Disclaimer: Characters in this work (GI Joe/ Cobra) are the property of Marvel Comics, Hasbro
and Devil's Due Publishing, Inc., and are being used without permission. No profit is gained from the use of these characters.
The next installment of my unofficial fanfic 100…..
Prompt: 54 -Air
The Intimidator
By Nickelina
The jeep landed hard and a small cloud of dust trailed after it as Ripcord slammed on the brakes. He turned it around and drove back to the startling line 200 feet from where he ended. He put the jeep in park and jumped out to join Mainframe who was waiting for him. He waved to Lady Jaye, who was halfway down the makeshift course. She waved back, and shook her head.
Ripcord put his hands in the air. She ran to meet him.
"Nope. It just bounced around a little." She told him.
"You got to be kidding me!" He said to her. "I totally made air that time."
She laughed at him. "No, you didn't. I would have seen it."
Mainframe joined them. "Your ramp is too small. We should look for something bigger."
"Blaine?" Jaye asked sarcastically. "Where are we going to find a bigger ramp around here?"
"We should have someone build us one." Ripcord said, looking out into the desert for a bigger hill.
Jaye walked over to the jeep and got in the driver's seat. She rubbed her hands over the steering wheel and sighed. "Boys, I just don't think this is the right vehicle for this. If you want to achieve air, you need something…sleeker." She didn't notice Ripcord and Mainframe looking at her.
"What?"
"We should just borrow someone's car." Ripcord said.
"How? Mainframe started. "If they found out what we were doing they would never let us take it."
"Who said we were going to ask?"
"Ripcord…" Jaye warned. But it did not stop him.
"Let's see, who has a nice car?"
"Wally!"
"Duke has a truck…" He pondered the thought. "Ace has a mustang…"
"I think Wet-Suit has a sporty car." Mainframe added. "Falcon has a nice car too."
"Let's see, Jaye you have that piece-o-shit Toyota…" Ripcord teased.
"Hey! That piece of shit got you to and fro plenty of times."
"Just kidding." Ripcord got in the back seat and Mainframe in the front and Jaye began to drive back to base.
"Does Alpine drive? What about Beachhead?" Ripcord asked.
"Who knows." Mainframe answered. "Hawk has a car."
"Forget it! I would rather take going on report versus getting discharged for stealing a General's car." Jaye told them.
The thought did not stop the others in the jeep.
"We could try my car." Mainframe said.
Ripcord thought about it and started to laugh. "Your VW? Sure, and afterwards we can pick up groceries."
"It's a Jetta, not a grocery grabber. Laugh all you want Rip, I'm going to trade that in for an Audi."
"Flint has a car." Jaye said quietly.
"Who has a what?" Ripcord asked. He pulled himself forward to hear her.
"Flint has a car." She said again, this time a little louder.
"What kind of car?"
Jaye slowed the jeep down. "Flint has a Monte Carlo Intimidator SS supercharged."
Ripcord shook his head. "Are you serious?"
"Black, with grey leather interior. Power everything, sunroof and a system. Goes from zero to sixty in around 5 seconds."
Mainframe sat next to her, his jaw dropped open.
"Ohmigod! Ohmigod!" Ripcord could not contain his excitement.
"Too bad he's out." Jaye told them.
They arrived back at the base and Jaye parked the jeep. Ripcord continued to question her about Flint's car. She reminded him again that Flint was out training and there was no way they would be able to get it. Ripcord shrugged his shoulders and walked into the holding garage, Mainframe followed him.
Jaye signed the jeep back in and found her friends standing next to a car that was covered with a tarp. Even with the cover on, they were studying it. She walked over to them and peeled the tarp back, revealing Flint's car.
"Sweet!" Ripcord said as he walked around it.
"Wow, that is a nice car. Have you ever driven it?" Mainframe asked.
"Do pigs fly?" Jaye answered back.
"No time like the present, Al-e-son."
"No, Wal-ace." She mimicked Ripcord, but looked longingly at the car.
"He'll never know…"
"I bet he hides the keys." Mainframe said.
Jaye turned to face both of them and smiled. "I bet I know where they are."
Jaye hushed Ripcord and Mainframe when they got into the residence hallway where Flint had his room. She made them wait at end of the hall while she went to his room to get his keys. While she was looking though his bureau, she heard a voice in the doorway.
"Looking for something?"
Jaye turned around to see Beachhead standing in the doorway. "Uh, no." she quickly thought of a lie. "Flint wanted me to drop something off for him. That's all."
