-O's A/N: Hopefully, this is not too confusing. There is a bunch of things going on simultaneously so I have decided to do a complete scene and then page break, and start with the next group of Joes doing their thing, and so forth. This takes place towards the very end of the previous chapter. Again, like Chapter 2, I had fun writing this chapter.
-O's Disclaimer: I do not own GI Joe or the characters. Hasbro/Sunbow/Marvel/Devil's Due comics created GI Joe. I make no money from this fic.
-Continued thanks to DesertFox for her beta-reading services, and also thanks to those of you who have sent me a little review or email letting me know that you are enjoying and/or are reading this fic.
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Title: An Old FlameAuthor: Scarlett Storm O
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Storm Shadow has escaped, but what is the plan?
Feedback: Yes please. Always appreciated.
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Chapter 6 – Chaos
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-(Approximately 2100 hours – Flint's team)-
The chopper ride to Blackwater Prison was silent as the small group of Joes contemplated the same thought. If Storm Shadow breaks out, there will be hell to pay. And everyone onboard was afraid that two of their teammates would pay the biggest price.
When Flint had located Gung-ho, Wild Bill, and Ace in the recreation room earlier, he had explained to them the apparent situation. "Cobra Swamp Skiers have been spotted, lurking around the prison. Wild Bill, I need you to fly Gung-ho, Stalker, and me to Blackwater Prison. Ace, round up a couple of guys to post outside of Snakes' hospital door and Scarlett's quarters. You had better inform Duke what is going on too. He needs to know that Cobra is sneaking around the prison. Colonel Sharp wants us to take over guarding Mr. Revenge Man."
Arriving at Blackwater Prison, Flint shoved his way past the security guards, demanding to see for himself that Storm Shadow was still in his prison cell. At first glance, the ninja standing in the corner of the dimly lit cell appeared to be Storm Shadow, but once Stalker got a glimpse of him, he knew it was a decoy.
"Flint, that's not Tommy," Stalker revealed.
"What makes you say that, Stalker?" Flint demanded.
"His stance is off. Tommy never stands with his shoulders slumped forward like that. He always stands straight as a board. I'm telling you, Flint, that's an imposter," Stalker answered, pointing to the fake ninja.
Suddenly, the Storm Shadow figure started to laugh, "My, my, what fun that was. Remind me how easy it is to fool these prison guards." The figure started to change right in front of their eyes.
"Zartan!" Gung-ho exclaimed. "Why you sneaky chameleon! Where is the ninja creep?" If Gung-ho could have reached the Dreadnok, he would have pulled Zartan through the bars on the door. Instead, he curled his hand into a fist and continued to pound it into the palm of his other hand.
"Uh Uh Uh," Zartan replied, wagging his finger from side to side, "You didn't say 'Simon Says'. But I would imagine, he is far from here by now."
Flint had had enough. He slammed the palm of his hand against the prison door and turned to face the guardsman, barking out orders. "Do not, under any circumstances, allow this 'Nok to escape. Keep a close eye on him. Do you think you can manage that?" Flint's tone of voice dripped with sarcasm while he glared at the confused guard.
As the guard nodded his head, Flint didn't even take notice. The pissed-off Warrant Officer was already halfway down the hallway, cursing loudly and ordering Gung-ho and Stalker to keep up with him.
The threesome reached Wild Bill and the awaiting Dragonfly. As Wild Bill took off, Flint radioed Breaker back at base. "Breaker, put the base on full alert. Storm Shadow has escaped and could quite possibly be headed your way."
"Ten four," Breaker replied and sounded the alarm.
-(Approximately 2100 hours – Duke's quarters)-
Ace shifted his feet nervously as he waited for Duke to answer his door. He had already coerced Grunt and Steeler to stand guard outside of Snake Eyes' room, and Clutch and Ripcord had headed over to guard Scarlett's room. Ace didn't like having to be the bearer of bad news to Duke, especially when it entailed a certain redhead being in possible danger. He had a hunch that something was going on between the two of them, though no proof.
