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GI JOE Season 3: episode 2
"Invincible Shield"
Chapter 7
GI Joe Headquarters – November 10, 1989
Things had finally started to settle down toward the end of the week. So much so that Jinx actually welcomed a return to the mundane. She was re-reading the latest issue of her favorite magazine. Amy sat across the office at her desk, painting her nails. She looked up from her reading when she saw Stalker come into the office pushing an empty cart.
Jinx promptly put her periodical away. What's he doing here?
Stalker walked around the counter and parked the cart next to Amy's desk. "You left your cart in the receiving office last night, I figured I would save you a trip."
Amy smiled. "Thank you, Lonzo. That's so sweet."
He blushed as he scratched his scalp under his beret. "Are you ladies coming to the Grunt's Lounge after the shift change? There's gonna be an Iron Curtain party."
"What's an Iron Curtain party?" Jinx asked.
Amy rolled her eyes, "Sheesh, Jinx, don't you know what's going on in the world?"
She pouted. "I've been too busy to keep up."
Stalker's body-language changed when he noticed that two men dressed in business suits had entered the office. They asked for Lt. Jenkins, and Amy directed them to the office across the counter. Stalker eyed them intently. The exchange was not lost on Jinx.
"Excuse me, ladies; I have to get back to my post."
"Goodbye, Lonzo." Amy gazed at Stalker as he left. The office was quiet again, and she resumed painting her nails, though she noticed that Jinx had not returned to her magazine, regarding her instead with a mischievous grin. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Jinx batted her eyelashes. "Goodbye, Lonzo..."
Amy shrugged, "He told me to call him Lonzo."
Jinx folded her arms. "Mmhmm."
"Stop it."
She was going to continue to tease Amy when the door to Jenkin's office opened. Jenkin's looked even more dour than usual.
"Akamatsu, in my office."
She entered the office. The two suits were still there, so it was standing room only in the small space. She understood Stalker's earlier reaction as she felt her body stiffen in their presence.
Jenkins closed the door. "Akamatsu, these men are from the Army Audit Agency. Can you debrief them on your progress with General Hawk's file?"
Her eyes narrowed in his direction. "Debrief?"
Jenkins appeared crestfallen when he replied, "Yes. They're going to be taking over. It's no longer our problem."
The way the agents looked at her made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Their Qi made the air reek of poison. She was careful not to look them in the eyes. Her jaw clenched when the lead agent approached; nevertheless, she shook his hand when introductions were made. His grip was strong and callused: battle hardened. Liars!
The lead agent towered over her with an unemotional expression. "We'll need to see all of your documentation, ma'am."
"Of course," she said with a placating smile. "I have the originals in my locker. Wait here and I'll bring them."
She left the room and retreated to her desk.
Amy, who was blowing her nails dry, paused as Jinx started to rifle through her things. "You have that look again."
Jinx ignored her.
"The thousand yard stare..."
Jinx finally retrieved a large enveloped and handed it to Amy, whispering, "Can you do me a favor and mail this package in case you don't hear from me by the end of the day?"
"Sure." She took the proffered envelope and read the addressee, "Captain Vincent R. Falcone in Kuwait… friend of yours?"
"Sort of. I'm sending him some… insurance documents," Jinx replied detached, and she logged out of her computer. "If anyone asks, I had to go to my locker." And she left.
Amy pursed her lips. "We have lockers?"
Jinx closed the door behind her. Two more agents were standing outside, but she did not allow that to interrupt her stride, and they let her pass. It's all in the attitude. However, she could hear their footfalls as they followed behind her at a discreet distance.
The agents tailed Jinx to the end of the hall, where she then turned a corner. By the time they arrived at the intersection of the connecting corridor, she was gone. They fanned out, but there was no sign of her.
Jinx stepped out of a utility closet two hallways down, adjusting her blonde wig. She took the stairs one flight up and stepped out when she saw a female Blacksuit walk by. She followed her, making it appear as if they were together. She kept a calm demeanor as a security squad sprinted past. She could hear Beach Head's voice over their receivers as there was now a heightened sense of alert.
Everyone's looking for me.
She broke off from her unwitting escort and turned down an empty hallway – she needed to find a quiet place to hide out and think. She turned the next corner without looking, and she gasped: Stalker was standing right in front of her, escorted by a single Blacksuit.
"Jinx! Don't move." He unclipped the walkie-talkie from his belt. "Beach Head, this is Stalker. I've found Jinx in section Tango on the fifth floor. I'm bringing her in."
Jinx reached behind her head and pulled a forked metal pin out of her hair. The Blacksuit raised his weapon.
"Both of you stand down." He stood between the two of them, lowering the Blacksuits rifle, then he cautiously approached Jinx. "Do you plan on poking your way out of here with that hairpin, Corporal?"
She averted her eyes. "No, sir."
