GI JOE Tickling Story Part One "A Ticklish Agenda"
“Four squads, three HISS tanks, two Fang helicopters…” Cobra Commander slowly counted as he reviewed debriefing news on the screen of a Televiper’s notebook from the depths of Cobra Command Headquarters. The Televiper who delivered the news seemed uneasy under his uniform despite the commander’s cool disposition.
“LOST!” the hooded commander shouted vehemently pounding his gloved fist on the large circular oak table that seated his most loyal henchmen. “Lost to a handful of Joes without air support, outnumbered and outgunned. Who do I have to kill, to get a report that Cobra actually defeated a GI JOE squad?”
Cobra Commander drew his sidearm and seemed to scan all the persons in the room. Destro, the Baroness and Dr. Mindbender watched Cobra Commander’s tantrum coolly. The Televiper however was noticeably nervous and was certain that he was qualifying as the most expendable person in the room. He took a nervous step backward towards the door.
Cobra Commander took the Televiper’s info notebook and smashed the machine on the hard granite floor of the room.
At a loss of words and not knowing what to do, the Televiper stared at the pieces on the floor uncertain if he was dismissed, required to stand in attention or get down on his hands and knees to pick up the pieces of the notebook.
Destro put a hand on the nervous Televiper’s shoulder and with a subtle nod of his head motioned towards the exit. The Televiper needn’t be told twice; a second later he was dashing for the exit as fast as his trembling legs would take him.
“Waste,” Destro said stoically as picked up a piece of the broken machine, “is bad for business. Losing equipment and showing incompetence is also bad for business. If we cannot demonstrate the superiority of our equipment, how can we succeed in selling it to those who’s greatest wish is to be able to stand up to the American bullies?”
“I say we send a clear message to the world and stage a major operative on the Pit destroying the problem at the heart of the American military,” Cobra Commander said. “Then the world will see that our weaponry is superior to theirs.”
“The Pit’s location remains a secret, Commander,” the Baroness said as she sat at her place and calmly sipped a glass of red wine. “Even if we could find it, destroying it would not necessarily be a public demonstration of superiority.”
”And destroying the team itself is not of such an advantage,” Dr. Mindbender said from his seat opposite the Baroness. “The Americans have a highly skilled military pool from where to draw upon new members for the GI JOE Strikeforce. They would have an equally impressive force set up in a matter of weeks. No doubt.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?” Cobra Commander asked. “Sit back and watch our weapons sales plummet and make even bigger losses in equipment and personnel to the GI JOE team?”
“Information is the key to victory,” the Baroness replied. “If we knew when and where the GI JOE team was to strike, we’d be better prepared to deal with them and we could make public demonstrations of our superiority all over the world.”
“We’ve inserted moles before,” Cobra Commander replied. “But we never get high enough in the hierarchy to get the information we require. That is usually held by the highest ranked generals and the top members of the GI JOE team.”
“What if I told you that I could brainwash a member of the GI JOE team to be completely loyal to Cobra?” Dr. Mindbender asked.
Destro scoffed at the notion. “Every Cobra scientist since Dr. Venom has suggested brainwashing and not one has been successful enough to give us a long term solution for gathering valuable information. They’ve just succeeded in variations of temporary post hypnotic suggestion which usually backfire when we require subjects to perform actions that are against their morals or principals.”
“The mind is my field, Destro.” The doctor replied. “I guarantee that I can condition any Joe to provide information and forget all those cumbersome morals and principals they value so much.”
“I don’t approve of that scientific brainwash jibberish,” the Baroness said. “Give me a Joe for one week and I will show you what an old fashioned and well executed brainwash is all about.”
“Let us assume we were to do this,” Destro said pulling a dossier and tossing a couple photos of Joes on the table. “Which Joe would we try to brainwash? Hawk? Duke?”
“No,” Cobra Commander replied taking the dossier from Destro’s hands. “Those goodie two shoes are too high for us to make a hit. Some one more involved in operations, some one more involved in intelligence and exposed in GI JOE ops. Someone like this…”
Cobra Commander sent the photo spinning to the center of the table over the photos of Hawk and Duke.
“If she can be procured, I can control her,” Dr. Mindbender replied coolly. “I’ll even be willing to let the Baroness have a first opportunity to try her old fashioned methods.”
“I’m flattered,” the Baroness said caustically. “However there is still the matter of getting her out in the open and then capturing her alive.”
“Leave that to me,” Destro said quietly. “A well placed trap will give us that option.”
“It is settled then,” Cobra Commander replied. “A trap will be sprung, a Joe will be captured and brainwashed. Within a month, the Joe codenamed Scarlett will be under our complete control.
“One way or another.”
**************************
“Joes,” Hawk said from the depths of the Pit pointing to a small South American country on a map. “As you all know, Sierra Gordo has been a country that has given several of our administrations a lot of headaches. After years of civil war, coups and toppled puppet governments, democratic elections have been conducted and the current president, pro US Santiago Alvarez has settled things down enough in Rio Lindo to start recovering it once favored status among South American countries for US investment.
“Despite the relative calm, Cobra’s been sponsoring El Jefe again and they’ve been selling him weapons to get another revolution started. Alvarez has gotten wind of a huge weapons delivery that is set to go down in the next 24 hours. The “Sea Serpent” is a ship belonging to the ARBCO freightliner which we all know is a legitimate commercial vessel of Cobra Island. It will arrive in Rio Lindo containing weapons, tanks and ammunition El Jefe needs to get his war started.
“Alvarez plans to foil the plan in port and seize the weapons for himself. He wants our support if Cobra should show since he feels outgunned if Cobra should show up and support el Jefe. The brass says we give him Joes in the port to make a facade and then we make sure the ship suffers an ‘accident’ at sea. That way we don’t allow Cobra weapons to be confiscated and at the same time we can deny have anything to do with the weapons not reaching port.
“We have blueprints of the ship and a container listing of the real contents. Two teams will sink that ship. Snake-eyes and Stalker will take the engine room and Scarlett and Jinx will blast a container of ammunition in the ship’s hold. It goes without saying that this must be a very stealthy operation and everyone must be convinced it was an accident.
“Flint, Lady Jaye, Covergirl and Clutch, you’ll be assigned to the port to wait with Alvarez. You’ll organize his forces as if the ship were to arrive as he expects. Once he learns of the fate of the Sea Serpent, clear out quickly.”
Hawks eyes scanned the faces of the team. “Any questions?”
No one said a word.
“Good. Suit up and be ready in ten minutes. Good luck and good hunting, Joes.”
********************
The mission started easy enough. Both teams were inserted 800 feet away by a stealth submarine team. The swim to the ship and climbing the slick sides of the ship was a walk in the park.
The crew of the ship was unarmed for the most part and totally unprepared for any kind of combat situation. Snake-eyes and Jinx were sent for silencing any resistance, but for the most part it was not necessary. The crew had not idea what was about to hit them.
Snake-eyes and Stalker reached the engine room first and planted the explosives. “Scarlett, Snakes and I have delivered the goods,” Stalker whispered over the commlink. “You have 10 minutes to deliver yours before the whole ship blows. Over.”
