous shout erupted from the second jeep. "Yee haw," Wild Bill hollered from the backseat as he watched the First Sergeant feverishly floor the jeep to catch Cover Girl.
"Damn," Duke cursed. "If she gets a ticket or if one of us gets a ticket by trying to keep up with her, it's coming out of her pay."
Scarlett laughed. "Oh, come on now, Conrad. This is fun. Just think of it as an early thrill ride."
"Excuse me, Red. Just what are you suggesting?" Clutch asked from the backseat, raising an eyebrow.
"Wouldn't you like to know," Scarlett quipped before turning in her seat to face Clutch. "I was referring to the many roller coasters in Vegas. What did you think I meant?" She asked innocently before facing the front of the vehicle again. Duke glanced over at her just in time to see the evil grin forming on her face.
"Nothing Darlin'. We knew all along what you meant. This grease monkey was just trying to pull your chain and stir up trouble," Wild Bill hastily explained before quietly telling Clutch, "Be careful of what ya step in, Pard. It may take some fancy footwork to stay outta the muck."
"I heard that Bill," Scarlett stated, smirking as she watched the scenery fly by.
The last jeep, driven by Gung-Ho sped along. "Off to da races, mon ami. Who let Courtney drive anyway?" Gung-Ho growled.
Ace's face flushed a pale hue as he sat in the front passenger seat. "Now, you know why I fly. I would much rather fly at Mach 10 in the air than on the ground."
Gung-Ho laughed while Alpine elbowed Bazooka. "Hey, Zook. You up to a little scaling of fascinating objects?"
"Uh, sure," Bazooka replied. "Where?"
"The one and only 'High Roller' coaster that sits on top of the Stratosphere Tower. It is over 1000 feet above the ground," Alpine explained quietly.
"Okay," Bazooka answered.
"Court, I think you ought to slow down. You seem to be loosing the others," Lifeline reasoned, glancing back at the distance between their jeep and Duke's. On top of that, he could barely see Gung-Ho's jeep. "There is no reason to be driving so quickly. Plus, I don't want to treat anyone for carsickness."
Reluctantly, Cover Girl slowed down and retorted, "You are no fun, Ed. You need to live on the wild side tonight. We are in the City of Sin as Conrad so elegantly called it earlier. Loosen up, will ya?"
"Yeah, you landlubber," Shipwreck piped in. "You can hang with me, Clutch, and 'Loose. We are gonna pick up some girls and have some fun."
"Just be careful of the streetwalkers, Hector," Cover Girl warned.
"Is that what you and Red are gonna do tonight? Make some extra money," Shipwreck replied from the safety of the backseat.
Appalled, Cover Girl shrieked, "AS IF!"
"Totally girlfriend," Footloose chimed in, causing Cover Girl to shoot him a glower, but instead, she ended up chuckling at his comment.
"Ed, hit Hector for me," Cover Girl told the medic, still trying to act annoyed at Shipwreck's comment.
"Sorry Courtney. I do not resort to violence, no matter how much it is warranted," Lifeline responded, glaring at Shipwreck for his disgusting and lewd comment.
"Oh, don't get your panties in a bunch, Doll Face," Shipwreck quipped, ignoring Lifeline's look. "I was just joking with you."
Grinning evilly, Cover Girl suddenly swerved the jeep, causing Shipwreck to grab the seat. "Watch it!" He cried out in surprise, his knuckles turning white from hanging on tightly.
Cover Girl huffed, "Not another word then sailor boy."
"Serves you right, sailor, serves you right," Polly mockingly reprimanded his owner.
"Dude, you are so busted," Footloose remarked before he looked at Cover Girl and requested, "Court, next time you do that, could you please warn me, man?" He was a little shaken by her swift swerving.
"Sorry 'Loose," Cover Girl apologized. Glancing up in the rearview mirror, she met Lifeline's surprised look. "Sorry, Ed. I tried to be good, but he so deserved it," she smirked, turning up the radio so that she could not hear Lifeline's rebuttal.
