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Disclaimer: Characters in this work (GI Joe/ Cobra) are the property of Marvel Comics, Hasbro
and Devil's Due Publishing, Inc., and are being used without permission. No profit is gained from the use of these characters.



Haven
By Nickelina



Sunflower

Dash arrived at headquarters after being paged by General Rey. The building was on lockdown. When he got up to the offices, he heard Conrad and Rey debating loudly about apprehending those who broke in. Dash walked into his office and checked everything to make sure it was still intact. He stopped a troop to ask what had happened and was directed to Conrad. Dash walked to Rey's office and didn't bother to knock.
General Rey took a break from yelling at Conrad. "Welcome Faireborn, nice of you to get here."
"I'm sorry, Sir. I had a family issue to take care of."
"You don't have a family anymore remember, Faireborn?" Rey told him. Then with out skipping a beat he continued his tirade at Conrad.
Dash was taken aback. Rey's comment was like a punch in the stomach. No matter how many times Rey said it. He never missed an opportunity to remind Dash that Alison was gone.
"I know she was involved, Hauser." Rey said. "I'm going after them."
"It wasn't who you think, Rey. They didn't take anything and didn't hurt anyone. I don't understand why you feel you have to go out and track down some kids."
"It wasn't a bunch of kids, you know who it was, I want to hear you say her name."
"Is there a description of who it was?" Dash asked.
"Well, it's about damn time you chimed in." Rey snapped at him. "Two perpetrators. One male, and one female. The female told the guard she was a sergeant and that she knew good ol' Duke."
"Conrad..." Dash started to say.
"I'm telling you I have no idea who they were. They ran out of emergency exit."
"After you told the guards to call off the alarm." Rey filled Dash in on the details.
"Going after them is a waste of time. These offices are not exactly secret."
Dash walked over to a computer terminal and tried to bring up the security tapes. They were blank. "The tapes are clean."
"They were probably shut down when we took the terminals off line." Conrad said.
Dash gave him a disbelieving look.
Rey was through with Conrad. He turned to Dash. "Flint, if you were in my position, would you go after these...kids?"
"Well, yes. I would." Dash answered. "They may have not taken anything, but it was a breach in our security."
"Good man! Flint, I want you on my special task force. This break in just might be the beginning of some larger plot against this unit." General Rey gave Conrad a sly look then turned his attention back to Dash. "Flint, get a description from the rear entrance guard and call it in. I want this city covered."

*
Alison and Callum had made it back to their hotel without incident. They gathered their things and had to wait until the morning for a flight out of Washington. Alison spent the whole night checking the files in her laptop and scribbling madly in a notebook. Callum waited for her to fall asleep but she never did. She told him to get some sleep and she would wake him if he was needed. Early the next morning in the truck on the way to the airport, Callum questioned Alison's motives. She refused to give him a clear answer. One of the reasons was she didn't have one. She had a plan to come back to the States, but she never really did have a solid plan as what to do when she got there. She also knew that she couldn't take out the Red Shadows on her own. She did know that if she wanted to and with a little help she could bring down General Rey. That may not be beneficial to GI Joe, but it would help her sleep at night.
Callum didn't like not being in control. He always called the shots, and he should in this situation. It was absolutely impossible to do so when Alison was flying by the seat of her pants. He had trust in her, knew what her capabilities were, but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was very close to becoming a loose cannon. They left their weapons in a case for pick up by M.A.R.S. and took only what they knew they could get on the plane.
The first flight they could get out of D.C. was a flight to Chicago. Alison promptly bought two tickets and they had to board shortly after they were cleared through security. Getting their clearance took longer than normal and Alison had a bad feeling. When she heard the engines start she turned to Callum.
"This might be it."
"Might be what?" He asked.
"Going through security took too long. I have a bad feeling."
"What do you want me to do?"
"I don't know yet. If anything happens, I want you to get yourself out of here. Duke knows I'm here now..."
"No, no, and no. That is not how it goes, Ali. I am here to guard you."
"You would die to protect me?" She asked him.
"That is my job."
She shook her head at him. "Do you want to let Destro know where we are?"
"I will when we land. Where are we going once we get to Chicago?"
"We are going to Kansas."
*