“Roger that. We are in ship’s hold, you guys prep for extraction,” Scarlett replied while she and Jinx approached the container marked as ammunition on the map. They were both in black wet suits and they literally melted into the shadows.
“Do we plant the explosives at the door of the container?” Jinx asked.
”Nah,” replied Scarlett. “I want this to be thorough.” She pulled vial from her suit and released the cork. She poured the liquid on the container’s seal. It quickly melted away. She carefully opened the door and they both stepped into the dark container.
Scarlett and Jinx turned on the flashlights mounted one their submachine guns. The container was filled with crates. Scarlett quickly opened one and expecting to see bullets or shells, she was surprised to find Cobra Commander plush dolls.
”What the devil?” Scarlett said under her breath lifting one of the dolls.
”Set the explosives,” Jinx urged. “We can’t be picky. Intelligence botched up. We need to set the explosives and split!”
Suddenly the doors to the container were shut closed and locked from the outside.
“Stalker!” Scarlett shouted over the commlink. “It’s a trap, get off the ship now!”
“We’re trapped!” Jinx said as she tried to pry the doors open.
The Cobra Commander dolls began to hiss and a pink gas with a sweet smell began to issue from them.
A single sniff was all that was necessary to send Scarlett into a wave of drowsiness. She held her breath and slipped her diving regulator mouthpiece into her mouth and breathed fresh air. Even so, she struggled to keep her vision clear as she tried to shake off the effects of the gas. She could see Jinx was also using her diving equipment to breathe, however she also struggled to stay on her knees.
The door opened and a masked Cobra Viper entered the room. He walked over to Jinx and simply cut with a knife the tube bringing oxygen to the mouthpiece. A single breath later and Jinx collapsed on the floor of the container unconscious.
The Cobra approached Scarlett and she tried to lift her weapon which was still too heavy for her to lift. As the Cobra tried to cut her oxygen tube, Scarlett pulled a small throwing star from her wrist and cut the cobra’s tube first.
The effect was immediate and the Cobra was unconscious before he hit the floor.
A second Cobra Viper entered the container. “A feisty one, aren’t we?” said the Cobra pointing a weapon in her direction. “Dr. Mindbender’s sleep serum can be applied in more than one manner.”
Scarlett felt a prick in her shoulder and a second crash of drowsiness hit her. The throwing star fell from her fingers and all she could do was try to activate the explosives in her pack. The Viper saw her intention and pulled mouthpiece from her mouth.
“Nightie night,” the Viper said.
Scarlett took one breath and succumbed to the effect. The last thing she heard was the sound of an approaching helicopter.
**********
“We are on our way, Scarlett!” Stalker shouted on the commlink. “It’s a trap!” he shouted to Snake-eyes. The silent man sheathed the trench knives he had been using and drew his Uzi.
“Yeah, the time for subtlety is over,” Stalker said pulling free a couple grenades. “Time to send these jokers a clear message that no one shoves GI JOE around without getting shoved back!”
The roar of a helicopter took them by surprise. A Fang had spotted them and flew straight at them, with its cannon roaring.
Stalker and Snakes literally hit the deck and crawled their way towards cover as the high caliber rounds tore through the railing.
Stalker pulled the pins of the grenades and counted. “One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi…” He then hurled the grenades over his shoulder. An explosion followed by the tearing of helicopter blades against the side of the ship confirmed the fate of the Fang.
“We’ve got two minutes before the ship blows!” Stalker shouted. “Let’s move!”
Snake-eyes took the lead, rushing along the corridors of the ship making a beeline for the hold. When they finally reached the hold, a Cobra transport helicopter was lifting a container into the air with a powerful winch.
Snake-eyes cut loose with the Uzi aiming at the cockpit. The bullets bounced off the helicopter’s armor and the pilot responded by turning on its side to allow a heavy machine gun mounted on its side a clean view of the Joes. The machine gun barrage kept Stalker and Snake-eyes under cover.
“Thirty-seconds!” Stalker shouted above the roar of the machine gun fire and the helicopter. “We’ve got to jump ship now!”
Snake-eyes looked anxiously at the helicopter that was securing the container. He knew he could take the helicopter. He just needed a little more time.
”Move it!” Stalker shouted taking Snake-eyes by the shoulder who continued to look back at the helicopter reluctantly. “You’re no good to her dead! On your feet, buddy!”
The two soldiers dashed for the railing and dived into the sea. As they crashed into the sea they heard the roar of the explosion of the engine room followed by a series of smaller explosions throughout the ship.
When having swum far enough from the vessel, Snake-eyes and Stalker broke to the surface to see the Sea Serpent sinking and the helicopter on the horizon headed southward towards what seemed to be Sierra Gordo.
“They set us up good,” Stalker said to Snake-eyes. “But they aren’t getting away with this.”
Snake-eyes silently nodded in agreement.
**************
Scarlett awoke in a dark and dank cellar that seemed to have been adapted into a makeshift dungeon. She was chained with her arms held high above her head. She assumed she had been hanging there some time judging from the numbness of her arms. She was still in her black wetsuit, but all of her equipment had been removed.
The door to the cellar opened and the Baroness stepped in accompanied by two Cobra officers.
“Our sleeping beauty is finally awake,” the Baroness said sarcastically. “I trust your sleep was a pleasant one.”
“Rot in hell, Baroness,” Scarlett shouted pulling on the chains holding her prisoner. “If the reason I’m not dead is you wanting information, you can forget it. You’ll get nothing from me. Just name and serial number.”
“If I am anything,” the Baroness said as she drew near with a tray on a cart, “I am thorough.” She pulled a cloth that covered the tray and revealed a series of tools of torture and interrogation. Among the many tools were knives, scalpels, hooks, and chemicals from corrosive acids to sodium pentothal.
“This is what awaits you if you do not cooperate,” the Baroness said gesturing to the table. She took a hook and a small piece of bamboo and drew near Scarlett from a side to gently caress Scarlett’s cheek with the hideous hook.
“What is the location of the Pit?” The Baroness asked.
“Codename: Scarlett. 242967434,” Scarlett replied coolly.
“I expected as much,” the Baroness said with a twisted smile as she drew the piece of bamboo softly against Scarlett’s underarm.
Scarlett felt a tingling sensation on her underarm but ignored it as best as she could. She was grateful to still have the wetsuit on.
“I’d have the Pit location from you, if I wanted it,” the Baroness replied. “A few pieces of bamboo under the fingernails can inflict pain that can surpass even the most strongest of wills. I’ve seen strong proud men reduced to weeping babes in South East Asia, begging for the mercy of a quick death. But we’d surely kill you in the end and that is not the intention of Cobra Command.”
“So, what is you intention?” Scarlett asked.
“There are other methods of torture that I’ve learned during my travels around the world,” the Baroness replied. “You will discover that what I have learned is quite an art in itself.
“Officers,” the Baroness called. “Take our guest to the interrogation room I have prepared.” The Baroness pointed a pistol at her while the guards drew near. “Knock her out, first,” she suggested.
