Author's Note: This story has turned out to be quite a challenge to write. I knew where I wanted to go, I just had trouble getting there…I finally had to just roll up my sleeves and wrestle it to the ground. As I continued with the third and fourth chapters to the end, it wasn't all fitting together cohesively so I had to go back and make changes to the first and second chapters. (Only minor changes have been made to the first, more significant changes to the second.) I also cleaned up some of the dialogue as I went along. If you are coming in and reading from here, you might want to go back and reread the first and second again, just to get a right sense of the flow.
Again…sorry…sorry…I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks for taking the time to read and review. As always, I appreciate it.
Hard times don't create heroes. It is during the hard times when the 'hero' within us is revealed.
-Bob Riley
To be a hero, "You must do things you think you cannot do."
- Eleanor Roosevelt
Scarlet and Jaye walked straight to the General's office. They rapped smartly and then stood twitching with impatience, Scarlet's hand resting lightly on the door knob waiting for the familiar, "Enter."
When it came, they rushed in together, talking at once, "We've found them…It's Cobra…"
"We know where they are…"
"They're planning to…"
"Whoa, easy now. One at a time," he held up his hands, looking from one to the other in bewilderment.
Scarlet looked quickly to Jaye, who nodded, before beginning once again, "We've found Cobra, Hawk."
He let out a long, slow breath. "Good work, you two," he drew his eyebrows together, "Call in Duke and Flint. It's time we made some plans,"
"Yes sir," their voices mingled. Finally. They were about to turn the tables on Cobra.
"YO JOE!," Lady Jaye cried loudly as she exited his office.
The General winced and rubbed his ringing ears. I really wish they'd wait until they were out of my office before doing that.
The only sound along the jump run was the steady hum of the plane's engines and the soft murmuring of voices between teammates. Once they jumped, however, everyone was under orders to maintain complete silence.
The transports arrived at their destination well after dark and the Joes began jumping as soon as they reached the drop zone. The plan was to parachute under the cover of darkness into the area occupied by Cobra in hopes of taking them unawares.
Lady Jaye and Flint were the last two to jump. Lady Jaye stood by the door of the transport looking out into the blackness, and froze. The worm of doubt that had crept into her heart had raised it's ugly head once more.
"Flint, what if I can't do this? What if I end up failing these people, too?," she was trembling slightly as she held onto the sides of the plane, the wind whipping her hair in all directions. All her hard work, the training, the hours practicing, would it be enough? Would she be enough? Or would Cobra get the better of her…again?
"Jaye, you can do this. You won't fail them. I know. Remember? Just… be… you," Flint encouraged.
Lady Jaye took a deep breath and the image of little girl holding a stick like a javelin appeared in her mind's eye. She drew strength from it.
"Just be myself," she gritted her teeth and jumped. I hope it's enough.
Flint was out the door right behind her.
They gently floated through the darkness, catching occasional glimpses of the other silent shadows falling below them.
The last ones down, they skimmed the surface of the turf then landed with a soft bump. Immediately they began untangling themselves from the harness and ropes. Other Joes were already stashing their parachutes out of sight. They gathered silently and began readying their weapons. Flint and Lady Jaye soon joined them. Jaye had just finished tightening the strap of her javelin case as Flint took command.
"Let's go!," he whispered, "Fall out!," he motioned with his arm as he took the lead. The Joes followed with soft footsteps. They threaded their way by the light of the stars. All were looking forward to a chance at redemption. All were ready. They didn't have to go far before they came upon the unsuspecting Cobra.
"Yoooo Joe!" They yelled, quickly using the advantage of surprise as they rushed forward eagerly.
"Cobraaa…."
Cobra regrouped quickly and bullets were soon whizzing through the air in both directions. With Cobra's numbers greater than they had anticipated, Flint made the call for back up. Within minutes, Ace arrived by air, leading a squadron of SkyStrikers. They provided the support the ground troops needed to stop Cobra's advance.
Major Bludd gave orders for the several Cobra Rattlers already airborne to engage with the incoming Joes. Piloting his own Rattler, he fixed his sights on Ace's SkyStriker and quickly fired a missile. Ace's radar picked up the bogey, warning him of the missile's approach. At the last moment, he hit the thrusters and climbed straight up, leaving the missile to pass harmlessly underneath. Then he tightened his grip on the stick and pulled a tight three-sixty, coming into position just behind Bludd. Ace immediately locked onto his target and fired a sidewinder. The right wing caught fire as the missile hit.
"Yo Joe!," he cried triumphantly.
Major Bludd ejected and the damaged jet began to spin slowly out of control. A long plume of flames and thick smoke trailed it as it fell.
"Joes…Cobra jet coming down," Ace yelled into the headset as he watched it spin and drift toward a residential area. The Joe ground troops watched in despair as it crashed into the side of a small home, setting it ablaze. Almost immediately, they could hear the screams and cries for help coming from within.
Scarlet and Lady Jaye, who had been part of the ground team leading the battle away from the residential area, looked at one another and nodded.
"Come on!" Scarlet yelled, quickly dropping her weapon.
"Right behind you!" Jaye twisted out of her javelin case and dropped it beside Scarlet's crossbow.
Together, they rushed into the burning home. The Joes around them continued pushing back the Cobra ground troops, driving them away from the town and into a corner.
Staying low and peering through the smoke, the Joe women found the children's and parent's bedrooms quickly and then helped lead them all to safety.
Once outside, they fell to their knees, taking deep breaths of clean, cool air.
