AN: After nearly a full year of sitting in my Google Drive, here is the second chapter. Thanks so much to Jaeger Gypsy Danger for editing this and encouraging me to publish it.
This chapter gets a little sexy.
Enjoy! And let me know what you think :)
"Company, Attention," yelled Scarlett, her voice strong.
One by one each of the squad leaders called their squads to attention, trickling down the order until all of the men and women present complied. Though they were a motley crew, they were all professionally dressed in the Class A uniforms of their respective services.
For Shana O'Hara, or Scarlett, as she now fully committed to calling herself, and the various other members of General Abernathy's newly commissioned anti-terrorism and counter-intelligence unit, this was a revolutionary moment. They were forging themselves into a team that each and every one they knew would soon be tied together by both duty and fate.
Behind them stood their new home. Though it looked like a National Guard motor pool, it was much more. Over the past few weeks, a vast underground complex was constructed beneath it. Already being called "The Pit" by the various members of the team who helped build it, it was packed with all the best the military had to offer.
The underground labyrinth was complete with an armory stocked with small arms and explosives, a motor pool filled with armor and light vehicles, a server room to monitor hundred of intelligence sources at once, computer-generated environments for training in battlefield-like conditions, life support systems to seal the facility against attack, and living quarters that could provide everything the team would need to stay garrisoned there for extended periods of time.
Aside from the construction crews that were posted around the motor pool for a few months while it was built, no one paid attention to the activity, and those who wandered too close to the construction were convinced by General Abernathy, either through payment or coercion, to never again speak of what they saw again.
Scarlett knew that The Pit would be a huge asset for the team, but she also knew it wasn't the real reason the team would succeed. The success or failure of this outfit laid on the shoulders of the men and women before her.
When General Abernathy first told her about his plan to create a team to mop up what remained of Cobra, as well as any other threats to national security that would inevitably arise, the first condition she gave him was that she be allowed to hand pick the team.
The General grinned at her and nodded. Clearly he expected her to say that.
He reached under his desk and pulled out a thick file folder of dossiers, consisting of all the men and women she associated with while on the run from Cobra and the Army.
"I think you'll find these quite useful," he said, pushing the folder over to her.
Scarlett enthusiastically accepted the folder and thumbed through the contents, noting with pride the list of soldiers she personally selected. Shipwreck, Airtight, Law and Order, Breaker, Heavy Duty, Lady Jaye, Jinx, Stalker, Doc, Steeler, Flint, Snow Job, Barbecue, Wild Bill, and Lift Ticket all joined the original Six Joes to create an impressive unit with a range of different skills and specialties. Each of these men and women had a name and a story before this unit, but the new names they accepted were a symbol of how they were each forgoing their past to become invisible.
On record, their military careers ended today. Not a single one of the deeds they would commit from this day forward would make it into a history book, and if any of them died a report would be falsified, claiming that they died due to simple, occupational hazards to preserve the secrecy of the underground war they were preparing to wage.
No conventional strategist in their right mind would have pieced this unit together as Scarlett did. On paper a group made up of infantry, tankers, Green Berets, medics, pilots, 10nth mountain troops, ninjas, CBRN specialists, Sailors, Cops, ninjas, and firemen should be able to accomplish anything on the battlefield. With the right training and time to bond as a unit, however, Scarlett was sure she could prove conventional wisdom wrong.
Members of the unit who didn't have military experience were sent through Basic Training. Without incident, each passed before being sent off to Survival, escape, resistance, and evasion training and Ranger School with the rest of the team.
The instructor in charge of putting the Joes through their paces, a nasty Army Ranger type by the name of Beach Head, talked to Scarlett beforehand and said he expected 70% of the soldiers she selected to fail the training required to bring them to this point. Yet, here stood each and every one of them.
Before they'd been ordinary Joes. Now, collectively, they were G.I. Joes.
