GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Chapter Thirteen

Destro leaned back in his chair and thoughtfully folded his hands in his lap, looking down at his desktop. Across from him, the Baroness shifted uncomfortably in her seat, licking her lips nervously. Warm morning sunlight came through the windows, casting rows of narrow shadows across the room from the opened venetian blinds.

“I’m so sorry, James,” the Baroness said for the third time, fidgeting with her hands in her lap. Her eyes betrayed her weariness; she had been up all night. “I don’t know how they got in. I know I should have been watching. And I should have sent more men. I know that, and I promise –”

“Anastasia, please,” Destro said gently. “This wasn’t your fault. You were there to supervise the shipment, not to provide security. You’re not to blame here.”

“I just don’t understand how they got in, James,” the Baroness said, shaking her head. “How we could have missed them. They must have been right in the open.”

“I’m more concerned with who they were working for,” Destro said, his voice darkening momentarily. He clenched his teeth for a few seconds and then relaxed. He reached for the glass of brandy on the desk and took a sip.

“They must be working for Cobra,” the Baroness said, although she sounded anything but confident. “They were sent to spy on us.”

“Possibly. Or perhaps they were sent by one of my rivals,” Destro said. “I have many enemies, you know. And why would Cobra bother to sent agents here to spy on our operations? We received their final payment two days ago.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

Destro shook his head slightly and reached for the photographs taken of the intruders by one of the security cameras. As Baroness had said, they had been right out in the open. A camera on the loading dock had caught them entering the building through the same dock door that Baroness herself had used not more than ten minutes earlier. There had still been guards posted right outside, so Destro was at a loss as to how they had waltzed right in without being noticed. He would have some harsh words for the guards on duty.

The first intruder had came through the door while it was still closing, and then taken out two guards single-handedly, apparently without making a sound. The second one came in after that. Destro didn’t understand why one of them wore a mask and the other didn’t.

“How many guards were injured?” he asked.

“Eight,” the Baroness said.

“And one of the intruders opened fire, but he deliberately fired over the guards’ heads?”

“I wasn’t there, but that’s what they told me. They said he shot out the lights and then threw smoke grenades.”

“Interesting,” Destro said.

It was far from interesting, of course. It was very peculiar. Cobra agents or spies working for a rival arms dealer would not have been so careful with the lives of Destro’s employees. The two guards taken by surprise on the loading dock would have been silently killed, not merely incapacitated. And why bother shooting over someone’s head, when you can just shoot them directly in the head?

Unless they were ordered not to kill anyone. But who would give such an order?

“I think I know how they snuck past our security,” Destro said, looking at the photographs. “They jumped from a plane and parachuted down. Has anyone checked the roof?”

“The roof?” the Baroness asked. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Send someone up and look for anything out of place. I doubt they left their parachutes there for us to find, but maybe they left some other evidence.”

“It’s possible, but how can you be sure?”

“They didn’t kill anyone. Even when they had been detected and were trying to escape, they tried not to kill. I think they were working for the government, or at least the military.”

The Baroness’ eyes went wide at the knowledge, as she began to make connections and realize the ramifications. “James, if they were taking pictures, then they ...”

“Yes, they probably saw some things they shouldn’t have. But there’s no sense in worrying about it now. We have other things to take care of first. The final shipment to Cobra was planned for this weekend, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Do it tonight. Do whatever is necessary, but I want all those weapons out of the warehouse by tomorrow morning.”

“Of course,” the Baroness said, sitting up a bit straighter. She was clearly still exhausted, but Destro knew she would not complain about her lack of sleep. He knew she would do as he instructed her, no matter how tired she was.

“You better get started now. I’ll come down later and help you organize the shipment, but I have some other business to take care of first.”

“Yes, James.” She stood up and left the office, already in a hurry. Organizing the next shipment would take hours, and they didn’t even have all the items delivered to their own facility yet. That meant phone calls, demands, threats, even bribes. Getting the entire shipment out the door in 24 hours was going to be nearly impossible, but the Baroness was not going to let Destro down, not after last night.

She walked briskly down the hall toward the elevator, her mind racing. She needed coffee if she was going to think clearly. She’d been up almost 30 hours already, having spent the entire night trying to clean up the mess, figuring out if anything was stolen, viewing the security tapes, and yelling at the guards who managed to let two spies into the facility.

The elevator dinged and started to open as she approached it, and she slowed her pace when she saw who was inside. It was a man dressed in a sharp gray business suit, with shining brown leather shoes and a red tie. His eyes were concealed behind reflective sunglasses, and he smiled at her winningly as he stepped from the elevator, flashing bright white teeth. His hair was brown and cut into a short, respectable hairstyle. He lifted his arm to adjust his sleeve, showing off the expensive golden watch adorning his wrist.

“Hey, baby,” he sneered.

The Baroness gritted her teeth and walked past him, getting into the elevator and stabbing the down button. The man turned to watch her go, and she glared at him as the doors closed, sending her downstairs.

He snickered, as if at some private joke, and continued down the hall to Destro’s office. He did not bother to knock as he came inside.

Destro glanced up, sipping his brandy. The man walked up to the desk and flopped himself down in the chair that Baroness had just recently left. He shifted in the chair and smiled, folding his hands.

“Ooh, the seat is still warm.”

“Good morning, Zartan,” Destro said, his voice neutral.

“I heard you had a break in last night.”

Destro set the glass down on his desk. “Now, how would you have found out about that already?”

“I deal in information,” Zartan said, grinning broadly. His voice was clipped and professional, neither the Western drawl nor the gruff mumble that he had used the last time he and the Baroness had worked together.

“Do you recognize either of them?” Destro asked, motioning to the photographs.

Zartan reached out and plucked the photos off the desk. He leaned back and studied them for a moment, pursing his lips. “I’m afraid not. Although I’d love to get to know the redhead a little bit better. They must be military, possibly CIA.”

“How can you tell?”

“Hmm, just a hunch. The uniforms give it away. Did they steal anything, or were they just looking around?”

“Just looking, as far as we know.”

“Is this what you called me in for? Want me to track them down?”

Destro shook his head. “No, I have something else in mind. You know about our recent deal with the Cobra group, correct?”

“Of course.”

“You’ve heard of them?”

“I’ve heard rumors,” Zartan said evasively. Any information he passed onto Destro, he expected to be paid for. For now, Destro did not press him.

“I want you to do some surveillance for me,” Destro said. “See if you can get inside their operation. They have some German scientist working for them, and I want to know what kind of project he’s working on.”

“The scientist goes by the name Mindbender,” Zartan said casually. “But it’s an alias, of course. And he’s not German.”

“Is that so?”

Zartan merely held out his hand. Destro reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a large manilla envelope. He held it up but did not hand it over. “This gives you the information you need. Their location, and a rough schematic of the building. It’s enough to get you inside. After that, you’ll be on your own. I trust you won’t have any difficulty fitting in.”

“I can fit in anywhere,” Zartan said smoothly, reaching out to take the folder. “And my payment? I won’t accept the usual amount for a mission of this nature.”

“Fine, take double. If the information you bring me is particularly useful, you can have triple. Does that sound fair?”

“Give me a few hours with your girlfriend, and we’ll call it even.”

“I don’t think she would enjoy that arrangement.”

“I know, I wouldn’t want her to.”

Zartan got up and smoothed out the wrinkles on his suit. He tucked the folder under his arm and lowered his sunglasses a bit so Destro could see his eyes. They were tinted purple by used of colored contacts. He winked and then left the office, whistling softly.

<--Previous Chapter|Next Chapter-->