The Joes sat comfortably around the pool on the back deck. Lady Jaye had suggested everyone change into swimsuits as the trip to the mansion would take almost two hours. Shipwreck and Torpedo had jumped into the water at once and were now sunning themselves and relaxing.
Scarlett had tried to get Lady Jaye far enough away from the others to have a private conversation, but Flint hadn't left her side for the eintire trip. With Alexios in the pilothouse, he was relaxed and behaving more like his usual self.
"So, Lady Jaye, admit it—you missed me." Flint leaned back in his chair and gave Lady Jaye a lopsided grin.
She looked over at him and rolled her eyes. "Oh, yes, Flint. I've been on a yacht in the Mediterranean for two weeks. I really missed being on base with you. The PT, the food, the paperwork…" She closed her eyes, relaxing into the padded lounge.
Flint sat staring at her for a few more moments, then rose with a sigh and headed to the pool. Lady Jaye cracked an eye open and watched him leave, then glanced over at Scarlett, raising her eyebrows in question. Scarlett took the opportunity to take Flint's vacated chair, and Cover Girl moved her own over to sit on her other side.
Lady Jaye looked from one to the other. "Yes?" she asked.
Cover Girl held her hands open wide. "What? Can't we innocently flank you?"
"You want to ask me about Alex. I can tell," Lady Jaye replied.
Scarlett lowered her voice. "Oh, is there something we need to know?"
Lady Jaye smiled. "Nope."
"Oh, come on, Jaye. The man barely even registered that Scarlett and I are female. He was watching you the entire time we were all talking," Cover Girl argued.
"And he is very good-looking," Scarlett added.
"I wasn't expecting the Spanish Inquisition," Lady Jaye laughed. She waited for one of her friends to finish the joke, but they both simply stared at her. She shrugged, leaned back, and closed her eyes.
"You're not getting out of this," Scarlett told her.
"Incoming," Cover Girl whispered.
The two girls looked up as Flint walked back over, dripping water. He grabbed a towel from the stack nearby and stood in front of Lady Jaye's chair, rubbing the towel vigorously over his arms and chest. He ran it over his head, leaving his hair mussed, and glanced down at Lady Jaye. When he saw that her eyes were still apparently closed, he shrugged, walked to the other side of the pool, and sat down near Shipwreck and Torpedo.
"Show off," Lady Jaye muttered.
"Was he posing?" Cover Girl asked with a giggle.
"He's always like that," Lady Jaye told her.
"Not in front of us," Scarlett said.
The thrum of the engines changed, and they looked up to see that they were nearing their destination. The area was mountainous and utterly enchanting. White houses spiraled up the hills, and where the land met the water, wide beaches shone in the sun. Ahead of them stood a house surrounded by trees with a lush lawn that stretched down to the water. The house itself was in the classic Mediterranean style, with an almost church-like look to it. A tall stone wall in the front lent shade to the cobbled courtyard. The rest of the house rose behind the wall to a tall two stories. The roof was flat with one blue domed room atop the rest.
"Wow. That's a fantastic house," Torpedo commented.
They moored at the dock, grabbed their bags, and headed inside. A servant opened the door to reveal an airy interior decorated with statues, artifacts, and paintings depicting ancient Greece.
Alexios showed them to the guest rooms upstairs so that they could shower and change, and they met again in a short time in the dining room. A few servants bustled about, serving wine and salad. They spoke to Alexios and Lady Jaye in Greek, and seemed completely unperturbed at the appearance of the five new guests from America. Shipwreck tried to engage one of the women in conversation, but the little Greek he knew was rather limited, and she walked away with a haughty sniff.
After dinner they sat on a balcony at the side of the house, which had a view of both the ocean and mountains. They discussed plans for the following day more thoroughly, but as they were only planning to observe Cobra's movements for now, there wasn't a lot of information to cover.
