BURDEN OF
AUTHORITY
BY: DANI
Caught Red Handed
"Pick it up, Joes! You look like a bunch of raw recruits… this ain't
basic training!" The echoing shouts of Sgt. Slaughter's taunts
filled the air as the Joes started their 18th lap. Worrying that the
team was getting a bit lax in regards to their physical training
regiment, Hawk decided to indoctrinate his team to the
Slaughterhouse. He knew Slaughter was one of the harshest
drill instructors in the military, and he grinned as he surveyed the
Joes rounding their laps. Most seemed to be handling the
endurance well, albeit with looks of tortured pain on their faces
at the monotony of circling the track; others seemed to really be
struggling. Hawk wasn't surprised. Some of the Joes took their
physical training more seriously than others. The stragglers
were huffing as they rounded the track; Hawk knew they would
be in for a great deal more punishment by the end of the day.
Slaughter had quite the regiment in store for them. Five miles
on the track followed immediately by a full speed run through the
obstacle training course, then it was straight into one of the
harshest callisthenic programs in the military. Slaughter wasn't
one to cut anyone any slack; if you wavered at all, you were
subjected to even more tortuous physical punishments.
Everyone always did what the Sarge ordered. Period. The
repercussions were too chilling to even imagine.
Flint found himself pacing Duke—the two CO's leading the
pack. Distance running was a breeze for him, although he'd
never enjoyed it. In high school, the track coach had clamored to
get him to go out for the team, but he just hated the boredom of
running in circles. "Stay to the right and hurry back" was always
his joke. It was all a question of God-given skill. You were either
fast or you weren't. Sure you could develop your talents, but
there was no real element of strategy. He preferred sports that
challenged the intellect as well as physical prowess. Baseball
had always been a favorite of his, and he had excelled through
high school, but he had given it up when he went to college.
Being in England, he experimented with Cricket, but it just wasn't
the same. Inevitably, he found himself pursuing individual
sports as a pastime, but he always missed the competitive
nature of team sport. Maybe that's why he felt so at home in the
military. It really was just one big team sport, only a lot more
serious and with big guns and grenades instead of bats and
balls.
As he rounded the corner of their final lap, Duke began to pour it
on, challenging Flint in a race to the finish. Flint, never one to
pass up a blatant demonstration of masculine bravado, pushed
himself towards the finish, muscles burning as he crossed the
finish line mere fractions of a second behind Duke. As he
struggled to catch his breath, Flint noticed Duke wheezing a bit
as well as he walked over. "Better luck next time, Flint," he
smiled between breaths.
"The day's not over yet, Duke…" Flint countered as he began to
regain his composure. He had always considered himself on
equal ground with Duke when it came to command ability, but
Duke had just been the lucky one and promoted through the
ranks more quickly. It seemed like Flint was always a step
behind, even before they joined this team. He had spent almost
his entire career in Duke's shadow. He owed Duke a lot… heck,
it was Duke who recruited him into the Joe team in the first
place. But there was always that little tinge of jealousy; that little
voice in the back of his head that reminded him of every time
Duke had edged him out. Flint always felt like he was in a battle
to prove himself.
"You know if you two put half the effort into fighting Cobra that you
do on these little testosterone challenges, we'd have defeated
them a long time ago," Scarlett smiled as she adjusted her
ponytail.
Flint noticed the wry look she gave Duke and grinned inwardly.
He glanced over at Duke and caught him staring at her as he
caught his breath, his face lit up just at the sound of her voice. It
was pretty obvious that the two had feelings for each other, but
they seemed to be mired in the same pit that he once was. Duty.
Obligation. Orders. Throwing happiness away for rules and
regulations. It just seemed so absurd to him now. He
wondered how he had ever let himself get caught up in it all. He
was about to say something profound in an attempt to awaken
Duke and Scarlett from their perceived constraints when
Slaughter jogged up.
