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

Part Sixty-Nine: The Innocent Bystanders

"You're joking?" I whisper to Price, hoping my seriousness is being conveyed.

"Nope." He shakes his head and pushes past me to greet Mateen and his wife.

What. The. Fuck.

I turn my head back around to see Price interact with the couple.

"Ah, Captain. It's been too long!" Mateen excitedly wraps his arms around Price and hugs him tightly.

Price laughs." It has been too long, friend. It's good to see you." After pulling away from the embrace he pats his hand on Mateen's shoulder and glances over at the woman. "Nahal, I'm happy to see you're still putting up with Mateen and his nonsense." Price clasps her hands and shakes lightly.

Nahal chuckles and says, "Always."

Mateen and Nahal speak English, which is fortunate for Soap and König who don't know how to speak Persian.

The two children run over to where their parents are standing and the little boy starts tugging on his mother's sari and asks, "Mom, who are these people?".

Shit, I forgot to answer him earlier.

Nahal responds in her mother tongue, "Do not worry, my love. They are friends."

"What are they saying?" Soap taps on my shoulder and whispers in my ear.

"That we're friendlies," I respond, whispering.

"Excuse me for being so rude," Nahal tells us, smiling/ "These are our children, Rayi and Mina."

I walk up to the children, squat down to meet them on their level, and begin to speak, "Nice to meet you. My name is Breanna."

They both giggle and hide behind their mom, smiling and peaking at us.

They're adorably innocent.

Another reason why they shouldn't be mixed up in this.

What the hell is Price thinking? I mean I get it. Mateen is a valuable asset but at what cost? I refuse to have a repeat situation like what happened to Darya. We cannot continue to be responsible for civilian casualties.

"Please, friends, join us inside." Mateen points to their home.

We make our way inside and the home is cozy; and peaceful. We all gather around the table while Nahal takes the children to their rooms.

"To what do I owe your visit?" Mateen asks Captain Price, taking a more serious tone than previously.

After taking a deep breath Price begins to plead, "We need your help. I need your help, my friend."

Mateen nods slowly. "Tell me more."

"We need you to take us to the airplane graveyard. We've received word that there have been sightings of Russian Ultranationalists at that scrapyard," Price informs.

Mateen looks horrified as his eyes nearly pop out of their sockets.

"Why would the Russians be in Afghanistan?" Mateen crosses his arms against his round belly.

"Zey are vorking vith Vladimir Makarov," König responds.

"Makarov..." Mateen stands to his feet and shakes his head. "I've not heard that name in a long time..." A muscle feathers in his jaw. "What is he planning?"

"World domination," I put it bluntly. "He believes Russia should rule over all."

Frozen in shock for a moment Mateen begins to speak, "The scrapyard is a dangerous place. If the Russians are there it will be quite the battle."