Ace pounded on Duke's door again as Tripwire and Short Fuse looked around anxiously. Finally, Duke opened his door and was a little confused at the odd assortment of men assembled in the hall. "What's up, Ace?" He skeptically questioned the pilot.
"Hey Top, got a second?" Ace asked.
As Ace entered Duke's quarters, Duke eyed the hotshot pilot suspiciously, "Well, spill it, Ace. I get the feeling this is not a social call."
'Shit', Ace thought and swallowed hard. "Duke, Flint wanted me to inform you that that Storm Shadow fella may be trying to escape. Cobra activity was picked up on Blackwater Prison's security cameras, although they swear that Storm Shadow is still in his cell. Flint and a few others headed over there on Colonel Sharp's command to check things out." Ace took a deep breath and watched Duke's eyes cloud over and narrow as the information of a possible escape by the dangerous ninja sunk in.
"And," Ace continued before Duke could blow a gasket, "I have two guys outside Snakes' door and two guys outside of Scarlett's."
"What?!" Duke's voice thundered in the room. "How in the hell can that prison facility allow a breakout?" He paced his living room like a caged tiger, limping slightly on his sprained ankle and wincing as his lungs filled with air and pressed against his two fractured ribs.
'Too late, fuse blown', Ace thought as he tried to reason with the fuming wild man, "Now, wait a minute, Duke. I never said he escaped. There was just some activity picked up from the security monitors. As far as we know,...Hey, where do you think you are going?" Ace shouted after the disappearing First Sergeant, already headed out of his quarters and down the hallway towards the female barracks. "Hey, Duke, get back here." Ace ran up behind him and grabbed his shoulder.
Duke jerked his shoulder away from Ace's hand and reeled around to face the pilot. He hissed at Ace through gritted teeth, "Don't you ever touch me again."
"Hey man, calm down. She's fine. Clutch and Ripcord are guarding her door. I just had chow with her a few hours ago," Ace reasoned with him, taking it upon himself to assume that Duke's tirade was because of his concern for Scarlett.
Realizing his lack in judgment, Duke berated himself silently for letting his emotions take over. All he could think of was that final sword thrust towards Scarlett's heart. He gave Ace a pat on the shoulder and mumbled, "I'm sorry, man. I shouldn't have done that." Taking a deep breath and releasing a sigh, he continued, "I just need to see for myself that she is okay. You weren't there yesterday. That man missed killing her by inches." Duke brought his hands up to his temples and tried to massage away the growing headache.
"It's okay. It would probably make me feel better too, knowing that she is safe and sound in her room. Flint was very concerned, and I have never seen Gung-ho so adamant about protecting Scarlett," Ace admitted.
The two men continued down the hall towards Scarlett's quarters while Tripwire and Short Fuse trailed behind them at a distance, bewildered by the exchange between the two men.
Rounding the corner and approaching Scarlett's room, Ace and Duke were surprised but relieved to see Clutch and Ripcord both raise their weapons as the group approached.
"Oops, sorry Top, didn't know it was you," Clutch apologized.
"It's okay, men. I'd have throttled you if you hadn't. Is she in there?" Duke asked. He had taken the opportunity on the short walk to recompose himself. He may have revealed too many emotions to Ace earlier, but that reckless mistake was not going to happen again.
The two soldiers looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. "We assume so. We were only told to guard her door, and not let her know we were out here unless she noticed us," Ripcord sheepishly answered.
Duke glared at Ace, who defended himself by saying, "Flint didn't want us to tell either Snakes or Scarlett that Storm Shadow may be trying to escape."
Clutch quickly interrupted, by saying, "When Ripcord and I got here, Doc was just leaving. He had wanted to check her wound for infection."
Duke exhaled slowly and tried to calm himself from the recent spike in his blood pressure. He knocked on her door, feeling an odd sense of dread. The more time that passed without an answer at the door, the more Duke found himself silently muttering a string of obscenities.
After three knocks, Duke pulled out his master key and overrode the lock. He opened the door and called out her name.