She dropped her weapon on the floor. Stalker approached and turned her around. He retrieved a pair of handcuffs and grabbed her wrist. When he brought the cuffs down, she shifted her hips violently, jerking Stalker's wrist in place of hers as the cuff latched. She then dropped to the floor, grabbed the chain and latched the other cuff to his ankle.
Cursing, Stalker hopped on one leg as he reached to grab her. She rolled under him and swept his leg causing him to fall hard on his side.
Jinx rolled to her feet and kicked the rifle out of the hand of the Blacksuit. He reached for his backup, but Jinx was ready to grab his wrist as he brought it bear. She spun him off his feet, pressed the magazine release on his pistol and kicked the clip safely out of reach. The Blacksuit promptly reloaded, but Jinx had already run off.
"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" Stalker shouted. He pushed the button on his walkie-talkie.
"Beach Head, I lost her. She's heading for section Sierra. Be advised that she is wearing a blonde wig." Before Beach Head could acknowledge, he signed off and cursed again. "Get me the damn keys to these cuffs… NOW!"
Jinx removed her blonde wig and turned it inside-out – changing her hair color to red. Much of her black hair stuck out from under the wig, but she didn't have time to fix it properly; it would have to do. She peeked around the corner of an adjoining hall. There was a security squad of Blacksuits going room to room.
She circled back, taking the scenic route to the south corner elevator. If she could make it to the common area, she could disappear among the rest of the personnel.
Jinx made it as far as the hall leading to the south lobby. Behind her, on the far end, she saw the agents that she lost from Finance on the floor below. They were running. She cursed and sprinted for the elevator. She was relieved when she saw the elevator doors start to open. Her streak of luck was short-lived, however, when she saw General Hawk in the car. She gasped and stopped in her tracks, conflicted as to whether she should run or fight.
Hawk looked past Jinx to the agents heading toward them. "Get in…. Hurry!"
Jinx regarded Hawk warily. Something about the Qi in the urgency in his voice made her trust him. She entered the car as the doors drew to a close.
Hawk reached into his pocket and took out an executive key. He inserted the key into the control panel. The elevator controls immediately locked and the car started to lower. He then took out his walkie-talkie.
"Beach Head, this is Hawk. Jinx is with me."
"Roger that. I'll order all units to stand down."
"Negative. Your new orders are to escort those knuckle-draggers off my base… and you don't have to be polite."
"Understood."
"I'm taking Jinx to The Dungeon until this all blows over."
"Is that wise, sir?"
"No. But, I've had enough of this cloak-and-dagger nonsense."
"Roger that. Beach Head out."
Jinx waited until Hawk put his radio away before asking, "Permission to speak, sir—"
"Permission denied."
They stood in silence as the elevator continued under the electric hum of the motor. Suddenly the elevator came to an abrupt halt. A voice cut in over the intercom:
"Sorry, General. The system detected an unauthorized presence with you in the car and implemented the counter-measures—"
"It's alright, Sparks. I'm giving Corporal Akamatsu an impromptu tour of our lower facility. Pass code: YO JOE CHARLIE OSCAR 282 KILO… enable."
The elevator started again with a jolt. Jinx watched the floor indicator reach the basement. The elevator kept going down, even though there were no more floors listed on the panel.
"The CIA has gotten more brazen," Hawk mused. "Those agents were sent here to kidnap you right under my nose. I don't know where they would've taken you, but it would not doubt have been some place where I couldn't protect you."
"Why would they do this?" she asked.
"Fear. The fear of certain questions… questions that should never be answered."
"Does this have something to do with the cover-up in old Saigon?"
He chuckled under his breath. "You think this is about Cold War politics?"
The elevator came to a halt. The doors opened to a catwalk leading to a long narrow hallway. As she walked behind him, she could see the walls lined with heavy machine guns. At the end of the hall was a thick steel door controlled by an electronic terminal. The electronic eyepeice scanned Hawk's retina, and giant gears behind the super structure engaged to open the entrance to a huge multi-tiered chamber. Titanium pylons lined the superstructure for as far as she could see. She looked upwards: the pylons continued up for a half-mile in support of the bedrock ceiling overhead.
They passed by a series of cages. She paused to peer into one of the larger ones. There was something stirring inside; a pair of glowing green eyes stared back at her. Suddenly, the behemoth charged. She gasped and instinctively latched onto Hawk's arm. When the creature bounced off of the electrified bars, it retreated to the back of its cage. Jinx blushed and released Hawk's arm. He looked down at her and gave her a reassuring smile as they continued on.
The noise served to awaken the denizens occupying the other cages. The hall was filled with the screams of strange flying creatures, giant monsters, and creepy crawling things. She wondered if she stumbled upon some kind of genetic-engineered bio-warfare program. In the next section, was a set of smaller cages. The sounds from the cages sounded eerily human-like. She dared to look as she walked by and gasped. The beings inside were definitely humanoid, but they had blue skin and were dressed in insectoid armor: very much like the garb worn by Golobulus' elite guards.
