RAGNAROK. | simon riley/ghost

006: OSPREY, part one

      "And how do you know for sure he'll be directly involved?" Ghost interjected with a frown, crossing his arms. "He's an important man. It's much safer to send subordinates to do the dirty work."

      "Doesn't matter," Zero said. "He loves being the man behind the gun. He loves the risk, the thrill of it all, and especially blood on his hands. It's almost erotic. He'll throw himself in the way of death if it'll make his dick hard."

      "The way you describe him," Ghost went on, taking a step closer to the girl. "Alexei seems like an unpredictable man. A psychopath."

      "He is."

      "So there's no telling he won't just... not appear. Change his plans, change his ways, show some restraint."

      She scoffed. "I've known Alexei for years, Lieutenant. I know him better than anyone else. He will do it himself if he has the chance."

      "And what if you're wrong, Sergeant?"

       Eyes shot back and forth between the arguing pair, an uncomfortable tension suddenly enveloping the group.

      Zero cleared her throat. "Sir, you don't know him like I do."

      "It doesn't change the fact you're merely offering us an estimate that is so obviously blinded by your hatred towards him."

      "Are you fucking serious?" Zero narrowed her eyes, her voice instinctively raising as she took a step closer. 

      "Watch your goddamn mouth," Ghost stepped closer to her until his chest nearly bumped hers. "You realize that if you are wrong, this entire operation is jeopardized? People will die."

      "I was brought here for this very reason, sir. I was brought here to provide insight on Alexei that none of you have. Until we obtain more information, my 'guess' is the best we have to work with right now."

      Zero had gotten in his face, pointing her fingers into his chest until both Gaz and Price pulled her back. She shoved them off of her, glaring at the masked man in front of her, who she knew was only challenging her out of spite. "Why don't you go find another bone to chew, Lieutenant?" She sneered, the inflection on her last word making a mockery of the title. "You'll break your teeth on this one."

       Since their fight at the bar, the once-promising relationship between Ghost and Zero come to a staggering halt. In her drunken state, she had hurled accusations of jealousy towards Ghost and said dirty things. Ghost, in turn, had weaponized the deaths of Zero's family against her, most specifically her brother's. And now both soldiers, both damaged and instinctually untrusting of others, had put their walls back up.

      Zero never ended up sleeping with Alejandro. She hadn't intended to, either. However, she did spend a drunken night in his room, ending with both parties mutually deciding they were far too inebriated to act upon any urges. She parted from his room that night, closing the door behind her, purposefully a tad too loudly. And then she giggled to herself as she stumbled back to her room, knowing her melodramatic actions would rile up the creative imagination of the man whose room sat across from hers, who would never know nothing had happened.

      June 14th. St. Petersburg, Russia. Task Force 141 had exactly three months and two days of gathering intelligence, monitoring behaviour, and tracking patterns in efforts to stop the assumed attacks by Alexei. For one month and two of those days, that was exactly what they did, before they had decided that their best approach was to show as little presence as possible. Thus, for the remainder of that time, for the next two months, Zero and Soap were chosen to go undercover.