"Wait!," the woman screamed looking around wildly, "Marissa! My baby!"
Scarlet and Lady Jaye quickly exchanged a glance. Jaye passed the children she was helping to Scarlet. Covering her nose with her arm, she rushed back into the burning home. Scarlet wrapped an arm around the woman to lead the family further from the fire, but not before casting a worried glance over her shoulder toward the flames where Jaye had already disappeared.
The flames inside the house had grown. The south wall where the jet had hit was completely engulfed.
"Marissa…, MARISSA….," Lady Jaye called the child's name as she moved slowly toward the back of the home.
"MARISSA!," The smoke thickened and she began choking and coughing. She ducked lower, under the cloud, but she could still hardly draw a breath. For the first time, she wondered if she would make it out again and a little knot of fear formed in her stomach. Gritting her teeth, she continued crawling forward on her hands and knees.
"MARISSA!," she called loudly. The heat inside had become so great that the exposed areas of her skin were burning. She fought the urge to escape, pushing down the fatigue, the fear, the pain.
"WHERE ARE YOU?," she cried in desperation.
To the right, she heard a frightened small voice, "I here.…I here…"
Lady Jaye rose to her feet. Crouching low, she hesitated just a moment before running past a wall of fire, wincing as the heat licked her already tender skin. She found the little girl huddled under the kitchen table. Pulling the child quickly into her arms she retraced her steps, doing her best to protect the girl's small body from the hungrily reaching flames.
"Mama…," the little girl was crying, clinging tightly to Lady Jaye.
'It's okay, Honey," Jaye said hoarsely as they hurried along. "I'm going to get you out of here."
She knew she should be nearing the front door but the smoke was thick and black. As her eyes darted around the room, she gave a small sigh of relief. A few meters ahead, she could just barely make out the edge of the open door. She hurried forward, closing her eyes as she stumbled through another wall of thick smoke and flames…and then she was out once again under the cool stars of the night. The waiting Joes rushed forward, cheering.
Lady Jaye could hardly believe she had made it out alive. Standing there, holding the small child tightly to her chest, she suddenly felt like sobbing.
Lifeline came and gently pried the crying child from her arms.
A Green Shirt medic followed immediately and put his arm around Lady Jaye. He led her slowly to Doc. She stumbled, barely able to put one foot in front of the other.
Doc took one look at her and shook his head. "Sit!" he barked.
She half fell, half sat at the base of a tree, then drew her knees up to her chest, gasping for breath.
Doc was on his knees beside her, pressing an oxygen mask to her face. "Now, breathe," he said more gently.
"No…, wait…" She gasped, tugging and pulling at the mask. "The little girl…Is she okay?" She was twisting around, trying to see the child as Lifeline and the Green Shirt medics treated her and her family.
Doc gripped her chin, turning her head firmly so that she had to meet his dark eyes. "I'm sure she'll be fine…now sit still and let me take care of you."
Lady Jaye nodded and stilled. Her chest and throat were burning. She leaned back into the firmness of the tree, wincing slightly. Her other injuries were starting to catch up with her.
Doc placed the mask gently over her nose and mouth again. She took a deep breath of pure oxygen and began choking almost immediately. A round of violent coughing followed. Doc peered at her through his glasses.
"Just try to relax," his deep voice rumbled soothingly, "Take deep, even breaths."
She did as he told and began to feel the burning and tightness of her lungs ease. As it did, the knot of fear in her stomach lessened. She looked up at him gratefully.
He smiled and then pulled on a pair of rubber gloves, "Sorry, Jaye. I'm afraid this part is going to hurt," he said apologetically.
She whimpered softly as he began treating the burns on arms and hands.
"You did good out there, Jaye," Doc spoke soothingly as he gently cleaned and bandaged her wounds, "You saved that little girl's life." He looked at her and smiled.
She stared back at him, eyes widening as she slowly took in the meaning of his words. Then she heard Flint's voice in her mind, encouraging her once again, "You can do it. I know. You won't fail them."
And she hadn't.
"Flint…," her heart suddenly called out to him.
And then he was there, squatting down beside her.
"Jaye?," his eyes swept quickly over her in concern, at the white dressings Doc was placing over her, at her red and painful looking hands and arms.
"Flint…" she smiled through the breathing mask and reached out, "You're here." Her blistered fingertips lightly brushed his hand.
He smiled and stroked her cheek, then suddenly flinched as he inhaled the smell of burnt hair.
"What is it?" she froze, a new fear forming, "What's wrong?"
He trembled as he reached out and fingered a lock shorter than the rest, "Your hair got singed." A cold fear passed through him.
It was bad enough that her arms and hands had been burned. Now, inhaling the strong odour of singed hair, they both knew it could have been so much worse.
"It'll grow back," she gave a weak smile.
"I know…,"
Suddenly she stiffened. Her whole body was hurting, the pain from her burns growing steadily worse. She closed her eyes and moaned softly, "Flint…I… don't feel so good."
"Lady Jaye…," he glanced worriedly toward Doc who was already signalling the Green Shirts. His eyes were filling with anxious tears, but there were also proud tears. When he spoke again it was low, so low that only she could hear, "Jaye, You didn't fail them. You did it…. I knew you could."
She squeezed her eyes tightly as his words washed over her.
Watching the shadows fall from her face, Flint lay a hand on her knee and gently uncovered the deepest insecurity of her heart, her greatest self doubt, "Just like a hero."
A sob burst from her chest.
Doc motioned for the arriving Green Shirts to bring the stretcher.