Chapter 11
When Pathfinder finally got the chance to sit down and read the most recent note from his teammates, he was none too pleased. It had been nearly three weeks since he had assumed the identity of Cobra infantry soldier 413. In that time, he had gradually risen amongst the nameless ranks and even became somewhat of a team favorite with the Cobra higher-ups, Croc Master more specifically. As a result of his short meeting with Crystal Ball, they had reduced his jungle patrol times and given him increased security clearance within the compound. From the looks of his most recent correspondence, it could be at least another week before the Joes would be ready to make a strategic attack. He entered the bathroom and burned the coded evidence. This time he flushed the ashes down the drain with a rush of swirling cold water.
That day, the base was abuzz with excitement. He had heard whispering within the ranks of another high-ranking senior officer arriving that day but was not prepared for what he saw next. The sky erupted with the sounds of multiple bird screeching. Next, a dark cloud of large predatory birds filled the afternoon sky. The flock appeared to be escorting what looked like a man in a bird costume, who effortlessly glided into the center of the compound on two large feathered wings. Pathfinder put his hand to his hip holster until he noticed the other Cobra troopers immediately greeting and saluting the odd man. Some of the larger birds perched themselves atop the guard tower and barrack rooves, but one particularly magnificent falcon landed on this stranger’s shoulder. The crocodile wrangler appeared almost moments later to welcome this new eccentric individual and to usher him into the command center.
“Do make sure my pets are well-fed until my return, PeKaw!” Casting his glance onto the closest Cobra troopers. Only after they nodded to him did he turn and follow Croc Master through the security door.
A few minutes later, another Cobra grunt brought out a large sickly cow at the end of a rope and promptly shot it dead point blank in the head. After the echo of the shot ended and the animal hit the ground, a swarm of the visitor’s birds descended upon it in order to feast. The feeding frenzy was like nothing I had ever seen before.
Another soldier could be heard commenting about the event. “When those birds are through, there’ll be little more than bones left.” Pathfinder could only nod as he watched the bevy of birds tear apart the withered cow’s carcass.
* * * * *
Cobra Commander sat comfortably upon his serpent-shaped throne safely tucked away nearly a mile below the ocean. His plan had been playing out nicely. New recruits were being sworn in daily and his forces in Kenya were easily holding the Marine outpost with little interference from any substantial military power. But what really made the supreme leader smile beneath his hood was the fact that his other forces were slowly draining the African continent of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of precious gems: Rubies the size of his fists, sapphires, and multi-colored garnet amongst tanzanite, topaz, and tourmaline. He was stealing the stones right out from under the eyes of the miners and the dealers alike. Although it wasn’t all for monetary gain, these precious gems would provide an untraceable way for the Cobra front man to pay his anti-government and militia constituents around the globe.
His sympathizers further south on the continent were also pilfering more than a small share of Africa’s gold and diamonds. These substances would secure his wealth throughout the terrorist organizations and at the same time allow his scientists to continue making more unique weaponry and armor-plating for his air force and motor pool. In a matter of only a few short months, the ruthless and cunning Commander had managed to infiltrate or befriend every major terrorist agency in Europe and Asia. Every major player by this time knew of or had already seen the power that he possessed. With such factions as the Dreadnoks, Destro, and the Red Shadows making open dealings with his emissaries, it would only be a matter of time before a Cobra flag flew over a major European country. Yet, even if that didn’t happen, he was now in a position to take over some of the smaller countries simply by inserting the correct operative.
He leaned back only briefly to consider his next plan of action. It had been a few days since he had checked in with Zartan or Crystal Ball. Being a calculated leader, he knew to keep their leashes short and their pockets full to ensure their allegiance. He then pressed a red button on the right side handrail of his throne. A large computer screen slowly descended from the ceiling to halt directly in front of him. After a brief moment, the screen illuminated on his Dreadnok cohort.
“Greetings Cobra Commander, I was just thinking about you.”
“Yessss my dear Zartan, I’m sssssure you were!”