"Cobrala!" she exclaimed.
Hawk nodded. "A sanitization team came in after the battle in the Himalayas and found these survivors. The President and Joint-Chiefs decided to ship everything here. It was decided to keep the circle of knowledge as small as possible regarding Cobrala's existence. GI Joe headquarters was the logical choice because we had first contact. An emergency meeting was held with the Secretary of the Army. From there it was determined that select members of congress would be informed on a need to know basis only. We were allowed a degree of creative financing in order to hide the purpose of any and all monies coming in to keep this facility operational: classic Black Project scenario."
"I'm confused. If secrecy was so important, why on earth did they allow the Senate Oversight Committee to deploy the Finance Brigade? Why allow any oversight at all?"
"Hiding millions dollars from congress is, and should be, a difficult thing to do. There's this little piece of paper called The Constitution and along with it comes the commensurate checks and balances that are pain to work around." He smiled inwardly with pride. "I love this country."
"So, what does this have to do with Kilo Company?"
"This has nothing to do with Kilo Company directly. Your poking around made the wrong kind of people nervous; that's why they came after you... I guess it's just your bad luck, Jinx."
She detected the sarcasm in his voice and averted her eyes. "How much trouble am I in?"
"A lot, corporal," he said with a stern tone. "I considered busting you down to private, but I have a more fitting punishment in mind: In addition to your duties in finance, you are to oversee all transactions and operational costs involved with The Dungeon."
Jinx straightened and looked up at Hawk with quizzical eyes.
Hawk stopped suppressing his grin. "As you have demonstrated, true intelligence work is about following the money. Your job is to make sure that our money trail remains invisible. Do you think that you can handle a little financial ninjutsu, Sargeant Akamatusu?"
She blinked in response to her promotion. "Yes, General."
Hawk led her to a lift that took them to the uppermost tier. Once there, they passed through more security measures before being led to the command center. The command deck was lined with electronic equipment monitored by Green Shirts.
Cover Girl was standing at the main display terminal next to Sparks. When she saw Jinx she greeted her with a grin. Jinx blushed in return, feeling guilty for thinking so ill of her before. Sparks called all to attention when Hawk entered the room.
Hawk returned their salutes. "Sparks, set Jinx up with temporary quarters and give her the nickel tour. I'm going back top-side and will send for her later." He dismissed them and retreated to his auxillary office. At the entrance, an agent dressed in a black business suit waited for him. He was in his mid forties and had salt-and-pepper colored hair.
Hawk brushed past him, but addressed him with, "The next time your goons come into my house without knocking, I'll have them shot on site, Sitwell."
"Sorry, General, they get overzealous sometimes. But, like me, they take national security matters very seriously."
"I don't appreciate the insinuation. This is my base and I am still the GI Joe commander."
"Up there you're the boss. Down here, however, the lines are little fuzzy."
"That's something I hope to rectify. To tell you the truth, Sitwell, I don't know how a rear-echelon desk-jockey like you managed to slime his way in here in the first place. You're still the same weasel I met all those years ago in Saigon."
"I suspect I'm here to make sure you don't screw up again, just like you did all those years ago in Saigon. Or, would you prefer to have the President explain to six billion people that everything we know about history, archaeology, and maybe even God is wrong."
"Hey! Watch your mouth, boy."
Sitwell made no to effort to hide the arrogance behind his grin. "I'll defer to your judgment in regards to the finance clerk... this time." And he left.
o-o-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-o-o
Somewhere, over an uncharted island in the South Pacific, an unmarked amphibious aircraft approached for a landing. It skimmed the waves to come to a rest at a pier. An aged General Tho step off the craft and walked the pier to shore. He was met by a team of paramilitary bodyguards who escorted him to an armored RV.
The engine roared, and the vehicle sped off down the path. The guard at post one opened the steel reinforced gate to allow them to pass. They plowed through the dense bush, a trooper manned the turret atop the RV, armed to repel any of a dozen man-eating predators that Tho had imported as a first line of defense.
The guard at post two was already prepared for their arrival. He started the engine of the ferry and, once the RV boarded, transported them across a large moat. The piranha swimming in the murky water occasionally broke the surface, hoping to be fed by scraps of meat that are usually thrown overboard at feeding time.
The ferry docked, and the RV disembarked, making its way to the final guard post: a giant wall fifty feet high that surrounded most of the complex. Its smooth surface of unscalable marble and whitestone reflected the late-afternoon sunlight. Guards, spaced out meters apart, perpetually scanned the grounds below. The draw bridge on the East wall was the sole point of entry into the impregnable fortress.
The door lowered. Tho walked the rest of the way on foot. He worked hard and killed many to secure his private empire. He is the master of all that he surveys. All of his enemies are slain; all of his allies are held in check with bribes; everyone else runs from him in fear.
