DANGEROUS
LIES
BY: KIM FITZSIMMONS
Part Three
Darkness
Descends
Several Joes were called to the briefing room to discuss the dangerous
situation they were now in. Storm Shadow was one of the first to arrive
and he sat down beside his cousin Jinx. She saw immediately the lines of
strain under his dark eyes and took note of his still damp shoulder. She
sighed sadly, "Poor Scarlett, this thing with Snake Eyes has been hard
on all of us but she must be devastated."
Storm Shadow looked at her,
"I've never seen her like that,...She's always been so strong. All I
could do was stand there and hold her while she cried and there wasn't a
damn thing I could do or say to make it better."
Jinx laid a hand on his
shoulder, "Being here for her is all we can do for now. Having to face
this is hard enough, but having to do it alone would be a lot worse."
Tommy smiled slightly at her, "That sounds like something Snake Eyes
would say."
Jinx returned the smile, "Being around him so much was bound
to rub off sooner or later."
Other Joes started to file into the room,
including Scarlett, who was so anxious to find out anything about Snake
Eyes she was still dressed in her blue jeans and Snake Eyes' shirt. Hawk
entered the room and stood at the front with Lifeline standing to his
right. He outlined their defense strategies for the Cobra attack he was
sure was coming.
Hawk then became gravely serious, "I don't have to
impress upon anyone just what a dangerous position we are in here. Snake
Eyes has been a Joe from the beginning. He knows our defense strategies
inside and out and he is certainly one of the deadliest men alive." He
paused for a moment and looked at Scarlett, who was sitting in her usual
spot in the briefing room, the chair next to her conspicuously empty.
"Scarlett may I see you up here for a moment"
Nodding quietly, she moved
to the front of the room to stand beside Hawk, Lifeline now behind her.
Hawk almost gasped when he saw her up close. She was horribly pale, her
pain filled eyes looked too large for her face. When she finally stood
beside him Hawk looked at her sadly and said quietly, "I'm sorry
Scarlett."
Her huge blue eyes were confused, "For what, Hawk?"
"For
this." At this Hawk nodded to Lifeline, who with a pained look, jabbed a
hypodermic needle into the back of Scarlett's neck, the fast acting
sedative knocking her out almost instantly. Hawk caught her as she slid
to the floor, Rock N' Roll and Gung Ho rushing forward to help him.
"Rock N' Roll, you and Gung Ho put Scarlett in her room, and lock her
door, and stay there. She doesn't get out, no one else goes in,
understand?"
They both spoke, "Yes sir!" and left, carrying Scarlett
with them.
The tension in the room was tangible. Everyone sure what Hawk
would say next, considering the action he just took. Hawk finally said,
"Now for the part I didn't want Scarlett to hear. Cobra is already on
their way here, and Snake Eyes is leading them."
There were several
gasps and muttered curses throughout the room. What Hawk said next was
something everyone knew was true but no one wanted to hear. "We all know
that Snake Eyes is far too dangerous to have as an enemy. If we can't
bring him back to his senses we may have to kill him. If it comes to
that, I don't want Scarlett to have to see it, much less have there be a
chance that she has to do it. Does everybody understand what I'm
saying?"
"Yes Sir!" Came the shout from the group of Joes.
"Good, Now
coordinate defenses!"
* * * * * * * *
The Joes met Cobra in battle, and while the fight raged, a shadowy figure silently crept into the Pitt, somehow knowing exactly where he was going. By the time the Joes realized it was one of the Night Creepers dressed as him engaging them in battle, it would be too late.* * * * * * * *
Rock N' Roll and Gung Ho stood guard outside Scarlett's room, both
feeling very uneasy. Rock N' Roll muttered, "I can't believe this! We
are guarding Scarlett from Snake Eyes of all people. That man could no
sooner hurt her than he could cut off his own head!"
Gung Ho shook his
head, "I know what you're saying, but according to Flint Snake Eyes
wanted to get his hands on her real bad and it wasn't to give her a
hug."
Rock N' Roll couldn't shake the feeling of dark malevolence
bearing down on them. "But kill her?...I mean, someone looks at Scarlett
the wrong way and Snakes wants to toss them off the nearest skyscraper."