Dash drove to Conrad's apartment and met him in parking lot. Conrad looked upset but that didn't stop Dash, who was pretty upset himself.
"I was looking for you." Dash said.
"I'm busy today." Conrad told him.
"I have to talk to you about something." Dash followed Conrad to his car.
"Not now Dash." Conrad said as he unlocked the door.
Dash wasn't going to be brushed off. "Someone broke into my storage unit two days ago."
Conrad stopped what he was doing. "Did they take anything?"
"The whole thing was picked through. Some of Alison's things are gone."
Conrad opened the door but didn't get in. "Maybe it was random things."
"Her dog tags, her laptop, clothes... they even ripped pictures out of the frames. That doesn't sound random to me."
"What do you want me to say? Did you call the police?"
"No. I want you to tell me what you know about it."
Conrad threw his keys on seat. "Jesus Christ, Dash. Someone broke into headquarters last night. Do you think I had something to do with that too?"
Dash looked to the ground then at Conrad. "I don't know. Did you?"
"Look, Dash, I don't know who would break into your unit." Conrad's cell phone began to ring; he looked at the screen to see who it was as he answered Dash. "This is Hauser."
Conrad listened to the voice on the other end. He turned his back to Dash. "Where did you get this information?"
Dash took a step closer to try and hear what Conrad was saying. "Can you intercept?" There was another pause. "Do it and keep me informed, I'm on my way in."
"Who was that?" Dash asked when Conrad hung up.
"When you join the CIA, I'll let you know. Oh and Dash," Conrad said as he got into his car. "You know me better than this."

*
The flight to Chicago had not left the gate and the captain came on over the loud speaker to inform those on board that there would be a delay. Alison unbuckled her seatbelt and looked at Callum.
"Son of a bitch." She whispered.
"We'll be okay. This could be anything." He took her hand.
They saw two uniformed police officers walk onto the plane and stand by the exit and two men in dark suits came walking down the aisle towards Alison and Callum.
"Sure. This could be anything." She said.
The men in suits stood next to her. "Alison Faireborn?"
She didn't answer them.
"Alison Faireborn, please stand up and come with us." One of the men grabbed her arm and tried to pull her up from her seat. Callum grabbed the man's arm and the other took his pistol out and pointed it at Callum. There were screams and gasps from other passengers.
"Do not resist." The first man continued. Alison stood up and was immediately handcuffed. Callum stood as well and the second man handcuffed him.
The man led her and Callum down the aisle and down the steps to the tarmac. "Alison Faireborn, you are under arrest for treason against the United States of America, participating in terrorist activities, and breaking into a military facility. You have the right to remain silent..."
Alison and Callum were met on the ground by more uniformed police. They were surrounded and taken back inside the airport via a service door.
Alison wasn't paying attention to the rights being read to her. She knew that as soon as she got to where they were taking her it wouldn't be long before Rey showed up. They were taken to a small room with cement walls and no windows. The two men in suits walked them into the room and left them there.
"Bloody hell!" Callum said.
"This doesn't make sense." Alison turned her back to the door.
The door opened and a dark haired man walked in. "What is the matter Alison? Did you really think I was going to have you arrested?"
She turned around and gasped. "Zach! You bastard!"
Zach unlocked the handcuffs on both of them and in turn received a hug from Alison.
"It's been along time." He told her.
"Yes, it has."
Alison took a step back. "Zach, this is Callum. Callum, this is Zach Allen. A good friend of mine from the CIA."
"We have to move fast." Zach told her. "Do you have any other luggage?"
"No, just the carry on bags."
Another uniformed officer dropped the bags in the doorway.
"Okay, get your stuff and follow me." Zach led them further down the hall and through the baggage handling department. They walked out of the large bay doors to a waiting vehicle. As soon as the doors were shut, the vehicle took off. There was the sound of sirens. Alison looked back and saw the lights of police vehicles surround the plane.
"What is that?" She asked Zach.
"That would be the FBI or military police arriving to detain you."
Alison leaned back on her seat. "Your timing is impeccable. Where are you taking us?"
Zach looked into the back seat where Alison and Callum sat. "Andrews. I thought you would know that a black operative doesn't usually fly commercial airliners."
"I didn't know this was still a black operation." Alison told him.
"It is now more than ever." Zach turned back around in his seat.

