A Ghost Encounter: My Time with Simon "Ghost" Riley

Part Sixty-Three: A New Chapter

It takes a couple of days for everything to calm down between Ghost, Soap, and I. But better late than never right?

I ended up taking Soap and Gaz to the movie like I promised. Wanna know what we watched?

Puss. In. Boots.

It was surprisingly really good I'm not gonna lie.

I also called Captain Winters and we reviewed the details of my transfer to 141—the semantics. Although she sounded incredibly proud of me and my accomplishments, I could tell she was sad to see me go.

My old team will always hold a special place in my heart but it's time for a new chapter in my life.

Laswell and Captain Price officiated the transfer and today marks my official status as a Task Force 141 Special Operator.

It's almost overwhelming looking back at it all. When I first got the news about the request to aid 141 in Iran I never thought this was how things would play out. I never thought that I would fit in or even make friends, let alone find a lover.

I've also honed my skills, something that wouldn't have happened without the determination and support from my colleagues.

All this to say, although skeptical at first, working with Task Force 141 has been the greatest decision of my life.

To celebrate my official joining of the Task Force, the team is setting up a "surprise" party for me tonight. How do I know this? I overheard Soap talking to Gaz about it...whoops.

But hey, I'll just act surprised.

As I get ready for the day, the words Laswell spoke to me when I was trying to find Ghost find its way to the forefront of my brain.

"I wanted to introduce you to König...he'll be joining us in an upcoming mission."

Upcoming mission, huh? I wonder what it will be this time. And it better not be another I-have-to-seduce-a-terrorist type mission.

The man called König has proven to be an interesting fellow: he's shy, soft-spoken, and very fucking tall.

Sometimes during training, he'll pop up behind me—without warning—and scare the shit out of me.

My startled responses and König's flusteredness always get a rile out of the two idiots of the group: Soap and Gaz.

König is not staying permanently but since he and I are both considered "new", Captain Price has assigned me to help train him and show him the ropes. Price said it would be good for me to review what I know and also learn some things from König, who's made quite a name for himself in the field.

According to his file, König apparently suffered from social anxiety growing up and was often the target of bullies, which explains why he's so shy now.

Poor thing...

König volunteered for the military at the age of 17. Initially, he wanted to join as a recon sniper, but due to his large stature and shakiness, he was denied the position. He was later assigned as an insertion specialist to be used as a battering ram—the first line of offense—charging through doors in contested environments.

König has only been at the base for a few days so it'll probably take him a little while before he feels comfortable, but, I can tell he's gravitating towards me.

Granted I have essentially been assigned to babysit him. I don't mind being a glorified babysitter but Ghost isn't the biggest fan of that.

"He follows you around like a lost fucking puppy," Ghost said to me the other day.