Another chapter. We're getting close to the end. Thanks for staying with me this long!
The usual disclaimers apply.
"Gee, what a great idea! How'd you come up with it anyway, Flash?" Dial-tone asked excitedly, turning the small gadget over in his hand.
"It was easy." Flash launched into an explanation. "The outward appearance of the synthoid might be the same as the real thing, but the chemical make-up is no way human. I just had to make something that could detect the difference—"
When Flash showed it to Duke, however, he knew that Duke would be more interested in function than explanation. So, he said simply:
"It'll work, Duke."
And it did.
Walking the public areas of the House in disguise, Duke used the small device to confirm the presence of several synthoids. He had to admit that Zartan's work was impressive. The copies looked so much like real humans that it was the only way Duke would have known that they were fakes. It made him wonder how Scarlett had figured it out when he'd been replaced by one. He'd thanked her before, but after this mission, he'd have to do it again. Thinking of Scarlett, Duke found himself smiling. He suddenly couldn't wait to get back to base.
"Let's get this show on the road, boys."
"Yo Joe!"
Less effective had been the broken neutralizer that Dial-tone and Flash had rebuilt. Even on the highest setting, it only rendered the synthoid Duke had tested it on mindless, not destroying the body—and that was in close proximity. Unfortunately, it meant that if they were to neutralize all the synthoids, they would have to get their hands on Zartan's upgraded device.
That was Duke's plan now—to break into Zartan's lab and steal it.
Dial-tone and Flash had already entered the building, posing as repairmen. Their job was to get to Zartan's lab on the third floor. Duke, himself, would be the distraction to get them inside the lab. When he made an appearance as Duke, even Zartan would come running.
"Roadblock, cover those doors," Duke pointed.
"No problem, Duke." Roadblock moved into a position where he'd have full view of the lobby entrance. Roadblock had been a late addition to the team, and a welcome one.
Duke waited.
Roadblock waited.
When the device in Duke's pocket began to vibrate, he signaled Roadblock; Flash and Dial-tone were in place.
Entering through the double doors, Duke walked up to the desk. "I want to see Zartan," he demanded.
The man behind the desk barely masked his surprise. "I'm sorry. There is no one here by that name," he said, reaching down and opening a drawer. "But I recognize you." He pulled out a gun and pointed it at Duke. "You're that leader from G.I. Joe."
Duke ducked as the man pulled the trigger. "Roadblock—" he shouted, running for cover.
Roadblock burst into the lobby.
"Security!" The man at the desk shouted. "It's G.I. Joe."
Alarms sounded. Emergency lights flashed. Armed men rushed inside.
Roadblock made his way to Duke and the two took position inside the stairwell. Shots followed them and they exchanged rounds of fire. The walls became riddled with holes.
"What's taking them so long?" Duke glanced at the stairway as he tossed a used clip aside. "You don't think they ran into Zartan, do you?"
"Naw. He'd be here if he was in the building." Roadblock said. "Give 'em a little more time." He ducked as more shots hit the wall above him.
"Time's what we don't have." Duke growled. "Roadblock, over there!" He pointed at another pair of security guards trying to enter from the left.
"I got 'em." Roadblock growled, laying down heavy fire. The guards pulled back, taking cover near the entrance.
Suddenly, they heard a pounding of feet from the stairs above.
"Duke!" Flash and Dial-tone shouted as they came into view. "Duke, we got it!"
"It's about time," Duke said as they dove next to him. "Roadblock, check our escape."
Roadblock nodded.
"Where's the device?" Duke asked as he fired cover shots for the big man as he slipped away. Flash and Dial-tone drew their guns and fired, too.
"Well—" Flash explained between shots. "We didn't exactly get the device—but we got the plans." He added quickly, before Duke could start yelling. "I copied Zartan's files. Got it all here." He patted the front pocket of his shirt. "It should give us what we need to upgrade our own device."
"It'd better. We won't get a second chance." Duke growled.
"It will, Duke." Flash assured him, casually firing off a few rounds.
"And get this—" Dial-tone added eagerly. "While I was waiting for Flash, I poked around. I found out where Zartan's keeping his prisoners. It's in Florida. Near the Everglades. And he's got the dreadnoks doing the guarding."
"You just stumbled upon all that while he was getting the plans?" Duke asked incredulously.
"Hey, what can I say. I'm lucky," Dial-tone said.
"Right—" Duke pressed his lips together.
"Duke, they got us surrounded." Roadblock hissed as he slid in next to them. "Local police are about to swarm the building. They got the exits guarded."
Duke cursed. Glancing around he spotted an emergency exit window at the top of the stairs. "Roadblock—" He pointed. "Do you think?"
"Yeah." Roadblock nodded. "Grab your gear and get those plans out of here. I'm about to create one large, very messy, diversion." He held up a handful of smoke grenades and grinned. "Yo Joe."
"Like the man said, let's get a move on," Duke ordered.
Duke, Flash and Dial-tone ran up the stairs as Roadblock slipped into the lobby, taking cover behind the reception desk.
"Now to make some noise." Roadblock grinned. He picked up one of the chairs and heaved it toward the lobby windows. The glass shattered. A second chair followed, shattering another window. Quickly, he tossed a spread of smoke grenades. The smoke filled the room and poured out through the broken windows.
Taking advantage of Roadblock's distraction, Duke released the latch and pushed the window open. He slipped through, followed quickly by Flash and Dial-tone. Then, darting from shadow to shadow, they disappeared into the alley.
The police had formed a semi-circle around the front of the building. "G.I. Joe, you're surrounded. Come out with your hands up," a voice spoke through a megaphone.