One of the officers took a bottle from the tray and soaked a handkerchief with its contents. As he approached to place the cloth over Scarlett’s mouth and nose, the Joe made her move. She pulled on the chains lifting her body into the air and wrapped her legs around the approaching officers’ neck. There was a quick snap, and before the officer fell to the ground, her legs were already around the second officer’s neck.
By then, the Baroness had retrieved the cloth from the ground, and before Scarlett could snap the second officer’s neck the cloth was deftly placed over her mouth and nose.
She struggled and tried to keep away from the cloth but to no avail. The Baroness dug the nails of her free hand into Scarlett’s ribs tickling briefly but effectively. Taken by surprise, Scarlett gasped and that was all that was necessary. The strength went from her legs and she was unable to snap the second officer’s neck. The officer fell to the ground coughing and gasping for air.
The Baroness stared into Scarlett’s eyes and watched with satisfaction as they fluttered and slowly closed. The Baroness tickled her ribs again but there was no reaction. Convinced that the Joe was unconscious, the Baroness pulled the cloth away and Scarlett’s head slumped gently to one side.
“Get up,” the Baroness commanded the officer. “Have her in the interrogation room in 20 minutes.”
******************
Scarlett awoke to a soft breeze. She opened her eyes and discovered she was bound spread eagle in leather cuffs on a soft mattress of an elegant brass fitted bed with a canopy. She was in a large bedroom of what appeared to be an hacienda of some sort. The door to a balcony was open and she could hear the sounds of the Sierra Gordan tropical forest outside.
She’d been changed from the black wet suit to what appeared to be a black bra and bikini panties with crimson red Cobra insignias on them.
“Talk about bad taste,” she whispered under her breath as she attempted to free herself. She could move a little, but the cuffs were tight and locked. So close to freedom, she thought to herself as she gazed out the window, yet so far.
The Baroness entered the room followed by two female Cobra officers and the infamous Dr. Mindbender.
“I trust you enjoyed your sleep,” the Baroness mocked as she drew near and sat on the edge of the bed next to Scarlett. The officers stood in attention at the foot of the bed and Dr. Mindbender took a seat in a far corner of the room as if he were about to see something very entertaining.
“The officer whose neck you kindly snapped won’t be waking up unfortunately,” the Baroness said. “You might wonder why the pleasant accommodations as compared to the cell you were in.”
The thought had crossed Scarlett’s mind.
“You see there is torture that causes pain,” the Baroness explained “but you Joe’s are used to pain and discomfort. You are tested under adverse conditions from your first day of training. Your threshold for pain is far beyond that of an ordinary man. After interrogating many a different Joe, I have realized that many even enjoy the pain. So physical pain, sleep deprivation, psychological stress… they are all the sort of things you Joes would expect from an ordinary terrorist.
“We are hardly ‘ordinary terrorists’, my dear Scarlett.”
“What ever you can dish out, I can take,” Scarlett replied staring off to the ceiling.
“Is that so?” The Baroness asked as she drew a single nail along Scarlett’s creamy white side.
Scarlett’s body jerked violently and the chains that held her cuffed limbs rattled loudly. Scarlett’s face flushed red as she realized she could not control her reaction.
“I’ve tickled men and women less ticklish than you, Scarlett,” the Baroness said. ”By the time I finished with them, they all begged to tell me their secrets.”
The Baroness moved her nails lingering just an inch or so over Scarlett’s creamy belly. Scarlett struggled to move away and she could move slightly, but the fingers just kept on zeroing in.
”Sing for me, Scarlett”, the Baroness said as she dug her sharp nails into Scarlett’s ribs.
The tickling sensation was like a bomb being detonated. Scarlett’s resistance was useless as she began to explode in reckless gales of laughter. She twisted from side to side and tried to move as much as possible, but the tickling was constant, persistent and professional. It was like nothing she had ever experienced before.
Scarlett had always been ticklish. As a girl, her brothers after martial arts class would tackle her down to the tatami in her training gi and tie her hands and ankles behind her back with a belt, leaving her effectively hogtied on the tatami floor. They would tickle her to tears on her bare feet and sides until her father would come, scold her brothers and then sneak in some tickling before releasing her. Even in her late teens, her father would demonstrate the effectiveness of police holds and such by tickling her ribs or feet while she was restrained in jujitsu holds. She’d laugh like a silly girl and struggle in the holds until her father finally released her. She felt so embarrassed to be portrayed as a silly ticklish girl before the rest of the students that she trained even harder. Her brothers and fellow students soon saw the formidable martial artist and forgot the ticklish girl.
Scarlett had the most angelical laughter. She was not a screamer and part of the reason she was so frequently tickled when she was younger was because everyone was so damned certain she was having a great time. Nothing could be further from the truth. The loss of control, the forced laughter, the violent contraction of her muscles, the hyperventilation… it was far from being even tolerable in her view.
And here she was again. A ticklish little girl being tickled by someone whose skills were exponentially better than those of her brothers. The Baroness was a true master. She watched Scarlett’s every reaction and quickly discovered that there was a small point of her upper rib cage that made her laugh even harder and reduced her resistance to zero.
The Baroness stopped her assault and Scarlett gasped for air as if she were drowning. She stared at the clock on the dresser and noticed that she had only been tickled for five minutes. It had seemed to her to have been a full hour.
“Let’s start with the location of the Pit, shall we?” the Baroness asked as she moved towards the foot of the bed.
“Codename… Scarlett… 24… 29… 67... 434…,” Scarlett replied with difficulty as she continued to be short of breath.
The Baroness smiled with glee realizing that this was going to be a tough cookie to crack, but it was going to be an entertaining challenge.
“Feet are interesting body parts, aren’t they?” the Baroness said as she gently touched the tops of Scarlett’s toes without tickling but it still making Scarlett’s heart race nervously. “We walk on them, run on them, we can kick with them. I’m certain you can kick through a pile of bricks with you bare feet. And then on the other hand they are so sensitive.” She touched the lower part of the soles ever so gently and the feet shook from side to side and the chains rattled again.
“They are so many nerve endings in the foot. It is an erogenous zone, and it is widely known that many a point in the foot can be massaged or manipulated to deal with health issues or even stress.”
As if on cue, the two officers drew near and each took a bare foot in their hands. They each firmly pressed their thumbs on her soles and massaged gently. Scarlett was shocked that it did not tickle. It was soothing and calming and she realized that within moments she was breathing calmly again.
She was involuntarily feeling so much better that it was a total surprise when the gentle soothing massage was replaced with the skilled scratching of nails on the soles of her feet.
Both officers held each foot still with one arm while the other used its fingers to tickle the pretty soles of their prisoner.
Scarlett’s laughter filled up the room. The officers had been so skilled at their endeavor. Scarlett had never considered her feet her most ticklish spot, but now she was forced to consider them as such. The fingers would scratch lightly on her arch, dig in deep between the toes, and probe each and every part of her vulnerable feet. She pulled hard on the restraints but only accomplished rattling the chains. The sound of the rattling was drowned in her laughter.
Not content in seeing Scarlett’s feet thrash and watching her face melt into a hearty and contagious laughter, the Baroness reached for the Joe’s bare underarms and applied her tickling fingers to them.
