Chapter 2
Lady Jaye maneuvered around DC traffic like a pro, although it had been a few years. Last time she had been stateside was to recruit some of the now-defunct Joe team for Phoenix. There, she had run into several CIA agents doing the same. She hated the manipulating sons-of-bitches. Too many times they had been in on a Joe mission and screwed it up with their own agenda. Thank goodness she had managed to talk some of her former teammates to come her way, ones who could not see civilian life as an option. Flint had already been gone, recruited by the CIA, she had been told, before the Joe unit had even shut down, when it had still just been a rumor. She felt a twinge of remorse that it was her business that had caused the Joe unit to fold, but then again, rumors had been spreading for years, even when she had been a part of it. Like Duke had told her even then, it was just a matter of time. The fact that her company, though the price was high, was more appealing to be hired on as a temporary unit, it ended up being cheaper then maintaining a team that sometimes had its downtime and therefore was seen as a monkey around their neck. The businesswoman in her could understand that fact.
Still, she had hired Hawk as her liaison for the Washington brass and other governments and Scarlett and Snake Eyes were some of her best cover/intelligent ops. There were other Joes as well, serving as Phoenix agents on missions. Between the high tech military weapons and equipment they tested and bought from MARS Industries and the training that she, Major Blood, and Zartan had developed for their soldiers, it really was a company to be proud of. They had brought down some of the top terrorist organizations, although really, when one fell, another popped its head up, she thought wryly. I guess that keeps us in business!
Not only terrorists, but they had also been contracted several times by government agencies, such as the CIA and MI-6, backing them up in situations where they hesitated to send their own special-ops unit.
She pulled into the private airport where the corporate jet awaited and came to a sudden stop. At Zartan's explicative, she grinned. "Is that a tinge of green I see?" she teased.
"Next time, I drive. I don't know how you managed to get us here in one piece and have your mind wander that far away," he grumbled.
She tossed Zartan the keys. "Here," she said, "make sure the rental company gets this. And let them know I brought it back in one piece this time," she quipped, grinning. There had been a slight accident with the last car she had rented, but the company had been well compensated.
She nodded to her pilot as she boarded the plane. She settled in and opened her laptop. After checking her personal email as well as business, she settled back and had just started relaxing with her MP3 player when Zartan appeared in front of her.
"Are we ready to take off, m'lady?" he asked her, a glint in his eyes.
She nodded her head and sat back, eyes closed, relaxed. She felt Zartan settle in next to her and clasp her hand. She opened her eyes, looking at him, taking her earphones out. "What?" she asked.
"Just nice to see you relaxing. How was the stuffed shirt meeting? Had to be pretty bad - not just stuffed shirts, but military stuffed shirts," he grimaced with a mock shudder.
"Comes with the territory," she said, sighing. "I really need to look at going out on the next mission. I feel like I'm getting stale. Anything interesting?"
Zartan got out his Blackberry and scrolled through a few things. "Here's one you might find interesting…..hmmm, seems like it's a CIA joint venture. They didn't create it, but want to go on 'monitor status.' Feel like screwing around a few spooks?" he asked with a grin.
"I'll have to check my schedule. God, they are such a pain! I'll have to clear my schedule. Do we know who the head spook will be?"
"No idea," he replied dryly. "Does it really matter? I swear, they're all the same. Even the women," he said with a frown.
Jaye grinned at him. "Just because the last one wouldn't sleep with you…" she teased.
Zartan growled and leaned back, figuring he'd better get some rest. When Jaye went on a mission, she would run him ragged preparing for it.