Laird James McClellan Destro finished reading the documents in his hand. He went back over the crucial sections and then turned his attention to the man that was fidgeting on the other side of his desk. "If I'm not mistaken, the last few transactions netted me a greater loss than was expected."

"No, sir, you are correct."

Destro stared at the man. "Aren't I paying you a large sum of money to accurately predict these dealings?

Beads of sweat broke out on the man's forehead. "I apologize. The US markets have been extremely volatile since the election. But I'll do better."

"Make sure that you do. If I see numbers this off again, finding different employment will be the least of your problems."

Destro dismissed him. Once he was alone, he unmuted the television in his office. He had been in the middle of catching up on world events before he was disturbed by his incompetent accountant. His office door opened again, and Destro whirled around, prepared to berate whomever was disturbing him again. But he smiled when he saw that it was Anastasia.

"How are you feeling my dear?"

"Terrible." She entered his office, followed by her nurse that was holding the small bundle. The woman who had given up the name of Baroness gingerly sat down on the couch and gestured towards the bassinet that was in the corner.

Helga, the frumpy and older nurse that Anastasia had insisted on hiring did as was told. "Would you like me to stay and keep an eye on the lad?"

"That won't be necessary," Destro said.

Once Helga left, Anastasia asked, "Aren't you working?"

"I can take a break to spend a few minutes with my wife and son."

She shifted on the couch, her face grimacing in pain. "I'm afraid neither one of us is good company right now. The pain pill I took should take effect shortly, and Alexander doesn't do much more than eat and cry."

Destro walked over to the bassinet and looked down at the baby that was sleeping peacefully. "He seems content right now. If that changes, I'll call Helga."

He returned to his desk, and only half listened to the anchor's reading of the news briefs. His mind was still on the disappointing news he had received earlier. But then Anastasia asked, "Is that Zartan?"

Destro looked at the screen. She was correct. Zartan, cuffed at the hands and ankles was shown being led into an armored prisoner vehicle. In the background stood several familiar G.I. Joe faces standing in front of their headquarters.

"As you can see the transport is underway," the perky blonde reporter announced. "The G.I Joe leadership team would not confirm an exact arrival date and location for Zartan's final destination, but my sources indicate that within twenty-four hours, he will be a guest at ADMax Florence, more commonly known as the Alcatraz of the Rockies."

Destro scoffed, "The press never learn. Don't they realize how dangerous it is to release that kind of information?"

"It worked out well for them when they set us up during the Ghost charade," the Baroness mumbled as she started to nod off.

"Not us," Destro reminded her. "Serpentor and Cobra Commander were the victims in that debacle."

The Baroness was soon fast asleep. Destro turned off the television so as not to disturb her rest. The Zartan story had improved his mood. Although, as he looked between her and the bassinet that held his son, he realized that wasn't entirely true. Destro still held a fair amount of ill-will towards Zartan, and he was pleased to see the mercenary in chains. But he was proof of the former life Destro was working to permanently and completely sever ties to.

So while his portfolio was taking a hit as he was selling his controlling shares of MARS Industries, it was a necessary evil to help secure a stable future for Alexander. And MARS was only one item on the to-do list. Seeing the Joe team assembled reminded him of one of the other loose threads he had to cut ties to. Picking up his office phone, he dialed the number of his most trusted assistant and said, "I need all of the current information available on Alison Hart-Burnett."

Alison shifted on the couch. She was bored. She had long since given up on finding something interesting to watch on the television. And since she couldn't get comfortable in a sitting position for too long, reading was out of the question. She stood up and looked out the window. The snow flurries had died down. Luckily, the early spring snowstorm hadn't been as bad as the forecasters had predicted. She could see the breaks in the clouds in the distance, so she decided to go for a walk around the block.

She dressed warmly, and then left her home. It was cold, and Alison wrapped her scarf tighter around her face. But the baby who had become her internal heater was keeping the rest of her warm. As she walked, she focused on the real reason for her current funk, the fact that Flint had called earlier in the day to say that his leave request was once again denied.

Alison had thought that once Zartan was safely in the hands of the Feds, the Joes would return to a normal on-call schedule. But their heroics in catching the Dreadnok leader and two of his closest companions had caught the attention of the media and the President, which meant that any plans the Jugglers may have had to eliminate the team were currently on hold.

