FORGET ME NOT
BY: COVER GIRL

Chapter Four

    The iron grenadiers were assembling as Ailíse and the others returned late that night. Ailíse watched from the gallery high above as Ian entered her uncle’s study to argue a strategy for recovering Destro. <I’ll be damned if I’ll sit back and do nothing. > She fumed stalking off to the staircase. All the grenadiers parted to let her pass with the exception of the grenadier standing watch outside the study. He moved to block her from entering. “I’m sorry, milady, but I have orders they’re not to be disturbed.” He gulped catching the heat of her scowl.

    “Remove yourself from my path right now, or you will wish I’d never laid eyes on you,” she hissed at the man. He wasn’t budging. “I will say this once more. I am the lady of this castle. You will obey my commands or you will rue your very existence,” she stood to her full height, her back straight, her head held high. The icy glare she cast upon him gave him chills as he lowered his gaze and stepped aside mumbling, “Yes, milady.”

    The men were crowded about Destro’s desk arguing over charts and Intel reports when she entered. “What the….” Liam shot a glance to the door bringing an arm across Ian’s chest. Silence fell over the room.

    “Gentlemen,” she coolly greeted them walking to the desk.

    “Milady, I thought you’d be resting,” Liam locked his eyes on her.

    “Then you would be mistaken. Can someone please give me an update on my Uncle?” She stepped forward reaching for a stack of reports.

    “Your uncle is being held on Cobra Island,” Ian placed his hand over hers holding the stack. “Have a seat, and we’ll bring you up to speed,” he coaxed her to Destro’s leather chair behind the desk.

    “Do we know where on Cobra Island, which building?” She pulled the chair forward, spreading out the reports before her. She lifted her eyes from the desk, casting a side-glance to the men.

    “Yes, milady,” Ian brought up a diagram of the compound on a monitor mounted on the wall. “We’ve reason to believe he’s in the building next to the treasury.” He used a laser pointer to show her.

    “Good, we're making progress. Now, what motivates COBRA?" She pushed herself back from the desk and stood walking over to him. She took the laser pointer from his grasp.

    “MONEY!" The men replied in unison.

    "So, we blow up the treasury,” she circled the building with the pointer. Raising a brow, she pivoted on the toe of her boot to face them. Slamming the pointer back behind her, she struck the building Destro was being held in as she tilted her head to the side. “The vipers will be too busy trying to get their share of the gold to go after us," she dragged the pointer across the image in an ‘X’ crossing it out.

    "Aye, excellent idea, lass," Sean grinned appreciatively receiving the pointer she placed in his hand. The others exchanged glances among each other, watching her take over the strategy session. They spent the rest of the evening mapping out the every detail of the compound, listing the pros and cons of their rescue operation until the wee hours of the morning.

************

    Flint and Agent O'Rourke were looking out at the castle trying to gain information on the troop build up when they noticed a woman on the field training with the others. Ailíse had ordered her maid to redesign her uniform so it wasn’t as restrictive as the other one she’d originally trained in. The new one enabled her to move more fluidly.

    "There's a woman training with them. It has to be Ailíse …" O'Rourke began. "Look at her, I'm amazed Destro allows her to be there like that."

    Flint looked to see what he was describing. She wore a black leather uniform similar in design to what he'd seen Zarana wear. He saw that it enabled her to move freely. It also was designed to be a distraction since it fit her like a second skin. <Damn…I still can’t see her face. I thought only Destro and his men wore them. > “I need to get a few pictures of her,” Flint moved closer raising a telescopic lens to zoom in on her. <I can’t have her distracting the men if they run into her in a firefight. > "Destro's not there. Let's watch and see what we can learn about her." Flint snapped off several frames of film before lowering his camera to retrieve his binoculars. Training his sights on her, he watched as she matched skills with the others, and bested several in their attacks. <She moves like Lady Jaye but that’s not possible. She’s back at the base. > Flint shook the thought hearing gravel crunching beneath a boot. He turned sharply to see several Iron Grenadiers standing behind him with their weapons drawn.

    "Who are you, and what are you doing on the Laird's land?" The leader, a young grenadier named Jamie, growled raising his sidearm.

    "We were just hiking and didn't realize we were trespassing. We'll…ah…be on our way" O'Rourke stammered.

    "Not so fast, the lady will decide whether you're friend or foe. Come with us," Jamie ordered as the guards moved in on them.

    Flint and O'Rourke put their hands up and marched towards the castle.

