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While on his way to wherever Cobra's base is, Dusty has a flashback.
On his way back inside H.Q. after his escape attempt, he glanced to Clutch, who was escorting him alongside Mutt. "Can i ask one thing before you lock me up?"
"Want to know how many of us will be on the firing squad?" Clutch asked back with a feigned grin.
"Shipwreck said Duke's in a coma; what from, exactly?" Dusty asked, wanting to know a bit more.
"Why, so you can tell the snakes what to celebrate over, you sand snorting bastard?" Clutch asked next, while Mutt explained about the platform explosion.
"They went off before he could jump; was out cold before he hit the water."
Dusty sighed; they had discussed letting the other three leaders in on the plan, but Duke wanted it small scale. He then asked about Scarlett, and was told that she was holed up in her room. "It's one reason we kinda regret your being sent out."
"...It is?"
"Yeah, I'd give a month's pay to watch her tear you to shreds." Clutch told him coldly.
Some time later, at Joe H.Q., Col. Sharp has returned after hearing about the attack on the bus. "First you tell me you can handle things and then tell me that two men are injured, four are dead, and a spy is taken right in front of you?" He asks Flint while exiting the plane. "I ought to have all of you discharged!"
Flint and Beachhead try to calm him down, but he keeps shouting. "I don't want to hear it; Lady-Jaye, change all our security codes."
"Yes sir."
"I want seven teams sent out." He says next. "Team one will be here in the U.S.; team two will be in Canada; teams three, four, and five will head for Europe, while six and seven will head for Asia. Depending on what they find, you will converge and search South America; understood?"
"Yes sir!"
Col. Sharp goes to his office and pulls out a small device. "This is as good a time as any." He says, under his breath. "Watchdog, this is Col. Sharp..."
Several minutes later, the duty roster is shown in the briefing room.
Team one: Airtight, Bazooka, Short-Fuze.
Team two: Footloose, Cutter, Flash.
Team three: Breaker, Cover-Girl, Thunder.
Team four: Airborne, Blowtorch, Gung-Ho.
Team five: Crankcase, Recondo, Rock 'n Roll.
Team six: Grunt, Roadblock, Scarlett.
Team seven: Alpine, Ripcord, Snow-Job.
The Joes reacted to the choices poorly. "What good would an arctic trooper do in a rainforest?"/"Putting Bazook with him again?"/"Why send me to Europe, there's no jungles there."/"No offense, but this don't make much sense."
At the same time, Dusty is being lead inside the enemy base. "Isss there anything you'll need now that you're one of uss?" Cobra Commander asks.
"I have been wondering about something, sir." Dusty asks back.
"Ssuch asss?"
"I was told a... certain someone was taken out of action earlier, any idea who and how?" Dusty asks as indirectly as possible.
"Oh, they didn't even tell you what happened to poor, poor Duke?; Sseemss he wasss caught in an explosion while invesstigating on one of our off-sshore outpostss." Cobra Commander says first. "One of our high altitude ssurveillancce aircraft recorded it; not only that, but the footage hasss been sselling like hot cakess!"
"...Surveillance craft; you mean those big honkin' carriers of your's?" Dusty asks next, doing everything he could not to strangle him.
"No, these are much sma-" Cobra Commander starts to say, but Destro cuts him off over a wall mounted intercom.
"I would advise you not to finish that, Commander. We have not yet finished scanning him for listening devices."
"And i would advisse you not to interrupt me!" Cobra Commander replies, and the two keep walking.
"Do you have any of these planes here now?" Dusty wonders.
"Not at the moment, and only the Strato-Vipers, Garter snakes*, and the Cobra leadership are authorized to know the specifics of them." Cobra Commander told him.
"Garter snakes?"
"Just the official name for our misscc. perssonnel; mechanicss, ssupply, medical... and sspeaking of which, we reccently made improvementss to our medical plan." After that, the two are approached by a Blue-shirt. "Trooper 2688, esscort our newest member to the barrackss."
"Yes, Commander; barracks are this way."
While Col. Sharp is at Texas City informing Dusty's mother of a few things, Beachhead is removing printouts of Dusty's face from the shooting range targets, and Scarlett is waiting in the infirmary next to Duke's bed. "If yuh can hear me, thang's haven't been goin' so wayul out thayure." She says aloud, then wipes her eyes. "We could shore use chur help raht now, so hurry an' git up... please, Duke."
A few hours afterwards, Flint and his squad are returning from the failure at Leary chemicals. He ignores everyone in the hall and slams the door of his office before calling the Col. "Sir, we... we just got back from Leary. Yes sir, they've started using the armor treatment alre-" He reported, and pulled the earpiece away for a few seconds before continuing. "I also think we need a new aquatic vehicle; one smaller and faster than our W.H.A.L.E.s."
Some time after regaining the upperhand at the Owsley factory, The Col., Flint, and Beachhead are going over their next move. "Now that we're on the ball again, what next?" Col. Sharp asks.
"We hav word thet Cobra maeybe after thus warehouse, sir." Beachhead tells him, showing a picture of a building with the name "Van Mark" on it. "It's thuh nearest tuh thuh last place they struck." He said next, with Flint adding that they sent Snake-Eyes there already to leave some tracking devices on the gas canisters.
"Good work, men. Flint, take a squad to intercept them." Col. Sharp ordered.
After Flint's squad is brought to the base, Trooper 2688 is among the crowd gathered at the execution room. He sees Cobra Commander, The Twins, and Dusty up on the viewing platform.
"Warrior's of Cobra, from this day forward, the world belongs to us!" He hears, and joins the other Blue-shirts in the chant and in mocking the Joes. He hears the one in the old sailor's outfit cussing out Dusty, and sees the one in the beret holding the chick Xamot kidnapped close to him while saying something to her that he couldn't hear, and finally, notices the vents closing behind the Blue-shirts across from him.
"...What the hell... The g... gas!, Eve-everyone out, we've-been tricked!" 2688 shouted inbetween coughing as he manages to escape the room with some others.
A few hours later, Flint's squad gets back to H.Q. While he reports the outcome, Lady-Jaye shows off the "loot", and Shipwreck and the other Joes apologize to Dusty.
Deep Six headed to his usual quiet spot and pressed a button on his suit. "Rockmover** to Tango Delta***, prepare to receive latest report."
Chapter four.
*Made up.
**A type of camo using fish.
***Terror Drome.
