THE TIES THAT BIND
BY: THE BARD

Chapter Five
Weapon 19

  "Sir, Carl has brought the car round to the front. Whenever you are ready."

  Flint and Shipwreck were standing in the foyer, looking quite dapper in the tuxedos that Jaye had provided them.

  "Thank you Brian," Flint nodded in the butler's direction, "We will be leaving as soon as the ladies decide to join us."

  "I understand Sir. My Lady is usually a bit slow. Shall I go up and tell her you are waiting?"

  "That won't be necessary', said a voice from the top of the stairs.

  Flint and Shipwreck turned to see Scarlet making her way down. She was dressed in a beautiful forest green gown, her red hair tied back in an elaborate weave.

  "You look ravishing, my dear" Shipwreck bowed and took her hand, "Wait until I tell Duke about my hot date!"

  Scarlet laughed, "Good, he could use a wake up call. A little jealousy never hurt anyone. So what do you think Flint?"

  "I think we should be concentrating on the mission. We are going to be heading right into a pit of vipers in a few minutes. This isn't some..." He stopped mid sentence.

  Lady Jaye was making here way down the stairs. She was wearing a stunning black strapless number, the tight embroidered corset top showing off her figure before falling out into the long flowing dress. Her long hair was loosely tied back and fell down her back, while around her neck was an impressive pearl and diamond necklace.

  Flint swallowed hard.

  "You were saying, fearless leader..." Shipwreck whispered, smirking. Scarlet put her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.

  'So, are you ready to go?" Jaye asked as she came to stand next to them. "I saw Carl outside with the car, so I assume we can be on our way?"

  Flint just stood there, staring. He was at a complete loss for words. Is this the same woman I have worked with all these years? His mind flashed back to the scene a year ago when he saw her in a towel coming out of the shower....

  "Flint, are you ok?"

  "Huh...umm...yes...yes...let's be off then."

  Lady Jaye smiled at him, looking quite pleased with herself.

  They made their way to the castle in the old silver Rolls Royce limo in silence, each going over the mission in their head. They were to mingle with the guests and the hosts, find out what they could, and then the two 'couples' were to silently escape the hustle and bustle of the crowd and try to find clues as to what was going on. Each would cover a different section of the castle.

  Meanwhile Snake Eyes, who was too conspicuous to bring into the party itself, would be sneaking in his own way...his goal being Destro's study. He was armed with a small spy camera, and hopefully he will find something useful.

  The past couple of days had turned up very little. The real Destro was nowhere to be found and the only thing Scarlet had turned up at the Archives was that Mindbender had been looking through historical documents on the two World Wars.

  Flint and LJ had spent their time monitoring the activity at the castle. Cobra Commander had been quite agitated, but other than that it seemed business as usual. They did manage to follow a squad of COBRA soldiers deep into the highlands. It hadn't been easy, as there were very few places to hide, but the horses were far less obvious and far more maneuverable than any vehicle could be.

  COBRA was definitely looking for something...but what.

  He thought back to their days working together. Despite a bit of tension the first day they had been out on their own, they gradually warmed to the situation and it had ended up like old times. He had tried to remain distant but knew he was failing miserably. He was starting to trust her again. Flint looked over at the beautiful woman at his side. I missed you, he thought to her, not daring to reveal anything out loud. She looked at him then, and for an instant he feared she had read his mind. Impossible, he chided himself.

  They were ushered through the gates to the castle without incident, and once in the torch lit courtyard they were greeted by a crowd of similar vehicles, dropping their occupants off at the door. Jaye was right, the place was packed with guests, they would be all be utterly lost in the crowd. No one would suspect a thing.

  Flint watched Scarlet and Shipwreck making their way up the stairs, and looked towards Jaye, who stood patiently at his side.

  "Well," he said, offering her is arm, "Shall we go in?"

  "But of course," she smiled and twined her arm with his. He couldn't help but smile back. How ironic, he thought, that my first date with her should be a mission.