The code name for the unit wasn't her idea. General Abernathy was the one to capitalize on the name the media gave them while they were on the run. He called it fitting, Scarlett called it cheesy, but who was she to argue? After all, the name was handed to her at the same time as Abernathy's own pair of silver Eagles.
"We can't have a lowly First Lieutenant running this outfit, Shana," he said coolly to her as she stared blankly at the promotion she was being offered. "This is a new day, Colonel O'Hara. Make it yours."
Those two, small silver insignia's weighed heavily as accepted her first command of the group of Joes before her.
"Color guard, halt" Said Duke.
He, Ripcord, Tunnel Rat, Roadblock, and Snake Eyes now stood before her. Duke held the American flag close to his chest while Snake Eyes and Roadblock flanked him with ceremonial M14 rifles. Impassive as ever, Snake Eyes still wore his mask, even while he wore his dress uniform. Scarlett was confused why he kept it on. The scars from the fire faded over the years, and none of the Joes would judge him for how marked his skin was. Scarlett guessed that the mask was part of his identity that he was unwilling to give up. The only person who knew what he looked like without it was her, and every time he removed it was an unprecedented moment of trust for both of them.
She turned her attention away from Snake Eyes to examine the rest of the Joes. They were the men and women who accompanied her through thick and thin while on the run from Cobra. Tensions often ran high between them. They were each fundamentally different, with clashing personalities and backgrounds. Somehow, however, they managed to pull through it all not only alive, but stronger for the experience.
"Present arms!" called Duke. "The colors are present."
Scarlett acknowledged him with a nod.
"Post the colors," she ordered.
"Order, Arms," commanded Duke, before marching his detachment to the flag pole.
"Present, arms," he said once Snake Eyes had helped him clip the flag onto the halyard.
Scarlett watched proudly as the men under her command raised the American Flag over Fort Wadsworth. She let a smile cross her face for a brief moment as it flapped in the strong, Atlantic breeze. This was her command now.
"Order arms," commanded Duke, and all of the Joes dropped their hands. "Left, face. Forward, march."
And thus the color guard retreated.
She turned face the crowd of men and women, all poised to follow her lead into whatever hell Cobra or the Army had planned for them.
"I'm not here to waste your time Joes," she said firmly. "I hope none of you signed up for this outfit for ceremonies, or medals, because this is the last piece of excessive formality this unit will ever see. From this day forward, our sole purpose is to find and destroy what remains of Cobra. From what little we have uncovered of their vast recourses, we know that this organization is far from gone. We don't know how many years it has been around, or under how many different names, but I know that each and every person standing here today has seen a different face of Cobra than the one it shows to the public. You've seen how Cobra will lie, kill, mutilate, and warp their enemies, and you know all of the inhuman acts they are willing to commit to do so.
So let's not waste any time Joes. I'll brief you on our next assignment at 21:00 hours. Until then, fall out!"
The squad leaders echoed the order, then all of the soldiers moved as one group towards the entrance of The Pit.
As the crowd parted, Scarlett saw a familiar face reveal itself at the back of the crowd. General Abernathy stood, hidden from her view with his hands clasped behind his back. He looked quite pleased.
"Well done, Colonel," he said, putting extra emphasis on her new rank, "I expect a progress report by the end of the week. Lead them well."
He spun around and walked to a VAMP that was been waiting nearby.
Scarlett watched him leave for a moment before letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She had a couple billion dollars in funding and a company of men and women to bring down an international terrorist organization. It was up to her to do the math and make that work.
She about faced as soon as General Abernathy's VAMP was out of view, and entered the motor pool alongside the Joes. It appeared to be any standard US Army motor pool on the surface. It was dirty, lined with disassembled vehicles, and stacked high with flat tires that were worn out during maneuvers. Underneath the surface, however, it was so much more.
Scarlett glanced over to a man who was currently lying on his back, working calmly away at one of the many VAMP assault vehicles that lined the garages hydraulic lift bay. He slid out from underneath the vehicle, revealing his young face and brown beard, both of which we recovered in grease and sweat.
