G.I. Joe: Doomsday Protocol

Chapter 5: Cobra Headquarters

Firewall and Shooter had been urgently clamoring through the jungle for the past hour, always watching their backs, always ready for the B.A.T. to return. Now they stood in awe before the single street that traveled through what was once Cobra Headquarters.

"Nature is a formidable creature, is she not?" Shooter said as they walked down the road overgrown with patches of five-foot tall grass and littered with abandoned Cobra battle armor known as S.N.A.K.E.s. They were everywhere; abandoned, opened at the left seam like a standing coffin. Age dried blood remained in a few, the lingering sign of the Civil War that helped bring Cobra to an end.

The road was straight and steady, stopping in a cul-de-sac occupied by a crescent-shaped luxury hotel that stood several stories high. In the center of the cul-de-sac was a fountain, its dry bed populated with the remains of a toppled Cobra Commander statue that once stood thirty feet tall. On one side of the street were non-descript high-rise office buildings that projected domineering shadows to the other side, where the shorter buildings resided; most of which were restaurants, sandwich and coffee shops, a newsstand, a former fitness center, and a surgical hospital.

Once having been made mostly of glass, the office high-rises had since been choked by vines and ivy. Shattered windows populated all of the building walls and banyan trees had grown as high as four stories, their branches spreading through the exposed window frames of several of the buildings.

"Now we have to figure out which building," said Shooter.

Firewall pointed to a twenty-one-story high-rise mid-way down the street to their right - the tallest building on the street. "I think it's this one." A decaying sign read Cobr Terr rism Co ncil. "Cobra Terrorism Council," she read out loud as she shook her head with disgust. "They had no shame, did they?"

They walked right through the front door, the glass that once kept it sealed off from the outside world was gone, sprinkled upon the ground at their feet as they stepped over it and into the building. The interior architecture was simple and corporate in nature, which was very uncommon when it came to Cobra Commander's tastes. But it was funded and built by the Crimson Twins, who were more practical in their way of doing things (just not in their choice of uniforms).

"Where do you think the servers are?" asked Shooter.

"Based on when this building was constructed and the size of the servers back then? They have to be on the top floor. Would have had to fly them in via helicopter."

"This is your expertise," said Shooter. "So, I'm following your lead on this."

They found a dust-covered directory of the building. There it was, the server room listed on the twenty-first floor. "Hope you brought your walking shoes," Shooter said as she headed for the stairs.

"I didn't. Mind if I try something?"

"By all means."

Firewall looked around the area until she found the utility room. She kicked in the door and found the circuit breaker. She quickly pulled a compact battery from her pack, yanked off the cover to the circuit breaker, cut free some wires, and connected them to wires coming from her battery.

"What are you doing?"

"Hot-wiring the elevator, assuming this circuit breaker is properly labeled. Should give us about thirty minutes of juice.."

"That small battery has that kind of power?" asked Shooter in disbelief.

"Supposed to," Firewall raised her eyebrows. "About to find out."

Electricity kicked in, humming up and down the elevator shaft. Seconds later the elevator door opened. Shooter looked inside, skeptical. "And you're sure it has enough power to get us up there?"