  Once inside, they mingled with the other guests. Shipwreck was at the bar despite Flint's insistence that he try and avoid its general vicinity. Scarlet was beside him, chatting with what looked like Tomax...or Xamot...he could never tell the two apart.

  Flint himself had been socializing, actually having a good time as Jaye introduced him to some of the guests. He had even managed to listen in to a couple of conversations going on with the host. The Destro 'imposter' was working the crowd, and at one point had approached the two of them.

  "Lady Burnett, what a pleasure it is to see you again", Jaye looked completely at ease as he took her hand and kissed it. "I hope you are having a good time."

  "As always, Lord McCullen. I think you have outdone yourself this year. The place looks absolutely lovely", she smiled at him.

  "Please, call me Jamie. Will we be having the pleasure of hearing you play again this year? Your performance of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.3 was simply marvelous, Sarah...if I may call you that?"

  Sarah? Flint looked at Jaye, remembering what she said to him the other night. No one had called her that since her mother died. Certainly her uncle wouldn't make that mistake. So she was right...this is an imposter, albeit a very good one.

  "I'm afraid I have fallen out of practice, Another year perhaps..." Before she could finish, one of the guards came up to whisper something in 'Destro's' ear.

  "I am afraid I will have to leave you for a moment, my Lady...if you would excuse me..."

  And with that he was gone.

  Flint put a hand on her shoulder, "You were right...I'm sorry"

  "You couldn't have known..." she looked at him and smile sadly, " but now the question remains...where is the genuine article?"

  Shipwreck approached him from the bar. "Well, so far nothing...Scarlet and I have worked the crowd and other than a conversation here and there with the enemy, nothing unusual to report. Our recon of the castle turned up nothing."

  "Same, although we did confirm that our gracious host is not who he seems."

  "So, she was telling us the truth, eh? Where is the lovely lady, anyways?"

  Flint turned to look for Jaye, who had been pulled from his side at some point. She knew many of the people here, and many of the young men as well it seemed, for there she was, surrounded by about four of them. She was laughing as one of them, a red head in a kilt, who was gesturing wildly as he talked. William was there as well (funny, he hadn't seen him come in). He had his arm around her waist.

  "I know that expression..." Shipwreck eyed his friend warily, "Don't you go off on one of your jealous rants. She's a free agent now, you have no hold on her...Dash...hey...are you listening to me...Dash..."

  Jaye kissed William lightly and turned to make his way back to them. Flint was red in the face. "I knew it! She's with him now. I'm such a fool..."

  "Gentlemen...I think I know where the real McCoy is being held. Duncan over there is one of my Uncle's personal guard. Apparently, many of his troops had been sent to guard odd areas of the castle. I bet anything he is holed up in one of them, and I think I know which one."

  "Does William agree with this assessment?", Flint asked sarcastically.

  "What? I don't know, I didn't ask him..", she answered, missing his tone and turning towards the staircase, "come on, I'll take you there..."

  Scarlet joined them as they followed LJ through the Castle. She led them expertly around the winding hallways.

  "What are we going to do with the guards once we get there? Scarlet asked as she caught up with what they were about to do.

  "Leave that to me..." Jaye answered.

  Sure enough, they approached a room at the end of a long hallway. A cobra soldier and a Scotsman in clan tartan were at attention at the entrance. Lady Jaye went up to the clansman and said something to him in Gaelic. He looked at her for a moment and then saluted

  "Of course, my lady...let them in..."

  "The Cobra soldier protested. "Our orders are clear, the Commander said no one is to enter this room without him. No one."

  "I do not take orders from your bloody commander, man. I take orders from the Lord of the Manor and his family. These four pass..."

  "But..."

  "Don't make me get angry with you...Just let them through".

  He relented and glared at them as they walked through the door, which was closed behind them. They found themselves in a huge library, floor to ceiling shelves were lined with books, chairs and sofas were positioned in front of a hearth, and a large table stood in the center lined with display cases containing rare tomes.