"Clutch, open it up," she said.
The motor vehicle operator nodded
"Yes ma'am," he said with a grin.
Scarlett swore she saw him look her up and down, sizing up her gorgeous, flaming hair, and curves her dress uniform couldn't hide.
That was, until she turned around and shot him a glare that could have docked him two months pay of its own, angry will.
Any trace of a pleased look on Clutch's face went up in smoke, never to be seen again, as he jogged over to the wall where the hydraulic lift controls were and flipped the pneumatic pressure switches in a seemingly random sequence. A moment later the platform that contained the VAMP Clutch was working on began to lower into the ground. That hidden elevator would take them up to 1500 feet underground where The Pit now resided.
Scarlett walked over, along with the rest of the Joes, and took her place on the platform.
The platform finally came to the stop in the center of the Joe's true motor pool.
MOBAT tanks and VAMPS lined the many diagnostics bays, each looked after by a crew of support technicians. Many hallways branched off of the bay, each leading to a different section of the base. Many of the joes walked slowly towards the area marked "living quarters," while Scarlett split off in a different direction. She explored the Pit a little while it was under construction, so she had a better idea of the layout than the other Joes, but she didn't get the opportunity to look over her new office.
When she finally found its wooden door, the nameplate on it really put a lot of things into prospective for her.
"Colonel Shana O'Hara, Director of Counter-Terrorism Operations, G.I. Joe."
Colonel, Shana O'Hara. A year ago, the Army barely trusted her to investigate a civilian factory, now she was leading a special operations unit into combat. Was she ready for that kind of responsibility?
She opened the door and glanced over her oak wood desk with computer terminal on the back wall. An American flag stood proud on the left side of the room while a Georgia state flag and a U.S. Army flag adorned the right. A shelf in between them held a number of smaller items, mostly all for display. A trifold flag along with a shadow box full of medals rested on the top shelf, while on the bottom was a folded combat uniform, a reminder that she still had a place on the battlefield.
She sat down heavily in her padded chair, taking a moment to close her eyes and breathe in her first breath as a newly forged leader.
When she opened them, standing right before her was Snake Eyes. It would have startled her if she wasn't used to him appearing out of nowhere.
He's gotten out of his dress uniform and now wore the simple, black fatigues he preferred. He stared at her blankly behind his polarized visor, emotionless as ever.
That is, when she didn't have her hands on him.
She cracked a smile and folded her fingers together.
"Aren't you gonna salute me soldier? I am your commanding officer now."
Snake eyes gave her a half hearted salute before glancing around her office, his movements slow, as though he was analyzing every last inch of it.
Scarlett laughed. Even he couldn't believe how far she'd come.
"We finally did it Snake," she said, stretching the emphasis on we.
She didn't want his role in getting her here to be forgotten. He saved her life more times than she could count. Hell, she wouldn't be surprised if there were times he saved her life without her knowing.
Her lover only stared back at her, unable to articulate what he felt about what she said. The mask he wore and the loss of his voice cut off most forms of communication. Most of his nonverbal combination was imprecise at best. It was only when they were closest; sparring, fighting together, or making love that she could truly pierce that veil.
Soft caresses, the strong sound of his heart beat, his hands in her hair and her eyes locked on his all meant more to her than any words ever could.
"I saw the way Clutch looked at you," he signed.
Scarlett smiled and laughed.
"Why Snake Eyes. You're not jealous, are you?" She said with a grin. "Think I'm gonna run off with Clutch and leave you cold and alone?"
Scarlett knew he was probably blushing behind that mask of his. Snake eyes didn't get a chance to sign anything else before Scarlett stood and placed her hand on the side of his jaw, drawing him in and peeling up enough of his mask for her to kiss him.
"Well that'd be too bad for you, huh?" She whispered into his ear. "After all, no one is allowed to touch you but me."
Snake eyes smiled, weakly.
