CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: ONWARD TO URBAK
The drive to Urbak was far devoid of any beautiful scenery. Scarlett found the winding roads up and down the ragged, barren mountainside to be more monotonous and repetitive than anything.
Vorona had parted ways with Mayday, Jinx, and Scarlett, remaining behind at the mansion to take care of her own countries mission, but not before being thanked over and over again by the Americans. Mayday, Jinx, and Scarlett gave her one final farewell and joined Ripcord in the limousine.
But the limo ride was short. They couldn't exactly show up at Urbak in a limo, so they were forced to leave the five star ride behind and acquire more appropriate means of travel – two small local cars. And by local, that meant small, junkie, beat up, and unreliable… all for the sake of blending in with the neighboring crowd traffic.
Worse yet, Scarlett drew the short straw and, while Jinx and Mayday had the luxury of riding in the following vehicle she was now stuck riding shotgun with the hard-ass parachuting instructor Ripcord. Her adrenaline was still high but wearing off quickly – long, boring drives across the Borovian mountains had a tendency to do that. Scarlett had no choice but to be patient.
Reality was setting in as the nature of Special Operations became much more clear to her since the nature of the job wasn't everything that the movies portrayed. Not to mention her instructors didn't include that piece of information either. Still, it was her first mission and she wasn't naïve enough to believe she had to know everything by the mission number one. She didn't have any doubts about signing up for the unit, but she didn't quite expect missions to go down like this. At least not on this end.
Maybe I put too much stock into the glory and thrill of the fight. Snake-Eyes tried to warn me that this job isn't all it's cracked up to be. Well, nonetheless, we're still here in Borovia, and with one of the most important missions to date even if it involves showing my skin and/or a serious case of boredom. Let's stay positive. If nothing else, at least we were able to get those evening dresses off, Scarlett thought to herself, reaching down and massaging the backs of her heels.
Interrupting her train of thought, Ripcord spoke up breaking the silence. "Not a high-heeled kind-of-girl, are you?" Momentarily taking his eyes off the road, he moved his eyes up and down Scarlett, taking a few extra moments to watch her rub her foot.
He couldn't help but smile. "It's ok, harder to wield a crossbow in them, I can imagine."
She couldn't tell if his smile was genuine or sarcastic. "Well, let's just say that they aren't quite my style. Never was a girly-girl," she confessed. "Not ideal in martial arts, if you know what I mean." The redhead intentionally dropped a subtle hint about her skills, just in case he had other ideas. She'd never really worked with Ripcord before, but if he was anything like Clutch, well… the best defense in this case was a good offense.
Ripcord laughed, focusing back on the road. Apparently he got her double-meaning. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna steal you. Word is you're already taken and I don't play around with other men's ladies." He flirtatiously gave her a wink with his brown eyes.
"Taken?" Scarlett raised her eyebrow at him, not fond of the way he said it… as if she was someone's trophy girl.
"Yea, well… that's the word anyway. Not a big deal; I've seen quicker relationships develop in less time… even if you are just a rookie." He couldn't help but flash a devious smile, sensing she had a different view of things than he did.
"Hey, buddy, you are way off base! You don't know a thing about me…" Scarlett made no efforts to hide the fact that she was getting furled up. Who does he think he is… senior NCO or otherwise…
His laugh was even louder this time. "Hey, don't shoot the messenger! All I know is what your boy Clutch told m…" before he could even finish his sentence, he was interrupted.
"CLUTCH?" she shouted. "Is that who you thought… yea, right! I'd kick his ass even in his dreams! I wouldn't let him so much as touch a picture of me!"
"So… wait… you're not with Clutch? He tells quite the different version from what you're telling me. So if you're not even with him, then you two have never…"
Scarlett's face was matching the color of her hair. "Oh, my G… The closest we've been to a "relationship"", she added with over-exaggerated quotes, "was when I kneed him in the groin."
The vehicle almost swerved to the shoulder of the road towards the cliff side causing Scarlett to gulp and tense up every muscle in her body; Ripcord was laughing so hard that he had a difficult time focusing on the winding roadway.
After his laughing subsided, he asked her, "So, wait… you didn't stop me earlier when I implied you were in a relationship. SO... it would seem to me that you are in a relationship with someone… just not him?"
Scarlett wasn't quite sure what to say. He was twisting her words like a master interrogator, and she knew it. Her mouth opened, wanting to reply, but she wasn't prepared to respond. Finally, crossing her arms, as if she lost a guaranteed victory, she simply said, "It's none of your business."
"So…" Ripcord said, forming his own sentence in his mind before he spoke like a master prosecutor in a court of law, "So what you're telling me is he's not special enough for you to acknowledge? Like he has an embarrassing trait or something? Now it does sound like you're dating Clutch."
How did he just put me on the defense like that? Trying to regain a foothold in what seemed like a battle of wits, she said, "I can assure you, it's not Clutch. Not if he was the last man on earth." That just seemed to make it worse... she practically realized what she said after it had already come out of her mouth.
"Well, if there was any doubt before, you pretty much just revealed with 100% certainty that it is someone within the unit. You can tell me, you know… I'm good with secrets." Ripcord smiled genuinely; a bit playful, fully aware he was walking a fine line.
She almost threw her arms up in the air, exasperated.
Before she could answer, he chuckled, "It's ok, I'll back off. I just can't help but wonder why that information is so, …so, well…, classified!"
Scarlett found herself smiling, though it was unintentional. Nonetheless she was still a little huffy with him. "Ok, if you must know, I'm not seeing anyone! And even if I was seeing someone, it doesn't matter, Sergeant Ripcord, sir."
Ok, so its not exactly a lie… I mean me and Snake aren't really seeing each other, exactly… I mean…
Continuing to analyze her much like a psychologist or a spy (at least that's what she thought), Ripcord said, "Well, if I had a girl like you, I certainly wouldn't keep it a secret."
You know just the right words to say, don't you? You're such a player, Mr. Ripcord… Turning her head towards the window, looking outside… and with her nose just slightly up in the air, she maintained her tough-girl persona.
But she was flattered.
"If you had a girl like me, you wouldn't be able to keep up," she said, crossing her arms. Ripcord couldn't help but laugh.
Scarlett smiled, stifling a laugh herself.