I did mention that this is written in Sunbow universe, right? Once again, I don't own GI Joe, Hasbro, Marvel, Sunbow….or anything related to GI Joe.

Lady Jaye rode the elevator up to the 32nd floor. She made her way to the shared office space and sat down in relief. Her falsified ID had worked. No one had tried to stop or detain her.

Looking around at the other still empty desks, she thought it vaguely odd that no one was there yet, granted she was a bit early. She flipped opened her laptop with a sigh and signed in. At first she enjoyed the feeling of relief, but as the minutes continued to drag on, that relief changed to worry and then to fear. There should be someone here by now, she thought nervously, glancing between the wall clock and the main door.

That feeling that something was wrong wormed it's way into her gut.

She was just contemplating leaving when the empty silence of the room was broken by a pair of familiar voices over the loudspeaker, "We know who you are…Lady Jaye."

Then, suddenly, the lights in the office went out. Blinded by the instant blackness, Lady Jaye groped for the edge of her desk and rose to her feet in a hurry. She squinted her eyes, scanning the large room. She barely made out two identical dark shadows, slip in silently through the door.

"Oh, this is just peachy," she growled, her eyes following their approach, "…double trouble."

She jumped towards the shadows, kicking out blindly. She felt a connect, heard a "umpf" and "Brother…"

Then a voice groaned to her right, "You must be more careful… Xamot."

She turned toward the sound and a butt of a gun connected solidly with the side of her head. A sharp pain, a cry, and she fell into blackness.

"Jaye?" Flint called into the darkness. All the lights were turned off.

"She's probably taking a nap," he muttered, shaking his head affectionately. Unlike Jaye, he had never been bothered much by jet lag. It'll be fun waking her up, though, he grinned. Visions of Sleeping Beauty were running through his head. He silently turned the nob to her room, pushed the door open and peeked inside. He was slightly disappointed to find that she was not there.

Scanning the room, he saw that her bed was untouched, still neatly made. He let out a sigh.

"Lady Jaye?" he called again, as he walked through the main area of the apartment.

His own voice echoed back to him in response. That's odd.

Concern growing exponentially, he hurried over to the other side of the apartment, to his room, and yanked open the door.

"Lady Jaye?," he called louder.

Once again, he was greeted with silence. Where could she be?

Flint went back to the main room, thinking rapidly. Sinking into the sofa, he ran his hand roughly through his jet black hair. He'd been trying to shake a bad feeling all day. He whipped out his com and punched in the emergency number Hawk had given him.

"Hawk here," the answer was immediate.

"General Hawk? Sir, this is Flint."

There was a pause, and then, "What's happened?"

Flint explained that he had just come back and that Lady Jaye was missing, having never returned from work.

"Has she activated her tracer?"

"No, not yet."

"Are you certain she's in trouble…I mean, could she just be running late?"

"No, she should have been back hours ago. And she wouldn't have gone anywhere without letting me know first. Hawk, I know she's in trouble."

"Alright…," he sighed. He didn't doubt that Flint would know. "Give me a run down of the details," he grabbed a pencil and leaned back in his chair.

They discussed all that Flint had seen, his observations of the employees and especially the unmarked 37th and 38th floors. He also reiterated Jaye's previous day, the ID badge, her altered behaviour and presumed chemical exposure.

"Yes, we received your package this morning. Lifeline's testing it as we speak."

"There's one more thing, Sir,… perhaps the most important."

"Yes?"

Flint hesitated, "…The company wants to make it's employees happy."

"What's wrong with that?" Hawk asked curiously. Wasn't that something most companies tried to do? And yet obviously, something about his one had raised red flags in Flint. Over time, Hawk had learned to trust Flint's instincts implicitly, just like he trusted a handful of his other Joes, Lady Jaye, Scarlett, and Duke among them.

"Well, they, uh, seem to go out of their way. I'd say it's pretty remarkable."

"Hmm.…Yes," he paused. Strangely, Flint's observation struck him as particularly ominous.

"Thanks, Flint. I need to inform Duke and Scarlett. I will be sending them out to you with their team. They should be there by morning. If Lady Jaye is in trouble, let's hope she will have activated her tracer by then. Meanwhile, don't lose your head."

"Yes, sir," Flint mumbled.