"Not too bad you maggots!" Slaughter yelled in their faces, "But if
you want to beat Cobra you're going to have to push yourselves
a lot harder than that! Now double time it to the obstacle
course… one two! ONE TWO!"
* * * * * * * *
"Man, I need a shower," Steeler gasped, exhausted.
"A shower?" Shipwreck replied, "I need an Oxygen IV…"
Shipwreck hadn't fared well during the day long debacle, and he
was too tired to move. He had collapsed in the corner of the
locker room, feeling the muscles in his body twinge.
"That's what you get for being a lazy sailor," Clutch taunted.
"If I had the energy to get up I'd smack you for that one,"
Shipwreck laughed in return.
"Ol' Slaughterhouse really stuck it to us, didn't he?" Ace
commented, toweling himself off. "I can't remember the last
time I did so much running."
"I can," Alpine jeered, "Last time I caught you cheating at
cards…"
Laughter filled the room; even after a day of hellish torment in the
Slaughterhouse, the Joes still had room to joke and jeer with
each other. But the laughter came to an immediate halt the
second Duke entered the room. It wasn't that Duke wouldn't
approve of a little healthy camaraderie, but the men had respect
for his presence; Duke would always command their complete
and total attention.
"I've never seen a sorrier bunch of soldiers," Duke began, his
stiff demeanor suggested that he meant business. The Joes
began to worry that their CO was disappointed somehow with
their day of work, given Duke's staunch expression, but their
worries lifted as a smile crossed his face. "Not a bad day of
work, gentlemen. What say we wash those cuts and bruises
away with a round down at The Bear?"
Cheers abounded as plans were made to meet at the local
Brewpub. Duke might have his stiff side when he was
commanding a mission, but he knew when to ease off and give
his men a well-deserved night off. Heck, he could use a Pale
Ale himself right about now…
* * * * * * * *
The Bear…
The festivities were already in full swing when Flint walked
through the door. There was a great blues band playing and the
guys were enjoying every minute of it. By the looks of it, more
than one round had already been served. When Flint heard the
music, he began to feel at ease. There was nothing better for
soothing the soul than some down home blues. As the sweet
sounds of "Mannish Boy" echoed through the pub, he found
himself feeling glad he had come. He walked up to the bar and
ordered a Stout. He'd come to find out that Lady Jaye loved that
pale crap but he couldn't stomach it. He'd gotten too
accustomed to drinking Black and Tan's during his Oxford days
and if it was any lighter than a Bass he thought it tasted terrible.
Guinness had become his beer of choice ever since Watney's
went under, but it just wasn't the same here in America… there
was just something about luke warm Guinness that just tasted
better when you were in Ireland. He had actually been a bit
surprised that Lady Jaye had never acquired a taste for it during
her years at Trinity. She maintained that it just tasted like stale
burnt coffee and couldn't understand his passion for it. He
supposed there were just some gaps that would never be
bridged.
Beer in hand, Flint decided to blend into the background. His
quads were still aching with every step. Of course he was far
from out of shape, but it had been a while since his body had
been blasted the way it was today. He knew that after a few
beers they'd start to loosen up. Scanning the crowd of his
colleagues, he finally found the person he was looking for. A
tinge of jealousy welled up inside him as he noticed her talking
to the lead saxophone player from the blues band that was now
taking a well deserved break. He suppressed the urge to walk
over; even though most Joes had an inkling that he had an
attraction to Lady Jaye, Flint was pretty sure they had no idea of
the dramatic turn of events in their relationship. They'd both
discussed it time and again in public, it was business as
usual. The more professional they appeared in front of others,
the less the forces of regulatory discipline would usurp their
desires. But despite his efforts, he still found himself staring at
her. It was rather hard not to; even though she was dressed
casually—jeans, a silky blue form-fitting blouse—she looked
fantastic…
"One of these days this little obsession of yours is going to get
you in trouble, buddy." Duke nudged Flint in the arm, snapping
him out of his directed gaze.
