GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Chapter Thirty-Three

The Baroness ran through the tall grass, ducking her head down as bullets smacked against the wall, raining bits of wood and concrete down on her. She paused at the corner of the building and waved the Grenadiers forward while snapping a new clip into her Uzi. The Grenadiers ran past her, opening fire into the intersection and taking position along the sidewalk, standing right out in the open.

The seemingly infinite number of Cobra soldiers were forced back, leaving more dead sprawled across the pavement. Armed with regular AK-47s and barely trained in their use, the Cobra soldiers were no match for the highly-trained Grenadiers, whose body armor was more than able to take a few rifle rounds. The Cobra troops did not have such effective body armor – the Baroness didn't think they had any armor at all – and were far more vulnerable to the accurate gunfire from the Grenadiers.

Spotting the newly-arrived Army soldiers making their way down the adjacent street, the Baroness shouted into her microphone. “Do not engage the federal troops! We're here to fight Cobra! If the military engages you, fall back immediately!”

She brushed her long hair out of her face and ran across the open area in between the two buildings. Out in the street, there was a car on fire, sending a tower of black smoke into the air, and a dozen Cobra troops lay dead around it. More of them were gathered across the street, shooting at the Grenadiers, while even more were congregated at the opposite corner, protected behind some rock walls, currently shooting at the Army. Everywhere she looked, the Baroness saw more and more Cobra soldiers.

They had seriously underestimated the amount of resistance they were up against here. If they had known there were this many, they would have brought six helicopters and twice as many Grenadiers. However, even as incredibly outnumbered as they were, Destro's forces were holding their own, thanks to better equipment and better training.

The Baroness kicked open the back door of the nearest building and ran inside, finding it full of garbage and dusty wooden shelves. She hurried through the building to the front room and watched as half a dozen Cobra soldiers snuck along the front side to ambush the Grenadiers. She ran to the window and opened fire, waving her Uzi back and forth as the glass shattered in front of her, mowing down the Cobra troops. She ducked down as bullets rattled against the front of the building, and loaded another clip.

“Baroness,” said Destro's voice in her ear.

“Yes?” she asked. “What is it?” She dared not use any names, lest someone overhear their conversation or manage to unscramble the radio frequency.

“How close are you to the objective?”

The Baroness poked her head up to look through the window. More Cobra soldiers were coming down the street, facing off against both the Army and the Grenadiers. Some of them were armed with rocket launchers, which fired off shots that screamed down the avenue and exploded in clouds of rubble and flame.

“Still a few blocks away. Cobra's forces are much larger than we expected.”

“Yes, I can see that. I don't think we should continue the assault.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “What about the objective?”

“We can't risk capture,” Destro replied. “And I don't want to risk open combat with the military. I am ordering the men to fall back and meet at the transport. We're leaving in ten minutes.”

The Baroness sighed to herself, disappointed. “Yes, sir. I understand.”

She looked up to see another Cobra soldier with a rocket launcher, this time aiming it at the building she was standing in. She jumped and ran back through the rooms as the rocket sped across the street and struck above the window frame. A blast of heat and wave of debris rocked the small building like an earthquake, nearly knocking the Baroness off her feet. She staggered out the back doors as a wave of smoke billowed out after her.

She coughed and looked around, seeing the Grenadiers begin to fall back. She hated the thought of giving up, especially when they were so close. But Destro knew what he was doing; she had to assume he had other plans for taking care of Cobra.

“Hiya there, beautiful,” came a snarling voice behind her.

She spun around and dove to the side, firing wildly as an automatic shotgun boomed, blasting apart the door she'd been standing against. The door burst into a cloud of splinters, followed by a loud, vicious laugh.

“You'll have to do better than that, darling!” Major Bludd shouted.

The Baroness scrambled to her feet and bolted for cover, shooting behind her without aiming. She reached the house next door and ran behind the side the garage, gasping for breath. She peeked out and then stuck her arm out to shoot back.

There was a wrecked pickup truck parked along the sidewalk in front of the house, and an open field on the other side of the street. Already, the Grenadiers were heading back to the helicopters, leaving her behind. Destro had told her ten minutes, which were running out fast. She didn't have time for this, she had to go now.

She jumped out, aiming her Uzi back at the other building, but Major Bludd was not in sight. She looked back and forth, waving her gun in front of her, but no one was there.

Suddenly, a shadow passed over her, and Major Bludd dropped down from above, having jumped down from the top of the garage. He slammed into her and she flew to the ground. Bludd kicked her Uzi out of her hand and it sailed into the street.