That didn't mean the Joes' money problems were over. The DoD budget talks were set to begin in a month's time after the annual series of joint training exercises concluded. Initially, G.I. Joe hadn't been invited to participate in the exercise, which wasn't unusual. Normally the Joes would have been sidetracked with a mission against Cobra, or involved in their own in-house training to take part in the yearly DoD exercises.

The Joes never cared about their lack of participation in the past. They didn't need a graded war game to prove their worth. Their successful actions in the field against Cobra was enough to show they earned an excellent grade. But this year the exercise was being tied to the budget negotiations, so participation was critical.

They finally received their invitation the day Zartan was transferred out of Headquarters. While that was the good news they were waiting for, they were severely behind the curve in preparing for the exercise that was due to start the second week of April. Flint had been put in charge of organizing the Joe team into smaller groups, and developing practice training exercises to help them prepare.

Therefore, Alison hadn't been surprised that Flint wasn't able to take the time off to visit, but she was still disappointed. Her final childbirth class was in a few days, and unless Flint's schedule drastically changed he was going to miss it, like he had missed the previous three classes. One of the instructors had informed Alison that most hospitals around the country offered partner classes, and after looking into it she saw there were a few in the Phoenix area. However, Flint had been too busy to attend any of those.

Lydia had assured her that it wasn't necessary for Flint to attend a class, as most of the childbirth experience was on-the-job training. Alison's biggest fear though, wasn't that Flint wouldn't know what to do while she was in labor, but that he wouldn't be able to attend the event. She had broached that topic with him earlier in the day, and he once again assured her that no matter what was happening, he was going to be at her side to watch the birth of his daughter. But Alison knew that was a promise that he might not be able to keep.

As she had done so many times in the last few months, she forced herself to not worry about future events she had no control over. She knew too that most of her negative thoughts were stemming from her current loneliness. Hawk had volunteered earlier in the week to send Stalker and Beachhead to HQ to help the Joes train. And while the general stayed in DC, he had been busy with the other brass preparing for the exercise. So, she had been alone in the office the last couple of days. In addition, Lydia had taken the kids to visit her family while Stalker was gone.

Alison sighed. "Lonely and useless," she muttered. Due to the very late stage of her pregnancy, her work time had been restricted to eight hours a day, five days a week. Therefore, she had been requested to continue on with her duties, while nearly the rest of the Pentagon planned for the exercise.

The Pentagon was going to be the center of operations. Many of the details still needed to be finalized, but from what Alison had heard the basic premise of the exercise was that a foreign power was going to attack the East Coast of the United States. It sounded interesting, and while Alison knew her work was still very important she wished she could participate in the fictional attack.

She was still deep in thought as she completed the loop and approached her doorstep. She noticed a limo was double-parked in front of her brownstone. The car itself wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but the two men standing behind it were. They looked like standard limo drivers, however she saw that one was intently staring at her house, while the other was focused on her.

Alison slowed down and contemplated her options as she pretended to fiddle with her phone. She could attempt to get to her door and barricade herself in her house where she had a couple of weapons to protect herself. However, since she wasn't as spry or quick as she used to be, she doubted she could get past them. She could turn around and attempt to outrun them, but again her physical limitations made that a poor option.

She wished she had her javelins, that she hadn't touched since she left the Joes. So she grabbed the only weapon she did have, her phone. She dialed the last number called, and brought the phone to her ear. She then calmly began to turn around.

"Lady Jaye, wait! Can we talk to you?"

The use of her code name startled her. It most likely meant they were related to Cobra. She brought the phone down and reluctantly faced them. "Who are you?"

"Our names aren't important. But we work for Laird McClellan."

"Destro? That explains the limo." Alison asked as she tried to hide her fear that had kicked up a notch.

"Yes, ma'am. You are in no danger, he just asked to have a conversation with you."

Alison laughed. "Forgive me that I have a hard time believing that. Tell your boss to call me, because I am not going anywhere with you."

The man that had stayed quiet took a few steps towards her. It became apparent that he was the "bad cop" of the duo. "Listen, lady, you don't have a choice. Our boss told us that we shouldn't hurt you, but he also made it very clear that we need to bring you to him."