"Caught red-handed," Flint chuckled in return. He supposed he
had been pretty obvious in his staring, but he knew Duke had no
clue whatsoever how accurate his statement might prove to be.
"Take my advice, Flint," Duke put his arm on Flint's shoulder,
"put it out of your mind. It's not worth driving yourself crazy about
things that are totally out of your reach."
Smiling inwardly but keeping an absolute staunch expression,
Flint turned to face his CO, "I suppose you're right, Duke."
"Come on, buddy, let me buy you another drink."
As they approached to bar, the music started back up again.
Flint recognized the Jimmy Reed song immediately. It had been
covered by so many people in the past and was almost a staple
of any good blues band. But when the vocals began, he stopped
dead in his tracks. His shock was not simply at the fact that the
song was being done by a woman, heck Etta James had
produced an almost definitive version of the song, but there was
something immediately recognizable about that voice.
Duke had stopped dead too, both of them turning to face the
stage, their jaws agape. In the most seductively deep and sultry
voice he had ever heard, Lady Jaye was standing at the mike
belting out one of the most searing renditions of "Baby What You
Want Me To Do" that Flint had ever heard. He was absolutely
speechless. Lady Jaye had mentioned once or twice that she
used to sing, but he had never really taken it seriously; she had
never expounded on it, so he hadn't asked her to. But to see this
just floored him.
For a few moments, the entire room was silent with shock as
everyone listened, but it soon exploded into cheers and raves,
whistles and shouts in support of their teammate's newly
revealed abilities. The dance floor was crowded with Joes
dancing, swaying, and whooping it up, and as the song
continued, Lady Jaye really began to throw down.
"Unbelievable," Duke commented, "I never knew she could
sing."
"I knew she could sing," Flint's lopsided grin permeated his
composure, "I just never knew she could sing like THIS!"
"Maybe we should monitor her alcohol intake from now on,"
Duke smiled.
"Duke, if this is the result," Flint chuckled, "I think we ought to
drown her in liquor." It was almost surreal, seeing Lady Jaye up
there on the stage, singing with the passion and growl of Koko
Taylor but the finesse and smootheness of Billie Holiday. The
Joes smashed together, trying to be the closest one to the
stage, hollering and whistling as Lady Jaye sauntered around
the microphone. What the hell was she doing in the military?
She could have made a serious career out of this! Heck, she
even had stage presence. What he wouldn't give for a private
concert…
"Well Flint, here's your excuse to gawk some more." Duke
taunted, but Flint barely heard him. He was in another universe
populated by only two people… well, two people and a great
back up band! And as the song built towards it's climax, Flint's
attraction to her skyrocketed in accompaniment, but given the
resounding pleas from the crowd for an encore, Flint realized he
was going to have to share her with everyone else… For the
time being.
* * * * * * * *
2 Nights Later…
The dinner had been fabulous, but not wholly because of the
outstanding culinary preparations; it was the company that made
the evening wonderful. Flint smiled at her from across the white
cloth shrouded table, the flickering candlelight highlighting the
ambiance of romantic seductiveness on his face. Lady Jaye
warmed inwardly; it had been almost 2 weeks since she and
Flint had admitted their mutual feelings for each other and had
decided to pursue this somewhat forbidden relationship, and
although they had yet to physically consummate their
relationship, Lady Jaye felt certain that she knew Flint's feelings
for her were genuine and deep, so she didn't mind that they
were taking it slow… Flint still had minor inhibitions that seemed
to lurk in his subconscious in regards to his rank and Lady Jaye
knew that it would happen when he was ready. She was
certainly ready, but she respected his sense of propriety and
was quite content with their relationship as it currently stood
romantic evenings; gentle, stimulating conversation, secrets and
confessions; exploration into each other's minds and souls
often coupled with emotion-filled foreplay and passionate
embraces. It had been 2 weeks of the most intimate
companionship she had ever experienced and sex almost
seemed like an ancillary element when compared to the extent
of their almost orgasmic connection with each other.