“I've got you now,” he chuckled in a low voice. Before she could get up to face him, he slammed the stock of his USAS-12 shotgun right down between her eyes and she toppled to the ground, blood spilling down the bridge of her nose.

Her ear microphone flew out when she hit the ground, and Major Bludd stepped on it with a laugh. She tried to crawl away, and Bludd simply laughed again before kicking her in the stomach. She reeled back and fell against the pickup truck, sliding off the hood and back to the ground.

The military forces finally made it to the intersection, their progress marked by the deafening sound of a Minigun in their ranks. Cobra was forced to retreat under such devastating firepower, and moved back farther down the street.

Major Bludd aimed the shotgun at the Army and opened fire, the shotgun booming out shots in rapid succession. But after a few seconds it was empty, and Bludd fumbled with another drum clip. He snapped it into place and continued shooting. The Army soldiers returned the favor, and soon were shooting right back, sending a barrage of bullets their way.

Bludd grabbed the Baroness by her hair and dragged her back behind the pickup truck. “Don't you worry about a thing, darling,” he said with a fierce grin. “Those guys aren't gonna get in our way. We'll deal with them shortly, and then you and me and have some private time together.”

Dazed, the Baroness wiped blood from her face and tried to get up, but Bludd pushed her back to the ground with his boot. He smiled at her and then returned fire at the oncoming military forces. The Cobra troops attempted to reorganize and stage a counter attack on the military, but they were just too poorly-trained. As far as the Baroness could tell, there were only a handful of Army personnel there, even less soldiers than Destro had brought. And yet, they were easily able to fight their way down the street, the Cobra forces completely outclassed by the better trained Army forces.

She reached down and pulled a small Beretta pistol from a hidden holster in her boot. Standing over her, Bludd shouted in frustration as his gun went empty again, and he yanked out the empty drum clip and tossed it aside.

“Sorry, honey,” she said sarcastically, “I'm afraid you just aren't my type.”

She pulled the trigger and shot Bludd right in the side at point blank range. He stumbled back, a look of absolute shock on his face, and fell to one knee.

The Baroness jumped up and ran out into the street. Major Bludd staggered upright, dropping the empty shotgun, and went after her, pulling out one of his Desert Eagles. With his other hand, he pressed the wound, blood smearing his black leather gloves.

As bullets rained around her, the Baroness fell to the ground, raising her hands into the air in surrender. Major Bludd stomped toward her, raising his Desert Eagle. The Baroness heard the Army soldiers shouting, and turned to see them not more than thirty yards away, aiming their guns at Bludd, who completely ignored them.

Before he reached the Baroness, there were more shots, and Bludd was struck right in the thigh, a spurt of blood splashing across his leg. He cried out in pain and went down to one knee again, as another shot hit him in the shoulder, knocking him off balance. The Baroness slid backwards along the ground and raised her Beretta once more. Bludd managed to look at her, gritting his teeth in pain and anger, as she pulled the trigger, hitting him right between the eyes. He toppled over backwards and flopped to the ground, one leg folded under him, the Desert Eagle still in his hand.

The Baroness tossed her gun away and got to her feet. As the soldiers shouted for her to stop, she quickly ran off behind the nearest building. Since she was unarmed and running away, the soldiers did not open fire on her.

She ran as fast as she could back toward the helicopters, and to her dismay, saw some of the rising into the air before she got there. Without her ear bud, she couldn't contact them or let them know where she was. She ran out into a clearing as the main helicopter, the one that Destro was riding, lifted up into the air.

“I'm here!” she screamed over the roar of the rotors. “I'm here! Don't leave without me!”

The helicopter rose steadily into the air, buffeting her with wind, blowing her hair back. She waved her arms desperately, trying to get their attention. They would have to be looking for her, and she was standing right out in the open.

“I'm right here!” she cried.

The helicopter seemed to hover momentarily, and then continued its ascent. The others were already turning and heading away, leaving only the last copter behind.

She glanced back over her shoulder, thinking that the Army soldiers were coming for her. But they weren't there, they had let her go in order to chase after the Cobra troops. But the helicopter did not come back down, it continued to go upward, leaving her standing in the clearing, helpless and alone.

As the wind from the rotors pounded down on her, she looked up desperately and lowered her arms, slowly realizing what was happening.

“No, James,” she whispered. “Don't leave without me. Please, take me with you.”

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