Chapter Two

Religari

February 19, 2000

Washington, DC

Bellows sat back and waited for Ned to finish looking over the files regarding this latest agency mishap. He felt marginally bad about having to send her back to the former Soviet Union since she had just gotten back from Russia and assessing the agency's inability to predict Yeltsin's resignation. Bellows knew she was done when she threw the papers she was reading on the desk in disgust. "Your opinion?"

"My opinion is that I should just move over there permanently. I'm spending more time there than I am at home, Panda. I don't know why I bother to unpack anymore. Either that or make me the Eastern Europe head since it clear that Gorman has no idea what he's doing."

He hated it when she called him Panda and she knew it. She grinned as he tried to keep himself from asking her to stop calling him that. It was bad enough when he was a child and the kids teased him with the term, a reference to the Woody Woodpecker character. He was Director of the CIA now and there was just something wrong with being nicknamed after a child's cartoon show. It was testament to the degree of respect that he had for her that he let her get away with it. "Now that we've gotten your personal opinion out of the way can I hear your professional one?"

She shifted in her seat and took a sip of coffee. "I don't like it. I have trouble believing that they could miss both Yeltsin and this whole Ukrainian debacle. Cobra's good, but subtlety was never a term associated with them. I can't believe that they were planning this for two years and no one noticed. We all know how much the Commander likes to pontificate. He had to have talked to someone. Something clearly smells rotten in Denmark and it's not the trash."

"What about this plan of the Joes?"

"I like it. If done right it will definitely provoke Cobra into screwing up and giving us a reason to take them out. Flint's got the experience on both sides to be a competent liaison and even after a five year absence I'm inclined to believe Jaye is the best at what she does. Speaking of Flint, I'm assuming you know where he is."

"Gorman says he'll have Flint available for the Joes."

"At this point I trust anything coming out of his mouth about as much as I trust Bubba when he says he doesn't know the definition of mud. On the safe side have Hawk not tell the others about Flint. It'll be a bitch to explain if Gorman doesn't produce him." Bellows nodded and made a note to call Hawk. "I'm not comfortable with Gorman running the show on our end though. He's already screwed up twice and I don't want to think about the possibility of a third strike."

"I agree, but there's not enough to fully commit to having him removed. Right now he could blame it on the people under him and no one could dispute that. The evidence against him is circumstantial at best and with his father's ties to Congress I want an ironclad case against him. That's where you come in."

"I figured as much. The usual?"

"Yes, I've already talked to our British friends and they're willing to help out again. Their people will answer to you in this matter, mainly because that way they can blame us if things get out of hand. You're also authorized to contact Jaye and become the middleman between her and the agency. You've got free reign over there."

"I can deal with that. I'll head out this afternoon." She stood up and pushed her chair in. "If you could send word that I want Sergei to get me at the airport and have the Brits set up a new safe house within easy access of the borders down south. Tell them to keep it as quiet as possible. Also get my list of preferred safe house goodies and make sure they stock the place right." Ned drained the last of her coffee and walked out of Bellows' office.

February 21, 2000

Kiev, Presidential Building

Cobra Commander was sitting in his new office. He couldn't help but feel smug. It wasn't everyone that had a President of a country in his back pocket. Looking at a map of the world, he had an internal debate over which city he would knock out first if he got the chance to launch a nuclear missile. He finally decided on France. The French were just too damn uppity for his liking. To emphasize his choice he threw a dart at the country. He missed and hit England instead. "Ahh, Close enough."

There was a knock on the door, and the very shapely, very young, very blond 'personal assistant' walked in. "Sir, there are two men here to see you."

"Who are they? I'm very busy you know." I'd like to get even busier with you later.

"Thomas and Zavier, or something like that." She shook her head in exasperation, "I'm not really sure, but they're twins."

Cobra Commander groaned. It's the no-good Crimson Twins, looking to rain on my parade. He was going to tell the secretary to throw them out, but he was curious to see what they would offer him. "Show them in."