"I mean it, Son… Keep me updated. Hawk out."

Hawk stared at the com and frowned. He knew he was taking a risk when he paired those two…it's just that they worked so well together, they and another team he didn't feel like mentioning at the moment. He hoped for Flint's sake, and this own, that Lady Jaye was okay.

Duke and Scarlett were eating their lunches in the mess. At the sound of Hawk's voice, they both paused, sandwiches frozen halfway to their mouths.

"Duke, Scarlett, my office, now. On the double!," Hawk bellowed over the com.

Flint and Lady Jaye, they were both thinking as steel eyes met aquamarine blue.

"Let's go."

They slid out from their table and dumped their half eaten meals. Within moments, they were outside the General's office.

"General Hawk?," Scarlett rapped smartly on his door.

"Enter, Scarlett," Hawk's eyes followed them as they came to stand in front of his desk. "Duke," He nodded his head in greeting.

"Hawk, Sir," he fired off a salute. "What's up?"

A hint of a smile crossed Hawks lips. That's why Duke was one of his best, he thought. He was never one to beat around the bush. He went always straight for the juggler.

Hawk steepled his fingers and began without preamble, "I just got off the com with Flint. He has informed me that Lady Jaye never returned from her position as a secretary. I think it's fair to assume she's still at Heidana."

Scarlett's and Duke's eyes flashed as they listened, their bodies tensing like coiled springs.

"She may be in trouble."

The Joes were like family. If one of them ran into trouble, the rest of the team didn't hesitate to back them up. And when it was a friend, well, the Joes could be downright overly protective. In this particular case, Scarlett and Lady Jaye were best friends and Duke viewed her fondly as an annoying younger sister. For all intents and purposes, these four were even closer than family. Hawk knew he could depend on them to get her out. They weren't about leave her in the hands of Cobra thugs.

"Our team is on standby. We can be ready at a moment's notice," Duke's face was grim.

"Good. Let them know. I'll have a transport ready for you within the hour."

"Yes, Sir," Duke nodded.

"Dismissed."

Scarlett and Duke snapped into a salute and then headed for the door. Hawk's sharp eyes watched them go. The family feel went farther than just among his Joes. He, too, was more than concerned for Lady Jaye. But he also knew, if anyone could find her and bring her back home safely, it would be this team. Duke and Scarlett were two of his best.

Duke and Scarlett hurried to their private quarters, grabbed their duffle bags, and then headed to the weapons locker. On the way, Duke alerted Gung Ho, Ace and Snake Eyes. Within a few short minutes, all five had rendezvoused on the tarmac, luggage and weapons in hand. They loaded their belongings in the storage compartment bins and boarded the aircraft. Ace took the controls while Duke copiloted. Everyone was rigid in their seats as they reached the runway and took off.

Once in the air, Scarlett filled the rest of the team on what they knew about the situation.

"Jaye's in trouble?" Gung Ho's deep voice rose threateningly.

"That's what it looks like," Scarlett's words were clipped, her face tight. "According to Flint, she never returned to their apartment."

"So she's still at that Japan Extensive Enterprises building," he narrowed his eyes.

"We hope so…I mean we think so."

Snake Eyes placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him. "We will find her," he signed. Then he crossed his heart in a promise. His mask contorted slightly as he gave her a gentle smile.

"Thanks Snakes," she returned the smile weakly.

"Yeah, Just you wait, Scarlett. We'll get those snakes and wring their skinny little necks," Gung Ho grinned menacingly as he slapped her on the back with heavy hand.

"Watch it!," she cried, taking a stumbling step forward, "Save some of that for the Snakes," she rolled her shoulders and grimaced.

Snake Eyes' shoulders rose and fell rapidly with his silent laughter.

Duke slipped out of the cockpit at just that moment. "I'm glad to see that Scarlett has filled you in on Lady Jaye," he began, "We should be in Japan by 0700 tomorrow morning. We'll rendezvous with Flint when we get there and make our plans then." He looked at them sternly, "I suggest you rest up while you can."

There were nods and scuffling of shoes on the rubber mat floors as they tried to make themselves comfortable for the long flight.

Scarlett found a quiet corner to herself and stared silently out the window, watching the clouds pass below.

"Hang in there, Jaye," she whispered, "We're on our way."