Hawk's Holiday.
Chapter 6: Plans
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the GI Joe characters.
The first rays of the early morning sun came peeking in through the blinds. Hawk woke up and looked around him, not knowing precisely where he was. The soft, curvaceous form beside him brought him back to reality with a soft jolt.
Did what happened last night really happen? He thought. A soft moan from Cathy indicated that it did.
As quietly as possible, Hawk got out of bed and went into the bathroom. He was only mildly surprised to find a man's shaving kit there; it was a hotel suite after all.
Getting into the shower, he started to wonder about things. Was everything going to fast? He'd just been in town for one day, and he hadn't seen Cathy in years. Now he was taking a shower in her suite. Hawk pushed all of those thoughts aside as he was enveloped by the water and steam. The last several months of tension and general annoyance were slowly ebbing away.
His reverie was interrupted when a long shapely leg poked its way into the shower stall. It was followed by Cathy's equally shapely form.
"Morning, soldier boy. Sleep well?" Cathy said warmly as they embraced and kissed.
"Mmm, I'd say so. How about you?" Hawk replied.
"I slept well, considering what we were doing. Anyway, what time were we meeting the kids for breakfast?"
"I told them around 0900. What time is it now?" Hawk asked.
"I think it was 0615. That leaves us plenty of time." Cathy replied with an inviting look.
"True, wouldn't want to let this hot water go to waste now would we?" Hawk smiled and kissed her again.
0930 hrs, Main dining room.
Chuckles, Daina, Paige Adams and Kamakura all met in the Hotel's opulent main dining room for breakfast. It was a large area that could seat several hundred people comfortably. It was set-up as a buffet so there were a variety of things to choose from.
"They're a bit late aren't they?" Kamakura remarked, glancing at a nearby clock.
"Hey, he's entitled. He is here on vacation right?" Chuckles replied.
"That is true." Diana said. "No need to send out a search team yet."
"Yeah, so just relax and enjoy your breakfast." Paige Adams said. "Man, Roadblock would love to work here. This is almost as good as his cooking."
"Oh yeah, this is way better than the usual army fare." Chuckles remarked.
"It is unfortunate that we will only be here for another few days. I could really get used to this place." Daina said, looking around the room in awe.
"Yeah, I could get used to this place too. I wonder if we could convince Hawk to set up a base here." Kamakura remarked. Everyone laughed a bit.
"I'm glad you all like the place." Cathy's voice remarked from behind them, making them all jump a bit. "Everyone here goes out of their way to make our guests feel welcome."
The others stood as Cathy and Hawk joined them at their table. Both of them were smiling happily. "Everyone get a good night's sleep?" Hawk asked.
"Yes sir." The four Joes replied in unison.
"Oh, relax. Since you're here you may as well enjoy yourselves. Lot's of things to see and do." Hawk smiled. "For instance, I haven't been cross country skiing in years. Cathy was going to show me a few of the better trails tomorrow. You're all welcome to join us."
"I've never, um, actually done any skiing before." Kamakura admitted sheepishly.
"Don't worry. From what Clay told me, you're a fast learner." Cathy said. "By the way do you have a real name? I can't keep calling you by your code name."
A man in a dark blazer who had a cell phone in his hand interrupted them. He apologized to everyone and then bent down to whisper something to Cathy. She frowned and stood up. "I've got to go. One of our guests is being a bit put out by the people next door. I have to go sort things out. I'll meet all of you for dinner here at 1800, ok?"
"Another member of Belgian aristocracy going streaking through the lobby?" Hawk asked with a grin as the others stared wide-eyed.
Cathy snorted. "I wish. This particular guest is even more of a pain than any aristocrat I've ever met. Later, Clay. Kids."
"So, what's on the agenda for today then, Hawk?" Chuckles asked.
"Oh, I figured I would take my camera and go for a bit of a drive around the place. Just normal silly tourist stuff. I don't think you would be interested." Hawk said invitingly.
"We would be glad to accompany you if you wish." Daina stated.
"Yeah, I've never been to Canada before. The pictures in the brochures or online don't do the place justice." Paige Adams said.
"I'm all for it." Chuckles added.
"Ok, I'm in as well." Kamakura said.
"Great! Finish up your breakfast, and then we'll pack a few things into my SUV and we'll get going." Hawk said with enthusiasm.
The four Joes were happy to see that Hawk was enjoying himself at last. Dealing with the bureaucrats, or 'bur-shit-crats' as Hawk called them, would drive anyone a bit crazy, if not outright homicidal. When Duke ordered them to secretly accompany Hawk, they all feared that they would have to deal with an enraged commanding General. But he seemed to be happy to have them along, so they weren't going to push their luck.
