Lady Jaye avoided the Dreadnoks as much as she could over the next two days, but they were fascinated by her presence, and continuously dogged her everywhere, asking her questions about the Joe team. They didn't ask very intelligent questions of course—they seemed to want to know about things like Scarlett's favorite soda (grape), Cover Girl's underwear color (she wouldn't tell them), and her own music preferences (anything not country). It wore on her nerves, and she actually found herself grateful to escape into the meetings she hated so much.
She decided it was time to get to a computer again. She desperately needed to inform Duke about the virus. The next Cobra attack was planned for that night, and she hoped that the base would empty out enough to give her the chance.
Lady Jaye made it through the day and watched as the Cobra soldiers gathered in the hangar near their vehicles. She wished them ill-luck. It was frustrating to receive no news from the Joe base. Duke could be infected already and she wouldn't know. They could have even caught the traitor by now and her continued presence here would be pointless. She considered going along with them this time, if only to catch a glance of Duke, to make sure that he was okay and maybe even get close enough to pass on a message. She had assumed she would hear about it from Cobra if the traitor were caught, but she wondered now if she was wrong. Surely he had been captured by now. Maybe Cobra just wasn't aware yet. If they hadn't had a chance to contact him lately...
No. She wouldn't go. It would be disastrous to be caught by one of her teammates without having completed her mission. She still had no hard evidence of the traitor's identity. She had to get on a computer tonight. Unfortunately, with everyone off base, she was not allowed into the computer room. Only when she had assigned work was she allowed to sit at one of the terminalss. Even staying late the other night she had been taking a risk with the cameras recording everything. It would have to be Zartan's office again.
Bludd left with the Cobra troops, and Zartan and the Dreaknoks had been left in charge. Which meant that the Dreadnoks were drunk out of their minds before the others had been gone more than an hour. Some time around midnight, they started to pass out or simply fall asleep on the ratty furniture in the Cobra rec room.
Zartan, however, refused to leave his office, making that option impossible. She knew there had to be a way. She checked on him one last time before going to his quarters instead. She dug through his clothing and weapons, then turned to his desk drawers. She rummaged through the contents, which mostly consisted of masks, for some reason. Lady Jaye wondered why Zartan would need to use masks for disguises, but then she realized that the faces were all very familiar. Each of the Cobra high command was represented here, including Zartan himself. They must be for others to use alongside him.
She smiled. This might be easy after all, she thought. She grabbed the Zartan mask and quietly left the room. She made one last circuit of the hallways and rooms before heading to the main computer room. This had to be done carefully. She paused outside the door. There was a tall filing cabinet near the entrance on the inside, she knew. If she did this right, she would get the information she needed and have a valid reason to leave the Cobra base.
She donned the mask and took a deep breath. She pictured the cameras in the room. She could do it. She took a step inside, looking around carefully, making sure the camera had time to swing over her. It would only catch the top half of her mask; the filing cabinet blocked her from the mouth down. Perfect. She took a few more steps, and as soon as the camera swung away, she tore off the mask and walked to the nearest computer, completely exposed now as herself.
This was the first opportunity she'd had to explore the Cobra's computer network, and she went at it with gusto. She figured she had several hours before the Dreadnoks awoke, and even then, they would probably think she had gone to bed. She had to cross her fingers that Zartan would have no reason to come here when he was finished in his office.
She managed to copy most of the more important files onto disk. It took several minutes to copy each folder, and there were almost thirty that she thought would be useful.
While the disk drive hummed away, she searched the archived emails but found nothing of interest. Finally she had copied everything she could. Lady Jaye took one last look around the room. A cache of floppy disks caught her attention. The traitor had most likely handed over his information on disk.
She began to go through them one by one. Among the games and other programs were files that had obviously been taken from government networks. Paydirt. She read through the files avidly, noting that the information contained within directly matched the pattern of attacks over the last several months.
She despaired, however, of finding any clues to the traitor's identity. Then she came upon a record that made her gasp out loud. She read through it twice to make sure, then downloaded the file to another disk. She knew who it was now. Not who she had expected, but then, she hadn't truly believed it would turn out to be someone on the team until she read that page. She sighed. Why did you do it? She asked him silently. What could possibly have convinced you to turn on your friends like this?
She rose and returned everything to the way it had been earlier. She unobtrusively grabbed the mask on the way out, and dumped it down the garbage chute near the cafetieria. With a heavy heart, she made it to her quarters, hid the disks, and went to bed. The sheer relief of finally finding the answer allowed her to drift off almost immediately.
Bludd and the others returned late the next day, at about the same time that the Dreadnoks finally stirred from their drunken slumbers. She waited anxiously for the report from Bludd.