She wanted to break him out of that stoic shell again, even if it was just for a moment. He drew close to her until she started to peel up his mask. He always froze when she did this, no matter how Scarlett tried make it easier on him. His scars would always be something he was self conscious about.
Scarlett dropped her playful tone. gently pulled his visor away from his face, and then slowly lifted the rest of his mask away. The tangle of scars that greeted her still startled her every time. His face and upper body received the worst of his many burns, with the left side being the most affected. It physically hurt her to think about the pain he endured for years while recovering from this.
She gently ran the back of her hand over his scars. She knew there were no nerve endings left on his face. He wasn't able to feel this, but he still enjoyed it nonetheless. She trailed her hand down the front of his shirt as she stared him in his eyes. He would flinch every one and a while, when she hit a patch of skin that still had sensitive nerves. The lack of feeling on other parts of his body was compensated by increased sensitivity in the patch of skin that were left. Once she learned to touch him just right, it also gave Scarlett some extra leverage to get him to bend to her affection, something she appreciated when trying to get Snake Eyes to break out of his shell.
He leaned his head into her touch and smiled. Scarlett seized this rare moment of vulnerability and leaned in to kiss him. It was gentle. Not too much, not too little, just enough to get him to open up. Before she could even blink snake eyes made his way around the other side of the table. He kissed her back, maybe not as enthusiastically as Scarlett would have liked, but he was getting there. After all, they had until 21:00 to make a mess of this brand new office.
She moved her hands to his back and ran them along all of the sensitive patches, which she remembered like she just found them yesterday. He leaned in and carded his hands into her hair, kissing he more deeply pushing her back against the table lightly.
She smiled into the kiss. Now she was getting somewhere.
She trailed her hands down to the base of his shirt and slid her hands underneath it, peeling it up without much resistance from him, although she had trouble getting him to break away from her lips long enough to get it off of him.
The scars she revealed were even more horrific than the ones on his face. It looked like his body was made of modeling clay that someone dragged angry, talon tipped fingers through, tearing red and black gashes across his flesh in all directions. She put her hand over a scarred section near his heart, and nearly choked up at the thought of how he couldn't even feel her touch. He would never be able to. Cobra robbed him of that when they killed her father over some stupid piece of technology.
Snake Eyes recognized her distress and pulled her in for another, softer kiss. It was all he could do to tell her he was okay. That, and gently pushing her jacket off of her shoulders.
She sighed as she let him take it off, and then gently run his hands down the taper of her waist, coming to rest around her shirt hem. He pulled it up and over her head in one quick motion.
Seeing Scarlett's incredible beauty laid out for him and him only was always something that took Snake Eye's breath away. He'd never seen someone more beautiful. Her neck and waist tapered into the curve of her hip, giving her a someone soft and feminine appearance, but her toned muscle and strong, battle worn hands weren't lost on him. This long, red haired beauty who could seem so soft and delicate at times could be nothing less than a force of nature when she needed to be. Many an enemy stopped to stare at the beauty that would take their life only seconds later with a punch to the face or an arrow to the heart.
Yet somehow this deadly black widow chose to let him live. She told him he was everything to her, but sometimes, in spite of himself, he couldn't bring himself to believe that he was worth her time. What could a broken man like him offer her?
But when her emerald green eyes locked on his and then slowly closed as he unhooked her bra and pulled her flush against him he knew she meant every word she said. Somehow, she thought he was worthy of seeing her at her most vulnerable, and he would cherish every moment of it.
He threaded his fingers into her long, bright red hair, a part of her he always found beautiful. Scarlett smiled lazily as the rough skin of his damaged hands began to caress her, her skin heating up with every new movement. He started at her collarbone, and slowly worked his way down her chest, across her breasts and down to her stomach, placing kisses in sensitive areas and leaving no place without affection.
Scarlett's breath hitched as he slid a hand under the hem of her pants, gently prying the button open and unzipping them slowly.