    Ian recognized Flint from the island at the gates. "Who are you, and why are you trespassing?"

    "We're just hiking through the area and got lost" Agent O'Rourke shrugged.

    "I said, we should let the lady decide if they're friend or foe,” Jamie stepped past them to face Ian.

    "She's busy right now on the training field. The two of you will come with me," Ian signaled for his unit to escort them inside to a small parlor. “Sean, go find Liam and tell him we have visitors.” Ian commanded shoving the men into their chairs.

    ”What the hell is going on?” Liam stormed into the parlor with Sean on his heels. He sneered at the two uninvited guests, “Who sent you? I know you're not hikers by the looks of you."

    "This one looks like one of the Joes, and if I'm not mistaken the other one is O'Rourke. The laird told him to get off our land before," Ian pointed to them.

    "I'll ask one last time who sent you," Liam grabbed O’Rourke by the lapels of his jacket.

    Flint interrupted, "Look, we'll only speak with Destro, where is he?"

    "I have a feeling you know where he is or you wouldn't be snooping around," Sean eyed Flint carefully.

    "If he's not here, who's in charge? Jamie over there said the lady would decide if we were friend or foe,” Flint sneered at the young grenadier before turning back to Sean and Liam.

    "Aye, the lady is in charge but she's busy now and can't be disturbed for the likes of you," Sean snapped back.

    "Well, we'll just have to wait for her now won't we? I don't think she'd take lightly to you mistreating her guests," Flint retorted.

    "Aye, so now you claim to be guests. We'll see about that. Let the lady know we have guests. If she chooses to meet you that will be her decision, if not we're going to have some fun with you," Sean sneered at him and walked away.

    Flint and O'Rourke weren't sure whether or not they had signed their death warrants while they waited.

    Ailíse was busy on the training field when Jamie came running.

    “Milady, you have guests?” he rasped trying to catch his breath.

    “Guests?” She ducked an attack sending her opponent over to her back, pining him with a knife to his throat. “Who?”

    “We believe one of them is a Joe, and the other…”

    “A Joe?” She roared at the man. “How the bloody hell did he get inside the castle?”

    “Umm…I found him spying from the bluff milady,” he sputtered.

    “Very well, let’s see what this man finds so urgent that he dare trespass on our lands,” she fumed stalking off towards the castle. <How dare they come here? >

***************

    “Where are they?” She scowled at Jamie as she entered the castle through the kitchens.

    “In the parlor, milady.”

    “Send for Ian right now tell him to meet me in the gallery above, I want to see who I’m dealing with before I enter.” She watched Jamie run off before climbing the stairs. She silently made her way along the gallery to look down at the two men. Sean and Liam appeared to be handling the interview rather well. She went to the edge of the railing to peer down. <The older man’s weak, spineless. He’s insecure of himself, no threat to us. > Ailíse shook her head turning to study the other man. <I know him…how? Why can’t I figure him out? There’s something about him…I…I can’t place my finger on it. Wait he’s looking my way. I can’t focus…my head’s spinning. Need to sit down. > She felt dizzy when he looked in her direction. He was unable to see her from where she stood which was good since she did not want him to see her that unsteady. <I have to get my bearings…oh…my head…> She looked up to see Ian approaching her but couldn’t find the words to tell him her head was ready to explode. She raised her hands to her temples as everything went black.

    “Ailíse!” Ian rushed forward to catch her as she fell. Cradling her to him, he yelled, “Liam! Get the doctor NOW!” Grenadiers came running into the gallery. They stood back watching as he lifted her up and carried her to her chambers. Ian kicked the door open, and gently set her on the bed.

    “Sean, stay with them,” Liam growled racing up the stairs, pushing his way past those standing in the corridor. He entered her chambers, his voice filled with concern; he looked to Ian holding her to him, “What happened?”

    “I don’t know. I found her looking down from the gallery holding her head in her hands. I barely caught her in time. She’s not waking up, and her breathing’s off.” He gently shook her.

    “Remove the mask,” Liam ordered. “Patrick, post men outside this room and throughout the corridor. No one gets in here unless I say so. Ian stay with her. The doctor should be here shortly. I’ll get rid of our guests.”

*************

    Flint was following the commotion from the parlor below. <What’s going on? Where is she? > He scowled waiting for Liam to return.

    "The lady is unavailable. You may leave now on your own or you will be escorted off the grounds, the choice is yours," Liam called from the bottom of the stairs.

    "We have to see the lady," O'Rourke began.

    "I told you the lady is unavailable," Liam sneered.

