AT FIRST SIGHT
BY: DINO MONZON

Chapter One

    Scarlett gazed at the full length mirror that stood in the corner of her bedroom in her quarters at the Pit. With a casual eye, she looked herself over, satisfied at her reflection: a radiant, very beautiful young woman in her early 20s graced with long, silken red hair that was pinned back and tied in a ponytail at the nape of her neck with a dark blue ribbon, a strikingly beauteous face highlighted by flawless, magnolia-white skin that gave her a peaches and cream complexion, and intense, brilliant blue eyes that reflected kindness, warmth, generosity, confidence & a clean, wholesome sense of humor. Attired simply in a fresh white blouse under a sugar pink shirt that outline her perfect, svelte 36x24x36 figure, and a simple dark blue skirt that came to just an inch above her knees and hinted at her long, shapely slender legs. Along with sensible flats, she looked superb. Her delicate hands' fingernails were lacquered red. Apart from simple pearl earrings and a Guess wristwatch, the only piece of jewelry on her person was a small diamond ring with a finely cut 2 -carat stone that encircled the fourth finger of her left hand, signifying she was engaged to be wed.

    The young, very beautiful GI Joe Counterintelligence Specialist gave her reflection a last look then , turning away from the mirror, looked at her visitor who sat at the edge of the comfortable single bed covered in light blue. "Well, Jinx," Scarlett asked lightly, her voice confidently friendly, absent of any trace of vanity, " do you think Snake-Eyes will approve my outfit for tonight?"

    Jinx laughed lightly at her best friend's query. "Oh, I'm sure he will, Scarlett. Don't fret. You know Snake-Eyes thinks the world of you."

    Jinx was a tall, strikingly lovely young woman. A few weeks past 23, she was a whip-slender lady graced with sleek, jet-black shoulder-length hair and a delicately lovely face, with warm hazel-brown eyes that hinted at her Japanese-American heritage. Unlike Scarlett, who was dressed in mufti for a pleasant evening out with her fiancé, she was outfitted in her traditional dark red Ninja gi which was emblazoned with a black dragon over her heart , along with a silk blue sash that encircled her slim waist- her usual field outfit as the Ninja/Intelligence operative of the GI Joe Team. The Ninja uniform form fitted -actually hugged- Jinx's figure and made her look rather sexy, though she never personally regarded herself as being pretty. Her red Ninja facemask hung loosely behind the back of her tunic from the collar of her outfit.

    Scarlett smiled slightly at that remark. "Thanks for letting me know that, Joan. I-It means a lot to me."

    "I'm just saying the truth, Shana." Jinx said with a grin. She gazed at her friend. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear you were nervous about tonight."

    She knew Scarlett quite well. In fact they were the best of friends who shared a tight, sisterly bond. A bond forged, in part, from the ties they shared with one particular GI Joe.

    Scarlett didn't bother to deny it. "I guess I am at that, Jinx. After all, it's been quite a while since Snake-Eyes and I shared some quality time together. And after that last mission I went on... well, you know how that went down..."

    Jinx understood her friend's position. Scarlett had just recovered from a particularly hazardous solo mission to rescue an ASEAN military attaché being held captive by the Red Chinese in the Spratly Islands, the group of territories being jointly contested by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, & a couple of other Asian nations. Scarlett had been assigned to covertly penetrate the Chinese area of the islands and quietly ascertain whether or not the attaché was still alive and if so to rescue him & get him out of Indian territory ASAP. Unfortunately, the 'kidnapped attaché' was a carefully rigged red herring set up by the Chinese to entice US involvement & set the United States up to make it appear it was openly interfering in the proper development of the Spratlys-in direct violation of the Manila Declaration- an easy enough case to set up considering that America's only allies in the South China Sea was the Philippines and Taiwan.

    As it turned out, Scarlett unknowingly waltzed into the Chinese ambush, getting captured on her fourth day on the islands when she ran into a nasty trio of operatives who were members of Red China's version of the US Navy SEALs. The two man, one woman team, were dangerously ready, and had taken her after running her ragged-then engaging her in hand-to-hand combat till they overpowered her and beat her unconscious.

    Scarlett had spent five days a prisoner in the Chinese zone where her captors-supervised by a PLA Major had tried to break her through drugs and physical hardship. Thankfully they didn't dare attempt to sexually abuse her-though of her guards tried to rape her after a particularly cruel interrogation session. Scarlett fought him off and inadvertently killed her would be tormentor. She then bided her time then managed to escape, commandeer a patrol boat and make her way to the Philippine area-after first settling a score with her torturers and escaping with a cache of classified documents detailing their plan to set up a missile base on their area of the island & threaten their Asian neighbors.

