Lady Jaye was anxious to be on her first mission. It seemed like she had been at the Joe base for weeks with no assignment other than to get in shape. She rarely had this much time in between missions at MI-6! She felt a sense of relief when Duke finally called her in for a briefing.

The relief quickly turned to dread when she found out who the mission leader was – Flint. She noticed he still gave her a look at times and figured his male ego hadn't healed just yet. As the CO for the mission, he could potentially make her life hell. While Scarlett assured her he was a professional, Jaye wasn't quite sure. She couldn't quite interpret the looks he gave her, especially when she was with Beach Head, who made a point to tell her how much he disliked the second in command.

"I had hoped to send in both of our covert ops for this, but unfortunately we have not found a replacement as of yet," said Duke. Jaye's eyes darkened briefly, but she made a show of looking at the file in front of her to compose herself. Flint looked at Duke questioningly, but Duke didn't offer any other explanation. "Jaye, knowing that you're fluent in German, we want to send you inside to where we believe Cobra is holding a recruiting fair of some sorts. Apparently, they're based in a former weapons factory owned by…."he checked his file, "MARS Industries. Flint will be your contact on the outside. This is merely a recon, no engagement, got that?" he asked the pair. They both nodded. "Good." He turned to Jaye. "I've heard you can blend in so well, you disappear. I hope those rumors are true."

She nodded, saying nothing. Duke gave a few more specifics of the mission then dismissed the two. They stood and Flint spoke to Lady Jaye. "We leave at 0300 hours. Be packed and ready to go at the airstrip. We'll be parachuting in, so make sure you have a pack from storage checked. I assume that won't be a problem," he said, his eyes narrowed at her blank expression. She shook her head, hoping that the sensation of her stomach dropping was not showing on her face. She hated heights, with a passion. It was something she had tried to overcome. Anyone witnessing a jump would never know it, but her insides were in knots every time she had to do it.

Before 0300 she was out on the tarmac, waiting. Despite having to work with Flint, who obviously had a growing dislike of her, she was excited. This was what she had come here for, what she loved to do. She briefly thought of her former partner and how he was doing, but dismissed him quickly from her mind. Knowing now what she did of Cobra, he had either risen in the ranks quickly or was dead in an unmarked grave.

Flint came out of the shadows where he had been watching her, seeing the different expressions she had let cross her face. She was a very hard soldier to read, he had noticed, often keeping her face blank, like she did during the mission briefing. While his pride still smarted from when she had thrown him in front of his boys, he had put that behind him. What he didn't like was her association with Beach Head. The PT Instructor did everything but outright insubordination with the second in command. He hoped that wouldn't rub off on her. After reading her file, he was impressed with her years at MI-6 and her success rate. While she had worked with a partner on most of her assignments, the name had been blacked out in her file. He wondered why. There was also some missing background from her childhood, only saying she had a dual citizenship between America and Scotland, being that her mother was American, but that young Alison had been raised in Scotland. The names of her parents had also been blacked out, along with the names of her closest relatives. Although he was sure it was for security reasons, he had to wonder why.

Deciding he had let her wait long enough, not wanting to be counted late himself, he joined her as Ace, their pilot, came from the direction of his plane.

Ace looked at Lady Jaye and gave her a killer smile. She couldn't help but smile in return. "I see you get to have the pleasure of my company on this mission. Glad to be of assistance," he said charmingly, holding out his hand for her duffel.

Jaye rolled her eyes and laughed. "Ok, that was pretty corny. You ready, flyboy?" She said over her shoulder as she carried her own duffel to the waiting plane.

"Be still my heart," teased Ace, following her. Flint frowned. This was a mission. They should be serious. Still, he didn't reprimand the two since it seemed it was harmless. In Flint's experience, soldiers had all sorts of ways to get ready for a mission. Maybe this was theirs. It was his first time working with either of the two, so he chose to be silent and observe.

As they neared the German airspace, Ace and Jaye grew quiet and she left the cockpit to sit in the back. Flint took the time to go over some last minute details with Lady Jaye. She nodded her head and asked several questions, but other than that, said nothing. He noticed her looking to the door several times and taking a deep breath.

"You have been trained for this, haven't you?" he asked gruffly, concerned by her glances.

She turned to look at him and he thought he saw a flash of something cross her eyes, but he wasn't sure what. The guarded look was back in her eyes when she responded. "I know what I'm doing. I don't have to like it, but I am well trained, I guarantee it. I won't let you down," she said softly.

Ace shouted from the cockpit that it was time. Instinctively, Flint reached out and squeezed Lady Jaye's hand. "You'll be fine," he assured her, letting her hand go. She looked at him curiously, but then turned towards the door. Taking a deep breath, she unlatched it and jumped before her brain could catch up to her body's actions.