The twins walked in, in their standard three-piece suits. Both were carrying briefcases and large smiles on their faces. "Good Morning…" Tomax began

"Cobra Commander…" Xamot continued

" It's such a pleasure seeing you again." They ended together.

"Oh for Christ's sake, aren't you two sick of this little routine? I swear, you do that one more time in my presence, and I'll have your ugly heads hanging on my wall."

The two nodded and while keeping in mind Cobra Commander's threat, they began to explain the reason for their visit.

"Cobra Commander, we couldn't help but notice your successful and rather peaceful take-over of this country. We feel that it would be in both of our best interests, if we joined forces on this one," Tomax explained.

Cobra Commander snorted. "Both of our interests? Destro and I did all the work, and now you're trying to get back on board to reap all the benefits. How can this be beneficial to me? We're doing quite fine on our own."

"Right now you are. However you've had no opposition. The Ukrainians are too much in shock to rebel, the United States are equally surprised, and have been unable to launch any kind of attack against you. You're going to have dissent in the country, and an attack from your enemies. You're going to need help," Xamot answered.

"I don't need your help," Cobra Commander replied.

"With us, you get the legions of Crimson Guardsmen back in your control. Not to mention the full financial backing of Extensive Enterprises, and, from past experience, we know you could use all the money you can get," Tomax explained.

Cobra Commander went silent and pretended to ponder the offer. He desperately needed the Twins' help, but he wasn't going to let them know that. "I will need someone to keep an eye on Yelchichev. Destro says he's harmless, a pawn for Cobra, but I still don't trust him. I don't trust Destro either, for that matter. Lately, Yelchichev has been yapping about his safety, he's afraid of being assassinated. I could assign you two as his bodyguards, and you could keep an eye on him for me."

The twins looked at each other and Xamot spoke, "Bodyguards? After all our years of faithful service to you, we're now reduced to hired thugs?"

"FAITHFUL?" Cobra Commander screamed. "I don't remember any of you being faithful at my trial. You were more than willing to bring up all of my failures to Golobulus. You two are just lucky that I don't hold a grudge."

The twins knew they shouldn't push their luck. "Bodyguard duty would be fine." They said in unison.

Cobra Commander was really losing his patience. "Fine. Get out of my office and find that idiot Ukrainian. Introduce yourselves, and then make yourselves useful." As they began to walk out of his office, he called to them once more, "And about those funds, I will need some extra cash, for my personal account. I'll let you know the amount."

The twins smiled, "As you wish, Commander."

New Jersey Turnpike

Alison Hart-Burnett was in her car. I'm completely insane. Last night she had given her farewell performance in the Merry Wives of Windsor, and now she was headed towards the G.I. Joe Headquarters, to rejoin a team she thought she was done with.

She was trying to tell herself that it was Hawk's desperate sounding voice that made her quit acting again and return, but she knew that it was her own curiosity and sense of adventure that was the cause of this. The simple truth is she wanted to know what the problem was and what she could do about it.

Her director, James, had been very good about it. She had gotten the phone call only yesterday, and she knew she couldn't stay until the end of the play's run. James knew a little bit about her past life with the Joe team, so he didn't hesitate when she told him it was important and she needed to leave immediately. She felt she owed him at least one more performance, so she delayed leaving until this morning. Before she left, he had told her that she could always come back if this little adventure of hers didn't work out.

This made her wonder just how long this was going to last. Were they restarting the Joe team for good, or was this for one mission? She wished she paid more attention to the news recently, so maybe she could have an idea of what was going on. When the team was first disbanded, she became a news junkie. She had decided not to pursue a regular military life, but she knew she would return to the Joes, if they started up again. She would watch news report after news report to see if there were any world issues that might warrant a reactivation of the Joe team. As the months went by, her hope faded, and she gave up on current events.

She knew that going back to Headquarters would be hard for her, because everything would remind her of Flint and all that they had together. She wondered if he was returning to base also, or if he was too involved in his new life. She couldn't believe how much it still hurt to think of him, even after all this time. She knew that she still loved him and probably always would.