  "What did you say to him?" Shipwreck asked.

  "Hmmm...oh, I just identified myself as a member of the clan. He had no choice but to obey me once he knew I was 'family'"

  "Well, it seems that it was all for not," Flint was fed up with this hole affair. Seeing Jaye with Will had rattled him, made him angry again "The place is empty..."

  "Looks can be deceiving, Flint...now where is that damn switch"...Lady Jaye was busy scanning the shelves, oblivious to her old partner's sudden change of mood.

  "Aha...Robbie Burns...of course..." She pulled the book of the shelf and suddenly, a whole section of the wall opened up to reveal a hidden hallway.

  "I think somebody watched too much Scooby-Doo growing up." Shipwreck, ever the comedian, walked forward and looked down into the entrance...

  "Lets go, we haven't much time...Here, grab that flashlight..."

  They wandered down the hallway, down a winding staircase to a small chamber complete with four heavy oak doors, all bolted shut.

  "Which door?", Scarlet asked Jaye, coming up next to her.

  "Hold on..." She called out something in Gaelic. Nothing happened...

  "Looks like no one is home..."

  She tried again...and this time they heard a faint reply.

  "To the right...that one there...Scarlet, I hope you remember how to pick a lock?"

  "Its just like riding a bike," She pulled one of the bobby-pins out of her hair and went to work. It didn't take long.

  Sitting on a bench at the end of the room, shackled to the wall, sat their old enemy. The real thing this time...Destro.

  'Well, Beag Aon, what took you so long?"

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

  "We must move against this imposter quickly. We cannot afford to waste any more time..." Destro stood at the fireplace in th dinning hall of the Burnett manor.

  The Joes had managed to sneak him out of the castle without much resistance. Most of the guests just assumed he was the host, as the imposter had not yet come back from wherever he had been called. The guards, thank goodness, had assumed the same.

  In fact, the only trouble they had was dragging her uncle with them. Lady Jaye knew that abandoning his castle to the enemy would be too much for his honor to bear. She did, however, succeed in convincing him that he needed food and rest before he could try anything. He was still weak from his forced confinement.

  "What is the big rush...we just left the place a couple of hours ago. You can wait until morning before we rush back in..."

  "NO! You fools...we don't even have that much time. Your silent friend here has confirmed as much."

  Snake Eyes had entered the study without incident, and returned with a handful of old documents, maps of Greece and Turkey, and a journal. When Flint showed the finds to Destro, he tensed...and began to rant about laying siege to his castle.

  "Look, ChromeDome...I don't like having you around anymore than you like being here...but ...."

  "Flint, please....Destro...Uncle. I know you too well. Although an affront to clan honor and pride, you are not telling us the whole story. We need to know what those papers signify. We need to know what is so important that COBRA took up time and resources to infiltrate your operation. This isn't just a power struggle, is it?"

  "You would have me reveal clan secrets to the enemy..."

  "An enemy whose goals are the same as your own can be useful...you taught me that."

  Destro smiled then, " Ah, little one, I taught you well...too well, it seems. You are right, of course." He turned to address the Joes in the room. William was there as well, having followed them out of the party when he saw something was up. LJ stood next to him now. She looked at Flint, who for some strange reason had gone cold on her again. She had hoped that things were getting better.

  "It seems, gentlemen, that we are traveling the same road. I want COBRA out of my castle and out of Scotland, and ceushed before they can complete this mission of theirs. You, once you hear what they are looking for, are going to want the same. I say we declare a truce for the time being. However, the information I am about to reveal to you is a highly classified. I expect something in return, to keep things...in good faith."

  "Something tells me you are not in a position to bargain," Shipwreck noted.

  "Really...I wouldn't be so sure. I think this is information that someone might be very interested in...don't you think so, William?"

  The mi-6 agent frowned. "What is it you want in return, Destro?"

  "Nothing much, really...a token...a trifle. I will let you know what it is once we clear up this nasty business with the Commander. I have a feeling you know what it will be, though. I think you and I both have an interest in seeing justice done. N'es ce pas?" He looked at Jaye and smiled lovingly at his niece.