He is untouchable.
Tho arrived at his private suite and turned on his security monitors, ready to record any movement across every square foot of the island. If anyone were to approach, he would see them coming. Satisfied, he turned on his projection TV with its satellite uplink that gave him access to every television broadcast on earth. He warmed himself by the fire, as watched the news so as to catch up on his holdings in Eastern Europe.
He turned down the volume on the television with a sudden urge to regard the dimly lit room. All seemed quiet. He went over to the liquor cabinet and poured two glasses of scotch. He then returned to his desk by the fireplace and placed one of the glasses on the desktop.
"Come out and drink with me," he said.
Snake-Eyes stepped out of the shadows. The katana in his hand, its blade stained red, was returned to its sheath.
"I congratulate your skill. You have no doubt bypassed my surveillance systems, side-stepped my traps, and slayed my personal guards."
Snake-Eyes walked over to the desk. He picked up the drink that Tho had poured for him, and he threw it into the fire. The air stank when the poison therein ignited.
Tho smiled, crestfallen. "And you have evaded my final trap."
Snake-Eyes grabbed Tho and threw him into a wall. He rushed him, backhanding him across the face, cranking his arm and flipping him over the desk.
Tho spat blood onto the floor. "May I at least see the face of my executioner?"
Without hesitation, Snake-Eyes snapped off his visor and took off his mask.
Tho's eyes widened. "Yes! I remember you from Saigon." He stood up, brushed himself off and straightened his robe to maintain his dignity. "It was a glorious battle was it not? It is ironic that my assassin would be the one to help cement my name in history. However, I'm afraid that you have come too late to claim your vengeance. The man that you are after no longer exists."
Tho gestured in the direction of the fireplace, and Snake-Eyes looked to see Tho's sword displayed prominently above the mantle.
That night, all those years ago, changed me. I retired my sword, never to use it again. The war has taken so much from me: my son; my humanity. I imagine the same could be said for you, great warrior.
Tho leaned against the edge of his desk. Snake-Eyes continued to stare at the katana, mesmerized.
"Vengeance… she is very seductive, isn't she? She injects you with a thirst for revenge, and then bathes in ecstasy under the radiance of your hate. It is nigh impossible for a man to divorce himself once he has fallen prey to her wiles. I leave you with a warning: when she has had her fill, you will become like me: a broken old man trying to repay his spirit debt."
Snake-Eyes mused, for there was truth in Tho's words. He continued to regard the sword mounted above the mantle; long repressed memories started to flood back from that fateful day.
The warrior turned his back, and Tho casually reached under the rim of his desk and curled his fingers around the handle of his ninjato. From a standing leap he covered the length of the desk with the grace of a swan and the silence of the butterfly – his sword poised to sever Snake-Eyes' spinal cord.
At the last possible moment, Tho detected movement, followed by a gleam of light reflected off polished metal. Instinctively, he jerked his head back just in time to dodge Snake-Eyes' katana – the blade planed upwards in front of his face, missing the tip of his nose by less than an inch.
Tho alit on the ground in a prime position: Snake-Eyes was left over extended from his attack. With murder in his heart he yelled excitedly as he brought his sword arm down to splay his silent enemy. He almost stumbled when the usual impedance of flesh and bone did not slow his blade. He swung again – this time to decapitate – to no avail. He looked to his sword and gasped. Where his weapon should be was instead a bloody stump of a forearm spurting blood. He looked to find his ninjato on the floor with his severed hand still white-knuckled around the hilt: Snake-Eyes did not miss after all.
Tho slumped to his knees and grabbed his wrist to stop the bleeding. "Most Impressive, but I deny you your vengeance. Slit my throat and watch me laugh as I spit upon thee with my final breath. My legacy will remain long after you have turned to dust!"
Snake-Eyes picked him up and slammed his face on the desktop. He then forced his head to face the TV screen. Tho watched the newscast from Germany. There was a crowd gathered around a huge stone wall. The atmosphere was festive as pieces of the wall were brought down to the cheers of the spectators. He looked on to see people on both sides come together with tears of joy in the spirit of brotherhood.
However, he laughed when he finally comprehended the point Snake-Eye's was trying to make. "If you think that this wall coming down will make any difference, then you are a fool!"
Snake-Eyes grabbed him by the hair and led him to the fireplace. He then took his stump and put it into the fire. Tho winced as the heat seared his flesh, cauterizing the wound. Snake-Eyes stood him up, pinned tho's arms behind his back and handcuffed him.
"What are you doing?"
Snake-Eyes presented him with a piece of paper. Tho focused his eyes to read the paper in the dim light:
UNITED NATIONS WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL
OFFICIAL SUMMONS
CASE NO: WCTR-1975-67-I
ACCUSED: GENERAL THO
He laughed. "I was wrong. You are not a fool. You are a waste!"