Alexios politely drew them into conversation, asking each of the Joes a little about themselves. He seemed genuinely interested in Torpedo's description of growing up in Hawaii and Shipwreck's tales of fighting river pirates. Scarlett and Cover Girl gave much briefer versions of their backgrounds, but Cover Girl couldn't help but mention that she had met Alexios before.
He seemed somewhat surprised. "How did you become a GI Joe?" he asked.
"Modeling wasn't very fulfilling," she answered with a shrug.
Alexios turned to Flint. "And where did you grow up?" he asked politely.
"Kansas," Flint answered flatly.
Their host drew his brows together, then his face lit up in recognition. "Ah. Like in 'The Wizard of Oz?'"
Flint frowned. "Yeah. Just like."
"I see," Alexios answered when it became obvious that Flint was unwilling to say more. He turned to Lady Jaye. "Such diverse backgrounds. Alison has told me already of growing up in her family's home in Massachusetts. I was surprised to learn that she gave up a life like this—" he gestured around him, "to join your army." He smiled at her, but she was watching her teammates, who knew very little of her background.
Shipwreck's eyes widened. "Whaddya mean, a life like this? Jaye, have you been holding out on us?"
"You don't know? But her family is—" he broke off mid-sentence, glancing in her direction. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize…"
Lady Jaye shook her head. "It's okay. We just don't talk about our backgrounds much. As you say, they're very diverse." She stood and walked to the side table. Grabbing the wine bottle, she refilled everyone's glasses and returned to her seat.
"So, I hear you've written two books," Scarlett said to change the subject.
"Yes. I've done research on several temples in this area. I even mapped out a dig for the temple near this Cobra base as part of my graduate work at the University of Oxford."
Flint choked on his wine. Torpedo slapped him on the back and asked, "You okay, buddy?"
"Yeah. It just took me by surprise. I was at Oxford, myself." He met Alexios' gaze.
"And what did you study?" the man asked, staring back.
"English Literature."
The others were staring at him, mouths open.
Alexios stood, arms wide. "Then you must see the library!" he exclaimed.
They headed to a huge room on the opposite side of the house. All four walls contained floor-to-ceiling bookcases, interrupted at intervals with windows. Flint wandered around, noting with grudging respect that the collection was a good one. There were many first editions and autographed hard-covers. All genres and subjects were represented, though books on Greek history took up a third of the shelves.
Lady Jaye approached Flint as he was thumbing through an ancient copy of Shakespeare's Hamlet. "I never knew you went to Oxford," she said.
"I never knew your family was rich," he replied gruffly.
She shrugged. "I guess we've never talked much about our pasts." She paused a moment, choosing her words. "Flint, I don't know if I've done something to make you angry, but you don't seem to be yourself. Is anything wrong?"
Flint placed the book carefully back on the shelf and turned to her, glancing toward the others, who were grouped in a corner. Alexios was showing them pictures of temple ruins and explaining what the one on the island was like. He looked back at Lady Jaye. "Nothing's wrong."
"Oh, come on. You've been acting strangely since you arrived. What gives?"
"Nothing. I just…" he looked down at his feet. "I don't like the idea of Alexios taking advantage of you…" he muttered.
Lady Jaye's eyebrows rose. "Excuse me? Taking advantage…of all the…I appreciate the concern, Flint, but the last time I checked, I was an adult and perfectly capable of taking care of myself." She turned and strode over to the others to join in the conversation.
Flint sighed. She was right. Whatever had happened, he didn't have the right to judge. Still he felt his jaw clench as Alexios made room for her in the circle, standing close to her, leaning in to make a joke... He walked over and stood on her other side, feigning interest in the subject.
"And there is a room underground just like this one," Alexios was saying. "We're not sure if it's an oracle room, but it had the look of one."
"Oracle room? What's that?" Torpedo asked.
"The ancient Greeks believed it was a place where one could speak directly to the gods. The most famous is the Oracle at Delphi, of course, but they were scattered all over the islands."
Scarlett looked closely at the picture. "What did they speak to the gods about? Petitions for rain, that kind of thing?"