He was smiling. That was a bad sign. "Well, my dear, you'll be happy to hear we were successful today," he told her.
She tried to summon a return smile. "Oh? So what happened?"
His grin turned distinctly evil-looking. "The Joes had us on the ropes, and just when we were thinking about ordering a retreat, Duke collapsed right in the middle of the field. The Joes were too busy dealing with the emergency to care that we waltzed in and out of the facility with the information we needed."
Her stomach sank. "Collapsed? Is that all I get? You still haven't told me what you did to him."
"And I'm not going to tell you now, either. Just be sure that we've kept our end of the bargain," he replied.
"Any interesting battle stories other than that?" she asked.
He waved a hand dismissively. "No, none of the Joes were injured, more's the pity. But it's obvious that the plan for Duke is in effect. By this time next week, your commanding officer will be buried in Arlington."
She smiled widely, feeling like Bludd could read the fear in her eyes. But he only started to laugh, walking away to check in with Zartan.
Lady Jaye continued to go through the motions of her tasks, her mind working furiously. There had to be a way to defeat the virus. She could only think of one place where she could look. Zartan's lab. But how could she get in?
She finally decided brute force might be her only option. She bided her time, hoping for an opportunity. Unfortunately Major Bludd called for her an hour after his chat with her.
The computer room was fairly crowded, she noticed when she walked in. She felt a little nervous, knowing what she was likely there for. When she saw Zartan leaning against the wall in the corner, she knew for sure. Both of them could only be there for one reason.
Bludd turned to her, arms crossed. Lady Jaye kept her expression even. "Do you need something?" she asked him.
"What were you doing in the computer room last night?" he demanded.
She raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me? I never came here last night."
Bludd motioned to one of the technicians. He brought up a scene from one of the cameras, a still shot showing her sitting at a terminal.
Her mouth dropped open. "what-" she spluttered. She shook her head. "Check the dates. That couldn't have been last night."
The technician glanced up. "It is. I'm sure." He looked uncomfortable. She had gotten to know the techs fairly well, and sometimes they acted almost human.
"Bullshit," she argued. "Someone is setting me up." She glared pointedly at Zartan.
Bludd considered her for a moment. "Too bad this didn't work out," he began, stepping toward her.
"Sir, wait a moment," the tech said. He had rewound the tape until the camera showed an empty room, and was playing it back again. The camera revolved slowly toward the door, and there was Zartan, looking around the room. The camera moved away, and when it swung back, it showed Lady Jaye sitting at the terminal.
Zartan straightened and strode toward the technician. "That's not me!"
Lady Jaye scowled at him. Bludd looked from one to the other, thinking. "Zartan, do you have an explanation for this?"
"No! That's not me!"
"Well, it's not me either," Lady Jaye growled.
Zartan swung around to face her, raising his arm threateningly. She clenched her fists, prepared to defend herself if need be. Bludd stepped between the two of them and shoved them apart. "Stop it," he commanded. He turned to Zartan. "Last time I checked, Lady Jaye wasn't capable of making herself look like anyone she likes. You, however…"
Bludd shoved Zartan against the wall. "I'm sick of your constant attempts at taking over this base. I am in charge, and I make the decisions. You have been trying to undermine me since the first day the Commander set us up here together. Now, get out of here and find something constructive to do!"
The look Zartan gave her on the way out made Lady Jaye swallow. Her ruse had worked, but now she needed to be on her guard against the other man. At least Bludd bought it, she thought to herself. Now for part two.
She turned to Bludd and said, "Well, I think he's made it pretty clear he doesn't want me around. I said I'd stay until Duke was taken care of." She gave him a wry smile. "I appreciate the news of his demise, by the way, but it's time I go. I'll be leaving tomorrow."
Bludd narrowed his eyes at her. "I could force you to stay."
She met his gaze and held it. "You could," she nodded. "But see how long you could hold me."
"And if I searched your quarters tonight, I wouldn't find any computer disks?"
Lady Jaye rolled her eyes. "Come on. You saw that tape. How would I pull that off? Besides, I have no interest whatsoever now in G.I. Joe or Cobra. I'm out of the whole thing."
He stared at her a moment. "And where will you go? You can't go home without being caught and thrown in prison. Is that what you want to do with your life? Throw it away?"
She paused as if considering his argument. Then she shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I don't think I could find a life here, either."
He shrugged. "Fine. We'll talk again tomorrow before you go. I'll give you contact information in case you change your mind."
It bothered her that most of the Cobras she'd met so far had seemed genuinely interested in her fate. Bludd was almost being nice. She would much rather go on hating them, and reminded herself of what this man was capable of. She gave him a nod and left. Bludd stared after her, fingers tapping against the table top.