Scarlet looked at him and smirked. She knew he didn't need any encouragement, but decided to grab him by his shoulders and shove him to his knees anyway. It was a helluva lot more fun than asking.
He placed a tender kiss on her core, causing her to suck in a sharp breath. He could already feel her heat.
Scarlett's hands clawed at Snake Eye's head roughly in an attempt to force him to continue. It had been more than a year since anyone but herself touched her like that, and even that was difficult when you were on the run. She didn't appreciate his teasing one bit.
"Fuck!" She exhaled sharply
She thanked her lucky stars there was a bulletproof door and a few feet of rock and concrete between them and anyone else because she knew she wouldn't be able to keep from making noise.
He slowly pulled her pants down to her ankles, and took his sweet time to admire every curve, tendon, and firm muscle, taking special care to massage or kiss any parts that were scared or tense.
Maybe if Scarlett hadn't just been through the sexual equivalent of eating MREs every day for a year, she would have appreciated the loving care she was receiving, but right now every nerve in her body screamed for relief.
"Snake eyes," she hissed demandingly as she dug her fingers deeper into his head.
He looked up and met her brilliant green eyes, and drank in her kiss swollen lips, flushed skin, and heavy breathing. The moment he met her gaze he knew his fun would have to wait. He couldn't deny her any longer what she so desperately wanted.
He finished undressing her, and leaned forward to place another kiss on her folds, before darting his tongue out to taste her. As his tongue met her warm, wet, velvety interior he got to experience her sweet taste.
Sometimes he wondered if she really did taste this good, or if it was just his mind playing tricks on him, and projecting the taste of southern honeysuckle he always associated with her.
Completely unaware of the intellectual argument going on in his head, Scarlett was still managing to enjoy herself. Her fingers dug painfully into the back of his head, forcing him to keep his attention focused on pleasuring her, something he didn't mind in the least.
She was being vocal enough for the both of them, and decided that if for some reason the walls weren't soundproof enough, she could pull rank on anyone who objected. After all, they weren't supposed to exist, and all of their formal records were expunged from the DOJ databases. Who would report a ghost for fraternization?
These thoughts only crossed Scarlett's mind for a short while before her thoughts faded to white. She stopped concerning herself with anything but the pleasure she was receiving from Snake Eyes. She let out several, breathy moans as he brought her closer to her climax. She swore if anything tried to get between her and Snake Eyes at that moment it would be dead before it hit the floor.
She was so close to finding sweet relief, and then all at once it hit her. She cried out as her orgasm hit her in waves and her sexual frustration evaporated. She felt her knees buckle, and was sure she was going to fall unceremoniously to the ground. Before she could move an inch, however, Snake Eyes had her in his arms. He gently guided her to the floor, letting her rest against her desk as his warm hands supported her back.
She was dripping with sweat, and her hair was plastered to her face. The cool air that caressed her skin did nothing to offset the burning heat that she felt on every inch of her body.
Snake Eyes gently reached up and brushed Scarlett's damp, Crimson hair out of her face. How could he tell her how stunning she looked just sitting there, her eyes closed and a contented smile on her face. He placed his hands on her hips and leaned forward, placing a tender kiss on her lips, which she returned with passion.
She acquiesced to Snake Eyes's touch as he leaned forward to kiss her instead. She needed only to relax while he ran his fingers through her hair and locked his lips with hers passionately.
She tasted herself on his lips, something she found she didn't mind at all. When she finally recovered enough to open her eyes she laughed aloud at her predicament.
"God, I must look pathetic," she said as she stared into Snake Eyes's black orbs.
"No, you're beautiful," he signed in return.
Now possessing enough mental capacity to move her arms, she placed her hands on snake eye's shoulders and pulled him in for a quick and rough kiss, before shoving him backward and into the floor. She crawled on top of him and rested her head near his ear.
"Your turn," she whispered softly in a voice tinged with white phosphorus.