"Time's up," Roadblock said softly. He laid his weapon on the floor. Then, coughing and wiping his streaming eyes, he stumbled outside. Dozens of guns were pointed at him.
"You're under arrest." A grim-faced officer stepped forward.
Roadblock raised his hands. The police swarmed around him.
Mainframe had been working with Sparks for days. They'd hacked into every bank they knew where the Crimson Twins were known to have accounts. Delayed viruses had been released into each, set to go off simultaneously within the next 24 hours. The resulting crash would cause a freeze on their accounts and stop any flow of money.
They hoped it would give the Joes enough time.
"Flint, that's Destro."
Flint grabbed the binoculars from Lady Jaye and looked through. "There's no metal mask. How can you be so sure?"
"He's disguised." She rolled her eyes. "Trust me. I know."
He frowned. That his girlfriend could spot the enemy so easily when he was without his mask bothered him more than he liked to admit.
"These are the top brass and White House execs, Lady Jaye. This is the White House. We can't afford to make any mistakes."
"We won't." Her voice lowered. "Flint—are you sure you can handle this?" she asked.
"Me? What about you?" He hissed.
She took the binoculars back from him and looked again at the scene in front of them. "There's a reason Hawk put me on this team, Flint," Lady Jaye said quietly.
"Yeah, I know." He grumbled. Lady Jaye's family was of old wealth. She had been rubbing elbows with powerful people since she was born.
"Then, trust me when I say that's him. He's manipulating those people somehow." She tapped her lips thoughtfully. "Something is definitely going on."
"What?"
She turned toward him and shrugged. "I don't know."
Flint scratched the back of his neck and frowned. "I don't know" was his least favorite answer.
"Flint—" Lady Jaye placed a gloved hand over his. "We've delayed this long enough. I have to go in. We need to find out what Destro is doing down there," she said firmly. "It'll be just like we planned. I have my maid's uniform and my ID. I'll just slip in and keep my head down and my ears open. No one will be the wiser."
"I know you have to." He sighed. "But I don't have to like it. You have your com. We'll be monitoring. If you get into trouble, we'll be there." Taking her hand, he squeezed it. If Shipwreck and Gung Ho had not been there, he would have done more.
She smiled. "I guess this is where I go change."
"Yeah." He gave her a weak grin. "I guess so."
Handing him the binoculars, she grabbed her bag and slipped into the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, Lady Jaye infiltrated the party as a maid. Balancing a tray of appetizers, she worked her way around the room, keeping Destro in sight. He was conversing with a smll group guests. Lady Jaye watched with growing wariness as a blond woman with wire-rimmed glasses walked up to him and looped her arm through his.
"James, darling—"
"Ah. Ana, my love." He smiled down at her. "What is it?"
The Baroness. Lady Jaye quickly lowered her head. Of course, she'd be here. Lady Jaye needed to know what they were saying. She approached a circle of guests near them and offered her appetizers. Somehow, she needed to let Flint know.
"I hate to pull you away from such honored guests," the woman was continuing. Her eyes flickered briefly toward Lady Jaye. "But a situation requiring your attention has arisen."
"Of course. Excuse me, please." Destro nodded to his guests.
The guests nodded and murmured politely.
Lady Jaye watched as they left the room and headed outside and into the Rose Garden. After a pause, Lady Jaye placed the tray on a table and hurried after them. The message to Flint would wait.
Outside, the evening sun painted a pink glow on the horizon. It was the same color as the roses, Lady Jaye thought absently. Cautiously, she stepped into the garden.
"I guess the reports of your demise were premature, Lady Jaye."
Lady Jaye froze.
The Baroness stood just visible among the shadows. "I should never have trusted that doctor. I guess if you want something done correctly, you have to do it yourself." She held up a detonator and pushed the button. "Goodbye, my dear."
Eyes widening, Lady Jaye turned to run. Before she could get far, the explosion caught her and lifted her into the air. All went black.
"Lady Jaye—"
Lady Jaye opened her eyes. "Flint." Wincing, she sat up. "What—? Where'd you come from?" she asked, glancing around.
"There was an explosion. I saw you fall."
"It was the Baroness." She shook her head to clear it. "I almost had her, but she slipped away with Destro and—Ow, Flint. Hey!"
Flint was dabbing at her temple. "Let me. You're bleeding," he said.
"It's just a scratch, Flint." She pushed away his hand. "I'm ok."
"You're injured." His voice rose. "Allie, you could have been—" He froze. His eyes widened and he clamped his mouth shut.
Lady Jaye stared at him. Flint never called her by her given name on a mission.
Just then, Shipwreck ran up. "Hey, we got security entering the building. We'd better get out of Dodge, fast."
"Agreed." Flint broke the gaze with Lady Jaye. "Where's Gung Ho?" He asked, looking around.
"Clearing us a path out of this garden," Shipwreck grinned.
Lady Jaye groaned softly. "This is the Rose Garden! Please tell me he isn't doing anything permanent."
"Unlike your explosion," Shipwreck smirked.
"Lady Jaye—" Flint turned toward Lady Jaye, his eyes were still clouded with worry—and something else.
"I'm ok, Flint," she said softly.
He nodded. Taking her by the hand, he helped her up. "Let's go," he said.
Lady Jaye barely had time to wonder as they crawled through an opening Gung Ho had cut through the wall.
Flint's hand had been shaking.
Once again, I make reference to Sunbow's Synthoid Conspiracy. In part II, Scarlett figured out that the synthoid Duke was not Duke. Also, after Cobra Commander unwittingly destroyed all the synthoids, I imagined the Joes recovering a discarded neutralizer.