    "What happened to her?" Flint eyed Liam cautiously.

    "She overdid it training. We're waiting for a doctor to arrive now.”

    "We'll wait," Flint leaned back in his chair watching an elderly man being escorted upstairs by four grenadiers. He watched Liam and Sean standing at the bottom of the staircase waiting for news. They were locked in a heated discussion when the doctor came down, interrupting them.

    "I didn't realize Destro had such a beautiful niece. Ailíse will be all right. She's sleeping now. See to it that no one disturbs her. I don't know why she lost consciousness so keep a close eye on her. Call me if you need me." Flint observed the doctor pulling Liam to the side to give him further instructions before turning to him and O’Rourke. "Gentlemen, the lady is not to see anyone until tomorrow so I suggest you leave her rest. If you need a lift back to town, follow me."
    
    "All right, we'll go, but we will be back" O'Rourke stood up, casting an eye towards Flint to follow him.

    <Yeah, right we’ll be back but I’m going to have a little chat with the good doctor first. > Flint mused.

    The drive back to town had been an interesting experience for the three men. O’Rourke must have asked a million questions before the doctor asked him to get out and walk the rest of the way on foot. “Now if you’re going to pick up his line of interrogation, you can follow him,” the doctor growled towards Flint. “Ah…no sir…I was going to see if you’d care to join me for a pint though,” Flint grinned leaning back with his hands behind his head.

    “There’s a good lad, I’ll be taking you up on that pint in a few minutes,” the doctor grinned back, looking in the mirror watching O’Rourke kicking the dirt road. “I always hated those inspectors. How’d you get stuck with the likes of him inside the castle?”

    “I was out hiking and ran into him,” Flint shrugged his shoulders.

    “Now, Liam said you were there to see the lady.” He eyed Flint carefully.

    “Well, if you run into a guy that swears to you he’s seen the most beautiful girl in all of Scotland, what would you do?” Flint smirked humorously.

    “I think I’d be looking too,” he laughed pulling the car to a stop in front of the pub.

    All eyes turned to the door as they entered, “Thomas Burroughs, now we be hearing you went to the castle to see the lady,” the bartender, leaned forward on the bar.

    “Aye,” the doctor nodded walking to his favorite stool, indicating for Flint to take the stool next to him.

    “So…tell us Thomas, how ugly is she?” The bartender yelled to the room, setting two pints down. “Does she need to where the mask or not?”

    “Now, Rory, you know I can’t be spreading tales of the lady.”

    “That’s a first,” the barmaid leaned against the bar on the other side of him, setting another pint down. “So tell us, what’s the laird hidin’ from these good man a beauty or a beastie? Not a soul has ever laid eyes on the Lady I’m told.” Her eyes widened dramatically surveying her audience as the other drew closer all shouting questions at the same time.

    “Settle down…I’ll tell you,” the doctor splayed his hands pushing them down in front of him to silence the crowd. “Now is she a beauty or a beastie, hmm?” He folded his arms and closed his eyes to think.

    “THOMAS!”

    Flint suppressed a grin at the old man’s theatrics.

    “The Lady Ailíse is a beauty. I’ve not seen a more beautiful woman since her mother lived in the castle,” he sighed raising his pint. “To the fair Ailíse,” he drank to her, wiping the sides of his mouth with his hand he began to describe her, “her eyes are a soft green, and her hair dark auburn hair fell about her shoulders…”

    Listening to the doctor had Flint thinking of Lady Jaye again. <I can’t shake this feeling I’m losing Allie, maybe a walk will clear my mind. > He paid for his drinks and headed out into the night.

*************

    At the castle, Ailíse was restless. “Dash…help me.” Ian heard her whimpered over and over in her sleep over and over.

    “Easy love, I’m here,” he tried to soothe her. <DAMN YOU MINDBENDER! You’ll bloody well pay for harming her. > “I won’t let him or that Joe near you ever again. No one will take you from the castle,” he murmured to her brushing a light kiss to her temple. “I promise.” He pulled her into him arms cradling her until she fell asleep.

    ”Hmmm? What? Who?” Ailíse raised her arm to block the sunlight from her eyes. She felt a strong arm fall over her waist stopping her from moving away as she struggled to recall last night. Her mind was clouded. “Ian?” She whispered peeling his arms away from her. “How did you get in here?” <Never mind how…move it, get dressed and figure it out later. It’s not like anything happened, you’re both still dressed. > She crawled from the bed and headed for her dressing room.

