G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (IC, Open)

[United States of Brainy]

Clairton, West Virginia
September 19
20:15 hrs

She pulled into the old VFW lodge, the parking lot already full. Her Jeep Cherokee, with Nebraska plates and packed with belongings, rattled slightly as she finally found a spot and parked. This high up in the Appalachians, the weather was already cold, in the lower 40s, even this early in the year.

She got out, tugging her red-checkered coat tighter around herself. It was thrift as was her flannel shirt and jeans. The clothes and the car spoke poverty but she fit right in with the rest of the rough crowd that worked its way inside. “RALLY TONIGHT!” That’s what the posters plastered to both doors promised in big, bold letters.

Inside, she made a beeline for the refreshment table. Gratefully accepted a hot cup of coffee. She cradled the cup in both hands, letting the steam warm her face. Even with next to no make-up, she was beautiful. Smooth skin, thin lips, brown eyes you could get lost in. Her short, dark brown, shoulder-length hair was pulled into a ponytail, nothing fancy. She was already getting looks from some of the men and she smiled shyly, just enough to let them know she was appreciative but not interested.

There was a big plate of sandwiches. She picked up a turkey and swiss, thought a moment, took another one, wrapped it up in a napkin and stuck it in her purse. Someone tapped on the mic set up on stage. People started taking their seats and she found a spot in the front row. So she could hear. After all, that’s why she was here. One of the reasons anyway.

[Pax Nerdvana]

Bazooka
Clairton, WV
David Katzenbogen, codename Bazooka, drove down Clairton's main street. It appeared to be a typical dying West Virginia mining town, it's heyday long in the past. He checked his Joecomm for the address of the apartment he was to stay in. The address was nearby, so he arrived quickly. He swung the door of the 1987 Ford F-150 open. The truck would not be out of place in a town like this. There was a mountain chill in the air, so he reached over to the passenger seat and grabbed an old fleece, which he put on. He walked around to the back of the truck, and opened the tailgate. He had an old duffel bag and a backpack strapped down. He unstrapped the bags, and shouldered his pack, and grabbed the duffel. He pulled the truck key out of his pocket and locked it. He walked up to the apartment door, pulling out the key as he walked. He unlocked the door, and saw the apartment.

He thoughtas he surveyed the dingy, rundown apartment,"Geez. Was Hawk being cheap?" The apartment had three rooms, a kitchen/living room, a bedroom, and a bathroom. All of the furniture was falling to bits. The TV looked like an old '80s era CRT, so he really hoped it would be able to pick up a decent signal so he could watch football. He sat down on the couch, which creaked alarmingly, and looked over the file he had been given by Hawk. His alias was "Sam Jackson", a miner looking for a job who had just moved to town. They had drilled all sorts of mining knowledge into his head back at the base to better fulfill his role. He wished he had his MILAN with him to better fight COBRA, but all he had was an M1911, because a MILAN would not exactly fit in in a mining town. He thought he should head down to the mine office soon to try to get a job.

[Tamrida]

Undisclosed Location
September 19
20:15 hrs
The man known as Cobra Commander was sitting in his office, waiting for the rally speech by his pawn running for mayor in Clairton, West Virginia. The man was named Kendall Norman, and he was a foolish and arrogant ideologue who wished to rival Cobra Commander, the perfect person Cobra Commander needed for the job. He was so devoted and dogmatic towards the Cobra cause, that he provides both the loyalty and sincerity needed to attract the masses, but if he were to fail, then a rival gets taken out of the picture and he serves as an example to the troops of Cobra how arrogance and disloyalty lead to defeat and dishonor. Cobra Commander waited to see what would happen with his speech as it was just beginning.