But she'd be lying if she tried to admit that sex with Flint had
never crossed her mind. She was, after all, a human animal,
and physical urges often alighted just at the mention of Flint's
name. And as their relationship progressed, it was becoming
increasingly apparent that Flint was a human animal too; the
look on his face as he caught her gaze across the table seemed
filled with pent up desire and longing. Lady Jaye grinned
mischievously in return; perhaps dinner wouldn't be the only
fabulous experience of the evening.
Flint motioned for the waiter to bring the check and within
moments they were en route to his quarters. This wasn't
anything new… they often spent hours alone together. Anyone
who knew would assume they were having a glorious affair…
and they were… but thus far it had been an affair only of the mind
and soul.
* * * * * * * *
Seated side by side on Flint's couch, they found themselves
entangled in the comfortable realm of conversation, ranging
from deep personal introspection to trivialities. Completely
enraptured, Lady Jaye almost didn't notice as Flint eased closer
to her on the couch. It wasn't until he failed to reply to her
previous comment that she discovered his gaze. Their eyes
locked; the conversation continued, transcending words,
communicating intentions and thoughts through intimation.
Lady Jaye's heart fluttered as Flint leaned towards her, taking
her in his arms. As he pulled her towards him, she had no
resistance… her sense of anticipation swelled as their lips
finally met. Through that kiss, a level of emotional transference
was reached… the passion each time they kissed was almost
tangible. Exploring the heights of that passion, they remained
locked in embrace for interminable moments. Time lost
meaning; the outside world lost its reality; consumed, they
became one.
Flint finally pulled away, allowing himself to fully appreciate
everything about the woman he had fallen in love with. For a
moment she looked at him confused before understanding
awakened in her. The moment was perfect, and she risked
breaking the seductive silence of his admiration.
"Penny for your thoughts." Even though the comment was
almost awkwardly cliché, she knew that aspect of it would bring
a smile to his face. She wasn't disappointed.
His lopsided grin gave way to a smoothe chuckle as he eased
down closer to her. "Lady Jaye… you don't need to buy my
thoughts… I have a feeling you can read them just fine."
Now it was her turn to chuckle. The imp of mischief seized her
as she let her hands slide under his shirt. "Let's see how
accurate I am…" Then, twirling his chest hairs with one hand,
she began unbuttoning with the other. After the shirt was
unbuttoned, he took up the challenge of removing it, allowing her
the freedom to explore his muscled torso with both hands.
"Pretty accurate," Flint grinned as he threw his shirt aside, "but
not totally…" Reaching his arms around her, his hands fumbled
behind her back. Finding what he was searching for, he began
unzipping her dress, slowly and deliberately. A slight look of
shock crossed her face as she realized what he was doing, but
it quickly turned to joy as she helped wriggle herself out of her
gown. Feeling the fabric slide across her body as Flint eased
the dress to the ground was incredibly arousing. This was far
beyond the almost trivial foreplay which they had experimented
in during the past few weeks. She felt totally exposed,
completely vulnerable, perfectly safe and wonderfully cherished.
Before she could fully assimilate the sensuality of the moment,
she found Flint pulling her to her feet. Stepping completely out of
her dress, she followed him with growing anticipation as he led
her into the bedroom. Standing by his bedside, he again took
her into his arms, kissing her long and deep as he caressed her
supple limbs. Their breathing increased in unison as his hands
wandered her body, coming to rest on her breasts. She moaned
inwardly at his touch, her nipples hardening in unison with her
pleasure. She couldn't stand the fact that she was still wearing
her bra… the fabric serving as a barrier between his massaging
hands and her ultimate desire. As if he had read her mind, one
of his hands eased around her back, masterfully navigating the
clasp and sliding the straps from her shoulders.