* * * * *
The Pit was well guarded and a maze of sorts. The Dreadnok poacher had made very little progress in fully infiltrating or mapping out the interior floor plan, and there were more activities taking place within than he could ever have fathomed. It had been nearly two weeks since his initial ingress and he had done little more than locating the food rations. Several Sky Hawks and a Dragonfly helicopter had entered and left the base since his initial arrival and although he had managed to make his way into the ventilation system, he had not been able to locate his prized cheetah cubs. This weighed heavily on the poacher, as he needed those kittens for a rather wealthy client. Never had it taken him this long to deliver on a promise. He was hungrier than his belly led him to believe and he began to rethink his strategy.
From what he had been able to glean from his exploration of the base, even if he found the cheetahs, there was no easy egress. It might simply be easier to locate two other kittens and be done with this place. That was until he noticed a Native American man walking across the room in front of him with a bald eagle perched upon his shoulder. Now, this was something that he didn’t see every day, and it just so happened that Gnawgahyde knew a guy, who knew a guy, that was looking to purchase a bird just like that one. This particular G.I.Joe operative, who he heard referred to as Spirit, then helped himself to a sandwich from the room’s concealed refrigerator. He twisted his mustache while he thought and watched as the G.I.Joe with the bird and a sandwich in hand exited through a door on the left side of the room. Now he had another direction to check out, but first, he needed to check the contents of that room’s refrigerator. His stomach grumbled loudly as he crept from the room’s ventilation system, lucky for him this grate swung open with a little force and having already checked this room for security cameras, it couldn’t hurt to grab a bite to eat. Inside he found at least a dozen pre-made sub sandwiches, so he grabbed two with a bottle of water and silently returned to the obscurity of the heating and cooling vent. He crawled a bit further back into the shaft as not to possibly be seen by anyone entering the room and unwrapped his first hoagie. Upon taking a bite he laughed to himself and thought, “It could use some bacon.”
* * * * *
The United States aircraft carrier known as the Flagg, had covered many nautical miles in the last five days to anchor itself out in international waters some thirty miles from the eastern coast of Kenya. She was instructed to remain in radio silence until word arrived from central command. The smaller vessel, a destroyer, known as the USS Davy Crockett was scouting the waters nearby on a daily basis. Unlike, the USS Flagg, the Crockett had permission from the African and Asian mainland to be in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. So, the Joe team had used this to their advantage by stationing several Joe Naval officers on board.
Topside and Shipwreck loved the open seas. Both of them felt much more at home on the bridge of a naval vessel than on dry land any day. They had been working closely with the Crockett’s crew using the ship’s sonar to scour the ocean floor in search of Cobra submarines. Their search had since turned up little evidence. It was as if the slippery serpents had gone dark and ceased any activity in the area once the two larger vessels appeared.
“The ocean is eerily quiet, Topside. And I don’t like it one bit. It chills my bones knowing that those snakes are somewhere slithering deep beneath the waves.”
“Oh stop being such a worry wart Shipwreck. If Cobra’s out there, the new age sonar technology on this ship will have little trouble finding them. There’s no way any nuclear subs will be getting past this ship’s defenses.”
Topside was right. The USS Crockett and the Flagg were both equipped with the absolute best in water penetrating sonar that the world had to offer. If a school of orcas wandered within a quarter mile, they would be the first to know about it.
“I don’t know, I still got a bad feeling like old Davy Jones himself is staring up at us from his barnacle-covered locker deep below.”
“You’re so dramatic Hector! We’ll have plenty of warning if Cobra makes a move.” Topside was quick to retort.
“I sure hope you’re right.”
Then something appeared on the screen. Two large, unknown anomalies a half a mile off the port bow. Shipwreck instinctively called for battle stations and to take evasive actions. As they prepared to sound the air raid sirens and the crew below decks readied several torpedoes, to their surprise, it turned out to be nothing more than a large humpback whale and her calf. The ship’s high-tech underwater scanners and cameras locked in on the location of the two blips which allowed them to form a clearer image on the ship’s monitor.
