Simon "Ghost" Riley x Reader

Thirty-Nine

Crouching down, you placed yourself against one of the low walls that fenced the magnificent building in a decorative manner.

Flowers with colourful blossoms stretched out towards the stars.

With your eyebrows drawn together, you wrinkled your nose.

"Smells like honey...", you murmured and signalled to Gaz to come to a halt behind you.

"We're not here to sniff feckin' flowers.", Soap's annoyed voice sounded behind you.

You rolled your eyes.

"I mean, it smells pretty strongly of honey.", you remarked, glancing over your shoulder.

Surprisingly, it was neither Gaz nor Soap's face that was looking back at you.

Instead, it was Simon's eyes that returned your gaze. Your eyebrows rose in surprise.

How the hell did he keep sneaking up on you without you noticing?

He was a full-grown man the size of a giant and with a weight that was impossible to move silently.

And yet he moved like a ghost.

"Ghost...", you almost laughed when his nickname crossed your lips.

For a brief moment you could see him frowning under the mask.

His gaze wandered over his shoulder and he leaned to the side to give you a clear view of Soap, who he thought you wanted to talk to.

But all you could do for the idiot was snort sarcastically.
At least as grumpy as you, your brother curled his lips and returned the provocation.

"What?", he asked with a furrowed brow and such a thick Scottish accent that there was no question how badly he was reacting to you at that moment. "We are on a mission. Stop sniffing the steamin' flowers."

"Twat...", you muttered, reaching up to fish a handful of soil out of the bed. "It smells extremely of honey."

Demonstratively you held your hand out to him.

For a moment Soap looked at what you had to offer. Then he shrugged his shoulders, unimpressed.

"I don't want any dirt.", he slapped your hand away.

Annoyed, you pulled a face.

"They poured sugar into the flowers, idiot.", you hissed, starting to run out of patience.

Soap shrugged.

"So?"

"It's to attract vermin."

With his lips pressed into a thin line, he visibly tried to keep his patience together.

But before he could cause this mission to fail, Ghost jumped in to end this family feud.

"The narcos spread sugar throughout their properties to attract ants and stuff.", he hummed, audibly annoyed by your little childish fight and pushed past you. "They keep dogs away. So that they can't smell the drugs."

"Keep your nose covered.", you advised and turned to follow Ghost. "Or you might experience nausea and dizziness. We don't want anyone to collapse."

"Yeah sure.", Soap snarled behind your back. "As if a bit of sugar could make a man fold."

With rage boiling in your stomach, you pressed your lips together and swallowed the urge to turn around and punch him in the face.

Instead, you focused on the broad cross of Simon, who crept ahead of you towards the house.

It was strange, but being so close to him after what had happened made you feel something you never normally brought to the battlefield.

Restlessness.

You were uneasy at the thought that Simon was your vanguard.

You would have preferred to go first.

But that would probably have brought questions from the others.

The last time you were this concerned about a team member, you had completed a mission together with Soap. The idiot had run into a dark house and caught a bullet.

You still remembered his pained expression and the feeling of his cold blood on your hands.

The memory sent shivers down your spine.

"Feckin' hell...", you growled to yourself and shook off the thought.

You had sworn to yourself that something like this would never happen again.

Not with Ghost and certainly not with Soap. Even if he probably disagreed and would claim that everything had gone exactly as he had planned.

"Alejandro, we're behind the house.", Ghost said over the radio.

With bated breath, you took your place behind him as he positioned himself next to the back door.

Your eyes wandered through the darkness.

The grounds were vast. The house was roughly in the middle, on a fairly high point. From the back door, one could see just far enough for the wall to disappear into the horizon.

It was impossible to tell what lay behind it.

"Gaz.", you signalled to the man behind you.

"Huh?", alarmed, he stretched his neck in your direction so that he could hear exactly what you were saying.

"We haven't covered the area far enough.", you pointed into the distance. "We should split up. Go and secure the way down. In case anyone escapes."

Behind Gaz, Soap let out another sound of protest.

"You want to get rid of us?", he asked.

You didn't bother to respond to his whim.

"I want to make sure we don't make a mistake. Ghost and I are going in. The captain secures the gate. And Alejandro will clear a path for us."

"I'm right behind you.", all of a sudden, Alejandro appeared from the shadows. "Got the key."

Soap pulled a face.

"You need all the help you can get in there.", he argued.

You were about to start another argument as Ghost suddenly raised a hand.

"Johnny, we need to remain unnoticed.", he said in a calm yet stern manner that made it clear he wasn't willing to take no for an answer. "We'll form two teams. 100 is right, it's important to secure all the sides."

A little confused why he sided with you, you frowned but didn't complain. After all, having Ghost on your side was almost as good as having Captain Price's approval.

But the look on your brothers face gave away how much he was displeased by the fact that you had all the support.

Even from his best mate.

"Alright.", you let out a deep breath. "I'll team up with Gaz. You guys go in."

You were about to get on your way as Simon pulled you back.

"I need a Lieutenant by my side.", his eyes moved to glance at Soap. "No hard feelings."

Soap bared his teeth.

"Not at all.", he growled.