“Hey Flint, you need to see this message.”
Something in Stalker’s voice made it clear he wasn’t kidding around.
“It’s using the old encryption codes…”
“What’s so unusual about that? We just changed them last week, how old can they be?” Security had been extra tight since the Cobra Island rescue, Flint knew, but it would hardly be a shocker for an operative off the radar for awhile to use a previous code.
“No Flint, the old encryption codes,” Stalker’s cocked eyebrow sent the message home.
“What the? From who?” Flint stammered. Nobody had used the old codes since before… no, he thought, he would not let himself remember. He worked too hard to forget. “Nobody in EXCAL knows those codes, other than former Joes. And we are all accounted for. It’s gotta be a ruse”
“I’m not so sure pal. This code, it’s… It… can’t be. You said he was killed while I was on the Island?”
ENCODED TRANSMISSION:
Flint I hope you see this before it’s too late. Big attack coming. Cover blown. Murder was setup. Cant explain now. Going to ground. Meet me at the Chicago safe house in 48 hours to bring me home. Rally Joes we need the team together. Inform Knighthawk. do not trust the EXCAL upper command until we can sort things out. Za……
TRANSMISSION PREMATURELY TERMINATED.
“Two days is all we have? What’s the time stamp on that thing?”
“Uh-oh…” Stalker’s low voice rumbled in ominous tones. “72 hours ago.”
“Confirm the origination code one more time.” Flint ordered.
“No doubt about it,” Stalker’s head shook from side-to-side in amazement. “It’s…”
“DUKE,” finished the new voice, coming from the familiar face standing in the doorway. “Sorry I’m late. My ride never showed, and I had to take a cab all the way from Chicago.”
For a little background, I, like many, do not like Duke. It's not the original character or the original figure. I was quite the fan of both as a kid, at least the character as initially portrayed in the comic. But from the cartoon on, I really grew tired of the do-no-wrong hero that didn't even seem to need the rest of the team around him.
I did make a "new" character for my verse called "The Duke," but I was kind of cheeky when I did it, making it a guy who resembled a mish mash of ROC and Resolute Duke, but allegedly having him named after John Wayne. But it wasn't really Duke. For one, because Channing Tatum simply doesn't look like Duke to me (even though he had the right amount of douche for how the character has evolved over the years); and two, I had killed Duke off in my verse (though via the story of an unimportant side character made for a contest a couple years ago - a story most probably missed). But there are simply too many good parts out there now for me to not make a Duke, one that more closely resembles the traditional take on the character. That leads us to this story. I'd love to hear what you think.