**
Dash sat silently in General Rey's office. He had gone to the airport to detain the suspects in the break in of headquarters but when they arrived, the suspects had fled. The only information he could get was the make of a car that left the tarmac. It was a government vehicle and that would make it almost impossible to track. He had tried to call Conrad to see if he had any leads but he could not be reached by his Com or his phone which led Dash to confirm that he was somehow involved.
General Rey walked into his office and sat down at his desk. He began to read the newspaper that were on his desk. Dash sat quietly until he was called on.
"Is there something that you want, Faireborn?" Rey asked.
"The information we received was correct, but they got the slip on us before we got there."
Rey did not look up from his papers. "Does this surprise you?"
"Why would it?"
"Because these people know what they are doing." Rey looked up from his paper. "You need to use unconventional thinking when trying to apprehend one of your own."
"One of your own?" Dash asked.
"Its no matter, they will be caught and they will be dealt with. You're dismissed."
Dash walked out of Rey's office and stopped by Conrad's. He was not in. Dash signed out for the day and went to find Conrad. He was going to get to the bottom of this.

General Rey looked up from his paper and watched Dash leave his office. A smile crossed his face. He liked playing mind games with Dash. He would keep Dash strung along for awhile longer, he was so close to the breaking point and once he got that far he would be easier to swing over to their side. General Rey once considered the Faireborn's a threat to his cause but he now realized that Dash would be a valuable asset. Alison was back and she wouldn't be a bother to them. The Red Shadows had succeeded this far and there was nothing she could do to stop them. He was going to find her and the icing on the cake was going to be finally killing her, perhaps this time in front of her husband. He sat back at his desk and made a call.
"It is time to go forward with the next phase. I expect nothing but results." He hung the phone up then went back to reading his paper.

**
The black SUV sped down the dusty country road to GI Joe's satellite base in Kansas known as Sunflower. Callum looked out the window and sighed. Alison noticed and moved so she was sitting closer to him. She took his hand and smiled at him.
"What's the matter?" She asked him.
"Missing my boy is all. He would love to run in these fields."
"Wallace, Wallace... He would go crazy out there wouldn't he?" She looked out the window herself. "When we get to base you can call him."
"Right, right." Callum said.
When they arrived at Sunflower, Zach dropped them off at the entrance to the property that was masked as a farmhouse. Callum took their bags out of the back of the SUV and Zach got out to speak with Alison. He put his hand on her shoulder.
"I have to leave you here. It will only be for a while."
"Why?" She asked.
"There is something else I have to do. I'll be back."
Alison tried to say something but Zach cut her off.
"You have nothing to worry about. You know this base like it was home, you'll be fine here. I promise I'll be back."
Alison rolled her eyes. "Don't say that." She grabbed her bag from Callum and they went inside the house.
The house was quiet and had all the furnishings of a normal home. She opened a door to the basement and she led Callum down the stairs. In the basement there was another door, this one steel. Next to it was a key pad. She turned her Com on and scrolled through the list of numbers Duke had programmed into it. She entered the number for the security door and pulled it open.
"Come on." She said to Callum.
He followed her through the door and it shut behind them. He followed her down a short hallway, where she made a sharp turn to the right. Into another hall and finally into a large open room. She took the flashlight from him and walked over to a computer terminal. She turned the computer on and in a few minutes the lights in the room came on.
"Where are we?" Callum asked.
Alison turned around. "Welcome to Sunflower. It's one of GI Joe's satellite bases. We haven't used it in quite a while, but its self sustaining, for moments just like this."
"What do we do now?"
"We wait for Conrad."
"And no one knows we're here?"
Alison smiled. "Nope. Not unless we turn all the computer systems on." She sat at the terminal that was linked to the main viewing screen and was able to pull up a security camera and entrance alarm. She now had a view of anyone coming or going from the base. "Want to take a tour?"
Callum looked around the room and shrugged. "Why not."
She showed Callum the mess hall, offices, and sleeping quarters. The base had been shut down when the GI Joe team was scaled back and it took a little bit of time to find where everything was. Alison gathered a few blankets and dusted off a bed roll and laid down for a short nap. Callum continued to walk around Sunflower then thought it would be best to let The Laird know where they were. He used the computer terminals to contact Destro; his message was brief. He left his coordinates at Sunflower and an update of Alison's condition and their near run in at the airport. Destro replied with a message of his own. Although he was not worried about the capabilities of Callum, he was sending troops to the area as an added means of protection. Destro knew of General Rey's ties to the Red Shadows and wanted the opportunity to engage the terrorist group in battle, provoked, or unprovoked.

