In the morning the Joes and Alexios headed out in the yacht toward the Cobra base. Alexios piloted the craft again, leaving the others to relax on deck during the journey. Shipwreck went back to sleep on a lounge chair and the others simply sat around to talk.
"So, Lady Jaye, tell us more about your family," Torpedo suggested.
She grimaced and replied, "We're just your average Americans. Really. My mother wanted me to be a trophy wife to some wealthy businessman, but she's come to terms with my career. More or less. My brothers and I get along fine, my father and I have a normal, healthy relationship…there's not much more to tell."
"But Alexios said you gave up the lifestyle of the rich and famous—"
"Hey, so did I," Cover Girl interrupted. "Is there something wrong with that?"
"Well, no…" Torpedo shrugged. "Guess I'm outnumbered, huh, Flint?"
"Hmph." Flint was looking at a magazine and pretending not to be a part of the conversation.
"Geez, get some coffee or something," Lady Jaye told him.
He looked up at her, but instead of the angry look she was expecting, there was only sadness in his eyes. Taken aback, she stammered, "I'm sorry—I just meant that you look tired…"
He shook his head silently and looked back down at the magazine.
Scarlett came to her rescue and changed the subject, telling the others about her brothers and what they were like. They spent the rest of the trip trading anecdotes about their families and eating a leisurely lunch. Just before noon they arrived at the island and drifted far enough offshore not to draw attention.
They planned on spending the day observing the movements of the Cobra soldiers. Depending on what they saw and the number of troops present, that night they would try to take the yacht's small rowboat to shore to explore the temple.
The team took shifts, two at a time, to sit with binoculars and watch the Cobra activity. The rest of them swam in the pool or lounged on deck, in case Cobra was watching them as well. Theirs wasn't the only boat in the water, although most of the other yachts were on the move. Still, Cobra didn't seem to be suspicious…yet.
Lady Jaye and Shipwreck took the third watch, but Cobra didn't seem to be doing anything. At least not that they could see. Although most of the temple was aboveground, the soldiers, led by Destro and the Baroness, spent most of their time in whatever space lay beyond the stairs leading into darkness under the earth.
"So, doll, what's the latest gossip?" Shipwreck leaned in closer to Lady Jaye and set down his binoculars.
"I don't know; I've been here for two weeks," she replied.
"I meant with you," he said. "That Alexios seems to like you a lot."
Lady Jaye shrugged. "So?"
"So is there something between you two?"
"How is that any of your business?" she asked curtly.
"Well, for starters, if there's nothing going on, I thought maybe you and me could—"
"You and she could what?" Flint's steely voice cut into the conversation.
Shipwreck looked up, startled. "Ah...well, I figure that rank and protocol don't matter, ya know? I'm Navy, she's Army, so…" He smiled. "It's not like it would be for you—I mean, you're her superior officer. I, however, am in no way her superior."
Lady Jaye laughed. "You got that right."
Shipwreck laughed along with her, lowering his voice. "Yeah, so, then that's settled. I notice you have a cabin of your own—URK!" His breath left him in a rush as Flint picked him up and casually tossed him over the rail. He hit the water with a splash and came up sputtering.
The others looked up in shock. Scarlett was the first to react, grabbing a life preserver and rushing to the rail. She tossed it to the sailor, who grabbed it and started swimming toward the ladder at the back of the yacht. The redhead turned to Flint, who stood fuming, eyes locked on Lady Jaye.
Lady Jaye was looking at Flint like she'd never seen him before. She rose from the deck chair, handed him the binoculars, and strode across the deck to sit with Torpedo and Alexios.
Cover Girl helped Shipwreck back on deck. The sailor turned to Flint, opened his mouth to speak, thought better of it, and dove into the pool to rinse the salt water off. Scarlett took a few steps closer to the warrant officer.
"Flint, you had better watch yourself," Scarlett warned him. "If Hawk hears about the way you've been acting, you're going to be in trouble."
He looked over at her, trying to act nonchalant. "Like Shipwreck's never been thrown overboard before." He leaned his elbows on the rail and raised the binoculars. "Besides, he was being an asshole."
Scarlett frowned. "That's not the point. You need to resolve your issues with Lady Jaye before we get back to base. If you're like this around Duke, the shit's gonna hit the fan."
"There are no issues to resolve," Flint told her. He sighed. "Besides, she might not even be going back with us."
Scarlett raised her eyebrows. "What makes you say that?"
Flint shrugged.
Scarlett grabbed the other pair of binoculars and took over Shipwreck's post. "Flint--you know, normal people talk about things that bother them."
Flint remained silent.
Near the pool, the others were chatting about Greek mythology, shooting the occasional glance toward Flint. Alexios was telling them the tale of Hephaistos and his second marriage to Athena, who was an unwilling bride. "He tried to force her into the marriage bed, and they fought. In the battle, Hephaistos' seed was spilled, which gave birth to Erikhthonios, the first King of Athens."
Cover Girl laughed. "Are you serious? Gross. Guess that will never be a Disney movie! Did she escape?"