Alison was in a bad spot. It was ludicrous to just give in and let the men take her to Destro, but if she resisted or fought back there was the chance she could hurt the baby. With a sigh, she nodded and walked towards the car. She hoped that they were true to their word.

She got into the back seat and noticed that the windows were covered so she couldn't see outside. That once again raised her anxiety level, and she subtlety checked her phone. The call was still connected, so she hoped that Flint was listening in. She was sure he was probably frantic, but she wanted to help him track her in case things went very wrong.

Flint's phone rang and he smiled when he saw it was Alison. Their earlier conversation hadn't gone well after he had told her about his canceled leave. He knew she was upset and frustrated by the situation, so he had tried to stay quiet while she verbally lashed out at him. But then she brought up her fears about him missing the birth. He did his best to placate her, but he could tell she hadn't been convinced. She had then abruptly hung up on him. He had wanted to call her back, but not only did he have to watch over the morning's training exercise, he knew in her current frame of mind he was better off waiting until she calmed down and called him first.

The training exercise had concluded, so her call was perfect timing. "Hey, babe. Are you feeling better?"

He was met with silence. He at first thought he had said the wrong thing, and had set her off again but then he realized he was listening into a muffled conversation. He tried to determine if she had only dialed him accidentally, or if she had gotten side-tracked by a second conversation while waiting for him to answer. It was hard to understand exactly what was being said, but then he heard the word "Destro" that turned his blood cold.

He raced out of his office towards the computer room. Luckily, Dial-Tone and Mainframe were both there reviewing the results of the training. He snapped his fingers to get their attention. "Dial-Tone, I need you to trace a phone number."

Dial-Tone snapped to attention. He jumped up and went to one of the other computers. Flint rattled off the phone number that he knew by heart. He then added that it belonged to Alison. While Dial-Tone frantically typed away Mainframe asked, "Is she okay?"

"I don't know." Flint explained the little he knew.

"Are you still connected?" After Flint nodded, Mainframe said. "Put it on speaker and bring it here. I can record the conversation."

There was silence for a few moments, and Flint wondered if the call had been dropped. But then he heard Alison ask, "Why are the limo's windows blacked out?"

The second voice wasn't quite as loud and clear, but the computer's speaker helped magnify the answer. "Laird McClellan likes his security."

"So I assume you're not going to tell me where I'm going?"

"Nope. You'll see when you get there."

The phone went silent. Flint clamped down on his fear. He turned towards Dial-Tone, "How's that trace coming?"

"It's still triangulating. Sometimes it takes a while."

Flint exhaled sharply. "Mainframe, get Hawk on the phone and tell him what's happening. I assume she was approached at home, so I'd like him to get a team over there."

Dial-Tone rattled off an address. "Is that your home? It's the last known location of the phone."

Flint looked over Dial-Tone's shoulder at the screen. "Yes. But what do you mean last known location?"

"The program honed in on that spot, and said it was active as of a few minutes ago. But it's still trying to find their present location."

"They can't be that far away, so how hard can it be?"

"My guess?" Mainframe chimed in. "They're blocking the signal."

Flint shook his head. "No, that's not good enough. We need to find out where they are taking her."

While Dial-Tone sputtered that he was doing the best he could, Mainframe led Flint to his computer. "I may have another way of tracking her. I think Alison is leaving us a trail of breadcrumbs." He handed Flint a pair of headphones. "Put these on. It's faint, so these will help you hear it."

Flint closed his eyes as he focused on the ambient noise in the car. He missed the first whispered word, but then he heard the next two – "Stop" and "Right". Flint's eyes shot open. "She's giving us directions." He turned towards Dial-Tone to order him to switch tactics, but the communications expert had already grabbed a second set of headphones and had begun to transcribe the directions.

"Help him," Flint said to Mainframe. "I'll call Hawk."

Flint stepped out of the room to give the two techs the quiet they needed. He headed towards Anvil's office as he dialed Hawk's number. It would save time as he could alert both generals to the situation at the same time. Hawk answered at the same time he knocked on Anvil's door. "Hawk, I'm putting you on speaker because we have a situation. It appears Alison has been detained by someone working for Destro."

After Flint summed up what he knew, Hawk agreed to send a team to their house. He promised a call back once he arrived on scene. After he hung up, Anvil walked with Flint back to the computer room. Flint was pleased to see that while Mainframe continued to listen to the audio, Duke had joined Dial-Tone and the two were working with a map of the area. "How's it going?"