    “Ailíse?” Ian rolled over, his arm falling to an empty bed. He sat up hearing her inside the dressing room. “I’ll let you get dressed and meet you for breakfast,” he called out receiving a muffled reply.

    Liam was standing outside her door when Ian stepped into the corridor. "How is she? I heard her crying out last night," Liam pulled Ian from the door.

    "She seems fine now. She was having a nightmare last night, and I couldn't wake her so I held her till she fell asleep." He yawned.

    "You should have summoned Margaret to stay with her. The laird’s not going to be pleased by this turn of events.” Liam scolded.

    “What? Nothing happened, I swear,” Ian defended.

    “Any idea what she was dreaming about?" Liam frowned.

    "I think she was reliving the accident again, and she kept calling out to someone named Dash for help," Ian tightened his jaw.

    "Does she remember any of this?"

    "No, she seemed fine this morning. I guess it's locked away in her subconscious," Ian tightened his fists. "Mindbender may not have been completely successful with her."

    "It sounds like she's struggling to remember things. We'll inform Destro when we get him back and let him decide what's to be done with her," Liam shook his head. "For now, we watch over her, and keep the Joes away. I know she's one of them but I can't see her leaving us."

    Ian agreed with him, and the two began to go over their plans for the rescue when Ailíse joined them in the study.

    "Good morning, milady, did you sleep well?" Liam stood as she entered.

    "Yes, thank you, I still feel a little groggy I guess I overdid it yesterday. Are we ready to finalize the rescue plans?"

    "Aye, lass, ready when you are," Sean entered the room. “We have transports standing by and can begin the rescue as planned.” They spent the rest of the morning ironing out the details.

    After lunch she was to go horseback riding through the grounds with several grenadiers but soon found herself drilling on the exercise field.

    Flint and O'Rourke resumed their look out the next morning from a jeep on the outskirts of Destro's land. They noted that the guard appeared to be organizing their assault. "We need to see Ailíse today, let's go," Flint backed the jeep up, heading for the castle. They found several grenadiers denying them access. "We told the others to inform the lady we would be back today," Flint demanded to be seen.

    "The lady is not seeing anyone today," Sean approached the gates. "Now, I suggest you leave."

    "I told you we have to see her, it's about her uncle" Flint pressed.

    "Then you can see, Liam, take him to the study," Sean opened the gate for Flint. “But he stays here,” he blocked O’Rourke from following.

    ”Where’s Ailíse?” Flint glared at Liam sitting behind Destro’s desk rolling up a set of blueprints.

    “The LADY AILISE is out on the grounds getting some air, and we have no wish to disturb her. Give me your message and I will see to it that she receives it," Liam replied sharply.

    "Fine, tell her that I represent GI Joe and we're offering to assist her in getting Destro back" Flint leaned on the desk.

    "What's the catch?" Liam raised a brow.

    "We want to make sure the COBRA base he's being held at is destroyed, and have access to it."

    "Fine, I will relay the message, and get back to you. Sean see him out, and find Lady Ailíse!" Liam ordered.

    Flint studied the grenadiers’ expressions as he passed them. <What the hell are they up to? There hiding something big, but what. > He glanced up at the windows seeing Liam peering down at him. .

    “Find out anything?” O’Rourke broke into his thoughts.

    “No, only that Liam and his men wanted me gone like yesterday,” he climbed behind the wheel, sending one last glance back towards the castle. <Two can play at your game, Liam. > He pulled the jeep out of the gates.

    ”What did he want?” Ian charged into the study with Sean following close behind.

    “They’re offering to help us retrieve Destro in exchange for access to the destroyed base.”

    "If they get access to the base they may find out the truth about her," Ian slammed his fist down on the desk.

    "The Joe is not going to give up. We need to get her out of here, I say we move up the attack to tonight," Sean placed a supportive hand on Ian’s shoulder.

    “You’re right, get the men assembled. We’ll leave late tonight, but I want you to get her out of here now,” Liam looked to Ian. “Take your squad, you leave within the hour.”

**************

    "Hawk, Flint's reporting in" Scarlett yelled.

    "Put him through to my office, and ask Breaker for that report he's working on," Hawk lifted the phone from its cradle.

    "Flint, what have you got for me?" He opened his files.

    "I believe the Iron Grenadiers are being lead by Ailíse. She’s assembling an assault force to go after Destro. I've never seen so many of them assembled together."

    "Did you get into see her?" He frowned, running his hand back through his hair.