Callum ended his transmission with Destro and put the security screen back on the monitor. He watched a car pull up to the house and he did not wait to see who got out of it. He pulled his gun out and went to wake up Alison.

By the time Alison got to the main control room the occupants of the car were gone. They made their way to the main entrance doors and stood armed on either side. The message light on her Com flashed, but she ignored it. The LED lights on the interior key pad changed from red to green and the door opened. Alison pointed her weapon at the opening door but didn't see anyone at her eye level.
"Put that weapon away, Alison." Conrad said as he walked into the hallway. He was followed by Zack and two soldiers that she had never seen before.
She lowered her weapon and put it back in her holster. Callum lowered his as well, but did not put it away.
Conrad instructed the two green shirts to set up video communications in the war room while he guided Zach to one of the interior offices. He motioned for Alison to follow them while keeping and eye on Callum.
"Its time to talk." He told her. "Gather any information you have and bring it back here."
Alison walked in front of Callum and he cautiously put his hand on her shoulder. She looked over at him and half smiled. "Let's get this ball rolling."

The image on the large video screen that was mounted on the wall became focused and Alison got her first glimpse inside the war room of The Rock. Hawk was front and center from his location there and she began to tell him, and Conrad all the information she knew. In her absence as head of intelligence, her information was a bit outdated. Things she had found out about General Rey and the Red Shadows had already come to pass, but the way she delivered her information, the serious tone in her voice, and the preciseness in which she said everything made it seem as if no time had passed. The two had even slipped into calling her by her codename.
"So you really mean, Lady Jaye that General Rey had been infiltrating the military for years?" Conrad asked her.
"Not infiltrated, Conrad. The Jugglers have kept him hidden, out of sight."
"How do you keep a General out of sight?" Zach asked.
"I asked myself the same question." Alison said. "Then it occurred to me. When we were in Paris, Rey came to," she feigned a cough, "see me. Afterwards, I questioned the ability of my security detail and Callum explained that he," she pointed in his direction. "Is actually a part of the Iron Grenadiers, as were all of the people who surrounded us at the time. My nurse, the person I spent night and day with, is a Sergeant. And I never realized it."
"Get to the point, Lady Jaye." Hawk said.
"The point is there are people in rank everywhere. Rey may be a General, just not in our army. Things were so messed up when he took over did we ever bother to question it?"
"He was sent to us by Gibbs." Hawk said quietly.
"Exactly." She said. "This cements the fact that there were people in that discreet circle who were looking out for the wrong interests. That being said, I know that there are people in place in the executive offices who are also not of our government."
"That was the only thing I was able to figure out, Lady Jaye." Conrad told her. "These are the people who are responsible for the attacks on Miami and Los Angeles."
"I wouldn't say they were responsible," Callum chimed in. "They just didn't do anything to prevent it."
"There is one more piece of information you need to know." Alison said. "Rey is in charge of the Red Shadow's army, if you can call it that. He's their tactical advisor. The removal and replacement of all executive positions goes straight to the top."
She delivered her last line and the room fell quiet. She looked into the screen and she saw Hawk rub his temples then run his hand though his graying hair. He sighed and shook his head in disbelief. "Do you mean they are going to try to kill the president and vice president??"
"Not try Hawk, they're going to. And they will be replaced, with a president of their choosing."