Tho's fortress was bordered to the north by an impassable precipice buffered by a dense jungle. It was a superior obstacle than any man made wall. He left the suite unseen, with Tho in tow, and entered the thick bush.
"How do you plan on spiriting me away from here, great warrior? There is an army to your back and a perilous cliff to your front."
Snake-Eyes ignored him. He retrieved transponder from his pocket and flipped it on. Halfway through the jungle, they came to a clearing on top of a big rock. He sat Tho down and scanned the area using the infrared attachment built into his visor.
He heard leaves rustling in the distance. Is it the wind? No… someone else is here. He drew his sword and peered in the shadows.
Tho impatiently rolled his eyes, and he shouted into the darkness, "You might as well come out. He knows your there."
A masked figure stepped out from hiding. When he came closer into view, Snake-Eyes tensed and gripped his katana tighter. It was Firefly.
"It's been a long time, Snakes. I want to thank you for gift-wrapping Tho for me; you made my job a whole lot easier. All I had to do was follow the trail you left to get in here."
Tho laughed, and he joined Firefly. Snake-Eyes did not try to stop him.
"It's about time you got here, Firefly. Whatever Destro paid you, it was too much! If this fool had taken me before the international courts, rest assured I would have taken you all down with me!" Having made his point, he presented the rope binding his arms, "Now, release me, dog!"
Firefly drew the sword sheathed on his back. "As you wish, General." And he unceremoniously plunged the sword into Tho's belly, running it through to the hilt.
Tho's eyes widened in surprise. He whimpered in shock as he grabbed onto Firefly's shoulder eventually falling to his knees.
Firefly looked him in the eyes as he turned the sword. "Here's the thing, General, although Cobra did approach me to rescue you, the CIA's bid to eliminate you was much higher."
He pulled the sword out, spun around, and chopped Tho's head off on the return. His cut was so perfect, the body remained kneeling.
Firefly regarded Snake-Eyes. "I had hoped they would send you. We have some unfinished business."
They circled each other in the open clearing: the sword fight had begun. Firefly noticed that Snake-Eyes was eyeing the exotic weapon he held in his hand.
"Do you like it? I had it custom made just for you. It's harder than steel and has a micro-fine edge." Firefly twirled the sword with uncommon dexterity. The blade seemed to sing as it cut the air in his expert hands. "You see, I've been waiting fifteen years for payback. Ever since your unit took out my men, I've been on the run from the agency, afraid to show my face. Yet, as you have just seen, I still do odd jobs for them from time-to-time, under an assumed name of course. In a way I owe you thanks; working freelance has been very lucrative. Observe!"
Firefly rushed him, swinging wide with his sword. Snake-Eyes easily side-stepped the phony attack designed to bait him. Firefly laughed mockingly as he pointed the tip of his blade.
"I've been watching you, studying all your moves and preparing for the day when we would finally meet. I examined every bit of video footage made of you. I've analyzed your methods so as to beat you at your own game. I must say there certainly wasn't a lack of material. The only problem with you is I knew it would come down to a sword fight. Fortunately, with you being such a busy boy, it wasn't hard to motivate certain interested parties with pockets deep enough to hook me up with the best sword masters that money can buy. So, rest assured that after I take you out, I'm going to go after the rest of your men down the line. My only regret is I wasn't able to gut your man in Cholon myself."
Snake-Eyes' tensed noticeably. An audible hiss escaped his lips.
Firefly, sneered under his mask. "Oh, come now, don't act so surprised. How do you think Tho was able to mount such a thorough counter-attack so soon after our raid on his compound? The CIA was well aware of your mission. We were supposed to have pulled out before you arrived. After we fought at their base camp, his men intercepted me less than five clicks from my LZ. I needed to buy time to plan my escape. So, in exchange for my life, I fed them information about Kilo Company. I told them where you where based and about the men in your unit."
Snake-Eyes had heard enough, and he exploded into action. Taking the high-guard, he powered his sword downward as hard as he could. Firefly swung back to block. Swords clashed, and the shock waves reverberated all the way down their arms. Firefly parried a lunge made for his abdomen. Snake-Eyes spun around for another lunge, and Firefly twisted in the opposite direction to slap the blade aside.
"Not the opening I expected from you, but I like your attitude!"
Firefly's balaclava hid his arrogant smile. He knew he had the advantage for Snake-Eyes had made three critical errors. First, the fury of his attacks would quickly start to whittle away at his energy reserves. Secondly, setting the pace of the fight in such a manner allowed Firefly to lure him to exactly where he wanted him to be. Last, and most critical, he allowed himself to become angry. Anger compromises control.
Firefly did not know what he said to incur such ire, but he had every intention of capitalizing on it. He gave ground, leading them to the side of a muddy embankment. Snake-Eyes' attacks were starting to lose some of their sting. That last chop hung in the air for a quarter of second too long: plenty of time for Firefly to duck it and land a kick to his midsection.