Silence
He flipped on the light switch and scanned the empty room. Clutch offered to check the bedroom but quickly changed his mind when he caught a glimpse of Duke's 'if looks could kill' glower. Duke knocked on Scarlett's bedroom door and listened for an answer or any movement.
Silence
Duke turned the knob and switched on the light. Her bed was empty, and the covers were rumpled. He cast his eyes towards her bathroom, which was dark, and then his eyes fell upon the curtains, fluttering in the breeze. His heart sank. Ace rushed over to the open window, but there was no sign of anyone. A piercing blare sounded over the base. The alarm had been activated, but unfortunately, it was too late. She was already gone.
-(Elsewhere on the Joe base)-
The screaming alarm aroused Snake Eyes from his sleep. He winced as he pulled several of his stitches. 'What is going on?' He wondered.
Steeler peeked his head in to check to be sure that Snakes was still in the room, alone, before he headed to the control room to see what was going on.
"Stay here and don't let anyone in," Steeler ordered Grunt.
Grunt heard the bell by Snakes' bed and stuck his head in the room.
"What is going on? Why is the base on alert?" The silent ninja signed to Grunt.
Grunt mumbled, "I don't know man. We'll find out soon, I'm sure."
-(Approximately 2100 hours – Scarlett's room)-
The eyes watched Scarlett as she succumbed to the darkness of the "special" painkillers that the intruder had switched on her. Storm Shadow refused to return to Cobra without a prisoner, and since she was the one that facilitated his capture, it was her turn to pay.
Tommy had so many ideas of how to make this woman pay for his incarceration, even though it was only for a short time. Her valiant fight for his ex-sword brother was admirable. Not many women would have put their life on the line for a man who had jolted them so. 'No one imprisons me without expecting a payback', he vowed.
Storm Shadow let his thoughts travel back to yesterday's battle, specifically his attempt to kill her. The moment when he brushed her hair back from her face, so he could see her eyes. If he would have only saw a hint of anything but contempt, he would have spared her her life. But the hatred was prevalent, and he had no choice. The pain she inflicted upon him as she delivered that desperate kick to his knees not only sent him crashing down to the floor, but also crushed his reputation. Snake Eyes excluded, no one had ever been able to bring him down.
He would love to put into action some of his torture plans and use them on Scarlett. One thing was for certain, he would be sure that his sword brother and the blond-haired man would witness her death. Being run through the heart by his sword would seem merciful compared to what he could envision. However, his dreams of torture would have to wait. Destro had freed him from prison, but his freedom carried a price tag. The repayment to Destro was to be the deliverance of one deadly Black Widow.
Destro had been quite impressed with Scarlett's fight against Storm Shadow and had an idea that he could use her skills to his advantage. In a brief communication between Destro and Storm Shadow, Destro had instructed Storm Shadow to bring the woman to him with no further injuries than what she had already sustained.
Patiently waiting for the sleeping pills to take affect, Storm Shadow moved closer to her bed to monitor her breathing. It was a shame; she was beautiful. He didn't know what Destro's intentions were but almost pitied this woman. Tommy still had some problems accepting the cruelties that Cobra imposed upon their prisoners. He had no problem with his own variants of torture because he was in control of them, but Cobra had a different view of torture and extreme cruelty.
Scarlett's breathing became steady, and Storm Shadow knew it was safe to move her. He had to get moving before his escape from Blackwater and his security breach into Joe headquarters was detected. He picked up Scarlett and hoisted her over his shoulder as he made his quick descent out her bedroom window and down to the ground. He moved along with the shadows of the night, quickly and agilely.
A parked vehicle just outside of the base perimeter waited for the white ninja to return with his prize. The Crimson Guard started the engine as Storm Shadow placed his unconscious prisoner in the back seat. He got in the passenger seat and said, "Drive."
A few miles down the road, Storm Shadow thought he caught the vague blare of an alarm being sounded. He smiled under his mask. The Joes were too late, this time.
-TBC