Disclaimer: I do not own GI Joe. No one with such a cracked mind should...
An hour later saw everyone assembled in the motor pool. Stalker, Tunnel Rat, and Lowlight drove off in a Humvee, while the rest of them went out to the airfield, each group separating and going off to one of the waiting aircraft. Scarlett's group was the very last to take off.
"So, where are we headed Scarlett?" Slipstream asked from the pilot's seat.
Scarlett adjusted the headset so she could speak into it. "The Joint Base Lewis-McChord in WashingtonState, Slip." She addressed the other two, "We will be talking to a very reclusive Native American living in the mountains over there. Supposedly he has had actual contact with something similar to Father Time."
"I wondered why you picked Snow Job and me for this," said Spirit.
Snow Job removed his headset and looked out before shaking it and putting it back on his head. "This one has a lot of static," he shouted over the noise of the engine.
"Yeah well, contrary to what some people think, the teams weren't made up willy-nilly," Scarlett said with a huff.
"Maybe not, but everyone knows Lady Jaye had a hand in picking her team," said Slipstream as he started the take off procedure. Snow Job nodded his agreement.
The sun was setting by the time Slip Stream got them to the base, not that it could be seen once they were under the clouds. Both Spirit and Snow Job had fallen asleep on the way, but Scarlett was still awake, going over her notes. She put them away when they stopped and gently woke them both up. They stretched and stiffly walked out the back of the plane where Slip Stream met them.
"Did you want me to come with you?" he asked.
"No, why don't you just stay here and relax until we get back? We should return by tomorrow evening at the latest and then you can fly us back."
"Sure thing, Scarlett," he said, walking off towards the hangar to get the refueling process underway.
"Hey, do you mind asking them if we could borrow a vehicle while you're there?" Scarlett shouted after him. He waved in response.
"So you said the mountains. How far in are we going?" asked Snow Job.
"We are going in near a small town called Darrington. I know this side of the state has a lot of rain, so there will be plenty of snow up there, but I'm not sure other than that. Our next stop is the Sauk-SuiattleTribalCenter where we will be able to get information on the conditions and get prepared for our hike."
Slip Stream came back with a jeep, putting the vehicle in park, and hopping out. He waved at them on his way to the front of the plane. Scarlett got into the driver's seat and handed Snow Job a map she had drawn their route on, while Spirit settled in the back. He was asleep again before she had even gotten them off the base.
The sun had finished setting and it had been dark for quite some time when they finally arrived at the tribal center. They got out and quickly hurried into the building, trying to stay as dry as possible. Once in, they slowed down to look at a few of the displays before coming to and stopping at the visitor's desk. The young man there stood up to greet them.
"Welcome to the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe. How may I help you?" he asked excitedly.
"Is Alphonse Smith here?" Scarlett asked.
"Oh, so are you the people here to meet with old man 'Shroom, then?"
"Excuse me?"
"You're the ones here to meet with Snickering Mushroom, yeah?" the receptionist clarified.
An old man walked up and put his hand on the receptionist's right shoulder. "Please forgive young Tripping Bird. He forgets outsiders are not familiar with our names." The receptionist blushed and sat back down. "You are the ones who have come to speak with Blade, correct?" he asked, smiling.
Scarlett nodded.
"Excellent, come this way please," the man said as he gestured towards a set of tables a few feet away. "I am Alphonse Smith. I believe I spoke with you on the phone, young lady?" he introduced himself as they sat down at one of the round wooden tables.
"Scarlett and yes, you did. I appreciate you taking the time to meet with us."
"I do not mind at all and I hope your trip will be worth the trouble. I see you took my advice to heart," he said as he glanced over at Spirit.
"I like to be well prepared, Mr. Smith. This is Spirit and Snow Job," she said, introducing both of her teammates. "Is it possible for Snow Job to get the latest weather and maybe what to expect for our hike tomorrow?"
"Please, call me Alphonse. I know someone who is more informed than I, let me get Tripping Bird to call him over." He raised his voice so the receptionist could hear him. "Tipping Bird, please call Drift Finder and ask him to come to the front." The young man nodded and picked up the phone.
"If I may ask, who is Snickering Mushroom?" Spirit leaned forward, curious.
"That would be Blade. My brother was always a child that laughed at everything. One day, he was in the woods with our father and found some mushrooms, but before my father could stop him, he popped one into his mouth. While treating him, the shaman's apprentice commented that he would probably learn nothing from eating the mushroom and would just laugh it off. The shaman decided Snickering Mushroom would be an appropriate name for him."
"Now everyone just refers to him as old man 'Shroom because they think he's crazy," another man said, walking up to the table.
Alphonse sighed, "Drift Finder is correct, unfortunately. These people are going to visit Blade tomorrow and would like to know what to expect for snow shoeing conditions on the mountain. I believe it was..." he looked over to the man in question, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Snow Job," he said, as he stood up and walked towards Drift Finder. The tall Native met him halfway around the table and the two men shook hands.
"Ah, yes, forgive me. Snow Job is who you need to discuss the conditions with," continued Alphonse.
"Well, if you want to follow me to the planning room, I can go over the best route and tell you what to expect. Old 'Shroom doesn't want to be bothered, so he makes it a challenge to get to him." Snow Job nodded and both men walked down the hallway off to the right of the receptionist's desk.
The trio at the table watched the other two walk away for a moment before Alphonse spoke up again. "I took the liberty of informing the inn down the road that you would be staying the night. They have a few rooms open."
"Thank you. Do you mind showing us around while Drift Finder and Snow Job talk? I wouldn't mind seeing the exhibits you have set up in this lovely center. How about you, Spirit?" asked Scarlett.