Instead of bringing his hands back to her now exposed breasts,
he took a moment to absorb the sensuality of her figure; but only
for a moment, as he leaned forward, kissing her shoulders. She
shuddered as the pangs of pleasure began and as he moved
closer to her breasts, she almost forgot herself in her own
fulfilling desire. Suddenly, she became a victim of her own
urges; reaching forward, she grabbed Flint's belt and violently
unbuckled it. She could sense his growing desire as she
focused on removing his trousers. She leaned in to kiss his
chest as she slid his pants to the floor. She suppressed an
ironic laugh as she noticed the yellow smiley-faced Joe Boxers
he wore… just like Flint, she thought, rough arrogant exterior
hiding a boyish charm underneath. Not a lot of men could still
retain masculine sexuality while wearing such ridiculous
undergarments, but the fact that Flint could just made him all the
more desirable to her. For a split second, she almost didn't
want to take them off; an arrogant Adonis in smiley Boxers… it
was perfectly symbolic of Flint's nature… a nature that only she
was truly aware of.
She glanced up into his eyes and smiled. He seemed almost
proud of the self-comfort that his Boxers reflected. "Another one
of my many secrets," he chucked when he saw the look on her
face. "Don't tell anyone."
"Flint, I'm probably the only one who would understand why
these are absolutely perfect for you." She laughed in response.
"Oh really?" Reaching his arms around her, he guided her down
onto his bed. Leaning next to her, he brushed her hair aside so
he could gaze unobstructed into her deep green eyes.
"Speaking of absolutely perfect…"
She blushed slightly and leaned forward to kiss him. "I was
thinking," she whispered in his ear, "there might be just one
other place where those Boxers would look perfect…"
He knew exactly what she was suggesting, but the game was
intoxicating, so he played along. "Just one place?" he
questioned in a jokingly sarcastic tone between soft kisses
across her body.
"Mmmm-Hmmm," she nodded, teasing her hands around his
waistband. He groaned periodically as she probed farther
beneath his boxers, but not far enough to fully satisfy his
burgeoning desire. Unable to contain her own growing passion
any longer, she began to pull his boxers down. When she had
them completely off, she threw them across the room where they
landed, smiling, on top of his desk.
"Oh yes," he moaned, gathering his composure, "they do look
much better over there, don't they?"
"I've often been told I have quite the knack for interior
decorating…" she sighed as she reached down to caress him.
"That's not the only thing you have a knack for," he grinned as he
closed his eyes and surrendered himself to the sensation.
He had finally released himself from any sense of guilt or worry
in regards to their relationship; he had finally realized,
completely and without reservation that Lady Jaye was the best
thing that had ever happened to him, and damn the restrictions
and regulations that existed in an effort to keep them apart. It
had taken him far too long to finally surrender to his physical
desires and she'd stuck with him through his moral
introspection. He had good reason to try to deny the passions
and emotions that he was feeling, and he knew that once Hawk
found out about this all hell was going to break loose, but as far
as he was concerned, that didn't matter anymore. In the words
of a famous sub commander, Damn the torpedoes… Full speed
ahead.
* * * * * * *
In the consuming darkness, two forms lay sleeping, bodies intertwined in exhausted contentment. The ticking of the clock served as the metronome for the combined beating of their hearts and the slow, rhythmic patterns of their breathing. The ticking drowned out all sound in the universe, slowly gaining in pitch and volume until instead of ticking, it was an insistent rapping that seemed to become more heated, quickening and gaining force with every passing moment until the rapping became a pounding… a force now losing its rhythm with the intent of shattering the relaxed ambiance…
* * * * * * * *
Flint awoke with a start. For a moment, he had no sense of
where he was, all he could conceive was a tapping, remote and
distant. Glancing around him, his eyes came to rest on the form
lying motionless beside him. The memory of the previous night
came rushing back to him and he smiled as he leaned to kiss
her forehead. She stirred slightly at his touch, but eventually fell
back into slumber, a look of peace and tranquility on her face.
