Chapter 2:
The clowning around in the conference room died down as Hawk cleared his throat. He glanced around at his assembled Joes. He had gathered them all here for a specific reason and tried not to sigh as he noticed the goofing off that was taking place. While his organization was not strict military code, wanting to give the team a more relaxed atmosphere in deference to their intense missions, he did expect some sort of order. He closed his eyes and gave a small prayer for patience.
Noticing his expression, the rest of the team settled into place, looking up at him expectantly. While they were still small enough to meet in one conference room, they often didn't meet as a whole team. Theymustbeexpectingbignews, he thought wryly.
He began by praising them for their last mission and once again congratulating them on their work as a team, both on the field and on base. There were a few concerns, he said, but before he could elaborate, the door opened.
Heads turned. Once the door was closed, it was a "no entry" policy. Those that violated that unwritten law had, in the past, gotten their heads bitten off by the commander.
Confusion reigned as the Joes saw another Hawk standing in the doorway, holding the doorknob. Both Hawks stared at each other. Various Joes reached for weapons on their persons, in case one Hawk betrayed the other. Others stood and shouted out.
Both Hawks raised their hands, mirroring one another as they gestured everyone to sit back down. They both stood together at the front of the room, one smiling, arms folded, the other, a dark scowl on his face.
"While I congratulate you on your ruse, I have to say, I'm disappointed that they fell for it," began one Hawk, addressing the other. He turned to the rest of the Joes, staring with confusion and anger on their faces.
"Let me introduce you to the reason we are meeting today," he growled, gesturing towards the other Hawk, who, at this cue, pulled off the mask, revealing a female with brown short hair. Several gasps were heard as the team stared at her.
"I'd like to introduce you to Lady Jaye, who will be assisting us with our covert operations and in training sessions," the real Hawk gruffed. "I'd also like to invite her to explain how she found our security, or lack of it, so easy to infiltrate."
Lady Jaye smiled at the assembled Joes, noting not many looked pleased to see her. She couldn't blame them. She had just made them look the fool – not a good thing to do in front of your commanding officer.
"Well," she began, hopping up and taking a seat on the credenza in front of the room, "I have some good news and some bad news."
She ticked the items off on her fingers. "First, I was able to get past your MPs at the gate with forged documents from the Pentagon, touting myself an executive assistant with an appointment to see General Hawk. While the forgeries were good," she admitted, "there was never any follow up on why this individual never left your base after her appointment. I arrived yesterday," she confessed. There were some murmurs in the room as she revealed that.
"Oh, don't worry. I stayed busy," she assured them, smiling again. She had to resist swinging her legs as she spoke. No need to push the point too far with them that a single person had gotten the best of the elite team. She hopped down from the credenza and started walking the room.
"After I arrived, I was able to walk right in, no one questioning what I was doing there or where I was going. I was able to observe several of you and, I confess, got to impersonate several." She stopped behind the chair of a red-haired woman and said, in a perfect imitation of Shana "Scarlett" O'Hara's voice, "But don't ya'll worry. Ah won't reveal any secrets that ah learned while portraying some of ya'll."
There were a few chuckles at the voice, but Lady Jaye held up her hand. "You are a new team, but there were several clues that should have given you away that I was not Scarlett. One, I used my left hand, not my right, to do most things. Second, she could not answer some of your questions, which should have also given rise to suspicion."
Lady Jaye moved on, stopping behind another chair, grinning down at the man sitting there. "Good to see you again, Ace," she said, a perfect imitation of his voice as well. "While I do have the advantage of knowing this one in a previous life, he again couldn't answer some simple questions, which should have raised some alarm. What Ace doesn't know about planes….not much. Not that I can't fly circles around you," she said, again in Ace's voice, with a wink. He grinned back at her.
Lady Jaye made her way around to the front. "The rest of the time, I was able to impersonate what you term a "Greenshirt." Get to know their faces. They are the easiest ones to hide among."
"And then there is General Hawk." She smiled at the man next to her. "I have also had the advantage of knowing this man for a long time. I know his mannerisms as well as his speech."
She turned back to the rest of the Joes, many of whom were frowning at her. She knew she hadn't made friends with her charade, but then again, Hawk hadn't asked her to. "I realize many of you are offended by what you term as an invasion. Just know that there are skilled assassins out there that do the same thing. Be wary when your teammates don't seem to be acting what you think of as 'normal.' I don't mean to make you paranoid, but sometimes it's the difference between life and death."
"What makes you such an expert at what we're doing, or not doing?" came a male voice from her audience. She glanced at the speaker, a man in camouflage, wearing a beret.
"I'm good, but I'm not the best," Lady Jaye admitted. "It just takes some studying of files, some observation of mannerisms, and your doppelganger can have the upper hand. As for my qualifications, it's up to Hawk to determine if you have the clearance to know that," she finished smugly.
"What we've had today is a lesson that I decided needed to be taught," Hawk said to the group, his glare inviting any arguments. "I asked Lady Jaye to come here and see how far she got until someone stopped and questioned her. She obviously got pretty high. We have some gaps to fill in our security. You are the best of the best, but our base needs to be more secure. Cobra could very well bring the battle to us, and our intelligence," he nodded at Scarlett, "has indicated that Cobra has recruited covert agents of their own. I've invited Lady Jaye to join us so that not only could she assess our security, but so she could also give us some training on covert missions. I expect her to work closely with intelligence," he stated. "She will also be doing some field work for us as well. Flint," he said, indicating the Joe who had questioned her qualifications, "she will be working with your team as well."
At this, Scarlett frowned, which had Lady Jaye suppressing a sigh, knowing that she had already insulted the woman and that working together would definitely take some rebuilding. She wasn't sure what the soldier, Flint, was thinking. Great. So far she had alienated both of them. This was definitely going to cost her Uncle Clayton, she thought fiercely.
After a few more announcements, the meeting was dismissed. Lady Jaye was thankful when she saw two familiar faces, Ace and Ripcord, approach her.
"Hey, beautiful!" Ace greeted. "I have to admit, I was nervous when the mask came off, but seeing your green eyes…." he gave a wolf whistle.
"Knock it off!" Lady Jaye teased, punching him in the arm. "How are you doing, Wally?" she asked Ripcord.
"Pretty good, now that you're here. How the hell are you?" he asked, grabbing her in a big bear hug.
"Glad to see some friendly faces," she sighed when he finally released her. "I think most of your team hates me."
"Aw, now, I wouldn't say that," said Ace, slinging an arm around her as they left the room. "Anyway, if they do, you can hang out with Rip and me. It'll be like old times, back at the air base. So, where you bunking tonight?"
She chuckled, gently removing his arm. "Not quite," she said, referring to their brief fling they had during their last time together. "Afraid you're only allowed to break my heart once," she teased in a lighter tone.
"So, how did you get here? Besides Hawk finding you, that is," asked Ripcord, trying to keep things on an easy keel. "Are you officially here, or is this just until you get called back overseas?"
She shrugged. "I'm done with that for now. I was at loose ends and Hawk's offer came." She gave another noncommittal shrug. "Figured it sounded fun, and here I am."
"Don't worry, doll, we'll make sure everyone treats you right," grinned Ace. "Let's head to the Mess and introduce you around. Trust me, a friend of Ace is a friend to everyone!"
Rolling her eyes at Ripcord, who had a similar disgusted expression on his face, they followed him out of the room.