Nodding in agreement, Footloose grinned, "Word."
Lifeline shook his head and watched Shipwreck scramble to try and find his seatbelt. "That should have been on earlier," he scolded, noticing that of the four of them, only Shipwreck had neglected to fasten his belt.
"I didn't know she was going to try and kill me," Shipwreck retorted.
"You have ridden with her before," the medic replied, unsympathetically.
"What the hell is she doing up there?!" Duke roared in surprise as he witnessed Cover Girl's jeep quickly veer to the side of the road.
"My guess is she is teaching Hector and Lance a lesson," Scarlett sneered.
"Hey Red, sorry to disappoint ya, but I am right here," Clutch commented. Shaking his head in disbelief, he continued, "Even when I am in the same vehicle, she still ignores me."
Scarlett laughed as Wild Bill slapped Clutch on the back. "Told ya. Better watch what you say to the ladies, Partner. Court tanned Hector's hide. Yur next."
"Be glad you are riding with a sane driver, Brad," Gung-Ho told Ace as he watched the unfolding events ahead of him.
"Since when are you sane, E?" Alpine inquired from the backseat.
Ace closed his eyes and shook his head. "I am fearless except when it comes to Courtney's driving. Just get me there in one piece, Cajun."
"I'm a fixin' to, mon ami," Gung-Ho replied, ignoring Alpine's comment. "Hey, we did slow up a little though. Now, we are going 75 instead of 85 in a 55 mph zone."
Ace, Alpine, and Bazooka groaned at Gung-Ho's announcement as the three jeeps continued to barrel down the final stretch of the highway before entering the strip and cruising down the main road. Cover Girl pulled up to the Stardust Hotel, where Carla had been able to reserve the last remaining suites. Apologizing profusely, Carla had explained that even though she knew the hotel owner, they were booked and only able to spare the four, nice sized rooms. "No one sleeps in Vegas, anyway," Carla had stated, smiling at the group of Joes who were staring at her back in Dusty's mom's living room before they had left.
Duke led the team into the hotel lobby and walked up to the desk clerk. "Evening. We have four suites reserved under the name of Joe," Duke explained, trying to hide his smile as he watched his teammates joke around and unwind.
Scarlett walked up to Duke. "Have you decided how you are going to pair us up?" She asked coyly.
Shrugging his shoulders, he answered, "Not yet. It'll come to me, though." He smiled at his girlfriend, knowing that once again a 'date' could be broken by a roommate coming in. "We'll figure something out. Don't worry. We have 48 hours. Surely somewhere in that timeframe, we will find some alone time," he whispered in Scarlett's ear.
Scarlett's blue eyes shimmered. "I'll be waiting, Con."
The desk clerk finished the paperwork, handing Duke a pen to sign for the four suites. "Your rooms are on the 20th, 25th, 29th, and 32nd floors," he explained. Seeing the group of ten guys and two ladies, he continued, "Each suite has two queen size beds, a comfortable sofa, and a foldout cot in the closet. That should accommodate your needs."
"Thank you, Sir," Duke said graciously, taking the twelve pass keys and motioning for the Joes to gather around in the lobby. "Okay, troops, listen up. My rules while we are here are stay out of trouble and don't destroy Vegas. We just halted Cobra's attack, so let's not disappoint the residents and patrons of Vegas by disintegrating their city. Have fun, but do not call me to bail you out of jail. We were lucky enough to get four rooms, so I am going to split you up. Clutch, Shipwreck, and Wild Bill will be on the 20th floor. Alpine, Bazooka, and Gung-Ho will be on the 25th floor. Scarlett and Cover Girl will be on the 29th floor. And Ace, Lifeline, and Footloose are with me on the 32nd floor. Any questions?"
"No sir," the team answered.
"Good, here are your keys. Dismissed," Duke said as he handed each Joe their key. Secretly, he feared the mayhem of what his team could get into with 48 hours of leave time.
TBC