"And you knew the code to get into his room?"
"He gave it to me." She palmed the keys she found and shut the drawer. "Okay, all done. He knew I was going to drop that off, so you won't have to tell him I was here." She smiled and nodded her head at him.
"What's in your hand?"
"Uh. My keys." She held them out for him to see and jangled them. "Okay, Beach, I'm gonna leave now." She squeezed passed him and shut Flint's door behind her.
She almost made it to the end of the hall when Ripcord asked her if she had the keys. She put her finger to her lips to shut him up. Beachhead watched the entire thing. He saw Mainframe peek his head around the corner and knew the three were up to no good as usual.
"Seatbelts on!" Jaye demanded. "If we are going to total Flint's car, let's not die in the process."
Mainframe made himself comfortable in the backseat.
"Blaine?"
"Yes, Jaye?"
"Is your safety belt on?"
"No." He said, laughing.
Jaye stopped the car and turned around in her seat. "Come on! I will put this car right back in storage."
"I was just kidding. It's on."
Ripcord pressed the button that opened the sunroof and rolled down the window. Jaye adjusted the radio and turned it up to see how the system worked. When they were satisfied with the musical selection, Jaye adjusted the rear-view mirror and leaned back in the seat.
She sighed. "Well, let's see what you can do." She put her foot on the accelerator and the car lurched forward as it began to speed down the dusty road. Ripcord put his hands out on the dashboard to brace himself as the car went faster. They made the perfect cloud of dust for Beachhead to follow.
The car was stopped sideways in the middle of a dirt road; dust was beginning to settle around it. The three occupants sat in silence as they took in the wild ride they had just taken. Jaye had gotten the car up to 90 miles per hour and had all but lost control when the road became rough. Mainframe tried to apologize for telling her to drive down the un-explored road but couldn't find the words. Jaye still had a firm grip on the wheel and didn't turn around to acknowledge him. She took a few calming breaths, but was still shaking. Ripcord was the first to recover. He opened the door and got out to inspect the car for any damage. He walked around to the driver's side and reached in the window to pat Jaye on the shoulder.
"It's okay. The car is in good shape."
There was a long pause before she replied. "Wow. That was…incredible!"
She got out of the car and excitedly grabbed onto Ripcord. "When the road disappeared and I swerved around that bush…."
Mainframe breathed a sigh of relief. He thought Jaye was really going to lose it. As he was getting out of the car, he noticed a vehicle heading their way. He shut the door behind him and put his hand up to his eyes to shield the sunlight. He recognized Beachhead as the jeep got closer. He turned to Ripcord and Lady Jaye and yelled.
"Incoming!"
They turned towards the sound of the approaching jeep.
"Great, we're busted." Ripcord said.
"Quick! Think of a lie!" Jaye said as she clung to the arm of Ripcord's shirt.
Beachhead parked the Jeep next to Flint's car. He walked around it and looked at the three who were standing by it. Their faces told him all he needed to know. He walked over to Lady Jaye and stood in front of her. He cleared his throat.
"You were driving?"
She let go of Ripcord's shirt and tried to compose herself. "Yes, I was."
Beachhead took a step back and turned toward the tire tracks she had left in the dirt.
"Did you ever take a course in defensive driving?"
"No."
He turned around and looked into her eyes. "Are you a daredevil? Some evil Knievel, hidden under all of that ladylike exterior?"
Jaye shifted her weight. "What are you getting at, Beachhead?"
"Come here." He started to walk away, back to his jeep. She signaled for Ripcord and Mainframe to follow her. She was sure he as taking her back to base and straight to the brig. They all got in and he drove them a short distance back down the road. He stopped the jeep and got out. Jaye followed him. Beachhead walked to a ridge, where it was obvious the road had been once washed away during a storm. He jumped down into the small ravine.
"How deep do you think this is?" He asked her.
She looked over the edge and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, four feet or so."
"Turn around and look at the tire tracks." He told her as he climbed back up the ravine.
Jaye's eyes grew wide as she noticed her tire tracks stopped at the edge of the ravine and began again on the other side, twenty feet away. "No way! I got air! Ripcord!" she motioned wildly for Ripcord and Mainframe to see.
"How fast do you think you were going?" Beachhead laughed.
"Around ninety."
"Flint's car goes that fast?"
"Yeah, I guess it does. You aren't going to tell him we took it are you?" She asked.
"Not if you let me drive it back to base." A smile crossed Beachhead's face. "You said it goes close to ninety?"