As always: I don't own GI Joe, Hasbro, Marvel...or affiliates. I only borrow the characters. :)
Enjoy.
"Scarlett." Hawk took a seat, handing over the floor to his top intelligence officer.
Scarlett rose and moved to the front of the room. Sweeping her blue eyes over the murmuring Joes, everyone quieted instantly.
"Lady Jaye and I have been working with Mainframe," she began. "He's developed a program enabling us to define and pinpoint our areas of target." She turned to the computer expert. "Mainframe."
"Right, Scarlett." He nodded, hitting a few keys on the laptop in front of him.
A chart displaying the three branches of the US Government flashed up behind her. Under Congress (Senate and House of Representatives), the White House Executive, and the Supreme Court (and other federal courts), the names and positions of current representatives and elected officials were listed. Names on the chart had been highlighted in red, green, and yellow.
Scarlett continued. "As Hawk has already explained, we're dealing with a Cobra team that's infiltrating our government and taking out US leaders and military brass through abduction and mind control. Lady Jaye and I have entered data related to the suspicions and rumors we've gathered, and the departments involved. We've cross-correlated that with behavioral and positional changes of targeted individuals and compared it to past statements, known habits and behaviors, and then color-coded them based on the observed characteristics. This is what we've discovered." She turned toward the screen. "Those highlighted in red mark behaviors consistent with synthoid replacements. Those in yellow mark behaviors consistent with drug or gas control." She pointed to the last section. "Those in green mark behaviors consistent with mind control." She turned back toward the group and smiled. "The colored clusters are our targets—"
Heads nodded all over the room.
"We have to assume a different Cobra leader is behind each type of attack. We don't know which one, but we can make educated guesses." She pointed to the red section. "Zartan is the most likely to use and control synthoids—though whether independently or alongside Cobra Commander remains to be seen." She pointed to the yellow area. "Mind Control will most likely be Destro's doing. We've already found evidence pointing to him." She turned to the crowd of Joes before her. "And wherever Destro is, the Baroness won't be far away."
A few Joes chuckled humorlessly.
"That leaves Dr. Mindbender, Major Bludd, Firefly, or Storm Shadow as candidates to lead the yellow section. My bets are on Mindbender," she said grimly. "This fits his MO."
"What about those blasted twins, Tomax and Xamot?" Gung Ho asked.
Scarlett nodded. "Good question, Gung Ho. We have proof that the Crimson Guard Commanders are footing the entire bill for this operation. Undoubtedly, they are stretched pretty thin; they aren't in position to be leading any group."
A hand rose.
"Yes," Scarlett said.
"So, what now?" Cover Girl asked. "I mean, what do we do?"
"We stop them—" Scarlett said firmly. "In whatever way we can. Mainframe has already contacted Sparks and he has agreed to lend his help."
"Once a Joe, always a Joe," Duke quipped, grinning.
Joes around him nodded.
Scarlett smiled and continued. "The guys are working to put a freeze on Extensive Enterprises' accounts. If we can stop their flow of funds, we can cut Cobra's financial support. Once it's cut, Cobra's operations will be reduced to life-support."
"And what about Cobra Commander?" Spirit asked.
Her smile slid. "To be honest, Spirit, in all of this Cobra Commander appears to be the wild card. We're not sure. He may be head-honchoing one of the clusters or he may have a fang in each one. He may even just be sitting back and waiting to reap the rewards. I believe once we start putting the squeeze on the others, he'll slither out from his hole. We'll nab him, then." She punched a fist into her hand.
Spirit nodded.
Scarlett turned to the older man beside her. "General," she said, taking a seat.
"Thank you, Scarlett." Hawk stood and placed his hands on the table in front of him.
The room fell silent as every eye turned toward him.
"It's time to remind the world who the Joes are," he said stoutly. "We're not going after the compromised leaders on this list." He waved a hand vaguely toward the screen behind him. "They're the victims here. Our target is Cobra. If we want to restore our government—and the Joes—we'll have to take each down individually. To do that, I'm assigning teams to investigate and neutralize—"
The Joes nodded enthusiastically. Excited voices broke out all over the room.
Hawk straightened and turned toward the screen. His voice rose above the murmurs. "Those displaying synthoid tendencies are concentrated to these areas of the House and Senate. Duke will lead the team, with Dial-Tone and Flash. We have the neutralizer we recovered from last time Cobra used synthoids. It's been rebuilt, though undoubtedly Cobra is using an upgraded version now. Their job will be to neutralize the synthoids."
"We'll hit 'em where it hurts, general." Duke gave a thumbs up.
Hawk smiled. "I know you will, Duke. "Lady Jaye and Flint—" He turned.
"Yes, sir?"
