Chapter 19
My patience in tracking Snake Eyes is finally rewarded later that day: he leaves the pit and ends up in a residential neighborhood. He stays put for a few minutes in a convenience store, not even browsing around, and I decide to take my chances. I idly wonder why he has his gun holster while he's out and about, but brush the question aside - he's probably instructed to have his weapons with him at all time simply so he'll always be ready for action.
I pull on a long trench over my uniform and weapons, stuff my mask in a pocket, and walk to the garage with nobody so much as asking me where I'm headed – even before the battle, most of the troops had a tendency to steer clear of me, and it's been even worse since then. The Commander and the Doctor are the only ones who don't perpetually act as though they think I'm about to jump for their throats, which, to me, more than makes up for their lack of actual sympathy for me.
In this case, however, being ignored is a welcomed bonus. I have the distinct feeling that if anybody knew I'm about to go confront the one person who seems able to defeat me in combat, they'd inform the Commander and I'd promptly be ordered to stop being stupid and to stay put or bring reinforcements. As it is, I drive right out of the fortress without being bothered.
I find a parking spot in a reasonably quiet area, change and head for the convenience store where my brother still is. He's moved to the counter since I've left the fortress, and he leaves just as I round the corner. He spots me, which suits me just fine – I wouldn't have made a point of wearing my full Cobra uniform if I'd wanted to hide from him. He casually walks towards me, taking his sword out as though it was the most natural thing in the world and when he gets within a few steps of me, he tosses me the locator I had left in his holster before assuming a dueling stance.
"I suppose I should thank you for accepting my invitation," I say with a sigh. "Won't you talk?"
He tightens his grip on his sword and still doesn't say anything.
"Fine," I snarl, unsheathing one of my own swords. "If I have to beat some sense into you, I will!"
This turns out to be a rather poor move. He's on me before I can blink, and I just manage to stop his sword from slicing my arm. I counter with a kick, he dips under my foot and kicks off my other leg. I bounce off his back and land a step away from him, just in time to deflect three shurikens and a dagger to the ground.
I need to get him away from all the civilians around here. If he keeps throwing stuff at me, I won't always be able to choose where I deflect it. I rush him and, much to my delighted surprise, he backs up right away. I slow down enough to allow him to turn around and he runs off, turning once to make sure I'm following.
I end up chasing him for a while, and I have to run as fast as I can not to lose sight of him. Isn't that lovely… he fights better than me and he runs faster, too. It'd be grating enough if I didn't need to gain the upper hand on him; as it is, it's close to intolerable.
I finally catch up just as he jumps on the roof of a city train. These things are solid steel, and we're unlikely to get our weapons through it accidentally. I assume a duel stance again.
"Do you even know why you're fighting?" I ask him. "Don't you remember what that symbol on your shoulder means? You're being used, Brother! And now, the Order has you fighting the only member of your clan, your family, that they haven't already murdered!"
He interrupts me by attacking again. I hear the air whistling well behind me: we're approaching a tunnel. I decide to see whether Snake Eyes still really wants to kill me, or whether I've gotten through to him a bit.
I continue to block his attacks and keep talking, pretending to be oblivious to the tunnel we're approaching.
"They attacked our home a little over a month ago, and killed everyone! The men, the women, the children… they left no one alive, except me, because they wanted to do the same thing to me as they have done to you! Were you there? How do you justify killing a whole clan? Don't you see you're being fooled? You're working for the bad guys!"
He still doesn't say anything.
"Can you talk at all?" I ask him, wondering for the first time whether there may be a very simple reason for his silence.
He shakes his head. The tunnel is approaching fast now. I'm going to have to dive if he doesn't do anything.
He suddenly runs and dives straight at me, knocking me down between two wagons. I scramble out from under him and, trying hard not to grin because it would show in my eyes, I stare up and pretend to be surprised by the tunnel.
"You saved my life…"
I get up and sheathe my sword. He interprets the gesture completely wrong and instead of trying to communicate, he jumps off as soon as we clear the tunnel. I debate following him and decide against it – I'd rather give him a chance to think about what I said than turn him over to the somewhat less than gentle Mindbender just yet.