Scarlett had never imagined such intensity could exist. All the muscles in her body were contracting from the tickling. She was light headed from the lack of oxygen to her brain. She was angry with herself for being so out of control.
She was twisting from side to side trying to escape the attack to her underarms and pulling futilely on her legs to free her feet. When the Baroness ended the attack, Scarlett continued to laugh hoarsely and gasped desperately. Tears were streaming down her eyes. Scarlett looked at the clock.
It had not been even seven minutes.
The Cobra officers began once again to massage her feet, and once again she felt her body relax and recuperate against her will.
“Do you have something to tell me?” The Baroness asked
“Codename… Scarlett… 242967... 434…” Scarlett replied as the soothing massage slowly gave back her strength.
“If I tickled you non-stop,” the Baroness observed, “you would pass out. By restoring you after every bout, I can extend the time I can torture you. You’ve had 12 minutes of action. I can easily go hours before growing bored.”
The Baroness gently turned some cleverly hidden cranks at the top and bottom of the bed that tightened the chains that restrained her prisoner. Scarlett felt her limbs stretch to the point were she could no longer move and the chains no longer rattled.
The Baroness began again tickling her rib area. This time she could not move and it made the sensation even more intense. Scarlett’s laughter was now combined with pleas for mercy.
“Stop, Baroness! Please stop! Let me breathe!” Scarlett shouted between her laughter. The Cobra officers immediately began to stroke her soles with a pair of thick bristled brushes. Somehow they knew exactly how to twist the bristles to draw out the most intense sensation. The reaction was uncontrolled laughter, screaming and calls for mercy.
No matter how much Scarlett had been tickled by her brothers, she had never screamed and had never begged for mercy. She had been so proud. They could make her laugh but she would never give up.
She was so ashamed to be begging a Cobra for mercy.
When the Baroness finished the third bout, her victim was bathed in sweat, panting and totally exhausted.
It was then that Dr. Mindbender interrupted.
“This is all quite entertaining, my dear Baroness,” the scientist said. “But there is an agenda and I fear your technique will take much too long and it will not be nearly as effective as mine.”
“Do you really believe you can do better?” the Baroness scoffed.
“I do,” was the reply.
“Be my guest,” the Baroness said gesturing to her prisoner.
Dr. Mindbender sat next to Scarlett and opened a small case. Scarlett watched the Cobra scientist and wondered what class of mad genius would wear a cape and a monocle with a ridiculous moustache.
Mindbender removed a syringe and promptly injected a fluid into Scarlett’s arm.
“This is a solution containing a small army of nano-machines designed to travel through the bloodstream and then strategically reside in pre-selected parts of the brain,” the doctor explained all those present. “When a signal is sent, the microscopic agents release specific chemicals to specific parts of the brain, allowing us to alter conscious and sub conscious states.”
“What does that mean?” the Baroness asked impatiently.
“It means that I can make specific commands to Scarlett as if they had been placed in her subconscious by hypnotic suggestion. All areas of her brain that involve willpower are neutralized simultaneously. So literally, my will is her command.”
“I’ve never heard of anything so pretentious in my entire life,” the Baroness said.
“Sleep,” Dr. Mindbender commanded.
Scarlett instantly fell asleep.
“She could be faking,” the Baroness stated. “It would not be the first time.”
“Scarlett,” Dr. Mindbender said to the sleeping Joe, “when you awake, you will not be ticklish. Awake!”
Scarlett awoke and watched the Cobras wonder what was going on.
The Baroness nodded to the two Cobra officers who immediately attacked Scarlett’s bare feet scratching and tickling between the toes. There was no reaction.
“Impossible!” the Baroness said in amazement. She went to the sweet spot in the upper rib cage and tickled there. There was no way possible that she could conceive such a ticklish person could resist. “This is some sort of parlor trick!”
“You require more proof?” Mindbender asked of the doubting Baroness.
“Sleep!” he commanded again and Scarlett obeyed. The redheaded Joe snored softly.
“Release her from her bondage,” Mindbender commanded the Cobra officers.
“This is mad and reckless,” the Baroness said pulling her side arm from her holster.
“It is perfectly safe for us,” he replied as the officers released Scarlett from the cuffs.
“Tell that to the officer whose neck she broke this morning,” the Baroness replied.
“Scarlett,” Mindbender called as he spread her arms back to the spread eagle position. “When you awaken you will be restrained on wrists and ankles. You will not be able to move. You will be ticklish again. Awake!”
Scarlett was confused at this point, but in her mind she was still restrained. Dr. Mindbender quickly drew his finger along Scarlett’s bare sole and watched in approval as Scarlett’s unrestrained foot thrashed and she burst into laughter.
“Impressive,” the Baroness admitted lowering her side arm.
“It gets even better,” Mindbender said taking the Baroness’s weapon from her hand and placing it between Scarlett’s legs.
”Are you mad!?” the Baroness shouted.
“That’s what everyone keeps telling me,” Mindbender said as he took the Baroness to the end of the room where they sat down and observed their prisoner from afar. “Worry not, no harm will befall us.”
“Scarlett,” he commanded, “you are free from your bonds.”
Scarlett touched her wrists and ankles gingerly watching the amazed faces of her captors. She moved so fast no one could believe it. She grasped the weapon at the foot of the bed rolled off the bed and shot at each of the officers who did not have time to even point their weapons in her direction.
They both fell to the ground with a loud thud.
”You fool!” the Baroness shouted. “You’ve let her loose!”
“Loose, but not free,” Mindbender corrected as he poured a glass of wine.
“I have no idea what you two are up to,” Scarlett said pointing the gun at the Baroness and Dr. Mindbender, “but you are now my prisoners and you are going to escort me out of this place to the American consulate in Rio Lindo.”
“We will do no such thing,” Mindbender replied as he pointed his own weapon in her direction.
Scarlett tried to pull the trigger, but she could not.
“She is preconditioned,” the scientist explained as he took another sip of wine. “She can never harm any top ranking member of Cobra Command.
“Drop the weapon and return to the bed,” he commanded. Scarlett obeyed dropping the Baroness’s weapon and returning to the bed.
“Sleep,” he commanded and she obeyed.
“You could have explained that before she wasted two very skilled officers,” the Baroness complained.
“I wouldn’t be mad then, would I?” he snickered.
“I suppose not,” the Baroness replied.
“Still, she was not polite at all with the officers who had indeed given their very best for Cobra.
“Scarlett, you are restrained,” he commanded. “When you awake you will be more ticklish than you have ever been in your entire life. You are blindfolded and you are being skillfully tickled with stiff feathers all over your body. They will tickle you until you pass out. Awake!”
Scarlett awoke and she immediately began to laugh madly as imaginary feathers attacked her ticklish body.
“She’ll still need much programming to be reinserted into GI JOE headquarters,” the Baroness said enjoying the effortless imaginary torture Scarlett was being put through.
“A couple days at most,” Mindbender said imagining the Baroness restrained and being tickled at his command. Madness, he thought to himself…
“I want one more test before she is released,” the Baroness stated.
“And what is that?”
“It’s just a small laughing matter,” the Baroness replied with a twisted smile.