    Scarlett spent ten days recovering from her ordeal at the American Embassy in Manila after which she quietly left the country & headed back to the States. Hawk had been apologetic during the mission debriefing. The GI Joe Team Commander rarely fell for bad intelligence and had been appalled at what Scarlett went through. He ordered her to take a month's leave and restricted her to light duty so that she could fully recover. He also had her consult Psyche-Out, the GI Joe Psychological Warfare expert so that she could exorcise the trauma she went through.

    Scarlett had been grateful for her Commander's concern. And she received further comfort from Snake-Eyes and Jinx as well as her other friends in the team. But that was in the past now, she knew. And it was time she spent quality time with Snake-Eyes . Maybe he can help her complete her recovery. All this passed through Jinx's mind. And as she studied her friend, she can't help but wish she had been with Scarlett during that fiasco. 'Better it had happened to me instead of Scarlett...', she thought sadly. Her best friend didn't deserve to be treated like an animal by those bastards... She decided to take her mind off the subject.

    Scarlett sighed. "Well, I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be this evening, Jinx. " She managed a smile. "By the way, thanks for agreeing to run S2 while I'm gone." In addition to her duties as the Counterintelligence Specialist of the G.I. Joe Team , Scarlett was 'double- hatted' as the unit's Staff Intelligence Officer, essentially the third most important member in the GI Joe General Staff.

    "Don't worry about that tonight, Scarlett," Jinx said reassuringly. "What's important is that you have a good time. I understand Snake-Eyes will take you to dinner and then a movie. How romantic."

    Scarlett laughed. "Yeah. Isn't it? I talked Snake-Eyes into our watching that new Tom Cruise/Harrison Ford/Sandra Bullock & Sean Connery flick. it looks great."

    "Well, have fun." The Ninja meant it. Jinx was an only child in her family and she regarded Scarlett as her surrogate 'elder sister' , though there was only a five day difference in their birthdays.

    A knock sounded on the door.

    "Well, I guess that's Snake-Eyes." Scarlett said warmly. "C'mon, Jinx. Let's not keep him waiting."

    Jinx nodded. The girls left the bedroom and headed for the door. Scarlett opened the door and found Snake-Eyes waiting outside, just as she expected.

    "Good evening, Shana," Snake-Eyes gestured in sign language. The GI Joe Team's resident Commando was attired in a simple cream jacket over a black turtleneck and black slacks. A pair of mirrored aviator styled glasses shielded his gray eyes. His rugged recently restored face wasn't particularly handsome-like say Flint's- still, Scarlett couldn't care less. She had always loved him for who her lover was.

    "Hi, John," Scarlett said warmly. "I'm ready whenever you are."

    "You look great." Snake-Eyes dearly wished he could speak then. If only to tell his fiancée how beautiful she was. Given that Scarlett usually wore a snug yellow orange and violet leotard styled jumpsuit, he sometimes forgot how all the more exquisite she looked when in mufti.

    "Oh, I bet you say that to all the girls." Scarlett said teasingly.

    "Only if they happen to look like you-or Jinx."

    Scarlett laughed understandingly. She understood the ties her lover shared with her best friend. Jinx blushed at hearing her sensei-her mentor- compliment her. She had known Snake-Eyes on & off for years since he studied the Ninja arts with her family in Japan. When her parents later asked Snake-Eyes to be her guardian, he had helped her in her martial arts training as well as look after her while she finished her studies in Business Finance over at Byrne Mawr. And after she later joined the Army, she had been surprised-and pleased -when Snake-Eyes later recruited her for the GI Joe anti-terrorist strike force. Since then she often tried her best to make him proud of her.

    Snake-Eyes smiled. A rare thing he did. "Well, let's get going then." He turned to Jinx. "Now, don't stay up past your bedtime, Joan."

    "Sensei!" Jinx smiled nonetheless. Snake Eyes was so protective of her. "Well, have a great time, you two. You deserve to."

    "We'll try." Snake Eyes signaled. He and Scarlett took their leave.

    Jinx watched them go. In her heart of hearts she wondered if she'll be so fortunate in finding a lover. To be sure, she shared a brother-sister bond with Lieutenant Falcon, the GI Joe Green Beret, but it still too early in their relationship to be so certain. At best they had a good working relationship, and a strictly platonic relationship. She hoped she would be as lucky in love as Scarlett was.

______________________________________________________

Continued in Part Two!
Back to Dino's Fics!
Back to Authors Page!