Snake Eyes slipped out the doorway, finding the warrant officer quickly and following him at a distance. Scarlett and Lady Jaye came around the corner on their way to the mess hall and nearly collided with Flint.
"Lady Jaye," he said, looking down at her, his expression unreadable. "I need to speak to you. Alone."
Scarlett looked behind him and met Snake Eye's gaze. He shook his head.
Scarlett played her part as well. "Well, I can see when I'm not wanted! I'll catch up with you later, honey," she told Jaye, patting her on the shoulder, giving her a squeeze as a warning.
Jaye looked at "Flint" and gestured at one of the empty offices. "Is this all right?"
He nodded, following her in and shutting the door.
"They're on to you," he hissed. "You might as well give up and leave!"
Jaye pretended to look confused. "Flint, what are you talking about?"
"You're a Cobra spy!" he accused. "Blood doesn't lie, does it? Better off with your uncle, aren't you sweetie?"
Jaye narrowed her eyes at the man. "Give it up, Mike! I told you before I wasn't joining and whatever you and my uncle have cooked up is over!"
"Flint" laughed, a low menacing sound. "Mike is dead, didn't you know that, Alison? There's only Zartan!" he said, revealing himself to her.
The door burst open and Scarlett, Duke, Snake Eyes, and Hawk blocked the entrance.
"Give it up, Zartan!" called Duke.
Zartan grabbed Lady Jaye, spinning her around and producing a gun, which he held to her throat. "Is she worth it?" he asked, laughing. Before she could say anything, he knocked her out with the butt of the gun, catching her unconscious form and holding her up.
As the Joes approached him, he moved the gun to her back. "Not any closer! I'm not going to kill her, since her uncle wants her alive. However, a shot to the right place would cause more pain and torture than you can imagine, not to mention cripple her for life! Grant me safe passage and she just might live!"
He gave another laugh as he hoisted her onto his shoulder. "Farewell, Joes! It's been nice…no, wait, it hasn't! Sorry I can't stay – I have a package to deliver!"
The group stood to the side as he walked past them.
Scarlett looked frantic. "Now what?" she asked the men, shocked they were letting Zartan get away.
She turned to ask Snake Eyes something and saw he was gone. At least someone was doing something! she thought.
"He won't get far," Hawk promised Scarlett. "It's all part of the plan."
Snake Eyes appeared, carrying the still unconscious form of Lady Jaye, followed by the real Flint, who was dragging a handcuffed Zartan.
Scarlett let out a gasp and rushed over to Lady Jaye. "Is she okay?"
Flint spoke. "She should be fine. We managed to ambush this one before he did anything," he said, indicating Zartan with a nod of his head. "What should we do with him?"
Jaye moaned and opened her eyes. She looked up at Snake Eyes and smiled and said a quiet thanks.
He set her on her feet, and she looked over at her former partner.
She let loose with a rampant of words in Gaelic, cursing him up and down. The others weren't sure what she was saying, but knew it couldn't be too nice by the murderous look on Zartan's face.
"And you can tell my uncle that it'll be a cold day in Hell before he gets mine or my family's shares!" she finished in English, her eyes narrowed.
Flint looked confused, the one member of the group who didn't know the whole story. "Am I missing something?" he asked the others. They smiled in response.
"Take him to the brig," ordered Hawk to several Greenshirts who appeared in the hallway. "Snake Eyes and Duke, you go with them in case Zartan decides to try anything!"
"So, is anyone going to tell me exactly what's going on?" asked Flint to Scarlett, Hawk, and Lady Jaye.
Hawk laughed. "Seems you had a doppelganger, Flint, but fortunately, Lady Jaye got wind of it." He patted the warrant officer on the back. "Nice job, Alison," he told her with a smile before he walked off.
"Thanks, sir," Jaye replied, blushing at the use of her given name.
Scarlett smiled. "Maybe you'd be best to explain it to Flint then," she told Lady Jaye. Jaye shot her a look, but Scarlett, still smiling, wandered down the hallway.
Jaye sighed. Turning to Flint, she asked him, "So, what did they tell you?"
He frowned. "Only that I would probably need to rescue you and that if I saw either myself or someone dragging you or carrying you out, I was to do everything in my power to stop you."
Jaye blushed. "If he hadn't knocked me out, I could've handled him myself," she grumbled, embarrassed.
"Well, I guess this answers the question as to why you've been so moody lately," he suddenly grinned at her.
"Moody?" she huffed, indignant. "What's that supposed to mean? I had to deal with two of you, not knowing which one I was dealing with – the nice one or the mean one!"
Flint smiled, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "So, which one do you think was the real me?"
She glared at him. "It's hard to tell!"
He chuckled, rather liking the fire in her eyes that appeared when she was angry or irritated.
"Maybe you can tell me more over a cup of coffee? I know this nice café…." he began, looking at her for a reaction.
She looked wary. "So was that you, or not?"
He smiled. "Maybe we should just start over, just to be on the safe side," he said, taking her hand and squeezing it.
She smiled. "Maybe," was all that she would say.