To be continued….
“Four squads, three HISS tanks, two Fang helicopters…” Cobra Commander slowly counted as he reviewed debriefing news on the screen of a Televiper’s notebook from the depths of Cobra Command Headquarters. The Televiper who delivered the news seemed uneasy under his uniform despite the commander’s cool disposition.
“LOST!” the hooded commander shouted vehemently pounding his gloved fist on the large circular oak table that seated his most loyal henchmen. “Lost to a handful of Joes without air support, outnumbered and outgunned. Who do I have to kill, to get a report that Cobra actually defeated a GI JOE squad?”
Cobra Commander drew his sidearm and seemed to scan all the persons in the room. Destro, the Baroness and Dr. Mindbender watched Cobra Commander’s tantrum coolly. The Televiper however was noticeably nervous and was certain that he was qualifying as the most expendable person in the room. He took a nervous step backward towards the door.
Cobra Commander took the Televiper’s info notebook and smashed the machine on the hard granite floor of the room.
At a loss of words and not knowing what to do, the Televiper stared at the pieces on the floor uncertain if he was dismissed, required to stand in attention or get down on his hands and knees to pick up the pieces of the notebook.
Destro put a hand on the nervous Televiper’s shoulder and with a subtle nod of his head motioned towards the exit. The Televiper needn’t be told twice; a second later he was dashing for the exit as fast as his trembling legs would take him.
“Waste,” Destro said stoically as picked up a piece of the broken machine, “is bad for business. Losing equipment and showing incompetence is also bad for business. If we cannot demonstrate the superiority of our equipment, how can we succeed in selling it to those who’s greatest wish is to be able to stand up to the American bullies?”
“I say we send a clear message to the world and stage a major operative on the Pit destroying the problem at the heart of the American military,” Cobra Commander said. “Then the world will see that our weaponry is superior to theirs.”
“The Pit’s location remains a secret, Commander,” the Baroness said as she sat at her place and calmly sipped a glass of red wine. “Even if we could find it, destroying it would not necessarily be a public demonstration of superiority.”
”And destroying the team itself is not of such an advantage,” Dr. Mindbender said from his seat opposite the Baroness. “The Americans have a highly skilled military pool from where to draw upon new members for the GI JOE Strikeforce. They would have an equally impressive force set up in a matter of weeks. No doubt.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?” Cobra Commander asked. “Sit back and watch our weapons sales plummet and make even bigger losses in equipment and personnel to the GI JOE team?”
“Information is the key to victory,” the Baroness replied. “If we knew when and where the GI JOE team was to strike, we’d be better prepared to deal with them and we could make public demonstrations of our superiority all over the world.”
“We’ve inserted moles before,” Cobra Commander replied. “But we never get high enough in the hierarchy to get the information we require. That is usually held by the highest ranked generals and the top members of the GI JOE team.”
“What if I told you that I could brainwash a member of the GI JOE team to be completely loyal to Cobra?” Dr. Mindbender asked.
Destro scoffed at the notion. “Every Cobra scientist since Dr. Venom has suggested brainwashing and not one has been successful enough to give us a long term solution for gathering valuable information. They’ve just succeeded in variations of temporary post hypnotic suggestion which usually backfire when we require subjects to perform actions that are against their morals or principals.”
“The mind is my field, Destro.” The doctor replied. “I guarantee that I can condition any Joe to provide information and forget all those cumbersome morals and principals they value so much.”
“I don’t approve of that scientific brainwash jibberish,” the Baroness said. “Give me a Joe for one week and I will show you what an old fashioned and well executed brainwash is all about.”
“Let us assume we were to do this,” Destro said pulling a dossier and tossing a couple photos of Joes on the table. “Which Joe would we try to brainwash? Hawk? Duke?”
“No,” Cobra Commander replied taking the dossier from Destro’s hands. “Those goodie two shoes are too high for us to make a hit. Some one more involved in operations, some one more involved in intelligence and exposed in GI JOE ops. Someone like this…”
Cobra Commander sent the photo spinning to the center of the table over the photos of Hawk and Duke.
“If she can be procured, I can control her,” Dr. Mindbender replied coolly. “I’ll even be willing to let the Baroness have a first opportunity to try her old fashioned methods.”
“I’m flattered,” the Baroness said caustically. “However there is still the matter of getting her out in the open and then capturing her alive.”
“Leave that to me,” Destro said quietly. “A well placed trap will give us that option.”
“It is settled then,” Cobra Commander replied. “A trap will be sprung, a Joe will be captured and brainwashed. Within a month, the Joe codenamed Scarlett will be under our complete control.
“One way or another.”
**************************
“Joes,” Hawk said from the depths of the Pit pointing to a small South American country on a map. “As you all know, Sierra Gordo has been a country that has given several of our administrations a lot of headaches. After years of civil war, coups and toppled puppet governments, democratic elections have been conducted and the current president, pro US Santiago Alvarez has settled things down enough in Rio Lindo to start recovering it once favored status among South American countries for US investment.
“Despite the relative calm, Cobra’s been sponsoring El Jefe again and they’ve been selling him weapons to get another revolution started. Alvarez has gotten wind of a huge weapons delivery that is set to go down in the next 24 hours. The “Sea Serpent” is a ship belonging to the ARBCO freightliner which we all know is a legitimate commercial vessel of Cobra Island. It will arrive in Rio Lindo containing weapons, tanks and ammunition El Jefe needs to get his war started.
“Alvarez plans to foil the plan in port and seize the weapons for himself. He wants our support if Cobra should show since he feels outgunned if Cobra should show up and support el Jefe. The brass says we give him Joes in the port to make a facade and then we make sure the ship suffers an ‘accident’ at sea. That way we don’t allow Cobra weapons to be confiscated and at the same time we can deny have anything to do with the weapons not reaching port.
“We have blueprints of the ship and a container listing of the real contents. Two teams will sink that ship. Snake-eyes and Stalker will take the engine room and Scarlett and Jinx will blast a container of ammunition in the ship’s hold. It goes without saying that this must be a very stealthy operation and everyone must be convinced it was an accident.
“Flint, Lady Jaye, Covergirl and Clutch, you’ll be assigned to the port to wait with Alvarez. You’ll organize his forces as if the ship were to arrive as he expects. Once he learns of the fate of the Sea Serpent, clear out quickly.”
Hawks eyes scanned the faces of the team. “Any questions?”
No one said a word.
“Good. Suit up and be ready in ten minutes. Good luck and good hunting, Joes.”
********************
The mission started easy enough. Both teams were inserted 800 feet away by a stealth submarine team. The swim to the ship and climbing the slick sides of the ship was a walk in the park.
The crew of the ship was unarmed for the most part and totally unprepared for any kind of combat situation. Snake-eyes and Jinx were sent for silencing any resistance, but for the most part it was not necessary. The crew had not idea what was about to hit them.
Snake-eyes and Stalker reached the engine room first and planted the explosives. “Scarlett, Snakes and I have delivered the goods,” Stalker whispered over the commlink. “You have 10 minutes to deliver yours before the whole ship blows. Over.”