"Okay," Dial-Tone answered. "I'm making a lot of assumptions on their rate of travel based on speed limits and current traffic conditions, so there's definitely a high error factor. But I think I have a general idea of where they are."

Before Flint had a chance to ask where that was, the chatter on the phone picked up. He clearly heard a male voice say, "Damn it, she has a phone." and then the call was cut off.

Even though he knew it was futile, Flint picked up his phone and started calling her name, but the call had ended. He redialed the number, but it went right to voice mail. He then turned to Dial-Tone who looked grim. "Where were they?"

Dial-Tone looked at the map and then back at him. "Unfortunately, I'm fairly certain they were on the Beltway."

Flint slammed his hands on the table. That basically meant they could have been headed anywhere in the city or surrounding area. Too many what-if scenarios began to play through his head. But one thing he was certain of. "I have to go out there."

Anvil put a hand on his shoulder. "That's not a good idea, at least not right now. Even if you take a Skystrker it's still going to take you a few hours to get there. Let Hawk and his team handle it now."

Flint hesitated for just a moment. If Stalker and Beachhead were still in DC, he might have agreed to back off and let them handle it. But since he didn't know what kind of team Hawk would be able to put together, there was no question about his actions. "I'm sorry, General, but I'm not going to sit here idly. Either I'm going to be there to welcome her back once Hawk finds her, or I'm going to rescue her myself," he said before he made his way to the door.

"Flint, don't make me order you to stand down." Anvil threatened.

"Sir, do what you have to do, but it's not going to stop me."

Flint stormed from the room. With a look of exasperation, Anvil turned towards Duke, who shrugged. "I've learned over the years that when Alison is in trouble, your best bet is to stay out of his way."

Luckily for Alison, other than them confiscating it, there had been no repercussions once the men found out she had a phone. They reached their destination less than five minutes later. They parked, and the driver got out of the car while the second man stayed in the back seat with her.

"Now what?" she asked.

"We wait for the Laird."

Alison looked out the blackened window to see if she could make out anything to give her an idea of where they were, but it was too dark. So she tried a different tactic. "Can I have my phone back? I just want to tell my husband that I'm safe." The man ignored her so she continued. "You do realize that he will bring the whole power of the Joe team to find me?"

"The Laird took steps to make sure we wouldn't be traced."

Alison was going to argue further but then there was a knock on the trunk. "He's here," the man said. "Don't try anything funny."

The door opened and Destro walked in. He took a seat across from her and then nodded at the man who left. Once they were alone Destro spoke. "I trust they didn't harm you?"

"I'm fine. Although like I informed your bodyguard, Flint's probably frantic and you know that won't end well for you."

Destro let out a laugh. "It's good to hear your husband is still feisty. Don't worry, I only need a few minutes of your time and then you can reassure him that all is well. As a new father myself, I understand the strong desire to protect one's family."

That shocked Alison. "You had a baby?"

"Technically, Anastasia delivered the child, but yes, I have a son. He will be two weeks old tomorrow."

The image of a doting Destro and Baroness with an infant was so surreal, that Alison had to bite down on a laugh. However, the idea of Destro constructing a baby silver mask to match his own caused her to smile.

"What's so amusing? Despite our allegiance to Cobra, the one thing that never wavered was our commitment to each other. Marriage and starting a family was the next logical step."

Alison thought of a few times that she knew their commitment to each had definitely been tested. But she still wasn't surprised that they did get married. While she could accept that, what she couldn't believe was the idea of the Baroness becoming a mother. "And I'm sure the Baroness is an excellent mother." Destro went to respond but she waved him off. "Look we can spend hours insulting each other, and talking about our children both current and future, but I doubt that's why you are keeping me hostage."

"Actually, that is exactly why you are my guest this afternoon. I want to do everything in my power to protect my son. Anastasia and I are trying to give him a normal a life as possible. I know we have engaged in questionable activities in the past, but that is over now, so we don't want any trouble from the Joes."

Alison laughed. "Even if I believed you, there's nothing I can do. I guess you haven't heard that I don't work for the Joes anymore."