"Yes, I would be very interested to see them," answered Spirit.
Alphonse stood up, smiling. "I would be happy to give you a tour." The two Joes stood up as well. "If you would follow me," he said as he started walking towards another hallway.
True to Alphonse's word, the inn was expecting them and they were able to get two rooms. The staff had been polite and the rooms, while bland and ordinary, were at least clean. The three Joes felt refreshed after a good night's sleep and ready to start the next part of their mission, despite the fact it was still snowing quite a bit. They were discussing the next leg of their trip while eating breakfast at a nearby diner.
"Drift Finder said the snowfall should stay about the same up higher and the biggest challenge will be not deviating from the route," Snow Job said, right before stuffing a forkful of syrup and butter laden waffle into his mouth.
"Where are we getting the snowshoes from?" asked Spirit.
Scarlett took a sip of coffee before answering. "We borrowed them from the tribe. Snow Job put them in the back of the jeep last night while you were talking with Alphonse."
"Have either of you used snowshoes before? It should be part of our cold weather training as often as Cobra puts bases in the arctic," Snow Job said, with a deep frown.
Spirit shook his head no as Scarlett said, "Yes, but it has been a while."
They finished eating and Snow Job stopped to speak with the waitress briefly while the other two went out to the jeep. They left town, ending up on a little used road they followed all the way to its end. They stopped, hopping out and going to the back of the jeep where Snow Job pulled out three pairs of snowshoes, handing a pair to Scarlett, another pair to Spirit, and keeping the third one.
"I didn't realize they looked so much like tennis rackets," commented Spirit as he strapped one on.
Snow Job shrugged as he finished putting both of his on. He pulled out the small map Drift Finder had given him and looked it over. Scarlett walked over to him and looked over his arm at it and he pointed to where they were and where they needed to go. They both looked over to their left and Scarlett sighed. There was a hill at the start of their hike.
"Are you ready to go, Spirit?" she asked. He was walking around behind them trying to get used to the snowshoes.
"Yes," he said, looking up as he finished turning around.
"Alright, we need to get over the hill. I'll start first," said Snow Job.
The other two Joes nodded. Snow Job started up the hill, kicking the toes of the shoes into the snow as he went up. Snow Job reached the top of the hill and turned around to watch the other two. Scarlett had started once he was halfway up the hill and was steadily making her way up, stumbling a little now and then. She was taking her time, making new kick steps for Spirit as she progressed. Spirit was still at the bottom of the hill. Snow Job watched as he tried going up on the steps that Scarlett had created, only to end up tripping. He caught himself before he fell, but ended up sliding back down to the bottom of the hill. He tried again, with similar results.
"Try going up sideways if the other way isn't working for you," said Snow Job, raising his voice so Spirit could hear him.
Spirit nodded, moved to a different spot and started going up sideways. He managed to make it up four or five steps and then slid down, landing on his rear this time. He got up, scowling and brushed himself off.
Scarlett made it to the top of the hill and had looked down it in time to see Spirit fall. "Don't try stopping between each step, you have to keep going," she yelled helpfully once he was standing back up.
Spirit tried again, going up the hill sideways and concentrating on not stopping. He tripped slightly several times on the tails of the shoes, but was finally able to make it to the top. Snow Job clapped him on the back of the shoulder. "It does get easier. The first hill is always a bitch."
They continued snow shoeing into the mountains, mostly going up through wooded areas with light snow. They got lost twice, once in a large clearing and the second time at the base of a cliff. Snow Job had them stop and rest both times while he figured out where they had gotten off track. It was noon when they finally arrived at a dark wooden cabin. It had a large covered porch with a single step leading to a wooden door and a light showing through the curtains of a single window to the right of the door. They looked at each other before stepping up on the porch, Spirit going up to the door to knock on it. They waited several minutes and Spirit knocked again. They heard a loud thump inside and the door finally opened up a crack.
"What do you want?" a voice growled through it.
"We are here to speak to Blade Smith," Spirit said.
"Go away. You tell those fools down at the tribe to stop sending people up here."
"We want to talk to you about your near death experience, Mr. Smith," said Scarlett.
The door opened up a little further and Blade stuck his head out of it. He looked over both Scarlett and Snow Job, scowling deeply, before looking back at Spirit. "I'm done talking. I'm tired of being the crazy man everyone finds to be fascinating. What does it take for you people to get it? I don't have some sort of mental disease! What I saw was real! Now get off my porch!" he said angrily, slamming the door shut.
Spirit knocked again. "Mr. Smith, we just want to hear about what you saw, not to judge you. We are investigating something of a similar nature," he said to the door.
The door cracked open again. "Something of a similar nature? What do you mean?" Blade asked, curious.
"Mr. Smith, if you let us come in, we can explain," said Scarlett.
"Who are you?" Blade narrowed his eyes, suspicious.
"This is Snow Job, Spirit, and-"
"Spirit. Only Spirit may come inside. You other people can stay out here," Blade interrupted Scarlett. He opened the door just enough to let Spirit though. Spirit looked at Scarlett as if to say, "What do you want to do?"
"Go ahead Spirit," sighed Snow Job. "We'll wait out here."
"Snow-"
"Drift Finder said to expect this. We'll just wait out here and drink some warm soup I had the diner pack up for us," Snow Job said, interrupting Scarlett.
"I don't like it, but alright," she said warily.
Spirit walked into the cabin. "Well Mr. Smith-"
"Call me Snickering Mushroom, young man. We use proper names in this tribe!" Blade exclaimed, closing the door.
Author's Note: While the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe is real, the characters and names are not. Any similarities or otherwise is unintentional. I am planning on updating this weekly, so we can keep things moving.