Early Birds

Fireworks

Ghost was exhausted but refused to let Worm out of his sight, so he spent the next few hours just watching the young woman sleep. Watching her soft features and the slow movement of her chest rising and falling, Ghost felt at peace now she was safe with him and he had no intention of ever letting her go.

His peaceful state was soon interrupted by his radio coming to life, it was Laswell requesting an update 'How's our girl, Ghost?' she asked tentatively.

'Resting, assessed by doctor, few stitches, nothing serious but being monitored, will need transport to Hunter Base in Georgia' he explained.

'Roger that Ghost, I'll get that arranged, out' Laswell concluded.

Ghost relaxed back into his chair, determined to make sure he kept his promise in making sure Worm got home safely. The doctor came to check on her, on the hour, every hour, ensuring there was no change in her blood pressure or increased pain to indicate internal bleeding.

Worm huffed at the latest checks, wanting nothing but to be left alone to sleep.

Looking over at Ghost still sitting in his chair 'You okay, Ghost, you still on the clock?' she teased.

'Affirmative' he said chuckling.

'I'll make sure I put in a good word to your superiors about your excellent customer care and attention to detail' she said laughing.

'Cheeky sod' Ghost huffed, his radio interrupting him. Laswell informed him that a transport had been arranged, leaving in a hour. 'Copy that, Laswell' he said firmly.

'Ghost can you put Worm on the comms, please' Laswell asked.

Worm looked puzzled as Ghost took out his earpiece, and indicated to her to put it in, handing her the radio set from his tactical vest. Ghost listened intently as he could only hear one side of the conversation, trying to piece together the unheard parts.

'Yes, I'm fine Laswell, just some nice bruising that would make Monet swoon, and a gash on my leg............no, I was hiding in the ventilation duct when they breached the room...............it was destroyed, they threw a couple of grenades into the server room.................no, the database was uploaded to quarantine before killswitch..................'

Ghost watched her intently, seeing her face change as she spoke about the attack, obviously still feeling the effects. He felt pain in his heart, hearing the details of what she had experienced before he arrived. He'd never wanted her to be in any danger and had thought that she was safe at home. His thoughts brought to a halt when Worm raised her voice.

'Hell no..........no Kate, I'm going home............I'll assess the database from home, make sure it's clean and I'll send you a link..............you must be fucking joking Kate, my contract ended when those fuckers tried to blow me up.............no Kate.....................no, I'm done............no, you broke our agreement...........'

No that's bullshit Kate, don't bullshit me. It's a listening post Kate, how the fuck did they not know what was coming, it stinks and you know it.................No, it wasn't hacked...........I know because I built it..........that system was compromised, only six people had access to that system and two of us are on this comm............'

'You need to check your team Kate, because someone either let them in or they were stealing intel for them..............no it wasn't by chance, fucking hell, you're supposed to be an intelligence agency. It wasn't a coincidence, as soon as I secured the system, they attacked........ Fuck that Kate...........you put me in the line of fire................no fuck this I'm done', Worm yelled, pulling the comm piece out of her ear and throwing it on the bed in anger.

Ghost was shocked at her angry reaction, frustrated that he couldn't hold and comfort her, he picked up the earpiece and radio.

'Ghost can you get Worm back on the comm' Laswell requested sounding stressed.

'Think that's probably a negative Laswell' he replied honestly.

'Ghost, I know that she's upset and probably still in shock, but we need to keep her on board, I'll meet her at Hunter and discuss this further, we can't just let her walk away'. Laswell explained.

'Laswell, the girl was blown out of a bloody ventilation shaft, of course she's pissed and in shock. She's determined to go home, you can't force her to stay at Hunter' he said, as Worm shot him an angry look.

'Okay Ghost, transport is at 0900, hopefully by the time she gets there, she'll be in a better state, out' Laswell ended the comm.

Ghost sighed and turned to Worm, her head in her hands starting to cry. 'Worm?' he called quietly.

'No, Ghost, I don't care what Laswell said, this is fucked up, I'm not staying at Hunter, I'm going home, if you think you're going to persuade me otherwise, you're wasting your time'. Worm stated, with angry tears running down her cheeks.

'Love, I'm not going to try to persuade you of anything, I just wanna make sure you get home, I promise' he said gently. Worm looked at him seeing only genuine concern in his eyes.

'Thank you' she said quietly, drying her tears with her sleeve.

'Ok, let's get prepped and get over to the bay for transport' he said encouraging her.

The Transport was a cargo plane, which made Worm's stomach lurch at the thought, but she gathered herself and told herself it would be fine, Ghost was taking her home. Ghost helped her get settled into a jump seat, giving her a headset to cut out the noise, before getting himself in position.

Worm could feel the panic rising as the plane took off with a lurch, even with the headset on, the noise was overwhelming. Ghost grabbed her hand and looked at her reassuringly, helping her feel calmer. During the long flight, Worm managed to doze off a couple of times, falling into an uncomfortable and uneasy sleep, her body and mind exhausted.

When they landed, Laswell and another of her team were waiting to meet them as they disembarked, leading them to the main building and an empty waiting room. Worm was quiet the whole way causing Ghost concern, anticipating a full blow out if Laswell pushed the young woman again.