She came to the exit she needed to take and got off the Turnpike. As she got closer, her excitement began to grow. She pulled up to the security gate, and was disappointed to see it was no one she recognized. She flashed her old I.D. and said "Hart-Burnett, Alison code-name Lady Jaye reporting for duty." She then saluted him.

He returned the salute and said "Proceed in, Mrs. Hart-Burnett." The Mrs. made her sad again. With her hyphenated name, it happened often, but she couldn't help and think that she should have been a Mrs. but with a Faireborn after it. She didn't have long to wallow in self-pity before she recognized a friendly face.

"Shipwreck! I can't believe I'm saying this, but it is so good to see you," She called out her open window. She parked the car and got out. He ran up to her and hugged her.

"Jaye, you look great. You honestly haven't changed a bit. You're still as beautiful as you were 5 years ago."

"And you're still as good a liar as you were back then," She said to him, but appreciated the compliment.

"Jaye – that's a name I haven't used in years. Looks like I need to get used to hearing it again."

"For some reason Shipwreck stayed with me. Maybe the guys in the Navy were trying to tell me something. So where's Flint? Is he at home with the kids?" Shipwreck asked.

Lady Jaye realized this was going to be harder than she thought. She had kept up with only a couple of her old friends, so most of the Joes didn't know what happened. She wondered how many times she was going to have to repeat her story. Shipwreck's comment did answer the question that'd been nagging her all morning – Flint was in fact not here. She was trying to decide if she was disappointed or relieved. "To be honest, I don't know. I haven't talked to him in nearly three years."

Shipwreck was actually shocked. He thought for sure that they would be living the American dream. "What happened? You guys were supposed to get married."

"Things just didn't work out." She wanted to change the subject "So how are you? Do you have a wife and kids at home now?"

Shipwreck laughed. "Oh God, no! I am still the swinging bachelor. I haven't found anyone to tie me down yet."

Lady Jaye also laughed. It was good to see some things hadn't changed. "So, who else is here?" She asked as they began to walk inside.

"Just a few people. I've seen Snake-Eyes and Stalker. Oh, and Duke and Scarlett are showing off pictures of their little one."

"I can't wait to meet her. I can't believe that Anna is almost three years old, and I haven't seen her in person. Scarlett is very good about sending photos, though," Lady Jaye said.

"I know. I still have her birth announcement hanging on my refrigerator," Shipwreck replied.

They had now entered the room where the others were. Scarlett saw Lady Jaye and she went running over to her. The two hugged. "Lady Jaye you look great! I love how you grew your hair out," Scarlett said when they let go of each other.

"And you, you still look fantastic. Having a baby didn't change you at all," Lady Jaye said sincerely.

"I'm surprised my hair hasn't turned gray. There are some days when having a toddler would add years to your life. Have I sent you her latest professional?" Scarlett asked as she handed Jaye the photo she was holding.

"No, I haven't seen this. She's really beautiful, Scarlett," Lady Jaye said.

"That's because she's my daughter," Duke said as he walked over to them.

"Actually, I was going to say she's all Scarlett, which is a good thing for her," Lady Jaye replied with a smirk.

"Geez, Jaye you're been here for about 45 seconds and already you're a pain in my ass," Duke said and then laughed. "Seriously, though it's good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too," Lady Jaye said.

Hawk entered the room and the little reunion was over. They all sat down in their seats waiting to see what the new crisis was. Scarlett leaned over to Jaye and whispered to her, "When this is over, how about we go get some lunch? Do a little girl talk?"

Lady Jaye nodded and Hawk began. For the next hour she became engrossed in the Ukrainian crisis.

Joe's Diner

Lady Jaye and Scarlett grabbed a table in the back at Joe's Diner. It was in the quietest section. "So who's watching Anna?" Lady Jaye asked.

"Duke's mom and step-dad. We had an idea what this was about, so we knew we'd probably be gone a while. She loves it with her grandparents. I'm sure she's spoiled rotten by now."

"It'll be good for her." Lady Jaye said and Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Do you believe I had no idea about this whole situation? That tells you how removed from the real world I've been."

