GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

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Chapter Six

Cobra Commander seated himself at the head of the large conference table and gestured at one of the comfortable leather chairs. Destro and the Baroness took seats while their guards remained standing behind them. The circular table was dark mahogany, polished to a high shine, and a red Cobra emblem was etched into the center.

Two other men were already seated at the table, and Destro recognized the first of them. He nodded in greeting.

“It’s good to see you again, Major Bludd.”

“Good to see you too, mate,” Bludd replied smoothly, leaning back in his chair.

Major Bludd was a burly-looking Australian, sporting both an eye patch and a long handlebar mustache, but in contrast to his gruff appearance, he wore a sleek black suit with a red tie. Bludd’s left eye was covered in a black eye patch, although Destro had never learned the story behind it, and his long, greasy black hair was combed straight back. The mustache, his most distinguishing feature, spread down the sides of his mouth almost to his chin.

“I take it you suggested my services to Cobra Commander?” Destro asked.

Bludd nodded. “That’s right. I thought you were just the man for the job.”

“Well, I appreciate the business.”

“You gonna offer me a finder’s fee?”

The other man, sitting beside Cobra Commander, wore a bright white military jacket with gold buttons, over a white turtleneck sweater. He was bald, but like Major Bludd, he had a mustache, although his was trimmed short and appeared to be waxed. He wore a pair of wire-frame glasses, and he sat in his chair with his legs crossed, his hands folded in his lap.

Major Bludd grinned yellowing teeth at the Baroness. “Hiya there, darling. It’s nice to see you too. Still wearing that leather get-up, huh? I wish my old lady looked half as good as you do.”

The Baroness leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms, ignoring him. Destro smiled underneath his mask. He had dealt with Major Bludd on several occasions, and the man seemed intent on annoying the Baroness at every opportunity. Destro was also fairly certain that Bludd was lying about his “old lady,” since he doubted any woman would find Bludd appealing enough to marry.

Destro glanced up as another figure appeared in the room, apparently out of nowhere. From behind Cobra Commander, a figure wearing all white emerged from the shadows. He wore white cargo pants, a white hooded sweatshirt with belts strapped across his chest, white fingerless gloves, and a white face mask and hood that revealed only his dark eyes. Two sword handles were visible over his shoulders, also white.

The figure handed a slip of paper to Cobra Commander, who reached up and took it without even looking. He glanced at it and then passed it to the bald man seated next to him. The man read the note and then whispered something Destro could not hear.

“Certainly, Doctor,” Cobra Commander said.

The man rose from his seat and quickly left the room. Two Cobra soldiers followed him out. Cobra Commander set his elbows on the table and cleared his throat.

“Well, you already know Major Bludd, of course. For the past few months, he has been working for me. I hope you don’t mind it if he takes part in our little meeting.”

“Of course not,” Destro said.

Cobra Commander hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the figure in white. “This is my personal body guard. We call him Storm Shadow.”

“Who was the man that just left?” the Baroness asked. It was the first thing she had said since their arrival.

Cobra Commander waved dismissively. “Another associate of mine. He is not involved in the military side of things. You don’t need to worry about him.”

Destro decided to take that at face value. However, it made him wonder what the man had been doing there in the first place, if he wasn’t involved in their business transaction. He wondered what the note had said, and if it had anything to do with him.

“Let me see what you have, mate,” Bludd said. Cobra Commander handed him the folder containing the lists of weapons that Destro was selling.

“How long will it take to ship the weapons?” Cobra Commander asked Destro.

“Perhaps three weeks,” Destro said. “Probably less than that. We already have large quantities of small handguns and grenades. Acquiring the assault rifles from our supplier will take a week at most.”

“And the special equipment? The missile launchers and such?”

“We have those at our facility as well,” Destro said.

Bludd tapped the edge of the folder against the table. “And what about ammo?”

“That depends on how many boxes you want, of course. But I can easily supply over two thousand boxes of ammunition right away.”

“How many actual rounds is that?”

“There are twenty per box. Forty-thousand rounds total.”

Cobra Commander looked at Bludd. “Is that enough?”

“Sure. Enough for now, anyway,” Bludd said, skimming through the list.

“And how much for those?”

“Twenty thousand dollars for two thousand boxes of ammunition,” Destro said. “I’ll give you a special deal on them, since you’re already buying so much.”