“Roger that. We are in ship’s hold, you guys prep for extraction,” Scarlett replied while she and Jinx approached the container marked as ammunition on the map. They were both in black wet suits and they literally melted into the shadows.
“Do we plant the explosives at the door of the container?” Jinx asked.
”Nah,” replied Scarlett. “I want this to be thorough.” She pulled vial from her suit and released the cork. She poured the liquid on the container’s seal. It quickly melted away. She carefully opened the door and they both stepped into the dark container.
Scarlett and Jinx turned on the flashlights mounted one their submachine guns. The container was filled with crates. Scarlett quickly opened one and expecting to see bullets or shells, she was surprised to find Cobra Commander plush dolls.
”What the devil?” Scarlett said under her breath lifting one of the dolls.
”Set the explosives,” Jinx urged. “We can’t be picky. Intelligence botched up. We need to set the explosives and split!”
Suddenly the doors to the container were shut closed and locked from the outside.
“Stalker!” Scarlett shouted over the commlink. “It’s a trap, get off the ship now!”
“We’re trapped!” Jinx said as she tried to pry the doors open.
The Cobra Commander dolls began to hiss and a pink gas with a sweet smell began to issue from them.
A single sniff was all that was necessary to send Scarlett into a wave of drowsiness. She held her breath and slipped her diving regulator mouthpiece into her mouth and breathed fresh air. Even so, she struggled to keep her vision clear as she tried to shake off the effects of the gas. She could see Jinx was also using her diving equipment to breathe, however she also struggled to stay on her knees.
The door opened and a masked Cobra Viper entered the room. He walked over to Jinx and simply cut with a knife the tube bringing oxygen to the mouthpiece. A single breath later and Jinx collapsed on the floor of the container unconscious.
The Cobra approached Scarlett and she tried to lift her weapon which was still too heavy for her to lift. As the Cobra tried to cut her oxygen tube, Scarlett pulled a small throwing star from her wrist and cut the cobra’s tube first.
The effect was immediate and the Cobra was unconscious before he hit the floor.
A second Cobra Viper entered the container. “A feisty one, aren’t we?” said the Cobra pointing a weapon in her direction. “Dr. Mindbender’s sleep serum can be applied in more than one manner.”
Scarlett felt a prick in her shoulder and a second crash of drowsiness hit her. The throwing star fell from her fingers and all she could do was try to activate the explosives in her pack. The Viper saw her intention and pulled mouthpiece from her mouth.
“Nightie night,” the Viper said.
Scarlett took one breath and succumbed to the effect. The last thing she heard was the sound of an approaching helicopter.
**********
“We are on our way, Scarlett!” Stalker shouted on the commlink. “It’s a trap!” he shouted to Snake-eyes. The silent man sheathed the trench knives he had been using and drew his Uzi.
“Yeah, the time for subtlety is over,” Stalker said pulling free a couple grenades. “Time to send these jokers a clear message that no one shoves GI JOE around without getting shoved back!”
The roar of a helicopter took them by surprise. A Fang had spotted them and flew straight at them, with its cannon roaring.
Stalker and Snakes literally hit the deck and crawled their way towards cover as the high caliber rounds tore through the railing.
Stalker pulled the pins of the grenades and counted. “One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi…” He then hurled the grenades over his shoulder. An explosion followed by the tearing of helicopter blades against the side of the ship confirmed the fate of the Fang.
“We’ve got two minutes before the ship blows!” Stalker shouted. “Let’s move!”
Snake-eyes took the lead, rushing along the corridors of the ship making a beeline for the hold. When they finally reached the hold, a Cobra transport helicopter was lifting a container into the air with a powerful winch.
Snake-eyes cut loose with the Uzi aiming at the cockpit. The bullets bounced off the helicopter’s armor and the pilot responded by turning on its side to allow a heavy machine gun mounted on its side a clean view of the Joes. The machine gun barrage kept Stalker and Snake-eyes under cover.
“Thirty-seconds!” Stalker shouted above the roar of the machine gun fire and the helicopter. “We’ve got to jump ship now!”
Snake-eyes looked anxiously at the helicopter that was securing the container. He knew he could take the helicopter. He just needed a little more time.
”Move it!” Stalker shouted taking Snake-eyes by the shoulder who continued to look back at the helicopter reluctantly. “You’re no good to her dead! On your feet, buddy!”
The two soldiers dashed for the railing and dived into the sea. As they crashed into the sea they heard the roar of the explosion of the engine room followed by a series of smaller explosions throughout the ship.
When having swum far enough from the vessel, Snake-eyes and Stalker broke to the surface to see the Sea Serpent sinking and the helicopter on the horizon headed southward towards what seemed to be Sierra Gordo.
“They set us up good,” Stalker said to Snake-eyes. “But they aren’t getting away with this.”
Snake-eyes silently nodded in agreement.
**************
Scarlett awoke in a dark and dank cellar that seemed to have been adapted into a makeshift dungeon. She was chained with her arms held high above her head. She assumed she had been hanging there some time judging from the numbness of her arms. She was still in her black wetsuit, but all of her equipment had been removed.
The door to the cellar opened and the Baroness stepped in accompanied by two Cobra officers.
“Our sleeping beauty is finally awake,” the Baroness said sarcastically. “I trust your sleep was a pleasant one.”
“Rot in hell, Baroness,” Scarlett shouted pulling on the chains holding her prisoner. “If the reason I’m not dead is you wanting information, you can forget it. You’ll get nothing from me. Just name and serial number.”
“If I am anything,” the Baroness said as she drew near with a tray on a cart, “I am thorough.” She pulled a cloth that covered the tray and revealed a series of tools of torture and interrogation. Among the many tools were knives, scalpels, hooks, and chemicals from corrosive acids to sodium pentothal.
“This is what awaits you if you do not cooperate,” the Baroness said gesturing to the table. She took a hook and a small piece of bamboo and drew near Scarlett from a side to gently caress Scarlett’s cheek with the hideous hook.
“What is the location of the Pit?” The Baroness asked.
“Codename: Scarlett. 242967434,” Scarlett replied coolly.
“I expected as much,” the Baroness said with a twisted smile as she drew the piece of bamboo softly against Scarlett’s underarm.
Scarlett felt a tingling sensation on her underarm but ignored it as best as she could. She was grateful to still have the wetsuit on.
“I’d have the Pit location from you, if I wanted it,” the Baroness replied. “A few pieces of bamboo under the fingernails can inflict pain that can surpass even the most strongest of wills. I’ve seen strong proud men reduced to weeping babes in South East Asia, begging for the mercy of a quick death. But we’d surely kill you in the end and that is not the intention of Cobra Command.”
“So, what is you intention?” Scarlett asked.
“There are other methods of torture that I’ve learned during my travels around the world,” the Baroness replied. “You will discover that what I have learned is quite an art in itself.
“Officers,” the Baroness called. “Take our guest to the interrogation room I have prepared.” The Baroness pointed a pistol at her while the guards drew near. “Knock her out, first,” she suggested.
