Inside General Hawk's office, the Alpha team was busy giving their accounts of the mission. Heavy Duty and Scarlett did most of the talking, with Breaker adding in a few details. Snake Eyes stood just off the side, listening. Scarlett and Breaker sat in the two mahogany chairs while Heavy Duty and Snake Eyes stood just behind them. General Hawk sat behind his large desk, listening intently.

When they had finished, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. Blue eyes shifted to each of their faces. "Now, tell me what happened when you first encountered Midnight's Shadow," he said in a commanding tone.

Scarlett was just about to open her mouth to answer, but stopped. She looked over at Breaker questioningly. He had actually been the first to see and talk to her, so maybe he should speak first. The Moroccan noticed her gaze and cleared his throat as he looked at the general. "Well, sir, I saw her running into the woods being chased by several of the terrorists. She must have escaped on her own in the middle of the fight. I made sure to radio that I had found her," Breaker said. He cast a look behind him at Heavy Duty.

The British man nodded in confirmation. "He did. Scarlett and Snake Eyes were sent in to intercept them."

"Right. Snake and I got there and began to fight the soldiers while she kept running. But while we were fighting, some of the soldiers split up and went after her. We made sure to finish off the terrorists in front of us before we went after her," Scarlett told him. She looked briefly behind her to see Snake Eyes nodded in agreement before turning back around.

"Alright. What then?" General Hawk encouraged.

"I managed to intercept her before she went too far into the forest. Understandably, she was untrusting and kept her distance. She asked several questions that I could not answer, which didn't exactly help. I managed to close the distance between us without spooking her, but…I probably shouldn't have done that." Breaker grimaced and looked down at his hands clasped in his laps, twiddling his fingers.

"What happened?" the general asked in a way that sounded more like an order.

"She….uhh….she took me down," the Moroccan responded rather sheepishly.

Scarlett let out a breathy laugh. "Seriously?" she grinned.

Heavy Duty took a step forward, a wide smirk on his face. "Let me see if I understand this correctly, a 100 pound girl took you out?" he asked.

",,,,yes," Breaker admitted slowly.

The other Joes broke out into a light laughter at the Moroccan's expense. The general was the first to stop, waving his hand through the air to make the others stop as well. "I think perhaps you should spend a little more time on the self-defense course, Breaker," Hawk advised, a smile still on his face.

Breaker lowered his dark brown gaze, nodding. "Yes, sir," he replied.

General Hawk turned his attention back to the other Joes, his expression hard and focused as it normally was. He laced his fingers together, letting his elbows rest on the desk and his chin resting on his hands, his gaze steady on his soldiers. "What happened next?"

"Well," Scarlett glanced over her shoulder at Snake Eyes before turning back to the general. "Snake and I intercepted some of the soldiers pursuing her, but some of them managed to elude us while we were focused on the others and resume their pursuit. By the time we caught up, we came upon Midnight's Shadow standing among the bodies of those same soldiers."

"How many?"

"Four," Breaker answered. "I was still recovering from her attacking me. She took them all out so fast." The Moroccan jerked his chin over his shoulder at the silent ninja behind him. "It kind of reminded me of Snake."

This seemed to pique the interest of General Hawk. "Really?"

Breaker nodded.

"Sir." The Hawk's eyes shifted to Scarlett. "The way she looked when we came up….it was like she couldn't believe what she had just done. After talking to her a little, we found out why." The red head paused, biting her lip a little. "She has no memory."

General Hawk leaned back in his seat. "Amnesia? You're sure? This isn't some attempt to avoid questioning?"

Scarlett shook her head. "It doesn't seem to be. I questioned her a little on the plane. She was more than willing to give any and all information she had- the stuff that she could remember at least."

"And? Does she know who these terrorists were? Or why they were holding her captive?" the general inquired.

Once again, the red head shook her head. "Shadow didn't know."

Hawk sighed and was silent for a moment. "Are we entirely sure that this is not an act?"

Scarlett was about to open her mouth to answer, but Heavy Duty interrupted her. "No, sir. I don't think this is an act. She appears to be genuine, but there is no way to be entirely sure."