Snake-Eyes stumbled. He caught his breath while he reached under his sleeve and pulled out a trio of throwing stars.
Firefly deflected the projectiles expertly and leveraged the momentum gained to charge, raking his sword along the side of the muddy embankment.
Snake-Eyes had his katana at the ready. In his mind, he had mapped the spot on Firefly's throat where he would plant his sword as soon as he came within range.
However, at the last second, Firefly twisted his wrist, causing the width of his sword to scrape against the earthen wall taking with it a glob of mud that he threw in Snake-Eyes' face.
Snake-Eyes gasped when the world suddenly became dark. He instinctively wiped his visor against his sleeve. Now, instead of darkness, everything was a blurry smear. Blinded, he raised his sword to defend the most likely area of attack using Firefly's last known position as a point of reference.
He was relieved when metal clashed against metal, Lucky fool! And he cartwheeled aside, snapping off his visor as he alighted just in time to see Firefly reach for a device on his wrist.
Firefly pushed a button.
Every fiber of the ninja's being told him to move. He leapt with all of his strength just in time to avoid it:
KA-BOOM!
Snake-Eyes staggered to his feet after landing in a soft patch of shrubs. He struggled to bring his eyes into focus. He could barely make out the sounds of Firefly's taunting laughter.
"Now you know what I was doing out here all this time... concussion blast: not lethal from medium range, but still a hell of a kicker."
With Snake-Eyes dazed and half-deaf, Firefly saw this is as his opportunity to strike. An alarm sounded in the distance as the noise from the explosion had already alerted the guards. It was time to take out Snake-Eyes with everything he had.
Snake-Eyes shook his head to abate the ringing in his ears. He smelled the air and whipped his head around. The stench of Firefly's Qi brought him out of his stupor like smelling-salts. However, it was too late; all he could do as Firefly vaulted into the air was raise his sword and pray. Firefly brought his sword down, putting behind it all of his rage and all of his hate. In that split second before their swords kissed, Snake-Eyes knew that his katana would not hold. He turned his wrist so that the flat of his sword would meet the edge of Firefly's blade in hopes of distributing the force along a wider area. Firefly split the katana in two and sunk his sword into Snake-Eyes' shoulder. Fortunately, the power dissipated by the sword-break, coupled with body armor, was enough to keep the sword from penetrating into flesh.
Snake-Eyes grabbed Firefly's sword-arm, and he pulled his sleeve back to reveal the remote detonator strapped to his wrist. He pushed the red button.
Firefly looked at him in horror. "You fool! That's the fail safe!"
All of Firefly's hidden explosives blasted around them. Snake-Eyes pulled Firefly on top of him as the ground shook. Snake-Eyes covered his ears from the sounds of all hell breaking loose.
When the Earth was still again, they dug their way out from under their shallow graves of loose dirt and foliage. They coughed to clear the smoke out of their lungs. The footsteps from the guards could be heard converging on their position. They stared at each other as the guards came in to surround. Firefly sheathed his sword, both men in understanding that their personal reckoning would have to wait for another day.
The time for stealth was over. The soldier and the assassin split up and drew their firearms, Snake-Eyes with his twin UZIs and Firefly dual-wielding his MAC-11s. Bullets flew everywhere. Snake-Eyes lost sight of Firefly as he disappeared into the bush, along with half of the enemy contingent. The other half bore down on him, and he reloaded while he took cover behind a marble statue.
Snake-Eyes exhaled, waited for a break in the gunfire and came from behind cover to spray bullets indiscriminately into the guards. The survivors took cover and blind-fired back. He slipped past the first volley, handspringing and flipping about to avoid the ordnance with ridiculous agility.
He pushed past their lines to take them out at close range. Three guards drew their swords and rushed him, and Snake-Eyes emptied his left UZI into them. A fourth guard charged with his katana, forcing Snake-Eyes to block with the right UZI. The sword embedded itself into the barrel and held fast, trapping it. Snake-Eyes ejected the right magazine, and before it hit the ground, he was able to kick it back into the waiting magazine well of his left UZI. He brought the reloaded weapon under his arm and dispatched the last enemy.
His transponder beeped.
Another troop of guards came over the ridge. Snake-Eyes sprinted from the embankment and headed for the ledge. Bullets shot around him as he jumped over the side of the cliff.
The guards ran to the ledge and looked into waters far below. There was no sign of him. They all cheered for if the dive didn't finish him, then the undertow of the waves crashing against the rocks would certainly seal his fate.
A few miles out to open sea, a SHARC broke the surface of the waters. It flew into the sky at subsonic speed and sped off into the Pacific sunset.
o-o-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-o-o
tick…tick…tick…tick…
Jinx couldn't believe how quickly the day passed by. Today was the deadline to turn in her pre-audit sheet. She dreaded the final meeting with Jenkins and put it off for the end of her shift.