"You two will lead the other team heading to the Washington D.C. White House Executives, as well as members of the top brass have shown behaviors consistent with mind control. No doubt Destro and the Baroness are behind it. Find out what they are doing and stop them."
They nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Wild Bill and Spirit—"
"Yes sir?"
"You two will lead a team to this area of the judicial courts." He pointed to the screen. "You'll be tracking drug or gas exposure, and likely Mindbender, who we assume to be leading the operation."
"Yes, sir."
"Snake Eyes and Scarlett—"
"Sir?" Scarlett looked up in surprise.
"I want you to track down Storm Shadow. See if you can find out where he is and what he has been up to. I think he is the key to finding Cobra Commander."
"Yes, sir," Scarlett said, sharing a glance with Snake Eyes. He gave her a thumbs up.
Hawk turned his attention to the entire group. "All of you, be careful out there. You know the dangers. We've already lost some Joes." He grimaced. "I don't intend to lose any more. We're still wanted criminals—and some of us are more recognizable than others." His eyes flickered toward Lady Jaye, and she frowned. "We're dealing with confused and angry citizens, as well as misinformed military and police who think they are in the right. That will change as we expose Cobra, but it's going to take some time."
"Yes, sir."
"Now, meet up with your teams and finalize your plans. I want everyone heading out within the next 48 hours."
"Let's go stomp some snakes," Duke cried. "Yo Joe!"
"Yo Joe!" The Joes shouted.
Chairs squeaked at they were pushed back. The Joes rose, talking all at once. A line formed as they made their way out. Duke took his time gathering up his notes; Scarlett was still talking with the general. As he waited for them to finish, he noticed Dial-Tone and Flash lingering near the exit. Cupping his mouth, he called above the roar.
"Dial-Tone, give me ten. I'll meet you two in my office after."
Dial-Tone's eyes flickered toward Scarlett and understanding came into his eyes. He broke into a wide grin. "Sure thing, Duke," he called, elbowing Flash before turning away and leaving. Flash, with a matching grin, followed.
Duke continued sorting his notes.
Lady Jaye and Flint were making their way toward the exit, swept along by the crowd, when Lady Jaye stopped in front of him.
"Good luck out there, Duke." Lady Jaye gave him one of her brilliant smiles.
He smiled back. "You too, Jaye. Don't you be coming back with any more bullet holes." He warned.
"Not a chance with this knucklehead watching my back." She thumbed behind her.
"Hey—" Flint protested, crossing his arms over is chest. "I have ears, you know."
Lady Jaye grinned at him impishly, and Duke chuckled.
"See you later, Duke." Flint mock-saluted. He lay a hand on Lady Jaye's shoulder and pushed her gently toward the exit. "We've got a mission to plan."
Duke watched them go with a twinge of envy.
More Joes exited the room behind them.
By now, Duke's papers were in order, so he rose and began straightening the rows of chairs. He was just finishing when he heard Hawk's voice winding down the conversation. He turned and waited.
"You've done good work, here, Scarlett."
"Thank you, sir."
Hawk nodded. "Drop off your final report in the morning before you and Snake Eyes head out."
"Yes sir." Her eyes followed him as he headed for the exit.
"Duke." Hawk nodded in passing.
"Sir." Duke stood at attention. He waited for the general to leave the room before he turned toward Scarlett.
"Waiting for something, Duke?" She walked over, smiling.
"Yeah." He smiled back. "You could say that."
"I'm glad you did."
"I wanted to wish you luck, Red. I'll be heading out with my team tomorrow morning. Sounds like you will be, too."
"Yeah. With Snakes." She nodded.
"Yeah," Duke grumbled.
Scarlett reached up and traced his jaw with her hand. "Duke, I would love being on same team with you. But there's a reason why Hawk put us where he did," she said.
"I know. You two are the best for the job."
"Correction. Snakes and I are the only ones for the job," she said gently.
They stared at one another for a long moment.
"Scarlett—"
Duke fingered her short ponytail and his eyes shadowed. Suddenly, his arms were around her and he was pulling her toward him, pressing his lips against hers. She responded, looping her arms around his neck and pulling him down.
"Duke—" Scarlett gasped as the kiss broke; she pushed away reluctantly.
Disappointment flickered in Duke's eyes. Then, chuckling softly, he ran a hand through his blond hair.
Scarlett smiled. Poking a finger into his chest she said, "Go give 'em hot knuckle, soldier."
"You bet." He puffed out his chest. "You've read my green sheet—"
"More times than I can remember, sir," she teased.
"Of course, you did." He let out a laugh. Then his eyes grew dark. "Bash some Cobra's for me, Red."
Scarlett held up her crossbow and grinned wickedly. "With pleasure, Duke."