"Uuunnnnhhh... M-my head..." Scarlett moaned softly she regained
consciousness, all too aware that her head throbbed sharply- a painful
reminder of the nasty blow to the head she recieved earlier.
Scarlett wondered how long she remained unconscious. Apart from the
splitting headache, she felt very dizzy. Her intense, cobalt blue eyes
fluttered open and everything spun hazily before her. Slowly, her vision
cleared and she realized she was lying on her back, and found herself gazing
up a row of recessed flourescent lights set high on the ceiling in a room of
sorts. She assessed herself.
Scarlett found herself lying spread-eagled on a laboratory table, secured by
her wrists and ankles to its corners by blue colored strands of flex.
Tentatively, she tried her strength against her bonds. They held fast,
sharply biting through her gloves and boots. She gave up the effort. Cobra
wasn't taking chances with her, she realized. A notch of pain knifed sharply
through her head then. "Ooowwww..." she whispered.
"Ah. Sleeping Beauty's finally awake," cooed an unmistakably familiar voice.
Scarlett recognized the distinct European accent. She turned her head to the
left.
Sure enough, the Baroness of Cobra stood there, a cruel smile on her face,
the light catching the highlights of her long shoulder-length blue-black
hair, as she regarded her. "Had a nice nap, dear Scarlett?" she asked
mockingly.
"I-I don't remember being given a choice," Scarlett said disdainfully.
She again tried her luck against her bonds.
The Baroness chuckled, relishing the sight of Scarlett a helpless captive.
"Don't bother struggling, dear, sweet Scarlett. I made sure that my Alley
Vipers made no mistake in tying you up. You're going nowhere."
Scarlett tuned out the Baroness' words. She glanced around the room she was
being held in. From the array of empty work tables set against the wall and
the mounted shelves set over them, along with the original U.S. Navy
blueprints of the facilities on Shadow Island she and Snake-Eyes had on hand
to study while in transit on board the San Francisco, she surmised she was
being held in the main building's medical lab. A glimpse to right side of
the table revealed a small trolley which held an array of drugs and a couple
of syringes, along with a slender, metallic rod resembling a standard
pointer used in conducting mission briefings. At the door to the room, a
lone Cobra Battle Android Trooper stood guard.
It was enough. Scarlett held no illusions that the Baroness intended to
interrogate her for information on her mission and on what she knew about
G.I. Joe operations.
She drew a breath. At least the CD ROM disk she acquired from the Computer
Room was safe; during the chase with Cobra's Security Forces, she took
advantage of the head start she had to cache her backpack-along with the
diskette- inside one of the building's many air vents. As she did so, she
also activated a secure frequency locator beacon and left it inside her pack
as well. With any luck, Snake-Eyes - after seeing his part of the mission
through- will be able to home in on the signal and retrieve the CD-ROM. Regardless
what happened to her, the mission would succeed.
All she had to do was to hold out against whatever drugs the Baroness may
use on her-or whatever torments she may have in mind to inflict on her
person.
Scarlett though briefly of Snake-Eyes then. She hoped he encountered no
mishaps in doing his part of the mission. 'Don't worry, girl,' she told
herself. Snake-Eyes' a pro. He'll do his part. He won't let the team down.'
"Now, let's get on to business, my dear," the Baroness was saying. She
approached Scarlett and asked in mock pleasantness: "While you were in
dreamland, I had the Computer Room looked over and we couldn't find the CD
you filched. Where, pray tell, is it?"
"What are you talking about, Baroness?" Scarlett asked, her voice all
innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't know you were
into collecting CDs nowadays. Who's your favorite? I prefer David Pomarenz
and Frank Sinatra myself..."
The Baroness flushed at the gibe remark. "Why you insolent tart!" she drew
back a leather gloved hand and delivered a vicious backhanded slap across
Scarlett's face.
"Aahh!" Scarlett cried out as the sharp blow connected. A wave of nausea
came over her.
The Baroness smirked. "Not so feisty now, are you?" she taunted. She
reached over and yanked at Scarlett's tousled red hair, forcing her to look up to
her. "Don't try my patience, Scarlett. You won't like seeing me angry. Tell
me what I want to know and I just might let you live. Now, spill it!" she
let go Scarlett's head, letting it slump to the cold tabletop surface.
"O-O' Hara, S-Shana Michelle," Scarlett said dazedly. "Staff Sergeant,
United States Army Special Ops. Romeo Alpha
Two-four-two-nine-six-seven-four-three-four. July 11, Nineteen S-s-"
"Spare me that Geneva Convention crap!" snarled the Baroness. "I want to
know where you hid that disk! What your mission is!"