They discussed their plans as a waiter came by and cleared their plates away. They politely refused the offer of more coffee, gave him a generous tip, and went up to their respective rooms to get a few things for the trip.
Meanwhile, Larry, their waiter, ducked into a closet and made a call to Moe on his cell phone.
"Moe? It's Larry. I just heard Hawk and a few of his Joe buddies making plans for a trip around the place."
"Joe buddies? Shit! How many?" Moe asked.
"Four, two guys, two dames. One guy was a huge mother with a Hawaiian shirt on under his sweater. The one broad sounded Russian. The other broad was a cutie with long brown hair. And the other guy was a white guy with a Jap name like Kama-Sutra or something."
"That's 'Kamakura' you moron." Moe's brother growled. They had turned on the speakerphone on their end. "Kama-Sutra is… oh, fuck, never mind. Whose car are they taking?" He asked.
"They were taking Hawk's SUV." Larry replied.
"Good, we know which one that is. I'll send two Guardsmen to follow them around. You, Moe, and Curly can keep watching this LaCroix woman. I have an idea. Cobra Command was going to be sending up a pair of specialists. They should be here by midnight. We'll make our move tomorrow. Hail Cobra!" Moe's brother hung up.
Hawk and the four other Joes piled into the SUV and took off. They took a long leisurely route going into Banff. They made a few stops along the way to admire the scenery. All of them had traveled to far and exotic places, but this was probably the most beautiful.
Pristine snow covered mountains, acres of beautiful forest, and clean, fresh air surrounded them everywhere they looked.
They pulled into Banff a little after 1 PM and stopped at a local restaurant for lunch. Then they walked around the town for a while, checking out the sights, and picking up souvenirs and presents.
After a while they went up to the hot springs and sat and relaxed in the warm waters.
"Mmm, I could really get used to this." Paige Adams said dreamily.
"As could I." Daina said. "I have been to similar places in former Soviet Union. But I was mostly there as a guard or as 'window dressing' for some general." She shuddered at the memory. "I meant no offence Hawk." She added hastily.
"None taken Daina." Hawk replied. "Maybe I should phone Cathy and see if she's free to come up here."
"No need to call me. I'm here." Cathy stated as she approached the group who all jumped a bit. "Surprise!" She laughed a bit at their stunned expressions.
"How in the world…?" Hawk stammered.
"I have spies everywhere. Part of the total protection package we offer our VIP's. Besides everyone makes it up here eventually. That platinum blonde hair of yours does kind of stand out." She paused and looked at Kamakura. "You're staring kid."
"Sorry." Kamakura muttered. Hawk had to admit that the simple, blue, one-piece bathing suit showed off Cathy's amazing figure quite well. She came over and sat beside Hawk.
"So, how did dealing with the unhappy VIP go?" Chuckles asked.
Cathy rolled her eyes. "Oh, God. Don't ask. Typical politicians, they're worse than children, I swear. Me, me, me." She mocked in a high-pitched child-like voice. Everyone laughed knowingly.
"Oh, how well we know that." Hawk chuckled.
"So, are we still on for dinner later?" Cathy asked, changing the subject.
"Can't they serve dinner here?" Paige asked dreamily.
"Sorry, they frown on having food in the water here." Cathy replied.
"Damn! Oh, well." Paige smiled.
The six friends talked and laughed for a while longer, and then reluctantly made their way back to the hotel for dinner. The two Crimson Guardsmen, a man and a woman, followed them.
After a long dinner, the six friends went to sample some of the nightlife the hotel had to offer. First they went past one bar where it turned out to be Karaoke night. They sat and listened to some good, and some painful renditions of various pop songs. After one man did a particularly awful rendition of 'Lola' by the Kinks, Cathy went up to the microphone.
She proceeded to bring down the house by singing a wonderful rendition of Rita Coolidge's song 'All Time High' from the movie Octopussy. With a bit of prodding from the others Hawk went up next and sang a not bad rendition of 'Loosing My Touch' by The Rolling Stones.
Hawk then had Chuckles, Daina, Kamakura, and Paige Adams come up to the stage, saying that he had found a nice song for them. The four of them gulped and walked up to the stage like people awaiting execution. The song turned out to be 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen and the quartet proceeded to mangle it. Hawk and Cathy were almost totally out of breath from laughing so hard when the quartet came back to the table, glairing daggers at the couple.
"Oh c'mon it wasn't that bad, really." Hawk said, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Well until you got to the 'I see a little silhouette of a man' part anyway." Cathy amended, also wiping away tears.
"True. Then you all went way out of key." Hawk added.
The others grumbled a bit. They all had the same 'paybacks are a bitch' look on their face. Maybe making Hawk sing 'The Lumberjack Song' would do it. Not to mention videotaping it and making sure all the Joes got a copy. Yes, this could work…