“Avast ye landlubbers, it’s just a false alarm.” The ship’s senior navigator was quick to point out.
Shipwreck was far from convinced. The veteran sailor rubbed his eyes as he tried to focus on what he thought was a smaller radar blip. But when his eyes refocused on the screen, there was still nothing there except the two whales.
“Relax Shipwreck, it was nothing more than a couple of humpbacks.”
“I dunno, I still have that uneasy feeling, and I’m never wrong. These bones know what they feel and something isn’t right. Ready a S.H.A.R.C., I’m going down under to take a closer look.”
“Have it your way, but I think you’re wasting your time.”
The salty sailor made his way to the deck and jumped inside a recently readied S.H.A.R.C. After closing the airlock and securing a scuba mask, he powered up the sea and air vehicle to dive below the ship’s hull. He kept his radio channel open in order to report in on everything he saw.
The small craft easily descended beneath the waves.
“Hmmm. What do we have here? The sailor’s keen eyes noticed a pair of flippered appendages darting just below the destroyer’s hull. Then he saw it. Someone had secured a large mass of underwater explosives to the ship’s middle hull.
“How in the blue blazes did they pull that off?”
As he began to relay the information to Topside, a harpoon strike took out his starboard engine. The impact sent the small underwater craft spiraling to the ocean floor.
“Mayday! Mayday! I’ve been hit by a harpoon! And there’s currently enough explosives strapped to the ship’s underbelly to split her in two. I repeat the Crockett is going to explode!”
Shipwreck’s coms link fizzled out just as a second harpoon slammed into his windshield. The tempered glass took the brunt of the hit without buckling, but then he saw two Cobra Eels readying their next shots. He knew he had seen flippers mixed in with the whales. The enemy had used the large marine mammals as a decoy to get them close to the ship’s underbelly.
The battle-hardened naval officer was quick to hit the S.H.A.R.C.’s emergency ink jets which emitted a large, black cloud around his doomed vessel. It wouldn’t conceal his location, but it might help throw off the next couple of attacks. He cut the second engine and pulled the escape hatch. If he timed it right, he might be able to slip out just before the next two harpoons hit. As he hit the cold water beneath the inky cloud, he could see another sunken ship below him. Shipwreck began swimming with all his strength as a thunderous sound erupted above him, and the downward shock wave pushed him closer to the abandoned wreck. Was that the impact of the other two harpoons? Or had the Davy Crockett’s hull just been breached? There was no way to tell at the moment as the ink cloud obstructed his upward view.
Shipwreck pulled himself inside the cabin of the sunken freighter. He would have roughly thirty minutes of oxygen in his first tank to sort it all out. He looked down at his wristwatch and mentally noted the time.
* * * * *
The explosion rocked the USS Crockett, but did little to damage her dual reinforced hull. The problem that presented itself now was that there had been an incident in broad daylight and in protected waters on a United States destroyer. As the crew continued to check the ship’s gauges and assess any battle damage, it was safe to say that they were no longer in friendly waters. The ship’s captain, a middle-aged man by the name of Captain Seaward sent an encrypted message to the Flagg.
“We have been attacked. I repeat the Crockett has been attacked!”
Admiral Keel Haul shook his head in disbelief. Had Cobra really just attacked a U.S. military vessel in protected ocean waters? The entire situation had occurred in a matter of only a few short minutes. Cobra clearly knew that they were here and was not about to back down without a fight.
“Is anyone injured on board?” The battle-hardened Admiral’s message was answered shortly thereafter.
“We still ship shape Admiral. The explosion did little more than rock us. All ship’s personnel are safe and secured; we are only missing one of your boys, that parrot-toting sailor, Shipwreck. We lost communication with him shortly before the explosion. He was having a weird feeling about the two humpback whales that appeared on our radar, so he took one of those sea and air vehicles the Joe team placed on my ship to investigate. We will be sending down a dive team to search for him shortly.” Captain Seaward was calm and collected as he detailed the situation. They would find Shipwreck and once central command got wind of this recent attack, Cobra was going to pay!
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