"Get a life, Baroness!" Scarlett retorted sharply, her eyes defiant. "You're
not getting anything useful out of me!"
"We'll see about that," said the Baroness. She went around the table and
going over to the trolley, took one of the syringes. It was already filled
with a clear liquid, and she cleared it of air bubbles. She then came up to
Scarlett.
"More fun and games, Baroness?" Scarlett asked nonchalantly. Still, she felt
butterflies in her stomach as she saw the prepped syringe. Silently, she
wondered if she could hold out-really hold out to a prolonged chemical
interrogation. Things looked bad.
"You could say that," the Baroness said coolly. She next asked
conversationally: "Tell me, Scarlett, are you still a virgin?"
"What?!" The question threw Scarlett off guard.
"You heard me." the Baroness said calmly. "Are you still as pure as
proverbial driven snow? Never amused anyone with your charms?" She fixed a
cold gaze at her then.
Scarlett met her gaze steadily. If the Baroness thought of her as a woman
with loose morals, she was in for a surprise.
The Baroness read Scarlett's thoughts. A cold smile came to her lips. "Ah.
still virtuous, I see. Good." She held up the syringe. "I was afraid you
weren't. That would've made my next move less satisfying."
"W-what do you mean?" Scarlett asked warily. She suddenly felt very uneasy.
"Simply this, my dear..." the Baroness said coldly. "Either you cooperate
and tell me what I want to know, or I give you a jab of this- a VERY potent
anesthetic that will send you off to dreamland. And while you sleep, I'll
have my men ENJOY themselves with you!"
Scarlett felt as if she just got punched in the stomach. "You wouldn't
dare," she said, going pale. "Even you wouldn't stoop that low, Baroness-"
"Oh, wouldn't I?" sneered the Baroness, smiling. "I promised to break you,
my dear. And I will." She came up to Scarlett.
"N-no!" Scarlett futilely struggled against the coils of flex that pinned
her to the table. Please, she thought, don't let her do this...
She felt heartsick. I-if only Snake-Eyes were here...
The Baroness laughed. "Not very brave now, eh?" Her free hand reached down
to pull back the collar of Scarlett's outfit...
The overhead lights began to flicker and blink then. Then they faded out to
resume at half their usual brightness.
"What the-" the Baroness snarled.
Just then, a dull roar sounded over the door. The Baroness turned, in time
to see the door getting blown off its hinges from a barrage of 9mm slugs.
Her eyes widened in shock as the bullet-riddled door collapsed and through
the smoke-filled haze entered...
"Snake-Eyes!" Scarlett felt a surge of relief come over her as she saw the
G.I. Joe Commando rush in, his Uzi shooting bursts of high powered ammo into
the room to destroy the lab furnishings.
"The gallant knight charging in to rescue the fair princess,eh?" the
Baroness said coldly. Seeing Snake-Eyes' attention move to Scarlett and
herself, she smiled. Then: "BAT! deal with the intruder! Kill him!"
"Snake-Eyes! Look out! Behind you!" Scarlett cried out as she remembered the
B.A.T. and saw it move swiftly, bringing its AK-47 rifle to bear on her
lover from behind-
* * * * * * * * *
"Snake-Eyes! No! No!" Scarlett cried out fitfully as her blue eyes snapped
open and she sat up in her bed. "W-what? Wh-where am I?" she wondered, her
voice a hoarse whisper. Then she recognized her surroundings and realized
she was safe in her quarters in the Pit. J-just a nightmare, she told
herself. She placed a hand to her heart which was racing. Slowly, she willed
herself to calm down. It wasn't easy.
"It's all right, girl, " she told herself. "You were just remembering your
session with the Baroness." Still, it certainly seemed real. The mission to
Shadow Island must have hit her harder than she thought. Small comfort that,
she reflected.
Sighing, she swung her slender legs to the floor. Unconsciously, she
smoothed her hair. "Face it, girl," she told herself. "If it wasn't for
Snake-Eyes, you'd be..." she couldn't finish the thought.
She wondered how Snake-Eyes coped with the mission's aftermath. "Probably a
whole lot better than me, that's for sure." she thought sadly.
Scarlett knew better than to wonder why she felt the way she did. Snake-Eyes
again came to her rescue during the mission. "I owe him so much," she
realized "And what have I ever done for him in return?"
Absently, she drew her attention to the framed photo on her nightstand. It
was a snapshot of Snake-Eyes and herself, taking shortly after their first
combat mission as a team a few years ago.
"Was I really that young?" she wondered. Five years seemed so long ago. At
the time the photo was taken, Snake-Eyes wasn't wearing a concealing black
face mask. Instead, the photo revealed his slate-gray eyes peering out from
a standard face mask-without the goggles.
