Chapter 73: Heavy Burden of Killing Intent
G.I. Joe Command Center, Egypt.
"We captured this image from an operational camera." Breaker transmitted the data to the large screen, displaying an image of a woman in a black leather jacket. Although somewhat blurry, her general outline was still discernible.
"Now we'll perform a facial recognition scan." Breaker worked the computer for a few moments, and the system began searching for matching faces in databases from around the world.
This system was like having eyes everywhere—as long as a face appeared on camera, it would leave a digital trace. By cross-referencing all the data, they could identify anyone.
"Alright, results are in!" This time, a clear image of the woman appeared on the screen.
"Find her identity as quickly as possible!" Heavy Duty ordered from the side.
"Give me a minute."
"Wait, why does this woman look so familiar?" Scarlett squinted, speaking hesitantly.
"I think I've seen her too," Ripcord muttered softly, but was interrupted by Duke standing beside him.
"Hey, buddy, isn't this—"
"Shut up!"
"Scarlett, have you seen her before?" Heavy Duty asked urgently.
"Let me think!" Scarlett frowned. "I must have seen her picture somewhere, and recently too."
Among the team, Scarlett was undoubtedly the genius with the photographic memory, and everyone trusted her recall ability.
"I remember now!"
Scarlett's eyes lit up, and she quickly walked to a filing cabinet and pulled out a stack of documents. The cover clearly read "DeCobray."
"Yes, that's her!" Scarlett opened the documents and found the woman's picture in the family information section.
"She's the wife of Baron Daniel DeCobray, Mason's associate. We should call her the Baroness!"
"Damn it!" Heavy Duty clenched his fist, his face darkening. "I knew Mason was trouble! It looks like he and this woman are definitely working together."
"The General's death is definitely connected to him!"
"Heavy Duty, you can't jump to conclusions. This woman—Ana—hasn't been married to the Baron for long. Maybe Mason doesn't know about her involvement." Scarlett defended Mason.
"Why are you defending him?" Heavy Duty looked displeased.
"I told you from the start, we shouldn't have let him join G.I. Joe. Where is he now?"
"He requested leave yesterday and has already left for France," a communications officer answered.
"Send teams Alpha and Bravo to Paris to bring him back!" Heavy Duty quickly issued the order.
"Heavy Duty, we haven't finished the investigation yet, and you're doing this..." Scarlett's words were sharply interrupted.
"This is wartime, and I'm the acting commander. Soldiers! Are you going to disobey orders?"
Scarlett gritted her teeth. "No, sir!"
"Then move out immediately!" Heavy Duty turned to the communications officer. Taking advantage of everyone's distraction, he leaned closer and whispered,
"Tell Stone of Alpha Team that if the target resists even slightly, he's authorized to use lethal force!"
"I told you—one day I'd catch you red-handed!" Heavy Duty clenched his fist, the darkness on his face giving way to grim satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Mason, completely unaware of this development, was entangled with Ana.
Afraid of having his abilities discovered, Mason had always been cautious in the real world, never able to fully indulge himself.
After entering this world, he'd been frantically completing missions with no time for distractions. Now that he'd encountered Ana, a stunning beauty, his pent-up desires from the past few months were finally being released.
Although Ana had undergone Storm Shadow's brutal training and her physical fitness was far beyond ordinary people, she was still no match for Mason's enhanced physiology. She was exhausted and barely conscious.
"This super soldier serum is really something—it comprehensively improves all physical attributes..." Mason chuckled.
"Though sometimes, having certain abilities enhanced this much isn't necessarily convenient."
Just then, a white shadow flashed by the window. Storm Shadow leaped into the room, glanced at Ana collapsed on the bed, and a hint of impatience flashed in his eyes.
"Do you know how long I've been waiting outside for you to finish?"
Mason smiled awkwardly, realizing he'd just been caught.
He quickly got dressed.
"What do you need?"
"Zartan was supposed to be on the mission with us, but something happened. He was transferred to another location by McCullen, and I need your help."
"What kind of help?" Mason raised an eyebrow.
"Find him for me."
"And how would I know where he is?"
"You're full of secrets—you know top-level classified information. I believe you must have your own sources."
"Zartan is ruthless and a master of disguise. If you can't kill him on the first strike, once he disappears into a crowd, it'll be nearly impossible to find him again."
"In fact, when he doesn't want to be found, no one can even detect his presence." Storm Shadow was the ultimate assassin, but that didn't mean he excelled at everything.
Mason smiled. "What's in it for me?"
Storm Shadow fell silent. Only now did he realize that his skills were worthless to this man.
Mason was stronger than him. If even Storm Shadow couldn't kill someone, having another person wouldn't help much. Besides, he hadn't even fulfilled Mason's earlier request, and now he was asking for more favors. This was truly asking too much.
"Haha, relax."
Mason grinned. "I was just messing with you." He gently patted Storm Shadow's shoulder. Storm Shadow almost dodged, but for some reason, he stopped himself.
From the moment he began training in martial arts, he'd forbidden anyone to touch him. Yet this simple gesture stirred something unexpected within him—a strange sense of warmth.
"I do know where he is."
According to the movie timeline, the master of disguise, Zartan, would be injected with massive amounts of nanomites by COBRA, transforming him into a perfect duplicate of the President of the United States.
Mason estimated that because of his interference, McCullen couldn't locate the G.I. Joe base and, in desperation, would accelerate the presidential infiltration plan. At this point, Zartan should be at the Arctic base, preparing to undergo the transformation.
"But you have to help me obtain the nanotech warheads first. Once we have them, I'll not only tell you Zartan's location—I can even help you take him down."
"Deal," Storm Shadow agreed without hesitation.
"Let's prepare. We move soon!"
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