The general nodded in agreement to this. He brought up a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I suppose we'll just have to see what the doctors say after their examination." His hand fell back down onto his lap. "Well, if that's all, you're dismissed. Be sure to write a written report."

Heavy Duty, Snake Eyes, Breaker, and Scarlett all saluted. The men turned towards the office door to leave, but Scarlett remained seated. The others paused at the door, looking back at their comrade with confusion. General Hawk noticed that she had remained and looked at her with his hard blue eyes. "Is there more to report?" he asked.

"No, sir," the red head replied.

"Then what is it?"

"I'd like to recommend her," Scarlett answered very simply.

The general scoffed, a light smile on his face. He looked at the young woman as if she had just said the craziest thing he had ever heard. "For all we know, she's a mole from the terrorists and you want to recommend her to be one of the Joes?" he asked incredulously.

"If she proves not to be a mole, which I am entirely sure she is not, I recommend that we extend her an invitation to join our ranks."

Hawk folded his hands across his chest and leaned back in his chair, regarding the red head with a critical eye. "And why should we do such a thing? I mean, what's the reasoning here?" he inquired with a hard tone.

"Well," Scarlett cleared her throat. "She's going to have to be kept here for the foreseeable future. We can't just let her go, otherwise the terrorists would simply find her and capture her once again, which with their funding will most certainly be easy. Also, we need her to stay and give any info, input, and knowledge she has on the terrorists so that we can catch them. As far as we know, she's the only one who knows anything about them. In addition, it would be inhumane for us to simply toss her out without a memory. Besides, if she starts to recover it, we may find out more about these terrorists and what they wanted with her."

General Hawk nodded as she spoke. "I agree, but I still don't see why that means why we should make her a Joe."

"Simple. Her skill in battle is like nothing we have seen since Snake Eyes," she jerked a thumb over her shoulder at a certain Moroccan man," according to Breaker. She could be a real asset to the team. And by extending an invitation, it may encourage her to trust us a little more," Scarlett reasoned.

The general was silent as he regarded the red headed woman. Finally, he sighed. "Very well. She has to pass all of the usual tests to assess the extent of her skills and abilities. I will leave that up to the four of you," Hawk pointed a finger at the entirety of the Alpha team. "If she sufficiently passes the tests, she will become a Joe. If not, she will be kept as an advisor and under a type of witness protection until we neutralize the threat that these terrorists pose. Is that clear?"

"Crystal clear, sir," Scarlett answer firmly. She raised her hand to her forehead to salute before returning it to her side. She rose from her seat and began to walk to the door to join the rest of her team.

"And Scarlett?" The woman stopped and turned to look at the general. "What makes you think she would even accept the offer to join us? You said yourself that Midnight's Shadow doesn't trust us."

The red head paused and considered it for a moment before shrugged. "I can't say, sir. I just thing she will accept any opportunity to get of another cell and find some answers."

General Hawk nodded. "Dismissed."

Then, the Alpha walked through the threshold of the door, shutting it securely behind them, and began to head down the hall towards their quarters.

"Thanks for that, Scarlett. Just when I thought she was going to become someone else's problem, she becomes ours again," Heavy Duty commented dryly as he walked, looking sideways at the red head.

Scarlett smiled lightly as she looked at the British man. "Admit it, Heavy. You wanted to help her, too."

"Yeah. When it was our mission. Now she's in custody and it isn't our problem to help anymore. I feel for the girl. I really do. But I don't see why she needs to become a Joe." He held up his hand as Scarlett started to reply. "And don't say it's because of her fighting abilities. There are hundreds of soldiers throughout the world that get passed over to join and I'm sure they can fight just as well as she can. That doesn't make her Joe material."

Scarlett lightly patted the other's muscular shoulder. "Hence the tests," she smiled. Before he could reply, she headed down the hallway towards her room.

Heavy Duty watched her walk away for a moment before sighing and rolling his eyes. He began to stride down the hallway after her. Snake Eyes and Breaker exchanged a look before following after them.