"No, I am well aware of your change of employment. My condolences. That was one of the benefits of working for Cobra. They didn't have the pesky fraternization rules like the US military. But it seems like you made out okay with your new assignment at the Pentagon. From what I understand, the Joes aren't exactly what they used to be, and now have to take orders from DC. So even though you aren't technically working for them anymore, I imagine you still have some input on potential missions."

"You may be overestimating my influence."

"I don't believe so. I'm sure Hawk still values your opinions. And you don't have to take my word for it. You saw first hand that there was nothing remotely unlawful happening at my castle's construction site. And while you were hoping to catch Anastasia red-handed in some sort of illegal dealings, I assure you that at the time you were spying on her in Greece, she truly was just attending a friend's wedding. We had learned of her pregnancy a few weeks before the event, which had helped convince us that our lifestyle change had been the right call."

Everything Destro said was true. But Alison still had a hard time believing he and the Baroness were completely on the side of good. "Look, Destro, if it was up to me despite whatever good intentions you claim you have, I would still want you to answer for your past crimes. But that's not my jurisdiction. And because of that I know you are always going to be on the Joes radar. So if you want us to leave you alone, then quite simply stay out of trouble."

Destro thought for a moment and then he nodded. "I guess that is the best I can expect."

"Okay, can I go now?"

"Shortly. I have one more matter than I need to discuss with you, this time it is more of a personal nature. I'm sure you recall the time you were a guest in my castle?"

Alison smirked. "You mean the time that one of your associates hatched an elaborate scheme to lure me there under false pretenses? I have a vague recollection of it."

"The associate in question was the Baroness. And while it was part of her plan to punish me for a transgression I committed, the information she shared with you was factual."

Alison shook her head. "Now, I know that's bullshit. I admit I was curious after my little adventure, and I looked into my family line. I didn't find any connection to you or a distant relative."

"I'm disappointed in you. I thought with your skills you would have done a better job of investigating your past." Alison tensed as Destro reached into the briefcase, and then relaxed when he handed her a folder. "During your research did you come across the name Walter Cullen?"

"Perhaps. But since that was a couple of years ago, I can't say for certain."

"If you did, you obviously didn't pay him a lot of attention or look into his background. Because if you had you would have seen that Walter Cullen was the name he took after he emigrated to the United States from Scotland. His birth name was Walter McClellan. He decided to leave Scotland after his wife died in childbirth. Apparently he was so distraught by the loss that he left the child behind to be raised by his brother and sister-in-law. That child was the original James McClellan. And as you may or may not know, once in the United States, Walter remarried and had six children. One of them was a little girl who would eventually become Dame Agatha Doyle. Long story short, we share a great to the fourth power grandparent."

Alison was speechless. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because as I mentioned earlier, my family is very important to me. I want to protect my son's legacy, part of which is the soon to be completed Castle Destro. That castle had always represented what the McClellan family stood for, which was why it was a devastating blow to see it destroyed. But its rebuild is a metaphor of my and my family's name rebirth. I have been working through the current family members weeding out the undesirables and making it quite clear they are not welcome at my home. You, unfortunately are on that list.

"If it's any consolation, you would have been considered persona non gratas even if we hadn't been on opposite sides of the Cobra war. Once Walter abandoned his child, the McClellans disowned him and his heirs." Destro nodded towards the folder. "In there is much more detailed information about our history. You may or may not find it interesting reading. I also had my lawyer draft up a document that removes any claim you and your heirs have to my castle. Once you sign that, you are free to go."

Alison flipped through the paperwork as she tried to wrap her head around all that Destro had said. None of it seemed real.

"If you feel it is absolutely necessary to have your own lawyer review the paperwork, you can return it to the office listed on there. But I must insist on having this done as soon as possible."

Alison shook her head. "Destro, I don't want you in my life any more than you want me in yours. If by signing this, that accomplishes that, then it is a win-win for us."

Destro handed her a pen and she signed the document. She handed it back to Destro who looked it over and then nodded. "Thank you. I wish you and Flint well in the upcoming birth of your child. Even though we had vastly different ideologies, I still consider you and him worthy adversaries.

"My driver will take you home. I'm sure the Joes are waiting for you, and if you feel it is necessary, both men are prepared to be questioned once you are returned. However, they do not know my current whereabouts and are not part of my inner circle. Plus, I assure you once again that I will no longer be a thorn in the Joes side."

Alison was surprised to realize that she actually believed him.