GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

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Chapter Seventeen

Halfway across the city from where the GI Joe team was dealing with the aftermath of their shoot-out, a red and black Honda CBR 1000RR Fireblade motorcycle rolled down the busy street, its engine growling loudly, weaving in between cars. The driver, dressed in white and wearing a white helmet, hunched over the handlebars and steered the motorcycle up a short driveway and onto the sidewalk.

There was a nondescript four-story tall office building with nothing but an address number displayed above the large front doors. People shuffled through the doors, suit-and-tie businessmen carrying black briefcases, secretaries and office assistants rushing out for their lunch hour, middle-aged security guards doing their rounds. It was almost indistinguishable from the hundreds of other busy office buildings that lined the streets of New York.

The motorcycle rider drove behind the office building and down a long alley. He pulled into an underground parking area beneath the building, bypassing the security guards posted there without them even giving him a second look.

He parked the motorcycle, swinging the kick stand down. He pulled off his helmet and set it down on top of the handlebars. It was the ninja known as Storm Shadow, but the men working here on the surface didn’t know his name at all. They only knew that he had free reign of the building and his orders were to be followed.

Storm Shadow walked through the brightly-lit parking area, past a line of black trucks and plain sedans, and went to the freight elevator at the far end of the parking area. He swung closed the large fence door and pushed the lever down. With a groan, the elevator jerked to life and began to descend.

Storm Shadow could practically hear Cobra Commander screaming before he even got off the elevator. When the doors opened, he could hear shouts echoing faintly off the metal walls of the underground facility. Trying to suppress a smile on his face, he strode down the hall toward the main room, walking past the armed guards.

As he walked into the room, he watched as Cobra Commander swung his arm out and backhanded one of the guards, his gloved hand smacking against the lower mouthplate of the guard’s helmet. The guard reeled backward.

“They knew they were being followed!” the Commander bellowed. “Even an idiot would have known that! You should have suspected it as soon as they got off the freeway!”

“But sir,” the guard mumbled feebly. “How could they have known?”

“Because our men must have given themselves away! They probably followed too closely!”

“If those military officers knew we were following them,” the guard said carefully, “then why didn’t they try to lose us in traffic? They had every opportunity to get away.”

“Because they wanted to lead us into a trap, you moron!”

Storm Shadow folded his hands in front of him and cleared his throat. Cobra Commander swung to face him and pointed at him furiously. “And where in the hell have you been? We have a situation here!”

“I know,” Storm Shadow said calmly.

“Our whole operation here has been compromised!” Cobra Commander shrieked. “By tomorrow, this place will be crawling with police!”

“Our men won’t tell the police anything,” Storm Shadow said.

“I know that!” the Commander snapped. “They’ll figure it out eventually. Those trucks are registered to this company, remember? And once they learn their identities, they’ll track us down soon enough.”

“You knew we would have to abandon this facility soon anyway,” Storm Shadow reminded him calmly.

“But not this soon! We still have more serum to produce, and moving all the production equipment will take days.”

Cobra Commander took a deep breath, his raspy voice making it sound like a growl. He waved his arm dismissively, and the guard he had been screaming at gratefully left the room with his tail between his legs. The Commander then stepped to his throne and took a seat, regaining his composure.

“All right,” he said. “So we move our plan forward. I don’t want to leave anything behind here, is that understood? All the necessary equipment and all our men must be out of here in 36 hours and taken to my town. Contact Major Bludd and let him know we’ll be there ahead of schedule.”

Storm Shadow nodded. “Of course.”

“Where were you earlier?”

“I followed our men after they left. I wanted to keep an eye on them.”

“What?” Cobra Commander asked. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

“You were busy,” Storm Shadow said with a shrug. “I thought it was a bad idea to send our men in the first place. But Mindbender insisted on it.”

“Yes, Mindbender,” the Commander grumbled. “Where is he right now?”

“I’m not sure. I believe he already left the Institute. He’s probably on his way here.”

“Okay, I’ll deal with him later. So tell me what happened.”

“I followed our men the whole time. The men who visited Mindbender picked up the tail right away and led our men right into a trap, as you suspected. They didn’t notice me, though. I stayed until after the police showed up.”

“And no one noticed you?”

“No, there was a big crowd of people watching. I got a good look at them.”

“So who are they?” Cobra Commander asked.

“I’m not sure. Only one of them had a military uniform on, and he was an Army General. Most of the others were in civilian clothes. But they had some serious hardware. They had a vehicle called an MPAV, and it’s still in the testing stages last time I checked. It’s not officially in use at all.”

“Interesting,” the Commander said. It was a bit of an understatement.

“We can track them though,” Storm Shadow said. “I placed a tracking device on the MPAV, so we can see where it goes.”

“Exactly how did you manage that?”

“Like I said, there was a huge crowd of people. I just walked right up with the crowd and stuck it under the rear bumper. No one paid any attention to me.”

Cobra Commander laughed. “Wonderful. Maybe you can pay them a visit tonight. Sending men after them was a mistake, but we have to find out what they know about our organization.”

“Yes, of course.”

One of the guards walked into the doorway and nodded toward the Commander. “Sir, the doctor is here and wishes to see you.”

“Mindbender,” Cobra Commander snapped, standing up and walking away from the throne. “He doesn’t have to come here. I think I’ll go and see him directly.”

“What do you want me to do for now?” Storm Shadow asked.

“Start planning our evacuation. Get the men ready and then call Major Bludd. If you get a location for those military investigators, let me know right away.”

They both left the room in a hurry, and the guard who had announced Mindbender’s arrival stood in the doorway for a few seconds, watching them go. He walked down the hall after Storm Shadow but did not follow him. Instead, the guard walked casually into one of the large rooms lined with occupied beds, looking around to see if anyone was inside.

The room was empty except for the men sleeping soundly on the beds. The guard, letting his gun hang at his side, walked between the two rows of beds.

He lifted the faceplate for his helmet and gazed down at the sleeping men, his eyes tinted purple with colored contacts. He scanned the room, taking in every detail, and reached into a pocket to take out a tiny digital camera.

He snapped a few photos, glancing back toward the door a few times to make sure no one was coming. He tucked the camera away and walked to one of the unoccupied beds. He picked up the pair of headphones sitting on the bed and pressed play on the CD player attached to them.

Lifting the headphones to his ear, he heard a calm, soothing voice. “Cobra wants to help you. Cobra is dedicated to helping people, and we need your help to make our dreams a reality. We need to fight for our rights, and Cobra helps you win that fight. Cobra is a wonderful place to work. We treat people with respect. We are very happy you have chosen to work for Cobra, and with your help, we can make the world a better place. Cobra wants to help you ...”

He set the headphones down with a concerned expression on his face, and opened up the CD player, taking the CD out and sticking it into his pocket as well. And then he lowered his helmet again, gripped his gun, and walked out of the room.

Fifteen minutes later, he was out of the building and on his way to the M.A.R.S. compound.

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