For the next hour, the four of them discussed and negotiated the sale of weapons. It was primarily a negotiation between Destro and Bludd, who were the most knowledgeable. Destro knew what he wanted to make in profit, and Bludd knew what weapons Cobra would need, and their discussion centered around a deal acceptable to both of them. For the most part, the Baroness stayed out of the discussion, although she paid careful attention to what was said. Cobra Commander, clearly not an expert in the sale of weapons, permitted Bludd to do most of the talking, although he asked questions throughout the discussion.

And the body guard, Storm Shadow, remained silent and impassive the entire time, standing at attention directly behind Cobra Commander’s chair.

Destro, despite his long-held tradition of impartiality and professional detachment, could not help but be curious as to Cobra Commander’s goals. Arming a force of one thousand soldiers was nothing serious in most parts of the world, but creating a private army right in the middle of the United States was a different matter. He had dealt with numerous organizations over the years, and provided weapons to small mercenary forces and major criminal operations alike, but this was something different. However, Destro kept his thoughts to himself.

“Okay, then,” Major Bludd said. “We got ourselves 850 M4 Carbines, 900 Browning .45s, fifty .30 Cals, twenty .50 Cals, and what else? Grenades, ammo, magazines.”

“By my count, that’s roughly one million,” Destro said. “And that does not include the modifications you want on the Carbines.”

“Sounds about right,” Bludd agreed.

“And we need the heavy ordinance as well,” Cobra Commander reminded him.

“Yeah,” Bludd muttered, tapping his finger against the table. “We can get the RPGs for 100-grand, correct?”

“Yes, but they are Russian surplus. I cannot verify their quality. I can provide newer models, but I charge new prices. Half a million for a full arsenal of rockets and launchers.”

“Let’s do that,” Cobra Commander said. “No sense in being cheap at this point.”

Major Bludd shrugged. “It’s your money.”

“And I want the Miniguns as well.”

“Those are very expensive,” Destro said. “Forty-thousand each.”

“Plus the additional ammunition,” the Baroness added.

When they were all said and done, when all the details had been worked out, the final price was a hair over three million dollars for all the guns and ammunition, as well as costs for transport and other miscellaneous expenses. Cobra would receive enough weapons to fully equip an army of one-thousand troops with assault rifles, pistols, and grenades. It seemed like a low price for so much equipment, but Destro’s profit was virtually guaranteed, because the vast majority of the merchandise was surplus that he had originally purchased for almost nothing from Russian arms dealers. He was making pure profit off the ammunition as well as the pistols, which he was honestly glad to be rid of.

Maybe he would offer Major Bludd a finder’s fee after all.

As Destro and the Baroness stood up to bid farewell, the door opened and the bald gentleman returned. He walked briskly over to Cobra Commander.

“Commander,” he said in a clipped European accent. “Very good news.”

He leaned beside Cobra Commander and spoke into his ear. Major Bludd deliberately shuffled the papers in the folder and tapped it loudly against the table to straighten them. He glanced at the Baroness and grinned.

“I’ll see you around, honey.”

“I doubt it,” the Baroness said.

Cobra Commander nodded to the bald man and said, “Yes, of course. Good work.” He stood up and whisked him away.

Destro walked around the edge of the table and stuck out his hand. “It’s been a pleasure, Commander. I will contact you as soon as the first portion of the payment reaches my account. Your first shipment should arrive by the end of the week.”

“Wonderful,” Cobra Commander said, shaking his hand firmly. “I fully expect to do business with you again, Lord Destro. I hope this is just the beginning of our work together.”

They were led out of the conference room and back to the main hallway they had come from. Two Cobra guards accompanied them to the central elevator. Destro, the Baroness, and their guards got into the elevator and the metal door slid shut.

As the elevator began to rise, the Baroness said quietly, “I don’t like them.”

“You just don’t like Major Bludd, I think.”

“They’re not telling us everything.”

“Well, that’s only fair. We’re not telling them everything either.”

Destro knew full well that the elevators were probably wired with microphones and eavesdropping devices. They were still inside the building, and he suspected Cobra Commander was listening to their conversation at that very moment. The Baroness certainly knew it as well, and her comment was meant as a feint of sorts.

Like most criminal enterprises, arms dealing involved a great deal of hustling. In order to gain the advantage against your customer, you had to pretend to be at a disadvantage. Once they felt they had the upper hand, it was that much easier to deceive them, because they were less likely to expect it.

But you had to be careful not to overdo it. The Baroness wisely said nothing further during their ascent in the elevator. A stray comment here and there would be enough for Cobra Commander to begin to believe he was their intellectual superior, which is exactly what Destro wanted.

If this deal went smoothly, Destro felt confident that he could position himself quite well within Cobra. Three million dollars was just the beginning.

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