"Yes, she did," he answered. He smiled and continued, "Even among gods, however, marriage is considered sacred, so most stories say they remained married." He chuckled. "Of course, she is also considered a virgin goddess…"
"Poor guy," Torpedo said. "Who would invent all these stories and have the characters be miserable all the time? Why not make them happy?"
"Without the drama, any story would be pretty boring," Cover Girl replied.
Shipwreck pulled himself out of the pool and walked over to join them. "I could do with a little less drama around here," he said, nodding at Flint.
Lady Jaye's brows furrowed. "He's not normally like this," she told Alexios. "I don't know what's wrong with him." Shipwreck, Torpedo, and Cover Girl all looked at each other. Cover Girl rolled her eyes and Torpedo hid a smile.
"Yeah, I wonder," Torpedo said, pointedly looking at Lady Jaye.
Lady Jaye stared back at Torpedo, missing Alexios' eyes widening in understanding. He looked at Cover Girl, who gave him a small nod of confirmation. "Ah, I see," he murmured.
"What?" Lady Jaye turned her head back toward Alexios.
He put his hands up and said, "Nothing. It's nothing."
"Fine. I'm going swimming." Lady Jaye stalked off to the pool and dove in.
The other four put their heads together and began to talk.
Night finally fell. The Joes agreed that it looked safe enough to attempt to sneak into the room under the temple. Cobra, as usual, was lax in posting guards, and there appeared to be no sentry at the top of the stairs.
A few hours after midnight, Flint, Lady Jaye, Alexios, Shipwreck, and Scarlett boarded the small dinghy from the back of the yacht. Torpedo and Cover Girl would watch from onboard, and would flash a signal if it looked like any Cobra soldiers awoke in the night. They rowed as silently as possible and pulled the boat to shore at the base of a small hill, hidden from sight.
They reached the top of the stairs without alerting anyone in the camp. Shipwreck stationed himself in the shadows behind a pillar, ready to give warning if he or the two Joes on the Yacht noticed any activity.
Alexios led the way down the stairs and into the large main cavern. The area was almost undisturbed. Using one shuttered flashlight to find the entrance, they headed to another room at the end of a short passage. It was obviously where Cobra had been working. Machinery lay scattered along the floor, and work lights were strung on poles around the exterior walls.
They examined the equipment but could find no indication of its intended use. "This was the room we thought might contain an oracle. You see the spring?" Alexios pointed at a small pool of water contained within a shallow stone basin. "It may very well have been considered holy enough to be used as an oracle."
"Well, Cobra's definitely trying to do something with it," Flint said, lifting a bundle of wires from the stone floor. "Do they really think they can talk to the gods? That seems far-fetched, even for Cobra."
"We've been more successful than you think."
The team whipped around only to see Dr. Mindbender standing at the entryway, flanked by twelve Crimson Guardsmen holding rifles at the ready. He gave a sinister laugh. "You see, we knew you would come down here tonight."
"Oh, and what happens next?" Scarlett asked sarcastically.
"Good question. We haven't refined the machinery yet, but I would say at a guess that you all get tied up, your teammates aboveground get captured, and you are all sent to the nearest Cobra prison." He motioned to the Crimson Guards. Four of them stepped forward with ropes while the others kept their guns trained on the prisoners.
"You're outnumbered three to one," Mindbender said. "Please drop your weapons on the ground."
Flint grimaced, but placed his rifle at his feet. Scarlett and Lady Jaye followed suit. The three Joes and Alexios allowed their hands to be bound, and they were led back into the main chamber. The guards took the women down one corridor and the men down another. At the end of each was a small room with a recently constructed door attached to the stone frame.
Mindbender gloated at Scarlett and Lady Jaye as the guards shoved them toward their cell. One of the guards pushed Lady Jaye a little harder than necessary, and she fell on her side, glaring back up at her captors. The guard laughed and bent to pull her to her feet.
"Wait a moment," Mindbender ordered. He leaned over Lady Jaye and gripped her dog tags, which had fallen from under the collar of her shirt. Mindbender fingered the ring that was threaded on the chain. "Interesting."
He stood and directed the guards. "Put the redhead in the cell. This one comes with me."
Lady Jaye struggled in his grip until the other guard prodded her with his rifle. She shot him a glare, but allowed herself to be dragged back down the hallway and into the oracle room.
"What do you want with me?"
Mindbender smiled. "I don't know how you got it, but that ring was one of the missing pieces," he told her. "It is connected to this temple, and should make the oracle work perfectly now."
"So take the stupid ring and let me go," she spat.
"Oh, no," he laughed. "The Baroness has been acting as our priestess." He rolled his eyes. "She's not enamored of the position. You will be her replacement."
Lady Jaye looked at him, mouth hanging open. "You're kidding."
Mindbender didn't answer, snapping the chain holding the ring and her dog tags. He let the rest fall and held the ring up to the light. "Perfect," he murmured. Stepping closer, he lifted her bound hands and placed the ring on her finger. He turned to the machinery and flipped a few switches; lights came on, and a low and annoying buzz echoed in the small room.
The basin began glowing with a soft blue light. Lady Jaye stared at it, fascinated. She took a step toward it but stopped, glaring at Mindbender. He shoved her forward, and she stumbled into the water. The blue light enveloped her completely…