I return to my room when I get back at the fortress, intent on changing before going for a run outside unless the Commander left a message requesting my presence. Whatever I used to do before I was captured, it must have been a busy life – I just can't seem to just sit still and relax.
I find Destro and the Baroness waiting just outside my room and frown at them, puzzled. Neither of them has said a word to me since I was introduced to them about a month ago, so what do they want now? What is it about today that everybody wants to talk to me and the only person I do want to have a chat with turns out to be mute? I suddenly get the idea that rather than go for a run, I should study sign language.
The Baroness turns towards me and gives me her best smile. Obviously, they want something.
"We haven't had a chance to get properly acquainted yet, Storm Shadow," she says, walking towards me until she's just a bit too close. I back up a step and smirk.
"Funny how avoiding someone like the plague is not conductive to building strong relationships."
"You have no idea how intimidating you are," Destro chimes in, walking to stand next to her. He puts an arm around her waist, as if to establish that I had better continue to not flirt with her. I snort, as much at his comment as at his possessiveness.
"Is it he same for you as for Zartan then?" I ask. "You're suddenly over it?"
"Would that be a bad thing?" the Baroness asks, batting her eyelashes.
Destro stiffens next to her and I can't resist playing along.
"I certainly wouldn't complain about YOU being 'over' me, Baroness."
She laughs and Destro snarls.
"Enough fooling around," he growls. "We were simply curious whether the rumours about Snake Eyes were true."
"They say he's actually an Arashikage too, like you, and that you will try to get him away from GI Joe," the Baroness says.
I nod.
"You have no idea how much this would mean to the Commander and the rest of us… his closer associates, I mean," Destro says. "Snake Eyes has been our most dangerous enemy for years. The very reason the Commander risked so much to free you was that he needed you to counter him, not end up helping him. He had been in discussion with the Arashikage to hire you for a while before they were attacked: that's why he has such detailed files on you."
I raise an eyebrow: the Commander never mentioned any of this before. Destro interprets my reaction correctly and his eyes widen, although judging by his breathing and heart rate, he's not actually surprised at all.
"You didn't know the Commander hired you as a… Snake Eyes shield, so to speak?"
I roll my eyes at him. The Commander is right to insist on maintaining perfect discipline with people like these two around – it couldn't possibly be more obvious that Destro and the Baroness are trying to shift my loyalties from the Commander to themselves. I answer slowly, with a measured voice designed to make them think I'm trying hard not to kill them on the spot. I wouldn't, I know they're useful to Cobra, but if they're going to be like that, I think I'd prefer they stay afraid of me.
"I already knew I was rescued for the same reason the Order captured me in the first place: I'm useful. The details of what precise use the Commander had in mind are irrelevant to me. He saved me from being the Order's puppet and by allowing me to serve this organization, he's giving me the chance to avenge my family and, as it turns out, to save my brother. I owe him a debt of gratitude, regardless of whether he sees me as a person or as a weapon."
I get in my room and close the door behind me, letting them leave at their leisure. I'm starting to really feel sorry for the Commander for having to endure anybody who's willing to help, no matter how despicable they are.
Several days go by without much happening, and I feel like my plans for vengeance are going nowhere fast. I'm also growing increasingly anxious to find out whether Snake Eyes is starting to break free of his conditioning.
Therefore, when the Commander calls for me, Zartan and one trooper unit, I'm practically shaking with anticipation - despite the idea of having to endure Zartan's company.
I'm the first one there and the Commander nods towards a chair in greeting. I sit down and stare at him until he starts fidgeting and coughs.
"You're worst than a child, sometimes, Storm Shadow," he hisses. "Yes, we're about to fight GI Joe. Happy? Can you wait for the others before hearing the details?"
I grin and nod. A dozen troopers arrive together less than a minute later and go stand in the back of the office like statues, waiting for their orders. Zartan finally strolls in a few minutes after that, smiles, waves at everyone and sits down.