"I can tell you threw yourself totally in your work, I've seen some of the reviews of your other plays. A lot of the critics were pretty impressed with your ability. Was it hard quitting?"

"No, not all. I just knew I had to do it. I started having second thoughts on the way down here." They both were silent for a moment as they read the menu. "I can't believe this is the exact same menu from 5 years ago."

"The more things change…" Scarlett began and noticed the sadness come over Jaye's face. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Lady Jaye knew exactly what she was referring to. "Not much to say." She did really want to talk it out, but she was afraid of opening up a dam. The waitress came by and took their order. When she left Scarlett said, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to pry. But what happened? One minute you guys were going strong with wedding plans, and the next the whole thing was called off."

Lady Jaye decided to tell the whole story. She hoped it would help her feel better. She hadn't been able to tell Scarlett in the past, because she had been kind of embarrassed about it. Plus, Scarlett and Duke were so blissfully happy, that she didn't want their pity. "It really wasn't sudden. It was a relationship falling apart, one day at a time. It started with the Joe team disbanding. I think that the main problem was neither one of us could handle it. It was so sudden, and we didn't know what to do with ourselves. Plus it didn't help that I didn't want to go military and he did. You know Flint can't sit around bored. He needs constant excitement.

"He stayed in the Army, and I was the bum. At first it was nice, I caught on all the stuff I missed those years I was a Joe, but after a couple of weeks it got old fast. And Flint was no help. He was cranky all the time, because the Army life was so different. There were no bad guys to fight anymore on a daily basis, and he got tired real quick of the drills and simulations.

"After a couple of months I started working with the local playhouse, and began working in earnest on the wedding plans. I became happy with what I was doing, but Flint was still miserable. It got to a point that I dreaded going home. After our production of a Mid-Summer's Night Dream, I got an audition at the Pearl Theater for a role in 'A Doll's House'. I got the part and told Flint I wanted to move to New York. He wasn't happy about it, and we fought a little bit over it, but he finally realized that it was something I needed to do. I had a great time in New York and was asked to come back for their next play. I really wanted to do it, but it meant postponing our wedding date. Flint went ballistic. We had a huge fight over it. It was so bad, that I flew back to talk to him face to face. On that trip back, I found out that the CIA approached him. They wanted him to do some undercover work for him. He had thought that we could do it together, but I told him I didn't want to do that kind of work anymore. I really liked the acting job, and I didn't want to quit. I told him though to take the job. It was what he really wanted, and I knew he'd be happier. So I went back to New York and he went to Langley.

"We didn't see each other much during that time, there was a couple of days at Christmas, and then a weekend a few weeks later. In the Spring I saw that I was coming up to a break in my schedule and I wanted to have the wedding then. He told me it wasn't a good time for him, because he was still training. I waited a few more weeks, and tried a new date. And another, and another. I should have known by then the relationship was over, but I kept holding on to the tiniest shred of hope. Finally, he came out to see me one weekend and we had a long talk. It started out civil, but when he admitted that he couldn't ever guarantee a date when he'd be free to get married, I lost it. I knew then that it was over for us. It turned really ugly with both of us accusing the other of ruining the relationship. He said my decision to come to NY was the cause of it, and he was probably right. Thinking back now, though, I realize it was the end of G.I. Joe that was the end of us. The whole time we were dating I would wonder if our relationship was strong enough to survive in the real world. I was always afraid that it was just one of convenience. We were teammates, and latched on to each other because we were there together and it was easier then going outside of the base. I really didn't think so, I thought our feelings were deeper than that, and it kind of depresses me to find out I was right all along."

Lady Jaye had a long drink of her soda. Scarlett also paused as she considered all that Lady Jaye had said. "I saw you two together, I know you had something special."

"Obviously, it wasn't special enough."

"Have you heard from him since then?"

"I saw him once about a year later, but then he just disappeared off the face of the earth. Duke probably knows better where he is, than I do."

"I don't think Duke knows. If he does, he hasn't told me." Scarlett admitted. "Are you disappointed he isn't here?"