One of the officers took a bottle from the tray and soaked a handkerchief with its contents. As he approached to place the cloth over Scarlett’s mouth and nose, the Joe made her move. She pulled on the chains lifting her body into the air and wrapped her legs around the approaching officers’ neck. There was a quick snap, and before the officer fell to the ground, her legs were already around the second officer’s neck.
By then, the Baroness had retrieved the cloth from the ground, and before Scarlett could snap the second officer’s neck the cloth was deftly placed over her mouth and nose.
She struggled and tried to keep away from the cloth but to no avail. The Baroness dug the nails of her free hand into Scarlett’s ribs tickling briefly but effectively. Taken by surprise, Scarlett gasped and that was all that was necessary. The strength went from her legs and she was unable to snap the second officer’s neck. The officer fell to the ground coughing and gasping for air.
The Baroness stared into Scarlett’s eyes and watched with satisfaction as they fluttered and slowly closed. The Baroness tickled her ribs again but there was no reaction. Convinced that the Joe was unconscious, the Baroness pulled the cloth away and Scarlett’s head slumped gently to one side.
“Get up,” the Baroness commanded the officer. “Have her in the interrogation room in 20 minutes.”
******************
Scarlett awoke to a soft breeze. She opened her eyes and discovered she was bound spread eagle in leather cuffs on a soft mattress of an elegant brass fitted bed with a canopy. She was in a large bedroom of what appeared to be an hacienda of some sort. The door to a balcony was open and she could hear the sounds of the Sierra Gordan tropical forest outside.
She’d been changed from the black wet suit to what appeared to be a black bra and bikini panties with crimson red Cobra insignias on them.
“Talk about bad taste,” she whispered under her breath as she attempted to free herself. She could move a little, but the cuffs were tight and locked. So close to freedom, she thought to herself as she gazed out the window, yet so far.
The Baroness entered the room followed by two female Cobra officers and the infamous Dr. Mindbender.
“I trust you enjoyed your sleep,” the Baroness mocked as she drew near and sat on the edge of the bed next to Scarlett. The officers stood in attention at the foot of the bed and Dr. Mindbender took a seat in a far corner of the room as if he were about to see something very entertaining.
“The officer whose neck you kindly snapped won’t be waking up unfortunately,” the Baroness said. “You might wonder why the pleasant accommodations as compared to the cell you were in.”
The thought had crossed Scarlett’s mind.
“You see there is torture that causes pain,” the Baroness explained “but you Joe’s are used to pain and discomfort. You are tested under adverse conditions from your first day of training. Your threshold for pain is far beyond that of an ordinary man. After interrogating many a different Joe, I have realized that many even enjoy the pain. So physical pain, sleep deprivation, psychological stress… they are all the sort of things you Joes would expect from an ordinary terrorist.
“We are hardly ‘ordinary terrorists’, my dear Scarlett.”
“What ever you can dish out, I can take,” Scarlett replied staring off to the ceiling.
“Is that so?” The Baroness asked as she drew a single nail along Scarlett’s creamy white side.
Scarlett’s body jerked violently and the chains that held her cuffed limbs rattled loudly. Scarlett’s face flushed red as she realized she could not control her reaction.
“I’ve tickled men and women less ticklish than you, Scarlett,” the Baroness said. ”By the time I finished with them, they all begged to tell me their secrets.”
The Baroness moved her nails lingering just an inch or so over Scarlett’s creamy belly. Scarlett struggled to move away and she could move slightly, but the fingers just kept on zeroing in.
”Sing for me, Scarlett”, the Baroness said as she dug her sharp nails into Scarlett’s ribs.
The tickling sensation was like a bomb being detonated. Scarlett’s resistance was useless as she began to explode in reckless gales of laughter. She twisted from side to side and tried to move as much as possible, but the tickling was constant, persistent and professional. It was like nothing she had ever experienced before.
Scarlett had always been ticklish. As a girl, her brothers after martial arts class would tackle her down to the tatami in her training gi and tie her hands and ankles behind her back with a belt, leaving her effectively hogtied on the tatami floor. They would tickle her to tears on her bare feet and sides until her father would come, scold her brothers and then sneak in some tickling before releasing her. Even in her late teens, her father would demonstrate the effectiveness of police holds and such by tickling her ribs or feet while she was restrained in jujitsu holds. She’d laugh like a silly girl and struggle in the holds until her father finally released her. She felt so embarrassed to be portrayed as a silly ticklish girl before the rest of the students that she trained even harder. Her brothers and fellow students soon saw the formidable martial artist and forgot the ticklish girl.
Scarlett had the most angelical laughter. She was not a screamer and part of the reason she was so frequently tickled when she was younger was because everyone was so damned certain she was having a great time. Nothing could be further from the truth. The loss of control, the forced laughter, the violent contraction of her muscles, the hyperventilation… it was far from being even tolerable in her view.
And here she was again. A ticklish little girl being tickled by someone whose skills were exponentially better than those of her brothers. The Baroness was a true master. She watched Scarlett’s every reaction and quickly discovered that there was a small point of her upper rib cage that made her laugh even harder and reduced her resistance to zero.
The Baroness stopped her assault and Scarlett gasped for air as if she were drowning. She stared at the clock on the dresser and noticed that she had only been tickled for five minutes. It had seemed to her to have been a full hour.
“Let’s start with the location of the Pit, shall we?” the Baroness asked as she moved towards the foot of the bed.
“Codename… Scarlett… 24… 29… 67... 434…,” Scarlett replied with difficulty as she continued to be short of breath.
The Baroness smiled with glee realizing that this was going to be a tough cookie to crack, but it was going to be an entertaining challenge.
“Feet are interesting body parts, aren’t they?” the Baroness said as she gently touched the tops of Scarlett’s toes without tickling but it still making Scarlett’s heart race nervously. “We walk on them, run on them, we can kick with them. I’m certain you can kick through a pile of bricks with you bare feet. And then on the other hand they are so sensitive.” She touched the lower part of the soles ever so gently and the feet shook from side to side and the chains rattled again.
“They are so many nerve endings in the foot. It is an erogenous zone, and it is widely known that many a point in the foot can be massaged or manipulated to deal with health issues or even stress.”
As if on cue, the two officers drew near and each took a bare foot in their hands. They each firmly pressed their thumbs on her soles and massaged gently. Scarlett was shocked that it did not tickle. It was soothing and calming and she realized that within moments she was breathing calmly again.
She was involuntarily feeling so much better that it was a total surprise when the gentle soothing massage was replaced with the skilled scratching of nails on the soles of her feet.
Both officers held each foot still with one arm while the other used its fingers to tickle the pretty soles of their prisoner.
Scarlett’s laughter filled up the room. The officers had been so skilled at their endeavor. Scarlett had never considered her feet her most ticklish spot, but now she was forced to consider them as such. The fingers would scratch lightly on her arch, dig in deep between the toes, and probe each and every part of her vulnerable feet. She pulled hard on the restraints but only accomplished rattling the chains. The sound of the rattling was drowned in her laughter.
Not content in seeing Scarlett’s feet thrash and watching her face melt into a hearty and contagious laughter, the Baroness reached for the Joe’s bare underarms and applied her tickling fingers to them.