"What took you so long, Zartan?" the Commander asks. "I find your lack of eagerness lately… surprising."
"I wanted to grab this," Zartan replies, holding up a small device. "It's my new cloak, Commander. I thought you'd like a demonstration."
The Commander hesitates a moment, seemingly caught between the desire to see the demonstration and the need to berate Zartan for his tardiness.
"Don't make we wait like this again," he finally hisses, "but since you brought the thing, let's see it."
Zartan gets up and presses a button on the device. Almost instantly, he disappears from view. He starts walking around, apparently intent on surprising the Commander by reappearing somewhere else. The Commander, apparently intent on raining on his parade a bit, leans back on his chair and instructs me to turn the cloak off.
I walk up to Zartan and grab the device out of his hand, guided by the slight buzzing sound it makes. He reappears, but my own hand does not disappear – apparently, the cloak only works for him.
Zartan glares at me. I snort at him before I return the device. He briefly turns invisible again before turning it off. He then turns to the Commander, practically pouting.
"It would work against anyone else," he says. "I bet even he couldn't actually see me."
"True," I sneer, "but I'm pretty sure at least a few other people in the World can hear footsteps. You may want to wear softer soles."
Zartan glares at me.
"I do NOT walk loudly. You just watch… we're about to take on GI Joe, aren't we? You'll see how well my cloak works against them. I think I'll be depriving you of a few kills, Arashikage-san."
He says the name in such a sneering tone that although he actually pronounces it properly and even adds an appropriate honorific, it sounds like some kind of mockery. I interpret it as his making fun of the fact my family name means nothing anymore, even to me. My sword is out and on his throat instantly.
"Apologize," I growl.
He's shaking, and yet he still attempts to save his pride: he smirks. I glare at him.
"Now," I insist. "I won't ask a third time."
He rolls his eyes.
"Fine, fine. Sorry, Mr. Sensitivity," he says with a sigh.
I don't move, intent on getting an apology for THAT, too, but the Commander intervenes.
"Enough. Storm Shadow, don't you know better by now than to pay attention to what he says? Zartan, stop being yourself for a few minutes, will you? Good," he finishes without actually waiting for an answer.
I put my sword back in its sheath without another glance at Zartan and sit down.
The Commander rests his elbows on his desk and puts his hands together in a stereotypical scheming position that I would find funny if I wasn't so anxious to hear whatever it is he's going to say, and for him to be done saying it so we can get going. The days of relative inactivity between each of our actions aren't helping my patience levels at all.
"GI Joe has been asked to provide security for a team of scientists working on what the media describes as human genome research and what I suspect is actually experiments in creating super soldiers. Other groups have already made threats against this project, which is actually the reason GI Joe is there. We are going to destroy the labs and attempt to capture the scientists. With any luck, they will accept to work for us from now on. Otherwise, we can't let them live – they could make the Order too powerful."
Zartan rolls his eyes at this point, and the Commander's hands tense.
"What is it, Zartan?" I ask. "You wish you could kill them right away rather than have to take them prisoner?"
Zartan shrugs without answering.
The Commander fakes a cough and resumes talking.
"The laboratory is within the Xavier Medical Engineering Complex, and the floor plans indicate we won't have much room to manoeuvre, which is why we're the only ones going. After we destroy the lab, I will broadcast a public message to expose what the Order was really doing and impress upon them that Cobra will always be in their way. You two:" he says directly to Zartan and myself, "go get whatever you want to bring, we leave in five minutes. Meet us in the garage, we're taking the bus."
Author's notes:
Did I mention before that keeping Storm Shadow's hearing consistent is sometimes a pain in the neck? Yep, that tunnel is another example. At least it was simple enough to make him test Snake Eyes so that our heroic black-clad ninja could still show off how good and noble he is.
Next time: Zartan gets to show off his cloak, Storm Shadow gets to show off he's still the best at SOME things and Snake Eyes triggers… something.
Reviews still get rewarded, and I'm out of notes, so you won't get any of those boring things anymore. :D