    "No, they summoned a doctor for her when I first arrived and have denied access to her" he replied. "They're hiding her from us. I know she's there. O'Rourke and I saw her on the training field."

    "Keep trying to get to her, I'll assemble a team to send out to you," Hawk lifted a current duty roster in his hand to scan.

    "Hawk, how's Lady Jaye?" Flint asked, cautiously.

    "We're still not sure but Snake Eyes is following her," Hawk’s frown increased watching his door slowly open. He saw a file in Breaker’s hand and waved him inside. “Breaker's here with the report on the book you gave him to analyze. I’ll put him on.”

    “Hey, Breaker, what do you have for me?” Flint rested on his elbow, running his free hand over the arm of the chair he was sitting in.

    "Sorry, Flint I couldn't find much. The book is an original print so I had to be extra careful handling it, and it took a long time to go through the fingerprints inside but I didn't find anything odd. You can give Lady Jaye her book back when you see her," Breaker carefully set the book down on the corner of Hawk’s desk.

    "What?" Hawk and Flint asked at the same time, confusion etched upon their faces.

    "I said he could give Lady Jaye her book back. The only set of prints I could get from the book belonged to Lady Jaye so I assumed it’s her book, isn't it? Here see for yourself," he shrugged his shoulders passing his report to Hawk.

    "Hawk, I found that book inside Ailíse’s' suite. I never gave it to Lady Jaye," Flint gulped.

    "Flint, did the doctor see Ailíse’s' face?" Hawk questioned, slowly while studying the report.

    "Yes"

    "Show him a picture of Lady Jaye and see what he has to say…Breaker, you're not to say a word to anyone about this report, especially Lady Jaye. Send Duke, Scarlett, and Snake Eyes here now," Hawk rested his head in his hands, leaning on his elbows. "Flint, I'm having the others track Lady Jaye down. We'll have Doc run a few more tests. Be careful, if Ailíse is Lady Jaye, they may have done something to her," he warned turning the speakerphone off.

    Flint slowly dropped the phone into the cradle. <If Hawk’s right, this explains a lot of things. I’ve got to find Dr. Burrroughs. > He headed for the pub.

    The doctor was seated on his favorite stool at the bar when Flint entered.

    “Well, if it isn’t the man on search of the most beautiful woman in Scotland,” he greeted Flint with a huge grin on his face draining his glass.

    “Let me get you another,” Flint patted him on the shoulder taking the stool next to him.

    “So, have you found her?”

    “Ah…who?”

    “You were on a quest the last time we met,” the doctor slurred his words slightly.

    “Oh…that, no I was joking I have that girl back home,” Flint laid down money for the drinks.

    “Really?” The doctor eyed him carefully. “That’s not possible.”

    “Why’s that?”

    “Cause there’s none more beautiful than the lady,” the doctor took a swig of his beer. “And I can prove it too. Show me a picture of your girl,” he nudged Flint’s shoulder.

    “Sure,” Flint grinned reaching back for his wallet. “This is my lady.” He removed a picture of Lady Jaye to show the doctor, and waited.

    Flint had his answer as soon as the doctor laughed at him. “Congratulations my friend,” he nodded at the picture. “How did you get this? The laird forbids pictures of his family.”

    “She gave it to me,” Flint grinned reaching for the picture.

    “I’ll admit she strongly resembles Ailíse, but no more.”

    “She is Ailíse.”

    “Nay, lad, that’s not possible. You’ve got to be dreaming if you think for one moment Ailíse is your girlfriend. The grenadiers won’t let you inside the castle. Now, you best put that away before someone sees it. The laird’s men are fiercely protective of Ailíse.” The doctor pressed the picture into his hand.

    “Do you know why she collapsed yesterday?”

    “One of the Liam’s lieutenants told me she’d been injured in a car crash along the cliffs a few weeks ago. He said she’d taken a blow to her head, perhaps she’s still recovering and she did overdo it as he said,” the doctor took another sip from his pint, and relayed to Flint the rest of what Ian had told him.

    “They didn’t say how long ago her accident was?” Flint pressed him further.

    “Nay, only a few weeks ago. Why all the questions, you’re not a reporter are you?” He set his pint down.

    “No, I was just concerned for the lady’s well being,” Flint smiled sadly, standing up. “I have a few calls to make. “Good night,” he patted the older man’s shoulder and walked off. <It’s not possible. How could she be inside the castle? I left her back at the base…unless…I have to get Hawk. > He raced to his room.

______________________________________________________

To Be Continued
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