Inhabiting that awkward realm between sleep and wakefulness,
Flint still felt the same overwhelming sense of contentment that
he saw on his lover's face… with the exception of that damn
tapping… but it wasn't exactly a tapping. The more he tried to
conceive of it, the louder it got until, in a moment of awakening,
he realized exactly what it was. He glanced at the clock, annoyed
to be disturbed not only because of the extreme early hour, but
because the aura of tranquility had been shattered.
He eased himself from beneath the covers carefully, so as to not
wake his beautiful guest. Fumbling around in the dark, he found
his boxers where Lady Jaye had thrown them, smiling inwardly
as he remembered the moment from the previous evening.
Closing his bedroom door behind him, he fumbled for the light
switch, illuminating his living quarters in a flash. His pupils
constricting, he groaned at the glare as he stumbled toward the
door. The incessant pounding was giving him a headache;
whoever was out there had better have a damn good reason.
As he opened the door, Duke's angered form became clear to
him.
"Jesus, Flint," Duke chastised, "What did you do, take your
phone off the hook? Hawk's been trying to get a hold of you for
an hour."
Still not fully awake, Flint was having a bit of trouble trying to
make sense of exactly what Duke was trying to tell him. The look
of apparent confusion on his face must have been obvious.
Then the realization came flooding into him as he became
soberly awake in a matter of moments. They'd knocked the
phone on the floor last night… they must have forgotten to pick it
back up. Flint almost chuckled at the memory… Forgotten…
they were barely able to drag the covers back over themselves,
let alone remember the phone… Christ! Hawk was going to be
pissed.
"Sorry Duke," Flint attempted a meager explanation, "I must have
knocked it off the hook while I was sleeping… bad dreams I
guess…" He diverted his gaze from Duke's eyes, knowing he'd
see right through the lie in a moment. But it didn't really matter…
all of a sudden there was the sound of rustling coming from his
bedroom; Lady Jaye was awake and Duke had heard the noise.
Feeling like a criminal that had just been caught in the act, Flint's
eyes jumped as he stared at Duke, trying to gauge his
response. Duke glared back at him. "Bad dreams, eh?" He
questioned not only with a sense of annoyance at discovering
Flint's lie, but with a smug grin carrying the acknowledgement
that his buddy had apparently gotten some last night. Duke
wondered if she was anyone he knew.
Flint looked sheepish as he faced his commanding officer.
Words of explanation just weren't coming to him. All he could
hope was that Lady Jaye didn't decide to wander out into the
living room. It was one thing to have to explain that he had
allowed himself to become distracted from his duty because of a
night of passion; it would be another to explain that the object of
his passion was Lady Jaye.
Duke broke the silence for him. "Look Flint, you can explain
later. Right now, there's a situation that needs your immediate
attention." Glancing down and noticing for the first time Flint's
rather inappropriate (to say the least) attire, it took all of Duke's
willpower to keep from bursting into laughter. "Maybe you
should, ah, put on something a bit more… dignified before we
head off for this briefing."
Heaving a sigh of relief, Flint nodded and retreated sheepishly
into his bedroom knowing that he would only be able to offer a
brief explanation to Lady Jaye before he had to ditch out on her.
He absolutely hated to do it, too. He wanted more than anything
to rejoin her, to awaken later with the rising sun, caressing her
fully, soaking in her smile… but it was becoming obvious to him
that this relationship was not going to be an easy one. Pitfalls
were everywhere and if this was going to work, they both were
going to have to modify their expectations to meet their duty
schedule and constrain their emotions in the face of adversity.
Flint was beginning to wonder if he had the strength to do that,
but he was damned sure going to try; but he worried that he was
steamrolling towards a brick wall and that the impact would
mean his career…
* * * * * * * *
BRIEFING ROOM 7, 0322 HOURS…
Flint and Duke took their seats. In a rather awkward situation,
they weren't the ones giving the briefing, but among the soldiers
receiving the information. Whatever happened must be big, Flint
thought, looking around him at the other Joes who had been
dragged from sleep at this ungodly hour Snake-Eyes, Scarlett,
Beachhead, Zap, Roadblock… almost 20 of the team's best,
most of them sipping coffee hoping that the caffeine would stave
off their effects of the early hour.
