"Okay, if we didn't find those chemical warheads there, where else can they keep them? That's our next objective: find where Cobra's moved them to, and destroy them. Questions?"
Flint's hand shot up. "Sir, does this preempt the Valentine's Day dance this evening?"
Hawk smirked at the question and replied, "No. In fact, I'm making attendance mandatory. You only have to put one or two dances, but everyone must come. And if you can't find a date, at least find an appropriate escort."
Duke and Scarlett both began thinking of ways to ask the other to be their "escort" without it being too obvious that they really meant "date".
"Okay, dismissed."
Hawk waited until all the others had left the room, then addressed the shadow in the corner.
"You're sure about trying all this? Half the base has you and her together."
Half the base also has me collecting Barbie dolls or other such oddball things, Snake-Eyes signed back. Then he picked up a legal pad and began writing. "If you're referring to the helicopter thing, you of all people know what issues I had about not being able to protect my sister. That incident helped me work all that out…granted, it cost a bit more than therapy, but it worked. My being with Scarlett is almost – not quite, but almost – like my being with my sister. At least to me. No offense to her, of course. She's great and nice, but not my type in the long run. It's kind of a case of being too much alike for anything to truly last long. You understand?"
Hawk thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I guess so. Anyway, it's your idea, so it's your mission. Where do we go from here if their other best friends can't pull it off?"
Snake-Eyes' head tucked to his chin as he pondered that, then snapped up as an idea struck.