GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Chapter Thirty-Four

On the wall in front of them, two dozen computer screens flickered and flashed, showing images from all over Springfield, taken from security cameras cleverly hidden all over town. Some of the cameras were destroyed in the fighting, but the images were replaced with scenes from other cameras almost instantaneously. Two computer technicians scrambled to keep up with all the incoming video feeds, switching to different camera views rapidly.

Cobra Commander crossed his arms and hummed thoughtfully, the numerous screens reflecting off of his visor. It was impossible to tell exactly which screen he was watching, so Storm Shadow chose to believe that he was able to watch all of them at the same time and process all that visual information instantly.

“They are doing better than I expected,” Cobra Commander said calmly, tilting his head slightly as he watched the bright screens.

Storm Shadow stood a few paces behind him, his hands resting on the handles of the wakizashi blades partially concealed under his white trenchcoat. He was in full costume, anticipating that he would enter the combat eventually, and had his white hood up to cover his face. There was one katana blade strapped to his back, the other one left behind during his assault on the military installation.

“I find that hard to believe,” he said gravely. “It looks to me like your soldiers are getting annihilated out there.”

“Oh, they are certainly losing the battle,” Cobra Commander agreed. “I wasn't talking about their fighting skills. I was talking about their dedication. Watch them, Storm Shadow. Look how selflessly they throw themselves into the fight. It's amazing.”

That's not the word Storm Shadow would have used, but he allowed the Commander his moment of inappropriate pride. As far as he could tell from the videos, the Cobra soldiers outside were getting completely destroyed. And the worst part was that they easily outnumbered their enemies by ten to one, at the very least.

The arms dealer Destro only appeared to have brought perhaps a dozen armed troops with him, and they were walking through the Cobra troops as if they were children armed with squirt guns. So far, only two of Destro's men had even been wounded, much less killed.

The squad of Army operatives was doing just as well, with not even ten members total, and yet none of them had been wounded, and they were marching right down the street like there was no opposition at all. Of course, the gattling gun one of them carried probably had something to do with their success.

But Storm Shadow could only shake his head in disgust at how pathetic and ineffectual the Cobra units were against such a smaller force. They had nearly five hundred armed soldiers, and they were barely able to stand up against less than twenty-five enemy troops. It all showed just how little enthusiasm and dedication really mattered in combat. Cobra lacked the one thing that the Army soldiers and Destro's troops excelled at: proper training and tactics.

That had been Major Bludd's job, and so far, it appeared that he had failed miserably.

“There,” Cobra Commander said, pointing suddenly at one of the screens.

From a hidden camera located on the roof of a house, Storm Shadow saw Major Bludd himself come into view, dragging someone behind him. It was none other than Destro's female bodyguard, the woman called the Baroness. Storm Shadow watched as they crouched behind a vehicle and Major Bludd opened fire on someone out of range of the camera.

“Track him. I want to see what happens,” Cobra Commander said.

Storm Shadow stepped forward and found himself genuinely interested in the scene that unfolded in front of him. He almost laughed out loud when the Baroness pulled a gun on Bludd and shot him in the stomach. The camera followed Bludd as he went after her, only to get caught up in the crossfire and go down right in the middle of the street, the final shot coming from the Baroness, who put a bullet between his eyes.

“Good riddance,” Storm Shadow said.

“He could have still been useful to us,” Cobra Commander said. “But I have to admit, perhaps it is better this way. Major Bludd was becoming a bit of a liability.”

With that, Cobra Commander announced to the computer techs stationed in the room, as well as the guards and other soldiers in the hall outside, that it was time to go. Now that Major Bludd was dead, the forces on the surface were without a commander, and judging by their performance so far, it would be a matter of minutes until the battle was lost completely.

“Sir!” one of the techs called out. “We have a breach in section three!”

“Don't worry about it,” Cobra Commander called back as he headed out the door, flanked by his guards. “It is time to abandon ship.”

Storm Shadow hesitated for just a few moments to look at the computer screen, to see where the breach was. When he saw the two figures on the screen creeping down a stairway, he smiled to himself under the hood and went out to follow Cobra Commander.

They went down a long central corridor, and past the labs where Doctor Mindbender was working. He ran out after them, expecting that something important was happening. Dozens of other soldiers, guards, technicians, and various support staff filed into the hallway after their Commander, who walked purposefully at the front of the column.

The announcement had been made that they were abandoning Springfield, so even now, soldiers on the surface were retreating and falling back. It would not take long for either Destro's troops or the Army to make their way into this underground complex, but as usual, Cobra Commander had a plan for that as well.

They reached a series of doorways along the rear end of the complex and flooded out into a narrow hangar with a series of electric subway cars sitting along a track that led into a dark tunnel. Cobra Commander ordered the soldiers and technicians to head down the tunnel on foot while he and his personal guard loaded onto the subway cars.

“Cobra Commander!” Mindbender cried out. “You can't leave me behind! They will arrest me!”

“I don't see how that is my problem,” Cobra Commander snapped.

“I can't go to jail!” Mindbender protested. “They will interrogate me! They might even torture me! Who knows what I might reveal to them?”

Cobra Commander seemed to consider that. “You have a point there,” he admitted. “We certainly can't have you revealing anything to the authorities, now can we?”

Mindbender, for just a moment, seemed relieved. Storm Shadow watched in fascination as Mindbender's momentary relief morphed into a sense of impending dread as Cobra Commander walked over to one of his guards. He wordlessly pulled a pistol from the guard's holster.

“No!” Mindbender screamed. “You need me! You can't produce the serum without me!”

Cobra Commander stepped forward, raised the gun, and shot Mindbender right in the chest. The Doctor staggered back, holding out his hands in a futile attempt to defend himself, and Cobra Commander fired again. Mindbender gurgled something and collapsed to the floor, bloody red smears ruining the front of his white lab coat.

“Good riddance to you as well,” Storm Shadow said.

Cobra Commander looked at him and then down at Mindbender's motionless body. “That one,” he rasped, “had also outlived his usefulness. Maybe he'll serve as a warning to anyone else who fails me.”

Storm Shadow stood aside as Cobra Commander boarded the subway car. His personal guards loaded on as well, but Storm Shadow did not get on with them.

“I need to stay behind,” he said. “There is something I have to take care of.”

“You don't have time for it, whatever it is,” Cobra Commander said. “Once I reach the rendezvous point, I'm activating the demolition sequence.”

“I'll have enough time,” Storm Shadow promised. “I'll meet up with you in San Francisco in a few days.”

“Are you sure about this?”

Storm Shadow nodded. “Let's just say that this is something personal that I have to deal with. Don't worry, I'll get out before the complex comes down.”

Cobra Commander said nothing more. They closed the door and the subway car drove forward down the tracks and into the tunnel. All of the other soldiers had already left, leaving Storm Shadow alone in the hangar. He stepped over Mindbender's body on his way out, and headed back into the complex.

Someone had come all this way to see him again, and he wouldn't miss this meeting for the world.

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