"I don't know. Part of me wants to see him again, but the other part doesn't. Things got real ugly at the end and I wouldn't want to start all the fighting again."

Their food came, and both began eating. After a couple of bites Scarlett asked, "Has their been anybody else?"

Lady Jaye shook her head. "No, at least not seriously. I dated a few guys, but no one that I fell in love with. I don't think I want another serious relationship, at least not now."

"Is it because you want Flint back?"

Lady Jaye paused a moment as she considered the question. "You know, I think it is. I can't help comparing the guys I dated with him. I would love to go back to how we were five years ago. However, to have it work now would take a lot of effort. If it even could work. I think right now we just want two different things out of life." Lady Jaye sighed, "Anyway, this is a moot point. He's not coming back, and for all I know he could have moved on."

Lady Jaye finished up her meal and then looked at her watch. "Sorry, to cut this short, but we should really get back to base. Hawk was nice enough to give us time off for lunch, but our flight is tonight, and I really need to meet with Shipwreck and Dial-Tone and try to figure out how to attack this. When are you heading out?"

"We're leaving tonight too. Duke wants to meet with Putin first thing tomorrow. We'll be heading out with Snakes and Stalker." Scarlett answered.

"Good luck with that, we're going to need all the help we could get. Speaking of which, be prepared to pull my ass out of trouble. I don't know if I'm totally crazy about going into the lion's den, basically alone."

"I'm sure you won't be alone. Somebody over there will help you out." Scarlett answered.

"I hope you're right." She picked up the check. "I'll treat. I figure it's the least I could do since you were forced to listen to my pathetic story."

"I just hope talking about it helped you some, I'm sorry it didn't turn out better for the two of you." Scarlett said as she hugged Lady Jaye.

"I'm sorry too." Lady Jaye said.

Kiev

Dashiell Faireborn, who was once known as Flint, was standing outside a small office door in a non-descript building, waiting to speak to his boss. He had a pretty good idea of why he had been called here, but he was anxious to find out what exactly his role would be. The sudden reappearance of Cobra brought back all his old memories of his life with the Joe team, and he wanted to go back to the front lines and start kicking some Cobra ass.

The door opened and the woman waved him inside. She had a file in her hand and the phone cradled against her ear. "Yes, Believe me I know how vital this is." She said to the phone. She pointed to the other chair in the room.

Flint smiled at her. Mary Olsen was one of the top CIA agents. She and her husband had made an excellent team together, working on many of the top-secret missions in Russia. She had been a natural choice to head the local operations here, and Flint was glad to be working for her.

As she listened into the phone she gathered together three files. She then said, "Yes. I am about to do the briefing. Dash is in my office as we speak." The person on the other end finally got the hint and she was able to hang up the phone. "Sorry, about that. That was Charlie, going ape-shit as usual. He wanted to make sure I knew that Al was coming over."

"Gorman is flying in?" Flint asked.

"Of course. With this big of a screw-up, it's the least he could do to save his job," she said. "Of course, he's too busy pointing fingers, that I don't think he's has that much free time."

Mary wasn't usually this cynical. The director must have come down hard on her, since she was the senior Ukrainian contact. The fact that she was focused on a complete different country due to orders from above at the time meant little to the blame assessors. "Anyway, Charlie wanted to make sure you were fully briefed before Al gets here. You have a five o'clock appointment with him this afternoon."

Flint made a mental note to make sure he got dinner before the meeting. Meetings with Albert Gorman usually ran very long.

Mary handed him the files. "As you know, this is a pretty big international crisis. The government wants to utilize every resource we have, past and present, to handle this. You were chosen, Dash, because of your previous involvement with the G.I. Joe team. Certain members of the G.I. Joe team have been reinstated for this mission. Three of their members are flying out here to work with us, to hopefully, take care of this situation from within."

That came as kind of a shock to Flint. He had long ago given up hope that the Joe team would be reformed.

"In your hands are the files of the members you would be working with. Albert will be giving you the specifics on each person's assignment. You will be leading that group and reporting back to us. They already know that they should be answering to the CIA. I didn't think you'd actually need the files information, since I'm sure you know all three very well."

