"They have my wife," Barrel Roll pleads as silent tears trail down his cheeks.
"I know," Dialtone responds. "Cobra's taken someone important to all of us."
"She's pregnant," Barrel Roll's voice trembled with desperation, bringing silence to the room.
This isn't the first time they've had this particular conversation. The tension between the Joes started the day they woke up in Cobra's custody. At the onset of the Zombie Apocalypse, Cobra Commander initiated a plan to find and capture the family of G.I. Joe members.
They had found many.
Disguised as U.S. military personnel, teams of specialized Vipers had pursued the loved ones. They then convinced them to enter "protective custody" for their safety.
Cobra kept them captive while hunting for members of the elite team.
Once Cobra Commander was satisfied with the number of Joes he had found, he used their families to make them do his bidding. To prove to his new prisoners that he was deadly serious, he personally executed the family of the Joes he had not found.
Since being under Cobra Commander's control, the dissension in the ranks had grown.
"Jesus H Christ, what are we even doing?" Bombstrike growls, standing up suddenly and knocking her chair to the floor. "We can't seriously be considering allowing Cobra to hurt our families. And for what? Some rebels we've never even met."
Caught off guard by the callousness of the remark, Sneak Peek turns to her, "You can't be suggesting that we actually go out hunting them. Then what? If we find them, we kill them?"
Bombstrike stares directly at Sneak Peek, eyes hard and fists clenched. "Yes. That is what I'm saying."
Sneak Peak stares at Bombstrike, words failing him.
Black Out, one of the Stall siblings, has been a Cobra operator for years.
Outback drank the Cobra flavor-aid after a brutal experience in the Wastes.
Even before the ZomPoc, Chuckle's trustworthiness was questioned, as he had gone so far down the rabbit hole that no one ever really knew which side he was on.
They can not be trusted.
Now, looking around the room at the rest of the group, Jinx asks herself, can any of them be?
Trying to break the tension, Grand Slam nods at Jinx, "You're awfully quiet."
"Just thinking."
"Thinking what?" Grand Slam asks.
"I'm just thinking how far we've fallen," she sits up straighter before continuing, "I remember joining as a Rawhide and dreaming of the day I could make it onto the Joe Team. When I finally did, I felt a sense of pride that I'd never felt before," all eyes are on her as she continues. "Now listen to us," she turns to Bombstrike. "I get it. He's your brother. You want to be an aunt. But, you cannot be seriously thinking that killing people that oppose Cobra is the right thing to do." Bombstrike lowers her eyes. Jinx continues, "I'll say this, they have my mother. How they found her, I'll never know. What I do know is that my mother would never want me to give in to terrorists," Jinx looks to Bombstrike and Barrell Roll. "You two can do what you want. I'll stand with the Joes. If you get in my way... Well, I promise to make it quick."
The conversation ends as quickly as it began, leaving each Joe lost in thought, trying to decide what they'll do when the time comes. They don't have long to dwell before the door flies open; Blackout and Outback step into the room. Blackout's sharp eyes take in every detail before declaring, "It's time to go. The Commander is ordering us to the front line."
Grand Slam is the first to speak, "Front line of what?"
"The war with G.I. Joe," growls Outback.
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