---

Clairton, West Virginia
September 19
20:16 hrs
After testing that the mic was working, the man began to speak. "Welcome everyone and all!" he said in an energized and upbeat tone that quieted the room down as his campaign rally began. "My name is Kendall Norman, although most of you probably knew that, and I am here to be your next mayor. Now, what makes qualities that make a good mayor, you might wonder. I am glad you asked. Being a great mayor requires strength loyalty, dedication, charisma, and above all a master plan for the city. I can assure you that I have plenty of those in spades. I plan to help bring Clairton out of the vicious cycle of poverty and turmoil and bring all of you great inhabitants bountiful new opportunities in life. I plan to work closely, not with the corrupt government that abandoned you in your situation nor with organizations that would offer to come back in exchange for lower wages and benefits for you fine people. No, I plan to work with Adder Incorporated, the new up-and-coming business conglomerate that has begun bringing back jobs and revamping the coal mines here, with no preset conditions or motive other then to improve business for both itself and the impoverished regions of America brought upon by the War on Coal and the shipping of jobs overseas. We all have suffered under the villainous government's overbearing and overregulating grasp as well as corporations and businesses that leave us once cheaper options arise in the name of a 'free market', and it is time to change that. Adder Incorporated will help lead us into the future for Clairton, and a vote for Norman is a vote for the future." With that he started to soak up the applause he was getting as the audience ate up what he was saying. After the applause died down he said "I would now like to ask some of you to come on up and share your stories about your life in this wonderous town and what I can do with Adder Incorporated to help you all start to live better. Lets start with...errm...you there." He pointed to the pretty young woman in the front row with the red-checkered coat "Would you like to come up here and share with us your story about your town?"

[United States of Brainy]

The VFW Hall

Her face turned a deep shade of crimson as Kendall Norman asked her to speak. She tried to hide, to politely decline with a wave, but the crowd was having none of it. “Go on, honey!” the woman seated next to her prodded. Finally, realizing that she had no choice, she got up and slowly made her way on stage.

“Uhhh…hi,” she whispered too close to the mic, the feedback blaring through the hall, startling her. She stepped back, took a big swallow, and began again. “Uhm…hi. My name’s Christine Kellogg but everyone calls me Chris. I come from Tuthill. It's this small town in Nebraska, middle of nowhere really. Everyone farms. My family, we grow soybeans, some sorghum too. Until, that was, the big agribusiness conglomerates came in and bought everything. Forced all the local farmers out. Our farm, it’s been in our family for 120 years and one day, the sheriff comes and kicks us out like we’re dirt! After that, Dad, well, he sorta lost his will to live…. Cancer took him a year ago. Health bills bankrupted us, cleaned out our savings. Mom and my kid brother moved in with some relatives in California. But I read about what you were doing here in Clairton, Mr. Norman, and I knew I just had to come here! What you’re doing for this town,” she started choking up, “God bless you, sir!” She started sobbing, completely losing it.

[Crimetopolis]

Firefly checked his PDA. Why hadn't Cobra commander give him his new assignment? Furthermore, where was the Cleric?

[Tamrida]

Clairton, West Virginia
September 19
20:24 hrs
When his speaker started sobbing Kendall Norman felt a great feeling of pity and sorrow and gave her a quick side hug and in a whispered tone he said "Its alright. Its going to be alright." He released the hug and took the microphone back from her as she returned to her seat. "Thank you very much," he said at a normal tone again, "what we have all just heard was the woeful tale of what the government and for profit corporations are doing to our every day people elsewhere in the country. What we are doing to fix this, with the help of Adder Incorporated, is giving people like your family the tools, training, and resources to help you stop the exploitation of good, hard-working people like you and your family. Would anyone else like to come up and share there story?"

Through the rest of the hour other people, from the town of Clairton and from distant locations came up and shared there story about their problems with the government or with unstoppable corporations. This continued for a while until Kendall said, "Alright everyone, thank you, I am proud to hear all of your stories and hope that together we all can rectify this issue. To start that process, there is only one place to start however, and that is to vote for Norman this election cycle. Thank you and good night." The hall began to empty out, but Kendall Norman stayed behind to watch the process as well as take pictures and talk with people who had questions or who wanted to congratulate him.

---

Undisclosed Location
September 19
21:04 hrs
Cobra Commander turned off his television after the speech was done. Kendall Norman did a fine job in rallying the crowd and planting the seed of Cobra's ideals into their heads. There was something that bothered him though, and that was the first speaker he brought up. Her story made no sense. Despite all of the corruption and double standards that surrounds massive businesses, they can't just buy up private property on a whim without consent of the property owner, and if it was family farms they should have full control whether to sell the property or not. It might have been a simple misunderstanding or she might have misspoke, but something still sat wrong with him, and he needed to get to the bottom of this. Cobra Commander paged two of his lackeys, Firefly and Cleric, he had a job for them.

[Crimetopolis]

Best Western Inn
Huntington, WV
September 19
21:16

Firefly's PDA beeped. Cobra Commander told him to proceed to Tristate Regional airport by 0100 that night. There he was to meet the Cleric and together they would head to Clairton. Firefly admired The Cleric was high on his for ruthless efficiency. Firefly rented a TAXI and headed to the airport. He waited in the first class lounge for The Cleric to arrive.