Flint opened the first file and had to restrain himself from showing any emotion. He really shouldn't have been surprised to see her, since she was the best at undercover work. However, it was still tough seeing Lady Jaye's photo after all these years. He began to wonder about Mary's last comment. Did she know about his and Lady Jaye's past relationship? He didn't want to focus too hard on Jaye's file, besides there wasn't anything in there that he didn't already know. Instead he looked to see who else would be joining him. Shipwreck, now that one was a surprise. He thought for sure Shipwreck would have given up the military life by now. The final name was Dial-Tone. He was pleased with that choice. Dial-Tone was a great radio man, and would be very useful in sending out coded transmissions. Plus it would be good to see him again. Not a lot of the Joes got along well with Dial-Tone, they all thought he was kind of strange. However, after a few missions with him, Flint became good friends with him. You could add him to the long list of names that Flint once considered a close friend, but whom he fell completely out of touch with. He put down the files. "You're right that I didn't need these. There's little in here I didn't already know."

She smiled. "That's what I thought, but I had to follow procedure. So are these good choices?"

"Yes. All three are very good at what they do. We couldn't ask for a better, or more professional team."

"Good. That's all I have for you now. You're free until five o'clock." Mary dismissed him. To prove her point, she picked up the phone again and began dialing a number.

Flint left the room. Once out in the hallway he made his way to what had become his temporary office. He sat at his desk and reopened Lady Jaye's file. This time he did read through the report. It took him thirty minutes to go through all the pages. He didn't realize just how many missions they had been on together. Some of them really stood out in his mind, like the time they went undercover on that millionaire's yacht to recover a special perfume. Or the time Cobra had set up that Funhouse. Both of those missions were special, not for what happened on the mission, but for what happened afterwards. He could still remember the walk on that beach…

He mentally slapped himself. This was getting him nowhere. That part of his life is over with. She probably was married, most likely to one of her fellow actors. They probably had a lovely apartment in the city…

Flint stood up and tried to clear his head. Unbelievable. He hadn't thought about her in nearly three years, and now he couldn't get her out of his head. That wasn't true either. He had thought about her in the past. A lot, actually. He had gone to see her a couple of times in her plays. He watched her from the audience, but he never had the nerve to go and talk to her afterwards. And then that one time that he did…

He mentally slapped himself again. He needed to focus on Cobra now. He had a meeting with the Head of the Eastern Europe division in a few hours, and they needed to discuss how the hell they were going to get Cobra out of the Ukraine. This was no time to dwell on lost love. It was time to get down to business.

Kiev, Presidential Building

Destro watched the man leave his office. He then turned to the Baroness and smiled. "We might actually win this one, my dear."

"Then we could for once and for all, get rid of that idiot Cobra Commander." She purred back. She walked over to Destro and grabbed the information he was holding. "So this is the Joes big plan. Four undercover agents, and a decoy group. Hawk must be getting old and senile."

Destro laughed. "I think you're right." He then sighed, "I better share this information with the Commander. I wouldn't want him to think I'm hiding something from him." He picked up the phone and called the Commander's office. A few minutes later Cobra Commander walked in.

"What is this new information that is so vital, Destro?" He asked in an annoyed tone. He had just convinced his secretary to give him some personal attention.

"Oh, nothing much, just the whole G.I. Joe plan of attack." Destro replied and the Baroness handed the Commander the files.

Cobra Commander laughed as he read through the report. "That's it? This is too easy! All we need to do is blow two airplanes out of the sky, and our opposition is finished."

Destro shook his head, "We might need to take a more subtle approach, Commander. I've already given my contact the information he needs to hamper the Joes plans. We'll take the covert team out one by one, so we don't arouse too much suspicion. Meanwhile, the advisors will be spinning their wheels. By the time the rest of the Joes get the go-ahead to lead an all out attack, our armies will be strong enough to successfully defend our position."

"Excellent, Destro, excellent." Cobra Commander replied. The three smiled at each other secure in the belief that nothing would stop them this time.