  William paused, then smiled mysteriously. "Yes, we do. Done!"

  "What!...look, I am in charge of this mission, pretty boy...You just sold your soul to the devil...." Flint stood forward menacingly.

  "Here on British soil, mi-6 is king, American. You would do well to remember that."

  "Yes...I have seen how well you have done so far...you needed us to come in and clean up your mess..."

  "Typical Yank, so full of himself he can't see the forest for the trees. Alison, what in the world could you have been thinking?"

  "Not much, I suppose, seeing she chose to be with you..." he sneered...

  "What?!...." Lady Jaye exclaimed, looking surprised.

  William laughed, "Is that what this is all about...."

  "If you two are through posturing, I suggest we get down to business. If Destro is right and they have found what they are looking for, we don't have much time" Scarlet interceded.

  "Thank you, young lady, at least one of you has some sense." Destro pulled up a chair and sat down.

  "Where to begin. Cobra Commander, as you well know, has been one of MARS most generous customers this past decade. He is a fool, but a wealthy one, and pays his bills. I can't say as much for my other clientele."

  "Unfortunately, his idiocy has led to more defeats than can be tolerated. I have voiced my opinion and expressed my concern but to no avail. He continued on his merry way..."

  Lady Jaye looked at her Uncle. What an understatement...When he says 'expressed his concern', he meant he was leading a rebellion.

  "In any case, of late I have been refusing to supply the organization with any more new weaponry. It is not inexpensive to manufacture, and I know COBRA can no longer afford to pay the bill. This, of course, infuriated the commander. I refused to budge. Losing the war is never profitable"

  "It seems, however, that there was a 'leak' "His expression changed to one of anger, "It was 'dealt with', but not before some classified information made it into the hands of Dr. Mindbender."

  "You see, during the period between the first and second world wars, MARS was commissioned to do some extensive research into the then new phenomenon of chemical and biological weapons. The advent of these two conflicts saw the introduction of such goodies as Serin, Phosgene, Mustard Gas and Anthrax, and my client wanted something even more affective...even more deadly..."

  "MARS succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams...or nightmares in this case. The compound, which was simply referred to as Weapon-19, was deadly as it was destructive. It caused the victim to liquify from the inside out, quite literally melting them were they stood. One small amount released into the air was enough to decimate an entire regiment. It worked slowlly, painfully, and there was no antidote."

  "My grandfather, the late Calum McCullen Destro, was head of the clan at the time of its creation. He was as disgusted by it as he was terrified of its destructive potential. My family is an honorable one...we are weapons dealers...but nothing like this has ever been produced by us before. We built siege weapons and swords, guns and canon, and eventually tanks and warplanes...but never something this...this...cowardly. For how else could one describe it. Sending something into the air that randomly felled every living thing it contacted while you sit safely upwind."

  "Calum never reported his success to the client in question. He burned all the documents and research pertaining to it, but the chemical itself proved to be a different matter. It was impervious to all efforts to destroy it. Giving up, he hid the remaining tanks out on a small uninhabited island in the Aegean. The tanks must stay at a relatively high temperature or the chemical will become active. This area proved to be ideal. He buried deep in a cave in the earth and sealed away from the world forever. Where they remained to this day. Until COBRA got wind of its existence."

  The Joes stood stunned, the implications of his words made them shudder. He continued.

  "If what your friend here has brought us is correct, Mindbender has discovered the location of the cave in my grandfather's journal, the only thing not destroyed when he cleaned out the lab so many years ago. There is enough Weapon-19 in those tanks to decimate more than half of the world's population. Knowing Cobra Commander, he would not be averse to using it either. We must stop him..."

  Flint stood up, "I think its time we called in the big guns..."

  William nodded..."For once, chap, I agree..."

______________________________________________________

Continued in Chapter Six!
Back to The Bard's Fics!
Back to Authors Page!