Alexios shook his head. "No, that was the priest's job. The oracle was available to anyone who wished to know his or her future, although they needed to speak through one of the temple's priestesses, of course. Interestingly enough, archaeologists have found an explanation for the Oracle at Delphi's popularity." He nodded for Lady Jaye to finish the story.
"Ethene gas," she said.
"What?" Shipwreck exclaimed.
Lady Jaye smiled. "The priestess was inhaling Ethylene on a regular basis. It was being released from a crack in the ground in the oracle room. It induces a euphoric state and can cause mild hallucinations."
Shipwreck shook his head in wonder. "Those wacky Greeks," he laughed. He caught Alexios' frown and amended, "Present company excluded, of course."
"Well, this is a different temple entirely, and I can't imagine that Cobra is interested in gas," Scarlett noted.
Alexios tapped his fingers against the spine of the book, then spoke slowly. "There are still some people today who travel to the oracles to ask questions of the gods." At the others' incredulous looks, he continued, "Just as there are people in Britain who still worship at the standing stones."
"We won't guess what Cobra is after tonight," Flint said. "I suggest we go to bed and get an early start in the morning."
"Yeah, with the nine hour time difference, we missed an entire night's sleep," Torpedo agreed. "Let's not get too early of a start, eh?"
"Of course--I should have thought of it," Alexios responded. He turned to Lady Jaye. "Let's leave your friends to their beds. Dmitri should have our evening coffee ready. Shall we?" He led her from the room, and the others followed.
"Evening coffee?" Shipwreck whispered to Torpedo, nudging him in the ribs.
"Yeah, and what was that about Jaye's family?" Torpedo responded.
"Mind your own business," Cover Girl said, heading up the stairway.
"Okay, gossip girl. Like you aren't going to pump her mercilessly for information later," Shipwreck shot back.
"That's my prerogative as another female," Cover Girl told him seriously.
Scarlett ignored the bickering, pulling Flint aside before he entered his room. "Flint, if you've got feelings for Lady Jaye, you should let her know. This jealous streak isn't exactly endearing," she said quietly.
Flint glared down at her. "I'm not jealous," he growled.
"Oh, so you're acting like a jerk for some other reason?"
He pulled his arm out of her grip. "I am not acting like—" he stopped, and had the grace to look a little embarrassed. "Maybe I am acting a bit like a jerk. I'm just worried about her." He ran his hands through his hair. "I don't want to see her get hurt."
"Flint, I hate to say it, but if the situation were reversed—"
"I know, I know," he interrupted. "But I'm just being protective of my partner. I am not jealous."
She turned away with a wink. "Whatever you say."
Flint walked into his room, feeling tired and angry. He wondered what Lady Jaye and Alexios were talking about over their "evening coffee." Or if they were doing something other than talking. As he dressed for bed, his emotions turned from sour to worse. He was mad at her and mad at himself. He lay in bed for a while, but was too wound up to sleep.
Rising from bed and pulling a on a t-shirt over his boxers, Flint made his way downstairs. The servants had apparently retired, as there was no one moving in the house. He wandered the rooms, finally heading back toward the balcony where they had sat earlier, thinking that they were probably there. Sure enough, Lady Jaye and Alexios were seated on chairs, looking out over the landscape. The moon was full, giving an ethereal air to the mountains and water.
Flint could hear their voices, but as they were speaking in Greek, he had no idea of what they were saying to each other. Flint stood near the open doorway, simply listening to the melodious sound of Lady Jaye's voice. He jerked as he heard his name in the flow of words, but the conversation continued. It must have been his imagination. He turned to leave, but stopped when he saw Alexios reach for something on a table behind him.
To Flint's horror, Alexios produced a small jewelry box, which he handed to Lady Jaye. She opened it, looking from the box to Alexios and back. After another short exchange of words, she carefully took out a ring. She shook her head, but Alexios took the ring and put it on her finger. She leaned in to kiss him…
Flint could watch no more. He silently returned to his room, head spinning. Sleep was a long time coming.