Chapter 21
After a long discussion, the Cobra supreme leader seemed content with the installation of his new operative. Ghost Bear possessed a wealth of military knowledge and had an excellent grasp of the Middle East, their language, and customs. He had not taken long to dye his obnoxious orange hair and was set to meet with Major Bludd in order to gain the intel on the informant he would be meeting up with at the currently undisclosed location. The major had only questioned him on a few key matters after his meeting with Cobra Commander. The first being his knowledge of the Islamic faith, the other his grasp of the Farsi, Arabic, Hebrew and Urdu languages. It wouldn’t be the first time he was undercover in a foreign country, but it would be the first time he was undercover and mostly alone in a possible war-torn nation. Major Bludd excused himself from the room and returned ten minutes later carrying a large black locking case.
“You’ll be needing this for your journey.”
He placed the large heavy case onto a nearby table and unlocked the latches. Upon opening the lid, the inside housed some curious objects. The most peculiar being a glass canister containing a green semi-translucent gas.
“You’ll be traveling to your location by ground. We cannot risk infiltration by way of the local airports, and the substances contained in this case would never pass through customs.”
Ghost Bear moved in closer and reached for the strange canister. The major grabbed his hand preventing him from touching it. Ghost Bear eyed him curiously.
“What is it?”
“Consider it your insurance policy should things go awry. It’s a deadly neurotoxin capable of being dispersed into the air or drinking water. Once released, it can infect and effectively wipe out upwards of twenty-five hundred people. Should your negotiations with Cobra’s affiliates go sideways, this will ensure that they are no longer in our employ.”
“I thought I was supposed to be going undercover?”
“Your undercover status applies to getting you into the country and the area of concern. Once you’re in, you will be serving as a Cobra emissary. We are not expecting hostility from the terrorist cell and as long as they accept our proposals, you will then be working side by side within the organization to make sure they hold up their end of the bargain.”
The younger operative made a noticeable grimace.
“This is not what I was expecting to be doing. I’m not a diplomat!”
“Hold your tongue. This is an extreme honor. And the fact that the commander agreed to your deployment speaks to your abilities and future in Cobra. My services are required elsewhere, but if they weren’t, I would be handling this situation personally. Do not doubt that for a minute!”
Ghost Bear nodded his understanding and then returned his attention to the contents of the case. In addition to the canister, there was a strange looking handheld injection pen. There was also a stack of foreign currency, two passports, a foreign driver’s permit, and some other handheld weapons.
“Most of the weapons were 3D printed using state of the art high heat resistant polymers. They will not set off metal detectors, but they do unfortunately have a short service life. Once you’re at the specified location, you will be provided with more than adequate resources, but these may still come in handy.”
The soon to be deployed operative glanced over at the injecting pen.
“The handheld is for assassinations. Should anyone in the organization be unwilling to comply with our directives, that pen will ensure they are dead within a thirty-six-hour window. The toxin is untraceable, undetectable in the blood, non-contagious and will mimic the symptoms of a fatal heart attack. Use it with extreme discretion. Your ride will be here within the hour.”
Major Bludd handed him a swatch of yellow paper with some numbers scribbled on it.
“These are the coordinates of your rendezvous and the name of your contact. After you memorize the information, eat it. It’s biodegradable and fully digestible.”
The Siberian tracker had a photographic memory and after glancing once more at the coordinates and his contact’s name, he swallowed the paper.
“So, what’s your liason’s name?”
“Fareeq Azulea”
“Excellent, don’t forget it. He is a trusted operative and someone you can rely on if the situation gets iffy. Now, be sure to maintain radio silence until you are settled in. Good luck. Make Cobra proud son!”
He extended his armored plated hand and grasped the forearm of Ghost Bear. The two shook on it.
“It will be my honor to complete this mission and further the reach of the Cobra nation. Hail Cobra!”
The supreme commander observed the entire interaction from the confines of his private quarters. There were no areas in the Cobra compound that did not have audio and video access other than the commander’s private quarters. In that situation, the recordings were made by tiny cameras and microphones concealed in the inner working of his chromed face mask. He was happy with his selection and satisfied that the good major had provided enough of the intel to get the new operative to agree to the mission. What Ghost Bear didn’t know however was that the entire operation was designed to simply test his loyalty, and that there was no imminent danger. He was being sent in to oversee a squabble over the amount of commission being collected for armaments provided. The assignment was all a ruse. Cobra Commander had been unsure of Ghost Bear’s intentions as he was afterall the son of Kwinn, a Cobra traitor, who had died several years earlier. He clicked out of the screen after the two parted ways, and turned his attention to another more urgent matter involving another alleged allied group known as the Red Shadows. The group had been making what they thought were secret arms deals with aspiring warlords for several decades now, and were not welcoming of the sometimes overly eccentric commander.
Bribery had yielded only temporary alliances with Baron Ironblood and the Red Laser, but the commander wanted more than makeshift arrangements. He needed a way to ensure their loyalty, and the only way to do that, was to create a common threat. His exploits on the African mainland had exposed the G.I.Joe team to the world. While his mind probing experiments had made great strides into understanding the inner workings of the top secret military strike force. Some properly planted clues could lead the Joes right to the Baron’s back door. Leaving the Baron with two choices: accepting the Cobra nation’s help in deflecting the attack and admitting their military shortcomings, or being promptly eliminated from the playing field. Quite honestly, the commander didn’t care which scenario played out, either way, he would emerge victorious with new field operatives or a new area of the world to exploit and control.
He flipped the computer monitor to a screen showing the egomaniacal hypnotist, known as Crystal Ball. He had trusted the carnival charlatan to infiltrate the minds of his recent prisoners and the Joe team member chosen to infiltrate his Kenyan strike team. He watched intently as the strange man entered into a trance employing the circular motion of his shield which created an unseen barrage of magical waves. Not wanting to interrupt the man’s concentration, or be hypnotized himself, he switched off the video feed leaving only the room audio on.
“You are nothing more than a pawn for the collective political warship. G.I.Joe has no real need for you. To them, you are nothing more than an expendable asset. Your only choice is to desert them. Let go of your loyalty to the bureaucratic machine. Tell me everything you know about your captors, I alone can free you from your oppressors.”
The commander could only imagine the havoc being wrecked upon the mind of the Joe known as Pathfinder.
Many months had passed since the staged coup in Kenya, and the hypnotist had been slow and methodical at extracting information from his test subject’s mind. He started with getting his real name, his mother’s maiden name, bank account routing numbers, and even his first pet’s name. He commonly entered the soldier’s mind while he slept in the form of his dreams. The little bits of intel extracted helped pave the way to obtaining bigger and better information. Cobra now knew the location of three G.I.Joe mobile bases, the names of the generals placed in charge of the organization, and the primary military specialty of at least four dozen previously unknown military operatives. However, he continued to hit a wall of resistance when he inquired about the location of the Pit and the location of top secret special missions currently underway. Oh, it was possible that the joe didn’t know the information, but Crystal Ball needed to be certain.
Crystal Ball smiled after his final question received a revealing response. The commander would be pleased with this new piece of the puzzle. He switched off his computer and the oscillating hypnoshield. Almost immediately the intercom on his desk flashed. He reached forward to answer the beacon.
“I trusssst you have some interesssting news to report.”
The psychic smiled and looked up at the hidden camera in the corner of the ceiling.
“Of course Commander. I do. Indeed.”
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