Scarlett had never imagined such intensity could exist. All the muscles in her body were contracting from the tickling. She was light headed from the lack of oxygen to her brain. She was angry with herself for being so out of control.
She was twisting from side to side trying to escape the attack to her underarms and pulling futilely on her legs to free her feet. When the Baroness ended the attack, Scarlett continued to laugh hoarsely and gasped desperately. Tears were streaming down her eyes. Scarlett looked at the clock.
It had not been even seven minutes.
The Cobra officers began once again to massage her feet, and once again she felt her body relax and recuperate against her will.
“Do you have something to tell me?” The Baroness asked
“Codename… Scarlett… 242967... 434…” Scarlett replied as the soothing massage slowly gave back her strength.
“If I tickled you non-stop,” the Baroness observed, “you would pass out. By restoring you after every bout, I can extend the time I can torture you. You’ve had 12 minutes of action. I can easily go hours before growing bored.”
The Baroness gently turned some cleverly hidden cranks at the top and bottom of the bed that tightened the chains that restrained her prisoner. Scarlett felt her limbs stretch to the point were she could no longer move and the chains no longer rattled.
The Baroness began again tickling her rib area. This time she could not move and it made the sensation even more intense. Scarlett’s laughter was now combined with pleas for mercy.
“Stop, Baroness! Please stop! Let me breathe!” Scarlett shouted between her laughter. The Cobra officers immediately began to stroke her soles with a pair of thick bristled brushes. Somehow they knew exactly how to twist the bristles to draw out the most intense sensation. The reaction was uncontrolled laughter, screaming and calls for mercy.
No matter how much Scarlett had been tickled by her brothers, she had never screamed and had never begged for mercy. She had been so proud. They could make her laugh but she would never give up.
She was so ashamed to be begging a Cobra for mercy.
When the Baroness finished the third bout, her victim was bathed in sweat, panting and totally exhausted.
It was then that Dr. Mindbender interrupted.
“This is all quite entertaining, my dear Baroness,” the scientist said. “But there is an agenda and I fear your technique will take much too long and it will not be nearly as effective as mine.”
“Do you really believe you can do better?” the Baroness scoffed.
“I do,” was the reply.
“Be my guest,” the Baroness said gesturing to her prisoner.
Dr. Mindbender sat next to Scarlett and opened a small case. Scarlett watched the Cobra scientist and wondered what class of mad genius would wear a cape and a monocle with a ridiculous moustache.
Mindbender removed a syringe and promptly injected a fluid into Scarlett’s arm.
“This is a solution containing a small army of nano-machines designed to travel through the bloodstream and then strategically reside in pre-selected parts of the brain,” the doctor explained all those present. “When a signal is sent, the microscopic agents release specific chemicals to specific parts of the brain, allowing us to alter conscious and sub conscious states.”
“What does that mean?” the Baroness asked impatiently.
“It means that I can make specific commands to Scarlett as if they had been placed in her subconscious by hypnotic suggestion. All areas of her brain that involve willpower are neutralized simultaneously. So literally, my will is her command.”
“I’ve never heard of anything so pretentious in my entire life,” the Baroness said.
“Sleep,” Dr. Mindbender commanded.
Scarlett instantly fell asleep.
“She could be faking,” the Baroness stated. “It would not be the first time.”
“Scarlett,” Dr. Mindbender said to the sleeping Joe, “when you awake, you will not be ticklish. Awake!”
Scarlett awoke and watched the Cobras wonder what was going on.
The Baroness nodded to the two Cobra officers who immediately attacked Scarlett’s bare feet scratching and tickling between the toes. There was no reaction.
“Impossible!” the Baroness said in amazement. She went to the sweet spot in the upper rib cage and tickled there. There was no way possible that she could conceive such a ticklish person could resist. “This is some sort of parlor trick!”
“You require more proof?” Mindbender asked of the doubting Baroness.
“Sleep!” he commanded again and Scarlett obeyed. The redheaded Joe snored softly.
“Release her from her bondage,” Mindbender commanded the Cobra officers.
“This is mad and reckless,” the Baroness said pulling her side arm from her holster.
“It is perfectly safe for us,” he replied as the officers released Scarlett from the cuffs.
“Tell that to the officer whose neck she broke this morning,” the Baroness replied.
“Scarlett,” Mindbender called as he spread her arms back to the spread eagle position. “When you awaken you will be restrained on wrists and ankles. You will not be able to move. You will be ticklish again. Awake!”
Scarlett was confused at this point, but in her mind she was still restrained. Dr. Mindbender quickly drew his finger along Scarlett’s bare sole and watched in approval as Scarlett’s unrestrained foot thrashed and she burst into laughter.
“Impressive,” the Baroness admitted lowering her side arm.
“It gets even better,” Mindbender said taking the Baroness’s weapon from her hand and placing it between Scarlett’s legs.
”Are you mad!?” the Baroness shouted.
“That’s what everyone keeps telling me,” Mindbender said as he took the Baroness to the end of the room where they sat down and observed their prisoner from afar. “Worry not, no harm will befall us.”
“Scarlett,” he commanded, “you are free from your bonds.”
Scarlett touched her wrists and ankles gingerly watching the amazed faces of her captors. She moved so fast no one could believe it. She grasped the weapon at the foot of the bed rolled off the bed and shot at each of the officers who did not have time to even point their weapons in her direction.
They both fell to the ground with a loud thud.
”You fool!” the Baroness shouted. “You’ve let her loose!”
“Loose, but not free,” Mindbender corrected as he poured a glass of wine.
“I have no idea what you two are up to,” Scarlett said pointing the gun at the Baroness and Dr. Mindbender, “but you are now my prisoners and you are going to escort me out of this place to the American consulate in Rio Lindo.”
“We will do no such thing,” Mindbender replied as he pointed his own weapon in her direction.
Scarlett tried to pull the trigger, but she could not.
“She is preconditioned,” the scientist explained as he took another sip of wine. “She can never harm any top ranking member of Cobra Command.
“Drop the weapon and return to the bed,” he commanded. Scarlett obeyed dropping the Baroness’s weapon and returning to the bed.
“Sleep,” he commanded and she obeyed.
“You could have explained that before she wasted two very skilled officers,” the Baroness complained.
“I wouldn’t be mad then, would I?” he snickered.
“I suppose not,” the Baroness replied.
“Still, she was not polite at all with the officers who had indeed given their very best for Cobra.
“Scarlett, you are restrained,” he commanded. “When you awake you will be more ticklish than you have ever been in your entire life. You are blindfolded and you are being skillfully tickled with stiff feathers all over your body. They will tickle you until you pass out. Awake!”
Scarlett awoke and she immediately began to laugh madly as imaginary feathers attacked her ticklish body.
“She’ll still need much programming to be reinserted into GI JOE headquarters,” the Baroness said enjoying the effortless imaginary torture Scarlett was being put through.
“A couple days at most,” Mindbender said imagining the Baroness restrained and being tickled at his command. Madness, he thought to himself…
“I want one more test before she is released,” the Baroness stated.
“And what is that?”
“It’s just a small laughing matter,” the Baroness replied with a twisted smile.
To be continued….