"Akamatsu, in my office."
A chill went down her spine when Jenkins called her. She gathered her papers and decided to knuckle down and get this over with.
tick…tick…SPROING!
A smile of satisfaction came across her face as she left her desk, her letter opener embedded deep into the wall clock's face.
Jinx stood at attention in front of the lieutenant's desk. "Reporting as order, sir." And she handed over the report.
He took his time reading each page. Finally he removed his glasses and regarded her. "So, according to this, the ten million dollars has disappeared?"
She kept her eyes forward. "Not disappeared, rather, there was no discrepancy to begin with."
"What about your leads?"
"I was mistaken; there was nothing behind them. I now believe that a glitch in the system caused the invoices to be double-posted."
Jenkins shook his head. "Hawk got to you didn't he? Can't you see that he's using you?"
She clenched her fist behind her back. "Like you used me? You knew that you would never be able to get the information on your own. You needed someone who was already on the inside, with the tools to gather the information by unconventional means, who probably had an ax to grind with Hawk."
"I said from the beginning that you were an asset."
"You also said that my first priority should be to the United States. Do you hold yourself to the same ideal, or is this about mounting another general in your trophy case?"
Her lip started to tremble. She had been preparing that speech in her head all day. She was afraid of how it would finally come across. The last thing she needed was to be brought up on charges of insubordination.
For the first time, Jenkins scaled back from his usual gruff demeanor. "At least I never lied to you."
She sighed. "Look…you're right, I found the money. But I went to General Hawk first. He explained himself, and I believe him. He didn't order me to keep quiet; I'm choosing to because if the secret got out it would hurt the country."
He shrugged. "Fine."
She blinked, nonplussed. "Sir...?"
"You're the one running this audit. If you feel that there's no basis to continue with it, then I must accept that."
"Er... thank you, sir."
Before he dismissed her he added, "Oh, by the way, remind Hawk to clean up after himself. And, if any more of these phantom invoices comes across my department, I trust that you will keep them off my desk?"
Smiling, she left the office, relieved but also guilty for underestimating him. She made it a point not to be so quick to judge others in the future. All in all, she was pleased with the way things turned out. She walked over to the elevator. While she waited, she eyed a grasshopper crawling on the windowsill.
"Sorry about the rubber-band thing," she said with a smirk.
She sighed as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Things were finally starting to look up. With a new set of responsibilities under her belt, she no longer felt like such an outcast. As such, she never understood why everyone took her operative name so literally; she always knew that she wasn't unlucky. Maybe at her next review, she'll put in a request for a new code name.
When the elevator doors opened, she gasped. Stalker was standing in the car. The expression on his face was more dour than any Jenkins ever gave her. She stood there frozen, holding her breath. Several seconds passed, neither person moved or spoke.
The doors started to close, but Stalker stopped them. "Are you getting in, or not?"
"I'll take the next car sir—"
The impatience became increasingly apparent in his voice. "Nonsense. There's plenty of room in here."
She walked in sheepishly. She knew there would be a reckoning with Stalker after their last encounter. However, she didn't expect it to be so soon. She kept her eyes facing forward as the doors came to a close. Maybe he won't bother to mention the incident.
"I just got one thing to say to you, Ms. cheap shot…"
She closed her eyes and clenched her jaw, not knowing what to expect.
"…is Amy seeing anyone?" he asked.
Her eyes opened. Confusion washed over her face. "Amy?"
"She's the contractor that works with you in finance, correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"Is she involved with anyone?"
"Uhm, I don't think so."
"I see…. Do you think you could put a good word for me?"
She blushed. "I don't think that would be appropriate."
"You're right of course… I just thought that you would want to return the favor that you owe me—"
"Favor...?"
He shrugged. "Yea, for allowing you to pull off that hand-cuff trick."
Exasperated, she turned to face him, mouth agape, ready to chew him out. However, when she saw the grin on his face and the twinkle in his eye, she bit her lip and looked away, trying desperately not to laugh. The only other person who could make her lose her cool like this was Falcon, What is it with Green Berets?
"Oh, is that how you remember it?" She said with a wry smile. "Then I guess I am in your debt."
"Just make sure that when you talk me up that you mention that I'm not only humble, but also a great dancer – especially when hopping on one foot."
She put her hands on her hips. "Well, I haven't exactly agreed to do it yet, sir."
"Oh? Why not?"
"Because, I like Amy," she snapped her fingers, sassing it up in proper Amy fashion.
He snorted. "Ouch."
She folded her arms. "I'll do it on one condition: teach me how to sign."
Stalker regarded her, his brow furrowed, but then his eyes softened as the reason for her request dawned on him. "You drive a hard bargain."
The smile on her lips sealed the deal. The elevator came to a stop on his floor, and he left.
The doors came to a close; finally alone, she laughed.