Snake eyes didn't need to be told twice. He stretched out and got comfortable while Scarlett settled in on top of him. She looked so natural in this position. She was always one to give orders, and always one to be in charge. Snake Eyes saw other men respond to that in two ways; being turned on by it, and hiding that they were turned on by it.
She smiled seductively down at him as she lowered herself onto his aching member, taking him to the hilt and sighing in relief once again. Snake Eyes let out a strangled, choked cry that never made it past his vocal chords as her velvety heat enveloped him. He could only show his appreciation by reaching up to her soft breasts.
Scarlett sighed, fighting her exhaustion to gather the energy she needed, and then began to move.
Snake Eyes breathed heavily as jolts of pleasure shot through him. If only he had a voice to express how amazing this felt. He was as starved of intimacy as Scarlett, but he tried not to push her, no matter how great his need for her became.
Now, he wondered how he was able to wait even a few more minutes to experience this. He dug his fingers into her back, while his other hand massaged her breast. Oh what he would have given to have his voice to encourage her. His body tensed as he neared his climax, with Scarlett's rapid movements relentlessly bringing him closer to the edge.
Her walls began to clench tightly around him, her heat too much for him. A moment before the both of them climaxed, they managed to get enough to tell of themselves to meet each other's gaze. Scarlett's green eyes were hazy with lust as she stared down at him. Snake eyes stared intensely back at her. He didn't want his eyes closed when he came. He wanted to see the look on Scarlett's face as she came with him, and slowly settled into the bliss of just being together.
Scarlett waited until she could hold out no longer, and then came hard. She let out another violent scream as her walls clenched tightly around Snake Eyes's member, pushing him over the edge as he spilled himself into her. Euphoria overtook him as he felt his release. His mind went blank, and relief flooded him. Scarlett began to slow her movements, sighing in time with her last few thrusts, until she collapsed on top of him.
She nearly fell asleep. The only thing that prevented her from dozing off was her mind regaining just enough clarity to remember there was someone beneath her. Someone who loved her.
Snake Eyes's shaky finger began to trace symbols onto her back.
"...so beautiful," he barely managed to spell, "...love you."
She returned his affection with a sloppy kiss. Unable to form a sentence, much less write the kind of poetry that her feelings deserved.
"I love you too," she managed to draw.
Snake Eyes smiled quietly and softly up at her as he pulled her close to him, letting her use him as a giant pillow to rest against as she curled up and closed her eyes. Snake eyes wanted to close his eyes and clear his mind just as much as she did, but he couldn't bring himself to drift off before he was sure she was comfortable.
He waited until she was completely out, her breathing and heart beat slow before he slid himself out from under her and picked her up, carrying her gently to her adjoining quarters. She curled up against his chest instinctively. He smiled down at her. Even half asleep she was still drawn to him. It was powerfully endearing. He gently set her on the floor of the private shower that was attached to her small sleeping area, and ran a shower for her. The warm water woke her, but she didn't respond verbally other than to curl up against him.
When the sweat was thoroughly washed from her he dried her and laid her on her bed. She would want to look her best for the briefing tonight.
Silent laughter crinkled the corners of Snake's eyes. What if one of the Joes heard what they were up to in here? They would both surely draw a few stares when the briefing began. After a few cold stares from Scarlett and a demanding bark of orders they would all decide that there were better ways to go than pissing her off.
Snake silently watched her sleeping form. That was how she treated those she commanded, but only he knew this other side of her. She wasn't just the hard-ass leader the Joes respected and revered, she was also kind, soft, gentle, and understanding. She could split a heart in two or mend it with only a few, quick touches.
Snake Eyes let the honor of knowing her on this level sink in before he leaned in to kiss her goodnight. When he turned to leave, however, her hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, insistently pulling him back to her side where he belonged. He placed his hand over hers before crawling into bed next to her, feeling her breath gently caress him as he lay flush against her. He was sure that there would be many things that would try to come between them in the years to come, but right now, she was here with him, and that was at least half the battle.