Chapter 82

The sun beats down on rows of docked boats, their metal hulls gleaming under the bright sky. Kage strides through the boatyard, with the sounds of creaking boats and distant chatter fill the air. He pulls out his cell phone, its screen tracking the location of Elvis, Greene's bodyguard, he notcef the number. Kage's eyes narrow as he spots a black sports utility vehicle with the driver's door ajar.

Kage speeds down a narrow, winding road, palm trees whipping past the windows of his car. He grabs his phone and dials Breaker.

General Hawks, a stern man with years of battle etched into his face, sits behind his desk, meticulously writing. The door opens and Breaker,enters briskly.

Breaker said to General,"It's Kage."

General nodded gesture him to connect to Kage.

Breaker taps his PDA. The office lights dim as a holographic computer wall hums to life, casting a blue glow.

Holographic Computer wall voiced,"Connecting Kage."

Breaker seeing the connection is secured questioned,"Kage, you there?"

Kage was driving, he grips the wheel, his phone on speaker."Did you get any information on Dominic Greene?"

In General Hawks Office,Breaker glances at General Hawk, who continues writing.

He then answered,"We've hit a slight hiccup. Information on him is very limited."

General Hawk signed and added," Greene is of extreme interest. The CIA section chief, Gregory Beam, has been tracking him." Hawks looks up, frustration evident."And we lost White. La Grange and Roadblock's escort squad was ambushed."

Kage's knuckles whiten as he grips the steering wheel tighter."Dammit. Are Roadblock, La Grange, and the others alright?"

General Hawk sighs, a heavy burden in his voice."La Grange and Roadblock have minor injuries. We lost three Joes."

Breaker glances at the holographic wall, where Kage's GPS location is displayed, rapidly approaching an airfield and questioned,"Kage, you're approaching an airfield. Is Greene on the move?"

Kage arrives at the Haitian airfield, parking his car in a distance. From a distance, he watches as Greene steps out of a black SUV, flanked by his bodyguards, Elvis and others. They head towards a sleek private jet. Kage with his enchnaced vision, noting the tail number told Breaker,"Yeah. I've got a tail number. Golf-Zero-Charlie-Sierra-Charlie. Get me a destination."

In General's Office,Breaker taps his PDA, the holographic wall searching for the tail number. Moments later, a match appears. "It's a private charter going to Bregenz, Austria. Leaving immediately."

General Hawk's expression hardens, decisiveness taking over. "Breaker, authorize a Quinjet for Kage."

Breaker nods, his fingers flying over the PDA. The holographic wall shows a Quinjet being prepped.

Kage watches as Greene and his entourage board the plane. His phone buzzes with a notification: Quinjet authorized.

Kage starts the engine, his eyes locked on the departing jet. The hunt continues.

While Greene and Elvis board Beam's private jet. They are met by the attendant, who smiled and welcomed them,"Hello."

Greene simply replied,"Hi."

Beam gets up from his chair to greet them enthusiastically, Leiter watches them with foreboding.

Beam smiled and said,"Welcome aboard. Bonjour. Ca va? Ca va, ca va. Come, have a seat."

The cabin door closes and the aircraft taxis for take-off. Air Traffic controller speaks into the radio,"Charlie-Sierra-Charlie. The private jet rolls down the runway and takes off into the blue sky."

Inside the luxurious cabin, Gregory Beam, a jovial man with an air of authority, CIA Section Chief of South America. He stands to greet them enthusiastically. Felix Leiter, more reserved, watches with foreboding.

Beam smiled and welcomed them,"Welcome aboard. Bonjour. Ça va? Ça va, ça va. Come, have a seat."

The cabin door closes with a solid thud, and the aircraft begins to taxi for take-off. Over the radio, the air traffic controller's voice crackles. "Charlie-Sierra-Charlie, cleared for take-off."

The private jet rolls down the runway and ascends into the clear blue sky.

Inside Greene exits the toilet and takes a seat next to Beam. Elvis, Beam, and Leiter are hunched over a map of the Bolivian desert. The jet shudders with turbulence and Flight Attendant apologetically,"Sorry."

Elvis stirs his tea, glancing at Leiter questioned,"How much longer?"

Leiter ignores him. Greene turns to Beam."So, do we have an understanding?"

Beam smiling,"Yeah. We do nothing to stop a coup in Bolivia, and in exchange, the new government gives America the lease to any oil found."

Greene looking at Beam replied,"If it's oil you want."

Beam studies Greene carefully, then laughs.

"Well, you didn't find diamonds, did you?"

He takes the glass of whiskey brought by the flight attendant and continues."Drilling underground, you kept off everybody's radar for a very long time, but you can't buy that much piping without somebody getting curious. We'll have to verify the find."

Greene shrugs and replied,"I'm not even admitting there is one. You are getting this for free. Venezuela, Brazil, now Bolivia. With you tied up in the Middle East, South America is falling like dominoes. You don't need another Marxist giving national resources to the people, do you?"

Beam grins at Leiter and said,"Well, we can hardly be expected to do something about a coup we know nothing about."

Leiter fake grins back. He hated his boss, he also knew higher-ups where investigating Beam, so he was not worried about Beam.

"And I have a pest."Greene gestures to Elvis, who pulls out his phone and hands it to Beam. "This."

On the screen is a security camera image of Kage in his black armor.

Greene questions,"You have any idea who that is?"

Beam tosses the phone to Leiter. Leiter glances at the image, recognizing Kage but shaking his head."Sorry."

Leiter hands the phone back to Beam, who suddenly recalls."It's Shadow, part of G.I. Joe. If the Joes are on your tail, they want something from you."

Beam wanted to get brownie points from Greene, so he revealed this little detail.

Leiter was wary, knowing the Joes only intervene when something significant is happening. So was Beam, who's original plan was to secure oil leases, but now he suspects Greene is hiding something more substantial. He throws the phone back to Elvis.

Greene questioned,"Do you know what he looks like?"

Beam shrugged and answered,"No, his details are highly classified and only the leader of the joes or probably his teammates know about him."

Greene nodded and told Beam,"I will need you to get rid of him for me."

Beam frowns, he was hesitant. But then agreed."Yeah. That's not gonna be a problem."he was hesitant about about this, since going after a veteran Joe is not small task.

But Beam, a seasoned CIA Section Chief, senses deception. He subtly gestures to Leiter to keep an eye on Greene. Leiter nods discreetly. Beam's suspicions grow, realizing the presence of Kage, a top operative, signals something much bigger at play.

At AIRPORT APRON, BREGENZ, AUSTRIA Greene gets into his car, now wearing a tuxedo and looking very satisfied with himself. The car drives off. Beam and Leiter are standing outside the jet watching Greene drive away.

Leiter cannot hold in his disgust with Greene anymore and questioned,"You know who Greene is, now with the joes involved and you wanna put us in bed with him. You are kidding, right?"

Beam was worried at first, but soon greed got the best of him and he is thinking of ways to take out Kage and get money from Greene and sarcastically told Leiter,"Yeah, you're right we should just deal with nice people. I need to know you're on the team, Felix. I need to know you value your career."

Beam turns and boards the CIA jet, Leiter shook his head follows.