—oOo—
Snake-Eyes wiped the sweat from his brow. He was still weary from the mission, but he had no time to rest. He turned his broken sword over on the examination table under the hot lights for one final sweep. He adjusted the magnifier of the microscope and the computer display zoomed in on the jagged end. Using the micro-tweezers, he pulled out the last fleck of metal embedded into the serrated edge and dropped it into a Petri dish. In all, he found twenty such flecks. He divided them into two piles. The first pile was sealed inside of a ceramic container which he then placed inside of an inter-office envelope addressed to 'metallurgy'. The second pile was placed inside of magnetic lock-box. He then flipped the switch on the spectrometer and waited for it to warm up. As the equipment hummed in operation, he finally rested.
Having his mind off of his work allowed him to reach down and find his center. When he did so, he became aware that he was not alone. He bolted from his chair ready for battle as he scanned the ceiling where he saw Jinx in the rafters.
She slid down a nearby column and faced him. "Er, sorry. I... didn't know how else to approach you."
Snake-Eyes approached, standing next to the column and rapped it with his knuckles.
She blushed. "You're right. I should have knocked." She bowed. "Moushiwake-arimasen."
Snake-Eyes tensed, his hand instinctively clenched over the throwing stars at his sleeve. Jinx adapted her mannerisms accordingly. She removed her jacket and threw it on a chair. She then removed the pin that cropped her hair and dropped it on the ground. Her hair fell around her shoulders and over her chest. Using her fingers, she brushed her bangs away from her eyes and smoothed her hair down her back. She presented herself to him submissively to show that she was unarmed. Snake-Eyes relaxed.
"I mean you no harm… Preacher."
She held her breathe. She wasn't sure if her guess was right, but his double-take was all the confirmation that she needed.
"So, it's true. The real Snake-Eyes died back in Saigon. Hawk must have forged the paperwork in order to protect you."
He tilted his head at her quizzically. In response, she placed a piece of paper on the table next to him. He picked it up and unfolded it. He recognized the Kanji in his handwriting that translated to English as:
YOU ARE NOT NINJA
"It was this note you passed to me in the elevator: the manner and eloquence with which it was written are details that either an adept native speaker, or a linguist, would pay attention to. It didn't dawn on me until after I read your service record with Kilo Company."
A quiet snort escaped his nostrils as he regarded the note. In retrospect, he'd been sloppy all these years.
"When I was growing up, there was a story going around: a tale about a warrior slain by a Ninja master atop a great Pagoda. After the battle, the warrior was resurrected by a Chinese wizard using black magic. The warrior was doomed to walk the earth as a shadow, a destroyer of ninjas." She snorted. "I always thought it was a story that my grandmother made up in order to scare us into doing our chores and to keep us from staying out too late… but there is some truth behind it isn't there?"
He nodded.
"I now understand why you wrote this: you know that I am not your enemy because you have seen into my soul. My blind ninja master says, The keenest eye is the eye that looks inward."
He nodded again.
She approached closer, tentatively placing her palm over his heart meridian, close enough to feel his energy without actually touching him.
"So much pain."
He clasped his hands over hers and gently pulled away. He took out his notebook and pen and wrote her another note, this time in English:
You don't know me.
Undeterred, she backed him up against the column and removed the visor from his mask so as to look into his eyes. "Not true: as you have seen me, likewise I have seen you…"
She gently bit her bottom lip as she unclasped the mask at the base of his neck. He didn't resist as she peeled it up around his chin and over his nose. She paused to caress his lips with her thumb.
"Your aura is scarred. Yin and Yang are out of balance.…"
He closed his eyes as she removed his mask. She ran her fingers across his shaven head. She continued to feel the contours around his eyes and cheeks. He looked much younger that his age. His face was flawless, forever banished from exposure to the harsh sun by a protective mask. It was like touching newborn skin.
"Beautiful."
Her fingertips felt so soft when they brushed against his face. Her Asian eyes looked upon him with a countenance that was so angelic that he was compelled to reach out and touch her. She closed her eyes as his fingers graced her cheek and stroked her silky raven hair. She shuddered from the sensation of pins-and-needles as he ran his hand down over her spine and to the small of her back – feeling without touching.
Hot breath. Pink lips. Sensual Qi.
Their bodies spasmed when she pressed against him. She was so warm. He had forgotten what it felt like. The way she tilted her head, it would have been so easy for him to lean in and touch his lips against hers. He closed his eyes and inhaled.
She smells so good.
Suddenly there was a rush of air and the heat dissipated. He opened his eyes; she was gone. He looked around to find that he was the only one in the room now. He might have dismissed the entire encounter as a dream were it not for the piece of paper that she left in his hand. The corners of his mouth turned up as he read it:
I AM NINJA
He put the note in his pocket and replaced his mask, covering up any evidence of the grin on his face, once again donning his invincible shield.