Chapter 16 Armed and Dangerous

Chapter 16

          I met up with Flint and the other Joes I had met a month earlier back at the Pit.  We thanked them for rescuing us and some of us agreed to remain behind to begin rebuilding the previously overrun Marine outpost.  Pathfinder also returned with us, removing his Cobra uniform and replacing it with his mirrored sunglasses and side-upturned Bowie hat.  I would return with Mainframe and the others aboard the Joe convoy.  Several Army infantrymen and women also stayed behind to fortify the regained military base.  The Cobra prisoners were loaded into one of the APCs for transport to the nearest military prison.  They would later be questioned and placed before an international court for their crimes. 

I couldn’t wait to get back to the Pit to see my furry companion.  It had been a little over a month, but Lady Jaye informed me that Spirit and some of the other Joes had taken good care of my cheetah cub.  I wondered if he would even remember me when I got back.  I asked the Joes what would become of Croc Master and the others.

“Cobra has a nasty habit of slithering away in a fight and hiding under a rock waiting for their next opportunity to strike,” Flint was quick to point out.  “You and the rest of the G.I.Joe team will continue to do what we do by bringing these war criminals to justice and foiling their attempts at world domination!”

“Wait, did I hear you correctly? Did you just say that I am a member of the Joe team?”

“I sure did soldier, Armed and Dangerous will officially be part of the team, as soon as I file the necessary paperwork with your superiors and the U.S. government.  Welcome aboard soldier!”

          As we descended the remaining distance on the underground elevator, I could no longer control myself.  “Permission to be dismissed, sir?”

“Permission granted.”

I saluted the warrant officer and the others and made my way back to the hidden room where Dangerous would be waiting.  As I peered into the room, I was ecstatic as his little head popped up inside his cage.  I quickly unlocked the latch and took him out. 

“Boy, you did grow a little since last I saw you!”

The cheetah could do little more than purr loudly as I continued to scratch his belly.  “You and I are going to be full-fledged members of the G.I.Joe team.”  Dangerous seemed as excited as I was at the news.  I pulled out two, ok three cans of cat food and fed him.  Afterward, I would give him a plenitude of ear scratches and belly rubs as he chirped in acceptance.

“Good to know you didn’t forget me.”

That night I had to give a debriefing of my time in the Cobra stockade.  I recounted my time with the strange Cobra hypnotist, who I now knew to be Crystal Ball.  I explained to the best of my ability the unique other enemy operatives who were known as Raptor, Big Boa and Croc Master.  It seemed all of them had succeeded in escaping capture.  Satisfied with my report, I was released to my own activities for the remainder of the day.  I chose to meet up with Mainframe, Clutch, and Pathfinder for dinner.  Hollow Point and Hidalgo had also been invited back to the Pit to join us. Pathfinder shared stories of his time inside the Cobra terrorist cell.  It was very interesting especially the part about the satellite transmission of the supreme Cobra leader.  He confided in us that the experience made him further understand why people in war-torn and other impoverished regions might be lured into the Cobra organization, but more so how he was happy to be home.  He paused for a brief moment and stared off into space.

 “Hey, Pathfinder, everything alright buddy?”

 “Yeah, I think I’m just exhausted from the mission. Nothing a few days of R and R won’t fix.”

In the back of his mind, he could still hear the melodic voice of the Cobra hypnotist calling him back into the fold.  He shook himself free of the memory as his friends cheered each other with a round of new drinks and a heartfelt “Yo Joe!”