"My mama used to say that the line between love and hate could be very
thin. Apparently Cobra just got him to think of Scarlett as being on the
wrong side of the line."
Rock N' Roll looked at Scarlett's door, "I
really hate this, if Snake Eyes gets in and gets past us Scarlett is
totally helpless in there!"
Gung Ho agreed, "I don't like it either, but
we both know it was the only way to keep her out of the fight."
"It
still stinks." Rock N' Roll mumbled. Neither of them noticed the gas
bearing down on them until it was too late.
* * * * * * * *
Outside in the battle, Storm Shadow and Jinx finally got close to where
Snake Eyes was. They both noticed at the same time and looked at each
other, a silent message passing between them. The movements, the
fighting style, all wrong. Realization flooded through them and Tommy
yelled to Hawk, "Hawk! That's not Snake Eyes! They set us up!"
"Damn it!
You two get inside and help guard Scarlett!" By the time he finished the
sentence Jinx and Storm Shadow were already running back to the Pitt,
praying they weren't too late.
* * * * * * * *
Snake Eyes watched the two Joes fall to the floor before he stepped
forwards, his shadow falling across the door leading to his objective.
He kicked the door open and entered the room with his senses on high
alert. He didn't expect to see the woman asleep on the bed. She was
dressed in a faded pair of blue jeans and what looked like a man's dress
shirt. Her hair was unbound, spread underneath her like a coppery cape.
He studied her face for a moment. Her skin was pale, almost translucent.
Her eyes, now closed, were red and swollen, almost like she'd been
crying. Snake Eyes shook his head. He must stop thinking of her like she
was an innocent, she was cruel, evil. He brought his hand to his face,
tracing the scars on his face through his mask. He must never forget
that she had put them there. He would exact his vengeance, but not here.
He wanted someplace more secluded, where he wouldn't be disturbed until
his retribution was complete.
Snake Eyes picked up the sleeping woman as
easily as he might pick up a feather and carried her out of the Pitt as
quietly as he had come.
Storm Shadow and Jinx rushed to Scarlett's room, dreading what they knew
they would see. Rock N' Roll and Gung Ho were laying unconscious on the
floor and Scarlett's door had been kicked open. Scarlett was gone,
spirited away to where the man she loved was going to torture and kill
her.
Jinx gasped in horror and Storm Shadow sank to his knees, his legs
refusing to support him and he said quietly, " I've failed her, I've
failed both of them."
Jinx put her hands on his shoulders, "It's up to
Scarlett now. We have to believe that she can snap him out of this." Her
voice broke as she spoke, betraying her own fears and sense of failure.
Storm Shadow's voice was grim as he answered, "If she doesn't, we'll
lose both of them."
* * * * * * * *
Snake Eyes glanced back at his still sleeping captive as he piloted the
FANG towards his destination. He'd figured out that her sleep wasn't
natural, that she'd been sedated. He thought that passing strange but he
wasn't going to contemplate the motives of terrorists. He had almost
reached his destination when he heard a very soft moan from the woman.
She was waking up. Good. He wanted her fully awake and aware when he
paid back her cruel torture of him in kind. After he'd set his
helicopter down in a clearing he lifted Scarlett out of the chopper to
take her to where her fate was waiting. As he carried her she murmured
something softly in her sleep and nuzzled against him. He picked up his
pace to get to the cave quickly, not liking the direction his thoughts
or his traitorous body were taking.
His cave was in a well hidden spot,
a large cave behind a waterfall, secluded just like he wanted. Any noise
coming from within the cave would be drowned out by the sound from the
falls. Snake Eyes entered the cave and laid Scarlett on the ground, he
then turned to empty his pack and lighting the two lanterns he'd brought
with him, bathing the cave in an eerie glow. He looked up, the flame
from the lantern reflected in his silver eyes as he heard a soft sound
come from his prisoner. He rose to full height and walked over to where
Scarlett lay on the floor of the cave. He stood looming over her and his
eyes began to glitter as her eyes fluttered open.
Scarlett blinked a
couple of times, her eyes adjusting to the dim light. When she saw the
look in the eyes of her captor, she knew she was in very serious
trouble. She then spoke, her voice a breathless whisper, "Snake Eyes."
______________________________________________________
Concluded in Part Four!
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