Everyone was thumbing through the files they had found on their
desks when they entered. Flint noted that there was an empty
desk with unopened files atop it… apparently he wasn't the only
one Hawk was having trouble reaching this early in the
morning…
Flint tried to focus on the paperwork in front of him in an attempt
to decipher exactly what had happened, but Duke kept nudging
him… Flint knew what he wanted a chapter and verse, detailed
account of his "sexual encounter." Duke wanted all the juicy
details… Flint really wasn't interested right now. He knew he'd
have to come up with an explanation later, but now certainly
wasn't the time. He was just about ready to tell Duke to knock it
off when Hawk entered the room. The lights dimmed, and the
screen illuminated, showing a map of the Mediterranean.
"Information has surfaced that Cobra is negotiating secretly with
a foreign power in an effort to become a nuclear threat. I'm sure
we all know the ramifications of a terrorist regime gaining
possession of nuclear ability, but with Cobra the threat is even
greater. They have shown no qualms in the past about using
whatever advantage they have to cause destruction and
mayhem. They've never shown a concern for human life before,
so you can understand our concerns when this information was
passed our way."
Hawk's explanation of the situation brought a hush upon the
room. Cobra had concocted some hair-brained schemes in the
past; elaborate science projects that transformed themselves
into awkward weapons of destruction. Yes, Cobra had no sense
of scruples and would use any means to further their quest for
world domination. Flint and the team he had compiled to extract
Lady Jaye from her captivity had seen firsthand the horrors
Cobra had been experimenting with. It would appear that they
were upping the ante in their terror game. Biological weapons
and now nuclear armaments. Hawk didn't need to explain more;
everyone in the room knew their duty and everyone was
sufficiently jarred from their slumbery stupor by this new
revelation. Everyone was ready for action.
"We've enlisted the help of numerous foreign governments on
this one. The British SAS, the former Soviet Union's October
Guard, even the French Foreign Legion have all pledged troop
support. We're the leading arm of this campaign. It's our job to
do the preliminary reconnaissance. Your assignments are in
your packets." Hawk paused as everyone surveyed their roles.
For an undercover operation like this, he would need his best
covert operatives…
"I'd like to have our best specialists on this one, but we've had a
bit of trouble tracking down our covert operations expert tonight."
Flint stiffened as he heard Hawks words. "Anyone seen Lady
Jaye this evening?"
The comment had been directed towards Scarlett, her
roommate. Scarlett was pretty sure she knew exactly where
Lady Jaye was, and after glancing across the room and catching
the guilty look in Flint's face, she was certain. Scarlett didn't like
being put on the spot, and if Flint didn't speak up here, she was
going to have to. She looked over to him, waiting…
Flint caught her almost accusatory gaze. He stood slowly; his
voice, uncharacteristically sheepish, mumbled a response, "I… I
might know where she is, sir…"
Duke's neck almost snapped as he twisted to look at his friend.
Shocked at the revelation, Duke quickly put two and two
together… he now knew exactly who the mystery woman in
Flint's bedroom was. A sly grin crossed his face as he silently
acknowledged his friend's achievement. Discovering the juicy
details about this one was going to be monumental.
Hawk acknowledged Flint's response with a simple, "You've got
30 minutes. The carrier leaves at 0400 sharp! You'll be briefed
further in transit." And with that he left the room. His
suppositions regarding Flint's feelings about Lady Jaye which
crossed his mind after Flint had volunteered for that rescue
mission now seemed all the more validated. Just as before,
this wasn't the time for reprimands or punishments; he needed
them both to be in true form for this mission… the question was,
would they be able to function to the best of their ability? Hawk
certainly hoped so… the fate of the entire European community
or even the world could rest on it.
______________________________________________________
Continued in Part
Nine!
Back to Dani's Fics!
Back to Authors Page!