Scarlett fondly remembered the first mission she and Snake-Eyes undertook
together as a team. It involved providing security for a defecting high
ranking member of the Stavka- the then Soviet Union's Military High Command.
A mission which led them into East Berlin to see the General escape over the
Berlin Wall and to freedom. The officer in question had, ironically, been
Hawk' counterpart and was the founder of the October Guard.
Scarlett remembered how she took pride in being part of that op. She and
Snake-Eyes proved to be such an effective team that Hawk consequently
assigning them to the same assignments as time went by.
Of course, Scarlett had no idea how much pain and tragedy would come their
way then. "Everything was so simple and easy then," she mused.
Scarlett sighed. She wondered if Snake-Eyes felt the same way from time to
time. She searched her feelings and realized how right Hawk was earlier. She
had to speak to Snake-Eyes and clear her conscience with him on how she
felt. He was always honest with her. She could do no less.
She just hoped her honesty wouldn't cost her his love.
* * * * * * *
In his quarters, Snake-Eyes concluded his meditations. He was getting to his
feet and wondering why he kept sensing Scarlett was in trouble when a knock
sounded on his door. He crossed the floor and opened it.
"Hi, Snake-Eyes," Scarlett said lightly, a smile on her beauteous face. "I
hope I'm not bothering you."
Snake-Eyes shook his head. "It's all right, Scarlett. "He motioned inside.
"Please, come in."
"Thanks." Scarlett entered. "I needed to have a talk with you."
"What's the matter, Scarlett?" Snake-Eyes asked, sensing something was
bothering his fiancée. He indicated an easy chair. "Please, have a seat."
Scarlett nodded her thanks. She sat down. "I was thinking about the mission
to Shadow Island," she explained. "I can't forget how you came to my
rescue-again. Thank you. I-I guess that's one more I owe you."
"You don't owe me anything, Scarlett." Snake-Eyes told her. "After all, I
was only looking out for you. We're a team, remember?"
"Some team." Scarlett said sadly. "I usually end up getting in trouble and
you have to come to my rescue." She smiled ruefully. "Sometimes I wonder if
I'm doing you any good at all as your partner."
Snake-Eyes noted the sadness in Scarlett's voice. "You're being way too hard
on yourself, Scarlett." he signaled.
"Am I?" Scarlett asked. "Snake-Eyes, you've always come to my rescue. Aren't
you fed up with saving my life all the time? I'm supposed to be your
partner, instead I wind up falling into a trap and getting rescued like a
comic strip heroine." She looked up to him then. "I guess what I'm trying to
say is, I'm sorry. Sorry I'm not as good as I used to be as your partner.
And I'm sorry I've let you down so much. I guess I'm not the perfect,
special girl you often think me to be.' She smiled sadly. "Still, I-I hope
we can still be friends... I hope you can still love me."
Snake-Eyes came over and took her hand, easing her up to feet. "It's
alright, Scarlett. I never felt you've let me down. Don't be so hard on
yourself. Everybody gets a bad break every once in a while. Nobody's
perfect."
"But I owe you so much. " Scarlett reminded him. "What have I ever done to
repay you?"
"You've always been a very good friend," Snake-Eyes reminded her. "You're
one of the few real friends I have in this outfit. I guess I never told you
that. Or that you've always inspired me whenever things get nasty in a
mission. "
"I-I didn't know you felt that way about me..." Scarlett said softly.
"I do," Snake-Eyes said sincerely. "Don't doubt yourself, Scarlett. You've
always seen a rough assignment through. I believe in you. I know you still
has what it takes to be my partner."
Scarlett felt her earlier misgivings fall away at hearing her lover's re
assurance. "Thanks, pal." she said softly. "I guess I just needed to hear
that from you."
Snake-Eyes gently embraced her. Scarlett didn't mind. She knew in her heart
of hearts she was safe in Snake-Eyes' company.
An idea came to her then. "Can I ask a favor of you, Snake-Eyes?" she asked
after he broke the embrace.
"What's on your mind?" Snake-Eyes asked, knowing that whatever Scarlett
wanted, he wouldn't deny it to her.
"Would you train me as a Ninja?" Scarlett asked. "I want to be able to
improve my combat skills. I-I want to be able to hold my own and fight at
your side as I really ought to as your partner."
Snake-Eyes nodded. "I'll be happy to teach you. I'm sure you'll do just
fine."
"Thanks, pal." In her heart, Scarlett knew then that everything would be all
right. And that no matter what came up, she and Snake-Eyes would see it
through together. As a team.
~End~