GHOSTS OF MY PAST
BY: TOPHAT

PART TWO
HELP ARRIVES

  The Joes had gathered in the library to wait for dinner. Doctor Shakoor's butler walks in and speaks softly to the Doctor.

  "Sergeant, the ambassador is on the telephone and would like to speak with you. You may take it in my office." the butler walks Duke to the office and shows him the phone.

  "Here you are, sergeant."

  "Thank you." Duke replied to the butler. "Mr. Ambassador?"

  "Duke. Glad I caught you. I would have called earlier but the investigation of the Irish Ambassador's death has turned into a three-ringed circus."

  "I can believe that, sir. " Duke replied "What can I do for you?"

  "Have you ever had any dealings with an ambassador named Stacy Kelly? She's been around awhile although mostly in the background. "

  "No sir, I don't believe I've ever heard of Ambassador Kelly. Is she one of ours?"

  "Yes and No." the ambassador answered with a laugh. "At times she has worked for the United States government. At other times she works for the United Nations, and.. " He paused a moment, "...at other times, herself. She's a big time player in world politics but no one knows much about her other than the fact that she works with anti-terrorist groups and that she can get the job done. "

  "Hum, I think I would remember at least hearing her name mentioned, especially if she deals with anti-terrorism."

  "Trust me, if you have any knowledge of her you would remember."

  "Oh?" Duke asked

  "Off the record?" the ambassador asks

  "Of course." Duke answered, curious

  "Ambassador Kelly is affectionately known as the 'Ice Queen' among her fellow ambassadors and for good reason. Ambassador Kelly is usually cold and distant. The only time she addresses you is when she wants something and has something to hold over your head to ensure your cooperation. She also has friends in high places if you understand my meaning?"

  "Yes, sir. I believe I do. " Duke answered knowingly

  "But, " the ambassador continued after a labored pause, "her success rate speaks for itself. So the rest us have just learned to live with her attitude. She is a political genius and..." he left off and he continued after another brief pause, "...she wants to meet with a member of your team."

  "A member of my team?" Duke repeated

  "Scarlett to be specific although she didn't say why. I set up a time for the both of you to meet with her at 1500 hours tomorrow. It would be a good idea to show up and at least find out what she wants. She could be a powerful ally or an unwanted enemy. " "Alright, I'll clear our schedules and make sure we're there."

  Duke hangs up the phone and returns to the library. He wonders what Ambassador Kelly could possibly want with Scarlett that was so important that it couldn't wait until the end of the conference.

  As Duke walked back into the library he noticed everyone was still absorbed in the card game, although Tripwire had pulled out and Scarlett still wasn't present.

  "Where's Scarlett? " he asked

  "Seems to be runnin' a little late tonight." Wild Bill responded noticing the time on the grandfather clock standing against the wall opposite the table where they were playing cards.

  "Women are always late, even the ones that can kick ass." Tripwire responded, now in a bad mood after loosing yet another round of cards.

  "Dinner is ready, Doctor." The butler came in and announced

  "Thank you, we will be in momentarily." Doctor Shakoor tells him

  "I'll go check on Scarlett. She probably laid down to take a nap and hasn't woken up yet." Duke reasoned

  "She was acting a little funny in the market today, Duke." Wild Bill mentioned

  "Yes. She was. She told me the heat was getting to her." Duke answered

  "The heat is getting to all of us!" Recondo put in

  "Well, I for one am hungry. If she isn't down here in two minutes, I say we eat without her. She can get someone in the kitchen to heat up leftovers." Tripwire said

  "That's if there are any leftovers!" Rock 'n' Roll replied as his stomach began to loudly protest any further wait.

  "You all go on ahead. I'll check on her and join you in a few minutes." Duke told them

  "Fine by me, partner. If you hurry there may just be something left!" Wild Bill joked with him

  Duke walks up the stairs to Scarlett's room as the others go into dinner. His stomach growls and he wonders what is taking her so long. He knocks on her door, "Scarlett, you O.K.?", no answer. Duke waited a moment and knocked again; still no answer. He opened the door a crack and cursed. The whole place had been turned upside down. Drawers were pulled out of chests, the mattress had been pulled off the bed and had a long gash on the top where someone had taken a knife and cut the bedding apart. A quick search of the room revealed that his friend was not there. Hearing Duke's curses the others had ran up the stairs to find out what was wrong.

  Seeing the current state of the room and fearing the worst Bill spoke up first, "Is she in there?" he asked

  "No." Duke replied tersely

  "Is that a good thing?" Bill wondered as he scanned the mass destruction that had once been so neat and proper

  "I hope so." Duke responded and then began to give orders "Tripwire, you and Rock 'n' Roll search the rooms, see if anything else has been disturbed, or if you can find trace of her up here. The rest of us will split into two groups. Snakes, you and Recondo search the grounds; maybe she went for a walk and doesn't know we're looking for her. Bill and I will search the downstairs. I'll get Doctor Shakoor and his men to help us search. " Snake Eyes and Recondo had just walked out on to the terrace, looking for a clue as to which path their friend may have taken.

  "There are four paths, which do you want to try first?" Recondo asks Snake Eyes. Snake Eyes gestures that he will take the path on the far right and Recondo should take the path next to his. A gardener came running up the path while they were deciding. "Help!" he cries, out of breath, "A madman is in the gardens! He has a knife and is killing people! You must stop him!" the gardener explains in a panic.

  "How far down the path?" Recondo demands

  The gardener continues to mumble incoherently, "How far down the Path?!" Recondo yells, picking the gardener up by his shirtfront.

  "By the pond." the gardener answers

  "Where is the pond?!" Recondo asks putting the gardener down

  "Take the left path. The pond is at the very end, near the forest at the back of the property." the gardener succeeds finally in answering Recondo's question

  "Go inside and tell your boss what you just told us and get our friends to follow us, understand?" Recondo orders

  "Yes!" the gardener rushes inside while Recondo and Snake Eyes start down the path Scarlett had taken just an hour before.

  Snake Eyes and Recondo made it to the pond without incident. Recondo continued to scan the area, guarding against another possible attack. Snakes knelt beside his fallen friend and brushed the hair off her face as he turned her on her back. "Snakes, you've got to find him. Tell him not to come. Mica's not dead. Toby 'll be killed if he comes, he's waiting. God keep him away... not safe..." she mumbles softly

  Snake Eyes has seen the blood running from a hole in her side. There was a lot of blood on the ground. He hoped it wasn't all hers. Snake Eyes gently prodded her side, pressing his palm hard against her wound in an almost futile attempt to stop the bleeding. "Ohh!" she screams, "It hurts, oh God, it hurts."

  Duke and the others came running down the path

  "Good God, what happened!" Duke demands

  "We need to get to the hospital ASAP! She's been stabbed." Recondo explained as Snake Eyes picked Scarlett up gently in his arms and began to run back to the house

  "The gardener found us and told the Doctor she was hurt. Doctor Shakoor has called the hospital to let them know we we're on our way.

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